a theologico-political treatise [part ii]-第12部分

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Firstly；　it　appears　from　Exodus　xvii：14　that　Moses；　by　the　command　of　God；



wrote　an　account　of　the　war　against　Amalek。　（51）　The　book　in　which　he　did　so



is　not　named　in　the　chapter　just　quoted；　but　in　Numb。　xxi：12　a　book　is



referred　to　under　the　title　of　the　wars　of　God；　and　doubtless　this　war



against　Amalek　and　the　castrametations　said　in　Numb。　xxxiii：2　to　have　been



written　by　Moses　are　therein　described。　（52）　We　hear　also　in　Exod。　xxiv：4　of



another　book　called　the　Book　of　the　Covenant；　which　Moses　read　before　the



Israelites　when　they　first　made　a　covenant　with　God。　（53）　But　this　book　or



this　writing　contained　very　little；　namely；　the　laws　or　commandments　of　God



which　we　find　in　Exodus　xx：22　to　the　end　of　chap。　xxiv。；　and　this　no　one



will　deny　who　reads　the　aforesaid　chapter　rationally　and　impartially。　（54）



It　is　there　stated　that　as　soon　as　Moses　had　learnt　the　feeling　of　the



people　on　the　subject　of　making　a　covenant　with　God；　he　immediately　wrote



down　God's　laws　and　utterances；　and　in　the　morning；　after　some　ceremonies



had　been　performed；　read　out　the　conditions　of　the　covenant　to　an　assembly



of　the　whole　people。　（55）　When　these　had　been　gone　through；　and　doubtless



understood　by　all；　the　whole　people　gave　their　assent。







（56）　Now　from　the　shortness　of　the　time　taken　in　its　perusal　and　also　from



its　nature　as　a　compact；　this　document　evidently　contained　nothing　more　than



that　which　we　have　just　described。　（57）　Further；　it　is　clear　that　Moses



explained　all　the　laws　which　he　had　received　in　the　fortieth　year　after　the



exodus　from　Egypt；　also　that　he　bound　over　the　people　a　second　time　to



observe　them；　and　that　finally　he　committed　them　to　writing　（Deut。　i：5；



xxix：14；　xxxi：9）；　in　a　book　which　contained　these　laws　explained；　and　the



new　covenant；　and　this　book　was　therefore　called　the　book　of　the　law　of　God：



the　same　which　was　afterwards　added　to　by　Joshua　when　he　set　forth　the　fresh



covenant　with　which　he　bound　over　the　people　and　which　he　entered　into



with　God　（Josh。　xxiv：25；　26）。







（58）　Now；　as　we　have　extent　no　book　containing　this　covenant　of　Moses　and



also　the　covenant　of　Joshua；　we　must　perforce　conclude　that　it　has　perished；



unless；　indeed；　we　adopt　the　wild　conjecture　of　the　Chaldean　paraphrast



Jonathan；　and　twist　about　the　words　of　Scripture　to　our　heart's　content。



（59）　This　commentator；　in　the　face　of　our　present　difficulty；　preferred



corrupting　the　sacred　text　to　confessing　his　own　ignorance。　（60）　The　passage



in　the　book　of　Joshua　which　runs；　〃and　Joshua　wrote　these　words　in　the



book　of　the　law　of　God；〃　he　changes　into　〃and　Joshua　wrote　these　words



and　kept　them　with　the　book　of　the　law　of　God。〃　（61）　What　is　to　be　done　with



persons　who　will　only　see　what　pleases　them？　（62）　What　is　such　a　proceeding



if　it　is　not　denying　Scripture；　and　inventing　another　Bible　out　of　our　own



heads？　（63）　We　may　therefore　conclude　that　the　book　of　the　law　of　God　which



Moses　wrote　was　not　the　Pentateuch；　but　something　quite　different；　which　the



author　of　the　Pentateuch　duly　inserted　into　his　book。　（64）　So　much　is



abundantly　plain　both　from　what　I　have　said　and　from　what　I　am　about　to　add。



（65）　For　in　the　passage　of　Deuteronomy　above　quoted；　where　it　is　related



that　Moses　wrote　the　book　of　the　law；　the　historian　adds　that　he　handed　it



over　to　the　priests　and　bade　them　read　it　out　at　a　stated　time　to　the　whole



people。　（66）　This　shows　that　the　work　was　of　much　less　length　than　the



Pentateuch；　inasmuch　as　it　could　be　read　through　at　one　sitting　so　as　to　be



understood　by　all；　further；　we　must　not　omit　to　notice　that　out　of　all　the



books　which　Moses　wrote；　this　one　book　of　the　second　covenant　and　the　song



（which　latter　he　wrote　afterwards　so　that　all　the　people　might　learn　it）；



was　the　only　one　which　he　caused　to　be　religiously　guarded　and　preserved。



（67）　In　the　first　covenant　he　had　only　bound　over　those　who　were　present；



but　in　the　second　covenant　he　bound　over　all　their　descendants　also　（Dent。



xxix：14）；　and　therefore　ordered　this　covenant　with　future　ages　to　be



religiously　preserved；　together　with　the　Song；　which　was　especially



addressed　to　posterity：　as；　then；　we　have　no　proof　that　Moses　wrote　any



book　save　this　of　the　covenant；　and　as　he　committed　no　other　to　the　care　of



posterity；　and；　lastly；　as　there　are　many　passages　in　the　Pentateuch　which



Moses　could　not　have　written；　it　follows　that　the　belief　that　Moses　was　the



author　of　the　Pentateuch　is　ungrounded　and　even　irrational。　（68）　Someone



will　perhaps　ask　whether　Moses　did　not　also　write　down　other　laws　when　they



were　first　revealed　to　him　…　in　other　words；　whether；　during　the　course　of



forty　years；　he　did　not　write　down　any　of　the　laws　which　he　promulgated；



save　only　those　few　which　I　have　stated　to　be　contained　in　the　book　of　the



first　covenant。　（69）　To　this　I　would　answer；　that　although　it　seems



reasonable　to　suppose　that　Moses　wrote　down　the　laws　at　the　time　when　he



wished　to　communicate　them　to　the　people；　yet　we　are　not　warranted　to　take



it　as　proved；　for　I　have　shown　above　that　we　must　make　no　assertions　in　such



matters　which　we　do　not　gather　from　Scripture；　or　which　do　not　flow　as



legitimate　consequences　from　its　fundamental　principles。　（70）　We　must　not



accept　whatever　is　reasonably　probable。　（71）　However　even　reason　in　this



case　would　not　force　such　a　conclusion　upon　us：　for　it　may　be　that　the



assembly　of　elders　wrote　down　the　decrees　of　Moses　and　communicated　them　to



the　people；　and　the　historian　collected　them；　and　duly　set　them　forth　in　his



narrative　of　the　life　of　Moses。　（72）　So　much　for　the　five　books　of　Moses：　it



is　now　time　for　us　to　turn　to　the　other　sacred　writings。







（73）　The　book　of　Joshua　may　be　proved　not　to　be　an　autograph　by　reasons



similar　to　those　we　have　just　employed：　for　it　must　be　some　other　than



Joshua　who　testifies　that　the　fame　of　Joshua　was　spread　over　the　whole



world；　that　he　omitted　nothing　of　what　Moses　had　taught　（Josh。　vi：27；　viii。



last　verse；　xi：15）；　that　he　grew　old　and　summoned　an　assembly　of　the　whole



people；　and　finally　that　he　departed　this　life。　（74）　Furthermore；　events　are



related　which　took　place　after　Joshua's　death。　（75）　For　instance；　that　the



Israelites　worshipped　God；　after　his　death；　so　long　as　there　were　any　old



men　alive　who　remembered　him；　and　in　chap。　xvi：10；　we　read　that　〃Ephraim　and



Manasseh　did　not　drive　out　the　Canaanites　which　dwelt　in　Gezer；　but　the



Canaanite　dwelt　in　the　land　of　Ephraim　unto　this　day；　and　was　tributary　to



him。〃　（76）　This　is　the　same　statement　as　that　in　Judges；　chap。　i。；　and　the



phrase　〃unto　this　day〃　shows　that　the　writer　was　speaking　of　ancient　times。



（77）　With　these　texts　we　may　compare　the　last　verse　of　chap。　xv。；　concerning



the　sons　of　Judah；　and　also　the　history　of　Caleb　in　the　same　chap。　v：14。



（78）　Further；　the　building　of　an　altar　beyond　Jordan　by　the　two　tribes　and　a



half；　chap。　xxii：10；　sqq。；　seems　to　have　taken　place　after　the　death　of



Joshua；　for　in　the　whole　narrative　his　name　is　never　mentioned；　but　the



people　alone　held　council　as　to　waging　war；　sent　out　legates；　waited　for



their　return；　and　finally　approved　of　their　answer。







（79）　Lastly；　from　chap。　x：14；　it　is　clear　that　the　book　was　written　many



generations　after　the　death　of　Joshua；　for　it　bears　witness　；there　was



never　any；　day　like　unto；　that　day；　either　before　or　after；　that　the　Lord



hearkened　to　the　voice　of　a　man；〃　&c。　（80）　If；　therefore；　Joshua　wrote　any



book　at　all；　it　was　that　which　is　quoted　in　the　work　now　before　us；



chap。　x：13。







（81）　With　regard　to　the　book　of　Judges；　I　suppose　no　rational　person



persuades　himself　that　it　was　written　by　the　actual　Judges。　（82）　For　the



conclusion　of　the　whole　history　contained　in　chap。　ii。　clearly　shows　that　it



is　all　the　work　…　of　a　single　historian。　（83）　Further；　inasmuch　as　the



writer　frequently　tells　us　that　there　was　then　no　king　in　Israel；　it　is



evident　that　the　book　was　written　after　the　establishment　of　the　monarchy。







（84）　The　books　of　Samuel　need　not　detain　us　long；　inasmuch　as　the　narrative



in　them　is　continued　long　after　Samuel's　death；　but　I　should　like　to　draw



attention　to　the　fact　that　it　was　written　many　generations　after　Samuel's



death。　（85）　For　in　book　i。　chap。　ix：9；　the　historian　remarks　in　a；



parenthesis；　〃Beforetime；　in　Israel；　when　a　man　went　to　inquire　of　God；　thus



he　spake：　Come；　and　let　us　go　to　the　seer；　for　he　that　is　now　called　a



prophet　was　beforetime　called　a　seer。〃







（86）　Lastly；　the　books　of　Kings；　as　we　gather　from　internal　evidence；　were



compiled　from　the　books　of　King　Solomon　（I　Kings　xi：41）；　from　the　chronicles



of　the　kings　of　Judah　（1　Kings　xiv：19；　29）；　and　the　chronicles　of　the　kings



of　Israel。







（87）　We　may；　therefore；　conclude　that　all　the　books　we　have　considered



hitherto　are　compilations；　and　that　the　events　therein　are　recorded　as



having　happened　in　old　time。　（88）　Now；　if　we　turn　our　attention　to　the



connection　and　argument　of　all　these　books；　we　shall　easily　see　that　they



were　all　written　by　a　single　historian；　who　wished　to　relate　the　antiquities



of　the　Jews　from　their　first　beginning　down　to　the　first　destruction　of　the



city。　（89）　The　way　in　which　the　several　books　are　connected　one　with　the



other　is　alone　enough　to　show　us　that　they　form　the　narrative　of　one　and　the



same　writer。　（90）　For　as　soon　as　he　has　related　the　life　of　Moses；　the



historian　thus　passes　on　to　the　story　of　Joshua：　〃And　it　came　to　pass　after



that　Moses