331 CHAPTER XV. ON THE STATE OF CIVILIZATION DESCRIBED IN THE BOOK OF JOB. AMONG the various controversies to which the Book of Job has given rise, one fact has been universally conceded, namely, that it is an independent record, that it has no connexion with the Hebrew history or code of laws, and that it presents a system of religion differing in all its visible forms from that established by Moses. Thus viewed, the book is a valuable record of a form of civilization such as is nowhere else described; and if any weight be given to the preponderance of authorities, we may with the majority of the commentators ascribe this form to a period anterior to the Mosaic legislation. In the preceding chapter we have seen that the Scriptures, or rather the records in the Book of Genesis, enable us to frame some estimate of the amount of civilization bestowed upon the human race when the world was opened for its use; a test of the accuracy of this estimate is in some degree provided, when we find that such an amount was actually possessed by the. earliest patriarchal race of which we have a distinct and detailed account. The question whether Job was a historical personage or an imaginary character, does not necessarily enter into the consideration of the book as a portraiture of manners, but we may be permitted to hazard a conjec ture that a rabbinical error, similar to that which has founded so many legendary fictions on the sixth chapter of Genesis, has been the principal source of all the difficulties against admitting Job's existence. It is now universally conceded that "the sons of God" who took wives from "the daughters of men," were the pious descendants of Seth who intermarried with the offspring of Cain. If the same principle of interpretation be applied to the historical introduction in the Book of Job, the rabbinical gloss that the sons of God mentioned in the sixth verse of the first chapter were angels, and the Satan or accuser, the devil, will appear a very unnecessary difficulty. The simple meaning would be, that when the pious men of Idumea assembled to worship Jehovah, the envious spirit of one or more was excited by the prosperity of Job, and the dialogue between the Satan, that is, the accuser or malignant person, would appear to be nothing more than an ordinary oriental mode of describing the struggles between the suggestions of envy and the dictates of conscience. This theory is propounded with all possible humility, but it may be said in its favour that it does no violence to the literal meaning of the text, particularly if reference be made to the original Hebrew-that it gives a simple and natural explanation of an acknowledged difficulty-and that it is in strict accordance with the principles of interpretation applied to similar passages in the sacred volume. That the Book of Job alludes in many places to the ministration of angels has appeared doubtful to several commentators, and an examination of the passages in which they seem to be mentioned, would shew that human messengers, prophets or priests, may be intimated rather than spiritual agencies; just as the angels of the churches mentioned in the Apocalypse unquestionably designate human governors. : The religious knowledge possessed in the age of Job was founded on the unity of Deity, both in the creation and government of the universe; but that this was not a natural theology,-a doctrine discovered by unassisted reason,-is proved by the reference of Job himself to a revelation, when he declares (chap. vi. 10), "I have not neglected the words of the Holy One;" and again (chap. xxiii. 12), "I do not neglect the principles of his lips I have treasured up his words in my bosom." This religion was embodied in formal acts of worship: Job offered expiatory sacrifices for himself and his family, not in the character of a priest, but as patriarch and head of a tribe. We find from the Book of Genesis that sacrifices began to be offered immediately after the expulsion of our first parents from Paradise; and as there cannot be found any reasonable ground for the suggestion of sacrifice to an uninstructed mind, the character of Job's religion, both in doctrine and form, is that of a theology derived from a primitive revelation, and not evolved from barbarism or paganism by any mental process. That the knowledge of the Divine unity was derived by Job from a revelation to himself, or from a former revelation transmitted to him by writing or tradition, appears further proved by his reference to the corruptions of religion which were gradually increasing in his time. He describes Sabaism, or the worship of the celestial luminaries, as an error to which he might like others have been led by his natural propensities, and from which he was protected only by the firmness of his belief in what had been revealed. This is a remarkable confirmation of his having obtained his own knowledge of religion from some external source, for he mentions the superstitious practices connected with Sabaism as customs with which he had been tempted to comply. If I have looked with a superstitious eye, At the sun when he shone in his strength, Or the moon when she walked in her brightness, And my heart hath been secretly enticed, And I have worshipped by carrying my hand to my mouth, The religion of Job, the first great element in the patriarchal system of civilization, is thus clearly shewn to possess a derivative character, and the only form of religion which we find to have been self-evolved, was a corruption. It is not to be expected that the ideas of morality formed by the patriarch could be so clearly traced to their source, but there are still proofs of their derivative character in their disproportion to the state of physical knowledge represented in the book. It was not until a very late period in the history of the Grecian philosophy, that moralists discovered the necessity of imposing a restraint on the inward sentiment. Now, we find that Job had anticipated this great principle, for he disclaims not the overt act, but the impure desire which might have prompted to its commission. The quotations throughout the chapter are taken from Wemyss's admirable translation, and the author has made extensive use of that gentleman's researches and illustrations. I made a covenant with mine eyes That I would not gaze upon a virgin, For what portion should I then have in God, Or what inheritance from the Almighty on high? In all the civilized nations of antiquity, and in some which claim to be civilized in modern times, the rights of slaves are ostentatiously disregarded; their persons and properties are at the disposal of their masters. We have shewn in a former chapter, that the worst forms of slavery are to be found in pastoral and nomade races, yet we find Job expressly recognising the rights of his dependents, and asserting their claims to justice with a spirit of equity not to be found in any of the Pagan philosophers, or in some Christian legislators. If I denied justice to my male slave, Or to my female slave when they disputed with me, Were we not fashioned alike in the womb? Such morality is clearly beyond the general state of knowledge at the period when Job lived; we find nothing like it in any of the pastoral races existing in the East, though there are many of these whose civilization, estimated by the advance in the arts and sciences, would appear to be greater than that which was possessed by the Idumeans in the days of the patriarch. This superior purity of the ethical code, so far in advance of the progress made in the other branches of human intelligence, is a strong presumptive evidence that it was derived from a source external to the state of society. We find also that the friends of Job refer to moral |