THE FOUNDING OF THE HEBREW MONARCHY (about 1050 B.C.). In the period of the "Judges" there was no complete unity among the tribes, and the common dangers to which they were exposed caused them finally to unite in perfect union with a strong central government. These unorganized groups were united into a kingdom under the leadership of Saul of the tribe of Benjamin, who had proved himself worthy to lead the newly formed state.

THE REIGN OF DAVID (about 1025-993 B.C.). After the death of Saul, David, son of Jesse, of the tribe of Judah, took over the ruling of the kingdom. David built a great empire and successfully waged wars against the tribes of Moab, Ammon and Edom. David was not only a great warrior but was a great poet as well, and his noble lament, over Saul and Jonathan, is looked upon as one of the finest specimens of elegiac poetry that has come down from the ancient Hebrews.

THE REIGN OF SOLOMON (about 993-953 B.C.). David was followed by his son Solomon, but the son did not possess the father's genius for military affairs; he leaned towards art and learning. It was Solomon who erected the magnificent temple at Jerusalem, planned by his father. Around this temple was centered the spiritual worship and national ideals of the Hebrew people. Solomon's reign was noted for its magnificence and brilliancy, but in order to carry to completion the vast undertakings, oppressive taxes were laid upon the people. It was this taxation which caused the division of the kingdom.

THE DIVISION OF THE KINGDOM (about 953 B.C.). When Solomon died his son Rehoboam succeeded him, and the people appealed to him to lighten their

taxes. He refused. The tribes of Benjamin and Judah rose in revolt and in a short time established a rival kingdom, to the north of Jerusalem, with Jeroboam as its first king. This new state was called the Kingdom of Israel. The old state over which Rehoboam ruled was called the Kingdom of Judah. Weakened by this division, the Kingdom of Israel (known as the ten tribes) maintained itself about two hundred years before it was destroyed by the Assyrians. The Kingdom of Judah maintained its independent existence for about three hundred years, but was finally overpowered by Babylonia. After this the Hebrews lost their national unity except for a short period under the leadership of the Maccabees.

The Hebrews lost their national life but their spiritual power grew to such an extent that their sacred books have influenced the whole world. No other spiritual expressions, of any peoples, have ever reached the universal acceptance which theirs attained. At this point we are prompted to ask which is the greater, nationality or spirituality? Can a nationality maintain itself on purely national lines and last longer than a group bound by spiritual ties?

As an answer to these questions the following quotation would serve: "Man becomes true if in this life he can apprehend God; if not, it is the greatest calamity for him." If the Hebrew people hold together upon the apprehending of God, and the ideal founded upon that apprehension is lived up to, the loss of nationality is not such a calamity, for nations have come and gone, but the spiritual ideal still holds. When we understand that the Hebrew mind is held together by spiritual ideals, we can easily see how they produced the spiritual leaders they did. In the Talmudic period great interpreters and spiritual

teachers appeared who formulated the Talmud by interpreting the Hebrew traditions for the people.

As in earlier periods the prophets appeared-those wise religious teachers with great authority, who were not afraid to oppose the King's will in matters concerning the spiritual welfare of the people. So now came the Rabbinic teachers.

In the middle ages great Hebrew scholars appeared who distinguished themselves among the scholars of the world, Moses Ibn Ezra, Ibn Gabirol, Solomon Bar Isaac, Abraham Ibn Ezra, Moses Maimonides, and David Kimchi. The most influential of all these was Maimonides. He was called often the second Moses, as later on in the eighteenth century the great Hebrew thinker and scholar Moses Mendelssohn was called the third Moses and emancipator, for his famous work called "Jerusalem" made a plea for the emancipation of Judaism and the separation of church and state. This work had great influence and helped the condition of the Jews in all Europe. Some one has said: "Morals are tested experiences by the spirit of God working in man.” If this is true then the Hebrews have many tested experiences, for the ideals of their teachers have always been to work with God. Their contribution to civilization was, turning into the ever-increasing stream of human consciousness the fruits of much experience and the results of a complete concentration upon the spiritual philosophy surrounding the one God idea.

In referring to the great importance of the Hebrew contribution to the religious thought of the world, Professor George A. Barton, in his book "The Religions of the World," writes: "The development of Israel's religion through the influence of the prophets

from its primitive Semitic beginnings to the formation of Judaism, is one of the most significant chapters in the history of the human race. In other countries, as in Egypt, Monotheism was grasped by a few; in Israel alone was it made the possession of the people. Others conceived it as a great idea; the prophets linked it with human rights and common justice. Perhaps even here it would have failed but for the misfortunes of the Jewish state. These constituted a sifting process by which the devotees of the higher religion were separated from the reactionaries and formed into a community in which it was an axiom to men, women and children that there is but one God and that He demands a righteous life. In this achievement were the seeds of the best religious experiences of mankind. It was on account of this that the Hebrew religion became the mother of the three great Monotheistic religions of the worldJudaism, Mohammedanism, and Christianity."

INTRODUCTION

The term "wisdom" has quite a wide application in Hebrew. It includes skill in technical work or warfare (Exod. 28-3, Isaiah 10-13); efficiency in administration (Deut. 34-9); and shrewdness in practical affairs (Sam. II, 20-22). There is, however, a higher type of wisdom, the inestimable value of which none but God can fully realize, for "He created it in the beginning when He marked out the foundations of the earth" (Prov. 8-29). "It walks in the way of righteousness" (Prov. 8-20) and is "Beneficent, loving towards men, steadfast, sure and free from care" (Wisdom of Sol. 7-23). The personification of this type of wisdom by the Hebrews was an attempt to reconcile the transcendence of God with the fact of His living and active presence in the world of nature and in the minds of men. Prophets and sages thus strove to convey their sense of God's imminence in creation, while holding fast to the cardinal doctrine of His transcendence.

Mr. Brown's anthology is a good representative selection of Hebrew wisdom literature. His Biblical selections hardly need any explanation from me; for is there not a vast library explaining the great Book of Books? Unfortunately, however, Talmudic literature is still a sealed book to the average reader and its sources and wisdom therefore require some explanation.

What is the Talmud? How can this question be