285 CHAPTER XVI. ZECHARIAH II, LAMENTATIONS, OBADIAH, ISAIAH II, HAGGAI, ZECHARIAH II, ch.XII-XIV, B.c.593. 312. ZECHARIAH II mentions in xii.13, the 'House of Levi,' i.e. the Priests, the sons of Levi,' with some prominence, as they naturally would be in the latter days of the Monarchy, but still after the House of David' and even the 'House of Nathan'; and he makes no distinction between Priests' and 'Levites,' which did not yet exist (309). In xiv.20 he says, 'Holiness to Jahveh' shall be upon the 'plates of the horses,' and even the pots in Jahveh's House' shall be sacred as the bowls before the altar, yea, every pot in Jerusalem and Judah '—that is, in private houses-shall be Holiness to Jahveh,' v.21. But there is clearly no reference here to E.xxxix.30 (LL), where upon the High-Priest's crown is to be engraved Holiness to Jahveh'; comp. Is. xxiii.18. In xiv.16-19 all nations are to go up to Jerusalem to keep— N.B. not the Passover or the three Great Feasts, but-the Feast of Tabernacles, which was evidently from the earliest times the favourite festival- the Feast '-in Israel (VI.433-4). In xiv.9 he says 'Jahveh shall be King over all the land, and in that day there shall be one Jahveh and His Name one' as if there had been different Jahvehs' worshipped under different names' in different places, as our Lord' of this place and our Lord' of that, comp. e.g. Baal-Hermon, BaalMeon, &c., like the different our Ladys' in Roman-Catholic countries. 313. There is no allusion whatever in these prophecies to the Ten Commandments, the Book of Deuteronomy, or the Levitical Legislation of the Pentateuch. LAMENTATIONS, B.C.588-586. 314. For our present purpose it is immaterial whether the Book of Lamentations was written by Jeremiah himself (App.147) or by a contemporary prophet (App.148), during or shortly after the siege which ended in the destruction of Jerusalem. In i.10 reference is made apparently to D.xxiii.3, in iv.6 to the overthrow of Sodom, in iv.14,15, to ceremonial practices in cases of defilement by touching blood or by leprosy, which practices must have existed independently of any written law upon the subject, comp. D.xxiv.8. There is no other allusion in this book to the Ten Commandments, the Book of Deuteronomy, or the Levitical Legislation. OBADIAH, B.C.586. 315. This prophet makes no reference whatever to the Ten Commandments, the Book of Deuteronomy, or the Levitical Legislation. ISAIAH II, ch. XIII.1-XIV.23, XXI.1–10, XXIV, XXVII, XXXIV, XXXV, XL-LXVI, B.C.558-538. 316. The fact that the prophecies in Is. XL-LXVI are placed together at the end of the book of Isaiah, even after the later historical narrative (XXXVI-XXXIX), which was evidently meant to close the original collection—as Jer. lii was similarly appended to the prophecies of Jeremiah-is itself an indication that they existed at one time in a separate form. No Prophet later than Isaiah I, e.g. Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Jeremiah, &c., gives the least sign of being aware of the existence of any prophecies like these, predicting distinctly the end of the Babylonish Captivity and the return of Israel to their own land, nor is there any trace of them in 2 Kings. For instance, in the fierce conflicts which Jeremiah had with his contemporaries, who accused him of sacrilege because he predicted the destruction of the Temple and the desolation of Jerusalem, xxvi.8, &c., xxviii, xxix, xxxii.1-5, xxxviii, how certainly would he have appealed to such words as those in Is.lxiv. 9-12, if he had known them!* 317. We cannot here enter into the discussion of the internal evidence, linguistic peculiarities, &c., by which the conclusion is sustained as to the late age in which these prophecies were composed. It will suffice to say that these chapters, XL-LXIV, appear to have been written in Babylon by one of the exileswith whom the writer identifies himself in several places, comp. xlvii.4, liii.1-6, lix.9-13, lxiii.7,16-19, lxiv-not long before the end of the Captivity, when the triumphant career of Cyrus distinctly marked him out in the writer's views, and in that of his fellow-exiles, as the conqueror of Babylon. The successful revolt of Cyrus and the Persians against the sovereignty of the Medes must have made a very strong impression on these eager expectants. And when they saw him, after a series of conquests, lead his forces at last against Babylon itself, they had quite enough before them to kindle that joyous hope of approaching deliverance, which the prophet expresses in his very first words 'Comfort ye, comfort ye, My people, saith your Elohim! Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned!' xl.1,2. * Dr. KAY, who maintains (B.C.V.p.7, &c.) the traditionary view, that the whole book, as it now stands, belongs to the prophet of Hezekiah's time, takes no notice whatever of this point. But besides XL-LXIV there are some other passages (above indicated) in the present book which have been erroneously ascribed to Isaiah the son of Amoz, but which a critical examination shows to belong also to the time of the Captivity. 318. In these post-Exilic prophecies we may notice the following phenomena. In xxiv.2 the phrase, and it shall be like People, like Priest,' appears to be borrowed from Hos.iv.9, where it is evidently in its proper place in the context. In xxiv.5 we read they have transgressed the laws,' where the plural indicates a late date, since in Isaiah and the prophets, generally, we find everywhere the law,' except Ez.xliii.11, xliv.5,24, Dan.ix.10, comp. L.xxvi.46, Ps.cv.45. In xxiv.7 we find an imitation of Joel i.10,12-in xxiv.16, of Jer. v.11—in xxiv.17,18a, of Jer. xlviii.43,44, and there are other similar allusions to older prophets. In xxxiv.16 the Book of Jahveh' seems to imply that already some of the sacred writings had been collected in one volume. In xlii.1-4 are described the meekness and faithfulness of 'Jahveh's servant,' the Israel of God, who should patiently teach His truth to the Gentiles. In xlii.21,24, li.4,7, the Law' seems to mean generally the Will of Jahveh as revealed to His Prophets and Priests, and by them to the People, and not the law in the Pentateuch. In xliii.23,24, lvi.7, sacrifices are spoken of as acceptable to Jahveh, but are not insisted on. In xlv.1 Cyrus is addressed as Jahveh's Anointed' or 'Messiah,' LXX. TÊ Xploτô μov Kúpo, Vulg. Christo meo. In xlvii.7-9 the prophet expands the idea of Zeph. ii.15, applying to Babylon the words used by the earlier Prophet to describe the fall of Nineveh. In lii.11 the writer refers to the rule that the Priests should be free from ceremonial uncleanness when bearing the vessels of Jahveh,' as prescribed in the laws of L.xxii, which may at this time have been written, though he seems rather to be alluding to priestly customs, such as are usual in all religions: comp. lxvi.20, when the children of Israel shall bring offering in a clean vessel into the House of Jahveh.' * an In lvii.3-12, lxv.3,4,11, lxvi. 17,24, we have signs that idolatry was still practised by many among the exiles, though the first of these passages seems to refer chiefly to the abominations which existed in the land of Canaan. In lviii.2 these sinners are charged with hypocrisy—in lix. 3-8, 13-15, with murder, lying, injustice, and general wickedness-in lxv.5 with self-righteousness. In lviii.5, &c., the Prophet describes what constitutes true 'fasting' in the eyes of Jahveh, viz. acts of charity and mercy, not mere outward formalities. In lxi.6 all Israelites are to be called 'Priests of Jahveh,' 'ministers of our Elohim'-from which we perceive that the priestly system, as laid down in the LL, was not yet dominant in Israel. In lxii.9 we read But they that have gathered it (corn) shall eat it and praise Jahveh, and they that have brought it (wine) together shall drink it in My holy courts,' in accordance with D.xii.17,18, xiv.23–26, xvi.11,14—implying that the laws of the LL, about giving firstfruits of corn and wine to the Priests and the tithes to the Levites, N.xviii. 12,24, were not yet in existence.† In lxvi.2,3, the Prophet teaches that all sacrifices,' &c., are abominable, if not offered with a contrite spirit. * The E.V. has 'as the children of Israel bring &c. into the House of Jahveh,' which would imply that the Temple was standing, contrary to lxiv.11; but this rendering would require the Hebrew participle. † Dr. Kay notes on this passage (B.C.V.p.295), ‘The Priests were bidden to eat the tithe of corn, &c. before the Lord (D.xiv.23), comp. Jer.xxx.12.' Ans. Neither in D.xiv.23 nor in Jer.xxx.12 is there any allusion to Priests. |