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DIVINITY SCHOOL
TROWBRIDGE LIBRARY

THE PROPHETS OF THE
OLD TESTAMENT

BY THE SAME AUTHOR
THE POETS OF THE OLD
TESTAMENT
" A book of sterling and rare merit. Alike for the completeness
of his scholarly equipment, the buoyant elasticity of his style and
spirit, and his profound and intimate understanding of the Old
Testament, Dr. Gordon stands in the very first rank. This is a
treatise which every scholar will learn from, but it is so simple, so
clear, and so radiant that it will attract everyone who cares for
Hebrew poetry, or, for that matter, who cares for poetry. . . .
*' For what he has given us we are profoundly thankful. This is one
of the most refreshing and delightful books of recent years, and gives
the author a place with George Adam Smith. Without pretending
any competence to criticise Dr. Gordon's treatment of the more
abstruse points of scholarship, we may yet venture to recognise his
wide reading, his singular grace and ease, the lightness with which
he bears his weight of learning. The translations are mas
terly and charming. . . . We hope we have said enough to
attract many readers to the subject, and they cannot have a
safer guide than the brilliant Montreal professor." — Sir W.
Robertson Nicole, in the British Weekly
Price 6s. net
HODDER & STOUGHTON, PUBLISHERS, LONDON

THE PROPHETS OF THE
OLD TESTAMENT

By
ALEX. R. GORDON, D.Lrrr., D.D.
Professor of Hebrew, McGill University, and of
Old Testament Literature and Exegesis,
Presbyterian College, Montreal

HODDER AND STOUGHTON
LONDON NEW YORK TORONTO
MCMXVI

TLo
MY WIFE

PREFACE
Perhaps the most conspicuous gain of recent study
of the Old Testament has been the re-discovery of
the prophets. For centuries these were but honoured
names, the bearers of certain golden words that
shone out lustrous over the ages, while their own
personalities remained in shadow. Now the pro
phets stand in the clear light of history, as the great,
figures of the ancient Revelation, the men through
whose word and influence the vision broadened
towards the perfect day. But they are no mere
historical figures. As poets, preachers, moralists,
statesmen seers and reformers — heralds of the
coming Kingdom — above all, as men of God,
who knew His mind, and walked with Him in spirit
and truth, they are abiding fountains of inspiration
for those who seek after righteousness.
Individual prophets have received brilliant ex
position at the hands of English-speaking scholars.
There is still room, however, for a comprehensive
treatment of the, subject, which allows the prophets
to speak for themselves. The present volume seeks
to fulfil this ideal, within necessary limits. The
7

8 Preface
course of prophecy is traced from its first morning
beams, till the light disappears in the rosy flush of
Apocalypse ; the prophets are set on the back
ground of their time, and portrayed in their sharply
contrasted personality and experience ; but the
stress throughout is laid on translations of their
most significant utterances, which reproduce as
nearly as possible the sense and rhythm of the
original. The volume is thus, in subject-matter
and method of treatment alike, the complement of
my previous work on The Poets of the Old Testament,
to which the reader is referred for a statement of
general principles.
As before, I have taken Kittel's standard Biblia
Hebraica as a textual basis, and introduced critical
foot-notes only when I have followed an inde
pendent course. My main obligations to other
workers in the field are acknowledged in the
body of the book. I take this opportunity,
however, of expressing my deep gratitude to my
brother-in-law, Mr. James Georgeson, M.A., Aber
deen, who has again helped me with the proof-
sheets, and offered many valuable suggestions,
from a literary point of view.
Montreal, 1916.

CONTENTS . PAGE
CHAPTER I
The Dawn of Prophecy . . n
CHAPTER II
Elijah and the Conflict with Baal 23
CHAPTER III
, Amos the Prophet of Justice . 35
CHAPTER IV
Hosea The Prophet of Love . 61
CHAPTER V "
The Vision of Isaiah . . 81
CHAPTER VI "
Isaiah the Prophet of Holiness • 88
CHAPTER VII
The Sign of Immanuel . . 105
CHAPTER VIII "
The Triumph of Isaiah's Faith . 113
CHAPTER IX
Micah the Democrat ... 133
CHAPTER X
Zephaniah and the Day of the Lord 142
CHAPTER XI
The Call of Jeremiah . . 150
CHAPTER XII
The Foe from the North . . 155
9^*

10 Contents page
CHAPTER XIII
Nahum the Patriot . . . . . .166
CHAPTER XIV
Jeremiah and his Contemporaries . . .176
CHAPTER XV
Jeremiah the Prophet of Personal Religion . 194
CHAPTER XVI
The Glory of the Lord . . . . .211
CHAPTER XVII
Ezekiel and the Fall of Jerusalem. . .219
CHAPTER XVIII
Ezekiel the Prophet of Regeneration . . 232
CHAPTER XIX
Habakkuk the Prophet of Faith . . . 243
CHAPTER XX
The Prophet of Comfort . . . . .252
CHAPTER XXI
Prophets of Restoration : Haggai and Zechariah 275
CHAPTER XXII
^Prophets of the New Jerusalem . . . 295
CHAPTER XXIII
The Rise of Apocalypse . . . . .314
CHAPTER XXIV
Daniel the Seer . . . . . .338
CHAPTER XXV
Jonah the Missionary ..... 347

CHAPTER I
The Dawn of Prophecy
The birth of Israel was the result of a great act
of faith. Out of a mass of scattered units, sunk
in spiritual lethargy and despondency, the creative
genius of Moses called to life a nation strong in the
consciousness of a lofty destiny, through common
allegiance to Jahweh their living Lord and Leader—
an austere God, whose glory was revealed amid the
storms and thunders of Sinai, but in whose heart
a stern regard for righteousness was already blended
with a deep and abiding love for His people. In
spired by this high confidence, Moses was able to
guide them through all the trials and temptations
of their desert journey, till they reached the borders
of the Promised Land.
With the settlement in Canaan new dangers con
fronted the growing faith. The Conquest was far
from complete. Though the wooded hill-country
west of the Jordan fell an easy prey to the invading
tribesmen, the fertile plains and strong walled cities
remained in the hands of the Canaanites. Thus
the struggling communities of Israel lay long ex
it

12 The Prophets of the Old Testament
posed to attack from their neighbours on every side,
and victory often hung in the balance. Had the
young nation succumbed to these attacks, the
religion of Israel must have shared its downfall.
But victory was fraught with almost graver peril.
In all the arts of civilized life the vanquished
Canaanites stood high above their rivals ; and
here too ' the conquered led their conquerors cap
tive.' Once the fury of battle was spent, Israel
succeeded quietly to the inheritance of the
Canaanites, learning of them to build and to plant,
to sow and to reap. Excavations in the buried cities
of Palestine show no break in civilization as the
result of the Conquest. It is clear from Israel's
own records that the simple ties of neighbourly
commerce were further strengthened by bonds of
friendship and alliance. All this reacted powerfully
on the development of Jahwism. The religion of
the Canaanites was a warm and sensuous Nature-
worship, which exercised a peculiar fascination
over the passionate Semitic temperament. While
Jahweh remained in solitary majesty on the rugged
peaks of Sinai, or marched through tempest and
earthquake to battle for Israel, the Baalim or
' Lords' of Canaanite worship lived on the happiest
terms of intimacy with their people, giving them in
season ' their bread and their water, their wool
and their flax, their oil and their drink' (Hos. ii. 5),
and filling the round of their lives with gladness.

The Dawn of Prophecy 13
Through its association with the cult of Ashtart,
the Semitic goddess of love and fertility, Baalism
allowed free play likewise to the most voluptuous
emotions, and the wildest licence and lust. Many
of the sons and daughters of Israel yielded to the
spell, and whored away from Jahweh ' on the tops
of the mountains and the hills, under oaks and
poplars and terebinths,' the shadow of which was
good (iv. 13). Even when the form of the old
faith was preserved, it was in large measure trans
fused by the spirit of Baalism. As Jahweh entered
into possession of His new home in Canaan, the
high places of Baal worship passed oyer to His
service. The realms of Nature and life over which
the Baalim had ruled — the mountains and hills and
forests, the running streams and wells, the corn
fields and vineyards — were also assigned to Him.
Former memories survived, however, and the worship
of the high places continued to be defiled by name
less pollutions. Jahweh Himself came to be re
garded as the new Baal of Palestine, representative
Israelites like Saul, Jonathan and David even calling
their sons by the name of Baal. The once virile
faith thus seemed about to be submerged in the
surrounding tide of heathenism, leaving no wrack
of its former strength behind it.
From both these dangers Israel was saved mainly
through the influence of the prophets, who not
merely held aloft the banner of Jahweh in the face

14 The Prophets of the Old Testament
of every perverse tendency, but in so doing carried
His cause to universal triumph.
The first clear instance of prophetic inspiration
is found in Deborah, who roused the people of
Jahweh to the great battle for independence ' by
the waters of Megiddo.' In her case prophecy
is self-forgetful enthusiasm for Jahweh expressing
itself in warlike passions — a holy hatred against His
enemies that could not be sated till all of them had
perished like the arch-foe Sisera, celebrated in a
Song of glowing exultation, in which is crystallized
the fiery patriotism of the age (Judg. v.).1 But the
typical prophets of this early period appear in the
bands of religious ecstatics who cross the stage
during the stress of the Philistine peril, lashing up
their frenzy by the help of music and dance, pouring
forth excited sounds, and by the sheer force of
spiritual contagion drawing within the circle of
their influence a man so sane and prosperous as
Saul (i Sam. x. 5 ff.), and in later crises of history
sweep through the land on Jahweh' s errands,
1 The origin of the word nabhi' is wrapped in obscurity.
Emphasizing the ecstatic element in prophecy, Kuenen derives
it from ID3, bubble over, while H. P. Smith suggests a connexion
with the Arabic naba, ' to mutter,' and J. A. Bewer compares
the Assyrian nabu, ' to tear away (by force).' In itself, how
ever, N,33 reads like the active noun from an old Semitic root
naba, ' to speak, proclaim,' found in Assyrian nabu, ' to
announce,' and Nebo, the interpreter-god. The prophet
would thus be the ' spokesman ' of the Divine (cf . Greek
jrpo^ijnjs, the forth-speaker).

The Dawn of Prophecy 15
clothed in the hairy mantle and leathern girdle of
their caste (2 Kings i. 8 ; Zech. xiii. 4), and some
times with the taw or Jahweh-mark tattooed upon
their forehead or breast (1 Kings xx. 41 ; Zech.
xiii. 6), their whole appearance and behaviour
conveying to more sober minds the impression of
madness (2 Kings ix. 11) ,1
On the surface there is nothing to distinguish
these frenzied ecstatic bands from the prophets
of Baal or the modern dervishes of Islam. They
were all alike inspired by enthusiastic devotion to
their God and zeal for His service. The vital
difference lies in the character of the gods. The
Baalim of Canaan had no moral power to raise their
devotees above the degradations of Nature- worship.
Islam shows almost as little capacity for spiritual
growth. On the other hand, the personality of
Israel's God was charged with infinite moral possi
bilities. From the first, too, the enthusiasm of the
prophets was tempered by a strong dash of sound
1 From the sudden appearance of the nebhi'im at the time of
the Philistine invasion, Kuenen and other scholars have traced
this phenomenon also to Canaanite influence. No doubt
Syria and the adjoining regions of Asia Minor were, from the
twelfth century b.c. to the days of Apuleius and Lucian, the
notorious haunting-ground of religious ecstatics ; but prophecy
is too universal a phenomenon to be derived from any one local
source. Its roots lie in spiritual enthusiasm, and similar mani
festations are found, not merely among the mingled races of
Asia Minor and the further East, but equally under the impulse
of early Christian faith, and in religious revivals generally
down to the present day.

1 6 The Prophets of the Old Testament
religious wisdom. Like other nations, Israel had
its order of ' seers ' or visionaries, men of deep insight
into the mysteries of life, who in trance, ' eye-
sealed,' yet with their inward vision open, ' see the
Almighty,' and unfold His purpose to their fellows
(Num. xxiv. 15 f.).1 Often enough these gifts of
insight lent themselves, as in Balaam's case, to
knavery and greed ; but with Samuel the profession
of ' seer ' underwent a real baptism of the Spirit, and
helped to elevate and control the kindred functions
of the prophet. Though he might be consulted
about such mundane affairs as the whereabouts of
lost asses, and was counted not above accepting
the seer's usual gift or fee (1 Sam. ix. 7 i), his keenest
powers of vision were concentrated upon the will
of Jahweh for His people. The great struggle with
the Philistines pointed to the monarchy as the only
human means of Israel's salvation. The people
were eager to have a king like the nations around
them. In the earlier account of Saul's accession
the seer was in full sympathy with their desire. The
king was for him, indeed, the gift of God in answer
1 The parenthetical note in 1 Sam. ix. 9 implies that the
ro'im or ' seers ' were the spiritual forerunners of the prophets.
In reality, the two formed separate orders, the seers being more
closely related to priests than to prophets. The functions of the
seer did, however, merge in those of the later prophets. Thus
we find hozim, or ' gazers,' like Gad intimately associated with
the prophets, while the hazon, or ' vision ' of the gazer, is speci
fically applied to the spiritual illumination that made one <»
prophet.

The Dawn of Prophecy 17
to His people's cry for help (v. 16). But on this
very account, he saw, the king of Israel must be
different from other kings : he must be ' a man after
Jahweh's heart,' who sought His honour even more
than the national welfare, and only in His strength
could hope to deliver Israel from oppression.
With his eyes thus open to the Divine purpose,
Samuel was led to anoint Saul as the first ' prince '
over Jahweh's inheritance. The choice seemed
ideal. A brave, heroic figure, chivalrous, generous,
and modest as he was great, Saul showed himself
equally sensitive to religious impressions, and
appeared in no wise ashamed of his enthusiasm
(1 Sam. x. c;ff.). If only he had kept his heart
responsive to the impulse from above, he would
assuredly have fulfilled his people's hopes. Un
happily Saul failed in the one thing needful.
Whether it were from the disturbing influence of a
false personal ambition, or through rooted instability
of character, he was unable consistently to seek
' the Kingdom of God and His righteousness.' This
was the real cause of his alienation from Samuel.
The episode of the sparing of Agag is symptomatic
of far broader issues. The two men were, in fact, |
separated by an ever-widening gulf in principle.
To Samuel the interests of Jahweh and His Kingdom
were supreme — obedience to His command was
' better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the
fat of rams' (xv. 22)— while Saul's religious en-
2

1 8 The Prophets of the Old Testament
thusiasm evaporated amid the petty accidents of
warfare and worldly rule. Hence the tragedy that
enveloped his latter years. Called to be king over the
chosen people, yet consciously lacking the essential
quality of devotion, he could no longer endure the
strain of a false position. Growing jealousy of
David precipitated the catastrophe ; and the drama
closes in darkness and despair.1
The contrast is strikingly pointed in Saul's imme
diate successor., Perhaps no two men have been
more misrepresented by superficial judgments.
The large and generous manhood of Saul appeals
strongly to the natural instinct, while the black
stain that tarnished the honour of David may easily
blind us to his outstanding virtues. In the eyes
of the prophets, David was the ' man after Jahweh's
heart.' He alone had the insight into God's pur
pose, and the resolute force of mind and will, needful
for the ruler of His inheritance. His own faith in
Jahweh was warm and genuine. With all his
failures, too, David sought honestly to subordinate
his personal ambitions to the ends of the Kingdom.
No sooner had he planted his standard in Zion than
he sent to bring the Ark thither ; and he displayed
his devotion to Jahweh by dancing like a prophet
before Him. At the same time he was moved to
show ' the kindness of God ' to the families of such as
1 Cf. A. B. Davidson's fine study of Saul's Reprobation in
The Called of God, pp. 143ft.

The Dawn of Prophecy 19
had shown kindness to him (2 Sam. ix. iff.). And
though in his dealings with other nations he was a
child of his time, and was guilty of deeds of bar
barism that shock our modern feeling for humanity,
to his own people he was a true friend and father.
Thus David stands for all succeeding generations
as the ideal ruler of Israel, while his regime typified
the coming Messianic Kingdom, in which his greater
Son should assume the sovereignty, and bring all
nations under the sway of the Almighty.
Even at this early period the ethical genius of
Old Testament prophecy finds clear expression.
Outside the pale of Jahwism the great sin of David
would have appeared a mere incident of royalty.
An Oriental despot Hke the king of Damascus, or
the late Sultan of Turkey, would have considered
it quite within his rights to serve his pleasure thus
on any of his subjects ; and the jealous husband
who resisted the monarch's intrigues would have
received even shorter shrift than Uriah. But to
the prophet Nathan, judging all things by the
standard of Jahweh's righteousness, this was ' evil
in God's sight' (2 Sam. xii. 9), which no position of
authority in His Kingdom, and no previous devotion
to His interests, could in the least condone. The
favour Jahweh had meted out to David, indeed,
made his sin the darker in God's sight. That which
was sin for every conscience in Israel was sin foulest
and most base for the man after Jahweh's heart

20 The Prophets of the Old Testament
This remained a dominant note of prophecy. The
God of Israel was a righteous God, whose first de
mand was for righteous living ; and those who had
most fully enjoyed His goodness must be themselves
the noblest examples of righteousness.
The establishment of the Kingdom laid for cen
turies one spectre that threatened the struggling
faith. The national independence of Israel was now
secured, and Jahweh was thereby recognized as
one of the mighty gods of the earth. But the old
danger of syncretism, or the mingling of cults, arose
in a still more acute form. As an important power
in the world, the friendship of Israel was courted
by neighbouring states, and intermarriages were
sought as pledges of mutual interest and alliance.
In the royal palace at Jerusalem king Solomon had
his harem like other monarchs, with queens and
concubines from Egypt and Tyre, Moab and Ammon
and Edom (i Kings xi. i). The Kingdom of Jahweh
was thus invaded by foreign ideals of worship and
rule. Though Solomon himself remained loyal to
Jahweh, he tolerated the heathen rites introduced
by his queens, and actually built them altars to
Chemosh, Melech and other gods under the im
mediate shadow of the Temple (v. y).1 As ruler,

1 The familiar paragraph on Solomon's perversion to other
gods (i Kings xi. 1-8) comes to us from a Deuteronomic source,
and no doubt reflects the late prophetic judgment on his reign.
The summary in v. i, however, depends on first-hand docu-

The Dawn of Prophecy 21
too, Solomon was deeply influenced by his new en
vironment. His reign saw a rapid advance in the
comforts and luxuries of civilization ; but this was
gained at the cost of the people's liberty. Under
Solomon the Kingdom of Jahweh passed into a
despotism of the purest Oriental type. The
precedent he set was only too faithfully followed
by the weak and selfish Rehoboam. When the
people besought him to lighten their bondage,
' the king answered them roughly, and spake to
them after the counsel of the young men, saying,
My father made your yoke heavy, but I will add
to your yoke ; my father chastised you with whips,
but I will chastise you with scorpions' (xii. i/jf.).
To the prophets this new despotism was as grave
an offence in Jahweh's sight as dalliance with other
gods. He had called His people to freedom, and
He meant them to five in freedom. The king who
held them as bond-slaves thereby forfeited his throne.
Thus in the very heyday of Solomon's glory the
prophet Ahijah of Shiloh, in Jahweh's name and by
His authority, rent the Kingdom in twelve, and gave
ten parts to Jeroboam, the foreman of the royal
buildings (i Kings xi. 20,f.). In the Disruption
that ensued, the prophetic party supported Jero
boam as the champion of popular rights, the Jewish
prophet Shemaiah even assuring Rehoboam that
nients like I Kings iii. I, while v. 7 has all the appearance of an
original excerpt from Solomon's Annals.

22 The Prophets of the Old Testament
this thing was of Jahweh (xii. 2ff .). Yet the prophets
were by no means blind partisans. For the Northern
Kingdom they held up the same high ideals of
righteous government as they had urged on David
and Solomon ; and the defections of the kings they
visited with the same stern condemnation. Thus
Jeroboam's perversion to Canaanite idolatry in the
shape of the golden calves brought down on his
head the awesome warnings of ' the man of God
from Judah ' (xiii. iff.), and thereafter the ' heavy
tidings ' of his former friend and counsellor, Ahijah
the Shilonite (xiv. iff.). Baasha likewise found a
prophetic adversary in Jehu the son of Hanani,
charged by Jahweh with the message of doom for
himself and his household (xvi. iff.).1 But all these
struggles, pregnant as they are with religious signi
ficance, pale in interest before the titanic conflict of
Ahab and Elijah for Jahweh's moral honour and
supremacy. 1 The stories of prophetic influence in the reign of Jeroboam
and Baasha have likewise been handed down in a Deuterono
mic envelope; but here, too, a nucleus of historical fact must
underlie the tradition.

CHAPTER II
Elijah and the Conflict with Baal
The kingdom of Israel had sunk into virtual anarchy
when Omri usurped the power. He was a brave
and successful soldier, and a strong, capable ruler,
who won for ' the house of Omri ' an abiding name
in Assyrian records. On the Mesha stone, too, he
appears as the conqueror of Moab, which had
revolted from Israel, probably during the disorders
of Rehoboam's feeble reign. The marriage of his
son Ahab with Jezebel, daughter of Ethbaal king
of Tyre,1 linked his throne in close alliance with
the metropolis of the Sidonians ; and in Samaria
he himself found a capital worthy to rank with
Tyre or Jerusalem. Ahab continued his father's
success. Till graver matters distracted his attention
he ruled Moab with a firm hand. The long-drawn
wars with Judah he brought to an honourable end,
sealing the treaty of peace by a marriage between
his daughter Athaliah and Joram, the heir to
1 Ethbaal or Ithobal I, of Tyre, a priest of Melcarth, who
usurped the sovereignty, and reigned c. 887-876 B.C. (cf. Jose
phus, Apion, i. 18). Jezebel's descent from the priesthood of
Melcarth may explain in some measure her fanatical devotion
to that god. 23

24 The Prophets of the Old Testament
Jehoshaphat's crown. In a series of gallant en
counters with his formidable rival, Benhadad of
Damascus, he even succeeded in overturning the
balance of power, taking Benhadad himself prisoner,
and thereafter standing side by side with him as ally
in the great battle of Karkar (854 B.C.), which marks
the first movement of Assyrian arms in force against
the Westland.
By these military distinctions Ahab seemed
destined to revive the glories of the golden age of
David and Solomon ; but his vaulting ambition
over-reached itself and brought about his ruin.
His marriage with Jezebel was not actual treason
against Israel's God — to the very end of his reign
Ahab sought counsel with the prophets of Jahweh,
while his children bore the significant names of
Ahaziah, Jehoram and Athaliah1 — but to the
syncretist tendencies involved in the marriage he
gave freer rein than even Solomon had done. Jeze
bel was a woman of extraordinary force of character,
an Oriental princess of the extreme type, who aimed
at winning absolute authority for herself and her
own ideals of rule. She was not content, therefore,
with mere toleration of her ancient faith ; she was
determined to secure for her god Melcarth, the
' king of the city ' of Tyre, equal recognition with
Jahweh. And Ahab was like wax in her powerful
1 -lnnn^, Jahweh helps ; ffliPIJ, Jahweh is exalted ; -liT^ra,
probably also Jahweh is exalted.

Elijah and the Conflict with Baal 25
hands. Not only did he build her a temple of Baal,
or Melcarth, with its pillar and Asherah, the pole
or tree-trunk consecrated to the dissolute rites of
Ashtart (i Kings xvi. 32f -),1 but he allowed her also
to wreak vengeance on all who opposed her designs.
And with such resolution did she carry through her
purpose that, while the four hundred and fifty
prophets of Baal openly ' ate at Jezebel's table '
(xviii. 19), the prophets of Jahweh were reduced
almost to silence, many of them slain by the edge
of the sword, others compelled to hide in caves and
holes, and others again corrupted, prating of Peace,
peace, when there was no peace (xviii. 4 ; xix. 10 ;
xxii. 6).
With so uncompromising a champion of Baal
worship on the throne, the recognized spokesmen
of Jahweh helpless or servile, and the mass of the
people ' limping 2 between two opinions,' hardly
able to distinguish between Jahweh and Baal, the
faith of Israel was in a perilous plight. Happily
one brave man was left to do battle for Jahweh.
The very name of Elijah 3 strikes the key-note of
1 While the cult of Ashtart was widely spread over the East,
it was so characteristic of Phcenician religion that the goddess
was known as ' the Phcenician Ashtart.' In Phoenicia, "too,
sacred prostitution had struck unusually deep and strong roots.
This intensified the danger to Israel's faith of the threatened '
alliance with Baal.
2 riDS, halt, or limp (on lame, tottering legs).
3 "lflvS. Jahweh is my God.

26 The Prophets of the Old Testament
his character and service. Whatever others might
think or do, Jahweh was his God ; and despite
the consequences he was prepared to wage war a
outrance in His sacred cause. Elijah is so_colossal
a figure that it is impossible for ordinary mortals to
do justice to his commanding stature. There is,.
moreover, much of the whirlwind in his appearance.
He comes and goes like the storm, sweeping upon
the scene when least expected, and then suddenly
vanishing, no one knows whither. His prophetic
ministry may, however, be summed up in the two
great acts of Carmel and Naboth's vineyard, while
the more human side of his character may be ap
proached from the story of his dejection amid the
wastes of Horeb.1
On Cjrmel the firstpreat battle was fought against
1 The main account of Elijah's ministry is contained in
I Kings xvii.-xix., a splendid piece of historical narrative, clearly
from prophetic circles in the North, about the close of the ninth
century B.C., and therefore sufficiently near the hero's own
age to preserve a faithful impression of his personality. The
story of Naboth's vineyard (ch; xxi.) is marked by many of the
same literary characteristics, and no doubt belongs to a simi
lar order of narratives. It can hardly be regarded, however,
as the sequel to the scene at Horeb, which looks forward to the
passing of Elijah (xix. isff.). Ewald and other scholars
would place the story before the ordeal on Carmel, as more
directly, appealing to the sympathy of the people, and calculated
to win them over to Elijah. The present writer feels that a
better climax is gained by reading itjifter Carmel. The two
great moments in Elijah's ministry are thus "set in effective re
lation, and the picture of his depression in the desert leads
fittingly to the choice of a successor to carry on his work.

Elijah and the Conflict with Baal 27
syncretism. Till now the leaven of Baal had been
working subtly, and almost insensibly, in the heart
of Israel ; and the fusion of disparate elements was
accepted as the natural evolution of Jahwism. But
under the challenge of the new Melcarth worship
Elijah boldly raised the issue. To him the question
was no longer the relative place of Jahweh and other
gods — whether Jahweh was stronger than Baal —
but the vital principle of faith itself — whether
Jahweh or Baal was God. ' How long limp ye
between two opinions ? If Jahweh be God, follow
Him ; but if Baal, then follow him ' (i Kings xviii.
21). Arid the result of the ordeal was decisive for
the whole future history of religion. From the
moment when Jahweh answered by fire, it became
evident to all who had eyes to read the signs of the
times, not merely that Jahweh was the God of
Israel, but that other gods were vanities. ' When
all the people saw it, they fell on their faces : and
they said, Jahweh, He is God; Jahweh, He is God'
(v. 39). As against this true and living God the
Baal even of mighty Tyre was but a name, unable
• to help his prophets in the hour of need — a mere
shadow of a god, who could not defend his own
honour against the rude jests of the adversary.
In the second outstanding moment of Elijah's
career the moral character of Jahweh comes into
strong relief. The judicial murder of Nabqth was
typical of the arbitrary deeds of Oriental monarchs

28 The Prophets of the Old Testament
of the age, and would have aroused hardly even
comment, still less moral condemnation, in Tyre
or any other neighbouring state. In urging
her husband to the act of bloodshed, Jezebel was
asserting royal prerogatives which her own
father would have exercised as matter of course.
But to' the prophet of Israel — true successor of
Nathan and the older heroes of faith — Ahab had
' sold himself to do evil in the sight of Jahweh,' no
vain phantom hke the Baal he coquetted with,
but the righteous God, who hated iniquity, and
would inevitably take vengeance on the evil-doer,
however exalted in worldly rank. Before the bar
of His justice murder was murder, be the guilty
one king or commoner ; and murder demanded the
penalty of death. ' Thus saith Jahweh, In the
place' where dogs licked the blood of Naboth, shall
dogs lick thy blood, even thine' (i Kings xxi. 19).
We have thus reached one of the great landmarks
in religious development. The principle of ethical
monotheism may not yet have been consciously
explicated — and Elijah himself made no attempt
to enforce the worship of Israel's God on the widow
of Zarephath — but as a practical faith it stands
out in unmistakable emphasis. ~ The ~ time when
Jahweh's existence must be defended against the
enemy is past ; the decisive battle with Baal has
also been fought and won ; and Jahweh emerges i
from the conflict the one real God in heaven and

Elijah and the Conflict with Baal 29
earth, supreme in goodness as in power, claiming
the undivided allegiance of His people.1
It is with a strange feeling of surprise that we
pass from these heroic scenes to the wilderness of
Horeb, and see Elijah under the broom bush, feebly
praying Jahweh to take away his life, for he is no
better than his fathers. Yet we are thankful for
the sight. It brings the prophet near to us, and
shows him to be a man of like passions with our
selves. Even the strongest natures ' faint and be
weary' — our Lord Himself had His Gethsemane —
and Elijah was but suffering the inevitable reaction
from his boldness. The mighty spirit that had
confronted king and people in single-handed battle
for righteousness was exhausted by the sheer great
ness of his deeds. By a true instinct he fled from
the haunts of men to the solitude of the desert —
Jahweh's ancient home by the tempest-driven
heights of Horeb — to find relief in direct communion
with Him. And how kindly the Lord his God dealt
with the fainting heart ! Like a good physician He

1 To Elijah ' Baal and Jahweh represented, one might say,
a contrast of principles of the most vital and profound practical
convictions ; both could not be right, nor could they exist
side by side. For him there were no two Powers, equally worthy
of worship, and with equal authority over - different spheres,
but everywhere One Holy and Mighty Being, who revealed
Himself, not in the life of Nature, but in the laws by which alone
human society can maintain itself, in the moral demands of the
spirit.' — Wellhausen, Isr. u. Jud. Geschichte* p. 74.

30 The Prophets of the Old Testament
touched the core of his malady, and gave him the
needed medicine. The cause of his sickness was
partly physical exhaustion ; and He supplied him
with food and rest. But far more disquieting was
the unrest of his spirit ; and that He calmed by
the healing influence of Nature's peace. As he
lodged in his cave near Jahweh, ' a great and strong
wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the
rocks before the Lord ; . . . and after the wind an
earthquake ; • . . . and after the earthquake fire ; '
but the word of Jahweh came through none of these.
As the storm passed, there fell on the prophet's
ear 'a sound of gentle stillness ' (i Kings xix. nf.) —
the breath of Nature's tranquillity after the crash
of hurricane, earthquake and thunder — and catching
in it the accents of Divine sympathy and love, the
tumultuous feelings of Elijah found utterance.1
He had been very jealous for the Lord God of Hosts,
and had spared neither life nor strength in His

1 The ' still, small voice ' is usually taken as the revelation
through Elijah of some new and more spiritual aspect of the
Divine character, either His patient working out of His purposes,
as contrasted with Elijah's tempestuous and fiery zeal (David
son), or the pure and exalted personality [which raises Him be
yond the range of a mere Nature-god (Gressmann, Skinner,
etc.). To the present writer the theophany appears more
personal in its scope — a revelation to the troubled spirit of God's
presence in the ' gentleness and peace ' of Nature, like that
which came to Wordsworth in his hour of moral disillusionment
and despair, giving him ' timely utterance,' and restoring his
strength and faith and hope (Prelude, Books xi. xii.).

Elijah and the Conflict with Baal 31
service. Yet the only result he could see was utter
defeat. ' The children of Israel have forsaken Thy
covenant, thrown down Thine altars, and slain Thy
prophets with the sword : I only am left ; and they
seek my fife, to take it away ' (v. 14). The situation
was, indeed, dark and dangerous ; but there was a
side to the shield that Elijah's near vision had
failed to perceive. Let every worshipper of Baal
be cut off from the people, Jahweh would yet leave
Him ' seven thousand in Israel, all the knees which
have not bowed unto Baal, and every mouth which
hath not kissed him' (v. 18). These faithful souls
Elijah might well count for his hire. He knew them
not even by name ; but his heroic stand had helped
to keep their feet also on the rock, and thus to defy
the common danger. He was assured, too, that
victory lay with himself and this Israel of God.
Even now Jahweh was raising up a successor for
the work ; and till the Kingdom of God was es
tablished in power, there should never fail ' men of
the Spirit' to carry it on. Cheered by this glad
hope, Elijah rose from his gloom and despondency,
girt up his loins, and returned on his way towards
the wilderness of Damascus, to anoint Jahweh's
ministers of justice (vv. igff.), and himself to labour
on while duty called him, conscious that his labour
was ' not vain in the Lord.'
The mantle of Eh jah fell on Elisha, a man of far
inferior stature, who yet rivalled hfs master in his

32 The Prophets of the Old Testament
burning zeal for Jahweh. His energies were directed
to two great ends : the extirpation of Baal worship,
and the consolidation of the forces of Jahwism.
Elijah had won his battle against Baal by the force
of his own God-inspired personality ; in making
good the victory Elisha remained in the background,
directing the storm, while the real agents in the
revolution were two men that seemed strangely
mated with a prophet of righteousness, Jehu the ruth
less captain of war, and Hazael the usurping king of
Syria. The execution of their awful commission
certainly lacked nothing in thoroughness. It was a
veritable blood-bath in which Jehu wiped out the
uncleanness of Jezreel ; and the memory of Hazael' s
savagery haunted the mind of Israel as a curse
blighting generations yet unborn. Carried out
though it was in Jahweh's name, and at the direct
instigation of Elisha, the act of bloodshed in
Jezreel was for a later and greater prophet
the prime cause of the impending destruction
of Jehu's dynasty (Hos. i. 4), while the barbarity
of Hazael towards the helpless villagers of Gilead
was to be avenged by Jahweh, the lover of mercy,
by a fire that would attack the house of Hazael
and devour the palaces of Benhadad, and would
sweep the people of Damascus into perpetual
captivity (Amos i. 3ft. ) . Thus to the widening vision
of prophecy not even zeal in Jahweh's service could
excuse cruelty or oppression. The servant of the

Eh jah and the Conflict with Baal 33
righteous God must in all things recognize his re
sponsibilities to the heavenly King, and act in the
spirit of justice, tenderness and compassion. The
more honourable the service, the graver the responsi
bility, and the more insistent the demand of right
eousness. The other side of Elisha's work was in its ultimate
issue more fruitful in spiritual results, as it is also
more agreeable to contemplate. In him the prophet
ic companies who played so powerful a part in kind
ling the enthusiasm of Israel against the enemies of
their God and nationality found a true ' father ' and
counsellor. Under his restraining influence a saner
spirit appears to have possessed them. We read
of these ' sons of the prophets ' as living now in
settled communities, many of them married, with
homes and families of their own. And the kindliest
of feelings prevailed among them. The simple tales
recorded in 2 Kings iv. are doubtless typical of many
other ' little, nameless, unremembered acts of kind
ness and of love,' that made these prophets' homes
models of godly grace and goodness. The same
happy relations seem to have existed between the
prophets and their rural neighbours. The home of
Shunem was surely not the only one that possessed
its ' prophet's chamber,' where the man of God
was made welcome to rest and food as he ' passed
by continually ' on his missions of love ; nor did the
man of Baal-shalishah, alone bring of the first-fruits

34 The Prophets of the Old Testament
of his corn and barley for the sustenance of the
prophets. 1
There were no doubt dangers in such hospitality.
The favoured communities were all too readily
joined by men too lazy to work, who found it more
pleasant to live on the charity of the pious, like the
monks of a later age. This became a real ground
of attack on the prophetic orders (cf. Amos vii. I2ff . ;
Mic. iii. 5). But, while the cause of prophecy was
dishonoured by its less worthy members, the plant- *
ing of quiet, God-fearing families of prophets, up
and down the land, must have wielded an incal
culable influence for righteousness. In spite of
manifold corruptions, Israel was in every age
blessed with pious homes, where the fear of the Lord
reigned, and men and women lived pure, upright
and gracious lives. Of such homes the prophetic
circles in Gilgal and elsewhere set the finest type ;
and thus they proved not merely nurseries of pro
phetic character, but in other ways also centres
from which prophetic influence spread among the
people.
1 The stories of Elisha are drawn from various local sources,
the main groups dating from about the middle of the eighth
century. Here, too, popular imagination has twined its wreath
of legend round the sober facts of history ; but the memory
of real personalities and deeds shines clearly from the picture.

CHAPTER III
Amos the Prophet of Justice
A century had passed since the crisis under Ahab.
The throne of Israel was now occupied by Jeroboam
II, the most illustrious of Jehu's dynasty. As
the result of his long and vigorous rule (c. 783-743
B.C.) the wounds of Israel were healed, and the
nation rapidly recovered its ancient power. Moab
lay once more prostrate under the yoke ; on the
North, too, Jeroboam wrested from Syria the
frontier towns of Gilead, and even part of the
territory of Damascus, thus extending the bounds
of Israel to their ideal range ' from the gateway
of Hamath to the sea of the Arabah ' (2 Kings
xiv. 25), i.e. from the Orontes to the Dead Sea.
With military success came wealth and luxury.
Samaria vied with Tyre and Damascus in the
splendour of its buildings. The king and nobles
had their summer and winter houses, richly adorned
with hewn stone and ivory, and furnished with
all the comforts of advancing civilization (Amos
iii. 15). Ih the intoxication of their new-found
magnificence the haughty rulers of Israel forgot
35

36 The Prophets of the Old Testament
the sterner discipline their fathers had undergone,
and aped the manners of the nations around them,
reclining on softly cushioned divans, and tasting
with fastidious tooth ' lambs from the flock and
calves from the midst of the stall,' anointing them
selves with the choicest perfumes, and drinking
their bowlfuls of drained wine, singing foolish songs
to the twanging of the lyre, and fancying them
selves very Davids in skill (vi. 4ff.). But over
against the brilliant debauchery of the Court circles
rose the dark shadow of poverty, made ever deeper
by the encroachments of wealth. To further their
own pleasure rich men thought little of trampling
down the toil-worn labourer, refusing him an honest
wage, and for the debt even of ' a pair of shoes '
selling him into slavery (ii. 6f.). The ladies of
Samaria were almost as heartless and licentious
as their lords (iv. if.), while the merchants in the
market-place openly exalted knavery into a means
of gain (viii. 5). Against such oppression in high
places there was neither security nor redress. The
law-courts were packed by the friends of the wealthy,
and verdicts sold to the highest bidder, so that the
name of Justice became a byword, leaving a taste
in the mouth hke wormwood (vi. 12). The Church
stood equally apart from the poor man and his
needs. So far as outward appearance went, rehgion
shared in the general prosperity of the nation. At
Bethel the king had erected a ' royal sanctuary,'

Amos the Prophet of Justice 37
where the worship of Jahweh was carried through
in stately fashion, under the direct auspices of the
crown. The high places of Gilgal, Dan and Beer-
sheba were likewise scenes of religious activity
and display, the altars being crowded with festive
throngs, and tithes and sacrifices offered in lavish
abundance (iv. 4!). Unhappily the Qturjph was
the mere creature of the State, bound hand and
foot to the men who turned justice to wormwood
and trampled righteousness in the dust. Religious
sanction was even sought for their violence and
injustice. They would subvert the cause of the
poor, take the bread out of their mouth, and
go straightway to worship God in His temple.
They would actually lay themselves down before
the altar on garments taken in pledge, abandoned
to wine and the grossest impurity, in express defi
ance of the Covenant with their God (ii. 7I). And
the priests who represented the Divine will con
cerning Israel accepted their worship. To them
Jahweh was a gracious God, who sought His people's
welfare, and took supreme delight in their offerings.
Under His keeping, therefore, no evil could befall
them. Dangers might yet loom up ; but the ' day
of Jahweh ' drew nigh, the day which should
break in pieces the power of their enemies,
and lead them to world-wide victory.1 Thus
1 The researches of Gressmann and his school have called
attention to the wide prevalence of this hope in Israel, and

38 The Prophets of the Old Testament
the priests and rulers trifled along, ' secure on the
hill of Samaria,' and indifferent to the sorrows of
their people, while the poor victims of oppression
bore it all with stolid passivity, and no reproving
voice dared uplift itself in the gates (v. ioff.).
Suddenly the silence was broken by a word from
Jahweh, the echoes of which reverberate through
the centuries.
Amos was neither a prophet nor 'the son of a
prophet ' : he stood in no relation to the prophetic
guilds of his time. As he told Amaziah, with the
thrill of honest pride in his tone, he was a plain work-
i ing man, a shepherd and ' dresser of sycomore figs '
i on the upland pastures of Judah. But though a
.' poor man, with none of the culture of the schools,
Amos was a highly-gifted soul, whose faculties had
been trained to fine perfection by the discipline of
Nature and life. To us the desert seems depress-
ingly void of interest ; and ' the wilderness of
Tekoa ' was naked and desolate in the extreme.1
But children of the desert hke Amos find a real
personal interest in the simplest happenings of
their environment. Nothing seems to have escaped
that eager eye. And all he saw linked itself together
its relation to ethnic mythologies. This school is apt, however,
to exaggerate the influence of such motifs on the earlier pro
phets .
1 On the scenery around Tekoa, and the opportunities it
afforded for the nurture of a prophet like Amos, cf . G. A. Smith's
fine description in The Book of the Twelve Prophets, i. j^S..

Amos the Prophet of Justice 39
in reasoned chains of Cause and Effect. The
majestic stalk of the lion, its roar as it leapt upon
the prey, the flight of the birds, their sudden fall
to earth, the springing of the trap, the blare of
the trumpet from the watch-tower, the threshing
of the com and the shaking of the cart beneath its
load of grain, the driving of cattle and steeds, the
deadly struggle of shepherd and beast of prey, the
ravages of the locust, the sweeter scenes of house-
. building and fruit-gathering, and the friendly walk
of travellers in the desert, had been woven into the
imagination of the herdsman, who could read their
secrets, and draw unerring judgments as to their ,
ways. But Amos' horizon was by no means con
fined to the narrow circle of the desert. Six miles
to the North lay Bethlehem, with all its tender
memories. From the pastures where he tended
his flocks could be seen the towers of Jerusalem,
some six miles further. Such constant association
with sacred scenes was food enough for a thoughtful
man's reflections. His calling as a shepherd pro
vided still richer opportunities for observation of hfe
To sell his wool he had of necessity to frequent the
fairs held usually in conjunction with religious
festivals at the centres of national life. The vivid
pictures drawn by Amos of social conditions at
Samaria and Bethel are undoubtedly a transcript
from what he had seen with his own eyes. The ? \
piercing glance which had been whetted to so keen

40 The Prophets of the Old Testament
an edge by the training of the desert was now
turned upon life and conduct. The sights he saw
revolted the simple conscience of one reared
on the pure traditions of Jahwism. Though
naturally austere, he had deep sympathy with the
poor, and compassion for the people who were
perishing through the sins of others. Even in these
early days hot indignation must have burned within
his heart as he saw the Covenant so grievously
profaned, and God's humble ones crushed under
foot. Perhaps he had already begun to apply the
law of Causality to the moral world as well. These
misguided rulers of Israel were turning moral order
upside down ; and not even the favour of their
God could avert catastrophe. ' Can horses be
driven with impunity on the edge of the precipice,
or oxen put to plough in the sea without being
drowned ? How then can Israel hope to escape,
if she continue to turn justice into gall, and the
fruit of righteousness into wormwood ? ' (vi. 12).
These many side-lights into the natural character
of Amos afford us suggestive indications of the true
meaning of inspiration. There was nothing forced
or mechanical in the Divine afflatus that caught up
the prophets, and raised them so far above the
level of their fellows. Inspiration was always
vitally related to human personality, the prophet
being simply the man, with all his natural powers
quickened and born again by the Spirit of God.

Amos the Prophet of Justice 41
The decisive experience which brought the new
man to birth was the Call. And this also varied
with the manifold varieties of human character.
To Amos it was the precipitate of all he had seen
and felt — in one overwhelming conviction. Through
a series of visions it became clear to him that what
he had dreaded for Israel must inevitably come to
pass. The first of these visions move along tra
ditional lines. God had already spoken to His
people by pestilence, famine and fire ; and the
prophet's foreboding eye saw the terrors repeated.
In the spring-time Jahweh revealed Himself fashion
ing locusts to destroy the verdure ; then amid the
drought of summer He called fire to the contest,
drying up the wells, and reaching even to the great
abyss, devouring the crops, and threatening to lick
up the land.1 Amos' compassions were kindled
for poor Jacob, so helpless to stand against his
Maker ; he prayed God to forgive, and the danger
passed (vii. iff.). Still the people refused to think
or to amend their ways. Thus God could no more
pass them by. In the third vision — that of Jahweh
with the plumbline — Israel was likened to a wall
cracked and crooked from top to bottom, which
must be thrown to the ground ere it could be re
built true to the plumbline. And in the sword of
the Assyrians, the same fateful power that in Ahab's
1 p!?nn, lit. the Lot or Portion which Jahweh Himself had
given to Israel.

42 The Prophets of the Old Testament
reign had challenged the nations of the West, and
was again beginning to loom darkly on the horizon of
history, he saw the hammer that Jahweh would
use to break down the wall. The language is vague,
no doubt because Amos' knowledge of Assyria was
vague.1 But already, his discerning glance beheld
the foemen encamped on the hills that were thought
so impregnable a rampart to Samaria, the capital
and its proud palaces laid waste, the high places
and altars profaned, and the people dragged in v
ignominious captivity far away beyond Damascus,
to a land unclean, where the name of their God was
unknown and disregarded (vii. 7ff.).
The two remaining visions bear out the certainty
and overwhelming sweep of the disaster. The
* \ basket of fall fruit portended the irrevocable
' fall of Israel (viii. if.).2 And the climax is
reached in the terrible picture of Jahweh standing
over the altar, commanding the columns to be
smitten, and the temple to be brought in ruins upon
the head of the people, — then pursuing the fugitives
with the sword, and searching them out from heaven
1 For about half a century the tide of Assyrian invasion had
rolled back from Israel, the Empire being then involved in a
life and death struggle with the freedom-loving peoples of
Armenia ; only with the accession of Pul, or Tiglath-Pileser
111 (745-727 b.c), did it threaten once more to submerge the
West. 2 I owe this suggestion to McFadyen, Amos : A Cry for
Justice, p. no. Theplayon ' fall ' very happily reproduces the
original play on the words Y\5, summer or autumn, and }»j3, end.

Amos the Prophet of Justice 43
and Sheol, from the top of Carmel and the depths
of the sea, till not one of them is left, — His eyes being
set upon them for evil, and not for good (ix. iff.).1
The Lord God had spoken unto Amos, and he
must needs prophesy. Our book contains, no
doubt, the crystallized essence of his preaching. It
is laid out in separate oracles, corresponding to
distinct cycles of prophecy, that may cover a period
of some few weeks or months about the year 750
B.C., culminating in the dramatic encounter] with
Amaziah, the priest of Bethel. The allusions to
Samaria (iii. 9 ; iv. 1 ; vi. 1) would indicate that
the main part of Amos' activity was devoted to the
capital ; but the scene in ch. vii. clearly took place
at Bethel. Even in their present artistic setting
we can catch the fire that glowed beneath the pro-
1 The prophet's visions were simply the projection, or clothing
in outward appearance, of his spiritual emotions and convictions.
Their ultimate source therefore lay in the Divine illumination
that made him a prophet. The precise form of the visions,
however, was often determined by external stimuli. Thus the
two earliest visions of Amos — the locusts and the fire — were
but reflections of former disasters. Of the newer moulds in
which his phantasy took shape, the visions of the plumbline and
the basket of fall fruit were in all probability suggested by the
actual sight of a man with a plumbline testing his wall, and
some one else carrying a basket of late autumn fruit. A prophet
like Amos, pent up with the fire of Divine judgment, and equally
full of foreboding for his people, would naturally enough clothe
his convictions in any outward form that struck his imagination.
On the other hand, the vision of Jahweh commanding to smite
the altar is the direct bodying forth of thoughts and forecasts
of doom that must often have passed through his mind.

44 The Prophets of the Old Testament
phet's words. Here we have no elegantly turned
essays on conduct, but the outpourings of a heart
aflame with indignation, full of hot passion for God
and righteousness. In this lies the secret of Amos'
wonderful literary style. The clear-cut, sinewy
diction, the dramatic cast of the whole, the vivid
imagery, and the winged poetry in which his appeals
are borne home to the conscience of every reader,
are|dfitairect, hot-blooded expression of his intense
Th&prophecy opens with the thunder of Jahweh's
judgment upon the nations. From Samaria the.
peals are heard rolling on every side, as the bolts
of Divine wrath strike upon Syria and the Philistines ,
Ammon and Moab,2 not for their acts of aggression
1 The day is long past when Amos could be described as
imj>eritus sermgne (Jerome) . Modern critics vie with each other
in exaltinJBHgjIjrophet's style. Nor is this mastery over lan
guage, on trie" part of an obscure Palestinian shepherd, to be
wondered at. Robertson Smith has finely said, 'To' associate
inferior culture with the simplicity and poverty of pastoral life
is totally to mistake the conditions of Eastern society. At the
courts of the Caliphs and their Emirs the rude Arabs of the
desert were wont to appear without any feeling of awkwardness,
and to surprise the courtiers by the finish of their impromptu
verses, the fluent eloquence of their oratory, and the range of
subjects on Which they could speak with knowledge and discrim
ination ' (The Prophets of Israel, -p. 126).
2 The oracle on Tyre (i. of.) is but a weak shadow of the
preceding ; that on Edom (i. nf.) reflects conditions that followed
the destruction of Jerusalem (cf. Lam. iv. 2if. ; Ps. cxxxvii. 7 ;
Ezek. xxv. I2ff., etc.) ; while that on Judah (ii. 41.) is saturated
w^ith Deuteronomic ideas. Amos appears not to have touched
on Judah, the allusions in iii. i,vi. 1 being the result of Judaic

Amos the Prophet of Justice 45
against Israel in themselves, but for their general
inhumanities, for atrocities in war and deeds of
wanton cruelty in times of peace, for insults to the
dead and outrages on helpless women and children.
To Amos it mattered not who were the victims of
these crimes. Humanity was one and undivided ;
and the laws of morality prevailed throughout the
world. The burning of the king of Edom's bones
was as heinous an offence in Jahweh's sight as the
grossest indignities perpetrated on Israel. And
the nations that sinned must die. For their re
peated transgressions — unable any longer to hold
it back — Jahweh would send a fire into their midst,
to devour their walls and palaces ; and the peoples
should perish amid tumult and tempest, the hurrahs
and the noise of the trumpet in battle, while the
kings and their princes passed into captivity to
gether, said Jahweh (i. 3— ii. 3).
It is difficult for us to realize the measure of the
step here taken by Amos. In ancient times morality \
was tribal or national. Its laws were binding as
between members of the same social group ; but
beyond these limits moral obligation was lacking
Barbarities such as Amos condemns were practised
on surrounding nations, even by an enlightened
ruler hke David, without the least qualm of con
science. It was even regarded as a matter of re-
redaction, after the book of Amos had become a literary treasure
of Judaism.

46 The Prophets of the Old Testament
ligious duty to put whole populations to the sword
— to ' slay both man and woman, infant and suck
ling, ox and sheep, camel and ass ' before Jahweh
(i Sam. xv. 3) — with whatever refinement of
cruelty. Through the lips of Amos the Lord God
taught His people far different conceptions of
morality. The narrow local bounds were broken
down ; and moral duty was now revealed as uni
versal in its range, co-extensive with the realm of
humanity. Amos' hearers would doubtless have listened
with satisfaction to the rumblings of the storm
among the nations. But anon the thunder crashes
over their own heads. The Lord is indignant with
them too — more indignant than with any nation.
They parade the signs of their superior civilization.
This, however, has its sins, refined perhaps, yet on
that very account cutting the more deeply into the
springs of character, and rousing to hotter flames
the wrath of Him who reads the heart, than even the
atrocities of barbarism. All their rich pomp and
i show, based as it was on injustice and oppression,
was abomination to Jahweh, the lover of righteous
ness. His unceasing goodness to His people only
intensified their guilt. Thus Israel also must be
swept to destruction in the day of doom.
Thus saith Jahweh :
For three transgressions of Israel,
Yea, for four, I will not turn it back ;

Amos the Prophet of Justice 47
Because they have sold the poor man i for silver,
And the needy for a pair of shoes, —
Crushing the head of the poor,
And trampling the face of the humble, —
While a man and his father go unto one maid,
To prrifane my holy name ;
And by every altar they lay themselves down
On garments taken on pledge,
And the wine of such as are fined
They drink in the house of their God.
Yet 'twas I that destroyed the Amorite
Before your face, —
Whose height was like that of the cedars,
Who was strong as oaks : '
I destroyed his fruit from above,
And his roots from beneath*
And I raised of your sons for prophets,
And your choice young men for Nazirites ; '
But ye gave the Nazirites wine to drink,
And commanded the prophets, saying , Ye shall not prophesy !
Is this not even so,
Ye sons of Israel ? 3
Behold, I will cause it to shake
Under your feet,
Like as a cart doth shake,
That is full of sheaves.
And refuge shall fail the swift,
And the fleet of foot shall escape not; *
The strong shall not muster his might,
Nor the warrior save his life ;
1 For p,'HSj righteous, read TUV, small, poor (Duhm).
a The allusion to the Exodus (v. 10) is a prosaic intrusion,
which interrupts- the context of the prophecy.
3 The stanza ought naturally to end with the appeal to
Israel (v. 116).
* I have transposed this stichos (with Staerk), thus securing
a true parallelism for all the couplets.

48 The Prophets of the Old Testament
The bowman shall not stand,
Nor the rider of horse be saved ;
But the stoutest of heart among warriors
Shall flee away naked that day.
The Rede of Jahweh ! (ii. 6-16).
Thus far Israel finds her place in the moral fellow
ship of the nations. But in the complex of oracles
that fill chapters iu.-vi. she stands alone before the
bar of God's justice. And at once sentence is pro
nounced. Hear this word that Jahweh hath spoken
Against you, O household of Israel :
You only have I known of all the families of earth,
Therefore will I visit upon you all your iniquities (hi. if.) .
To Amos himself this seeming paradox was in
perfect harmony with ethical principle. Such lofty
.spiritual privileges as Israel had enjoyed meant
fuller responsibility. Jahweh had called her to
intimacy with Him, not for her own selfish pleasure,
but that she might become His envoy to the
world. And the neglect of this responsibility meant
graver condemnation. So completely, however,
did his teaching traverse the accepted creed of Israel
that the prophet felt compelled to ground it on
reason. Thus in a series of illustrations drawn from
his desert experience he shows the law of Causality
everywhere at work. Each cause has its own effect ;
and the spiritual world is equally ruled by Divine
law. Can two walk together,
Unless they have try sted ?

Amos the Prophet of Justice 49
Doth the lion roar in the forest,
And no prey be his ?
Doth the young lion utter his voice,
Without having caught ?
Doth the bird fall down to the earth,
And no net be there ?
Doth the trap spring up from the ground,
A nd catch nothing at all ?
Will the trumpet be blown (from the watch-tower),1
And the people not tremble ?
Will evil befall a city,
And the Lord have not done it ?
The lion hath roared ,
Who doth not fear ?
The Lord Jahweh hath spoken ;
Who can but prophesy? (vv. 3-8).
If Israel had eyes to read the signs of the
times, she would see in the very fact of prophecy
an omen of impending disaster ; for Jahweh spoke
through His servants the prophets only when He
was about to do His mighty works on earth (v. 7) .
Even apart from the voice of prophecy the sins of
Samaria cried aloud for judgment. If the peoples
in Ashdod (LXX. Assyria) and Egypt could be
assembled on the hill of Samaria, they would be
appalled at the tumults and disorders that
abounded there, at the ' violence and robbery '
which the false rulers of Israel ' piled up ' in their
treasuries. 1 The first VI? has most probably slipped in from the following
couplet. The words within brackets are an indication of the
original text. 4

50 The Prophets of the Old Testament
Therefore, thus saith Jahweh :
A foe shall encompass the land,
And thy strength shall be stripped from off thee,
And thy palaces plundered (iii. n).
From the fury of destruction only a handful of Israel
shall be saved.
Thus saith Jahweh :
As a herdsman doth save from the mouth of the lion
A couple of shin-bones or the tip of an ear, —
Even so shall be saved they that sit in Samaria,
On the edge of a couch, on a cushioned divan (v. 12).
With grim joy the rugged countryman pictures
the summer house piled on the wreckage of the
winter house, while the palaces of hewn stone and
ivory perish in the flames (v. 15). Then he turns
upon the sleek ' daughters of Samaria ' who en
couraged their lords to sin — whose cruelty and
sensuality he regards as the last proofs of moral
degradation. Hear this word, kine of Bashan,
On the hill of Samaria,
They that grind down the poor,
And make raids on the needy, —
That say to their lords,
Bring us wine, that w)e drink !
Thus Jahweh hath sworn by His holiness :
Behold, on you there come days,
When with hooks men shall catch you,
Even the last one with fish-hooks ;
And out shall ye go through the breaches,
One after one of you cast out naked1 (iv. 1-3).
1 On this very difficult text cf. Kittel's note.

Amos the Prophet of Justice 51
The prophet's words of doom were heard by the
listening crowds in sheer amazement. Was not
Jahweh their God ? And did they not bring Him
sacrifices every morning, and tithes each third day,
besides the tribute of thanksgiving and free-will
offerings ? How then could He forsake them in the
hour of need ? But to this strange interpreter of
the Divine their many offerings were only mul
tiplied transgression (iv. 4!). Jahweh had once and
again spoken to them by drought and famine,
blasting and mildew, pestilence and the sword
(vv. 6-11) ; x and because they refused to return
unto Him, they must prepare to meet Him in judg
ment. The terrors of the day of judgment move
the heart even of an Amos ; and he falls into the
broken hit of the dirge.2
Fallen is the virgin of Israel,
She shall rise no more ;
Prostrate she lies on the ground,
With none to upraise her.
The city that went forth u. thousa i
Shall have left an hundred ;
And she that went forth an hundred
Shall have left but ten (v. 21.).
1 This also is a fine poem in four-lined stanzas, each ending
with the refrain, But ye turned not to me, saith Jahweh.
2 The majestic Hymn of Nature (iv. 13) is clearly an intru
sion. Scattered fragments of the same Hymn are met with
in v. 8f. and ix. 51., where the interruption of the context is
still more evident. The thought here is strikingly reminiscent
of Deutero-Isaiah ; and the author of the Hymn is doubtless
one of his school.

52 The Prophets of the Old Testament
The door of salvation, however, is not closed. The
God of Israel is gracious ; and in simple, earnest
tones Amos beseeches the people to turn unto Him
and live.
Seek Jahweh % and live,
But seek not Bethel ;
To Gilgal go not,
And pass not to Beer sheba !*
Seek Jahweh and live,
Lest fire break out, —
And consume the house of Joseph,
With none to quench it ! *
Seek good, not evil,
That ye may live ;
And Jahweh be with you indeed,
As ye do say.
Hate evil, and love good,
And set up Justice I
Jahweh may yet be gracious
To the remnant of Jos* h (v. 4ff.).
Though his heart's desire is that Israel may be
saved, Amos has little real hope. So many are their
transgressions, and so flagrant their sins, that he
1 As Jahweh is throughout referred to in the third person,
I have read ^1^, instead of the ist pers. suffix.
* The arrangement of this oracle is so clearly strophic that
it seems necessary to omit from this context (though it may
well be an authentic part of Amos' prophecy) the vigorous
couplet : For Gilgal shall go into exile,
And Bethel to perdition (v. 5c).
3 A considerable dislocation has here taken place, the true
sequel to v. 6 being found in vv. i$t. The intervening verses
(apart from the fragment of the Hymn of Nature in vv. 8f.)
belong to the ' Woe ' section resumed in vv. i6ff.

Amos the Prophet of Justice 53
can. foresee but wailing and lamentation in all the
streets and broadways, fields and vineyards, when
Jahweh passes through the midst (vv. i6f.). As for
those who looked to the Day of Jahweh for salvation,
Ah! ye that long for the day of the Lord !
For what would ye have the day of the Lord ?
Shall not the day of the Lord be darkness, not light, —
Gross darkness, and no ray therein ? 1
'Tis as when a man doth flee from a lion,
And a bear doth meet him ;
Or doth go to his house, and lay his hand on the wall,
And a serpent doth bite him.
I hate, I despise your holy days,
I will smell not the smell of your festivals ;
Your gifts I will not accept,
Nor look on your offerings of fat ones.
A way with the din of your songs !
I will hear not your strumming of viols ;
But let justice roll down as waters,
And right as a flowing stream I (vv. 18-24).
In the glad days of Israel's intimacy with Jahweh
in the wilderness He neither received nor asked for
sacrifice and offerings ; He sought only faith and
righteousness (v. 25). 2 Thus with bitter scorn the
1 If we are not to omit v. 19 as a prosaic expansion (DuhmJ ,
we should at least transpose it with v. 20. The latter is the
evident close of the first stanza, as the fragment •^STTCMn
"liK ii1?) indicates.
1 The very obscure v. 26 is probably a later application of
the same idea to the hybrid population , of Galilee, with their
mixture of Assyrian cults, notably the worship of Sakkuth
and Kewan, the star-god Saturn : Or carried ye round (in pro
cession) Sakkuth your king and Kewan your star-god, the idols
that ye made for yourselves ?

54 The Prophets of the Old Testament
prophet assails the careless revellers, who feasted
and sang while their people were perishing.
Ah ! ye that are easy in Israel,
And secure on the hill of Samaria ;
Ye lords of the first of the nations,
And as gods (?) to the household of Israel ; x
That recline on ivory couches,
And lie spread out on divans ;
That eat the lambs of the flock,
And calves from the midst of the stall ;
That sing foolish songs to the harp,
And are counted fine singers like David ; '*
That drink drained wine from the bowl.
And with choicest of oils anoint them ;
That put off the day of evil,
And bring near ruin and violence ;
* * *
But for Joseph's wound are not sick I
So now shall they pass into exile
At the head of the captives ;
And the riot of the revellers shall cease,
Saith Jahweh, the Lord of Hosts (vi. 1-7).
Already He has given commandment to the foe ;
and ' the great house shall be smitten to atoms, and
the httle house to splinters,' while their inhabitants
are decimated by sword and pestilence (vv. 8ff.).
1 The context is here interrupted by an appeal to certain
incidents of Assyrian invasion between the years 738 and 711
B.c. The most natural place for v. 3 appears to be after 66.
Unfortunately, the third stichos is missing.
s On the textual difficulty, cf. Kittel's note.

Amos the Prophet of Justice 55
Can horses run on the cliff,
Or the sea be ploughed with cattle, —
That ye have turned judgment to gall,
And the fruit of justice to wormwood ?
Ye that rejoice over Lodebar (Nought),
* * *

That say, Was it not by our st;
We took us Karnaim (a Pair of Horns )? 1
Behold ! O household of Israel,
I raise against you a nation,
That from Hamath's gate shall afflict you,
Even to the brook of the desert (vv. 12-14).
With the burden of doom weighing thus heavily
on his heart, Amos at length reached Bethel, the
Canterbury of Israel. It was the occasion of some
great festival, when the sanctuary was thronged
with worshippers. The sweet savour of their offer
ings rose to heaven, while the temple-walls resounded
with the strains of song and the melody of viols.
The joy of worship was mingled with festivity and
pleasure-seeking. Into this gay scene Amos thrust
himself with his unwelcome message. Calmly he
tells of his visions, and of Israel's escape from famine
and fire. But when he pictures the downfall of the
crooked wall, and the raising of Jahweh's sword
against the house of Jeroboam, the growing indigna
tion of Amaziah, the priest of Bethel, bursts into
fury. The intrusion of a Jewish fanatic within the
precincts of the royal chapel was uncalled-for
1 Here Amos plays on the names of two cities of Gilead /;
whose capture had afforded special pride to Israel.

56 The Prophets of the Old Testament
presumption ; and now presumption has passed
into treason ! A hurried messenger is sent to
Jeroboam with the news of the ' conspiracy,' and
the prophet is bidden flee with what speed he may
to his home in Judah. ' Away, thou visionary !
Off with thee to the land of Judah ; and there eat
thy bread, and there play the prophet ! But at
Bethel play no more the prophet ; for this is the
king's sanctuary, and this the House of the kingdom '
(vii. 121.). In dignified tones Amos hurls back the
charge. He is no mercenary prophet, no fanatic
or idle babbler, but one whom Jahweh has called
from his flocks to prophesy. And Amaziah will
soon learn in his own person the truth of his words !
In due time the prophet returns home — to commit
his message to writing, and thus make it a spiritual
possession for all time — but not without completing
the tale of his visions, and leaving his readers with
one final oracle from Jahweh.
Hear this, ye that trample the needy,
And oppress the poor of the land,
Saying, When will the New Moon be gone.
That we may sell our com,
And the Sabbath, that we may open,
And sell the refuse of grain,1
Making the ephah small, and the shekel great,
And forging scales of deceit ? 2
1 The final clause is recovered from v. 6, where it is quite
out of place.
2 The following couplet is probably a mere variant to ii. 6,
which reads very awkwardly in this context.

Amos the Prophet of Justice 57
By the Glory of Jacob hath Jahweh sworn :
Your deeds I will never forget ! 1
I will turn your feasts into mourning,
And all your songs into dirges.
I will' bring up sackcloth on all your loins,
And baldness on every head:
I will make it like mourning for an only son,
And the end thereof as u, bitter day.
Behold ! days come, saith Lord Jahweh,
When famine I send through the land, —
No hunger for bread, nor thirst for water,
But for hearing ihe word of the Lord.
They shall wander from sea to sea,
And shall scour from North to sunrise,
Seeking the word of the Lord, —
But shall not be able to find it. J
In that day shall the fair maidens
Faint with the choice young men,2
Even they that swear by Bethel's God,
And the Guilt 3 of Samaria, —
That say, By the life of thy God, O Dan !
By the life of thy Loved One, Beersheba I 4

1 V. 8 is apparently connected with the closing vision (cf.
the variant form in ix. 5), while v. 9 is an apocalyptic fragment.
2 A conflict of thought has been traced between vv. nf. and
13, the former clearly pointing to a spiritual famine, the latter
to literal drought. Accordingly, Wellhausen and other scholars
would omit vv. nf., while G. A. Smith proposes to excise
v. 13. The simple omission of XD-V3 relieves the difficulty, and
brings the two stanzas into natural connexion.
8 The Ashmah or Ashima (2 Kings xvii. 30) is probably the
female counter-part to Ashem-Bethel who figures alongside of
Jahweh on the Assouan papyrus 20.
* On the additions necessary to bring sense into these lines,
cf. Kittel's notes. The divine name Dod — Loved One — is
found on the Mesha Stone, I. 12.

58 The Prophets of the Old Testament
They shall fall (by the way),
And shall rise no more.1
Are ye not as the Cushites to me,
O children of Israel ? saith Jahweh.
Brought I not Israel up from the land of Egypt,
As the Philistines from Caphtor, and Aram from Kir ?
And, lo ! the eyes of Lord Jahweh
Are upon the sinful nation ;
And I will destroy it utterly,
From off the face of the ground* (viii. 4ff.).
Amos thus lays all the stress on Justice. For
him justice is virtually identified with religion.
God is righteous ; and what He demands of His
people is not sacrifice, but righteousness — honesty
and fair dealing towards all men. And, as He is
Lord of the world, whatsoever stands in the way
1 The context is here interrupted by the fifth vision and its
expansion (ix. 1-6).
2 The lovely picture of Israel's restoration (ix. 8C-15) is
regarded by almost all recent scholars as an addition to the
authentic words of Amos, couched in the ideas and language
of later prophecy, and presupposing the actual fall of the king
dom of Judah (v. 11). Gressmann has attempted to save them
for Amos by his theory of mythological motifs (cf. Der Ursprung
der israelitisch-judischen Eschatologie, pp. 193ft.). In his hands
the theory does grave injustice to the originality of the prophets.
t"he essential distinction between prophets and apocalyptists
lies just in this, that the latter spun elaborate visions out of
such motifs as Gressmann postulates — though at a later date —
while the prophets had their eyes directly fixed on moral and
religious realities. If so, it can hardly be doubted that the
closing verses of Amos contradict, not merely the letter of his
preaching to Israel, but even the visions through which Jahweh's
mind became known to him, the darkness of the coming doom
being there relieved by no ray of light.

Amos the Prophet of Justice 59
of righteousness must perish, the wayward policy
of Israel no less than the degrading superstitions and
cruelties of the nations. Fiat justitia, mat Israel ! >
In striking this note so decisively, Amos led prophecy
into a new path : he became ' the founder and the
purest expression of a new phase of prophecy,'1
through which the religion of Israel was raised far y
beyond its national limitations, and became the
common inspiration of mankind.
At the same time, Amos' thought of God was
terribly cold and stern. The clear majesty of the
Divine had laid strong hold of his imagination, but
the grace of His countenance was veiled from him.
The austere moralist had little sympathy with the
love that blotteth out iniquity : he knew nothing
of the ' kindness in God's justice ' of which the
modern poet sings. But God meant not to conceal
this side of His Being from His children. Thus in
Amos' own hfe-time another prophet was called
to pass through the dark valley of suffering, sorrow
and shame, that he might know the love of God,
' which passeth knowledge,' and hence lead men to
the well-springs of salvation. For it is one of the
many paradoxes of spiritual life that, however
bracing to the conscience, the preaching of pure
morahty — the Categorical Imperative — can never
produce the finest traits of human character, which
is the image of the Divine. ' Now abideth faith,
1 Wellhausen, Jsr. u. Jud. Geschichte2, p. 107.

60 The Prophets of the Old Testament
hope, love, these three ; and the greatest of these
is love.' For God is Love. 1
1 G. A. Smith has adduced various interesting comparisons
between Amos and Piers the Plowman. In their sympathy
with the poor, and their unsparing condemnation of personal
and social vice, the two are closely akin, though Langland
remains loyal to Church and King, looking for reformation
rather than destruction, while Amos can see no hope of
better things. In this respect an even more obvious parallel
is found in Carlyle, who likewise identifies religion with justice,
and regards increase of material wealth, not based on justice,
as but a swelling of the waters about to shoot Niagara. ' Justice,
Justice : woe betide us everywhere when, for this reason
or for that, we fail to do justice ! No beneficence, benevolence,
or other virtuous contribution will make good the want. . . .
There is but one thing needed for the world ; but that one is
indispensable. Justice, Justice, in the name of heaven ; give
us Justice, and we live ; give us only counterfeits of it, or succed-
anea for it, and we die ' (Latter-Day Pamphlets, II. p. 68).

CHAPTER IV
Hosea the Prophet of Love
When Amos lifted up his voice in prophecy, there
seemed not a speck in the heavens. He alone
descried on the far horizon the cloud, no larger than a
man's hand, raised by the gathering hosts of Assyria.
Jeroboam died in peace about 743 B.C. His son
Zechariah assumed the reins of government, and
all things seemed as stable and prosperous as before.
But hardly had he begun his rule when the forces
of disorder broke loose, and Israel was plunged
into a very maelstrom of trouble. Within six
months the king had fallen beneath the assassin's
sword, and the line of Jehu came to an ignominious
end. The usurper Shallum, son of Jabesh, held
sway for a brief month, when he too, perished in a
counter-insurrection led by Menahem, son of Gadi,
a rude soldier, who carved his way to the throne by
ferocious cruelties. He reigned for some six years
(c. 743-737), averting ruin from his house by a
heavy tribute paid to Tiglath-Pileser, king of
Assyria, and exacted from ' the men of wealth '
(2 Kings xv. 20), those luxurious grandees on whom
Amos had poured such vials of wrathful scorn.
61

62 The Prophets of the Old Testament
Menahem seems to have died a natural death, his
son Pekahiah reigning in his stead. In httle over a
year, however, the commander-in-chief Pekah,
son of Remahah, headed another conspiracy, slew
the king in his palace, and assumed the power
(735 b.c). During his reign the Assyrian flood at
last swept over Israel. Pekah had foolishly leagued
himself with Rezin, king of Syria, in an attempt to
crush the sister kingdom of Judah, and Ahaz
appealed to Assyria for help. Quick to take advan
tage of their discord, Tiglath-Pileser fell upon Gilead
and Galilee, ravaged the country, and deported the
population to Assyria ; then swooping backwards
on Damascus, he stormed the city after a two years'
siege, put Rezin to the sword, and carried His people
captive to Kir (732). Samaria was saved by the
insurrection of Hoshea, son of Elah, a creature of
the Assyrians, who murdered Pekah, and himself
usurped the throne. But the truce was short.
Ambitious of a freer hand in government, Hoshea
became involved in Egyptian designs against the
over-lord, with the result that Shalmaneser IV, the
new king of Assyria, descended in hot fury upon
his rebellious vassal, seized and imprisoned him,
and began a close siege of his capital (724 B.C.).
Shalmaneser died while the siege was still in pro
gress ; but in the first year of his successor Sargon
II (722-705) the city was reduced amid terrible
scenes of suffering, the native population swept off to

Hosea the Prophet of Love 63
Assyria, and a new race of ' Samaritans ' planted in
their stead — a thorn in the side of the pure stock of
Abraham for centuries to come.
Hosea's prophetic ministry covers the first decade '""
of this period of disintegration. He began to
prophesy a year or two before Jeroboam's death,
while the ' house of Jehu ' still flourished (i. 4). His
broken-hearted utterances afford ample evidence
that he hved through those orgies of blood
shed, lust and crime, which accompanied the suc
cessive revolutions in Israel, until perhaps the
accession of Pekah in 735J3.C. The last agonies of
his people he appears to have been spared. There
is no allusion to the war with Judah and the ravages
of Tiglath-Pileser. Gilead and Galilee are still
part of the body pohtic of Israel (cf. v. 1 ; vi. 8 ;
xii. 11). Nothing even indicates that Israel has
broken with Assyria. She is pictured as a silly -J
dove, fluttering helplessly between Egypt and
Assyria, but her wings are not yet definitely set in
the direction of Egypt. Still less has the final blow
descended. Hope continues to struggle with de-"1
spair. Even at the eleventh hour, if Israel will but
turn to her God in honest repentance and faith, He
will have mercy upon His children, ' will heal their
backsliding, and will love them freely ; ' for His
anger is turned away from them (xiv. 4).1
The earlier prophecies of Hosea are cast in the '!
1 The book of Hosea falls into two main divisions : the story

r

64 The Prophets of the Old Testament
usual mould : their burden is doom, inexorable and
swift. The storm falls first on the royal house.
To a son born to him soon after he began to pro
phesy he gives the name of Jezreel, as a sign that
Jahweh will speedily ' avenge the blood of Jezreel
upon the house of Jehu, and will cause the kingdom
of the house of Israel to cease ' (i. 4). But the whole
nation is rapidly drawn within the vortex of destruc
tion. Israel also has sinned, and must pay the
sinner's penalty. The tale of sin is much the same
as Amos had counted against the people : ' swear
ing and breaking of faith, kilhng and stealing
and committing adultery, violence and bloodshed
linked to bloodshed.' But, whereas the eye of the
earlier seer had been trained upon the outward
conduct of life, the more reflective spirit of Hosea
dwells on the springs of character — the motives and
principles that make men good or evil — reducing
these to the fundamental qualities of truth, or self-

of his domestic sorrow (i.-iii.) and the collection of prophecies
proper (iv.-xiv.). The former is generally assigned to the
age of Jeroboam, and the latter to the period of national dis
integration that followed his death. The beginning of the
tragic story does, indeed, fall within the reign of Jeroboam ;
but, as it covered a period of some seven or eight years, the
later developments of the tragedy may well have extended
to the period of the Decline and Fall. On the other hand,
the earliest of the prophecies contained in iv.-xiv. may belong
to Jeroboam's reign. It seems better, therefore, to regard
the sections as historically parallel, the domestic tragedy
developing pari passu with the prophet's preaching.

Hosea the Prophet of Love 65
consistency of moral purpose, and love, the tender,
faithful sympathy which inspires deeds of humanity,
kindliness and affection. And, as human goodness "\
is essentially the expression of man's walk with
God, he finds the fountain of hfe in the knowledge
of God, the loving intimacy with which the devout
man stands related to his God. In the lack of this ,
knowledge lay the real root of Israel's sin. Jahweh -- '
had a controversy with His people, because there
was ' no truth nor love, and no knowledge of God in
the land' (iv. if.). Sacrifice and offerings were no
moral equivalent of knowledge. Indeed, the wor- "
ship as practised by Israel ' under oaks and poplars \
and terebinths ' was the crowning sin of the age :
it was ' whoredom ' against Jahweh — it seduced _
men from the worship He delighted in, and was the
fruitful source of drunkenness and debauchery and
all uncleanness (vv. ioff.). Thus the people were
' ruined for lack of knowledge,' their brains befogged
and their affections petrified by wine and harlotry.
Yet the prophet could not find it in his heart to
blame them. Let no man rebuke, nor find fault ;
For my people are like their pastors'- (iv. 4).
To the priests and prophets of Israel Jahweh had
committed His knowledge ; but they had betrayed
their trust, conniving at the people's guilt, and set-
1 Cf. Kittel's note. The Kemarim were a species of de
generate priests (cf. Hos. x. 5 ; Zeph. i. 14). 5

66 The Prophets of the Old Testament
ting them an adtual example in profanity and vice.
As they grew in numbers, they sinned against me,
Their glory they turned into shame :
They feed on the sin of my people,
Their heart they set on their guilt (iv. yi.).
Through their deeds of violence they had become a
snare and net by which to trap the unwary (v. if.),1
while the leading sanctuaries of the land were steeped
in the blood which they had shed.
At Adam2 they broke the covenant,
Betrayed me there ;
A city of ill-doers is Gilead,
Stained deep with blood.
As tt troop of robbers in wait
Is the band of priests ,
On the way to Shechem they murder,
They do their misdeeds.
In Bethel, too, have I seen
A deed of horror ;
There Ephraim hath played the whore,
Defiled is Israel (vi. 7-10).
If Israel had been humble, Jahweh might have
accepted the excuse. But she herself plunged
headlong after the sins of her rulers, stubborn as a
heifer that would not keep to the pasture (iv. 16) ,
her pride staring out on her face, even while she
stumbled in the toils (v. 5). No warnings could
deter the people from their folly. The sound of
the clarion but drove them to Assyria and King
1 At the beginning of v. 2 read D'B&'n T\TW\ A deep pit
have they dug at Shittim.
1 The name of a place is here required, either Adam (a locality
quite unknown) or some other name resembling it.

Hosea the Prophet of Love 67
Pick-quarrel,1 regardless of Him who had wounded,
and alone could heal (v. 8ff.). If in their desolation
they did seek Him with tears, their repentance
was all so shallow, their love ' as a morning
cloud, or hke dew which passeth early away,' that
He knew not what to do with them (vi. 1-4).
By the words of my mouth I slew them,
And my judgment went forth as light ;
For love I delight in, not sacrifice,
And knowledge of God more than offerings (vv. $i.).
Instead of love and the knowledge of God they
heaped up their villainies, filling both palace and
street with bloodshed, and recking not in their
hearts that Jahweh remembered their wickedness
(vii. if.). Thus Israel had become a raging furnace
in which king and princes were consumed.
They gladden the king with their villainy.
The princes with their lies ;
On the day of our king the princes
Are sick with the fumes of wine.
He clasps his hand with scorners,
Whose heart is enkindled with treachery ;
All night their anger sleepeth,
In the morning it burns as a flame.
Yea, all of them glow like an oven.
And their rulers they devour ;
All their kings are fallen,
And none of them calleth to me1 (vv. 3-7).
1 I have here followed G. A. Smith's apt rendering of King
Jareb (lit. Contender, or Quarrelsome one). It is possible, how
ever, that we should read 21 ^bp, the Great King, a common
designation of the king of Assyria.
* This picture of horrors, which may be compared with

68 The Prophets of the Old Testament
It was perhaps during the madness of this Reign
of Terror that the prophet's daughter was born.
At Jahweh's suggestion he called her Lo-ruhamah,
The Unloved One, as the sign that He had lost all
love for His faithless people (i. 6). As if national
vices were not enough to turn God's love to loathing,
Ephraim mixed himself up with the nations, and
was become like a cake full of heathen ingredients,
and that 'unturned' — scorched black on the one
side, while the heart was raw and damp and sour.
Old age also was creeping over him, with grey
hairs that foreshadowed the approaching end.
Ephraim among the nations
Is all mixed up ;
Ephraim is become a cake
That hath not been turned.
Strangers have devoured his strength,
And he knoweth it not;
Even grey hairs are sprinkled upon him,
And he knoweth it not (vii. 8f.).
Like a silly dove Israel now called unto Egypt, and
now fluttered after Assyria, heedless of a nation's
only sure refuge (v. ii). In times of famine and
distress they lay howling on their beds, crying unto
Baal, and tearing themselves for corn and wine ;
Carlyle's description of the Reign of Terror in Paris (The French
Revolution, Vol. III., Books iv. v.), has been marred by the
intrusion of a prosaic explanation (v. 4). All this is taken from
(the analogy of) bakers. They are like a burning oven, when the
baker ceaseth to stir the fire from the kneading of the dough until
it be leavened. On other changes required, cf. Kittel's notes.

Hosea the Prophet of Love 69
and, though Jahweh had strengthened their arms
for the fight, they trusted rather in their own sword
and bow — ' a swerving bow' that could not hit the
mark (vv. 14-16). Israel had spurned what was
good : she had chosen kings without Jahweh's
consent, and princes without His knowledge ; she
had sown the wind, and must now reap the whirl
wind (viii. 3-7). It was all in vain that she dallied
with the nations: she passed among them as a
'useless vessel,' without either beauty or profit.
Within her own borders, the altars she raised to
sin by, with the flesh of the sacrifices she loved to
eat, would turn to her destruction (vv. 11-14).
Rejoice not' O Israel,
Nor exult as the nations ;
For away from thy God hast thou whored,
Thou lovest the harlot's hire.
On all the threshing-floors
The corn shall vanish ; l
The wine-press shall know them not,
And the must shall fail them.
So shall they dwell not
In Jahweh's land ;
To Egypt shall Ephraim return,
And in Asshur shall eat unclean {bread).
No more wine shall they pour unto Jahweh,
Nor spread for Him (an offering) ;
As mourning bread are their sacrifices,
All that eat thereof are polluted.
1 For the second J15 read "IT.2P, shall be cut off (Duhm).
On other alterations cf. Kittel's notes.

70 The Prophets of the Old Testament
Since the bread they desire cometh not
Into Jahweh's house, —
What shall they 1 have for the holy day,
For Jahweh's festival ?
Behold ! they shall go to Asshur,
Egypt shall gather them ; '
Thorns shall possess their land,3
And nettles their tents.
Come are the days of judgment.
The time of recompense ; *
Come are the days of vengeance,
Israel shall know it (ix. 1-7).
In a series of lovely images Hosea pictures the
beauty of Israel's childhood and youth. As ' grapes
in the wilderness ' Jahweh had found them ; as
' first-ripe figs ' He saw their fathers (ix. 10). As a
tamarisk5 beside rocks, 'planted on meadow-land,' the
infant nation grew up before Him (v. 13). A luxuriant
vine, she yielded Him much sweet fruit (x. 1). Like
a well-trained heifer, she received His yoke ' over
her fair neck,' and with willing obedience ploughed
the clods and threshed the harvest of righteousness
1 I have here read the third person, which the context seems
to demand.
* In the first stichos read "WK for "V&D. The stichoi on
Egypt and Memphis are evident variants, the former of which
has been adopted as more in harmony with Hosea's general
usage (cf. vii. n ; ix. 3).
3 For "ipriD, pleasant thing, read DDDD, dwelling-place (LXX).
The following DSP5?, to their silver things, is probably an
attempt to explain the corrupted text.
4 I have slightly expanded the original here.
6 For ip? read 5B»K, a tamarisk.

Hosea the Prophet of Love 71
(v. 11). As a flock of docile sheep He ' tended 'a
her in the desert, ' through a land of burning
drought' (xiii. 5). Even as a son He loved her,
and called her unto Him from Egypt, took her in
His arms, and healed her little sores, taught her
to walk, and drew her on ' with leading-strings
of love ' (xi. iff.). But the more tenderly He dealt
with His people, the more they rebelled against
Him, setting up their altars and calves to Baal
(ix. 10 ; x. 1 ; xi. 2 ; xii. 11 ; xiii. 2), forswearing
the Covenant and turning justice into hemlock
(x. 4), ploughing wickedness and reaping iniquity
(v. 13), gaining them riches like the Canaanites by
' scales of deceit,' and never once considering that
' all their gettings touch not the guilt of their sins ' 2
(xii. 7f.). Jahweh had laboured unweariedly to
bring them to a better mind ; but they had called
His prophet a fool and the 'man of the Spirit' mad —
they had lain in wait for them even in the house of
God, had planted ' a fowler's snare ' in all their
paths, and dug deep pits to ruin them 3 (ix. 8f.) .
Thus steadily His anger rises against His treacherous
children. He has long since ceased to love them, and
now He can no more regard them as children.
1 Read spflin (LXX, etc.).
3 The above clear sense is directly recovered from the Sep
tuagint. 3 The best solution of the difficulties in ix. 8f. appears to
be that of Duhm, who begins the stanza with the displaced
words Vrbtt rV33, and thereafter reads N'OSn-'jN DH98 nj?V,
rightly regarding the second nDDB'D as the beginning of the

72 The Prophets of the Old Testament
To a son born of Gomer, some three years after
Lo-ruhamah, the prophet gives the still more
ominous name of Lo-ammi, Not my people ; ' for
ye are not my people, and I am not your God,'
r— saith Jahweh (i. 9). And the piercing accents of
\ his prophecy become increasingly poignant with
L the note of doom.
As a bird shall their glory flee,
Of birth, and womb, and conception ;
Though they bear, I will destroy
The darlings of their womb.
Though they rear their children up,
I will rob them of manhood ; -
When I turn from them, Ah, woe !
They must yield them to the slaughter (ix. nff.).
In that day naught they trust in shall avail them
for help. The calf of Samaria must follow their
other gifts to King Pick-quarrel (x. 6), while their
own king shall be tossed away ' hke brush-wood
upon the waters ' (v. 7) ; the ' high places of wicked
ness ' with their altars shall be given over to thorns
and thistles, while the worshippers call out to the
mountains to cover them, and the hills to fall on
them (v. 8) ; their chariots and fortresses shall be
shattered amid the alarum of war, and the mothers
dashed in pieces over their children (v. 14). Nor
marginal correction, and reading inna* for •innB> (cf. also
Kittel) : In the house of his God Ephraim watches for the prophet ;
, a fowler's snare is in all his ways (to trap him), and deep have
they made the pit for him.

Hosea the Prophet of Love 73
is any comfort to be found in the memory of Jah
weh's past goodness to them.
Compassion is kid from mine eyes,
For a foolish son is he ;
And now no more can he stand
In the mouth of the womb.1
From the power of Sheol can I ransom thee,
Or from Death redeem thee ?
Where are thy plagues, O Death,
Where thy ruin, Sheol ? a
He may flourish among the reeds,
But the East wind shall come ;
It shall come, and shall dry up his spring,
And shall scorch his fountain.*
Waste shall be laid Samaria,
And (her people) shall fall by the sword ;
Their infants shall be dashed in pieces,
And their women with child ripped up (xiii. 13-16).
Had Hosea been a man of inflexible spirit hke
Amos, his prophecy must have ended here. Jah
weh's compassions were closed ; it seemed as if
no prayer thenceforth could reach His heart.
1 The opening words of this stanza are recovered from the
close of v. 14, where they kstand in isolation. D^S 13B>Q3>
lit. ' in the breaking forth of children ' (the place whence chil
dren break forth). One naturally compares John iii. 4, ' How
can a man be born when he is old ? Can he enter a second
time into his mother's womb, and be born ? ' At this period
of his ministry Hosea saw no second birth possible for Israel ;
but growing insight into God's heart made all things possible.
3 It is necessary to read this stanza as implying the hope
lessness of redemption. The second couplet might be rendered,
Come with thy plagues, O Death / With thy ruin, Sheol !
8 On the textual changes required in this stanza cf. Kittel's
notes.

74 The Prophets of the Old Testament
But, whereas Amos stood aloof from the people
whose ways he condemned, Hosea was one of them
selves—a son of the rich and beauteous Northland,
who took the purest dehght in its fields and woods,
its smiling vineyards and cultivated mountain
slopes — a kindly neighbour, who fain would have
saved his people from their fate, and whose words
of vengeance came as great bursts of sorrow from a
bleeding heart. He was a married man, too, with
wife and children around his hearth ; and he boldly
transferred his human affections to God. Uplifted
by them, he stormed the heavens by his love.
'"^In spite of Jahweh's wrath against Israel, he felt
' He was still essentially love. His wrath was the
actual measure of His love : it was a Father's wrath
— the reaction of a love beyond all human under
standing, cut to the quick by His children's ingrati
tude and sin. For Jahweh to give up Israel was as
hard as for Hosea to cast from his home the children
..„ he had fondled in his arms and taught to walk. Now
that He has to pronounce the final words of re
jection, He cannot bring Himself to carry out the
judgment. How can I give thee up, Ephraim —
Abandon thee, Israel?
How can I make thee like Admah,
Treat thee like Zeboim ?
My heart is turned within me.
My compassions are kindled together ,
I cannot work out the heat of my wrath,
I cannot again make havoc of Ephraim.

Hosea the Prophet of Love 75
For I am God, and not man —
The Holy One in thy midst ;
I come no more to consume (thee),
* * * (xi. 8f.).
If only they would open their hearts to His affection,
He would love them as freely as in the days of old,
and make them the beauty and joy of all the earth.
Return to thy God, O Israel,
For thou'rt fallen by thy guilt.
Yea, return ye to Jahweh, take with you words,1
And speak to Him thus :
' Do Thou wholly remove the guilt,
And let us find good !
Then will we make return
With the fruit of our lips.
' Asshur shall not save us,
We will ride not on horses ;'
No more will we say " Our gods '
To the work of our hands.'
I will heal their backsliding,
I will love them freely ;
I will be as the dew unto Israel —
He shall bloom as the lily.
He shall strike his roots like the poplar*
And his saplings shall spread ;
His beauty shall be like the olive's,
And his fragrance as Lebanon.
They shall dwell once more in my shadow,
Shall refresh themselves with my pleasures ;
They shall blossom like the vine,
And their scent be as wine of Lebanon.
1 I have here transposed the clauses, in the interests of sense
fr-nd rhythm. On other alterations, cf. Kittel's notes.
3 That is. We shall no more seek help from Egypt.
3 Read p133? for f)12? (drawn from the following couplet).

76 The Prophets of the Old Testament
O Ephraim, what dost thou longer with idols ?
I will answer, and care for thee : x
I am as an ever-green cypress, —
Of me thy fruitage is found (xiv. 1-8).
In these gracious words we breathe the very
atmosphere of Galilee, and catch the first clear
utterance of the Gospel of the Father's all-forgiving
love ; but' a deeper note is struck in Hosea, one
that vibrates in sympathy with the message of
\ Calvary, and which he also learned through suffering.
About the time when he began to feel the movings
of the Spirit of God within his breast, Hosea had
married a maiden of Israel, Gomer the daughter
of Diblaim, in whose love he found his only human
refuge amid the sadness and sorrow of his ministry.
Three children came to add sunshine to their
love : then the light of his life turned to dark
ness. Like so many of the daughters of Israel,
Gomer had yielded to the seductions of Baal worship,
and betrayed her husband's affection. Perhaps his
] Puritanical instincts were too strong for her warm
, ' love of life and its pleasures. Be this as it may, she
gave her heart to another, and fell into the grossest
sin. For a time, it would seem, she was able to
conceal her guilt ; then the whole sordid story came
to hght, and Hosea realized that, in listening to the
. promptings of God and love, he had taken into his
bosom ' a wife of whoredom and children of whore
dom ' (i. 2). The shock of such a discovery rent his
1 I have read the 2nd person, as in the closing stichos.

Hosea the Prophet of Love 77
moral nature to the roots. His sensitive spirit
recoiled from the touch of impurity ; yet he struggled
to save his sinful wife from the fate of the
adulteress, imploring her for her children's sake, if
not for his, to ' put away her adulteries from between
her breasts,' lest the fire of his jealousy break out
on her and them alike (ii. 2ff.).1 But she remained
obdurate to his appeals, and attached herself openly
to her paramour, sinking ever more deeply into the -
mire of sin, until she became a common drudge, and
was exposed on the market-place for the price of a
slave. The sight of her degradation kindled thei
old passion in Hosea's breast. He had loved this -¦
woman in her innocence ; he loved her, if possible,
with a purer affection in her shame. He could not
bear to think of her as the slave of evil men, and
with his own hand bought her of her masters, to
keep her awhile in some sequestered place, where
she might think, and come to herself, and realize
how much better it was when she reposed in her
own husband's affection, and then bring her back
to his home, that they might once more enjoy the
sacred intimacies of the happy days of old (iii. iff.).2
This new feeling towards his repentant wife
Hosea likewise transfers to God. In his revulsion
against her infidelity he had pictured Israel as the
faithless bride of Jahweh, who had gone after her
1 In the appeal to Israel we may legitimately trace a reflec
tion of the prophet's personal appeal to his erring wife.
* I have'here followed the interpretation of Hosea's tragedy

78 The Prophets of the Old Testament
lovers the Baahm, and committed whoredom with
them on all the high places of the land, and must
therefore be stripped of her goodly things, and
exposed hke an adulteress on the dry and barren
desert (ii. 6ff.). But now a new sense of the 'Ever
lasting Mercy' dawns on him. The impulse to
redeem the fallen one was of God, and reflected His
own love for Israel. Yet more tenderly than Hosea
over his fallen wife did Jahweh brood over Israel,
nor could He find rest or peace of mind till
He had restored her to honour. In her hour of
bitter shame, when her other lovers had cast her
off, Jahweh would lure her to the desert where He
had first betrothed her to Him, and would speak
first suggested by Ewald, and developed by Wellhausen (Kleine
Propheten3, pp. I05ff.) and Robertson Smith (Prophets of Israel,
pp. I78ff.), which alone appears to do justice alike to the moral
sensibilities of the prophet and to his conception of Israel as
Jahweh's bride, innocent, fallen and restored. I have departed
from these scholars, however, in placing the discovery of Gomer's
guilt, not about the time of Lo-ruhamah's birth, but shortly
before the breaking up of the home, after the birth of all three
children. There is no definite proof of the earher date ; and
it seems an outrage on the pure and sensitive conscience of
Hosea — before he had fathomed the depths of Divine love —
to imagine him for three long years meekly enduring his wife's
infidelity. The grave moral tone of ii. 6ff. appears also to
point to a time when Hosea has lost all hope of present repent
ance, and foresees salvation for Israel only at the price of exile.
For other ways of reading Hosea i. — iii. compare Davidson's
article in the Dictionary of the Bible, vol. ii., pp. 421I ; also
J. M. P. Smith, The Prophet and his Problems (1914), where a.
fresh and forceful defence is offered of the most literal reading
of the story as the prophet's marriage with a woman whom he
knew to be a. harlot.

Hosea the Prophet of Love 79
love-words to her heart, opening ' a door of hope '
in the very valley of Achor where she had
begun her career of adultery (Josh. vii. 26) ; and so
soon as she responded to His affection He would
betroth her anew to Him in faithfulness and
truth, and lead her back to His land, and make her
and her children a blessing in the world.1
>
Therefore, lo ! I will allure her, Cl ri &-'•¦*- '¦
And will lead her to the desert, and will speak to her heart ;
And I will give her back her vineyards,
And will make the valley of Achor a door of hope.
And she shall respond to me there as in the days of her youth,
Even the day that I brought her up from- the land of Egypt ; '
And I will betroth her to me for ever in love and compassion,
I will betroth her to me in truth and the knowledge of Jahweh.2 1. ,<
And it shall be on that day, saith Jahweh, 'V..:'1,'' M "'
She shall call to her husband, and call no more to the Baalim
And I will remove from her mouth the names of the Baalim,
And they shall be mentioned no more by their names.

1 The verses which turn the darkness of chap. ii. into the
light of redemption are often assigned to the post-exilic period,
when men's thoughts were fixed on a future of undimmed glory
for Israel. No doubt the rhythm and key are different from
Hosea's usual note — the prophecy being rather an idyllic
meditation than a spoken word to Israel — but on the theory
accepted here it is the natural outcome of the prophet's personal
experience and attitude towards Gomer. Only in i. 5, 7 ; i.
ro-ii. 1 (which clearly presuppose the Exile) and the reference
to ' David their king ' in iii. 5 do we catch the accent of a later
age. 2 I have transferred vv. tgi. (stripped of slight excrescences)
to its natural place in the poem.

y.

80 The Prophets of the Old Testament
And I will make her a covenant with the beasts of the field,
With the fowl of heaven and the creeping things of the ground ;
And bow and sword and war will I break from the land,
And will make her to lie down in safety.
And it shall be on that day, saith Jahweh,
I will call to the heavens, and they shall call to the earth ;
And the earth shall call to the corn and the wine and the oil,
And they shall echo the call 1 of Jezreel.
And I will sow him (Jezreel) for me in the land,
'And will love the Unloved one (Lo-ruhamah) ;
And will say to Lo-ammi, ' Thou art my people,'
And he shall say, ' My God ' (ii. 14-23).
The wooing was all in vain. Israel responded
not to Jahweh's words of love. Thus there was no
return to the home-land : the place of exile became
the people's grave. But the message of Hosea was
not in vain. From Israel it passed to Judah, and
found a richer expression in prophets like Jeremiah
and the preacher of Comfort (Isa. xl.-lv.). And in
Jesus Christ the love of God which spoke through
him became incarnate. Hosea's glory is that he
approached so nearly the great mystery of redemp
tion. ' Herein is love, not that we loved God, but
that He loved us, and sent His Son to be the pro
pitiation for our sins ' (1 John iv. 10).
1 The verb used throughout is njU, answer, respond, here
in the sense of responsive singing. Nature forms, as it were,
a grand symphony, in which the note of Jezreel — God will sow
— peals forth from heaven to earth, and is caught up by all the
fruits of earth. In more sober prose, God commands the cloud s
to drop their rain, and the whole land of Israel is filled with
fertility and joy.

CHAPTER V
The Vision of Isaiah
Our study of the earher prophets has brought out
incidentally the predominance of North Israel during
the middle regal period. The defection of the ten
tribes was no mere lopping off from the common
wealth of Israel ; it seemed almost as if the head
had been transferred. For centuries the real interest
centred in the North. On the Moabite and Assyrian
monuments it is the house of Omri and Jehu that
plays the conspicuous part ; Judah is a mere ap
pendage. The same impression is conveyed by the
record in Kings, notwithstanding its Jewish sym
pathies. The kings of Israel are condemned for
their evil deeds, yet they are the real heroes of
history, while the kings of Judah flit across the stage
as under-studies. In rehgion, too, the Northland
displayed the greater activity. It might be zeal
' without knowledge ' but the fact remains that to all
outward appearance Israel showed the most living
interest in the cause of Jahweh. With this goes the
further striking fact that prophetic activity was then
81 6

82 The Prophets of the Old Testament
almost exclusively confined to the North. Of the
older prophets, Elijah, Elisha and Hosea were all
sons of the North ; the only Judean was Amos, and
even his prophecy was directed against Israel, at
the chief centres of her national life.
It was well for Judah, however, that she remained
so long in the background. Had she been more
immersed in stirring activities, the life-strength of
the nation might have been sapped in infancy. As
it was, the legitimate kingdom of David was able
slowly to consolidate itself. To this end the South
offered inestimable advantages : a fixed centre for
its national and religious development in the holy
city of Jerusalem, a succession of kings of David's
line, good and bad, indeed, as in the North, yet not
so notoriously corrupt as Ahab or Jehu, and a fairly
consistent policy of government. Thus Judah es
caped the constant revolutions that drained the
blood of the Northern nation, and in large measure
also the wars which exhausted the manhood of the
people. By her relative isolation, too, Judah main
tained much of her moral and spiritual purity.
There were, no doubt, grievous Wounds and sores,
but corruption had not so deeply infected the heart
of the people. Thus we hear little of Baal worship,
with its unspeakable abominations, in the Southern
kingdom. The good old traditions that had made
the people great kept a firmer hold there : the leaven
of righteousness still continued to leaven the lump.

The Vision of Isaiah 83
At last the time came when Judah also stepped
forward on the stage of history. The reign of
Uzziah (c. 790-740 B.C.) was practically contem
poraneous with that of Jeroboam the Great in
Israel, and the one vied with the other in glory.
The historical books record Uzziah's victories over
the Phihstines, Arabs, and other enemies on the
Southern border of Judah, his recovery of the sea
port Elath on the Red Sea, which gave him access
to the riches of Arabia and the East, his great name
over all that region, his building of fortresses in the
wilderness, with cisterns for the cattle and husband
men whose labours he encouraged so zealously, and
his strengthening of the defences of Jerusalem by
towers and battlements (2 Kings xiv. 22 ; 2 Chron.
xxvi. '6ff.), while the pages of prophecy bear witness
to the vast increase of wealth and material splendour
which accompanied these military achievements (cf .
Isa. iii. i6ff. ; v. 8ff. ; Mic. ii. iff., etc.). In the eyes
of his subjects, therefore, Uzziah must have appeared
a second Solomon, raised up to restore the fortunes
of Jerusalem. The ignominious death of so illus
trious a ruler, followed within a few years by the
accession of his weak and vacillating grandson Ahaz,
dealt a rough blow to the national hope. But the
crisis drew forth the first great prophet of Judah,
a man whose commanding personality dominated
the whole life of the nation for forty epoch-making
years.

84 The Prophets of the Old Testament
With Isaiah we enter upon a new phase of pro
phecy. Amos had delivered his awesome message,
and then returned to his flocks and fig-trees in the
desert, appealing to future generations only by his
written word. Hosea had lived among his people,
striving by alternate entreaties and warnings to
bring them to a better mind, but he appears to
have exerted no direct influence on national pohtics.
Isaiah not merely spoke in the name of his God,
but he put forth hand and authority to make Israel
— or at least the godly kernel of the nation — a true
1 Kingdom of the Holy One. Ahaz and Hezekiah
might fill the throne ; but Isaiah was the real ruler
of Jahweh's heritage. And the future of the nation
was largely determined by the ideals of national hfe
and government set forth by the prophet.
The call of Isaiah is in fine keeping with his kingly
spirit. It is suggestively enough associated with the
death of the Grand Monarch, whose long and prosper
ous reign had shed such lustre on Jerusalem. In a
striking lecture Professor A. B. Davidson has pic
tured the patriotic young Jew, deeply moved by
the tragedy of Uzziah's end, joining with the mourn
ful throngs that filled the palace to pay the last
tribute of respect before the bier of the dead
sovereign, and then passing to the Temple, to render
homage to another King, whose sceptre could never
fall from stricken hands.1 More likely it was just
1 The Called of God, pp. 187ft.

The Vision of Isaiah 85
before the tragedy had closed in darkness, but
when the weight of it hung heavy on earnest souls.
At all events, the scene of the Vision was the Temple
door-way. Isaiah had gone to worship ; and, as he
prayed, the outward symbolism of worship vanished,
and the eternal reahties themselves were unveiled
before his spiritual imagination. In the holy place,
where the Ark stood as the emblem of the
Divine, he now saw the Lord Jahweh seated as King
upon a throne ' high and lifted up,' beyond all
contact with human imperfection and sin, the skirts
of His flowing robes filling the Temple — in other
words, His royal presence permeating the sanctuary,
and going out thence to bless and gladden the
world. Around His throne the choirs that pealed
out their joyous music in the Temple seemed now
transformed into shining companies of seraphim,
whose voices were raised in responsive chorus :
Holy, holy, holy is Jahweh of hosts ;
The whole earth is full of His glory x (vi. 3).
But not by hp alone did these bright spirits minister
to their King. Each one had six wings — two to
cover his face, in token of reverence, two to cover
his ' feet ' (the lower parts of his body), a delicate
suggestion of purity, and two for flight, to speed
on His Divine commissions ' o'er land and ocean
without rest ' — the three pairs thus finely symbolizing
1 ' Glory is the expression of holiness, as beauty is the expression
of health.' — G. A. Smith, the Book of Isaiah, i. 68.

86 The Prophets of the Old Testament
the threefold worship that God loves and expects
of His children — reverence, purity and service. The
sight of such transcendent holiness Isaiah could
not yet endure. In his nervous dread the very
foundations of the threshold seemed to shake be
neath him, and a great cloud arose to obstruct his
gaze — the darkness of his own impurity showing
thick and black before the dazzling radiance of
God's glory. And for the moment he felt himself
undone. ' Woe is me ! for I am undone ; because
I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell amidst a
people of unclean lips : for mine eyes have seen
the King, even Jahweh of hosts' (v. 5).
Conviction of sin may pierce the heart of the
prodigal in the far country, when he comes to him
self, and feels how sorely he has wounded the
Father's heart by his shameful vices. But it comes
also — and with yet more overwhelming force — to
such as have kept themselves free from ' the great
transgression,' but have caught some vision of God's
holiness, in the hght of which they can read aright
the secret of their own souls. Isaiah's despairing
cry is hke that of Peter, when he first clearly dis
cerned the Divine majesty of his Master : ' Depart
from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.' In spite of
his instant conviction of unworthiness, and his fear
lest he should be undone amid those ' everlasting
burnings ' where the Almighty dwelt, he longed with
all his heart to join the sacred choirs that sang God's

The Vision of Isaiah 87
praises in the Temple ; his highest ambition was to
worship Him, as they did, with mingled reverence,
purity and service. And the God who .sees not as
man sees, but who looks into the heart, granted the
young enthusiast his desire. ' Then flew one of the
seraphim unto me, having a glow stone in his hand,
which he had taken with the tongs from off the
altar : and he touched my mouth with it ' — thus
conveying to him the purifying, consecrating influ
ence of the Divine holiness — ' and said, Lo, this hath
touched thy lips ; and thine iniquity is taken away,
and thy sin purged' (v. 7). At once the trembling
figure, who had fallen prostrate before God's
presence, conscious of nothing beyond his personal
meanness and corruption, could rise to his feet in the
dignity of manhood and enter the service of the
Holy One towards whom his whole being rose in
earnest aspiration. His ministry was not con
fined to the adoration of angelic hosts in heaven.
His will must be made known to men, and His King
dom carried forward in triumph through the world ;
and for this service He needed the devoted loyalty
of human hearts and voices. ' Whom shall I send,
and who will go for us ? ' Obedient to the Divine
appeal Isaiah answered, ' Here am I ; send me '
(v. 8).

CHAPTER VI
Isaiah the Prophet of Holiness
We have already seen how the prophet's call struck
the key-note of his subsequent activity. The
conviction of impending doom which was borne
home on Amos in the solitude of the desert formed
the burden of his preaching at Samaria and Bethel.
Hosea's sympathy with the loving heart of Jahweh
which he learned through the violated sanctities of
his home life made him the herald of salvation.
Isaiah was as clearly called to be the prophet of
holiness. His task was to make the vision of God's
holiness as real and effective in the national life as
it had proved in his own. To the ancient mind
holiness meant primarily separation. God was holy
in the sense of being separate from men — infinitely
exalted above human imperfection, weakness and
transience x — and His holy ones were those set
; apart or ' consecrated ' to His service. In itself,
therefore, hohness had no ethical import. It might
even be the handmaid of gross immorality, the
1 Holiness is thus virtually the equivalent of transcendence.
' It describes God's transcendent majesty. His absolute God
head ' (A. B. Davidson, The Called of God, p. 192).

Isaiah the Prophet of Holiness 89
temple prostitutes of heathen religions being known
as ' holy men and women.' The filling of the con
cept with ethical significance is one result of pro
phetic teaching, and arose directly from the prophets'
thought of God. Hosea had already identified
hohness with love : to his generous heart Jahweh
was the Holy One of Israel in His mercy and forgive
ness (Hos. xi. 9). Isaiah gave a new turn to the
idea. For him holiness was that 9^sojute_purityl
of heart and life which glows like consuming fire, \
and in whose presence no uncleanness or corruption \
can abide. Jahweh had revealed Himself to Isaiah
in this hght ; and to all who hstened to his preaching
he held up the same mirror of hohness. The ideal
is already defined in the opening chapter, where
holiness is the correlate, not of Sabbath-keeping,
worship and sacrifice, but of justice and humanity.1
What care I for the multitude of your sacrifices ?
Jahweh doth say.
I am sated with offerings of rams,
And the fat of fed beasts ;
In the blood of bullocks and he-goats
I take no

1 It is now generally recognized that ch. i. is no single ' Great
Arraignment ' (Ewald), but a series of separate oracles. Of
these, vv. 2-9 belong almost certainly to the critical period of
Sennacherib's invasion. The rest of the chapter is usually
assigned to the same date ; but the general outlook of vv. 10-17,
the hope of forgiveness that still shines through vv. 18-20, and
the dependence of vv. 21-26 on Hosea, rather suggest an earUer
origin. At all events, we have here the clearest exposition of
Isaiah's ideal of holiness.

90 The Prophets of the Old Testament
When ye come to behold my face,
Who seeketh this at your hand ?
So trample my courts no more,
For vain are oblations !
An abhorrence to me is the smoke (of your sacrifices),
Your holy days iniquity ; 1
New Moon and Sabbath, the calling of assemblies,
I cannot away with.
Your feast days and festivals
My soul doth hate ;
They are u burden upon me—
I am weary of bearing them.
So when ye spread out your hands,
I will hide mine eyes from you ,'
Even when ye multiply your prayers,
I will not listen.
Your hands are full of bloodshed :
Wash yourselves clean !
Put away the evil of your doings
From before mine eyes I
Cease to do evil, learn to do well,
Pursue after justice !
Set right the oppressor, judge the fatherless,
Plead the cause of the widow! (i. 11-17).
In these stern words of justice we may catch the
echo of Amos ; but a new note is heard in Isaiah,
one that links him in spirit with Hosea and later
prophets of mercy. If hohness were only strict
justice, purity of heart and goodness, it would
defeat its own end, crushing beneath an intolerable
1 I have divided the lines according to the LXX, an arrange
ment necessary to preserve the elegiac measure. The closing words,
jl.K rnxyi (thus transposed), I have treated as the parallel to
<*? K'n royin rrjbj?.

Isaiah the Prophet of Holiness 91
burden the soul that pursued it : the quest of holi
ness, indeed, would result in despair. Thus Divine
hohness must come down to seek and to save the
lost. In his vision of the Holy One, Isaiah had
found forgiving grace as real an element in God's
hohness as consuming purity ; and because of that
he was able to stand with boldness in the presence
of the Eternal, and to go forth as the ambassador
of holiness. This side likewise has its due place
in his preaching. Come now, let us be right with each other.
Jahweh doth say :
Though your sins be like scarlet,
They may be white as snow ;
Though they be red like crimson,
They may become as wool1
If ye be willing and obedient,
Ye shall eat the good of the land ;
But if ye refuse and rebel,
The sword shall devour you.
For the mouth of Jahweh hath spoken it (vv. 18-20).
If Isaiah expected the people as a whole to be
' wilhng and obedient,' he was speedily disillusioned.
Honest souls here and there gave heed to his words ;
but the main result of his preaching was to harden
1 I have taken this stanza in the usual positive sense, which
seems more suitable to the context, and also more in harmony
with Isaiah's conception of holiness, than either the ironical or
the interrogative sense preferred by many modern commenta
tors. As against the latter alternative, cf. especially Burney,
Journal of Theological Studies, xi. 433s .

92 The Prophets of the Old Testament
the people's heart. The more earnestly he pleaded
with them, the more obtuse became their under
standing, the duller their ears, and the more ' be
smeared ' their eyes ; they heard, but could not
understand; they saw, but perceived not (vi. gf.).
In spite of this, the prophet was led by Divine
necessity to press on with his thankless task. The
hardening of their hearts he felt to be involved in
his call, a real part of the burden Jahweh had laid
upon him.1 If Israel were to become a holy people,
it must be purged by the blast of judgment — the
blast of God's fire — until nothing was left but the
pure gold from the crucible, or the stump of the
terebinth felled to the ground (vv. n-i3).a
While the fire of God's holiness was to sweep
over Israel as a whole, its fiercest flames were f ocussed
on Jerusalem, the centre of offence. The moral
situation which here confronted Isaiah closely
resembled that in Samaria. Increase of wealth
1 As ch. vi. is prefatory to the second group of prophecies,
and was therefore not written till the close of the Syro-Ephraim-
itic war (c. 733 B.C.), it is natural to suppose that the account of
the call has been coloured to some extent by reflection on subse
quent experience. Skinner, however, insists that ' we have no
right to imagine ' any such influence (Cambridge Bible on
Isaiah, p. 43). In any case, the words convey the effect, rather
than the substance, of the prophet's preaching.
3 The closing words of v. 13 are a later addition, not found in
LXX. They are, however, an accurate interpretation of the
text. Isaiah must have taught his doctrine of the ' Remnant *
from the beginning of his ministry, as his son Shear- Jashub was
able to accompany him on his visit to Ahaz in 735 B.C.

Isaiah the Prophet of Holiness 93
bred luxury and riot. The rich sat long at their
feasts, inflamed with wine and strong drink, while
their ladies tripped gaily along, arrayed in all the
bravery of their fine dress and jewellery, regard
less of the doing of Jahweh and the needs of the
people (iii. i6ff.). The very troubles of the poor
were made the occasion of their own aggrandise
ment. Brilliant as Uzziah's victories had been,
they were purchased at the cost of the peasant's
independence. The land that had passed down
from father to son — the ' portion ' which the poor
man valued as highly as his hfe — was thrown into
the market, and the larger proprietors added field
to field, and house to house, till there was no room
left for others. Here too the inequalities of wealth
led to the wresting of the poor man's rights. It
seemed as if many of the social leaders in Israel had
lost the sense of right and wrong. They called evil
good, and good evil ; darkness light, and light
darkness . They harnessed themselves to evil as with
wagon-ropes, and actually defied God to show His
working. ' Let Him speed on, hasten His work,
that we may see it ; let the counsel of the Holy
One of Israel draw nigh and come, that we may know
it ! ' (v. 8ff.).
Though a loyal son of Jerusalem, an aristocrat
by birth and bearing, a friend of the wealthier
classes, with easy access to the palace, Isaiah was
as full of sympathy for the poor, and righteous wrath

94 The Prophets of the Old Testament
against the follies and wickedness of the rich, as the
democratic Amos had been ; and with the same fiery
passion he depicts the smelting of Jerusalem in the
furnace. Ah / fallen to a harlot
Is the faithful city, —
Zion, that was full of justice.
Where righteousness dwelt !
Thy silver is become dross,
Thy pure wine mixed ;
Thy princes are rebels,
And associates of thieves.
Each one of them loveth bribes,
And pursueth rewards ;
They judge not the fatherless,
And the cause of the widow comes not unto them.
Therefore thus saith Jahweh,
The Mighty One of Israel :
Ah I how I will ease me of mine adversaries,
And avenge me of mine enemies I
I will turn my hand upon thee,
(And will kindle fire against thee ;)
I will smelt out thy dross in the furnace,
And remove all thine alloy.
Then will I restore thy judges as at the first,
And thy counsellors as at the beginning
And afterward shalt thou be called the Township of Justice,
The Faithful City 1 (i. 21-26).
In a much more splendid utterance he describes
the coming of the Day of Jahweh against the pomp
1 The radiant picture of Zion as the exalted centre of a world
at peace (Isa. ii. 1-4 = Mic. iv. 1-4) is clearly intended as the
climax to this vision of a New Jerusalem ; but the thought and
language alike point to a date soon after the Restoration, rather
than the times of Isaiah and Micah. Cf. the Commentaries of
G. B. Gray, Wade, etc.

Isaiah the Prophet of Holiness 95
and pride of Jerusalem— the silver and gold, the
horses and chariots of war, the proud galleons that
brought the city her wealth, even the cedars and
oaks and mountains — whatsoever exalted itself
against the holy majesty of Jahweh.
Go ye into the caves of the rock,
And hide yourselves in the holes of the dust,
From before the terror of Jahweh,
And before His glorious majesty I1
For Jahweh hath forsaken His people,
He hath cast off the household of Jacob ; 2
For their land is filled with traffickers,3
And hands they strike with the children of aliens ;
Their land also is filled with silver and gold,
And there is no end to their treasures ;
Their land also is filled with horses,
And there is no end to their chariots ;
Their land also is filled with idols,
And there is no end to their images : *
They worship the work of their hands,
Even that which their fingers have made.
So the pride of man shall sink low,
And the loftiness of man shall be abased ;
And Jahweh alone shall be exalted,
While the idols shall one and all vanish?
Go ye into the caves of the rock,
And hide yourselves in the holes of the dust,
1 The opening lines are recovered from vv. 19 and 21, com
pared with the parallel v. 10.
3 It is necessary here to read the 3rd pers. (with LXX),
and to fill in some such parallel as the above.
3 I have followed G. B. Gray in reading D^WS Canaanites,
i.e. traders, for D'Jj'y, soothsayers, which is quite out of place
here. The line will then run, D'JBJ? 1208 riK^D »3 (cf.LXX).
* Add the parallel VnU¥S& TVp. pxi' (Duhm, etc.).
' The full text is secured from the refrain in vv. lyi.

96 The Prophets of the Old Testament
From before the terror of Jahweh,
And before His glorious majesty
For Jahweh of Hosts hath u Day,
The Lord hath a time for judgment,1
On all that is proud and lofty,
And on all that is high and uplifted, —
On all the cedars of Lebanon,
And on all the oaks of Bashan ;
On all the lofty mountains, ,
And on all uplifted hills ;
On every lordly tower,
A nd on every fenced wall ;
On all the ships of Tarshish,
And on all the stately galleons.2
So the pride of man shall sink low,
And the loftiness of man shall be abased;
And Jahweh alone shall be exalted,
While the idols shall one and all vanish (ii. 6-18).
The influence of Amos may still be felt here, but
there is a unique majesty in Isaiah's tones — the
majesty of one haunted by the vision of the Divine
hohness. The sweep of his imagination is subhme ;
and the diction is as lordly as the thought. The
phrasing is carefully finished, and the verse moves
on with a stately rhythm, strong, full, yet always
under command. With the same royal ease the
young prophet can wield the weapons of- satire, as
when he pierces the pride of the ' daughters of
Jerusalem,' who hold themselves so haughtily,
And walk with outstretched neck,
And ogling with their eyes ;
Mincing ever as they walk,
And jingling with their feet,
1 Here too the parallel line is necessary.
• Read n'WBD (cf. Jon. i. 6).

Isaiah the Prophet of Holiness 97
only to have their perfume turned to rottenness and
their girdle exchanged for a rope, their well-dressed
hair made baldness and their stately robes replaced
by sackcloth (iii. iGff.).1 But his loftiest scorn is
reserved for the careless rich who devour the needy,
the land-grabbers and the topers, the moral perverts
and the scoffing.
Ah t they that join house to house,
And lay field to field-
Till there be no more room 2
In the midst of the land !
Thus Jahweh of Hosts
Hath sworn in mine ears :
' Of a surety many a house
Shall become a desolation —
Even houses great and goodly,
Without inhabitant.
For ten acres of vineyard
Shall yield but one bath ;
And an homer of seed
Shall yield but an ephah.' *
Ah ! the heroes for drinking wine,
And the valiant in mingling strong" drink, i
1 Into the genuine poetic texture of this piece has been
inserted a detailed inventory of articles of women's dress,
invaluable from the archaeological point of view, but purely
prosaic (vv. 18-23).
2 The added words D^ab DPpg«ini mar the elegiac
quality of the verse.
3 Though Isaiah is condemning landed monopoly from the
religious standpoint, he has a keen eye for its economic results
as well. Monopoly leads surely to depopulation and waste of
resources. Economic conditions in modern Europe afford a
striking commentary on Isaiah's analysis.
1 I have transferred to this position v. 22, which is quite out
of place in its present context. 7

98 The Prophets of the Old Testament
They that rise up early of mornings
To follow after strong drink,
That tarry late in the twilight,
Till wine doth inflame them, —
Whose feasts are lute and harp,
Timbrel and flute and wine,
But the doing of Jahweh they heed not,
And the work of His hands they regard not !
Therefore my people are exiled,
Exiled for lack of knowledge ;
Their nobles are famished with hunger,
And their rabble parched with thirst.

Therefore Sheol hath enlarged her desire,
And opened her mouth without measure ;
And down go her splendour and rabble,
Her pomp, and all that rejoice therein : x
And lambs shall graze (on her site) as their pasture,
And failings shall feed 'mong the ruins.
Ah I they that draw guilt with bullock thongs.
And sin as with cart ropes, —
That say, ' Let Him speed on,
Hasten His work, that we may see it ;
Let the counsel of the Holy One of Israel
Draw nigh and come, that we may know it ! '
Ah I they that call evil good,
And good evil ;
That put darkness for light,
And light for darkness ;
That put bitter for sweet,
A nd sweet for bitter !
Ah ! they that are wise in their own eyes,
And in their own sight knowing ;
1 The feminine refers most probably to Zion ; the missing
introduction to this ' Woe ' will thus no doubt have marked
out the capital for Gdd's vengeance. On the other hand, vv.
151. are wrongly inserted from ch. ii.

Isaiah the Prophet of Holiness 99
That acquit the -wicked in return for a bribe,
And the rights of the innocent wrest from him ! 1
* * *
* * *
Therefore, as tongue of fire devoureth the stubble,
And hay sinketh down in the flame,
Their root shall become as rottenness,
And their blossom shall rise as dust ;
For they have scorned the teaching of Jahweh of hosts,
And despised the word of the Holy One of Israel (v. 8-24).
At times the prophet's anger melts into a tender
ness hke that of Hosea. Thus his picture of the
coming anarchy in Judah is full of pathos.
For behold ! the Lord,
Even Jahweh of hosts,
Doth remove from Jerusalem and Judah
Both stay and staff —
The hero and man of war,
The judge and prophet and elder,
The man of renown and the counsellor.
The skilled in magic and expert in charms.2
And youths will He give for their princes.
And capricious babes shall rule them ;
And the people shall wax tyrannous man over man,
Each man over his neighbour ;
And rude shall they be, the youth to the elder,
And the churl to the noble.
When a man layeth hold of his fellow,
In whose father's house is a mantle,
(Saying), ' Come, our chief shalt thou be,
And this heap of ruins shall be under thy hand " —
1 These closing ' Woes ' are without their sequel. The text
may be considerably mutilated. Even between this stanza
and the following there is a. hiatus.
3 Instead of cutting out these four lines as a prosaic interpret
ation of the ' staff and stay ' (G. B. Gray), I have omitted two
superfluous details which mar the rhythm, leaving the rest as it
stands.

ioo The Prophets of the Old Testament
On that day shall he lift up his voice,
Saying, ' I will not be an healer ;
For in my house there is neither bread nor mantle,
Ye shall not make me chief of the people.'
For Jerusalem hath stumbled,
And Judah is fallen :
For their tongue and their deeds are against the Lord,
To provoke the eyes of His glory ;
Their respect of persons hath witnessed against them,
And their sin have they published and hid not.
My people — babes are their tyrants,
A nd women rule them ; L
My people — thy leaders mislead thee,
And confuse 2 the way of thy paths.
Woe unto them I
For ill have they done themselves.2
Lo ! Jahweh standeth to plead,
Upriseth to judge His people,- —
Jahweh doth enter on judgment
With His people's elders and princes :
' It is ye that have eaten the vineyard,
The plunder of the poor is in your houses !
What mean ye that ye crush my people,
And grind the faces of the poor ? ' (iii. 1-15) .
The most exquisite expression is given to Isaiah's
feehng for Judah, however, in his ' love-song ' of the
Vineyard. Now let me sing for my loved one
A love-song touching His vineyard.
1 We may, however, take 7? WD as acting the child, and for
D'EO read D'KO (with LXX), thus 'rendering ;
My people — their tyrants deal wantonly,
And exactors of usury rule them.
2 Read -1^3 (LXX).
3 I have transferred v. 96 to what seems its natural place in
the context, and omitted vv. iof. as a clear instance of marginal.
comment.

Isaiah the Prophet of Holiness 101
My loved One had a vineyard
On a fertile peak : *
And He digged it, and cleared it of stones,
And did plant it with vines ;
He built a tower in the midst of it,
And hewed out a wine-press ;
And he looked for a yield of grapes,
But it yielded wildings.
And now, ye inhabitants of Jerusalem,
And men of Judah, —
Judge for yourselves, I pray,
Between me and my vineyard !
What more could be done for my vineyard,
Than that which I did?
When I looked, then, for yield of grapes,
Why yielded it wildings ?
So now let me show you, I pray,
What I will do with my vineyard :
I will pluck down its hedge, and it shall be devoured,
I will break through its walls, and it shall be down-trodden ;
I will make it a waste, unpruned and unhoed,
That shall spring up with briars and thorns ;
And the clouds will I command,
That they rain no rain thereon.
For the vineyard of Jahweh of hosts is the house of Israel,
And the men of Judah the planting in which He delighted ;
And He looked for the word of justice, but behold! the sword of
injustice,
For right, but behold ! the cry of the wronged 3 (v. 1-7) .
Though his heart is with Judah, the sovereign eye
of the prophet ranges^ over the Northland too. He
knows the tumults and disorders that prevail in the
1 lPB>"t3 !35> lii- a h°rn, the son of oil.
2 I have sought thus to reproduce the effect of the plays on
DSE'D, judgment, and HSE'D bloodshed, HfJIV, righteousness,
and T\pvpt,"a'cry.

102 The Prophets of the Old Testament
midst of the nation, the lust and pride, the violence
and oppression and crime ; and he knows that doom
is near. Thus in the most powerfully dramatic of
all his oracles he unrolls the swift march of judgment,
through cycle after cycle of disaster — invasion,
defeat and slaughter, the loss of territory and the
horrors of civil war — till the tragedy reaches its close
amid the thunders of the Assyrian conquest (ix.
8-21 ; v. 26-29).1
A word hath the Lord sent into Jacob,
And it lighteth on Israel ;
And the people all shall know it,
Even Ephraim and the inhabitants of Samaria, — ¦
Those that have spoken in pride
And the stoutness of their heart, and said :
1 That ix. 8-21 belongs to the same context as v. 26-29 has
long been evident to scholars : the latter forms the necessary
climax to the tragedy, and the appearance of the refrain in v.
25 is further evidence of their unity. The opening stanza of
ch. x. is clearly intended to fit into the same framework ; but
the hortatory tone of the verses connects them rather with the
' Woes ' of ch. v. A mutilated stanza of the prophecy may
also be found in v. 25 ; but the context here is so broken, and
the following verses are so clearly the sequel to the picture of
civil war in ix. i8ff., that it seems better to regard these touches
as redactional. The alternation of tenses throughout the poem
has raised a further question as to the prophet's outlook. Ewald,
Kuenen, Cheyne, G. A. Smith, Skinner, Wade and other scholars
regard the prophecy as mainly a survey of past calamities,
the Assyrian invasion being the only judgment still to come ;
on the other hand, Duhm, Marti, Driver, Whitehouse and G. B.
Gray read the whole as predictive of future events. The present
writer decidedly accords with the latter view. He has translated
the verbs, however, as pictorial presents, to bring out the full
vividness of the Hebrew prophetic perfect.

Isaiah the Prophet of Holiness 103
' The bricks are fallen, but with hewn stone will we build ;
The sycomores are cut down, but with cedars will we replace them'1
Therefore doth Jahweh raise the foeman against them,
And spurreth on their enemies,
Aram on the East, and the Philistines behind,
Devouring Israel with open mouth.
For all this His anger is not turned back,
But His hand is stretched out still.
The people return not to Him that smote them,
Nor seek after Jahweh of Hosts ;
So He cutteth from Israel both head and tail,
Palm-branch and reed in a single day.2
* * *
* * *
He spareth not their choice young men,
Nor pitieth their orphans and widows ;
Because each one is godless and ill-doing,
And every mouth speaketh folly.
For all this His anger is not turned back,
But His hand is stretched out still.
Their wickedness burns like a fire,
Which consumeth briars and thorns,
Then kindleth the forest groves,
And they roll up in pillars of smoke.
Through the wrath of Jahweh the land is ablaze,
And the people are food for the flames.
They carve on the right hand, but are hungry still ;
They devour on the left, but are not satisfied.
No man spareth his brother,
But each devoureth his neighbour's flesh,
Manasseh Ephraim, and Ephraim Manasseh,
While together they rise against Judah.
1 Duhm suggests that this couplet may be derived from a
popular song of the time. In any case, the words nobly express
the invincible confidence of the people, even in the hour of
defeat and disaster.
3 The two following verses in the Hebrew text are clearly a
prosaic gloss, which has perhaps displaced the original sequel.
This stanza is two couplets shorter than the others.

104 The Prophets of the Old Testament
For all this His anger is not turned back,
But His hand is stretched out still.
So he raiseth u signal for u nation afar,
Ke doth whistle him hither from the end of the earth.
And, lo ! swiftly he cometh, with speed,
In his ranks none weary or stumbling ;
No girdle unloosed on his loins,
No thong for his sandals snapped.
His arrows are sharpened,
His bows are all bent ;
His horses' hoofs are as flint,
As the whirlwind his wheels are accounted.
His roar is as that of a lion,
Like young lions he roareth and growleth ;
He seizeth the prey, and sweepeth it off,
And there is none to deliver.1
1 Of all modern poets Milton comes nearest to Isaiah in
sublimity and splendour, combined with classical restraint and
conciseness. They are akin, too, in moral dignity — in their
insistence that both personal and national life be judged as it
appears in the ' great Task-Master's eye,' and that whatever
fails to stand that test must perish.

^A

CHAPTER VII
The Sign of Immanuel
Isaiah has thus far confined himself to general
application of religious principles ; but the time came
for him to play a more direct part in the affairs
of Israel, and therewith to emphasize the positive
side of hohness.
Since the death of Uzziah, the Assyrian peril had
become increasingly acute. Menahem had pur
chased but a brief respite ; and the forces of Tiglath-
Pileser were mustering for a mightier assault on the
West. The common danger drew the lesser powers
together. A defensive alliance was formed between
the ancient rivals, Rezin king of Damascus and
Pekah the usurping king of Israel. If a strong
stand were to be made against the invader, it was
necessary that Judah also should be brought into
line. Jotham refused ; and the allied kings bent
their first energies to his humiliation. Ere the blow
could be struck, Jotham died, leaving the govern
ment in the hands of his son Ahaz (735 B.C.). The
weakness of the new reign became evident from the
first. Edomite bands swooped down on Elath, the
105

106 The Prophets of the Old Testament
port on the Red Sea which Uzziah had taken and
fortified, thus destroying the maritime power of
Judah at one blow. The enemy was quick to press
his advantage. Syrian troops were thrown into
Israel, and arms joined for a frontal attack on Jeru
salem. The capital won by storm, Ahaz was to be
replaced by a favourite of Rezin's, the nameless
' son of Tabeal,' and Judah made tributary to the
allies. Ahaz was no man to face an emergency like
this. When he heard the dismal news, ' his heart
was moved, and the heart of his people, as the trees
of the forest are moved before the wind.' He
made a brave appearance of inspecting the defences
and water supplies of Jerusalem, as though he meant
to hold out to the last ; but in his own mind he had
already planned to shirk the path of duty, and had
in fact sent a secret embassage to Tiglath-Pileser,
praying him to come and save him, and cravenly
signing himself, ' Thy servant and thy son ' (2 Kings
xvi. 61).
The people of Jerusalem were too servile to offer
; any opposition to this suicidal policy. Only Isaiah
dared to stand up in condemnation. The interview
between prophet and king marks another of those
decisive moments in the history of religion. It
took place ' at the end of the conduit from the upper
reservoir,' the most critical point in the defences of
the city, and probably the very spot whence
Rabshakeh was to hurl his msults against the people

The Sign of Immanuel 107
of Jahweh, some forty years later. No scene could
be more fittingly associated with Isaiah's great
words of faith and cheer. ' Take heed, and keep
quiet ; fear not, neither let thy heart be faint, for
these two stumps of smoking fire-brands ! ' They
seem now full of fire and fury ; but thus saith Jah
weh, ' Their counsel shall not stand, neither shall
it come to pass,' for behind them is nothing but up
start vanity.
The head of Syria is Damascus,
And the head of Damascus is Rezin ; 1
And the head of Ephraim is Samaria,
And the head of Samaria is the son of Remaliah !
On the other side,
The head of Judah is Jerusalem,
And the head of Jerusalem is Jahweh of hosts.2
If Ahaz and his people will only put their trust in
Him, they shall never be put to confusion. But
If ye will not believe,
Ye shall not be established2 (Isa. vii. 8ff.).
In this heroic sentence we have faith for the first
time set forth as the staying principle of life. God
1 The intervening clause is an evident gloss, applying the
prophet's warning to the colonization of Samaria by Esar-
haddon, c. 670 b.c.
3 This couplet does not appear in the text, and may never
have been spoken ; but it expresses what was undoubtedly in
Isaiah's mind.
3 The paranomasia in the original is finely brought out in
G. A. Smith's paraphrase, ' If ye have not faith, ye cannot have
staith ' (The Book of Isaiah, i. 106) .

108 The Prophets of the Old Testament
is the King Eternal and Almighty ; therefore the
people that trusts in Him becomes partner in His
might, and is more than a match for every hostile
power, while those who place reliance on their own
selfish and wayward policies must come to naught.
Isaiah meant not to condemn such reasonable plans
of defence as Ahaz was apparently busied with — for
faith is in perfect harmony with wisdom and a sound
mind. What he despised as so utterly unworthy of a
child of faith was the foohsh panic to which Ahaz
had given way, and his equally foolish, and far more
fatal, surrender of himself and his country to the
Assyrians. In the eyes of the prophet, faith was
the living fountain of manly courage and strength ;
unbelief was ahke the deepest folly and the most
contemptible weakness.
But Isaiah's faith was not exhausted even in this
bold statement of principle. He was prepared to
submit it to whatsoever test the king might impose.
' Ask thee a sign of Jahweh thy God ; make it deep
as Sheol or high as heaven,' and Jahweh will answer.
And when the fickle king trifled with his great as
surance — afraid to offend the Lord God of Israel, yet
anxious that nothing should interfere with his
treacherous purpose — Jahweh Himself gave a sign.
' Behold, a damsel (or young marriageable woman)
shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name
Immanuel (God with us). For before the child
shall have learned to refuse the evil and choose the

The Sign of Immanuel 109
good (to distinguish the pleasant from the harmful
and bad) the land before whose two kings thou
tremblest shall be made desolate' (vii. 14, 16) .1
The sign of Immanuel was for the king. But to
impress his hope on the imagination of the people
as well, Isaiah took a large tablet, or advertisement
board, on which he wrote in common, legible char
acters, Lemaher-shalal Hash-baz, ' Of Swift-spoil,
Speedy-prey,' and set it up on some conspicuous
position in the city, explaining the force of the words
to two responsible witnesses, Uriah the priest and
Zechariah the son of Jeberechiah (viii. if.). To a
child born in his own home about a year afterwards
he likewise gave the name of Maher-shalal Hash-baz,

1 The traditional identification of Immanuel with the Messiah
has been revived in a new form by Gressmann, who regards the
hope of Immanuel as part of the current eschatology of Israel,
and ultimately derived from Babylonian sources (op. cit., pp.
273ft.). But Gressmann's whole schematism rests on too
many unproved assumptions to be relied on with confidence.
On a natural reading of the prophecy the emphasis lies, not on
the personality of either mother or child, but on the name,
as symbolical of Jahweh's purpose for His people. And this
purpose would appear to be salvation, not devastation and
ruin, as G. A. Smith maintains (The Book of Isaiah, i. H4ff.).
The very name ?X -13S1?, God with us, indicates salvation.
Besides, the prophecy stands in close connection with the sign
of Maher-shalal Hash-baz and the oracle against Damascus and
Samaria, both portending doom on Judah's enemies. The only
verse which suggests the devastation of Judah (v. 15) reads like a
forcible intrusion on the context, dependent on the later burden
of prophecy in vv. 17B. Compare A. S. Peake's illuminating art.
in the Dictionary of Christ and the Gospels, i. 782!

no The Prophets of the Old Testament
as a pledge that ' before the child shall have learned
to call Abi, Immi' — in our childish parlance Dada>
Mamma — ' the riches of Damascus and the spoil of
Samaria shall be carried away before the king of
Assyria' (viii. 3I).
To the coming doom of Syria and Ephraim the
prophet devoted one of the most brilliant of his
oracles, which must be assigned to the same critical
period as the prophecies.
Lo ! Damascus is removed from being a city.
And shall become a ruin abandoned for ever ;
Her cities shall flocks possess —
They shall lie down, and none shall affray them.
The fortress shall pass from Ephraim,
And the kingdom from Damascus ;
And the remnant of Aram shall perish,
They shall be like the glory of the children of Israel.
The Rede of Jahweh of hosts.
On that day shall the glory of Jacob be minished,
And the fat of his flesh shall be lean :
It shall be as when reaper gathereth the crops,
And his arm reaps off the ears ; *
Or when (gardener) beateth an olive-tree,
And a gleaning is left thereon —
Two or three berries on the uppermost, bough,
Four or five on the branches.
The Rede of Jahweh of hosts.2
1 The closing words of v. 5 are clearly an explanatory gloss.
3 The omitted verses 7f. are now generally recognized as an
interpolation. If original in the poem, they must be placed at
the close (G. B. Gray) ; but the universal outlook would indicate
a later authorship. On the other hand, v. 9 has awakened
little suspicion. To the present writer, however, it seems to
intrude uneasily into the imagery of the piece. Its excision.

The Sign of Immanuel in
Because thou hast forgotten the God of thy salvation,
And hast not been mindful of the Rock of thy strength, —
Although thou plantest thy plantings of Adonis,
And settest in vine-slips of an alien god,
And as soon as thou plantest thou makest them grow,
And by morning dost bring thy seedlings to blossom, —
Yet the harvest shall fail on the day of thy sickness,
And of pain that cannot be cured.
The Rede of Jahweh of hosts (xvii. i-ii).
King and people still refused to listen, preferring
to trust in their arm of flesh, the ruthless might of
Assyria. Isaiah could thus do little more for them
than witness to the hope he cherished by his name
and those of his children.1 But his real influence by
no means waned during this period of echpse. There
had gathered around him a small circle of earnest
souls — his ' learners ' or disciples — whom he could
instruct more perfectly in the knowledge of Jahweh,
teaching them to fear Him and His word, and to
dread not what the people called ' conspiracy.'
And among them he ' bound ' his testimony and
' sealed ' his teaching,2 while he himself waited
too, would yield us an equality of length in the separate stanzas,
which is in keeping with the artistic quality of the whole.
1 Isaiah, The salvation of Jahweh ; Shear-jashub, A remnant
shall return, or be converted to. Jahweh (J. M. P. Smith suggests
Shear-jesheb, A remnant shall abide) ; and Maher-shalal Hash-
baz, Swift-spoil, Speedy-prey (of Damascus and Israel). Thus
Isaiah and his children were ' signs and portents ' of Judah's
salvation. • The absolute infinitive has occasioned considerable diffi
culty here. Its force is really that of an emphatic future :
' I will bind up the testimony and seal the teaching with my
disciples,' etc. The binding and sealing of documents formed
part of the ancient method of publication (cf. Cowley and Sayce's

112 The Prophets of the Old Testament
patiently for Jahweh to reveal His purpose in season
(viii. nff.).
In making this distinction between the general
mass of the people and an elect company of disciples,
like those whom Jesus was to gather around Him
as the nucleus of His Kingdom, Isaiah took another
decisive step forward, one prophetic of the essential
freedom of the true-born children of faith. ' Till
then no one had dreamed of a fellowship of faith
dissociated from all national forms, maintained
without the exercise of ritual services, bound together
by faith in the Divine word alone. It was the birth
' of a new era in the Old Testament religion, for it was
the birth of the conception of the Church, the first
step in 1|ae emancipation of spiritual rehgion from
the forms of political life — a step not less significant
that all its consequences were not seen till centuries
had passed away. The community of true rehgion
and the political community of Israel had never
before been separated even in thought ; now they
stood side by side, conscious of their mutual
antagonism, and never again fully to fall back into
their old identity.' 2
edition of the Assouan papyri). The preposition 3, with, among,
has been interpreted in different ways ; but most probably it
signifies in (the heart of), the binding and sealing being understood
in a spiritual sense. Isaiah will thus foreshadow Jeremiah's
law written upon the heart (Jer. xxxi. 33) and St. Paul's ' epistle
of Christ, written ... on tablets that are hearts of flesh'
(2 Cor. iii. 3).
1 W. R. Smith, Prophets of Israel, pp. 274^

CHAPTER VIII
The Triumph of Isaiah's Faith
The doom on Ephraim and Damascus was not long
delayed. Isaiah's meeting with Ahaz must have
taken place towards the close of 735 B.C., when
Pekah and Rezin had begun their campaign against
Judah. Within a year the hosts of Tiglath-Pileser
had swept over Gilead, Asher, Zebulon and Naphtali,
ravaging and depopulating, malting a solitude and
calling it peace. Though Samaria itself was spared
for a season, the shadow of ignominious death never
again rose from its brows. The punishment of
Damascus was more summary. The Assyrian monu
ments allude to a pitched battle, in which Rezin
was severely defeated, and ' fled alone for safety
and crept secretly hke a mouse into the gates of his
city.' This was followed by the two years' siege of
Damascus, ending with the sack of the city, the
execution of Rezin, and the deportation of the people
to Kir (2 Kings xvi. 9). Thus about the time when
the child Immanuel had learned the rudiments of
discretion, and Maher-shalal Hash-baz was prattling
AM, Immi, ' the riches of Damascus and the spoil
113 8

114 The Prophets of the Old Testament
of ^Samaria were carried away before the king of
Assyria.' Yet neither king nor people gave praise to the
Rock of their salvation. Ahaz imagined that his
own astute pohcy had brought about his deliver
ance, while the people relied on their own senseless
superstitions (Isa. viii. 19). The result was a further
drawing off from Jahweh. An omen of evil soon
appeared. Just after the fall of Damascus (732 B.C.)
Ahaz went there to pay his allegiance to Tiglath-
Pileser : seeing the altar on which the Great King
offered sacrifice to his gods, he drew a plan of it,
apparently with his own hand, and sent a copy to
Uriah the priest, with instructions to have an exact
replica made and placed in the Temple against his
return ; and on this he burnt sacrifices, and offered
libations of blood and wine, as he had seen his over
lord do in Damascus (2 Kings xvi. ioff.). ' This may
seem a trivial thing in itself, but it marks the opening
of the flood of Assyrian influence in religion and
morals, which was to reach so dangerous a height
under Manasseh. The foohsh king had not merely
bartered away the independence of his country and
thus virtually signed its death-warrant, but he had
as hghtly sacrificed the most precious inheritance
of Judah — the purity of its faith.
To the clear-eyed prophet of Jahweh the fatal
results of Ahaz' treachery were manifest from the
first. In a series of vivid images, drawn probably

The Triumph of Isaiah's Faith 115
not long after the sign of Immanuel, he conjured
up the terror and devastation that must soon over
take Judah as well.
On that day Jahweh will whistle for the fly and the bee,1
And they shall come and settle down, all of them,
In the rugged valleys and the clefts of the rock,
And on all the thorn-bushes and all the pastures (vii. i8f.).
On that day the Lord will shave off,
With a razor hired from beyond the river,
The head and the hair of the secret parts, —
And also the beard will He sweep away (vii. 20). *
Seeing this people have rejected
The waters of Shiloah that gently flow.
Behold ! therefore Jahweh doth bring up against them
The waters of the river mighty and full : 3
And it shall rise over all its channels,
And shall pass over all its banks ;
And on to Judah shall it sweep and o'erflow.
Even to the neck shall it reach (viii. 6-8). 4
The first crisis was precipitated by the folly of
king Hoshea. He had won the sceptre of the North
by bis intrigues with Tiglath-Pileser ; but he had
long been restive, and only looked for a favourable
chance to throw off the yoke. The opportunity"
came with Tiglath-Pileser's death in 727. His
1 The text is here expanded by a (correct) explanatory gloss.
3 The rest of the chapter consists of two prosaic pictures of
the utter desolation of the land, based on Isaianic ideas and
figures. 3 Here, too, the imagery is (correctly) explained by a prosaic
annotator. * The last clause of v. 8, with vv. gi., belong to a late apocalyp
tic song of salvation.

116 The Prophets of the Old Testament
successor Shalmaneser had his hands full of troubles
in the East,, and So (or Seve) king of Egypt was
already fomenting rebellion among the petty states
of Syria. Hoshea lent himself an easy victim to
these designs. Negotiations were opened, and at
the fitting moment tribute was withheld and the
standard of rebellion definitely unfurled. The result
was inevitable." As early as 724 B.C. Samaria was
invested by Assyrian armies under the direct com
mand of Shalmaneser. The siege was prolonged
over three terrible years. The Samaritans defended
themselves with consummate bravery and skill ; but
disciplined force, and the irresistible pressure of
famine and plague, overcame the most heroic
courage, and in 722 the proud capital yielded to the
conqueror (cf. p. 62).
The prophet of Judah followed the march of this
awful tragedy with eyes lit up by no hope and but
little sympathy. The cup of Israel's pride was
filled to overflowing, and the only possible issue was
death. In an elegy whose very splendour of colour
ing is that of the ' fading flower ' of Samaria's beauty
he foreshadows the end.
Ah ! the proud crown of the drunkards of Ephraim,
And the fading flower of his glorious beauty,
That rests on the head of the valley of oil ! 1

1 I have here retained D*3pB>"K,s.. (as in v. 4) instead of
\\\ WD. (Duhm, Marti, Kittel, etc.). '

The Triumph of Isaiah's Faith 117
Behold ! the Lord hath a mighty and strong one.
Like tempest of hail or storm of destruction,1
That smiteth men down to the earth with violence.
Underfoot shall be trod the proud crown of the drunkards of Ephraim,
And the fading flower of his glorious beauty,
That rests on the head of the valley of oil.
It shall be like the first ripe fig before autumn,
That when one doth but see (he plucketh),
And while yet in his hand doth eat2 (xxviii. 1-4).
But for his own people of Judah the prophet has
as little hope. They too stagger and reel with strong
drink. And his reiterated warnings they deride as
the stuttering talk of a mere teacher of babes — the
idle repetition of meaningless words. With such
besotted minds no other teaching is. possible than
continued drilling in the elements of knowledge — the
A B C of faith and morals — but the drilling must
now come from a ruder teacher than Isaiah, even
' the gibbering lips and foreign tongue ' of the
Assyrian conqueror, under whose savage blows they
will stagger and stumble, be snared and taken and
broken. These also stagger with wine, and reel under drink,
Priest and prophet are confused with wine ; s
They stagger amid their visions, they stumble in judgment,
All their tables are full of vomit, and filth is in every place.
1 The following clause appears to be a mere variant. The
reference is, of course, to the Assyrians.
2 The prophecy against Samaria ends with v. 4. The immedi
ate sequel (vv. 51.) is a ' Messianic pendant ' (Skinner), while the
rest of the chapter is addressed to Judah.
3 The text is here somewhat overladen by variants.

118 The Prophets of the Old Testament
' And whom would he teach his knowledge ? To whom explain his
message ?
Is it babes just weaned from the milk, and drawn from the breast ?
That (he harpeth on) law by law, law by law, saw by saw, saw by saw,
A little here, and a little there ! ' 1
Therefore by gibbering lips and a foreign tongue
Will he speak to this people, even He that said to them :
' This is the rest ye shall give to the weary,
This the refreshing ' — but they would not listen.
So shall Jahweh's word be unto them law by law, law by law, saw
by saw, saw by saw,
A little here, and a little there,
That on they may go, and stumble backward,
And be broken and snared and taken.
It is vain for them to imagine that their ' covenant
with death ' 2 will save them from Sheol. God has
laid in Zion the corner-stone of His Kingdom, the
plummet of which is righteousness ; and faith in
Him is the only ground of security.
Therefore, hear the word of Jahweh, ye scornful men,
Ye rulers of this people which be in Jerusalem !
Because ye say, ' We have struck u covenant with death,
And with Sheol have made a compact ;
So the scourging scourge, when it cometh, shall reach us not,
For lies have we made our refuge, and under falsehood have
hidden,' —
Therefore, thus saith the Lord, even Jahweh,
• Behold ! I lay in Zion a stone that is tried,
1 In this stanza we have the people's indignant protest against
Isaiah's ' childish ' teaching. I have followed Whitehouse in
his rendering of the puns.
3 By the ' covenant with death ' Isaiah no doubt means the
mystic superstitions already alluded to in viii. 19.

The Triumph of Isaiah's Faith 119
A precious foundation stone : He that believeth shall not be moved ; 1
And justice will I make the line, and righteousness the plummet.
' But hail shall sweep away the refuge cf lies,
And the waters shall o'erflow the hiding-place ;
And your covenant with death shall be cancelled,
And your compact with Sheol shall stand not.
' When the scourging scourge doth come, ye shall be beaten down
thereby,
As oft as it cometh, it shall catch you up :
Yea, morning by morning shall it pass, both day and night,
And pure terror shall it be to explain the message.'
For too short is the bed to stretch oneself in,
And too narrow the coverlet to wrap oneself in ;
For Jahweh shall rise as on Mount Perazim,
He shall stir up his wrath as in the valley of Gibeon, —
To do His deed — so strange His deed ! —
And to work His work — so alien His work !
So then be not scornful, lest your bands be made strong ;
For a decree of destruction, a fixed one, have I heard
From Jahweh of hosts (xxviii. 7-22). 3
The decree of destruction delayed its fulfilment.
Ahaz remained quietly submissive to Sargon, while
the ' scourging scourge ' descended on Egypt and
her confederates, the kings of Hamath and Gaza.
But with the death of Ahaz (c. 720 B.C.) there came
forebodings of disaster. His son and successor
Hezekiah — a man of far more heroic spirit than his
father — rapidly recovered the moral ascendency of
Judah, and thenceforth devoted his energies to
1 On the reading cf. Kittel's note.
3 This prophecy is usually dated about the beginning of
the Egyptian alliance ; but the general description, both of the
sin and its punishment, seems to argue for the earlier period
(cf. A. C. Welch, Religion of Israel, pp. i68ff.).

120 The Prophets of the Old Testament
throwing off the Assyrian yoke. As early as 714-13
he joined Phihstia, Edom and Moab in their in
trigues with Egypt, and narrowly escaped destruc
tion when Ashdod was reduced by the Assyrian
Tartar, or Commander-in-chief (711). About the
same time he established friendly relations with
Merodach-Baladan, the irrepressible king of Chaldea
(2 Kings xx. I2ff.). Isaiah saw in these strange
movements the stirring of the fires of judgment he
had so consistently predicted, yet he struggled with
all his might to avert the catastrophe. For three
years preceding the fall of Ashdod he walked through
the streets of Jerusalem ' naked and barefoot ' — clad
only in the slave's shirt — as a sign that Egypt and
her associates would be led captive slaves before the
king of Assyria (ch. xx.). With equal vehemence
he denounced the covenant with Merodach-Baladan,
to his enlightened understanding as fatal a step as
Ahaz' alliance with Tiglath-Pileser. His policy was
still quietness and confidence (xxx. 15) — firm trust
in Jahweh and freedom from political entanglements.
Till the murder of Sargon and the accession of
Sennacherib (705 B.C.) the crisis was averted ; then
all bounds were broken, and the prophet could no
longer control the flood. In Babylonia, Egypt and
Ethiopia (both lands then under the united sway of
the Ethiopian conqueror Shabaka), Sidon, Tyre and
Phihstia the standard of revolt was simultaneously
raised ; and Hezekiah definitely committed his

The Triumph of Isaiah's Faith 121
people to the same cause. Isaiah continued to raise
his voice in protest. The ambassadors from distant
Ethiopia — the ' land of the whirring of wings,' with
its people ' tall and burnished, dreaded both far and
near ' — he dismissed with an ominous vision of their
shoots lopped off ere harvest, and their spreading
branches hewn down and cast away, the ravenous
birds summering and the beasts of the earth winter
ing on them (xviii. iff.).1 The alliance with Egypt —
' a people which cannot profit, and bring neither
help nor gain, but only shame and reproach ' (xxx. 5)
— he denounced as sheer rebellion against Jahweh,
that must lead to irretrievable ruin.
Ah ! they that go down to Egypt for help,
And lean upon horses ;
They that trust in chariots because they are many,
And in horsemen, for they are so strong ;
But look not to Israel's Holy One,
Nor seek after Jahweh, —
Though He too is wise, and bringeth calamity,
A nd calleth not back His words !
Behold ! He shall rise 'gainst the house of the wicked,
And the helper of ill-doers ;
For the Egyptians are men, not God,
And their horses are flesh, not spirit :
Jahweh shall stretch out His hand,
And the helper shall stumble ;
The helped one also shall fall, —
They shall all come down together (xxxi. 1-3).
In an image that recalls Amos he depicts Judah as
1 In the present text the picture of destruction is turned
against Assyria, but originally it would appear to have borne
directly upon the Ethiopians.

122 The Prophets of the Old Testament
a wall with a bulging breach, that must soon collapse
with a crash (xxx. 13). But his most effective
figure is that of Ariel, the altar-hearth, about to
be drenched with the blood of her own children.
Woe to thee ! Ariel, Ariel,
The city where David encamped !
Add year unto year,
Let the cycle of feasts pass round !
Then will I distress Ariel,
And there shall be mourning and moaning.
Unto me shalt thou be like A riel (an altar-hearth) ,
And like David will I camp against thee.
I will circle thee round with entrenchments,
And will raise the siege-works against thee ;
And low shalt thou' speak from the ground,
From the dust shall thy speech come in whispers.1
And then, in an instant, suddenly,
Thou shalt be visited by Jahweh of hosts,
With thunder and earthquake and mighty noise,
With whirlwind and tempest and flame of devouring fire 2
(xxix. iff.).
For four years Sennacherib's energies were con
centrated on the enemy in the rear and flank. At
length in 701 B.C. the storm burst on the West.
With lightning strokes the conqueror smote Sidon
and the Phoenician coast, swept Southward, stormed
and captured Ekron, ravaged the land of the Philis
tines, inflicted a crushing blow on the Egypto-
Ethiopian and allied forces at Eltekeh (near Ekron),
overwhelmed Judah, forty-six of whose cities and
1 The rest of the verse is an explanatory gl os s .
3 In vv. 5a and 7I a fringe of light has been added to the
original darkness of the prophecy.

The Triumph of Isaiah's Faith 123
fortresses he reduced, and then shot his bolt at
Jerusalem. In his own swift and vivid style the prophet has
depicted the onset of the Assyrians.
He is up from Pene Rimmon,1
He hath come to Ayyath ;
He hath passed through Migron,
At Michmash he storeth his baggage.
He hath crossed the pass,
His night-lodge is Geba ; '*
Panic-stricken is Ramah,
Gibeah of Saul hath fled.
Shriek aloud, Bath-Gallim !
Hearken, Laishah ! Answer her call, Anathoth !
A fugitive is Medeba ;
The dwellers in Gebim haste them away.
This very day shall he halt at Nob,
He shall shake his fist —
At the mount of the daughter of Zion,
The hill of Jerusalem 3 (x. 28-32).
Yet all the while Jerusalem was filled with mad
rioting and godless revelry, the gay throngs crowding
the house-tops and spending their nights in ' eating
flesh and drinking wine,' though to many of the
revellers this was but the banquetting of the doomed.
The whole scene comes before us in the Oracle of
the Valley of Vision.
1 On the reading, cf. Kittel's note.
3 I have here read the 3rd sing, as elsewhere.
3 The poem traces an ideal march Southward, by the nearest
route. Sennacherib actually followed the easier, though more
circuitous, path by the Philistine coast.

124 The Prophets of the Old Testament
What aileth thee now that thou'rt gone
Each one to the housetops,
All full of shoutings, a city tumultuous,
A township exultant ?
Thy slain are not slain by the sword,
Nor dead in battle ;
All thy chieftains have taken to flight,
They have sped far away.1
Therefore I say, Look from me ,
Bitter tears let me shed !
Strive not to comfort me
For the ruin of my people !
For a day of tumult and trampling and terror
Hath Jahweh of hosts
In the valley of vision — a breaking of walls,
And a cry" to the mountains.2
Yea, the Lord Jahweh of hosts
Hath called on that day
For weeping and mourning,
For baldness and sackcloth.
But behold ! joy and gladness,
The slaying of cattle and slaughter of sheep,
Eating of flesh and drinking of wine,
Eating and drinking, for ' to-morrow we die.'
And Jahweh of hosts hath revealed in mine ears :
Of a truth this guilt shall be purged not until ye die
(xxii. i— 14).3
As the ring of blackened walls drew nearer to
1 The omitted words are apparently mere variants to the
preceding. The perfects are best treated as prophetic : the horrors
of the coming siege — famine, flight and massacre — are aheady
present to Isaiah's imagination.
2 Vv. 6-1 1 appear to belong to a different context. The natural
sequel to the prediction of the ' day ' (v. 5) is found in vv. I2ff.
(cf. G. B. Gray, p. 364).
3 The Oracle of the Valley of Vision is almost universally

The Triumph of Isaiah's Faith 125
Jerusalem, the mood of the people underwent a
change, and thoughtless revelry gave place to
serious reflection, and in many quarters to despon
dency and despair. Isaiah seized the opportunity
to make perhaps his most moving appeal to their
better selves. Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth !
For Jahweh doth speak :
Sons have I reared and brought up,
And they have rebelled against me.
The ox knoweth his owner,
A nd the ass his master's crib ;
But Israel doth not know,
My people doth not consider.
Ah ! sinful nation,
People laden with iniquity ;
Ye brood of evil-doers,
Children that have dealt corruptly, —
Who have forsaken Jahweh,
And despised the Holy One of Israel !
Why will ye yet be smitten,
That ye still rebel ?
The whole head is sick,
And the whole heart faint ;
From the sole of the foot to the head
No soundness is in it, —
Nought but wounds and weals,
And bleeding sores,
Which have not been pressed nor bound,
Nor softened with oil.
assigned to the moment of exultation that followed the raising
of the siege. To the present writer it seems much more in
harmony with the moral situation of Jerusalem immediately
before the siege began (cf. W. R. Smith, op. cit., pp. 346!;
Wade, Isaiah, p. 142).

126 The Prophets of the Old Testament
Your land is u, desolation,
Your cities are burned with fire ;
Your tilled land before you —
Aliens devour it.
And the daughter of Zion is left
Like a booth in a vineyard ;
As a night-lodge in a field of cucumbers,
As a tower for the watch.1
Had not Jahweh of hosts
Left us a remnant,
As Sodom had we become,
Like unto Gomorrah (i. 2—9).
Whether it were the result of the prophet's appeal
or the pressure of invasion, the mind of Jerusalem
had become sufficiently subdued. Hezekiah himself
was compelled to drink the dregs of humiliation, to
send an abject message to Sennacherib, confessing
his offence, and begging him to withdraw at the
price of whatsoever tribute he might choose to
impose, and to strip both palace and Temple of all
their treasures as indemnity to the victor (2 "Kings
xviii. i4ff.). Isaiah appears to have watched the
degrading transaction in silence. But when Senna-
1 ' As for Hezekiah of Judah, who had not submitted to my
yoke, forty-six strong cities, fortresses, and smaller towns in
their neighbourhood without number . . I besieged and cap
tured by assault. 200,150 men, young and old, male and female,
horses, mules, asses, oxen and sheep without number I brought
forth from their midst, and reckoned as spoil. Himself I shut
up like a caged bird in Jerusalem his royal city ; ramparts I
drew around him, and those who came out of the gates of his
city I caused to return.' — Sennacherib, Prism Inscription,
iii. 11-22.

The .Triumph of Isaiah's Faith 127
cherib broke faith with Hezekiah, and demanded the
surrender of Jerusalem and the deportation of its
citizens to Assyria, he rose in heroic resistance.
Jahweh meant to purge Jerusalem, not to destroy
it. There lay the sure foundation stone of the new
and greater Temple ; and till the building was
established in its beauty, Jerusalem was imperish
able. Sennacherib's designs against the city were a
presumptuous defiance of Jahweh, and he too must
pay the penalty of the presumptuous.1
Woe ! Asshur, the rod of mine anger,
And the staff of my fury !
Against a godless nation I send him,
And against the people of my wrath I charge him,
To take the spoil and to seize the prey,
And to trample them down as mire of the street.

1 A number of recent critics (Volz, Marti, Guthe, etc.) have
found it impossible to reconcile Isaiah's faith in the deliverance
of Zion with his previous predictions of doom. But the under
lying basis of his whole prophetic ministry is positive. His
conception of holiness of itself involved the permanence of good
(cf. p. 90I). And in the various crises of his ministry he con
sistently upheld this ideal. The overflowing flood might
reach to the neck, but it would not submerge the real head of
the nation — the godly remnant (viii. 8). Let all the falsehood
be swept from Zion, faith and truth would yet survive, and
become the firm pillars of a nobler state (xxviii. 16). Deep as
the plough-shares cut into the heart of the nation, God's purpose
was thereby to sow the seed for a harvest of righteousness ;
and Sennacherib or any other servant of Jahweh who went on
' opening and breaking the clods of the ground ' for the pure
pleasure of destruction was frustrating His purpose, and must be
cast aside (vv. 23ff.).

128 The Prophets of the Old Testament
But not so doth he deem it,
Nor so doth his heart devise ;
For destruction is in his heart,
And to cut off nations not a few.
He saith : 'Are not my captains all of them kings?
Is not Calno as Carchemish ?
Is not Hamath as Arpad?
Is not Samaria as Damascus ? 1
' By the strength of my hand have I wrought,
And by my wisdom, for I am the knowing one ,
I have removed the bounds of the peoples,
I have plundered their treasures.
' My hand hath found like a nest
The wealth of the peoples :
And as one that doth gather eggs which are left,
All the earth have I gathered ;
And there was none that moved a wing,
Or opened mouth or chirped.'
Is the axe to vaunt itself over the hewer therewith,
Or the saw to lord it over the man that plieth it, —
Like a rod that should swing the wielder thereof,
Or a staff that should wield what is not wood ?
Therefore shall Jahweh of hosts send leanness into his fat,
And under his glory shall kindling be kindled like kindling of
fire :
And it shall devour his thorns and briars,
And the glory of his forest and garden land on the self-same
day ;
And the remnant of his forest trees shall be few,
That even a child might number them' (x. 5-19).
In another splendid passage the prophet depicts the
falling of the trees before Jahweh's mighty axe.
1 The prosaic verses 10-12 somewhat violently interrupt the
movement of the thought.
2 I have here omitted a few redundances, either explanatory
glosses or mutilated variants.

The Triumph of Isaiah's Faith 129
Behold ! the Lord Jahweh of hosts
Shall lop off his boughs with terrible crash ;
And down shall be hewn the lofty of stature,
And the tall ones shall bend and fall :
With His iron shall He strike down the groves of the forest,
And Lebanon shall fall in its majesty (vv. 33I).
Isaiah's faith once more found its signal vindica
tion. The advance of a strong Ethiopian force
appears to have caused a hurried raising of the
siege of Jerusalem ; and, as Sennacherib marched
South to meet this more powerful enemy, the
flower of his Grande Armee perished ingloriously of
pestilence on the marsh-land of Pelusium, and
the Jiaughty conqueror was compelled to lead home
his scattered fragments — in due time to fall a
victim to the treachery of his own sons.1
The passing of the Assyrian peril saw a new uplift
of national spirit in Judah. Under the direct
auspices of Hezekiah the fortifications of the capital
were strengthened and other works of public utility
carried through, the most notable being the
Shiloah tunnel and reservoir (2 Kings xx. 20). To
this interval of peace most probably belongs the
religious reform that likewise signalized Hezekiah' s
reign. The brazen serpent which had degenerated
into a fetish was hewn down as a mere ' piece of
brass,' unworthy of the worship of Jahweh ; and a
number of the high places appear also to have been
x On the critical questions surrounding the historical narratives
in 2 Kings xviii. 13-xx. 21 (Isa. xxxvi.-xxxix. ) cf. the discus
sions in Skinner and Whitehouse, with literature there cited.

130 The Prophets of the Old Testament
stripped of their degrading associations, their altars
destroyed, and their sites profaned (xviii. 4).
In this real impulse after holiness of worship
and hfe we can hardly fail to discern the dominant
influence of Isaiah. After years of misunderstandmg
and failure his lofty patriotism had triumphed, and
king and people both gave willing heed to his advice.
The foundation stone appeared now to have been
well and truly laid, and the prophet could dream his
dreams of a new Kingdom where righteousness held
sway, and King and princes ruled in the fear of God,
for the peace and well-being of their people.
The people that walked in darkness
Have seen a great light ;
They that dwelt in the land of deep darkness —
On them hath the light shined forth.
Thou hast multiplied exultation,
And joy hast Thou increased :
They rejoice before Thee like the joy at harvest.
As men exult when they divide the spoil.
For the yoke that was their burden,
And the bars1 upon their shoulder,
The rod of their oppressor,
Thou hast shattered as on the day of Midian.
And every boot of trampling warrior,
And tunic stained with blood.
Shall even be for burning,
As fuel for the fire.
For a child is born to us,
A son is given to us ;
And the rule shall rest upon his shoulder,
And his name shall be called :
1 Read niap (G. B. Gray).

The Triumph of Isaiah's Faith 131
Wonderful Counsellor,
God-like Hero,
Father for ever,
Prince of peace.1
Great shall be his rule,
And of peace no end,
Upon the throne of David,
And over his dominion, —
To establish and uphold it
With justice and with righteousness,
From henceforth even for ever :
And the zeal of Jahweh of hosts will do this (ix. 1-7).
Behold I a king shall reign in righteousness,
And princes shall rule with justice ;
And each shall be as a refuge from the wind,
And a covert from the tempest, —
As streams of water in parched ground,
As the shadow of a great rock in a weary land.
And the eyes of them that see shall no more be closed,
And the ears of them that hear shall hearken ;
And ihe heart of the hasty shall know how to judge, I
And the tongue of the stammering shall be swift to speak.
And no more shall the fool be called noble,
Or the knave be accounted princely.2
* * *

Till on us the Spirit be poured from on
Then shall the steppe become fruitful field,
And the fruitful field be esteemed an orchard ;
1 The names describe the qualities of the ideal Ruler : he is a
marvel in counsel, greater even than Solomon, endowed with
Divine strength for his nation's warfare, but essentially a Prince
of peace, a true Father to his people as long as he reigns.
3 The context is interrupted by a more precise definition of
this new order of nobility — the nobility of noble aims and deeds
— as well as an isolated prophecy on the easy-going women of
Jerusalem. The true sequel to vv,. 1-5 is found in ». 15, the
first stichos of which is lost.

132 The Prophets of the Old Testament
And justice shall dwell in the steppe,
And righteousness abide in the fruitful field.
And the work of righteousness shall be peace,
And the fruit of justice eternal security :
My people shall dwell in abodes of peace,
In sure habitations and quiet resting-places.
And happy are ye that sow by all waters,
And send forth the foot of the ox and the ass (xxxii. iff.).1
This picture of the coming Kingdom is an idealiz
ation of the Davidic monarchy, projected upon the
screen of the future. As such, it has its hmitations.
The noblest prophetic vision could not yet contem
plate a purely spiritual Kingdom, in which all men
should be one in God and His Anointed. But in his
perception of righteousness as the base of the King
dom, and goodness, love and peace as its perfect
work, Isaiah has caught a real ghmpse of ' the King
in His beauty.' Jesus fulfilled the prophecy, not
by any hteral correspondence with the portraiture of
the Messianic King, but by founding on His own
Person a Kingdom which cannot be moved or over
thrown, a Kingdom of ' righteousness and peace
and joy in the Holy Ghost' (Rom. xiv. 17).
1 The Messianic prophecies have likewise been the subject of
much discussion. It is now generally admitted that there is
nothing in the language or style which tells against Isaianic
authorship. The two rendered above are charged with all the
splendour we associate with Isaiah, and remind us of Various
aspects of his earlier prophecies. Nor does their outlook on the
future appear to be wider or more spiritual than we naturally
expect from a prophet of Isaiah's forward view. The related
1 ' prophecy, xi. 1-9, however, seems to presuppose the extinction
of the Davidic monarchy, and its idyllic visions are in closest
harmony with the exalted dreams of the age of Restoration.

CHAPTER IX
Micah the Democrat
During the most critical years of his ministry
Isaiah was supported by another prophet, very
different in temper and outlook, yet at one with
him in the great essentials of faith and conduct.
While Isaiah was a royahst in his instincts and
ideals, Micah was democratic to the core. The
son of an honest yeoman of Moresheth Gath, a small
village on the Shephelah, or sunny slope of Judah
leaning on the Philistine plain,1 his sympathies
were with his own class and people. Isaiah had
been called to Jahweh's service by a vision of His
kingly majesty that ennobled all he said and did ;
Micah heard the voice of God in the sufferings of
his hapless neighbours. This coloured his whole
thought as a prophet. He, too, poured out the
torrents of Divine wrath against the manifold cor
ruptions of his time — the idolatry and oppression,
the scanty measures and deceitful weights, the
prostitution of priests and prophets at the altar
of Mammon, and the self-complacency with which
1 For a fine description of Moresheth and its neighbourhood.
see G. A. Smith, The Book of the Twelve Prophets, i. 376ft.
133

134 The Prophets of the Old Testament
they leaned on Jahweh, saying, ' Is not Jahweh in
our midst ? No evil shall come on us ' — but what
stirred him to the heart was the injustice under
which his fellows laboured. Isaiah had touched
the land question among many others ; Micah set
it in the forefront, as the burning point of the social
problem. For him a nation's prosperity consisted,
not in increase of worldly goods, but in the happiness
of its home life. And the selfish land-grabbers who
coveted fields and seized them, evicting a man from
the heritage of his fathers, and ousting his wife and
children from their ' pleasant homes,' were the real
enemies of Judah. In his invectives against these
disturbers of the peace Micah used none of Isaiah's
splendour of diction or imagination. His accent
is equally of the country-side, plain, blunt, sometimes
even rough, the straightforward utterance of an
outraged conscience, though his lips quiver with
emotion when he touches on the sorrows his people
must endure in the day of their calamity.
Micah's prophetic ministry appears to have begun
just before the ' fading flower ' of Samaria's beauty
was trodden underfoot, while the two capitals shone
out as the glory of all Israel. With eyes inflamed
by Divine jealousy he looked upon their glory.
Samaria and Jerusalem were the hot-beds of sin for
Israel : they were the sin of the people incarnate.
Therefore in the impending judgment they must
bear the brunt of Jahweh's wrath.

Micah the Democrat 135
Who is Jacob's transgression —
7s it not Samaria ?
And who the sin of Judah —
Is it not Jerusalem ?
So will I make Samaria an heap of field ruins,
The beds of u, vineyard ;
And into the valley will I pour her stones,
And lay bare her foundations.
And all her graven images shall be dashed in pieces,
And all her Asherim burnt with fire ; 1
For of harlot's hire were they gathered,
And to harlot's hire shall return.
For this let me wail and lament,
Hie me naked and barefoot ;
Let me make a lament like jackals.
And mourning like daughters of the desert (ostriches) I
For her wound is incurable.
It hath come unto Judah ;
It toucheth the gate of my people,
Even Jerusalem (i. 5-9).
In spite of his anger against the sinful cities, Micah
has been unable to withhold the homage of a tear
for their downfall ; and when he pictures the onset
of the devastating storm on the townships and
villages of his own loved home in the Shephelah, his
rugged nature melts in pity.
Tell it not in Gath (Tell-town),2
In Bokim ( Weep-town) weep ye bitterly ; 3
1 The verse is somewhat overladen in the original (cf. Kittel's
note). 3 As Gath was destroyed some years before Micah, the words
must be taken in a proverbial sense (from 2 Sam. i. 20). It is
possible, however, that we should follow the Syriac version in
reading ¦l7'l3Pl_7N ->|?|3, Rejoice not in Gilgal (Joy-town).
Gilgal and Bochim (Bokim) are associated in Judg. ii. 1.
3 Read •1330 133 D'?h2l (cf. LXX).

136 The Prophets of the Old Testament
In Beth-Ophrah (Dust-house) roll in dust,
Pass over, inhabitants of Shaphir (Fair-town), in nakedness I
The men of Zaanan (March-town) have not marched forth,
Wailing doth seize Beth-ezel (Nearby-town) for smiting andpain j1
How do the inhabitants of Maroth (Bitterness) still hope for good,
Since evil hath come from Jahweh to the gates of Jerusalem ?
Harness the horse to the chariot, inhabitants of Lachish (Horse-
town),
For in you were found the transgressions of Israel ; 2
So must ye give the parting (betrothal) gift to Moresheth .(the
Betrothed) of Gath,
While Beth-Achzib (the House of Deception) is become a deception
to the kings of Israel.
Once more will I bring the conqueror to you, inhabitants of Mare-
shah (Conquering one) ;
To Adullam (perpetual ruin) 3 shall go the glory of Israel :
So make thyself bald, and shave thee, for thy darling children, — ¦
Thy baldness enlarge as the vulture, for they be gone to captivity 4
(vv. 10-16).
Swiftly the deluge descended. Within two years
of the fall of Samaria the Assyrian conqueror swept
past Moresheth on his way to the battle of Raphia
1 The text is very obscure and uncertain. The above transla
tion presupposes nilD-l niSBD, from smitings and bitterness
(suggested in part by Duhm).
3 The transgressions found in Lachish probably relate to the
traffic in horses with Egypt, denounced also by Hosea and
Isaiah. 3 The reading here, too, is doubtful. I have, however, ad
hered to ' Adullam,' and added the probable by-meaning.
4 Critics like Wellhausen and Marti have taken offence at the
accumulated parauomasias in this passage. But for the prophet
they were no elaborate trifling with words, but a real language
,of the heart. As the name was the genuine expression of the
| thought, the similarity of sounds involved a mystical connection
of the places named with the fate in store for each.

Micah the Democrat 137
(720 B.C.), and nine years later his Tartan traversed
the same stricken path to the siege of Ashdod (711) .
Micah no doubt watched with dimmed eyes the
desolation of scenes dear to him from childhood.
Still Jerusalem stood intact. Her wealthy nobles even
exploited the hardships of the peasantry for their
own enrichment. Micah was stung to the quick
by their callous greed and cruelty, and inveighed
against them in rasping tones, softened only for a
moment in the elegy over his people's ruin.
Woe to them that devise iniquity
Upon their beds ;
And when morning breaks they do it,
For 'tis in their power !
They covet fields, and seize them,
And houses, and lift them ;
They crush a wight with his home,
A man with his heritage (ii. if.).
Jahweh is even now planning against that brood
of evil-doers a disaster from which they shall not be
able to withdraw their necks or to stand erect. And
On that day one shall raise
A taunt-song against you ;
And a wailing lament shall be wailed,
' We are all undone.'
The lot of my people is measured,
There is none to restore it ;
To our captors our fields are allotted, —
We are all undone1 (v. 4).
Words like these call forth indignant protests against
the prophet.
1 On the text cf . Kittel's note. I have repeated the wailing
note as a refrain.

138 The Prophets of the Old Testament
Babble not on ! they say.
Babble not thus !
No shame can befall
The household of Jacob I
Is the spirit of Jahweh cut short,
Are these His doings ?
Are not His words for good
To His people Israel? (ii. 6f.).
Jahweh is truly good to His people ; but these
ravagers of happy homes are enemies of the house
hold of Israel, and must suffer the fate of the outcast.
But ye rise up as foes to my people
Instead of friends;1
Ye strip from peaceful travellers
The booty of war.
The wives of my people ye thrust
From their pleasant homes ;
From their babes ye pluck away
My glory for ever.
A rise, then, and go I
For this is no resting-place (for you);
Because of uncleanness ye shall be destroyed
With remedeless destruction 3 (vv. 8-10).
In the most implacable of all his oracles Micah
assails the rulers of Jerusalem, to whom it was given
to know judgment and decide what was right, but
who used that prerogative to devour the people
' like meat in the pot and flesh in the caldron '
(iii. 1-3), and the prophets who misled them, preach
ing Peace when they ' bite with their teeth,' but
1 On the reading cf. Kittel's note. -,
3 V. 11 is a marginal gloss to v. 6, while vv. 12I belong to a
prophecy of Restoration, clearly dating from post-exilic times.

Micah the Democrat 139
proclaiming holy warfare against such as ' put not
into their mouth' (vv. 5-7).
I am verily full of strength,
And of justice and might, —
To declare his transgressions to Jacob,
And his sin to Israel.
Hear this, then, ye headmen of Jacob,
And chieftains of Israel's house,
Ye that abhor justice,
A nd all that is right pervert !
Ye that build up Zion in blood,
And Jerusalem with crime !
Her headmen judge for a bribe,
And her priests give the Torah for hire.
Her prophets divine for money,
Yet on Jahweh they lean, and say :
' Is not Jahweh in our midst ?
No evil shall come on us.'
Therefore on your account
Shall Zion be ploughed as a field ;
Jerusalem shall become ruins,
And the Mount of the Temple a forest high-place (iii. 8-12).
In Micah's insistence on the inevitable ruin of
Jerusalem we meet with another of those discords
in prophecy which cause such trouble to literalists,
yet rightly understood yield us a grander harmony.
Prophecy is no rigidly mechanical voice. It is the

1 On iv. 1-4 cf. p. 94, n. 1. The rest of ch. iv. v. consists
of prophecies of restoration from Babylon, and the future
prosperity of the pious Remnant, which belong to a much later
date than the end of the eighth century B.C. The sweet notes of
reconciliation which close the book (vii. 7-20) are most naturally
assigned to the same general period.

140 The Prophets of the Old Testament
melodious utterance of inspired personality, and
its notes vary with the rich variety of personahty.
Each prophet saw the truth with his own eyes, and
brought it home to the conscience of the people
in his own way, in direct relation to the present need.
Isaiah was intent on the building up of the Kingdom
of God in Israel ; and for him Zion was inviolable
till the Kingdom was estabhshed in strength. Micah
lacked his breadth of vision, but he saw deeper
into the heart of things. In his eyes the Kingdom
of God was based on no earthly citadel, however
splendid or steadfast, but in the hearts of living
men and women, the simple ones who feared God
and did His will, — a real foregleam of the truth
which Jesus first made clear, that ' God is spirit ;
and they that worship Him must worship Him in
spirit and in truth ' (John iv. 24).
These urgent notes of warning from the humble
home-stead in the Shephelah were apparently not
without their influence on king Hezekiah (cf. Jer.
xxvi. 19), and may even have contributed in some
measure to the Reformation which marked the
closing years of his reign (pp. i29f.). But for a
Reformation which allowed rich merchants to con
tinue accumulating their ' treasures of wickedness '
under cover of religion Micah had no place in his
thoughts. Here again his keen eye has pierced to
the heart, and in a passage which unites the key
notes of Amos, Hosea and Isaiah he gives immortal

Micah the Democrat 141
expression to the cardinal duties of ' religion pure
and undefiled,' —
Wherewith shall I come before Jahweh, s'
And bow to the God of heaven ?
Shall I come before Him with burnt offerings,
With calves but one year old ?
Will Jahweh be pleased with thousands of rams,
With ten thousand rivers of oil ?
Shall I give my first-born as the price of my guilt,
The fruit of my body for the sin of my soul ?
It hath been shown thee, 0 man, what is good,
What Jahweh desireth of thee :
But to do justice, and delight in love,
And humbly walk with thy God (vi. 6-8) .*

1 Since the publication of Ewald's Prophets, these verses have
been very generally ascribed to a nameless prophet of the time
of Manasseh. But apart from the reference to child-sacrifice
there is little to suggest this period — the prophecy points to an
age of religious earnestness rather than a time of reaction — and
Manasseh was neither the first nor the last to offer ' the fruit
of his body for the sin of his soul.' With more justice to the
accent of the prophecy Marti and J. M. P. Smith assign it to the
fifth century, the period of wise men and teachers (cf. Isa. lviii.
2ff.). The moral attitude is so general, however, that it may well
represent Micah's preaching to a generation that sought salvation
in ritual holiness. If the style differs from his usual vehemence
of invective, it may be attributed to the mood of calm reason
with which he approaches men really desirous of pleasing God.

CHAPTER X
Zephaniah and the Day of the Lord
The Reformation under Hezekiah was short-lived.
As so often happens when Puritanism has won
domination over an unwilling people, the stern
religious zeal of the reforming party saw its reaction
in a wild outburst of licence and corruption which
threatened to undo their good work, and sweep away
for ever the purity of Judah's faith and worship.
The new king Manasseh inherited all his father's
energy of purpose ; but unhappily this was con
secrated to no holy end. Till his time the Southern
kingdom had kept comparatively clear of the grosser
abominations of Baal worship — the nameless pollu
tions that defiled the sanctuaries of Ephraim. But,
regardless of the fate which had befallen the North
land, Manasseh now introduced the worst of these
profanities into the heart of Judah. Not merely
did he restore the high places which his father had
defiled,, but he built altars for Baal and Ashtart, and
made his son pass through the fire to Melech ; he
likewise imported new gods from the East, building
altars for the Assyrian ' hosts of heaven ' in the very
courts of the Temple, thus bringing the sin of Ahaz
142

Zephaniah and the Day of the Lord 143
home to roost upon his people (2 Kings xxi. 2-7).
That these innovations were not carried through
without emphatic protests from the godly kernel of
the nation may be inferred from the tale of blood
shed that also dishonours the name of Manasseh :
' Moreover Manasseh shed innocent blood very
much, till he had filled Jerusalem from one end to
the other' (v. 16). Naturally his fiercest vengeance
fell on the prophetic school. Many of them appear
to have fallen victims to the persecution, and for
the time being they were reduced to silence. No
commanding voice from Jahweh speaks to us out
of the fiery furnace of Manasseh's reign. The
spiritual activities of the devout were confined to
quiet influence and patient hope, tilling the ground
and sowing the seed for a richer harvest in days to
come. The brief rule of Amon and the early years of
Josiah's minority — when the young king was still
under the tutelage of the men who had led his father
astray — were marked by no decisive change. The
people of Judah and Jerusalem had settled down
upon their lees, saying in their hearts, ' Jahweh
doth neither good nor ill' (Zeph. i. 12). Sud
denly their sense of security was dispelled by the
rumour of a terrible new danger from the North,
the imminence of which roused prophecy likewise
from its long slumber.
The wild, mysterious regions beyond the Caucasus

144 The Prophets of the Old Testament
had long been the haunt of restless nomads, of whom
the Scythians were among the fiercest and most
adventurous. Their prowess in battle had gained
them a commanding position among their neigh
bours. Now lust of blood and conquest led them —
hke the Huns and Tartars of a later age — to try
their fortunes on a wider field. About 630 B.C.
hordes of these bold Centaurs had crossed the passes
of the Caucasus ; within two or three years they
overwhelmed Western Asia, the hegemony of which
they held for a generation (c. 627-600), while a wave
from the main stream swept along the Philistine
sea-board, lapping the outposts of Judah, and being
diverted from the conquest of Egypt only by the
craven policy of a bribe.1
The approach of the Scythian flood was naturally
the occasion of wide-spread panic among the ' men
at ease ' in Jerusalem. To add conscience to their
terror Zephaniah stood forth as the prophet of
Judgment, the herald of the great Day of Jahweh,
which Amos and Isaiah had already forewarned them
of, and which was now at hand, speeding ' faster
than a warrior.'
In personal bearing Zephaniah most nearly re
sembles Isaiah. He too is a native of Jerusalem,
a man of royal rank and dignity, the great-great-
grandson of Hezekiah (i. 1), familiar with the habits
1 On the Scythian invasion of Asia Minor, cf . Herod, i. 103-106 ;
and for the history and habits of the Scythians, iv. 5-82.

Zephaniah and the Day of the Lord 145
and practices of the Court. He has all Isaiah's
reverence — that awful sense of the holiness of Jahweh i
which makes mere earthly splendour shrivel as I
before the flames — and a certain remote and im- ' j
pressive grandeur resembling that of the cataract j j
or the thunder. He lacks, however, the radiant'
imagination and glowing heart of the older prophet.
There is no spiritual charm in Zephaniah's visions
of the Judgment Day, no gleam of poetic beauty,
and no sympathy for the victims of Divine wrath.
With true discernment mediaeval art portrayed
him as the man with the Lantern of the Lord (cf.
i. 12), searching out sinners for destruction.1
The prophecy opens with an apocalypse of judg
ment on all the earth.
/ will sweep, will sweep off all
From the face of the ground, saith Jahweh .
I will sweep off man and beast,
I will sweep off fowl of heaven and the fishes of the sea (i. 2i).
The devastating flood strikes first on Jerusalem,
that sink of heathen impurities.
My hand will I stretch upon Judah,
And upon all the dwellers in Jerusalem ;
And I will cut off the remnant of Baal,2
And the name of his priestlings ,
1 In his severe austerity and oppressive sense of coming
j udgment Zephaniah may remind us of Savonarola ; but we
miss the Florentine prophet's personal fascination, and extra
ordinary grasp of practical affairs. Zephaniah puts forth no
hand to help his people, or to advance the reign of righteousness.
Doom precedes all hope of betterment.
1 That is, the last vestige of Baalism. 10

146 The Prophets of the Old Testament v
And them that bow down on the housetops
To the host of heaven ;
And them that bow down to Jahweh,
While they swear by Melech ;
And them that have swerved from Jahweh,
And seek Him not1 (i. 4-6).
Under the figure of a great sacrifice the ring-leaders
in apostasy are brought together for destruction.
Silence before Jahweh the Lord,
For near is His day !
For Jahweh hath prepared a sacrifice.
He hath consecrated His guests.2 "S
On that day will I visit the princes,
And the house of the king,
And all who array themselves
In garments of the alien.3
And I will visit all who leap
Across the threshold*
And who fill their master's house
With violence and fraud.
On that day, Hark ! u cry from the Fish-gate,
And a wail from the Newtown ;

1 In the last three couplets the prophet denounces the irreligion
of (a) those who have yielded to Assyrian polytheism ; (b) the
syncretists, like king Manasseh, who try to combine faith in
Jahweh with the cultus of Melech and other Canaanite gods ;
and (c) the apostates who have deliberately abandoned Jahweh.
3 The guests are most probably the Scythians, who are at the
same time Jahweh's instruments of slaughter. 1 The victims are
clearly the false guides and rulers of Judah.
8 The aping of foreign fashions in dress was more than foppery.
Dress being an essential part of the personality (cf. 1 Sam.
xviii. 4), it was virtual treason against Israel and Israel's God.
* On the world-wide superstition of ' leaping across the
threshold ' (for fear of the spirits of the house), see Trumbull,
Threshold Covenant.

Zephaniah and the Day of the Lord 147
And a mighty crash from the Heights,
While the Mortar-dwellers wail.1
, On that day will I search
Jerusalem with a lamp ;
And will visit those at ease,
Who are settled on their lees, —
Those that say within their hearts,
' Jahweh doth neither good nor ill.'
Their substance shall become a spoil.
And their houses desolation (vv. 7-13).
The apocalypse now clothes itself more definitely
under the form of the Day of Jahweh, swiftly draw
ing near. Near is Jahweh's day, the great !
Near, and hastening on ;
Near is Jahweh's day, the bitter !
Speeding faster than a warrior.2
A day of wrath that day,
A day of stress and distress ;
A day of waste and desolation,
A day of murk and gloom ;
A day of cloud and darkness,
A day of trumpet and alarum,
Against the fenced cities.
And against the lofty turrets.3
And sore will I press upon men,
And they shall walk as the blind ;
1 The localities here indicated run from the Northern gate
and suburb of Jerusalem (the Fish-gate and Newtown) towards
the centre of the city (the Mortar being probably the trough of the
Tyropoeon, the quarter assigned to the ' merchant people '
and money-makers). The danger thus smites Jerusalem from
the North.
3 For li3|l DE> rrVv read li3|D B>n (J. M. P. Smith).
3 Zephaniah's picture of the Day of Jahweh is the evident
source of the mediaeval hymn, Dies irae, Dies ilia.

148 The Prophets of the Old Testament
And their blood shall be poured out like dust,
And their flesh as dung.
Neither their silver nor gold
Shall be able to save them,
In the day of Jahweh's anger.
In the flame of His fury.
The whole land shall be devoured
With awful ruin ;
For a full end shall Jahweh make
Of all the dwellers in the land1 (i. 14-18).
In judgment the Lord is no respecter of persons.
Guilty nations must all die the death. Thus the
flood sweeps on through Phihstia to Egypt and
Ethiopia, then Northward to Assyria, that fertile
mother of cruelty, laying the pride of man low, and
leaving the seats of the mighty ' pastures for shep
herds and folds for flocks.'
Get you shame, yea, be ashamed,
O nation unabashed, —
Ere ye become as dust,
Like chaff that passeth away ! 2
For Gaza shall be forsaken,
And Ashkelon a waste :
Ashdod — by noonday shall they rout her,
And Ekron shall be uprooted.3
Ah, woe ! ye dwellers on the sea-shore,
Folk of the Cherethites! 4
1 I have here made a slight transposition of clauses.
2 This stanza is almost certainly the introduction to the
Oracle against the Philistines, in which case v. 3 will be an
added note of comfort for Israel. On the reading cf. Kittel's
note. 3 It is difficult to render the pun in English ; but Duhm has
aptly translated the clauses, Denn Gaza wird vergessen, .
Zum Acker Ekron.
4 The Philistines are called Cherethites in allusion to their

Zephaniah and the Day of the Lord 149
/ will destroy thee, to the last inhabitant,
O land of the Philistines !
And thou shalt be pastures for shepherds.
And folds for flocks ;
In the houses of Ashkelon
They shall lie down at night-fall.1

And you, too, men of Cush,
Shall be slain by the sword.
Then my hand will I stretch to the North2
And destroy Asshur ;
And Nineveh will I make « waste,
Dry as the desert.
Herds shall lie down in her midst —
All the beasts of the field ; s
Both pelican and bittern
Shall lodge on her capitals ;
The owl shall hoot in the window.
The raven on the doorstep (ii. 1-14).*
origin from Crete. On the reading here and in v. 6, cf. Kittel's
notes. 1 The references to the ' bringing back of the captivity'
and the heritage of the ' remnant ' are clearly post-exilic. The
section on Moab and Ammon (ii. 8-1 1) is equally alien to the
context, interrupting the natural movement of the prophecy,
and reflecting the mood of the Exile (cf. G. A. Smith, J. M. P.
Smith, etc.). Probably a couplet or two, describing the ruin of
Egypt, has fallen out before v. 12.
3 I have here read the 1st pers. (as in the former part of the
prophecy), the change to the 3rd pers. being probably due to
v. 11.
3 For '\i (dittography to D3) read HB> (LXX). On other
changes in v. 14, cf. Kittel's notes.
1 The denunciation of Jerusalem's sin (iii. 1-7) bears the
general stamp of prophetic idealism, rather than the peculiar
mark of Zephaniah. The rest of the chapter, with its glowing
visions of Jerusalem's redemption (vv. 8-13) and world-wide re
nown (vv. 14-20), is generally recognized as late. Oniw. 14-20
cf. Davidson, Driver, G. A. Smith, etc.

CHAPTER XI
The Call of Jeremiah
We have already observed the tendency of prophets
to appear in constellation. The two first lights in
the prophetic heaven, Elijah and Elisha, are like
twin-stars flashing across the evening shadows of
Israel's history. Their great successors, Amos,
Hosea, Isaiah and Micah, form a brilliant galaxy to
illuminate the growing darkness. As little was
Zephaniah a solitary star in the night. The short
period of time which bridged the Scythian crisis with
the downfall and captivity of Judah saw the emer
gence of another radiant cluster, that brought the
light of rehgion more directly into the life of
^ humanity than even the noblest figures of the former
I generation. In this prophetic company the shining
! point is Jeremiah, the prophet of Personal Religion.
Jeremiah was born at Anathoth, a small village
on the outskirts of Jerusalem,- towards the close
of Manasseh's evil reign (c. 650 B.C.). The son of
Hilkiah, a God-fearing priest of the local sanctuary,
and probably a descendant of the old ' house of
Abiathar,' he would be sheltered from the wicked
ness of the age, and trained from his earhest years
150

The Call of Jeremiah 151
to know and serve the living God. His youthful
imagination was steeped in the history of Jahweh's
dealings with His people, while conscience was
quickened by close and loving study of the older
prophets, especially Hosea and Isaiah, whose blend
ing notes of judgment and mercy struck a truly
responsive chord in his heart. As he thus grew in
wisdom and grace, there may already have come to
him premonitions of the future — high instincts
and aspirations that made him feel he was ' a dedi
cated spirit ' — for even from the womb Jahweh had
set him apart for His service. But not till the
thirteenth year of Josiah's reign, when he was some
what over twenty years of age, did he receive the
definite call to prophesy, which is described with
such tlelicacy and insight in the opening chapter.
The story of the call sheds a glow of light on his
subsequent activity. In no other prophet is this
experience so intimately associated with personal
life and character. Amos had been driven by the
Spirit of God smiting upon his conscience to break
with the past, and take up a new vocation that
seemed incongruous with all his former habits and
ideals. Isaiah had fallen prostrate before the vision
of God's transcendent holiness, and in that sacred
hour had committed himself to the service of the
King of men and angels. Jeremiah's call is more of
the nature of a spiritual birth, in which the gracious
influences of bygone years come to their frui-

152 The Prophets of the Old Testament
tion. As he walked through the fields of Ana
thoth in quiet communion with his God, the meaning
and purpose of his life lay suddenly unveiled before
him ; and with a full sense of responsibihty he
accepted the Divine commission, and went forth
as Jahweh's prophet to the nations.
It was towards the close of winter — January
or February 626 B.C. — when the first white blossoms
of the almond gave promise of the coming spring.
For years past the heart of Israel had been held in
the icy grasp of a spiritual winter that seemed in
exorable as a vice ; but here too the signs of spring
were appearing. From the distant North the
rumbhngs of the Scythian storm grew ever louder
and more ominous. Zephaniah had launched his
prophecy of the Day of Jahweh ; and Jeremiah was
caught up in the same mighty sweep of revelation.
' Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee, and
before thou camest out of the womb I consecrated
thee (to my service) ; now I have ordained thee a
prophet to the nations. . . . See, I have this day
set thee over the nations and over the kingdoms,
to pluck up and to break down, to destroy and to
overthrow, to build and to plant' (i. 5ff.).
An overwhelming responsibility for a young and
sensitive spirit like Jeremiah ! No wonder that the
first shock of self-consciousness plunged him into
an agony of nervous fear and doubt. ' Ah, Lord
God ! Behold, I cannot speak ; for I am only a

The Call of Jeremiah 153
boy ' (v. 6). But what impresses us most deeply is
the heroism with which he rose to his task. While
others will undertake Herculean labours lightly,
the true heroes are such as assume responsibilities
with a grave sense of what they involve, and may
even be tempted at first to decline their trust. Jere
miah naturally shrank from a mission that must
bring him into ceaseless conflict with people and
country ; but the Lord God had spoken to him,
and with all his strength of mind and heart he
responded to the call, resolved to hve and suffer
and die, if need were, in His service.
The sight of the almond-blossom was an abiding
inspiration to the prophet. As the sleep of winter
had been broken by the almond (shdked), so Jahweh
stood watching (shdked) over His word to perform
it (vv. nf.). This sense of Jahweh's ' wakefulness'
prepared him to see in the boiling caldron, fed with
flame and fuel from the North, a portent of the evil
soon to break out thence upon all the inhabitants
of Judah and Jerusalem, because of their wickedness
in forsaking Jahweh and burning incense to other
gods, even worshipping the work of their own hands
(vv. 13ft .). 1 Thus brought into perfect sympathy with
1 This second vision no doubt rested also on real experience
— the chance sight of a boiling caldron at some cottage door.
The details are rather uncertain ; but probably we should read
D'ODp for i^SD and riSPl for nnSfl, translating : / said, I see
u. boiling caldron, and its face is turned Northward ; and
Jahweh said to me, Out of the North shall evil be blown upon all

154 The Prophets of the Old Testament
the mind and purpose of God — his lips touched by
the finger of the Lord, and his mouth filled with His
words — Jeremiah received into his trembling heart
a sudden access of Divine strength. ' Behold, I
have made thee this day a defenced city and a wall
of brass, against the kings of Judah and against the
princes thereof, against the priests and against the
people of the land ; and they shall fight against
thee, but shall not prevail against thee : for I am
with thee, saith Jahweh, to deliver thee.' And at
the word he ' girt up his loins,' and arose, and
entered upon his hfe-work as God's ambassador,
ready to go whithersoever He might send him, and
to speak all that He commanded him (vv. 17ft . ).
the inhabitants of the land. The caldron is apparently supported
by stones on three sides, while the fourth (that toward the
North) is kept open to receive fuel for the fire. ' The idea is
not that the scalding contents of the pot will pour down on
Judah from the North (cf. G. A. Smith, Jerusalem, ii. 228),
but that the fire and fuel which make it boil are brought from
the North. The caldron will then be thought of as in Judah,
its inhabitants are thought of as within it, while the fuel which
makes it boil represents the enemy ' (Peake, Jeremiah, i. 83).

CHAPTER XII
The Foe from the North
The earliest prophecies of Jeremiah were delivered
no doubt immediately after his call, and most
probably in his native village of Anathoth. These
prophecies are profoundly interesting. In their general
moral outlook quite on the lines of the older pro
phets, they yet breathe a wonderful freshness and
originality. The language is delicate, nervous,
steeped in poetic loveliness, and overflowing with a
passionate delight in Nature. At once Jeremiah
takes his place in the front rank of lyrical jpoets.
In Davidson's judgment ' the pathos and depth of
these chapters are not surpassed by anything in
Scripture.' 1
The scene opens with a charming picture of
Israel's early innocence and devotion to her Lord.
Thus saith Jahweh :
I remember thy youthful love,
The affection of thy bridal days, —
How thou followedst me in the wilderness,
Through a land unsown.
Israel was sacred unto Jahweh,
The firstfruit of His increase ;
1 Dictionary of the Bible, ii. 570.
155

156 The Prophets of the Old Testament
All that ate thereof were held guilty,
Evil o'ertook them (ii. 21.).
But all too soon the beauty of the bridal days is
dispelled. Have the heathen changed their gods,
Which are no gods ?
Yet my people have changed their glory
For that which profiteth not.
Be astounded at this, O heavens,
Yea, shudder exceedingly !
For my people have wrought two evils,
Is the Rede of Jahweh :
Me they have forsaken,
The fountain of living waters,
And have hewn them broken cisterns,
That hold no water (vv. 11-13).
Planted a generous and fruitful vine, Israel has
become ' the rank shootling of a wild vine ' (v. 21).
She is polluted throughout by foul iniquity, which
neither lye nor soap can cleanse (v. 22) ; she gaddeth
hke a swift young camel, in the heat of her passion,
after her lovers the Baahm (v. 23) ; she boweth down
to stocks and stones, calling them her father and
mother (v. 27), and forgetting Jahweh ' days without
number ' (v. 32). No correction availeth to make her
hear His word— she will be her own mistress, and
will go no more to Him for guidance (y.30). Because
of this infidelity to Jahweh, the land is full of in
justice and unrighteousness, falsehood and adultery
and the shedding of innocent blood (v. 34) : yet
Israel boasts of her innocence (v. 35), and relies with

The Foe from the North 157-
confidence on the gracious kindness and compas
sion of her God.
Thou hast an harlot's forehead,
And wilt not blush for it ;
Dost thou not even call me
Companion of thy youth ?
' Will He keep His wrath for ever,
Retain it to the end ? '
So sayest thou, but workest
Such evil as thou canst (hi. 3-5).
Jahweh had thought to treat His people as a son,
and give them the noblest inheritance among the
nations ; but they had continually played Him
false, and betrayed Him like a faithless wife.
I said, ' Ah ! gladly now
'Mong the sons would I place thee,
And give thee a pleasant land,
The goodliest heritage of the nations.'
And I said, ' Thou shalt call me Father,
And shalt not turn from me ; '
But as a woman is faithless to her lover,
Ye were faithless unto me (vv. igf.).1
The penalty of unfaithfulness is rejection without
hope of return ; but Jahweh cannot lightly forget
His early love. No sooner does He hear the
sounds of weeping and supphcation on the bare
heights of Canaan — the broken accents of His
people's confession and repentance (vv. 21 ff.) — than
He welcomes them with open arms. Only they
1 These verses are the natural sequel to v. 5. The intervening
section (iii. 6-18) is a later prophecy, mainly from Jeremiah's
own pen, on the restoration of North Israel. Cf. p. 165.

158 The Prophets of the Old Testament
must put away their uncleanness, and hve a new
life of purity, love and truth.
Thus saith Jahweh to the men of Judah,
And the dwellers in Jerusalem .
Break up your fallow ground,
And sow not among thorns !
Circumcise yourselves unto Jahweh,
And remove the foreskin of your heart ;
Lest my wrath go forth like fire,
And burn with none to quench it! (iv. 3f.).
Since the people refuse to hear, Jahweh must Him
self drive the ploughshare over their hearts ; and in
the Scythian hordes now swiftly descending on
Palestine he sees the implement Divinely prepared
and whetted for the work of repentance. In verses
of amazing strength and vividness he depicts the
coming ordeal.
Blow trumpet through the land,
Proclaim aloud :
Assemble, and let us go
To the fenced cities !
Set up a signal toward Zion ;
Seek refuge, stay not !
For evil I bring from the North,
Even great destruction.
A lion is up from his thicket,
Making havoc of nations :
He is forth, he is gone from his place,
To lay waste the earth.1
1 Instead of T1X"!K, thy land, read flNn, the earth, as de
manded by the previous reference to the nations. The text
is further expanded by a picture of the desolation.

The Foe from the North 159
Therefore gird you with sackcloth,
Lament and wail !
For the fierce wrath of Jahweh
Is not turned back from us (vv. 5-8).
A sirocco from the desert heights
Doth come on my people, —
No wind to fan or cleanse,
Too full for this I x
Behold I he mounteth as clouds.
Like the whirlwind his chariots ;
His horses are swifter than eagles :
Woe on us ! for we are spoiled. 2
Hark ! a voice brings word from Dan,
Tells of evil from Mount Ephraim ;
Makes it known among the nations.
Declares it to Jerusalem : 3
Lo ! panthers 4 come
From a distant land ;
They have sent out their voice
To the cities of Judah.
On the fields they lie in wait 6
A 11 round against her ;
For she hath rebelled against me,
Is the Rede of Jahweh (vv. n-17).
A terrible closing passage unveils the full horror of
the impending desolation.
1 Here, too, the text has been somewhat expanded.
3 The appeal in v. 14 seems too violent an interruption of
the context.
3 In harmony with the preceding lines, I have read the verbs
as participles.
4 For the quite unsuitable D'TV^' watchers (perhaps suggested
by 1/. 17), I have followed Duhm in reading DHDi, leopards or
panthers (cf. v. 6).
s Read probably HJ?-?1? On«?B\

160 The Prophets of the Old Testament
I looked at the earth,
And lo ! it was chaos ;
I looked at the heavens,
And their light was gone.
I looked at the mountains,
And lo ! they trembled ;
And all the hills
Moved to and fro.
I looked at the tilth,1
And lo I there was no man ;
And all the birds
Of heaven had fled.
I looked at the orchard land,
And lo ! it was desert ;
And all its cities were ravaged
Before Jahweh's fierce wrath (vv. 23-26).
If the sin of the rural cities and villages could be
purged only by the fires of destruction, Jerusalem
appeared to the prophet in no better case.2 Search
as he might through the streets of Jerusalem, he
could find no man that did justly, none that sought
truth and honesty (v. 1). With one accord both
high-born and lowly had ' broken the yoke and burst
the bonds' (v. 5), swearing by false gods and com
mitting adultery (v. 7), their houses full of fraud, as
a cage is full of birds (v. 27). Jerusalem was hke a
1 Insert npnxri, or the like.
3 Duhm supposes that Jeremiah has now transferred his
residence to the capital, and compares his first impressions of
Jerusalem with Luther's emotions on entering Rome. But
Anathoth was so near Jerusalem that the prophet must have
known it from early youth. His definite migration to the
capital is more probably connected with the Deuteronomic
campaign (cf. pp. 177I).

The Foe from the North 161
foul well, bubbling over with wickedness (vi. 7).
And the most grievous aspect of the case was that
the priests and prophets were ringleaders in
iniquity. An awful and horrible thing
Is come to pass in the land :
The prophets prophesy falsely,
And the priests strike hands with them ;
And my people love it so, —
But what will ye do in the end thereof? (v. 3of.).
From the least unto the greatest
Every one is given to gain ;
And from prophet unto priest
Every one doth practise fraud.
They heal my people's wound
But all too lightly, —
Saying, ' Health, health ! '
And there is no health (vi. 13I).
Therefore the holy city also is included in the
general calamity soon to visit Judah. On the
comely daughter of Zion, as on her ruder sisters in
the country, ' evil looks from the North, even great
destruction.' O the fair and pleasant Height
Of the daughter of Zion I
Against her shall shepherds come,
They and their flocks.
They shall pitch their tents around her,
And graze where they camp.
' Prepare * ye war against her ;
Up ! let us storm her at noonday ! '
1 The word is literally " sanctify,' war being a real part of
religion. II

162 The Prophets of the Old Testament
Ah, woe ! the day declineth,
The shadows of evening lengthen.
' Then up ! let us storm her by night,
And destroy her palaces ! ' 1 (vi. 2-5).
It is vain for Jerusalem to appeal to Jahweh for
help : her sins have ahenated His soul, and He it is
that has planned her destruction (v. 8). He set
watchmen over her children, but they refused to
listen to the warning notes of the trumpet (v. 17) ;
now He must speak to them by fire and sword.
Thus saith Jahweh :
Behold ! a people doth come
From the North country ;
A nation doth bestir itself
From the ends of the earth.
The bow and spear they grasp,
And cruel are they ;
* * *
And they show no mercy.
Like the sea their voice doth roar,
And they ride on horses, —
Arrayed as a man of war
Against thee, daughter of Zion.2
Go not out to the field,
Nor walk in the street !
For there is the sword of the foeman,
Terror around.
O daughter of my people, gird thee with sackcloth,
And wallow in ashes !
1 These dramatic interchanges of speech express the enemy's
determination to storm the city whenever the opportunity
comes, by day or by night.
3 V. 24 is a reflective comment, interrupting the vivid
description.

The Foe from the North 163
Make thee mourning, as for an only son,
Wailing most bitter !
For suddenly doth come
The spoiler upon us (vv. 22-26).
There is nothing even in Amos to surpass the
severity of such words. In denouncing ruin on
Jerusalem he has broken altogether with the
prophetic tradition of Isaiah's school. But, whereas
Isaiah declared his message from the Olympian
heights of his own unwavering faith, and Amos
allowed no feehngs of sympathy to deflect him from
the straight path of duty, Jeremiah was a man of
the people, who was touched by an overwhelming
compassion for them, and could never dissociate
his personal emotions from his prophetic word.
Even while he poured forth his oracles of woe, his
heart was tortured at the thought of his people's
sufferings. My bowels ! my bowels ! I writhe in anguish !
O the walls of my heart !
My heart is in tumult within me ;
I cannot keep silent I
For I hear the sound of the trumpet,
The alarum of war ;
Ruin doth break upon ruin.
For the whole land is spoiled.
Of a sudden my tents are destroyed,
In a moment my curtains !
How long must I see the standard,
Hear the sound of the trumpet? (iv. 19-21).
But the revelation of Jahweh's word moved him

1 64 The Prophets of the Old Testament
as deeply. It was like afire in his bones, burning
to find expression. Thus the sight of Jerusalem's
wickedness roused him to a fury of wrath.
I am full of the fury of Jahweh,
I am weary with holding it :
I must pour it upon the children in the street,
And the assembly of young men together.
Both husband and wife shall be taken,
Even the aged and full of days ;
And their houses shall be turned unto strangers,
And their fields to the conquerors1 (vi. nf.).
This twofold sympathy of the prophet — sympathy
for his people and a yet deeper sympathy with
Jahweh's purpose — made him the moral ' trier ' or
assayer of Judah. As lead draws out the silver in
the crucible, he sought by sympathy to draw out
what was good in the people's heart, and then again
by the hot blast of Jahweh's wrath to separate the
pure metal from its alloy.2 But his efforts were
fruitless. Let him blow the bellows as fiercely as he
might — scorch it even black with the flames — the
base ahoy would not remove. Judah remained the
same raw mass of moral corruption and revolt
1 Read D*t5nV?, as in the variant viii. 10.
3 The imagery in this difficult passage is taken from the ancient
process of refining gold or silver. ' Before quicksilver was known
lead was mixed with the alloy which had to be purified, and the
mixture was melted, then the bellows forced air on it. The lead
was thus oxidized and formed a flux for the impurities ' (Peake,
Jeremiah, i. 145). Asomewhat fuller description of the process
is given in Gillies' Jeremiah : the Man and his Message, pp. 84! .
Cf. also Driver, Book of the Prophet Jeremiah, p. 39.

The Foe from the North 165
(vv. 27-29). The fate of her rebellious sister Israel
had no effect on her. Treacherous Judah had even
shown herself more guilty than apostate Israel, and
must suffer the same fate, while apostate Israel
returned to Jahweh, and found Him merciful and
good. Return, apostate Israel,
Unto me, saith Jahweh !
No more will I frown on thee,
For I am merciful.
I will keep not my wrath for ever,
If thou only acknowledge thy guilt —
That thou hast been faithless
Unto Jahweh thy God.
Thou hast lavished thy love l upon strangers,
Under every green tree ;
But to my voice thou hast hearkened not,
Is the Rede of Jahweh (iii. I2f.).3
1 For 's])?"!'1!, thy ways, read "5]*~l"l'rIi thy love.
2 The whole passage, iii. 6-18, is an intrusion in its present
context ; but the main part of it (vv. 6-13) belongs to the earlier
period of Jeremiah's ministry, doubtless before the Deuteronomic
reform. The appendix (vv. 14-18) is a prophecy of restoration'
which clearly presupposes the Exile.

CHAPTER XIII
Nahum the Patriot
The immediate future was very different from Jere
miah's expectations. The Southward flow of Scy
thian invasion swiftly receded, the real deluge
sweeping over the powerful nations to the East.
Moreover, the great colossus which had so long
crushed the national spirit of Judah was unmistak
ably crumbling to ruin.
The death of Sennacherib left the Assyrian power
unimpaired. His son Esarhaddon (681-668 B.C.)
even raised it to a higher pinnacle of glory, carrying
his arms in triumph over Tyre and Sidon, the kings
of the Hittites, Media and Egypt, advancing as far
as Memphis, and organizing the conquered territory
into an Assyrian province. The great Asshur-
banipal (668-626) added fresh lustre to the Em
pire, extending its sway over Elam and Armenia,
stamping out the embers of revolt, and striking
terror into the heart of Egypt by the capture of
No- Amon or Thebes, the splendid capital of the Delta
(663 B.C.). But an Empire built by the sword
could only be upheld by the sword ; and the two
feeble reigns of Asshur-etil-ili (626-620) and Sin-
166

Nahum the Patriot 167
shar-ishkun (620-607) brought it to an end. The
heroic Chaldean king'Nabopolassar won the independ
ence of Babylon within five years of Asshurbanipal's
death (c. 612-11). Meantime the young power of
the Medes was pressing hard on Assyria from the
West. A gallant attack by Phraortes (c. 635 B.C.)
proved fatal to himself and the flower of his army,
and a second attempt by his son Cyaxares (c. 624) was
frustrated mainly through the Scythian irruption
into Media.1- That danger laid, Cyaxares was able
to resume the assault. Nineveh seems to have
offered a heroic resistance ; but the strength of the
Empire was sapped, and about the year 607 B.C. the
haughty city fell, to the delirious joy of all the
peoples that had suffered from its tyranny. So com
plete was the overthrow that, when Xenophon
marched past the ruins on his memorable Retreat
(401 B.C.), the very name of Nineveh was forgotten,
and there lingered among the peasantry but vague
traditions of a city whose inhabitants Zeus rendered
senseless, ' and so it was taken.' 2
The approaching fall of Nineveh was hailed by a
Jewish prophet with an outburst, of triumphant song.
In the person of Nahum prophecy is identified with
national patriotism. The earlier prophets had
turned the fierce light of Divine judgment on their

1 Cf. Herod, i. 103-106.
3 Xen. Anabasis, III. iv. 6.

1 68 The Prophets of the Old Testament
own people ; Nahum has eyes for nothing but the
destruction of the oppressor. With eager interest
he has watched the crippling of the old Lion, and
now that he sees him at bay in his den, and his
defences passing one by one into the hands of the
hunter, the whole ardour of his Jewish soul kindles
within him, and he pours forth his torrent of glowing
lava. Nahum was a native of Elkosh, a small village
near Eleutheropolis, in the ancient domain of
Simeon.1 His prophecy was most probably de
livered about the year 610 B.C., when the toils were
fast closing around Nineveh.2 It is a perfect mirror

1 On the ground of Nahum's vivid descriptions of the siege
of Nineveh, a number of recent scholars have identified Elkosh
with the village of Al-Kush, some twenty-five miles N. of Mosul
(the. site of ancient Nineveh), where the natives still show a
' simple plaster box ' (Layard) as the supposed tomb of Nahum.
The tradition of Nahum's residence in Al-Kush, however, goes
no further back than the sixteenth century a.d. The argument
from vividness is equally indecisive. The prophet is as vivid in
his picture of No-Amon by the Nile (iii. 8ff.). In both cases
emotional intensity wings his words, and this appears to flow
directly from the heart of Judah.
3 The date of Nahum can be brought within measurable
limits. The reference to No-Amon presupposes the fall of
that city in 663 B.C., while the terminus ad quern is fixed by the
destruction of Nineveh itself in 607. The prophecy has been
related to all three assaults on the city, but in every respect it
agrees best with the final campaign of Cyaxares. As Well
hausen pertinently remarks, ' But for Herodotus it would never
have occurred to any one to doubt that the prophecy of Nahum
coincides with the downfall of Nineveh ' (op. cit., p. 160).

Nahum the Patriot 169
of the coming tragedy. The style is extraordinarily
brilliant — swift, vivid, realistic and dramatic, image
josthng on image as the prophet conjures up the
rapidly changing scenes — while the language blazes
and storms with the sheen of arms and the raging
of war-chariots in the assault of the city. We can
hear the crack of the whip and the rattle of wheels,
see the flash of the sword and the glitter of spears,
watch Nineveh fast ebbing away like a pool of
waters, and follow the fugitives in their vain flight
to the mountains, while their king and nobles sleep
their last sleep amid the ruins.
The very theme of Nahum's prophecy forbids it
reaching the spiritual heights of an Isaiah or Jere
miah. There is no direct religious message in the
book at all. In many ways Nahum recalls the
' false prophets ' with whom Jeremiah had to wage
so resolute a battle. But he has a true feeling for
humanity as the vital expression of religion. His wrath
against Nineveh is largely inspired by this feeling.
Nineveh is the city of blood, ' full of lies and rapine ; '
the den of lions, soaked with the blood of its victims ;
the ' mistress of witchcraft,' that has ruined the
nations by her harlotries, and tribes by her charms.
Thus the laws of God and man require her blood.
The downfall of Nineveh is the most impressive ex
ample in ancient history of the working out of the
laws of righteousness, as they exalt the meek and
strike down the tyrant ; and in reading the lesson

170 The Prophets of the Old Testament
so clearly Nahum becomes the prophet not only of
patriotism, but of humanity.1
In his first oracle he recalls the mischief that
Sennacherib devised against Jahweh and His people,
and declares the near extinction of his race. Already
the Hammer is raised to smite the blood-stained
walls ; the chariots and horsemen are equipped in
all the glory of war ; and anon they will rage through
the broadways, and storm the stronghold, and send
up in smoke ' the lair of the lions,' while its denizens
are devoured by the sword.
Ah ! full . . . 2
Came there not out of thee
One that planned evil against Jahweh,
That counselled villainy ? 3
Now Jahweh hath ordered concerning thee,
' No more of thy name shall be sown ; i
From the house of thy gods will I cut off image and idol,
And thy grave will I make a dishonour.'

1 The genuine prophecies of Nahum are prefaced by an
eschatological acrostic on the vengeance of Jahweh (i. 2-10),
and a song of comfort for Judah in the style of Deutero-Isaiah
(i. I2f. 15 ; ii. 2). The prophecies are two in number, the first
contained in i. n, 14, ii. 1, 3-13, and the second covering
the whole of ch. iii., the theme of both being the destruction of
Nineveh. 3 The opening stichos is evidently concealed in the tangle of
i. 10. Duhm ingeniously extracts NPD D'XUp 'qap 'ID Ah !
thicket full of lions (cf. ii. nff).
3 The reference is clearly to Sennacherib.
4 That is, Thy people shall be wholly extinguished. Kittel,
however, reads "!\D^> ~Q-V[ SO, Thy name shall be no more
remembered.

Nahum the Patriot 171
Against thee is come the Destroyer, —
Mount guard on the rampart !
Watch the way ; strengthen thy loins ;
Brace thy might to the utmost !
The shield of his warriors is blood-red,
Their blades are as fire ; 1
His soldiers are clothed in scarlet
On the day they equip them.
The chariots and chargers
Rage through the streets ;
Onward they rush and plunge
Over the broadways.2
Their look is like torches,
As lightning they dart ;
Straightforward their nobles gallop
Along their courses.3
On to the wall they speed,
They set up the mantlet ;
The river gates are opened,
The palace melts (in terror).
Unveiled the Queen is brought out,
Her maidens with her, —
Moaning with voice like doves,
Beating their breasts.
Like a pool of water is Nineveh,
Fast ebbing away :
' Stand fast ! stand fast ! ' they cry,
But no one turns back.

7 I have followed Duhm in reading rfn'PS K%3 immediately
after the first stichos, and U'PJJ D'l'3 in connexion with the
third. This arrangement helps the sequel as well.
2 The streets and broadways are of course those of the suburbs
of Nineveh.
3 Here too the best emendation of the MT is Duhm's
'n3 ws' mnx nm*.

172 The Prophets of the Old Testament
Silver and gold they plunder,
No end to the store of them ;
Full measure they carry forth 1
Of all the goodly things.
There is emptiness, wasting and void,
A melting heart and knocking of knees ;
There is cramp in every limb,
And the faces of all become livid.
Where now is the haunt of the lions,
The den of their young ones, —
Where the lion's whelp was wont to withdraw,
With none to affright him ?
Enough for his whelps did the lion tear,
And did rend for his lionesses ;
He filled his caves with prey,
His dens with ravin.
But lo ! I am against thee,
Saith Jahweh of hosts ;
And thy lair will I burn with fire,
While the sword devoureth thy young ones.
And thy booty will I cut
From off the earth ;
And no more shall sound be heard
From (the mouth of) thy lionesses.2
The second ode is still more pregnant with doom.
The nations have already caught up the taunt-song,
and accompany the fugitives with clapping of hands
and contemptuous jeers.
Ah ! city of blood throughout,
Full of lies and rapine ;
Where booty never ceased,
Nor was end to the prey !
1 It is necessary to fill up the lacuna in some such way as this.
It seems better also to read the indicative mood.
3 Read?'nS3^>p.

Nahum the Patriot 173
Hear the crack of the whip and the rattle of wheels,
With galloping horse ;
And chariots bounding,
Horsemen charging !
See the flash of the sword and the glitter of spear,
And a multitude slain ;
Even a mass of corpses unending, —
Men stumble on carcases.
For the fair one's many harlotries,
That mistress of witchcraft,
Who seduced nations by her whoredoms ,
And tribes by her charms.
Lo ! I am against thee, saith Jahweh,
And thy skirts will uncover ,
I will show the nations thy nakedness,
The kingdoms thy shame.
And filth will I cast upon thee, '
And make thee a gazing-stock ;
And every one that seeth thee
Shall flee from thee :
And shall say, ' Undone is Nineveh,
Who will lament for her ?
Whence shall I seek out
Comforters for her ? '
Art thou better than No-Amon,
That sat by the Nile streams,
The waters around her for rampart,
Her wall the sea ?
Her strength was Ethiopia,
And countless Egyptians ;
Put and the Libyans
Were there for her helpers.
Even she was for exile,
Went forth to captivity,
Even her infants were dashed in pieces
At every street corner.

174 The Prophets of the Old Testament

O'er all her honoured ones
Men cast the lot ;
And all her great ones
Were shackled in chains.
Thou too shalt be drunken,
Thou shalt be faint ;
Thou too shalt seek
Escape from the foe.
All thy fortresses are fig trees,
Thy people are first-figs ;
Be they shaken, they fall
To the mouth of the eater.
Lo ! thy people within thee are women
Before the foe ;
The gates of thy land lie open,
Thy bars burnt with fire.
Siege waters draw thee,
Strengthen thy forts !
Trample the clay, tread the mortar,
Lay hold of the brick-mould I
There doth the fire devour thee,
The sword doth consume thee ;
No healing is there for thy wound.
Thy hurt is incurable.1
Make thyself many as the grasshopper,
Many as the locust-swarms,
That hive on the garden walls
In the cool of the day I
Yet ihe locust doth open his wings,
And flieth away ; 2

1 I have transferred v. iga to its natural position in the poem.
3 The text has been encumbered with certain applications of
the figure to the merchants and nobles of Nineveh ; the two
couplets appear also to have been transposed. As rendered
above, the flight of the locust-swarms suggests the melting away
of the Ninevites before the enemy.

Nahum the Patriot 175
When the sun shineth out, they flee —
One knoweth not whither.
Ah ! how do thy shepherds slumber1
Thy nobles sleep !
Thy people are strewn o'er the mountains,
And no one to gather them !
All they that hear thy tidings
Clap hands over thee ;
For on whom hath not thy villainy
Passed without ceasing ?
1 The text has been expanded by a marginal identification of
the ' shepherds ' with the king of Assyria. The idea is correct,
though the princes of the palace may also be included.

CHAPTER XIV
Jeremiah and his Contemporaries
While the skies were thus clearing in the East, a
wave of religious revival swept over Judah. During
the years of reaction earnest spirits had been quietly
infusing the old Book of the Covenant with the pure
wine of prophecy, and the discovery of this ' Renewed
Law' — Deuteronomy — in 621 B.C. was the signal
for a thoroughgoing Reformation both in cultus and
in morals. Under the direct auspices of king
Josiah the gross abominations which had invaded
the worship of Jahweh were purged away, the
horses of the sun and altars to the heavenly bodies
removed from the Temple, and the houses of the
sodomites demolished ; the furnace of Topheth was
defiled, ' so that no man might make his son or his
daughter to pass through the fire to Melech,' and the
high places around Jerusalem and the other cities
of Judah were destroyed, the king entering into a
covenant with his people ' to walk after Jahweh's
mind, and to keep His commandments and His
testimonies and His statutes with all their heart
and with all their soul — to perform the words of this
176

Jeremiah and his Contemporaries 177
Covenant that were written in this book ' (2 Kings
xxiii. iff.).
A moral enthusiast hke Jeremiah must have
followed these movements with profound sympathy
and hope. The repentance he had longed for, but
which seemed so impossible of realization, had all
of a sudden appeared ; and it needed only that
repentance should pierce the quick of the conscience
for Judah to be converted into a people of the living
- God. Borne up by this high faith Jeremiah appears
to have gone on a missionary campaign among the
cities of Judah urging upon them the acceptance of
the Covenant, and warning them of the fate that had
befallen their fathers of old (Jer. xi. iff.).1 But his
1 From the difference in standpoint between Jeremiah's
maturer prophecies and the book of Deuteronomy, it has been
argued by a number of scholars, notably Davidson and Duhm,
that his attitude towards the reformers was from the first one of
more or less pronounced hostility. But in spite of external
differences there existed a real spiritual affinity between Jeremiah
and the Deuteronomists. They had the same elevated concep
tions of Jahweh's holiness, the same pure standard of morality,
and the same hatred of idolatry. Nor is the fundamental
contrast in principle between Deuteronomy and the New Cove
nant of Jeremiah any conclusive evidence agairfst his earlier
participation in the Deuteronomic movement. Rather, his
experience in connexion with that movement showed him how
impotent all such external covenants must be, and thus led him
towards the thought of a New Covenant of spirit and truth
Jeremiah's mterest in the Deuteronomic refor m, with its aboli
tion of the high places, affords also the best explanation of the
persecution he endured at the hands of the men of Anathoth,
who deeply cherished their historic sanctuary, and regarded
the young prophet's demand for its destruction as no other
12

178 The Prophets of the Old Testament
enthusiasm was soon chilled. Instead of the wel
come he expected as the messenger of salvation, the
preaching of the Covenant won him but hatred and
persecution, especially at the hands of his own fellow-
villagers in Anathoth, who thought to ' cut down
the tree with its sap ' — to destroy him in his fresh
vigour and rich promise of fruit (xi. i8ff.). Far
earlier than others, too, he saw the hollowness of the
Reformation. Under cover of religious zeal old evils
persisted, while the revival itself was like the seed
sown on rocky ground, that shoots up rapidly, and
for a season waves joyously in the sunshine, but at
the first breath of tribulation or danger withers and
dies. The crisis came through the death of Josiah in
his reckless encounter with Pharaoh Necho at the
battle of Megiddo (608 B.C.). The fate of the king
who had played the foremost part in the Reformation
seemed like the Divine condemnation of the whole
reforming policy. Thus enthusiasm for the Covenant
gave way to another strong tide of reaction, against
which Jeremiah had to stand alone, preaching
the word of Jahweh with the most passionate
sincerity, but meeting persistent opposition and per
secution, until his hps were sealed in death.
As early as the first year of Jehoiakim's reign,
than treason against his people and their faith. Probably this
persecution led to his definite migration to Jerusalem, the scene
of his subsequent ministry.

Jeremiah and his Contemporaries 179
within a few months of the disaster at Megiddo, the
prophet came into sharp conflict with the popular
rehgion of his time. Still staggering under the
shock of Josiah's death and the sad fate of his
successor Jehoahaz — a helpless exile in Egypt
— the people of Jerusalem were gathered in
the Temple courts, lashing up their courage
by the fanatical repetitions to which Oriental
nations are given : ' The Temple of Jahweh, the
Temple of Jahweh, the Temple of Jahweh, is
this ' (Jer. vii. 4). To Jeremiah these were lying
words in which they trusted, and under Divine
impulse he met them at the Temple gate with his
bold challenge : ' Will ye steal, murder, and commit
adultery, swear falsely, and burn incense to Baal,
walking after other gods whom ye have not known,
and then come and stand before me in this house
over which my name is called, and say, We are safe
from all evil — in order, forsooth, to do all these
abominations ! Is this house over which my name
is called become a den of robbers in your eyes ? Be
hold ! I too have seen it, saith Jahweh. I pray you,
then, go to my place which was in Shiloh, where I
set my name at the first, and see what I did to it
for the wickedness of my people Israel ! And
now because ye have done all these works, saith
Jahweh, and I spake unto you, rising up early and
speaking, but ye heard not, and calling unto you,
but ye answered not, I will do unto this house over

180 The Prophets of the Old Testament
which my name is called, wherein ye trust, and
unto the place which I gave to you and your fathers,
as I did unto Shiloh. And I will cast you out from
before my face, as I cast out your brethren, even all
the seed of Ephraim ' (vv. git.).
This conflict between Jeremiah and the people
of Jerusalem — continued with more or less intensity
during the whole period of Judah's dechne — marks
the fundamental contrast between true and false
religion. The sin against which the prophet contended was
not strictly irreligion, or definite rejection of Jah
weh. The people of Jerusalem were inspired by an
almost frenzied trust in Him and His temple, and
loved to render Him the service of rich and abundant
sacrifice. Only they allowed such service to out
balance ' the weightier matters of the law.' To the
zealous worshippers in the Temple the outward
ritual was virtually the end and object of rehgion.
If they performed their worship according to the
letter of the Law, they felt they had discharged
their full obligation to God, and thereby secured
His abiding presence and blessing, irrespective of
their moral conduct. If He regarded their doings
at all, He would deal kindly with them — for He was
their God, and they His people. Or even if He
cherished a certain animosity against them for their
breaches of the Covenant, He must surely be satisfied
by the sin-offerings they brought Him. With such

Jeremiah and his Contemporaries 181
offerings the gods of other nations, at least, were
content. Against all this lifeless ritualism and laxity of ,
faith and morals Jeremiah consistently maintained
the spirituality and hohness of Jahweh. He was
no easy-going God, hke His neighbours Baal and,
Chemosh and Melech, but the jealous One, who1.
could tolerate no other god beside Him, and whose
only worthy service was the pursuit of justice, love
and truth. On the day He led their fathers out of
the land of Egypt, He gave them no law regarding
burnt-offerings or sacrifice, but this one thing He
commanded them, saying, ' Hear my voice, and I
will be your God, and ye shall be my people ; and
walk in all the ways that I have commanded you
that it may be well with you ' (vii. 22f.). To appear
before such a God, and offer Him the sacrifice of
bullocks and rams with blood-stained hands, was
blasphemy. And those who made the mere pos
session of the Covenant their plea for acceptance
with Him were falsifying the Law (viii. 8f.). Only
if they amended their ways and their doings, and
from this time forward ' thoroughly executed judg
ment between a man and his neighbour, and re
frained from oppressing the stranger, the fatherless
and the widow, and from shedding innocent blood
in this place, and from walking after other gods to
their own hurt, would He cause them to dwell
securely in this land which He gave to their fathers ; '

1 82 The Prophets of the Old Testament
otherwise He must cast them off from being His
people, and include themselves, their city and their
Temple, in one common ruin (vii. 5-7 ; cf. xxvi. 4ff.).
Words of warning and appeal were ahke in vain.
The people went their own way, plunging still more
deeply into the slough of their iniquities, and ' sliding
back by a perpetual backshding' (viii. 5). They
bent their tongue as a bow for falsehood, they sup
planted one another, and ruined each his neighbour's
name by slander ; their tongue was a deadly arrow,
even while they spoke peace with their mouths
(ix. 3-8). Therefore, thus saith Jahweh, Jerusalem
shall be laid in heaps and made a lair of jackals,
while the cities of Judah he desolate, without in
habitant (v. 11), and over their ruins the coronach
is raised. Consider ye now, and call
For the mourning women ;
Yea, send ye for the knowing ones,
That they may come !
E'en let them haste, and raise
The dirge upon us, —
That our eyes may run with tears,
Our eyelids gush with waters !
Hark I the sound of wailing from Zion,
How are we spoiled !
We are greatly confounded,1
For our dwellings are flung down !
1 I have omitted the disturbing phrase, ' Because we have
left the land.' On the difficulties connected with the phrase,
cf. Peake, Jeremiah, i. 168.

Jeremiah and his Contemporaries 183
Hear then, ye women, the Rede of Jahweh,
Let your ears receive the word of His mouth !
And teach your daughters wailing,
Each one her neighbour a dirge :
' Death is come up to our windows,
It hath entered our palaces, —
To cut off the child from the street,
The young men from the broadways.
' And the corpses of men shall fall
Like dung on the field,
Or as sheaves behind the reaper,
With none to gather them ' (vv. 17-22).
Ever more hopeless became the prophet's efforts
after redemption. Israel was hke a loin-cloth
soaked in the foul waters of the Euphrates,1 and
therefore to be cast away as ' good for nothing '
(xiii. iff.). Repentance seemed no longer possible,
and the clouds' grew big with doom.
Can the Cushite change his skin,
Or the leopard his spots ?
Then mayst thou 3 also do good,
That art used to do evil !
I will toss thee like passing stubble
To the wind of the wilderness :
This is thy lot and thy meed apportioned
Of me, saith Jahweh (xiii. 23-25).
The sin of Judah is written
With iron pen,
Engraven with point of diamond
On the tablet of their heart.
1 The Perath of the text is probably Parah (Josh, xviii. 23),
the modern Wady Fara, a rocky stream three miles NE. of
Anathoth ; but the name was no doubt intended to suggest the
Euphrates, whence alien influence had overwhelmed Judah like
a flood (cf. Isa. viii. 7I).
3 Read the 2nd. pers. sing, throughout.

1 84 The Prophets of the Old Testament
It is found on the horns 1 of their altars.
Under every green tree ;
On the high hill-tops,
And the mountains of the field.
So thy substance and all thy treasures
Will I give for spoil,
As the price of all thy sin
Throughout thy borders2
And thy foes will I make thee to serve
In a land thou knowest not ;
For a fire is lit in my wrath,
That shall burn for ever (xvii. 1-4).
Ask ye among the nations,
Who hath heard such things ?
The virgin of Israel hath done
A deed of sheer horror.
Will the hoar frost fall from Sirion,
The snow from Lebanon ?
Will the mountain waters be dried,
That flow down cold ? 3
But me have my people forgotten,
And burn incense to vanity ;
They stumble on by-paths,1
That have not been cast.
So their land shall be made an astonishment,
A perpetual hissing ;
Every one passing thereby shall be astonished,
And shall shake his head.
I will scatter them as with the East wind
Before ihe foe ;
I will show them the back, and not the face,
On the day of their downfall (xviii. 13-17).
1 Read n'U")j?-bl> KSD3, or similar words.
3 The true text is recovered from the parallel passage, xv. 13L
somewhat amended (cf. Kittel's notes).
3 On the emendations here assumed cf. Kittel.
4 The text here is considerably overladen. I have retained
the most significant element in the thought.

Jeremiah and his Contemporaries 185
In the course of these years of growing estrange
ment Jeremiah fought many a fierce battle with the
official prophets of Jerusalem, on whom he laid the
blame of the people's waywardness. The most
deliberate and sustained attack is delivered in ch.
xxiii., which may be regarded as the locus classicus
on a somewhat obscure subject. Here Jeremiah
brings three principal diarges against the prophets.
In the first place, they had no personal knowledge of
GoiL_ To quote Jeremiah's fine image, they had
never stood in the council-chamber of Jahweh
(v. 22) — had never entered into direct touch with
Him, or felt His Spirit moving in their hearts. Thus
they harped continually on the same old string,
merely repeating what former prophets had declared,
and ' steahng Jahweh's words every one from his
neighbour ' (v. 30), instead of waiting upon Jahweh
Himself, and from His never-failing treasury bring
ing forth things new and old. Hence, also, they
had no real message for their generation, but
glossed over truth and judgment by honeyed words
of peace. ' They say continually unto them that
despise the word of Jahweh, It shall be well
with you ; and unto every one that walketh
in the stubbornness of his own heart they say,
No evil shall come upon you ' (v. 17). With such
time-serving went actual immorality. Careless
of their sacred responsibilities, the prophets not
merely winked at the self-indulgence, profanity and

1 86 The Prophets of the Old Testament
vicious pleasures of the people, but took an active
part in the same follies, thus setting an example of
evil instead of good. Not even the grossest pollu
tions of the time found them clean. ' In the pro
phets of Jerusalem have I seen an horrible thing :
they commit adultery and walk in lies, they streng
then the hands of evil-doers that none doth turn
from his wickedness ; . . . and from them is un
godliness gone forth into all the land' (vv. 14L).
We have here sharply defined the contrast between
true and false prophecy.
To their contemporaries the ' prophets of Jeru
salem ' appeared as anything but false, and they
themselves would have rejected the epithet with
indignation. In their own eyes they were the true
prophets, while their antagonist was an intruder on
a sacred office to which he had no claim. They
felt toward Jeremiah much as the professional
cleric, solemnly ordained into the Apostohc suc
cession of the priesthood, would feel towards a lay
man who should dare to preach in his preserve, and
should actually use his position to charge him
with falsehood. Jeremiah laid all the emphasis on
the spirit of prophecy. For him the false prophet
was the^tefalist, the traditionalist, who clung to the
past, and refused 'to advance in ~the knowledge of
God, the moderate, who preached the gospel of easy
morals and comfortable peace, and himself followed
the doctrine he taught ; the true prophet was the

Jeremiah and his Contemporaries 187
progressive, who drank of the hving wells of religion
and thus continually advanced in knowledge and
grace, the earnest moralist, whose word was no vain
repetition of an empty ' dream,' but a fire that
pierced to the conscience of his hearers, or a hammer
that broke the stoniest heart in pieces (v. 29).
In his earher controversies with the prophets and
people Jeremiah had been supported by the rulers
of Jerusalem. Thus, when a charge of treason was
laid against him for his address at the Temple gate,
the princes saved him on the ground that he had
spoken in the name of Jahweh (xxvi. 16). But the
prophet was soon involved in conflict as deadly
with the king and rulers. The power of Assyria
had been extinguished by Cyaxares about the be
ginning of Jehoiakim's reign. Three years later
Nebuchadrezzar crushed the forces of Pharaoh
Necho at the world-historic battle of Carchem
ish (605 B.C.). When the young conqueror
should naturally have carried his victorious arms
Southward to Egypt, his father Nabopolassar died,
and he was compelled to return by swift marches
to Babylon. All round the horizon, then, fortune
continued to smile upon Judah. It seemed to the
infatuated people that Jahweh had stretched
forth His hand in their favour, and they had
nothing more to fear. But again the words of
Jeremiah struck a note of discord into their joy.
The sin of Judah was too deep-seated to be thus

1 88 The Prophets of the Old Testament
easily healed. Before better days could come, the
cancer must be cut to the roots. And from the
moment when Nebuchadrezzar appeared on the
l horizon of history Jeremiah saw in him ' the servant
of Jahweh,' who should apply the surgeon's knife to
His people. Some few months after the battle of
Carchemish he wrote out all the words he had spoken
against Judah and Jerusalem since his call in the
days of Josiah, as a testimony to ' the anger and
fury of Jahweh ' against their sins ; and when this
roll was ignominiously cut up and burnt by the
king he wrote another, with ' many like words '
added to it (xxxvi. 32). The old ' foe from
the North ' was now definitely identified with
Nebuchadrezzar and his Chaldeans. ' Behold !^ thus
saith Jahweh, Because ye have not hstened to my
words, I will send and take all the clansmen of the
North, and will bring them against this land, and
against the inhabitants thereof ; and I will put
them under the ban, and will make them an astonish
ment, and an hissing, and perpetual desolation.
And I will take from them the sound of mirth and
the sound of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom
and the voice of the bride, the sound of the mill
stones and the light of the candle ; and this whole
land shall be a desolation and an astonishment '
(xxv. 8ff.).
For two or three years peace reigned in Judah ;
then Jehoiakim was compelled to purchase safety

Jeremiah and his Contemporaries 189
by becoming a vassal of Nebuchadrezzar. Soon a
wave of passionate patriotism drove him to re
bellion. For this Jerusalem had to pay the penalty.
A succession of marauding expeditions of Babylonian
and Median bands, aided by Israel's bitter ene
mies the Edomites, vexed and harassed the land ;
finally in 597 b.c. the Great King himself marched
in force against Jerusalem. By this time Jehoia
kim was dead, and the sceptre was in the
hands of the young, misguided Jehoiachin. The
city fell almost without a blow, and the king himself
with the flower of his people — the ' good figs,' as
Jeremiah describes them (xxiv. iff.) — was carried
captive to Babylonia, his uncle Mattaniah or Zede
kiah replacing him on the throne.
In the fate of Jehoiachin and his kingdom Jere
miah had seen the fulfilment of his prophecies,
and his energies were now bent on saving the
remnant of Judah. On the new king he urged the
duty of quiet resignation ; the ' false prophets '
who predicted a speedy restoration he forewarned of
death (xxviii. i6f. ; xxix. 2iff.), while he counselled
the exiles to settle down in peace, awaiting God's
time for mercy. ' Thus saith Jahweh the God of
Israel unto the whole captivity that was carried
away captive from Jerusalem : Build ye houses,
and dwell in them ; and plant gardens, and eat the
fruit of them ; take ye wives, and beget sons and
daughters ; and take wives for your sons, and give

190 The Prophets of the Old Testament
your daughters to husbands, and multiply there,
and be not diminished ; and seek the welfare of
the land whither I caused you to be carried, and in
tercede with Jahweh for it, because in the welfare
thereof shaU your welfare consist ' (xxix. 4-7).
While Pharaoh Necho reigned in Egypt, the truce
was loyally kept. His successor Psammetichos II
was too immersed in national affairs to embark on
revolution. With his death in 589, however, the
smouldering embers burst into flame. Pharaoh
Hophra headed a coahtion against the Babylonian
tyrant, and Zedekiah was readily induced to join.
Once more Nebuchadrezzar descended in fierce
wrath against Jerusalem (587 B.C.). After a des
perate siege, the strain of which was relieved for
one brief moment when Hophra created a diversion
in the South, the city was captured, the Temple
reduced to ashes, and the main body of the people
swept off to join their brethren in Babylonia (July
586). Jeremiah had steadily counselled the king against
rebellion. The sword once drawn, he abandoned
all hope of salvation. Jahweh Himself was warring
against His people * with an outstretched hand and
with a strong arm ' ; thus their only chance of
escape was to fall away to the Chaldean besiegers
(xxi. 3ff.). Egypt was a broken reed to trust in.
Pharaoh's army would return the way it came, and
the Chaldeans appear again before the city, ' and

Jeremiah and his Contemporaries 191
take it, and burn it with fire ' (xxxvii. yt). Thus
the prophet's consistent advice, given often at the
peril of his life, was : ' Bring your necks under the
yoke of the king of Babylon, and serve him and his
people, that ye may live ' (xxvii. i2f . ; xxxviii.
i4ff., etc.).1
This conflict between prophet and king marks the
contrast between true and false — or higher and lower \
— patriotism. By the people of Jerusalem the kings who offered
so stubborn a resistance to the hosts of Nebuchad
rezzar were naturally enough honoured as heroes
and patriots, while the prophet who counselled!
surrender was flouted as a base and cowardly traitor, \
worthy of death. These sentiments are shared \
by not a few among Jeremiah's modern detractors. I
Renan, for example, dubs him a fanatic, an anar
chist, ' a furious declaimer, who never sacrificed one
grain of personal enmity to the good of his coun
try.'2 But_ Jeremiah was neither a coward nor a
traitor. He loved his native land, and fain would
have shared his fellow-prophets' ghb assurances
of its salvation (xxviii. 6). For him, however,
patriotism meant primarily devotion to the moral
and religious welfare of the people. This welfare,
1 On the historical order of these chapters, and the critical
questions underlying them, cf. the Commentaries of Duhm,
Cornill, Erbt and Peake, also J. R. Gillies' fine study of Jeremiah ;
the Man and his Message.
3 Histoire du Peuple d'Israel, iii. 296 (E.T., iii. 242).

192 The Prophets of the Old Testament
secured, all other good things would be added to
them ; without it the nation must perish. Like St.
Paul, he would gladly have given his own life for
his people. Even when the hope of salvation
had vanished, he had no thought of deserting
them. Through the whole terrible ordeal of the
siege and downfall of Jerusalem he remained
bravely at his post, striving with all his might
to ward off the last and cruellest sufferings of
the city, uttering no word of complaint against
his persecutors. He showed his patriotism in this,
too, that he never despaired of his country. In
the course of the siege he redeemed from his cousin
the family inheritance in Anathoth at its full value,
as a token that ' houses and fields and vineyards
shall yet again be bought in this land ' (xxxii. 15) .
And he steadfastly declared that Jerusalem should
rise from its ashes to a new and better hfe.1
On the fall of Jerusalem the prophet elected to
stay with the poor and distressed ' remnant of
Judah,' gathered under the protection of Gedaliah,
the son of his old champion Ahikam. When Geda
liah was murdered, he was carried off in the wild
1 ' The unparalleled greatness of the man lay precisely in
this, that the traitor to his country was the patriot of patriots.
What he dreamt of, like all his predecessors, was an earthly,
national, Jewish fatherland, with a national capital in Jerusalem,
and a national dynasty, that of David — but with a law of justice,
of piety, of morality, that of Jehovah ' (Darmesteter, Les Pro-
phUes d'Israel, p. 90).

Jeremiah and his Contemporaries 193
exodus of the people to Egypt (xliii. 6ff.). We hear
him once more pleading with them to turn from their
idolatry and vice, but with no greater success than
before. ' As for the word which thou hast spoken to
us in the name of Jahweh, we will not hsten to thee,
but will assuredly carry out every word that is gone
out of our own mouth — to burn incense to the
Queen of Heaven, and to pour hbations to her, as
we did, both we and our fathers, in the cities of
Judah and the streets of Jerusalem ; for then we
had plenty of bread, and were well, and saw no evil.
But since we left off burning incense to the Queen
of Heaven, and pouring libations to her, we have
swanted all things, and have been consumed by sword
and famine ' (xliv. i6ff.). Here Jeremiah passes off
the stage of history. Tradition says he was stoned
to death by the frenzied Jews — a victim to the per
secution he had so long endured.

13

CHAPTER XV
Jeremiah the Prophet of Personal

Relig

ion

The trend of prophecy has been steadily mono
theistic. The very conception of an ethical God
involved His universal sovereignty. The conse
quences, however, had not been fully drawn. Even
Isaiah's exalted thought of the Holy One was
still entangled in national limitations ; for the
prophet could hardly conceive of a Kingdom of
God without a fixed centre in Zion. Now that
the theorem of Zion's inviolability was broken
down by the logic of history, three courses
remained open : to renounce faith in Jahweh,
and fall back on the stronger gods who had de
throned Him, or on blank irreligion and despair ;
to seek salvation in the non-essentials of rehgion,
that is, outward rites and ceremonies ; or to recog
nize the facts, and take them into the realm of
faith — in other words, to free the thought of God
from every trace of nationalism, and vindicate
His absolute authority, even in the ruin of His
people. The latter decisive step Jeremiah took,
194

The Prophet of Personal Religion 195
and thereby marked the true lines for the sub
sequent history of religion.
Already in his youthful prophecies, when he
could at least contemplate the fall of Jerusalem
and its Temple, we catch a ghmpse of this broader
vision. As the antithesis of true and false faith
became more sharply defined, the prophet grasped
the principle with clearer consciousness. The
actual destruction of the city confirmed his faith.
Jahweh could no longer be regarded as the God
of two petty states like Israel and Judah, but
must be reverenced as the Lord and Ruler of the
Universe. In Jeremiah's famous parable, He
was the potter who moulded the clay of human
character and destiny ' as seemed good to Him,'
and could not be frustrated in His purpose even
by the warps and flaws in the clay (xviii. iff.).
In His great design all the nations had their place.
The conquering hosts of Nebuchadrezzar were
as truly His instruments and servants as the pro
phets of Israel. Thus the worship of Jahweh
could no longer be confined to Zion. In His sight
the heathen land of Babylonia was as sacred as
the Temple. There, too, His children could find
their spiritual home — could lift up their hearts
in prayer both for themselves and their oppressors,
that they might receive a common blessing — for
He was one, and His people one (xxix. 7).
As the conception of Jahweh widened, the circle

196 The Prophets of the Old Testament
of Divine election had been gradually contracted.
To the primitive mind of Israel the covenant was
with the nation as a whole. In the prophecies
of Amos and Hosea it was narrowed down to Judah,
and by Isaiah to the ' holy seed.' With Jeremiah
the promises passed to the individual seeker after
God, and religion became fully and consciously
personal. Jeremiah's theory of personal religion is most
clearly explicated in his great prophecy of the
New Covenant (xxxi. 31-34). 2
The old covenant of Sinai and the Renewed
Covenant of Deuteronomy had both proved failures.
With all their majesty they had never touched
the heart of the people, still less inspired genuine
obedience. There was something morally oppres
sive in their hard, stern demands. The spirit
might be willing, but the flesh was weak. In his
own experience Jeremiah knew that ' the heart
is deceitful above all things and desperately sick '
(xvii. 9). Thus men continued to do the evil they
would not, however much they struggled against
it. In the New Covenant the moral emphasis is
altered. The commands of the Law are no longer
inscribed on tables of stone, or written with pen
and ink in a Book, but placed in men's inward
parts, and written in their hearts. The Covenant
1 On the critical questions connected with this prophecy, cf.
the Commentaries, sub loco.

The Prophet of Personal Religion 197
consists in a loving personal relation to God, based
on forgiveness and mutual confidence. Jahweh
will no longer treasure against His people the
memory of their guilt, but ' will forgive their
iniquity, and remember their sin no more ' ; and
the former distrust will pass into friendship
and affection. ' I will be their God, and they
shall be my people ' — a people that now do the
works of the Law, not of constraint, but will
ingly — for the love of God moves them to obedi
ence. The prophet has here advanced almost to
the Christian standpoint. ' For what the law could
not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God,
sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh,
and as an offering for sin, condemned sin in the
flesh, that the requirement of the law might be
fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but
after the spirit ' (Rom. viii. 3f.).
It was the personal experience of Jeremiah,
however, that gave peculiar tone to his concep
tion of individual religion.
The hfe story of the prophet, as we have traced
it, is a singularly pathetic one. Himself a man
of warm human sympathies and affections, he was
condemned to spend his active years in bitter conflict
with his people, and to see his labours go for nought
— to find his glowing words received with indifference
and contempt, and his person exposed to deadly
persecution, from the day of his first disillusion-

198 The Prophets of the Old Testament
ment at Anathoth till the dark months of the
siege of Jerusalem, when he languished in the
dungeon, and was saved from death only by the
loyalty of a few devoted friends. And all this
he had to bear alone. Unlike earlier prophets, such
as Hosea and Isaiah, he was forbidden to have
wife and children in his home (xvi. 2).1 Apart
from the fidelity of Baruch his secretary and Ebed-
Melech the despised Ethiopian eunuch, who lifted
him up from the dungeon with cords enfolded in
cast-off clouts and rotten rags, to keep his armpits
from being chafed (xxxviii. 7ft.), there was nothing
to relieve the human forlornness and tragedy of
his lot. To outward appearance it spelt absolute
failure. There are failures, however, which are
the grandesrpf~successes ; and Jeremiah's was a
shining example. Like the Son of man, of whom he
was so pure a prophetic type, he was made perfect
by his sufferings. All was lost but faith ; and
that shone with a brighter radiance because it

1 With Jeremiah's wistful longing for the sanctities of home-
life we may compare the pathetic remark of the modern prophet
who most nearly resembles him alike in temper of mind
and in his ceaseless struggles after » Republic of God where
righteousness should dwell. ' He who through fatality of
circumstances has been unable to live the serene life of the
Family, beneath the wings of this angel (woman), has a shadow
of melancholy resting upon his soul, and *. void in his heart
which nothing can fill ; and I who write these pages for you
know it.' — Mazzini, The Duties of Man, ch. vi.

The Prophet of Personal Rehgion 199
had passed through the fires. The persecutions
to which he was subjected, the contempt and
hatred men felt towards a traitor (as they counted
him), the gulf that separated him from his people,
the failure of his labours, the consciousness of his
own utter weakness, and the depressing sense of
loneliness that weighed upon him, all drew him
closer to the God who was his only Refuge and
Strength. It was in the hour of battle that he
realized the meaning of the ' defenced city and wall
of brass ' Jahweh had promised to make of him.
And the less reliance he could place on human !
sympathy, the more precious he found this Divine
friendship that supported him in hours of need.
As Wellhausen says, ' his despised prophecy became
for him the bridge to an intimate relation with God.
Out of his office as intermediary between Jahweh
and Israel, of which Israel would hear nothing,
there grew a spiritual relation of personal intimacy
between himself and Jahweh, which remained not
confined to moments of rehgious enthusiasm, in
which Jahweh revealed Himself through Jeremiah
to His people, but consisted rather in the full empty
ing out of his soul before Jahweh. This was the
bread on which he lived. ... He is the father,
of true prayer, in which the poor soul expresses
alike its overwhelming (lit. subhuman) need and
its superhuman confidence, its fears and doubts and
trust unshakeable. Thus from prophecy emerged

200 The Prophets of the Old Testament
not only the Law, but at the end also personal
religion.' 1
The experience of Jeremiah likewise suggests —
though he nowhere directly teaches — the deepest
1 principle of spiritual religion — that the sufferings
of the righteous are for the salvation of the sinful. \
"Before the time of Jeremiah the probleinof
) suffering hardly presents itself. The early faith of
Israel was simple and straightforward : Jahweh
rewards the good with long life and prosperity, the
wicked with misery and untimely death. To
minds imbued with this idea the suffering of the
righteous was inconceivable. Even in Isaiah there /
is hardly room for such a thought. The vengeance
of Jahweh would fall without mercy on the head
of the sinful, but the ' holy seed ' would pass through
the ordeal unscathed. Now the guilty and the
innocent were involved in one common ruin ; the
innocent suffered equally with the guilty — more
cruelly indeed than the guilty, for they had to
endure not merely the outward calamities of their
people, but the far more exquisite agonies of mis
conception, doubt and despair that arose from
the crisis of faith. We catch the accents of this
despair in Jeremiah's expostulations with Jahweh,

1 Wellhausen, Isr. u. Jiid. Geschichte2, pp. 140L — probably
the most luminous and sympathetic paragraphs ever written
on the subject.

The Prophet of Personal Religion 201
when even his brethren and his father's house
played false with him.
Too just art Thou, O Lord, that I should contend with Thee,
Yet before Thee would I lay my case :
Why doth the way of the wicked prosper,
Why are they all at ease that deal very treacherously ?
Thou didst plant them, and they also took root, — ¦
They grow, they bring forth fruit ,
Near art Thou in their mouths,
But far from their reins (thoughts).
Yet Thou, Lord, knowest me,
Thou dost see me, and try my heart toward Thee,
Pull them out, then, like sheep for the shambles.
And prepare them for the day of slaughter ! (xii. 1—3).
To his agonized pleading the sole answer was the
promise of yet graver trials.
If thou hast run with footmen, and they have wearied thee,
How wilt thou vie with horses ?
If thou losest thy faith * in a, land of peace,
How wilt thou do in the Jungle of Jordan? (v. 5).
As he pressed on with his thankless task, the burden
seemed often too heavy to bear. If only he
could find some ' wayfarer's khan in the desert,'
he would gladly leave his people, and flee thither
for peace (ix. 2). He laments that his mother
ever bore him, ' a man of strife and contention to
all the earth ' (xv. 10). He curses the day on
which he was born (xx. I4ff.). He even charges
God with deceiving him.
1 Read nP3n &0, thou trustest not (LXX), or possibly rH13,
thou thinkest to flee (Cornill, Peake, etc.).

202 The Prophets of the Old Testament
I have sat not in the assembly of the merry-makers,
Nor rejoiced with them ;
Because of Thy hand I sat alone,
For Thou filledst me with indignation.
Why is my pain perpetual,
My wound incurable ?
Truly hast Thou been to me like a deceitful stream,
As waters that are not sure ! (xv. 17L).
Thou hast fooled me, 0 Lord, and I let myself be- fooled,
Thou art stronger than I, and hast prevailed ;
I am turned to u laughing-stock all day long,
Every one doth mock me.
As often as I speak, I must cry out, —
/ must cry, ' Violence and injury ! '
For Jahweh's word is become to me
A reproach and derision all the day.
If I say, I will think no more thereon,
Nor speak in His name,
There is in mine heart like a burning ftri
Shut up in my bones.
I am weary with holding,
I cannot endure it ;
For I hear the slandering of many,
Terror around me.
' Denounce ! yea, let us denounce him ! '
Say all my friends, who wait for my stumbling ;
' Perchance he will be fooled, and we shall o'ercome him,
And take our revenge on him ' (xx. 7—10).
Still no hght comes on the mystery — only an
exhortation to cleanse his heart of all unworthy
thoughts, and stand fast by the line of duty.
If thou turn to me, I will restore thee,
And thou shalt stand before me ;
And if thou remove the precious from the vile,
Thou shalt be as my mouth.

The Prophet of Personal Religion 203
And unto this people will I make thee
A wall of brass ;
And they shall fight against thee,
But shall not o'ercome thee.
For I am with thee,
To save thee, and deliver thee :
I will deliver thee from the hand of the wicked,
And redeem thee from the fist of the terrible (xv. 19-21)
If there is no solution of the problem of pain,
its gracious effects are becoming manifest in
heart and character. The iron had entered Jerem
iah's soul, and strengthened him for his task. At
the same time it inspired him with a new sympathy
for his people. In his youthful tumult of injured
dignity he had been full of the fury of the Lord,
and sought to have it poured out, on young and
old, even the children in the street and the aged
that were ' full of days ' (vi. 11 ; xi. i8ff.). Now
his heart melts in sorrow for Jerusalem.
My sorrow is incurable,
My heart is faint within me.
Hark ! the cry of the daughter of my people
O'er a wide-spread land :
' Is Jahweh not in Zion,
Is her King not within her ? '
Yea, but why have they vexed me with images,
With alien vanities ?
' The harvest is past, the summer is ended,
And we are not saved ! ' *
1 In these verses we have Tdramatic interchanges between the
people and Jahweh, followed by Jeremiah's outburst of sym
pathy.

204 The Prophets of the Old Testament
For the hurt of my people's daughter I go mourning,
Astonishment hath seized me.
Is there no balm in Gilead,
Is there no physician there ?
Why is no healing come
To the daughter of my people ?
O that my head were waters.
And mine eyes a fountain of tears,
That I might weep day and night
For the slain of my people's daughter ! (viii. 18-ix. i).
When drought parches the land, and the cry of
Jerusalem rises to heaven, Jeremiah takes the sin
of the people on his own conscience, and in verses
quivering with emotion pleads with Jahweh to save.
Judah mourneth.
And the gates thereof languish ;
Men sit in blackness on the ground,
And the cry of Jerusalem is gone up.
The nobles have sent their servants to the water,
They come to the cisterns ;
They find no water, they return,
With their vessels empty.
The tillers of the ground are dismayed,
For there is no rain ;
The ploughmen also are ashamed,
They cover their heads.
The hind in the field calveth, and leaveth (her young),
For there is no grass ;
The wild asses pant on the heights,
Their eyes fail for lack of herbage.
Though our sins bear witness against us,
Act, Lord, for Thine own name's sake !
For many are our backslidings,
Against Thee have we sinned.
O Thou, the Hope of Israel,
Her Saviour in time of need,

The Prophet of Personal Religion 205
Why art Thou like a sojourner in the land,
As a wayfaring man that turneth aside to tarry for the night ?
Why shouldest Thou be as one fast asleep,
Like a warrior that cannot help ?
Yet Thou, Lord, art in the midst of us,
And by Thy name we are called — 0 leave us not ! (xiv. 1-9) .
When Jahweh seems to reject his prayer, he con
tinues to intercede. It is not the people's fault
that they have fallen away from God, for the
prophets have seduced them by ' lying visions '
(vv. iiff.). His own eyes run down with tears
both day and night for the wound of his people ;
surely Jahweh cannot look on unmoved !
Mine eyes run down with tears
Both day and night ;
They will not cease (from weeping).
So great is the ruin I
The daughter of my people is broken
With a very grievous wound.
If I go forth to the field,
Lo ! the slain of the sword ;
If I go into the city,
Lo ! the sick with famine.
Yea, both prophet and priest
Drag helpless through the land (vv. 17I).
In a final outburst of agony he lays the
sin of his people before the Eternal Love, and
prays Him ' for His own name's sake ' and the
memory of the ancient Covenant to forgive them.
Hast Thou utterly rejected Judah,
Hath Thy soul loathed Zion ?
Why hast Thou smitten us,
And (there is) no healing for us ?

206 The Prophets of the Old Testament
We looked for peace, but no good came, —
For a time of healing, but lo ! dismay.
We acknowledge, 0 Lord, our wickedness,
The guilt of our fathers :
Truly have we sinned against Thee,
Yet abhor us not for Thy name's sake !
Dishonour not the throne of Thy glory :
Remember, and break not Thy covenant with us !
Are there any among the vanities of the nations that can bring rain,
Or can the heavens give showers ?
Is it not Thou, Jahweh our God,
For Thou hast made all these things ?
Therefore do we wait on Thee,
For Thou alone art our Hope1 (vv. 19-22).
In thus identifying himself with his sinful people —
bearing the burden of their guilt upon his conscience,
and mediating their approach to the throne of
grace — Jeremiah proved himself a true minister
of the New Covenant. But his sufferings themselves
reacted on the people, and worked for their redemp
tion. Later generations saw in Jeremiah the
personal type of the Suffering Servant, wounded and
bruised for the sins of others, and by his stripes
purchasing their peace. In this respect also he
pointed forward to Him ' who, when He was reviled,
reviled not again ; when He suffered, threatened
not, but committed His cause to Him that judgeth
righteously; who His own self bare our sins in
His own body to the tree, that we, having died unto
1 I have here made a slight transposition of clauses, and
completed the thought of the passage (after v. 8).

The Prophet of Personal Religion 207
sins, might live unto righteousness ' (i Pet. ii. 23!).
Hence the closing jiote_of Jeremiah's prophecy;
is salvation. The Divine Potter cannot allow His '
work to remain marred and broken. If He crumple
the clay in His hand, it is only to mould it
anew into a vessel more worthy of His honour.
In the land of Exile He is even now fashioning His
people after the pattern that seemeth good to Him,
amending the ' flaws and warpings ' that lurk in
the clay, tempering them in the furnace of affliction,
and making them a thing of beauty in the eyes of
all the earth.
The first bright gleam of salvation is centred
on Ephraim. Ties of pecuhar tenderness bound
Jeremiah to the North. His home in Anathoth
stood on the border of Benjamin, near the ancestral
temple of Shiloh, and his sympathies were all
with his exiled kinsfolk. In the early dawn of
his ministry he had loved to picture their return
to God and the home-land (iii. i2f.) ; and now
that the shadows are closing around him visions of
Restoration come to hghten the gloom.
Thus saith Jahweh :
Once in the wilderness I found
A people escaped from the sword ;
From afar I appeared unto them,
I went to bring them rest.1

1 The text here is almost hopelessly corrupt. I have simply
given what seems the nearest approach to the sense of the verse.

208 The Prophets of the Old Testament
With a love everlasting I loved thee,
Thus in mercy I drew thee on ;
And once more will I build thee, and thou shalt be built,
Virgin daughter of Israel.
Once more shalt thou deck thee with timbrels,
And go out in the dance of the joy-makers ;
Once more shalt thou plant thy vineyards on the hills of Samaria,
Thou shalt plant, and enjoy the fruit, and sing praises to Jahweh.1
Yea, there cometh a day when the watchmen shall cry,
On the hill of Samaria :
' Arise, let us go up to Zion,
Unto Jahweh our God ! ' (xxxi. 2-6).
Other sounds are meantime heard from the hill
tops of Ephraim : the bitter lamentations of Rachel
weeping for her children, and refusing to be com
forted, because they are not (v. 15). But to the
prophet's imagination the death-dirge for Israel
melts into the accents of repentance from the
heart, and he raises a new song of salvation.
Truly have I heard
Ephraim bemoan himself :
' Thou hast chastened me, and I let myself be chastened,
Like a calf untrained.
Restore me, that I may return,
For Thou art Jahweh my God !
' Because after my chastening I repented, 2
I smote on my thigh ;
I was ashamed, yea confounded,
For I bore the reproach of my youth.'
1 On the addition cf. LXX.
2 The first words of the line are recovered from the following
stichos.

The Prophet of Personal Religion 209
Is Ephraim so dear a son,
So delightsome a child,
That as oft as I speak of him,
I remember him still ?
Thus do my bowels yearn for him —
I will surely have compassion on him,
Is the Rede of Jahweh (vv. 18-20). 1
But Judah also shall see the salvation of the Lord.
In seventy years, when the present sinful brood shall
have passed away, their children shall repent and
turn unto Jahweh, and shall come back to Zion with
songs of rejoicing, and be built up with Ephraim
in the midst of the land. Then shall Jahweh
enter into the New Covenant ' with the house of
Israel and with the house of Judah ; ' and He shall
be their God, and they His people ; ' and they
shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and
every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord !
for they shall all know me, from the least of them
unto the greatest of them, saith Jahweh ' (xxxi.
31-34). In those days He will raise up a Righteous
Shoot of the old stock of David — Jahweh Zidkenu,
Jahweh is our Righteousness 2 — who shall reign as
1 These prophecies of Ephraim 's return are usually assigned
to the same early period as iii. 12I To the present writer they
seem much more appropriate as the introduction to the Covenant
of Grace (so also Holscher, Die Profeten, p. 290). In this case
they will belong to the dark weeks of the prophet's imprison
ment just before the fall of Jerusalem. On the later accretions
in chs. xxx.-xxxiii., cf. the Commentaries, sub loco.
2 In the name Jahweh Zidkenu there is probably an allusion
to the reigning king Zedekiah, whose name also signifies Jahweh
14

210 The Prophets of the Old Testament
King over the houses of Israel and Judah, and
shall ' work right-doing and justice in the land,'
so that Judah may be saved, and Israel dwell in
peace (xxiii. 51.). Under His sway the heathen
nations also shall be gathered — even those who
laid impious hands upon the inheritance of Israel
and taught the people to swear by Baal — so that
from one end of the earth to the other no God is
worshipped but Jahweh, and no sound is heard but
praise to His great name (xii. 14-17; xvi. igf.).1
is righteous. The Messianic King fulfils what Zedekiah so
conspicuously failed to do.
1 On the authenticity of the Messianic prophecies of Jeremiah,
cf. Peake, op. cit., i. 188, 219, 25gf. (based on Cornill's brilliant
exposition) .

CHAPTER XVI
The Glory of the Lord
While the fortunes of Jerusalem dragged slowly
on to ruin, the exiles in Babylonia lay chafing
against their fate, invoking heaven's curse on the
head of their oppressors, and dreaming of a speedy
return. For some years God spoke only through
the Cassandra notes of Jeremiah ; then a prophet
was raised up with the strange new message that
the salvation of Zion rested with themselves.
Ezekiel was the son of Buzi, a Zadokite priest of
Jerusalem. Born about the year of the Deuteron
omic Reformation, and deeply imbued with the
spirit of that movement, he appears to have had
early at heart the purification of worship in Judah.
The preaching of Jeremiah quickened his aspira
tions ; and already perhaps he cherished his visions
of a New Jerusalem, cleansed of its idolatry and
profaneness, radiating the glory of the Lord to all
nations of mankind, when the first invasion of
Nebuchadrezzar (597 B.C.) saw him carried captive
to the ' land unclean,' with the king and chief
priests and rulers of his people. Ezekiel's lot was
211

212 The Prophets of the Old Testament
cast with the exiles at Tel-Abib1 on the Chebar,
the Grand Canal of Babylonia. The tragedy of
his city and people must have borne heavily on a
man of his austere temperament and almost
morbid imagination. Many an hour of bitter despair
he no doubt passed by ' the waters of Babylon,'
remembering Zion, and mourning over her down
fall, when on the day he notes so precisely —
the fifth day of the fourth month of the fifth
year of the captivity (July 592), when he
was thirty years of age 2 — he was flung into an
ecstasy, and in the appearance of a dark cloud with
a splendour of light playing around and within it
he saw the revelation of the Glory, and found him
self called to be a prophet.
Men of finer spiritual feeling than Ezekiel have
but suggested the sublime majesty of the experience
through which the Holy One drew near to them.
He attempts minutely to describe what is in
describable. Thus his imagery strikes us often
as fantastic and even grotesque, a carefully studied
blend of experience and reflection, bodied forth in
symbohcal representations drawn from the worship
1 Tel-Abib, i.e. ' the mound of corn-ears.' But the name is
doubtless a Hebraising of Tel-Abubu, ' the mound of the flood.'
The Chebar is probably the modern Shatt-en-Nil, near which
were discovered the archives of the banking firm of Murashu
and Sons (464-405 b.c), containing many Jewish names.
3 The ' thirtieth year ' in the shorter recension (v. i) most
probably indicates the prophet's own age.

The Glory of the Lord 213
of the Temple, with added motifs from Babylonia.
But there is a real spiritual meaning wrapped
up in each detail of the picture, for Ezekiel was
too serious an artist to load his canvas with mere
brush-work. Through sympathetic study of ' the
chariot of Jahweh ' we are thus put en rapport
with his conception of the Divine nature, and gain
the key to the .understanding of his prophetic
character and ministry.
The immediate occasion was probably a thunder
and lightning storm of surpassing vividness. Borne
on the wings of the whirlwind, a great cloud came
sweeping from the North, a nimbus of light en
circling' it, while tongues of fire scintillated within
the darkness, glowing and flashing like electron.1
As the trance fell on Ezekiel, he saw emerging
from the flames an appearance as of four hving
creatures, with the form and hands of a man, their
legs unjointed, and the soles of their feet smooth
and rounded like calves' feet, each with four faces —
that in front the face of a man, those to right and
left the faces of a lion and ox, and that behind the
face of an eagle — and four wings — two outstretched
above to right and left, and two covering the body.
Between the four creatures was the semblance of
an altar, with fire of burning coals, out of which
lightning zigzagged incessantly, and underneath
were four wheels, each crossed at right angles by
1 Electron : a brightly-glowing amalgam of gold and silver.

214 The Prophets of the Old Testament
a companion wheel, resembhng ' wheel within
wheel,' so that they went straightforward, and
" turned not when they went.' As Ezekiel looked
more closely, he saw that these wheels had their
felloes ' full of eyes round about.' In each of the
wheels the spirit of the hving creatures dwelt and
moved, so that ' whithersoever the spirit was to
go, they went.' Resting on the outstretched
wings was the semblance of a firmament, pure as
crystal, with a sapphire throne, on which sat One
resembling a man in form and dignity, His upper
parts shining hke electron, while from the loins
downward He blazed with flames of fire, and a
radiance surrounded His presence like that of the
rainbow. And all. this was the ' appearance '
that unveiled the glory of Jahweh (i. 4ff.).1
It is suggestive, at the outset, that Jahweh
reveals Himself to Ezekiel in the open face of
Nature. This gives him a far freer conception of
God's presence than Isaiah had enjoyed. For
Ezekiel He was as near to His children, even in
those Babylonian cities without a temple, as He
had been in the Holy Place at Jerusalem. The
elaborate vision of the throne moved hither and
thither on rectangular wheels by the Spirit of
the four hving creatures is clearly intended to bear
1 The text of Ezek. i. is very seriously damaged by later
expansions and corruptions. On the amendments necessary
to secure a fitting sense cf. Kittel's notes.

The Glory of the Lord 215
out the same idea of Divine omnipresence. The
Eternal Glory may be confined in Person to one
particular spot ; but the chariot conveys Him in
stantly to any place in heaven or earth where His
Spirit desires to go. The curious description of
the felloes full of eyes as unmistakably suggests the
omniscience of God. Whithersoever His Spirit leads
Him, all things are naked and open in His sight.
Nor can we miss the significance of the four-headed
creatures on whom the chariot is borne. The
imagery is based on the primaeval thought of
Jahweh riding through the heavens on a cherub,
the personification of the storm-cloud (cf. Ps. xviii.
10), with the combination of different faces,
emblematic of different qualities of character, which
is so marked a feature in the Temple statuary of the
Babylonians. The faces of the cherubim are drawn
from the four most representative types of the
animal kingdom, the human face in front suggesting
the dignified personality of the Divine, those of
the lion and ox conveying the ideas of lordliness
and strength, while that of the eagle is the symbol
of exalted majesty or sublimity. God is thus
invested with the noblest traits of His creation :
in other words, He is the omnipotent One, all-wise,
all-good, all-reaching, and all-ruling.
Under imaginative emblems, therefore, Ezekiel
has defined the attributes of God with the precision
of a dogmatic theologian. But when he passes to

216 The Prophets of the Old Testament
the actual figure of the Divine, he becomes as
reverential as Isaiah. He can but describe Him as
of the appearance of man — for in presence and
spirit alike the royal form of humanity best expresses
the likeness of God — only surrounded with a radiance
of superhuman glory. This impression of Divine
glory remains as the characteristic mark of Ezekiel's
prophecy. Isaiah had already conceived of God's
glory as the manifestation of His holiness — that by
which He shed the hght of His holiness through all
the earth (Isa. vi. 3). With Ezekiel it is virtually
the equivalent of holiness in action, holiness as it
flashes out against evil, but in so doing purifies
and saves.
A vision of Divine purity and holiness such as
Ezekiel experienced must needs react with over
whelming force on his own weak and sinful nature.
When he saw it, he fell upon his face, unable even
to utter the words, ' Woe is me ! for I am undone.'
Even after speech returned, he could refer to him
self only as ' son of man,' a title suggestive of
' the infinite contrast between the heavenly and
the earthly, between the glorious Being who speaks
from the throne and the frail creature who needs
to be supernaturally strengthened before he stands
upright in the attitude of service.' 1
The experience does not end, however, in the
prostration of the finite before the Infinite. The
1 Skinner, The Book of Ezekiel, p. 44.

The Glory of the Lord 217
wonder of religion is that the very being who feels
himself so mean and helpless in God's sight can be
raised above himself, and made to stand with
boldness before the Throne. ' And He said unto
me, Son of man, stand upon thy feet, and I will
speak with thee. And a spirit entered into me,
and set me on my feet, and I heard Him speak unto
me ' (ii. if.). No words could more happily com
bine the ideas of man's lowliness and dignity, his
utter insignificance in presence of the Eternal and
his personal majesty as the son of God. With this
new sense of personal worth came the call to service.
' And He said unto me, Son of man, I am sending
thee to the household of Israel, that rebellious
nation, which hath rebelled against me, they and
their fathers, even unto this day. . . . And thou
shalt speak my words unto them, whether they
hear or forbear to hear ; for they are a rebellious
house ' (vv. 3ff.). Thereupon a roll was put into
his hand, ' written within and without,' full of
' lamentations and mourning and woe,' and he
was bidden eat it. So he opened his mouth, and
ate the roll, and it was in his mouth ' as honey for
sweetness ' (vv. gfi.).
Under this weird imagery the heavy burden
of his earlier ministry is borne home to him. Like
Jeremiah, he must be a herald of doom to his
people. Standing as a watchman on the battle
ments of the city, he searches the gathering gloom

218 The Prophets of the Old Testament
for portents of disaster. The sight of the horrors
encompassing Jerusalem paralyzes him, and he
sinks down speechless with fear. At other times
he leaps forth to meet the coming danger, playing
around it with a wild and lurid imagination.
Then a strange sweetness steals into his tones —
the gracious utterance of a spirit which has found
rest in God. Bitter as the message may be, Jahweh
has put it in his mouth ; and His words become
to him a joy and the rejoicing of his heart.

CHAPTER XVII
Ezekiel and the Fall of Jerusalem
It was with a heart on fire that Ezekiel returned
to Tel-Abib. In his agitation he sat for seven
days stupefied among his people, unable to express
himself by word or deed (ii. 15). When he had
recovered from the shock of the vision, it still
seemed as if invisible bands were laid on him, and
he remained dumb, his tongue cleaving to the roof
of his mouth (iii. 25I).1 Betaking himself there
fore to the language of sign and symbol, he fetched
a soft clay tablet, on which he drew the plan of a
city surrounded by siege-works, and with an iron
griddle pressed forward the attack, as an omen of
the inexorable force of Divine judgment on the
sinful people (iv. 1-3). Then making him cakes
of wheat and barley, beans and lentils, he portioned
them out by scale, twenty shekels (eight or nine
ounces) per day, with water also carefully measured,
the sixth part of an hin (rather less than a quart)
1 Read ist pers. sing., I will lay bands upon thee, and will bind
thee with them. While there is no conclusive proof of Klos-
termann's theory of catalepsis, Ezekiel was clearly a pathological
subject, liable to trance and alalia (temporary dumbness).
219

220 The Prophets of the Old Testament
per day, as a sign that Jerusalem would shortly
be reduced to the scantiest siege-rations (vv. 9a, iof.).
With a sharp sword he next shore off the hair of
his head and beard, dividing it into three equal
portions, one to be burnt with fire, a second to be
slashed by the sword around the city walls, and
the third to be scattered to the winds, in token of
the fate reserved for the citizens of Jerusalem by
fire and sword and flight (v. if.).1 The opening
of the prophet's lips meant but the translation of
these signs into speech. Jahweh had planted
Jerusalem in the midst of the nations, and revealed
unto her His judgments and statutes ; but she
had wrought more wickedness than any of the
nations, and must drain the cup of His wrath,
until she learned that He was Jahweh (vv. 5ft).
The land reeked with idolatry, therefore a
full end was come on its inhabitants. The
sword of Jahweh would descend also on its cities
and high places, making it desolate as the desert
from one corner to the other, even from the Negeb
of Judah to Riblah (vi. iff.).
A year passed in awful anticipation of evil ; but
1 There is no reason to question the reality of these symbolical
actions, with A. B. Davidson and some other scholars. If they
are more bizarre than the deeds of prophets like Isaiah and
Jeremiah, it must be remembered that Ezekiel was a more
ecstatic character than either. The only action that awakens
genuine suspicion is the lying on one side for 190 (LXX) and
the other for 40 days ; but the symbols of exile both here and
in vv. 96, 12-15 are probably an expansion of the original.

Ezekiel and the Fall of Jerusalem 221
good news came from Jerusalem, and the elders
of Tel-Abib approached Ezekiel for some message
of hope. A fervent patriot, he would gladly have
answered them according to their wishes : but
the thought of Jerusalem's sin flung him once
more into a trance, and the whole tragedy was
unrolled before him. Looking Northward from
the inner gate of the Temple court, his eyes fell
on ' the image of jealousy ' — the Asherah that
Josiah had removed — once more restored to its
place. Through a hole in the wall he next saw
seventy elders of Jerusalem in a secret chamber
of the Temple engaged in mystery rites, burning
incense to ' every form of creeping things and
abominable beasts,' the images of which stood
' portrayed on the wall round about.' At the
outer gateway he found the women lamenting
for Tammuz, the sensuous Spring-god of the East.
Between the porch and the altar some twenty
rulers of Israel likewise paid homage to the sun,
polluting heaven with the foul odour of their sacri
fices (viii. iff.).1 This crowning dishonour Jahweh
could not overlook. In his vision the prophet
hears Him command the seven angels that have
charge over Jerusalem to draw near with their
destroying weapons in their hands. One clothed
1 Under the influence of a clairvoyant trance — partly no
doubt the precipitate of what he had formerly seen and heard —
Ezekiel here describes actual conditions in Jerusalem. The
chapter is thus of supreme historical importance.

222 The Prophets of the Old Testament
in hnen and equipped with a writer's inkhorn by
his side — the angel of Jahweh — goes through
the city, placing the taw — the mark of Jahweh —
upon the foreheads of all who sigh and mourn
for the abominations done in the Holy Place.
The other six follow in his footsteps, slaying
without mercy such as have not the sign imprinted
on them, ' both old men and young, women and
maidens and children.' Fire from the altar within
Jahweh's chariot is strewn over Jerusalem, and
city and Temple perish in the flames ; then with
the same stately majesty which Ezekiel had seen
by the banks of the Chebar, the Glory of Jahweh
remounts His chariot, and passes slowly from the
sanctuary, to return no more until it has been
cleansed from its impurity (ix. iff.).1
The fate portended in this sublime vision drew
on apace, and the prophet's movements assumed
a correspondingly ominous cast. One day he
would gather together his travelling gear in full
view of the people, and in the twilight dug through
the wall of his house and escaped in the darkness
— a presage of the coming flight from Jerusalem,
unless they considered their ways, and returned
unto Jahweh (xii. iff.). At other times he ate his
bread with quaking, and drank with trembling
1 The natural sequence of the prophecy is interrupted by a
fresh description of Jahweh's chariot (x. i, 4, 8-17) and a belated
account of further idolatries in the Temple, followed by a promise
of Restoration (xii. 1-12).

Ezekiel and the Fall of Jerusalem 223
anxiety, as a sign that they also would eat and
drink in terror of their lives (vv. 17-20). Such
unwonted happenings must have left on the minds
of the people a strange impression of wonder and
awe, but they comforted themselves with the
thought that the days lengthened out, and every
vision failed (xii. 22). For the prophet there
was no comfort here. In spite of seeming de
lay, thus saith Jahweh, ' The days are at hand,
and every vision hasteneth to fulfilment,' while
vain dreams and ' flattering divinations ' shall no
more be found in Israel (vv. 23f.). As for the
prophets who prophesy lies to their people — daubing
the broken walls with plaster to conceal the
damage, and themselves burrowing like jackals in
the holes, instead of bravely manning the breaches
(xiii. iff.) — and the prophetesses who hunt the
souls of men by their foohsh and deadly enchant
ments (vv. 17ft.) — on their heads will be laid the
guilt of their sins, and prophets and people will
perish in a common overthrow (xiv. 6ff). All
hope of rescuing Jerusalem is gone. Even if these
three men, Noah, Daniel and Job, were found in
the city, they should save neither son nor daughter —
only the righteous would escape (vv. i2ff.). Israel
is now but the dried-up stem of a wild vine, fit only
to be cast into the fire and burned (xv. iff.). In
a still more unsavoury figure she is likened to the
degraded daughter of an Amorite father and a

224 The Prophets of the Old Testament
Hittite mother, who has rewarded Jahweh's con
stant and loving care by the most unblushing
whoredom (ch. xvi.) ; she and her elder sister
Samaria are a pair of shameless harlots, vying with
each other in sin (ch. xxiii.). Both king and people
have played the traitor against Jahweh in breaking
their oath to Nebuchadrezzar and turning to Egypt
for help, and the fate of the traitor will be theirs.
The Babylonian eagle will come and pluck up the
false vine by the roots, and cut off its fruit and
fresh spring leaves, that it may wither and die
(xvii. i-io).
Though naturaUy a man of grave moral temper,
who holds in severe restraint the promptings of
the heart, Ezekiel pays a generous tribute of re
spect to the brave young lions of Judah, trapped
and caged by the wiles of the enemy.

The mother was u, lioness
In the midst of lions ; 1
She couched among the young lions,
She reared her whelps.
She brought up one of her whelps,
A young lion he grew ,
He learned to catch the prey,
Mankind he devoured.
The nations raised clamour against him.
In their pit was he taken ;
1 The mother is doubtless Judah, not Hamutal, the wife of
Josiah, as Kraetzschmar supposes.

Ezekiel and the Fall of Jerusalem 225
They brought him with hooks in his jaw
To the land of Egypt.1
When she saw that she was befooled,
That her hope was gone,
She took one more of her whelps,
A young lion she made him.
He stalked among the lions,
A young lion he grew ;
He learned to catch the prey,
Mankind he devoured.
He rioted through their palaces2
Their cities he laid waste ;
The land and its fulness were awed
At the noise of his roaring.
Against him the nations placed
Their traps all around;
Against him they spread their net,
In their pit was he taken.
With hooks they brought him to Babel,
In a cage they placed him3
That his voice should be heard no more
On the mountains of Israel (xix. 2-9).
In another fine elegy he portrays the impending
destruction of the mother herself, through the
folly of her last degenerate scion.
Thy mother was like a vine
Planted by waters ;
1 The reference here is clearly to Jehoahaz (cf. 2 Kings xxiii.
3iff.). The second lion is thus most naturally identified with
Jehoiachin, though Kraetzschmar applies both elegies to the
coming fate of Zedekiah.
3 Read DrprjiJI0"l83 1M»1 , which yields a good parallel to
the following stichos.
3 I have transposed the two clauses, and omitted the final
phrase as an explanatory gloss (cf. C. H. Toy). 15

226 The Prophets of the Old Testament
Full-branching she was, and fruitful,
Through the waters many.
A strong branch she had —
A sceptre of rulers ;
High was its growth 'mid the foliage,
And stately with many a shoot.1
She was plucked up in fury,
She was thrown to the ground ;
The East wind parched her fruit.
Tore off her shoots.
Her strong branch withered away.
The fire devoured it ;
And now she is planted in desert ground,
In a parched land.
And fire hath gone out from her branch,2
And consumed her shoots ;
And her strong branch abideth no more
As a sceptre for rule (xix. 10-14).
As the fatal day approaches, the prophet's words
take on a keener edge. Already he sees the sword
of Jahweh unsheathed, sharpened and furbished
for slaughter, its point turned against all the gate
ways of Israel (xxi. 8ff.). Soon the sword assumes
human form in Nebuchadrezzar, halting for a
moment at the fork of the roads which lead to
Jerusalem and Ammon, hurriedly consulting the
1 The ' strong branch ' is the Davidic house, with its ' sceptre
for rule,' the ' shoots ' being the individual kings, the last of
which is Zedekiah.
• The fire which went from the ' branch,' and consumed the
tree and its shoots, refers doubtless to the foolish revolt of
Zedekiah, which brought nation and monarchy to a common
end.

Ezekiel and the Fall of Jerusalem 227
omens, and then striking the high road for Jeru
salem, with ' overthrow, overthrow, overthrow ' for
city and prince and people (xxi. i8ff.). The house of
Israel is as ' the dross of silver ' to be melted in the
furnace (xxii. i7ff.), while Jerusalem is like a rusty
caldron, filled with blood and all manner of impuri
ties, which must be placed on the fire, and burned
red hot, until the rust is removed, and the filthiness
consumed into nothingness (xxiv. 6ff.). The nations
that abet Jerusalem in her evil courses share her
fate. Though the omens meanwhile point away
from Ammon, the sword is furbished against her
too, with an edge that ghtters as lightning, to strike
the vitals of the people, until their very remem
brance is gone (xxi. 28ff.). The great crocodile
Egypt, which wallowed in the Nile-streams and said,
' This river is mine own : 'twas I that made it,'
shall be drawn up with hooks in his jaws, and be
flung on the open fields as meat for the beasts of the
earth and the fowls of heaven ; his land also shall
be ravaged by the sword, and laid waste ' from
Migdol (the Northern limit of Egypt) to Syene
(Assouan), even as far as the border of Ethiopia,' so
that no foot either of man or beast shall pass through
it for the space of forty years (xxix. iff.). It is vain
for Israel to rely on the arm of Pharaoh king of
Egypt ; for Jahweh shall break his arm, and cause
the sword to fall from his hand, and place it in the
hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, who shall

228 The Prophets of the Old Testament
scatter Egypt among the nations, that they may
know that He is Jahweh (xxx. 2off.). In a series
of visions which rival Dante in stupendous imagina
tion, the prophet sees Pharaoh and all his hosts
smitten hke a cedar of Lebanon, that once surpassed
all the trees of Eden in glory and greatness, but is
now made lowly as those in the nether parts of the
earth (xxxi. iff.), or trapped and flung to the sword
hke a young lion that spread terror among the
nations (xxxii. iff.), finding a dishonoured bed with
Assyria and Elam, Meshech and Tubal, Edom and
the Sidonians, even all the uncircumcized who lorded
it over mankind in the land of the hving, and have
now carried their shame to their eternal dwellings
in the inmost recesses of Sheol xxxii. i7ff.). But
his most splendid elegies are reserved for the proud
commercial city of Tyre, stately and rich as one of
her own galleons, with her king adorned with beauty
and wisdom as a cherub in the garden of Eden,
walking among the sons of God on the holy
mountains. x
i The short book of Oracles against the nations is introduced
as a kind of dramatic intermezzo to cover the shifting of the
scenes. The Oracles themselves belong to different dates.
Those against Ammon, Moab, Edom and Philistia (ch. xxv.)
clearly presuppose the fall of Jerusalem ; the Tyrian prophe
cies (xxvi. i-xxviii. 19) immediately predate the siege under
Nebuchadrezzar (c. 585-572 B.C.), while those against Egypt
(xxix. i-xxxii. 32) cover a period of some two years before and
after the tragedy of 586 (except the appendix xxix. 17-21,
dated April 570).

Ezekiel and the Fall of Jerusalem 229
Thou hast said, ' A good ship am I,
Perfect in beauty ! '
In the heart of the seas they fashioned thee,
Made perfect thy beauty.
With cypresses from Senir
They built all thy planking ;
Cedars they took from Lebanon
To fashion thy mast.
Of the loftiest oaks of Bashan
They made thy rudder ;
Thy^ deck they built of box-wood
From the isles of Kittim.
Thy sail was of linen from Egypt,
Finely embroidered ;
Thine awning was violet and purple.
From the isles of Elishah.
The princes of Zidon and Arvad
Were rowers for thee ;
The sages of Zemer were in thee —
They were thy steersmen.
The elders and sages of Gebal
Repaired thy leakage : L
* * *
* * *
The ships of Tarshish drew thither
With wares for thee ;
So wert thou filled and made great
In the heart of the seas.
Out on the mighty waters
Thy rowers brought thee ;
The East wind dashed thee in pieces
In the heart of the seas.2
1 The" long list of traffickers with Tyre (vv. 96-24) is univers
ally recognized as a prosaic intrusion, valuable as an historical
r&sumi, but quite alien to the prophetic genius of the piece.
2 I have also omitted v. 27 as » prosaic expansion of the
picture.

230 The Prophets of the Old Testament
At the sound of thy steersmen's cry
The coastlands tremble ;
And down from their ships pass all
Who handle the oar.
All seamen who ply the deep
Mount up to the land,
Over thee raise their voice;
And bitterly cry.
Dust they pour on their heads,
And wallow in ashes ;
For thee do they make themselves bald,
And gird them with sackcloth.
Over thee raise they u dirge,
And thus lament thee :
' Who was so proud as Tyre
In the heart of the sea ?
' While thy merchandise came from the deep,
Thou filledst the peoples ;
With Thy plenty of goods and wares
Thou enrichedst kings.
'Now art thou dashed in the sea,
In the depth of the waters ;
Thy wares and all thy muster
Are sunk in the midst of thee.
' The men of the isles are abashed,
They are dismayed for thee ;
Their kings are stricken with horror,
Their faces grow livid.
' The merchantmen clap their hands,
They hiss thee to scorn;
For awful destruction is thine,
Thou art nought for ever' (xxvii. 3-36).
Perfect in wisdom wert thou,'1
Complete in beauty;
1 The text here is somewhat expanded. I have chosen the
significant elements, altering the reading slightly.

Ezekiel and the Fall of Jerusalem 231
Thou dwelledst in Eden, the garden of God —
All precious stones thy vestment.1
Thy home was with the cherubim,
In their midst I placed thee ;
On the mountain of God thou wert,
Thou didst walk 'mid stones of fire.
Guiltless thou wert in thy ways
From the day thou wert made,
Until evil was found in thee,
Through the store of thy merchandise.
Thou didst fill thy heart with violence,
Thou wert stained with sin ;
So I cast thee out from the mountain of God,
From the stones of fire I removed thee.2
Through thy beauty thy heart was uplifted,
Through thy splendour thy wisdom was marred ;
So I flung thee to earth before kings,
I made thee a gazing-stock .
Through the guilt of thy merchandise thou profanedst thy sanctity
So I sent out fire from thy midst which devoured thee ;
And I laid thee in ashes upon the ground,
In the eyes of all that behold thee.
All that know thee among the peoples
Are astonished at thee ;
For awful destruction is thine.
Thou art nought for ever (xxviii. 12-19).
1 The catalogue of precious stones is doubtless a later
intrusion. 3 The text of these verses is corrupt and highly uncertain.
The translation is based partly on Kittel's readings, partly on
general conjecture.

CHAPTER XVIII
Ezekiel the Prophet of Regeneration
The last prophecy against Jerusalem had been
delivered on the day when Nebuchadrezzar drew
his lines around the doomed city (Jan. 587). The
day was a mournful one for the prophet as well, for
that evening the wife who was ' the delight of his
eyes ' died and left him in a stupor of grief and
despair, a living symbol of the numb agony with
which his fellow-exiles should lament the passing
of the city that was their joy and pride, ' the delight
of their eyes,' and the centre of their heart's affection
(xxiv. I5ff.). The closing scenes were enacted
under an ominous silence. At last on the fifth day
of the tenth month of the eleventh year of the
captivity (Jan. 585) a fugitive from Jerusalem
arrived with the news that the city was smitten.
The people heard the news with chill horror.
All through these months of anxious waiting they
had hoped against hope, their hearts often trembhng
for the Temple of their God, yet hardly able to
entertain the thought that He would abandon His
dwelling-place. Now all they rested their trust on
232

Ezekiel the Prophet of Regeneration 233
had gone for ever, and there seemed no more good
that hfe could bring them. A moral paralysis added
to their despair. In the old days of buoyant hope
they had listened with an easy conscience to the
prophet's denunciation of their sins ; but now the
thought of their evil past lay as a heavy weight upon
their hearts, a weight which they could not throw
off. ' Truly our transgressions and our sins are
upon us, and we pine away in them ; how then can
we hve ? ' (xxxui. 10). Even if they could pay
the forfeit of their own sins, they had still to
meet the accumulated guilt of their fathers' sins ;
and from this fatal entail they could not shake
themselves free. In the proverbial expression
which was so constantly on their lips, ' The fathers
have eaten sour grapes, and the children's teeth are
set on edge ' (xviii. 2). Nothing seemed to await
them, therefore, but a future of unrelieved misery
and mortification, with death to end the tragedy,
the sooner for them the better.
When repentance was found an empty dream,
and the fate of Jerusalem thus became inevitable,
Ezekiel's lips had been sealed. But with the ruin
of the old building he shook off the bonds that
fettered him, and amid whatsoever disappointment
and failure toiled unweariedly for the New Jerusalem
that was to be. The evening before the messenger
arrived, he had lain in a trance, unable to speak or
think ; but that very moment his mouth was opened,

234 The Prophets of the Old Testament
and he was ' no more dumb ' (xxxiii. 22). In season
and out of season — like a watchman entrusted with
the hves of his people (iii. i6ff. ; xxxiii. iff.) — he
pressed home on their conscience the good tidings
of love and forgiveness. ' As I hve, saith Jahweh,
I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked ; I
desire only that the wicked should turn from his
way and live. Therefore turn ye, turn ye from
your evil ways ; for why would ye die, O house of
Israel ? ' (xxxiii. 11). Let them not complain that
His ways were unequal ! In the years of their
backsliding He had judged them by the straight
rule of righteousness ; now He was wilhng to
save them to the uttermost. The righteousness of
the righteous man who fell into evil ways would not
deliver him in the day of his transgression ; nor
would the wickedness of the wicked man be reckoned
against him for evil — still less would the guilt of
their fathers' sin be charged to their account. The
entail was broken once for all, and the issues of hfe
and death lay in each man's present attitude to God
and His salvation (vv. I2ff.).
In the emphasis he lays on redemption Ezekiel
takes a foremost place in the line of evangelical
preachers. His cardinal doctrine is the sovereign
grace of the God who freely forgives iniquity, and
from whom all human goodness flows. Not for
Israel's sake does He pardon their transgressions,
but for His ' holy name ' (xxxvi. 22) — because sal-

Ezekiel the Prophet of Regeneration 235
vation is consonant with His character. They have
profaned His name among the heathen, but He will
not leave them in their shame. ' I will sprinkle
clean water over you, that ye may be clean ; even
from all your uncleanness and idolatries will I cleanse
you. I will give you also a new heart, and a new
spirit will I place within you ; I will remove the
stony heart from within you, and give you an heart
of flesh. And my spirit will I place within you, and
cause you to walk in my statutes, and to keep my
judgments and do them.' Then will the remembrance
of past evil no longer paralyze their moral natures,
but be a fresh incentive to obedience. ' Ye shall
remember your evil ways and your doings that were
not good, and ye shall loathe yourselves in your own
sight for your iniquities and your abominations,'
cleaving unto Him who alone can help and save
men from sin (vv. 25ff.).
Ezekiel's mind may still move in the moral world
of the Deuteronomists. In his catalogue of virtues
the stress is laid on ritual purity (xviii. 6). But
he has a true feehng for justice and humanity as
the fruits of righteousness before God. He that
would live must not merely refrain from idolatry
and uncleanness, but must withdraw his hand from
all iniquity, and ' execute judgment between man
and man,' and likewise ' give his bread to the
hungry, and cover the naked with a garment '
(vv. 7ff.). His own words are touched by a new

236 The Prophets of the Old Testament
tenderness, akin to the grace that flowed from the
Master's hps. They strike on the ear hke the love
songs of a minstrel with a pleasant voice, to which
men hsten with delight (xxxiii. 3off.). Thus in
sensibly his ministry changes from that of the
watchman, sitting alone on his watch-tower,
to that of the shepherd or pastor, feeding
the sheep of Jahweh. In the portraiture of
the Good Shepherd (ch. xxxiv.) he unconsciously
reveals the ideal of his own ministry. Unlike the
false shepherds who had no real love for the flock,
but exploited them for their own ends, feeding
themselves from the flock's pasturage and using
their wool for personal comfort, showing no tender
ness towards the sick and wounded, the lambs and
the strayed ones, but leaving them to roam in the
wilderness, the prey of robbers and wild beasts, he
constantly sought after that which was lost, to
bring it back to the rich green pastures of grace,
bound up that which was bruised, and strengthened
that which was weak, prepared to sacrifice his own
life, if duty called him, to save the sheep from harm
(vv. ioff.).
AU this represents a new stage in the history of
religion. Earlier prophets had dealt with the nation
as a whole. With the breaking of the old national
forms, Ezekiel set himself to a reconstruction of
religious life on an individual basis. In so doing
he carried to a logical conclusion Jeremiah's prin-

Ezekiel the Prophet of Regeneration 237
ciple of personal rehgion. It is unjust, however,
to charge him with an ' atomistic ' view of spiritual
hfe.1 If rehgion rested essentially on faith, this
was for him no narrow, self-centred way of salvation,
but the bond of a richer fellowship of grace. In
the wonderful vision of the valley, the dry bones
came together at the word of prophecy, and were
clothed with flesh and skin and sinew, and through
the quickening touch of the breath of Jahweh ' they
lived, and stood upon their feet, an exceeding great
army ' (xxxvii. iff.).
Though rehgion was thus released from national
moulds, Ezekiel had no thought of his people con
tinuing in exile. The shame and suffering of cap
tivity were but a passing phase, and Israel's destiny
was yet to be worked out on its own soil. To
Ezekiel the land of Palestine was the sacred ground
on which Jahweh had placed His name, and there
also would His glory be made manifest to thejworld.
That land was now defiled by heathen feet and the
people's own abominable deeds. But Jahweh was
even now cleansing it. The fires that had swaUowed
up Jerusalem, and seemed to the exiles to cut off all
their hope, were really the agency by which He was
to purify the Holy Place, and make it the shrine of
His glory. Then should the land that now lay
desolate become like the garden' of Eden, and the
cities that, were waste and ruined be fenced and
1 Bertholet, Hesekiel, p. 21.

238 The Prophets of the Old Testament
filled with happy multitudes (xxxvi. 4ff., 33ft.).
The nations which held Israel under bondage and
those that jeered at her downfall — Edom and Am
mon and Moab and the Philistines — would be
handed over for a spoil and made a perpetual deso
lation (ch. xxv. xxxv.). But Israel herself would
be reunited — Judah linked with Ephraim into
one loyal kingdom of the Holy One — and would
be led back to the old home with songs of exulta
tion, to serve the Lord with purity and singleness of
heart. And over them He would place His Anointed
— whom Ezekiel represents no longer as a Great
King ruling in majesty, but as the Good Shepherd
of the flock — to be their prince for ever, that they
might dwell in eternal security — Jahweh Himself
establishing a covenant of peace with them, over
throwing the barbaric hosts of Gog1 and all other
enemies before their faces, and causing the nations
to acknowledge that He had sanctified His people,
when they saw His Temple in their midst for ever
more (xxxvii. I5ff., xxxviii. xxxix.).
Ezekiel's first tender memories were twined
around the Temple, and there also his last thoughts
lingered. For many years he had planned for the
rebuilding of the Holy Place ; and now in the opening
days of 573 B.C. his plans take shape in the great
1 In the last decisive conflict with Gog — doubtless an ideal
ization of the Scythian invaders of Josiah's reign — we meet
with a permanent element in Jewish Apocalypse (cf. pp. 3142).

Ezekiel the Prophet of Regeneration 239
vision of the New Jerusalem and its Temple. From
his spiritual station on ' a very high mountain ' in
the land of Israel he sees rising before his eyes the
semblance of a city and Temple laid out and mea
sured by an angelic architect, tier added to tier in
exact symmetrical proportions. The Temple itself
is separated by a bounding wall from the city and
all its ' common ' activities, as well as from the
Court and royal cemetery, so that the house of
Israel shaU no more defile God's holy name either
by their profanities or by the dead bodies of their
kings. Doorways and courts and chambers, the
Holy Place and the Holy of Holies, are carefully
planned and graded, the building and ornamentation
being alike designed to enhance the sanctity of the
whole. The altar of burnt offering is set in its
place, and consecrated for worship ; the faithful
sons of Zadok are appointed God's priests for ever,
the Levites who ministered at the high places being
degraded to menial service at the altar ; the orders
and duties, clothing and perquisites of each are
minutely defined ; the yearly course of Sabbaths
and feast-days is defined ; and Prince and people
have their several functions assigned to them
(xl.-xlvi.).1 1 The text of these chapters is in considerable disorder, owing
not merely to corruptions, but also to dislocations and later
additions. For details see the Commentaries, also J . Herrmann,
Ezechielstudien (1908).

240 The Prophets of the Old Testament
The New Jerusalem of Ezekiel's dreams is thus
no more a secular capital, but a City of Holiness,
dominated by the Temple and its worship. The
whole design of the city — its gradations in sanctity,
its walls of separation, and the symmetry of its
parts — is symbolical of holiness. Even the secular
hfe of the city is brought under the laws of holiness.
The Prince shall rule in judgment, arid ordain just
weights and measures, but his main duty is to
provide for the maintenance of the priests, and the
due fulfilment of all the statutory sacrifices. A
city thus purified and sanctified is once more the
fitting abode of the Holy One. Thus in his vision
Ezekiel beholds the Glory of God return in splendour,
to find in the Temple ' the place of His throne,'
and to dwell in the midst of the children of Israel
for ever (xliii. iff.).
From under the doorway of the newly hallowed
Temple the prophet sees a stream flow Eastward to
the Arabah, its current deepening pace by pace, the
waters pure and limpid, swarming with fish, and
charged with sweetness and heahng, even for the
brackish waters of the Dead Sea, — its banks also
clothed on either side with all manner of trees
' whose leaf doth not wither, and whose fruit doth
not fail,' but which yields every month fruit for food
and leaf for heahng, ' because the waters thereof
issue from the sanctuary' (xlvii. iff.).1
1 The idyllic picture of the stream flowing from the Temple

Ezekiel the Prophet of Regeneration 241
The land thus blessed and sanctified by the pres
ence of Jahweh is likewise laid out in rectangular
lines, the portion of the priests and Levites around
the Holy Place, and the lots of the twelve tribes
near or distant, according to their purity of birth.
The city itself is a perfect square, four thousand
reeds by measure on every side, with three gates
on each front, one for each of the tribes of Israel.
And the name of the city is Jahweh shammah, ' the
Lord is there ' (xlviii. 35).
Ezekiel's ideal, then, is a holy people in a holy,
city, worshipping their God in the beauty of hohness.
And he not merely upheld this ideal before his
people, but stamped it on their heart and imagina
tion, moulding them into a nation of priests, set
apart from all others by the stringency of their
sacerdotal and ritual forms. Ezekiel is the real
father of Judaism, though it needed the administra
tive genius of Ezra and Nehemiah to carry through
the principles he had sketched for them. In many
ways this movement represents a decline from the
high spiritual altitude of prophecy. Religion was
externalized, and cultus once more won the ascen
dency over faith and love. The fungus growth of
Pharisaism was the direct outcome of such legalism.
gate is an idealization of the gentle waters of Shiloah which
likewise fascinated the imagination of Isaiah. It assumes
a prominent place in later apocalyptic visions (cf. Joel iii. 18 ;
Zech. xiv. 8 ; Rev. xxii. iff.). 16

242 The Prophets of the Old Testament
Yet the stern, fast laws by which the people were
now bound helped to preserve the living essence of
rehgion through all the crises that confronted them.
Under the crnst of ritualism the healing waters con
tinued to bless and fructify the land. The Law
itself proved a paedagogue to lead men to Christ.
Holding them under restraint till the years of
maturity were come, it prepared them for the wise
use of freedom, not as the occasion of selfishness and
licence, but as the inspiration to deeds of ' love, joy,
peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
meekness and temperance,' against which there is
no law (Gal. v. 22I).

CHAPTER XIX
Habakkuk the Prophet of Faith
Though the word spoken by Ezekiel fell too often
on hard soil, it found a lodgment in the hearts of
sensitive hearers, and soon began to bear fruit. The
latter years of the Exile saw a new quickening of
interest in the story of Jahweh's past dealings with
His people, a keener regard for His honour, and a
sincere repentance for sin. Faithful souls drew
together in httle communities, bound by the Law of
Hohness (Lev. xvii.-xxvi.), seeking to serve God in
spirit and truth, keeping His Sabbaths, and quietly
awaiting His time for dehverance. While some
thus found salvation through patience, others were
goaded almost to despair by the continued triumph
of oppression. Israel had sinned and paid the
price of her sins, but the crueller sins of her per
secutors remained unpunished. How long could
the Holy One remain silent while the heathen defiled
His heritage and trampled righteousness underfoot ?
Let justice be done impartially ! As He had visited
His people with the fruits of their iniquity, let Him
put forth His hand, and exact of their enemies also
full requital for their deeds ! To them let the cup
243

244 The Prophets of the Old Testament
pass round, till they are drunk with the wine of His
anger ! (Pss. lxxxiii. 13ft. ; cxxxvii. 7ft. ; Lam.
i. 2if. ; iii. 64ff., etc.).
This protest of an outraged conscience finds
classical expression in the book of Habakkuk, a
masterpiece of vehement and impetuous rhetoric,
where prophecy passes into eager question and
challenge.1 In a dramatic exordium the fierce power of the
Chaldeans is hailed as the instrument of Jahweh's
1 The lack of harmony between Hab. i. 5-1 1 and its immed
iate sequel has been noted by all recent scholars. Various
attempts have been made to force the discordant elements into
unity : e.g., the denial of the predictive character of vv. 5-11
(Davidson, Stonehouse) ; the placing of these verses after ii. 4,
the oppressors being then identified with the Assyrians (Budde
or the Egyptians (G. A. Smith) ; and the alteration of Kasdi
to Kittim, the Cyprians or Greeks, the prophecy being thus
read as a protest against the campaigns of Alexander the Great
(Duhm). Accepting the text as it stands, Giesebrecht, Well
hausen, Peake and other scholars regard i. 5-1 1 as a fragment
from an older prophecy woven into the texture of Habakkuk,
while Marti resolves the book into four separate congeries of
texts. The present writer accepts the theory of an older pro
phecy ; he is inclined, however, to extend this prophecy to
cover the whole of i. 2-1 1, as well as the original nucleus of
the Woes in ch. ii., and to find in its author a like-minded con
temporary of Jeremiah (c. 608 b.c). The genuine prophecy
of Habakkuk is then most naturally assigned to the middle
of the Exile (560-550), an assumption borne out to a certain
extent by the Hebrew tradition which associates Habakkuk
with Daniel (Bel and the Dragon, vv. 33ft), as well as the Baby
lonian complexion of the name, which has been identified as
that of a garden plant. The Prayer of Hababbuk (ch. iii.) is
an independent eschatological Psalm, excerpted from some
late Jewish collection, with musical notes (cf. p. 249).

Habakkuk the Prophet of Faith 245
wrath against his lawless and rebelhous people.
Bur under their rule far more grievous wrongs
darken the earth. Not content with executing
judgment for Israel's sin, the Chaldeans in sheer
lust of blood swallow up the righteous, and slaughter
nations unpitying, as a fisherman slays the help
less booty of his nets. Thus the prophet raises his
bitter complaint to heaven.
Art not Thou from of old,
Jahweh my Holy God, that diest not!
Was it Thou that didst set him for judgment,
And ordained him a minister1 of chastisement?
Thou that art too pure of eyes to look on evil,
Who canst not behold iniquity —
Why dost Thou look on the work of wrong-doers,
Why be silent when the wicked man swalloweth the righteous ?
He maketh men like the fish of the sea,
Like the swarms that have no ruler ;
All of them into his net he draweth.
And sweepeth them into his seine.
Thus to Ms net doth he sacrifice,
To his seine he burneth incense,
For through them his portion is fat,
And his food is plentiful (i. 12-16).
Are these outrages on humanity to go on unchecked ?
Shall he empty his net 3 for ever.
To slaughter nations unpitying? (v. 17).
The prophet refuses to accept the Divine silence
1 For the pointless "MV, Rock, read "Vi, messenger or
minister (Duhm).
3 It is possible, however, that we should read 33"p p'T,
unbare his sword (cf. Exod. xv. 9; Lev. xxvi. 33, etc.).

246 The Prophets of the Old Testament
as final. With equal patience and daring he takes
his stand on the high planes of vision, and awaits
the revelation of God's purpose.
On my watch-tower will I stand,
And will set me on my rampart;
I will look out to see what He will speak with me,
What answer He will make to my complaint (ii. 1).
Anon the answer comes ; and he is bidden write it
on tablets, with clear bold letters, that one may read
it running.
Though the vision may wait for the time appointed,
It straineth toward the end, and will fail not ;
If it linger, yet do thou wait for it,
Since it will surely come, and noi'delay :
Behold ! the soul of the wicked shall faint in him,
But the righteous shall live by his faithfulness.1 (vv. 3I).
In this great sentence, which has become the
watchword of Christian freedom, the eternal con
trasts are defined. However prosperous he may
now appear, the wicked man has the seeds of death
already planted in his soul, and the issue is inevit
able. He that sinneth shall die. On the other
hand, the soul of the righteous is hid with God.
Whatever trials or dangers beset him, loyalty to God
and righteousness will save him from them all.
Even now he ' lives ' through his faith : all that
makes life worth living he enjoys in full measure
— the sense of Jahweh's presence and favour, the
1 On the reading cf. Kittel's note.

Habakkuk the Prophet of Faith 247
bliss of a good conscience, strength to overcome evil,
the hope of abiding security in hfe and death.1
With Habakkuk, however, faith is not quietism.
If he cannot yet see the end of oppression, he
launches against it the bolts of Divine judgment.
In the satires of ch. ii. a healthy human heart records
its instinctive condemnation of cruelty and in
humanity — protests against the diabolical doctrine
that Might is Right. Here Habakkuk shows him
self the spiritual associate and successor of Nahum,
the prophet of humanity.2
Woe ! proud and treacherous wight,
Vain, and never satisfied, —
Who enlargeth his desire like Sheol,
And like Death is never satisfied!
He doth gather to him all nations.
And heapeth to him all peoples,
But shall not these all raise a taunt-song against him,
A satire and riddles upon him ?
Woe ! he that amasseth what is not his,
And runneth up debts on pledge !
Shall not they suddenly rise that shall sting thee,3
And awake to torment thee.

1 On the rich connotation of the terms rO-lDX faithfulness,
and iTn live, cf. Driver's luminous exposition in his Minor
Prophets (Century Bible) pp. 62ff.
2 The Woes against the Chaldeans are probably based on an
older prophecy against avarice, cruelty, and drunkenness in
general (cf. p. 244, n. 1).
3 The word D'3B>3 means both biters and debtors, or payers
of interest (biters from the capital sum).

248 The Prophets of the Old Testament
And thou shalt be their prey.1
For as thou hast spoiled many nations,
All the rest of the peoples shall spoil thee.
Woe I he that getteth false gain,
And storeth up wrong for his house —
To set his nest on high,
And be safe from the hand of evil !
For thy house thou hast planned but shame
And guilt hast' brought on thy soul;
For the stone shall cry from the wall.
And the beam from the rafter shall answer it.
Woe I he that buildelh a city with blood,
And foundeth a town on crime !
Do not the peoples toil for the fire,
And the nations labour for naught?2
For the wrong done to Lebanon shall o'erwhelm thee,
And the havoc of cattle affright thee,
And the bloodshed of man, and wrong on the land,
The city, and all that dwell therein.
Woe\l he that giveth his neighbour drink
From the cup of his wrath until he be drunken,
That he may gloat on his nakedness,
And see him sated with shame I
Drink thyself from thy goblet,
And stagger, and show thy foreskin !
For the, beaker from Jahweh's right hand shall pass round to thee.
And shame shall come on thy glory3 (ii. 5-16).

1 The half line here is lost. On the other hand, v. 86 is
prematurely inserted from v. 17. Its proper place would seem
to be after vv. i2f.
3 V. 14 is a citation from Isaiah xi. 9, introduced by the for
mula, ' Behold, this is from Jahweh of hosts,' but quite alien
to this context. On other alterations cf. Kittel's notes.
3 The oracle on idolatry (vv. 19I). with its prosaic counter
part (v. 18), is doubtless an appendix to the original cycle of
Woes.

Habakkuk the Prophet of Faith 249
The accompanying Psalm of Habakkuk bears all
the marks of a later Jewish Apocalypse ; but it
forms a fine dramatic close to the book. As if in
response to the prophet's plea for justice, Jahweh
sweeps in battle-array from the heights of Sinai to
bring dehverance to His people. So terrible is the
splendour of His power that the poet himself trem
bles at the sight, and is filled with sorrowful com
passion even for those who came to assail him and
his people.

O Lord, I have heard the report of Thee,
O Lord, I have seen Thy doings :
In the midst of the years Thou dost make Thyself known,
In wrath Thou rememberest mercy.
Eloah cometh1 from Teman,
The Holy One from Mount Paran ,
His glory doth cover the heavens,
And the earth is filled _ with His praise.
Like fire is the brightness beneath Him,
A t His side are beams (of light) ;
Before Him marcheth the Pestilence,
Behind Him stalketh the Plague.
Where He standeth, the earth is shaken,
Where He looketh, the rocks do quake ; 2
The ancient mountains are shattered.
The eternal hills bend low.

1 The past tenses are most probably prophetic futures. I
have rendered them by the pictorial present.
• I have followed LXX in reading the passive, and Duhm in
his happy conjecture of D'l/IV, rocks, for Dji3., nations.

250 The Prophets of the Old Testament
Afraid are the tents of Cushan,
The curtains of Midian tremble;
Thou treadest the sea with Thy horses,
Through the surge of many waters. x
Is Thine anger hot with the streams,
Is Thy wrath, Lord, against the sea.
That Thou ridest upon Thy war-steeds,
While Thy chariots (roll) in triumph ?
Thou makest Thy bow clean bare,
Thou fittest Thy quiver with shafts ;
Thou cleavest the earth into rivers,
The mountains behold Thee, and writhe.
The clouds pour down with waters,
The abyss sendeth forth his voice ;
The sun forgetteth his rising.
The moon standeth still in her dwelling.2
Thine arrows go forth like a flash,
Thy glittering spear is as lightning ;
In wrath dost Thou stride through the earth,
In fury Thou tramplest the nations.
Thou art gone to the help of Thy people,
To save Thine anointed ;
Thou dost shatter the house of the wicked,
To the rock layest bare its foundation.
With Thy shafts Thou dost pierce his head,
While his princes are scattered like chaff :3
I hear and my belly trembleth,
At the sound my lips do quiver.
1 The isolated v. 15 is usually taken as a variant to a. 8 ;
I have introduced it as the point of transition between vv. 7
and 8.
3 The reading here is recovered partly from Psalm lxxvii. 17,
and partly from Lucian's recension of LXX.
3 On the text cf. Kittel's notes. The omitted clauses are
evident glosses.

Habakkuk the Prophet of Faith 251
Mouldering doth enter my bones,
And my footsteps totter beneath me ;
I sigh for the day of trouble
That doth come on the folk that assaileth me (iii. 2-16).
In this ecstasy of sympathetic dread the Apo
calypse ends ; but a poet of more tender feeling has
added a sweet song of peace and confidence in the
face of the sorest trial and loss.
Though the fig-tree bear no fruit,
And there be no yield on the vines ;
Though the olive labour fail,
And the field bring forth no food;
Though the flock be cut off from the sheepfold,
And no cattle be found in the stalls ;
Yet I will exult in Jahweh,
I will joy in the God of my salvation ;
For Jahweh the Lord is my strength.
He is my Rock, and none else ; x
He maketh my feet like hinds' feet,
And causeth me to walk on my heights (vv. 17-19).
1 The dependence of v. 19 on Psalm xviii. 3off. suggests that
some such Une should be added as the parallel to the foregoing.

CHAPTER XX
The Prophet of Comfort
While the exiles thus waited with mingled hope and
anxiety, a meteor shot through the political heavens.
About 558 B.C. Cyrus son of Cambyses had suc
ceeded to the princedom of Anshan, a petty Persian
state on the Southern border of Elam. By his
personal magnetism and prowess in arms he rapidly
subdued the neighbouring tribes, until in 549 he
overwhelmed Astyages, son of Cyaxares, the power
ful ruler of Media, and assumed the lordship of the
united Medo-Persian Empire. Turning his sword
next against Croesus of Lydia, he fought a drawn
battle at Pteria, on the banks of the Halys, and
without waiting to recuperate his strength followed
up Croesus' retreat to Sardis ' with such speed that
he was himself the first to announce his coming to
Croesus.'1 In fourteen days the citadel of Sardis
was stormed, and the whole coast-land of Asia
Minor fell under his power (c. 546 B.C.). So amazing
a record of success flung the ancient nations of the
East into an agony of amazement and fear ; but in
the rumble of Cyrus' victorious wheels the great
prophet of the Exile (Isa. xl.-lv.) heard the sound
1 Herod, i. 79.
252

The Prophet of Comfort 253
of Jahweh's chariots as He rode in triumphal pro
cession to bring deliverance to His captives, and
tuning his notes to the strain of angelic voices from
above broke into sweet songs of comfort and
redemption. Comfort ye, comfort ye my people,
Your God doth say :
Speak ye to the heart of Jerusalem,
And call unto her —
That her warfare is ended,
Her guilt absolved,
That she hath received of Jahweh's hand
The double for all her sins.
Hark ! one calleth : ' In the wilderness clear ye the way of Jahweh,
Make straight in the desert an highway for our God !
Let every valley be upraised,
And every mountain and hill brought low,
And the steep ground become a plain,
And the rugged heights a valley !
And the glory of Jahweh shall be unveiled,
And all flesh shall see it together, —
For the mouth of Jahweh hath spoken.'
Hark ! one saith, ' Call I '
And I said, ' What shall I call ? '
(And he said :) ' All flesh is grass,
And all the beauty thereof like the flower of the field.
The grass withereth, the flower fadeth,
When the breath of Jahweh doth blow thereon ;
The grass withereth, the flower fadeth,
But the word of our God shall stand for ever.'
On a lofty mountain get you up,
Ye heralds of good tidings to Zion !
Lift up your voice with strength,
Ye heralds of good tidings to Jerusalem!1
1 The participle T\~igyo is collective feminine, of the herald
band. I have consequently rendered it by the plural.

254 The Prophets of the Old Testament
Lift it up, fear not, —
Say unto the- cities of Judah, ' Behold your God ! '
Behold! the Lord God cometh with strength,
His arm having won Him the kingdom ;
Behold ! His reward is with Him,
And His recompense before Him.
Like a shepherd He tendeth His flock,
With His arm doth He gather them;
The lambs in His bosom He beareth,
And leadeth those that give suck (xl. i-ii).
This gentle Shepherd of Israel is the Almighty One
who fashioned all things — measuring the waters
in the hollow of His hand, and laying out the heavens
with a span, weighing the mountains by the steel
yard, and the hills in scales — in whose sight the
nations are like a drop hanging from the edge of a
bucket, or as the fine dust in the scales. It is He
who hath stretched out the heavens as a canopy, who
created the stars, and leadeth them out each night
as a host in martial array, and Himself sitteth en
throned on the vault of the earth, turning princes
to nothing, and making their judges hke chaos —
scarcely have they been planted or sown, scarcely
hath their stem taken root in the earth, when He
bloweth upon them, and they wither away, and the
tempest sweepeth them off hke stubble (vv. 12-26).
Why sayest thou then, O Jacob,
And speakest, 0 Israel :
' My way is hid from Jahweh,
And my cause doth pass (unheeded) from my God ? '
Hast thou not known,
Hast thou not heard ?

The Prophet of Comfort 255
An eternal God is Jahweh,
Who created the ends of the earth.
He fainteth not, neither is weary ;
His insight is unsearchable.
He giveth power to the fainting,
And to him that hath no might He increaseth strength.
Though the young men faint and grow weary,
And the warriors utterly fail,
They that wait upon Jahweh shall renew their strength,
They shall put forth pinions as eagles,
They shall run and not be weary,
They shall walk and not faint (vv. 27-31). - — ->
In these gracious accents we catch a different note
from the lordhness of Isaiah. He dazzles us alike
by the lustre of his style, and the royal ease with
which he moves among kings and princes as the
prophet of the Holy One. Deutero-Isaiah plays
upon our hearts. His whole prophecy is bathed
in an atmosphere of emotion. A warm loving
nature here speaks to us, one whose life is bound
up in his people's, and who pours out with welling
happiness the tidings of great joy that have come
first to himself. The even flow of his prophecy is
interrupted by reflections, meditations, soliloquies,
outbursts of melody, and exchanges of personal
confidence with God, more in the style of Hosea or
Jeremiah than the artistically finished utterances
of Isaiah. The imagery is equally charged with
emotion. Isaiah revelled in the freedom and splen
dour of Nature ; Deutero-Isaiah loves to dwell on her
more tender and human side. Even when he soars
to heaven, he cannot forget his human sympathies.

256 The Prophets of the Old Testament
No prophet has a richer conception of God's infinite
and eternal majesty ; but His crowning work is re
demption. The great God has compassion on His
people, and through darkness and suffering is leading
them in the paths of righteousness. Already the
light is breaking from the East, and Israel will
rejoice therein, and with her ' all ends of the earth
shall see the salvation of our God.'1
1 Though a definite logical progress is not to be looked for
in Deutero-Isaiah, the prophecy may be regarded as a lyrical
drama in three Acts, thus — Prelude (ch. xii.); Act I. Israel's
destiny among the nations (xii. i-xliv. 23) ; Act II. Cyrus as
Jahweh's Anointed (xliv. 24-xlviii. 22) ; Act III. The Ser
vant's sufferings and glory (xlix. 1— Iiii. 22) ; Postlude (chs. liv.
Iv.). The first two Acts clearly precede the conquest of Babylon.
The remaining section seems almost to presuppose the conquest,
and is thus dated by a number of scholars after 538 ; but this
impression is probably due to the prophet's vivid anticipation
of the coming salvation, in which case the whole prophecy will
belong to the same general period (546-540 B.C.). To remove
the Servant Songs as later interpolations (Duhm, Kosters, Laue,
etc.) is ' to gouge the eyes out of the book ' (Budde). If the
Songs be originally independent of Deutero-Isaiah, they must
belong to an older poet, on whose heart the burden of his people's
sufferings has borne yet more heavily (cf . especially Whitehouse,
Isaiah, ii. i8ff.). Even so they are the focal points of the pro
phecy, the burning centres from which light is shed on all its
parts.. Various regions (Egypt, Palestine, Phoenicia, Babylonia)
have been associated with the authorship of Deutero-Isaiah.
The evidence of local atmosphere and scenery, as well as familiar
ity with religious beliefs, ritual and mythology, points very
strongly to Babylonia, where also the prophet found his aud
ience (cf. Whitehouse, op. cit., pp. 32ft. ). On the theological
ideas of the prophecy see A. B. Davidson's articles in the
Expositor, 1883-84, pp. 8iff., etc. (condensed in Old Testament
Prophecy, pp. 377 ff.).

The Prophet of Comfort 257
Listen to me in silence, ye coastlands,
And let the peoples await my pleading ;
Let them draw near, then let them speak, —
Together let us approach for judgment I
Who hath raised one up from the East,
Whom victory meeteth at every step ?
He giveth up nations before him,
And bringeth down kings (to the earth) ;
His sword doth make them as dust,
Like driven stubble his bow :
He pursueth them, and passeth on safely,
By a path he doth tread not with his feet.1
Who hath wrought and done this ?
Even He that called the generations (of man) from the beginning —
I Jahweh, the first,
The same also with the last.2
But thou, Israel, my servant,
Jacob, whom I have chosen,
The seed of Abraham my friend,
* * *
Whom I fetched from the ends of the earth,
And called from the corners thereof, —
To whom I said, ' Thou art my servant,
I have chosen thee, and spurned thee not,' —
Fear not, for I am with thee,
Be not dismayed, for I am thy God !
I will strengthen, yea, help thee,
I will uphold thee with my right hand of victory (xii. i-io)
Yea, fear not, worm Jacob,
Thou maggot, Israel !
1 The allusion here is doubtless to the speed with which
Cyrus covered the ground in his victorious march (cf . p. 252).
3 Vv. 6f. belong to the description of idol-making (xl. 191.)
and v. 5 is probably a connecting link.
3 On Deutero-Isaiah's use of njJ"JX, righteousness, cf. G. A.
Smith's chapter on " The Righteousness of Israel, and the
Righteousness of God" (The Book of Isaiah, ii. 214S..), and
Skinner's exhaustive note (Isaiah, ii. 238ft.). 17

258 The Prophets of the Old Testament
/ am thy helper, saith Jahweh,
Thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel.
Behold I I make thee a threshing-wain,
A new one, furnished with teeth :
Mountains shalt thou thresh, and beat small,
And hills shalt thou make as chaff.
Thou shalt fan them, and the wind shall sweep them away,
Yea, the whirlwind shall scatter them ;
But thou shalt exult in Jahweh,
In the Holy One of Israel shalt thou glory (xii. 14-16).
""^No god of the nations ever foretold the future,
still less put forth hand and strength to save his
people ; but Jahweh has not merely sent heralds
of good tidings to Zion— already He is opening wells
in the wilderness, and planting the desert with
pleasant trees, that the return of the exiles may be
a pilgrimage of gladness (vv. 17ft.). Then will
Israel fulfil its ideal as the Servant of Jahweh, com
missioned to carry His knowledge to all mankind,
and to establish true rehgion in the earth.
Behold my servant whom I uphold,
My chosen, in whom my soul delighteth!
I have put my spirit upon him,
He shall bring forth judgment1 to the nations.
He shall not cry, nor lift up,
Nor make his voice heard in the street ;
A reed that is broken he shall not snap,
And a wick that flickers he shall not quench.
In truth shall he bring forth judgment,
He shall not flicker nor break, —
Until in the earth he set judgment,
And the coastlands wait for his teaching (xiii. 1-4).
1 t2BB>p, judgmen t, virtually equivalent to religion in its
practical aspect .

The Prophet of Comfort 259
The past history of Israel was a tragic contrast
to this ideal. No nation was ever so bhnd and deaf
to its Divine vocation as that which called itself
Jahweh's servant and friend.1 For its faithlessness
Jahweh left it robbed and spoiled, ' all of them snared
in holes and hidden in dungeons,' with none to say,
' Restore ! ' Even to the lesson of the Exile they
were heedless, seeming to care nothing for the time
to come (vv. i8ff.).
But now, thus saith Jahweh,
That created thee, O Jacob, and fashioned thee, O Israel :
Fear not, for I have redeemed thee,
I have called thee by my name2 — thou art mine.
When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee,
And through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm thee;
When thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned.
Neither shall the flame enkindle thee ;
For I am Jahweh, thy God,
The Holy One of Israel, thy Saviour.
I have given Egypt as thy ransom,
Cush and Seba in exchange for thee.
Since thou hast been precious in mine eyes,
An honoured one, whom I have loved —
Lo ! I have given lands in exchange for thee.
And peoples for thy life.
From the East will I bring thy seed,
And from the West will I gather them ;
I will say to the North, Give up I
And to the South, Withhold not I
Bring ye my sons from afar,
And my daughters from the end of the earth —
Even all who are called by my name.
Whom I have fashioned and made for my glory I (xliii. 1-7).
1 DpTO , or rather D?^P (v. 19), dedicated one, devotee (cf.
Arabic muslim or Moslem, the devotee of Allah).
1 Read 'pB>3, by my name (as in v. 7).

260 The Prophets of the Old Testament
From the beginning of its history Israel has
burdened Jahweh with its sins, and wearied Him
with its iniquities. Its first father Jacob sinned
against Him ; the prophets betrayed their trust,
and the rulers profaned the sanctuary, so that
Jahweh was compelled to put Israel to the ban,
and expose it to revihngs (xliii. 24ff.). But now,
Thus saith Jahweh thy Maker,
He that formed thee from the womb, and helpeth thee :
Fear not, Jacob my servant,
Jeshurun, whom I have chosen !
For I will pour water on the thirsty land,
And streams upon the dry ground ;
I will pour my spirit upon thy seed.
And my blessing upon thine offspring.
And they shall spring up like grass among water,
A s willows by running streams ;
And one man shall say, ' I am Jahweh's,'
And another shall call himself by the name of Jacob ;
And another shall write on his hand, ' Unto Jahweh,'
And shall surname himself by the name of Israel1 (xliv. 2-5).
The past transgressions of His people Jahweh has
even now blotted out hke a thick cloud or mist,
that no longer obscures the beauty of His counte
nance (v. 22) ; He has given commandment that
Jerusalem and its Temple shall be rebuilt, and the
waste places of Judah inhabited, and has anointed
Cyrus as Shepherd and King, to gather together
1 The last verses clearly refer to the ingathering of heathen
peoples as proselytes within the spiritual community of Israel.
The new names (surnames) and tattoo marks indicate their con
version to Israel's faith and worship.

The Prophet of Comfort 261
His scattered flock, and ' fulfil all His pleasure '
concerning Jerusalem (vv. 26-28).
Thus saith the Lord God
Unto Cyrus, His Anointed,
Whose right hand I have grasped,
To bring down nations before him,
To open doors at his presence,
And that gates shall not be shut :
Behold, I will march before thee,
And will level the rugged heights ;
The doors of brass will I break in pieces,
And the bars of iron will I hew asunder;
I will give thee also treasures of darkness,
Even the hoards of secret places,
That thou mayest know I am Jahweh,
The God of Israel, that calleth thee by thy name.
For my servant Jacob's sake,
And Israel my chosen one,
I have called thee by thy name,
I have surnamed thee, though thou knewest me not.
I am Jahweh, and none else, —
Beside me there is no God.
The loins of kings will I unloose1
But thee will I gird, though thou knewest me not,
That men may know, from the rising of the sun,
And from the setting thereof, that there is none beside me.
I am Jahweh, and none else,
That doth fashion light and create the darkness,
That maketh weal and createth woe, —
/ Jahweh am He that doeth all these things (xiv. 1-7).
The amazing spectacle of Israel's salvation shall
confound the heathen nations that oppressed and
persecuted it ; they shall now see that with Israel
is ' the God that hid Himself ' from their bhnd grop-
1 Insert the superfluous phrase nPlQN D*37D \)JTip before the
broken parallel in v. 5c (Duhm, Marti, etc.).

262 The Prophets of the Old Testament
ings, but henceforth reveals His glory as the only
true God, the Creator and Saviour of mankind
(xiv. i5f.). And with one accord they shall turn
unto Him, and be saved.
Assemble yourselves and come, draw nigh together,
Ye remnants (escaped ones) of the nations !
Witless are they that bear (in procession) the wood of their images,
And pray to a God that cannot save.
Declare ye, and bring forth witness,
Let men hold counsel together!
Who did show this from of old.
Declared it aforetime ?
Was it not I, even Jahweh,
No other God but me, —
A just God, and a Saviour,
No one beside me ?
Turn unto me, and be saved,
All ends of the earth I
For I am God, and none else,
By myself have I sworn !
Truth is gone out of my mouth,
A word that shall not return, —
That to me shall bend every knee,
And every tongue shall swear I
In Jahweh alone,' shall they say,
' I have victory and strength.'
And to him shall come abashed
AU that were wroth with Him;
While in Jahweh shall all the seed of Israel
Find their triumph and glory (vv. 20-25).
The broad outhnes of the drama are now clear.
Jahweh is the only God, the Fashioner of heaven
and earth, and the Moulder of human destiny. His
eternal purpose is the salvation of the world ; and
Israel is the Servant through whom He will accom-

The Prophet of Comfort 263
plish His purpose. On the sufferings and redemp
tion of Israel the dramatic interest chiefly turns, and
the radiant figure of Cyrus stands out as the
anointed of Jahweh, raised up for its salvation.
Jahweh has already laid mighty kings and nations
captive at his feet ; and Babylon shall soon share
their doom. The prophet sees Bel and Nebo hurled
from their lordly towers, and lying bent and crum
pled on the ground, powerless to save their own
images, which are ' heaped as a load upon weary
cattle,' and carried into ignominious captivity
(xlvi. if.). Then he raises his dirge over ' the virgin
daughter of Babel,' that mistress of kingdoms, who
sat securely, and said in her heart, ' I am, and no one
beside me,' but now shall be plucked from her
throne, and made to strip off her train, unbare her
thigh and wade through the streams, and in an
alien land take the mill-stones and grind the meal,
hke the unhappy slaves that were the victims of her
present cruelty (ch. xivii.). To Israel the downfall
of Babylon is the summons to depart, and the knell
gives place to a merry peal of victory.

Go out from Babel,
Flee from the Chaldees !
With loud song proclaim ye,
Make this to be heard !
Carry it forth
To the end of the earth !
Say, Jahweh hath ransomed
Jacob His servant 1

264 The Prophets of the Old Testament
They thirsted not
When He led them through wastes.
Water from the rock
He made flow for them ;
He cleft the rock,
And the waters gushed forth (xlviii. 2of.).
With the near prospect of deliverance the Servant
can look forward to the fulfilment of his mission.
His past labours have been in vain, but Jahweh is
with him, and will allow none of his work to fall to
the ground.
Listen, ye coastlands, to me—
Hearken, ye peoples afar I
Jahweh hath called me from the womb,
From the bowels of my mother He mentioned my name.
He made my mouth like u sharpened sword,
In the shadow of His hand He hid me ;
He made me a polished arrow,
In His quiver He concealed me.
He said to me, ' Thou art my servant,
Israel, in whom I will make myself glorious.'
Thus honoured I was in the sight of Jahweh,
And my God became my strength.1
As for me — / said, ' In vain have I laboured,
Idly, for naught, have I spent my strength ;
Nevertheless, my right is with Jahweh,
And my reward with my God.'
And now thus saith Jahweh,
Who formed me from the womb to be His servant,
That He might bring back Jacob to Himself,
And that Israel should be gathered unto Him :a
1 The loosely hanging v. 5c attaches itself most naturally to
this context.
2 The rendering of the A.V. and R.V., which is followed by
Davidson, Skinner, Whitehouse, and the majority of Comment-

The Prophet of Comfort 265
' Too light a thing it is (for me)1 to upraise the tribes of Jacob,
And the preserved of Israel to restore ;
So I make thee a light of the nations,
That my salvation may reach to the end of the earth ' (xlix. 1-6).
Already in imagination the prophet descries the
sons of Zion gathering unto her from North and
East and West, and even ' from the land of the
Sinites,' 2 their merciful Friend leading them by
green pastures and hving fountains of water, opening
paths for them over the mountains, and preserving
them from hunger and thirst, sun and sirocco (vv.
8-12). Zion herself stands amazed and bewildered
at the sight. She has been left so long forsaken —
bereaved of her children, and it seemed forgotten
by her God— that she cannot understand whence
these have come.
ators, draws a distinction between the Servant and Israel as
a whole, the former being limited to the loyal Israel — the in
visible Church of that age — through whose faithful witness and
sufferings the sinful people was first to be restored, and Jahweh's
salvation thereafter extended ' to the end of the earth.' It is
more in harmony with the general view-point of the prophecy(
and the express identification of the Servant with Israel in v.
3, to regard Jahweh as the subject of the following infinitive,
and to see in the restoration of the Servant = Israel the beginning
of His purpose of universal salvation (cf. Peake, The Problem of
Suffering in the Old Testament, pp. 46L).
1 Alike on grounds of metre and sense the limiting phrase
133? v ?|r/Vnp, for thy being a servant unto me, should be
omitted (cf. Cheyne, Peake, Box, etc.).
3 The land of the Sinites is most probably Syene (Assouan),
where a Jewish colony had for some time been settled (cf. the
Assouan papyri).

266 The Prophets of the Old Testament
Thou shalt say in thine heart,
Who bare me these ? 1
I am bereft and barren,
And these — who reared them ?
Behold, I am left alone,
And these — how are they ? (xlix. 21).
But Jahweh has not really forsaken Zion. She and
her children have wandered far from Him, she has
let herself even be sold for her iniquities, but he has
sent her no ' bill of divorcement ' — she is still
His bride. He can still less forget her than a
mother her sucking child ; her image He has graven
on His palms, her walls are ever before His eyes
(vv. 14ft.). Soon He will bring back her children,
and will crown both her and them with garlands of
glory. Behold ! I will lift up my hand to the nations,
And to the peoples raise my banner ;
And they shall bring thy sons in their bosom,
And thy daughters shall be borne on their shoulder ;
And kings shall be thy foster-fathers ,
And queens thy nursing mothers.
With their faces to the earth shall they pay thee homage,
And shall lick the dust of thy feet ;
Then shalt thou know that I am Jahweh,
In whom none that trust shall be put to shame.
Can the prey be snatched from the strong man,
Or the tyrant's captives escape ?
Even should the captives of the strong one be taken.
And the prey of the tyrant rescued —
Yet thy cause will I take up,
And thy children will I save.
1 The allusion is almost certainly to the Oriental custom of
securing offspring through a slave-girl (cf. Gen. xvi. 2 ; xxx. 3).

The Prophet of Comfort 267
But thine oppressors will I cause lo eat their own flesh,
And they shall be drunken with their own blood as with must ;
And all flesh shall know that I Jahweh am thy Saviour,
And thy Redeemer the Mighty One of Jacob (vv. 22-26).
?.» Once more the Servant takes up his oracle. He
has lent his ear diligently to Jahweh's word, and for
His sake has endured persecution and despite. But
through all his sufferings He has found Jahweh an
ever present help, and has never been put to con
fusion. The Lord Jahweh hath given unto me
The disciples' tongue,
That I may learn how to succour
The weary with words.
Each morning He wakeneth mine ear
To hear like disciples ; 1
And I have not been rebellious,
I have turned not backward.
My back I gave to the smiters,
And my cheeks to the pluckers of hair ;
My face I concealed not
From shame and spitting.
The Lord Jahweh doth help me,
Thus am I not confounded ;
I have set my face like a flint,
And I know I shall not be ashamed.
Near is my Justifier, who will contend with me ?
Let us stand up together !
. Who is mine adversary (in judgment) ?
Let him draw near to me !
Behold ! the Lord Jahweh doth help me ;
Who then shall condemn me ?
1 I have omitted two superfluous phrases, which are probably
but variants.

268 The Prophets of the Old Testament
Behold ! they shall all wear out like a garment,
The moth shall devour them (1. 4-9).
In answer to His Servant's trust, Jahweh assures
all those who follow after righteousness that their
dehverance is nigh, and that the present revilings
and contempt will yield to everlasting glory.
Attend unto me, O my people,
0 nation of mine, give ear unto me !
For teaching shall go forth from me,
And my judgment for a light of the peoples.
Soon will I bring near my righteousness,
And mine arms shall judge the peoples ;
The coastlands shall wait for me,
And on mine arm shall they put their trust.
Lift up your eyes to the heavens,
And look on the earth beneath ;
For the heavens shall vanish like smoke,
And the earth shall wear out like a garment.
The world and the inhabitants thereof shall perish.
They shall die like gnats ; 1
But my salvation shall be for ever,
And my righteousness shall not fail.
Hearken unto me, ye that know righteousness,
The people in whose hearts is my teaching :
Fear not the reproach of men,
Nor be dismayed at their revilings !
For the moth shall devour them like a garment.
And the worm as wool ;
But my righteousness shall be for ever,
And my salvation age after age (li. 4-8).
Jahweh has taken the cup of reeling from the
hands of Zion, and passed it over to those that
afflicted her, who made her back hke a street
1 After n^3R insert 'pgn.and for p.i»3 read D\33-i»3 (Weir,
Cheyne, etc).

The Prophet of Comfort 269
for the wayfarers (vv. 21-23). Now He calls her
to awake, and put on her festal garments, to meet
the triumphal procession, and rejoice in Jahweh's
return.
Awake ! awake ! clothe thee
With thy strength, O Zion !
Clothe thee with thy garments of beauty,
Jerusalem, the Holy City !
For now shall there no more come unto the
Uncircumcised or unclean.
Shake thyself from the dust, arise,
Thou captive Jerusalem !
Loose the bands of thy neck,
Thou captive daughter of Zion ! 1
* * *
* * *
Lo ! hastening z over the mountains
The feet of the herald,
That proclaimeth weal, that bringeth good tidings,
That proclaimeth deliverance, —
That saith unto Zion, ' Thy Redeemer is come3
Thy God doth reign ! '
All thy watchmen lift up the voice,
Together they sing *
For eye to eye they behold
The return of Jahweh to Zion.
Break forth into song together,
Ye waste places of Jerusalem !
For Jahweh hath comforted His people,
He hath redeemed Jerusalem (Iii. 1—9).
With the return to Zion the Servant is exalted
in glory. The nations see his stricken form, and
1 The intervening vv. 3-6 are a prosaic intrusion, which has
probably displaced one or more of the original couplets.
3 Read nhnpp nan (Cheyne, Box, etc.).
3 Some such phrase is necessary to complete the parallelism.

270 The Prophets of the Old Testament
acknowledge that he has borne their sins and carried
their sorrows, and that through his stripes they are
healed. Jahweh accepts the offering of his soul,
heals his sickness, restores him even from the dead,
and gives him the victor's portion.
Behold I my servant shall triumph,
He shall be uplifted, and exalted very high ;
As many were appalled at him,
So shall they now be amazed.1
Even many nations shall pay reverence to him,
Kings shall close their mouths ;
For what had ne'er been told them do they see,
And what they ne'er had heard they now contemplate.
' But who could believe what we have heard,
And the arm of Jahweh 3 — to whom hath it been revealed ?
He grew like a sapling before us,
As a root from parched ground.
' No form was his that we should look on him3
No (beauty of) face that we should desire him :
Marred was his face from a man's,
And his form from the sons of men.4
' He was despised and forsaken of men,
A man of sufferings, acquainted with sickness ;
And as one from whom men hide their face,
He was despised, and we regarded him not.
1 Here too the text is mutilated. Suggestions of the original
are gained from LXX and elsewhere (cf. Kittel's notes).
2 That is, the manifestation of Jahweh's power in the destiny
of His suffering Servant. The speakers are most naturally
identified with the heathen nations introduced in Iii. 15.
3 The text is here somewhat overladen. I have retained
iinXIJI, in the interests of parallelism.
* I have followed a number of recent scholars in transferring
li. 146 to what seems its natural place in the poem.

The Prophet of Comfort 271
' But 'twas our sickness he bore,
And our sufferings he carried, —
While we accounted him stricken, v
Smitten of God, and afflicted !
' Yea, he was wounded for our transgressions,
He was crushed for our iniquities ;
The chastisement of our peace was on him,
And by his stripes healing was brought us.
'All we like sheep went astray,
We turned every one his own way ;
And Jahweh laid upon him
The guilt of us all.
' When oppressed, he bore it humbly,
And opened not his mouth, —
Like a sheep that is led to ihe slaughter,
Or a ewe that before her shearers is dumb.
Barred out 1 from justice he was taken away,
And his fate — who took thought thereon ?
How he was torn from the land of the living —
For the peoples' transgression 2 was smitten to death !
' They made his grave with the wicked,
His tomb with felons,
Although he had done no violence,
Nor was any deceit in his mouth.
' But as Jahweh was pleased to crush him,
And afflicted him with sickness,
His soul shall He rescue from trouble,
A nd make him see fulness of light.
' Once his soul hath made a guilt-offering,
(His life shall he renew ;)
1 For-1 IVJJp from oppression and, readlSW, shutout, excluded.
5 Instead' of ''Bl? UB'SD, for the transgression of my people, it
is necessary to read either the plural D'BJ? (as above) or -llg^gtp,
for our transgressions (Budde, Peake, etc.).

272 The Prophets of the Old Testament
He shall see a seed (posterity), shall lengthen his days,
And the pleasure of Jahweh shall prosper in his hand.'1
Yea, many shall my righteous servant justify,
And shall bear their iniquities ,
Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great,
And spoil shall he share with the mighty.
For that he poured out his soul unto death,
And was numbered with transgressors ;
Yea, he bore the sin of many,
For transgressors he interposed (Iii. 1 3— Iiii. 12). 3
With this great oracle the prophecy of comfort
reaches its climax. The past shame of Israel is
turned into glory ; and Zion shall henceforth en
large her tent, and shall spread forth her curtains
without limit, until all nations are gathered within
1 The text of vv. iof. is sadly corrupt and uncertain. Emenda
tions are as varied as the tastes of individual critics. I have
taken the first couplet of k.ii as the sequel to 10a, treating the
remaining part of v. 10 as a fresh stanza, forming a natural
transition to Jahweh's words in vv. nf. On textual alterations
cf. Kittel's notes.
2 In this Song the personification is so pronounced that even
scholars who start from the collective interpretation (e.g. De
litzsch and G. A. Smith) apply the prophecy to an individual,
either a suffering contemporary or the Messiah, now viewed as
the sin-bearer for his people. But the portrait is rather com
posite than individual, traits being drawn from the experience
of many a suffering servant of Jahweh, though the influence of
Jeremiah is specially marked. It seems more reasonable, there
fore, to identify the Servant throughout with the people of
Israel, ' regarded in the light of its purpose in the mind of God '
(Peake, Problem of Suffering, p. 193). This prophecy likewise
Jesus fulfilled, not by any mechanical correspondence with the
details of the picture, but by identifying Himself perfectly with
the mission of the Servant — by both living and dying as the
true Israel of God.

The Prophet of Comfort 273
the cords of her influence (liv. iff.). No more shall
Jahweh be wroth with her, but will love her with
love everlasting.
Though the mountains remove, and the hills be shaken,
My love shall remove not from thee ;
And my covenant of peace shall not be shaken,
Saith Jahweh thy Comforter (v. 10).
To the hungry and thirsty sons of Zion scattered
over all the earth a gracious invitation is extended
to share in the glories of the New Jerusalem ; and the
prophecy closes in an idyll of peace and joy.
Ho ! every one that thirsteth, come to the waters,
And ye that have no bread,1 eat !
Yea, come ! buy (corn) without money,
And wine and milk without price !
Why spend ye money for what is not bread,
And your earnings for what doth not satisfy ?
Only hearken to me, and eat what is good,
Let your soul be ravished with fatness ! 2
For an everlasting covenant will I make with you,
Even the faithful kindness I promised to David.
As once I made him a witness to nations,
A prince and commander of peoples,
Lo ! thou too shalt call unto people thou knowest not,
And people that know thee not shall run unto thee, —
For the sake of Jahweh thy God,
Even the Holy One of Israel, because He hath glorified thee.
Seek Jahweh, while He may be found :
Call Him, while yet He is near !
1 'For the first ?)D3 we should doubtless read Drn (cf. v. 2). A
few pointless repetitions have also been omitted.
3 In vv. 3a and 7 the poem has been expanded by didactic
appeals in the style of Deuteronomy ; on the other hand, the
second stichos of v. 9 is missing. 18

274 The Prophets of the Old Testament
For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
Nor are your ways my ways, saith Jahweh.
For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
So are my ways higher than your ways,
And my thoughts than your thoughts'.
For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven,
And returneth not thither, unless it hath watered the earth,
And hath made it bring forth and bud,
Giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, —
So shall my word be that hath gone from my mouth :
It shall not return to me void,
But once it hath done that which I please,
And accomplished the thing whereto I did send it.
For with joy shall ye go forth,
And in peace shall ye be led ;
The mountains and hills shall break before you into song,
And all the trees of the field shall clap their hands :
Instead of the thorn shall come up the fir tree,
And instead of the briar shall come up the myrtle ;
And to Jahweh 'twill be for a name,
For an everlasting sign thai shall not be cut off (ch. Iv.).

CHAPTER XXI
Prophets of Restoration : Haggai
and Zechariah
The great Comforter of the Exile was not alone in
his hopes of redemption. From the old motherland
of Judah patriotic spirits followed with eager in
terest the triumphal progress of Cyrus, and hailed
in him the destined conqueror of Babylon, and the
liberator of their people. In the muster of Cyrus'
hosts they could hear the voice of Jahweh summon
ing His warriors to battle against ' the pride of the
haughty and the arrogance of tyrants ' (Isa. xiii. iff.),
and already they raised their taunt-song against the
daring oppressor, ' who smote the peoples in fury
with smiting that ceased not, and trampled the
nations in anger with trampling that stayed not,'
who even scaled the heavens in his pride, and chal
lenged the supremacy of the Most High, but was now
hurled to the ground hke Lucifer, and laid in Sheol
like a corpse unburied (xiv. 4ft.). With mingled
dread and expectation prophets set themselves on
the watch-tower, to look for the cavalcade of horse
men that should bring the tidings of Babylon's
275

276 The Prophets of the Old Testament
downfall, while they urged on Elam and Media to the
attack (xxi. 1-10). Their agitation struck a chord
even in the hearts of Edom and the Bedouin tribes
of Arabia. Out of Mount Seir came voices anxiously
inquiring when the day would break. ' Watchman,
what hour of the night ? Watchman, what hour of
the night ? ' (vv. nf.). The caravans of Dedan and
Tema likewise hastened with bread and water for
the fugitives, scattered before the sword and bow
(vv. 13-15) -1
By the spring of 539 Cyrus had established his
supremacy in the North and West, and the
way was open for the attack on Babylon. A
strong hand no longer opposed him. Nabonidus,
the last king of Babylonia, was a man of peace,
devoted to the restoration of temples and the study
of ancient records. His people were distracted and
rebellious, many of them openly favourable to the
invader. Cyrus himself claims that he entered
the country at Marduk's command, and that the
god marched at his side ' as friend and helper.'
On the 14th of Tammuz (about the beginning of
July) the outpost city of Sippar fell without a stroke,
and two days later (the 16th of Tammuz) Babylon
opened its gates to Gobryas, the commander-in-
chief. In October 539 Cyrus made his triumphal
1 These prophecies clearly date from the years immediately
preceding the fall of Babylon, about the same time as Deutero-
Isaiah.

Prophets of Restoration 277
entry into the city. Thus ignominiously did ' the
glory of kingdoms ' sink into Sheol.
Cyrus had quite different ideals of Empire from
the Babylonian kings. Instead of gathering to
gether the subject nations within the immediate
shadow of the capital, his policy was to send the
captives back to their original homes, where they
might develop their own national hfe and character
under the aegis of the Emperor.1 His ideals were,
in fact, those of the British Empire of the present
day. In shaping them he was prompted, no doubt,
purely by pohtical motives, but to the prophets of
Israel, with their eyes open to the inner springs of
history, all else was subservient to the Divine pur
pose working through him for the advancement of
the Kingdom.
The decision to hberate the captives of Israel must
have been reached within a few months of the con
quest. Sheshbazzar, a Persian satrap, was ap
pointed as royal commissioner to carry through the
Restoration, and with him were associated two re
presentative Jews, Zerubbabel, grandson of king
Jehoiachin, and Joshua, the son of Josadak, and
grandson of Seraiah, the last chief priest of the
Temple in Jerusalem. By Cyrus' permission they
were to take as many as wished to return, with their
1 On Cyrus' policy cf . his Cylinder Inscription, II. 311. : " The
gods who dwelt in Agadi, etc., I brought back to their places,'
caused them to inhabit a permanent abode. All their inhabitants
I assembled, I re-erected their dwellings.'

278 The Prophets of the Old Testament
servants and personal belongings, and all that
remained of the Temple treasures. The summer
of 538 B.C. saw the pilgrim bands already on the
march, retraversing the road over which they and
their fathers had been dragged under other auspices,
some sixty years before. Songs of praise and hope
lightened the hardships of the journey, and early in
the following year they found themselves once
more within the precincts of the Holy City. An
altar was erected on the Temple site, and the daily
worship of Jahweh resumed. Already perhaps they
dreamed their dreams of Zion estabhshed above all
the mountains of the earth, with the heathen nations
streaming to it for instruction in the ways of Jahweh,
and dwelhng together in peace under the sceptre of
the King of righteousness (Isa. ii. 1-4 ; xi. 1-9).
But the sight of the grass-grown walls and blackened
ruins of Jerusalem soon damped their enthusiasm.
Nor was there anything in their personal surround
ings to rekindle the flame. The ground was hard
and impoverished, the harvests lean, the ' people
of the land ' were jealous and suspicious, and their
heathen neighbours hostile. It seemed as if God
Himself had forsaken them, caring nothing' for the
honour of His House and people. Thus the building
of the waste places ceased, the harassed people
contenting themselves with simple homes for them
selves and their children.1
1 The account of the Return in Ezra i.-iv. betrays in certain

Prophets of Restoration 279
From this inaction they were roused by the reflex
of kaleidoscopic changes in Eastern history.
Cyrus died in 529, and was succeeded by his wild
and reckless son, Cambyses ' the mad.' His victories
in Egypt were unable to undo the evil effects of his
cruelty and caprice, and the brilliant achievements
of Cyrus appeared destined to swift ruin, when in
522 Cambyses committed suicide, throwing the
prize of Empire open to the strongest hand. After
a few months' usurpation by the ignoble Gaumata,
who pretended to be Smerdis or Barada, the second
son of Cyrus, the reins were seized by Darius, the
son of Hystaspes, the ablest and noblest born of
living Persians (521 B.C.). His accession was hotly
disputed, and insurrections broke out in most of
the provinces. The Jews were conspicuous for their
loyalty to the new monarch, and this naturally pre
disposed him in their favour. The hope of better
things began to stir in the hearts of the troubled
community, and in tune with this hope the voice
of prophecy sounded out anew, interpreting the
meaning of events, and summoning them to play their
part in the crisis, like true children of the Eternal.
The first prophecy of Haggai is dated on the first
day of the sixth month of the second year of Darius
respects the influence of later events (e.g. the number of returned
exiles and the laying of the foundation-stone) ; but there is no
reason to doubt the substantial accuracy of the narrative. Cf.
Wellhausen, Die Riickkehr der Juden aus dem Babylonischen Exil
(1895) ; G. A. Smith, Book of the Twelve Prophets, ii. 2045.

280 The Prophets of the Old Testament
(Aug. 520). The people had just passed through
another of those bad harvests which combined with
the general misery of their lot to depress and dis
hearten them. Haggai met their despondency by
a stern call to duty. They bemoaned their poverty.
They sowed much, but brought in little ; they ate,
but had not enough ; they drank, but were never
satisfied ; they clothed themselves, but could not
get warm ; they earned wages, but only to pour
them into a purse with holes ! Yet what else could
they expect, when they themselves dwelt in panelled
houses, and left the house that was called by Jah
weh's name to lie in ruins ? Let them away with
their selfish indulgence, and get them to the hill-
country, and hew down wood, and bring it hither to
build the house ! Then would Jahweh look down
with favour upon them, and give them bread and
water, and clothing and comfort, even well-being in
abundance ; else must the heavens continue to
withhold their dew, and the earth her fruit (i. 2-1 1).
The note is very different from that struck by
Amos and Isaiah. Prophecy is definitely passing
into legalism. We have seen, however, that legahsm
also has its part to play in the history of redemption.
The time was not yet come when all the Lord's
people could be prophets ; and during the transition
stage Law was needful to conserve the fruits of
prophecy, and hand them down in their fresh vigour
and maturity to the more spiritual age of the New

Prophets of Restoration 281
Covenant. The supreme mark of a prophet is to
feel and express the need of the moment ; and if
Haggai's prophecy be concerned with nothing more
spiritual than the hewing of wood and the building
of stones, this was just what the hour demanded.
Without the Temple of God in its midst, the strug
gling community must have lost its sense of the
Divine presence, and the great work of prophets and
evangelists would have fallen to the ground. Com
pared with the glorious themes committed to others,
Haggai's message may seem a very humble one ;
but as a message for the times it holds its place in the
grand roll of prophecy, and equally with these
nobler oracles bears on its title-page the ' image and
superscription ' of the King.
As the result of Haggai's challenge, the conscience
of the people was moved, and under the guidance
of their two heads, Zerubbabel and Joshua, they
set themselves as one man to the work of restoration.
On the four and twentieth day of the same month
the foundation-stone was laid amid demonstrations
of joyful enthusiasm (cf. Ezra iii. ioff.).1 Haggai
shared their gladness. For him that day was a
beginning of days for Israel. Let the people look
back and consider how it fared with them in the days
before stone was laid to stone' in the Temple ! ' One
1 The account in Ezra is probably an ante-dating of the
event. Haggai and Zechariah know nothing of the laying of a
foundation-stone in 536 B.C.

282 The Prophets of the Old Testament
went to a corn-heap of twenty seahs, and there were
but ten ; another went to the winevat to draw off
fifty troughfuls, and there were but twenty.' But
in the happy future poverty and distress would be
swallowed up in plenty. ' Consider, I pray you,
from this day forward ! Will the seed now remain
(unsown) in the barn, and the vine and the fig-tree,
the pomegranate and the olive-tree, any more with
hold their fruit ? Nay, from this day forward I
will bless you, saith Jahweh of hosts ' (ii. 15-19).1
For nearly four weeks the work went on with un
flagging zeal. The design of the Temple was laid
out, and the walls began to assume form. But the
very success of their efforts became the occasion for
renewed discouragement. Those that had seen the
Temple in its former glory, and contrasted it with
this makeshift of a building, hurriedly and roughly
pushed toward completion, had no more spirit for the
work, and by their own depression tended to dis
courage more ardent workers as well. Once more
Haggai took up his oracle, and with strong words
of faith and cheer upheld the sinking hands of his
brethren. ' Courage, Zerubbabel ! courage, Joshua !
and courage, all ye people of the land ! saith Jahweh.
1 This prophecy seems clearly to date from the ceremony of
laying the foundation-stone, and finds its natural place in the
context of i. 12-15. The introduction to the ' message ' is prob
ably to be sought in v. 13, which is universally recognized as an
intrusion between vv. 12 and 14. On necessary changes and
omissions in the text, cf. Kittel's notes.

Prophets of Restoration 283
Work on ! for I am with you, and my Spirit abideth
with you.' This may be the day of small things,
yet ' fear ye not ! For thus saith Jahweh of hosts :
In a httle while I will shake the heavens and the
earth, and the sea and the dry land ; I will also
shake all the nations, and the desirable things of all
the nations shall come (unto you), and I will fill this
house with glory, saith Jahweh of hosts. For mine
is the silver, and mine the gold, saith Jahweh of
hosts. And greater shall be the latter glory of this
house than the former, saith Jahweh of hosts ; and
in this place will I give peace, saith Jahweh of hosts
(ii. 1-9).
Yet another temptation faced the toil-worn
builders. Their bitter adversaries, the Samari
tans, heard that the work was actually in pro
gress, and begged for permission to help them,
for ' we seek your God as ye do ' (Ezra iv. if.).1 If
Zerubbabel and Joshua were ever minded to accept
their help, Haggai was uncompromising. ' Thus
saith Jahweh of hosts : Ask now a deliverance of
the priests as follows. If a man be carrying flesh
that is holy in the skirt of his garment, and with his
skirt touch bread or pottage or wine or oil or any
kind of food, shall the latter become holy ? And
the priests answered and said, No ! Then Haggai
said, If one that is made unclean by a corpse touch
1 Here too the editor of Ezra appears to have ante-dated
events.

284 The Prophets of the Old Testament
any of these, shall it become unclean ? And the
priests answered and said, It shall.' In other words,
the unclean has far more power to infect than the
holy to sanctify. ' Then answered Haggai and said,
So is this people and so is this nation (the Samari
tans) before me, saith Jahweh ; and so is all the work
of their hands — even that which they offer you there
is unclean ' (ii. 10-14) -1
The definite rejection of the Samaritan offer
called forth a closing oracle from Haggai, dated the
same day as the last, the four and twentieth day
of the ninth month (Dec. 520). Because the people
had been loyal to their God, and had put away the
unclean thing from their midst, He would preserve
them through all the perils and catastrophes of the
time. While kingdoms were shaken, and chariots
and horsemen overthrown in battle, while even the
heavens and earth were moved, Judah should abide
in peace, and Zerubbabel be kept as a signet-ring
on Jahweh's hand ; for he was the chosen one,
called and anointed to accomphsh His purpose, said
Jahweh of hosts (ii. 20-23).
Though the accent is different, the spirit of the

1 The usual interpretations of this passage are very un
satisfactory. I have followed Rothstein in his identification of
' the people ' with the Samaritans, whose syncretistic faith was
more likely to corrupt the purity of the young Jewish Church
than their faint touch of sanctity to leaven the idolatrous heart
of their neighbours (Juden und Samaritaner, pp. 40ft.).

Prophets of Restoration 285
older prophets is alive in Haggai. A keen sense
of duty, with unerring insight into the needs of the
moment, finds its counterpart in a feeling of tender
sympathy for his people. When the hour has
struck for action, he is emphatic in his call to duty ;
but as the day of toil drags on, and the spirit begins
to droop, he has also the word in season which
quickens and sustains the weary, the assurance that
God is with His faithful servants, and that their
labour is not fruitless. He is equally inspired by
that unfailing hope which pulsed in the heart of all
true prophets, that the best is still to come, that
even the brightest glories of the past are not to be
compared with those which God is yet to reveal.
In his efforts to stimulate the energies of his
people Haggai was nobly seconded by a younger
contemporary, Zechariah son of Berechiah, a scion
of the distinguished priestly family of Iddo. Hag
gai's prophecy is confined to the first four months
of the Temple-building. He was an old man when
he began to speak — there is some ground for classing
him among those who had seen the former Temple
— and probably he died while the work was still
unfinished. Zechariah commenced his ministry two
months after Haggai, in the eighth month of the
second year of Darius (Oct. 520 B.c.)^and continued
to uphold the hands of the builders till the com
pletion of their task was in sight. In his prophecies,
therefore, we are able to follow at first hand the

286 The Prophets of the Old Testament
hopes and ideals that inspired the people of Jeru
salem during these critical months.1
Like other prophets, Zechariah is immersed in the
style and thought of those through whom God spoke
in earlier days. He even appeals directly to their
words : ' Be ye not as your fathers, unto whom the
former prophets preached, saying, Thus saith Jah
weh of hosts, Turn now from your evil ways and
from your evil doings ' (i. 4). The dead tradition
of prophecy, however, means as httle for him as it
did for Hosea or Jeremiah. When he cites the
former prophets, it is not their personal authority
to which he appeals, but the living Word of God to
which each in his own way bore witness. ' Your
fathers, where are they ? And the prophets, do
they hve for ever ? But my words and my statutes,
with which I charged my servants the prophets,
did they not overtake your fathers ? ' And these
words and statutes are as powerful to-day as ever
they were (vv. 5f.).
The spiritual ideals which Zechariah cherishes are
likewise in perfect harmony with those of the former
prophets. Haggai had been supremely concerned
about the building of the Temple ; his successor is
much more anxious to have the life of the people
made conformable to their faith. His hopes for
1 The genuine prophecies of Zechariah are confined to ch.
i.-viii., the rest of the book being a later piece of Apocalypse
(cf. pp. 325ff-) •

Prophets of Restoration 287
Jerusalem are as high as any prophet's, but he sees
the city no more exalted on its mountain-top above
all the cities of the earth, rather as a spreading
cluster of villages without walls, resting in peace,
with Jahweh's glory in the midst of them, and His
encircling presence like a wall of fire about them (ii.
1-5). x And the true glory of Jerusalem is found
in its devotion to Jahweh's will. Not fasts and
mournful assemblies does He demand of His
people, but thus saith Jahweh of hosts to them,
' These are the things that ye shall do : Speak every
man truth with his neighbour, and execute whole
some judgment in your gates ; and let none of you
devise evil in his heart against his neighbour, nor
take delight in swearing falsely ; for all these things
I hate, saith Jahweh ' (viii. i6f.). In such words
we catch the very echo of an Amos or Isaiah.
The mould, however, in which Zechariah en
shrines his oracles is new. In him we find a definite
approach to Apocalypse, that peculiar literary form
under which spiritual truths are impressed, not by
direct appeal to heart and conscience, but by
elaborate visions of the transcendental world,
addressed to the imagination. The central por
tion of the book consists of a series of eight such
1 A young apprentice hand is about to lay out Jerusalem as a
walled fortress, when an angel from Jahweh interrupts him.
The new ideal is thus strikingly contrasted with the old. Cf.
G. A. Smith, The Book of the Twelve Prophets, i. 285ff.

288 The Prophets of the Old Testament
visions — dated the twenty-fourth day of the, eleventh
month (Feb. 519) — representing various phases of
the problem which confronted Zechariah and his
associates, and all instinct with the hope of a glorious
future for Jerusalem.
In the first of these visions the prophet is walking
with his companion angel — the Interpreter of dreams
— in a lovely myrtle-clothed Glen near the city.
His eyes are opened, and he sees a Man among the
myrtles, and beside Him four horsemen, riding on
horses ruddy, bay, white and black (symbohcal of
the four quarters of heaven), who have returned
from ' scouring to and fro through the earth.' The
Man is Jahweh, and the horsemen are His scouts,
who have been patrolling among the nations, to
bring Him report of the signs of the times.1 They
have caught no glimpse of a better dawn. The
nations all rest in careless security, indifferent to
Jahweh and His people. The Interpreter asks im
patiently how long Jahweh will continue to with
hold His promised mercy to Jerusalem and the
cities of Judah, against whom He has shown His
indignation these threescore and ten years. Jahweh
answers with kind and comforting words. He is
very jealous for Jerusalem and Judah, and sore
displeased with the nations that dwell at ease, who
have aggravated the evil He wrought His people in
the time of His- passing displeasure. ' Therefore
1 On the necessary emendations of the text cf. Kittel's notes.

Prophets of Restoration 289
thus saith Jahweh, I have returned to Jerusalem
with tender compassions. My house shall be built
in her, saith Jahweh of hosts, and the measuring
line shall be stretched over Jerusalem. So proclaim
once more, saying, Thus saith Jahweh of hosts,
My cities shall yet overflow with prosperity, and
Jahweh shall yet have compassion on Zion, and
shall yet make choice of Jerusalem ' (i. 7-17).
The same glad assurance of coming salvation is
conveyed through the second of the visions, that
of the four horns, emblematic of the tyrannous
might of Judah's oppressors in the four corners of
the earth, which four smiths are sent from Jahweh
to file away (vv. 18-20). This is followed by the
exquisite vision of Jerusalem as a city of unwalled
villages, encircled by the glory of God, to which re
ference has already been made.1 In the fourth
vision Joshua the high priest is seen standing before
the angel of Jahweh, robed in filthy garments, with
the Satan as accuser, opposing his claim to accept
ance with God ; but at Jahweh's command he is
stripped of his filthy garments, invested with festal
apparel, and crowned with a clean turban, as a
Symbol of his authority to rule the house of Jahweh,
and to watch over His courts in righteousness and
purity, with freedom to approach God's presence,
1 The immediately succeeding verses (ii. 6-13) belong to an
earlier song of Restoration, in the spirit and style of Deutero-
Isaiah. 19

290 The Prophets of the Old Testament
and stand in the council of His holy ones, as a priest
after His own heart. Joshua is here the spiritual
representative of his people, who are as ' a brand
plucked out of the fire ; ' he and his fellow-priests
who sit in assize before him are a ' sign ' or portent
of the glory that shall yet be revealed in all of them.1
As a token of this coming glory a stone sparkling
with seven ' eyes ' or facets is set before Joshua — ¦
the head-stone of the new Temple radiant with the
hght of God's countenance — and on it Jahweh
engraves with His own hand the ' graving ' or in
scription of the House, while that same day He re
moves the iniquity of the whole land, and blesses
His people with the fruits of holiness and peace
(iii. i-io).2 To Zerubbabel also a word of great
encouragement is given. His hands have laid the
foundation-stone of the House, and his hands also
shall finish it. A mountain of difficulty appears now
to rise up before him ; but the mountain shall be
come a plain, and he shall place the head-stone on
1 The purified priests are portents of the general glory that
shall descend upon the purified people, rather than forerunners
in a special sense of the Messiah. The allusion to the Branch
or Shoot is borrowed from vi. 12, where it clearly applies to
Zerubbabel. 2. The stone h as been variously identified with the jewel on the
high priest's robe, the altar, the foundation-stone of the Temple,
the head- or cope-stone, and the Temple itself. The identifica
tion with the cope-stone seems most appropriate to the context.
In his vision Zechariah can already see the Temple completed —
a promise of all other good things for his people.

Prophets of Restoration 291
the building amid shoutings of ' Beautiful, beauti
ful ! ' Then shall all the people recognize that
Jahweh of hosts has been with them ; for ' not by
armed force or by strength ' has this work been
done, ' but by My Spirit, saith Jahweh of hosts '
(iv. 6b-ioa).1 In the fifth vision Jahweh's abiding
presence in the Temple is symbolized by the golden
Candlestick with its seven lights — the seven eyes
of God ' that flash over all the earth ' — while to
right and left of the Candlestick stand two olive
trees — the two ' sons of oil,' or anointed leaders
of the people — Joshua and Zerubbabel, the repre
sentatives of Church and State, the Aaronic priest
hood and the Davidic monarchy — ' that stand by
the Lord of all the earth,' and mediate His grace
to men (vv. i-6a, 106-14). 2
In the next two visions the prophet returns to
the purging of Israel's sin. A winged volume of
curses is seen flying through the land, to roost on
1 These verses are universally recognized as an interpolation
in their present context, and are usually inserted after ver. 14.
To the present writer they appear to attach themselves more
naturally to the preceding vision. We have thus an easy transi
tion to the picture of Joshua and Zerubbabel as the two ' sons of
oil.' 2 The olive trees are often regarded as the feeders of the
candlestick (cf. G. A. Smith, op. cit., pp. 298!). This interpreta
tion rests mainly on the awkwardly intrusive v. 12. In the ori
ginal sequence of the vision, Jahweh Himself is the Light, and
the ' sons of oil ' derive all their light from Him. Thus Church
and State are not the ' sustainers ' of revelation, but the main
channels through which it blesses and fructifies the earth.

292 The Prophets of the Old Testament
the houses of aU thieves and perjurers, and consume
them to the foundation, both beam and stone (v.
1-4). The guilt of the people, concentrated in the
person of the woman Wickedness, is then sealed up
in an ' ephah ' or barrel, and borne on the stork-hke
wings of the wind to distant Shinar or Babylonia,
where it can no longer pollute ' the redeemed of the
Lord ' (vv. 5-1 1). A closing vision — that of the
four chariots facing the four winds of heaven —
symbolizes the going forth of Jahweh's judgment on
the nations that oppressed Israel, beginning with
the North, the centre of the Babylonian tyranny
(vi. 1-8). The people are thus left free to crown
Zerubbabel, the legitimate Shoot of the tree of
David, with a crown of silver and gold, sent as a
tribute of thanksgiving by the exiles in Babylonia,
that he may sit on the throne of his fathers and
uphold its former splendour, a ' counsel of peace '
binding him and Joshua the high priest, so that
harmony and goodwill shall prevail throughout the
land (vv. 9-15). 1
Amid such bright dreams of future glory the
building rose toward completion. Soon priests
ministered in the Temple as of old, and the festal
1 The text has been rather seriously mutilated, to bring the
prophecy into harmony with the later position of the priesthood
in Judah. According to the evident import of the passage,
Zerubbabel is crowned king, while Joshua stands beside him as
priest, a perfect spiritual harmony existing between them. On
the necessary emendations of the text cf. Kittel's notes.

Prophets of Restoration 293
round was celebrated with the ancient joy. As the
month of fasting drew nigh, men asked if they
should still lament and humble themselves for the
sorrows of Jerusalem. Nay ! answered Zechariah
in a last radiant oracle, dated on the fourth day of
the ninth month of the fourth year of Darius (Dec.
518). The days of fasting and mourning are over.
Jahweh is now returned unto Zion, and will dwell
henceforth in the midst of Jerusalem ; He will like
wise redeem His exiled people from both East and
West, and plant them in the midst of Jerusalem,
and they shall be His people, and He their God, in
truth and in righteousness. Then shall the city be
known as ' the city of Truth,' and the mountain of
Jahweh of hosts shall be named ' the Holy Moun
tain ' (viii. 3). The time of stress, too, shall have
passed away for ever. ' Thus saith Jahweh of
hosts, Old men and old women shall yet sit in the
streets of Jerusalem, every one with staff in hand for
very age ; and the streets of the city shall be full
of boys and girls playing in the streets thereof '
(vv. 4f.). And instead of the former leanness and
famine there shall be sown through the land the
seed of well-being. ' The vine shall yield her fruit,
and the ground shall yield her increase, and the
heavens shall yield their dew ; and I will give all
these things for an heritage to this remnant of
people. And it shall come to pass that, as ye have
been a curse among the nations, so now will I save

294 The Prophets of the Old Testament
you, and ye shall be a blessing,' — a centre of good
ness and joy to all the world (vv. 10-17). ' The
citizens of one city shall go to another, saying, Come,
let us go to intreat the favour of Jahweh, even to
seek after Jahweh of hosts ; and we will go with
you. And many peoples and strong nations shall
come to seek Jahweh of hosts in Jerusalem, and to
intreat the favour of Jahweh ' by sacrifice in the
Temple, — so zealously, indeed, that ' ten men shall
take hold of the skirt of him that is a Jew, saying,
We will go with you, for we have heard that God is
with you ' (vv. 21-23).

CHAPTER XXII
Prophets of the New Jerusalem
The brave words of Haggai and Zechariah were
not fruitless. Within four years of the laying of
the foundation-stone the Temple was completed
and the ancient rites resumed with a great feast
of dedication (b.c. 516). But the new age foretold
by the prophets delayed its coming. The hopes
they had centred in Zerubbabel were .frustrated,
and the Jews remained a subject people, hard
pressed by their adversaries. Jerusalem looked the
mere shadow of its former self, and the Temple was
an object of contempt to its neighbours. Under
these various disappointments the zeal of the people
rapidly cooled : they became remiss in their ser
vice, withholding the tithes, and bringing to Jah
weh's altar the poorest and sickliest of their flocks
(Mai. i. 6ff.). Many abandoned the pure faith of
their fathers, and adopted the worldly ways of the
nations around them, setting their hearts on gain
instead of goodness and mercy, defrauding the
hirehng of his wages, doing injustice to the widow,
the fatherless and the stranger, and even cruelly
295

296 The Prophets of the Old Testament
divorcing ' the wives of their youth ' for the daugh
ters of the heathen or half-caste Samaritans among
whom they dwelt (ii. iiff.). Nor did any evil befall
them for their apostasy. Indeed, it seemed as if
those most loyal to the Law had to bear the burden
of their people's guilt, while ' every one that did
evil was accepted as good in the sight of Jahweh,
and He delighted in them ' (ii. 17 ; iii. 14).
The crisis called for a prophet ; and about the
year 460 — just before Ezra's first visit to Jerusalem
— the word of the Lord came through ' Malachi.'1
His prophecy is addressed to both classes of the
people, those who had fallen away from the purity
of their faith into worldliness and paganism, and
such as took offence at Jahweh's ways, and asked
why He allowed things to happen as they did. In
simple, forceful prose, resembling the dialectical style
of the Rabbi or teacher, he presses home the three
fundamental principles of Israel's rehgion — the
love of Jahweh for His people, His transcendent
holiness or majesty, and His inflexible righteousness,
— and summons men to repentance, before the
breaking of that great Day which shall try their
works as by fire and consume the wicked hke stubble
in the furnace.
Jahweh's care for His people is pure and constant.
1 The name Malachi is probably the generic 'OSpD, my mes
senger, taken, over from iii. i. We have thus another example
of an anonymous prophet.

Prophets of the New Jerusalem 297
From the very womb He loved Jacob, while Esau
He despised and ' hated.' Therefore He looked
for the honour a father expects of his son or a master
of his servant (i. 2ff .). But they have dishonoured
His name, polluting His altar with the sacrifice of
beasts ' blind and lame and diseased ' — offerings
they would never dare present to the Persian governor
— and counting His service a weariness to spirit and
flesh. Such a travesty of worship Jahweh cannot
accept. Rather than countenance it, He would
have them shut the doors of the Temple altogether,
that they may not kindle His altar in vain (v. 10).
They treat Him far worse than the heathen who know
not His name. In one of the most starthng para
doxes of prophecy He claims to be more truly
honoured among the nations than in the midst of
His own people; for their worship, with all itsgross-
ness and ignorance, is worship from the heart, ac
cording to the hghts of those who offer it. ' From the
rising of the sun to the going down thereof my name
is glorified among the nations ; and in every sacred
place incense is offered unto my name, and a pure
sacrifice : for my name is great among the nations
saith Jahweh ' (v. ii).1
1 The point of the paradox can hardly be turned by limiting
the ' nations ' to the Jewish Dispersion scattered so widely over
the world, or even to the proselytes who gathered themselves
around the fold of Israel. Malachi is contrasting the fidelity
of the heathen to their worship with Israel's contemptuous treat
ment of Jahweh. It is significant, as Wellhausen has pointed

298 The Prophets of the Old Testament
If the priests continue to despise the knowledge
of God, and mislead the people by their witless in
struction, He will ' hew off their arm ' — rob them
of all their assumed dignity and influence — and
dishonour them openly before the people, that they
may at last ' stand in awe of His name,' and learn
by painful experience that ' the covenant with Levi '
— the law of the priesthood — rests not on barren
titles or words, but on faithfulness, sincerity and
zeal for His service, inasmuch as the priest is ' the
messenger of Jahweh of hosts ' (ii. iff).
What Jahweh demands, then, is reverent worship
and sacrifice — the very best the people have to offer
Him — in our own day He would have asked for a
noble and beautiful service that is the genuine ex
pression of loving, joyful devotion — but, along with
this, respect also for the simple moralities of life —
honesty in the law-courts and the market, with
kindly regard for the poor and lonely, the widow, the
orphan and the stranger — for all have one Father in
God (v. 10). The prophet's sympathy is peculiarly
awakened by the plaint of the deserted wives —
those loyal daughters of the covenant, who had been
companions to their husbands from youth, and had
borne them sons and daughters — against whom the
faithless men of Judah had dealt so treacherously.
out, that the prophecy is contemporaneous with the mighty
uplift of the Greek spirit under Socrates and his school, and
similar movements among other nations.

Prophets of the New Jerusalem 299
Such conduct was both inhuman and sacrilegious.
The putting away of a virtuous wife was like ' cover
ing the garment with violence'1 — wronging one's
own soul. It was equally an outrage on the God
who both gave and preserved the spirit of life in
men,2 and made 'the seed of God' — the children
of a pure and honourable marriage — a covenant of
devotion between husband and wife (vv. iiff.).
Thus Malachi brings Sabbath and week-day,
the Temple and the city streets, the altar and the
home, into perfect spiritual harmony. It is vain
for men to ' cover the altar of Jahweh with tears,'
and to lament that He regards their offerings no
more, if they make their worship a mere cloak to
cover their wickedness (v. 13). Let them but offer
Jahweh His dues, and show the spirit of humanity
one toward another, and He will ' open the windows
of heaven and pour them out a blessing beyond
measure ; ' He will likewise restrain ' the devourer '
(locust) from destroying the fruits of the ground,
and will not suffer the vine in the field to miscarry,
so that the land of Israel shall once more be ' a de
lightsome land,' and the people be counted happy of
all the nations of the earth (iii. 7ff.). The fearful
souls, who repine at Jahweh's ways, can thus rest
1 The metaphor is doubtless taken from the practice of throw
ing a garment over a woman in token of betrothal (cf. Ruth iii.
9), the betrothed one thus becoming part of his very life.
3 On the reading cf. Kittel's notes.

300 The Prophets of the Old Testament
themselves in confidence, for already He is sending
His messenger to herald His approach, and soon He
will come in Person to His Temple, and will purge
the sanctuary ' hke the fire of the smelter x and hke
fuller's lye,' wiping out from His people the false and
apostate ' sons of Levi,' with the sorcerers, adulterers
and perjurers, and all who wrong and defraud their
needier brethren (iii. iff. ; iv. i), — while for such as
fear Jahweh, and think upon His name, there hes
already written before Him ' a book of remem
brance,' and on the day He stands forth to act He
will count them His peculiar possession, and will
spare them ' even as a man doth spare his son that
serveth him ' (iii. i6ff.). Of the wicked there shall
be left ' neither root nor branch ' in that day.
' But unto you that fear my name the sun of right
eousness shall rise with healing in his wings ; and ye
shall go forth, and skip as calves of the stall. And
ye shall trample down the wicked ; for they shall
be as ashes beneath the soles of your feet in the day
that I act, saith Jahweh of hosts ' (iv. iff.).
/To the same age of disillusionment, scepticism
and apostasy belong the radiant chapters that close
the book of Isaiah.2 In feeling and imagination
1 On ancient smelting cf. p. 164, n. 2.
2 On the question of Trito-Isaiah (chs. Ivi.-lxvi.) cf . any recent
Commentary, p.g. Whitehouse, Isaiah, ii. 225s., or Cheyne's
monumental Introduction to the Book of Isaiah, pp. 3ioff. The
chapters hang somewhat loosely together, and were probably
composed at intervals, though by the same author — within a

Prophets of the New Jerusalem 301
they may still remind us of the prophet of Comfort,
but the historical background brings them rather
into relation with Malachi, whose spiritual outlook
also they share. The darkness of the Exile has been
dispelled, and the people of Jahweh can once more
worship Him in the Temple. But they are plunged
in deep disquietude and depression because of the
evils of the time. Their spiritual watchmen, the
priests and prophets, are blind and senseless, unable
to give heed to truth and righteousness ; they are
all ' dumb dogs, which cannot bark,' but lie down
and dream, ' loving to slumber,' save when they
fetch themselves wine, and are filled with strong
drink, so ' greedy of appetite ' that they can never
have enough. Thus the beasts of the field and
jungle — the jealous nations surrounding Judah —
are continually breaking through the fences and
devouring them (lvi. gff.). Even within the borders
of the Holy Land grave disorders reign.
The righteous man perisheth,
Yet no one layeth it to heart ;
And godly men are taken away,
Yet none regardeth it.
By reason of the evil (that prevaileth) the righteous is taken away,
He entereth into peace ;
They rest upon their beds (graves)
Who have walked straightforward, —
while their wicked oppressors make sport of them,
few years of the Reform under Ezra and Nehemiah. Only lxiii.
7-lxiv. 12 appear to belong to an earlier date, between 638 and
620 B.C.

302 The Prophets of the Old Testament
opening wide their mouths, and shooting out the
tongue, in contempt ahke of their piety and of their
unmerited fate (Ivii. iff.). Through the corrupting
influence of the Samaritan leaven the land is full
of the grossest idolatry and vice (Ivii. 3ff. ; Ixv. iff.).
But even where the purer faith is upheld, rehgion is
too often divorced from morality. Men draw near
to Jahweh, and keep His fasts and ordinances — but
for their own comfort and glory. Of their debtors
they relentlessly exact the pledge ; while for the
poor, the hungry and the oppressed they have no
room in their thoughts (lviii. 3ff.). Their hands are
defiled with blood, and their fingers with iniquity ;
their hps have spoken hes, and their tongue mut-
tereth wickedness. They conceive mischief, and
bring forth iniquity. And yet they ask why salva
tion is so far away ; why they should look for light,
and behold darkness, for brightness, and they must
walk in obscurity (lix. 3ff.).
The prophet is as insistent as Malachi that true
devotion of heart and hfe is the one condition of
salvation. At the very outset he strikes this note
clear and strong. Jahweh's salvation is near to
come, and His righteousness about to be revealed ;
but they only shall taste the happiness of redemption
who ' observe judgment (the Divine statutes of
rehgion) and practise right (towards their neigh
bour),' even he ' that keepeth the Sabbath from
profamng it, and keepeth his hand from doing any

Prophets of the New Jerusalem 303
evil ' (lvi. if.). Apart from such fidelity to God and
His righteousness there is no limit to salvation.
The eunuch who keeps the Sabbath, and chooses the
things that please God, and the stranger from what
soever nation who joins himself to Jahweh, and loves
His name and service, shall be given an inheritance
in His house ' better than that of sons and daugh
ters,' and a name among His redeemed ones ' that
shall not be cut off ' (vv. 3&.). For in the brighter
days about to dawn the temple of Jahweh shall be
no sanctuary for the Jews alone, but ' shall be called
an house of prayer for all the nations ' (v. 7).1 As
for the down-trodden people of Jahweh, who have
held fast to His name through all darkness and
oppression, let them lift up their eyes in hope, for
already the light is breaking.
Cast up, cast up, level the way,
Remove the stumbling-block from the path of my people !
For thus saith the High and Exalted One,
That dwelleth (enthroned) for ever, whose name is Holy :
I dwell on high as the Holy One,
Yet with him that is broken and bowed in spirit,
To revive the spirit of the bowed,
And to revive the heart of the broken.
For not for ever will I strive (with my people),
And not continually be wroth, —
Else the spirit would faint before me,
Even the souls which I have made.
For his sin was I wroth u moment,
And I smote him, while I hid my face in wrath.
1 This passage (lvi. 1-8) attaches itself rather abruptly to the
sequel. Probably there has been some dislocation of the context.

304 The Prophets of the Old Testament
He walked rebelliously in ihe way of his heart.
And I saw his ways, saith Jahweh ;
But now will I heal him, and cause him to rest,
And requite him with consolations.
For his mourners create I the fruit of the lips (thankfulness),
Peace, peace, to far and near.
But the wicked are like the uptossed sea,
For it cannot rest;
And its waters toss up mire and filth, —
No peace, saith my God, for the wicked (Ivii. 14-20).
Fasting and Sabbath-keeping are no substitute
for contrition of heart. It is vain for men to seek
God daily, and ask Him for righteous laws, ' as a
nation that doeth righteousness, and forsaketh not
the law of its God,' if they use His laws for their
own profit, and fast ' for strife and contention, and
smiting the poor with the fist.' Such fasting cannot
make their voice to be heard on high (lviii. 4). In a
tone of irony which recalls Amos the prophet turns
upon these Pharisees who belie their faith by their
deeds. Is such ihe fast I choose —
A day for u. man to mortify himself,
To bow down his head like a bulrush,
To grovel in sackcloth and ashes ?
Wilt thou call this a fast,
A day of pleasure to Jahweh ?
Nay, the true fast is a day of mercy and kindness.
Is not this ihe fast I choose,
(Saith Jahweh the Lord) —
To loosen the bonds of wickedness,
And undo the cords of violence ; 1
1 For nt31Dj yoke, which has slipped in from the line below,
read Dpn, violence (Cheyne, Marti, etc.). On other emendations
cf. Kittel's notes.

Prophets of the New Jerusalem 305
To let the oppressed go free,
And every yoke to snap ;
To break for the hungry thy bread,
And the homeless to bring to thy house ;
When thou seest the naked, to cover him,
And to hide not thyself from thy flesh ?
If such be the fast-days they keep, healing will soon
return to them, and Jahweh will lead them into
fulness of hght and joy.
Then shall thy light break forth as the dawn,
And thy healing shall spring forth speedily ;
And thy right shall go before thee,
And the glory of Jahweh shall be thy rearguard.
Then shalt thou call, and Jahweh will answer,
Thou shalt cry, and He will say, ' Here am I.'
If thou wilt remove from thy midst the yoke,
The shooting of finger, and mischievous speech,
And wilt share thy bread with the hungry,
And sate the afflicted soul, —
Then shall thy light stream forth in the darkness,
And thy murk shall be as noonday,
And Jahweh shall guide thee continually,
And shall sate thy soul in drought;
And thy strength shall He renew,
, And thou shalt be as a watered garden,
And thy life like a bubbling spring,
Whose waters fail not ;
And thy sons shall rebuild the ancient wastes,
The foundations of many generations shalt thou upraise ;
And thou shalt be called the Repairer of the breach,
The Restorer of ruins as a dwelling-place (lviii. 5-12).
It was not because Jahweh's ears were too dull
to hear, or His hand too short to reach them, that
the time of salvation lagged. Their own sins were
the barrier that restrained Him, the veil that ob
scured His face (lix. iff.). But soon the barrier
20

306 The Prophets of the Old Testament
would be removed, and the flood-tide of grace sweep
in hke a rushing stream, driven by the breath of
Jahweh (lix. i8f.). Then would dawn the morning
of His favour, the day of eternal light.
Arise, shine / for thy light is dome,
And the glory of Jahweh hath risen upon thee.
For, lo I darkness doth cover the earth,
And gross darkness the peoples ;
But over thee Jahweh doth rise,
And His glory appeareth upon thee,
And nations come to thy light,
And kings to the gleam of thy rising.
Lift up thine eyes around, and behold !
All of them gather and come to thee —
From afar come thy sons,
While thy daughters are borne on the side.
Thou shalt see, and be radiant,
And thy heart shall tremble and throb ;
For to thee shall be turned the wealth of the deep,
The riches of nations shall come unto thee.
A stream of camels shall cover thee,
The young camels of Midian and Ephah ;
All those of Sheba shall come,
They shall bring frankincense and gold;
All the flocks of Kedar shall be gathered to thee,
The rams of Nebaioth shall eagerly seek thee ;
They shall mount mine altar as a well-pleasfng sacrifice,
And my house of prayer shall be glorified.
Who are these, now, that fly as a cloud,
Or like doves to their windows ?
'Tis the ships a-gathering for me,
And foremost the galleons of Tarshish, —
To bring thy sons from afar,
Their silver and gold with them.
For the name of Jahweh thy God,
The Holy One of Israel, because He hath glorified thee.

Prophets of the New Jerusalem 307
And the sons of the alien shall build thy walls,
And their kings shall serve thee ;
For, though in my wrath I smote thee,
In my favour have I had compassion on thee.
And thy gates shall be open continually,
Day and night shall they not be closed,
That the riches of nations may be brought unto thee,
Their kings as leaders.
The glory of Lebanon shall come unto thee.
The cypress, the pine, and the box together,
To adorn the place of my sanctuary,
And honour my footstool.
And the sons of thine oppressors shall come bending to thee.
Even all who despised thee shall bow at the soles of thy feet;
And thou shalt be called the City of Jahweh,
The Zion of the Holy One of Israel.
And, whereas thou hast been forsaken,
And hated, that none passed through thee,
I will make thee a glory for ever,
The joy of many generations.
Thou shalt drain the milk of the nations,
Even the breast of kings shalt thou suck ;
And shalt know that I Jahweh am thy Saviour,
Even the Mighty One of Israel thy Redeemer.
For brass will I bring gold,
And for iron will I bring silver ; 1
And Peace will I make thy government,
And Righteousness thy rulers (lit. taskmasters).
Violence shall no more be heard in thy land,
Rapine nor ruin within thy borders ;
But thy walls shalt thou call Salvation,
And thy gates Renown.
No more shall the sun be thy light by day,
Nor the moon for brightness illumine thee ;
1 The feeble couplet, ' And for wood brass, and for stones
iron,' mars alike the beauty and the strophic structure of the
piece.

308 The Prophets of the Old Testament
But Jahweh shall be thine everlasting light,
And thy God thy glory.
Thy sun shall no more go down,
Nor thy moon withdraw itself ;
For Jahweh shall be thine everlasting light,
And the days of thy mourning shall be ended.
And thy people shall be all of them righteous.
And shall inherit the land for ever,
As a scion of Jahweh's planting,
The work of His hands, that He may be glorili .
Then the small one shall become a clan,
Even the least a mighty nation ;
I Jahweh have spoken the word —
In its time will I hasten it (lx. 1-22).
Under the inspiration of this glorious hope the
prophet himself is caught up, and speaks as the
Messenger of Jahweh, to whom is entrusted the
Gospel of great joy.
The Spirit of the Lord Jahweh is upon me,
For Jahweh hath anointed me ;
He hath sent me to bring good tidings to ihe lowly,
To bind the broken in heart,
To proclaim to the captives liberty,
And release to them that are bound,
To proclaim Jahweh's year of favour,
And the day of vengeance of our God, —
To comfort all that mourn,
To give them laurel (lit. an ornamented head-tire) for ashes,
The oil of joy for the garment of mourning,
Praise for a fainting spirit, —
That they may be called oak-trees of righteousness,
The planting of Jahweh, that He may be glorified.
And they shall build the ancient wastes,
Shall upraise the ruins of former days ;
And shall renew the wasted cities,
The ruins of many generations.

Prophets of the New Jerusalem 309
And strangers shall stand and feed your flocks,
And aliens shall be your ploughmen and vinedressers ;
But ye shall be called the priests of Jahweh,
The ministers of our God shall ye be named
Ye shall eat the riches of nations,
And with their glory shall ye adorn yourselves.
For that their shame was double,
And abuse was the lot they inherited,
So now in their land shall they inherit double,
Everlasting joy shall be theirs.
For I Jahweh love justice,
I hate robbery and unrighteousness ;
In truth, then, will I give them their recompense,
And an everlasting covenant will I make with them.
And their seed shall be known among the nations,
Their offspring in the midst of the peoples ;
All that see them shall acknowledge them,
That they are the seed which Jahweh hath blessed.1
For as the earth putteth forth her shoots,
And a garden maketh its seed to sprout,
So Jahweh the Lord shall cause righteousness to shoot,
And praise before all nations.

For Zion's sake will I not keep silent,
And for Jerusalem will I not rest,
Till her righteousness (vindication) go forth as light,
And her salvation as a burning torch.
Then the nations shall see thy righteousness (vindication).
And all kings thy glory ;
And a crown of beauty shalt thou be in the hand of Jahweh,
A royal diadem in the hand of thy God.
No more shalt thou be called Azubah (Forsaken),
Nor thy land Shomemah (Desolate) ;
But thou shalt be called Hephzibah (My Delight in her),
And thy land Beulah (Married).
For Jahweh delighteth in thee,
And thy land shall be married.
1 V. 10 is clearly out of place in this context, and should
probably be inserted at the close of ch. lxiii.

310 The Prophets of the Old Testament
Even as a young man marrieth a maiden,
Thy Builder shall marry thee ;
And as bridegroom rejoiceth over bride,
Thy God shall rejoice over thee (lxi. i-lxii. 5).
Jahweh can never forget Zion. Over her walls
He has set guardian angels, heavenly ' remem
brancers,' who give Him no rest until He has
estabhshed the city in glory, and made it the praise
of all the earth (lxii. 6f.). Already He comes sweep
ing from Edom, His armour crimson with the blood
of the enemies He has trampled in the winepress of
His fury, to bring dehverance to Israel, and break
their oppressors in pieces (lxiii. 1-6). The faithless
and idolatrous — all who have given way to the
degrading superstitions of their neighbours the
Samaritans, or who keep up the ancient rites of
Canaan — shall be cut off from the midst of the
people, but the true Israel shall be saved with an
everlasting salvation (Ixv. iff.).
Thus saith Jahweh :
As the must is found in the cluster,
And one saith, Destroy it not I
For a blessing is in it ;
Thus will I do for my servants' sake,
That I may not destroy ihe whole.
I will bring out of Jacob a seed,
From Judah an heir to my mountains ;
And my chosen shall inherit the land,
My servants shall dwell therein.
And Sharon shall be a pasture for flocks.
And the valley of Achor a lair for cattle (vv . 8-10).
The former troubles shall all be forgotten, Israel

Prophets of the New Jerusalem 311
shall be called by a new name, and every one in the
land shall acknowledge Jahweh as ' the God of
truth.'
For behold ! I create new heavens
And a new earth ;
And the former things shall not be remembered,
Nor come into mind.
But men shall rejoice, and exult forever,
In what I create.
For behold ! I create Jerusalem an exultation,
And her people a joy ,
And I will exult in Jerusalem,
And rejoice in my people.
And no more shall be heard in her the sound of weeping,
Nor the sound of crying ;
No more shall there go from thence
An infant of days.
Or an old man that doth not complete
His tale of days ;
But the youngest of all shall die
An hundred years old.1
And they shall build houses, and dwell therein ;
And shall plant vineyards, and eat the fruit of them.
They shall not build, and another inhabit;
Nor plant, and another eat.
For as the days of a tree shall be the days of my people,
And the work of their hands shall my chosen enjoy to the end.
They shall not labour in vain,
Nor give birth (to children) for destruction ;
1 In the glad days to come there will be no premature death :
even an hundred years will be counted a short span. The
final clause, ' and the sinner being an hundred years old shall
be cursed,' emphasises the idea that even that age is premature,
and is a sign of God's displeasure ; but the prosaic quality of the
remark, and the discord it introduces into the music of the pro
phecy, suggest that it is a later intrusion.

312 The Prophets of the Old Testament
For a seed of Jahweh's blessed ones are they,
And their offspring (shall abide) with them.
Then, before ever they call, I will answer ;
While yet they speak, I will hear.
The wolf and the lamb shall pasture together,
And the lion shall eat straw like the ox :
They shall not harm nor destroy
On all my holy mountain, saith Jahweh (Ixv. 17-25).
The present sufferings are the birth-throes of
Zion ; and He who has brought to the birth will
give her a mother's joy in full measure. Her chil
dren also will find in her bosom rich and abiding
delight.Rejoice with Jerusalem, and exult in her,
All ye that love her !
Joy joyfully with her,
A II ye that mourned for her !
That ye may suck, and be satisfied,
From the breast of her consolations ;
That ye may drink, and delight yourselves,
From her rich mother's bosom.
For behold ! I extend to her peace like a river,
And the splendour of nations like a sweeping torrent.
Her sucklings also shall be carried upon the side,
And be fondled upon the knees.
And as one whom his mother doth comfort,
So shall ye in Jerusalem be comforted.
And when ye see it, your heart shall rejoice,
And your bones shall flourish like spring grass (lxvi. 10-14).
While the hand of Jahweh thus rests in blessing
upon Jerusalem, His wrath goes out in judgment
against His enemies. Like tongues of fire His arrows
smite them ; with His flaming sword He hews them

Prophets of the New Jerusalem 313
down. But among the nations, too, judgment is
swallowed up in mercy. The survivors see God's
glory revealed in Zion, and come to rejoice in it.
They send also to the furthest coastlands, to tell
the glad tidings, and bring the scattered exiles of
Israel from all the nations, as a freewill offering to
Jahweh upon His holy mountain. Thus Zion's
name and posterity continue for ever, a blessing to
all the nations.
Behold ! the time is come
To gather all nations and tongues :
They shall come, and shall see my glory,
And a sign will I set among them.
And I will send the escaped (of the judgment)
To the distant coastlands —
Such as have heard not my name,
Nor seen my glory.
They shall declare my glory among the nations,
And shall bring all your brethren from all the peoples,
For an oblation to Jahweh on my Holy Mountain,
Unto Jerusalem, saith Jahweh, —
As the children of Israel bring oblation
In a clean vessel to Jahweh's house.
And of these too will I take
To be Levite priests, saith Jahweh.
For as the new heavens,
And the new earth that I do make
Continue before me, saith Jahweh,
So shall your seed and your name continue1 (vv. 18-22).
1 I have omitted various prosaic glosses and expansions in
vv. 19L, also the last awful picture in vv. 22f., which reflects the
common Jewish hatred of the nations (cf . most recent Commen
taries).

CHAPTER XXIII
The Rise of Apocalypse
The eye of prophecy has been turned increasingly
towards the future. From the midst of the present
gloom and dejection ' men of the Spirit ' look for
an inheritance of glory yet to be revealed. And
the mould in which their hope is cast becomes
definitely apocalyptic. The issues of history now
converge upon a final judgment-scene, when the
Ruler of the nations will separate the wheat from
the chaff, and will give His people Israel the dominion
over all their enemies, within and without.
The simplest of these apocalyptic visions is con
tained in the ardent little book of Obadiah, the
basis of which is an impassioned denunciation of
Edom for the part she played in the tragedy of
Judah's downfall. On the day when aliens entered
the gates and cast lots upon Jerusalem, she was like
one of them, and hissed and jeered over the destruc
tion of the city, unmindful of the brotherly covenant.
For this she must pay the traitor's penalty. Already
she has had her foretaste of Divine judgment. In
days gone by she dwelt in the clefts of the rock,
puffed up with pride, and saying in her heart, ' Who
314

The Rise of Apocalypse 315
shall bring me down to the ground ? ' But Jahweh
marked her confidence, and hurled her from her
eyrie among the stars, making her an object of
misery and contempt before all the world. Her
very confederates — the friends who ate her bread —
were foremost among those that plotted against
her and drove her to the border.1 And this is but
the beginning of her woes. Robbers and vintagers
might leave a gleaning behind them, but Jahweh
will search out all the hidden treasures of Edom,
stripping her of her boasted wisdom and pride of
understanding, and leaving her forlorn and abashed
for ever. As she has done unto others, it shall
be done unto her : due requital shall descend upon
her head (vv. 1-14, 15b).2 In these fiery utterances
1 The prophet is here alluding to the encroachments of Arab
tribes against Edom, which had already become alarming in
the time of Malachi (i. 3!), and by the close of another
century resulted in the total subjugation of the country. The
Nabataeans are found occupying Petra, the capital of Edom,
c. 312 b.c. (see Diodorus Siculus xix. 94).
2 It has long been obvious that v. 16 opens a new vista, the
coming of the apocalyptic ' day of Jahweh/ which has been
heralded in v. 15a. But neither section is self -consistent. The
closing verses 19-21 are rather a prosaic commentary on
j). 18 than an actual part of the Apocalypse. The thorniest
question, however, turns on the relation of vv. 1-14, 15& to
Jer. xlix. 7-12. A comparison of these passages shows that
Ob. 1-4 is practically identical with Jer. xlix. 14-16, that Ob.
5-7 is a comment on this oracle in partial dependence on Jer.
xlix. gff., and that Ob. 8f. is a free echo of Jer. xlix. 7f. All
possible views of the relation have been taken. As the purer
text on the whole is preserved in Jer. xlix., it is most probable

316 The Prophets of the Old Testament
we have unbared before us the heart of a patriotic
Jew — a younger contemporary of Malachi and
the prophet of hope — who rejoices in the discom
fiture of Edom as an earnest of Jahweh's ven
geance soon to be exacted to the full. But the
genuine prophecy of Obadiah has been embellished
by a piece of pure Apocalypse, dating from about
the end of the century (c. 400 B.C.), which pictures
all the nations of the earth reeling around Mount
Zion, drunk with the bowl of confusion from Jahweh's
hand, but Zion herself a sanctuary defended by
Jahweh, and her people a flame to consume her
enemies hke stubble, Edom a desolation," and the
scattered exiles of Israel once more in possession
of Ephraim and Gilead, the Negeb of Judah and
the Shephelah, the coasts of the Philistines and
Phoenicians as far as Zarephath — Jahweh having
at length assumed the Kingdom, and His saved
ones ruling over their enemies (vv. 15a, 16-21).
These rude outhnes are filled in with much beauty
and vividness of colouring in the prophecy of Joel.
The place which Joel occupies in the Canon led at
first to his being classed among the earhest of the
that the common material belonged to an earlier oracle of doom
on Edom, which has been woven into the texture of Jer. xlix.,
and also cited by Obadiah as an example of prophecy fulfilled.
If the verses be secondary in Jeremiah, they find their most
natural place in the early years of the Exile, when Israel felt
so bitterly the treachery of Edom. Cf. J. A. Bewer's full dis
cussion in the Inter. Crit. Comm. on Obadiah and Joel, pp. 3ff.

The Rise of Apocalypse 317
prophets, and referred even to the age of Rehoboam ;
but the literary mould of the prophecy, its clearly
marked apocalyptic features, its general dependence
on earher books,1 as well as the allusion to the
rebuilt walls and Temple of Jerusalem, with the
daily meal- and drink-offerings of the later ritual
(i. 9), and the express mention of the Greeks as
dealers in slaves (iii. 6), have brought scholars
almost unanimously to the conclusion that the
book is a genuine Apocalypse, somewhat later than
Obadiah, reflecting another aspect of the Jewish
hope during the legalistic period inaugurated by
Ezra and Nehemiah. The immediate occasion was
a terrible scourge of locusts, followed by a burning
drought, which swept over the land of Judah,
and brought the people td the brink of despair.
In this devastation the prophet sees a premonition
of the coming ' day of Jahweh,' and in accents
tremulous with emotion he calls for wailing and
lamentation, the hallowing of fast-day and solemn
convocation before Jahweh, lest utter destruction
from the Almighty fall upon them, their cattle
and their land.
Hear this, ye aged men,
Give ear, all inhabitants of the land I

1 On the literary parallels in Joel, affecting at least twenty
out of seventy-two verses, cf. the careful studies of Driver,
Joel and Amos, pp. igff., and G. B. Gray, Expositor, Sept. 1893,
pp. 208ff.

318 The Prophets of the Old Testament
Hath there been the like in your days,
Or in the days of your fathers ?
Tell thereof to your children,
And your children to the generation thereafter :
That which the shearer hath left
The swarmer hath eaten,
And that whfch the swarmer hath left
The tapper hath eaten,
And that which the tapper hath left
The cropper hath eaten.1
Awake, ye drunkards, and weep —
Wail, all ye bibbers of wine ! 3
For a folk hath invaded my land,
Powerful and numberless.
His teeth are the teeth of a lion,
And his fangs like those of a lioness.
He hath turned my vine to waste,
And my fig tree to splinters ;
He hath stripped them bare, and flung down (ihe shreds), —
All white are their branches.
Mourn, ye priests,
The ministers of Jahweh 1 3
Wail as a bride girt in sackcloth
For the spouse of her youth !
Cut off is libation and meal-offering
From the house of Jahweh :
The fields are blasted,
The ground lies mourning ;
For the corn is blasted, the new wine abashed,
The oil pines away.

1 The nouns are different descriptions of locusts significant
of their destructive power.
2 I have omitted the last clause of v. 5 as a prosaic explanation
which mars the rhythmical movement of the piece.
3 I have transferred v. 96 to the beginning of the strophe,
reading the verb as imperative, in harmony with the rest of the
poem.

The Rise of Apocalypse 319
Be abashed, ye ploughmen,
Wail, ye vine-dressers,
Because of the wheat and the barley,
For the harvest of the field is lost !
The vine is abashed,
And the fig tree droopeth ;
Pomegranate, palm too, and apple,
All trees of the field are dried up :
And joy has gone abashed
From the sons of men.
Gird you (with mourning), and lament, ye priests —
Wail, ye ministers of the altar !
Come, lie down in sackcloth,
Ye ministers of our God ! 1
Hallow a fast.
Summon assembly !
Gather all the inhabitants of ihe land
To the house of our God !
Cry unto Jahweh :
' Woe worth the Day ! '
For near is the day of Jahweh,
As doom from the Doomster it cometh.2
Is not our food cut off
From our very eyes,
And gladness and joy
From the house of our God ?
The garners lie waste,
The barns are broken :
Now that the com is withered—
What shall we put in them ?3
Aghast are the herds of cattle,
For no pasture have they ;
1 The final clause of v. 13 is an evident variant to v. ga.
* I have attempted thus to reproduce the play between ~W,
destruction, and i^W, the Almighty.
3 The first clause of v. 17 is a corrupt variant to the
following. On the remainder of the text cf. Kittel's note.

320 The Prophets of the Old Testament
Even the flocks of sheep stand forlorn —
Unto Thee, Lord, they cry.1
For fire hath devoured
The pastures of the steppe-land,
And the flame hath scorched
All the trees of the field.
Yea, the beasts of the field
Do pant unto thee,
For the water-brooks are dry,
Their streams have failed 2 (i. 2-20).
Still nearer comes the terror, invading both city
and home ; and in verses now black and heavy
with the burden of doom, then flashing into swift,
impetuous movement hke that of gaUoping steeds,
the prophet implores his people to rend their hearts
and turn unto Jahweh, if perchance He may yet
relent and be gracious, and leave behind Him a
blessing instead of judgment.
Blow trumpet in Zion,
Sound alarm in my holy mountain !
Let all ihe inhabitants of the land tremble,
For the day of Jahweh is come, —
A day of darkness and gloom,
A day of cloud and murk.
Like dusk o'er the mountains is scattered
A people mighty and powerful;
Its like hath not been of old,
Nor shall be for ages hereafter.
Before them fire devoureth,
And behind them flame consumeth ;
1 Ihave here read the 3rd pers. (as inu. 2o)insteadof the ist.
2 The closing words of v. 20 are falsely repeated from v. 19.
In the translation I have suggested the probable thought of the
clause displaced by their intrusion.

The Rise of Apocalypse 321

The land is like Eden before them,
And a desolate desert behind them.
* * * *
Yea, there is no escape from them.
Like horses they look,1
As war-steeds they run ;
With a sound like (rattling) chariots
On the tops of mountains they leap,-
As the crackle of flaming fire,
That devoureth the stubble.
They are like a powerful people,
Equipped for battle.
Before them nations are anguished,
All faces grow livid.
Like warriors they run.
Like soldiers they mount the wall:
They march every man on his track.
They tangle not their paths.
No one jostleth his comrade,
Each keepeth his own straight way,
Through the missiles they plunge
In ranks unbroken.
On to the city they rush,
Over the wall they course;
Into ihe houses they climb,
Through the windows they pass.
Before them trembleth the earth,
The heavens are shaken ;
The sun and moon grow black,
The stars withdraw their shining.
And Jahweh doth utter His voice
Before His army ;

1 The resemblance of a locust's head to that of the horse has
struck all observers, and finds expression in the German Heu-
pferd and Italian cavalletta. On the accuracy of other elements
in the description cf. especially G. A. Smith, The Book of the
Twelve Prophets, n. 398fi. 21

322 The Prophets of the Old Testament
For very great is His host,
And mighty the workers of His word, —
Yea, great is the day of Jahweh,
And very awful; who can endure it?
But even now, saith Jahweh,
Turn unto me with all your heart,
With fasting and weeping and mourning, —
Rend your heart, and not your garment I
Yea, turn unto Jahweh your God,
For He is gracious and merciful,
Long-suffering and plenteous in love,
And relenteth of evil.
Who knoweth but He will turn and relent,
And leave behind Him a blessing —
Even meal-offering and libation
Unto Jahweh your God ?
Blow trumpet in Zion,
Hallow the fast !
Summon assembly, gather the people,
Hallow the congregation !
Assemble the old men, gather the children,
Even the babes at the breast!
Let ihe bridegroom come out from his chamber,
And the bride from her bower!
Let the priests, the ministers of Jahweh,
Weep between porch and altar I
Let them say, 0 spare Thou
Thy people, 0 Lord I
And make not Thine heritage a reproach
For the nations to mock at I
Why should they say 'mong the peoples,
Where is their God ? (ii. 1-17).
The prophet's appeal falls on open ears. The fast
is hallowed, the congregation gathered, and their
prayer uplifted. Jahweh hears and relents, and the
promise is given of a glad new day. The ' north-

The Rise of Apocalypse 323
erner ' x will be swept back to the desert, and
the stricken land will blossom again with corn and
wine and oil, and the sons of Zion will rejoice in
Jahweh with abounding joy.
Fear not, O ground, exult and be glad !
For Jahweh hath done great things.
Fear not, ye beasts of the field !
For the desert pastures are verdant.
The trees bear their fruit,
The fig and ihe vine yield their riches.
Ye too, children of Zion, exult
And rejoice in Jahweh your God !
For he giveth you food in right measure.
And hath poured on you winter- and spring-rain as aforetime.
The threshing floors also shall be full of wheat,
And the vats shall o'erflow with new wine and oil.
And I will restore you the years that the swarmer hath eaten,
The lapper, the shearer and cropper,
Even my mighty host which I sent among you.
And ye shall eat your food, and be full,
And shall praise the name of Jahweh your God,
Who hath dealt so wondrously with you.
And ye shall know that I am in the midst of Israel,
And that I am Jahweh your God, and none else ;
And nevermore shall my people be ashamed (vv. 21-27).
After these days Jahweh will pour out His Spirit
upon all the flesh of Israel, and their sons and
daughters shall prophesy, their old men shall
dream dreams, and their young men shall see
visions. But the nations that oppressed them
shall be gathered into the valley of Jehoshaphat
1 The name of ' northerner ' is given to the locusts probably
in allusion to the ' foe from the North ' threatened in Jer. i. 14;
Ezek. xxxviii. 6ff.

324 The Prophets of the Old Testament
—Jahweh judgeth 1 — that their evil deeds may
recoil upon their own heads. Amid storm and
darkness Jahweh will ascend the judgment-seat,
and send forth His voice like a lion. Then will His
heavenly ministers put in the sickle among the
multitudes in the Valley of Decision, and will garner
till none is left, while Zion remains forever the
abode of the Holy One.
Hallow a war, rouse the warriors ;
Let all the fighting men gather and go !
Beat your ploughshares to swords,
And your pruning-hooks to spears !
Let the weakling say, I am strong,
And ihe coward become a hero ! 2
Hasten and come, ye nations around,
Yea, gather ye all together !
Let the nations bestir them, and march
To the Vale of Jehoshaphat !
For there will I sit to judge
All the nations around.
Put in ihe sickle, for the vintage is ripe ;
Go, tread,3 for the winepress is full !
The vats overflow, —
Because great is their wickedness.
There be multitudes, multitudes in the Vale of Decision,
For near is the day of Jahweh in the Vale of Decision.
The sun and moon grow black,
The stars have withdrawn their shining.
1 The valley of Jehoshaphat is probably the Kidron idealized
and crowned by a new name suggestive of the judgment.
2 The second stichos is got from the LXX reading in v. 11b (cf .
Kittel). 3 For -H "1, go down, read -13-H, tread (LXX).

The Rise of Apocalypse 325
Jahweh roareth from Zion,
He sendeth His voice from Jerusalem ;
And the heavens and earth do quake,
* * * *
But Jahweh will be a refuge to His people,
A stronghold to the children of Israel;
So shall ye know that I am Jahweh your God,
That dwelleth in Zion, my Holy Mountain.
Jerusalem also shall be holy,
And strangers shall pass through her no more.
And it shall be on that day —
That ihe mountains shall drip with sweet wine,
And the hills shall flow with milk ;
All the wadis of Judah shall flow with water,
And u spring shall come pom the house of Jahweh,
And shall water the valley of Shittim (acacias).
Egypt shall be a waste,
And Edom a desolate steppe.
For the wrong done the children of Judah ;
But Judah shall be inhabited for ever,
And Jerusalem from age to age.
And Jahweh shall dwell in Zion (iii. 9-21).
These general features of judgment upon the
nations and eternal redemption for Judah, which
form the staple of all the apocalyptic writings, are
repeated in the group of prophecies comprising the
last sixxhapters of Zechariah. which are distinguished
from the earher part of the book by various well-
marked signs. The atmosphere there was charged
with peace and hope. The Temple was well-nigh
completed, the curse removed, and Jerusalem
sweetly portrayed as a cluster of villages without
walls, nestling together in sunshine and brotherly

326 The Prophets of the Old Testament
love, with none to make them afraid. In the closing
chapters we move through scenes of terror and
war and bloodshed. ' The fantasy of the writer
positively wades in the blood of the Gentiles.1
Only after they have been wiped out or reduced
to a miserable remnant by sword and fire and
plague will the wrath of Jahweh be assuaged and
His people dwell in peace among their neighbours.
For His holiness is a devouring flame that can leave
no heathen impurity behind it.2
The Apocalypse opens amid the glare and tumult
of the conflagration, as it sweeps upon the nations
that oppressed Israel — the people of Damascus
and Hamath, Tyre and Sidon, Ashkelon, Gaza,
Ekron and Ashdod. Their bulwarks are burnt,
their ramparts dashed in the sea, their proud
dwellings given over to bastard races, and their
borders merged in the wide domain of Israel. But
i Cornill, The Prophets of Israel (E.T.), p. 167.
2 The prophecies fall into four distinct groups : (a) the pro
mise of the Messianic Kingdom and the restoration of Israel
(ix. i-xi. 3) ; (6) the allegory of the shepherds (xi. 4-17 ; xiii.
7-9) ; (c) an apocalypse of the dehverance and purification of
Jerusalem (xii. i-xiii. 6) ; and (d) the elevation of Jerusalem
as the centre of holiness to the world (xiv. 1-21). These various
sections have been assigned to different authors and different
dates from the early Greek period (300-280 B.C.) to the time
of conflict under the Seleucids (c. 160). Our knowledge of con
temporary history is too vague to warrant a definite decision ;
we must therefore be content to describe the chapters as a
collection of apocalyptic pieces reflecting the Jewish faith and
hope in its deadly struggle with Hellenism.

The Rise of Apocalypse 327
high above the roaring of the flames and the clash
of arms are heard songs of joy and praise from
Jerusalem ; for her King doth come to her — the
victorious Prince of Peace that earlier prophets
had seen afar off — lowly and riding upon an ass, to
speak peace unto the nations, and to rule them
from sea to sea (the Dead Sea to the Mediterranean)
and from the River (the Euphrates) to the furthest
ends of the earth (ix. i-io). As for the exiles in
distant Babylonia — those ' prisoners of hope ' still
languishing in pit and dungeon — Jahweh has even
now spoken the word of release, and all that are
bound by ' the blood of the covenant ' will return
to Zion, and enjoy the double of what they have
lost. Already He has bent Him Judah as a sure,
strong bow, and filled the bow with Ephraim, a
swift and deadly arrow, and has taken to Him the
sons of Zion as the sword of a doughty warrior, and
will sweep upon their enemies with whirlwinds
from the South, sending forth His shafts as light
ning, and sounding loud blasts from His trumpet.
Under His protecting wings the sons of Zion will
trample down their enemies, and drink their blood
hke wine, till they are filled with it as a bowl, and
saturated even as the corners of an altar. Thus
Jahweh will save His people, and tend them like
a flock, and they shall be as / stones for a crown '
glittering upon His sacred soil (vv. 11-17)-
In the immediate sequel Israel is depicted as a

328 The Prophets of the Old Testament
poor and afflicted remnant led astray by false
teachers and shepherds — prophets who divined for
gain and heathen princes who made havoc of the
flock — so that they wandered at large hke sheep
having no shepherd. Jahweh has long been silent,
but now His wrath is kindled against the shepherds
and ' bell-wethers ' who misled His people, and
He will visit them with swift punishment for their
cruelty and greed. On that day He will make
His sheep like ' lusty war-steeds,' and they shall
trample down armed men ' hke mire of the streets,'
while the riders on horses are confounded. With
His own might shall He strengthen the house of
Judah, and shall save also their lost brethren, the
house of Joseph, and they shall be as though He
had not cast them off. Yea, the men of Ephraim
shall uprise like heroes, their heart expanded as
with wine, and they shall return from all the lands
where they were scattered, while the pride of their
enemies is humbled, and they wail as oaks of Bashan
when the forest is fallen, and roar as young
lions when the jungle of Jordan is laid waste (x. i.-
xi. 3).
The familiar figure of the flock receives a rich
expansion in the allegory of the shepherds, where
the prophet himself personates the rulers of his
people. Israel is a flock of helpless sheep, bought
and sold by heathen ' owners,' to be fed for the
slaughter. So long as they gain wealth from their

The Rise of Apocalypse 329
trafficking, these owners care nothing for the sheep.
Their own shepherds — the priests of Israel — are as
indifferent to their welfare, thinking only of the
wages they receive. At Jahweh's personal command
the prophet assumes the care of the sheep. Taking
to him two staves — Grace (or Favour) and Bonds (or
Unity) — symbolical of the favour which he won his
flock among the nations and his earnest efforts to pre
serve their unity — he tends them as a good shepherd,
who spares no pains to help the poor and the weak,
and to shelter the young ones. But the flock soon
weary of the shepherd, and in despair he resigns
his charge, breaking the two staves Favour and
Unity — thus leaving the flock scattered and friend
less in the world — and receiving for his services
the slave's pittance of thirty pieces of silver, which
he forthwith casts into the Temple treasury. Next
playing the part of a worthless shepherd, he allows
the flock to perish with hunger and disease, seeking
only to eat for himself,' the flesh of the fattest,' and
to gnaw the legs of the sound ones (xi. 4-17) . Jahweh
raises his sword against the faithless shepherd ; he
is smitten, and the sheep are scattered to the winds.
Two parts are cut off — even the lambs sharing the
fate of their flocks — but Jahweh reserves Him the
third part, passes it through the furnace of affliction,
and brings it forth like silver or gold refined in the
crucible. ' They shall call upon my name, and I
will hear them ; I will say, They are my people,

330 The Prophets of the Old Testament
and they shall say, Jahweh is my God ' (xiii. 7-9). 1
In the following section we pass once more to
apocalypse, and see Jerusalem as ' a cup of reeling '
to all the peoples round about, or as ' a heavy
boulder ' which gashes all who try to lift it. Horse
and rider are alike smitten with madness, and the
chieftains of Judah are made like a pan of fire
among wood, or a flaming torch among sheaves,
devouring on the right hand and on the left, till
Jerusalem is freed from all her enemies. A new
spirit is now poured upon the house of David and
the dwellers in Jerusalem — a spirit of grace and
prayer — so that they mourn for Him they have
unjustly pierced, and are in bitterness of soul
for Him as they would be for a first-born son.2 A
fountain is likewise opened in Jerusalem — a foun
tain ' for sin and for uncleanness ' — and the very
, names of the false gods are forgotten, while the
prophets and every ' spirit of uncleanness ' — all the
1 The allegory of the shepherds is doubtless based on historical
personalities and events, though our general ignorance of the
period in question prevents our recognizing them with any
degree of certainty. The three shepherds cut off in one month
(v. 8a) are most easily identified with the high-priests Lysi-
machus, Jason and Menelaus, who all met violent deaths between
the years 171 and 163 ; but this may be a later intrusion, v. 7
finding its true sequel in 8&.
2 If the Apocalypse belong to the Seleucid period the martyr
is probably the high-priest Onias III, who was murdered
by the Jews in 171 b.c. Jewish interpreters identify him
with the Servant of Jahweh, now regarded as an individual
sufferer.

The Rise of Apocalypse 331
influences that make for uncleanness — are cut off
from the land. In that day the father and mother
of a prophet will thrust him through with their
own hands, while he vainly protests that he is no
prophet but a tiller of the soil, and that the tattoo
marks on his breast are the scars of wounds where
with he was wounded in the house of his friends
(xii. i-xiii. 6).
The theme of the closing section is similar. Jeru
salem has been stormed and spoiled, and half of
the city is carried into captivity. But Jahweh
comes down with all His holy angels to fight for
His people. Taking His stand on the Mount of
Olives, He cleaves it in two by a mighty earth
quake, one half of the mountain shding Northward,
and the other South, leaving a chasm for the fugi
tives to escape. Their enemies destroyed, the
people of Jerusalem dwell in abiding peace and joy.
' It shall be on that day, that there shall be neither
cold nor frost nor snow ; but there shall be endless
day — the day well known to Jahweh — not day and
night, but at evening time there shall be light. And
it shall be on that day, that living waters shall
flow from Jerusalem, one half toward the Eastern
sea, and one half toward the Western sea ; both
summer and winter shall they flow. And Jahweh
shall be King over all the earth ; on that day Jahweh
shall be one, and His name one. And the whole
land shall be turned to a steppe, from Geba to

332 The Prophets of the Old Testament
Rimmon (En-rimmon), South of Jerusalem ; only
she (Jerusalem) shall stand aloft, and shall abide
in her place — even from the gate of Benjamin
to the site of the old gate (the corner-gate) and
from the tower of Hananel to the king's wine
presses shall she be inhabited. And there shall
be no more curse, but Jerusalem shall dwell in
safety,' while her enemies are devastated by plague.
' He will make their flesh moulder, even as they
stand upon their feet, and their eyes shall moulder
in their sockets, and their tongues shall moulder
in their mouth.' Their horses and cattle also shall
perish of the plague. ' And it shall be, that every
one that is left of all the nations which went against
Jerusalem shall go up from year to year to do
obeisance to the King, even Jahweh of hosts, and
to keep the feast of tabernacles. . . . On that
day there shall be (inscribed) upon the bells of
the horses, Holy unto Jahweh ; and the (common)
pots in the house of Jahweh shall be (used) as the
basins before the altar ' — so abundant shall be
the sacrifices in the Temple — ' yea, every pot in
Jerusalem and Judah shall be holy unto Jahweh of
hosts ; and all they that sacrifice shall come and
take of them, and shall cook (their sacrifices)
therein, while no trafficker shall any more be found
in the house of Jahweh of hosts ' (xiv. 1-21).
Far loftier heights are touched in the soaring
visions of Isaiah xxiv.-xxvii. The apocalyptic

The Rise of Apocalypse 333
character of these chapters is evident : language,
style and atmosphere ahke connect them with
Joel and the second part of Zechariah. But they
are marked by a breadth of outlook, a tenderness
and sympathy, unknown to these hot spirits. In
these respects they can hardly be surpassed in the
Old Testament.1
The curtain rises on the usual apocalyptic spec
tacle of the world turned upside down before the
righteous judgment of Jahweh.
Behold ! Jahweh doth empty the earth, and waste it ;
He turneth it upside down, and scattereth its inhabitants (xxiv. i) .
Ruin falls equally on people and priest, master and
servant, mistress and maid, buyer and seller, taker
and giver of interest, heaven and earth, and the
fruits of the ground ; for the whole world is pro
faned by the crimes of its inhabitants.
A curse devoureth the earth,
And the dwellers therein pay their guilt ;
Thus the inhabitants of the earth are minished,
And of mortals there are left but few.
The new wine mourneth, the vine doth languish,
All the joyous of heart do sigh.
The mirth of timbrels hath ceased,
The din of the joyful is still.
With song shall they no more drink wine,
(For) bitter is mead to the drinkers thereof.
1 To this cycle of oracles also various dates have been assigned,
from the whirlwind campaigns of Alexander the Great to the age
of Johannes Hyrcanus (c. 128-111 b.c). Precise indications
are wanting ; the interpolated songs, however, are clearly later
than the Apocalypse proper.

334 The Prophets of the Old Testament
The city of Chaos is shattered,
Every house is shut up, that no one may enter ;
In the streets is outcry for (lack of) wine,
All joy is grown dim, the mirth of the land is gone.
Desolation is left in the city,
To ruins the gate is battered.
For thus shall it be in the midst of the earth,
Among all the peoples —
As when olive trees are beaten,
Or at gleaning, when vintage is over (xxiv. 6-13).
From the distant places of the earth, both East
and West, there rise loud songs of praise to Jahweh,
proclaiming the dawn of salvation ; but meanwhile
all around is darkness and distress.
Terror and pit and snare
Be upon you, dwellers on earth I
And he that fleeth from terror shall fall on the pit,
And he that escapes from the pit shall be caught in the snare.
For the windows above are opened,
' And the roots of the earth do shake ;
The earth is utterly broken,
Is split to the heart, and tossed.
The earth doth reel as a drunkard,
And is swayed to and fro like a hut.
The transgression of earth lies heavy thereon ;
So it falleth, to rise no more (vv. 17-20).
But not only on the kings and princes of earth does
the judgment fall ; ' the host of the height on high '
— the rebellious powers of heaven — are likewise
gathered together, ' as prisoners are gathered in
the dungeon,' to be visited with condign punish
ment on the day when the sun and moon stand
abashed before the radiance of Jahweh's glory,
and He stands as King on Mount Zion, and
shows forth His praise to the elders. Then shall

The Rise of Apocalypse 335
the veil be removed from the face of all nations,
and they shall sit down with Jahweh at His corona
tion feast, and shall enjoy the bliss of His presence
for ever.
Then Jahweh of hosts will make for all peoples
A feast of fat things, of wine on the lees,
Fat things full of marrow, wine on lees well refined.
Then will He rend on this mountain
The veil that veileth all peoples,
And the web that is woven upon all nations.
He hath swallowed up death for ever,
And will wipe the tears from all faces,
And the reproach of His people remove from the earth.
For Jahweh hath spoken (xxv. 6-8).
A significant new motif is here introduced into
Apocalypse, one that was destined to play a large
part in future visions of the Kingdom, and to con
tribute a powerful element to the faith of Judaism.
Even in the purest of the Psalms the good man's
outlook was bounded by this life. Only a few
greatly daring spirits, driven to despair by the
insoluble problems of moral life, had sought refuge
in the hereafter, or fiercely protested against the
indignity of death for those whose hves were hid in
God.1 No doubt their heroism of faith had its
influence on the thoughtful. But it was the taking
up of their hope into the enchanted region of Apoca
lypse that captivated the heart and imagination of
the people, and gave to the doctrine of immortality
the sure place it held in Jewish belief by the time of
our Lord.
1 Cf. the chapter on ' Life and Immortality ' in the author's
Poets of the Old Testament, pp. 167ft.

336 The Prophets of the Old Testament
Intermingled with the Apocalypse are outbursts
of melody (xxv. 1-5 ; xxvi. 1-19 ; xxvii. 2-6 ; and
xxvii. 7-11) which endear the chapters even to
those bhnd to their true character and purpose.
Of these lyrical intermezzos the Song of Salvation
is a real classic of devotion.
A strong city is ours ;
For protection He setteth
Both walls and bulwark.
Open the gates,
That the righteous may enter,
Who keepeth troth !
The steadfast mind
Thou keepest in peace,
For He trusteth in Thee.
Trust Jahweh for ever !
For Jahweh the Lord
Is a Rock everlasting (xxvi. 1-4).
The path of the upright is even,
The track of the just man Thou smoothest.
In the path of Thy judgments, O Lord, have we sought Thee ;
Thy name and memorial are our soul's desire.
With my soul have I desired Thee in the night,
Yea, with my spirit do I seek Thee earnestly ;
For when Thy judgments reach down to the earth,
The inhabitants of the world learn righteousness (vv. 7-9).
Jahweh, Thy hand is exalted,
But Thine enemies see it not ;
Now let them see Thy zeal for Thy people,
Yea, let fire consume them !
But for us, Lord, ordain Thou peace !
For even all our . work hast Thou wrought for us.
There have ruled us lords beside Thee, O Lord ;
But Thee alone do we mention by name (vv. 11— 13).

The Rise of Apocalypse 337
In distress, Lord, we sought Thee,
We cried through oppression,
When Thy chastening was on us.
As a woman with child,
Who is near to give birth,
And cries out in her pain ;
So were we, Lord, before Thee —
We travailed and writhed,
And gave birth to wind I
For the land we wrought no deliverance,
The dwellers on earth fell not (were not born) ;
But Thy dead shall live,
Their bodies shall rise.
They that dwell in the dust
Shall awake and sing out;
For Thy dew is the dew of lights,
And the earth shall bring shades (the dead) to birth (vv. 16-19).
On much the same note is pitched the sweet
Vineyard-song, whose quick two-pulsed measures
hkewise rise to threes in the closing lines of calm
assurance. A delightsome vineyard ;
Sing it a song !
I Jahweh do keep it,
Each moment I water it ;
Night and day I keep it,
Lest its leafage be missing.
If one would but face me
With thistles and thorns,
In war would I march on them,
I would burn them together.
Else let him cling to my stronghold,
And make his peace with me,
Yea, make his peace with me !
On that day shall Jacob take root,
Israel shall blossom and bud,
And shall fill the world with fruit (xxvii. 2-6).
22

CHAPTER XXIV
Daniel the Seer
Thus far the development of Apocalypse has been
halting and tentative, but in the book of Daniel
it reaches the full strength of manhood. The hero
of the book is a Jewish exile, one of those true-
hearted sons of Zion who not merely kept their
own souls free from pollution through the dark
days of their country's shame, but stood like a rock
amid the swirling waters, the centre of security
for all who sought to remain loyal to their faith.
The early chapters tell of his inflexible devotion
to the God of his fathers in the face of fierce
temptations. As the result he rises to the foremost
position of authority under successive rulers of
Babylon ; and in a series of visions, mainly occupy
ing the latter half of the book, he uplifts the eyes
of his downcast fellow-patriots to contemplate the
issues of years to come.
Though the scene is laid in the Exile, the book
itself is centuries later. One whole section is
written in Aramaic, specifically the Western dialect
found in Ezra and the Targums of Jonathan and
Onkelos. Even the Hebrew portions are unmis-
338

Daniel the Seer 339
takably decadent, the style being laboured and
stilted, full of mannerisms, and strongly tinctured
with Aramaic idioms. The linguistic peculiarities
of these chapters suggest an Aramaic origin for the
whole book ; in any case the writer was more
f amihar with the newer dialect than with the classical
Hebrew of Samuel and Kings. His language reveals
also a heavy colouring of Persian forms, implying
a date subsequent to the victories of Cyrus ; and at
least four examples of purely Greek words, one of
these in the Macedonian dialect,1 presupposing the
extension of Greek influence over Palestine and the
East, as the result of the conquests of Alexander
the Great. The historical purview of Daniel points
even to an advanced stage of Greek domination.
The knowledge displayed of the Babylonian Exile
and the Medo-Persian Empire is vague and con
fused, while as we proceed along the pathway of
Greek civilization the hght becomes fuller and
stronger, until it reaches its zenith in the reign
of Antiochus Epiphanes, who in 168 b.c. assailed
Jerusalem, threw down the city walls, dismantled
the Temple, and on the site of the great altar of
burnt-offering erected an altar to Zeus, on which
he offered sacrifices of swine, commanding the
inhabitants of every village in Palestine to follow
his example, as well as to refrain from Sabbath
1 tVl3 (hi. 4)=^p«l; D'lJVp, H0?Df and njJBpiD (iii. 5fi.)
=Ki8apls, rf/avTfyiov (Macedonian form of ^aXr-^piov), and ov/uptavla.

340 The Prophets of the Old Testament
observance and the rite of circumcision. On this
crowning act of sacrilege the plot of the Apocalypse
hinges. The date clearly lies between 167 and 165
— after the desecration of the Temple on Dec. 15,
168 and the first astonishing victories of Judas
Maccabeus in the following year, but before the
Maccabean rule had been firmly established, or
the Temple purified (Dec. 25, 165). The pur
pose of the book is to rouse the energies of the
Jews to combat the peril that faced them, partly
by concrete examples of how brave men of old
held fast to duty and honour, refusing ahke to
worship the images of their heathen over-lords
and to defile themselves by their ways, and partly
by forecasts of a brighter age, when the Kingdom of
the most High should rise in triumph over aU the
Empires of the earth, and His faithful people should
reign with Him for ever.1
In the first of these visions — that embodied in
Nebuchadnezzar's 2 dream (ch. ii.) — we have the
general succession of world-dynasties passed in
review : the head of fine gold symbolizing the
brilliant Empire of Nebuchadnezzar himself ; while
the breast and arms of silver represent Cyrus' young
1 For a more detailed exposition of these arguments, cf. the
standard Introductions and Commentaries, e.g., Driver in the
Cambridge Bible, or R. H. Charles in the Century Bible.
2 Thus the name of the Babylonian king appears — less cor
rectly — in Daniel, as in 2 Kings xxiv. iff. and 2 Chron. xxxvi.
6fl.

Daniel the Seer 341
martial kingdom ; the thighs of brass, the powerful
monarchy of Darius the Persian, heir to the passing
Median rule ; and the legs and feet of iron, mingled
with potter's clay, the ruthless Greek power of
Alexander, already broken into warring elements,
that must soon bring it down in ruins. Confronting
all these earthly monarchies the prophet sees the
Rock Kingdom of the living God, from which is
cut by unseen hands a stone — His own corner
stone Israel — that smites the image, and destroys
it utterly, but itself shall stand for ever, filling
the earth with its invincible might. Essentially
the same panorama of history is unrolled in
Daniel's vision (ch. vii.) : the lion with eagle's wings
representing the lordly Babylonian Empire,
which culminated in the human-hearted reign
of Nebuchadnezzar ; the ravenous bear with the
three ribs between its teeth (the symbol of de
struction), the Median kingdom which overthrew it ;
the leopard with four heads and four bird-like
wings, the Empire of Darius, extending its sway
over the four quarters of the earth ; and the terrible
beast with great iron teeth and ten powerful horns,
which trampled the rest of the nations under its
feet, devouring and breaking in pieces, the con
quering Greek power, with its ten kings from
Alexander to Demetrius I (Soter) — the little horn
which sprung from the midst of the others, with
its eyes bright and keen, ' like the eyes of a man,'

342 The Prophets of the Old Testament
and its mouth speaking blasphemies, the evident
emblem of Antiochus Epiphanes, who wrought such
havoc on the people of God, and dared even to
challenge His supremacy. Here also the kingdoms
of the world are brought before the judgment-seat
of God, visualized as 'the ancient of days' — the very
ideal of grave old manhood — His head hoary as
wool and His garment like snow, ' His throne fiery
flames and its wheels burning fire,' thousand
thousands ministering unto Him and ten thousand
times ten thousand gathered before Him for judg
ment. The little horn which had blasphemed God
and waged war against His saints is slain, and its
body given to the flames ; the other beasts are
stripped of their dominion, though their lives are
prolonged for a season. As the seer continues
to look, behold ! there comes with the clouds
of heaven ' one hke unto a son of man ' — a just
and gracious human monarchy — which shall have
dominion over all other powers, and shall neither
pass away nor be destroyed hke them. This
kingdom is explicitly identified with ' the people
of the saints of the Most High ' (v. 27) — the true
community of Israel, which receives the inheritance
of the nations from its Lord — a personification
similar to that of the Suffering Servant in Deutero-
Isaiah, which for the prophet himself embraced
Israel as an ideal whole, though in Jewish Apo-

Daniel the Seer 343
calypse it was narrowed down to the Messiah, and
found its fulfilment in Jesus Christ.
The veil is lifted a httle further in a vision dated
the third year of the reign of king Belshazzar
(ch. viii.), where the united Medo-Persian Empire
appears as a ram with two horns, one higher than
the other and somewhat later in appearing, while
the victorious kingdom of Greece is represented by
a he-goat that came from the West, so swiftly that
he seemed not to touch the ground beneath his
feet, and was moved with fury against the ram,
and smote him, and brake both his horns, and
magnified himself exceedingly, and overran the
whole face of the earth. The he-goat is pictured
with a ' notable ' or conspicuous horn between his
eyes, identified with the first king of Greece, Alex
ander the Great (v. 21) ; and when this horn is
broken — by the death of Alexander in 323 B.C. —
there rise in its place four other horns, facing the
four winds of heaven, i.e. the four petty kingdoms
into which Alexander's Empire was divided — Egypt
under the rule of the Ptolemies in the South, the
Seleucid kingdom of Syria and Babylonia in the
East, Asia Minor in the North, and Greece itself
in the West. From one of these (the dynasty of
the Seleucids) comes a little horn (Antiochus), which
waxes exceeding great, and extends its might both
South and East, even to ' the glorious land ' (Pales
tine), casting down ' the place of the sanctuary '

344 The Prophets of the Old Testament
(the Temple), and removing the continual burnt-
offering from the altar, polluting the sacred site
with ' the desolating sin ' of heathenism (the altar
of Zeus on which swine were offered in sacrifice),
and trampling truth and righteousness underfoot,
until the times shall be fulfilled, and the Most High
set limits to his rage. In a further vision (ch. ix.)
it is revealed to Daniel that the times appointed —
the 1,150 days of the oppressor's reign — will com
plete the 70 ' weeks of years ' foreseen by Jeremiah
as the period of discipline for Israel, from the de
struction of Jerusalem till God shall ' finish trans
gression and make an end of sin, purge away
iniquity and set up everlasting righteousness, seal
vision and prophet ' (i.e. confirm the truth of prophetic
visions) ' and anoint (dedicate afresh) the most holy
place ' (v. 24). Then in an ecstasy he is swept
up to heaven, and sees the warfare of contending
nations fought out by their patron angels above
(chs. x.-xii). Through the help of Michael, the
' prince ' or patron of Israel, the kingdom of Persia
is crushed ; on its ruins Alexander of Greece rises
to great power, but no sooner has he consolidated
his strength than he is cut down, and his Empire
broken into four. Internecine conflicts devastate
these kingdoms,1 until ' a contemptible person '
(Antiochus) usurps the sceptre of the East, over-
1 On the intricate historical relations envisaged in xi. 4ff.,
cf. Charles, op. cit., pp. 11 9ft.

Daniel the Seer 345
throws ' the king of the South ' (Ptolemy Philometor),
and then carries his arms into ' the glorious land,'
where he profanes the sanctuary, removes the
continual burnt-offering, and sets up ' the abomina
tion that maketh desolate,' regardless alike of
' the god of his fathers ' and of all other gods. But
the consummation is decreed ; and in the very
flush of a mad campaign against the king of Egypt
he comes to a miserable end within the borders of
Palestine, ' between the Sea (the Mediterranean)
and the glorious holy mountain (Zion).'1 Imme
diately there falls upon Israel the final conflict
with evil. Jerusalem is assailed by heathen powers
on every side, and the saints must endure ' a
time of trouble such as never has been since there
was a nation even to that same time.' But Michael
stands up to help them, and Israel is dehvered,
even ' every one whose name is found written in
the book ' of hfe. In return for their patient
endurance, the righteous are made partakers of
immortal hfe ; and those who have died in faith
rise to share their bliss. ' Many of them that
sleep in the land of dust (Sheol) shall awake, some
to everlasting hfe, and others (the notoriously

1 In xi. 40S. veiled history melts into prediction, and an
imaginative picture is drawn of Antiochus' last ambitious designs
and death. While in harmony with the schematism of Apocal
ypse, the picture is at variance with historical fact, Antiochus
meeting his fate at Tabae, in Persia, 164 B.C.

346 The Prophets of the Old Testament
wicked) to shame and everlasting contempt.' As
for the ' wise ' or good, who have turned many
to righteousness, ' they shall shine as the brightness
of the firmament, . . . even as the stars for ever
and ever ' (xii. 2f.).1
1 The resurrection of the dead is not yet regarded as
normal or universal. Only the pre-eminently righteous and
wicked are raised to life, the former to glory and the latter to
shame, while the Laodiceans, who are conspicuous neither for
good nor for evil, are left in the limbo of Sheol. ' This is almost
exactly what we find in I Enoch xxii., where, however, the
idea of Sheol is in a higher state of development than that in
our text ' (Charles, op. cit., p. 140).

CHAPTER XXV
Jonah the Missionary
The alluring visions of apocalyptic seers helped
powerfully to strengthen the heart of Israel during
these troublous centuries. There was, however,
a grave danger in Apocalypse, and the Jews did
not wholly escape it. By dwelling on the glorious
future that awaited themselves, they tended to
forget their missionary obligations, and even
aUowed their minds to brood .with mahcious de
light uppn the" sufferings to which their enemies
were doomed. The Apocalypses of the Old Testa
ment are not free from this spirit, and as we pass
beyond the pale of Scripture it becomes greatly
accentuated. But other voices were raised to
bring the people to worthier thoughts of their
own destiny and the salvation of the world. Thus
Malachi exalts the heathen nations as more loyal
to God's honour than His own peculiar people,
while the nameless author of Isa. xix. 23ft. pictures
Israel as a third with Egypt and Assyria, a blessing
in the midst of the earth. The purest essence
of Jewish liberalism is found, however, in the
347

348 The Prophets of the Old Testament
nobly conceived little book of Jonah, perhaps the
most Christlike portion of the Old Testament.
The book of Jonah is not strictly prophetic. It
contains rio word either of duty or of cheer from
Jahweh, but tells the story of a prophet's wilful
ness, restoration and despondency, in much the
same style as the Elijah section of Kings. The
hero of the book is Jonah, son of Amittai, an older
contemporary of Amos and Hosea, who flourished
in the reign of Jeroboam II, and predicted that
king's victories over Syria (cf. 2 Kings xiv. 25). In
the first chapter we read how the prophet was
bidden journey to Nineveh and testify against its
wickedness, but, fearing lest the people might repent
and Jahweh forgive them, took ship at Joppa, and
attempted to escape to Tarshish, on the far-distant
coast of Spain ; how a great storm arose, which
imperilled the hves of all on board, until Jonah was
cast out as a sacrifice to the deep ; and how Jahweh
prepared for Jonah a great fish, in whose belly he
remained for three days and nights. The second
chapter tells how Jonah prayed,1 and on the
third day was vomited out on dry land. The
sequel appears in the two closing chapters. A
second time the word of Jahweh came to Jonah,
1 The so-called ' prayer of Jonah ' (ii. 2-9) is really a Hymn
of Thanksgiving for some unlooked-for dehverance from death
and Sheol, in the style of the later Psalmists, but with no essen
tial bearing on Jonah's experience.

Jonah the Missionary 349
and he obeyed, arose and went to Nineveh, pro
claimed the total destruction of the city within
forty days, and thereafter built a booth on the
East side of the city, and sat down in the shadow,
' till he might see what would become of the city.'1
But the issue proved contrary to his expectations.
The people of Nineveh believed God, proclaimed
a fast, and clothed themselves with sackcloth,
' from the greatest of them even to the least of
them.' And God saw their works, ' and God
repented of the evil which He said He would do
unto them ; and He did it not.' But Jonah was
sorely displeased, and in bitter spleen and jealousy
for his honour prayed God to take away his life,
for it was better to die than to live humiliated . Then
through the sympathy which He evoked for a
gourd swiftly raised over Jonah's head, and as
swiftly stricken and bhghted by worm and
wind, God sought to instil into his embittered
heart some touch at least of His own sympathy
for His creatures. ' Thou hast had pity on the
gourd, for which thou hast not laboured, and
which thou madest not grow ; which came up in a
night, and perished in a night : and should not I
have pity on Nineveh, that great city, in which
are more than six-score thousand persons that

1 The isolated verse iv. 5 finds its most natural position
after iii. 4.

350 The Prophets of the Old Testament
cannot discern between their right hand and their
left — and also much cattle ? ' (iv. iof.).
It is unfortunate that literary and historical
questions have rendered so many insensible to the
true spirit and purpose of Jonah. Conflict has
raged around the outward details of the storm and
its ceasing, the journey to Nineveh and the sud
den conversion of the people, the springing up
and destruction of the gourd, but especially the
episode of ' Jonah's whale,' which has become a
standard joke of the sceptic. The purpose of cri
ticism is to lead us beyond the externals to a
just appreciation of the nature, object and signifi
cance of the book. And one result emerges at
the outset — that we are not in presence of con
temporary history. The prophet himself lived
in the early part of Jeroboam's reign (c. 775 B.C.) ;
but, from whatever source the author drew his
materials, the book of Jonah belongs to the same
period as the apocalyptic literature we have been
studying, probably the middle or end of the third
century. In spite of its dependence on classical
models, such as Kings and Deuteronomy, the
language is almost as decadent as that of Daniel,
while the movement of events is forced and jerky,
quite unlike the even flow of the older historians.
We cannot, therefore, lay much stress on the
historical value of Jonah. The book is really an
early example of the Midrash — moral apologue or

Jonah the Missionary 351
parable — which was so much used by Jewish teachers,
and notably by our Lord, to illustrate or enforce spiri
tual truth. As literature, it stands in exactly the
same category as the parables of the sower and the
prodigal son. Jonah is the typical Israelite of
his day, jealous of his spiritual prerogatives, and
eager for the annihilation of the heathen nations
rather than their reception into the Kingdom, who
has to pass through tribulation, suffering, and the
' pains and sorrows ' of death itself,1 before he
will take up his missionary vocation with heart
or enthusiasm. The object of the book is to bring
the people to a better mind : to make them realize
their responsibilities to the world lying around
them in darkness, and to inspire them with some
thing of God's passion for humanity. He is the
Lord and Saviour, not of Israel alone, but of all
men and nations. His ears are ever open to the
prayer of sincerity — whether of Spanish sailors
crying to their gods for help in time of need,
or of the multitudes of Nineveh turning to Him in
response to His prophet's warning — while His heart
flows out in sympathy to the weak and helpless,
the little children, and even the cattle, doomed to
1 The imprisonment in the ' great fish ' is probably an alle
gorical suggestion of the Exile, through which Israel was brought
to itself, and returned to the Father. The story of the fish
belongs to a wide-spread cycle of myth, which assumes many
different forms in different lands. Cf. J. A. Bewer, Inter. Crit.
Comm. on Jonah, with literature there cited.

352 The Prophets of the Old Testament
die for no wrong-doing of their own. And they
are God's true people who have most of His heart of
love : who take upon themselves the sorrows of the
world, and in love go forth to seek and save the lost.
One can readily understand how the book appealed
to the imagination of Jesus Christ, how He pored
over its gracious message, and found in Jonah a
' sign ' of His own ministry. On ourselves it
is calculated to impress anew the breadth of God's
revealing purpose, no less than the fulness of
His mercy. God unveils Himself in many ways,
by poetry and prophecy, by law and sacrifice, by
simple goodness and purity of hfe, and equally by
symbol and parable ; for His revelation is through
human channels, and nothing human is alien to
His spirit •

INDICES
GENERAL INDEX
Ahab, 23ft.
Ahaz, io5ff., 114, 119
Ahijah the prophet, 2 if.
Alexander the Great, 244 n., 333 n., 341ft.
Amaziah the priest of Bethel, 43, 55L
Amos and his times, 35ft . ; his home in Tekoa, 38L ; his
natural character and education, 39L ; call to prophesy,
41 ; visions, 41ft. ; scenes of his prophetic activity,
43 ; literary style, 44 ; the prophet of Justice, 44fL
Antiochus Epiphanes, 3396
Apocalypse, Origin and growth of, 58 n., 287L, 3146.
Ashtart, Worship of, 13, 25
Asshurbanipal, 166
Assouan papyri, 57*1., 112 n., 265 n.
Assyrian peril, The, 4if., 54L, ii3ff.
Baal worship, 12L, 24ff.
Babylon, Fall of, 275ft.
Balaam the seer, 16
Cambyses the mad, 279
Carchemish, Battle of, 187
Carlyle, compared with Amos, 60 n.
Causality, Amos and moral, 40, 48L
Cyaxares, 167, 187
Cyrus the Great, 252L, 257, 276L, 340L
Damascus, Fall of, 62, 113
Daniel the seer, 338ff.
Darius, 279, 340L 353 ' 23

354 General Index
David the king, i8ff.
Day of Jahweh, 37L, 53, 147L, 319ft.
Deborah the prophetess, 14
Deuteronomic Reformation, 176L
Deutero-Isaiah : date, 252 ; literary style, 255L ; arrange
ment of prophecies, 256 n. ; the dehverance and
mission of Israel, 257ft.
Deutero-Zechariah, 325ft.
Dod, the divine name, 57 n.
Elijah the Tishbite, 25ft.
Elisha the prophet, 31ft.
Elkosh, the home of Nahum, 168
Esarhaddon, king of Assyria, 107 n., 166
Ethbaal, father of Jezebel, 23
Ethical genius of Old Testament prophecy, 19L, 27ft.
Ezekiel : birth and early surroundings, 2iif. ; vision of the
Glory, 212ft. ; literary style, 217 f . ; prophecies on
the fall of Jerusalem, 2igff. ; oracles on Tyre, 228ff. ;
the prophet of regeneration, 232ft. ; vision of the New
Jerusalem, 238ft. ; the father of Judaism, 241L
Faith as the staying principle of hfe, 107L, 246L
Gad the seer, 16 n.
Gedaliah, 192
Glory, the manifestation of hohness, 216
Gomer, wife of Hosea, 76ft.
Habakkuk, the prophet of faith, 243ft.
„ Psalm of, 244 n., 249ft.
Haggai, the prophet of the Restoration, 279ft.
Hazael, king of Syria, 32
Hezekiah, 119ft., 129L
Holiness, 85, 88ff., 127 n., 216
Hosea : times, of, 6 iff. ; literary arrangement of his pro
phecies, 63f . ; the prophet of truth, knowledge and
love, 64ft. ; domestic sorrows, 76ft. ; prophet of the
Everlasting Mercy, 78L
Hoshea and the downfall of Samaria, 115L

General Index 355
Humanity as the vital expression of rehgion, 169I, 247L
Immanuel, The sign of, io8f.
Immortality and the Apocalyptic hope, 335, 337, 345L
Inspiration, Prophetic, 41, 139I, 151ft., etc.
Isaiah : times of, 83L ; vision and call, 84ft . ; the prophet
of hohness, 88ft. ; personal character, 93I ; hterary
style, 94ff. ; prophecies on social conditions in Israel
and Judah, 96ft. ; meeting with Ahaz, io6ff. ; the
sign of Immanuel, io8f . ; the prophet and his disciples,
1 1 if. ; prophecies against Samaria and Jerusalem,
n6ff. ; on the Egyptian alliance, i2off. ; the invasion
of Sennacherib, 123ft. ; influence over Hezekiah, i2gf . ;
visions of the coming Kingdom, 130ft.
Jehoahaz, 179, 225 n.
Jehoiachin, 189, 225 n.
Jehoiakim, 187ft.
Jehu the king, 32
Jehu the prophet, 22
Jeremiah : home and early training, 150L ; call, 151ft.
prophecies on the Scythian peril, 155ft. ; twofold
sympathy, i63f . ; the moral assayer of his people, 164 ;
attitude towards the Deuteronomic Reformation,
176ft. ; on true and false rehgion, prophecy and
patriotism, i8off. ; the prophet of personal religion,
i94ff. ; on the problem of suffering, 200ft. ; the
restoration of Israel, 209ft. ; Messianic outlook, 2ogf.
Jeroboam I, 2if.
Jeroboam II and his times, 34ft., 6iff.
Jerusalem, Fall of, i88ff.
Jezebel, 23ft.
Joel, Apocalypse of, 316ft.
Jonah, the missionary, 347ft.
Josiah the good, 143, 176, 178
Jotham, 105
Justice as the essence of religion, 46ft.
Karkar, Battle of, 24

356 General Index
Love as the expression of the Divine character, 77L
Maher-shalal Hash-baz, The prophecy concerning, 109L, 113
Malachi the prophet, 295ft.
Manasseh and his times, 142ft.
Mazzini, compared with Jeremiah, 198 n.
Megiddo, Battle of, 178
Melcarth, the god of Tyre, 236.
Melech, Worship of, 20, 142ft.
Merodach-Baladan, king of the Chaldeans, 120
Mesha stone, 23, 57 n.
Messiah, Prophecies concerning the, 130ft., 2ogf ., 238f ., 342f .
Micah, the democrat, 133ft. ; his bluntness of speech,
melting into genuine pathos, 134ft. ; prophecy of the
destruction of Jerusalem, 139I ; attitude towards the
Reformation under Hezekiah, 140 ; on rehgion ' pure
and undefiled,' i4of.
Milton, compared with Isaiah, 104 n.
Monotheism, Ethical, development of, 28f., 45ft., 194ft.,
254ft.
Moses, Creative work of, 11
Nabhi', origin of word, 14 n.
Nabopolassar, 167
Nahum the patriot : times of, i66f . ; literary style, 169 ;
feeling for humanity as expression of religion, 169 ;
his prophecies against Nineveh, 170ft.
Nathan the prophet, 19
Nebuchadrezzar, i88ff., 211, 340ft.
New Covenant, Prophecy of the, ig6f.
Nineveh, Fall of, 167ft.
Obadiah, The book of, 314L
Omri, king of Israel, 23
Onias III, the high-priest, 330 n.
Patriots, The prophets as, 167ft., 191L, 245ft.
Pekah, 62, 104

General Index 357
Prophecy, the beginnings of, 14 ; its ecstatic element, 14I ;
ethical genius of, 19L, 27L, 44ft. ; its championship
of popular liberty, 2if. ; widening vision of, 32L ;
true and false, 33!, 56, 138L, i86f., 223
Prophetic guilds, 33I
Prophets and apocalyptists, 58 n., 145, 238, 2871!., 314ft.
,, „ seers, 15L
Pul : see Tiglath-Pileser III.
Rehgion, True and false, 12ft., 39ft., 89ft., i8off.
Restoration of the Jews, 277ft.
Rezin, io5f., 113
Revelation, Varying modes of, 1391., 352
Samaria, Fall of, 62, n6f.
Samuel the seer, i6ff.
Sargon II, king of Assyria, 62, 119
Saul, 14, zyi.
Savonarola, compared with Zephaniah, 145 n.
Scythian invasion, 143ft., 158ft., 166
Seers in Israel, i6f.
Sennacherib, Invasion of, i2off.
Servant of Jahweh, 256 n., 258, 264L, 267I, 270ft.
Shalmaneser IV, 62, 116
Shear- Jashub, son of Isaiah, 92 n.
Shemaiah the prophet, 2 if.
Solomon, 2of.
Syncretism, i2f., 2of.
Tekoa, the home of Amos, 38L
Tiglath-Pileser III, 42 n., 6iff., 115
Trito-Isaiah, the prophet of the New Jerusalem, 300ft.
Uzziah and his times, 83ft.
Zechariah, the prophet of the Restoration, 285ft.
Zedekiah and the fall of Jerusalem, 189ft., 226 n.
Zephaniah : hfe and times, 142L ; personal character and
position at Court, 144I ; austerity of style, 145 ; the
prophet of doom, 145ft.

INDEX OF AUTHORITIES

Apuleius, 15 ot.
Bertholet, 237
Bewer, J. A., 14 n., 316 ot.,
351 n-
Box, 265 ot., 269 n.
Budde, 244 n., 256 n., 271 n.
Burney, gm.
Carlyle, 60 n., 68 n.
Charles, R. H., 340 n., 344
»., 346 ot.
Cheyne, 102 n., 265 n., 268f .,
300 ot., 304 ot.
Cornill, 191 n., 201 ot., 210
ot., 326
Cowley and Sayce, nm,
Darmesteter, 192 ot.
Davidson, A. B., 18 ot., 30 n.,
78 w., 84, 88 ot., 149 ot.,
r55. T77 n-> 22° w-» 244 n->
256 ot., 264 ot.
Dehtzsch, 272 n.
Diodorus Siculus, 315 n.
Driver, 102 n., 149 n., 164
n., 247 n., 317 w., 340 ot.
Duhm, 47 ot., 53 ot., 69 w.,
71 ot., 95 n., 102ft., 136 ot.,
148 n., 159ft., 191 w.,
244ft., 256 OT., 26l OT.

Erbt, 191 n.
Ewald, 26 n., 78 n., 89 ot.,
102 n., 141 ot.
Giesebrecht, 244 n.
Gillies, J. R., 164 n., 191 ot.
Gray, G. B., 94f., 99 w.,
102 ot., now., 124 ot.,
130 ot., 317 OT.
Gressmann, 30 «., 37 n., 58
ot., 109 w.
Guthe, 127 n.
Herodotus, 144 ot., 167 n. r
252 OT.
Herrmann, J., 239 ot.
Holscher, 209 ot.
Jerome, 44 ot.
Josephus, 23 ot.
Kittel, 50 ot., 54 ot., si £«s-
sim,
Klostermann, 219 w.
Kosters, 256 ot.
Kraetzschmar, 224 f.
Kuenen, 14 f ., 102 n
Laue, 256 w.
Layard, A. H., 168 n
Lucian, 15 n.

358

Index of Authorities

359

Marti, 102 ot., 116 ot., 127 ot.,
136 w., 141 ot., 244 ot., 261
ot., 304 OT.
Mazzini, 198 ot.
McFadyen, J. E., 42 w.
Peake, A. S., 109 w., 154 ot.,
164 ot., 182 ot., 191 w., 201
OT., 2IO OT., 244 W., 265 OT.,
27lf.
Renan, 191
Rothstein, 284 ot.
Skinner, 30 ot., 92 ot., 102 ot.,
117 ot., 129 w., 216, 257 OT.,
264 OT.
Smith, G. A., 38 ot., 575.,
85 ot., 102ft ., 133 ot., 149
n., 154 ot., 244 ot., 257 OT.,
272 M., 279ff., 321 OT.
Smith, H. P., 14 ot.

Smith, J. M. P., 78 ot., in
OT., I4I OT., I47 OT., I49 OT.
Smith, W. R., 44 ot., 78 ot.,
112, 125 OT.
Staerk, 47 ot.
Stonehouse, 244 ot.
Toy, C. H., 225 ot.
Trumbull, H. C., 146 ot.
Volz, 127 OT.
Wade, 94 ot., 102 ot., 125 ot.
Weir, J. H., 268 n.
Welch, A. C, 119 ot.
Wellhausen, 29 ot., 57 ot., 59,
78 ot., 136 ot., 168 ot., iggf.,
244 «., 279 «., 297 OT.
Whitehouse, 102 ot., 118 ot.,
129 ot., 256 ot., 264 ot., 300
w.
Wordsworth, 30 ot.
Xenophon, 167 ot.

INDEX OF SCRIPTURE REFERENCES

Gen. xvi. 2, xxx. 3
Ex. xv. 9 .
Lev. xxvi. 33 .
Num. xxiv. 15L
Josh. vii. 26
xviii. 23 .
Judges ii. 1
v. iff. . .
Ruth iii. 9 .
1 Sam. ix. iff. .
ix. 7ft. .
x. 5ft. . .
x. gft. . .
xii. 9
xv. 3 . .
xv. 22 .
xviii. 4 .
2 Sam. i. 20.
1 Kings xi. iff.
xii. 13L .
xiii., xiv., xvi
xvi. 32f. .
xviii. 4, 19ft.
xix. ioff. .
xx. 41 .
xxi. 19 .
xxii. 6 .
2 Kings i. 8.
iv. iff. . .
ix. n .
xiv. 22 .

PAGE
266 OT.
245 OT.
245 W.
. 16
• 79
183 OT.
135 n.
¦ 14
299 OT.
19
i6f. 14
17194617
I46 M.
135 «•
. 2of.
. 2122
¦ 25
25,27
5f., 29ft. 15
2825 15
33f- 15
83

iff.

2 Kings xiv. 25
xv. 20 .
xvi. 6f.
xvi. 9 .
xviii. 4
xviii. 13ft.
XX. I2ff.
xx. 20
xxi. 2ft.
xxiii. iff
xxiv. iff
2 Chron. xxvi. 6ff.
xxxvi. 6ff.
Ezra iii. ioff.
iv. if. .
Ps. xviii. 10.
xviii. 3off.
lxxvii. 17
lxxxiii. I3ff
cxxxvii. 7ft

Isa.

. 2-9 .
. n-17
. 18-20
. 21-26
ii. 1-4 .
ii. 6-18.
iii. 1-15
iii. i6ff..
v. 1-7 .
v. 8-24.
v. 25-29

PAGE
35. 348
. 61
. 106
• "3
i2gf.
126, 129 OT.
. 120
. 129
¦ 143
i76f.
340 OT.
• 83
340 OT.
. 281
. 283
. 215
251 n.
250 OT.
• 244
44«., 244
125L 90
9194
94 OT., 278
• 95f-
• 99f-
93. 9°f
ioof.
93. 97fi-
102ft.

83

360

Index of Scripture References 361

PAGE

PAGE

. vi. iff. . .

84ft.

Isa. xii. 14ft.

257f-

vi. g-13

. . 92

xiii. 1-4

. 258

vii. iff.

. lo6ff.

xiii. i8ff. .

• 259

vii. 14, 16

. io8f.

xliii. 1-7

¦ • 259

vii. 1 8ff.

¦ • 115

xliii. 24ft. .

. 260

viii. 1-4

I09f.

xliv. 2-28 .

26of.

viii. 6-8

115, 127 n.

xiv. 1-7

. 26l

viii. iiff.

mf.

xiv. 156. .

. 262

viii. 19

114, 118 OT.

xlvi. if.

• 263

ix. 1-7 .

i3°f-

xlvii.

• 263

ix. 8-21

I02ff.

xlviii. 2of. .

263L

x. 5-19

I27f.

xhx. 1-6 .

264L

x. 28-32

• • • 123

xlix. 8ff. .

265ff.

x. 33f- •

. 129

1. 4-9 . .

267L

Xi. 1-9 1;

!2 n., 248 ot.,

li. 4ff. . .

. 268

278

hi. 1-9 .

. 269

xiii. iff.

• ¦ 275

hi. 13-liii. 12

270s.

• • 275
liv., Iv.
273f-
xvii. 1-11
nof.
lvi. 1-7.
3°3f-
xviii. iff.
. 121
lvi. gff.
• 3°3
xix. 23ff.
• • 347
Ivii. iff.
3oif.
XX. iff.
. 120
Ivii. 14-20 .
3°3f-
xxi. iff.
. 276
lviii. 3-12 . 3
02, 304L
xxii. 1-14
. 124
lix. iff. . 3
02, 305f.
xxiv. 1-20
¦ • 333f-
lx. 1-22
3o6ff.
xxv. 6-8
• • 335
lxi. i-lxii. 5
308ft,
xxvi. 1-19
• 33°f-
Ixii. 6f.
• 310
xxvii. 2-6
• • 337
lxiii. 1-6 .
• 3i°
xxviii. 1-4
n6f.
lxiii. 7-lxiv. 12
301 OT.
xxviii. 7-22
. 117ft.
Ixv. iff. . 3c
)2, 310ft.
xxviii. 23-2
9 127 OT.
lxvi. ioff. .
3I2f.
xxix. iff.
. 122
Jer. i. 5ff. . . .
I52ff.
xxx. 5ft.
I20ff.
i. 14 . .
323 OT.
xxxi. 1-3
. 121
ii. 2-13 . .
155 f-
xxxii. iff.
. . 132
ii. 21-35 •
• 156
xxxvi.-xxxj
X. . 129 OT.
iii- 3-5 ¦ ¦
• 157
xl. I-II
• 253f.
iii. 6-18 157 ot.,
I65, 207
xl. 12-31
¦ 2541
iii. 19-25 .
• 157
xii. 1-10
¦ • 257
iv. 3-8 . .
i58f
362 Index of Scripture References

PAGE

PAGE

Jer. iv. iiff..

i59f-

Jer. xxviii. 6 . . . 191

iv. 19-21 .

. 163

xxviii. i6ff. . . 189

v. iff. . .

. 160

xxix. 4ft. . 189L, 195

v. 30L . .

. 161

xxxi. 2ff. . . 207ft.

vi. iff. . .

i6iff.

xxxi. 31-34, H2OT., 196,

vi. 1 if. .

164, 203

209

vi. 27-29 .

164L

xxxii. 15 . . . 192

vii. 4ft.

i79ff.

xxxvi. 32

. 188
viii. 5 . .
. 182
xxxvii. fi.
. igi
viii. 8f.
. 181
xxxviii. 7ft.
. 198
viii. 1 8ft. .
203!
xxxviii. I4f
f.
. 191
ix. 2 . .
. 201
xliii. 6ff.
• 193
ix. 3ff. . .
182L
xliv. i6ff.
• 193
xi. iff. . .
• 177
xlix. 7-T-12
315 »•
xi. i8ff.. .
178, 203
Lam. i. 2 if. iii.
641!
. . 244
xii. iff.
. 201
iv. 2lf. .
44 OT.
xii. 14-17 .
. 210
Ezek. i. iff.
214ft.
xiii. iff.
. 183
ii. iff. .
. 217
xiv. iff.
204ft.
ii. 15 .
. 2ig
xv. 10 .
. 201
hi. 16-21
• 234
xv. 17L .
. 202
hi. 25L .
. 219
xv. 19-21 .
202L
iv. iff. .
2igf.
xvi. 2 .
. ig8
. 220
xvi. igf.
. 210
viii. iff.
. 221
xvii. 1-4
183L
xvii. 9 .
. 196
xii. iff.
222L
xviii. iff. .
• 195
xiii .-xv.
• 223
xviii. 13-17
. . 184
xvi., xvii.
. 224
xx. 7-10
. 202
• 233
xx. i4ff.
. 201
xviii. 6ff.
• 235
xxi. 3ff.
. 190
xix. 2-9
224I
xxiii. 5f.
. 210
xix. 10-14
225L
xxiii. gff. .
i85f.
xxi. 8ff.
226f.
xxiv. iff. .
. 189
xxii. iTff.
. 227
xxv. 8ff. .
. . 188
xxvi. 4ft. .
. 182
xxiv. 6ff.
. 227
xxvi. 16
. 187
xxiv. 156.
• • 232
xxvi. 19 .
. 140
xxv. iff.
• 238
xxvii. 12L .
• 191
XXV. I2ff.
44 w.
Index of Scripture References 363

PAGE

PAGE

Ezek. xxvii. 3ft.

22gf.

Hos. vi. 7-10

. 63, 66f.

xxviii. 12-19

230f.

vii. 1-7 .

. . 67
xxix. iff. .
. 227
vii. 8-16
. 68f.
XXX. 20ff. .
. 228
viii. 3-14
. 69
xxxi., xxxii.
. 228
ix. 1-7 .
. 6of.
xxxiii. 1—22
233f-
ix. 8-16, x.
iff
7off.
xxxiii. 3off.
• 236
xi. iff. .
. 7if.
• 236
xi. 8f. .
75. 8g
• 238
xii. 7ft. .
63.71
xxxvi. 46. .
. 238
xiii. 2, 5
¦ 7i
xxxvi. 22ff.
2341-
xiii. 13-16
• 73
xxxvii. iff..
• 237
xiv. 1-8
63. 75f-
xxxvii. 15ft.
• 238
Joel i. 2-20 .
3I7S-
xxxviii., xxxix
• • 238
ii. 1-27.
320ft.
xl.-xlvi.
238ff.
iii. 6
¦ 317
xlvii. iff. .
. 24O
iii. 9-21
241
OT.,324f.
xlviii. 35 .
. 24I
Am. i. 3— ii. 3
32, 44f-
Dan. ii. .
• 340
ii. 4f.
44 OT.
iii. 4ft. .
339«-
ii. 6-16.
361, 47f-
34lf-
iii. if. .
44 OT., 48
viii.
343f-
iii. 3-8 .
. . 48f.
• 344
iii. 9
• • 43
x.-xii. .
344^-
iii. 11-15
• 35. 5°
xi. 40ft.
• 345
iv. 1-3 . .
36, 43. 50
xii. 2f.
• 346
iv. 4L .
• 37. 5i
• 76
iv. 6-1 1
• • 5i
i. 4. . .
32, 63L
iv. 13 .
51 OT.
i. 5, 7, ioff.
79 OT.
V. 2f.
• • 5i
i. 6 . . .
68
v. 4-25. .
37f-> 52f-
i. 9 . . .
• 72
vi. 1-7 36,
43, 44 ot., 54
ii. 2-5 . . .
12,77
vi. 8-14
36, 40, 54L
ii. 6-13
• 78
vii. 1-9.
. . 4if-
ii. 14-23 .
• 79f-
vii. 10-17 •
• 34. 55f-
ih. iff. . .
• 77
viii. if.
. . 42
iii. 5 . .
7g ot.
viii. 4ft.
36, 56ff.
• 65
ix. 1-6 . 43
51 OT., 58 OT.
iv. 4-16
13. 65f-
ix. 8-15 .
. 58 OT.
v. 1-13. .
63, 66f.
Obad. 1-15 .
• 3i4f-
vi. 1-6 .
• 67
16-21 .
.
• 316
364 Index of Scripture References

13

Jon. i. iff. .
i. 9 . .
ii. iff. .
ii. 2-9 .
hi., iv. .
Mic. i. 5-9 .
i. 10-16
ii. 1-4L .
ii. 6-13, iii
iii. 5-7 -
iii. 8-12
iv. 1-4 .
vi. 6-8 .
vii. 7-20
Nah. i. 2-10
i. 1 i-ii
iii. .
Hab. i. 2-1 1
i. 12-17
ii. 1-4 .
ii. 5-16
iii. .
Zeph. i. 1. .
i. 2f. .
i. 4-13 .
i. 14-18
ii. 1-14
iii. 1-20
Hag. i. 2-1 1
i. 12-15
ii. 1-9 .
ii. 10-14
ii. 15-19
ii. 20-23

PAGE
¦ 348
96 OT.
• 348
348 OT.
348ff. • 135
1351-
83. 137
. 138
34. 139
• 139
g4 ot., 139 ot.
. 141
139 w.
170 w.
170ft.
172ft.
244 OT.
• 245
. 246
247f.
M., 249ft.
I44 OT.
• 145
143, I45fE.
65 ot., 147!
i48f.
I49 OT.
. 280
282 OT.
282f.
. 284
28lf.
. 284

244

Zech. i. 4-6
i. 7-17 .
i. 18-20
ii. 1-5 •
ii. 6-13
iii. 1-10
iv. 1-14
v. 1-11
vi. 1-15
viii. 3ft.
viii. i6f.
ix. 1-10
ix. 11-17
x. i-xi. 3
xi. 4-17
xii. i-xiii. 6

PAGE
. 286
288L
. 289
• 287 ,
289 OT.
28gf. 290L
2gif.
. 2g2
2g3f.
. 287
326L
• 327
3271-328L
15. 33oL

xiv. iff.
Mai. i. 2ff. .
i. 6ff. .
i. 11
ii. iff. .
ii. lift. .
ii. 17 ; iii.
iii. 1
iii. 7ft. .
iii. i6ff., iv
John iv. 24 .
Rom. viii. 3L
xiv. 17 -
2 Cor. iii. 3..
Gal. v. 22f. .
1 Pet. ii. 23L
1 John iv. 10
Rev. xxii. iff.

14

251 «-. 33lf-
2g7. 3*5 w-
• 295
. 297
. 298
296, 299
. 296
296 OT.
. 299
. 3°°'
. 140
. 197
• 132
112 M.
,•''. 242
206f.
. 80
24I M.

Iff

Printed in Great Britain by Butler & Tanner, Frame and London.