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A
COMMENT AET
ON THE
HOLY SCRIPTFEES:
CRITICAL, DOCTRINAL, AND HOMILETICAL,
WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO MINISTERS AND STUDENTS
JOHN" PETER LAI^GE, D. D.,
OBDINART PE0FB8S0R OS THEOLOGY IN THE XTNIVERSITT OF BONN, □i coiraECTioir ■wtth a numbbk of EsnuEHT bckopeas divikeb.
TRANSLATED, ENLARGED, AND EDITED
PHILIP SOHAFF, D. D.,
PROFESSOK OP THEOLOGY IN THE XINION THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY, NEW YORK, Ul CONNBCTIOS WITH AMEEIOAJC SCHOLAEg OP VARIOUS EVAlfGELICAIj DENOMUtATIOlTi.
FOLUME XIV. OF THE OLD TESTAMENT: CONTAINING THE MINOR PEOPIIETa
NEW YORK: CHARLES SORIBNER'S SONS,
1887.
THE
MINOR PROPHETS.
KXEGETICALLT, THEOLOGICALLY, AND HOMILETICALLT
EXPOUin)ED
PAUL KLEINERT, OTTO SCHMQLLER,
GEORGE R. BLISS, TALBOT "W. CHAMBERS, CHARLES ELLIOTT.
JOHN FORSYTH, J. FREDERICK McCURDY, AND
JOSEPH PACKARD.
EDITED BY
PHILIP SOHAFF, D. D.
NEW YORK:
CHAELES SCEIBNER'S SONS,
1887.
fiatered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1874, by
SCRIBNEB, ArIHSTRONG, AND COMPANY,
Id the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washinf^toa.
Trow's Printing and BooKBiNmNG Company, 205-213 /•:asi \zth St,,
new YORK.
LIST OF CONTRIBUTORS
TO TEtE CRITICAL, DOCTRINAL, AND HOMILETICAL COMMEN- TARY ON THE BIBLE.
GENERAL EDITORS:
Rev. JOHANN PETEE LANGE, D.D., OoTisiatoriai Oownsdor and Professor of Theology in the Univenity of Bonn.
Eer. PHILIP SCHAFP, D.D., LL.D., Professor of Sacred Literature in the Union Theological Seminary, Neu> York,
I. CONTRIBUTORS TO THE GERMAN EDITION.
Rev. C. A. ATTBERLBN, Ph.D., D.D.,
ProfeiBor of Theology in the UniverBlty of Basle,
Switzerland.
KeT. KARL CHR. W. F. BAHH, D.D.,
Uinisterial Counselor at Carlsruhe.
Eev. KARL BRAITNB, D.D., General Superintendent at Altenhurg, Saxony.
Eev. PAULUa CASSBL, Ph.D., Professor in Berlin.
Est. OHR. FH. DAVID EnDMAMT, D.D.,
Gon. Superintendent of Silesia, and Prof. Honorarins of
Theology in the University of Breslau.
Rev. P. R. FAT, Pastor in Crefeld, Pmssia.
Rev. G. P. 0. FRONMlfLLER, Ph.D., Pastor at Kemnath, Wiirtemborg.
Rev. KARL OEROK, D.D., fTelate and Chief Chaplain of the Court, Stuttgart.
Rev. PAUL KLEINBRT, Ph.D., B.D.,
Profeaaoi of Old Testament Exegesis in the University
of Berlin.
Rev. CHRIST. PR. KLING, D.D., Dean of ^arbach on the Neckar, Wttrtemberg.
Rev. GOTTHARD VICTOR LECHLER, D.D., Professor of Theology, and Superintendent at Leipsdfr
Hev. OARL BBRKHARD MOLL, D.D., General Superintendent in Kiinigsberg.
Eev. C. W. EDWARD NABQELSBAOH, Ph.D., Dean at Bayreuth, Bavaria.
Eev. J. J. VAN OOSTBRZEE, D.D., Professor of Theology in the University of UtMoh^
Eev. O. J. RIGGENBAOH, D.D., Professor of Theology in the University of Boala.
Eev. OTTO SCHMOLLER, Ph.D., B.D., Urach, Wilrtemberg.
Eev. FK. JULIUS SCHROEDBR, D.D.,
Pastor at Elberfeld, Prussia.
Rev. FB. W. SCntFLTZ, D.D.,
Professor of Theology in Breslau.
Rev. OTTO ZOECKLER, D.D.,
Professor of Theology in the University at Grelfswal^
II. CONTRIBUTORS TO THE ANGLO-AMERICAN EDITION.
Rev. CHARLES A. AIKEN, Ph.D., D.D., Professor of Christian Ethics and Apologetics at Princeton, N. J.
Bev. SAMUEL RALPH ASBUEY, M.A., Philadelphia.
EDWIN CONE BISSELL, D.D. Professor in the Theol, Seminary at Hartford, Ct.
Eev. GEORGE R. BLISS, D.D., Professor in Crozor Theological Seminary, Upland, Pa.
Eev. CHAS. A. BRIGGS, D.D.,
Professor of Oriental Languages in the Union Theological
Seminary, Nevf Xorfc,
Bev. JOHN A. BROADUS, D.D., Professor of New Testament Exegesis at Louisville, Ky,
Eev. TALBOT W. CHAMBERS, D.D.,
Foator of the Collegiate Reformed Dutch Chnrch,
New York.
Eev. THOMAS J. CONANT, D.D., Brooklyn, N. T.
Eev. E. E. CRAVEN, D.D., Newark, N. J.
Eev. HOWARD OROSBY, D.D., LL.D., Chancellor of the University of New York.
LIST OF 00NTRIBUT0B8.
Eer. GEO. B. DAY, D.D.,
111 Yale Divinity School, New Haven, Oaim.
Hev. CHAS. ELLIOTT, D.D., ftotctaat at Biblical Literature and BzeEesis, Chicago, TO.
Rev. L. J. EVAUS, D.D.,
Vrofessor ol New Teet, Exegesis in Lane TheoL Seminary,
CincinnatL
Eev. PATBICK FAIRBAIEN, D.D.,
Principal and Profeesor ol Divinity in the Free Ohnrch
Coll«|;e, Gliisgow.
Bev. WILLIAM FINDLAY, M.A., Pastor of the Free Choich, Larkhall, Scotland,
Bev. JOHN FOBSYTH, D.D., LL.D.,
Chaplain and Prof, of Ethics and Law in V. S. Militaiy
Academy, West Point, N. Y.
B8T. FBBDBBIC QARDINEB, D.D.,
Prot at the Llteratore of the O. T. in Berkeley Divinity
School, Middletown, Ct.
Eev. ABBAHAM GOSMAN, D.D., Lawrenceville, N. J.
Bev. W. HENRY GBEBN, D.D., LL.D.,
ProfeSKr of Oriental Literature in the Theol. Seminary at
Princeton, N. J.
Eev. JAMES B. HAMMOND, M.A., New York.
Eev. HORATIO B. HACKETT, D.D ,
PzofesBorof Biblical Exegesis in the Theological Seminary,
Eochester, N. Y.
Eev. BDWIN HAHWOOD, D.D., Eector of Trinity Church, New Haven, Conn.
Eev. W. H. HORNBLOWEB, D.D.,
PzoteasoT of Sacred Bhetoric, etc., in the TheoL Seminary
at Alleghany, Pa.
Eev. JOHN P. HTEST, D.D.,
President of the Drew Theological Seminary,
Madison, N. J.
Eev. A. C. KENDBICK, D.D., LL.D., Profesaor of Greek in the University of Eochester, N. Y.
TAYLEB LEWIS, LL.D.,
ProfasBDT of Oriental Languages in Union Collegv,
Schenectady, N. Y.
Eev. JOHN LILLIE, D.D, Kingston, N. Y.
E8V. BAMTJBL T. LOTTEIB, D.D., Philadelphia, Fa.
Eev. J. FEED. MoCUEDY, M.A.,
he Hebrew Langua]
at Princeton, N. «
B*t Proteseorof the Hebrew Lan^age in the TheoL Bern.
Eev. CHABLES M. MEAD, Ph.D., of Uio Hebrew Langnage and Lltoratore in (he XhsoL Sem., Andovw, Hut,
Eev. J. ISADOB MOMBBBT, H D, Philadelphia, Pa.
Eev. DOTTLOP MOORB, D.D., , New Brighton, Pa.
Uias KVBLINA MOOBB; Newark, N. 3.
JAMES G. MURPHY, IX. D.,
Professor in the General Assembly's and th« Qneen>
College at Belfast.
Bev. HOWABD OSGOOD, D.D.,
Profeanor of the Interpretation of the Old Test In tb*
Theol. Sem., Rochester, N. Y.
Eev. JOSEPH PACKAED, D.D.
Professor of Biblical Literature in the Theological
Seminary at Alexandria, Ya.
Eev. DANIEL W. POOR, D.D.,
Professor of Church History in the Theologloal Seminal]
at San Francisco, Cal.
Eev. MATTHEW B. EIDDLE, D.D.,
Professor of New Testament Exegesis in the TheoL
Seminary at Hartford, Conn.
Eev. CHAS. F. SCHAEFFEB, D.D.,
Professor of Theology in the Evangelical Lntheran
Seminary at Philadelphia.
Eev. WILLIAM G. T. SHEDD, D.D., LI1.D.,
Professor of Systematic Theology in the Union Xheolo^ca] Seminary, New York,
Eev. CHAS. C. STAEBUCK, M.A.,
Formerly Tutor In the Theologloal Seminary at Alldovo%
Mass.
Bev. P. H. STEENSTEA, Professor of Biblical Literature at Cambridge, Mass.
Bev. JAMES STRONG, D.D.,
Professor of Exegetical Theology in the Drew Theologloil
Seminary, Madison, N. J.
Eev. W. G. SUMNER, M.A., Professor in Yale College, New Haven, Cona.
Bev. C. H. TOY, D.D.,
Professor of Hebrew and Old Testament Exegeaia,
Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass.
Eev. B. A. WASHBURN, D.D., LL.D., Eector of Calvary Church, Now York.
WILLIAM WELLS, M.A., LL.D., Professor of Modem Languages in Union OoBeaa. New York. ^"
Eev. C. P. WING, D.D., Carlisle, Pa.
Bev. B. D. YEOMANB, D.D,, Orange, K, 1.
PEEFACE BY THE GENERAL EDITOR
The volume on the Minor Prophets is partly in advance of the German original, which has not yet reached the three post-exilian Prophets. The commentaries on the nine earlier Prophets by Professors Kleinert and Schmollbr appeared in separate numbers some time ago * ; but for Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi, Dr. Lange has not, to this date, been able to secure a suitable co-laborer.** With his cordial approval I deem it better to complete the volume by original commentaries than indefinitely to postpone the publication. They were prepared by sound and able scholars, in conformity with the plan of the whole work.
The volume accordingly contains the following parts, each one being paged separately : —
1. A General Introduction to the Prophets, especially the Minor Prophets, by Rev. Charles Elliott, D. D., Professor of Biblical Exegesis in Chicago, Illinois. The general introductions of Kleinert and SohmoUer are too brief and incomplete for our purpose, and therefore I requested Dr. Elliott to prepare an independent essay on the subject.
2. HosEA. By Kev. Dr. Otto Schmoller. Translated from the German and en- larged by James Frederick McCurdy, M. A., of Princeton, N. J.
8. Joel. By Otto Schmoller. Translated and enlarged by Rev. John Forstth, D. D., LL. D., Chaplain and Professor of Ethics and Law in the United States Military Academy, West Point, N. Y.
4. Amos. By Otto Schmoller. Translated and enlarged by Rev. Talbot W Chambers, D. D., Pastor of the Collegiate Reformed Dutch Church, New York.
6. Obadiah. By Rev. Paul Kleinert, Professor of Old Testament Theology in the University of Berlin. Translated and enlarged by Rev. George R. Bliss, D. D., Professor in the University of Lewisburg, Pennsylvania.
6. Jonah. By Prof. Paul Kleinert, of the University of Berlin. Translated and en- larged by Rev. Charles Elliott, Professor of Biblical Exegesis in Chicago.'
7. MicAH. By Prof. Paul Elleinert, of Berlin, and Prof. George R. Bliss, of Lewis- burg.
8. Nahum. By Prof. Paul Kleinert, of Berlin, and Prof. Charles Elliott, ol Chicago.
9. Habakkuk. By Professors Kleinert and Elliott.
1 ObadjaAf JoTiah, Micha, Nahum^ Habakuk, Zephanja/l. Wissenshaftlich undfUr den Gebrauch der Kirche ausgelegt von Paul Kleinert, Pfarrer zu Se. GertroMd und a. Professor an der Vniversitdt zu Berlin. Bielefeld u. Leipzig, 1868. — Die Tropketen Hosea^ Joel und Amos. Theologiseh-hojniletisch bearbeitet von Orro Soqholleb, Licent. der Theologies Diaconus m Vrach. Bielef. und Leipzig, 1872.
3 The commentary of Rev. W. Fbebsel on these three Prophets (Die nachexiliseken Propheten, Gotha, 1870) WM originally prepared for Lange's Bible-work^ but was rejected by Dr. Lange mainly on account of Presael's views on thf genuineness and integrity of Zechariah. It was, howerer, independently published, and wad made use of, like othex eouunentaries, by the authors of the respectire sections in this volume.
8 Dr. Elliott desires to render his acknowledgments to the Rev. Reuben Dederick, of Chicago, and the Rev. Jacob Lotke, of Faribault, Minnesota, tbr valuable assistance in translating some difficult passages In Kleineit's CommentarlM in Jonah, Nahum, and Habakkuk.
n PBEFACB BY THE GENERAL EDITOR.
10. Zephaniah. By Professors Kleinert and Elliott.
11. Haggai. By James Fredeeick McCurdt, M. A., Princeton, N. J.
12. Zechariah. By Eev. Talbot W. Chambers, D. D., New York. (See special preface.)
13. Malachi. By Eev. Joseph Packard, D. D., Professor of Biblical Literature in the Theological Seminary at Alexandria, Virginia.
The contributors to this volume were directed carefully to consult the entire ancient and modern literature on the Minor Prophets and to enrich it with the latest results of Grerman and Anglo-American scholarship.
The remaining parts of the Old Testament are all under way, and will be published aa fast as the nature of the work will permit.
PHILIP SCHAFF.
DiaoK iHHttoaiQU SofWAEr, Niw Yom, January, 1874.
GENERAL INTRODUCTION
(O TBS
PROPHETIC WRITINGS OF THE OLD TESTAMENT*
AITD ESFECIALLT TO TBB
MINOR PROPHETS.
BT
CHARLES ELLIOTT, D. D.
nonssoK 07 biblical literatuke and exeoesis, in the fresbytebian ehsolooioak
BUONABT 07 THE NOBIHWESI, CHIOAQO, ILLINOIS.
NEW TOEK: CHAELES SCEIBNEE'S SONS,
btcnd according to Act of Congress, In the year 1874| bf
I SoEiBNER, Armstrong, and Compajtt,
■ the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washingfaf.
GENERAL INTRODUCTION
TO THB
MINOR PROPHETS.*
Meaning of the Words Prophet and Prophecy.
The ordinary Hebrew word for prophet is Nabi (Heb. N^33), derived from the verb N3j which is connected by Gesenius with 1?33. The former of these verbs is used in , .„,.
y 1, Nubtt
the Niphal and Hithpael species in the sense of speaking under a divine influence : the latter signifies in the Kal, to boil forth, to gush out, to flow, as a fountain. If this etymology is correct, the noun will designate a person, who bursts forth with spiritual utterances under the divine impulse, or simply one who pours forth words. Freytag defines the correspond- ing word in Arabic \ Lo A editus, elatus fuit, annuntiavit, renuntiavit alter alteri, se prophetam dixit, propheticum munus mndicavit sibi.
The form S''33 is like that of b"'tOp, and is taken by some in a passive sense, literally, one who is divinely in-spired. This is the opinion of Bunsen and Davidson. But Ewald, Haver- nick, Oehler, Hengstenberg, Bleek, Lee, Pusey, McCaul, and the great majority of Biblical critics, prefer the active sense of announcing, pouring forth the declarations of God, as more in accordance with the usage of the word.
Two other Hebrew words are used to designate a prophet, namely, HNT and i^}n. Both these words signify one who sees, and are usually rendered in the LXX. by 2. Roth and pXiiTdiv, or opSiv, sometimes by Trpo^ip-iys (1 Chron. xxvi. 28 ; 2 Chron. xvi. 7, chozeh. 10). The three words occur in 1 Chron. xxix. 29, where they seem to be contrasted with each other : " Now the acts of David the King, first and last, behold they are written in the book of Samuel the seer (Roeh), and in the book of Nahum the prophet {Ndbi), and in the book of Gad the seer (Chozeh). Roeh is used twelve times in the Bible (1 Sam. ix. 9, 11, 18, 19 ; 2 Sam. xv. 27 ; 1 Chron. ix. 22; xxvi. 28; xxix. 29; 2 Chron. xvi. 7, 10; Is. XXX. 10), and in seven of these it is applied to Samuel. It was superseded in general use by the word Ndbi, by which Samuel himself was <lesignated as well as by Roeh (1 Sam. iii. 20 ; 2 Chron. xxxv. 18), and which seems to have revived after a period of desuetude (1 Sam. ix. 9), and to have been applied to the company of prophets mentioned in 1 Sam. x. 5, 10, 11, 12, and in xix. 20, 24. The verb nSI, from which it is derived, is the common word in piose signifying " to see ; " HTn — whence comes the substantive il* n — is more poet.
ical. ^itn, another derivative, is the word constantly used for the prophetical vision. It is found in Samuel, Chronicles, Psalms, Proverbs, and in most of the prophets.
li has been much debated whether there is any difierence in the usage of these words,
1 The books used most in preparing this Introduction are Hengstenberg^s Christology, Bean Stanley's Hvitory of the JeufKh Church, Auberlen On Daniel, Fairbairn On Prophecy, Davisotl On Prophecy, Stuart's Hints on Prophecy, Bleek'B Introduction to the Old Testament, Eeil's Introduction to the Old Testament, Alexander's Introduction to his Commen- tary on Isaiah, Smith's Dictionary of the Bible, and Kitto's Biblical Cyclopadta. See also the list of Commentariefl on the Prophets at the close of the Introduction, No. IX. ; and Knobel's Prophetismus der Hebraer (1837, 2 Tols.) ; D«l> 'tzsch's Biblisch-prophet. Theologie (1846); Gust. Baur's Gesck. der alt. test. Weissa^ng (1861 fiCLq.).
GENERAL INTRODUCTION.
and if any, what that difference is. Some consider NaU to express the official prophet, that \s one who beloncred to the prophetic order, while Roeh and Chozeh denote those who re- ceived a propheti°cal revelation. The case of Gad is supposed to afford a clue to the diffi- culty. In 2 Sam. xxiv. 11, this prophet is described as the " Nabi; " in 1 Chron. xxi. 9, as David's " Chozeli;" and in 2 Chron. xxix. 25, as the King's" CAozeA," while Nathan is styled in the same place " the Nabi." Hence it has been suggested that Chozeh was the special designation of the prophet attached to the royal household ; and that this individual might, at the same time, be a NaU. Perhaps it is safe to say that the same persons were desig- nated by the three words NdU, Maeh, and Chozeh, the last two titles being derived from the mode of receiving the divine communications ; the first, from the utterance of them to others. In any view of the case there can be httle doubt that Nabi was employed to designate one who belonged to the prophetic order. When Gregory Nazianzen (Or., 28) calls Ezekiel o ,wv fjLeydxZv iiriiTT-,]-; Kal £i^y7,T^9 fMvaTTjplwv, he gives a sufficiently exact translation of tie two titles Chozeh or Roeh, and Ndbi.^ ^ _ i tr -w
The word Nabi is uniformly translated in the LXX. by Trpot^T/TJ/s, and in the A.^ V. by The word " prophet." The proper sense of Trpb is before, in front, as opposed to^ oiriaOe, cropiiet does JjeUnd. Hence, according to the best lexicographers, the idea of priority in °i°nif""one ti™<^ ^^ ^"'^^ ^^ secondary to that of antecedence and priority in place. This ^ho'prediiS view would give to Tvpi in Trpo^i-qpi and 7rpc^>iTr?s, a local instead of a temporal future sicniflcation. Hpoi^Tiri;; would, in that case, denote an authoritative speaker in
rt£'te°rm tli^e name of God; and it is applied m this sense, in the Classics, to the_ official prophecy re- expounders of the oracles, and to poets, as the prophets of the Muses, i. e., as Etricted to gpgaking in theu- name, at their suggestion, or by their inspiration, tfon orsuoh The classical passage as to the meaning of the word Nabi is Exodus iv. 14-16 : cTents. 11 j^nd t]ie anger of the Lord was kindled against Moses, and he said. Is not
Aaron the Levite thy brother ? I know that he can speak well. And also, behold, he cometh forth to meet thee : and when he seeth thee, he will be glad in his heart. And thou shalt speak unto him, and put words in his mouth; and I will be with thy mouth, and with his mouth, and will teach you what ye shall do. And he shall be thy spokesman unto the people ; and he shall be, even he shall be to thee instead of a mouth, and thou shalt be to bim instead of God." Take in connection with this Ex. vii. 1 : " I have made tliee a god to Pharaoh ; and Aaron thy brother shall be thy prophet " (Ndbi) ; and the meaning of the word becomes plain. It means, one who speaks for another ; who utters the words that another has put into his mouth. His communications may have reference to the past, to the present, or to the future ; and may also extend to absolute and universal truth. These com- munications constitute prophecy.
The restriction, in modern usage, of the term prophet to one who predicts future events, Restriction and prophecy to the prediction of these events, has arisen firom the fact that a of the terms j^rge portion of the prophetic writings, and precisely that very portion which ig WOT Am/ in oiost likely to impress the reader, is of this description. But these words do not modern admit of any such restriction in the Scriptures of both the Old and the New
usage. Testament. In these they admit of the sense of declaration and interpretation.
In the latter sense it was used by Lord Bacon, who speaks of an exercise called proph- esying. " The ministers within a precinct," says Lord Bacon, " did meet upon a week day in some principal town, where there was some ancient grave minister that was president, and an auditory of gentlemen, or other persons of leisure. Then every minister successively, beginning with the youngest, did handle one and the same part of Scripture, spending sever- ally some quarter of an hour or better, and in the whole some two hours. And so the exer- cise being begun and concluded with prayer, and the president giving a text for the next meeting, the assembly was dissolved." Jeremy Taylor uses the word, in the same sense, in his treatise On Liberty of Prophesying. A book was published at Oxford, in 1838, bearing the title. On the Prophetical Office of the Church, in which the adjective " prophetical " has evidently no reference to prediction.
1 See Smith's Dictionary of the Bible, s. y. " Prophet ; " Kitto's Bib. Ojclopmdia, s. t. " Prophecy | " tee On tlu Im ipiraiioH o/ the Holy Scriptures, Appendix J ; and Aids to Faith, Essay iil., " Prophecy."
GENERAL INTKODUCTION.
n.
Prophetical Institution and Order}
The L^iW provides for the Prophetical Institution (Deut. xviii.) ; hence it was no expe- dieat resorted to on special emergencies. Though the prediction (Deut. xviii.) The Pro- spccially relates, as the gospel history shows, to the one distinguished Prophet, Ptetioai Ih- "of whom Moses in the Law did write," yet the context (vers. 20, 21, 22) clearly provided foi shows that a succession of inferior prophets was included. The gift of prophecy io the Law. was closely connected with the general design of the Old Economy, the foundation of which was the Law recorded in the Pentateuch. In the Law, as an epitome, the rest of the Old Testament is contained, as to its seminal principles. The later hooks are virtually a devel- opment and application of what is comprised in the Pentateuch. To make this develop- ment and application the prophetical order was instituted.
The Scriptures do not represent an unbroken series of prophets, each inducted into office by his predecessor. At least, they are silent on this point, except in the cases ihe Scrip- of Joshua and Elisha, the former of whom was inducted into office by Moses, and 'ires do not the latter by Elijah. The prophets are described as deriving their prophetical J^J'^u"' *° character immediately from God, and do not seem to have attached much inipor- series ot tance to a series of incumbents, each receiving his commission from another, or prophets, from others. It was different with the priesthood, whose succession and indue- g^ j^to ^jj^g tion into office were strictly prescribed. by his pred-
From the days of Joshua to Eli "there was no open vision" (1 Sam. iii. 1). ''^ssor. TJnder the judges the original constitution remained unchanged, though the nation was subjected to many vicissitudes of fortune. But in the time of Samuel marked changes passed over the state, and others were imminent. Kingly government was established ; the priest- hood was to be transferred, the kingdom to be dismembered, and the nation to be led into captivity. Changes so serious needed special interposition. Hence the revival and enlarge- ment of prophetic revelation. From Samuel to Malachi prophet followed prophet, in un- broken continuity, predicting the great changes that were coming upon the nation, and de- nouncing the sins that provoked the justice of heaven.
Many portions of the prophetical writings are of such a character, that the writers could not have recorded them withou.' a special communication from heaven. They Nature of are, strictly speaking, Revelations. Other portions are not of this nature. They prophetic in- are such as must have been familiar to the sacred writers. Historical incidents **""■ '™' were continually occurring around them of which they were cognizant. While it is evident that a supernatural knowledge was necessary in the former case, it is not so evident in the latter. They might have recorded historical events, as other historians have done, without any special divine aid. They might have done so, but they did not. In the former case they spoke by revelation, and in the latter by the inspiration ^ of the Holy Spirit. This they claim, and the writers of the New Testament accord it to them (2 Tim. iii. 16 ; 2 Pet. i. 21). They preface their announcements with " Thus saith the Lord'."
In regard to the nature of prophetic inspiration, it is sufficient to state that it was plen- ary, or fully adequate to the attainment of the end. It is vain and needless to attempt any description of its mode. So far as anything can be inferred from incidental or explicit statements of the Scripture, the most usual method of communication would appear to have been that of immediate vision. Micaiah saw (1 Kings xxii. 17) ; Isaiah saw (Is. vi. 1); Seer and Vision are used for prophet and prophecy.
Some have supposed that the prophets, under the influence of inspiration, were in a con- dition expressed by the Greek word cKorao-is, «'■ e., in a state of subjection to a higher power. Their own faculties, according to this view, were held in complete abeyance. Such
1 See Alexander's Introduction to the Prophecies of haiah.
2 A diatinction is made between revelation and inspiration. By revelation is meant a direct communication from God to man, either of such Icnowledge as man could not of himself attain to, or which was not, in point of fact, from what., ever cause, known to the person who received the revelation. Inspiration, on the other hand, is that actuating energy of the Holy Spirit, guided by which the human agents chosen by God have oiBcially declared his will by word of moutb or hare committed to writing the several portions of the Bible. — Lee on Inspiration^ pp. 40, 41.
GENERAL INTRODUCTION'.
a condition of mind was regarded as a natural and necessary sign of inspiration, on the part of the pretended prophets and diviners of the heathen. They exhibited the outward signs of violent excitement, resembling insanity. Hence the etymological affinity of the Greek words juavTts, /iavta, and /xatVoyuat. The early fathers uniformly speak of this maniacal ex- citement as characteristic of the inspiration claimed by the heathen diviners ; and describe the inspiration of the Hebrew prophets as distinguished by the opposite peculiarities of calm- ness, self-possession, and active intelligence. Their minds may have been, on certain occa- sions, in a highly elevated state ; but we have no reason to think that their mental condition was a morbid one. The action of the Holy Spirit did not supersede the exercise of their own intelligence : He spoke in them, not by them as mere instruments ; and they, while uttering or recording his communications, preserved each his distinct individuality.
It is the general opinion that Samuel instituted companies, or colleges of prophets ; and Had th *'^**' " *^® ^°°^ "^ ^^^ prophets " mentioned in Scripture, were young men in a
prophets any couTse of preparation for the prophetic ministry. We find one of these com- trainingfor panics. Or colleges, during Samuel^s life-time, at Ramah (1 Sam. xix. 19, 20) , their work? ^^^^^ afterwards at Bethel (2 Kings ii. 3) ; Jericho (2 Kings ii. 5) ; Gilgal (2 Kings iv. 38) ; and elsewhere (2 Kings vi. 1). These colleges were probably, in their con- stitution and object, similar to our theological seminaries, which are sometimes called " Schools of the Prophets." Into them were gathered promising students, and there they were trained for the office which they were destined to fill. So successful were these institu- tions, that from the time of Samuel to the completion of the Canon of the Old Testament, there seems never to have been wanting a due supply of men to keep up the line of official prophets.
To this it may be objected that the ministry of the prophets depended on the gift of in- spiration, for which no human training could compensate, or prepare them. But although they could not act as prophets without inspiration, they might be prepared for those parts of their work which depended upon Kterary culture.
The prophets, though inspired, were not omniscient. They were the spokesmen of God, Had the the mouth of God to communicate his messages to men. They had visions ; they prophets a jqj^, _. pictures were presented to their spiritual intuition ; but their understand- edgeofwhat ^"S^ were not SO miraculously enlarged as to grasp the whole of the divine coun- they pre- sels, which they were commissioned to enunciate. We have the testimony of the dieted. prophets themselves (Dan. xii. 8 ; Zech. iv. 5 ; 1 Pet. i. 10, 11) that they did
not comprehend them. These passages, however, have been pushed so far by some as to make it appear that the prophets were only speaking machines. This extreme must be avoided as well as the other, which would make them omniscient. The writer of the article on Prophecy, in Smith's Dictionary of the Bible, commenting on 1 Pet. i. 10, 11, says, that the prophets " after having uttered predictions on those subjects occupied themselves in searching into the full meaning of the words that they had uttered." This statement is per- haps not sufficiently guarded. The Apostle writes : epcDvuvres ^k rtva ^ ttoIov Kaipov, in which riva is interrogative and agrees with Kaipov, and not with irpdyfxa.Ta understood. If the Apostle had designed to say, that the prophets searched into wJiat things they had ut- tered, he would have written : ci? rtVa, koI ttoZov Kaipov- The expression should, therefore, be rendered, searching what time, or what manner of time. This conveys a, very diiFerent idea, and makes the object of the prophets' search, not the meaning of the words which they had uttered, hut some additional knowledge concerning the subjects of which they had spoken. Zech. iv. 5 may mean no more than that the prophet did not understand the symbols men- tioned in the preceding verses.
In Dan. xii. 8, the prophet declares that he " heard, but understood not." This evidently relates to what was suggested to his mind by the declarations of ver. 7, where it is said that the end of the wonders shall be after " a time, times, and a half." Daniel does not inquire like the angel, in ver 6, " how long " (^na-^3J) " shall it be to the end of these wonders ? " but " what shall be the end " (ninn.N) " of these things." If nnnK {end, latter state, final lot) means the same as Vf? {end) in ver. 6, the interrogative TTQ (what) used by Daniel is inappropriate- His question, therefore, must have respect to the state of things at the close of the " time, times, and a half," ver. 7.'
' Hints on the Interpretation of Prophecr/. By M. S*nart. Second Edition. Andorer, 1842 Pages 64-67
GENERAL INTRODUCTION.
A full discussion of this point is not necessary to the present purpose. The prophets, in many cases, saw " through a glass darkly ; " but they did not, like mere automata, utter wordl which they did not understand. They were inspired and guided by the Holy Spirit, whose will they revealed. " Unto them it was revealed, that not unto themselves, but unto us they did minister the things which are now reported unto you by them that have preached the gospel unto you with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven " (1 Pet. i. 12).
The prophets had a practical ofBce to discharge. It was part of their commission to show the people of God " their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins." neiation of — (Is. Iviii. 1 ; Ezek. xxii. 2 ; xliii. 10 ; Micah iii. 8.) They were, therefore, pas- the propheta tors and ministerial monitors of the people of God. It was their duty to admon- ^ "" •*"' ish and reprove, to denounce prevailing sins, to threaten the people with the ^ "' terrors of divine judgment and call them to repentance. They also brought the message of consolation and pardon (Is. xl. 1, 2). They were watchmen set upon the walls of Zion to blow the trumpet and give timely warning of approaching danger (Ezek. iii. 17; xxxiii. 7, 8, 9 ; Jer. vi. 17 ; Is. Ixii. 6).
The relation of the prophets to the people bore a greater resemblance to that of the Chris- tian ministry than to that of the priests. The latter approached God in behalf of men, by means of sacrifice ; the former approached men in behalf of God. They were his ambassa- dors, beseeching men to turn from their evil ways and live. The functions of the prophetical office were, therefore, not identical with those of the priesthood. The prophets were not priests, with the exception of Jeremiah and Ezekiel (Jer. i. 1 ; Ezek. 1. 3).
They do not seem to have sustained any definite or fixed relation to the government. They were not officers of state, though they exerted an influence upon rulers and state affairs. This they did not by official formal action, but as special messengers from God, whose divine legation even the apostate kings of Israel acknowledged. Sometimes the kings refused to hear the prophet's message ; but such obstinacy was the sealing of their doom.
It is not easy to determine the mode of life which the prophets led. It was probably subject to no uniform and rigid law. Some have inferred from Elijah's hairy Mode of life dress and John the Baptist's imitation of it, that they were distinguished by a oftheproph. peculiar dress and an ascetic mode of life. But the conclusion is too hasty. Their *''' dress sometimes may have been a " sermo propheticus realis," to teach the people what they ought to do, and not a piece of asceticism. They do not seem to have been anxious of at- tracting notice by ostentatious display ; nor did they seek wealth, but some of them, and probably the most of them, lived in poverty and want (1 Kings xiv. 3 ; 2 Kings iv. 1, 38, 42; vi. 5). It is probable that the writer of the Epistle to the Hebrews (xi. 37, 38) alludes to the sufferings and privations of the prophets especially, in their temporal humiliation, a vivid representation of which we have in the lives of Elijah and Elisha, in the books of the Kings ; and in the case of Jeremiah, who concludes the description of his sufferings (chap. XX.) by cursing the day of his birth. Repudiated by the world in which they were aliens, they typified the life of Him, whose appearance they announced, and whose spirit dwelt in them. Their persecution and suffering did not arise from opposition to them as a distinct class, leading an unsociable, ascetic mode of life, but from opposition to their faithful ministry. From the very nature of that ministry, it was exempted from the rules of outward uniform- ity. Eichhorn has justly mentioned as a characteristic difference between the heathen and the Jewish prophets, that whereas the former tried to enhance their authority by darkness and seclusion, and mysterious accompaniments, the latter moved among the people without any such factitious advantages.
Other topics, concerning the prophetical office, the functions and mode of life of the prophets, will readily occur to the careful reader of the Holy Scriptures. The mere men- tion of some of these must suffice. The prophets were the national poets of Israel. Music, poetry, and hymns were a part of the studies of the class from which, generally speaking, they were derived. They were annafists and historians. A great portion of their writings b direct or indirect history. According to the testimony of Josephus the whole of the Old Testament was written by them. They were preachers of patriotism. Their patriotism, as Bubjects of the theocracy, was founded on motives of religion. The enemy of the nation was the enemy of God. Hence their denunciation of an enemy was a denunciation of a representative of evil ; their exhortations in behalf of Jerusalem were exhortations in bebalf of God's kingdom on earth.
GENERAL INTRODUCTION.
m.
Contents and Sphere of the Prophetical Writings.
As the function of the prophet was not limited to the disclosure of the foture, but in The contents eluded in it the expounding and application of the Law, the declaration of God's are doctrinal will in regard to present duty and of absolute and universal truth, so the pro- und pre- phetic volume is not confined to prediction. In accordance with this twofold
dictiTB. character of the prophetic oiEce, it contains two elements, which may be called
the moral or doctrinal, and the predictive.
These two parts are not disjoined in the prophetical writings, neither were they disjoined These two i" the design and communication of prophecy ; but it will conduce to a better parts not understanding of the subject to view them separately. The sequel, therefore, diigoined. ^jjj exhibit a brief summary of the principal doctrines of the former, and the scheme of the latter.
By the sphere of prophecy are meant the parties for whom it was given, and the objects Sphere of which it more immediately contemplated. Prophecy, in its stricter se&oc of con- prophecy, taining pre-intimations of good things to come, is for the benefit of the church. The church, consequently, is its proper sphere. Only in an incidental and remote manner could it have been intended to bear upon those without ; for it was the revelation of the L(/rd's secret in regard to the future movements of his providence, which belongs peculiarly to them that fear him (Ps. xxv. 14). It was not a revelation, however, for such as might needlessly seek to pry into the future, but for the higher purpose, especially in times of dark- ness and perplexity, of furnishing the light that might be required for present faith and duty It is not God's common method to lay open his hidden counsel respecting things destined to come to pass, even to the children of his covenant ; for such knowledge, if imparted with any measure of fullness and precision, would be a dangerous possession, and would tend to destroy the simplicity of their trust in God, and beget an unhealthy craving after human cal- culations and worldly expedients. It is only, therefore, within certain limits, or in cases that may be deemed somewhat exceptional, that God can grant, even to his chosen, a prophetical insight into future events. In so far as it may be needful to awaken or sustain hope in times of darkness and discouragement, to inspire confidence in the midst of general backsliding and rebuke, at the approach of imminent danger to the life of faith, to give due intimation of the brooding evil, — at such times and for such purposes, God's merciful regard to the safety and well-being of his people may fitly lead Him to provide them with an occasional and partial disclosure of the future ; but the same regard would equally constrain Him to withhold it when not necessary for the moral ends of his government.
The cases of Balaam and Daniel, both of whom primarily disclosed to the enemies of Apparent ex- God's kingdom the things destined to come to pass, may seem to conflict with ceptionstothis the view that the church is the sphere of prophecy. Both these men, however, ^"^' occupied a kind of exceptional position. They stood apart, not only from the
prophetical order of men in Israel, but also from the common affairs of the church. Hence the writings of Daniel, notwithstanding their high prophetical character, have had a place assigned them in the Jewish Canon distinct from the writings of strictly prophetical men . But in regard to the point immediately before us, the gi-ounds of exception are more apparent than real. For in the case of both Balaam and Daniel it was mainly for the light and encouragement of the church that the word of prophecy came by them ; only the circum- stances of the times were such as to render the camp of the enemy the most appropriate -watch-tower, where it should be received and primarily made known. At both periods Israel Ehad come into direct collision with the kingdoms of the world ; in the one case as a new, in ihe other as a small and shattered power, standing over against others of mighty prowess, iBud, as might seem, of all-prevailing energy.^
( There are prophecies against Babylon, Tyre, Egypt, and other kingdoms, which, as being SMdictions delivered to the people of God to comfort them by revealing to them the fate of «g^"' their enemies, cannot be considered as exceptions to the view taken. Tho proph-
1 Falrbairn On Prophecy, chapter ill.
GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 9
ecy of Jonah, however, against Nineveh, is of a different character and seems to Babylon, be exceptional. The prophet was sent to a heathen power to denounce the judg- NineWh ' ments of God against it. He did not, in his own land and among his own and other people, preach against Nineveh, but he entered the Great City itself and de- ^^"Bioms nounced the judgment of God against it. Jonah was a typical character and his mission to Nineveh may have been typical of the mission of Israel to be "a light of the Gentiles,' and intended to awaken the nation to a consciousness of its mission ; for not only the Mes- siah but the Israel of God was sent to be a mediator or connecting link between Jehovah and the nations.^ The prophecy of Jonah, therefore, may not be really exceptional, as it may have been intended as a type to the ancient church of the mission, which it had neglected and forgotten. It had acted like Jonah, but with greater success, when he attempted to flee to Tarshish, in a merchant vessel, to evade the commission, which God had given him to discharge.
IV,
Doctrinal Prophecy.
It does not fall in with the aim of this introductory treatise to exhibit, in detail, all the doctrines taught in the prophetic writings. It is sufficient to notice briefly the principal ones, and to state their relation to the Law and the Gospel.
The prophetical Scriptures speak of God as an eternal, self-existent, and spiritual Being. They speak of Him as a person, — a self-conscious, intelligent, moral and volun- DocWno of tary agent, doing all things according to the purpose of his own will. They '
ascribe to Him all the attributes of such a Being in infinite perfection.
No doctrine is more plainly taught than the unity of God. " I am the first, and I am the last ; and besides me there is no God " (Is. xliv. 6). At the same time the Unity and doctrine of a trinity of persons — a doctrine more fully developed in the New ''"•"'y- Testament — is clearly intimated. In Is. vii. 14 and ix. 6, 7, we read of the birth of a child, whose mother was a Virgin. That this child was the eternal son of God, equal with the Father, is proved — (1) fi-om his name Immanuel, which means God with us, i. e., God in our nature ; (2) from his titles. Wonderful, Counsellor, the Mighty God, Father of Eternity, and Prince of Peace ; (3) from the character of his Kingdom : it is everlasting and univer- sal. The prophet Micah predicted (chap. v. 1, 5) that one was to be born in Bethlehem, who was to be the Ruler of Israel, i. e., of all the people of God. Although he was to be born in time and made of a woman, his goings forth were from of old, from everlasting. He was to manifest, in his government, the possession of divine attributes and glory. His dominion was to be universal and its effects peace.
We also read of the Spirit of Jehovah, to whom are ascribed intelligence and will. The possession of these implies personality. In Ezekiel (i. 4-28) it is the Spirit that animates- the fourfold cherubim and their mystic wheels. It is the Spirit, who entered into the prophet and set him on his feet, and lifted him up between the earth and heaven, and brought himi in a vision to Chaldsea, and said to him, " Son of man, I send thee to the children of Israel. . . . . Say unto them, Thus saith the Lord " (Ezek. ii. 2-9). It was the Spirit that breathed life into the dry bones (Ezek. xxxvii. 9-14). Micah asks : " Is the Spirit of the Lord straightened " ? (ii. 7). " I am full of power by the Spirit of the Lord " (Micah iii. 8). Joel foretells the Pentecostal effusion of the Spirit (chap. ii. 28, 29). Many other passages might be adduced from the prophets, containing distinct notices of the pres- ence and power of the Spirit. These passages, as parts of a progressive revelation per- fected in the New Testament, cannot be made, by any process of criticism, to mean a mere divine influence.
The God of the prophets is the Creator of all things (Is. xlii. 5) ; and the upholder of all things (Jer. x. 23 ; xviii. 6 ; Dan. v. 23). They do not deify the laws of Creation — nature: these are only his ordinances and servants. They are the modes of b™""^*"*' his operation. He sits behind the elements that He has formed, giving birth proyidenoe. »nd movement to all things. " When he uttereth his voice, there is a multitude of
1 Alexander on Isaiah xlli. 6.
10 GENERAL INTRODUCTION.
water* in the heavens, and he causeth vapors to ascend from the ends of the earth ; he maketh lightnings with rain, and bringeth forth the wind out of his treasures ' (Jer. x, 13), " Whatsoever the Lord pleased, that did He in heaven, and in earth, in the seas, and all deep places " (Ps. cxxxv. 6). He causeth the grass to grow for the cattle, and lierb for the service of man. " The young lions roar after their prey, and seek their meat from God. These all wait upon thee ; that *ou mayest give them their meat in due season. That thou givest them, they gather : thou openost thy hand, they are filled with good " (Ps. civ. 14, 21, 27, 28). " O Lord, thou preservest man and beast " (Ps. xxxvi. 6). " Thy right hand upholdeth me." (Ps. Ixiii. 8). Tliese passages teach a universal, particular, and present Providence, controlling all things and. directing their issues. It is not restricted to man, but extends to the beasts of the field. It is not confined to the Jewish theocracy, where it is displayed by more palpable manifestations ; but it embraces Egypt and Babylon, Assyria and Persia, Moab and Ammon, the isles of the Gentiles, in a word, all the nations of the earth.
Tliis Providence is asserted, when the event in question is brought about with no sensible disturbance of the ordinary influence of human motives ; with no derangement of what is commonly called the natural course of things. Cyrus, for instance, whom the Greek histo- rian describes, no doubt truly, as pursuing his career of conquest, in his own proper charac- ter, was only an instrument appointed for purposes of the divine government, which purposes the prophet Isaiah unfolds to us. Moses was a deliverer from Egypt, and Cyrus from Baby- lon ! the former acted under an express legation, and was clothed with the power of work- ing miracles ; the latter had no such extraordinary power given to him. Yet divine Provi- dence wrought by both ; and so that Providence, in its ordinary course, is certain, active, and universal. Such is the account of the present constitution of things, which the tenor of prophecy affirms. In conformity with this account, the prophets deliver their predictions of future events, not as if they were announcing the bare truth of the future facts, but b pur pose and design. They indulge a strain of prediction, which carries in itself the seed of its accomplishment, and sometimes declare themselves to have been constituted the agents of the divine counsels. " I the Lord have spoken it, and I will do it " (Ezek. xxxvi. 3t ., is subjoined to the event declared. " Shall there be evil in a city, and the Lord hath not done it " ? (Amos iii. 6). " See," saith the Lord to Jeremiah, " I have this day set thee over the nations, and over the kingdoms, to root out, and to pull down, and to destroy, and to throw down, and to build, and to plant " (Jer. i. 10). This language is figurative, for the prophet himself was not to do these things ; but it is plain who was to do them. Again, " Hast thou not heard long ago, how I have done it, and of ancient times that I have formed 1 it ? Now have I brought it to pass, that thou shouldest be to lay waste defenced cities into ; ruinous heaps " (Is. xxxvii. 26). The Assyrian desolator, in his grasping ambition, was the I unconscious servant of an unseen Power, the instrument of that unerring wisdom that rules I the world.
Prophecy is more or less a commentary upon the doctrine of divine providence. It iijiepresents the future event, which it brings to view, as a part of that system of things in \vAich the Creator is present by the direction of his power, and the counsels of his wisdom, :a^pointing the issues of futurity as well as foreseeing them ; acting with " his mighty hand and outstretched arm " seen or unseen ; ruling in the kingdoms of men, ordering all things in heaven and earth.
The anthropology of the prophets is aa full and complete as their theology. Man was created by God (Mai. ii. 10) ; he has a common origin (ibidem) ; he has the power of reason (Ezek. xii. 2 ; Is. i. 18) ; a capacity for holiness (Is. i. 18) for knowledge and progress (Is. ii. 3, 4, 5) ; he is ruined and cannot save himself (Hos. xiii. 9 ; Jer. ii. 22 ; xiii. 23) ; he is a subject of God's moral government and owes entire obedience to his law (Dan. iv. 34, 35 ; Ezek. xviii. 4, 5, 9 ; xxxiii. 11-16 ; Is. i. 19, 20) worship and homage must be rendered to God (Mai. i. 11 ; iii. 10; Is. Ix. 6, 7). The rela- tions of men to one another are clearly stated, and the duties arising out of these relations enforced ; in a word all the duties of the decalogue are strictly enjoined.
Uader the old dispensation, as well as under the new, the favor of God was secured by faith. The Apostle Paul, in his Epistle to the Romans (i. 17), quotes, in confir- mation of the doctrine of justification by faith, Habakkuk ii. 4. Throughout tha pirpi^tic writings we find exhortations to trust in Jehovah and the result of confidence in
GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 11
Him. " Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee : because ha trusteth in thee. Trust ye in the Lord for ever : for in the Lord Jehovah is everlasting strength " (Is. xxvi. 3, 4). This confidence, in its ground and object, is not necessarilj identical with evangelical faith, yet it is the same in principle. The writer of the Epistle tc the Hebrews enumerates its effects ; but it some of his instances, we are hardly warranted in assuming the existence of that faith, which justifies the sinner. Yet the doctrine of a justifying faith is clearly taught, and in some passages necessarily implied, in the law, and in the prophets, as the Apostle Paul asserts and proves, in his Epistle to the Romans (Rom. iii. 21 ; chap. iv. 3 ; compare Gen. xv. 6; Is. liii. 11 ; Jer. xxxiii. 16, 16).
The prophets inculcate with remarkable clearness and decision the doctrine of repent- ance. " Let the Wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts ; atd let him return unto the Lord, and He will have mercy upon him ; and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon " (Is. 1 v. 7) . " Then shall ye remember your evil ways, and your doitigs that were not good, and shall loathe yourselves in your own sight for your iniquities, and for your abominations " (Ezek. xxxvi. 31 ; xx. 43). They preach the necessity of it, in order to escape ruin (Ezek. xiv. 6 ; xviii. 30). They invest it with a high moral dignity (Is. Ivii. 15). They encourage it by promises (Hos. vi. 1, 2, 3; Joel li. 12, 13).
The doctrinal teaching of the prophets is intermediate between the Law and the Gospel. It is a step in advance of the Law and preparatory to the Christian dispensa- tion. It goes beyond the Law, in respect to the greater distinctness and fullness trinal teash of some of its doctrines and precepts ; it is a more perfect exposition of the i°g of the pliaciples of personal holiness and virtue ; its sanctions have less of an exclusive ?^°^njg%at, reference to temporal promises and incline more to evangelical ; the mere ritual between th* of the Law begins to be discountenanced by it ; and the superior value of a ^'^ """' "'" Spiritual service is enforced. The Law had said : " Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might " (Deut. vi. 5). Nothing could go beyond this commandment, in its extent ; but where nothing can be added to extend a law, much may be added to expound it, animate its spirit, and direct its prac- tice. It is precisely this that the prophets do. They everywhere recognize the authority of the Law of Moses, exalt its practical force, and improve its obligations. Thus like Him, to whom they all bear witness, they do not destroy the law, but fulfill it. In them we have the unfolding of those germinal principles, which attain to their full development in the teaching of Christ, the Head and Crown of the prophetic order.
Predictive Prophecy. — Its Structure.
A twofold view may be taken of predictive prophecy, — its structure and verification The former constitutes the present theme of Consideration. Twofold
A question may arise in regard to the personal liberty of men, who are the ^''''• subjects of prophecy. If God has determined an event by prophecy and the preaktiTO agents to accomplish it, how can these agents be considered as acting freely ? prophecy This question has difiiculties, the solution of which does not fall in with the scope agency.' of this dissertation. All who receive, in sincerity, the statements of Scripture, tnust admit that the foreknowledge, or certain determination of the future actions of men, is cSmpatible with theii* moral freedom. " Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain " (Acts ii. 23). No greater difficulty lies against prophecy in regard to man's free agency than against preordination generally. Pharoah acted freely, though God raised him up to Show in him his power, and to declare his name throughout all the earth (Ex. ix. 16). So also did Cyrus and Nebuchadnezzar, though they were the chosen agents of God in icfeoinplishing his purposes. It never once Occurred to these men that they were mew blind Instruments ; for they were conscious ot their freedonu
12 GENERAL INTRODUCTION.
Another question may arise ag to the absolute certainty of the fulfillment of a predicted Does the pre- future event. The question here is not whether any fixed purpose and determi- diction of a nation of God is liable to be changed by the contingent actions of men ; for in render i'l^- 'I'^t respect, the truth, founded in God's nature, must stand fast forever. " God Bolnte ml is not a man, that He should lie ; neither the son of man, that He should repent : certait t j^^^^j^ jjg ^^^^^ ^^^^ gj,j^Q g^ ^^j ^^ j^ ^ ^^ y^^^-^ j£g spoken, and shall He not make
it good ? " (Num. xxiii. 19.) The question is, whether prophecy ought to be regarded, in every instance, as announcing what is fixed and conclusively determined by God ; or whether it should not to some extent, and if to some, then to what extent, be viewed as the proclamation of God's mind respecting his future dealings, on the supposition of the pirties interested standing in a certain relationship to his character and government. In the latter case the prediction might assuredly be expected to take eifect, in so far as the relatioi s con- templated in it continued ; but in the event of a change in these relations, then a correspond- ing change in regard to the prediction may reasonably be expected. This is the reil ques- tion at issue among those who concur in holding prophecy to be a supernatural disclosure of God's mind and will.
" As everything future," says Olshausen on Matthew chap, xxiv., " even that which pro- Olshauaen's ceeds from the freedom of the creature, when viewed in relation to the divine ^'^^' knowledge, can only be regarded as necessary ; so everything future, as far as it
concerns man, can only be regarded as conditional upon the use of his freedom. As obstinate perseverance in sin hastens destruction, so genuine repentance may avert it ; this is illustrated in the Old Testament, in the prophet Jonah, by the history of Nineveh, and intimated in the New Testament by Paul, when (like Abraham praying for Sodom) he describes the elements of good existing in the world as exercising a restraint upon the judg- ments of God (2 Thess. ii. 7) ; and 2 Pet. iii. 9, the delay of the Lord is viewed as an act of divine long-suffering, designed to afford men space for repentance. Accordingly when the Redeemer promises the near approach of his coming, this announcement is to be taken with the restriction (to be understood in connection with all predictions of judgments), ' AU this will come to pass, unless men avert the wrath of God by sincere repentance.' None of the predictions of divine judgments are bare, historical proclamations of that which will take place ; they are alarms calling men to repentance, — of which it may be said that they announce something for the very purpose that what they announce may not come to pass."
Hengstenberg (art. " Prophecy," Kitto's Cyclopcedia) says : " Some interpreters, mis- Hengsten- understanding passages like Jer. xviii. 8 ; xxvi. 13, have asserted with Dr. Kdster bergs Tiew. ^p_ 226 ff.), that all prophecies were conditional, and have even maintained that their revocability distinguished the true predictions ( WSissagung) from soothsaying ( Walir- sagung). But beyond all doubt, when the prophet denounces the divine judgments, he pro- ceeds on the assumption that the people will not repent, an assumption, which he knows from God to be true. Were the people to repent, the prediction would fail ; but because they will not, it is uttered absolutely. It does not follow, however, that the prophet's warn- ings and exhortations are useless. These serve ' for a witness against them ' ; and besides, amid the ruins of the mass, individuals might be saved. Viewing prophecies as conditional predictions nullifies them. The Mosaic criterion (Deut. xviii. 22), that he was a false prophet who predicted ' things which followed not nor came to pass,' would then be of no value, since recourse might always be had to the excuse, that the case had been altered by the fulfilling of the condition. The fear of introducing fatalism, if the prophecies are not taken in a conditional sense, is unfounded ; for God's omniscience, his foreknowledge, does not establish fatalism, and from divine omniscience simply is the prescience of the prophets to be derived."
" These two forms of representation," Dr. Pairbairn remarks (Fairbairn On Prophecy.
Pairbalm's '^^'^ ^°'^^ ' Carlton & Porter, 1866), " may both be characterized as somewhat
.^„_ extreme, and neither of them can be applied to the actual interpretation of the
prophetic Scriptures, without coming at many points into conflict with the un
doubted facts of the case."
Dr. F., considering an exact classification impossible, on account of the concrete character of the prospective delineations of prophecy, and the readiness with which these in theil diverse aspects run into each other, traces out a few broad and easily recognized distinctions, «rhich, for all practical purposes, may be held to be sufficient.
GENEEAL INTRODUCTION. 13
1. " There is, first, a class of prophecies, the direct and proper object of which is to dis- close God's purposes of grace to men, and indicate in its grander outlines their appointed course of development. As the ultimate ground of these purposes is plainly in God him- self, and the bringing of them into accomplishment is emphatically his work, it is evident that, in respect to this line of things, there can be no room for the operation of any condi- tional element except in regard to the subordinate relations of place and time. Whether to be sooner or later in effecting the results aimed at, whether to be effected in this particular mode, ol in some other that might be conceived, in such things, as the plan of God necessarily comeJ into contact with earthly relations and human agencies, it must presuppose a certain adapta tion in the state of the world and the conduct of individual men. Hence, in these respects, announcements might be made at one time, which, as seen from a human point of view, ap- peared to have undergone a relative change at another ; but the things themselves and all that essentially concerns their history and progressive operation in the world, being entirely and absolutely of God, must proceed in strict accordance with the intimations he gives of his mind respecting them.
•' As examples of this great class of prophecies," Dr. Fairbairn points " to the original announcement of salvation by the triumph of the woman's seed over that of the tempter ; to the promise given to Abraham that through his seed all the families of the earth should be blessed ; to the successive limitations made as to the fulfillment of this promise in its main provisions, by its special connection with the tribe of Judah, the house of David, and a virgin-born son of that house ; to the representations made of this glorious Being himself, of the constitution of his person, the place of his birth, the nature and circumstances of his career on earth, the character of his government, the final results and glories of his king- dom, with the opposite destinies of those who might set themselves in array against it, In regard to all that in this respect was purposed in the divine mind, and announced irom time to time in the prophetic Word, there could be no room for any such conditional element as might in the least affect the question whether they should actually come to pass or not ; for they were matters entering into the very core of the diane administration, and indissolubly linked to the great principles on which from the first all was destined to proceed. As con- cerns them, we have simply to do with the omniscience of God in foreseeing, his veracity in declaring, and his overruling providence in directing what should come to pass.
2. " Another class of prophecies, in their ostensible character and design widely different from the preceding, yet much akin as regards the point now unde'r consideration, consists of those which, from time to time, were uttered concerning the powers and kingdoms that stood in a rival or antagonistic position to the Kingdom of God. It is not such prophecies gener- ally, as respected those powers and kingdoms, that are now referred to, but those which were given forth concerning them, addressed not so properly to them as to the people of God, and for the purpose of allaying what naturally awoke fear and anxiety in the minds of believers. Predictions like that of Jonah to the Ninevites belong to an entirely different class ; for in this there was a direct dealing with the people of a heathen city in respect to their sin and liability to punishment ; a preaching more than a prediction ; and both preaching and pre- diction entering into the sphere of human responsibility, and intended to operate as means of moral suasion. Nineveh was npt at that time viewed as occupying a hostile position to the interests of God's kingdom in Israel, but as itself a hopeful field for spiritual agency ; more hopeful indeed than Israel itself, and fitted to tell with a wholesome influence even on the people of the Covenant. The mass of prophecies, however, uttered respecting worldly powers and states, had an entu-ely different object. Contemplating these as rival, and for the most part directly antagonistic forces, they were mainly intended to assure the hearts of God's people that whatever earthly resources and glory might for the time belong to those kingdoms, all was destined to pass away ; that their dominion, however arrogant and pow- erful, should come to an end ; while that kingdom which was more peculiarly the Lord's, and was identified with his covenant of grace and blessing, should survive all changes and attain to an everlasting as well as universal supremacy. Prophecies of this description, therefore, stood in a very close relation to those already considered ; they but exhibited the reverse side of God's covenant love and faithfulness. If the purposes of grace and holiness tonnected with his covenant were to stand, all counter authority and rival dominion must de put down ; the safety and well-being of the one of necessity involved the destruction of the other. And to certify believers that such would be the result, was the more immediate
14 GENERAL INTKODUCTION.
design of the prophecies in question ; of the later prophecy, for example, uttered respecting Nineveh by Nahum, when the city had become the centre of a God-opposing monarchy ; and of the many similar predictions scattered through the prophetic writings concerning Egypt, Babylon, Assyria, Edom, and the surrounding heathen states.
" It holds of this class of prophecies as a whole, that in their grand aim they disclose tht settled purposes of God : purposes that grow out of the essential principles of his charactei and government ; and that the results they announce are consequently to be regarded as of an absolute character. As concerned the kingdoms themselves whose destinies they un- folded, they could scarcely be said to become, through the prophecies in question, except in a very limited degree, the subjects of moral treatment ; for the prophecies were communi- cated to the covenant people rather than to them, and comparatively few of the heathen concerned might ever have come to any distinct knowledge of what had been spoken.
3. " Leaving now the two classes of prophecies which from their very nature can possess little or nothing of a conditional element, we proceed to notice those which purposely and directly bore upon men's responsibilities ; those which by means of promise or threatening placed the subjects of divine revelation under the peculiar training of heaven. Here we find from the sacred records that the conditional element has often, as a matter of fact, been strikingly exhibited ; and it must always, we conceive, be virtually if not formally and ex- pressly found intermingling itself with prophetic intimations of the kind in question. This conditionality rests upon two great and fundamental principles. The first of these is, that in God's prophetical revelation of his dealing with men as in the revelations of his mind generally, all is based on an ethical foundation and directed to an ethical aim ; so that the prediction should never be viewed apart from the moral considerations on account of or in connection with which it was uttered. And the other principle is, that in giving intimations to men or communities of approaching good or evil, God speaks as in other parts of Scrip- ture in an anthropomorphic manner ; He addresses the subjects of his threatening or promise more from a human than from a divine point of view ; in other words, He adopts that mode of representation which is most natural to men, and which is best adapted for impressing and influencing their minds.
" Let us take, as an illustration of the proper working of these principles, the striking case of Nineveh already referred to. After having sent his prophet to announce the destruction of Nineveh in a specified time, the Lord suffered the prophecy to fall into abeyance, re- frained from executing the "threatened doom, or in the language of Scripture, He repented of the evil He said He would do to the city, because of the moral change that had meanwhile taken place among its inhabitants, as manifested in their turning from their evil ways '' God acts on the principles of righteousness, and, in accordance with these. He must change his dealings toward men, when their relation to Him has become changed. Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right? (Gen. xviii. 25). "Hear now, O Israel, is not my way equal? Are not your ways unequal ? When a righteous man turneth away from his righteousness and committeth iniquities, and dieth in them ; for the iniquity that he hath done shall he die. Again, when the wicked man turneth away from his wickedness that he hath commit- ted, and doeth that which is lawful and right, he shall save his soul alive " (Ezek. xviii. 25-27).
After these preliminary observations, we now proceed to trace the stream of prophecy from its beginning down to the close of the Old Testament Canon, when, as if expectant of the advent of its great subject, it comes to a sudden pause. A like cessation occurs between Joshua and Samuel, the reasons of which will be noticed in the proper place. With the exception of these two periods of cessation, and perhaps of some others, either not men- tioned or not so distinctly marked, prophecy flows on with widening channel, until it reaches its appointed limits. In the time of Abraham it takes a double, though not a divergent course. This was necessary, as in him we have the first point of union, in prophecy, of the Jewish and Christian dispensations ; and from this era it takes up and preserves a twofold character related to them both.
The date and origin of the predictions of prophecy are coeval with the earliest history Pate of of man. This history is that of his creation, sin, and fall. No sooner had he
propiieoy. fallen than prophecy intimated a way of recovery. The first prediction was given in mercy : it contained a promise adapted to man's forfeited condition. This was the gromise of a Redeemer, who was appointed to bruise the serpent's head, that is, to spoil tbs
GENERAL INIEUDUCTION. 1&
tempter of his triumph, wliich could only be done by repairing the loss suflfered by trans- gression, This original promise is the dawn of prophecy. Man was not driven from Par* dise, until prophecy had given him some pledge of hope and consolation.
It is not our intention to enter into an exposition of this first prophecy. Its general meaning is that a redemption will succeed the fall. The person of the Redeemer, The Prote- who is to bruise the serpent's head, is not clearly revealed in the terms of the ™ngeiium,i prediction. "We are not, however, to infer that our first parents had no more prophLy. instruction on the subject than that contained in the terms of the promise. God Oea. m. 16. may have communicated much to them, which the sacred historian has not recorded, Their faith may have been directed to One, whose sacrifice was typified by the sacri fices that they offered.
This first prediction may serve to point out something of the general aim and design of all the rest. At the least, it opens to us one comprehensive subject, in which the whole human race is concerned. And since this subject was the first that introduced the revelations of prophecy, we may reasonably suppose that it was a principal one always in view, and that other predictions, when they did not specifically relate, might yet be subservient, to it, by promoting other purposes, which purposes, however, centered in the chief design. For prophecy having begun with the prospect of man's redemption, could be directed, in its subsequent course, to nothing greater. And such the fact appears, when we draw to a point the multiplied predictions of the Old Testament.
The limits and range of prophecy were as extensive at the first as they were afterward. The promise of the redemption of our race was given to Adam. This was the first promise, and the last of the prophets could not go beyond it. For and ranee oj man's redemption begun in the present world, and completed in heaven, is a prophecy work which extends itself to the whole duration of his existence, and runs out T'^™. ^ '"" into the infinitude of the divine mercy. The scope of prophecy was, therefore, first as they as large at the first as it was in later ages. No prophet, as has been intimated, were after- ever went beyond redemption, though more precise discoveries of it were made '"^'^ " through every subsequent age of revelation.
During the antediluvian period, there is no intimation, in the Mosaic narrative, of the prophetic gift. But in the New Testament, we have two distinct references to Q^j^gj ^^jg. such an exercise. The first is 2 Pet. ii. 5, which speaks of Noah as a preacher diluTian of righteousness. He is not called a prophet in this passage, but merely a P'op'»«'=ies- preacher of righteousness. The act, however, of building the ark, was clearly prophetic of the approaching deluge ; and Noah doubtless accompanied his action by words, when preaching righteousness he called upon the people to repent, so that they might avert the impending wrath. The second is Jude 14, 15 : " And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying. Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousand of his saints, to execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners hav6 spoken against him." This was the warning, uttered by prophecy, of the coming catastrophe, which swept the sinners of the antediluvian world from the earth ; and it is a warning against all the ungodly that a similar doom awaits them, unless they repent.
The first general execution of God's general judgment upon sin was the Flood, which formed an epoch dividing the old world and the new. So great a crisis of the world's his- tory was not permitted to pass without the intervening warnings of prophecy. To the one righteous man and his family the deluge was foretold. The ark itself was a visible prophetic warning to a wicked world.
The prophecy delivered to Noah, after the Flood, had reference to that overwhelming satastrophe. The occurrence of a heavy rain would naturally produce in the minds of men the fear pf a second Deluge. To relieve them from any such a^^ejeTto apprehension, and to assure them of an orderly succession and return of the Noah, unme- seasons, God graciously promised to Noah, that " While the earth remaineth, l^^°^l ^^ leedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter shall not cease." With this promise is connected a second grant to man of dominion over the creatures and 3ver the earth. To confirm this promise God set his " bow in the cloud," that it should
1 Hengstenberg's Oiristology of the Old Teatammt, The FioteTangelium , vol. I. p. 4. Edinburgh : T. & T. Olark, 1868.
16 GENERAL INTRODUCTION.
" be a token of a covenant," that " neither shall all flesh be cut off any more by the waters of a flood I neither shall there any more be a flood to destroy the earth." Thus prophecy reflected its light from the bow that spanned the earth, after the waters had retired from its surface, and gave to man the assurance of natural mercies and blessings (Gen. viii. 22 ; Lx. 2, 9-17).
" And he said, Cursed be Canaan ; a servant of servants shall he be unto his brethren. Prediction of And he said, Blessed be the Lord God of Shem ; and Canaan shall be his ser- Noah con- yant. God shall enlarge Japheth, and he shall dwell in the tents of Shem ; and mn^^^Gti' Canaan shall be his servant." This passage contains a curse upon Canaan, anr Ix. 25, 26, a blessing upon Shem and Japheth. Both the curse and the blessing, as thi ^^- tenor of the prophecy clearly shows, arc not to be restricted to the individuals
named, but extend to their posterity. Just as in the subsequent prophecies concerning Ish- mael, Jacob, Esau, and the twelve patriarchs, we look for the fulfillment among their de- scendants, so in the present instance we must look for it among the tribes and nations that sprang from these three sons of Noah.
This prophecy announces a high degree of prosperity to Shem and Japheth. The na- ture of this prosperity is indicated, in regard to Shem, in two ways : (1.) God is not called by the name Elohim, expressive of his general relation to the world, but by the name Jehovah, which refers to his revelation and to his institutions for man's redemption. (2.) Jehovah is styled the " God of Shem." Both imply that God would sustain to the posterity of Shem a relation entirely peculiar, favor them with revelations of his will, and make them partakers of his temporal and spiritual blessings.^
The blessing pronounced upon Japheth (ver. 27), is differently understood by interpreters. The verb rendered "enlarge," forms a paronomasia with the proper name Japheth, and means : to persuade, to entice, to allure. Hence some interpreters (see Calvin on the pas- sage) translate it thus : " AUiciat Deus Japhetum, ut habitet in tentoriis Semi." Other in- terpreters give to the word ni~IS the meaning, to be broad, and understand it in the sense that God shall give Japheth a numerous posterity, who shall possess widely extended ter- ritories. This is the interpretation of most of the ancient versions, and is the one most generally received. The accomplishment of this prediction has been pointed out in the fact, that the descendants of Japheth have not only gained possession of all Europe, but also of a large portion of Asia.
Another difference of opinion has arisen in regard to the subject of the verb ]bl!J''\ According to a very ancient interpretation CnVw is to be supplied. The verse will fien read : " God shall enlarge Japheth and shall dwell in the tents of Shem." This would in- timate that, while God would enlarge Japheth, He would manifest himself in a peculiar manner to Shem. Taking this view of it, the prediction would be fulfilled, when the She- kinah (derived from the verb, in this verse, rendered " shall dwell"), the visible symbol of the divine glory, dwelt in the Tabernacle, afterward in the Temple, and finally in the highest sense, when " the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth '' (John i. 14). This view, however, for exegetical reasons, has been rejected by the ablest critics, and Japheth is made the subject of the verb " shall dwell." °
Some, who take Japheth to be the subject, regard DttJ not as a proper name, but as an appellation — name, illustrious najfte, renown. " May God give to Japheth an extended country, may he dwell in renowned habitations." Gesenius adopts this view in his Hebrew Lexicon. (See Ges., Heb. Lex., s. v. Dt?-) But, Hengstenberg remarks, " It is in the highest degree unnatural to suppose that DEJ is here suddenly employed in a totally different meaning from that which it has in the verse before, and no one would resort to such an in- terpretation except from extreme necessity." '
Abraham came originally from Ur of the Chaldees. When he was seventy-five years old, CaUofAbra- the Lord said unto him : " Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, ''™'°'' and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will show thee : and I will auaka
1 IIengfltenberg'9 ChrisMogy on Gen. ix. 18-27, vol. 1. pp. 20-28. EtUnbUTKh : T. & T. Clark 18B8. a Ibid, TOl. i. pp. 31-33. '
« Ibid, vol. i. p. 32.
GENEEAL INTBODUCl ION 17
of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great ; and thou propheoy
shalt be a blessing : and I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that <=°^';='«* ° with it.
curseth thee ; and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed
And the Lord appeared unto Abram, and said. Unto thy seed will I give this land " (Gen. xii. 1-7).
In these promises, prophecy begins to make its larger revelations of the objects of faith. Two predictions are here made to him and repeated in Gen. xiii. 14-17 ; xv. 1-7, 13-16; xvii. 1—8 ; xxii. 15—18. One of these relates to the possession of the land of Canaan by bis posterity ; and the other, to the universal blessing of mankind in him, and (xxii. 18) in his seed.
This mixed subject requires distinct notice, since we have here the first point of union in prophecy of the Jewish and Christian dispensations ; and since from this era prophecy takes up and preserves a twofold character related to both. The possession of the land of Canaan by Abraham's descendants identifies itself with the organization of the Hebrew people into a nation. It therefore leads us into that dispensation which includes the Law of Moses and the Theocracy, under which were transmitted the divine promises and revelations down to the era of the Gospel. This is the part of the divine economy resting on the promise of the land of Canaan. The universal blessing of the human race is the original promise made to our first parents.. It is repeated and confirmed to Abraham, with the provision that the blessing of " all the nations of the earth " should spring firom his seed. Through the me- dium of this promise, and perhaps in other ways, Abraham saw the Saviour's day and was glad (John viii. 56).
Ishmael and Esau were the subjects of prophecy ; but as they are not in the line of the inheritance, and of " the seed," it is unnecessary to say anything more than The promiM barely to mention the fact. The case of Isaac and Jacob is different. They are ™^*'' '<> in the line of the promise, and form distinct links in the chain of its fulfillment, conflrmed to The promises made to Abraham were repeated and confirmed to them (Gen. Isaac and xxvi. 2-5; xxviii. 13-15; xlvi. 2-4). The prophecy (xlvi. 2-4) in part repeats, •'^°^- in part fills up the one given to Abraham (xv. 13, 14). The addition made in the prophecy to Jacob is to show that Egypt was to be the land of the last intermediate abode and increase of his race, — a particular, which had not been specified before, but was now sup- phed at the time, when Jacob was invited by Joseph to go down to Egypt, during the famine. This was an important crisis in the history of his family, and required the inter- position of prophecy to calm his fears and explain to him the end that God had in view in the circumstances that induced him to remove from Canaan to the land of the Nile.
Omitting the prophecy of Jacob respecting the sons of Joseph, we enter upon the consid- eration of that, delivered on his death-bed, concerning his own sons. He pre- propheoy of dieted to them distinctly some striking points in the future condition of the twelve J"™*" o" ^^ tribes, which were to spring from them. These points were very unlike in their kind, and comprised a variety of determinate particulars. The general scope of this prophecy, however, is that it is directed to the land of Canaan, and that it distributes the tribes in that country with a particularity of lot, under a geographical restriction, which makes it clear that Canaan is the field of the prophecy, even if the explanation were not sub- ioined : " Behold, I die ; but God shall be with you, and bring you again unto the land of your fathers " (Gen. xlviii. 21).
A very remarkable feature of this prophecy is, that it foretold that his twelve sons should be the founders of the same number of tribes, by a perpetuation of descendants to each. It was with reference to this fact that the inheritance of the land of Canaan was apportioned to them. That such a disposition of the inheritance should take effect, in all its particulars, would seem very improbable to any one viewing the matter from the contingency of a con- tinued male offspring to each of the sons, in a numerous and distant issue. But the grant was from Him, who divided to the nations their inheritance, and who, when He separated the sons of Adam, set the bounds of the people according to the number of the children of Israel (Deut. xxxii. 8). Prophecy declared his purpose.
The time of this prophecy is worthy of notice. The aged patriarch, under the divine
command, had settled, with his family, in Egypt. The land of Goshen had been given
to them for their use. The "new king over Egypt, who knew not Joseph," had not
jet appeared. Joseph was still governor of the land, and the prospects of his brethren
8
18 GENERAL INTEODUCTION.
were more flattering than they could have been in the land of Canaan. Lest, therefore, the antecedent predictions in regard to Canaan should be forgotten by their abode and domesti- cation in a foreign country, the most specific disclosure is made to them as to their subse- quent enjoyment and partition of their inheritance, which had been originally assured to their fathers. This was the third time that the promise of their return from Egypt was given ; and their minds were now turned more distinctly and forcibly to the object of God's promise, by the distribution of Canaan among the twelve tribes, that were to spring from the twelve sons of Israel.
Much has been written concerning that portion of this prophecy, which relates to Judah. The critical investigation of it does not fall in with our present purpose. It contains a prominent revelation of two things : first, the prolonged duration of power in the tribe of Judah, as distinguished from the rest ; second, the cessation of that power on the coming of Shiloh, to whom the gathering of the people should be. The meaning of the prophecy, iays Hengstenberg, "is, that the tribe of Judah should not lose the dominion until he attain to its highest realization by Shiloh who should be descended from him, and lo whom all the nations of the earth should render obedience." '
There is a singular fitness in the union of this Messianic prediction with the other branches of the dying patriarch's prophecy. For his prophecy is the first place in Scripture, which exhibits or implies the constitution of the twelve tribes, under which their state was after- ward to be moulded and governed. As soon as prophecy recognized this division and arrangement of the ti-ibes, it set its mark upon that tribe, which was destined to have the preeminence over the others, and the privilege of a nearer union with the advent of Christ. When the form of tribes began to be seen, the Chi-istian subject, in relation to those tribes, is immediately introduced. It was joined with the first general promise of Canaan ; it was joined with the partition of that land, and specifically with the tribal constitution.
Patriarchal prophecy was a preparation for the covenant of Canaan. And because it Patriarchal was SO, there is on that account a great analogy seen to subsist in the distribu- prophecy a Hqj^ of the light of prophecy, and the succession of the Mosaic and Christian for the cove- Covenants. Patriarchal prophecy sustains very much the same relation to the nant of former, that later prophecy does to the latter. Not only is the promise of Canaan
Canaan. jjj patriarchal prophecy most expUcit ; but the years are numbered to the begin-
ning of the possession of it. Four hundred years were foretold to Abraham (Gen. xv. 13), A definite time was likewise foretold to Daniel (Dan. ix. 24, 25, 26, 27), The varied pre- dictions of patriarchal prophecy tend to Canaan, as the predictions of later prophecy centre in the Gospel. This general analogy, which obtains in the structure of prophecy, in its two principal periods, — the one preceding the Law, the other subsequent to it, — - may contribute to fix our judgment, in each case, of its use, and to illustrate the accordance and harmony in its most essential features.
There is, however, a, great difference in the prophecies of these two periods. Before the Law prophecy says nothing of Moses, the Jewish legislator, and the mediator of the covenant of Canaan. After the Law, when the people of Israel were in possession of the land promised to their fathers, prophecy abounds with predictions, not only of the Gospel covenant, but also of the Messiah. His person, his nature, his work, and his character. This distinction is due to Him, who is Lord of all. " Moses verily was faithful in all his house as a servant ; but Christ as a Son over his own house " (Heb. iii.
6, ey
The deliverance from Egypt was the step, in God's providence, preparatory to the Prophecy institution of the Law, and to the possession of Canaan connected with it ; contemporary and this deliverance itself was the accomplishment of one principal part of ante- with the cedent prophecv. promulgation y . ^^ .
Df the Law I" "s relation to the past the Law depended upon the Abrahamic covenant
Ihe Law (Gal. iii. 17-24). That covenant, as we have already seen, had a twofold char- ^ • acter. It contained the spiritual promise of the Messiah, which was given to the
a^^the J^"'^' ^^ representatives of the whole human race, and as guardians of a treas-jre, in which all families of the earth should be blessed. This would prepare the
1 Christology on Gen. xllx. 8-10, vol. i. p. 62. Edinburgh : T. & T. Clark, 1868.
2 Dayison On Frophec]/, p. 70. Sixth Edition. Oxford, 1866.
GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 19
Jewish nation to be the centre of the unity of all mankind. But it contained Abrahamlo also the temporal promises subsidiary to the former, and needed in order to Covenant. preserve intact the nation, through which the race of man should be educated and prepared for the coming of the Redeemer. These promises were special, given distinctly to the Jews as a nation, and, so far as they were considered in themselves, calculated to separate them ^om other nations of the earth. It follows that there should be in the law a corresponding duality of nature. There would be much in it that is peculiar to the Jews, local, special, and transitory ; but the fundamental principles, on which it is based, must be universal, because it expresses the will of an unchanging God, and springs from relations to Him, inherent in human nature, and, therefore, perpetual and universal in their application.
The nature of this relation of the Law to the promise is clearly pointed out. The beliel In God as the Redeemer of man, and the hope of his manifestation as such in Relation of the person of the Messiah, involved the belief that the spiritual power must be '■^^ i^" ^ superior to all carnal obstructions, and that there was in man a spiritual element, " '° which could rule his life by communion with a spirit from above. But it involved also the idea of an antagonistic power of evil, from which man was to be redeemed, existing in each individual, and existing also in the world at large. The Promise was the witness of the one truth, the Law was the declaration of the other. It was added because of transgressions. In the individual it stood between his better and his worse self; in the world, between the Jewish nation, as the witness of the spiritual promise, and the heathendom, which groaned under the power of the flesh.^
The relation of the Law to the future might be viewed under various aspects. But oui object is to view it in its bearing upon the coming of our Lord and the dispensa- Kelation of tion of the Gospel. In doing this we are guided by the general principle laid 'be Law to down in Heb. vii. 19 : " the law made nothing perfect." In its moral aspect it bore the stamp of insufBciency. It declared the authority of truth and goodness over man's will, and it took for granted the existence of a spii-it in man, which could recognize that authority ; but it did no more. Its presence detected the existence and the sinfulness of sin, as alien alike to God's will and man's true nature ; but, at the same time, it brought out with more vehement and desperate antagonism the power of sin dwelling in man as fallen (Rom. vii. 7-25). It only showed, therefore, the need of a Saviour from sin, and of an indwelling power, which would enable man to conquer the power of evil. Hence it bore witness of its own insufficiency and led men to Christ (Gal. iii. 24).
The Law had relation to Christ in its sacrificial and ceremonial aspect also. The whole system of sacrifices was typical ; and on their typical character their virtue depended. The priesthood was typical. Sacrifices declared the need of atonement ; the priesthood, the possibility of mediation ; and yet in themselves they did nothing to realize either. Thus again the Law led to Him, who is at once the only Mediator and true sacrifice. In this way the Law, especially in its sacrificial and ceremonial aspect, was a standing prophecy of Christ. It trained and guided men to the acceptance of the Messiah, in his threefold character of Prophet, Priest, and King ; and then its work being done, it became, in the minds of all those who trusted in it, not only an incumbrance but a snare. To resist its claim to allegi- unce was, therefore, a matter of life and death in the days of the Apostle Paul, and, in a less degree, in subsequent ages of the church. " Christ is the end of the law for righteous- ness to every one that believeth " (Rom. x. 4).
The first prediction concerning Christ after the promulgation of the Law, was that of Balaam, which was coincident with the approach of the Israelites to Canaan. This diviner was summoned by the King of Moab to interrupt, by his curse, the concerning progress of God's chosen people. His will to that effect was not wanting ; but Christ short, t was overruled. A word of true prophecy was put into his mouth, and he was ^Z.^^^" tonstrained to bless those, whom he wished to curse. " I shall see him, but not tion of the now : I shall behold him, but not nigh ; there shall come a star out of Jacob, l^^- Nnm-
XXIT 17
and a sceptre shall rise out of Israel, and shall snyte the corners of Moab, and destroy all the children of Sheth."
Some have sought the star and sceptre of Balaam's prophecy and professed to have found them in David. A sceptre may be found in him ; but the sceptre and the star of the prophecy are probably to be found in Him, who is " the root and the offspring of David, and 1 Smith's Dictionary of the Bate, art. " law of Moses."
20 GENERAL INTEODUCTION.
the bright and morning star" (Rev. xxii. 16). The vision of the prophet's mind carried him into futurity, and perhaps the expression, " I shall see him, but not now," is expressive of something more than an ideal vision : it may be the mysterious foreboding of that real sight, which all shall have, when " He cometh with clouds and every eye shall see Him " (Rev.
Though some deny the application of this prophecy to Christ, and thmk that it is com- pletely fulfilled in David, it is only, we think, in those points, wherein the kingdom of David is typical of that of the Messiah. Men in the age of David would not be likely to find its fulfillment in him ; for they found in his time other predictions opening the designs of God to a greater extent. It was a principle of ancient prophecy that it was constantly advan- cing, m some or other of its prospects, until the point of rest was given to so many of them, in the advent and religion of Christ.
" The Lord thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy bretliren, like unto me ; unto him ye shall hearken." Hke untr^' Tlie scope of this prophecy is decided by its origin and occasion. The Israel- Moses, ites could not endure the voice and fire of Mount Sinai. They asked for an in- Deut. xTiu. termediate messenger between God and them, who should temper the awfulness
^^' of his voice, and impart to them his will in a milder way. In answer to their
prayer, God declares that they had well spoken, and that He would accordingly raise up unto them a Prophet such as they desired (Deut. xviii. 16, 17, 18).
Three general views of this passage have found their separate advocates. The first is that S''D3 is used in a collective sense, and that it includes the prophets of all periods ; the
• T
second, that it has exclusive reference to Christ ; the third, that S''33 is used in a collective sense ; but at the same time the promise is completely fulfilled only by the mission of Christ, in whom the idea of the prophetic order was eompletely realized.
The context (vers. 20-22) would seem to indicate that an order and succession of prophets were contemplated ; but that is not inconsistent with the view, that the Prophet like unto Moses was to be some one Person, whose mission should be to reveal the divine will in a way diSering from the terrors of the Law given from Mount Sinai. In this sense it is understood in the Gospel history (John v. 46, and i. 45 ; X^uke xxiv. 44 ; Acts iii. 22, 23 ; Acts vii. 37 ; Matth. xvii. 5),^ So it has been understood from the earliest times by most interpreters in the Christian Church and by the older Jews.
To justify its appUoation to Christ the resemblance between Him and Moses has been drawn out into a variety of particulars, some of which may be regarded as fanciful. The great and essential characters of similitude between them are in the fullness and luminous intuition of their communications with God, the magnitude of the revelations made by them, and the institution of a religion founded upon these revelations.
There is another resemblance included in the scope of the prediction, resting in a quality which began with Moses. Before his time the greater part of prophecy had been communi- cated in oracles and visions from God to individuals. When the patriarchs were inspired to prophesy, it was only upon the occasion ; they had no constant recognized office of that nature. " A prophet raised up from among his brethren," and set forth as the declared in- terpreter of God's will, a living oracle of divine communication, was unknown until the mission of Moses. In this particular he resembled Christ, the Prophet of the New Tes- tament.
The circumstances, under which the children of Israel were organized into a nation in the Temporal wilderness, are without a parallel in the history of any other nation. They were prophecy placed under the regimen of their law, obedience to which was strictly enjoined with the pro- "poii them. In case of disobedience, Moses, their prophet, denounced upon them, muigation of along with the dissolution of their polity, captivity, and dispersion, sufierings of the Law. unexampled severity (Deut. xxviii., xxix).
It is a striking fact in the delivery of this prophecy, that it comes from the legislator of the commonwealth. It is concurrent with the foundation of that commonwealth. It is not like man's wisdom to anticipate the downfall of his own works, at the moment when they 3ome fi-esh from his hands. But it is like the wisdom of God to predict the fall of things
1 Some ot these references affirm only that Moses wrote of Christ. The pertinency of Matthew XTil. 6 lias la th< la4 «mu£0, " hear yo him," compared with the last clause of Deut. xviii. 15.
GENERAL mXEODTJCTION. 21
which, are appointed to a great change, at a time when appearances are most remote from it, and when the state of things dictates other feelings and opposite anticipations. The ap- proaching settlement of the chosen people in Canaan, is the time when their ruin and thei? expulsion from that land are introduced to view. In the land of Canaan they found a dorai cile for their Law, and an investiture of their covenant ; and then prophecy ceased for a season.
From Moses to Samuel there is an interval without prophecy ; from Samuel to Malachi there is continuity of prophecy ; from Malachi to Christ there is another interval without prophecy. _ _ ^Xy^l^
That there was an intermission of the prophetic gift may be proved by the fol- twcen Mosm owing arguments : — ™'* Samuel
(l.) The silence of the sacred record. Proofs of the
(2.) By the union of Samuel with Moses, when the prophets of God are men- tatermissioa tioned together (Jer. xv. 1 ; compare Ps. xcix. 6). phetiogift
(3.) By the implication of Paul, who reckons the government of the judges from Moses to Samuel, the prophet, as distinguished from them (Acts xiii. 20 ; compare '° Samuel. iii. 24).
(4. ) By the express statement of the historic text, which informs us that " the word of the Lord was precious in those days : there was no open vision " (l Sam. iii. 1).
During the period of intermission, we read of Deborah, the prophetess ; but her title to that name was probably due to her inspiration and to a call to government, or to her gift of composing sacred hymns. In the latter sense, Miriam, the sister of Moses, is styled a proph- etess (Ex. XV. 20). The prophetic power showed itself in her under the form of poetry, ac- companied with music and processions.
There was a reason for this intermission of prophecy in the condition and circumstances of the people. During the period of cessation there was no change seriously or ^^ . permanently affecting the constitution of the government. The people, it is true, this Inter- were subject to many vicissitudes of fortune. When they sinned, God gave them mission of into the hands of their enemies ; when they repented. He delivered them. But ^™^ these vicissitudes did sot shake the frame of their polity, their priesthood, or their law. They were merely the exemplifications of the issue of obedience, or disobedience. They gave no destructive shock to their institutions. No change occurred of magnitude sufficient to demand the prophetic interposition.
In the time of Samuel a different state of things arose. The commonwealth wore not only a disturbed appearance, but also approached the time of great innovations. A regal gov- ernment was to be set up ; the priesthood was to be transferred ; the kingdom was to be divided ; after which idolatry was established among the ten tribes ; then followed a series of calamities ending in subjugation and captivity. In the midst of these calamities the Covenant was placed under such dubious and questionable circumstances as to render proph- ecy highly expedient to the elucidation of passing events, and to the instruction of men in regq,rd to the future course and result of the divine proceedings. For it was one office of prophecy to give adequate information concerning the special institutions of God's covenant, ind to predict the changes to which these institutions were from time to time subjected. No ordinance of any importance was allowed to pass away without the express and definite an- nouncement of prophecy. This is verified in regard to the gift of Canaan, the Mosaic Covenant and worship, the Hebrew people as the peculiar people of God, the temporal kingdom of David, and the Temple. All these appointments have passed away, but none of them was abolished without the distinct announcement of prophecy.
Corresponding to the disturbed state of the commonwealth of Israel and to the changes that were awaiting it, were the revival and subsequent enlargement of the pro- The proper phetic revelation. Prophecy took its stand at the commencement of these changes ''Be of the and innovations. As Moses was the prophet of the age of the Law, so was tij^ j.^^^^ „f Samuel the prophet of the first age of the monarchy of Israel. prediotiTe
From the time of Samuel, prophecy is continuous and progressive. It proceeds, Y°^^T^ without any material chasm, or suspension of its revelations, through the succeed- the time of Uig line of complex history, down to the days of Malachi, the last of the Old Samuel. Testament prophets, when it came to a close again for a long season, and interposed its otheL {reat cessation prior to the Gospel advent. This, then, is the reign of predictive revelation,
22 GENEEAL INTRODtJCTION.
r«m the and the proper age of the prophets. It is the middle period of the first dispen Hmeof Sam- eation, standing equally removed, in time and in some of its characters, from th€ ohe/Ts Law and from the Gospel ; and the service of prophecy, during this period, piogfesLe forms a connecting link of information between the two. It was a period that and en- j^^d its succession of inspired messengers following each othei* in order from first to
''"'^^'^' last ; and it had its predictions embracing every remarkable change affecting the
chosen people, as well as a continuation 6f predictive prophecy carried forward and reaching to the Gospel a^-e. Its communications are also enlarged. It branches out in different di- rections. It enters into the Jewish, Christian, and Pagan subjects. The restricted Jewish subject comes first, as in the predictions of Samuel. The Jewish and the Christian are next combined, as in the prophecies of David and Isaiah. Afterward the Christian and Pagan are clearly and formally connected in the prophecies of Daniel. All these subjects, either apart or in union, are filled Up from time to time with various accessions of prediction, ex- tending on every side the range of the revelation.
In this series of predictions, one subject is prominent. It is the Christian. It is, of all others, the most frequently introduced and the most copiously treated. " To One subject Q^^jgt gjye all the prophets witness." Whatever matters they may treat of, to prominent ^.^ ^^^ ^^ religion they direct our attention with a remarkable concurrence and agreement. The consummation of the designs of God in his particular covenant with the house of Israel, is referred to the days of the Messiah. The succession of the kingdoms of the earth is equally deduced to the Messiah's Kingdom. It may, therefore, be truly said of prophecy and of its scope, that it presents the Redeemer and his everlasting Kingdom as its centre, and the end of the revelations of God.
It has been already stated that, during the time of the Judges, the people of Israel wer«f
,w ,. ■ subiect to many vicissitudes of fortune : and that, at the close of that period, the Propnecy in J ^ , ^ . j.. t ai," • • f
the time of commonwealth was approaching a time of great innovations. In tms crisis oi
Samuel. jj^g Chosen People, second only in importance to the Exodus, there appeared a
leader, second only to Moses.^ This was Samuel, to whom the Lord especially revealed Himself He was the subject of divine communications when he was a child ; and when h6 grew up, " all Israel from Dan even to Beersheba knew that Samuel was established to be a prophet of the Lord " (1 Sam. iii. 20). The two books which give an account of the first establishment of the monarchy are called by his name, as fitly as the books which give an account of the establishment of the theocracy are called by the name of Moses.
Samuel was not a founder of a new state of things, like Moses ; but he was appointed to regulate the great change, which ensued in tlie choice of a king to rule over Israel. At first he remonstrated against the wishes of the people, but afterwards yielded by divine di- rection, and anointed Saul of the tribe of Benjamin. When Saul, for his transgression, was rejected, David, of the tribe of Judah, was anointed by the same hand to succeed to the throne.
Samuel, as judge, was the representative of the past ; ^ as prophet, he was the representst- tive of the new epoch, which was now dawning on his country. He is explicitly described as " Samuel the Prophet." " All the prophets from Samuel and those that follow after." " He gave them judges until Samuel the Prophet." The line of prophets, who followed in unbroken succession until the time of Malachi, begins with him. The prophetic institution, in its outward form, may be traced back to him. In his time we first read of a " company of prophets," corresponding to what, in modern phraseology, are called " Schools of the Prophets."
Tlie characteristic of Samuel's prophecy was almost exclusively of a civil nature, being directed to the public state of the Commonwealth of Israel. Its chief mission was to watch over the change introduced by the establishment of the kingly government. This Samuel, in his official character as prophet, did with diligence. He anointed, counseled, and di- rected Saul ; and then by divine authority he appointed the sceptre to David. The trans- ference of the priestlaood from the house of Eli, the other chief subject of his prophecy, is of a like kind ; for it made no change in the religion of the Israelites, but only in the public ecclesiastical order of it. The distinctive character of prophecy, at this period, is, there-
1 Dean Stanley's Lectures on the History of the Jewish Church. Part I. p. 431. New Tort : Charles Sciibner k Oompany. 1870.
2 Some intimations, in the history of his times, would lead us to infer that he did not entirely relinquish the ofiBof of jadge after the accession of Saul to the throne (1 Sam. xi. 7 ; xiii. 8-14; xT. 1^-35).
GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 23
fore, its civil nature. As such it was adapted to its time, but it was something different from the prophecy of almost every other period. The predictions of Samuel, considered in their adaptation to the circumstances of the time, could not be said to have been framed under favor of these circumstances. For his predictions concerning Eli and Saul, the priest- hood and the throne, were delivered in the face of their power ; his favorable prediction respecting David seemed to be beyond the range of human probability. His first prophecies challenged a jealous scrutiny ; his last was placed beyond the command of his influence and direction. In each case his authority, as a prophet, was strictly tried.
Now the predictions of prophecy begin to take a wider range, and to present a greatei variety of matter. Prophecy in
After the experience of so many changes and calamities, anxiety and doubt the time of might take possession of the mind of the Israelite, on the occasion of another ^'''''*- change, — the accession of David to the throne. This anxiety and doubt, did they exist, were removed by the interposition of prophecy. Having foreshown the exaltation of David, and the preeminence of his tribe, it proceeded to establish his house, and complete his greatness by a promise of the kingdom in his family. The predictions to this effect are literal and clear : " Moreover I will appoint a place for my people Israel, and will plant them, that they may dwell in a place of their own, and move no more ; neither shall the children of wicked- ness afflict them any more, as beforetime, and as since thfe time that I commanded judges to be over my people Israel, and have caused thee to rest from all thine enemies. Also the Lord tcUeth thee that he will make thee a house. And when thy days be fulfilled, and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, I will set up thy seed after thee, which shall proceed out of thy bowels, and I will esta,blish his kingdom. He shall build a house for my name, and I will stablish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be his father, and he shall be my son. If he commit iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men, and with the stripes of the children of men : But my mercy shall not depart away from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away before thee. And thine house and thy kingdom shall be established for- ever before thee : thy throne shall be established forever " (2 Sam. vii. 10-16). The eighty-ninth Psalm dilates the same prediction.
David's life and reign were not peaceful. They were full of warfare and danger. He was persecuted by Saul and obliged to seek an asylum in an enemy's land. His own son rebelled against him, and his subjects rose in insurrection. He was en- prophecy gaged in frequent wars with the surrounding nations. These troubles continued contained in until he was advanced in" life. He closed his career, however, in peace. But ^["j^"' troublous as his own reign was, he had the prediction that his tlirone should be established, and that the reign of his son should be one of security and peace. " Behold a son shall be born unto thee, who shall be a man of rest ; and I will give him rest from all his enemies round about ; for his name shall be called Solomon, and I will give peace and quietness unto Israel in his days '' (1 Chron. xxii. 9). This son the Lord chose to build a house for his name (1 Chron. xxviii. 3-6). We have here the stipulation of peace in the reign of Solomon, and of a long stability in his succession. These were the promises made to this chosen King of Israel, and, in him, to his people.
But the temporal is only one of its subjects. In the person of David, prophecy makes some of its greatest revelations. In him, as in Abraham, the temporal and evangelical j^ pn^ij^ ^ predictions are united. His reign is a cardinal point of their union, and of the in Abraham, entire scheme of prophecy in what has been called its double sense. He was a ^^o° *{ '"' prophet himself, inspired to reveal many of the Christian promises. In the pro- temporal phetic psalms, the most of which are ascribed to David, the attributes of the "n" spiritual reign and religion of the Messiah are foreshown to us. We have set before us, '''"^ '"'^' by the royal prophet, a King set upon the holy hill of Zion, his law, the opposition made to Him by the kings of the earth, their rage defeated, his sceptre of righteousness, his un- changeable priesthood, his divine Sonship, his death and resurrection, liis dominion embra- 3ing the whole world (Psalms ii., xvi., xlv., Ixxii., Ixxxix., ex).
As there is a great increase of prophetic light, during this period, subsequent prophecy aften reverts to it. There is no individual, one only excepted, of whom more is said by the prophets, than of David. " The throne of David," " the sure mercies of David," are fre- quently mentioned in the progress of prophetic revelation ; and the single person, who formed Ike principal theme of the divine oraeles, was He, who was both the Son of David and hi«
24 GENERAL INTRODUCTION. ^^^^
lord, to whom the glory of David's kingdom and the prophecies relating to it preeminently' belong.
As the Messiah was to be born of the seed of David, according to the flesh, there was a Jongruity in originating some of the clearest and most remarkable prophecies concerninj^ Him, at the time of the exaltation of the house of David ; for the Messiah was to be the heir of David's throne, the King of Israel, the Ruler of the people of God. We observe the same order in the call of Abraham, and in the constitution of the tribes. When God first separated the family in which the Messiah was to be born, the seed of blessing was revea.td to the founder and patriarch of that family. When the family began to divide and branch into tribes, the tribe of Judah was designated by prophecy as that from which Shiloh was to spring. When the kingdom of David is set up, the reign and power of the Messiah are brought into view. The congruity is not limited to the time of David's exaltation, for he was a typical king. The evangelical end is not only foreshown with the temporal appoint- ment, but it is stamped upon it. In the house of David is founded a kingdom ; but Christ has his kingdom, his protecting power and rule over the people of God, as truly as Solo- mon and other heirs of the house of David had theirs. The temporal kingdom bears some image to the other : they are two analogous subjects and fit to be combined together, as prophecy has combined them. This analogy and combination bring before us the double sense, as it has been called, of some prophecies, which is best explained by the principles of typology.
The prophecies of this period, relating to the Messiah, partake principally of the regal character ; and David, the king and prophet, is made the promulgator of them ; and an ex- cellent provision was made for the expression, and to secure the memory of them in the language of poetry. They passed into the devotions, pubUc and private, of the Church of Israel.
It had been foretold that the reign of Solomon should be distinguished for its peace and Prophecy in tranquillity. It was also distinguished for its wealth and power (1 Kings iv. the time of 20-26). David had subdued all the enemies of Israel ; and in actual extent the Solomon. boundaries of the Chosen People, in the time of Solomon, did not reach beyond the conquests of his father. He had dominion over nearly all the territory comprised in the original grant to Abraham. " The Lord magnified Solomon exceedingly in the sight of aU Israel, and bestowed upon him such royal majesty as had not been on any king before him in Israel " (1 Chron. xxix. 25).
The greatest monument of Solomon's reign was the Temple. It had been a command and a prediction that he should build this edifice in his days (1 Chron. xxii. 8-11). This glorious fane was commenced under the auspices of prophecy (2 Chron. vi. 16, 17). The royal builder, at its dedication, made mention, in the hearing of all Israel, of past and subsisting predictions, which mention, in the hearing of those who could have given a ready contradiction, in case they were false, certified that they were ful- filled and known.
The Temple itself was a prophecy. The building of it was directed for the reason that The Temple God had given " rest to his people," and henceforth would not suffer them to itself a wander, or be disturbed, so long as they enjoyed the privilege of being his
prop ecy. people. " Moreover I will appoint a place for my people Israel, and will plant them, that they may dwell in a, place of their own, and move no more " (2 Sam. vii. 10). This promise of rest is connected with the Temple ; for it was spoken by the prophet Nathan, when God confirmed the design of building it. A fixed sanctuary of their religion was the most appropriate pledge that they could receive of the stability of their national fortunes. It must have been a gratifying pledge to a people, who had been pilgrims in Canaan, strangers in Egypt, wanderers in the Desert, and who again, in Canaan, had sought a home for their religion, in the removals of their migratory Ark. " Whereas I have not dwelt in any house since the time that I brought up the children of Israel out of Egypt, even to this day, but have walked in a tent and in a tabernacle " (2 Sam. vii. 6).
It may be said that the Temple did not have a lasting continuance. The people were jarried into captivity, and the Temple was destroyed. To this it may be replied that the Temple was never designed to act as a charm to avert the divine judgments, in case of dis- i»bedience. It fell with the people and rose with them. It was the place which God had * chosen to set his name there." It was the acknowledged and authorized seat of theb
GENEKAL INTRODUCTION. 25
worship, upon which their covenant stood. Except around that Temple the Israelites have never been able to settle themselves as a people ; except in it, they have never been able to find a public home for their nation and their religion. God made it their " resting-place " ; and if it exists no more, it is a proof that they have ceased to be his people. The long desolation of the Temple, and their removal from the seat of it, are, therefore, proofs that their polity and peculiar law have, in the purposes of Providence, come to an end.
In case of disobedience, on the part of his people, God forewarned Solomon, that the Temple, which was to be a " resting-place," on condition of obedience, should The destruc- be destroyed. " But if ye at all turn from following me, ye or your children, ''™ "' ">» and will not keep my commandments and my statutes which I have set before toi" to^Solo- you, but go and serve other gods and worship them ; then will I cut oif Israel mon, at its out of the land which I have given them ; and this house, which I have hallowed ded'c"''""- for my name, will I cast out of my sight ; and Israel shall be a proverb and a by-word among all people : And at this house, which is high, every one that passeth by it shall be astonished, and shall hiss ; and they shall say. Why hath the Lord done thus unto this land, and to this house? " (1 Kings ix. 6-8 ; see also 2 Ghron. vii. 19-22).
Such was the oracular communication from God to Solomon, on the completion of the sacred edifice. As Moses, the founder of the Commonwealth of Israel, was inspired to fore- warn the people, at the beginning of their national existence, of their future afilictions and dispersions, so the builder of the Temple, had foreshown to him, at the time of its comple- tion, a view of its destruction, by the avenging hand of the Almighty, as one of the special acts of hig judgment against his people, in case of their disobedience and apostasy.
The glorious empire of Solomon came to ruin. With all his wisdom, which has placed ^im above the wise of every age, he was guilty of much folly. He attained to „ ,. .
, . „ , .• V, 1, J ,, i; J J ■ ■ Prediction of
;he maximum or polygamy : nis narem numbered " seven hundred wives, prin- the dismem cesses, and three hundred concubines " (1 Kings xi. 3). " His wives turned away bermentof his heart after other gods (xi. 4), and he introduced polytheism (xi. 5, 7). Thus y °™o^° was he led away from the paths of David, his father, " and the Lord was angry with Solomon " (xi. 9). Along with this depravation of morals and religion followed, natu- rally, a depravation of that just and wise policy of government, which had won for Solomon the admiration and love of his subjects. Oppressive burdens were laid upon the people, which produced discontent.
These things provoked the Lord to anger, and He " said unto Solomon, Forasmuch as this is done of thee, and thou hast not kept my covenant and my statutes, which I have commanded thee, I will surely rend the kingdom from thee, and will give it to thy servant. Notwithstanding in thy days I will not do it for David thy father's sake : but I will rend it out of the hand of thy son. Howbeit I will not rend away all the kingdom ; but I will give one tribe to thy son for David my servant's sake, and for Jerusalem's sake which I have chosen" (1 Kings xi. 11-13).
The glory of the kingdom of Israel ended with the peaceful and prosperous reign of Solomon. On the accession of his son, Rehoboam, ten tribes revolted and formed Prophecy at a separate kingdom under Jeroboam. Judah and Benjamin adhered to the house ^^^ 'i"" <•' of David. This was a convulsion afiTecting the whole body of Israel. Their bg^jnent of monarchy, so lately compacted, was rent in pieces ; their public union, under the kiog- which they had been made subjects of the divine covenant, was broken ; and a *°™' cause of discord was rooted between the members of the commonwealth, which God had planted in Canaan, in a community of country and religion. Such a change would raise a question of their covenanted relation. Where did the promises of God attached to that relation rest ? Did they rest with Israel? or with Judah, or with both ? or were they for- feited ? Prophecy answered the question. The 'ivent itself had been foretold in Solo- mon's reign by the prophet Ahijah (1 Kings xi. 29-39). It was also preceded by many predictions, which supplied discriminating marks of the purposes of Providence now in oper- ation. There were Jacob's predictions of the ascendency of the tribe of Judah, and the continuance of the sceptre with it until the advent of Shiloh (Gen. xlix. 8-10). There ♦rere the recent promises of favor to the house of David (2 Sam. vii. 12-16). There was the Temple at Jerusalem, the local seat of their religion. And last of all there was the projdieoy of Ahijah, which fully met the case, both in the particular form of the event, and- in the r« ison of it. As to the event, the prediction of Ahijah limited the defection to
26 GENERAL INTRODUCTION.
ten tribes, and fixed the time of it in tlie reign of Solomon's son. The reasons of t.-t event were the corruptions introduced by Solomon (1 Kings xi. 33). The event was pre- ceded, therefore, by the announcement of prophecy, sufficiently adequate to solve all questions,
in regard to the transmission of the covenant.
It may be said that the partition of the kingdom might have been easily foreseen, inas- much as the ten tribes, in the time of David, had shown a disposition to act Sc«on together, and to oppose themselves to the dominion of the tribe of Judah. that the par- Consequently thev might be expected, under provocation, to withdraw and term tition of the ^ ^^ ^.^ government. To this it may be replied that the occasion and mTghT have pretext of the revolt did not exist until after the prediction of it was delivered, been easily jj j^gj^. jjg ^jge from the rin-or of Rehoboam's government ; but it was foretold in m2^°„f'"' the reign of Solomon, and" foretold with a particularity, which existing poHtieal political cir- reasons could not warrant. Moreover, though the revolt took place, on the ex- cumstances. gj^g^jg^^ ^f human motives, it was established and confirmed against the current of such motives. God forbade the attempt to subdue it. " But the word of the Lord came to Shemaiah the man of God, saying. Speak unto Rehoboam the son of Solomon, King of Judah, and to all Israel in Judah and Benjamin, saying. Thus saith the Lord, Ye shall not go up, nor fight against your brethren : return every man to his house ; for this thing is done of me. And they obeyed the words of the Lord, and returned from going against Jeroboam" (2 Chron. xi. 2, 3, 4).
The dismemberment of the nation became a safeguard of the prophetic evidence, by placing it under a jealous and divided care. The people of Samaria professed levmeltT' to receive the Pentateuch and to hold the Law of Moses. The predictions in the kingdom i\^e Pentateuch, concerning the tribe of Judah, were, therefore, subjected to their o/thTrf rigid scrutiny. So also the prophecies delivered against them, after the dismem- phetic lit berment, by prophets sent from the kingdom of Judah. A prophet of Judah aence. ^^^ sg^t ^g prophesy against the altar erected at Bethel by Jeroboam. Had
no such prophet been sent among them, it would have been easy for them to prove it. This case is somewhat similar to the safeguard furnished for the accurate transmission of the Scriptures of the Old Testament by the jealousy of Jews and Christians.
The moral cause of the disruption of the kingdom of Israel was idolatry (1 Kings xi. 33). Hence Jeroboam had a warning against the sin, which furnished the ''^atiif'to occasion for the establishment of his kingdom. But he was no sooner seated on the king- the throne than, for political reasons (1 Kings xii. 26, 27), he founded a system flom of the ^f ^ gjj idolatry ; and for its preservation he appointed a priesthood, and ritual, tentnbos. ^^^ erected an altar (1 Kings xii. 28-33). The golden calves in Bethel and in Dan were the public monuments of this apostasy. " Behold thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt," was the creed of the new kingdom (1 Kings xii. 28). The enormity of this sin was that it made idolatry the national religion, whereas, in former times, its contaminations had been surreptitiously, sometimes openly, associated with the institutions of Moses. The people readily acquiesced in the king's apostasy. Un- der the compact of this sin, he incorporated them in allegiance to his throne. Hence the reason of the brand affixed to his memory : " Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin" (1 Kings xiv. 16).
Prophecy did not remain silent in this crisis of wickedness. God sent his prophet fi:om the land of Judah to pronounce sentence of condemnation upon the system of idolatry, which Jeroboam had established (1 Kings xiii. 1-10). This interposition of prophecy wag for a sufficient cause. It was a timely remonstrance with the ten tribes in regard to the crime, which became the chief source of their growing corruption, and thereby the cause of their reprobation, misery, and ruin. The remonstrance was made on the scene of their offense, and accompanied with a, miracle, which should have served as a memorial of reproof to meet the transgressor, whenever he came before the forbidden altar. But this warning prophecy was given without efiect. From Jeroboam, the first king of the ten tribes, tc Hoshea, the last, there is no king excepted from the imputation of the general depravity. The whole line of kings is one of unmitigated irreligion and wickedness. King aStfr king has this historic epitaph : " he did evil in the sight of the Ijord."
A few righteous remained among the people. The prophet Elijah imagined that, likfl the Seraph Abdiel, he only was " faithful found among the faithless ; " but God revealed
GENERAL INTRODUCTION. '11
to him, that there were seven thousand in Israel, who had not bowed unto Baal (l Kings six. 18).
The prophecy, during this period, was adapted to the prevailing irreligion. It abounds in commination and leprooi. The mission of the two great prophets, Elijah and Elisha, falls in the earlier part of this period — a mission directed chiefly to the kingdom of the ten tribes and its kings, and enforced by miracles to convince and awaken an apostate people. The duration of Elisha's ministry reaches nearly to that of Jonah ; and from Jonah we en- ter into the series of the prophetic canon. This is the continuity of prophecy. There is also another proof of the same continuity, in the prophecy given to Jehu, during the minis- try of Elisha, that his children should reign after him to the fourth generation. This proph- ecy does not expire until after the prophecies of Amos and Hosea have begun ; and these prophets begin to foreshow the destruction of the kingdom of Israel. Consequently the series of prophecy is so far complete.
The result is that the kingdom of Israel has its entire history written in the perpetuity of its wickedness, as recorded in the ministry of its prophets. The general document is : "Jeroboam drove Israel from following the Lord, and made them sin a great sin. For the children of Israel walked in all the sins of Jeroboam, which he did ; they departed not from them ; until the Lord removed Israel out of his sight, as he had said by all his ser- vants the prophets. So was Israel carried away out of their own land to Assyria unto this day " (2 Kings xvii. 21-23).
The prophecies concerning Israel furnish a melancholy contrast to those relating to Judah. The case of Israel was to be hopeless : Judah was to be restored.
At the time of the disruption of the kingdom, reason could not determine, for Temporal anything that then appeared, which would be the more prosperous, or stable of lating to the two. That of Samaria, her greater territory and numbers considered, seemed Judah, from to have the advantage. But prophecy supplied data, which would assist in form- of'tjj^^^jj,^ ing a judgment concerning their comparative stability. We have already seen aom in the that there were promises on the side of the tribe of Judah and the family of ^y' "f *•*- David, which may be understood, by plain inference, to negative the hopes of the a, thefikby- othcr tribes. For these promises made to the tribe of Judah virtually cut off the Ionian cap- other tribes by a speedier termination of their power. "'^'
But the question was not left to depend upon inference. It was decided positively by direct prophecy. Of the four greater and twelve minor prophets, whose books we find in the Canon of Scripture, the most ancient are Jonah, Joel, Amos, Hosea, and Isaiah. The prophecy of Jonah relates to the city of Nineveh. Joel speaks of coming judgments upon the land, of a restoration of Judah and Jerusalem from captivity, and of blessings upon them. Hosea speaks directly to the point, as it regards the relative destiny of the two king- doms. Speaking in the name of the Lord, he says : " I will no more have mercy upon the house of Israel ; but I will utterly take them away. But I will have mercy upon the house of Judah, and will save them by the Lord their God" (Hos. i. 6, 7). The whole book of this prophet inculcates the speedier dispersion and desolation of the house of Israel. Both Israel and Judah are threatened ; but the burden of his prophecy is upon Ephraim, Bethel, and Samaria. Amos wails in elegiac strains : " The virgin of Israel is fallen ; she shall no more rise: she is forsaken upon her land ; there is none to raise her up " (Amos v. 3). Isaiah predicted that " within threescore and five years shall Ephraim be broken, that it be not a people " (Is. vii. 8). Looking through his prophecies, we find predictions that Judah should be preserved. They were to fall under the power of the Assyrians ; but they were to be deliv- ered (chap. x). They were afterward to fall into the hands of the Babylonians (chap, xxxix). But a restoration was to ensue, and the restorer is mentioned by name (xliv. 28 ; xlv. 1). The medium of their restoration was to be the capture of Babylon (xlv. 1-3 ; Ixvii. 1-15 ; comp. chap. xiii.). The Medes and the Persians were to be the powers engaged in the siege (xiii. 17; xxi. 2). The city of Jerusalem and the Temple were to be rebuilt (xliv. 28).
The most cheering evangelical promises were made during the decline, and ETangelioal after the overthrow of the temporal kingdom. When the First Dispensation be- ^'^^'i^^dis gan to be shaken, the objects and promises of the second began to be substituted ruption of in its place. A new kingdom, and a new covenant are presented to view ; and theWngaom
*^ o ' 1. 1 J J. • until the
the blessings and mercies, which are most pecuhar to the expected dispensation, paptiyity la we placed in a clearer light than ever before. The promises of them are also Babykm
28 GENERAL INTEODUCTION.
greatly multiplied. The evangelical teaching of the prophets, during this period, was an approach to the economy of the Gospel, which abolishes the ritual law and establishes the moral. In this light, it was a preparation for the iuture change. It also furnished oppor- tune instruction to the people of Israel, at a time when the nuual law was rendered difficult or impracticable. On the one hand, there was intestine trouble ; on the other, foreign in- vasion : their heathen enemies were beginning to spoil their land ; the temple was about to be destroyed, and the public institutions of their religion were soon to be suspended. In this state of alFairs, it must have been consolatory to the pious men of the nation to learn from the prophets, that personal religion was that, which God most esteemed, and which He had always preferred. Thus the prophetic teaching was adapted to the difficulties of their situation.
During the first part of this period, there seems to have been a pause in evangelical prophecy. In the time of David large revelations concerning the Messiah were made ; but after the disruption, prophecy was directed to the state of the two kingdoms. The two great prophets, Elijah and Elisha, were ministers of the temporal prophecy. Their mission, so far as we can gather from the records of their times, was confined to the Northern King- dom, and it had passed before the Gospel subject appears again in view, unless some of the Psalms, of an unlsnown date and of >< prophetic spirit, may be ascribed to this intermediate time.
The other prophets, during this period, were Jonah, Joel, Amos, Hosea, Isaiah, Micah, Nahum, Zephaniah, Jeremiah, Habakkuk, and Obadiah.
The book of Jonah contains no prediction of a direct Chi-istian import. The subject of his prophecy is Nineveh. He was, however, in his own person, a type, or prophetic sign of Christ. The miracle of his deliverance from the belly of the whale was the type of Christ's resurrection (Matt. xii. 40). Moreover, the whole import of his mission partakes of the Christian character ; for his preaching exemplified the divine mercy to a heathen city. It brought the Ninevites to know " a gracious God, and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repenting Him of the evil " (Jonah iv. 2). Whether all this is to be consid- ered a formal type of the genius of the Christian religion or not, it is certainly a real ex- ample of some of its chief properties, in the efficacy of repentance, the grant of pardon, and the communication of God's mercy to the heathen world. Viewed in this light, the book of Jonah forms a point of connection with the Gospel.
The prophet Joel foretells, in the plainest terms, the effusion of the Holy Spirit (ii. 28- 32). The Apostle Peter applies this prophecy to the descent of the Spirit on the day of Pentecost (Acts ii. 16-21).
The prophet Amos predicts the restoration of the tabernacle of David (ix. 11), which the Apostle James refers to Gospel times (Acts xv. 15, 16).
Hosea contains much of a Christian import cited by our Lord, by Matthew, and by Paul. Compare Matt. ii. 15, and Hosea xi. 1 ; Matt. ix. 13, and Matt. xii. 7 with Hos. vi. 6; Eom. ix. 25, 26 with Hos. ii. 23 ; and 1 Cor. xv. 55 with Hos. xiii. 14.
Isaiah is styled by way of eminence the evangelical prophet. His book contains the scheme of the Gospel in its grand outlines. In it we have clearly set forth the mission of Christ ; his divine nature ; his supernatural birth in his incarnation ; his work of mercy ; his kingdom of righteousness ; his humiliation, sufferings, and death ; -his atonement for sin made by his death ; the effusion of the gifts and graces of the Holy Spirit ; the universal diffusion of his religion ; the blindness and incredulity of the Jews in the rejection of it; the adoption of the Gentile world into the Church ; and the peace of the righteous in death (Is. vii. 14 ; ix. 6, 7 ; and all his later prophecies from chap. xl. to chap. Lxvi.).
Micah foretells the birth-place of Christ ; his divine nature ; the promulgation of the Gospel from Mount Zion and its results ; and the exaltation of Christ's kingdom over all nations (Mic. v. 2 ; comp. Matt. ii. 6 ; iv. 1-8).
The hook of Nahum has no Cloristian prophecy, either direct or typical. It will be best understood as a continuation of, or supplement to the book of Jonah. The prophecy of both is directed against Nineveh. But that of Jonah was followed by the preservation of that city ; that of Nahum, which abounds more in details, by its capture and destruction. They form connected parts of one moral history, the remission of God's judgment being. Illustrated by the one, the execution of it by the other.
Zephaniah predicts the restoration of Jerusalem, apd the happy state of the people of God in the latter days (chap. iii. 8-20).
GENEEAIi INTRODUCTION. 29
Jeremiah foretells the abrogation of the Mosaic law ; speaks of the Ark as no more re- aaembered ; foretells the propagation of a more spiritual religion than the old ; the mediae torial kingdom of the Messiah, whom he calls " Jehovah our righteousness ; " describes the efficacy of his atonement ; the excellence of the Gospel in giving holiness as well as par- don; the call of the Gentiles; and the final salvation of Israel. (Jer. xxx. 9; xxxi. 15 ; comp. Matt. ii. 17, 18; xxxii. 36-41; iii. 15-18; xxxi. 31-34; comp. Heb. viii. 8-12, and X. 16, 17; xxiii. 5, 6. There are many other passages, which perhaps refer directly to the restoration from Babylon ; but they speak of it in such a way as to convey the idea that it is intended to be typical of a more glorious restoration.)
In the book of Habakkuk there are two passages, which cannot be excluded from some relation to the Gospel. The first is, " The just shall live by faith " (ii. 4), cited in Rom. i. 17 and in Heb. x. 38. Here we have a Christian principle, though the prophet probably had no particular Christian truth in view, when he uttered it. Faith — the habit of trust- ing in God, or in his revealed Word — is the principle of divine life ; so, in every age, com- plete salvation has been a matter of faith rather than of sight. The other passage is chap, iii. 17, 18, which contains a confession of the prophet's own faith — a faith separated from all earthly and temporal hopes. As such it is of a pure evangelical character.
It is somewhat uncertain when Obadiah delivered his prophecy, but it was probably im- mediately after the destruction of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar. Some give it an earlier date. For our present purpose it is not important to determine the precise time. Its pre- dictions are directed against the Edomites. But verses 17-21 evidently refer to Messianic times. The fulfillment of these verses, Keil and Delitzsch afiirm, can only belong to the Gospel dispensation, " and that in such a way that it commenced with the founding of the Kingdom of Christ on the earth, advances with its extension among all nations, and will terminate in a complete fulfillment at the second coming of our Lord."
It is a fact to be observed that prophecy, relating to heathen states and kingdoms, be- comes most copious and explicit in the time, when those states and kingdoms are Prophecy re- most powerful. When the people of God are threatened with invasion by these J^""* •" , .. , , ^ . , .Till heathen na-
neatnen powers, or when they are groaning under oppression by them, then proph- tions during
ecy foretells the overthrow of their power and the extinction of their glory. The twa period, success of the heathen was in some measure the triumph of idolatry ; for they were accus- tomed to ascribe the honor of their victories to their false divinities. The return of the vic- tor was the occasion of celebrating the praise of his idol. The religion of the conquered partook of the disgrace of their defeat. Accordingly the memorials of these times of re proach and distress in Israel show how much the faith of men and the credit of true relig- ion were assailed by the boasts of their conquerors. The cry of the oppressed Israel was ; " Wherefore should the heathen say. Where is now their God ? " (Ps. Ixxix. and Ixxx.) " Remember this, that the enemy hath reproached, O Lord, and that the foolish people have blasphemed thy name " (Ps. Ixxiv. 18). "The ways of Zion do mourn, because none come to the solemn feasts : all her gates are desolate : her priests sigh, her virgins are afflicted, and she is in bitterness. Her adversaries are the chief, her enemies prosper " (Lam. i. 4, 5).
The pious Israelite, under these mournful circumstances, derived his consolation from prophecy. The nations that oppressed him, had their rise, their victories, their changes and downfall delineated on the prophetic page. The controlling providence of God was thus explained, when it was most liable to be called in question. His people were most in- structed as to his ways and purposes, when their sufierings and their fears were at the great- est height. His moral government was illustrated in their own predicted afflictions, in the .'bretold victories of their present conquerors, and in their expected deliverance.
The great use of prophecy concerning heathen nations was in part the same as that of ill other temporal prophecy, namely, to demonstrate the providence of God. The disclosure of an event before it took place would more forcibly exhibit the divine direction of things than an explanation of it after it had occurred ; for it manifested the divine prescience, counsel, and ordination together.
Had the prophets confined their revelation to the affairs of the Hebrew people, the proof of God's providence would have been imperfect ; for his overruling sovereignty, in the sphere of other kingdoms, might have remained a question. But the revelations of proph- ecy resolved every doubt in regard to the matter. They proclaimed his universal provi- dence and sovereignty over all nations. " Thus saith the Lord to his anointed, to Cyrui^
30 GENERAL INTRODUCTION. _
whose right hand I have holden, to subdue nations before him ; and I will loose the loins of kings, to open before him the two leaved gates ; and the gates shall not be shut ; I will go before thee, and make the crooked places straight : I will break in pieces the gates of brass, and cut in sunder the bars of iron" (Is. xIt. 1, 2). "The Most High ruleth in the king- dom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will. Whose dominion is an everlasting do- minion, and his kingdom is from generation to generation " (Dan. iv. 32-34).
The state of religion, in the heathen world, rendered this exercise of prophecy expedient For one of the most prevalent notions of false religion was that of local and tutelary deities Polytheism set up its gods over particular regions, or kingdoms, within which it circum- scribed their power. Under such an idea, the God of Israel might have appeared the deity of one place, or people. Hence the expediency of declaring his universal sovereignty.
There was, moreover, in the heathen world, a universal reverence paid to oracles, or sys- tems of divination. These had their origin in the natural desire of seeing into futurity, which may sometimes have been abused by the craft of policy, and which of itself degener- ated into the superstitions of augury, necromancy, and other forms of delusion. To the Israelite all these modes of exploring futurity were forbidden, as the devices of heathenism (Deut. xviii. 14; Lev. xix. 31). But the prohibition was made reasonable by the genuine gift of prophecy, which showed the omniscience of God in the affairs of those countries, in which the oracles of superstition were consulted. " For these nations, which thou shalt possess, hearkened unto observers of times, and unto diviners : but as for thee, the Lord thy God hath not suffered thee so to do'' (Deut. xviii. 14). This was the practice of the an- cient Canaanites. The Egyptians and the Chaldseans, in a later age, infused more of the mystery of pretended science into the same kind of superstition. But the insph-ed proph- ets of Israel fiirnlshed the antidote and the refutation of all this science, when they could contrast with its falsehood the truth of their own predictions. " Thus saith the Lord, that frustrateth the tokens of the liars, and maketh diviners mad, that turueth wise men back- ward, that maketh their knowledge foolish ; that confirmeth the word of his servant, and performeth the counsel of his messengers " (Is. xliv. 25, 26). By this test God vindicated his own foreknowledge, and put the pretenses of human skill, and of idol oracles to confusion.
Prophecy relating to the heathen nations commenced at a very early period. The remote judgment of God upon Egypt was revealed to Abraham (Gen. xv. 14) ; he had an intima- tion that it would fall upon the Amorites ; and he witnessed the nearer judgment upon Sodom and Gomorrah. These were nations placed within liis view and connected with the future state of his family, the Hebrew people. The revelation, thus opened to Abraham, continued, in subsequent times, to hold the same order ; for the temporal prophecy con- tinued to embrace the Hebrew Church and nation, and other states and kingdoms, so far as the people of Israel were affected by them, or could see the tenor of God's providence illus- trated in their history. " Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do ? " (Gen. xviii. 17), is the introduction to the prophecy which revealed to the Father of the faithful the doom of Sodom and Gomorrah. ^ Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but He revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets " (Amos iii. 7). This is the range of prophecy con- cerning his own people. " I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations " (Jer. i. 5). This is the mission of Jeremiah at the time when prophecy took its largest scope among the king- doms of the earth, and when God's government and providence were to be most conspicu- ously displayed in their rise and fall, their conquests and desolations. In the time of Moses the Uke union of prophecy concerning the heathen nations with that concerning Israel may be observed ; and thoughout the principal age of prophecy from Samuel to Malachi, the connection is constantly maintained. There is then a general consistency in the prophetic system, in this particular of it ; and the analogy begins in the revelation to Abraham, to whom was exemplified the entire scheme of prophecy, in its simplest form, in all its parts, Christian, Jewish, and Gentile.
The principal heathen nations that were made the subject of prophecy were the Egyp- tians,' Edomites,^ Moabltes,^ Ammonites,'' Philistines,^ Tyrians," Assyrians,'' Babylonians,' Persians,^ Greeks,'" and Romans.'' The predictions against these nations were mostly given »midst the decays of the Jewish covenant, and were intended to rebuke the pride of the
1 Ezek. xxix. 14, 15. 2 Jer. xlix. 8 Jer. xlviu. 4 Ezek. xxr 2-1;
i Ezek. XIV. 15-17. 6 Is. xxui. 7 Is. xxi. 27-88. Nah\jm. 8 Is. xxl. l-io • lirll
• Jar. illx. 81-89 ; Dan. ii., vii. 10 Dan. ii., tU. 11 Dan. ii.. Til. '
GENERAE INTRODUCTION. 81
nations, to administer consolation and instruction, and above all to lead the thoughts of men to that Kingdom which cannot be moved. In the midst of the captivity Daniel saw in symbol the character and overthrow of the great monarchies of the earth, and in vision he beheld the Ancient of days ascend the throne of universal dominion.
The captivity in Babylon, as we have already seen, had been foretold. It was, therefore, a fulfillment of preexisting prophecy. It was a severe and remarkable dispensa- p^^ ^^ tion of Providence. In former times the people of Israel had suffered great during the calamities. They had often been brought under the power of their enemies ; <:iipt"ity in the ark, the symbol of God's presence, had been carried, for a short time, into '* ^ °°' the land of the Philistines. But the captivity was the severest blow that had hitherto befallen them. Their land was laid waste ; their ark was destroyed ; their temple was burned to the ground ; and Jerusalem was reduced to ashes. " How hath the Lord covered the daughter of Zion with a cloud in his anger, and cast down from heaven unto the earth the beauty of Israel, and remembered not his footstool in the day of his anger 1 The Lord hath purposed to destroy the wall of the daughter of Zion ; He hath stretched out a line. He hath not withdrawn his hand from destroying ; therefore He made the rampart and the wall to lament ; they languished together. Her gates are sunk into the ground ; He hath destroyed and broken her bars ; her king and her princes are among the Gentiles ; the law is no more ; her prophets also find no vision from the Lord" (Lam. ii. 1, 8, 9).
The prophets, during the captivity, were Jeremiah, only in part, Ezekiel and Daniel, The prophecies of Jeremiah have already been mentioned ; and it is not necessary prophets to refer to them again. He was allowed his choice either to go to Babylon, during the where he would doubtless have been held in honor at the royal court, or to re- "^^ '" ^' main with his own people. He chose the latter. Subsequently he endeavored to persuade the leaders of the people not to go to Egypt, but to remain in the land, assuring them, by a divine message, that if they did so, God would build them up. The people refused to obey, and went to Egypt, taking Jeremiah and Baruch with them (Jer. xliii. 6). In Egypt he still sought to turn the people to the Lord (xliv.) ; but his writings give no information respecting his subsequent history. It is asserted that the Jews, offended by his faithful remonstrances, put him to death in Egypt : Jerome says at Tahpanhes.
The duration of the captivity was foretold by Jeremiah (Jer. xxv. 11, 12. Compare Dan. ix. 2). Seventy years were to be accomplished in the desolations of Jerusalem. Temporal Ezekiel, who, like Jeremiah, was a priest as well as a prophet, was carried away prophecy captive eleven years before its destruction by Nebuchadnezzar. When he was capthfty " among the captives by the river Chebar, " the heavens were opened and he saw both Jewish
visions of God" (chap. i. 1). and Pagan.
The predictions of Ezekiel were delivered partly before and partly after the destruction of Jerusalem, which calamitous event forms their central point. Before this sad calamity his chief object was to call to repentance those who were living in careless security ; to warn them against indulging the hope that, by the help of the Egyptians, the Babylonian yoke would be shaken off (chap. xvii. 15-17) ; and to assure them that the destruction of their city was inevitable and fast approaching. After the destruction of the city his principal care was to console the exiled Jews by promises of future deliverance and restora- tion to their own land.
The predictions of Ezekiel are remarkably varied. He has instances of visions,
" When, by the vision led.
His eye surveyed the dark idolatries Of alienated Judah; " l
(chaps. viii.-xi.) ; symbolical actions (iv. 8) ; similitudes (chaps, xii., xv.) ; parables (xvii.) , »roverbs (xii. 22 ; xviii. 1 ff.) ; poems (xix.) ; allegories (chaps, xxiii., xxiv.) ; open proph- ecies (chaps, vi., vii., xx., etc.).
In his predictions against the heathen nations, he confines the number of these nations to seven. This was probably intentional on the part of the prophet, otherwise we would scarcely find Sidon separately brought forward alongside of Tyre, xxviii. 20 ff. (Ewald, p. S07 ; Hitzig, p. 187.) Also the order in which these prophecies stand connected, deviating M it does from chronological sequence, has a deeper foundation in the subject-matter. " First
1 Milton, Paradise Lost, book i., Une< t55-467.
32 GENERAL INTEODUCTION.
the judgment is predicted against the neighboring nations, Ammon, xxv. 1-7 ; Moab, vers. 8-11 ; Edom, vers. 12-14 ; and the Philistines, vers. 15-17; these rising up in open enmity to the theocracy, represent in this tlie might of heathendom, as it has turned away from God, and is arrested in the very act of rebellion against Him." Then follow the prophecies against Tyre and Sidon (xxvi.-xxviii.). " In Tyre is represented the image of vain-glory, and of fleshly security, which looks away from God, and thus plunges ever deeper into the sinfulness and inanity of the natural life." " Finally, both of these sides meet together in Egypt (xxix.-xxxii.), that ancient enemy of the covenant people, now strengthened so as to become one of the empires of the world, and as such taking its stand in unbending defiance and vain-glory ; yet now, like all the rest, on the point of being hurled down into an abyss from the summit of its ancient splendor " (Hay., Comm., p. 405).
The position of the prophecies against the foreign nations, in the middle between the threatening predictions before Jerusalem was destroyed and the announcements of salvation after this catastrophe, is due to the internal bond of connection, which is real and causal. It is brought about by means of the following thought : " Though the covenant people fall under the heathenish worldly power, still this is not a victory of heathenism over the true theocracy. Far from this, heathenism, with all its might and glory, must fall ; and on the other hand the theocracy shall rise again from its ruins to new life in glory." (Comp. Hav., Comm., p. 404.)^
" The book of Daniel bears the same relation to the Old Testament, and especially to the prophets, as the Revelation of John to the New, and especially to the prophetic sayings of Christ and his Apostles. Daniel is the Apocalypse of the Old Testament. Other books of the Old Testament as well speak of the great Messianic future ; other books of the New Testament as well speak of the second coming, or Parousia of Christ. But, while the other prophets bring only the particular situation of the people of God at the time into the light of prophecy, and while the Apostles give disclosures on special eschatological points, as the wants and necessities of their readers demand them ; Daniel and the Revelation of St. John are not so much called forth by a temporary want, and given for a special end, but they have the more general aim of serving as prophetic lamps to the congregation of God in those times, in which there is no revelation, and in which the Church is given into the hands of the Gentiles (/catpoi kOvwv, Luke xxi. 24). We have thus recognized Daniel as the light which was sent for the comfort of those who were " wise," to lighten the darkness of the half millennium, from the Captivity till Christ and the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans. And, in like manner, the Apocalypse of John was given to the saints of the new covenant, as a guiding star, to lead them on their pilgrim's journey through the world, from the first coming of Christ, or rather, from the destruction of Jerusalem till his second coming, when He shall establish the Kingdom of glory (comp. Tit. ii. 11-13 ; Rev. i. 7 ; xxii. 17, 20). The last days indeed form also the subject of Daniel's visions (chaps, ii. and vii.), and there- fore we must necessarily expect an intimate connection between these chapters and the Apocalypse. But, while Daniel writes for Jews, and from the Old Testament stand-point, John, standing on New Testament ground, writes for Gentile Christians, a difference rich in consequences.
" Such being the object for which the Apocalyptic books were given, ;t will easily be seer why there is, strictly speaking, only one Apocalypse in each Testament, though there are many prophets in the Old, and many prophetical disclosui-es in the New. There are two great periods of revelation, that of the Old and that of the New Testament. And each of these is followed by a period without revelation ; that which succeeded the exile, and that which succeeded the Apostles (the Church-historical period). The Apocalyptic books are the two lights which shine out of the former periods into the latter. And hence, each Apoc- alypse is among the latest works of its respective Canon ; it is written at a time when rev- elation, about to lapse into silence, gathers once more its whole strength into a final effort. We are taught this by the very name Apocalyptic. It is from aTTOKaXv^iK (Rev. i. 1), a revelation in a peculiar emphatic sense, needed for the times without revelation ; a guiding- Btar in the times of the Gentiles." ^
At the very beginning of the book of Daniel we find the opposition between Israel and ie heathen world-power, and more particularly that power in the stage of its development!
1 Introduction to the Old Testament. Keil, TOl. I., pp. 860, 361. Edinburgh : T. & T. Clark, 1869.
a The ProphecM of Daniel, pp. 70, 71. By Carl August Auberlen. AndoTer: Published by W. S. Draper 1867.
GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 33
which commences with the Babylonian exile, which forms the historical basis of Daniel'j prophecies. The book opens with a statement of the beginning of the captivity (i. I, 2) ; and mentions (Lx. 2) its termination.
" The new revelation which the people of God required for the period beginning with the Babylonian captivity, was to teach them how to regard the powers of the world which they were to obey ; to teach them their nature and purpose, and then to show them the re- lation in which the work of salvation which was to begin in Israel, stood to them. A new subject was thus given to prophecy, which, in the nature of things, could not have been given before the captivity, but which now forced itself, as it were, by an internal neces sity."i
Chap. ii. contains an emblematic representation of the kingdoms which form the chief subject of the book. The image, which Nebuchadnezzar saw, represents the Babylonian monarchy under his own dynasty, the Medo-Persian empire, the Grecian, and the Roman. The last is divided into ten kingdoms, and gives way to the kingdom of the Messiah, repre- sented by a stone cut out without hands, which became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth. In later chapters, one or other of these kingdoms again and again appears.
In chap. vii. the first four of these kingdoms are represented by beasts, all highly signifi- cant. So they appeared to Daniel, whose eye was spiritualized. Of the ten kingdoms into which the fourth is divided, three are subdued by a little horn (ver. 8). Tli.e power repre- sented by the little horn exercises its tyranny until the triumph of the saints. This view of the four empires has special reference to their religious connections, as the former view had to their political.
Chapters vhi., x., xi. contain prophecies concerning the Medo-Persian and Grecian empires.
From this brief outline of the temporal prophecy of the book of Daniel, it will be seen that it throws a prophetic light over the whole future. The great world-powers pass away, and the scene closes with the universal establishment of the kingdom of the Messiah.
The book of Ezekiel is not directly quoted in the New Testament ; but in the Apocalypse there are many allusions and parallels to its closing chapters (xl.-xlviii.), which jiegsianio contain symbolical representations of the Messianic times. Other portions of prophecy his prophecies, of a general Messianic character, are chap, xxxiv. 11-19 ; and p""°? *° chaps, xxxvi.-xxxix.
Daniel foretells the coming of the Messiah, the atoning power of his sufferings (ix. 24- 27), and the universal dominion, which is to be given to Him over all the kingdoms of the world (chaps, ii. and vii.). In this apocalyptic book the kingdom of God takes, in the per- son of the Son of Man, the place of the kingdom of the world.
The Son of Man, in Daniel, is not T;he people of Israel, as some expositors have affirmed, but the Messiah. This is evident from the fact that He comes with the clouds of heaven, which cannot very well be predicated of the people of Israel. Again, the saints are men- tioned in the vision (ver. 21) ; if then they are introduced in person, they cannot be repre- sented by the Son of Man. The expression Son of Man must, therefore, be taken to desig- nate the Messiah, and to designate his people only secondarily, and as represented by Him (comp. Gal. iii. 16-28 ; 1 Cor. xii. 12).
" It is quite in keeping," says Auberlen, " with the universal horizon of Daniel's prophecy, that Messiah is not designated as the son of David, but in general, as the Son of Man ; no more as King of Israel only, but as king of the world. The prophetic horizon has returned to its original extent, as it was in the Protevangel in Paradise. There, as now again here, all mankind — humanity — was within the field of prophecy."
This brings us " to view the picture of the Messiah presented by Daniel, in its relation to the prophecy, which immediately precedes it. From the view we have already given of the history of Israel, it will appear to the careful reader that, in the development of the Old Testament Theocracy, the Babylonian captivity is the exact counterpart to the epoch of David. This one epoch is the culminating point of the glorious exaltation of the people of .he covenant, the other of their deepest humiliation. Hence the types with which the king dom of David has furnished Messianic prophecy, disappeared at the time of the exile, which jubstituted others in their place. These types are twofold, as would be expected irom the nature of the case. On the one hand, the sufferings of the people are reflected in the pic- ;ure of the suffering Messiah ; and this is the basis of the prophecy of the servant of Jeho-
1 The Propliecies of Daniel, p. 20. By Oarl August Auberlen. Andoyer : Published by W. F. Draper. 1867. 3
34 GENERAL INTRODUCTION
vah, which Isaiah beheld in his visions (xl.-lxvi.). To this class, also, the ninth chapter of our book belongs. On the other hand, in this very time of suffering, the truth that in the kingdom of God the cross is the only way to glory, shines forth more brightly than ever be- fore, and there is a lively hope that after " the scattering of the power of the holy people " is accomplished (Dan. xii. 7), the kingdom of God will be set up among men with a power and extensiveness previously unknown. This is the prophetic vision of the Son of Man (Dan. vu.). All these expressions are equally significant. Servant of God denotes zealous and patient obedience to God : Son of Man refers to the ground on which man is to obtain again that original destiny and dignity as head of creation, which was conferred upon him (Gen. i. 26-28!) Both designations of the Messiah have taken the place of the Davidic type. The Messiah is no longer represented as the Theocratic King coming to the cov- enant people, but He appears a centre of unity both for the covenant people and the Gentile world. We see here a similar progress to that which took place in the tunes of the Apostles fi-om Judaism to Christianity. It will be easily seen that this progress is intimately con- Bected with the historical position of the people during the captivity. Even in the picture of the Messiah during the Davidic period, the two sides of suffering and victory begin to appear prominently. The Messianic psalms are divided into psalms of humiliation and of triumph. And what we here see in its germ, we afterwards see fully developed at the time of the captivity. On the one side the atoning power of Messiah's sufferings is disclosed (Is. liii. and Dan. ix.) ; on the other there is revealed that dominion of the Messiah which, In the development of universal history, is given to Him over the individual kingdoms of the world (Dan. ii. 7). Prophecy has thus gained not only in depth, but in breadth of
view.'' ^
At the close of the seventy years' captivity (the time predicted by Jeremiah, xxv. 12
hec ^"'^ ^^^'^^ ^*')' Cyrus "made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom and
from the end put it also in writing, saying. Thus saith Cyrus King of Persia. The Lord of the Baby- (j^j ^f heaven hath given me all the kingdoms of the earth; and He hath ti'Tity°to''tto charged me to build Him a house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Who is there time of Mai- among you of all his people ? his God be with him, and let him go up to Jeru- th"cio°i of s^l^™' which is in Judah, and build the house of the Lord God of Israel (He is the Old the God), which is in Jerusalem. And whosoever remaineth in any place where
Testament jje sojourneth, lot the men of his place help him with silver and with gold, Canon. ^^^ ^^^j^ goods and with beasts, besides the free-will offering for the house of
God that is in Jerusalem" (Ezra i. 1-4 ; compare Isaiah xliv. 28, and xlv. 1-5).
This edict of Cyrus was founded upon the prophecy of Isaiah ; but how he became ac quainted with that prophecy we are not informed. He certainly was acquainted with it, for his proclamation was a public recognition of it to his empire. As such, it would draw notice to the prediction of Isaiah, and tend to spread something of the knowledge of the true God wherever it was convoyed. But however this might be, it had one certain and important use in securing the favor of succeeding kings of Persia to the Hebrew people, for the safety of their affairs, and the complete restitution of theii- city and temple (Ezra v. 13-17 ; vi. 1- 15 ; ix. 9). To this subject and the annunciation of the Gospel the predictions of the post- exile prophets are almost entirely confined. These prophets are Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi.
The return of the Jewish people from Babylon, and their reestablishment in their own Temporal land, were not beheld with favor by the Samaritans and other surrounding en- prophecy of emies. The rebuilding of their temple and of their walls was forcibly inter- this penod. rupted and delayed. The struggle affected their restoration as a Church and a people, and hazarded the exercise of their religion. But prophecy supplied the encourage- ment, which the conflict of their fortunes required. It did so by assurances of the repres- sion of their enemies, and complete reestablishment of their city, temple, and public peace.
Haggai delivers four prophetic messages (i. 1 ; ii. 1 ; x. 20), three of which are intended to reprove the Jews for neglecting the temple, and to promise that the divine favor will at- tend its erection. The fourth, addressed to Zerubbabel, the head and representative of the family of David, and the individual with whom the genealogy of the Messiah began after the captivity, promises the preservation of the people of God, amidst the fall and ruin of th« kingdoms of the world.
1 154« Prophecies of Daniel. By Carl Augtist Auberlen. indover : Publisheil by W. F Draper 1857.
GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 35
Zechariah, also, speaks words of comfort to encourage the hearts of his countrymen, " Thus saith the Lord ; I am retiu^ned to Jerusalem with mercies : my house shall be built in it, saith the Lord of hosts, and a line shall be stretched forth upon Jerusalem. My cities through prosperity shall yet be spread abroad ; and the Lord shall yet comfort Zion, and shall yet choose Jerusalem" (Zech. i. 16, 17). "For thus saith the Lord of hosts; As I thought to punish you, when your fathers provoked me to wrath, saith the Lord of hosts, and I repented not : so again have I thought in these days to do well unto Jerusalem and to the house of Judah : fear ye not " (Zech. viii. 14, 15). Such is the scope of Haggai and Zechariah's predictions as they relate to the affairs of the Jewish people.
Along with their predictions concerning the rebuilding of the temple, the post-exilt prophets introduce Messianic and evangelical prophecy. In Zechariah especially Messianic we find portrayed, in mystic vision and by typical representation, the kingdom f-^"! <=™°s«l- and priesthood of Christ, the establishment of the Christian Church, and the con- ccy during course of nations resorting to the future temple. In this we have a second ap- ""s period, plication of the same systematic form of prophecy, which was employed in the establish- ment of the temporal kingdom. The nearer subject, in each instance, supplies the prophetic ground and the prophetic images for the more remote Christian subject. In the first in- stance, the kingdom of Christ is delineated in connection with, and by analogy to, the actual kingdom, which was seen rising to view ; in the second instance, his personal priesthood and his Church are delineated, in connection with, and by an equal analogy to, the priesthood and temple of the Hebrew Church, at the time, when that priesthood was reinstated in its functions, and that temple was rebuilt. As an example of this symbolical prediction, take Zech. vi. 10-15. The attempt of Archbishop Newcome to apply this prophecy to Zerubba- bel is in vain ; for Zerubbabel wore no crown, neither was he a priest upon his throne.
In the prophetic delineations of the future fortunes of the theocracy, in this book, the tem- porary and local relations of the present fall into the back-ground and the Messianic views predominate. In chapters ix.-xi., the struggle of the theocracy with the powers of the world is predicted, its victory and their subjection, by the appearing of the Messiah, and under his official authority as the Shepherd. In chapters xii.-xiv. the prophet predicts the last as- saults of the powers of the world upon Jerusalem ; the conversion of Israel to the Messiah, whose death had been caused by the sin of the people ; the ruin of the old theocracy, the annihilation of all the foes who fight against the Lord, and the final completion and glorifi- cation of the kingdom of God.
In Haggai there are two Messianic prophecies (ii. 6, 7 and ii. 22, 23). The first promises the fiiture glory of the second temple and the coming of the desire of all nations ; the sec- ond predicts the exaltation of Zerubbabel, the offspring of David, and the overthrow of all earthly thrones.
Malachi foretells the coming of the messenger of the covenant to the temple, and the sending of Elijah, the prophet, as his forerunner (Mai. iii. 1 and iv. 5).
With Malaclii terminates the prophecy of the Old Testament. His last predictions are like the earliest. They rebuke corruption and promise deliverance. They uphold the au thority of the first dispensation and reveal the second.
A few words of recapitulation may contribute to the formation of a clearer view of the brief and imperfect survey of the scheme of prophecy, which has been exhibited.
The survey shows that the character of prophecy is not simple and uniform, nor its light equable ; and that it was dispensed in various degrees of revelation. It shows, moreover, that the principal age of prophecy is from Samuel to Malachi ; that from the Pall to the Flood, and thence to the call of Abraham, its communications were few ; that in the patri- archal age they were enlarged ; that, during the bondage in Egypt, they were discontinued, but renewed with the Law ; that a cessation of them, during four hundred years, followed the Law, and that a cessation of equal duration preceded the Gospel.
It shows, further, that the subjects of prophecy varied. While it was all directed to one general design, in the evidence and support of religion, there was a diversity in the admin- istration of the Spirit, in respect to that design. In Paradise, it gave the first hope of a Redeemer After the Deluge, it established the peace of the natural world. In Abraham, 't founded the double covenant of Canaan and the Gospel. In the age of the Law, it spoke af the second prophet, and foreshadowed, in types, the doctrines of the Christian dispensa- don. It foretold the future fate of the chosen people, who were placed under the prepara-
36 GENEEAX INTRODUCTION.
tory dispensation. In the time of David, it revealed, with the promise of the temporal, the kingdom of Christ. In the days of the later prophets, it foretold the changes of the Mosaic covenant, the fate of the chief pagan kingdoms, and completed the annunciation of the Messiah and his work of redemption. After the Captivity, it gave a last and more urgent information of the approaching advent of the Gospel.
Thus prophecy ended as it had begun. Its first revelations in Paradise, and its concluding predictions, in the book of Malaohi, are directed to the same point.^ That point is Christ. " To Him give all the prophets witness " (Acts x. 43). " The testunony of Jesua is the spirit of prophecy " (Rev. xix. 10).
VI.
Prophetic Style.
Each writer has a peculiar manner of expressing his thoughts, and this we call his style. The sacred writers form no exception : each one maintains his individuality. When we read Isaiah, we say this is not the style of Jeremiah, or of Ezekiel ; and when we read John, we say this is not the style of Paul.
The individuality of the sacred writers is beautifully illustrated by Gaussen, in his work Individual- on Inspiration.^ " As a skillful musician," says Mr. Gaussen, " who has to exe- ity of style. g^(.g alone a. long score, will avail himself by turns, of the funereal flute, the shepherd's pipe, the dancer's bagpipe, or the warrior's trumpet ; thus the Almighty God, to proclaim to us his eternal Word, has chosen of old the instruments into which He would suc- cessively breathe the breath of his Spirit. He chose them before the foundation of the world ; He separated them from their mother's womb.
" Have you visited the Cathedral of Freyburg, and listened to that wonderful organist, who, with such enchantment, draws the tears from the traveller's eyes ; while he touches, one after another, his wonderful keys, and makes you hear by turns, the march of armies upon the beach, or the chanted prayer upon the lake during the tempest, or the voices of praise after it is calm ? All your senses are overwhelmed, for it has all passed before you like a vivid reality. Well, thus the Eternal God, powerful in harmony, touches by turns with the fingers of his Spirit, the keys which He had chosen for the hour of his design, and for the unity of his celestial hymn. He had before Him, from eternity, all the human keys ; his creating eyes embraced at a glance, this key-board of sixty centuries ; and when He would make this fallen world hear the eternal counsel of its redemption and the advent of the Son of God, He laid his left hand on Enoch, the seventh from Adam, and his right hand on John, the humble and sublime prisoner of Patmos. The celestial hymn, seven hundred years before the Beluge, began with these words : " Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousand of his saints, to judge the world ; " but already in the thought of God and in the eternal harmony of his work, the voice of John was responding to that of Enoch, and terminating the hymn, three thousand years after him, with these words : ' Behold he cometh, and every eye shall see him, yea, those that pierced him I even so, Lord Jesus, come quickly, amen I ' And during this hymn of three thousand years, the Spirit of God did not cease to breathe upon all his ambassadors ; the angels stooped, says an Apostle, to contemplate its depths ; the elect of God were moved, and eternal life descended into their souls."
These ambassadors did not all speak, or write alike. " It was sometimes the sublime and untutored simplicity of John ; sometimes the excited, elliptical, startling, argumentative energy of Paul ; sometimes the fervor and solemnity of Peter ; it was the majestic poetry of Isaiah, or the lyrical poetry of David ; it was the simple and majestic narrative of Moses, or the sententious and royal wisdom of Solomon ; — yes, it was all that ; it was Peter ; it was Isaiah ; it was Matthew ; it was John ; it was Moses ; but it was God 1 "
But apart from the style, which is the expression of the mental and moral idiosyn- crasies of the prophets, there is a style which characterizes them as prophets, liar to the This arises from the method of prophetic revelation. With the exception of Prophets as Moses and Christ, intercourse with heaven was maintained by means of vision irop e . ^^^ dreams (Num. xii. 6). The distinction between these two, in general terms,
1 Davison On Prophecy, pp. 253, 264.
a Theopneusty, or The Plenary Inspiration of the Holy Script Kres. By S. E. L. GauflBen, pp. 64, 65, 66. Vew ToA taker & Scribner, 1846.
GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 37
Beems to be this : the vision referred to what was seen ; the dream, to what wag spoken and heard. The prophets, while retaining their consciousness ai d the use of their rational pow ers, were raised to a spiritual sphere, where they saw the vision and heard the words of the Almighty. Such seems to be the meaning of the phrases, " I was in the Spirit and heard " ; " The hand of the Lord was upon me " ; " The Spirit of the Lord came upon me." When in this condition their intellectual and emotional nature was quickened. They knew by intuition, and their hearts glowed with seraphic ardor. This was " the normal state of the prophets, when they were receiving divine communications." They were in '■ the region of spirit as contradistinguished from that of sense and time." At the same time they retained their personal characteristics and native susceptibilities. The Holy Spirit, both "in his more peculiar, and in his more common operations upon the soul, has respect to its essential powers and properties, and adapts himself in his most special communications, not only to the general laws of thought, which regulate the workings of the human mind, but also to the various idiosyncrasies and acquired habits of particular individuals." While this is true, it is plain that communications made to men, who were elevated to the spiritual sphere, cannot have the form and dress of outward reality. They are to be separated from the things of actual life, and confined to the region, in which they were made. Bearing this in mind, we will be freed from the necessity of understanding literally the instructions given to Hosea to marry an unchaste woman, and the command to Ezekiel to lie three hundred and ninety days at a stretch on one side, and forty days upon the other (Ezek. iv. 5, 6), together with symbolical actions of a similar kind. Such typical actions were ideal and intended to present an image of the actual world in the territory of real life. Dr. Fairbairn justly remarks, that such things, " understood to be representative, and teaching actions in the purely spiritual sphere, could not, by anything of an unbecoming nature, which they might contain, " produce the pernicious effect which must have attended them, had they obtruded themselves upon the senses ; they were for the mind alone to contemplate, and it would natu- rally do so with a respect to the moral bearing of the representation." The principle of interpretation of such typical representations is, therefore, in the words of Dr. Fairbairn, the following : " As, according to the rule, divine communications were to be made to the prophets in ecstasy or vision, so whenever we have to do merely with the record of these communications, the actions related, as well as the things seen and heard, should be under- stood to have occurred in the spiritual sphere of prophetic revelation ; and outward reality is to be predicated of any them, only when the account given is such as to place the Bymbohcal act in undoubted connection with the facts of history. Or it may be put thus : The actions are to be held as having taken place in the spiritual sphere alone, if they occur simply ib the account of God's communications to the prophet ; but in actual life, if they are found in the narration of the prophet's dealings with the people. In the one case the mere publication of the account constituted the message from God ; while in the other, an embodied representation was given of it in the outward act."
The depth, sublimity, and force of the prophetical writings cannot be fully comprehended without an acquaintance with the symbols employed in them. A knowledge of gyn,i,oiicai these symbols furnishes a key to many of the prophecies, whose treasures can style of ttn only be discovered by him, who knows how to use it. Many works have been l"^^^"*"' written on syrabology ; but perhaps much still remains in that field to reward the (^.q^ tijj patient investigator. natural
There was a natural tendency in the prophets to adopt figurative representa- tions of future things. The various objects of the world of nature were used for this pur- pose. These natural objects, known and familiar to all, were used as images of things heal- ing some resemblance to them in the history of God's kingdom among men. They were used, however, in their broader and more common aspects, not in a recondite sense known only to a few. They were applied, moreover, in a consistent and uniform manner. The prophets did not shift from the symbolical to the literal, without any apparent indication of change, nor from one aspect of the symbolical to another essentially different.
" The Law," on the authority of an Apostle, " was a shadow of good things to come, and )0t the very image of the things " (Heb. x. 1). It had the " shadow of heav- The history enly things " (Heb, viii. 5). " Which are a shadow of things to come ; but the of the Old body is of Christ'' (Col. ii. 17). These passages teach that the institutions of ^"^er^which ■-he Old Covenant stood in a typical relation to the institutions of the New. the prophet*
38 GENERAL INTRODUCTION.
jTed, fur- When the prophets, therefore, announced the better things to come, they repre- Dished an- gented them as a fuller development of the things existing under the Old Cove- ofsymb™™ nant, or as a grander exempUfication of the truths and principles which they Kil and typi- embodied. Much of their imagery too was drawn from their more sensuous ullT^^^"' system of worship. This is a combination of type with prophecy, which is very natural ; for as every type possesses a prophetical element, we may expect them sometimes to run into each other. In this way the typical in the past, or present, is repre- sented, by a distinct prophetical announcement, as going to appear again in the future. For example, Hosea (viii. 13), speaking of the Lord's purpose to visit the sins of Israel with chastisement, says, " They shall return to Egypt." The old state of things should come back upon them, or the evil, which was to befall them, was to be after the type of what their forefathers had experienced under the yoke of Pharoah. Yet the new was not to be the exact repetition of the old ; for, in the next chapter (ix. 3), the prophet says, " Ephraim shall return to Egypt, and they shall eat unclean things in Assyria " ; and again (chapter xi. 5), " He shall not return into the land of Egypt, but the Assyrian shall be his king." " He shall return to Egypt," and he shall not return to Egypt ; in other words the Egyptian state shall come upon him.
This mode of representation is not peculiar to the prophets. We find examples of it in the classics. The Sibyl, in Virgil, when disclosing to ^neas the fortunes of himself and of his posterity in Latium, represents them as a repetition of what he had experienced in
Troy.
" Non Simois tibi, nee Xanthus, oec Doriea Castra Defuerint : alius Latio jam partus Achilles, Natus et ipse Dea."
We have already remarked that the prophets, when they saw their visions, were trans- PoeHcal ported into an ecstatic state, and rendered capable of holding direct intercourse
ityle of the ^j^j^ heaven, prophets.
They " pass'd the flarQin£r bounds of space and time:
The living-tlirone, the sapphire-blaze.
Where angels tremble, while they gaze,"
They "saw."
In such an elevated spiritual and mental condition, the language of poetry became the natural vehicle of their glowing thoughts and figurative representations. The poetical diction of the prophets is, therefore, connected with their prophetical state. The ecstatical state was the source of the poetical element in prophecy.
Among the Hebrews and some other nations of antiquity, there was but one word for prophet and poet. It was thought that every prophet must be a poet, and every poet to some extent a prophet. Hence it arose that the prophetical gift was measured by the poeti- cal, and the prophetical books were assigned to a golden, or a silver age, according to their rank as poetical compositions. But prophets and poets have distinct spheres, and different ends in view. " The distinctive characteristic of the prophetical representation lies pecul iarly in this, that it is not confined to any precise mode ; but as its aim rises above all kind« of human discourse, so it avails itself of all, according as they are best adapted to that aim. The poet has his definite manner, and cannot so readily change and vary it, for his imme- diate aim is not to work upon others ; he must satisfy himself and the requirements of hi» own art. But the prophet will and must work upon others ; nay work upon them in the most direct and impressive manner ; and so for him every method and form of representa- tion is right which carries him straightest to his end." *
The poetical element in prophecy was regulated by a practical aim. Hence we find in the prophetical writings the simplest narratives, the most practical addresses, and poetical descriptions in close juxtaposition. All was made subservient to the higher ends of spiritual instruction.
In addition to Prophetic Poetry, Hebrew Literature has two other kinds — Lyric and Didactic. The Lyric Poetry of the Bible consists chiefly of the efi"usions of pious feelings, and forms the greater portion of the Psalms. The Hebrew Didactic Poetry is mostly com- prised in the book of Proverbs. The Prophetic Poetry abounds more than these in meta- phors, allegories, comparisons, and copious descriptions. It excels also in imagination and u »nergy of diction.
1 jEneU, lib. Ti. 88-90. 2 Qray's Progress of Potty.
8 Bvfald J quoted by Dr. Fairtilrn, On. Fropkecy, p. 184.
GENEEAL INTRODUCTION. 39
The characteristic form of Hebrew Poetry is parallelism, which is divided into (1) Synonymous, in which the second line is entirely or almost a repetition of the first ; (2) Antithetic, in which the second line is the converse of the first ; (3) Synthetic, in which the idea contained in the first line is further developed in the second.
The observance of this parallelism in the interpretation of the prophetical and poetical books of Scripture will preserve the interpreter from errors, into which he might otherwise
fall.
vn.
Schools of Prophetical Interpretation.
The symbolical character of prophecy opens an ample field for the indulgence of fancj and imagination ; and some interpreters seem to look upon it as a gymnasium for the exer- cise of the imaginative faculty. They see things that the prophets never saw. They speak with as much assurance as if they knew not only the grand scheme of divine Providence, but also every part of its machinery. The rings, which Ezekiel saw, and which "were so high that they were dreadful, inspire no dread in the minds of such interpreters, but appear to them in their mathematical dimensions of hubs, spokes, fellies, and tire. The " terrible crystal " does not dazzle their eyes. Like Dante they describe with the accu- racy of eye-witnesses and ear-witnesses. Prophecy to them is merely history written before- hand ; and consequently all that it reveals of the future must be as literal as history itself.
Others go to the opposite extreme. They change the nature of prophecy, by denying that its object was to give any precise, or definite outline of the future, and regard it as the expression of men's fears or longings, as to the coming destinies of the world.
There are others, who rob prophecy altogether of its predictive character. It contains, according to their view, nothing that Ues beyond the reach of human foresight. The precise and definite knowledge of the future, implying as it does a miracle, is, in their opinion, impossible.
The fundamental principle of literalism is that " Prophecy is nothing but the history of events before they come to pass." It is history anticipated, and all that it The literal- reveals of the future must be taken as literally as history itself. The great argu- "sts. ment in behalf of this view is the exact fulfillment of many prophecies — especially of prophecies relating to the advent and history of Christ. Even here the principle fails ; for Christ did not sit literally upon " the throne of his father David." The valleys were not literally exalted, nor were the mountains and hills literally made low (Is. xl. 4) before Him. It was this extreme literalism on the part of the Jewish interpreters that led to his cruci- fixion. It lay at the foundation of the worldly views of his disciples (Matt, xviii. 1 ; Mark ix. 34 ; Luke ix. 46 ; Acts i. 6).
Tested by the principle of this school, the first prophecy (Gen. iii. 15) would be denuded of all serious import, did it literally mean that the descendants of Eve, on the one side, would receive injuries from serpents, and that, on the other, serpents would have their heads crushed by them. Certainly something more was intended to comfort our first parents, when driven from Paradise and mourning under the curse induced by their fall.
The prophets did not expect to be understood literally, when they spoke of the future glory of the Church as consisting in the complete reestablishment of the old economy, the srection of the temple, the enforcement of its ritual, and the concourse of all nations to its vOurts ; for in other places they speak of a new covenant, of the abrogation of the old one as not worthy to be remembered. It must require a great stretch of credulity to adopt the Uteral interpretation of the concluding chapters of Ezekiel. His rebuilt temple takes, in the Apocalypse, the form of a holy city with " no temple therein." So also many things that are said of Zion and Jerusalem cannot be taken in a literal sense ; for the language, while referring to the present dispensation, takes its coloring from the Old Economy, which was to vanish away. Take the last prophecy of the Old Testament (Mai. iv. 5) ; can any oae adopt its literal interpretation, unless Elijah is yet to come ?
It cannot be doubted that numerous and exact correspondences between the prophetia
40 GENEEAL INTRODUCTION.
delineations of Scripture and the past and present state of the world can be pointed oul and that the language of prophecy has, in many instances, been literally yerified by the fact& of history. Hence "the popularity of those works, which have been written to show these correspondences and exact fulfillments. They have contributed to awaken a lively interest in the subject of prophecy, and have furnished an argument for the truth of the Bible, by directing attention to certain predictions, whose accomplishment cannot be denied. " But it is perfectly possible that the efforts in this direction may have somewhat overshot the proper mark ; that the advantage obtained on one side may have been pushed so far as to create a disadvantage on another ; that the evidence of a close and literal fulfillment of particular prophecies,''by being carried beyond its due limits, may have given rise to views and expecta- tions respecting' the structure and design of prophecy in general, which are neither warrant- able in themselves nor capable of being vindicated by a reference to historical results. Such indeed has proved to be the case."
One extreme begets another. Some minds are so constituted that they cannot occupy a middle ground. When they see the untenableness of one position, they choose Anti-uteral- ^-^^ ^^^^. opposite. It is with something of this disposition that a class of inter- preters, convinced of the falsity of the principle that prophecy is history written beforehand, hold that very little, if any, is so written. They say, if prophecy is history written beforehand, it should be written as history. Instead of giving any precise, or defi- nite outline of the future, it is regarded by them as the expression of men's fears and long- ings in regard to the future destinies of the world. Dr. Arnold has said : " If you put, as you may do, Christ for abstract good and Satan for abstract evil, I do not think that the notion is so startling, that they are the main and only proper subjects of prophecy, and that in all other cases the language is, in some part or other, hyperbolical ; hyperbolical, I mean, and not merely figurative. Nor can I conceive how, on any other supposition, the repeated applications of the Old Testament language to our Lord, not only by others, but by himself, can be understood to be other than arbitrary."
This school of interpretation occupies less tenable ground than the literalists ; for it elimi- nates from prophecy everything that is properly predictive. Hence there is no revelation from God to his people, in regard to the future movements of his providence in the world. Prophecy is nothing more than an expression of men's fears and longings. We would say it is rather a response from God to these fears and longings, to sustain the hope of his people in times of darkness, and to inspire confidence in the goodness and rectitude of his mora! administration.
It is difiicult to conceive how anticipations, fears, and longings could take so definite a form, and so detailed a character as many portions of the prophetical writings exhibit. Unexpected events, and the names of the persons who accomplished them, are foretold. The prophecies relating to Nineveh and Babylon delineate so circumstantially what befell those cities, as to exclude them from the sphere of mere anticipation, or human foresight. Dates, names, and particulars of the minutest kind belong to certain foreknowledge, not to anticipations, longings, and fears.
The fundamental principle of the neologioal school is that there cannot be distinct prophetic „ foresight of the distant future. Distinct foresight of the distant future would be
a miracle of knowledge, and there can be no such thing as a miracle. " The writings of the prophets," says a representative of this school, " contain nothing above the reach of the human faculties. Here are noble and spirit-stirring appeals to men's conscience, patriotism, honor, and religion ; beautiful poetic descriptions, odes, hymns, expressions of faith almost beyond praise. But the mark of human infirmity is on them all, and proofs or signs of miraculous inspiration are not found in them.
The effects of such a principle upon the interpretation of the prophetical writings can be easily seen. All predictions of the future are, according to these neological interpreters, vaticinia ex eventu ; or they relate to things which might have been easily foreseen without a special revelation. To this foregone conclusion all exegetical results must yield or be accommodated. Hence the arbitrary processes of the destructive criticism employed for the discovery of arguments, philological, historical, rhetorical, and moral against the genuine- ness of many passages in the prophets. It is necessary to refer only to the treatment by neologists of the later prophecies of Isaiah and the book of Daniel as exemplifications. Ol 'xnirse " all conclusions fou ided, or necessarily depending, on the false assumption " of thii
GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 41
school of interpreters, " must," in the words of Dr. Alexander, " go for nothing with those who do not hold it, and especially with those who are convinced that it is false." That it IS false every interpreter, who receives the doctrine of the inspiration of the Scriptures, believes.
It is admitted that there is a historical element in prophecy. So far from standino- in iso- lation, prophecy is interwoven with sacred historj-. The latter is its frame-work. In the facts of history prophetical revelations take their rise and form. But it y,?'^^* does not follow from this that one is the measure of the other. History is the occasion of prophecy ; but the latter rises above the former and sheds a supernatural lio-ht upon its movements. Prophecy is the antedated history of a divine agency in the affairs of the world, an agency now veiled in clouds and moving unseen, now revealing itself in daz- zling brightness. This providential history dictated by One, who is not subject to the limi- tations of space and time, pays very little regard, in many instances, to these necessary con- ditions of all human agency. A thousand years in the sight of God are as a moment. His prophet looking down the vista of time saw visions of the future as we see the stars in the firmament. The stars seem near to each other ; but they are separated by billions of miles. So future events seemed near to each other, in the visions of the prophet, but in reality they are sometimes separated by millenniums. As an illustration of this it is sufBcient to refer to the prophecies of Zephaniah and the twenty-fourth chapter of Matthew, in which our Saviour foretells the destruction of Jerusalem, and, in close connection with it, the signs of the day of judgment.
It is, moreover, well to bear in mind that the fulfillment of many prophecies is germinant. In other words they are fulfilled by installments, each installment being a pledo-e of that which is to follow. Such a prophecy is that of Joel (ii. 28, 29) concerning the outpourino' of the Holy Spirit. It was not completely fulfilled on the day of Pentecost. It is o-oinor on fulfilling at the present time. Of course to make history the measure of such prophecies is impossible until the whole course of both history and prophecy is run.
Again, the combination of type with prophecy renders it necessary to distincruish between prophetical representations and direct historical narrative. Taking this combination into con- sideration, it is impossible to interpret many prophecies as anticipated history in a literal sense. " Every type was so far a prophecy, that under the form of sensible things, and by means of present outward relations, it gave promise of other things yet to come, corresponding in design, but higher and better in kind. And hence, when a prophetic word accompanied the type, or pointed to the things which it prefigured, it naturally foretold the antitypical under the aspect, or even by the name of the typical." This relation of the typical to the anti- typical furnishes the key to the interpretation of many of the prophecies relating to Christ and the future glories of the Church. In these prophecies it is scarcely possible to under- stand David, Zion, and Jerusalem, as the David, Zion, and Jerusalem of the Old Testament, or to understand the things predicted of them as a literal reproduction of the things of the Jewish Economy. They evidently refer to things in the sphere of the antitype, prefigured in the sphere of the type ; and these things differ as much from the things that prefigured them, as the antitype differs from the type. Material types of spiritual objects do not imply a material fulfillment.
It is not denied, in what has been said, that many announcements of prophecy are capable of yielding clear and specific historical results, that they have been literally fulfilled ; but merely that prophecy is written like history, and that one is the measure of the other. There is a palpable reason why prophecy should not be written like history, lest the clearness of its predictions should prompt the efforts that lead to their accomplishment. In fact it has been alleged that such is the case, in regard to some prophecies written in a style closely approximating that of historical narrative. " The best form for the purposes of argument," says Dr. Chalmers, " in which a prophecy can be delivered, is to be so obscure as to leave ie event, or rather its main circumstances, unintelligible before the fulfillment, and so clear as to be intelligible after it." Even in reference to some of the most historical parts of the visions of Daniel, Hengstenberg has remarked, that no one ignorant of the history, and with only this prophetical outline in his hand, could make his way to any precise and circumstnn- Ual account of the events.^
1 See Fairbaim, On Prophecy, p. 114.
12
GENERAL INTEODUCTION.
vm.
Canon of the Prophetical Predictive Books.
The Jews made two classes of prophetical books, one of which may, be denominated Divisions of Prophetical historical books ; and the other, prophetical predictive hooks. The first the prophot- class Contains Joshua, Judges, 1 and 2 Samuel, and 1 and 2 Kings, which they leal books. gtyjed the earlier prophets [Q''jit»S"1 Q''W"'23] I the second class, the prophets proper, called by them the later prophets [□"'aiinSl a"'W"'33]. The latter are subdivided into the greater prophets [□';bil2 D"_S';23], namely, Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel ; and the lesser [D^3Ep D''N''33], namely, in the order of our authorized version, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Mioah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi These form twelve separate books in our Bibles ; but they were reckoned one by the Jews, who regulated the number of the books in the Hebrew Scriptures by that of the Hebrew alphabet, which consists of twenty-two letters.
The book of Daniel stands, in the Hebrew Canon, among the Kethubim, between Esther Collocation and Ezra ; in the LXX. and Vulgate, in the German and English Versions, it ia of the book placed after Ezekiel, as the fourth of the greater prophets. Its position in the 0 anie . Hebrew Canon seems, at first sight, remarkable. But it is supposed to be a natural consequence of the right apprehension of the different functions of the prophet and Reason of seer. Daniel had the spirit, but not the work of a prophet ; and as his work this coUoea- was a new one, so was it carried out in a style of which the Old Testament offers '""'■ no other example. His Apocalypse is as distinct from the prophetic writings as
the Apocalypse of St. John from the apostolic epistles. The heathen court is to one seer what the isle of Patmos is to the other, a place of exile and isolation, where he stands alone with his God, and is not, like the prophets, active in the midst of a struggling nation.'
All these books were received into the Hebrew Canon as possessing divine authority. Formation ^°d they are found in all the ancient catalogues. Ezra, according to tradition, of the He- collected and arranged all the sacred books, which were admitted to be inspired, brew Canon, previous to Ms time; and the work was continued by the Great Synagogue, until the Canon was closed by the admission of the book of Malachi, the last of the Hebrew prophets.
The following table is copied, with some changes, from that of Otto SchmoUer, the author Chronologi- of the Commentaries upon Hosea, Joel, and Amos. Other dates, in some cases, ment™°the ^''® ^s^'g"^*! by different Commentators, whose arguments, in support of them, prophetical can be found in the special Introductions to the several books. They are al' books. briefly exhibited in O. R. Hertwig's tables for an Introduction to the Canonica
and Apocfyphal Books of the Old Testament : —
|
1. The Pre-Assteian Period. |
|||
|
Prophets. |
Xings of Juddh. |
Kings of Israel. |
|
|
B. C. |
B. C. |
||
|
Obadiah, |
c. 890-880 ? [585] |
896 |
9 Joram. |
|
5 Joram, |
889 |
||
|
6 Ahaziah, |
884 |
||
|
7 (Athaliah) |
883 |
10 Jehu. |
|
|
8 Jehoash, |
877 |
||
|
Joel, |
c. 850. |
856 |
11 Jehoahaz. |
|
840 |
12 Jehoash. |
||
|
9 Amaziah, |
838 |
||
|
Jonah, |
c. 825-790. |
824 |
13 Jeroboam II |
|
Amos, |
c. 810-783 10 Azariah, |
810 |
|
|
Hosea, |
c. 790-725 ? [called |
783 |
Anarchy. |
|
Uzziah 2 Kings xv. 13 and 2 Chron. xxvi. 1] |
772 |
14 Zachariah |
|
|
771 |
15 Shallum. |
1 Aub«rlen, On Daniel and Revelation, pp. 26, 26 ; and Smith's Dictionary of the Bible, b. t Dankt
GENEEAL INTRODUCTION.
43
|
2. AssYKiAN Period. |
||||
|
Prophets. |
B. 0. |
Kings of Judah. |
B. 0. |
Kings of Israel. 16 Menahem. |
|
Isaiah, |
C. 760-690. |
760 759 |
17 Pekahiah. 18 Pekah. |
|
|
Micah, |
0. 768-710. |
11 Jotham, 12 Ahaz, 13 Hezekiah, |
758 742 780 727 722 |
19 Hoshea. Overthrow of the King- dom of Israel by th« |
|
Nahum, |
C. 680. |
14 Manasseh, 15 Amon, 8. Chaldean Period. |
696 641 |
Assyrians. |
|
Zephamali, |
c. 639-609. |
16 Josiah, 17 Jehoahaz, |
639 609 |
|
|
Jeremiah, |
c. 628-583. |
18 Jehoiakim, |
608 |
|
|
Habakkuk, |
c. 608-590. |
19 Jehoiachin, |
599 |
|
|
Ezekiel, |
c. 594-535. |
20 Zedekiah, |
598 |
Destruction of the kingdom of Judah by the Chaldseans, 588
4. Period of the Exile.
|
B. 0. |
|
|
588-c. 586. |
|
|
Jeremiah, |
c. 628-583. |
|
Ezekiel, |
c. 594-535. |
|
Daniel, |
c. 605-636. |
Prophets,
|
B. 0. |
|
|
Haggai, |
c. 520-525. |
|
Zechariah, |
c. 520-510. |
Malachi,
0. 4SS-424.
5. Post-exile Period. Kings of Persia.
B. O.
Cyrus, 529
Darius Hystaspis, 621-486.
Artaxerx.es Longimanus, 433-4M«
44
GENERAL INTRODUCTION.
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GENEKAL INTRODUCTION. 4b
IX.
Literature of the Greater Prophets.
See the Literature in the respective Introductions to these Prophets.
General Literature of the Minor Prophets.
The Monographic Literature is found at the end of the Introductions to the several books. In order to restore a chronological arrangement in the enumeration of the interpre- ters, I have, where I was able, specified the editio princeps of the work in question, and added the year of the author's death.
I. EXE&ESIS.
Primitive Church Exegesis,
HiERONTMUS (t 420) : Comm. in Proph. Minores ; in the Frankfort- Leipzig folio edition of 1684 ff. Vol. vi., p. 91 ff.
Theodore op Mopsuestia (f 429) : Comm. in Proph. Minores; ed. Th. a Wegnern. Berol. 1834.
Cyrillus Alkxandrinus (t 444) : Comm. in Prophetas Minores Greece et Lat., ed. J. Pontanus. Ingolst. 1607. Folio.
Theodoretus Cyrensis (t 457) : Explanatio in XIL Proph. quos Minores vacant juxta interpr. LXX. P. Gillio interprete. Lugd. 1533. (In the foUo edition of his works, vol. ii., p. 1449 ff.)
Mediceval Exegesis.
Hatmo (t 853) : Comm. in XIL Proph. Minn. Col. 1533. Folio.
Remigius Antissidorensis (c. 900) : Comm,. in Proph. Min. in the Bibl. Max. Patrum, t. xvi. p. 928 ff.
Thbophylact (f after 1071) : Comm. in (5) Min. Proph. Lat. ex interpr. J. Loniceri. Francof. 1534. Folio.
EupERTUs TuiTiENSis (f 1135) : Comm. in Prophetas Minores, in 0pp. Par. 1638. Folio. Vol. i., p. 798 ff.
Hugo db S. Card (f 1263) : PostUlm s. Breves Comm. in Proph. Min. in Univv. Bibha juxta quadruplicem sensum. Col. 1621. Folio.
Albbrtus Magnus (f 1280) : Comm. in Proph. Min. 0pp. Lugd. 1651. T. viiL
Nicolaus de Lyra (f 1340) : PostUlce Perpetuce, ed. Feuardent, Dadraeus, and others. Lugd. and Par. 1590. Folio.
Cornelius a Lapide (f 1637) : Commentarii. Antv. 1664. Folia
Rabbinical Commentaries.
R. Salojion ben Isaak (Jarchi, Izchaki, Raschi, f 1105) : Comm. in Proph. Lat., ed. F. Breithaupt. Gotha. 1713. 4to.
R. Abraham ben Meir ibn Esra (Abenezra, f 1167). (See under Bomberg's Rab- Unical Bible.)
R. D. KiMCHi (f 1230) : XII. Proph. Minn, cum Comment. D. Kimchi a F. Vatablo emend. Par. 1539. 4to.
S. J. NoRZi: >W ntl^Tp, Kritisoher Commentar zum A. T. (1626), in the Vienna edition 3f the Old Testament, by Ge. Holzinger, 1812 sq.
R. Lipman: Disputatio adv. Christianos ad Explanationem XII. Prophetarum Minn, in- ttiluta. Alt. 1644.
Romberg's Rabb. Bibel. (Ven. 1518. Folio.) [Bomberg's Rabbinical Bible. This con-
46 GEiraRAL INTRODUCTION.
tains the Targum of Jonathan and the Commentary of David Kimchi. The second edition, by Jacob Ben Chayim (Ven. 1526), has the two Masoras and the Commentary of Aben- ezra].
Buxtorf's Rabh. Bibel (Has. 1618). [Buxtorf' s Rabbinical Bible (Basle, 1618), con- tains, besides the Targum, tiie Commentaries of Kaschi, Abenezra, Kimchi, Levi Ben Ger« som, and others.]
Exegesis at the Period of the Reformation.
Franc. Lambert (f 1530) : Comm. in Proph. Minn. Compiled. Francf. 1579.
Jo. Oecolampadius (t 1531) : Adnott. in P. M. Compiled. Gen. 1658. Folio.
CouR. Pellicanus : Comm. in II. V. T. Tig. 1532. F. V. IV. (All the proph- ets except Jonah and Zechariah.)
Mart. Luther's Auslegungen der Propheten. Halle. 1741. Th. vi. [Mart. Luther* Expositions of the Prophets, in the Quarto Edition of Walch. Halle. 1741. Part vi.]
Vict. Strigel, Scholia in Proph. Minores. Lips. 1661.
Jo. Calvin : Prcelectiones in Proph. Minores. 0pp. Amst. 1671. T. V. 2.
JoH. WiGAND ; Explicationes in Duodecim Proph. Min. Francof. 1566.
Jo. Mercerus (t 1570) : Comm. in Proph. 5 inter eos qui Minn, vocantur, cum Prmf. Chevalerii. Gen. 1698. 4to.
Luc. OsiANDER : Biblia juxta Vet. seu Vulg. transl., etc. (ed. pr. Tub. 1573). Tub. 1597. l( ii.
Jo. Brentius (t 1678) : Comm. in Hos., Am., Jon., Micah. 0pp. Tub. 1578. Folio. T. iv.
J. Tremellius et Junius : Biblia Sacra s. I. Can. V. T. Latini recens ex Hebroso facti Vreoibusque Scholii illuslrati. Franof. ad M. 1579. Folio. T. iv.
Lamb. Dan^eus : Comm. in Proph. 12 Minn. Gen. 1586.
NiC. Selneccer (t 1592) : Anmerkungen zu den Proph. Hosea, Joel, Micah. Lpz. 1578. tto. Auslegung iiber Jonah, Nahum, Habakkuk. Lpz. 1667. 4to. Ueher Jeremiah und Zephanjah. Lpz. 1566. 4to. [Annotations on the prophets Hosea, Joel, Micah. Leipzig, 1578, 4to. Exposition of Jonah, Nahum, Habakkuk. Leipzig, 1567, 4to. Jeremiah and Zephaniah. Leipzig, 1666, 4to.]
Post-Reformation Exegesis.
Franc. Ribera (Rom. Cath.): Comm. in 12 P.M. Rom. 1593. 4to.
Jo. Drusius (t 1616) : Comm. in 12 Proph. Minores, ed. J. Amama. Amst 1627. 4to.
Casp. Sanctius (Rom. Cath.) : Comm. in P. M. Lugd. 1621. FoUo.
JoH. PiscATOR (t 1625) : Comm. in Cann. II. V. T. Herb. 1646. Folio.
Jo. Tarnovius (t 1629) : Comm. in Pr. M. c. prof. J. B. Carpzovii. Lips. 1688. 4to,
J. H. Menochius (Rom. Cath.) : Brevis expos, lit. sensus totius Scr, S. ex opt. autt, colU Coll. 1630. T. ii.
LuD. DE DiEU (1642) : Critica Sacra. Amst. 1698. Folio.
H. Grotius (t 1646) : Annotala ad V. T. Par. 1644. Folio. T. ii,
Jo. CoccEius : Comm. m Pro/)A. ilfmn. Lugd. B. 1652. Folio.
J. Trapp : Exposition upon the 12 M. P. Lond. 1654.
JoH. Hutcheson : £ay&aft"o in 12 P.M. Lond. 1657. Folio.
Critici Sacri : S. Doctissimorum Virorum ad Sacra Biblia annott. et tractatus. Lond, 1660. Folio. T. iv. Sp. 6583 ff. (With the Commentaries of Munster, Vatabl^s, Castalio, Clarius, Drusius, Liveleius, Grotius.)
J. DE LA Hate (Rom. Cath.) : Biblia Maxima. Par. 1660 ff. Folio. (With the Comm of Estius, Sa, Menochius, Tirinus.)
Abr. Cxi^OYiva: Biblia Illmtrata, etc. (ed.pr. 1671). Dresd. 1729. Folio. T, i,
JoH. ScHMiD : Comm. in Proph. Minn. Lips. 1687 ff., cum prsef. Seb. Schmid.
Sbb. Schmid (f 1696) : Comm. in P. M. Lips. 1698. 4to.
Jo. Marckius : Comm. in Jo. Am. Ob. Jon. Amstelod. 1698. 4to. In Micah, Nah Hab., Zeph. Amst. 1700. 4to.
A. Calmet (Rom. Cath.) : Commentaire Liteial sur tons les Livres de I'Ancien et dn VouweaK ros^amenJ (ed. pr. Par. 1707). Par. 1725. Folio.
GENERAL INTKODtJCTION. 47
PoLYC. Lysekds : Prcelectiones acadd. in P. M. Goslar. 1 709. 4to.
J. H. MiOHAELis: Biblia Hebracia cum Annott. Hal. 1720. (Obadiah and Micah, by Ch. Ben. Michaelis.)
K. "S. Stauck : NolcB Selectee in Proph. Lips. 1723. 4to.
J. W. Petersen: Erklarung der 12 Kleinen Proplieten (Exposition of the 12 Minor Prophets). Frankf. 1723.
Jo. Clericus : Vet. T. Prophetce ab Jesaja ad Malachiam usque. Amst. 1731. Folio.
Br. B.. Gkbharovs : Die 12 Kleinen Propheten. Gesammelt. Frankf. 1737. 4to. [Tho 12 Minor Prophets. Compiled. Frankfort.]
Ant. Patronus (Rom. Cath.) : Comm. in 12 P. M. Neap. 1743. Folio.
Ph. D. Bukck; Gnomon in 12 P. M. HeUbr. 1753. 4to.
J. A. Dathb : Proph. Min. illustr. Hal. 1773.
W. Newoome : An attempt towards — of the M. P. Lond. 1785. 4to.
G.L.Bauer: Die Kleinen Propheten. Lpz, 1786. [The Minor Prophets. Leipzig, 1786.]
E. F. C. RosENMULLER : SchoUa in V. T. T. vii. p. 1-4 (ed. pr. Gen. 1788 f.), ed. 8. Lips. 1832.
BAXSV-e,!,: Die 12 Kleinen Propheten. Dresd. 1793. [The 12 Minor Prophets. Dresden, 1793.]
J. Sev. Vater : Observatt. in Locos aliquot Min. Proph. Hal. 1815. 4to.
J. G. Eichhorn: Die Hebr. Propheten. Gott. 1816 ff. [The Heb. Prophets. Gott. 1816 ff.]
P. F. Ackermann (Rom. Cath.) : Prophetce Min. Vindob. 1830.
F. Mauker : Comm. Gramm. Histor. Crit. in V. T. Vol. ii. Lips. 1836.
H. Hesselberg: Die 12 ^/. PropA. Kbnigsb. 1838. [The 12 Min. Proph. Konigs- berg, 1838.]
F. Hitzig: Die 12 Kl. Proph. erJclart (1 A. 1838) 3 Aufl. Lpz. 1863. [The 12 Min. Proph. interpreted 3d. ed. Leipzig, 1863.]
H. Ewald : Die Propheten des A. Bundes. (1st. ed. 1840,) 2d ed. Gott. 1867. [The Prophets of the Old Covenant.]
J. W. C. Umbreit : Prdktischer Commentar Hber die Kleinen Propheten. Hamb. 1845. [Practical Commentary on the Minor Prophets. Hamb. 1845.]
P. Schegg (Rom. Cath.) : Die Kleinen Propheten ubersetzt und erklart. 2 Th. Regensburg, 1854. [The Minor Prophets translated and explained. 2d Part. Regensburg, 1854.]
L. Reinke (Rom. Cath.) : Mess. Weiss, bei d. Proph. Giessen, 1859, vol. iii. [Messianic Prophecy in the Prophets. Giessen, 1859, vol. iii.]
C. F. Kbil : Biblischer Commentar iiber die Kleinen Propheten. Lpz. 1866. [Biblical Commentary on the Minor Prophets. Leipzig, 1866.] Compare also Sixti Senensis Bibl. Sancta. Par. 1610. Polio, p. 14 ff. and elsewhere.
Ltjd. Cappellus (f 1658) : Comm. et Notce Criticm in V. T. cum J. Cappelli observatt. in V. T. Amst. 1689. Folio.
R. Lowth: De Sacra Poesi Hebrceorum, ed. J. D. Michaelis. Gott. 1770.
A. KiJPER : Jeremias II. ss. interpres atque Vindex. Berol. 1837.
E. B. Puset, The Minor Prophets, with a Commentary Explanatory and Practical. Ox- ford, Cambridge, and London, 1861.
E. Henderson: The Book of the Twehe Minor Prophets, translated from the Original Hebrew. With a Commentary Critical, Philological, and Exegetical. Andover, 1866.
Henry Cowles : The Minor Prophets ; with Notes Critical, Explanatory, and Practical. New York, 1867.
The Works on Introduction, by Carpzov, Eichhorn, Augusti, Bertholdt, De Wette ; Jahn, H'avernick, Keil ; Stahelin, and Bleek.
Herzog's Real-encyclopadie, articles " Obadiah," " Jonah," etc., by C. Nagelsbach, Umbreit, and Delitzsch.
Smith's Dictionary of the BMe (enlarged Am. ed. by Hackett and Abbot), articles undei Jie names of the Twelve Minor Prophets respectively.
Kitto's Biblical Encyclopaedia (third ed. by Wm. L. Alexander), articles under th« aames of the Twelve Minor Prophets respectively.
48 GENl-^vAL INTRODUCTION.
n. Prophetic Theologt.
JtrsTiNUS Maeiyr : Dialogus cum Tryphone (0pp., ed. Prud. Maranus. Par. 1742. Polio.)
EusEBiDS Caes. : 'EKkoyai UpocjyrjTiKal, ed. Gaisford. Oxon. 1842.
Jo. Chrysostomus : Sermo de Jona {0pp., ed. Ducseus. Francf., 1728. Folio, v. 898. s. 71), and elsewhere passim in the Homilies. a fn
Adgustinxjs : Ep. 102 ad Deogratias. De civit. Dei, 1. xviii. c. 30 ff. Sermo 48. {Upp., ed. Bened. Bassan. 1797. 4to. T. ii., 373 ff. ix., 672 ff. vu., 268 ff.
M.ATTH.'FLACivalti.Y&iGvs: Clavis ScripturceSacrcB (1567). Lips.