AT THE time of his death in 1931 Dr. Wilson was one of the leading Old Testament scholars in America. For many years he had taught at Princeton Seminary, but when that institution compromised its consistent Presbyterian witness, he came to Westminster.
Dr. Wilson was preeminently a linguist. His writings reveal the fact that he was a master of the Hebrew and Aramaic languages in which the Old Testament was written. But in addition to these he was familiar with most of the languages and dialects of the ancient Biblical lands. In his writings may be found frequent references to Arabic, Assyrian, Syriac, Ethiopic, and others. Coupled to this linguistic knowledge were the patience and ability to do thorough research. One cannot but marvel at the encyclopedic knowledge which is displayed on the pages of Dr. Wilson's works.
These two factors — linguistic ability and thoroughness of research —have characterized Dr. Wilson’s writings. Although he was an ardent defender of the supernatural view of the Old Testament as a whole, yet it was the book of Daniel to which much of his attention was devoted.
Toward the end of the third century, A. D., a heathen philosopher, Porphyry, suggested that the book of Daniel might be a fabrication, and that its prophecies were probably written after the predicted events had taken place. This view, however, found no acceptance in the Church.
Today, Porphyry seems to have come into his own. Most contemporary scholars assert that the book of Daniel was written long after the time when Daniel lived. They tell us, for example, that the book contains historical inaccuracies, and that the style and character of its language do not reflect the time of Daniel. Indeed, they heap up objection after objection to this book which our Lord used.
It is these objections to the book of Daniel that Dr. Wilson has been engaged in examining. In an earlier volume he answered many attacks upon the historical trustworthiness of the book. The present volume is a collection of eight articles which have been edited by Dr. Oswald T. Allis. The book deals with such difficult subjects as Daniel and the Canon, the Influence of Daniel, and the Prophecies of Daniel.
The claims of the destructive critics are subjected to a most thorough investigation, and Dr. Wilson succeeds in showing that, insofar as they impugn the historical character of the book, these claims are without foundation. The work is in no sense a popular one, but all Christians should rejoice to know that this scholarly reply to unfounded attacks upon a book of Scripture has appeared. With regard to the whole question of the book of Daniel, we believe that Dr. Wilson is justified in saying, "Daniel is with us and Christ is with us. Caveat criticus!”