Literature

Jewish. The ancient literature of the Jews is found in the books of the Old Testament and in what are called the rabbinical writings. Written in the Hebrew language, the Old Testament has been translated into every known tongue and has had a greater influence than that of any other book. Monotheism, the worship of one supreme being, is the fundamental idea of Hebrew literature. The first five books, called commonly the Pentateuch, include the accounts of the origin of the world and the history of the beginning of Israel as a nation and its establishment in the Holy Land. The historical books include also Joshua, Judges, Samuel, Kings, Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah. The prophetic books are usually classified as the Greater Prophets, including Isaiah, Jeremiah, to whom is credited the book called by his name and the book of Lamentations, Ezekiel and Daniel, and the Lesser Prophets, including Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi. The poetical books include the Proverbs of Solomon and Ecclesiastes, which are didactic, the book of Job, which is largely dramatic, the Song of Solomon, a collection of love songs, the pastoral poem of Ruth, the book of Esther, and above all the Psalms of David. Poetry, especially lyrics, are found in many of the historical and prophetic books. Moses' hymn after the crossing of the Red Sea and the elegies of Lamentations are instances. Rabbinical literature includes the writings of the rabbis or teachers of the Jews in the later period. The Talmud is a collection of traditions illustrating laws and usages. The most brilliant period of modern Jewish literature is that of Moorish Spain. Here the Jews cultivated science and literature. Astronomy, history, poetry, music, philosophy,-all received attention, and in all the Spanish Jews excelled. Later, in many different countries, Jews have shown intellectual superiority, especially in Germany, where Moses Mendelssohn became distinguished as a philosopher; Heine as a poet; and Auerbach as a novelist. The two Disraelis and Zangwill in England and Emma Lazarus in America are also well known Jewish writers. See Jews; Cabala; Talmud; Mendelssohn; Heine; Auerbach; Zangwill; Disraeli; Lazarus; Emma