538 OLD TESTAMENT 



to know it better. Old Testament science, dating from its first vital- 

 izing impulses, is just a century and a half old; but it is scarcely 

 a half-century old if we count from the beginnings of constructive 

 criticism. What is now attempted can at best be only a comparative 

 success. 



I shall mention at the outset a few conclusions as to the pro- 

 per classification and general purport of the Old Testament writ- 

 ings: 



We may divide the contents of the Old Testament roughly into the 

 narrative or historical literature; the institutional or prescriptive 

 literature; the oratorical or prophetic literature; the lyrical and 

 reflective poetry. As regards the first two divisions it is to be said 

 that the five "books of Moses," which contain most of the prescript- 

 ive literature, were not written by Moses. They were written after 

 his epoch and at various times and stages in the history of Israel. 

 Again, the narratives generally, from Genesis to Nehemiah,. are not 

 " history " in the strict sense of the word, and the materials for history 

 which they furnish must be used with critical caution. They are 

 a repertory of primitive nature-myths, remoulded in the spirit of He- 

 brew monotheism; of legends regarding the earliest ancestors of the 

 Hebrew people; of traditions describing the beginnings of Hebrew 

 history, the founding of its political, legal, and ceremonial institu- 

 tions, and the progress of the tribal settlements in the land of Canaan; 

 of the chronicles of the royal houses; of personal memoirs and genea- 

 logical records. All of these narratives, whether mythical, legendary, 

 annalistic, or biographical, have been worked over in the interests of 

 different schools of religious thought and purpose, and are often 

 accompanied by interpretations or comments. Most clearly indi- 

 cated are what are usually called the prophetic and priestly tenden- 

 cies. These convenient terms are, however, apt to mislead. They do 

 special injustice to the spiritual prophecy of the Old Testament. 

 The historical writings do not keep pace with the profound and pro- 

 gressive movement which regenerated the religious life of Israel. 

 Their authors were impressed by the prophetic spirit, but they were 

 too conservative, conventional, and nationalistic to be classed among 

 the immediate disciples of the prophets. 



The prophetic and poetic literature has also been appreciated 

 by modern criticism. The most obvious results of the reconstruction 

 are: 



(1) Prophecy is not necessarily or essentially prediction. Prophetic 

 inspiration is not a gift of foresight, but of moral insight. This has 

 been made clear by our understanding of the word and work of the 

 prophets in relation to the history of Israel and the nations, and to the 

 social and religious conditions of their time. We have learned espe- 

 cially how the prophets became a channel of living truth to the world 



