Feast of Weeks" closes with the injunction, "thou shalt rejoice before JHVH, Thy God, thou, thy son, thy daughter, thy man-servant, thy maid-servant, the Levite who is within thy gates, the stranger, the fatherless and the widow who are in thy midst."" In addition to the feasts enjoined by the Law, festal-gatherings to celebrate joyful domestic events were frequent. Laban celebrated the nuptials of Jacob and Rachel." Prominent strangers are made welcome by a gathering to which many are bidden.25 Also when Isaac is weaned Abraham celebrates the event, and the harvest was a time of song and mirth."

26

The attitude of the Old Testament toward external goods was, upon the whole, sensible and manly. They were neither overvalued nor despised." The ordinary external joys of life have, ever, seemed to the ancient Hebrew very real and precious. The desire for wealth is, nowhere, looked down up, and poverty that is voluntary is not extolled as a virtue. Poverty is rather looked upon as an evil, as is expressed by one of the sages of the Talmud, "the life of the poor is no life." On the other hand, the dangers of great wealth are pointed out as leading to idolatry and to oppression of

22 Deut. 16:9-11 (D); comp. ibid., 25:25-28 (D).

28 Deut. 16:11 (D); comp. ibid., 16:14.

24 Gen. 29:22 (J2).

25 Exod. 18:12 (RJE).

26 Gen. 21:8 (E).

”

27 Isa. 16:10 (c. 540 B. C.). Cf. Cheyne's critical notes to Heb. text in P. B., p. 126, 1. 5.

28 Cf. Pfeiffer: D. Religiös-sittliche Weltanschauung d. B. d. Sprüche, München, 1897, p. 232; cf. also Eccl. 40:25-27; Wellhausen: Israel. u. Jüd. Gesch., Berl., p. 215.

ארבעה חשובין כמת עני ומצורע וכו' (Talm. Nedarim 64b) 29

comp. ibid., 7b.

others.30

The prophets denounce wealth as the cause of selfishness:

"Woe unto those who join house to house, who add field to field, till there is no more room, and ye are settled alone in the midst of the land!" (P. B.)"

32

33

Then wealth leads to enervating luxury as described by Amos. There is reason to believe that the institutions of the Shemitta and of the Jubilee year were called forth as a check upon the amassing of great wealth and as a prevention of pauperism.

The Wisdom-literature, which reflects the practical affairs of life, is of much importance for the study of the view of life common among the people. From that literature we glean that wealth is not despised, it is rather a blessing that comes in the shape of reward to the pious, yet, wealth is not the one and only thing that conditions earthly happiness. "Riches profit not in the day of wrath: but righteousness delivers from death." "Weary not thyself to be rich, cease from your plans."35 "Better is little with righteousness, than great revenues with injustice." "6

"How much better is it to get wisdom, than gold,

99 34

Yea, to get understanding is rather to be chosen than silver." 37

"Better is a dry morsel and quietness therewith,

Than a house full of sacrifices (practically banquet) with

30 Deut. 8:11-14 (D); ibid., 32:15, 16 (c. 570 B. C.).

31 Isa. 5:8 (c. 735 B. C.); comp. Micah 2:1, 2.

"He that loveth silver shall not be satisfied with silver; Nor he that loveth abundance, with increase; this is also

Children, and especially sons, were regarded as a great blessing from God:

"Sons are a gift from JHVH,

The fruit of the womb is a present.

As arrows in the hand of a warrior

So are the sons of the days of youth.

Happy the man who has his quiver full thereof;

They will not be put down, when they argue with foes before judges."

"40

Children were not only a gift from God, bringing joy and happiness to the home-circle, but they were regarded as future supporters of God's Kingdom" and the main support of the home."

Among the Greeks in Homeric times childlessness was looked upon as a dire misfortune, a punishment of the gods," and so it was among the Hebrews. The following quotations will make this clear:

"And Abram said, O Lord God, what wilt Thou give me, seeing I go hence childless." "

39 Eccl. 5:9.

40 Ps. 127:3-5, 536 B. C.; cf. Wellhausen: Critical notes on Psalms in P. B. (English transl.), p. 210; also, Haupt in KAT, vol. III, 229:8; 39:50; cf. Johns Hopkins Circulars, July, 1894, p. 109; also, Stevens: Notes of a Critical Commentary on the Songs of the Return, Chicago, 1896, p. 162. 41 Ps. 8:3 (later than 500 B. C.).

42

2 Ps. 127:4. 5 (586 B. C.); comp. Addis: Documents of the Hexateuch, London, 1892, vol. II, p. 125.

43 Cf. Schmidt: Gesch. d. Pädagogik, Cöthen, 1890, fourth ed., vol. I, p. 484.

"And when Rachel saw that she bare Jacob no children, she envied her sister, and said unto Jacob, Give me children, or else I die." 45

"And she conceived and bare a son; and said: God has taken away my reproach." a

"And now hear this, O Voluptuous One, who sittest se

curely,

Who sayest in thy heart: I, and none but me!

I shall not sit in widowhood and know the loss of children." 46

True morality and genuine goodness consist in increasing the sum of life. Respect is, therefore, enjoined for the life of others, and it is one's duty to save others from direct or indirect danger of life. If an ox was known to be dangerous and it gored a human being to death, its owner was guilty of murder." Again we find: "When thou buildest a new house, then thou shalt make a battlement for thy roof, that thou bring not blood upon thy house, if any man fall from thence." " Wherever capital punishment is decreed in the Mosaic Code it is, indirectly, for the preservation

45 Gen. 30:1 (E); cf. I Sam. 1:6. 11 (about 740 B. C.). 45a Gen. 30:23.

46 Isa. 47:8-10 (about 546 B. C.); cf. Güdemann: Das Judenthum, Wien, 1902, p. 11; comp. Talmud B. Moed Katon,

27b.

לא אזל לבי אבלא אלא למאן ואזיל בלא בני

"Weep for the dead, that is for him, who dies childless; also, Midrash Rabba to Genesis §45, "He who has no children may be compared to one who is dead."

47 Exod. 21:8 (E); comp. ibid., 20:13; 21: 12, 14, 20 (E); Lev. 24:17, 21 (H). Rashi explains (Lev. 19:16b H)

לא תעמוד על דם ריעך

"Do not leave your neighbor when his life is in danger."

48 Deut. 22:8 (D).

of life," for even the sins, other than murder," for which it could be incurred, were each and all of a character to undermine the physical life and well-being of the community. Thus idolatry, which offered free and unrestrained play to the lowest passions, as well as adultery, sodomy and incest are punished with death.”

That the world is very good; that mankind should multiply to cause happiness to others; that life is sacred because it is a gift of God; these are reflections of one who is thoroughly satisfied with life and prefers existence to non-existence. Long life was, therefore, something desirable, especially when the hoary head could point to his children and his children's children who were to maintain the name and the honor of the family. "The crown of old men are children's children

And the glory of sons their fathers.”

9950

Where life was so greatly valued, death was viewed as the greatest of evils, especially, premature death.“ The Old Testament view of life becomes clearer when contrasted with the views among contemporaneous peo

48a Gen. 1:28a (P)

ויברך אתם אלהים ויאמר להם פרו ורבו ומלאו את הארץ

"And God blessed them; and said unto them, Be fruitful and multiply, and replenish the earth."

לא תרצח 49b

"Thou shalt not murder," Exod. 20:13 (E);

cf. Deut. 5:17 (D).

49 Deut. 22:23-26 (D); Exod. 22:18 (P); Lev. 20:2. 9-21; chpt. 18 (H).

50 Prov. 17:6. In Babylon, too, many prayers were directed to the Deity for long life and earthly immortality. Cf. Jeremias: Hölle u. Paradies bei d. Babyloniern, Lpzg., 1900, p. 5.

51 Cf. Gen. 42:38 (J); also Frey: Tod. etc., Lpzg., 1898, p. 186 ff.