CONCERNING THE COMPOSITION OF HOLY SCRIPTURE. 179 



document of the highest character ; those which he likes less 

 belong to a less trustworthy document, and those which are 

 absolutely inconsistent with his views are the work of the 

 ignorant botcher who constructed the book. But this way of 

 judging, common as it is, assumes the truth of the critic's own 

 theory, and decides on the authenticity of ancient documents 

 according to their agreement with that theory." 



Enough has been said to explain this theory of composite 

 authorship, and, it is hoped, without tlie least desire to display 

 any other partiality than a partiality for truth. There is, 

 however, one fact which ought not to be passed over. It has 

 been possible in one solitary instance to test it. We have in 

 addition to the Biblical story of the Deluge, the Assyro- 

 Babylonian account, current v/ith the parent stock of the 

 Israelites for nearly two thousand years 'at least, and perhaps 

 for much more, before the time, when according to these 

 theories, the story assumed its present form. The same 

 so-called elements, marked '•' J " and " E," are as distinctly 

 discoverable in the one as in the other, and in almost the same 

 order. Thus in both, the instruction to build the ark or ship 

 (E) precedes the collection of the cargo (J); the entry into the 

 ark or ship (E) and tbe story of the storm (E) are followed by 

 the account of the destruction of life (J) ; the abating of the 

 storm (J) by the resting of the ark or ship upon the mountain 

 (E) and the sending out of the birds (J) ; the quitting of the 

 ark or ship (E) by the presentation of the offerings (J) and the 

 oath or covenant (E).* It is therefore not too much to say 

 that a theory which is not inductive but purely a j^'^'iori, and 

 which breaks down upon the first possible test, ought not to be 

 accepted as a " scientific " explanation of so unique and 

 mysterious a problem as that of the composition of Holy 

 Scripture. 



II. The Principle of Histoijic Progress. 



Another principle relied upon is that of historic progress. 

 The problem to be solved by this principle, is the plain fact 

 that Holy Scripture does beyond denial appear to present us 

 with a precise and literal record of events which it treats as 

 genuine history, during the period from the Creation to the 

 close of the Apostolic Age. It uses in many places symbohc 



For a more detailed table of the parallelism see the author's little 

 book, A Flea for the Old Faith (Stockwell). The professed dissection of 

 the Biblical Story is taken from Driver's Introduction. 



