EBREW literature comprises the books of the Old Testament, as found in the Bible; the Talmud, an attempt to adapt the injunctions of the Mosaic Law to the later and altered conditions of Jewish life; and the Rabbinical writings in general, which are mainly commentaries or expositions of the Sacred Texts. The works of Flavius Josephus (37-95 A.D.), though written in Greek, and Philo Judæus's essay to reconcile Platonic with Mosaic philosophy, may also be regarded as Hebrew literature, but will not be considered in this place. As for the Kabbala, an esoteric and secret interpretation of the letter of Scripture dating from about the tenth century (though earlier dates have been assigned to it), it is an oral tradition, and cannot be included under the head of literature. Between the Bible and any or all other literature, no just parallel can be drawn. It purports to be the Word of God; and in spite of the "Higher Criticism," and all other criticism, it vindicates its claim. Books conceived and written by men are soon fathomed, their end and quality determined; but no one has sounded the depths of the Sacred Scriptures. Outwardly, they are chiefly concerned with the dealings of Jehovah-or the LORD-with mankind; and cavillers object that the Hebrew race (which is made to stand for mankind in this connection) does not adequately represent mankind; and, moreover, that the passions of anger, cruelty and revenge, atttributed to the Infinitely Wise and Good, are inconsistent with the character of such a Being, and thus discredit the whole argument. But it must be obvious that an Infinite Creator, in addressing His finite creatures, would necessarily accommodate the form of his communications to the limitations of their finite ideas and language; in other words, limitless spiritual truth can only be conveyed through concrete symbols or images. Whatever keenness of criticism, therefore, we may bring to bear upon the historical, didactic, and moral disquisitions of the letter of Scripture, we leave the spirit embodied in that letter unaffected. The Bible is in truth the exposition of the spiritual experience of man in his progress from mere creatureship to sonship with God. From the religious standpoint, it is with this understanding only that the Holy Volume should be opened. In this work, however, we have to deal with the Bible as literature. It is a compilation extending over many centuries; but the various parts, however widely divided as to dates of production, are unified and authorized by the truth of their Divine Inspiration. It may be remarked that the earlier chapters of Genesis, and occasional passages in other books of the Bible, belong to an earlier version of the Scriptures, the remainder of which is lost. These chapters and passages are purely allegorical, whereas the clear historical portions relate to actual occurrences, but so selected as to cover and convey a spiritual significance. The earlier version, above referred to, was called "The Wars of Jehovah." The Hebrews are supposed by some to have acquired their name from Heber, the great-grandson of Shem; but it is more probably related to the word Ibrim, "Those of the other side," the family or tribe having crossed the Euphrates on their way westward. The language of Mesopotamia in the time of Abram was Chaldaic, and it was only after the Patriarch had settled in Palestine that the amalgamation of this tongue with those of the Phoenicians and other inhabitants of that region produced the primitive form of Hebrew perfected in the Mosaic books. From the tenth to the eighth century B.C. was the Golden Age of Hebrew literature. Thereafter it became gradually less pure; it ceased to be a living language three centuries before Christ. It is the most vital and forcible of ancient tongues, and lends itself, as does no other, to profound, eloquent and sublime imagery. It is written from right to left in two kinds of characters-the primitive square and the modern rabbinical. The manner in which the English Bible, as seen in King James's Version, is printed and divided, has the effect of seriously obscuring its literary quality. The vast amount of comment and criticism of which it had for ages been the subject, made expedient a system of printing which facilitated reference to any particular passage. The division into chapters was made in the fifteenth century, and into "verses" in the sixteenth. The "verses" and chapters, as we have them now, had no existence in the original Hebrew Scriptures, and they disguise these very much as the operations of the dissecting-table disguise the natural aspect of the bodies operated on. They not only greatly increase the difficulty of apprehending the meaning and relations of the various writings, but they compel what is in reality the sublimest poetry to wear the garb of rigid prose. In 1884 was completed what is known as the "Revised Version" of the Scriptures, which is a great improvement in form and in other respects upon that of King James. In it we are for the first time enabled to recognize the lyric and epic quality of much of the Biblical contents. The strophe and antistrophe of the Psalms, once perceived, elucidate their meaning almost as much as they enhance their literary beauty. The poetry of the Hebrews differs in form from that of other races. There is no rhyme, and no regularity of metre; its underlying principle is the symmetry of clauses in a verse, to which the term "Parallelism" has been applied. In this system a couplet consists of two parallel clauses, a triplet of three. In the quatrain several methods may be followed, the first and third, and second and fourth lines may be parallel, which is the "alternate" arrangement; or the quatrain may be introverted, the first line corresponding with the fourth, and the middle ones with each other. These forms of the quatrain may be combined in various ways with one another, or with the couplets and triplets, and with periodical lines of recitative; or we may have such figures as the envelope, the chain, and the refrain, in combination or interwoven; and again, the stanza may be the unit of the poem, and the above devices applied to that. In all cases, the subject-matter determines the form-sound and sense are interdependent. Hence it happens that the several kinds of poetic composition in the Bible are constantly changing one into the other; there are interludes and episodes of different verse from that of the body of the poem; the unity is constantly refreshed with variety, so that from beginning to end the whole breathes and palpitates with life and beauty. But we cannot here do more than hint in passing at the subject of the literary classification of the Scriptures; it has been made the theme of an important volume by Professor R. G. Moulton. The student should free his thought from the conceptions of verse as imposed by Greek and other classic models, and remember that the finest English rendering must be deficient in the music and splendor of the Hebrew. By observing the indications given, the student will not only discover a new charm in the letter of the Bible, but will be greatly helped in his comprehension of its spiritual meanings. The Talmud, consisting of two parts, the Mishna, or Second Law, and the Gemara, or Doctrine, includes rules and precepts drawn up by the rabbins in the second century, and the explanations thereof, which were added a century later. The Babylonian Talmud contains new commentaries, and is four times the length of that of Jerusalem. It is commonly preferred to the latter. The Mishna was composed by the "Doctors" (Tenaim) in the time of the Maccabees; the Gemara by the Amoraim-" Speakers," and they were codified during the fourth to the sixth centuries. The latter is in the Aramean tongue; the Mishna in the post-Biblical Hebrew. In Spain, under the Arabian dispensation, the Jews were allowed a freedom denied them elsewhere; and the Spanish Jews developed remarkable powers of scholarship. They made many contributions to secular as well as to theological literature and assisted in diffusing the treasures of Oriental lore among the nations of the West. But the Bible and the Talmud remain the two great monuments of Hebrew genius and intellect; and as the distinctive peculiarities of the Chosen People tend gradually to become merged in the broader life around them, the stupendous majesty of their gift to literature assumes ever grander proportions in the eyes of mankind. THE SONG OF MOSES. (EXODUS XV.) THIS is the song of triumph of the Israelites after their escape from Egypt and the overthrow of the Egyptians in the Red Sea. It was probably sung responsively by separate choirs of men and women. Then sang Moses and the children of Israel this song unto Jehovah: Sing unto Jehovah, for He hath triumphed gloriously; The horse and his rider hath He thrown into the sea. I will sing unto Jehovah, for he hath triumphed gloriously, For He was my salvation: He is my God and I will praise Him, My father's God and I will exalt Him; Jehovah is His name: Pharaoh's chariots and his host hath He cast into the sea: His chosen captains were drowned in the Red sea; The depths have covered them; They sank to the bottom as a stone. Thy right hand, O Jehovah, is glorious in power, Thy right hand, O Jehovah, hath dashed in pieces the enemy; And in the greatness of Thy Majesty Thou hast overthrown them that rose up against Thee; Thou sendest forth Thy wrath and consumest them as stubble; For with the blast of Thy nostrils The waters were gathered together, The floods stood upright as an heap, And the depths were congealed in the heart of the sea; The enemy said, "I will pursue, I will overtake, I will divide the spoil, |