236 LECTURES AND ESSAYS [1870- 



activity in connection with the history of Israel. Inas 

 much as the general diffusion of history in an age when 

 few can read must mainly take place by ballads, it is 

 natural (with Kuenen, Godsd. i. 208) to find a connection 

 between the historical labours of the prophetic societies 

 and the musical studies already described. The Psalter 

 still contains many historico - religious ballads. In 

 i Chron. xxix. 29, we read that the acts f^l^) of David 

 were written in the history (O17 hx) of Samuel the seer, 

 and in the history of Nathan the prophet, and in the 

 history of Gad the seer. In this statement we cannot see 

 evidence of books written by Samuel, etc., as the sense 

 of dibre 5. must be &quot; history of Samuel,&quot; parallel to the 

 preceding dibre D. 



But doubtless the records referred to, and which 

 treated the history of the nation in connection with the 

 work of distinguished prophets, were written in the 

 Schools of the Prophets, and are referred to by the 

 chronicler as old and authentic accounts. Moreover, 

 the point of view from which the history is treated in the 

 Books of Samuel and other parts of the Old Testament 

 leaves no doubt that the history as we possess it is in 

 great measure compiled from the labours of prophets or 

 their disciples. In 2 Chron. ix. 29, the &quot; Acts of Nathan,&quot; 

 mentioned above, are associated with two other prophetic 

 books, &quot; the prophecy (ntra:i) of Ahijah the Shilonite,&quot; 

 and &quot; the visions of Iddo the seer concerning Jeroboam.&quot; 

 Whether these books, which by their titles appear to have 

 contained not only historical matter but written oracles, 

 had for authors the prophets themselves, or were also 

 collected by disciples, is uncertain. Perhaps the fact 

 that they are now lost may so far favour the latter sup 

 position, and show that they had not the authority of 

 exact reproductions of the prophets words. At all 

 events the properly prophetic literature is of a later date, 

 and naturally took its rise in the Southern School of 

 Prophecy, which, as we have seen, separated itself from 



