of P, see art. HEXATEUCH in vol. ii. p. 8745 f.).
_ 2. The Prophets.—This division of OT falling into two parts, the Former Prophets Jos, Jg, 1 and 2S, and 1 and 2K, and the Latter Pro- phets Is, Jer, Ezk, and the Twelve, receives its name from the prophetic authorship of these The prophets represent the mystical
books.
OLD TESTAMENT
teachers of religion who gain truth through the emotions or intuitions (see art. PROPHET). Equally with the priests, the prophets unfolded the ancient instruction or law, not, however, in the form of statutes or codes, but as direct revelations of Jehovah expressed in warnings and exhortations. The prophets became thus the con- science of the State and interpreters of history. Handing down their instruction as a living word, they seem not to have taken pains at first to pre- serve it in writing. Not until the 8th cent. have we indications of a systematic effort in that direc- tion, illustrated in the discourses given in Amos, Hosea, Isaiah, and Micah. How far these came directly from the prophets themselves, or repre- sent abstracts or reports furnished by scholars or hearers, we have no means of determining. Isaiah twice commanded that some of his instruction should be preserved as a future testimony to the truth of his doctrine (816 308). A century later Jeremiah took pains, according to a command from Jehovah, to have his discourses, covering a period of some twenty-two years, carefully written out (Jer 3615. *), At the time of the Exile, when Ezekiel flourished, a written roll had become the symbol of the prophets word (Ezk 2°-3%). He probably himself carefully wrote and arranged his prophecies, and from thence onward prophecy often assumed doubtless in the first instance a written as well as a spoken form. The anonymity of the author (or authors) of Is 40-66 suggests that those
rophecies may have been circulated in MS without
aving been first orally delivered. The last of the prophets, whose writings have been preserved, according to Jewish tradition was Malachi (about B.C. 450), and this tradition is probably true as concerning the writings of those who delivered in the first instances oral messages.* Ob, Jl, Jon, Zec 9-14 and Is 24-27 are assigned by many scholars (see separate articles and Driver's LOT) to the Greek period, representing an imitation of the earlier prophetic word, and if we accept this assignment they probably represent a literary rather than an oratorical activity.
No record has been left of the manner or special cause of the collection of the ‘Latter Prophets.’ The sacred authority of most of them clearly dated from the day of their utterance or com-
ition, and they gained nothing in this respect By eollesuin and union with other writings, and
et their value naturally became greater when iving prophets no longer appeared, and then an impulse must have arisen for their union and pre-
servation in a sacred canon, This work was prob- ably formally accomplished by the scribes already mentioned in connexion with the Law; and here, again, as in the case of the Law, liberty was doubtless taken in editing old material to introduce new reflections. (We may account in this way partially for the imitations of ancient prophecy already mentioned).
The historical books Jos, Jg,1 and 28, and land 2K may have been originally classified as ‘ Prophets’ because they contained narratives con- cerning inspired or prophetic men, or because they were assigned for authorship to such men as Joshua, Samuel, and Jeremiah, a view of Talmudic Judaism;
et the result was in a degree correct, since these Tonks in the main came from authors imbued with the prophetic spirit. They reveal the will and character of Jehovah by relating His dealings with ancient Israel. Narratives of this sort began to
* No accredited prophets of Israel are mentioned in OT or elsewhere later than the time of Ezra and Nehemiah, and Josephus helo that their line of succession had then ceased lc. Apion, i. 8). In Zec 135% the prophet is mentioned as ough the office had fallen into disrepute (this passage is, how- ever, obscure), and in Ps 749 and 1 Mac 4“ 927 144! prophets are mentioned as having ce
OLD TESTAMENT
be composed quite early. The lost Book of the Wars of Jehovah (Nu 9115) was probably one, and the documents J and E of the Hexateuch and the similar sources (perhaps a continuation of J and E) appearing in Jg, 1 and2S8, 1 K 1-3, and the prophetic stories of 1 and 2K were others (see articles JUDGES in vol. ii. p. 807ff., SAMUEL (Books ΟΕ), and ΚΙΝΟΒ (Books oF)). Next to lyric songs, these narratives containing ancient myths and legends illustrate the earliest literature of Israel. They began, as we have them, to be written not far from the reign of Solomon, and passed probably through many hands, or were pre- served in circles of scholars, who copied, edited, and made such combinations of them as are seen in JE. The subject of the development of literature in Israel is very obscure. It is uncertain whether the art of reading and writing Was in vogue among the people before they entered the land of Canaan. After they came in contact with Canaanitish civiliza- tion it was clearly known among them. In Jg 814 writing by a boy is mentioned. This, it is true, might be an anachronism only revealing a widespread use of the art in the days of the author of Jg. At the court of David a scribe is mentioned (28 817), and the knowledge of reading and writing from that time onward is assumed (28 1114, 1 K 218, 2 Καὶ δῦ 101, Jer 291), Hence schools for the cultivation of this art necessarily then existed, and a literature of some sort must then have been current. This in its earliest form probably consisted of son and stories, and possibly some laws. The Song of Deborah is usually or as the earliest piece of literature preserved in the Bible. (For a chronological list of the writings of the OT, see article Bree in vol. i. p. 290 ; compare the dates there given with those adopted in the articles on each OT book).