TO THE BOOK OF ESTHER.

12. These are printed by themselves in our English version, and
entitled: "The rest of the chapters of the Book of Esther, which are
found neither in the Hebrew, nor in the Chaldee;" but in the Septuagint
and old Latin they are dispersed through the canonical book so as to
form with it a consistent whole. They profess to supply deficiencies in
the canonical Esther--a dream of Mordecai with its interpretation; an
account of the conspiracy of the two eunuchs to destroy Ahasuerus; a
pretended copy of the king's edict for the destruction of the Jews; the
prayer of Mordecai and of Esther in view of this edict; various details
of Esther's visit to the king; and the pretended edict of Artaxerxes
(Ahasuerus) revoking the former edict, and giving the Jews liberty to
destroy all who should assault them--into which the name of God, which
nowhere appears in the genuine book of Esther, is abundantly introduced.
The origin of these legends is unknown.

V. THE WISDOM OF SOLOMON.

13. The author of this book personages Solomon, and speaks in his name,
Solomon being to the ancient Jews the representative of all wisdom. Keil
gives the summary of its contents in three divisions, as follows; (1.)
"The book begins with a forcible exhortation to the rulers of the earth
to strive after wisdom as the fountain of righteousness and the guide to
immortality and happiness. With this it connects a warning against the
folly of unbelieving men who rebel against the law, oppress the
righteous, and thus bring upon themselves just punishment, distraction,
and everlasting shame. Chaps. 1-6. (2.) After the example of King
Solomon, who is introduced as speaking, the way to obtain wisdom is next
pointed out, and she is described in her nature as the spirit that
formed and sustains the world, and is the author of all that is good,
true, and great. Chaps. 7-9. (3.) Then follows a long historical
discourse (interrupted in chaps. 13-15 by a copious discussion
concerning the origin and nature of idolatry), in which the blessed
effects of wisdom and the fear of God, and the unhappy consequences that
come from the folly of idolatry are illustrated by the opposite fortunes
of the righteous and the wicked of past ages, especially of the people
of God as contrasted with the idolatrous Canaanites and Egyptians." The
different parts of the book constitute a well connected whole.

14. The book was originally composed in Greek by an Alexandri