3. As long as there were prophets in Is'ra-el and Ju'dah to declare the will of the Lord the need of a written and authoritative Scripture was scarcely recognized. But prophecy ceased about B. C. 450, and then began the _work of the great scribes_, of whom Ez'ra was the chief, in bringing together, editing, and copying the sacred books. Perhaps about B. C. 400 the Old Testament was practically complete. But it is evident that the precise text was not fixed for centuries afterward, as the earliest translation (the Septuagint; see below) shows that a text was followed different from that now read. The text of the He'brew Bible was not finally adopted until later than A. D 200. III. =Language.= 1. Nearly all the Old Testament was written in He'brew, the language of the Is'ra-el-ites, called by the As-syr'i-ans on their monuments "the tongue of the west country," in the Bible "the lip of Ca'naan" (Isa. 19. 18) or "the Jews' language" (2 Kings 18. 26). 2. Certain parts of Dan'iel and Ez'ra and one verse of Jer-e-mi'ah (Jer. 10. 11) were written in Ar-a-ma'ic (2 Kings 18. 26, "Syr'i-an language"), often, though inaccurately, called Chal'dee. IV. =Form.= 1. The books of the Old Testament were _written upon parchment_, the prepared skins of animals. The letters were large, and a manuscript roll embraced generally only one book; and several rolls were needed for the longer books. 2. Their use was almost entirely _limited to the synagogue_, and few copies were ever owned by private persons. After touching the roll of an inspired book one must wash his hands in running water before touching anything else. 3. When the synagogue rolls were well worn they were cut up into smaller pieces for _use in the schools_, where the Bible was the only text-book. When worn out they were burned or buried. The Jews did not preserve ancient writings, which is one reason why all the manuscripts of the Bible are of comparatively modern date. Blackboard Outline I. =Name.= "H. B." _Biblia._ 39. 27. 66. II. =Orig.= "Hi. Crit." 1. _Ora._ St. so. po. pro. trad. 2. _Writ._ 1,600 y. 40 wri. "Works of authors." 3. _Work of scr._ B.C. 400. Text not uniform. III. =Lang.= 1. Heb. 2. Aram. IV. =Form.= 1. Writ. parch. 2. Use in syn. 3. Use in sch. Review Questions