The History of the Old Testament.

Where, then, did the Bible come from? For the Old Testament we are of course indebted to the Jews. But it is all-important to remember that it contains only the wreck or re-construction of a literature. The Jews, however much they may have been "the chosen people," and whatever their privileges may have been as the custodians of "the oracles of God," were scattered and crushed by surrounding peoples, and altar and home were alike desecrated and laid waste: and it was only after their return home from miserable and desolating captivity that they began to gather up the mangled memorials of better days. This being the case, it is obviously very difficult to say, when, how, and by whom the various books contained in what is now known as the Old Testament were written and brought together. Only one thing is certain;—that the Old Testament, as we have it now, had no existence 500 years before Christ. It was probably Ezra (B C. 450)who first attempted to found a canon of Scripture; and the Bible he put together, or sanctioned, included only the first five books, and even these ho produced only by allowing to himself all the rights or privileges page 10 of a compiler and editor. A singular proof of this is found in the fact that the Samaritan canon includes only the Pentateuch that being the only canon in existence when the Samaritans quarrelled with the Jews; and their antagonism kept them from adding the books that were afterwards included.

It is thought that Nehemiah, a few years later, made or ordered the next great addition to the canon; adding Kings, Samuel, most of the Prophets, some of the Psalms, and other books. This brings us to within 400 years before Christ.

A third addition was made still later, including some of the Psalms, Job, Proverbs, the Song of Solomon, Chronicles, and Daniel. This brings us to 150 years before Christ. But even in the days of Christ himself the canon of the Old Testament was not considered absolutely closed; and for 100 years after Christ the book of Ecclesiastes, the Song of Solomon, and other writings were only doubtfully retained by the Jews. So that, in truth, the Jews knew nothing of an Old Testament, believed to be perfect from the beginning, verbally inspired and unimproveable.

A Greek translation of the Old Testament called the Septuagint, made or begun about 200 years before Christ, contained many books not reckoned by the Jews. It was this translation that was best known to writers of the New Testament, and to the early Christians writers.