Billeder på siden
PDF
ePub

Impressions of Travel in Egypt and Arabia Petraea. By Alexander Dumas. Translated from the French, by a Lady of New York. New York: John S. Taylor, 1839. pp. 318.

Memoir of Mrs. Elizabeth Mc Farland; or Full Assurance of Hope the Reward of Diligence in the Christian Life. By Nathaniel Bouton." Concord, N. H.: Marsh, Capen & Lyon, 1839. pp. 319.

The World's Religion, as contrasted with Genuine Christianity. By Lady Colquhoun, daughter of the Hon. Sir John Sinclair. New York: John S. Taylor, 1839. pp. 207,

School History of the United States, containing Maps, a Chronological Chart, and an Outline of Topics for a more extensive Course of Study. By S. R. Hall and A. R. Baker. Andover: William Pierce, 1839. pp. 368.

The Three Last Things; the Resurrection of the Body, Day of Judgment, and Final Retribution. By Joseph Tracy. Boston: Crocker & Brewster, 1839. pp. 104.

Spiritual Improvement; or Aid to Growth in Grace. A Companion for the Christian's Closet. By Ray Palmer, Pastor of the Third Cong. Church, Bath, Me. Boston: Perkins & Marvin, 1839. pp. 239.

ARTICLE XV.

LITERARY AND MISCELLANEOUS INTELLIGENCE.

United States.

The Presbyterian Controversy,-In the last Number of the Repository we inserted a brief Notice of the Decision of Judge Rogers on the cause pending before the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania in relation to the two bodies claiming to be the General Assembly of the Presbyterian church. Since that date the cause has been argued before the Court, in Bank, the Decision of Judge Rogers reversed, and a new trial ordered. A. McElroy, Philadelphia, has in press and nearly ready for publication, an "Accurate and Impartial Report," of about 400 pages, embracing all the pleadings, testimony, arguments and documents of the case. Our readers may expect a Review of this volume, and of the conflicting decisions of the Court of Pennsylvania in regard to it, in the next Number of the Repository, prepared by a gentleman of the Bar.

Europe.

The following are some of the most important theological and philological works that have appeared in Europe within the past year:

Der Brief an die Hebräer, theoretisch-praktisch erklärt. Von Dr. K. W. Stein. 8vo. Leipzig. 1838.

Allgemeine Geschichte der Katholischen Kirche von dem Ende des Tridentinischen Konciliums bis auf unsere Tage. Von Dr. E. Munch. 8vo. Carlsruhe, 1839.

Kommentar über die Genesis, Von Dr. Fr. Tuch. 8vo. Halle 1838.

Neue Kritische Untersuchungen über das Buch Daniel. Von Dr. H. Hävernick. 8vo. Hamburg, 1838.

Die Christliche Kirche auf Erden nach der Lehre der heiligen Schrift und der Geschichte. Von Dr. N. C. Kist, trans. from the Dutch by Dr. L. Tross. 8vo. Leipzig. 1838.

Mohammed's Religion nach ihner inneren Entwickelung und ihrem Einflusse auf das Leben der Völker. Eine historische Betrachtung. Von Prof. J. J. J. Döllinger. 4to. Regensburg, 1838.

F. Wallner, über die Verwandtschaft des Indo-germanischen, Semitische und Tibetanischen, nebst einer Einleitung über den Ursprung der Sprache. 8vo. Münster, 1838.

A. Pietet, de l'Affinité des langues Celtiques avec le Sancrit. 8vo. Paris, 1839.

Hebrew. Die Thränen oder Klagelieder Jeremiae, mit Benutzung alterer und neuerer Manuscripte, edirt, erklärt, und metrisch übersetzt, von L. H. Löwenstein. 8vo. Frankfort, 1838.

Salomo's Proverbien, mit Benutzung alterer und neuerer Manuscripte, edirt, erklärt, und metr. übersetzt. By the same.

Jesurim sive Prolegomenon in Concordantias Veteris Testamenti a Julio Fürstio editas, Libris tres, 8vo. Grimmae, 1838.

Schulehan Aruch, oder die vier Jüdischen Gesetzbücher. Des 2ten Buchs (Privat-Recht) 2te Hälfte, im Deutsche übertragen. Mit einem Anhange von H. G. F. Löwe sen. 8vo. Hamburg, 1838.

Philonis Judaei de Vita Mosis. Hoc est de Theologia et Prophetia idiomate Graeco olim descripta et in tres libros divisa, nunc autem in linguam hebraicum translata auctaque una notis in usum lectorum, etc. 8vo. Prague, 1839.

Arabic and Persian.-Le Diwan d' Amro'lkais, précédé de la vie de ce poète par l'auteur der Kitale El-Aghani. Text with French translation and Notes. 4to. Paris, 1838. Also by the same editor.

Kitale Wafayat Al-Ainyan. Viers des Hommes illustres de l'Islamisme en Arabe, par Ibn Khallikan, Vol. 1. Part. I. 4to.

Arabum Proverbia vocalibus instruxit, latine vertit, commentario illustravit, et sumptibus suis edidit G. W. Freytag. Vol. I. Part. 1. containing the collection of Meidani. 8vo. Bonn. 1839.

Scriptorum Arabum de Rebus Indicis loci et opuscula, ad codi um fidem recensuit et illustravit Joh. Gildemeister. Fasc. 1. 8vo. Bonn, 1839.

Suirchondi Historia Seleucidarum, persicè; a codd. MSS. nunc primum edidit et annotationibus illustravit Prof. J. A. Vullers. 8vo. Gissae, 1839. Also a German translation and notes, by the same author.

Mahmud Schebisteiis Rosenflor des Geheimnisses. Persian and German translation, and edited by Hammer Pingstali. 4to. Perth, 1839.

Sanscrit.-Ramayana, id est Carmen epicum de Ramae rebus gestis Poetae antiquissimi Valmicis opus. Textum codd. MSS. collatis recensuit, interp. lat. et annott. crit. adjecit Dr. A. G. Schlegel. 2 vols. 8vo. 1839.

Anthologia Sanscritica, glossario instructa, in usum scholarum edidit Dr. Chr. Lassen. 8vo. Bonn, 1839.

Gita Govinda Jayadevae Poeta Indici. Drama lyricum. Textum ad fidem libr. MSS. recogn. scholia selecta, annot. criticam interp. lat. adjecit Prof. Chr. Lassen. 4to. Bonn, 1839.

Institutiones linguae Practicae. By the same. 8vo. Bonn.

Chinese.-Théâtre Chinois, or Choix de pièces de théâtre composées sous empéreurs mongols, traduites pour la première fois sur le texte original, précédées d' une introduction et accompagnies, etc. Notes. 8vo. Paris, 1839.

THE

AMERICAN

BIBLICAL REPOSITORY.

OCTOBER, 1839.

SECOND SERIES, NO. IV.—WHOLE NO. XXXVI.

ARTICLE I.

THE TALMUD AND THE RABBIES.

By Isaac Nordheimer, D. P., Prof. Orient. Lang., University of the city of New-York.

INTRODUCTORY REMARKS.

A KNOWLEDGE of the history and usages of that _peculiar community, of whom were the Fathers and the Prophets, and of whom, as concerning the flesh, Christ came, must be regarded as an object of deep and permanent interest, not only to Christians of every name, but to the general scholar. Aside however from the Scriptures of the Old Testament, which they hold in common with us, the ancient literature and learning of the Jews, having been preserved in the Hebrew tongue, and not translated into modern languages, are but very inadequately appreciated, as they are but partially understood, by the majority even of our scholars and divines. The Talmud and the Rabbies are familiar to us by name; but little more is known of them by the mass of those who have occasion to refer to their names, than that the one is a Jewish book and that the others are Jewish teachers. Of the contents and extent of the former or the station, duties and general character of the latter

SECOND SERIES, VOL. II. NO. IV.

1

most of us have received only vague and indefinite impressions. The present article has therefore been solicited from the author, who is familiar with the whole range of Rabbinical learning. The editor is also assured that Dr. Nordheimer is not of that class of the Jews who submit their consciences to the traditional authority of the Talmud, as a divine revelation, With him the "Law and the Testimony" are the Old Tes tament Scriptures, and he feels no restraint in treating the traditional books of the Jews as merely human compositions, of no authority whatever excepting so far as they contain veritable history and sound instruction. He writes, therefore, not as an advocate of the Jewish traditions, but as a scholar, who, possessing the keys of this storehouse of learning, is willing to open it to the inspection of that large class of our readers who have had less opportunity of becoming acquainted with its curious and interesting interior structure and history, as well as with the accumulated mass of useless plenty which it contains.

To the Christian scholar the intrinsic merit of this article will sufficiently commend it, while to the mere English reader it will be found altogether intelligible and instructive. We are happy to add that the same author proposes in a future No. of the Repository to favor us with a brief sketch of the history of Jewish schools and literature, from the date of the Talmud to the present time, from which we may hope to derive a better knowledge than we have heretofore possessed, of the present internal state of that interesting and dispersed community, and of the manner in which we may hope most successfully to approach its members with the influences of Christianity. EDITOR.

GENEALOGICAL ORDER OF TRADITION.

The great body of precepts and illustrations relating to Jewish faith and practice entitled the Talmud (7, doctrine, from the Chald. 3 to learn) consists of the Mishnah (second law, deurépwois, from to repeat), which forms its text, and a perpetual commentary called the Gemara (completion, from to finish).. There are two of these commentaries, one composed in Palestine and the

other in Babylonia, which form together with the Mishnah the Jerusalem Talmud (b) and the Babylonian

.(ת' בבלי) Talmud

The Mishnah contains what is termed the oral law ( by min), forming the explanation and completion of the Pentateuch or written law (i). It is affirmed by the Jews that Moses received this oral law immediately from the Deity, and that he delivered it to the children of Israel, who handed it down by tradition from generation to generation until about the middle of the second century of the Christian era, when it was reduced by Rabbi Judah Hannasi to the form of a written volume.

The two Gemaras, of Jerusalem and Babylonia, in addition to expositions of the contents of the Mishnah and discussions on disputed points of doctrine, contain also historical and biographical notices, legends, disquisitions on astronomy and sympathetic medicine, aphorisms, apologues, parables, short and pithy sermons, and rules of ethics and of practical wisdom in general. The Jerusalem Gemara was composed at the city of Tiberias by R. Jochanan about seventy years after the compilation of the Mishnah (viz. 230 A. D.). It is so named, either from the dialect in which it is written (a corrupt Chaldee), or because it embodies the learning of the schools of Palestine, whose metropolis was Jerusalem, in order to distinguish it from the similar but far more copious Babylonian Gemara, composed in Babylonia about a century later by Rabbies Ashi and Abhina.

The miscellaneous nature of the contents of these productions sufficiently bespeaks the remoteness and antiquity of their origin. There is still, however, a certain order observed in the disposal of the numerous distinct treatises composing them, of which there are twenty-four in the Jerusalem Talmud, and sixty-three in the Babylonian. As the Mishnah is believed by the Jews to have been received by Moses directly from God himself, they hold it in the highest esteem and veneration, regarding its authority as equal to that of the Bible, of which they say it forms the completion. The order of the principal men who became in succession the depositaries of this sacred tradition, and who handed it down in an unbroken series from Moses to the period when it was committed to writing, is given by R. Moses ben Maimon, or as he is more commonly called Maimonides, in

« ForrigeFortsæt »