of other
priestly elements, but it believes that in the religious development of
Israel, the pre-exilic period was preeminently the period of the
prophets, while the religious life during the post-exilic period was
dominated by the priests, the priestly type of religion finding
literary expression in the ceremonial system embodied in the Pentateuch.

4. According to modern criticism, compilation had a prominent place in
the production of Old Testament books. The composite character of the
Pentateuch is touched upon in the next paragraph, but, in addition, it
is believed that {88} there is sufficient evidence to establish the
composite character of practically all the other historical books.
McFadyen accurately represents the modern viewpoint when he says, "In
the light of all these facts the general possibility, if not the
practical certainty, of the compositeness of the historical books may
be conceded."[15] Evidences of compilation are seen also in several of
the prophetic books. The assignment of Isaiah and Zechariah to more
than one author each furnishes perhaps the best known examples, but
other prophetic books are similarly divided.

5. The Pentateuch is no longer assigned in its entirety to Moses; it
is thought, rather, to contain material selected from four different
sources, which the compiler had before him in writing.[16] These
documents did not reach their final form until some time subsequent to
Moses, but all of them contained ancient material, much of it going
back to the time of Moses, some of it even to pre-Mosaic days. Among
the contents of the Pentateuch special attention is called to three
legal codes--the Book of the Covenant, the Deuteronomic Code, and the
Priestly Code--belonging to different periods in Hebrew history, and
reflecting different stages in the religious and social development of
the nation. The Deuteronomic Code, in some form, is believed to have
been the basis of the reforms instituted by Josiah {89} and to have
been written most probably during the early part of the seventh
century. On these general questions respecting the Pentateuch there
seems to be general agreement among critical scholars; on the other
hand, there is wide divergence of opinion concerning points of detail,
such as the chronological order in which the several documents reached
their final form, their exact dates, the manner and time of their
compilation, the detailed distribution of the material among