It is worthy of note that since the time of Micah, whose swan-song, full of the bitterest com- plaints, may be preserved in the fragment Mic 7°, the voice of Jahweh prophecy had been, so far as we know, completely hushed. The oracle of Nahum against Nineveh (dating probably about 660), lies, in view of its contents, outside our sphere of consideration; while the next prophet, Zephaniah (¢. 630), already belongs to the time of Josiah. This Jacwna of some 60 years in the suc- cession of prophets is surely not to be explained on the ground that cowardly fear of man closed the mouths of those who were raised up by God. Rather may we say, it was only natural that, in view of the cheerless condition’ of public religion and the complete purposelessness of any opposi- tion, religious zeal concentrated itself above all on literary work, in order to prepare in this way the dawn of better days. We should probably assign to this period not only the preliminary steps to- wards Hilliah’s law-book (see above, p. 699), but in all probability also the combining of the early sources, J and H, of the Pentateuch—possibly also other fresh recensions of the earlier Historical books and Prophetical writings.
6. The language of Zeph 1 permits us to look far into the conditions that prevailed prior to Jeremiah’s coming upon the scene. Zephaniah commences with the threat of an annihilating judgment, which is to sweep away man and beast. Judah and Jerusalem are to be affected by it because of their prevailing idolatry. But, along- side of the idolaters, Zephaniah (1°12) knows also of men who seek not after Jahweh because He can neither bestow happiness nor inflict harm. This conclusion is again characteristic of the stand. point of national religion ; its adherents are com- pletely mistaken as to the power of the God of Israel. Long experience has taught them that He is no match for the gods of the world-empires. It is not then by any means that they deny His existence, but they deny that there is any profit in serving Him. Of what use is a God’ who can render no help? The idea that the seeming in- activity of Jahweh is due to the fault of the people themselves is incomprehensible to them: ‘they are settled upon their lees’ (v.12),
* The altars for the whole host of heaven, mentioned in 2K 215, are derived from 2312, but in the latter passage it may very well be Jahweh altars that are meant. Are we to hold, with Budde, that Manasseh regarded the Assyrian star-gods as vassals of Jahweh?
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7. Jeremiah, who came upon the scene shortly after Zephaniah, had to combat first of all the carnal security with which the deluded people shut their eyes to the terrible seriousness of the situation. All signs of approaching ruin, all calls to repent- ance, were unheeded, thanks to the vain notion that, if it came to the worst, Jahweh must snatch the city and the temple out of the enemy’s hands (cf., especially, 74 5). In this delusion they were constantly encouraged by false prophets, who sought to heal the hurt of the people hastily, saying, ‘Peace, peace,’ when there was no peace (8). From these circles naturally emanated after- wards the encouragement to a senseless resistance of the Chaldzeans, contrary to the unceasing ex- hortation of Jeremiah to patient submission, as what was alone in conformity with the purpose of Jahweh.
But once more it seemed as if that indispensable change in the religious sentiments of the people, for which the prophets had wrought in vain, was to be accomplished from another quarter. The contents of the law-book found by Hilliah* had produced an immense impression, at least upon the pious king Josiah, and had led him to introduce this code, and, at a solemn gathering in the temple, to bind the whole people to observe it (2 K 234), The circumstance that before doing so he took counsel (22"-), not with Jeremiah but with the prophetess Huldah, can be explained only on the supposition that Jeremiah happened to be absent from Jerusalem at the time. For that Jeremiah himself placed great hopes on this law - book is evident from the fact that he still, about the year 605, utters very earnest exhortations to render obedience to it (11). At a later period, indeed, the uselessness even of this last attempt appears to have become quite clear to him ; for while he sharply denounces (34!2:), about the year 588, the neglect of a Deuteronomic command, he no longer men- tions the law-book as a whole.
Hilkiah’s law-book did not fail at first of outward results. Apart from the rigid concentration of the whole of the cultus at Jerusalem,t+ it led to a radical cultus reform in general. One is astounded in reading 2 K 234% to learn what, up till now, had been possible in and around Jerusalem, under the eyes of so pious a king as Josiah. But it would be wrong to represent the improvement of outward conditions as the only aim of the law-book in ques- tion. We have already (p. 687f.) seen that the whole of Deuteronomy is inspired with the spirit of true Jahweh prophecy, that the service of God and the moral conduct it requires are based upon truly religious motives, namely, the humble re- cognition of one’s own unworthiness, love to God, and hearty gratitude for His inexhaustible bene- fits. Josiah himself may have been deeply im- pressed and permeated with these ideas. But the reform which he based upon them remained for the mass of the people simply a royal decree which showed its effects in a variety of external matters,