William Robertson Smith
Encyclopedia
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
orientalist, Old Testament
Old Testament
The Old Testament, of which Christians hold different views, is a Christian term for the religious writings of ancient Israel held sacred and inspired by Christians which overlaps with the 24-book canon of the Masoretic Text of Judaism...
scholar, professor of divinity, and minister of the Free Church of Scotland
Free Church of Scotland (1843-1900)
The Free Church of Scotland is a Scottish denomination which was formed in 1843 by a large withdrawal from the established Church of Scotland in a schism known as the "Disruption of 1843"...
. He was an editor of the Encyclopædia Britannica
Encyclopædia Britannica
The Encyclopædia Britannica , published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., is a general knowledge English-language encyclopaedia that is available in print, as a DVD, and on the Internet. It is written and continuously updated by about 100 full-time editors and more than 4,000 expert...
and contributor to the Encyclopaedia Biblica
Encyclopaedia Biblica
Encyclopaedia Biblica: A Critical Dictionary of the Literary, Political and Religion History, the Archeology, Geography and Natural History of the Bible , edited by Thomas Kelly Cheyne and J. Sutherland Black, is a critical encyclopedia of the Bible. In Theology/Biblical studies, it is often...
. He is also known for his book Religion of the Semites, which is considered a foundational text in the comparative study of religion.
Life and career
Smith was born in AberdeenshireAberdeenshire
Aberdeenshire is one of the 32 unitary council areas in Scotland and a lieutenancy area.The present day Aberdeenshire council area does not include the City of Aberdeen, now a separate council area, from which its name derives. Together, the modern council area and the city formed historic...
and demonstrated a quick intellect at an early age. He entered Aberdeen University at fifteen, before transferring to New College
New College, Edinburgh
New College was opened in 1846 as a college of the Free Church of Scotland, later of the United Free Church of Scotland, and from the 1930s has been the home of the School of Divinity of the University of Edinburgh...
, Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
, to train for the ministry, in 1866. After graduation he took up a chair in Hebrew
Hebrew language
Hebrew is a Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Culturally, is it considered by Jews and other religious groups as the language of the Jewish people, though other Jewish languages had originated among diaspora Jews, and the Hebrew language is also used by non-Jewish groups, such...
at the Aberdeen Free Church College in 1870. In 1875 he wrote a number of important articles on religious topics in the ninth edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica. He became popularly known because of his trial for heresy in the 1870s, following the publication of an article in the Encyclopædia Britannica.
Smith's articles approached religious topics without endorsing the bible as literally true. The result was a furore in the Free Church of Scotland
Free Church of Scotland (1843-1900)
The Free Church of Scotland is a Scottish denomination which was formed in 1843 by a large withdrawal from the established Church of Scotland in a schism known as the "Disruption of 1843"...
, of which he was a member. As a result of the heresy trial, he lost his position at the Aberdeen Free Church College in 1881 and took up a position as a reader in Arabic
Arabic language
Arabic is a name applied to the descendants of the Classical Arabic language of the 6th century AD, used most prominently in the Quran, the Islamic Holy Book...
at the University of Cambridge
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
, where he eventually rose to the position of University Librarian, Professor of Arabic and a fellow of Christ's College
Christ's College, Cambridge
Christ's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge.With a reputation for high academic standards, Christ's College averaged top place in the Tompkins Table from 1980-2000 . In 2011, Christ's was placed sixth.-College history:...
. It was during this time that he wrote The Old Testament in the Jewish Church (1881) and The Prophets of Israel (1882), which were intended to be theological treatises for the lay audience.
In 1887 Smith became the editor of the Encyclopædia Britannica after the death of his employer Thomas Spencer Baynes
Thomas Spencer Baynes
Thomas Spencer Baynes was a philosopher, son of a Baptist minister, born at Wellington, Somerset, intended to study for Baptist ministry, and was at a theological seminary at Bath with that view, but being strongly attracted to philosophical studies, left it and went to Edinburgh, when he became...
left the position vacant. In 1889 he wrote his most important work, Religion of the Semites, an account of ancient Jewish religious life which pioneered the use of sociology in the analysis of religious phenomena. He was Professor of Arabic there with the full title 'Sir Thomas Adams Professor of Arabic' (1889- 1894). He died in 1894 of tuberculosis
Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...
.
Approach
His views on the historical methodHistorical method
Historical method comprises the techniques and guidelines by which historians use primary sources and other evidence to research and then to write histories in the form of accounts of the past. The question of the nature, and even the possibility, of a sound historical method is raised in the...
of criticism
Biblical criticism
Biblical criticism is the scholarly "study and investigation of Biblical writings that seeks to make discerning judgments about these writings." It asks when and where a particular text originated; how, why, by whom, for whom, and in what circumstances it was produced; what influences were at work...
can be illustrated in the following quote:
Ancient books coming down to us from a period many centuries before the invention of printing have necessarily undergone many vicissitudes. Some of them are preserved only in imperfect copies made by an ignorant scribe of the dark ages. Others have been disfigured by editors, who mixed up foreign matter with the original text. Very often an important book fell altogether out of sight for a long time, and when it came to light again all knowledge of its origin was gone; for old books did not generally have title-pages and prefaces. And, when such a nameless roll was again brought into notice, some half-informed reader or transcriber was not unlikely to give it a new title of his own devising, which was handed down thereafter as if it had been original. Or again, the true meaning and purpose of a book often became obscure in the lapse of centuries, and led to false interpretations. Once more, antiquity has handed down to us many writings which are sheer forgeries, like some of the Apocryphal books, or the Sibylline oracles, or those famous Epistles of Phalaris which formed the subject of Bentley's great critical essay. In all such cases the historical critic must destroy the received view, in order to establish the truth. He must review doubtful titles, purge out interpolations, expose forgeries; but he does so only to manifest the truth, and exhibit the genuine remains of antiquity in their real character. A book that is really old and really valuable has nothing to fear from the critic, whose labours can only put its worth in a clearer light, and establish its authority on a surer basis.
The Old Testament in the Jewish Church
- The Old Testament in the Jewish Church. A course of lectures on biblical criticism (Edinburgh: A. & C. Black 1881); second edition (London: A. & C. Black 1892).
- The author addresses the Christian believer who opposes higher criticism of the Old TestamentOld TestamentThe Old Testament, of which Christians hold different views, is a Christian term for the religious writings of ancient Israel held sacred and inspired by Christians which overlaps with the 24-book canon of the Masoretic Text of Judaism...
, considering that it will reduce the Bible to rational historical terms and omit the supernatural [cf. 3-5]. He replies that the Bible's purpose is to give its readers entry into the experience of lived faith, to put them in touch with God working in history, which a true understanding of the text will better provide [8-9]. Critical Bible study, in fact, follows in the spirit of the Protestant ReformationProtestant ReformationThe Protestant Reformation was a 16th-century split within Western Christianity initiated by Martin Luther, John Calvin and other early Protestants. The efforts of the self-described "reformers", who objected to the doctrines, rituals and ecclesiastical structure of the Roman Catholic Church, led...
[18-19]. - Prior Catholic study of the Bible is faulted for being primarily interested in drawing out consistent doctrines [7, 25]. Instead Protestants initially turned to Jewish scholars who could better teach them HebrewBiblical Hebrew languageBiblical Hebrew , also called Classical Hebrew , is the archaic form of the Hebrew language, a Canaanite Semitic language spoken in the area known as Canaan between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea. Biblical Hebrew is attested from about the 10th century BCE, and persisted through...
. However, the chief purpose of Jewish learning was legalTalmudThe Talmud is a central text of mainstream Judaism. It takes the form of a record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, philosophy, customs and history....
: the Bible being a source of Jewish law, derived to settle their current disputes and issues of practice [52]. - As Protestant bible study continued, the nature of the text began to reveal itself as complex and many layered. For example, especially in the earlier books, two different, redundant, and sometimes inconsistent versions appeared to co-exist [133]. This would imply that an editor had woven several pre-existing narratives together to form a composite text [cf. 90-91].
- The PsalmsPsalmsThe Book of Psalms , commonly referred to simply as Psalms, is a book of the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Bible...
are shown to reflect the life of the entire Hebrew people, rather than that of a single traditional author, King DavidDavidDavid was the second king of the united Kingdom of Israel according to the Hebrew Bible and, according to the Gospels of Matthew and Luke, an ancestor of Jesus Christ through both Saint Joseph and Mary...
[224]. - Prior understanding was that all ritual and civil law in the Pentateuch (Books of Moses) had originated at Mt. Sinai; Bible history being the story of how the Hebrews would follow or not a comprehensive moral order [231-232]. Yet from the Bible text, the author demonstrates how ritual law was initially ignored after Moses [254-256, 259]; only much later, following the return from exileBabylonian captivityThe Babylonian captivity was the period in Jewish history during which the Jews of the ancient Kingdom of Judah were captives in Babylon—conventionally 587–538 BCE....
, was the ritual system established under EzraEzraEzra , also called Ezra the Scribe and Ezra the Priest in the Book of Ezra. According to the Hebrew Bible he returned from the Babylonian exile and reintroduced the Torah in Jerusalem...
[226-227]. - The Pentateuch contains laws and history [321]. Its history "does not profess to be written by MosesMosesMoses was, according to the Hebrew Bible and Qur'an, a religious leader, lawgiver and prophet, to whom the authorship of the Torah is traditionally attributed...
" as "he himself is habitually spoken of in the third person" [323-324]. From internal evidence found in the Bible, Pentateuch history was "written in the land of Canaan" after the death of Moses (c. 13th century BCE), probably as late as "the period of kings", perhaps written under SaulSaul-People:Saul is a given/first name in English, the Anglicized form of the Hebrew name Shaul from the Hebrew Bible:* Saul , including people with this given namein the Bible:* Saul , a king of Edom...
or under DavidDavidDavid was the second king of the united Kingdom of Israel according to the Hebrew Bible and, according to the Gospels of Matthew and Luke, an ancestor of Jesus Christ through both Saint Joseph and Mary...
(c.1010-970) [325]. - The laws found in the Book of Deuteronomy [xii-xxvi] are also demonstrated to date to a time long after Moses [318-320]. In fact, everything in the reforms under King JosiahJosiahJosiah or Yoshiyahu or Joshua was a king of Judah who instituted major reforms. Josiah is credited by most historians with having established or compiled important Jewish scriptures during the Deuteronomic reform that occurred during his rule.Josiah became king of Judah at the age of eight, after...
(r.640-609) are found written in the Deuteronomic codeDeuteronomic CodeThe Deuteronomic Code is the name given by academics to the law code within the Book of Deuteronomy. It contains "a variety of topics including religious ceremonies and ritual purity, civil and criminal law, and the conduct of war"...
. His Book of the Covenant probably is none other than "the law of Deuteronomy, which, in its very form, appears to have once been a separate volume" [258]. Internal evidence found in the bible is discussed [e.g., 353-355]. - In the centuries immediately following Moses, the Pentateuch was not the primary rule; rather Divine spiritual guidance was provided to the ancient Hebrew nation by their prophets [334-345].
- The author addresses the Christian believer who opposes higher criticism of the Old Testament
- Smith's lectures were originally given in Edinburgh and Glasgow during early 1881. "It is of the first importance for the reader to realize that Biblical Criticism is not the invention of modern scholars, but the legitimate interpretation of historical facts." The result is that "the history of Israel... [makes]... one of the strongest evidences of Christianity." (Author's Preface, 1881).
- Doctinal opposition against Smith first arose after his 1875 encyclopaedia article "Bible" which covered similar ground. In 1878 Church heresy charges had been filed, "the chief of which concerned the authorship of Deuteronomy." These 1881 lectures followed his removal as professor at the Free Church College in Aberdeen.
- Smith's 1881 edition "was a landmark in the history of biblical criticism in Britain, in particular because it laid before the general public the critical view to which WellhausenJulius WellhausenJulius Wellhausen , was a German biblical scholar and orientalist, noted particularly for his contribution to scholarly understanding of the origin of the Pentateuch/Torah ....
had given classical expression in his Geschichte IsraelsProlegomena zur Geschichte IsraelsProlegomena zur Geschichte Israels is a book by German biblical scholar Julius Wellhausen which formulated the documentary hypothesis...
which had appeared less that three years earlier, in 1878." Yet "Smith did not merely repeat the arguments of Wellhausen, or anyone else; he approached the subject in a quite original way."
The Prophets of Israel
- The Prophets of Israel and their place in history, to the close of the 8th century B.C. (Edinburgh: A. & C. Black 1882), reprinted with introduction and notes by T. K. Cheney (London: A. & C. Black 1895).
- The Hebrew prophetProphetIn religion, a prophet, from the Greek word προφήτης profitis meaning "foreteller", is an individual who is claimed to have been contacted by the supernatural or the divine, and serves as an intermediary with humanity, delivering this newfound knowledge from the supernatural entity to other people...
s are presented in context with the ancient religious practice by neighboring nations. Instead of divination, elsewhere often used for political convenience or emotional release (however earnest), here the prophets of IsraelHistory of ancient Israel and JudahIsrael and Judah were related Iron Age kingdoms of ancient Palestine. The earliest known reference to the name Israel in archaeological records is in the Merneptah stele, an Egyptian record of c. 1209 BCE. By the 9th century BCE the Kingdom of Israel had emerged as an important local power before...
witness to the God of justice, i.e., to their God's true nature [85-87, 107-108]. In announcing ethical guidance, these ancient prophets declared to the Jewish people the will of their God acting in history [70-75]. - The opening chapters introduce the nature of JehovahJehovahJehovah is an anglicized representation of Hebrew , a vocalization of the Tetragrammaton , the proper name of the God of Israel in the Hebrew Bible....
in Jewish history after Moses [33-41, {110-112, 116-118}] discussing neighboring religions [26-27, 38-40, 49-51, 66-68], regional theocracyTheocracyTheocracy is a form of organization in which the official policy is to be governed by immediate divine guidance or by officials who are regarded as divinely guided, or simply pursuant to the doctrine of a particular religious sect or religion....
[47-53], henotheismHenotheismHenotheism is the belief and worship of a single god while accepting the existence or possible existence of other deities...
[53-60], national survival [32-39] and righteousness [34-36, 70-74], as well as JudgesBook of JudgesThe Book of Judges is the seventh book of the Hebrew bible and the Christian Old Testament. Its title describes its contents: it contains the history of Biblical judges, divinely inspired prophets whose direct knowledge of Yahweh allows them to act as decision-makers for the Israelites, as...
[30-31, 39, 42-45], and the prophet Elijah [76-87]. Then follows chapters on the prophets AmosAmos (prophet)Amos is a minor prophet in the Old Testament, and the author of the Book of Amos. Before becoming a prophet, Amos was a sheep herder and a sycamore fig farmer. Amos' prior professions and his claim "I am not a prophet nor a son of a prophet" indicate that Amos was not from the school of prophets,...
[III], HoseaHoseaHosea was the son of Beeri and a prophet in Israel in the 8th century BC. He is one of the Twelve Prophets of the Jewish Hebrew Bible, also known as the Minor Prophets of the Christian Old Testament. Hosea is often seen as a "prophet of doom", but underneath his message of destruction is a promise...
[IV], and IsaiahIsaiahIsaiah ; Greek: ', Ēsaïās ; "Yahu is salvation") was a prophet in the 8th-century BC Kingdom of Judah.Jews and Christians consider the Book of Isaiah a part of their Biblical canon; he is the first listed of the neviim akharonim, the later prophets. Many of the New Testament teachings of Jesus...
[V-VII], wherein Smith seeks to demonstrate how the Hebrew religion grew through each prophet's message. The work concludes with the secular and religious history of the period preceding the exileBabylonian captivityThe Babylonian captivity was the period in Jewish history during which the Jews of the ancient Kingdom of Judah were captives in Babylon—conventionally 587–538 BCE....
[VIII].
- The Hebrew prophet
- In his Preface [xlix-lviii, at lvi-lvii], the author acknowledges reliance on critical biblical studies, specifically that established by EwaldHeinrich EwaldGeorg Heinrich August Ewald was a German orientalist and theologian.-Life:Ewald was born at Göttingen where his father was a linen weaver. In 1815 he was sent to the gymnasium, and in 1820 he entered the University of Göttingen, where he studied with J.G. Eichhorn and T. C. Tychsen, specialising...
, developed by GrafKarl Heinrich GrafKarl Heinrich Graf was a German Old Testament scholar and orientalist. He was born at Mulhausen in Alsace and died in Meissen in Saxony....
, and furthered by KuenenAbraham KuenenAbraham Kuenen , Dutch Protestant theologian, the son of an apothecary, was born in Haarlem, North Holland....
referencing his Godsdienst, by Duhm per his Theologie der Propheten, and by WellhausenJulius WellhausenJulius Wellhausen , was a German biblical scholar and orientalist, noted particularly for his contribution to scholarly understanding of the origin of the Pentateuch/Torah ....
, citing his GeschichteProlegomena zur Geschichte IsraelsProlegomena zur Geschichte Israels is a book by German biblical scholar Julius Wellhausen which formulated the documentary hypothesis...
(1878). - The author confidently rests the case for biblical religion on "ordinary methods of historical investigation" [17] and on the "general law of human history that truth is consistent, progressive, and imperishable, while every falsehood is self-contradictory, and ultimately falls to pieces. A religion which has endured every possible trial... declares itself by irresistible evidence to be a thing of reality and power." [16].
Kinship and Marriage in Early Arabia
- Kinship and Marriage in Early Arabia (Cambridge University 1885); second edition, with additional notes by the Author and by Professor Ignaz GoldziherIgnaz GoldziherIgnác Goldziher , often credited as Ignaz Goldziher, was a Hungarian scholar of Islam. Along with the German Theodore Noldeke and the Dutch Christiaan Snouck Hurgronje, he is considered the founder of modern Islamic studies in Europe.-Biography:Born in Székesfehérvár of Jewish heritage, he was...
, Budapest, and edited with an introduction by Stanley A. Cook (London: A. & C. Black 1903); reprint 1963 Beacon Press, Boston, with a new Preface by E. L. Peters.- This work traces, from an earlier totemTotemA totem is a stipulated ancestor of a group of people, such as a family, clan, group, lineage, or tribe.Totems support larger groups than the individual person. In kinship and descent, if the apical ancestor of a clan is nonhuman, it is called a totem...
ist matriarchyMatriarchyA matriarchy is a society in which females, especially mothers, have the central roles of political leadership and moral authority. It is also sometimes called a gynocratic or gynocentric society....
that practiced exogamyExogamyExogamy is a social arrangement where marriage is allowed only outside of a social group. The social groups define the scope and extent of exogamy, and the rules and enforcement mechanisms that ensure its continuity. In social studies, exogamy is viewed as a combination of two related aspects:...
, the further development of a "system of male kinshipKinshipKinship is a relationship between any entities that share a genealogical origin, through either biological, cultural, or historical descent. And descent groups, lineages, etc. are treated in their own subsections....
, with corresponding laws of marriageMarriageMarriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
and tribalTribeA tribe, viewed historically or developmentally, consists of a social group existing before the development of, or outside of, states.Many anthropologists use the term tribal society to refer to societies organized largely on the basis of kinship, especially corporate descent groups .Some theorists...
organization, which prevailed in Arabia at the time of Mohammed." (Author's Preface). - Chapters:
- 1. The Theory of the GenealogistsGenealogyGenealogy is the study of families and the tracing of their lineages and history. Genealogists use oral traditions, historical records, genetic analysis, and other records to obtain information about a family and to demonstrate kinship and pedigrees of its members...
as to the Origin of Arabic Tribal Groups (e.g., Bakr and Taghlib {proper names of ancestors}, ficticious ancestorAncestorAn ancestor is a parent or the parent of an ancestor ....
s, unity of the tribal blood, female eponyms); - 2. The Kindred Group [hayy] and its Dependents and Allies (e.g., adoptionAdoptionAdoption is a process whereby a person assumes the parenting for another and, in so doing, permanently transfers all rights and responsibilities from the original parent or parents...
, blood covenant, propertyPropertyProperty is any physical or intangible entity that is owned by a person or jointly by a group of people or a legal entity like a corporation...
, tribe and familyFamilyIn human context, a family is a group of people affiliated by consanguinity, affinity, or co-residence. In most societies it is the principal institution for the socialization of children...
]; - 3. The HomogeneityHomogeneityHomogeneity, homogeneous, or homogenization may refer to:-Science:* Homogeneity , translational invariance or compatibility of units in equations* Homogeneous , a property of a mixture showing no variation in properties...
of the Kindred Group in relation to the Law of Marriage and Descent (e.g., exogamyExogamyExogamy is a social arrangement where marriage is allowed only outside of a social group. The social groups define the scope and extent of exogamy, and the rules and enforcement mechanisms that ensure its continuity. In social studies, exogamy is viewed as a combination of two related aspects:...
, types of marriage {e.g., capture, contractContractA contract is an agreement entered into by two parties or more with the intention of creating a legal obligation, which may have elements in writing. Contracts can be made orally. The remedy for breach of contract can be "damages" or compensation of money. In equity, the remedy can be specific...
, purchase}, inheritanceInheritanceInheritance is the practice of passing on property, titles, debts, rights and obligations upon the death of an individual. It has long played an important role in human societies...
, divorceDivorceDivorce is the final termination of a marital union, canceling the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage and dissolving the bonds of matrimony between the parties...
, women's property); - 4. Paternity (e.g., original sense of fatherhood, polyandry, infantcideInfanticideInfanticide or infant homicide is the killing of a human infant. Neonaticide, a killing within 24 hours of a baby's birth, is most commonly done by the mother.In many past societies, certain forms of infanticide were considered permissible...
); - 5. Paternity, PolyandryPolyandryPolyandry refers to a form of marriage in which a woman has two or more husbands at the same time. The form of polyandry in which a woman is married to two or more brothers is known as "fraternal polyandry", and it is believed by many anthropologists to be the most frequently encountered...
with Male Kinship, and with Kindship through Women (e.g., evidence of StraboStraboStrabo, also written Strabon was a Greek historian, geographer and philosopher.-Life:Strabo was born to an affluent family from Amaseia in Pontus , a city which he said was situated the approximate equivalent of 75 km from the Black Sea...
, conjugal fidelityFidelity"Fidelity" is the quality of being faithful or loyal. Its original meaning regarded duty to a lord or a king, in a broader sense than the related concept of fealty. Both derive from the Latin word fidēlis, meaning "faithful or loyal"....
, chastityChastityChastity refers to the sexual behavior of a man or woman acceptable to the moral standards and guidelines of a culture, civilization, or religion....
, milk brotherhoodMilk kinshipMilk kinship, formed during nursing by a non-biological mother, was a form of fostering allegiance with fellow community members. This particular form of kinship did not exclude particular groups, such that class and other hierarchal systems did not matter in terms of milk kinship...
, two {female, and male} systems of kinship, decay of tribal feeling); - 6. Female Kinship and Marriage Bars (e.g. forbidden degreesKinshipKinship is a relationship between any entities that share a genealogical origin, through either biological, cultural, or historical descent. And descent groups, lineages, etc. are treated in their own subsections....
, the tent {bed} in marriage, matronymic families, beena marriages, ba'al marriage, totemism and heterogeneous groups); - 7. TotemTotemA totem is a stipulated ancestor of a group of people, such as a family, clan, group, lineage, or tribe.Totems support larger groups than the individual person. In kinship and descent, if the apical ancestor of a clan is nonhuman, it is called a totem...
ism (e.g., tribes named from animals, jinnJinnJinn are supernatural beings in Arab folklore and Islamic teachings.Jinn may also refer to:* Jinn , a Japanese band* Qui-Gon Jinn, a character in the Star Wars universe...
, tribal marks or wasm); - 8. Conclusion (e.g., origin of the tribal system, migrationHuman migrationHuman migration is physical movement by humans from one area to another, sometimes over long distances or in large groups. Historically this movement was nomadic, often causing significant conflict with the indigenous population and their displacement or cultural assimilation. Only a few nomadic...
s of the Semites).
- 1. The Theory of the Genealogists
- This work traces, from an earlier totem
- Conceived at the frontier of academic study on early culture, Smith's work relied on a current anthropology proposed by the late John Ferguson McLennanJohn Ferguson McLennanJohn Ferguson McLennan , was a Scottish ethnologist and lawyer. He was born at Inverness.He studied at King's College, Aberdeen, where he graduated with distinction in 1849, thence proceeding to Cambridge, where he remained till 1855 without taking a degree...
, in his Primitive Marriage (Edinburgh 1865). (Author's Preface). Smith also employed recent material by A. G. Wilken, Het Matriarchaat bij de oude Arabieren (1884) and by E. B. Tylor, Arabian Matriarchate (1884), and received suggestions from Theodor NöldekeTheodor NöldekeTheodor Nöldeke was a German Semitic scholar, who was born in Harburg and studied in Göttingen, Vienna, Leiden and Berlin....
and from Ignaz GoldziherIgnaz GoldziherIgnác Goldziher , often credited as Ignaz Goldziher, was a Hungarian scholar of Islam. Along with the German Theodore Noldeke and the Dutch Christiaan Snouck Hurgronje, he is considered the founder of modern Islamic studies in Europe.-Biography:Born in Székesfehérvár of Jewish heritage, he was...
. (Author's Preface). - Although still admired on several counts, the scholarly consensus now disfavors many of its conclusions. Smith here "forced the facts to fit McLennan's evolutionary schema, which was entirely defective."
The Religion of the Semites (1)
- Lectures on the Religion of the Semites. Fundamental Institutions. First Series (London: Adam & Charles Black 1889); second edition [posthumous], edited by J. S. Black (1894), reprint 1956 by Meridian Library, New York; third edition, introduced by S. A. Cook (1927). Later edition with introduction by James Muilenberg (New York: Ktav 1969).
- This well-known work seeks to reconstruct from scattered documents the several common religious practices and associated social behavior of the ancient Semitic peoples, i.e., of Mesopotamia, Syria, Phoenicia, Israel, Arabia [1, 9-10]. The book thus provides the contemporary historical context for the earlier Biblical writings.
- In two introductory lectures the author discusses primal religionUrreligionUrreligion is a notion of an "original" or "oldest" form of religious tradition. The term contrasts with organized religion, such as the theocracies of the early urban cultures of the Ancient Near East or current world religions.The term originates in German Romanticism...
and its evolution, which now seem too often to over generalize (perhaps inevitable in a pioneer work). In the first, Smith notes with caution the cuneiformCuneiformCuneiform can refer to:*Cuneiform script, an ancient writing system originating in Mesopotamia in the 4th millennium BC*Cuneiform , three bones in the human foot*Cuneiform Records, a music record label...
records of BabylonBabylonBabylon was an Akkadian city-state of ancient Mesopotamia, the remains of which are found in present-day Al Hillah, Babil Province, Iraq, about 85 kilometers south of Baghdad...
, and the influence of ancient EgyptAncient EgyptAncient Egypt was an ancient civilization of Northeastern Africa, concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in what is now the modern country of Egypt. Egyptian civilization coalesced around 3150 BC with the political unification of Upper and Lower Egypt under the first pharaoh...
, then mentions pre-Islamic ArabiaPre-Islamic ArabiaPre-Islamic Arabia refers to the Arabic civilization which existed in the Arabian Plate before the rise of Islam in the 630s. The study of Pre-Islamic Arabia is important to Islamic studies as it provides the context for the development of Islam.-Studies:...
and the Hebrew BibleTanakhThe Tanakh is a name used in Judaism for the canon of the Hebrew Bible. The Tanakh is also known as the Masoretic Text or the Miqra. The name is an acronym formed from the initial Hebrew letters of the Masoretic Text's three traditional subdivisions: The Torah , Nevi'im and Ketuvim —hence...
[13-14]; he discounts any possibility of "a complete comparative religion of Semitic religions" [15]. - In the second lecture, Smith's comments range widely on various facets of primal religion in Semitic society, e.g., on the protected strangers (HebHebrew languageHebrew is a Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Culturally, is it considered by Jews and other religious groups as the language of the Jewish people, though other Jewish languages had originated among diaspora Jews, and the Hebrew language is also used by non-Jewish groups, such...
: gērīm, sing. gēr; ArabArabic languageArabic is a name applied to the descendants of the Classical Arabic language of the 6th century AD, used most prominently in the Quran, the Islamic Holy Book...
: jīrān, sing. jār) who were "personally free but had no political rights". Smith continues, that as the tribe protects the gēr, so does the God protect the tribe as "clients" who obey and so are righteous; hence the tribal God may develop into a universal Deity whose worshippers follow ethical precepts [75-81]. - Of the eleven lectures, Holy Places are discussed in lectures III to V. In the third lecture, nature gods of the land are discussed [84-113]; later jinnJinnJinn are supernatural beings in Arab folklore and Islamic teachings.Jinn may also refer to:* Jinn , a Japanese band* Qui-Gon Jinn, a character in the Star Wars universe...
and their haunts are investigated [118-137], wherein the nature of totemTotemA totem is a stipulated ancestor of a group of people, such as a family, clan, group, lineage, or tribe.Totems support larger groups than the individual person. In kinship and descent, if the apical ancestor of a clan is nonhuman, it is called a totem...
s are introduced [124-126]; then totem animals are linked to jinn [128-130], and the totem to the tribal god [137-139]. The fourth lecture discusses, e.g., the holiness and the taboos of the sanctuarySanctuaryA sanctuary is any place of safety. They may be categorized into human and non-human .- Religious sanctuary :A religious sanctuary can be a sacred place , or a consecrated area of a church or temple around its tabernacle or altar.- Sanctuary as a sacred place :#Sanctuary as a sacred place:#:In...
. The fifth: holy waters, trees, caves, and stones. - SacrificeSacrificeSacrifice is the offering of food, objects or the lives of animals or people to God or the gods as an act of propitiation or worship.While sacrifice often implies ritual killing, the term offering can be used for bloodless sacrifices of cereal food or artifacts...
s are addressed in lectures VI to XI. The sixth contains Smith's controversial theory of communal sacrifice regarding the totemTotemA totem is a stipulated ancestor of a group of people, such as a family, clan, group, lineage, or tribe.Totems support larger groups than the individual person. In kinship and descent, if the apical ancestor of a clan is nonhuman, it is called a totem...
, wherein the tribe, at a collective meal of the totem animal, come to realize together a social bond together with their totem-linked tribal god [226-231]. This communion theory, shared in some regard with Wellhausen, now enjoys little strong support.
- On the cutting edge of biblical scholarship, this work builds on a narrower study by his friend professor Julius WellhausenJulius WellhausenJulius Wellhausen , was a German biblical scholar and orientalist, noted particularly for his contribution to scholarly understanding of the origin of the Pentateuch/Torah ....
, Reste Arabischen Heidentums (Berlin 1887), and on other works on the religious history of the region and in general. (Smith's Preface). The author also employs analogies drawn from James George Frazer, to apply where insufficient data existed for the ancient Semites. (Smith's Preface). Hence Smith's methodology was soon criticized by Theodor NöldekeTheodor NöldekeTheodor Nöldeke was a German Semitic scholar, who was born in Harburg and studied in Göttingen, Vienna, Leiden and Berlin....
. - Generally, the book was well received by contemporaries. It won WellhausenJulius WellhausenJulius Wellhausen , was a German biblical scholar and orientalist, noted particularly for his contribution to scholarly understanding of the origin of the Pentateuch/Torah ....
's praise. Later it would influence Émile DurkheimÉmile DurkheimDavid Émile Durkheim was a French sociologist. He formally established the academic discipline and, with Karl Marx and Max Weber, is commonly cited as the principal architect of modern social science and father of sociology.Much of Durkheim's work was concerned with how societies could maintain...
, Mircea EliadeMircea EliadeMircea Eliade was a Romanian historian of religion, fiction writer, philosopher, and professor at the University of Chicago. He was a leading interpreter of religious experience, who established paradigms in religious studies that persist to this day...
, James George Frazer, Sigmund FreudSigmund FreudSigmund Freud , born Sigismund Schlomo Freud , was an Austrian neurologist who founded the discipline of psychoanalysis...
, and Bronisław Malinowski. - After 75 years Evans-Pritchard, although noting his wide influence, summarized criticism of Smith's totemTotemA totem is a stipulated ancestor of a group of people, such as a family, clan, group, lineage, or tribe.Totems support larger groups than the individual person. In kinship and descent, if the apical ancestor of a clan is nonhuman, it is called a totem...
ism, "Bluntly, all Robertson Smith really does is to guess about a period of Semitic history about which we know almost nothing."
The Religion of the Semites (2, 3)
- Lectures on the Religion of the Semites. Second and Third Series, edited with an introduction by John Day (Sheffield Academic 1995).
- Based on the 'newly-discovered' original lecture notes of William Robertson Smith; only the first series had been prepared for publication (1889, 2d ed. 1894) by the author. (Editor's Introduction at 11-13). Smith earlier had written that "three courses of lectures" were planned: the first regarding "practical religious institutions", the second on "the gods of Semitic heathenism", with the third focusing on the influence of Semitic monotheismMonotheismMonotheism is the belief in the existence of one and only one god. Monotheism is characteristic of the Baha'i Faith, Christianity, Druzism, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, Samaritanism, Sikhism and Zoroastrianism.While they profess the existence of only one deity, monotheistic religions may still...
. Yet because the first course of lectures (ending with sacrifice) did not finish, it left coverage of feasts and the priesthood "to run over into the second course".- Second Series [33-58]: I. Feasts; II. Priests and the Priestly Oracles; III. Diviners and Prophets.
- Third Series [59-112]: I. Semitic Polytheism (1); II. Semitic Polytheism (2); III. The Gods and the World: Cosmogony.
- An Appendix [113-142] contains contemporary press reports describing the lectures, including reports of extemporaneous comments made by Robertson Smith, which appear in neither of the two published texts derived from his lecture notes.
Other Writings
- Articles in the Encyclopaedia Britannica (9th edition, 1875–1889) XXIV volumes, which include: "Angel" II (1875), "Bible" III (1875), "Chronicles, Books of" V (1886), "David" VI (1887), "Decalogue" VII (1877), "Hebrew Language and Literature" XI (1880), "Hosea" XII (1881), "Jerusalem" XIII (1881), "Mecca" & "Medina" XV (1883), "Messiah" XVI (1883), "Paradise" XVIII (1885), "Priest" & "Prophet" XIX (1885), "Psalms, Book of" XX (1886), "Sacrifice" XXI (1886), "Temple" & "Tithes" XXIII (1888).
- Lectures and Essays, edited by J. S. Black and G. W. Chrystal (London: Adam & Charles Black 1912).
- I. Scientific Papers (1869–1873), 5 papers including: "On the flow of Electricity in Conducting Surfaces" (1870);
- II. Early Theological essays (1868–1870), 4 essays including: "Christianity and the supernatural" (1869), and, "The question of prophecy in the critical schools of the continent" (1870);
- III. Early AberdeenUniversity of AberdeenThe University of Aberdeen, an ancient university founded in 1495, in Aberdeen, Scotland, is a British university. It is the third oldest university in Scotland, and the fifth oldest in the United Kingdom and wider English-speaking world...
lectures (1870–1874), 5 lectures including: "What history teaches us to seek in the Bible" (1870); and, "The fulfilment of Prophecy" (1871). - IV. Later Aberdeen lectures (1874–1877), 4 lectures including: "On the study of the Old Testament in 1876" (1877); and, "On the poetry of the Old Testament" (1877).
- V. Arabian studies (1880–1881), 2 studies: "Animal tribes in the Old Testament" (1880); "A journey in the Hejâz" (1881).
- VI. Reviews of Books, 2 reviews: WellhausenJulius WellhausenJulius Wellhausen , was a German biblical scholar and orientalist, noted particularly for his contribution to scholarly understanding of the origin of the Pentateuch/Torah ....
's Geschichte Israels [1878] (1879); RenanErnest RenanErnest Renan was a French expert of Middle East ancient languages and civilizations, philosopher and writer, devoted to his native province of Brittany...
's Histoire du Peuple d'Israël [1887] (1887).
- "Preface" to Julius Wellhausen, Prolegomena to the History of IsraelProlegomena zur Geschichte IsraelsProlegomena zur Geschichte Israels is a book by German biblical scholar Julius Wellhausen which formulated the documentary hypothesis...
, transl. by J.S.Black & A.Menzies (Edinburgh: Black 1885) at v-x. - "Review" of Rudolf KittelRudolf KittelRudolf Kittel was a German Old Testament scholar.Kittel studied at Tübingen University. He became Professor of Old Testament at Breslau and Leipzig...
, Geschichte der Hebräer, II (1892) in the English Historical Review 8:314-316 (1893).
Biography of Smith
- Bernhard MaierBernhard MaierBernhard Maier is a German professor of religious studies, who publishes mainly on Celtic culture and religion....
: William Robertson Smith. His Life, his Work and his Times. Tübingen 2009.
Heresy Trial documents
- The Presbytery's prosecution.
- Free Church of Scotland, Presbytery of Aberdeen, The Libel against Professor William Robertson Smith (1878).
- Smith's answers, and letter (published as pamphlets).
- "Answer to the form of libel" (Edinburgh: Douglas 1878).
- "Additional answer to the libel" (Edinburgh: Douglas 1878).
- "Answer to the amended libel" (Edinburgh: Douglas 1879).
- "An open letter to principal Rainy" (Edinburgh: Douglas 1880).
Commentary on Smith
- E. G. Brown, Obituary Notice. Prof. William Robertson Smith (London: Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, July 1894), 12 pages.
- John Sutherland Black & George Chrystal, The Life of William Robertson Smith (London: Adam & Charles Black 1912).http://www.archive.org/details/lifeofwillsmith00blacuoft
- Ronald Roy Nelson, The Life and Thought of William Robertson Smith, 1846-1894 (dissertation, University of Michigan 1969).
- T. O. Beidelman, W. Robertson Smith and the Sociological Study of Religion (Chicago 1974).
- Richard Allan Riesen, Criticism and Faith in late Victorian Scotland: A. B. Davidson, William Robertson Smith, and George Adam Smith (University Press of America 1985).
- William Johnstone, editor, William Robertson Smith: Essays in reassessment (Sheffield Academic 1995).
- John William Rogerson, The Bible and Criticism in Victorian Britain: Profiles of F. D. Maurice and William Robertson Smith (Sheffield Academic 1997).
- Gillian M. Bediako, Primal Religion and the Bible: William Robertson Smith and his heritage (Sheffield Academic 1997).
- Bernhard Maier, William Robertson Smith. His life, his work, and his times (Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck 2009). [Forschungen zum Alten Testament].
External links
- William Robertson Smith - A recapitulating website
- W. R. Smith - Ancestry and famous Relatives
- 1902 Encyclopedia - Articles and illustrations from Encyclopaedia Britannica, 9th Edition, of which Smith was joint editor
- Works by William Robertson Smith