THE AUTHOR OF ESTHER.

61

they were remarkably careful to preserve their sacred writings, and jealous of any change or interpolation, the presumption is very strong in favor of the authenticity of this book. The ancient Jews were made the keepers of the Oracles of God, and if they had not been true to this trust, our Lord and his apostles would certainly have charged them with neglect or corruption. But this they did not do. Our Lord reproved them for misinterpreting and for rendering of none effect the commandments of God by their traditions, but never with having been unfaithful in preserving the sacred text.

There is some difference of opinion, both among ancient and modern writers, as to the author of the Megilloth Esther. A majority, both of Hebrew and Christian interpreters, both ancient and modern, ascribe it to Mordecai. The Rabbins generally, and Clemens of Alexandria, tell us that Mordecai was its author. Some say it was composed by the great Synagogue. Others have attributed it to the high priest Joachim. This was the opinion of Philo, the Jew. Augustine thinks it was written by Ezra.* A few think that ix: 20, 23, prove it to have been the joint composition of Esther. and Mordecai; but this reference is not conclusive proof of this, for the passage seems to speak, not of this memoir or history of Esther, but of the circular letters that were sent throughout the empire, or, at least, of them chiefly.

Some Christian writers have doubted its claim to a place among canonical Scriptures; but their objections do not merit a labored reply. It may be true there is no prophecy in this book—that it is not quoted in the

*De Civ. Dei., lib. xviii: C. 36.

L

New Testament-that there is no mention in it of any of the names or attributes of Jehovah, nor even of prayer or sacrifices to Him. But the singular fact that the name of God does not occur in the book, does not seem to me to have authorized some of the fathers to reject it from the canon. It is certainly one of the most striking illustrations of a superintending Providence to be found in any of the sacred narratives. And may not this omission have been designed? Perhaps the purpose was to prove to the Gentiles the fact that the God of the Jews was the Supreme Ruler of the universe, without exciting their prejudices by making a display of His name. The narrative tells its own story, and carries with it its own evidences. It implies clearly and necessarily the existence and presence of the God of Abraham. The Hebrews have never denied its authenticity. They esteem it everywhere, I believe, even to this day, as one of the best of their holy writings. They call it, by way of eminence, Megillah that is, THE VOLUME. And some of them believe that whatever destruction may attend their other sacred writings, that the Pentatuch and the Megilloth .. Esther will always be preserved by a special Providence. They have always placed it on a level with the law of Moses. The Jewish celebration of Purim, to commemorate their deliverance from the massacre intended for them by Haman, historically proven to have had its rise at that time; and its observance, from that time to the present day, by the Jews in every part of the world, is one of the simplest and strongest proofs that can be given of the truthfulness of its historical statements.

It were certainly difficult to show how a national fes

THE APOCRYPHAL BOOKS.

63

tival like Purim could have arisen, if it does not perpetuate a reality. Historically, we have just as much proof of the truth of the history of the Book of Esther, as we have of the truth of the subject-matters commemorated in the anniversary of the American Declaration of Independence. There is nothing in the history itself that shows it to be a fiction, or a mere invention of a novel writer. Queen Esther's history is an oriental romance, and yet it is a literal truthful history.

And as Mordecai was a man of God, and a principal actor in the history which this book records, and in every way a fit person to write it, I see no reason to hesitate in ascribing it to his pen. It may have been revised by Ezra. The six additional chapters found in the Vulgate, and received as canonical by the Greek and Latin churches, are not extant in Hebrew, nor do they contain internal evidence of authenticity, and consequently they are not received by Protestants as a part of the sacred canon. They seem to have been compiled by Hellenistic Jews, and are to be considered of no more value or authority than so many pages of Philo Judæus or Josephus. The Apocryphal books, though not admitted by us to a place among the Holy writings which we believe were given by Divine Inspiration, are nevertheless worthy of our attention. They are generally supposed to be the productions of Alexandrian Jews. As ancient Jewish documents before the coming of Christ, as a collection of traditions or fragments of history, and of lessons on prudence and morality, and sometimes of piety, they "are all curious, and some of them extremely valuable." They are particularly useful as helps to elucidate the phraseology of the New Testament.

But may we rely on the facts stated in the Megilloth Esther? And are we able to understand it? Is it an intelligible history? Happily for us, we have various independent and numerous sources from whence to draw materials by which to satisfy ourselves that the Megilloth Esther is a true narrative, and by which to show that it is intelligible to us. In the first place, we have the ancient versions. It is not necessary here to describe at length the ancient versions that have been made of the Holy Scriptures, but as our pages are not designed for learned or professional readers, it seems to be necessary to give a brief notice of those versions that are referred to in this work for illustrations and proofs of the narrative. The chief versions to which we refer, are the Septuagint, Vulgate, Chaldee Versions, or Targums, and the Talmud.

After the Hebrew ceased to be a living tongue, and especially after the spread of Christianity, both Jews and Christians desired translations of the Hebrew Scriptures into the prevailing languages, and these translations, of course, soon assumed the place of the original Hebrew text. Some of these versions were made directly from the Hebrew, others were versions from versions. Thus the Septuagint or Alexandrine version was made directly from the Hebrew text; but the Latin Christians made their version from the Septuagint, and, in the fourth century, that was superseded by the Vulgate, which is Jerome's version of the Septuagint using the Itala as the basis.

The Septuagint is the work of some seventy learned Jews, who, by order of Ptolemy Philadelphus, about 280 B. C., translated the Hebrew, from the best man

THE OLD VERSIONS.

65

uscript text that could be obtained, into the Greek and adding some from Greek manuscripts not found in Hebrew. The immediate object is said to have been to obtain a good copy of the writings of Moses, for the celebrated Alexandrine Library.

The Latin Bible, known as the Vulgate, is so called, because it was made from the Greek, which was then the vulgata, common or popular tongue. The Vulgate was the first book ever printed, and, by the decree of the Council of Trent, in 1545, if I am not mistaken, is the authorized standard version of the Catholic Church. The first copy with a date was printed at Mayence, 1462.

The Targums, or Chaldee versions, are allowed to be the works of Hebrews, living in the Holy Land and in Babylon, at different times, from about 150 years before Christ to the eighth or ninth century of our era. The name Targum is from the Chaldee, to translate, and means translation. They are sometimes, however, but improperly, called paraphrases, for there is nothing about them paraphrastic. Some of our Lord's quotations from the Holy Scriptures seem to have been made from the Chaldee. The more ancient Targums are among the best translations that have been made. The latter are not of so much value. There are eleven of them in all, the chief of which are, the Targum of Onkelos, of Jonathan, of Pseudo Jonathan, and of Jerusalem.

The Talmud is a Hebrew work, containing the doctrines, religion and morality of the Jews. Its authority among them is equal to or greater than the Hebrew Scriptures. The name is from lamad, to teach, and