Here we observe first a religious influence, which in
the Books of Samuel and Kings turns out to be the prophetical
one. The view appears to me erroneous that it is to the prophets
that the Hebrew people owe their history as a whole. The song,
Judges v., though perhaps the oldest historical monument in the Old
Testament, cannot be cited in support of that view, for even if it
were actually composed by Deborah, the seer stands in no connection
with the prophets. Least of all can the colleges of the B'ne Nebiim
at Gilgal and other places be regarded as nurseries of historic
tradition: the products which are to be traced to these circles
betray a somewhat narrow field of vision (2Kings ii., iv. 1-6, 23).
The prophets did not form the tradition at first, but came after,
shedding upon it their peculiar light. Their interest in history
was not so great that they felt it necessary to write it down;
they only infused their own spirit into it subsequently.
But the systematic recoining of the tradition was only effected
when a firmer stamp had become available than the free ideas of
the prophets, the will of God having been formulated in writing.
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