Companion to the Bible | Page 4

all come to us with the Stamp of Prophetic Authority.--10. The Books of Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther--III. _The Prophetical Books_--11. The Books enumerated--Paucity of Prophets before Samuel--Schools of the Prophets established by him--The Prophets a Distinct Order of Men in the Theocracy from his Day onward--12. The Era of Written Prophecy--IV. _The Poetical Books_--13. Their General Character--The Book of Job--14. The Book of Psalms--15. Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Canticles--_Completion of the Canon_--16. Preservation of the Sacred Books to the Time of Ezra--The Law; the Prophetical Books; the Psalms and other Canonical Writings--17. The Completion of the Canon ascribed by the Jews to Ezra and his Coadjutors--This Tradition True for Substance.--No Psalms written in the Maccabean Age--18. Contents of the Hebrew Canon--as given by Jesus the Son of Sirach, by Josephus, by Origen and Eusebius, by Jerome--19. The Apocryphal Books

CHAPTER XVI.
ANCIENT VERSIONS OF THE OLD TESTAMENT. I. _The Greek Version called the Septuagint_--1. Its Antiquity; its Great Influence on the Language of the New Testament--2. Jewish Account of its Origin--3. Judgment of Biblical Scholars on this Account--4. Time occupied in the Completion of the Work--5. Inequalities of this Version--Its Importance to the Biblical Student--6. Its Close Connection with the New Testament-- Quotations from it by New Testament Writers--Their Manner and Spirit-- 7. Hebrew Text from which this Version was made--II. _Other Greek Versions_--8. The Septuagint originally in High Esteem among the Jews--Change in their Feelings in Regard to it, and Rise of New Versions--9. Aquila's Version--10. Theodotion--11. Symniachus--12. Origen's Labors on the Text of the Septuagint--the Tetrapla and Hexapla--III. _The Chaldee Targums_--13. General Remarks on these--14. The Targum of Onkelos--Its General Fidelity and Excellence--Its Peculiarities--Jewish Tradition respecting Onkelos--15. The Targum of Jonathan Ben Uzziel--16. Of Pseudo-Jonathan and Jerusalem--17. Other Targums--The Samaritan Version of the Samaritan Pentateuch--IV. 18. _The Syriac Peshito_--Its Age and Character

CHAPTER XVII.
CRITICISM OF THE SACRED TEXT. 1. The Object to ascertain its Primitive Form--2. Means at Our Disposal--Ancient Hebrew Manuscripts--Remarks on their Quality and Age--3. Ancient Versions--4. Primary Printed Editions--5. Parallel Passages--6. Quotations from the Old Testament in the New--7. Quotations in the Talmud and by Rabbinical Writers--8. Critical Conjecture
SECOND DIVISION--PARTICULAR INTRODUCTION.

CHAPTER XVIII.
THE BOOKS OF THE OLD TESTAMENT AS A WHOLE. 1. Province of Particular Introduction--The Necessity of Understanding the Unity of Divine Revelation--2. Relation of the Old Testament as a Whole to the System of Revelation--It is a Preparatory, Introductory to a Final Revelation, of which the Gospel everywhere avails itself--the Unity of God; Vicarious Sacrifice; General Principles; Well-developed State of Civilization-- Connection of the Hebrews with the Great World Powers--Their Dispersion through the Nations at our Lord's Advent--Relation of the Gospel to Civilization--3. A Knowledge of the Preparatory Character of the Old Testament Revelations enables us to judge correctly concerning them-- Severity of the Mosaic Laws; Their Burdensome Multiplicity; Objection from their Exclusive Character answered--4. Office of each Division of the Old Testament Revelations--the Pentateuch; the Historical Books; the Prophetical Books--Character and Officers of the Hebrew Prophets-- Era of Written Prophecy--The Poetical Books--5. Each Particular Book has its Office--6. The Old Testament was a Revelation for the Men of its Own Age, as well as for those of Future Ages--the Promise made to Abraham; the Deliverance from Egypt; the Mosaic Law; the Words of the Prophets; the Psalms of David: the Wisdom of Solomon--7. Value of the Old Testament Revelations to us--the System of Divine Revelation can be understood only as a Whole; Constant Reference of the New Testament to the Old; the Old Testament a Record of God's Dealings with Men; the Principles embodied in the Theocracy Eternal; the Manifold Wisdom of God seen only when the Whole System of Revelation is studied

CHAPTER XIX.
THE PENTATEUCH. I. Its Unity--Its Fivefold Division--1. _Genesis_--2. Its Hebrew Name--Its Greek Name--3. Its Office--It is the Introductory Book of the Pentateuch--Its Connection with the Following Books--4. Divisions of the Book of Genesis--First Part and its Contents; Second Part and its Contents--5. Its Mosaic Authorship--Supposed Traces of a Later Hand--6. Difficulties connected with the Pentateuch--Scientific Difficulties: the Six Days of Creation; the Age of the Antediluvian Patriarchs; the Unity of the Human Race; the Deluge--Historical Difficulties: the Two Accounts of the Creation; Cain's Wife-- Chronological Difficulties: Discrepancies between the Masoretic Hebrew, the Samaritan Hebrew, and the Septuagint, in Respect to (1) the Antediluvian Genealogy; (2) the Genealogy from Noah to Abraham--Remarks on these Discrepancies--II. _Exodus_--7. Hebrew Name of this Book--Its Unity--Its Two Chief Divisions--Contents of the First Division; of the Second Division--8. Time of the Sojourn in Egypt--Sojourn in the Wilderness--III. _Leviticus_--9. Its Character and Contents--10. The Priestly Office and Sacrifices the Central Part of the Mosaic Law--IV. _Numbers_--11. Office and Contents of this Book--The Three Epochs of its History: the Departure from Sinai, the Rebellion of the People upon the Report of the Twelve Spies, the Second Arrival of Israel at Kadesh with