and Persia, and the great horn on the rough he-goat is named as the first king of Greece who cast down the ram to the ground. The four horns that spring up in place of the great horn are the four divisions of Alexander's kingdom. The little horn, that came forth from one of these and took away the continual burnt offering and cast down the place of the sanctuary,1 is most clearly Antiochus Epiphanes. The restoration of the sanctuary2 and the death of Antiochus are foreseen, but beyond these the vision does not extend.

The outlook is the same in chapter 11 as in 8; the section tells of the Persian invasion of Greece, of Alexander and the division of his kingdom, of the conflicts between the Ptolemies and Seleucids, and especially of Antiochus Epiphanes and his persecution. In this vision too, the historical survey terminates with the anticipated death of Antiochus. The little horn of chapter 7, who wears out the saints of the Most High and thinks to change the times and the law, must also be Antiochus, and the four kingdoms, those already indicated in the image vision. The coming of the little horn marks the beginning of the end, for now the Ancient of Days sits in judgment and destroys the beast.

The vision of the seventy weeks, in chapter 9, is the most baffling of the book, but it too seems to terminate in Maccabean times; the division into 7 +62 + 1 weeks of years is most naturally explained as representing the time from Jeremiah's prophecy of seventy years to the edict of Cyrus permitting the rebuilding; then from the rebuilding to the murder of the high priest in 171 B.C.; finally the period of persecution in the midst of which comes the desecration of the temple.

For the afflicted sufferers under the persecution of Antiochus, every element of the book would have its inspiring message. They are told, in effect, that God has permitted the succession of great powers to rule over his people, from Nebuchadrezzar to Antiochus, and that this subjection is about to end and the rule of the saints of the Most High to be established.

Daniel and Enoch 83-90 are two of the greatest of the apocalypses; their study only anticipates the ascendency of this type

1 Daniel 89-12.

4 Ibid. 11 21ff.

2 Ibid. 8 13-14

Ibid. 8 25.

5 Ibid. 11 45.

of writing attained in the two centuries before and after Christ. In this unique literary form the unquenchable faith of Israel was embodied by a multitude of writers, until the form was adopted by Christianity in the book of Revelation, where the old apocalyptic conceptions were expanded to include the risen Messiah in heaven, about to come and establish his reign on earth.

Consideration of the later development of apocalypse has led us, for the moment, far beyond the limits of time properly included within the present volume. One other book coming from the times of the first generation of Maccabees, or very shortly after, remains to be considered. Esther is a story that seeks to account for the origin of the late Jewish feast of Purim and, unintentionally, witnesses to the bitter hatred engendered in the souls of the harassed people. Almost the only noble or ennobling element in the book is the devotion of Esther to the cause of her people, as she ventures her life, saying: so will I go in unto the king, which is not according to the law; and if I perish, I perish.1

One's estimate of the book as a skilful piece of narrative writing will be much higher than its evaluation spiritually and ethically. The story as such is orderly, clear, interesting, and progressive, leading on well to the culmination in the establishment of the feast and Mordecai's charge to observe it, for which the whole is told. The writer accomplishes his purpose in so effective a manner that to-day "manuscripts of the Book of Esther are more numerous than of any other portion of the Old Testament."2 If the charm of Israel's early stories is lacking and some of their spontaneity and wonderful selection of the most effective elements are not found in this comparatively late story, the gift of vivid, effective narration has not been lost during the Greek age; to this both Daniel and Esther testify. Despite its hortatory purpose, the book of Esther contains a succession of scenes no less striking than the one of the banquet, and culminating in an exhortation, the more effective because indirect.

So the king and Haman came to banquet with Esther the queen. And the king said again unto Esther on the second day at the banquet of wine, What is thy petition, queen Esther? and it shall be granted thee:

1 Esther 4 16.

2 Paton, Esther, in Int. Crit. Com.

and what is thy request? even to the half of the kingdom it shall be performed. Then Esther the queen answered and said, If I have found favor in thy sight, O king, and if it please the king, let my life be given me at my petition, and my people at my request: for we are sold, I and my people, to be destroyed, to be slain, and to perish. But if we had been sold for bondmen and bondwomen, I had held my peace, although the adversary could not have compensated for the king's damage. Then spake the king Ahasuerus and said unto Esther the queen, Who is he, and where is he, that durst presume in his heart to do so? And Esther said, An adversary and an enemy, even this wicked Haman. Then Haman was afraid before the king and the queen. And the king arose in his wrath from the banquet of wine and went into the palace garden: and Haman stood up to make request for his life to Esther the queen; for he saw that there was evil determined against him by the king.1

With the book of Esther, our study has included all the extant writings of ancient Israel down to the latest that received recognition in the Hebrew canon. No Hebrew book outside of the canon antedating 200 B.C. has been preserved. From the early part of the second century B.C. forward many extra-canonical writings exist, though commonly not in the Hebrew language. We have included those written during the period under survey, in order to make our study of the literature of ancient Israel as complete as possible down to the death of Simon Maccabeus.

1 Esther 71-7.

INDEX

ABRAM-ABRAHAM: Stories concerning, | CONQUEST, HEBREW OF CANAAN, 6;