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Page 23
(56) Now from the shortness of the time taken in its perusal and also from
its nature as a compact, this document evidently contained nothing more than
that which we have just described. (57) Further, it is clear that Moses
explained all the laws which he had received in the fortieth year after the
exodus from Egypt; also that he bound over the people a second time to
observe them, and that finally he committed them to writing (Deut. i:5;
xxix:14; xxxi:9), in a book which contained these laws explained, and the
new covenant, and this book was therefore called the book of the law of God:
the same which was afterwards added to by Joshua when he set forth the fresh
covenant with which he bound over the people and which he entered into
with God (Josh. xxiv:25, 26).
(58) Now, as we have extent no book containing this covenant of Moses and
also the covenant of Joshua, we must perforce conclude that it has perished,
unless, indeed, we adopt the wild conjecture of the Chaldean paraphrast
Jonathan, and twist about the words of Scripture to our heart's content.
(59) This commentator, in the face of our present difficulty, preferred
corrupting the sacred text to confessing his own ignorance. (60) The passage
in the book of Joshua which runs, "and Joshua wrote these words in the
book of the law of God," he changes into "and Joshua wrote these words
and kept them with the book of the law of God." (61) What is to be done with
persons who will only see what pleases them? (62) What is such a proceeding
if it is not denying Scripture, and inventing another Bible out of our own
heads? (63) We may therefore conclude that the book of the law of God which
Moses wrote was not the Pentateuch, but something quite different, which the
author of the Pentateuch duly inserted into his book. (64) So much is
abundantly plain both from what I have said and from what I am about to add.
(65) For in the passage of Deuteronomy above quoted, where it is related
that Moses wrote the book of the law, the historian adds that he handed it
over to the priests and bade them read it out at a stated time to the whole
people. (66) This shows that the work was of much less length than the
Pentateuch, inasmuch as it could be read through at one sitting so as to be
understood by all; further, we must not omit to notice that out of all the
books which Moses wrote, this one book of the second covenant and the song
(which latter he wrote afterwards so that all the people might learn it),
was the only one which he caused to be religiously guarded and preserved.
(67) In the first covenant he had only bound over those who were present,
but in the second covenant he bound over all their descendants also (Dent.
xxix:14), and therefore ordered this covenant with future ages to be
religiously preserved, together with the Song, which was especially
addressed to posterity: as, then, we have no proof that Moses wrote any
book save this of the covenant, and as he committed no other to the care of
posterity; and, lastly, as there are many passages in the Pentateuch which
Moses could not have written, it follows that the belief that Moses was the
author of the Pentateuch is ungrounded and even irrational. (68) Someone
will perhaps ask whether Moses did not also write down other laws when they
were first revealed to him - in other words, whether, during the course of
forty years, he did not write down any of the laws which he promulgated,
save only those few which I have stated to be contained in the book of the
first covenant. (69) To this I would answer, that although it seems
reasonable to suppose that Moses wrote down the laws at the time when he
wished to communicate them to the people, yet we are not warranted to take
it as proved, for I have shown above that we must make no assertions in such
matters which we do not gather from Scripture, or which do not flow as
legitimate consequences from its fundamental principles. (70) We must not
accept whatever is reasonably probable. (71) However even reason in this
case would not force such a conclusion upon us: for it may be that the
assembly of elders wrote down the decrees of Moses and communicated them to
the people, and the historian collected them, and duly set them forth in his
narrative of the life of Moses. (72) So much for the five books of Moses: it
is now time for us to turn to the other sacred writings.
(73) The book of Joshua may be proved not to be an autograph by reasons
similar to those we have just employed: for it must be some other than
Joshua who testifies that the fame of Joshua was spread over the whole
world; that he omitted nothing of what Moses had taught (Josh. vi:27; viii.
last verse; xi:15); that he grew old and summoned an assembly of the whole
people, and finally that he departed this life. (74) Furthermore, events are
related which took place after Joshua's death. (75) For instance, that the
Israelites worshipped God, after his death, so long as there were any old
men alive who remembered him; and in chap. xvi:10, we read that "Ephraim and
Manasseh did not drive out the Canaanites which dwelt in Gezer, but the
Canaanite dwelt in the land of Ephraim unto this day, and was tributary to
him." (76) This is the same statement as that in Judges, chap. i., and the
phrase "unto this day" shows that the writer was speaking of ancient times.
(77) With these texts we may compare the last verse of chap. xv., concerning
the sons of Judah, and also the history of Caleb in the same chap. v:14.
(78) Further, the building of an altar beyond Jordan by the two tribes and a
half, chap. xxii:10, sqq., seems to have taken place after the death of
Joshua, for in the whole narrative his name is never mentioned, but the
people alone held council as to waging war, sent out legates, waited for
their return, and finally approved of their answer.
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