problem which modern pedagogy has been unable to solve. If this volume serves to point out anew what every intelligent man should know about the Old Testament, if it helps to give parents, teachers, and pupils a better appreciation of the Bible narratives and their value from a literary as well as an ethical point of view, if it brings the reader to a more adequate conception of the thoughts and ideas which lie at the foundation of Christian civilization, and if it succeeds in emphasizing the beauties and verities upon which the saints of all the ages have fed their souls, it will prove, we may confidently hope, a most important contribution to our educational literature. Two quotations must suffice to show the value of such a contribution. "A gilt-clasped Bible," says Arnold Bennett, "is the secret of England's greatness. "When the history of twentieth-century culture shall be written," adds Professor Rankin, "no feature of that culture will be more noteworthy than the increasingly conscious recognition of the unclasped Bible as an impelling force and guide in the life of men of Anglo-Saxon civilization."

Harrisburg, Pa.

March 30, 1916.

NATHAN C. SCHAEFFER.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

PREFACE

INTRODUCTION

CHAPTER I METHOD OF MASTERY

Present-day ignorance of the Bible. Not an open
book for the people. Preliminary preparation. General
knowledge of value and significance. Circumstances of
time and place. Mood and purpose of each author. Cor-
rectness and authenticity of texts. Reading books as
wholes. Wrong methods of study. The synthetic
method. General directions. Four typical analyses: of
Genesis, of Judges, of Amos and of The Stories of the
Two Prophets.

CULTURE VALUE OF THE BIBLE.
CHAPTER II ITS EDUCATIONAL VALUE .

Its emphasis on the value of human life. Its solutions
of the practical problems of life. Its rich materials for
nourishing the life of the spirit. Its provision for the
cultivating of man's æsthetic nature. Its high moral
ideals, individual and national.

CHAPTER III ITS VALUE AS LITERATURE

The critical study of the books of the Bible not ir-
reverent. Their message made clear by such study. The
impress of this literature left on secular literature and
everyday speech. Acquaintance with Bible literature the
best preparation for the interpretation of secular litera-
ture. Interesting reading in rich and satisfying perfec-
tion. The best examples of great literature. A litera-
ture of power.

THE BOOKS OF THE OLD TESTAMENT.
CHAPTER IV ORIGIN AND GROWTH OF THE BOOKS OF THE
BIBLE
The books have a natural and a supernatural history.
Materials and composition. Old manuscript copies.
The canon. Ancient versions. English versions.
CHAPTER V RESUME OF THE CONTENTS OF EACH BOOK.

The books of the Pentateuch. The historical books.
The books of poetry. The books of the Major Prophets.
The books of the Minor Prophets.

PAGE

5

7

17

35

44

59

70

OLD TESTAMENT STORIES.

PAGE

CHAPTER VI CHARACTERISTICS OF OLD TESTAMENT STORIES 89
The Great Teacher's use of stories. Valuable for
many purposes: To entertain, to instruct, to portray
life, to teach moral lessons, to furnish material for the
education of children. Illustrative stories: Samson and
the Philistines, The Offering of Isaac, The Fable of the
Trees, The One Ewe Lamb.

CHAPTER VII GENESIS AS A STORY BOOK FOR CHILDREN
Characteristics of these stories that make them suit-
able for children. The Great Separation, or Paradise
and the Fall. Cain and Abel: A Lesson of Self-Control.
Noah and the Flood.

CHAPTER VIII THE BOOK OF RUTH

The story. Analysis and Comment.
CHAPTER IX THE BOOK OF ESTHER
The story. Analysis and Comment.
BOOK OF JONAH
Analysis and Comment.

CHAPTER X THE
The story.

CHAPTER XI

OLD TESTAMENT POETRY.

95

105

113

124

CHARACTERISTICS OF OLD TESTAMENT POETRY 131

Shorter

A

Noble qualities of Hebrew poetry. Its form.
lyrics. Greater poems. A study of David's Lament.
study of the Song of Deborah.

CHAPTER XII THE BOOK OF PSALMS

Divisions, five books. The number of the psalms.
Gradual growth of the Hebrew Psalter. Titles of indi-
vidual psalms. The psalms of David. Interpretation of
individual psalms: Psalm I, Psalm XXIV, Psalm XIX,
Psalm XXIX.

CHAPTER XIII THE BOOK OF JOB

Authorship. A great drama. Its theme. The char-
acters of the drama. Divisions of the drama. Inter-
pretation of the poem: (1) The prologue; (2) the de-
bate; (3) Elihu's interposition; (4) the Voice out of the
whirlwind; (5) the epilogue; (6) problems of the book
and solutions offered.

CHAPTER XIV THE SONG OF SONGS

A brief

Difficulties of interpretation. A series of wedding
A drama with two, or three, characters.
synopsis of the story.

songs.

Interpretation in five acts and thirteen scenes:
Introductory information.

Act I, King Solomon tries to win favor of captive
Shulamite.

142

153

166

Act II. She declares her devotion to her shepherd
lover.

Act III. The Shulamite taken to Jerusalem with the
court.

Act IV. She still protests her allegiance to her
shepherd lover.

Act V. Love has won. The Shulamite returns to

her lover and her vineyards.

Comments on the form and meaning of the poem.
Appreciation of the Song by Canon Driver.

BOOKS OUTSIDE THE CANON.

CHAPTER XV OLD TESTAMENT APOCRYPHA

Definition of the term Apocrypha. Brief account of
each of the fourteen Apocryphal compositions of the Old
Testament. The Book of Ecclesiasticus. Additions to
the Book of Daniel: The Story of Susanna, the Story
of Bel and the Dragon, Daniel in the Lion's Den. The
Book of Judith. The Book of Tobit.

PAGE

177

TESTAMENT

SECTION 2 A BRIEF OUTLINE OF HEBREW HISTORY
SECTION 3 THE CHRONOLOGICAL SETTING OF THE BOOKS OF
THE OLD

196

199

SECTION 4 LIST OF THE GREAT STORIES OF THE OLD TESTA-

SECTION 5 THE BIBLE STUDENT'S LIBRARY