ISRAEL'S EARLY SOCIAL PRINCIPLES 25 the public interests. In other words, the ultimate source of all political authority rests with the people, and the safeguarding of their welfare and interests is the primary aim of all government. It is evident that not ancient Hellas but Palestine was the original home of true democracy. III THE SOCIAL TEACHINGS OF THE EARLY PROPHETIC STORY-TELLERS The Social Aim in Israel's Early Epic Narratives. The greatness and the zeal of Israel's early prophetic teachers are shown by the variety of the methods which they employed to impress their social ideals upon their race. Prophets like Ahijah and Elisha depended chiefly upon practical diplomacy. Some encouraged the people to embody their social ideals in definite laws. Others, like Isaiah and Jeremiah, reared up disciples who treasured their teachings and interpreted them to the people. In the days following Elijah there also arose, both in Northern Israel and in Judah, groups of prophets who utilised the stories that had come down by word of mouth from Israel's early past to illustrate the important social principles which they wished to make clear to their contemporaries. The advantages of this form of teaching are obvious. It at once attracts and holds the attention of the young as well as the old. The teachings are conveyed so interestingly and indirectly that all opposition is disarmed. Associated as they are with the popular heroes of the race, the principles thus concretely presented were readily and unconsciously accepted. Their epic character lends to them an irresistible charm. It is unimportant whether or not they are all exactly historical. They are true to life, and that is the chief essential from the social teacher's point of view. As types of real life, the hero stories of Genesis possess a universal quality which is lacking in many of the more distinctly historical narratives of the Old Testament. Exodus and the succeeding historical books illustrate the broad political and economic principles that govern the nation and the larger social groups, while the stories of Genesis THE EARLY EPIC NARRATIVES 27 set forth social principles for the guidance of the individual in the home, in his relation to his neighbours, and in his attitude toward God. Hence these vivid narratives richly supplement the other social teachings of the prophets. In point of view as well as literary form they are closely related to the marvellous short stories with which Jesus illustrated his most important social teachings. The Divine Ideal for Human Society. The early Judean prophetic narrative in the Old Testament opens with the second half of the fourth verse of the second chapter of Genesis. The background of the story is the old Semitic tradition of the creation. In the Babylonian version the god Marduk created men that they might build temples for the abode of the gods; but the Hebrew prophetic version of the story interprets the divine purpose back of creation very differently. It is that man may have all that is essential for his best physical, moral, and social development. The God of the prophets was not so jealous of his prerogatives as he was eager to help man to attain his highest good. In the naïve symbolism of the ancient story the tree of the knowledge of good and evil presents the temptation that is absolutely necessary if man is to develop moral strength (Gen. 28, 9, 16, 17): And Jehovah planted a garden in Eden far in the East, and placed there the man whom he had formed. And out of the ground Jehovah made to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food, the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. And Jehovah commanded the man, saying, 'Of every tree of the garden thou mayest eat freely, except of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil; from it thou shalt not eat, for in the day that thou eatest of it thou shalt surely die.' The Ultimate Basis of the Family. In the next section the prophet suggests the ultimate basis of the family relation. God is represented as experimenting. The experiment proved that for man's greatest happiness and fullest development he requires the companionship of his fellows and, above all, the intimate friendship and love of one of the opposite sex. Hence the family is the corner-stone of that perfect society which the Creator aims to establish in order that man's happiness and culture may be complete (Gen. 218-24): Then said Jehovah, 'It is not good for the man to be alone; I will make a helper suited to him.' Therefore out of the ground Jehovah formed all the beasts of the field and all the birds of the heavens, and brought them to the man to see what he would call them; and whatever the man called each living creature that was its name. Thus the man gave names to all cattle and all the beasts of the field; but for the man himself there was found no helper suited to him. Then Jehovah caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, s0 that he slept. And he took one of his ribs, and closed up its place with flesh. But the rib, which he had taken from the man, Jehovah fashioned into a woman and brought her to the man. Then said the man, "This, now, is bone of my bone And flesh of my flesh.' Therefore a man leaves father and mother and cleaves to his wife, so that they two become one flesh. The primitive tradition regarding the method of woman's creation may be rejected in the light of later scientific discovery; but here is the oldest and simplest and in its ultimate implications the most satisfactory statement of the theory underlying the institution of marriage ever set forth. It teaches that marriage is based upon the innate biological and social characteristics and needs of man and woman. It is, therefore, not only a human convention but also a divinely established institution. Hence, a man's obligation to remain with and true to his wife is more sacred and binding than even the great debt he owes to his parents. The Unsocial Character and Effects of Sin. The primary aim of the prophetic story of the temptation is to illustrate the origin, nature, and effects of sin. With remarkable skill the early prophet presents his teachings. The dialogue with UNSOCIAL CHARACTER OF SIN 29 the serpent brings out the struggle in the mind of the woman and the fact that she was fully conscious of the higher promptings of gratitude and loyalty (Gen. 31b-5): And the serpent said to the woman, 'Hath God really said, "Ye shall not eat from any tree of the garden?" The woman replied to the serpent, 'From the fruit of all the trees of the garden we may eat; only of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, "Ye shall not eat from it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die." Then the serpent said to the woman, 'You shall not surely die; for God knoweth that in the day you eat of it your eyes shall be opened, and you shall be like gods, knowing good and evil.' Deep down in her consciousness she knew that only by obedience and loyalty to her divine Friend could she best realise her highest possibilities. She sinned not because the serpent tempted her but because she yielded to the lower or more individualistic impulses: physical appetite, love of the beautiful, and the desire for knowledge. The prophet makes this point very clear (Gen. 3°): Now when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and attractive to the sight, and desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and gave also to her husband with her and he ate. None of the impulses which determined the woman's act were bad in themselves. The man also was influenced by his love and loyalty toward his wife. She had eaten of the fruit; should he stand apart and leave her to share her fate alone? Milton has well interpreted his feeling: From thy state Mine never shall be parted, The impulse to which he yielded was not base in itself. Each sinned because he did not respond to the higher impulse to be |