The Biblical Commission answered the following question in the affirmative, subject to the Church's decision: 3 "Can it be admitted without in any way prejudicing the Mosaic authorship that in the course of time certain modifications may have found their way into the Pentateuch, as for example, additions made--subsequent to the death of Moses--by an inspired writer; glosses or explanations of the text; modifications of archaic words and forms? Can we admit also textual corruptions due to careless copying, and only to be detected by the application of the principles of the textual criticism?" Veracity of the Author of the Pentateuch No one can reasonably doubt the sincerity and honesty of Moses. He left a palatial home to champion the cause of a despised and hated people who, at the beginning, refused to acknowledge that he was sent by God to lead them through the wilderness to a Promised Land. After he convinced them of his divine mission by prophecies and miracles he endured their murmurs, revolts and wickedness for forty years in an open country where he and his people suffered all the hardships of life in camp. He was an eyewitness to the facts he relates in the Pentateuch and so were the people. Other events which he describes and to which he was not an eyewitness were well known to all the people by a constant tradition. We have from Moses an account of the early history of the Jews which possesses the highest degree of historical credibility at least as regards the events of the last four books of the Pentateuch. We have from them the direct witness of a contemporary writer--not a spectator or an actor but the leader 3. Hugh Pope, O.P., The Catholic Student's "Aids" to the Bible, (Old Testament), p. 178; Benziger Brothers. in the events which he relates--honest evidently, for he records his own sins and defects, and the transgressions and sufferings of his people; and honest necessarily, for he writes of events which were public and known to all. We have a work which, by the laws of historical criticism, is just as reliable as Caesar's Commentaries or Xenophon's Retreat of the Ten Thousand. We have that rare literary treasure, the autobiography of a great man, engaged in great events, the head of his nation at a most critical period in its history; who commits to writing the various events and transactions in which he is engaged as they occur, wherever they have a national or a public character. The narrative in the first book of the Pentateuch, Genesis, is undoubtedly on a different footing than that of the last four books. Even here where Moses relates events of which he was not an eyewitness, his account possesses the highest degree of historical credibility. If it be granted, as it is generally done, that the great and stirring events in a nation's life will, under ordinary circumstances be remembered, neglecting all written memorials, for at least five generations, the account which Moses gives of the temptation and fall of Adam and Eve is to be relied on. Adam, according to the Hebrew text, was for two hundred and forty-three years contemporary with Methuselah, who conversed for one hundred years with Sem. Sem was for fifty years contemporary with Jacob, who probably saw Jochebed, Moses' mother. Thus Moses might, by mere oral tradition, have obtained the history of Abraham, and even of the Deluge, at third hand; and that of the Temptation and the Fall, at fifth hand. The patriarchal longevity had the effect of reducing centuries to little more than decades so far as the safe transmission of historical events was concerned; for this does not depend either upon years or upon generations, but upon the number of links in the chain through which the transmittal takes place. The account which Moses gives in the Book of Genesis passed through no more than four hands between him and Adam. The argument is, of course, stronger for the more recent events, since they would have passed through fewer hands than the earlier. We have been assuming that the sole source from which Moses composed the Book of Genesis was oral tradition. However, it is highly probable that he also made use of documents, records of former ages and monuments, which had descended from the families of the patriarchs and by collecting, arranging, adorning, and, where they were deficient, completing them in composing his history. This view is generally accepted by students of the Bible. The only reliable materials that we possess, besides the Pentateuch, for the history of the period which it embraces, consist of some fragments of Berosus and Manetho, a certain number of Egyptian and Babylonian inscriptions, and two or three valuable papyri. The value of the histories written by Manetho, a Sebennyte, and Berosus, a Chaldean, is beyond doubt. They had free access to the national records and so drew their histories from the fountain head. This advantage might have been forfeited by a deficiency on their part of either honesty or diligence. However, during the past hundred years, the monuments uncovered furnish proof of their honesty and their carefulness. The student is recommended to read "Historical Evidences of the Truth of the Sacred Records" by Rawlinson for a complete study of how the facts and events recorded by Moses in the Pentateuch receive complete verification in every detail in the writings of these ancient historians and in the discoveries of modern archaeologists. Consequently, from the above considerations, we must accept as true all the events related by Moses in the Pentateuch and completely accepted by the Jews as absolutely accurate. Some few things which he revealed to them as coming from God and to which they were not personal witnesses he confirmed by prophecies and miracles. For example, the miracles he wrought when he led them from the land of the Egyptians to the desert proved he was sent by God to be their leader. Hence, we must accept as trustworthy and authentic the contents of the Pentateuch. Similarly, it is possible to prove the authenticity, integrity and veracity of all the other books of the Old Testament. I suggest for further reading and more satisfactory proofs of the historical credibility of the Bible the "Practical Handbook for the Study of the Bible" by Seisenberger; and the "Catholic Students 'Aids' to the Bible" by Pope and numerous articles in the Catholic Encyclopedia. The first five books of the Old Testament is called the Pentateuch. Genesis--this is the first of the books and narrates the origin of the world and of the nations. It ends with the death of Joseph Exodus --this book is so called because it begins with the history of the departure of the Jews from Egypt. Exodus may be divided into three parts: the first narrates the events preceding the deliverance of the Hebrew people; the second describes the manner in which God delivered them; the third narrates the covenant which God made with them on Mount Sinai. Leviticus--this book treats chiefly of what concerns the functions of the Levites and the priests at the ceremonies of religion, the different kinds of sacrifice, the divers festivals, and the year of Jubilee. Numbers--so called because the first three chapters contain the enumeration of the Hebrew people. It describes the history of this people in the desert after their departure from Mount Sinai. Deuteronomy--the last of the books of the Pentateuch and so named because it contains for a second time the Law in resume. There are forty-five books in the Old Testament. These books are usually divided into three classes: the historical books, the moral books and the prophetical books. The historical books are: the Pentateuch, the five books of Moses mentioned above; the book of Josue; the books of Judges; the book of Ruth; the four books of Kings; the two books of Paralipomenon; the two books of Esdras; the books of Tobias, Judith, Esther, and Job; the two books of Machabees. The moral books are: the Psalms, Proberbs, Ecclesiastes, the Canticle of Canticles, Wisdom, and Ecclesiasticus. The prophetical books are those of the four great prophets: Isaias, Jeremias, Ezechiel and Daniel; and those of the twelve minor prophets : Osee, Joel, Amos, Abdias, Jonas, Micheas, Nahum, Habacuc, Sophonias, Aggeus, Zacharias, and Malachias. The New Testament The New Testament is the second part of the Holy Scriptures and contains twenty-seven books. These books, like those of the Old Testament, may be divided into historical, moral, and prophetical books. The historical books are the four Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles. The moral books are the Epistles, or Letters, of the Apostles. Fourteen of them were written by St. Paul, one by St. James the Less, two by St. Peter, three by St. John and one by St. Jude. Of the Epistles of St. Paul, one was addressed to the Romans, two to the Corinthians, one to the Galatians, one to the Ephesians, one to the Phillipians, one to the Colossians, two to the Thessalonians, two to Timothy, one to Titus, one to Philemon and one to the Hebrews. There is only one prophetical book, the Apocalypse of St. John. The Authenticity of the Gospels Extrinsic Proofs: Christian people have always been unanimous in their belief that the four Gospels were written by St. Matthew, St. Mark, St. Luke and St. John. It is hardly possible that a religious-minded people such as the early Christians, would be mistaken |