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as laid down in the books since the days of David and Solomon, is apparent. The kings of Israel were not to be merely political figure-heads but were, as theocratical rulers, the instruments and deputies of God, ruling the people in his name and in his spirit. They had, then, a religious as well as a political aim to follow, and they, consequently, above all others, were called upon to aid in the development of Israel to that ultimate aim, the realization of the promises given it in the glorious kingdom of the Messiah.! In the fulfilment of this theocratic object, the rulers, in the author’s days, had signally failed; instead of being the leaders of the faith and hope of Israel, the royalty and aristocracy had become the home of rationalism and infidelity. The perception of this fact, that there was “corruption in high places,” will explain the peculiar apology of the writer, the judgment, the pre-eminently royal and judicial character of the Messiah, and the final punishment of the sinners. Historically, the status here presupposed is easily understood. The Asmoneans, although originally faithful adherents of the religion of Jehovah, soon after the assumption of royalty departed from the path of the Maccabean heroes. With the single exception of Alexandra (78-69 B.C.) all the rulers from Aristobulus I. (105-104 B.C.) were wicked and godless, by no means realizing what an earnest Jew might expect from theocratic rulers. This, too, makes clear the author’s object. Over against the infidel rulers and the unjust rule of his day he maintains the speedy coming of the chosen ruler of God, GTR, the Messiah and his rule of justice and peace. He predicts the downfall of false royalty and its unbelieving adherents, and the establishment of the true God-pleasing royalty through the Messiah as the head of the congregation of saints. b. The Messiah. —The contents centre in the Messiah, as the proper theocratic counterpart of a false 1 royalty, 46 and the Parables could well be called the book of the Messiah. The chief interest of the book lies in his person and object. It has been a constant dispute among investigators whether the Messiah here is a Christian or a Jewish one, the latter position being generally held by older investigators, the former by the later ones. The first glance may speak with some probability for a Christian origin, but a closer examination necessitates the acceptance of a Jewish source. This conclusion is already made probable by the general character of the Messiah as the embodiment of the true theocratic idea of the Old Testament royalty, and he is thus to be the realization of a pre-eminently Jewish hope. The positive statements of the book make this probability a certainty. The most important remark concerning the person of the Messiah is found 48:3, where it is stated that before the sun and the signs and the stars were made his name had been called before the Lord of the spirits; and, 48:6, it is said that he was chosen and hidden before the world was created, and was hidden, 62:6, 7, but preserved and revealed to the just, 48:7; 62:7. It is further stated that he “had arisen,” 49:2; 51:5, or “appeared,” 52:9; 38:2, and was “revealed,” 69:26. The author here does not teach simply a predestination, but a pre-existence, or rather a pre-mundane existence, of the Messiah. For by his words “before the world” and “before the creation of the sun” the author shows that he does not teach a pre-existence from eternity in an absolute and metaphysical sense, without a beginning or origin, but only in the sense in which HTR is used in Hebrew, from a time the limit of which is for the writer objectively beyond the horizon of his vision.! The writer, who manifestly does not desire to give an exhaustive treatise on the person of the Messiah, has a special object in emphasizing the pre-existence. By stating that the author of the glorious times to come is now already prepared, and has been so before the creation of the world, he does not desire simply to vindicate the certainty of the fulfilment of his prophecy, but rather, by ascribing this supernatural character to the Messiah, lays stress on the fact that he will be able to judge and condemn even the powerful kings. That the ability of the Messiah to carry out what is here stated of him is a thesis that the author must establish beyond all doubt, is only too manifest from 55:4. In thus ascribing pre-existence to the Messiah, the author does nothing more than is done in other respects by apocryphal writers in general. These frequently, in order to