ication of these later laws apparently continued until toward the
latter part of the Persian period when the Samaritan schism (Section CIII)
fixed them in their present form.

To these laws was prefixed, as an introduction, the priestly history that
opens with the account of creation in the first chapter of Genesis and
briefly traces Israel's history to the settlement in Canaan. The interest
of these late priestly historians is, like that of the Chronicler, in the
origin of institutions. Thus the object of the first chapter of Genesis is
to give the traditional origin and authority of the sabbath. The account
of the flood culminates in a covenant embodying the command that man shall
not eat of the blood of sacrificial animals; the priestly stories
regarding Abraham aim to give the origin of the rite of circumcision.
Israel's early experiences in the wilderness furnish the setting for the
giving of the law at Sinai. In this way the late editors of these opening
books of the Old Testament connect all of Israel's legislation with Moses
and aim to establish its divine authority.

V. Their Important Regulations. The central aim in all these late
priestly laws was similar to that of Ezekiel: it was to make Israel a
holy people and to prevent them from falling again into the sins to which
were attributed the overwhelming disasters that had overtaken them. This
aim they sought to accomplish: (1) by making the temple and its services
the centre of the life of the people and through ceremonial barriers and
regulations to shield it from everything that might pollute it; (2) by
rendering the temple service attractive; (3) by insuring through rigid
ceremonial laws the purity of its priesthood; (4) by preserving the
ceremonial cleanliness of the people through strict laws regarding the
food which they ate and elaborate provisions for their purification in
case they were contaminated by contact with that which was regarded as
unclean; (5) by prohibiting absolutely all marriages with the heathen; and
(6) by emphasizing the rigid observation of the sabbath and other
distinctive institutions. In general these late priestly laws represented
a return to the older and more primitive conception of religion, and
defined duty in terms of ceremonial rather than moral acts.

VI. Their Practical Effects. Later Judaism represents to a great extent
the result of the rigid enforcement of these regulations. Its life was
centralized more and more abo