614 LECTURES AND ESSAYS [1887 



Israel contributed to the development no elements of 

 positive worth. 



The limits of a notice like the present make it impossible 

 to follow M. Renan from page to page and judge every part 

 of his construction in its relation to the whole. As regards 

 the material facts of the early history, he is, as we have 

 seen, disposed to reduce to very small compass all that 

 can be certainly known for the time before David. He 

 holds, with most recent inquirers, that the Hebrews 

 originally issued from Arabia by the north-eastern route, 

 and traversed as nomads the pastures bordering on the 

 Euphrates, ascending as far as the region of Harran. 

 Here they came in contact with Babylonian ideas, through 

 the medium of the Aramaeans of Mesopotamia, and to this 

 early influence M. Renan ascribes the traditions embodied 

 in the first twelve chapters of Genesis. From Harran the 

 nomads moved southwards into Canaan, where they found 

 a race speaking the same language and of closely kindred 

 stock, but of very different character, so that no fusion 

 took place between the immigrants and the Canaanites. 

 In the district of Hebron, however, they lived in amity 

 with the Hittite population, whose near relatives were 

 the Hyksos of the Egyptian delta. These &quot; Hittites of 

 Zoan &quot; probably attracted to Egypt a portion of the 

 Hebrew nomads (the tribe of Joseph), and these were 

 afterwards joined by other bands. As regards the 

 residence in Goshen only one thing is certain Israel 

 entered Egypt under a dynasty favourable to the Semites 

 and left it under a hostile dynasty. The exodus is assigned 

 to the period of decadence that followed the glorious reign 

 of Ramses II., the Louis XIV. of Egypt. All the details, 

 perhaps even the personality of Moses, are uncertain ; it 

 is not probable that the Egyptians sought to retain the 

 Hebrews by force. The Hebrews left Egypt with their 

 old religion changed not a little for the worse. Egypt gave 

 them the golden calf, the brazen serpent, the lying priestly 

 oracle, the Levite &quot; who was the leper of Israel &quot; all 



