part of the sufferer. Against this belief the author voices his passionate protest. The mystery of suffering is not solved by the book, yet the reader is convinced, as was Job, of the insufficiency of human wisdom to fathom the ways of Providence, and should be satisfied, as was Job, to trust the justice and kindness of Him who created the wonderful beauty and harmony of the universe.

In structure the poem may be classed as dramatic, though the action is chiefly in Job's own soul. The date of the book is about B. C. 400.

The book of Proverbs.-This book, which reached its present form about B. C. 300, is the simplest expression of the wisdom of the Sages, and consists of several collections of aphorisms, or wise sayings. Tradition attributed it to Solomon, but it is the work of many Hebrew sages, probably extending over a period of nearly a thousand years. The subject of the book may be said to be Wisdom, and the object to show how a happy and prosperous life may be secured. We do not find in the book of Proverbs the spiritual insight and the passion for righteousness that so move us in the works of the prophets, and many of the maxims are frankly utilitarian. Yet it must be said that the authors do apply religious principles to the ordinary affairs of everyday life, and the book is a wholesome and helpful one.

The book of Ecclesiastes. In this book the author endeavored to "see what it was good for the sons of men to do under heaven all the days of their life"; that is, he sought to know what it is that gives most satisfaction in life. He assumes the character of King Solomon because of his reputed riches, power, and wisdom, and describes how he sought satisfaction under

many forms, only to find that "all is vanity and a striving after wind." The book has a reputation for pessimism which is hardly deserved. The author is oppressed by the circumstances of his day, and gropes vainly for light. Yet he preaches the sturdy doctrine that even if life's mysteries are insoluble, and the crooked cannot be made straight, one need not despair, but may and should find happiness in labor and in all the good that comes to his hand.

The date of the book is about B. C. 200, a time of unusual depression for the Jewish nation, shortly before the persecutions of Antiochus Epiphanes. One of the chief values of the book is that it shows as does nothing else in the Old Testament how deeply a suffering and discouraged world had need of the coming of Christ.

Hebrew literature a development. In our study we have seen the beginnings of the Hebrew religion, when it partook of the crudities and superstitions of the surrounding tribes. We have watched its slow but sure growth upward, the ever-widening vision of God, and the constantly deepening conception of moral obligation. It is a long step from the immature morality of the book of Judges to the spiritual exaltation of the book of Job and the loftiest of the psalms; but it is only when we understand both that we can appreciate the marvelous spiritual achievements of the Hebrew race.

NOTE.-These books are especially recommended:

C. F. Kent, Songs, Hymns and Prayers of the Old Testament.
R. G. Moulton, The Literary Study of the Bible.

A. R. Gordon, The Poetry of the Old Testament.

J. F. Genung, The Hebrew Literature of Wisdom; The Epic of the Inner Life (a commentary on Job).

W. T. Davison, The Praises of Israel (a commentary on the Psalms). E. H. Plumptre, "Ecclesiastes," in The Cambridge Bible.

G. Currie Martin, "Proverbs," "Ecclesiastes" and "The Song of Songs," in The New Century Bible.

CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE

(The dates that are wholly conjec ural and those concerning which there is considerable difference in opinion are marked “c.")

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Books recommended for supplementary reading are divided into two groups, the first group containing those regarded as most essential.

GROUP I

Hastings's Dictionary of the Bible, one-volume edition.

Peake's Commentary on the Bible.

The Historical Geography of the Holy Land, George Adam Smith. Atlas of the Historical Geography of the Holy Land, George Adam Smith.

The Orient in Bible Times, Elihu Grant.

The Heroes and Crises of Early Hebrew History, Founders and Rulers of United Israel, The Kings and Prophets of Israel and Judah, The Makers and Teachers of Judaism, Charles Foster Kent. Introduction to the Old Testament, J. E. McFadyen.

The Prophets of Israel, Carl Cornill.

GROUP II

A Short History of the Hebrews, R. L. Ottley.
History of the Hebrews, Frank K. Sanders.

Old Testament History, Ismar J. Peritz.

History of the Hebrew Commonwealth, Bailey and Kent.
History of the People of Israel, Carl Cornill.

A History of the Hebrew People, Charles Foster Kent (2 vols.).

A History of the Jewish People (Babylonian, Persian and Greek periods), Charles Foster Kent.

A History of the Jewish People (Maccabæan and Roman periods), James S. Riggs.

The Jewish War, Flavius Josephus.

Jerusalem under the High Priests, Edwyn Bevan.

The Literature of the Old Testament, George Foot Moore.

The Literary Study of the Bible, R. G. Moulton.

The Book of the Twelve Prophets, George Adam Smith (2 vols.).

The Social Teachings of the Prophets and Jesus, Charles Foster Kent. Greater Men and Women of the Bible, James Hastings.

The Religion of Israel, George A. Barton.

The Ethics of the Old Testament, Hinckley G. Mitchell.

Religious Development between the Old and New Testaments, R. H.
Charles.

Archæology and the Bible (third edition), George A. Barton.
A History of the Ancient Egyptians, J. H. Breasted.

Ancient Times, J. H. Breasted.