part i. is that of Greek philosophy, a transcendent God Who has no

immediate contact with the world. It is true that in the later parts of the Old Testament the writers had largely abandoned the conception of Jahveh as a God Who had direct dealings with mankind.... God gradually became thought of as more and more remote, though even in Daniel the scene where the Ancient of Days sits in judgement on the nations shows that God could be still thought of as having immediate dealings with mankind. In Wisdom, however, in chapters i.-x. we find that the author conceives God to be so remote, that He performs His will by means of an intermediary, whom He sends forth into the world (ix. 10). This intermediary is Wisdom, and possesses all the attributes of Deity. She is omnipotent (vii. 27), omniscient (viii. 8 and ix. 11), and puts these attributes into action; she administers all things well (viii. 1).”[328] In the second half of the book God is again and again spoken of as interfering personally in the affairs of men; a striking example is given in xiv. 1 ff., which speaks of the folly of a navigator who prays for safety to an idol before embarking upon his vessel:

For that vessel the hunger for gain devised, And an artificer by his wisdom built it; And Thy providence, O Father, guideth it along, Because even in the sea Thou gavest a way, And in the waves a sure path; Showing that Thou canst save out of every danger....

In other respects also the second part of this book represents the Old Testament doctrine, more especially in its insistence upon the need of right worship, and in the way in which it deals with the mercy and justice of God.

(_b_) _The Doctrine of the Law._

In Ecclesiasticus much stress is laid upon the importance of the Law both from the ethical and ritual point of view, a fact which shows this book to be a valuable link between the Judaism of post-exilic times and Rabbinical Judaism. The first point to note is the nature of the Law as taught by Ben-Sira; it is eternal, and it is divine, for it has been given by God, the Eternal One. The existence of the Law before the beginning of the world is involved by Ben-Sira’s identification of it with Wisdom. This is a conception which, so far as is known, occurs here for the first time; but the way in which this identification seems to be taken for granted shows that it cannot have been wholly new to Ben-Sira’s hearers; in speaking about the search for Wisdom he says, for example, in xv. 1:

For he that feareth the Lord doeth this [i.e. seeketh Wisdom], And he that taketh hold of the Law findeth her [i.e. Wisdom].

The Law and Wisdom are used again as synonymous terms in xxxiv. (xxxi. in the Greek) 8:

Without deceit shall the Law be fulfilled. And Wisdom is perfect in a mouth that is faithful.

Perhaps the most striking example of the way in which the two are identified with each other is in xxiv. 23, where Ben-Sira speaks of things concerning Wisdom, saying:

All these things are the book of the covenant of God Most High, The Law which Moses commanded as an heritage for the assemblies of Jacob.

Equally direct are the words in xix. 20:

All wisdom is the fear of the Lord, And all wisdom is the fulfilling of the Law.

The “fear of the Lord,” as is often said by Ben-Sira, is both the true observance of the Law, and the “beginning,” or zenith, of Wisdom. The constant insistence upon the need of observing the Law is characteristic of this book; the following passage offers a good example out of many:

He that seeketh out the Law shall gain her, But the hypocrite shall be snared thereby.... In all thy works guard thyself, For he that so doeth keepeth the commandment. He that observeth the Law guardeth himself, And he that trusteth in Jehovah shall not be brought to shame (xxxii. 15-24).

Ben-Sira urges men not to be ashamed of the Law (xlii. 2), and loves to remind his hearers of how their great ancestors observed it and were enlightened by it, and taught it to others (see xliv. 20, xlv. 5, 17, xlvi. 14); and he also teaches that the fulfilling of the precepts of the Law is to be the chief concern in view of the inevitableness of death:

Remember thy last end, and cease from enmity; Remember corruption and death, and abide in the commandments (xxviii. 6).

Another point of importance in this connection is Ben-Sira’s teaching on the spirit in which the precepts of the Law should be carried out; in xxxiv. 18, 19 (in the Greek xxxi. 21-23) he says:

The sacrifice of the unrighteous man is a mocking offering, And unacceptable are the oblations of the godless. The Most High hath no pleasure in the offerings of the ungodly, Neither doth He forgive sins for a multitude of sacrifices.

Somewhat different in character, but breathing quite the same spirit, are the following words:

He who washeth after contact with a dead body, and toucheth it again, What has he gained by his bathing? So a man fasting for his sins, And again doing the same, Who will listen to his prayer? And what hath he gained by his humiliation (verses 25, 26).

That the Law, according to Ben-Sira, was now meant only for Israel, whatever might originally have been the case, may be gathered from the following, when it is remembered that, as already shown, Wisdom and the Law are identified with each other; Wisdom is represented as speaking thus:

With all these [i.e. every people and nation] I sought a resting-place, And said: In whose inheritance shall I lodge? Then the Creator of all things gave me commandment, And He that created me fixed my dwelling-place for me; And He said: Let thy dwelling-place be in Jacob, And in Israel take up thine inheritance.... And I took root among an honoured people, In the portion of the Lord and of His inheritance (xxiv. 7 f., 12).

We may recall here that according to the teaching of the Rabbis in later centuries the Law was originally intended by God to be a revelation of Himself and of His will to all nations, but that the only nation which accepted it was Israel.

In the Book of Tobit we meet with an earnest zeal for the fulfilments of legal precepts combined with deep devotion. This book is important for the indications it offers of the development of legal observances. Prayer, almsgiving and fasting are strongly advocated (xii. 8), but more especially almsgiving, which is again and again insisted upon, e.g.: “Give alms of thy substance; turn not away thy face from any poor man, and the face of God shall not be turned away from thee. As thy substance is, give alms of it according to thine abundance; if thou have much, according to the abundance thereof give alms; if thou have little, bestow it, and be not afraid to give alms according to that little....” (iv. 6-11). The laws of tithe (i. 7, v. 13), marriage (vi. 12, vii. 13, 14), honouring parents (iv. 3), keeping the feasts (i. 6, ii. 1), purifying oneself (ii. 5), as well as others, are all inculcated. This love for the Law, combined with worship, i.e. prayer, observance of the feasts, and zeal for the honour of God, offers a fine illustration of the truly pious Jew of this period. The observance of the Law appears as a real delight, there is no hint of its being irksome; in this the book is a commentary on the psalmist’s words:

Oh, how I love Thy Law, It is my meditation all the day (Ps. cxix. 97).

In no book of the Apocrypha is the observance of the Law more strongly advocated than in Judith; while everything depends upon trust in God and obedience to Him, both are shown forth by keeping the Law which He gave; righteousness is only through the Law. As in the majority of the books of the Apocrypha there is no abstract conception concerning the Law, its practical observance only is taught. Thus in viii. 5, 6 it is said of Judith that “she made her a tent upon the roof of her house, and put on sackcloth upon her loins; and the garments of her widowhood were upon her. And she fasted all the days of her widowhood, save the eves of the sabbaths, and the eves of the new moons, and the new moons, and the feasts and joyful days of the house of Israel.” This was all in accordance with traditional practice; seclusion, mortification and fasting all belonged to the _rôle_ of a widow’s mourning; it is, however, a development that the eves of sabbaths, new moons and feasts were observed, as here indicated. A further example of the need of the strict observance of the Law is seen in xi. 12, 13, where the sin of touching forbidden food is spoken of: “Since their (i.e. the Jews’) victuals failed them, and all their water was scant, they took counsel to lay hands upon their cattle, and determined to consume all those things which God charged them by His laws that they should not eat; and they are resolved to spend the firstfruits of the corn, and the tenths of the wine and the oil, which they had sanctified and reserved for the priests that stand before the face of our God in Jerusalem; the which things it is not fitting for any of the people so much as to touch with their hands.” Reference is also made to the sacrificial system and the gifts of the people in xvi. 18, but in the poem in xvi. 2-17 the right spirit in offering is the really important matter:

For all sacrifice is very little for a sweet savour, And all the fat is very little for a whole burnt-offering to Thee; But he that feareth the Lord is great continually.

The teaching concerning the Law in this book is thus strongly Pharisaic.

In 1 Maccabees there is reflected the earnest zeal for the Law on the part of the patriots; this has been referred to with quotations above (Chap. II), so that it is not necessary to say anything further here. Much stress is laid upon legal observances in 2 Maccabees; in