a theologico-political treatise [part ii]-第13部分

快捷操作: 按键盘上方向键 ← 或 → 可快速上下翻页 按键盘上的 Enter 键可回到本书目录页 按键盘上方向键 ↑ 可回到本页顶部! 如果本书没有阅读完，想下次继续接着阅读，可使用上方 "收藏到我的浏览器" 功能 和 "加入书签" 功能！





historian　thus　passes　on　to　the　story　of　Joshua：　〃And　it　came　to　pass　after



that　Moses　the　servant　of　the　Lord　was　dead；　that　God　spake　unto　Joshua；〃



&c。；　so　in　the　same　way；　after　the　death　of　Joshua　was　concluded；　he　passes



with　identically　the　same　transition　and　connection　to　the　history　of　the



Judges：　〃And　it　came　to　pass　after　that　Joshua　was　dead；　that　the　children



of　Israel　sought　from　God；〃　&c。　（91）　To　the　book　of　Judges　he　adds　the　story



of　Ruth；　as　a　sort　of　appendix；　in　these　words：　〃Now　it　came　to　pass　in　the



days　that　the　judges　ruled；　that　there　was　a　famine　in　the　land。〃







（92）　The　first　book　of　Samuel　is　introduced　with　a　similar　phrase；　and　so　is



the　second　book　of　Samuel。　（93）　Then；　before　the　history　of　David　is



concluded；　the　historian　passes　in　the　same　way　to　the　first　book　of　Kings；



and；　after　David's　death；　to　the　Second　book　of　Kings。







（94）　The　putting　together；　and　the　order　of　the　narratives；　show　that　they



are　all　the　work　of　one　man；　writing　with　a　create　aim；　for　the　historian



begins　with　relating　the　first　origin　of　the　Hebrew　nation；　and　then　sets



forth　in　order　the　times　and　the　occasions　in　which　Moses　put　forth　his



laws；　and　made　his　predictions。　（95）　He　then　proceeds　to　relate　how　the



Israelites　invaded　the　promised　land　in　accordance　with　Moses'　prophecy



（Deut。　vii。）；　and　how；　when　the　land　was　subdued；　they　turned　their　backs　on



their　laws；　and　thereby　incurred　many　misfortunes　（Deut。　xxxi：16；　17）。　（96）



He　tells　how　they　wished　to　elect　rulers；　and　how；　according　as　these　rulers



observed　the　law；　the　people　flourished　or　suffered　（Deut。　xxviii：36）；



finally；　how　destruction　came　upon　the　nation；　even　as　Moses　had　foretold。



（97）　In　regard　to　other　matters；　which　do　not　serve　to　confirm　the　law；　the



writer　either　passes　over　them　in　silence；　or　refers　the　reader　to　other



books　for　information。　（98）　All　that　is　set　down　in　the　books　we　have



conduces　to　the　sole　object　of　setting　forth　the　words　and　laws　of　Moses；



and　proving　them　by　subsequent　events。（99）　When　we　put　together　these　three



considerations；　namely；　the　unity　of　the　subject　of　all　the　books；　the



connection　between　them；　and　the　fact　that　they　are　compilations　made　many



generations　after　the　events　they　relate　had　taken　place；　we　come　to　the



conclusion；　as　I　have　just　stated；　that　they　are　all　the　work　of　a　single



historian。　（100）　Who　this　historian　was；　it　is　not　so　easy　to　show；　but　I



suspect　that　he　was　Ezra；　and　there　are　several　strong　reasons　for　adopting



this　hypothesis。







（101）　The　historian　whom　we　already　know　to　be　but　one　individual　brings　his



history　down　to　the　liberation　of　Jehoiakim；　and　adds　that　he　himself　sat　at



the　king's　table　all　his　life　…　that　is；　at　the　table　either　of　Jehoiakim；



or　of　the　son　of　Nebuchadnezzar；　for　the　sense　of　the　passage　is　ambiguous：



hence　it　follows　that　he　did　not　live　before　the　time　of　Ezra。　（102）　But



Scripture　does　not　testify　of　any　except　of　Ezra　（Ezra　vii：10）；　that　he



〃prepared　his　heart　to　seek　the　law　of　the　Lord；　and　to　set　it　forth；　and



further　that　he　was　a　ready　scribe　in　the　law　of　Moses。〃　（103）　Therefore；　I



can　not　find　anyone；　save　Ezra；　to　whom　to　attribute　the　sacred　books。







（104）　Further；　from　this　testimony　concerning　Ezra；　we　see　that　he　prepared



his　heart；　not　only　to　seek　the　law　of　the　Lord；　but　also　to　set　it　forth；



and；　in　Nehemiah　viii：8；　we　read　that　〃they　read　in　the　book　of　the　law　of



God　distinctly；　and　gave　the　sense；　and　caused　them　to　understand　the



reading。〃







（105）　As；　then；　in　Deuteronomy；　we　find　not　only　the　book　of　the　law　of



Moses；　or　the　greater　part　of　it；　but　also　many　things　inserted　for　its



better　explanation；　I　conjecture　that　this　Deuteronomy　is　the　book　of　the



law　of　God；　written；　set　forth；　and　explained　by　Ezra；　which　is　referred　to



in　the　text　above　quoted。　（106）　Two　examples　of　the　way　matters　were



inserted　parenthetically　in　the　text　of　Deuteronomy；　with　a　view　to　its



fuller　explanation；　we　have　already　given；　in　speaking　of　Aben　Ezra's



opinion。　（107）　Many　others　are　found　in　the　course　of　the　work：　for



instance；　in　chap。　ii：12：　〃The　Horims　dwelt　also　in　Seir　beforetime；　but　the



children　of　Esau　succeeded　them；　when　they　had　destroyed　them　from　before



them；　and　dwelt　in　their　stead；　as　Israel　did　unto　the　land　of　his



possession；　which　the　Lord　gave　unto　them。〃　（108）　This　explains　verses　3　and



4　of　the　same　chapter；　where　it　is　stated　that　Mount　Seir；　which　had　come　to



the　children　of　Esau　for　a　possession；　did　not　fall　into　their　hands



uninhabited；　but　that　they　invaded　it；　and　turned　out　and　destroyed　the



Horims；　who　formerly　dwelt　therein；　even　as　the　children　of　Israel　had　done



unto　the　Canaanites　after　the　death　of　Moses。







（109）　So；　also；　verses　6；　7；　8；　9；　of　the　tenth　chapter　are　inserted



parenthetically　among　the　words　of　Moses。　Everyone　must　see　that　verse　8；



which　begins；　〃At　that　time　the　Lord　separated　the　tribe　of　Levi；〃



necessarily　refers　to　verse　5；　and　not　to　the　death　of　Aaron；　which　is　only



mentioned　here　by　Ezra　because　Moses；　in　telling　of　the　golden　calf



worshipped　by　the　people；　stated　that　he　had　prayed　for　Aaron。







（110）　He　then　explains　that　at　the　time　at　which　Moses　spoke；　God　had　chosen





for　Himself　the　tribe　of　Levi　in　order　that　He　may　point　out　the　reason　for



their　election；　and　for　the　fact　of　their　not　sharing　in　the　inheritance；



after　this　digression；　he　resumes　the　thread　of　Moses'　speech。　（111）　To



these　parentheses　we　must　add　the　preface　to　the　book；　and　all　the　passages



in　which　Moses　is　spoken　of　in　the　third　person；　besides　many　which　we



cannot　now　distinguish；　though；　doubtless；　they　would　have　been　plainly



recognized　by　the　writer's　contemporaries。







（112）　If；　I　say；　we　were　in　possession　of　the　book　of　the　law　as　Moses　wrote



it；　I　do　not　doubt　that　we　should　find　a　great　difference　in　the　words　of



the　precepts；　the　order　in　which　they　are　given；　and　the　reasons　by　which



they　are　supported。







（113）　A　comparison　of　the　decalogue　in　Deuteronomy　with　the　decalogue　in



Exodus；　where　its　history　is　explicitly　set　forth；　will　be　sufficient　to



show　us　a　wide　discrepancy　in　all　these　three　particulars；　for　the　fourth



commandment　is　given　not　only　in　a　different　form；　but　at　much　greater



length；　while　the　reason　for　its　observance　differs　wholly　from　that　stated



in　Exodus。　（114）　Again；　the　order　in　which　the　tenth　commandment　is



explained　differs　in　the　two　versions。　（115）　I　think　that　the　differences



here　as　elsewhere　are　the　work　of　Ezra；　who　explained　the　law　of　God　to　his



contemporaries；　and　who　wrote　this　book　of　the　law　of　God；　before　anything



else；　this　I　gather　from　the　fact　that　it　contains　the　laws　of　the　country；



of　which　the　people　stood　in　most　need；　and　also　because　it　is　not　joined　to



the　book　which　precedes　it　by　any　connecting　phrase；　but　begins　with　the



independent　statement；　〃these　are　the　words　of　Moses。〃　（116）　After　this　task



was　completed；　I　think　Ezra　set　himself　to　give　a　complete　account　of　the



history　of　the　Hebrew　nation　from　the　creation　of　the　world　to　the　entire



destruction　of　the　city；　and　in　this　account　he　inserted　the　book　of



Deuteronomy；　and；　possibly；　he　called　the　first　five　books　by　the　name　of



Moses；　because　his　life　is　chiefly　contained　therein；　and　forms　their



principal　subject；　for　the　same　reason　he　called　the　sixth　Joshua；　the



seventh　Judges；　the　eighth　Ruth；　the　ninth；　and　perhaps　the　tenth；　Samuel；



and；　lastly；　the　eleventh　and　twelfth　Kings。　（117）　Whether　Ezra　put　the



finishing　touches　to　this　work　and　finished　it　as　he　intended；　we　will



discuss　in　the　next　chapter。



















CHAPTER　IX　　…　　OTHER　QUESTIONS　CONCERNING　THE　SAME　BOOKS：　NAMELY；　WHETHER　THEY　WERE　COMPLETELY



FINISHED　BY　EZRA；　AND；　FURTHER；　WHETHER　THE　MARGINAL



NOTES　WHICH　ARE　FOUND　IN　THE　HEBREW　TEXTS　WERE　VARIOUS　READINGS。







（1）　How　greatly　the　inquiry　we　have　just　made　concerning　the　real　writer　of



the　twelve　books　aids　us　in　attaining　a　complete　understanding　of　them；　may



be　easily　gathered　solely　from　the　passages　which　we　have　adduced　in



confirmation　of　our　opinion；　and　which　would　be　most　obscure　without　it。　（2）



But　besides　the　question　of　the　writer；　there　are　other　points　to　notice



which　common　superstition　forbids　the　multitude　to　apprehend。　（3）　Of　these



the　chief　is；　that　Ezra　（whom　I　will　take　to　be　the　author　of　the　aforesaid



books　until　some　more　likely　person　be　suggested）　did　not　put　the　finishing



touches　to　the　narrative　contained　therein；　but　merely　collected　the



histories　from　various　writers；　and　sometimes　simply　set　them　down；　leaving



their　examination　and　arrangement　to　posterity。







（4）　The　cause　（if　it　were　not　untimely　death）　which　prevented　him　from



completing　his　work　in　all　its　portions；　I　cannot　conjecture；　but　the　fact



remains　most　clear；　although　we　have　lost　the　writings　of　the　ancient　Hebrew



historians；　and　can　only　judge　from　the　few　fragments　which　are　still



extant。　（5）　For　the　history　of　Hezekiah　（2　Kings　xviii：17）；　as　written　in



the　vision　of　Isaiah；　is　related　as　it　is　found　in　the　chronicles　of　the



kings　of　Judah。　（6）　We　read　the　same　story；　told　with　few　exceptions；



＇Endnote　11＇；　in　the　same　words；　in　the　book　of　Isaiah　which　was　contained





in　the　chronicles　of　the　kings　of　Judah　（2　Chron。　xxxii：32）。　（7）　From　this



we　must　conclude　that　there　were　various　versions　of　this　narrative