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-a Name, as we suppose, not yet thoroughly popularised,—to couple it with the familiar Name Elohim, so making the transition, as it were, more easy. In this way, perhaps, we may account for the fact that in G.ii.4-iii.24, the first Jehovistic section of the Bible, the Name Jehovah' occurs twenty times and always in the form Jehovah Elohim,'* LORD God,—not ‘Jehovah' only, as in the subsequent section, which, however, as will be shewn hereafter in Part III, is due to the same writer. Thus KUENEN writes, p.98:

In no case can this change be considered as a token of a change of author. The unity of authorship in ii.4-iv.26 is sufficiently shown as well through the connection of the narratives as through their agreement in phraseology, and is, in fact, not doubted by most interpreters.

346. This circumstance rather suggests the idea, that the writer composed it at a time, when the Name, though already familiar to himself, was not yet universally employed, and that he wished in this way to commend it to popular acceptance, instead of merely adopting it as a word already common in the mouths of the people.

In like manner, the Zulus can speak of the Unkulunkulu of this, or that, person, or people. In the Church of England Missions, however, the word uDio has been introduced for the Name of God, as specially set forth in Christian teaching. And it is not uncommon for a missionary to join the two together, in speaking to the natives, in the form uDio-Nkulunkulu.

347. Dr. MCCAUL explains this matter, from the (so-called) orthodox point of view, as follows:-Aids to Faith, p.196.

In G.i. Moses might have used either Elohim or Jehovah, except in v.27, where Elohim was compulsory. But, in the opening of the Divine teaching, it was necessary to make clear, that God is the Creator, that the world was not eternal or

*The LXX carry on the expression Kúpos & cós for several chapters after G.iii, using it instead of the simple Kúpios, e. g. iv.6,9,13,15,26, vi.3,5,8,12,13,22. Frequently also they use Oeós for Kúpios in these early chapters, as in ii.5,7,8,9,19,21, 22; Kúpios ó cós occurs first in ii.4.

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independent, and also that Jehovah is not one among many,— not the national God of the Hebrews, but that Jehovah, the self-revealer, and Elohim, the Almighty Creator, are one. Therefore, in G.i Elohim is used throughout. The Deity is the Creator. But, in approaching that part of the narrative, where the personal God enters into relations with man, and where Jehovah' was necessary, Moses unites the names, and says 'Jehovah Elohim.' Had he suddenly used Jehovah alone, there might have been a doubt-[in the minds of whom, if both names were known to the Hebrews, and familiarly used by them and their forefathers?]—as to whether Jehovah was not different from Elohim. The union of the two names proves identity; and, this being proved, from G.iv on Moses drops the union, and sometimes employs Jehovah, sometimes Elohim, as occasion, propriety, and the laws of the Hebrew language, require.

348. At present, the suggestions, which we have made above, are only conjectural, except to this extent, that

(i) We have seen reason already to conclude with certainty (282) that the main portion, at least, of the story of the Exodus must have been written long after the time of Moses and Joshua, whatever relics of that earlier age may still, perhaps, be retained in the narrative;

(ii) We can scarcely doubt that the age of Samuel is the earliest age, after the time of the Exodus, at which such a history can be conceived to have been written;

(iii) We have observed some indications (245), which seem to point to the age of Samuel, as the time at which some portions of the Pentateuch may have been written;

(iv) We have reason to believe (283) that Samuel and his pupils did actually employ themselves in historical composition.

Let us now see if we can bring any proofs to bear directly and decisively on this question.

268

CHAPTER XII.

THE ELOHISTIC PSALMS OF DAVID.

349. LET it first be observed that, in the Pentateuch, and Book of Joshua, so soon as the Name Jehovah is proclaimed, it appears constantly in every page as the ruling Name, the word habitually and most commonly employed for the Divine Being. This continues also through the books of Judges, Ruth, Samuel, and Kings. The Name Elohim is also used, but far more frequently the Name Jehovah.

350. Thus a careful examination of each book gives the following result, reckoning only those instances in which the name El or Elohim is applied to the True God, and not to human beings or idols.

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In Jo.ii.9-12, the Name Jehovah is put four times into the mouth of the Canaanitish harlot, Rahab. In N.xxii-xxiv it occurs twelve times in the addresses of the heathen prophet,

Balaam, and Elohim only eleven times; nay, he is actually made to say, 'I cannot go beyond the word of Jehovah, my God,' N.xxii.18.

351. Thus there can be no doubt whatever, that the story, as told in the Pentateuch and all the other historical books, represents the Name Jehovah as being far more common in the mouth of the people generally than the Name Elohim, all along downwards, from the time of its being announced as the special Name, by which the God of Israel would be known to His people.

352. If, then, we have any means of testing independently the truth of this representation, we shall thus have light thrown, from an entirely new quarter, upon the question now before us, as to the historical veracity of the Books of the Pentateuch. If we find, upon indubitable evidence, that the Name Jehovah was thus habitually employed by men, who, beyond all doubt, lived and wrote within the period embraced by these Books, we shall have so far an agreement with the Mosaic story, that there is here no contradiction to it; though, in face of the evidence, already produced, of the unhistorical character of the narrative, even such an agreement as this could not, of course, avail to establish its veracity.

353. But if, on the other hand, we find the exact contrary,— if we find that, so far from the Name Jehovah being habitually used, it was used very rarely, much less freely than Elohim, and often not at all, by most eminent writers, who must have been familiar with the Name, and must have used it, if it was really common in their days, we shall have here a direct and palpable contradiction to the intimations of the Mosaic Books, and a strong independent proof, in addition to what we have observed already, of the unhistorical character of the Mosaic story.

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354. Let us examine, then, for this purpose, the Book of

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Psalms, and those Psalms especially, in the first instance, which appear by their titles to have been written in the earlier part of David's life. And let us see if David makes use of the Name Jehovah, as freely as we should expect him to use it, from what we find in the Pentateuch, as freely as he must have used it, if the word was in common use in his days, and believed to have had set upon it the seal, as it were, of Jehovah Himself, as the Name by which He would be known as the Covenant God of Israel. It is true that the titles of the Psalms may be, in many cases, of much later date than the Psalms themselves, and are not to be depended on, when unsupported by internal evidence of their truthfulness. But the contents of a Psalm will sometimes confirm the statement in the title, as to the occasion on which it was composed, and be sufficient to satisfy us as to the part of David's life in which it was written.

355. Of the hundred and fifty Psalms contained in the Bible, nearly half, viz. seventy-three, are, by their titles attributed to David in the Hebrew text, while the LXX assign eleven others to him. Of the above seventy-three, fourteen have inscriptions which specify the event in David's life, with reference to which the Psalm was composed. Eight of these inscriptions refer to events in his earlier years, before he was king. Of these eight, six, when examined, give the following results :

:

(i) In Ps. lii, when 'Doeg, the Edomite, came and told Saul, and said unto him, David is come to the house of Ahimelech,' we have Elohim five times, Jehovah not

once.

(ii) In Ps.liv, when the Ziphims came and said to Saul, doth not David hide himself with us?' we have Elohim four times, Adonai (Lord) once, Jehovah (LORD)

once.

(iii) In Ps.lvi, when 'the Philistines took David in Gath,' at the court of Achish, we have Elohim nine times, Jehovah once.

(iv) In Ps.lvii, when 'David fled from Saul in the cave,' we have Elohim seven times, Lord once, Jehovah not once.

(v) In Ps.lix, when 'Saul sent, and they watched the house to kill him,' we have Elohim nine times, Lord once, Jehovah three times.

But, in this last Psalm, the expression in v.11, 'Slay them not, lest my people

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