CURRENT LITERATURE.
The Pentateuch and its AnatormsYs. By the Rev. T. R. Birks_ (Hatehards.)—Whether or no Mr. Birks can make out his case for the Mosaic authorship of the Pentateuch, he certainly has a good deal to say against the destructive critics. It is almost sufficient, indeed, to ex- hibit their differences; to point out the fact that, while each feels. the greatest confidence in his own opinions, no two of them agree. The phrase "an extreme of critical caprice and folly" is not too strong an expression for what is quoted below, a dissection of chap. xxi., 1-20 "v. L Junior ETohist. "V. 2. 'For Sarah conceived,' Elohitt, 'and bare Abraham a son in his old age,' Junior Eiohist, at the time of which God had spoken to him,'Elohist.
"V. 3. And Abraham Isaac,' Junior Elohist, VT. 4,5. .Elohist, ylr. 6,7. Junior- Elohist.
" And the angel of God called to Hagar out of heaven Redactor, and ,aid unto her and God was with the lad, and he grew,' Junior Elohist.
'" And he dwelt in the wilderness, and became an archer,' Jehovist."
At the same time Mr. Birks lays himself open to attack by unduly ex- tending his defence. No one, for instance, who was not impelled by some powerful motive would argue that the words before there. reigned any king over the sons of Israel," could have been written long before kings had ever been heard of among the writer's people. Is it possible to quote a similar passage from any other historian ? What. should we think if we found Herodotus, after he had been describing the establishment of some Greek dynasty, were to add, "before there reigned any Greek in the land of Egypt "? Who could resist the stis- picion that the clause had, to say the least, been interpolated by some writer who knew of the Ptolemies ? We take another argument. It is quite possible that there is no real contradiction when in one place man is made the lord of the whole earth, and in another is merely placed in the Garden of Eden to dress it and keep it. But Mr. Birks is unfair to the argument when he represents it as being equivalent to "our Queen has gardens and a royal residence at Windsor ; therefore, plainly, she cannot be Queen of England." To say that a person has gardens is not the same as saying that a person is put to keep gardens. Who would say that Queen Victoria was put in the gardens of Windsor to keep them ? And it is misrepresenting the argument of opponents in another and worm way to talk as if the effect of their criticism was to "con- vict Christ and his apostles of guilty collusion with the frauds of ethers." How often have we to groan, "Non defensoribus istis"! It is not a pleasant thing to be on the same side with Mr. Birks.
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