July. The facts of his career with an appreciation of his work and character are given by Professor Marti. The "sources" of this Samaritan teaching regarding the Messiah are not so wholly unknown as the title claims. The most valuable of the documents here published, translated, and commented upon was translated in an article on "The Messianic Hope of the Samaritans" which appeared in The Open Court for May and September, 1907. Nevertheless, the text itself is made accessible to scholars here and provided with a scholarly setting of interpretative and historical materials. The study forms a valuable contribution to our knowledge of the Samaritan community with its beliefs and hopes. KROPAT, ARNO. Die Syntax des Autors der Chronik verglichen mit der seiner Quellen. Ein Beitrag zur historischen Syntax des Hebräischen. [Beihefte zur Zeitschrift für die Alttestamentliche Wissenschaft, XVI.] Giessen: Töpelmann, 1909. viii+94 pages. M. 4. This is the same sort of a study as that of A. Barta, "The Syntax of the Sentence in Isaiah 40-66" (American Journal of Semitic Languages and Literatures, Vol. XVII [1901], pp. 22 ff.), and Miss R. Corwin's The Verb and the Sentence in Chronicles, Ezra and Nehemiah (1909), both of them Doctor's theses from the Semitic Department of the University of Chicago. Miss Corwin's thesis, as will appear from the title, covers largely the same ground as that of Kropat. The two studies supplement one another admirably; Kropat covers a wider range of syntax, but Corwin works out her narrower theme more thoroughly. Many studies of this sort should be carried through; on the basis of them it will be possible to write a historical syntax of the Hebrew language, a work needing greatly to be done. HIRSCHY, N. C. Artaxerxes III Ochus and His Reign, with Special Consideration of the Old Testament Sources Bearing upon the Period. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1909. v+85 pages. $0.81. This is a Doctor's dissertation worked out in the University at Bern under the guidance of Professor Karl Marti. It comprises three chapters, the first giving a rapid survey of the entire period of Persian history, the second making a special study of the reign of Ochus, and the third endeavoring to make a strong case in favor of dating several sections of the Old Testament in the reign of Ochus. This third chapter constitutes nearly one-half of the book. The author places Isa. 19:1-15; 23:1-14; 56– 66; Pss. 44, 74, 79, and 83 in the reign of Ochus, and finds reflections of the campaigns of Ochus in Palestine embodied in Isa. 14:28-32, though the passage itself is from a later time. The thesis displays a wide acquaintance with the literature concerning this period and will thus be of use to students of the Persian age because of its bibliography and its full citation of sources. There is gathered together here all the information accessible regarding Ochus and his reign, and care has been taken to render it reliable yet, one wonders how Atossa could have been both mother and sister of Ochus (p. 26). Was not Statira his mother? The discussion of Old Testament passages adds little to our knowledge as to their origin; but not much can be expected along this line in the case of materials such as those in question, where the external evidence is lacking and the internal proofs are somewhat elusive. NEW TESTAMENT AND PATRISTICS PFLEIDERER, OTTO. Primitive Christianity, Its Writings and Teachings in Their Historical Connections. Translated by W. Montgomery. Vol. II. New York: Putnam, 1909. 510 pages. $3.00. The second volume of Mr. Montgomery's excellent translation of the late Professor Pfleiderer's Urchristentum covers the Synoptic Gospels and the Acts, together with the Preaching of Jesus and the Faith of the First Disciples. Professor Pfleiderer's views are too well known from the German edition to call for extended presentation. The use of Lukan materials in the Third Gospel and the Acts gave them the name of Luke. They show the influence of Josephus and belong to the beginning of the second century. Pfleiderer finds the sources of the early narratives of Acts in oral tradition rather than in specific documents. Mark wrote the gospel which bears his name, probably within the decade following the fall of Jerusalem. It was the approaching reign of God (Gottesherrschaft) which was so potently proclaimed by Jesus. Certainly "messianic ideas strongly influenced" his mind in "the last days at Jerusalem," and the words and acts of that time must be understood in the light of those ideas (p. 467). While Professor Pfleiderer's rigorous method sometimes results in views that are undoubtedly extreme, his independence and vigor give his work great value for all serious workers in the New Testament. The indices are postponed to a later volume. 8μov viòv åveρúrov is a curious misprint (p. 478); cf. Rev. 1:13; 14:14. SCHERMANN, THEODOR. Griechische Zauberpapyri und das Gemeinde- und Dankgebet im I Klemensbrieje. [Texte und Untersuchungen, XXXIV, 2. b.] Leipzig: Hinrichs, 1909. 64 pages. M. 2. This comparative study of the language of the prayers in First Clement and in the magical papyri shows the large indebtedness of both to Jewish literature, and also the relationship existing between Christian and pagan religious expression. Schermann has not covered all the magical papyri in his survey. Oxyrhynchus 924, a gnostic charm which speaks of Jesus Christ and the Living God, might well have been included and would have modified the statement (p. 3) that but one magical papyrus of the fourth century seems to be of Christian origin. Tebtunis 275 might also have been noticed. Indeed, Schermann seems to know Grenfell's work only when Wessely has republished it. If the statement (p. 24) that in a Christian letter of 250-285 A. D. the Pope's entourage is already described as οἱ κατ ̓ αὐτὸν ἁγιώτατοι παρεστῶτες refers to the Amherst letter (Amherst Papyri, I, pp. 28–30)—Schermann gives no reference for itthe reading is unsupported by the editors of that papyrus; cf. Amh. Pap., II, p. 204. There is an occasional misprint: παναγῶν, p. 24, τεκαί, p. 36. LÜTGERT, W. Die Irrlehrer der Pastoralbriefe. [Beiträge zur Förderung christlicher Theologie, XIV, 3.] Gütersloh: Bertelsmann, 1909. 93 pages. M. 1.80. Lütgert follows his study of the Corinthian errorists (Freiheits predigt und Schwarmgeister in Korinth, 1908) with an investigation of those opposed in the pastoral epistles. While he accepts these epistles as Paul's, his discussion is not controlled by that view, but proceeds independently of it. The errorists attacked in the pastorals were Jewish Antinomianists who had been drawn into the church by its teaching of freedom from the Law. By reason of their spiritual gifts they claimed independence from church authority. They practiced asceticism in matters of sex, and held to a dualistic view of the world. They thus present important resemblances to the Corinthian errorists, but the latter were libertinists, while they were ascetics. BACON, B. W. Commentary on the Epistle of Paul to the Galatians. [The Bible for Home and School.] New York: Macmillan, 1909. vii+135 pages. 50 cents net. Professor Bacon holds Galatians to be the earliest of Paul's extant letters, assigning it to a time in the first visit to Corinth, somewhat earlier than that of the Thessalonian letters. He argues convincingly for the South Galatian destination of the letter, and discusses at length its relation to the narrative of Acts. The commentary is learned, vigorous, and stimulating. Yet it is not easy for a scholar of Bacon's technical equipment to write in a clear, popular way. SCHLATTER, A. Die Theologie des Neuen Testaments und die Dogmatik. Gütersloh: Bertelsmann, 1909. 82 pages. M. 1.50. Less attention is given to determining the contribution which New Testament theology makes to "dogmatics" than to expounding the proper method of New Testament theological study. The fundamental contention is that it should not be dogmatic but historical, and there should be not only a statistical collection of early Christian thought but a recognition of motive and tendency in the formulation of that thought. Mere speculation in theology, apart from some basis in fact, is deplored; and the basal facts, it is held, lie not only in present experience but also in the religious convictions of the early Christians. It is necessary to understand the concrete individual character of the primitive faith in order to correct the dogmatist's inclination to use the New Testament language as though it was written for the special purpose of furnishing moderns with materials for idealizing theological abstractions. The aim of New Testament theology is not to construct a dogmatic system but to perceive the content of the early religion, the believers' fundamental convictions about God's sovereignty, Christ, sin, justification, love, faith. Naturally we ask, To what extent will such study serve the needs of the systematic theologian? If the author would grant that the theologian's chief duty is to interpret religious experience, both past and present, nothing more need be said; but if he would hold that these original Christian “convictions” are in some way normative for modern theology there is still the serious question of how their authoritativeness is to be determined. It may be true that their effect upon the lives of the early believers proves the genuine character of the convictions (p. 78), but it does not necessarily follow that one's life today must be controlled by the same convictions in order to be effective. To reason thus would be to repeat the fallacy of the "undistributed middle.” CALLAUD, PIERRE. Le problème de la résurrection du Christ: Étude des diverses hypothèses. Paris: Nourry, 1909. 158 pages. Fr. 2.50. Two items in the tradition of Jesus' resurrection are regarded as authentically attested: the tomb had been found empty, and Jesus had been seen by the disciples. How are these two facts to be explained? The author answers, Jesus had only swooned, but the onlookers mistook him for dead. Later he revived, left the tomb, and permitted his disciples to see him on a few occasions. This theory is today generally thought to involve insuperable difficulties, especially from the moral standpoint. The present work cannot be said to have removed these difficulties. ROBERTSON, A. T. Epochs in the Life of Paul: A Study of Development in Paul's Career. New York: Scribner, 1909. xi+337 pages. $1.25. The story of Paul's life is here cursorily outlined from the traditional standpoint. Certain important critical discussions are avoided, although the writer claims to present the results of criticism. The presentation thus seems to be made upon the rejection rather than upon the solution of important critical problems. There is no evidence of a critical use of the sources of information, and the possibility of any divergence in point of view between the letters of Paul and the Book of Acts does not seem to be recognized. Consequently some of the most important questions which the serious student of Paul and Paulinism is asking today, e. g., What was Paul's relation to the Jews on gentile soil? Was he the first to take up gentile missionary work? What is his relation to the founding of Christianity? are not satisfactorily treated. WORSLEY, F. W. The Fourth Gospel and the Synoptists: A Contribution to the Study of the Synoptic Problem. Edinburgh: Clark, 1909. Imported by Scribner. ix+184 pages. $1.25. The author is primarily concerned to show the strictly historical character of the Fourth Gospel. It is thought to have been written by the apostle John, whose object was to supplement and correct the earlier narratives. Hence wherever this gospel varies from the others its account is always the more reliable. The evangelist had no theological bias; his sole motive was to write pure history. Worsley's defense of his position occasionally drops to the plane of special pleading, and in speaking of opposing views he is sometimes almost contemptuous. "Modern Religious Problems." Edited by A. W. Vernon. Boston and New Bacon notes four items in connection with the founding of the church. Its beginnings are traced to the brotherhood established about Jesus while on earth; the awakening of Peter's faith in the risen Christ is the second stage; the confession of Jesus as Lord was the early watchword of the common faith; baptism and the breaking of bread were the early outward marks of the new society. Much significance is attached to Peter as the "founder." Scott's views on the Fourth Gospel are already known to readers of his earlier work on the subject. Here he presents with clearness and in popular fashion the results of a sane, critical study of the book, showing the character of its content, the place it filled in early Christian thought, and its permanent value. PICK, BERNHARD. The Apocryphal Acts of Paul, Peter, John, Andrew, and Thomas. Chicago: The Open Court Publishing Co., 1909. xvi+376 pages. $1.25. Dr. Pick follows his useful collection of early gospels and sayings of Jesus (Paralipomena) with a similar volume of translations of the early apocryphal Acts, in the study of which so much progress has recently been made through the discoveries of Schmidt and the labors of Bonnet and others. The resulting texts and studies have been freely used by Dr. Pick in making his translations of considerable parts of these earliest Acts. He considers these representative of the Christianity of the late second century, dating the Acts of John between 150 and 180 and the Acts of Paul before 200. Dr. Pick seems to concur in Schmidt's dating of the Acts of Peter early in the third century, but suggests no specific dates for the Acts of Andrew or of Thomas. It is probable that they too belong to the end of the second or the beginning of the third century. Dr. Pick's translations are prefaced by full bibliographies, almost wholly German. Of the few English books to which he refers some important ones have evidently not been used by him, e. g., Conybeare's Acts of Apollonius, with its striking Armenian form of the Thecla story. The Ethiopic form of this is apparently unknown to Dr. Pick, although he mentions the Greek, Coptic, Latin, Syriac, and Armenian. The Ethiopic form of the incident of Paul and the Christian lion found in the Epistle of Pelagia seems also to have escaped Dr. Pick (p. 3), while no account is taken of the fourth-century fragments of the Acts of Peter and of John recently discovered and published by Professor Grenfell and Dr. Hunt (Oxyrhynchus Papyri, VI, Nos. 849, 850) It would seem that English materials bearing on the Acts are little known even by name to Dr. Pick. He has done well, however, in this volume in presenting a brief introduction to each of the works translated. These will do much to make these curious stories significant and interesting to English readers. It is disappointing to find that little material has been derived by Dr. Pick from the Coptic discoveries of Schmidt, perhaps on account of the fragmentary character of the Coptic Acts. The Acts of Thomas is the only complete work in the collection, and now appears for the first time in a complete English translation. Dr. Pick's book should do much to extend acquaintance with this branch of early Christian literature. BRÉHIER, ÉMILE. Philon: l'œuvre des six jours. Commentaire allégorique des Saintes Lois après Text grec, traduction française, introduction et index. [Textes et documents pour l'étude historique du christianisme.] Paris: Picard, 1909. xxxviii+330 pages. Fr. 3.50. A convenient and attractive edition of the Greek text of one of the most important of Philo's works. The text is that of Cohn's edition (Berlin, 1896). The Introduction presents an analysis of the work, and a brief account of Philo's life. The translation occupies the page facing the corresponding text, in the manner characteristic of this valuable series. There is an index of important Greek names and words and another of biblical passages quoted, but a third showing the subjects discussed and the persons and places mentioned would have been useful. CHURCH HISTORY MCGLOTHLIN, W. J. A Guide to the Study of Church History. Louisville, Ky.: Baptist World Publishing Co., 1909. 258 pages. The author defines the scope of his work as "a guide to the best known manuals and a basis for lecturing." The entire field and subject-matter of church history are clearly and minutely outlined, and references are made to the larger works of Alzog, Schaff, Hurst, Kurtz, Moeller, and Newman. It is more It is a marvel of condensation and of fulness of topical reference. than a bare chronicle of events and dates. The author has treated his material with historic appreciation of its continuity and sequence. It is probable that the instructor |