Jesse Lyman Hurlbut

“ The Bible is primarily a book of history, and without some knowledge of its historical contents no one can rightly understand its revelation of divine truth. But in order to know the history contained in the Old Testament we must obtain a view of the lands in which that history was wrought. We therefore study first of all the Old Testament World. ”

“ At no time was peace prevalent over all the world at once. If Christ had come at that time it would have been impossible to establish the gospel except through war and conquest. But kingdoms were absorbed into empires, empires rose and fell by turns, each with a larger conception of the nation than its predecessor. From the crude combination of undigested states in the As-syr ́i-an empire to the orderly, assimilated, systematic condition of the Ro ́man world was a great advance. ”

“ From the death of Josh ́u-a to the coronation of Saul the Twelve Tribes of Is ́ra-el were without a central government, except as from time to time men of ability rose up among them. It was not, as some have supposed, an "age of anarchy," for anarchy is confusion; and during most of the time there were peace and order in Is ́ra-el. It was rather an "age of heroes," for its rulers were neither hereditary nor elective, but men called forth by the needs of the hour and their own qualities of leadership. ”

“ Their law and worship were observed. There were no sacrifices, for these could be offered only at Je-ru ́sa-lem in the temple. But the people gathered for worship and for the study of the law far more faithfully than before the exile; for adversity is a school of religious character far more than prosperity. The exile would naturally exert an influence in the direction of religion. While the irreligious and idolatrous among the captives would soon drop out of the nation and be lost among the Gen ́tiles, the earnest, the spiritual, and the God-fearing would grow more intense in their devotion. ”

“ During most of this time Ju-de ́a was a subject province, belonging to the great empires which rose and fell in succession. For a brief but brilliant period it was an independent state, with its own rulers. As most of this period comes between the Old and New Testaments its events are less familiar to Bible readers than the other portions of Is ́ra-el-ite history. We therefore give more space than usual to the facts, selecting only the most important, and omitting all that have no direct relation with the development of the divine plan in the Jewish people. ”

“ What event marks an epoch in Is ́ra-el-ite history? What were the causes leading to the monarchy? What events in the period of the judges show a tendency toward settled government? What changes in government in the surrounding nations helped to bring on the monarchy in Is ́ra-el? From what source did external danger lead the Is ́ra-el-ites to desire a king? How had Sam ́u-el unconsciously helped to prepare the way for a kingdom? What worldly spirit promoted the same result? What kind of a kingdom did God intend for Is ́ra-el? What is a theocratic kingdom? ”

“ When the Is ́ra-el-ites left E ́gypt they were twelve unorganized tribes, without a distinct national life. Forty years in the wilderness, meeting adversities together, fighting enemies, marching as one host, made them a nation. They emerged from the wilderness a distinct people, with one hope and aim, with patriotic self-respect, ready to take their place among the nations of the earth. ”

“ The two finest races of the world, the Greek and the Is ́ra-el-ite, were both of pure blood. The Is ́rael-ites were one in origin, in language, in traditions, in aspirations. This national unity often brought the tribes together in times of distress, though not always when the union was needed.
3. The Religious Institutions. In Greece every town had its own god and its own religion; hence the many parties and petty nationalities. But in Is ́ra-el there was in theory but one altar, one house of God, one system of worship, with its annual pilgrimage to the religious capital (1 Sam. 1. 3) . ”

“ With Jeph ́thah is associated the only instance of human sacrifice offered to Je-ho ́vah in all Bible history; and this was by an ignorant freebooter, in a part of the land farthest from the instructions of the tabernacle and the priesthood. When we consider that the practice of human sacrifice was universal in the ancient world, and that not only captives taken in war, but also the children of the worshipers, were offered (2 Kings 3. 26, 27; Mic. 6. 7) , this fact is a remarkable evidence of the elevating power of the Is ́ra-el-ite worship. ”

“ In the year B. C. 330 Al-ex-an ́der the Great won the empire of Per ́sia in the great battle of Ar-be ́la, by which the sovereignty of the East was transferred from A ́sia to Eu ́rope, and a new chapter in the history of the world was opened. Al-ex-an ́der died at the hour when his conquests were completed, and before they could be organized and assimilated; but the kingdoms into which his empire was divided were all under Greek kings, and were all Greek in language and civilization. Ju-de ́a was on the border between Syr ́i-a and E ́gypt, and belonged alternately to each kingdom. ”

“ There was no change in dynasty, and the loyalty of the people grew stronger through the generations toward the family on the throne. There being no usurpers, the throne was permanent until destroyed by foreign power.
5. The purity of its religion tended to keep the nation united and to keep it in existence. No bond of self-interest or of blood will hold a people together as strongly as the tie of religion. Ju ́dah's strength was in the measure of her service of God, and when she renounced Je-ho ́vah her doom came speedily. ”

“ There has been much idle discussion over this subject and some absurd claims set up; for example, that the Anglo-Saxon race are descended from the ten lost tribes—a statement opposed to all history, to ethnology, and to every evidence of language.
1. After their deposition nearly all the Is ́ra-el-ites, having lost [80] their national religion and having no bond of union, mingled with the Gen ́tiles around them and lost their identity, just as hundreds of other races have done. The only bond which will keep a nation long alive is that of religion. ”

“ There was no strong government to oppress the people, to concentrate all the life of the nation at the court, and to repress individuality. Contrast Per ́sia with Greece; Rome under the emperors with Rome as a republic. As men were needed they were raised up, for there was opportunity for character. Hence it was an age of heroes—Oth ́ni-el, E ́hud, Sham ́gar, Gid ́e-on, Jeph ́thah, Sam ́son, Sam ́u-el, etc. Free institutions bring strong men to the front.
2. It was an age of neglect of the law. During all this period there is no allusion to the law of Mo ́ses. ”

“ The chronology of the Bible is not a matter of the divine revelation, and scholars are not agreed with respect to the dates of early Scripture history. The system of chronology commonly found in reference Bibles is that of Archbishop Usher, who lived 1580-1656, long before the modern period of investigation in Bible lands. ”

“ Many Christian scholars, however, hold to the view that the book of Genesis relates the history of but one family of races, and not all the race; consequently that the flood may have been partial, as far as mankind is concerned. ”

“ Finally, there was the preparation of a religion. The gospel of Christ was not a new religion; it was the new development of an old religion. As we study the Old Testament we see that each epoch stands upon a higher religious plane. There is an enlargement of spiritual being between A ́bra-ham and Mo ́ses, between Mo ́ses and Da ́vid, between Da ́vid and I-sa ́iah, between I-sa ́iah and John the Bap ́tist. ”

“ The days of direct inspiration through prophets were passing away, and those of the written Scripture, with a class of men to study and interpret it, came in their place. During the captivity the devout Jews studied the books of their literature, the law, the psalms, the histories, and the prophets. After the captivity arose a series of scholars who were the expounders of the Scriptures. ”

“ At an early period streams of migration poured forth from the highlands of A ́sia in every direction and to great distances.
III. The Rise of the Empires. In the Bible world four centers of national life arose, not far apart in time, each of which became a powerful kingdom, and in turn ruled all the Oriental lands. The strifes of these nations, the rise and fall, constitute the matter of ancient Oriental history, which is closely connected with that of the Bible. ”

“ I. We find in the opening of the Bible that the Human Race is the subject of the history. This theme extends through the first eleven chapters of Genesis, which narrate the history of much more than half of the time included in the Bible. During this long [13] period no one tribe or nation or family is selected; but the story of all mankind is related by the historian.
1. This period begins with the Creation of Man (not the creation of the world) , at some unknown time which scholars have not been able to fix ”

“ Who were the rulers of the Jews during the first period? What building was erected after the return from captivity? What great deliverance was [95] effected by a woman? What great reforms were effected by a scribe? What title has been given to him? What were the events connected with the separation of the Sa-mar ́i-tans? Who were the prophets of the restoration? By whom was the Old Testament canon arranged? What brought on the Greek period? What events of Jew ́ish history were connected with Al-ex-an ́der the Great? Under what people did the Jews fall afterward? ”

“ Rarely now do we find a Jew who cultivates the ground for his support. They are in the cities, buying and selling. This tendency began with the Bab-y-lo ́ni-an captivity, and has since been strengthened by the varied experiences, especially by the persecutions, of the Jews during the centuries.
3· There was a change in character. This was the most radical of [90] all. Before the captivity the crying sin of Ju ́dah, as well as of Is ́ra-el, was its tendency to idolatry. Every prophet had warned against it and rebuked it, reformers had risen up, kings had endeavored to extirpate it ”

“ Before the captivity the Jews were a secluded people, having scarcely any relation with the world. The captivity brought them into contact with other nations, and greatly modified their manner of living. Hitherto they had been mostly farmers, living on their own fields; now they became merchants and traders, and filled the world with their commerce. ”

“ The writing of different portions of the Bible was carried on at various times, in various places, and by various writers; perhaps through 1,600 years, and by more than 40 writers, most of whom have remained unknown. In the writing and rewriting He ́brew scholars of Old Testament times did not hesitate to modify the older works as they saw reasons for so doing. We respect the "works of authors," and would not alter the language of Chaucer or Milton or Macaulay; but He ́brew prophets and scribes in early times cared more for the contents than for the authorship of their sacred books. ”

“ Thus every family had its ancestral home, the poor were protected, and riches were kept within bounds.
4. The government was a republic of families without an executive head, except when a judge was raised up to meet special needs. Each tribe had its own rulers, but there was no central authority after Josh ́u-a (Judg. 21. 25) . This had its evils, for it led to national weakness; but it had its benefits: 1.) It kept Is ́ra-el from becoming a great worldly kingdom like E ́gypt and As-syr ́i-a, which would have thwarted the divine purpose. ”

“ The book of Prov ́erbs is a collection of the "sayings of the sages" among the Is ́ra-el-ites; while Ec-cle-si-as ́tes is a series of connected essays on human life.
6. Prophecy is a distinct form of literature in the Bible. The word "prophecy" in the Scriptures means not "foretelling," or "prediction," but "forthtelling," speaking under a divine power, whether of past, present, or future. It is not to be forgotten that the books of Josh ́u-a, Judg ́es, Sam ́u-el, and Kings were called by the Jews "the former prophets," and were all regarded as prophetic, although they contained history. ”

“ When the birth of Christ was adopted as an era of chronology, about A. D. 400 a mistake of four years was made by the historian who first fixed it. Hence the year in which Christ was born was in reality B. C. 4.
[3] We give Mount Hor the traditional location, east of the Desert of Zin; but there is strong reason for finding it west of the Desert of Zin, near Ka ́desh-bar ́ne-a.
[4] Called in the Revised Version "guilt offering."
[5] This is called in the Revised Version "the meal offering"; that is, the offering to God of a meal to be eaten. It might be called "food offering." ”

“ Before this event all the population of the world was massed together, forming one vast family and speaking one language. Under these conditions the good were overborne by evil surroundings, and general corruption followed. ”

“ The Court of the Gen ́tiles was not regarded by the Jews as sacred, since foreigners were allowed within it, and in its area had grown up a market for the sale of animals for sacrifice and tables for the exchanging of foreign money. Twice this court was purged of these desecrations by Je ́sus (John 2. 13-17; Matt. 21. 12, 13) .
The principal access to the temple in the time of Christ was a bridge over the Ty-ro ́pœ-on valley from Mount Zi ́on. ”