Offerings of the Mosaic Law, 151, 157 Proverbs, other titles of, 50(1) Officers of state, 169 Og, scene of his defeat, 93 (1) Oral tradition in Apostolic age, 9 on Hebrew Canon, 7(2) Papias, reference of, to the Gospels, Parables, in the Gospels, 131 (2) conversion of, 134 (2) missionary journeys, 134 (2), 135 Pentateuch, canonical recognition Pentateuchal legislation, 92 (1) Peter, 1st Epistle of, analysis, Peter, 2nd Epistle of, analysis, Philippians, Epistle to, analysis, Philistines, the, 97, 98 (1), 111 (1) Philosophy, 178 (1) Phoenicians, account of, 111 Political and judicial institutions, Pools of Solomon, 187 (1) Potters, 180 (2) Septuagint version of, Psalms, authors of, 48, 49 character of book, 49 (2) Punishments among the Jews, Puranas, the, 18 (1) Purim, the deliverance of, 102(2), Qri and Kthib, 23 (1) Rabbath Ammon, 191 (2) Religious customs, 174 (2) Sects, Jewish, Essenes, the, 103 (2) Books of Generations in, Shiloh, meaning of, 120 (2) Shrines or Sanctuaries, 151 (2) Sin offering, the, 157 Sinai, an ancient sanctuary, 92 (1) Sins of O.T. heroes, 119 (1) Solomon, reign of, 98(2), 99 analysis of, 52 Rabbi Akiba on, 52(1) Song of Three Children, 64 (2) a, Stephen, death of, 134(1) Return of the Jews, 102, 103(1) analysis, 85-87 Rewards and punishments, as edu- Rome in the Apostolic age, 138, Ruth, character of book, 96(2) Saadia Gaon, on vowel points, 22 (1) Prayer, attitude, places, and times Sacred books of India, 17 Stranger, the, 166(2) Susanna, history of, 64(2) Symmachus' translation of Bible, Great, the, 108 (1), 164 (2), 165 (2) Samaritan Canon, 5(2) 29(1), 143 Tanning, 180 (2) Tantras, the, 18 (1) Pentateuch, 22(2), 24(2), Taouism, Sacred books of, 16(2) Samaritans, the, 114 (2) connexion with Judges, 42 (1) Saul, king of Israel, career of, 97 (2) Targums of Hebrew Scriptures, 7(2), 23(1), 29 (1) Tarshish, 109(1), 192 (2) Tatian's Diatessaron, 12 (2) Taverner's Bible, 31(2), 33 (2), 34(2) of the Twelve Apostles, 140 (2) Temple of Herod, connexion with Tobit, character of book, 62(2) the N.T., 155 (1) Temple of Zerubbabel, history of, 154(1) Ten Tribes, schism of, 99(2) Teraphim, the, 163 (2) on Latin MSS., 25(2) Testament, appropriateness of " Textile fabrics, 181(1) Textual criticism, adequacy of means for, 28 (2) materials for, 25, 26 methods of, 27, 28 Theocracy, the, 168 (1) Theodotion's translation of Bible, Theophilus' witness to N. T. Scrip- Thessalonians I., analysis of, 71(2) Timothy, I. and II., Epistles, ana- Tindale's works, 30(2), 31, 33 (2), 34 Titus, Epistle to, analysis of, 79(1) summary of story, 62 (2) Tribal organization, 166 (1) Turanian Group, Sacred books of, Type and Antitype, 120(2) Uncleanness, ceremonial, 161 (2) Valentinus' witness to N. T., 12(1) Versions of Bible, Armenian, 30(2) Egyptian, 30(2) Ethiopic, 30 (2) Gothic, 30 (1) Coptic or Memphitic, 26(2) Vulgate, 26(2), 29(2), 33(2), 34 Companion to the Bible. 1. I. THE STRUCTURE OF THE BIBLE. BY THE REV. H. E. RYLE, B.D., HULSEAN PROFESSOR OF DIVINITY. THE BIBLE AND ITS NAMES. OLD AND NEW frequently used is "the Scriptures," with which is TESTAMENTS. By the name Bible is meant the whole collection of writings containing the records of Divine Revelation. The word itself is of Greek origin, being derived from ta biblia, "the books. The use of this expression as applied to Scripture, which appears first in Ps.-Clem. Rom. II. xiv. 2 (circ. 140 A.D.), became in later times very common, though generally accompanied by an adjective, e.g. "holy," "divine," "canonical." Along with several other ecclesiastical words of Greek origin (e. g. litaneia, ecclesia, liturgia, canon), "biblia" became appropriated by the ecclesiastical Latin of the Middle Ages, first as a neuter plural (gen. bibliorum), and eventually even as a feminine singular (gen. biblia). It then passed naturally under different forms from the Latin of the Church into the vernacular of the European nations. By its derivation, therefore, the name "Bible" denotes, strictly speaking, not a single book, but a collection of books, or more accurately a collection of the books. The Latin Fathers, Jerome and Isidore, called the Scriptures "The Sacred Library" (Divina Bibliotheca), and it is this collective idea which the name "Bible" carries with it. Unfortunately the modern usage as a mere title has obscured its original significance, which is now in danger of being lost. We should be reminded by the familiar title that though the Spirit of Revelation is one, the diversity of the gifts through which it finds utterance is manifold; that the essential unity of its contents is compatible with the utmost variety in origin and form; that the completeness of the message is not impaired by the fragmentariness of the record. The Bible," in other words, is at once due to the one Revelation and to the gradual growth of many centuries. The most varied conditions of time and place and thought, which have left deep their impression upon the human character of "the books," as literary composition, have combined in rendering the "Bible" an instrument of perfect testimony to the manifestation of the Word of God. On the other hand, the use of the collective title belongs to a period in which the completeness of the collection had long been recognised, and in this respect stands in contrast to the earlier names, which express the sacredness and variety of the writings, but fail to convey the thought of their unity or their finality. In pre-Christian times Jewish Scriptures are termed "the books" (Dan. ix. 2), "the holy books" (1 Macc. xii. 9), "the book of the law" (1 Macc. i. 56, iii. 48), "the book of the testament" (1 Macc. i. 57). In the New Testament they are described as "the Scriptures" (e.g. Matt. xxii. 29; Joh. v. 39), sometimes "the holy Scriptures" (Rom. i. 2), "the sacred writings" (2 Tim. iii. 15). Sometimes they receive the name of the chief writings which they contain, e. g. "the law, the prophets and the psalms (Luke xxiv. 44), "the law and the prophets" (Acts xxviii. 23), "the law" (John xii. 34).. In the writings of the early Church the name most generally combined some epithet, such as "holy," "divine," "canonical," &c. Upon the terms "Testamentum" and "Instrumentum" see below. In Rabbinical writings the Jewish Bible is most frequently designated by a title which describes its contents, "The Law, the Prophets and the Writings' (Torah, Nebiim, Kethubim). Other names are "The Twenty-Four," referring to the number of the books, and "The Reading," or "Ham-miq'ra," i.e. the Sacred Lectionary. The Bible has two great divisions, familiarly known as The Old and New Testaments. The Old Testament consists of the Canon of Scriptures current among the Jews of Palestine in our Lord's time, and received on that account in its entirety1 by the Christian Church. The New Testament contains the Canon of Christian writings belonging to the Apostolic age, invested by the Church with the same sanctity and authority as those of the Jewish Scriptures. The former group of writings records in history, type, prophecy and poetry the manifold stages of the Revelation which was made to the chosen people : the latter contains in brief memoirs and fragmentary correspondence a record of the final manifestation in Christ and of its interpretation to the life of the world through the foundation and teaching of the Church. The two groups therefore belong to different dispensations, the one leading up to, the other issuing forth from, the central fact of the world's history, "the Word became flesh." In the Incarnation the relation of the two "Testaments" to one another is made clear. A real continuity runs through them. The obvious elements of contrast do not arise from lack of harmony. The Old and New Testaments are not contradictory, they are complementary the one to the other. Augustine's saying, though liable to easy perversion, is in the profoundest sense_true: "Novum Testamentum in Vetere latet; Vetus Testamentum in Novo patet. The contrast between the two Testaments is as conspicuous in a consideration of their range and language as of the distinctive characteristics of their primary religious conceptions. The books of the Old Testament are drawn from a national literature extending over many centuries: they are to a great extent the work of compilation, their present literary condition shews the traces of frequent revision; they are written in the rigid and stately Hebrew idiom, familiar only to a small branch of the Semitic races. The books of the New Testament are drawn from the Christian writings of the single generation of the Apostles: they were written in a flexible Greek dialect intelligible to the whole civilised world. With this contrast in externals we find a corresponding contrast in the general religious attitude. In the Old Testament, God stands in relation to the Universe mainly as the Creator and Sovereign: man is estranged from his Maker by wilful self-assertion: the people of Israel are in particular, although not 1 The doubts felt respecting the Book of Esther offer the only exception to this statement. exclusively, the chosen object of divine mercy. In the New Testament is proclaimed the appearance of "God with us," the reunion of God and Man, and the declaration of the way of salvation to all. God in the Old Testament is predominantly the King, in the New Testament the Father: the Old Testament reveals the need of redemption and contains the covenant of law, the New Testament unfolds the mystery of divine love and makes known the covenant of grace. The Old Testament sets forth the preparatory discipline of the chosen Nation; the New Testament the final revelation in the Divine Person. An inquiry into the meaning of the word Testa. ment shews that "The Old and New Covenant" would be the more accurate rendering of the Greek words, and that the rendering "Testament" has been due to an error which took root very early in the phraseology of the Church. The Greek word "diathéké" means in Classical Greek an "arrangement" or "disposition"; hence it very naturally came to be applied to a man's last disposition of his property, a testament or will. In the Septuagint Version "diathéké" was adopted to represent the important and frequent Hebrew word "berîth' or "covenant. It is often assumed that the more obvious Greek rendering, "synthéké," conveying the idea of "reciprocity," would have offended the Jewish sense of reverence by assigning too much prominence to the human element in the relation between the chosen people and their God, and that, "diathéké" being preferred, man's assent in the sacred Covenant was practically merged in the prominence given to the divine purpose. In the N.T., "diatheké" is to be found with the meaning "covenant" as the only natural one in every passage, unless, as some think, Heb. ix. 16, 17 be an exception. Even in Luke xxii. 20 the true significance of the Lord's words is greatly obscured, if the expression fails to suggest the contrast of the Patriarchal and Mosaic covenants (Gen. xvii. 4; Ex. ii. 24, xxiv. 7) with the "new covenant," which the prophet had predicted (Jer. xxxi. 31). The Jewish Scriptures, which contained the record of the sacred covenant, were frequently called "the book of the covenant" (Ex. xxiv. 7; 2 Kings xxiii. 2, 21; 1 Macc. i. 57; Ecclus. xxiv. 23). St Paul referring to the contents of the Jewish Scriptures speaks of "the reading of the old covenant' (2 Cor. iii. 14). For the sake of brevity it was natural on the part of the Christian Church to speak of the sacred writings of the old and new dispensation as "the old and new covenant.' In the beginning of the third century we find in Origen's writings the mention of "the divine Scriptures, the so-called Old and New Covenants" (De Princip. IV. 1). In the Western Church, Jerome in his Vulgate gave to "berîth" the renderings of "foedus" or "pactum" indifferently (cf. Jer. xxxi. 31, "foedus novum, non secundum pactum quod pepigi cum patribus vestris"). Unfortunately, in his version of the New Testament, as also of the Psalms, Wisdom and Ecclesiasticus, where Jerome merely revised the rendering of the Old Latin Version, he permitted the erroneous rendering "testamentum" to remain. The mistake, arising from a confusion of the technical with the Septuagint usage of "diathéké," was never remedied. The words "Vetus" and "Novum Testamentum" being therefore apparently confirmed by the authority of the Latin Version in such passages as 2 Cor. iii. 6, 14, passed into general acceptance with the Western Church. Another Latin rendering which found favour in this sense is "instrumentum," meaning an authoritative or official document. Tertullian (†220) testifies to its use in Africa, adv. Marc. Iv. 1, "alterius instrumenti vel quod majus usui est dicere testamenti." 2. GROUPS OF Books OF THE OLD TESTAMENT. In our Bibles the arrangement of the books of the Old Testament favours a division into four groups. i. The Pentateuch, giving the Hebrew cosmogony, the origin of the people of Israel and the foundation of the Israelite constitution. ii. Historical Books, consisting of (a) Jos., Jud., Ruth; containing the account of the occupation of Palestine and the history of Israel previous to the Monarchy. (b) 1 & 2 Sam., 1 & 2 Kings; containing the account of the foundation of the Monarchy, the History of the Northern and Southern Kingdoms to the time of their overthrow; to which is added 1 & 2 Chronicles, covering the same period. (c) Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther; the first two describing the return from the Captivity under Zerubbabel, Ezra and Nehemiah; to which is added the story of queen Esther, an episode from the records of the Captivity. cannot iii. Poetical Books. The arrangement of these books follows the chronological order of their reputed authors. Thus the Psalter of David stands between the book of the patriarch Job and the writings of Solomon. The term "poetical" belongs strictly only to Job, Psalms and the Song of Songs. The books "Proverbs" and "Ecclesiastes strictly be called "Poetical." They belong to the "Sapiential" or "Didactic" class of writing. iv. Prophetical Books. These are divided into the four Major and the twelve Minor Prophets. (a) The Major Prophets are the four largest books of prophecy arranged in the chronological order of the names which they bear. Strictly speaking, the book Daniel is Apocalypse rather than Prophecy. (b) The order of the twelve Minor Prophets is approximately chronological. The book Jonah differs by its narrative character from the writings with which it is classed. The arrangement of the books in the MSS. of the Greek and Latin Bibles varies very much. The Apocryphal books are most commonly introduced as follows: Tobit and Judith after Esther, Wisdom and Ecclesiasticus after Song of Songs, Baruch and the Epistle of Jeremy after Lamentations, and 1, 2 Maccabees after Malachi. The books of our Old Testament are 39 in number. But this figure is considerably in excess of the number of independent writings included in the collection. The subdivision of Samuel, Kings, Chronicles, Ezra-Nehemiah, as well as of the Pentateuch, is artificial. More accurately we should speak of 31 books, or, if Joshua be really inseparable in structure from the Pentateuch, and Chronicles from Ezra-Nehemiah, of 29 books of the O.T. In the Hebrew Bible the books are divided into the three groups, Law, Prophets, and Writings or Hagiographa. The arrangement of the books within the separate groups has differed from time to time. Modern editions give the traditional (Massoretic) order adopted by the great Jewish Biblical scholars of the Middle Ages, which is reproduced in the following scheme: (A) The Law or Torah, the five books of the Pentateuch, each receiving its name from its opening word or words. (B) The Prophets or Nebiim. 1. The former Prophets (Nebiim rishônim), i.e. the historical writings, Joshua, Judges, 1, 2 Samuel, 2 Kings. 2. The latter Prophets (Nebiim akharônim), i.e. the prophetical writings, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, 12 Minor Prophets. (C) The Writings or Hagiographa (Kethubim). 1. Psalms, Proverbs, Job, poetical books, sometimes called "The Former Writings" (Kethubim rishônim). 2. Song of Songs, Ruth, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes, Esther, called the Five Megilloth or Rolls. 3. Daniel, Ezra, Nehemiah, 1, 2 Chronicles,-a miscellaneous subdivision, sometimes called "The Latter Writings" (Kethubim akharônim). An arrangement of greater antiquity preserved in the Talmud (Baba Bathra, f. 14, c. 2) contains some important variations. (A) Torah: (B) Nebiim; Jos., Jud., Sam., Kings, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Isaiah, Min. Proph.: (C) Kethubim; Ruth, Psalms, Job, Proverbs, Eccles., Song of Songs, Lament., Dan., Esth., Ezr. (Ezr.-Neh.), Chron. The following points should be noticed in the Hebrew grouping. (i) The triple division of the Hebrew Scriptures is due not to arbitrary arrangement, nor, as the Rabbins affirmed, to any descending scale of Divine Inspiration, but to the gradual formation of the Canon. It presents also in a striking way the general outline of the Revelation: the Law gives the fundamental idea of the Theocracy: the Prophets declare its progress (a) in the light of history, (b) in connexion with the divine counsels: the Writings preserve the thought of the theocratic people in its speculative and introspective aspects. (ii) The books of Samuel, Kings, Chronicles, EzraNehemiah were not divided by the Jews until the 16th century A.D. The 12 Minor Prophets were treated as one book. The two subdivisions of the Prophets therefore contain four books each. The terms "Former" and "Latter" refer to their position in the list, and have no reference to date of composition. (iii) In the Talmudic list the position of Isaiah is peculiar. It was fancifully explained by the Jewish commentators as due to an arrangement by subject-matter. In recent times it has been by some scholars regarded as a proof of the late Exilic date of 2 Isai. (xl. to end), the arrangement being chronological. The order may perhaps have been merely determined by the comparative length of the books. The Massoretic order is that of the chronological sequence of the names. (iv) The Hagiographa in the Talmudic list are arranged so as to give the place of honour to David (his ancestry, Ruth; his writings, the Psalms) and to group the rest in the chronological order of Job, Solomon, Jeremiah, Daniel, Esther and Ezra; Chronicles being placed last. The Massoretic order differs from the Talmudic chiefly by its grouping together the Five Rolls or Megilloth, the books read upon certain sacred days; the Song of Songs at the Feast of the Passover, Ruth at the Feast of Pentecost, Lamentations on the anniversary of the destruction of the Temple (9th of Ab), Ecclesiastes at the feast of Tabernacles, Esther at the feast of Purim. (v) In both lists Chronicles appears as the last book of the Hebrew Canon. (2) Jud., Sam., Kings, the history of the people to the downfall of the monarchy. (3) Ezra-Nehemiah, personal memoirs of the Captivity and the Return. (4) Ruth, Esth., Chron., special incidents in, and aspects of, history. B. Prophetical: Isai., Jer., Ezek., Min. Proph. (except Jonah). C. Poetical: (1) Psalms and Lam., lyrical. (2) Canticles, idyllic. D. gorical. Didactic: (1) Job, dramatic. (2) Jonah, alle E. Sapiential: (1) Proverbs, gnomic. (2) Ecclesiastes, speculative. F. Apocalyptic: Daniel, and part of Ezek. (xl.xlviii.) and Zechariah (i.-vi. 8). 3. GROUPS OF BOOKS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT. In our Bibles the Books of the New Testament fall into five groups: (1) the Gospels, the Records of the Life of Christ: (2) the Acts of the Apostles, the Records of the Foundation of the Church: (3) the Epistles of St Paul (a) to Churches, (b) to individuals, to which is appended the Ep. to the Hebrews: (4) the so-called Catholic (or general) Epistles of St James, St Peter, St John and St Jude: (5) the Apocalypse. This arrangement is derived from the Latin Vulgate. The contents of the New Testament naturally divide themselves into (a) the history, and (b) the teaching, thoughts and aspirations based upon the history. The record of the facts of the Divine Life and the expansion of that Life into the life of the world precedes in order the Apostolic teaching: doctrine and organization follow as the results of the Historic Facts. The writings themselves are of a very varied character. The differences arising from the different points of view taken by the writers, and from their different personal and religious characteristics, offer distinctive features in the books without diminishing their substantial agreement. The three Synoptic Gospels which, as their name (vi) The number of the books is 24. implies, take the same general view of their subject The Greek translation of the Hebrew Scriptures and follow roughly the same lines of treatment, are seems from the first to have been arranged accord-placed first. They were written in all probability ing to subject-matter. The departure from Pales- before the destruction of Jerusalem for different tinian custom in this respect was probably due readers, St Matthew for Jewish, St Mark for rather to the gradual formation of the Version than Roman, St Luke for Greek, Christian converts. to the independent attitude of Alexandrian Judaism. They present for the most part the same general The extant MSS. shew a great variety in the arrange- outline of teaching, and are occupied chiefly with ment of the books in the LXX. But the following the external history and more especially with the are the most frequent variations from the Hebrew Galilean Ministry of our Lord. order: (i) Ruth is joined to Judges, Lamentations to Jeremiah, (ii) Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, follow after Kings, (iii) Job precedes Psalms and Proverbs, (iv) the Minor Prophets precede the Major; Daniel follows Ezekiel, (v) the order of the Minor Prophets runs, Hosea, Amos, Micah, Joel, Obadiah, Jonah, Nahum &c. (vi) Apocryphal books are inserted, Tobit and Judith being generally placed next to Esther, Wisdom and Ecclesiasticus after the Song of Songs, Baruch and the Epistle of Jeremy after Lamentations, Susanna, the Song of the Three Children, Bel and the Dragon after Daniel, while 1, 2 Maccabees close the list. Josephus writing for Greek readers shews by his mention of 22 sacred books that he was referring to the Alexandrine Version, and reckoned Ruth as part of Judges and Lamentations as part of Jeremiah (Contr. Ap. 1. 8). Jerome claims to give the Jewish order of the books as follows: (a) Pentateuch; (b) Prophets: 1, Jos.; 2, Jud. and Ruth; 3, Sam.; 4, Kings; 5, Isai.; 6, Jeremi. and Lam.; 7, Ezek.; 8-12, Min. Proph.; (c) Hagiographa: 1, Job; 2, Pss.; 3, Prov.; 4, Eccles.; 5, Cant.; 6, Dan.; 7, Chron.; 8, Esdr. (i.e. Ezr.-Neh.); 9, Esth. But the position of Ruth and Lam., of Job, Dan., Chron., seems to reflect the influence of the LXX. Classified more strictly according to subjectmatter, the books may be grouped as follows: A. Historical: (1) Pentateuch and Joshua, the origin of the people, the foundation of the Israelite constitution, and the settlement in Palestine. St John's Gospel, written after the fall of Jerusalem, giving special prominence to the Ministry in Judea and the spiritual character of the teaching, stands after the Synoptists. The sublimer flights of the Fourth Gospel presuppose the existence of a simpler representation of the divine teaching and an acquaintance with a fuller picture of the Life. The Acts being the history of the Church's Foundation succeeds the memoirs of the Founder. The first 12 chapters are chiefly occupied with the Ministry of St Peter, the concluding 16 with that of St Paul. The two sections together describe (1) the Revelation through the Apostles to the Jewish people, (2) the building up of the Jewish Christian Church, (3) the gradual Revelation of the Gospel to the Gentile world. Of the Epistles, the Pauline are placed first, perhaps as containing the books of the most considerable size. By a happy coincidence the Epistles, whose authority was soonest recognised and among which some are of genuineness that has never, even in recent times, been disputed (Rom., 1 and 2 Cor., Gal.), rank next in order to the History, which had closed with a description of St Paul's imprisonment at Rome. The Epistles to Churches stand first, arranged roughly in the order of their size; the Epistles to individuals follow; and the Epistle to the Hebrews is placed last, a position due to the uncertainty as to its authorship and to the absence of any opening salutation. The so-called Catholic Epistles of the Apostles A G |