We began last week a statement of the dates assigned to the various books of the Old Testament by the class of critics who are represented in Driver's Introduction. We pass now from the Hexateuch to the other historical books.

      JUDGES was compiled, according to these critics, by the author of Deuteronomy, who, as we have seen in our former article, wrote in the eighth century B. C., close to the time in which the latter book was brought forward by Hilkiah with the assertion that he found it in the temple (154, 157). This was about four hundred years after the time of Samson, the last of the judges mentioned in the book--late enough, as the theory requires, to prevent the author from knowing much about the truth of what he wrote.

      RUTH, the contents of which belong to the earlier part of the period covered by Judges, was written, Driver thinks, before the exile; but he admits that the majority of critics are against him in this, some holding it to have been written in the exile, and some still later (426, 427).

      The two Books of Samuel, which cover the period from the birth of Samuel to the death of David, 1171-1017 B. C., were written, at least the principal parts, about 700 B. C., or some three hundred years after the death of David (173). This was long enough for the stories about Samuel, Saul and David, orally transmitted for more than three centuries, to become confused [8] and legendary, as all the critics whose theories we are considering suppose them to be as they stand in these books.

      The two Books of Kings, to which a fair degree of credibility is ascribed, were written B. C. 600, about the close of the period of history which they cover; and here the theory of these critics coincides with the generally received opinion of Biblical scholars.

      Quite different is the view taken of the two Books of Chronicles. They are the least truthful of all the historical books of the Bible; they were written purposely to falsify the history from David down, in the interest of the priesthood and of the ritual law which came into existence during the captivity. They are dated about 300 B. C., more than two hundred years after the close of the captivity (512). Of course the ancient supposition that they were written by Ezra is flouted as thoroughly unscientific.

      The Books of Ezra and Nehemiah are both removed far below the ages of these two men, and are supposed to have been compiled by the author of Chronicles, but with the use, possibly, of some memoranda left by the two men whose names the books bear.

      ESTHER, the only historical book remaining to be mentioned, is treated with more credit as regards its date, though not much more so than Chronicles as regards its truthfulness. It is supposed to have been written about the time of Xerxes, in whose reign its events transpired, and who is known in the book as Ahasuerus (455).

      From these statements, combined with those in our former article, the reader can see that with the exception of the Books of Kings and Esther, all of the historical books of the Old Testament are brought by these [9] critics so far away from their accredited dates and authors, as to render them historically unreliable.

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