Prolegomena to the History of IsraelWellhausen, Julius
Religion
Prolegomena to the History of Israel
Wellhausen, Julius
Bible. Old Testament -- Criticism, interpretation, etc.; Jews -- History -- To 70 A.D.; Judaism -- History -- To 70 A.D.
-- Footnote
1. Cf. Kuenen, Profeten onder Israel (1875), ii. p. 143; English
translation (1877), p 398. One of these Deuteronomistic prophecies
is cited above, p. 275. They are in part anonymous, e.g, 2Kings
x. 30, xxi. 10 seq, in part connected with old names, e.g 1Kings
xvi. 1 seq. In many instances no doubt the reviser found
flints in his sources and worked them out in his own style; thus,
1Kings xiv. 7 seq., xxi 21 seq. 2Kings ix. 7 seq. In these
passages the Deuteronomistic ideas and the phraseology of
Jeremiah and Ezekiel are distinctly present [ HNNY MBY) R(h ], but
detached expressions of an original type also occur,--which, it is
true, are then constantly repeated, e.g. (CWN W(ZWB. Names,
too, like Jehu ben Hanani, are certainly not fictitious: we are
not so far advanced as in Chronicles. Cf. 1Samuel ii. 27 seq.;
2Samuel vii. 1 seq.
-- Footnote
In this way the Law is introduced into the history in a living
way; the prophets keep it effective and see it applied, according
to the principle stated, 2Kings xvii. 13, which is founded on
Jeremiah vii. 25; Deuteronomy xviii. 18:
"Jehovah testified to them by all the prophets and seers saying,
Turn ye from your evil ways and keep my commandments and statutes,
according to all the Torah which I commanded your fathers and which
I sent unto you by my servants the prophets."
The most unblushing example of this kind, a piece which, for historical
worthlessness may compare with Judges xix.-xxi. or 1Samuel vii. seq.,
or even stands a step lower, is 1Kings xiii. A man of God from Judah
here denounces the altar of Bethel, at which King Jeroboam is in the
act of offering sacrifice, in these terms:
"O altar, altar, behold a son shall be born to the house of David,
Josiah by name; and upon thee shall he offer the priests of the
high places, that burn incense upon thee, and men's bones shall be
burned upon thee."
And to guarantee the truth of this prophecy, to be fulfilled three
hundred years afterwards, he gives the sign that the altar shall
burst asunder, and the ashes of the sacrifice upon it be poured
out--which at once takes place. This legend, however, does not
really belong to the Deuteronomist, but is a still later
addition, as is easily to be seen from the fact that the sentence
xii. 31 is only completed at xiii. 34. It deserves remark that
in the two verses which introduce the thirteenth chapter, xii. 32
seq., the feast of tabernacles is fixed, in accordance with the
Priestly Code, as the 15th of the 7th month.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account