p. 16 | The Hittite Problem

Pacific Press Publishing Company · Oakland, California · Jun 16, 1898

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 24, No. 24.

The Hittite Problem.

It was at one time a serious question among some of the Biblical critics as to whether such a people as the Hittites, about which the Pentateuch has so much to say, really existed. The Bible must to them be confirmed with other evidence. But while the child of faith needs not the outside evidence, yet he welcomes it for the sake of the honest skeptics. Finally Hittite inscriptions were found, but who could decipher them? It seemed to be an unsolvable problem. Well, Prof. Peter Jensen, of the University of Marburg, Germany, has devoted the last five years of his life to the task, and his perseverance has been rewarded. The first announcement of his discovery was made in the Sunday School Times of March 23, 1893, in recognition of the position of that paper in Biblical research. Professor Jensen claimed that the Hittite language was Indo-European and probably related to ancient Armenian. On this claim scholarship was divided. However, in the Sunday School Times of May 7, 1898, Professor Jensen strengthens his position by showing that the Armenian traditions support his claim of the Hittite origin of the Armenians. He also gives a picture of the fundamental conceptions of the Hittite religion. It is indeed interesting to note how God’s providence confirms His Word, and the Sunday School Times has been in this field an important factor.