From these prophetie sources and from ancient annals, such as were naturally kept in connexion with the court and the temple (er from works based upon these annals), were composed or com- piled in the spirit of Dt, and hence !ater than B.c. 621, the Deuteronomic parts of Joshua, the middle sections of Jg, land 2S, andl and2K. Later, these books suffered revision from priests and scribes, who gave them their present form (separ- ating Jos from the Hexateuch). The time of the union of the Former Prophets with the Latter, or whether the books in either division were separately collected before their final union together, cannot be determined. The historical books from the first clearly held a high and revered place in Israel, as distinctly appears from the union ot JE with D. They were regarded as records of Divine revelations given to the patriarchs and Ss and illus- trating the principles of Jehovah’s rule in the world and care for His people. The earliest testimony to their existence is their use in 1 and 2 Ch, written about B.C. 300. In 2 Mac 2'5-!5is preserved a tradi- tion that Nehemiah, founding a library, gathered together the things concerning the kings and pro- phets, and the writings of David, and the letters of the kings about sacred gifts. Although the list of writings enumerated goes beyond the ‘ Pro- phets,’ ie a true reminiscence of their collection may be here given. The prophets formed a distinct division of Sacred Scriptures at B.c. 130, when the prologue to Sirach was written, and if the mention of twelve prophets in Sir 49" is genuine, then as early as B.C. 180 (see art. OT CANON).
3. The Writings or Hagiographa. —This third division of the OT is composed of literature gener- ally later than the Law and the Prophets, and this fact alone is sufficient to account for its separate existence. Dn in character belongs to the Vacted Prophets, but was not written until the Maccabean period (see art. DANIEL). Through the inspiring character of its teachings and revelation it was clearly received on its first eres as of Divine authority. 1 and 2Ch, Ezr, Neh, and Est resemble the Former Prophets, and eee too late to be joined with them. Ezr and Neh bring the history of Israel from a point near that at which the narra- tive ceases in 1 and 2 K down to the canonization of the Law or the founding of Judaism, and probably
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OLD TESTAMENT
thus gained a recognition as Holy Scripture. The same probably is true of Ruth. It was felt to be an integrai part of OT history, and through this in- fluence it was sometimes reckoned as a part of Jg (see below). 1 and 2 Ch were originally joined with Ezr and Neh, the four books som, the work of one author (see articles); but since 1 and 2 Ch were principally a midrash on 1 and 2S and 1 and 2 K, they were separated from Ezr and Neh, and not so carly recognized as sacred. This supposition seems necessary to explain their position after Ezr and Neh, and last in the OT Canon. Esther was written to explain the feast of Purim, and received at once, doubtless, a sacred character from this fact and from its inspiring patriotism. Wherever the feast was regarded as a sacred festival, the story of its origin acquired a similar character, and since it commanded the feast, spoke with Divine seeds From this point of view Esther resembles the narratives of the Torah, which explain the origins of religious laws and customs. ‘
Ps, Job, Pr, Ec, Ca, and La represent a different class of literature from the Law and the Prophets, since their contents appear almost entirely as the result of human observation, thought, and aspira- tion rather than as the product or record of Divine revelation. Hence, although partially of as early a date as some of the prophets, they did not com- mand such immediate attention or force so readily the thought of Divine origin. The main cause leading to their acceptance, clearly seen in Ps, La, Pr; ait Job, was their inspiring religious contents. These books are directly akin in their teachings to the Law and the Prophets. To the conscience they spoke with similar authority ; they breathed likewise the very spirit of faith and penitence which the Law and the Prophets commanded, and thus they obtained recognition as a Divine word. With Canticles and Ecclesiastes such inspiration is less apparent. The former was probably originally a collection of songs sung at wedding festivities (see, however, article SoNG oF SonGs). Highly valued, nevertheless, as a beautiful specimen of Hebrew poetry, and regarded also as a continuous composition, this collection was interpreted as set- ting forth the love of Jehovah for His people, and thus gained a sacred character, and then probably was assigned to Solomon as its author. Ec was probably received principally on the ground of its supposed Solomonic authorship. As in the case of the prophets, no record has been left of the collec- tion and formal canonization of the Hagiographa. The earliest mention of them is in the Prologue to Sirach (written B.c. 132), where reference is made to ‘the law, the prophets, and the other books.’ Owing to the indefiniteness of the expression ‘ the other books,’ it is uncertain whether this division was then complete, or whether some books or por- tions of books were added later. <A decision in this regard must be determined by the date of the separate writings.* In 1 Mac 715 (written about B.C. 100) Ps 79% is formally cited as Scripture. In the NT the three divisions of the OT are Tecog- nized, closing with 1 and 2 Ch (Mt 23%, Lk 24%), The second (fourth) Bk. of Esdras as well as Josephus, probably near the close of the lst cent. A.D., recognize our present OT Canon.