At this period in Israel's history, Jehovah had become almost forgotten, and "other gods" had taken his place.[94:2] The Mosaic party, so called--who worshiped Jehovah exclusively--were in the minority, but when King Amon--who was a worshiper of Moloch--died, and was succeeded by his son Josiah, a change immediately took place. This young prince, who was only eight years old at the death of his father, the Mosaic party succeeded in winning over to their interests. In the year 621 B. C., Josiah, now in the eighteenth year of his reign, began a thorough reformation which completely answered to the ideas of the Mosaic party.[94:3] It was during this time that the _second_ Pentateuchian writer wrote, and _he_ makes _Moses_ speak as the law-giver. This writer was probably Hilkiah, _who claimed to have found a book, written by Moses, in the temple,[94:4] although it had only just been drawn up_.[94:5] The principal objections which _were_ brought against the claims of Hilkiah, _but which are not needed in the present age of inquiry_, was that Shaphan and Josiah read it off, not as if it were an _old_ book, _but as though it had been recently written_, when any person who is acquainted, in the slightest degree, with language, must know that a man could not read off, at once, _a book written eight hundred years before_. The phraseology would necessarily be so altered by time as to render it comparatively unintelligible. We must now turn to the _third_ Pentateuchian writer, _whose writings were published 444 B. C._ At that time Ezra (or Ezdras) _added_ to the work of his two _predecessors_ a series of _laws_ and _narratives_ which had been drawn up _by some of the priests in Babylon_.[94:6] This "series of laws and narratives," which was written by "some of the (Israelitish) priests in Babylon," was called "_The Book of Origins_" (probably containing the Babylonian account of the "_Origin of Things_," or the "_Creation_"). Ezra brought the book from _Babylon_ to Jerusalem. He made some modifications in it and constituted it a code of law for Israel, _dove-tailing it into those parts of the Pentateuch which existed before_. A few _alterations_ and _additions_ were subsequently made, but these are of minor importance, and we may fairly say _that Ezra put the Pentateuch into the form in which we have it_ (about 444 B. C.). These priestly passages are partly occupied with historical matter, comprising a very free account of things from the creation of the world to the arrival of Israel in Canaan. Everything is here presented from the _priestly_ point of view; some events, elsewhere recorded, are _touched up in the priestly spirit, and others are entirely invented_.[95:1]