The Old Testament Story. Told to the Young by Gladys
David- son. (T. Werner Laurie. Gs. net.)—Miss Davidson has performed a difficult task with tact and discretion. She has sought to follow "modern scholars who regard and teach the Bible from a wide and reasonable standpoint," and does not treat the legendary and allegorical as historical; but she is not destructive. And she is honest in her handling of her subject. One may read histories of Solomon, for instance, in which his troubles are attributed to religious causes only. Here it is rightly pointed out that the system of forced labour by which he carried out his magnificent works was a potent cause of discontent. So too she finds a motive for the treasonable conduct of Abijah the prophet, as we should call it, in his natural indignation at the setting up of alien altars. Then, again, she uses plain language about the doings of Jehu. The historian, indeed, pronounces no opinion about them, but the prophet Hosea is quite clear : "I will avenge the blood of Jezreel upon the house of Jehu." Of course this treatment may easily be exaggerated; here it seems to be used with tact.
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