Page:03.BCOT.KD.HistoricalBooks.B.vol.3.LaterProphets.djvu/51

 the prophecies of Jeremiah, gave much time to the accurate study of the older holy writings. The book composed by the prophet Isaiah concerning the reign of King Uzziah (9) was a historical work; as was also probably the Midrash of the prophet Iddo (4). But, on the other hand, we cannot believe, as do Ewald, Bertheau, Bähr, and others, that the other prophetical writings enumerated under 1, 2, 3, 6, 12, and 13, were merely parts of the books of the kings of Israel and Judah; for the grounds which are brought forward in support of this view do not appear to us to be tenable, or rather, tend to show that those writings were independent books of prophecy, to which some historical information was appended. 1. The circumstance that it is said of two of those writings, the Dibre of Jehu and the חזון of Isaiah (6 and 12), that they were incorporated or received into the books of the Kings, does not justify the conclusion “that, since two of the above-named writings are expressly said to be parts of the larger historical work, probably by the others also only parts of this work are meant” (Ew., Berth. S. 34). For in the citations, those writings are not called parts of the book of Kings, but are only said to have been received into it as component parts; and from that it by no means follows that the others, whose reception is not mentioned, were parts of that work. The admission of one writing into another book can only then be spoken of when the book is different from the writing which is received into it. 2. Since some of the writings are denominated דּברי of a prophet, from the double meaning of the word דברים, verba and res, this title might be taken in the sense of “events of the prophets,” to denote historical writings. But it is much more natural to think, after the analogy of the superscriptions in Amo 1:1; Jer 1:1, of books of prophecies like the books of Amos and Jeremiah, which contained prophecies and prophetic speeches along with historical information, just as the sections Amo 7:10-17, Jer. 40-45 do, and which differed from our canonical books of prophecies, in which the historical relations are mentioned only in exceptional cases, only by containing more detailed and minute accounts of the historical events which gave occasion to the prophetic utterances. On account of this fulness of historical detail, such prophetic writings, without being properly histories, would yet be for many periods of the history of the kings very abundant sources of history. The above-mentioned difference between our canonical