xil PBEFACE 



commentary on the Pentateuch tells the student 

 that Moses wrote or compiled the book of Genesis 

 from documentary evidence extant in his time ; that 

 the book of Exodus was written by him, or under 

 his immediate direction and authority ; that the 

 book of Leviticus, if not written by him, was com- 

 piled by authorised scribes under his supervision ; 

 that the book of Numbers was drawn up under his 

 immediate oversight ; that the book of Deuter- 

 onomy, containing the last addresses of the in- 

 spired legislator, specially recorded by official 

 writers, assumed its present form under the hand 

 of Joshua; and that the several books were en- 

 riched with numerous notes, archaeological and 

 explanatory, from the hands of later editors and 

 revisers. 1 



Whether this view of the case implies plenary 

 inspiration, or not, is more than I presume to say ; 

 nor do I wish to inquire whether there is, or is 

 not, any rational foundation for it. The singularity 

 that impresses me is the absence of the slightest 

 hint to the ignorant layman that a large number 

 of biblical scholars of the highest reputation, of 

 undeniable competency and sincerity, repudiate 

 every one of these propositions, and give an ac- 

 count of the origin of the Pentateuch, and of the 

 age and authorship of its various constituents 

 totally irreconcilable with it. There is no living 

 biblical scholar who can ignore authorities of the 



1 The Oxford Bible for Teachers, "Helps to the Study of the 

 Bible" p. 10. New Edition, 1893. 



