their past, together with their hopes for the future, were the two main
forces that now held together the Jewish race. Fortunately, the more
intelligent leaders realized, even before 586 B.C., that the final
catastrophe was practically certain, and therefore prepared for it in
advance. The decade between the first and second captivities also gave
them an opportunity to collect the more important writings of their
earlier prophetic and priestly teachers, while the Judean state was still
intact and while these earlier writings could be readily consulted.
II. The Literary Activity of the Babylonian Period. The literary work of
this period took three distinct forms: (1) The collection, compilation,
and editing of earlier historical writings. It was probably during this
period that the narratives of Judges, of Samuel, and Kings, which carried
the history down into the exile itself, received their final revision.
(2) Earlier writings were revised or supplemented so as to adapt them to
the new and different conditions. Thus the sermons of the pre-exilic
prophets, as for example those of Amos and Isaiah, were then revised and
supplemented at many points. These earlier prophets had predicted doom and
destruction for their nation; but now that their predictions had been
realized what was needed was a message of comfort and promise. The
fulfilment of their earlier predictions had established their authority in
the minds of the people. The purpose of the later editors was evidently
to put in the mouth of these earlier prophets what they probably would
have said had they been present to speak at the later day to their
discouraged and disconsolate countrymen. Studied in the light of these two
fundamentally different points of view, the glaring inconsistencies which
appear in the prophetic books are fully explained and the consistency of
the earlier prophets vindicated.

The third form of literary activity is represented by the writings of
Ezekiel. With the authority of a prophet, he dealt directly with the