The Sceptics of the Old Testament: Job - Koheleth - Agur

by Emile Joseph Dillon

Hebrew metre, Prof. Bickell and the laws of
Heine and the "Canticles of Scepticism"
Hitopadeça, the, and the Sayings of Agur

Inspiration of Job not affected by reconstructive changes
Interpolations in Job, examples of
Isaac of Antioch, transpositions in poems caused by dropped leaves

Jesus Sirach and the Book of Proverbs
Job, the Poem of—
compared with Lucretius, De Nat. Rerum
its inclusion in the Canon
its appeal to all ages
opinion of Gregory the Great, Thomas Aquinas, Tennyson,
Luther
its place in literature

the problem of traditional theology the mystery of good and evil no conception of a future life nor of the Resurrection or Atonement the poet's view of the problem free-will and the origin of evil the Oriental theory of these Brahmanism and Buddhism Job's illumination the same as Buddha's

authorship of
date of
the question of historicity
date of earliest extant MS. of
a lost version of
various causes for changes in text
the chief cause, a horror of blasphemy
apparatus for detecting these changes
laws of Hebrew metre
parallelism
evidence of the Septuagint
Theodotion's version of the Old Testament
the Hexapla
the Saidic or Thebaic version of Job

examples of interpolations reconstructive changes do not affect inspiration Job's natural philosophy his dynamic theory of the Universe his monotheism not Jewish his moral system, based on pity, found in Buddhism, and here first preached in the Old Testament belief in eternal justice the secret of Job's resignation

the ancient legend of Job, use of it by the poet analysis of the Poem the appearance of Jehovah not literal but symbolical of Job's illumination Judaism, the influence of Buddhism on

Kant and Koheleth
Koheleth—
its inclusion in the Canon
the literary problem of
its metaphysical basis the same as that of the philosophy of
Buddha, Kant, and Schopenhauer

chaotic and conflicting character of text Prof. Bickell's theory as to the confusion of the book instances of similar confusion in other works the proposed re-arrangement illustrations in support of Prof. Bickell's theory

Koheleth's theory of life
source of happiness not wealth
nor wisdom
nor virtue
Koheleth's system
relation of God to man
the practical moral
the view of "moral order"
the world all Maya, illusion
Koheleth's theory not inconsistent with Christianity
the reach of our knowledge; happiness the only true good
Koheleth knows nothing of future life or of divine promises or
revelations