years after this foolish story was told; a theory which, speaking for my-
self, I hesitate not to believe, and to say, is as fabulous and as false as
But to show the imposition and falsehood of Isaiah we have only to at-
tend to the sequel of this story; which, though it is passed over in silence in the book of Isaiah, is related in 2 Chronicles, xxviii; and which is, that instead of these two kings failing in their attempt against Ahaz, king of Judah, as Isaiah had pretended to foretel in the name of the Lord,
they succeeded: Ahaz was defeated and destroyed; an hundred and
twenty thousand of his people were slaughtered; Jerusalem was
plundered, and two hundred thousand women and sons and daughters
carried into captivity. Thus much for this lying prophet and imposter
Isaiah, and the book of falsehoods that bears his name. I pass on to the
book of
Jeremiah. This prophet, as he is called, lived in the time that Nebuchadnezzar besieged Jerusalem, in the reign of Zedekiah, the last king of
Judah; and the suspicion was strong against him that he was a traitor in
the interest of Nebuchadnezzar. Every thing relating to Jeremiah shows
him to have been a man of an equivocal character: in his metaphor of the
potter and the clay, (ch. xviii.) he guards his prognostications in such a crafty manner as always to leave himself a door to escape by, in case the
35.In Is. vii. 14, it is said that the child should be called Immanuel; but this name was
not given to either of the children, otherwise than as a character, which the word sig-
nifies. That of the prophetess was called Maher-shalalhash-baz, and that of Mary was
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event should be contrary to what he had predicted. In the 7th and 8th
verses he makes the Almighty to say, "At what instant I shall speak concerning a nation, and concerning a kingdom, to pluck up, and to pull
down, and destroy it, if that nation, against whom I have pronounced,
turn from their evil, I will repent me of the evil that I thought to do unto them." Here was a proviso against one side of the case: now for the other side. Verses 9 and 10, "At what instant I shall speak concerning a nation, and concerning a kingdom, to build and to plant it, if it do evil in my
sight, that it obey not my voice, then I will repent me of the good wherewith I said I would benefit them." Here is a proviso against the other side; and, according to this plan of prophesying, a prophet could never
be wrong, however mistaken the Almighty might be. This sort of absurd
subterfuge, and this manner of speaking of the Almighty, as one would
speak of a man, is consistent with nothing but the stupidity of the Bible.
As to the authenticity of the book, it is only necessary to read it in order to decide positively that, though some passages recorded therein
may have been spoken by Jeremiah, he is not the author of the book. The
historical parts, if they can be called by that name, are in the most confused condition; the same events are several times repeated, and that in a manner different, and sometimes in contradiction to each other; and this
disorder runs even to the last chapter, where the history, upon which the greater part of the book has been employed, begins anew, and ends abruptly. The book has all the appearance of being a medley of unconnec-
ted anecdotes respecting persons and things of that time, collected to-
gether in the same rude manner as if the various and contradictory ac-
counts that are to be found in a bundle of newspapers, respecting per-
sons and things of the present day, were put together without date, or-
der, or explanation. I will give two or three examples of this kind.
It appears, from the account of chapter xxxvii. that the army of
Nebuchadnezzer, which is called the army of the Chaldeans, had be-
sieged Jerusalem some time; and on their hearing that the army of
Pharaoh of Egypt was marching against them, they raised the siege and
retreated for a time. It may here be proper to mention, in order to understand this confused history, that Nebuchadnezzar had besieged and
taken Jerusalem during the reign of Jehoakim, the predecessor of Zedeki-
ah; and that it was Nebuchadnezzar who had make Zedekiah king, or
rather viceroy; and that this second siege, of which the book of Jeremiah treats, was in consequence of the revolt of Zedekiah against Nebuchadnezzar. This will in some measure account for the suspicion that affixes
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itself to Jeremiah of being a traitor, and in the interest of
Nebuchadnezzar,—-whom Jeremiah calls, xliii. 10, the servant of God.
Chapter xxxvii. 11-13, says, "And it came to pass, that, when the army of the Chaldeans was broken up from Jerusalem, for fear of Pharaoh's
army, that Jeremiah went forth out of Jerusalem, to go (as this account
states) into the land of Benjamin, to separate himself thence in the midst of the people; and when he was in the gate of Benjamin a captain of the
ward was there, whose name was Irijah… and he took Jeremiah the
prophet, saying, Thou fallest away to the Chaldeans; then Jeremiah said, It is false; I fall not away to the Chaldeans." Jeremiah being thus stopt and accused, was, after being examined, committed to prison, on suspicion of
being a traitor, where he remained, as is stated in the last verse of this chapter.
But the next chapter gives an account of the imprisonment of Jeremiah,
which has no connection with this account, but ascribes his imprisonment to another circumstance, and for which we must go back to chapter
xxi. It is there stated, ver. 1, that Zedekiah sent Pashur the son of Malchiah, and Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah the priest, to Jeremiah, to enquire of him concerning Nebuchadnezzar, whose army was then before Jerusalem; and Jeremiah said to them, ver. 8, "Thus saith the Lord, Behold I set before you the way of life, and the way of death; he that abideth in
this city shall die by the sword and by the famine, and by the pesti-
lence; but he that goeth out and falleth to the Clialdeans that besiege you, he shall live, and his life shall be unto him for a prey. "
This interview and conference breaks off abruptly at the end of the
10th verse of chapter xxi.; and such is the disorder of this book that we have to pass over sixteen chapters upon various subjects, in order to
come at the continuation and event of this conference; and this brings us to the first verse of chapter xxxviii., as I have just mentioned. The chapter opens with saying, "Then Shaphatiah, the son of Mattan, Gedaliah the son of Pashur, and Jucal the son of Shelemiah, and Pashur the son of
Malchiah, (here are more persons mentioned than in chapter xxi.) heard
the words that Jeremiah spoke unto all the people, saying, Thus saith the Lord, He that remaineth in this city, shall die by the sword, by famine,
and by the pestilence; but he that goeth forth to the Chaldeans shall live; for he shall have his life for a prey, and shall live"; [which are the words of the conference;] therefore, (say they to Zedekiah,) "We beseech thee, let this man be put to death, for thus he weakeneth the hands of the men
of war that remain in this city, and the hands of all the people, in speaking such words unto them; for this man seeketh not the welfare of the
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people, but the hurt:" and at the 6th verse it is said, "Then they took Jeremiah, and put him into the dungeon of Malchiah."
These two accounts are different and contradictory. The one ascribes
his imprisonment to his attempt to escape out of the city; the other to his preaching and prophesying in the city; the one to his being seized by the guard at the gate; the other to his being accused before Zedekiah by the
conferees. 36
In the next chapter (Jer. xxxix.) we have another instance of the dis-
ordered state of this book; for notwithstanding the siege of the city by
Nebuchadnezzar has been the subject of several of the preceding
chapters, particularly xxxvii. and xxxviii., chapter xxxix. begins as if not a word had been said upon the subject, and as if the reader was still to be informed of every particular respecting it; for it begins with saying, ver.
1, "In the ninth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, in the tenth month, came Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and all his army, against Jerusalem,
and besieged it," etc.
36.I observed two chapters in I Samuel (xvi. and xvii.) that contradict each other with
respect to David, and the manner he became acquainted with Saul; as Jeremiah
xxxvii. and xxxviii. contradict each other with respect to the cause of Jeremiah's im-
prisonment. In 1 Samuel, xvi., it is said, that an evil spirit of God troubled Saul, and
that his servants advised him (as a remedy) "to seek out a man who was a cunning
player upon the harp." And Saul said, ver. 17, "Provide me now a man that can play
well, and bring him to me. Then answered one of his servants, and said, Behold, I
have seen a son of Jesse, the Bethlehemite, that is cunning in playing, and a mighty
man, and a man of war, and prudent in matters, and a comely person, and the Lord
is with him; wherefore Saul sent messengers unto Jesse, and said, Send me David,
thy son. And (verse 21) David came to Saul, and stood before him, and he loved him
greatly, and he became his armour-bearer; and when the evil spirit from God was
upon Saul, (verse 23) David took his harp, and played with his hand, and Saul was
refreshed, and was well." But the next chapter (xvii.) gives an account, all different to
this, of the manner that Saul and David became acquainted. Here it is ascribed to
David's encounter with Goliah, when David was sent by his father to carry provision
to his brethren in the camp. In the 55th verse of this chapter it is said, "And when
Saul saw David go forth against the Philistine (Goliah) he said to Abner, the captain
of the host, Abner, whose son is this youth? And Abner said, As thy soul liveth, 0
king, I cannot tell. And the king said, Enquire thou whose son the stripling is. And as
David returned from the slaughter of the Philistine, Abner took him and brought him
before Saul, with the head of the Philistine in his hand; and Saul said unto him,
Whose son art thou, thou young man? And David answered, I am the son of thy ser-
vant, Jesse, the Bethlehemite," These two accounts belie each other, because each of
them supposes Saul and David not to have known each other before. This book, the
Bible, is too ridiculous for criticism.—-Author.
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But the instance in the last chapter (lii.) is still more glaring; for though the story has been told over and over again, this chapter still supposes
the reader not to know anything of it, for it begins by saying, ver. i,
"Zedekiah was one and twenty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem, and his mother's name was Hamutal,
the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah." (Ver. 4,) "And it came to pass in the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month, that Nebuchadnezzar king of
Babylon came, he and all his army, against Jerusalem, and pitched
against it, and built forts against it," etc.
It is not possible that any one man, and more particularly Jeremiah,
could have been the writer of this book. The errors are such as could not have been committed by any person sitting down to compose a work.
Were I, or any other man, to write in such a disordered manner, no body
would read what was written, and every body would suppose that the
writer was in a state of insanity. The only way, therefore, to account for the disorder is, that the book is a medley of detached unauthenticated
anecdotes, put together by some stupid book-maker, under the name of
Jeremiah; because many of them refer to him, and to the circumstances of
the times he lived in.
Of the duplicity, and of the false predictions of Jeremiah, I shall men-
tion two instances, and then proceed to review the remainder of the
Bible.
It appears from chapter xxxviii. that when Jeremiah was in prison,
Zedekiah sent for him, and at this interview, which was private, Jeremi-
ah pressed it strongly on Zedekiah to surrender himself to the enemy.
"If," says he, (ver. 17,) thou wilt assuredly go forth unto the king of Babylon's princes, then thy soul shall live," etc. Zedekiah was apprehens-ive that what passed at this conference should be known; and he said to
Jeremiah, (ver. 25,) "If the princes [meaning those of Judah] hear that I have talked with thee, and they come unto thee, and say unto thee, Declare unto us now what thou hast said unto the king; hide it not from us, and we will not put thee to death; and also what the king said unto thee; then thou shalt say unto them, I presented my supplication before the
king that he would not cause me to return to Jonathan's house, to die
there. Then came all the princes unto Jeremiah, and asked him, and "he told them according to all the words the king had commanded." Thus,
this man of God, as he is called, could tell a lie, or very strongly prevaric-ate, when he supposed it would answer his purpose; for certainly he did
not go to Zedekiah to make this supplication, neither did he make it; he
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went because he was sent for, and he employed that opportunity to ad-
vise Zedekiah to surrender himself to Nebuchadnezzar.
In chapter xxxiv. 2-5, is a prophecy of Jeremiah to Zedekiah in these
words: "Thus saith the Lord, Behold I will give this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he will burn it with fire; and thou shalt not escape out of his hand, but thou shalt surely be taken, and delivered into
his hand; and thine eyes shall behold the eyes of the king of Babylon,
and he shall speak with thee mouth to mouth, and thou shalt go to
Babylon. Yet hear the word of the Lord; O Zedekiah, king, of Judah, thus saith the Lord, Thou shalt not die by the sword, but thou shalt die in Peace; and with the burnings of thy fathers, the former kings that were before thee, so shall they burn odours for thee, and they will lament thee, saying, Ah, Lord! for I have pronounced the word, saith the Lord. "
Now, instead of Zedekiah beholding the eyes of the king of Babylon,
and speaking with him mouth to mouth, and dying in peace, and with
the burning of odours, as at the funeral of his fathers, (as Jeremiah had declared the Lord himself had pronounced,) the reverse, according to
chapter Iii., 10, 11 was the case; it is there said, that the king of Babylon slew the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes: then he put out the eyes of
Zedekiah, and bound him in chains, and carried him to Babylon, and put
him in prison till the day of his death.
What then can we say of these prophets, but that they are impostors
and liars?
As for Jeremiah, he experienced none of those evils. He was taken into
favour by Nebuchadnezzar, who gave him in charge to the captain of the
guard (xxxix, 12), "Take him (said he) and look well to him, and do him no harm; but do unto him even as he shall say unto thee." Jeremiah
joined himself afterwards to Nebuchadnezzar, and went about proph-
esying for him against the Egyptians, who had marched to the relief of
Jerusalem while it was besieged. Thus much for another of the lying
prophets, and the book that bears his name.
I have been the more particular in treating of the books ascribed to
Isaiah and Jeremiah, because those two are spoken of in the books of
Kings and Chronicles, which the others are not. The remainder of the
books ascribed to the men called prophets I shall not trouble myself
much about; but take them collectively into the observations I shall offer on the character of the men styled prophets.
In the former part of the Age of Reason, I have said that the word prophet was the Bible-word for poet, and that the flights and metaphors
of Jewish poets have been foolishly erected into what are now called
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prophecies. I am sufficiently justified in this opinion, not only because the books called the prophecies are written in poetical language, but because there is no word in the Bible, except it be the word prophet, that
describes what we mean by a poet. I have also said, that the word signi-
fied a performer upon musical instruments, of which I have given some
instances; such as that of a company of prophets, prophesying with psal-
teries, with tabrets, with pipes, with harps, etc., and that Saul prophesied with them, 1 Sam. x., 5. It appears from this passage, and from other
parts in the book of Samuel, that the word prophet was confined to signi-
fy poetry and music; for the person who was supposed to have a vision-
ary insight into concealed things, was not a prophet but a seer,37 (i Sam, ix. 9;) and it was not till after the word seer went out of use (which most probably was when Saul banished those he called wizards) that the profession of the seer, or the art of seeing, became incorporated into the
word prophet.
According to the modern meaning of the word prophet and prophesying, it signifies foretelling events to a great distance of time; and it became necessary to the inventors of the gospel to give it this latitude of meaning, in order to apply or to stretch what they call the prophecies of the Old Testament, to the times of the New. But according to the Old
Testament, the prophesying of the seer, and afterwards of the prophet,
so far as the meaning of the word "seer" was incorporated into that of prophet, had reference only to things of the time then passing, or very
closely connected with it; such as the event of a battle they were going to engage in, or of a journey, or of any enterprise they were going to undertake, or of any circumstance then pending, or of any difficulty they were then in; all of which had immediate reference to themselves (as in the
case already mentioned of Ahaz and Isaiah with respect to the expres-
sion, Behold a virgin shall conceive and bear a son,) and not to any distant future time. It was that kind of prophesying that corresponds to what we
call fortune-telling; such as casting nativities, predicting riches, fortunate or unfortunate marriages, conjuring for lost goods, etc.; and it is the
fraud of the Christian church, not that of the Jews, and the ignorance and the superstition of modern, not that of ancient times, that elevated those
37.I know not what is the Hebrew word that corresponds to the word seer in English;
but I observe it is translated into French by Le Voyant, from the verb voir to see, and
which means the person who sees, or the seer.—-Author. The Hebrew word for Seer,
in 1 Samuel ix., transliterated, is chozeh, the gazer, it is translated in Is. xlvii. 13, "the
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poetical, musical, conjuring, dreaming, strolling gentry, into the rank
they have since had.
But, besides this general character of all the prophets, they had also a
particular character. They were in parties, and they prophesied for or
against, according to the party they were with; as the poetical and political writers of the present day write in defence of the party they associate with against the other.
After the Jews were divided into two nations, that of Judah and that of
Israel, each party had its prophets, who abused and accused each other
of being false prophets, lying prophets, impostors, etc.
The prophets of the party of Judah prophesied against the prophets of
the party of Israel; and those of the party of Israel against those of Judah.
This party prophesying showed itself immediately on the separation un-
der the first two rival kings, Rehoboam and Jeroboam. The prophet that
cursed, or prophesied against the altar that Jeroboam had built in Bethel, was of the party of Judah, where Rehoboam was king; and he was way-laid on his return home by a prophet of the party of Israel, who said unto him (i Kings xiii.) "Art thou the man of God that came from Judah? and he said, I am." Then the prophet of the party of Israel said to him "I am a prophet also, as thou art, [signifying of Judah,] and an angel spake unto me by the word of the Lord, saying, Bring him back with thee unto thine
house, that he may eat bread and drink water; but (says the 18th verse)
he lied unto him." The event, however, according to the story, is, that the prophet of Judah never got back to Judah; for he was found dead on the
road by the contrivance of the prophet of Israel, who no doubt was
called a true prophet by his own party, and the prophet of Judah a lying
prophet.
In 2 Kings, iii., a story is related of prophesying or conjuring that
shews, in several particulars, the character of a prophet. Jehoshaphat
king of Judah, and Joram king of Israel, had for a while ceased their
party animosity, and entered into an alliance; and these two, together
with the king of Edom, engaged in a war against the king of Moab. After
uniting and marching their armies, the story says, they were in great distress for water, upon which Jehoshaphat said, "Is there not here a prophet of the Lord, that we may enquire of the Lord by him? and one of the
servants of the king of Israel said here is Elisha. [Elisha was of the party of Judah.] And Jehoshaphat the king of Judah said, The word of the Lord
is with him." The story then says, that these three kings went down to Elisha; and when Elisha [who, as I have said, was a Judahmite prophet]
saw the King of Israel, he said unto him, "What have I to do with thee, 112
get thee to the prophets of thy father and the prophets of thy mother.
Nay but, said the king of Israel, the Lord hath called these three kings together, to deliver them into the hands of the king of Moab," (meaning because of the distress they were in for water;) upon which Elisha said, "As the Lord of hosts liveth before whom I stand, surely, were it not that I regard the presence of Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, I would not look to-
wards thee nor see thee." Here is all the venom and vulgarity of a party prophet. We are now to see the performance, or manner of prophesying.
Ver. 15. "Bring me," (said Elisha), "a minstrel; and it came to pass, when the minstrel played, that the hand of the Lord came upon him."
Here is the farce of the conjurer. Now for the prophecy: "And Elisha said,
[singing most probably to the tune he was playing], Thus saith the Lord,
Make this valley full of ditches;" which was just telling them what every countryman could have told them without either fiddle or farce, that the
way to get water was to dig for it.