The hebrew and the heathen

rigorous command: 'An Ammonite and a Moabite shall

not enter into the congregation of the Lord, even to their

tenth generation shall they not enter for ever;'^d for King

David was the third in descent from Ruth.^e We are

^a xxii. 3, 6, xxiv. 14--17. through Eglon, the Judge, whom it

^b Ruth iv. 15. regards as the grandson of that king

^c See Comment. on Levit. ii. (Talm. Sanh. 105b), so that, accord-

pp. 354 sqq. ing to that conception, David would

^d Deut. xxiii. 4. still more fully and more strikingly

^e iv. 17, 21, 22. Jewish tradition represent the union of the Moabite

makes Balak the ancestor of Ruth and the Hebrew.

60 ANALOGY OF THE BOOK OF RUTH.
inclined to conclude that the Book of Ruth was written

before David's terrible war against the Moabites. These

had been subdued by Saul,^a and appear, after that time,

to have long lived with the Hebrews in amicable inter-

course. Their king certainly was well-disposed towards

David, who, when compelled to flee before Saul, entrusted

to him his parents for protection.^b Besides Moab, Beth

lehem is exclusively the scene of the Book, which neither

mentions nor alludes to Jerusalem. The descendants of

Ruth and Boaz, on the other hand, are not enumerated

beyond David, since the list does not include even his

illustrious son Solomon. The Book may, therefore, have

been composed at the period when David was still dwell-

ing in Hebron as the king of Judah, and yet was already

sufficiently famous and conspicuous to call forth such a

genealogical narrative. But even after his sanguinary

victories over the Moabites, a work like that would by

no means have been impossible. Conquered tribes in

those times recovered their strength with incredible

rapidity, and political feuds were often forgotten within

the same generation. Indeed we find among the later

military chiefs of David, besides other foreigners, also

‘Jithmah the Moabite.’^c

We are thus justified in considering the Book of Ruth,

like the Book of Balaam, as a testimony to that lofty

spirit of toleration. and common brotherhood which, in

the youthful and vigorous times of David, animated

Israel, and which, supported and nourished by that

literary genius and refinement manifest in both works,

might have led to the fairest fruits of a universal

humanity, had not, too soon afterwards, national com-
^a 1 Sam. xiv. 47. ^c ybixAOm.;ha hmAt;yi, 1 Chron. xi. 46;

^b 1 Sam. xxii. 3, 4. comp. Noeldeke, Die Amalek., p. 20.
FAME AND CHARACTER OF THE BOOK. 61
plications and calamities tempted and led the minds of

the people into a different and more solitary path.^a

16. FAME AND CHARACTER OF THE BOOK.
IT is not surprising to find that the Book of Balaam

soon attained a great celebrity, and was ever respected

as a high authority. In the last address of Jacob,
^a It is difficult to understand how single trait and incident of the story.

the conjecture could gain ground It is enough to urge again the fact

that the Book of Ruth was written that marriages with foreigners are

at a very late period, at a time not held to be reproachful, and that

when the national life of Israel had there is, in the whole narrative, no

already ceased,' during the exile, vestige of an attempt at palliating

or even in the age of Nehemiah (so such an alliance in the case of David's

Ewald, Bertheau, Geiger, Urschrift, ancestors; in addition to which we

pp. 49-52, 299, Meier, Schrader, may point to the markedly archaic

and others). The principal argument character of the language (e.g.,

adduced by the advocates of this MyrifAn;, in ii. 21, used instead of

view is derived from the words in tOrfAn;, comp. vers. 8, 22, 23; the

Ruth iv. 7, lxrWyb Mynpl txzv, anomalous combination Mh,yTew;

which they translate, ‘and this was 19), applying to Naomi and Ruth

formerly the custom in Israel.' But (see Grammar, § xxii. 1. 3, 6);

even if this version should be correct, though we would lay no stress on

and if the term Mynpl does here not such forms as yTim;Wa and T;d;rayA.

rather mean ‘already in’ or ‘from 3, 4, instead of Td;rayA and T;d;rayA, as

olden times,' so that the custom still they occur in later compositions also

existed in the author's age, as seems (comp. Gram., § xxviii. l.a). Bleek,

to be confirmed by the addition im- (Einleitung, p. 354) admits at least

mediately following, hdvfth txzv that the Book was written before

lxrWyb, ‘and this is the custom in the legislation of Deuteronomy, and

Israel;' we might justly object that Noeldeke (Alttestam. Liter., p. 45)

in the three or four generations that it was composed during the

which elapsed between the time of rule of the house of David; while

Ruth and the reign of David, cus- Keil (Einleitung, p. 437) places it in

toms may have considerably changed. the reign of this king or shortly

However, even if the Book inclu- after it. [We may here remind the

ded many other obscure or am- reader that, in references to our

biguous phrases besides this one, Hebrew Grammar, the common or

they would have no weight whatever Arabic numbers of sections point to

in the face of that tone and spirit of the First Part, the Roman numbers

antiquity which characterise every to the Second Part of that work.]

62 FAME AND CHARACTER OF THE BOOK.

written in the time of the divided kingdom'^a some pas-

sages are imitated, and some almost verbally incorporated;

they are those which describe the people's strength and

majesty, and are, in the later production, applied to

Judah, then the most powerful tribe.^b Isaac's blessing,^c

composed in the ninth century, seems altogether to have

been constructed on the model of these prophecies, with

which it coincides in the main idea of Israel's inalien-

able election, shielded by God's blessing for ever, and

touched by no curse.^d In reference to Balaam's speeches,

the prophet Micah is in full agreement with our author.^e

Other prophets afford proofs how much their views on

human life and happiness were moulded on utterances of

Balaam.^f It is not improbable that the important and

significant words in the Jahvistic records of the Pen-

tateuch, ‘I will bless those that bless thee, and curse

him that curses thee,'^g are borrowed from this section.^h

Jeremiah, in his oracle on Moab, reproduces Balaam's

chief prediction with respect to the same people.ⁱ And

lastly, considering the force and sublimity of these

prophecies, ‘the star’ which ‘cometh out of Jacob,’

could not fail to be raised into a Messianic type.^k

And, indeed, this Book of Balaam is invested with an
^a See Comm. on Gen., pp. 722- ⁱ Comp. xxiv. 17, and Jer. xlviii.

724. 45, 47; see notes on xxiv. 15-17.

^b Comp. Num. xxiii. 24, xxiv. 9, k xxiv. 17; see notes on xxiv. 14

and Gen. xlix. 9 ; Num.. xxiv. 17, -17:, comp. also xxiv. 3, and 2 Sam.

and Gen. xlix. 10. xxiii. 1, see notes on xxiv. 3-9;

^c Gen. xxvii. xxiv. 10-14, and Amos vii. 10-17,

^d See notes on xxii. 5-14. see notes on xxiv. 10-14; xxiv.

^e Mic. vi. 5; see supra„ pp. 4, 34; 18, 19, and Obad. 17-19; xxiv.

comp. also Mic. vii. 14, and notes 21, and Obad. 3, 4, Jer. xlix. 16.

on xxiii. 7-10. It would, therefore, be hardly cor-

^f Hab. i. 3, 13; see notes on rect to maintain that Balaam--that

xxiii.. 18-24. is, the author of these prophecies--

^g Gen. xii. 3. ‘left no enduring mark on the his-

^h xxiv. 9, tory of the Jewish Church.'

FAME AND CHARACTER OF THE BOOK. 63

uncommon originality, which takes a powerful hold upon

all readers, and for which there is no exact parallel in the

whole of the Old Testament. The functions of Hebrew

prophets were sufficiently multifarious, but no seer of

Israel was ever employed for such an office as Balaam. We

have instances of prophets being consulted with regard

to the issue of military expeditions,^a and we have many

instances of pious men interceding for others by prayer,

or pronouncing blessings and curses, the effects of which

were considered infallible.^b But there is no other

example of a prophet who, requested to pronounce a

definite and prescribed speech, is forced, ‘heav'n controlled,’

to express the very opposite again and again. There is,

in the whole tenor of the Book, something peculiarly

mysterious, which may perhaps be best described by the

Greek term daimo

strengthened, if it is not partly created, by the disposition

and conduct of Balak. To him the Pharaoh of the

Exodus, among all the Old Testament characters, bears

the greatest resemblance. The king of Egypt rises

against the God of Israel, the king of Moab against

Israel, God's people. Both employ magicians; the former,

to prove his own gods of equal power with the God of

the Hebrews; the latter, to overcome the Hebrews by

any god the enchanter might choose to invoke. The one

asks, at the beginning of the struggle, ‘Who is the Lord

whose voice I should obey to let Israel go?’^c and

is finally annihilated by His power; the other, imagining

that he can vanquish God's elected people by sorcery, is

fated to hear, from the lips of his own chosen instrument,

^a See 1 Ki. xxii. 5-28; 2 Chron. ^b See notes on xxii. 5-14; Comm.

xviii. 5-27; 2 Ki. iii. 11; comp. on Gen., pp. 720-722; on L-vit.

1 Sam. xxiii. 2, 4, 10, 11; xxx. 8; i. P. 301. i

etc. ^c Exod. v. 2.

64 LIMITS.
that they are invincible through their extraordinary rela-

tion to that omnipotent God. In either case there are

arrayed, on the one side, defiance and despair, and on the

other, an awful power which shatters all resistance. But

while Pharaoh's contest is accompanied by terrible trials

and catastrophes, a grand repose is spread over this

Book, in which even the subjugation of Moab is seen as

an event of ‘the distant future.’^a The one is intended

as an historical picture, to represent a single though

momentous episode; the other is designed to shadow

forth, as it were typically, how God's love constantly

watches over His people, demolishes the malignant

schemes of their enemies, and by His immediate inter-

position even converts contemplated imprecations into

unalterable blessings. It comprises the whole mission

of Israel as the author had conceived it, and the whole

career of Israel as far as he was able to survey it in

his time. It is not history, but a wonderful amalgama-

tion of poetical grace and prophetic fire.
17. LIMITS.
BUT mhde>n a@gan. We would fain preserve calmness of

judgment, even in the fervour of admiration; lest we

resemble that Roman historian, who felt that, while

relating ancient events, ‘somehow his mind became

antique,’^b so that he was inclined to accept reports

simply because they were olds In our opinion, the

main charm of the Book of Balaam lies, apart from the

beauty of form, in that sincere universality, which, not

satisfied with teaching the unity of all races theoretical-

ly, as it is taught often enough, makes it a living reality.

^a xxiv. 14, 17, Mymyh tyrHxb, ^b Antiquus fit animus.

see on this term notes in loc. ^c Liv. xliii. 13.

LIMITS. 65
But what is the intrinsic character of the religious notions

pervading this section? How far do they stand the test

of philosophic examination? In a word, how far have

they permanent and absolute truth? We shall try to

answer these questions plainly and impartially.

The Hebrew mind, however richly endowed, had its

limits. Hebrew literature, however remarkable, is not,

free from grave deficiencies. The Hebrew mind was

wanting in that ‘dry light’ of reason, which, undimmed

by fancy or enthusiasm, penetrates into the depth and

nature of things with sober discernment. The Hebrews,

therefore, never advanced beyond the first rudiments in

any science. They did not even produce a truly prag-

matic history patiently tracing effect to cause. Unable

to emancipate themselves from the charmed circle of

theocratic conceptions, they knew no other standard of

historical probability than the mechanical principle of

retribution.^a The work which approaches nearest to

philosophical speculation--the Book of Job--concludes

with the negative result that man can fathom nothing;^b

and the work which displays the greatest independence

of thought--the Book of Ecclesiastes--moves in a scep-

ticism so empty and incoherent that a later time deemed

it necessary to supplement its teaching by some positive

ideas, though these again remain within the old and

narrow boundaries.^c The prophetic writings, which ex-

hibit the Hebrew intellect in its brightest glory, reveal

no less prominently its shades and failings. They are

indeed unequalled for ardour and sublimity, noble aspira-

tion and single-minded patriotism. But all these beautiful `

^a See Comm. on Levit. ii. pp. 609, evil, that is understanding;' Job

610. xxviii. 28.

^b ‘Behold, the fear of the Lord, ^c Eccles. xi. 9b; xii. 7,13, 14, have

that is wisdom, and to depart from been proved to be such additions.

66 LIMITS.
qualities are blended with an alloy of self-illusion which,

in a great measure, neutralises their value. The prophets

did not hesitate to come forward as workers of miracles.^a

Instead of offering their counsels and exhortations on

their own authority, they represented them--not figura-

tively but literally--as the direct emanations of God,

with whom they believed they had personal communion.

They, consequently, described visions, to which it is im-

possible to attribute any reality.^b They had too much

earnestness to introduce merely as an artistic creation

what to them appeared objective truth, and they were not

sufficiently prepared to appreciate the eternal reality of

poetic truth. In their grandest vaticinations they indeed

applied the teleological law, which, with far-reaching

sagacity, connects means and end, and beholds in each

epoch of history an organic link in the great chain of

human development. They composed, therefore, predic-

tions reflecting their ideal of the ultimate happiness of

their own people and of mankind. But these prophecies

were, for the most, part, no more than soaring hopes and

anticipations, magnificent and incomparable if presented

as poetical pictures, but questionable and misleading when

set forth as Divine utterances and, severed from the safe

ground of experience and reflection, involving a reversion

^a 2 Ki. ii. 19--22; iii. 17; iv. effects of one moment of visionary

32--35, 42-44; v. 10; vi. 6; etc. enthusiasm remained at work for

^b See Comm. on Lev. i. pp. 439, years, the result is practically the

455. Not even the cautious theory of same as if that state of transport

a recent critic (Kuenen, Relig. of Isr., had been permanently continued or

i. pp. 203-207), who grants that ‘the constantly renewed. The visions,

conviction of being interpreters of however, are distinct from sym-

Jahveh forced itself upon the pro- bolical acts, some of which were

phets in a moment of ecstasy,' but actually carried out (as Jer. six. 1

supposes that their ecstasy was, as -13, etc.), while others were meant

a rule, confined to that one occasion and understood as fictitious (as Hos.

of installation, can materially alter i. 2-9; Jer. xiii. 1-7; xxv. 15-

the view above taken for if the 29; Ezek. iv. v., etc.
LIMITS 67
of the order of nature. The hazy halo in which they are

enveloped is rendered more perplexing and dangerous by

their very grandeur and elevation; and if we survey the

history of the last three thousand years, as far as it was

influenced by prophetic and Messianic writings, we are,

in candour and truthfulness, compelled to admit that the

dim indistinctness, which speaks as with a higher sanction,

has cast many a gloomy shadow on the path of mankind

--steep and rugged at best--and has, perhaps more than

any other obstacle, contributed to delay that universal

peace, goodwill, and brotherhood, which formed the noblest

hopes of those noble minds.

Applying these tests to the Book of Balaam, we shall

find that, as it is distinguished by all the admirable

characteristics of prophetic literature, so it shares nearly

all its doubtful features. The narrative professes to be

simple history, and yet is charged throughout with

superhuman elements; and it describes, with infinite

skill, the time of David, and yet takes every possible

care to make the reader believe that it is describing the

time of Moses. The author is evidently a man of the

most earnest piety, and. yet he does not scruple to make

Balaam utter words which he contends were put into the

seer's mouth by God. Balaam has constant intercourse

with God as with a familiar, though superior, Being; for

‘God comes to Balaam’ in dreams, and Balaam ‘goes to

meet God’ by day in solitude; God asks Balaam, in

distinct words, special questions, and Balaam receives

from God directions in terms equally explicit.^a It is

difficult to see how a pure conception of the spiritual

nature of the Deity can thus be maintained. And,

lastly, a prophet who, in the time of Moses, was able to

^a xxii. 9-12, 20; xxiii. 3, 4, 15, 16; xxiv. 1.

68 ISRAEL AND MOAB.

predict a king to be born four centuries later, might as well

be considered capable of predicting a teacher to be born

after fourteen or fifteen centuries; and hence the 'star'

that was to come out of Jacob, and the ‘sceptre that

was to rise out of Israel in the distant future,^a were

interpreted in the Messianic sense, and applied to one

who surely did not ‘smite the sides of Moab,’ nor

‘destroy all the children of tumult.’ We need not, in

this place, point out the strange devices which were

rendered necessary to bring those terms of actual warfare

and bloodshed into harmony with the most peaceful life

and career;^b yet they are only a very small portion of

the injury that has been wrought by the studied ob-

scurity and deceptive form of these and other prophecies.

The highest boon of mankind is the calm balance of

reason--the holy Swfrosu

ever skilful, no genius, however dazzling, can counter-

balance the fatal mischief which may be inflicted by

straying from that Divine light.
18. ISRAEL AND MOAB.
IN conclusion we shall briefly sketch the relations

between Israel and Moab down to David's time.

When the Hebrews, entering upon their expedition of

conquest, advanced from the desert northward and west-

ward, they doubtless intended to settle exclusively in

Canaan proper, in the west of the Jordan.^c They

desired to -pass through the territory of the Amorites

‘on the royal road,’ in order to reach that point of the

river where they meant to cross it. King Sihon's un-
^a xxiv. 17. Kai> ga>r ou]d ] e]pe

^b See notes on xxiv. 15-17. a@llhn polupragmonei?n tou>j [Ebrai-

^c Comp. Joseph. Antiq. IV. vi. 2 ouj, a]phgoreukoISRAEL AND MOAB. 69
friendly refusal forced them to resistance; in the war

that ensued they were victorious, and obtained large

districts, to which, ere long, the land of the king of

Bashan was added; and then all these provinces, abound-

ing in excellent pastures, were assigned to the cattle-

breeding breeding tribes of Reuben and Gad as their permanent

abodes,^a although it is very probable that, in the east of

the Jordan as well as in the west, the heathen popula-

tion was never expelled completely or from every part of

the country.^b But the Hebrews neither made any acquisi-

tion in the territory of the Moabites, nor in that of the

Ammonites and Edomites. On this point tradition was

unwavering and uniform,^c although it fluctuated in

some subordinate details.^d However, the proximity of

the Israelites was by the Moabite king regarded with

such terror,^e that he requested a strange seer to curse

them.^f A hostile encounter was avoided,^g and the con-

tact between the two nations seems to have been most

fatal to the Hebrews themselves who, too easily tempted

into the licentious habits and degrading worship of the

Moabites thenceforth tenaciously clung to the iniquities

of Baal-Peor and Chemosh.^h

Not long after the occupation of Canaan, the Hebrews--

or at least the southern and trans-Jordanic tribes--were

^a Num. xxi. 21-35; xxxii. 1- and Judg. xi. 17, 18: according to

35; Deut. ii. 26-37; iii. 1-20; the first passage, the Moabites al-

Josh. xiii. 7-31. lowed the Hebrews to pass through

^b Comp. Hitzig, Die Inschrift des their land, and readily sold them

Mescha, p. 6. Gesenins (Commentar provisions; according to the last

uber den Jesaia, i. 503) calls the dis- two, they denied them both the one

tribution of the east-Jordanic coun- and the other.

try among the Hebrew tribes, ‘to ^e Comp. Exod. xv. 15; Num. xxii.

some extent, a dominion in partiburs 3, 4; Dent. ii. 25.

infidelium.' ^f Nun. xxii. 5, 6, etc.

^c Judg. xi. 15, 18; Dent. ii. 15, 9 ^g See supra, p. 5.

19, 37; comp. 2 Chron. xx. 10. ^h Num. xxv. 1, 2; Judg. x. 6; 1