Spinoza, such as Gen. xii. 6 ("And the Canaanite was then in the
land"), Gen.xxxvi.31 ("These are the kings who reigned in Edom
before the children of Israel had a king"), Num. xii.6, 7, Deut.
xxxiv.10 ("There arose not a prophet since in Israel like unto
Moses"). The Priestly Code, on the other hand, guards itself
against all reference to later times and settled life in Canaan,
which both in the Jehovistic Book of the Covenant (Exodus
xxi.-xxiii.) and in Deuteronomy are the express basis of the
legislation: it keeps itself carefully and strictly within the
limits of the situation in the wilderness, for which in all
seriousness it seeks to give the law. It has actually been
successful, with its movable tabernacle, its wandering camp, and
other archaic details, in so concealing the true date of its
composition that its many serious inconsistencies with what we
know, from other sources, of Hebrew antiquity previous to the
exile, are only taken as proving that it lies far beyond all known
history, and on account of its enormous antiquity can hardly be
brought into any connection with it. It is the Priestly Code,
then, that presents us with our problem.

3. The instinct was a sound one which led criticism for the time
being to turn aside from the historical problem which had
originally presented itself to De Wette, and afterwards had been
more distinctly apprehended by George and Vatke, in order, in the
first instance, to come to some sort of clear understanding as to
the composition of the Pentateuch. But a mistake was committed
when it was supposed that by a separation of the sources (in which
operation attention was quite properly directed chiefly to
Genesis) that great historical question had been incidentally
answered. The fact was, that it had been merely put to sleep, and