the prophets and their times

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Preface

The prophets are perennially interesting. They represent the religion of Israel at its best. They were the spokesmen of the progressive idealism of their day, the organs of a noble discontent with the established order, the heralds of a golden age.

_ New books on the prophets are always in order. Each generation needs their message. That message, however, is not easily comprehended in its fulness. The words of one age are not intelligible to the citizens of another, without interpretation. When to the difference in time and circumstance there is added a difference in race, language, and culture, the difficulty of understanding is greatly increased.

The purpose of this book is not to preach the message of the prophets to the men of today. It is rather to show as clearly as possible what the prophets were trying to

_do and say in their own generation. To this end a knowledge of the historical background of their work is necessary. The prophets were students of their times. They were vitally concerned in all that was going on in the political and the social world. They sought to guide the

_ course of events into the right channels. Hence no understanding of their work is possible apart from a knowledge of what was going on in the world about them. The more accurately the conditions amid which they worked are known the more complete will be our appreciation of their message.

The world of the prophets was always changing. New vu vill PREFACE forces and new personalities were constantly coming to the fore. Our knowledge of that world has been greatly enriched in recent decades by the discovery and decipherment of cuneiform and hieroglyphic records. Discoveries are always in progress. Each new find changes the situation for us, and makes necessary modifications in our interpretations. The recent reading of documents regarding the fall of Nineveh is a case in point. We not merely have to change the date of that event, but we must rewrite the history of the last decade of the Assyrian Empire. That involves changes in the reading of contemporary Hebrew history. Such things call for new books on prophecy.

In recent years the study of the prophets has concerned itself increasingly with the psychology of prophecy. That study is as yet in its infancy; but much may be expected of it. Some use has been made of that approach to the prophets in this book. Limitations of space and the necessarily somewhat precarious character of the results of much of that study thus far have precluded giving it larger recognition in this handbook. But careful work in that field will produce much fruit.

My obligations to the world of scholars, past and present, are too numerous to mention, but are none the less profoundly and gratefully realized. No one man is sufficient for these things. If this interpretation of the prophets has any special value, it is largely due to what has been learned from my predecessors. May the reader join me in a vote of thanks to them.

J. M. Powis SmitH UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO Christmas Eve, 1924

TABLE OF. CONTENTS

CHAPTER PAGE }. Pam SONS OF THE PROPHETS . . . . £4 « I

II. Propoetic LEADERS AND THE UNITED KINGDOM . 12

III. PROPHECY AND THE SYRIAN WARS. . . . . .~ 28 Pie MOSAMD HOSEA Fess. oe Sg te la OS 843

V. THe AssyRIAN PERIL: FRoM TIGLATH-PILESER TO SE CAE See ee i oe i 1s)

VI. THe AssyRIAN PERIL: FRoM SARGON TO SENNACH- VII. THe PROPHETS AND THE SCYTHIANS . . .-. . 106 Well Pe VENGEANCE AND FAITH © So. 6 es on «6122 IX. JEREMIAH AND THE FALL OF JERUSALEM . . . . 134 Mee Dei RATHER OF [UDAISM: 9% —g {fs a s2 a + \.EOE XI. Tue RIsE oF PERSIA AND THE UNKNOWN VOICE . 177 XII. PREMATURE Messianic Hopes. . . .. . . 192 Paliiewbar CRY FOR VENGEANCE... % 4s % + w 207 XIV. A Catt TO WORLD-WIDE SERVICE. . . . . . 220 XV. A New Ourpurst OF PROPHECY . ... . . 228 XVI. DANIEL AND THE MACCABEES . . ... . . 240 POMPEO GNCTUSION Sa 5) 84, ye et se ole SOE EE AtCle AD ET Vat Poel ee a Mare bu ® a etal a E205 er aN Bee gO ies Sill x) 5 Ne, so Ne 207 oo mh ; bes! ar bay , id ‘ 1 F 4 _ : , 7. .3 ‘ i oe eae , : ¢ a é : ‘ oi 4 Rage A ye ‘n 7 Te SiRUpIE y r r * . ; M4 « A i. fe Ts pei peal ak ei re iby 3)! : LTE ae al 7 ¢ , oh ie ! i | fee, | Terra § >. tet tao ele yey y iy : } OP. uae The, Com = , i Wy AY ae aa ' . Arr aka WY tae ac Le inayat 7 \ , . } a”

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Chapter I The Sons Of The Prophets

The term “sons of the prophets” is one easily misunderstood. In reality it implies nothing as to the family relationships of the prophets. It is an example of idiom occurring frequently in the Old Testament. When Noah is called “a son of five hundred years,’’’ we understand that he was five hundred years old; when Saul characterized David as “a son of death,’ he meant that David ought to be slain; and when the sage spoke of ‘‘the son of a fool,’’ he was not predicating the folly of the father, but rather that of the son. Similarly, the ‘“‘sons of God” in Gen. 6:2 are simply “divine beings,”’ beings possessing the characteristics or essence of divinity; even as “‘son of man” when applied to Ezekiel emphasizes his humanity in contrast to the deity of God who speaks to him. In like manner, “‘sons of the prophets” are persons endowed with the spirit of the prophets,‘ and not at all sons of prophets according tu the flesh. Thus the term “sons of the prophets” is used in the early literature to denote the body of prophets as a whole. When Amos said, “I am not a prophet, nor the son of a prophet,”s he was repudiating the entire prophetic movement of his day, with which he refused to be classified.

4Cf. “son of valour” in I Sam. 18:17, meaning “a valiant man”: and “son of worth” in I Kings 1:52, meaning “‘a worthy man.”

These sons of the prophets represent the earliest stage in the history of prophecy in Israel. They were a gregarious folk, living and working in groups or communities. When Saul left Samuel, after receiving the announcement of and anointing for his kingship, he met a company of the “sons of the prophets” on the road, prophesying as they went along;? when David fled from Saul to Naioth in Ramah, he found himself in the midst of a group of “sons of the prophets’’;? when Elisha helped one of the “sons of the prophets” who had lost a borrowed axe, a community of them was engaged in the task of enlarging the living quarters of the group;3 when Ahab sought the counsel of the prophets of Yahweh regarding his proposed campaign against Ramoth Gilead, they came together four hundred strong and spoke as one man;* when Elisha lost his leader, Elijah, he was supported by groups of the sons of the prophets at Bethel, at Jericho, and at Gilgal;s and when Jezebel was persecuting the prophets, Obadiah hid a hundred of them in caves.°

What constituted these men prophets? We are told that the prophet was in olden times called a “seer.’” That is the title given to Samuel and to Gad, one of David’s BUneetes and later wee to Pee in eee was said of Samuel, for example, “everything that he says tT Sam. 1o:5 ff. SIT Kings 2:3-18; 4:38 ff.; cf. 4:1 and 9:1. 27 Sam. 19:20, §J Kings 18:4. 3 JI Kings 6:1-7. 7I Sam. 9:9 (cf. vss. ro f., 18 f.). 41 Kings 22:6. 8 TI Sam. 24:11.

SONS OF THE PROPHETS 3 surely comes to pass.’”* When Ahab and Jehoshaphat desired to know in advance whether or not their campaign against Ramoth Gilead was to be successful, they called together the prophets of Yahweh and inquired of them. It is repeatedly stated of the leaders of Israel that they “enquired of Yahweh” before undertaking some enterprise or making some important decision. There were various ways of doing this, but the prophet’s oracle was one of the most important.

The same belief in the prophet as one who was in a certain measure in the confidence of Yahweh is reflected in the word “prophet” itself. This is a Greek word meaning “fone who speaks for, or on behalf of another.” It never conveys in and of itself the idea of foretelling or prediction. The Hebrew word for “prophet” is accurately translated by the Greek equivalent. The sense of the Hebrew word (ndv7’) is clearly brought out in two passages. In Exod. 4:10-16 we find Moses striving to escape the hard task to which Yahweh is calling him. His first excuse is that he is not skilled in public speech, and so is not fitted to be an ambassador to the pharaoh. Yahweh. assures him that he will go with him. “TI will be with thy mouth, and teach thee what thou shalt say.’”’ Moses is still unwilling; so Yahweh relieves him of the responsibility of speech, and tells him that Aaron his brother shall speak for him. The way in which he phrases this assurance is noticeable:

Is not Aaron the Levite thy brother? I know that he can speak well... .72)« And thou shalt speak unto him and put words in his mouth: and I will be with thy mouth and with his mouth and teach you what ye shall do. And he shall be thy spokesman unto the people; and he shall be to thee instead of a mouth and thou shalt be to him instead of God.

The same conception of the prophet appears in Exod. (ee

And Yahweh said to Moses, “See, I have made thee as God to Pharaoh; and Aaron thy brother shall be thy spokesman [Hebrew ndvt’, ‘prophet’]. Thou shalt speak all that I command thee; and Aaron thy brother shall speak unto Pharaoh.”

In the light of these and similar statements,’ it is quite clear that the prophet was looked upon as one who declared the will of Yahweh to the people.

The prophet, however, was not thought of as in a state of continual inspiration. His divine illumination all too often faded into the light of common day. He was thought of rather as one who was susceptible of impressions from the world of the unseen, and so constituted an easy channel of communication between two worlds. The coming of the ‘divine afflatus”’ upon the prophet was not subject to his own volition, but when it came he was a helpless victim of its power. The usual phrases indicative of the reception of the prophetic message are: ““The hand of Yahweh was upon,” or ‘‘came upon,” or “fell upon,” such and such a man;? and “the spirit of God came upon,” or “rested,” or “spake by,” or ‘fell upon,” the prophet. The descent of the “hand of Yahweh” or the

SONS OF THE PROPHETS 5

“spirit of Yahweh” upon a man or group of men transported them beyond the bounds of normal procedure. They were plunged into an ecstatic state in which they seemed to lose consciousness of the external world. When Saul upon his departure from Samuel met a company of prophets coming down from the high place and prophesying as they came along, he also was seized upon by the spirit of prophecy and was turned into another man, prophesying as the rest of the group were doing.? Later, when Saul and David had become estranged, Saul sent messengers to seize David at Naioth in Ramah; but the messengers found Samuel and a band of prophets prophesying around David, and they themselves were seized by the contagion of the prophetic spirit, and they too began to prophesy. This same experience befell two more bands of Saul’s messengers. Then Saul went himself in person; but the prophetic frenzy was no respecter of persons, and ' Saul found himself prophesying like the rest of the company. The description of his conduct on that occasion is significant because it tells not only what Saul did, but shows that his conduct was just like that of all the rest. “And he stripped off his clothes, and he also prophesied before Samuel and lay down naked all that day and all that night.’ These two cases and the story of the four hundred prophets in the days of Ahab seem to indicate something like mass prophecy in which what we call “mob psychology” played a large part. A similar ecstatic state seems to have overpowered Balaam when he was urged by Balak to curse Israel but could utter nothing but blessings:

The spirit of God came upon him. And he took up his parable and said:

“The saying of Balaam the son of Beor, And the saying of the man whose eye is opened; The saying of him who hears the words of God, Who sees the vision of the Almighty, Fallen down, yet with opened eyes.....

This same ecstatic condition is found elsewhere, as in the case of the unknown prophet of Byblos about 1100 B.c. who intervened in a state of frenzy in behalf of Wen- Amon, the Egyptian envoy to the court of Byblos.? The Mohammedan dervishes likewise are at times wrought up to a similar pitch of frenzied ecstasy. That this ecstatic state was characteristic of early prophecy is attested by the fact that the word for “prophesy” is used to describe the conduct of Saul after the “evil spirit from Yahweh” came upon him and transformed him into a lunatic; and by the further fact that the word for “prophesy” and that for “insane,” “crazy,” run parallel to each other in Jer. 29:26. When one of the sons of the prophets was commissioned by Elisha to go to Ramoth Gilead and anoint Jehu king of Israel, Jehu’s captains upon his return to their company wanted to know who the “mad fellow” was who had summoned him from the midst of their council of war.4 Still further, as in the case of the dervish, so in that of the prophet, this state of prophetic ecstasy could be self-induced. Upon a critical occasion, when Jehoram, of Israel, and Jehoshaphat, of Judah, were in great need of divine help, they applied to Elisha for

2See my The Prophet and His Problems (1914), pp. 12 ff.

SONS OF THE PROPHETS 7 his prophetic aid. Elisha protested, but finally yielded to their wish, saying: ‘‘ ‘But now, bring me a minstrel.’ And it came to pass that when the minstrel played the hand of Yahweh came upon him [viz., Elisha], and he said, ‘Thus says Yahweh.’’* That prophecy waited upon music, at least at times, is also seen from the fact that the company of prophets whom Saul met coming down from the high place was equipped with “a psaltery, and a timbrel, and a pipe, and a harp,” to the strains of which they were prophesying.”

These early prophets were recognizable not only by their strange conduct, but also by certain external signs. Their manner of life in general was, at least in some cases, patterned after the nomad’s way of living. Elijah was a typical nomad, living in seclusion on the margin of the desert and flitting from place to place with uncanny speed. His later reincarnation, John the Baptist, who perhaps modeled his way of living after the traditional conception of Elijah, “chad his raiment of camel’s hair, and a leathern girdle about his loins; and his meat was locusts and wild honey.’4 It seems practically certain that the early pro- | fessional prophets were marked or branded in some way so as to indicate their calling to the eye. In I Kings 20:35-43 one of the “sons of the prophets” is represented as having disguised himself in order to entrap Abab into self-condemnation. When Ahab had put himself upon record, the prophet removed “the headband away from his eyes, and the king of Israel discerned that he was of the prophets.”

3 For the standards of life cherished by the nomads, see the story of the Rechabites in Jer. 35:1-11.

The king did not apparently recognize his person, but only his class. The headband thus would seem to have covered up some brand upon the forehead or some peculiar tonsure that characterized prophets as such. The prevalence of the use of such marks by the prophets is attested by Zech. 13: 4-6, where false prophets are charged with wearing ‘‘a hairy mantle to deceive” and with branding their hands in some way characteristic of the prophets.

How did these prophets obtain their living? It is quite evident that they expected pay for their services, and were in the habit of receiving it. When Saul’s servant proposed that Samuel, the seer, should be consulted with reference to the finding of the lost asses, Saul made objection on the ground that they had nothing with which to reward the seer for his services:

Saul said to his servant, “But behold, if we go, what shall we bring the man? for the bread is spent in our vessels, and there is no present to bring to the man of God. What have wer” And the servant answered Saul again and said, “‘Behold, I have here at hand the fourth part of a shekel of silver: that will I give to the man of God to tell us our way.”

The small amount of the proposed gift? is significant of the value placed upon the seer’s service. In like manner, when Jeroboam’s son fell ill, the king sent his wife to consult Ahijah, the prophet, regarding the outcome of the sickness, and he instructed her to take with her as a gift to the prophet “ten loaves, and biscuits, and a cruse of honey.”? When the king of Syria wished to know through Elisha how his own sickness was to terminate, he, too, tI Sam. 9:7, 8. A quarter of a shekel was worth about 15 cents; but its purchasing power today is far less than it was in ancient times.

2J Kings 14:3.

SONS OF THE PROPHETS 9 sent a messenger with a present to the prophet; but it was a present worthy of a king.’ Elisha steadfastly refused reward when Naaman, the Syrian, wished to show gratitude for his healing from leprosy, though Gehazi, Elisha’s servant, was not so self-denying.? The general opinion of the times with reference to the prophets’ desire for money is vividly illustrated by the story in Amos 7:10-17. When Amos announced the approaching downfall of the house of Jeroboam, the chief priest at Bethel sent word to the king charging Amos with conspiracy against him, and then suggested in insinuating and insulting language that Amos go back home to Judah, where such preaching would be heartily welcomed and be richly rewarded, for disaster threatening Israel would be good news in Judah. This stirred Amos to a denial of any connection between himself and the professional prophets of his day. They might be, and doubtless were, actuated by self-seeking motives, but he was driven to his work by the power of the spirit of Yahweh.

As we look back upon the facts here gathered regarding the prophetic movement in early Israel, we cannot: escape the conviction that these forerunners of the great prophets were to a great extent like prophets and seers in non-Hebraic countries. There is the same ecstatic frenzy, the same type of soothsaying, or foretelling, and the same tendency to commercialize their calling. No historical movement, however, is to be judged by its mere beginnings, but rather by its outcome. What did it ultimately

contribute to human betterment? Prophecy may safely

TIT Kings 8:7-9.

3 See The Prophet and His Problems (1914), pp. 3-35.

ste) THE PROPHETS AND THEIR TIMES permit itself to be estimated by the same standard. The prophecy of early Israel met the needs of its day; that age was not yet ready for anything more exalted. This early prophetic movement already revealed some characteristics that were to mark the entire history of prophecy. It represented the conviction that the course of history was in the hand of God, who had a purpose and plan for his people. It believed that this divine plan was from time to time revealed step by step to certain men who were in the confidence of God. It, therefore, sought with all its power to lead the people and the leaders to follow in the path indicated by the prophets. Prophecy’s predominant interest from the start was in the progress of the community or nation, rather than in that of the individual. Individuals were of significance only in so far as they vitally affected the life of the people as a whole. It is noteworthy how many times in early Israel prophecy is brought into connection with events and persons of national significance. The first reference to the prophetic movement in its organized form speaks of the company of the prophets as coming down from the “hill of God” where there was “‘a garrison of the Philistines.’’* It is not, perhaps, assuming too much to suppose that their prophesying at that particular time was closely connected with the presence of the hated invaders. The prophets were keenly interested in the varying fortunes of the early monarchy, and did not shrink from engaging actively in political affairs, helping to make and unmake kings as circumstances required.

bd and Micaiah ben Imlah, all recall scenes in whichmational

SONS OF THE PROPHETS Ue pile EES ARNEL and if these great leaders were engaged in political activities, it is evident that the mass of their prophetic followers would be at least interested in similar matters. In the times of Saul and Ahab, at any rate, the masses of the prophetic movement were involved in the political situation.

There is no sharp break between the early prophets and the great prophets of later times. The transition from early prophecy to later was a process of normal, natural growth. The prophets grew with the nation. As the nation was more and more drawn into the whirl of international politics, the outlook of the prophets widened and their faith deepened; but they retained the fundamental characteristics of prophecy to the very end. It is commonly thought that the later prophets were distinguished from the primitive prophets by the fact that they no longer were subject to ecstatic seizure, and consequently their message was less inspirational and more rational. But more recent studies of the psychology of prophecy are discovering the fact that the ecstatic and mystical element was more or less characteristic of prophecy to the very end.* The prophets felt themselves to be in a very real sense partners with Yahweh in his great work, and they expected to hear his voice of inspiration and instruction; and they heard it.

t See, e.g., J. Skinner, Religion and Prophecy (1922), pp. 3 ff.; H. W.

_ Hines, “The Prophet as Mystic,” American Journal of Semitic Languages and Literatures, XL (1923), 37-71; T. H. Robinson, Prophecy and the Prophets (1923), pp. 147 f.

Chapter II Prophetic Leaders And The United Kingdom

In this chapter, we shall consider the work of four prominent prophets whose activity fell in the years of the united kingdom and in the period of preparation for it. These leaders were individuals who worked in more or less close co-operation with the great company of the sons of the prophets, but by their individual initiative and force took an outstanding position among their fellows, and so left their names permanently impressed upon the memory of their people.

The first of these was a woman, Deborah, Lapidoth,' one of the few women to function as a religious leader in Israel.? Her lot was cast in troublous times. The nomadic Hebrews had come in from the dest Judg. 4:4.

2 The title “prophetess” is applied elsewhere to the following women only: Miriam (Exod. 15:20), the wife of Isaiah (Isa. 8:3), Huldah (II Kings 22:14), and Noadiah (Neh. 6:14).

3 The story of her influence is contained in Judges, chaps. 4 and 5. The fifth chapter is generally regarded as one of the earliest documents preserved in the Old Testament. It is a paean of triumph over the defeat of the embattled Canaanites at the hands of the people of Israel. It is great poetry and invaluable for history. The fourth chapter of Judges is a prose narrative, dealing, at least in part, with the same situation as that celebrated in chap. 5. But it is of later origin, and is apparently a composite narrative. The differences between chaps. 4 and 5 are most naturally accounted for on that basis. In chap. 4, the leader of the Canaanites is Jabin, king of Canaan, while Sisera is his commander-in- | chief; but in chap. 5 Sisera is evidently presented as king in his own right and Jabin is not mentioned. As a matter of fact, there never was such ert regions in such numbers and had taken possession of so much Canaanitish territory that they were fast becoming a menace to the Canaanites. The Canaanites were therefore restricting their expansion and pressing them hard, striving to render them impotent. At this juncture Deborah took action. She was evidently a well-known woman. She was in the habit of seating herself beneath a tree and there announcing oracles upon all sorts of questions brought to her for answer.” Her ability in such matters had obtained for her great prestige throughout the surrounding country. As she saw the pitiable plight to which her people were being reduced, she resolved to risk all upon a great move.

She therefore selected the best available leader, Barak, the son of Abinoam, from Kedesh- Naphtali, and commissioned him in the name of Yahweh to raise a force and strike for freedom. The confidence unity in Canaan as to make a “king of Canaan” a possibility in pre- Israelite Canaan. In chap. 4 all the tribes around the plain of Esdraelon are represented as engaged in the conflict, while in chap. 5 only Zebulon and Naphtali participate. In chap. 5 Sisera receives his deathblow while awake and standing up, but in chap. 4 he is slain while lying down asleep. According to chap. 5, the battle was fought in the plain of Esdrae- Jon, near Taanach and Megiddo, and on the banks of the river Kishon (Judg. 5:19-21); but chap. 4 places the struggle at the foot of Mount Tabor (Judg. 4:12-14), 15-20 miles farther north and east as the bird flies. From facts such as these it is generally concluded not only that the prose story has received some later editorial touching up, but also that the narrative is the result of the mixture and confusion of two separate accounts. One of these was apparently a record of the battle also recorded in Josh. rr:1-15, where Jabin again appears as the leader of the Canaanites. The other was a later narrative of the struggle recounted in chap. 5. The situation out of which the song of Deborah arose is quite clear. For further discussion of this question see the commentaries on Judges, by George F. Moore (1895), G. A. Cooke (1913), E. L. Curtis (1913), and C. F. Burney (1918).

placed by Barak in Deborah as the representative and mouthpiece of Yahweh was shared by the people at large, and in the power of the faith in Yahweh which she inspired a decisive defeat was inflicted upon the Canaanites. The fact that the Kishon overflowed its banks at this very time and helped the Israelites rout the foe made the defeat more complete, and gave the Israelites renewed assurance that they were acting in line with the will of Yahweh ae ney ee was Co- Ree with them.

AZ saw that it: was time to act, cra che cee ahr right leader for the action, and that she stimulated the faith and courage of Israel to the winning-point. She created the morale needed for the situation. That hers was no easy task is quite evident. The song not only sounds the praises of the loyal Israelites who risked their lives and property by joining in the effort for freedom, but it also calls down curses upon those who should have responded to the call for aid but did not. Some of the recalcitrants were in a position to realize the situation vividly and to reap richly of the fruits of the victory; but they were cowards. Reuben, Gilead, Dan, and Asher are chided for their indifference and failure to co-operate, but against Meroz the poet’s wrath blazes forth fiercely, for Meroz was right in the heart of the oppressed region and had much to gain; but nothing moved Meroz to action:

“Curse ye Meroz,” said the angel of Yahweh,

“Curse ye bitterly the inhabitants thereof,

Because they came not to the help of Yahweh, To the help of Yahweh against the mighty.” The struggle represented a movement for political in-

dependence, a desire for economic liberty to expand, and a confidence in Yahweh as willing and able to obtain for his people all that they needed and desired. Deborah stood forth as the embodiment of both patriotism and religion. The victory seems to have dealt the deathblow to the political life of the Canaanites. There were no further attempts to oust Israel.