Part 17

The rod of correction gives wisdom, But a child left to himself brings disgrace to his mother. Chastise your son while there is still hope, And set not your heart on his destruction. He who spares his rod hates his son, But he who loves him chastises him,

express their appreciation of the importance of discipline in the early training of the child. It is not clear at what age the wise took up the instruction of the young. Possibly it was at about the age of twelve, when the individual passed from childhood to adolescence, with its increasing dangers and possibilities. Many of their teachings are especially adapted to the problems of this tempestuous period.

VI. The Methods of the Wise. In attaining their aims the wise men of Israel employed a variety of methods. Proverbs such as,

Every purpose is established by counsel, And by wise guidance make thou war,

suggest that, as in the days before the exile, they were still active in connection with the civic, social, and national life of the people, and that by influencing public policies they conserved the moral welfare of the individual as well as the state. Many references to "wisdom's voice crying aloud in the public places" suggest that, like the earlier prophets, the wise men at times taught in public, in the market-places, in the open spaces within the city gates, or wherever men were gathered together. They appear also to have taught in private, by wise counsel delivering the individual disciple who resorted to them from the perils that beset his path, or aiding him by prudent advice in solving successfully his individual problems.

In 6:32-37 Ben Sira has given a vivid sketch of the schools of the wise, which are clearly the forerunners of the later rabbinical schools:

My son, if you wish, you will be instructed, And if you pay attention, you will become prudent. If you are willing to hear, you will receive, And if you listen attentively, you will be wise. Stand in the assembly of the elders, And whoever is wise, stick close to him. Be willing to listen to every discourse, And let no illuminating proverbs escape you. If you see a man of insight, hasten to him, And let your foot wear out his threshold. Let your mind dwell upon the law of the Most High, And meditate continually on his commands. Thus he will enlighten your mind, And teach you the wisdom you desire.

It requires little imagination to picture these ancient prototypes of our modern universities. Like all Oriental teachers, the wise doubtless sat cross-legged, with their disciples in a circle about them. They trusted largely to question and answer, and poured out from their own and their inherited experience wise maxims such as would guide the simple and inexperienced and develop efficient manhood.

VIII. Their Important Teachings. In the opening chapters of Proverbs the wise describe the character and value of that wisdom which represents their teaching as a whole. In chapters 8 and 9 "Wisdom" is personified. Inasmuch as the Hebrew word for "wisdom" is feminine, it is spoken of as a woman. Chapter 9 describes, in a form intended to arrest the attention of the most inattentive, the feast that Wisdom offers to her guests. This is contrasted with Folly's banquet, and the consequences to those who participated in these rival banquets are clearly presented.

In the practical teachings of the wise no question that vitally concerned the individual man was considered beneath their attention. Like the wise modern teacher they made no distinction between the religious and the secular. Everything that influenced man's acts and ideals possessed for them profound religious import. While the proverbial epigrammatic form of their teaching was not conducive to a logical or complete treatment of their theme, yet in a series of concise, dramatic maxims they dealt with almost every phase of man's domestic, economic, legal, and social life. They presented clearly man's duty to animals, to himself, to his fellow-men, and to God. If utilitarian motives were urged in the great majority of cases, it is because they sought to reach their pupils on their own level. Although their ideals sometimes fell below those of the great prophets, and especially those of the Great Teacher of Nazareth, the importance of their work in establishing individual standards of right and wrong, in keeping alive in concrete form the principles of the earlier prophets, and in preparing their race for the crises through which it was soon to pass cannot be overestimated. As effective teachers of the individual they have an intensely practical and significant message for all men in the stream of life to-day as well as in the past.

Section CVI. THE DIFFERENT CURRENTS OF THOUGHT IN JUDAISM DURING THE GREEK PERIOD

[Sidenote: Ps. 19:7-14] The law of Jehovah is perfect, restoring the soul; The testimony of Jehovah is trustworthy, making wise the simple, The precepts of Jehovah are right, rejoicing the heart, The commandment of Jehovah is pure, enlightening the eyes. The fear of Jehovah is clean, enduring forever, The judgments of Jehovah are true and altogether just, They are of more value than gold, yea, than much fine gold, Sweeter than honey and the droppings from the honey-comb. By them is thy servant warned; in keeping them is great reward. Who can discern his errors; cleanse thou me from secret faults, Also from the presumptuous restrain thy servant; let them not have dominion over me. Then shall I be perfect and cleared from great transgression. Let the words of my mouth be acceptable and the meditation of my heart, In thy sight, O Jehovah, my Rock and my Redeemer.

[Sidenote: Ps. 46:1-3] Jehovah is our refuge and strength, An ever present help in trouble. Therefore we fear not, though the earth be moved, And though the mountains totter into the heart of the sea; The seas roar, their waters foam, Mountains shake with the swelling of its stream. Jehovah of hosts is with us, The God of Jacob is our refuge.

[Sidenote: Ps. 46:4-7] His brooks make glad the city of Jehovah, The holy dwelling place of the Most High. Jehovah is in the midst of her, she cannot totter; Jehovah will help her at the turn of the morn. Nations raged, kingdoms tottered, When he uttered his voice the earth melted. Jehovah of hosts is with us, The God of Jacob is our refuge.

[Sidenote: Ps. 46:8-11] Come, behold the works of Jehovah, What desolations he hath made in the earth. He is about to make wars to cease unto the end of the earth. The bow he breaketh, and dasheth the spear in pieces; He burneth the chariots with fire. Be still, and know that I am Jehovah; I shall be exalted among the nations, I shall be exalted on the earth. Jehovah of hosts is with us, The God of Jacob is our refuge.

[Sidenote: Ps. 22:27-30] All the ends of the earth will remember and will turn to Jehovah, And all the families of the nations will worship in his presence; For the dominion belongs to Jehovah and he rules over the nations. Verily, him alone will all the prosperous of the earth worship. Before him all those about to go down to the dust will bow, A seed will serve him, it will be told to a generation to come; And they will declare his righteousness that he hath accomplished to a people yet to be born.

[Sidenote: Jonah 1:1-8] Now this word of Jehovah came to Jonah the son of Amittai:

Arise, go to that great city, Nineveh, and preach against it; for their wickedness has come up before me. But Jonah rose up to flee to Tarshish from the presence of Jehovah. And he went down to Joppa and found a ship going to Tarshish; so he paid the fare and embarked to go with them to Tarshish from the presence of Jehovah.

[Sidenote: Jonah 1:4-7] But Jehovah sent a furious wind upon the sea, and there was a mighty tempest, so that the ship threatened to break in pieces. Then the sailors were afraid and cried, each to his own god; and they cast into the sea the wares that were in the ship, in order to lighten it. But Jonah had gone down into the bottom of the ship; and he lay fast asleep. And the captain of the ship came and said to him: What are you doing asleep? Call on your God, perhaps that God will think on us that we perish not. And they said to one another, Come, let us cast lots, that we may know for whose sake this evil has come upon us. So they cast lots and the lot fell upon Jonah.

[Sidenote: Jonah 1:8-10] Then they said to him, Tell us, what is your occupation, and whence do you come? what is your country and of what people are you? And he said to them, I am a Hebrew, and a worshipper of Jehovah, the God of heaven, who hath made the sea and the dry land. Then the men were exceedingly afraid, and said to him, What is this you have done? For they knew that he was fleeing from the presence of Jehovah, for he had told them.

[Sidenote: Jonah 1:11-13] Then they said to him, What shall we do to thee, that the sea may be calm for us? for the sea grew more and more stormy. And he said to them, Take me up and throw me into the sea; so shall the sea be calm for you, for I know that for my sake this great storm has overtaken you. But the men rowed hard to get back to the land; but they could not, for the sea grew more and more stormy against them.

[Sidenote: Jonah 1:14, 15] Therefore they cried to Jehovah, and said, We beseech thee, O Jehovah, we beseech thee, let us not perish for this man's life, neither bring innocent blood upon us, for thou art Jehovah; thou hast done as it pleaseth thee. So they took up Jonah, and threw him into the sea; and the sea ceased from its raging. Then the men feared Jehovah exceedingly, and they offered a sacrifice to Jehovah, and made vows.

[Sidenote: Jonah 1:17-2:1, 10] Then Jehovah prepared a great fish to swallow Jonah and Jonah was in the belly of this fish three days and three nights. Thereupon Jonah prayed to Jehovah his God, out of the belly of the fish. And Jehovah spoke to the fish, and it threw up Jonah upon the dry land.

[Sidenote: Jonah 3:1-4] And the word of Jehovah came to Jonah the second time, saying, Arise, go to that great city, Nineveh, and preach to it what I shall tell thee. So Jonah rose and went to Nineveh, as Jehovah said. Now Nineveh was a great city before God, of three days' journey. And Jonah began by going through the city a day's journey, and he cried, and said, Forty days more and Nineveh shall be overthrown.

[Sidenote: Jonah 3:5-9] And the people of Nineveh believed God; and they proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them to the least of them. And when word came to the king of Nineveh, he rose from his throne, and took off his robe, and dressed in sackcloth, and sat in the dust. And he made proclamation and published in Nineveh: By the decree of the king and his nobles: Man, beast, herd, and flock shall not taste anything; let them neither eat nor drink water; But let them clothe themselves with sackcloth, both man and beast, and let them cry mightily to God, and turn each from his evil way, and from the act of violence which they have in hand. Who knows but that God may relent, and turn from his fierce anger, that we perish not?

[Sidenote: Jonah 3:10] And God saw their works, how they turned from their evil way; and God relented of the evil which he said he would do to them, and did it not.

[Sidenote: Jonah 4:1-5] But it displeased Jonah greatly, and he was angry. And he prayed to Jehovah, and said, Ah now, Jehovah, was not this what I said when I was yet in mine own country? Therefore I hastened to flee to Tarshish; for I knew that thou art a God, gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in love, and relenting of evil. Therefore, O Jehovah, take now, I beseech thee, my life from me; for it is better for me to die than to live! And Jehovah said, Doest thou well to be angry? Then Jonah went out of the city, and sat down before the city, and there made him a booth, and sat under it, until he might see what would become of the city.

[Sidenote: Jonah 4:6-11] And Jehovah God prepared a gourd, and made it to come up over Jonah, that it might be a shade over his head. So Jonah rejoiced exceedingly over the gourd. But as the dawn appeared the next day God prepared a worm and it injured the gourd, so that it withered. And when the sun arose, God prepared a sultry east wind. And the sun beat upon the head of Jonah, so that he was faint, and begged for himself that he might die saying, It is better for me to die than to live. And God said to Jonah, Is it well for thee to be angry about the gourd? And he said, It is well for me to be angry, even to death! And Jehovah said, Thou carest for a gourd, for which thou hast not troubled thyself, nor hast thou brought it up--a thing that came in a night and hath perished in a night. Shall I, indeed, not care for the great city, Nineveh, in which there are one hundred and twenty thousand human beings who know not their right hand from their left; besides much cattle?

[Sidenote: Eccles. 1:12-18] I, Koheleth, was king over Israel in Jerusalem. And I applied my mind to searching out and exploring wisdom, all that is done under heaven: it is an evil task that God hath given the children of men at which to toil. I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and behold, the whole is vanity and a striving after wind. The crooked cannot be made straight; and the wanting cannot be numbered. I communed with myself, saying, Behold, I have increased and gathered wisdom more than all who were before me in Jerusalem, and my mind has abundantly beheld wisdom and knowledge. And I applied my mind to know wisdom and knowledge, madness and folly: I know that this also is a striving after wind. For in much wisdom is much trouble, and he who increases knowledge, increases pain.

[Sidenote: Eccles. 2:1-11] I said in my mind, Come now, I will test you with pleasure; so look upon what is attractive; and, behold, this also is vanity. I said of laughter, It is mad; and of pleasure, What does it do? I searched in my mind, how to Stimulate my flesh with wine, while my mind was guiding with wisdom, and how to lay hold on folly, until I should see what is good for the children of men to do under the heavens all the days of their life. I did great works: I built for myself houses; I planted for myself vineyards; I made for myself gardens and parks, and I planted trees in them, every kind of fruit-tree. I made for myself pools of water, to water a grove springing up with trees. I bought male and female slaves and had slaves born in my house; also I had great possessions of herds and flocks, more than all who had been before me in Jerusalem. I also gathered for myself silver and gold, and the treasure of kings and of provinces. I secured for myself male and female singers, and the delights of the sons of men, mistresses of all kinds. And I grew more wealthy than all who were before in Jerusalem; also my wisdom remained with me. And nothing that my eyes craved did I keep from them; I did not deny my heart any joy, for my heart rejoiced because of all my labor. Then I looked on all the works that my hands had wrought, and on the labor that I had labored to do; and, behold, all was vanity and a striving after wind, and there was no gain under the sun.

[Sidenote: Eccles. 2:12-17] And I turned to behold wisdom and madness, and folly; for what can the man do who comes after the king? Even that which has been done already. Then I saw that wisdom excels folly, as far as light excels darkness. The wise man's eyes are in his head, but the fool walks in darkness: yet I know that the same fate overtakes them all. Then I said in my heart, As is the fate of a fool so will be my fate; so why have I then been more wise? Then I said in my heart that this also is vanity. For of the wise man, even as of the fool, there is no remembrance for ever, inasmuch as in the days to come all will have been already forgotten. And how the wise man dies even as the fool! So I hated life, because the work that is done under the sun is evil to me; for all is vanity and a striving after wind.

[Sidenote: Eccles. 2:24-26b] There is nothing better for a man than that he should eat and drink, and find his pleasure in his labor. This also I saw that it is from the hand of God. For who can eat, or who can have enjoyment without him? This is also vanity and a striving after wind.

I. The Ritualists. Liberty of thought as well as speech was from the first characteristic of Israel's life and thought. It was one of the many valuable heritages that the Hebrews brought with them from the free life of the desert. Their close contact with the outside world, and especially with Hellenic life and thought during the Greek period, increased this sense of freedom. The result is that many different currents of thought are reflected in the Old Testament writings that come from this age. Most familiar and easiest understood is the ritualistic type. It is represented by the Chronicler, who lived and wrote some time between 300 and 250 B.C. For him all life and interest centred about the temple and its services. In general the vision of the ritualists was turned toward the past rather than the present and the future. In the traditions regarding the origin of the temple and its institutions, in keeping the ceremonial law, in participating in the formal ritual, and in joining their songs with those of the temple singers they found an escape from the pettiness of the age and attained that peace and joy which is expressed in many of the psalms of the Psalter.

II. The Legalists. Closely related to the ritualists were those whose interests were all fixed in the study of the law and the teachings of the earlier priests. They regarded the written laws as a complete guide to conduct and the embodiment of Jehovah's supreme message to his race. Psalms like the fragment found in 19:7-14 voice their convictions:

The law of Jehovah is perfect, restoring the soul, The judgments of Jehovah are true and altogether just. By them is thy servant warned; in keeping them is great reward.

They emphasized not merely external acts and words, but inner motives. In character and in conduct they were noble products of that religion which Israel had inherited from the past. By them were probably treasured stories such as are found in the first chapters of the book of Daniel. The detailed references in chapter 2 to the marriage of Antiochus Theos and the daughter of Ptolemy Philadelphus in 248 B.C. and to the murder of Antiochus by his former wife Laodicea, together with the absence of allusions to subsequent events, indicate that these stories were probably committed to writing somewhere between 255 and 245 B.C. Their aim was clearly to emphasize the supreme importance of fulfilling faithfully the demands of the law, even in the face of bitter opposition and persecution, and the certainty that Jehovah would deliver those who were loyal to him. Their teachings were especially adapted to inspire the tried and tempted Jews of the dispersion, who were sorely persecuted by the heathen among whom they lived. The dramatic picture of men who dared face the fiery furnace or the hungry lions rather than depart from the demands of the law undoubtedly proved a great inspiration to the Jews of the Greek period.

III. The Disciples of the Prophets. Throughout the centuries that followed the destruction of Jerusalem the great ethical prophets of the pre-exilic period had never been without spiritual disciples. They faithfully studied and applied in their own lives the principles laid down by their earlier guides. Although the influence of the contemporary prophets constantly waned, yet the spirit of those earlier champions of the faith lived in the hearts of their followers. In many of the psalms of the Psalter Amos and Isaiah and Jeremiah speak in terms adapted to the changed problems of the Jews of the Greek period. In Psalm 46 the trust in Jehovah which Isaiah advocated has become a living force in the life of the Psalmist and of the class in behalf of which he spoke. In the background one hears the march of the multitude armed by Alexander for world-conquest and the din of conflict as army met army; but over all stands Jehovah, protecting his sanctuary and people, supreme in the lives of men and nations. The narrow, nationalistic, messianic hopes have long since been abandoned, and instead Jehovah is recognized as the one supreme being whose kingdom or dominion includes all the nations of the earth. In imagination these disciples of the prophets saw the time when rich and poor, Jew and Gentile, should bow before Jehovah and be united in loyalty to him. Thus arose that highest conception of the kingdom of God which is the foundation of Jesus' teaching.

IV. The Date and Character of the Book of Jonah. From those who sat at the feet of the earlier prophets came one of the most remarkable books of the Old Testament. In literary form the little book of Jonah is closely akin to the stories in the opening chapters of Genesis and the first half of the book of Daniel. Its many Aramaic words, its quotations from the late book of Joel, its universalism, and its missionary spirit all indicate that it comes either from the closing years of the Persian or from the earlier part of the Greek period. The story of Jonah, like many similar stories in the Old Testament, was probably known to the Semites centuries before it was employed by the author of the book to point his great prophetic teaching. In the familiar Greek story of Hercules, Hesione, the daughter of the Trojan king, is rescued by the hero from a sea-monster which held her in its stomach three days. An old Egyptian tale coming from the third millennium B.C. tells of an Egyptian who was shipwrecked and after floating three days was swallowed by a great sea-monster and thus carried to the land. From India comes the tradition of a man who went to sea contrary to the commands of his mother. While on the way the ship was seized by an unknown power and not allowed to proceed until the offender was three times selected by lot and then cast overboard.