that of Philippi itself which have any bearing on the statements of the Epistle, or on the situation represented in it, are brought within our view. In the case of the Epistle to the Colossians, everything that can shed light upon the heresy in question, or explain the position of the Church, is made use of. Matters that cannot be sufficiently handled in the form of notes are discussed at greater length in the form of an excursus. Dr Vincent gives us in this way a very full statement on the question of "Bishops and Deacons " as suggested by Philippians i. 1. Some fifteen pages are given to this, and the result reached is that the bishop's office was originally not spiritual but administrative," that he had a "local function in a particular community," but that we have not the materials to define very clearly "the precise range and action of this function." Another excursus is occupied with a very careful examination of the great Christological paragraph in Phil. ii. In this Dr Vincent comes to the conclusion that Paul cannot be committed there to "any precise theological statement of the limitations of Christ's humanity"; that the phrase cautòv ékévwσev finds its best definition in the words which follow it descriptive of the incidents of Christ's humanity; and that it does not indicate a "surrender of deity, nor a paralysis of deity, nor a change of personality, nor a break in the continuity of self-consciousness." It may be further said of Dr Vincent's book that it gives much attention to the exposition of Paul's thought, and is often very successful in this.

Dr Abbott's commentary is a strong book, with a certain marked individuality. Its most distinctive feature probably is its treatment of the text. Dr Abbott is a trained textual critic, and in everything belonging to the state of the text of the two Epistles which he expounds his work will at once take a foremost place. We have nothing better to point to in this direction, nothing that bears more distinctly the stamp of the expert. It is in this line that the book makes its most special contribution. But Dr Abbott is also a master of vocabulary and style, and a competent and independent exegete. As excellent examples of his exegetical faculty we might point to his exposition of such passages as Eph. iii. 14-21; Col. i. 15; ii. 14, 15. Where it seems to us to come short is in its treatment of some of the more distinctively Pauline ideas. Here it is less frankly faithful than Meyer's to the plain historical sense, and betrays a disposition to explain away or tone down those statements in the Epistle to the Ephesians which form the basis of the Calvinistic system of doctrine. There is much that deserves consideration in Dr Abbott's handling of the literary and historical problems. In matters of internal evidence he shows much of the spirit and Vol. VIII.-No 1.

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the method of Paley, and speaks in an appreciative way of the Horae Paulinae. His discussions of the character of the Epistle to the Ephesians, the circle of readers, and the claims of the local designation "in Ephesus" to form part of the inscription, are models of clear and balanced statement. Nor is he less satisfactory in dealing with the objections taken to the genuineness of the Epistle. He has a happy way of dealing with these, not merely in detail, but in the light of larger literary considerations. Dr Abbott has his own way of looking at things. He has thought out the great questions which are raised by these Epistles, and has good reasons to offer for the opinions he gives. All is done in a clear and easy style, and with a point and precision which will make his Commentary one that the student will consult with satisfaction. S. D. F. SALMOND.

Genesis Critically and Exegetically Expounded. By Dr A. Dillmann, late Professor of Theology in Berlin. Translated from the last edition by Wm. B. Stevenson, B.D., assistant to the Professor of Hebrew, Edinburgh University. In 2 volumes. Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 1897. 8vo, pp. 413, 507. Price, 218.

AMONGST the numerous services rendered by Messrs Clark to English-speaking students of the Old Testament, none will be more highly appreciated than their publishing of a translation of Dillmann's Genesis. We expect of an Old Testament commentator nowadays that he be a thorough linguist, a skilled exegete, and that he have an acquaintance with the latest results of archaeological research. All these requirements are met by Dillmann, whose Genesis has been declared by Professor Budde to be "the most perfect form of the Commentarius perpetuus," and by Professor A. B. Davidson to be "without doubt the fullest and best informed work on the Book of Genesis that exists." It is a commentary which literally, and not merely by a figure of speech, is indispensable to every Old Testament student. We need not use space to describe Dillmann's critical standpoint. While the sources he recognises are the same as those of other critics, he differs from not a few in assigning to E the priority in time over J, and differs materially from the school of Wellhausen regarding the relative dates of the Deuteronomic and the Priestly Codes. The method followed in the work before us is, first, to divide the material into large sections. Of these there are five. I. The Primitive History from the Creation to the Flood. II. The History of Noah and his Descendants down to Abraham. III. The History of Abraham.

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IV. The History of

Isaac. V. The History of Jacob. Each of these sections is then broken up into the appropriate sub-sections, which are first discussed in general, and then taken up verse by verse. The arrangement in the translation deserves special praise. Even

the most zealous student must at times have felt it wearisome work to make his way through the closely-packed, unbroken pages of the original. We can now see clearly that we have before us a perfect mine of linguistic and archaeological information. Assyriology, Egyptology, Natural Science, Geographical research are all pressed into the service; and the copious references to authorities (wisely relegated to foot-notes) enable the student to prosecute further researches, and to form an independent judgment. And amidst it all the acute and generally convincing exegesis of our author never fails to make itself conspicuous. The utility of the work is enhanced by the carefully prepared Indexes (English and Hebrew) and the Lexical Lists showing the linguistic usage of P, E and J (we agree with the translator that this nomenclature had better have been substituted for Dillmann's A, B, C) respectively.

Mr Stevenson is to be congratulated on having given us a translation which is not merely accurate (that is a matter of course), but reads with an ease to which, until lately, we were little accustomed in works of this kind. It is safe to predict that these two handsome volumes will speedily be recognised as the commentary on Genesis. It is a worthy counterpart to Driver's Deuteronomy.

J. A. SELBIE.

Notices.

MR OTTLEY'S Bampton Lectures for 18971 make a large volume. It would not be difficult to show that at certain points they might have been condensed with advantage. But we should be slow to quarrel with them for that. Their merits far outweigh deficiencies in form, proportion, or method of reasoning which may be discovered in them. They carry us pleasantly along, and say many good and helpful things in admirable style. They have also the great recommendation of opportuneness. They address themselves to a question of anxious moment to many earnest minds, and they face that question fairly, courageously, and in a liberal spirit. They show a special and most proper regard for the large class of persons whose faith is disquieted by the change from the traditional view of the Old Testament. But they keep also in view those who are 1 Aspects of the Old Testament considered in Eight Lectures delivered before the University of Oxford. By Robert Lawrence Ottley, M. A., &c. London: Longmans, Green & Co., 1897. 8vo, pp. xix. 448. Price, 16s.

tempted to belittle the importance of the critical movement, and the extremists who will allow nothing but contradiction between the new ideas and the old faith of High Churchmen like the author. They do not profess to do more than "illustrate a view of the Old Testament, which the writer believes to furnish a true via media at the present juncture. But in dealing with certain "aspects" of the Old Testament they touch the essential points of difficulty in the adjustment of the ancient faith in the authority of the Old Testament to the critical view of its origin and history.

Mr Ottley is wise enough to recognise how futile it is to look at things otherwise than they are, or to think of going back to the position of a century ago. He is not blind to the extravagances and mistakes into which criticism, in some of its schools and at the hand of some of its masters, has fallen. But he frankly acknowledges that there is a substantial modification of the "traditional theory of Hebrew history and religion," which cannot be ignored, and he claims that the criticism of the last 150 years has yielded certain broad results which are of far-reaching consequence. He admits the parabolic character of sections of the Old Testament which have been regarded by most as pure narrative, the existence of mythic elements and moral imperfections, and the operation of methods of constructing history which are strange to the modern mind. And in face of this he contends that the authority and the religious function of the Old Testament remain what they were, only enlarged.

When a former Principal of Pusey House makes these concessions, and admits further that the Book of Daniel was "apparently composed as a manual of consolation for the confessors and martyrs of the Maccabean period," we see how far we have travelled since the Oxford Movement was at its height. But, if Mr Ottley's book is a sign of the times, it is a book that should disarm fear and help faith. It plants our feet firmly upon the broad foundation of the historical view of Revelation, and shows with power what is involved in the idea of a fragmentary and progressive Revelation. It is apt perhaps to press certain lines of argument too far. It does so, we think, in the analogy which it draws out between the Incarnate Word and Scripture. But it says many fit and beautiful things about the religious use of the Hebrew records, especially the Psalter, and it vindicates in a noble way the permanent function of the Old Testament in revealing God, preparing for the Christ who was to come, bearing witness to the Divine Government and its laws, furthering individual and social righteousness, and helping us to understand the New Testament. Mr Ottley has done a great and timely service to a free and wellestablished faith.

Professor S. R. Driver's Introduction to the Literature of the Old Testament1 has reached its sixth English edition-a distinction rarely attained in so brief a space of time by a theological treatise, and most remarkable in the case of a book dealing with the most complicated questions of Old Testament criticism with the precision and unadorned definiteness of scientific scholarship. It took at once the first place among English books of its kind and it continues to hold it in virtue of its solid merits, the reliableness of its statements, the caution of its judgments, and the pains with which it is kept abreast of all that is done in its province. The present edition may be regarded as a new book. There has been a thorough revision in the light of the most recent contributions to the study of the Old Testament books, the work has been entirely re-set, and considerable additions have been made to the matter. In a new Preface, Dr Driver has much to say on the progress of critical opinion and the bearings of archaeological research that will be read with interest.

It is a pleasure to welcome Professor Orr's Kerr Lectures 2 in their third edition. It is a most gratifying success, and it is entirely due to the merits of the work. The book has steadily won its way by the command of its subject which it shows on every page, the largeness and trustworthiness of its acquaintance with the literature of its theme, the precision of its statements, the fairness of its criticism, and the vigour of its style. It has established itself in general esteem as one of the best books that have been produced by Scottish theologians in recent years, and one of the most satisfactory contributions to Christian Apologetics. It has given real help to many minds, and it will continue to do so.

We are glad to receive from the same hand a volume on The Ritschlian Theology and the Evangelical Faith,3 being the latest addition to the Theological Educator series. Few British theologians have studied the theology of Ritschl, whether as it appears in Ritschl's own writings, or as it has been modified in various directions in those of his disciples, with the care, the patience, and the critical faculty with which Dr Orr has approached it. His volume is not a large one, but it is packed with matter, and it embodies the well-considered results of careful and extensive reading. It is the best English book we have on its subject. Nothing is left un

1 Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 1897. 8vo, pp. xx. xi. 577. Price, 12s.

2 The Christian View of God and the World as centring in the Incarnation. By James Orr, D.D., Professor of Church History in the United Presbyterian College, Edinburgh. Edinburgh: Andrew Elliot, 1897. Cr. 8vo, pp. xx. 480. Price, 78 6d.

3 By James Orr, M.A., D.D. London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1897. Fcap. 8vo, pp. xii. 216. Price, 2s. 6d.