Companion to the Bible | Page 6

Descripture Pictures--Its Great Theme--Caution in Respect to the Spiritual Interpretation
of it

CHAPTER XXII.

The Greater Prophets. 1. General Remarks on the Prophetical Writings--2. Different
Offices of the Prophets under the Theocracy--Their Office as Reprovers--3. As
Expounders of the Mosaic Law in its Spirituality--4. And of its End, which was Salvation
through the Future Redeemer--They wrote in the Decline of the Theocracy--Their
Promises fulfilled only in Christ--I. _Isaiah_--5. He is the First in Order, but not the
Earliest of the Prophets--His Private History almost wholly Unknown--Jewish Tradition
Concerning him--Period of his Prophetic Activity--6. Two Great Divisions of his
Prophecies--Plans for Classifying the Contents of the First Part--Analysis of these
Contents--General Character of the Second Part, and View of its Contents--7. Objections
to the Genuineness of the Last Part of Isaiah and Certain Other Parts--General Principle
on which these Objections are to be met--Previous Preparation for the Revelations
contained in this Part--True Significance of the Promises which it contains--Form of
these Promises--Mention of Cyrus by Name--Objection from the Character of the Style
considered--8. Direct Arguments for the Genuineness of this Part--External Testimony;
Internal Evidences--9. Genuineness of the Disputed Passages of the First Part--II.
_Jeremiah_--10. Contrast between Isaiah and Jeremiah in Personal Character and
Circumstances--Our Full Knowledge of his Outward Personal History and Inward
Conflicts--11. His Priestly Descent--His Native Place--Period of his Prophetic
Activity--Degeneracy of the Age--Persecutions to which his Fidelity subjected him--He is
more occupied than Isaiah with the Present--His Mission is emphatically to unfold the
Connection between National Profligacy and National Ruin; yet he sometimes describes
the Glory of the Latter Days--12. The Chronological Order not always followed in his
Prophecies--General Divisions of them--First Division; Second Division;
Appendix--Attempts to disprove the Genuineness of Certain Parts of Jeremiah--_The
Book of Lamentations_--13. Its Hebrew Name--Its Authorship and the Time of its
Composition--14. Structure of its Poetry--III. _Ezekiel_--15. His Priestly Descent and
Residence--Notices of his Personal History--Period of his Prophetic Activity--16.
Peculiarities of his Style--17. His Allegoric and Symbolic Representations--General
Remarks on the Nature of Allegories and Symbols--18. The Two Divisions of the
Book--Contents of the First Part; of the Second Part--Prophecies against Foreign
Nations--Promises relating to the Glory of the Latter Days--Ezekiel's Vision of a New
Jerusalem with its Temple--Meaning of this Vision and Principles according to which it
is to be interpreted--IV. _Daniel_--19. Its Place in the Hebrew Canon--Notices of
Daniel's Personal History--20. Arrangement and Contents of the Book--First Series of
Prophecies; Second Series--Intimate Connection between the Book of Daniel and the
Apocalypse--21. Assaults made upon the Book of Daniel in Respect to its Genuineness
and Credibility--Grounds on which it is received as a Part of the Sacred Canon--Its Unity;
Uniform Tradition of the Jews and its Reliability; Testimony of Josephus; of the Saviour;
Language and Style; Intimate Acquaintance with the Historical Relations and Manners
and Customs of the Age--22. Insufficiency of the Various Objections urged against the
Book--Chronological and Historical Difficulties; Difficulties connected with the
Identification of Belshazzar and Darius the Mede; Silence of Jesus the Son of Sirach
respecting Daniel; Alleged Linguistic Difficulties; Commendations bestowed upon
Daniel--The Real Objection to the Book on the Part of its Opponents lies in the
Supernatural Character of the Events which it records--Remarks on this Objection

CHAPTER XXIII.
THE TWELVE MINOR PROPHETS--1. Jewish Arrangement of these Books--Their
Order in the Masoretic Text and in the Alexandrine Version--2. General Remarks on their
Character I. _Hosea_--3. Period of his Prophecying and its Character--4. Peculiarly of his
Style--Contents of the Book II. _Joel_--5. Place and Date of his Prophecies--6. Character
and Contents of his Book--III. _Amos_--7. Date of his Prophecies--Notices of his
Person--He was a Jew, not trained in any Prophetical School, and sent to prophesy
against Israel--Character and Contents of his Writings--IV. _Obadiah_--8. Date and
Contents of his Prophecy--V. _Jonah_--9. His Age--10. Remarks on the History of the
Book--11. Authorship and Historic Truth of the Book--VI. _Micah_--12. His Residence
and the Time of his Prophetic Activity--His Prophecies directed against both Israel and
Judah--13. Divisions of the Book with the Contents of Each--Passages Common to Micah
and Isaiah--General Agreement between the Two Prophets--VII. _Nahum_--14. His
Prophecy directed against Nineveh--Its Probable Date--15. Contents of the Book--VIII.
_Habakkuk_--16. Date of the Book and its Contents--Remarks on the Ode contained in
the Third Chapter--IX. _Zephaniah_--17. Date and Contents of his Book--X.
_Haggai_--18. Date and Scope of the Book--19. Its Different Messages--XI.
_Zechariah_--20. His Priestly Descent--Date of his Prophecies--21. The Three Divisions
of the Book--First Division; Second Division; Third Division--22. Remarks on the
Character of Zechariah's Prophecies--XII. _Malachi_--23. Name of this Prophet--Date of
his Prophecies, and Condition of the Jewish People--24 Contents of the Book
APPENDIX TO

PART II.
THE APOCRYPHAL BOOKS OF THE OLD TESTAMENT--1. The Term Apocrypha
and its Origin--2. Remarks on the Date of the Apocryphal Books--Their Reception by the
Alexandrine Jews--3. History of these Books in