3417. Methusalem born.3074. Adam died.3048. Noah born.2448. The Flood.2093. Noah died.1921. Abraham went down into Egypt.1706. Jacob's family settled in Egypt.1491. The Israelites were led out of Egypt.1452. Moses died.
There are many other matters in the Pentateuch to which attention might be usefully drawn, but my space is limited; and even with the present mode of treatment, it will be difficult to compress the whole of my work so as to present it as a cheap volume. I am aware that some of my readers will not approve of those criticisms which serve to make apparent the many absurdities of the text, still, I trust that all will admit that in no case have I misquoted or misconstrued a passage for the purpose of gaining a temporary effect. I have written as I have thought, and my fervent wish is, that my writing may be examined, and if proved true, that each word may have power, like an axe, to hew down the Upas tree, which, while it poisons the mind and destroys the freethought of the child, yet claims to be the guide and educator of the man.
It is alleged by many that this book was written by Joshua, and that there is internal evidence of that fact. Dr. Giles has very fully discussed this subject in pages 153 to 164 of his 'Hebrew Records,' to which I refer my readers. It is clear that the book, as a whole, was not written by Joshua; and, as I cannot find anything enabling me to discover the author, it must be criticised in the same manner as other anonymous writings.
Chapterii., v. 14. The command to save alive nothing that breatheth is soon set at nought. Here is a covenant made by the spies with a Canaanitish woman; this covenant is afterwards confirmed by Joshua in direct opposition to the commands of God, given through Moses. (See chap, vi., vv. 22 and 23, and Deuteronomy, chap, vii., vv. 2 and 3.) By Matthew, chap. L, v. 5, it would appear that Rahab was married to Salmon, so that three of God's ordinances are here broken; first, in sparing the lives of herself and family, second, in making a covenant with her, third, in marrying her. From this lady we derive David and all the succeeding kings.
Chapteriv., v. 7. 'These stones shall be a memorial unto the children of Israel for ever.' Where are they now? It would be some evidence in support of the genuineness of this pretended history of the Jews if these twelve stones could be shown. It is no answer that the ravages of time, or other adverse circumstances, may have removed them. These stones were to be a memorial 'for ever.'
Verse 9. 'And Joshua set up twelve stones in the midst of Jordan, in the place where the feet of the priests which bare the ark of the covenant stood,and they are there unto this day!
If the stones had not been there a long time, the writer of the book would not have used such an expression. It would have been in no wise remarkable that the twelve stones, or pillar, should have stood forty or fifty years, but the writer means that they had stood 500, or perhaps 1000 years.
Verse 13. If this means that the whole of the fighting men of the Jews numbered only 40,000, they must have sadly dwindled away, as in Numbers, chap. i., vv. 3 and 46, they are stated at 603,550.
Verse 23. 'For the Lord your God dried up the waters of the Jordan from before you as the Lord your God did to the Red Sea, which he dried up frombefore us until we were passed over,' yet in chap, v., v. 4, we are told that all the people that came out of Egypt died in the wilderness.
Chapterv., v. 1. 'Until we were passed over.' Bishop Tomline remarks on this passage:—
'The use of the word "we" proves that this book was written by Joshua, or by some one else alive at the time.
'This inference is obvious, and cannot be objected to if it can be shown that the words of the text,until WE were passed over, area correct translation of the corresponding words in the original Hebrew Bible. This, however, is not the case. The passage before us is one of the parts of the Bible which has been corrupted by time, and the error has arisen in the present instance from the great similarity between the Hebrew words, [———] Aberanoo, "we passed over," and [———] Abekoom, "he caused them to pass over." These words are very similar, and though the common text of the Hebrew Bible now reads Aberanoo, which gives the sense of "we passed over," yet this was not the old reading of the passage, but Aberoom, "he [i.e., God] caused them to pass over," and among the various readings of the text Aberoom actually is found: but the Hebrew letter [—] has been carelessly divided into two letters, [—] vau and [—] nun, by the copyist, and the translators of the Bible, not perceiving the error, and perhaps tempted to make a choice which tended to attach to the book the value of a contemporary record, have given the passage that interpretation which has misled so many critics and on which is built so fallacious a theory.
'That the error is such as I described it, and consequently that the theory built upon it is fallacious, must inevitably result from the accuracy of our present statement, which becomes almost a matter of certainty from the concurrence of the Septuagint and Vulgate translations.
'In the German translations of the Bible the error has been corrected, and the proper reading of the word restored.
'It appears, then, that this passage, which has been made the basis for the belief that the Book of Joshua is a contemporary writing, has been incorrectly translated in our common English Bibles, and consequently the opinion "built upon it must fall to the ground".'
Verse 9. On page 35 is quoted Voltaire's criticism on this text, 'I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt from off you.' It is evident that it refers to the circumcision, which was an established ceremony amongst the Egyptians from the earliest ages.
Verses 13 to 15. In what manner shall I comment on these verses? Shall I gravely reason upon the improbability of 'a man with a drawn sword' being the 'captain of the Lord's host?' Shall I venture to doubt whether the captain of the Lord's host would come to Joshua for the mere purpose of telling him to take off his shoes, or ought I not rather at once to class these verses with such tales as 'Aladdin's Lamp,' and others of a like character, dismissing them as unworthy of further criticism?
Chaptervi. relates the miraculous falling down of the walls of the city of Jericho. One of two courses must be pursued when reading it; either the reader must discard the evidence presented by his senses, and, without reasoning, blindly accept the story, or he will be compelled at once to reject it as absurd. I have read of the destruction of a suspension bridge, or bridge of boats, in consequence of vibration, produced by the marching across, in regular time, of a large body of men, but I am inclined to think that all the Jews in the world might march round Jericho until they were sorely fatigued, and yet have butlittle effect on its walls. Walls are more likely to tumble down by pushing against them than by shouting at them. It is almost to be regretted that our Christian friends did not try the experiment at Sebastopol; if it had succeeded, it would have struck all the world with astonishment.
'Chap, vii., v. 1 to end. Among many nations in their rude infancy, and while gross and barbarous ideas prevailed, it has been held that sin or offence, particularly if of an aggravated kind, against the gods or the nearest relationships amongst men could never be pardoned. The Nemesis must be satisfied; but satisfaction was often obtained from the innocent, who were made the objects of vengeance instead of the guilty. The ancient Hebrews participated in these notions of other uncultivated nations, hence their ideas of visiting the sins of the fathers upon the children, of the Israelitish army defeated on account of Achan, etc. This idea was greatly encouraged by the Levitical priests, whose interests were promoted by it, and by the practice of sacrifices, which was founded upon the assumption of vicariousness and expiation. This idea also became thoroughly interwoven with the theocratical institution of the Jews, the worship of their sanctuary, their hymns, and the poetry of their prophets.
'Verse 26. And they raised over him [Achan] a great heap of stones unto this day. So the Lord turned from the fierceness of his anger Wherefore the name of that place was called the valley of Achor unto this day.
'Chap, viii., vv. 28, 29. And Joshua burnt Ai, and made it an heap for ever, even a desolation unto this day. And the King of Ai he [Joshua] hanged on a tree until eventide. And as soon as the sun was down, Joshua commanded that they should take his carcase down from the tree, and cast it at the entering of the gate of the city, and raise thereon a great heap of stones,that remainethunto this day.'
'The words,that remaineth, do not occur in the original Hebrew; they have been added by the translators to make the sense complete. The only inference which both these last quoted passages carry with them concerning the age when they were written is that it was a very long time after the death of Achan in the first text, and of the King of Ai in the second. A similar inference is deduced from the verse which follows:—
'Chap, ix., v. 27. "And Joshua made them [the Gibeonites] that day hewers of wood and drawers of water for the congregation and for the altar of the Lord,even unto this day, in the place which he should choose."
'The "place which the Lord should choose" was finally Jerusalem, and, if the words were written in the later period of the Israelitish government, the Lord had already chosen Jerusalem to be the site of his temple and the place of his worship.
'Chap, x., v. 1. "Now it came to pass when Adonizedec, King of Jerusalem, had heard how Joshua had taken Ai, and had utterly destroyed it," etc.
'This chapter is full of names that did not exist until many yearsafterwards, some more, some less. Bethhoron, mentioned at verse 10, was built by an Israelitish lady after the conquest, as we learn from 1 Chron. vii., 23, 24:—
'"And when he [Ephraim] went in to his wife, she conceived, and bare a son, and he called his name Beriah, because it went evil with his house. And his daughter was Sherah, who built Bethhoron the nether and the upper, and Uzzen-Sherah."
'The comparison of these texts involves an anachronism. Sherah was only the fourth in descent from Jacob, thus:—Joseph, Ephraim, Beriah, Sherah. If the Israelites remained 430 years in Egypt, as appears from several texts of Scripture, it is impossible that only one generation, Beriah, could have intervened between Ephraim, who was a child when Jacob went down into Egypt, and Sherah, who built Bethhoron.
'Chap, x., vv. 13,14. "And the sun stood still, and the moon stayed until the people had avenged themselves upon their enemies. Is not this written in the Book of Jasher? So the sun stood still in the midst of heaven, and hasted not to go down about a whole day. And there was no day like that before it or after it, that the Lord hearkened unto the voice of a man: for the Lord fought for Israel."
'Here we obtain a fact that bears with great force upon our present argument. The writer of the Book of Joshua quotes an earlier work, to which he refers his readers, for a more full account of the miracle which he records—namely, the arresting the sun and moon in their flight that the Israelites might be avenged on their enemies. It is impossible to conceive that Joshua himself, who wrought that miracle, could have referred his readers to another book, in which a better account of it was to be found. It is far more likely that a compiler in a later age finding this miraculous event well described in a book still popular in his time, called the Book of Jasher, should have referred his readers to that book for further information.
'But this is not the only observation elicited by the mention made of the Book of Jasher in this place. The same work is quoted in 2 Sam. i., 17, 18:—
'"And David lamented with this lamentation over Saul and over Jonathan, his son. Also he bade them teach the children of Judah the use of the bow; behold it is written in the Book of Jasher."
'Here we learn that the Book of Jasher contains the narrative of King David teaching his subjects the use of archery in war. The Book of Jasher was, therefore, written in or after the reign of David; and the Book of Joshua, which quotes the Book of Jasher, must have been written later still.'
Whether these verses were written by Joshua, or Jasher, or by some other equally reliable personage, nothing can save them from condemnation as being absurd in the extreme. Paine observes:—
'This tale of the sun standing still upon Mount Gibeon, and the moon in the valley of Ajalon, is one of those fables that detects itself. Such a circumstance could not have happened without being known all over the world. One half would have wondered why the sun didnot rise, and the other why it did not set, and the tradition of it would be universal, whereas there is not a nation in the world that knows anything about it. But why must the moon stand still? What occasion could there be for moonlight in the day time, and that, too, whilst the sun shined? As a poetical figure the whole is well enough; it is akin to that in the song of Deborah and Barah.The stars in their courses, fought against Sisera; but it is inferior to the figurative declaration of Mahomet to the person who came to expostulate with him on his goings on:—Wert thou, said he,to come to me with the sun in thy right hand and the moon in thy left, it should not alter my career. For Joshua to have exceeded Mahomet, he should have put the sun and moon one in each pocket, and carried them as Guy Fawkes carried his dark lanthorn, and taken them out to shine as he might happen to want them.
'The sublime and the ridiculous are often so nearly related that it is difficult to class them separately. One step above the sublime makes the ridiculous, and one step above the ridiculous makes the sublime again; the account, however, abstracted from the poetical fancy shows the ignorance of Joshua, for he should have commanded the earth to have stood still.'
Verse 14. 'The time implied by the expressionafter it, that is, after that day being put in comparison with all the time that passedbefore it, must, in order to give any expressive signification to the passage, mean agreat length of time. For example, it would have been ridiculous to have said to the next day, or the next week, or the next month, or the next year; to give, therefore, meaning to the passage comparative to the wonder it relates, and the prior time it alludes to it, must mean centuries of years; less, however, than one would be trifling, and less than two would be barely admissible.'
It is not true, as stated in verse 14, that there was no day before or after that the Lord hearkened unto the voice of a man. The Lordbeforehearkened unto Abraham (videGenesis, chap, xviii., vv. 23 to 32), and unto Moses (Exodus, chap, xxxii., vv. 11 to 14; Numbers, chap, xi., vv. 11 to 23; chap, xiv., vv. 13 to 20).After, the Lord hearkened unto Samson (Judges, chap, xvi., v. 28), to David (1 Samuel, ehap. xxiii., vv. 2 to 12).
Verse 26. The King of Hebron is slain and hanged in this verse, and afterwards slain again in verse 37. In the foot note to the Douay it is alleged that this was a second king, but the explanation is not correct, as only one King of Hebron was slain by Joshua (videchap. xii., v. 10).
'The burial place of the five kings was marked out to posterity by a lasting monument—a heap of stones which Joshua caused to be placed over the cave where they were buried.
'"Verse 27. 'And it came to pass at the time of the going down of the sun, that Joshua commanded, and they took them down off the trees, and cast them into the cave wherein they had been hid, and laid great stones in the cave's mouth, which remainuntil this very day?"
Chapterxi., v. 6. 'Thou shalt hough (or hamstring) their horsesand burn their chariots with fire.' Will any man attempt to defend this as a command from the Deity to Joshua? Is it consistent that the eternal omnipotent and merciful Creator of all things should order harmless and unoffending animals to be cruelly and inhumanly maltreated? We are sometimes told that the Canaanites were murdered because they were idolaters, but surely their horses took no part in the worship of Moloch or of Baal.
Chapterxiv., 14. 'Hebron therefore became the inheritance of Caleb, the son of Jephunneh, the Kenezite,unto this day, because that he wholly followed the Lord God of Israel. And the name of Hebron before was Kirjath-Arba; which Arba was a great man among the Anakims; and the land had rest from war. (See chap, xv., 13 to 19.) 'Every part of this verse shows a later writer and a later age. The city had lost its ancient name of Kirjath-Arba, and was known by the name of Hebron: it had become the inheritance of Caleb, by which is implied that Caleb was dead, and his descendants were in possession of it,until this day—i.e., for a great length of time. And this is further confirmed by the concluding words, "And the land had rest from war." The war of the invasion was over, and the children of Israel had quiet possession of the country when the Book of Joshua was written.
'Chap, xv., 8—10. And the border went up the valley of the son of Hinnom unto the south side of the Jebusite;the same is Jerusalem: and the border went up to the top of the mountain that lieth before the valley of Hinnom westward, which is at the end of the valley of the giants northward: and the border was drawn from the top of the hill unto the fountain of the water of Nephtoah, and went out to the cities of Mount Ephron; and the border was drawn to Baalah,which is Kirjath-jearim: and the border compassed from Baalah westward unto Mount Seir, and passed along unto the side of Mount Jearim,which is Chesalon, on the north side, and went down to Beth-shemesh, and passed onto Timnah.
'The observations concerning the anachronisms which occur in the names of places, apply in all their force to this passage; we have three distinct places here mentioned, each of them designated both by its ancient and modern appellation, Jebusi, Jerusalem—Baalah, Kirjath-jearim—Mount Jearim, Chesalon. We know, also, that Jebusi did not receive the name of Jerusalem until the reign of David, proving that the book in which the word Jerusalem occurs was not written until the reign of David, or that, if written before that time, it has since been interpolated. Of these two probabilities the former is the stronger: because we find it confirmed by the last verse of the same chapter:—
'Chap, xv., 63. As for the Jebusites, the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the children of Judah could not drive them out: but the Jebusites dwell with the children of Judah at Jerusalem unto this day.
'It has been asserted that these words can apply only to the few years which immediately followed the death of Joshua; for, say the commentators, the Jebusiteswerethen driven out, as we read the account in Judges i., 7, 8. We shall find, on inquiry, that they werenotthen driven out; at least, it is not so stated in Judges i., 7, 8, nor can any such meaning be inferred from the narrative there contained.'
'In the 1st chapter of Judges, the writer, after announcing the death of Joshua, proceeds to tell what happened between the children of Judah and the native inhabitants of the land of Canaan. In this statement, the writer, having abruptly mentioned Jerusalem in the seventh verse, says immediately after, in the eighth verse, by way of explanation, "Now the children of Judahhadfought against Jerusalem, and hadtakenit:" consequently, this book could not have been written before Jerusalem had been taken. In the quotation just made from the 15th chapter of Joshua, verse 63, it is said, thatthe Jebusitea dwell with the children of Judah at Jerusalem unto this day, meaning the time when the Book of Joshua was written.
'The evidence I have already produced, to prove that the books I have hitherto treated of were not written by the persons to whom they are ascribed, nor till many years after their death, if such persons ever lived, is already so abundant, that I can afford to admit this passage with less weight than I am entitled to draw from it. For the case is, that so far as the Bible can be credited as a history, the city of Jerusalem was not taken till the time of David; and consequently, that the Books of Joshua and of Judges were not written till after the commencement of the reign of David, which was 370 years after the death of Joshua.
'The name of the city that was afterwards called Jerusalem, was originally Jebus or Jebusi, and was the capital of the Jebusites. The account of David's taking this city is given in 2 Samuel, chap, v., v. 4, etc; also in 1 Chron., chap, xiv., v. 4, etc. There is no mention in any part of the Bible that it was ever taken before, nor any account that favours such an opinion. It is not said, either in Samuel or in the Chronicles, that theyutterly destroyed men, women, and children; that they left not a soul to breathe, as is said of their other conquests; and the silence here observed implies that it was taken by capitulation, and that the Jebusites, the native inhabitants, continued to live in the place after it was taken. The account, therefore, given in Joshua, thatthe Jebusites dwell with the children of Judahat Jerusalem unto this day, corresponds to no other time than after the taking the city by David.'
'Chap, xix., 47. And the coast of the children of Dan went out too little for them; therefore the children of Dan went up to fight against Leshem [called Laish in Judges, chap, xviii., v. 29], and took it and smote it with the edge of the sword, and possessed it and dwelt therein! and called Leshem Dan, after the name of Dan, their father.
'This is the same affair which is related in detail in the 18th chapter of Judges. According to the chronology given in the margin of our Bibles, and generally received by the learned, this happened about thirty years after the death of Joshua. The anachronism is explained in the following manner by the editors of the "Family Bible," quoting from Bishop Patrick and Shuckford:—
'"It is supposed that Ezra, or some other, thought good in aftertimesto insert this verse here, in order to complete the account of the Danites' possession."
'If this be received as sound criticism, history will truly be brought down to a level with the most worthless pastimes that man can choose for his amusement: it will be, literally, no better than an almanack, which is altered year by year to adapt it to the existing state of things. If the Book of Joshua were indeed the work of the great man whose name it bears, no later historian would have ventured to impair its value by adding to or detracting from its contents. (Vide"Hebrew Records" and "Age of Reason")
Chapterxxi., v. 36. In the Douay another city, 'Misor,' is named, but as this would makefivecities instead offour, as mentioned in verse 37, our orthodox translators have discreetly omitted 'Misor' from the list.
Verses 43-5. 'And the Lord gave unto Israel all the land which he sware to give unto their fathers; and they possessed it, and dwelt therein. And the Lord gave them rest round about, according to all that he sware unto their fathers: and there stood not a man of all their enemies before them; the Lord delivered all their enemies into their hand. There failed not ought of any good thing which the Lord had spoken unto the house of Israel; all came to pass.' These verses are decidedly incorrect. The Israelites did not get all the promised land, they did not have rest round about, their enemies did stand before them, and in many places defeated them; the Lord did not deliver all their enemies into their hands, and much failed which the Lord had promised.
Chapterxxii., v. 8. According to chap, vi., Achan was stoned to death for the very act now recommended by Joshua to the whole of the people—i.e., preserving and keeping raiment, etc., taken from the enemy.
Verse 22. 'The Lord God of Gods.' Lord of what Gods? Is not this similar to the mythology with Jove as the chief of Gods? The Jews, as has been before observed, were clearly Polytheists, recognising a variety of gods, but claiming the chief place for the God of Israel.
Chapterxxiii., v. 6. 'Book of the law of Moses.' See remarks on page 86.
Verse 12. Although Joshua is here cautioning the people against the consequences which will result from intermarrying with the Canaanites, yet he allowed Rahab and her family to marry and settle amongst the Israelites.
Verse 14. 'Behold, this day I am going the way of all the earth.' Not one word is said about heaven or hell, not a hint that after his death he expects to live again, no expression of hope that he may reach heaven, and there enjoy eternal happiness, no thought about his soul. He does not refer to it in any way, so that it is quite evident that if there be a future state of happiness and misery, Joshua knew nothing of it, yet Joshua was a favoured individual; he had personally seen the 'Captain of the Lord's host,' and ought to have known much aboutheavenly things. Our translators felt the want of this spiritual feeling, and have put into Joshua's mouth the words, 'Your souls.' Joshua, however, never uttered these words. The verse reads, 'Ye shall know, in all your hearts and in all your souls;' the Douay more correctly translates the same passage, 'You shall know with all your mind.' It simply means, 'Ye shall be in no doubt; but shall thoroughly know and understand.' None of the books we have examined contain the slightest reference to an immortal soul outliving the body, and responsible for the acts committed during the body's life. (See pages 68 and 88).
Chapterxxiv., vv. 2 and 3. What flood is this? In verse 3, the Douay, instead of saying that Abraham came from the 'other side of the flood,' substitutes the words, 'from the borders of Mesopotamia.' We are here informed, for the first time, that Terah, the father of Abraham, was an idolator; but we cannot ascertain how Joshua obtained his knowledge. If from other books they are lost, together with 'Jasher,' and the 'Book of the Wars of the Lord.'
Verses 12 and 13. If these verses are true, all the preceding accounts of the wars of the Israelites must be false, as we are repeatedly told of their battles, and hard labours, and struggles, to obtain the land.
Verse 19. Moses said, that God kept 'mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity, transgression, and sin.' Joshua says of God: 'He is a jealous God; he will not forgive your transgressions nor your sins.'
Verses 29 and 30. Dr. Giles thus comments:—
'If Joshua died at the age of 110 years, and his death is recorded in the Book which passes by his name, we need no further proof, that this book could not have been written until after Joshua was dead. But this limitation of its origin, to some period after the death of Joshua, must be still further qualified; for in the next verse of the same chapter we read as follows:—
'"Chap, xxiv., v. 31. And Israel served the Lord all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders that over-lived Joshua, and which had known all the works of the Lord, that he had done for Israel."
'How could Joshua write, that Israel served the Lord a long time after he was dead, nay, after all those who out-lived him were dead also? If some later writer, as Samuel or Ezra, inserted all these additions to the original work of Joshua, he would certainly have not done so in a clandestine or covert manner; but with a note attached, that "so far is the work of Joshua, and the continuation is by a later hand." Even the monkish chroniclers have displayed this species of common honesty; for we always, or nearly always, find a mark attached to those passages, which begin the writing of a new author:
'"Hactenus dominus Radulfus scripsit Chronica, etc."
'"So far is the Chronicle of Master Ralph, etc."
'Or, "Explicit dominus Rogerus, incipit dominus Matthaeus, etc."
'"Here ends Master Rogers, of Wendover, and Master Matthew Paris begins."'Even the supposition of these additions, made by later writers, goes far towards a concession of the fact, which I would establish—namely, that we have not the Hebrew writings in their original state; but that they are a compilation, put together after the nation had returned with fresh lights, and a fresh intellectual impetus from Babylon.'
Verse 33. Phineas was a Levite, and the Levites were forbidden to have any inheritance in the land; in what manner, therefore, did Phineas become entitled to this hill?
This Book of Joshua simply claims to be a relation of the adventures of the Jews under the leadership of Joshua. It has evidently been written very long after the occurrences it alleges to have taken place; and the writer must have either compiled from other writings, or from oral tradition; if from the latter, which is the more probable hypothesis, it will, perhaps, account for the anti-astronomical phenomenon, related in chapter x., and for the falling down of the walls of Jericho, and similar absurdities. By tradition, facts are exaggerated and distorted, especially where the people are uneducated ana superstitious. As a history it is of little value, as a romance it is of less; it affords but poor amusement, and nought of instruction to peruse the account of the wars of the Jews. A man of martial disposition may feel a degree of interest and pleasure in reading the accounts of the struggles for freedom of a Tell, a Washington, a Hampden, or even of the terrific battles under a Napoleon or a Wellington; but of these Jews, whose best fighting was but a sham, who were cowards at heart; who only fought well when the Lord had paralysed the arms of their enemies; who took credit for victories, which the 'hornet' had won for them; who were merciless scoundrels when victorious, and pitiable poltroons when defeated; who fought not in defence of their own land, but to rob their fellow men of their native homes; I say, reading of these, a true man feels disgust and sorrow; disgust at the horrible cruelties related; sorrow that men should have been so ignorant as to imagine that the butcheries took place under the supervision of a God of love.
Bishop Watson, in his fourth letter, in reply to Paine's remarks on Joshua, writes as follows:—
'You make yourself merry with what you call the tale of the sun standing still upon Mount Gibeon, and the moon in the valley of Ajalon; and you say, that "the story detects itself; because there is not a nation in the world that knows anything about it." How can you expect that there should, when there is not a nation in the world whose annals reach this era by many hundred years? It happens, however, that you are probably mistaken as to the fact: a confused tradition concerning this miracle and a similar one in the time of Ahaz, when the sun went back ten degrees, had been preserved among one of the most ancient nations, as we are informed by one of the most ancient historians. Herodotus, in his Euterpe, speaking of the Egyptian priests, says:—"They told me, that the sun four times deviated from his course; having twice risen where he uniformly goes down, and twice gone down where he uniformly rises."'The Bishop is somewhat incorrect in his criticism. 'There is not (he says) a nation in the world whose annals reach this era by many hundred years.' This is simply untrue. The alleged date of this pretended miracle is variously stated; but it may be taken at the outside at about 3,500 years ago. The Hindus claim to carry their annals back millions of years, and Sir William Jones, after a fair criticism, confesses that he traces back the Indian monarchy to a period upwards of 3,800 years from the present time, and admits an age of 3,000 years for the Vedas, or sacred writings. The age of the xajur Veda, one of the sacred Hindu books, is carried to a period prior to the alleged date of the birth of Moses. The chronicles of Iran (Persia) claim at least an equal antiquity; in fact, the same learned and careful author, speaking on this subject, says:—'If we can rely on evidence, which appears unexceptionable, the Iranian monarchy must have been the oldest in the world.' The Tartar's 'genuine traditional history' commences 4,700 years ago. The Arabian monarchy is traceable back 3,600 years. We have a book of the Chinese, entitled 'Shuking,' containing the annals of that empire, commencing upwards of 4,100 years from this date. Foh, or Foni, is alleged to have given laws to the Chinese 4,300 years ago. We have their poetry admittedly 3,000 years of age, and professedly of a much more ancient date. A very learned member of the Asiatic Society, who investigated the astronomical computations of the Hindus, as given in an ancient treatise (the Surya Siddhanta), allows it to contain astronomical observations extending over 7,200 years, a period of upwards of 4,800 years of which has passed since the birth of one of their most famous astronomers. This will be sufficient to dispose of the Bishop's first assertion. His second, as to the quotation from Herodotus, fares no better. The four deviations spoken of, by the Egyptian priests, do not correspond to the two alleged miracles, and Paine's argument as quoted on page 100 of this work, remains unanswered.
'The Book of Judges is anonymous on the face of it; and therefore, even the pretence is wanting to call it the word of God; it has not so much as a nominal voucher: it is altogether fatherless.
'This book begins with the same expression as the Book of Joshua. That of Joshua begins (chap, i., v. 1)—Now after the death of Moses, etc.; and this of Judges begins—Now after the death of Joshua, etc. This, and the similarity of style between the two books, indicate that they are the work of the same author; but who he was is altogether unknown; the only point that the book proves is, that the author lived long after the time of Joshua; for though it begins as if it followed immediately after his death, the second chapter is an epitome, or abstract, of the whole book, which, according to the Biblechronology, extends its history through a space of 306 years—that is, from the death of Joshua, 1426 years before Christ, to the death of Sampson, 1120 years before Christ, and only twenty-five years before Saul went toseek his father's asses, and was made king(the chronology of this book has been a matter of much debate; and it is stated by various chronologers with very serious difference). But there is good reason to believe, that it was not written till the time of David at least; and that the Book of Joshua was not written before the same time.' (Vide'Age of Reason').
Chapteri., w. 7 and 8, have been noticed on page 103.
Verses 9 to 15. These verses are a mere repetition of Joshua, chap. xv., w. 13 to 19.
Verse 16. Who were the Kenites? We read in Exodus, that the father-in-law of Moses was a priest of Midian, and by Numbers we learn, that Moses had an Ethiopian (query Egyptian) wife. A Kenite may be a Midianite, or an Ethiopian, or, as in the case of the Trinity, all three may be one. By this verse they appear to be settled in Judah, south of Arad, while by chap, iv., vv. 11 and 17, they are in the north by Napthali.
Verse 17 has been noticed on page 72.
Verse 19. As the verse stands, it is flatly contradicted in Mark, chap, x., v. 27. A devout believer in the omnipotence of the Deity would doubtless wonder how chariots of iron could form serious obstacles to the attainment of any object by Judah, when the Lord was fighting for Judah. The Septuagint renders the verse somewhat differently.
Chapterii., vv. 1 to 5. This visit of the angel of the Lord from his residence at Gilgal does not seem to have been attended with any good result; the Jews wept, but they must have shed what are commonly known as crocodiles' tears.
Verses 6 to 10 These verses are simply repetitions of verses 28 to 31, of the last chapter of Joshua, and are inserted here in a confused manner, having no connection with the earlier or later verses of he chapter. The whole of this chapter is confused and incoherent.
Verse 22 contradicts the attribute of foreknowledge, commonly ascribed to Deity.
Chapteriii., v. 1. 'These are the nations which the Lord had left.' That is, we are told, that the Lord spared the Canaanites, or rather a portion of them, 'to prove the Israelites.' The omniscient Deity could hardly have needed to prove his people, as he must have known what course of conduct they would pursue. To ordinary readers the matter is surrounded with difficulty. God had originally issued a series of loving commands with reference to these Canaanites; one was, 'Spare alive nothing that breatheth.' The Jews might well imagine that, as God had abandoned this portion of the commandments without special directions as to the others, that they (the Jews) were at liberty to make treaties with the Canaanites, and marry amongst them.Verse 3. 'All the Canaanites.' This is not true. The inhabitants of Jericho and Ai were Canaanites, and these were 'utterly destroyed.'
Verses 15 to 26. The Douay says, that 'what Ehud, who was judge and chief magistrate of Israel, did on this occasion, was by a special inspiration from God; but such things are not to be imitated by private men.' There is no statement in the Book that God specially inspired Ehud to kill Eglon; yet if Eglon was a tyrant who deserved death, and if the act of Ehud was a praiseworthy act in him, why should it not be so in another? Verger doubtless was equally inspired when he killed the Archbishop of Paris, Felton when he killed the Duke of Buckingham, and Pianori when he tried to kill Louis Napoleon. The question is two-fold—1st. Is it lawful to destroy tyrants? 2nd. If a man is almost unanimously accursed, and accused as a tyrant (as Louis Napoleon for example), is it lawful for one man to constitute himself judge, jury, and executioner?
Verses 29 and 31. These round numbers betray the fallibility of the writer. A revelation from Deity would have been more precise. Shamgar must have been an extremely valiant warrior. To kill 600 men with only an ox-goad is no trifle. The record does not say whether or not they were all killed in one day, or during a lone period; or whether in a mass together, or separately. They could scarcely have been all killed in one day, and tne probability is, that Shamgar did not attack the 600 men in a mass. I can only hope that Shamgar did not waylay the Philistines, simply killing them unawares. The Douay says, that the weapon used was a 'plough-share,' not an 'ox-goad.'
Chapteriv. Voltaire thus comments on this chapter:—
'We have no intention here to inquire at what time Baruch was chief of the Jewish people; why, being chief, he allowed his army to be commanded by a woman; whether this woman, named Deborah, had married Lapidoth; whether she was the friend or relative of Baruch, or, perhaps, his daughter, or his mother; nor on what day the battle of Thabor, in Galilee, was fought between this Deborah and Sisera, Captain-General of the armies of King Jabin, which Sisera commanded in Galilee, an army of three hundred thousand foot, ten thousand horse, and three thousand chariots of war, according to the historian Josephus.
'We shall at present leave out of the question this Jabin, King of a village called Hazor, who had more troops than the Grand Turk. We very much pity the fate of his grand vizier Sisera, who, having lost the battle of Galilee, leaped from his chariot and four that he might fly more swiftly on foot. He went and begged the hospitality of a holy Jewish woman, who gave him some milk, and drove a great cart-nail through his head while he was asleep. We are very sorry for it; but this is not the matter to be discussed. We wish to speak of chariots of war.
'The battle was fought at the foot of Mount Thabor, near the river Kishon. Mount Thabor is a steep mountain, the branches of which, somewhat less in height, extend over a great part of Galilee. Betwixtthis mountain and the neighbouring rocks there is a small plain covered with great flint stones, and impracticable for cavalry. The extent of this plain is four or five hundred paces. We may venture to believe that Sisera did not here draw up his three hundred thousand men in order of battle; his three thousand chariots would have found it difficult to manoeuvre on such a field.
'We may believe that the Hebrews had no chariots of war in a country renowned only for asses; but the Asiatics made use of them in great plains.
'Confucius, or rather Confutze, says positively that from time immemorial each of the viceroys of the provinces was expected to furnish to the emperor a thousand war chariots drawn by four horses.
'Chariots must have been in use long before the Trojan war, for Homer does not speak of them as a new invention: but those chariots were not armed like those of Babylon; neither the wheels nor the axles were furnished with steel blades.
'This invention must at first have been very formidable, in large plains especially, when the chariots were numerous, driven with impetuosity and armed with long pikes and scythes; but when they became familiar it seemed so easy to avoid their shock, that they fell into general disuse.'
Chapteriv., v. 2. Hazor was burnt and thoroughly destroyed by Joshua.
Verse 4. We have no account of any of the prophecies of Deborah.
Verse 11. 'Hobab, the father-in-law of Moses.' This is an error. Hobab is described in Numbers as the son of Raguel, the latter being the father-in-law of Moses. (See page 49).
Verses 17 to 22. After reading these verses, Professor Newman wrote as follows:—
'In various attempts at compromise—such as conceding the scriptural fallibility in human science but maintaining its spiritual perfection—I always found the division impracticable. At last it pressed on me that it I admitted morals to rest on an independent basis, it was dishonest to shut my eyes to any apparent collisions of morality with the Scriptures. A very notorious and decisive instance is that of Jael. Sisera when beaten in battle fled to the tent of his friend Heber, and was there warmly welcomed bv Jael, Heber's wife. After she had refreshed him with food and lulled him to sleep, she killed him, by driving a nail into his temples, and for this deed (which now-a-days would be called a perfidious murder), the prophetess Deborah, in an inspired psalm, pronounces Jael to be "blessed above women," and glorifies her act by an elaborate description of its atrocity. As soon as I felt that I was bound to pass a moral judgment on this, I saw that as regards the Old Testament the battle was already lost.'
Chapterv. This Song of Deborah, like other oriental songs, is strongly figurative.
Verse 8. Instead of 'They chose new gods, then was war in the gates,' the Douay has it, 'The Lord chose new wars and himself overthrew the gates of his enemies.'Verse 12. There were no captives to lead—all were killed. (See. chap, iv., v. 16.)
Verse. 23. Where and what was Meroz? Was it a city or a country? Were its inhabitants Israelites or Canaanites? No one knows. It is the only time it is mentioned throughout the whole of the Bible.
Verse 26. The Douay in this Terse says nothing about smiting off Sisera's head, neither does chap, iv., v. 21.
Chaptervi. On page 79 I remarked on the account of the total destruction of the Midianitish nation, and I have now to submit that one of the accounts must be positively untrue. If 'every male' was killed by the Israelites, there can be no foundation for the statement that the Midianites 'came as grasshoppers for multitude, for both they and their camels were without number.'
Verses 8 to 10. This prophet was a shrewd fellow; he only related the past, but did not attempt to foretell the future. Why is he called a prophet? The whole of this chapter is very confused. In vv. 11 and 12 the 'angel of the Lord' appears, but in vv. 14 and 16 it is 'the Lord,' and in vv. 20 and 21 the 'angel of the Lord' again, and this is rendered still more confused by vv. 22 and 23, as it is nowhere said to be death to see an angel.
Verse 21. This is quite a type of modern conjuring—to set on fire the flesh and cakes by touching them with a magic wand. The Douay, to make the matter more complete, says that the angel 'vanished.'
Gideon seems to have been very unbelieving, and to have required many miracles before he would accept God's message.
Chaptervii., v. 3. This fact speaks volumes in favour of the Israelites. They must have been a noble race, when more than two-thirds of an army in the face of an enemy pleaded guilty to the suggestion of cowardice, and ran away.
Verses 13 and 14. This is scarcely probable. If Gideon was an unknown and mean man amongst his own people (see chap, vi., v. 15), it is unlikely that he would be so famous amongst the Midianites; beside which the Midianites worshipped a different God from the Israelites, and the man would not have used the kind of language here attributed to him. The words are not the words of a Midianite at all, but such as a Jew would be more apt to utter.
Verses 16 to 22. This battle of the 'trumpets, lamps, and pitchers,' is a most glorious one. The Midianites and Amalekites are 'as the sand by the sea shore for multitude.' 300 men surrounded their camp unobserved by the sentinels, who ought to have been more than ordinarily wakeful, having only just been relieved. These three hundred men, who have each a lamp concealed in a pitcher, suddenly break all their pitchers with a great crash, blow their trumpets, and shout out loudly. The Midianites and Amalekites, who must have been timid and nervous people, are much frightened, and begin to kill one another, and to run away as fast as possible. This is the more remarkable, as the 300 men all held theirlamps up, so that it would have been easy to have distinguished friends from enemies.
The 300, not satisfied with their easy victory, pursued the flying enemy, and slew 120,000 of them, being 400 to each man, then attacked their two Princes, Zebah and Zalmunna, who were at the head of an army of 15,000 men. These the 300 Israelites of course routed easily, after which they returned, and on their way back, tore the elders of Succoth (who refused to aid them in their pursuit) with thorns and briars, and cut the men in pieces. (Vide Douay translation, chap, viii., v. 16). After this they beat down the fortified tower of Penuel, and slew the inhabitants of that city. The 300 did not neglect the plunder, but brought back 1700 shekels of gold, beside the golden chains which were about the camels' necks, and ornaments and jewels, and I do not find that they were stoned to death like Achan for so doing. Although Gideon and his 300 followers were so valiant, yet his first-born son, Jether, did not inherit the bravery of his father (Vide chap, viii., v. 20). I have, in several places, discussed the commands to extirpate the Canaanites given in the previous books, and in noticing this terrible slaughter, I cannot help quoting a few words in defence from Dr. J. Pye Smith:—
'The extreme cruelty and abominable crimes of those nations were undoubtedly just and sufficient causes, under the righteous government of God, for their being cut off, as they were (not by pestilence or earthquake, but) by a people sent, and avowedly coming, with this executive commission from the only Sovereign of all men and all nations. Yet there was also another and a weighty reason in the case. It was the universal belief that the greatness and honour of a Deity were to be judged of by the standard of great and signal victories which he gave to the nation which he had taken under his protection. The conquest of Canaan, therefore, was a demonstration to the Canaanites of the feebleness, and even nothingness, of their own gods, and of the superior power of the God of Israel. And this impression would be strengthened by the fact of success and reverses occurring in exact proportion to the faithfulness or the disobedience of the Israelites towards their God, their natural leader, protector, and king.'
Where is the record of the 'extreme cruelty' and 'abominable crimes' of these nations? Were they more cruel than the Israelites, or did they commit more abominable and cruel crimes than those of Lot, of Onan, of Jacob, of Judah, of Reuben, of Simeon, and Levi, of the people of Benjamin, or of the many other Israelitish men and women whose names we fortunately cannot pollute our pages with, but the record of whose horrible and detestable enormities are still to be found in the legislative enactments which the Deity found it necessary to make for the guidance of his chosen people? And why did the Deity give way to the 'universal belief' of an ignorant and vicious people? Cannot the great Jehovah win men by his mighty and irresistible will rather than by sword and fire? 'The conquests,' says Dr. Smith,' were a demonstration to the conquered of the power of the Deity.' Not so, for in a wholesale massacre, they took away from theCanaanites the capability for appreciating any demonstration however clear; logic has little effect on a man whose throat is cut from ear to ear.
Chapterix., v. 5. By chap, viii., verses 30 and 31, we find that Gideon had seventy sons, besides Abimelech; yet here are seventy killed by order of Abimelech, and the youngest escapes, and this youngest son makes the confusion worse confounded, when speaking against Abimelech; for he mentions his seventy brethren slain on one stone (verse 18); and the number is again repeated in verses 24 and 56.
It is evident that Jotham entertained very different ideas of the Deity from those held by John the Evangelist, for he speaks of the olive, of whose fatness both gods and men make use (videDouay), and of wine which cheereth God and man.
Verse 23. 'God sent an evil spirit.' Out of perfect good, evil cannot come, yet perfection is alleged to be an attribute of the Deity, who sent an evil spirit between Abimelech and the men of Shechem.
Chapterxi., v. 1. According to Deuteronomy, chap, xxiii., v. 2, Jephtha was debarred from entering into the congregation of the Lord.
Verse 15. 'Thus saith Jephtha, Israel took not away the land of Moab, nor the land of the children of Amnion;' yet according to Joshua, chap, xiii., v. xxv., Moses gave to the tribe of Gad 'half the land of the children of Ammon.'
Verse 24. Here we have the fact revealed, that each tribe or nation had a God peculiar to itself: one worshipped Chemosh, another Baal, another Jehovah, and each tribe believed that its particular Deity fought its battles, and that when a battle was lost, then the God was displeased, and a sacrifice was wanting to restore favour.
Verses 30 to 40. Voltaire says:—
'It is evident from the text, that Jephtha promised to sacrifice the first person that should come out of his house to congratulate him on his victory over the Ammonites. His only daughter presented herself before him for that purpose; he tore his garments, and immolated her, after having permitted her to go and deplore, in the recesses of the mountains, the calamity of her dying a virgin. The daughters of Israel long continued to celebrate this painful event, and devoted four days in the year to lamentation for the daughter of Jephtha.
'In whatever period this history was written, whether it was imitated from the Greek history of Agamemnon and Idomeneus, or was the model from which that history was taken; whether it might be anterior or posterior to similar narratives in Assyrian history, is not the point I am now examining. I keep strictly to the text. Jephtha vowed to make his daughter a burnt offering, and fulfilled his vow.
'It was expressly commanded by the Jewish law to sacrifice men devoted to the Lord:—"Every man that shall be devoted shall not be redeemed; but shall be put to death without remission." The Vulgate translates it: "He shall not be redeemed but shall die the death."
'It was in virtue of this law that Samuel hewed in pieces KingAgag, whom, as we have already seen, Saul had pardoned. In fact, it was for sparing Agag that Saul was rebuked by the Lord, and lost his kingdom.
'Thus, then, we perceive sacrifices of human blood clearly established; there is no point of history more incontestable: we can only judge of a nation by its own archives, and by what it relates concerning itself.
'What is the natural meaning of the phrase, "he did to her as he had vowed."
'What had Jephtha vowed? What had he promised by an oath to perform? To kill his daughter; to offer her up as a burnt offering; and he did kill her.
'Read Calmet's dissertation on the rashness of Jephtha's vow, and its fulfilment; read the law which he cites, that terrible law of Leviticus, in the twenty-seventh chapter, which commands, that all which shall be devoted to the Lord shall not be ransomed, but shall die the death.Non redimetur, sed morte morietur.
'Observe the multitude of examples by which this most astonishing truth is attested. Look at the Amalekites and Canaanites; look at the King of Arad and all his family, subjected to the law of devotion; look at the priest Samuel slaying King Agag with his own hands, and cutting him into pieces as a butcher cuts up an ox in his slaughterhouse?
Verse 39. 'And it was a custom in Israel.' What meaning can we attach to these words? Our translators have prefixed the word 'That' to the next verse, to make people believe the custom to refer to the weeping for Jephtha's daughter; if this were the correct reading, then the phrase is incorrect; it is in the past tense, and after relating the fulfilment of Jephtha's vow, adds 'it was a custom.' What? The only answer is, that human sacrifice was a custom. In feet, if it had not been an established custom, the whole nation would have cried out as one man against the murder of Jephtha's daughter. (See also page 54.)
Chapterxiii., v. 5. 'No razor shall touch his head;' yet despite this imperative command of the Omnipotent Deity, a razor did touch Samson's head. (Videchap. xvi. v. 19.)
Verse 9. God hearkened to the voice of Manoah. (See Joshua, ehap. x., v. 14, which contradicts this.)
Verse 19. This is a repetition of the conjuring referred to on page 111; here the angel vanishes in the flame.
Chapterxiv., vv. 8 and 9. Bees do not usually rest on carrion at all, much less store honey in a rotting carcass; but it is not more surprising that this should happen, than that Samson should tear a young lion asunder with nothing to aid him but his naked hands.
Chapterxv., v. 4. Foxes must have been very plentiful in the country, where Samson then was; but they must have taken some time to catch. The following is a foot-note to the Douay, 'Being judge of the people, he might have many to assist him to catch with nets or otherwise a number of these animals.' It is difficult to conceive why the Philistines so neglected their own interests, and quietlyallowed Samson to capture and turn loose these 300 foxes amongst their crops; and I confess that I cannot quite discover the utility and morality of the course pursued by Samson in burning the corn fields. Verses 14 and 15. Shamgar's feat, commented on in page 109, sinks into utter insignificance beside this. 1000 men all killed with the new jaw-bone of an ass—these evidently slain at one time as they fell in 'heaps upon heaps.' If Samson killed the Philistines at the rapid rate of one per minute, which would be good work considering the weapon employed, the slaughter, if conducted without cessation, would then occupy nearly seventeen hours; and we cannot wonder that Samson was 'sore athirst.' The water flowing from the jaw-bone is a miracle. As to miracles, see pages 74 and 75.
Chapterxvi., v. 1. If the rulers of the Israelites were so immoral, the Israelitish people must have been similar in character.
Verses 7 and 11. Truthfulness does not seem to have been one of Samson's qualifications.
Verse 27. I should like to have seen the house which Samson threw down; it must have been a curious specimen of ancient architecture. We are informed that it had an immense roof, supported by two pillars, rather close together, between which Samson stood, and we are also informed, that 3,000 men and women were on that roof 'beholding Samson's play' (videDouay translation), although, unless the 3,000 could see through the roof, this must have been another miracle, as Samson would be entirely hidden from their sight by the roof and pillars.
I cannot discover the most remote moral connected with the history of Samson; nothing but robbery, wanton destruction of property, immorality, and murder. 1st. He enters into a wager with his wife's friends; having lost his wager, he robs and murders thirty men, to enable him to pay his loss. This career of useless crime and bloodshed is continued, but his own profligacy is ultimately the cause of his being taken prisoner, and punished by the Philistines; yet this is a judge of God's chosen people.
Chapterxix. The number 'nineteen' is badly connected in this book. The remarks on page 36 apply here, but I cannot pass the matter thus. These are God's chosen people, men of the tribe of Benjamin, people whom God has visited personally, men for whom he has slaughtered the unfortunate Canaanites by thousands, and yet so horribly, basely depraved. Where was the fire from heaven this time? Fathers! do you place this book in the bands of your sons and daughters, and tell them that it is the Holy Bible? If you do, will they not learn the horrible state of society amongst God's own selected people? Will they be elevated and improved by the knowledge thus conferred? Will it make them better men and women? I say, no; and every man who devotes thought to the subject will be compelled to echo my denial.
Is it possible that events, so similar as those related in Genesis, chap. xix., vv. 7 and 8, and w. 23 and 24 of this chapter, could have twice happened in the world's history? It cannot be true. If it be true,surely there could never have been a God regulating the affairs of the universe, predestining and permitting such terribly disgusting obscenities and cruelties as those here detailed.
Verse 29. If the twelve pieces were intended for the twelve tribes, this would include the offending tribe of Benjamin, which does not seem to be the meaning of the text.
Chapterxx., v. 28. Phinehas, the grand-son of Aaron, could not have been alive at this period, if we suppose the occurrences related in chronological order. Divines overcome the difficulty by alleging that the last chapters of the book should be the first, as they refer to events immediately succeeding the death of Joshua. A devout believer would reverently admire the mysterious manner in which God revealed his Holy Word upside down; but a thinking man would recognise in this error conclusive evidence against the assertion that the book is a revelation from God.
'The name of this Book is taken from the title of the functionaries, whose actions and administration it principally relates. This name is [———]shophetim, plural of [———]shophet, a judge. This word designates the ordinary magistrates, properly called judges; and is here also applied to the chief rulers, perhaps becauserulingandjudgingare so intimately connected in the East that sitting in judgment is one of the principal employments of an Oriental monarch.
'The book is easily divisible into two parts; one ending with chap. xvi., contains the history of the Judges, from Othniel to Samson, and the other, which occupies the rest of the book, forms a sort of appendix, relating particular transactions, which the author seems to have reserved for the end. If these transactions had been placed in order of time, we should, probably, have found them in a much earlier portion of the work, as the incidents related seem to have occurred not long after the death of Joshua.
'The author of the Book is unknown. Some ascribe it to Samuel, some to Hezekiah, and others to Ezra. The reason which has principally influenced the last determination of the authorship is found in chap, xviii., v. 30:—"He and his son were priests to the tribe of Dan, until the day of the captivity of the land." But this may have referred to the captivity of the ark among the Philistines, or to some particular captivity of the tribe of Dan; or rather of that part of the tribe settled in the north; or the reference may have been to both circumstances. It is also possible that the clause, "until the day of the captivity of the land," may actually have been added after the captivity. That the book itself was written after the establishment of the monarchical government, appears from the habit which the author has of saying,that the event he is relating happened in the time when " there was no king in Israel," which renders it evident that there was a king when he wrote.' (Vide'Hebrew Records.')
The recital of the adventures of Samson, of Micah, etc., with so many slight particulars fully enlarged upon, is conclusive evidence against this Book as a history, for it is impossible to conceive such minute particularity of detail in individual cases, and yet such an utter neglect of even the most general dates in the history of the nation.