escape the student's quest. Already in 1792 the learned Scotch Roman Catholic priest, Dr. Geddes,1 announced three propositions in the introductory chapter prefixed to his new translation of the Scriptures: (1) the Pentateuch in its present form was not written by Moses: (2) it was written in the land of Canaan, and most probably at Jerusalem : (3) it could not be written before the reign of David, nor after that of Hezekiah.' Concerning the materials out of which it was composed, Geddes expressed himself with both freedom and insight 2:

'But though I am inclined to believe that the Pentateuch was reduced into its present form in the reign of Solomon, I am fully persuaded that it was compiled from ancient documents, some of which were coeval with Moses, and some even anterior to Moses. Whether all these were written records, or many of them only oral traditions, it would be rash to determine. It is my opinion that the Hebrews had no written documents before the days of Moses; and that all their history prior to that period is derived from monumental indexes or traditional tales. Some remarkable tree under which a patriarch had resided; some pillar which he had erected; some heap which he had raised; some ford which he had crossed; some spot where he had encamped; some field which he had purchased; the tomb in which he had been laid-all these served as so many links to hand his story down to posterity, and corroborated the oral testimony transmitted from generation to generation in simple narratives or rustic songs. That the marvellous would sometimes creep into these we can easily conceive; but still the essence, or at least the skeleton of history, was preserved.'

The story of the progress of critical enquiry cannot be recited here. It must suffice to summarise very briefly the main results of the literary analysis, before indicating the method of historical

1 See Lect. I. p. 55. ? Vol. I. p. xix.

I

investigation by which the constituent documents were assigned to particular periods, and special national or religious interests.

The real key to the composition of the Pentateuch lies in the declaration ascribed to Elohim in Exod. 6:

2b I am Yahweh : 3and I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob as God Almighty [El Shaddai], but by my name Yahweh I was not known to them.

Such revelations are recorded to Abraham in Gen. 171, and to Jacob in 35". But, on the other hand, the same patriarchs receive similar revelations from Yahweh, 157 and 2813; altars are built to him at various places (128, 13418, 2133, etc.); it is in his name that Abraham's servant, in search of a bride for his master's son, is welcomed at the city of Nahor by Laban, and it is of such ancient use that it can be said of the family of Adam, 'then began men to call upon the name of Yahweh,' 426.

31

24°;

There are, therefore, two entirely different theories of the religious history of Israel's progenitors, which run right through the book of Genesis to the age of Moses. The revelations of El Shaddai in 17 and 35 supply test-passages for the patriarchal narratives, and a document can be very easily isolated from the opening account of creation to the oppression in Egypt, consisting of a series of sections marked by the initial formula 'These are the generations . (Gen. 2, which no doubt once stood before 11, 6o, 101, 1110 27, 251219, 3619, 372). The style and matter of this narrative are so peculiar that it can

II

be readily recognised, and it proves to be a brief introduction to a great book of Priestly Law, embodying the description of the 'Dwelling' (so R.V. margin rightly in Exod. 25°) contained in Exod. 25-31 (and again in 35-40), the establishment of the Aaronic priesthood and the inferior Levitical order, together with a vast mass of legislation in the books of Leviticus and Numbers, terminating with an account of incidents and laws assigned to the last few months of Moses' life, in Num. 26-36. This great collection is now commonly designated the Priestly Code, and is marked by the symbol P. Its central conceptions are the place of the forefathers of Israel in universal history among the nations of the earth, the covenant of Elohim with Abraham to bestow the land of Canaan on his descendants, the solemn adoption of Israel at Sinai to be his people, and the gift of certain religious institutions designed on the one hand to secure the divine presence in their midst, and on the other to preserve it inviolate by maintaining the holiness of the nation among whom he condescended to dwell.

When the sections of P are removed from the book of Genesis, it is soon apparent that what is left is not by any means homogeneous. There are duplicate narratives, and inconsistencies of chronology; and, above all, there are still important passages presenting the Deity as Elohim to the exclusion of Yahweh, though they cannot be assigned to the short narrative of the world's history prefixed to P. The same problem, therefore, again

presents itself, and the solution is similar. There are two accounts of the revelation of the name Yahweh. Prior to the declaration in Exod. 62, an earlier announcement to the same effect had been already made in 36 15. It cannot be doubted that the name in which Moses is authorised to declare his divine mission 15 is as much a new name as it is in 62.

There are still, therefore, two documents in the remaining mass when the summary of the 'generations' has been extricated from the complex whole. One of these begins with the story of Eden, and relates the early history of mankind on the hypothesis that the name Yahweh was universally known. Like P, this narrative also gradually narrows its outlook, till it concentrates its attention on the figure of Abraham and his descendants. But its author is no legalist advancing swiftly towards the solemn ordinances of Sinai. He gathers into his work the rich and varied lore of tradition; he loves the stories that have been told and re-told for generations; he delights in the play of character; he reverences the ancient sanctuaries of time-honoured worship. He tells of the divine call of Abram, and of the promise of the land to his posterity. The scene changes to Egypt, and the brilliant administration of Joseph is followed by the tyranny of Rameses; Moses receives his high charge to return to Israel as the liberator; the people escape under his guidance; and after a sojourn at Sinai where Yahweh in person descends upon the mount, the march is con

tinued till the tribes are camped upon the Jordan bank. Here are many of the ideas which are embodied in the Priestly Code, but the atmosphere is quite different. The author's interest is engaged with the succession of events by which Yahweh's long purpose is to be realised, and the personalities through which this is effected. Of the sacred institutions so dear to P he knows absolutely nothing; and the brief terms of Yahweh's covenant at Sinai (Exod. 341027) ignore them altogether. From its early use of the sacred name Yahweh (Jehovah) this striking record of Israel's national life is briefly designated J.

There remains the third constituent of Genesis, a second narrative founded on the view that the name Yahweh was only revealed for the first time to Moses. No secure traces of this can be found prior to the days of Abraham, and its first conspicuous entry into the documentary web occurs in the story of his sojourn at the court of Abimelech of Gerar in Gen. 20. The extracts from it are by no means so copious as those of J, with which it is, indeed, closely united by many affinities both of style and thought. It follows the same course, relating the episodes of Joseph's story with great zest, and marches parallel with J through the plagues and the exodus, till the tribes arrive-not at Sinai, but at Horeb. There a solemn covenant is made with Israel on the basis of certain 'Words' (with which is now incorporated a collection of 'Judgments ') in Exod. 202-23. This is the first legislation. It is