Light from the East. By the Rev. C. J. Ball.
(Eyre and Spottiswoode. 12s.)—The sub-title of this volume is " The Witness of the Monuments," and its purpose is described by the words, "An Introduction to the Study of Biblical Archteology." Mr. Ball describes the monuments and inscriptions—Mesopotamian, Egyptian, and Syrian—which bear on Hebrew history, and his descriptions are illustrated by photographic reproductions of the objects. Some of these, as, e.g., the Moabite and the Rosetta Stones, are well known to most readers of the Bible ; others will be less familiar. High praise is due to the way in which this knowledge has been collected and arranged, and to the fairness with which the results are stated. It is, for instance, quite reasonable to say that the Moabite Stone "furnishes many details in agreement with the Hebrew account" of the Moabite revolt. It is true that if we had no other information we should think that the revolt was absolutely successful, while the Hebrew story gives no hint of the disasters which had occurred at least in the earlier part of the campaign. But this is only to say that Moabites and Hebrews looked at the same events from different points of view. The witness of the monuments is to the Hebrew records in general, certainly not to their accuracy in particulars. The volume is excellently got up, and is in all respects worth possessing.
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