Tiie exact content and text of the first Cliriscians' 'Bible' are not known. They were doubtless familiar with the tlnee-fold division of the Jewish canon — tlie 'Law,' the 'Prophets,' and the 'Writ- ings ' (Lk 24-*^ [?]), but they probably did not discuss questions of canonicity. Their feeling of spiritual elevation left no room for such academic discus- sions. And in the portions of Scripture used in- dividual choice seems to have had free play. The evangelists favour the Prophets and the Psalms, while St. Paul and the author of Hebrews cite mainly from the Pentateuch. But there is scarcely a book of the OT with which some NT writer does not show acquaintance. Obad., Ezr., Neh., and Est. are the only exceptions {according to Toy, Quotations in the NT, p. vi, n. 1). Apocryphal books and popular legends arc also used (cf. 1 Co 10*. Gal 3'», Ac 7*^ 2 Ti 3^ He 2^ lp7, Jude «•»•"). Textual problems seem to have been ignored. Quotations are mostly from the LXX, though use of the Hebrew text has sometimes been supposed. This is very difficult, if not impossible, to prove, since we do not know the exact form of Greek text which a NT writer may have used. A part of the early community ordinarily spoke Aramaic (Ac 6^), but Greek writers naturally followed the LXX rendering, even when the original tradition was in Aramaic or Hebrew. In fact, there seems to have been little thought about slavish adherence to any text. Christians possessed a superior understand- ing, which allowed them to alter phraseology, to paraphrase freely, or even to cite loosely from memory.
Thus their methods were more spontaneous than those of scribism, yet the general character of their interpretation was predominantly Jewish. Its free iiandling of the text, its disregard for the original setting, its logical vagaries, its slight tendency to become artihcial, were all Jewish traits. To illus- trate from the NT, Mk l^'- changes the wording of prophecy and disregards its natural meaning in order to make the Christian application possible. A logical non sequitur is illustrated in Mk 12-*^'-, where an original statement about the historic earthly career of Abraham is made the basis for an inference about his future heavenly career. St. Pauls argument from 'seed' and 'seeds' (Gal 3'*), his comjtarison between Hagar and Sarah (Gal 4-"'^^*). and his interpretation of the OT injunction against muz/iing the ox (1 Co Q"'-)) all tend to be- come artilicial. Christians appropriated and imi- tated Jewish J/iV^r«.s/iJTO seemingly without liesita- tion, as when St. Paul made Christ the spiritual rock (1 Co 10^; cf. 'Kabbah' on Nu 1'). They argued from word-derivation (Mt l-'"'-), and from the numerical value of letters (Rev 13"*; cf. art. 'Gematria' in JE); and they freely emi»Ioyed figures, types, analogies, allegories (q.v.). They .•ilso copied the more .sober type of Haggadic Mid- rdshini. Their emphasis upon the example of their Master, their preservation of His teaching, their harking back to the ancient worthies, are all in
line with Jewish custom. The work of the NT interpreter is not so very unlike that of the ideal scribe of Sir 39^"-. Yet early Christian interpreta- tion did not run to the same extreme of barren artificiality as that of the scribes, nor was it pursued merely for its own sake. As the hand- maid of the new faith, it was subordinated to the consciousness of a new spiritual authority in personal experience, a fact which may explain why Christians were partial to OT passages dealing with personal religious life.
Literature. — C. H. Toy, Quotations in the NT, New York, 1S84, where earlier literature is cited ; F. Johnson, The Quota- tions of the New Tetftament Jrom, the Old, London, 1890; A. Clemen, Der Gebrauch des AT in den neutest. tichriften, Gutersloh, 1895; E. Hiihn, Die alttest. Citate und Reiaiiiis- cenzen im NT, Tiihiiiy:eii, 1900; W. Dittmar, I'etiis Tenta- mentum in Novo, GoUin!,'en, 1903 ; E. Grafe, Das Urehris- tentum und das AT, Tubiiitfen, 1907 ; P. Glaue, Die Vorlesung heiliger Schriften im Goltesdienste, i., Berlin, 1907 ; S. J. Case, 'The NT Writers' Interpretation of the UT,' in B\V xxxviii. [1911] 92 ff. The more general treatises on Hermeiieutics usually have a section on the apostolic period.
S. J. Case. IRON {fflbiqpo'j ; adj. (TtS^peos). — Iron, the com- monest, cheapest, and most useful of heavy metals, is mentioned (Rev 18^-') among the merchandise of * Babylon ' ( = Rome). The Iron Age of civilization succeeded the Ages of Copper and Bronze. ' In Egypt, Chaldaaa, Assyria, China, it reaches far back, to jjerhaps 4000 years before tlie Christian era. Homer represents Greece as beginning her Iron Age twelve hundred years before our era ' (EBr^^ xiv. [1910] 800). Rome was supplied with iron from India, the shores of the Black Sea, Spain, Elba, and the province of Noricum. The apoca- lyptic Messiah is to rule the nations with a rod of iron (Rev 2-^ 12' 19'^), a symbol of inflexible justice (cf. Ps 29). The iron gate leading from the Fortress of Antonia into the city of Jerusalem opened to St. Peter and the angel of its own accord {avTOfidTT], Ac 12"*) ; cf. Homer's avTOfiarai d^ injXai /MVKOv ovpavoO, Sis ^x^" 'iipa' (■^^- V. 749), and Virgil, ^n. vi. 81 f. James Steahan.
ISAAC ('lo-acf/f).— Isaac, the son of Abraham and Sarah, was superior in a variety of ways to his half-brother Islimael. He was ' the son of the free- woman ' (6 dk iK TTJs £\evd^pas. Gal 4^^ ; toD viov rrjs iXevd^pas, v. 3") ; he was ' born through a promise ' (5t' eirayyeXlas, v.-^) given to his parents in their old age ; he was ' born after the Spirit ' {Kara irvevfia, v.-^), who gave the promise and perhaps the strength et's KarajSoXr]!' cnrepixaTos (He W^) ; and, as the true son — even called the only-begotten (rbv ixovoyevTj, v.'^) — he inherited the covenant promises given by God to Abraham. His brother, on the other hand, was ' the son of the handmaid ' [6 fih e/c ttjs waibi<TK-r)%, Gal 4^^ ; 6 vlbs rrjs Trai5iaKr]s, v.-*") ; he was ' born after the tlesh ' (6 Kara adpKa yewrjdils, v.-") ; and he could 'not inherit with the son of the freewoman ' (v. 3").