.>.'-i«.'*-. vs., •- ■.a«t.-y^>y vr^if^w^iw c^^fv:^ w. "^■J^ ^^^>r!T-',Af9;^^=--^<«?ri^.-^^'^^^ ^.. ;vv^ -*f' *"^;, W. :%^ '-^ "^ 52^ 2^ .^^^■s;yrJiA'rso,Y. y ^ 0 Jf a M U' / ILLUSTRATIONS OF THE HOLY SCRIPTURES, DERIVED PRINCIPALLY PROM THE MANNERS, CUSTOMS, RITES, TRADITIONS, FORMS OF SPEECH, ANTiaUITIES, CLIMATE, AND WORKS OF ART AND LITERATURE, EASTERN NATIONS; EMEODTINQ ALL THAT IS VALUABLE IN THE WORKS OF HARMER, BURDER, PAXTON, AND ROBERTS, AND TBE MOST CELEBRATED ORIENTAL TRAVELLERS; EMBBACINQ ALSO THE SUBJECT OP THE FULFILMENT OF PROPHECY, AS EXHIBITED BV KEITH AND OTHERS ; WITH DESCRIPTIONS OP THE PRESENT STATE OF COUNTRIES AND PLACES MENTIONED IN THE SACRED WRITINGS, ILLUSTRATED "BY NUMEROUS LANDSCAPE ENGRAVINGS, FROM SKETCHES TAKEN ON THE SPOT. EDITED BT I-" REV. GEORGE BUSH, PROFESSOR OF HEBREW AND ORIENTAL LTTERATUBS m THE NEW TORK CITY UNIVERSITY. PUBLISHED BT THE BRATTLEBORO' TYPOGRAPHIC COMPANY, (INCORPORATED OCTOBER 26, 1836.) BRATTLEBORO', VT. 1839. Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1830, by JOHN C. HOLBROOK, in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of Vermont. STEREOTTPED BY FRANCIS F. RIPLEY, NEW YORK. PUBLISHERS' ADVERTISEMENT. Is presenting the pulilic with nnolher of their ComVTehermce volumes, the publishers take the opportunity to acknowledge the favor which their elTorts to circulate useful and relicious knowledge in a condensed and cheap form have hitherto met witli "The Comprehensive Commentary on the Bible," "The Encyclopedia of Relioiocs Knowledge," and " The Polyolotj Bible" edited by the llev. Mr. VVarne, have met with a sale far surpassing that of any other work of equal magnitude in th'! United States, or in the world, in the same length of time. The Vermont Ckronicle well remarks, that they might be all boun t to match, and appropriately entitled, " THE COMPREHENSIVE LIBRARY OF RELIGIOUS KNOWLEDGE." Encouraged by the great popularity of those works, the same publishers have been induced to bring forward the present Tolum.i. in the hope that it may find equal favor with the public, as they have no doubt that it is equally deserving of it It will be seen from a slight examination, that this, like its predecessors, is comprehensiee in its character, embracing the suf stance and value of more than fifteen octavo volumes, together with a great amount of matter illustrative of the Scriptures, draw, from biblical writers, tbc accounts of oriental travellers, periodicals, &c. &c. i^Seethe Pre face for an explanation of the plan arui a list of authors quoted.) The value of the materials of which the volume is composed, will be readily seen, and it would \>^ superfluous to remark upon the peculiar qualifications of the editor. y^ JTiCs rolume is not desired to take the place oj" commentaries, but is a distinct department of biblical ilhistration, and may be used as a companion to the Comprehensipe or any other Commentary, or the common Bible. THE ENGRAVINGS in the volume, it is believed, will form no small part of its attractions. No pains have been spared to procure such as shoulil embellish the work, and at the same time illustrate the text. Objections that have been made to the pictures commonly introduce* into the Bible, as being mere creations of fancy and the imagination, often unlike nature, and frequently conveying false impres sions, cannot be urged against the pictorial illustrations of this volume. Here the fine arts are made subservient to utility, the landscape views bcuig, without an exception, matter of fact views of places mentioned in Scripture, as they appear at the pre sent day ; thus in many instances exhibiting in the most forcible manner to the eye. the strict and literal fulfilment of ibe remark- able prophecies ; " the present ruined and desolate condition of the cities of Babylon, Nineveh, Selah, &c., and the countries o* Edom and Egypt, are astonishing examples, and so completely exemplify, in the most minute particulars, every thing which wa? foretold of them in the height of their prosperity, that no Better description can now be given of them than a simple quotation fron. a chapter and verse of the Bible written two or three thousand years ago." The publishers are enabled to select from several collections lately published in London, the proprietor of one of which says, that " several distinguished*travellers have aiTorden him the use of nearly Three Hundred Original Sketches" of Scripture places, made upon the spot. " The land of Palestine, it ii- well known, abounds in scenes of the most picturesque beauty. Syria comprehends the snowy heights of Lebanon, and the maiestii ruins of Tadmor and Baalbec. The gigantic temples of Egypt, the desolate plains of Babylon and Nineveh, the ruined cities ot Idumea, Moab, and Ammon, and the rocky solitudes of mount Sinai — all afford subjects most admirably adapted to the artisfn pencil." An eminent writer. Bpeakiiig of the Eiien'a'inf • of PETRA, (or Sklah,) layi, " Rr merely »ffi»iDg a text to the •plemlit] engraving! of the rtiina of Pclra, the heautici of art b*come immediately subservient to the interests of religion. Where recently it was difficitll, ifnot impossible, to ascertain a single fact, and where only indirect evidence could t4 olilrtined, men may now as it were foo* upon IduTnta. and see how Uie lines of confusion and the atones of emptiness have been suetched over il" (in littral /utjllmtnt n^ pro ph^ey.) " Aii.l we may now in like manner looit upon the nuns of the chief city of Edom, (Petra or Selah, ) of which the very existence was until lately entirely unknown. All llie plates UHest ita va5l maiiniilcfnce, and the almost incredible and inconceivable labor, continued, as it must have been, from age to age, prior to the days of Moses and latci than the Christian era, by which so great a multiplicity of dwcliuigs and temples WERE EXCAVATED FROM TtiE ROCK."— /Ceitft on Iht Prophscitt. THE FRONTISPIECE, ROME, has been done on steel at great expense, by an accomplished artist. It is thus described by Ren. Thomas HartweU Home, antbot of the Introduction to the Critical .'itudy of the Scriptures : " The Forum which is delineated in our engraving is perhaps the most melancholy object which Rome contains. Not only is its former grandeur utterly annihilated, but the ground has not been applied to any other purpose. When the visiter descends into it from the Capitoline Hill, or Mount, he finds many of the ancient buildings buried under irregular heaps of soil. Where the Roman people heheld temples, erected to perpetuate their exploits, and where the nobles vied with each other in the magnificence of their dwellings, we now see a few insulated pillars standing, and some broken arches. The Roman Forum is now called Campii Vaccine; and is computed to have been 705 feet in length and 470 in width. The three pillars on the right of our engraving are said to have belonged to the temple of Jupiter Tonans : they stand on tho declivity of the Capitol. It is known from Suetonius that Augustus erected such a temple at the foot of the Capitol, in gratituaj for his escape from being struck by lightning. The capitals are of the Corinthian order, and of white marble, fluted and of great size, being 4 feet and 4 inches in diameter. According to Viiruvius, the temple of Jupiter Tonans bad a portico of 30 columns. The building which appears on the left, is the Arch of Septimus Sevehus, erected in honor of that emperor and bis two sons, to commemorate two triumphs over tt\e Parthians. It stands at the foot of the Capitol, and is of white marble. It is ornamented with eight fluted composite pillars, and formerly there was a chariot on the top. In the centre is the Temple of Fortune, for a long time mistaken for the Temple of Concord. Its portico only remains : it consists of a front of six Ionic columns of granite, the bases and capitals of which are marble, Christianity is supposed to have been first planted at Rome by some of those " strangers of Rome, Jews and proselytes, (Acts 2: to.) who beard Paul preach and were converted at Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost. To the church thus formed in the metro- polis of the world. Paul inscribed bis epistle to the Romans (ch. 1: v. 7.)" Hither Paul was carried a prisoner, (Acts 2S: 14, 16.) and here he dwell two whole years " in his own hired house," and from this city be wrote his epistles to the Ephesiaas, Philippians, Colossians, Philemon and 2d Timothy, and here be suffered martyrdom, about A. D. 66." THE VIGNETTE TITLE-PAGE (HAGAR AND ISHMAEL) is the only fancy sketch in the volume. It represents a touching scene in the story of Hagar, where the moihei is presenting lier son with a refreshing tlraught of water from the fountain which God had opened her eyes to see, after the water being spent in her botlle, she had cast him under a shrub and gone " and sat down over against him, a good way ofl", as it were a bow shot, for she said. Let me not see the death of the child. And she sat over against him, and lifted up her voice and wept." THE PROFILE OF OUR SAVIOR, at the beginning of the New Testament, is copied from a London work entitled, " 77ie Truths of Retelation demonstrated by an Appeal In e.risting Monuments, Coins, Medals, i)-c." The author remarks, " We think it by no means improbable, that some of the early Jewish converts might be desirous to possess a memorial of their Lord in a medal which might bear an impress of his ' visage;' and that such medals did exist, though lioth Celsus and Origen might be ignorant of them. In these remote periods, even in the paintings ami sculptures of Thebes, much more in those of Greece and Rome, their statues and pictures were correct likenesses, and were multiplicil without reserve. Besides, there was another source which might supply sucn a medal, altogether irresjiectivc of the early Christians. Scarcely an event occurred, of great moment, that was not commemorated on a coin or medal. So remarkable a history of events as those which occurred in Jutlea winild not pass by, we may be jierfectly sure, without some such commemoration. It is highly probable, that the governor of Jmiea woultl send to Tiberius, antf the Roman Senate, a repre- sentation of the illustrious iniliviilual who was the author of that ' now religion which, according to their ownaccountj hail 'turned the wttrld ujisitlc down.' *' Ctjpies of sevcrnl medals axe given in the work referred to, all boariiig a 3iea^ resemblance to each other, and on one of which the word Mfssias apjiears. Of one of Ihem the author remarks, " It is interesting to consider this metlal in tonuectioii with the celebrated letter of iLentulu* to Tiberius, witli which description it remarkably corresponds. » » * In rejeetiu;; documents siuh as these we may be guilty of an unwarrantable scepticism. Ji'c do not see why this should not hate been taken ; but we sec tnauy reasons to belicre that such a representation of our Sarior might hare been copied." \. nOMF- *nie Forum Frontispiece. 2. IIaOaH A.S-D ISIIMAEL. VlfnettcTitl, ■ (inphfr IVatM). V. MuiiHI Ararat. . . . . S .■Syrian Dove. .... « UlUe. 7 .Mounts Siuai an.l lioreh. » Kumniil of M, t Hur. » v.li,, ,.f .tjjion, . . . it) K...i,,.i ru.iiircofSuhmiaal 11 F.,i,.r,it t'tianoL . . . . 1* <■ v.iv . . IS K„e I liiiK Trunaha. (leii 21. M Thru I'uiiishnient. Ii \Vll,t Asa. Kaalrsn Mtxle of Clait. Si 14. l'4go 13 . " 8; 4. " •■ " 8:B. B, " '• . " «; II. " " Eiod 1»: I " II Numb *t:»i " M Josh 10: 12. " ISI . 1 Chr. V9; -Jl. Rnil vol. •i Kings 9: •ti. •' " " " 17:« " '■ Eiod 18:34 " •• Job 13: ST. Lisr op TJ(s BNQBA visas 16 lliexor WildGoaL . . IV lb4: IS. End o vol. 32. ir •^"o'r- ■ ' 33 Naiarath • 2:23. '■ 576 18. No Anion (Thebca.) . . . . Jer. 48: 96. PagtfS03 34. Street in Jerusalem " Wl«. '<■ 6-oa 19. E«a " 47:S. TT 504 35 Tiberias and Sea of Q«IU(«. . John 6: 1,2. " 612 20 Kiitruncc to Petra- "49: 17. Sll 36. PoolofSiloam " 8:7. " 613 31. nahyloo " Sl:6». «• 616 37. Ephesua. Arts 18: 19 " e9f a ;?'»"' ■ ■• 49; r 1* S09 38 Smyrna Rev. 2: & " 615 •23. Kgypl. Ruined Temples E.ek. SO: 6-13. S» 39 Pergamus. ■• 2: 11 " N1 24. Kuincd Temple of tsia. . . •' " '• 836 10 .S'anlis. " 8; 1. " 648 25. i'ltkal"" Zenh. 2:4. n 686 41 Pliilailelphht. •' 3: 7. 28. I;"""™!" NahlmliS. 663 42 Laclicea " 8: 14. 27. I'.tra. Triumphal Arch. . . Joel 3: 19. 654 13 Painiiis RCT. 1: 8. *• 658 28. Petra. Rulnsof the City. . . Mai. 1; 4. ■ • 670 41 MAP PlanofPetrfc . . . " 512 •J3 Petra. Tombs J.r (0: it Mal. 1: 4. 'I 613 45. PHOFII.K OF OUR SAVIOR Fronilapicct to Ul« 30. Petra. General View. " " " *• 67S New Testamenu 91. Uabylon. llirs Nimrod. . Icr. 51:62 " 519 THE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF RELIGIOUS KNOWLEDGE ; , . on, DICTIONAIIY OF THE BIBLF., TltF.OLOGl', nKLIGIOUS BIOGRAPHY, ALL RELIGIONS, ECCLESfASTICAL HISTORY, AND MISSIONS; CONTAIN- , ING VEl'INITIONS OF ALL SeLIGIOUS TERMS; AN IMPARTIAL ACCOUNT OF THE PRINCIPAL CHRISTIAN DF,N0MINATIONS THAT HAVE EXISTED IN THE WORLD FROM THE BIRTH OF CHRIST TO THE PRESENT DAY, WITH THEIR DOCTRINES, HELIOroirs RITES AND CERE- MONIES, AS WELL AS THOSE OF THE JEWS, MOHAMMEDANS, AND HEATHEN NATIONS; TOGETHER WITH THE MANNERS AND CUS. TOMS OF THE EAST, ILLUSTRATIVE OF THE HOLY SCRlPTURESi, AND A DESCRIPTION OF THE aUADRUPEDS, BIRDS, FISHES, BEP- TILES, INSECTS, TREES, PLANTS, AND MINERALS, BfENTlONED IN ■ THE BIBLE; A STATEMENT OF THE IVIOST REMARKABLE TRANS- ACTIONS AND EVENTS IN ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY; BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES OFTHE EARLY MARTYRS AND DISTINGUISHED RELI- GIOUS WRITERS AND CHARACTERS QF ALL AGES. TO WHICH IS ADDED A MISSIONARY GAZETTEER, CONTAINING DESCRIPTIONS OF THE VARIOUS .MISSIONARY STATIONS-THROI/GHOUT THE GLOBE; BY REV. B. B. EDWARDS, EDITOR OF ftUARTERLY OBSERVER. THE WHOLE BROUGHT DOWN TO THE PRESENT TIME, AND_ EMBRACING, UNDER ONE ALPHABET, THE MOST VALU.4BLE PART OF CALMBT'S AND BROWN'S -DICTIONARIES OF THE BIBLE; BUCK'S THEOL. DICTIONARY; ABBOTT'S .SCRIPTURE NATURAL HISTORY; WELLS' GEOGRAPHY OFTHE BIBLE; JONES' BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY; AND NUMEROUS OTHER SI.MILAR WORKS. DE.SIGNED AS A CO.MPLETE BOOK OF REFERENCE ON ALL RELIGIOUS SUBJECTS, AND COMPANION TO 'I'HE BIBLE; FORMING A CHEAP AND COM- i PACT LIBRARY OF RELIGIOUS KNOWLEDGE. EDITED BY REV. J. NEWTON BROWN. ILLUSTRATED BY WOOD CUTS, .MAPS, AND ■ ENGRAVINGS ON COPPER AND STEEL. i PUBLISH ERS'ADVER.TISEMENT. ■ The present ia an age, and oura is a country, demanding great condcnsaiion and brcviiy in writers who would secure attention. So active and busy are .the habitd of ihe mass of our countrymen, that theV have neither tiriie nor patience to turn and peruse llie pages of the cumbersome quartos and folios of the I7th century ; while a tolerable competency would scarcely surtice for the purchase of the numerous works of which the modern press is ao fruitful, on the subjects embraced in this voMime. The W(>rk then .combining and comlensing the most valuable retiulisof the researches nf the best writers on any subject, while it will be mnst likely m be received with favor, will ai the same time be best calculated ro facilitate the acquisition, and consequently the diffiision of knowlcdire. With these views the " Comprehensive Commentary on the Bible" was projected ; and its unprecedented sale haa cncouraecd the same publishers to otler lo tlic pubjic the presunt volume. The su/jjects cvibrnced in tkif, work are ijilertstittg to all, mid as it is 7iot dtsi^ticd to he in the least sectarian, or denominational, it cannot Jail to be desirable /or all, trhcfher professedly rrjii^ious or not, at least a.t a book 0/ rrfercncc. The following are some of the pnculiariiies of the plan : — 1. It ia designed to be a s^(«dnrrf and permanent work; and here it is believed will he found collected and compressed in one super-royal octavo volume of upwards of twelve hundred pages, in a sliape combining convenience and cheapness, and in a style blending the sweetness of the popular with the richness of ihe profound, what has heretofore been scattered through more than fort]) volumes, and mixed with much of Utile or no value. Among tlie works, all the taluahle matter of which will be found in this, together with some from which copious extracts have been made, are the following: — THEOLOGY. Buck's Theological Dictionary. Watson's Biblical and Theological Dictionary. Jone-t' do. do. dn. do. Hawker's Poor Man's do. do. CHRISTIAN DENOMINATIONS AND FALSE RELIGIONS. Evans' Sketches of Denominaiions. Hannah Adams' History of All Religions. Jorie:^' do. do. do. Douglas on Errors in Religion. LIVES OF MARTYRS AND RELIGIOUS BIOGRAPHY. Fox's Book of Martyrs. Middleton's Evangelical Biography. Belhani's do. do. Cliisgold's do. do. Elliot's do. do. Allen's Biographical Dictionary. Davenport's do. do. Junes' Religious Biographical Dictionary. MISSIONS. Williams' Missionary Gazetteer. Edwards' do. do. Brown's do. do. DICTIONARIES and other works illustra- tive of the Bibli:. Calmei's Dictionary of the Bible. Brown's do. do. do. Rarr's Scripture Help. Wells' Scripture Geography. Home's Introduction to the Study of the Scrip- tures. Harris' Scripture Natural History. Carpenter's do. do. do. AbboU'a do. do. do. Jabn's Archaeology. Paxlon's Illustrations. Harmer's Observations. Burder's Oriental Customs. Sherwood's Scripture Types. ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. Moeheim's Ecclesiastical Hir^lory. Milner's Church History. Jones' do. do. ETj- Many articks are original, especially those relating to the principal sects in this country, as will be seen on reference to the fourth paragraph below. 2. It is designed for a complete book of reference on all religious subjects ; lo which a person can turn when any thing occurs in reading or conversation connected with Religion which he does not understand, or in regard to which he wishes to refresh his memory, as he would to a dictionary for a dcfiuiiion of a word. Nearly every subject treated in the hooks which form the basis of this, is touched upon ; but those which are of minor importance are very brief, and those of greater utility handled more at length. Articles rarely recurred to will be found here ; but it is not burdened with any thing that is altogether useless. 3. In Theologi/. Buck's Dictionary is folloiped ; in its evangelical cast and general candor, in its copious illustrations of important topics, and its valuable references to the best works on both sides of the question. KO^ Tiiu edition which hns been used is the new one lately published in England, edited by Prof. Henderson, who has added nearly five hundred new articles, which will be found incorporated in this. ■t. The accounts of the History, Doctrines, ^c. of different denotninalions, have been prepared with an aim at the strictest impartiality. Where it iras practicable some leading man of the principal sects existing in this country has been employed to prepare the article relat- ing to it ; and where it has not been, the matter has f'tcn drawji from some one or more prominent writer of the denomination, of acknow- ledged authority. The tvokk does not aim to effect a compromise of opinions among the diflferent denominations of Christians, but to present the views of each_/"«^/.'/, and in their own words, leaving the reader to form his own ronclusions as to which is most correct. This must be a truly acceptable, course to all who can respond to the sentiment quoted by Robert Hall, "Amicus Plato, amicus Socrates, sed tnaais arnica veiutas." The following are some of the contributors under this head : — Baptism. Prdobaptist Vi/-nf^. Rev. J. Tka- Methodist Episcopal Church. Rev. S. W. cv, Baptist VitfC.-*, Rev. Proi. Knowles. CoNOREOATioNALisTs, PfcpTreil by a mem- ber, and rcvi.-icd anil suicii'tned by Rev. Prof. Emerson, of Anilnver Theological Seminary, and Rev. Dr. Wisner, of Boston. Christians. Rev. J. V. Himes, Boston. WiLLSON, Editor Zion's Herald, Boston. PnEsnvTERiANS. Rev. Prof. Miller, of Priii'-.eton Thc'ilogical Seminary. Protestant Episcopal Ciidbch. Rev. Mr. BovLE, of Boston. Freewill Baptists. Elder Saml. Bbede. Protestant Methodist Church. Rev. T. F. NoRRis, President of the Massachusetts Dis- trict Conference. Universal Restorationists. Rev. Paul Dean. Umivebsalists. Rev. Lucius Page. .5. To adapt it lo popidnr use, all words in foreign languages have been omitted ; or where Hebrew, Chaldee, and Greek terms unavoidably occur, they are given in English characters. 6. Scripture Biography, which occupies a large space in most Bible Dictionaries, is handled here in the briefest manner possible — giv- ing only the characteristic outlines, except when difficulties occur which require lo be cleared up. 7. In consequence of the space thus gained, the uetc department nf Heligious Biography is made full and extensive; embracing, it is believed, every distinguished reiigiou.s writer, preacher, and character, including the most distinguished females, and those philanthropists who wore actiiafed by religions principles. Every denomination will find here notices of it.s ninbt illustrious men, especially such a-s have lived and died in this country, from iL-* settlement to this time. To every notice of an author a list of his principal writings (so far as possible) is given, with a reference to the beat biographies of the individual. 8. .4s a Dictionary and Gazetteer of the Bible, the work will be found, it is believed, full and copious, adapting it to the wants of Sabbath ScHOOL.s. In the notices of the various cities and countries mentioned in the Bible, the fulfilment of the Prophecies regarding them, so far as developed, are particularly noticed. 9. Th'i object of the Encyclopedia being lo do good on evangelical principles, the work preserves throughout, as far a.s possible, a devotional and practical, as well as a critical, picturesque, and popular character, that it may minister lo the heart, no less than to the judgment and the imagination. 10. Maps and Enoravlvos, as well as Wood Cuts, have been added to enrich and adorn, as well as illustrate the work, On live wholfl, the amoinit of information embodied in Ihiswork is very great, and it is hoped the malter, by collation, arrangement, abridg- ment, and addition, has hcun improved ; and while it will be found interesting and valuable lo Families, and those individuals who only desire to acquire general knowledge, to the Sabbath School Teacher and Bible Class Leader it cannot but prove an invaluable treasure. NOTICES AND RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF RELIGIOUS KNOWLEDGE. 'The Encyclopedia of Relijious Knowledge Is, upon the whole, a valu- able book of refcronco, and ihe iheologicul arliclea are, in the mam, good. The work is rich in biogmphical notices, and conlaina much useful infor- mation respecting the lencU of different secla which in most cases is supplied by their own writers. Tkt tf''^'^[<'S''^"i^^t"^^Il'^'^^ -^"^ " ° convenient and uer/ul companion. A. AI.EXANDLK, D. 1). Princeton Thcol. Sem., N. J.' •I regard the Ency. of Rel. Knowledge as a very valuable book of re- forence \Vliile it is particularly convenient and useful to ministers of the gospel, it will be found to be very entertaining and instruclivs to others, and I's well toorthy of a place in every family ^'^rnry. B. TYLER, I). V. Pres. of E. Windsor Theol. Institute, Conn.^ 'I have examuiod the Ency. of Rel. Knowledge in sundry of its arii- clcB ; and holding in my library its principal authorities, I am ready lo say that I muck approve it. We have no work which contains, and judi. cioushi ci'iilains, so much informins matter at so moderate a price. ■^ ' ■ Rev. JONATHAN HOMER, D. D. Newton, Mass.^ 'This volume is certainly an exception lo the general style in which compends, summaries, and Encys. are manufactured among "s. It bears the marks of caro, honest research, and accurate statement. The coTiimendable practice is followed of giving the authorities at lhe^:los« of each article. , . ,. . ,- , ■ It is not a bookselling expedient, prepared >n the haste of a plagiary from English works ; but in part original, id in part condensed, and ac- commodated lo suit the general intention oi Lbe volume. The department of reliETious biography is very complete;— a field of labor in which the American EncycIop.-edia is notoriously deficient. Candor and good judg- ment are here manifested. On the whole, we heartily commend this publication to our readers. It will repay many fold the cost of ita purchase. No single volume tn the language, so far as we fcnoir, corttains a larger amount of ralu. able kiwwlcdge.' [Biblical Repository and (Quarterly Observer. 'We are are confident that this must be a valuable acquisition to any man's library ; and one who expects lo (purchase and use much literature of this sort, we are equally confident, will save both money and lime by suhscribina: for this. We have Encvs. in other deparlments of science; but wa do not know that any thing in ihe form of a Religious Ency. has ever been published in this, or any other country. A work of this kind has there, fore been a great desideratum in the religious and reading community. So far aa we have examined it— and we have devoted some time and care lo the subject— the book fulfils the large promise of Ihe title (juitc as well as could reasonably be expected. It is avast slorehouseof inforrn^- lionall the subjects indicated, iudiciously selected — condensed, perspicu- ous, and well arranged ; and, what is of great importance, wiih references, at the end of the more imporUint articles, to works from which more nar- ticular information may be obuained. The work is handsomely printed, on good paper; the tvpe is clean and fair, and auincienlly large. On the whole, i7 IS entirely bpyond any thins else extant as a convenient b(X)k of reference for clergymen, teachers of Bible classes and Sabl)ath schools, and all, in fact, who' wish for any book of reference of the kind to fiasist them in Iheir biblical and religious reading. Il is marvellously cheap. We recommend il confidently. It will not disappoint any reasonable expectations.' [*''. Chronicle. ' A very \iseful work. 1300 imp. Rvo nagcs. Its usefulness in the fami- ly, in reading religinuH iutclliirence and other publications, and in writing on religious subjects, is obvious. The price, for so large a volume, urc pared with so much lalwr, nuist be acknowledged very reasonable— cheap.-' [^- Y. Evangelist. 'The editorial execution alloeether surpasses my expectations, and 1 am persuaded the work will be extensively popular. ' Rev. GEO. RUSH, Prof. ofOri. Lit. in N. V. City University.^ ' Its plan is very comprehen.Hive. and embraces a variety of informalinu respecting the state of religion tbrttiighout the world, which cannol he obtained except by recourse tti a great number of original sources. In regard to the different ilonoininations in our own country, it is ne- cessary only lo recur \xy the names of iho gentlemen who furnisli the ac- coiuiu of them, to obtain full confidence in the fidality with which those accounts may be expeclwd to be comp(.>deil.' [Boston Christian Register. This work contains in itsrff a religioas lihrarij ; and as such we consider it one ofgre.il value lo the Clirislian public. The plan of it is happily ailapted to make ita book of reference, a con- venionl Bulislitutc, and more ihaii a substitute for many volumes which Christian readers have heretofore had tKca.•^ion lo consult. And from an examination of a large number of article.^, the plan appears to have been well executed. Many of Ihe original articles arc ably written. Those condensed from other works were evidently prepared with great care and ftltenlioii, and show the result of oxtensivf reading and patient research. ItH cheapness strongly commends il to public favor.' [Southern Rel. Telegraph, Richmond, Va. 'The Eneycloprcdia of Religious Knowledge is ilcservedly having & large sale.* [Boston Recorder. 'Though it is a large volume, yet in view of its variety and comprc- hensivoneH-i. it i!!i multum in parro, — much in a small space, — an (»ci*an of matter in a drop of words. The work has been compiled with im- menao tal)«>r, with great arniracy and uncommon impartiality. INIr. Brown has [x-rformfii his liiili.-tdt and doliraie uwk in a judicious mrtnnfr — in a m-inntT l'> hi-Thly promni.- ibt- public benefit, antf to entitle him lo ttic nppnthiti.tn and ^Tttiliid-- "f ihe coinmnnity. We are happy to add, th,-*! the work h;i.s been got up in a handsome slylo, and in good taste. We should alncerely hope, that the cause of inilh and i\e interest of the religious public may b«_promoted by ita cilenaive circulation. It should be a companion to ihe Bible in every family ; it should find a place in the library of every Sunday school teacher; and we venture litile in saying that, as a work of reference, Ihe minister of ihe gospel would find il convenient and useful.' {American Baptist (New York.) 'The object of the work is lo condense into one volutne the most im- portant mailer now scattered throughout many expensive publications. The compiler appears lo have executed his task wiin commendable dili- gence and good judgment. It requires more than ordinary wisdom, in compiling such a work, to determine what to reject and what lo retain. As far as we have been able to examine the work, we think Ihe author deserves the credit of a faithful and judicioua compiler, — We deem the work worthy of extensive patronage. Il is well executed, on good paper, and illustrated with engravings and wood cuts; and we hope ihe enter, prising publishers will be well repaid for their expenditure on this praise- worthy and expensive work.' [Richmond Rel. Herald. ' The general execution of the work Is decidedly good. We recom mend il for ita general excellence, as a most useful book of reference, to families which desire information on religious subjects.' [Presbyterian (Philadelphia.) ' This work is emphatically what its title imports, a repository of every description of religious knowledge, alphabetically arranged, for easy and familiar reference. It seems to embrace just thai kind of knowledge which the ministers of the gospel, and the curious and enlightened Chris- tian of every denomination, requires, relative to ihe Bible, theology, reli- gious biography, ecclesiastical history, missions and all religions. The amount of matter embraced in about 1300 large octavo pages on these subjccls is incalculable — enough, we should think, to fill 15 or 20 volumes of the Family Library. We consider il, in fact, if not the only, the most recent, comprehensive, illustrative, and trustworthy work of refer- ence on all denominational points, and topics adverted to above, extant. It is designed as a complete book of reference on all religious eubjecla, and companion lo the Bible, forming a compact library of religioua knowledge : and when its excellence is fully known, it will, we doubt not, find a place in almost every Christian family.* [N. Y. Weekly Messenger. ' We have recently procured a copy of this excellent work ;— it is rast such a work as the religious public have long needed. /( fUs a place that is not occupied by any other work in the English language. We wish one could be placed in the hands of every minister of the gospel ihroughout our country. This one volume would be to him a valuable library of religious knowledge; he might accumulate a great variety of books before he could otherwise obtain the information which he needs upon various points, and which would be direcily available in the great work in which he is engaged. Here he has a condensed, but accurate and satisfactory view of the religioua customs and sentiments of the dif. ferent denominations of Christians; and, notwithstanding their number and diversity, he can in Ihis volume hear them nearly all speak their own language and assign their own reasons. But besides information with regard to different religions, and the dif- ferent denominations of the Christian religion, the minister of Christ may here find a distinct and evangelical statement of the great leading doc- trines of the Scriptures; which will be no small advantage to. any who may have had lo enter upon the ministry with but liille preparation. On the same accour.!, this work recommends iiself as a most important help to every Bible class and Sabbaih school teacher. Indeed, every head of a familv, who wishes to acciuire and impart to his children cor- rect and enlightened views upon religious subjects in general, should have in his library this Encyclopedia. Were this generally the case, we might soon expect lo see a higher degree of religious knowledge in circu- lation, and fewer misconceptions and misrepresentations respecting the sentiments of different religious denominations.' [Zion*s Advocate {Portland.) 'Few works of more value can be named, even in this time of con- densing books. For theological studenis as a Itook of reference, and as a familv book for youths, to which they may devote their evenings, and imbibe correct information upon the almost boundless field of surrey which is connected with the moral and religious condition of mankind, it is unequalled in variety and amplitude of knowledge. We have exten- sively searched the articles of which il is coin|>osed ; and ran attest to Ihe general fidelity with which the work has been conipileil. We have ascer- tained that the Ency. of Rel. Knowledirc comprehends the sulislance of FIFTY valuable works ; all of which forincrly were considered necessary to the library not only of a scholar, but also of all Christians who were anxious to obtain accurate and enlarged information of scriptural truth and ecclfsiastical history. We cnn Ci>nccive of nothing more Iieiicfirial to Ihc American churches' than this laborious and crand scheme for the diffuniou of religiou.-* knowledge.' lA'- Y. Protestant Vindicator. (Frorn the Literary and Theolosiral Rerinr, (New York,) edited by Rev. Lionnrd Woods. Jr.) ' Il is enough to say in commendation of it, that it fulfils the promise set forth in its lone, descriptive, comprchrnsive title. Tlu" oricinal nrli- cles contained in il are numerous, ami of great value. Tlie mechaniral execution is excellent, and the whole con.siiiutcs, we have no donbt, the compLelesl and most valuable bot»k of reference, ridai)Icd lo the use of familie.s, Sunday schiKil learherM. and miniau-rs nf the gosiiei, that baa ever been prepared and publishetl in this country.' (From the Nrw York Obsrrrrr.) 'This volume is on a plan which we believe to W original, and wliifh ounnol fail, if its execulion be judicious and faithful, to secure to the work extensive popularity and usefulne.-'s. S*t iir as wr have examined the articles in the work, wilh a few exfontions we think favorably of the skill, jndirnirut and fidelity with which it has lieen executed. The names of several of the original roiitrtbiitnrs are .•"ufficii.'nt to warrant the highest expectations concerning the articles which they have prepared.' PREFACE. Next in worth and importance to the possession, is doubtless to be estimated the correct interpretation of the sacred volume. Indeed, it is the latter which gives its value to the former. A revelation not understood, or not intelligible, is no revelation, as far as its recipients are concerned. The position, therefore, that the meaning of the Bible is the Bible, we consider as unquestionably true, and consequently any new accession of light, which goes to clear up its obscurities, and cause its genuine sense to stand forth in bolder relief upon the inspired page, is in reality enriching us with a larger amount of its treasures, and virtually bestowing upon us added communications of the Divine will. In this view, the progressive elucidation of the scriptures, whether by the expository labours of critics, the researches of travellers, or the fulfilments of prophecy, may be compared to the gradual rolling away of the morning mist from a splendid landscape. As the sun advances, the shades retire, and new and interesting features of the scenery are continually opening upon the delighted eye of the spectator. Or, it may be said to resemble the slow, but momentous process of unfolding the ancient papyri, which the ravages of time and fire have spared among the ruins of Pompeii and Herculaneum. Here, as every successive word and letter, which can be redeemed from the crisp and crumbling texture of the blackened parchment, is noted down with the most scrupulous care, as forming a part of the continuous record, and going to make out its entire sense ; so the sense of the sacred volume is gradually elicited, item by item, and needs only to be collected and treasured up with equal solicitude, in order to constitute a possession of infinitely more value than the choicest literary relics of antiquity. Perhaps it may be safely affirmed, that the materials are at this moment in existence, for the satisfactory solution of nearly every doubtful passage of holy writ ; but the great desideratum is to have them brought together — to collect them from their wide dispersion over a countless multitude of writings, in various languages, which the great majority of Christians can neither procure nor understand. It is only in this way that they can be made really available to the great end which they are calculated to subserve ; and far from idle are the claims of any one who professes to bring from scattered sources a new quota to the general stock of biblical illustration. As the Bible, in its structure, spirit, and costume, is essentially an Eastern book, it is obvious that the natural phenomena, and the moral condition of the East, should be made largely tributary to its elucidation. In order to appreciate fully the truth of its descriptions, and the accuracy, force, and beauty of its various allusions, it is indispensable that the reader, as far as possible, separate himself from his ordinary associations, and put himself, by a kind of mental transmi- gration, into the very circumstances of the writers. He must set himself down in the midst of oriental scenery — gaze upon the sun, sky, mountains, and rivers of Asia— go forth with the nomade tribes of the desert — follow their flocks — travel with their caravans — rest in their tents — lodge in their khans — load and unload their camels — drink at their watering-places^pause during the heat of the day ^nder the shade of their palms — cultivate the fields with their own rude implements — gather in or glean after their harvests — beat out and ventilate the grain in their open thrashing-floors — dress in their costume — note their proverbial or idiomatic forms of spee.ch, and listen to the strain of song or story, with which they beguile the vacant hours. In a word, he must surround himself with, and transfuse himself into, all the forms, habitudes, and usages of oriental life. In this way only can he catch the sources of their imagery, or enter into full communion with the genius of the .sacred penmen. While, therefore, we readily concede the very high importance of critical and philological research in dissipating the obscurities of the scriptures, and fixing their exact sense, we cannot, at the same time, but think that the collateral illustrations derived from this source, are deserving of at least equal attention from the student of revelation. The truth is, the providence of God, which is never more worthily employed than about his Word, seems now to be directing the eyes of his servants, as with pointed finger, to the immense stores of elucidation constantly accumulating from this quarter. The tide of travel within a few years, has turned remarkably to the East. Animated either by the noble spirit of missionary enterprise, of commercial speculation, of military adventure, or laudable curiosity, men of intelligence and observation have made their way into every region on which the light of revelation originally shone ; exploring its antiquities, mingling with its inhabitants, detailing its manners and customs, and displaying its physical, moral, and political circumstances. From these expeditions they have returned laden with the rich results of their industry, and the labours of the pen and the pencil have made thousands partakers of the benefit. Somewhat more than half a century ago, when the justly celebrated Observations of Harmer were given to the public, the range of materials to which he had access was comparatively limited. The travels of Chardin, Pococke, Shaw, Maundrell, Pitts, D'Arvieux, with Russel's Natural History of Aleppo, were his principal authorities— authorities, it is true, which have not yet been wholly superseded. But since his time, what an immense accession has the department of oriental travels received! The names of Volney, Niebuhr, Mariti, Clarke, Chateaubriand, Porter, Burckhardt, Buckingham, Morier, Seetzen, De Lamarline, Laborde, exhaust but a small part of the list of eastern tourists, whose labours have gone to make us familiarly acquainted with the land of patriarchs, prophets, and apostles. How desirable that the scattered gleams of illustrative light, which shine in their works, should be concentrated into one focus of illumination ! This is the task which we have essayed in the present volume. 6 PREFACE. In entering upon and advancing in this task, we have been more and more impressed with (he remarkable fact of the permanence of eastern usages. True to the traditions of their ancestors, and impenetrable thus far to the spirit of innovation, their manners and customs, opinions and institutions, retain all the fixedness of their mountains, and flow on as unvarying as the course Of their streams. To the question, therefore, whether the stale of things in the East, as described by modern travellers, really coincides with that which existed at the time the scriptures were written, so that one may be cited as conveying a correct idea of the other ; we may reply, in the words of Sir John Chardin, one of the most respectable and authentic of the number: — " I have written nothing," says he, " of the Indies, because I lived but five years there, and understood only the vulgar languages, which are the Indian and Persian, without the knowledge of that of the Brahmins; but, nevertheless, I did not spend my time there in idleness : on the contrary, as the winters in that country Avill not permit one to travel, I employed that time in a work which I had long in my thoughts, and which I may call my favourite design, by the pleasure wherewith I laboured in it, and the profit which I hope the public will receive (hereby; which is certain notes upon very many passages of holy scripture, whereof the explication depends on the knowledge of the customs of the eastern countries; for the East is the sceue of all the historical facts mentioned in the Bible. The language of that divine book (especially of the Old Testament) being oriental, and very often figurative and hyperbolical, those parts of scripture which are written in verse, and in the prophecies, are full of figures and hyperboles, which, as it is manifest, cannot be well understood without a knowledge of things from whence such figures are taken, which are natural properties and particular manners of the countries to which they refer. I discerned this in my first voyage to the Indies: for I gradxially found a greater sense and beauty in divers passages of scripture than I had before, by having in ray view the things, either natural or moral, which explained them to me ; and in perusing the different translations which the greatest part of the translators of the Bible had made, I observed that every one of them (to render the expositions, as they thought, more intelligible) used such expressions as would accommodate the phrase to the places where they writ; and which did not only many times pervert the text, but often rendered the sense obscure, and sometimes absurd also. In fine, consulting the commentators upou such kind of passages, I found very strange mistakes in them, and that they had long guessed at the sense, and did but grope (as in the dark) in search of it. And from these reflections I took a resolution to make my remarks upon many passages of the scriptures ; persuading myself that they would be equally agreeable and profitable for use. And the learned, to whom I communicated my design, encouraged me very much, by their commendations, to proceed in it ; and more especially when I informed them, that it is not in Asia., as in our Europe, where there are frcqiwnt changes, more or less, in the form of things, as the habits, huildings, gardens, and the like. In the East they are constant in all things; the habits are at this day in the same ■manner as in the precedent ages; so that one may reasonably believe, that in that part of the world, the exterior form of things (as their manners and customs) are the same now as they were two thousand years since, except in such changes as have been introduced by religion, which are, nevertheless, very inconsiderable." — (Preface to Travels in Persia, p. 6.) Morier, an eastern traveller, says, " The manners of the Ea.st, amid all the changes of government and religion, arc stili, the same; they are living impressions from an original mould; and at every step, some object, some idiom, some dress, or some custom of common life, reminds the traveller of ancient times, and confirms, above all, the beauty, the accuracy, and the propriety of the language and the history of the Bible." This very striking testimony to the conformity, or rather identity, of the modern with the ancient usages of the East, is abundantly confirmed from other sources, as scarcely a traveller has set foot upon oriental soil, without professing himself to be at once struck with the remarkable coincidence between the picture of ancient manners, as drawn in the sacred writings, and the state of things which actutlly meets his eye. This steadfast resistance to the spirit of innovation and change, which thus remarkably distinguishes the nations of the East, will probably, in the providence of God, remain unsubdued, till it shall have answered all the important purposes of biblical elucidation, when it will give way to the all-pervading, all-regenerating influence of the Bible itself, borne upon the bosom of a new tide of civilization and improvement, which shall, ere long, set in upon the East from the nations of Europe, and the great continent of the West. " By a wonderful provision of Providence," says De Lamartine, " who never creates wants without at the same time creating the means of satisfying them, it happens, that at the moment when the great crisis of civilization takes place in Europe, and when the new necessities resulting from it are revealing themselves, both to governments and people, a great crisis of an inverse order lakes place in the East, and a vast void is there offered for the redundancy of European population and faculties. The excess of life which is overflowing here, may and must find an outlet in that part of the world ; the excess of force which overstrains us, may and must find employment in those countries, where the human powers are in a state of exhaustion and torpidity, where the stream of population is stagnant or drying up, where the vitality of the human race is expiring." In the mean time, while the inevitable doom of revolution and transformation that awaits the East, lingers, it behooves us to make the most, for useful purposes, of that state of society which still exists, but which, ere long, will have passed away. With this view, we have endeavoured to imbody in the present volume a large mass of oriental illustration. The work is strictly of an eclectic chararter. Postponing the claims of originality to tho.se of practical utiliiy, the Editor, after arraying before him the amplest store of materials which he could command, set himself to the task of selecting and arranging the most valuable portions which he could bring within the limits of his plan. The kindred works of Harmcr, Burder, Paxton, Taylor's edition of Calmet, scarcely any of which are in common accessible to the majority of biblical students, have been diligently gleaned, and all their important contents transferred to our pages. As these works are not likely ever to be reprinted in this country, there appeared no other way to arrest their progress to oblivion, and to .secure a larger and wider circulation to the valuable matter which they contain. But the range of .selection has been by no means confined to the works now mentioned. So prolific has been the press within the last twenty or thirty years, of books of eastern travels, illustrative of manners, customs, and religion, that our resources in this department have been almost indefinitely multiplied. But to one work in particular— Roberts' Oriental PREFACE. 7 Illustrations of the Sacred Scriptures, collected during a residence of nearly fourteen years among the Hindoos— the Editor desires, as an act of justice, to which he is sure the reader will most heartily respond, to express his very deep obligations. He considers himself peculiarly fortunate in meeting with this work just as he was entering upon his own undertaking, so that he has been able to incorporate it nearly entire in the present volume. Though abounding chiefly in illustrations drawn from the parabolical, idiomatical, and proverbial phraseolgy common in the East, yet his notes are so pointed and pertinent in their scope, so felicitous and graphic in their turn of expression, and so remarkable for the vividness with which the leading idea is exhibited, Ihat we doubt not the reader will find in this part alone an ample equivalent for the cost of the whole volume. The Rev. T. H. Home says he feels himself "justified in recommending Mr. Roberts' ' lUuslrations,' as supplying an important desideratum in biblical literature. They furnish to very many difficult or obscure passages satisfactory explanations, which are not more original than they are entertaining and instructive." " Mr. Roberts' work," says the British Critic, " is replete with interesting matter, and, in a condensed form, contains more illustrations of Holy Writ than any other book we know of He richly deserves our thanks, and the thanks especially of those who are not able to possess many volumes illustrative of the oriental rites and customs to be found iu the Bible. We have only to add, that this volume is worth all the twopenny trash which the last half dozen years have given birth to." As the present work is designed lo be marked by somewhat of the same Comprehensive character which distinguishes the other biblical works lately issued from the press of the Publishers, the illustrations bear upon numerous other points than those relating to manners and customs. Every thing of a purely doctrinal character, about which the dlfl^erent denominations of Christians might be supposed to disagree, has been studiously excluded ; at least such has been the Editor's intention, and if any thing should be met with that seems to gainsay this declaration, he begs it maybe set down to the account of a momentary inadvertence, rather than of a determinate purpose. Bui with this exception, he has given himself as much latitude in the selection of matter, as was consistent with a prevailing unity of design in the structure of the whole. The subject of the Fulfilment of Prophecy, cannot well be lost sight of by any one conversant at once with the scriptures and the reports of modern travellers. The topographical descriptions of many of the most noted places of scripture, a department to Avhich particular attention has been given in the ensuing pages, suggests at once the divine predictions bearing upon their future doom. The researches of tourists, both skeptics and Christians, have poured a flood of light upon this subject. It is perfectly astonishing, to one who has never examined the subject, to find how literally and minutely the prophetic declarations of scripture have been fulfilled, so that even infidel travellers and historians, as Volney and Gibbon, in their accounts of nations and countries, have unwittingly used for description, almost the words of scripture In which the events are foretold. Volney, particularly, (one of the bitterest opposers of Christianity,) in his published travels in the East, has afforded, unwillingly and unthinkingly, a wonderful attestation to the truth of the Bible, in the relation of facts which came under his own eye. There needs no better witness. Indeed, it is impossible for the most determined infidel carefully to examine and weigh this subject, and not be forced to feel that the Bible is divine ; or, in the words of Bishop Newton, " he is reduced to the necessity, either to renounce his senses, deny what he reads in the Bible, and what he sees and observes in the world, or acknowledge the truth of prophecy, and consequently, of divine revelation." The researches of travellers in Palestine have been abundant, and the prophecies thereby verified are numerous and distinct, so that the facts may be related literally in the language of the prophecy. To use the words of a late writer in the London Q.uarterly Review, " we confess that we have felt more surprise, delight, and conviction, in examining the accounts which the travels of Burckhardt, Mangles, Irby, Leigh, and Laborde, have so recently given of Judea, Edom, &c. than we have ever derived from any similar inquiry. It seems like a miracle in our own times. Twenty years ago we read certain portions of the prophetic scriptures, with a belief that they were true, because other similar passages had, in the course of ages, been proved to be so, and we had an indistinct notion, that all these (to us) obscure and indefinite denunciations had been — we knew not very well when or how — accomplished : but to have graphic descriptions, ground plans, and elevations, showing the actual existence of all the heretofore vague and shadowy denunciations of God against Edom, does, we confess, excite our feelings, and exalt our confidence in prophecy, to a height that no external evidence has hitherto done Here we have — bursting upon our age of incredulity, by the labours of accidental, impartial, and sometimes incredulous" (infidel) " witnesses — the certainty of existing facts, which fulfil what were considered hitherto the most vague and least intelligible of the prophecies. The value of one such contemporaneous proof is immense." Indeed, it would seem that in regard to such places as Babylon, Nineveh, Tyre, Moab, Edom, and others, the providence of God was no less conspicuous in bringing to light, in these latter ages, the evidence of the accomplishment of those prophecies, than formerly in working the accomplishment itself. The valuable labours of Keith in this depart- ment, arranged in accordance with our general plan, so as to exhibit the commentary under its appropriate text, will be found to have added much to the interest and profit of the reader in perusing our pages. The numerous highly finished engravings, executed by distinguished artists, from sketches taken on the spot, and accompanied, for the most part, with letter-press descriptions by the Rev. T. H. Home, originally published in Finden's Landscape Illustrations, will go also greatly to enhance the value of this portion of the illustrations. A critical note is occasionally thrown in, where the point of a passage seemed capable of a happy explication, especially from a more exact analysis of the import of the original terms. Those bearing the signature of the Editor will perhaps usually be found of this character, and for any seeming infraction in this of his general plan, he solicits the indulgence not unreasonably claimed for a favourite mode of scripture exposition. They are, however, for the most part, " few and far between." As a prominent object aimed at throughout has been, not only to increase the facilities for a complete understanding of the inspired volume, but also to multiply the evidences, and vindicate the claims of its divine original, a portion of our pages has been allotted to the direct consideration of infidel objections and cavils. The most important extracts of this 8 Preface. descripiioa bave been taken from the valuable and now rare " Life of David," by Chandler, in which the insinuations of Bayle against the character of David, are canvassed and refuted with distinguished ability, though perhaps somewhat more verbosely than is consistent with the taste either of modern writers or readers. The original and acute remarks of Michaelis, on many points of the Mosaic laws and ritual, though sometimes bordering upon the fanciful, disclose a profound acquaintance with the genius of the East, and are generally entitled to deep attention. As the authorities employed in the preparation of the ensuing pages are usually quoted in a very general way — for •■he most part merely by citing the writer*s name — it will probably be rendering an important service to many of our readers, to give a more ample view of the sources upon which we have drawn for materials. The list is by no means complete, nor, as many have served us at second hand, is it perhaps practicable or necessary that it should be; but the most important and valuable will be found here grouped together, and ordinarily, by turning to this catalogue, the entire tiiie, including edition and date, of any work cited in the ensuing pages simply by the author*s name, will be found. Such a catalogue may be of service for other purposes than those connected with the present volume. Haiimer's Ohscrvations on Various Passages of Scripture, tcith ad- ditionsby Adam Clarke, LL. D., 4 vols. 8vo. Cliarleslown, 1811. Paxton's llluntrationH, 3 vols. 8vo. Edinburgh, 1825. Ul'kber's Oriental Cusloj/is, 2 vols. 8vo. London, 1816. '* Oriental Literature, with RosenmuUer^s Additions, 2 vole. 8vo. London. 1822. Roberts' Oriental Illustrations, 8vo. London, 1835. C'almet's Dictionary, Tayloi's Edition, 5 vols. 4tu. I,ondon, 1899. Shaw's Travels tkrous,h Barhary and the Levant^ io\\o. Lon. 1738. yixvtiOviELV 9 Journey from Aleppo to Jerusalem, 8vo. Oxford, 1749. \'0LNEv's Trai'^ets through Egypt and Syria, 8vo. New York, 1798. ftlARrri's Travels through Cyprus, Syria, and Palestine, 2 vols. 8vo. Dnblin, 1793. Uahon De Tott's Memoirs on the Turks and Tartars, 3 vols. 12ino. Dublin, 1785- Russell's Natural history of Aleppo, 2 vols. 4lo. London, 17ft4. Clarke's 7'ravels in the Holy Land, 12mo. Philadelphia, 1817. ToiTRNEFORT's Voyage to the Levant, 3 vols. 8vo. London, 1741. Dc'CKingham's Travels in Mesopotamia, 2 \ols. 8vo. London, 1827. " Travels among the Arab Tribes, ito. London, 1825. Bdrckhardt's Travels in Arabia, 4to. London, 1829. " Travels in Nubia and Egypt. 4to. London, 1822. Madden's Travels in Turkey, Egypt, and Palestine, 2 vols. 12u:io. Philadelphia, 1830. Madox's Excursions in the Holy Land, Egypt, Nubia, Syria, ^c, 2 vols. 8vo. London, 1834. Callaway's Oriental Observations, 12n»o. London, 1825. Campbell's African Light, 12mo. London, 1835. Anderson's Tour through Greece, 12ino. Boston, 1831. Hardy's Notices of the Holy Land, 12mo. London, 1835. Chateaubriand's' rrat?e/5,8vo. New York, 1814. Kbppbl's Narrative of a Journey from India to England. 8vo. Philadelphia, 1827. Morier's Journey through Persia, 9vo. Philadelphia, 1816. Smith Xnd Dwicht'b Researches in Armenia, 2 vols. 12nio. Boston, 1833. Jowbtt's Christian Researches in Syria and the Holy Landy 6vo. London, 1825. Modern Traveller, Palestine, Syria, and Asia Minor, 3 vols. 12ido. Boston, 1830. Heeren's Asiatic Nations, 3 vols, 8vo. Oxford, 1833. Waddinoton's Travels in Ethiopia, 4lo. Lon'lon, 1827. HosKiNs' Travels i7i Ethiopia, Aio. London, 1835. BuKNES'a Travels in Bokhara, 2 vols. 12ino. Philadelphia, 1835. Munboe's Summer Ramble in Syria, 2vols.8vo. London, 1835. Uoog's Visit to Alexandria, Damascus, and Jerusalem, 2 vols. 12ma London, 1835. Wilkinson's TTiebes, and General View of Egypt, 8vo. London, 1835. ARriNDELL's Discoveries in Asia Minor, 2 vols. 8vo. London, 1834. De Lamartinb's Pilgrimage to the Holy Land, 2 vols. 12uio. Phila- delphia, 1835. Stackhouse's History of the Bible, 2 vols, folio. London, 1766. Chandler's Life of David, 2 vols. 8vo. London, 1766. MicHAELis's Commentaries on the Laws of Moses, 4 vols. 8to. Lon- don. 1814. Gleig's History of the Bible, 3 vols. 12mo. New York. 1831. Horslby's SerTnons, 8vo. London, 1830. Pocockb's Theological Works, 2 vols, folio. London, 1740. Nbwcome's Minor Prophets, 8vo. Pontefract, 1809. Keith's Evidence of Prophecy, l2mo. New York, 1833. Good's Translation of Job, 8vo. London, 1812. FiNDEM's Landscape Illustrations. London, 1835. The importance of the present work must be obvious, and being altogether illustrative, without reference to doctrines, or other points in which Christians differ, it is hoped it will meet with favour from all who love the sacred volume, and that it will be sufficiently interesting and attractive to recommend itself, not only to professed Christians of all denomina- tions, but also to the general reader. The arrangement of the texts illustrated with the notes, in the order of the chapters and verses of the authorized version of the Bible, will render it convenient for reference to particular passages, while the c&pious Index at the end, will at once enable the reader to turn to every subject discussed in the volume. It only remains for the Editor to remark, that he would by no means be held responsible for the truth or justice of every sentiment advanced by way of interpretation or illustration in the present work. He hopes not to be considered as adopting himself all the various explications of scripture which he has yet felt it his duty to propound. Many of them are proposed by their authors themselves merely as conjectures, and though he may occasionally have entertained doubts of their correctness, yet, as they involved only points of minor importance, he has seldom felt himself called upon to turn aside to question or confute them. A very large mass of obviously true or highly probable illustration, is here presented to the reader. As to the pertinency or verisimilitude of particular portions, he will of course exercise a due discrimination ; he cannot be expected to forego his own judgment, nor will he find it necessary to presume upon that of him who has thus endeavoured, however feebly, to minister, by so great a variety of provision, to his instruction and pleasure. Q. B. NeiD York, May Ist, 1836. ILLUSTRATIONS HOLY SCRIPTURES GENESIS. Chap. 1. Ver. 1. In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Notwithstanding the industrious attemjlts of many skep- tical writers to array the evidence deducible from geolo- gical discoveries against the Mosaic account of the cre- ation, nothing has yet been advanced to invalidate the testimony of the inspired record, as nothing has yet been brought to show that its statements, when rightly vnder- slood, are at all at variance with any of the clear and un- doubted results of scientific research. We say, when rightly ujiderslood ; for that the conclusions of the geolo- gist, even the most legitimate and demonstrable, may be inconsistent wilh the popular interpretation of the sacred narrative, we by no means deny ; but it is obvious that such interpretation 7nay be erroneous, and that all that is requisite to bring the two departments into perfect har- mony, may be the fi.xing of the genuine sense ot the writer by a purely philological process. Until, therefore, it is es- tablisned beyond controversy that the language of Moses cannot, by any possibility of fair construction, he made to tally wilh, or at least not to contradict, the admitted truths of geological science, it is vain to charge revelation with uttering oracles at variance with the irrefragable teach- ings of nature. But this, it is to be remembered, never has been, and we are confident never will be, done. The material fabric of the universe and the book of inspira- tion are the works of the same author, and we may be sure that the truths pertaining to the one cannot be at war with those belonging to the other. The following remarks of the Rev. Bartholomew Lloyd, Provost of Trinity Col- lege, Dublin, on the drift of the sacred penman in the first chapter of Genesis, cannot but commend themselves to every enlightened reader: "The sacred writer pre- faces his history of God's government over his chosen people, by informing us, that ' in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth,' and it seems equally certain that he here speaks of the original creation of all things out of nothing. This, indeed, is a steal subject, and though nothing circumstantial is here revealed to us concerning it, yet the sacred importance of the truth, assured to us by ihis simple expression. Is ever\' way suitable to the prom- inent place assigned to it ; for it isnothing less than the authoritative statement of the first and fundamental article of all true religious faith. Bv it we are taught that sclf- e.Tistence is an attribute of the one supreme Being, and that all things besides owe their existence to His unlimited power. How necessary it was to mankind to have an nulhoritative declaration on this subject, we may readily convince ourselves by adverting to the errors into which the most celebrated men of all antiquity had fallen, who presumed to speculate on these matters, so far bevond the reach of human reason, without other guidances. Among these erroneous opinions, or rather among those wild con- jectures, we find the following: — that matter was eternal; that the Deity was the soul of the world; agreeably to which, the material frame of nature was to be regarded as his body, and not as his work. Now, in this bis first sentence, the inspired writer settles definitively what we are to believe on this subject, hv .stating the primnrvrcla- 2 lion which all things in common bear lo the supreme Be- ing; and wilh this information he forbears from mixing up any other matter. For it will be perceived that the state- ment is made without any specification of time or other cir- cumstance ; seemingly, because no addition of this kind could be of use in aiding our conceptions of a truth purely religious, or in strengthening our faith in the authority on which it was proposed; but chiefly because it was the sole object of the writer, in this first sentence, to claim for God the creation of all things whatsoever, and that this claim must remain unshaken, however we may decide on other questions which may be raised about the creation ; such as that relative to the time when it occurred ; how long before the origin of the human race ; whether all the parts of the universe were brought into existence simullaneous- Iv, or at different and widely distant epochs. It is plain, then, that in this place the sacred writer furnishes no helps for the decision of such questions. Let us look to what follows. In proceeding to those arrangements by which the earth was to be fitted for the residence and support of man, and the other inferior tribes by which it was then to be tenanted, we find him describing its preceding condi- tion; informing us that it was then 'without form and void,' and that 'darkness was upon the face of the deep.'' Now, I confess that this always seemed to me very like the description of a ruined world : and if such was the earth at that lime, it would be difticult to suppose that il had not existed long before. But this is not all. When he does come lo the work of the six days, we find the de- scription of each day's work introduced by an expression of a particular form,' and concluded by another, by which it appears that the original work of creation, spoken ol in the first verse, is excluded from the series of perform- ances belonging lo those days; — and, if excluded, then, perhaps, removed lo an indefinite distance; for had it immediately preceded, we might naturally expect to find it spoken of, either as the work of the first of a series of seven days, or as part of the work of the first of the six days. This, then, would seem lo remove the work of the original creation far beyond that of the reconstruction ot the globe. It is true, that nothing is exhibited to our ima- ginations to mark the interval between these perform- ances; but lo deny tliat there was such an interval, and for that reason, would be to conclude about as wisely as the peasant, who supposes the clouds to be contiguous to the stars, because when looking up he discerns nothing between them." Dr. Chalmers, in his treatise on the Evidences of Chris- tianity, speaks lo the same efi'ecl. " Does Moses ever say, that when God created the heavens and the earth, he did more, at the time alluded lo, than transform them out of previously existing materials'! Or does he ever say, that there was not an interval of many ages between the first act of creation, described in the first verseof the book of Gen- esis, and said to have been performed in Ihe beginning, and those more detailed operations, the ,nccounl of which commences at the second verse, and which are described to ns as having been performed in so many days'! Or, finally, does he ever make us understand, that the .gener- ations of man went further than to fix the antiquity of the 10 GENESIS. Chap. 1. species, and of consequence ihal they leA the antiquity of the globe a free subject for the speculations of pliiloso- phers V " We do not know," says Sharon Turner, " and we have no means of knowing, iit what point of the ever-llowing eternity of that which is alone eternal — the Divine subsist- ence— the creation of our earth, or of any part of the uni- verse began, nor in what section of it we are living now. All that we can learn explicitly from revelation is, that nearly tiOOO years have passed since our first parent began to be. Our chronology, that of Scripture, is dated from the period of his creation ; and almost GOOO years have elapsed since he moved and breatlied a full-formed man. But what series of time had preceded his formation, or in what portion of the anleceding succession of time this was effect- ed, has not been disclosed, and cannot by any effort of hu- man ingenuity be now explored. — Creation must have be- gun at some early part of anteceding eternity; and our earth may have had its commencement in such a primeval era, as well as in a later one." Professor Hitchcock, in an elaborate and very able essay on the connexion between Geology and the Mosaic History, (Biblic. Reposit. Oct. 1835,) undertakes to establi-h, and we think with entire success, the following positions, which we give in his own words : — " In the first place, we main- tain that between geology and revelation there are several unexpected and remarkable coincidences, such as could have resulted only from veracity on the part of the sacred historian; and that the points of agreement are far more numerous than the points of apparent collision; and, there- fore, even geology alone furnishes a strong presumptive evidence in favour of the truth of the Mosaic history. We maintain, secondlv, that the first chapter of Genesis is a por- tion of Scripture that has always occasioned much difficulty in its interpretation, apart from geology, and that those por- tions of it about which commentators have differed most, are the very ones with which geology is supposed to come into collision ; so that in fact scarcely any new interpreta- tion has been proposed to meet the geological difficulty. We admit, thirdly, that the geological dilhcully is real ; that is, the established facts of geology do teach us that the earth has existed through a vastly longer period, anterior to the creation of man, than the coiumon interpretation of Genesis allows. We maintain, fourthly, that most of the methods that have been proposed to avoid or reconcile the geological difficulty are entirely inadequate, and irrecon- cilably at variance either with geology or revelation. We maintain, fifthly, that at least one or two of these proposed modes of reconciling geology and Scripture, although not free from objections, are yet so probable, that without any auxiliary considerations, they would be sufficient, in the view of every rea-sonable man, to vindicate the Mosaic history from the charge of collision with the principles of geology. And finally, we maintain, that though all these modes of reconciliation should be unsaiisfactory, it would be premature and unreasonable to infer that there exists any real discrepance ; first, because we are by no means certain that wc fully understand every part of the Mosaic account of the creation ; secondly, because geology is so recent a science, and is making so rapid advances, that we may expect from its future discoveries that some more light will be thrown upon cosmogony : and thirdly, be- cause, as geolog?' has been more and more thorouglily un- derstood, the apparent discrepances between it and reve- lation have become less numerous." — B. Ver. 9. And God said. Let the wattrs under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear : and it was so. We have before remarked, that, during the first and sec- ond days of the creation, the earth must have presented to the view, (had any human eye existed to look upon ii.) a solid globe of spheroidal form, covered with a thin coat of aqueous fluid, and alrcadv revolving on its axis as a mem- ber of the solar system. We are fully authorized in coming to this latter conclusion, from the distinct mention made in the record, of the daijs, comprisint;, like our present days, the evening anA the morning, with the darkness and the light following each other in regular succession. The Sim, it is true, had not yet been made visibly to appear, or to shine through the, as yet, cloudy atmosphere. It was now the will of the Creator that the earth should no longer be " invisible" under its watery covering; and, according- ly, the command was given, that "the waters should be gathered together unto one place," that the " dry land" might appear. In considering this great event, it b'ecomcs a natural and fair question, as it has been left open to us by the record, as to l/ie mode or means by which it must have taken place. The well-poised earth had already be- gtin to revolve upon its axis; and the laws of gravitation and of fluids had consequently begun to act in our system. By these laws, it was impossible that the waters could have been gathered together by accumulation, or above the gen- eral level, as the solids of the earth might have been. We can, therefore, come to no other conclusion than tliat to which we are also led by various parts of the inspired wri- tings, viz. that God did " rend the depths by his intelli- gence," and formed a depression, or hollow,' on a part of the solid globe, within which, by the appointed laws of fluids, the "depths" were "gathered together." The fol- lowing beautiful reflections on this part of our subject are from the enlightened mind of Mr. Granville Pcnn, who may, indeed, be called the first great advocate for the Mosaic Geology, among the men of scien-e of our day. " Thebriefnessof this clause, (Genesis i. 9,) and the nature of the subject, have caused it to be liule contemplated in proportion to its importance, and to the fulness of the in- struction which it conveys ; and, therefore, it has not been observed that the same sublimity which is imiversally per- ceived in the clause, ' Let there be light, and there icos light,' subsists equally in this clause ; ' Let the waters be gathered together unto one place, and let the dri' land be seen, and it was so.' The sentiment of subliniity in the former clause, results from the contemplation ofan instantaneous transition of the universe from the profoundest darkness to the most splendid light, at the coimnand of God. All men familiarly apprehend the sadness of the former, and the delight of the latter; and Ihev are, therefore, instantly sensible of the glorious nature of the change which was then so suddenly produced. But the nature of the change which must necessarily have taken place, in suddenly rendering visible a part of a solid globe, the imiversal surface of which had been overflowed and concealed by a flood of waters, is not so familiarly or so instantly apprehended ; the mind, therefore, does not care to dwell upon it, but is contented with receiving the general information that the sea v:as formed. Hence, both commentators and geologists have etjually failed to draw the immediate and necessary inference from the revelation of that great and undeniable geological Jact." — Faibholme's Geology, p. 51 — 54. Ver. 14. And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven, to divide the day from the night ; and lei them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years; 15. And let ^ them be for lights in the finnanientof the heav- I en, to give light upon the earth ; and it was so. 16. And God iTiade two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also. 17. And God set them in the firmament of the heaven, to give light upon the earth. It IS admitted that the Scriptures generally describe the phenomena of the natural world as they appear, rather than according to strict scientific truth. Thus the sun and moon are said to rise and set, — the stars to fall,— and the moon to be turned into blood. Consequently, if this history of the creation were designed to describe the effects of the six days' work as they would have appeared to a speeJator, had one been present,— & supposition rendered probable from its being said," Let the dry land appear," (Hen. be seen,) when as yet there was no eye to see it, — then we may rea.sonably coiicludc that the suri was formed on the first day, or per- haps had been created even before our earth, and was in fact the cause of the vicissitudes of the three first days and nights. But as the globe of the earth was during that lime surrounded by a dense ma.ss of mingled air and water, the ravsofthe sun would be intcrc pled; only a dim glimmer- ing light, even in the daytime, would appear; and the bodies of the heavenly luminaries would be entirely hidden, Chap. 2. GENESIS, 11 just as they now are in a very cloudy day. Let it be sup- posed then that on the fourlh'day the clouds, mists, and va- pours were all cleared away, and the atmosphere made pure and serene j the sun ol' course would shine forth in all his splendour, and to the eye of our imagined spectator would seem to have been just created; and so at night of the moon and stars. This eftect of the Divine power, ac- cording to the usual analogy of the Scriptures, is descri- bed from its appearance, and the language employed, — " let there be lights in the firmament," — and — " he made two great lights, and set them in the firmament" — is to be inter- preted on the principle above stated. They might then be said to be " made," because they then first began to be visi- ble, and to perform the office for which they were designed. The original word for " made" is not the same as that which is rendered " create." It is a term frequently employed to Siignify constituted, appoiiUed, set for a particidar purpose or vse. Thus it is said that God "made Joseph a father to Pharaoh" — " madehhn lord of Egypt" — " ?«i7(/c the Jordan a border between the tribes" — " made David the head of the heathen ;" and so in iimumerable other instances. As, there- foie, the rainbow was made or constituted a sign, though it might have existed before, so the sun, moon, and stars may be said to have been jiiade and set as lights in the firma- ment, on the fourth day, though actually called into exist- ence on the first, or previously. — Bush. Chap. 2. ver. 18. And the Lord God said, It is not good that the man should be alone ; I will make him a help-meet for him. This is the polite way of speaking of a wife in the East, though it must be confessed that they associate with this term too much of the idea of a servant. Does an aged person advise a young friend to get married ; he will not say, " Seek for a wife," but " Try to procure a thunive, a help-meet." A man who repines at his single state, says, " I have not any female help in my house. A widower says, " Ah ! my children, I have now no female help." A man, wishing to say something to his wife, will address her as follows: " My help-meet, hear what I am going to say." It is worthy of observation, that the margin has for help-meet, " as before him ;" and this gives a proper view of her condition, for she literally has to stand before her husband to serve him on all occasions, and especially when he takes his food; she being then his servant. Say to a woman, " Leave thy husband !" she will reply, " No, no ; I will stand before him." — Roberts. Ver. 19. And whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof. The verb was is not in the original text ; and, therefore, the sentence may run in the present, with equal propriety as in the past ; and, indeed, according to the genius of the language, with more propriety in the present — that is the name thereof. Hence the names by which the lower ani- mals were known in the days of Moses, were those which Adam gave them in Paradise ; and as these are pure He- brew, the legitimate conclusion is, that Hebrew was the language spoken by Adam before the fall. This argument receives an accession of strength from the ideal character of the Hebrew language. It is admit- ted, that all languages participate more or less of the ideal character ; but it is one of the most remarkable circumstan- ces by which the Hebrew is distinguished. A number of its words, as in other languages, are mere arbhrary signs of ideas; but, in general, they derive their origin from a very few terms, or roots, that are commonly expressive of some idea borrowed from external objects ; from the hu- man constitution ; from our senses or our feelings. The names of men, and of the lower animals, and the names of many places, particularly in the remoter ages, allude to some remarkable character in the creature named ; or, in reference to place, to some uncommon circumstance or event. Scarcely a proper name can be mentioned, which alludes not to something of this kind. To give a few ex- amples: Kore, the partridge, received its name from the verb Kara, to call, in imitation of the note which that bird uses in calling its young. The camel is in Hebrew, Gamal, from a verb of the same form, which signifies to recom- pense, because that creature is remarkable for remember- ing and revenging an injury. The Hebrews call the scor- pion Akrab, from two words which signify to kill one's father ; now, both Pliny and Aristotle inform us, that it is the character of that creature to destroy its own parents. — Paxton. Ver. 20. And Adam gave names to all cattle, and to the fowl of the air, and to every beast of the field ; but for Adam there was not found a help-meet for him. With respect to the original language which Moses de- scribes our first parents as making use of, from their very first creation, we are nowhere informed in what manner they first acquired it, nor how it was communicated to thein. It is, indeed, probable that the inspired historian addressed himself to those who were much le.ss skeptical on such subjects than ourselves ; and that this remarkable endowment, peculiar to the human race, and by which they so far excel all other created beings, was never, in early times, doubted as having been directly communicated from the same w'ise and provident source from whence the hu- man race itself had arisen ; and the researches of the wisest and most learned men of all ages have invariably led them to the same natural conclusion. We have no direct means of positive knowledge as to what relation the primitire language of the earth may have had with existing tongues; but, in the absence of such evidence, we may form some conjectures on the subject, which are certainly marked with the highest probability. In the first place, we must consider that the numbers of the antediluvian human race, and their consequent divisions into nations, could not have been nearly so great as in the present day, from the comparatively short period they had existed, and from the comparatively unrefined condition natural to a primitive race of beings, on whom the gift of reason was obviously bestowed by the Creator for the pur- poses of exertion, and of graduaf cultivation and improve- ment. We must not here suppose, however, with too many advocates of an erring philosophy, that man was, at first, naturally savage, or in the state we now find the wild and tmcultivated natives of savage countries ; or that religion and knowledge were, in the first days, in the debased con- dition we now too often fiiid them in the remote corners of the earth. The savage state is not natural to man ; but, on the con- trary, is brought on by erring from the true path of know- ledge, in which both Adam and Noah must have brought up their first descendants ; and which, in both instances, was communicated in a direct manner, from the unerring source of every good which mankind now enjoys. In considering the progressive stages of society, we are too apt to content ourselves with merely looking back, from our own times, into the darker ages of barbarism, and thus to form our ideas on the false supposition, that the primitive nature of man is one of perfect ignorance, and such as we now find among the savages of Africa or America: whereas, if we trace the progress of society, in its proper and natural course, by descending from thecreation,and from the deluge, instead of ascending from our own times, we shall findtliat the primitive state of mankind, even immediately after the creation, was one oiinlelligence and understanding, if not in arts and sciences, at least on the leading point of religion, which is, of all others, that in which the savage falls most short of the civilized man. It pleased his Creator to bestow upon primitive man a full and perfect conception of the relation in which he stood towards the Supreme Being; and it was in order to preserve a knowledge of the true religion among men, that a certain family and race were afterward expressly chosen ; we find, accordingly, that to whatever state of idolatrous ignorance, or savage barbari- ty, the various ancient nations of the earth were, from time to time, reduced, there was always some portion of the world, and especially of the Jewish race, which adhered to the true faith, and which was, consequently, preserved from that .state of unnatural debasement from which man has a constant tendency and desire to emancipate himself It is, therefore, highly probable that, as we hear of no diversity of language on the earth until after the deluge, the whole primitive race was "of one language, and of one speech," and that that language must, consequently, have been the I-. GENESIS. Chav. 4. same spoken by those few iiulividiials wlio were pieseived iiom ilie tlood. Now, when we consider ihe greai sclieme of ilie Almighty, foretold from time to time, from the days of Adam to those of Abraliam, and eontinued from thence, in a well- defined course of history, to our own times; when we con- sider the wonderful and miraculous events that -Kere fore- told, and were aferward so literally /ii/^/terf, in the line of the chosen jiciple of God; — thai, through them, and through their language, the Inspired Writings of the early limes were to be for ever handed down to the generations of men ; that,of all the languages of the earth, the Hebrew tongue, like the Hebrew people, has hitherto withstood every change and every calamity ; and been, like them, miraculously preserved by the Almighty will lor a great and beneficent end ; and when we further consider the strong analogy and filiation, so easily traced, in all the languages of the earth, to the Hebrew, as the most probable postdilurian original tongue; — when all these considera- tions are combined, is it unreasonable to conclude to the high probability of the original language of the Sacred Scriptures being the pure and original tongue first conimu- nicaled to man by his Maker? In considering, then, ihe language of the Hebrews as the most probable source from whence all other tongues have been derived ; and when we trace in all these other tongues the gradual varieties that have arisen, and are still now proceeding in the dialects of the earth, by the secondan/ causes, and, seemingly, trivial accidents, by which the different shades of language are brought about, are we not justified in drawing a compari- son Detweeen the miraculously preserved primitive lan- guage, and the no less miraculously preserved chosen people, who arc the constant living miracle, bearing unvill- ing witness to the truth of Inspiration, to all the generations of mankind 1 We are remmded, that it was repeatedly foretold in prophecy, that the Hebrew nation should be dis- persed into all countries; yet that they should not be swal- lowed up and lost among their conquerors, but should subsist, to the latest times, a distinct people ; that, "though God would make an end of the nations, their oppressors. He would not make an end of them."— Fairholme. The names which men and things received at the be- ginning of time, are so strikingly similar to those which they bore when the Hebrew was certainly a livinglanguage, that its claim to the honour of being the primeval speech of the human family, can scarcely be rejected. It is ever reckoned a proof of similar origin, when many words in any two languages ha\'e the same form, the same sotmd, meaning, and reason. But the names of the first genera- tions of men, like those of the lower animals, are as pure Hebrew as the names of Peleg, Abraham, Isaac, and Ja- cob, or those of David and Solomon, or Malachi. They have the Hebrew form, are Cimstructed according to He- brew rules, are founded on certain reasons, like .Hebrew names; and, in fine, are not to be distinguished in any one respect from pure Hebrew. It deserves also to be remarked, tliat the reason assign- ed for these names will not correspond with any other lan- guage. The garden of Paradise was called Eden ; be- cause among the Hebrews it signifies pleasure or delight. The place of Cain's exile was for this reason called the land of Nod, from a root which signifies to wander. Adam received his name because he was taken out of the ground; but if the term for ground in the first language had been terra, or yn. or earth, there had been no proprie- ty in the designation. Eve was called by this name, be- cause she was the mother of all living; but it is derived from a pure Hebrew verb which signifies to live; and to this relation the name owes all its propriety and signifi- cance. Cain was named from the Hebrew verb Kana, to possess, because his mother had got him from the Lord ; and in this instance also, the name is inseparably connect- ed Willi the Hebrew root. The proper name Seth is de- rived from the Hebrew verb Shoolh, to appoint ; becau.se, .said our first mother, God hath appointed me another seed instead of Abel, whom Cain slew. The same mode of reasoning might be carried through all the names of the Adamitic age; but these instances are sufiicient to show the near affinity, if not the positive identity, of the lan- giLTgc which Adam spoke, with ilie Hebrew of the Old Tesiament. The names ascribed by the inspirc.l writer ii> the found- ers of our race, are not interpreiations of primitive terms ; for lie declares they are the very names which w ere given at first ; and as they are deri\-'alives from pure Hebrew verbs, Ihe language then spoken must have been the same in substance and structure. Had ihey been translations, we have rea.son lo think the same method would have been followed as in several instances in the New Testament, where the original term is used, and Ihe interpretation avowedly subjoined. But Moses gives not a single hint of his translating these terms ; he a.sserts, on the contrary, that they are the original words emploved ; and the truth of his assertion is rendered indubilatile by the reasons assigned for their imposition, which are inseparably con- nected with the Hebrew language. Nor does Moses, in the whole course of his history, when speaking of the names of persons and places, inter a single word from which we can infer the existence of an earlier language. AVlien the minute and extensive acquainlanec with Ihe natural characler and temper of the numerous animals to which our firs! father gave names in Paradise, which he certainly had not time to acquire by his own industry, and which we have no reason to believe he owed to intuition, is considered, we must admit, that the language in v.-hich he conversed w as not his own contrivance, but the imme- diate gift of Heaven, When Jehovah breathed into Adam and Eve the breath of life, he inspired them in the same moment with the knowledge of the tongue in which they Avere to express their thoughts. A similar favour was be- stowed at tiie beginning of the New Testament dispensa- tion, on the apostles and other ministers of the go.spel ; who were inspiren in a moment Aviih the perfect knowledge of many difleient languages. — Paxton. Chap. 4. ver. 3. And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the Lord. The margin' reads, "at the end of days;" and this is truly Oriental. "When the days are ended, I will fulfil my promise." " After those days are ended, I shall have ?eace." " When the davs come round, (in their circle,) will do that for you." — IRoberts. Ver. 7. If thou doest well, shall thou not be ac- cepted ? and if ihou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall he his desire, tmd thou shall rule over him. D'Ovlv and Mant interpret this, " Your sin vill find you out." "Thv punishment isnot far oft'." They also say sin may be rendered six-offering ; and several other eom- meiitalors take the same view, and ihiukthis is its true and only meaning. The victim proper for a sin-ofi'cring was lying at the door, and therefore was wilhin his reach. There are ^ome who afl'ect to smile at ihe idea of sin lying at the door: it is, however, an Ea.slein figure. Ask a man who is unacquainted with Scri]-tiiie, what he un- derstands bv sin Iving at the threshold c;f tlie door ; he will immediately speak of it as the guilt of some great crime which the "owner had commiiied. A man accused of having murdered a child, would be accoslcd in the follow- ing language : — " If you have done this, think not to es- cape; no! i'or sin will ever lie at vour door : it will descend from generation to generation.'" To a man accused of having committed axw other dreadful crime, it would be said, " Ah ! if I had done it, do I not know sin would ever lie at my door V The idea is sin personified in the shape of some fierce animal crouched at tne door. Its criminality and punishment remain. If Cain had done well, would there not have been "the excellency"!" (see margin ;) but if not well, then sin, like a monster, was crouching at liis door. Taking the other view of it, seems to amount to this; now, Cain, if ihou doest well, that will be thy excellency, thou shall be accept- ed : init if thou doest not well, it is a inatier of no very great consequence, because there is a sin-oflering at thy door. • T would here observe, once for all, that I hare gone regularly tbrnuch (he niarcmal rratl'nes. and have found, with few exceptions, that Ihey literallv acree with Faslern iBPRuajre in idiom and figure. In Ihe course of (his worit, nio?( of (lieiri will lie (tlus(7B(ed ; and I think lev.* renilecs will d».iiht (lia( (tier are tKe rorrect (ranslalions. Chap. 4—8. GENESIS. 13 God's design appears lo have been to induce Cain to do well, by speaking of the reward of righteousness, and lo make him afraid of doing evil, by showing him the punish- xnent of sin. — Roberts. Ver. 13. Aitd Cain said unto tlie Lord, My punish- ment is greater than 1 can bear. The margin has, " Mine iniquity is greater than be forgiven." This form of speech is very common. Has a person committed a great crime ; he will go to the olTend- ed individual, and piteously plead for mercy; and at in- tervals keep crying, " Ah ! my guilt is too great to be for- given. My hopes are gone." — Roskrts. Ver. 14. And it shall come to pass, that every one that fiiideth me shall slay me. It has been tauntingly asked, How could every one slay Cain 1 Has a man escaped from prison ; the people say, " Ah ! all men will catch and bring that fellow back." Has a man committed murder ; " Ah ! all men w'ill kill that murderer." This means, the feeling will be univer- sal; all will desire to have that individual pimished.— Roberts. Chap. 7. ver. 11. The same day were all the fountains of the great deep broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened. The margin has, the " flood-gates of heaven were open- ed." In the East, when the rain falls in torrents, the peo- ple say, " the heavens are broken." — Roberts. Ver. 21. And all flesh died that moved upon the earth, both of fowl, and of cattle, and of beast, and of every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth, and every man. We have some reason to doubt, from the fossil remains of animals now discovered, •which have not yet been found alive upon the present carlh, whether fi-cr?/ liring creature was included in this strong expression ; and though, from the remarkable circumstance of the similarity of all lan- guages in certain common expressions, and in the uni- versal tradition of the deluge found among the most dis- tant and savage nations, we feel assured that the whole existing race of man on the whole earth, has sprung from Noah and his family ; we have no evidence to lead us to the same conclusion with respect to quadrupeds, or birds. It appears probable, that we ought to consider the strong ex- pression used in the record, '-of every living thins: of all flesh," in the same sense as we fiiid it in various other parts of Scripture; and, indeed, as such expressions are often used in our own, and in other languages, that is, not as lite- rally meaning every created being over the whole globe, but merely a great number. — Fairholme. Ver. 22. All m. whose nostrils was the breath of life, of all that was in the dry land, died. What a scene of terrific and awful desolation does this narrative of the Bible convey ! If the reader be affected as the wrilcr was, when he first contemplated the Scrip- tural character of this sad transaction, he will literally tremble when he meditates on the dread catastrophe. He will, moreover, discover how inadequate, how puerile, and infinitely below the facts of the real case, arc all those represenlations of the deluge to which we have been ac- customed; and those comments which exhibit animals and men as escaping to the highest grounds and hills, as the flood advanced. Even Mr. Buckland supposes that animals, when the waters began to enter their caves under groimd, might have rushed out and fled for safely to hills. The impossibility of any such escape may be immediately seen. Neither man tior beast, under such circumstances, could either advance or flee to anv distance. Any ani- mal fotmd in the plain when the flood began, would thus be merged in water seven or eight feet deep in a quarter of an hour ! independent of the overwhelming torrents, dashing upon his head. And were he to attempt advancing up the rising grounds, a cataract or sheet of water, several feet deep, would be gushing all the way in his face, besides impending walerlVom Ihe "flood-gates'' of heaven, momen- tarily rushing over him ; he would in.stantly become a prey lo those mighty waters. — Scrip. Geology, Lond. 1828. CiiAP. 8. ver. 4. And the ark rested in the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month, tipon the mountains of Ararat. We walked into the fields to gaze upon Mount Ararat, and reflect upon the time when Noah in this very valley builded an altar unto the Lord, and ofiered that acceptable sacrifice of a sweet savour, which procured for himself and his posterity a divine title to the earth and its productions, and the solemn covenant that" while the earth remaineth, seed-time and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and w'inter, and day and night, shall not cease." We first saw that mountain the morning we entered Nakhchevan, and during Ihe three weeks we were in the valley of the Aras, nothing but cloudy weather during a few days obscured it from our sight. It was nearer at any point between here and Erivan, but perhaps nowhere did we have a better view of ii than from this place. The natives know it un- der no other name than Masis in Armenian, and Agliur- diigh (heavy mountain) in Turkish. The name of Ararat, by which it is called among Europeans, is applied in Scrip- ture only to a country, which is in one instance called a kingdom. The similar name of Ararad was given by the Armenians, long before they had received the Scrip- ture account of the flood by their conversion to Christiani- tj', to the central, largest, and most fertile province of their country, the one which, with the doubtful exception of some 230 years, was the residence of their kings or gov- ernors from the commencement to the termination of their political existence, and nearly in the centre of which this mountain stands. The singular coincidence, consid- ering the ease with which so distinguished a province might be named by foreigners for the kingdom itself, ar- gues much for the identity of the Ararat of Scripture with the Ararad of Armenia. It was on the mountains of Ararat that the ark rested after the flood ; and certainly not among the mountains of Ararad, or of Armenia gener- ally, or of any part of the world, have I seen one, the majesty of whose appearance could plead half so power- fully as this, a claim to the honour of having once been the stepping-stone between the old world and the new. It lies N. 57' W. of Nakhchevan and S. 25° W. of Erivan, on the opposite side of the Aras ; and from almost everv point between the two places, the traveller has only to look across the valley, to take into one distinct field of vision, without a single intervening obstacle, the mighty mass from its base to its summit. At Erivan it presents two peaks, one much lower than the other, and appears to be connected with a range of mountains extending towards the northwest, which, though really elevated, are in com- parison so low, as only to give distinctness to the impres- sion of its lonely majesty. From Nakhchevan, not far from a hundred miles distant, and also from our present point of observation, it appears like an immense isolated cone of extreme regularity, rising out of the low valley of the Aras; and the absence of all intervening objects to show its distance or its size, leaves the spectator at liberty to indulge the most sublime conceptions his imagination may forin of its vastness. At all seasons of the year, it is covered far below its summit with snow and ice, which occasionally form avalanches, that are precipilaled down its .sides with the sound of an earthquake, and, with the steepness of its declivities, have allowed none of the pos- terity of Noah to ascend it. It was now white to its very base with the same hoary covering; and in gazing upon it, we gave ourselves up to the impression, that on" its top were once congregated the only inhabitants of the earth, and that, while travelling in the vallev beneath, we were paying a visit to the second cradle of the human race. Two objections are made to the supposition that Scrip- ture refers to this mountain when it speaks of " the moun- tains of Ararat." One is, that there are now no olive-trees in its vicinity, from which Noah's dove could have pluck- ed her leaf. And it is true, so far as we could learn, that that tree exists neither in the vallev of the Koor nor of the Aras, nor on the coa«t of the Caspian, nor anvAvhere 14 GENESIS Chap. 8. nearer than Ealoom and oilier parts uf ilie eai'.ern coasl of llie Black sea, a diMance of seven days journey of a caravan, or aboiil 131) miles in the circuilous route that woukl thus be taken. But might not a dove make this journey in a day ! Or might not the climate then have been warmer than it is now '. The second objection is drawn from the tact that some of the old versions and paraphra- ses, particularly the Cluildee and the Syriac, refer " the mountains of Ararat'' to the mountains of Kurdistan, where there is, not far from Jezeereh, a high mountain called Joody, on which the moslems suppose the ark to have rested. But if the ark rested on that, the posterity of Noah would, most likely, have descended at once into Mesopotamia, and have reached Shinar from the north ; while, from the valley of the Aras, they would naturally have kept along on the eastern side of the mountains of Media, until iliey reached the neighbourhood of Hamadan or Kermanshah, which is nearly east of Babylon. Such is the route now taken every day by all the caravans from this region to Bagdad. The Armenians believe, not only that this is the mountain on which the ark rested after the liood, but that the ark still exists upon its topj though, ra- ther fiom .siijiernatural than from physical obstacles, no one ha? yet been able to visit it. A devout vartab.d, their legends relate, once attempted, for this purpose, to ascend the mountain. While yet far from the top, drowsiness came upon him, and he awoke at the bottom, in the very spot whence he had started. Another attempt resulted only in the same miraculous failure. He then betook himself more fervently to prayer, and started the third time. Again he slept, and awoke at the bottom ; but now an angel stood before him with a fragment of the ark, as a token that his pious purpose was approved and his prayer answered, though he could never be allowed to reach the summit of the mountain. The precious gift was thankfully received, and is to this day carefully preserved, as a sacred relic, in the convent of Echmiadzin. — Smith & Dwight. Ararat forms the angle of an immense chain of moun- tains, on the loftiest pinnacles of which the natives of the country believe that part of the ark yet remains. It is a most sublime and stupendous object, which excites in the mind of the beholder the mingled emotions of admiration and terror. One of the great features of this mountain is the immense chasm which extends nearly half-way down, over which impends a cUtt', discernible at a great diistance, whose enormous masses of ice are from time to time precip- itated into the abj'ss with a noise resembling the loudest thimder. " Nothing," says Mr. Morier, " can be more beautiful than its shape ; more awful than its height. Compared with it, all the other mountains sink into insig- nificance. It is perfect in all its parts; no hard rugged features : no imnatural prominences ; every thing is in har- mony ; and all combines to render it one of the most sub- lime objects in nature. Spreading originally from an im- mense base, its slope towards the summit is gradual, until it reaches the regions of the snows, when it becomes more abrupt. The cone is surmounted with a crown of ice, w-hich glitters in the sun with a peculiar and dazzling brightness. As a foil to this stupendous work, a smaller hill rises from the same base, near the original mass, simi- lar to it in shape and proportion, and in any other situation entitled to rank among the high mountains. The moun- tain is divided into three regions of different breadths. The first, composed of a short and slippery grass, or sand as troublesome as the quicksands of Africa, is occupied by the shepherds; the second, by tigers and crows: the re- mainder, which is half the mountain, is covered with snow which has been accumulating ever since the ark rested upon it ; and these snows are concealed during one half of the year in very dense clouds," This stupendous moun- tain, Mr, Morier and his party endeavoured to scale ; and after excessive fatigue arrived on the margin of eternal snow. But they found it impossible to proceed and pen- etrate the highest region ; and not easy to go back. At length, lUterly exhausted, they reached the bottom, and gave thanks to God for their safe return, — P,\xton, [The remarkable achievement of the ascent of Mount Ararat, has at Icngih, it appears, been accomplished by Profes-sor Parrot of England, Taking with him Mr, Behagel as mineralogist, Messrs, Hehn and Schiemann, medical students of Moscow, and Mr, Fcdcrow, astron- omer of Si, Petersburg, he commenced his journey on the 20th of March, lb'29, and arrived at Tiflis on the 6th of June. Owing to peculiar circumstances they were un- able to leave Tjllis till the first of September, the distance to Mount Ararat being by the road about 2is0 wasts (say '200 miles.) The following account of the ascent, extracted from a work recently published by Professor Parrot, at Berlin, is from the Foreign duarterly Review for June, 1835.] At seven o'clock in the morning of the 12th September, I set out on my journey, [from the Convent of St, James near the foot of the mountain,] accompanied by Mr. Schie- mann. We took with us one of our Cossacks and a pea- sant of Arguri, who was a good huntsman, and our route was first in the bottom of the valley, then up its right ac- clivity towards the spot where there are two small stone houses standing close to each other ; the one formerly a chapel, and the other built as a protection for a spring which is considered sacred. From the chapel we crossed the grassy elevation, which forms the right declivity of the cleft : we sutfered so much from the heat of the day, that our Cos.--ack, who would prob- ably have much rather been seated on horseback and gal- loping about on the steppes for three days than scrambling over the rocks for a couple of hours, was ready to sink from fatigue, and we were obliged to send him back. At about six o'clock in the evening, when we also were much tired, and had almost reached the snowy region, we chose our night's lodgings in the clefts of the rocks. We had at- tained a height of 1 1 ,675 Paris feet ; in the shehered places about us lay some new-fallen snow, and the temperature of the air was at the freezingpoint. Mr. Schiemann and I had provided ourselves tolerably well for such an undertaking ; besides, the pleasure of the expedition warmed us; but our athletic Jagar, Schak of Arguri, (Isaac,) was quite dejected from the cold, for he had nothing but his summer clothing ; his whole neck and also his legs, from the knee to the san- dal, were quite bare, and his head was only covered with an old handkerchief. I had neglected to think about his wardrobe before setting out, and, therefore, it was my duty to help him as well as I could: but as neither of us had much clothing to spare, I wrapped up his neck and his bare limbs in sheets of blotting-paper which I had taken with me for drying plants, and this was a great relief to him. At daybreak we pursued our journey tow-ards the eastern side of the mountain, and soon reached the declivity which runs immediately from the summit ; it consists en- tirely of pointed rocky ridges coming down from above, and leaving between them ravines of considerable depth, in which the icy mantle of the summit loses itself, and gla- ciers of great extent. There were several of these rocky ridges and clefts of ice lying between ns and the side of the mountain which we were endeavouring to reach. When we had happily surmounted the first crest and the adjoining beautiful glacier, and reached the second crest, Schak had no courage to proceed. His benumbed limbs had not yet recovered their warmth, and the icy region towards which he saw us hastening, did not hold out much prospect of relief; thus one remained behind from heat and the other from cold — only Mr, Schiemann, though un- accustomed to these hardships, did not for an instant lose h:s courage or his desire to accompany me, but shared with alacrity and perseverance all the difiicuhies and dangers we had to encounter. Leaving the Jager behind us, we crossed the second glacier, and gained the third rocky ridge. Then immediately turning off in an oblique direc- tion, we reached the lower edge of the icy crest, at a height of 13,180 Paris feet, and whicli from this place runs with- out interruption to the summit, AVe had now to ascend this declivitv covered with perpetual snow. Though the inclination was barely 30 deg,, this was a sheer impossi- bility for two men to accomplish in a direct line. We there- fore determined to advance diagonally towards a long pointed ridge which runs far up towards the summit. We succeeded in this by making w ilh our ice-poles deep holes in the ice of the glacier, which was covered with a thin laver of new-fallen snow, too slight to afford the requisite firmness to our steps. We thus reached the ridge, and ad- vanced directlv towards the summit by a track where the new snow was rather deeper. Though we might by great exertions have this time reached the goal of our wishes, yet the fatigue of the day had been considerable, and as it was already three o'clock in the afternoon, we were Chap, 8. GENESIS. 15 obliged to think of providing a lodging for the approaching night. We had attained the extreme upper ridge of the rocliy crest, an elevation of 14,560 Pans feet above the level of the sea, (the height of the top of Mount Blanc,) and yet the summit of Ararat lay far above us. I do not think thai any insurmountable obstacle could have impeded our farther progress, but to spend the few remaining hours of day light in reaching this point would have been worse than madness, as we had not seen any rock on the summit which could have afforded us protection during the night ; independently of which, our slock of provisions was not calculated to last so long. Having made our barometrical observations, we turned back, satisfied from the result that the mountain on this side was not inaccessible. In descending, however, we niet with a danger which we had not anticipated; for if in the descent of every mountain you tread less safely than in going up, it is still more diffi- cult to tread firmly, when you look down upon such a sur- face of ice and snow as that over which we had to pass for more than a werst, and where, if we slipped and fell, there was nothing to slop us but the sharp-pointed masses of stone in which the region of eternal ice loses Itself. The danger here is perhaps rather in the want of habit than in real difficulties. My young friend, whose courage had probably been proof against severer trials, lost his presence of mind here— his foot slipped, and he fell; but, as he was about twenty paces behind me, I had time to thrust my pole firmly in the ice, to take a sure footing in my capital snow-shoes, and while I held the pole in my right hand, to catch him in passing with my left. My position was well chosen, but the straps which fastened my ice-shoes broke, and, instead of being able to stop my friend, I was carried with him in his fall. He was so fortunate as to he stopped bv some stones, but I rolled on for half a werst, till I reached some fragments of lava near the lower gla- cier. The tube of my barometer was dashed to pieces — my chronometer burst open, and covered with blood — every thing had fallen out of my pockels, but I escaped without severe injury. As soon as we had recovered from our fright, and thanked God for our providential escape, we collected the most important of our effects, and con- tinued our journey. AVe were soon afterward delighted to hear the voice of our good Schak, who had very pru- dently waited for our return. Having made a fire, we passed the night in the grassy region, and on the third day reached the convent, where we were regaled with an ex- cellent breakfast. We however took care not to tell the Armenians any thing about our accident, as they would certainly not have failed to ascribe it to a judgment from Heaven for our presumptuous attempt to reach the summit, which they say has been prohibited to mortals by a divine decree since the time of Noah. All the Armenians are firmly persuaded that Noah's ark exists to the present day on the summit of Mount Araj-at, and that, in order to preserve it, no person is permitted to approach it. We learn the groimds of this tradition from the Armenian chronicles in the legend of a monk of the name of James, who was afterward Patriarch of Nissibus, and a contempo- rary and relative of St. Gregory. It is said that this monk, in order to settle the disputes which had arisen re.specting the credibility of the sacred books, especially with refer- ence to their account of Noah, resolved to ascend to the top of Ararat to convince himself of the existence of the ark. At the declivity of the mountain, however, he had several limes fallen nsleep from exhaustion, and found on awaking thai he had been unconsciously carried down to the point from which he first set out. God at length had compassion on his unwearied though fruitless exertions, and during his sleep sent an angel with the message, that his exertions were unavailing, as the summit was inaccessible ; but as a reward for his indefatigable zeal, he sent him a piece of the ark, the very same which is now preserved as the most valuable relic in the cathedral of Etschmaidsin. The belief in the impossibility of as- cending Mount Ararat has, in consequence of this tradi- tion, which is sanctioned by the church, almost become an article of faith, which an Armenian would not renounce even if he were placed in his own proper person upon the summit of the mountain. [After recovering in some measure from the effects of his fall and an attack of fever which ensued, the profes- sor set out on the 18th September to make a second at- tempt to g:ain the summit, taking with him a cross ten feel high, which it was proposed to set up on the top cf the moimtain, with an inscription in honour of Field Mai^ha. Count Paskewitsch, by whose victories the Russian do- minions had been extended to this point. They cho^^e this time the northeast side of the mountain, by which ihe way was much longer, but not so steep. But as this sccLi.d attempt also failed, we pass over theaccouni of it, and pro- ceed without further preface to the ihiid, which succeeded. They however erected the cross on an almost horizomal surface covered with snow, at the height of 15,138 Paris feet above the level of the Eu'xinr,or about 350 leet higher than the summit of Mount Blanc] In the meantime the sky cleared up, the air became serene and calm, the mountain too was more quiet, the noise occasioned by the falling of the masses oi ice and snow grew less frequent — in short, every thing seemed to indicate that a favourable turn was about to take place in the weather, and I hastened to embrace it for a third at- tempt to ascend the mountain. On the 25ih September I sent to ask Stepan whether he would join us, but he de- clined, saying that he had suffered too much from the for- mer excursion to venture again so soon ; he however promised to send us four stout peasants with three oxen and a driver. Early the next morning, four peasants made their appearance at the camp to join our expedition, and soon alter a fifth, who offered himself voluntarily. To them I added two of our soldiers. The deacon again ac- companied us, as well as Mr. Hehn, who wished to explore the vegetation at a greater elevation ; but he did not intend to proceed beyond the line of snow. The experience of the preceding attempt had convinced me that every thing depended on our passing the first night as closely as possi- ble to this boundary, in order to be able to ascend and re- turn from the summit in one day, and to confine our bag- gage to what was absolutely necessary. We tlierefore took with us only three oxen, laden with the clothing, wood, and provisions, I also took a cross carved in oak We chose our route towards the same side as before, and, in order to spare ourselves, Abowiam and I rode on horse- back, wherever the rocky nature of the soil permitted it, as far as the grassy plain Kip-Giholl, whence we sent the horses back. Here Mr. Hehn parted from us. It was scarcely twelve o'clock when we reached this point, and, after taking our breakfast, we proceeded in a direction rather more oblique than on our former attempt. The cattle were, however, unable to follow us so quickly. We therefore halted at some rocks which it would be impossi- ble for them to pass — took each our own share of clothing and wood, and sent back the oxen. At half-pa.st five in the evening we were not far from the snow line, and con- siderably higher than the place where we passed the night on our previous excursion. The elevation at this point was 13,030 Paris feet above the level of the sea, and the large masses of rock determined me to take up our quar- ters here, A fire was soon made, and a warm supper pre- pared. I had some onion broth, a dish which I Aiould recommend to all mountain travellers in preference to meat broth, as being extremely warm and invigorating. This being a fast-day, poor Abowiam was not able to enjoy it. The other Armenians, who strictly adhered to their rules of fasting, contented themselves with bread and the brandy which I distributed among them in a limited quan- tity, as this cordial must he taken with gicat caution, espe- cially where the strength has been previously much tried, as it otherwise produces a sense of exhaustion and inclina- tion to ,sleep. It was a magnificent evening, and, with my ej'cs fixed on the clear sky, and the lofty summit which projected against it, andthen again oti the dark night which was gathering far below and around me, I experi- enced all those delightful sensations of tranquillity, love, and devotion, that silent reminiscence of the past, that sub- dued glance into the future, which a traveller never fails to experience when on lofty elevations, and under pleasing circumstances, I laid myself down under an overhanging rock of lava, Ihe temperature of the air at 4 1-3 degrees, which was tolerably warm, considering our great height. At daybreak we rose, and began our journev at half- past six. We crossed the last broken declivities in half an hour, and entered the boundaiy of eternal snow nearly at the same place as in our preceding ascent. In consequence of the increased warmth of the weather, the new-fallen 16 GENESIS. Chap. 8. snow, which had fiicililaled our progress on our previous asceni, had melted away, and again frozen, so that, in spite of the still inconsiderable slope, we were compelled to cut steps in the ice. This very nuich embarrassed our ad- vance, and added greatly to our I'aligue. One of the pea- sants had reiuamed behind in our resting-place, as he felt unwell ; two others became exhausted in a.scending the side of the glacier. They at first lay down, but soon re- treated to our quarters. ' Without being disheartened by these diiticulties, we proceeded, and soon reached the great cleft which intirks the upper edge of the declivity of the large glacier, and at ten o'clock we arrived at the great plain of snow which marks the first break on the icy head of Ararat. At the distance of a werst, we saw- the cross which we had reared on the 19th of September, but it ap- peared to me so e.xireinely small, probably on account of Its black colour, that I almost doubled whether I should be able to find it Eigain wilh an ordinary telescope from the plain of the Aiaxes. In the direction towards the summit, a shoiccr but at the same time a sleeper declivity than the one we had passed lay before us ; and between this and the extreme summit there appeared to be only one small hill. After a short repose we passed the first precipice, which was the steepest of all, by hewing out steps in the rock, and after this the next elevation. But here, instead of seeing the ultimate goal of all our difficulties, immediately before us appeared a series of hills, which even concealed the summit from our sight. This rather abated our courage, which had never yielded for a moment so long as we had all our dilficulties in view, and our strength, exhausted by the labour of hewing the rock, seemed scarcelv commen- surate w-ith the attainment of the now invisible object of our wishes. But a review of what had been already accom- plished, and of that which might still remain to be done, the proximity of the series of projecling elevations, and a glance at my brave companions, banished my fears, and we boldly advanced. We crossed two more hills, and the cold air of the summit blew towards us. I stepped from behind one of the glaciers, and the extreme cone of Ara- rat lay distinctly before my enraptured eves. But one more effort was necessary. Only one other icy plain was to be ascended, and at a quarter past three on the 27th of Septem- ber, O. S., 1829, we stood on the summit of Mount Ararat ! ' [Having thus happily accomplished his fatiguing and per- ilous enterprise, says the Review, our authoi's first wish and enjoyment was repose; he spread his cloak on the ground, and silting down, contennilaied the bomidless but desolate prospect around him. He was on a slight con- vex, almost circular, platform, about 200 Paris feet in di- ameter, which at the exiremity declines pretty steeply on all sides, parlicularly towards the S. E. and N. E. ; it' was the silver crest of Ararat, composed of eternal ice, unbro- ken bv a rock or stone. Towards the east, the .summit de- clined more gently than in any olher direction, and was connected by a hollow, likewise covered with perpetual ice, with another rather lower summit, which by Air. Fcde- row's trigonometrical measurement was found to be 187 loises distant from the principal summit. On account of the immense distances nothing could be seen distinctly. The whole valley of the Araxes was covered with a gray mist, through which Erivan and Sardarabad appeared as small dark spots; to the south were seen more distinctly the hills behind which lies Bayny.ced; to the N. W. the ragged top of Alaghes, covered w ith vast masses of snow, probably an inacces-sible summit ; near to Ararat, espe- cially to the S. E. and at a great distance towards the west, are numerous small conical lulls, which look like extinct volcanoes; to the E. S. E. was little Ararat, whose head did not appear like a cone, as il does from the plain, but like the top of a square truncated pyramid, with larger and smaller rocky elevations on the edges and in the middle; but what very much surprised Professor Parrot wa.s to see a laree porlinn of I.aki- Goktschai, which appeared in the N. E. like a beautiful shining dark blue patch, behind the lofty chain of mountains which encloses it on the south, anci which is so high that he never could have believeil that he should have been able from the top of Ararat to see over it.s summit in:o the lake behind it. Mr. Parrot, having allowed himself time to enjoy this prospect, pro- ceeded to observe his barometer, which he placed precisely in the middle of the summit. The mercury was no higher than 15 inches 3-1 of n line Paris mea.siire, the leinpera- ture being 3 7-lOths below the freezing point of the centri- gradc thermometer. By comparing this observation with that which Mr. Federow made at the same time at the con- vent of St. James, the elevation of the summit appears to be 10,272 Paris feet above the convent, and, adding to that the height of the latter, the top of Ararat is 16,254 Paris feet, nearly five wersts, above the level of the sea. While the professor was engaged in his observations, the dea- con planted the cross, not precisely on the summit, where it could not have been seen from the plain, as it was only five feet high, but on the N. E. edge, aboiu thirty feet lower than the centre of the summit. The professor and his five companions, viz. the deacon, two Russian soldiers, and two Armenian peasants, having remained three quarters of an hour on the summit, commenced their descent, which was very fatiguing; but they hastened, as the sun was go- ing down, and before they reached the place where the great cross was erected, it had already sunk below the horizon.] It was a glorious sight to behold the dark shadows which the mountains in the west cast upon the plain, and then the profound darkness which covered all the valleys, and gradually rose higher and higher on the sides of Ara- rat, whose icy summit was still illuminated by the beams of the setting sun. But the shadows soon passed over that also, and would have covered our path with a gloom that would have rendered our descent dangerous, had not the sacred lamp of night, opportunely rising above the eastern horizon, cheered us with its welcome beams. [Having passed the night on the same spot as on their ascent, where they found their companions, they arrived the next day at noon, at the Convent of St. James, and on the following day, Sunday, the 28th of September, O. S., they offered iheir grateful thanksgiving to Heaven for the success of their arduous enterprise, perhaps not far from the spot where " Noah built an altar to the Lord."] Ver. 11. And the dove came in to him in the evening:, and, lo, in her mouth teas an olive leaf plucked off' So Noah knew that the wa- ters were abated from off the eaith. The olive may be justly considered as one of the most valuable gifts w^hich the benefice nl Creator has bestowed on the human family. The oil which it yields, forms an important article of food; it imparts a greater degree of pliancy to the limbs, and agility to the whole body; it as.suages the agonizing pain, and'promoles, by its sanative influence, the cure of wounds; it alleviates' the internal sufferings produced by disease ; it illumines, at once, the cottage and the palace; it cheers, by the splendour of its combustion, the festive meeting; it serves to expel the deadly poison of venomous reptiles; it was used in conse- crating a thing lo the service of God ; and it mingled, perhaps, from the first of time, by the command of Heaven, with many of the bloodless oblaiions which the worshipper presented at his altar. In these various and imnonant uses, we may, perhaps, discover the true reason that the dove of Noah was directed, by God himself, to select the olive leaf from the countless variety which floated on the .subsiding waters of the delure, or bestrewed the slimy tops and declivities of Ararat, as the chosen symbol of return- ing peace and favour. From the creation of the world, the latness of this tree signally displayed the divine gooil- ness and benignity; and since the fall of man, it symbolizes the grace and kindness of our heavenly F'ather, and the precious influences of the Holy Ghost, in healing the spir- ilual diseases of our degenerate race, and in counteracting the deadly poison of moral corruption. Hence, the people of Israel were commanded lo conslrud their booths, at the feast of tabernacles, partly wilh branches of olive; and all the nations of the civilized world were secretly directed, by the overruling providence of Heaven, to bear them in their hands as emblems of peace and amity. The olive is men- tioned as the sign of peace, by both Livy and 'Virgil, in several parts of their works, but one instance from the latter shall suffice. '■Tuin pntrr .T:ne.is pnppi sic fttur ab nl(a Taciferxrpic iiianu rainuin pretendit olivee." jEn. h. viii. 1. 116. The celebrated navigator. Captain Cook, found that green branches, carried in the hands, or stuck in the (CuprutUM SimptrvirenM) Gen. 6: II. OLIVE. iOUaEurnpta) Geo 8: II. Oore. The nearest approximation 1o truth will be. perhaps, to consider the oritjinal word Yonah as a counterpart to Columba, the generic term for all the variuii-s kindb of dove. The fondness whicli ihesc birds exhibit fnr hnnie is well known, and for this reason, probably, the patriarch made choice of the dove for the purjiose nlUided lo in the sacred narrative. Gopher IVnorl. The ejiiress possessed unrivalled ihirability and compactness, renderine it peculiarly adapted to sacred purposes. The .\thenians used it for cofTins, and the Eifjptiaus for mummy cases. Tne straight, elegant tree of the cut seems best entitled to have furnished the wood for the ark. A very lone lived tree. See, also, quite 0 full description of it, and a view of those verj' ancient olives of Othse- mane. iu Or, Jeiiks's Comprrhr^sirr Comincnhjnj, vol. ii. Tins is one of those trees, as the terebinth, &c. to whose roots. Olire. at least, naturalists accoru a life of three or even four thousand years. Chap. 9—11. GENESIS. 17 ground, were the emblems of peace, universally employed and understood by the numerous and untutored inhatitants of the South Sea islands. The origin of a custom, thus received and religiously observed, by nations dwelling on opposite sides of the globe, who never had the smallest intercourse with one another, must be sought for near the beginning of time, when the inhabitants of our earth, form- ing but one family, lived under the gentle sway of their common parent. Dr. Chandler, indeed, is of opinion, that the idea of reconciliation and peace was not associated with the olive branch till ages long posterior to the deluge. The olive groves, he argues, are the usual resort of doves, and other birds, that repair to them for food ; and thus endeav- ours to find a natural connexion between the dove of Noah and the olive leaf The olive might, he thinks, be the only tree which had raised its head above the subsiding waters, near the place where the ark was floating, although it is only of a middling height ; but if the dove saw a great number of other trees above the water, the habits of the bird naturally led it to the olive plantation for shelter and food, in preference to all others. But the greater part of this reasoning avowedly rests upon mere assumption ; and although the olive grove may be the favourite retreat of the dove, how are we to account for the olive branch being chosen by almost every nation, from the remotest times, for the symbol of reconciliation and peace 1 It is far more probable, that the dove was directeci by the finger of God to prefer the olive leaf, or a sprig of olive leaves, as being the symbol of peace with which Noah was already acquaint- ed, or that it might, in future, be the token of reconciliation between God and his oiiending creatures, and between one nation and another. — Paiton. Chap. 9. ver. 4. But flesh, with the life thereof, which is the blood thereof, shall ye not oat. Mr. Bruce has given a very extraordinary account of the practice of eating blood in Abyssinia. This custom, so prevalent in several places, is forbidden in the scriptures. A recital of the narrative will probably suggest to the reader the reasons of the prohibition. Mr. Bruce tells us, that, "not long after our losing sight of the ruins of this ancient capital of Abyssinia, we overtook three travellers driving a cow before them : they had black goatskins upon their shoulders, and lances and shields in their hands ; in other respects they were but thinly clothed ; they appeared to be soldiers. The cow did not seem to be fattened for killing, and it occurred to us all, that it had been stolen. This, however, was not our business, nor was such an occurrence at all remarkable in a country" so long engaged in war. We saw that our attendants attached themselves, in a particular manner, to the three soldiers that were driving the cow, and held a short con- versation with them. Soon after, we arrived at the hither- most bank of the river, where I thought we were to pitch our tent: the drivers suddenly tripped up ihe cow, and gave the poor animal a very rude fall upon the ground, wnich was but the beginning of her sufferings. One of them sat across her neck, holding down her head by the horns, the other twisted the halter about her fore feet, while the third, who had a knife in his hand, to my very great surpri.se, in place of taking her by the throat, got astride upon her belly, before her hind legs, and gave her a very deep wound in the upper part of the buttock. From the time I had seen them throw the beast upon the ground, I had rejoiced, thinking tliat when three people were killing a cow, they must have agreed to sell part of her to us ; and I was much di.sappointed upon hearing the Abyssinians say, that we were to pass the river tn the other side, and not encamp where I intended. Upon my proposing they should bar- gain for pari of the cow, my men answered, what they had already learned in conversation, that they were not then to kill her : that she was not wholly theirs", and they could not sell her. This awakened iiiy curiosity; I let my people go forward, and stayed myself till I saw, with Ihe utmost astonishment, two pieces, thicker and longer than our ordinary beef steaks, cut out of the higher part of Ihe buttock of the heasi ; how it was done I cannot positively say, because, judging the cow was to be killed from the moment I saw the knife drawn, I was not anxious lo view that catastrophe, which was by no means an object of cu- riosity : whatever way it was done, it surely was adroitly, and the two pieces were spread upon the outside of one of their shields. One of them still continued holding the head, while the other two were busy in curing the wound. This, too, was done not in an ordinary manner. The skin, which had covered the flesh that was taken away, was left entire, and flapped over the wound, and was lastened to the corresponding part by two or more small^kewers or pins. Whether they hacl put any thing under the skin, between that and the wounded flesh, I know not; but, at the river-side where they were, they had prepared a cata- plasm of clay, with which they covered the wound ; they then forced the animal to rise, and drovelt on before them, to furnish them with a fuller meal when they should meet their companions in Ihe evening." ( Travels, vol. iii. p. 142.) " We have an instance, in the life of Saul, that shows the propensity of the Israelites to this crime: Saul's army, after a battle, Jletc, that is, fell voraciously upon the cattle they had taken, and threw them upon Ihe ground to cut off their flesh, and eat them raw ; so that the army was defiled by eating blood, or living animals. 1 Sam. xiv. 33. To prevent this, Saul caused to be rolled to him a greal stone, and ordered those that killed their oxen, to cut their throats upon that stone. This was the only lawful way of killing animals for food; the tying of the ox, and throwing it upon the ground, were notpermitted as equivalent. The Israelites did probably, in that case, as the Abyssinians do at this day; Ihey cut a part of its throat, so that blood might be seen on Ihe ground, hut nothing mortal to the animal followed from that wound : but, after laying his head upon a large stone, and cutting his throat, the blood fell from on high, or was poured on the ground like water, and suffi- cient evidence appeared that Ihe creature was dead, before it was attempted to eat il. We have seen that the Abyssi- nians came Itom Palestine a very few years after this,' and we are not to doubt, that Ihey then carried with Iheni this, with many other Jewish customs, which they have con- tinued to this day." (Bruce's Trarf/.^, vol. iii. p. 299.) To corroborate the account given by Air. Bruce, in these extracts, il may be satisfactory to affix what Mr. Antes has said upon the subject, in his Observations on the Man- ners and Customs of the Egyptians, p. 17. " When ISIr. Bruce returned from Abyssinia, I was at Grand Cairo. I had the pleasure of his company for three months almost every day, and having, at that lime, myself an idea of penetrating into Abyssinia, I was very inquisitive about ihat country, on hearing many Ihing.s from him which seemed almost incredible to me ; I used to ask his Greek servant Michael, (a simple fellow, incapable of any inven- tion,) about ihe same circumstance, and must say, that he commonly agreed wiih his master, as to the chief points. The description Mr. Bruce makes concerning the bloody banquet of^ live oxen among the natives, he happened never to mention to me, else I could have made the same inquir)'; but I heard not onlv this servant, but many eye- witnesses, often speak of the Aby.ssinians eating raw meat." On the general veracity of Bruce as a traveller, Madden observes, " Whatever have been the petty jealousy and egotism of Bruce, he was an enterprising and intelligent traveller; and his general descriptions are beUer entitled to credit than those of the travellers who have reviled him. Mr. Collin has just arrived here after a residence of eighteen years in Abyssinia: this gentleman assures me, Ihat those points in his travels which are most disputed in England, are the points which are most correct : he showed me how the flesh was taken from ihe ghita-i muscles of the living bullock, dissected out without wounding the bloodvessels. Mr. Coffin performed Ihis operation here upon the living animal, in presence of Lord Prudhoe, and Mr. Burton, one of our most intelligent travellers."— Maduf.n's Tr-welsi. Ver. 29. And all the days of Noah were nine hundred and fifty years : and he died. In asking the age of a child or a man, the inquiry is not how many years, but, " Days how many 1" — In speaking of a man who will die soon — " Ah ! in five years his dam will be gone. That 5'oung man has gray hairs; to him how many days 1 he has seen twenty-six years." — Roberts. Chap. 1 1. ver. 1. And the whole earth was of one language, and of one speech. See on ver. 4, and on chap. 9. 20. 18 GENESIS. Chap 11. t Ver 3 And llicy said one to another, Go to, let us make brick, and burn them thoroughly. And they had brick for stone, and slime had they for mortar. The soiWof ancient Assyria and Babylonia consists of a fme c a^ mi.xed with sand, with which, as the waters o ^he rher^retirc, the shores are covered. This compos, when dried by the heat of the sun, becomes a hard and rohd mass, a..d forms the fines, material lor the beautilu bricks for whiclf Babvlon was so celebrated. We all pm to he tes, the adaptation of this mud for pottery, by Lking some of it v lule wet from the bank of the river, and ^en moulding it into any form we pleased. Having been exposed to ihe sun for half an hour, it became as hard as stone These remarks are important, as the indications of buildings throughout this region are different Irom those of o her coumnes, the universal substitution of brick for stone being observable in all the ""™"°"V"'"^'JV'.p^ ' ed, includmg those of the g.eat cities of Seleucia, Ctesi- ,h'on, and of the mighty Babylon herself, for which ,e have the authority of Scripture that her tflders had brick for stone, and slime had they for mortar. In con- sequence of this circumstance, the ruins now before us which our guide called Mumliheh, instead of showing fragments ot^illars, or any marks by which we "'gh -^on- iecmre the or^er of architecture, exhibit an accumulation of mounds, which, on a dead flat, soon attract the eye of a traveller, and have at first sight the appearance of sandy hillocks On a nearer inspection they prove to be square masses of bnck, facing th'e cardinal ponts, and though sometimes much worn bv the weather, built with much reg- «rri y the neighbourhood of these large mounds is strewed with fragments of tile, broken pottery, and manu- factured vitreous substances. Coins, the jnconte. ible nroofs of former population, are generally to be lound. ?n?hs place, thev are so abmidant, that many persons come from Bagdad in the dry season to search for them^ Aboo Nasir told us, that some time ago he found a pot full of coins, and Mr. Hart picked up two, with apparently Cufic inscriptions, but their characters were not very de- cipherable. Near the place where they were found, was l^he fragment of a vessel which had possibly contamed them. — Keppel. Ver 4. And they said. Go to, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top mai/ reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name, lesi we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth. The words in which they couched their daring resolu- tion " Let us build us a city, and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven," mean no more than a tower of ex- traordinary height. Such phrases may he found m every language ;" and their meaning can scarcely be misunder- stood When the messengers whom Moses employed to examine the land of Canaan, returned and made their report, they described the cities which they had visited, as great knd walled up to heaven : and Moses himself, m his farewell address to the congregation, repeats it; Hear, O Israel, thou art to pass over Jordan this day, to oo in to possess nations greater and mightier than thysell cities great and fenced up to heaven." The meaning of these phrases plainly is. t'hat the walls of those cities were un- commonly strong and lofty. That the builders of Babel meant no more, is further evident from the words of Jeho- vah recorded by Moses. ">'ow nothing will he resU-ained from them which thev have imagined to do. It is here plainly admitted, that "the design was practicable, and had been accomplished, if God had not thought proper to interrupt their operations. But to build a tower, the top ol which should nciuallv reach unto heaven, is beyond the power of mortals. The opinion of Josephui is not much more reasonable ; that then- design was to raise a tower higher far than the summits of the highest mountains, to defend them from the waters of a second flood, of which thev were afraid. Had this been their design, thev would not' hav.^ commenced their operations on the level plain, but on the top of Ararat, where the ark rested. They had the solemn promise of Jehovah, that he would no more deslrov the earth by water; and beheld the ratification of it in the radiant bow of heaven, placed in the cloud to quiet the fears of guilty mortals. If the Noachida- had distrusted the promise and sign of heaven, they had not descended from the mountains, where only they could hope for safety from the strength and height of their tower, into the plains of Babylonia, and fixed their abode between two mighty rivers, to whose frequent inundations that province is exposed. Nor could they be so infatuated as to imagine, that a tower constructed of bricks, whether hardened in the sun, or burnt in the fire, could resist the waters of a general deluge, whose impetuous assault, as they must have well known, the strong barriers ol nature could hardly endure. Equally inadmissible is the notion, that they constructed this tower to defend them from the general conflagration, of which they are supposed to have received some obscure and imperfect notices; for in the destruction of the world, who could hope to find safety in the recesses of a tower, or on the summit of the mountains 7 they would rather seek for refuge from the dcvourmg eleinent, in the profound caverns of the earth. But it is vain to indulge in conjectures, when the true reason is clearly stated in the page of inspiration : Let us build us a city, and a tower, whose top may re^ch unto heaven ; and lei us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth." These words clearly show, that their object in building the tower was to transmit a name illustrious for sublime conception and bold undertaking, to succeeding generations Inthisser ., the phrase, to make one's self a name, is used in other parts of Scripture. Thus, "David gat him a name when he returned from smiting of the Syrians in the valley of salt; and the prophet informs us, that the God of Israel led them by the right hand of Moses, with his glorious arm dividin'c the waters before them, to make himself an ever- lasting name." They seem also to have intended it as a beacon or rallying point, to their increasing and naturally diverging families, to prevent them from separating in the boundless wilderness into independent and hostile societies. This may be inferred from these words, in which they further explain the motive of their undertaking: ,; lest we be scattered abroad on the face of the whole earth. They seem to have anticipated the necessity, and dreaded the consequences of dispersion; and, like all who seek to avert evil bv unlawful means, thev hastened, by the rash and impious measure which they adopted, the very mischief they sought to avoid. To build a city and a tower was certainly no crime ; but to do this with a view merely to transmit an illustrious name to posterity, or to thwart the counsels of heaven, was both foolish and wicked, aiid justly excited the displeasure of the supreme Judge, who requires his rational creatures to acknowledge and to glorify him in all their undertakings. It is byno means improbable that this tower was also intended" for idolatrous purposes. The worship of hre bean in a very remote age, and most probably under the di?ectioii and among the rebellious followers of Nimrod. This idea receives no small confirmation irom the numer- ous fire towers which in succeeding ages were built in Chaldea, where the sacred fire was kept, and the religious rites in honour of the sun were celebrated. If this con- lecture be well founded, it accounts in the most satisfactory manner, for the sudden and eflTectual dispersion of the builders, visibly and strongly marking the first combined act of idolatry after the flood, of which we have any notice, with the displeasure of the true God. Gu.ltyof the same cnnie which procured the sudden dispersion of the firs settlers at Babel, was the restorer of that great city, when he rroi'dlv boasted, " Is not this great Babylon which I have builded for the house of the kingdom, by the might of my power, and for the honour of my majesty:" and he was instantly visited with a similar punishment, but proportioned to the <.reater enormity of his transgression; for the place should have reminded him of the sin and punishment of his lore- fathers, and taught him to guard against the pride and vanity of his heart. Nebuchadnezzar was, for his wicked- ness "driven from his throne and kingdom, to dwell with the beasts of the field, and eat grass like oxen, "nil seven times pa.'^.scd over him :" till the sun had seven time.s passed o\er h^s appointed circuit, and he had learned " that he most High ruleth in the kingdom of men. and giveth it to whomsoever he will." But Ms irreligious ancestors were Chap. 13. GENESIS. 19 punished with dispersion, by confounding their language. Till this memorable event, 'the inspired writer assures us, the whole earth was of one language and one speech. When Jehovah came down to see the tower which the Babylonians were building, he said, " Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language." They formed one great society, and conversed in the tongue which they had learned from those who lived before the flood ; and which was the only language spoken on earth from the beginning of the world : for no hint of any confusion of language, or even material diversity of speech, before the building of Babel, is given in the' sacred volume. It is exceedingly natural to suppose, that the devout Seth, and his religious descendants, would preserve with care the family tongue in which God conversed with their renowned father; in which the first promise was given to sinners, and many subsequent revelations were made. The language of our fathers is not easily changed, if we were so disposed; but no man is willing to change it ; and a religious man will be yet more averse to relinquish a language which contains the only grounds of his hope, and that of the whole human race. We may therefore conclude, that since this language had so many claims on the affectionate care of Seth, he would certainly hand it down, with the gospel it contained, to his children, that they might teach it to succeeding gener- ations, till it was received by his celebrated descendant Noah, the second father of our family. For the same reasons, which were daily receiving additional strength, Shem would preserve with pious care the sacred deposit, till he delivered it into the hands of Abraham, with whom he lived about two hundred years. The line of descent, by which the primitive language might be transmitted from Adam to Abraham, and from this patriarch to Moses, is short and straight; for between Adam and Noah were only eight persons, and the father of Noah was fifty-six years old wnen Adam died. The only interruption is the confusion of tongues, which happened after the flood. But though God confounded the speech of mankind at Babel, it is not said he extinguished the general language ; nor that he confounded the speech of any but the colony at Babel. These only were in the transgression, and, therefore, these only were'liable to the punishment. Noah, and the rest of his family, persevering in their dutiful obedience to God, undoubtedly retained their language, together with their ancient habitations. It may be urged that, by the testimo- ny of Moses, the Lord confounded at Babel, " the language of all the earth." But the plain of Shinar could, with no propriety, be called the whole earth; nor could the inhabit- ants of Shinar, by any figure of speech, be entitled to that name. If mankind were in possession of a great part of the globe when the tower was buih, by what rule of justice could thev be punished for a crime in which they had no share, and of which multitudes of the distant settlers could not even have heard'! "Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right 1" The truth of this history depends upon two terms, which admit of different senses. In the first verse of the eleventh chapter of Genesis, the sacred histo- rian says. The whole earth was of one language and of one speech. The word {■72) Col, signifies the whole, and also every; by(i'^N) Arets, is often meant the eartk, it also signi- fies a land or province ; and occurs frequently in this latter acceptation. In this very chapter, the regioii of Shinar is called Arets Shinar, the land or province of Shinar; and the land of Canaan, Arets Canaan, the country of Canaan. The psalmist uses both terms in precisely the same sense : " Their sound is gone out into every land," Col Arets. The words of Moses, then, ought to be rendered, I'herefore is the name of it called Babel ; because the Lord did there confound the language of the whole land. If this view of the text be just, the dispersion was a partial event, and related chiefly lo the sons of Cush, whose intention was to found a great, if not a universal empire ; but by this judgment their purpose was defeated. The language of the whole country, Mr. Bryant thinks, was confounded, by causing a labial failure, so that the people could not articulate. It was not an aberration, in words or language, but a failure and incapacity in labial utterance ; for God said, " Go to, let us go down and confound, r.■ have a child, she is said to be making her house new, or rather, she ha.s caused the house to be newly Ituill. When a man marries, " he is making a ticw house." — Roberts. Ver. 12. And he will be a wild man ; his hand will be against every man, and every man's hand against him : and he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren. The phrase, "a wild man," it is well known, is in the original text, " a wild ass man, ' that is, a man like a wild ass in temper and manners. The comparison seeins to re- fer, first to Ishmael himself, and to intimate certain lead- ing traits in his character ; and then to his ofispring in every succeeding age. The troops of onagers, are con- ducted by a leading stallion, that prefers the most arid des- erts of the mountains, keeps watch while his companions repose, and gives the signal at the appearance of an enemy. The Nomaies of Asia report of these animals, that the first of a troop which sees a serpent or a beast of prey, makes a certain cry, which brings, in a moment, the whole herd around him, when each of ihemstrives to destroy it instantly. Such were the character and manners of Ish- mael. He was the first prince of his family, the founder of a powerful nation, o(^ a rough, wild, and untractable disposition. Nor was this all : ambitious of supreme au- thority, he loved to place himself at the head of his rising community, to regulate its afiairs, and direct its operations ; and, like the high-spirited leader of the onagers, he could brook no rival. He discovered his ruling passion, when he was but a .stripling in the house of his father. Determined to maintain his prerogatives as the elder son, and provoked to see a younger, and a child of a different mother, preferred before him, he gave vent to his indignation, by deriding his brother, and the feast which was made on his account. Expelled for his imprudence from his father's house, he made choice of the sandy desert for his permanent resi- dence, and required the heads of all the families around him, either to acknowledge his supremacy, and treat him with the highest respect, or be driven from his station and neighbourhood. Wherever he pitched his tent, he expect- ed, according to a custom of great antiquity, all the tents to be turned with their faces towards it, in token of submission ; that the band might have their eye always upon their ma.s- ter's lodging, and be in readiness to assist him if he were attacked. In this manner did Ishmael dwell " in the pres- ence,"— "before," (Sv) or, "over against Ihe faces of all his brethren." But the prediction embraced'also the char- acter and circumstances of his descendants. The man- ners and cu.stoms of the Arabians, except in the article of religion, have sufTered almost no alteration, during the long period of three thousand years. They have occupied the same country, and followed the same mode of life, from the days of their great ancestor, down to the present times, and range the wide extent of burning sands which separate them from all the surrounding nations, as rude, and savage, and untractable as the wild ass himself. Claiming the barren plains of Arabia, as the patrimonial domain assigned by God to the founder of their nation, they con- sider themselves entitled to seize, and appropriate to their own use, whatever they can find there. Impatient of le- strainl, and jealous of their liberty, they form no connex- ion with the neighbouring states; they admit of little or no friendlv intercourse, but live in a state of continual hostility with the rest of the world. The tent is their dwelline. and the circular camp their city; the spontane- ous produce of the soil, to which they sometimes add a lit- tle patch of" corn, furnishes them with means of .subsist- ence, amplv sufficient for their moderate desires; and the libertv of i'angine at pleasure their interminable wilds, fully compensates in their opinion for the want of all other accommodations. Mounted on their favourite horses, they scour the waste in search of plunder, with a velocity sur- passed only by the wild ass. They levy contributions on ever)- person that happens to fall in their way ; and fre- quently rob their own countrymen, with as little ceremony as thcv do a stranger or an enemy; their hand is still again.st every man, and every man's hand against them. But they do iiot always confine their predatory excursions to the desert. AVhen booty is scarce at home, ihey make incursions into the territories of their neighbours, and hav- ing robbed the soliiaiy traveller, or plundered the caravan. Chap. 18. GENESIS. 25 immediately retire into the deserts far beyond the reach of their pursuers. Their character, drawn by the pen of in- .spiration, exactly corresponds with this view of their dis- positions and conduct: " Behold, as wild asses in the de- sert, go they forth to their work, rising betimes for a prey : the wilderness yieldeth food for them and for their chil- dren." Savage'and stubborn as the wild ass whicjj inhabits the same wilderness, they go forth on the horse or the drom- edary with inconceivable swiftness in quest of their prey. Initiated in the trade of a robber from their earliest years, they know no other employment ; they choose it as the bu- siness of their life, and prosecute it with unwearied activ- ity. They start before the dawn, to invade the village or the caravan ; make their attack with desperate courage, and surprising rapidity ; and, plunging instantly into the desert, escape from the vengeance of their enemies. Provoked by their continual insults, the nations of ancient and modern tunes have often invaded their country with powerful ar- mies, determined to extirpate, or at least to subdue them to their yoke; but they aln-ays return baffled and disap- pointed. The savage freebooters, disdaining every idea of submission, with invincible patience and resolution, maintained their independence ; and they have transmitted it unimpaired to the present times. In spite of all their enemies can do to restrain them, they continue to dwell in the presence of all their brethren, and to assert their right to insult and plunder every one they meet with on the bor- ders, or within the limits of their domains. — Paxton. The fate of Ishmael is here identified with that of his descendants ; and the same character is common to them both. The historical evidence of the fact, the universal tradition, and constant boast of the Arabs themselves, their language, and the preservation for many ages of an origin- al rite, derived from him as their primogenitor, — confirm the truth of their descent from Ishmael. The fulfilment of the prediction is obvious. Even Gibbon, while he at- tempts, from the exceptions which he specifies, to evade the force of the fact that the Arabs have maintained a per- petual independence, acknowledges that these exceptions are temporary and local; that the body of the nation has escaped the yoke of the most powerful monarchies; and that " the arms of Sesostris and Cyrus, of Pompey and Trajan, could never achieve the conqviest of Arabia." But even the exceptions Avhich he specifies, though they were justly stated, aiid though not coupled with such admissions as invalidate them, would not detract from the truth of the prophecy. The independence of the Arabs was proverbial in ancient as well as in modern times ; and the present existence, as a free and independent nation, of a people who derive their descent from so high antiquity, demonstrates that they had never been wholly subdtted, as all the nations around them have imquestionably betn ; and that they have ever dwelt in the presence of their brethren. They not only subsist unconquered to this day, but the prophesied and primitive wildness of their race, and their nostility to all, remain unsubdued and unaltered. " They arc a wild peoph ; their hand is against every matt, and. every mati's hand is against them." In the words of Gib- bon, which strikingly assimilate with those of the prophecy, they are " armed against ntankind." Plundering is their profession. Their alliance is never courted, and can never be obtained; and all that the Turks, or Persians, or any of their neighbours can stipulate for from them is a narlial and purchased forbearance. Even the British, who nave established a residence in almost every country, have entered the territories of the descendants of Ishmael to accomplish only the premeditated destruction of a fort, and to retire. It cannot be alleged, with truth, that their peculiar character and manner, and its uninterrupted per- manency, is the necessary result of the nature of their country. They have continued wild or uncivilized, and have retained their habits of hostility towards all the rest of the human race, though they possessed for three hun- dred years countries the most opposite in their nature from the mountains of Arabia. The greatest part of the tem- perate zone was included within the limits of the Arabian conquests ; and their empire extended from India to the Atlantic, and embraced a wider range of territory than ever was possessed by the Romans, those boasted masters of the world. The period of their conquest and dominion was sufficient, under such circumstances, to have changed the manners of any people; but whether in the land of 4 Shinar or in the valleys tf Spain, on the banks of the Tigris or the Tagus, in Araby the Blessed or Araby the Barren, the posterity of Ishmael have ever maintained their prophetic character : they have remained, under every change of condition, a wild people ; their hand has still been against every man, and every man's hand against them. The natural reflection of a recent traveller, on examining the peculiarities of an Arab tribe, of which he was an eyewitness, may suffice, without any art of con- troversy, for the illustration of this prophecy : — " On the smallest computation, Guch must have been the manners of those people tor more than three thousand vears; thus in all things verifying the prediction given of Ishmael at his birth, that he, in his posterity, should be a wild man, and always continue to be so, though they shall dwell for ever in the presence of their brethren. And that an acute and active people, surrounded for ages by polished and luxu- riant nations, should, from their eailiest to their latest times, be still found a wild people, dwelling in the presence of all their brethren, (as we may call these nations,) un- subdued and unchangeable, is, indeed, a standing miracle — one of those mysterious facts which establish the truth of prophecy." {Sir Hubert K. Porter.') — Keith. Ver. 14. Wherefore, the well was called Beer- lahai-roi : behold, it is between Kadesh and Bered. If in some places where there are wells, there are no conveniences to draw any water with, to refresh the faint- ing traveller, there are other places where the wells are furnished with troughs, and other contrivances, for the watering cattle that want to drink. Sir John Chardin tells us there are wells in Persia and in Arabia, in the driest places, and above all in the Indies, with troughs and basins of stone by the side of them. He supposes the well called Beer-lahai-roi, mentioned Gen. xvi. 14, was thus furnished. I do not remember any circumstance mentioned in that part of the patriarchal history that proves this; but it is suffi- ciently apparent there, that the well where Rebecca went to draw water, near the city of Nahor, had some convenience of this kind; as also had the Arabian well to which the daughters of Jethro resorted. Other wells, without doubt, had the like conveniences, though not distinctly mentioned. — Harmer. Chap. 18. ver 1. And the Lord appeared unto him in the plains of Mainre ; and he sat in the tent door in the heat of the day. In the time of Chandler it was still the custom of eastern shepherds to sit at the door of their tents in the heat of the day. That traveller, " at ten minutes after ten in the morning," was entertained with the view of a plain full of booths, with the Turcomans sitting by their doors, under sheds resembling porticoes, or by shady trees, surrounded with flocks of goats. In the same' situation the three angels found Abraham, when they came to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah, silting under the portico, or skirts of his tent, near the door, to enjoy the refreshing breeze, and superin- tend his servants. It was not the hottest part of the day, when Chandler saw the Turcoman shepherds sitting at the doors of their booths; it was soon after ten in the morning; and when Abraham was sitting at his tent door, it might be nearly at the same hour. In the hottest part of the day, according to the practice of those countiies, the patriarch had been retired to rest. The goats of the Tur- comans were feeding around their huts; and if Abraham's cattle, which is extremely probable, were feeding around his tent in the same manner, it accounts for the expedition with which he ran and fetched a calf from the herd, in order to entertain his visitants. — P.*xton. Often has my mind reverted to the scene of the good old patriarch siuing in the door of his lent in the heat of the day. When the sun is at the meridian, the wind often becomes softer, and the heat more oppressive ; and then may be seen the people seated in the doors of their htils, to inhale the breezes, and to let them blow on their almost naked bodies. — Roberts. Ver. 2. And he lifted up his eyes, and looked. To ■ V« up the eyes does not mean to look vpjcard, but 26 GENESIS. ClIAP. 10. I J lo.jk (lirecllv at an ol.jeol, and lliat eauieslly. A iimu cjmini; IVoin the jungle mighl say, ''As 1 came this tnoiu- ing, I ii/kd up my eye.s, and behold, 1 sav.- three elephants." " iiave you seen aiiy thing to-day in your travels T' — " 1 have not lilted up inv eyes." " 1 do not see the thing you sent me for, sir.'— ' Jit'sl UJl up your eyes, and you will soon find it." — Roberts. Ver. 4. Let a little water, I pray you, be fetched, and wash your feet. How often, in passing through a village, may we see this grateful olfice performed Ibr the weary traveller ! As the people neither wear shoes nor stockings, and as the sandal is principally for the defence of the sole of the foot, the upper part soon becomes dirty. Under these circumstances, to have the feet and ankles washed is very' refreshing, and is considered a necessary part of Eastern nospitality. The service is always performed by servants. (John xiii. 14.) — Roberts. Ver. 6. And Abraham hastened into the tent unto Sarah, and said. Make ready quickly three measures of fine meal, knead ;/, and make cakes upon the hearth. 7. And Abraham ran unto the herd, and fetched a calf teiider and good, and gave it unto a young man ; and he hasted to dress it. 8. And he took butter and milk, and the calf which he had dressed, and set it before them ; and he stood by them under the tree, and th?v did eat. In the cities and villages of Barbary, where public ovens are established, the bread is usually leavened, but among the Bedoweens and Kabyles, as soon as the dough is kneaded, it is made into thin cakes, either to be baked im- mediately upon the coals, or else in a shallow earthen ves- sel like a fryingpan, called Tajen. Such were the un- leavened cakes, which we so frequently read of in Scrip- ture, and those also which Srirak made quickly upon the hearth. The>e last are about an inch thick; and being commonly prepared in woodv countries, are used all along the shores of the Black Sea, from the Palus-Mreolis to the Caspian, inChaldea and iu Mesopotamia, except in towns. A fire is made in the middle of the room; and when the bread is ready for baking, a corner of the hearth is swept, the bread is laid upon ii,' and covered with ashes and em- bers: in a quarter of an honr they turn it. Sometimes they use small convex pla'es of iron : which are most com- mon in Persia, and among the nomadic tribes, as being Ihe easiest wav of baking, and done with the least ex- pense; for Ihe bread is exiremely thin, and soon prepared. The oven is used in every part of Asia; it is made in the irround, four or five feel deep, and three in diameter, well plastered with mortar. When it is hot, they place the hread (which is commonly long, and not thicker than a finger) against the sides; it is baked in a moment. Ovens, Chardin apprehends, were not used in Canaan in the pa- triarchal age; all the bread of that time was baked upon a plate, or under the ashes; and he supposes, what is nearly self-evideni, that the cakes which Sarah baked on Ihe hearth, were of the last sort, and thai the shew-bread was of the same kind. The Arabs about mount Carmel use a great stone pitcher, in whirh thev kindle a fire ; and when it is healed, they mix meal and water, which they apply with the hollow of their hands to the outside of the pitcher; and this extremely soft paste, spreading itself is baked in an instant. The heat of fhe pitcher having drie■ e. so far as a man's voice can reach. " How far is he off!" " O, not more than three calls," i. e. were three men stationed within the reach of each other's voices, the voice of the one furthest off would reach to that distance. — Roeeiits. Ver. 10. And God opened her ryes, and she saw a •well of water : and she went and filled the bottle with water, and rave the lad drink. Few European readers are. probably, able to form an adequate idea of the horrors of such a situation as is here described. The following deseri|)tion mav serve to paint to us the terrors of the desert, and the dan.ger of perishing in It with thirst. " The desert of Mesopotamia now pre- sents to our eves its melancholv uniformitv. It is a con- Chap. 21—23. GENESIS. 29 tiuuatioD, and, as it were, a branch of the Great Arabian deser; on the other side of the Euphrates. Saline plants cover, at large intervals, the burning sand or the dry gyp- sum. Wormwood spreads here, as the furze in Europe, over immense tracts, from which it excludes every olher plant. Agile herds of gazelles traverse those plains, where many wild asses formerly roved. The lion con- cealed in the rushes along the rivers lies in wait for these animals; bul when he is unable to seize them, to appease his hunger, he sallies forth with fury, and his terrible roar- ing rolls like thunder from desert to desert. The water of the desert is, for the moit part, bitter and brackish. The atmosphere, as is usual in Ai'abia, is pure and dry ; fre- quently it is burning in the naked and .sandy plains : the corrupt vapours of stagnant waters are diffused there; the cchalations of the sulphureous and salt lakes increase the pestilential matter. Whenever any interruption of equilib- rium sets a Column of such infected air into rapid motion, that pois.mous wind ari.ses, which is called Samum or Sinlyel, which is dreaded less in the interior of Arabia than on the frontiers, and especially in Syria and Mesopo- tamia. As soon as this dangerous wind arises, the air im- mediately loses its purity, the sun is covered with a bloody veil, all animals fall alarmed to the earth, to avoid this burning blast, which stifles every living being that is bold enough to expose itself to it. The caravans which convey goods backward and forward from Aleppo to Bagdad, and have to traverse these deserts, pay a tribute to the Arabs, who consider themselves as masters of tliese soli- tudes. They have also to dread the sutibcating wind, the swarms of locusts, and the want of water, as soon as they leave the Euphrates." A French traveller affirms, that he was witness to a scene occasioned by the want of water, the most terrible that can be imagined for a man of feel- ing. It was between Anah and Dryjeh. The locusts, af- ter they had devoured every thing, at last perished. The immense numbers of dead locusts corrupted the pools, from which, for want of springs, they were obliged to draw water. The traveller observed a Turk, who, with despair in his countenance, ran down a hill, and came towards him. " I am," cried he, "the most unfortunate man in the world ! I have purchased, at a prodigious expense, two hundred girls, the most beautiful of Greece and Georgia. I have educated them with care; and now that they are marriageable, I am taking them to Bagdad to sell them to advantage. Ah! they perish in this desert for thirst, but I feel greater tortures than they." The traveller immedi- ately ascended the hill ; a dreadful spectacle here present- ed itself to him. In the midst of twelve eunuchs and about a hundred camels he saw these beautiful girls, of the age of twelve to fifteen, stretched upon the ground, exposed to the torments of a burning thirst and inevitable death. Some were already buried in a pit which had just been made; a great number had dropped down dead by the side of their leaders, who had no more strength to bury them. On all sides were heard the sighs of the dying; and the cries of those who, having still some breath remaining, demanded in vain a drop of water. The French traveller hastened to open his leathern bottle, in which there was a little water. He was alreadv going to present it to one of these unhappy victims. "Madman!" cried his Arabian guide, " wouldst thou also have us die from thirst 1" He immedi- ately killed the girl with an arrow, seized the bottle, and threatened to kill any one who should venture to touch it. He advised the slave-merchant to go to Dryjeh, where he would find water. " No," replied the Turk, " at Dryjeh the robbers would take away all my slaves." The Arab dragged the traveller away. The moment they were re- tiring, these unhappy victims, seeing the last ray of hope vanish, raised a dreadful cry. The Arab was moved with compassion; he took one of them, poured a drop of water on her burning lips, and set her upon his camel, with the intention of making his wife a present of her. The poor girl fainted several times, when she passed the hodi s of her companions, who had fallen down dead in the way. Our traveller's small stock of water was nearly exhausted, when they found a fine well of fresh and pure water; but the rope was so short, that the pail would not reach the surface of the water. They cut their cloaks in strips, tied them together, and drew up but little water at a time, be- cause they trembled at the idea of breaking tlicir weak rope, and leaving their pail in the well. After such dan- gers, they at last arrived at the first station in Syria.— BURDER. Ver. 21. And he dwelt in the wilderness of Pa> ran : and his mother took him a wife out of the land of Egypt. When a father dies, the mother begins to look out for A wife for her son, though he may be very young ; and her arrangements will generally be acceded to. — Roberts. Ver. 28. And Abraham set seven ewe-b.mbs of the flocks by themselves. 29. And ALimelecli said unto Abraham, What meait these seven cwc-lambs, which thou hast set by themselves ? 30. And he said, For tliese seven ewe-lambs shall thou take of my hand, that they may be a witness unto me that I have digged this well. 31. Wherefore he called that place Beer-she- ba ; because there they sware both of them. Mr. Bruce, ( Travels, vol. i. p. 199,) relating the manner in which a compact was made between his party and some shepherds in Abyssinia, says, " Medicines and advice being given on my part, faith and protection pledged on theirs, two bushels ol wheat and seven sheep were carried down to the boat." — BusdEh. Chap. 22. ver. 3. And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and saddled his ass, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son, and clave the wood for the burnt-offering, and rose up, and went unto the place of which God had told him. There is no ground for supposing that the ancient eastern saddles were like our modern ones. Such were not known to the Greeks and Romans till many ages atler the Hebrew judges. " No nation of antiquity knew the use of "either saddles or stirrups," (Gogcet;) and even in our own times, Hassclquist, when at Alexandria, says, " I procured an equipage which I had never used before ; it was an ass with an Arabian saddle, which consisted only of a cushion, on which I could sit, and a handsome bridle." But even the cushion seems an improvement upon the ancient east- ern saddles, which were probably nothing more than a kind of rug girded to the beast. — Burder. Chap. 23. ver. 2. And Sarah died in Kirjath-arba ; the same is Hebron in the land of Canaan : and Abraham came to mourn for Sarah, and to weep for her. The ancient Greeks were accustomed to lay out the body after it was shrouded in its grave-clothes ; sometimes upon a bier, which they bedecked with various .sorts of flowers. The place where the bodies were laid out, was near the door of the house: there the friends of the decea.sed attend- ed them with loud lamentations; a custom which still continues to be observed among that people. Dr. Chandler, when travelling in Greece, saw a woman at Megara, sifting with the door of her cottage open, lamenting her dead hus- band aloud ; and at Zante, a woman in a house with the door open, bewailing her little son, whose body lay by her dressed, the hair powdered, the face painted and bedecked with gold leaf This custom of mourning for the dead, near the door of the house, was probably borrowed from the Syrians; and if so, it will serve to illustrate an obscure expression of Moses, relative to Abraham : " And Sarah died in Kirjath-arba; and Abraham came to mourn for Sarah, and to weep for her." He came out of his own separate tent, and sealing himself on the ground near the door of her tent, where her corpse was placed, that he might perform those public solemn rites of mourning, tlint were required, as well by decency as afleetion, lamented with manv tears the loss he had sustained. — P.-ells, as Rebecca did, on that occasion, fir travellers, their servants and their cattle ; and women of no mean rank literally illustrate the conduct of an unfoi- tunate princess in the Jewish History, by performing the services of a menial. The young woinen of Guzerat daily draw water from the wells, and carry the jars upon the head; but those of high rank carry them upon the shoulder. In the same way Rebecca carried her pitcher ; and proba- bly for the same reason, because she was the daughter of an eastern prince. — P.4xton. Ver. 47. And I put the ear-ring upon her face, and the bracelets upon her hand. Nothing is more common than for heathen females to have a ring ift the nose ; and this has led some to suppose, that the jewel here alluded to was put into that member, and not on the face. "I put a jewel on ihy forehead ;" Ez. XV. 11. The margin lias, for forehead, ''ncse." It does not appear to be generally know-n, that there is an ornament which is worn by females in the Ea.st on the forehead. It is made of thin gold, and is studded with precious stones, and called Pallam, which signifies dig- nity. Thus, to tie on the Patlam, is to " invest v.ith high dignity." Palla-Istere, " is the name of the first lawful wife of the king." In the Sathur-Agaraathe, Ihis ornament is called " the ornament of the forehead." Tyerman and Bennet say of a bride thev saw in China, " Her headdress sparkled with jewels, and was most elegantly beaded wi.h rows of pearls encircling it like a coronet ; from which a brilliant angular ornament hung over her forehead, and between her eyebrows." — Roberts. Ver. 57. And they said. We will call the damsel, and inquire at her mouth. Do people wish to know the truth of any thing which has been reported of another, they say, " Let us go and inquire of his month." — " Let us hear the birth of his month." Do servants ask a favour of their inislress, she will say, " I know not what will be the birth of the master's month; I will inqvire at his mouth." So the mother and brother of Rebecca inquired at the month of Ihe damsel, whether she felt willing to go with the man. '-And sl;e said, I will go." ROBERT.S. • Ver. 59. And they sent away Rebecca their sis- ter, and her nurse, and Abraham's servant, and his men. ^ How often have scenes like this led my mind to the patriarchal age I The daughter is about for the first time to leave the paternal roof: the servants are all in confu- sion ; each refers to things long gone by, each wishes to do something lo attract Ihe attention of his young mislress. One says, " Ah ! do not forget him who nursed 5'ou when an infant :" another, " How often did I bring you the beau- tiful lotus from the distant lank ! Did I not alH ays conceal your faults'!" The mother comes lo take leave. She "weeps, ,ind tenderly embraces her, saying, " My daughter, I shall see you no more ; — Forget not your mother." The brother infolds his sister in his arms, and promises soon lo rome and see her. The father is absorbed in thought, GENESIS. Chap. 24—26. ami is only aroused by the subs of the parly. He then alicciionatcly embraces his daughter, and tells her not to Tear. The iLMnalc domestics must each smell of the poor girl, and the men touch her feet. As Rebecca had ber nurse to accompany her, so, at this day, the Aya (the nurse) who has from infancy brought up the bride, goes with her to the new scene. She is her adviser, her assistant, and friend ; and to her will she tell all her hopes, aud all her fears. — HoBERTS. Ver. GO. Ami ihoy blessed Rebecca, and said unto Iter, Tliou art our sister ; be thou the mother of thousands of millions. From the numerous instances which are recorded in the scriptures, of those who were aged, or holy, giving iheii blessing, may be seen the importance which was attached to sucii benedictions. Has a son, or a daughter, to leave a father, an aged friend, or a priest, a blessing is always given. To be the iiKither u( a numerous progeny is con- sidered a great honour. Hence parents olien say to their daughters, " Be thou the mother of t/iousands." Beggars, also, when relieved, say to the mistress of the house, " Ah ! madam, millions will come from you." — Roberts. Ver 64. And Rebecca lifted up her eyes ; and when she saw Isaac, she lighted off the camel. It was always customarv, in all the East, on perceiving a superior, to alight from the animal upon which they were riding. Andersopj and Iverso.v relate, that " when the governor of Mossul and his suite passed our caravan, we were obliged to alight from our horses, mules, and a.sses, and lead the animals nil they had gone by." Even now, women show this mark of respect to men. Niebuhr says, "that an Arabian lady who met them in a broad valley in the desert of Mount Sinai, retired from the road, and let her servant lead the camel till they had passed." — Burder. Ver. 65. For she had said unto the servant, What man j.f this that walketh in the fieiil to meet tts .' And the servant had said. It is my master : therefore she took a veil, and covered herself Rebecca's covering herself with a veil, when Lsaac came to meet her, which is mentioned Gen. xxiv. (o, is to be considered rather as a pari of the ceremonial belonging to the presenting a bride to her intended husband, than an effect either of female delicacy, or desire to appear in the most attractive form. The eastern brides are wont to be veiled in a particular manner, when presenlcd to the bride- groom. Tnojc that give us an account of their customs, at such times, take notice of their being veiled all over. Dr. Russell gives us this circumstance in his account of a Maronite wedding, which, he says, may serve as a speci- men of all the rest, there being nothing materially difl'ereni in the ceremonies of the different sects. — Harmer. Chap. 25. ver. 21. And Isaac entreated the Lord for his wife, because she ivas barren. Under similar circunWances, the husband and the wife fast and prny, and make^ vow before the temple, that, should their desire be grnnled, they will make certain gifts, (specifying their Kind,) or llicv will repair the walls, or aild a ngK win-,' lo the temple; or that the child shall be dcdio^l^ to the di'i!y of the place, and be called by the same name. Or tlie)»go to a distant temple which has obtained noloriely by granting the favours liiey require. I have heard of husbnnds and wives remaining for a year together at such sacred places, to gain the desire o{ their hearts ! — Roberts. Ver. 28. And Isaac loved Esau, because he did eat of his venison ; but Rebecca loved Jacob. Margin, " Venison was in his mouth." Has a man been supported by another, and is it a'-kcd, " Why does Kandan luvc Muttoo 1 ' the reply is, " Because Mnitoo's rice is in his mouth." " Why have you such a regard for that man V — " Is not his rice in my mouth 7" — Roberts. Ver. 30. And Esau said to Jacob, Feed me, I pray thee, with that same red pottage The people of the East are eiceedingly fond of pottage, which tliey call Kool. It is something like gruel, and is made of various kinds of grain, which are first beaten in a mortar. The red pottage is made of Kurahan, and other grains, but is not superior to the other. For such a con- temptible mess, then, did Esau sell his birthright. When a man has sold his fields or gardens for an insignificant sum, the people say, " The fellow has sold his land for pottage." Does a father give his daughter in marriage lo a low caste man, it is observed, " He has given her for pot- tage." Does a person by base means seek for some paltry enjoyment, it is said, " For one leaf* of pottage, he will do nine days' work." Has a learned man stooped lo any thing which was not expected from him, it is said, " The learned one has fallen into the pottage pot." Has he given instruction or advice lo others — " The Lizard, which gave warning lo the people, has fallen into the pottage pot" Of a man in great poverty, it is remarked, " Alas! he cannot get pottage." A beggar asks, " Sir, will you give me a little pottage .'" Does a man seek lo acquire great things by small mean.s — " He is trying to procure rubies by pot- tage." When a person greatly flatters another, it is common to say, " He praises him only for his pottage." Does a king greaily oppress his subjects, it is said, " He only governs for the pottage." Has an individual lost much money by trade — " The speculation has broken his pottage pot'" Does a rich man threaten to ruin a poor man. the latter will ask, "Will the lightning strike my pottage pot?" — Roberts. Ver. 41. And Esau said in his heart, The days of mourning for my father are at hand. When the father (or the mother) has become aged, the children sav, " The day for the lamcnlaticm of our father is at hand.'' " The sorroirf-iil time for our mother is fast approaching." If requested to go to anolher part of the country, Ihe son will a.sk, "How can I go ? the day of sorrow for my falher is fast approaching." When the aged paients are seriously ill, it is said, " Ah! the days of mourning have come." — Roeert.'--. Chap. 26. ver. 15. For all the wells which his father's servants had digo'cd in the days of Abraham his father, the Philistines had stopped them, and filled them with earth. To stop the wells, is justly reckoned an art of hostililv. The Canaanilcs, envying the prosperity of Abraham and Isaac, and fearing Iheir power, endeavoured lo drive them out of the country. by stopping" upall thewellswhich their servants had digged, and filling ihem wilh earth." The same mode of taking vengeance on enemies, mentioned in this pa.ssage, has been praclised in more recent times. The Turkish emperors give annually to every Arab tribe near the road, by which ihe Mohammedan pilgrims iravel to Mecca, a certain sum of money, and a certain number of vestments, to keep them from destroying the wells w hich ■ lie on that route, and to escort the pilgrims acro.ss their country. D'Herbelot records an incident exaclly in point, which seems lo be quite common among the Arabs. Gia- nabi, a famous rebel in the tenth centur>% gaihcrod a num- ber of people logelher. seized on Bassorah, and Caufa ; and afterward insulted the reisning caliph, bv prcscniing him- self boldiv before Bagdad, his capilal ; aller which he re- tired by litile and li:ile. filling up all ihe piis with sand, which had been dug on the road lo Mecca, for ihe benefit of the pilgrims. Near the founiains and wells, the robber and assassin commonly took his staMon ; and in time of war, the eneinv placed their ambush, because the flocks and herds, in which the wealih of ihe country chiefly consisted, were twice every day collected to ihose places, and might be seized with less danger when ihe shepherds were busily engaged in drawine water. This eircumsiance, which must have been familiar to the inhabitants of those countries, is mentioned by Deborah in her triumphal song: " They > II J3 common to fold a large leaf so »b lo bold the potlage. Chap. 27. GENESIS. 33 that are delivered from the noise of archers in the place of the drawing of water, there shall they rehearse the righteous acts of the Lord." But a still more perfect comment on these words is furnished by an historian of the croisades, who complains, that during the siege of Jerusalem by the Christian armies, numbers of their men were daily cut oti", and their cattle driven away by the Saracens, who lay in ambush for this purpose near all tlie fountains and water- ing places. — Paxton. Ver. 18. And Isaac digged again the welis of water which they had digged in tlie days of Abraham his father ; for the Philistines had stopped them after the death of Abraham : and he called their names after th(* names by which his father had called them. This would appear a trifle among u.s, because water is so abundant, that it is scarcely valued, and nobody thinks of perpetuating his name in the name of a well. But in those deserts, where water is so scarce, and wells and springs are valued more, and as they are there the general permanent monuments of geography, it is also an honour to have given them names. — Burder. Ver. 20. And the herdmen of Gerar did strive with Isaac's herdmen. See on chap. 13. 7. Ver. 3 1 . And they rose up betimes in the morn- ing, and sware one to another : and Isaac sent them away, and they departed frorn them in peace. In the same manner, family alliances are frequent among the Arabian shepheids, and indeed rendered necessary, by the state of continual warfare in which they live with the neighbouring tribes. The eighteen Arab emirs of the fam- ily which d'Arvieu.x visited, kept near one another, en- camping at no greater distance from their chief than a leagtie or two, and all removing together every monlh, some- limes every fortnight, as their caule wanted fresh pasture, that they liiight be able to assemble with case. But while Abraham and Isaac cultivated thefriendshipof thcirneigh- bours, entered into treaties of peace and amity with the kings and princes of Canaan, and entertained them in their tents, — Ishmael, animated by different principles and views, commenced a course of action, after leaving his father's house, so new and unprecedented, that it was made the subject of a distinct prediction. Standing on the verge of a burning desert, which he claimed as his proper inherit- ance, he a.ssumed from the beginning a hostile attitude, spurned the ties of peace and friendship, and laid all the surrounding tribe: under contribution. When he drew upon himself and his adherents the resentment of the fi.xed inhabitants, and was afraid to risk their attack, he with- drew into the depths of Ihe great wilderness, where none could follow him with hopes of success. In the same man- ner have his descendants lived; when threatened with an unequal contest, they will strike their tents upon less than two hours' wurning, and retire imuiedialcly, with all ihoir effects, into the deserts, with whose wells and forage they only are acquainted. AVilhin those impenetrable barriers, which are for ever guarded hy himger and Ihir.sl, the Ara- bians regard with utter contempt, the warlike array of the most powerful nations.— Pa.vton. Chap. 27. ver, 4. And make me savoury meat, such as I love, and bring it to me. that I may ^eat; that iny soul may bless thee before I die. Our version of Gen. xxvii. I, 7, 9, 14, 17, 31, may be presumed to have given us Ihe true sen.se there of the word translated wnvrij, Ihongh it is undoubtedly of a more large and less determinate signification. That it is of a more large signification, is evident from hence, that a kindred word expresses the tasting of hoiuy, 1 Sam. .viv. 43 ; and the ta.ste of mnmin, which tasted like frcnh oil. Numb. xi. 8, and like wafers made with /innai, Kxnd xvi 31. These two last passages are easily reconciled, though honey and fresh oil are by no means like each other in taste, when we consider the cakes of the ancients were frequenlly a composition of honey, and oil, and flour; consequently, in tasting like one of these wafers or thin cakes, it might he said to resemble Ihe taste of both, of oil mingled with honey. The word ^loyca mahhnvteem, then, translated sa- lourij m a confined sense, signifies generally whatever is gustful, or pleasing to the taste, whether by being salt and spicy, which the English word saroury means, or pleasant by its su-ecliiess : ov hybemg acid ulaied. However, it is very probable, that in this account of what Isaac desired, it means savoury, properly speaking, since though one might imagine, that in so hot a climate, and among people wont to observe so much abstemiousness in their diet, food highly seasoned should riot be in request ; yet the contrary is known to be fact. Almost all the dishes of the people of Aleppo, Dr. Russell informs us, " are either greasy with fat, or butter, pretty high-seasoned with salt and spices; many of them made sour with verjuice, pomegranale, or lemon juice ; and onions and garlic oflen complete the seasoning," As it was something of Ihe venison kind Isaac desired, it is very probable, the dish he wishcil for was of the savoury sort. Some of their dishes of meal, however, are of a sweet naUire. " A whole lamb, stufled with rice, almonds, raisins, pistaches, &e. and stewed, is a favourite dish with them." It was very just then, in our translators, to render this word by a more extensive tenn in Prov. xxiii. 3, "When thou sittest to eat with a ruler, consider diligently what is before thee," v. 1. " Be not de- sirous of his dainties, for they are deceitful meat," v. 3. It is translated in much the same manner in v. 6, dainty meats. I would observe further, as to this subject, that there is a great propriety in Solomon's describing these dainty meats as very much appropriated to the tables of rulers, or a few others of the great, since the food of the common people of Aleppo, a large and rich commercial city, is very simple and plain ; for Paissell tells us, " bread, dihbs, the juice of grapes thickened to the consistence of honey, Icban, coagulated sour milk, butter, rice, and a very little mutton, make Ihe chief of their food in winter; as rice, bread, cheese, and fruils, do in Ihe summer." De la Roque gives much Ihe same account of the manner of living of Ihe Arabs, whose way of life very much resem- bles that of the patriarchs ; " rciast meal being almost pecu- liar to the tables of their emirs or piinces, and lambs or kids stewed whole, and stutfed with bread, flour, mutton fill, raisins, salt, pepper, safl"ron, mint, and other aromatic herbs." I woiild only add further, with respect to Ihe meat Isaac desired, that perhaps his desiring Esau to take his bow and arrows, and to kill him some venison, — an ante- lope, or some such wild animal, when a kid from his own flock would, as appears from the event, have done as well, — might as much arise from Ihe sparingness natural to those that live this kind of life, together with the pleasure he proposed to himself from this testimony of filial affec- tion from a beloved son, as from the recollection of some peculiar poignant flavour he had formerly perceived in eating the flesh of wild animals, though now his organs of taste were so much impaired as not to perceive Ihe difler- ence. So Dr. Shaw observes, ihai "Ihe Arabs rarely di- minish their flocks, by using them fiMfood, but live chiefly upon bread, milk, butler, dates, o^flrai they receive iii exchange for their wool." — Hau.meb, Ver. 19. And .hicob said tuito hi^^fatlicr, I am -Esau thy fir.st-born ; I have done'acc ' thou badest me: arise, I pray thee, sn , ,,. ■ u of my venison, that thy soul may bless me. The ancient Greeks and Romans sal at meals. Ho- mer's heroes were ranged on separate .seats along the wall, with a small table before eacli, on which the meat and drink were placed. This custom is slill observed in China, and perhaps some other parts of Ihe greater Asia. When Ulysses arrived at the palace of Alcinous, the king di.s- placeil his son Laodamas, in order to sent Ulysses in a magnificent chair. The same posture was preferred by the Egyptians and the ancient Israelites. Bui, aflerward, when men became soft and effeminate, they exchanged their seals for beds, in order lo drink with more ease ; vet 34 GENESIS. Chap. 27—29. even then, the heroes who drank siuinf; wete slill thought entitled to praise ; and those who accustomed themselves to n primitive and seveie wai' of living, retained ihe ancient posture. The custom of reclining w as introduced from the nations of the east, and particularly from Persia, where it seems to have been adopted at a very remote period. The Old Testament .scriptures allude to both customs : but they furnish undeniable proofs of the sitting posture, long before common authors took notice of the other. It was the cus- tom in Isaac'sfamily to sit at meat; for Jacob thus address- ed his aged father: '" Arise, I pray thee, sit and eat of my venison, that thy soul may bless me." At the entertain- ment which Joseph gave his bietlireu, on llicir return to Egj-pt, they seem to have followed the custom of their fa- thers; for " they sat before him, the first-born according to his birthright, and the youngest according to his youth." In the court of Saul, many ages after this, Abner sat at ta- ble bv his master's side ; and David also had his place al- lotted to him, which is emplialically called his seal. As this is undoubtedly the mo.si natural and dignified posture, so it seems to have been universally adopted by the first generations of men ; and it -nas not' till after the lapse of many ages, and degenerate man had lost much of the firm- ness of his primitive character, that he began to lie flat up- on his belly. — Paxton. Ver. 27. And he came near, and kissed him ; and he smelled the smell of his raiment, and blessed him, and said, See, the smell of my son is as the smell of a field which the Lord hath blessed. The Orientals endeavour to perfume their clothes in various ways. They sprinkle them with sweet-scented oils, extracted from spices, they fumigate them v.ith the most valuable incense or scented wood, and also sew the wood of the aloe in their clothes. By some of these means, Jacob's clothes were perfumed. Pliny observes, ( A'a/. Hisl. b. xvii. chap. 5,) " that the land, after a long drought, moistened by the rain, exhales a delightful odour, with which nothing can be compared :" and sooli after, he adds, " that it is a sign of a fruitful soil, 'when it emits an agreeable smell, when it has been ploughed."— Bcrdeh. The natives arc universally fond of having their gar- ments strongly perfumed : so much so, that Europeans can scarcely bear the smell. They use camphor, civet, sandal wood or sandal oil, and a great variety of strongly scented waters. It is not common to salulc as in England: they simply niieU each other; and it is said that some people know their children by the smell. It is common for a inoiher or father to say, " Ah ! child, thy smell is like the Sen-Paga-Poo." The crown of the head is the principal place for smelling. Of an amiable man, it is said, " How sweet is the smell of that man! the smell of his goodness is tmiversal." — Roberts. Chap. 28. ver. 18. And Jacob rose up early in the morning, and took the stone that he had put for his pillows, and set it up for a pillar, and poured oil upon the fop of it. One of the idols in the pagoda of Juggernaut is described liy Captain Hamilion as a Ai/i,'« hhck ^one, of a pyramidal form, and the sommnnn codom among the Siamese is of the same complexion. The aycen Akhcni mentions an octago- nal pillar of black stone fifty cnhits high. Tavernier ob- served an idol of black stone in the pagoda of Benares, aad that the statue of Creeshna, in his celebrated temple of Mhthura, is of black marble. It is very remarkable, that one of the princi;'>al ceremonies incumbent upon the priests of thc^e ston;: deities, according to Tavernier, is to anoint them daily with odoriferous oils : a circumstance which immediately brings to our remembrance the similar practice of Jacob, who, after the famous vision of the celes- tial ladder, took Ihe Hone lehich he had put for his pillo:/-, and set it up for a pillar, and poured oil vpon Ihe top of it. It is added, that he called the name of that place Beth-el, that is, the house of God. This passage evinces of how great antiquity is the custom of considering stones in a sacred light, as well as the anointing them with consecrated oil. From this conduct of Jacob, and this Hebrew appellative, the learned Bochnrt, wi'h great ingenuity and reason, insists that the name and veneration of the sacred stones, called baeluli, so celebrated in all pagan antiquity, were derived. These baetyli were stones ot a round form ; they were supposed to be animated, by means of uiagical incaii- latious, with a portion of the deity ; they were consulted on occasions of great and pressing emergency, a.s a kind of divine oracles, and were suspended, either round the neck, or some other part of the body. Thus the setting up of a stone tjy this holy person, in grateful memory of the celestial vision, probably became the occasion of the idolatry in suc- ceeding ages, to these shapeless masses of unhewn stone, of which so many astonishing remains are scattered up and down the Asiatic and the European world. — Birder. Chap. 29. ver. 1 . Then Jacob went on his journey, and came into the land of the people of the east. The margin has, " lifted up his feet ;" which, in Eastern language, signifies to walk quickly — to reach out — to be in good earnest— not to hesitate. Thus Jacob journeyed to the East, he lifted up his feet, and stretched forth in good earnest, having been greatly encouraged fej- the vision of the ladder, and the promise, " Thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth." — Roberts. Ver. 2. And he looked, and behold, a well in the field, and lo, there vr.re three flocks of sheep lying by it ; for out of that well they watered the flocks : and a great stone icas upon the well's mouth. In Arabia, and in other places, they are wont to close and cover up their wells of water, lesf the sand, which is put into motion bv the winds there, like the water of a pond, should fill them, and quite stop them up. This is Ihe account Sir J. Chardin gives us in a note on Fs. Ixix. 15. I very much question the applicableness of this cus- tom to (hat passage, bm it will serve to explain, I think, extremely well, the view of keeping that well covered with a stone, from which Laban's sheep were wont to be wateri?d ; and their care not to leave it open any time, but to stay till the flocks were all gathered together, before they opjcned it, and then, having drawn as much water as was requisite, to cover it up again immediately. Gen. xxix. 2, 8. Bi.-hop Patrick siapposes it was done' to keep the water clean and cool. Few people, I imagine, will long hesitate in determining which most probably was the view in keeping the well covered with so much care. All this care of their water is certainly very requisite, since they have so little, that Chardin supposes, " that the strife be- tween Abraham's herdmen and Lot's was rather about water, than pasturage ;" and immediately after observes, '• that when they are forced to draw the water for very large flocks, out of one well, or two, it must take up a great deal of time." — Habmek. Ver. 2. And he looked, and behold, a well in the field, and lo, there were three flocks of sheep lying by it ; for out of that well they watered the flocks : and a great stone was upon the well's mouth. 3. And thither were all the flocks gathered: and they rolled the stone from the well's mouth, and watered the sheep, and jut the stone again upon the well's mouth in lis place. To prevent the sand, which is raised from Ihe parched surface of the ground hy the winds, from filling up their wells, they were obliged to cover them wi'h a stone. In this manner the well was covered, from which the flocks of Laban were commonly watered : and the shepherds, careful not to leave them open at any time, patiently wail- ed till all the flocks were gathered together, before Ihey removed the covering, and then having drawn a sufficieiit quantity of water, they replaced the stone immediately. "The extreme scarcity of water in these arid regions, en- tirely justifies such vigilant and parsimonious care in the management of this precious fluid; and accounts for the fierce contentions about the possession of a well, which so frequently liappcned between the shepherds of diflTereni hii Chap. 29. GENESIS. 35 masters. But afier tlie question of right, or of possession, was decided, it would seem the shepherds were often de- tected in fra'udulenth' watering their flocks and herds from their neighbour's well. To prevent this, they se- cured the cover with a lock, which continued in use so late as the days of Cliardin, who frequently saw such pre- cautions used in different parts of Asia, on account of the real scarcity of water there. According to that intelli- gent traveller, when the wells and cisterns were not locked up, some person was so far the proprietor, that no one dared to open a well, or a cistern, but in his presence. This was probably the reason, that the shepherds of Pa- danarara declined the invitation of .Tacob to water the flocks, before they were all assembled; either they had not the key of the lock which secured the stone, or if they had, they durst not open it, but in the presence of Rachel, to whose father the well belonged. It is ridiculous to sup- pose the stone was so hean- that the united strength of several Mesopotamian shepherds could not roll it from the mouth of the well, when Jacob had strength, or address, to remove it alone; or, that though a stranger, he ventured to break a standing rule for watering the flocks, which the natives did not dare to do, and that without opposition. The oriental shepherds were not on other occasions so passive ; as the violent conduct of the men of Gerar suffi- ciently proves. — Paxton. Ver. 7. And he said, Lo, it is yet high day. Heb. " Yet the day is great." Are people travelling through places where are wild beasts, those who are timid will keep troubling the party by saying, " Let us seek for a place of safety :" but the others reply, " Not yet ;" for " the day is great." " Why should I be in such haste ? the day is yet great." When tired of working, it is remarked, " Why, the day is yet great." — " Yes, yes, you manage to leave off while the day is yet great." — Roberts. Ver. 10. And it came to pass, when Jacob saw Rachel, tlie daughter of Laban his mother's brother, and the sheep of Laban his mother's brother, that Jacob went near, and rolled the stone from the well's mouth, and watered the flock of Laban his mother's brother. Twice in the day they led their flocks to the wells ; at noon, and when the sun was going down. To water the flocks, was an operation of much labour, and occupied a considerable space of time. It was, therefore, an otnce of great kindness with which Jacob introduced him.self to the notice of his relations, to roll back the stone wliich lay upon the niouih of the well, and draw water for the flocks which Rachel tended. Some of these wells are furnished with troughs and flights of steps down -to the water, and other contrivances, to facilitate the labour of watering the cattle. It is evident the well to which Rebecca went to draw water, near the cily of Nahor, had some convenience of this kind; for it is 'written, "Rebecca hastened and emptied her pitcher into the trough, and ran again unto the well to draw water, and drew for all his camels." A trough was also placed by the well, from which the daugh- ters of Jethro watered his flocks; and if we may judge from circumstances, was a usual contrivance in every part of the east. In modern limes, Mr. Park found a trough near the well, from which the Moors watered their cattle, in the sandy deserts of Sahara. As the wells are often very deep, from a hundred and sixty to a hundred and seventy feet, the water is drawn up v.ilh small leathern buckets, and a cord, which travellers are oiten obliged to carry along with them, in their journey, because they meet with more cisterns and wells than springs. Dr. Richardson saw one of these buckets lying beside a deep well near a Christian church in Eg>T)t to draw water for the congregation. And Buckingham foimd a party of twelve of fifieen Arabs drawing water in leathern buckets by cords and pulleys. To this custom, which they are forced to submit to by the scantiness of the population in those regions, the woman of Samaria refers in her answer to our Lord : " Sir, thou hast nothing to draw wilh ;" thou ha.st no bucket and cord, as travellers commonly have; "and the well is deep; from whence then hast thou that living water 1" — Paxton. Ver. 18. And Jacob loved Rachel; and said, I will serve thee seven years for Rachel thy younger daughter. Because he had no money or other goods which he could give to the father for his daughter. For among many people of the East, in ancient and modern times, we find 'it customary, not for the bride to bring a dowry to the bridegroom, but the bridegroom must, in a manner, pur- chase the girl whom he intends to marry, from the father. Therefore Shechem says, (ch. xxxiv. 12,) to DinahS father and brothers, " Ask me" never so much dowry and gift, and I will give according as ye shall say unto me : but give me the damsel to wife."" In the same manner Tacitus relates, that among the ancient Germans, the wife did not bring the dowry to the man, but the man to the woman. " The parents and relations are present, who examine the gifts, and choose, not such as are adapted to female dress, or lo adorn the bride, but oxen, and a harnessed horse, a shield, and a sword. In return for these presents he receives the wife." This custom still prevails among the Bedouins. " When a young man meets with a girl to his taste, he asks her of her father through one of his relations : they now treat about the number' of camels, sheep, or horses, that the son-in-law will give to the father for his daughter; for the Bedouins never save any money, and their wealth consists only in cattle. A man that marries must therefore literally purcha,se his wife, and the lathers are most fortu- nate who have many daughters. They are the principal riches of the family. "\Vhen, therefore, a young man negotiates with the father whose daughter he intends to marry, he says, ' Will you give me your daughter for fifty sheep, six camels, or tweh'e cows V If he is not rich enough to give so much, he oflers a mare or foal. The qualities of the girl, the family, and the fortune of him that intends to marry her, are the principal considerations in making the bargain." (^Customs of the Bedoidn Arabs, by D'Arvietix, p. 119.) This is confirmed by Seetzen, in his account of the Arab tribes whom he visited in 1808: The ceremonies at the marriage of a wandering Arab are remarkable ; a young Arab knows a girl who pleases him ; he goes to her father, and makes his wishes known to him. The latter speaks to his daughter. " Daughter," says he, " there is one who asks you for his wife; the man is good, and it depends upon yourself if you will become his wife ; you have my consent." If the girl refuses, there is an end of the maUer ; if she is contented, the father returns to his guest, and informs him of the happy intelligence. " But," he adds, " I demand the price of the girl." This consists of five camels ; but generally, by the intervention of others, a couple more are added, and those given are frequently miserable enough. — Burder. « Ver. 19. And Laban said, It is better that I give her to thee, than that I should give her to anotlier man : abide with me. So said Laban, in reference to his daughter Rachel ; and sosay fathers in the East, under .«mitor circumstances. The whole affair is managed in a biisiness-liliewav, without any thing like a consultation with the maiden. Her likes and dislikes are out of the question. The father understands the matter perfectly, and the mother is very knowing; therefore they manage the transaction. This system, how- ever, is the fruitful source of that general absence of do- mestic happiness which prevails there. She has, perhaps, never seen the man with whom she is to spend her days. He may be young ; he may be aged ; he may be repulsive or attractive. The whole is a lottery to her. Have the servants or others whispered to her something about the match 1 she will make her inquiries; but the result will never alter the arrangements : for tliough her soul abhor the thoughts of meeting him, yet it m.ust be done. — Roberts. Ver. 23. And it came to pass, in the evening, that he took Leah his daughter, and brought her to him ; and he went in unto her. 36 GENESIS. Chap. UQ — 31. This deccil of giving Leali to Jacob instead ot Rachel was the more easy, because ihp bride was imroduced veil- ed to llie bridegroom. The following passage from Olea- niis ( Tmicls in Pirsiii) is particularly applicable here. "If thevare peoide >d' any consideration, they bring np their daughters, locked iipm their chambers, to hide them from view, and ihev cannot he seen by I he bridegroom till they arc received iii the chamber. In this manner many a one is deceived, and receives, instead of a handsome, a deformed and uylvgirl, nay, instead of the daughter, some other relation, or ivcn a maid. Also, when the bndfgroorn has sat down, the bride is sealed by his side veiled and magnificenllv dressed, and thai neither may sec the other a piece of red silk is drawn between them, which is held by IWO boys." ROSENMII.LEH. Ver. 24. And Luban gave unto his daughter Leah, Zilpah his maid for a handmaid. Chardin observes, that none but very poor people marry a da.i.'hter in the East, without giving her a lemale slave for a handmaid, there being no hired servants there as in Europe So Solomon supposes ihey were extremely poor that had not a servant. Prov. xii. 9.— Harmer. Ver. 2G. Atid Ltiban said. It must not be so done in our country, to give the younger before the first-born. The existence of this rule, and its application to practice, in those parts of the world, is confirraed by the Hindoo la\y which makes it criminal to give the younger daughter in marriage before the elder; or for a younger son to marry while his elder brother remains unmarried— Paxton It has been said, (and with much truth,) that could Alex- ander revisit India, he would find the same cu.stoms and manners that prevailed in his day. From age to age the fashions and usages are carefully and reverently adhered to When the eldest daughter is deformed, or blind, or deaf or dumb, then the vumiger may be given first ; but under other circumstances il would be disgraceful in the extreme. Should any one wish to alter the order of things, the answer of Laban is givSn. Should a father, however, have a very advantageous offer for a younger daughter, he will exerl all his powers lo get oil' the elder; but until this can be accomidished, the younger will not be married. Younger brothers aje sometimes married first, but even this takes place but very seldom.— Roberts. Ver. 30. And he went in also unto Rachel, and he loved also Rachel more than Leah, and served with him yet seven other years. Polygamy was productive of many evils ; and particu- larly gave 'occasion for jealousy and contention. It re- quired, indeed, the utmost exertion of prudence on the pan of Ihe husband so to conduct himself towards his wives, as to prevent conlinual strife and discord. ■\Vhcrever the practice obtains the same care will always be rcijuisite. Thus a late iravcller, (Sir R. K. Porter's Travels in Per- sia vol. ii. p. H,) speaking of the number of wives a Per- sian keeps, says, " To preserve amity between these ladies, which had so'cxcited my admiration, our conimunicatiye host told me, that himself, in common with all hnsbands, who preferred peace lo passion, adhered to a certain rule of each wife claiming, in regular rotation, the cotinubial attentions of her spouse : something of this kind is intima- ted in the domestic hi.storv of the ancient Jewish patrinrclis, as a prevailing usage in the East, after men fell from the order of nature and of God, into the vice of polygamy. — BuRDErt. Ver. 35. And she conceived again, and bare a son ; and she said. Now will I praise the Loud : names of the Orieutal.s have ulwa^-s a distinct meamiig. Thus Ani Multoo, the precious pearl; Pun Amma, the "oldon lady; Perrya Amma, the great lady; Chinny Tamby, the little friend; Kauneyar, the gentleman for the eye Vast numbers of their children are named aller their gods. " Stood from bearing." When a mother has ceased to bear children, should a person say it is not so, others will reply, " Hhe stood from bearing at such a time. — Roberts. Chaf. 3U, ver. 14. And Iteuben wont, in the days of wheat-litirvest, and found luandiakrs in the field, and brought them tmto his mother Leah. Then Rachel said to Leah, Give me, I pray thee, of thy son's mandrakis. This plant is a»T)ecies of melon, of which there are two sorts, the male and the female. The female mandrake is blac^f, and puis out leaves resembling lettuce, ihongh smaller and narrower, which spread on the ground, and have a disagreeable .scent. It bears berries something like services, pale and of a strong smell, having kernels within like those of pears. It has two or three verj- large roots. Iwisied together, while within, black wi honl, and covertd with a thick rind. The male mandrake is called Morion, or folly, because it suspends the senses. It produces ber- ries twice as large as those of the female, of a good scent, and of a colour approaching towards safl'ron. Phnv says, the colour is white. lis leaves are large, white, broad, and smooth, like llie leaves of the beech-tree. The root resembles that of Ihe female, but is thicker and big descending six or eight feet into the ground therefore she called his name Judah, and bearing. left Margin, " She called his name Praise,"—" and lefl bear- ing." Hcb. " stood from bearing." Scriptural names have generally a meaning. Thus, Didymiis, means a twin; Boanerge.i, a son of thunder; and Peter, a stone. The Both the smell and the taste are pleasant; but it'stupifies those that u^e II. and often produces phrensy, vertigo, and lethargy, which, if timely assistance is not given, terminate in eon- ■ vulsions and death. It is said to be a provocative, and is used in the east as filters. The Orientals cultivate this plant in their gardens, tor the sake of its smell ; but those which Reuben found were in the field, in some small cop-ie of wood perhaps, or shade, where ihey had come to maturity before they were found. If they resemble those of Persia rather than those of Esrt'pl, which are of a very inferior quality, ihcn w^e see their value, their superiority, and perhaps their rarity, which induced Rachel to pur- chase them from the son of Leah.— Paxton. Ver. 20. And Leah said, God hath endowed me with a good doft-ry: now will my husbaiid dwell with me, because I have borne him six sons. Should it be reported of a husband, that he is going to forsake his wife, after she has borne him children, people will say, " She has borne him .^oiis; he will never, never leave her." To have children is a powerful tie upon a hu.sband. Should she, however, not have any, he is almost certain to forsake her. — Roberts. Ver. 30. And the Lord hath blessed thee since my coming. Heb. "at my foot." By the labour of Jacob's fool, the cattle of Labaii had increased to a muliitude. 01 a man who has become rich by his own industry, it is said, " Aht by the labour of his fret these treasures have been acquired. "How have yon gained this prosperity ?" " By the favour of the gods, and ihe labour of mv fret." " How is it the king is so prosperous 1" " By the labour of the feel of his ministers.' —RoBESTs. Chap. 31. ver. 2. And Jacob beheld the counte- nance of Laban, and, behold, it vns not towards him as before. Heb " as yesterday and the day be ore." See also mar- ginal reading of Isa! xxx. 33. Of old, " from yesterday." The kilter form of speech is truly Oriental, and means time "one by Has a person lost the friendship of another, he will saV to him, " Thv face is not to me as yesterday and Ihe day before." Is a man reduced in his circumstances, he sav's " The face of God is not upon me as ijefterday and Chap. 31. GENESIS. 37 Ike day before." The fulule is spoken of as to-day and to- morrow ; " His face will be upon me to-day and to-morrow." which means, always. " I will love Ihce to-day and to-mor- row." " Do you think of me '"—■' Yes, to-day and to-mor- row." " Modoliar, have you lieard that Tamban is trying to injure you!" — " Ye.s; and go and tell him that neither lo-day nor to-morrow will he succeed." Our Saviour says, " Behold, I cast out devils, and I do cures lo-day and to- morrow." A messenger came to inform iiiin Herod would kill him; but this was his re)'ly, inliinating that the power could never be taken from him. Jacob .said to Laban, " My righteousness answers for me in lime lo come;" but the Hebrew ha.s for this, "to-morrou';" his righteousness would be perpetual. In Eastern language, therefore, "yesterday ami the day before" signify liiue {lasl ; but " to-day and to- morrow" time to conic. (See Ex. xiii. 11. Jos. iv. G., al.so xxii. 'M. margin.) — Roberts. Ver. 4. And Jacob sent and called Rachel Lsah to the field unto his flock. and Besides those that live wholly in tents, numbers of the Eastern people spend part of the year in them. I have ob- served it particularly in the accounts of Mesopotamia. In that country Bishop Pococke tells us, he fell in with a sum- mer village of country people, whose huts were made of loose stones covered with reeds and boughs ; their winter village being on the side of a hill at some distance, consist- ing of very low houses ; and that they chose this place for the convenience of being with their cattle, and out of the high road. Five pages after, he observes, that many of the Curdeens live honestly in Mesopotamia as well as Syria, removing in summer to some places at a distance from their village, where they live under tents, generally in places retired from the road, to avoid the injuries of the soldiery, and of the people of the pacha. May not this circnmslance serve to explain a passage of the Old Testa- ment, relating to this country "! In Gen.xxxi.it is said, that Jacob sent and called Rachel and Leah to his flock, that he there told them of his design of returning from Mesopotamia to his native country, and that upon their consenting to go with him, he set out upon this journey so silently, that Laban had no notice of it, until the third day alter ; yet it ajipears, that he had all his effects with him, and tents for the accommodation of his family ; and that Laban, who pursued him, had tents also for his company. Here one is surprised to find both parties so suddenly equipped with tents for their accommodation in travelling, and is naturally led to inquire, why Jacob sent for his wives to his flock 1 Bishop Patrick's account of the last circumstance, that it was for greater secrecy, and perhaps lo avoid the danger of being seized upon by Laban and his .sons, will hardly be thought satisfactory. Could not a husband speak to his wives with sufficient privacy in La- ban's house 1 Were mauers come to such an extremity, that Jacob durst not venture himself within the doors of his uncle's house, for fear of being seized upon, and made a prisoner ! And in fact Jacob seems actually to have com- municated his intention lo Rachel in her fathei's house : for when he sent for his wives, she brought her father's teraphim with her, which she would by no means have done, had she been unapprized of the design. The case seems to have been thus. While Laban and his daughters dwelt in a house, they that tended the flocks had tents for their accommodation. Laban's tlocks were in two parcels, one under the care of Jacob, the other committed to the care of Laban's sons, three days' journey ofl^; Jacob's own afterward were also, for the same reason, probably at an equal distance. At the time of shearing sheep, it is rea- sonable to suppose, that more and better tents were creeled for the receplion and entertainment of their friends, it be- ing a time of great feasting, 1 Sam. xxv. 4, 8, 36 ; to which they were wont lo invite their friends, 2 Sam. xiii. 25 ; and the feasts being held al a distance from theirown houses, in the places where the sheep were fed, as appears from the passage last cited, and also from Gen. xxxviii. 12. Laban went then with his relations at the time of sheep-shearing to his flocks ; Jacob at the same time shore his own sheep, and sent to his wives lo come to the entertainment, wiih all those utensils that they had with them of his, which would be wanted, having before communicaled his intention to Rachel his beloved wife. This was a fair pretence for the having all his household stuflT brought to him, which, according to the present Eastern mode, we may believe was very portable, beds not excepted ; and having told Leah ihen his views, in the company of Rachel, and both consenting to go with him, he had every thing ready for his journey, and could decamp immediately, taking his tlocks and herds along wilh him. Somebody, upon this, went to inform Laban of Jacob's departure, who being at a considerable distance, did not receive the news till the third day. This accounts al once, in the most simple and natural way, for Jacob's sending for his wives to his flock ; for his being able' to get his goods together without jeal- ousy ; and for his and his fatljer-in-law's being furnished wilt tents for the journey. — Harmer. Ver. 7. And your father hath deceived me, and changed my wages ten times : but God sufler- ed liim not "to hurt me. 8. If he said thus, The speckled shall be thy wages ; then all the cattle bare speckled : and if he said thus. The ring- streaked shall be thy hire ; then bare all the cattle ring-streaked. The flocks which ranged the fertile pastures of Mesopo- tamia, seem also to have generally produced twins evt-ry year. Laban, who lived in that country, is said to have changed the wages of Jacob ten times in the space of six years ; but since the wages of Jacob consisted of the lambs and the kids, they could not have been changed more than six times in six 3'ears, if his flock had brought forth only one a-year. Should it be thought that, according to this rule, tlie wages of Jacob mu.st have been changed twelve times, let it be remembered, that the flocks of Laban had brought forth their first lambs before the bargain was con- cluded between him and Jacob, and by consaquence, ihe latter had only the lambs of one yeaning that year ; and again, the flocks had yeaned only once in the last year of his abode with Laban, because he was comjielled to leave the service of his envious relative before Ihe close of the season, and consequently, before the second yeaning. Thus the flocks yeaned only ten times from the date of their agrcement,'till the departure of Jacob to his own country. Or, we may consider the phrase " ten limes," as a definile for an indefinite number ; in which sense it is olien used by Ihe sacred writers. Thus, Jehovah complains of his an- cient people whom he had brcughl out of Egj'pt, that they had (einpted him " now these ten times," that is, many limes, " and had not hearkened to his voice." Job uses it in the same sense: " These ten times have ye reproached me," that is, ye have otlen reproached me. In the same man- ner, when Jacob complained that Laban had changed his wages ten limes, he might only mean ihat he had done -so frequently. Had we therefore no stronger proof, that ihe sheep of Laban yeaned twice in the year, ihe fact might seem lo rest merely on ihe stale of the flocks in Ihe adjacent regions, which, it cannot be doubled, generally yeaned twins, and for the most part twice in the year. A sircnger prool', therefore, may be drawn from these words : " And it came to pass, whensoever the sironger eallle did conceive, Ihal Jacob laid the rods before the eyes of the catlle in the gut- ters, that they might conceive among the rods. But when the cattle were feeble, he put them not in ; .so the feebler were Laban's, and the sironger Jacob's." Two yeanings arc .supposed to be suggested in this passage, by the teims stronger and feebler; the lambs of the first were always stronger than those of the second: and consequently, they fell to Jacob by the special bounty of Heaven, causing tlie catlle, not by any law of nature, but by an act oi Almighty power, lo conceive among the rods, the use of which was merely the lest of Jacob's faith in the divine promise. This is evident, by the sense in which the Syriac interpreter, and the Chaldee Paraphrast understood ihe text ; for, instead of the term " feebler," they use the word " later," rendering the clause, "so the later were Laban's." Jerome, Aquila, and other expositors, interpret the clause in the same man- ner. Kimchi and other Jewish writers often speak cf the first and second yeanings ; referring the former 10 the m nih Nisan, which corresponds to our March ; and ihe latier lo the month Tisri, which nearlv coiresponds lo Seplerr.ter ; and they assert, that Ihe lambs of the first yeaning are called ts'iti'p, keshorim, or bound, because they had a more 88 GENESIS. Chap. 31. compact body ; and those of the second, D'lj;-, aetophim. or deficient, because they were feebler. The autumnal Iambi, however, were preferred by many before the vernal, and the winier before the summer lamb<, as being more vigorous and healthy. But it must be confessed, that no certain trace of two veanings in the year can be discover- ed in' the sacred voUime. The fact is attested by many common authors, and seems necessary to account for the rapid increase of oriental stock, and the prodisrious num- bers of which the Syrian flocks consi.^ted. The words of MoiCs may refer, at least with equal probability, to the vig- orou-i and healthy constitution of the ewes which Jacob se- lected for hii purpose ; and signify, that robust mothers pro- duced robuit lamb.;, and feebT- mothers a weak and spirit- less ofifspring. Awarenf the n Ivantages of a vigorous and healthy slock, especially with ■: long and perilous journey before him, " Jacob laid ihc rods before the eyes of the s;ronger ewes in the gutters, that they might conceive among the rods; but when the cattle were feeble, he put them not in; so the feebler were Laban's, and the stronger Jacob's." — P.WTONt. Ver. 27. Wherefore didst thou fleo away secretly, unci steal away from me, and didsl not tell me, that I mi2:ht have sent thee away with mirth, and with songs, and with tabret, and with harp ? The Easterns used to set out, at least on their longer jour- neys, with music. When the prefetto of Egypt was pre- paring for his journey, he complains of his being incom- mojed by the songs of his friends, who in this manner took leave of iheir relations and acquaintance. These valedic- tory song; were often extemporary. If we consider them, as they probably were used not on common but more sol- emn occasions, there appears peculiar propriety in the com- plaint of Laban.— H.iRMER. Ver. 34. Now Rachel had taken the images, and put them in the camel's furniture, and sat upon them. And Laban searched all the tent, but found them not. Mounted on this mild and persevering animal, (the camel,) the traveller pursues his journey over the sandy deserts of the east, with speed and safety. For his con- venience, a sort of round basket is slung on each side with a cover, which holds all his necessaries, between which he is seated on the back of the animal. Sometimes two long chairs, like cradles, are hung on each side with a covering, in which he sits, or, stretched at his ease, re- signs himself to sleep, without interrupting his journey. These covered baskets, or chairs, are the camel's furni- ture, where Rachel put the images which she stole from her father. — P.ixton. Ver. 35. And she said to her father. Let it not displease my lord that I cannot rise up before thee ; for the custom of women is upon me. And he searched, but found not the images. In Persia, a son never sits in the presence of his father or his mother ; even the king's son always stands before him; and is regarded only as the first of his servants. This is the reason that Rachel addres.sed her father in these words: " Let it not displease my lord, that I cannot rise up before thee." — Paxton. Ver. 38. This twenty years have I been with thee; tliy eves and thy she-goats have not cast their yonn^T. and the rams of thy flock have I not eaten. oO. That which was ioxn of beasts! brought not unto thee : I bare the loss of it ; of my hand didst thou require it, whether stolen by day, or stolen by night. The shepherds of the East were accountable for the flocks tmder their charge. Of this fact, the following extract from the Gentoo law.s, furnishes a remarkable proof: "Cattle shall be delivered over to the cow-herd in the morning; the cow-herd shall lend them the whole day with gra.ss and water; and in the evening, shall re-deliver them to the master, in the same manner as they were intrusted to him; if, by the fault of the cow-herd, any of the cattle be lost or stolen, that cow-herd shall make it good. When a cow-herd has led cattle to any distant place to feed, if any die of some distemper, notwithstanding the cow-herd applied the proper remedy, the cow-herd shall carry the head, the tail, the fore-foot, or some such convincing proof taken from that animal's body, to the owner of the cattle; having done this, he shall be no further answerable ; if he neglects to act thus, he shall make good the loss." In this very situation was Jacob with Laban, his father-in-law, as we learn from -his memorable e-tpostulation, addressed to that deceitful and envious relation. — Paxton. Ver. 40. Thus I was ; in the day the drought consumed me, and the frost by night ; and my sleep departed from mine eyes. See on Jeremiah 36. 30. Does a master reprove his servant for being idle, he will ask, " What can I cio 1 the heat eats me up by day, and the cold eats me up by night : how can I gain strength 1 1 am like the trees of the field: the sun is on my head by day, and the dew by night." — Roberts. In the midst of the burning deserts, where the heat is increased tenfold by the sandy surface on which it beats, the traveller encounters much inconvenience, and even distre.ss. from the chilling cold of the night. Mr. Bruce, the justly celebrated Abyssinian traveller, lost all his camels in one night by the cold, in the deserts of Senaar. In the year 1779. the Bedouin Arabs plundered an Eng- lish caravan in the desert, between Suez and Cairo. Seven of the Europeans, stripped entirely naked by their inhu- man spoilers, in the hope of reaching Cairo, pushed for- ward into the desert. Fatigue, thirst, hunger, and the heat of the sun, destroyed one after another; one alone survived all these horrors. During three days and two nights, he wandered in this parched and sandy desert, frozen at night by the north -nind, (it being in the monih of January,) and burnt by the .sun during the day, with- out any other shade but a single bush, into which he thrust his head among the thoi^ns, or any drink but his own urine. At length, on the third day, he was descried by an Arab, who conducted him to his tent, and took care of him for three days, with the utmost humanity. At the expiration of that' time, the merchants of Cairo, apprized of his situation, procured him a conveyance to that city, where he arrived in the most deplorable condi- tion. From these important facts we may conclude, that even in those parched covmtries, a fire in the night, in the middle of May, might be very requisite, and highly ac- ceptable. The hapless wanderer, whose afl'ecting story Volney records, was frozen at night by the north wind, and burnt by the dreadful heat of the siin during the day; and the patriarch Jacob complains, that he was for many years exposed to similar hardships in the plains of Meso- potamia; " In the day the drought consumed me, and the frost by night." Nothing assuredly \vas remoter from the design of Volney, a proud and insolent enemy of revela- tion^ than to confirm the truth of Scripture history ; his statement clearly proves, that Jacob's complaint was not hastily made, but strictly agreeable to truth. — Paxton. Ver. 46. And Jacob said unto his brethren. Gather stones ; and they took stones, and made a heap : and they did eat there upon the heap. Our version of Genesis xxxi. 4(>, represents Jacob as sitting, with his relations and friends, when he held a solemn feast, on a heap of atones ; one would be inclined to suspect the justness of the translation, as to this circum- stance, of the manner in which he treated his friends; but it is made less incredible, by the account Niebuhr has given us, in the first volume of his travels, of the manner in which some of the nobles of the court of il:c Iman seated themselves, when he visited the prince at S.ina of Arabia, his capital city. It is certain the particle Vy, al, translated in this passage upoti, sometimes signifies nrcr to, or some- thing of that sort; so it is twice used in this sense. Gen. xvi. " And the angel of the Lord found her In a fountain in the wav to Shnr." So Gen. xxiv. 13, "fiehold, I stand Chap. 32. GENESIS. 89 here by the well of water, and the daughters of the men of the city come out to draw water." The same may be ob- served in many other places of the book of Genesis. Con- sequently the sitting of Jacob and Laban, with their relations and friends, might be understood to have been only near the heap of stones, which was collected together upon this oc- casion, and designed for a memorial of present reconcilia- tion, and reciprocal engagement to preserve peace and amity in future times i but their actual sitting on this heap of stones may perhaps appear somewhat less improbable, after reading tne following passage of Niebuhr's travels, relating to his being admitted to an audience of the Iman of Yemen. " I had "gone from my lodgings indisposed, and by standing so long, found myself so faint, that I was obliged to ask permission to quit the room. I found near the door some of the principal officers of the court, who were sitting in a scattered manner, in the shade, vpon stoties, by the side of the wall. Among them was the nakib, the general, or rather master of the horse, Gheir Allah, with whom I had some acquaintance before. He immediately resigned his place to me, and applied himself to draw together stones into a heap, in order to build him- self a new scat." This managenient to us appears very strange ; it might possibly be owing to the extreme heat of that time of the year in that country, which made siuing on the ground very disagreeable ; it can hardly however be supposed that they sat upon the heap of stones that had been gathered together on Motmt Gilead, for this reason, since high grounds are cooler than those that lie low; since it was in spring time, when the heat is more mod- erate, for it was at the time of sheep-shearing : but it might be wet, and disagreeable silting on the ground, especially as they were not furnished ■ with suihcient number of carpets, pursuing after Jacob in a great hurry ; and sev- eral countries furnishing stones so flat as to be capable of being formed into a pavement, or seat, not so uneasy as we may have imagined. Mount Gilead might be such a cotintry. It might also be thought to tend more strongly to impress the mind, when this feast of reconciliation was eaten upon that very heap that was designed to be Ihe lasting memorial of this renewed friendship. As for the making use of /leays of ilones for a memorial, many are found to this day in these countries, and not merely by land, for they have been used for sea marks too : So Nie- buhr, in the .same volume, tells us of a heap of stones placed upon a rock in the Red Sea, which was designed to warn them that sailed there of the danger of the place, that they might be upon their guard. — Harmer. Ver. 55. And early iii the morningf, Laban rose lip, and kissed his sons and his daughters, and blessed them : and Laban departed, and return- ed unto his place. Early rising is a universal custom. Thus, in every season of the year, the people may be seen at mnrise, strolling in all directions. At the time of the heavy dews, they bind a part of the robe round the head, which also falls on the shoulder.';. When a journey has to be taken, were they not to rise early, Ihey would be unable to travel far before the sun had gained its meridian height. They therefore start a little before daylight, and rest under the shade during the heat of the day. Here also we have anolher instance of the interesting custom of blessing those who were about to be separated. A more pleasing scene than that of a fa'.her blessing his sons and daughters can scarcely be conceived. The fervour of the language, the expression of the countenance, and the afTection of their embraces, all excite our strongest sympathy. " My child, may God keep thy hands andthy feet!" " May the beasts of the forest keep far from thee !" " May thy \vife and thy children be preserved !" " May riches and happiness ever be thy portion !" — Roberts. Chap. 32. ver. 7. Then Jacob was ofreatly afraid, and distressed : and he divided the people that teas with him, and the flocks, and herds, and the camels, into two bands. This plan seems not to have been first invented by Ja- cob ; bm it may be conjectured that large caravans used at that lime to take this precaution against hostile attacks. Sir H. Blount relates in his Travels, that he travelled with a caravan which had divided itself in like manner into two troops ; one of which that went before, being attacked by robbers, had an action with them, and were plundered, whereas the other escaped uninjured. — Rosekmuller. Ver. 15. Thirty milch-camels with their colts, forty kine and ten btiUs, twentj' she-asses and ten foals. Milch-camels, among the Arabs, constitute a principal part of their riches ; the creature being every way so ser- viceable, that ihe providence of God appears peculiarly kind and wise in providing such a beast lonhose countries, where no other animal could be of equal use. Niebuhr re- lates, " that among other dishes presented to him by the Arabs at Menayre, there was also camels' milk. That it was indeed considered cooling and healthy in these hot countries, but that it was so clammy, Ihal when a finger is dipped into it, and drawn up again, the milk bangs down from it like a thread." Host, in his Account of Morocco and Fez, says, " that the Moors also drink camels' milk; and when they have milked them for a short time, they sutler the yoimg camels to suck, and then begin to milk again, partly to share it wiih the young camels, and partly to make the camels give the milk belter." Pallas, in his Uus- sian Travels, says, that it is customary among the Kirgise to milk the camels : " their milk is said to be blui.sh, thick,, and of an agreeable taste. The Kirgise consider it to be very wholesome ; and it is also said that a more intoxica- ting beverage is drawn from it than from mares' n.ilk." In fact, the camel is of such rauhifarious use to the Orien- tals, and of such importance, that among the Bedouins, wealth is not estimated by money, but by the number of camels. These observations are confirmed by Seetzen, in his Account of the Arab Tribes. "No animal among the Arab? surpasses the camel in utility ; besides ihe whole- some diet which his flesh, his milk, and their products, afford them, they turn every part of it to account. Out of ils hair, they manufacture carpels, large strong sacks for corn, &c. OtU of ils skin, soles (serbul,) large water bot- tles (rawijch,) two of which are a load for a camel, and large leather sacks (karpha,) in which they transport and preserve butler, corn, antf similar articles; they die them red on the outside ; and two of these also are a load for a camel. They likewise cut straps out of the skin, and out of five or six such straps they prepare long, tough thongs, which they employ in drawing up water fr.ra deep wells. Thry also stitch the skin over a frame of benl slicks, and thus form large vessels, which they use to water the camels, and which are called Hhod. The two sinews of Ihe neck of the camel (aelba) serve instead of ropes, and are ex- tremely strong. Their dung is used for fuel. Even the urine of this animal is of utility : all Ihe Arabs, Nomades of both sexes, and likewise many Arab peasants, wash the , head every two or three days with the urine of the female camel, and consider this to be very healthy." — Rosenmuller. From the present which Jacob made tohisbrolher Esau, consisting of five hundred and eighty head of different sorts, we may form some idea of the countless numbers of great and small cattle, which he had acquired in ihe ser- vice of Laban. In modern times, Ihe numbers of cattle in the Turcoman flocks which feed on Ihe fertile plains of Syria, are almost incredible. They sometimes occupy three or four days in passing from one part of Ihe counlni' to anolher. Chardin had an opportunity of seeing a clan of Turcoman shepherds on their march, about two days' distance from Aleppo. The whole couniry was covered wiih ihem. Many of their principal people, wiih whom he conversed on the road, assured him, that there were four hundred thousand beasts of carriage, camels, horses, oxen, cows, and asses, and three millions of sheep and goats. This astonishing account of Chardin, is confirmed by Dr. Shaw, who stales that several Arabian tribes, who can bring no more than three or four hundred horses inio the field, are pos.sessed of more than so many thousaiid camels, and triple ihe number of sheep and black cattle. Rus.sel, in his history of Aleppo, speaks of vast flocks which pass that city every year, of which manv sheep are sold to supply the inhabitants. 'The flocks and herds which belonged to tha Jewish patriarchs, were not more numerous. — PaxtiJ.v. 40 GENESIS. Chat. o2 — 34. Ver. 10. And so commanded lie the second, and tlie third, nml all iliat followed the droves, say- ing, On this manner shall yc speak unto Esau, when ye find him. I aliuosl think I hear Jacub lellinj his .servants what Ihey were lo say to Esau. He would repeal it many times over, and then aslt, '• What did I say 7" until he had eoui- plelely scJioulal them into llie story. Tliev woiilJ be must attentive ; and at every interval, some of the most officious would be rejiealing the tale. The head servant, however, would be specially charged with the delivciy oi' ihc mes- sage. When ihey went into the presence of Esau, they would be very panicular in placing much stress on Jacobs saying, " the present is sent unto my lord!" and this would touch his feelings. Servants who see the earneslness of their masler, imitate hiin in this when Ihey stand before the person to whom they are sent. They repeat a number of lilile things respecting him ; his great sorrow for his offence, his weeping, his ihrowing himself into the dust, and his fearful expressions. Should the occasion, how- ever, be of a pleasing nature, they mention his great joy, and his anxiety for an interview. The dependants of Esau, also, woiijd hear the story, and every now and then be making exclamaiions al the liumility ot Jacob, and the value of his present. They would also put their hands togeiher in a supplicating posture, for Esau to attend to the request. He, feeling himself thus acknowledged as lord, seeing the servants of his brother before him, and knowing that all his people had witnessed the scene, would consider himself greatly honoured, in ihis way many a culprit in the East gains a pardon, when nothing'else could purchase it. Should the offender be too pour lo send a present, he simplv despatches his wife and children to plead for him; and they seldom plead in vain.— Roeehts. CuAP. 33. ver. 3. And he passed over before them, and bowed himself to the ground seven times, until he came near to his brother. There is something very touching, and, to an Eastern mind, very natural, ih this action of Jacob's. His arrange- ments, also, may be seen to the life, at this day. His wives and children were placed behind him : they would be in a separate group, in order that Esau might the more easily see them. He wopld then walk forward, and cast himself on the earth, and ri.se again, till he had bowed seven times ; after which, (as he would walk a short distance every time he arose,) he M'ould be near to his brother, E.«au could not bear it any longer, and ran lo meet him, and fell on his neck, and kissed him, and Hept. Then came the hand- maids and their children. (I think I see them,) and bowed themselves before Esau; the wives, also, according lo their aje, and their children, prostrated themselves before him. What with the looks of tlie little ones, joined with those of the mothers, Esau could not help being moved. -^Roberts. Ver. 10. And Jacob said. Nay, I pray thee, if now I have found grace in thy sight, then re- ceive my present at my hand. It is the custom of ihe Ea.st, when one invites a superior, lo tnake him a present aller ihe rep.isl, as an acknowledg- ment of his trouble. Frequently it is done before it, as it is no auiuicnialion of honour lo go lo the house of an in- ferior. They make no prescnt.s lo equals, or those who are below themselves. — Blrhek. Not lo receive a present, is at once lo show Ihat the thing desired will not be granted. Hence, nothing can he more repulsive, nothing m ire distressing, than to rrtnrn the gills to the giver. Jacob evidentiv laboured under tins impres- sion, and therefore pressed his brother to receive the gifls, if he had found favour in his sight. — Roberts. Ver. 13. And he said unto him. My lord k-noweth that the children arc tender, and llic flocks and herds with young « re with me: and if men should overdrive them one day, all the flock will die. " Their flocks," says Chardin, speaking of ihose who now live in the East after the patriarchal manner, " feed down Ihe places of their encampments so quick, by the great numbers which Ihey have, that Ihey are obliged lo remove them loo. often, which is very destructive lo their flocks, on account of the yoimg ones, which have not strength enough to follow."— Habmer. Ver. 14. Let my lord, I pray thee, pass over be- fore his servant ; and 1 will lead on softly, ac- cording as the cattle that goeth before nie, and the children be able to endure, until I come unto my lord unto Seir. People having taken a journey, say, " We came to this jilace according to the walking of our Veel." " It was done according lo ihe fool of the children ;" w hich means, they did not come in a palankeen, or any other vehicle, but on fool. From this it appears, that the females, and the children, performed iheir journey on foot, and that, accord- ing to their strength. — Roberts. Ver. 15. And Esau stiid, ,Lct me now leave with thee soi/ic of the folk that fire with me. And he said. What necdcth it l let me find grace in the sight of my lord. As Esau had received valuable gifts from his brother, he wished lo make some present in return ; and having received cattle, it would not have looked well to have giv- en the same kind of gilt that he had received ; he iherelbre oliered some of his people, (who were no doubi bom in his house,) as a kind of recompense for what he had received, and as a proof of his attachment. — Roberts. Ver. 19. And he bought a parcel of a field, ;vhere he had spread his tent, at the hand of the chil- dren of Hamor, Shcchem's father, for a hundred pieces of money. There is very great reason lo believe that Ihe earliest coins struck were used both as weights and monc}- : and indeed ibis circumstance is in part proved by the veiy names of certain of Ihe Gieek and Roman coins. Thus Ihe Attic mina and the Roman libra equally signify a pound ; and the cmr^o (ifulcr) of Ihc Greeks, so called lum weighin.g, is decisive as lo this point. The Jewish shekel, was also a weight as well as a coin : three thousai.d she- kels, according lo Aibuthnot, being equal in weight and^ value lo one talent. This is Ihe oldest coin of which we anywhere read, for it occurs Gen. xxiii. Iti, and exhibits direct evidence against llio.^e who dale Ihe first coinage of money so low as the lime of Cidsus or Darius, it being there expressly said, that Abraham weighed to Ephron four hundred shekels of silver, cvrrcul moncijKith Ihc virrchavt. Having considered Ihe origin and high anliquily of coined money, we proceed to consider the Mav.p or iviprfssion which the first money bore. The primitive race of men being shepherds, and their wealth consisting in iheir cattle, in which Abraham is .said to have been rich, for greater convenience metals were subsliluted for the commodity it- self. It was natural for the repiescntalive sign lo bear im- pressed Ihe object which it represented; and Ihus accord- ingly Ihe earliest coins were stamped viih llie figure of an o.x or a sheep : for proof lhat they aclually did thus impress them, we can again appeal to ihe high aiilhorily of scrip- ture : for there we are informed that Jnmh bought a pared of a field for a hunilrcd pieees nf moucy. The original Hebrew translated pieces of money, is kcsilnlh, which .sig- nifies lambs, with Ihe figure of which the meial was doubt- less stamp L'd. — Maikice's Imlian Antiquities. C'liAP ol. ver. I. And Dinah the daughter of Leah, which she bare uiitn Jacob, went out to see the daughters of the land "2. And when Shechem the son of lltimor the Hivite, prince of the country, saw her, he took her, and lay with her, and defiled her. Chap. 34. GENESIS, 41 Voltaire objects, in like manner, to the probability of the Old Tesiameut history, in the account given us there of the dishonour done to Dinah, the daughter of Jacob, by a Hivite prince in Canaan, Gen. xxxiv. 1, 2, who he sup- poses was too young to have suffered such an injury, or to nave e.tcited tlie aliections of Shechem. The two following citations will prove there was nothing incredible in it, and that an ardent young Eastern prince may be sup- posed to have been guilty of such a fact. The first cita- tion shall be from Niebuhr's account of Arabia ; " I have heard speak in Persia of one that was a mother at thir- teen ; they there marry girls at nine years of age; and I knew a man whose wile was no more than ten years old when the marriage was consummated." The other is from Dr. Shaw's Travels and observations. Speaking of the inhabitants of Barbary, he says, " The men, indeed, by wearing only the tiara, or a scull cap, are exposed so much to the sun, that they quickly attain the swarthiness of the Arab ; but the women, keeping more at home, pre- serve their beauty until they are thirty : at which age they begin to be wrinkled, and are usually past childbearing. It sometimes happens that one of these girls is a mother at eleven, and a grandmother at two-and-twenty." If they be- come moLhers at eleven, they might easily become the ob- jects of attachment at ten, or thereabouts; and this cannot be supposed to be very extraordinary, when the daughter of such a one is supposed to become a mother loo by eleven. It cannot then be incredible that Shechem should cast his eyes on Dinah at ten years of age, and should de-tire to marry her at that age ; if human nature in the East then was similar, in that respect, to what it is now. But she might be considerably older than ten when this af- fair happened, for aught that is said in the book of Genesis relative to this matter. — H.iRME.s. Ver. II. And Shechem said unto her jather, and unto her brethren, Let me find grace in your eyes, and what ye shall say unto me I will give. 12. Ask me never so much dowry and gift, and I will give according as ye shall say unto me : but give me the damsel to wife. In the remote ages of antiquity, women were literally purchased by their husbands; and the presents made to their parents or other relations were called their dowry. The practice still continues in the country of Shechem; for when a young Arab wishes to marry, he must purchase his wife; and for this reason, fathers, among the Arabs, are never more happy than when they have many daugh- ters. They are reckoned the principal riches of a house. An Arabian suitor will offer hfty sheep, six camels, or a dozen of cjws ; if he be not rich enough to make such of- fers, he proposes to give a mare or a colt, considering in the ofl'er, the merit of the young woman, the rank of her family, and his own circumstances. In the primitive times of Greece, a well-educated lady was valued at four oxen. When they agree on both sides, the contract is drawn up by him thai acts as cadi or judge among these Arabs. In some parts of the East, a measure of corn is formally men- tioned in contracts for their concubines, or temporary wives, besides the sura of money which is stipulated by way of dowry. This custom is' probably as ancient as concubinage, with which it is connected ; and if so, it will perhaps account for lite prophet Hosea's purchasing a wife of this kind for fil'ieen pieces of silver, and for a homer of barley, and a half homer of barley. — Paxton. Ver. 21. These men are peaceable with us, there- fore let them dwell in thi; land, and trade therein ; for the land, behold, it h large enough for them : let us take their daughters to us for wives, and let us give them our daughters. The shepherds of Syria and the East have, from the re- motest antiquity, carried on a considerable trade with the circumjacent cities. The people of Aleppo are still sup- plied with the greater part of their bullev, their cheese, and their catlle for slaughter, by the Arab>, Kushwans, or Turcomans, who travel about the country with their flocks and herds, as did the patiiarchs of old. It was un- 6 doubtedly by trailing with the ancient cities of Canaan in such articles of provision, that Abraliam became so rich in silver and gold. The lucrative commerce which Jacob his grandson carried on with the inhabitants of Shechem, is mentioned by Hamor their prince, and urged as a rea- son of alliance and union : " these men are peaceable with us; therefore, let them dwell in the land, and trade there- in; for the land, behold it is large enough for them." While the wealth of the country, \Mkere they tended their flocks and herds, flowed into the coffers of these shepherd princes, in a steady and copious stream, their simple and frugal manner of living, required but little expense for the support of their numerous households; and their nomadic state prevented them from contracting alliances, or form- ing connexions of an expensive nature. Hence, in a few years they amassed large quantities of the precious metals ; they multiplied their flocks and their herds, till they cov- ered the lace of the countrj- for many miles; they en- gaged a numerous train of servants from the surround- ing towns and villages, and had servants born in their houses, of the slaves whom they had purchased, or taken prisoners in war. When Abraliam heard that his brother Lot was taken captive by the king of Shinar and his confederates, he armed his trained servants born in his house, three hundred and eighteen, and pursued them unto Dan. The truth of the scripture accounts is verified by the present state of the Arabian chieftains in those very places where Abraham and his descendants formerly wan- dered. By the unimpeachable testimony of Russel, they are equally rich, and powerful, and independent, as were these renowned patriarchs; they are surrounded with .ser- vants and retainers, equally numerous, resolute, and faith- ful ; they are, in fine, the modem patriarchs of the East. In Persia and in Turkey, where the country is full of Tur- coman shepherds, their chiefs appear with a great train of servants, richly clothed and mounted. Chardin fell in with one of these pastoral chief'ains between Parthia and Hyrcania, whose train filled him at once with surprise and alarm. The Turcoman had more than ten led horses, with harness all of solid gold and silver. He was accompanied by many shepherds on horseback, and well armed. They treated the traveller civilly, and answered all the questions liis curiosity prompted him to put to them, upon their manner of life. The whole country, for ten leagues, was full of their flocks. An hour afier, the chieftain's wives, and those of his principal attendants, passed along in a line: four of them rode in great square baskets, cariied two upon a camel, which were not close covered. The rest were on camels, on asses, and on horseback ; most of them with their faces unveiled, among whom were some very beautiful women. From this display of pastoral mag- nificence, which Chardin had an opportunity of contem- plating, we are enabled to form a very clear idea of the splendour and elegance in which Abraham and other pa- triarchs lived; and of the beauty which the sacred histo- rian ascribes to Sarah, Rebecca, and Rachel, who had very fair complexions. — P.ixton. Ver. 24. When they were sore. Circumcision in infants is easy and soon healed, and scmie have thought, that in adults, it was worst the third day ; but Sir John Cl'.ardin says, that he had heard from divers renegadoes in the East, who had been circumcised, some at thirty and seme at forty years of age, thai the cir- cumcision had occasioned them a great deal of pain, and that they were obliged to keep their bed at lea.st Iwenly or twcniy-fwo days, during which time they could not walk without feeling very severe pain ; but that they applied no- thing to the wound to make it cicatrize, except burnt paper. — EURDEIt. Ver. 27. The sous of .Jacob came upon the slain and spoiled the city, because they had defiled their sister. Among the Bedouin Arabs, the brother finds hini.self more dishonoured by the seduction of his sister, ihan a man bv the infidelity of his wife. As a reason, they allege, " that a wife is not of the family, and that they nre obliged to keep a wife only as long as she is chaste ; and if she i.s_ not she may be sent away, and is no longer a member of the fainily ;'but that a sister constantly remains a member 4-2 GENESIS. Chap. 34—36. of ihe family; and evrn if his sisler became ilis.^(>liile, and was deliled,' nobody could hinder her from Rlill being his s-ister." (D'Arvieu.v.) This is confirmed by Niebiilir. "I learnt at Basra, ihat a niaTi is not alloweii to Kill his wile, even on account of adiilieiy; but that her failier, brother, or anvof her relations, were sulfered to do it without beins punished, or at Ica.st paying a small sum as an atonement, because her relations had been dishonoured by her bad be- haviour; but that alter Ihis satisfaction, nobody is permitted to reproach the family. They remembered e.xamjiles of it in Basra and Bagdad ; in this latter place, a rich merchant, a few years since, had found a young man with a relation of his, and not only hewed her in pieces on the spot, but also, by witnesses and money, caused the voting man, who was the son of a respectable citizen, to be lianged the same night by the magistrates." — Rosenmuller. Ver. 30. And Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, Ye have troubled me, to make me to stink among the inhabitants of the land. So said Jacob to Simeon and Levi. Of a man who has lost his honour, whose fame has entirely gone, it is said, " Ah ! he has lost his smell — where is the sweet smell of former years ■?" "Alas!" says on old man, " my smell is for ever gone." — Roberts. Ch.\i'. 35. ver. '2. Then Jacob said unto his household, and to all that ii^cre. with him, Put away the strange gods that arc among you, and be clean, and change your garments. The household of Jacob had strange gods among them, and he ordered them to put thein away, and to make tliem- selves clean, and to change their garments in token of their jmrilii. When people have been to any unholy place, they always on returning wash their persons and change their garments. No man can go to the temple, wearing a dirty cloth : he must either put it on clean, or go himself to a tank and wash it; or put on one which is quite new. Hence, near temples, men may be seen washing their clothes, in order to prepare themselves for some ceremony. (Exodus xix. 10.)— Roberts. Ver. 4. And they gave unto Jacob all the strange gods which iccre in their hand, and all /heir ear-rings which icere in their ears; and Jacob hid them under the oak which iras by Shecheni. The nose-jewel is another ornament peculiar to the East, which the Jewish females were accustomed to wear, and of which the Asiatic ladies are extremely fond. It is men- tioned in several parts of scripture; thus the prophet Ezekiel : " And I put a jewel on thy forehead," or, as it should have been rendered, on thy nose. This ornament was one of the presents which the .servant of Abraham gave to Rebecca, in the name of his master : " 1 put," said he, " the ear-ring "pon her face ;" more literally, 1 put the ring on her nose. They wore ear-rings besides ; tor the household of Jacob al his request, when they were prepar- ing to go up to Bethel, gave him all the ear-rings which were in their ears, and he hid them under the oak which was by Shechem. The difference between these orna- ments is clearly staled by the prophet : " I put a jewel on thy nose, and ear-rings in thine ears," The nose-jewel, therefore, was different from the ear-ring, and actually worn by the females as an ornament in the East. This is confirmed by the testimony of Sir John Chardin, w ho says, " It is the custom in almost al! the East, for the women to wear rings in their nose-., in the left nostril, which is bored low down in thn middle These rings are of gold, and have commonly Iw > pearls and one ruby between them, placed in the ring ; 1 never saw a girl or young woman in Arabia, or in all Persia, who did not wear a ring after this man- ner in her nostril." Some writers con'end, that by the nose- jewel, we are to understand ring-:, which women attached to their forehead, and lei them fall down upon their nose ; but Chardin, who certainly was a diligent observer of East- ern customs, nowhere saw this frontal ring in the East, but everywhere the ring in the nose. His testimony is sup- ported hv Dr. Russel, who describes the women in some of the villages about Aleppo, and all the Arabs and Chinga- nas, (a sort of ginsies,) as wearing a large ring of silver or gold, through the external caililagc of their right nos- tril. It is worn, by the testimony of Egmont, in the same manner by the women of Egypt'. The diti'erence in the statements of these travellers is of little importance, and may be reconciled by supposing, what is not improbable, that in some eastern countries they wear the ring in the lelt, and in others in the right nosii-il ; all agree that it is worn in the nose, and not upon the forehead. Some re- mains of Ihis custom have been di.'-covercd among the Indians in North America, where Clark and Lewis, in their travels to the sources of the Missouri, fell in with some tribes that wore a long tapering piece of shell, or bead, put through the cartilage of the nose. — Paxton. Ver. 8. But Deborah, Rebecca's nurse, died, and she was buried beneath Beth-el. under an oak : and the name of it was called Allon-bachuth. Savan;', speaking of the Egyptian women, and their manner of nursing their children, says, "When circum- stances compel them to have recourse to a nurse, she is not looked upon as a stranger. She becomes part of Ihe family, and passes the rest of her life in the midst of the children .she has suckled. She is honoured and cherished like a second mother." So the Syrian nurse continued until her death with Rebecca, and was buried with great solemnitv of mourning: since that oak was from that time distinguished by the name of the Oak of Weeping. — H.iit- MER. Ver. 1'.) And Rachel died, and was buried in the way to Ephrath, which is Beth-lehcm; 20. And Jacob set a pillar upon her grave: that is the pillar of Rachel's grave unto this day. The following account from the recent and valuable Trarelx in Palcslinf, by Mr. Buckingham, on the subject of Rachel's tomb, will" be found highly inleresting. "In the way, on the right, at a liule distance from the road, is hewn Ihe reputed tomb of Rachel, to which we turned ofl', to enter. This maybe near the spot of Rachel's inter- ment, as it is not far from Ephrath, and may correspond well enough with the place assigned tor her jepiilchre by Moses, who says, in describing her death in childbirth of Benjamin, 'and Rachel died, and was buried in the way to Ephrath, which is Bethlehem ; and Jacob set a pillar upon he giavc, Ihat is the pillar of Raclrel's grave unto this day.' Gen. xxxv. 10. Instead of a pillar, the spot is now covered by a Mohammedan building, resembling in its exterior the' tombs of saints and scheiks in Arabia and Egypt, being small, square, and surmounted by a dome. We entered it on the south side by an aperture, through which it was difficult to crawl, as it has no doorwav ; and found on the inside a square mass of masonry in the cen- tre, built up from the tloor nearly to the roof, and of such a size as to leave barely a narrow passage for walking around il. It is plastered with white stucco on the outer surface, and is sufficiently large and high to enclose with- in it any ancient pillar that might have been found on the grave of Rachel. This central mass is certainly ditTercnt from any thing that I have ever observed in Arabian tombs ; and it struck me on the spot, as by no means im- probable, that its intention might have originally been to enclose either a pillar, or fragment of one, which tradition had pointed out as the pillar of Rachel's grave : and that as Ihe place is held in equal veneration by Jews, bv Chris- tians, and bv Mohammedans, the last, as lords of the coun- try, might have subsequenllv built the present structure over it in their own style, and plastered Ihe high square pillar within. Around the interior face of the walls, is an arched recess on each side, and over every part of the ."itucco are written and engraved a profusion of names in Hebrew, Arabic, and Roman chaiacters; the first execu- ted incurious devices, as if a sort of abracadabra." P. 216. — Birder. (See Ktiertirinp.) CiiAP. 36. ver. 6. And Esau took his wives, and his sons, and his daughters, and all the persons of his hou?e Chap. 36. GENESIS. 43 The Margin has, for persons, " souls." Has a man gone to a distanl place, it is said, " Viravan, and all the smds of his house, have gone to the far country." " Have you heard that the old man and iliirty souls have gone on a pilgrim- age ■?" " Sir, I can never get rich, because I have fifteen souls who daily look to me for their rice." — Roberts. Ver. 24. And these are the children of Zibeon ; both Ajah, and Anah : this was that Anah that found the mules in the wilderness, as he fed the asses of Zibeon his father. The Hebrews ascribe the invention of mules to Anah, the son of Zibeon, whose daughter, Aholibamah, was given in marriage to Esau. " This was that Anah, that found the mules in the wilderness, as he fed the asses of Zibeon his father." In this t^.xt, Moses evidently censures the misguided and preposterous industry of Anah, who, not satisfied with the numerous flocks and herds which the bounty of Providence had bestowed on his family, or, per- haps, actuated by impure and licentious motives, contrived a new and spurious breed of animals unknown to nature, and contrary to the laws which regulate her operations. Whatever might be the motive, the conduct of this Horite prince was certainly criminal. We cannot, on any other supposition, account for the peculiar and emphatical phrase which Moses employs: " This was that Anah, that found the mules in the wilderness." In opposition to this idea, Bochart contends, that if Anah had found out the method of procreating mules, the sacred historian would not have said he found them ; because the verb (nsd) matsa, among the Hebrews, does not signify to invent, but to find some- thing already in e.xistence. Nor to strengthen this con- jecture, is it sufficient, that Anah is said at the time to have tended the asses of Zibeon his father ; for mules are not procreated of asses only, but of an ass and a mare, or of a horse and a female ass. But of horses or wild asses, by whose union with the domestic ass a mule is generated, no mention is made in this passage. In addition to these arguments, our author insists on the improbability, that the method of generating mules was discovered in Idumea at that early period ; because, the u.se of these animals does not seem to have become common in Judea, till the reign of David, about five hundred years after the death of Anah. No mention is made of mules in the flocks and herds of Abraham, of Isaac, of Job, and other shepherd princes of the East. In the various enumerations, horses, camels, asses, oxen, sheep, and goats, are expressly mentioned, but in relation to mules, the profoundest silerice is uniformly observed ; hence, Bochart argues, that the origin of mules is involved in great uncertainty. But the assertion of that celebrated writer, that the Hebrew verb (s'sn) molsa. .'sig- nifies only to find, not to invent, is incorrect. In Leigh's Critica Sacra, it signifies also to procure for himself by labour and industrj'; and in Parkhurst, the seventh sense is, to obtain, to procure.' According to these respectable authors, the text may be rendered. This wa-s that Anah, who, by labour and industry, procured for himself mules in the wilderness, which is quite consistent with the com- mon exposition. If Anah did not invent the method of procreating mules, but only found them already existing, what can the sacred writer mean by the emphatical phrase, He, Anah; or, as in our version, This was that Anahl What was so remarkable or important in a person merely finding a knot of mules in the Vilderness, that Moses should reckon it necessary to use such emphatical terms 1 And what reason can be given, that he takes not the smallest notice of those who found horses, or camels, or asses in the wilderness, although some individual must have found and reduced them to a state of servitude ■? Something unusual and peculiar is certainly intended in the phrase which Moses employs: and what can that be. but the invention of a new breed of animals. The want of mules in the numer- ous herds of the patriarchs, and the late period at which they came into general use among the Jews, will not prove that Anah was not the inventer of that .spurious breed, but only, that it was not in much request till tne reign of David. That the procreation of mules was actually discouraged among the holy people, we have the highest authority for a.'iserting. The God of Israel, who is a God of order and not of confusion, enacted a law, which he introduces with more than usual solemnity, not indeed to prohibit the use of mules when procreated, but the rearing of them : " Ye shall keep my statutes. Thou shalt not let thy cattle gender with a diverse kind." The mules which David and the nobles of his kingdom rode, were therefore, in all probability, imported from other countries where they abounded, long before the time of that illustrious monarch. Bochart otfers another interpretation, which he thinks ought to be preferred ; that the original term which our translators render mules, is in reality the name of a people, probably the same as the gigantic Emim, mentioned in the fourteenth chapter of Genesis. The Samaritan Pentateuch, accord- ingly reads here, (o^d^nh) the Emim ; and the Targum in Genesis, renders the term by (n-Mi;) ginjits ; and Aquila and Symmachus retain the Hebrew name, Emim ; so, that the passage should be rendered : This is that Anah, who found, or lighted upon, the Emim in the desert. The verb (n>o) malsa, when spoken of enemies, is used for lighting upon them, or even attacking them suddenly : several ex- amples of which, are quoted by Parkhurst. Thus, Anah is said to have found the Emim, or to have fallen upon them, or attacked them suddenly. By this daring exploit, which was greatly celebrated at the time it happened, whether he discomfited these gigantic enemies by his valour, or eluded the snare they had prepared for him by his address, he transmitted his fame to succeeding genera- ' tions; and by this criterion the historian distinguishes him from others of the same name. — Pjxton. [But for this interpretation there is no evidence in his- tory, and we shall exhibit as more plausible, though by no means conclusive, the opinion of Mr. Bryant, {ObsoTnlimis vpon some Passages in Scripture, p. 2G.) There is reason to think, that tSe nature of these thirsty regions above mentioned is alluded to in the history of Anah, who was of the family of Sen- the Horite, into which Esau had married. " And these are the children of Zibeon" (the son of Seir) " both Aiah and Anah : this was that Anah, who found mules in the wilderness, as he fed the asses of Zibeon, his father." Gen. chap, xxxvi. ver. 24. Why the word oo\ Yatnim, is here rendered mules, I know not; and why in .some other versions it is expressed giants. It manifestly denotes waters; and is so translated in the Syriac version ; and by aquas calidas in the Vulgate. The translations of Aquila, Theodotion, and Symmachus, retain the original word, which they express in Greek characters iii/.ra', or i«iicii', as if it were a proper name. The word, I make no doubt, was in common use among the Edomites, and Horites of Mount Seir. It is the same as dd' of the scriptures, and as the word Hammim, by which baths and waters are denoted at this day by the Arabians, Persians, and other nations in the east. The account given in scripture is short, and was well understood by the persons to whom it is addressed, and undoubtedly related to water. The circumstance mentiorjed must have been of conse- quence, otherwise there would have been no necessity to specify the person, by whom it was efl'ected. We should therefore read, that instead oi vmTes Anah found out v:attr in the wilderness : but to what does the history amount ? Ever)' known spring must have had somebody to have dis- covered it ; so that Anah, if this be all, did no more than hundreds had done before. But to me there seems to be something of more importance in the account than at first appears ; and for that reason the name of the person is recorded, as being of moment to those who lived in the vicinity of Edom, and were acquainted with the rites of Midian. It is to be observed, that the sacred writer, in speaking of Anah's first discovert' of these waters, does not inform us, when, or where, he was feeding his father's asses ; but only that the event took place, as he was feeding them. This may be found of some moment. I imagine, that the latent purport of the history is this. As Anah was attending the.se animals, in the desert, he observed that faculty with which they were endued, of snuffing the m.oistiire of the air, and being by these means led to latent waters. Accordingly, cither by the intimation of those which he fed, or by the traces of the wild brood, he was brought to the knowledge of tho.'e resources. And as those animals, which had been beneficial, were entitled in many countries to a particular regard, so these among others met with uncommon reverence among the Horites of Mount Hor, and the people of Seir : for they were looked upon as the instruments of Heaven, towards the finding out in those barren wilds the greatest blessing. Hence 44 GENESIS. Cn/.p. 37, 38. arose a town, and temple, where the divinity was wor- shipped under tliis emblem. They stood in a valley be- neatli Mount llor, which was a part of the mountains Kiddini, upon the skins of Edum. I'hus, as 1 have before monuoned, what was natural sagacity, they looked upon as asiipernaliiral impiiNe, an intimaiioli from Heaven. And the animal, like the Apis and Mnevis in Egypt, was es- teemed a liviiiij emblem of the Deily, and oracular. From the situation of Pelorn, which was very recluse, the place being almost surrounded by high niountaiu'--, we may sup- pose^ that the water was lirsl found out ui the manncj- above; in consequence of which the animal was looked upon as an oracle, and accordingly reverenced. ALud when the false projihet proved disobedient, and was going to utter his curses against God's people, he was terrified by an angel, and rebuked by the bea-st he strode. Instead of that divine energy, which it was at times supposed to enjoy, and for whicli at Petora it was in an idolatrous manner reverenced, God gave the ass a huiiiau voice, a far sujie- rior and more surprising gift. Hence his power was shott-n above that ol the gods of Edoin and Midian ; and the miracle w^as well calculated, in respect to the person on whose account it was exhibited. That the history did not relate either to mules, or to the Emims, but on the con- trary, to water and fountains, may be seen in the name of the person. This was n:>', Anah, directly from py, Ain, a fountain; and is analogous to ll/iymos in Greek, and Eon- tanus, or Fonteius, in Latin. It is what the Greeks called a ^trjKi/iauin, and was bestowed in consequence of the discovery ; and is applicable to nothing else.] — B. Chap. 37. ver. 3. Now Israel loveti Joseph more than all his children, because he was the son of his old a§;e : and he made him a coat of many colours. Rauwolf says, " that Turks of rank at Aleppo dress their sons, when they are a little grown, and can walk, in loose coats of a fine texture, in which various colours are woven, and w'hich look very handsome." — Rosenmuller. The margin has, instead of colours, "pieces;" and it is probable the coat was patch-work of different colours. For beautiful or favourite children, precisely the same thing is done at this day. Crimson, and purple, and other colours, are oflcn tastefully .sewed together. Sometimes children of the Mohammedans have their jackets embroidered with gold and silk of various colours. A child being clothed in a garment of many colours, it is believed that neither tongues nor evil spirits will injure him, because the attention is taken from the beauty of the person, to that of the garment. Children seldom wear them after they are eight years of age ; though it must have been the custom among the an- cients referred to in the Bible to wear them longer, as we read of Tamar having" a garment of divers colours upon her; for with such robes were the king's daughters that were virgins apparelled." — Roberts. Ver. 10. Shall I, and thy mother, and thy brethren, indeed come to bow down ourselves to thee to the earth. The Hebrew word here translated bow down, (by Lu- ther, avhrleii, i. c. worship.) means the manner customary in all Asia of testifying respect to kings and princes, by falling on the knee, and stooping till the forehead touches the ground. Ovinglon says, " The mark of respect which is paid to kings in the East approaches very near to ado- ration. The manner of saluting the Great Mogul is, to touch w'ith the hand first the earlh, then the breast, and then to lift it above, which is repeated three times in .succession as you approach him." — Rchher. Ver. '2\. And they took hitn, and cast hiirt into a pit ; and the pit iras empty, there was no water in it. What is here meant by a pit is an empty cistern or re- servoir dug in the ground, in whiidi the rain-water is col- lected, of which there arc many in the Arabian deserts. Raowolf, in the account of his Jniimni Ihrmigh the Pescrl of Mesopotamia, say.s, " That the camels, besides other necessaries, were chiefly laden with water to refresh them- selves and their cattle in the sultry heat of the sun, as they do not easily meet with sjuings or brooks in crossing the desert; ihongh they may by ciiaiice meet with juls or cis- teins, irhich arc Jor the most ptiit ivilkout nttttr, which only runs into them from the laiu." — Rosen:. uLi.i;n. Ver. 34. And Jacob rent his clothes. This ceremony is very ancient, and is frequently men- tioned in scriptuie. hew^Iiilc: and CcaitionicsoJt/icJncs, p. 174) says, it waspeifotmed in the following manner: "they take a knife, and holding the blade downwaid, do give the upper garment a cut on the right side, and then rend it a hand's-bieadih. '1 his is done Ibr the five fol- lowing relations, bro/hcr, sh'lcr, t-on, or dan^httr, or wife ; but for Jallicr or inolhcr, the rent is on the left side, and in all the garments, as coat, waistcoat, &c." — Bcrder. Chap. 33. ver. 14. And she put her widow's garments ofl' from her, and covered her with a veil, and wrapped herself and sat in an open place, \\ hicli is by the way to Timnath ; for she saw that Shelah was grown, and she was not given unto him to wife. The habit of eastern females was also suited to their station ; and women of all ages and conditions, appeared in dresses of the same fashion; only a married woman wore a veil upon her head, in token of subjection ; and a widow had a garment which indicated her widowed state. The daughters of a king, and ladies of high rank, who were virgins, wore a garment of many colours, reaching, as is supposed, to the heels or ankles, with long sleeves down to the w-rists, which had a border at the bottom, and a facing at the hands, of a colour difierent from the gar- ment : It was likewise embroidered with flowers, which in ancient times, was reckoned both splendid and beautiful. Before the Jews were carried captives to Babylon, their wives and daughters had arrived at the greatest degree of extravagance in dress. The prophet Isaiali gives a long list of the vestments, trinkets, and ornaments in use among the ladies of Israel, in that remote age ; the greater part of w liich, it is extremely difiieult to describe. A common prostitute among the Jews was known, as well by the pe- culiar vesture she wore, as by having no covering upon her head, and her eyebrows painted with stibium, which dilated the hair, and made the eyes look black ajid beauti- ful. In the days of Jacob, the harlot seemed to have been distinguished by her veil, and by wrapjiing herself in some peculiar mannei; for these are the circumstances that in- duced Judah to consider Tamar his daughter-in-law as a woman of this character. When Judah saw her, he thought her to be a harlot, because she had covered her face. It may be justly inferred from this passage, that modest wo- men did not constantly wear a veil in tho.-:e days. Rebecca, indeed, put a veil upon her face when she met Isaac in the field : but it was a part of the marriage ceremony to de- liver the bride covered with a veil, from head to foot ; and Rebecca, in this instance, only followed the established custom of her country. Had it been the practice of modest women in that age to cover their faces, in th;- presence of the other sex, she would not have needed to veil herself when her future husband met her in the field. She seems to havehadnoveil when Abraham's servant accosted her at the well ; nor, for any thing that can be discovered, was Rachel veiled at her first interview with Jacob; or if they did ap- pear in veils, these prevented not a part of the face from oeing seen. The practice of wearing veils, except at the marriage ceremony, must, therefore, be rcfcired to a Inter period, and was perhaps not introduced till afler the lapse of several ages. These observations mav serve to illus- trate the address of Abimelcch to Rnrah: " Behold, he is to thee a corerins of the eyes, unto all that are with thee; and with all other." Sarah, you have not been used to wear the veil constantly when at home, as a person of your beauty and accomplishments should do, and by that cir- cumstance we were tempted ; but now I insist that you wear a covering, which, by concealing your beaiuifuj counte- nance, may prevent stich desires ; and henceforth be correct, (as the word may be rendered, that is, rirc:nnfpcc1,')nn3k abrec, which we translate botu the knee, might as well be translated any thing else. In chapter xlv. 8, Joseph says himself, " God hath made me a father to Pharaoh." A younger brother is called the little father ; he being the next in authority. The king's minister (if a good man) is called the lilile father. There are five per- sons who have a right to this parental title. The father himself, a king, a priest, a gooroo or teacher, and a bene- factor. Joseph was indeed the father of the Egyptians. — Roberts. Chap. 42. ver. 15. Hereby )'e shall be proved; by the life of Pharaoh, ye shall not go forth hence, e.xcept your youngest brother come hither. Extraordinary as the kind of oalli which Joseph made use of may appear lo us, it still continues in the East. Mr. Hanway says, the most sacred oath among the Persians is " by the king's head;" and among other instances of it we read in the Travels of the Ambassadors, that "there were but sixty horses for ninety-four persons. The mehemander (or conductor) swore by the head of the king, (which is the greatest oath among the Persians,) that he could n5t possi- bly find any more." And Thevenot says, " his subjects never look upon him but with fear and trembling; and they have such respect for him, and pay so blind an obedi- ence to all his orders, that how unjust .soever his commands might be, they perform them, though against the law both of God and nature. Nay, if they swear bi/ the king's head, their oath is more authentic, and of greater credit, than if they swore by all that is most sai red in heaven and upon earth."— Bi'RDER. Ver. 37. And Reuben spake unto his father, say- ing. Slay my two sons, if I bring him not to thee ; deliver him into my hand, and I will bring him to thee again. Is a man placed in great difficulty, and does he make a solemn promise, in which another person is also involved ; he will sav, " Ah ! if I do not this thing, then kill my chil- dren." "Ves, my lord, my children shall die if I do not accomplish this object." " Ah ! my children, your lives are concerned in this matter." — Roberts. Chap. 43. ver. 3. And Judah spake unto him, saying. The man did solemnly protest unto us, saying. Ye shall not see my face, except your brother be with you. See on 2 Sam. 14. 24. Ver. 7. And we told him according to the tenor of these words. The margin has, for ■n'ords, "mouth." Send a messenger with a message to deliver, and ask him, on his return, what he said, he will reply, " Aceording to yoiir movlh!" — Roberts. Ver. 1 8. Seek occasion against us, and fall upon us. The margin has this, " Roll himself upon us." (Job XXX. 14. Psa. xxii. 8. xxxvii. 5. Prov. xvi. 3.) For to say a man rolls himself upon another, is the eastern way of saying he fails upon him. Is a person beaten or injured by another : he says of the other, " He rolled himself upon nie." Of ihe individual who is always trying to live upon another, who is continually endeavouring lo get .something out of him, it is said, " That fellow is for ever rolling him- self upon him." So, also, " I will not submit to his conduct any longer; I will beat him, and roll myself upon him." Has a man committed an offence, he is advised to go to the offended, and roll himself upon him. A person in great sorrow, ■who is almost destitute of friends, asks in his dis- tress, " Upon whom shall I roll myself?" When men or women are in great misery, tbev wring their hands and roll themselves i.n the earth. Devotees roll themselves round the temple, or aHpT Ihc sacred car. — Roberts. Chap. 44. Ver. 19. And they came near to the steward of Joseph's house, and they communed with him at the door of the house. Who, in India, has not seen similar scenes to this 1 When people come from a distance to do business, or to have an interview with a person, they do not (if it can be avoided) go to him at once, but try to find out the head ser- vant, and after having made him some little present, try to ascertain the disposition of his master, what are his habits, his possessions, and his family. Every thing connected with the object of their visit is thoroughly siflcd, so that when they have lo meet the individual, they are complete- ly prepared for him ! — Roberts. Ver. 2.5. And they made ready the present against Joseph came at noon : for they heard that they should eat bread there. Presents are commonly sent, even to persons in private station, with great parad.e. The money which the bride- grooms of Syria pay for their brides, is laid out in furni- ture for a chamber, in clothes, jewels, and ornaments of gold for the bride, which are sent with great pomp lo the bridegroom's house, three days before the wedding. In Egypt they are not less ostentatious; every article of fur- niture, dress, and ornament is displayed, and they never fail to load upon four or five horses, what might easily be carried by one : in like manner, they place in fifteen dishes, the jewels, trinkets, and other things of value, which a single plate would very well contain. The sacred writer seems to allude to some pompous arrangement of this kind, in the history of Joseph : " And they made ready the pres- ent against Joseph came at noon." They probably sepa- rated into distinct parcels, and committed to so many bearers, the balm, the honey, the spices, the myrrh, the nuts, and the almonds, of which their present consisted. ■ — Paxton. Ver. 29. And he lifted up his eyes, and saw his brother Benjamin, his mother's son, and said. Is this your younger brother, of whom ye spake unto me ? And he said, God be gra- cious unto thee, my son. The forms of salutation in the East wear a much more serisus and religious air than those in use among the na- tions of Europe. " God be gracioas unto thee, my son," were the words which Joseph addressed to his brother Benjamin In this country, it would be called a benedic- tion; but Chardin asserts, that in Asia, it is a simple salu- tation, and used there instead of those offers and assu- rances of service which it is the custom to use in the West. The Orientals, indeed, are exceedingly eloquent inwi.shing good and the mercy of God on all occasions to one another, even to those they scarcely know ; and yet their compli- ments are as hollow and deceitful as those of any other people. This appears from scripture, to have been always their character : " They bless with their mouths, but they curse inwardly." These benedictory forms explain the reason, why the sacred writers so frequently call the salu- tation and farewell of the East, by the name of blessing. — P.4XTON. " God be gracious unto thee, ray son," was the address of Joseph to his brother Benjamin; and in this way do people of respectability or years address their interiors or juniors. " Son, give me a little water." " The stm is very hoi ; I will rest under your shade, my so7i." — Roberts. Ver. 32. And they set on for him by himself, and for them by themselves, and for the Egyptians, which did eat with him, by themselves: be- cause the Egyptians might not eat bread with the Hebrews ; for that is an abomination unto the Egyptians. 33. And they sat before him, the first-born according to his birthright, and the youngest according to his youth ; and the men marvelled one at another. 34. And ho GENESIS. ir took and sent messes unto them from before him : but Benjamin's mess was five times so much as any of theirs. And they drank, and were merry with him. Public entertainments in the East, are cot all conducted in the same way. At Aleppo, the several dishes are brought in one by one ; and after the company has eaien a little of each, they are removed; but among the Arabs, the whole provisions are set on the table at once. In Per- sia, where the last custom is followed, the viands are dis- tributed by a domestic, who takes portions of different kinds out of the large dishes in which they are served up, and lays four or five different kinds of meat in one smaller dish ; these are set, furnished after this manner, before the company ; one of these smaller dishes being placed before two persons only, or at most three. The same practice obtains at the royal table itself. It is not improba- ble that the ancient Egyptians treated their guests in a similar way ; and in the entertainment given by Joseph to his brethren, we may discover many points of resemblance. The Persians were placed in a row on one side of the room, without any person before them ; a distinct dish, with dif- ferent kinds of food, was set before every guest; circum- stances which entirely correspond with the arrangement of Joseph's entertainment. — Paxton. Ver. 34. And he took and sent messes unto them from before him : but Benjamin's mess was five times so much as any of theirs. And they drank, and were merry with him. The manner of eating among the ancients was not for all the company to eat out of one and the same dish, but for every one to have one or more dishes to himself The whole of these dishes were set before the master of the feast, and he distributed to every one his portion. As Jo- seph, however, is here said to have had a table to himself, we may suppose that he had a great variety of little dishes or plates set before him; and as it was a custom for great men to honour those who were in their favour, by sending such dishes to ihem as were first served up lo themselves, Jo- seph showed that token of respect to his brethren ; but to express a particular value for Benjamin, he sent him five dishes lo their one, which disproportion could not but be marvellous and astonishing to Ihem, if what Herodotus tells us be true, that the distinction in this case, even to Egyp- tian kings themselves, in all public feasts and banquets, w as no more than a double mess. — St.ickhouse. Chap. 44. ver. 1. And he commanded the stew- ard of his house, saying. Fill the men's sacks with food, as much as they can carry, and put every man's money in his sack's mouth. There are two sorts of sacks taken notice of in the his- tory of Joseph, which ought not to be confounded ; one for the corn, the other for the baggage. There are no wag- ons almost through all Asia as l^ar'as lo the Indies ; every thing is carried upon beasts of burden, in sacks of wool, covered in the middle with leather, the belter to make re- sistance lo M-ater. Sacks of this sort are called lambellit; they enclose in ihem their things done up in large parcels. It is of this kind of sacks we are to understand what is said here and all through this history, and not of their sacks in which they carry their com. — H.asmer. Ver. 18. Then Jndah came near unto him, and said, O my lord, let thy servant, I pray thee, speak a word in my lord's cars, and let not thine anger burn against thy servant : for thou art even as Pharaoh. A company of people have always some one among them, who is known and acknowledged lo be the chief spcalcer ; thus, should they fall into trouble, he will be the person to come forward and plead with the superior. He will say, " My /orrf, I am indeed a veir ignorant person, and am not worthy to speak to you : were I ofhigh caste, perhaps 48 GENESIS. Chap. 44 — 46. my lord would hear mc Maj' I say two or ihree word.s V (some of the jnirly will ihen say, "Ves, yes, our lord will hear you.") lie tlicn proceeds, — " Ah, my lord, your mercy is known to all ; great is your wisdom ; you are even as a king to us; let, then, your servants find favour in your sight." He then, like Judah, relates the whole aflair, I'or- getlin.ij no circumslancc which h.is a tendency to exculpate him and his companions ; and every thing which can tcnic/i the /celinifs of his judge will be gently brought before him. As he draws to a conclusion, his pathos increases, his com- panions put out their hands in a supplicating manner, ac- companied bv other gesticulations; their tears begin to flow, and with one voice they cry, " Forgive us, Ihts time, and we will never oflend you more." — Roberts. Ver. 21. And thou saidst unto thy servant. Bring; him down unto me, that I may set miiie eyes upon him. Has a beloved son been long absent, does the father anx- iously desire to see him, he says, " Bring him, bring him, that the course of my eyes may be upon him." " Ah, my eyes, do you again see my soul Oh, my eyes, is not this pleasure for you ■?" — Robehts. Chap. 4.5. ver. 2. And he wept aloud; and the Egyptians and the house of Pharaoh heard. Hebrew, " gave forth liis voice in weeping." In this way do they spe.ik of a per.son who thus conducts himself: " How loudly did he give forth his voice and weep." " That child is for ever giving forth its voice." The vio- lence of their sorrow is very great, and their voice may be heard at a considerable distance. — Roberts. " This," says Chardin, " is exactly the genius of the peo- ple of Asia, especially of the women. Their sentiments of joy or of grief are properly transports; and their trans- ports are ungoverned, excessive, and truly outrageous. When any one returns from a long journey, or dies, his family burst into cries, that maybe heard twenty doors ofl"; and this is renewed at ditferent'times, and continues many days, according to the vigour of the passion. Especially are these cries long in the case of death, and frightful, for the mourning is right down despair, and an iinagc of hell. I was lodged in the year lC7t>, at Ispahan, near the Royal square ; the mistress of the next house to mine died at that time. The moment she expired, all the familv, to the num- ber of tweniy-five or thirty people, set up such a furious cry, that I was quite startled, and was above two hours before I could recover myself. These cries continue a long time, then cease all at once; they begin again as sud- denly, at daybreak, and in concert. It is this suddenness which is so terrifying, together with a greater shrillness and loudness than one could easily imagine. This enraged kind of mourning, if I may call it so, continued forty days; not equally violent, but with diminution from day 'to day. The longest and most violent acts were wlicn they washed the body, wlien they perfumed it, when they carried it out to be interred, at making the inventory, and when they di- vided the eflecis. Yon are not to suppose that those that were ready to split their throats with crving out, wept as much ; the greatest part of them did not shed a single tear through the whole tragedy." This is a verv distinct de- scription of eastern mourning for the dead: they cry out too, it seems, on other occasions ; nrt wonder then the kovse of Plinrnoh hrnril, wlien .loseph wept at making himself known to his breihren.— Harmer. Ver. 14, All! hi' fell upon his liruther Benjamin's neck, and wept ; and Benjamin wept upon his neclv. I.'). Moreover, he kissed all hishfethren, and wept upon thein ; and tifter (hat his brethren talked with him. When people meet, after long absence, they fall on each other's shoulder or neck, and kiss or smell the part. A husband, afier long ab:;ence, kisses or smells the fore- head, the eves, the right and left cheeks, and the bosom of his wife. — Robert.i. ' V<>r. 17. And Pharaoh snid unto Joseph, Say unto thy brethren, This do y,' ; Itide your beasts. Nearly all the merchandise, which goes by land, is car- ried by beasts of burden ; and, no doubt, will continue to be so till regular roads are constructed. Hence may be seen hundreds of bullocks, or camels, carrying rice, salt, spices, and other wares, traversing the forests and deserts to dis- tant countries. Some of the bufl'aloes carry immense bur- dens, and though they only make little progress, yet they are patient and regular in their pace. Bells are lied round the necks of some of the animals, the sound of which pro- duces a pleasing efi'ect on the feelings of a traveller, who now knows that he is not far from some of his fellows. The sound of the bells also keepslhe cattle together, and frightens off the wild beasts. — Roberts. Chap. 46. ver, 4. I will go down with thee into Egypt ; and I will also surely bring thee up again : and Joseph shall put his hand upon thine eyes, A father, at the point of death, is always very desirous that his wife, children, and grandchildren should be with him. Should there be one at a distance, he will be imme- diately sent for, and until he arrives the father will mourn and complain, " My son, will you not comel I cannot die without you," When he arrives, he will take the hands of his son, and kiss them, and place them on his eyes, his face, and mouth, and say, " Now I die." — Robehts. Ver. 6, And came into Egypt, Jacob, and all his seed with him. In this way descendants are spoken of. Has a man been deceived by another, he will be asked, " How could you trust him 1 did you not know him to be bad (rccMe) seed," " That fellow is of the seed of fiends," " The reason you see such good things in that youth is, that he is of good seed." " The old man and his seed have all left this village many years ago." — Roberts. Ver. 24. For every shepherd is an abomination unto the Egyptians. Cimpeus, with great plausibility, ascribes this detestation on the part of the Egyptians, to the ferocious dispositions and rebellious conduct of the shepherds who tended their flocks in the plains and raar.shes of lower Egypt. "These," says thai writer, "were active and able menj but execrable f. Ver. 22. Joseph is a fruitful bough, even a fruitful bough by a well, M-Z/o^t", branches run over the wall. To the northward and westward are several villages, interspersed with extensive orchards and vineyards, the latter of which are generally enclosed by high walls. The Persian vine-dressers do all in their power to make the vine run up the walls, and curl over on the other side, which they do by tying stones to the extremity of the ten- dril. The vine,'pa'rtictdarly in Turkey and Greece, is fre- quently made to inlwine on trelli.ses, around a well, where, in the heat of the day, whole families collect themselves, and sit under the shade.— Morier. All this falls very nauirally on an eastern ear. .Joseph was the fruitful bough of .Jacob, and being planted near a veil, his leaf would not wither, and he would bring forth his fruit in his season. Great delight, is taken in all kinds iif creepers, which bear edible fruits, and the natives allow them to run over the iralh and rimfs of their houses. The term '' branches" m the verse is in the margin rendered " (laughirrs ;" and it is an interesting fact, (ffii.rf one vMch mill throw liiihl on foine other pnssaaes,') that the same term is used here to denote the same thing. " That man has only one Cheile, i. e. branch, daughter." " The youngest C'heilr (branch) has got married iliis day." " AVhere are your branches!" "They are all married." "What a youii? branch to be in this state ! — how soon it has given fruit !" When a mother has had a large lamily, " That branch has borne plenty of fruit." A husband will say to his wife, who is sleril, " Of what use is a branch which bears not fruit 1" The figure i.s much used in poetry. — ROBP.RTS. The people of Israel, and other oriental nations of those davs, appear to have bestowed particular aiiention on the cnltivation of the vine. The sile of the vineyard was core- fully chosen in fields of a loose crumbling soil, on a rich plain, or on a sloping hill ri.sing with a gentle ascent ; or, where the acclivity was ver)' steep, on terraces supported by masoni-y, and turned as much as possible from the setting sun. The plot was enclosed with a wall ; the stones and other encumbrances were removed, and the choicest plants were selected to form the plantation. Within the vineyard, low walls were sometimes raised for the purpose of supporting the vines ; a practice which seems to have been adopted before the days of Jacob; for in the blessing of Joseph, he speaks of it in a manner which shows that it was quite familiar to the vine-drcsser : "Joseph is a fruit- ful bough, even a frttitful bough by a well ; whose branches run over the wall." By this beautiful image then it appears, that while the dying patriarch justly appreciated and highly praised the admirable qualities of his beloved son, he inti- mated to his family in the most delicate but significant manner, their obligation to Joseph for the protection and comfort they enjoyed under his government. — Paxton. Ver. 22. Joseph is a fruitful bough, eveti a fruitful bough by a well, ichose branches run over the wall ; 23. The archers have sorely grieved him, and shot at him, and hated him. I have shown, in preceding observations, that vines in Jndea sometimes grow against low stone walls; but I do not apprehend the ingenious Mr. Harrington can be right, when he supposes, in a paper of his on the patriarchal customs and manners,. that Joseph is compared 'o a vine groii-ing against the vrall, Gen. xlix. 22. As vines are sometimes planted against a low wall, they might possiblv be planted against a low wall surroundin,g a well ; though it is diflicult to guess, why a wall should be built round a well, in a vineyard, of such a height as to be proper for the support of a vine ; and if it were, why archers direct their arrows against it, when it would be so easy to gather tlie fruit by hand, without injury. But I suppose this is not an exact representation. In tlie first place, a vine is not mentioned ; it is only a fruitfiil tree, in general, to which Joseph is compared. Secoildly, The being situated near water, is extremely conducive, in that dry and hot country, to the flourishiiig of vegetables in general ; and trees among the rest. " We came," says Maundrell, " to the fountain of Elisha. Close by the' fountain grows a large tree, spreading into boughs over the water, and here in the shade we took a collation." A tree, we find ^planted near plenty of water, grows there to a large size. Thirdly, the wild Arabs of those countries are great plunderers of fruit. Maillet assigns that as the reason why the fruit of the loud of Egvpt, in these later times, is not better, namely, that they are wont to gather it before it is properly ripened ,_ on account of the Arabs, who would otherwise rob them of it. Fourthly, It is very well knoAvn, that walls easily stop Arabs, who are continually on horseback in their roving about, and do not care to quit them, nor are used to climb walls. They had no better way then to get the fruit of those trees, whose luxuriant boughs ran over the walls of their enclosures, than bv throwing their bludgeons at them, and gathering up the fruit that fell on riie outside of the wall. To these things should be added, Fifthly, That the word translated arrou-s, means, not only those things that we are wont to call arrows, but such sticks as are thrown by the hand, as well as those missile weapons that are darted by means of a bow ; for we find the word is made use of to express the .staff of a spear, 1 Sam. xvii. 7, and consequently any piece of wood long in proportion to its diameter, especially if used as a missile instrument. The lords of arrows sivn I'-y^ iaolce chit^ecw, for that is the Hebrew expression, conformable to an eastern mode of speech, which we translate archers, is a natural description of the wild Arabs, those lords of bludgeons, in committing their depredations on the eastern gardens and vineyards. But this manner of treating the vine would not be advan- tageous ; bunches of grapes are bv no means thus to be dislodged, and the fall would spoil the fruit. But there are other trees whose fruit might thus be gathered ; among the rest, I suppose the pomegranate, w hose fruit has so hard a shell, as neither to be injured by the fall, or destro3-ed by an accidental blow of the sticks they used for pehing the tree. The destroving a man is sometiines compared to the culling down a tree : " 1 knew not;'<:aid the Prophet Jere- 52 GENESIS. Chap. 50. miah, " lliat ihey had devised devices against me, saying, Lei us destroy the tree with the fruit thercul', and let us cut liim ufl' from the land of the living, that liii. name may be no more remembered," Jer. xi. 19. Bui the envious brethren of Joseph did not imbrue their hands in his blood, they did not destroy him as men destroy a tree when they cut it down, but they terribly distressed him ; they sold iiim for a slave inlo Egypt: he had flourished in the favour of his father and of his Qod, like a tree by a reservoir of water; but they fur a time dishonoured him, as a tree is disgraced by the breaking its boughs, and knocking off its leaves, by the wild Arabs, who want to derive some advantage from battering it alter this manner, when they cannot come at it to destroy it. — Harmer. Ver. 27. Benjamin shall raven as a wolf: in the morning' he shall (Jevour the prey, and at night he shall divide the spoil. The wolf is weaker than the Han or the bear, and less courageous than the leopard; but he scarcely yields to them in cruelty and rapaciousness. So Benjamin, although not destitute of courage and address, nor disinclined to war, possessed neither the strength, nor the manly spirit of Judah, whose svmbol was the lion's whelp; but yet he was greedy of blood, and delighted in rapine; and in the early periods of Jewish history, he distinguished himself by an active and restless spirit, which commonly, like the wolf among lambs and kids, spent itself in petty or inglorious v/arfare, although it sometimes blazed forth in deeds of heroic valour, and general utility. He had the honour of giving the second judge to the nation of Israel, who deliv- ered them from the oppressive yoke of Moab; and the first king who sat on the throne of that chosen people, whose valour saved them from the iron sceptre of Ammon, and more than once revenged the barbarities of the uncircura- cised Philistines upon their discomfited hosts. In the de- cline of the Jewish commonwealth, Esther and Mordecai, who were both of this tribe, successfully interposed with the King of Persia, for the deliverance of their brethren, and took their station in the first rank of public benefactors. But the tribe of Benjamin ravened like wolves, that are so ferocious as to devour one another, when they desperately espoused the cause of Gibeah, and in the dishonourable and bloody feud, reduced their own tribe to the very brink of ruin, and inflicted a deep wound on the other members of the state. — Paiton. Chap. 50. ver. 10. And they came to the thresh- ing-floor of Atad, which is beyond Jordan ; and there they mourned ij'ith a great and very sore lamentation ; and he made a mourning for his father seven days. See on chap. 45. 2. Ver. 26. So Joseph died, being a hundred and ten years old: and they embalmed him, and he was put in a coffin in Egypt The people of the East do not in general put their dead in a conin ; they simply fold up the corpse in a mat. When dying, the head is always placed towards the south, and in the grave also in the same direction. When a person is very ill, should another ask how he is, he will reply, " Ah! his head is towards the south;" meaning there is no hope. — Roberts. When Joseph died, he was not only embalmed, but put in a coffin. This was an honour appropriated to persons of distinction, coffins not being universally used in Eg)-pt. Maillet, speaking of the Egyptian repositories of the dead, having given an account of several niches that are found there, says, " it must not be imagined that the bodies deposited in these gloomy apartments were all enclosed in chests, and placed in niches; the greatest part were simply embalmed and swathed after that manner that every one hath some notion of; after which they laid them one by the side of another without any ceremony : some were even put into these tombs without any embalming at all, or such a slight one, that there remains nothing of them in the linen in which they were wrapped but the bones, and those half rotten." Antique coffins of stone, and sycamore wood, are still to be seen in Egj-pt. It is said that some were formerly made of a kind of pasteboard, formed by folding and gluing cloth together a great number of times ; these were curiously plastered and painted with hitroglj'phics. — Thevenot. EXODUft. xJ'hap. 1. ver. 14. And they made their lives bit- ter with hard bondage, in mortar, and in brick, and in all manner of service in the field ; all their service, wherein they made them serve, was with rigour. Of a bad man it is said, in the East, " He makes the lives of his servants bitter." Also, " Ah ! the fellow : the heart of his wife is made bitter." " My soul is bitter." " My heart is like the bitter tree." — Roeehts. Ver. 16. And he said, When ye do the office of a midwife to the Hebrew women, and see ihcni upon the stools, if it be a son, then ye shall kill him ; but if it be a daughter, then she shall live. There have been great difficulties started in the nature and use of the instruments here rendered stools,{iieb. slmies.) Ac- cording to the rendering of the established version, it would seem that they were designed for procuring a more easy delivery for women in labour. But besides that stone seats were obviously very unfit for such a purpose, the Hebrew word plainly signifies a vessel of stone for holding water, (Ex. vii. 19.) A far more probable interpretation, we think, is made out by referring the pronoun l/iern, not to the moth- ers, but to the children. The sense of the passage would then be this: — " When ye see the new-born children, for the purpo.se of being washed, laid in the troughs or vessels of stone for holding water, ye shall destroy the boys." A passage from Thevenot seems to confirm this construction. ■ The kings of Persia are so afraid of being deprived of that power which they abuse, and are so apprehensive of bemg dethroned, that they destroy the children of their female relations, when they are brottght to bed of boys, by putting them into an earthen trough, where they suffer them to starve ;" that is, probably, under pretence of preparing to wash them, they let them pine away or destroy them in the water.— B. Ver. 19. And the midwives said imto Pharaoh, Because the Hebrew women are not as the Egyptian women ; for they are lively, and are delivered ere the midwives come in unto them. Oriental women suffer little from parturition ; for those of better condition are frequently on foot the day after de- livery, and out of all confinement on the third day. They seldom call midwives, and when thev do, they are some- times delivered before they come to tlieir assistance ■, the pooler son, while they are labouring or planting, go aside deliver themselves, wash the child, lay it in a cloth, and return to work again. The same facility attended the He- brew women in Egypt; and the assertion of the midwives seems to have been literally true. — Paxton. Chap. 2. ver. 5. And the daughter of Pharaoh came down to wash herself at the river; and her maidens walked along by the river's side. All this is very natural. Wherever there is a river, or a lank, which is known to be free from alligators, there fe- males go in companies to some retired place to bathe. There are so many ceremonies, and so many causes for defile- ment, among the Hindoos, that the duty has often to he at- tended to. "in the Scanda Parana, the beautiful daughter of Mongaly is described as going to the river with her maidens to bathe, — RoBEaTs. Chap. 3. ver. 5. And he said, Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet ; for the place whereon thou statulest ix holy ground. See on Gen. 14. 23. No heathen would presume to gu un noij siunna, or en- ter a temple, or any other sacred place, without first taking oft" his saudals. Even native Christians, on entering a church or chapel, generally do the same thing. JNo res- pectable man would enter the house of another without having first taken oft" his sandals, which are generally left at the door, or taken inside by a servant. — Roberts. Chap. 7. ver. 1. And the Lord said unto Moses, See, I have made thee a god to Pharaoh : and Aaron thy brother shall be thy prophet. A man who is afraid to go into the presence of a king, or a governor, or a great man, will .seek an interview with the minister, or some principal character ; and should he be much alarmed, it will be said, " Fear not, friend ; I will make you as a god to the king." " What ! are you afraid of the collector ? fear not ; you will be as a god to him." " Yes, yes, that upstart was once much afraid of the great ones ; but now he is like a god among them." — Roberts. Ver. 12. For they cast down every man his rod, and they became serpents : but Aaron's rod swallowed up their rods. The rods of the magicians were hardly travelling staves, but doubtless such as they bore by virtue of their office as priests and servants of God. The Roman augurs were, in the like manner, accustomed to carry a staff called li- tures, which was crooked at the top, as described bj' Cice- ro {on Divination, b. i. chap. 17.) That these staves were a Roman invention, is improbable ; they were derived, like others of their sacred customs, from the religion of older nations. — Burder. Ver. 18. And the fish that is in the river shnll die, and the river shall stink ; and the Egyp- tians shall loathe to drink of the water of the There are few wells in Egj^it, but their waters are not drank, being unpleasant and unwholesome ; the water of the Nile is what they universally make use of in this corn- try, which is looked upon to be extraordinarily whule- some, and at the same time, extremely delicious. " The water of Egypt," says the Abbe Mascrier, " is so delicious, that one would not wish the heat should be less, nor to be delivered from the sensation of thirst. The Turks find it so exquisitely charming, that they excite themselves to drink of it by eating salt. It is a common saying among them, that if Mohammed had drank of it, he would have begged of Goonot to havedied, that he might always have done it. They add, that whoever has once drank of it, he ought to drink of it a second lime. This is what the peo- ple of the country told me, when they saw me return from ten years' absence. When the Egyptians undertake the pilgrimage of Mecca, or go out of tlieir country on any other account, they speak of nothing but the plea.sure they shall find at their return in drinking the Nile water. There is nothing to be compared to this satisfaction; it surpasses in their esteem that of seeing their relations again, and their families. Agreeably to "this, all those that have tasted of this water allow that they never met with the like in any other place. In truth, when one drinks of it the first time, it seems to be some water prepared by art. It has something in it inexpressibly agreeable and pleasing to the taste ; and we ought to give it perhaps the .same rank among waters, which champaigne has among wines. I must confess, however, it has, to my taste, too much sweet- ness. But its mcst valuable quality is, that it is infinitely .salutary. Drink it in what quantities you will, it never in 54 EXODUS. (Jhai*. 8. ihc least iiicoinniodes you. This us so true, thai U ls no un- comniott thing to see some persons drmk three buckets ol it in a clav, witlioul fuidini; the least inconvenience. . . Wlien I Ki've sucli encomiums to the water of Eg>P'i ". '^ ri"ht lo ob.*rve,lhal 1 speak only of that of the Nile, which jiulecd is the only water there which is drinkable. Well- water isdeicstable and imw holesome; fountains are so rare, thai ihey are a kind of prodigy in that country; and a.s lor tiieiain-waier,it would be in vain to attempt preserving that • ia--e scarce anv falls in E^vpt." The embellishmeats ot a frenchman mav be seen 'here, but the fact however, in Kcneral is indubitable. A person that never belore heard of ihi. delicacy of the water of the Nile, and the large qnanliiies thai on that account, are drank of ii, wi 1, 1 am v.-rv sure, find an cnei-v in those words ol Moses to Pha- taoii Kxod. vii. 18, 'ne'EsiiiptinnshalHoathelodnnKoflhK n.i'n- ofihe rirer, which he never observed before. I hey wiil l.ia:l.cto drink of that water which they used to prefer to all ih- waters uf the universe, loathe to drink ot tha which thcv had been wont eagerly to long for ; and will ra-her choose to drink of well-water, which is in their coMnirv so detestable. And as none of our commentators ih-'t Iknow of, have observed this energy, my reader, I ham', will not be displeased that I have remarked u here. — H.inMEii. Vei;, 19. -\nd that there may be blooil through- out all the land of E^ypt, both in vessels of wood, and m rcssi-ls o/ stone. Perhaps these words do not signify, that the water that Ind been taken up into their vessels, was changed into blood The water of the Nile is known to be very thick and inud.iv. and they purifv it either by a paste made ol almonds, or by filtrating it through certain pots ot white earth which is the preferable way, and therefore the pos- session of one of these pots is thought a great happiness. Now may not the meaning of this passage be, that the wa- ter of the' Nile should not only look red and nauseous, like blood in the river, but in their vessels too, v.hen taken up in small quantities; and that no method whatever of puri- fvin-- it should lake place, but whether drank out of vessels 6{ wood, or out of vessels of sione, by means ol which they were wont to purge the Nile water, it should be the same, and should appear like blood? Some method must have l.,-cn used in very early days to clarify the water of the Nile ■ the mere letting it stand lo settle, hardly seems sufti- cient' especially if we consider the early elegance that ob- tained ill Egypt. So simple an invention then as filtrating vessels may easily be supposed to be as ancient as the time of'Moses; and to them therefore it seems natural to sup- pose the threatening refers.— Harmer. The changing of the river itWoMood, in colour, I saw pan iaily accomplished. For the first four or five days of the Nile's increase the waters are ol a muddy red, owmg to their being impregnated with a reddisli coal in the upper country; as this is washed away, the nver beconies ot a greenish yellow for four or five days. When first ob- served this, I perceived that the animalcule in the water were more numerous than at any other period ; even the \rabs would not drink the water ,w"liout straming it ihrough a rag: ■' And the river stank, and tl'e Egyptians could not drmk of the water of the river. -Maddf.k. C^HAP. p. vof. -l. .\nd the frogs shall come up, both on theo, and upon thy peo].le, and upon all thy servants. This loathsome plague extended to every place, and to every class of men. The frogs came up and covered the land' of E-'Vpi ; they entered into their houses, and into their bed-chambers ; ihey crawled upon their persons, upon Iheir beds, and into their kitchen utensils. The whole conntrv, Iheir palaces, iheir temples, their persons— all was polluled and hateful. Nor was it in their power to wash kwav the nauseous filth with which they were tainted lor every stream and every lake was full of pollutum. l o a people who affected tlie most scrupulous mirity m their persons, their habitations, and manner of hving, nothing almost can be conceived more msufTerable than this p ague. The fro" is, compared with many other reptiles, a harm- less animal ; it neither injures by its bite nor by its poison ; but it must have excited on that occasion, a disgust whjcU rendered life an almost insupportable burden. The eye was tormented with beholding the march of their impure legions and the ear with hearing the harsh tones ol their voices- the Egyptians could recline upon nobed where they were not compelled to admit their cold and filthy embrace ; they tasted no food which was not infected by their touch; and thev smelled no perfume, but the fcciid stench ol their slime or the putrid exhalations emiued from their dead carcasses The insutlerable annoyance of such insignificant creatures illustriously displayed the power of God, whUe it covered the haughty and unfeeling persecutors of his peo- ple with confusion, and filled them with utter dismay. How much the Egyptians endured from this visitation, is evident from the haste with which Pharaoh sent lor Moses and Aaron, and begged the assistance of their prayers : " Entreat the Lord that he may take away the frogs Irom me and from my people; and 1 will let the people go that they may do sacrifice unto the Lord." Reduced to great extiemitv and receiving no deliverance from the pretended miracles of his magicians, he had recourse to that pod, concerning whom he had so proudly demanded. Who is Jehovah, that I should obey his voice to let Israel go ! Subdued and instructed by adversity, he implores his compassion, and ackniowledges the glory of his name ; but, as the event proved, not with a smcere heart : i hen said Moses, Glory over me;" an obscure phrase, which is ex- plained by the next clause, " when shall I entreat for theel that is, according to some writers, although it belongs not to thee, Pharaoh, to prescribe to me the iime ot thy deliver- ance which entirely depends on the will and pleasure ol God alone ; yet I, who am a prophet, and the inteiTireter of his will, grant thee, in his name, the choosing ol the time when this plague shall be removed^ But this mter- pretation is more ingenious than solid. Moses mtends ra- ther to suggest an antithesis between the perverse boasting of the pro\id monarch, and the pious glonalion of the hum- bled penitent, who was now reduced to cry for mercy. Thus far, said Moses, thou hast trusted in thine own pow- er ■ then fascinated with the deceitful miracle of the ma- gicians, thou hast perversely exalted thysell against the Sod of heaven ; now rather glory that thou hast m me an intercessor with God, whose prayers for thy deliverance he will not re^se to hear: and in proof that he is the only true God, and that I bear his commission, fix thou the tune of deliverance. . . ,, . , „ . „ ,. i;„„ " And he said. To-morrow. And he said, Be it accoiding to thy word: that thou mavst k-now, that there is none like unto the Lord our God." To-raonow said Pharaoh : but why not to-day "! It was to be expected, that the vexed and humbled monarch would ask for instant relief It is prob- able the king had called Moses and Aaron in the evenmg, and that he durst not ask the promised deliverance on the same day, because he thought it was not to be obtained without many prayers. AVhatever might be the rue reason of Pharaoh's prociasii nation, the renowned Calvin .seems to have no ground for his opinion, that his only reason was, after obtaining his desire, to depart lus (ornierly from '"^ engasemem to let the people go; and that Mo-^^es, content wirh'his promise, retired to interc-ede with Jehovah in his favour 'That great man was persuaded, that the plague was immediately removed, not suffered to continue nil next dav It is better, however, to abide by the obvious mean- ing of the clear and precise terms used on that occasion, both by the king and the prophet : " an. he said, To-mor- row And he said, Be it according to thy word." Moses and Aaron, it is true, " went out from Pharaoh, and imme- diatelv cried unL. the Lord, because ol the f'OS.s ^I'-e'' he had brought against Pharaoh." But it is not said the Lord immediately removed the j.Iague ; but on y, that he did a,:cording l.. the word of IS^oses." Now, Moses l.ad prom- ised relief next day, in the clearest terms, and we have even' rea-son to suppose, that his intercession proceeded upon his promise ; t^.erefore, when the Lord did according o'^me woiTof Mo^es.he removed the f'-S^,'?" '''f.f .^''a^ Thev were not, however, swept away, like the locusts whi^h SI cceeded them, but destroyed, nnd lel^ on the face of he croimd. Thev were not annihilated, nor resolved °, to mud "or marched back into the river, from whence hev had come ; but left dead upon the ground, to prove the rmh of the m raclc-that they had not died by the hands of me I u hy thepowerof God ; that .lie great deliverance Chap. 9. EXODUS. was not like the works of the magicians, a lying wonder bin a real interposition of almighty power, and an effect of Uivrne goodness. The Egyptians were, therefore, reduced to the necessity of collecting them into heaps, which had the etlect of more rapidly disengaging the putrid effluvia, and thus for a time, increasing the Avretchedness of the country. Their destruction was probably followed by a pestilence, which cut ofl' many of the people, in addition to those that died in consequence of the grievous vexations they endured from their loathsome adversaries ; for, in one of the songs of Zioii, it is said, " He sent frogs, which de- stroyed them;" laid waste their lands, and infected them- selves with pestilential disorders. In another Psalm the sweet singer of Israel brings the frogs which destroyed the t-gyptians, from tlie land ; whereas, Moses avers, they were produced by the river: " Their land brought forth frogs in abundance, in the chambers of their kings;" but the difler- T'^V^ °"'-^' '^PP'irei', and maybe easily reconciled; for the Psalmist may be understood as referring, not to any kmd of laud, but to the miry soil on the banks, or the mud in the bottom of the river. 'Bat the truth is, he uses a term which signities a region or countrv, comprehending both land and water. His true meanmg then is. Their land or country ol Mhich the Nile is a part, brought forth frogs- lor the land ol Egypt certainly produces whatever the Nile contains Were it necessary to prove so clear a position, the words of Moses might be quoted, in which he reminds the people of Israel, that they came in the course of their journeymgs to Jobalh, a land of rivers ; and the sublime ascription of Habakkuk : " Thou didst cleave the earth wuh rivers." The sea itself, belongs as it were to the neighbourmg countries ; for it is said, that Solomon con- striictcd a fleet " in the land of Edom;" that is, in the sea which washed the shores of Edom. It has been inquired, why David in the same passage says, the fiogs penetrated into the chambers of their kin^s The answer is easy: the plural is often used for the sing°u- lar in Hebrew: thus the Psalmist himself- "AVe will Vi into his tabernacles;" although there was but one taber- nacle where the- people of Israel assembled for reli'^ious worship. The servants of Nebuchadnezzar accused the three children m these terms: " they do not worship Ihv gods, meaning only the golden image, which the king had set up m the plain of Dura. The language of David there- tore in the te.xt under consideration, meant no more than ■ l^'n?,s palace. Some interpreters propose another solu- tion : 1 hat the kingdom of Eg3-pt was at that time divided into a number of small independent states, governed each by its OT-n prince, and that all of them were equally sub- jected to the plague ; but although it must be granted that this coiintry was in succeedmg ages, divided into a number ot small principalities, no evidence has been adduced in support ol such a state of things in the time of Moses; on the contrary, the whole tenor of his narrative leads to the ?Sl]tl! '=™'^.'"^|0"- Nor is it imreasonable to suppose, lerso^s f"""^f ^'■""''""■1 of Egypt, many of whoni 'vere s ,™ T "f?"=,a' power and mfluence in the state, received f.om the royal Psalmist the title of kings; it is certainlv no more incongruous, than to give the itle of prii^ces ofAssvl-K^'Tr^^^''''-'"^^ 1 i T , ^^^ ™«=i"i'is: of the passage then, is briefly th s ; .the potent monarch of Egypt, in the midst of his va^ sal princes, m the innermost recesses of his palace cmUd find no means ol defence agamst the ceaseless intrusion of the impure vetnn.n which covered the face of hisdominions and equally infested the palaces of the rich, and the cottages of the poor ; the awful abode of the king, and the clav-built hovel ol the mendicant.— Paxtom. -^ Ver. 9. And Moses said mito Pharaoh, Glory over me: when shall I entreat for thee, and foV thy servants, and for thy people, to destroy the hocrs from thee and thy houses, f/iat they may remain m the river only? ' „,,''ih'i '"".'"-? ^""^i for "glory," "honour," and for "over t^a) .V,„T'"?' '"'V ^'"'"o'' ''^'^ bp-^ought Moses to pray i/.i /^"'■'^ '"'-'" '•'^'<^<' '^wa>' ll^'' fross and Moses wish him HO o.^;;„ '-T *''■ ^'"°"'-.°'- ^'"■■■^ f '" Pre?erenT 1o he I nr 1 , TT ,"'" " '™^ ^''^^^ he should thus pray to il-e I-ord to take them away. This was not only compl°- 55 mentary to Pharaoh, but it would have a strong tendency to convince him that the Lord had heard the prayer of Mo- ses, because he himself had appointed the time. The Tamul translation* has this, " Let the honour be to you (or over me) to appoint a time when I shall pray."— Roberts. Ver. 16. And the Lord said unto Moses, Say unto Aaron, Stretch out thy rod, and smite the dust of the land, that it may become lice through- out all the land of Egypt. The learned have not been agreed in their opinion con- cernmg the third of the plagues of Egypt: Exod. viii. 16, ace. home ot tlie ancients suppose that gnats, or some an- imals resembling them, were meant ; whereas our transla- tors, and many of the moderns, understand the original word O';^ tninccm, as signifying lice. Bishop Patrick, in bis commentary, supposes that Bochart has sufficienllv proved, out of the text itself, that our version is right since gnats are bred in fenny places, he might have said with truth, and with much greater energy of argument, in wa- ter, whereas the animals Moses here speaks of were brought out of the dust of the earth. A passage I latelv met with, in Vinisaur's account of the expedition of our King Richard the First into the Holy Land, may, perhaps give a truer representation of this Egyptian plague, than those that suppose lliey were gnats, or those that suppose they were lice, that God used on that occasion, as the in- strument of that third correction. Speaking of the march- ing of that; army of C'roisadcrs, from Cayphas to where the ancient Caesarea stood, that writer informs us, that each night certain worms distressed them, commonly called iar- reiiles, which crept upon the ground, and occasioned a very burning heat by most painful punctures. They hurt no- body in the day time, but when night came oh they ex- tremely pestered them, being armed with stings, conveyiu" a poison which quickly occasioned those ihatwere wound" ed by them to swell, and was attended with the most acute pains. — Harmer. Chap. 9. ver. 8. And tlie Lord said unto Moses and unto Aaron, Take to you handfuls of ashes of the furnace, and let Moses sprinkle it to- wards the heaven in the sight of Pharaoh. When the magicians pronounce an imprecation on an individual a village, or a country, thev take ashes of cow's clung, (or ft-om a common fire.) and t'hrov: them in the air saying to the objects of their displeasure, such a sickmess' or such a curse, shall surely come upon you.— Roberts. ' Ver. 25. And the hail smote throughout all the land of Egypt all that was in the field, both man and beast ; and the hail smote every herb of the field, and brake every tree of the field. I do not apprehend that it is at all necessary to suppose that all the servants, and all the cattle of the Esrvptians' that were abroad at the time the hail fell, which Mo-es hreatened and which was attended with thunder and hghlnmg, died ; it is sufficient to suppose they all felt the hailstones and that several of them were killed This was enough to justify the words of Moses, that it should be a grievous hail, such as had not fallen before in Egypt fi-om Its foundation." For though it hails sometimes^n Egypt as well as rams, as Dr. Pococke found it hailed a" Fioume when he was there in Februarv; and thunders too, as Thevenot says it did one night in December w°ij^ he was at Cairo; yet fatal eff-ects are not wont to fo low iS hat country, as ajipears from what Thevenot savs ofTh^ hunder, which, he tells us, killed a man in the castle there though It had ne^-erbeen heard before that thunder had been 1,^M-'' fl ^f-","' ■^°' '^'""^ P'^OP''^ 'hen to have ^,f'° i'"'^,^>;'he I'ghtnnig and the hail, besides cattle, ZT \ r '^"V^'" ^!°^^^ ™'f^ht well say had i,cvcr happened, theie before, from the lime it began to be inhabited. I will ^vlryjl-llh '"^ '°'"''^' f"!;" "'! "'■i?'""! ; and tlie eenius of llie laneuare i.-. fveiy way more suited lo the Hebrew, than onrs. And nearly all thp onenlatems in the «mr^,-„„/ references of the EnjUsh aUe are in^ Berted in We ^ez/ofthc Tamul translation. ^tiearein 56 EXODUS. Chap. 10—11. only aJii, ihat Mosps, by representing this as an extraordi- nary hail, snpposed that it diti sometimes liail there, as it is found in fad to do, thoiii;li not as in other countries : the not raining in Egypt, it is well known, is to be imderstood iu the same manner. — IIarmer. Chap. 10. ver. 1 1. Not so: go now ye that are men, and serve the Lord: for ihul ye did de- sire. And they were diiven out from Pha- raoh's presence. Among natives of rank, when a person is very impor- tunate or Irnublesoiiie, when he presses for something which the former are not willing to grant, he is told to begone. Should he still persist, the servants are called, and the order is given, "Drive that fellow out." He is then seized by the ncc/.-, or taken by the /muds, and dragged from the premises ; he all the time screaming and bawling ai if they were taking his life. Thus to be driven out is the grea'test indignity which can be ofl'ered, and nothing but the most violent rage will induce a superior to have recourse to it. — Roberts. Ver. 10. -'Viid the Lord turned a mighty strong west wind, which took away the locusts, and cast them into the Red Sea ; there remained not one locust in all the coasts of Egypt. It was not the purpose of God to complete every pimish- ment at once, but to carry on these juclgments in a series, and by degrees to cut otT all hopes, and every resource upon which the Egyptians depended. By the hail and thunder and fire mingled with rain, both the tlax and barley were entirely mined, and their pastures must have been greatly injured. The wheat and rye were not yet in ear; and such was the fertility of the soil in Egypt, that a very short time would have sufficed for the leaves of the trees, and the grass of the field, to have been recruited. To complete, tlierefore, these evils, it pleased God to send a host of locusts, to devour every leaf and blade of grass, which had been left in the former devastation, and what- ever was beginning to vegetate. It is hard to conceive how wide the mischief extends, when a cloud of these insects comes upon a country. They devour to the very root and bark, so that it is a long tirne before vegetation can be renewed. How dreadful their inroads at all times were, may be known from a variety of authors, both ancient and modern. They describe them as being brought by one wind, and carried ofi" by another. They swarm greatly in Asia and Africa. In respect to Europe, Theve- not tells us, that the region upon the Boristhenes, and particularly that inhabited by the Cos.sacks, is greatly infested with locusts, especially in a dry season. They come in vast clouds, which extend fifteen and sometimes eighteen miles, and are nine to twelve in breadth. The air, by their interposition, is rendered quite obscure, how- ever bright the day may have been before. In tw'o hours they devour all the corn, wherever they .settle, and often a famine ensues. At night, when they repose upon the earth, the ground is covered with them four inches deep, or more : and if a carriage goes over them, and they are mashed under foot, the smell of them is scarcely to be borne, especiallv when they are reduced to a state of mitrefaclion. They come from Circassia, Mingrelin, and Tartary, on which arcount the natives rejoice in a north or northeast wind, whii-h carries them into the Black Sea, where they perish. The vast region of Asia, especiallv the sou'hern pnrl, is liable to their depredations. China Is particularly infested with them; and the natives use various means to obviate the evil, which is generally too powerful to be evaded. But the most fearful accounts arc from Africa, where the heat of the climate, and the nature of the soil in many places, contribute to the production of these animals m astonishing numbers. — BunDF.n. Ver. 21. Ami tiic Lord said unto Mnse.s, Stretch out thy hand towards heaven, that there may he darkness over the land of Egypt, even dark- ness which may he felt. When the magicians deliver their predictions, they strelc/i forth the right hand towards heaven, to show that they have power, and that God favours them. The Tamul translation has this, "darkness which causeth to feel;" i. e. so dark that a man is obliged lo feel for his way, and until he shall have so felt, he cannot proceed. Thus the dark- ness was so great, that their eyes were not of any use ; they were obliged to grnpe for their way. — Roberts. [This IS probably a correct view of the passage, as a darkness consisting of thick clammy fogs, ot^ vapours and exhalations so condensed as lo be perceived by the organs of touch, would have extinguished animal life iu a few moments.] — B. Ver. 28. And Pharaoh said unto him, Get thee from me, take heed to thyself, see my face no more: for in that day thou seest my face, thou shalt die. Has a servant, an agent, or an officer, deeply offended his superior, he will say to him, "Take care never to see my face again ; for on the" day you do that, evil shall come up- on you." " Begone, and in future never look in this/«c«," pointing to his own. — Roberts. Chap. 11. ver. 2. Speak now in the ears of the people, and let every man borrow of his neigh- bour, and every woman of her neighbour, jewels of silver, and jewels of gold. Dr. Boothroyd, instead of borrow, translates "ask." Dr. A. Clarke says, " request, demand, require." The Israel- ites wished to go three days' journey into the wilderness, that they might hold a feast unto the Lord. AVhen the Orientals go to their sacred festivals, ihey alwavs put on their best jcicels. Not to appear beftire the gods' in such a way, they consider would be disgraceful to themselves and di.spleasing to the deities. A person, whose clothes or jewels are indifierenl, will borrow of his richer neigh- bours; and nothing is more common than to sec poor peo- ple standing before thctemnles, or engaged in sacred cere- monies, well adorned with jewels. The almost pauper bride or bridegroom at a marriage may often he seen deck- ed with gems of the most costly kind, which have been BORROWED for the occa.sion. It fully accords, therefore, with the idea of what is due at a sacred or social feast, to be thus adorned in their best attire. Under these circum- stances, it would be perfectly easy to borrow of the E'.gvp- tians their jewels, as they themselves, in their festivals, would doubtless wear the same things. It is also recorded, the Lord gave them " favour in the sight of the Egyptians." It does not appear to have been fiil/t/ known to the He- brews, that tliey were going finally to leave Egypt : Ihev might expect to return; and it is almost certaiii that, if their oppressors had known they were not to return, they would not have lent them their jewels. The Lord, however, did say to Mo.scs, in chap. iii. 11., that He would " bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt," and that they should worship Him upon that moun- tain ; but whether Moses fully understood Him is not cer- tain. But the Lord knew! — certainly He did. And as a father, or a master, who saw his children, or slaves, de- prive each other of their rightful pay, (as the Egvptians did the Israelites,) had a right to give to the injured what they had been unju.stly deprived of : so the Lord, in whose hands are all things, who daily takes from one. and gives to an- other; and who builds up, or destroys, the families of the earth ; would have an undoubted right lo give to the He- brews that property of which the Ee)'ptians had so unjustly and cruelly deprived them. — Roberts. Ver. 5. And all the first-born in the land of Egypt shall die, from the first-born of Pharaoh th.at sitteth upon his throne, even unto the first-born of the maidservant that is behind the mill ; and all the first-born of beasts. In the first ages, they parched or roasted their grain ; a practice which the people of Israel, as we learn friun the scriptures, long continued ; afterward they pounded it in a mortar, to which Solomon thus alludes: " Though thou shouldst bray a fool in a mortar among wheat, with a pes- Chav. 12. EXODUS. 57 lie, yet will not his foolishness depart from liira." This was succeeded by mills, similar to the handmills formerly used in this country; of which there were two sorts; the first ■were large, and turned by the strength of horses or asses : the second were smaller, and wrought by men, commonly by slaves condemned to this hard labour, as a punishment for their crimes. Chardin remarks in his manuscript, that the persons employed are generally female slaves, who are least regarded, or are least fit for any thing else: for the work is extremely laborious, and esteemed the lowest em- plovment about the house. IMost of their corn is groimd by these little mills, although they sometimes make use of large mills, wrouglit by oxen or camels. Near Ispahan, and some of the other great cities of Persia, he saw water- mills ; but he did not meet with a single windmill in the Eajt. Almost every family grinds their wheat and barley at home, having tw'o portable millstones for that purpose; of which the uppermost is turned round by a small handle of wood or iron, that is placed in the rim. When this stone is large, or expedition is required, a second person is called in to assist ; and as it is usual for the women only to be concerned in this employment, who seat themselves over again.st each otiier, with the millstone between them, we mav see the propriety of the expression in the declaration of Moses: " And all the first-bom in the land of Egypt shall die, from the first-born of Pharaoh, that sittelh upon his throne, even unto the first-born of the maid-servant, that is behind the mill." The manner in which the hand- mills are worked, is well described by Dr. Clarke: " Scarce- ly had we reached the apartment prepared for our recep- tion, when looking from the window, inio the courtyard belonging to the house, we beheld two women grinding at the mill, in a manner most forcibly illustrating the saying of our Saviour: 'Two women shall be grinding at the mill, the one shall bo taken and the other left.' They were preparing (lour to make our bread, as it is alwaj's custom- ary in the country when strangers arrive. The I wo women, seated upon the ground opposite to each olher, held belween them two round flal stones, such as are .seen in Lapland, and such as in Scotland are called ijucrns. In the centre commonly bake their bread daily, as they wani il, appears from an observation I have already made, and from the history of the jialriarch Abraham ; and that Ihey were preparing lo bake bread sufficient for this pur- pose at once, seems niosl probable, from the universal bus- tle Ihey were in, and from ihe much greater conveniences for baking in F.gvpt lhan in ihe wilderness, which are such, thanbough Dr. Shaw's aitcndani sometimes baked in the deserl, he Ihoughl fii, notwilh,slandiug, to carry bis- cuit with him, and Tlicvenm ihe same. They could not well carry such a quanlily of dough in those wooden bowls, which they used for kneading Iheir bread in com- mon. What is more, Dr. Pocockc iclls us, Ihat Ihe Arabs actually carry their dough in somelhing else: for, after having spoken of Iheir copper dishes pul one within an- nlher, and (heii wooden howls, in which Ihey make their bi'eail, and which make up all Ihc kitchen furniture of an Arab, even where he is sellled; he gives us a description of a round leather coverlet, which Ihey lay on the ground, and serves Ihem lo eat olT, which, he says,ha.s rings round il, bv which il is drawn looeiher with a chain Ihat has a honk lo il to hang it by. This is drawn together, he .says, and .sometimes they carry in il iheir meal made into dough ; and in this manner ihey bring it full of bread, and, when the repast is over, carrv it away al once, with all ihat is left. Whether Ibis utensil israiher lobe understood by the word n>-'Nt:'o vii^hnroth, translated knraiiini^-lroM^^hs, lhan Ihe Arab wooden bowl, I leave my reader to determine. I would only remark, Ihat there is nothing, in Ihe other three 58 EXODUS. Chap. 13— K places, in which ihc word occurs, lo contradict tliis expla- nation. These places are Exod. viii. 3, Ueut. xxviii. 5, 17, in the two last ol whicli places it is translated slarc. It is more tlian a little aslonisliinj;, to find Grolius, in his com- ment on Exod. xii. 3'J, explaining that ver.se as signifying, that they baked no bread iu their departing from Egypt, but stayed till they came to Suceolh, because they had not time to stay till it was leavened in Egypt ; when it is cer- tain that they were so hurried out of Egypt, a^ lobe desired not to stay lo bake unleavened bread; nor can we imagine they would slay till leaven put into it at Suceolh, had pro- duced its ellect m tlieir dough, since travellers now in that desert often eat unleavened bread, and the precepts of Mo- .ses, relating to their commcmoralion of their going out of Egypt, suppose they ate unleavened bread for some time. Succoth, the fir.st .station then of Ihc Israeli.es, which Dr. Shaw supposes was nothing more than some considerable encampment of Arabs, must have been a place where there was a considerable quanliiy of broom, or other fuel, whicli is not lo be found iu that desert everywhere. — Harmer. Chap. 13. ver. 18. But God led the people about, through the way of the wilderness of the Red Sea; and the children of Israel went up har- nessed out of the land of Egypt. The margin of our translation remarks, that the word rendered litirncsfeif, inExodu.i xiii. 18, sianifies 4i//re.<, but when it adds, five in a rank, it seems lo limit the sense of the term very unnecessarily, as it may as v.-pU signify five men in a com]iany, or their cattle tied one to another in strings of five eacli. If there were 600,000 footmen, be- sides children, and a mixed mnliiUide, together with cattle, the marching cf five only abreast, supposing only one yard for each rank to move in, would make the whole length of this enormous file of people more than sixty-eight miles. If we should suppose two such columns, and place the chil- dren, mixed multitude, and calile between them, the length then of this body of people would be above thirty-four miles. At the same time we cannot conceive any reason for such a narrow front, on the one hand, in such a wide desert, nor, on the other, why they are desciibed as march- ing five abreast, if there were many such columns. It would seem in such a case, to be a circumstance that re- quired noparlinilar notice. Pitts tells us, that in the march of the Mohammedan pilgrims from Eg>-pt, through this verv desert, they travel with their camels tied four in a parcel, one after the olher, like so many teams. Ho says also that usually three or four of the pilgrims diet together. If we will allow that like circumstances naturally produce like effects, it will appear highly probable, that the meaning of the word used in the pas.sagc of Exodus is, that they went up out of Egvpt with their cattle, in sfrini;s of Jive each ; or that Moses ordered that five men with their families should form each a little companv, that .should keep together, and assist each other, in this ditiicult march. In either of these senses we may understand the term, in all the other places in which it appears; whereas it is not natural to suppose they all went out of Egypt properly armed for war, and it is idle to say, as some have done, that they were girded about the loins, that is alway.i supposed to be done by the eastern people when thev jouriiev. Not to say that the kindred word continually signifies fire, and this word should in course signify that they were, somehow or other, formed inin fires, compnnies of five men each, or companies 'that hadeach/icAra.?/.(, which carried their provisions and other necessaries, fastened lo each other, — H.vrmeh. Chap. 1.5. ver. 20. And Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took a timbrel in her hand; and all the wijmen went out after her with tim- brels and with dances. Lady M. W. Montague, speaking of the eastern dances, says, "Their manner is certainlv the same that Diana is said to have danced on the banks of Eiirotas. The great lady still leads the jjance, and is followed by a troop of yoiing girls, who imitate her steps, and if she sings, make up the chorus. The tunes are extremely gay and lively, yet with something in them wonderfully .soA. Their steps are varied according to the plctisure of her that leads Inc dance, but always in exact lime, and infinitely more agree- able than any ol our dances." (Lilkrs, vol. ii. p. 45.) This gives us a diflerenl apprehension of the meaniu',' of these words than we should otherwise form. " Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took a timbrel in her hand, anrt all the women went out after her, with timbrels and dances." She led the dance, and they imitated her steps, which were not conducted by a set well-known form, but extemporaneous. Probably' David did not dance alone before the Lord Avhen the ark was removed, but led the dance in the same authoritative kmd of way. (2 Sam. vi. 11. Judges xi. 31. 1 Sam. xviii. 6.) — Burder. Ver. 2.'). And he cried unto the Lord ; and the LoitD showed him a tree, ickich when he had cast into the waters, the waters were made sweet : there he made for them a statute and an ordinance, and there he proved them. This water, which was bitter or brackish, (Dr. Shaw says the latter,) was thus made sweet by the casting in of the tree. Some suppose it was a bitter wood, such as quassia, Avhich corrected the water. Water is often brack- ish in the neighbourhood of salt-pans or the sea, and the natives correct it by throwing in it the wood called Pcrriv- yclli, Phylanthiis Emblica. Shoidd the water be very bad, they line the well with planks cut out of this tree. In swampy grounds, or when inere has not been rain for a long nine, the water is olien muddy, and very unwhole- some. But Providence has again been bountiful by giving to the people the Tcalta Maram, Strychnos Potatorum. All who live in the neighbourhood of such water, or who have to travel where it is, always carry a supply of the nuts of this tree. They grind one or two of them on the side of an earthen vessel : the v,-a!er is then poured in, and the impurities soon subside. — Roberts. '• El-vah is a large village or town, thick planted with palm-trees; the Oasis Parva of ilie ancients, the last in- habited place to the west that is under the jurisdiction of Egj'pt ; it yields senna and coloquintida. The Arabs call El-vah, a shrub or tree, not unlike our hawthorn, either in form or flower. It was of this wood, they say, that Moses' rod was made, when h.e sweetened the waters of Marah. With a rod of this wood too, they say, Knled Ihn el M'aaliil, the great destroyer of Christians, sweetened these waters at ISl-\'ah, once bitter, and gave it the name from this miracle. A number of very fine springs burst from the earth at El-vah, which renders this small snot verdant and beautiful, though surrounded with dreary deserts on eveiy quarter; it is situated like an island iii the midst of the ocean." (Bruce.) — Our colonists, who first peopled some parts of America, corrected the qualities of the water they I'ound there, by infusing in it branches of sassafras; and it is understood that llie first inducement of the Chinese lo the general u.se of tea, was to correct the water of their rivers. That other water also stands in some need of cor- rection, and that such correction is applied to it, appears from the custom of Egvpt, in icspect to the water of the Nile. " The water of the Nile," says Niebuhr, " is always somewhat muddy; but by rubbing with bitter almonds, prepared in a particular manner, the earthen jai-s in w-hich It is kept, this water is rendered clear, light, and salutary." — BcnriER. We travelled, says Burckhardt, over uneven, hilly ground, gravelly and llinlv. At (>ne hour and three quarters, we pas-sed the well of Howara, around which a few date-trees grow. Niebuhr travelled the same route, but his guides probablv did not lead him to this well, which lies among fiills about two hundred paces out of Ihc road. The water of the well < f Howara is so biUer, lliat men cannot drink it ; and even camels, if nol very thirsty, refuse lo laste it. This well Burckhardt justly .suppo.scs to be the Marah of the Israelites; and in this opinion Mr. Leake, Gescnius, and Rosenmuller, concur. From Ayoun Mousa to the well of Howara we had travelled fillecn hours and a quar- ter. Referring to this distance, it appears probable that this is the desert of three days mentioned in llie scriptures to have been crossed by the Israelites immediately after their pa,ssing the Red Sea ; and at the end of which they arrived at Marah. In moving with a whole nation, the march may well be supposed to have occupied three days; Chap. 10. EXODUS. 59 and the bitter well at Marali, whicli was sweetened by Mu- se.-;, corresponds exactly to that at Howara. This is the irsual route to Mount Sinai, and was probabl}', therefore, that which the Israelites took on their escape from Egypt, jirovided it be admitted tliat tliey crossed the sea at Suez, as Niebuhr, with good reason, conjectures. There is no oiher roadof three days' inarch in the way from Suez to- wards Sinai, nor is there anv other well absolutely bitter on the whole of this coast. The complaint of the bitterness of the water by the children of Israel, who had been accus- tomed to the sweet water of the Nile, are such as may be daily heard from the Egyptian servants and peasants who travel in Arabia. Accu.'-tumed Irom their youth to the e.v- cellent water of the Nile, there is nothing which they so much regret in countries distant from Egypt; nor is there any eastern people who feel so keenly the want of gocul water, as the present natives of Egypt. With respect to the means employed by Moses to render the waters of the well sweet, I have frequently inquired among the Bedouins in iliffercnt parts of Arabia, whether they possessed any means of e.'}t?cting such a change, by throwing wood into it, or by any other process ; but I never could learn that such an art was known. At the end of three hours we reached Wady Gharendel, which extends to the northeast, and is almost a mile in breadth, and full of trees. The Arabs told me tliat it may be traced through the whole desert, and that it begins at no great distance from El Arysh, on the Mediterranean ; but I had no means of ascertaining the truth of this statement. About half an hour from the place where we halted, in a southern direction, is a copious spring, with a small rivulet, v.diich renders the valley the principal station on this route. The water is disagreeable, and if kept for a night in the water skins, it turns biiter and spoils, as I have myself experienced, having passed tliis way three times. If, now, we admit Bir Howara to be the Marah of Exodits, (xv. '23,) then Wady Gharendel is prob- ably Elim, with its well and date-trees ; an opinion enter- tained by Niebuhr, wlio, however, did not see the bitter well of Howara. The non-existence, at present, of twelve wells at Gharendel, must not be considered as evidence against the just-stated conjecture; for Niebuhr says, that his companions obtained water here by digging to a very small depth, and there was great plenty of it when I passed. Water, in fact, is readily found by digging, in every fertile valley in Arabia, and wells are thus easily formed, which are filled up again by the sands. The Wady Gharendel contains date-trees, tamarisks, acacias of different species, and the thorny shrub Gkarlad, the Pcgamim rdusion of Forskal, which is extremely com- mon in this peninsula, and is also met with in the sands of the Delta on the coast of the Mediterranean. Its small red berry, of the size of a grain of a pomegranate, is very juicy and refresliing, much resembling a ripe gooseberry in taste, but not so sweet. The Arabs are very fond of it. The shrub Ghnr/.nd delishts in a sandy soil, and reaches its maturiij' in the height of snmmer, when the ground is parched up, exciting an agreeable surprise in the traveller, at finding so juicy a berry produced in the driest soil and .season. Might not the beriy of this shrub have been used by Moses to sweeten the waters of Marah 1 [The Hebrew in Ex. XV. 25, reads : " And the Lord showed him a tree, and he cast into the waters, and they became sweet." The Arabic translates, "and he cast of it into the waters," &c.] As this conjecture did not occur to me when I was on the bpo', 1 did iioi inquire of the Bedouins, wdiether they ever sweetened the waierwilh the juice of berries, which would probably effect this change in the same manner as the juice of pomegranate grains expressed into it.— C.m.met. Chap. 1G. ver. 13. And it came to pass, that at even tlie ((uails rame tip, and covered the camp : and in the morning- the dew lay round about the host. It is evident from the history of Moses, that the demands of Israel were iwice supplied with quails by the miraculous interposition of divine providence. The fir.st instance is recorded in the hook of Exodus, and is described in these words ; " I have heard the murmurings of the children of Israel ; speak unto them, saying, At even ye shall cat flesh, and in the morning ye sh.ill be tilled with bread; and ye shall know Ihai I am Ihe Lord your (lod. And il cnuK- to pass, that at even the quaifs came up, and covered the camp." From these words it appears, that the quails were sent to supply the wants of the people, at the same time the manna began to be showered down from heaven, around their encampment in the desert of Sin ; and it is clear, from the beginning of the chapter, that tliis event took place soon aller their departure from Egy|)t, upon the fifteenth day of the second month, before they came to nnnint Sinai. This miracle was repeated at Kibroth-hatlaavah, a place three days' journey beyond the desert of Sinai; but they struck their tents before Sinai, in the second year after their de- parture from Egypt, on the twentieth day of the second month; so that a whole year intervened between the first and second stipplj'. In Ihe first instance, the quails were scattered about the camp only for one day; but in the sec- ond, they came up from the sea for a whole month. They only covered the camp at their first appearance ; but when they came the second time, they lay round about it to the distance of a day's journey. No signs of divine wrath at- tended Ihe first miracle; but the second was no sooner wrought, than the vengeance of their oflfended God over- took these incorrigible sinners: "While the flesh was yet between their teeth, ere it was chewed, the wrath of the Lord was kindled against the people ; and the Lord smote the people with a very great plague." Hence it is evident, that the sacred historian records two different events; of which, the one was more stupendous than the other, and seeip.ed to Moses so extraordinary, that on receiving the divine promise, he could not refrain from objecting: " The people, among w-hom I am, are six hundred thousand foot- men; and thou hast said, I v>-ill give them flesh, that they may eat a whole month. Shall the flocks and the herds be slain for them to suffice theml Or shall all the fish of the sea be gathered together for them to suffice them 1" Moses had seen the power of Jehovah successfully exerted in feeding his people with flesh for one day; but he could scarcely imagine, from whence supplies of the same kind could be drawn for a wliole month. That eminent servant of .Tehovah, astoni.shed at the greatness of the promised favour, seemed to forget for a moment, that with God all things are possible. The quails were scattered around the camp of Israel, in the most astonishing numbers: " He rained flesh also upon them as dust, and feathered fowls like as Ihe .sand of the sea." The holy Psalmist had used Ihe metaphorical word to rain, in relation to the manna, in a preceding verse, both to intimate its descent from heaven, and its prodigious abundance. And because a single metaphor is not suffi- cient to give us a just idea of the sudden and extraordinary supplies which descended on the tents of Israel, they are compared to the dust of the /icld, and to the sand of the sea, which cannot be numbered. To suggest at once the count- less myriads of these birds, and the ease with which they are caught, it is added : " He let it fall in the midst of their camp round about their habitations." The account of Moses is still more striking. "And there went forth a wind from the Lord, and brought quails from the sea, and let them fall by the camp, as it were a day's journey on this side, and as it were a day's journey on the oilier side, round about the camp, and as it were two cubits high upon Ihe face of the earlh." Hence, these birds covered the whole camp and the surrounding waste, to the distance of a day's journey on every side. The only ambiguity lies in the phrase, "a day's journey ;" whether it means'the space over which an individual could travel in one day, in which case it would be much greater — or the whole army could traverse, which would be much less. If the journey of an individual is in- tended, it might be about thirty miles; but if the sacred historian refers to the whole army, a third part of this .space is as much as thcv could march in one day in the sandy desert, under a vertical sun. In Ihe opinion of Bo- chart, this immense cloud of quails covered a space of at least forty miles diameter; for a day's journey is at least twenty miles. Ludolf thinks, it ought to be reduced to six- teen miles ; and others, to half that number, because, Moses refers to the march of Israel ilirough the desert, encumber- ed with their women and children, their flocks and herds, and the baggage of the whole nation ; which must have greatly retarded their movemcnls, and rendered the short distance of eight miles more ihnn suflicicnl lor a journey of one day. It is equally doulnful, m licther the distance menlioncd by Moses, must bo measured from thecrntre or 60 EXOpOS. OiiAP. 16. IVuui llie oxlieiiiiiies ,il llie I'ncaiiifiiiiL'iil ; il is certain, h.iwcvcr, llial lie iiilemts in ^lale the cuuiuless miiiibers ol' lliese binis wliich tell jiruuiul llie iculs ul iMael. Some iiilerprelers liav e (imibled, wtielher llie iie.xl clause refer tullie ainaziiiK iiiuUiiiideul Uiese bii Js which slrewed llie desert, or lu llic facility with which they were caught ; the wind let them fall bv itie caiiip— " as it were two cubits hii^h upon the face ol the emih," 'I'he Seventy, and alter then) the Vul'_'ale, lender it, 'I'hev Hew, as it were two cu- bits hiijh above the earth. I Ithers imasine. the quails were piled one above another over all that sjiace, to the height ol two cubits; while others sumiose, that the heaps which were scattered on the desert witli vacant spaces between, for the convenieiuv of those that went forth to colled llieni, rose to the bcightoftuo cubits. The second opiuiou seems entitled to the preference; for the phrase " to rain," evi- dently refers to these birds aller they had fallen to the ground, upon which thev lav numerous as the drop.? of rain from the dense cloud. 'Bes'ides, the peojile could scarcely have gathered ten homers a piece, in two days, if they had not found the quails hing upon the ground ; for a homer is the largest measure among the Jews, and contains nearly six pints; according to some Hebrew writers, the load of an ass, from whose name the term is supposed to be deriv- ed.— Paxton. Ver. 15. And uiu'ii tlio children of Israel saw (/, they said out' to another, It is manna ; for they wist not what it iriif. And Moses said unto thein. This is the hread which the Lord hath given yott to eat. Wc cannot mistake in this description the natural pro- duction which is called, in all the European languages, manna. Manna is the common name for the thick, clam- my, and sweet juice, which in the sotilliein countries oozes from certain trees and shrubs, partly by the rays of the sun, partly by the puncture of some kinds of insects, and partly by artificial means. The manna common in our druggists' shops, comes from Calabria and Sicily, where it oozes out of a kind of ash-tree, from the end of June to the end of July, when the bicada appears, an insect at first sight resembling the locust, but is distinguished from it by a thorn under the belly, with which il punctures this tree. The juice issuing from this wound, is in the night fluid, and looks like dew, but in the morning it begins to harden. But the European manna is not so good as the oriental, which is gathered in particular in Syria, Arabia, and Persia; partly from the oriental oak, and partly from a shrub, which is called in Persia, Terengabin or Terendsehabin. Rauwolf says, that the manna grains resemble coriander seeds, as mentioned in the Mosaic account ; and this is confirmed by several modern travellers. Gmelin remarks, that the manna is as white as snow, and consists of grains like coriander seeds. The peasants about Ispahan gather it at sunrise, holding a sieve under the branch, into which the grains fall when the branches are struck with a slick ; if the gathering it be put oft" till after sunrise, no manna can be obtained, because it melts. — BcBDKR. The Wady el Sheikli, the great valley of western Sinai, is in many parts thickly overgrown with the tamarisk or tarfa, {Hedi/sariin Alhngi of Linn.") It is the only valley in the peninsula of Sinai where this tree grows, at present, in anygreat quantity; though small bushes of il are here and there met with in' other parts. It is from the tarfa that the manna is obtained. This substance is called by llie Be- douins ?««»«, and accurately resembles the description of manna given in the scriptures. In the month of June, it drops from the thorns of tlie tamarisk upon the fallen twigs, leaves, and thorns which ahvavs cover the ground beneath that tree in the natural stale ; the inaiina is c(dlected before sunrise, when it is coagulated ; but il dis.solvcs as soon as the sun shines upon il. The Arabs clean awaythe leaves, dirt, etc. wliii'h adhere to il,hoil il, strain it through 0 coarse piece of cloth, and put it in leathern skins : in this way they preserve it till the following vcar. and use it as they do ho- ney, to pour over unleavened bread, lutodiptlieirbread into. T could not learn that they ever made it inlocakcs or loaves. The manna is found only in years when ropious rains have fallen ; .sometimes it is not produced at all. I saw none of it among the Arabs, but I obtained a small piece of the la.si year's produce, in the ronvenl (of Mount Sinni.) where, having been kept in the cool shade and moderate tempera- ture ol' that place, il hail become quite solid, and formed a small cake ; it became soli when kept some lime in the hand; if placed in the sun for five minutes, il dissolved; but when restored to a cool place, it became solid again iu a quarter of an houi. In tlie season at which the Arabs gather it, it never acquit es that state of hardness which will allow of its being pounded, as llie Israelites are said to have done, iu Num. .\i. ». Its colour is a dirly yellow, and the piece which I saw was still ijii.xed with' bits of tamarisk leaves; ils lasle is agieeable, somewhat aromatic, and as sweet as honey. If eaten in any considerable quantity, il is said to be slightly purgative. The quantity of inanna collected at present, even in sea- sons when the' most copious rains l"all, is trilliiig, perliaps not amounting to moie than five or six hundred pounds. It is entirely consuiced among the Bedouins, who consider it the greatest dainty which their coiiiitiy aflords. The bar- vest IS usually 111 June, and lasts for about six weeks. In Nubia, and in eveiy part of Arabia, the tamarisk is one of the most common trees; on the Kuphiales, on the Astabo- ras, in all the valleys of the Hedjaz and the Bedja, it grows in great plentv. It is remarked by Niebuhr. that in Meso- potamia, manna is produced by several trees of the oak spe- cies; a similar fact was confirmed to me by the son of a Turkish lady, who had passed the greater part of his youth at Erzernni in Asia Minor; he told me that at Moush, a town three or four days distant from Erzerum, a substance is collected from the tree which produces the galls, exactly similar to the manna of the penin.sula in ta.ste and consist- ence, and that it is used by the inhabitants instead of honey. Bt HlKIHRDT. The notion, however, that any sjccies of vegetable gum is the manna of the scriptures, appears so totally irreconci- lable with the Mosaic narrative, that, notwithstanding the learned names which may be cited in support of the con- jecture, it cannot be safely admitted as any explanation of the miracle. It is expi'e.ssly said, that the manna was rained from heaven: that when the dew was exhaled, it appeared Iving on the surface of the ground,—" a small, round thing, as small as the hoar-fro.st," — " like coriander seed, and its colour like a pearl;" that it fell but six days in the week, and that a double quantity fell on the sixth day; that what was gathered on the first five days became offensive and bred worms if kept above one day, while that which was gathered on the sixth day kept sweet for two days; that the people had never seen it before, which could not possibly be the case with either wild-honev or gum- arabic; that il was a substance which admitted of being ground in a handmill or pounded in a mortar, of being made into cakes and baked, and that it tasted like wafers made with honey; lastly, that it continueil falling for the forty years that the Isra'elites abode in the wilderness, but ceased on their arriving at the borders of Canaan. To perpetuate the remembrance of the miracle, a pot of the manna was to be laid up by the side of the ark, which clearly indicates the extraordinary nature of the produc- tion. In no one respect does it correspond to the modern manna. The latter does not fall from heaven, it is not deposited with the dew, but exudes from the trees when punctured, and is to be found only in the particular spots where those trees abound ; it could not, therefore, have supplied the Israelites w ith food in the more arid parts of the desert, where they most required it. The gums, more- over, flow onlv for about a month in the year; they neither admit of being ground, pounded, or baked ; they do not melt in the sun ; they do not breed worms ; and ihey are not peculiar to the Arabian wilderness. Others have supposed the manna to have been a fat and thick honey-dew, and that this v.as the wild-liunev whi( h John the Baptist lived upon. — a supposition worthy of being ranked with the monkish legend cd'Sl. John's bread, (U'thc locust-tree, and equally showing an entire ignorance of the nature of the coiititrv. It rcipiires the Israelites to have bi'cn constantly in the iieighbonrbood of trees, in the midst of a wilderness often bare of all vegetation. "Whatever the manna was, it was clearlv a substitute for bread, and it is expressly called meat, or food. The abundant supply, the periodical sus- pension of it, and the |)ectiliaritv attaching to the sixth day's supply, it must at all events be admitted, were preter- natural facts, aiid facts not less extiaoidinary than ihal the snlistance also should be of an unknown and peculiar de- Chap. 17—19. EXODUS. 61 scription. The credibility of ihe saciecl narrative cannot receive the slijjhtest addition of evidence from any attempt to explain the miracle by natural causes. That narrative would lead any plain reader to expect that the manna should no longer be found to exist, ha\ang ceased to fall upwards of 3,000 years. As to the fact that the Arabs give that name to the juice of the tarfu, the value of their au- thority may be estimated by the pulpit of Moses and the footstep of Mohammed's camel. The cause of Revelation has less to fear li'om the assaults of open inlidels, than from such ill-judged attempts of skeptical philosophers, to square the sacred narrative by their notions of probability. The giving of the manna was either a miracle or a fable. The proposed explanation makes it a mixture of both. It ad- mits the fact of a Divine inter]-iosition, yet insinuates that Moses gives an incorrect or embellished account of it. It requires us to believe, that the scripture history is at once true and a complete misrepresentation, and that the golden vase of manna was designed to peri etuate the simple fact, that the Israelites lived for forty years upon gum-arabic ! The miracle, as related by Moses, is surely more credible than the explanation. — Modern TR.(VELt,ER. Ver. IG. Gather of it every mail according to his eating; an omer for every man, (Heb. a head,) accordmg to\.h.e number of your persons ; take ye every man for them which are in his tents. A man, when otTering money to the people to induce them to do something for him, says, " To every head, I will give one fanam." In time of sickness or sorrow, it is said, "Ah! to every Acarf there is now'trouble." "Alas! there is nothing left for any head," " Yes, yes, he is a good master : to every head he has given a cow." " What did you pay your coolies'!"—" To every head one fanam." — RoBERTa. Chap. 17. ver. 1. And all the congregation of the children of Israel journeyed from the wil- derness of Sin, after their journeys, according to the commandment of the Lord, and pitched in Rephidim : arid there teas no water for the people to drink. At twenty minutes' walk from the convent of El Erbai/n, a block of granite is shown as the rock out of which the water issued when struck by Ihe rod of Moses. It is thus described by Burckhardl: "It lies quite insulated by the side of the path, which is about ten feet higher thaii the lower bottom of the valley. The rock is about twelve feet in height, of an irregular shape, approaching to a cube. There are some apertures upon its surface, through which Ihe water is said to have burst out; they are abuut twenty in number, and lie nearly in a straight line round the three .sides of the .stone. They are for the most part ten or twelve inches long, two or three inches broad, and from one to two inches deep, but a few of them are as deep as four inches. Every observer must be convinced, on the slightest exami- nation, that most of these fissures are the work of art; but three or four perhaps are natural, and these may have first drawn the atlenlionof the monks to the stone, and have in- duced thein to call it the rock of the miraculous supply of water. Besides the marks of art evident in the holes them- selves, the spaces between them have been chiselled, so as to make it appear as if Ihe slone had been worn in tho.se parts by the anion of Ihe water ; lliough it cannot be iloubl- ed, that if water had flowed from the fi.ssiires, it must gen- erally have taken quite a diflereni direction. One travel- ler saw on this stone twelve openings, answering to the number of the tribes of Israel ; another describes the holes as a foot deep. Tliev were probably fold so bv the monks, and believed what tliey beard, rather than what lliey saw. About 150 paces farther on in the vallcv, lies another piece of rock, upon which it seems that the work of deception was first begun, there being four or five aperlurescnl in it, similar to tho.se on the other block, but in a less finished stale. As it is somewhat smaller than the former, and lies in a less conspicuous part of the valley, reniovcil Irom Ihe public path, the monks thought proper, in process of time, to assign the miracle to the other. As the rock of Moses has been described by travellers of the filieenlh century, the deception must have originated among the monks of an earlier period. As to the present inhabitants of the con- vent and of the peninsula, they must be acquitted of any fraud respecting it, for they conscienliously believe that it is the very rock from whence the water gushed forth. In this part of the peninsula, the Israelites could not have suf- fered from thirst. The upper Sinai is full of wells and springs, the greater part of which are perennial; and on whichever side the pretended rock of Moses is approached, copious sources are found within an hour of it." The fact, that this part of the peninsula abounds with perennial springs, wnich is attested by eveiy traveller, proves deci- dedly that this cannot be the vale of Rejihidim. It is aston- ishing to find .such travellers as Shaw and Pococke credu- lously adopting this imbecile legend. " Here," sa)-s the former, " we stilisee that extraordinary antiquity, the rock of Meribah, which hath continued down to this day, without the least injury from time or accident. It is a block of granite marble, about six yards square, lying tottering as it were, and loose in Ihe middle of the valley, and f eems to have former- ly belonged to Mount Sinai, which hangs in a variety of pre- cipices all over this plain. The n-alerswhirh gufhed out, and the stream vhich flowed, (Psalm Ixxviii. 20,) have hollowed, acros.s one corner of this rock, a channel about two inches- deep and twenty wide, appearing to be incruslaled all over, like the inside of a teakettle that hath been long in use. Besides several mossy productions that are still preserved by Ihe dew, we see all over this channel a great number of holes, some of them four or five inches deep, and one or two in diameter, the lively and demonstrative tokens of their having been formerly so many fountains. It likewise may be further observed, that art or chance could by no means be concerned in the contrivance, lor every circum- stance points out to us a miracle, and, in the same manner with the rent in the rock of Mount Calvary, at Jernsalem, never fails to produce a religious surprise in all who see it." That this rock is as truly ihe Rock of iMeribah,'ns the spot alluded to is Mount Calvary, may be freely admitted; but the surpri.se which they are adapted to awaken in an intelligentobserver, is at the credulity of travellers. "These supernatural mouths," says Sir F. Henniker, "appear to me common crevices in the rock : they are only two inches in depth, and their length is not confined to the water- course. That the incrustation is theeflect of water, I h.Tve not the slightest doubt, for the rocks close at hand, where water is still dripping, are marked in the same manner : and if a fragment oflhe cliff were to fall dow^n, we should scarcely distinguish between the two. I therefore doubt the identity of Ihe stone, and also the locality ; for, in this place, the miracle would be that a mountain so lofty as Mount Sinai should be without water!" — Modern Trav- eller, Ver. 16. For he said. Because the Lord hath sworn that the Lord %cill have war with Amalek from generation to generation. Literally, " Because the hand of the Lord is upon the throne." These words are .susceptible of a very different meaning, which has not escaped the notice of some valua- ble commentators: "For he .said. Because his hand hath been against the throne of the Lord, therefore, will he have war with Amalek from generation to generation." The prophet is there giving a reason of the perpetual war which .Tehovah had just proclaimed against that devoted race; their hand had been against the throne of the Lord, that is, they had attacked Ihe people whom he had chosen, and among whom he had planted histhrone; disregarding, or probably treating with contempt, the miraculous signs of Ihe divine presence which led the way, and warranted the operations of Israel; they attempted to stop their progress, and defeat the promise of Heaven ; therefore they dared to lift their hand against the throne of God him.s'elf, and were for their presumption, doomed to the destruction which they intended for others. Hence, the custom of laying the hand upon the gospels, as an appeal to God, if not the contrivance of modern stiperstition, is derived from the practice of .some obscure Gentile nation, and has no claim whatever to a more reputable origin. — Paxton. Chap. 19. ver. 1. In the third tnonlli, when the 62 EXODUS. CiiAi'. 19. chiklrcn of Israel wore "ono forth out of the lari'l of E^ypt, the same day came they into the wiKlerness of Sinai. Wc were near twelve hours in passing ilie many wind- m-^i and diliiculi ways which liebeiwixt the deserts of Sin and Sinai. The laiter is a beautil'ul plain, more than a li.':ig'.ic in breadth, and nearly three in length, lying open toivards the N.E., where we entered it, but is closed up to the SDir.hward by some of the lower eminences of Mount Sinai. in this direction, likewise, the higher parts of it make such encroaehinenls on the plain, that they divide it into two, each of Ihein capacious enough to receive the whole en- campment of the I--raeliles. 'fhal which lieth to the east- ward of the mount, may be the desert of Sinai, properly so called, wlipre JlTascs saw t/tcanacl of the Lord in the burning bush, when he was guarding the flocks ol Jelhro. The con- vent of St. Catharine is built over the place of this divine ajjpeaiance: it is near three hundred feet square, and nijre tlia'i forty in hei^'ht, being partly built with stone, partly wi:h mud only and mortar mixed together. The mjie iumiediate place of the Sliekinah is honoured with a liitle chapel, which this old fraternity of St. Basil hath in such esteem and veneration, that, in imitation of Moses, tiiey put off their shoes from oft' their feet, when they enter or ajiproach it. This, with several other chapels, dedica- t.'J to particular saints, are included within the church, as they call i', of the Transliguration, which is a large beau- tifi.d structure, covered with lead, and supported by two rows of marble columns. The floor is very elegantly laid o'.it in a variety of devices in Mosaic work ; of the same Wi>rkmanship, likewise, are both the floor and the walls of the jircsbylerium, upon the laiter whereof is represented the lisure of the Emperor Justinian, together with the his- tory of the transfiguration. On the partition, which sepa- rates the prcsbyterium from the body of the church, there is placed a small maible shrine, whereon are preserved the scull and one of the hands of St. Catharine. Mount Sinai hangs over this convent, being called by the Arabs, Jebbel Moiisa, the mountain of Moses, and sometimes only, by v.ay of eminence, El Tor, the mountain. St. Helena was at the expense of the stone staircase, that was formerly car- ried up entirely to the top of it; but, at present, as most of these steps are either removed, washed out of their places, or defaced, the ascent up to it is very fatiguing, and entire- ly imposed on their votaries as a severe penance. How- ever, at certain distances, the fathers have erected, as so many breathing places, several little chapels, dedicated to one or o'her of their .saints, who are always invoked on these occasions; and, after some small oblnlion, are en- gaged to lend their assistance. The summit of Mount Sinai is .somewhat conical, and not very spacious, where the Mohammedans, as well as the Christians, have a small cliapel for public worsliip. Here we were shown the place where' i\toses fasled forty days ; wlu're he received the law ; where he hid himself from the face of God; where his hand was supported by Aaron and Hur, at the battle with Amnlek. After we had descended, with no small diflicul- IV, down the western side of this mountain, we came into the o:her plain formed by it, which is Rephidim. — Sii.aw. Tlie Arab; rail .b bbcl'Musa, the mount of Moses, all that range of moiiiitaiiis at the exterior extremity of the valley of Paran ; and to that part of the range on which the con- vent of St. Catharine .stands, they give the name of Tur Sina. This similarity of name, owing most probably to tradition, aflbrds ground for prcstiming^that the hill wliicli v/e had now reached was the Sinai of the Jews, on which Moses received the law. It is, indeed, not easy to compre- hend how such a multitude of people as the Jews, who ac- companied Moses ont of Egypt, could encamp in (hose narrow gullies, amid frighiful and precipitous rocks. But, perhaps, there are plains on the other side of the moun- tain, that W(? know not of Two (ierman miles and a half up the m.iuntain stands the convent of St. Catharine. The bodv of this monasicrv is a building one hundred and twen- ty feel in length, and almost ns many in breadth. Before it stanils another small htiilding, in which is the only gate of the convent, which remains always shut, except when the bi^hop is here. At other times, whatever is introduced wi'hin the eemvent, whether men or provisions, is drawn up to the roof in a Kasket, with a cord and a pulley. The whole building is of hewn stone, which, in such a desert must have cost prodigious expense tind jjains. Next day our scheichs brought me an Arab, whom they qualified with the title of scheich of Mount Sinai. Under the con- duct of this newly-created lord of Sinai, with our scheichs, I attempted to clamber to the summit of that mountain. It is so steep, that Moses cannot liave ascemled on the side which I viewed. The Greeks have cm a flight of steps up the rock. Pococke reckons three thousand of these steps to the top of the mountain, or, rather, bare-pointed rocK. Five hundred steps above the convent we found a charm- ing spring, which, by a little pains, might be improved into a very agreeable spot. A tlujusand steps higher, a chapel, dedicated to the Blessed Virgin ; and five hundred above this, two other chapels, situated in a plain, which travellers enter by two small gates (,f mason work. Upon this plain are two trees, under which, at high festivals, the Arabs are regaled at the expcn.se of the Greeks. Mv Mohammedan guides, imitating the practice which they had seen the pil- grims observe, ki.ssed the images, and repeated their pray- ers in the chapels. Tlicy would accimipany me no farther, but maintained this to be the highest accessible peak of the mountain ; whereas, according to Pococke, I had yet a thousand steps to ascend. I was, therefore, obliged to re- turn, and content myself with viewing the hill of St. Catha- rine at a distance. — NiEEUirn. After reposing in the convent and its delightful garden, the first duty of a pilgrim is, to climb the summit of the Djcbcl Mousii, or mountain of Moses, the road to which be- gins to ascend immediately behind the walls of the convent. Regular steps (it is said, to the number ot l.''),000) have been cut all the way up ; but they are now either entirely de- stroyed, or so much damaged by the winter torrents, as to be of very little use. They are ascribed to the munificence of the Empress Helena. " Afler ascending for about twen- ty-five minutes," says Burckhardt, " we breathed a short time under a large impending rock, close by which is a small well of water, as cold as ice. At the end of three quarters of an hour's steep ascent, we came to a small plain, the entrance to which from below is through a .stone gate- way, which in former limes was probably closed : a little beneath it, stands, amid the rocks, a small church dedica- ted to the Virgin. On the plain isa l.nrger building of rude construction, which bears the name of the convent of St. Elias: it was lately inhabited, but is now abandoned, the monks repairing here only at certain times of the year to read ma.ss. Pilgrims usually halt on this .spot, where a tall cypress-tree grows by the side of a stone tank, whicli re- ceives the w inter rains. On a large rock in the plain are several Arabic inscriptions, engraved by pilgrims three or four hundred years ago ; I saw one aUo in ihe Syriac lan- guage. According to the Koran and Moslem traditions, it was in this part of th.e niouniain, which is called Djebel Oreb, or Horcb, that Mo.ses communicated with the Lord. From hence a still steeper ascent of half an hour, the steps of which are also in ruins, lends to the summit of Djebel Mousa, where stands thecliuich -which formsthe principal object of the pilgiiuiage : it is built on Ihe very peak of Ihe mountain, the plane of which is at mosl sixty paces in circumference. The church, though strongly built with granite, is now greatly dilapidated by the unremitted at- tempts of tlie A rabs to destroy it ; the door, roof, and walls are greatly injured. Some ruins nntml the church indicaiethal a niuchlarger and more solid building once stood here; and Ihe rock ap- pears to have been cut perpendicularly with great labour, to pi'event any other appronrh to it than hy the southern side. The view from this ,'umuiit must be very grand, but a thick fog prevented me from seeing even the ni'nrest moun- tains. About thirty p.nccs from the church, on a .some- what lower peak, stands a poor mosque, without any orna- ments, held in great veneration bv the Moslems, and the place of their pilgrimage. It is fVciiuenily visited by the Bedouins, who slaughter sheep in honoiirof Moses, and who make vows to him. and riilrenl his intercession in heaven in their favour. There is a feasl-ilay on which the Bedouins come hither in a mass, and oflcr their sacrifices. I was told that formerly they never approached Ihe place without being dressed in ihe Ihram, or sacred mantle, with which Ihe Moslems cover their naked bodies on visiting Mecca, and which then consisted onlv of a na)ikin lied round ihe middle ; bui this custom has been abandoned lor the last forty years. Foreign Moslem pilgrims often repair Chap. 19—21. EXODUS. 63 to the spot ; and even Muliammed Ali Paslia, and his son Tousuun Paslia, gave notice that they intended to visit it, but they did not keep their promise. Close by the i'oolpath, in the ascent from St. Elias to this summit, and at a small distance from it, a place is shown in the rock, which some- what resembles the print of the forepart of the foot ; it is slated to have been made by Mohammed's loot when he visited the mountain. We found the adjacent part of the rock sprinkled with blood, in consequence of an accident which happened a few days before to a Turkish lady of rank, vi-ho was on her way from Cairo to Mecca, with her son, and who had resided for some weeks in the convent, durin? which she had made the tour of the sacred places, barefooted, althoug-h she was old and decrepit. In attempt- ing to kiss the mark of Mohammed's foot, she fell, and wounded her head, but not so severely as to prevent her from pursuing her pilgrimage. Somewhat below the mosque is a fine reservoir, cut very deep in the granite rock, for the reception of rain-water. Mr. Fazakerley .says, it is difficult to imagine a scene more desolate aiid terrific then that which is discovered from the summit of Sinai. A haze limited the prospect, and, except a glimpse of the sea in one direction, nothing was within sight but snow, and huge peaks and crags of naked granite. Sir F. Henniker describes it as a " sea of desolation." " It would seem," he says, " as if Arabia Pe- Iroea had once been an ocean of lava, and that while its waves were running literally mountains high, it was com- manded suddenly to stand still." He did not ascend the njcbel Katerin ; but the former traveller did, and speaks of it in the foUoAving terms; " The view from hence is of the same kind, only much more extensive than from the top of Sinai: it commands the two seas (gulfs) of Akaba and Svtez ; the island of Tiraan and the village of Tor w-ere pointed out to us: Sinai was far below us; clouds prevent- ed our seeing the high ground near Suez ; all the rest, w'herever the eye could reach, was a vast wilderness, and a confusion of granite mountains and valleys destitute of verdure." Burckhardi thus describes the country as seen from this same summit: " Frotn this elevated peak, a very extensive view opened before us, and the direction of the di.lerent sttrrounding chains of mountains could be dis- tinctly traced. The upper nucleus of the Sinai, composed almost entirely of granite, forms a rocky wilderness of an irregular circular shape, intersected by many narrow val- leys, and fro:n thirty to forty miles in diameter. It con- tains the highest moimtains of the peninsula, whose shag- gy and pointed peaks, and steep and shattered sides, ren- der it clearly distinguishable from all the rest of the coun- try in view.' It is upon this highest region of the peninsu- la, that the fertile valleys are found, which produce fruit- trees : they are principally to the west and southwest of the c:)nveni, at three or four hours' distance. Water, too, is aUvay5 found in plenty in this district, on which account it is the place of refuge of all the Bedouins, when the low country is parched up."— Modern Traveller. Ver. 13. There shall not a hand touch it, but he shall surely be stoned, or shot through. "To be stoned to death was a most grievous and terrible infliction. When the oflender came within four cubits of the place of execution, he was stripped naked, only leaving a covering before, and his hands being bound, he was led up to the fatal place, which was an eminence twice a man's lieight. The first executioners of the sentence were the witnesses, who generally pulled off their clothes for the purpose; one of them threw him down with great violence upon his loins: if he rolled upon his breast, he was turned upon his loins again, and if he died by the fall there was an end ; but if not, the other witness took a great stone, and dashed upon his breast, as he lay upon his back ; and then, if he wa.s not despatched, all the people that stood by threw stones at him till he died." — Leivis's Ori^incs ffebraa. Chap. 20. ver. .'>. Thou shah not bow down thy- self to them, nor serve thetii : for I the Lord thy God nm a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me. It is universally believed that children sufl'er for the iniquities of their ancestors, through many geneiations. " I wonder why Tamban's son was born a cripple 1" — " You wonder! why, that is a strange thing; have you not heard W'hat a vile man his grandfather w as V " Have you heard that Valen has had a son, and that he is born blind V — " I did not hear of it, but this is another proof of the sins of a former birth." " What a wicked wretch that Venasi is ! alas for his posterity, great will be their suflerings." " Evil one, why are you going on in this way; have you no pity for your seed V " Alas ! alas ! I am now suffering for the sins of my fathers." When men enjoy many blessings, it is common to say of them, " Yes, yes, they are enjoying the good deeds of their fathers." " The prosperity of my house arises from the virtues of my forefathers." In the Scanda Purana it is recorded, " The soul is subject to births, deaths, and sufferings. It may be born on the earth, or in the sea. It may also appear m ether, fire, or air. Souls may he born as men, as beasts or birds, as grass or trees, as mountains or gods." By these we are reminded of the question, " Who did sin, this man or his parents, that he was born blind'?" "Jesus answered. Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents." — Roberts. Ver. 18. And all the people saw the thunderings, and the lightnings, and the noise of the trum- pet, aitd the mountain smoking: and when the people saw it, they removed and stood afar off! Large splinters of wood, either of a resinous nature in themselves, or perhaps prepared in some cases by art, are made use of in the Levant instead of flambeaux ; and if they are in use in tliese times, in which great improve- ments have been made in all the arts of life, it is natural to suppose they were in use anciently, particularly among the peasants, shepherds, and travellers of the lower class. Dr. Richard Chandler found lighted brands made use of in Asia Minor, by some villagers, in.stcad of torches, and he refers to Virgil, representing the Roman peasants as preparing, in his days, the same sort of flambeaux, in winter time, I'cr their use. If they still continue in use in the East, there is reason to believe they were used an- ciently, and indeed, it seems to be a torch of this kind, that is meant by the Hebrew word t^s"? lappceil, which our translators sometimes render firebrand, sometimes lamp, thus confounding things that are very distinct, and which are expressed by difierent words. I would remark further, that as this word is made use of, Exod. xx. 18, and a very different word is used to e.xpre:^s lightning in the Hebrew, it is unfortunate that our version should render it lightning there, when it is to be understood, I apprehend^ of the flaming of the trees on Mount Sinai, on that memorable occasion, whole trees flaming around'the Divine presence, bearing some resemblance to the torches made of splinters of w-oo(i, which were made use of on less august occasions : " All the people saw the thunderings, and the trees flaming like so many torches, and the noise of the tiumpet, and the moimtain smoking ; and when the people saw it, they re- moved and stood afar off." Lightning is understood here without doubt, and that the trees were set on fire by the lightning will hardly be contested ; on the other hand, if the word directly meant lightning, still it is evidently sup- posed the trees and shrubs were fired bv it ; from wlience else w-ould have come the smoked Butas the word signi- fies torches, not flashes of lightning, it should not have been translated here lightning, dilii?rentlv from what it properly signifies. Agreeable to this account is the descrip- tion given us, Exod. xix. 18, "And Mount Sinai was alto- gether on a smoke, because the Lord descended upon it in fire: and the smoke thereof ascended as tlie smoke of a furnace, and the whole mount quaked greatly." — Harmer. Chap. 21. ver. 10. If he talce him another vifc ; her food, hev raiiuent, and herdtity of marriage, shall he not diminish. Though Jtcsk mr.nl is n.ot wont to be eaten by these nations so frequently as with us in the West, or in such quantities, yet people of rank, who often have it in their repasts, are fond of it, and even those in lower life, when it ran be pro- cured. Our translation then docs not express the spirit of the Mosaic precept, relating to the superinducing a second 64 EXODUS. Chap. 22. wife in llic lifeliine of the first, Exod. xxi. 10. " Her food, lier riiiinonl, ami her duty of iiiarriacje, shall he not dimin- ish ; in llie o:'ii;inal il is, hrr Jla^li, her raiment, &c. meaning thai he should nol only ati'ord her a suliiiient quanlily of food as hefiire, bin of ihe same quality The feeding her with broad, with herbs, with milk, iVc. in quantities not only suliirioiit to maintain lifi', but as nuich as numbers of poor people contented tlitiii--elves with, would not do, if he look away the flcs/i, and others of the more agreeable arti- cle.s of food he had before been wont to allow her. — Harmer. Ver. "20. Ami if a man smite his servant, or his maid, with a rocl, and he die under his hand ; he shall surely be punished. 21. Notwith- standing', if he continue a day or two, he shall not be punished : for he is his money. The people of Israel, like all the nations of antiquity. had the power of lile and death over their slaves; for sla- very proceeded from the right of conquest, when the vic- tors, instead of putting their enemies to death, chose rather to give them their lives, that they might have the benefit of their services. Pence it was supposed that the conqtieror always reserved the power of taking away their lives, if they committed any thing worthy of death ; and that he ac- quired the same power over llieir children, because they had never been born, if he had not spared the father, anil transmitted it when he alienated his slave. Such is the foundation ol the absolute power claimed by the Orientals over the unhappy persims whom they detained in slavery. It must be granted, that such reasons never can justify the exorbitant power of a slaveholder, or even his right to deprive his fellow-creature of his liberty, who has been guiltv of no adequate crime. The claims of Israel rested upon difl'erent grounds, theposi;ive grant of .lehovah him- self, who certainlv has a right to dispose of his creatures as he pleases. But among that people, the power of the master was limited by laws, which secured the safety and comfort of the slave, perhaps as much as that condition could possibly admit. Though the Israeliiish ma.sicr had the power of life and death, it lias been alleged by .some wri- ters, that he seldom abused it ; for his interest obliged him to preserve his slave, who made a part of his riches. This is the reason of tlie law. That he should not be punished who had smitten a .servant, if he continued alive a day or two after. He is his money, says the lawgiver, to show that the loss of his properly was deemed a snthcicnl punish- ment; and it may be jiresumed, in this ca.sc, that tlie mas- ter only intended his correction. But if the slave died un- der the strokes, it was to be supposed the master had a real design to kill him, for which the law commanded him to be punishi;d. Bnt considerations of interest are too feeble a barrier to resist the impulse of passions, inflamed by tlie consciousness and exercise of absolute power over a fellow- mortal. The wise and benevolent restraints imposed upon a ma.stcr of slaves, by the law of Mo.ses, clearly prove that he very often abused his power, or viai- in extreme danger of doiiig so ; for laws are not made for the good, but for the evil-doer. — P.ixton. Chap. 22. ver. 5. If a man shall cause a field or . vineyard to be eaten, and shall put in his beast, and shall feed in another man's field ; of the best of his own field, and of the best of his own vineyard, shall he make restitution. See on Gen. 49. 11. Chandler observes, (^Trnr-ch in Asia .'\finnr,) that the tame cattle were very fond of i inc Irnrr^, and were per- mitted to eat them in the autumn. " We remarked,'' he says, " about Smyrna, tlie leaves were decayed, or .stripped bv the camels and herds of goats, which are adinitten to browse after the vintage." If ihosi> animals are so fond of vine leaves, it is no wonder that Moses, tiy nn exjiress law, forbad a m/rn^s rau^itit; nnnlkrr vinii^s vinfiiard to be rnten b\i •pultiiis in his beast. The turning any of them in before the fruit was gatheied, must have occasioned much ini.s- chicf : and even after it must have been an injury, as it would have been eating up another's feed. — Harmkr. Ver. G. If fire break out, and catch in thorns, so that the stacks of corn, or the standing corn, or the field, be consumed thercaitli ; he that kindleth the fire shall surely make restitution. It is a common management in the East, to set the dry herbage on fire before the autumnal rains, which fires, for want of care, often do great damage. RIoses has taken notice of fires of this kind, and by an express law has pro- vided, that reparation shall be made for the damage done by those who either maliciously or negligently occasioned it. Chandler, speaking of the neighbourhood of Smyrna, says, " In the latter end of July, clouds began to appear from the south ; the air was repeatedly cooled by showers which had fallen elsewhere, and it was easy to foretell the approach- ing ram. This was the season for co/isuvn/iis ihe dri/ herbage auil midcrgrau'th on the mountains : and we often saw the fire blazing in the wind, and spreading a thick smoke along their sides." He also relates an incident to which he was an eyewitness. Having been employed the latter end of August, in taking a jilan at Troas, one day after dinner, says he, a Turk coming to us, "emptied the a^hcs from his pipe, and a spark of fire fell unobserved in the grass, which was long, patched by the sun, and inllamma- ble like tinder. A brisk wind soon kindled a blaze, which withered in an instant the leaves of the bushes and trees in its way, seiyed the branches and roots, and devoured all before it with prodigious crackling and noise. We were much alarmed, as a general conflagration of the country seemed likely to ensue." After exerting themselves for an hour, they at length extingvirhed it. Il is an im- propriety worth correcting in this passage, where the word staeks of corn is used rather than shncl.s, which is more con- formable to cnsloni, as the hrnps of the East ate only the disposing of corn into a proper form to be immediately trodden out. The .stacking of corn, in our aL'rieulUiral lan- guage means, the collecting corn in the strttw into heap;-, larger or .smaller as il happens, designed to continue for some considerable space of lime. They are not wont to stack corn, in our sense of the \\i.'rd. in those i't)tiniries. The term fhnrl., by which the word r'-ij andnsh is translated in two other places, is less except iinable, but not perfectly expressive ol the original idea. We put together, or heap up onr corn, not fully ripe, in parcels ulncli ;iie called shocks, that it may more perfectly ri| en afiei being cut, but the original word c-nj gadcefh, means a hetji of corn, fully ripe, see Job v. 'Jfi; means, in a woid, the heaps of ihe eastern threshing-floors, leady to be trodden out. — Harmer. Ver. 26. If thou at all take thy iieiohlotir's rai- ment to pleds:e, thou slialt deliver it unto him by that the sun goeth down : 27. For that is his covering only ; it is his raiment for his skin : wherein shall he sleep? and it shall coiiie to pas.s, when he crielh tinlo me. that I will bear; for I n;» gracious. The clothes which the Orientals wear by dav. serve them as bed-clothes for the night. Does a man wish to retire to rest, he needs not to tionblc himself about the curtains, he requires not the bed-steps, he does not examine whether his bolstei's or pillows are in order, he is not very particu- lar about the adjustment of his sheets and ciiinlerpane ; he throws a mat im llie floor. ]'laces his little tiavellincr lag or turban for a pillow, lakes ofl'his cloth, (which is generally about nine yards long.) puts one end under him ; tlien covers his feet, and folds the rest round his body, leavirg the upper end to cover h is face. Thus may V e .seen coolies in the morning, .stretched side by side, having, during the nitiht, defied all the slings of Iheir foes, Ihe mcscheloes. — Roberts. The upper garment of the Israelites was a large square cloth which folded round the whole body, and served the poor as a bed-coverint; during ilie night. Less altera- tion than rotild have been expected has taken place in Ihe dress of the e a.slern people. This garment wa.s still found by Shaw in Ihe eighteenth century, among the Be- dtuiin Arabs in the north of Africa, niider the Arabian name of Hyke, !. c texture, covering. In fair weather this cloth is therefore mostly worn on the shoulders, a.s Chap. 23—24. EXODUS. 65 Niebuhr observes in his Description of Arabia. " It will not, perhaps, be imagined," says he, " that the above-men- tioned little clothing constitutes the whole bedding of a common Arab. He spreads out his great girdle, and so he has a bed to lie down upon : with the cloth which he wears on his shoulders, he covers his whole body and face, and sleeps naked between these two cloths, quite happy and contented." — Rosenmlller. In all parts of Southern Africa, the skin cloak is the covering of males and females by day, and that in which they sleep by hight : they have no other bed-clothes. The Hottentot cloak is composed of sheep skins, retaining the wo9l on the inside of it, in which he sleeps comfortably under a bush or tree wherever he goes. Deprive him of that covering, and he would find himself most uncomfort- ably placed. It would be a cruel act. The nations farther in the interior, have cloaks made from hides of oxen or cows, which tliey have a method of rendering soft and pliable, and use exactly for the same purposes as the others, viz. for clothing and for sleeping in. The Israelites sleep- ing in the wilderness in this simple manner, would be always ready to remove when the trumpet intimated the moving of the pillar of fire ■, like the dogs, when they shook themselves, they might be said to be dressed and ready to march. The God who gave such a humane, considerate law to the Israelites, might well be called a gracious God. — At'RiCAN Light. Chap. 23. ver. 4. If thou meet thine enemy's ox or his ass going astray, thou shall surely bring it bark to him again. Among the Hindoos, malice often finds its victim in a dumb animal. If the wretch cannot revenge himself on the man, he will on his beast. The miscreant watches till the catlle go astray, or the owner shall be out of the way, when he pouncas upon the innocent ox or cow, and cuts off the tail. Hence may he .■^een, in every village, cattle which thus proclaim the diabolical passions of man. — Roberts. Ver. 17. Three times in the year all thy males shall appear before the Lord God. To those that may wonder how Jerusalem could receive such multitudes, as were obliged by the Jewish law to at- tend there three times a-vear, and as we know did some- times actually appear in il, I would recite the account that Pius gives of Mecca, the sacred city of ihe Mohammedans, and the number he found collected together there, for the celebration of their religious .solemnities, in the close of the 17th century. This city, he tells us, he thought he might safely say, had nol one thousand families in it of constant inhabitants, and Ihe buildings very mean and ordinary. That four caravans arrive there everv year, with great numbers of people in each, and the Mohammedans say, there meet not fewer than seventy thousand souls at these solemnities; and that though he could not think the num- ber quite so large, yet that it is very great. How .such numbers of people, with their beasts, could be lodged Snd entertained in such a little town as Meci'a, is a question he thus answers. " As for house-room, the inhabitants do straiten themselves very much, in order at this lime to make their market. As for such as come last, after the town is filled, they pilch their Icnis without the town, and there abide until ihey remove towards home. As for pro- vision, Ihev all biin;; snlhcicni with them, except it be of flesh, which ihey may have ni !\Tccca; but all other provi- sions, as bultcr, honey, oil, n!c fs, rice, biscuit, &c. they bring wiih them, as much as w ill last through the wilder- ness, forward and backward, as well as the lime Ihey slay at Mecca; and so for their cain;'Is they bring store of prov- ender, &c. with them." ^ The number of Jews that assem- bled at .Terusalein al their passovcr was mucli greater: but had not Jerusalem been a much larger cily than Mecca is, as in truth it wa^, yet Ihe )iresent Mohammedan practice of abidinj under tents, and carryin? their provisions and bedding with them, will easily explain how Ihey might be accommodated. — BiTanEn. Ver. 19. Thou shall not seethe a kiH in his mother's milk. The Jewish Icgislnlor three limes forbids his people to 0 " seethe a kid in his mother's milk." The meaning of this law has been greatly disputed, although Ihe terms in which it is couched, are sufficiently clear and precise. It is the opinion of some writers, that Ihe prohibition refers to a kid in the womb of its mother, which in that slate is nourished only with milk ; but the opinion of Clemens, that Ihe people of Israel had been in the practice of eating the fcetus of a goat, which this precept was intended to prohibit, is sup- ported by no proof. The disgusting custom of eating the fcetus of a sow, is indeed mentioned by Plutarch ; but we have no proof that it was known lo epicures in the times of Moses. Other expositors imagine, that Ihe Jews were by this precept forbidden to take away the life of a kid, before it was eight days old, when, according to them, it may sub- sist without the aid of its mother's milk. This exjiosition is supposed to be confirmed by another precept : " When a bullock, or a sheep, or a goat is brought forth, then it sliall he seven days under the dam; and from the eighth day, and thenceforth, it shall be accepted for an olTering made by lire unto the Lord." But since the law, which prohibited the people of Israel to ofl'er in sacrifice, " the young of the herd, or of Ihe flock," before Ihe eighth day, is immediately subjoined to the precept concerning Ihe oblation of the first ripe fruits, and the first-born, in the twenty-second chapter oi^ Exodus; so, in the twenty-third and thirty-fourth chap- ters, the law wliich forbids to seethe a kid in his mother's milk, follows the same precept; and by consequence, not only the sacred, but also Ihe common u.se of the kid, is pro- hibited before the eighth day. Such is the opinion, and the reasoning by which it is supported ; but it must be evi- dent to every reader, that a kid is as much in his mother's milk all Ihe lime he is suckled, as during the first eight days; nor can any reason be imagined, why he may not be .said lo be in his mother's milk on the .seventh day from his birth, rather than on the eighth or the ninth. Others are of opinion, that, according to this precept, a sucking kid was at no lime lo be slain, either for sacred or common use. The she-goat suckles her young about three months ; and till this period, it was not lo be subjected lo the sacri- ficing knife. But it is very improbable, that the Jews were forbidden the use of a kid for so long a lime ; for that which Ihe law permits to be offered in .sacrifice to God, may surely be eaten by his people. Nor was any species of food pro- hibited by Ihe law, Init for ceremonial impurity. But that cannot be reckoned legally unclean, which the law permits lo be offered in sacrifice at the allar. He permitted a suck- ing kid or lamb, to be offered on the eighth day; a sure proof they were nol reckoned unclean, w-hile they "remained under Ihe dam. The prophet Samuel offered a sucking lamb as a burnt-offering lo the Lord on a day of public humiliation ; and God condescended to give them a strong proof of his acceptance, in utterly discomfiting their ene- mies, by a furious tempest of thunder and lightning. If, therefore, a sucking kid might be offered in sacrifice to God, it might be used as food by his people. Nor is their opinion more tenable, who say, that by this law the dam and her suckling were not to be slain at the same lime. To cherish kind and humane feelings among the chosen seed, Jehovah forbade them to kill a cow, a sheep, or a goat, on the .same day with their voung; but the precept under consideration cannot naturally bear such a meaning. Had this been Ihe design of Mo.^es, why did he not say in plain terms. Thou shall not seethe a kid and his mother at the same time'? He must, therefore, have meant what the words naliirallv sucrgcsl, thai a kill is nol to he .seethed in the milk of his mother. The barbarous custom to which the lawgiver alludes, probably existed in .some neighbour- ing countries, and particularly in Kgypt, from whose iron yoke Ihey had just been delivered ; either becau.'-e the flesh dressed in this manner was more lender and juicv, than when ronslcd wiih fire, c^r boiled in water; or, which is more probable, while al the feast of ingathering, they gave thanks to God for Ihe mercies they had received, and ex- pressed their dependance upon him for future blessings, they were nol lo expect his favour by imitating Ihe super- slilious riles of the heathens, among whom Ihey liad lived so long, who at the end of their liarvest .seethed a kid in his mollier's milk, and sprinkled Ihe brolh in a magical way upon their gardens and fields, lo render ihcm more fruitful next season. — P^ixton. Chap. 24. ver. 2!^. And I will send hornets be- 66 EXODUS. CuAr. 21—25. fore ihcc, which shull drive out the Hivite, the Canaanite, and the Hiliite, from before thee. Another insect whiclx Heaven has sometimes employed to avenge the quarrel o( his covenant, is the hornet ; which is a larger species of wasj,. The irascible temper and poi- sonous stiug ol the wasp, aic lo6 well known to require de- scription; they have been mentioned by the naiura histo- rians, and celebrated bv the poets of every age and coun- try. In three parallel places of scripture, the sacred wri- ter mentions the hornet which Jehovah sent before his people, to expel the Cauaaniies from their habilalions : " Ana I will send hornets before thee, which shall drive out the Hivite, the Canaanite, and the Hume Irom belore thee " Thi^ promise was afierward renewed a short time befare that people passed the Jordan : " Moreover, the Lord thy God will send the hornet among hem, till they that are left, and hide themselves from thee, be destroyed. Both these promises, we learn from Joshua, were punctu- allv fulfilled ; " And I sent the hornet belore you, which drive them out from before vou, even the two kings o{ the Ainoriles, but not with thy swuid, nor with thy bow. At what parluular time durin° the wars ol Joshua, the Lord, in fulfilment of his promise, sent the hornet against the in- habilanlsof Canaan, and what impression its attack made upon the enemies of Israel, we are nowhere informed in scripture. On this account, several writers of great emi- nence consider ihe wcn-ds of Moses as a metaphor, denoting the terror of the Lord, or some remarkable disease which he commissioned to lay wa-stc the country before the armies of Israel. But neither the words of Moses nor Joshua, be- tray the smallest indication of metaphor: and in a plain narration, we are never, without the most obvious neces- sity, to depart from the literal sense. The inspired histo- rian could not mean the terror of the Lord, as Auguslme is inclined to suppose ; for he had mentioned this in the verse immediately pre<-eding : " I ivill send my fear before thee, and will destrov all the people to whom thou shall come and 1 will make all thine enemies turn their backs unto thee." Upon which it is added, " Ami I will send hornets before thee." Nor could any particular disease be intended ; for no disease was ever called by this name. Junius gives a diflerent version : I will send before thee fear or disease as a hornet; but the comparative particle as, is not in the text, and must not be supplied by the ca- price of translators. The words of Joshua are express, ■without either metaphor or comparison: " I have sent the hornet before vou." It is no valid objcclion to the literal sense that the circumstances of lime and place arc not mentioned bv the sacred writer, for this is by no means an unusual omission in the rapid narrative of an inspired his- torian. To mention but one example : the patriarch Ja- cob "ave to his son Joseph a portion of land, which he took from'the Amorite bv lorce of arms; but when or m what place this battle wa"s fought, we are not inloimed. The hornet, it is probable, marched before the armies ot Israel, till the'five nations that had been doomed for their numer- ous and long-continued ciimes to destruction, v.erc sub- dued- which rendered such a circumstaniial detail unne- cessary and improper. But who can believe, say ihev, that the hornets of Canaan were so vexatious to the inhab- itants that they were forced to abandon their dwellings, and seek for oilier habi\itions ? The leslimony of an in- spired wriler ou?hl to silence all sneh objections ; Imt, in realir\', the same thing has not unfrequenlly happened m the hisloiy of the world. Both Aihena-tis and Eustatheus in- form us, that the people about Pa-.inia and Dardania were compelled by frogs to forsake their native counlry, and fix their abode in a distant region. If Pliny may be credited, the ancient ciiyof Trov was lorced to open her gates, afser a. war often years, not so much bv Ihe vict(U-ious arms of the Greeks, iis by nn innumerable host of mice, which compelled the Trojans to desert their houses, and retire to the neiehbouring mountains; and in Ilaly, whtde nations were driven from their possession by the .same destnietive creature, which in immense numbers overran their fields, devoured every green thing, and. grubbing np Ihe roots, converted some of the fairest regions of thai counlry into an inhospitable waste. The Myusians, according to Pau- sanias, were forced, bv .swarms of gnats, to desert their city; and the Sevthians bevimd the Isler, are recorded to have been expelled from their countr)- by countless my- riads of bees. But, since the wasp is more vexatious than the bee its sling more severe, and its hostility more viru- loni— it is by no means incredible, thai many of the Ca- naanites were forced, by so formidable an enemy, to re- move beyond the reach of their attack. — Paxton. Chap. 25. ver. 5. And rams' skins died red, and badgers' skins, and sliittim-wood. To enter into the hislory of this animal is unnecessary, as it is mentioned in scripture only on account of ius skin. This part of llie animal seems to have been in great re- quest among the people of Israel, for it is racnlioned among the valuable articles which they were permitted to tjjler for the tabernacle: " Rams' skins died red, and badgers skins. These la.sl formed the exterior covering ot that splendid stiucture, and of all the sacred utensils, which the Levites were commanded to ispread over them during their march. Of these also the shoes of the mystical bnde were formed, when, according to the representation of the propjiej. sne was richly adorned for the marriage. Jehovah had chosen Israel to be his peculiar people, and had beslowTd upon tiiem innumerable favours, but thev had become ungrate- ful and perfidious, like a woman who proves inconstant and unfaithful to her husband, who had raised her irom the meanest condition, to the greatest affluence and splen- dour • '• Thou becamesl mine. Then I washed ihce with water ; yes, I thoroughly washed away ihy blood from thee and I anointed thee with oil. 1 clothed thee also with broidered work, and .shod thee with badgers skin ; and I "irded thee about with fine linen, and I covered thee with silk " In this passage, badgers' skin is mentioned as a very precious and splendid substance, such as might be made into shoes for ladies of the highest rank, and worn on their marriage dav; while, in ihe book ot Exodus, n is represented as very coarse and homely, lit only lo he made a covering for the tabernacle, and its lurniture, during the journeys of the tubes. These very dillcrent representa- tions cannot easily be reconciled, and involve the subject in doubt and uncertainty. And indeed the original word (••jTin-) l<:has/i, which our translators tender badgers skms, is of verv uneerlain meaning. I' is evident from scripture, Ibat it was a kind of skin which, being capable of resisting rain was manufaclnied bv the people of Israel into cover- ings for Ihe laliernacle and if^ furniture, and into shoes for persons of the highest rank in the state. But the inspir- ed writers-furnish no details from which it can be mleried, to what animal it originally belonged ; it is even extremely doubtful, whether the word rendered badger, denotes an animal at all. The Seventy inlerpreters considered it inerelv as the name of a colour, and uniformly translate it hyaeiiith, or hvacinthine. In this opinion, Ihey were fol- lowed by all the ancient translators of Ihe scripture, with- out one exception ; and Ihc same idea has been adopted by the learned Bocharl, and other eminent moderns. The reasons on which their inlerprelation is founded, seem to be quite conclusive. In the tirst place, no evidence can be fouAd ihat the badger ever evisted in Palestine, Arabia, or E^vpt Dr Shaw made pnrliriilar inquiry. but couldhear of- no such animal m Bavbary. Harmer was unable to di-^cover in modem travellers, the smallest traces of the badger in Egypt, or in anv of the adjacent countries; But- fon represents it as uuknow n in that pari ol Asia^ So little ■n-as the badger known to the aneienl-^.thal the Greeks had not' a word in their language by which to express it ; and Die Latin term -svhieh is supposed lo denote ihis animal, is exiremelv doubtful. But if the badger is not a native of Ihe East if it is not lo be found m those countries, from whence could the -people (^f Israel in the wilderness, pro- cuie its skin to cover the labernr.cle 7 It is an animal of small size and is nowhere found in gteal numbers ; and, bv consequence, its skin C(Uild not. in remote times, more than at presem, couslilule an arlicle of ommerce m the ports of Eg\p', and come at last into the pos.-iession of that people The exterior covering of the tabernacle, and its l.ulkv ulensils, must have required n greater number of skins than coul.l be procure I even in the native country of the badger; and therefore, il musi have been formed of leather fabricated from Ihe skin of some other animal, which not only existed, bm also abounded in Eg^'pt and the adjacent countries. The coarseness ol the leather, fabricated of badgers' skin, which in the Fas' is reluctantly Chap. 26. EXODUS. 67 employed I'ur llie meanest purposes ol' lij'e, IbibjcU us to considei' it as the material of wliich the elegant shoes of au oriental lady are formed. When the prophet says in the name of the Lord, " 1 clothed tliee also with broidered woric, and shod thee with badgers' slcin, and I girded tliee about with line linen, and 1 covered thee with silk," he certainly meant, that llie shoe.>, corresponding to the other parts of the dress, were formed of costly materials. The Targimi accordmilrength, and smoothness. It is thought he means the black acacia, the only tree found in the dcserls of Arabia. This plant i ; so hard and solid, as to become almost incor- ruptible. Its wood has the colour of the Lotus tree; and so large, that it furnishes plank twelve cubits long. It is very thorny, and even its bark is covered with very sharp thorns ; and hence it perhaps had the Hebrew name Sliala, from making animals decline or turn aside by the sharp- ness of its spines. The interpretation now given, seems to be conlirined by the following remark of Dr. Shaw : " The acacia being by much the largest and the most com- mon tree of these deserls, we have some reason to conjec- ture, that theshittim-wood, of which the several utensils of the tabernacle were made, was the wood of the acacia. This tree abounds with flowers of a globular figure, and of an excellent smell ; whieli is another proof of its being the shitta tree of the scriptures, which, in the prophecies of Isaiah, is joined with the myrtle and other sweet-smelling plants." Besides, we have no reason to conclude, that the people of Israel possessed any species of wood for making the utensils of the tabernacle, but what they could procure in the desert ; but the desert produces none in the quantity required, except the acacia. In one place they founii seven- ty-two palm-trees: but the sacred writer distinguishes them by their vulgar name ; therefore they could not be the same tree ; nor is the palm, which is a soft .spongy wood, at all fit for the purpose, — for the nature of the utensils, as the ark of the testimony and the merc}'-seat, required wood of a fibre the hardest, the most beautiful and durable which could be found, had it been in their power to make a choice ; and these are the very characters of the acacia. To these importiuit qualities may be added, the fragrant odour emit- ted by this wood, which to Orientals who delight in rich perfumes, must have been a powerful recommendation. But if the acacia was perfectly suited to the purpose of Mo- ses, and if the desert produces no other, as Dr. Shaw de- clares, the shittim-Vv'ood mentioned in the scriptures must be the acacia of the natural historian. — P.ixton. Ch.\p. 26. ver. 1. Moreover, thou shalt make the tabernacle icith ten curtains of fine twined linen, and blue, and purple, and scarlet : with cher- ubims of cunning work shalt thou make them. It seems that the tabernacle, as it was ordered in the plan given, might be called a tent or a house, because it had wooden walls or partitions like a house, and curtains and hangings like a lent ; but as it exlernally resembled a tent, and that a common oblong tent, such as those of the Arabs, for the most part, now are, and the wooden walls were without a roof, and property only supports for the many curtains and hangings which spread over them, it is better and more properly called a tent. Even the ordinary tents of the wandering tribes of the East have at least two main divisions ; the innermost or hindmost is for the women ; and, among the Orientals, it is in this sense sacred, i. e. parted off, inaccessible. The first space is divided from the innermost only by a curtain, and is for the men ; what is found in the tents of the common people is found also, but far more rich and splendid, in the tents of the men of rank. The tent of an emir or prince has more conveniences; the innermo.st space is only accessible to himself, or to those whom he especially honours : into the first space, or outer tent, others may come. The furniture is costly, the floor is covered with a rich carpet, and a stand, with the censer and coals, on which incense is strewed. Here we have the simple idea after which this royal tent, this abode of God, who was at the same time king of the Hebrew people, was made. It was ntit to be a house or a palace, but a tent, and that with all the magnificence which the skill of the He- brews in architecture could erect. The boards for the standing walls were covered with plates of gold; twenty boards, which served as pillars to the .supporters, standing upright, joined together, each three feet broad and twenty high, made on each side the length, and eight the breadth, so that eight-and-fiirly such boards, iwcnty in the length on each side, and eight for ihe breadth of the back wall, (for the front side had only a curtain,) resting upon two silver .sockets, formed the partition. This oblong quadrangle was separated into two parts or divisions; the innermost, or the mo.st lioly ; and the front, or the holy. The innermost was properly the dwelling cf the Lord, the front one was more for his service. The inner division was very considerable, six'y feet long, twenty feet broad, and twenty high ; and, as over this extensive frame-work several covers were spread, which hung down on three sides, (that is, all round except at the entrance,) ihis also gave Ihe lent a crcater appearance, so thai it was undoiibledly distinguished by 68 EXOUUS. Chap. 2G — -29. its size. Ill llie coveiiugs ul' llie li'nts, the UiR-ntals, wliu are Ibiul >it' inagnilicciice, regard bulh the stuli' ami the colour: this royal lent was lo be ilislin^nnshed in both par- ticulars. Tho'ciirlaiii, which lay immediately under the beams, was the most boaiiiilul and the most costly. Uii the finest liiii-n sliitrwerc einbniidered chenibims ol' the most beaulil'iil colours, dark blue, jniriilo, and scarlet. Thus the tents ol enMeni |irinces, even in our days, are dislin- Ruished by most beautiful olours. Olearius, accompany- ing the aiiibassadors of Holstcin Gottorf, who were invited by the Persian monnichlo ahuntiiis parly, found inan Ar- nienian village inanv tents, readv for the reception ol the companv, which afliuded a pleasing,' sight on account of their manifold colours. Over the under curiam a cover- ing of goats' hair was spread, which is the usual covering of the Arabian tents, commonly coarse, but here of the finest texture; and. thai these coverings might not be in- jured by the snnd or diisl, two others, made of skins, were laid over them. The porlable temple of the Israelites had, indeed, in its whole arrangement, a resemblance with the temples of other nations of anticpiily. As they had spacious forecourts, so had ihe tabernacle an oblong quadrangular forecourt, two hundred feet long, and one hundred broad, which was formed bv the hangings or curtains which hung on pillars. The tabernacle itself was divided into two parts, the holv and the most holy ; in llie latter was the ark of Ihe covenant, with the symbols of the divine qnalities, the cherubims; and no human being dared to enler this especially sanctified place, except the high-priest, once a year, (on the feast of reconciliation.) Thus, also, in many Grecian temples, the back part was not to be entered by anvbodv. (Lackemacher's Anliq. Gra>cor. Sacr.^ This part, where, in the heathen temples, the statue of the deity was placed, was generally towards the west, and the en- trance towards the"ea.st. (Spencer de Leg. Hebroeor. Ritual.) In the same manner the entrance of the tabernacle was towards the east, and, consequently, the most holy place to the west. In the most holy, a solemn darkness reigned, as in most of the ancient temples. A richly-worked cur- tain divided the most holy from the holy, and thus, in the Egyptian temples, the back part, where the sacred animal toWhich the temple was dedicated, was kept, was divided from the front part by a curtain embroidered with gold. — RoSENMnLLEB. Ver. 36. And thou shall make a hanging for the door of the tent, of hlue, and purple, and scar- let, and fine twined linen, wrought with needle- work. We passed Lahar, close to a small valley, where we found several .snug encampments of the Eelauts, al one of which we stopped to examine the tent ofthe chief of the obn/i, or family. It was composed of a wooden frame of circu- lar laths, which were fixed on the ground, and then cover- ed over with large felts, that were fa.stened down by a cord, ornamented bv tassels of various colours. A curtain, cu- riously worked bv the women, wilh coarse needle-work of various colours, was suspended over the door. In ilie king of Persia's tents, magnificent perduhs, or hangings of nee- dle-work, are suspended, as well as on the doors of the great mosques in Turkey; and these circumslances com- bined, will, perhaps, illustrate K.iodus xxvi; 36. — Moriek. Chai^. 27. ver. 20. And thou shult command the children of Israel, that they bring- thee pure oil olive beaten for tlie light, to cause the lamp to burn always. By the expression oil-olirc, this oil is distinguished from other kinds. The addition bcolcn, indicates that il is that oil obtained from olives pounded in a mortar, and not pressed from olives in the oil-mill. The oil oblalncd from pounded olives is, according lo Coliimella's observation, much purer and belter lasted, does not emit much smoke, and has no oll'ensivc smell. — BcanKii. Chap. 28. ver. 33. And hroeath. upon the lieiii of it, thoti shall make pomegranates nf blue, and vf purple, and oy scarlet, rouuiTabout the hem thereof; and bells of gold between them round about. The bell seems to have been a sacred utensil of very ancient use in Asia. Golden bells formed a part ofthe orna- ments ofthe pontifical robe ofthe Jewish high-priest, witli which he invested himself upon those grand and peculiar festivals, when he entered into the sanctuary. That robe was very iiiagnificent, it was ordained to be of sky-blue, and the boriler of it, at the bottom, was adorned with pomegranates and gold bells intermixed equally, and at equal distances. The use and intent of these bells is evident from these words : " And it shall be upon Aaron to minister, and his sound shall be heard when he goeth in unto the holy place before the Lord, and when he comelh out, that he die not." The sound of the numerous bells that covered the hem of his garment, gave notice to the assembled people that the most awful ceremony of their religion had commenced. When arrayed in this garb, he bore into the sanctuary the ves.sel of incense; it was the signal to prostrate themselves before the Deity, and to commence those fervent ejacula- tions which were lo ascend with the column of ihat incense to the throne of heaven. "One indispensable ceremony ill the Indian Pooja is ihe ringing of a small bell by the olficialing brahmin. The women of the idol, or dancing girls of the pagoda, have little golden bells fastened to their feet, the soft harmonious tinkling of which vibrates in unison with the exquisite melody of their voices." (Mau- rice's Indian Antiqvilics.) " The ancient kings of Persia, who, in fact, united in their own persons the regal and sacerdolal ollice, were accustomed to have the fringes of their robes adorned wilh pomegranates and golden bells. The Arabian courtesans, like the Indian women, have little golden bells fastened round their legs, neck, and elbows, to the sound of which Ihey dance before the king. The Arabian princesses wear golden rings on their fingers, to which little bells are suspended, as well as in Ihe flowing tresses of their hair, that their superior rank maybe known, and they themselves, in passing, receive the homage due to their exalted station."-CALMET. Ver. ^1. And thou shall put them upon Aaron thy brother, and his sons with him ; and shall anoint them, and consecrate them, and sanctify ihem, that they may minister unto me in the priest's office. The Hebrew has for "consecrate," "fill their hands." See also Judges xvii. 5, 12, and 1 Kings xiii. 33, and many other places where the word " consecrate" is in the margin rendered " /it! l/ie hnml." Is it not a remarkable fact that the word Kai-Reppi. which signifies, in Taninl, to comc- cralc a priest, also means iofitt the hand 7 When a layman n\cets a priest, he puts his hands together as an act of reverence, and the priest stretches out his right hand, as if full of something, and says, " Blessings." — Roberts. Chap. 29. ver. 22. Also thou shalt take of the vain the fat and the rump. Or the large tail of one species of ihe eastern sheep, Russell, {Htst. of Aleppo, p. 51,) after observing that they arc in that cintntrv much more numerous than those with smaller tails, adds, " this tail is very broad and large, ter- minating in a small appendix that iuriis back upon it. It is of a substance between fat and marrow, and is not ealen separately, but mixed with Ihe lean meat in many of their dishes, arid also olleii used instead of butler. A common sheep of ihis sort, without Ihe head, feet, skin, and entrails weighs about twelve or fourteen Aleppo rotoloes, of wliich the Fail is usuallv ihrce rotoloes or upwards ; but such as arc of the largest' breed, and have I.eeii fattened, will some- times weigh above thirty roiolocs, and the lail of these ten. These very large sheep, beliu; about Aleppo kept up in yards, are in no danger of injiu ing iheir lails : bill in some other places, where they feed in the fields, ihc shepherds are obliged lo fix a piece oflhiii board U. llic under part of their lail, lo prevent its being torn bv bushes and thistles, as il is not covered underneath with thick \vool like the Chap. 38. EXODUS. 69 upper part. Some have small wheeU to facilitate the dragging of this board after ihem." A rotoloe of Alepuo is live pounds. With this agrees the account given by the Abbe Mariti, ( Travels Ihrough Cyprus.) " Tlte mutton is juicy and tender. The tails of some of the sheep, which are reuiarkably fine, weigh upwards of fifty pounds." This shows us the reason why, in the levitical sacrifices, the tail was always ordered to be consumed by fire. — Bubdeb. Vex. 24. Fov-I will cast out the nations before thoe, and enlarge thy borders; neither shall any man desire thy land, when thou shalt go up to appear before the Lord thy God thrice ill the year. I find in E.Kod. .x.'cxiv. '24, a very remarkable promise of God, which could hardlv have been fulfilled in the common course of providence, and without a miracle, unless the Israelites and other neighbours had in their wars observed a certain law of truce, quite strange to us, and which I only know from the cu.-.toms of the Arabs. Moses com- mands all the males of Israel to leave their homes thrice a year, and celebrate a festival for a week at the place where the tabernacle should be erected; assuring them, withal, that during this period, no man should desire their land ; and that, therefore, however distant their abodes might be fiom the sanctuarv, they might undertake this journey with perfect safelv. According to the present course of things in the world, this is quite incomprehensi- ble. Were all the males to leave certain parts of the country, and still more, the fortified cities, the greatest of all wonders would be, the enemy with whom the nation happened to be at war, refraining from seizing the oppor- tunity to occupy the fortresses,— to plunder and burn the open country,— and to forage the corn-fields. And it is most obvious, that the danger of all this will be still greater among nations who do not maintain settled peace with each other ; of which description were the marauding Arabs: or who carry on war rather by incursions than regular campaigns, and have no other object than to make booty in money, produce, women, and children. Shall we then venture so to expound the words of Moses, as if he had promised a periodical miracle from God, which should, for three weeks every vear, convert all the enemies of the Israelites into statues ! A promise so incredible, will, perhaps, not appear to be necessary, when, to illus- trate this point, we call in the aid of the customs of the Arabs, who are Abraham's descendants, and the immediate brethren of the Israelites. In all their wars, and even amid their family feuds, during the holy month, in which they solemnized the festival at Mecca, they had a truce. Mohammed's greatest transgression is, that he is said to have broken this truce. Yet, in the Koran, he has commanded his followers to keep it onlv when their adversaries keep it ; and he permits them to fight against the enemy during the holy month, onlv when lie makes the first attack. Thus we'see, in like manner, from 1 Kings xii. 27, that timong the Israelites, during the high festivals, a suspension of arras took place ; and the ten tribes who had revolted from the family of David, might, without hinderance, have kept the feast'at Jerusalem, and would have done so, had not Jeroboam, for political reasons, endeavoured to prevent them. The Judahites, therefore, did not put any obstacle JQ their way ; and they would then have been in as perfect securily at Jerusalem, as, before Mohammed's time, every Arab during the holy month wa.s at Mecca. It would ap- pear, then, that the nations related to the Israelites, paid equal respect to the worship of God, and made a truce during war, whenever the people celebrated a festival. But probably the Canaanites were, both in reli^on and manners, so'difierent from the Israelites, that they did not observe any such truce ; for Moses expressly says on this occasion, that God would destroy the Canaanites; and then, no other people would conceive any desire to attack the land of Israel during the seasons of the festivals. Now such a law of nations once introduced, God wight fulfil his promise in the common course of providence, and without the aid of a miracle. This sacred truce, which is, however, quite unsuitable to the more connected operations of modern warfare, was likewise probably the cause, wherefore the commandment respecting the Sabbath could be given without any particular limitation. For on that day, all labour was prohibited. Moses does not, indeed, expressly specify fighting, marching, intrenching; but neither does he expresslj except them. Now although, in a rational consideration of the matter, the justice of these exceptions, in cases of necessity, is manifest ; this silence seems, nevertheless, to be a defect in the law ; and a nation who in this point had even the smallest scruple of con- science, would make but a poor figure in war. We see, in fact, that after the Babylonish captivity, when, as St. Paul says, (Heb. viii. 7—13,) the law began to be useless from its antiquity, the observance of the Sabbath became very prejudicial to the Jews in their wars with the Syrians and Romans. For the former on the Sabhaih attacked them, and burnt thousands of them in a cave, without their making any resistance: and the latter, in their first siege of Jerusalem under Pompev, carried on the works of in- vestment undisturbed, and only guarded against attempt- ing to storm the city, because against a storm the Jews de- fended themselves even on the Sabbath. But since, before the captivity, we never find, that in their numerous wars, the Sabbath had been detrimental to the Jews, or that any of their enemies availed himself of the advantage it gave him; the Israelites must either, from ancient and undoubt- ed usage, have known that the commandment concerning the Sabbath did not extend to the operations of war; or else, "betwixt them and all the neighbouring nations there must on this day have been a sacred truce. Among the latter, this day, which the Israelites dedicated to the Creator oithe heavens and the earth, was probably sacred to Sahini, to whom the Phoenicians paid the highest veneration ; be- cause, before his being raised to divine honours, or nurn- bered among the stars, he is said to have been king of their country. According to the testimony of Diodorus Siculus, they accounted him the chief of the planets; and the Ara- bians had, in like manner, dedicated to him their national temple, the Caaba at Mecca. — Michaelis. Ch.\p. 38. ver. 8. And he made the laver o/ brass and the foot of it o/" brass, of the looking-glasses of the women assembling, which assembled I'.t the door of the tabernacle of the congregati.:u. • The eastern mirrors were made ot polished steel, and for the most part convex. If they were thus made in the country ot Elihu, the image made nse of by him will appear very lively. " Hast thou with him spread out the sky, which is strong, and as a molten looking-glass 1" (Job xxxvii. IS.) Shaw informs us, that " in the Levant looking-glasses are a part of female dress. The Moorish women in Barbary arc so fond of their ornaments, and particularly of their looking-gla,sses, which they hang upon their breasts, that they will not lay them aside, even when, after the drudgery of the day, they are obliged to go two or three miles with a pitcher, or a goat's skin, to fetch water." The Israelitish women u.sed to carry their mirrors with tliem, even to their most solemn place of worship. The word mirror should be used in the passages here referred to, rather than those which are inserted in the pre.sent translation of the Bible. To speak of looking glasses made of steel, and glasses molten, is palpably absurd ; whereas the term mtVrorobviates every diflSculty, and expresses the true meaning of the original. — Bubdeb. LEVITICUS. CHAPTER U. Ver. 4. And il" thou biing an oblation of a nieat- o'il'ling baken in tiie oven, it shall be unleaven- ed cakfs of fine fiour mingled with oil, or un- leavened wafers anointed with oil. Wlisit atlracleJ our atteiuion most iliis stormy day, was the apiiaratiLS for ^varlnini; us. It was the species of oven called Uinnmir, couimon tliruui^hout Armenia and also in Syria, bul convened liere fur purposes of warmth into what is' called a lo.ndoor. A cylindrical hole is simk about three fi'c: in ihe ground in some part of the room, with a flue en- leriag it ai the bottom to convey a current of air to the fire which heals it. For the emission of smoke no other pro- vision is made than Ihe open sky-lisrht in the terrace. When ii~ed fir baking bread, the donjh, being flattened to the thickness of coriimon pasteboard, perhaps a fool and a half 1 m,^ by a foot broad, is stuck to its smooth sides by means of a cushion, upon which it is first .spread. It indicates, by clcavins olf, when it is done, and being then packed down in Ihe family chesi, it lasts at least a raonlh in the winter, and ten days in the summer. Such is the only bread known in the villages of Armenia; and even the cities of Erivan and Tebriz offer no other variety than a species perhap? only twice as thick, and so long that it might almost be sold by the vard. To bake it, the bottom of a large oven is covered with pebbles, (except one corner, where a fire is kept conslanllv burning,) and upon them wlien heated, the sheets of dough are sjiread. The convenience of such thin bread, where knives and forks are not used, and spoons are rare, is, that a piece of it doubled enables you to take hold of a mouthful of meat more delicately than with your bare fingers; or, when properly folded, helps you to convey a spoonful safely to voiu' mouth, to be eaten with the spoon itself When neecfed for purposes of warmth, the tannoor is easily transfoimed into a tandoor. A round stone is laid upon the month of the oven, when well heated, to stop the draught ; a square frame, about a foot in height, is then placed above il ; and a thick coverlet, spread over the whole, lies upon llie ground arjund il, toconfine the warmth. The family sipiat upon the floor, and warm lliemselves bv exiending tlieir legs and hands into the healed air beneatli i', while the frame holds, as occasion requires, Iheir lamp or ihcir food. Its economy is evidently great. So full of crevices arc the hoit.ses, that an open fireplace luuji con- sume a great quanlity of fuel, and then almost fail of warming even the air in its immediate vicinity. The tan- door heated once, or at the most twice in twenty-four hours, by a small quantity of fuel, keeps one spot continually warm for Ihc relief of all numb fingers ami frozen toes. The house, apparently the best in the villasc was built throughout, floor, walls, and terrace, of mud. Fortunately, as its owner had two wives, it had two rooms. The one assigned us, being the principal family apartment, was of course filled witli every species of ilirt, vermin, and litter; and withal, as they were in the iniilsl of the process of bak- ing, the insufl'erable smoke of the dried row-dung which heated ihcir lannnor, or cylindrical oven, detained us a long lime before we could take possession. Persuaded al l.isi hy impatience tlial the bread must be done, I entered, and found our ho^l and chief muleteer shaking their shirts in Ihe oven, to di>lodge the "crawling creatures" that in- habited them. Thouglt new to us then, we allenvard found reason to believe ihai^ this use of the tannoor is common, and for it alone we have known it to be heated. In such ovrns was our bread baked, by being stuck upon iheir sides, and though we would fain have (piieted our fastidiousness by imagining that they were purified by fire, the nature of Ihe fuel of which thai was alino.st invariatily made, lcl1 little room upon which to f.iund such a conception. And as for the loathsome company of which our hast and mule- teer had thus attempted to rid themselves, we found them too constantly affecting our senses to think of imagining them away ; for the traveller can hardly journey a day here, or in any part of Turkey, without ilieir annoying him, and his only relief is in a constant change of his linen. The apartment was finally cleared and swept, bul Ihe old man could give us neither carpet nor mat, and our own painted canvass and travelling carpets were all that cover- ed the ground on which we sat and slepl.^— Smith and DwioiiT. Mr. Jackson, in his Journey over land from India, gives an account of an eastern oven, equally instructive and amusing, as it confirms Ihe statements of ancient travellers, and shows the surprising experlness of the Arabian women in baking their bread. "They liave a small place built with clay, between two and three feet high, having a hole at the bottom for the convenience of drawing out the ashes, something similar to a lime-kiln." The oven, (which he thinks the mos; proper name for this place.) is usaally about fifteen inches wide at top, and giadually widening to the bottom. It is heated with wood; and when siiffi- cienlly hot, and perfectly clear from the smoke, having nothing but clear embers' at the bottom, which continue to reflect great heat, they prepare the dough in a large bowl, and mould Ihe cakes' to the desired size on a board, or stone, placed near the oven. After they have kneaded the cake 10 a proper consistence, they pat it a little, then toss it about with great dexterity in one hand, till it is as thin as they choose to make it. ' They then wet one side of it with water, at the same time welling the hand and arm with which they put it into the oven. The side of the cake adheres fast to the side of Ihe oven, till it is sufficiently baked, when, if not paid proper attention to, it would fall down among the embers. If they were not exceedingly quick at this work, Ihe heat of the oven would burn their arms; but they perform it with such an amazing dexterity, ihat one woman will eontinue keeping three or four cakes in the oven at once, till she has done baking. This mode, he adds, requires not half ihe fuel that is consumed in Eu- rope. P-4XTON. CVIAPTER VI( W'V. y. And the inetit-ofToring thiit is bakeu in the oven, and all that is dressed iti the frj'ing- pan, and in ihi- pan, shall be the priest's that ofTeretli it. (Jur translation of this passage, presents a confusioa more easily perceived than regulated by the general read- er:—" And all the meat-oftering that is'baken in the oven, and all thai is dressed m the iiyingpan. and in the pan, shall be the jiriest's that oti'ers ii." h is evidetit that here are three lerms used, implying ihree diflerent manners of dressing fiiod. — Do we understand them? The term, " mcat-ofl'ering" is certainly un.forluiialc here, as it raises the idea of fle^h-iiical, wilhuul jusi reason, lo say the least, especially as il siands connecled with baking in Ihe oven, -i':n. Passing this, the following sentence, also, as it .stands connecled, expresses a iiieai-oll'ering. dressed in a fr)ing- pan, n»n-i-3 ; and llien we have another kind of meal-ofler- in?, dressed in ihe pan, ,-^:r^. Of whal nature is this pani To answer this question, we must dismiss ihe flesh-meal. Wheilier the following exliacl from Denon may contribute a.ssistance on this subject, is submiiled with great defer- ence. It is his explanation of his jilate i.xxxv. "The manner of making macaroni, in F.gypt. — The manufactory, and the shop for selling il, are both at once in Ihe street ; — an oven, over which a great jilate of copper is healed ; the mnki'r she.ls on il ;i thin ninl liquid pasle. which is slrain- eil ihroU'.'h Ihe holes in n kind of cup which he pas.ses up Chap. LEVITICUS. 71 and down on the plate: after a few minuses, the threads of paste are hardened, dried, and baked, bj' a unifonii de- gree of heat, maintained without intermission, by an equal quantity of branches of palm-tree, by which the oven is kept constantly heated. The same degree of heat is given in the same space of time to an equal quantity of macaroni ; which is perpetually renewed on the plale, and sold direct- ly as it is made." — T.4Ylor in Calmet. Ver. 12. If he offer it for a thanksgiviny, then he shall offer with the SQcrilice of thanksgiving' unleavened cakes mingled with oil, and un- leavened wafers anointed with oil, and cakes mingled with oil, of fine flour, fried. With the exception of two rare cases, oil was order- ed to accompany every meal-offering, in order to its beinc; therewith prepared, and baked into cakes. With this law, in .so far as it is perhaps typical, and regards a holy ceremony, I have here nothing to do, because I consider it merely with respect to its political inlluence in the slate ; and llwl, among a people brought out of Egypt into Pales- tine, and still always hankering afier Egypt, was important. It imperceptibly attached them to their aew country, and served to render even the idea of a future residence in Egypt, irksome ; while it also imperceptibly gave them an inclination to cultivate the olive-tree, for which nature seems to have pre-eminently adapted Palestine. In the greatest part of Egypt, according to Strabo, no olives were cultivated. It was only in the Heracleotic canton, that they came to such perfection as that oil could be made from them. In the gardens aroimd Alexandria, (which, how- ever, did not exist in the time of the ancient kings, that part of the country being an uncultivated waste till the reign of Alexander the Great,) there were olive-trees, but no oil was made. The consequence of this want of oil was, (as it still is,) that in Egypt they made use of butler, as we do, and also of honey, in their jiaslrv : and even at ihi.s day, travellers, going from Egypt into Arabia, carry butter along wiih Ihem ; although, indeed, it is not very tempting to the appetite, because, in con.sequenceof the great heat, it generally inells in the jars by the way. In those parts of Arabia likewise, which the Israelites traversed, and in which they might, perhaps, have thought of settling as wan- dering herdsmen, scarcely any olives were produced. The oil of Palestine, on ihe other hand, was not only most abundant, but al.so peculiarly excellent ; and Hasselquist prefers il even to that of Provence. Bv lliis gift of na- ture, stony places and mountains, which would otherwise have been barren, became not only useful, but even more I produclive, than the best fields could be made. The only part of Palestine which Strabo, that much misquoted aii- Ihor, describes as unfruitful, is that about Jerusalem; and it really is so, in regard to the production of grain : but still the .Tews say, that an acre about Jeru.salem was for- merly of much more value that in any other part of Pales- liiie. This I should not believe on their word, if any de- gree of improbability attached to it; for Jewish accounts from hearsay and oral tradition, have liule weight with me. But as long as Palestine was properly cultivated, an acre near Jerusalem, from ils produce in wine and oil, must naiiiriilU' have been mgre profitable, than as a corn- field. We need only call to mind the Mnnnt of Olives, which lay lo the east of the city. An acre planted with olives or vines, however rocky and arid Ihe soil may be, will vcrv easily be made worth len limes as much as an acre of the richest corn-land. — The account given by Abul- feda. in his Description of Syria, confirms this staiemeni ; for he says, that Ihe counlrv about Jerusalem is one cf the mo.';t ferlile in Palestine. Let us now representto ourselves Ihe effects of a law which enjoined, that Ihe paslry of of- ferings should he baked wilh oil, (and, llierefore, not with butter,") and Ihnt to everv meal-olleriug so much oil should be added. The priests, who, among the Hebrews, were persons of dislinclion by birth, were accu.stomed lo oil-pas- 'try; and as their enlerlainments were generallv offering- feasts, Ihe people thus became acquainted with il. Now, what people have once tasted as a luxury at a feast, and found savoury, or heard of as calen by the great, they begin first to imitate sparin.gly, and then, if they can, more and more frequently in their daily meals. This was an infillible means to accustom the Israeliles lo oil-pastry, with which, whoever is once acquainted, will always pre- fer il to that made with butter. For if the oil is fresh and good, it tastes much better ; to which add, that as butter is very liable to spoil, it then communicates to pastiy, and every other sort of meat, a disagreeable by-taste. — The worst faults in cookery arise from bad butter. This is a general maxim with our German housewi\'es, particularly in Southern Germany. The natural consequences, then, of the use of oil-pastry, as now mentioned, were, in the first place, that the olive-lree, which formed so principal a source of the riches of the new country of the Israelites, came lo be more carefully cultivated, and thus its natural treasures properly improved ; and, in the next place, that the people at length lost their desire of returning back to Egypt. That in the lime of Moses, they often thought of Egypt with regret, and were even inclined to return to their ancient bondage, we know from his own accounts. Indeed, \hcu penchant for this their ancient country was so strong and permanent, that he found it necessary to intro- duce into the fundamental and unalterable laws of the gov- ernment,as affecting ihe king, an expre.ss ordinance against all return to E.gii'pt, Deut. xvii. 16. No sooner, however, would Ihe Israelite become rightly acquainted with the chief of nature's gitis to his new country, and accustomed to the use of wine and oil, than his longing afler a country, which produced neither, would totally cease. In fact, the object which the .statutes, now considered, most probably had in view, was so complelely attained, that, 1. Butter was entirely disused among the Israelites. In Ihe whole Hebrew Rible, which contains so many other economical terms, we do not once find the word for butter; for nN-;n. which in Job xx. 17. xxix. 6. Deut. xxxii. 14. Judg. V. '2b. Isa. vii. l.'i, 16, 3'2, is commonly so translated, docs not mean i«//c,-, iDut thiek milk. It would therefore appear, that butter had been as rarely lo be seen in Pales- tine, aS it now is in Spain ; and ihat the people had made use of nothing bul oil in their cookery, as being more de- licious. The reason why the LXX. have improperly ren- dered it hiittm-, was this; that Iheir Greek version was made by Egyplian Jews, who, from the want of oil in their new country, were accustomed to Ihe use of butter only. 2. From ihe time of Joshua until the destruction of their govcrnmeni, the desire of returning to Egypt never once arose among the Israeliles. It was only after Nebuchad- nezzar had destroyed Jerusalem, and when the remnant of the people no longer thought themselves secure against similar disasters within Palestine, that, contrary to the di- vine prohibition, the Jews took refuge in Egj'pt, Jer. xlii. xliv. ; and when the kingdom of the ten tribes was destroy- ed, and Samaria conquered by the Assyrians, many of the Israelites, as we must infer from Hosea, in like rnanncr withdrew thither. — Michaelis. Yer. 26. Moreover, ye shall eat no manner of blood, u-helher it be of fowl, or of beast, in any of your dwelling?. With the prohibition of fat, we find in tvo passages (Lev. iii. 17. and vii. 26, 27,) another prohibition joined, that of eating blood; which, however, occurs also in fire other passages, (Lev. xvii. 10 — 14. xix. 26. Deut. xii. IG, 23, 24. XV. 23;) and was binding, not only on the Israelites themselves, but also on all foreigners living among them, under the penalty of death ; Lev. xvii. 10. This unusually frequent recurrence of the prohibition, together with the punishment of extirpation from cmt.ng the people, annexed to the transgression of it; and the denunciation of God's peculiar vengeance against every man who should eat tlood, is quite sufficient to show, that the legislator must have been more interested in this, than in ihe other prohi- bitions relative to unclean meats, and likewise that the Israelites had had peculiar temptations to transgress it. These ire really should not have, were blood forbidden to us; and one should think that the person who had not, from infancy, eaten blood, would rather have an antipathy at it. Bloodpuddings, it is true, (like goose and hare,) boiled black, we eat with great relish ; but I cannot recollect to have found any person pre-eminenlly fond of them, bnl in the sin?le case of their being quite i'resh ; and that would be the precise case, in which, lo a person not previously accustomed to eat them, Ihev would at first be most likely 7-2 LEVITICUS. Chap. II. L' 10 cause sensations of abhorrence. Add lo ihis, that blood- puddings ol iix-bk)od arc by no means so savoury, as ours made otswine's blood are; h hicli cannot, ho\icver,be here in question. For they have .voniethin^ of a mealy taslc ; which, indeed, is very percepiible, when ox-blood is fraud- ulently mixed wiih suine'.s blood. The teiniitalion, there- fore, which tlie Israelites had had to violate this law, must have |)roceede(t from aiiolher cause, than from an appeliie for blood ; and .so much the more so, as the eaiing of blood would appear lo have never been a custom of their ance.s- tors; lUreve.'i the Arabs, who are descended from Abraham, do not eal blood; and .Mohammed (as we have seen,) has forbidden tliein tj tasie of idol-olferings and blond of beasts strangled, lorn, or dead, and of swine's llesli. But before I proceed to .stale the cause of this so remarkably ri°id prohibition of blood, I imisi observe, thai it only extended to ihe blood of ijiiadrupeds and buds ; for the blood of fishes was, on the contrary, pcrmi.lcd loTje eaten ; Lev. vii.'"Jtj, xvii. 13. This point is so clear, that even our modern Jews, who in most things overstretcli tlie law of Moses, make no conscience of eating earp stewed in tlieir own blood. I now cotne to notice lire reason of this prohibilion, which we lind so urgently repeated. It is connected with one of the grand objects, which the Hebrew legislator always had in view, namely, the exclusion of all manner of idolatry from among his people. Eating of blood, or rather drinking it, was quite cu.stomary among the jiagan nations of Asia, in their .sacrifices lo idols, and in the taking of oaths. This, indeed, was so much an Asiatic, and in a particular manner, a Phcrnician usage, that we find the Roman writers taking notice of it, as .something outlandish at Rome, and peculiar to these nations; and as in the liomnn persecutions, ihe Christians were compelled lo burn incense, so were ihcy, in the Pcrfiaii, lo eat blood. In the West the one, and in tlie East the olher, was re- garded as expre.ssive of conversion to heathenism ; because both were idolatrous practices. It was for this very reason, that Moses now prohibited blood .so rigidly, and under the pain of death, not only among the Israelites Ihcmselves, ut among all foreignei's ihat lived within iheir land ; and in order to render the prohibilion the more sacred, and the more revered, bv connecting with it a moral implication, God declared, (Lev. xvii. 11 — 14,) Thai the Isrnclilcx, on account- of the sins vhirh then ttnihi rownnlfrrl, and vhirh conld never be fnlhi expiated bit offerings on the alt/rr, owed to Aim all tlw blood of the beasts ichirh they slaitghtercd, and were 7tot to eat of it, because it vas destined as an atonement for Iheir sins. But for this very reason also, because it was an idolatrous usage among the neighbouring nations, were Ihe Israelite<; in the greater danger of being led, by eating blood, into iitolatry, from their great propensity to that universally-prevalent crime, and not from mere fondness for blood as a desirable article of food. In regard to many other heathenish customs, Moses acted quite otherwise, consecrating, instead of prohibiting them, by commanding thai they should be kepi up, under an altered signification, in honour of the true God ; but it is nol to be wondered that he should not have done so with regard lo the drink- ing of blood in sacrifices and oaths, but rather have forbidden the use of it altogether. The rating of blood is a matter of indifference in a moral view, and, if not carried to excess, in a medical view also. It will not make a man cruel and pitiless ; nor vet will it occasion disease and death. But drinting of lilood is certainly not a becoming ceremony in relifrious worship. It is not a very refined custom, and if often repeated, it might probably habiiuate a peo;>le to cruelly, and make them uiifi-eling with regard to blood ; and certainly rclision should nol give, nor even have the appearance of giving, anv siirli direction lo the manners of a nation. .\dd to ihis, that it is actually dangerous to drink blood ; for if taken warm, and in large quantity, it may prove fatal; particularly ox-blood, which, by coagulating in the stomach, causes convulsions .and sii'Men death, and was with ihis view ;;iven to criminals in Greece, as a poisoned draught. It is iruc, the blooil of olher animals may nol always pro'dui-e the same eflTects; but still, if ii is nol in verv small (|uanlily. ils efl'ccis will be hurtful. At any rale, ihe eusioin of drinking blood in sacrifice, and in taking oaths, mnv, from imprmlence, sometimes have the same effecls which Valerius Maximus ascribes to it, in ihe case of Themislocles; only that he purpoitly drank as much during a .sacrifice, as was sulli- cicBl 10 kill him ; which others might also do from inad- vertence, or from superslilious zeal. This was sufficient reason to keep Moses irora making the drinking of blood a part of religious worship; and this being Ihe case, ii was, as a healheu rile, on his principles, neces.sarily prohibited in the sirictest terms. Nor need we, after this, be suiprised to lind the eaiing of blood forbidden, not only in Ihe Acts of the Apostles, (chap. xv. '20 — iJ'J,) but also among the Arabs, and in the Koran, and cla.-.->ed wilh ihc otierings made to idols : for it actually was a part of idolatrous worship very common in Ihe East. — MiciutLiii. CHAPTER XI. Ver. 2. Speak unto the cliildren ot Israel, saying, These flrp the beasts wliich ye shall cat among all the beasts that arc on the earth. Of the laws relative lo clean and unclean beasts, which are recorded in Lev. xi. and Dent, xiv., the following may, perhaps, serve as an abstract, sutficieni lor a reader wlm has not to observe them, but means only to conleniplale ihem philosophically. In regard lo i/vadrvpcdi, Moses reduces llie previous cu.s- loins ol the Israelites, together with Ihe additional ordi- nances which he found it necessary lo make, iiilo a very simple and natural .system. According lo him, Alt biusts that have their feet comjdcleht clincn, above as well as bclmr, and at the same'tiTnc chtir the cud, are clean. Tho.se which have neither, or indeed want one of these distinguishii.g marks, arc unclean. That in so early an age of the woi Id, we should find a .sjslemaiic division of quadru] eds .so ex- cellent, as never yet, after all the iiniirovemenls in natural hislorv, to have become ob.solele, but, on the contrary, to be still considered as useful by the grcalest masters of Ihe science, cannot but be looked upon as truly wondeifnl. In Ihe case of certain quadrupeds, however, a doubt may arise, whether they do fuUv divide ihc hoof, or ruminate. For example, whether ihe hare ruminates or nol, is so un- decided, that if we put the question lo any two s]iorl.-mcn, we shall rarely receive Ihc same answer. In such cases, lo prevent diffieullies, a legislator must aulhorilalively de- cide; Iv which I do not mean, that he is lo picsciihelo naturalists whal their belief should be, but only lo deter- mine, for ihe sake of expounders or judges of ihe law, what animals are lo be regnided as ruminating or j arting the hoof. The camel ruminates, hut whether ii fully parts tl.e hoof, is a question .so undecided, that we do nol, even in Ihe JMcmoirs of the Aeadcmij of Paris, fiutl a .saiisfacloiy an.swer to it oii all points. Tlie foot of Ihe camel is actu- ally divided into two Iocs, and the division even bilow is complete, so that the animal might be accouuled clean; but tlien it does nol extend the w hole lecgih of tlie fool, bul only to Ihe forepart; for behind it is nol rarled, and we find, besides, under it, and connected with it, a ball on which the camel goes. Now, in this dubious slate of cir- cumstances, Moses aulhorilalively dcchics, (Lev. xi. 4,) that Ihe camel has not the hoof fully divided. Ii would ap- pear a,s if he had meant thai -this animal, herctolbre ac- counted clean bv the Ishniaeliles, Midianiies, and all the rest of Abraham's Arabian descendants, should not be eaten bv the Israeliles; probably with a view lo keep lliein, bv Ihis means, ihe more .separate from these iialions, with whom Iheir connexion, and iheir coincidence in manners, was otherwise so close; and perhaps too, to prevent ihcin from conceiving any desire lo continue in Arabia, or lo_ devote themselves again lo iheir favourite occiipalion of wandering herdsmen. For in Arabia, a people will always be in an uiiciunfortable situation, if ihey dare hot eal llie rtesh and drink Ihe milk of the camel. Willi regard lo^s/ic.<, Moses has in like manner made a very simple sy.slematic disiinclioii. All that have scales and fins are clean : all others unclean. Of AiVrf.', without founding on any syslemalic dislribii- lion, he merely specifies certain sorts as foibidden, thereby permitling allo'.hers lo be ealen ; bul whal the prohibited birds are, it is, from our ignorance of Ihe langtiagc, in some instances impossible lo ascertain ; and Ihe Jews, w ho slill consider Ihe Mosaic law as obligatory, are here placcil in Ihe awkward predicament of not nndersianding a statute which they have to observe, and of expounding it merely bv gness, ■ Jn.vrls, serpents, irarms, &<•. are prohibited ; and Moses Chap. 13. LEVITICUS. 73 is especially careful to inlerdict the tise of various sorts of lizards ; which, of course, must have been eaten in some pans of Egypt, or by the people in the adjacent countries; but concerning which, I must admit, that I have not met with any account besides. There is, indeed, as we find from HasselquLSt's Travels in Palestine, (under the class Amphibia^ Ivii.) one species of lizard in that country, viz. the Gecko, which is poisonous; so mucli so, that its poison kills when it happens to be among meat. This is not the case w'ith the poison of serpents, which is only noxious in a wound, and may, as well as the animals themselves, which arc edible, be safely tal;en into the stomach, if only the mouth be perfectly sound, and fee from bloody spots. Tliis Laccrla Gecko must eeriainly not have been eaten by any of the neiglibouring nations, and Moses liad therefore no occasion to proliibit il. With regard, however, to those winged insects, wliich besides /oh /• walking legs, (Pci/f.s sallaloni,) Moses makes an e.\'ceplion, and under the de- nomination ol' loaifls, declares them clean in all their four stages of existence, and under as many dill'erent degrees of hardness. In Palestine, Arabia, and the adjoining coun- tries, locusts are one of the most common articles of food, and the people would be very ill off if they durst not eat them. For when a swarm of them desolates the fields, they prove, in some measure, themselves an antidote to the famine which they occasion ; so much so, indeed, that poor people look forward with anxiety to the arrival of a swarm of locusts, as yielding them sustenance without any trouble. They are not only eaten fresh, immediately on their ap- pearance ; but the people collect them, and know a method of preserving them for a long time for food, after they have dried them in an oven. The law further prohibited the touching the carcass of any unclean beast, Lev. xi. 8, '24, '25, '27, 31. This, how- ever, does not mean that a carc.iss was, in a literal sense, 7ici'cr to be touched, (for then il must always have been in the way, and we shall see in the seuuel that it was expressly ordered t,j be buried ;) but only, that the person who touch- ed it, was to be deemed unclean until the evening. To strangers who dwelt among the Israelite-, unclean beasts were not furbidden : for certainly the legislator never thought of makii^ his prohibition of certain meats a moral law, by which i^ry man, of whatever nation, was to be bound to regulate his conduct. If his design in these sta- tutes was to separale the Israelites from oilier nations, it must have been his wish and intention to prohibit the for- mer from the use of those very incals which were eaten by the latter; and had the people in any of Ihe surrounding countries deemed all such meats unclean, Moses would probably have given a set of laws on this subject quue dif- ferent from llioso which he did give. When a commander gives his soldiers a cockade to distinguish them from other troops, he by no means wishes thra everybody should i;i- discriminalcly wear it, but v>-ould ralher have it taken Irom any foreigner who should mount it. The law relative to clean and unclean beasts was never, not even under the Old Testament, a precept of religion which every individtial, to whatever nation he belonged, was bound to nbserve for the sake of his eternal salvation; il was only, it' I may so term it, a cockade for the Israelites; but still one that they could not omit wearing without commilting a trespass of a divine commandment; and indeed it was so firmly pinned upon them by their earliest cdiicaiion, that it must eeriainly have been difficult for them ever to lay it aside. — Melu.iei.i;). Ver. 33. Ami every earthen vessel wliereinto niii/ of them falleth, whntsoever is in it shall be un- clean ; and ye shall break it. This refers to any unclean or dead animal falling inio or touching an earthen vessel. Most of the cooking uten- sils of the Hindoos are of earthen ware. Should an un- clean, or dead animal, or in.secl, touch or fall into them, they must be broken. Nay, should a person cif low casle get a look at the cooking vessels of a Brahmin, or one of the Saiva sect, they will immediately be broken ; and no small portion of abuse be poured upon the ofiending indi- vidual. Should an unfortunate dog, in his prowlings, find his way into the kitchen, and begin to lick the vessels, wo be to him ! for he will not only have hard words, but hard blows; and then follows the breaking of the vessels. On 10 this account, the Brahmins, and others, conceal their earth- en ware when not in use. — Roberts. Ver. 35. And every thing whereupon any pa rt of their carcass falleth shall be unclean ; ir/iel/ier il be oven, or ranges for pots, they shall be broken down ; for they arc unclean, and shall be unclean unto yoii. The scarcity of fuel in the East induces the people to be very frugal in using it. Rauwollf gives the following ac- count of their management ; " They make in their tents or houses a hole about a foot and a lialf deep, wlicrein they put their earthen pipkins or pots, with the meat in them, closed up, so that ihcy are in the lialf above Ihe middle. Three fourth parls thereof they lay nbout with stones, and the fourth jiart is iell open, through which they fiing in their dried dung, which burns immediately, and gives so great a heni that the pot growedi so hot as if it had stood 111 the middle of a lighted coal heap, so that they boil their meat with a little fii-e, quicker than we do ours with a great one on our hearths." As the I.-raeliles must liave had as much occasion to be sparing of Iheirfuel as any people, and especially when journeying in Ihe wilderness, Mr. Harmer considers this quotation as a more satisfactory commentary on this passage than any wliich has been giv- en.— EenoEn. CHAPTER XIII. Ver. 3. And the priest shall look on the plague in the skin of the flesh ■. and irheii, the hair in the plague is turned white, and the plague in sight b(j deeper than the skin of his flesh, it is a plague of leprosy : and the priest shall look on him, and pronounce him unclean. The leprosy, a contagious and dreadful disorder, wliich slowly consumes Ihe liuman body, which is common, par- ticularly in Egypt and Syria, but is also met with in other hot countries, generally manifests ilself fir«t in Ihe manner described in the text. Pej'sonnel, a French physician, who was sent by his government, in the year 175ti, to the island of Gaudaloupe, to examine the leprosy which liad appeared tliere, wiiles in his report of Sd February, 17.57, (in Mifknilis Mnmic Lnir, part iv. p. '2'21 :) " The commence- nienl of the lepro.sy is imperceptible ; there appear onh' a few dark reddish spots on the skin of the whiles; in ihe blacks they are of a coppery red. These spols are at first not attended wiih pain, or ally other .symptoiu, but they can- not be removed by any means. Tlie disease increases im- perceiitibly, and continues for some years to be more and more inanifesl. The spots become larger, and spread in- discriminately over the skin of the whole body : they are sometimes ralher raised, though fiat; when the disease inci eases, the upper part of the no.se swells, the no.strils dis- tend, and the nose ilself becomes soft. Swellings appear on the jaw-bones, ihe evcbrows are elevated, Ihe ears grow thick, Ihe emls of the fingers, as well as Ihe feet and toe.s, swell, the nails grow .scaly, the joints on Ihe hands and feet separate and die off; on the palms of the linnds and llie .soles of the feet there are deep dry ulcers, which rapid- ly increase, and then vanish again. In short, when ihe disea.-io reaches its la.st stage, the patient becomes horrible, and falls to pieces. All these rircumslances come on verv slowly, for many years are ofien required before thev all occur; the patient has no severe pain, but he feels a kind of numbne.vs in his hands and feel. These persons are not hindered, during ihe time, in any of the functions of na- ture, they eat and drink as usual, and even when some of their fingers and toes die off, Ihe loss of Ihe member is ihe onlv consequence, for Ihe wound heals of ilself without at- teniion or medicine. But when the poor people reach this last period of ihe disease, they are horribly disfigured and most worthy of pily. It has been ob-erved, lliat Ibis dis- ease has other dreadful properties, such, in fiu'l, that it is hereditary, and, iherefore, some families are more afflicted wilh it than others; secondly, that il is infectious, and that it is propagated by persons sleeping together, or even ha^-- ing long-continued intercourse; thirdly, that it is incurable, or, at least, that no means to cure it liave been discovered. 74 LEVITICUS. Chap. 13. A very well-Rrounded fear of being infected with this cruel disease, the ditliculiy of recognising the persons attacked wiih it, before the disorder has attained its height; the length of time that it remains secret, from the care of the patients to conceal it; the uncertainty of the symptoms at the beginning, which should distinguish it from other dis- orders, excited extraordinary claims among all the inhabit- ants of this island. They were suspicious of each, because virtue and rank were no protection against this cruel scourge. Tliey called this disease the leprosy, and pre- .seniedto the commander and governor several petitions, in which they represented all the above circumstances; the general food, the uneasiness caused in this newly-settled country ; the inconveniences and the hatred which such in- culpations produced among them ; the laws which had been made against lepers, and their exclusion from civil society. They demanded a general inspection of all those who were suspected of having this disease, in order that those who were found to be infected might be removed into a particular hospital, or some separate place." All that these people required, and which was also granted them, we find to be prescribed ui the laws relative to the leprosy, contained in trie thirteenth ch.apter. — Rosenmtller. Ver. 38. If a man also or a woman have in the skin of their flesh bright spots, ci^oi white bright ■ spots;' 39. Then the priest shall look; and, be- hold, ?/tho bright spots in the skin of their flesh be darkish white; it is a freckled spot thai groweth in the skin : he is clean. The Hebrew word here tran:dated " fieckled spot," is Bohak. and the Arab< still use the same word to denote a kind of leprosy, of which ?ng the petty independent tribes, there was no police estahlisned for manulactures, nor any boards of inspection, the trick of using dead wool was probably more frequent than at present ; while vet the cause of its efltcis was but iinperfecllv known: and these effects in those climates must have lieen still vioise than with us, pnrticularlv in Egypt, which breeds such tibun- dance of vermin. The best remedy was, in the language of Moses, to destroy t'le leprous article : for that would soon make every one careful to manufacture nothing either for himself, or for sak', that might be pronounced leiirous ; and people would soon ob.serve where the fault lay, when they were losers, and found no sale for their good<, in conse- quence of former purchasers having suffered by them. The prohibition of dead wool, although the legislator be ever so fully .satisfied that it is entirely to blame for the ef fects in question, is not sufficient of itself; for it will still be privately manufactured and then denied, particularly where there is no board of survey. But where the stuff", iii which leprous svmploms'make their appearance, is destroy- ed in spite of the owner, every one will bi'come attentive to guard against such a loss. Moses therefore enjoined, first, that the place on which there were marks of leprosy that no washing could obliterate, should be torn out ; and then, if the leprosy still recurred a second time, that the whole piece should be burnt. With regard to leather and linen, I can say nothing withhistorical certainty : because I know no great wholesale manufacturer or merchant in either line, and I do not choose to trouble my reader with conjectures, because they may occur to himself, just as well as to me. Perhaps, however, my book may find some readers better acquainted with such persons than I can be here in Got'tingen, and who may hereafter communicate with me on the subject; for which purpose, I particularly request the auention of my readers in Holland, where I am inclined to think the best 'judges may be found. Now that the origin of the evil has been traced in wool, there will be no great difficulty in carrying on the investigation further. Only I must deprecate closet-accounts, and learned con- jectures. It is only from those who are acquainted with the manufacture or sale of linen, leather, and furriery, on a large scale, that I look for any useful information.— Mi- CHAELIS. CHAPTER Xiy. \'er. 4, Then shall the priest commanti to take for him that is to be cleansed two birds alive and clean, and cedar-wood, and scarlet, and hj'ssop. Interpreters have not been able to detennine in what parts of scripture, the Hebrew term (-"Os) tsippor, ought to be translated sparrow. Some suppose that Closes intends this i-iird in the law concerning the purification of the lep- rosy : " Then shall the priest command to take for him that is to be cleansed, two birds olive." One of these birds was to he killed over running water ; and the living bird, after certain ceremonies described in the law, was ordered to be let loose into the open field. The same ceremonies were commanded to be observed ui cleansing the leprous house. Jerome and many .succeeding interpreters, render the word c^^is-i used in the law, sparrows. But it is evident from an attentive peru.sal of the fourth verse, that it signi- fies birds in general. " Then shall the priest command to take for him that is to be cleansed, two birds alive and clean." Now, if the sparrow was a clean bird, there could be no use in commanding a clean one to be taken, since every one of the species was ceremonially clean ; but if it was imclean by law, then it could not be called clean. The term here must therefore signify birds in general, of which some were ceremonially clean, and some unclean ; which rendered the specification in the command, proper and necessary. From the terms of the law it appears, that any species of clean birds might be taken on such occasions, domestic or wild ; provided only they were clean, and the use of them conceded by the laws of Moses to the people. — P.*XTON. Ver. 33. And the Lord spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying, 34. When ye become into the land of Canaan, wliich I give to you for a possession, and I put the plague of leprosy in a house of the lantl of your possession : 35. And lie that owiieth the house shall come and tell the priest, saying, It seemeth to me there is as it were o plague in the iiouse. The house-lepio.sy is said in Lev. xiv. 33 — 57, to consist of greenish or reddish dimples, which appear on the walls, and continually spread wider and wider; and its nature would probably have been understood long ago, but for the prevalence of the notion of itsbeing a disease communica- nle to man, which notion aroL=e from taking the word lepro- sy ill loo literal a sense. The bare description of it given by Moses is .so cle.nr, that, I have known more than one example of children, who, shortly aOer reading it, having had occasion to go into the cellar, where, with terror, they thought they had observed it on the walls, on their return, described it distinctly or figuratively to their parents, and were laughed at for their pains. Laiighed at they certainly ought not to have been., but iiKtructcd. Their acute vision 76 LEVITICUS. Chap. 14. had shown them what many a learned man has m vain sought to find out. In short, what we usually term the Salt- petre thai anpeais on walls, has uuich the same symi'toms as the Mi)saic house-lepi-usy, and is at tlie same time attend- ed with sueh noxious elleels as requite the attention <.l a well-ie-ulated ooliee. I expressed this idea first in my I'Jh auesuou to the Arabian Travellers; but I diil so very briefly, and as addressin- men of sense and skill. 1 have not yet, liowever, received any answer, becaiise Ponkal, the person to whose province the question belonged, is dead, and hi. journal is not yet printed. The ollener how- ever I coiisiiler the matter, I am tlie more impressed with the probabilitv of lliis idea being the Hue one, and here is the place to expatiate more fully upon it. Our walls and hoiLse.s are ollcn attacked with somethmg that corrodes and consumes them, and which we commonly denominate Saltpetre. Its a).pcaranee-; are nearly as Moses describes them onlv that we seldom find the spots greenish or retl- dish 'aliln'iuuli I think I have met with them of the laUer colour As luiwever. 1 cannot exactly recollect where, I must appeal to the tesliinonv of Mr.-Professor Bekmann, who on mv askin- him, inlormea me that he had seen an jn-:ta'nce of reddish ones at Luicd: With us, this disease of walls is nui.t fiequenlly found in cellars, but it also as- cends into the liii;hor parts of buildings, particularly in the case of a privy bein? directly under the wall, or where any o'hersort of filth can aflect it. In mv native citv, Ilalle, it is extremely common, because the .soil of all the country around is full of wliai i^ called .saltpetre ; which is scraped olf from the turf \\ alls of the cotla'.;es, by people wlio make it Iheir business to collect it. Properly spcalcin7, I observed, on the left side of the choir ol that church, a gravestone, I think c f marble, and dated in the present cenlurv, in which the in>cription, though deeply cut, was in many places, by reason of numberless dimples, scarcely legible, while I read with perfect ease olher two inscriptions, four limes as old. On my asking the sexton the reason of ihis, he said, the sallpetre had come into tliestone, and told me a great deal moreaboul it, which I did not sutiicicnlly attend to, because I had no idea of its ever being useful to me in explaining the Rible. In Bern, Mr Aiioihecary Andre.i lienrd the people complain ol a disease that in an especial manner attacked sandstone, so as to make it exfoliate, and become as it were canccrotis. They call il the (uill. and, in like manner, ascribe it lo the saltpetre contained in the stone. The Society of Natural- ists at Dantzig some lime ago proposed a prize question on the Cniiscsfil'l/ie Deal rvrtirr Corrosinn o) U'ulls liii Sitllpetrr, ,1 III! on the Menus, not onhiof prcroilinL' it in AV/'- liiiilitin^!:. but of nninw il '" '^W- 1' "'a^ answered, among others, by Mr. Pastor Luther, who obained the iiri/e : but his elsav although, as tin' best, i' might meiit that disiincliou. has ■lieyerthelcss given but little satisfaction to ihose who are versed in the subject, and parlhulaily lo Mr. Protcv-oi Bekmann, as we see from the tlmd yolumeol Ins PliyMial and Ui^eonomical Library, ]'. 571. . . , ,, It is not, iiropci'lv vpei.king. sallpctre ihal is m these walls and buildings, \mi an acid of nitre, from which, by the ad- dition of a fixed alkali, we can make saltpetre. But the disease is likewise uwiiig soiiielimcs to oilier acids, to the acid of sea-salt, for iiiiance,as Professor Bekmann informs me; and, from other experiments. Mr. Andrea has found the component parts of the etiloreseence. to approach very near to tho--i' of I'.psom 'all. thai is, vitriolic acid and mag- nesia.—Sec Bekmann's Bihlioih. above quoted, v.d. iv. p. 2.')0. The detrimental ert'ccis of this etiloreseence in walls, or, if I may use the coinmon name, of this saltpetre, are the following:— 1. The walls become mouldy, and that lo such a degree, as, in consequence of the cori'osioii spreading farther and farther, at lea.st to occasion iheir tumbling down. Perliaps, however, this, at least in most parts of Germany, is the most tolerable evil attending the disease; for il is certain, that many houses alTeclcd wiih it last to a great age; only that the plaster of them requires very frequent repairing, because the lime with which they are coaled, blisters, as it is callcil, that is, detaches itself from the wall, swells, and then falls oil'. 1 myself lived in a house at Ualle, that was more than a hundred years old, and may probably stand a hundred years longer; in which, nevertheless, the saltpe- tre hait on one side, at a period beyond all remembrance, penetrated as far as the second story. The walls, however, were from three to fcur feet thick, and really of excellent stone; for which, indeed, Halle is remarkable. In olher places, this evil may no douht be more serious ; and 1 very much suspect, that such may have been the case in the damp parts of Egypt, where the Israelites dwell. When I figure lo myself Those marshes, which the Greeks called livrulia, at the mouth of the Nile, and the great quantity of •allpetre, or at any rale, of salt akin thereto, which Egypt produces, I cannoi help ihinking, that the sallpctre in build- ' in^s, miLst have been much more destructive there than wnh'xis. Only our tiavellers very se'dimi go into themar- shy districis, but rather to Alexandria, fairo, and alongthe Nile as far as Assouan, where the soil is quite dificrent ; and of conr.se, we can exiiecl from them no information relative to the matter. Even the vav along the coast, from Damiclla to Alexandria, of which AbuHeda gncs such a beautiful description, is, as far as I recoiled, desciibed by no olher tiaveller. As my wcuk has had the good lortune to find numerous readers in Holland, ol whom, perhaps, s,,ine have il m their power to obtain more particularin- foimation concerning those parts, I have to requc.t, that they will take some pains for that purpose, and have the goodness to comnuinicate lo me whatever accounts they may procure, that arc authentic, and illustrative ol the subject. ... ,.11. 2. Many things that lienearwalls aftecicd withsnltpeoc, Iheicbv siiti'er damage, and are spoiled. I have myscll seen great piles of books neatly mined from this cause, and it is the same with other ariicles that eannol bear dampness, and acids The loss here may often be greater and more con-iderable, than by the .slow decay of the building itself; for it shows itself very pcrce|itibly in the cour.se ol a lew years, by rendering such ariicles often pcrlcctly use ess. ■ 3 If the sallpctre he strong in Ihose apartments whercui neoule live it is pernicious^ to health, iiarliculaily where they sleep f/f ^/' I'.^.'t ; ...iwtt. ............. ---- , . aM-ribed to tlie apartment alone. I his unlorlunaleiialient who could not procure himself any befer abode, he had often visited in comi>anv wilh a physician, whose attend- ance he had procured fiu' him. Those ]>cople among us, who arc in >-'ood circiimslances, or noi quite poor, may avoid the elfcets of the saltpetre corrosion, which seldom ascends higher than the lowest story, by living in the sec- n»', {Sheer} par.i, scil. carnis, or more fully by the two words, ■^ca ■^nv, Sheer-baxar. pars carnis, ( /iiirl or remnindcr of flesh.) The meaning of these terms has been the subject of much controversy. Some would translate Ihem flesh of flesh; others, remnant of flesh. But those that say most of their etymologi,-, are in general not so innch oriental philologists, as divines and lawyers; and vet we sliould rather like to have an illustration of anv obscure elvmological question, from those who unite with the knowledge of Hebrew, an acquaintance with its kin- dred eastern laniruages. There are .some also, who wOTild make this distinction between Sheer, and Sheer-basar, that the former means only persons immrrliafcli/ connected leilh ns. such as children, parents, grandchildren, grandparents, anil husbands or u-ives; and the lauer, those who are related to vs onlji mediatehj, hut in the nearest dcsrec, such as. our brothers and sisters, who are, properly speaking, our father's flesh. Others again think, that S//n:;-j«so;- means nothing out children and grandchildren. These conjectures, how- ever, are bv no means consonant to the real usage of the language, in the Mosaic laws themselves ; tor in Lcvil. XXV. '18, 4fl, Shccr-basiir follows as the name of a more remo'c relation, after bixither, paternal uncle, or paternal uncle's son ; and in Num. xxvii. 8 — 11, it is commanded, that " if a man die without sons, his inheritance shall be given to his daughters; if he have no daughters, it shall pass to his brothers, of whom, if he has none, then to his pn'ernal uncles; and if these are also wanting, it shall then be given unto his nearest Sheer in his fajnilii." It is manifest tha', in this passage. Sheer includes those relations that follow in succession to a father's brother. If Ihe reader wishes lo know what these words etymologically signify, I shall here just state to him my opinion, but with- out repealing the grounds on which it rests. Sheer means, 1. a remnant; 2. the remnant vf a meal ; 3. a piece of any thing eatable, such as flesh ; 4. a piece of any thing in gen^ ero.l. Hence we find it subsequently transierred to rela- tionship in the Arabic language; in which, though with a slight orthographical variation, that nearest relation is called Tair or Thstiir, whom the Hebrews denominate Ootl. In this way, Sheer, even by itself, would signify a relation. — Basar, commonly rendered flesh, is among the Hebiews equivalent to body ,- and may thence have been applied to signify relationship. Thus, thou art my flesh, or body, (Gen. xxix. 14,) means, thou art my near kinsman. When both words are put together, Sheer-basar, thev may be rendered literally, corporeal relation, or by a half He- brew phrase, kinsman after the flesh. In their derivation, there are no further mysteries concealed, nor any thing that can bring the point in question to a decision ; and ■what marriages Mo.ses has permitted or commanded, we cannot ascertain from Sheer-basar, frequent and extensive as is its use in his marriage-laws: but must determine, from his own ordinances, in which he distinctly mentions what Sheer-basar, that is, what relations, are fo'rbidden to marry. — Michaelis. -Ver. 16. Tliou shall not uncover the nakedness of thy brother's wife: it is thy brother's naked- ness. 18. Neither shalt thou take a wife to her sister, to vex her, to uncover her nakedness, be- sides the other in her hk-time. With regard to the marriages mentioned in this chapter, there arises the question, whether Moses only prohibits the marriages which he expressly mentions, or others besides, not mentioned, where the degree of relationship is the same t This question, which is of so great importance in the mar- riage laws of Christian nations, and which, from our im- perfect loiowledge of oriental customs, has been the sub- ject of .so much controversy, properly regards Ihe foUowicg marriages never mentioneii by Moses, viz. 1. With a brother's daughter. 2. With a sister's daughter. 3. With a maternal uncle's widow. 4. With a brother's son's widow. 5. With a sister's son's widow, {j. With a deceased wife's sister. These marriages we may, perhaps, for brevity's sake, be allowed to denominate the six marriages, or the consequen- tial marriages. They are as near as tho,se mentioned in the foregoing article, and prohibited. Moses never men- tions them in his marriage statutes; yet the ground of his prohibitions is nearness of relationship. The question, therefore, is. Are these marriages to be, or not lo be, con- sidered as prohibited, by just inference from the letter of his laws ■? In tnv opinion,' they arc not ; and in proving this, I will most willingiv concede to those of a contrary opinion, a multitude of objections against their consequences, as de- duced from the letter of the Mosaic statutes; such, I'or in- stance, as this, that according to the principle of judicial hennencntics, prohibitions are not to be extended beyond the letter of the law ; for 1 readily acknowledge that this rule, how valid soever in our law, is nevertheless not universal, and not alwavs safely applicable to verj- ancient laws, if we wish to ascei'tain the true meaning and opinion of the law- giver : Or this, again, that in these marriages there is no violation of licspectus parevlela ; for I have already admit- ted that that nrinciple, to which the Roman lawyers appeal, was not the (oundation of the Mosaic prohibitions. I will go yet one step further in courtesy, and promise lo appeal on no occasion whatever lo the common opinion of the Jews, or to those examples of ancient Jewish usage, whereby the marriages here mentioned are permitted ; for all the Jewish expositors, and all the examples they can produce, are much too modern for me lo found upon, where the question is concerning the true mcnuitig of a hiw given some hun- dred, or rather thousand years before them. So much generosity on mv part, maiiy readers would, perhaps, not have anticipaled; biu I owe nothing less to impartiality, and the love of truth. My reasons, then, for denyine, arid protesting against the conclusions in question, are the fol- lowine: — 1. Moses does not appear lo have framed or given his marriage laws with any view to our deducing, or acting Chap. 19, 20 LEVITICUS. 79 Upon, conclusions which we might think fit to deduce from them: Corif this was his view, he has made several repetitions in them, that are really very useless. What reason had he, for example, after forbidding marriage with a fathers sis- ter, to forbid it also with a mother's, if this second prohibi- tion was included in the first, and if he meant, without say- ing a word on the subject, to be understood as speaking, not of particular marriages, but of degrees 1 2. Moses has given his marriage laws in two different places of the Pentateuch, viz. in both the xviii. and xx. chapters of Leviticus ; but in the latter of these passages we find only the very same cases specified, which had been specified inthe former. Now, hart they been meant mere- ly as examples of degrees of relationship, it would have been more rational to have varied them; and if it had been said, for instance, on the first occasion, TAousAalt not mar- ry thy father's sister, to have introduced, on the second, the converse case, and said, Thou shall not marry thy iirothet's daughter. This, however, is not done by Moses, who, in the second enactment, just specifies the father's sister, as be- fore ; and seems, therefore, to have intended that he should be understood as having in his view no other marriages than those which he expressl)' names; unless we choose to interpret his laws in a, manner foreign to his own meaning and design. 3. If, in opposition to this, the advocates of the contrary opinion urge, ihat the six consequential, marriages are just as near as those expressly prohibited ; my answer is, that though here they may seem to be in the right, there is yet, according to the customs of the Hebrews, so great a dis- tinction between these two classes of marriages, that any conclusion drawn from the one to the other, is entirely nii- gatory. For, (1.) In the first place, among the oriental nations, the niece was regarded as a more distant relation than the aun'. The latter, whether fathers' or mothers' sister, her nephew might see unveiled, in other words, had much nearer access to her; whereas the former, whether bro- thers' or sisters' daughter, could not be seen by her uncle without a veil. Now, this distinction refers to the very essence of the prohibitions; for it is not the natural degree of relationship, but the riglit of familiar intercourse, "that constitutes the danger of corruption. If, therefore, these laws were given for the purpose of preventing early de- bauchery under the hope of marriage, with an aunt, and with a niece, they are by no means on the same footing ; for to the former, by the law of relationship, an Israelite had a degree of access, which in the case of the latter was not per- mitted. Both stood in the same degree of affinity accord- ing to the genealogical tree, but not so by the intimacy of intercourse permitted with them. (2.) In the second place, there was a difference equally great, or even greater, made between the paternal imcle's widow on the one hand, and the widow of the maternal uncle, or of the brother's or sister's son, on the other. For if by that ancient law, of which the Levirate-marnagemay be a relic, the widow was regarded as part of the in- heritance,— I, in the event of my father being dead, receiv- ed his brother's widow by inheritance, but not my mother's brother's, because he belonged toadifferent family ; nor yet could I llius receive the widow of my brother or sister's son, because inheritances do not usually ascend ; or, at any rate, an inheritance of this kind ; to make use of which, a man must necessarily not be old, ifthe person who has lefl it was young. In the case, therefore, of the prohibited marriages specified by Moses, there was by the ancient law an expec- tancy, and by the Levirate-law it become a dntv, to marry the widow of a paternal uncle, who had died childless, and to raise up seed to him; but in the case of the marriages not prohibited by Moses, there could be no room foreither. If, by reason of this distinction, there be, in regard to the brother's son's widow, as belonging to one familv, the least doubt remaining in the mind of the reader, I hope to re- move it likewise, into the bargain. Were I to receive her by inheritance, it must be presupposed Ihat she would have first fallen naturally to my fjlher, and only in consequence of his being no longer alive, have devolved upon me, one degree more distant. But any inheritance so abominable as that of a son's widow devolving to his father, we can scarcely figure to ourselves ; although Thnmar, from re- sentment and de>:pair, conceived the idea of her having sticha claim, and contrived by secret artifice to enforce it, Gen. xxxviii. Rather would she fall to her husband's bro- ther, and were he not alive, natuially devolve lo his son. It is therefore manifest, that the father's brother could never have had that expectancy of his brother's son's widow, which might be attended with such pernicious consequen- ces as I have already remarked. 4. The .strongest and most decisive argument against the conscquetitial system, and the reckoning" by degrees, is diawn from the case of marriage with a deceased wile's sister; The relationship liere is as near as that of a brother's widow ; and yet Moses prohibits the marriage of a bro- ther's w^idow," and permits Ihat of a deceased wife's sister, or rather (which makes the proof still stronger,) he presup- poses it in his laws as permilted ; and con.sequently, wished 10 be understood as foibidding only those marriages winch he expressly specifies, and not others of the like proximity, though unnoticed. The leader who is not satisfied with these remarks, may consult the 7:h chapter of my Treatise on the Marriage Laws, wheie he will find many particu- lars more fully detailed. But here I cannot say move, without dwelling too long on one part of my subject.^Mi- CH.IELIS. CHAPTER XIX. Ver. 9. And when ye reap the harvest of your land, thou shall not wholly reap the corners of ihy field, neither shall thou gather the glean- ings of thy harvest. The right of the poor in Israel to glean after the reapers, was thus secured by a positive law. It is the opinion of some writers, that although the poor were allowed the lib- erty of gleaning, the Israelitish proprietors were not oblig- ed to admit them immediately into the field, as soon as the reapers had cut down the coin, and bound it up in sheaves, but when it was carried off; they might choose also among the jKior, V. hom they thought most deserving or mo.st ne- cessitous. These opinions receive some countenance, from the request which Ruth prcf.culed to the servant of Boaz, to permit her to glean " among the sheaves ;" and from the charge of Boaz to his young men, '■ let her glean even among the sheaves ;" a mode of speaking which seems to insinuate, Ihat though tlwv could not legally hinder Ruth from gleaning in the field, they had a right, if they chose to exercise it, to prohibit her I'rom gleaning among the sheaves, or immediately after the leapei-s. — Paxton. Ver. 28. Ye shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor print any marks upon you : I am the Lord. The heathen print marks on their bodies, (by puncturing the skin,) so as lo represent birds, trees, and the gods they serve. Some also, especially the sacred females of the tem- ples, have representations on their arms of a highly oflen- sive nature. All Hindoos have a black spot, or some other mark, on their foreheads. And the true followers of Siva rub holy ashes every morning on the knees, loins, navel, arms, shoulders, brow, and crown of the head. — Robebts. Ver. 29. Do not prostitute thy daughter, to cause her to be a whore ; lest the land fall to whore- dom, and the land become full of wickedness. Parents, in consequence of a vow or some other circum- stance, often dedicate their daughters to the gods. They are sent to the temple, at the age of eight or ten vears, to be initialed into the art of dancing before the dei'ies, and of singing songs in honour of their exploits. From that pe- riod these dancing girls remain in some sacred building near the temple ; and when they arrive at maturity, (the parents being made acquainted with ihe fact,) a feast is made, and the poor girl is given into the embraces of some influential man of the establishment. Practices of Ihemost disgusting nature then take place, and the young victim becomes a prostitute for life. — Roberts. CHAPTER XX. Ver. 2. Acrain thou shall say to the children of Israel, Whosoever lit: be of the children of Is- 80 LEVITICUS. Chap. 20. rael, or of the strangers that sojourn in Israel, that giveth aiii/ of his seed unto Moluch, he shall surely be put to death: the people of the land shall stone him with stones. One of the most common punishments in ii.se among the Jews, was slouuig, wliiuh uppoans lo have been a most grievous and iciriole inllicUuu: "when ihe criminal ar- rived wiihiu four cubiis ol the place of cxeeulion, he was sirippcd naked, only leaving a covering before ; and his hands being bouiid^ he uas led up lo the latal spot, which was an eminence about twice ihe heiglu of a man. The lirst executioners of the sentence, were ihe «iliressc.s, who generally pulled oil" iheir clothes for that puriiose; one of them threw him down with great violence upon his loins; if he rolled upon lus hreasl,"hc was turned upon Ins loins again ; and it he died by the fall, the senlei:ce of the law- was executed ; but if iiol, the olher witness took a great stone and dashed it on his breast as he lay upon his back; and then, if he was not despatched, all the people that stood by, threw stones at him till he died." — Ltwi.s. Ver. '2j. Ye shall therefore put diflercnce between clean be;ists and unclean, and between tuielean fowls and clean; and ye shall not make your souls abominable by beast, or by fowl, or bj' any manner of liviiior thing that creepcth on the ground, which 1 have separated from you as unclean. .The Mosaic ordinance.-, respccling clean and unclean beasts, olher authors refer lo llie head of Kcclesiastical Laws; but as Ihey relate, not to any ceremonies of religious woijliip, but uierelv to mailers of a secular nalure, 1 choo.se ra..»er to treat of llicm under the head of I'olice Law, as one would nauirally do in the case of any olher laws, that prohibiled Ihe use of errlain meals. And Jirsl of all, I inusi illuslrate ihe terms c/ra« and ««cfertH, as applied lo beasts; because we are apt to consider them as implynig a division of animals wiih which irc are entirely imacquainl- ed, and then to wonder that Mo.ses, as an historian, in describing the circum>iances of the deluge, which look place many cenlurics before Ihe era of liis own laws, should nieniion clean and unclean beasts, and, by so doing, presuppose ihat there tins such a disiinelion made at that early period. The tact however is, that we ounselves, and indeed almost all nalions, make this very distinction, although we do not express it in these terms. Clean ami uMkan hcasts is precis(dy tanuimount to heasis muni and not usual fnr foo.l. And how many animals are ihere nol poisonous, bill perfeelly edible, which yd we do nol eal, and al Ihe flesh of which, many among us would feel a strong abhorrence, jiisl because we have nol been accus- tomed lo it from infancy ? What Moses did in regard lo lliis mailer, was. in Ihe main, nolhing more than converling ancient national cus- tom into positive law. The very .same animals had, for the most part, previously been lo Ihe Israelites or iheir ancestors, clean or unclean, Ihat is, usual or unusual for food ; and we find thai even in Joseph's lime, the Egvp- tians, who had dill'crent customs wilh regard lo meals, and observed ihem very rigidly, could not .so much as eat al the same table wilh the Israclitish palriarchs, Gen. xliii. 30. These anceslorial usages Moses now prescribed as express laws; excluding, perhaps, some animals formerly made use of for food, and reducing Ihe whole inlo what, upon the principles of physiology, was actually a very easy and nat- ural .system; concerning which, as I shall have lo speak in the sequel, I only observe at present, that ils limiis were, perhaps, before trespassed, bolli on the side of prohibition and permission. As sojn as we know what is the real meaning of than ami vuclrnu Inafls, many errors, some of them ludicrous, and from which, even men of great len ru- ing have not been wholly exempt, inslanlly vanish. The word undenn, applied lo animals, is no epithet of degrada- tion : of all animals, man was ihc mo!.( vnrlfnn, ihat is, human flesh was least oT all things lo be calen ; and such is the ease, in every nation nol reckoned among cannibals. The lion and the horse are unclean beasts, but were to the Hebrews just as little the objects of contempt as they are to us. It is another mistake to imagine that the Jews durst not have any unclean animals in their houses, nor have any thing lo do with them ; and hence has arisen our strange Gennan proverb, Like a sow in a Jew's hmisc. But let us only recollect the instances of Ihe ass and camel, the common beasts of burden among the Hebrews, in addition to which, in later limes, we have ihe horse. All ihc thiee species were unclean. Even Ihe kcei'ing of swine, as arti- cles of trade, was as liiUc foibidden lo ihe Jews as dealing in horses, which they carried on very commonly. The main design of Moses, in convening Ihe ancicLt national customs of the Hebrews into immulable laws, luighl, no doubt, be, lo keep them more |i(rlccl!y separate from olher nations. They were lo ceniiniie a disiircl people by ihem.selves, to dwell altogether in Palestine, wilnoul spreading inlo other eounlries, or having loo much iniercour.-;e with ihcir inhabilanis; in order lo prevent their being infecled, eilher wilh that idolatry, which was then \\w scm-ui cnnnituuifoi aW mankind, or «ilh llie vices of the neighbouring nalions, among whom ihe Canaani'.es were parlieularly specified. The Jlrsl of Ihcse objecls,'lhc pre- vention of idolalry, and Ihe maintenance of the worship of one only God, was the fundamental maxim of the Mosaic legislation, and the firvnil, namely, the prccrvalion of his people from Ihe contagion cd' various vices, previously un- common among them, such as bestiality, sodomy, iriccsl, incestuous marriages, which aie always destructive lo the happiness of a counliy, divinaiicns, human sacrifices, &e. &c. ; logeiher wilh Ihe niainlaining among ihem iheir present morals, ,f bul tolerably good, must be an cbjcci of great iinpoilance wilh every legislator, if a profligate race, such as Moses and the Roman w rilers describe the Canaaniie? to have been, happen lo live in Iheir \icinily. And Ihis Moses him.self seems lo point out as his object, in Ihe xxih chapter of Levilicus, ver. C.'i, 2lj, and that too after warninz Ihe Israeliles against iinilaling Ihe Car.acni'cs in the vices now mentioned: '■ Ve shall," says he, " distin- guish beasls clean and unclean, and birds clean and un- clean, from each olher, and not defile yourselves by four-fooled, flyine, or creeping crenlnres, which I have separated as unclean ; ye shall be holy lo me, for 1 Jeho- vah am holy, and have separated you from olher peoples, lo be mine own." The disiinelion of clean and unclean meals may be a very cfl'ecliial means of separating one nation fr<.m another. Inlimale friendships are, in most cases, foimcd at table; ,Tnd wilh Ihe man, w iih w hom 1 cnn neither eal or drink, let our inlereoiirse in business be wliat il may, I shall .sel- dom become so t'amiliar, as wilh him whose guest I am, and he mine. If we have, besides, from cducalion, an abhorrence of ihe food which olhers eat, this forms a new obslaele to closer intimacy. Now. all Ihe neighbours of Ihe Israelites 'plian found a fair Grecian alone, how impure soever her iood rendered her. — We mav iherefore conjec- ture, thai Moses liere borrowed somewhat from Ihe legis- lative policy of the Egyplians, and wilh a view to a more Chap. 21—24. LEVITICUS. 81 complete and permanent separation of llie two peoples, made that a law among the Israelites, which before was nothing else than a custom of their fathers. Besides this main object, there might, no doubt, in the case of certain animals, interfere dietetical considerations to influence Moses ; only we are not to seek for them in all the prohibitions relative to unclean beasts. In regard to that respecting swine's flesh, they are pretty obvious ; and every prudent legislator must endeavour either to divert by fair means a people in the circumstances and climate of the Israelites, from the use of that food, or else express- ly interdict it. For whoever is affected with any cutane- ous disease, were it but the common itch, if he wishes to be cured, must abstain from swine's flesh. It has likewise been long ago observed, that the use of this food produces a peculiar susceptibility of itchy disorders. Now, throughout the whole climate under which Palestine is situated, and for a certain extent both south and north, the leprosy is an endemic disease ; and with this disea.se, which is pre-emi- nently an Egyptian one, the Israelites left Egj'pt so terribly overrun, that Moses found it necessary to enact a variety of laws respecting it ; and that the contagion might be weakened, and the people tolerabi)' guarded against its in- fluence, it became requisite to prohibit them from eating swine's flesh altogether. This prohibition, however, is suf- ficiently distinguished, from all others of the kind, in the.se two respects ; in the first place, the Arabs, who eat other sorts of food forbidden the Jews, yet hold swine's flesh to be unclean ; and, in conformity with their ideas, Mohammed forbade the use of it in the Koran : in the second place, every physician will interdict a person labouring under any cutaneous disease, from eating pork ; and it has been remarked of our Germany — a country otherwise in gener- al pretty clear of them, — that such diseases are in a pecu- liar manner to be met with in those places where a great deal of pork is eaten. Some have been inclined to discover moral reasons for the laws in question, and to ascribe to the eating of certain animals a specific influence on the moral temperament. Thus the camel is extremely revengeful ; and it has been pretended, that it is their eating camels' flesh so frequently, that makes the Arabs so prone to revenge. But of this there is too little proof Other nations in the south of Eu- rope, charged with the same national passion, and who eitner, as in the case with the Italians, have a pleasure in revenge, even in secret revenge, or, like the Portuguese, are, by a strange point of honour, necessitated to the ex- ercise of implacable revenge, neither eat the flesh nor drink the milk of camels. Perhaps the vindictive propen- sity of the Arabs is rather an efl^ect of climate, or of tneir point of honour in regard to blood-avengement, than of eating camels' fle.sh. At the same time, I do not entirely deny the influence of food on the moral temperament; but I am by no means yet convinced, that the daily use of cer- tain kinds of animal food will ever so far alter it, as to give a legislator reason to prohibit them ; nor yet can I believe, that eating the flesh uf any animal directly in- spires us with the passions of that animal, although it may operate upon us in other respects. — Miuhaei.is, CHAPTER XXI. Ver. 18. For whatsoever man he he that hath a blemish, he shall not approach ; a blind man, or a lame, or he that hath a flat no.5e, or any thins: superfluotts. Among the heathen, persons of the most respectable appearance were appointed to the priesthood ; and the emperor, both among the Greeks and Romans, was both king and priest. Considering the object of religious wor- ship, it is not possible that loo much circumspection can be maintained in every part of it. If great men deem it re- proachful to have things imperfect presented to them, il may most reasonablv be supposed that such offerings would be rej?cted with anger by God. The general opinion was, that a priest who was defective in any member was to be avoided as ominous. At Elis, in Greece, the judges chose the finest looking man to carry the sacred vessels of the deity: he that was next him in beauty and elegance led the ox ; and the third in personal beauty carried the gar- lands, ribands, wine, and the other things used in sacrifice. II Among most nations of antiquity, persons who had bodily defects were excluded from the prie.sthood. Among the Greeks " it was required, that whoever was admiued to this office should be sound and perfect in all his members, it being thought a dishonour to the gods to be served by an)' one that was lame, maimed, or any other way imperfect'; and therefore at Athens, before their consecration, ihey were t^stXus, i. e. perfect and entire, neither having any de- fect, nor any thing superfluous." Potter. Seneca says, " that Metellus, who had the misfortune to become blind, when he saved the Palladium from the flames, on the burn- ing of the temple of Vesta, was obliged to lay down the jjriesthood :" and he adds, " Every priest whose body is not faultless, is to be avoided like a thing of bad omen." Sacerdos non integri corporis quasi mali ominis est viland us est. M. Sergius, who lost his right hand in defence of his country, could not remain a priest for that reason. The bodily defects which disqualified a virgin from becoming a vestal are named by A. Gellius, Noct. Alt. i. chap. 12. ROSENMIXLER. Even those of the seed of Aaron who had any jcrsonal defect, were not allowed to take a part in the oflerings of the Lord. The priesthood among the Hindoos is hereditary, but a deformed person cannot perform a cere- mony in the temple ; he may, however, prepare the flowers, fruits, oils, and cakes, for the offerings, and also sprinkle the premises with holy water. The child of a priest being deformed at the birth will not be con.secrated. A priest having lost an eye or a tooth, or being deficient in any member or organ, or who has not a wife, cannot per- form the ceremony called Teevasam, for the manes of de- parted friends. Neither will his incantations, or praj-er.s, or magical ceremonies, have any efiect.— Roberts. CHAPTER XXIII. Ver. 22. And when ye reap the harvest of your land, thou shalt not make clean riddance of the corners of thy field when thou reapest, nei- ther shalt thou gather any gleanino-of thy har- vest : thou shalt leave them unto the poor, and to the stranger; I am the Lord your God. Fields in the East, instead ofhedges,haTe ridges. In the corners they cannot easily w ork with the plough, and there- fore prepare that part with a man-ictlv,i. can earth-cutler, or large kind of hoe. The corn in these corners is seldom very productive, as the ridge for .some time conceals it from the sun and other sources of nourishment, nnd the rice also, in the vicinity, soon springing up, injures it hy the shade. Under these circumstances, the people think biit litlle of the corners, and were a person to be very particula r, he would have the name of a stingy fellow. From this view, it appears probable, that the command v>-as given, in order to induce the owner to leave the lilile which was produced in the corners for the poor. No farmer jvill allow any of his family to glean in the fields, the pillance left is always considered the property of the poor. In car- rying the sheaves, all that falls is taken up by the gleaners. Roberts. CHAPTER XXIV. Ver. 16. And he that blasphemcth the name of the Lord, he shall surely be put to death, and all the congregation shall certainly stone him; as wi>ll the stranger, as he that is born in the land, when he blasphemeth the name nf Ihc LORD, shall be put to death. Among most nations blasphemy is regarded as one of the greatest crimes, and punished capitnllv. AVhelher in this they act rationally, and whai foice there is in the ob- jection, that blasphemy does not hurt God. I shall not here slop to inquire ; as, perhaps, some notice of ihese poinls will be taken in my proposed essay on the Inlcniion of Punishments; and, therefore, I proceed to observe, that in the Mosaic polity, whereby God became both King anu Lawgiver of the Israelites, and where, of course, blasphe- my was a crime against the slate, we find ii, in like man- ner, considered as a capital crime, and the punishment of stoning annexed to it; Lev. xsiv. 10 — 14. Ncr was the 82 LEVITICUS. Chap. 24. ciicuinslanctf of ilic bla.sj)lieiner beiiifj a foreigner, to make any difference in the punishment. Indeed, this was actually the ca.se, on the occasion of the punishment of this crime being first settled. A man, \vho:-e father was an Egjpiian, but his mother a woman of Israel, had in a quarrel with an Israelite, Blasnlieined Jehovah. He was, after an inquiry into the mind ol God, adjudged to be stoned ; and the edict published on this occasion, concludes with these words, " One uniform law shall you all have, foreigners as well as natives ; for I am Jeliuvah your God." Allowing that a foreigner does not believe in our God, although, indeed, with regard to the God of Israel this was not likely to hap- pen, becau.se paganism was syncrctislic, and did not deny the divinilv of oiher gods ; and, besides, the Israelites be- lieved in the God wlio created the world, and whom we know, and acknowledge from reason, without revelation; but allowing, I say, a foreigner to be an infidel, still he has no right to insult the people, under whose protection he lives, by blaspheming the object of their veneration, and whose name they hold supremely sacred. It is with hesitation, and not without danger, that I venture to adopt a Jewish explanation, which has been commonly ridiculed as a piece of mere superstition, in regard to this law, in Lev. x.xiv. IG, which declares, that whoever shall utter the name Jehovah shall die; the whole congregation shall stone him: foreigner as well as native shall die, if he utter the name Jehovah. Instead of ■ulUr, we may translate curse, for the Hebrew word Nakab (3p;) signifies boili, and then we shall have the blasphemer spoken of a second time; but to this translation there .seems to be this objection, that the 16lh verse would thus be no- thing but a needless repelition of the preceding one. Thus much is certain, that at a very ancient period, long be- fore the birlh of Christ, the Jews understood the law be- fore us, as if it prohibited them from uttering the name Jchorak, which the true God had given himself as his nomen proprium, on any other than solemnly-sacred, or at any rale sacred, occasions; and, of course, from ever naming him at all in common life. The Greek version ascribed to the persons called the Seventy Interpreters, and which was mane at least -2.^0 years before Christ, here ren- ders, " Whoever nameih the name of the Lord shall die ;" and we see that, by this lime, the Jews were accu.stomed, ■wherever they found ihe word Jckovah in the Bible, to pro- nounce, instead of it, the name Adonai, (':ik) or Lord : for, in place oi Jchnrcik, ("i"'') Ihe Seventy always put, 1 Ivvpios. P/iilo, who lived in the lime of Christ, explains the passage, connecting it wilh the preceding verse, in the following terms, " S;range gods are not to be blasphemed, lest men should be accustomed to think meanly of the Deity. But if any one, (I do not say Mnsphcmc, for that is not here in question, but) even so much as uuer unseasonably the name of the Lord of men and gods, he shall die." We may, therefore, approve of this explanation, or not, as we please ; but we must not look upon it as a piece of superstition originating with the Jews, who lived after the destruction of Jerusalem, and whose opinions, in regard to the Mosaic law, I do not, for the most part, so much as notice. This prohibition of uttering the name of God, whether it please us or not, does not, by any means, appear altogether im- probable ; for it is in conformity with the customs and legislative policy of the Egyptians, who had secret names for their gods, which it was lawful for the priests alone to fironounce; no man being permitted to do so in common ifc. And, in like manner, Hhadamanthus, who herein wished to imitate the Egyptians, would not, on occa.sions of taking oaths, allow the names of the gods to be mention- ed, but only those of the animals conseerjited to them, such as dogs, rams, geese, &c. Nor would I be disposed lo maintain, that no advantage could flow from such a prohibition. For in Ihe first place, that name of the Deily, which was considered as his proper name, would be, at any rate, thereby guarded from profa- nations and misapplications, which sometimes leave behind ■them ludicrous and co'itempluous impressions, that can never be effaced ; and, in an age when polytheism was so prevalent, this was a matter of much more imporlance than at present ; for then God was not, as with us in Germany, equivalent lo a nomen propriuvi, but every god, whether true or false, had his own peculiar name; and hence we find Moses addres.sing the God who appeared to him, and who declared himself the " God of Ins fathers," and. of course, the creator of heaven and earth, and the only true God ; and asking him what answer he should return to the Israelites, if they wished to know what was his name, Exod. iii. 13. In the second place, a name of the deity, which is never mentioned in common life, will have something extremely solemn in it, particularly where it is so significant, as was the word Jchvi-ah. It will, of course, in worship, in prayer, and in the case of an oath, make so much the deeper im- pression ; and that, with respect to the last of these, may serve to prevent perjury, or, at least, to make it but rare : for whateveris unknown and uncommon, alTecis the human heart with terror and wilh awe. In fact, I myself believed that this law ought to be understood in this way, -when 1 was translating the book of Leviticlis, about three years ago; but since that time, the consideration of the great severity of the punishment has raised a doubt in my mind on this point. Moses prohibits naming the name Jehovah ; but was that to be a capital crime 1 If so, where was there any gradation of punishments; slonmg being thus the punishment of the bla.sphemerof God, and of the man also who but uttered his name ? — But this doubl becomes slill weightier, when we read both verses, namely, verses 15 and 16 of Lev. xxiv. together. And here I must acknow- ledge a mistake in my translation : for the words in ver. 15, " he shall bear his sin," I rendered periphrastically, " he shall atone for his crime," because I adhered to the com mon opinion, that they related to the stoning, ivhich was adjudged as the punishment of the blasphemer. If, how- ever, 1 translate ihe passage quite literally thus, " Whoever blasphemelh his God, shall bear his sin. Whoever utters the name Jehovah, shall die; the whole congregation shall stone him ;" it looks as if the utterer of the name was to be Eunished differently from, and more severely than, the lasphemer; as, indeed, Philo has remarked, though with quite another view. But then, it is to be considered, fur- ther, that the crime is not so much as distinctly expressed unless we explain the 16th verse by, and, in some measure, include it in, the one before it. The verb Nakab may as well mean to ivritc, as to nttei ; and, therefore, even wri- ting the name Jehovah, might seem to have been prohibit- ed ; and yet Moses has done that in ever}- page of his wri- tings. Let it, however, be rendered utter ; ■was then all ut- terance of the name Jehovah forbidden 1 How then was it to be used, and for what purpose did God assume it 1 This law, then, is surely to be understood with some limi- tation 1 But with what limitation 1 Was the priest alone lo utter the name, as the Jews think 1 or durst laymen also utter it, if they only did so in a holy manner 7 Durst it be mentioned in an oath, or in prayer 1 Was it permitted in instructing children? or was only the inconsitierate use of it prohibited ■? With regard to all this, we find nothing in this law, and yet it is the only one that treats on this sub- ject ; nor is it like other laws, illustrated by usage ; for the name Jehovah was new, and it was Moses who first dis- tinguished the God who sent him, by this philosophically sublime and expressive title. Here, then, ■vve should have some crime, to whichlhepiinishmcnlof death was annexed, and yet it was not rightly understood what it was, nor wherein it consisted. These doubts have prompted me lo connect the IBlt verse more closely wilh the 15th ; so that to utter the nami Jehovah, becomes equivalent to uttering it in blasphe- my ; and this explanation is the more probable, because in the story which gave occasion to the law, we find, ver. 11. that the Eg\-plian had uttered the name, and blasphemed. The meaning then of the words, of which 1 shall first give a literal translation thus, — A man, a man, (that is, any man Avhatever. whether native or .stranger,) jrho blasphcmeth his God, sh/ill bear his sin, and v'hocvcr uttereth the name Jeho- VAH sh/illdie ; thr n-hole eonsret^ation shall stone him — will be the following : " If any man blaspheme God, the God whom he deems his God, (the Israelite, the true, and the heathen a false God,) it is a heinous sin. It is a sin even in the hea then, to blaspheme what, according to his own opinion, is god. Such a person shall not escape his judge; although Ihe magistrate has no right to interfere in the matter, but must leave it to the true or false God, that he may be his own judge. It is, besides, uncertain whom the man may have meant, when he cursed God, and here the law as- sumes the milder supposition. But if any one, in blasphe- ming, expressly mention the name Jehovah, so that no Ch; 24. LEVITICUS. 83 doubt can remain, whether he meant to blaspheme the true or a false God, )te shall be stoned to death." In this way the criminal law, with respect to blasphe- mers, would undergo a very materialalteraiion ; nor would it be every blaphemy, but only that which was distinguish- ed by a certain specific aggravation, that incurred capital punishment; all other cases being left to the judgment of God, because the blasphemer cannot be convicted of having blasphemed the true God, and because God is certainly able to avenge himself, if he lliink fit, without having oc- casion for our aid; Judg. vi. 30, 31. And this appears quite suitable to the spirit of those times, and is a great mit- igation of the rigour of the law. In our times, a legislator would, perhaps, grant to the blasphemer the salvo of not being in his right mind. — At any rate, bla.sphemy, inferred merely by deductions, or what is called blasphemous doc- trine, could not be punished by the law. In later times, the Jews were exlremely prone to construe every thing that did not please them, at once into blasphemy; and their Zealots, as they were called, arrogated to themselves the right of punishing on the spot, and without the smallest judicial inquiry, any supposed blasphemy ; although per- haps they had stopped Iheir ears against it, and were, there- fore, but" bad judges of its real nature. Both the one and the other of these measures are repugnant to the Mosaic statute. Even the utterer of aggravated blasphemy was not put to death on the spot, but taken into custody, until God could be consulted as lo his fate. We must not, there- fore, charge the Mosaic law with those illegal outrages, to which the zeal of the later Jews prompted them to resort. — MlCB.lF.LI3. Ver. 19. And if a man cause a blemish in liis neighbour ; as he hath done, so shall it be done unto him ; 20. Breach for breach, eye for eye, tooth for tooth : as he hath caused a blemish in a man, so shall it be done to him again. In cases of corporal injuries done to free persons, (for the same rule did not extend to serrants, they being less pro- tected members of the community,) that far severer law of retaliation operated, whose language is, " Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth ;" and upon that law I must here expatiate more fully, because it is so far removed from our laws, that it sometimes appears to us really barbarous, or, as others would say, unchristian. Barbarous, however, it was not; for those very nations of antiquity whom we look upon as most civilized, viz. the Athenians and Romans, had this law in the days of theii freedom. But the singular cir- cumstance respecting it is, that it is, strictly speaking, only suited to a free people, and where the poorest citizen has equal rights with the greatest man that can injure him ; al- though, no doubt, it may subsist under an aristocracy and a monarcliy also, as long as no infringement is maSe on liberty, anil on the equality of the lowest with the highest, in point of rights. Where, however, the eye of a nobleman is of more value than that of a peasant, it would be a very Ereposlerous and inconvenient law ; and where, for the eneflt of the great, attempts might out of friendship be made to pervert justice, it is much more consonant to equity, in the case of such corporal injuries, to leave the determi- nnlion of the punishment to the decision of the judge. It would seem that Moses retained the law of retaliation, from a more ancient, and a very natural, law of u.-iage. It will be well worth our while to hear what lie himself says on the subject of a lav/, so strange to us, and yet so common among ancient free nations. His /ir.'Ji statute respecting it, clearly presupposes retaliation as consuetudinary, and only applies it to the very special case of a pregnant woman be- ing pushed, by two men quarrelling with each other, and Ihercbv receiving an injury; the man who pushed her, be- ing adjudged to pay " life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, brand for brand, wound for wound, bruise for bruise," Exod. xxi. 23 — '35. Tlie second statute likewise occurs but incidentally; when, on occasion of blasphemy uttered by an Egyptian, it was or- dained that both Israelites and strangers should have one and the same criminal law ; and it is added, by way of ex- ample, " Whoever shall injure his neighbour in his person, .shall receive even as he hath given : eye for eye, wound for wound, tooth for tooth; even as he hath injured another, so shall it be done lo himself in return ;" Lev. xxiv. 19, 20. What Moses then says (incidentally, in fact, and piesup- posing a more ancient law of usage) concerning the pun- ishment of retaliation, I miderstand imder the two follow- ing limitations : — 1. H'Aen t/te injury is either deliberate, or at least in con- sequence of our fault ; (an instance of which last is that mentioned above, from Exod. xxi. 23, where a woman is hurt by two men fighting ; an act of outrage of n hich they ought not to have been guilty ;) but not where there is either no fault, or at any rale but an inadvertence ; as where one man pushes out another's eye imdesignedly. This limitation every one will admit, who remembers that Moses was so far from meaning lo punish unpremeditated homicide by the law of retaliation, that he established an asylum for the unfortunate manslayer, to secure him from the fury of the Gael. 2. The person who .suffered any personal injury, retained (for he is nowhere deprived of it) the natural right of ab- staining, if he chose, from all complaint, and even of re- tracting a complaint already made, and remilting the pun- ishment, if the other compounded with him for what we should call a pecuniary indemnity, or, to use the Hebrew expression, a ransom.' Not lo mention that this right is quite natural and obvious, and scarcely requires to be no- ticed in a penal statute, it maybe observed, that among the Israelites such pecuniary expiations had been previously common, even m the case of deliberate murder, as they still are among the Orientals, and that in this case alone did Moses find it necessary to prohibit the acceptance of any such compensation; Numb. xxsv. 31. If it was cus- tomary in cases of deliberate murder, we may conclude with certainty, that it would frequently be accepted for the loss of a tooth or an eye ; but as Moses did not prohibit this, we must suppose that the ancient usage still continued to prevail. But is not the punishment of retaliation extremely rude 1 Does it not savour strongly of ancient barbarism 1 and must not every legislator, who out of philanthropy wishes the nobleman to preserve his own eyes, though he may pre- viously have beaten outthoseof the worthless peasant, natur- ally keep at as great a distance here as possible from the brutal law of ancient times ? And was not Moses then very much to blame, I will not say in giving such a law, for that can- not be laid to his charge, but in retaining it from ancient usage ■? Let us listen with candour, to what maybe said both for and against this species of punishment. I. In favour of it, then, we may observe — 1. That it is the first punishment that will naturally oc- cur lo every legislator when left to himself; nor can any one justly complain, that that should happen to himself, which he ha,s done lo another: for he has certainly cause to be thankful, that he does not suffer more: since riot only, self-revenge, as authorized by the jus nalurcr, but also pun- ishments in civil society generally go much greater lengths, and retaliate for evils that have been sullered, perhaps tenfold. 2. That it has a more powerful effect than any other punishment in deterring from personal injuries; and is, indeed, almost the only adequate means of attaining this end of punishmenl. Pecuniary punisliraenis will not be very formidable lo the man of opulence, particularly if they are regulated by the rank of the person injured ; nor will they, of course, do much lo promote the security of the poor: nay, even though corporal pimisliments be legal, if they only rest vilh the discretion of the judge, (and here, thai is a very alarming and dcipolically-sounding expres- sion.) not only is not the security of the poor man thereby promoted, because the judge's discretion is generally pretty favourable to the great, but his humiliation becomes, in fact, only the greater. Should the nobleman, for instance, put out the eye of a peasant, and the judge estimate the loss at 1000 rix-dollars, which, though a sum pretty considerable in itself, can give the former but little concern ; but the peasant, on the other hand, who puts out a nobleman's eye, be dragged lo the gallows in a cart, though quite ready to pay him the same sum, which indeed many a peasant', in some countries, could very eajily raise; such an inequality in the law would, to a man of spirit, who feels his hands, and who is both able and willing lo defend his country with them, prove rather intolerable, "Under such a law, can the 84 LEVITICUS. Chap. 24. man in an luimWe station possibly have that security for sound limbs, that bf is being expected. The adversaries of the lex Uilio- lis were bad philosophers, when, with all their benevo- ence, this observation e.scaped them. — But after all, it rould, even in conjunction with what went before, form n objection to the law in question ; for this, in fact, is no- thing more than what commonly lakes place in all pun- ishments, and in all the variety of revenge that we dread, !ven in the stale of nature. If I had, in that slate, beat out he eye of one of my neighbours, I should always be afraid .hat he, or his son, or his father, or his brother, or some jiher friend, or, perhaps some person hired for Ihe purpose, might lie in wait for me, and beat out one of mine in re- turn; and, under this unnecessary fear, I should really and truly be much more unhappy, than the man whose eye I beat out; in my very dreams, I should, who knows how of- ten, lose an eye with pain and horror; and although, when I awoke again, I found mysjlf possessed of it, I should, at first, be uncertain, perhaps, whether it had been a dream or not ; and, stupified with fear, in the darkness of the night, I should be anxious to try whether it could see or not. Nay, not only should I be afraid of this, but well aware thatj-evenge always studies to retaliate beyond what it sutfers, I should anticipate a more serious injury than I had caused, the loss of an eye perhaps for a tooth, or even the loss of life itself, in short, every thing that is bad : and, under these continual apprehensions, I should be extremely miserable, even though ine injured person might never ac- tually retaliate the injury. Should he ever get me into his hands, and repay me merely according to thejiis t-aUonis, this would be a fresh addition to my misery; unless, in- deed, it might be said, that I ought to look upon it as good luck, because I should no longer have to live in perpetual terror. Now these are nothing more than the terrors of conscience, that natural and awful avenger of all the crimes we commit, and, in the mythologies of the Greeks and Ro- mans, represented under the image of the Furies ; and thus, for wise ends, hath nature constituted our minds, to prevent us from injuring one another. Even in the case of murder, itis precisely the same. Whoever, in the state of nature, has perpetrated that crime, will continually be m fear of the son or friend of the deceased, as his Goel ; will, while awake, fancy a hundred times that he sees him, and tremble at the thoughts of him, how distant so- ever he may be; and will be as often disturbed when asleep, by seeing him in his dreams, and thinking that he feels him giving him the fatal stab. In a word, he will, bath sleeping and waking, die a thousand deaths. If he think this unjust, and too severe, let him blame God and nature, for having annexed such variety of wretchedness to the commission o' guilt; and blame himself for being such a fool as to let such stuff come into his imagination. If, again, it is committed by a member of civil society, and if (which is the mildest punishment of all those now in use) it costs him his head, he certainly, in sutTering even this retaliation, suffers much more than the person whom he murdered ; who had only a few minutes agonv, which his rage, in self-defence, would scarcelv let him feel; whereas kn, in his prison, anticipates his death for week>, ami feels in iuiagination, which aggrava'es everv evil, the sword of iusticp everv moment on his neck ; and at last, when he is acttiallv brought out lo execution, is so much overwhelmeil bv the previous feelings of death, that there have been instances of malefactors, who, having a pardon given them on the scafl'olii, were alrea'yso near death, tint thev could not be saved even bv blood-letting, but died as thoroughlv as if they had actuallv been beheaded. But thus to die of agouv. is a much more terrible death than to die of m^re wtiunds bv the hand of a murderer. This ob- jection, therefore, amounts to nothing at all ; only there is another, which it is understood to implv, viz. thni, thr Injii- rifiKS parfif is vmhr Ji,o nbli^n'in}i fn suffer more evil than he ha^iin'ic; .and this was actu.'iUv the reasoning of the phi- losopher Favnrinus, whom A. GMiiis introduces as speak- ing on this suhiect, in his NnrJ.cs AUicr. But what igno- rance doth such reasoning show of all the laws that liave been introduced into all nations, and tibove all, that any man may, from his own feelings, know of the nature of re- venge, if he pay but ever so little attention to what passes within him. The injurious party has no right to demand that the retaliaiioji to which he subjects himself, shall not exceed the injury; for upon the same principle on which he did an injury to another, without any precedent or prov- ocation, may the suli'erer, following his example, requite him, in terms of his own law, with ten times, or ten thou- sand times, as great an injury. The relations between no- thing and something, and between something and injinily, are alike r they botli surpass all numeration. As to the morality of such a procedure, and whether God approves of evils being thus infinitely increased, I am not here con- cerned with deciding. The present question relates not to an evil infinitely augmented, out only of one requited with some addition. If, however, the injurious party have it requited him even in an mtiniie degree, he can have no- thing more to say, than that as he had done, so had he suf- fered, wrong. But putting this infinilv entirely out of the question ; in all the circumstances wherein human be- ings can be placed logether, proceeding from the rudest state of nature, and what is a relic of it, the consuetudinary law of duelling, through every stage of society, until we arrive at the best-regulated commonw-ealth, it holds as a fundamental principle, that the man who has caused evil to another, has no reason to complain if he should sutler a greater e\'i\ in return. In the slate of nature, self-revenge goes certainly much beyond the ofience, and would go inti- nite lengths, if not restrained at last by pity, or by con- tempt of its victim, or by the suggestions of magnanimity. In the old German proverb, which is strongly expressive of a national idea, it is said, {Avf eiv.e Mautschelle gchort ein Dolck,) " Every blow has its dagger." The point of honour, in duelling, insists on revenge with the sword ; and the whip, with the pi.stol ; but where people's ideas are not so artificial, they find a satisfaction in, and plume them- selves on, having given foro«« blow, two or more in return. — In the stale of civil society, the design of punishment is to deter from crimes; for which purpose, a hare requital in kind will not be sufficient, because the criminal may hope to escape detection, orto escape from justice, and of course his fear of punishment is by its uncertainty materially lessened ; and hence punishments are here much more severe, and by one example, many thousands are deterred from a repetition of the crime : so, that unless a man chooses to take the consequences, and to serve the public as an example in Icrrorcm, he must abstain from injuring his neighbour. In the case of theft, restitution, with considera- ble additions, would not be accounted too severe, but on the contrary a very mild punishment for the crime ; and vet here more is given back than was taken away. — But 1 here stop short, because I mean to offer some general remarks on the relation of punishments to crimes, in Ihe Essay which I have already meritioned my intention of adding as an Appendix to this work. Tliis observation only shall I yet ofier in the meantime. The objection ar- gues not only against the retaliation of personal injuries, now the subject of dispute, but against all punishments whatever, which consist of any evil that is at all a matter of feeling, or which, by fear arid anticipation, may become aggravations of such evils ; and many inferences flow from It, which to the objector himself must appear very strange, and would go at any rate to destroy all the sccuritv of hu- man life. Assassination, for instance, and child-murder, would on this principle he mere trifles, and bv no metins worthv of being punished with death. The assassin mitfht sav, " The person, whom I murdered, did not know « hat befell him. //(.-was no sooner s'abhed than he fell; and he died, without knowing it, altogeiher unexpectedly, and in the midst of joy ; and if I must die on his accouiii, let my death be equally easy and unexpected. I onlv beg that people may not take it into their heads to declare me an out- law, else shall I at every step be accompanied with the dread of death, and, in imagination, die a hundred thou- sand times instead of once." — The child-murderer, again, might say all this, and thus much more : " The child w horn I ilespatched, knew nothing of the worth and enjoyment of life, and had been in astate of such obscure sensibililie.s. that his pain was next to nothing;" thus insinuating, that whenever he himself should happen to come into the same state, that is, to return to his mother's womb and he born again, by a sort of Pythagorean Metempsychosis, he might 86 LEVITICUS. Chap. 24. ^> ?f^^ ;/>,h,e -s of the community, that ^''^'XdTo he CO vettlon." I notice this passage par- are called to ine coini-""'-" , „,(, „gi.si,ns ol tieularly, because >. ^^^J'f ,^;;\I™ ^I'^tee^-beca^ne to him this description who oe up a a .^^M^^^^ ^^^^^^^ ^^^^^^^ point, IS the passage, D«"':^'^.^'-T;4 stand this dayall of and a half of people \'''°^Xded\ .no be ,nan,fest. amount, women «"/^-''''^''^" " "^ ',rf', e "e,.^ whom that the nrsl-named person. "/''V^.^ts Whether these liiipliiii "^ Wh"•■ "•"= '^^^""' '' m™ M:;;^'S.1 of Hol^ab not ,o leave Israel he or 'Sy'^"' ,f ,^',„^;.Vj.,,,',„^. -15. Everybody accord- ■n^h ^t -, a c, amtel with the nature of such deserts as importance o^ .n n M,.ne 1 ^^ ^^^ ^^^^^^^^^ ^_^^, ^^^ ead'n, Place pS.o'> 'h'" — ""• '"'• -H-a.npmen.s. \v' , ,. .W r helD travelling would be much more dUh- e^U In hde^^', and indeed otten fatal. The import- ance of having the'se Arab .guides appears, from such a hor „f nassaees in books of travels, that every one ^;i™^:n-2rh^^t!Sl turned thts way, must be apju-jzed f hem • lor which reason 1 shall cue none m pw'^-"'.^.^- The anlical.on thenof Moses to Hobab the Midianite tbat is't'o a prm^^^^^^ Arab of the tnbe of M'dian wouW ave appeared perfectly just, had it not been ior this hou"htThat the cloud of the Diyme Presence went before sr^^ and daeced their marches; o'' -'>»' ^f X^^^^^ , hen could Hobab's journeying with them be A man would take more upon himself than he ought to do that si Id affirm the attendance of such a one as Hobab was of o use o Israel, in their removing from station to station It is very possible, the guidance of the cloud might no be so m nue'as absolutely to render h's olhees of no va uc Bm I will mention another thing, that will put he mo rietv f this request of Moses quite out of.d'«P«J- 5r he sacred history expressly mentions several journeys wn.; sent out to reconnoitre the land ol Canaan , in eu.'i x\ ol he essengers sent from Kadesli unto the king ot Fdom in chap xlcxi. of an expedition against the idola- ^ rM^-anuS; ofsomelittle'kned^ions inthed^^^ ^hnn XXX ■ and more lounieysof the like kind, were wiui o,Soub",ndertaken,ih,eha>.notpart,c„arW M .„• Mr,«p~; foresee ng something ol this, nugiu wen ucg ululc m the ^viWe'Jss bu fte was wa„^^_^^^^^^^^ them some part o he ear at all um^ ^^^^ ^^^,^^ ^^_ ,hey wanted "-'f "-,'; /"^J^ ^hev-nol, descrfbing h.i =lu-\^;::;^^■S^.ays^l.he.ugMc.th^ 5^^^=^^^;St;^;rJ^^.3^.;;-anywd^. !he,r not being aWe « find^^^n t make of the night to boil collee. ,Al'l>P/"">Pla''rin^'"^.\^t being between '^^"fhth and ninth of Febum hen^^^^^^^ ^^. able to get '"^" ,^""J^,Z^\ „"^' d<:M ^ gates til n was ^av, sut^e. ng a real^teal ^^^^^^ thev had no wood lo '""ke a t^ie_ lo.e ^^ in this desert ol camels lung lor lnei,tm ^^^^ ,J?a;r or;a,ni!l>"tal H. e ;pi -^- i,„le bettor than '.='«';;a'Y;r-; v bee l.asmm-h as ihou Hobab, "Leave us nol, I pia\ imc i .., g^j knoweit how we ought to enean - mi ;hc ^^ 'dern , ,hou inayest be u. ..stnsU.ad o ^^.^^ ^ f.^^ ■"""r',nUons'';;Tn ga e d fn.m the following' extract ; xrs^^:^heS^=lr^^^^^^^^ the camp -f ' ';;^^ .;'>:'^ " .\ 'm'ght have been so-, but, -^-; o!v^l:;^t;ar^.- of Pr..^ ^y m^. \ Chap. U. NUMBERS. 91 expect an inlerposiiiun of Providence on }iis behalf, so we strongly qutrti, wlielher it would not have been a failing, of presumption, in Moses, had he omitted this application to Hobab; or indeed, any other, suggested by nis good sense and understanding. "A hjbeer is a guide, from tlic Arabic word hubbar, to inform, instruct, or direct, because they are used to do this office to the caravan travelling tbrougli the desert, in all its directions, wliether to Egypt and back again, the coast of the Red Sea, or llie countries of Sudan, and the western extremities of Africa. Tliey are men of great considera- tion, knowing perfectly the situation ana properties of all kinds of water, to be met on the route, the distances of wells, whether occupied by enemies or not, and if so, the way to avoid them wilh the least inconvenience. It is also necessary to them to know the places occupied by the simoom, and tlie seasons of their ))lowing in lliose parts of Ihe desert : likewise those occupied by moving sands. He generally belongs to some poAverful tribe of Arabs inhabit- ing these deserts, whose protection he makes use of, to a.s- sist his caravans, or protect them in lime of danger; and handsome rewards are always in his power to distribute on such occasions ; but now that Ihe Arabs in these deserts are everywhere without gt)vernment, the trade between Abyssinia and Cairo given over, ihat between Sudan and the melropolis much diminished, the imporlance of tliat office oVnjbeer, and its consideration, is fallen in proportion, and with these the safe conduct ; and we shall see presently a carai'an cut off by the treachery of the very hybeers that conducted them, the first instance of the kind that ever hap- pened." (Bruce.) — Taylor in Cai.mf.t. CHAPTER XI. Ver. 5. We remember the fish which we did eat in Egypt freely; the cticumbers, and the mel- ons, and the leeks, and the onions, and the garlic. To an Englishman the loss of these articles would not give much concern, and he is almost surprised al Ihe Israel- ites repining at their loss, as at the loss of great delicacies. The people of the East do not in general eat flesh, nor even fish, so that when they can procure it they consider it a delicacy. Cucumbers are eaten in abundance in liot wea- ther, and melons are most delicious and plentiful. I have never seen leeks in the East, and I am doubtful whether they are to be found ; biU wliether or not, there is much diflference of opinion as to the translation of the word. D'Oyly and Mant have a quotation to this effect: — " Whe- ther the following word, rendered tcrks, have tliat significa- tion, may be doubled. Some ihink it was the /o/k.?, which is a water plant, a kind of water-lily, which the Egyptians used to eat during the heals of summer." In the Universal History, (vol. i. p. 4ft(i.) it is said, that those " Egyptians who dwelt in ihe marshes, fed on several plants which an- nually grow, particularly Ihe lotus, of which Ihey made a sort of bread." Of the Arab^ also, (in Ihe same work,) it is recorded — " They make a drink of the Egyptian lotus, which is very good for inward heat." The Tamul name of the /o/u.s is the Tamari. The Materia Mediea, under the article Nclumbiuin Speciosum, savs Ihis plant is Ihe 1 rue /»/((,( of Ihe Egyptians, and the Nviniihca Nihifer of Sir Wjllinm Jones. lis beniitiful and fingranl tlower is sacred lo Lechimy, ihe goddess of Maga Vishnoo. It has abulbous root, and is liighly esteemed as an article of food. As it grows in Ionics, it can onlij be had in Ihe holiest wea- ther, when Ihe water is dried up; and, in this we see a most gracious provision in allowing it lo be taken when most reiiuired. lis cooling qualilies are celebrated all over India, and Ihe Materia Mediea says of il, " This is an ex- cellent root, and is al-^o prescribed medicinally, as cooling and deinnli'cnl." The natives eat il boiled, or in curry, or make il inio tlour for gruels. I am, Iheretbre, of opinion, that it was Ihe lotus of Egypt respecling whicli Ihe Israel- ites were inunnuring, — Riief.rts. "Whoever has lasted onions in Egypt mu.sl allow lhat none can be bad beHer in any pari of ihe universe. Here they are sweet, in other countries iliey are nauseous and strong; liere Ibev are .sofi, whereas in ihe iiorlli, and other parts, Ihey are hard of digestion. Hence they cannol in any place be ealen wilh less prejudice and more salisfaclion than in Egypt. They eat them roasled, eul into four pieces, wilh some bits of roasted meat, which the Turks in Egypt call l.obab, and wilh this dish they are so delighted, lhat I have heard Ihem wish they might enjoy it in paradise. They likewise make soup of tliem in Egypt, cutting the onions in small pieces ; this I Ihink one of the best di.shes I ever eat. By melons we are probably to understand the water-me- lon, which the Arabians call batech. It is cnltivated on the banks of the IVile, in Ihe rich clayey earth which subsides during Ihe inundation. This serves the Egyptians for meal, drink, and physic. It is eaten in abundance during the season, even by the richer sort of people; but Ihe common people, on whom providence has bestowed nothing but pov- erty and patience, scarcely eat any thing but these, and ac- count this the best lime of the year, as they are obliged lo put up with worse fare at other seasons. 'This fruit like- wise serves them for drink, the juice refreshing these poor creatures, and Ihey have less occasion for water than if they were to live oh more substantial Ibcd in this burning climate. — HAssEmnsT. Among the different kinds of vegetables, which are ot importance to supply Ihe want of life, or to render il more agreeable, he tells us, is the melons, which, without disptUe, is there one of Ihe most saliUary and common among them. All the species lhat Ihey have in Europe, and in ihe sea- porls of the Mediterranean, are lo be found in Egypt. Be- sides Ihem, there is one, whose substance is green and very delicious. It grows round like a bowl, and is commonly of an admirable taste. There are also waler-melons, ex- iremely good. Bm above all the rest, at Cairo, and its neighbourhood, they boasl of a .species of melons, pointed al each end, and swelling out in the middle, which the peo- l)le ipf the Country call nhddarins. Tins is an Arabian word, which signifies the slave of sweelness. In fact, these melons are notto be eaten without sugar, as being insipid without it. Macrisi says, this last kind v.as formerly irans- porled hilher, by a inan whose name Ihey bear. They give it lo the sick, lo whom they refuse all olher kinds ol fruit. The rind is very beautifully wrought ; its figure very singular ; as well as Ihe manner of ripening it, which is by applying a red-hot iron to one of ils extremities. The people of the country eal il green as well as ripe, and in Ihe same manner as we cat apples. The.se melons, of a foreign extraction, continue two whole months, and grow nowhere else in Egypt. They say the same species is found in Cyprus. — Maili.et. Ver. 6. But now our soul is dried away ; Ihere w nothing at all, besides this manna, before our eyes. In great hunger or thirst the people say, " Out sou! is withei'ed." " More than Ihis, sir, I cannot do ; my spirit is withered within me." " What ! when a man's soul is with- ered, is he not lo complain 1" — Roberts. Ver. 8. And the people went about, and gathered il, and ground it in mills, or beat it in a mor- tar, and baked it in pans, and made cakes of it : and the taste of it was as the taste of fresh oil. The eastern mill consists of two circular slones, about eighteen inches in diameter, and lliree inches ihick. The top slonc has a handle in it, and works round a pivot, which has a hole connected wilh il lo admit the corn. Tlie mor- tar also is imu'h used lo innke rice flour. It is a block of wood, about twenty inches high and ten inches in diameter, having a hole scooped out in ihe centre. The pestle is a slick of about four feel long, made of iron-wood, having an iron hoop fixed to the end. — Roberts. Ver. IG. And the Lord said unto Moses, Gather unto me seventy men of the elders of Israel, whom thou knowest to he the elders of the peo- ple, and officers over tlieip. ; and bring them unto the tabernacle of the congregation, that they may stand there with thee. Moses eslablislied in the wilderness nnolher instilulion, which has been commonly held lu be of a judicial nature; 92 NUMBERS. Chap. 1 1, and uiuler Ihe imiiie of Sanhedrim or Sijncdrium, iniioli spoUen of bolh by Jews ami Christians, alllioiigh il proba- bly was ntit of long continuance. We have the account of its establishment ni Num. w.; and if we read the passage impartially, and without prejudice, we shall probably en- tertain an opinion of ihc Synedrium ditlerent from that generally received, which cxalis it into a supreme college of juslice, that was to endure for ever. A rebellion that arose among the Israelites distressed Moses exceedingly. In order to alleviate the weight of the burden that oppressed hirn, he chose from the twelve tribes collectively, a council of seventy persons to assist him. These, however, could hardly have been judges; for of them, the people already had between sixty and seventy thousand. Besides, of what use could seventy newjudges, or a supreme courl of appeal, have been in crushing a rebellion. It seems much more likely, that this selection was intended for a supreme sen- ate lo take a share with Moses in the government; and as it consisted of persons of respectability, either in point of family or merits, it would serve materially to support his power and iiilluence among the people in general. By a mixture of aristocracv, it would mocierate the monarchical appearance which ilie constitution must have assumed from Mo.ses giving his laws by command of God, and it would unite a number of powerful families together, from their being all associated with Closes in the government. It is commonly supposed that this Synedrium continued permanent; bid this I doubt. For in the whole period from the death of Moses to the Babylonish captivity, we find not the least mention of il in tli'e Bible; and this si- lence, melhiiiks, is decisive; for in Ihe lime of the judges, but particularly on tliose occasions when, ticcording to the. expression of the book of Judges, there teas neither king nor judgein Israel ; and again, during those great political revolutions, when David by degrees became king over all the tribes, and when the leii tribes afterward revolted from his grandson, Rehoboam ; and lasllv, under the tyrannical reigns of .some of the subsequent kings; such a supreme council of seventy persons, if it had been in existence, must have made a conspicuous figure in the history; and yet we find not the least trace of it: so that it merely appears to have been a temporary council instituted by Moses for his personnl service and .security ; and as he did not fill up the vacancies occasioned in it by deaths, it must have died out altogether in the wilde'rness. No doubt the Jews, after their return from the Babylonish cap- tiviiy, dill institute a sanhedrim at Jerusalem, of which freij'uent mention is made, not only in the New Testament, but also in Jewish writings. But this was merely an imi- tation of the ancient Mosaic Synedrium, with iHe nature of whose constitulion the latter Jews were no longer ac- quainted ; for they had indeed become ignorant of almost all the customs of their ancestors. The detail of this sec- ond sanhedrim established by the latter Jews belongs not to our present work, but to their history after the Babylo- nish captivity. — Micu.if.li.h, Ver. 20. But even a whole month, until it come out of your nostrils, and it be loathsome unto you. What does this mean 1 Is it not a figurative expression, to .show that Ihey were lo eat till fullv satisfied 1 Bishop Patrick says, " till you he glulted and' cloved wilh it." Is il not a. striking illuslral ion that this figureof speech is used at this day to convey the same meaning l A host says lo his guests, " Now, friends, eat mook/ttniillaw, lo the nose," literally, lo eat till they are full up to ihe nose. " O, sir, how can I eat any more ! I am full lo Ihe nose, I have no more room." Of a glutton, it is said, " That follow al- ways yi//.< lip to Ihe iioM ! " — Roberts. Ver. 21. And Moses said, the people, aiTion<,r whom I am, arc si.x hundred thousand foot- men ; and thou hast said, I will ijivc them flesh, that they may eat a whole month. 22. Shall the flocks and the herds be slain for them, lo suffice them? or shall all the fi.sli of the sea be gathered together for their, to suffice them? When Moses mentioned Israel's being fed wilh fish, col- lected from Ihe Red Sea, he seems lo have supposed some- thing of an extraordinary kind ; but analogous lo whal had happened to several people, in small companies, not any thing miraculous. In answer to the divine declaration, Moses proposed a difficulty in accomplishing this promise, in the natural course of things, not as imagining it could not be done by a miracle ; he could not but know, that he that rained down manna, could, by a miracle, gorge them with flesh ; bul in the common course of things, or in the natu- ral, though more unusual operation of Providence, could il be brought about? That was what puzzled Moses. Some flocks, and a few oxen, they had with ihem for the solemnities of sacrifice ; but could apart of them, with any addition that might be procured from the people on the skirts of the desert, be sufficient to support them a whole month 1 Fish mighi be obtained from the Red Sea, from which, it seems, they were not very distant, but could it be expected they would come in such numbers to ihe shore, within their reach, as fully lo satisfy the cravings of their appetites, day after day, for a whole month 7 The ground of this inquiry, -wilh respect to the flesh of quadrupeds, is visible to all : they had frequently lasted of their llesb in feasts, generally of a sacred nature, sometimes, perhaps, of a less devout kind. But how came Moses to think offish? Irwin explains it. by observing, that a little lower down, toward the straits of Babelmandel, he found fish in abun- dance in the Red Sea ; that the Arabs were ver)' expert in catching them; and that great quantilies were lobe picked up, from lime to time, on the sand-banks, which are ex- tremely numerous in the Red Sea. There is no reason to believe, that Israel had not ta.sted fish in .some of Iheir en- campments, of which some are expressly said to have been near the Red Sea, Numb, xxxiii. 10, 11 ; and others are known lo have been on that coast, or not far from it, where no mention is made of that circumstance in the sacred writings. And there can be no reason to doubt, that since many of them found fish so grateful to their palalcs, but that they would endeavour to make use of that opportunity for gratifying themselves. Manna was an additional sup- ply, only intended to make up a sufficiency of food ; not designed to he exclusive of every other species of it. If the modern Arabs are so dexterous at catching fish now, the ancient Egyptians, we have reason lo believe, were so in their time ; and the low and oppressed stale of Israel in that country, will not allow us to believe, that they did not exert themselves wilh equal assiduity, and in consequence of continual use, with equal success. We remember thcfisk we did eat in Egiipt freeli/, was a part of their moan, Num. xi. 5. If Moses knew what the common people of Egypt now know, and which their sages in ancient days must,' at least, have remarked, he could be no stranger lo that change of place that may be observed as to fish, and their crown- ing together at certain times ; and lo some such a natural, but surprising and unknown occurrence, as to the inhabit- ants of this sea, the words of Mo.ses seem to point : Sh/ill the fincks and herds be stain for /hem? .... or shall all the fish of the sea be gathered together, by some natural imptilse, to this place, for a month or more, which none of us have had any notion of, nor received any information about, to suf- fice them ? Such is, I apprehend, the spirit of these words. — Harmf.r. Ver. 31. And there went forth a wind from the Lord, and brought i]uails from the sea, and let thrm fall by the camp, as it were a day's journey on this side, and as it were a day's journey on the other side, round about the camp, and as it were two cubits ///,f juice resembling wine, with little kernels. 'The Hebrew term Rimon, which expresses both the tree and the fruit, from Rama, to project, seems to have its name from the strong projection or reflection of light either from the fruit or from the starlike flower with six leaves, or ravs, at the lop of the apple. The Greek name po.i, which denotes the tree, and po.rraj, the fruit, by which the Seventy render the word Rimon, aim perhaps at the same thing, being derived from p.', to flow. We learn from Dr. Shaw, that August produces the fust ripe pome- granates, some of which are three or four inches in diam- eter and of a pound weight. The pomegranate, or malum pun'icum, as originally brought from Phoenicia, was for- merly numbered among the most delicious fruits which the earth produces. That "from Arabia is larfje, full of juice, and highly flavoured. The juice esjiecially. when expt;ess- ed from the seeds and interior film, by which the bitter flavour IS avoided, is a delicate beverage : and one of those pomegranates will sometimes fill a small basin. The high estimation in which it was held by the peonle of Israel inav be inferred from its being one of the tliree kinds of fruit brought by the spies liom Eshcol. to Moses and the congregatTon iii the wilderness; and from its being .speci- fied liy that rebellicms people as one of the greatest luxuries they enjoyed in Egypt, the want oi' which Ihcy felt so se- verely inthe sandy desert. The pomegranate, classed by Moses with wheatand barley, vines and figs, ml olive and honey wa.s, in his account, one principal recommendation of the promised land. But no circumstance more clearly provesthe value which the Orientals put upiui this fruit, than the choice which Solomon makes of it to represent certain "races of the church : " Thv temples are like a piece of pomegranate within thy locks;" and in the ihirleenlh verse, the children of God are compared to an orchard of pome- granates with plea.sant fruits. Three sorts of pomegranates are used in Syria, the sour, the sweet, and another of an intermediate taste, for the purpose of giving a irrateful acid- ity to their sauces or liquids. A very refreshing draught, stich as the Syrians use in hot weather, composed ol wine mixedwiththe juice of the pomegranate, it would seem, the spouse proposed to make for her beloved : " I would cause thee to drink of spiced wine of the juice of my pomegia- Chap. 13—18. NUMBERS. 55 nate ;" a delicious and cooling beverage to the parched in- habitant of the equatorial regions ; or perhaps she means a species of wine made of pomegranate juice, which we learn from Chardin, is drank in considerable quantities in the East, and particularly in Persia. Which of these is really intended, it is not easy to determine. Liquors of this kind are still very common in the East. Sherbet, which is a syrup, chiefly that of lemons mixed with water, is used by persons of all ranks. " I think," says Mr. Harmer in a note, " it is highly prob- able, that in the time of remote antiquity, pomegranate juice was used in those countries where lemon juice is now- used, with their meat, and in their drinks; and, that it was not till afterward, that lemons came among them. 1 know not how else to account for the mention of pomegranates, in describing the fruitfulness of the Holy Land : they would not liow, I think, occur in such descriptions ; the juice of lemons and oranges have at present almost superseded the use of that of pomegranates." But the opinion of this re- spectable writer, is opposed by no less an authority than Dr. Russel, who spent many years in Syria, and wrote the na- tural hi.story of that coimtry. According to that able his- torian, lemons have by no means superseded the pomegra- nate ; the latter is more easily preserved through the win- tor, and is often in cookery preferred to the lemon. In describing the fruitfulness of a country, the pomegranate would be mentioned; anil it is diligently cultivated even where lemons are plenty. What Chardin calls Roubnar, he would not understand to be wine ; Rab-al-nar is the in- .spissated juice of the pomegranate, or the juice of grapes preserved with sugar. — P.ixto.n'. Ver. oZ. The land, through which we have gone to search it, is a land that oatelh up the inliahit- ants thereof. Of a very unhealthy place it is said, " That evil country eats up all the people. " We cannot remain in these parts, tne land is eating us up." '• /go to that place ! never! it will eat me up." Of England it is said, in reference lo her riclorics, " She has eaten up all countries." — RoBEnrs. CHAPTER XIV. Ver. 0. Only rebel not ye against the Lord, neither fear ye the people of the land : for they are. bread for us ; their defence is departed from them, and the Lord is with us; fear them not. Hebrew, " shadow." A poor inaij says of his rich friend, " He is my shadow ;" i. c. he is my defence. " My sha- dow is gone;" meaning, he has lost his defence. " Ala.s ! those poor people have lost their shadow." — Roeert.s. Literally, //icir shadov, a metaphor highly expressive of m-oleclion and support in the sultry eastern countries. The Arabs and Persians have the same word to denote the same thing : iising these expressions, " May the shadow of thy prosperity be extended." " May the shadow of thy prosperity be spread over the heads of thy well-wishers."' " M;iy tliy protecliori never he reriiovptl frnin my lleail ; .May Gfjd extciui tliy sliadow eternally." At court, when mention is made of the sultan, the appella- tion of alcm-pcnali, refuge of the world, is usually added to his title of piulis/ui, or emperor. His loftiest title, and the most esteemed, because given to him by the kings of Per- sia^is zil-uUah, shadow of God. — Blrder. CHAPTER XVII. Ver. 6. And Moses spake unto the children of Israel, and every one of their princes gave him a rod apiece, for each prince one, according to their fathers' houses, even twelve rods : and the rod of Aaron tvas among their rods. 7. And Moses laid tip the rods before the Lord in the tabernacle of witness. 8. And it came to pass, that on the morrow Moses went into the taber- nacle of witness ; and, behold, the rod of Aaron, for the house of Levi, was budded, and brought forth buds, and bloomed blossoms, and yielded almonds. See on Jer. 1. II, 12. CHAPTER XVIll. Ver. 16. And those that are to be redeemed, from a month old shall thou redeem, according to thine estimation, for the money of five shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary, which is twenty gerahs. According to Leo of Modena, this was performed in the following manner. When the child is thirty days old, the father sends for one of the descendants of Aaron ; several persons being assembled on the occasion, the father brings a cup, containing several pieces of gold and silver coin. The priest then takes the child into his arms, and address- ing himself to the mother, says, " Is this thy son?" Mo- thcr. "Yes." J°n>s^ " Hast thou never had another child, male or female, a miscarriage or untimely birth !" Mo- ther. "No." Priest. "This being the case, this child, as first-born, belongs to me." Then turning to the father, he says, " If it be thy desire to have this child, thou must re- deem it." Father. " I present thee with this gold and sil- ver for this purpose." Priest. " Thou dost wish, therefore, to redeem the child V Father. " I do wish so to do." The priest then turning himself to the assembly, says, "Very well: this child, as first-born, is mine, as it is written in Bemidbar, Numb, xviii. 16, Thou shdlt redeem the first-born of a month old for five shekels; but I shall content myself with this in exchange." He then takes two gold crowns, or thereabouts, and returns the child to his parents. — Bcrder. Ver. 19. All the heave-offerings of the holy things, which the children of Israel offer unto the Lord, have I given thee, and thy sons and tliy daughters with thee, by a statute for ever : it is a covenant of salt for ever before the Lord unto thee, and to thy seed with thee. Among other descriptions of a covenant, there is one which demands explanation. Numb, xviii. 19, " The otfer- ings I have given lo thee, and thy .sons and thy daughters with thee, by a statute for ever; it is a covenant of salt, for ever, before the Lord." 3 Chr. xiii. 5, " Ought you not t.i know that the Lord God of Israel gave the kingdom over Israel to David, for ever, to him, and to his sons, by a cove- nant if salt .'" It is very properly, as we suppose, suggested, in answer to the inquiry, What means this covenant of salt! that salt preserves from decay and putrefaction; it maintains a firmness and durability. There is a kind of salt so hard, that it is used as money, and passes from hand to hand no more injured than a stone would be, says Mr. Bruce. Salt may therefore very properly be made an em- blem of perpetuity. But the covenant of salt seems to refer to an ao^reement made, in which salt was used as a token of eonnrmatirn. We shall give an instance from Baron du Tott. " He, (Moldovanji Pacha,) was desirous of an acquaintance with me, and seeming to regret that his business would not per- mit him to stay long, he departed, promising in a short time to return. I had already attended him half way down the staircase, when stopping,' and turning briskly to one of my domestics who followed me, ' Bring me directly,' said he, ' some bread and salt.' I was not less surprised at this fancy, than at the haste which was made to obey him. What he requested was brought ; when, taking a little sail between his fingers, and putting it with a mysterious air on a bit of bread, he ale it with a devout gravity, assuring me that I might now rely on him. I soon procured an expla- nation of this significant ceremony; but this same man, when become vizier, was templed to violate this oath thus taken in my favour. Yet if this solemn contract be not always religiously observed, it serves, at least, lo moderate the spirit of vengeance .so natural lo the Turks." The Ba- ron adds in a note : " The Turks think it the blackest in- gratitude, to forget the man from whom we have received food : which is signified by the bread and sail in this cere- mony."—(Baron du Tott, part i. page 214.) The Baron alludes to this incident in part iii. page 3(5. Moldovanji Pacha, being ordered to obey the Baron, was not pleased at it. " I did not imagine I ought lo put any great confi- dence in the mysterious covenant of the bread and salt, by which this man had formerly vetoed inviolable friendship to 96 NUMBERS. Chap. 20. tnf." Yet he "dissembled his discontent," and "his pee- vishness only showed ilself in his first letters to the Porte." It will now, we suppose, appear credible, that the phrase " a covenant of sail" alludes to some custom in ancient times ; and wnliout meaning lo symlioUzc very deeply, we take the liberty of askmg, wheiher the prcceiil, Lev. li. 13, " With all thine ollerings thou shall oder .^all," may have any ref- erence to ideas of a similar nature 1 Dili the custom of feasting at a eovenant-makinij include the same 1 accord- ing to ihe bcniimont of the Turks hinted at in the Baron's noie. We oughl lo nolice the readiness of the Baron's do- mestics, in proof that they, knowing the usages of their c junlry, well understood what ■was aboiu to lake place. Also, ihal ihis covenant is nsiialli/ punctually observed, and where it is not punctually observed, yet it has a re- .straining influence on the party who has made il; and his non-observance of il disgraces him. We proceed to give a remarkable instance of the power of this covenant of sail over Ihe mind : it seems lo imply a something attributed to salt, ■which it is very difficult for us complelely to explain, but which is not the less real on that account : " Jacoub ben Lai'h, the founder of a dynasty of Persian princes called the Safiarides, rising, like many others of ihe ancestors of the princes of the East, from a very low stale to royal power, being in his first setting out in the use of arms, no better than a freebooter or robber, is yet said lo have maintained some regard lo decency in liis depredations, and never lo have entirely stripped llio.se that he robbed, always leaving ihcm something to soften their affliction. Among other exploits that are recorded of him, he is said lo have broken into Ihe palace of the prince of that country, and having collected a very large booty, which he was on Ihe point of carrying away, he found his foot kicked something which made him slnmble ; he imagined it might bcsomclliing of value, and putting it lo his mouth, the belter lo distinguish what it was, his tongue soon informed him it was a lump of sail. Upon this, according lo the morality, or rather supeistitinu, of the country, where the people considered salt as n ^ymbul and pledge of fiospiMily, he was sn touched, lliat he left all his booty, retiring without taking a-\vay any thing with him. The next morning, the risk ihey had run of losing many valuable things being perceived, great was the surprise, and strict the inquiry, what could be the occasion of iheir being left. At length Jacoub was found lo be the per.son concerned ; who having given an account, very sincerely, of the whole transaction lo the prince, he gained his es- teem so efTectually, that it might be said, with truth, that il was his regard for sail that laid the foundation of his after fortune. The prmce employing him as a man of courage and genius in many enterprises, and finding him successful in all of them, he raised him, by lillle and little, lo the chief posts among his troops; so that, at that prince's death, lie found himself pos.scssed of the command in chief, and had such interest in their affections, that they pre- ferred liis interests lo iho!.e of the children of the deceased prince, and he became nhsnlule mailer of that province, from whence he afterward spread his conquests far and wide." — (D'Herbelol, Bibl. Orient, p. 466. Also,Harmer's Obs.) — Tavlor i.N Calmet. CHAPTER XX. Ver. 19. Anil the children of Israel said unto him, We will rro by the liio^hway ; nnd if I and my cattle drink of thy water, then I will pay for it : I will only (without doing any thing else) go through on my feet. The scarcity of water, and the great labour and expense of digging away so much eartli, in order lo reach il, ren- der a well cxlremely valuable. As the water is often sold at a very high price, a number of good wells yield to the proprietor a large rcventie. Pitts was obliged to purchase water at sixpence a gallon; a fact which illustrates the force of the offer made by Moses lo Edom ; " III, and my cattle, drink of thy water, then will I pay for il." It is prop- erly mentioned as a very aggravating circumstance in the overthrow of Jerusalem, ihal ihc ruthless conqueror forced the Jews to purchase with money, ihe waler of iheir own wells and the wood of their own trees: "We have drunken our water for money; our wood is sold unto us." Even a cup of cold waler cannot always be obtained in Syria, without paying a certain price. It is partly on this account our Lord promises, " AVhosoever snail give to drink unto one of those little ones, a cup of cold water, in the name of a disciple, should in no wise lose his reward." — Paxton. How little do ihe people of England understand fecVntgly those passages of scripture which speak of want of waler, o{ paying for that necessary fluid, and of the strife for such a valuable article as a well ! So we read, " Abraham re- proved Abimelech, because of a well of water, which Abimelech's servants had violently taken awav." Gen. xxi. 25. So, chap. xxvi. 20 : " The herdsmen tif Gerar did strive with Isaac's herdsmen ; nnd he called ihe well Esek, conlention." — To what extremities conlenlion about a sup- ply of water may proceed, we learn from Ihe following px- iracls ; — " Our course lay along shore, betwixt the main- land and a chain of lillle islands, with which, as likewise ■with rocks and shoals, the sea abounds in this part; and for that reason, it is ihe practice with all these vessels lo anchor every evening : we generally brought up close to the shore, and ihe land-breeze springing up about midnight, wafted lo us the perfumes of Arabia, with which it was strongly impiegnated, and very fragrant ; the latter part of il carried us off in ihe morning, nnd conlinued lill eight, when it generally fell calm for two or three hours, and after thai the northerly wind set in, after obliging us lo anchor under the lee of' Ihe land by noon ; il happened that one morning, when we had been di-iven by stress of weather inlo a small bay, called Birk Bay, the country around it being inhabited by the Budoes, [Bedo-n-een.s] Ihe Noquedah sent his people on jhore to i;el vatir, for vhiek il is alirayi cuslomary lo pnij." This extract, especially illustrates ll-.e pa.ssage. Num. xx. 17, 19 ;— " We will not drink of ihe waler of ihe wells ; — if I, and my callle, drink of thy waler, Ihen v ill I jay for it." — This is always expected ; and ihoupli Edom mig/ti in friendship have let his brolher Israel drmk prnlis, had he recollected Iheir consanguinily, yet Israel did nol jnsisl on such accommodalion. How strange would it sound in England, if a person in travelling, should propose to pay for drinking water from Ihe wells by ihe road-side ! Never- theless, still .stronger is the expression, Lam. v. i ; " We have drank our own waler for money ." we bought it of our foreign rulers; although we were the natural proprietors of Ihe wells which furnished it. — Taylor in Cai.>u;t. Ver. 22. And the children of Israel, even tlie whole congregation, joiirneyed from Kadcsh, and came unto mount Hor. 23. And the Lord spake unto Moses and Aaron in mount Hor, by the coast of the land of Edom, saying, 24. Aaron shall be gathered unto his people : for he shall not enter into the land which I have given unto the children of Israel, because ye rebelled against my word at the water of Meribah. 25. Take Aaron and Elcazar his son, and bring them up unto mount Hor: 20. And strip Aaron of his garments, and put them upon Eleazar his son : and Aaron shall he gathered viilo /lis pco;)/(', and shall die there. 27. And Moses did as the Lord commanded; and they went up into mount Hor in the sight of all the congregation. 28. And Moses stripped Aaron of his garments, and put them upon Eleazar his son; and Aaron died there in tlie top of the mount: nnd Moses and Eleazar came down from the mount. The evidence already adduced leaves unquestionable the possibilili/ that excavations in rocks may conlinue unim- paired for many ages. That monuments so extremely an- cient €as the days of Moses and Aaron should still bear their testimony io facts of oilier limes, is loo wonderful to be received wilhoul due circumspection. — If ihey were re- ferred lo buildings, to structures erected by human power, I they would be something more than diibious: but this SUMMIT or MOUNT Ilon—.Vunibors Jl. 28. Chap. 21. NUMBERS. 97 hesitation does not apply to chambers cut in rocks, or on the sides otrocliy moumains : iflhe idcnlily o( such places can be established, tlieira(ii!j{(ti7y need occasion no difficul- ty ; if tlie tomb of Aaron be not the tomb ol any other per- son, it may be admitted to all the honours of the distant age to which it is ascribed. The rock and the mountainorigi- nated with the world, and will endure to the end of time. At least, il is proper that what is said of the tomb of Aaron, should find its place in a work like the present. Our travellers left Petra, and taking a south-westerly direction, arrived at the foot of Mount Hor, by three o'clock in the afternoon. They climbed the rugged ascent, and found "a crippled Arab hermit, about eighty years of age, the one half of which time he had spent on the top of the mountain, living on the donations of the few Mohammedan pilgrims who resort thitlier, and the charity of the native shepherds, who supply him wi.h water and milk. He con- ducted us into the small white building, crowned by a cupola, that contains the tomb of Aaron. The monument is of stone, about three feet high, and the venerable Arab, having lighted a lamp, led us down some steps to a chamber below, hewn out of the rock, but containing nothing ex- traordinary. Against the walls of the upper apartment, where stood the tomb, were suspended beads, bits of cloth and leather, votive offerings left by the de\'olees; on one side, let into the wall, we were shown a dark looking stone, that was reputed to possess considerable virtues in the cure of diseases, and to have formerly served as a seat to the prophet." — T.iylor in Calmet. CHAPTER XXI. Ver. 6. And the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, and they hit the people : and mucli people of Israel died. The seraph, to a biblical student, is one of the most inter- esting creatures that has yet fallen under our notice. It bears the name of an order among the hosts of heaven, whom Isaiah beheld in vision, placed above the throne of Jehovah in the temple ; the brazen figure of this serpent, is supposed to be a type of our blessed Redeemer, who was for our salvation lilied up upon the cross, as the serpent was elevated in the camp of Israel, for the preservation of that people. It is the only species of serpent which the al- mighty Creator has provided with wings, by means of which, instead of creeping or leaping, it rises from the ground, and, leaning upon the extremity of its tail, moves with great velocity. It is a native of Egypt, and the des- erts of Arabia ; and receives its name from the Hebrew verb saraph, which signifies to burn, in allusion to the vio- lent inflammation which its poison produces, or rather its fiery colour, which the brazen serpent was intended to rep- resent. Bochart is of opinion, that the seraph is the same as the hydrus, or, as Cicero calls it, the serpent of the wa- ters. For, in the book of Isaiah, the land of Egypt is call- ed the region from whence come the viper and flying ser- aph, or burning serpent. yElian says, they come from the deserts of Libya and Arabia, to inhabit the streams of the Nile ; and that they have the form of the hydius. The existence of winged serpents is attested by many writers of modern times. A kind of snakes were discover- ed among the Pyrenees, from whose sides proceeded carti- lages in the form of wings; and Scaliger mentions a peas- ant who killed a serpent of the same species which attack- ed him, and presented it to the king of France. Le Blanc, as quoted by Bochart, says, at the head of the lake Chia- may, are extensive woods and vast marshes, which it is very dangerous to approach, because they are infested by very large serpents, which, raised from the ground on wings re- sembling those of bats, and leaning on the extremity of their tails, move with great rapidity. They exist, it is re- ported, about these places in so great numbers, that they have almost laid waste the neighbouring province. And, in the same work, Le Blanc aflirms that he has seen some of them of immense size, which, when hungrv, rushed im- petuously on sheep and other tame animals. But the origi- nal term tiDijia Moopheph, does not always signify flying with wings; it often expresses vibration, swinging back- ward and forward, a tremulous motion, a fiiUcring: and this is precisely the motion of a .serpent, when he springs from one tree to another. Niebuhr mentions a sort of ser- pents at Bassorah, which they call Heie Ihinre. " Thev n commonly keep upon the date trees ; and as it would be la- borious for them to come down from a very high tree, in order to ascend another, they twist themselves by tlie tail to a branch of the former, which making a spring by the motion they give it, throws them to the branches of the sec- ond. Hence it is, that the modern Arabs call them fly- ing serpents, Heie thiarc. Admiral Anson also speaks of the Jlyine serpents, that he met with at the island of Quibo ; btU, which were vithout vings." From this account it may be inferred, that the flying serpent mentioned in the prophet, was of that species of serpents which, Irom their swift darting motion, tlie Greeks call Aeontias, and the Ro- mans, Jaculus. The seraph is classed by the Hebrews, among those animals which eujit an ofiensive odour ; which corresponds with the character given of the hydrus by the poet; ' graviter spirantibus hydris." This circum- stance is confirmed by yElian, who states, that in Corcvra, the hydrce turn upon 'heir pursuers, and exhale from their lungs an air so noisome, that they are compelled to desist from the attack. It is an obvious objection to these argu- ments, that the hydra; are produced, and reared in marshy places ; not in burning and thirsty deserts, where I he peo- ple of Israel murmured because ihey could find no water. But, although that people might find no w aler to drink, it will not follow, that the desert contained no marshy place, or muddy pool, where the hydra" might huk. Besides, it is well known, that when water fails, these serpents do not perish, but become chersydri, that is, seraphim or burners. ..Elian says they live a longtime in the parched wilder- ness, and "lie in wait for all kinds of animals. These cher- sydri, il is extremely probable, were the .sevpents which bit the rebellious Israelites : and in this slate they were more terrible instruments of divine vengeance ; for, exasperated by the want of water, and the intense heat of the season, they injected a deadlier poison, and occasioned to the mis- erable sufferer more agonizing torments. The time of the year when Jehovah sent these serpents among his people, proves that this is no vain conjecture. According to rJi- cander, the hydra? become chersydri, and beset the path of the traveller about the dog days. JS'ow, Aaron died on the first day of the fifth month, that is, the month Abib, which corresponds with the nineteenth day of July. The Israelites mourned for him thirty days ; immediately after which, they fought a battle with Arad, the Canaanite, and destroy- ed his country: then recommencing their jouiney, they murmured for want of water, and the serpents were sent. This, then, must have happened about the end of August; the season when the hycfrse become seraphim, and inflict the most cruel wounds. Nor is it a fact, that the frightful solitudes which Israel traversed, were totally destitute of water; for, in their fourth journey they came to the river Arnon ; in the fitlh, to Beer, a w ell greatly celebrated in scripture; and soon after the death of Aaron, they arrived at a region watered by numerous streams. In these iriig- uous places, which were at no great distance from the camp of Israel, the hydrse might be produced, and sent to chastise the rebellious tribes. The words of Moses also seem to countenance the idea, that the hydrte employed on this occasion, were not generated on the spot, but sent tfom a distance: "And the Lord sent fiery serpents, or sera- phim, among the people." From these words it is natural to conclude, that they came from that " land of rivers," through which the congregation had lately passed. Nor will this be reckoned too long a jouiney, when it is recol- lected that they travelled from both the Libyan and Arabian deserts, to the streams of the Nile. They inflicted on this memorable occasion, an appropriate chastisement on the perverse tribes. That rebellious people had opened their mouth against the heavens; they had sharpened their tongues like serpents; and the poison of asps was under their lips : therefore they were made to suffer, by the burn- ing poison of a creature which they so nearly resembled. — Paxton. Ver. 18. The princes dig-ged the well, the nobles of the people dige^ed if, by the. direction, o/ the lawgiver, with their staves. And from the wilderness they went to Mattanah. Michaelis observes on this passage, that Moses seems to have promised the Israelites that they would discover in this neighbourhood, and that by ordinary human industry 03 NUMBEKS. Chap. 22—24. and skill, a spiiiif; huhcrUi unknown; and ilial I lii,s promise was fulfilled. The discovery of springs, which ofien (low at a considerable deplh below Ihe surface of Ihe earth, is of great imporlance to a country so poor in water as Arabia. Often a spoi that is dry above has even subterraneous lakes, to reach which it is necessary to di^ to some deplh. We have a remarkable inslaiice in a jiarl of Africa which Khaw describes at the end of the eifihlh cliapter«if his geographi- cal remarks on Algiers: — " The villages of Wadreag are snpplied in a particular manner with water: they have, properly speaking, nciiher fountains nor rivulets; but by digging wells to the de|)lli of a hundred, and sometimes two hundred fathoms, ihey never want a plentiful stream. In order, therefore, to obtain it, they dig through ditierent layers of .sand and gravel till they come to a flaky stone, like slate, which is known to he immediately above Ihe bokar lakt cl ertt, or the sea below the ground, as they call the abyss. This is easily broken through, and the flux of wa- ter, which follows the stroke, rises generally so suddenly, and in such abundance, that the person let down for this purpose has sometimes, though raised up with the greatest dexterity, been overtaken and suffocated by it." In .some parts of Arabia, as at Faranard in the valley of Dschiron- del, water is found, according to Niebuhr, on digging only a foot and a half deep. — Rosenmllleh. CHAPTER XXII. Ver. 4. And Moah said unto the elders of Midian, Now shall this company lick up all that are round about us, as the ox licketh up the (jrass of the field. A native gentleman, who has many people depending upon him, .says, " Yes, they are all grazing upon me." " If I am not careful, they w-iU soon graze up all I have." Of people who have got all they can out of one rich man, and who are seeking after another, " Yes, yes, they have done grazing there, and are now looking out for another place." " These bulls are grazing in every direction." — Roberts. Ver. 6. Conic now therefore, 1 pray thee, curse me this people ; for they ore too mighty for me: peradventurc I shall prevail, that we may smite them, and that I may drive them out of the land : for I wot that he whom thou blessest is blessed, and he whom thou cursest is cursed. The Orientals, in their wars, have always their magi- cians with them to cur.se their enemies, and to mutter in- cantations for their destruction. Sometimes they secretly convey a potent charm among the opposing troops, to cause their destruction. In our late w-ar with the Burmese, the generals had several magicians, who were much en- gaged in cursing our troops; but, as they did not succeed, a number of witches were brought for the same purpose. — Roberts. Ver. 21. And Balaam rose up in the morning, and saddled his ass, and went with the princes of Moab. We learn from Niebuhr, that in Egypt the asses are verv handsome, and are used for riding by the greater part of the Mohammedans, and by the mostdistiiiguished women of that country. The same variety serves for the saddle in Persia and Arabia; and must therefore have been com- mon in Palestine. They are descended from tamed ona- gers, which are taken young, and sold for a high price to the nobles of Persia, and the adjacent countries, for their studs. They cost seventy-five ducats; and Tavernier says, that fine ones are sold in Persia dearer than horses, even to a hundred crowns each. He distinguishes them properly from Ihe baser race of ordinary a.sses, which are employed in carrying loads. These saddle asses, Ihe issue of onagers, are highly commended by all travellers into the Levant. Like the wild ass, they are extremely swift and rapid in their course ; of a slender form, and animated gait. They have vigorous faculties, and can discern ob- stacles readilv ; at Ihe sight nf danger they emit a kind of crv ; they are obstinate to excess, when beaten behind, or when they are put out of their way, or when attempts are made to control them against their will : they are also familiar and attached to their master. These particulars exactly ccjrrespond Avith several incidents in the history of Balaam's ass; from whence it may be inferred, that he rode one of the superior breed, and by consequence, was a person of considerable wealth and eminence in his own country. The high value which people of rank and fashion m the East set upon that noble race of asses, excludes them from the purchase of the commonalty, and restricts the possession ol them to the great, or the aliluent. This fact is confirmed by the matiner in which the sacred writers express themselves on this subject. — Paxton. CHAPTER XXIII. Ver. 21. The Lorp his God is with him. and the shout of a king is among them. When people pass along the road, if they hear a great noise of joy or triumph, they say, '■ This is like the shout of a king." "What a noise there was in your village la.st evening ! why, it was like the shout of a king." — Roberts. CHAPTER XXIV. Ver. 6. As the valleys are they spread forth, as gardens by the river's side : as the trees of lign-aloes which the Lord hath planted, and as cedar-trees beside the waters. Gabriel Sionita, a learned Syrian Maronite, thus describes the cedars of Mount Lebanon, which he had examined on the spot. " The cedar-tree grows on the most elevated part of the mountain ; is taller than the pine, and so thick, that five men together could scarce fathom one. It shoots out its branches at ten or twelve feet from the ground ; they are large, and distant from each other, and are perpetually green. The cedar distils a kind of gum, to which diflerent effects are attributed. The wood of it is of a brown colour, very solid, and incorruptible if preserved from wet ; it bears a small apple, like that of the pine. De la Roque re- lates some curious particulars concerning this tree, which he learned from the Maronites of Mount Libanus : " The branches grow in parallel rows round the tree, but lessen gradually from the bottom to the top, shooting out parallel to the horizon, so that the tree is, in appearance, similar to' a cone. As the snows, which fall in vast quantities on this mountain, must necessarily, by their weight on such a vast surface, break down these branches, nature, or rather the God of nature, has so ordered it, that at the approach of winter, and during the snowy season, the branches erect themselves, and cling close to the body of the tree, and thus prevent any body of snow from lodging on them." Maun- drell, who visited Mount Libanus in 1697, gives the follow- ing description of the cedars still growing there : " These noble trees grow among the .snow, near the highest part of Lebanon, and are remarkable, as well for their own age and largeness, as for those frequent allusions to them in the word of God. Some of them are very old, and of a prodigious bulk ; others younger, and of a smaller size. Of the former I could reckon only sixteen, but the latter are very numerous. I measured one of the largest, and found it'lwelve vards and six inches in girth, and yet sound; and thirty-seven yards in the spread of its branches. At about five or six yards from the ground il was divided into five limbs, each of which was equal to a great tree." The aloe-tree here meant is the aloe which grows in the East Indies, to the height of eight or ten feet, and (not to ] be ctmfounded with the aloe-plant originally from Amer- ica) its stem is the thickness of a thigh. At the top grows I a tuft of jagged and thick leaves, which is broad at the I bottom, but becomes gradually narrower towards the point, i and is about fourfeet long; the blossom is red, intermingled with yellow, and double like cloves. From this blossom comes a red and while fruit, of the size of a pea. This tree has a verv beautiful appearance, and the wood has so fine a smell, that it is used for perfume. The Indians con- sider this tree as .sacred, and are used to fell it with variotis religious ceremonies. The Orientals consider this aloe as a tree of Paradise, on which account the Dutch call it the tree of Paradise. Therefore, Rabbi Solomon Jarchi Chap. 31 -33. NUMBERS. 99 explains; tlie Hebrewword as " myrrh and sanderswood, which God planted in the garden of Eden." — Rosewmuller. CHAPTER XXXI. Ver. .50. We have therefore brought an oblation for the Lord, what every man hath gotten, of jewels of gold, chains, and bracelets, rings, ear-rings, and tablets, to make an atonement for our souls before the Lord. There is not a man in a thousand who does not wear an ear-ring or a finger-ring, for without such an ornament a person would be classed among the most unfortunate of nis race. Some time ago a large sacrifice was made for the purpose of removing the cholera morbus, when vast numbers came together with their oblations. The people seemed to take the greatest pleasure in presenting their car- fiugs, finger-rings, bracelets, and other ornavients, because they were dearer to them than money, and consequently were believed to be more efficacious in appeasing the gods. When people are sick, they vow to give a valuable jewel to their god on being restored. — Roberts. CHAPTER XXXII. Ver. 5.5. Then it shall come to pass, that those which ye let remain of them shall be pricks in your eyes, and thorns in your sides, and shall vex you in the land wherein ye dwell. People in the East, in consequence of their light clothing, of the exposed state of their feet, and the narrowness of the paths, have a great dread of thorns. Those who carry the palankeen, or who travel in groups, often cry aloud, Mullu, mullu! A thorn, a thorn ! The sufferer soon throws him- 'self on the earth, and some one, famous for his skill, ex- tracts the thorn. Does a person see something of a distress- ing nature, he says, " That was a thorn in my eyes." A father says of his bad son, " He is to me as a thorn." " His vile expressions were like thorns in my body." A person going to live in an unhealthy place, or where there are quarrelsome people, is .said to be going " to the thorny des- ert."— ROBKRTS. CHAPTER XXXV. Ver. 19. The revenger of blood himself shall slay the murderer ; when he meeteth hiin he shall slay him. The interest of the common safety has for ages estab- lished'a law among the Arabians, which decrees that the blood of every man who is slain must be avenged by that of his murderer. This vengeance is called tor, or retalia- tion, and the right of exacting it devolves on the nearest a-kin to the deceased. So nice are the Arabs on this point of honour, that if one neglects to seek his retaliation, he is disgraced for ever. He therefore watches every opportu- nity of revenge ; if his enemy perish from any other cause, still he is not satisfied, and his vengeance is directed against the nearest relation. These animosities are transmitted as an inheritance from father to children, and never cease but by the extinction of one of the families: unless they agree to sacrifice the criminal, or purchase the blood for a stated price in money or in (locks. Without this satisfaction, there is neither peace, nor truce, nor alliance between them, nor sometimes even between whole tribes. Thete is blood between us, say they, on every occasion : and this expression is an insurmountable barrier. — Volnev. " Among the Bedouin Arabs," says D'Arvieux, " the re- venge of blood is implacable. If one man has killed an- other, the friendship lietween the two families and their descendants is dissolved. If an opportunity should occur to join in some common interest, or if one familv propose a marriage to the other, they answer quite coolly, ' You know that there is blood between us, we cannot accept your proposal, and must consider our honour.' They do not forgive each other till they have had their revenge, with which, however, thev are not in haste, but wait for time and opportunity." This is confirmed by Niebuhr, Descrip- tion of Arabia. " The Arabs seldom wish to see the mur- derer put to death by the magistrates, or take his life them- selves, because they would deliver liis lamily from a bad member, and, consequently, from a great burden. The family of the person murdered generally reserve to them- selves the right to declare war, as it were, against the murderer and liis relations. But an honourable Arab must observe some equality of stiengtli ; it would be con- sidered disgraceful if a strong person should attack one old or sick, or many, a single individual. They are, how- ever, permitted to kill even the most distinguished, and, as it were, the support of the family : lor they require that he in particular, who is considered as the chief, and who acknowledges himself as such, should have a watchful eye on the conduct of all the members. The murderer is, however, arrested by the magistrates, and released again, after paying a certain sniii, for instance, two hundred dol- lars. This is, probably, the reason why the law is not abolished. After this, every member "of both families must live in constant fear of anywhere meeting his enemy, till at length one of the family of the murderer is killed. There have been instances that similar family feuds have lasted fifty years, or more, because they do not challenge each other to single combat, but fight only when opporm- nity otfers. A man of consequence at Loheia, who used to visit us frequently, besides the usual Arabian weapon, that is, a broad and sharp-pointed knife, always carried a small lance, which he hardly ever put out of his hands, even in the company of his friends. As we were not ac- customed to see such a weapon in the hands of the other Arabs, and inquired about it, he complained that some years Ijefore he had had the misfortune to have one of his family killed. The injured family had then reserved to revenge themselves in single combat, of the murderer or his relations. One of his enemies, and the very one whom he principally feared, was also in this town. He once met him in our house also, armed with a lance. They might have terminated their quarrel immediately, but they did not speak one word to each other, and much less did anv combat ensue. Our friend assured us, that if he should meet his enemy in the open country, he must necessarily fight him ; but' he owned at the same time, that he strove to avoid this opportunity, and that he could not sleep in peace for fear of being surprised." After the bombardment of Mocha by the French, and when peace was already concluded, the captain of a French ship was stabbed before his own door, where he sat asleep, by an Arab soldier, one of whose relations had been killed by a bomb. — Rosen- MtJLLER. I must now speak of a person quite unknown in our law, but very conspicuous in the Hebrew law, and in regard to whom Moses has left us, I might almost say, an inimitable, but, at any rate, an imexampled proof of legislative wisdom. In German, we may call him by the name which Luther so happily employs, in his version of the Bible, Der Blut- racher, the blood-avenger ; and by this name we must here understand " the nearest relation of a person mur- dered, whose right and duty it was to seek after and kill the murderer with his own hand ; so much so, indeed, that the neglect thereof drew after it the greatest possible infa- my, and subjected the man who avenged not the death of his relation, to unceasing reproaches of cowardice or avarice." If, instead of this description, the reader pre- fers a short definition, it may be to this effect; "the nearest relation of a person murdered, whose right and duty it was to avenge the kinsman's death with hiso\^"n hand." Among the Hebrews, this person was called Sk:, Gnel, according, at least, to the pronunciation adopted from the pointed Bibles. The ctymolog)' of this word, like most forensic terms, is as yet unknown. Yet we cannot but be curious to find out whence the Hebrews had derived the name, which they applied to a person so peculiar to their own law, and so totally unknown to ours. Unquestionably the verb ^N), Goal, means to buy off, ransom, redeem ; but this signification it has derived from the noun ; for originally it meant to pollute, or stain. If I might here mention a conjecture of my own, Gael of blood, (for that is the term at full length,) implies blood-stained ; and the nearest kins- man of a murdered person was considered as stained with his blood, until he had, as it were, washed away the stain, and revenged the death of his relation. The name, there- fore, indicated a person who continued in a state of dis- honour, until he again rendered himself honourable, by lUU NUMBERS. Chap. 35. ihe exercise and accomplishment of revenge ; and in this very light do the Arabs regard the kinsman ol' a per.sou nuirdered. It was no doiiljl alierwaril used in a inure ex- tensive sense, to signil'y the nearest relation in general, and although there was no iiuirdor in Ihe case; just as in all languages, words aie sjiailually extended Car beyond itieir etymological meaning. Etymology may show the eiicuin- stances Ironi which they may have received their sigiufi- ealion ; but it is by no uieans'a delinitioii suited to all their derivative meanings, el.se would it be (jrojihetie. In Arabic, this personage is called Tau, or acc-ording to another pro- nunciation, Tkiair. Were this Arabic word tu be vvrilten Hebraically, ii would be -^kv, {Shacr) that is, the survivor. It appears, therefore, according tj its derivation, to be equiv.alent toM,e surviving rdalion, who was bound to avenge the death of a murdered person. The Latin word, Supersl'es expresses this idea exactly. In Arabic writings, this worci occurs ten times for once that we meet wiih Goel in He- brew; for the Arabs, ajnong whom tlie point of honour and heroic celebrity, consists entirelv in the revenge of blood, have much mure to say of their blood-avenger''than the Hebiews; among whom,' Moses, bv the W'isdom of his laws, brought this character in a great' measure into obliv- ion. The Syrians have no proper name for the blood- avenger, and are of course obliged to make use of a circumlocution, when he is mentioned in the Bible. Hence they mu.st either not have been acquainted with the oHice itsell, or have lost their knowledge of it at an early period during their long subjection to the Greek.s, after the time ot Alexander the Greal. If this character, with which the Hebrews and Arabs were so well acquainted, be unknown to us, this great dis- similarity IS probably not to be ascribed to the efl'eels of dttierence ol climati.-, bul rather to the great antiquity of these nations. Nations, how remote soever in their situa- tion yet resemble each other while in their infancy, much 111 the same way as children in everv country have certain resemblances in figure and manners,' proceed'ing from their age, by which we can distinguish them from adults and old people; and ol this infancy of mankind, or to speak more properly, of that stale of nature, whence they soon pass into the state of civil societv, the blood-avenger seems to me to be a relic. Let us figure to ourselves a people without magisirates, and where every father of a family is still his own master. In such a slate, men's lives would of necessity be in the highest degree insecure, were there no such blood-avenger as we have above described. iVIa- gistrate, or public judicial tribunal, to punish murder, there is none; of course acts of murder might be daily perpe- trated, were there no reason to dread punishment'of ano- ther description. Forlheirown security, the people would be forced to constitute the avengement'of blood an indis- pensable duly, and not onlv to consider a murderer as an outlaw, but actually to endeavour to put him to death, and whithersoever he might tlee, never to cease pursuing' him until he became the victim of vengeance. As, however' every one would not choose to undertake the dangerous of- fice of thus avenging a murder, the nearest relations of the iinlortunate sufferer would find it necessary to undertake it themselves. It would naturally he deemed a noble deed, and the neglect of it, of course, highly disgraceful, and just- ly productive of such infamy and reproach as blood alone could wash away. Nor would any one obstruct, but rather aid ihcm, in the prosecution of their revenge, if he had a proper regard to his own security. Allowing, however, that the murderer's relations wer'e to protect him against the blood-avenger, or to revenge his death by a fresh murder in their turn, this would siill be a proof ihii they regarded Mich revenge as an honourable riuiv, and ihat they would have looked upon the family of the murdered p'erson as despicable cowards, if they had left his death unrevenged And this IS in fact the language of nature among nations who have not even the most remote connexion with Ihe Hebrews and Arabs. I remember to have read somewhere in Laiat's Foi/ngw, that the Caraibs practise the .same sort of revenge, and thai it gives rise to family contests of long duration, because the friends of the murderer take his pari, and revenge his death on Ihe relatives of Ihe firs; vic- tim. Wc can srarcely ronccive the human race in a more perfect stale of nature than immediaielv after the deluge when only Noah and his tliree sons were on Ihe faceoftTie earth. Each of them was independent of the other • the father was too old lo he able to enforce obedience, had any ol them been refractory ; and besides, a father is not expect- ed to intiiet capital punishment on his sons or grandsons Add to this, that Noah's sons and their families were not to continue all together, and lo form one commonwealth but to .spread themselves in perfect independence over the whole earth. In order, therefore, to secure their lives, God hmisell gave this command, Gen. ix. fi, (J: " Man's blood shall not remain unrevenged ; but whoever killeili a man, be It manor beast, shall in his turn he put to death hy other men. II the reader wishes lo know more of this passage, which has been generally misunderstood, and held out as containing a precept still' obligatory on magisirates, lei him consult my Cnmvicntuliones ud leu'es divinas dc pana Homi- r.idit, ill Part I. of my Syntagma Commcntaliomim. Here, the only diflerence from the law now under consideration is, that God imposesthis duty, not upon Ihe nearest relation, but on mankind in general^ as bound to provide for their ! common security, and that he gives every individual a right ■ to put a murderer to death, although we have no connex- ion with the person murdered— a law which remained in force, until mankind introduced civil relations, made laws, nominated magistrates, and thus established a belter secu- rity to the lives as well as the properly of individuals.— MirUAELlS. Ver. 25. Ami tlie congregation shall deliver the slayer out of the hand of the revenger of blood, and the congregation shall restore him (o the city of his refuge, whither he was fled : and he shall abide in it unto the death of the high- priest, which was anointed with the holy oil. Moses found the GoH already instituted, and .speaks of him in his laws as a character perfectly known, and there- fore unnecessary to be described ; at the same time that he ■ expresses his fear of his frequently shedding innocent blood. But long before he has occasion to mention him as the avenger of murder, he introduces his name in his laws relating to land, as in Lev. xxv. 25, 2(5, where he gives him the right of redeeming a mortgaged field ; and also in the law relative to the restoration of any thing iniquitotislv acquired. Num. v. 8. The onlv book 'that is possibly more ancient than the Mosaic law,' namely, Ihe book of Job, compares God, who will re-demand "our ashes from the earth, with ihe Goc7, chap. xix. 25. From this term. Ihe verb ^NJ, which otherwise signifies properly to pollnie,'\mi already acquired the signification oi redeeming, setting free, vindicating, m which we find Moses often using it, before he ever speaks of the blood-avenger, as in Gen. xlviii 15 Exod. vi. 6. Lev. xxv. 25, 30, 33. xxvji. 20, &c. ; and even re-purchase itself is, in Lev. xxv. 31. 32, thence termed ni-Nj geitlla. Derivatives in any language follow their primitives but very slowly: and 'whcDrrrIm dcnmninativa descend from terms of law, the law it.'cif must be ancient. In the fir.st statule given bv Moses concerning the punish- ment of murder, immediately after Ihe departure of the Israeliles from Egypt, although he does not mention the (ioel by name, he yet presupposes him as well known. For he says, God vill, for (he man vho has vninlcntionallit killed another, appoint a place to which he matt flee, Exod. xxi. 12, 13. There must, of course, have been some one who pursued him, and who could only be stopped by the unhappy man reaching his asylum. At any rale, he iieed- ed not lo flee from jusMce; and it was quite enough if the magistrate acquitted him, after finding him innocent. The first passage in which Moses expressly speaks of the Gael, as the avenger of blood, is in the xxxvth chapter of Num- bers : hut even there he certainly does not institute his office, but only aproinis (and that mo merely by-the-by, while he is fixing the inheritances of the Levites) certain cities of rcfvae, to serve as asula from the pursuit of the blood-avenger, (ver. 12,1 for which there was no necessily, had there been no such person. In the second statute, Dent. XIX. 6, he manifests greal anxiety lest the GoH should pursue the innocent slayer in a rage, and overtake him, when the place of refuge' happened to be loo far dis- tant. Now these are evideiHly ihe ordinances of a legislator not instituting an office beftue unknown. but merely guard- ing against the danger of the person who happened to hold it, being led by the violence of prejudice or pa.ssion, lo Chap. 35. NUMBERS. abuse its rights — tliat is, in the case in question, bein? hurried, by a false refinement of ideas on the score ol' honour, to shed the blood of an innocent man. I think I can discover one trace of the terrors which the GoH occa- sioned, as early as the history of the patriarchal families. When Rebecca learned that Esau was threatening to kill his brother Jacob, she endeavoured to send the latter out of the country, .saying, " Why should I be bereft of you botli in one day T' Gen. xxvii.'45. She could not be afraid of the magistrate punishing the murder; for the patriarchs were subject to no superior in Palestine ; and Isaac was much too partial to Elsau, for her lo enleriain any expecta- tion, that he would condemn him to death for it. ' It would, therefore, appear, that she dreaded lest he should fall by the hand of the blood-avenger, perhaps of some Ishmaelite. Now to this Goiil although Moses leaves his riglus, of which indeed he would in vain have endeavoured to deprive him, considering that the desire of revenge forms a principal trait in the character of soulhern nations; he nevertheless avails himself of the aid of certain particulars of those rights, in order to bring the prevalent ideas of honour un- der the inspection of the magistrate, without hurting their energy, and to give an opportunity of investigating the circumslanccs of the crime meant to be avenged, before its punishment should be authorized. We see that sacred places enjoyed the privileges of asyla: for Mo.ses him.self took it for granted, that the mur- derer would flee to the altar, and, therefore, he commanded that when the crime was deliberate and intentional, he should be torn even from the altar, and put to death. Esod. xxi. 14. Among the Arabs we find that revenge likewise ceased in sacred places, as for instance (long before Mo- hammed's time) in the country round about Mecca, par- ticularly during the holv month of concourse. In such places, therefore, honour did not bind the avenger to put a murderer to death.— Now Moses appointed, as places of refuge, six cities, to which ideas of sanctity were attached because they were inhabited by the priests. Numb, xxxv! 9—3;). Detu. xix. 1—10. To these everv murderer might flee, and they were bound to protect him,' until the circum- stances of the case should be investigated; and, in order that the Goe} might not lie in wait for him, or obstruct his flight. It was enjoined, that the roads to these six cities shottld be kept in such a stale, that the unfortunate man might meet with no impediment in his wav, Deut. xix. 3. 1 do not by this understand, such a state of improvement as IS necessary in our highwavs on account of carriages, I,"'' u ''^"^ roa.A^ were not to make such circuits'; as that the Gael could overtake the fugitive on foot, or catch mm by lying in wait, before he reached an asylum; for in fact, the Hebrew word (:i;) properly signifies to make straight ; 2. That guide-posts were to be set up, to prevent him from mistaking the right way; and, 3. That the bridges were not to be defective ;— in short, that nothing should retard his flight. If the Gael happened to find the fugitive before he reached an asvlum. and put him to death, in that case Moses vielded to the established preju- dices respectmg the point of honour. It was considered as done in the ardour of becoming zeal, and subjected him to no inquisition, Deut. xix. G. If he reached a place of refuge, he was immediately protected, and an inquiry was then made, as to his right to protection and asylum; that IS, whether he had caused his neighbour's dealli undesign- edly, or was a deliberate murderer. In the latter case he was judicially delivered to the Gael, who might put him to death in whatever wav he chose, as we shall" slate at more length, under the head of capital punishments. Even although he had fled to the altar itself, which enjoyed the jiisasyli in the highest degree, it could not sa/e him if he had comuiitted real murder, Deut. xix. 14. If, however the person was killed accidentally, and unintenlionally the author of his death continued in the place of refuge and , nJ^''''i',^ belonging to it, which extended lo the distance of 1,000 ells all around the walls of Levitical cities; and he was there secure, in consequence of the sanclitv of the place, without any reflection upon the honour of the Gael even m the opinion of the people. But further abroad he durst not venture; for if the Goil met with him without the limits of the asylum, Moses paid no respect lo the mr,- n\a.TpnMdlioimenr; he might kill him without subjectmg himsell to any criminal accusation. The expression of Moses IS, It u no blond, or blood-guilt. Numb. xxxv. 215 27 101 Tliis confmement to one place may, perhaps, be thought a hardship: but it was impossible in anv other way to secure the safety of an innocent man'slayer, without attacking the popular notions of honour ; that is, without making a law which would have been as little kept as are our laws against duelling. But by this exile in a strange city, Moses had it besides in view, to punish that impru- dence which had cost another man his life ; and we shall, in the .sequel, meet with more instances of the severity of his laws against such imprudences. Allowing that it was an accident purely blameless, slill its disagreeable conse- quences could not fail to make people more on Ih.eir guard against similar misfortunes ; a matter to which, in many cases, our legislators, and our police-regulatiors, pay too little attention. For that very reason, Moses jirohibiled Ihe fugitive from being peruiiued, by any pavment of a fine, to return home lo his own city before the appointed time. Numb. xxxv. 32. His exile in the city of refuge continued until the death of the high-priest. "As soon as that event took place, the fugitive might leave his asylum, and return lo his home in perfect sectirily of his life, under I the prolection of the laws. It is probable that this regula- j tion was founded on some ancient principle of honour i altached to the office of the Goel ; of which, however, I have not been able to find any trace remaining. It would seem as if the death of the priest, or principal person in the nation, had been made Ihe period bevond which the avengemenl of blood was not to extend, in 'the view of thus preventing the perpetual endurance of family enmities and outrages. We shall perhaps hereafter find an opportunity of giving a more particular illustration of this point. By these regulations, borrowed from those very notions of honour which influenced the Goil, Moses did not, it is true, effect the complete prevention of the shedding onn7w- cent blood, (for so Moses terms it, in the case of the Goel's killing the innocent manslayer in his flight ;) for civil laws cannot possibly prevent all iuoral evil ; nor yet was he able to protect the man who had through mere inadvertence deprived another of his life, from all the vexatious conse- quences of such a misfortune: biU thus much he certainly did effect, that the Goel could but very rarely kill an inno- cent man, and that a judicial inquiry always preceded the exercise of his revenge ; and that inquiry, even when it terminated in condemnation, drew after it no fresh blood- shed on the part of the murderer's family, because every one knew that no injustice was done him.' Of course, ten murders did not now proceed from one, as was the case when the Goel's procedure was altogether arbitrary, and subject to no restraint. It would appear that Moses had thus completely attained the object of his law. At least, in the history of the Israelitish nation, we find no examples of family enmities proceeding from the avengement of blood , or of murders either openly or treacherously perpetrated from that national idea of honour ; and but one single instance of the abuse of Goelism, or rather where it was used merely for a pretext, and the transaction carried on in complete opposition to the acknowledged principles of honour. 'This instance we find in the history of David, in which the three following particulars relative to this subject deserve notice. 1. David, in his elegy on the death of Saul and Jonathan seems, in one of his expres.sions, to allude to the avenge- nient of blood. The Arabs, in their poems, very commonly observe, that no dew falls on the place where a'murder has been commuted, until the blood has been avenged ; and David thus exclaims. Ye mountains of Cilboa, on von fall neither dew nor rain, 2. Sam. i. 21 ; which was as much as saying, the Philistines mavlook for my avengement of the death of Saul and Jonathan. This, however is merely a poetical allusion ; for the law of Goelism did not extend to those slain in battle. 2. Joab assassinated Abner under the pretext of revenge for his having killed Asahel his brother in battle, 2 Sam 111. 19-23. iii. 22—27. This, however, was a mere pre- text ; for Joab's only object was to get that man piU out of the way, whom David had appointed to the chief command of the war. He afterward acted in the same manner to Amasa, who had killed no brother of his, but had been onlv guihy of Ihe same crime of getting himself made seneral- issimo to Absalom, 2 Sam. xvii. '2?,. xx. 10. David, when he lay on his death-bed, made Ihi^ remark on Joab's con- duct in these two instances, that blood shed in war was not, 102 NUMBERS. Chap. 36. according to ilie Hebrew ideas of honoxir, to be avenged in peace ; and that he therefore regarded Juab as a wilful mur- derer: and he Rave It in charge to Solomon his son to have him nunislieil ns such, I Kin?s ii. 5, 8 3. When we take a connected view of the whole story related in '2 Sam. xiii. 37 to xiv. dO, we should almost sup- pose that David had for a time pursued his son Absalom, on account of his munlering his elder brother, not so much in discharge of his duty as a Uinsr, as in the capacity of G»i7, and that the Idea of his honour, as such, had prevent- ed hun from forsivlni; him. Absalom stayed out of the countrv wl h ihc kinsr of Geshur, and vet David withdrew for a time in ipie.st of him, chap. xiii. S'J. This is proper- ly not the business of a magistrate, who is not required to punish a murderer who has l!-d from the country, but of a Gael. Allowing, however, that I were here in a mistake, thus much still is certain from chap. xlv. 10, 11, that there was yet a (Intt -, that to mothers he was an object of terror ; and that David, on some occasions, took upon him to prohibit him by an arbitrary decree lioni pursuing an actual mur- derer, w'hen there were any particular circumstances in the case. So much concerning the rights of the GoH, as modified by the Mosaic statute. There is yet to he noticed one additional circumstance relative to It, entirely conform- able to oriental Ideas of honour, and of great importance to the security of lives. Moses (Numb. xxxv. 31) positive- ly prohibits the receiving of a sum of money from a mur- derer in the way of compensation. By the ancient Arabian manners, too. we have seen that this was deemed disgrace- ful. Here, therefore, Moses acted quite differently from Mohammed, and, as will be universally acknowledged, much more judiciously. — Michaei.is. Ver. 31. Moreover, ye shall take no satisfaction for the life of a murderer, which is guilty of ■ ileath ; but he shall be surely put to death. Mo.^es absolutely forbids the acceptance of any compen- sation for the life of a murderer. Through the influence of money it appears that punishment was often evaded in some countries, and probably till this time among the Jews. The Raron du Tott tells us, that in case of a duel, if one of the parties is killed, the other is tried for the offence, and if condemned, "the criminal is conducted to the place of punishment; he who performs the office of execulion- er takes on him likewise that of mediator, and negotiates till the last moment with the next of kin to the deceased, or his wife, who commonly follows, to be present at the execution. If the proposals are refused, the executioner performs the sentence; if they are accepted, he reconducts the criminal to the tribunal to receive his pardon." — Bhr- DEB. CHAPTER XXXVI. V^er. 8. And every dau£i;hter, that possesseth an inheritance in any tribe of the children of Israel, shall be wife unto one of the family of the tribe of her father, that the children of Israel may enjoy every man the inheritance of his fathers. The assertion that no Israelite durst marry out of his tribe, and which we find repeated in a hundred books, is a silly fiction, directly confuted by the Mosaic writings. Even the high-priesi himself was not obliged to confine him- .self to his own tribe; nothing more being enjoined him, than to look out fur an Israelitish bride. It was only in the single case of a daughter being the heiress ol her father's land, that .she w£is prohibited from marrying out of her tribe, in order that the inheritance might not pass to ano- ther tribe. Num. xxxvi. From that law, it clearly follows, that any Israelitess that had brothers, and of course was not an heiress, might marry whomsoever she pleased, and to me it is incomprehensible how this chapter should ever have been quoted as a proof of the assertion, that the Israel- ites dur.st not marry out of their tribes. A strange over- sight has been coinmined, in support of this erroneous opin- ion, which was devised for the purpose of proving (what scarcely required a proof) that Jesus was of the tribe of Judah ; for, say ils advocates, " Had not Mary his true mo- ther been of the tribe of Judah, Joseph, a descendant of David's, could not have married her." Here, by the way, they might improve the proof, and make it still more sub- servient to their purpose, by adding that Mary must have been an heiress, and consequently, for that reason, durst not marry out of her tribe. But how surprising is it, that such incongruous blunders could possibly have been com- mitted 7 Luke expressly says, chap. i. 30, that Mary and Elizabeth were relations, and Elizabeth's husband was a priest. Hence her connexion with Mary is a most manifest proof, that Israelites of one tribe might inarry into another, and that a priest, for instance, might marry a virgin of the house of Judah, or a descendant of Judah marry the daugh- ter of a Levlte. It was even in the power of an Israelite to marry a wo- man born a heathen : although this also is denied by those who press upon Moses a law of their own. The statute in Deut. xxi. 10 — 14, already illustrated, puts this liberty be- yond a doubt : and he who disputes it, confounds two terms of very different import and extent, hcuthcn and Ca- naanile. An Israelite might certainly marry a heathen woman, provided she no longer continued an idolatress ; which, however, she could not, as a captive and slave with- in Palestine, have been even previously sufiered to be ; but all marriages with Canaanitish women was, by the statute Exod. xxxiv. 16, prohibited. In that siatute, Moses had it particularly in view to prevent the Canaaniies, «ho were both an idolatrous, and a very wicked race, from continu- ing to dwell In Palestine, and by intermarriages with Is- raelites, at last becoming one people with them: for he dreaded le.st they should infect them w-ith their vices and supersiitions. Should I here be asked, " ^'herein then did SoloTiwn sin, who, in 1 Kings, xi. 1, 2, is cerlniitly censurett for marrying htathens?" my answer would be, (1.) that among the wives and concubines whom he took, there were Sidonians, who belonged to the race of Canaanites, and' these were expressly forbidden ; (2.) that, contrary to the positive prohibition of Moses, he kept a great seraglio; (3.) that he permitted his wives to practise idolatry; and, (4.) that he was himself led into it also : as we have only to read down to verse 8, to be convinced. I have only further to observe, what I remarked before, that the peo- ple of Israel must, in consequence of the toleration of po- lygamy, have been in a slate of continual decrease, had not marriages with foreigners, and particularly with the captive daughters of the neighbouring people, been per- mitted.— MlCHAEIJS. DEUTERONOMY. CHAPTER I. Ver. 19. And when we departed from Horeb, we went througlj all that great and terrible wilder- ness, which ye saw by the way of the mountain of the Amorites, as the Lord our God com- manded us : and we came to Kadesh-barnea. The divine blessing has not bestowed the same degree of fruitfulness on every part of Canaan. This fertile country is surrounded by deserts of immense extent, exhibiting a drearj' waste of loose and barren sand, on which the skill and Industry of man are able to make no impression. The only vegetable productions which occasionally meet the eye of the traveller in these frightful solitudes, are a coarse sickly grass, thinly sprinkled on the sand ; a plot of senna, or other saline or buter herb, or an acacia bush; even these but rarely present themselves to his notice, and afford him little sati.sfaction when they do, because they warn him that he is yet far distant from a place of abun- dance and repose. Moses, who knew these deserts well, calls them "great and terrible," "a desert land," "the waste howling wilderness." But the completest picture of the sandy desert is drawn by the pencil of Jeremiah, in which, with surprising force and brevity, he has exhibited every circumstance of terror, which the modern traveller details with so much pathos and minuteness; " Neither say they, Where is the Lord that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, that led us through the wilderness, through a land of deserts and of pits, through a land of drought, and of the shadow of death, through a land that no man passed through, and where no man dwelt 1" — Paxton. Ver. 44. And the Amorites, which dwelt in that inountain, came out against you, and chased you, as bees do, and destroyed you in Seir, even unto Hormah. It is said of numerous armies, that they are like bees; and of a multitude, who go to chastise a few, " Yes, they came upon us as bees." To a person who has proved a man of nuinerous connexions, " Yes, you will have them as bees upon you." Of any thing which has come sud- denly, and in great numbers, " Alas, these things come as bees upon us." — Roberts. The bee is represented by the ancients, as a vexatious, and even a formidable adversary ; and the experience of even;^ person wlio turns his attention to the temper and habits of that valuable insect, attests the truth of their asser- tion. They were so troublesome in some districts of Crete, that, if we may believe Pliny, the inhabitants were actually coiupclled to forsake their habitations. And, according to jElian, some places in Scylhia, beyond the Ister, were for- merlv inaccessible, on account of the numerous swarms of bees by which they were infested. The statements of these ancient writers is confirmed by Mr. Park, in the second voliuue of his Travels. Some of his associates imprudently attempted to rob a nutuerous hive, which they found in their wav. The exasperated, little aniiuals rushed out to defend their property, and attacked the spoilers with so much fury, that they quickly compelled the whole com- pany, men, horses, and asses, to scamper off in all direc- tions. The horses were never recovered, and a number of the asses were so severely stung that they died next day: and so great was the loss our intrepid traveller sustained in the engagement, that he despondingly concluded his journey was at an end. The alUision of Moses, therefore, to their fierce hostility, in the beginning of his last words to Israel, is bo; h just and beautiful: "And the Amorites which dwelt in that mountain came out against you, and chased you as bees do, and destroyed you in Seir, even unto Hormah." The Amorites, it appears, were the most bitter adversaries to Israel, of all the nations of Canaan ; like bees that are easily irritated, that attack with great fury, and increasing numbers, the person that dares to molest their hive, and persecute him m his flight, to a con- siderable distance — the incensed Amorites had collected their hostile bands, and chased, with considerable slaughter, the chosen tribes from their territory. The Psalmist also complains, that his enemies compassed him about like bees ; fiercely attacking him on every side. The bee, when called to defend her hive, assails with feailess in- trepidity the largest and the most ferocious animal ; and the Psalmist found from experience, that neither the purity of his character, the splendour of his rank, nor the great- ness of his power, were sufficient to shield him from the covered machinations, or open assaults, of his cruel and numerous enemies. — Paxton. CHAPTER III. Ver. 11. For only Og king of Bashan remained of the remnant of giants ; behold, his bedstead was a bedstead of iron : is it not in Rabbath of the children of Ammon? nine cubits ica^ the length thereof, and four cubits the breadth of it, after the cubit of a man. This is a very curious account of a giant king : his bed- stead was made of iron, and we are able to ascertain its exact length, nine cubits, i. e. " after the cubit of a man." This alludes to the eastern mode of measuring from the tip of the middle finger to the elbow, which will he found to be in general eighteen inches. Thus his bedstead was thirteen feet six inches in length, and six feet in breadth. The hawkers of cloth very seldom carry with them a yard wand ; they simply measure from the elhme to the lip of the middle finger, counting two lengths of that for a yard. — Roberts. Ver. 25. I pray thee, let me go over, and see the good land that is beyond Jordan, that goodly mountain, and Lebanon. The beauties of Lebanon seem to have left a deeper impression in the mind of D'Arvieux. " After travelling six hours in pleasant valleys," says that writer, "and over mountains covered with different species of trees, we entered a small plain, on a fertile hill wholly covered with walnut-trees and olives, in the middle of which is the vil- lage of Eden. — In spite of my weariness, 1 could not but incessantly admire this beautiful country. It is truly an epitome of the terrestrial paradise, of which it bears the name. Eden is rather a hamlet thon a village. The houses are scattered, and separated from each other by gardens, which are enclosed by walls made of stones piled up without mortar. We quitted Eden about eight o'clock in the morning, and advanced to mountains so extremely hish, that we seemed to be travelling in the middle regions of the atmosphere. Here the sky was clear and serene above us, while we saw below us thick clouds dissolving in rain, and watering the plains. After three hours of la- borious travelling, we arrived at the famous cedars about eleven o'clock. We counted twenty-three of them. The circumference of these trees is thirty-six feet. The bark of the cedar resembles that of the pine ; the leaves and cone also bear considerable resemblance. The stem is upright, the wood is hard, and has the reputation of being incorruptible. The leaves are long, narrow, rough, very green, ranged in tufts along the branches ; they shoot in spring, and fall in the beginning of winter. Its flowers and fruit resemble those of the pine. From the full grown 104 DEUTERONOMY. Chai'. 4 — 6. trees, a fluid trickles naturally, and without incision ; this is clear, Iran-iparent, whitish, and after a lime dries and hardens : it is supposed to possess great virtues. — The 'place where these 1,'rcat trees are stationed, is in a plain of nearly a leagiio in circumference, on the summit of a mount which is environed on almost all sides by other mounts, so hi^h ihat iheir summits are always covered with snow. This plain is level, the air is pure, the heav- ens always serene. On one side of this plain is a fright- ful precipice, from whence flows a copious stream, which, descending into the vallej', forms a considerable part of the Holy Rwcr, or \akar Kadisha. The view along this valley is interesting; and the crevices of the rocks are filled with earth of so excellent a quality, that trees grow in them; and being continually refreshed with the vapours rising from the streams below, attain to considerable di- mensioiK. Nur is the sense of smelling less gratified than that of sight, by the fragrance diffused from the odoriferous plants around." He afterward .says, "the banks of the river appeared enchanted. This stream is principally formed by ihe source which issues below the cedars, but is contin- ually augmented by a prodigious number of rills and fountains, w-hich fall from the mounfain, gliding along the clefts of the rocks, and forming many charming natural cascades, which communicate cooling breezjs, and banish the idea of being in a country subject to extreme heal. If to these enjoyments we add that of the nightingale's song, it must be granted that these places are infinitely agree- able." The cedars which ho visited, encircle the region of perpetual snow. Lebanon is in this part free from rocks, and only ri.ses and falls with small easy imeven- nesses, but is perfeclly barren and desolate. The ground, where not concealed by the snow, for several hours' riding appeared to be covered with a sort of white slate, Ihin and smooth. Yet these dreary summits are not without their use ; they serve as a conservatory for abundance of snow, which, thawing in the heat of summer, furnishes ample supplies of water to the rivers and fountains ni the valleys below. In the snow, he saw the prints of the feet of sev- eral wild beasts, which arc the sole proprietors of these ujiper parts of the mountain. Maundrell found only six- teen cedars of large growth, and a natural plantation of smaller ones, which were vcrv numerous. One of the largest was twelve yards six inches in girth, and thirty- seven yards in the spread of its boughs. At .six yards from Ihe ground, it was divided into five limbs, each' equal to a great tree. Dr. Richardson visited them in 181R, and found a small clump of large and tall and beautiful trees, which he pronounces tne most picturesque pinduciions of the vege- table world that he had ever seen. In this clump are two generations of trees; the oldest are large and massy, rear- ing their heads to an enormous height, and spreadirig their branches to a great exienl. He measured one, no! the largest in the clump, and found it thirty-t^vo feet in cir- cumference. Seven of these trees appeared to be very old, the rest younger, though, for want of space, iheir branches are not so spreading. This statement sheds a clear and steady light on those passages of si-ripture which refer to Lebanon ; and enables ns to reconcile with ease several apparent contradicti.')ns. So famous was this stupendous mountain in the days of Moses, that to be permitted to sec it, was the object of his earnest desires and repealed prayers; and as the strongest expression of his admiration, he connects it in his addresses to the throne of his God, with Zion, the future seat id' the divine glory. "I pray thee, let me go over and see the good land that is beyond Jordan ; that goodly mountain and Lebanon." — Paxton. CHAPTER IV. Ver. 20. But the Lord hath taken you, and brotip^ht you forth out of the iron furnace, rrf.n out of Egypt, to be unto him a people of in- heritance, as ?/c arc thi.s day. It has been observed by chymical writers, not only that iron melts slowly even in Ihe most violent fire, but also that it ignites, or becomes red-hot, long before it fuses: and any one mav observe the excessive, brightness of iron when red, or rather vhilf hoi. Since, therefore, il requires the strongest fire of all metals to fuse it, there is a peculiar propriety in the expression, a fnriwce for iron, or an iron Jiirnacr, for riolcnl and sharji afflictions. — Bcrder. CHAPTER V. Ver. 14. But the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God ; in it thou shah not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, nor thy man-servant, nor thy maid-servant, nor thine ox, nor thine ass, nor any of thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates ; that ! thy man-servant and thy maid-servant may rest 1 as well as thou. In order to render the situation of slaves more tolerable, Moses made the three following decrees for their benefit. I 1. On the sabbath day they were to be exempted from all manner of work. Of course every week they enjoyed i one day of that rest which is so suitable to the nature of the human frame, and so requisite to the preservation of health and strength, Exod. xx. 10. Deut. v. 14, 15. In the latter of these passages it is expressly mentioned, that one design of Ihe sabbath was to give a day of rest to slaves, and the Israelites are reminded of their own servitude in Egypt, when they longed in vain for days of repose '2. The fruits growing spontaneously during the sab- batical year, and declared the property of none, were des- tined by Moses for the slaves and the indigent. 3. The Israelites were wont, at Iheir high festivals, to make feasts of their tithes, firstlings, and sacrifices ; indeed almost all the great enterlainments were offering-feasts. To these, by Ihe statutes of Deut. xii. 17, 18 and xvi. 11, Ihe slaves were to be invited. ■ Such occasions were Ihere- fore a sort o( sahtniolia to them: and wc cannot but extol 1 Ihe clemency and humanily of that law, which procured j them twice or thrice a-year a few' days' enjoyment of those 1 luxuries, which they woidd doubtless relish the more, Ihe poorer iheir ordinaiy food might be. I It was a part of the good treatment'due to domestic ani- ' mals, that iliej' were to be allowed to share the enjoyment of I the sabbatical rest. On the people's own account this was no doubt necessary; because in general beasts can perform no work without man's assistance : but still Moses expressly declares that his commandment respecting the sabbath had I a direct reference to the rest and refreshment of beasts as well as of man. His words are, " On the seventh day thou [ shall rest from thy labour; that thine ox and thine ass may I also rest, and thy servant and stranger may be refreshed," Exod. xxiii. 12. xx 10. Deul. v. 11. In i'act, some such alternation of labour and rest seems necessary to the pres- ervalion of beasts: for those Ihat ])crforni the same Kind of work day after day, without any interruption, .soon be- come stupid and useless. At least, we see this the case with horses : and the reader will not take it amiss, that a town-bred writer, having better access to observe ihc effects of labour on them, than on oxen, should prefer taking an example from the former. A hor.se that has to travel three German miles every day will not hold out long : but, wilh intervening days of rcM, in the same time, he will be able to go over a much greater space without injury. He will, for example, in ten days (ravel thirty-five German miles, wilh three resting days, that is, at ihe rate of five miles each day of the other seven. This fact is so well known, Ihat in riding schools, one or two days of rest, besides Sun- day, are usually allowed to ihe horses, in order to prcservi? Iheir spirit and aclivily ; whereas the po.st-hor.ses, which are constantly at work, soon become stifTand unserviceable. The case is probably Ihe same with other beasts of burden, although ihev do not require si> many intervals of rest as horses. And hence the good Ireatmcni of bea.sts enjoined in the Mosaic law, and the sabbatical rest ordained for J their refreshment, was highly expedient, even in an eco- I noinical point of view, and wisely suited to the circum- stances ol a people, who.se cattle formed the principal part of their subsistence. — Micuaelis. CHAPTER VI. Ver. 7. And thou shall teach them diligently unto thy children. If you inquire how a good schoolmaster teaches his pu- pils, the answer wull be, very koormeyana, {. e. " sharply, makes sharp, Ihey are full of points," A man of a keen Chap. 6—3. DEUTERONOMY. 105 and cullivated mind, is said to be full ol' points. "He is well sharpened.'' — Roberts. Vcr. 8. And thou shall bind them for a sign upon thy hand, and they shall be as frontlets be- tween thine eyes. I look upon the words in Deut. vi. 8, as not properly a law, but an admonition; because they merely occur in an harangue which Moses addressed to the people. The Orientals make great use of amulets ;— a subject on which I cannot here expatiate, but of which I generally treat un- der Art. 26, of my Hebrew Antiquities. These amulets consist sometimes of jewels and other ornaments, and some- times of certain sentences, or unintelligible lines, and Abra- cadabra, written on billets, or embroidered on pieces of linen. Some such things tlie Israelites, in those days, seem to have worn on their foreheads, and on their hands ; and the Mohammedans do so still. For how often do we find on their breasts a |)assage from the Koran, which is said to make them invulnerable, or rather actually does so ; for this I know for certain, that no Turk, wearing any such billet, was ever yet slain or wounded in battle, excepting in the single case (which, indeed, they themselves exceptV of his death-hour being come, according to the decree of God. It would appear, that with regard to these embroi- dered phylacteries, the Israelites, in the days of Moses, did not entertain such superstitious ideas, (else would he prob- ably have forbidden them,) but only wore them as orna- ments, and for fashion's sake. As Moses, therefore, wished to exhort the Israehtes to maintain the remembrance of ,his laws in every possible way, and, in a particular man- ner, to impress it on the hearts of their children, he sug- gested to tnem a variety of expedients for the purpose ; and this among others, that if they chose to wear any embroi- dered ornament on the hand or forehead, it should not con- sist of any thing useless, and still less of any superstitious nonsense, hut rather of sentences oiU of the laws, which their children would thus be in the way of learning. If, however, the fashion changed, and embroidery was no more worn, the Israelites were no longer bound to wear embroidered linen, or billets inscribed with sentences from the Mosaic law; and that the Jews, during the time of prayer, still use them under the name of TbcfiUin, pro- ceeds from a inisconception of the slatule in question. A further detail on this subject, with the proofs that the words of Moses in this passage are not to be understood as only figiiralive, I cannot here give : but I give it, as I have said, in my Hebrew Antiquities. To most of the read- ers of the present work, who may be desirous of having a philosophical glance at the ancient laws of mankind, researches merely antiquarian would not afford much gratification. — Mich.velis. Ver. 9. And thou shah write them upon the posts of thy hous3, and on thy gates. The observation made in the beginning of the preceding article is equally applicable to the subject of the present one. The words of Moses in Deut. vi. 0, immediately fol- lowingthose just illustrated, are in like manner to be under- stood, not as a positive injunction, but as an exhortation to in.scribc his laws on the door-posts of their houses. In Svria and the adjacent countries, it is usnal al this day to place inscriptions above the do.)rs of the houses, not, as the vulgar among us do, in doggerel rhyme, but consisting of passages from the Koran, or from the best poets ; and some of them, that are quoted in books of travels, are truly elegant. This iiuist now be a very ancient practice, as It existed in the time of Moses. For when he exhorts the Israelites to take every opportunity in inculcating his laws on their children, we find him suggesting to them this as one ine.ins of doing .so ; " Write them on the doors of vour houses, and on the gates of your cities." In these words we have not properly a statute; for if the Israelite did not choose to have an inscription over his door, he had no oc- casion to make one; but they are merely introduced in an ex- hortatory discourse to the people, as furnishing an instance of the means which they might take, to impress the laws upon the minds of their posterity in' their earliest years. Among us, where, by the aid of printing, book.s are so abundantly multiplied, and may be put into the hands of ■ 11 ■ every child, such measures would be quite superfluous; but if we would enter into the ideas of Moses, we must place ourselves in an age, when the book of the law could only come into the hands of a few opulent people. — Mi- CHAELIS. CHAPTER VII. Ver. 20. Moreover, the Lord thy God will send the hornet among them, until tViey that are left, and hide themselves from thee, he destroyed. To the people of England this may appear a puerile way of punishing men, but they should recollect that the natives of the East wear scarcely any clothes, having, gen- erally speaking, only a piece of cloth round their loins. They arc, therefore, much more exposed than we are to the sting of insects. The sting of the hornet and wasp of those regions is much more poisonous than in Europe, and the insect i^ larger in size. I have heard of several who died from having a single sling; and not many days ago, as a woman was going ioihe well " to draw water," a hor- net stung her in the cheek, and she died ihe next day. I have many times seen the hornet attack and kill the taran- tula. Under large verandahs the former may be seen fly- ing near the root' searching in every direction for his foe, and never will he leave Ihem, till he has accomplished his destruction. Sometimes they both fall from the roof to- gether, when the hornel may be seen thrusting his sting most furiously in the tarantula, and it is surprising to see with what dexterity the Ibrnier eludes ilie bile of Ihe latter. The people olien curse each other by saying, Unsuttar- Aniverum-Kullive Kuttam, /. e. " May aU around thee be slung by the hornel !" (meaning the person and his rela- tions.) The loddy drawers use this imprecation more than other people, because Ihe hornet's nest is generally found in the topotthe palmirah or cocoa-nut tree, whence they pro- cure tlie toddy. When they ascend, ilieir hands and feet being engaged, they cannot defend themselves against their attacks. 'The god Siva is described as having destroyed many giants by hornets. — Robeht.s. CHAPTER VIII. Ver. 7, For the Lord thy God bringeth thee into a good land ; a land of brooks of water, of fountains, and depths that spring out of valleys and hills. The account which has been now given of the soil and productions of Canaan, will enable the reader to perceive with greater clearness, the force and justice of the prom- ise made by Moses to his nation, a little before he died; " The Lord thy God bringeth thee into a good land ; a land of brooks of water, of fountains and depths, that spring out of valleys and hills; a land of wheat and barley, and vines, and fig-trees, and pomegranates, a land of oil olive, and honey." If to the natural fertilily of this highly-favoured country be added, the manner in which it was divided among the tribes of Israel, it will furnish an easy and satisfactory answer to the question which the intidel has often put : " How could so small a country as Canaan mainlain .so immense a popu- lation, as we find in the writings of the Old Teslament V That rich and fertile region was divided into small inheri- tances, on which the respective proprielors lived and reared their families. Nece.ssily, not less than a spirit of industry, required that no part of the surface capable of cultivation shouldbe suffered lo lie waste. The hu.sbandman carried his improvements upthe sides of the steepest and most rugged mountains, to the very top ; he converted every patch of earth into a vineyard, o'r olive plantation; he covered ihebare rocks with soil, and thus turned them into fruitful fields; where the steep was too great to admit of an inclined plane, he cut away the face of Ihe precipice, and buill walls around the mountain lo support the earth, and planted his terraces with Ihe vine and the olive. These circles of excellent soil were seen rising gradually from the bottom lo the top of the mountains, where the vine and the olive, shading the intermediate rocks with Ihe liveliesi verdure, and bend- ing under the load of their valuable produce, amply reward- ed the toils of the cultivator. The remains of those hang- ing gardens, those terrace plantalions, after the lapse of so many cenUiries, the revolutions of empire, and the long de- 106 DEUTERONOMY. Chap. 8. clinc of indusiry amoii;^ the miserable slaves thai now oc- cupy that once hi^'hly-favoiireil land, may still hedistincily traced on the hills and mouniainsof Jiidca. Everv spot of ground was in litis manner brought into a state of cultiva- tion ; every particle of s;)il was rendered productive; and by turning; a slreatn of wa'.er into every Held where it was practicable, and leading the little rills into which they di- vide it, to every plantation, every tree, and every plant, they secured, for the most part, a constant succession of crops. " Thus much is certain," says Volney, " and it is the ad- vantage of hot over cold countries, that in the former, | wherever there is water, vegetation may be perpetually ' maintained, and made to produce an uriinterrtipted suc- cession of fruits to flowers, and flowers to fruits. In cold, nay even in temperate climates, on the contrary, nature, benumbed for several months, loses in a steril slumber the tliird pan, or even half the year. The soil which has produced grain, has not time before the decline of sum- mer heat to mature vegetables; a second crop is not to be e.vpecied; and the husbandman sees himself condemned to a long and filial repose. Syria is exempt from tliese in- conveniences; if, therefore, it so happens, that ils produc- tions are not such as its natural advantages would lead us to expect, il is less mrhig to its physical than to ils polilicnl slate. — Pa.\ton. Ver. 8. A land of wheat, and barley, and vines, and fig-trees, and pomegranates ; a land of oil- olive, and hone}-. If Palestine were now cultivated and inhabited as much as it was formerly, it would not be inferior in fertility and agrecableness to any other country. The situation and nature of the country favour agriculture, and amply re- ward the fanner. Between the 31st and 3'2d degrees of north latitude, it is sheltered towards the south by lofly mountains, which separaie it fjom the sandy deserts of Arabia ; breezes from the Mediterranean cool it from the west side ; the high Mount Lebanon keeps off ihe north wind, and Mount Hermon Ihe northeast. Mountains which decline into hills, are favourable for the cultivalion of the vine and olive, and the breeding of caUle ; the plains and vallevs are watered by innumerable streams. The fame of the fertility of Palestine, and its former riches in corn, wine, and dates, is even immortalized by ancient coins which are still in existence. But since the land has been several limes devastated, greatly depopulated, and come under the Turkish dominion, and the Arab tribes, who rove about it, not only make it insecure for natives and strangers, but also have continual feuds among each other, agriculture hju> decreased, and the country has ac- quired ils present desert appearance, particularly near the roads ; but the traces of its original fertility and beauty are not even now wholly obliterated. As a proof, we may ad- duce the following passage from D'Arvieu.x. " We left the road to avoid the Arabs, whom it is always disagreea- ble to meet with, and reached, by a side path, the summit of a mountain, where we fotmd a' beautiful plain. It must be confessed, that if one could live secure in this country, it would be the most agreeable residence in the world, part- ly on account of the pleasing diversity of mountains and valleys, partly on account of the salubrious air which we breathe tnere, and which is at all times filled with balsam- ic odours from the wild flowers of these vallevs, and from the aromatic herbs on the hills. Most of the mountains are dry and arid, and more rock than mould adapted for cultivation ; but the industry of its old inhabitants had tri- umphed over the defects of'the soil. They had hewn these rocks from the foot to (he summit into terraces, carried mould there, a? on the coast of Genoa, planted on them Ihe fig, olive, and vine; sowed corn and all kinds of pulse, which, favoured by the usual sprin" and auiumnal rains, by the dew which never tails, by the warmth of the sun and the mild climate, produced the finest fruit, and nio.st \ excellent corn. Here and there vou still see such terraces, which the Arabs, who live in the neighbouring villages, keep up, and cultivate with indusirv. We then came throtigh a valley about six hundred feet long ; and, to judge from the fineness and fresh verdure of the grass, it appear- ed to be an excellent pa,slure ; at the end of which we found a deeper, longer, broader, and by far more agreeable val- ley than the former, in which the soil was so rich and fer- tile, and so covered with plants and fruit-trees, that it seemed to be a garden cultivated by art." Remains of the practice of making terraces on the' hills for the purpose of euliivaiion, were also found by RTaundrcll, as he .states in the account of his journey fiom Aleppo to Jerusalem. The produce of Palesline is still cunsideiable, not only servin" for the supply of the inhabilants, but also aflording an over" plus for expoitation. Corn and pulse are excellent iq their kind, and much corn is annuallv sent from Jafla to Con- stantinople. Though the Mohammedan religion does not favour the cultivation of the vine, there is no want of vine- yards in Palcslinc. Besides the large quanlities of giapes and raisins which are daily sent to the markets of Jeru.sa- lem and other neighbouring places, Hebron alone, in the first half of the eighteenlh century, annually sent three hundred camel loads, ihat is, nearly three hundred thou- sand weight of grape-juice or honey of raisins to Egypt. The cotton which is grown on the plains of Rainle and Esdraelon, is superior to the Syrian, and is exported partly raw and partly spun. Numerous herds of oxen atd .'■heep graze on the verdant hills of Galilee, and on the well-wa- tered pastures of the northern valley of the Jordan. Count- less swarms of wild bees collect honey in the trees and clefts (if the rock; and it is slill literally true that Palestine abounds in milk and honey.— Rosenmlller. It is, I think, highly probable, Ihat in the time of the most remote antiquity, pomegranate juice was used, in those countries where lemon juice is now used, with their meal, and in their drinks, and that it was not till afterward, that lemons came among them : I know not how else to account for the mention of pomegranates in describing the fruitful- nessof the Holy Land, Deut. viii 7,8 ; Numb. xx. 5. They would not now, I think, occur in such descriptions : the juice of lemons and oranges have, at present, almost super- seded the use of that of pomegranates. Sir John Chardin supposes Ihat this pomegranate wino means, wice made of that fruit; which he informs us is made use of in consid- erable quanlities, in several places of the East, and particu- larly in Persia: his words are, On fait, en diverses parts de rOrient, dii vin de grenade, nomme roubnar, qu'on transporte par tout. II y en a sur tout en Perse. My reader must determine for himself, whether pomegranate wine, or wine commonly so called mixed with pomegranate juice, was most probably meant here. The making the first of these was a fact unknown to me, till I .saw this manuscript, I confess, though it seems it is made in such large quanti- ties as to be transported. — H,*hmeh. Hasselquist, in the progress of his journey from Acre to Nazareth, tells us, ihat he found " great numbers of bees, bred thereabouts, to the great advantage of the inhabitants. They make their bee-hives, with little trouble, of clav, four feet long, and half a fool in diameter, as in Egypt. ' They lay ten or twelve of them, one on another, on the hare ground, and build over every ten a little roof" Mr. Maundrell, (observing also many bees in the Holy Land,) lakes notice, " that by their meaiis the mosi barren places of that country in other respects became useful, perceiving in many places of the great salt-plain near Jericno, a smell of honey and wax, as strong as if he had been in an apia- ry." Ha.sselquist al.so tells us, that he ate olives at Joppa, (upon his first arrival in the Holy Land,) which were said to grow on the Mount of Olives, iiear Jerusalem ; and that, independent of their oiliness. they were of the best kind he had tasted in the Levant. As olives are frequently eaten in their repasts, the delicacy of this fruit in Judea ought not to be forgotten; the oil that is gotten from these trees much less, because still more often made u.se of In the progress of his journey, he found several fine vales abound- ing with olive-trees. He saw also olive-trees, in Galilee, but none farther, he says, than the mouniain where it is supposed our Lord preached his sermon. — Rosenmvi.ler. Ver. 9. A land wherein thou shah eat bread with- out scarceness, thou shall not lack any thing in it : a land whose stones are iron, and out of whose hills thou niayest dig brass. Iron is the onlv mineral which abounds in the.-^e moun- tains, (Lebanon,) and is found in those of Kesraouan, and of the Druzes, in great abundance. Everi- summer Ihe in- habitants work tliose mines, which are 'imply ochreous. Chap. 1 1 DEUTERONOMY. 107 Reporl say.s, there was anciently a copper-mine near Alep- po, which Volney thinks must have been long since aban- doned ; he was also informed by the Druzes, that in ihe declivity of the hill formerly mentioned, a mineral was discovered which produced both lead and silver ; but as such a discovery would have proved the ruin of the whole district, by attracting the attention of the Turks, they quick- ly destroyed every vestige of it. These statements estab- lish the accuracy of Moses, in the account which he gave his nation of the promised inheritance: "A land whose stones are iron, and out of who.se mountains thou mayest dig brass." A dili'erenl temperature prevails in difiercnt parts of these mountains ; hence, Ihe expression of the Ara- bian poets, That Lebanon bears winter on his head, spring upon his shoulders, and autumn in his bosom, while sum- mer lies sleeping at his feet. — Paxton. Ver. 15. Who led thee through the great and ter- rible wilderness, wherein were fiery serpents, and scorpions, and drought; whexQ there was no water ; who brought thee forth water out of the rock of flint. The sacred historian gives here a most accurate and luminous description of an African desert. It is not only descriptive of that desert at the north end of Africa, in which the Israelites sojourned for forty years, but equally so of those at Ihe southern end, on its western side, llie greater part of which, for about two thousand miles along the coasi, is covered with deep sand. A desert is great when it is extensive; and such a desert may be called ter- rible, from the anxiety, dread, or fear, which it causes to the persons travelling in it, from what they experience, and from their doubts as to the result. He comes to pools, but he finds that they are like broken cisterns, which, though iliey once contained water, contain none now ; it has sunk into ihe ground. He observes two rows of trees and bushes at a distance, which raises hope in his mind, expecling there to find a river. He hastens to the spot ; but on reaching the banks, he finds the stream is dried up, not a drop of waler is visible, for it only runs afler rains. He then digs a few feet under the surface in the bed or channel of the river, in hopes of reaching some remnant of its waters, but finds his labour is fruitless ; the water has cither sunk beyond his reach, or has been exhaled into the heavens. He has no expectation of relief from a shower falling that evening, or week, or month, for it is a land of nnouciHT, as no rain has fallen for the preceding six, twelve, or eighteen months. Would it be surprising to hear the traveller's a.ssistants express themselves thus — " This is indeed a great and terrifcle wilderness, a land of drought, where no waler is !" There were also fiery serpents, and scorpions. It is believed in Africa that the most poisonous serpents were in the most arid parts, and where ihe heat w-as greatest. In such parts I uniformly found the scor- pions most numerous. The knowledge of this being the case might render the wilderness through which the Is- raelites travelled, more terrible to them. — Africin Light. CHAPTER XI. Ver. 10. For the land whither thou goest in to possess it, is not as the land of Egypt, from whence ye came out, where thou soweds* thy seed, and wateredst it with thy foot, as a garden of herbs. To water a large garden requires three men, one of whom stands on a lever near tJie well, (which has a rope and a buckcl aitached to i' ;) on this he moves backward or forward, as the bucket has to a.scend or descend. Ano- ther person stands on the ground near the well, to pour the waler inlo a basin. From this a channel, of about eight inches deep and nine broad, runs through the garden ; and connected with it are smaller water-cour.ses, which go to the difTerent beds and shrubs. The business of Ihe third person, then, is to convey the water to its destined place, which he does by stopping the mouth of each course (where snfncieni water has been directed) with a lillle earth; so that it flows on to Ihe next course, till the whole be water- ed. On those herbs or shrubs which require an extra quantity he dashes the mater ■plentifully vith his Jootl — Roberts. The custom of watering with the foot. Dr. Shaw thus explains, from the present practice of the Egyptians; " When their various sorts of pulse, safranon, musca, mel- ons, sugar-canes, &c. (all of which are commonly planted in rills) require to be refreshed, they strike out the plugs that are fixed in the bottoms of the cisterns, [wherein they pre- serve the waler of the Nile,] and then the water gushing out is conducted from one rill to another by the gardener, who is always ready as occasion requires, to slop and di- vert the torrent, by turning the earlh against it v:ilh his foot, and opening at the same lime, with his matiock, a new trench to receive it. This method of conveying moisture and nourishment to a land rarely or never refieshed with rain, is often alluded to in the holy scriptures ; where also it is made ihe distinguishing quality betwixt Egypt and Ihe land of Canaan, Deut. xi. 10, II." Mr. Parkhurst is in- clined to adopt another interpretation of the expression, u-atering with the foot. He says, " it seems more probable that Moses alluded to drawing up water with a machine which was worked by the foot. Such a one, Grotiiis long ago observed, that Philo, who lived in Egypt, has describ- ed as used by the peasants of that couBlry in his time ; and the ingenious and accurate Aiebuhr, has lately given us a representaiion of a machine which the Egyptians make use of for watering Ihe lands, and probably the same, says he, that Moses speaks of They call it sakki tdir beridsjel, or an h'l/draulic machine lenrked by the feet." — Burder. In ihe gardens in Africa, into which they can lead waler for irrigation, they have small trenches between each row of plants, made by a rake or hoe. The waler being led into the first trench, runs along il until it reaches Ihe other end, when a slave, with his foot, removes any mould which might have slid inlo the liule trench, that il may have a free unobslructed course ; then again clearing a way for il with his foot round the end of the second row of plants, the wa- ter'freely runs into the next trench ; and in this way I have seen a slave lead the liule stream from one trench to ano- ther, zigzag, over ihe whole garden ; which is much easier done with the foot than by stooping down and doing it with the hands. The first time I witnessed this operalion, it cleared up, to my satisfaction, the meaning of the above text. — African Light. Somelimes the drought of summer renders frequent wa- terings necessary even in Judea. On such occasions, the waler is drawn up from the wells by oxen, and carried by the inhabitants in earthen jars, to refrigerate their planta- tions on Ihe sides of Ihe hills. The necessity to which the Jewish husbandman is occasionally reducecl, to water his grounds in this manner, is not inconsistent with Ihe words of Moses, which distingttish the Holy Land from Egypt, by its drinking rain from heaven, v.'hile Ihe latter is watered by the foot. The inspired prophet alludes, in that passage, not to gardens of herbs, or other cullivaied spots on the steep declivities of the hills and mountains, where, in so warm a climate as that of Canaan, the deficiency of rain must be supplied bv art, but to their corn-fields ; "which, in Egypt, are watered by artificial canals, in the manner just described ; in Canaan, by Ihe rain of heaven. The lands of Egvpt, it must be granted, are supplied with waler by the overflowing of the Nile, and are so saturated wilhmoisi- ure, that they require no more watering for ihe producing of corn, and several other vegetables; while the gardens require fresh supplies every three or four days. But then it is to be remembered, that immense labour was requisite to conduct the waters of Ihe river to manv of Iheir lands; and those works of the ancient kings of Egvpt, by which they distributed the streams of the Nile 'tiirough their whole country, are celebrated by Maillel, as Ihe most mag- nificent and Ihe most admirable of their ^indertakings; and those labours which they caused their subjects to under- go, doubtless were designed to prevent much heavier, lo which they must otherwise have submitted. The words of Moses, addressed to the people of Israel, probably contain- ed a significancy and force of which we can form but a very imperfect idea, and which has not of lale been at all understood. Maillet was assured, that the large canal which filled the ci.sterns of Alexandria, and is at least fif- teen leagues long, was entirely paved, and its sides were lined with brick, which were as perfect as in Ihe days of the Romans. If bricks were used in Ihe construction of 10? DEUTERONOMY. Chap, 11 — 13. ilicirmorc ancient canals, a supposition extremely proba- ble ; and if those made by the i)eoj>le of Israel were design- ed I'or purposes of this kind, — lliey must have heard with a peculiar saiisfaclion, that the country to whicli they were {joing, recpiired no canals to be dug, no bricks to be prepar- ed for paving and linmg them, iu order to water it ; la- bours which had so greatly imbittered their lives in Egypt. This idea is favoured by the account which Moses gives of iheir former servitude ; hard bondage, in mortar and brick, is joined with other services of the lield, among which may be numbered the digging and cleansing of their canals ; and in this view, the mortar and brick are very naturally joined with those laborious and .standing operations. — Ptx- TO.M. Vi'r. 11. Bui llu" laiul, whilher v<" go to possess it, i.s- a laiul of liiils and valleys, a/id drinketh water of the rain of heaven. The striking conlra.st, in this sliort but glowing descrip- tion, between the land of Egypt, where the people of Israel had so long and cruelly sufiered, and the inheritance prom- ised to their fathers, where Jehovah reserved lor them and their children every#lessing that a nation can desire, must have made a deep impression upon their minds. In Egypt, the eye is fatigued Willi wandering over an immense (fat plain, intersected with stagnant canals, and studded with mud- walled towns and cottages; seldom refreshed with a single shower; exhibiling, for three months, the singular spectacle of an extensive sheet ol' water, from which the towns and villages that are built upon the higher grounds, are seen like islands in the midst ot the ocean — marshy and rank with vegetation tor three others — and parched and dusty the remainder of the year. Thev had seen a population of naked and sun-burnt peasants, tending their buffaloes, or driving their camels, or sheltering themselves from the overwhelming heat beneath the shade of the thinly scattered date or sycamore trees; below, natural or artificial lakes, cultivated fields, and vacant grounds of considerable ex- tent— overhead, a burning sun, darling his oppressive rays from an azure sky, almost invariably free from clouds. In that "weary land," thev were compelled to water their corn-fields w-ilh the foot, 'a painful and labori- ous employment, rendered necessary by tlie want of rain. Those vegetable productions which require a greater quan- tify of moisture than is furnished by tlie periodical inun- dations of the Nile, they were obliged to retresh with w.ater drawn out of the river by machinery, and lodged afterward in capacious cisterns. When the melons, sugar-canes, and other vegetables that are commonly disposed in rills, re- quired to be refreshed, they struck out the plugs which are fixed in the bottom of the cisterns; and then the water ffushing out, is conducted from one rill to another by the husbandman, who is always readv, as occasion requires, to slop and divert the torrent", by turning the earth against it with his foot, opening ai ihe same titrie with his mattock a new trench to receive it. Svich is the practice to which Moses alludes; and it conlinues to be observed without va- riation to this day. But from this fatiguing uniformitv of surface, and toilsome method of watering iViiair groniids, the people of Israel were now to be relie\-ed ; n.«y were going to possess a laud of hills and valleys, clothed with woods — beautiful and enriched with fountains of water — divided by rivers, streams, and brooks, flowing cool and pure from the summils of their mountains — and, with little attention from the cultivator, exciting ihe secret powers of vegetation, and scaUering plenty wherever they came. The highlands, which are not cultivated by irrigation, are to this day more prized in the East than those which must be watered by means of dikes and canals; both because it re- quires no labour, w-hich in the low country is necessary, to watch the progress of the water through the channels, in order to give it a proper direction, and because every ele- vation produces an agreeable change of temperature, where the hills display the loveliness of paradise, while the plains are burnt up with insulferable heat. — Paxton. Ver. 10. And ye shall teach them your children, speakins; of them when thou sittest in thy house, and when ihoii walkest hy tlie way, when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. When a heathen sits down, he makes mention of the name of his god. Thus, the worshippei-s of Siva say, when they sit down, "Siva, Siva;" ami when they arise, ihcy repeat the same name. At night, when they retire to rest, also when they arise in the morning, or when they stumble in the way, they utter, " Siva, Siva." They have a proverb to ihe same purport, " When I stumble 'in the way, I know only to mention thy holy name." — Roberts. CUAPTER XII. Ver. 31. Thou shall not do so unto the Lord thy Ood : for every abomination to the Lord which he liatelh have they done unto their gods; lor even tlieir sons and their daughters they have burnt in the fire to their gods. See on chap. 18. 10. Some have doubted whetherparents could be so cruel as to compel their oflspring to pa.ss through the fire, or to be burnl as a sacrifice to the gods ; but we have only to look at modern India, at the numerous infants thrown into the sacred waters, and at the burning alive of widows on the funeral pile of their husbands, to see what human nature is capable of doing. There is reason to believe that, though the British legislature has covered it.self with un- fading honour in abolishing, by law, these fiendish practi- ces, there are still those of a private nature. Not long ago there were two cliildren oli'ered to the cruel goddess Ksli ; and one of the supposed perpetrators was arraigned and tried before the Supreme Court, but escaped for want of evidence. — Roberts. CHAPTER XIII. Ver. 5. And that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams, shall bo put to death; because he hath spoken to turn t/ou away from the Lord your God, which brought you out of the land of Egj'pt, and redeemed you out of the house of bondage, to thrust thee out of the way which the Lord tliv God commanded thee to walk in ; so shalt thou put the evil away from the midst of thee. The Hindoos may be called a nation of dreamers; ihey are ol^en elevated or depressed by the gay or sorrowful scenes of their sleeping hours. The morning is the time for the young and the old to tell iheir wondrous stories, and many a sage prognosiicalion is then delivered to the atien- tive hearers. Men and women ollen lake long journeys, perform arduous penances, and go through expensive cere- monies, from no other cause than a dream. The crafty Bramin finds this to be a powerful medium of access to the superstition and purses of ihe people. How many a splendid temple has been built or repaired ; how many a rest-hou.se erected ; how many a costly Tiresent has been the result of a real or pretended dream ! Mendicants, pandarams, priests, and devotees, have all had their profitable revelalions from the gods. Does a needy impostor wish to have a good berlh and a settled place of abode, he buries an idol in some lone- ly place, and at the expiration of about twelve months he has a dream, and a vision into the bargain, for the god actual- ly ai'pcars to him when he is nol a.sleep, and .says, "Go In ■ such a place, and you will find my image : there long, long has it been m disgrace ; but now you musl build a temple to my glory." Tiip knave ati'ects to be greaily excited, and relates the whole as a profound secret to a few of his se- lect friends. The story soon gets abroad, and numbers of people beg of him to go to the mcred place in search of the deity. At last he consents ; but expresses many a fear, as they proceed, that he has been deceived, or that his or their unfielief will hinder him from finding om the place. In approaching the scene of operation, he hesitates, thinks he cannot be far olT— " the country had just such an appear- ance in his dream ;" he then says, " Dig;" and numbers of the people fall to work in good earnest. After some lime, he snakes his head, repeats his incantations, and says, "It is not here." He then points to the real spot, and again his gulled attendants commence their meritorious operations. At last the god is found, and the multitude make the wel- Chap. 13—15. DEUTERONOMY. 109 kin ring with iheir shouts cf joy. They fall before the grave impostor, and worship at his feet. His object is gained ; money and materials come in on every hand ; and shortly after a temple and its goodly courts arise, in which he dwells for life. Tha good or evil of dreams is minutely described in some of their scientific works; and it is not a little amusing to see that some of their notions agree with the English, and especially with those of the inliabitanis of North Brit- ain. Does a man dream about the sun, moon, the gods, a mountain, river, well, gold, precious stones, father, child, mother, elephant, horse, car, temple, Brainin, lotus, flesh of animals, flowers, fruits, swan, cow, fowl, toddy; or that he has his hands tied, or is travelling in a palanquin; that ihe gods are making ceremonies; liiat he sees a beautiful and fair woman, arrayed in white robes, coming into his house; that his house is on lire ; that he sees a chank, or lauip, or full water-po!; that he roasts and eats his own flesh; — he will be a king: that he wears new cloth; that he plays in the mud; that he climbs trees; that swarms of anis creep over his body ; — these are all good — " he will have great felicily." But to dream the gods laugh, dance, run, sing, weep, or clap their hands, is for the country very evil. That you see a crow, eagle, hawk, ass, black cobra capella, pig, monkey, jackal, or sail, curds, milk, sandals, butter, lime, cotton, mud, red flowers, firewood, a black ilog, a devil, a giant, a water-melon, jack-fruit, pumpkin, a hare, an alligator, a bear, a liger, a ghost ; that you go to, or come Croni, the sea ; that the teeth fall out ; tliat the hand is broken; that you wear dirty clothes; that the walls of the temple fall; that you miss your way; that you travel towards the south ; that you fall into a pit ; or that you see a company of serpents ; — these are all evil tokens. To avert the evil implied by those dreams, (and a thousand others not enumerated,) a person must make ofl'erings to the Brarains, and give articles of food. Alms must be bestowed on the poor, and on the Pandarams and other religious mendicants, and the person must bathe in holy water. Let him also listen to the song of Paratham, and all the malignity of his nightly visitations shall be removed. — Roberts. Ver. 6. If tliy brother, the son of thy motlier, or thy son, or thy daughter, or the wife of thy bosom, or thy friend, which is as thine own soul, entice thee secretly, saying. Let us go and serve other god.s, which thou hast not kno^vn, thou, nor thy fathers. These, and many other passages, show how much the term bosom is used in the scriptures, and that it generally denotes something of great \Tilue or security, affection and happiness. Any thing which is valuable or dear lo a per- son is said to be madeyilla, i. e. in his bosom. When a husband wishes to express himself affectionately to his wife, he saj^s, "C^iine hither, thou wife of my bosom." Is she dead, " Ah ! I have lost the wife of my bosom." In the Scanda Pur.ma, Ihe goddess of Vishnoo is said to rest in the bosom of the god " Vishnoo, whose bosom is the abode of Lechimy." To a father it is said respecting a bad son, " Notwithstanding this, you press him to your bosom ;" — and of a flatterer, "He would cause the child to fall from Ihebosomof its mother." (See on Luke xvi.22.)— Robf.rt.». CHAPTER XIV. Ver. 1. Ye are the children of the Lord your God. Ye shall not cut yourselves, nor make any baldness between your eyes for the dead. Not only common readers, but even the learned them- selves appear to be perplexed about the meaning of that prohibition of the law of Moses, contained in the latter part of the first verse of the 14th of Deuteronomy, Ye shall not cut yourself^ nor Ttiake any balffn^ss belireen your eyes for Ihe dead ; but it seems lo be clearly explained bj' a passage of Sir John Chardin, as to its expi'essing sorrow, though it is probable the idolatrousness of the practice may, at this distance of time, be irrecoverablv lost. Sir John tolls us, " that black hair is most esteemed among Ihe Persi.nns, as well on the head, as on the eyebrows, and in the beard. That the largest and thickest eyebrows are the most beau- tiful, especially when they are of such a size as to touch one anoiher. The Arab women have the most beautiful eyebrows of this sort. The Persian women, when ihev have them not of this colour, tinge them, and rub theiii with black, to make them the larger. They also make in the lower part of the forehead, a little below the eyebrows, a black spot, in form of a lozenge, not quite so large as Ihe nail of Ihe little finger." This is probably not of a lasting nature, but quickly wears ofl'. These notions of beamy differ very much from those of the ladies of Europe. None of them, I think, are fond of having their eyebrows meet ; but, on the contrary, take pains lo keep the icparalion between them very distinct. But if the eastern people are of a different opinion, it is not at all surprising, that at the same time that they laid aside the hair of their heads, wiih their more arlificial ornaments, in a lime of moiiining, they should make a space bald between their eyes too, since it was their pride to have ihem meet when in a joyful state, and even to join them with a black perishable spot, rather than have an interruption appear between the eyebrows. But as the sacred writers admitted the making their heads bald in mourning, while Moses, forbids not only idolatrous cuuingsof the flesh, but this making the space bald between the eyebrows, it appears there was something of idolatry in this too, as well as in those cuttings, '.hough it is not easily made out. After this circumstance, relating to eastern beauty, is known, the addition to bishop Patrick's account of the heathens being wont to shave the eyebrows, in limes of mourning, will, I presume, give no pleasure: " Or," says this worthy writer, "(which some think is the meaning of between the eyes,) the hair in the forepart of the head, or near the temples, as R. Solomon iiiierprets it. Which seems to be the meaning of the Hierusalem Targum, which translates it, ' Ye shall not make any baldness in the house of your countenance.'" — Harmer. Ver. 4. These are the beasts which ye shall cat; the ox, the sheep, and the goat. See on Lev. 11. 2. CHAPTER XV. Ver. 6. For the Lord thy God blesseth thee, as he promised thee : and thou shalt lend unto many nations, but thou shalt not borrow : and thou shalt reign over many nations, but they shall not reign over thee. From the numerous allusions in the sacred writings, to the subject of lending and of usury, it is easy to perceive that this was a very common practice among the ancients of the East. There are thousands at this day who live on the interest of a very small capilal, and thousands who make immense fortuiies by nothing but lending. So soon as a man has saved a small sum, instead of locking it up in his box, it goes out to interest at the rate of twelve, and sometimes twenty, per cent. People of great properlv, on account of their anxiety to put out every fanhing, 'ufien leave themselves in considerable diflicully. Children are taught, in early life, the importance of this plan: hence, striplings may be heard to boast that thev have .such and such sums oiit at interest. This propensity often places government in circumstances of great lo.ss in reference to their shrofls, or native treasurers. They lend out money from the chest to a great amount, merely to gain the inter- est, " Ah ! you shall lend money to many people," is one of the blessings pronounced on a youthfuf pair. When a person acquires a new situation, when a man is prosperous, it is said, " He will lend to many people ;" which means, he will be rich, and have much influence. — Roberts. Ver. 8. But thou shalt open thy hand wide unto him, and shalt surely lend him sufficient for his need, in that \\\i\c\i he wanteth. Of a liberal man, it is said, "He has an ofen hnnd." " That man's hand is so open, all will soon be gone." When a poor man asks a favour of a rich man, in the presence of another, the bystanders will sav, " Open your hand wide to him." A person who has been refu.sed a favour, says, on his relurn, " Alas! he would not open his hand ; no, not a little." — Robert.s. 110 DEUTERONOMY Chap. 16. Ver. 16. And it shall be, if he say unto thee, I -will not go away from thuc, (because he loveth thee and thy liouse, because lie is well with thee,) 17. Tlu-n thou shalt take an awl, and thrust it through his ear unto the door, and he shall be thy servant for ever: and also unto thy maid-servant thou shalt do likewise. 18. It shall not seem hard unto thee, when thoif sendest him away free from thee; for he hath been worth a double hired servant to thee, in servinsr thee si.x years: and the Lord thy God shall bless thee in all that thou doest. Moses specifies two period.^, at which the Hebrew ser- vant was 10 regain hi.s freedom ; tlie seventh year, Exod. .x.xi. and Devit. xv ; and the Jiflicth, or year of jubilee, Lev. XXV. How these period.-; are reconciled with each other, considering that the year of jubilee must alway.s liave immediately followed a sabbatical year, and that of cour.se the servants must have been already free, before its arrival, deserves inquiry. Here then all depends upon the sense in which Moses understands the seventh year; whether as the sabbatical year, in which the land lay fallow, or as the seventh year from the time when the servant was bought ! Maimonides was of the latter opinion, and to me also it appears the more probable. For Moses uni- formly calls it the seventh year, without using the term sab- batical year. What then is more natural than to under- stand the seventh year of servitude 1 And besides, when he describes the sabbatical year in Lev. xxv. 1 — 7, we find not a word of the manumission of servants. The ap- parent inconsistency of the two laws thus ceases. The servnn: was regularly restored to freedom after six years' servi'.e ; but supposing hiin bought in the forty-sixth year of the Jewish calculation, that is, /»!;/■ years beforethe jubi- lee, he did not, in that case, wait seven years, but received his freedom in the year of jubjlee, and with it the land he might have sold. In this way Moses took care that too great a proportion of the people should not be slaves at one lime, and thtis the slate, instead of free citizens to defend it with arms in their hands, have only the protection of a number of unarmed servants. There might still be other cases in which a slave only recovered his freedom in the fifiieth year. For ins'ance, if a man was sold for debt, or for theft, and the sum which he had to pay exceeded what a servant sold for six years was worth, it is certainly con- formable to reason thai the said debtor or thief should have been sold for a longer period, at least for twice six years : but still, in that case, his servitude would cease on the coming of the jubilee, when every thing reverted to its former state. It has been generally supposed, that those servants who did not choose to accept their freedom in the seventh year, and of whom I shall immediately speak, be- came free at the year of jubilee. Here, however, a doubt }ias occurred to me, whether any sucli servant could, after he had become so mucli older, have ventured to accept Jreedom in the fiftieth year; and whether he would not rather wish and expect, that the master to whose service he nad, from attachment, generously sacrificed his best davs, should keep and maintain him in his old age"! At the snme time, it occurs to me to observe, on the other liand, thai in the fiftieth year every Israelite received the land he had sold : so that the servant, who before refused his freedom, because he had nothingto live on, might now accept it with joy, when his paternal inheritance returned to him ruiie unincumbered. Moses, as I linvc just remarked by the way, presupposes it a possible and probable case, that a servant, who had a coon master, might wish to remain with him constantly during lif", wilhoit seeking to be free; particularly if he liad lived i« cnnlvlifrnin with one of his master's female slaves, and had children by her, from whom, as well as from himself, he must separate, if he left his master's house. In such a case, he permits the servant to bind himself for ever to ihe service of the master, with whose disposition he had by six years' experience become acquainted. But, in order to guard against all abu.so of this permission, it was necessarv that the transaction should be gone about judicially, and that the magistrate should know of it. The servant was therefore brought before the magistrate, and had his ear bored at his master's door. It does not belong to my present subject, but to that of Hebrew antiquities, to enter into a particular illustration of this custom, which, in Asia, where men generally wear ear-rings, was not un- common, and was, besides, arriong the other Asiatic nations a mark of slavery; and, therefore, I here merely remark, that it was the intention ofMoses, that every Hebrew who wished to continue a servant for life, should, with the magistrate's previous knowledge, bear a given token thereof in his own body. He thus guarded against the risk of a master hav- ing it in his power either to pretend that his servant had promised to serve him during life, when he had not; or, by ill usage, during the period that he had him in his ser- vice, to extort any such promise from him. I may further obi.er\e, en passant, that the statute of Moses made boring Ihe ears in some degree ignominious to a free man; be- cause it became the sign \\ hereby a perpetual slave was to be known. And if the Israelites had, for this rea.son, abandoned the practice, Moses would not have been dis- pleased. Indeea, this was probably the very object which he had in view to get imperceptibly eflected by his law ; for in the wearing of ear-rings, superstition was deeply concerned. They were very frequently consecrated to some of the gods, and were thus considered as amulets to prevent the .sounds of enchantment from entering the ear and proving hurtful. If, however, the servant was willing to accept his freedom, not only was it necessarily granted him, but Moses besides ordained in one of )iis latter laws, as an additional benefit, that the master, instead of send- ing him empty away, should make him a present of sheep, fruits, oil, and w-ine, to enable him to begin housekeeping anew, Deut. xv. 13 — 15. On this occasion he observes, that such a servant does his master twice as much service as a servant hired by the day ; which I thus understand. If a man bought a servant for six years, he only paid half as much as a hireling would in that period have received besides his maintenance : because the purchase money was necessarily paid down on the spot, and the purchaser had to nm the risk of his servant dying before the term of his service was expired. But wheii this risk was passed, and the servant had actually earned him his daily hire, his master was bound, in recompense of the advantages he thus brought him, to grant him some little gratification. At the same time, Moses reminds the Israelites that their forefathers had all been slaves in Egypt, and that therefore it was their duty to act with kindness towards those of their brethren, whose fate it was to feel the hardships of bondage. — MlCIIAELIS. CHAPTER XVI. Ver. 16. Three times in a year shall all thy males appear before the Lord thy God in the place which he shall choose ; in the feast of unleav- ened bread, and in the feast of weeks, and in the feast of tabernacles: and they shall not ap- pear before the Lord empty. Moses instituted other festivals besides the Sabbath ; and three of them, which we usually denominate His^h Festivals, were distinguished from the Sabbath and all other holy- days, by this remarkable difference, that they lasted for seven, one of them, indeed, for eight, successive days ; and that all the males in Israel were then obliged to assemble at the place where the sanctuary stood. 'That every peo- ple interested in the preservation of their religion, must set apart, I will not say a day, but certainly a specific time for divine worship, is obvious. This is a point, the proofs of which I willingly leave to theology, or even to philo- sophical ethics, from which I may here assume it as well understood. But besides this, (and here I must beg leave, as it is more agreeable to present usage, to emplov the Avord days for limes, without meaning, by day, either the precise period of 24 hours, or that from sunrise to sunset.) ttiere is a necessity for days of rest and pleasure. Bvuninterraitted labour, the body becomes weakened, loses tfat activity and vigour which the alternations of labour, rest, and amuse- ment, produce, and grows soon old. Bodily labour other- wise, no doubt, increa.ses strength ; and the peasant who works with his hands, will always he a stronger man than the person who folds them across his breast, or only writes Chap. 16. DEUTERONOMY. Ill with them; but Ihen it must not be unceasing labour, and I without repose' or else it will have the contrary effect. The man who is obliged to toil day after day witliotit in- termission, and especially if he has done so from infancy, becomes in a manner cramped, stilT, and awkward, at all other bodily exercises ; continues, as it were naturally, of small stature, and, like a horse daily hacked, is premature- ly worn out. Alternation is the grand maxim of dietet- ics; which, indeed, holds good so imiversally, that the very best rules of diet prescribed by the ablest ph5'sician, will be found in most cases detrimental, if too strictly ob- served. Even the exercises which serve to strengthen and refresh us, if we constantly use any one of them without variation, such as walking or riding, will become irksome and hurtful, if we are obliged to take it every day without intermission. The daily runner, who knows no intervals of rest, will not, it is true, be afl'ected with hypochondria, but will, nevertheless, feel his health otherwise impaired. The postillion, who rides every day, Sunday not excepted, common Ij' grows old before his time ; and his whole figure shows, that he has not had a healthy occupation. We see this, even in countries where posts travel so intolerably slow, that the violence of the moiion can certainly not be blamed for the injury which incessant riding occasions to their health. The trooper in the field, and the sportsman in the chase, ride perhaps more and harder, and that too in all weathers, but yet we do not remark in them the appear- ances of premature old age and decrepitude, visible in the postillion, who sits on horseback day after day, and must soon be discharged in consequence of his infirmities. Put- ting all this, however, out of the question, that man can have no enjoyment of life, who is obliged to toil perpetual- ly, and in the same irksome uniformity of employment. Yet every man ought to have some enjoyment of life, were it only for a single day of recreation occasionally : where- fore else is he in the world ! If he never tastes the pleas- ures of life, he soon dwindles into wrinkled insignificance. Nor is It merely rest from his daily toil that he ought, in justice, to enjoy on such occasions ; but he should have it in his power to sport away the lime in social enjoyment, in feasting, dancing, or whatever else is most agreeable to his taste, if not contrary to good morals. By this variety of pleasure, the mind is roused from its usual dull uni- formity, enlivened, and restored; the powers of the body are renovated ; and it becomes more supple, and fitted for greater exertion. In short, the common man throws off the slave, the porter, the hind, the tailor ; and the man of learning the dull pedant. It were cruel to deprive even the slave of a share in such enjoyments, for they are, as it were, a recompense for the hardships of his life ; and every mon who lives, manifestly has a right to partake in them : and it were no less foolish than cruel ; for his health, viva- city, and bodily vigour will suffer in consequence of such privations. It is, therefore, prudent to allow him seasons of recreation : although selfish and tyrannical masters, who only look to immediate advantages, are, from their igno- rance of human nature, and the effects of unceasing labour, sometimes inclined to be of a different opinion. In this way, the three annual festivals were, in fact, so many additional and prolonged seasonsofpleasure, inwhich the people were to indulge themselves, exclusive of the weekly enjoyment of the Sabbath. Seven successive days spent in such a manner, serve as a recreation both to body and mind, and we think ourselves after them, as it were, regenerated. To bodily health, such relaxations undoubt- edly contribute ; for that man will always have more strength and activity, who, from his youth, has occasion- ally mingled in the cheerful dance, than the person who has been subjected to unvaried and uninterrupted labour. For that particular sort of labour, the latter mav. no doubt, manifest great strength ; but he will become stiff, and in all other appiica'ions of his hodilv powders, awkward, and al- most as if lamed. This is a dieletical remark, in regard to which, we find a coincidence of opinion, between learned phvsicians and those offiirers who have to enlist or .'select soldiers. And as to the mind, by festivities of this nature, i!/ likewise becomes belter humoured, and more cheerful : "We return to our ordinarv labours with more spirit and activity, afler spending a whole week in the enjovment of the pleasures of such extraordinary occasions ; which, how- ever, certainly mu.st not be the constant business of our whole lives, but onlv that of festal season". Hence it seems to have been one of the great objects of the Mosaic polity, that every individual, without exception, should, along with the evils, occasionally tas'.e also the pleasures of life; the legislator having taken care, that not even the poorest persons, not even the very slaves, should be excluded from sharing in these, during the festivals. The words which, without once thinking of any thing learned, or of the .sub- ject of the present work, I have, m the poem entitled j1/osc.«, and annexed to the second edition of my " Poetical Sketch of the Ecclesiastes of Solomon," put into the mouth of Mc- ses, when he is entreating Pharaoh for a three-days festival to the Israelites, will, perhaps, be found to express, with tolerable accuracy, his real ideas on this point, as far as the tenor of his laws enables us to portray them. But tliree days rest they asic, to l)ntinued lu frequent the liigh festivals at Jerusalem; which, by reason of the suspension of arms, at the bolv place, would s;ill have been quite in their power with perlecl safely : and, therefore, in order to maintain his own anihorilv^andto perpeiu.ile the separation, he pro- hibited the annual jiilgrima^'e lo Jerusalem, and, contrary to the law of Moses, appointed liro places for divine ser- vice, within his own territories, (1 Kings xii. 27— 30 ;) in ■which, no doubt, ilie true God jiuis worshipped, but, in or- der to g.a'ily the propensity of the Israelites to idolatry, it was under'lhc similiiude of a golden calf. In order to make still surer of his point, he transferred the celebra;ion of the f.-a^L of tabernacles, and probably of t!ie other two fes- tivals likewise, to a different season from that appointed by Moses ; making ii a month later, (1 Kings xii. 33 ;) in do- ing which, he very likely availed himself of the harvest and viniage being, in the tract adjacent lo Lebanon, and which extended through the mountains, sometimes a little later than in the other parts of Palestine. Another effect of these festivals regarded the internal commerce of the Israelites. I will not positively assert, that Moses had this effect in his view ; but God, who instructed him as to the taws which he was to enact, certainly fore- saw all the future uses of iho^e laws ; and it was an object in his view, though Moses might not have known it. From the annual conventions of the whole people of any country for religious purposes, there generally arise, without any direct intention on their part, annual fairs and internal commerce; for, even if it were for no' other purpose, mer- chants, who are always on the watch to espy and embrace every favourable opporluni'y of a .sale, will resort thither, in order to dispose of their commodities. That our yearly fairs in Germany originally arose in this manner, is evi- dent from the name, which the principal ones bear, Messen, or Masses. In ancient Catholic times, masses were said on certain days in pririicular places, in memory of different saints ; as, for instance, on the Wednesday after Easter, near Querfurt, in the place called the Asscs-mcadow, from the Ass, wnich is so much celebrated in the history of the church, and, as many people assembled for devotion on such occasions, merchants, who had various wares to sell, likewise made their appearance; and so from the masses then read by the Catholic priests, arose what we now, in mercantile language, denominate Mcssai. Our country, therefore, is indebted to religion, or rather to religious meet- ings, not indeed enjoined by God, but merely devised bv men, for a great part of its' trade and commerce ; which still subsists, long afier people destitute of education have ceased to know wherefore our great yearly fairs, that are of such importance, have been called JX/rsxii. Among the Mohammedans similar festivals have had the very same effect; for, notwithstanding the ditticulties of travelling through the deserts, and the danjers to which the caravans are exposed from l/nnrlilli, and the great in- tolerance of Islainism. which is such, that no uncircumcised person dare approach Mecca, without the risk of circum- cision ; not to mention the perpetual variaiion of the lime of the pilgrimage ihiiher, in consequence of their strange mode ot reckoning by lunar years; — circumstances which, anywhere else, would ruin tlie most flourishing fairs — still the annual pilgrimage of ilie Mohammedans lo Mecca, has given birlh to one of the greatest markets in the world, where people from the extremities of the East and of the West, meet for the purpose of trade and commerce. Now the very same effects, and lo a .still hiirher :) or scribes. They were different from the judges ; for Moses had expressly ordained (Deut. xvi. 18) that in every city there should be appointed, t:ot onlv judges, but Scho'lcriin likewise. It is very certain that Jfcses had not originally instituted these officers, but already found them among llie people while in Eg\'pt. For when the Israelites did not deliver the required tale of bricks, the Schr.teriin were called to account, and punished; Exod. v. C — 14. Now, as Falor in Arabic, signifies lo wrile ; and ils deriva- tive, .Maslir, a person trhose dull/ it is to keep accmmls, and collect debts, I am almost persuaded that these Schotcrim must have been the officers who kept the genealogical tables of the Israelites, with a faitlifiil record of births, marriages, and deaihs ; and, as they kept the rolls of fam- ilies, had, moreover, the duty of apportioning the public burdens and services on ihe people individually. An off.ce exactly .similar, we have no. in our governments, because ihev are not so genealogically regulated; at Ica.si Ave do not inslitute enumerations of the people by families. Bui among a people whose notions were completely clannish, and among whom all hereditary succession, and even all posihumous fame, depended on genealogical registers, ihis must have been an office fully as iinporlant as that of a judge. In Egypt, ihe Levites had not yet been consecralrd anil set apart from the rest of the tribes; there, of course, the Se/iolerim must have been chosen either out of every family, or, perhaps, merely according to Ihe opinion enler- tained of their fitne.ss for the office. In ihc lime of ihc kings, however, wo find them generally taken from the Iribe of Levi; 1 Chron. xxiii. .| 2 Chron. xix. 8 — 11. xxxiv. 13. This was a very ralional procedure, as the I.evitcs devoted themselves particularly to study; and among husbandmen and unlearned people, few were likely to be so expeit at writing, as to be intrusted with the keep- ing of registers so important. Add to this, that in later limes, Ihe genealogical tables were kept in the temple. We find these Schotcrim mentioned in many other pas- Chap. 17, IS. DEUTERUNOMY. 113 sages besides those quoted nbove. In Numb. xi. 16, ihey are the persons of respeclabilily from among whom the supreme sena'e of 70 is chosen. In Deut. i. 13, mention is made of Scholcrim appointed by Moses in the wilderness, although the people had previously had such magistrates in Egypt ; most probably tie only filled the places of those \yho were dead. In Deut. xx. 5, we see them charged with orders to tho.se of the people that were selected to go to war ; which is perfectly suited to mv explanation of the nature of their olhce. In Deut. xxix.' 10, xxxi. 28, Josh, viii. 33, xxiii. 2, we find them as representatives of the people in the Diets, or when a covenant with God is en- tered into. In Josh. i. 10, they appear as the oflicers w ho communicated to the people the general's orders respecting military alfairs; and this, again, corresponds to the prov- ince of muster-masters. In 3 Ghron. xxvi. 11, we have the chief Scholer, under whose command the whole army stands after the general, if indeed he himself he not so. In 1 Chron. xxvii. 1, the name of the office alone i.s men- tioned. MiCHAELlS. CHAPTER XVII. Ver. 16. But he shall not multiply horses to him- self, nor cause the people to return to Egypt, to the end that he should multiply horses ; for- asmuch as the Loud hath said unto you, Ye shall henceforth return no more that way. The king was not to keejj a strong body of cavalrj-, nor an immoderate number ol horses. As Palestine was a mountainous country, and on the more level side bounded by the Arabian deserts, in which an enemy's cavalry could not advance for want of forage, a powerful cavalry was almost unnecessary for its defence ; and nothing but the spirit of conquest could prompt any king to violate the prohibition of iMoses. But how liule sttch a spirit accord- ed with the views of their di\-ine lawgiver, we have already seen, in treating of the boundaries of the land. For agricultural purposes, the Israelites made no use of horses; but only (which in an econoinical point of view is far more profitable) of oxen and asses. The latter were also most commonly employed as beasts of burden in trav- elling; but the people made most of their journeys on fool. A king, therefore, could have no occasion for a great number of horses, unless he had it in view to carry on foreign wars. — Michaelis. Ver. 17. Neither shall he multiply wives to him- self, that his heart turn not away : neither shall he greatly multiply to himself silver and gold. The king was not to take many wives, ver. 17. This law stands most in need of illustration; for as Moses did not forbid polygamy to the Israelites in general, it could not be his intentiori to confine the king within narrower limits, in this respect, than the citizen. Most probably, therefore, Moses had no objection to his having /"mir wives, as seems to have been allowed to cverv Israelite. Even the high-priest, Jehoiada, of whom the Bible always gives a good character, gave Ivo wives to King Joash : nor did he think that in this he was trespassing the Mosaic precept, of which he was by his office the aulhentic expounder; 2 Chron. xxh'. 3. — But the oriental seraglio now goes far beyond this moderate polygamy. There, more for state than for connubial purposes, gieat multitudes of women are brought together, and compelled to be miserable. Now il is only this excessive polygamy, this seraglio, as a |iarl of royal state, that Moses appeal's to have forbidden. The nature of the thing itself shows, that ii tends to make kings eflerainatc ; and history confirms this to a much greater extent than could have been presupposed. That it exposes a reigning family to the danger ol becoming ex- tinct, we have at present a proof in the Turkish empire; for of the house of Othman there are so fevc heirs remain- ing, that now (1774) while I am adding this remark for the second edition, they are apprehensive of losing the very last of them in infancv.— The imitation of the practice too, by people of rank and opulence, carries polygamy to such a pitch, that, as contributing to the depopulation of a coun- try, it is much more destructive than even the pestilence. To the Mosaic politv it was peculiarly unsiutable, for this 15 " special reason, that the most beautiful women of all nations are collected for a seraglio : and Moses, as he expressly mentions, wa.s afraid lest such foreign beauties should win the heart of the king, and make him a proselyte to idolatry; and that his fears were not groundless, the example of Sol- omon is a striking proof. No law of Moses was less ob- served than this. It would appear that Saul had a seraglio, and that too belonging to him as king; for David (2 Sam. xii. 8) is said to have succeeded to it. David, before he was king, had, besides Michal, other two wives, Abigail and Ahinoam, 2 Sam. ii. 2. His first wife, Michal, had indeed been taken from liim by his father-in-law ; but he received her again while king of Judah. Bui after he had reigned some years in Hebron, wc find him, besides these, in possession of four new wives, Maacha, Haggith, Abital, ana Eglah, 2 Sam. iii. 2 — 8. This, however, was but a modcrule mpcrabundantc for the king of a single tribe, con- sidering, that seven years after, when he could less plead vouth and passion in excuse, we find him, as king of all Israel, with still more wives and concubines, 2 Sam. v. 13; the latter, indeed, in such numbers, that on his flight l^rom Absalom, he left leu of them to look after the palace, 2 Sam. XV. 16. — To what excess Solomon, the father of but one son, carried polygamy, is kno\vn to every one who has but heard of the Bible. It is difficult to bel'ieve that he could have ijwH-H all the inmates of his seraglio; indeed it re- quired a good memory to have been able to call them by their names. After his time, we have, in the books of the Chronicles, accounts of the polygamy of the kings, not indeed on such an immoderate and magnificent scale, but still far exceeding the degree permitted by Moses. — Mi- en jelis. CHAPTER XVIII. Ver. 10. There shall not be found among you a7iy one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that useth divination, or. an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch. All idolatrous ceremonies, and even some which, though innocent in themselves, might excite suspicions of idolatry, were prohibited. Of these, human sacrifices are so con- spicuous, as really the most abominable of all the crimes to which superstition is capable of hurrying its votaries, in de- fiance of the strongest feelings of humanity, that I must expatiate a liUle upon them. For this species of cruelty is so unnatural, that to many readers of the laws of Moses, it has appeared incredible. Against no other sort of idola- try, are the Mosaic prohibitions so rigorous, as against this ; and yet we find that it continued among the Israelites to a very late period ; for even the prophets Jeremiah and Eze- kiei, who survived the ruin ol the slate, and wrote in the beginning of the Babylonish captivity, take notice of it, and describe it, not as an antiquated or obsolete abomination, but as what Avas actually in use but a little before, and even during their own times. For a father to see his children suffering, is in the highest degree painful; but that he should ever throw them to the flames, appears so utterly improbable, that we can hardly resist the templation of de- claring any narrative of such inhuman cruelly an absolute falsehood. But it is nevertheless an undoubied fact, that the imitation of the neighbouring nations, of which Moses expresses such anxious apprehensions in his law's, had, in spl'e of all the punishments denounced against it, kept up the abominable custom of offering children in sacrifice j and hence we see how necessary it was to enact the most rigorous laws against the idolatrj-, which required sacrifi- ces of such a nature. The lives of children were to be se- cured against the fury of avaricious priests, and the fears of silly fools; and if 'the punishments of the law did not completely produce that effect, we can hardly avoid think- ing, how much it is to be regretted that they were not more severe. To many, both Jewish and Christian expositors, it has appeared so incredible that the Israelites should have sacrificed their own children, that wherever, in the laws, or in the history, Ihey find the expression, making their sons pass through thefirc to Moloch, (for it was chiefly 1o that god that human sacrifices were offered,) Ihey are fain to explain it on the more humane principle of their merely ilcrlir.ating their sons to Moloch, and in token thereof, making them pass between tv:o sacrifice-fires. In confirmation of this idea, A\ DEUTERONOMY. Chap. 18. the Vulgate version of Deul. xviii. 10, may be adduced; Qui lustrct fiUtiw siium nut Jititnn, dncens per ifinem. In this way, the inerediblc barbarity cil' human sacriliccs would appear to have no rouiulaiioii in truth ; and I very readily admit, that of sumc other passages, sucli as Lev. xviii. 'Jl. 2 Kings x.\i.(). xxiii. lU. Jer. xxxii. 35, an exiilaiiation on the same principle may be given with some slunv of truth. — More especially with regard to the first of these passages, I may remark, as Lc CUrc has dime before me, that we find a variety of leciion which makes a material alteration of the sense ; for instead of ("<^2;n) Ifaobir, to cait:^c to j'nys lAroui;h, the Samaritan texi, and the LXX., read (t^v^) Haabiil, to cause to serve, or, tn ikdiattc to the service of. In ray German version, I have, on account of tliis uncertain- ty, here made use of the general term l\'ciheni, to dcilicate, as the Vulgate had already set me the example, in render- ing the clause, I)e semiiic luo non do.bls, %t consccretur idolo Moloch. 1 was the less inclined to employ the term hum here, because no mcniion is made of fire, Imnsire faccrc per igitem, as in other passages ; but it is merely said, tran- sire facerc. At the same time I really believe, from the strain of other passages to be mentioned immediately, that burning is here meiuit. — Willi regard, in like maniiev, to 2 Chron. xxviii. 3, where it is expressly said, that Aha: had^ ill imilalioii of the abominable pradice of the iiations v^hoin Jehovah drove out before the Israelites, burnt his sons vithfire, the weighty objection may be made, that there is a various reading, and that, instead of (->v3-i) Vcibor, he burnt, almost all tlie ancient versions, such as the LXX., Syriac, Chaldee, and Vulgate, had read (i=v^i) Vciobcr, he made to pass through, by the mere transposition of the sec- ond radical into the place of the first. The following passages, however, are decisive of the reality of sacrifi- cing their children. 1. Ezek. xvi. 21, (where we find the first-mentioned ex- pression,) Thov. hast slain mi/ sons, and given Ihxm, to cause them pass through to them.. Here it is evident that, to pass through, or to cause to pass through the fire, can be nothing else than burning, because the sons were previously slain. 3. The passages where the word {']-V) Saraf, la burn, is used ; and where no suspicion of any various reading can take place ; Deut. xii. 31. Jer. vii. 31. xix. 5. 3. Psalm cvi. 37, 38. '• Their sons and daughters tliey sacrificed unto devils. They .shed the innocent blood of their children, and offered it'lo the gods of Canaan, and the land was profaned with blood." The punishment of those who offered human sacrifices was stoning; and th(7t, as 1 think, so summarily, that the bystanders, when any one was caught in such an act, had ii right to stone him io death on the spot, without anv judi- cial inquiry whatever. Whatever Israelilr, says Moses, in Lev. XX. 3, or stranger dircllin-j. among t/nn, gives one of his children to Moloch, shall die : his neighbours. '^hall stone him Io death. These are not the terms in which Moses usually speaks ofihe punishment of slouingjudicially inflicted; but, all the people shall stone him ; thehandsnf the u-itnesscs .<:hallbc the first upon him. Besides, what follows a little after, in verses 4 and 5, does not appear to me as indicative of any thing like A matter of judicial procedure; If the nmgh- bours shut their eijes, and will not see him giving his children to Moloch, nor /ml him to death, God himself irill be the aven- ger of his crime. 1 am therefore of opinion, thai in regard to this most extraordinary and most unnatural crime, which, however, could not be perpetrated in perfect secre- cy, Moses meant to give an extraordinary injunction, and to let it be understood, that whenever a parent was about to sacrifice his child, the first person who observed him was to hasten to its help, and the people around were in- stantly to meet, and to stone the unnatural monster to death. In fact, no crime so justly authorizes extrajudicial ven- geance, as this horrible cruellv perpetrated on a helpless child; in the discovery of which we are always sure to have either the lifeless victim as a proof, or else th" living testimony of a witness who is beyond all suspicion; and where the mania of human sacrifices prevailed to such a pilch as among the Canaanites, and got so completely the belter of all the feelings of nature, it was necessary to counteract its effects by a measure equally extraordinarv and summary. — Micha'klis. Ver. 11. Or a charmer, or a consulter with fa- miliar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer. Sorcery is the fruitful source of numerous evils in the East. Charms and counter-charms call for the ingenuity, the property, the hopes, and fears of thou.'^ands. They are often u.sed to effect the most diabolical purposes, and many a seduction is attributed to theirsupeinatural power. The jirophet Isaiah gives a description of the voice of a famil- iar spirit, and of its proceeding like a whisper from the dust. " Thou shall be brought down, and shall speak out of the ground, and lliy speech shall be low out of ihe dust, and thy voice shall be as of one that hath a familiar spirit, out of ihe ground, and thy speech shall whisper out of the dust." Isa. xxix. 4. The margin has, for whisper, " peep or chirp." Lev. xix. 31. 1 Sain, xxviii. 7. The deluded Hindoos, in great einergencies, have recourse Io familiar spirits, for ihe purpose of knowing how they may avoid the evil which is expected, or has in part already come. In the distraction of their minds, they run to the " consuller with familiar spirits," make known their desperale case, and entreat him to lend his assi.siance. Those " wizards that peep and that mutter," and who seek " for the living to the dead," Isa. viii. 19, are generally frightful in their persons, and disgusting in their matters. See the aged impostor, with a staff in his hand : his person bent by years ; his wild, piercing, cat-like eve ; a scowling, search- ing look; a cloUed beard ; a toothless mouth ; dishevelled hair ; a mumbling unearthly voice ; his more than half-na- ked body, covered with ashes; a wild unsteady gait, joined with the other insignia of his office ;— give a fearful indu- ence to his infernal profession. A man who is in distress, and who has resolved to consult with a familiar spirit, sends for two magicians: the one is called the Mauthera- vathe, i. e. he who repeats the incantations; the other, the Anjanam-Pdrkera.van, i. e. he who looks, and who answers to the questions of Ihe former. His hand is rubbed with the Anjanam, which is made of the burnt bones of the slolh, and tlie scull of a virgin ; and when the ceremonies have commenced, he looks steadily into his hand, and can never wink or take off his eyes "till all shall be finished. On the ground are placed rice, cocoa-nuts, plantains, areca nuts, betel leaves, milk, camphire, and frankincense. The chief magician then, with a loud voice, begins to invoke the nine gods — Amnion, Pulliar, Scandan, Aivenar, lyaner, Veerapatteran, Anjana, Anuinan, Viraver.' He Iheii falls to the earth (as do all present) nine times, and begins to whisper and "piulter," while his face is in the "dust," and he who looks ift Ihe hand "peeps" and stares for the beings who have to appear. All then stand up, and the first wizard asks the second, " What do you see !" He re- plies, " My hand is cracked, has opened, and 1 see on the ground," "What else do you see?" — "All around me is light — come, FullL-ir, come." " He comes ! he comes !" (His person, shape, and dress, are then described.) The olher eight gods are now entreated to appear; and as they approach, the second person says, "They come! they come !" and they are invited to be seated in the places pre- pared for them. The first magician then inquires of the assembled gods, what is the cause of ihe allliclion, adversi- ty, or danger of the person, for whom the ceremonies have been inslituled 1 He who " peeps" in the hand then re- plies, and mentions the name of the evil spirit, who has produced all the mischief The malignant troubler is summoned to appear, and to depart ; but should he refuse, he is bound, and carried off by the gods. Is it not probable that Saul, and Ihe woman who had "a familiar spirit at Endor," were engaged in a similar way ■? Saul was in great distress, for the Lord would nciihcr answer him " by dreams, nor by Xlriin, nor by prophets;" and being wounil up to desperation, lie deterniined to eimsull " with familiar spirits." He took " two men" wilh him, who were proba- bly qualified like the two u^ed by ihe Hindoos. From the fear which the woman showed, it is probable her incanta- tions had not exactly answered her expcclalions, because " she cried with a loud voice" when she saw Samuel, pro- ving that she did not expect to see him, and thai, Iheretore, he was sent bv some olhor power; Saul inquired, "What sawcst thou?" which agrees wilh the question proposed by the first magician to his assistant, as to what he saw through ihe crack of his hand in the earth. The witch then replied to Saul, " 1 saw gods asccmling out of the earth," which naturally reminds us of ihe nine u'oJs Avliich are believed to ascend after the incantations of the wizard. Saul then asked, " What form is he of!" and the witch said he was Chap. 19— 2 i. DEUTERONOMY. old, and covered with a mantle, which also finds a parallel in the description of " the shape and dress" given of Pulliar by the second magician. I am, therefore, of opinion, that God allowed Samuel to come to Saul, or sent him; and that the witch was confounded and terrified at the result of her incantations. — Roberts. CHAPTER XIX. Ver. 14. Thou shall not reinove thy neighbour's laud-mark, which they of old time have set in thine inheritance, which thou shall inherit in the land thai the Lord thy God giveth thee to pos- ses.s it. When tlie sons of Israel had conquered the land of prom- ise, it was, by the divine command, surveyed and divi- ded by lot, first among the twelve tribes ; and then the por- tion of each tribe was laid out in separate inheritances according to the number of the families composing the tribe ; and thus every man in the nation had his field, which lie was directed to cultivate for the support of himself and his family. To prevent mistake and litigation, these fields were marked off by stones set up on^'the limits, which could not be removed without incurring the wrath of heav- en. The divine command, in relation to this matter, runs in these terms. " Thou shall not remove thy neigh- bour's land-mark, which they of old time have set in thine inheritance, which thou shall inherit in the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee to possess." In Persia, land- marks are still used: in the journey from Arzroum to Amasia, Morier found the boundaries of each man's pos- session, here and there, marked by large stones. Land- marks were used in Greece long before the age of Homer ■ for when Minerva fought with Mars, she seized with her powerful hand, a piece of rock, lying in the plain, black rugged and large, which ancient men had placed to mark the boundary of the field. — Paxton. CHAPTER XX. Ver. 19. When thou shah besiege a city a long time, in making war against it to take it, thou shall not destroy the trees thereof by forcing an axe against them ; for thou mayest eat of them, and thou shalt not cut them down, (for the tree of the field is man's life,) to employ them in the siege. Can it be a matter of surprise that the Orientals have a great aversion to cut down any tree which bears fruit, when It is known that they principally live on vegetable produc- tions! Ask a man to cut down a cocoa-nut or palmirah tree, and he will say, (except when in want, or to oblige a great person,) " Wliat! destroy that which gives me food^ from which I have thatch for my house to defend me from the sun and the rain ? which gives me oil for my lamp a ladle for my kitchen, and charcoal for my firel from which 1 have sugar for my board, baskets for my fruits, a bucket for my well, a mat for my bed, a pouch for my betel leaf leaves for my books, a fence for my yard, and a broom for my house ? Destroy such a tree 1 Go to some needy wretch who has pledged his last jewel, and who is anxious to eat his last meal." — Roberts. CHAPTER XXI. Ver. 6. And all the elders of that city, that arr next unto the slain man, shall wash their hands over the heifer that is beheaded in the valley. "When a great man refuses to grant a favour to a friend or relation, ihe latter asks, " What ! are you going to w-ash your hands of me V •' Ah ! he has washed his hands of all his relations ;" which means, he will not have any thing more to do with them ; he is entirely free, and will not be accountable for them. Hence the Tamul proverb, Avon cUatiliim kai knluvi nitkeran, i. e. " He has washed his hands of all."— Roberts. Ver. 12. Then thou shalt bring her home to thy house, and she shall shave her head, and pare her nails; 13. And she shall put the raiment 115 of her captivity from ofT her, and shall remain in thy house, and bewail her father and her mother a full month : and after that thou shalt go in unto her, and be her husband, and she shall be thy wife. The margin has, instead oi pare hernaih, " or surpER to CROW ;" which is, I doubt not, the true meaning. This wo- man was a prisoner of war, and was about to become the wife of the man who had taken her captive. Having thus been taken from her native land, having had to leave h'er earliest and dearest connexions, and now to become the wife of a foreigner, and an enemy, she would naturally be overwhelmed with grief To acquire a better view of hei state, let any woman consider herself in similar circum- stances. She accompanies her husband, or father, to the battle ; the enemy becomes victorious, and she is carried ofi" by the hand of a ruthless stranger, and obliged to sub- mit to his desires. Poignant indeed would be the sorrow of her mind. The poor captive was to " shave her head" in token of her distress, which is a custom in all parts of the East at this day. A son on the death of his lather, or a woman on the decease of her husband, has the head sh.ived in token of sorrow. To shave the head al.so, is a punish- ment inflicted on females for certain crimes. The fair captive, then, as a sign of her miserv, was to shave her head, because her father or mother was among the slain, or in consequence of having become a prisoner of war! It showed her sorrow ; and was a token of her submission. (See also Job i. 20. See on 2 Chronicles xvi. 14. Isa. vii. 20, and xviii. 2.) But this poor woman was to suffer her nails to grow, as an additional emblem of her distress. That it does not mean she was to p.ire her nails, as the text has it, is established by the custom in the East, of al- lowing them to grow, when in sorrow. The marginal reading, therefore, would have been much better for the text. When people, either in the church or state, are per- forming penance, or are in captivity, or disgrace, or pris- on, or are devotees, they suffer their nails to grow ; and some may be seen, as were those of the monarch of Baby- lon, in his sorrow, " like birds' claws," literally folding round the ends of the fingers, or shooting through the backs of their hands. But when men fast, which is sometimes doiie for one or two years, or when husbands fast during their wives' first pregiiancy, they suffer their nails to grow; also a female, when in sorrow from other causes, does not " pare her nails" until she has performed the ceremony call^ ed Antherette. — Roberts. There is a passage in Deuteronomy xxi. 12, about the sense of which our translators appear to'have been extreme- ly uncertain: translating one clause of the 12th verse, and pare her nails, in the text ; and the margin giving the clause a quite opposite sense, " sufier to grow." So that, according to them, the words signify, that the caplived woman should be obliged, in the case referred to by Moses, to pare her nails, or, to suffer them to grow, but they could not tell which of these two contradictory things the Jewish legislator re- quired ; the Jewish doctors are, in like manner, divided in their opinion on this subject. To me it seems veiy plain, that it was not a management of affliction and mourning that was enjoined; such an inlerjiretation agrees not with theputtingofftheraimentof her captivity ; but then I very much question whether the paring her nails takes in the whole of Ihe intention of Moses. The precept of the law was, that she should make her nails: so the Hebrew words literally signify. Making her nails, signifies making her nails neat, beautifying them, making them pleasing to the sight, or something of that sort : dressing them is the w-ord our translators have chosen, according to the margin. The 2 Sam. xix. 24, which the critics have cited on this occa- sion, plainly proves this : " Mephibosheth, the son of Saul, came down to meet the king, and had neither made his feet, nor made his beard, nor washed his clothes, from the day the kingdeparted, until the day became again in peace." It is the same word with that in the text, and our translators have rendered it in one clause dressed, in the margin of Deut. xxi. dressed his feel; and in the other trimmed, nor trimmed his beard. Making the feet, seems here to mean washing the feet, paring their nails, perhaps anointing, or otherwise perfuming them, as he was a prince; see Luke vii. 46. As making his beard may mean combing, curling, IIG DEUTERONOMY. CiiAi'. 22. pc rfiimin" il ; every thin?, in a word, ihal those llial were - wont to do. neoiJle ol' dislinclioii, and in a state ol joy, were wo Muiin- kcr miih, nndoiibtrdlv moans pann? them ; but it imi.sl mean too every Uiin;,' else relaiin- to iliem, lliat wa.s wont to be d .lie lur' llie bcauiil'ying them, and repderm? lliL-in beaiinrul. We haye scarcely any notion ol anything else but paring 1 hem; but the modern eastern women have; ihov siain them wi;h ihe leaves of an odorilerous plant, which they call .\l-henna, of a red, or, as others c.xpress it, a lawny sallVon colour. But it may be thonghl, that is only a modern mode of adornins; their nails: Hasselqmst how- ever assures us, it was an ancient oriental practice. 1 lie Al-h'ei.iia," he tells us, " i^rows in India, and m Upper and Lower E-'vpl, flowering from May to August. 1 he leaves are pulveri/ed, and made into a paste with \yater: they hiiul this pasle on the nails of their hands and feet, and keep 11 on all ni','hi. This gives them a deep yellow, which is "really admired by the eastern nations. The colour lasb; for ihree or four weeks, before there is occasion to re- new i! The custom is so ancient in Egypt, that 1 have seen ihe nails of mummies died in this manner. The pow- der is exported in large quanlilies yearly, and may be reckon d a valuable cominodily." It appears by this to be a very ancient practice; and since mummies were before the tilne of Moses, this custom of dying the nails might be as ancient too ; I hough we do not suppose the mummies Has- selquist saw, with their nails thus coloured, were so old as his lime. If it was practised in Egypt before the law was given, we may believe the Israelites adopted if, since it appears to be a most universal custom noAV in the eastern coim- tries- Dr Shaw observing that all the African ladies that can purchase it, make use of if, reckoning it a great beauty; as we learn from RauwolfT, it appears also to the Asiatic females I cannot but think it most probable then, that making the nails, signifies tinging as well as paring ihera. Parin" alone, one would imagine loo trifling a circuin- slance^to be intended here. No commentator, however, that I know of, has taken any notice of ornamenting the nails by colouring Ihein. As for shaving the head, which is joined with making the nails, it was a rile of cleansing as appears from Lev. xiv. 8, 9, and Num. vi. 0, and used by those who, after having been in an afflicted and squalid state, appeared before persons to whom they desired to render themselves acceptable, and who were also w^ont to change their raiment on the same occasion. See Gen. xli. ' 14. — ^IIahmer. Ver. 17. But he shall acknowledge the son of the hated for the first-born, by giving him a double portion of all that he hath: for he is the beginning of his strength; the right of the first-born is hi.s. Next to the father, the first-born of a family possessed the greatest rights. There were not, however, in a family as many first-born as mothers ; in other words, to be so called. It was not enough that a man should be the first frail of the mother, or, as the Hebrews term it, Phdcr Pc- cheiii, (om -vsn) but that he should, at the same lime, be the first son of his father, who was called Becor, (loa) and tlie beginning of kis slrengUi. The law of Deul. xxi. 15—17, places this'beyond doubt, and the family history of Jacob confirms it. For though Jacob had four wives, and chil- dren by them all, yet he gave the birthright to one son only, 1 Chron. v. 1, 2. ' That right Reuben had forfeited by a great crime ; but if he had not done so, ^c would certainly have been considered as the only lir.st-born, as he alone is indeed called so in the history. Gen. xlix. 3. If, instead of this, the first .son of every mother had been denominated the firsl-born, it would have been impossible that, among a people consi.siing of (iOO.OOO adult males, and where there must have lieen at least 300,000 males above 20 years of a-'c there could be numbered no more than 22,000 first- born of a month old, and above it; because this would have required that every mother, one with another, had brought 40 (but b.-'caMse it is so incredible I will write the word at length, /oWi/) children into the worhl. In my Dissertation, ne Ccn'sibiis Ilchrinirum. to which I here refer the reader, I have illustrated ihis point at greater length. How ihe inat- tcr was settled when a father had his firsl-born son by a widow that had liad children by her former marriage, 1 do not 'hiflorir,tUii know ; but this much is certain, that such son could not be .'ailed I'hdcr Ilcchm, the hrst-fruil of the mother; and, Iherefore, could be none ol the first-born who by the Levilical law,(Exud. xiii. 12. Numb. ■"■ 40— 51 ■) were consecralcd to the Lord; but sUll he probably enjoyed the lights of a first-born in relation lo his brothers. This, however, was a case that could rarely occur, because it appears that the Hebrews seldom niarned widows who had been mothers ; although I do find one example ol sucli a marriage. Besides his double share of the inheritance, the first-horn in patriarchal families liad great piivileges, and a sort of authorhv over his breihren ; just as at present an Arab emir is, for the most part, only the first-born nj the fird-burn. of his family, and, assuch, rules a horde, com- posed merely of his kinsmen. This was also the case under the Mosaic polity, though with K.me limitation m pou.t ol authorily ; and hence we find in the genealogies ol the first book of'Chroni.-les, ihe first-born is often likewise termed the /lend (rN->n) of the family; and in chap. xxvi. 10, it is slated as a circumstance somewhat singular and unusual, that a father constituted one, who was not a first-born, the head How much further these rights extended, I know- not excepting only in this particular, ihal the first-born was only the head of lYie lesser family.— Miciuei.is. Ver. 19. Then shall hi.s ffitlier and his mother lay hold on hiin, and bring him out unto the elders of the city, and unto the gate of his place. The gates of cities, in ihese days, and for many ages al- ter were the places cf judicature and common resort. Here Ihe governors and elders of the ci!y went to hear complaints, administer justice, make conveyances of titles and estates, and, in short, to transact all the public aflairsot the place. And from hence is that passage in the Psalmist, '■■ They shall not be ashamed when they speak lo their ene- mies in the gate." (Ps. exxvii. 5.) It is probable that the room, or hall, where the magistrates sat, was (iver the gate, because Buaz is said to go vp to the gate ; and the reason of having il built there, seems lo have been lor the con- venience of the inhabitants, who, being all husbandmen, and forced to pass and repass every morning and evening as they went and came from their labour, might be more easily 'called, as they went by, whenever they were wanted lo appear in any business.— Birder. Ver. 23. His body shall not remain all night upon the tree, biit thou shall in anywise bury him that day. An Englishman is astonished in the East, to see how soon afier death the corpse is buried. Hence a new-comer, on hearing of the death of a servant, or native ofticer, who died in the morning, and who is lobe interred in the even- in" is almost disposed lo inlerfere with what is to hini ap- paVcnllv abarbarous practice. When Ihe cholera prevails. It is truly appalling lo see a man in one hourj,n health, and the next carried to his long-home. The reason assigned for this haste is the heat of the climate.— Rodebts. CHAPTER XXII. Ver. 4. Thou shall not see thy brother's ass or his ox fell down by the way, and hide thyself from them: thou shall surely help him to lift them up again. Whoever saw a beast tottering or lying under the weight of his burden, was bound lo help him; and that with the same exertion and perseverance as the owner himscll was doin" or would have done. Nor durst he (for tjus the words' of Moses seem to imply) desist, but vith the owner ; that is until the owner himself left the beast, seeing him past relief, Exod. xxiii. 5. Both these were incumbent du- ties even when the beast belonged to an enemy; and the nassages above referred to, expressly mention the ox and Sss of an enemy. This is reasonable; for we expect that even our enemy will be humane enough lo foreget his en- mity and give'us his aid in a lime ol need, or, at any rate, that' he will not be so /////-• as to exiend his enmity to a beast quite innocent of our quarrel, and that lies lu distress Chap. 22. DEUTERONOMY. 117 before his ej-e.;. "What we expect, we should Jo in our turn; and ii' we will not listen to the suggestions uf moral obligation, still we must see, that among a nation of hus- bandmen and herdsmen, it was a matter of great import- ance to preserve the lives of work-beasts. And upon the same principle, we might perhaps be enjoined to extinguish, if need were, a fire in our enemy's house, as if it were our own. How humane .soever this law of Moses may appear, we must at the saine time recollect, that it was not given to a people like ourselves, but to a people among whom every individual gener .illy had cattle ; so that they could not hut be inll:ienced by the great duty of reciprocity, which amonguS, at least in towns, docs not here hold, because but few have cattle. — Among the Israelites, none almost could be so unac- c iisiomcd to their management, or to their relief in distress, as our towa's-people are. This last circumstance is peculiarly deserving of notice. I grant that such a law would, in Ger- many, be a very strange one, if accompanied wiili no limita- tion to certain classes of the community ; for he who is not from his infancy conversant with beasts, seldom acquires the conlidence or aexieriiy requisite for their aid when in dan- ger, without hurling hiinself He, perhaps, sits perfectly well t.n horseback, and can do all that belongs to a good rider, when mounted; but to help up with a horse fallen down under his load, or to stop one that has run oft', would not be his furte. — Add to this, that among us, neither the ox, nor the ass, but the horse alone, is so honourable, that a gentleman could help up with him, without demeaning him- self, and being laughed at. But among a nation of farm- ers, who ploughed with oxen and asses, and where there were no hcreditaiy noblesse, such a foolish idea, which a legislator must have aUended to, could have no place. We shall find that Moses, throughout his laws, mani- fests even towards animals a spirit of justice and kind- ness, and inculcates the avoidance, not only of actual cruelty, but even of its appearance. A code of civil law does not, indeed, necessarily provide for the rights of ani- mals, because they are not citizens ; but still, the way in which animals are treated, so strongly influences the man- ners and sentiments of a people even towards their fellow- creatures, (for he who habitually acts with cruelty and want of feeling to beasts, will soon become cruel and hard-heart- ed to men,) that a legislator will sometimes find it necessary to attend to it, to prevent his people from becoming savage. MiCHAEMS. Ver. 6. If a bird's-tiest chance to be before thee in the way in any tree, or on the ground, whether they be young ones or eggs, and the dam sitting upon the young or upon the eggs, thou shalt not take the dam with the young. 7. But thou shalt in anywise let the dam go, and take the young to thee ; that it may be well with thee, and that thou mayest prolong thy days. It is the command of Moses, that if a person find a bird's-nest in the way, whether on a tree or on the ground, though he may take the eggs, or the young, he shall not take the mother, but always allow her to escape. It is clear that he here speaks, not of those birds which nestle upon people's property ; in other words, that he does not, for in- stance, prohibit an Israelite from totally destroying a spar- row's or a swallow's nest, that might happen to be trouble- some to him, or to extirpate to the utmost of his power the birds that infested his field or vineyard. He merely en- joins what one was to do on finding such nests on the vay, that is, wit/iovl one's property : thus guarding against either the utter extinction, or too great diminution of any species of bird indigenous to the country. And this in some coun- tries IS still, with respect to partridges, an established rule ; which, without a special law, is observed by every real sportsman, and the breach of which subjects him to the re- proaches of his brethren. Nor would any further illustra- tion be necessary, if Moses spoke only of edible birds, and as if merely concerned for their preservation. But this is not the case. His expression is .so general, that we must needs understand it of all birds whatever, even those that are most destructive, besides what are properly birds of prey. And here many readers may think it strange, that Moses should be represented as providing for the preser- vation of noxious birds; yet, in fact, nothing can be more conformable to legislative wisdom, especially on the intro- duction of colonies into a new country. To extirpate, or even to persecute, to too great an extent, any species cf birds in such a country, from an idea, often too hastily en- tertained, of its being hostile to the interests of the inhabit- ants, is a measure of very doubtful policy. It ought, in general, to be considered as a part of Nature's bounty, be- stowed for some important pitrpo'^e ; but what that is, we certainly discover too late, when it has been exiirja'.ed, and the evil consequences of that measure are begu:i !o be felt. In this matter, the legislator should lake a Icssi :: from the naturalist. Linnteus, whom all will allow to be a perfect master in 'he science of natural history, has made the above remark iu his Dissertation, entitled, Historia Naturalis, ciii Bono 1 and gives two remarkable examples to confiim it : the one, in the ca.se of the LitUc CrmD of Virginia, {Gracu- I'l Qi/isiu!ii,) extirpated, at great expeiise, on account of its supposed destructive effects, and which the inhabitants would soon gladly have re-introduced at double expense; the other, in that of the £;^_!//)et wall, some terraces are guarded, like the galleries, with baln which Jehovah graciously dictated from Sinai, and fun.i^hes a beautilul example ol his paternal care and goodne,;; for the terrace was a place wliere inanv olUces of the family were performed, and bu- siness of no little importance was occasionally transacted^ kahab concealed the spies on the roof, with the stalks ol flax which she had laid in order to dry; the king ol Israej, accordin" to the custom of his countrv, rose Irom his bed, and walked upon the roof of his house, to enjoy the relresh- in" breezes of the evening; upon the top of the house, the prophet conversed with Saul, about the gracious designs ot God, respecting him and his family; to the same place, Peter retired to ofler up his devotions; and in the feast of tabernacles, under the government of Nehemiah, booths were erected, as well upon the terraces of their houses, as in their courts, and in the streets of the city. In Judea, the inhabilanls sleep upon the tops of their houses during the heats of summer, in arbours made of the branches of trees, or in tents of rushes. When Dr. Pococke was at Tiberias in Galilee, he was entertained by the sheik's steward, and w^ith his company supped upon the top of the house for cool;'..-ss, according to their custom, and lodged there hke- wi.se, in a sort of closet of about eight feet square, formed of wicker-work, plastered round towards the bottom, but without any door, each person having his cell. In like manner, the Persians take refuge during the day in sub- terraneous chambers, and pass the night on the flat roofs of their houses. — Paxton. We have repeated intimations in scripture, of a custom which would be extremely inconvenient in England ;— that of sleeping on the top of the house, exposed to the open air, and sky : so we read. " Samuel came to call Saul about the spring' of the dav, not to— but on— the top of the house ; and communed with him on the house-top. So Sjlomon observes, " It is better to dwell in a corner on the house-top, than with a brawling woman in a wide street." The same idea may be noticed elsewhere. " It has ever heen a custom with them, [the Arabs in the East,] equally connected with health and pleasure, to pa.ss the nights in summer upon the house-tops, which for this very purpose are made flat, and divided from each other by walls. We foimd this way of sleeping extremely agreeable ; as we thereby enjoyed the cool air, above the reach of gnats and vapours, without any other covering than the canopy of the heavens, which unavoidably presents itsell in diff^erent pleasing forms, upon every interruption of rest, when si- lence and solitude strongly dispose the mind to contempla- tion." (Wood's Balbec, Introduction.) " I determined he should lodge in a kiosque, on the top of my house, w-here I kept him till his exaltation to the patriarchate, which, after a long negotiation, my wife's brothei-obtained, for a pretty large sum of money, to be paid in new sequins." (Baron du Tott.) The propriety of the Mosaic precept (Deut. xxii. 8,) which orders a kind of balustrade, or parapet, to sur- round the roof, Ic^t any man should fall Irom thence, is strongly enforced by this relation ; for, if we suppose a per- son torise in the' night, without being fully awake, he might easily kill himself by falling from the roof Some- thing of the kind appears in the history of Amaziah, 2 Kings i. 2. In seycral places scripture hints at grass growing on the house-tops, but which comes to nothing. The following quotation will show the nature of this: " In the morning the master of the house laid in a stock of earth ■ whicli was carried up, and spread evenly on the lop of Ihe house, which is flat. The whole roof is thus formed of mere earth, laid on, and rolled hard and flat. On the top of every house is a large stone roller, for the purpose of hardening and flattening this layer of made soil, so that the rain may not penetrate": but upon this .surface, as may be supposed, grass and weeds grow freely. It is to such grass that the Psalmist alludes, as useless and bad." (Joweu's Christian Researches in Syria.) There is also mention of persons on the house-top hastily escaping from thence without entering the house to secure their property — as if hastily awaked out of sleep, or, &c. by the clamours of an invading enemy — Taylor in Cai.met. Ver. 10. Tliou shalt not plough with an ox and an ass togethw. Le Clerc and some others think that this text is to be ta- ken in a symbolical sense, and that intermarriages with pagans and unbelievers are forbidden by it. Maimonides and the Je\yish rabbies are of opinion, that this prohibition was given in consequence of the ox being a clean, and the ass an unclean animal. But no other interpretation need be sought than that which arises from the humanity shown to animals in various parts of the iSIosaic laws. The ass is lower than the ox, and when in a yoke together must bear the principal weight, and that in a very painful posi- tion of the neck ; his steps are unequal, and his strength is inferior, which must occasion an irregular draught, and great oppression to both. The a,ss is a stubborn, refractory, and, in these countries, a spirited creature; the ox. on the contrary, is gentle, tractable, and patient : writers on agri- culture, therefore, have given the same precept as Moses ; and Calpumius says generally, Ne pecora quidein jugo nisi paria succedant. — " Let n'o cattle be yoked together except they match." Cruel and unnatural as this practice is, we may suppose it ^yas not uncommon; for we find it alluded to in the Aulularia of Plautus, act i. s. 4. Old Euclio, addressing himself to Megadorus, says, Nunc si filiam locassem meam tibi, in raentem venit. Te bovem esse, et me esse asellum, ubi tecum conjunctus sini. " If I were to give my daughter to vou, it occurs to me, that When we had formed this "alliance, I should be the ass, and you the ox." BURDER. In the sandy fields of Syria and Egypt, where deep ploughing, bv draining off" the moisture necessary to vege- tation, w^ould be hurtful, a single ass is occasionally seen drawing the plough. The implement employed, is made to corre'spond with the strength of the animal ; it is so light, " that a man of moderate strength," says Dr. Russel, " may easily carry it with one hand ; a little cow, or at most two, and sometimes only an ass, is suflicienl to draw it." Bui this is done only in very light soils ; where the ground is stifier, and a deeper furrow required, two beasts are yoked together in one plough. In Syria, where the distinction between clean and unclean beasts did not exist, and \yhere unnatural associations were disregarded, they very often joined an ox and an ass in the same yoke. But the law of Moses prohibited, bv an express statute, such incongruous mixtures: " Thou shalt not plough ^yith an ox and an ass together." The chosen people might employ them both in tilling their ground ; but, in every instance, they were to be joined only with those of their own species. This pre- cept embraced at once, the benefit of the tribes, and the comfort of their cattle. The benevolent legislator would not have animals of unequal strength, and of discordant habits and dispositions, forced into a union to which they are naturally averse, and where the labour could not be equally divided. But Jehovah, whose care extends to the happiness even of an ox or an ass, had certainly a higher object in view. He meant, by this prohibition, to instruct his people to preserve, with solicitude, the unaffected sim- plicity of the patriarchal ages, in their manner of living; to avoid unnatural associations among themselves, and un- due familiarity with the idolatrous nations around them, by contracting marriages with them, entering into alliances, or engaging in extensive mercantile transactions, still more, by joining in the impure rites of their worship. To this nioral a.spcct of the law, the great apostle of the Gentiles evidently refers in his charge to the Corinthians: " Be ye not unequally yoked together \vith unbelievers; for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness'! and what communion hath light with darkness."— Paxton. CHAPTER XXIII. Ver. 19 Thovi shalt not lend upon usury to thy Chap. 24. DEUTERONOMY. 119 brother ; usury of money, usury of victuals, usury of any thing that is lent upon usury. 20. Unto a stranger thou mayest lend upon usury; but unto thy brother thou shall not lend upon usury ; that the Lord thy God may bless thee in all that thou settest thy hand to in the land whither thou goest to possess it. See on Lev. 25. 26. Ver. 24. When thou comest into thy neighbour's vineyard, then thou mayest eat grapes thy fill, at thine own pleasure ; but thou shall not put amj in thy vessel. 25. When thou comest into the standing corn of thy neighbour, then thou mayest pluck the ears with thy hand ; but thou shall not move a sickle unto thy neighbour's standing corn. If a man was passing along another's field, he was allow- ed to pluck ears of corn to eat, but forbidden to use the sickle, Deut. xxiii. 25. This pretty much accords with what is common among ourselves ; for no owner of a field, unless he wishes to render himself ridiculous by his nig- gardliness, will hinder a passenger from plucking his ears of corn, and eating them. But the liberty of the stranger, by the Mo.saic law, perhaps extended still further : for if the poor man had plucked up whole handfuls of ears, and carried them oft', 1 do not thence see how he could have been found punishable, or how it could have been prevent- ed. I do not lake upon me absolutely to decide the point, -because the law is very briefly expressed. I only remark, that this very law, which among us would be very unjust and pernicious, had quite another aspect among a people consisting entirely of husbandmen : lor where every citi- zen, or, in other words, every one belonging to the nation, has his own land, one will not be apt, from avarice, to tear up another's corn, because he must expect that his neigh- bour w-ill retaliate in like manner upon his. It will, there- fore, most probably be only as he travels along, that he will eat a few ears for pleasure, and that may readily be allow- ed him. In the verse immediately preceding, (Deut. xxiii. 24,) Moses has an ordinance respecting vinej'ards, which may to us appear more singular, and to bear harder on their owners. The stranger that caiue into another's vineyard, was authorized to eat as many grapes as he pleased, only he might not carrj' any off in his basket, or other such ves- sel. To my illustration of this law, I must premise, that I am not a native of a wine country ; having been born at Halle, on the extreme verge of the wine district of Germa- ny, and where vineyards are .so rare, that under such a law they could not possibly exist. In such a climate, every indi- vidual bunch of grapes is not indeed a rarity, (for that I can- not say of my native coimtry,) but, at any rate, an article of sale, and worth money. Perhaps, therefore, a native of a more southern region, where wine is produced in greater abundance, would be able to explain this part of the Mosaic law beUer, and would find it more agreeable to justice. But besides all that persons acquainted with wine countries could say, there is tnis additional circumstance here to be attended to, and wliich is quite inapplicable to all our wine countries, viz. that every Israelite had his paternal land; and if he lived in a district where wine was grown, (which was the case in most naits of Palestine, the country being mountainous,) he probably had a vineyard of his own, as well as his neighbour. The right, therefore, to eat one's fill in another's vineyard, was, in most cases, merely a jus rcciprocum : and thus I might with freedom satisfy my appetite, wherever I saw grapes before me ; single bunches being there no article of sale. This to travellers was a gratification always acceptable, and a piece of cour- tesy that cost the owners but little ; and to those who had no land, that is, to the poor, it was a .sort of alms, or, at least, a comfort, that they could thus satisfy their appetite without being chargeable with theft, or injustice. If the owner of a vineyard found them loo assiduous, or their visits too frequently repeated, there was nothing in the law . that hindered him from enclosing it, or turning them out. Only they could not be declared thieves, if they but plucked the grapes, and ate them within the vineyard. We shall frequently see, that the laws of Moses m'anifest a certain degree of indulgence and kindness to the cravings of nature; which, far from wishing to torture, they v.ould not even have exposed to any temptation, that might lead a man to theft. This is a point of great importance to the preserva- tion of the moral character of a people. Hunger, or ap- petite, often hurries a man of the most honourable princi- ples to devour grapes and other eatables that are not watched; if his conscience make this theft, the great boundary that distinguishes the man of honour from the thief, is in a manner overstepped, and if this happen often, he will at last become a thief in a higher sense, having lost all conscience and regard to character. It is, therefore, certainly better, if it can be done without any material in- jury to property, to allow him the liberty of eating a little of such things, in order to keep him a conscientious, hon- ourable man. Legislators sometimes attend but too little to moral niceties of this nature ; and yet it is possible there- by to corrupt a whole people, and rob them of their honesty. Moses, on the other hand, would give no sanction to the practice of free pasturage, although he gave his laws to a people sprung from wandering herdsmen, to whose cattle, the whole country -where they lived was a common ; and herein he is a most perfect antipode to our laws df indis- criminate pasturage, which prove so great a misfortune to Germany. Whoever drove his caule into another's field or vineyard, and fed therein, was obliged to pay a grazing rent ; but whether for the whole year, or only "for the pre- cise time of occupation, I am uncertain, Exod.xxii. How- ever favourable, therefore, he may have been to tlie poor, in authorizing them to pluck a few ears of corn, or to glean what was left in the fields, he by no means thought it just that, by any law of free pasturage, a man should be obstruct- ed in using his field as his own property solely, and in turning it to the best account, even after harvest. 'VVhoever has heard the complaints of economists against commons, which with us, without injustice to individuals, it is so difiicult to abolish, while yet they so eiTectually obstruct the full improvement of the fields, will perceive the importance and the wisdom of this law, the enforcing of which was attended with no difficulty after the conquest of a new country. — Mich.\elis. CHAPTER XXIV. Ver. 10. When thou dost lend thy brother any thing, thou shall not go into his house to fetch his pledge. 1 1. Thou shall stand abroad, and the man to whom thou dost lend shall bring out the pledge abroad unto thee. 12. And if the man be poor, thou shall not sleep with his pledge: 13. In any case thou shall deliver him the pledge again when the sun goeth down, that he may sleep in his own raiment, and bless thee : and it shall be righteousness unto thee before the Lord thy God. Among the Israelites in the time of Moses, it mu.st have been very common to lend on pledge — and that, according to the meaning of the word, in natural law, which allows the creditor, in the case of non-payment, to appropriate the pledge to his own behoof, without any authoritative inter- position of a magistrate, and to keep it just as rightfully as if it had been bought with the sum which has been lent for it, and which remains unpaid. But while pledges are un- der no judicial regulation, much extortion and villany may be practised, when the poor man who wishes to bor- row is in straits, and must of course submit to all the terms imposed by the opulent lender. This we know from daily experience: the persons w^ho lend money extrajudicially on pledge, being generally odious or contemptible usurers. Among a poor people, such as we must suppose every people to be in their infancy, the evils of pledging are still more oppressive. The poor man often finds himself under a far greater necessity of borrowing, than we can easily imagine, because there is nothing to be earned; and the husbandman, who has had a bad harvest, or his crop destroyed by hail, or locusts, mu.st often borrow, not money, but bread, or else starve. In such cases, he will give in 120 DEUTERONOMY. Chai' pledge, whatever llie rich lender requires, however greatly n may be lo his lo,-s. Nor has he, like borrowers in our days, many articles which he can dispense with, and pledge ; such a-^ superlluoiis ap|iarol, numerous shirts, and changes of linen, huusehold Airnilure, and various little luxuries, that are become fashionable anion? our poorest people; but he must instantly surrender things ol' jndispen- sabfe use and comfort, such as the clothes necessary to keep him warm, hi; implements of husbandry, his cattle, and (who couhl suppose u "?) liis very children. Here the avaricious lender on ph-dje cannot but be most heartily detested, and incur the universal e.xeeraticju of the people. And hence, in the bjok of Job, which gives us some views of Arabian manners, such as they were a little before the departure of ilic Israelites from Egypt, when llie picture of a villain is drawn, tlie author does not forget, as one trait of his character, to represent him as a lender upon, pledffc. Thus in chap. x.\ii. (i, xxiv. 7. He erto/is pledges withoul having lent, (an act of extreme injustice, which, however, may take place when the pledge is given, before the loan is paid down,) and mnl.rf his debtors go naked ; probably be- cause he has taken their most necessary clothes in pledge, and as unfeelingly as illegally detained them. — In chap. XXIV. 3. He lakes Ikt widmr's ox for a fledge ; so that she cannot plough her land, to gain the needful for clearing off the debt ; and the ox, thus pledged perhaps for a trifle, if it cannot be redeemcd-on the day of payment, becomes the certain property of the greedy creditor. But the poor widow thus loses ten times as much as he unju.stlv gains, unless he yet think fit to repair the injury done to her land; for she can now no more cuhiva'e it, and must be every day plunging deeper in deb! and misery. — At ver. 9. He lakes eren Ike infani of Ihc necdij for a pledge, and, of course, if not duly redeemed, keeps it, for bond-service, however disproportioned to its value the loan may have been. Mo- ses by no means attempts to abolish the practice of extra- judicial pledging, or to make such regulations, as we have in our laws, whereby the pledge, under what agreement soever given, may be sold to the highest bidder, while of the price the creditor can only receive the real amount of his debt. These are inventions to be found only in the more elaborate laws of nations farther advanced in opu- lence and refinement; and which, in the present situation of the Israelites, would have been impracticable and una- vailing. Indeed, among a people so poor, they must have proved de'rimenta), had it been possible to put them in jiraclice: for no one would have been inclined to lend a trifle (and lo a poor borrower even trifles are important) on pledge, under so many formalities, and when the way to arrive at payment, instead of being short and simple, was through the interference of a magistrate. In this way a needy person must always have found it difficult, if not impossible, lo ob:ain a loan, particularly a small one: which, among a jioor people, is just as great an evil, as can arise from fraudulent practices in pledging. It will not, therefore, be imputed to Moses as a fault, that his statutes contain not tho^e legal refinements, which probably were not then invented, and which even yet may be said rather lo be in record in our siatiite books, than to be in our prac- tice. They would have been dangerous to his people, and peculiarly oppressive to the poor. He let pledge remain in its proper sense, pledge ; and thus facilitated the obtain- ing of loans : satisfying himself w'ith making laws against some of the chief abuses of pledging. — Michaelis. Ver. 13. In nny case thou shall deliver him the pledge ajjain v.hcn the sun goeth down, that he mny sleep in his own raiment, and bless thee : and it shall l;e ritrhteousness unto thee before the Lord thy God. The Talrftudi-ts enumerate eighteen several garments, ■which belonged to the full dre-s of an ancient Jew. A ' ■woollen shirt, was worn next the skin, although some had 1 shirts of linen in which they slept, because these were | more cleanly and wholesome. Rut this part of their dress j is to be distinguished from the eafletan or shirt, which the b'idegroom and the bride sent to each other ; whi-h they Wore over their clothes at their solemn festivals ; and in which they were at last buried. Next to it was the coat, which reached to their feet, and was accotintcd a modest | and honourable article of dress. This greatly aggravated the indignity which the kingof Ammon ofl'eied to the am- ba-ssadors oi David, by cutting off their garments in the middle to their buttocks; he insulted them by spoiling the most esteemed part of their dress ; he expo.scd them to shame, by uncovering their nakedness^ as they seem to have worn no breeches under their upper garments. The tunic was the principal part of the Jewish dress; it was made nearly in the lorin of our present shirt. A round hole was cut at top, mcrelv to permit the head to pass through. Sometimes it had long sleeves, which reached down to the wrists; at other times short sleeves, inhich reached to the elbow ; some had very short sleeves, w'hieh reached only to the middle of the upper arm, and some had no sleeves at all. The tunic w as nearlv the same with the Roman stola; and was, in general, girded round the ■n-aist, or under the breast, with the zona or girdle. Descending to the ground, and floating round the feet, it was, in the days of our Lord, a distinguishing badge of the proud Pharisee: " Be^ware of the scribes," said he, " who love to walk in long robes," in tunics at full length, and reaching to the ground. These coats were collared at the neck, and fringed at the bottom. Over the tunic they wore a blanket, which the Arabs call a hyke, and is the very same with the plaid of the Scotch Highlanders. These h'ykes are of dif- ferent sizes, and of difl'erent quality and fineness. They are commonly six yards long, and "five or six feet broad ; serving the Kabyle and Arab for a complete dress in the day ; and " as they sleep in raiment," like the Israelites of old, it serves likewise for their bed and covering by night. It is a loose but troublesome garment, frequently discom- posed, and falling upon the ground ; so that the person who wears it, is every moment obliged to tuck it up, and fold il anew about his body. This shows the great use of a girdle whenever they are' concerned in any active employment, and by consequence the force of the scripture injunction, alluding to that jinrt of the dress, to have our loins girded, in order lo set about it with any reasonable prospect of success. The method of wearing these ganncnls, and the use they are put to at other times in .serving as coverlets lo their beds, should induce us to take the finer sorts of them, at least such as are worn bv the ladies and persons of dis- tinction, to be the prplns ii{ primitive times. Ruth's veil, w hich held six measures of barley, might be of a similar fashion, and have served, upon extraordinary occasions, for the same use ; as were also the clothes, or upper gar- ments, worn by the I i aelites, in which they folded up their kneading troughs, as the Arabs and others do to this day, things of similar burden and encumbrance, in their hykes. Ii is very probable, likewise, that the loose folding garment, the logo of the Romans, was of this kind ; for if we may form our opinion from the drapery of their statues, this is no other than the dress of the Arabs, when they ap- pear in their hykes. — P.ixtos. CHAPTER XXV. Ver 4. Thou shall not muzzle the o.x when he trcadeth cut l/ie corn. The custom of thra.shing corn by the trampling of bul- locks, still prevails in the East. The floor is made in the open air, ol cows' dung and clay. In its centre a post is driven into the ground, and the corn is placed in order around it; and the bullocks, being fastened lo the post, begin to move in the circle, enjoying themselves, as they work, by eating the corn. — Roefrts. This statute, which has been seldom sufliciently under- stood, establishes, in the first place, certain rights, as belong- ing evtn lo the bca.sts which man uses for the purpose of labour. We must not here think of our mode of thrashing, but on that used in the East, where the corn being laid on the thrashing-floor, is trodden out by oxen or asses, or by thrashing-wagons and thrashing-planks drawn over ir by oxen. Here, then, Moses commands that no muzzle bepiit on the ox, but that he be allowed, as Ions as he is employed in thrashing, to cat both of the grain and straw, Il appears that an ancient consuetudinary usage which Moses adopted in his written law. had established this as nothing more than equitable; for we find it still observed in places of the East, where the Mosaic law is not in force ; as, for in- stance, according to Dr. Russel's testimony, at Aleppo, among the Arabs that dwell in that neighbourhood ; and Chap. 25, DEUTERONOMY. 121 likewise, even among the inhabitants of the coast of Mala- bar. Ru-ssell, in his Natural History of Aleppo, says, that there beef is pretty good at all seasons, but particularly ex- cellent in summer, because, to this day, the inhabitants sacredly adhere to the ancient cusloin of allowing the ox, while thrashing, to eat as much as he chooses. In the pe- riodical accounts of the Malabar mission, we are told that they have a proverb to this ed'ecl, " What an ox thrashes, is his profit." The people of the most ancient ages, in gen- eral, gave the ox a high preference above other beasts, on account of his great and indispensable usefulness in agri- culture, and conferred upon him, as man's assistant, many privileges, insomuch that mythology speaks of a lime when it was unlawful to kill him. I believe, however, that the statute before us does not extend to oxen only, but includes also other beasts employed by man in thrashing ; for Moses is wont to represent general principles, by particular and well-known examples. This point, however, is too incon- siderable to occupy more room in its illustration, else might I quote Isa. xxx. 34, in proof that the ass had the same right as the ox ; for as to the horse, he was not then used in hus- bandry. The origin of this benevolent law with regard to beasts, is seemingly deducible from certain moral feelings or sen- timents prevalent among the people of the early ages. They thought it hard that a person should be employed in the collection and preparation of edible and savoury things, and have them continually before his eyes, without being once permitted to taste them ; and there is in fact a degree of cruelly in placing a person in such a situation; for the sight of such dainlies is tormenting, and the desire to partake of them increases with the risk of the prohibition. If any of my readers has a heart so devoid ot sensibilitv towards the feelings of his inferiors, that he can form no idea of any thing torturous in such circumstances, lei him endeavour to recollect from the heathen mythology, the representations which the Greek and Roman poeis gave of the torments of hell ; such as tables spread with the most costly dainties, and placed before the eves of the damned, without their be- ing permitted so much as to touch them; or again, the water in which thirsty Tantalus was immersed to his lips, and which fled froin him whenever he bowed to ta,ste it. Add to this, that by prohibitions of this nature, the moral char- acter of servants and day-labourers, to the certain injury of their master's interest, seldom fails to become corrupted ; for the provocation of appetite at the sight of forbidden grat- ification will, with the greater number, undoubtedly over- power all mural suggestions as to right and wrung. They will learn to help themselves without leave, that is, in other words, (for alih uigh not in civil, yet in moral law, it is theft,) they will learn to steal ; and if the attempt is frequent- Iv repeated, the wall of partition between right and wrong, which was at first so formidable to conscience, is at length broken through : they soim learn to go greater and greater lengths, and "thus in this school are bred arrant thieves. Our laws, it is true, pay no attention to such things ; but still, the voice of nature, if we will but listen to it, will teach us, that in everv country, servants imagine, that to steal eatables is no crime; or, as the saying is in Upper Saxony, that " what goes into the moulh, brings no sin with it." Herelhevare certainly quite in the wrong; and among a people that'had already a taste for foreign and expensive luxuries, such a benevolent law as that now under consid- eration, could not be introduced, without the complete de- struction of dome^ic economv ; although indeed, after all, cooks and butlers cannot well be prohibited from tasting the dishes and the wine of which they have the charge. nut withou' dwelling on wha' our modern luxury renders necessary in this matter, I oiilv .say, that to the people of the East," in those times of aii^'i ^nt simplicity, it appeared very cruel lodebar a slave or a liiieling from tastingof the food which he had under his hand. When Job wishes to describe aperfeor monster of insensibility and hardhearted- ne.ss, he says, " The hungry carry his- sheaves ; immured in workhouses thev prepare his oil ; thev tread his wine- presses, and yet they thirst." Job xxiv. 10, 11. I seldom appeal to Jewish testimonies, or, to speak more accurately, to the Talmud and Rabbins, because they are too recent for illustration of the Mosiic statutes; but here I cannot altogether overlook the following Jewish doctrine, laid down in the Baba Mezia. fol. 83. " The workman may law- fully eat of what he works among; in the vintage he may 1(> eat of grapes; when gathering figs, he may partake of them; and in harvest he may cat of the ears ol corn. Of gourds and dates he may eat the value of a denarius ;" that is, of four groschen, or one fourth of a florin. The mention of this specific sum, which was, perhaps, rather too great an allowance, seems to have proceeded from the circumstance of the Jews reckoning a denarius the price of a day's la- bour, because it was introduced so lately before the destruc- tion of Jerusalem. I quote the passage, however, not for proof, but merely as a relic ot ancient manners among the Jews. This kindness, then, the Hebrews and Arabs extended unto oxen, to which, bv reason of their great utility in agri- culture, thev eonceive'd that they were bound to manifest a certain degree of gratitude. And therefore when Moses, in terms of this benevolent custom ordained, that the ox was not to be muzzled while thrashing, it would seem that it was not merely his intention to provide for the welfare of that animal, but'to enjoin with the greater force and eflTect, that a similar right should be allowed to human labourers, whether hirelings or slaves. He specified the ox, as the lowest example, and what held good in reference to him, was to be considered as so much the more obligatory in reference to man. That he wished to be understood in this way, we have the less reason to doubt, from this con- sideration, that in the sequel we shall meet with other stat- utes, in which he carries his attention to the calls of hunger so far, as to allow the eating of fruits and grapes in other people's gardens and vineyards, without restraint. It would appear, therefore, that not only servants, but also day-la- bourers, might eat of the fruits they gathered, and drink of the mvst which they pressed. 'The wages of the laUer seems to have been given theniover and above their meat, and, in consideration of this privilege, to have been so much the less ; for with a labourer, who found his own victuals, and yet had the right of eating and drinking of whatever came under his hands, a master would have stood on a very disadvantageous footing. In fact, if they did not aflxird food to day-labourers, it would be impossible to understand how the value of a servant could be compared with the hire of a labourer, Deul. xv. 18, and found double; for that a master maintained his servants, is unquestionable. But if they likewise gave the labourer his victuals, the value of a servant, and the wages of a labourer, might be compared. — MlCHjiELIS. Ver. 9. Then shall his brother's wife come unto him in the presence of the elders, and loose his shoe from off his foot, and spit in his face, and shall answer and say, So shall it be done unto that man that will not build up liis brother's house. The la.st mark of disrespect, which is by no means con- fined to the East, is to spit in the face of another. Chardin observes, that spitting before any one, or spitting upon the ground in speaking of any one's actions, is, through the East, an expression of extreme detestation. It is, there- fore, prescribed bv the law of Moses, as a mark of great disgrace to be fi.x'ed on the man who failed in his duty to the house of his brother. To such contemptuous treat- ment, it will be recollected, our blessed Redeemer sub- mitted in the hall of the high-priest, for the sake of his people. The practice has descended to modem times ; for in the year ITk, when a rebel prisoner was brought before Nadir Shah's general, the .soldiers were ordered to spit in his face ; which proves that the savage conduct of the Jews corresponded with a cnstom which had been long establish- ed over all the East.— Paxton. Vor. 13. Thou shall not have in thy bag divers weig'hts, a i,'rcat and a small. The prophet Micah also speaks of "the bag of deceitful weights." As in former tinies, so now, much of the busi- ness in the East is transacted bv travelling merchants. Hence all kinds of spices, and other articles, are taken from one village to another by the Moors, who are in those regions, what the Jews are in'lhe West. The pedler comes to your door, anil vociferates the names of his wares ; and, so soon as he catches your eye, begins to exhibit his very 122 DEUTERONOMY. Chap. 27. cheap, and valuably articles. Have you agreed as lo the price, he then produces the Bic of " aivers wciRht.^," and alter lunibling some time in it, he r themselves, but perish without recovery : those rolling sands, w'hen agita- ted by the winds, move anil remove more like sea than land, and render the way very dreadful to passengers. Indeed in this place I tiiought that curse fulfilled, (Deut. xxviii. 24,) where the Lord, by Moses, threatens instead of rain to give showers of dust." These instances are in Persia : but such slornjs might be known to the Israelites; as, no doubt, they occur, also, (m the sandy deserts of Arabia, east of Judea: and to this agrees Tournefort, who men- tions the same thing — " At Ghetsci there arose a tempest of sand : in t/icsame munner as it happens somctimesin Arabia, and in Egypt, especially in the spring. It was raised by a very hot south wind, which drove so much sand, that one of the gates of the Caravansary was half stopped up with it ; and the way could not be found, being covered over, above a foot deep, the sand lying on all hands. This sand was extremely fine, and sah ; and was very troublesome to our eyes, even in the Caravansary, where all our baggage was covered over with it. The storm lasted from noon to sunset; and it was so very hot the night following, without any wind, that one could hardly fetch breath, which in my opinion was partly occasioned by the reflection of the hot sand. Next day I felt a great pain in one eye, which made it smart, as if salt had been melted into it," &c. This may give us a lively idea of the penetrating powers of the dust of the land of Egypt ; which (Exod. viii. 16) was converted into lice: — also, chap. ix. 8, of the effect of the ashes of the furnace, which Moses took, and sprinkled " up towards heaven, and it became a bile, breaking forth in blains upon man and beast." — Taylor in Calmet. Ver. 27. The Lord will smite thee with the botch of Egypt, and with the cmerods, and with the scab, and with the itch, whereof thou canst not be healed. This is a complaint which is far more common, and more formidable in the Ea.st, than in England. Those who live on bad food, or reside in the vicinity of a swamp, are the most subject to it. See the poor object with a small piece of cloth round his loins, a stafl'in his hand, his body " from the sole of his foot unto his crown" literally cover- ed with sores, an imploring piteous look, a weak tremu- lous voice, and bowing to the earth to excite your charity. — Roberts. Ver. 39. Thou shalt plant vineyards, and dress them, but shalt neither drink of the wine, nor gather the grapes ; for the worms shall eat them. This threatening has often been Xulfilled to the great disappointment and injury of the inhabitants of those coun- tries where wine is produced or consumed. An insect, called the vine weevil, which is a small beautiful beetle, is extremely hurtful to the vines. The caterpillar, which mines or cuts the leaves of the vine, has no feet ; and yet, by a singular expedient, can make a progressive motion in all positions, and even over the .smoothest and most polished bodies. It advances its body out of its oval pod, (constructed of the two outer skins of a vine leaf,) forms a kind of hil- lock of silk, and, by means of a thread which attaches it to it, draws its pod or case to the hillock. It continually re- peats the same operation, and in this (laborious) manner advances pro?ressively. The traces of its progress are marked by hillocks of silk at the distance of half a line from each other. Its food is the parenchvma or piih of the vine leaf, between the two epidermes, of which it eats out its oval habitation or pod. When it is taken oiU ofits habita- tion, it never attempts to make a new one : it writhes about very much, but can make no progressive motion; and after having overspread the place in which it is with threads of silk, in an irregular manner, it dies at the end of twenty- four hours. — Blbder. CHAPTER XXIX. Ver. 23. ^?(r/ /AaMhe whole land thereof is brim- stone, and salt, and burniniT, when a place is noted for being unhealthy, or the land very unfruitful, it is called a kenlhoga. poo'my, a place or country of brimstone. Trincomalee," and some other pla- 1-24 DEUTERONOMY. Chap, 30—32. ces, have gained lliis appellation on account of the heat and sterility of the soils. — Roberts. The etfeet of salt, where it abounds, on vegetation, is de- scribed by burning. Thus Volney, speaking of the borders of the Asphaltic Lalce, or Dead Sea, says, " the true cause of the absence of vegetables and animals, is the acrid salt- ness of Its waters, which is infinitely greater than that of the sea. The land surrounding the lake being equally im- pregnated with that salmess, refuses to produce plants ; the air itself, which is by evaporation loaded with it, and which moreover receives vapours of sulphur and bitumen, cannot suit vegetation ; whence the dead appearance which reigns around the lake." Hence the ancient custom of sowing an enemy's city, when taken, with salt, in token of perpetual desolation. ' Judges i.x. 43. And thus in aftertiraes, the city of Milan was burnt, razed, sown with salt, and plough- ed, by the exasperated einpemr Frederick Barbaros,sa. — Bi;roer. CHAPTER XXX. Ver. 14. But the word is very iiigh unto thee, in thy mouth, and in thy heart, that thou mayest do it. "^cs a person pretend that he cannot understand an- other, that he must make additional inquiries, it will be said, " Do you not understand ! In thy mouth are the words." Should a child at school be troublesome to the mas- ter,he will peevishly exclaim. In thy mouth are the words; meaning the inquiry was unnecessary, that the subject was well understood. — Robert.s. Ver. 19. I call heaven and earth to record this day ag-ainst j-ou, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing : therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live. In solemn oaths, people point to the clouds, to the earth, to the grass, to the herbs, to the trees, as witnesses to the truth of what they have said. " O ye clouds above ! have I not said the truth ? Ah! well do you know it: speak to this, unbeliever." " Ah ! these trees can bear testimony to iny veracity." When mariners are at sea, they appeal to it, or to Varuna the god. In storms, they say to ine water, " O mother! be calm." — Roberts. CHAPTER XXXII. Ver. 2. My doctrine shall drop as the rain, my speech shall distil as the dew ; as the small rain upon the tender herb, and as the showers upon the grass. Oriental writers ofien speak of beautiful language as dropping upon the hearers. The Hebrew lias for " proph- esy, in Alicah ii. f>, " drop." The same word is used for drops of rain, for tears, or for the dew dropping from flowers. When a man has received consolation from an- other, he says, " His words were like rain upon the scorch- ed corn." Of a bcauti/'ul speaker, and an appropriate sub- ject, " Ah! his .speech is like the honey rain, upon the pnn- dal bower of sugar." — Roberts. Ver. 5. Their spot /.■>• not the spot of his children There may be here an allusion to the marks which the worshippers of particular idols had on different parts of their boiiies, particularly on their foreheads. The differ- ent sects of idolaters in the East are di.siinguished by iheir sectarian marks, the stigma of their respective idols. These sectarian marks, particularly on the forehead, amount to nearly one hundred among the Hindoos, and es- pecially among the two sects, the worshippers of Siva and the worshippers of Vishnoo. In many cases these marks arc renewed daily; for they account it irreligious to perform any sacred rite to ihcirgod without his mark on the forehead. The marks are generally horizontal and perpendicular lines, crescents, circles, leaves, eyes, Ac. in red, black, white, and yellow. It is pleasing to see the Hindoos every morning perform their ablutions in the sa- cred lakes, and offer an innocent sacrifice under the solemn grove. After having gone through their religious cere- monies, they are sealed by the odiciating Bramin with the mark either of Vishnoo or Siva, the loUowers of whom respectively form the two great sects among the Hindoos. The mark is impressed on the forehead with a composition of .sandal- wood dust and oil, or the ashes of cow-dung and turmeric : this is a holy ceremony, which has been adopted in all ages by the eastern nations, however diSering in re- ligious profession. — Forbes. Ver. 10. He found him in a desert land, and in the waste howling wilderness; he led him about, he instructed him, he kept him as the apple of his eye. Where the wild beasts are, is called the place of howl- ing. Thus relations, when their friends are on a journev, say, " Ah ! they are now in the place of howling." " My friend, go not through the howling desert." Precious things arc spoken of as being the apple of the eye. Aflec- tionate hu.sbands .say to their wives, " En kan mulli," i. e, " apple of my eye." Of a beloved child, iu relation to his parents, it is said, " He is the apple of their eye. ' — Rob- erts. Ver. 11 As an eagle stirreth up her nest, flut- tereth over her j'oung, spreadeth abroad her wings, taketh them, beareth them on her wings. It is pretended by some writers, that when the eaglets are somewhat grown, the mother kills the weakest or the most voracious of them; but were the fact admiued, it is no satisfactory proof that she is without natural afTection. It is well known that several animals of the mildest dispo- sitions forsake their young, when they find it impo.ssible to provide for their subsistence. The parent eagles, says Buflbn, not having snfficient for themselves, seek to reduce their family; and as soon as the young ones are strong enough to fly and provide for themselves, they chase them from the nest, and never permit them to return. The ac- count of this celebrated natnrali.st so far agrees with the statement of the .sacred writer; according to Avhom, the eagle .stirreth up her nest, that is, rouses her young from their sloth and inactivity, and provokes them to try their wings by fluttering about her nest. When she sees them inditfcr- ent to her admonitions, or afraid to follow her example, " she spreadeth abroad her wings ; taketh them, and bear- eth them upon her wings." The remarkable circumstance of bearing thein upon her wings, is alluded to in another part of scripture : " Ye have seen," said Jehovah to Israel, "what I did unto Egypt, and how I bare yen on eagles' wings, and brought you unto myself." Many passages in the writings of ancient authors countenance the idea, that the eagle actually takes up her timid young ones, and bears them on her wings till itiev venture to flv. jElian says, that when Tilganius, a Babylonian boy, tell from the top of a tower, before he reached the ground, an eagle received and bore him up on her back. A similar stor)' is recorded in the writings of Pau.sanias, who tells us. that an eagle flew under Aristimenes. who was cast hv the Lacedemo- nians IVonithetopof a tower, and carried iiimon her wings till he reached the ground in safely. These .stories, although the mere creatures of imagination, show that the idea of the eagle bearing a considerable weight on her wings, was familiar to the ancients. It is not to be supposed, that she wafts her unfledged young through the void of heaven, or to di.stant places; the meaning probably is, that she aids with her wings their feeble and imperfect attempts to fly, .till, imboldened by her example, and their own success, they fearlessly commit themselves to the air. So did Jeho- vah for his chosen people: when they were .slumbering in Goshen, or groaning in despair of recovering their free- dom, he .sent his servant Moses to rouse them from their inglorious sloth, to as.sert their liberty, and to break their chains upon the heads of their oppressors. He carried them out of Egypt, and led them through the wilderness into their promised inheritance. He taught them to know their strength : he instructed them in the art of war; he led them to battle, and by his almighty arm routed their enemies. — P.\xton. Chap. 32—34. DEUTERONOMY. 125 Ver. 13. He made him ride on the high places of the earth, that lie might eat the increase of the fields ; and he made him to suck honey out of the rock, and oil out of the flinty rock. This must mean the procuring of it from ihe olive-trees growing there. Maundrell, speaking of the ancient fertil- ity and cultivation of Jijdea, says, " the most rocky parts of all, which could not well be adjusted for the production of corn, might yet serve for the plantation of vines and olive-trees, which delight to extract, the one its fatness, the other its sprightly juice, chiefly out of such dry and fliiity places." — BuRDER. In Africa the bees deposite their honey on the trunks of trees and on rocks. Trees in some countries being scarce, the honey in most parts is found upon the front of rocks or clills, plastered on the outside, having a covering of wax to protect it from intruders. This outside coating, after a short exposure to the weather, assumes nearly the same colour as the rock, which, at a little distance, cannot easily be distinguished from the rock, so that a person making an incision with a knife, and putting his mouth to it to«ucK it, were a person a little way off to notice some of the honey ■dropping from his chin, would believe that he saw a man sucking honey from a rock ; so that the scripture method of expressing it is very beautiful. — African Light. Ver. 1.5. But Jeshurun waxed fat, and kit;ked: thou art waxen fat, thou art grown thick, thou art covered with fatness ; then he forsook God trhich made him, and lightly esteemed the Rock of his salvation. This does not appear to mean that Jeshurtm had become fat in person, but fat or proud in spirit. Thus, of people who have risen from obscurity, and who conduct them- selves proudly, it is said, " They have become fat." To hear, " how fat that man is now," might lead a stranger to suppose it was meant so literally, whereas the individual alluded to may be as meagre as one of Pharaoh's lean cattle. — Roberts. Ver. 25. Thy shoes shall be iron and brass. The Hebrew word here translated shoes, signifies bolts. The proper translation of this word is, thy bolts shall be iron and brass : that is, thy cities must be strong and secure against your enemies. To understand the force of these words, we must know that in the East, and even in modern times, the locks and bolts of houses, and even of city gates, were of wood. " Their doors and houses," says Rauwoltf, " are mostly closed with wooden bolts, which are hollow within; to open which they have wooden keys, which are a span long, and a thumb thick, and have on one side, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, i!tc . short nails or strong wires, so placed as to catch in others that fit into them, and thus move the bolt back- ward and forward." Thevenot observes, " all their locks and keys are made of wood; they have none of iron, not even those of the city gates, which are, therefore, also opened without keys." He describes the keys like Raxi- woUr, and adds, that the door may be opened w'ithout the key, by smearing the finger with clay. — Rosf.nmui.ler. CHAPTER XXXIII. Ver. 22. And of Dan he said, Dan ^ a lion's whelp ; he shall leap from Bashan. Although the lion fearlessly meets his antagonist in the open field, in this respect differing from leopards and .some other beasts of prey, that never openly attack the fated vic- tim, yet this hold and noble animal often descends to strat- agem and ambuscade : " He couches in his den, and abides in the covert to lie in wait." He waiches the approach of his victim with catUious attention, caiefully avoiding the least noise, lest he should give warning of his presence and designs. Such has the glowing pencil of David painted the insidious conduct of the murderer : " He lieth in wait secretly as a lion in his den ; he lieth in wait to catch the poor — he croucheth and humbleth himself, that the poor may fall by his strong ones." " Like as a lion that is greedy of his prey, and as it were a young lion lurking in secret places.'' From his lurking-place, he commonly leaps upon the victim at one spring. So, in the farewell prediction of Moses, it is foretold, " Dan is a lion's whelp, he shall leap from Bashan." This fact is attested by all the ancient historians : Aristotle asserts, that when the lion judges him- self within reach, he throws himself upon his prey; Pliny says, he leaps with a bound ; and Solinus, when he is in full pursuit, he springs forward upon the game. When he leaps on his prey, says BufTon, he makes a spring of twelve or fifteen feet. In the same manner acted Dan; proceeding, as it were, by a single bound, from the one extremity of Canaan to the other, he invaded the city of Laish, which, after its reduction, he called by his own name. — Paxton. Ver. 24. And of Asher he said. Let Asher be blessed with children ; let him be acceptable to his brethren, and let him dip his foot in oil. The juice of the grape, it is well known, is expressed in the East by treading, an operation which Dr. Chandler had an opportunity of seeing near Smyrna. Black grapes were spread on the ground in beds, and exposed to the sun to dry for raisins; while in another part, the juice was ex- pressed for wine, a man with feet and legs bare, treading the fruit in a kind of cistern, with a hole or vent near the bottom, and a vessel beneath it to receive the liquor. When a few clusters of grapes are to be squeezed, it may be done coramodiously enougn by the hand ; in this way, Pharaoh's buller supposed he took the grapes and pressed them into his master's cup. This, it is true, was only a visionary scene, but we must suppose it was agreeable to Ihe custom of the country. But when a large quanlity of juice wns required, the grapes were subjected in the wine-press to the feet of a treader. Oil of olives was expres.sed in the same way, before the invention of mills. The existence of this practice in Palestine, is ascertained by that threatening in the prophecies of Micah ; " Thou shall sow, but thou shalt not reap ; thou shall tread the olives, but shall not anoint thee with oil; and sweet wine, but shalt not drink wine." But unequivocal traces of it may be discovered in ages long anterior to the days of that prophet ; for in the blessing of Asher, we find Moses praying: " Let Asher dip his foot in oil." Whether any preparation was used in those ancient times to facilitate the expression of the juice, we are not informed ; but it is certain that mills are now used for pressing and grinding the olives which grow in the neighbourhood of Athens, and probably in other eastern countries. These mills are in the town, and not in Ihe .spot where the olives grow; and seem to be used in consequ' nee of its being found, that the mere weight of the human body is insufficient for the purpose of efl'eclually extracting the oil. — Paxton> CHAPTER XXXIV. Ver. 1. And Moses went up from the plains of Moab unto the mountain of Nebo, to the top of Pisgah, that is over against Jericho ; and the Lord showed him all the land of Gilead, unto Dan. Mr. Buckingham, travelling through the mountains of Gilead, says, "We were now in a land of extraordinary richness, abounding with the most beautiful prospects, clothed with thick forests, varied with verdant slopes, and possessing extensive plains of a fine red soil, now covered with thistles as the best proof of its fertility, and yielding in nothing to the celebrated plains of Zabulon and Esdrae- lon, in Galilee and Samaria. We continued our^way to the northeast, through a country, the beauty of which so surprised us, that we often asked each other, what were our sensations; as if to ascertain Ihe reality of what we saw, and per.suade each other, by mutual confession of our de- light, that the picture before us was not an optical illusion. The landscape alone, which varied at every turn, and gav'e us new beauties from very different points of view, was, of itself, worth all the pains of an excursion to the eastward of Jordan to obtain a sight of; and the park-like scenes, that sometimes softened the romantic wildness of the general character as a whole, reminded us of similar spots in less neglected lands." JOSHUA, CHAPTER I. ViT. 1 Now, after the death of Moses, the ser- vant of the Lord, it came to pass, that the Lord spake unto Joshua the son of Nun, Moses' minister, saying, 2. Moses my servant is dead ; now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, thou, and all this people, unto the land which I do give to them, e.ven to the children of Israel. The conquest of Canaan, by the Israelites, having so otV en bc.Mi the subject of cavil among the enemies of revela- iion, and being adverted to in terms of approbation above, may protuMiy be considered in this place. Their conduct in !iiis affair is satisfactorily vindicated by Mr. Townsend, in his " Old Testament historically and chronologically ar- ranged," from which we transcribe the following pas- sages:— God, the great governor, who possesses all power over his creatures, and may justly punish those who vio- late his laws, in that manner which to his wisdom may seom most impressive and useful, commanded the Israel- i.es to exterminate the Canaaniles, as the just retribution for their crimes and idolatries. God might have destroyed them by famine, by earthquake, by pestilence: He might have drowned by a local deluge, or consumed them by iire I'rom heaven; instead of these, he commissioned the p(?ople of Israel to root them out by the sword. In so doing, the Almighty not only demonstrated to the whole world his hatred of the corruptions and pollutions of superstition, but he more particularly enforced on the Israelites the purity of his law, the certainly of their own pimishment if they ajiostaiizcd, and the freedom from temporal evil which they should consequently enjoy if they persevered in their allegiance to him, their sovereign. Lest this invasion of Canaan by the Israelites, however, should be drawn into precedent by other nations, for ambition or religious perse- cution ; they were assured by continued and powerful mira- cles, that their cause was just, that they should be successful, and that they were not subject at that period to the common laws of nations. The people of Israel was the .sword of God, the great magistrate of earth, and they were no more to be condemned in thus acting in conformity to the con\- mands of God, than the executioner can be who fulfils the last .sentence of the law. Before, then, other nations in- vade the territory of their neighbours on the same suppo.sed authority as the Israelites, the same commission from heaven must be given ; and that commission must be au- thenticated bv miracles equally evident, perpetual, and wonderful. Many, however, have not been satisfied with this argument ; and would discard the doctrine of the pecu- liar providence, which regulated by a visible theocracy the conduct of the chosen people : they would ilefend the invasion of Palestine on other grounds. They would judge of the transactions of that period, (resardless of the peculiar circumstances under whicli they look place,) by modern ideas, anit the present law of nations. Some sup- pose that the conduct of the Israelites was solely defensi- ble, on the sup)iosition that there Imd been a partition of the whole earth by the sons of Noah ; and that Canaan had been allotted to Shem : thesonsof Shem, therefore, were jus- tified in claiming their ancient inheritance from the Ca- naaniles, who were d^-srcnded from Ham. Others have asserted that the Canaanitcs commenced the war by at- tacking the Israelites; an assertion that cantiotbe defended from the history. AVhile others have allirmed, without anv well-grounded arguments, thai the Israelites, as a wan- dering people, having no certain home, were justified in forcibly invading, and taking possession of an adjoining t>'rrilory. But Michaelis is of opinion that the right of the Israelites originated in their being actually the proprietors of Canaan, of which they had been unjustly dispossessed by the intruding and ho.stile Canaanites. The laws of nations are always the same. If any na- tion, or tribe, or parf of a tribe, take possession of an un- known, undiscovered, unoccupied, or uninhabited coun- try, the right of property vestsin them; they are its proprie- tors and owners. After the deluge, the world might be said to be in this state ; and Michaelis has endeavoured to prove, that the ancestors of Abraham were the original occupiers of the pasture land of Canaan. Canaan, there- fore, by the law of nations, as well as by the promises of God, was the lot of Abraham's inheritance, and the right- ful land of his descendants. The Canaanite and the Periz- zile had only just established themselves in Canaan when Abraham removed from Haran to that country; and were so weak and few in number, that they never interfered with the right of sovereignly assumed and exerted by Abraliam. The Canaanites were merchants and adven- turers who had been originally settled near the borders of the Indian Ocean ; and who, having been dispossessed by the Cuthic Sidonians, had migrated westward, to form es- tablishments on the seacoasts of Palestine, and carry on commerce with the herdsmen who traversed it. They were lor some time contented with their factories on the seacoasts, but they gradually obtained possession of the inland country. The Perizzites, too, were a warlike tribe, who now first made their appearance in Canaan ; they had originally inhabited the northeast of Babylonia. Wheth- er they had been dispossessed of their settlements; whether they were seeking new establishments ; or for whatever purpose thev were now in Palestine, they gave no inter- ruption to the progress of Abraham, although Abraham entered upon the Holy Land and continued his journey- ings with a large retinue, and as a powerful prince. He took possession of Canaan as the territoiTof his ances- tors ; not indeed as a fixed habitation, but as a pasture land adapted to his numerous flocks and herds. He traversed the whole country as a proprietor, without a competitor. He had the powei" of arming three hundred and eighteen of his own servants, born in his own house; and it is most probable that he had others who are not enumerated. He declared war a,s an independent prince of this country against five neighbouring princes; and formed an alliance with Abimelech, as an equal and as a sovereign. It is true, he purchased land of the Canaanitish family of Heth, but this was because the Hiltites had graduallv made a more fixed settlement in that part of the country ; their intrusion had not been at fir.st prevented by the ancestors of Abraham; and by this suflterance thev made that dis- trict their peculiar property. As Abraham thus traversed and pos.sesscd Canaan, with undi.sputed authority, so too did Isaac and Jacob in like manner. No one opposed Iheir right. Tliey exercised, as Abraham had done be- fore them, .sovereign power; thev never resigned that po\yer ; nor gave up to others the property of that land, which now" by long prescription, as well as bv the promise of God, had become entirely Iheir own. The ancestors, then, of the Israelites, Michaelis ai-gucs, were either the sole sovereigns, or the most powerful of those princes who po.ssessed, in early ages, the Holy Land. By the famine which occurred in the days of Jo.scph, they were compelled to leave their own country, and take ref- uge in Kgypt : yet they never lost sight of the sepulchre of Iheir fathers. And though we do not read that acts of ownership were continued to maintain and perpetuate their right, we can have but little doubt, that something of the kind took place, for Jacob was taken from Egvpt to be buried there; Jo.seph assured them that they sfiould re- turn ; and the Egyptians, their oppressors, a kindred branch of the powerful tribes which had bv tliis time en- tirely taken iwsse.ssion of Palestine, kepl'lhcin in bond- Chap. 2, 3. JOSHUA. 127 age, and refused to lei Ihem go, lest they should claim the inheritance of their fathers. If this claim of the Israelites can be proved to be well founded, they would have been entitled, by the law of nations, forcibly to take possession of the Holy Land; and it will be interesting to observe how the merciful providence of God afforded them the opportu- nity of successfully regaining; their lawful inheritance, and at the same time accomplishing his own divine pur- poses, to the fulfilment of his prophecies, and to the hap- piness and security of his church. The Israelites may be considered as the servants and ministers of God, punish- ing the idolatry of the Canaeinites, and instituting in its place, in the midst of an apostate world, the religion of the one true God. In eyery victory they obtained, they must have admired the faithfulne,ssof that promise which had foretold their entire possession of this land ; and they must have been persuaded, that if they served other gods, they would bring down upon themselves the punishments pre- dicted by Moses. — Vide Michaelis, Comment. &c. vol. i. book ii. ch. iii. p. 155, &c. ; Horse Mosaicse, vol. i. p. 458 ; Faber's Origin of Pag. Idol. vol. iii. p. 561, &c. — Townsend's Old Testament, vol. i. pp. 444—446. — Criti- CA BlBLICA. CHAPTER II. Ver. 1 . And Joshua the son of Nun sent out of Shittim two men to spy secretly, saying, Go view the land, even Jericho. And they went, and came into a harlot's house, named Rahab, and lodged there. Most of the eastern cities contain one caravansary at least, for the reception of strangers; smaller places, called choul- tries, are erected by charitable persons, or munificent princes, in forests, plains, and deserts, for the accommo- dation of travellers. Near them is generally a well, and a cistern for tlie cattle : a bramin or faquir often resides there to furnish the pilgrim with food, and the few necessa- ries he may stand in need of When benighted in a dreary solitude, travellers in India were thus certain, within a moderate distance, to find one of these buildings appro- priated for their accommodation, and were often supplied wilh the necessaries of life gratis. (Forbes.) Dr. Franklin says, that among the Indiansof North America, there is in every village a vacant dwelling, called the stranger's house. Hither ihe traveller is led by two old men, who procure him victuals, and .skins to repose on, exacting nothing for the entertainment. Among the ancients, women generally kept houses of entertainment. " Among the Egyptians, the women carry on all commercial concerns, and keep tav- erns, while the men continue at home and weave." Herod- otus asserts, that "the men were the slaves of the women in Eg5'pt, and that it is stipulated in the marriage contract, that the woman shall be the ruler of her husband, and that he shall obey her in all things." — Blrder. CHAPTER III. Ver. 15. And as they that bare the ark were come unto Jordan, and the feet of the priests that bare the ark were dipped in the brim of the water, (for Jordan overfloweth all his banks all the time of harvest.) The largest and most celebrated stream in Palestine, is the Jordan. It is much larger, according to Dr. Shaw, than all the brooks and streams of the Holy Land united together ; and, excepting the Nile, is by far the most con- siderable river, either of the coast of Syria or of Barbary. He computed it to be about thirlv yards broad, and found it nine feet deep at the brink. This river, which divides the country into two unequal parts, has been commonly said to issue from two fountains, or to be formed by the junction of two rivulets, the Jor and the Dan ; but the as- sertion seems to be totally destitute of any solid foundation. The Jewish historian, Josephus, on the contrary, places its source at Phiala,a fountain which rises about fifieen miles from Cesarea Philippi, a little on the right hand, and not much out of the way to Trachonitis. It is called Phiala, or Ihe Vial, from its round figure ; its water is always of the same depth, the basin being brimful, without either shrink- ing or overflowing. From Phiala to Panion, which was long considered as the real source of Jordan, the river flows imder ground. The secret of its subterraneous course was first discovered by Philip, the letrarch of Trachonitis, who cast straws into the fountain of Phiala, which came out again at Panion. Leaving the cave of Panion, it crosses the bogs and fensof the lake Semichonitis; and after a course of fifteen miles, passes under the city of Julias, the ancient Bethsaida; then expands into a beautiful sheet of water, named the lake of Gennesareth ; and after flowing a long way through the desert, empties itself into the lake Asphal- tites, or Dead Sea. As the cave Panion lies at the foot of mount Lebanon, in the northern extremity of Canaan, and the lake Asphaltites extends to the southern extremity, the river Jordan pursues it course through the whole extent of the country from north to soutji. It is evident also, from the history of Josephus, that a wildemess or desert d' con- siderable extent^ stretched along the river Jordan in the times of the New Testament ; which was undoubtedly the wilderness mentioned by the evangelists, where John the Baptist came preaching and baptizing. The Jordan has a considerable depth of water. Chateaubriand makes it six or seven feet deep close at the shore, and about fifty paces in breadth a considerable distance from its entrance mto the Dead Sea. According to the computation of Vol- ney, it is hardly sixty paces wide at the mouth ; but the author of LeUers from Palestine, states that the stream, when it enters the lake Asphaltites, is deep and rapid, rolling a considerable volume of waters; tne width ap- pears from two to three hundred feet, and Ihe current is so violent, that a Greek servant belonging to the author who attempted lo cross it, though strong, active, and an ex- cellent swmimer, found Ihe undertaking impracticable. It may be said to have two banks, of which the inner marks the ordinary height of the stream ; and the outer, its ancient elevation during the rainy season, or the meUing of the snows on the summits of Lebanon. In the days of Joshua, and it is probable for many ages after his time, the hat- ve.st was one of the seasons when the Jordan overflowcil his banks. This fact is distinctly recorded by the sacred historian : " And as they that bare the ark were come unto Jordan, and the feet of the priests that bare the ark were dipped in Ihe brim of the water (for Jordan overfloweth all his banks all the lime of harvest.") This happens in the first month of Ihe Jewish year, u'hich corresponds wilh March. But in modern limes, (whether the rapidity of the current has worn the channel deeper than formerly, or whether its waters have taken some other direction,) the river seems lo have forgotten his ancient greatness. VV'hen Maundrell visited Jordan on Ihe thirtieth of March, the proper time for these inundations, he could discern no sign or probability of such overflowing ; nay, so far was it from overflowing, that it ran, says our author, at least two yards below the brink of its channel. After having descended the outer bank, he went about a furlong upon the level strand, before he came to the immediate bank of the river. This inner bank was so thickly covered with bushes and trees, among which he observed the tamarisk, the willow, and the oleander, that he could see no water till he had made his wav through them. In this entangled thicket, so conveniently planted near the cooling stream, and remote from the habuations of men, several kinds of wild beasts were accu.stomed to repose till Ihe swelling of the river drove them from their retreats. This circumstance gave occasion to that beautiful allusion of the prophet : " He shall come up like a lion, from the swelling of Jordan, against the habitation of the strong." The figure is highly poetical and striking. It is not easy to present a more ter- rible image lo the mind, than a lion roused from his den by the roar of the swelling river, and chafed and irritated by its rapid and successive encroachments on his chosen haunts, till forced to quit his last retreat, he ascends to the higher grounds and the open country, and turns the fierce- ness of his rage against the helpless sheep-cots, or Ihe un- suspecting villages. A destroyer equally fierce, and cruel, and irresistible, the devoted Edomites were to find in Nebu- chadnezzar and his armies. The water of the river, at the time of Mr. Maundrell's visit, was very turbid, and too rapid to allow a swimmer to stem ils course. Its breadth might be about twenty yards ; and in depth, it far exceeded his height. The rapidity and depth of the river, which are admiued by every traveller, although the volume of water 128 JOSHUA. Chap. 3. seems now to be much diminished, illuslrate those parts of scripture, which mention the fords and passages ol Jor- dan. It no longer indeed rolls down into the Salt Sea so majestic a stream as in the days of Joshua, yet its ordinary depth is sliU about ten or twelve feet, so that it cannot even at presi-m be passed but at certain places. Of this well-known circunislance, the men of Gilead took advan- tage in the civil war, which they were compelled to wage with their brethren: "The Gileadites took the passages of Jordan before the Ephraimites: . . . then they took him, and slew hiin at the passages of Jordan." The people of Israel, under the cuininand of Ehud, availed themselves of the same advaniage in the war with Moab : "And they %vent down afier hiin, and took the fords of Jordan towards Moab, and sufl'ered not a man to pass over." But although the state of this river in modern times, completely justifies tlie incidental remarks of the sacred writers, it is evident, that Maundrell was disconcerted by the shallowness of the ' sirearn, at the lime of the year when he expected to see it overflowing all its banks ; and his embarrassment seems to have increased, when he contemplated the double margin within which it flowed. Tliis difliculty, which has perhaps occiiricd to some others, may be explained by a remark which Dr. Pococke has made on the river Euphrates. " The bed of the Euphrates," says that writer, " was meas- ured by some English gentlemen at Beer, and found to be six hundred and thirty yards broad; but the river only two hundred and fourteen yards over ; that they thought it to be nine or teh feet deep in the middle ; and were in- formed, that it sometimes rises twelve feet perpendicularly. He observed that it had an inner and outer bank ; but says, it rarely overflows the inner bank : that when it does, they sow watermelons and other fruits of that kind, as soon as the water retires, and have a great produce." From this passage, Mr. Harmer argues ; " Might not the overflow- ings of the Jorrlan be like those of the Euphrates, not an- nual, but much more rare'?" The difliculty, therefore, will be completely removed, by supposing that it does not, like the Nile, overflow every year, as some authors by mis- lake had supposed, bui, like the Euphrates, only in some particular years; but when it does, it is in the time of har- vest. If it did not in ancient limes annually overflow its banks, the majesty of God in dividing its waters, to make way for .Toshua and the armies of Nrael, was cerlainlv the more striking to the Canaaniles; who, when they looked upon themselves as defended in an extraordinary manner by the casual swelling of the river, its breadth and rapidity being both .so extremely increa.sed, yet, found it in these circumstances part a.sunder, and leave a way on dry land for the people of Jehovah. The casual overflowing of the river, in Mr. Harmer's opinion, seems to receive some confirmation from a pa.s- sage in Josephus, where that wri^'r informs his readers, that the Jordan was sometimes .swelled in the spring, -so as to be impa.ssable in places where people were wont to go over in his time ; for, speaking of a tran.saction on the fourth of the month Dystrus, which answers to our March, or, as others reckon, to February, he gives an account of great numbers of people who perished in this river, into which they were driven by their enemies ; which, bv the circumstances, appears to have happened in a few Jays alter what was done on the fourth of Dystrus. But the solution off"ered by this respectable author is rather strained and unsatisfactory. The inspired writer of the book of Joshua uses language on that subject, which natu- rally sugsesls the idea of periodical inundations : " Jordan ove'rfloweth all his banks all the time of harvest." The present lime cerlainlv indicates the general habit of the subject to which it refers, and in this case, what commonlv happens to the river. Ii may he swelled in the spring occa- sionally ; but it is not easy to discover a reason for the gen- eral remark of the sacred writer, if the inundations in the time of harvest were not anntial. The caiyes ofihe.se in- undations, the ini'liing of the snows on the (op of Lebanon, and the former and latter ram, iinil'ormlv lake place at their appointed sca.>ions ; hut a .steady periodical cause will certainly produce a eorrespondintr effect. But if this rea- soning be just, why did not Maundrell see the efleet when he visited the river at the appointed time 1 This question may be answered by another, Whv do the inundations even of the Nile sometimes fail 1 The reason is obvious ; the rains in Abys.siniaarenot every sea.son equally copious. In the same manner, if the snows on Lebanon, and the periodical rains, are less abundant in some seasons, it will easily account for the slate of the river when it was visited by Maundiell. Admitting the fact, that the volume of wa- ter in the Jordan is diminished, and that he never overflows liis banks as in ancient times, that intelligent traveller him- self has suflicienlly accounted for the circumstance: some of the waters may be drained ofl"by secret channels, which is not uncommon in those parts of the world ; and if the rapidity of the current be so great that he could not swim against il, the depth of the channel must be greatly increas- ed since the days of Joshua and the Judges. To these, some other causes of considerable power may be added ; the present state of Lebanon, now for a long time deprived of its immense forests of cedar, which formerly exerted a powerful attraction on the humidity of ihe atmosphere, and served to accumulate the snows on the Sannin, while they screened from the burning rays of the sun, the fountains and rills that fed the Jordan and his tributary streams: and the great extent to which the declivities of that noble moun- tain have been subjected to the aris of cultivation, by the Maronites, and other nations, who have taken refuge in its sequestered retreats from the intolerable oppression of the Turks, by which its numerous streams have been still further diminished, — must, it is imagined, produce a very sensible diffi?rence in the vohimeof water which that river, once so celebrated for its full and majestic tide, now pouis into the Salt Sea. Still, however, taking the mean depth of the stream during the whole year at nine feet, and ad- mitting that it runs about two niiles an hour, the Jordan will daily discharge into the Dead Sea, about (;,(i'JO,00()lons of water. But although these causes must have produced a consid- erable diminution in the swellings of Jordan, we have the authority of a recent traveller for asserting, (hat they still take place at the appointed season, and exhibit a scene of no inconsiderable grandeur. In winter, the riveroverfiows its narrow channel, which between the two principal lakes is not more than sixty or eighty feet broad, and, swelled by the rains, forms a sheet of water sometimes a quarter of a league in breadth. The lime of its overflowing is gener- ally in March, when the snows melt on the mountain of the Shaik ; at which time, more than any other, its waters are troubled and of a yellow hue, and its course impetu- ous. The common receptacle into which the Jordan empties his waters, is the lake Asphalliles, from whence they are continually drained ofl' by evaporation. Some writers, unable to find a discharge for the large body if water which is continually rushing into the lake, have been inclined to suspect, il had some coinniunicalicm with the Mediterranean ; but, besides thai we know of no such gulf, it has been demonstrated by accurale (alculations, that evaporalion is more than suflicient to carry oft' ihe waters of the river. It is in fact very considerable, and frequently becomes sensible to the eye, by the fogs with w hich the lake is covered at the rising of the sun, and which are after- ward dispersed by the heat. How large the common receptacle of the Jordan was, before ihe destruction of Sodom, cannot now be determined Willi certainly; but it was much smaller than at present ; the whole vale of Siddim, which, before that awful catas- trophe, was crowded with cities, or covered with rich and extensive pastures, and fields of corn, being now buried in Ihe waters of Ihe lake. The course of the stream, which is to the southward, seems clearly to indicate, that the origin- al basin was in the southern part of the present .sea. But, although the waters of the river at first presented a much less extended surface to the action of the sun and the at- mosphere, still a secret communication between the lake and the Mediterranean, is not perhaps necessary to account for their discharge. By Ihe admi.ssion of Volney, evapo- ralion ismnre than suflicient lo carry them off al present: nnil if to this be added, the great quantity of water consumed in the cities, and required by the culli\"ator, to refresh his plantations and corn-fields, under Ihe burning rays of an oriental sun, il is presumed, a cause equal to the cflect is provided. This is not a mere conjecture, unsupported by liistorical facts; for only a very small portion ot the Bar- rady, the principal river of Dama.scus, e.>icapes from the gardens that environ the citv. through which it is con- ducted in a thousand clear and winding streams, to main- lain their freshness and verdure. — Paxton. Chap. 5—9. JOSHUA. 129 CHAPTER V. Ver. 15. And the captain of the Lord's host said unto Joshua, Loose thy shoe from ofT thy foot ; for the place wliereon thou standest is holy. And Joshua did so. Every person Ihat approaches Ihe royal presence in the East, is obliged to lake oil' his shoes, because they consider as .sacred the ground on which the king sits, whom they dig- nify with the title of the Shadow of God. Allusive to this custom, perhaps, is the command given to Joshua : " Loose thyshoe from off thy fool; for the place whereon thou standest is holv. And Joshua did .so." And so strictly was this cus- tom observed, that tiie Persians look upon the omission of it as the greatest indignity Ihat can be oH'ered to them. The king (says Morier) is never approached by his subjects with- out frequeni inclinations of the body : and when the person introduced to his presence has reached' a certain distance, he waits until Ihe King orders him to proceed ; upon which /le Icai-es his shoes, and walks forward Willi a respectful step to a .second spol, until his majesiy again directs him to ad- vance. The custom which is here referred lo, not only constantly prevailed all over Ihe East, from Ihc earliest ages, but continues to this day. Tn pull off Ihe sandals, or slippers, is used as a mark of respect, on entering a mosque or temple, or the room of any person of distinction ; in which case they were eiiher laid aside, or given to a servant to bear. Ives ( Travels, p. 75) says, that, " at the doors of an Indian pagoda, are seen as many slippers and sandals as there are iiats hanging up in our cnurches." The same custom prevails among the Turks. Maundrell describes exactly Ihe ceremonials of a Turkish visit, on which (though a European and a .stranger) he was obliged lo comply with this custom. — Bcrdeh. CHAPTER VI. Ver. 26. And Joshua adjured f/tem at that lime, saying. Cursed he the man before the Lord that riseth up and liuildcth this city Jericho : he shall lay tlie foundation thereof in his first- born, and in his vounpest son. shall he set up the gates of it. It appears from the following passage from Strabo's Geography of Traij, (b. xiii. chap. 1. § 42,) that it was not unusual in remole anliquitv lo pronounce a curse upon those who should rebuild a dcslroyedcily. " It is believed that those who might have afterward wished to rebuild Ilium, were deterred from building the cily in Ihc same place, either by what they had sufl'ered there, or because Agamemnon had pronoimced a cur.se against him llial should rebuild ii. For this was an ancient cuslom. Thus Croesus, afier he had destroyed Sidene, into which the ty- rant Glaucias had thrown himself, uttered a curse upon him who should rebuild the walls of that place." Zonaras says, that the Romans pronounced a curse upon him who should rebuild Carthage. Joshua's curse on the rebuilder of Jericho, was fulfilled, according to 1 Kings xvi. 34, on one Hiel, who lost his eldest son, Abiram, when he laid the foundation, and his youngest son, Segub, when he built the gate. — Ro.sKNMci.LEn. CHAPTER VII. Ver. 6. And Joshua rent his clothes, and fell to the earth upon his face before the ark of the Lord until the even-tiil(>, he and the elders of Israel, and put dust t'lmn their heads. Joshua and Ihe elders iif Israel were in grenl distress, because they had been defeated by llie men of Ai, and be- cause they saw in Ihat a tnkeu of the divine displeasure. They thei"efore fell prostrate before ihe ark of llie Lord, and put dust on iheir heads as an emblem of their sorrow. (1 Sam. iv. 12. 2 Sam. i. 2. Neh. ix. 1.) How otlen is ihe mind afl'ectingly Ihruwn back on this ancient custom by similar scenes at this day ! See the poor object bereft of wife, children, properly, friends ; or suffering under some deep alHietion of body: he sits on Ihe ground, with his eyes fixed thereon, a dirty rag round his loins, his arms 17 folded, his jewels laid aside, his hair dishevelled and cov- ered with dusi, and bitterly bemoaning his condition, say- ing,/j/o.' hjo! i;/o! — "Alas! alas! alas!" — Roberts. CHAPTER IX. Ver. 4. They did ivork wilily, and went and made as if they had been ambassadors, and took old sacks upon their asses, and wine-bottles, old, and rent, and bound up. Chardin informs us that Ihc Arabs, and all those that lead a wandering life, keep their water, milk, and other liquors, ill leathern bottles. " They keep in them more fresh than otherwise they would do. These lealhern bottles are made of goat-skins.' When the animal is killed, they cut off its feet and its head, and they draw il in this manner out of the skin, willh'^nt opening its belly. They afterward sew up the places where Ihe legs were cut off, and the tail, and when il is filled, they tie itabout the neck. These nations, and the counlrypeople of Persia, never go a journey without a small lealhern bottle of water hanging by their side like a scrip. The great leathern bottles are made of Ihe skin of a lie-goat, and the small ones, that serve in- stead id' a bdule of water on the road, are made of a kid's skin." These bottles arc frequently rent, when old and much used, and are capable of being repaired by being bound up. This ihey do, Chardin says, "sometimes by setting m a piece ; .someilmes by gathering up Ihe wounded place in Ihe manner (if a jinrse ; .sometimes Ihey put in a round flat piece of wood, and by ihat means stop the hole." JVIaundrell gives an account exactly similar to the above. Speaking of the Greek convent al Bellmouni, near Tripoli, in Syria, he says, '■ llic same person whoni we saw ofhcia- ting al Ihe aiiarin his embroitlered sacerdotal robe, brought Its the next day, on his own back, a kid and a goat-skin of wine, as a pre.seiil from the convent." These bottles are slill u.sed ill Spain, and called borriichas. iVIr. Bruce gives a description of ilic girba, which seemslo be a vessel of the .same kind as those now mentioned, onlv of dimensions considerably larger. " A girba is an ox's skin, squared, and Ihe edges sewed together very artificially, by a double seam, which does not let out water, much resembling that upon the best English cricket balls. An opening is left al Ihe top of Ihe girba, in the same manner as Ihe bunghole of a cask ; around Ihis Ihe skin is gathered lo the size of a large handful, which, when ihe giiba is full of water, is lied round with whip-cord. These girbas generally >:on- lain about sixly gallons each, and two of lliein are the load of a camel. They are then all besmeared on the outside wiih grease, as well lo hinder the w'ater from oozing through, as to prevent its being evaporated by the heat of the .sun upon the girba, which, in facl, happened to us twice, so as lo put us in ininiincntdanger of perishing with thirst." — BcRDER. Ver. 23. Now therefore ye arc cursed ; and there shall none of you be freed from being bond- men,- and hewers of wood, and drawers of wa- ter, for the house of my God. In the kingdom of Algiers, the women and children are charged with Ihe care of iheir flocks and their herds, with providing food for Ihe family, culling fuel, fetching water, and when their domestic affairs allow them, with tending their silk worms. The daughlers of the Turcomans in Palestine, are emploved in the same mean and laborious olhces. In Homer, Andromache fed the horses of her he- roic husband. It is probable, the culling of wood was an- oth'er female occupation. The verv great antiquity of these customs, is confirmed by the prophet Jeremiah, who com- plains Ihat the children were sent to gather wood for idol- nirons purposes; and in his Lamentalions, he bewails the oppressions which his people suffered from their enemies, in these Icnns: " They look Ihe voung men to grind, and Ihe children fell under the wood.';' Hence the servile con- dition lo which Ihe Gibeonites were reduced by Joshua, for imposing upon him and Ihe princes of Ihe congregation, ap- pears to have been much more severe than we are apt at first lo suppose : " Now, therefore, ye are cursed, and there shall none of you be freed from being bondmen, and hew- ers of wood, arid drawers of water, for the house of my God." 130 JOSHUA. Chap. 10. The bitterness of tlieir duoin did not consist in being sub- jected to a laborious service, lor it was ihe usual employ- ment of women and children ; but in their being degraded from the characteristic employment of men, that of bearing arms, and condemned with their posterity for ever to the employment of females.— Pa.\ton. CHAPTER X. Ver. 6. And the Lord said unto Joshua, Be not afraid because of them ; for to-morrow, about this time, will I deliver them up all slain be- fore Israel : thou shall hough their horses, and burn their chariots with fire. With the enemy's horses, the Israelites had a different procedure from other booty. For their direction, indeed, on this point, they had no general and permanent law, pre- scribed ihem, but merely the ordiT from God, issued by Joshua (x. ti) before Ihe baitle at the waters of Merom'; according to which order, they were naturally led lo regu- late their conduct in aflertimes. In their wars before the reign of Solomon, thev made no use of horses, though some of their enemies did; and this same cavalry of their enemies was wont to be very formidable, and sometimes gare them the superiority of the Israelites in the plains. At the same time, the event has ufien shown, that a crave, steady, close infantry, without the support of horse, will stand the shock of hostile cavalry without the smallest dis- order; of which, although our cavaliy is far more formi- dable by reason of their close charge, modern history fur- nishes examples. Indeed, on one occasion, besides more than '20,(H)0 infantry, David took, I know not whether 1700, or 7000 cavalry, prisoners; their retreat acrass the Eu- phrates having been prob.ibly cut off, or that they were compelled to surrender for want of subsistence. But when the Israelites did get a booty of horses, they did not know what use to make of them. Their husbandry was carried on in the ancient way, and to much more advantage, with oxen, which are not so expensive lo maintain ; and to this their whole rural economv was directed. In war, they did not employ cavalry, and would have been bad horsemen ; and for travelling, they commonly made use of the ass, to which whoever is accustomed from his youth, will not wil- lingly venture to ride a mettled horse, particularly such a one as is employed in war. Horses, therefore, were to them quite a useless sort of plunder, unless they had sold them, which was not advisable, because their enemies, in a roundabout way, might have bought them again. It was far better policy for them to diminish as far as possible this race of animals, by means of which their enemies might, on some occasions, obtain a manifest advantage over them ; just as the Romans nut the elephants of their enemies to death, because they nad no desire to make use of this for- eign and dubious expedient to help them to victory, and yet saw that elephants might sometimes be dangerous to their troops. In the first engagement which the Israelites had with an eneiny whose cavalrv and war-chariots made him formidable, God commanded them to hough or ham- stiing, that is, to cut the thigh-sinew of the horses which they took; and they did so, Josh. x. G — 9. From ignorance of military affairs, most expositors have understood Ibis command as if it meaiil, not that the horses should be kill- ed, btu merely lamed in the hiud-legs, and then let go : and into this mistake, by foll')\ving Bochart, as he had Kimchi, I was led in the first edition of this work. — I have never been in war, and know just as little of the veterinary art ; nor have I ever seen a ham-strung horse. But a horse so treated, must, instead of running off, fall instantly back- ward, and writhe about miserably till he die, which gen- erally happens from loss of blood, by the stroke of the sabre cutting the artery of the thigh. This is still, as military people have since informed me, the plan adopted to make those horses that are taken, but cannot be easily brought away, unserviceable to Ihe enemy again. They ham-string theni, which can be done, in nn instant ; and they generally die of the wound, by bleeding to death : but though they should not, the wound never heals; so that if even the en- emy recover Ihem alive, he is forced to despatch them : and every compassionate friend of horses, who has ever seen one in that situation, will do so, in order lo terminate his raiser)'. There is, therefore, no funndalion for Kimchi's opinion, that mere laming was enjoined, because it would be wrong to put an animal unnecessarily to death. For thus to lame a horse that would still live, in my opinion, would rather have been extreme cruelly; because, being then useless, nobody would be likely lo g'ive him any food. MlCHAELIS. Ver. 11. And it came to pass, as they fled from before Israel, and were in the going down to Beth-horon, that the Lord cast down great stones from heaven upon them unto Azeknh, and they died; t/tey u-ere more which died with hailstones, than l/iei/ whom the children of Israel slew with the sword. Some writers are of opinion that this was hail, larger and more violent than usual; others maintain that Joshua IS to be understood literally, of a shower of stones. Such a circumstance, so far from being impossible, has several times occurred. The Romans, who looked upon showers of stones as very disastrous, have noticed many instances of them. Under the reign of Tullius Hostilius, when it was known to the people of Rome thai a shower of sinnes had fallen on the mountain of Alba, at first it seemed in- credible. They sent out proper persons to inquire into this prodigy, and it was found that stones had fallen after the same manner as a storm of hail driven by the wind. Some lime after the battle at Caima", there was seen upon the same mountain of Alba a shower of stones, which continued for two days together. In 1538, near a village in Italy called Tripergola, after some shocks of an earthquake, there was seen a shower of stones and dust, which darkened the air for two days, after which they observed that a mountain had risen up in Ihe midst of the Luerine Lake. — Birder. A similar phenomenon in modern times is thus described in Com. Porler's Letters from Constantinople and its En- virons, (vol. 1. p. '14,) as having occurred in the summer of 1831 :— " We had got perhaps a mile and a half on our way, when a cloud rising in the west, gave indications of an ap- proaching rain. In a few minutes we discovered some- thing falling from the heavens wilha heavy splash, and of a whitish appearance. I could not conceive what it was, but observing some gulls near, I supposed it to be them darting for fish ; but soon after discovered that they were large balls of ice falling. Immediately we heard a sound like rumbling thunder, or ten Ihoiusand carriages rolling furiously over the pavement. The whole Bosphorus was in a foam, as though heaven's artillery had been discharged upon us and our liail machine. Our fate seemed inevita- ble, our umbrellas were raised lo protect us ; the lumps of ice stripped them into ribands. We fortunately had a bul- lock's hide in the boat, under which wc crawled and saved ourselves from further injury. One man, of the three oarsmen, had his hand literally .smashed ; another much injured in Ihe shoulder ; Mr. H'. received a severe blow in the leg; my right hand was somewhat disabled, and all more or less injured. A smaller kaiek ace. mpanied, with my two servants. They were both disabled, and are now in bed with their wounds; the kaick was terribly bruised. It was Ihe most awful and terrific scene that I' ever wit- nessed, and God forbid that I should be ever exposed to such another. Balls of ice as large as my two fists, fell into Ihe boat, and some of them came with' such violence as certainly to have broken an arm or leg, had thev struck us in those parts. One of them struck the blade of an oar and split it. The scene lasted, may he. five minutes; bul it was five minutes of the most awful feeling that I ever ex- perienced. When it passed over, w-e found the surround- ing hills covered with masses of ice, 1 cannot call it hail ; the trees stripped of their leaves and limbs, and everything looking desolate. We proceeded on our course, however, and arrived at our destination, drenched and awe-struck. The ruin had not extended so far as Candalie, and it was difiicult to make them comprehend the cause of the ner- vous and agitated condition in which we arrived ; the Reis Effendi asked me if 1 was ever so agitated when in action 1 I answered no, for then I had something lo excite me, and human means only to oppose. He asked the minister if he ever was soaffected inagale of wind at sea! He answered no, for then he could exercise hisskill to disarm or render Chap. 10—17. JOSHUA. 131 harmless the elements. He asked him why he should be affected now ! He replied, ' From the awful idea of being cru.shed to death by the hand of God with stones from heaven, when resistance would be vain, and where it would be impious to be brave.' He clasped his hands, raised his eyes to heaven, and exclaimed, 'God is great !' " Up to this hour, late in ug!ung they used goads ot an ex- traordinary size ; upon nieasuringol several Hound them ab.ut eight feet long, and at ihe bigger end six inches in circumference. They were armed at the lesser end « i h a sharp prickle for driving the oxen, al the other end w ilh a small spade, or paddle of iron, strong and massy, for cleansing the plough from the clay that encumbers it in workiii"' Mav we not from hence conjecture, that it was wi'h such a goad as one of these, that Shamgar made that prodi-ious slaughter related of him. Judges lu. 21. 1 am confident that whoever should see one of these instruiiients, would judge it to be a weapon not less fit perhaps fitter Ihan a swurd for such an execution. Goads of this sor 1 saw alwavs u.scd hereabouts, and also in Syria ; and t le reason is,' because the same single person both drives the oxen and also holds and manages the plough; which makes ii necessarv to use such a goad as is above described, to avoid the encumbrance of two instruments."— Burdeb. CHAPTER IV. Ver. t). And she sent and called Barak the son of Abinoam out of Kedesh-naphtali, and said unto him, Hath not the Lord God of Israel com- manded, sni/uis; Go, and draw towards Mount Tahor, andtake with thee ten thousand men of the children of Naphtali, and of the children of Zebulun ? Arriving at the tup, we found ourselves on an oval plain of about a quarter of a mile in its greatest length, covered with a bed of fertile soil on the west, having at its eastern end a mass of ruins, seemingly the vestiges of churches, grottoes, strong walls, and fortifications, all deci- dedly of some antiquilv, and a few appearing to be Ihe works of a verv remote age. First were pomted out to ns three "rottocs, Iwo beside each other, and not tar Irom two cisterns of excellent water; which grottoes are said to be the remains of the three tabernacles proposed to be erected bv St Peter, at the moment of the transfiguration, when Jesus Elias, and Moses, were seen talking together. In one of these grottoes, which they call more particularlv the Sanctuarv, there is a square stone used as an altar; and on ihc sixth of August in everv vcar, the friars of the convent come from Nazareth, with 'iheir banners and the host, to sav mass here ; at which period they are accompanied by all the Catholics of the neighbourhood, who pass the night in fesiivitv, and light large bonfires, by a succession of which Ihcv have riearlv bared the southern side of the mountain of all the wood that once clothed it. Besides the-,e grottoes, no particular historv is assigned to any other of the remains, though amongthemthere seem to havebeen many lar<'e religions buildings. The whole of these ap- peir to have b,'.m once enclosed with a strong wall, a large portion of which still remains entire on the north side, liavin" its firm founiliition on the solid rock. This ap- peared to me the most ancient part. TradUions here speak of a city built on the top, which sustained a five years .sice drawing its siipniies bvskiimish from diirerent pans of ilie fertile plains below, aiid being furnishcil with water from Iwo excellent cisterns still above; but as no fixed period is assigned to this event, it may probably relate lo the sice of Vespasian. As there still remained the frag- ments of a wall on the southeast angle, somewhat higher Ihan the rest, we ascended it over heaps of fallen buildings, rnd enjoyed from thence a pro-^pecl truly magnificent, want- in' only the verdure of spring lo make it beautiful as well •'s'^'Tand Placing my compass before me, we had on Ihe northwest a view of the Mediterranean sea, whose blue sur- face filled up an open space left by a downward bend in the outline of the western hills : to west-northwest a smaller portion of ius waters were seen : and on the west again the slender line of its distant horizon was jusl perceptible over a range of laud near the seacoast. From west lo south the plain ol Esdraelon extended over a vast space, being bounded on the south by the range of hills, generally considered lo be the Hernion, whose dews are poeti- cally celebrated. Psalm cxxxiii. 3, and having in the .same direction, nearer the fool of Tabor, the springs of Ain-el-Sherrar, which send a perceptible stream through its centre, and form the brook Kishon of antiquiiy. Psalm Ixxxiii. i). From southeast to the ea.st is the plain ol Gali- lee being almost a continuation of Esdraelon, and, like it, appearing lo be highly cultivated, being now ploughed lor seed Ihioughout. 'Beneath the range of this supposed Hermon is seated Endor, famed for the witch who raised the ghost of Samuel, to the terror of the afi"righled Saul; and Nain equally celebrated as the place at which Jesus raised Ihe only son of a widow from death lo life, and restored him to his afflicted parent. The range which bounds the eastern view is thought lo be the mountains of Gilboa, where ihe same Saul, seUing an example of self-destruction to his armour-bearer and his three sons, fell on his own sword, rather than fall wounded into the hands of the un- circuincised, by whom he was defeated. The sea ol Tibe- rias or the Lake of Gennesareth, famed as the scene of manv miracles, is seen on the northeast, filling the hollow of a deep valley, and contrasting its light blue waters with the dark brown shades of the barren hills by which it is hemmed around. Here, too, the sleep is pointed out down which the herd of swine, who were possessed by the legion of devils, ran headlong into Ihe sea. In the same direction, below, on the plain of Galilee, and about an hour s distance from the fool of Mount Tabor, there is a cluster oi buildings, used as a bazar for cattle, frequented on Mondays only. Somewhat farther on is a rising ground, from which it is said ihat Christ delivered the long and excellent discourse, called the Sermon on the Mount; and the whole view in this quarter is bounded bv Ihe high range ot Gebel-el- 1 elj, or the Mountain of Snow, whose summit wa.s al this mo- menl clothed with one white sheet, without a perceptible breach or dark spot in it. The city of Saphel, supposed lobe Ihe ancient Bethulia, a city said lo be -seen lar and near and thought lobe alluded to in the apophthegm which savs'" a city set on a hill cannot be hid," is also pointed out {"n this direclion : but though the day was clear, 1 could not distinguish it, its distance preventing us being defined from hence without a glass, to the north were the stony hills over which we had jouineved hither, and these com- pleted this truly grand and interesting panoramic view. Van Egmont and Hevman give the following account of Tabor — " This mountain, though somewhat rugged and difficult, we ascended on horseback, makmg several cir- cuits round it, which took us about ihree quarters ot an hour It is one of the highest in the whole country, being thirlv flodia, or about four English miles, a ciicumlercnce iliat Vendered it more famous. And it is the most beami- ful I ever saw, wilh regard lo verdure, being everywhere decorated wi'h small oak-trees, and the ground universally enamelled with a variciv of plants and flowers, except on the south side, where il is no! so fully covered with verdure On this mountain are great numbers ol red partridges, and some wild-boars ; and we were so lorlunale as to see the Arabs hunting ihein. We left, but not without reluctance, this delighifuf place, and found at ihe bottom of it a mean village, called Debouia, or Tabour, a name said to be de- rived from the celebrated Deborah meniu.i.ed in Judges. Pococke iKttices this village, which stands on a rising ground at ihe fool <.f Mount Tabor w^^'"-"''' > ^"^' A'^ learned traveller ihinks.that it maybe "'e sam^a 'e Da- bcrath or Dabeiah. mentioned m the book of Joshua, as on thcboniersof Zcbuinn and I^sachar. " Any one," he adds "who examines the fourth chapter of Judges, may see Ihat ths is probal.lv the spot where 'fiarak and Deborah met at Mount Tabor wilh iheir forces and went 'n^'"-^"*; Sisera and on this account, it might have itsnamc irom hat grea^ nrophetess, who Hum judged and governed Israel ; for Jo- seph s relates, that Deborah and Barak gathered the army icether at this mountain." This pomt Josephus was not required to prove, as the sacred history contains explicit m- fonuaiion on this head, to which the Jewish historian was ncapable of adding a single part.cu ar. The name of the ina4 seems, however, more probably to be derived from «• Chap. 4. JUDGES. 135 the mounlain, than from the prophetess. Deborah, the name of the place where she dwelt, and to which the chil- dren of Israel came up to her for judgment, was between Ramah and Bethel in Mount Ephraim, and consequently much farther to the south. Whereas in Deboura, or Da- bour, we have the very Dabor or Thaboor of the scrip- tures, with only that slight corruption which ihe Hebrew names receive, as pronounced by the Arabs. The moun- tain itself they call Djebel Tour. — Modern Traveller. Ver. 10. And Barak called Zebulun and Naph- tali to Kedesh ; and he went up with ten thou- sand men at his feet: and Deborah went up with him. The phrase " men at his feet," did not, I believe, refer to any particular class of soldiers, but applied to all, whether they fought in chariots, on horses, or on foot. This form of speech is used in eastern books to show how many obey or scree under the general. It may be taken from the action of a slave being prostrate at the feet of his master, denoting submission or obedience. In this way devotees, when ad- dressing the gods, always speak of themselves as being at their feet. When the Orientals speak of his Majesty of Britain, they often allude to the millions who are at' his feet. The governors, generals, or judges in the East, are said to have the people of such countries, or armies, or dis- tricts, at their feet. Nay, it is common for masters, and people of small possessions, to speak of their domestics as being at their feet. It is therefore heard every day, for " I will send my servants," cn-kal-adiyila, " those at my feet." — Roberts. Ver. 18. And Jael went out to meet Sisera, and said unto him, Turn in, my lord, turn in to me ; fear not. And when he had turned in unto her into the tent, she covered him with a mantle. The Arabs arc not so scrupulous as the Turks about their women ; and though they have their harem, or wo- men's apartment, in the tent, they readily introduce their acquaintances into il, or tho.se strangers whom they take under their special protection. Pococke's conductor, in his journey to Jerusalem, led him two or three miles to his tent, where he sat with his wife and others round a fire. Tlie faithful Arab kept him there for greater securitj', the wife being ahva5's with him ; no stranger ever daring to rome into the women's apartment unless introduced. We discover in this custom, the reason of Jael's invitation to Sisera, when he was defeated by Barak : •' Turn in, my lord, turn in to me, fear not." She invited him to take ref- uge in her own division of the tent, into which no stran- ger mig:ht presume to enter ; and where he naturally sup- posed himself in perfect safely. — Paxton. There is an apparent treachery in the conduct of Jael to Sisera ; and it appears from the following account as if the inhabitants of that coimtry were still actuated by the same principle of interested dissimulation. " It was about noon when we reached the small village of Deborah, where we alighted to refresh, not suspecting that the treachery for which it istradilionally infamous, both in holy and profane records, was still to be found here at so distant a period. We entered into this village, and, like the unfortunate Sis- era, demanded only a little water to drink, for with every thing else our scrip was well provided. It was furnished to us, as we desired, with provender for our beasts, and the offer of all that the village possessed. While the animals were feeding, I was desirous of ascending to the summit of Mount Tabor, for the enjoyment of the extensive view which it commands. Our guide from the convent offering to accompany me, we took with us a man from the village, who promised to facilitate our ascent by directing us to the easiest paths ; and taking our arms with us, while my servant and the muleteer remained below to lake care of the beasts, we all three .set out together; by forced exer- tions we reached the summit in about half an hour. In our descent from Mount Tabor we entered a grotto, in which there had formerly been a church, and had scarcely got within it, before we heard the rushing of per.sons before the outer part of the passage by which we had entered. On turning round to ascertain the cause of this noise, we ob- served five or six armed men, three of whom we recog- nised to be those who had made such offers of their hospi- tality in the village of Deborah below. They called out to us in a loud voice, that if we auempted the slightest resistance we should be murdered, but that if we submit- ted to be quietly stripped, no violence should be offered to our persons. There was no time for parley, though my companions al first cried for mercy, but as I rushed out with my musket cocked, and presented, they instantly fol- lowed me, and an unexpected discharge drove our assail- ants to seek shelter behind the masses of rock near the cave. A regular skirmish now commenced, in which we kept up a retreating fire, and often exposed ourselves to their shot, for Ihe sake of getting to our mules at the foot of the hill. During a full hour of this kind of running fight, none of our party was hurt. From the first it seemed evident to us that we had been betrayed by our Deborah guide, and our notion was at length confirmed by his going over to the assailing party, and using his arms against us. Fortunately, and justly loo, this man was himself wounded by a ball from my musket, and when he fell shrieking, on the side of the hill, his companions hastened to his relief, while we profiled by the alarm of the moment to conlinue our retreat, and rejoin our mules below. Here we drew off al a short distance from the village of Deborah, and, with arms in our hands, being exhausted and fatigued, refreshed ourselves beneath a tree ; but we had not yet remounted, when a large party, professing to be from the sheik of Deborah, a village consisting only of a few huts, came to sequesterour beasts, fur what they called the public service. We treated this v.i!h a proper degree of warmth, and threatened death to Ihe first that should dare to lay hands on any thing belonging to us : so that the brave villagers kept aloof" — Buckingham. Ver. 19. And he said tinto her, Give me, I pray thee, a little water to drink ; for I am thirsty. And she opened a bottle of milk, and gavehiin drink, and covered him. The method of making butter in the East, illustrates the conduct of Jael, the wife of Heber, described in the book of Judges : " And Sisera said unto her. Give me, I pray thee, a little water to drink, for I am thirsty : and she open- ed a bottle of milk, and gave him drink, aiid covered him." In the song of Deborah, Ihe statement is repeated : " He asked water, and she gave him milk, she brought forth butter in a lordly dish." The word (ruan hcmali) which our translators rendered butter, properly signifies cream ; which is undoubtedly ihe meaning of it in this passage, for Sisera complained of thirst, and asked a little water to quench it, a purpo.se to which butter is but little adapted. Mr. Harmer indeed urges the same objection to cream, which, he contends, few people would think a very proper beverage for one that was extremely thir.^^ty; and con- cludes, that it must have been btutermilk which Jael, who had just been churning, gave to Sisera. But Ihe opinic n of Dr. Russell is preferable, that the hemah of the scrip- tures, is probably the same as the hmjmak of the Arabs, which is not, as Harmer supposed, simple cream, hut cream produced by simmering fresh sheeps milk for some hours over a slow fire. It could not he butter newly churn- ed, which Jael presented to Sisera, because the Arab but- ter is apt to be foul, and is commonly passed throu"h a strainer before it is u.sed ; and Ru.ssell declares, he never saw butter offered to a stranger, but always haymak: nor did he ever observe the Orienlals drink builermilk, hut al- waj's Icban, which is coagulated sour milk, diluted with water. It was Icban, therefore, which Pococke mistook for buttermilk, with which the Arabs treated him in the Holy Land. Asimilar conclusion maybe drawn concerning Ihe butter and milk which the wife of Heber presented lo Sise- ra ; they were forced cream or haymak, and Icban, or coag- ulated sour milk diluted with water, which is a common and refreshing beverage in those sultry regions. — Paxton. Ver. 21. Then Jael Heber's wife took a nail of the tent, and took a hammer in her hand, and went softly unto him, and smote the nail into his temples, and fastened it into the ground : (for he was fast asleep and wearj'^:) so he died. 13G JUDGES. Cha Shaw, descriliing the Icnts of llic BeiUuiin Arabs, says, " these lenls are kepi lirm anil sieadv.by bracing' or slrelch- ing down iheir eaves wiih curds tied down lo hooked wood- en pins well pointed, which they drive inlo the fjn nnd with a mallei ; one of those pins answering; to the nail, as the mallol does to the hammer, which .Tael used in fastening to the grotind the temples of Sisera."— Bibder. CHAPTER V. Ver. (V 111 the days of Shiinio-ar the son of Anath, in the days of .lael, tlio hiyhxvays were unoc- cupied, and the travellers walked through by- ways. There are roads in these countries, but it is very easy to tnrn out of them, and go to a place by winding about over the lands, when that is thought safer. Dr. Shaw lakes no- tice of this circumstance in Barbary, where, he says, they found no hedges, or mounds, or enclosures, to retard or molest them. To this Deborah doubtless refers, though the doctor does not apply this circimistance to that passage, when she say.s, " In llie days of Shamgar, the son ol AnaUi, in the days of Jael, the highways were unoccupied, and the travellers walked through byways," or crooked ways, ac- cording lo the margin, Judges v. G. The account Bishop Pococke gives of the manner in which that Arab, under whose care he had put him.self, condncled him In Jerttsa- lem, illustrates thiswithgreal liveliness, which his lordship tells us was by night, and not b.' the highroad, but through the fields ; " and I observed," says he, " that he avoided as much as he could goin? near any village or encampment, and someliines stood still, as I thought, to hearken." And just in that manner people were obliged lo Iravel in Judea, in the days of Shamgar and Jael. — Harmer. Ver. 10. Speak, ve that ride on white asses, ye that sit in judgment, and walk by the way. The ancient Israeliies preferred the young ass for the saddle. It is on this account, the sacred writers so fre- quently menlion ridin? on young a.sses and on ass colts. They must have found them, from experience, like the young of all animals, more tractable, lively, and active, than their parents, and, by con-scquence, belter adapted lo this employment. BufTon remarked particularly of the young ass, that it is a gay, nimble, and gentle animal, " and therefore, to be preferred for riding to the same ani- mal, when become lazy and stubborn through age." " In- deed the Hebrew name of ihe young ass, ti'," from a root which signifies to rouse or exciie, " is expressive of its character for sprightliness and activity." On public and solemn occasions, they adorned the as.ses which thev rode, with rich and splendid trappings. " In this manner," .savs an excellent writer of Essays on Sacred Zoology, " the magisirales in the time of Ihe Judges, appear lo have rode in slate. They proceeded to the gale of iheir city, where they sat to hear causes, in slow procession, monnled on asses superbly caparisoned with while clolh, which cover- ed the greater part of the animal's body. Il is thus that we must interpret Ihe words of Deborah : ' Speak, ye that ride on white asses,' on asses caparisoned wilh coverings made of while woollen clolh, ' ye thai sit in judgmenl, and walk,' or march in stale, ' by ih'e way.' The colour is not that of the animal, but of his /liinn or covering, for the ass iscom- monlv dun, and nol while." No doubl can be enlcrlained in rclalion lo the existence of Ihe custom alluded to in this quotation. It prevails among the Arabs to the present dav ; but it appears ralher unnatural, to ascribe Ihe colour of a covering lo the creature thai wears it. We do not call a man while or black, because he happens to be dressed in vest- ments of white or black cloth ; neither did the Hebrews. The expression naturally suggests Ihe colour of Ihe animal itself, not of its trappings; and Ihe onlv point lo be ascer- tained, is, whether Ihe ass i< found of a while colour. BulKin informs us, that the colour of the ass is not dun but flaxen, and the belly of a silvery white. In many instances, the silvery while preilominales : for Carlwright, who Irav- elleil inlo ihe Ea,st, affirms that he beheld on the banks of the Euphrates, great droves of wild beasts, among which were many wild a.sses all white, Oppian describes the wild ass, as having a coat of silvery while; and ihe one which professor Gmelin brought from Tarlarv, was of the same colour. While asses, according to Alorier, come from Arabia; Iheir scarcity makes ihem valuable, and gives ihem consequence. The men of the law eonnt it adignitv, and suited lo Iheir character, lo ride on asses of this colour. As the Hebrews always appeared in while garmenis al their public festivals and on days of rejoicing, or when the courts of jii.slice were held; so, they naturally preferred while asses, because the colour suiicd the occasion, and because asses of this colour being move rare and costly, were more coveted by Ihe great and wealthy. The same view is taken of this question by Lewis, who says, the as.ses in Judea " were commonly of a red colour; and therefore while asses were highly valued, and used by per- sons of superior note and quality." In this pa.ssage, he clearly speaks of the colour of the animals themselves, not of their coverings. — Paxton. Ver. II. T/irj/ thai are ddirered from the noise of archers in the places of drawing water. Dr. Shaw menlions a beautiful rill in Barbary, which is received into a large basin, called f/inih vc knih, drink and away, there being great danger of meeting Ihere with rogues and assassins. If such places are proper for Ihe lurking of murderers in limes of peace, they must be proper for llie lying in ambush in limes of war: a circnm- slance that Deborah lakes notice of in her song. Judges v. H. But the writer who is placed first in that collection, which is entitled Gesia Dei per Francos, gives a more perfect comment still on that pa.ssage: for, speaking of Ihe waul of water, which Ihe Cioisadc army so severely fell, at the siege of Jerusalem, he complains, that besides iheir being forced to use water Ihal stunk, and barley bread, their people were in continual danger from the Saracens, who, lying hid near all the fountains, and places of water, everywhere destroyed numbers of tliem, and carried oil" their cattle. To which may be addt d a story from William of Tyre, relating lo Godfrey, Duke of Lorraiu, afterward king of Jerusalem, who, slopping short of Antioch five or six miles, to which place he was returning, in order to take some refreshment in a pleasant grassy place near a fountain, was suddenly set upon by a number of horsemen of Ihe enemy, who rushed out of a reedy fenny place near them, and attacked the duke and his people. — ^^Habme!!. Ver. 17. Gilead abode beyond Jordan : and why did Dan remain in ships ? Asher continued on the seashore, and abode in his breaches. Though Ihe coast of that part of Syria whicli is denomi- nated Palestine, is not remarkable for Ihe number of its ports, yet besides Joppa, St. John d'Acre, Caipha under Mount Oarmel, and a few others that niighl he named, there are some creeks, and small convenient places, where little vessels, and such are those ihai are used for fishing, may shelter themselves, and land what ihey take, ihough there are very fe\v rivers on all Ihal coast. To these places Deborah seems to refer, when she says, Aihcr c&ntinucd on the senfhore, and abode in hh breaches, or creeks, as it is translated in the margin. — Harmer. Ver. 21. The river of Kishon swept them away, that ancient river, the river Kishon. O niv soul, thou hast trodden down strength. The Kishon, whose furious current swept away the routed legions of Sisera, ihoiigh mentioned in scripture as a river, is only a small stream, except when swelled by the rain or mellins snow. " That ancient river" pursues his course down Ihe middle of the plain of Esdraelon, and Ihen passing close hy the side of Mount f'armel, falls inlo the sea al a place named Caipha. When Maundrell crossed this stream, on his wav lo Jerusalem, its waters were low and inconsiderable ; but in passing along the side of the plain, he observed ihe tracts of many tributary rivulets fall- ing down inlo il from the mountains, bv which il must be greatly swelled in the rainy si'ason. It was undoubl(;dly al the season when the Kishon, replenished by the streams of Lebanon, becomes a deep and impetuous torrent, that the bands of Sisera perished in its waters. The Kishon, like several other streams in Palestine, does not run wilh Chap. 6. JUDGES. 137 a full current inlo the sea, except in the time of the rains, but percolates through the sands which interpose between it and the IVlediterranean. It has been immortalized in the song of Deborah and Barak: " The kings came and fought; then fought the kings of Canaan in Tanach by the waters of Megiddo; they took no-gain of money. They fought from heaven ; the stars in their courses fought against Sisera." The confederate kings took no gain for money ; they were volunteers in the war, stimulated only by hatred antt revenge. But they strove in vain ; the hosts of heaven fought for Israel ; the stars in their courses, against the powerful bands of Jabin. By the malignant influences of the heavenly bodies, by the storms of hail, thunder, and rain, produced, it is probable, by the power, and directed by the sagacity of holy angels, the confident hopes of Sisera were blasted, and a mark of eternal infamy stamped upon his name. From heaven, says the Chaldee Paraphrast, from heaven, the place where the stars go forth, war was commenced against Sisera; the God of heaven shot forth his arrows, and discomfited the ho.stile armies; and the river of Kishon, swelled over all its banks by the furious tempests, engaged also in the warfare, by the command of its sovereign Lord, and swept the fugitives away. For this stroke of vengennce, the Kishon was ordained of old : and this is the reason the inspired bard applies to it the distinguishing epithet in the text : " The river of Kishon swept them away; thai ancient river, the river Kishon. O my soul, thou hast trodden down strength." — Paxton. Ver. 25. He asked water, and she gave liiiii milk ; she brought forth butter in a lordly dish. Though the bowls and dishes of the vulgar Arabs are of wood, those of their emirs arc, not unfreqtiently, of copper, tinned very neatly: La Roque takes notice of this circum- stance in more phices than one. I have met with a like account, I think, in other travellers. May we not believe that the vessel which Jael made use of, lo present butter- milk to Sisera, and which Deborah in her hymn calls a lordly dish, or a dish of noMcs, was of this sorf! Her hus- band certainly was an Arab emir; the working of metals much more ancient than her lime. Gen. iv. '2'2; and the mere size of the vessel hardly could bo the thing intended. La Roque, indeed, tells us, that the fruits that were brought in at the collation, that the grand emir of the Arabs, whom he visited, treated him with, were placed in a large painted basin of wood ; its being painted was, wilhont doubt, a mark of honour set on this vessel of the grand emir, which distinguisheil it from the wondcn howls of the coinmurahy; but a painted wooden vessel wcjuld have been mil so proiicr for buttermilk, as one of copper tinned, which therefore most probably was the sort Jael used. — Harmer. Speaking ttf the hospiiable maimer in which he was received at a house in Tronycn in Norway, Dr. Clarke says, " If but a bit of butler tic called for in one of these houses, a ma.ss is brought forth weighing six or eight pounds ; and so highly ornamented, being turned out of moulds, with the shape of cathedrals set oft" with Gothic spires, and various other devices, that, according to the language of our English farmers' wives, we should deem it almost a piiy to cut it. Throughout this part of Norway, the family plate of butter seemed to be the state dish of the house: wherever we .sat down to make a meal, this offer- ing was first made, as in the tents of the primeval Arabs, when Jael, the wife of Hebcr the ICenite, brought forth butter in a lordly dish." — Biimsr). Ver. 30. H:tve they not sped? have they nnl di- vided the prey ; to every man a damsel or two ; to Si.sera a prey of divers colours, a prey of di- vers colours of needle-work, of divers colours of needle-work on both sides, »»cc/forlhe necks of thrill thnt lake the spoil? See on Is. 3. 18. CHAPTER VI. Ver. 19. And Gideon went in, and made ready a kid, and unleavened cakes of an ephah of flour : the flesh he put in a basket, and he put the 18 ■ broth in a pot, and brought it out unto him under the oak, and presented it. All roasted meat is a delicacy among the Arabs, and rarely eaten by them, according to La Roque ; sleiced meal also is, according to him, only to be met with among them at feasts, and great tables, such as those of princes, and consequently a delicacy also; the common diet being only boiled meat, with nee pottage and pillaw. This is agree- able to Dr. Pouocke's account of an elegant entertainment he met with at Baalbeck, where he tells us they had for supper a roasted fowl, pillaw, stewed meat, with the soup, &c.; and of a grand supper prepared for a great man of Egypt, where he was present, and which consisted, he tells us, of pillaw, a small sheep boiled whole, a lamb roasted in the same manner, roasted fowls, and many dishes of stewed meat in soup, &c. This soup, in which the slewed meat is brought to table, or something very much like it, was, we believe, the broth that Gideon presented to the angel, whom he took for a mere mortal messenger of God. Many a reader may have wondered why he should bring out his broth; they may have been ready to think it would have been better lo have kept that within, and have given it to the poor after the supposed prophet, whom he desired to honour, should be withdrawn, but these passages explain it : the broth, as our translators express it, was,'l imagine, the stewed savoury meat he had prepared, with such sort of liquor as the eastern people at this day bring their slewed meat in, to the most elegant and honourable tables. What then is meant by the flesh put into the basket, Judg. vi. 19 1 " And Gideon went in, and made ready a kid, and unleavened cakes of an ephah of flour; the flesh he put in a basket, and he put the broth in a pot, and brought it out to him under the oak, and presented it." The preceding quotations certainly do not decipher this perfectly; but I have been inclined to think, there is a passage in Dr. Shaw that entirely unravels this matter, and aflbrds a perfect comment on this lext. It is in his preface : " Besides a bowl of milk, and a basket of figs, raisins, or dates, which upon our arrival were presented to us, to stay our appetites, the master tif the lent where we lodged, fetched us from his flock, according to the number of our company, a kid or a goat, a lamb or a sheep, half of which was immediately seethed by his wife, and served with citscasoe ; the rest was made K'abab, i. e. cut inlo pieces and roasted ; which we reserved for our breakfast or dinner next day." May we not imagine that Gideon presenting some slight refi'esh- ment to the supposed prophet, according to the present Arab mode, desired him lo stay till he could provide some- tliing more substantial for him ; lliat he immediately killed a kid, seethed part of it, made kabab of another part of it, and when it was ready, brought the stewed meat in a pot, with unleavened cakes of bread which he had baked; and kabab in a basket for his carrying away with him, and serving him for some after repast in his journeyl Nothing can be more conformable to the present Arab customs, or a more easy explanation of the text ; nothing more conve- nient for the carriage of the reserved meat than a light basket ; so Thevenot informs us he carried his ready dressed meal with him in a maund. What others may think of the passage I know not, but I never could, till I met with these remarks, account for his bringing the meat out to the angel in a basket. As for Gideon's leaving the supposed prophet under a tree, while he was busied in his house, instead of introducing him into some aparlmcnl of his habitation, and bringing the repast out to hjm there, we have seen some- thing of it under the last observation; I would here add, that not only Arabs that live in tents, and their dependants, practise it still, but those also ihat live in houses, as did Gideon. Dr. Pocockc frequently observed it among the Mnronites, and was so struck with this conformity of theirs to ancient customs, lhat he could not forbear taking partic- ular notice of it : laymen of quality and ecclesia,stics, the patriarchs and bishops, as well as poor obscure priests, thas treating their guests. — Harmed. Ver. 37. Behold, I will put a fleece of wool in the floor ; and if the dew be on the fleece only, and it be dry upon all the earth bcsidrf, then shall I know "that thou wilt save Israel by my hand, as thou ha.^t said. JUDGES. Chap. 7. 138 In Pale.stiDC, as in Greece arul Italy, ihc floor «'^'^ /■"'■"'« mnsi oart m ho open air. Tlius llie ihraslung-llooi ol Sm o^ appkr.' u, luve been an open uncovered spaee upon -^luclnhe;» sal 1 kno«- that thou wilt save Israel l;V "'V, >^/g^^ Ihou hast said.' But a barn, or covered space, had been Ibr such an experiment. The thrashing-floor of 'J^'i'iunah rhe'jeb.isi.e.''seeins also 'o'-ve been an open area else it had not been a proper place foi « eating an altar .mi oflermg sacrifice. In ">eP,^7 '"-'l^^haff fhat 's ihe idolaters of Israe are coiTipared to the cnan inai is driven vth the whirlwind out ol' the floor. Hence it was desi-ned V prepared in a place to which the wind had liee acce"" on all sides ; and from this exposed situation it de- nved iK na ne in Hebrew. In Greece, the same kind o sUuati n was chosen ; for Hesiod advises his farmer to thris his corn m a place well exposed to the wind. From • irstaiement, it appears that a thrashing-floor rendered in ou t auTal 0^ a !uid place) might well be lormed near °he -ate of Samaria, which was bu.lt on the summit of a hill "and afford a very convenient place for the kings ol Israel and Judah, giving audience to the prophets.-PAX- TON. Ver 38 And it was so : for he rose up early on the morrow, and thrust the fleece together and wringed the dew out of the fleece, a bowl lull of water. It may seem a little improbable tons ^vhomhabit these northern climates, where the dews are inconsiderable, how GWeon's fleece, i.'i one night, should -nt™':ts,,ch a quan- tity, that when he came to wring ^'^^ '"''iffj>f''"XJn^ produced. Inoin, in his voyage up the Red :.ea, when on the Arabian shores, says, " difficult as we find it to keep ourselves cool in the daytime, ,t is no easy matter to dele d our bcd.es from the damps of the night, when the wind Is loaded with the heaviest dews that ever fell ; we he ex- posed to the whole weight of the dews, aiid the cloaks in which we wrap ourselves, are as wet in the morning as it they had been immersed in the sea."— Burder. Ver. 4. And the Lord said unto Gideon, The people arc yet ton many; bring- them down unto the water, and I will try them for thee there ; and it shall be, that of whom I say unto thee This shall go whh thee, the same shall o-o with thee ; and of whomsoever I say unto tliee This shall not go with thee, the same shall not go. 5. So he brought domi the peo- ple unto ^the water ; and the Lord said unto Gideon, every one that lappeth of the water with his tongue, as a dog lappeth, him shall thou set by himself; likewise every one that bowcth down upon his knees to drink C. And the number of tliem that lapped, pultiii^ then- hand to their mouth, were three hundred men ; but all the rest of the people bowed down upon their knees to drink water. The Arabs lip their milk and pottage, hx^^ not their valer. On the contrary, D'Arvicu.x tells us.that after they have eat- en thev rise from table, and go and drink large draughts out of' a pitcher, or, for want of that, out of a leathern boltle ■«'hicli they hand to one another round and round. V cw ol the Israelites, if thev did in common sup the.r milk and pot- tage out of their hands, as the Arabs do, would have been disposed to lap water in the same manner, if they drank too a,s the Arabs now drink. Two consideratums more will complete the illustration of this part of the History of Oi- deon The one is, that the eastern people arc not wont to drink drnidhs. P.nsbcqiiins, the imperial ambassador at Constantinople, in his celebrated letters concerning the eastern people, aflirms this in a very particular manner; the other that the lapping with their hands is a very expe- ditious way of taking in liquids. "They are not restrained in their choice," .says Dr. Russell. " When they take wa- ter with the nalms of their hands, they naturally place themselves on their hams to be nearer the water ; but when they drink from a pitcher, or gourd, Iresh tilled, they do not sit down on purpose to drink, but drmk standing, and very often put the sleeve of their shirt over the mouth ot the vessel by wav of strainer, lest small leeches might have been taken up with the waTt-r. It is for the same reason thev often prefer taking water with the palm of the hand, to thelappiu" it from the surface. D'Arvieux, m that accu- rate aecbm.t of the Arabs of Mount Carmel, expressly takes notice of this, observing that this may be the reason •why spoons are so universally neglected among the Arabs, as a man would eat upon very unequal terms with a spoon among those that use the palms of their hands .nstead o them. Until I met with this passage of Busbequius, I could not tell what to make of that particular circumstance ol the history of the Jewish judge, that all the rest of the people b,>ved down upon their hnccs to drink water. It appeared to me rather the putting themselves into an attitude to lap icater, than any thing else; as I supposed the words signi- fied that thev kneeled down by the side of some water in order to driiik. But the matter is now clear : three hun- dred men, immediately upon their coming to the water, drank of it in the quickest manner they could, in order to be ready without delay to follow Gideon; the rest took up water in piichers, or leathern bottles, or some kind of vessel and bending down so as to sit jointly upon their heels and knees, or with their knees placed upright before them, either of which might be called bowingtheir knees to drink, though the last is the posture Busbequius refers to, they handed these drinking vessels with ceremony and slowness from one to another, as they were wont to do m common, which occasioned their dismission. So two-and- twenty thousand of those that were fainthearted were first sent awav then all the rest, excepting three hundred men ol peculiar alacrity and despatch, the most proper lor the business for which they were designed.but visibly unequal to the task of opposing the Midianites ; and without some miraculous interposition of God, absolutely unequal.— A'dog lappeth by means of forming the end of his tongue into the shape of a shallow spoon, by which he laves or hrows up L water mto h.s mouth. The Hottentots have a curious custom, resembling the dog and the three hun- dred chosen men of Gideon's army. On a journey, iinmc- diately on coming to water, they stoop, but no larther than what is sufficient to allow their right hand to reach the water, by which thev throw it up so dexterously, that their hand seldom approaches nearer to their mouth than a fool- vet I never observed any of Ihe water to fall down upon their breasts. They perform it almost as quickly as the doc, and satisfy their' thirst in hall the tune taken by another man. I frequently attempted to imitate this prac- tice, but never succeeded, always spilling the water on my clothes or throwing it against some other part of the face, instead of the mouth, which greatly amused the Hottentot spectators, who then, perhaps for the first time, perceived that there was some art in it.— African Light. CHAPTER VII. Ver 1-2 And the Midianites, and the Amalekites, and all the children of the East, lay along in the valley like grasshoppers for multitude ; and their caiiiels ireri' without number, as the sand by the seaside for multitude. This animal remembers an injury long, and seizes with iinnni:, therefore, of the buililing of a cily, is \o fovnd it ; which can hardly be to lav the foundation stone of a single hou.se, (for who, whether Hebrew or not, ever called that founding a city 1) hut of the city walls; and ils rnncliisioii, isloset up its gates. The history still further confirms this, asthe meaning of the term to Iniild ; Jeiicho was so advantageously situated for all manner of trade, because near the usual pas.sage across the Jordan, that it could not long remain a place en- tirely desolate. In fact, as early as the lime of the Judges, Jericho, or. as it was then called, the ritii of palvis, ap- peared again as a town, subdued bv the IVfoahites; (Judg. lii. 1.1, compared wiih Deul. xxxiv. S;) and in David's time, we have nmiuestionable proof of the existence of a city of Ihe name of Jericho. See "2 Sam. x. .'>. But notwithstand- ing all this, Joshua's imprecation was not yet trespassed; but, at least 100 years alier David's death, Jericho was first rebuilt (thai is, fortified) by Hiel the Bellielile ; and in lay- Chap. 1-2. JUDGES. mg Its foundalion he lost his first-boin son, and in settin'^ up the gates, his youngest, 1 Kings xvi. 3'1. " It an Israelitish city introduced the worship of strange gods. It was in Iilje manner to be devoted, or conseerated°o Otod, and to remain imrebuUt for ever; Dent, xiii 16 18 In these cases, therefore, consecrated, or devoted, is nearly equivalent to the Latin plirase, ejus caput Jovi sacrum eslo, or sacer eslo. The consecration of the transgressor to God made the remission of his punishment impossible It is easy to perceive, that this master-piece of legislative policy ought never to have its importance lessened bv an injudi- cious application to common crimes, that do not aJfect the principles of the constitution : and therefore, so much the greater was the abuse which Saul made of the C/ierem When, in issuing an arbitrary inconsiderate order, he swore that whoever trespassed it should die; this was in fact makmg tlie ofleuder against his whim, a C/iercm ] and ac- cordingly we see, that the people did not mind the oath of ttieirking, but insisted on saving. Jonathan, whom, because he had eaten a little honey, his father had devoted to death 1 ham. .\-iv. '21— 45. But a still gros.ser abuse of the Clie- rcm, proceeding from imitation of foreign and heathenish practices we shall probably find in the history of Jephlhah Judges, chap. xi. 'I'his brave barbarian, an illegitimate child, and without mheriiance, who had from his youth been a robber, and was now, from being the leader of ban- ditti, transtormed into a general, had voweil, if he con- quered the Ammonites, to make a burnt-olfering to the Lord ol whatever should first come out of his house to meet him, on his return. This vow Mas so absurd, and at the same time so contrary to the Mo.saic law, that it could not possibly have been accepted of God, or obligatorv For «-hat If a dog or an a.ss, had first met liim 1 Could 'he have ottered it ? Hy the law of Moses no unclean beast could be l>rought to the altar ; nor 3-et even all clean ones ; but of quadrupeds, only oxen, .sheep, and goats. Or, what if a man had first met himl Human sacrifices Moses had most rigidly prohibited, and described as the abomination ol the Canaaniles; of which we shall afterward .say more under criminal law; but.Jephlhah, who had early been driven from his home, and had groxra up to manhood among banditti in the land of Tob," might not know much of the laws of Moses, and probably was but a bad lawver and ju.st as bad a theologian. The neighbouring nations used human sacrifices: the Canaanites, especially, are by Mo.ses and the other sacred writers often accused of this abominable idolatry, of which we find still more in the Ureek and Latin authors ; and possibly, therefore, Jephthah when he inade the vow, mav have thought of being met' not merely bv a beast, but by a slave, whom, of course, he would sacrifice, alter the heathen fashion. His words are It thou givpst the Ammonites into mv hands, whatever first coineth l.irlh from my house to meet me on my hanpv re.urn from the Ammonites, shall be the Lord's arid I will hring It to him as a burnt-o(rering."-Most unfortimatelv nis only daughter first came out to congratulate him ■ arid the Ignorant barbarian, though extremely afl'ected at the sight, was yet so superstitious, and so unacquainted with the religion and laws of his countrv, as to suppose he could not recall his vow. His daughter too was heroic r?.'!;!f» f°, ,' "• °" '""■ P"" ' ■'eq"esting onlv two months respue, loi the romantic purpose of going with her com- panions into lonely dales, there to lamcrit that she must die a virgin. Then, after two months' absence, this hap- less maul, who, either from ambition or superstition was a willing victim to her father's inconsiderate vow,actnallv returned; and .lephihah, it is said, did iHlhher as he had ro7m/; which cannot well mean anv thing else, than that he put her to death, and burnt her bodv asa buriit-oflerin<' i he greater number of expositors, indeed, would fam ex- plain the passage differcnilv, because they look upon Jeph- thah as a saint, who could not have done anv thing so aboin- r,. ; , Human sacrifices," .sav Ihey, "are clearly con- rarytothc law of Moses."- Very tru^.-But how many i.ings have ignorance and superstition done in the world that expressly contradict the law of God ! Have we not among Chrisiians, seen persecutions and massacres on ac- count of religion, with various other atrocities, and abom- ^fll '"■^'^'^'''"S^ ">at are just a,s directly repugnant to Mosfs f :. n T^ '"!?''," ^''"'^^'^ could be to the laws of nn offe i^c, ", J,™"'V''? high-priest have accepted such an offering, and brought it to the altar !"-! certainly be- 141 lieve not j but we find not a word spoken of the high-priest but only of Jephthah, What if he Ld performedTKcrl^ fice himself 1 This would certainly liave been a tt^ns- gressionoi the Levitical law; which enjoined that everv olTermg should be made by the hand of the priest, and at the place where the tabernacle and altar stood. But that injunction had, on numberless occasions, been violated bv the Israelites, and had, by the opposite usage, become al- most abrogated, Jephlhah, who, from superstitious igno- rance, was, in the sacrifice of his daughter, after the Ca- naaimisrh fashion, about to perpetrate a most abominable act, forbidden not only by the law of his countrv, but also by the law of nature, might very well have been guilty of the lesser fault, now actually a very common one, of ma- king his offering in the cour.try beyond Jordan, of which he was himself master. Amid all the doubts that we start concerning this clearly-related story, we do not consider "•/io Jephthah was ; a fugitive from his country, who in for- eign lands, had collected and headed a barid of robbers- ""■„3";t u-hcre he now ruled,— beyond Jordan, in the land of Gilead, And a still more important circumstance men- tioned in the chapter (xii.) immediatelv followin<' our sto- ry, has been most inadvertenlly overloiiked. Immediately after his victory over the Ammonites, Jephlhah went to war with the tribe of Ephraim : but the tabernacle was at Shi- loh, within the limits of that tribe; and the high-priest therefore, could certainly have had no concern with an of- fering that Jephthah meant to make on account of his suc- cess, nor would it have been brought to the allar at Shiloh but made in the land where Jephthah himself ruled It is unaccountable, that not a single expositor should have at- tended to this war with the Ephraimites : but that the one half of them should be so simple as to deny, that Jephthah did offer up his daughter, because the high-priest would not have accepted ihe ofl"erine: and the other, in other respects mere correct in their opinion, so obligin<' as to obviate that objection, by presuming that the hirh-priest must have been deposed for making .such an ofi'eiing — 1 his, however, is a controversy into which I will not enter further, because it does not deserve it. That carelessness IS too gro.ss, which forgets Ihe end of the eleventh chaiiter, at the beginning of the twelfth.— MicHAELi.s, CHAPTER XII. Ver. 3. And when I saw that ye delivered mc not, I put my life in my hand.s, and passed over against the children of Ammon, The Ephraimites had found fault with Jephthah because he did not call them to war against Ihe Ammom'e'; bui he vindicated himself, and addressed them in the lan^n-e of the verse, as a proof of his courage, and that he had been exposed to danger. The Hindoos use the .same figure ■ and the idea appears to be taken from a man carrying some- thing very precious in his hands, and that under circum- stances of great danger. When a son who has been Ion-' absent returns home, his father says, " My son has returned Irom the far country wilh his life in his hand;" which means, he has passed Ihrongh many dangers. " Last night as I went home through the place of evil spirits, I put mv ife in my hands." " The other dav, in passing through the forest, I put my life in my hands, for the beasts were near to me in every direction." " Danger ! trulv so ; I put my life in my bosom." "O that divine doctor! riiv .sin was at Ihe point of death, but he brought his life in his hand "— KOBERTS. Ver. 14. And he had forty sons, and thirty nepliews, that rode on threescore and ten ass- colls : and he judg-cd Israel eight years. To an Englishman, this may appear almost incredible Cut we have a great number of similar cases. A man of propertj' has as many wives as he thinks proper to support- and such is the state of morals, that he find? no diflicully m procuring them. I have known men who have had, ib each of the neighbouring villages, a wife or concubine '*^"'"Pras''.?a, Modeliar of Oodeputty, who has been dead about thirty years, had two wives and six concubines, who bare to him thirly children. The old man is described as being of large stature, and as having indulged in strong 12 JUDGES. Chap. 13, 14. kinds of food.— A friend of mine in Manilla knew a man who was the father of forty children.— Lieutenant-colonel Johnson savs (in his Travels lhrou?;h Persia) ol the king, " The number of his children I could not exactly ascertain : it is qenerallv asreed that he has at least sixty boys and siTtv Sirls liv'iDK; and many persons add, that there are an eg. al nnmber deceased, sJ tWt their total number must have been two h.m.) that he found them m a great field plan'e.l with vines, in which were great rocks, which rose out of the eaith; among them, one, near the wayside, was so large, as to be hollowed out into several rooms, in whos.>"si'des were long and narrow holes cut out. proper for placing the dead in, eycn with the lloor. When he was at Joppa, wailing lo embark, upon his return, be describes himself and his companion as placmg them- selves, adcr they had walked until they were tired, on the beach! viewing'some Greek pilgrims, who were also wail- ing to'lake ship, and who amused themselves with dancing on"ihe shore, as placing themselves in the shade of a great rock, newly' fallen down from the mountains, (p. 45r).) Rocks appear in this country : some in their original situ- ation rising out of the gjound ; others are fragments, that have been detached from rocky eminences, and have fallen down on the ground below. Of this considerable number of ro<-ks som<- were flat, or nearly flat, on the top, so as conveniently to be used for altars. There are some such now found in that country. — Burdeh. CHAPTER XIV. Ver. 7. And he went down and talked with the woman ; and she pleased Samson well. 8. And after a time he returned to take her. Ten or twelve months commonly intervened between the ceremony of espousals, and the marriage ; during this interval, the espoused wife continued with her parents, that she might provide herself with nuptial ornaments suitable to her station. This custom serves to explain a circumstance in Samson's marriage, which is involved m some obscurity; " He went down," says the histonan, and talked with iKe woman, (whom he had seen at Tiinnath,) and she pleased him well." These words seem to refer to the ceremony of espousals; the following to the subsemieiit marriage, "'And after a time he returned to take her. Hence, a considerable time intervened between the espou- sals, and their actual union.— Paxton. Ver. 8. And, behold, there was a swarm of bees and honey in the carcass of the lion. The bee is a gregarious insect, living in a state of society, and subject to a regular government. From this circumstance, its Hebrew name n^a-i, from a root which si-xto\. Chap. 15. JUDGES. 143 Ver. 12. And Samson said unto them, I will now put forth a riddle unto you ; if ye can certainly declare it me within the seven days of the feast, and find it out, then I will give you thirty sheets and thirty change of garments. It is customary for the Turks and Moors, according to Dr. Shaw, to wear shirts of linen, or cotton, or gauze,, under their tunics ; but the Arabs wear nothing but wool- len. This is I'requently the case also with the Arabs of Palestine, it seems, though D'Arvieux gives a contrary ac- coimt of the Arabs of the camp of the grand emir whom he visited ; for Egmont and Heyman assure us, that they saw several Arabian inhabitants of Jalia going along al- mast naked, the greatest part of them without so much as a shirt or a pair of breeches, though some wore a kind of a mantle; as for the children there, they ran about almost as naked as they were born, though they had all little chains about their legs as an ornament, and some of silver. — Hab- MER. Many of the Arabian inhabitants of Palestine and Bar- bary wear no shirts, but go almost entirely naked, or with only a cloth cast about Iheir bodies, or a kind of mantle. It is not improbable, that the poorer inhabitants of Judea were clothed in much the same manner as the Arabs of those cotmtries in modern times, having no shirts, but only a sort of manlle to cover Iheir naked bodies. If this be just, it greatly illustrates the promise of Samson to give his companions thirty sheets, or, as il is more properly rendered in Ihe margin of our Bibles, thirty shirte, if they could dis- cover the meaning of his riddle. It cannot easily be im- agined they w'ere what "we call sheets, for Samson might have slain thirty Philistines near Askelon, and not have found one sheet ; or if he slew them who were carrying their beds with them on their travels, as they often do in present times, Ihe slaughter of fifteen had been sufficient, for in the East, as in other countries, every bed is provided with two sheets; but he slew just thirty, in order to obtain thirty sedinim, or shirts. If this meaning of the term be admitted, the deed of Samson must have been very provo- king to the Philistines ; for since only people of more easy circumstances wore shirts, they were not thirty of the com- mon people that he slew, but thirty persons of figure and consequence. The same word is used by the prophet Isaiah, in his description of the splendid and costly dre.ss in which people of rank and fashion then delighted, ren- dered in our translation fine linen ; which seems to place it beyond a doubt that they were persons ol rank that fell by the hand of Samson on that occasion. But il is by no means improbable, that these sheets were the hykes or blankets already described, which are worn by persons of all ranks in Asia. (See on Dent. 24. 13.) Pococlce, who gives a description of Ihis vestment, and of the way in which it is wrapped about the body, which does not materially differ from the account of it in a preceding section, particularly observed, that the young people, and the poorer sort about Faiume, had nothing on whatever, but this blanket; hence it is probable, that the young man was clothed in this manner who followed our Saviour when he was taken, having a linen cloth cast about his naked body. " When the young man," who came to apprehend Jestis, " laid hold of" him, " he left the linen cloth, Eind fled from them naked;" but this language by no means re- quires us to suppose that he was absolutely naked, but only that he chose rather to quit his hyUe or plaid, than run the risk of being made a prisoner, although by doing so he became unduly expo.sed. This view is confirmed by the observations formerly made on Ihe hyke and tunic ; and by the state of the weather, which was so cold, that the ser- vants of the high-priest were compelled to kindle a fire in the midst of the hall to warm themselves. It is very im- probable, that he wotild go into the garden on such a night so thinly clothed; and we have no reason to think he was so poor, that this linen cloth was the only article of clothing in his possession. But Mr. Harmer, and other expositors, considering that the apostles were generally poor men, and that the poor in those countries had often no other covering than this blanket, ralher suppose, that the terrified disciple lied awav in a stale of absolute nudily. But if it was the apostle John, where was he furnished with clothes to appear almost immediately after in the high-priest's hall ? This difficulty Mr. Harmer endeavours to remove by sup- posing, that from the garden he might go to his usual place of residence in ihe cily, and clothe himself anew before he went to the palace. — Paxton. Ver. 15. And it came to pass on the seventh day, that they said to Samson's wife. Entice thy husband, that he may declare unto us the rid- dle, lest we burn thee and thy father's house with fire : have ye called us to take that we have ? is it not so ? The marriage feast was of old, frequently protracted to the length of .seven days; for so long Samson enterlained his friends at Timnalh.' To this festival, Laban is ihonght by many divines to refer, in his answer to Jacob's com- plaint, 'that he had imposed Leah upon him instead of Rachel; "Fulfil the week of the marriage, and we will give thee this also." This feast was called the nuptial joy, with which no other was to be intermixed; all labour ceased while it continued, and no sign of mourning or sor- row was permitted to appear. It may be only further observed, tnat even in modern times, none but very poor people give a daughler in marriage without a female slave for a handmaid, as hired .servants are scarcely known m the oriental regions. Hence Laban, who was a man of considerable properly in Mesopolamia, " gave unto his daughter Leah, Zilpah his maid, for a handmaid;' and "to Rachel his daughter, Bilhah his handmaid, to be her maid." In Greece also, the marriage solemnity lasted several days. On Ihe third daj^ the bride presented her bridegroom with a robe; gifts were likewise made to the bride and bridegroom, by the bride's father and friends; these consisted of golden vessels, beds, couches, plates, and all sorts of necessaries for housekeeping, which were car- ried in great slate to the house by women, preceded by a person carrying a basket, in the manner usual at proces- sions, before whom went a boy in while vestments, with a torch in his hand. It was also customary for the bride- groom and his friends to give presents to the bride, after which, Ihe bridegroom had leave to converse freely with her, and she was permilted to appear in public without her veil. The money, says Dr. Russell, which the bridegrooms of Aleppo pay for tlieir brides, is laid out in furniture for a chamber, in clothes, jewels, or ornaments of gold, for Ihe bride, whose father makes some addition, according to his circumstances : which things are sent with great pomp to Ihe bridegroom's house three days before the wedding. — Paxton. Ver. 16. And he said unto her. Behold, I have not told it my father nor my mother, and shall I tell it thee ? In all parts of the world, I believe, people are pretty much alike as to their capability of keeping secrets. The Hindoos, however, improperly reflect upon the female sex in their proverb, " To a. woman lell iwt a secret." That secret must be great indeed which will prevent a son or daughter from telling it to the father or mother. The greatest proof of confidence is to say, " I have told you what I have not revealed to my father." In proof of the great affection one has for another, it is said, "He has told things to him that he would not have related to his parents." "My friend, do lell me the secret." — "Tell you"? yes, when I have told my parents." — Roberts. CHAPTER XV. Ver. 4. And Samson went and caught three hun- dred foxes, and took firebrands, and turned tail to tail, and put a firebrand in the midst be- tween tvi'o tails. The book of Judges conlains a singular anecdote, of ihe mischief which Sairison did by means of this animal to the properly of his enemies. He " went and caught three hun- dred foxes, and look firebrands, and turned tail to lail, and put a firebrand in the midst, between two tails ; and when he had set the brands on fire, he let Ihem go into Ihe stand- ing corn of the Philistines, and burnt up both the shocks, 144 JUDGES. Chap. 16. nnd also ihe standing corn, uith the vineyards and olives." On reading lliis curious siaicmeni, Ihe infidel asks with an air of triumph, How cimUl Sainson procure so many foxes in so short a liniu ? 'J'o this question it may be answered, the concurrins testimony of travellers clearlv proves, that the land of promise abuiuided with foxes. The same fact is sugge.sled by Ihe prediction of David, that his enemies .should become the prey of foxes; and by the invitation of Solomon already (pioicd from ilie aong. Some districts and cities m that country, lake their name from ilie fox; a sure proof of iheir luiiiibers in those parts; "Thus, the land of Sluial, mentioned m the first book of Samuel, sig- nifies the land of the fox ;" and liazarshual, the name of a citv, beloiiEingto the tube of Judah, or Simeon, means the fox's habitaiion. Besides, the term fo.xes, in the opinion of Bochari, embraces the thoes, a .species Of wolf, which very much resemble the fox, and are extremely numerous in Judea, particularly abjut Cesarea. Bclkmius asserts, that they mav be seen in troops of two or three hundred, jirowling about in quest of their [irey ; and Morizon, who travelled in Palestine, says, that (oxes swarin in that coun- try, and thai very ^'reat numbers of them lurk in hedges and in ruinous buildings. To find so many of these ani- mals, therefore, could be no great difficulty io a person ac- customed to the chase, as this renowned Israelite may be rca.sonably supposed to have been. Nor is it said, that Samson caught all these foxes in one, or even in two days; a whole week, or even a month, might be spent in the cap- lure, for any thing that appears to the contrary. Add to Ibis, that, aithough Samson himself might be a most expert hunter, we have no reason to think he caught all these ani- mals alone. So eminent a personage as the chief magis- trate of Israel might employ as many people as he pleased, in accomplishing his purpose. When, for example, it is said, that Solomon built tne temple at Jerusalem, no man supposes, that he executed the work with his own hands ; he only caused the work to be done : and, in the same man- ner, Samson may be said to do what he only commanded to be done, or assisted in doing. Nor can it'be rea.sonably denied, that the God who made the world, and by his spe- cial providence, watched over the prosperity of his ancient people, and intended, at this time, to deliver them from iheir enemies, could easily dispose matters, so as to facili- tate or .secure the capture of as many I'oxes, as the design of Samson rei|uire(l. In this singular stratagem, he is thought, by some writers, to have had two things in view; at once, to deliver his country from those noxious animals, and 10 do the greatest possible mischief to his enemies. No kind of animals could be more suited to his purpose, espe- cially when coupled together in this manner; for they run long and swifilv, not in a direct line, but with many wind- ings, so that, while they dragged in opposite directions, they spread the fire over all the fields of the Philistines with the greater rapidity and success, and were at the .same time prevented from getting into the woods, or holes in the rocks, where the firebrands had been extinguished, and Ihe stratagem rendered ineflfeetual. — P.ixton. Vcr. 18. And he was sore athirst, and called on the Loud, Thou hast o-iven this great deliver- ance into the hand of thy servant ; and now shall 1 die for thirst, and fall into the hand of the micircnmcised ? 19. But Ciod clave a hol- low place that iras in the jaw, and there came water thereout ; and when he had drunk his spirit came asfain, and he revived : wherefore he called the name thereof En-hakkore, which is in Lehi unto this day. The impression ordinarily received from this pa.s,sagc bv Ihe Kngli-h reader, viz. that a fountain was opened in Ihe jnw-bone, the instrument of Samson's victory, is proba- bly erroneous. From a preceding' verse in this chanter it appears that the Philistines had gone up, and pitched in Judah, and spread themselves in I.chi. But a-s it happens lA-hi is the original word for j'atr, or jair-bmie, and our translators, following some of the ancient versions, have confounded the name of the Pjace with that of the object from which il wtus derived. There is no good rea.son to suppose that the hollow place was cloven in the jaw itself, for what can be understood by God's cleaving a cavity which was already in the bone ! For if he clave a cavily previously existing, would not the water naturally run through il and empty itself upon the ground ? But let the word i/cAi stand untranslaicn, and all is plain. A certain cavity in the earth, in the plaie called Lelii, was miracu- lously cloven and opened, and a refreshing fountain of wa- ter gushed forth, which Continued thencelorth to flow down to the lime when the history was written. This was call- ed, in memory of the circumstance which gave rise to il, " En-hakkore," i. e. the well ur/mmtain of Aim that cried . — B. All that this passage affirms is, that in the place where Samson then was, and which, from this transaction, he called Lehi, or the Jaw-bone, there was a hollow place which God clave, from whence a fountain flowed, which relieved Samson when ready to perish, and which continued to yield a considerable supply of water, at the time this sa- cred book was written, and jKissibly may flow to this day. Doubdan, in one single day, when he visited the country about Jcru.salem, met with two such places. On Easter Monday, the first of April, IGo'J, he set out, he informs nr-, with about twenty in company, to visit the neighbourhood of Jerusalem. They w'ent the same road Ihe two disciples are suppo.sed to have taken, when our Lord joined iheni, when ne made iheir hearts burn within them. A convent was afterward built in the place where our Lord is ima- gined to have met them. Only stmie pieces of the walls of freestone are now remainiuE', with some walU and half- broken arches, and heaps of rubbish, together witli a great cistern full of water, derived partly from rain, and partly from the springs in Ihe mountain there, particularly from a most beautiful and transparent fountain, a little above it, which breaks out at the farther end of the grotto, nalurally hollowed out in the hard rock, and which is overhung with small trees, where they made a considerable .stop to refresh themselves. The water of this .spring running by a channel into the cistein, ard afterward turning a mill which was just by the cistern, and belonged to Ihe inona.s- tery, and from thence flowed, a.s it still docs, into the tor- rcnl-bed of that valley, fnmi whence David collected Ihe five smooth stones, of which one proved fatal to Goliatlu Here we see a hollow place, a giolto, in which the Got! of nature had divided the rock for the passage of the water of a beautiful spring. It was a groUo in Lehi, in which God, on this occa.sion, made the water to gush out, and run in a stream into the adjoining country, where the exhaust- ed warrior stood.— Br'noER. CHAPTER XVI. Ver. G. And Delilah said to Samson, Tell me, I pray ihee, wherein thy ifrcat strength lieth, and wherewith thou inightest be hound to afflict thee. 7. And Samson said unto her, If they bind me with seven green withes that were never dried, then shall I be weak, and be as another man. That is, any kind of pliant, tough wood, twisted in the form of a cord or rope. Such are used in many countries, formed out of osiers, hazle, i&c. In Ireland, very long and strong ropes are made of the fibres of bog-wood, or the larger roots of 'he fir, which is often dug up in the bogs or mosses of that countiT. In some places, they take the skin of the horse, cut it lengthwi.se from Ihe hide, into thongs about two inches broad ; and after havintjlaid them in sail for some time, lake them out for use. This is frequently done in-the country parts of Ireland; and is chiefly u.'^ed for agricultural purposes, particularly for drawing the plough and the harrow, instead of iron chains, — Biuder, Ver, 7, And Samson said unto her, If they bind me with seven green withes that were never dried, then shall I be weak, and be as another man. People in England would be much surprised to see what lowerful ropes are made from the withes of shrubsor trees, S'^hile they are in a green state, they are stronger than any other ropes that are made in the country. Wild ele- phiints, or buflaloes just caught, generally have their legs Dound with green wilhes, — Robebt,":, 1^' Chap. 19. Ver. 19. knees. And she made 1 JUDGES. iim sleep upon her 145 It is very amusing to see a full-grown son, or a husbaiul, asleep on his mother's or wife's knees. The plan is as follows: the female sits cro.ss-legged on the carpet or mat, and the man having laid himself down, puts his head in her lap, and she gently taps, strokes, sings, and soolhs him to sleep. — Roberts. Ver. 21. But the Philistines took hitn, and put out his eyes, and brought him down to Gaza, and bounl him with fetters of brass; and lie did grind in the prison-house. With the Greeks and Asiatics, ihe way of puliing nut the eyes, or blinding, was not by pulling or outlmg oul llic eyes, as some have imagined ; but by drawing, or holding a red-hot iron before them. This method is still in use in Asia. According to Chardin, however, ihe pupils of the eyes were pierced and destroyed on such occasions. But Thevenot says, that "the eyes in these barbarous ac/ts are taken out whole, Aviih the point of a dagger, and carried to the king in a basin." He adds, th;i!, "as Ihe king sends whom he pleases to do thai cruel ofiice, some prince^ aj-e so butchered by unskilful hands, that it costs ihem their lives." In Persia il is no unusual praclicc for Ihe king lo punish a rebellious city or province by exacting so many pounds of eyes; and his pxeeulioiiers accordingly go and scoop out from every one they meet, (ill Ihey have Ihe weight required.— BunnEn. The ctistoin of daily grinding their corn for Ihe family, shows the propriety of the law': " No man shall lake the nether or the upper millstone lo pledge, for he lakelh a man's life lo pledge ;" because it' he take cither Ihe upper or the nether millstone, he deprive.- hini of his daily pro- vision, which cannot be prepared wi'hout Ihem, and, by consequence, exposes him and all his house lo uller dettrur- tion. That complete and perpclual dcsolntion which, by the just allolment of heaven, is ere long lo overlake ih'e inyslical Babylon, is clearly signified bv'ihe same precepl : " The sound of the millstone shall be heard no more al all in thee.' The meansofsubsislence being entirelv destroyed, no human creature shall ever occupy Ihe ruined habilation.s more. In the book of .hulges, the sacred hisiorian alludes, with characlerislic acciiracv, lo several circumslanccs im- plied in that cuslom, where he describes Ihe fall of Abim- elech. A woman of Thebez, driven to de.spcraiion by his furious attack on Ihe lower, started up from Ihe mill at which she was grinding, seized the upper millstone, (32nnS£)) and rushing lo the lop of ihe gale, cast it oc his head, and fractured his skull. This was Ihe feat of a woman, loi' the mill is worked only by females: il is no! a piece of a millslonn, but the iirli'r,'[h6 dislinguishin" name ol the upper millstrme, which literally rides upon the cither, and IS a piece or (/n-;...''B/i uf Ihe mill:il was a stone of "I wo teet broad," and therefore fullv suflicicnl, when ihrown from such a height, to produce the eft'eci meniumcd in Ihe narrative. It displays also Ihe vindidivc i-onlempi which suggested Ihe punishment of Samson, Ihe captive ruler of Israel. The Philistines, with barbarous contumely, com- pelled him lo perform ilicmcnnest service of a female slave; they sent him to grind in ihe |iri,son, hut not fur himself alone; this, although extremely mortifying to the hero, had been more tolerable; they made him gi-indcr for ihc prison, while Ihe vilest malefactor was pi.'nnilied lo look on and join in the cruel mockery of his lormenlors. Sam.son, ihe ruler and avenger of Israel, labours, as Isaiah foretold the virgin daughter of Bnbvlon should labour: "Come down, and sit in the dust, o virgin daughter of Babvhtn ; there IS no throne, (no seat for thee,) O daught.;r of Ihe Chal- deans . . Take the millstones and grind meal," but not with Ihe wonted song : " .Sit thou silent, and gel thee into darkness," there lo conceal Ihv vexation and dis"raee.— Paxton. Ver. 25. And it came to pass, when their hcarls were merrj-, that they .said, Call for S.Tm.snn, that he may make us sport. " By this lime all the kaavy in that house wa.s exhau.sted, the drinkers ihcrelbre rr'moved lo another, and Staus the 19 prisoner, was told to follow ; his legs were then tied together and he w-as told to jump, while they laughed and shouted| See, our meat is jumping. He asked if this was the place where he was to die. No, his master replied ; but these things were always done with foreign slaves. Having seen him dance, Ihey now ordered him lo sing; he simg a hynm; ihey bade him interpret il, and he said it was in praise of God. They then reviled his God; their blasphe- mies shocked him, aiid'he admired in his heart the won- derful indulgence and long-siifleringofGod towards Ihem." (Southdey's Brazil.) Don Gabriel de Cardenas gives an account nearly similiar of the treatment of prisoners by the Iroquois Indians. He describes Ihe sufferings of father Bresano, a Spanish priest, who had the misformne to be captured by Ihem. As soon as he arrived at the place of assembly, ihey inllicled many wounds, and Ireated him in Ihe most cruel manner ; as soon as Ihe warriors appeared, he was commanded losing like Ihe other prisoners ; he was also commanded lo dance : in vain he excused himself on the plea of inability. Forced into the middle of the circle by these barbarians, he was by one ordered to sins, by another lo dance; if he persisted in keeping silence, he was cruelly beaten, and w hen he atlempletf to comply with their requests, his treatment was nearly the same. For upward of a month during Iheir revels, he endured the most exquisite sutferijlgs, which were lo have been termi- nated by his being burnt to death, had not one of Ihe chiefs mitigated his sentence, and delivered him to an old woman place of her grandso before.— BcHDEii. who had been killed some yeais Ver. 27. Now t)ie hoiirse was full of men and women ; and all the lords of the Philistines irerc there : and them wrre upon the roof about three thousand men and women, that beheld while Samson made sport. The method of building in the East, may assist us in ac- counting for Ihe particular struclurc of Ihe temple or house of Dagon, and the great number of people that were buried in its ruins, by pulling down the two principal pillars upon which it rested. Abuut three thousand persons crowded Ihe roof, lo beheld while the captive champion of Israel made .sport to his triumphant and unfeeling enemies. Sam- son, therefore, iniisl have been in a court or area beneath ; and eonsecptently, the temple will be of the same kind with the ancient ri/'uij, or sacred enclosures, which were only surrounded, either in part or on all sides, wilh .some plaiii or cloistered buihlings. Several palaces and dov-vanos, as the halls of justice are called in these countries, are built in this fashion, in whose courts, wrestlers exhibit for the amusement of the people, on Iheir public festivals and re- joicings ; while the roofs of these eloislers are crowded wilh spectatois, that behold Ihcir feals of strength and agility. When Dr. Shaw was at Algiers, he frequently saw the inhabitants diverted in this manner, upon the roof of the dcy's palace ; which, like many more of Ihe same quality and denomination, has an advanced cloister orcr fi'^'niit^t //ir ctifr of Uii' ffiUtcc^ made in the form of a large pent-house, siippcirted only by one or two contiguous pillars in Ihe front, or else in Ihe centre. In such oiien structures as these, Ihe great officers of slate distribute justice, and transact the public affairs of their provinces. Here, like- wise, Ihey have Iheir pulilir enlerlainmenls, as the lords of Ihe Philistines had in the lemple of their god. Supposing, therefore, that in Ihc house of' Dagon, was a cloistered building of I his kind, Ihc pulling down of the front or centre pillars which supported if, would alone be attended with the catastrophe which happened to the Philistines. — Pax- ton. CHAPTER XIX. Ver. 8, And lie arose early in the mornina^'on the fifth day to depart : and the damsel's father said. Comfort thy heart, 1 pray thee. And they larried until tifti.'rnonn, and ihev did eat both of (hem. "Until afternoon." Hebrew, "till Ihc day declined." In this way also do Ihe people of Ihe East speak, when the sun has passed ihe meridian; " 1 shall not go till Ihe sun 14G JUDGES. Chap. 19. decline j" " I must not go till the declining lime." — Rob- erts. Ver. 27. And her lord roso up in the morning, and opened the doors of the house, and went out to go his way; and, behold, the woman his concubine was fallen down iit the door of the house, and her hands u-cre upon the threshold. 28. And he said unto her. Up, and let us be going : but none answered. Then the man took her up upon an ass, and the man rose up, and gat him unto his place. 29. And when he was come into his liouse, he took a knife, and laid hold on his concubine, and divided her, together wkh her bones, into twelve pieces, and sent her into all the coasts of Israel. 30. And it was so, that all that saw it said. There was no such deed done nor seen, from the day that the children of Israel came up out of the land of Egypt unto tliis day : consider of it, take ad- vice, and speak your minds. The interpreters say little or nothing of the real views of the Levite, in thus culling to pieces the body of his con- cubine, and sendins a part lo each tribe of Israel. They only say that the Levite was induced to this seeming out- rage, merely " lo excite a general indignation against the authors of so black a crime; that he commiued no sin in thus maltreating a dead body, though it was his own con- cubine's ; as beingso far from having any intention lo otter it the least indignity, that he only considered the reparation of the ignominy wiih which his concubine had been treated: and thai, after all, the success fully juslified his action and conduct." It IS certain that the Leviie's motives were good and regular : he intended lo unite the whole nation in vengeance of a crime in which it was interested, and which covered it with infamy; but it was not, as some have thought, the horror of the spectacle which Ihe Levite held forth 10 the view of everybody, which produced this eflecl, and constrained their minds;' that i-;, it was not the sight of these human limbs, thus cut and lorn lo pieces, which made the Jews conspire, and obliged them to take a striking ven- geance of so black a crime. The bare relation of an outrage so enormous, was sufli- cient to put the whole nation to the nccessitv of exacting punishineni for an infamy of this nature: natural equity spoke for the Levite; the most sacred rights were violated to the utmost; never was adullerv more glaringly commit- ted, or more insolently countenanced; it had involved a whole tribe; a general and universal punishment, therefore, was indispensably necessary; the text of scripture is ex- press in a hundred places; 'and the Israelites could not be ignorant. But they might be checked by the extent of the punishment ; by the great number, the credit, the forces and powerof the offenders ; by the natural commiseration which IS felt for those who are of the same blood ; in a word, bv an aversion to destroy a citv, and to involve it utterly in Ih'e vengeance due to it. To oblige the nation to hear none of these reasons, the Levite sought and seized a method which might bind it, and by no means allow it lo avoid his pursuits; which, in short, might put them to Ihe indispen- sable necessity of e'^p.)using his ami his concubine's inter- ests or to spr-ak more properlv, of taking up the cause of both. The onlv pan, then, .-liicli he had lo lake, was to cut in pieces either the hodv of his wife, as lie did, or else that of an ox, or other like animal, which had been cither devoted, or offered in sacrifice, and to send a pari of it lo each tribe. In consequence of this, every tribe entered into a covenant and indi.ssoluble engagempiu with them to see justice done him, for the injury he had received. 'Fhis is what the interpreters of scripture seem not to have known, and which it is necessan- to explain. The ancients had several waysof uniting Ihemselvcs together bvihe siriclest lies, and these lies lasted for as longns the panics had stipu- lated. Among these, there were two principal; both ad- mirably well described in the sacred books. The first is that sacrifice of Abraham, the circumstances of which are mentioned, Gen. xv. 0, &c. The second is as follows :— A bullock was offered in sacrifice, or devoted: it was cut in pieces and distributed; all who had a piece of this sacrificed or devoted bullock, were from thenceforward connected, and were to concur in the carrying on the affair which had given place to the sacrifice. But this sacrifice or devoting, and this division, was variously practised, which also pro- duced eiigagemenLs somewhat difl'erent. If he who was at the expense of the sacrifice or devoting, were a public per- son, in a high office — a king, for instance, a prince, or judge — that is lo say, a chief magistrate, or had the principal authority in a city, or .stale ; he sent, of his own accord, a piece of Ihe victim or animal devoted, lo all who were sub- ject lo hun ; and by ihis acl they were obliged lo enter into his views, to obey him, and lo execute his orders without examinaiion, or pretending ditficiilly or incapacity. If, on the contrary, the sacrifice were ofi'ered by a private person, lho.se only who voluntarily took a piece of the sacrificed or devoted portions, entered into a slricl engagement to espouse the interest of him who sacrificed or devoted, and to em- ploy therein their fortunes and their persons. Connexions of this kind derived their force from the deities in honour of whom the sacrifice was offered, or llie devotion made : from Ihe true God, when the devotion was made by the Jews; from idols, when the sacrifice was ofi'ered by the gentiles. The devotion was adopted by the Jews, and the sacrifice by the pao;ans. This diflerence betwixt them, prc^ duced a second : the Jews were ccmtent lo invoke and take lo witness the Lord ; whereas the pagans never failed to place in the midst -e kinds of consecrations. The scripture is full of examples, which represent some- times persons, sometimes whole nations, whom he had him- self smitten with a curse He would have no .sacrifices, however, of human victims ; but he approved of devotions lo death : aiidyel, to consider both in certain points of view, they aniounte£r.)- UiBDF.n. The reapers go lo the field very early in the moining, and return home betimes in the afternoon They carry provisions alon^ with thou:, and leathern bottles, or dried bottle-gotirds, lilUil wiih water. They are followed by their own children, or by other-;, who glean with mm-h .success; for a great quaiiti:y of corn is ^catleled in the reaping, and in their manner of cariTing it. Tlie greater part of these ritcuiiisianee;, are cUscernihli" in the manners of the aneiei t Israelites, Ruth had not proposed to Naomi, her mother-in-law, to go lo the field, and glean after the reapers; nor had the servant of Boa/, to whom she applied lor leave, so readily granted her request, if gleaning had not been a common praetice in that country. When Boaz inquired who she was, his overseer, iifier informing him, ob.serves, lliat she came out to the field in the morning; and that the reapers left the field early in tlie afternoon, as Dr. Ru.s,sel stales, is evident from this circiim';lance, that Ruth had time lo beat out her gleanings before evening. Thev carried water and provisions with them; for Boaz invited lier to come and drink of the water which the voung men had draun; and at meal-lime, to eat of the bread, and dip her morsel in the vinegar. And .so great was the simplicity of manners in llial part of the world, and in those limes, llial l!o:tz himself, althoush n prince of high rank iti Jud.Tli, sal down to dinner, in the field, with his reapers, and helped PiUth with his own hand. Nor ought we to pass over in silence, ihe mutual .salnlation of Boaz and his reapers, when he came to the field, as it strongly marks the slate of religious feeling in Israel at the time, and furnishes anoUu'r proof of the artless, Ihe happy, and unsuspeclins simpliciiy, which characterized the man- ners of that highly favoured |)pople. '• And, behold, Boaz came from Bethlelieni, and said unto the reapers. The Lord be with you. And thev answered him, The Lord bless thee." Such a mode ot saluuation continued among that people till the coming of C'htist; for the angel sainted Mary in languayc of similar imparl: "Hail, hitrhly fa- voured, the Lord is with thee; blessed ait lliou among women.'' It appears from the beautiful story of Ruih, that in Palestine, Ihe women lent their assistance in cutting down and gathering in ihc Ir.uvest ; for Boaz commands her to keep fast by hi- maidens: — the women in Syria .shared also in the labours of the harvest; for Dr, Rii.ssel informs us, they .sang I he Ziralcet, or song of thanks, when the passing stranger accepted their present of a handful of corn, and made a suitable return,— Paxton. Ver. 14. And Bo;tz .sniJ uiilo Iior, At meal-iiiiu- come thou hither, and eal o( the broad, niiddi\i thy morsel in the vnictrar. When Boaz is represented as having jirovided vinegar for his reapers, into which ihey might dip their bread, and kindly invited Ruth to share with them in the repast, we are not lo undcrsland it of sini]ilc \'inegar. but vinegar mingled with a small ii.iriion of oil, if modern manage- ments in the Levant be allowed lo be the most natural comment on those ol aniiqiiiiy. For even the Algerines indulge their miserable captives with a small portion of oil to the vinegar they allow ihem with their bread, according to Ihe account Pitt gives of the treatment he and his com- panions received from thciii, of wliicli he complains wilh some asperity. What llie quality of the bread was, that the reapers of Boaz had, may be uncertain, but there is all imaginable rea.son to suppose the vinegar into which they dipped it, was made more grateful by the addition of oil. — ILinMRR. Vcr. 1 4. And she sat beside the reapers : and he reached Irv parched < urn, and &lie did eat, and was sufficed, and left. " To-day we crossed the valley of Ela.ssar, and bathed in the hot-baths of Solomon, situated on the southern side, nearly at the bottom, near some coin-fields, where one of our Arabs plucked some green ears of corn, parched them for us, by putting them in the fire, and then, when roasted, rubbed out the grain in his hands," (Macmichel,) "After a ride of two hours from the valley of Zebulon," says Korte, " we came to a place where the disciples of the Lord are said to have jilucked and eaten ears of corn on ihe sabbath day. The wheat in this country is not ditfer- enl from ours, only the grairs are as hard as a ,stone from Ihc heal, and thereiore nol .so good to cat as with us. But in Egvpi, in ihe Holy Land, and in all Syria, there grows a kind of beans, or peas, wliich are superior to our peas; the .stalk grows almost like the lentil: in Ihe pod, which is very thick, and mostly hangs in bunches, there is general- Iv only one grain. This kind is eaten green in the coun- tiy, and also in the towns, whither they are brought in bunches: when they aie loo old. they are roasted over coals, and so eaten, when they taste better. This is doubt- less tiie parched com mentioned in the book of Ruth, and several olher places.' — RosKN>a'i.i,KH. Thev have other ways of preparing their corn for food, besides making it into bread. Burgle is very commonly used amungthe Chrisliansof Aleppo ; which is wheat boil- ed, then bruised in a mill so as to separale it from the husk, after which it is dried, and laid up for use. The (Irving of burgle, though mentioned by some writers as a modern I'peraiion, seeins to throw light on a remarkable passage in the history of David ; the concealment of his two spies in a well whose mouth \t as covered wi:h corn. The custom of expo-ing corn in this way, must h.-,ve been very common in .nidea, else it had rather excited suspicion in the minds of the pursuers, than diverted their atlention from the s]iot where llie spies were concealed. That the well's inouih was covered on Ihal occasion wilh burgle or boiled wheal, is exceedingly probable ; for Ur. Bnssel observe.-:, that in preparing it after it has been softened in warm v,-a- ler, it is commonly laid out in the courtyard to dry. It coidd not be flour or meal ; for they grind it tmly in small quantities, and as they want it, and never are known to ex- jjose it in this way. Bishop Patrick supposes it was corn newly thrashed out, she pretended to dry; but if this was practised at all, of w Inch we have no evidence, it was by no means common, and therefore calculated rather to be- tray, than to conceal the spies. Besides, the same word is used to signify corn bealen in a mortar with a peslle, not on the barn-flotir with a tlirashing instrument ; now burgle is actually pounded in this manner. It was therefore bur- gle or boiled wheal, which D'Arvieiix expressly .says is dried in the sun : adding that they prepare a whole year's provision of it at once. Wheat and barley were prepared in the same way by the ancicnl Romans; which renders it very jnobable ihal ihe custom was universal among the civilized nations of antiipiity. This is the rea:'.on that nei- ther Ihe exposure of the corn, nor the large cpianiity, pro- duced the least suspicion; every circiiinstance accorded with Ihc public usage of the country, and by consequence, the preparation of this species of food is a.s ancient as the days ot David. Sawick is a dilTerenl pi'cparation, and cohiists of corn parched in the ear; it is made, as well of barley and rice, as of wheal. It is never called, in Ihc in- spired volume, parched flour or meal, but always parched coin ; and consequently, seems to remain after the roasting, and to be ealen in ihe siale of corn. In confirmalion of this idea, we may quote a fact slated by Ilasselquist, that in journeying from Acre to Sidon, he .saw a shepherd eating his dinner, consisting of half-ripe ears of wheal roa.sied, which he ate, .says the traveller, with as good an aiipetite as a Turk does his pillaw. The same kind of food, he says, is much u>ed in Egypt by the poor ; Ihey roast the cars of Turkivh wheat or miUel; but il is in his account far inferior to bread. Dr, Shaw is of a difl'erent opinion ; he supposes the kali, or parched com of the scriptures, which lie translates parched pulse, means parched cicers. But we frequently read in sciipture of dried or parched corn ; and the word used in those pa.ssages is most natural- Iv lo be understood of corn, and not of pulse. Besides, Rauwolf asserts ihat cicers are used in the East only as a Cha RUTH- 149 part of the dessert afier their meals. But it cannot be rea- sonably supposed, that Biiaz woukl entertain his reapers with things of tliis kind ; or that those fruits which in mod- ern times are used only in desserts, formed the principal part of a reaper's meal, in the tield of so wealthy a propri- etor. This, however, the opinion of Dr. Shaw requires to be suppo.sed ; for it is said in the inspired record, " He reached Ruth parched corn, and she did eat, and was suf- ficed, and left." — Paxton. CHAPTER lit. Ver. 2. And now Is not Boaz of our kindred, witli whoso maidens thou wast ? Behold, he whmoweth barley to-uight in the thrashing- floor. In these regions much of the agricultural labour is per- furmed in the night. The sun is so hot, and so pernicious, that the farmers endeavour, as much as possible, to avoid its power. Hence numbers plougli and irrigate iheir fields and gardens long after the sun has gone down, or be- fore li rises in the morning. The wind is also generally stronger in the niglit, which juight induce Boaz to prefer that season. From tlie ne.\t two vei'ses we learn that he look his supper there, and slept among Ihe barley. Corn in the East is not kept in slacks, but alter being reaped, is, in a few days, thra-hed on the spol. The tlira-liing-Hoor is a circle of about forty feet in diameter, and consists generally of clay, and cowdung, without wall or fence. Under these circumstances, it is nece.ssary for some of the people to sleep near the corn, till all shall have been thrashed and taken home. — Ros.Krtr.s. Ver. 7. And when Boaz had eaten ;>.nd drunk, and his lieait was merry, he went to lie down at the end of a heap of corn : and she came softly, and uncovered his feet, and laid Iter down. Margin to the fourth verse, "lift up the clothes that are on his feet." All inferiors, all servants, sleep at the feet of their master. It is no uncommon thing for those who have a great favour to procure, to go to llie house of the rich, and sleep with the head at his door, or in t)ie verandah. Thus, when he arises in the morning, he finds the suppliant at his door. Should a master wish to dismiss liis servants, they often say, "My lord, turn us not away; how many years have we slept at your feet V — Roberts. Ver. 9. And lie stid, Wlio mi thou? And .she answered, I am Ruth thy handmaid: spread therefore thy skirt over thy handmaid ; for thou art a near kinsman. The prophet Ezekiel, in describing Ihe Jewish oluircli as an e.^rposed infant, mentions the care of God in bringing her up with great tenderne.'s, and then, at the proper time, marrying her; whicli is expressed in the same way as the lequest of Ruth : " I spread my skirt over thee" — '■ — " and tlion becamest mine." Dr. A. Clarke savs, "Even to Ihe l>rescnt day, when a Jew marries a wimian, he throws the skirt or end of his talith over her, to signify that he has taken her under his protection." I have been delighted, at the marriage ceremonies of Ihe Hindoos, to see among them the .same interesting custom. The bride is seated on a throne, surrounded by matrons, having on her veil, her gayest robes, and most valuable jewels. After ihe thjli lia^ been tied round her neck, the bridegroom approaches her with a silken skirl, (purchased by himself) and folds it round her several times over Ihe rest of her clothes. A common way of saying he lias married her, is, " he has given her ihe koori," has spread ihe sldrt over her. There are, however, those who throw a long robe over the shoul- ders of the bride, instead of pulling on the skirt. An angry husband sometimes says to his wife, "Rive me back my skirt," meaning, he wishes to liave the marriage compact dissolved. So Ihe mother-in-law, should the daughter not treat her respect fully, savs, " Mv son gave this woman the koori, skirt, and has made her respectable, but she neglect.s me." The request of Ru:h, therefore, amounted to nothing more than tliat Boaz should marry her. — Robert.s. CHAPTER IV. Ver. 1. Then went Boaz up to the gate, and sat him down there ; and, behold, the kinsman of whom Boaz spake came by : unto whom ho said. Ho, sucli a one ! turn aside, sit down here. And lie turned aside, and sat down. The word gate is often used in scripture, to denote the place o!' public assemblies where justice is adminislered. — This definition of the word gate, in its first sense, agrees exactly with the usages of the Hindoos. People, therefore, who understand it lilerally, as meaning always a gate fixed in the walls of the ciiy, do not comprehend its meaning. At the entrance ol eveiy town or village, there is a public building, called a rest-house, where travellers remain, and where people assemble to hear the news, or talk over ihe affairs of the place. There may be seen many a Boaz asking for the advice of his relations and friends, and many an Abraham as he sat "at the gate of his city," bar- gaining " for the held," and "the cave of Machpelah," iu which to bury his beloved Sarah. — Roberts. Ver. 2. And he took ten men of the elders of the city, and said. Sit ye dovm licre. And they s?.t down. Among Ihe Hebrew", and, before them, among the Ca- naaniles, the purchase of any thing of consequence wss concluded, and llie price paid, publicly, at the gale of II. e city, as the place of judgment, before all that went out ard in. Gen. xxiii. P..utli iv. — As those who wanted amuse- ment, and to pass away the time, were wont to sit in tie gates, purchases there made could always be testified by numerous witnesses. Their care to have them so attested, might, pel haps, be a relic of the custom of the times pre- ceding the invention of ihe ait of writing; (which, by the way, took place probaldy not very long before the days f.f Abraham ;) and it did not even after that period cease to be useful, because among the Hebrews writing not being very common, the memory of witnesses had often to supply iLe place of a document of purchase. At the same time, it would seem that such documents were not altogether unu- sual. For llie xxiii. chapter of Genesis is in its siylc so different from that of Moses on other occasions, and has:o much of the ap]>earance of the record of a solemn juri-.I- ical procedure, that it almost seems to he a deed of pur- clinse. From Ruth iv. 7, we learn another .singular usage on occasions of purchase, cession, and exchange, viz. that llie transference of alienable properly had, in earlier times, been confirmed by the proprietor plucking off his shoe, c nd handing it over to the new owner. We see at the same time, ihat in Ihe age of David this usage had become anti- quated; for the writer introduces it as an unknown cusiom of former times, in the days of David's great-grandfather. I have not been able to find any further trace of it in the East; nor yet has llie Danish travelling mission to Arabia, as Captain Niebuhr himself informs me. Byna^us, in his book, Dc Calceif Hebranriim, treats of it at great length; bill, excepting the mere conjectures of modern literati, he gives no account of the origin of this si range symbol of ihe transfer of properly. In the lime of Moses it was so famil- iar, that harcfooiei was a term of reproach, and probably signified a man that liad sold every thing, a spendlhrifr, and a bankrupt: and v.e see from Dent. xxv. 0, 10, that Moses allowed it to be applied lo the person who would net marry his brother's widow. Could illiave been an Egj-plicn cu.slom, as we do not find it again in ihe Ea-sf? The Egyp- tians, when they adored Ihe Deily, had no shoes on; and of this the Pythagoreans gave the following explanation : " The philosopher, who came naked from his moihei's womb, should appear naked before his Creator; for CJod hears those alone who are not burdened wi'h any thing extrinsic." — Among the Egrptians too, havfooicd was equivalent to iirtict/, and naked synonymous wiih Jiariug-vn pr/fperly, but one's self This same custom of pulling off the shoe, and that at the gate before all who went ont and in, was also usual in imporlant cases cf the exchange or resignation of propertv; as for instance, (to take the exam- ple just quoted from Rulh iv. 7, 9,) when the nearest kin.s- man abandoned his right of redemption lo a distant rela- tion; and v.-e may, perhaps, thence conclude, that a simi- 150 RU T H. Chap. 4. lar form took place in cases of great donations, wlien not made on a sick-bed, but by persons in healili. — Micuielis. Ver. 7. Now this icas the maniuT in former time in Israel, concerning redeeming, and* concern- ing changing, for tocoiilinn all things; a man plucked otT his shoe, and gave it to his neigh- bour ; and this teas a testimony in Israel. 8. Therefore the kinsman said unto Boaz, Buy it for thee. So he drew off his shoe. See on Matt. 2*2. 34. The simple object, therefore, in taking off the shoe, was to confirm ihe bargain: it was the le.^tiuiony or memorial of the compact. In Deuteronomy it is mentioned that the brother of a deceased Ini-sband shall marry the widow, but should he refuse, then the widow is to " go up to the gate unto the elderf and say. My husband's brother refuselh to raise lip unto his bro'.her a name in Israel; he will not perform the duty of uiy husband's brother." Then the elders were to call the man, and if he persisted in his re- fusal, the woman was to come forward " and loose his shoe from olf his fool, and spit in his face ; wa5 to answer and say, So shall it be done unto that man that will not build up' his brother's hou.se. " From thai time the man was dis- graced, and whenever his person or establishment was spoken of, it was contemptuously called " the house of him that haih his shoe loosed. " To be spit at in the face is Ihe most degrading ceremony a man can submit to. This was done bv the widow to her hu.^band's brother, and .she co.vriRMED his ignominy by taking oil his .shoe. But this taking otf the shoe (as we shall hereafter see} may also allude to the de.vth of her husband, whose siioe.s were taken otf and of no further use to him. And as she said, when she had taken off the shoe from her husband's brother's foot, '"thus shall it be done unto that man that will not build up his brother's hoiLse," may mean, he also shall soon follow his brother, and have his shoes taken off his feet in death. When Ramar had to go to reside in the desert for fourteen years, his brother Parathan was very unwilling for him to go; and tried, in every possible way, to dissuade him from his purpose. But Ramar persisted in his resolution, having fiUly made up his mind to take his departure. When the brother, seeing that his entreaties were in vain, said, " Since you are determined to go, promise me faithfully to return." Then Ramar, having made the Eromisc, gave his shoes to Parathan as a cONFiR.MATioxof is vow. Does a prie.st, a father, or a respectable friend, resolve to go on a pilgrimage to .some distant countrv; some one will perhaps say, "Ah ! he will never return, he intends to remain in those holy places. " Should he deny it, then they say, " Give us your snoE.s a.s a witness of your promise," and having done so, never will he break it. An affectionate widow never parts with her late husband's shoes: they are placed near her when she sleeps, she kisses and puts her head upon them, and nearly every time after bathing, she goes to look at them. These, therefore, are the " testimony," the melancholy confirmation of her husband's death. — Roberts. Ver. 10 Moreover, Ruth the Moabitess, the wife of M:ihlon, have I purchased to be my wife, to raise up the name of the dead upon his in- heritance, that the name of the dead be not cut off from among his brethren, and from the gate of his place: ye are witnesses this day. I now proceed to the explanation of a singular law, which I must however preface, with entreating, in behalf of the lawgiver, that it may not be considered as an inven- tion of his own; as it «as in fact several centuries oMcr than his laws, and as he very much limited and mitigated its operation. The l.iw I mean, is what has been lermeil the Levirate law : in obedience to which, when a man died without issue, his brother was obliged to marry the widow he left, and thai with this express view, that the first son produced from the marriage should be ascribed, not to the natural father, but to his decea.sed brother, and become his heir. This has been denominated Levirate-marriage, from the word Lctir, which though it appears not in the ancient classic authors, but only in The Vulgate and the Pandects, is nevertheless really an old Latin word, and is explained by Festus to signify a husband's Itrother. The Hebrews had in like manner an ancient law term, which we meet not with elsewhere, (na^ Jabam,)ot the very same import ; whence come n'ji- (jelKmel,) a brother's irifu, and d3' (Jc6- bem,) to viarry such a persun. The Chaldee, Syriac, and Samaritan versions of the Bible do indeed reiaili this word, but it is not otherwise at all current in these languages, nor can we find in them the least trace of an etymology for it, and in Ihe Arabic tongue it is altogether unknown. This is often the case with respect to the Hebrew law terms. The Hebrew language alone has them, and with- out all etjinology, while in the kindred languages, they are either not to be found at all, or in quite a different sense. How that happens I am ignorant, wiih this exception, that I frequently remark, in like manner, among ourselves, an- cient law terms, whose etymology is obscure, because old words have been retained in law, while the language has in other respects undergone alterations. The law which obliged a man to marry the widow of his childles.s brother, was much more ancient than the time of Moses; having been in use in Palestine among the Canaaniles, and the ancestors of the Israelites, at least more than '250 years previous to the date of his law, and indeed with such rig- our, as lel^ a person no possible means of evading it, how- ever irksome and odious compliance with it might appear to him. The law, however, was unquestionably attended with great inconveniences : for a man cannot but think it the most unpleasant of all necessities, if he must marry a woman whom he has not chosen himself. Must, in mat- ters of love and mairiage, is a fearful word, and almost quite enough to put love to flight, even where beauty ex- cites it. We see, likewise, that Ihe brother, in some in- stances, had no inclination for any such marriage, (Gen. xxxviii. Ruth iv.) and stumbled at this, that the first son produced from it could not belong to him. Whether a second son might follow, and continue in life, was very uncertain ; ami among a people who so highlv prized gene- alogical immortality of name, it was a great liardsbip for a man to be obliged li) procure it for a person already dead, and to run the ri.sk, meanwhile, of losing it him.'^elf Nor was this law very much in favourof the morals of the other sex ; for not to speak of Tamar, who, in reference to it, conceived herself justified in having recourse to a mast infamous action, I will here only ob.serve, that what Ruth did, (chap. iii. I) — 9,) in order to obtain, for a hu.>.band, the person wtiom she accounted as the nearest kinsman of her deceased husband, is, to say Ihe least, by no means conform- able to that modesty and delicacy which we look for in the other sex. A wise and good legislator could scarcely have been inclined to patronise any such law. But then it is not advisable directly to attack an inveterate point of honour; because in such a case, for the most part, nothing is gain- ed ; and in the present instance, as ihe point of honour placed iimnoriality of name entirely in a man's leaving de- scendants behind him, it was so favourable Ui the increase of population, that it merited some degree of forbearance and tenderness. Moses, therefore, left ihe Israelites still in possession of their established right, but at the .^me lime he studied as much as possible to guard against ils rigour and evil effects, by limiting and moderating its operation in various respecls. In the/r.t* place, he expressly prohibited the marriage of a brother's widow, iflhere were children of his own alive. Before Ihis lime, brothers were probably in the practice of considering a brother's widow as part of the inheritance, and of appropriating her to them.sehes, if unable to buy a wife, as the Mongols do; so that this was a veiT necessary prohibition. For a successor prttsvmplirus in thorn, whom a wife can regard as her future husband, is rather a dan- gerous neighlKiur for her present one's honour; and if she happen to conceive any predilection for the younger bro- ther, her husband, particularly in a southern climate, will hardly be secure from the risk of poi.son. In the second place, he allowed, and indeed enjoined, Ihe brother to marry the widow of his childless brother; but if he was not disposed to do so, he diil not .ibsolulely compel him, but left him an ea-sy means of riddance ; for he had only to declare in court, that he had no inclination to marry her, and then he wa.s at liberty. This, it is true, Chap. 4. RUTH. 151 subjected him to a punishment which at first appears suf- ficiently severe ; the slighted widow had a right to revile * him in court as mucli as she pleased ; and from his pulling off hisshoe, and delivering u to the widow, he received the appellation of Barcsolc, which any body might apply to him without being liable to a prosecution. A little consid- eration, however, will show that this punishment was not so severe in reality as in appearance. For if Barcsole is once understood, according to the usage of the language, ^to mean nothing more than a man who has given a wmiwii the refusal, it is no longer felt as a term of great reproach, and any one will rather endure it, than have his own, re- fusal talked of To be once in his lifetime solemnly abused in a public court by a woman, is at any rate much easier to be borne, than the same treatment from a man, or extra- judicially ; and if, besides, the cause is known, and that the court allows her this liberty, in order to give free vent to her passion, because the man will not marry her according to her wish; the more violent the emotions of her rage are, the more flattering to hiin must they prove ; and he will go out of court with more pride than if she had excused him from marrying her, with much coolness, or without an}' emotion at all. — I have often heard vain fops mention in company, how many women in oMer places would glad- ly have married them, and were greatly enraged that they would not take them. On persons of this description, such a judicial punishment would indeed have been very justly bestowed. But it is at worst more flattering than even the very politest language with which a lady begs leave to de- cline an oflir of marriage, or but distantly yields to it. A legislator, in ordaining a punishment of this nature, could hardly have had it in view to insist very particularly on the observance of a statute, that but ratified an old custom by way of a compliment. If it had been a point in which he was interested, he would have ordained a very diflerent punishment. 3. The person whose duty it was to marry a childless widow, was the brother of her deceased husband, in the strict sense of the word, as the story in Gen. xxxviii. clear- ly shows. I would not have thought it neces.sary to make this remark, had not the contrary opinion been maintained in a Dissertation delivered here at Gottingen, in which it is asserted, that the word bmt/icr, in Deut. xxv. 5 — 10, is to be taken in a general sense, and means a relation, exclu- ding the real brother. The law, however, only extended to a brother living in the same city or country, not to one re- siding at a greater distance. Nor did it affect a brother having already a wife of his own. At least, if it had its origin m this, that by reason of the dearness of young wo- ' The Hebrew expression in Deut. xxv. 9, i^jaa np"i>i has been by some so unilerstood, asif [lie widow Jiadaright to spit in his face. And no doubt it may signify as inucli ; but then that act in a public court is so indecent, that if any other interpretation is admissible, this one ought not to be aiiopted. Now ther(! are two others : 1. Slie shall spit before his face. The Arabs, at this day, when they wisli to affront any one, spit, and cry Fi ; even people of raulc do so, just as the common peo- ■^le do with us. This account we find even in lexicons ; but I know it lesides, from the information furnished both by Solomon Negri, ana. tivc Arab, and by travellers. 2. p-i> may also mean fo revile; proper- ly Bilem eromere, wtiich signification is familiar in Arabia ; only that, nccording to the usual rule, the Hebrew Jod must be changed into Vau, and the word written Varak. t men, often only one brother could marry, and the others also wished to do the same, it could only affect such as were unmarried ; and in the two instances that occur in Gen. xxxviii. and Ruth iv. we find the brother-in-law, whose duty it was to marr)-, apprehensive of its proving hurtful to himself and his inheritance, which coulti hardly have been the case, if he had previously had another wife, or (but that was at lea.st expensive) could have taken one of his own choice. When there was no brother alive, or when he declined the duty, the Levirate-law, as we see from the book of Ruth, extended to the next nearest rela- tion of the deceased liusband, as for instance, to his pater- nal imcle, or nephew ; so that at last, even pretty remote kinsmen, in default of nearer ones, might be obliged to un- dertake it. Boaz does not appear to have been very nearly related to Ruth, as he did not .so much as know w)|o .she was, when he fell in love with her, while she gleaned in his fields. Nor did she know that he was any relation to her, until apprized of it by her mother-in-law. Among the Jews of these days, Levirate-marriages have entirely ceased ; so much so, that in the marriage contracts of the very- poorest people among them, it is generally stipulated, that the bridegroom's brothers abandon all those rights to the bride, to which they could lay claim by Deut. xxv. — Mi- CHAELIS. Ver. 11. And all the people lh?Aicerc in the gate, and the elders, said, We are witnesses. The Lord make the woman that is come into thy house like Rachel and like Leah, which two did build the house of Israel; and do thou worthil}' in Ephratah, and be famous in Beth- lehem. The marriage ceremony was commonly performed in a garden, or in the open air; the bride was placed under a canopy, supported by four youths, and adorned with jewels according to the rank of the married persons; all the com- pany crying out with joyful acclamations. Blessed be he that Cometh. It was anciently the custom, at the conclu- sion of the ceremony, for the father and mother, and kin- dred of the woman, to pray for a blessing upon the partie.'.. Bethuel and Laban, and the other members of their family, pronounced a solemn benediction upon Rebecca before her departure : " And they blessed Rebecca, and said unto her, thou art our sister, be thou the mother of thousands of mil- lions; and let thy seed possess the gate of those that hate them." And in times long posterior to the age of Isaac, when Ruth the Moabitess was espoused to Boaz, " All the people that were in the gate, and the elders, said, we are witnesses. The Lord make the woman that is come into thine house like Rachel and like Leah, which two did build the house of Israel ; and do thou worthily in Ephratah, and be famous in Bethlehem." After the benedictions, the bride is conducted, with great pomp, to the house of her husband; this is usually done in the evening; and as the procession moved along, money, sweetmeats, flowers, and other articles, were thrown among the populace, which they caught in cloths made for such occasions, stretched in a particular manner upon frames. — Paxton. THE FIRST BOOK OF SAMUEL CHAPTER I. Vor. 1. Now there was a certain man of Rama- thaini-zophini, of mount Ephraim, and his name iriis Elkanah, the son of Jerohani, the son of Elihu, the son of Tohu, the son of Ziiph, an Ephrathite : 2. And he had two wives ; the name of the one teas Hannah, and the name of the other Peninnah, How much soever some may have denied it, nothing is more certain, than that by the civil laws of Moses a man was allowed to have more wives than one. No douhi, all the proofs of this fact, which it is usual to adduce, are not valid ; and to the maiiilainers of the opposite opin- ion, it may he an easy niatliT to controvert such as arc weak or inaccurate; but the following arguments appear to me to place the matter beyond all doubt. 1. It is certain that before the time of Moses, polygamy was m use among the ancestors of the Israelites, and thiit even Abraham and Jacob lived in it. It is also certain, that it continued in wfecflcr the lime of Moses. I will not interrupt the le.Kt with a multitude of examples; but there are two of such weight as to merit particular notice. — One of them we find in 1 G'hron. vii. 4, where not only the (ive fathers, named in the preceding verse, but also their de- scendants, forming a tribe of 3H,ObO men, had lived in polyg- amy, which also shows, bv the way, that it must have been more common in some families than in others. — The other occurs in 2 Chron. xxv. 3, where we see the high-priest himself, who was of course the authentic expoimder of the Mosaic statutes, taking for Joash, who clave to him as a son, ttno wives, which shows that he had not at any rale looked upon bi^amii as prohibited bv the law of Deut. xvii. 17. As then, Moses, .ntlliering to established u.sage, no- wliere prohibited a man's taking a secoinl or a third wife, along wi:h the lir-^t, it is clear that, as a civil right, it con- tinued allowable; for what has hitherto been customary, and permitted, remains so, in a civil sense, as long as no posiiive law is enacted against it. Therefore, the objection nere made, thnt Moses novhcre nvl/iorizes ]'ulij!;nmy, hi/ nn crpras slalulc, amounts to nothing ; more especially when it is considered, that, as we shall immediately see imder Nos. 2, 3, .1, it is implied in three several texts, that he ac- tually did authorize it. But although he had not done so, his silent ac(|iiieseence in, and non-prohibition of, the prac- tice previously held lawful, is quite enough to .sanction our opinion of his having left it still allowable as a civil right. And, 'i. This proof becomes still stronger, when we remark how very common polygamy mtrst have been at the very time when Moses lived and gave his laws. For, when Moses caused the Israelites to be numbered, he found 00:!,rwO males above 20 years of age. Now, acccnding lo political calculations, the proportion of those under 20, to those above it, is in geniTal reckoned as 12 to 20, or, at any rate, as 12 to l.'i ; but admittin?, in the present case, that it was b'.it as 10 to 20, to the above number of adult males, we should thus have ,still to add a half more, or 301,775, for those under 20, besides 22,000 Levites that were reck- oned separately ; so tliat the whole number of males must have amounted to at least 927,32,'). Now among all this people, we find froiu Numb. iii. 43, that there were no more than 22,273 firsl-horn males, of a riwnlh old niid iipienril ; tliat is, onlv »nf first-born amons;42: so that, had the Is- raelites lived in monogamy, it would follow that every marriage had on an average given birth to 42 children, which, however, is hardly possible to be conceived ; whereas if every Israelite had fonr or more wives, it was very pos- sible that of every father on an average that number might have sprang, and, of course, of 42 Israelites, there would be but one first-born. At the same time, this being the case, polygamy must certainly have gone great lengths, and been very universally practised among them ; and if it was so, and" Moses forbade it by no law, it is obvious that it con- tinued allowable as a civil right. If in this deduction there appear any thing dubious or obscure, I must refer the reader lo my Dissertation, Dc Ccnsil/us Hebranrvm, in paragraphs 4, 5, and tj of which, I have considered this argument at greater length. 3. The law of Dcui. xxi. 1,'>— 17, already explained, presupposes the case of a man liaving lieo wives, one of whom he peculiarly loves, wlnle the other, whom he hales, is the moltier of his first-born. Now this is the very case which occurs in Genesis, in the histoiy of Jacob, and his wives Leah and Rachel ; and this law ordains, that in such a case the husband was not lo bestow the right of primo- geniture upon the son of the favourite wife, but io acknow- ledge as his Krst-born the son that actually was so. 4. The law of Exod. xxi. I), 10, io like manner already explained, expressly permits the father, who had given his son a slave lor a wife, lo give him, some years afler, a second wife, of //ccc birtli; and prescribes how the first was then lo be treated. The son was bound to pay lier matrimonial duty as often as she could have claimed it before his second marriage ; and, therefore, if he did so, the marriage still subsisted. If he refused, the marrinec immediately ceased, and the woman received her liberty. When Moses, in Lev. xviii. 18, prohibits a man from mar- rying the sister of his wife, to vex her while ^he lives, it manifestly supposes the liberty of taking another wife besides the first, and during her lirclime, provided only it was iit,l her sister. But because the sense of this passage has been much disputed, ami others, in opposition to Inc plain words of Moses, consider it as a general prohibition of polygamy ; as I cannot with piopriety expatiate fullv on their explanation here, 1 must refer the reader lo my Dis- sertation already iiuotcd, On Ike Hiosnic t'Inlvles yro/iiJiilnrt/ I'/ Marriages hehrut Sear Hetatiims. It does "not appear, however, that Moses permitted po- lygamy willingly, or iis a matter of indifference in either a moral or a political view, but, as Christ expresses it, merely on account of the hardness of the people's hearts. In other words, he did not approve it, but found it advisable to toler- ate it, as ap(jintof civil expediency. His hrst book, Avhich is entirely historical, includes maiiy particulars thai are by no means calculated lo recommend polygamy. According lo him, God, even at the very time when the rapid popula- tion of the earth was his great object, gave to the first man but (tnc wife, although it is evident that v:\l\\ four wives, he could have procreated more children than with one; and when, in consequence of the flood, ihe earth was to be re- duced anew to its original state in ihis respect, and God resolved lo preserve alive onlv Noah and his three sons, we still find that each of them'had but one wife with him. Now had God approved of polygamy, he would have eom- inandeil each of Noah's sons io marry as many wives as possible, and lake ihcm with him into the ark. From these two historical facts, the nauiral proportion between thesexes, which, where population isnumerous, cannoi be discovered without much trouble, becomes at once obvious; and Ihis very proportion, considering that we actually find much about the same number of men as of women fii for the mar- ried stale, is the strongest possible argument against polyg- amy ; the lawfulness or unlawfulness of wliich, as Mon- tesquieu very justly observes, resolves itself, properly speaking, into a question of arithmetic. Moses did not permit eunuchs to be made among the Israelites. Indeed he went so far aslo prohibit even the castration of cattle. Lev. xxii. 21 ; and besides this, a eunuch that came from another country to reside among the Israelites, was by a special Chap. 1. 1 SAMUEL. 153 statule exokided from ever becoming one of the people of God, that is, was incapable of enjoying the privileges and rights of an Israelite, both sacred and civil, Deut. xxiii. 2. This was an ordinance highly unfavourable to polygamy. We commonly find polygamy and eunuchism going to- gether ; and in those countries in which the former pre- vails, such as Turkey, Persia, and China, there are thou- sands, and even millions of eunuclis. Where so many of the males that are born, can never become husbands and obtain wives, it is nothing less than merciful to place them beyond the temptation of longing for a wife ; and, in early infancy, before they know what has befallen them, to assign them that intermediate state, in Avhich, without properly belonging to either sex, they are to live, and earn their bread. Besides, where polygamy is carried to great lengths, there is in the nature of the case an imperious necessity for \'igilant watchers of their chastity. In a word, without eunuchs, a great seraglio cannot be guarded; anil of course, a law prohibiting castration imperceptibly comiler- acts polygamy. This is also an observation of M. de Fre- mont val. It would appear, that in the course of time, polygamy had very much decreased among the Israelites, and become rather uncommon. Solomon, in Prov. xxxi. 10 — 31, in his description of that wife whom he accounted a bles,siiig to her husband, represents her entirely as a nmlrr-fuHiilitif, that is, the mi.stress and ruler of the wliyle iioitsehold ; which a wife in the state of polygamy can never be, being destined solely for her husband's bed, and having no per- mission to concern herself at all about domestic economy- It would therefore seem, that although Solomon himself lived in boundless polygamy, his subjects were contented with one wife. Besides, had polygamy continued as com- mon as in the day.s of Moses, the price of wives would have advanced in proportion to the increased value of other commodities; but we find that in the time of the prophet Jlosea, a wife was still the same as the medium rate in the lime of Moses; for that was about 30 .>hekels ; and Hosea (iii. 2) bought hif for \b shekels, and l.y epliahs of barley. Every thing else had risen in price, (as 1 have shown in my Dissertation, Dc pretiif nriim apiid [frbiwns, in the 3d Part of the Commciilurin of the Goltingen Society of Sci- ences,) except wii'es; and consequently, polygamy, which makes tkem .scarcv and dear, must have been much dimin- ished, or have cea.sed almost altogether among Ihe Israel- ites. That it ceased entirely after Ihe return of Ihe .lews from the Babylonish captivity, is, indeed, certain ; but willi that fact we have here nothing to do, «■< il was neilher an article nor an cflect of Ihe Mosaic law, but proceeded from other accidental causes. But how came il to pass tjiat Moses, who certainly did not approve of polgyamy, and counteracted its increase by various impediments, did not rather al once prohibit it al- logether f This is indeed an important question, and has not hitherto received a latislactorv answer. i\Inny of Montesquieu's readers will perhaps iliink, thai nothing can be easier than lo answer it fully in the following terms : "The lawfulnesi or unlawfuliies.s' of pidygamy depends entirely on Ihe proportion of females born In that of males, or is, as Montesquieu \'ery properly terin> it, a (iroiilcm cd arithmetic. Now in Asia iIku'c are manv more females than males, and consequently, polygamy should be there pennilled for the veiv same reaMiu for which it is prohib- ited in Kuiope. Wliere Ihe iiuiubers of bolh sexes are equal, there both nature and ariihiuelic prescribe monoga- my ; bill where the proccduie of nature is different, and several girls arc born for one boy, there she allows, or, I should rather say, there she authorizes polygamy." Here, however, and in what he .says of Asia, M'lnfi'squieu is np- doubtedly mistaken. For without very I'lear proofs, and without hnving accurate enumerations, and birlh-lists, of all the Asiatic nations, who will believe either him nr any other traveller, asserling llial, in regard lo Ihe proportion of the sexes born, the procedure of nature in Asia, partic- ularly in Turkey, Persia, China, and Japan, is allogethcr difierent from what wc find it in Europe"! It canmii be suppost'il that Ihe circum^lance of the.sc countries lying more lo the east than our F.uropean regions, can have anv clTeet in Ihis respect ; for the difference of climate depend.s not on the ea,sterly or westerly, but on Ihe southerly or northerly position of a country; in other words, not on the il-gren of longitude, but uf latitude. Now, Minorca lies ■20 under the 39th degree of latitude, and of course, some de- grees more to the south than Constantinople, and the coun- tries between the Black and Caspian Seas, whence the Turks and Persians purchase young women for their se- raglios, but in the very same latitude with a great part of Turkey, Persia, China, and Japan ; and yet this Island, accordingto Armstrong's account, in letter 15th, of his his- tory of it, had, in the year 17-1"2, exclusive of the English garrison, 15,000 male inhabitants, and but only r2,0()0 fe- male. Now, how can we believe, after this, that under the very same climate, but farther eastward, nature should, on the contrary, produce more persons of the other sex than of ours, merely because there it is noon, when the sun but begins to rise on Minorca*! The English colonies in America have, part of them at least, a still more southerly position; hut even there, no other proportion of births, in the two sexes, has been remarked, than what is found in England itself The whole mistake, into which even the venerable Montesquieu himself has been betrayed, proceeds from this, that in some of the great capitals of Asia, there are a great many more women ihan men, owing lo the residence of monarchs and people of fortune, who keep great seraglios, for which girls are purchased in other places, andbroughl lo the metropolis. It does not, however, thence follow, that in Asia lliere are more females born than male.-j, hut only that the former being more numerous in the rich cities, are in the piovinces, whence they are bought, /«.« so, in the very same proportion. Mr. Porter, the British ambassador at Consianimople, makes this re- mark in the Philosophical Transactions, vol. xlix. art. "21st; so that it is not matter of speculation, but of experi- ence. But the conclusion drawn from the oriental cap- itals, lo Ihe slate of whole countries, in regard to the pro- portion of Ihe sexes, is much in the same style as would be that of the traveller, who on seeing a German army of 100,000 troops, and remarking t'nat there was scarcely rnic vi-nman with il to ten men, should go home and assert that he had discovered, ihat In Germany there were ten times as many males born as females. ] am therefore of opinion, thai wiih regard to Ihe polygamy allowed among Ihe I.s- raeliles, we can say nothing else titan what Christ has said on Ihe subject of divorce. Aloses tolerated it mi neronnl of their hririlnm oj hcnrt, and because it would have beeti loimd a ditiicult mailer lo deprive them of a custom al- ready so firmly established. The Egyptian monarchs en- deavoured to prevent the multiplication of the Israelites, and for this purpose, went so far as to older all their male ; children, a.s soon as born, to be thrown into the Kile; and yet Moses found polygamy among ihcm, which, of course, I could not have been prohibilcil by Ihe Egyptian govern- j menl. A, people, whose children a tyrant drowned lo hin- j der their increase, while yet he dared not to check their polygamy, must have clung very closely to that privilege, and nnt have been lilicly to surrender it without rebelling. Whether Ihe climate may have, in anv degree, contribu- ted to produce thi^ hordiie^s nf /leort, 1 will neither confi- dently affirm 111 ir deny, .su long as we are destitute of what I would call a geographical hi.story of polygamy and mo- nogamy, which a pcr.sori might survey at a short glance; for ihus much is certnin, thai in the most nartherly regions of Siberia and Tariary, there are naluins thai live in po- lygamy ; and in Ihe very warmest climates, . i. ihrown, wiili wlncli ilioy so ctmiplelely e helmets appeared to lie made of stout leather, or other strong sub- .stance; they were oval and nearly llat, like the trencher caps worn at our universities: in the centre rose a head- piece, or crown, ornamented with feathers, &c. and on the front, dimtlij over the foicht.ul, was a sled IIoun, rising as it were from a short stem, and then assuming the form of one of our extinguishers, used to extinguish the light of a candle. ll appeared, also, that the comparison of siuh a military horn to the horn of a reem, (the unicorn of our translators,) the rhinoceros, was extremely applicable : for havin? seen the great rhinoceros a! the ineniigerie ai Versailles, we rec- ollected the resemblance perfectlv. Whether we should be justified in referring this part of dress to the military 011)11, may be questioned : because Hannah, for instance, .says, '■ Mil horn is e.valted." 1 Sam. il. 1. But women, oc- casionally, might adopt, ;is parts of dress, ornaments not altogether unlike this horn, even if this form of speech were not derived originally from the soldiers' dress, and trans- ferred to a notorious disposition of mind ; or to other in- stances. This also diminishes the apparent strangeness of Zcdekiah's conduct, I Kings x.vii. 11, ir/in mnile fiimself HORNS of iron, and said, " Thussailh the Lord, With these" military insignia, "shall thou push the Svriaus until thou hast consumed them," We are apt to conceive of these horns, as projecting, like bulls' horns, on each side of Zede- kiah's head. How diftcienl from the real fact ! Zedekiah, thou,ah he pretended to be a prophet, did not wish to be thought 7!i(ii!, to which imputation such an appearance would have sulijcclcd him: whereas, he only acted the hero, — the hero returning lu military triumph: it was little more than a flourish with a spoiUoon. In corrobcuation of this idea, let us hear Mr, Bruce, who first elucidated this subject by actual observation: — "One tiling remarkable in this cavalcade, which I ob- served, was the headdress of the governors of provinces, A large broad hllet was bound upon their forehead, and tied behind their head. In the middle of this was « iiobm, or conicul piere of silier, i^ilt, uioul four inches long, much in l/u- shape oj our roinmnn candle e.rtingnishcrs. This is called h-crn {i-^r^) or hovn, and is onlv worn in reviews, or parades aller victory. This 1 apprehend, like all other of their usages, is taken from ttiy Helirews, and the several allusions made in scripture to it, arises from this practice : — ' I .said to the wicked. Lift not up the horn,' ' Lift not up your horn on high ; speak not wiih a stifl'ncck.' ' The horn of the righteous shall beexaltcd with honour.' "—Tay- lor IN C.\LMET, Vei-, 5. Tlieii IhiU ii-rre selves for bread. ftill 1 iav( hired out theni- A man of high caste, or one who was once in affluence, will almost as soon die as work for food; and, generally speaking, such is the piiy felt for those people, that there are always some who will give a trifle to supply their wants. It is a plira.se iniiicalivc of great misery to say, " The once rich man is now hiring himself out for conjee," (gruel,)— RoBRRTs, Ver. 8. ?Ie raisetli up the poor out of the du.st, and lifteth up the hccrt^ar froin tho dunfrhiH, to set them aiuoiiR- princes, and to make them in- lierit the throne of glory. In preparing their victuals, the Orientals are, from ihc extreme scarcity of wood in many countries, reduced to use cowdnng for fuel. At Aleppo, the inhabiianls use wood and charcoal , '" ''"^"' 'uoius, but heal their baths with cowdung, the jiarings of fruit, and other things of a similar kind, which they einjiloy peoi.le to gather for that purpose, in Eg>pi, accoidmg to Puts, the scarcitv of wood IS so gieat, tliat at Cairo they commonlv heat I'heir ovens with horse or cow dung, or dm of the streets ; what wood they have, being brought from the shores of the Black bea, and sold by weight, Chardin attests the same act : " 1 he eastern people always u.sed cowdung for ba- king, boiling a pot, and dressing all kinds of victuals that are easily cooked, especially in countries that have but little wood; and Dr, Russel remarks, in a note, that "the Arabs earetuUy collect the dung of the sheep and camel a.s well as that of the cow; and that the dunsj, oflals, and other matters used in the bagnios, after having been new gather- ed in the streets, are carried out of Die city, and laid in great heaps to dry, where they become very oflensive. 1 hey are intolerably disagreeable, while drving, in the town adjoining to the bagnios; and arc .so at all times when it rains, though they be stacked, pressed hard together, and thatched at top," These statements exhibit, in a very .strong light, Ihe extreme misery i>f the Jews, who escaped from the devouring sword of Nebuchadnezzar : " They that fed delicately, are desolate in the streets; they that wet e brought up in scarlet, embrace dunghills." To embrace dunghills, is a species of wreichedness. perhaps tmknown to us in the history of modern warfare; but it presents a dieadtul and appalling image, when the cucuinslances to which 11 alludes are recollected. What can be imagined more di.stre.ssingto those who lived delicately, than to wan- der without food in Ihe .streets? What more di.sgusting and terrible to those who had been clothed in rich and splen- did garments, than to be forced by the destruction of their palaces, to seek shelter among stacks of dung, the filth and .stench of which it is almost impossible to endure. The dunghill, it appears from holy writ, is one of the common retreats of the mendicant, which imparts an exquisite force and beauty to a passage in the song of Hannah : " He raiseth up the poor out of the du.st, and lifieth the beggar liom the dunghill, to set them among princes, and to make them inherit the throne of glory." The change in the cir- cumstances of that excellent woman, she reckoned as great, (and it was to her not less unexpected,) as the elevation of a poor despised beggar, from a nauseous and polluting dunghill, rendered teii times more fcetul by the inten.se heat of an oriental sun, to one of the highest and most splendid stations on earth. — Paxton. A^'er, 24. Nay, my sons : for // is no good report that I hear: ye make the Lord's people to transoress This aflectionate form of speech may be heard in the mouth of every father. Thus, it is not common to mention the name, but my eldest, mv youngest son, (or some other epithet to designate the one he wants.) " iVlv sons, listen to the voice of your father," In passing through a village, a man or woman maybe heard in every corner bawling out, " Maganea,"i, <•, 0'son,or" Magalea," O daughter, " come hither; I want you," — Roberts, Ver, "1. Behold, the days come that I will cut off thine arm, and the arm of thy father's house, that there shall not be an old man in thy house. People, in cursing each other, sav, " In thy family may there neverbean old man," meaning, mav aU die in youth. " Alas! alas I there has not been an old ihan in that family for many generations." — Roberts. CHAPTER IV. Ver. 1-2, And there ran a inan of Benjamin out of the army, and came to Shiloh the same day, with his clothes rent, and with earth upon his liead. He indulged his grief to a violent degree, beating liis breast, and, among his other exclamations, frequently made use of one, very illustrative of that ancient act of grief, Chap. 4—7. 1 SAMUEL'. 157 heaping aslies on the head. He said, Ahi clieh hak be ser-c- vmiL anted, Wliat earth lias eume on my head ! repeating this with a constant intermixture of AJt wuhi, which he would continue to repeal lor above titly limes, in a whining piteous voice, lowering its tone till it became scarcely audi- ble, and then continuing it solo voce, until he broke out again into a new exclamation. — Morier. Ver. 13. And when he camn, lo, Eli sat upon a seat by- the wayside \\atching ; for his heart trembled for the ark of God. And when the man came into the city, and told it, all the chy cried out. Sitting on a cushion is, with ihe Orientals, an expression of honour, and tlie preparing a seat for a person ot disiinc- tioti seems to mean, laying things of this kind on a place where such a one is lo sit. " It is the custom of Asia," Sir J. Chardin inforni> us, " for persons in common not to go into the shops of that country, which are luostly small, but there are wooden seals, on the outside, where people sit down, aiid if it happens to be a man of quality, they lay a cushion there."' lie also informs us, "'ihat people of qual- ity cause carpets and cu.shious to be carried everywhere, that they like, in order to repose themselves upon them more agreeably." When Job speaks of his .preparing his seat, ch. xxix. 7, it is extremely natural to undeistand him of his sending his servants, to lay a cushion anil a car- pet on one of the public seals there, or something of ihat sort, as Sir John supposes; but I dj not iuiagine a seat iu the street, means a seat by a shop. Job is speaking evi- dently of his sitting there as a ruler among his people. Eli's seat by the wayside, was a seal adorneil, we may believe, after the same maimer. He did not sit in a mari- ner imbecoming so dignilied a personage. — H.irmer. CHAPTER VI. Ver. 4. Then said they. What shall bi: the tres- pass-oflcrino^ which we shall return to him? They answered. Five golden emerods, and five golden mice, arroi-di/ig to the number of the lords of the Philistines: for one plagfue wa.s-on you all, and on your lords. 5. Wherefore ye shall make images of your emerods, and images of your mice that mar the land ; and ye shall give glory unto the God of Israel : peradven- ture he will lighten his liand from off you, and from off" your gods, and from off your land This animal (the mouse) is so very diminutive, that the Jewish naturalist places it among die repliles, refusing it the honour of appealing among the quadrupeds. But, small and apparently insignificant as it is, in the oriental regions it often produces greater calamities than are expe- rienced from all the beasts of prey with which they are in- fested. Formidable by its activity, ils voraciousness, and its countless numbers, it lays waste the fields of Palestine and Syria, devours their harvests, and spreads famine and wretchedness among the helpless inhabitants. The extent and severityofthedistrcss in which its ravages frequently in- volve the people of those countries, are sufiicicntly attested bv the offering of Wvi; gohlen mice, from the lords of the Philistines, to a|)pease the wralli of God, and avert the plague under which they had so greatly suffered. The account of this transaction is recorded in the fir.st book of Samuel, and runs in these terms: "Then said ihey, what shall be the trespas.s-offering which we shall return to him 1 They an- swered. Five golden emerods, and five golden mice, accord- ing to the number of the lords of the Philistines: for one plague was on you all, and on yuur lords. Wherefore ye shall make images of your emerods, and of your mi<'e that mar the land; and ye shall give glory unlothe God of Israel : peradvenlurehc will lighten hisliand from off you, and from off your gods, and from off yoiir land." These words un- doubtedly intimate, that Palestine was very often visited by this scourge, and that the sufferings of its inhabitants were very severe. Thedeva.stalionsof thislillle destructive crea- ture were so frequent, so extensive, and followed bv con- sequences so dreadful, that e\en the unenlightened Philis- tines considered ihem as an immediate judgment from God himself. But this terrible scourge was not peculiar lo Pal- estine: Strabo mentions that so vast a muliilude of mice sometimes invaded Spain, as to produce a destructive pesli- lence ; and in Cantabria, the Romans, by selling a price on a certain measure of these animals, escaped wi.h diffi- culty from the same calamity. In other pans of Italy, the number of field-mice was so great, that some of the inhab- itants were forced to leave the counify. In Thrace, the frogs and mice sometimes united their hordes, and com- pelled the inhabitants lo seek new sellleiuents. In modern times, instances of the .same calamity are not wanting. About the beginning of the twelfth century, innumerable swarms of locusts and mice, during four successive years, so completely ravaged that country, as to produce almost a toial failure of Ihe necessaries of life. So great and general was the distress of the people, that a kind of peni- tential council was held at Naplouse, in the year lliJO, for the reformation of manners, and to invoke the mercy of the Almighty, who had been provoked by their sins to in- flict upon them such terrible judgments. — P.(xton. Ver. 5. Wherefore ye shall make images of your emerods, and images of your mice that mar the land : and ye. shall give glory unto the God of Israel. This command was given by the heathen priests and di- viners to the Philistines, who were smitten with emerods, and whose land was nearly destroyed by the mice. It is a remarkable facl,tliat whenthe Hindoos are afHicled in any pariicuhir member, (or in the person generally,) they make an image lo represent the afilicled part, and send it to the temple of Kanda Swamy, the Scandan of Bengal, in order to get relieved from their trouble. The temple of Kattai a- gam (sacred to Scandan) is famous, in all parts of the East, for the cures which have been performed by the deity there. Hence may be seen pilgrims at its shrine, suffering under every kind of disease, who have walked, or have been carried, from an immense di.stance. The images presented are generally made of silver, and I have seven of them in my possession, which are offerings in the famous icraple already mentioned. The first represents a boy with a very large belly, which has probably been pre- sented by the parents for their child labouring under that (very common) complaint. The second is that of an in- fant, probably sent by a mother who had a sick infant, or who, being herself in a state of pregnancy, had some fears respecting the future. The third is, I suppose, intended to represent an old man, who may have made a vow in his sickness, that he would present an image of silver to Ihe temple, should he recover. — Roberts. (See Engraving.) CHAPTER VII. Ver. 5. And Samuel said. Gather all Israel to Mizpeh, and I will pray for you unto the Lord. Aware of the dangers and calamities of war, ancient Is- rael were accustomed to perform very solemn devotions before they took the field: and it would seem, they had certain places particularly appropriated to this purpose. Samuel convened ihe people lo Mizpeh, in order to pre- pare, by a solemn address lo the throne of Jehovah, for ihe war which they mediialed against the Philistines. " And Samuel said. Gather all Lsracl to Mizpeh, and I will pray for you unio the Lord." At other times, they asked cotin- scl of God by the Urim and Thumniim, or by a prophet of the Lord. Such a custom was common in Egypt, when Pococke visited that country. Near Cairo, savs'lhat trav- eller, beyond the mosque of Sheik Duisse,andin ihe neigh- bourhood of a burial-place ofihe sons of some pashas, on a hill, is a solid building of stone about Ihree feet wide, built with ten steps, being at the lop about three feet square, on which the sheik mounts to pray on an extraordinary oc- casion, as when all the people go out at the beginning of a war; and also when the Nile does not ri-se as they expect it should ; and such a place, Ihey have without all the towns of Turkey. — Paxton. Ver. 6. And they gathered together to Mizpeh, and drew water, and poured it out before the 158 1 SAMUEL. Chap. 7 — 9. Loud, and fasted on that day, and said there, Wc have sinnud against the Lord. Samuel had been reproving llie people for their sins, and e.\h.>riins tliem lo repeiil, and come to Mizpeh to last and prav, and uonless their Miis, They complied with his di- rection-;, and in conkirmation of the solemn vows, tliey poured out water before the Lord, to show that their words and promises had g.me forth, and were "as water spilt on the -round, wliich cannot be slathered up anain. 1 o ponr vahr on the ground is a veiv ancient way ol talunf; a solemn oath in the East. When the S'"l X 'H'";','\'ii , ^ disguise of a dwarf, requested the siant Maha-Vllle (Bull) lo i^rant him one step of his kingdom, the favour was con- ceded, and coNFiR.MKn bv Maha-Ville lumnoii ml ii-alcr brforclhc ihcinf. But ill that ancient worlc, the Scanda P'urana, where the account is given of the marriage of the god Siiva wiih Parvati, it is said of the father, " He placed The hand of the goddess Parvati, genilress of the world, in tlie hand of Parama Easuran, (Siva,) and, pourino our thk Water, said, ' I give her with a joyful heart.'" This, there- foic, was also done in confir.mation of the compact. The cliildren of Israel, in their mi.sery, came before the Lord : they wept, they fasted, and prayed, and made their solemn vows; and, in'coNFiRMATioN of their promises, they "pmrcd out iciilcr before Ike Lord .'" — Roberts. CHAPTER VIU. Ver. G. But tlie thing displeased Samuel, when they said. Give us a king to judge us. And Samuel prayed unto the Lord. Hebrew, " was evil in the eyes of Samuel." Wlien any thing gives displeasure to another, it is .said to be evil in his eyes. " This thing is evil in his sight." " Alas ! my lord, lam evil in your sight!"— Roberts. CHAPTER IX. Ver. 7. Then said Saul to his servant, but, behold, if wo go, what shall we bring the man "i for the bread is spent in our vessels, and there is not a present to bring to the man of God ; what have we? In no quarter of the world, is the difference of ranks in society maintained with more scrupulous exactness than in Asia. The intercourse among the various classes ot mankind, which originate in the unequal distributions of creating wisdom, or providential arrangement, is regulated by laws, which, like those of the Medes and Persians, suf- fer almost no change from the lapse of tiine, or the fluc- tuation of human alfairs. To these laws, which have ex- tended their influence far beyond the limits of the East, the sacred writers make frequeiit allusions. No mark of es- teem is more common through all the oriental regions, none more imperiouslv required bv the rules of good breed- ing, than a present. When Mr. Manndrell and his party wailed upon Ostan, the basha of Tripoli, he was obliged lo send his present before him to secure a favourable re- ception. Il is even reckoned uncivil in that country, to make a visit without an offering in the hand. The no- bilitv, and officers of government, expect it as a kind of trib- uie due to their character and aiUhorily ; and look upon themselves as affronted, and even defrauded, when this compliment is omitted. So common is the cnstom, that in familiar intercourse among persons of inferior .station, they seldom neglect lo bring a flower, an orange, a few dates cu' radishes, or some such token of respect, to the per.son whom they visit. In Egypt the custom is equally prevalent : the visits of that people, which are very frequent in the course of the year, are always preceded by presents of various kinds, according to theirsiation and property. Soessential lo human and civil intercourse are presents considered in the East, that, says Mr. Kruce, " whether il be dates or diamonds, they are so much a pari of their manners, that without them i»n inferior will never be at peace in his own mind, or think that he has a hold of his superior for his favour or protection." Sir John Chnrdin affirms, that "the custom of making presents to the great, was universal in the East ; and that every thing is received even by the great lords of the country, fruit, pullets, a lamb. Everyone gives what is most at hand, ancf has a relation to his profession ; and those who have no particular profession, give money. As it is accounted an honour to receive presents of this .sort, they receive them in public ; and even choo.se to do it when they have most company." " Throughout the East," says Du Toll, '• gifts are always the mark of honour." This custom is, perhaps, one of the most ancient in the world. Solomon evidently alludes lo it in that proverb: " A man's gift inaketh room for him, and bringeth him before greal men." We recognise il in the reply of Saul to his servant, when he proposed to consuU the prophet Samuel about the object of their journey : " If we go, what shall we bring the man of God ! for the bread is spent in our vessels, and there is nol a present to bring lothe man of God. What have weT' Saul was inclined at lirst to otfer the seer, who was at the same lime the chief magis- trate in Israel, a piece of bread, till he recollected it was all spent, and then agreed to present him with " the fourth part of a shekel of silver," in value about a sixpence. It could not then be their design, by ofl'ering such a trifle, to purchase his services, but merely to show him that custom- ary mark of respect lo which he was entitled. JSor were the prophets of the Lord a set of mercenary prelenders lo the knowledge of future events, who sold their services to the anxious inquirer for a large reward. Had they refused to accept of such presents, they would have been guilty of transgressing an established rule of good manners, and of insulting the" persons by whom they were oH'ered. When Elisha refused, with an oath, to accept of the present which Naanian the Svrian urged him lo receive, it was not be- cause he thought il either unlawful or improper to receive a gift, for he did not hesitate to accept of presents from his own people ; nor was the prophet regardless of an estab- lished custom, which ofl^endcd no precept of Ihe divine law, or disposed to wound, without necessity, the feelings of the Syrian grandee ; but because he would not put il in the power of Naaman to say he had enriched the prophet of Jehovah; and by this act of self-denial, il is probable he was desirous of recommending the character and service of the true God to that illustrious stranger.— Paxton. Such as are prejudiced against the sacred history, and unacquainted with eastern customs, may be ready, from the donations to the prophets, to imagine they were a mer- cenary set of people, and rudely to rank them with cunning men and fortunetellers, who will not from principles ol benevolence reveal those secrets, or foretel those future events, of the knowledge of which they are supposed to be possessed ; but demand of ihe anxious inquirer a large re- ward. This, however, will make impressions on none but those who know not the oriental usages, which Maundrell long since applied, with such clearness and force, to one of the most exceptionable passages of the Old Testament, that he has sufficiently satisfied the mind upon this point. As he has expresslv applied it to a pas.sage of scripture, U would not have been agreeable to my design to have men- tioned this circumstance, had I not had some additional remarks to make upon this head, which possibly may not be ungrateful to the curious reader, and which therefore I shall here set down. I suppose my reader acquainted with Maundrell ; but il will be proper, for the sake of perspicu- ity first to recite at full length that passage in hini 1 refer to. ■" Thursday, March II. This clay we all dined at Con- sul Hastings's house; and after dinner went to wait upon Ostan, the basha of Tripoli, having first sent our present, as the manner is among the Turk.s, lo procure a propilious reception It is counted uncivil lo visit in this country without an ofl'ering in hand. All great men expect it as a kind of tribute due lo llieir characier and auihorily; and look upon themselves as afironlcd, and indeed defrauded, when this compliment is omitted. Even in familiar visits, among inferior people, vou shall .seldom have them come wilhoul bringing a flower, or an orange, or some other such token of their respect lo the person visiled: the Turks irf this point keeping up Ihe ancient oriental customs hinted 1 Sam. ix. 7. //' ire f;o, says Saul, w/iat sli^'ll ire bring Ihe mail, of God7 lltere is not a prescnl, &c. which words are questionless lo be understood in conformity to this eastern custom, as relating to a token of respect, and not a price of divination." , . , Maundrell does not tell us what the present wn^ whicli they made Ostan. It will be more entirely satisfying to Chap. 9. 1 SAMUEL. 159 the mind lo observe, that in the East they not only univer- sally send before them a present, or carry one with them, especially when they visit superiors, either civil or ecclesi- astical ; but that this present is frequently a piece of money, and that of no very great value. So Dr. Pococke tells us, that he presented an Arab sheik of an illustrious descent, on whom he waited, and who attended him to the ancient Hierapolis, with a piece of money, which he was told he expected ; and that in Egy^jt an aga being dissatisfied wilh the present he made him, he sent for the doctor's servant, and told him, that he ought to have given him a piece of cloth, and, if he had none, two sequins, worthabout a guinea, must be brought to him, otherwise he should see him no more, with which demand he complied. In one case a piece of money was expected, in the other two sequins de- manded. A trifling present of money to a person of dis- tinction among us would be an aff'ront ; it is not however, it seems, in the East. Agreeably to these accounts of Pococke, we are told in the travels of Egmont and Heyman, that the well of Joseph in the castle of Cairo is not to be seen without leave from the commandant; which having obtained, they, in return, presented him with a sequin. These instances are curious exemplifications of Mr. Maun- drell's account of the nature of some of the eastern presents, and ought by no means to be omiued in collections of the kind I am now making. How much happier was the cul- tivation of Mr. Maundrell's genius than of St. Jerome's! Tliough this father lived so many years in the East, and might have advantageously applied the remains of their ancient customs to the elucidation of scripture, to which, if he was a stranger, he must have been an egregiously negligent observer ; yet we find him, in his comment on Micah iii. 11, roundly declaring, that by a prophet's re- ceiving money, his prophesying became divination. And when he afterward mentions this case of Saul's application to Samuel, as what he foresaw might be objeclea to him, he endeavours to avoid the difticully, by saying, We do not find that Samuel accepted il, or that they even ventured to offer il ; or if it must be supposed that he received il, that it was rather lo be considered as money presented to the taber- nacle, than the reward of prophesying. How embarrassed was the saint by a circumstance capable of the most clear explanation ! Fond of allegorizing, he neglected the surest methods of interpretation, for which he had peculiar ad- vantages ; how different are the rewards of divination, which were lo be earned, from the unconditional presents that were made to persons of figure upon being introduced into their presence! Before 1 quit this observation, I can- not forbear remarking, that there are other things present- ed in the East, besides money, which appear to us extremely low and mean, unworthy the quality of those that offer them, or of those to whom they are presented ; and conse- quently that we must be extremely unqualified to judge of these orienlal compliments. In what light might a Euro- pean wit place the present of a governor of an Egyptian village, who sent to a Brilish consul fifty eggs as a mark cf respect, and that in a country whevethey are so cheap as to be sold at ihe rate often for a penny 1 — Harmf.r. A present always precedes Ihe man who is to ask a fa- vour. Those who come on a complimentary' visit, or to ask a favour, always present a lime, or a nosegav, with a graceful bow, to propitiate their benefactor. — Roberts. Ver. 13. Now the Lord had told Samuel in his ear. The priests have a remarkable custom of whispering something in the ear of those who are to be initiated. When a boy has readied Ihe age of eight, he is eligible to have the Uhatheasum whispered in his right ear. The communication is generally made in the Grandam lan- guage, which, of course, is not understood: they do, how- ever, .sometimes speak in familiar speech; but it will never be repeated, for the priest assures liim, should he do this, his head will split in two. This ceremony is believed to have the power of a charm, and to possess talisnianic in- fluence. It is sometimes very expensive, but the benefits are believed to be so great as to warrant the expense. — Roberts. Ver. 23. And Samuel said unto the cook. Bring; the portion which I gave thee, of which I said unto thee, Set il by thee. 24. And the cook took up the shoulder, and that which toas upon it, and set it before Saul. And Samud said, Behold that which is left ! set it before thee, and eat : for unto this time hath it been kept for thee, since 1 said, I have invited the people. So Saul did eat with Samuel that day. The shoulder of a lamb well roasted, and covered with butler and milk, is another delicacy, which the orientals greatly value. This explains the reason why Samuel or- dered il to be set before his future sovereign, as well as what that was which was upon it, the butter and milk of which the sacred historian lakes so particular notice. — This was by no means acontemplible dish for a royal enter- tainment, as some have alleged; but on the contrary, one of the most delicious which could be set before the future anointed of Jehovah. It appears from the accounts of travellers, that lamb is, in those parts of the world, ex- tremely delicate. One, says Chardin, must have eaten of it in several places of Persia, Media, and Mesopotamia, and of their kids, to form a conception of the moisture, laste, delicacy, and fat of this animal; and as ihe eastern people are no friends of game, nor of fish, nor fowls, their most delicate food is the lamb and the kid. It is therefore not without reason, the sacred writers often speak of ihe lamb and the kid, as the most agreeable food in those countries; and that the holy Psalmist celebrates the bless- ings of salvation, and particularly the spiritual comforts of the heaven-born soul, under the figure of "marrow and fatness." — Paxton. Ver. 25. And when they were come down from the high place into the city, Samuel communed with Saul upon the top of the house. 26. And they arose early: and it came to pass, about the spring of the day, that Samuel called Snul to the top of the house, saying. Up, that I may send thee away. And Saul arose, and they went out both of them, he and Samuel, abroad. Egmonl and Heyman tell us, that at Caipha, at the foot of Mount Carmel, " the houses are small and flat-roofed, where, during the summer, the inhabitants sleep in arbours made of the boughs of trees." They mention also tents of rushes on the fiat roofs of the houses at Tiberias, which are doubtless for the ."same purpose, though they do not say so. Dr. Pococke in like manner tells us, "that when he was at Tiberias in Galilee, he was entertained by the sheik's steward, the sheik himself having much company with him, but sending him provisions from his own kitch- en, and that they supped on the lop of Ihe house for cool- ness, according to their custom, and lodged there likewise, in a sort of closet, about eight feet scjuare, of a wicker-work, plastered round towards the bottom, but without any door, each person having his cell." In Galilee then we find they lodged a stranger, whom they treated with respect, on the top of the house, and even caused him to sup there. This was the laUer end id" May. This writer is more distinct than the others on this point, and I have recited his ac- count at large, because it may perhaps lead to the true ex- planation of 1 Sam. ix. 25, 26, which verses tell us, that after they descended from the high place, Samuel con- versed wilh Saul ())n Si' al hagsns:) on the house-top; and that at the spring of the day Samuel called Saul lo the housetop; or, as it may be equally well translated, on the hovsclop; that is, Samuel conversed with him for coolness on the housetop in the evening, and in the mnrnirg called Saul, who had lodged there all night, and was not got up, saying, Up, that 1 may send thee nwaii. The Sepluagint seem lo have understood it very much in this light, forlhev thus translate Ihe passage. And they spread n bed for Saul nil Ihe housetop, and he sltpl ; which shows how suitable this explanation is In those that are acquainted with eastern customs. As it is represented in our translation, Samuel called Saul to Ihe housetop in the morning; but no account can be easily given for this ; il does not appear lo have been for secrecy, for he did not anoint then, but after he had left Samuel's house, for which transaction the prophet ex- 160 1 SAMUEL. Chap. 10—14. pressly required secrecy. " As ihey were going ilonn to the end ot llie cily, Samuel said lo Saul, bid the servant pa.s.s on bel'oie us, and he passed on, but stand thou siill awhile, that 1 may show llae the word of God." This sleeping on the terraces ol' their houses is only in.Mininier- time. By this then we may delerJUine, in tfie general, that this secret inausiiralionof Saul was in that part ol' the year. Dr. Shaw has cited this pas.sage concerning Samuel and Saul, when mentionins the various uses to which the peo- ple ol' the Ea-^t put the Hat roofs of their houses, though without explaining it; but he has not menlioiied, among the other scriptures, that relating to Nebuchadnezzar, who is described hy the prophet as walking on the roof of his palace, and talcing a view of Babylon, when he fell, upon surveying that mighty citj', into that haughty soliloijuy wliich brought al':er it' a dreadful humiliation. ' This isihe more to bj regretled, because though many have, all have not considered the passage in this light. Our own translation in particular has not, bui renders the words, " He walked in the ))alace of the kingdom of Babylon," Dan. iv. 'ZO, and has thrown the other reading " h;w« the palace," into the margin, as less preferable, llut to those that are acquaint- ed with eastern customs, who recollect the pas.sagc, which Dr. Shaw, it seems, did not, there cannot be any doubt how it is to be understood. "Sur la terrasse," .says Sir J. Chardin, in his MS. note on this place, " pour le plaisir de la vuc, pour de la considerer la ville, et pour prendre la frais, et c'est ce que prouvc, le ver.set .suivant." That is, he walked upon the terrace, for the pleasure of the pros- pect, to lake a view of the cily, and to enjoy the fre.sh air, which the I'ollowing verse proves. Nothing can be more natural than this interpretation. — H.irmeh. CHAPTER X. Ver. 5. Wlioii thou art come hither to the citv, thou shalt inert a company of prophets eoiuiurr down from the high jilace, with a psaltery, and a tabret, and a pipe, atid a harp before thetn ; and tliey .shall prophesy. The prophets in the ordinary modes of prophesying, ■were accustomed to compose their hymns lo some musical instrument ; and there could be but little difficully in adapt- ing their elfusions to a measure which rcquircdi probably, no great restrictions in a language so free and uncontrolled as the Hebrew. The Jews conceived ihal music calmed the passions, aud prejiared the mind for the recepliim of the prophetic inllnence. It is probable, that the pro]'hets on these occasions did not usually perform themselves on themusical in-;!rumeiils, but rather acr(nniianied the strains of the minstrel with their voice. — (Lowlh.) It has been the praelire of all nations lo adapt their religious worship to music, which the fabulous accounts of antiquity derived from heaven. — BeriDEii. Vcr. 27. Rut the children of Belial saiti, How shall this man save us? And they despised iiiiu.and brought him no presents: but he held his peace. See on.Ps. 70. 11. CHAPTER XI. Ver. 2. Then Nahash the Aminonite came up, and encamped an-ainst .T. And all thci/ of ihe land came to a wood ; and there was honey upon the ground. See on P.s. 81. 16. Ver. 2G. And when the people were coine into the wood, behold, the lioney dropped. Bees, in the East, are not, as in England, kept in hives: they are all in a wild .state. The fcuesls literally flow wilh lioney; large combs may be seen hanging on the trees as you pass along, full of honey. Hence this article is cheap ami plentiful, and is much lised by the Vedahs to preserve CiiAP. 15—17. 1 SAMUEL. 161 the flesh of animals they catch in the chase. The ancient poets take great pleasure in speaking of the value of milk and honey.— Roberts. CHAPTER XV. Ver. 9. But Saul and the people spared Ag-ag, and the best of the sheep, and of the o.^cen, and of the fallings, and the lambs. The margin has. instead of "fallings," of the "second sort." This curious way of designating the quality of animals finds an e.\act parallel among the Hindoos. They do not usually compare, as we do, by good, better, best; but first, second, or third sort. An animal of the finest pro- portions is said to be of the first sort ; the ne-ft, of the second; and the last, the third. All the productions of art and nature are compared, as to their value, in the same way. They tell us there are three kinds of fruit they pre- fer to all others : first, gold ; second, precious stones ; and third, land. — Roberts. Ver. 33. And Samuel said, As thy sword halh made women childless, so shall thy mother be childless among women. And Samuel hewed Agag in pieces before the Lord in Gilgal. See on Ezra 4. 14. Criminals were sometimes hewed in pieces, and their mangled bodies given as a prey to ravenous beasts. This punishment seems to have been extremely common in Abyssinia, when Mr. Bruce was there, and was probably handed down from the founders of thai kingdom: "Coming across the market-place," says ihe traveller, " I had seen Za Mariam, the Ras's doorkeeper, wiih three men bound, one of whom he fell a-hacking to pieces in my presence ; and upon seeing me running across the place, stopping my nose, he called me to stay till he should despatch the other two, for he wanted to speak with me, as if he had been engaged about ordinary business ; that Ihe soldiers, in consideration of his haste, immediately fell upon the other two, whose cries were still remaining in my ears; that the hyenas at night would scarcely let me pass in (he streets, when I returned from the palace; and the dogs fled into my house, to eat pieces of human carcasses at their leisure!" This account elucidates the mode of execution adopted by the prophet Samuel, in relation to Agag, the king of Amaiek ; " And Samuel said, (^it'n:') As (or, in ibe same identical mode) thy sword hath made women childless, so shall thy mother be childless among women. And Samuel hewed Agag in pieces before the Lord in Gilgal." This was not a sudden and passionate act of vengeance, but a deliberate act of retributive justice. That savage chieftain had hewed many prisoners to death; and therefore, by the command of Jehovah, the judge of all the earth, he is visited with the same punishment which he had cruelly used towards others. — Paxton. In Light's Travels, we are informed, that " Djezzar had reason to suspect fraud in the conduct of .some of the oflicers of the seraglio : and, as he could not discover the offenders, he hail between tifiy and sixty of them seized, stripped naked, and laid on the ground : and to each was placed a couple of janizaries, who were ordered to hew them in pieces with their swords." — Bludeb. CHAPTER XVII. Vet. 0. And /w liar! creaves of brass upon his legs, and a target of bras.s between his shoulders. These were nece.s.sary to defeml Ihe legs and feet from the iron stakes placed in the way by Ihe enemy, to gall anil wound their opponents. They were a part of ancicni military harness, and Ihe artifices made u.se of by contend- ing parties rendered the precaution important. — Birder. Ver. 7. And the staff of his spear teas like a weaver's beam ; and his spear's head weighed six hundred shekels of iron: and one bearing a shield went before him. The oriental warrior had a person who went before him ■il in the hour of danger, whose oflice il was to bear the great massy buckler, behind which he avoided the missile weapons of his enemy. Goliath had his armour-bearer carrying a shield before him, when he came up to dely the armies of Israel. When David went first to court, he was made armour-bearer to Saul ; and Jonathan had a young man who bore his armour before him in the day of baule. Besides the large and ponderous buckler, the gigantic Philistine had another ol smaller size called cido7i, which we render target in one pan of our version, and shield in another. Il might either be held in the hand when the warrior had occasion to use it, or, at other limes, be con- veniently hung about his neck, and turned behind ; and, therefore, the historian observes he had " a target of brass between his shoulders." — Paxton. Ver. 18. And carry these ten cheeses unto the captain of t/ieir thousand, and look how thy brethren fare. The art of coagulating milk, and converting it into cheese, was known among the Syrian shepherds, from the remote.st limes. Instead of runnel, ihey turn the milk, especially in the summer season, with sour butlermilk, the flowers of the great-headed thistle, or wild artichoke ; and, putting the curds afterward into small baskets made with rushes, or with the dwarf calm, they bind them up close, and press them. These cneeses are rarely above two or three pounds weight ; and in shape and size, resemble our penny loaves. Oriental cheeses are sometimes of so very soft a consistence, after they are pressed, and even when they are set upon the table, that they bear a very near re- semblance to curds, or to coagulated milk, which forms a very considerable part of eastern diet. But the len cheeses which David carried to the camp of Saul, seem to have been fully formed, pressed, and sufficienlly dried, to admit of their being removed from one place to another, without Ihe frames in which Ihey w.=re made. — Paxtok. The sons of Jesse were serving in the army of Saul ; and as he probably had not heard from them for some time, he sent their brother David to take a present lo Ihe captain, lo induce him lo be kind to his sons ; also lo bring a pledge, or token, from his sons themselves, lo assure him that Ihey were well. A person in a distant country sends to those who are interested in his welfare a ring, a lock of hair, or a piece of his nail. This is his " pledge" of health and prosperity. A man who has returned from a far coun- Iry, in calling upon an old friend (should he not be at home) will leave a handkerchief as a token, lo testify that he had called. — Roberts. The Vulgate illustrates this passage by translating the Hebrew words, decem formellas casei, ten liule baskets of cheese, or, ten cheeses made in such baskets. To this day, in Barbary, " after turning the milk with the flowers of the great-headed thistle, or wild arlichoke, Ihey put the curds into small baskets, made with rushes or with Ihe dwarf palm, and bind them up close and press them." (Shaw.) "Another offered me milk in baskets; a circumstance that astonished me. What, exclaimed I, milk in baskets! These baskets, he continues, are very pretty, and fabricated with reeds so closely interwoven, thai Ihey will hold water, and were afterwards of much .service to me for ihat use." (Vaillant.) " In the evening they sent us in return some baskets of milk. These baskets weie made from a species of cypenis, a strong reedy grass that grew in the springs of Zaure Veld. The workmanship was exceedingly clever and neat, and Ihe lexiure .so close that ihey were capable of containing Ihe thinnest fluid." (Barrow.) "The girls also twist cotton yarn for fringes, and prepare canes, reeds, and nalmetto leaves, as the hoys also do, for basket making: but Ihe making up the baskets is the men's work, who first die the malerialsof several curious lively colours, and then mix and weave them very prellily. They weave littlebas- kets like cups also very neat, with Ihe iwiss wrought so very line and close, as lo hold any liquor without any more lo do, having no lacker or varnish: and Ihey as ordinarily drink out of these woven cups, as out of their calabashes, which Ihey paint very curiously. They make baskets of several sizes for carrying their clothes, or other u.ses, with great variety of work; and so firm, lhat you may crush them, or throw them about how you will, almost with little or no damage to them." — Bvrder. 1G2 1 SAMUEL. Chap. 17. Ver 20 And David rose up early in the morn- in-. and loft the sheep witli a keeper and took and went, as Jesse had commanded h'n> J^J he came to the trench as the host -a going forth to the fight, and shouted for the battle. ■ After ^otT'TrL::^^^^^^:^^^ mie-s ?'^n'^'-a''>'^'^,7'" H ^eeaemonians were parucularly like instru.nenf but llic t"lu^,' engagements \vuh the soft remarkable lor beg'nnmg .1 u en ^geme ^^^^ ^^^_ toues of the fl>''^. jh-^' ^XiS .hem to march with a batanis cool and sela^e. a"" ,u„„. enemies. In the armies firm and majesuc step ^f"'";' ''^^,',"','^, roused and sus- °^ '";;;'; '^tZlnlf ° r ' .sInsJrumen..-, in which .ere lamed bv a concerioi vai- , „f.i,. silver irumret, and disun.Mi.shed ;he -nam^ -;'"^^^^^^^^^ In^he be- Ihe fjen ler noleb of the '"Jf^^"" Jeneral' shout to en- gi„,„ng "f ''>^^'^r,^"j:'';„';'^UoXr and s.nke .error inlo courage an'"'«„.int forth to the fight, and 'I' '"."f ; fhetuir Fo"^?r" fa!rd Ihe'philislfnes had shouted for the battle. t^^J ' ' ■ , ^rmv." This custom put the battle m array, "7^. ^"J", "^,t%very nation under seems to have been "*<"'' ,\''l'jr''ier7 "^o treat of '''^''^•'■V'Xts" Se™co,u a>^" the'"onfused notse of martial ^ff^^s Homer tp jeafening roar of irren™ u^h'rnf ^vi'ruilp'etuous force from the mountains into siibjacent valleys prosecuted in Canaan, .p,,,ax», and rp. ^•^T"^,f;Vroials the godlike Paris mmsmm TON. Ver 23. And as he talked with '^™\v. , .f there came up the champion (the Philistme o Gath, Goliath bv name) out of the armies of the Philistines, "and spake according to the same words: and David heard /A.;„ 24. And aU the men of Israel, when they saw the man, fled from him, and were sore afraid rirS^s that fought under the banners of Saul , ana «»" ^ stran"e and fncredible they may appear to "^ ".^^''y «^^- E}tui^^=^tih;=of"^5 "'''^nf^"rl vheioicimnl.the ir.bes of Israel often put ro"mgMlaVnu^b:k°'onhe,,..nemie^^and became alerr. 10 all the circumjacent kingdoms.-PAXTON. Ulhng a few acres 0 1 h.mdase was sli 1 more " fT-\ T-^^e to he cul vation of m.U.ary habits. In such unfavourat)l(. to inccm ^^^ ^^^^^ ^^^^ crcum^iances .he lefei c . 01 ine ^ ^^;^,^^„^ ^^„„red the violence of lO^ '"^ b" |es, w mc^ produced the only the coun.rv in q.es of spod enera.t, P ^.^^^^^_ ^^ ^^^^ "rrn^hTrrcors^suLtem number of l^ncuien.s,.oshow^ ^•e can discern the m .^p^vorld with adtii.ranon has =o often since IS nme „^,,„i„p,i ,hai when the or dis'nay. H «"' ^' ,,, 'f p„..„, ^..i.ere thev had been chosen people -;•; J^ ' ;'^„^; 7^' :^otequence of iheir long «" ; S'; eTthe abiect and colardlv disposi- „,seru-s had contracted .he ,^._^ ^^^^ ^^^ ^^_^^^^^^ lions of the ^l^;f:'"^\.;i, ,nnjs recovered that vigour rnre'l";:riin''wMchThe'f;^edo,n and hardships of thewil- Ver 34 And David said unto Saul. Thy servant ^''' ■ '"V'Tdd^ess'mr'^ When Samson, the chaSipion prowess or address oi "'""•, ,, . belongmg to the Sf Israel, went dow-n o T.mna h » <^>'> » J^enon-ned iribe of Dan ^'''''''t.' '" m'es a voun" lion roared against for the "'^/11«'"'^''.°. '"^.;u"tord cam? mightilv upon him, him; " and the spirit ol '^^ Lor-l came mi^nu y j and he rent him as he --'^^f ;- -"'.^te ii;n was onlv F«9l5^-^ofecu=i^^»:i degree of intensin ^ „' , "r 1,;^ nrorhecv where he de- Amos relers, in .hat ,r?.rt '' ^ F "P^f ',; ^ f^^,. of the '^"^ ',u r,? 'the nock and I went out after him, and smote agaiuM me, I ^ j^ ^ ,i^,j, ^^^j ,j,e bear. slew !'>"'• •'AX",^,,'hft 1 shepherd indtsputably details hVnIrtic i" r ^ f two xplu.s pe'rformed on'difTerent occa- the pari'"' ''^- ,. , , ,p hpilr never hunt in company. Like he'rea. par. of other wild beasts, they prow-^^ alone occasions wthotho, an'^'a ^ ,hem both at .be same miag.ne .ha. Da^H en^omit ^ ^,^^j^^^^,^ ^, ,„ n,ake IhTt'extsp'^^k lis language; for he translates it, There the 'e'" 1 ^"'; together or in companv wuli a bear. '^ir;re we't^sSp^o^e,' -?:. these two animals, con.rar,- to Chap. 17. 1 SAMUEL. 163 Iheir nature, entered into parlnership on this occasion, and that lo seize upon one poor lamb, and divide it between them! Or if no miracle was wrought in the case, but the victory was achieved by the natural strength and reso- lution of David, aided by the good providence of God, how many hands must we suppose him to have had, in order at once to seize two such animals, to smile them both, and to rescue the lamb" from their jaws'? How was it possible for a single youth, for at that time he was not more than twenty years of age, to encounter with success two of the strongest and fiercest beasts that range the forest 1 Or if David vanquished these terrible depredators, not by his own courage and address, but by the miraculous as.sistance of heaven, still the ditiiculty is not removed ; for he could have no warrant from such a victory to encounter Goliath. It became him lo enter the lists with the giant, depending upon the ordinary assistance of God, and the usual vigour of his own arm, not upon a miracle, which God had not promised. To avoid these inconveniences, it is necessary to admit, that David mentions two different rencounters, one with a lion, and another with a bear; in both which lie succeeded in rescuing the prey from the devourer. This hypothesis has the advantage of being perfectly consistent with the text; for the particle rendered and, is often dis- junctive, and ought to be translated or. Thus, in the law of the passover, it is commanded, " Ye shall take it out fiom the sheep or from the goats;" and in the precept for securing reverence to parents, " He that smiieth his father or his mother, shall surely be put to death ;" " and he that curseth his father or his mother, shall surely be put to death;" in all which, the connecting particle is the same. But by the law of Moses, only one lamb, or one kid, was to be taken for each household, not two; and if a person smote, or cursed one of his parents, he was guilty of death ; in these ca.ses, therefore, the particle is properly rendered or ; and by consequence, may be so rendered in the text under consideration. The words o'f David would then run thus: There came a lion or a bear, and took a lamb out of the flock. This version is also required by the verb, which, instead of being in the plural, as the conjunctive particle demands, is in the singular number, which clear- ly indicates a disjunctive sense. This is confirmed by the next verse, in which David speaks of them in the singular number : " And I went out after him, and smole him, and delivered it out of his mouth ; and when he rose again.st me, I caught him by his beard, and smote him, and slew him." If these two animals had been in company, he could with no propriety have spoken of them in this man- ner. The meaning therefore is, there came a lion on one occasion, and on another a bear, and took each a lamb out of the flock ; and he went out against each of them and res- cued the lamb from his mouth. Thus, by the favour of Providence, did the future shepherd of Israel, on two dif- ferent occasions, slay both the lion and the bear. Nor ought this to be reckoned an achievement beyond the power of a single combatant ; for an ancient poei only ad- mits it lo be extremely dangerous, and almost beyond the powers of man, to deliver the prey from the mouth of a iiungrj' lion, but does not venture to pronounce it imprac- ticable:— "Esiiripnti leoni e-K ore cxsculpere piapiiam." Nor is any mistake imputable to David, when he speaks of seizing abearby the beard ; for the original term sometimes denotes the chin ; as in this precept of the ceremonial law : " If a man orwoman have a plague upon the head or beard ; then the priest .shall see the ))lague." He, therefore, seized the lion by his beard, and the bear, that was not favoured with this ornament, by the chin ; which entirely removes the difficulty. — Paxton. Ver. 38. And Saul armed David with his ar- mour, and he put a hehiiet of brass upon his head ; also he armed him with a coat of mail. A principal piece of defensive armour entitled to our no- tice, IS the helmet, which protected the head. This has been used from the remotest ages by almost ever\' nation of a martial spirit. The champion of the Philistines had a helmet of brass upon his head, as had also the king of Is- rael, who commanded the armies of the living God. This martial cap was also worn by the Persians and Ethiopians in the day of battle. The Grecian helmets were very often made of the skins of beasts ; but the helmet of the Jewish warrior seems to have been uniformly made of brass or iron; and to this sort of casque only, the sacred writer seems to refer. In allusion to this piece of defensive ar- mour, Paul directs the believer to put on for a helmet the hope of salvation, which secures the head in every con- test, till through him that loved him, he gain a complete victory over all his enemies. That well-grounded hope of eternal life, which is attended with ineffable satisfaction, and never disappoints the soul, like a helmet of brass shall guard it against tear and danger, enable it patiently to en- dure every hardship, and fortify it against the most furious and threatening attacks of Satan and all his confederates. Such adversaries, this solid hope is not less calculated to strike with dismay, than was the helmet of an ancient war- rior in the day of baule his mortal foes, by its dazzling bri^htuess, its horrific devices of Gorgons and Chimeras, and its nodding plumes which overlooked the dreadful cone. — Paxton. Ver. 43. And the Philistine said unto David, Am I a dog, that thou contest to me with slaves? And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. Men of high caste will not strike those who are of low caste with the hand, because the touch would defile them : they therefore beat them with a stick or some olher weapon. Hence to offer to strike any person with a stick is very provoking, and the person so struck will ask, " Am I a dogl" When a man wishes to make another angry, he pretends to be looking for a stick, which will produce a similar question and feeling. Sometimes, however, they only repeat the proverb, " Take up a stick, and the dog will run off^. ' As did the Philistines, so do these people curse each other bv their gods. The imprecations are generally of such a kind as it Would be improper lo repeat. The ex- tremes of filthiness,of sin and hell, are put under contribu- tion, to furnish epithets and allusions for their execrations. — Roberts, Ver. 44. And the Philistine said to David, Come to me, and I will give thy flesh unto the fowls of the air, and to the beasts of the field. The rhodomontade of Goliath is still the favourite way of terrifying an enemy. "Begone, or I will give thy flesh to the jackals." " The crows shall soon have thy carcass." "Yes, the teeth of the dogs shall soon have hold of thee." " The eagles are ready." — Roberts. Ver. 51. Therefore David ran, and Etood upon the Philistine, and took his sword, and drew it out of the sheath thereof, and slew him, and cut ofThis head therewith. And when the Philis- tines saw their champion was dead, they fled. The ancient Grecians frequently committed their caase to the issue of a single combat, and decided their quarrels by two or more champions on each side; and their kings and great commanders were so eager in the pursuit of glory, and so tender of the lives of their subjects, that they frequently sent challenges to their rivals, to end the quar- rel by a single encounter, that by the death of one of them, ihe effusion of more blood might be prevented. Ancient history contains many remarkable instances of such com- bats; Xanthus, king of Bceotia, challenged Ihe king of Attica, to terminate the dangerous war in which their states were engaged in this way, and lost his life in the contest; and Pittacus, the famous Mitylenian, killed PhrjTio the Athenian general, in a single combat. This custom was not unknown in Palestine and other eastern countries, for the champion of the Philistines challenged the armies of Israel, lo give him a man lo fight with him; and when he fell by the valour of David, his countrymen, struck with dismay, immediately descried Iheir standards, and endeavoured io save themselves by flight. The chal- lenge given on those occasions, was gcnerallv couched in the most insolent language, and delivered with a very con- temptuous air. Thus, Homer makes one chief address ano'her in these terms: " Bold as thou art, loo prodigal of IGl 1 SAMUEL. Chap. 18. life, approach and ctiier liie dark gales of dealli." But lliis is a lame spiritless defiance, compared with the proud and insulting; terms which Goliaih addressed to his young and inexperienced nniai,' but goats' hair was in great use in those earlier ages, and may be imagined to have been put to this use in those limes, as our modern sieves still continue frequently to be made of the liair of animals. After this preparatory remark, I would produce a proof, that this kind of defence against gnats is used in the East. " Among the hurtful animals that Egypt produces," says Maillet, " those that we call gnats ought not to be forgotten. If their size prevents all apprehensions of dangerous acci- dents from tiicm, their multitudes make them insupportable. The Nile water, which remains in t'ne canals and the lakes, into which it makes its w-ay every year, produces such a j>rodigious quantity of these insects, that the air is often darkened by them. The nighttime is that in which people are most exposed to receive punctures from them ; and it is with a view to guard themselves from them, that they .sleep so much here on the tops of their houses, which are fla!-roofed. These terraces are paved with square flat .stones, very thin ; and as in this country, they have no ap- prehensions from rain or fogs, ihey are wont to place their lieds on these roofs every night, in order to enjoy their re- pose more undisturbedly and coolly, than they could any- where else. Gnats seldom rise so high in the air. The agiiation of the air at that height is too much for them ; they cannot bear it. However, for greater precaution, jiersons of any thing of rank never fail to have a tent set up in these terraces, in the midst of which is suspended a pavilion of fine linen, or of gauze, which falls clown to the ground, and encloses the mattress. Under the shelter of this pavilion, which the people of the country call na- winii.siV, from the word vammis, which in their language signifies fii, or gtiat, people are secured against these in- sects, not only on the terraces, but everywhere else. If they were to make use of them in Europe, I do not doubt but that people that sleep in the da\'time, and above all the sick, would find the advantage of them ; for it must be acknowledged, that in summer-time those small insects, which introduce themselves into all places, are insupporta- ble to people that would take their repose, and much more so to those that are ill," No curious carved .statue, which indeed one can hardly imagine was to be found in the house of David, was necessary ; any thing formed in a tolerable resemblance of the body of a man wa.s sufficient for this deception, covered over with the coverlet belonging to the mattress on which it was laid, and where the head should have been placed, being covered all over with a pavilion of goats' hair, through which the eye could not penetrate. A second visit, with a more exact .scrutiny, discovered the artifice. There is another passage in which the word occurs, and in the same sense. It is in the account the historian gives us of the real cause of the death of Benhadad, the king of Syria, 2 Kings viii. 15 ; " And it came to pass on the mor- row, that he took a thick cloth, and dipped it in water, and spread it over his face, so that he died : and Hazael reigned in his stead." If Hazael stifled him, why all this parade 1 the drawing the pillow from under hi^ head, and clapping it over his mouth, would have been sufficient. Why the procuring a thick cloth, according lo our translators 1 why the dipping it in water ! It is the same word (103 kebeer) with that in Samuel, and, it is reasonable therefore to sup- pose, means the same thing, a gnat pavilion. The dipping It in water may well be supposed to be under the pretence of coolness arid refreshment. So Pitts tells us, that the people of Mecca " do usually sleep on the tops of the houses for the air, or in the streets bet'ure their doors. Some lay the small bedding they have on a thin mat on the ground; others have a slight frame, made much like drink-stalls, on which we place barrels, standing on four legs, corded with palm cordage, on which they put their bedding. Before they bring out their bedding, they sweep the streets, and water them. As for my own part, I usually lay open with- out any bed-covering, on the top of the house ; only I took a linen cloth, dipped in the water, and after I had wrung it, covered myself with it in the night : and when I awoke, if I should find it dry, then I would wet it again ; and thus I did two or three times in a night." In like manner, Niebuhr tells us, in his description of Arabia, that " as it is excessively hot, in the summer-time, on the eastern shore of the Persian gulf, and they do not find that the dew there is unwholesome, they sleep commonly in the open air." He goes on, "in the island of Charedsj, I never enjoyed my repose better ihan when the dew moistened my bed in the night." Hazael then had a fair pretence to offer to moisten the gnat pavilion, if Benhadad did not himself desire it, on the account of his extreme heat, which might prove the occasion of his death, while the dis- temper itself was not mortal. Whether the moisture of that piece of furniture proved at that time destructive from the nature of the disease, or whether Hazael stifled him with it, we are not told by the historian, and therefore cannot pretend absolutely to determine. Conjecture is nol likely to be very favourable to Hazael. — ILihmeb. CHAPTER XX. Ver, 30, Then Saul's anger ^vas kindled against .Jonathan, and he said unto him. Thou son of the perverse rebellious icoman, do not I know that thou hast chosen the son of Jesse to thine own confusion, and unto the confusion of thy motlipr's nakedness In the Ea,st, when they are angry with a person, they abuse and vilify his parents, Saul thought of^nothing but venting his anger against Jonathan, nor had any design to reproach his wife personally; the mention of her was only a vehicle by which, according to oriental modes, he was to convey his resentment against Jonathan into the minds of those about him, — Harmrr, CHAPTER XXI. Ver. 9, And the priest said, The sword of Goliath the Philistine, whom thou slewest in the valley of Elah, behold, it is here, wrapped in a cloth behind the epliod if thou wilt take that, take It ; for there is no other save that here. And David said. There isnoue like that ; trivc it me. To the jewels of silver and gold, which the Hebrew soldier was accustomed 10 bring as a free-will offering into the treasury of his God, must be added the armour of some illustrious foe, which, in gratiuide lor his preserva- tion, he suspended in the sanctuarc. The sword of Go- liath was wrapped up in a cloth, and deposited behind the ephod ; and in a succeeding war, the Philistines proring victorious, took their revenge by depositing the armour of Saul in the temple of Ashtaroih. The custom of dedica- ting to the gods the spoils of 11 conquered enemy, and placing them in their temples as trophies of victorj' and testimonies of gratitude, is very ancient, and universally received in Asia and Greece. Hector promises to dedicate his enemy's Chap. 22, 23. 1 SAMUEL. 167 armour in the temple of Apollo, if he would grant him the victory : " But if I shall prove victorious, and Apollo vouchsafe me the glory to strip off his armour, and carry it to sacred Troy, then will I suspend it in the temple of the far-darting Apollo." Virgil alludes to this custom in his description of the temple, where Latinus gives audi- ence to the ambassadors ot jEneas : "Multanue praeterea sacris in postibusarma," &c. JBn. lib. vii. 1. 163. " Besides, on the sacred doorposts, many arms, captive chariots, and crooked cimeters are suspended, helmets, crested plumes, and massy bars of gates, and darts, and shields, and beaks torn from ships." Nor was it the cus- tom only to dedicate to heaven the weapons taken from an enemy; when the soldier retired from the tumults of war to the bosom of his family, he frequently hung up his own arms in the temple, as a' grateful acknowledgment of the protection he had received, and the victories he had won. In this custom, the Greeks and Romans imitated the Asiatic nations, and particularly the Hebrews ; for when David resigned the command of his armies to his generals, he laid up his arms in the tabernacle, where they continued for several ages ; and there is reason to believe his conduct in this respect, was followed by many of his companions in arms. When Joash, one of his descendants, was crowned, Jehoiada the high-priest, under whose care he had been educated, delivered to the captains of hundreds, spears, and bucklers, and shields, that had been King David's, which were in the house of God. — Paxton. CHAPTER XXII. Ver. 6. When Saul heard that David was dis- covered, and tlie men that ipere. with him, (now Saul abode in Gibcah under a tree in Ramah, having his spear in his hand, and all his ser- vants Wire, standing about him ) Though mean people in travelling might make use of trees for shelter from the heat, we may perhaps think it almost incredible that kings should not imagine that either proper houses would be marked out for Iheir reception ; or if that could not be conveniently done in some of their routes, that at least they would nave tents carried along with them, as persons of more than ordinary rank and condition are supposed by Dr. Shaw now to do. For these reasons we may possibly have been extremely surprised at that passage concerning Saul, 1 Sam. xxii. 6, Now Sanl abode in Gibcah^ under a tree in Jiaviah, or, according to the margin, undtr a grove in a high place, having his spear in his hand, and all his servants were standing about him. Yet strange as this may appear to us, it is natural enough according to the present customs of the East, where we know the solemnity and awfulness of superiority is kept up as high as ever. Thus when Dr. Pococke wa,s travelling in the company of the governor of Faiume, who was treated with great respect as he passed along, they passed one night, he tells us, in a grove of pajm-trees. The governor might, no doubt, had he pleased, have lodged in some village; bnt he rather chose a place which we think very odd for a person of figure. The position of Saul, which was on a high place according to the margin, reminds me of another passage of this author, where he gives us an account of the going out of the Caya, or lieu- tenant of the governor of Meloiii, on a sort of Arab expe- dition, towards a place where there was an ancient temple, uUended by many people with kettledrums and other music: the doctor visited that temple, and upon his return from it went to the caya, he says, " whose carpets and cushions were laid on a height, on which he sat with the standard by him, which is carried before him when he goes out in this manner. I sat down with him, and cotfec was brought; the .sadar himself came after as incosnilo." Saul seems, by the description given, as well as bv the fol- lowing part of the history, to have been pursuing after David, and stopping, to have placed himself, according to the present oriental mode, in the posture of chief Whether the spear in his hand, or at his hand, as it might be trans- lated according to Noldius, and as appears by the use of that prefix in Ezek. x. 15, was the same thing to Saul's people that the standard was to those of the caya, I know not: if it was there is a third thing in this text illustrated by the doctor's accounts, the slopping under a tree or groves the stopping on a high place; and the sacred historian's remark, that he had his spear by him. It is certain, that when a long pike is carried before a company of Arabs, it is a mark that an Arab sheik, or prince, is there, which pike is carried before him ; and when he alights, and the horses are fastened, the pike is fixed, as appears by a story in Norden. — Harmeb. Ver. 18. And the king said to Doeg, Turn thou, and fall upon the priests. And Doeg the Edomite turned, and he fell upon the priests, and slew on that day fourscore and five persons that did wear a linen ephod. In ancient times, persons of the highest rank and station were employed to execute the sentence of the law. They had not then, as we have at present, public executioners; but the prince laid his commands on any of his courtiers whom he chose, and probably selected the person for whom he had the greatest favour. Gideon commanded Jether, his eldest son, to execute his sentence on the kings of Midian: the king of Israel ordered the footmen who stood around him, and were probably a chosen body of soldiers for the defence of his person, to put to death the priests of the Lord ; and when Ihey refused, Doeg, an Edomite, one of his principal othcers. Long after the days of Saul, the reigning monarch commanded Beniah, the chief captain of his armies, to perform that duly. Sometimes the chief magistrate executed the sentence of the law with his own hands; for when Jether shrunk from the duty which his father required, Gideon, at that time the supreme magis- trate in Israel, did not hesitate to do it him.self. In these times such a command would be reckoned equally barba- rous and unbecoming; but theideas which were entertained in those primitive ages of honour and propriety, were in many respects extremely different from ours. In Homer, the exasperated Ulysses commanded his son Telemacliu" to put to death the suiters of Penelope, which was imme- diately done. The custom of employing persons of high rank to execute the sentence of the law, is still retained in the principality of Senaar, where the public executioner 13 one of the principal nobility ; and, by virtue of his office, resides in the royal palace. — Paxton. CHAPTER XXIII. Ver. 16. And Jonathan Saul's son arose, and went to David into the wood, and strengthened his hand in God. A passage in the Travels of Pietro della Valle, which bears a strong resemblance to this part of David's history, considerably illustrates it. Speaking of his passing through a forest or wood in Mazanderan, a province of Persia, into which Ihev entered on the 11th of February, and com- plaining of the moisture and heaviness of the roads there, he tells us, " We did at length master them, but with so much difficulty that we could not get forward above two leagues that day, and night overtook us before we got through the forc"st. We endeavoured to find some place of retreat in different parts, to which the barking of dogs, or noise made by other animals, seemed to guide us. But at last, finding no inhabited place near us, we passed the night in the same forest, among the trees, under which we made a kind of intrenchment with our baggage, in a place where we found many leaves that had fallen from the trees. These served us for a carpet and for bedding both, without any other tent than the branches of the great trees there, through which the moonshine reached us, and made a kind of pavilion of cloth of silver. There was no want of wood for the making a great fire, any more than of pro- visions for supper, which we sent for from the nearest village in the forest, sealed by the highway-side, where, after some contest with the people, of a savage and sus- picious temper, who were ready to come to blows with my messengers, without knowing any reason why thev should; Ihey, after coming to a right understanding wiih us, be- caiiie very civil, would have lodged us, and made us presents : but on our refusal on account of the distance of the way, the chief person of the town, with other principal inhabitants, came of their own accord to our camp, laden 1C8 1 SAMUEL. Chap. 23—25. ■Willi good meal, and other provisions, and spent the night with us witli great g.-iyety. They even brought us a coun- try musician, who regaled us during supper, and all night .(jng, with certain forest songs, in the language of the country, that is, of Mazanderan, where a coarse kind of I'l'rsinn is spoken, sung to the sound of a miserable violin, which was sufficiently tiresome." — Har.meh. Ver. 19. Then came up the Zipliitrs to Saul to Giheah, saying, d't'i no' David hide himself wiili us in stronu:liolds in the wood, in the hill of Hachilah, which is on the south of Jeshimon? The margin has, for south, "on the right hand." " The Hebrews express the east, west, north, and sotuli, by words which signify before, behind, left, and right, according to the situation' of a man with his lace turned towards tlie south." In the same way do the Hindoos .speak on this subject, the north is shown by the left, the south by the right hand, the face being considered to be towards the east. AVhen the situation of any thing is spoken of, it is always mentioned in connexion with the cardinal points. Often, when people wish to give intelligence respecting any thing, Ihev begin by asking a question which conveys the inform- atinii rcquireil. Thus the situation of poor David was described by asking a question. " Have not the elephants been ravaging the" fields of Taraban last night V is a question asked when such a circumstance has taken place. — Roberts. Ver. 29. And David went up from thence, and dwelt in strongholds at En-gedi. The village of Engedi, situated in the neighbourhood of Jericho, derives its name from the Hebrew word (i";) Ain, a fountain, and (^n;) a kid. It is suggested hy the situation among lofty rocks, which, overhanging the valleys, seem to threaten the traveller with immediate destruction. A fountain of pure water rises near the summit, which the inhnbitants call Engedi, the fountain of the goat, because it ii hardly accessible to any other creature. — P.vxton. CHAPTER XXIV. Ver. 8. And when Saul looked behind him, Da- vid stooped with his face to the earth, and bowed himself "Some time after this, the ambassador had his public audience, when we saw the king in great splendour: he was decked in all his jewels, with his crown on his head, his bazubends or armlets on his arms, seated on his throne. We approached him, bowing after our own manner ; but the Persians bowed as David did to Saul, who stooped vilh his face In the earth, and bou-ed himself. I Sam. xxiv. 8. That is, not touching the earth with iVie face, but bowing with their bodies at right angles, the hands placed on the knce<, and the legs somewhat asunder. It is only on remarkable occasions that the prostration of the Rouee Zemeen, the face to the earth, is made, which must be the falling upon the face to the earth, and worshipping as Joshua did." — Morieb. Ver. 12. The Lord judge between me and thee, and the Lord avenge me of thee : but my hand shall not be upon thee. The altitud"s and expression of respect, which the rules of good-hreeding require from the Oriental, are far more diversified and servile than ours ; yet he uses a freedom with his equals, and even with persons of superior condi- tion, which we are uniformly taught to regard as im- pro|>er. It is reckoned among us a sure mark of vulgarity, in anv person to mention his own name before that of his equal ; and an instance of great arrogance to name himself before his superior; but ir. the En>:l, it is quite customary foi thc-iderablc number of similar buildings, at a distance; which to the eye are exactly like houses, but which are in fact family mansions for the dead. Perhaps this custom may have been of great antiquiiv; and may serve to explain some scripture phrases. The prophet Samuel was bnried in his house at Ramah : it could hardly have been his dwell- inghouse, compare 1 Kings ii. 3-1, Job xxx. "-'3. Possiblv also the passages in Prov. ii. 18, 19, and vn. 27. and ix. Il5, describing the house of a wanton woman, may have drawn their imagery from this custom. — Jowett. Ver. 5. Go to Nabal, and e:reet him in my name. Job xxix. 8. The asred arose and stood up. Acts xxviii. 10. Who also honoured me with many honours. In the Old and New Testaments we have some striking examples of what may be termed good-breeding. Look at the patriarchs and others in their renunciation of self, their anxiety to please, to show respect to the aged, and learned, the dignified, or those of the sacerdotal character; listen to their affecting eulogies and iheir touching appeals, and then say, have we not in them some of the most pleasing instances of gentility and good-breeding ? On their great anniversary festivals, the Hindoos always send to "greet" each other. Has a son or daughter got married ; has a " male child" been born ; has prosperity attended the mer- chant in his pursuits ; does a traveller pass through a town or village where some of his friends or acquaintances re- side: then, those concerned .send greeting expressive of their joy, and best wishes for future prosperity. See them on receiving company. A servant, or friend, stands at the Chap. 25. 1 SAMUEL. 169 gate to watch fur the approach of the guests, and to give notice to the master of the house. When they approach the premises the host goes out to meet ihem, and bows and expresses his joy at seeing them ; he then puts his arm over their shoulders, or takes them by the hand, and conducts them into the house. When they retire also, he always accompanies them to the gate, and expresses the great joy he has had in their company. Before people take their food they always wash their hands, feet, ami mouth; and when they sit down, they take their places according to rank and seniority. Should any man presimie to sit dowii " in the highest" place when he has not a title to it, he will be sure (as in the parable) to hear the master say to him, in respect to " a more honourable man," " Give this man place;" and then, " with shame," he will be compelled "to take the lowest" place. In supplying the guests, the chief person present is always served the first, and generally by the hands of the host himself They are also particular as to the order of serving up their viands and condiments ; to set on the table certain articles first would be there con- sidered as much out of place as it is in England to set on the dessert before the more substantial dishes. Epicures at home would smile, and pout the lip, at the vegetable feast of a Saiva man. His first course consists of pulse, green gram, rice, and ghee, or butter; the second, of nuinerous curries, and pickles made of half-ripe fruits, vegetables, and spices : the third, an acid kindof broth ; the fourth, curds, honey, and rice ; the fifth, a rich supply of mellow fruits. From this humble repast the guests arise with more pleasure and at less expense of health, than the luxurious Englishman does from his half-medicated meal, to which science is now the footman, and a few French terms its fashionable vocabulary. When the visiters have taken what they require, the principal person arises from his seat, and all present follow his example. — Roberts. Ver. 10. And Nabal answered David's servants, and said. Who is David ? and who is the son of Jesse ? There be many servants now-a-days that break away every man from his master. When a man has gained some ascendency over others, or when he assumes authority which is ofliensive to some one present, it will be inquired, by way of contempt, as Nabal did respecting David, " Who is he's and whose son is he 1" — Roberts. Ver. 16. They were a wall imto us, both by night and day, all the while we were with them keeping- the sheep. This was said of David and his men, who had been kmd unto the servants of Nabal, and had probably been a defence to them while they had been in the wilderness tending their sheep. And the same figure is also used among us, in ref- erence to those who have been a defence to others. " Ah ! my friend ; you have been a mathil, i. c. a wall, unto me." " Alas ! my wall is fallen," means, the friend is dead, or be- come weak. " What care I for that jackal ? I have agood wall before me." — Roberts. Ver. 23. And when Abigail saw David, she hasted, and lighted off the ass, and fell before David on her face, and bowed herself to the ground, A rider was expected to dismount, when he met a person of more elevated rank. Under the influence of this ancient custom, the Eg^-ptians dismount from their as,<;es, when they approach the tombs of their departed saints; and both Christians and Jews are obliged to submit to the same cer- emony. Christians in that country must also dismount when they happen to meet with officers of the army. In Palestine, the Jews, who are not permitted to ride on horse- back, are compelled lo dismount from their asses and pass by a Mohammedan on foot. This explains the reason that Achsah, the daughter of Caleb, and Abigail the wife of Nabal, alighted from their asses ; it was a mark of respect which the former owed to her father, and the latter to Da- vid, a person of high rank and growing renown. It was landoubtedly for the same reason, that Rebecca alighted I'rom the camel on which she rode, when the servant in- formed her, that the stranger whom she descried at a dis- tance in the field, was his master ; and that Naaman, the Syrian grandee, alighted from his chariot, at the approach of Gehazi, the servant of Elisha. — Paxton. Ver. 29. Yet a man is risen to pursue thee, and to seek thy soul : but the soul of my lord shall ' be bound in the bundle of lif? with the Lord thy God ; and the souls of thine enemies, them shall he sling out, as out of the middle of a sling. Any thing which' is important or valuable is called a katlu, i. e. " a bundle, a pack, a bale." A young man who is enamoured of a female, is said to be "bound up in the katlu, bundle, of love." Of a just judge the people say, " He is bound up in the bundle of jastice." When a man is very strict in reference to his caste, " he is bound up in the bun- dle of high caste." When a person is spoken to respecting the vanities or impunlies ot his system, he often replies, " Talk not lo me, I am bound up in the bundle of my reli- gion." " Why do those people act so 1 — Because they are bound up in the bundle of desire." David, therefore, was lo be bound up in the bundle of life— nothing was to harm him. — Roberts. Ver. 35, So David received of her hand thai which she had brought him, and said unto her, Go up in peace to thy house ; see, I have heark- ened to thy voice, and have accepted thy person. Does a person ask a favour of his superior; it will not be, in general, said in reply, "I grant your request;" or, " You shall have vour desire:" bvU, A'«« un muggotii part- tain, '■ I have seeii thy face." Has a man greatly oflTended another, and does he plead for mercy ; the person to whom offence has been given will say, "1 have seen thy face;" which means, that he is pardoned. Should a friend in- quire, "Well, what punishment do you intend to inflict on that fellow 1" he will reply, " 1 have seen his face." In np- plving l*>r help, should there be a denial, the applicant will ask, " In whose face shall I now lookl" When a man has nearly lost all hope, he says, " For the sake of the face of God grant me my request." — Roberts. Ver. 36. And Abigail came to Nabal ; and, be- hold, he held a feast in his house, like the feast of a king : and Nabal's heart urns merry within him, for he ^cas very drunken : wherefore she told him nothing, less or more, until the morn- ing light. Sheep-shearing is an operation to which allusion is more frequently made in the sacred volume. The wool in very remote times was not shorn with an iron instrument, but plucked off with the hand. From the concurrent testi- mony of several writers, the lime when it is performed in Palestine, falls in the month of March, If this be ad- mitted, it fixes the time of the year when Jacob departed from Laban on his return to his father's house, for he left him at the time he went to shear his sheep. In like man- ner, the sheep of Nabal were shorn in the spring; for among the presents which Abigail made to David, five measures of parched corn are mentioned. But we know, from other passages of scripture, that they were accus- tomed to use parched coin when it was full grown, but not ripe ; for the people of Israel were commanded in the law not to eat parched corn nor green ears, iinlil Ihe self- same day they had made an offering to the Lord. This time seems to have been spent by the eastern swains, in more than usual hilarity. And il may be inferred from several hints in the scriptures, thai the wealthier proprietors invited their friends and dependants to sumptuous entertain- ments, Nabal, on that joyous occasion, which the servants of David called a good, or festive day, although a churlish and niggardly man, " held a feast in his house, like the feast of a king;" and on a similar occasion, Absalom treat- ed his friends and relations in the same magnificent style. The modern Arabs are more frugal and parsimonious ; 170 1 SAMUEL. Chap, 26. yet iheir hearts, so liule accustomed to expand with joyous ft-elinss, acknowledge the poweifiil inliiiencc of increasing wealth, and dispose them lo imliilge in fjrcaier jullily than usual. Un lhe. And would not this have been acting like a man of honour, a lover of his country, and been consistent with any grati- tude that he owed to Achish for his protection 1 This, I think, 1 may safely affirm, that it is in all views of policy impossible that, as Mr. Bayle asserts, he could have lought under the standard of the Philistine princes against the Israelites. For as he had in immediate view the throne of Israel, had he fought in the Philistine army against his own nation, it must have irritated all the tribes of Israel against him, and according as Achish wished, made all his people abhor him for ever; whereby he would have cut off every possible pro.spect of succeeding to the crown. But David was too prudent a man to take such a step, and if Achish endeavoured, by forcing him into his camp, to ensnare and ruin him with his own nation ; as he well knew the intention of Achish, he had a right to guard against it, to counteract policy by policy, and though obliged to give an answer, to give him such a one, as should leave himself at liberty to act as prudence and duty should direct him. And finally, had he turned his arms against the Philistines, he might have shown his gratitude to Achish, without injuring his country, by affording him protection in his turn, and securing his person, and the lives of many of his people, had the Israelites been victo- rious in the engagement. However, Achish had such an opinion of his interest in David's friendship, that he took his answer in good part, and concluding that he was entirely gained over to his interest, and the more effectually to se- cure and encourage hira, promises him: " I will make you keeper of my head for ever;" you shall be alwaj's near me, and have the charge of my person. David made no reply, but kept himself entirely upon the reserve, without disclosing the real .sentiments of bis mind. He followed Achish with his forces, who marched into the territories of the Hebrews, and encamped at Shunem, in the tribe of Naphtali ; while Saul, with his army, pilched their tents on the famous mountains of Gilboa. — Chandler. Ver. 7. Then said Saul unto his servants, Seek me a woman that hath a familiar spirit, that I may go to her, and inquire of her. And his servants said to him, Behold, there is a woman that hath a familiar spirit at En-dor. 8. And Saul disguised himself, and put on other rai- ment, and he went, and two men with him, and they came to the woman by night ; and he said, I pray thee, divine unto me by the familiar spirit, and bring me him up whom I shall name unto thee. 9. And the woman said unto him. Behold, thou knowest what Saul hath done, how he hath cut off those that have familiar spirits, and the wizards, out of the land : where- fore then lavest thou a snare for my life, to cause me to die? 10. And Saul sware to her by the Lord, saying, ^s the Lord liveth, there shall no punishment happen to thee for this thing. 11. Then said the woman, Whom shall I bring up unto thee ? And he said, Bring me up Samuel. 12. And when the woman saw Samuel, she cried with a loud voice : and the woman spake to Saul, saying, Why hast thou deceived me? for thou art Saul. 13. And the king said unto her, Be not afraid : for vvh;:t sawest thou? And the ^yoman said unto Saul, I saw gods ascending out of the earth. How long the profession of necromancy, or the art of raising up the dead, in order to pry into future events, or lobe informed of the fale of the living, has obtained in the world, we have no indications from history. We perceive no footsteps of it in the ages before the flood, and yet it is strange that a people, abandoned to all kind of wickedness in a manner, could keep themselves clear of this; but our account ol' these times is very short. The first express mention that we meet with of magicians and sorcerers is almost in the beginning of the book of Exodus, where Moses is soliciting the deliverance of the children of Israel out of Egypt ; and therefore Egypt, which affected to be the mother of most occult sciences, issupposed to have been the inventress of this. From Egypt it spread itself into the neighbouring countries, and soon infected all the East ; for, as it imdenook to gratify man's inquisitiveness and super- stitious curiosity, it could not long want abeUers. From Egypt, It is certain that the Israelites brought along wiih them no small inclination to these detestable practices, and were but loo much addicted to them, notwithstanding all the care that the state had taken to suppress them, and the provision which God had made, by establishing a method of consulting him, to prevent their hankering after Ihem. The injunctKin of the law is very express: — " When thou art come into the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee, thou shalt not learn to do after the abominations of those nations. There shall not be found among you any that useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch, or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer ; for all that do these things are an abomination to the Lord." And there- fore their punishment was this : — " A man or a woman that hath a familiar spirit, or that is a wizard, shall surely be put to death: they shall stone them with stones.lheir blood shall be upon them." Nor wash only the praclisers of such vile arts, but those likewise that resorted to them upon any oc- casion, that were liable to the same punishment; for " the soul that turneth after such as have familiar .spirits, and after wizards, to go a-whoring after them, I will even set ray face against that soul, and will cut him off from among his people, saith the Lord." Such was the severity of the Jewish laws against those who either practised or encour- aged any manner of magical arts ; and it must be said in Saul's commendation, that he had put the laws in execu- tion against such vile people; he had destroyed and drove away those that had familiar spirits, and the wizards out of the land ; and yet, (observe the weakness as well as wickedness of the man!) when himself fell into distress, and had abundant reason to believe that God had forsaken him, he flees to one of these creatures for relief, and re- quests of her to raise up his old friend Samuel, as expecting, very probably, some advice from him : but, whether this was really done or not, or, if done, in what manner it was efl^ected, are points that have so much exercised the heads and pens, both of ancient and modern, both of Jewish and Christian writers, that lillle or nothing new can be said upon them ; and therefore all that I shall endeavour to do, will be, to reduce their several sentiments into as narrow a compass, and to stale them in as fair alight, as I can, by inquiring into these three particulars: — 1. Whether there was a real apparition. ■2. What this apparition (if real) was; and, 3. By what means, and for what jmrposes, it was efltcted. 1. It cannot be denied, indeed, but that those who explode the reality of the apparition, and make it to be all nothing but a cheat and juggle of the sorceress, have found out some arguments that, at first sight, make a tolerable ap- pearance. They tell us that thesacred history never once makes mention of Saul's seeing Samuel with his own eyes, It informs us, indeed, that Saul knew him by the dcscrip, lion which the woman gave, and that he held, for some considerable time, a conversation with him ; but since it is nowhere said that he really saw him, " why might not the 174 1 SAMUEL, Chap. 28. woman counlerfeil a voice, say they, and pretend it was Samuel's 1 When Saul asked her to raise him up Samuel, !. e. to disturb the ghost of so great a prophet, she might think he was no common mau ; and when he swore uuto her by the Lord, that he would delV-nd her from all danger, he gave her intimation enough that he was the king. The orally woman thcrel'ore having picked up the knowledge of this, might retire into her closet, and there, having her lamiliar, i. e. some cunning artful man, to make proper responses, in a dillerent voice, might easily impose upon one who was distracted with anxious thoughts, and had already shown suliicient credulity, in thinkmg there was any eliicacy in magical operations to evocate the dead. The controversy between Saul and David every one knew j nor was it now become a secrcl, that the crown was to de- volve upon the latter; and th.icfore that part of the dis- course, which pa.ssed between Saul and Samuel, any man of a common genius might hir.e hit olT, without much diffi- culty. Endor was not so far distant from Gilboa or Shunem, but that the condition of the iwo armies might easily be known, and that tlie Philistines were superior both in courageand numbers; and therefore his respondent, with- out all peradventure, might jirognosticate Saul's defeat ; and though there was some hazard in the last conjecture, viz. that he and his sons would die in battle ; yel there was this advantage on the side of the guess, that they were all men of known and experienced valour, who would rather sacrifice their lives than turn their backs upon their ene- mies." Upon the whole, therefore, the mainlaineis of this system conclude, thai as there is no reason, so there was no necessity, for any miraculous interposiiion in this affair, since this is no more than what any common gipsy, with another in confederacy to a.ssist her, might do to any credulous person who came to consult her. They who undertake to oppose this opinion lay it down for a good rule, in the interpretation of scripture, that we should, as far as we can, adhere to the primary sense of the words, and never have recourse to any foreign or sin- gular explications, but where the literal is inconsistent, either with the dictates of right reason, or the analogy of fai;li. Let any inJilfercnt person then, say they, take into his hand the account of Sa ul's consulting this sorceress, and upon the first reading it he must confess, that the notion wliicli it conveys to his mind, is that of a real apparition ; and since the passages that both precede and follow it, are confessedly lobe taken in their most obvious meaning, why should a sirange and forced construction be put upon this 1 Apparilions indeed are not very common things; but both sacred and profane hisiory inform us, that they are realities, as the examples of Moses and Elias, conversing with our Saviour on the mount, and the several bodies of saints, Avhich slept, coming out of their graves after his resurrec- tion, and appearing unto many, do abundantly testify. It is owned, indeed, that according to the series of the nar- ration, Saul did not see the spectre (be it what it will) so soon as the woman did, because, probably, the woman's bodv, or some other object, might interpose between him and the first appearance; or perhaps, because the vehicle which Samuel assumed upon this occa'^ion, was not as yet con- densed enough to be visible to Saul, though it was to the woman: but, that he did actually see him is manifest, because, when he perceived (which word in the original signifies seeing so as to be assured of our object) that it was Samuel, he stooped with his face to the ground, and bowed himself, which a man is not apt to do to bare ideas or im- aginations. Persons of this woman's character, who are under the displeasure of the government, generally affect obscurity, live privatelv, and are little acquainted with affairs of state ; but suppose her to have been ever so great a politician, and erer so intimate with what had passed between Saul and Samuel heretofore, ever so well assured that God had rejecteil him, and elected David in his stead ; yet how could she come to the knowledge of this, viz., that the battle should be fought the next day, the Israelites be routed, Saul and his sons slain, and their spoils fall into the ene- my's hands ; since each of these events (even in the present situation of Saul's affairs) were highlv casual and uncer- tain 1 For misht not this prince lose a battle without losing his life'! Or if he himself fell in the action, why must his three sons be all cut off in the same day 1 Whatever de- monstrations of innate bravery he had given in times past, after such severe menaces as he now received from the ap- parition, prudence, one would think, would have put him upon providing for his safety, either by chicaning with the enemy, or retiring from the field of battle, without going to expose himself, his sons, and his whole army, to certain and inevitable death. These are things which no human penetration could reach, and which only he who is the ab- solute and Almighty ruler of all causes and events, could either foresee or predict. But the truth is, those menacing predictions, how proper soever for a messenger sent from God to utter, were highly imprudent either in this witch's, or her accomplice's, mouth: for since they knew nothing of futurity, and were, at the best, but put to conjecture, it is much more reasonable to believe, that at such a juncture as this, they would have bethought themselves of llattering the king, and giving him comfort, and promising success, and not of thundering out such comminations against him as might probably incense him, but could do them no good. They could not but know that the temper of most kings is, to hate to hear shocking truths, and to receive with the ut- most despite those that bring them ill news: and Ihere- foce it is natural to suppose, that had these threatening re- plies been of the woman's or her confederate's forming, they would have given them quite another turn, and not run the hazard of disobliging the king to no purrose, by laying an additional load of trouble upon him. Tne irutti is, the woman, by her courteous entertainment of Saul, seems to be a person of no bad nature; and therefore, if she had an accomplice, who understood to make the most of his profession, his business, at this time, must have been to sooth and cajole the king, which would have both put money in his pocket, and saved the credit of his predictions. For, had he foretold him of success and victory, and a happy issue out of all his troubles, he and the woman had been sure of reputation, as well as further rewards, in case it had happened to prove so ; and if it had not (since no one was privy to their communion) the falsehood of the predic- tion upon Saul's defeat and death, must, in course, have been bulled with him. From these reasons then we may infer, that the woman, in this transaction, did not impose upon Saul, since he had a plain sight of the apparition ; what the apparition fore- told him, was above human penetration; and (upon the supposition of a juggle) the witch and her confederate would have certainly acted clean contrary to what they did. And so the next, 2. Inquiry meets us, namely. What this apparition wasl Some of the ancient doctors, both of the Jewish and Chris- tian church, have made an evil angel the subject of this apparition, in pure regard to the honour of God. " God, say thev, had sufficiently declared his hatred against nec- romancv, and all kinds of witchcraft, in the severe laws which lie enacted asainst them; but it is certainly denying himself, and cancelling his own work, to seem in the least to countenance or abet them, as he necessarily must do, if, upon the evocation of an old hag, any messenger is permit- ted to go from him. Far be it from us therefore to have such conceptions of God. He is holy, and just, and uni- form in all his ways; and therefore this coming at a call, and doing the witch's drudgery', must only appertain to some infernal spirit, who might possibly find his account in it at last. It was one of this wicked crew, that either assumed a phantom, or a real body, appeared in a mantle like Samuel, spake articulately, and held this conversation with Saul ; which, considering his knowledge and foresight of things, he was well enough qualified to do, notwithstand- ing the" sundry predictions relating to future contingencies, which are contained in it." How far the honour of God is concerned in this transaction, will more properly fall under our next inquiry: in the mean time, I cannot but observe, that whatever incongruity may be supposed in the real appearance of Samuel, it is not hear so much, as to find one of the apostate spirits of hell expressing so much zeal for the service of the God of heaven, and upbraiding Saul with those very crimes which he himself tempted him to commit ; as to find this wicked and impure spirit making use of the name of God (that sacred and tremen- dous name, whose verv pronunciation was enough to make him quake and shiver") no less than six times, in this inter- course with Saul, without any manner of uneasiness or hesitation ; as to find this angel of darkness and father of lies, prying into the womb of futurity, and determining the Chap. 28. 1 SAMUEL. 175 most casual events positively and precisely. We do not indeed deny but that the devil's knowledge is vastly supe- rior to that of the most accomiihshed human understand- ing; that his natural penetration, joined with his long experience, is such, that the greatest philosophers, the sub lest critics, and the most refined poliiicians, are mere novices in comparison of him; yet what genius, (however exacted and improved,) without a divine revelation, could (as we said before) be able to forelel things that were lodged in God's own breast, viz. the precise time of the two armies engaging, the success and consequence of the victory, and the very names of the persons that were to fall in battle. This is what the apparition plainly revealed to Saul : and vet this, we dare maintain, is more than any finiie unde'rstanding, by its own mere capacity, could ever have been able to find out. But (without this multi- tude of arguments) if we are to take the scripture in its plain and literal sense, read we over the .story of Saul and the witch of Endor ever so often, we shall not so much as once find the devil mentioned in it. And therefore it is somewhat wonderful that he should be brought upon the stage by many learned men, merely to solve a dilEculty which, upon examination, appears to be none at all. But now on the other hand, it appears that through the whole narration, Samuel is the only thing that is mentioned. It is Samuel whom Saul desires to be called up ; Samuel, who appeared to the woman; Samuel, whom the woman describes ; Samuel, whom Saul perceives and bows him- self 10, with whom he converses so long, and, because of whose words, he was afterward so sore afraid. The scripture indeed speaks sometimes according to the ap- pearance of things, and may callthat by the name of Sam- uel, which was onlv the semblance or phantom of him: bit that this cannot be the sense of the matter here, we have the testimony of the wise son of Sirach,(an excellent interpreter of canonical scriptures,^ who tells us expressly, that Samuel, after his death, propnesied and showed the king his end ; pursuant to what we read in the version of the Septuagint, viz. that Saul asked counsel of one that had a lamiriar spirit, and Samuel answered him. So that, upon the whole, we may be allowed to conclude, that it was the real soul of Samuel, clothed in some visible form, which, at this time, appeared to the king of Israel : but by ■what means, or for what purposes, it appeared, is the other question we are now to determine. 3. Several of the fathers of the Christian church were of opinion, that the devil had a certain limited power over the souls of the saints, before Jesus Christ descended into hell, and rescued them from the tyranny cf that prince of darkness. St. Austin, in particular, thinks that there is no absurdity in saying, that the devil was as able to call up Samuel's soul, as he was to present himself among the sons of God, or set our Saviour on one of the pinnacles of the temple ; and a learned Jewish doctor supposes that devils have such a power over human souls, for the space of a year after their departure, as to make them assume what bodies they please; and thereupon he concludes, (but very erroneouslv,) that it was not a year from the time of Samuel's dea'h' to his appearance. But these are such wild and extravagant fancies as deserve no serious confu- tation. It is absurd to sav thai the souls of saints (such as we are now speaking of) were ever in hell, and more absurd to sav, that if they are in heaven it is in the power of anv magical, nav, of anv diabolical incantation, to call them down from thence. Great, without all doubt, is the power of apostate angels; but miserable, we may say, would the stale of the blessed be, if the other had any license to disturb their happiness, when, and as long as (hev pleased: "For God forbid," says TertuUian, "that we should believe the soul of anv holv man, much less of a prophet, should be so farunder his disposal, as to be brought up at pleasure bv the pov,-er of the devil." Since the devil then has no pow-er In (lis'.urh the happiness of souls depart- ed, this apparition of Samuel could not proceed from any magical enchantments of the sorceress, but must have been eTeeted by the sole power and appoinlment of God, who is the sovereign Lord, both of the living and of the dead: and, accorrlinslv, we may observe from Ihe surprise which ihe woman discovered upon Samuel's sudden appearing, that the power of her magic was not concerned therein, but that it was the efTeet of some superior hand. The scripture relates the mnlter thus : '■ 'Vhrn the v.-ontan saw Samite!, she cried w iih a loud voice, and the womtm spake unto Saul, saying. Why hast thou deceived me, for thou art Saul ■? And the king said unto her. Be not afraid, what sawest thou^ And the woman said unio Saul, I saw gods ascending out of the earth." Now it is plain from this nar- ration, that the woman saw something she was not accus- tomed to see. Her necromancy had ordinary power over demons onlv, or such wretched spirits as were submitted to the devil's tyrannv; but, on this occasion, she saw an object so august, so terrible, so majestic, so contrary indeed to any thing she had ever raised before, and that coming upon'her before she had begun her enchantments, ihal she could not forbear being frightened, and crying out with a loud voice, as being fully satisfied that the apparilion came from God. " But since the scripture assures us, that God had wholly withdrawn himself from Saul, and would answer him, neither by prophets nor by dreams; how can we imagine that he should, all on a sudden, become so kind as to send Samuel to him, or that Samuel should be in any disposition to come, when it was impossible for him to do any good by his coming"!" Now there seems to be some analogy between God's dealing with Saul in this particular, and his former treatmenf of the prophet Ba- laam. Balaam was for disobeying the orders which God had given him to bless the Israelites; and was searching into magical secrets for what he could not obtain of God, viz. a power to change into curses the blessings which Gnd pronounced by his mouth. In this case there was but small likelihood that God would continue to communicate himself to a person so unworthy of anv extraordinary rev- elation; and yet he did it: but then, it was wiih a design to reveal to him those very' miseries from which his mer- cenary mind was so desirous to rescue the Midianiies. The application is easy : and it further suggests this reason why God appointed Samuel at this lime lo appear unto Saul', viz. that through him he might give him a meeting, where he least of all expected one; and might show him that the fate which his own disobedience had brought upon him was determined ; that there was no re- versing the decrees of heaven, no procuring aid against the Almighty's power, no fleeing (though it were to hell) from his presence, no hiding himself in darkness from his inspection ; with whom darkness is no darkness at all, but the night is as clear as the day, and the darkness and light are both alike. That the souls of men departed have a capacitN', and, no doubt, an inclination to be employed in the service of men alive, as having Ihe same nature and affections, and being more sensible of our infirmities thr.n any pure and abstracted spirits are, can hardly be conlc--- ed; that in their absent state, they are imbodied wii':i aerial, or ethereal vehicles, which they can condense or rarify at pleasure, and so appear, or not appear to liuman sight, is what some of the greatest men, both of the healhm and Christian religion, have maintained; and that frcqurnt apparitions of this kind have happened since ihe world began, cannot be denied bv any one that is conversant in its history : if therefore the wisdom of God (for reasons already assigned) thought proper to despatch a messenger to Saiil upon this occasion, there may be some account given why the soul of Samuel (upon the supposiiion it was left to iis option) should rather be desirous to be sent npon that errand. For, whatever may be said in diminution of Saul's religious character, it is certain that he was a brave prince and commander; had lived in siric! iniimacv wih Samuel; professed a great esteem for him in all things; and was by Samuel not a little lamented, when he had fallen from his obedience to God. Upon these considera- tions we may imagine, that the soul of Samuel might have such a kindness for him as to be ready to appear lo him in the depth of his distress, in order to settle his mind, by telling him the upshot of ihe whole matter, viz. thai he should lose the baule, and he and his sons be slain ; ihat so he mighl give a specimen (as Ihe Jews love to speak in commendation of him) of the bravest valour that was ever achieved by any commander; fight boldly when he w-as sure to die; and sell his life at as dear a price as possible ; Ihat so, in his death, he might be commemorated with honour, and deserve the threnodia which his son-in-law made on him; "The beaufy of Israel is slain upon the high places ; how are the mighty fallen ! From the blood of Ihe slain, from the fat of the'mighty. the bow of Jona- \7u 1 SAMUEL. Chap. 29. than turned not back, and the sword .)f Saul turned not empty. How are the mighty fallen in the midst ol the battle I"— Stackho.se. Ver. 14. And he said uiilu hor. What form is he of? And she said, An old man oorneth up ; and he is covered with a mantle. And Snul perceived that it icas Samuel, and he stooped with his face to the ground, and bowed himself. In auourv it seems to have been usual to represent those who were to be consulted, and whose oracular declarations were to be received, as covered with a mantle or some Earment. This ceiiainlv save an appearance of mystery to such transactions. Thus it appears ihe^ Roman acted, accordui ' to what Phitarch says in his Lite of Numa. " Takins with him the priests and augurs, he went up to the cniiilMl, which the Romans at that time called the Tar- peian Rock. There the chief of the augurs covered the iie-id of Numa, and turned his face towards the south. It appears from Livv that the augur covered his own head, not that of Numa. The augur always wrapped up his head, in a gown peculiar to his office, when he made his observations. — Blroer- Ver. 20. Then Saul fell straightway all along on the earth, and was sore afraid, because of the words of Samuel ; and there was no strength in him ; for he h.nd eaten no bread all the day, nor all the night. When people are under the influence of great sorrow or fear they always do the same thing, and roll themselves along making bitter lamentations. And when men have escaped great danger, thev roll themselves on the earth to the disiaSce of a quarter of a mile, after the car of the tem- ple, in performance of their vow.— Roberts. Ver. 23. But he refused, and said, I will not eat. But his servants, together with the woman, compelled him ; and he hearkened unto their voice; so he arose from the earth, and sat npon the bed. Saul no doubt, on account of his sorrow and fear, refused to eat as do others under similar circumstances at this day. But when people are angry also they decline taking then- food Should the wife not bring the dmner to her lord! at the proper time, or should it not be propei-ly prepared, he declares he will not partake of it, and that he has made up his mind to die of hunger. She entreats him by the love she bears for him, she touches his feel with her hands, and strokes his chin, but no! he has made un his mind ; die he will "She shall have no more trouble. The afflicted woman then runs to call the mother or sisters of her inex- orable lord, who has determined to commit suicide by star- vation Thev all come round him, but his eyes aje hxed on the ground, and theie are the viands just as lelt by his weepin" wife. Then commence their tender entreaties, bacliedV the eloquence of tears; the mother, 'I'^J^'*'"^ the wife.all beseech him to take a little, and then the matron from who-e hand he has often been fed before, puts a little into his mouth, and it is merely to please them he begins to eat. — Roberts. Ver. 24. And the woman had a fat calf in the house ; and she hasted, and killed it, and took flour and kneaded it, and did bake unleavened bread thereof: 2.5. And she brought it before Saul, and before his servants; and they did eat. Then they rose up, and went away that night. This calf wa.s killed, dressed, cooked, and eaten in as short a time a.s possible; which might be called for from the necessity of the guest. But it is evident from other pas- saees that it was a custom to kill, cook, and rat an animal in a very short time. The heat of the climate certainly prevents' tiesh from being kept many hours, hut there is no need to put the animal on the fire whJc us flesh is still warm The people affect to be disgusted with us for keep- ine fowls SIX or eight hours before they are cooked and sav we are fond of eating ckettarcychc, i. e. dead flesh. There are some Englishmen who become so accustomea to these things, that they have the chicken grilled, and on their table, which a quarter of an hour before was playing in their yard. — Roberts, CHAPTER XXIX. Ver. 1. Now the Philistines gathered together all their armies to Aphek ; and the Israelites pitched by a fountain which i.< in Jezreel. The Archbishop of Tyre tells tls, {Gesta rf"'.) {hat the Christian kings of Jerusalem used to as,semble their forces at a fountain between Nazareth and Sepphoris, which was greatly celebrated on that account. This being looked upon to be nearly the centre of their kingdom, they cou d from thence, consequently, march most commodiously to anv place where their presence was wanted. He mentions also another fountain near a town called Lutle Gerinum, which, he savs, was the ancient Jezreel ; near this Saladm pitched his c-amp, for the benefit of its Waters while Bald- win, king of Jerusalem, had, as usual, assembled his army at the first-mentioned place. . d i ■„ i.,.„ r<. or the fountain Ain-cl-Scanderoni, Buckingham re- marks "This is a modern work; the charuablegiti: per- haps of some pious Mussulman, being well built, with a cistern beneath an arch, whence issue two streams, and over which is an Arabic inscription of several lines. It has, besides, a squaie idatlorm, walled in. for prayers, she ler, or refreshment, and a flight of steps ascending to it. with a dome of a sepulchre, now panly buried by the fallmg inol adjacent ruins." — Bubder. Ver 2 And the lords of the Philistines passed on bv hundreds and by thousands ; but David and bis men passed on in the rearward with Aehish 3. Then said the princes of the Phi- listines What do these Hebrews here? And Achish said unto the princes of the Philistines, 7.S not this David, the servant of Saul the king of Israel, which hath been with me these days, or these years, and 1 have fotintl no fault in him since' he fell unto vie unto this day?_ The situation of Saul's mind, afler this adventure, must have been vcrv anxious and distressed, as he received no Sfrections from Samuel how to behave m or extricate himself otU of, the difficulties in which he found himsell involved Nor were David's circumstances much easier, who had been pressed into the Philistine camp and service b\ Achish wherc-bv he was reduc d to the greatest straits and scarce knew how to behave himself consistently w, h and scarce Knew iio« vo u expos- tulated with Achish, and said. What business bae these Hebrews in cmr army 1 Achish answered . Is not^h s he valiant David, formerly the .servant and officer of Saul the kina of Israel ; who, to save himself from the nersecution and crue.llv of his ungrateful master, hath put himself un- der mv protection, and of whose fidelity and attachment to mv person and service, I have had long experience For O^ouU he hath been with me now a considerable time, I haTC not had the least rea.son to suspect his integrity, or find fruit with his conduct. But this was far from remov- , fn. the ealousv of the Philistine officers, wha h>?hlv d.^ phased with Achish for what they judged his dl-placed confidence in David, said in great anger to him: Com- mand this man immediately to retire from the armv, and ^ go hack to Ziklag, the place thou hast appointed for his residence We will not suffer htm to go «ith us lo the baulelcsl in the engagement he should turn his forces Chap. 30. 1 SAMUEL. 177 against us. For what more effectual method can he take to reconcile himself to his former master, than by lending his a.ssistance to defeat and destroy our army ■? Is not this that very David whose praises we're publicly celebrated in songs and dances 7 And in honour of whom the Israelilish women cried out in triumph : Saul hath slam his thousands, and David his ten thousands. Such a man is too danger- ous to trust in our present critical situation. Achish find- ing the princes peremptorily fixed in their resolution not to permit David and his forces to go with them to the en- gagement, immediately sent for him, and said, " By the life of Jehovah, I acknowledge thy integrity in the whole of thy conduct towards me, and there is nothing that I more eii- tirelv approve, or more sincerely wish, than thy continu- ance in the armv, and joining with lis in the engagement, for I have nothing to reproach thee with, from the lime thou didst first put thyself under my protection, to the present dav. But the lords of the Philistines have not that opinion of thv attachment to our interest and cause that I have, so that I am forced to dismiss thee from thy attendance. You must therefore return peaceably, and are allowed by them lo do it in safely, to the town I have given you, because your longer continuance with us is disagreeable to them, and may be attended with very dangerous consequences." David, with seeming displeasure replied, "What have 1 done to incur their displeasure, or what hast thou found in thy servant, ever since 1 have been with thee, to forfeit thy confidence and favour? However, since it is their pleas- ure, I must submit, and will not, in obedience to iheirorder, fight against the enemies of my lord the king." Achish told him, that " he was so fat from entertaining any sus- picion of him, that he esteemed him for his integrity and worth, and regarded him as an angel, or messenger from God, immediately sent to his assistance ; but that as ilie princes of the Philistines had resolved that he should not go with them to the battle, he could not but order him to march away by daybreak with his master's servants to the place he had appointed for him and his followers." David accordingly returned with his troops into the lerrilories of the Philistines, while their army penetrated farther into the dominions of Saul, and encamped at Jezreel. It appears from the answer given by David to Achish, as I have rendered the words, that David was not in the least displeased at his being dismissed, but gladly took Achish at his word, and laid hold of the first opportunity of disengaging himself from the service in which that prince expected his assistance. However, if we take David's answer in that sense, which is given it in our ver- sion : " What have I done that I may not go fight against the enemies of my lord the kingl" it will appear to be a very prudent one, and such as became the circum- stances in which he then found himself, by which he promised nothing, and laid himself under no manner of engagement. It was a general, ambiguous, and cautious one; in which he neither denies what the Philistines sus- pected, that he would fall off to Saul in the battle, nor makes the least mention of his readiness to fight wiih the Philistines against Saul and the Hebrew array. He only asks, why he should be refused to fight against the enemies of the king 1 If he had some obligations to him, to the Philistines he had none. Against the enemies of Achish h:; would have fought, where he could have done it with honour; where he could not, as a man of honour, he must have refused it. Against the e^'cmies of the Philistines, neither his inclination, or duty, or interest, v,-ould have permitted him to fight ; and the' Philistines themselves did not think his personal obligations to Achish a sufficient security for his assisting them; and even Achish himself seeius lo have been at last in some doubt, whether or not he could depend on him, when he says to him: "Rise up early in the morning, with thy master's servants that are come with thee;" herebv more than inhmating, that he could not but consider Saul as David's king and master, and all David's forces as servants to Saul; and actually urging ihis as a reason for their immediate departure from him. Had David made such a speech to Achish, previous to his dismi.ssion, or to the Philistine princes to prevent their dismissing him, it would have looked as though he had been uneasy at his not being suffered to assist them in the engagement. But as they had determined he should not go with them lo battle, and Achish had peremptorily ordered him lo march off"; David, who could not but ht^ 23 highly pleased that he was now wholly extricated from the difficulties he was involved in, artfully chose to ex- press himself lo Achish in such terms, which, though they implied a real truth, yet might lead Achish to put a further meaning on them than David intended, in order to give Achish the highest opinion of his zeal for his service; by a general assurance, that he was always ready to assist him against his enemies, though he was now dismissed by the lords of the Philistines in a very reproachful and dis- honourable manner. I would further observe, that if there is any thing wrong in David's ambiguous reply to Achish, we should make the proper allowances for the circum- stances of the limes, when morality wss not carried to that noble height, as it is by the clearer light of the gospel levelalion. It appears from many instances in ihe Old Testament, that the greatest men did not think these am- biguous evasive answers, in any degree, or, as I appre- hend, at all criminal; especially when the preservation of life depended on it. Let it therefore be allowed, wilh all my heart, that David, in his equivocal answers, did what, according to" our present sentiments of morality, in this very enlightened and conscientious age, was not so perfeclly agreeable lo the stricter rules of il ; he might still be an excellent man for the times he lived in; when such equivocations were generally allowed of, almost univer- sally praclised, and by no means thought inconsistent wilh true religion and virtue, but rather in many cases neces- sary and commendable. — Ch.vndlek. CHAPTER XXX. Ver. S. And David inquired at the Lord, saying, Shall I pursue after this troop? shall I over- take them ? And he answered him. Pursue : for thou shah surely overtake them, and with- out fail recover all. The chosen people of Jehovah, not less eager than others lo know the issue of their military expeditions, or if heaven regarded their undertakings with a favourable eye, had frequent recourse lo the holy oracle ; they consulted the prophet of the Lord; they ofl^ered sacrifices, and consulted with the high-priest who'bore the Urim and Thummim in his breastplate, by means of which he discovered the will of the Deity; or, presenting himself at the altar of incense, received the desired response by an audible voice from the most holy place. The son of Jesse, in a time of great dis- tress and' perplexitv, consulted the oracle by means of an ephod, a part of sacerdotal vestments: " And David said to Abiathar the priest, Abiuielech's son, I pray thee, bring me hither the ephod; and Abiathar brought hither the ephod to David. Ami David inquired at the Lord, saying, Shalllpursueafterthislroop'! shall I overtake them "! And he answered him. Pursue ; for thou shalt surely overtake them, and without fail recover all." Here was no bright- ening of arrows, aftei the custom of superstitious heathens; no consulting with images, nor inspecting of intestines, from which nothing but vague conjecture can result; but a devout and humble application to the throne of the trueC4od ; and the answer was in every respect worthy of his charac- ter; it was clear and precise, at once authorizing the pur- suit, and promising complete success; or forbidding ihem, in plain terms, to prosecute their designs. — Pj.vton-. ■^er. 11. And they found an Egyptian in the field, and brought him to David, and gave him bread, and he did eat ; and they made him drink wa- ter; 12. And they gave him a piece of a cake of figs, and two clusters of raisins ; and when he had eaten, his spirit came again to him ; for he had eaten no bread, nor drunk any water, three days and three nights. Thevenot says, " At about five o'clock in the morning, when passing by the side of a bush, we heard a voice that called to us, and being come to the place, we found a poor languishing Arab, who lold us, that he had not eaten a bit for five days: we gave him some victuals and drink, with a provision of bread for two days more." This was on the journey from Suez to Tor,— Evrdeh 178 1 SAMUEL. Chap. 30. Vcr. 16. And when he had brouirht him down, behold, they icere spread abroad upon all the earth, eating and drinking-, and dancing, be- cause of all the great spoil that they had taken out of the land of the Philistines, and out of the land of Jiidah. Thi.s is said of the Amalekiles, after ihey had spoiled Ziklag. Parlihiirst says, under jn on the above, also on I Kings .\ii. 3-i, " It plainly denotes dancing round in cir- cles ;" and he believes the word " is applied to the celebra- tion of religions feasts, whether in honour of the true God, or of idols," and he cites several passages in support of his opinion. When the heathen worship their demon gods, they dance in circles round the sacrifices, throw themselves into the movt violent contortions; the arms, head, and legs, appear as if they weie in convulsions. They throw them- selves suddenly on the ground, then jump up, and again join in the circular dance. — Roberts. Ver. 17. And David stnotethem from the twilight even unto the evening of the ne.vt day ; and there escaped not a man of them, save four hun- dred young "men which rode upon camels, and acd. There were two reasons, exclusive of all religious con- siderations, that fully justified David in this attack upon the Amalekites. He now resided among the Philistines, in who.se country these Amalekites had made great depreda- tions, while the Philistines themselves were engaged in war with the Hebrews, and incapable of defending their own frontiers. He was their ally, obliged to act in their favour, and behaved like a soldier of honour in avenging the in- juries that had been done them. This insult of David therefore upon the Amalekites was not unprovoked, if we consider his connexion with the Philistines; much less, if we add to this, the loss he himself and his men sustained. For surely the burning of the city where he dwelt, the lead- ing captive into slavery his own wives, and the wives and children of above six luindied persons, and the making a booty of all their substance, must have been the highest provocation to men, that had anv feeling of natuinl affec- tion. David and his soldiers thought it so; and if it be lawful to put to death incendiaries, women and children stealers, thieves, robbers, and vagabonds; David's execu- ting this vengeance on the Amalekites for their treachery in luaking this invasion, and committing these unprovoked violences, while neither the Philistines nor Hebrews could defend their territories, was a deserved and necessary se- verity.— ClUNDI.ER. Ver. 21. And they went forth to meet David, and to meet the people that uere with him ; and when David came near to the people, he saluted them. This was a usual mode of honouring persons of dignity. " Before any person of rank enters a citv, it is usual for him to be received by a deputation. If his rank is very considerable, the Peeshw-.Tz is .sent to a great distance. A thousand men were "cnt to meet the prince, halfwav be- tween Ispahan and Sheeraz, a hundred miles." (Wa- ring's Tour to Sheeraz.) " At this place (Jerusalem) two Turkish officers, mounted on beautiful horses, sumptuous- ly capari.soned, came to inform us, ;h t the governor, hav- ing intelligence of our anproach, had sent them to escort us into town." (Clarke's Travels.)— Blrder. "Sainted them." Hebiew, " asked tliem how they did." It is in the East, as in England, a common mode of saluta- tion to inquire after the health. They dn nut, liowever, answer in the same unhesitating wav. When a man has perfectly recovered from a fit of sickness, he will not sav, I am quite well," because he would think that like boast- ing, and be afraid of a relapse; he would, therefore, say, " I am a little belter— not quite so ill as I was:" sometimes, when the question is asked, he will reply, "Can you not see for yourself 1 what answer can I give V To sav you look well, or have become stout, is very annoying. A short lime after my arrival in Ceylon, a very stout Bramin paid me a visit, and on my saying he looked remarkably well, he fell into a great rage and left the room. I ex- plained to him afterward that I did not mean any offence, and he said it was scry unfortunate to be addressed in such language. — Roberts. Ver. 24. For who will hearken unto you in this matter? btit as his part i'x that goeth down to the battle, so shall his part be that tarrieth by the stuft'; they shall part alike. In Greece, " the whole booty was brought to ihe general, who had the first choice, divided the remainder among those who had signalized themselves, accoid.ng to their rank and merits, and allotted to the rest equal portions; thus in the Trojan war, when the captive ladies were to be chosen, Agamemnon, in the first place, took Astynome, the daughter of Chryses; next Achilles had Hippodamia, daughter to Brises ; then Ajax chose Tecmessa, and so of Ihe rest; Achilles therefore complains of Agamemnon, that he had always the best part of the booty, »hile him- self, who sustained the burden of the war, was content with a small piuance." From the time of David, the Hebrew warriors, as well those who went to the field, as those w ho guarded the baggage, shared alike; the law is couched in these terras : " As his part is that goeth down to the bat- tle, so shall his part be that tarrieth by the stuff'." But a more satisfactory account of the mode in which the spoils of vanquished nations were divided among the Hebrews, is recorded in the book of Numbers. The whole booty taken from the Midianites, was brought before Moses, and Eliezer the priest, and the princes of the tribes ; they, by the divine command, divided it into two parts, between the army and the congregation ; of the army's half they took " one soul of five hundred, both of the persons, and of the beeves, and of the asses, and of the sheep, and gave it unto Eliezer the priest, for a heave-offering of the Lord ;" and of the congregation's half they took " one portion of fifty, of the persons, of the beeves, of the asses, and of the flocks, of all manner of beasts, and gave them unto the Levites." This law probably continued in force till the captivity ; and according to its provisions, were the spoils of succeeding wars distributed ; for the regulation which David establish- ed, referred only to this question, whether the soldiers, w ho from weakness were obliged to remain with the baggage, should have an equal share of the booty, wiih their brethren in arms who had been engaged. Before the spoils were distributed, the Greeks considered themselves obliged to dedicate a part of them to the gods, to whose assistance they reckoned themselves indebted for them all. This custom, also, they borrowed from the Orientals ; for the Hebrews, in dividing the spoils of Midian, separated a portion for the service of the tabernacle; and the practice, so reasonable in itself, being imitated by the surrounding nation-;, at last found its way into Greece and other countries of Europe. But besides the public offerings of the naion, the soldiers oftenof their own accord, consecrated a part of their spoils to the God of battles: they had several methods of doing this; at one time Ihey collected them into a heap, and consumed them with fire; at another, they suspended their ofTerings in the temples. Pausania*, the Spartan, is re- ported to have consecrated out of the Persian spoils, a tripod to Delphian Apollo, and a statue of brass, seven cubits long, to Olympian Jupiter. The origin of these customs is easily disceiiiible in the mannersof the Hebrew*. After Ihe rich and various spoils of Midian were divided, the officers of the army, penetra'ed with gratitude thai ihcy had not lost a man in the contest, " presented an oblation to the Lord, jewels of gold, chains, and bracelets, ring-, ear-rings, and tablets, to make atonement," as thev piously expres-ed it, " for their souls before the Lord." But the ci:y of Jericho and all its inhabitants, except Rahab and her family, were devoted to utter destruction, as an offering to the ju.slice and holiness of God, whom they had incensed by their crimes ; " And the city," said Joshua, "shall be accursed, even it, and all that are therein, to the Lord ; only Rahab the harlot shall live, she and all that are with her in the house, because she hid the messengers that were sent. . . Bui all the silver and gold, and vessels of brass and iron, are consecrated unto the Lord; they shall come into the treasury of the Lord. . . . And they burnt Ihe city with fire, and all that was therein ; only the silver, and the gold, Chap. 31. 1 SAMUEL. 179 and the vessels of brass and of iron, they put in the treas- ury of the house of the Lord." When the demands of reli- gion were satisfied, the Grecian soldiers commonly reserved articles of cttraordmary value which they had obtained, as a present to their general or coinmander of their party. To this marlv of respect, Deborah perhaps alludes in the words which she puts mto the mouth of Sisera's mother and her attendants : " Have they not sped ! liave they not divided the prev ; to every man a damsel or two ; to Sisera, a prey of divers colours, a prey of divers colours of needle-work, of divers colours of needle-work on both sides, meet for the necks of them that take the spoil." " It has been," says Malcom, " the invariable usage of all Asiatic conquerors, from the monarch who subdues kingdoms, to the chief that seizes a village, to claim some fair females as the reward of his conquest." — Paxto.n. CHAPTER XXXI. Ver. 8. And it cuine to pass on the morrow, when the Philistines came to strip the slain, that they found Saul and his three sons fallen in Mount Gilboa. 9. And they cut off his head, and stripped off his armour, and sent into the land of the Philistines round about, to pub- lish it in the house of their idols, and among the people. It was the practice of ancient warriors to strip the dead bodies of their enemies on the field of battle, after the vic- tory was secured, and the pursuit had ceased ; and not sat- isfied with this, they often treated them in the most brutal manner, basely revenging the injuries which they had re- ceived from them while living, by disfiguring their remains, and exposing them to scorn and ignominy. When the Philistines came to strip the dead that fell in the battle on the mountains of Gilboah, they found Saul and his three sons among the slain. But instead of respecting his rank and valour, they " cut off his head, and stripped off his ar- mour, which they put in the house of Ashtaroth ; and they fastened his body, and the bodies of his sons, to the wall of Beth-shan." Capital offences were sometimes punished by throwing the criminal upon hooks, which were fixed in the wall below, where they frequently hung in the most ex- quisite tortures, thirty or forty hours before they expired. It is probable that the bodies of Saul and his sons were fixed to such hooks as were placed there for the execution of the vilest malefactors; but whatever be in this, it was certainly meant as one of the greatest indignities which they could ofler to the remains of an enemy whom they both feared and detested. The ancient Greeks treated the dead bodies of their ene- mies in a manner equally indecent and inhuman. They mangled, dismembered, dragged them about the field of battle, and suffered them to lie unburied for a long time, and even to become the prey of savage beasts and raven- ous fowls. No instance of this kind is more remarkable than that of the brave, the generous, but unfortunate Hector, whose dead body suffered every indignity which the infuriate rage of Achilles, or the ferocious brutality of his myrmidons, could invent. Nay, the whole army joined in the brutish and barbarous insult ; which shows that it was their constant practice, and regarded as quite consist- ent with virtue and honour. Tydeus is not treated with more respect in Statins; and in Virgil, the body of Mezen- tius is cruelly lacerated, for though he only received two wounds from .Slneas, we find his breastplate afterward pierced through in twelve places. These instances, to which many others might be added, prove that it was the common practice of ancient warriors. In the heroic ages too, the conquerors compelled their enemies to pay a large sum of money for permission to bury their dead. Hector's body was redeemed from Achilles; and that of Achilles was redeemed from the Trojans for the same price he had received for Hector. And Virgil introduces Nisus dis- suading his friend Euryalus from accompanying him into danger, lest, if he were slain, there should be no person to recover by fight, or redeem his body. The.se statements prove, that it was a common practice in the primitive ages, to redeem the dead body of a warrior ; and if this was neg- lected or refused, it was frequently suffered to remain un- buried. But, in succeeding times, it was considered as the greatest impiety, as the indubitable mark of a savage or ungenerous temper, to deny the rites of burial to an enemy. The more civilized Grecians reckoned it a sacred duty to bury the slain, a debt which they owed to nature ; and they seldom or never neglected it, or refused their permission to fay it, except on extraordinary and unusual provocations, t was a very aggravating circumstance in the desolations of Jerusalem, so feelingly described by the pen of Asaph, that the dead bodies of her inhabitants remained unburied , and the terms in which he mentions it, prove that the He- brews had the same acute feelings, relative to this subject, as the most refined nations of antiquity : " O God, the heathen are come into thine inheritance; thy holy temple have they defiled ; they have laid Jerusalem on heaps. The dead bodies of thy servants have they given to be meat unto the fowls of "the heaven, the flesh of thy saints unto the beasts of the earth. Their blood have they shed like water round about Jerusalem ; and there was none to bury them." — Paxton. Ver. 10. And they put his armour in the house of Ashtaroth; and they fastened his body to the wall of Beth-shan. Three Bakhtiarees had been condemned to death by the prince for robbery; one was beheaded, and the second blown up; the third was cut in half, and the two parts of his body hung on two of the most frequented gales of the city as a warning to other thieves. The horrid spectacle was displayed for three days. It illustrates, in some de- gree, an ancient custom exemplified in the case of Saul, 1 Sam. 31. 10, whose body was fastened to the wall of Beth- shan by the Philistines. Shckch-kerden is the technical name for this punishment, which consists in cutting the body in two lengthwise, with a sword, beginning between the legs, and terminating in the side of the neck above the shoulder. — Morifib. Ver. 12. All the valiant men arose, and went all night, and took the body of Saul, and the bodies of his sons, from the wall of Beth-shan, and came to Jabesh, and burnt them there. The Chaldeeand other versions render the words, " and they burnt or kindled a light or lamp over them there, as they are accustomed to burn over kings." Upon which a rabbi observes, that this has reference to a custom, deliver- ed down from their ancestors, of burning the beds and other utensils of the dead upon their graves, or to the burning of spices over them. See Jer. xxiiv. 5. — Bijedeb. THE SECOND BOOK OF SAMUEL CHAPTER I. Ver. 2. It c;unc even to pass on the third day, that, behold, a man came out of the camp from Saul, with his clothes rent, and earth upon his h.'ail : and so it was, when he came to David, thtit he fell on the earth, and did obeisance. In several passages ul'scripliire mention is maiie of dust strewed on tlie head, as a token of mourning, or earth, or Topcs carried on ihe liead, as a token of submission. The following instance is rcmarkabl)' analogous to these acts of humiliation : " He then descended the mountain, carrying, as is the custom of the country, for vanqui.shed rebels, a stone upon his head, as confessing himself guilty of a capi- tal crime." (Bruce.)— Burder. Ver. 10. And I took the crown that (Crts upon his head, and the bracelet that was on his arm, and have brought them hither unto my lord. A bracelet is commonly worn by the oriental princes, as a badge of power and authority. When Ihe calif Cayem Bemrillah granted Ihe investiture of certain dominions to an eastern prince, he sent him letters patent, a crown, a chain, and bracelets. This was probably the reason that the Amalekite brought the bracelet which he found on Saul's arm, along with his crown, to David. It was a royal ornament, and belonged lo the regalia of the kingdom. The bracelet, it must be acknowledged, was worn both by men and women of differenl ranks ; but the original word, in the second book of Samuel, occurs only in two other places, and is quite different from the term, which is em- ployed to express the more common ornament known by that name. And besides, this ornament was worn by kings and princes in a different manner from their subjects. It was fastened above the elbow; and was commonly of great value. The people of Israel found the bracelet among the spoils of Midian, when they destroyed that nation in the tune of Moses ; but it will be remembered, that they killed at the same time five of their kings. The prophet Isaiah, indeed mentions the kind of bracelet, which ]\lr. Harmer considers as the peculiar badge of kings, in his description of the wardrobe of a Jewish lady, which proves, that in the age when he flourished, it was not the exclusive decoration of regal personages, but had been assumed, and was often woin by persons of inferior rank ; but it is by no ineans improbable, that the extravagance of the female sex in his lime, which seems to have arisen to an unprecedented height, might have confounded, in some measure, the dis- tinctions of rank, by inducing the nobility of Judah to af- fect the stale and ornaments of their princes. Persons of distinction in various countries of the East, wore chains of silver and gold; and not satisfied with this, ostentatiously displayed their wealth and rank, by suspending chains of the same precious metals about the necks of their camels. Silver chains, according to Pococke, hung from the bridles of Ihe seven military agas in Egypt, to the breastplates of their horses. The camels of the kings of Midian, whom Gideon discomfited, were, agreeably to this custom, adorn- ed with chains of gold. — P.wton. Margin, " My coal of mail, or my embroidered coat." The marginal reading here probablv conveys the true meaning of the Hebrew. Saul, for his personal security, most likely wore a close coat, made of rings, or oilels, in the nature of a coal of mail. Montfaucon {Supplement, vol. iii. p. 397) 'hus represents a combat between a per.son on horseback and another on foot. " The horseman, repre- sented on an Etruscan vase, of Cardinal Gualtieri's, is armed in such a singular manner, that I thought it neces- sary to give the figure here. This horseman is mounted on a naked horse, with only a bridle, though the horse seems to have something on his neck, which passes between Jiis two ears, but it is nnpossible to distinguish what it is. The armour also of this hoiseman is as extraordinary as that of the Sarmatian hcrsemen on Trajan's pillar. His military habit is very close, and filled to his body, and cov- ers him even lo his wri.st, and below his ancles, so thai his feet remain naked, which is very extiaordinary. For, I think, both in the ancient and modern cavalry, the feetwere a principal part which they guarded : excepting only the Moorish horse, who have for their whole dress only a short tunic, w hich reaches to Ihe middle of Ihe thigh : and the Numidians, who ride quite naked, upon a naked horse, ex- cept a shorl cloak w hich they hax e, fastened lo their neck, and hanging loo.se behind them, in warm weather, and which they wi'ap about themselves in cold veather. Our Etruscan horseinan here hath his feet naked, but he hath his head well covered, with a cap folded about it, and large slips of stulT hanging down froiu it. He wears a collar of round stones. The close-bodied uund." When the chosen people were scattered among the rivers of Babylon, they resembled a field burnt up by tlie scorch- ing sun ; but the favour and blessing of heaven are prom- ised to restore them to the high estate from which they had fallen. " For thy dew is as the dew of herbs, and the'earth shall cast out the dead." Although ihey were dried and withered as the grass, yet he promises io revive, refresh, and strengthen them by Ihe power of his spirit and the riches of his grace. The dewdrops of the morning are not more pure and insinuating, more lovely and ornament- al, when they descend on the tender gra.ss, than the doc- trines of in-piration in the heart and conduct of a genuine Christian. This idea is beautifull}' expressed by Mosesin his dying song ; " My doctrine shall drop as the rain, my speech shall distil as the dew, as the small rain upon the lender herb, and as the showers npon the gra.ss." The mu- tual regard which ought to animate the people of God is compaied lothe dew which moistens the hill ol Hermon and cK)thes il wi'.h verdure. The drops of dew are couiitless and brilliani, glittering over all the field, cheering the heart of the husbanclman.and stimulating his exertions; not less abundant, illustrious, and encouraging, were the first con- verts to the Christian failh, afier the ascension of Christ. That splendid manifestation of almighty grace was cele- brated many ages before in the .songs of Zion : " Thy peo- ple shall be willing in the day of thy power, in the beauties of holiness from the womb of the morning : thou hast the dew of thy youth." But it loo frequently happens that the glory of tlie church, as well as the attainments of her chil- dren, sutlers a mournful decline, and pa.sscs rapidly away : and what emblem more appropriate can be chosen lo indi- cate such a change than the sudden evaporation of the dews, by the kindling lays of a vertical sun 1 " O Ephraim, what shall I do unto thee 1 O Judah, what shall I do unto thee 1 for your goodness is as a morning cloud, and as the early dew it goeth away." The shield was more highly valued by the ancients than all their other armour, it was their delight to adorn it with all kinds of figures, of birds and bca.sts, especially ihose of generous natures, as eagles and lions ; ihey embla- zoned upon its capacious circle the effigies of their gods, the forms of celestial bodies, and all ihe works of nalure. They preserved it with the most jealous care; and lo lose il in Ihe day of battle was accounted one of the greatest calamilieslhat could befall them, worse thandefeal, oreven than death itself; so great was their passion for what is termed military glory, and the estiiuation in which il was held, that Ihey had a profound regard for all .sons of arms, the instruments by whichthey attained it ; and to leave them in the hands of their enemies, to give ihem for a pledge, or dispose of them in a dishonourable way, was an indelible disgrace both in Greece and at Rome, for which they could hardly ever atone. Butlhese sentiments were not confined to Greece and Rome; among no people were ihey carried higher than among the Jews. To cast away the shield in the day of battle, they counted a national disgrace, and a fit subject for public mourning. This aflecting circum- stance was not omitted in the beautiful elegy which David, a brave and experienced soldier, composed on ihe death of Saul and the loss of his army : " The shield of the mighty was vilely cast away." On that fatal day, when Saul and the flower of Israel perished on the mountains of Gilboa, many of the Jewish soldiers who had behaved with great bravery in former battles, forgetful of their own reputation and their country's honour, threw away their shields, and fled from the field. The sweet singer of Israel adverts to that dishonourable conduct, with admirable and touching pathos : "Ye mountains of Gilboa, let there be lo dew, neither let there be rain upon you, nor fields of offerings; for there the shield of the mighty is vilely cast away, the shield of Saul, as Ihough he had not been anointed with oil." The apos- tle has availed himself of this general feeling in his epist'e to the Hebrews, lo encourage them in ihe profession of the gospel, and in a courageous, firm, and constant adherence lothe truth: " Cast not away therefore your confidence." Abide without wavering in the profession of the faith, and in the firm belief of the trnth ; and aim at the full as- surance of the grace of faith, which, as a spiritual shield, should be sought with unwearied diligence, and retained with jealous care. — Paxton. Ver. 23. Saul and Jonathan n-cre lovely and 182 2 SAMUEL. Chap. 2. pleasant in their lives, and in their death they were not divided ; they were swifter than eagles, they were stronger than lions. The military c.'cerciscs of the Hebrews resembled those of other nations around llieni. Swiftness of foot was high- ly valued, as il save llie warrior a great advantage over His slower and more unwieldy antagonist. It is accord- ingly mentioned to the honour of Asahel, one of David's captains, that he was swifter of foot than a wild roe; and the sweet sin:;er of Israel, in his poetical lamentation over those two great captains, Saul nnd Jonathan, takes partic- ular notice of tins warlike quality: "They were swifter than eagles, stronger than lions." Nor were the ancient Greeks less aiieniive to a qnnlificatiou which the state of the military art in those days tendered so valuable. The footraces in the Olympic gam -s were instituted by warlike chieftains, for the very purport' of inuring their subjects to the fatigues of war, and particularly of increasing their speed, which was regarded as an excellent qualification in a warrior, both because it served for a sudden attack and a nimble retreat. Homer, fully aware of its value in an- cient warfare, says, that swifness of foot is one of the most excellent endowments with which a man can be favoured. To invigorate the frame, on the strength and firmness of which the victory almost entirely depended in primitive times, the Hebrew captains are said to have e.x'ercised their soldiers in lifting great weights. After the defeat of Saul, ■which seems to have been chiefly effected by the skill and valour of the cnemv's archers, David commanded his offi- cers to insiruct their troops in the use of the bow, which, though employed by the Hebrew warriors from the earliest limes, appears to have been rather neglected till that terri- ble catastrophe taught them the necessity of forming a body of skill'iil archers, which miglit enable them to meet their enemies in the field on equal terms. The Hebrew youth were also taught to hurl the javelin, to handle the spear, and to use the sling, in which many of them greatly ex- celled.— Paxto.n. Vei'. 26. I am distressed for thee, iny brother Jonathan; very pleasant hast thou been unto me : thy love to me was wonderful, passing the love of women. Than the love of women ; or, as the word is frequently rendered, wives. This figure hath been censured, as not well chosen, nnd insinuations dropped highly to the dis- honour of the two noble friends. But the expression gives no cotmlenance to it. It appears to me, that there was somewhat in the conduct of Michal, David's wife, in too hastily consenting to be married to Phalti, that gave occa- sion lb this comparison. It is certain froia her behaviour to him, at the bringing the ark to Jerusalem, that she had not that high esteem and affection for him, that she ought to have had, as she took this opportunity so bitterly to reproach him. It is certain also, that her marriage to Phalli must have been preceded by a divorce from David; otherwise her second marriage would have been real adul- tery : and her consenting to a divorce, though by her father's order, showed great want of affection and fidelity to David, On this supposition, no comparison could be better chosen, nor more tenderly and delicately expressed. The brother's love to him, as a friend, was more generous and constant than the sister's, though a wife. "The com- pliment to Jonathan was very high, and just; and the concealing the sister's name, was truly polite. He who can read this excellent composure without admiration and pleasure, must be totally destitute of all true (aste. The lamentation over the slain heroes of Israel, in the beginning, and several times repeated; the manner in which he expresses his anguish, at the thought of the defeats being published in the cities of the Philistines, and the triumphs of the daughters of the uncircumcised upon account of it ; hii passionately wishing that neither dews nor rains might ever fall on the mountains of Gilboa, and the fields surrounding them, in which the slaughter of the Israelites happened; his recounting the past victories of Saul and Jonathan, who never drew a bow, or brandished a sword, but il proved fatal to their enemies, to heighten Ihe glory of their character, and set forth in a mote lively manner the sad reverse of their condition ; his comparing them, ihp one to an eagle for swiftness, the other to a lion for strength and valour ; the honourable mention of their mutual afl'ection while they lived, and dying bravely to- gether in the field of battle; the exclamation to the daugh- ters of Israel to mourn over Saul, and the rea.sons he gives for it; his celebrating the mutual lender friendship between himself and Jonathan : in a word, this elegy, in every part of It, both in sentiment and expression, hath all the charms with which the spirit of poetrv can adorn it ; shows the richness of David^s genius, and will be a monument to his praise throughout all generations. — Ciundleb. CHAPTER II. Ver. 4. And the men of Judah came, and there they anointed David kins: over the house of .ludah. And they told David, saying. That the men of Jabesh-gilead vere thei/ ihal buried Saul. 5. And David sent messengers unto the men of Jabesh-gilead, and said unto thein. Blessed he ye of the Lord, that ye have show- ed this kindness unto your lord, ei-en unto Saul, and have buried him. G. And now the Lord show kindness and truth unto you: and I also will requite you this kindness, because ye have done this thing. 7. Therefore now let your hands be strengthened, and be ye val- iant : for your master Saul is dead, and also the house of Judah have anointed me king over them. 8. But Abner the son of Ner, captain of Saul's host, took Ishbosheth the son of Saul, and brought him over to Mahanaim ; 9. And he made him king over Gilead, and over the Ashurites, and over Jezreel, and over Ephraim, and over Benjamin, and over all Israel. 10. Ish- bosheth, Saul's son, iras forty years old when he began to reign over Israel, and reigned two years But the house of Judah followed Da- vid. 11. And the time that David was king in Hebron, over the house of Judah, was seven years and six months. David was now thirty years old ; had in manv instances .shown his courage, fortitude, moderation, and patience ; had been inured by a long persecution, and series of dis- appointments and distresses, to submission to God, and trust in his power and goodness ; and had experienced the care of the Almighty, in the protection afforded him, under the innumerable dangers to which the jealousy and enmity of Saul had exposed him. As he had under all his diffi- culties strengthened himself in God, left his fate to the divine disposal, and was determined never to hasten his accession to the throne by any acts of treason and violence ; God now began to reward his singular virtue, and from a fugitive and exile he was made king over the most power- ful of all the tribes, bv their unsolicited and voluntary con- sent ; as an earnest of what God had in further reserve for him, — the kingdom over all his neople. From hence it appears, how unreasonably it hath been alleged, that David had no pretension to the sovereignty, either by right of in- heritance, which was claimed by Ishbosheth, a remaining son of Saul, nor by popular election, but by the clandestine appointment of ah old Levite, which inspired him with hopes, of which bv arms and intrigues he obtained the fruition. Mr. Bayle also censures the conduct of David in the measures he look to secure himself the crown. For he informs us, that David had gained the piincipal men of the tribe of Judah by presents ; and that had not Abner prevented it, there is no doubl but he woul.l have become King over all Israel, by the same method, viz. by gaining the principal persons by presents. Il is acknowledged that David hau no pretension to the sovereignty by right of in- heritance ; and in this respect Saul had no more right than David; nor Ishbosheth than either of them; the hereditary right, if any such there was, being vested in Mcphibosheih, Chap. 2. 2 SAMUEL. 183 Saul's grandson, by his eldest son Jonathan. And, thus, I doubt not, Mephiboshelh himself thought ; at least Saul's family certainly did. For when David asked Ziba where Mephibosheth was, Ziba answered : " He abidelh at Jeru- salem ; for he said, to-day shall the house of Israel restore me the kingdom of ray father." Whether this charge was true or fal.se, it is evident that Mephiboshelh, or his lamily, thought the right of succession to the kingdom of Israel belonged to him, as it most unquestionably did, if the suc- cession had been made hereditary in Saul's family. Be- sides, if Saul himself, as some affirm, had only the'showof a popular election, he had no real popular election at all, and therefore no right to the crown, and therefore Ishbo- shelh could derive no right from him to succeed him. Ish- bosheth further doth not appear to have had, either the show or reality of a popular election ; no, nor the clandestine appointment of the old Levite, which both Saul and David had. He was the mere creature of Abner, the captain of Saul's host ; who, ambitious of retaining the power in his own hand, took Ishbosheth, and, by military force, made him king over Israel ; without, as far as appears, the choice or consent of the eleven tribes, and in direct opposition to the choice and consent of the tribe of Judah, the most con- siderable and powerful of all, and the inclination of the whole body ot the people. Ishbosheth therefore was a usurper in every respect, in prejudice of the right heir ; and David, and every man in Israel, had a natural right to oppose him, and prevent his-eslabhshment in the kingdom. Blr. Bayle says, that David did not pretend that Ishbosheth reigned by usurpation ; for he allowed him to be a righteous man, and therefore a lawful king. But this reasoning will not hold good, if Mr. Bayle's own account of David be true. He allows David to have been one of the greatest men in the world, commends him for his conspicuous piety, and extols him as a son of holiness in the cliurch. And yet he tells us, that David acted like an infidel, and most "ambitious prince ■, and that his policy and prudence were such, as he can never persuade himself to think that the strict laws of equity, and the severe morals of a good ser- vant of God can possibly approve ; and that his actions were not those of a saint. I therefore say, that according to Mr. Bayle, a person may have a general character for a saint and a righteous man, and yet, in some particular actions, may act contrary to the character of both ; and that therefore it doth not follow, that because David allowed Ishbosheth tobe a righteous man, therefore he allowed him to be a lawful king. Ishbosheth was undoubtedly a righteous man, with respect to his murderers, whom he had never injured; and probably in his private character he might be a man of virtue. But at the same time David could not but know, that he reigned in every view by usurpation, and that con- sequently he was in this respect a very unrighteous man. The right of David to the crown was indisputable, and the highest by which any man could claim it. When Saul was made king, the crown was not made hereditary in his family, and the same power that made him king,'be that what it will, declared, that his kingdom should not stand, or be perpetuated in his familv, but be transferred to his neighbour. Upon the death of Saul therefore, the throne became vacant, and the poo; le were at full liberty, under the direction of God, to choose whom they pleased. The tribe of Judah unanimously chose David' for their king, and it ishighlv probable, that the whole body of the nation would have fallen in with him, had they not been prevented by the influence of Abner, This Abner himself more than intimates, when in order to bring over the eleven tribes to David, he puis them in remembrance, saying: "Ye fought for David in times past to be king over you," viz. even in Saul's lime, who was abhorred and detested by many of the principal men for his tyranny. Nay, we are expressly informed, that the princes, anil captains of hundreds and thousands, and great pnrlies from the Benjamites, Gib- eonites, Gadites, the tribe of Judah and Manasseh revolted to him, even before the battle in which Saul was slain, day by dav, till it was a great host, like the host of God. These were voluntary in the ofler of the crown to David, and no kind of bribes or force employed by him to bring them to submission. The whole nation was in motion, and nothing prevented their unanimouslv declaring for him, but the opposition of Abner in favour of Ishbosheth. But did not David gain in particular the tribe of Judah by bribes or presents'? Mr. Bayle affirms he did : The whole tribe of Judah, of which he had gained the principal men by pre,sents, acknowledged him for king. The history only says, that he once made presents to siich of the elders of Judah, as were his friends, consisting of part of the spoil he took from the Amalekites, after the recovery of the prey they had taken from Ziklag ; and probably that very pait which the Amalekites had taken from Judah, the south of which they had just invaded. But if these elders of Judah were his friends, before he sent them this present, then he did not gain them by sending thein these presents, and their making him king was not because he made them a pres- ent, but from the greatness of their afiection for him before. When Mr. Bayle adds, there is no doubt, had not Abner prevented it, but he would have been king of all Israel, by the same method of presents ; I think there is great reason to doubt of it ; for David doth not appear to have been in circumstances to give such presents; nor did they seem to desire or want them, being led by their own inclinations and sense of interest and duty at last to submit to him. David was certainly a man of a generous disposition, and liberal in his favours ; and this temper I never so much as suspected to be criminal, unworthy a great and good prince, or a real saint ; and if by a prudent liberality he could se- cure his own rights, I think he acted much more like a saint, than if he had recovered them by force, without ever first attempting to do it by the gentler methods of liberality and goodness. The true reason of the tribe of Judah's falling in with him, and the readiness of the other tribes to acknowledge him as king, was his excellent character as a brave and generous soldier, under whom they them- selves had formerly served; and especially his desiTiiation by God to the royal dignity, having been anointed king bv Samuel, according to the express order of God. It w^sthi's latter consideration, that led him to ask the divine direc- tion upon Saul's death, what measures he should take to secure his succession. The very question : " Shall I go up to any of the cities of Judah 7'' would hsve been highly indecent, had he not had the divine promi.seand a.'sistjnce to depend on. His claim, by virtue of Samuel's unction, was his only claim, was universally known to the people of Israel, and the avowed reason why they at last advanced him to the throne. It was known to Jonathan his friend. Saul himself was no stranger lo it. I know, says he, that thou shall be surely king, and that the kingdom of Israel shall be established in thy hand. It was known even lo private persons. Nabal's wife confesses this appointment of God. Abner terrified Ishbosheth by putting him in mind of it. " So do God to Abner, and more also, except, as the Lord hath sworn lo David, even so I do to him, to transhi'e the kingdom from the house of Saul, and to set up tie throneof David over Israel." He declares the same in his message lo the elders of Israel. The Lord hath spoken of David, saying, " By the hand of my servant David I will save my people Israel out of the hands of the Philistines, and out of the hand of all their enemies." And when Ihcy came to make him king, this was the grand inducement to it. " In time past, when Saul was king over us, thou wa.st he that leddest out and bronghtest in Israel, and the Lord said to thee: Thou shall feed my people Israel, and thou shall be captain over Israel ; and ihey anointed David king over Israel, according lo the word of the Lord by Samuel." So that this was the foundation of his claim, was univer- sally know-n, and justified his pretensions to, and contest for, the crown after the death of Saul. To this contest David was forced, by Ishbo.sheth's usur- pation, supported by the authority and influence of Abner, a near relation of Saul, snd who had been his general. It lasted above seven years, and Mr. Bavle is extremely dis- pleased with poor David, and censures him very severely on this account. He says, " That as Abner preserved by his fidelity eleven whole tribes for Ishbosheth, the same thing happened as would have happened between two infidel and mo.st ambitious princes. David and Ishbosheih made inces- sant war on one another, to trv which of the two could get the other's share, in order to enjov the whole kingdom with- out division." But the real que.stion, by which David's con- duct is to be determined, is : Did the free election of the tribe of Judah, neither bought by bribes, nor forced by power, give David a right lo be king over it ; and did his appointment by God to succeed Saul, and rule over all Israel, give him a just claim to enjoy the whole kingdom, without division ! I think in both cases he had ?i\ indisputable right, and consequent- 184 2 SAMUEL. (ill A p. 2. Iv he mighl, coiisislemly even with llie character of a saint, defend and maintain his righl. Ishboshclh therefore, by keeping David out of part of the kins;dom, and endeavour- ing by arms to dispossess him of the whole, inic;ht well enoiiijh deserve Mr. Bayle's character of an infidel and ambitious prince; and David, endeavouring only to secure what he had, and to recover what he was unjustly kept oul of, may still pass for a very good believer, am! doth not seem to have had anv more ambition in him, than what was honourable and virtuous. If wars arc in their nature unlawful, David's character as a saint will greatly suffer by his carrying on the war with Ishbosheth. But if wars are in any case lawful, it inust be when waged for supporting those just and important rights, which cannot be secured wi;houl them. Such were certainly the rights of David, and therefore his maintaining the war against Ishbosheth, was both his interest and dutv, and doih not in the least di- minish the glory of this son of holiness in the church. The promise of Goil to David, that he should be king of Israel, was not a promise to make him so by exiraordinarv and miraculous methods, but in the use of all prudential and proper ones ; and if he actually employed arms when ne- cessary to vindicate his just claims, and prudence and pol- icy to' turn every event to his advantage, it only shows that lie was born for empire, worthy of a kingdom, and a man after God's own heart ; or fit for the purposes for which God raised him to the throne. And though these methods should have been, to all appearance, like those which wicked men, or infidel and most ambitious princes, make use of to obtain their ends, they may for all that be very ju.st and honourable. For infidel and wicked princes may sometimes pursue lawful ends, and be forced to main- taiii their rights by policy and arms. And therefore unless the means which David used were base and criminr.l, or employed for wicked and unjustifiable purposes, they may be allowed to be, to external appearance, the same willi what wicked, ambitious, infidel princes use, and yet be agreeable to the rules of justice and honour. — Chandler. Ver. 5. And David sent ini'ssen2:ers unto the men of Jabesh-gik'.id, and said unto them, Blessed be ye of the Lord, that }''e have showed this kindness unto your lord, even unto Saul, and have buried him. The bodies of Saul and his sons were I)u::nt by the men of Jabesh-gilead. Two of the thirty-two cliaruies of the Hindoos are, to burn the bodies of tho;e whose relations cannot do it, and to pay for the beating of the tom-toms to the place of burning. It is therefore considered a work of great merit to perform the funeral riles for a respectable stranger, or for those whose relations are not able to meet the expenses. Hence maybe seen the funerals of those who have lived in poverty, or who have seen better days, conducted with great pomp, because ihe reward is great to him who advances the money, and because he receives great praise from the people. — Robf.hts. Ver. 9. And Joab said to Amasa, Ail thou in health, my brother '] And .loab took Amasa by the beard with the right hand to kiss him. Dr. Shaw takes no notice of their taking hold of the beard in order to kiss, but Thevcnot does, saying, tlial among the Turks it is a great afi'iont to lake one by the beard, unless it be to kiss him, in which case they often do it. Whether he means by kissing him, kissing his beard, or not, I do not know; but Joab's taking Amasa by the beard to kiss him, i Sam. xx. 0, seems to be designed to express his taking his beard to kiss it; at least this is agreeable to the customs of those that now live in that country; for D'Arvieux, describing the assembling together of .several of the petty Arab princes at an entertainment, lells us, that " All the emirs came just together a little time aller, accompanied by their friends and attendants, and afler the usual civilities, caresses, kissings of the beard, and of Ihe hand, which every one gave and received ac- cording to his hand and digniiv, they sat down upon mats." He elsewhere speaks of ihe women's kissing their husbands' beards, and children those of their fathers, and friends reciprocally saluting one another in this manner ; but the doing it by their emirs more exactly answers this history of Joab and Amasa, and in this stooping posture he could much better see to direct the blow, than if tie had only held his beard, and raised himself to kiss his face. — Harmeb. Ver. 18. And there were three sons of Zeruiah there, Joab, and Abishai, and Asabel : and Asahei was as light of foot as a wild roe. The name of the antelope in the Hebrew scripture, is oj (tscbi;) and in the version of the Seventy Aofi«aj, (dorwj.) In our version, the original term is translated roe and roe- buck; but Dr. Shaw, and others, have proved by several conclusive arguments, ihat it is not the roe, but the ante- lope, which the sacred writers intend. The former is extremely rare in the onenlal regions, while the latter is coiumon in every part of the Levant. But is it to be sup- posed, that the sacred writers would borrow their figures irom creatures which are either not known at all in Pales- tine and the surrounding countries, or but rarely seen ; while they had not even a name for an animal, wiiich, in large herds of several thousands, fed in their fields, and aro\ind their dwellings? Such a supposition would con- tradict some of the strongest laws which regulate the operations of the human mind, and is therefore quiie inadmissible. It is equally absurd to suppose that the Jewish legislator, when he regulated by fixed laws the food of his people, would mention a creature which they probablv had never seen, of which perhaps they had not even heard, whirh was not to be fotnid in the deserts over which ihey had to travel, nor m the country they were to possess; while he omii'.ed one of daily occuirence, which was found everywhere, in the w ilderness and in the culti- vated field, on the mountains and in the plains; whose flesh was greatly esteemed, and, by consequence, could not fail to become an important article of subsistence. These considerations are ol them.selves sufticient to establish the superior claims of the antelope to a place in the sacrtd volume. The arguments which have been drawn from the eivmcdogical meaning of the Hebrew terms n-i and '3S, and the authority of the Sepluagini, although of infe- rior inipurlance, are not destitute of weight. The first of Ihesc names suggests the idea of a very gregarious animal ; but this is not the character of the rocs, for, instead of asso- ciating in herds, they live in separate families; while the antelopes are commonly found in very large herds, some- times to the number of two or three thousand together. The second term, <;i, primarily signifies beauty ; and w hen put for the concrete, as in this instance, by a very comnicn figure of speech in Hebrew, has the force of a superlaiivc, and signifies a thing or animal of uncommon beauiy. Thus the land of Canaan is, in the prophet, styled -i-sn ,-«, the lan.i of beautv; or, as it is rendered by oiir translators, Ihe glory of all lands. The l!ebi. therefore, is an animal lhat ' excels in beamy; which exactly corresponds with all the accounts lhat natural historians have given us of ihe ante- lope. Both thej-oe and the antelope, it must be admitted, are, in the general opinion of mankind, very beautiful animals; but Ihe preference is commonly given to the latter. Bufi'on savs, the figure of the small antelopes is elegani.and their members are finely proportioned lo their size; and make prodigious bcnnds. The Sepluagint i:r.i- formly translate the terms, ni-; and ^:?, by Upn;; and tic correciness of their translation is attested hy Luke, for le mentions "a ecriain disciple'' who resided "at Joppn, named Tabitha, which, by interpretation, is called Dorcas." The name Tabitha is formed by a .slight sltcration fiom the Chaldee noun k':-^ ( Ttiina ,) and this from the Hebrew term ts (Ifrlii.) The Hebrew term signifies, as has been already observed, a creature of surpa.'^sing beauty : Dorcas, its divinely attested eciuivalenl, limiting somewhat ihe general signification, denotes a erealnre remarkable for the fineness of its eyes; and from this last circumsiance, it is conjectured that Tabitha received her name. Em w hile the eyes of the roe have attracted no particular attention, so far as the w riier has observed, the antelope has been celebrated for the fineness of its eyes in all the countries of the East. Their beauty, according to Dr. Shaw, is pro- verbial there to this day ; and it is still the greatest com- pliment which, in these countries, can be paid to a fine woman, to say, " 'V'ou have the eyes of an antelope." From Bochart, and other authors, we' learn that it was equally Chap. 3. 2 SAMUEL. 185 celebrated by the ancients for the acuteness of its vision ; its eyes, they pretend, never become bleared ; it sees in the dark; it sleeps with both eyes open, or, as others will have it, with one ej'e open and another shut. These circum- stances appear to be much more applicable to the antelope, which is a quadruped well known, than to the roe, which is either not known at all, or very rare, in those jiarts of the world. The natives of Syria make a distinction be- tween the antelopes of the mountain, .ind those of the plain. Dr. Russel, who gives ns this information, says, " the former is the most beautifully formed, its back and sides are of a dark brown colour, and it bounds with surprising agility; the latter is of a much lighter colour, its limbs are not so cleanly turned, and it is neither so strong, nor so active ; both, however, are so fleet, that the greyhounds, though reckoned excellent, cannot, without the aid of the falcon, come up with them, except in soft deep ground." This is probably the reason, that the sacred writers fre- quenlly mention the " antelope upon the mountains," and not simply the antelope, when they allude to surpassing beauty of form, or amazing rapidity of motion. The switiness of this beautiful creature, has been celebrated by writers of every age, in terms of high admiration. Its exquisite symmetry, its active form, and the delicate turn of Its limbs, clearly show, that it is intended by its Maker to hold a distinguished place among the fleetest animals ihat scour the desert. Sir John Malcom says, it may be termed the fleetest of quadrupeds. It seems rather to vanish, than to run from the pursuer, and when closely pressed, bounds with so great agility, that it hardly seems to touch the ground in its career. Oppian calls it the swiftest species of goat; and according to jElian, it equals the whirlwind in speed. He outruns the antelope, said the Arabians, when they wished to pay the highest compliment to the youthful warrior. To this trait in its character, the sacred writers often allude. The surprising agility which Asahel, the brother of Joab, displayed in his pursuit of Abner, drew this eulogium from the sacred historian: " And Asahel was light of foot, as one of the antelopes that are in the field." Another allusion to the amazing speed of that animal, occurs in the description of the warlike qualifications which distinguished a troop of Gadites in the service of David : " They were men of might, men of war, fit for the battle, that could handle shield and buckler, who.se faces were like the faces of lions, and were as swift as the roes (the antelopes) upon the mountains." — Paxton. Ver. 28. So Joab blew a trumpet, and all the peo- ple stood still, and pursued after Israel no more, neither fought they any more. See on 2 Sam. 18. 16. CBIAPTER III. Ver. 12. And Abner sent messengers to David on his behalf, saying, Whose is the land ? saying also, Make thy league with me, and, behold, my hand shall be with thee, to bring about all Israel unto thee. Though Abner, with the eleven tribes, asserted Ishbo- sheih's cause for several years, yet he saw that his interest greatly declined, and that he should not long be able to support him, as his forces were worsted in every rencoun- ter; while David, prospered in all his aflfairs, his party was continually increasing, and every thingseemed to con- spire to crown his wishes,"and soon put him in possession of the kingdom over all Israel. This was the opportunity Ihat Abner had wailed lor, to bring about that revolution in favour of David, which he had continually in his view, and was determined to effect, upon the first occasion ihat presented itself He soon found one, that he immediately closed with. Saul had a concubine, whose name was Ris- pah,and Ishbo.sheth, having found out that Abner had been too intimate with her, look an opportunity to reproach him on that alfair, and wilh an air of displeasure said to him: Why hasi thou gone in niito my father's concubine? Ab- ner,' enraged to be thus called io an account, said to Ish- boshelh wilh indignation: "What, am 1 to be used in so contemptuous and disagreeable a manner, as though I were as insignificant as a dog's head, and thus haughiilv questioned, as though I had been guilty of a heinous crime, concerning this w'oman, which you reprove me for having been too free wilh! What, this to me, who, in op- position to the tribe of Judali, have advanced you to the throne, have been so firm and faiilifiil a friend to the house of Saul thy father, his brethren, and adherents, and have not delivered thee, as 1 could easily have done, into the hands of David ! Too long have I already resisted the appointment of God, and may 1 fall under his heaviest curse, except I perform to David, what the Lord hath sworn to David; even to translate the kingdom from the house of Saul, and to establish his throne over all Israel and Judah, from Dan even to Beershebah !" This threat- ening .so terrified the unhappy prince, that he could not answer him a word, as he knew he was absolutely in Ab- ner's power, and had too much reason to fear that he would put his threatening too soon in execution. He did it with- out delay, and sent private messengers to David to ofler him his service, and say to him : " To whom doth the government over the country of Israel belong ! Even to tliyself. Enter therefore into an agreement with me, and I will lend thee my assistance, to bring over all the tribes of Israel to thy interest ■!" David, in return to his message, sent him word, he was willing to enter into a treaty; but would have no interview with him, but upon condition that he should bring Michal, Saul's daughter, with him, when he admilted him to an audience. He sent at the same lime messengers to Ishbosheth, to demand that Michal, his wife, whom he purchased for a hundred foreskins of the Philistines; i. e. at the hazard of his life, should be imme- diately delivered to him ; who had by force been taken from him, and married to Phaltiel, tlie son of Laish. Here David also falls under censure, as manifesting, in this instance, a too sensual disposition; and Mr. Bayle speaks of this aflair in such a manner, as shows that he greatly disapproved it. For he saj's that Michal, Saul's daughter, was David's first wife, that she was taken from him during hisdisgrace, that he .successively married several others, and yet demanded the first again ; adding, to enhance David's oflence, that to restore her to hmi, they were obliged to force her from a husband, who loved her greatly, and followed her as far as he could, weeping like a child. I confess I cannot help smiling at this last observation, nor perceive that it is to the purpose ; for I can never imagine, that because one man loves another man's wife very dearly, that therefore the husband has no right to reclaim her; or should relinquish her, because the man cries like a child at parting with her. I think David was most certainly in the right to demand her; for whatever may be said as to his other wives, he had certainly the strongest claim to this ; for he had purchased her for a hundred foreskins of the Philistines. And supposing there was nothing of a sensual disposition that influenced David in this instance, there might be other very substantial reasons to induce him to insist upon her being sent to him. He purchased her at ihe hazard of his life, and she was a living proof of his military valour and ability. She '.vas liis predecessors daughter, and he did not probably choose to lose the hon- our and advantage of the alliance. It might conciliate some of Saul's family and tribe to his interest, when they saw one of his daughters owned and treated as David's wife, and that he did not pursue his resentment to Saul, to the injury or disgrace of any of the branches of his family. There was also a real generosity in the thing, both to her and Saul; in that he received her after she had been another man's; remembering probably how once he owed his life to her afteelion, and knowing that she was portly sep- arated from him by her father's authority: whereas inany princes, for much less provocations of a wife's father, would have turned off their consorts in revenge of them, and even put them to death for having been married to another. In consequence of this demand made to Abner and Ishbosheth, she was immediately put into Abner's hands: who, lo prepare things for an accommodation with David, went and assembled all the elders of Israel, and said to them : "You have formerly oftentimes expressed your desire, that David might be king over you. Vou have now an opportunity to gratify your own inclinations in this respect; and what should engage you to advance him to the throne is, that God himself hath pointed out to vou the man, as he hath declared: By the hand of my ser- vant David I will save mv pco|)le Israel out of the hand of 186 2 SAMUEL. Chap. 3. the Philistines, and oitt of the hand of all their enemies; ' intimating hereby the ineanacily of Ishboshetli, and that it was both their interest and duty to transfer the kingdom and government to David-, would be happy lor themselves, and an instance of obedience lo their God. He went also and applied himself particularly to the tribe of Henjamin, to which Saul's fiimilv bclon<;eil, and persuaded them, by the same kind of arf;umenls, to fall in with the general sense of all the oilier tribes, ami concur with them in ad- vancing David to the throne.— Ciiandleh. Ver. 21. And Abner said unto David, I will arise and go, and will trather all Israel unto my lord the ii'mg, tliat they may make a league with thee, and that thou mayest reign over all that thy heart desircth. And David sent Abner away ; and he Avcnt in peace. Ilavin? seUlcd this important point to his mind, he took Michal.aiid walled with tier on David at Hebron, attended with twenty persons of rank in his retinue, whom David favourably received, and for whom he made a royal enter- tainment; and bavins; fixed the terms of accommodation between them, Abner look his leave, and at parting told the king, '■ I will go and assemble all Israel together to my lord, whom I now acknowledge for my sovereign and king, that they mav all of them submit to thine authority and governmenl, upon such terms as shall be judged hon- ourable on both sides, and that, according to the utmost wishes of thy heart, thou mayest reign over us all, and the kingdom mav be established in thy house and family." Abner then look his leave, and went away pleased and happv, lo bring about the revolulion he had projected and promised. Hire Mr. Bayle is out of all patience, and alter naving told us that Abner, being discontented with the king his master, resolved to dispo.sscss him of his dominions, and deliver them up to David, adds : " David gives ear to the traitor, and is willing to gain a kingdom by intrigues of this nature. Can it be said that these are the actions of a saint ■? I own there is nothing in all this, but what is agreeable to the precepts of policy, and the methods of hu- man prudence; but I shall never be persuaded, that tlie strict laws of equity, and the severe morals of a good servant of God, can approve such conduct." There are some persons whom it is extremely ditlicult to please. In a former note Mr. liayle heavily censures David, that he had made incessant war on Isliboshelh, like a very am- bitious and even infidel prince; and now, he ceases even to be a saint, and shows he is destitute of the severe morals of a good servant of God, because he took the first oppor- tunity, and the only means that were in his power, to put a .slop to the war, and prevent the further ell'usion of blood, by a general and sdliil peace. What, I wcmder, would Mr. Bayle have had l')aviil to have done, when Abner .sent his fir.st proposals for an accommodatlun 1 Ought he to have immediately rejected them, reproached Abner ns a traitor lo his prince, told him he would enter into no terms of peace w illi him, nor his niasler, Init reduce them both, with all Ihe eleven liLbes that adhered to them, by force of arms ? Had David done this, wcjuld not all the world have reproached him for folly, thus lo hazard, by continuing the war, what he couhl so certainly and easily obtain by the voluntary oli'cr iif Aimer "? Would he not have been justly censured I'ordcligliling in bhiod, fur pursuingby the sword, what he could sei'ure by treaty tind accdnimodalion 1 Or, Would Mr. li.iyle have had David sent to Ishbosheih, and informed him of Aimer's treachery, and advised him lo ihe proper melhoils of preventing ii ■? This, perhaps, Mr. iJayle might have commended as an act of exceeding great generosity, anus, that the Grecian maidens accom- panied the sound of the millstones with their voices. This circumstance imparts an additional benutv and force to the description ol the propliet : (Isa. xlvii. 1.) The light of a candle was no more to be .seen in the evening ; the sound of the millstones, the indication of plenty ; and the song of Ihe grinders, the natuial expression of jov and hnppiness, were no more to be heard at the dawn. The grinding of corn at so early an hour, throws light on a passage of con- siderable obscurity : " And the sons of Rimmon tiie Beero- thite, Rechab and' Baanah, went and came about Ihe heat of the day to the house of Ishbosheth, who lav on a bed at; nocm ; and they came thither into the midst of the house, as though they would have fetched wheat, and they smote him under the fifth rib ; and Rechab and Baanah his bro- ther escaped." It is still a custom in Ihe East, according to Dr. Perry, lo allow Iheir soldiers a certain quantity of corn , with other articles of prorisions, together with some pay: and as it was Ihe custom also to carry their corn lo the mill at break of day, these two captains very naturally went to the palace Ihe day before, to fetch wheat, in order to distribute it lo Ihe soldiers, that it might be sent to the mill at the ac- customed hour in the morning. The princes of the East, in those days, as the lii:story of David shows, lounged in their divan, or reposed on their conch, till the cool of the evening began to advance. Rechab and Baanah, therefore, came in the heat of the day, when they knew that Ishbo- sheth their master would be resting oii his bed; and as it was necessary, for the reason ju.st given, to have the corn the day before it was needed, their coming at that lime, though it might be a liillc earlier than usual, created no suspicion, and attracted no notice. — Paxtov. It is exceedinglv common for people lo recline on their conches in the heat of the dav. Hence, often, when you call on a person at that time, the answer is, " The master is asleep." Captain Basil Hall .speaks of the inhabitants of South America having the same custom. The old Ro- mish missionaries in China used to lake Iheir siesta with a metal ball in Ihe hand, which was allowed lo project over the couch; beneath -was a brass dish, so that as soon as Ihe individual was asleep the fingers naturally relaxed their grasp, and let Ihe ball fall, and Ihe noise made awoke him from his slumbers. — Roberts. Ver. 12. And David commanded his young men, and they slew them, and cut ofl" their hands and their feet, and hanged Ihcm up over the pool in Hebron. But they took the head of Ish- liosheth, and buried it in the sepulchre of Abner in Hebron. 183 2 SAMUEL. Chap. S In limes of tumult anil disorder, ihcy freqiiciiily cm off the hands and tret of people, and allerward exposed them, as well a-s the head. Lady M. W. IMonlagiic speaking of the Turkish ministers of slalc says, " if a minister dis- please the people, in three hours' time he is drai;f;ed even from his master's arms; they eiit otf his hands, head, and feel, and throw them before the palaee £;ate, with all llie respect in the worhl, while the sultan (to whom they all profess an imlimited adoration) siis trembling in his apart- ment." Thus were the sous ol Rimmon served for slaying Ishbosheth.— Uaiimkk. CHAPTER V. Ver. 3. So all the ciders of Israel came to the kiii!^ to Hebron; anil King David made a leaufiie with ihoin in Hebron before the Lord: and they anointed David kiitg over Israel. 4. David wax thirty years old when he beg'an to reign, and he reigned forty years. In the foregoing history we have seen the variotis steps, by which providence brought David to the quiet possession of the throne of Israel; an event that, to all human proba- bility, seemed the most unlikely, as the family of Saul, his predecessor, was very numerous, all the forces of the king- dom imder his couunand, and large bodies of them fre- queiitlv cmplovcd bv him to accomplish David's destruc- tion. But God's purposes must stand, and he will do all his pleasure. He had assured Saul, by the moiuh of Samuel his prophei, that he had sought him, a man after ins OWN iiKMiT, and commanded him to be captain over his people. This character has been thought, by some wri- ters, to denote the highest degree of moral purity, and that therefore it could not, with truth or justice, be ascribed to David, Avho was cerlainly guilty of some very great of- fences, and hath been plentifully loaded with'otjiers, which he was entirely free from the guilt of Every one knows, that in a literal translation of words from one language to another, the original and the literal version may convey very dill'erent ideas ; and should any one as.sert, that what the version properly imports is the genuine meaning of the original, he would betray his ignorance and want of learn- ing, and all his reasonings from such an assertion would be inconclusive and false. A good mini, upon the exchange of London, means, a responsible and wealthy man, who is able to answer his pecuniary obligations, and whose credit is every way une.'cccptionable, though his character for morals may be extremely bad. But this is not the mean- ing of the Greek word .ij'.i'ir)?, and but seldom, or ever, of the Latin word hotnif ; and should any one argue, that such a man was nyiOjj or bonus, according to the common ac- ceptation of those words in Greek and Latin, because in the English phrase he is called a good man, he would ex- pose himselt for his ignorance and simplicity. A vion nf- t-cr Ood's mm Kcort , in English, it' wc interpret the expres- sion in the strictest and highe-l sense, undouhiedly denotes a character irreproachable and pure, without spot or blem- ish. But doth it follow that this is the meaning of the Hebrew expression, and that David, because he is so called, was intended to be repre.^enled as a man of the highest purity ? This is presuming on a meaning, that the expres- sion i)y no means ncccs.sarily conveys, and taking for grant- ed what ought to be proved, and what every man, who un- derstands the original language, knows to be mistaken. The immediate occasion of these words of Samuel to Saul was, Saul's disobedience in sncriticing, contrary to the ex- press orders he had received from God tjy this great prophet, not to offer sacrifices till he should ccuii'e, and give him the proper directions for his behaviour. The pretence was piety, but the real eau.se was impatience, pride, and con- tempt of the prophei ; who not coming just at ihe time Saul expected, he thought it bi-neath him to wait anv longer for him ; and imagined, that as king, all the rites "of religion, and the ministers of it, were to be subjected to his direction and pleasure. But when Samuel came, notwithstanding his plea of devotion, and the force he put upon himself, Samuel plainly tells him: Thou hast done fooli^ihly, tlmu hast not Kepi the commandment of the Lord thy God, Which he commanded thee; for now would the Lord have estab- lished thy kingdom upon Israel for ever. But now thy kingdom shall not continue. The Lord haih sought him, •■aaSs fN, n manajUr his mni heart ; he shall be captain over his people, because thou hast not kept that which the Lord hath commanded thee. It is evident here, that the man aller God's own heart .stands in opposition to the character of Saul, who is described as acting foolishly, by breaking the commandment of God by his j)ropliet, and rejected by him, 1. c. deprived of the succession to the crown in his family, on account of his folly, presumplion, and disobe- dience. And it therefore means one who should act pru- dently, and obey the commandments of God delivered liim by his prophets, and whom therefore God would thus far approve and coniinne to favour. Thus the expression is actually interpreted by the Chaldee paraphrase ; The man who doth my icill ; and by St. Paul to the Jews at Antioch, who says, that when God hath removed Saul, he raised them up David to be their king ; to whom he gave testimo- ny, and said: I have found David, the son of Jesse, a man after my own heart, who shall execute my will. There are therefore two senses, which are evidently implied in this character of the man after God's own heart ; a man, who should faithfully execute the will of God according as he was commanded, and who on that account, and .so far, should be the object of his approbation. And in one or other, or both these senses, we find Ihe expression al- wa)-s used. Thus David, recotmting the singular favours of God towards himself, says ; For thy word's sake, 13^3-, accordins, to thij heart, i. e. thy will and pleasure, hast thou done all these great things. In another place God saith- to the Jews ; I will give you pastors, -^S;, according to my heart: pastors who .shall answer the purposes for whicfi I sent them, and act agreeable to their office, as the words imme- diately following explain it : Who shall feed you with knowledge and understanding. Thus also the Psalmist: The Lord grant thee according to thy heart, i. e. as the next words explain it: Fulfil all thy counsel; give thee thy wishes, and by his favour prosper all thy designs. In like manner, when Jonathan said to his armour-bearer : " Come, let us go over to the garrison of these uncircumcised," his armour-bearer said to him : Do all that is ('« M;/ /(far/. Do whatever thou desirest and approvest. Turn thee. Be- hold, I am with thee according to thy heart ; in every thing in which thou canst desire, or command my concurrence. These remarks may be confirmed by some other forms of expression of the like nature. Thus God tells Eli : " I will raise me up a faithful priest, that shall do according to trhal is in my heart and inysont," i. e. what I command, and what I approve. When Jehu, king of Israel, had cut off the whole house and family of Ahab, whom God for his nu- merous crimes had doomed to destruction, God said to him: " Thou hast done well, in executing that which is right in my eyes, and hast done unto the house of Ahab, according to all that iras in my heart," i. e. every thing I proposed, and commanded thee io do. And yet in the very next verse, Jehu is described as a very bad prince; for he took no heed to walk in the law of the Loril God of Israel with all his heart, nor departed from the sins of Jeroboam, who made Israel to sin. So Moses tells the people : " Bv this ye shall know, that the Lord hath said to me to do all these things, and that they are noi from my atrn heart ;" i. e. that I have not acted by my own suggestions, and according to my own .1 pleasure; and he commands Ihcm : " Ye shall remember ■ all the commandments of the Lord and do them, and not l seek after your men heart, and your own eyes," what is agreeable to your passions, and pleasing to your vanilv. Many more places might be mentioned to the s.ime purpose ; but from those already alleged, Ihe reader will see, that David is characterized as a man after (lad's nirn heart, not to denote the utmost height of pui'ity in his moral charac- ter, .as a private man, which by no means enters into the meaning of the expression, and which in no one single in- stance is intended by it ; but to represent him as one, who in his public character, as king of Israel, was fit for the pur- poses to which Goil advanced him. and who knew he would faithfully execute the commands heshouldgive him bv his prophets; and who on this account should be favoured and approved of God, and established, himselfand family, on ihe throne of Israel. He was, I doubt not, upon the whole, a really virtuous and religious man, according lo the dispen- sation he was under ; and he cerlainly was a wise, a just, a munificent and prosperous prince ; but yet he had his faults, and ihasc great imes, in his private character; and Chap. 5. 2 SAMUEL. these faults were not inconsistent with his character of be- ing a man according to God's heart ; for if he was such a prince as God intended him to be, faithfully executing his orders, and bringing to pass those great events, which he was raised up by God to be the instrument of accom- plishing; he thus far acted accordim; to the heart, i. e. the purpose and will of God, and thereby, in this respect, ren- dered himself well pleasing and acceptable to him. The particular purposes for which God ad vanced him to the throne were, that by his steady adherence to the one true God, and the religion which he was pleased to establish by Moses, lie might be an illustrious example to all his posterity that should reign after him : and here he was absolutely with- out blemish, and a man, in the strictest sense of the expres- sion alter God's own heart ; as he never departed from his Gud, by introducing the deities of other nations, or permit- iin; and encouraging the impious rites which they per- lurmed in honour of them. On this account his heart is saul to be perfect with the Lord his God, because his heart wa.s never turned away after other gods; and it is spoken to the honour of the good princes of his house, who reigned alter hun, ihat they did that which was right in the eyes ol the Lord, as did David their father; and of the idola- trous princes, it is mentioned as the greatest reproach to thom,that their hearts were not perfect with the Lord their God, as the heart of David their father. During the reign ol Saul, little regard was shown by him to the institutions of religion, and he acted as though'he was independent of the God of Israel, and therefore seldom or never inquired of him, how he was to act in the affairs of government, at the ark, from whence God, as peculiarly present in it, had promised to give the proper answers to those who rightly coiisulted htm. As the ark itself had no fi.xed residence and some of the principal services of religion could not, for that reason, be regularly and statedly performed, David was raised up to be king over God's people, that he might provide a rest for his ark, where it should perpetually con- tinue, to which all the people might resort, where all the solemn festivals might be celebrated, and the whole wor- ship ol God might be constantly performed, according to the prescriptions of the law of Moses. David fully answer- ed this purpose by lixing the ark at Jerusalem, settlin" all the necessary ceremonies and forms of worship for perpet- ual observance, and composing sacred hymns and psalms that should be sung in honour of the true God, providm<^ the e.xpen.ses, and-Jiiany of the costly materials, that were necessary to build and adorn the house of God, which he hmisell liad proposed to erect, but which God reserved for his son and succe.ssor to raise up ; and regulating the order that was to be observed among all the various persons that were to be employed in the daily services of the ark and temple ; a lull and ample account of which is transmitted to us in the first book of Chronicles. It must not be omit- ted also, that there was yet another end of providence in David s appointment, to be king over Israel; that accord- ing to God's promise concerning him, he might save his people Israel out of the hand of the Philistines, and out of the hand of all their enemies ; and further, that by him he might accomplish the more ancient promises which God had made to Abraham, in their full extent of givin" to his seed the whole country, from the river of Egypt, unto the great river, the river Euphrates. Here al.so David answered the intentions of providence in his advancement, as he subdued the Philistines, and made them tributary to his crown ; as he cleared his kingdom of all the remains of the nations that had formerly po,ssessed it, or reduced ihem into entire subjection, or made them proselytes to his religion ; and as the consequence of ju.st and necessary wars, conquered all the neighbouring nations, garrisoned them by his victori- ous troops, and put it out of their power to disturb his peo- ple for many years, and left to his son and successor a fortv years' peace, and dominion over all the kingdoms, from the river Euphrates, unto the land of the Philistines, and unto the border of Egypt, who brought presents and served Solomon all the days of his life. And finallv, God rai.sed him up to exalt the glory of his people Israel, and render them a flourishing and happy people, bv the wisdom and justice of his government. He chose David his servant, to teed Jacob his people, and Israel his inheritance. So he led them accordingto the integrity of his heart, and guided them by the skilfulness of his hands, i. e. he governed them With integrity, prudence and courage ; for he reigned over 189 all Israel, and executed judgment and ju.slice among all his people, See here, reader, the true portrait of the vmn ajter Gods own heart., who fulfilled all his pleasure, who amid all the idolatries of the nations around him, never wickedly apostatized from the worship of his God, and was an amiable example of a steady adherence to those forma ol religion, which God had prescribed to all the princes his successors ; wlio, though ting, subjected himself to God the supreme king of Israel, and faithfully executed the commands he received from him ; who made his people triumph in the numerous victories he obtained by the di- lections, and under the conduct of God himself; who en- larged their dominions, and put them into possession of all the territories God had promised to their forefathers; and who amtd all the successes that were granted him the immense riches he had gathered from the spoils of his conquered enemies, and the sovereign power with which he was invested, never degenerated into despotism and tyranny, never oppressed his people; but governed Ihem with integrity, ruled over them with moderation and pru- dence, impartially distributed ju.stice, left an established dur.-ible peace, and fixed the whole administration, both civil and religious, upon the most substantial and durable foundation. In these instances he was the true vicegerent ol God, on whose throne he sat, and all whose pleasure in ''•ese great instances, he faithfully performed. If therefore David's private moral character' was worse than it will be ever proved to be, he might be still a man after God's own lieart, in the proper original sen.se of the expression ; and the attempt to prove that he was not possessed of the height of moral purity, is an impertinent attempt to prove David not to be, what the sacred history never asserted him to be. — Chandler. Ver. 6. And the king and his men went to Jeru- salem unto the Jebusites, the inhabitants of the land j which spake unto David, saying. Except thou take away the blind and the lame, thou shall not come in hither : thinking, David can- not come in hither. 7. Nevertheless David took the strong hold of Zion ; the same is the city of David. 8. And David said on that day. Whosoever getteth up to the gutter, and smiteth the Jebusites, and the lame and the blind, that are hated of David's soul, he shall be chief and captain. Wherefore they said. The blind and the lame shall not come into the house. 1 CHRONICLES, CHAPTER XL Ver. 5. And the inhabitants of Jebus said to Da- vid, Thou shall not come hither. Neverthe- less David took the castle of Zion, which is the city of David. 6. And David said. Whosoever smiteth the Jebusites first shall be chief and captain. So Joab the son of Zeruiah went first up, and was chief. The words in!utbitants of Jebus, which are not in the original of Samuel, are not in the Vat. copy of the lxx. in Chronicles; bin the Alexandrian translates regularlv ac- cording to the present Hebrew text. In Samuel there is a clause or two in the speech of the Jebusites, which is omit- ted in Chronicles for brevity; as the history in Chronicles IS regular, and the sense complete without it. But thou-h ?.!, S!''' ■■inion has been maintained hy some considerable « riicrs ; bill seems indefensible. For' however Dnviil and the Israelites might be disposed ;o treat such idols with scorn and contempt, it is not at nil likely the .lebusiies ^.hollUl revile llicir oirjt dei- ties ; and we must remember, that these deities are snp- posed lo be here called liliml mid Inmc by the Jebusites themselves. Hut. adtnittiiij; them to be idol deities, what meaning can there be in tlie Ji-biisites telling IJavid, "he should not cumc into the citadel, unless he took away the deities upon the walls'!" If he could scale the walls, so as lo reach these gnardian deities, he need not ask leave of the .Iclm.-itcs lo enter the citadel. Bui, (which is much more ilillicitit to be answered,) what can possibly be the nieaiiing of the last line, " Wherefore tlicy said, the blind and the lame shall not come into the house 1" For, who .said! Did the Jebusites say, their own deities (before ex- pressed bv Ihc liliiid mid the tmne) should not come into the liousc, should not (accordini; lo scuiie) come where ihey were, or, should not (according to others) come into the house of the Lord 1 — Or, could these deities say, David and his men should not come into the house"! The absurdity of attributing such a speech, or any speech, to these i.erved, that these blind and lame are here spoken of as dillercut from the Jebusites, "Whosoever smitelh the Jebusites, and the lame and the Mind;" and if they were dift'erent, il requires no great .skill at deduction to deter- mine ihey were not the same. Perhaps then these blind and lame were, in fact, a i'(*v: particular wretches, who laboured under these infirinilics of blindness and lameness; and therefore were dilTcrcjit from the general body of the Jebusites. But here will it not lie demanded at once — how can we then account rationally for that bitterness with which David expresses himself here against these blind and Inmc ; and how it was possible, for a man of David's Immanily, to detest men for mere unbliimeable, and indeed pitiable, infinnities ? And lastly, the authors of the Uni- versal History, in Iheirnotcon this transaction, mention the following, as the first plausible argument against the literal acceptation — "How could David distinguish the hall, or the lame, or the blind, from able men, when po.stcd upon l(pfiy walls ; since those infirmities are not discernible but near at hand V This, it inust be allowed, would be a diflicttlly indeed, if David's information here had been only from hi-; eyesight. But this objection immediately vanishes, when we reflect, that the Jebusites are said in the text to have told David — the blind and Ihc Inmc should Iccp them off: for certainly David could easily conceive the men,' who were placed upon the walls to insult him, were blind and lame ; when lie was told so hy the Jebusites themselves; and told so, to render this insult of theirs the greater. Having thus mentioned some of the present interpreta- tions, il may be now proper lo submit another to the judg- ment of the reader. I shall first give what seems lo be the true interpretation of this passage; and then subjoin the several arguments in defence of it. " And the inhabitants of Jehus said to David, Thou shall not come hither ; for the blind and the lame sball keep thee oil', by saying, David shall not come hither. But David took the strong hold of Sionj which is the city of David. And David said on that day. Whosoever (first) smitelh the Jebusites, and through the subterraneous passnge rcaelicth the lame and the blind, ihal are hated of David's soul, because the blind and the lame continued to say, he shall not come into this house" — shall be chief captain. That llic cohnecled particles (ok -3 ki im) rendered except, in .Samuel, se^'iiily Jur in thi.? place, is evident, because the words following are rather causal than objective; and we have several instances of this sense of the two particles given us bv Noldiiis: thus Prov. xxiii. 18, theyare rendered /(;/• in the English lian.s- lation; and so in the Engli.sh, Greek, Syriac, and Arabic versions of Lam. v. "Ja. Thai the verb (Ti-rn <•.i'"w. From this version, then, and Inun the plu- rality of the two nouns, which are necessarilv the nomi- natives to this verb, we may infer, that it was originallv ■p-TDn ((•.•!)'(•«/•) to keep oil', the van having been drop|uil liei'e ns in many other jdaces. Enough having been said if the number, let ns now consider the tense of ihis veil) ; which being preter, some have translated it by a word ex- pressive of time past. But the .sense necessarily requires 11 to be translated as future in other languages, though il he more expressive in the original in the preter tense, it being agreeable to the genius of the Hebrew language fre- quently to speak of events yet fiilure, as having actually happened, when ihe speaker would strongly express the certainty of such event. This observation is peculiarly ap- jilicable to the case here. For ihis castle of mount Sioii nad never yet been taken by the Israelites, though they had dwelt in Canaan about four hundred years; as we learn fi'c.m the sacred hi.story, Josh. xv. 1)3; Jiidg. i. "Jl ; xix. 10; and from Josephus, lib. vii. cap. 3. The Jebusites, then, absolutely depending on the advantage of their high sinia- tion and the strength of their fortification, (which had se- cured them against the Israelites so many hundred years.) looked upon this of David's as a vain atlempt, which there- fore Ihey might safely treat with insolence and raillery. Full of Ihis fond notion, ihey placed upon the walls of Ihe citadel the few blind and lame ihat could be found among them, and told David, " He should not come thiiher; for the blind and lame" were sniTicient to keep him olf: which they (these weak defenders) should etrectually do, only "by their shouting, David shall not come hilher." That the blind and Ihe lame were contemptuously placed upon the walls by the. Tebusites, as before described, we are as- sured not only by the words of the sacred hi.story before us, but also by the concurrent tcslimnny of Josephus. Now Ihal these blind and lame, who appear to have been placed upon the walls, were to insult and did insult David in the manner before mentioned, seems very evident from Ihc words — The blind and Ihe Inmc shall keep thee off BY SAY- ING, etc. and also from the impos.sibility of otherwise ac- counting for David's indignation against these (naturally pitiable) wretches. And the not attending lo this remark- able circumstance seems one principal reason of the per- plexity so visible among the various interpreters of this pas- sage. Il is very remarkable, thtit the sense before given to ITrn DN >D {ki im esirek,) " For Ihe blind and the lame shall keep thee off," is confirmed by Josephus in the place just cited. And it is further remarkable that the same sense is given lo these words in the English Bible of roverdale, printed in I53.'i, in which they are tendered, iTrnii .'jlialt not comr liflltcr, hut tlic bli'ni) nuT) lame slml Itnibc ttc alBafr. This is one great instance to prove the credit due to s(nue parts of Ihis very old English version ; as Ihe sense of this passage scetns to have been greatly mistaken both befoie and since. That it has been changed for Ihe worse since Ihal edition, is very evident; and that it was improp- erly rendered before appears from AVicklitrs JIS. version of i:W:!, where we read — iTIiou Shalt not rntvc Iifliitv: no hut tilou tio ntoci> blntiti mm ant) lamr, ei.'. Alter this addi- tional clause of Samuel, in the speech of the Jebusites, the two histories agree in saying. " Daviil took the strong hold of Sion, which was afterward called the city of David." Bv this strong hold of Sion, or city of David, we are led bv the words of the text lo understand — not Ihc fortress or citadel (which was not yet taken, as appears from the order of the history in both chapters) — but the town of Ihe .Tebusites, or city of David, which was spread over Ihc wide hill of Sion: nnd is what Josc]ihus meaiix when he Iclls us — David first look the lower town, the town which lay beneath the citadel j after which he tells us, that iho Chap. 5. 2 SAMUEL. 191 citadel remained yet to be taken, lib. vii. cap. 3. The two chapters having agreed in this circumstance of David's making hiiii-sel I master of the town or city, they now vary as before; and here also the history in Chronicles is regu- lar, tliough it takes no notice of some further circumstan- ces relating to the blind and the lame : and indeed the latter circumstances were to be omitted of course, as the historian cho.se, for brevity, to omit the former. But as to Samuel, there is in that book a deficiency of several words, which are necessary to complete the sense; which words are pre- served in the text of Chronicles. And as the difficulty here also lies entirely in the text of Samuel, let us see u'helher it maynotbe cleared rip to satisfaction. David hnving now possessed himself of the strong town of the Jebusites, situate upon the hill of Sion, proceeds, the same ilai/, to attack the citadel or fortress; which was considered by the Jebusites as impregnable. And probably the Israelites would have thought so too, and David had retired from before it, like his forefathers, if he had not possessed himself l)y stratagem, when he found he could not storm or take it by open force. For this seems in fact to have been the ca.se ; and the history of this success may be properly intro- duced by a similar case or two. And first. Dr. Prideaux (in his Connexion, part i. book 2) tells us of the city of Babylon, — that when it was besieged by Cyrus, the inhabit- ants', thinking themselves secure in their walls and their stores, looked on the taking of the city by a siege as an im- practicable thing ; and therefore fro7)i Ike lop of Iheir vails scoffed ai Citrus^ and derided him or cverij thing he did. towards it. (A circumstance most exactly parallel to that of the history before us.) But yet, that Cyrus broke down the great bank or dam of the river, both where it ran into the city, and where it came out; and as soon as the channel of the river was drained, in the middle of the night, while Belshazzar was carousing at the conclusion of an annual festival, " the troops of Cyrus entered through these pas- sages in two parties, and took the city by surprise." And there is a second remarkable case related by Polybius, which will further illustrate the present history; and was communicated to me by a learned friend. " Rabatamana," says Polybius, " a city of Arabia, could not be taken, till one of the prisoners showed the besiegers a subterraneous passage, through which the besieged came down for water." Now this fortress of the Jebusites seems to have been cir- cumstanced like Rabatamana; in having also a subterra- neous passage which is called in the original -ii:s {tzenur,') a word which occurs but once more in the Bible, and does not seem commonly understood in this place. The English version calls it the gutter — the Vulgate, fistulas — Vatablus, cano.les — Jun. and Trem. emissarium — Poole, tubus aqua; — and Bochart, alveus, &c. But not to multiply quotations, most interpreters agree in making the word signify some- thing hollow, and applying it to water: just the case of the subterraneous passage, or great hollow, of Rabatamana, through which men could pass and repass for water. That this -IMS (tzcHur) in the text was such an underground pas- sage might be strongly presumed from the text itself ; but it is proved to have been so by Josephus. For, speaking of this very transaction, he calls them subterraneous cavities, putting this interpretation upon a very solid footing. That ilie i)repositinn 3, rendered in, prefixed to -"is {tzenur,) sometimes signifies by, is evident from Noldius; and that it signifies so in this place is certain from the nature of the context, and the testimony of Josephus, who expresses it thus: the verb i-^nN' (mmri/,) rendered, they said, in this sentence is very properly future ; as Hebrew verbs in that tense are known to be frequentative, or to express the con- tinuance of doing any thing; and therefore that tense is with great propriety used here to express the frequent repetition of the insolent speech used by the blind and the lame upon the walls of the fortress. It only remains here to make an observation or two on the reward proposed by David, and the person who obtained it. The text of Chron- icles tells us, " David said. Whosoever smileth the Jebn- sites first, shall be chief and captain, or head and prince." We are to recollect, that Joab the son of Zeruiah (David's sister) had been general of his army, during the civil war, between the men of Judah under David, and the Israelites commanded by Abner, in favour of Ishbosheth the .son of Saul: but that the Israelites, having now submitted to David, he was king over the whole twelve tribes. David, we know, frequently endeavoured to remove Joab from his command of the army, on account of his haughtiness, and for several murders ; but complained, that this son of Zeruiah was too hard for him, One of these attempts of David seems to have been made at the time Israel came in to David, by the persuasion of Abner ; when it is probable the condition on Abner's side was to have been made David's captain-general : and perhaps Joab suspected so much, and therefore murdered him. The next attempt seems to have been made at the taking this strong citadel of the Jebusites. For David proposes the reward absolute- ly to every officer of his army, "Whosoever smiteth the Jebusites first ;" i. e. whosoever will ascend first, put him- self at the head of a detachment, and march up through the subterraneous passage into the citadel, shall be head and captain. This proposal, we may observe, was general; and yet, how much soever David might wish Joab safely removed, it is reasonable to think that he made Joab the first offer. And, we find, that however dangerous and dreadful this enterprise appeared, yet Joab had prudence enough to undertake it, and courage enough to execute it : and Joab went up first, or at the head of a party, and was accordingly declared head, or chief captain, or (in the modern style) captain-general of the united armies of Israel and Judah. It is not unlikely that the men of Israel ex- pected, that though Abner their general had been basely murdered by Joab, yet David's chief captain should be chosen from among them ; or at least that they should have a chance for that first post of honour, as well as the men of Judah. And if they had declared any expectation of this kind, David seems to have taken the wisest step for de- termining so important a point — by declaring, that neither relation, nor fortune, nor friendship should recommend upon the occasion ; but, as the bravest man and the best soldier ought to be commander-in-chief, so this honour should be the reward of the greatest merit; that there was now a fair opportunit)' of signalizing themselves in the taking this important fortress; and therefore his resolution was— that Whosoever vould head a detachment up this subterra- neous passage, and should first make himself master of the citadel, by that passage, or by scaling the walls, or by any other method, should be head and captain, i. e. captain- general. It is remarkable, that the text in Samuel is very incomplete in this place: David's proposal to the army is just begun, and a circumstance or two mentioned ; but the reward proposed, and the person rewarded, are totally omitted. We may presume the text could not have been thus imperfect originally, since no ellipsis can supply what is here wanting; and therefore the words in the coinciding chapter in Chronicles, which regularly fill up this omis- sion, were doubtless at first also in Samuel, and are there- fore to be restored : the necessity of thus restoring the words not found in the present copies of Samuel is ap- parent. And the English version of these texts in Samuel is — " And they spoke unto David, saying, Thou shalt not come hither; for the blind and the lame shall keep thee off, by saying, David shall not come hither. But David took the strong hold of Sion, which is the city of David. And Da- vid said on that day. Whosoever (first) smileth the Jebusites, and by the subterraneous passage reacheth the blind and the lame, which are hated of David's soul, (because the blind and the lame continued to say. He shall not come into this house) — shall be head and captain. So Joab the son of Zeruiah went up first, and was head — or captain-general." The English version, then, of these texts in Chronicles is — " And the inhabitants of Jebus said to David, Thou shalt not come hither. But David took the strong hold of Sion, which is the city of David. And David said. Whosoever first smiteth the Jebusites, shall be head and captain. So .Joab the son of Zeruiah went up first, and was chief cap- tain." (Kennicou.) — Critica Biblica. Ver. 9. So David dwelt in the fort, and called it. The city of David : and David built round about, from Milo and inward. The old city founded by the Jebusites before Abraham arrived in Canaan, is styled by some writers the city of Melchizeiiek, not because he was the founder, but because it was the seat of his government. This ancient city was so strongly fortified both by nature and art, that the people of Israel could not drive out the Jebusites, its original inhabit- 192 2 SAMUEL. Chap. ants, but were reduced to live with them at Jerusalem. Tlio armies of Isiaol indeed seized ilie city; Init ilie Jfbu- siies kept pusscssiun of the stroiic; I'oit whicli dcl'eiided the town, till ilic rei^n of David, who took it by storm, and changed its name to the city of David, to signify the im- portance of the couiiuesi, and to perpetuate the memory of the event. Having chosen JerusaU'in for the place of his residence and the c,\piial of his l^ary selllemcnt in these lliings, and pcrfeclinf; the civil polilj', and the ceremonial of ihe Hebrew worsiiip, \va.s reserved for David ; who when he had retaken Jerusalem from the Jebusites, had considered the stren^ih and convenience of its situation, had enlarged it wiili new buildings, adorned it with pal- aces, erected a masnifirent one for himself, hatian Nile, the most southern boundary of his king- dom, to the entrance of Hemalh, northward, near Ihe rise of Jordan. When the assembly were met, David led them to Baahih, which is Kirjath-jearim, and which belonged lo Ihe tribe of Judah ; and from thence they conveyed the ark of God, " where his name was invocafed, even the name Jehovah Zebaoth, or Lord of hosts, who sits upon the cher- ubim, that were over the ark." They had prepared a new carriage, drawn by oxen, for ihc conveyance of it, which Uzzah and Ahio the sons of Abiuidab drove to Abinidab's hou.sc; and then placnig the ark upon it, they attended on it ; Ahio marching before the ark, and Uzzah on one side of it. When Ihe procession began, David, with all Ihe house of Israel, gave the highest demonstrations of satisfac- tion and pleasure, playing before the Lord on all manner of inslrumcnis, made of fir-wood, even on harps, and on psalteries, and on timbrels, and on cornels, and on cymbals. But the joy of David and his people on this solemn occa- sion was soon interrupted. For when Ihe procession was advanced as far as Nachon's thrashing-floor, the o.xen slumbled, and thereby shook the ark; on which Uzzah, fearing probably it might be thrown off the carriage, very rashly laid hold of the ark of God with his hand, in order to support it; not considering, that as he was, but a Levite, he was forbidden to touch it under penally of death, and that, as it was the dwelling of God, and immediately under his protection, he could and would have preserved it from falling, without Uzzah's olficious care to prevent it. For this viol.aiion of the law, Uzzah was immediately struck by the hand of God, and fell down dead by the ark. God smote him, as the text says, for his error, or as we have it in the margin, for his rashness; and as this is the fir-sl inslance that we have of ihe violation of this prohibi- tion of the Levites, from touching any thing sacred under llie penally of death, the punishment of it shows thai Ihe prohibition was really divine, and that as the penally of death was incurred, it was justly inflicied, as an example to others, and to preserve a due reverence for the illvine insliliitioni. Besides, God had particularly appointed the manner in which the ark should be removed from place to place; not upon a carriage drawn by oxen, but bv order- ing that the sons of Kohaih shcnild carry it on their shoul- ders, bv the staves, that were pul into' ihe rings, on the sides of Ihe ark; and their ncalerling lo do it on this sol- emn occasion, and consuliinu their ease more ihan iheir duty, by placing it on a carriage drawn by oxen, was an ofTenceof nosmallaggravallon, as it was an innovation con- trary to the express order of the law. This David himself afterward acknowledges, and assigns it as the reason of Ihe punishment inflicted upon Uzzah, and as he himself and the whole house of Israel were present at this solem- nily, and it was impossible that the nature and cause of Uzzah's death could have been concealed. The history expressly says, Ihat God .smole him for his rashness, in lay- ing hold of what he ought not to have touched; or for his error in thinking God was not able to protect and secure it; and David affirms, that the Lord had made a breach upon Uzzah, and in commeinoration of it called the name of Ihc place, Perez-u-zzah, i. e. the breach of Uzzah ; a plain evidence, that he knew his death to be extraordin.'iry, and inflicied by ihe immediate hand of God; this is fur. her evi- dent from Ihe terror David was in upon accouni of this ex- traordinary accident, and his desisting for this reason from the resolution he had formed of introducing the ark into Jerusalem. David " was afraid of the Lord that day, and -said : How shall Ihe ark of the Lord come to me !" I am at a loss what method to lake to bring the ark, with safety lo myself and people, into Jerusalem. Every circumstance in this transaction shows that Uzzah's death was a divine punishment, and had he died by any other hand, it must have been known to many that were present, as he died in 0]-en day light, and in Ihe view of thousands who attended in this solemn procession. Should it be said, that if the Lord would have saved the ark, because he could ; it may be also urged, that he would have brought it lo any place where he intended it to be, be- cause he could have done it, and that therefore David was impertinently officious in removing it himself: ihean.swer is; that as God had forbidden the ark to be touched, on any occasion, by the Levites, under penalty of death, it was an assurance, that in all its movements he would take it under his especial protection, and that as he was able to secure it against every hazard, without human assistance, so he cerlainly would do it. But God never promised lo remove it himself from place to place, but expressly gave that service in chaige lo the Levites; and therefore it doth not follow, that because he himself could, therefore he would remove it, because he expressly ordered it to be done by others. IJut Uzzah's intention W'as cerlainly good, and therefore the alleged crime cerlainly pardonable; Ihe seeming exigency precluding all reflection. But this seem- ing exigency was no real one, and his acting without reflection, an aggravation of his fault ; especially as he commilled this olicnce, in consequence of a former. Uz- zah knew, or might have known, that Ihe ark ■n'as never lo be moved in any carriage, but on Ihe shoulders of the Leviles; and had it been thus removed, the accident would not have happened lo the ark, and his ra.shness in touching, and the punishment he suffered for it, would have been both prevented. His good intention therefore here could be of no avail. It was no excuse for his ignorance, if he was really ignorant, because he might, and ought to have known belter ; nor for his presnmption, and such it mu.st have been, if he could not plead ignorance for his error, because this was in its nature a high aggravation of his fault. Ami light as this offence may seem, j'cl when it is considered in all ils consequences, aiid what an encourage- ment it might have given for the introduction of other innovations, contrary to the institutions of iIiq law of Moses, had this oflTcnce been passed by wish impunity ; i' was no w'onder that God should manifest his displeasure against it, by punishing wiih death, what he had forbidden under the penally of it; thereby to prevent all futuie attempts to make anv changes in lhat constilulioD which he had established. But "supposing that the ark had been overturned for want of this careful prevention, might not Uzzah, wiih greater plausibilily. have been smote for his omission, Ihan he was for his coiiimi.ssion 1" That is, might not God have more plausiblv punished Uzzah for omitting what he had strictly forbidden him to do under pain of death, and what therefore it could never be his duly lo do; than for committing what it was unlawful by God's own command for him lo coinmil, and which he had made Ihc commission of a capital crime? What some critics may think of this, I know not; I cannot fiu' my life conceive, how Uzzah could have been more plausibly, or rca.sonably punished lor omitting what it was his duly to omit, than for committing what he was obliged never _to commit. The very contrary seems to me lo be true, because he who doth not commit an illegal action can never deserve punishment on lhat account ; whereas he, who actually dolh such an illegal action, becomes Ihereby guilty, and liable lo the punishment denounced against it. Chap. 6. 2 SAMUEL. 195 During the march, David, in order lo render it more solemnly religious, sacrificed, at proper intervals, oxen and fallings; and ihougli the ark, with its proper furniture, mu:^t have been of a considerable weight, and the service of the Levites, in carrying it such a length of way on their shoulders, as front Obed-Edom's house to mount Sion, conid not but be very diflicult; yet the history observes, Ih-.t God helped-the Levites, by enabling them to bring it lo its appointed place, and preserving ihcm from every unhappy accident, till they had safely deposited it ; in graleful acknowledgment of which they presented an of- ieri.'ig unto God of seven bullocks and seven rams. As the procession was accompanied with vocal as well as in- siru mental music, David had prepared a proper psalm or ode (,Ps. GS) to be sung by the chanters, the several parts of which were suited to the several divisions of the march, and the wh(;le of it adapted to so sacred and joyful a solemnity ; as will appear by a careful perusal and examination of it. I hope my reader will not be displeased, if I give him a short and easy paraphrase of this excellent composure. men Ike Ark was taken up on the shonlders of the Lcviles. Ver. 1. Arise, O God of Israel, and in thy just displeasure execute thy vengeance upon the enemies of thy people, and let all who hale them be put lo flight, and never prevail against them. ■2. Drive them before thee, and scatter them, as smoke is dispersed by the violence of the wind, and let all their jiower and .strength die away and dissolve, as wax melts away bef.ire the lire. 3.' Bui let thy righteous people be glad, exult in the pres- ence and under the protection of thee their God, and in the triumph of their joy cry out : 4. " Sing psalms of thanksgivings to God. Celebrate his name and glory with songs of Praise. Prepare ye his way, r:nd let all opposition cease before him, who rode through the deserts, and guided his people with the cloud by day, and the flame of fire by night. His name is Jah, the tre- mendous being. And O exult with joy before him. 5. '■ He is the orphan's father, who will protect and pro- vide for him. He is the judge and avenger of the widow, will vindicate her cause, and redress her injuries, even that God, who is present with us in his holy sanctuary. C. " He it is who increases the solitary and desolate into numerous families, and restores to liberty, and blesses with an abundance, those who are bound in chains, but makes those who are his refractory implacable enemies, dwell as in a dry and desert land, by destroying their families and fortunes, and utterly blasting their prosperity." When the Procession began. 7. How favourably didst thou appear, O God, for thy people in ancient times ! How powerful was that protec- tion, which thou didst graciously aflbrd them ! when thou didst march before them at their coming out of Egypt, and gnidedst thera through the wilderness! 8. The earth shook, the very heavens dissolved at thy presence, even Sinai itself seemed to melt, the smoke of it ascending as the smoke of a furnace, when thou the God of Israel ilidst in thine awful majesty descend upon it. 9. Thou, O G'lil, didst rain down, in the most liberal m.mner, during their pa.ssage through the desert, bread and flesh as from heaven, and didst thereby refresh, satisfy, anl confirm thine inheritance, fatigued wiih Iheir marches, r are descemled from Israel, your great and frnilfiil |irtif;eiulor," •J". Kvcn Ikiijanun himself was present, -nho, though the smallest of our tribes, had so far the pre-eminence over the rest, as to give the lirst king and ruler to the people ; even he was present, and rejoiced to see the honour done to Jerusalem, and llic cinwn established on my head. Here the princes of Judah attended, wiih the supreme council of that powerful tribe ; with the jirinces of Zebu- Ion, and those of Naplitali ; who from their distant borders joined the prSjjjogf/H//,) wagons, wlieel-carriages, for conveyance of 5'our little ones and your women :" these were family vehicles, for the use of the feeble; including, if need be, Jacob himself: accord- ingly, we read (verse 27) of the wagons which Joseph had sent to carr him, (Jacob,) and which perhaps the aOTd pa- triarch knew by their construction to be Egypt-built ; for, so soon as he sees them, he believes the reports from that country, though he had doubted of them before when de- livered to him by his sons. This kind of chariot deserves attention, as we find it afterward employed on various oc- casions in scrinture, among which are the following: fiist It w'as intended by the princes of Israel for carryin-' parts 0) the sacred utensils; Numb. vii. 3; " They brought their 197 offering— SIX covered wagons {ogehdh) and twelve oxen •" —(two oxen to each wagon.) Here these wagons are ex- pressly said to be covered ; and it should appear that they were so generally; beyond question tho.se sent by Joseph for the women of Jacob's family were so; among ot'her pur- poses, for Ihat of seclusion. Perhaps this is a radical idea in their name; as gal signifies circle, these wagons might be covered by circular headings, spread on hoops, like those of our own Wagons ; what we call a tilt. Consider- able importance attaches to this heading, or tilt, in ihe his- tory of the curiosity of the men of Belhshemesh, 1 Sam. vi. 7, where we read that the Philistines advised lo make a new covered wagon, or cart (ogclck ;)— and the ark of the Lord was put into it— and, no doubt, was carefully cover- ed over— concealed— secluded by those who sent it;— it came to Bethshemesh ; and the men of that town who were reaping m the fields, perceiving the cart coming, \yent and examined what it contained : " and they saw the rcr?/ (ns-) ark and were joyful in seeing it." Those who first exam- ined It, instead of carefully covering it up again, as a sa- cred utensil, suffered it to lie open to common inspection V'hich they encouraged, in order to triumph in the votive ofierings it had acquired, and to gratify profane curiosity; the Lord, therefore, puni.shed the people, (verse 19,) "be- cause they had inspected— ?/ncrf into (2) ihe ark."' This affords a clear view of the transgression of these Israelites, who had treated the ark with less reverence ihan the Phi- listines themselves ; for those heathen conquerors had al least behaved to Jehovah with no less respect than they did to their own deities; and being accustomed lo carry ihem m covered wagons, for privacy, they maintained the same privacy as a mark of honour 10 the CJod of Israel. The Le- vites seemed to have been equally culpable with the com- mon people ; they ought to have conformed to the law and not to have suffered tlreir triumph on this victorious occasion to beguile them into a transgression so contrary to the very first principles of the theocracy. That this word ogclch describes a covered wagon, we learn from a third mslance, that of Uzzah, 2 Sam. vi. 3, for we can- not suppose, that David could so far forget the dignity of the ark of the covenant, as to suffer it to be exposed in a public procession, to the eyes of all Israel ; especially after the puni.shment of Ihe people of Bethshemesh. " They carried the ark of God, on a new ogdek— covered cart" —and Uzzah put forth [his hand, or some catching in- strument] lo the ark of God, and laiil hold of it to slop Its advancing any farther, but the oxen harne.s.sed to the cart, going on, they drew the cart away from the ark and the whole weight of the ark falling out of the cart unex- pectedly, on Uzzah, crushed him to death —"and he died on the .spot, with the ark of God" upon him. And David called the place " the breach of Uzzah"— that is, where Uzzah was broken— crushed lo death. See now the pro- portionate severity of the punishments attendin-' profa- nation of the ark. 1. The Philistines suffered by disease-^ o ^v '^^i"^'' "^""^ ^'■'^^^ relieved after their ' oblations! d. Ihe Bethshemites also suffered, but not fatally, by dis- eases of a different nature, which, after a lime passed off. These were inadvertences. But, 3. Uzzah, who ought to have been fully instructed and correctly obedient who con- ducted the procession, who was himself a Levilc— this man was punished fatally for his remissness— his inattenTion to the law; which expressly directed ihat the ark should be ^rried on the shoulders of the priesis, Ihe Kohathiles Numb IV. 4, 19,20, distmct from those things carried in ogel„lk— covered wagons, chap. vii. 9. That this kind of wagon was used for carrying considerable weights ,-nd even cumbersome goods, (and therefore was faiiTy analo gous to our own wagons— tilted wagons,) we gather from the expression of the P.salmist, xlvi. 9:- ° He rnaltelh ^vars to cease to Ihe end of Ihe e.irlh , The how he brealcelli ; anil cullelh a.-innrier Ihe spear • The chariots (ogclulh) he burneth in the fire. The writer is mentioning the instrumenis of war— the bow--lhe spear; then, he says, the wagons (plural) which used to return home loaded wiih plunder, these share the late of lh"ir companions, the bow and Ihe spear; and are burned t .he fire, the very idea of the classical allccory peace burning the implements of war, inlroduced here with ttie happiest effect: not the general's vwmnbclh; hul the plundering wagons. This is still more expressive if these wagons carried captives; which we know they did in other 198 2 SAMUEL. Chap. 6. instances, women and children. "The captive-carrying wagon is burnt." There can be no slronijer dcscrii}lion of the cflt'Cl of peace; and it clo.'ies the penod'with peculiar emphasis. — Tavlou i.n C*i.MEr. Vcr. 0. And when they came to Nachon's thrash- ing-door, Uzzah put forth his hand to the ark of God, and took hokl of it ; for the o.'cen shook it. 7. And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Uzzali, and God smote him there for his error ; and tiiere he died by the ark of God. riappy were il for us, if we could account for the opera- lion< of'God, with the same facilirj- that we can for the aciions of hissainis ; but hiscoiiiisels arc a great deep, and hi- judsmenls (just though they be) are sometimes obscure, and prist liiidin^ out. For what shall we say to the fate of Uzzah ? or what tolerable cause can we assiijn for his sud- den and nniiinely end ! It was now near seventy years since ii. ^ Israelites had carried the ark from place to place, and S-, long adisuse had madelhem forget the manner of doing it. la conformity to what Iliey had heard of the Philis- tines, they put it into a new cart, or wagon, but this was against the express direction of the law, which ordered it to be borne upon men's shoulders. It is commonly sup- posed that U//ah was a Levile, though there is no proof of it froai scripture ■, but supposing he was, he had no right to attend upon the ark; that province, by the same law, was restrained to those Levites only who were of the house of Kohalh : nay, put the case he had been a Kohalhite by birth, yet he had violated aiiulher command, which prohib- ited even these Levites, (lliough they carried it by staves upon their shoulders,) U|iou [lain of death, to touch it with their hands: so that here was a threefold transgression of the divine will in this method of proceeding. The ark, (as some .say,) by Uzzah's direction, was placed in a cart ; Uzzah, willloul any proper designation, adventures to at- tend it; when he tliought il in danger of falling, offi- ciously he put forth his hand, and laid hold on it, (all vio- lating of th ■ divine commands !) and this (as is supposed) not so much out of reverence to the sacred .symbol of God's presence, as out of diffidence of his providence, as unable n preserve it from overturning. The truth is, this ark had so long continued in obscurity, that the people, in a manner, had almost lost all sense of a divine power residing in il, anil therefore approached it with irreverence. This is implied in David's e.thorlalion to Zadock and Abiathar, afier this misfortune upon Uzzah. " Ye arc the chief of the fathers of the Levites, sanctify yourselves therefore, both ye and your brethren, that you may bring up the ark of the Lord God of Israel, unto the place that 1 have pre- ) "ed for it ; for, because ye did it not at the first, the Lord our Gfjd made a breach upon us, for that we sought him not after the due order." What wonder then, if God, being minded to testify his immediate presence with the ark, to retrieve the ancient honour of that sacred vessel, and to curb all licentious profanations of it for the future, should single out one that was the most culpable of many, one who, in three instances, was then violating his commands, to be a monument of his displeasure against either a wilful ignorance or a rude contempt of his precepts, be they ever so seemingly small ; that by such an example of lerri" , he might inspire both priests and people with a .sacred dread of his majesty, and a profound veneration for his mysteries. — Stackhocse. Ver. 13. And it was xo, that when tliey that bare the ark of the Lonn had gone six paces, he s:\crificed oxen and fallings. From these words, some would infer, that David, having measured the ground between Obed-edom's house, and the place he had built for the reception of the ark. had altars raised, at the distance of every six paces, whereon he caused sacrifices to be offered as ihe ark passed by. But it is easy to imagine what a world of confusion this would create in the procession, and therefore ihe more rational construction is, that after those who carried the ark had advanced si.x paces, without any such token of divine wrath as Uzzah had undergone, then did Iheyotfera sacrifice lo God, which might consist of several living creatures, all sacrificed and offered up at once. But even supposing that, at set distan- ces, there were sacrifices all along the way that they went ; yet we are to know that it was no unusual thing lor hea- thens to confer on their gods, nay, even upon their empe- rors, the same honours that we find David here bestowing upon the ark of the God of Israel. For in this manner (as Suetonius tells us) was Otho received — Cum per omne iter, dextra finistraipie, oppidatimvictima; ca;derentur; and the like he relates of Caligula — Ut a miseno movit, inter altaria, et victimas, ardentesque ta;das, dcncLssimo ac la;tissimo obviorum agmine incessit. — Stackhouse. Ver. 14. And David danced before the Lord with all At.? might; and David wfl.s- girded with a linen ephod. In the oriental dances, in which the women engage by themselves, the lady of highest rank in the company takes the lead; and is followed by her companions, who imitate her .steps, and if she sings, make up the eboriis. The tunes are extremely gay and lively, yet with something in them wonderfully soft. The steps are varied according to the plea.sure ol her who leads the dance, but always in exact time. This statement may enable us to form a correct idea of the dance, which the women of Israel performed under the direction of Miriam, on the banks of the Red Sea. The prophetess, we are told, " took a timbrel in her hand, and all the women went out after her, with timbrels and dan- ces." She led the dance, while they imifaled her steps, which were not conducted according to a set, well-known form, as in this country, but extemporaneous. The conjec- ture of Mr. Harmer is extremely probable, that David did not dance alone before the Lord, when he brought up the ark, but as being the highest in rank, and more skilful than any of the people, he led the religious dance of the males. — Paxton. Ver. 16. And as the ark of the Lord came into the city of David, Michal, Saul's dang'hter, looV:- ed through a window, and saw King David leaping and dancing before the Lord ; and she despised hiin in her heart. 17. And they brought in the ark of the Lord, and set it in his place, in the midst of the tabernacle that David had pitched for it : and David ofTered burnt-ofTerings and peace-offerings before the Lord. 18. And as soon as David had made an end of offering burnt-oflerings and peacc- ofTerings, he blessed the people in the name of the Lord of hosts. 19. And he dealt among all the people, ci-t'« among the whole multitude of Israel, as well to the women as men, to every one a cake of bread, and a good piece of Jlcsli, and a flagon nf icine. So all the people de- parted every one to his house. 20. Then Da- vid returned to bless his household. And Mi- chal, the daughter of Saul, caine out to meet David, and said. How glorious was the king of Israel to-day, who uncovered himself to-day in the eyes of the handiuaids of his servants, as one of the vain fellows shamelessly uncovereth himself I When this public transaction of removing the ark was happily concluded, the pious prince retired to his palace, to mess his own family and household, and share with them the public joy. But ah unexpected accident Inferrnpted the pleasure he promised himself, and could not but greatly affect him, as it arose from one, from whom he had no reason to expect the contemptuous treatment that she gave him. As the ark of the Lord was just entered into the city of David, or mount Sion, Michal, Saul's daughter, linked through a window of the palace lo behold the procession, saw i)avid dancing with great spirit and earnestness, and viewed him with contempt; or, as the text says, she de- spised him in her heart ; and when, afler the solemnity, Chap. G. 2 SAMUEL. 199 David was relumed to his habilalion, she came out to meet him, and, with indignation and a sneer, said to him, " How fjluriovis was the king ol" Israel to-day, who openly showed liimseir to-day to the eyes of the handmaids ol' his servants, as one of the vain persons openly shows himself!" David's answer to her was severe, but just. " Have I descended be- neath the dignity of my character, as icing of Israel, by divestiiig myself of my royal robes, appearing publicly among my people, and, like them, dancing and playing be- fore the ark 1 It was before the Lord, who chose me be- fore thy father, and before all his house, lo appoint me ruler over the people of the Lord. Therefore will 1 play on my harp belore the Lord; and if this be to make my.self cheap and contemptible, I will be more .so than this ;' and Ikiw high soever be my condition as king, I will always be humble in the judgment I form of myself; and as for those maid-servants of whom thou speakest, I shall be honoured among them ; the very meanest of the people will re.spect me the more for my popularity, when they see me condescend to share in their sacred mirth, and e.\pre,ss it in the same manner, by which they testify their own joy in the public solemnities." In this he acted as a wise and politic, as well as a religious prince; for in ancient times dancing itself was in use, as a religious ceremony, and in testimony of gratitude and joy, in public solemnities. Thus Miriam, the prophetess, took a timbrel in her hand, and all the women went out after her with timbrels and with dances, to celebrate their deliverance from Pharaoh, his de- struction in the Red Sea, and their own safe passage through the waters of it. So also Jephthah's daughter met her father with timbrels and dances, to congratulate his victory over the Ammonites, and God's having taken vengeance for hiin of those enemies. Thus at the yearly feast of the Lord at Shiloh, the virgins of the place came out to dance in dances. It was used also frequently among the gentiles, by the greatest personages in honour of the gods, and re- commended by the greatest philosophers, as a thing highly decent and becoming in itself. Bui though David acted from a truly religious zeal, yet he had been very severely censured for his habit and be- haviour on this occasion ; being dressed, as it hath been represented, in a linen ephod, and " dancing before the Lord, in such a frantic indecent manner, that he exposed his nakedness to the bystanders." Mr. Bayle in the first part of liis remarks, e.xpresses himself in a more cautious and temperate manner, and doth not pass his judgment, whether David discovered his nakedness or not ; but says, that " if he did discover it, his action might be deemed ill, morally speaking ; but if he did no more than make himself contemptible by his postures, and by not keeping up the majesty of his character, it was but aii imprudence at most, and not a crime." He adds, that " it ought to be considered, on what occasion it was that he danced. It was when the ark was carried to Jerusalem, and conse- quently the excess of his joy and of his leaping, testified his attachment and sensibility for sacred things." I shall just remark here, that if David did really discover his naked- ness on this occasion, yet if it was merely accidental, and withimt any design, it could not be deemed ill, morally speaking, by any good judge of morality. I apprehend also that Mr. Bayle doth not know enough of David's man- ner of dancing, and the postures he made use of, to be sure that he rendered himself deservedly ridiculous by the use of Ihcm ; because persons may dance in a very brisk and lively manner, without any postures that shall deserve contempt, and because there is no word in the original, that is made use of to express David's behaviour in this pro- cession, that either implies, or will justify such a supposi- tion. The case which Mr. Bayle mentions from Perrand of St. Francis of A.ssisi, is so perfectly difltrent from that of David, as that it should not have been related by him in the article of David, at least without some mark of disap- pr(/balion. St. Francis voluntarily stripped him.sclf stark naked, in the presence of many persons, met together to be witness to his ab.sohite renunciation of his paternal inher- i'anco. This was the downright madness of enthusiasm. David, on the contrary, divested himself only of his royal dress, and put on such a habit, as effectually preserved him from every thing of indecency and absurdity in his appearance. F*or he was clothed in a double garment; a robe of fine linen, with a linen ephod. These two gar- ments are expressly distinguisl"cd in the account of the vest- ments of the high-priesis : " Thou shalt take garments and put upon Aaron, (and as we w ell render it,) the ephod, and the robe of the ephod." And again ; " These are the gar- ments, which they shall make, the breastplate, and the ephod, and the robe." The fabric of them was diflerent ; the ephod being made of gold, blue, purple, and scarlet ; but the robe foimed all of blue. The shape of tliem was also different; the ephod reaching only to ihe knees, but the robe flowing down so as to cover the feet ; called there- fore by the LXX. -odip^t, and the Vulgate version, slola. The robe also had no division in it ihroughoul, but was made whole and round, with an opening in the middle of it, on the top, so that it was impossible that any part of the body could be seen through it; or that David, in dancing, could expo.se to view, what decency required him to con- ceal ; especially as the ephod was, on this occasion, thrown over it, and certainly tied with a girdle, as the priest's ephod always was. With these linen garments David clothed himself on this solemnity, both out of reveience for God, and for conveniency ; because they were cooler, and less cumbersome than his royal habit, and would not occasion that large perspiration, which the exercise of dancing would otherwise have produced. And however impropersucha long flowing robe, gilt round witha girdle, may be thought for a man dancing with all his might, yet it is certain that David did dance in such a one, and there is no reason to think it could be anywise inconvenient to him. For, though the robe was close, i. c. had no opening from the breast to Ihe feet, and was girt round with the ephod, yet it was large and wide, and flowing at the lower end ; and hanging down in various folds, gave room suffi- cient for the full exercise of the feet in dancing. And of this every one will have full conviction, who frequcnls any of our polite assemblies, in which he w ill see many fair ones dance, like the king of Israel, with all their might, without any great inconvenience from Ihe flowing habits, which so greatly adorn them. It may he further observed, that this robe was worn by kings, their children, priests, Leviles, and prophets, when they appeared on very solemn occasions, which also cov- ered over their other garments. Thus Samuel is repre- sented as covered with a robe or mantle, as we render it. All the Leviles, that bare the ark, and the singers, and Chenaniah, the master of the carriage, or of those who carried the ark, appeared in it on this very occasion. Kings' daughters were clothed in the same habit. The princes of the sea wore them. And even God himself is repre- sented, clad with zeal, as with a robe. As David therefore dressed himself on this occasion, with a long flowing linen robe, instead of the robe of slate, proper to him as king of Israel, which was made of different, and much richer ma- terials ; he was scornfully insulted by Saul's daughter, not for exposing his nakedness to the spectators, which he no more did, nor could do, than all the rest of the atlendants, who wore the same habit, but for uncovering himself in the eyes of the handmaids of his servants, i. e. appearing openly before the meanest of the people, in a dress, wholly unworthy, as she thought, the character and majesty of the king of Israel. Nor was this all ; for it appears, by part of David's answer to Michal, that she was particularly offend- ed with his playing publicly on the harp; and, probably, she mimicked and ridiculed' him, by the attitude in which she put herself on this occasion. For, in answer to her reproach, David says to her, " It was before the Lord that I uncovered myself .... therefore I will plav before the Lord," i, e. look on it wilh what contempt you filease, yet as I openly played on my harp in the presence, and in honour of God, I glory in it, and will continue to do it, when any fair opportunity presents itself His particularly mention- ing p/«j/i»g- /yf /ore the Lord, plainly shows, that there was somewhat, in'the nature and manner of her reproach, that gave occasion to it. Besides, it should he remarked, that the eastern princes, out of afl^ectation, and to strike the people with greater rev- erence, seldom appeared in public, and whenever they did, not w-ithout great pomp and solemnity; as is the cus- tom among them to this day. Michal therefore unquestion- ably thought, that David made himself too cheap, by thus discovering himself to public view, without any royal pomp, or marks of distinction, and familiarly mixing himself with the attendants on this solemnity, as though he had 200 2 SAMUEL. Chap. 7. been one of ihcm, ami not (he king of Israel. And the meaning of iMirhal s words in this view will be : How rIh- rions was the kinj^ of Israel to-day, who uncovered, i. e. si ripped himself of his majesty, and all the cnsignsof his royal diijniiy, and openly e.\posed himself lo the most public view of the nieaiiest of the people, as a vain thoughtless person, who, wiihout a proper h.ibit, or regard to character, expo- ses himself lo public ridicule and scorn! Mr. Bavle seems to be pretty much of Michal's opinion, when he says, '• It would be thought very strange, in any part of Kiirope, if, on a day of procession of the holy sac- rament, the kings should dance in the streets with nothing bill a small girdle on their bodies." It may be so, but the observatnin is nothing lo the purpose, because David did not dance in the streets in this manner, as he insinuates. Besides, Mr. Bayle could not but know, that customs vary, and that the same cnsloius may be thought very venerable and ridiculous, in dill'erenl nations, and at different times. However solemn and sacred the procession of the sacra- ment might have seemed here, two or three centuries ago, and may at lliis day appear in popish countries, it would now seem a most contemptible and absurd farce in this na- tion. We should look wilh indignation and scorn, to see a crowned head holding the stirrup or bridle of a triple- milred monk's lior.se, or humbly bending to kiss his toe; or emperors and princes carrying wax candles in their hands, in company of a set of shorn baldpated priests, or devoutly praying before a dead log of wood, or going in pilgrimage to consecrated statues, and kiss thresholds, and venerate the relics of dead bodies; and yet, despicable as these practices are in themselves, they have been used, and some of them continue in other nations to be used to this day; and have been, and are now, so far from being thought strange or ridiculous, as that they were, and are still es- teemed very high and laudable instances of piety and de- votion. If we examine the words themselves, by which Michal reproached David, they can never be fairly so interpreted, as to mean that indecency, which some writers would be glad to find in them; and as to David's answer, it is utterly inconsistent with such a ineaning. David said to Michal, " It was before the Lord." What was before the Lord 1 What, his discovering his nakedness 1 The very consid- eration of his being before the Lord would have prevented it, as he knew that such an indecency, in the solemnities of divine worship, was highly oflensive to God, and prohibit- ed under penally of death. Again he says, " Therefore will I play before the Lord," i. e. play upon my harp; which must refer to her reproaching him, as appearing like a common harper ; for it would be no answer to her, had she reproached him for thai scandalous appearance, which some would make him guilty of Further he adds : " And I will be more vile than this, and will be base in my own sight." I will not scruple to submit to lower services than this, in honour of God ; and notwithstanding my regal dig- nity, will not think myself above any humiliations, how great soever they may be, that may testify my gratitude and submi-ssion to hiin ; — expressions these which evidently show, that what she called David's uncovering himself, was what he had designedly done, and not an accidental involuntary thing, without desigpi, and contrary to his in- tention. And had he designedly exposed his nakedness, or even without design, how could he have made himself more vile, or rendered himself more worthy of censure and reproach f Upon the whole, that David danced so, as to discover what he ought to have concealed, is an invidious surmise, that no man of learning or candour will affirm, and which h.rs nothing in the grammatical sense of the ex- pressions made use of to support it, and is in its nature im- possible, from the make and form of the garments he was clothed with. I shall only add, that when the scripture says, " There- fore Michal, Saul's daughter, had no child to the day of her death," it doth not seem to be remarked, as though it was a punishment on her for this conlempt of David, unless he voluntarily led her bed, for so heinous and undeserved an insult ; but a-s a reproach on herself for her barrenness, she having never had any children by David ; barrenness being accounted as reproachful and dishonourable a circum- stance, as could befall a married woman. So that she had little reason to reproach her husband, when she was liable lo a much greater reproach herself. — Chandler. Vcr. 19. And he dealt among all the people, even aiiiung the whole multilude of Israel, as well to the women as men, to every one a cake of bread, and a good piece of //c.s/i, and a flagon of wine. So all the people departed every one to his house. The entertainer at a feast, occasionally dismissed his guests with costly presents. Lysimachus of Babylon hav- ing entertained Hemerus the t^'rani of the Babylonians and Seleucians, wilh three hundred other guests, gave every man a silver cup, of four pounds weight. Wlien Alexander made his marriage feast at Su.sa in Persia, he paid ihe debts of all his soldiers out of his own exchequer, and pre- sented every one of his guests, who were not fewer than nine thousand, with golden cups. The master of the house among the Romans, used also to give the guests certain presents at their departure, or to send them after they were gone, to their respective habitations. It is probable that this custom, like many others which prevailed in Greece and Rome, was derived from the nations of Asia ; for the sacred writers allude repeatedly to a similar custom, which closed the religious l^estivals or public enterlainmenls among the chosen people of God. when David brought up the ark from the house of Obed-edom, into the place which he had prepared for it, he ofTered bumt-ofTerings and peace-offerings before the Lord. And as soon as the solemnity was finished, 'he dealt among all the people, even among the whole multitude of Israel, as well to the women as men, to every one a cake of bread, and a flag- on of wine." — Paxtok. Dr. Chandler and his associates, received presents from the Greeks of Athens, consisting of perfumed flowers, pomegranates, oranges, and lemons, pastry, and other ani- cles. The presents made by David were no doubt ver>' different. Leavened and unleavened bread, the flesh which remained from the peace-offerings, and some of the wine then presented. (Joseplms.) 'The rabbins suppose that the word we translate, a good piece of flesh, signifies Ihe sixih part of an animal. Without, however, admitting the propriety of this assertion, it may lead to the true explana- tion of the word. Maillet affirms, that a sheep, with a proper quantity of rice, which answers the purpose of bread very frequently in the East, will furnish a good repast for sixty people. If now the people of the Jewisli army were divided into tens, as it seems they were, who might mess together, and lodge under one and the same lent, as it i.s highly probable, from everi' tenth man's being appointed to fetch or prepare provision for their fellow-soldiers, accord- ing to what we read, Judges xx. 10, then the sixth part of a sheep would be sufficient for the men at one repast, and be sulncient for one mess or tent of soldiers; and from this particular case it may come to .signify, in general, a suffi- cient portion for each person, which, indeed, seems to be the meaning of our tran.slators, when they render the word a good piece of flesh — enough for an ample repast. The other part of this royal and sacred donation was a flagon of wine, perhaps a gourd full of wine is meant. The shells of gourds are used to this day in the ca.slern parts of the world for holding quantities of wine for present spending, and particularly in sacred festivals. So when Dr. Richard Chandler was about leaving Athens, he tells us, he supped at the customhouse, where "the archon provided a gourd of choice wine, and one of the crew excelled en the lyre." And describing a panegyris, or general sacred assembly of Ihe Greeks in the Le.sser Asia, he informs us, " that the church was only stones piled up for walls, without a roof, and stuck on this solemnity wilh wax-candles lighted, and small tapers, and that after fulfilling their religious duties, it is the custom of the Greeks to indulge in festivity; at which time he found the multitude sitting nnder half-tenis, with a store of melons and grapes, besides lambs and sheep to be killed, wine in gourds and skins, and other necessary provision." What the size of Ihe gourds that anciently grew in that country was, or what that of those that are now found Ihere, may not be quite certain. But a gourd full of wine, for e.ich person, was abimdantly sufficient for a joy that required attention lo temperance. — Harmer. CHAPTER VII. Ver. 1 8. Then went King David in, and sat bo- Chap. 8. 2 SAMUEL. 201 fore the Lord, and he said, Who am I, O Lord God ? and what is my house, that thou hast brought me hitherto 1 Pococke has given the figure of a person half sitting and half kneeling, that is, kneeling so as to rest the most mus- cular pan of his body on his heels. This, he observes, is the manner in which inferior persons sit at this day before great men, and is considered as a veiy humble posture. In this manner, probably, David sat before the Lord, when he went into the sanctuary, lo bless him for his promise respecting his family. — Harmer. CHAPTER VIII. Ver. 2 And lie smote Moab, and measured them with a line, castinsf them Aovra to the ground ; even with two lines measured he to put to death, and with one full line to keep alive: and so the Moabites became David's servants, and brought gifts. See on 2 Sam. 12. 31. David had scarce ended his wars with the Philistines, but he was engaged in another with the Moabites, of which the .scripture hi.story gives, as I understand it, the following account. " He also smote Moab, and he measured them by a line," i. e. in one tract of the country, to throw them down level with the ground. Then he measured out two tracts, one lo put to death, and one full tract to preserve alive; and Moab became David's servants, bringing him gifts. When he had beat the Moabites, he ordered a general survey to be made of the whole country ; in one part or tract of which he levelled Moab with the ground, i. e. razed so many of their towns and fortresses, as he thought neces- sary to secure his conquest. He then proceeded to ani- madvert on the inhabitants, measuring out two tracts, or parts of the country; one line or tracf for death, and the fulness of a line, a very large tract of the counlrv, to keep alive, i. e. to cut off the inhabitants of the one, those who had been most active in the war against him, and to pre- serve the far larger part of them alive; and thus made the whole nation tributary lo his crown. Who was the ag- gressor in these two last actions, the scripture history doth not determine. Some authors seem inclined to give David the credit of it, though without any shadow of proof I apprehend the contrary may be collected from what the Psalmist savs: "That Edom, Moab, Amnion, Amalek, the Syrians under Hadadezer, and other nations, had consult- ed together with one consent to cut off Israel from being a nation; and that the name of Israel might be no more in remembrance. This seems plainly to refer to the history ol the wars with these very nations, related in Samuel. Agamst such a cruel confederacy as this, David had a right to delend himself, and to take such a vengeance on his enemies, as was necessary to his own and his people's fu- ture safely. If this powerful league, lo extirpate the Is- raelites, wa.s a justifiable compact, because Israel was a common enemy, who ravaged ad libitum, not from the common misunderstanding of states, but from an insatiable appetite for blood and murder, as some writers choose to represent them; it will certainly follow, that there may be occasions that will justify thi.s severe e.^ecution, in the inter excision of nations ; and that if the Moabites, Amal- ekites, Philistines, and other nations, were common ene- mies to the Hebrews, and ravaged them, ad libitum, from an insatiable appetite for blood and murder, David had a right to extirpate them, whenever he could, without de- serving the charge of barbarity, and a blood-thirsty spirit. This was certainly the character of many of the enemies of the Hebrew nation, but can never be applicable to the Hebrews themselves. It is allowed, that they were to maintain a perpetual hostility with, and extirpate, if they could, the seven nations, because God had proscribed them, and their own prosperitv, and almost being, depend- ed on it. But as to the Edom'iles, Moabites, and Ammon- ites, ihey were expressly forbid to meddle with Ihem, and invade any of their territories, by beginning hostilities against them. And from the whole history of the Hebrew nahon, from their first settlement in Canaan, to their de- struction by Nebuchadnezzar, there is scarce one instance 2G to be produced, of their invading the neighbouring nations without being first attacked by them, or of their plunderincked the Midinni.c., whhou, J^J^;;'^^!;::- 'Ilj^.^'^j^:;:;,; an.l hence (ver. ■■.•) he '1"' ""' '^^'"^.^ ''^ig e The word would otherwise h;ivc bee.. J"™' P;,^''V;d ,,„bablv wroi.g „,, so olten repealed "V'''» .'^''" '"V^'^t' • n t»m,,;, or pointed by •'-. J'^"-- -f^' li^.^^'^.^Hf, U Vis the injm.c- allack by surprise <-''\'''^ .'''.[. ,''X. Id be suin.noned tion of Moses tha a K,.,,et shorn ^,^j_^._^„ before an attack, and ", '^";,,„.,r lives granted, upon ihat its .nhabuants -'''''■'^V;"'';,,;;^ ' 1," however, a eity the condition ot l'^-'-^''"'''f'' ''",•' fe men in it were to be shouUi maU-e res.sianee the n a ih. "tn 2 SAMUEL. Chap. 8. shouUi maU-e ■■«^'-^';';[%';^; , ;;„,.. d children to become put lo the sword ; an the « '" ,- j,„,,, ,,a,.,iculars, captives '"\'',;-''te^-me„ stamps tKcir war law with a ""^^ r"':^.ie,de"''ef severity than is manifested in ours; much Kieatti iie-,ui. oi j account, that among ^"^ =ll:!';:;;^'nranrh^4tXt,M bear a.ms acuallv 5"r J ,™ It was necessary, and that there was no sucli "rZ t'o ! i\'e";uar't'e; an^ n " Frenehmalr wiU have any Inemv who either himself bears arms in "■''l'^' '° \' ' ";■ mmmimm evpiTise creat cruell es upon them. The Bible is lull oi i kb^«eirfes eoU-S^:^S;'f :> irwehnd i'n Hebrew a Part-ular term .;.^- some- 2 Kin-s " I will not- relate all the cruelties of those r V,' ^, 1, whom the Israelites had to carry on wai, prisoners and these Carthaginians were the direct de- SdanTs'of "hose Canaanites, and had nn Asiatic law of H'^^^rii^o?-.b^"=^"^^^^n with mo e clemencvthan the Mosaic law prcscnbed by wh ch he would have been justified in putting >l>^'»\f ' ° death For as to the assertion of some writers that the severe law of Moses on this point did not extend beyond the Canaanites, it is contrary to the clearest evidence ; ^r Moses cxnresslv savs, (Deut! xx. 15, 10, compared w.lh U,) "T US si alt ,hou do unto those cities which are lar from thee and not of the cities of these nations; but of those na- ions whose land Jehovah give-.h thee, thou shal. let nothing ■-,1 brealheth live," Davi.l acted with much greater sc- eritv CrR^m xii. 31^ to the inhabitants of Rnbbah the A, monitish capital. lie put them all to death together, ^ ha" with m'o^t painful and exquisite tortures which however were not unusual in other countries of the East. Bm we must consider how very difTerent tins war was mm other wars. The Ammonites had uol only resisted to he last exrrcraily, (which alone by the Mosaic law was suffident ti jSLti^y the victors in putting them lo death,) which according to ?he account of D'An-.eux the Arabs of the present day reckon as great an evil as ''cf ^ itsUt,) ana I hen they cut olV the lower hall ol their garments, anU in liiiSH which we know from oirr youth. • '"='> ^' =^^eed more ' is|iilli3ii WSmmm mmmm SiSiii Uios who think and write with great partial. ty for he, ^^1 Their inisonei-s in cold blood, whenever they survived h d t c'e of"he tnumph; and they very frequen.ly p. U n ,lpilh the magistrates and citizens of conquered cities, -='-"tl!S^h!:;^=^^^ Chap. 8. 2 SAMUEL. 203 (of which we know nothing in our wars,) some cities de- lended themselves to the last extremity, rather than submit. Thus acted the Romans towards those nations that certainly were not Ammonites in cruelly, or in the malice of their injuries. And if, nevertheless, not contented with keeping silence on the subject, we re-echo the Latin writers in their phrases of Roman justice and mercy, why should David be called an oppressor and a barbarian, because to the very scum of cruel and inhuman enemies, who from universal national hatred had so grossly and unjustly violated the sacred rights of ambassadors, he acted with rigour, and jiut them to painful deaths^ There seems here to be an unfairness in our way of judging, which David does not deserve, merely because he is'an Oriental, and because on other occasions the Bible speaks so much in his praise. This severity has, nevertheless, always been a stigma on the character of David, with those who do not attend to the arbitrary and variable nature of the law of nations, and judge of it according to the very humane war laws of modern times. Hence some friends of religion have been at pains to represent his conduct in a more humane point of view than it is described in the Bible itself The late Professor Dantz of Jena, published a Dissertation, De mitigata Dnridis in Amvionita!. Crudelitate, which expe- rienced the highest approbation both in and out of Germany, because people could not imagine a war law so extremely dilierent from modern manners, as that which the common interpretation of 2 Sara. xii. 31 implies. Of that passage he gives this explanation ; that David merely condemned his Ammonitish captives to severe bodily labours; to hew- ing and sawing of wood ; to burning of bricks, and work- ing in iron mines. But how much\soever this exposition may be approved, it has but little foundation: it does great violence to the Hebrew words, of which, as this is not the place to complain philologically, I must be satisfied with observing, that it takes them in a very unusual, and till then unknown, acceptation ; and for this no other reason is assigned, than that David had previously repented of his sins of adultery and murder; and being in a state of grace, could not be supposed capable of such cruelties. But a proof like this, taken from the king's being in a state of regeneration, is quite indecisive. "We must previously solve the question, whether, considering the limes in which he lived, and the character of the enemy, who had given such proofs, to what atrocities their malignant dispositions towards the Israelites would have carried them, had they been the victors, the punishment he inflicted on them was too severe 1 or else from the piety of a king, I might in like manner demonstrate, in opposition to facts, that such and such malefactors were not broken on the wheel, but that they must only have gone to the wheel, in order to draw water. But allowing even that David carried sever- ity of punishment too far, it is entirely t3 be ascribed to the rude manners of his age : as in the case of still more blameless characters, even of Abraham himself, we find that the customs of their times betrayed them into sins of ignorance, although some of their contemporaries ques- tioned tlie lawfulne-isofthe acts which involved those sins. It is further to be remarked, that towards the most cruel foes of the Israelites, and who had besides done himself an injury altogether unparalleled, David would have been acting with more mildness than the Mosaic law authorized, even towards any common enemy, if he had only condemn- ed the Ammonites to servile labours. And besides this, those labours which Dantz alleges, are, some of them at least, not at all sailed to the circumstances of either the country or the people. Firewood, for instance, is so scarce in Palestine, that a whole people certainly could not have been converted into hewers and sawyers of wood. For the sanctuary and the altar, the Giheoniles had it already in charge to provide wood; while the common people throughout the eountrv principally made use of straw, or dried dung, for fuel. 'When Solomon, many years after, made the limber required for the temple lo be felled, it was by the heads of the remnant of the Canaan iles ; and there- lore the Ammonites were not employed in it.— In Pales- tine, again, mines of different sorts were wrought. Now, of all mines, none are more wholesome lo work in than those of iron; because that metal is very friendly lo the human constitution, is actuallv mixed with our blood, (as pprnments made with blood clearly show,) is often used in medicine, and is almost never hurtful lo us, ex- cept when forged into edgetools and weapons. Hence it has been observed, that in iron-works and forges we Gen- erally find the healthiest and longest-lived people. oTher sorts of mines, on the contrary, by reason of the lead and arsenic which they contain, are very often unwholesome and even fatal to life. Can it then be believed that David would have condemned a people that he wanted to punish, to labour in iron-works, wherein they were sure to enjoy a long life of health and activity, while, perhaps, his own native subjects had to labour in unwholesome mines for the more precious inelals 1 A king who had mines in his dominions, and wished to use them for the purposes of punishment, would probably have heard what sorts of them were favourable, and what hostile to health, and not have gone so preposterously to work. The applause bestowed on this dissertation of Dantz, from the humanity it dis- played, was probably what moved the late Wahner to write a dissertation of a similar tendency, which was published at Gottingen in the year 1738, under the following title, David Moubitarmii Viclor cmdcliitm mimeroeiimitur. But it could not obtain equal approbation, because in the con- duct of David lowards the Moabites, 2 Sam. viii.2, there is less appearance of cruelty ; inasmuch as he merely enfor- ced the war law as prescribed by Moses, and indeed far less rigorously. Wahner gives' three difl^erent and new explanations of the passage, according to which none of the vanquished Moabites were put to death ; but they are all somewhat forced : and there was no necessity, by a dif- ferent translation of thetext, to free David frointhe charge of cruelty; for in putting but two ihirds of them to death, he acted unquestionably with one third more clemency than the Mosaic law required. — The war which Saul car- ried on against the Amalekites, and in which to the utmost of his power he extirpated the whole people, sparing only their king, is yet blamed, not on account of its rigour, but for the conqueror's clemency to the king, 1 Sam. xv. But I will not by any means adduce this for an example; but merely appeal to the precepts of Moses, the rigour of which David so much relaxed, in the cases of the Moabites. MlCIHELlS. ■yer. 13. And David gat him a name when he returned from smiting of the Syrians in the 'Valley of Salt, being eighteen thousand men. These great .successes over the Syrians and Edomites greatly heightened the reputation and character of David; or, as the historian observes, he got himself a name when he returned from smiting the Syrians, and Edomites, in the "Valley of Salt. He was regarded and celebrated by all the neighbouring princes and states, as a brave command- er, and glorious prince and conqueror. To get a name, in the eastern style, doth not mean to be called by this or the other particular name, which is a ridiculous interpre- tation of the words, but to be spoken of with admiration and praise, as an excellent prince, and a fortunate victo- rious soldier. Thus it is joined with praise, " I will make you a name, and a praise among all people." It is said of God himself, upon account of the signs and wonders he wrought in Egypt. " Thou hast made thee a name at this day;" which our version in another place renders: " Thou hast gotten thee renown at this day." Thus David got himself a name, i. e. as God tells hiin by Nathan the prophet: " I was wiih thee wheresoever thou wcnlest, and have cut off all thine enemies out of thy sight, and have made thee a great name, like unto the name of the great men th.at are in the earth," i, e. made thee to be esteemed and reverenced in all countries round about, as a mighty prince and successful warrior ; a name that he must have had even from the Syrians, and all his enemies whom he subdued by his conduct and valour. There is some difiiculty in this short history of the con- quest of the Edomites. "in the book of Chronicles, it is .said, that Abishai, the son of Zeruiah, smole Edom in the Valley of Salt, eighteen thousand men. 1 Chron. xviii. 12. In the OOlh Psalm, Title, that when Joab returned, he smote of Edom, in the "Vallev of Salt, twelve thousand men. In the book of Samuel, "2 Sam. viii. 13, that David got himself a name, when he returned from smiting the Syrians, in the "Valley of Salt. Part of this difhcully is easily obviated, as the rout and slaughter of the Edomilish army, in which they lost si.x thou.sand of their men, was 204 2 SAMUEL. Chap. 8—10. begun by David and Abishai. And as, after Joab's joining Ihc army, twelve thousand more of the Edomiies were cutoff, Ihc .slaughter of ihose twelve thousand is ascribed to Joab, which, wilh si.x thousand cut olf under David and Abishai, before Joab came up wilh his reinfbrceincnl, make up the number eighteen thousand ; the whole eighteen thousand being ascribeil to David, as they were cut otf by his army, that fought under him; and to Abishai, who was chief commander" under him in this action; so that what was done by the one, was ilalc from Niebuhr (French edil.) ihe following remarks: "The Orientals have divers manners of Iclling the beard grow ; Ihe .lews, in Turkev, Arabia, and Persia, preserve their beard from their vouth; and il differs I'rora that of the Christians and Mofiammedans, in that they do not shave it Chap. 10. 2 SAMUEL. 203 either at the aers, or the temples. The Arabs keep their whiskers very short ; some cut ihem oft" entirely; but they never shave olT the beard. In the mountains of Yemen, where strangers are seldom seen, it is a disgrace lo aj>pear shaven ; they supposed our European servant, who had only whiskers, had commiltcd some crime, for irhich ice had piinisJicd him, hij culli)i^ off his beard. On the contrary, the Turks have commonly long whiskers ; the beard among them is a mark of honour. The slaves and certain domes- tics of the great lords, are forced to cut it off, and dare not keep any part of it, but whiskers ; the Persians have long whislcers, and clip their beard short with scissors, which has an unpleasant appearance to strangers. The Kurdes shave the beard, but leave the whiskers, and a band of hair on the cheeks." " The true Arabs have black beards, yet some old men die their white beards red ; but this is thought to be to hide their age ; and is rather blamed than praised. The Persians blacken their beards much more; and, probably, do so to extreme old age, in order to pass for younger than they reallv are. The Turks do the .same in some cases. [How dilferently Solomon thought ! Prov. XX. 29, ' The glory of young men is their strength, and the beauty of old men is the gray head.'] — When the younger Turks, after having been shaven, let their beards grow, they recite afalha, [or kind of prayer,] which is considered as a vow never to cut it off"; and when any one cuts off his beard, he may be very severely punished, (at Basra, at least, to SOOblows withastick.) He would also be the laughing-stock of those of his faith. A Mohammedan, at Basra, having shaved his beard when drunk, fled secretly to India, not daring to return, for fear olpublic scorn, and judicial punishment." " Although the Hebrews took great care of their beards, lo fashion them when they were not in mourning, and on the contrary, did not trim "them when they were in mourn- ing, yet I do not ob.serve that their regard for them amount- ed to any veneration for their beard. On the contrary, the Arabians have so much respect for their beards, that they look on them as sacred ornaments given by God, to distin- guish them from women. They never shave them : no- thing can be more infamous than for a man to be shaved ; they make the preservation of their beards a capital point of |-eligion, because Mohammed never cut off his : it is likewise a mark of authority and liberty among them, as well as among the Turks; the Persians, who clip them, and shave above the jaw, are reputed heretics. The razor is never drawn over the grand seignior's face : they who serve in the seraglio, have their beard shaved, as a sign of servitude : they do not suffer it to grow till the sultan has set them at liberty, which is bestowed as a reward upon them, and is always accompanied with some employment. Unmarried young men may cut their beards; but when married, especially if parents, they forbear doing so, to show that they are become w-iser, have renounced the van- i'.ies of youth, and think now of superior things. When they comb their beards, they hold a handkerchief on their kuees, and gather carefully the hairs that fall : and when tl'.ey have got together a proper quantity, they fold them up in paper, and carry Ihem to the place where they bury the dead. Among them it is more infamous for any one to have his beard cut off, than among us to be publicly wliijipcd, or branded with a hot iron. Many men in that country wo\ild prefer death to such a punishment. The wives kiss their husbands' beards, and children their fa- thers', when they come to salute them: the men kiss one another's beards reciprocally, when they .salute in the streets, or come from a journey. — They say, that the beard is the perfection of the human face, which would be more disfigured bv having this cut off, than by losing the nose. " They admire and envy those, who have fine beards : ' Pray do but see,' they crv, ' that beard ; the very sight of it would iicnsuade any one, that he, lo whom it belongs, is an honest man.' If "anybody with a fine beard is guilty of an unbeeomingaclion, 'What a disadvr.ntage is this,' they say, ' to such a beard ! How much such a beard is to be pitied!' If they would correct anyone's mistakes, they will tell him, 'For shame of your beard ! Does not the confusion that follows light on your beard T If they en- treat any one, or use oaths in affirming or denying anv thing, they say, ' I conjure you by your beard, — by the life of your beard, — to grant me this!' — or, 'by your beard, this is, or is not, so.' They say further, in the way of ac- knowledgment, ' May God preserve your blessed beard ! May God pour out his blessings on your beard!' And, in comparisons, ' This is more valuable than one's beard.' " Moeurs des Arabes, par M. D'Arvieux, chap. vii. These accounts may contribute to illustrate several passages of scripture. The dishonour done by David to his beard, of letting his spittle fall on it, (1 Sam. xxi. 13,) seems at once to have convinced Achish of his being distempered : q. d. " No man in good health, of body and mind, would thus defile what we esteem so honourable as his beard." If the beard be thus venerated, we perceive the import of Mephibosheth's neglect, in his not trimming it, 2 Sam. xix. 24. We con- ceive, also, that after the information given us, as above, that men iiss one another's beards, when they salute in the streets, oru-hen one of than is lately come from a journey ; we may discover traces of deeper dissimulation in the be- haviour of Joab to Amasa (2 Sam. xx, 9) than we have heretofore noticed : " And Joab held in his right hand the beard of Amasa, that he might give it a kiss." — No wonder then, that while this act of friendship, of gratulation after long absence, occupied Amasa's attention, he did not per- ceive the sword that was in Joab's left hand. The action of Joab was, indeed, a high compliment, but neither sus- picious nor unusual ; and to this compliment Amasa pay- mg auention, and, no doubt, returning it with answerable politeness, he could little expect the fatal event that Joab's perfidv produced. Was the behaviour of Judas to Jesus something like this behaviour of Joab to Amasa 1 — a Avor- thy example worthily imitated ! — With this idea in our minds, let us hear the Evangelists relate the story; Malt, xxvi. 49, " And coming directly to Jesus, he said. Hail [joy to thee] Rabbi ! and kissed him;" so says Mark xiv. 45. But Luke seems to imply, that Judas observed a more respectful manner, in his salutation. Jesus, according to Matthew, before he received the kiss from Judas, had lime to say, "Friend [in what manner] unto what purpose art thou come 1" And while Judas was kissing him — suppose his beard — Jesus might easily, and very aptly express him- self, as Luke relates, " Ah ! Judas, bet'rayest thou the Son of Man by a kiss 1" The cutting off the beard is mention- ed (Isaiah xv. 2) as a token of mourning; and as such it appears to be very expressive, Jer. xli. 5 : " Fourscore men came from Samaria, having their beards shaven, and their clothes rent." — See, also, chap, xlviii. 37. Is not this cus- tom somewhat illustrated by the idea which the Arabs at- tached to the shaven servant of Nicbuhr, i. c. as a kind of pimishment suffered for guilt, expressed or implied'? — Taylor in Calmet. While the Orientals had their emblems of honour, and tokens of regard, thev had also peculiar customs expressive of contempt or dislike ; of which the fir.st I shall mention is cutting off the beard. Even lo talk disrespectfully of a Persian's beard, is the greatest insult that can be offered to him, and an attempt to touch it would probably be followed Ijy the in.stant death of the oflcnder. Cutting ofl'the beard is reckoned so great a mark of infamy among the Arabs, that many of them would prefer death to such a dishonour. They set the highest value upon this appurtenance of the male ; for whenthev would express their value for a thing, they say it is w-orth rnore than his beard ; thev even beg for the sake of it, " By your beard, by the life of your beard, do." — Paxton. When Peter Ihe Great attempted to civilize the Russians, and introduced the manners and fashions of the more re- fined parts of Europe, nothing met with more opposition than the cutting off their Iieards, and many of those who were obliged to comply with this command, testified .such great veneration for their beards, as to order them lo he buried with them. Irwin also, in his voyage up the Ren Sea, says, that al signing a treaty of peace with the vizier of Yambo, they swore by their beards, the most solemn oath thev can take. D'Arvieux gives a remarkable instance of an Arab, who, having received a wound in his jaw, chose to hazard his life rather than to suffer his surgeon to take off his beard. — BiinnER. This shows, according to the oriental mode of thinking, the magnitude of the affront w-hich Hannn offered lo the ambassadors of David, when he took Ihem and shaved off the one half of their beards. It was still, in times compar- ativelv modern, the greatest indignitv that can be offered in Persia. Shah Abbas, king of that country, enraged that the emperor of Hindostan had inad vcrtent ly addressed him by 206 2 SAMUEL. Chap. 11. a liilc far inferior (o ihat of ilie great Shali-in-Shali, or king ol'kin^s, ordered ilie beards dl'llie anibas.-iadors ^obe.^haved ol), and .seiil iliem lioiiic to iheir master. This ignoiiiiiiions treatment di.scoversalsotlie propriety and force of the type of hair in the prophecie.s of Ezekiel ; where the inhabitants of Jeriisalrm arc compared to the liair of liis head ami beard, to intimate lhat they had l>cen as dear lo God as the beard was tollie Jews; yet lor llieir wickedness they should be cut ofl"and destroyed. — Paxton. Ver. 5. When they told ;/ tinto David, he setit to meet them, because the inen were greatly ashamed ; and the king said. Tarry at Jericho until your beards be grown, and then return. It is cn.stomary to shave the Ottoman princes, as a mark of their subjection to the reigning emperor. In the moun- tains of Yemen, where strangers are seldom seen, ills a disgrace to appear shaven. The beard is a mark of au- thority and liberty among the Mohammedans, as well as among Ihe Turks: the Persians, who clip the beard, and shave above the jaw, are reputed heretics. They who .'crve in the seraglio, have their beards shaven as a sign of servitude : they do not suffer it to grow till the sultan has set them at liberty. Among the Arabians it is more infa- mous for any one to have his beard cut off, than among lis to be publicly whipped, or branded with a hot iron. Many in that country would prefer death to such a punish- ment.— (Niebuhr.) 'At length Ibrahim Bey suffered Ali, his page, to let his beard grow, that is to say, gave him his freedom ; for, among the Turks, to want mustaches and a beard is thought only fit for slaves and women ; and hence arises the unfavourable impression they receive on the first sight of a European. (Volney.) — Burder. Ver. 9. When .Toab saw that the front of the battle was again.st him before and behind, he chose of all the choice men of Israel, and put them in array against the Syrians: 10. And the rest of the people he delivered into the hand of Abishai his brother, that he might put them in array against the children of Ammon. Immediatelv before the signal was given, and sometimes in the heat of battle, the general of a Grecian army made an oration to his troops, in which he briefly slated the motives that ought to animate their bo.soms; and exhorted them to exert their utmost force and vigour against Ihe enemy. The success which sometimes attended these harangues was wonderful; the soldiers, animated with fresh life and courage, returned to the charge, retrieved in an instant their affiirs, which were in a declining and almost desperate condition, and repulsed those very ene- mies by whom they had been often defeated. Several in- stances of this might be quoted from Roman and Grecian history, but few arc more remarkable than that of Tyrtmis, the lame Athenian poet, to whom the command of the Spartan army was given in one of the Messenian wars. The Spartans had at that time suffered great losses in many encounters; and all Iheir stratagems proved ineffectual, so that they b'^gan to despairalmost of success, when the poet, by his lectures on honour and courage, delivered in moving verse to the army, ravished them to such a degree with the thoughts of dying for their country, lhat, rushing on with a furious transport to meet their enemies, they gave them an entire overthrow, and by one decisive battle brought the war to a happy ccmclusion. Such military harangues, cspeciallv in very Irving circumstances, are perfectly nat- ural, and may be found perhaps in the records of every nation. The history of Joab, the commander-in-chief of David's armies, furnishes a striking instance: "When Joab s:iw that the front of the battle was against him, before and behinil. he chose of all the choice men of Israel, and put ihem in array against the Syrians; and the rest of the people he delivered into the band of Abishai his brother, that he might put them in array against the children of Am- nion. And he said. If the Svriansbi- too strong for me, then thou shall help me; but if the children of Ammon be loo strong for thee, then I will come and help ihee. Be of pood courage, and let us play the men for our people, and for the cities of our God; and the Lord do that which seemeth good in hissiglit." In a succeeding age, the king of Jndah addressed his troops, before they niaiched against the confederale armies of Moab and Ammon, in terms be- coming ihe chief magistrate of a holv nation, and calcula- ted to make a deep impression on llieir minds: "And as thev went forth, Jehoshajihat stood and said, Ilcprme, O Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem : Believe in Ihe Lord your God, so shall ye be established; believe his prophets, so .shall ye prosper." To express his own con- fidence in the protection of Jehovah, and to inspire his army with the same sentiments, after consulting with the people, he " appointed singers unto the Lord, and lhat should praise the beauly ot holiness, as they went out be- fore the army, and lo say. Praise the Lord, for his mercy endureth lor ever." This pious conduct obtained the ap- probation of the living and true God, who rewarded the cheerful reliance of his people with a complete victory over their enemies, unattended by loss or danger lo them ; for " when they began lo praise, Ihe Lord turned every man's sword against his fellow," in the camp of the confed- erates, till not one escaped. Animated with joy and grati- tude for .so great a deliverance, the pious king returned to Jerusalem at the head of his troops, preceded by a numer- ous band of music, celebrating the praises of ihe God of battles. A custom not unlike this, and perhaps derived from some imperfect tradition of it, long prevailed in the states of Greece. Before they joined battle, they sung a hvmn to the god of war, calleil jruini. t/z/Juriipios ; and when victory declared in their favour, thej' sung another to Apollo, termed Tmav nrtviKio^, — Paxton. CHAPTER XI. Ver. 1. And it came to pass, after the year was expired, at the time when kings go forth to battle, that David sent Joab, and his servants with him, and all Israel. The most usual time of commencing military operations was at the return of .spring; the hardships of a winlei campaign were then unknown. In the beginning of .spring, says Josephus, David sent forth his commander-in-chief Joab, lo make war with the Ammonites. In another part of his works, he says, that as soon as spring was begun, Adad levied and led forth his army against the Hebrews. Antiochus also prepared to invade Judea at ihe first ap- pearance of spring; and Vespasian, earnest lo put an end to the war in Judea, marched with his whole army to Anti- patris, at the commencement of the same season. The sacred historian seems lo suppo.se, that there was one par- ticular lime of the year to which the operations of war were commonly limited : " And it came to pa.ss, after the year was expired, at the time kings go forth to battle, that David sent Joab and his servants and all Israel, .nnd thev destroyed the children of Ammon and bcsiegeil Rabb:;!].^' The kings and armies of the East, says Chardin, do not march but when there is grass, and when they can en- camp, which lime is April. But in modern limes, this rule is disregarded, and ihe history of the crusades records expeditions and battles in every month of the year. — P.\x- TON. Ver. 2. And it came to pass in an evening-tide, that David arose from off his bed, and walked upon the roof of the king's house: and from the roof he saw a woman washing hei'self : and the woman was very beautiful to look upon. The place of greatest attraction to an oriental ia.sle cer- tainly was the summer bath. It seemed to comprise every thing of seclusion, elegance, and lhat luxurious enjoynicnl which has too often b>-en the chief occupation of some Asiatic princes. This bath, saloon, or court, is circular, wiih avast basin in its centre, of pure white marble, of the same shape, and about sixly or seventy feet in diameter. This is filled with the clearest water, sparkling in Ihe sun, for its only canopy is the vault of heaven ; but rose-trees, with other pendeni .shrubs, bearing flowers, cluster near it: and at times their waving branches throw a beautifully uuivering shade ocer the excessive brightness of the water. Round liie sides of the court are two ranges, one above the other, of little chambers, looking towards the bath, and fur- Chap. II. 2 SAMUEL. 207 nished wiih every refinement of the harem. These are for the accommodation of tlic ladies who accompany the shah during his occasional sojourns at the Necjauristan. They undress or repose in these before or after the delight of bathing: for so fond are they of this luxtiry, they remain in the wal^r for hours; and sometimes, when the heat is very relaxing, come out more dead than alive. But in this delightful recess, the waters flow through the basin by a constant spring; thus renewing the body's vigour by their bracing coolness; and enchantingly refreshing the air, which the sun's influence, and the thousand flowers breath- ing around, might otherwise render oppressive with their incense. The royal master of this H'ortas Adonidis, fre- quently takes his noonday repose in one of the upper chambers which encircle the .saloons of the bath: and, if he be inclined, he has only to turn his eyes to the scene below, to see the loveliest objects of his tenderness, sporting like Naiads amidst the cry.stal streams, and glowing with all the bloom and brilliancy which belongs to Asiatic youth. In such a bath court it is probable that Bathshebawas seen by the enamoured king of Israel. As he was walking at evening-tide on the roof of his palace, he might undesign- edly have strolled far enough to overlook the androon of his women, where the beautiful wife of Uriah, visiting the royal wives, might have joined them, as was often the cus- toin in those countries, in the delights of the bath. — Sir R. K. Porter. The following history is, in some points, an accurate coimterpart to that of David. " Nour Jehan signifies the light of the world; she was also called Nour Mahl, or the light of the seraglio: she was wife to one Sher Afkan Khan, of a Turcoman family, who came from Per.sia to Hindostan in very indifferent circumstances. As she was exquisitely beautiful, of great wit, and an elegant poetess, Jehanguire, the sultan, was resolved to take her to liimself. He seirt her husband, who was esteemed the bravest man in his service, with some troops, to command in Bengal, and afterward sent another with a greater force to cut him ofl^. When he was killed, Nour Jehan was soon pre- vailed upon to become an empress. The coin struck in Jehanguire's reign, with the signs of the zodiac, were not, as is usually thought in Europe, done by his empress's or- der; nor did .she reign one day, as the common opinion is, but she ruled the person who reigned for above twelve years." (Fraser.) — Burder. Vev. 4. And David sent messengers and took her : and she came in unto him, and he lay with her ; (for she was purified from her un- cleanness :) and she returned unto her house. The kings of Israel appear to have taken their wives With very great ea.se. This is quite consistent with the ac- count given in general of the manner in which eastern princes form matrimonial alliances. " The king, in his marriage, uses no other ceremony than this : he sends an azagi to the house where the lady lives, v/here the officer announces to her, it is the king's pleasure that she should remove instantly to the palace. She then dresses herself in the best manner, and immediately obeys. Thencefor- ward he assigns her an apartment in the palace, and gives her a house elsewhere m any part .she chooses. Then when he makes her ifcghe, it seems to be the nearest re- semblance to marriage; for whether in the court or the camp, he orders one oi"the judges to pronounce in his pres- ence, that he, the king, has chosen his handmaid, naming her, for his queen : upon which the crown is put on her head, but she is not anointed." — Bukder. Ver. '2.3. Then David said unto the messenger. Thus shah thou say unto Joab, Let not this thing displease thee, for the sword dovourcth one us well as another: make thy battle more strong against the city, and overthrow it ; and encourage thou him. ll has been asserted, of the portion of scripture before us, that it tells a tale of little else besides cruelties and crimes, many of them perpetrated by David himself; and it has been triumphantly demanded how a man stained with so many vices, can, -without impietv, be styled a " man after God's own heart." We will endeavour to meet the objec- tion, because under it is comprehended all that the infidel is justified in urging against the credibility of the narrative. The peculiar term, of which a use so unworthy is made, was applied, it will be recollected, to David, while that per- sonage yet lived the life of a private man, and kept his fa- ther's sheep. It was employed, moreover, by God himself, as distinguishing the future from the present king of Israel, not in their individual characters, as members of the great family of mankind, but as the chief rulers of God's chosen people. To understand its real import, therefore, all that seems neces.sary is, to ascertain the particular duties of the kings of Israel ; and no man who is aware that these mon- archs filled, in the strictest sense of the phrase, the station of Jehovah's vicegerents, can for a moment be at a loss in effecting that discovery. The kings of Israel were placed upon the throne, for the purpose of administering the Di- vine law, as that had been given through Moses. In an es- pecial degree, it was their duty to preserve the people pure from the guilt of idolatry; idolatry being, among the He- brews, a crime equivalent to high-treason among us; while, on all occasions, whether of foreign war or domes- tic arrangements, they were bound to act in strict obedi- ence to the will of God, as that might be froin time to lime revealed to them. Whether this should be done by Urim, by the voice of a prophet, or some palpable and iin'mediale vision, the king of Israel was equally bound to obey; and as long as he did obey, literally, fully, and cheerft'illy, he was, in his public capacity, a man after God's own heart. An ordinary attentive perusal of the preceding pages will show, that David, as compared with Saul, (and it is only with reference to such comparison, that the phrase under review ought to be regarded,) was strictly worthy of the honourable title bestowed upon him. Whatever his private vices might be, in all public matters his obedience to God's laws was complete; indeed, he never speaks of himself in any other language than as the servant or minister of Je- hovah. No individual among all that reigned in Jerusalem ever exhibited greater zeal against idolatry ; of the Mosaic code he was, in his oflicial capacity, uniformly observant; and to every command of God, by whomsoever conveyed, he paid strict attention. Such was by no means the case with Saul, as his assumption of the priestly office, and his conduct towards the Amalekites, demonstrate ; and it was simply to distinguish hiin from his predecessor, as one on whose steady devotion to Divine wishes reliance could be placed, that God spoke of him to Samuel, in the terms so frequently misinterpreted. If it be further urged that Da- vid's moral conduct was far from being perfect ; that his treatment of Joab, after the murder of Abner, was weak; his behaviour to the captive Ammonites barbarous; his conduct in the case of Uriah, the Hillite, infamous; and his general treatment of his children without excuse; we have no wish, as we profess not to have the power, absolute- ly to deny the assertions. His receiving Joab into favour, while his hands were red with the blood of Abcer, may be pronounced as an act of weakness; yet it was such an act as any other person, in his circumstaiices, would have been apt to perform. Joab was a distinguished soldier, highly esteemeti by the troops, and possessed of great influence in the nation; it would have been the height of imprudence, had David, situated as he was, made such a man his ene- my; but that he wholly disapproved of the treacherous deed which Joab had done, he took every conceivable means to demonstrate. He conferred a .species of public funeral upon the murdered man, and attended it in person, as chief mourner. The treatment of the captive Ammonites was doubtless exceedingly cruel ; yet its cruelty may admit of some extenuation, provided we take one or two matters, as they deserve to be taken, into consideration. In the first place, the age was a barbarous one, and from the in- fluence of the times in which he lived, it would he follv to expect that David could be free. In the next place.'the tortures inflicted upon ihe Ammonites are not to be under- stood as heaped indiscriminately upon the whnle body of the people. The magistrates and principal men were alone "put under saws and harrows of iron, and made to pa>is through the brick-kiln." And these suffered a fate so hor- rible, only in retaliation for similar excesses committed liy their order upon certain Hebrew prisoners. Besides, the gross and unprovoked indignities heaped upon David's am- 208 2 SAMUEL. Chap. 11. ba-ssadors mighl well inflame his fury to the highest pitch ; since then, even more conspicuously than nuw, the per- sons of envoys were considered sacred, especially in the East. Without, therefore, attempting to excuse such ac- tions, as no enlightened person would now, under any prov- ocation, perpetrate, we must nevertheless repeat, that Da- vid's treatment of the Ammonites was not absolutely devoid of extenuating circumstances ; an assertion which cannot, we feel, be hazarded in reference to that monarch's beha- viour towarils Uriah the Hittile. Perhaps there is not recorded in any volume a series of crimes more gross or inexcusable than those of which we are now bound to take notice. Adultery and murder are terms too mild for them, inasmuch as the particular acts of adultery and murder implied other oH'enccs scarcely less heinous than them- selves. The woman abused by David was the wife of a proselyte from a heathen nation, whom it was to the inter- est and honour of the true religion for the chosen head of God's nation to treat with marked delicacy. He was, more- over, a brave and faithful soldier; so brave and zealous in his master's service, that even when summoned by the king himself to the capital, he refused to indulge in its lux- uries, while his comrades were exposed to the hardships of war. This man David would have vitally wronged, by introducing into his family a child of which the king him- self was the father; and failing in the accomplishment of a design so iniquitous, he coolly devised his death. Again, that the deed might be done without bringing disgrace upon himself, he ordered his general to place this gallant soldier in a post of danger, and, deserting him there, to leave him to his fate ; and when all had befallen as he wished, his observation was, that " the sword devoured one as well as another." These several occurrences, summed up, as they were, by the abrupt and shameless marriage of Bathsheba, combine to complete a concatenation of crimes, of which it is impossible to speak or think without horror; yet is there nothing connected with them, in the slightest degree, mischievous to the credibility or consistency of scripture. It cannot, with any truth, be asserted, that God either was, or is represented to have been, a party to these black deeds. So far is this from being the case, that we find a prophet sent exprcsslv to the sinful monarch, to point out to him the enormity of his ofl'cnces, and to assure him of a punish- ment, grievous in proportion to the degree of dehlement which lie had contracted. But as David's crimes had been committed in his private capacity, so his punishment was made to alTccl his private fortunes. His own children be- came the instruinents of God's anger, and heavier domestic calamities than fell upon him, no man, perhaps has ever endured. His only daughter (and, as such, doubtless his favourite child) is ravished by her brother Amnon ; the ravisher is murdered by his brother Absalom ; Absalom revolts against his father, drives him from his capital, and is finally slain in battle fighting against him. It there be not in this enough to vindicate the honour of God, we know not where marks of Divine displeasure are to be looked for ; and as to the credibility of the scriptural narrative, that appears to be strengthened, rather than weakened, by the detail of David's fall. No fictitious writer would have represented one whom he had already designated as " a man after God's own heart," and whom he evidently de- sires his readers to regard with peculiar reverence, as a murderer and adulterer. It is the province of a narrator of facts alone to speak of men as they were, by exposing the vices and follies even of his principal heroes; nor is the history without its eflcct as a great moral warning. It teaches the important lesson, that the commission of one crime seldom, if ever, fails to lead to the commission of others; while it furnishes a memorable example of the clemency which forbids any sinner to despair, or regard himself as bevond the pale of mercy. Of David's conduct towards his children, it seems to iis little better than a waste of time to set up either nn explanation or a defence. E.x- travagantly partial to them he doubtless was; so partial as to pass over in their behaviour crimes which, we can hard- ly believe, would have been passed by, had otliers besides the members nf liis own family committed them. It is indeed true, that the law of Moses, by which alone David pro- fessed tf> be guided, is not very explicit as to the punish- ment which ought to have been awarded to Amnon ; but the truth we .suspect to be, as Josephus has given il, that David abstained from bringing him to a public trial aAcr his outrage to Tamar, because the feelings of the father prevailed over those of the magistrate. In like manner, his pardoning Ab.salom's ciime, in defiance of the law, which expressly enjoins blood to be shed for blood, without redemption, is open to a similar charge ; vet even here, there is more to be urged in the king's defence, than the mere operation of natural allc-ction. Absalom took shelter at a foreign court immediately on the perpetration of the murder ; it might not be in David's power to force his .sur- render, and hence the only alternative was, to leave him in exile, among heathen, at the manliest hazard of the cor- ruption of his religious principles, or to permit his return to Jerusalem, and ultimately to receive him into favour. With respect, again, to hissubscquent indulgence of that prince — an indulgence to which, in some degree, his insur- rection deserves to be traced back — we .see in it only one more proof of that amiable weakness which characterized all the monarch's dealings towards his family, his fondness for every member of which unquestionablv led him into errors, if not of the heart, at all events of the head. Such errors, however, leave but trivial blots upon the general reputation of any man. They proceed from a good princi- ple, even when carried to weakness, and will be sought for in vain among the utterly heartless, profligate, or selfish ; and as David is not represented in scripture as either a perfect saint or a perfect hero, we see no reason why his strength of mind, more than his moral character, should be vindicated from all the charges which may be brought against it. — Gleig. Ver. 25. Then David said unto the messenger, Thus shalt thou say unto Joab, Let not this thing displease thee, for the sword devoureth one as well as another : make thy battle more strong against the city, and overthrow it ; and encourage thou him. 26. And when the wife of Uriah heard that Uriah her husband was dead, she mourned for her husband, 27. And when the mourning was passed, David sent and fetched her to his house, and she became his wife, and bare him a son. But the thing that David had done displeased the Lord. This is the account of David's fall, as related in .scrip- ture; a fall aUcnded with numerous circumstances of heinous aggravation, and the attempt to vindicate his con- duct, in any of the principal parts of this transaction, would be injurious to the laws of truth and virtue. But if there are any circumstances of alleviation, that can be fairly alleged, justice and candour require that they should be mentioned ; as well as to own and admit others, that heighten his fault, and render him inexcusable. And I think there cannot be a greater pleasure, than what arises to a good mind, from being able, in some mea,sure, to apologize for actions, in some particulars of them, which upon the whole are bad, and extenuate that guilt, where it can be fairlv done, which, as far as real, ought neither to be concealed nor defended. There are some crimes pecu- liarly aggravated by previous deliberate steps that men take to commit them ; when they lay schemes to gratify bad passions, and accomplish purposes they know to be injurious and dishonourable. David, in the beginning of this transaction, seems to be entirelv free from every charge of this kind. He did not .so much as know who she was, much less that she was a married woman, when he first casually saw her; and the pa.ssion he conceived for her, might, for any thing he then knew, be lawful, and such as he might, without any olfence, allow himself in the gratifi- cation of. And this would have been the ca.se, under the dispensation in which he lived, had she been a single per.son. David therefore, though very imprudently, and I think in .some degree criminally, did not deliberate upon an affair, which he Saw no immediate reason to prohibit him from pursuing; and thereby heightened that inclina- tion, which he ought to have checked, as a good man, till he was sure he had a right to indulge it. By not doing this, it became too strong for his management; and when he had been informed who she was, yet fired with the imagination, that the beautiful object he beheld had raised CUAP. 11. 2 SAMUEL. 209 in his mind, all other considerations at last gave waj', and he immediately resolved to gratify his desires, at the ex- pense ol' his conscience, honour, and duty. He instantly sends for Bathsheba, she immediately complied with him, and the whole affair seems to have been completed the very evening it was begun. Every one must see, that as David had but little lime for deliberation, it was not very likely, that in the small interval, between the rise of his passion, and the gratifying it, one in his circumstances should be cool enough to use that deliberation, which was necessary to bring liim to himself, and restrain him from the crime he was hurried on to commit ; and that therefore his sin, thus far, had not that aggravation which it would have had, if there had been more time and leisure for him to reflect, and had he pursued his criminal inclinations, af:er having seriously and calmly weighed the nature and consequences of what he was about to do, and used, as too many others in like cases have done, fraud, perfidy, and force, to gratify them. To say there was no time for any deliberation, may be saying too much ; for there is scarce any sin so suddenly committed, but there are some mo- ments for reflection ; but, in some circumstances, men may be so hurried away by a sudden gust of passion, as that they may be wholly incapacitated by it, rightly to improve those moments. David had no time to prevent the first rise of his passion. It wa.s as instantaneous as the sight, and he might not think himself obliged to suppress it, till after he knew Bathsheba was Uriah's wife; so that all the interval he could have for reflection was only that between his knowing who she was, and his actually possessing her; an interval too entirely engrossed by imagination and de- sire, to leave room suflicieDt for the exercise of reason, or the influence of any good principles to restrain him. If David and Bathsheba had been casually together, a more sudden and violent gust of passion could not have hurried him away, without allowing him some time for delibera- tion, than what the attitude, in which he first saw her, would have naturally excited, and did actually excite ; which swept away all consideration and reflection before it, and drove him'down a precipice, that wellnigh proved his absolute destruction. I cannot help adding, that Bath- sheba herself seems to have too easily yielded to the king's inclination, and thereby rendered it almost impossible for him to suppress it. For the history informs us, that David " sent messengers, and he received her, and she came in unto him, and he lay with her." Her compliance seems voluntary, unforced, immediate. But she went, met his passion, indulged it, without, as appears, any reluctance, without remonstrating against David's attempt upon her honour; and thereby prevented those reflections, that her denial and resistance might have occasioned in him, and that might have made him sensible of the enormity of the crime, and preserved him from the commission of it. And how great soever this sin was, David is not the only instance of men's being unhappily betrayed in an evil hour, by the power of a sudden and unexpected temptation. Too many instances may be produced, even of habitually good and virtuous persons being drawn aside, in some unguard- ed moment, and by the force of an unthought-of .strong temptation, into the commission of those sins, which, in other circumstances, they would have trembled at, and ab- horred the very mention and thought of The first crime thus committed, and the dreaded conse- quences of it appearing, the unhappy prince found himself involved in ditticulties, out of which he knew not how to extricate himself Conscious guilt, concern for his own character, regard for the honour of the fair partner of his crime, and even fear of his own, and her life; the punishment of their adultery being death ; all united, to put him on form- ing some contrivances how to conceal and prevent the scan- dal of it from becoming public. Hence, all the little tricks and shifts he made use of to entice the injured husband to his wife's bed, and father the fruit of their adultery upon him. Who can help pitying a great, and I will venture to affirm, a hitherto virtuous prince, reduced to these wretched expedients, to prevent that public infamy, which he now apprehended to he near him, and dreaded the falling under? But even these failed him. What must he do? Where can a man stop, when once he is entangled in the toils of vice, and haih presumptuously ventured into the paths of guilt 1 Bathsheba must be preserved at anv rale. His own honour was at stake to prevent her destruction, and he saw but one 27 way to secure that end, which he thought himself obliged, at any hazard, to obtain. If Uriah lived, she must inevita- bly die. Uriah could have demanded the punishment, and seems to have been a soldier of that roughness of temper, and firmness of resolution, as that he would have prose- cuted his vengeance against her to the utmost. The law was express and peremptory. Which of the two must be the victim 1 Cruel dilemma I It is at last determined that the husband should be sacrificed, to save the wife, whom David's passion had made a criminal; and had he forsaken her in this dreadful situation, and left her to her punish- ment, he would not only have pronounced sentence of death against himself, but been censured, I am persuaded, by al- most every man, as a monster of perfidy, baseness, and ingratitude. But how was Uriah to be got rid of? Poison, assassination, or a false charge of treason, or seme secret way of destruction, were methods which the eastern princes were well acquainted with. David was above them all, and had a kind of generosity in his very crimes. The man he was to destroy was a brave soldier, and he causes him to fall in the bed of honour, gloriously fighting against the enemies of his king and country; and if dying in the field of battle, by the sword of an enemy, and in a glorious action, be a more eligible and honourable death, than the being despatched by the stab of a stiletto, the tortures of poison, or as a criminal on a false accusation of treason ; the causing an innocent person to die in the former manner, though this hath its great aggravation, j'et is not so base and villanous an action, as destroying him by any one of the latter methods; and had David had recourse to any of them to get rid of a worthy man, whom he had criminally reduced himself to an almost absolute necessity of de- spatching, the crime would have been of a more horrid die, and justly excited a higher indignation and abhorrence. And though I am far from mentioning these particulars to excuse David's conduct, or palliate his aggravated offences; yet the circumstances I have mentioned excite my compassion, carry in the nature of the thing some alleviation of his crimes, and should ever be remembered to soften the pen that is employed in describing them. Having thus, by accumulated guilt, taken off the man that he dreaded should live, David, after Bathsheba had gone through the usual time of mourning, took her to his palace, and made her his wife, to screen her from a prose- cution of adultery, to secure her against the penalty of death, and in some measure to repair the injury he had done her, by bis criminal commerce with her, during her former husband's life ; which, as a plurality of wives was not forbidden by that constitution and polity he lived under, was the least compensation that he could make, and which he was obliged in honour and justice to make her. One would have thought, that after such a complication of ag- gravated crimes, David, upon a review of his conduct, should have been stiuck with remorse, voluntarily con- fessed his sins to God, and humbly entreated from him the mercy and forgiveness he so much needed. But nothing of this appears from the history. He rather seems, on the contrary, to have been insensible and callous, and to have enjo3'ed his new-acquired pleasures, without any uneasi- ness at the dreadful expense by which he purchased them. The siege of Rabbah went on successfully, he saw no appearing proofs of the divine displeasure that threatened him, the affairs of government employed much of his time and thoughts, he esteemed himself happy in the preserva- tion of Bathsheba, and at full liberty to gratify the ardent passion he had conceived for her; and probably might persuade himself, that as Uriah was a HiUite, the taking away his wife and life greatly lessened the aggravation of his sin ; or, that as king of Israel, he w'as above the laws, and that however criminal such actions might have been in others, yet that the royal prerogative and power might render them lawful in him, or at least so extenuate the evil of them, as that they would pass unobserved by God, who had solemnly promised him the establishment of the throne and kingdom in his person and family. But by whatever means he made himself easy, the his- tory informs us, that " the thing which David had done displeased the Lord," who resolved to show his abhor- rence of the crime, to execute on him a vengeance pro- portionable to the heinousness and guilt of it, and hereby to rouse his conscience, and bring him to those acknowl- edgments of his sin, as might prepare him for, and render 210 2 SAMUEL. Chap. 11. him capable of lliat forgiveness, which, how much soever he needed it, he was greatly unworthy of. He was pleased lo employ Nathan llie prophet on this solemn occasion; who, by an artfully composed fable, brought the king to pronounce his own conilemnaliun, even wiihoul suspecting or intending il. Balhslulia had just been delivered of a son, the Iriiit of her adulieroiis commerce vv ith David, and who was, III the strictness of the letter, conceived by his mother in sin, and shapen in iiiiqiiily. David appears lo have been Ibiid ol the child, and, in the midst of his joy on this account, Nathan demands an audience, and ad- dresses him with the following complaint. Tliere were two men, who lived in the same city, one. of whom was rich, and ihe oilier poor. The rich man had (locks and herds in yrcat abuiulanre ; but the poor man liad not any ihing, .save only one little cu'e-lamb, which he had brought, and nourished,' so that il grew up together with him, and with his children. It did eat of his morsel, and drank of his cup, and lay in his bosom, and was to him as a daugh- ter. And llieie came a certain traveller to the rich man, and he begrudged lo take of his own flock and his own herd, to entertain his guest, but took the poor man's lamb, and ])rovidcd for the traveller that came to him. David was e.vtremely incensed against the man, and said to Nathan : "As the Lord lives, Ihe man who has done this is worthy of death, and he shall restore the lamb fourfold, inasmuch as he hath done this thing, and because he had no com- passion." " Then Nathan said to David : Thou art the man. Thus sailh the Lord God of Israel : I have anointed thee to be king over Israel, and delivered thee from the hand of Saul. I gave thee also thy master's house, and the wives of thy ma.ster into thy bosom, and gave thee the hou.se of Is- rael and of Judah ; and if tliis be but a small matter, I have also added to ihee this and the other thing, which thou well knowesl. Why then hast thou despised the commandment of the Lord, to do this wickedness in his sight 1 Thou hast smote Uriah Ihe Hittite with the sword, and hast taken his wife to be thy wife, and hast slain him by the sword of the children of Ammon. Now therefore the sword shall never depart from thy house, because thou hast despised me, and hast taken the wife of Uriah the Hitlite to be thy wife. Thus saith the Lord : Behold, I will raise up evil against thee out of thine own house, and will lake thy wives before thine eyes, and will give them to thy neigh- bour, and he shall lie with thy wives before the sun. Though thou hast done this secretly, yet I will do what I have now said, before all Israel, and before the sun." This dreadful sentence roused the conscience of David, and from the fullest conviction of the heinousness of his of- fence, he immediately made this acknowledgment to Na- than: "I have sinned against the Lord." Upon this in- genuous confession, Nathan immediately replies: "The Lord also halh put away thy sin. Thou shall not die. However, since by this deed iliou hast caused the enemies of the Lord contemptuously to reject him, the son also that is born unio Ihee shall surely die." When Nathan had thus boldly and faithfully executed his commission, he Icfl the king, and the lecture which he read him was worthv the dignity of a prophet's character and station, and such as became the majestv of him to whom it was given. It was grave, strong, atlecting, insinuating, and polite. The parable, in which he conveyed to him his message from God, is dressed up with all the circum- stances of art, lenderness, and delicacy, to move compas- sion, and, at the same time, to force from him that dread- ful sentence : " As the Lord livelh, the man that halh done this thing shall surely die, because he did this thing, and beeavi.se he had no compassion ;" Ihus drawing from him the sentence of hisown condemnation, even before he perceived il. But how home, how bold was the application, when Na- than said to the king : " Thou art the man .... Where- fore hast thou despised the commandment of the Lord lo do evil in his sight? Thou hast killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword, and hasl taken his wife." How dreadful also was the .sentence pronounced against him by the order of God! Such a-; showed ihe height of his abhorrence of the crime, and his displeasure and indignation against him thai committed it. But how did the unhappv oftender receive this bold and severe remonstrance? Why, no sooner was the application made, bul he falls under con- viriion, acknowledges his oflenee against God, and owns himself worthy of dealh ; and the psalms he penned on this occasion show the deep sense he liad of the guilt he had coniracled, and will be a memorial of ihe sincerity of his repentance throughout all generations. But was not Da- vid's repentance all alieclaiion and hypocri.sy, and did he not bear the reproof, and humble himself, because he look care not to disagree with his best friends; or, in other words, 10 keep lair with the priests and Levilesi But if the priests and Levites were such kind of men, as some have represented ihem ; ready lo support Uavid in all his measures of iniquity, and when he projected any scheme, were never wanting in iheir a.ssistance lo him ; w hy should any one of ihem give him any trouble in this artair! In what had he disobliged them, by killing a Hiilile, and debauching his wife I Or why should they disagree with him about a transaction that no way related lo them t I should rather think, they should have endeavoured to have made him compound with them for a round sum of money, or a good number of sheep and oxen for sacrifices, that they might have feasted themselves on the price of his lor- giveness; especially, as we have been told, that this same prophet, " Nathan, was a great lover of this sort of food, and very angr)' w'hen he was excluded from good cheer." But indeed the insinuation itself is wholly groundless; and let any man read through the reproof ihat Nathan gave him, and the direct charge of murder and adultery thai he urged lo his face, and, I think, he cannot but he convinced, lhat David's acknowledgmeni, " I have sinned against the Lord," could proceed from nothingbut a real and deep sense of the greatness of his crime, and that he deserved lo be cut ofl' by the hand of God forthat aggravated transgre.ssion. AVhat further eflectually refutes this suggestion is, ihal his bear- ing with the reproof, and humbling himself under it, did not at all reconcile Nathan to him, who left him with a threat- ening dreadful in its nature, enough to make his ears tingle, and his heart tremble within him The onlj' favourable thing Nathan said to him was: " Thou shall not die;" but, at the same time, tells him, thai the murder he had been guilty of should be revenged by the sword's never departing from his house, and his adultery retaliated in the most exemplary and public manner, upon his own wives ; threateningsthat were made him, before he owned his fault, and submitted himself; and therefore his submission could be with no view of reconciling himself to Nathan, because thai prophet had already peremptorily pronounced his punishment, which David's after confession did not in the least miiigate or alter ; for the punishment threatened was inflicted to the full ; and the particular nature and circumsiances of it were such, ami Ihe evenls on which it depended were so distant and various, as that no human wisdom and sagacity could foresee them, or secure their futurity ; and Ihere- fore Nathan, who pronounced his doom, must have been im- mediately inspired by God, who foresaw and permitted the means, by which his tlireatenings should be punctually executed, and thus brought upon David all ihe evils ihal his prophet had foretold should certainly befall him. The nature of his repentance my reader will be Ihe belter enabled to judge of, if he carefully reads over Ihe 51st psalm, which he certainly penned on this occasion.— Chandler. No one can read this psalm, but must see all iho charac- ters of true repentance in the per. on the pretence, warmly favouring the conspiracy, go to as m.nny ol the conspirators as they could, make them fair Jiroinises, and use all their endeavours fully to discover ihem fhe ambassadors, as Cicero ordered, met them, and ilomanded from the chief of them an oath, to be signed wi ti their own hand, that their countrymen might be more easily induced, to give Ihem that assistance which they de- si red oi them. They all but one, without suspicion of anv desi^gn, signed the oath. The ambassadors discovered all lo Cicero, who immediately seized the principal conspira- tors, and greatly rejoiced, that as the conspiracy was dis- covered, the city was delivered from the danger that im- mediately threatened il. The senate thought'that Cicero had acted a noble patriotic part, for they immediately de- creed, that public thanks should be given to him iii the mo.st solemn manner, bv whose virtue, counsel, and provi- dence, the republic was delivered from the extremest dan- gers; and that a public thanksgiving should be rendered to the gods, m Cicero's name, for his having delivered the citvtroin being laid in ashes, the citizens from a massacre and Italy Irom a war. Now did Cicero act in this affair as a patriot and an honest man ^ Or did he, by this policy damn himself, and damn the ambassadors'? by causin-^ them to feign, that they embraced the parly of those men° they designed effectually to destrov 1 What censure would he not have undergone, had he suffered the conspiracy to take place, and his country to be ruined, by refusin<' to m.ake use of that policy which was nece.'^sary to discover and defeat the conspiracy i Of two evils, it is an old max- im, a man must choose the least, when he is under the ne- cessity of submitling to one. Thus were David and Cicero circiimstanced. They both chose the patriotic part; and a.s Cicero is justly celebrated as the Father and Saviour of his country, from the ruin that was intended, David will deserve the like commendation, for defeating, by like meas- ures, the projects of impious con,spirators, and' delivering the nation from the destruction that threatened them — Chandler. CHAPTER XVI. Ver. 1. And when David was a little past the top nf the hill, behold, Ziba the servant of Mephi- bosheth met him, with a couple of asses sad- dled, and upon them two hundred loaves of bread, and a hundred bunches of raisins, and a hundred of summer fruits, and a bottle of wine. See on 2 Kings 1. 8. Ziba met David, according to Ihe sacred historian, 2 Sam. xvi. 1, wiih a couple of asses, and upon them two hundred loaves ol bread, a hundred bunches of raisins, a hundred' of summer fill i/x, and a bottle of wine. These summer fruits the Septuagint supposes were ilnlcs, but the more common opinion is that they were figs, which it seems was that also of the Chnldee liaraphrasl. Grotius, however, supposes the original word signifies Ihe fruits of trees in general. I cannot adopt any of these opinions. If the noles of distinction are not nuiiierous enough, or sufRcicntly clear, to determine with precision wliat tlie fruit was, I believe Ihev are .sufficient to satisfy us that ihcse authors were mistaken. We may gather three things relating to Ihem : that ihey were of .some considerable size, since their quantiiy yns e.stimaled by tale; that thev came before the bean season wa.s ended, lor afler this we find that the inhab- itanLs of the country beyond Jordan sent to David, along with other provisions, quantities of beans, 2 Sam.xviii 28 they being tilings, according to Dr. Shaw, that, afler they 219 are boiled arid stewed wilh oil and garlic, constitute the principal food, m the spring, of persons of all disi ncUons flnn ;?■',"■"■' '^""gllj.^y 7-iba a suitable refreshment to hose that were travelling m a wilderness, where it was ^ be supposed they would be thirsty as well as hungrv Notiing then could be more unhappy, or more strongly mark out the inattention of the translators of the Septuagfnt or It cannot be imagined they were ignorant of these mat- ters, than the rendering this word, in this place, dates which arq neither produced in summer, nor suited to allay the heat of that season : Dr. Pococke observing that thev are not ripe till November ; and that they are esteemed of a hot nature. Providence seeming to have designed them as they are warm food, to comfort the stomach, he thinks! dtiring the cold season, in a country where il has not given wme for he is there speaking concerning Egypt. When then 1 find that watermelons grow spontaneously in these hot counlries, are made use of by the Arabs of the Holy i^and in summer instead of water, to quench their thirsi^ and are purchased as of the greatest use to travellers in fhirsty deserts ; and that cucumbers are very much used stil in that country to miligate the heat: I am very much inclined to believe these summer fruits were not the pro- duce of trees, bm of this class of herbs, which creep along the ground, and produce fruits of a cooling moisture and very large in proportion to the size of Ihe plant. They could scarcely however hewalcrmeUns, I imagine, because they do not begin to gather Ihem before .Tune ; but eiicvm- Aers, which come m May, and were actually ealen in Gali- lee the latter end of that month by Dr. Pococke, he havino- stopped at an Arab tent, where they prepared him e-'os'' and sour milk, he tells us, cutting into it raw cucumbers' as a cooling diet in that season, which he found very hot ' cucumbers continued at Aleppo to Ihe end of July, and are brought again to market in September and October and consequently are contemporaries with grapes and olives according to Jer. xl. 10-12, as well as with beans and lentils Dr. Riissel also tells us that the squash comes in towards the end of September, and continues all the year • but that the orange-shaped pumpion is more common in the summermonths. Of one or oiher of these kinds of fruit I shoiild think the writer of 2 Sam. designed to be under- stood: they are all more or le.ss of considerable size ■ they are contemporary wilh beans; and fit for them that' have to travel through a dry wilderness, in the latter part of the spring, when Ihe weather grows hot, as Pococke found it about which time, from the circumstance of Ihe beans and the lentils, it is plain that David fled from Absalom. If this be allowed, it will appear that they were called summer fruits, from their being ealen to allay the summer heats • not from their being dried in the summer, as Vatablus strangely imagines ; nor from their being produced only that time of the year; for this passage shows that they were come to maturity before beans went out, and conse- quently before summer. — Harmer. Ver. 3. And the king; said, And where is thy master's son? And Ziba said unto the king-, • behold he abideth at Jerusalem : for he said^ to-day shall the house of Israel restore me the kino-dom of my father. 4. Then said the king- to Ziba, Behold, thine are all that pertained unto Mephibosheth. And Ziba said, 1 humbly beseech thee that I may find grace in thy sight, my lord, O king. Not the least material exception that objectors make to David's conduct, in this period of time, is his making a grant of Mephibosheth's estate to a perfidious servant wiihout ever giving the master a fair hearing. But how could David have leisure to .send for Mephibosheth from mount Olivet to Jerusalem, and inquire into the merits of the cause depending belween hirn and his servant, when he was in so great a hurry, and under flight from the arms of his rebel son ? Or how could he suppose that Ziba could have dared to have told him so no:orious a lie, when it might in a short lime be disproved 1 Every circumstance, in shorl, on Ziba's side, looked well, but none on his ma.s- Icr's. To his ma.sler, David had been extremely kind, in restoring him to the forfeited estate of bis grandfather Saul, 220 2 SAMUEL. Chap. 16. and in allowing him lo eal at Iiis own table, as one of the king'.s sons ; and now, at the general rendezvous of his friends, David might well have e.xjiecled that the person to whom he had extended so many lavours, should not have been so negligent of his duty, as to absent himself, unless it had been upon some extraordinary business-, and tlierefore, when Zib.i arqiiainis him with the occa.sion of his absence, though it was a mere fiction, vet with David it might find a readier credence, because, at this time, he had reason to mistrust evervbodv ; and seeing his own family discon- certed and broUeii, might think the crown liable to fall to any new claim.int ihai could pretend to the same right of succession that .Mcphiboshcih might. On the contrary, every thing appeared bright and plausible on Ziba's side. He, though but a servant, came to join the king, and in- stead of adhering to his master's pretended schemes of advancement, had e.vprcssed his duty to his rightful sov- ereign, in bringing hiin a considerable present, enough lo engage his good (ipinion. The story that he told of his master likewise, though utterly false, was cunningly con- trived, and filly accommodated lo the nature of the times ; so thai, ill this siluation of afl'airs, as wise a man as David niiglil have been induced lo believe the whole to be true, and upon the presumption of its being so, might have pro- ceeded to pass a judgment of forfeiture (as in most eastern countries every crime against the state was always attend- ed with such a' forfeiture) upon Mephibosheth's estate, and to consign the possession of it to another. All thai David can Iherel'orc be blamed for, in this whole transaction, is an error in jud'.;inent, even when he was imposed upon by the plausible tale of a sycophant, and had no opportunity of coming at the truth : but upon his return to Jerusalem, when Mephiboshrth appears before him, and pleads his own cause, we find ihis the decision of it, — " Why speakest thou any more of ihy matters ? I have said, thou and Ziba divide the land :" which words must not be understood as if he appointed at the lime an equal division of the estate between M(*|ihibtisheth and his servant, (for where would the justice of such a sentence be 1) but rather, thai he re- voked the order he had given lo Ziba, upon the supposed forfeiture of his master, and put things now upon the same establishment they were at first. " I have said," i. e. " My first grant shall stand, when I decreed that Mephibosheth .should be lord of the whole estate, and Ziba his steward to manage it for him." Thus, though we are not obliged to vindicate Daviil in every passage of his life, and think .some of the crying sins he was guilty of utterly ine.xcusa- ble, yet (if we except these) we cannot but think that, although he was a very tender and indulgent parent, yet he was no encourager of vice in his own family, or lame con- niver at it in others, had he not been restrained, by reasons of .state, sometimes from punishing it ; that he was true lo his promises, just in his distributions, and prudent, though not crafty, in his military transactions; "of a singular presence of mind, (as Josephus speaks of him,) to make the best of what was before him, and of as sharp a foresight for improving of all advantages, and obviating all difficul- ties, that were like to happen;" tender to all persons in distress, kind to his friends, forgiving to his enemies, and, when at any lime he was forced to use severity, was only in relalialiiin of what other people had done to him. — Stackiiocse. Ver. lo. Aii'l as David and his men went by the way, Shirnci went alonnf on the hill's side over asrainst him, and cursed as he went, and threw stones at him, and cast dust. Who, in the Knsi, has not often witnessed a similarscene? Listen to the maledictions: they are of such a nature that evil spirits only could have suggested them. Look at the enraged miscreant : he dares not come near for fear of punishment, but he stands at a distance, vociferates his imprecations, violently throws about his hands ; then stoops to the ground, and lakes up handfuls of dust, throws it in the air, ami e.xclaims, " Soon shall thou be as that — thy mouth shall soon be full of it — look, look, ihon cursed one, as thisdusi, so shall thou be." — Robkrts. In the East, the right of calling an offender to account is claimed either by the person who receives the injury, or his nearest relation; and the same person, with the per- mission or connivance of his people, sustains at once the character of party, judge, and executioner. In such a stale of things, we arc not to be surprised if the exercise of justice be often precipitate and tumultuary. The act of the Philistines, in burning the spouse of Samson and her father with fire, was entirely of this character; not the result of a regular sentence, but the summary vengeance of an incensed multitude. In the law of Moses, the right of the private avenger was distinctly reeogni-ed ; but to prevent the dreadful efl'ects of sudden and perscnal ven- geance, cities of refuge were appointed at convenient dis- tances through llie land of promise, to which the manslayer might flee for safely, till he could be brought lo a regular trial, before a court of justice. In almost every pan of Asia, those who demand ju.siice against a criminal throw dust upim him, signifying that he deserves to lose his life, and be cast into the grave; and that ihis is the true inter- pretation of the action, is evident from an imprecation in common use among the Turks and Persians, Be covered with earth; Earth be upon thy head. We have two re- markable instances of casting dust recorded in scripture; the first is that of Shimei, who gave vent to his secret hos- tility to David, when he fled before his rebellious son, by throwing stones at him, and casting dust. It was an an- cient custom, ill tho.se warm and arid countries, to lay the dust before a person of distinction, and particularly before kings and princes, by sprinkling the ground wiih water. To throw dust into the air while a person was passing, was therefore an act of great disrespect ; to do so before a sovereign prince, an indecent outrage But it is clear from the explanation of the custom, that Shimei meant more than disrespect and outrage lo an afflicted king, whose subject he was; lie intended lo signify by that action, that David was unfit to live, and that the lime was at last arrived to offer him a sacrifice lo the ambition and ven- geance of the house of Saul. — Paxton. Ver. 20, Then said Absalom to Ahithophel, Give counsel among yon what we shall do, 21, And Ahithophel said unto Absalom, Go in unto th}' father's concubines, which he hath loft to keep the house: and all Israel shall licar that thou art abhorred of thy fiither. The wives of the conquered king were always the prop- erty of the conqueror: and, in possessing ihcsc, he ap- peared to possess the right to the kingdom. Herodotus, b. iii. cap. (i8. informs us, that Smerdis having seized on the Persian throne, after |he death of Cambyses, espoused all the wives of his predecessor. The choosing or confirming of a new king in Guinea, seldom continues long in dispnie: for the eldest son no sooner hears of the king's death, than he immediately makes his interest among his friends, lo take posses-sion of the late king's court and wives: and succeeding happily in these particulars, he need not doubt life remainder, for ihc commonalty will not easily consent that after ihai he shall be driven f'rom the throne : this seems somewhat like Ab- salom's design on his fa;her David. To accompli>h this design, the younger brother's party are always careful enough that he is near at hand, in order lo lake possession of the court. (Bosnian's Guinea.) The name of Q.uilcva is common lo the .sovereign lord of the country bordering on the river Sofala in Ethiopia. He maintains a number of wives, the chief of whom are his near rclaliims, and are denominated his queens : the residue r.re regarded merely as concubines. As soon as the Quileva ceases lo live, a successor is chosen, capable of governing with wis- dom and prudence ; and, indeed, should he be deficient in this respcci, it would be enonijh that a majority of the king's concubines should join in his favour, as on these the posse.s,sion of the throne depends. lie therefore re- pairs lo the roval pal.Tco, where he mecls with some of the concubines of the late king, and with their consent he .seats himself on the throne prepared for him in the midst of a large hall ; when seated here, a curtain is drawn be- fore him and his wives: hence he issues orders for his proclamation through the .streets ; this is the signal for the people to flock lo render him homage and swear obedience, a ceremony which is performed amid great rejoicings.— BimDER. Chap. 17. 2 SAMUEL. 221 From Ihe polygamy of the Israelitish monarchs, there arose a singular law, which I can only illustrate by exam- ple;^ from the Bible, without finding any thing similar in profane history; which, however, only makes these exam- ples the clearer. It consisted in this, that the successor to the crown inherited the seraglio of his predecessor; and it was considered as a step to the throne, even to marry the mistresses of the deceased monarch. In this way, David succeeded to the concubines of Saul, although lie was his father-in-law, 2 Sam. xii. 8. And after he had lied from Absalom, Ahithophel, who is described as a man of the greatest abilities, as well as the greatest wicked- ness, counselled tliis rebellious son to lie publicly with his father's ten concubines, to annihilate, in hesitatmg minds, all hope of a reconciliation between them ; 2 Sam. xvi. '^1 — 23. Now incest is such an abominable crime, and so expressly contrary to the Mosaic law, that such proceedings must have been followed by the most direful consequences, if these concubines had not been considered, not as David's, but as the king's ; and as belonging to the state, not to the individual ; so that sleeping with them formed part of the ceremony of taking possession of the throne. — After David's death, Bathsheba, tne mother of his successor, Solomon, was entreated by his brother Adonijah, to obtain the royal permission to marry Abishag, the Shunamite. But Solo- mon so fully saw through his brother's designs, and what effect the acceding to his request would have among the people, that he answered his mother, " Rather ask the kingdom for him too," and immediately caused him to be put to death, 1 Kings ii. 13 — 25. Of the origin of this strange law I can find no traces in the great kingdoms of the Ea.sl; and yet most certainly these kings of Israel, as yet but novices in royalty, must have derived it, not Irom Is- raelitish, but foreign usage. It could scarcely have arisen in an hereditary kingdom, in which such incestuous proce- dure would have become too notorious and disgusting. Most probably it first arose among the beggarly elective monarchies in the neighbourhood, where it was found too expensive to provide every new king with a new seraglio ; perhaps in the kingdom of Edom, whose needy practices the Israelites were wont at first to adopt. After Solomon's time, I find no further traces of it. — Michaelis. CHAPTER XVII. Ver. S. For, said Hushai, thoti knowest thy fa- ther and his men, that they he mighty men, and thoy be chafed in their minds, as a bear robbed of ner whelps in the field : and thy father is a man of war, and will not lodge with the people. The Hindoos are as much afraid of bears as any other animal in the forest ; hence, when the letter-carriers and others have to travel through districts infested by them, they are alwaj's armed with a crooked knife, in the shape of a sickle: thu«, when the bear is preparing to give them a hug, one cut from the insirument will send it off. When the fe- male is robbed of her whelps, she is said to be more fierce than any other animal : hence, many sayings refer to her rage, ami are applied to the fury of violent men. " I will tear thee to pieces asa bear which has cubbed." " Begone, or I will jump upon thee as a bear." When a termagant goes with her children to scold, it is said, " There goes the she-hear and her whelps." — Roberts. The furious passions of the female bear never mount so higli, nor burn .so fiercely, as when she is deprived of her young. When she returns to her den, and misses the ob- ject of her love and care, she becomes almost frantic with rage. Disregarding every consideration of danger to her- .self, she attacks with great ferocity every animal that comes in her way; and in the bitterness of her heart will dare to attack even a band of armed men. The Russians of Kamt- schatka never venture to fire on a young bear when the mother is near; fur if the cub drop, she becoines enraged to a degree little short of madness, and if she gets .sight of the enemv, will only quit her revenge with her life. (Cook's Voyages.) A more desperate attempt can scarcely be per- formed than to carry off her young in her absence, tier scent enables her to track the plunderer; and unless he has reached some place of safety before the infuriated ani- mal overtake him, his only safety is in dropping one qf the cubs, and continuing to flee; for the mother, attentive to its safety, carries it home to her den before she renews the pursuit. — BuRDEB. Ver. 12. So shall we come upon him in some place where he shall be found, and we will light upon him as the dew falleth on th§ ground, This is very beautiful and expressive. The dew in Palestine, as in several other climates, falls fast and sudden, and is therefore no unapt emblem of an active, expeditious soldiery. It was, perhaps, for this reason that the Romans called their light-armed forces Rorarii. The dew falls upon every spot of the earth ; not a blade of grass escapes it. A numerous army resembles it in this respect. It is able to search everywhere. — Burder. Ver. 13. Moreover, if he be gotten into a city, then shall all Israel bring ropes to that city, and we will draw it into the river, until there be not one small stone found there. On advancing, the chopdars or heralds proclaimed the titles of this princely cow-keeper, Futty Sihng, in the usual hyperbolical style. One of the most insignificant looking men I ever saw, then became tlie destroyer of nations, the leveller of mountains, the exhauster of" the ocean. After commanding every inferior mortal to make way for this exalted prince, the heralds called aloud to the animal cre- ation. Retire, ye serpents; fly, ye locusts; approach not, guanas, lizards, and reptiles, while your lord and master condescends to set his foot on the earth ! Arrogant as this language may appear, it is less so than the oriental pageant- ry in general. The sacred writings afford many instances of such hyperbole. None more so than Hushai's speech to Absalom. — Forbes. Ver. 1 7. Now Jonathan and Ahimaaz stayed by En-rogel ; (for they might not be seen to come into the city :) and a wench went and told them : and they went and told King David. In the East, the washing of foul linen is performed by women by the sides of rivers and fountains. Dr. Chandler {Travels in Asia Minor, p. 21) says, that "the women re- sort to the fountains by the houses, each with a two-han- dled earthen jar on her back, or thrown over her shoulder, for water. "They assemble at one without the village or town, if no river be near, to wash their linen, which is af- terward spread on the ground or bushes to dry." May not this circumstance, says Mr. Harmer, serve to confirm the conjecture, that the young woman that was sent to En-rogel, went out of the city with a bundle of linen, as if she were going to wash if? Nothing was more natural, or better calculated to elude jealousy.— Burder. Ver. 19. And the woman took and spread a covering over the Avell's mouth, and spread ground corn thereon ; and the thing was not known. This was done to conceal Jonathan and Ahimaaz, who had gone down the well to escape from the servants of iih- saloni. Wells in the East have their mouths level v.\\h the ground, hence, nothing is more ea.sy than to put a mat or covering over the opening to conceal them from Ihe sight. Who has not seen corn or flour spread on mats in the sun to dry 1 The woman affected to have this object in view when she spread a covering over the well: her " ground corn" was spread thereon to dry in the sun. The men were in the well, and when Absalom's servants came, and inquired, "Where is Ahimaaz and Jonathan;" she said, " "rhey be gone over the brook of water." In the Kandirn war great numbers were required to follow the army as bearers, cooks, and messengers, and such was Ihe aversion of the people to the duty, that government was obliged to n.se force to compel them to go. And it was no uncommon thing, when the oflicers were seen to approach a cottage, for the husband or sons to be concealed as were Ahimaaz and Jonathan. — Roberts. 222 2 SAMUEL. Chai'. la Vor. 28. Broujrlit beds, and basins, and raithen vessels, and vvlieal, and barley, and (lour, and parched corn, and beans, and lentiles, and parch- ed pulse. Parched corn is a kind of food slill retained in the East, as Hassclquisl informs us : " On the road from Acre lo Seidc, we saw a herdsman eating his dinner, consisting of lialf-ripc ears of wheat, which lie roasted and ate with as pood ;m appetite as a Turk docs his pillau. In Eg)-pt such food is much eaien bv the poor, beint; the ears of maize or Turkish wheat, and oYlheir ilurra, which is a kind of millet. When this food was firs! invented, art was in a simple slate ; j-et the custom is slill continued in some nations, where the inhabitants have not even at this time learned to pamper nature." The flour of parched barley isthe chief provision which the Moors of West Barbary make fur travelling. Ft is indeed much used as a part of their diet at home. " What is most used by travellers is zumeet, tumeet, or flour of parched barley for limereece. They are all three made of parched barley-flour, which they carry in a leath- ern satchel. Zumeet is the flower mi.xed with honey, but- ler, and spice ; tumeet is the same flour done up with origan oil ; and limereece is only mixed with water, and so drank. This (pienches thirst much beUer than water alone, satiates a himgry appetite, cools and refreshes tired and weary spirits, overcoming those ill elTects which a hot sun and fatiguing journey might occasion." (Jones.) Mr. Harmer propo.ses this extract as an illustration of the pa.ssage now cited. — BcRDER. Vcr. 29. And honey, and butter, and sheep, and cheese of kine, for David, and for the people. This, perhaps, was flesh of kine, or beef, prepared in stich a manner as we call potted, by beating and bruising. The eastern people in modern times prepare potted flesh for food on a march or journey. Thus Busbequius, speak- ing of the Turkish soldiers going on an expedition into Persia, savs, " Some of them filled a leathern bag with beef dried, and reduced to a kind of meal, which they use with great advantage, as affiji'dingaslrongnourishment." And Dr. Shaw mentions polled flesh as part of the provisions carried with him in his journey through the Arabian des- erts.— BURDER. CHAPTER XVIir. Ver. 8. For the battle was there scattered over the face of all the country: and the wood de- voured more people that day than the sword devoured. The land of promi.se cannot boast, like many other coun- tries, of extensive woods; but considerable thickets of trees and of reeds sometimes arise lo diversify and adorn the .scene. Between the Lake Samochonites and the sea of Tibcria.s, the river Jordan is almost concealed by shady trees from the view of the traveller. When the waters of the Jordan are low, the Lake Samochonites is only a marsh, for the most part dry and overgrown with shrubs and reeds. The lake of Tiberias is bordered with reeds; while the binksorthe river on both sides, arc shaded with planes, alders, poplar.s, tamarisks, and reeds of diff'ereni kinds. In these thickets, among other ferocious animals, the wild boar seeks a covert from the burning rays of the sun. Large herds of them are sometimes lobe seen on the banks of the river, near the sea of Tiberias, lying amonglhe reeds, or feeding under the trees. Such mui.st and shady places are in all countries the favourite haunts of these fierce and dan- gerous animals. Those marshy coverts are styled woods in the sacred scriptures ; for the wild boar of the wood is the name which that crealure receives from the royal Psalmist : " The boar out of the wood doih waste it ; and the wild bea-st of the field doth devour it." The wood of Ephraim, where the battle was fought between the forces of Ab- salom and the servants of David, was probably a place of the same kind ; for the sacred historian observes, that the wood devoured more people that day, than the sword devoured. Some have supposed the meaning of this pa.s- sage lo be, that the soldiers of Absalom were dcstroyea by the wild bcasis of the wood; but it can scarcely be supposed, ihal in the reign of David, when the land of promise was crowded with inhabitants, the wild beasts could be so nu- merous in one of the woods as to cause such a deslruclion. But if Iheir numbers had been so great, we know that, un- less they had been detained contrary to their natural dis- position's by the miraculous interposition of Heaven, for the purpose of executing his righteous vengeance on the followers of Absalom, intimidated by the approach of two hostile armies, and still more by ihe lumult of the b.'.ltle, they must have sought their safely in flight, rather then have stayed to devour the discoinfited parly. Besides, wc do not hear that one of David's men perished by the wood : were they miraculously preserved ; or, were the wild beasts able to distinguish between the routed army and the victors, and politic enough lo side wiih the strongest 7 We are net without an express revelation, oral least without necessity, to suppose a miraculous interpo.silion. The scene of the expeditions which the Turks undertook against Faccai- dine, the famous emir, in the fifteenth century, was chiefly in the woods of mount Lebanon, which all travellers agree furnish a retreat to numerous wild beast.s, j-ct the histoiion says not one word of either Turk or Maronite being injured by them, in his whole narrative. Absalom himself was the only person who properly perished by the wood; being caught by the hair of his head, of which he had been so vain, in the branches of a large oak, w'here Joab found him, and thrust him through with a dart. But, supposing the wood of Ephraim lo have been a morass coverea with trees an I bu.shes, like the haunts of the wild boar near ihe banks of Jordan, the diflicully is easily removed. It is certain that such a place has mure than once proved fatal to eon- tending armies, partly by suffocating those who in the hurry of flight inadvertenily venture over places incapable of supporting them, and parlly by retarding them till their pursuers come up and cut them lo pieces. In this manner a greater number of men than fell in the heal of battle may be destroyed. The archbishop of Tyre informs us, that one of the Christian kings of Jerusalem lost some of his troops in a marshy vale of this country, from iheir igno- rance of the paths which lead through it, although he had no enemyto molest his march. Thenumbcr of Ihose who died was small; but in what numbers would they h.-.vc perished, may we suppose, had they been forced to flee, like the men of Absalom, before a victorious and exr.sper- ated enemy 1 Lewjs II., king of Hungary, lost his lite in a bog in his own kingdom, in the sixteenth century : and according to Zozimus, Decius the Roman emperor perish- ed in a fen, with his whole army. It may, therefore, l"' justly concluded, that Absalom's army perished neither by the trees of Ihe wood, like their guilty leader, nor by Ihe wild beasls which occupied its recesses ; but by Ihe deceit- ful quagmires w'ith which it abounded. — P.»xton. Ver. 11. And Joab said unto the man that told him. And, behold, thou sawest him ; and why didst thou not smite him there to the trrouiid .' and I would have given thee ten shekels of sil- ver, and a girdle. Among u.s, here in Europe, the distinction between hon- orary and pecuniary rewards is so great, that we often- times can hardly think of jumbling them together as an ac- knowledgment "of public services; and the same person that would receive the first with emotions of great pleasure, would think himself aflronled by one of a pecuniary kind ; but it is otherwise in the East, and it was so anciently. Dc Toll did many great services lo the Turkish einiiire, in the time of their late war with Russia, and the Turks were disposed to acknowledge them by marks of honCIiVl...,ll,_.-.. (, ll.'lltviu.. companied me, and showing them my pelisse, I have re- ceived, said I, with gratitude, this proof of the grand seig- nior's favour; do you return thanks lo the vizier for this purse, it is his girt. This expedient, which I preferred to a di.scussion of our differenl customs, was a sufficient Chap. 18. 2 SAMUEL, 223 lesion to the vizier, at the same time that it disengaged me from the embarrassment of oriental politeness." He then in a note adds, " This Turkish custom of giving money oc- casioned the greatest mortificalion (o M. De Bonneval, that a man, like him, could receive. The ambassador extraor- dinary, from the emperor, who in the Au.strian army had been in an inferior station to the refugee, dined, as is cus- tomary, with the vizier. The Porte had chosen Kiathana, for the place of this entertainment. M. De Bonaeval had orders to repair thither with the corps of bombardiers, of which he was commander. When the exercise wa.s over, he was sent for by the vizier, who gave him a handful of sequins, which his situation obliged him to accept, with submission." Just thus we find Joab would have rewarded an Israelitish soldier of his army, in the days of King Da- vid, who saw Absalom hanging in a tree : " Why didst thou not smite him there to the ground, and I would have given thee ten shekels of silver, and a girdle 1" 2 Sam. xviii. 11. The girdle would have been aii honorary reward, like De Tott's ermiued vest; the ten shekels, or half crowns, would have been a pecuniary recompense, like the 200 sequms De Tott disdained to receive. I may add, that a furred robe, in general, is no distinguishing badge of dignity, for it may be worn by wealthy people in private life, who can bear the expense ; so that there is no ground to suppose Joab's giving a girdle to the soldier wouhl have been conferring some military honour, somewhat like knighting him, as, if I remember right, some have imagined : it would have been simply a valuable present, and enabling him in after- time to appear with such a girdle as the rich wore, instead of the gircile of a peasant, but united with the consciousness and the reputation of its bemg acquired by doing some public service, and not the mere etfect of being descended from a wealthy family. The apparatus which some of the eastern people make use of to gird themselves with is very mean. The common Arabs, according to De la Roque, use a girt adorned with leather; and their women make use of a cord, or strip of cloth : but some of the Arab girdles are very rich, according to this writer. The girdle Joab proposed to give was doubtless designed by him to be understood to be one of such value, as to be answerable to the supposed importance of the service he wished the man had performed, as well as his own dignity. 3o Symon Simeonis, an Irish traveller to the Holy Land, in the year 132-2, tells us, " That the Saracens of Egypt rarely, if ever, girded themselves with any thing but a towel, on which they kneeled to say their prayers, except their people of figure, who wore girdles like those of ladies, very broad, all of silk, and superbly adorned with gold and silver, in which they extremely pride themselves." I cannot well finish this article without remarking, from what the French baron says concerning himself, w-hat strong disagreeable impressions of an erroneous kind may be made upon the mind of a European at the offering some of the A.siatic pre-ients, which are not only not affronting in their views, but designed to do those honour to whom they are pre- .sented, since De Tott could not get the better of it, though he perfectly knew the innocency of the intention, and had resuled long enough, one would have thought, in the country, to have destroyed the impression. — Harmer. To loose the girdle and give it to another, was among the Orientals, a token of great confidence and affection. Thus to ratify the covenant which Jonathan made with David, and to express his cordial regard for his friend, among other things he gave him his girdle. A girdle curi- ously and richly wrought was, among the ancient Hebrews, a mark of honour, and sometimes bestowed as a reward of merit; for this was the recompense which Joab declared he meant to bestow on the man who put Absalom to death : " Why didst thou not smite him there to the ground, and I would have given thee ten shekels of silver, and a girdle." The reward was certainly meant to correspond with the importance of the service which he expected him to per- form, and the dignity of his own station as commander-in- chief; we may therefore suppose it was not a common one of leather, or plain wor.sted, butof co.stly materials and richly adorned ; for people of rank and fashion in the East wear very broad girdles, all of silk, and superbly orna- mented with gold and silver, and precious stone.s, of which they are extremely proud, regarding them as the tokens of their superior station, and the proof of their riches. — Paxton. Ver. 17. And they took Absalom, and cast him into a great pit in the wood, and laid a very great heap of stones upon him : and all Israel fled every one to his tent. To mark the spot where the chiefs were buried, and to remain at the same time as a memorial of the battle in which they fell, their surviving friends raised over them a heap of stones. This practice may be traced to the primi- tive ages of the world ; for when Absalom was defeated and slain, " they cast him into a great pit in the wood, and laid a very great heap of stones upon him." This monu- mental heap was not intended to indicate that Absalom deserved to be stoned as a rebellious son, but merely !o mark, according to a very common and a very ancient custom, the grave of that ambitious and unnatural prince. It was usual in the East, indeed, to distinguish any remark- able place or event by a heap of stones. All the Moham- medans that go in pilgrimage to mount Sinai, visit a rock, on which the form of a camel's foot is imprinted, which they foolishly suppose to be the animal that Mohammed rode ; and, therefore, in honour of their prophet, they bring every one a stone, till, by continual accumulation, a large heap has risen near the place. Jacob, and his family too, raised a heap of stones in commemoration of the covenant so hap- pily concluded between him and Laban, on mount Gilead. That " heap of witness" informed every passenger that it was raised in memory of some interesting event ; and every relation that brought a stone to the heap, made himself a witness to the agreement, as well as recommended it to the attention of others. The surviving warriors, too, might bring every man his stone, in token of their respect for the deceased, to raise a monumental heap over the body of the hero who had led them to battle and to victory, which should arrest the notice of the passing traveller, and bear witness to future times of their attachment and regret. — Paxton. Ver. 18. Now Absalom in his lifetime had taken and reared up for himself a pillar, which is in the king's dale : for he said, I ha-ie no son to keep my name in remembrance ; and he called the pillar after his own name : and it is called unto this day Absalom's Place. On the east, we came to the reputed tomb of Absalom, resembling nearly, in the size, form, and the decoration of its square base, that of Zacharias, before described ; except that it is sculptured with the metopes and triglyphs of the Doric order. This is surmounted by a sharp conical dome, of the form used in our modern parasols, having large mouldings, resembling ropes running round its base, and on the summit something like an imitation of flame. The dome is of masonry, and on the eastern side there is a square aperture in it. It is probable that this monument really occupies the place of that mentioned to have been set up by him whose name it bears. 2 Sam. xviii. 18. Jo- sephus, in relating the same circumstance, calls the pillar a marble one ; he fixes its distance at two furlongs from Jerusalem, and says it was named Absalom's Hand, — BUCKINGIUM. Ver. 24. And David sat between the two gates; and the watchman went up to the roof over the gate unto the wall, and lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold a man running alone. The watchman, in a time of danger, seems to have taken his station in a tower, which was built over the gate of the city. We may form a tolerably distinct idea of the ancient towers in Palestine, from the description which the sacred historian gives us of one, in the entrance of Mahanaim ; " And David sat between the two gales, and the watchman went up to the roof over tlie gale imto the wall, and lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold a man running alone. The watchman cried and told the king ; and the king said. If he is alone, there is tidings in his mouth. And the watchman saw another man running ; and the walehman called unto the porter, and said. Behold, another man run- 224 2 SAMUEL. CiiAr. 19. ning alone ; and the king said, He also bringeth tidings." When tlie tidings were announced, lliehislori.in observes, " the king was nuicli moved, and went up to the chamber over the gale and wcpl." It is afterward added, " Then the king arose and sat in the g.ate ; and they told unto all the people saying, Behold llie king doth sit in the gate ; and all the people came before the king, for Israel had fled every man to his tent." From this description it appear.?, that the tower in the entrance of Mahanaim, had two pair of "ates, at some distance from each other ; in a small room, w'hicli was often found bv the side of these fortified gates, the door of which opened into the pas.sage between them, sat the king, waiting, in fearful suspense, the issue of the contest, for it cannot be supposed he sat in the pas- sage Itself, which had been at once unbecoming his dignity, and inconiinodious to the passengers entering or leaving the city. We find a watchman stationed on the top of this tower,'to which he w-ent up by a staircase from the passage, which, like the roof of their dwellinghouses, was flat, for the purpose of descrying at a distance those that were ap- proaching the place, or'repelling the attacks of an enemy. The observations made by the watchman were not com- municated by him immediately to the king, but by the intervention of a warder at the outer gate of the tower; and it appears, that a private staircase led from the lower room in which the king was sitting, to the upper room over the g.ileway; for by that communication he retired to give full vent to his sorrow. The only circumstance involved in any doubt, is in what part of this building he sal, (for it is evident he continued in some part of the gate,) when he returned his thanks to the army for their exer- tions in his favour; or in the language of the historian, "spake to the hearts nf his servants," and received their congratulations. It is somewhat uncertain whether he gave audience to his people in the upper room, where he lamented in strains so afi'ecting, the death of Absalom, or in the little chamber between the two gates, where he wailed the arrival of the messengers, or in some other part of the building. The ancient custom of silting in the gate on solemn occasions, rather favours the opinion, that Da- vid went down from the apartment above the gale, to the chamber in the side of the passage. This custom, which may be traced to the remotest antiquity, is still observed in the East; for when Pococke returned from viewing the town of ancient Bvblus, the sheik and the elders were sitting in the gate of the city, after the manner of their ancestors. — Paxton. Ver. 25. And the watchman cried, and told the king. And the king said, If he ic alone, there is tidings in his mouth. And he came apace, and drew near. This was .said by David when the watchman told him that there was a man running alone. He proved to be Ahimaaz, who had escaped from the well, and had run lo tell David, " All is W'ell Is a man seen to run fast, it is said, "Ah! there is news in his mouth." "Why have you come so fast"?" — " In my mouth there is news." To a man in trouble ii is often said, " Fear not, a man will soon come with tidings in his mouth." — Roberts. Ver. 32. And the king said unto Cushi, 7s the young man Absalom safe? And Cushi an- swered, The enemies of my lord the king, and all that rise against thee to do thee hurt, be as tkat young man is. This was a delicate way of telling David that the rebel Absalom was dead. A person, in communicating, by letter, intelligence nf the death of a friend, docs not always say, in so many plain terms, " He is dead ;" hut, " Would that all our enemies were now as our friend Muttoo." " Ah ! were ihey all as he, we should have peace in our village." A son, in writing lo an uncle concerning the death of his father, says, "Ah! the children of your brother are now given unto the Lord." "Would that our enemies were now as our father; they will now rejoice over us." — Roberts. CHAPTER XIX. Ver. 13. And say yc to Ainasa, Arl thou not of my bone, and of my flesh ? God do so to me, and more also, if thou be not captain of the host before me continually in the room of Joab. 14. And he bowed the heart of all the men of Judah, even as the heart of one man ; so that they sent this word unto the king. Return thou, and all thy servants. Mr. Le Clerc and others object, that David's resolution to remove Joab from the chief command of the army, was but an unthankful return for the victory which that oflicer had just gained him, and for his attachment to his interest all along, and therelbre David's conduct in tlis instance was imprudent and unaccountable. What Joi^b's share in obtaining this victory was, the history doth not say. Abishai and Ittai, who each commanded a third part of'the forces, might, as for anything that appears, as much contribute to the victory over the rebels, as Joab. Bui be that as it will, the imprudence of David's conduct is efl'ect- ually disproved by ihe event ; and that it was not unac- countable is certain, because of the evident prudence of it ; especially if it be true, and I think it certainly is true, that Joab had now lost the favour of his master, of which the murder of Abner, the killing < f Absalom, in direct con- tradiction lo David's order, and lastly, his want of sympa- thy, and his indelicacy in the present instance, were ihe undoubted causes. Aiid surely it could be nothing unac- countable, nor argue any great ingratitude, lo turn out an imperious general, even after he had helped lo gain a vic- tory, who had stained his laurels by the treasonable murder of the king's own son, in defiance of his most express com- mand, and then instantly threatened him with a Iresh rebel- lion, if he did not openly appear lo justify and approve his crimes: crimes, that a successful battle few will think to be a sufficient atonement for, or a just reason to exem])t him from disgrace, and the punishment he deserved. The ancient Roman discipline was much more severe and rig- orous than this, and a victory obtained, if contrary lo the general's orders, was punished with death. When 'J'. Manlius, the son of Maulius the consul, upon a chalknL;e of Melius, one of the generals of the Latins, with whom the Romans were then at war, had engaged him in single combat, slain him, taken his spoils, and presented them in triumph to his father, the consul immediately ordered him lo be beheaded in sight of the whole army, because it was an express breach of his orders; telling his son, "If thou hast any thing of my blood in thee, thou thyself wilt not, I think, refuse to restore, by thy punishment, Ihat mili- tary discipline, which hath been impaired by thy offence." In like manner, when Papirius, the Roman dictator, h;.d commanded Fabius, ihe master of his horse, not lo engage the enemy during his absence, Fabius being informed thai the army of the Samnites were in a stale of great disorder, attacked them with his forces, entirely routed them, rnd slew twenty thousand of them on Ihe field of bailie. The dictator, upon his return lo the army, in a council of officers, ordered him to be beheaded, because in breach of the rules of war, and the ancient discipline, he had dared, contrary to his orders, lo engage with the enemy. He was however at last saved by the intercession of the Roman people. David's removing Joab from his command was a much less punishment for much more aggravated crimes. As lo the promise to Amasa, of con.stilulinghim general in Joab's room, the prudence of ihis may be also easily vindicated. For Amasa .stood in the same degree of con- sanguinity to David as Joab did, and the ofl'er to him of making him captain-general must, as it has been well ob- served, have been influenced by llie personal qualities of the man, the impoiiance of gaining: him over, he being a person of greal power and aulhoriiy, and a resentment against Joab for llie murder of Abner and Absalom. Be- sides, I doubt not but that David thought he should now be able lo break Joab's power, and bring him lo an ac- count for his repeated assassinations and treasons, as well as fix Amasa for ever in his interest, by placing so high a degree of confidence in him, as to give him the com- mand of all the forces in his kingdom. This hath been frequently the method by which great men have endcav- Chap. 19. 2 SAMUEL. 225 oired to gain over their ehemie.s, and it argues a real gen- crosiiy of soul, of which litile minds are uaerly incapable, Id uiii an adversary' to his duty, by such unexpecied instan- ces of confidence and friendship. When Cinna, the grand- son of Pompey, and other great men, con.spired against Auguslus, he not only pardoned them, but nominated Cinna cou.ul lor the ensuing year; and Caesar not only spared Brums, afier he had appeared in arms against him, but look him into favour as his intimate friend, and intrusted him with the government of Gaul. — Ch.4ndi,er. Ver. 24. And Mephibosheth the son of Saul came down to meet the king, and had neither dressed his feet, nor trimmed his beard, nor washed his clothes, from the day the king departed until the day he came again in peace. They almost universally die them black, by an operation not very pleasant, and necessary to be repeated generally once a fortnight. It is always performed in the hot bath, where ihe hair being well saturated, lakes the colour better. A thick paste of khenna i.s first made, which is largely plastered over the beard, and which, after remaining an hour, is all completely washed oft", and leaves the hair of a very slrong orange colour, bordering upon that of brickdust. Alter this, as thick a paste is made of the leaf of ihe indigo, which previously has been pounded to a fine powder, and of this also a deep layer is put upon the beard ; but this second process, to be taken well, requires full two hours. During all this operation the patient lies quietly flat upon his back; while the die (more particularly the indigo, which is a great astringent) contracts the features of his face in a very mournful manner, and causes all the lower parts of ihe visage lo smart and burn. When the indigo is at last washed off, the beard is of a very dark bottle-green, and becomes a jet black only when it has met the air for twenty-four hours. Some, indeed, are content with the khenna or orange colour ; others, more fastidious, prefer a beard quite blue. The people of Bokhara are famous for their blue beards. — Morier. Ver. 24. And Mephibosheth the son of Saul came down to meet the king, and had neither dressed his feet, nor trimmed his beard, nor washed his clothes, from the day the king de- parted until the day he came again in peace. 25. And it caine to pass, when he was come to Jerusalem to meet the king, that the king said unto him. Wherefore wentest not thou with me, Mephibosheth? 26. And he an- swered, My lord, O king, my servant deceived me: for thy servant said, I will saddle me an ass, that I may ride thereon, and go to the kino- ; because thy servant is lame. 27. And he hath slandered thy servant unto my lord the kino;- but my lord the king is as an angel of God : do therefore what is good in thine eyes. 28. For all of my father's house were but dead men before my lord the king: yet didst thou set thy servant among them that did eat at thine own table. What right therefore have I yet to cry any more unto the king? 20. And the kin? said unto him, Why speakest thou any more nf tiiy matters ? I have said, Thou and Ziba divide the land. 30. And Mephibosheth said unto the king, Yea, let him take all, foras- much as my lord the king is come again in peace unto his own house. This conduct of David to Mephibosheth is objected against, as a very ungenerous and unjust action; in that, when Ziba's accusation against Mephibosheth was found to be false, instead of equitably punishing the asperser of innocence, and reinstating Mephibosheth in his former favour, he restored him but half the forfeiture for his sup- 29 ' posed guilt, leaving the villain Ziba in the quiet possession of the o.her half, as the reward of his ireacheiy. Suppo- sing ihis account true, that Mephibosheth had but hall his palrimony restored lo him, there niighl be reasons of stale, reasons of great prudence and equity, that might induce David, at that time, to give Ihis check "to the house of Saul; especially if David had any .suspicion that Mephibosheth had really behaved ill, and as Shimei, one of Saul's family, had used him with peculiar marks of indignity, and dis- covered that they wanted only the opporlunity to revenge themselves on him, and place one of Saul's hou.se upon the throne of Israel. But I think there is great reason lo ques- tion, whether the behaviour of Mephibosheth was so inno- cent as hath been asserted, during ihe progress of the re- bellion. The laie ingenious and learned Mr. Hallet and others, Ihink he was guilty and deserved punishment ; and after having reviewed his apology to David for not accom- panying hiin in his flight from Jerusalem, with the utmost imparliality and care, Ihat apology dolh not seem lo me sufficient wholly to exculpate him. For what is the apolo- gy he makes % Why, only this ; that he said, " he would saddle him an ass, and go on it lo the king,becau>ie he was lame, and could not go on foot." Why then, what hinder- ed him from saddling his ass, and riding after his royal patron and benefactor 1 Surely Ihere were more asses than one lo be had at Jerusalem, and he had servanis enough of his own to have saddled one, had he been disposed lo go after David. For when Ihat prince was restored, he found means to wait on him, without Ziba's assistance; and I suppose, the same means might have been found, if he had pleased, to have attended David when he fled, as well as to go to meet him when he returned. He pretends indeed that Ziba deceived him; but he dolh not say how, nor offer any proof of it ; nor could he deceive him about the get- ling him an ass, because he could have got one, whether Ziba would procure him one or not. So that his justifica- tion was as lame as his feel, and, as far as I can judge, is but a poor shuffling vindication of his innocence. He seems to me to have been very well pleased to stay at Jeru.salem. and wait the issue of Ihe rebellion, as noi knowing, bul that du- ring Ihe confusion of afi'airs, some fortunate circumstances might arise, by which, as heirlo Saul's house, he might be advanced toihe Ihronein the room both of David and his re- bellious son. The only circumslance that can be alleged in his favour is, that he did not take Ihe u.sual care of himself, as lo his cleanliness and dre.ss, bul appeared in the squalid habit of a mourner. But this might be merely political, and would equally serve lo excite compassion lo hini.self among the people, lo see Saul's heir reduced to Ihis forlorn condition ; and to provide some excuse for himself to Da- vid, should his affairs at last lake a favourable turn, and to urge as an argument and proof of his affection and concern for him, during the continuance of his troubles. This was a well-known custom among the Romans, and other na- tions, for those who were accused of any crimes, lo clothe themselves with a black garmenl, lo let iheir beards and hair grow, and lo appear in a negligent, dirty manner, in order lo raise the public pily in Iheir behalf And not only thus, bul Ihe friends and patrons of such unhappy persons, appeared publicly in Ihe same manner, as lliose whose cause they espoused. Thus Cicero tells us, that the whole senate, and all good men, did it lo express Iheir grief on his account, and Ihe belter lo obtain his recall from banish- ment. Yea, Ihis very an hath been made use of by a de- throned prince lo obtain the recovery of his crown and kingdom. ThusPlolemy Philomelor, King of Egj-pl, being driven out of his kingdom by his brother Phy.scon, came allended only by a few servaiils to Rome, upiidore obsilvs, covered over wiih filth, lo implore the assistance of the senalc. And in this wretched condition he presented him- self before ihcm. They advised him, Ihat ilcporilis forth- Inis, laying aside his wretched habit, he should petition for an audience. So Ihat ihis affectalion of Mephibosheth, of appearing at Jeru.salem with these external marks of grief, was really no proof of his affeclion lo David, but might be with an artful intention lo serve himself Ziba's charge against him was direct and positive, and ihe only answer is, that Ziba had slandered him. So ihat here are two positive assertions contrary to one another. Ziba's charge had probabiliiy to support it; because it is natural to sup- pose, that Mephibosheth might think that he had, as heii lo Saul, some claim to the crown, and would be glad of 226 2 SAMUEL. Chai-. 20 any occasion to recover it, that he might not be beholden to David's generosity, and live liy courtesy at his table ; and that he might mention it to Ziba, as he also was one of Saiirs house and family. Mephibosheth's answer to the charge had nothing satisfactory in ii, because he could never want an ass, or a servant to have conveyed him, had he desired or resolved to make use of them. Besides, as Ziba's carrvmg provisions to David plainly showed Ziba's belief and liope of David's restoration, he must know that if he had cliarged Mephibosheth falsely, the fal.sehood must have been discovered when David was resettled on the throne ; and that being convicted of calumniating his mas- ter, he would, in all probability, have been so far from hav- ing Mephibosheth's whole estate confirmed to him, as that he would have lost his maintenance out of it for himself and family. And indeed David himself seems to me not to have been thoroughly satisfied with Mephibosheth's apol- ogy, bv the answer he' makes him : " Why speakest thou anv more about thy matters V Let me hear no more of thy atiairs. I will neither regard Ziha's charge, nor your vin- dication ; an answer that evidently carries an air of cold- ness, indifl'erence, and di.spleasure, and of one who did not choose to make any .strict inquiry into Mephibosheth's con- duct, but to admit his excuse, though in itself insufficient and unsatisfactory; and he therefore only addsr Thou and Ziba divide thelaiid. If thisbe the true state of the case, as it appears to me to be, David's annulling the grant to Ziba, so far as to reinstate Mephibosheth in the possession of even halftheland,wasa noble instance of David's generosity, and of the grateful remembrance he retained of Jonathan's af- fection and friendship for him. But I must question the truth of the account, that David restored to Mephibosheth but half of the estate. Ziba had been an old servant in Saul's family, who had fifteen sons, and twenty servants. To him David had said : " I have given thy master's son all that pei'tainelh to Saul, and to all his house. Thou therefore and thy sons and thy servants shall till the land for him, and bring in the fruits, that thy master's son may have food to eat, viz. for his household and family. As for Mephibosheth himself, he shall always eat at my table, as one of the king's sons." Ziba therefore was to take care of the estate, to account for the profits of it to Mephibosheth, and to be himself and his whole family maintained out of the annual produce, for his care in cultivating it. This was a proper division of it between Mephibosheth, as lord of the estate, and Ziba as the farmer and manager of it. What now is the determination of David, npon his restora- tion to the throne 1 Mephibosheth had been entirely ousted upon Ziba's complaint ; hut after he had made his apology, David said to him : " I have said, Thou and Ziba divide the land." But where and when did David ever say, " I give each of you a moiety of the estate 1" He first "gave the whole in propertv to Mephibosheth, and aOerward to Ziba ; but never divided ir, share and share alike, between them. And yet, " I have said. Thou and Ziba divide the land," must refer to some former division of the estate by David's order. But no such determination or order is to be found, but in that original (jne, in which the estate was divided between Mephibosheth in property, and Ziba as liusbandman, for his own and family's maintenance. So that this last determination of David was so far from taking away one half of the estate from Mephibosheth, that it was in reality confirming the original t;rant, and restoring him to the possession of the whole, upon the same terms on which that poss;cssion was originally granted him. So that if David was too hasty in giving away Mephibo.sheth's estate to Ziba, he was, upon belter recollection, as hasty in restoring it to him ; and it ought to he acknowledged as a firoof of his inviolable regard to his oath to Jonathan, since le had reason for just suspicion, that his son had been wanting in that affection and fidelilv which he owed him, a-s his generous protector and benefactor. And though by his confirming the original grant, he lefi Ziba and his fam- ily a maintenance out of the estate, it was not as the reward of his treacherv, of which there is no proof, hut out of re- .spectevenioSaul. of wlici-.e house Ziba was, and asarecom- pense for his faithful adherence to him in his distresses, and that seasonable and nobh' supply with which he furnished him and his followers, when he was forced to abandon his rapital, bv the unnatural rebellion of his son Absalom. TIeicby David did more than full juslice to Mephibosheth, and al the same time rewarded Ziha bv continuing him on the estate, upon the former conditions of possessing it. Mr. Bayle has a long article on this affair, in which he takes it lor granted, that David restored Mephibosheth but one half of the estate, and says, " that some interpreters main- tain, that Ziba's accusation was not unjust ; or, at least, that it was founded on so many probabilities, that it might be credited without passing a wrong judgment;" but there are but few, says he, of that opinion ; and he affirms, "that David found him a false accu.ser." But Mr. Bayle oflieis not a single proof for these assertions, and he who relates the different opinions of others concerning any fact, and de- clares on the unfavourable side of it, without giving his rea- sons for it, doth not act like a candid critic, but with the spirit of partiality and party. I must therefore leave these particulars to the judgment of the more candid and impartial reader, when he hath duly considered what halh been said above in order to obviate them; agreeing at the same time with him, that if Mephibosheth was unjustly treated, Da- vid's holiness could never make that sentence just, though Pope Gregory hath insisted upon it ; and that to conclude the sentence was just, merely because David passed it, though it was unjust in itself, is to establish a very danger- ous principle. — Chandler. Ver. 20. And the king said unto him, Wliy speakest thou any more of thy matters? I have said. Thou and Ziba divide the land. This form of speech is exceedingly common when a man wishes to confirm any thing, or when he wants to give weight to a promise. To show that all will be fulfilled, he says, \dn-chojir7iain-nea, "Oh! I have said it." — Roberts. CHAPTER XX. Ver. 1. And there happened to be there a man of Belial, whose natrie ii-as Sheba, the son of Bichri, a Benjamite ; and he blew a trumpet, and said, We have no part in David, neither have we inheritance in the son of Jesse: every man to his tents, O Israel. When slaves are liberated from their owners, they say, " We have no jiangv, i. e. part, in them, nor they in us." It is also very common to mention the name of the person, and that of his father; and this sometimes implies disgrace, especially when the family has arisen from obscuri'y, and therefore to allude to its origin is to insult the descendants. — Roberts. Ver. 1 . And there happened to be there a man of Belial, whose name uas Sheba, the son of Bichri, a Benjamite ; and he blew a trumpet, and said, We have no part in David, neither have we inheritance in the son of Jesse : every man to his tents, O Israel. 2 So every man of Israel went up from after David, and followed Sheba the son of Bichri : but the men of Judah clave unto their king, from Jordan even to Je- rusalem. The blame of this new rebellion hath been charged on David, and he censured for thus inadvertently plunging himself into fresh troubles, by suffering himself to be con- ducted home by a deputation from the tribe of Judah. The learned authors of the Universal History, have made a like observation on this part of David's conduct, and .sav, that " the partiality, which he showed to his own iribc. in inviting it to come loremost to receive him, raised such a jealousv in the other ten, as endid at length in a new revolt.'' But where doth the history ju.stify this reflection, that he was partial to his own tribe, in inviiins it to come foremosttoreccivehim? The truth i.s, that he did noi invite them at all to come and receive him, till he had been in- _. formed by expresses frcm all the other tribes, ihat Ihey HI were universally in motion to restore him, and his message ^| to them only was : " Why are ye the last to bring back the king V Not, why are ye not the foremost ? And though the other tribes complained to that of Judah, " Why did Chap. 20. 2 SAMUEL. 227 ye despise us, that our advice slimilil be first had in bring- ing bacl< our king!" Yet the tribe of Judah was so far from coming to meet the king, out of any regard to, or contempt of, their brethren, that the very zeal and move- ments of those tribes, in David's favour, was the principal motives urged by him, to bring back the tribe of Judah to their duly, and their great inducement to return to their allegiance to him. This was paying a real deference to their judgment, and what they ought to have been pleased with, and highly applauded. It is true, that the tribes all concurred in their resolutions to restore him, and were taking the proper methods to effect it, yet that David continued at Mahanaim, till the deputies from Judah came to him there, with an invitation from the whole tribe to repair to Jerusalem, and to assure him, that they would receive him in a body at Gilgal, and prepare every thing necessary for his pa.ssage over Jordan. Nor could he indeed set out lor Jerusalem, till he had received certain information, that the men of Judah, and Amasa, who was in possession of il, would quietly permit him to return to it, without endan- gering his own person, or hazarding the peace of the nation, should he aUempt to reduce the city by force. But when he knew the city would open her gates to him, it is no wonder he should resolve immediately to begin his march to it, as he had now nothing to fear from that quarter, and imagined, that as all the tribes had declared for him, the sooner he acted agreeably to their desires, they would be the better pleased, and without the formality of any particu- lar invitations, receive him with open arms, wherever he should meet them. The pretence, that the men of Judah had stolen him away, was unreasonable and unjust. For while he was at Mahanaim, the tribes on that side Jordan all declared for him, and accompanied him to the passage of that river, and went over with him to join the rest of their brethren, who were come down to meet him ; so that when they were all united at the passage of the river, there were actually present, by large deputations, the tribes of Judah, Benjamin, and five others, who waited on him in his march to Gilgal. The truth of the case seems to be, that the deputations from the more distant tribes, not being able to get farther than Gilgal, before the king's arrival there, envied the other tribes, and particularly that of Judah, which had the principal share in providing every tiling necessary for the king's passage over Jordan, and laid hold of the first op- portunity to express their resentment against them. This was heightened by the imprudent haughty answer, which the men of Judah made to their expostulation, that Ihey had a peculiar right in the king, as he was near akin to them, because he was of their own tribe ; and seeming to insinuate, that they came voluntarily, but that the other tribes came with an expectation of being provided for at the king's expense, and hoping some donative from him, as the reward of their submission to him. This, I think, is plainly implied, when they told them ; " Have we eaten at all at the king's cost"! Or hath he given us any gift!" Words which seem to carry a tacit insinuation, that other tribes expected both. This reflection, and the claim of a particular interest in the king, disgusted all the other tribes in general, and disposed them to enter into violent meas- ures to revenge themselves. David, upon the whole, seems to me to be nowise blameable on account of Sheba's revolt, but that it was occasioned by misunderstandings between the tribes themselves, which it was not at that lime in his power to prevent. — Chandler. Vcr. 3. And David came to his house at Jerusa- lem ; and the king- took the ten -women his concubines, whom he had left to keep the house, and put them in ward, and fed them, but went not in unto them : so they were shut up unto the day of their death, living in widow- hood. In China, when an emperor dies, all his women are removed to an edifice called the Palace of Chastity, situa- ted within the walls of the palace, in which they are shut up fiir the remainder of their lives. — Burdeh. Ver. 9. And Joab said to Amasa, Art thou in health, my brother? And Joab took Amasa by the beard with the right hand to kiss him. D'Arvieux was present at an Arabian entertainment, to which came all the emirs, a little while after his arrival, accompanied by their friends and attendants : and after the usual civilities, care.sses, kissings of the beard, and of tlie hand, which every one gave and received according to his rank and dignity, sat down upon mats. It was in this way, perhaps, that Joab pretended to testify his re.spect for Amasa, his rival in the favour of the king; he took him by the beard to ki,ss him. or agreeably to the custom of these emirs, or Arabian chieftains, to kiss the beard itself; and in this stooping posture he could much better see to direct the blow, than if he had only held his beard, and raised him- self to kiss his face; while Amasa, charmed by this high compliment, which was neither suspicious nor unusual, and undoubtedly returning it with corresponding politeness, paid no attention to the sword in the hand of his murderer. It is extremely probable that Judas betrayed his Lord in the same way, by kissing his beard. The evangelists IVIatthew and Mark say, that he came directly to Jesus, and said, Hail, Master, and kissed him ; but Luke seems to hint, that Judas saluted him with more respect. Jesus, according to Matthew, had time to say, before he received the kiss from Judas, " Friend, wherefore art ihou come V and while Judas was kissing his beard, Jesus might express him.self with great ease and propriety, as Luke relates, '-Judas, be- trayest thou the Son of man with a kiss '!" — Pjxton. Ver. 18. Then she spake, saying, They were wont to speak in old time, saying, They shall surely ask counsel at Abel : and so they ended the matter. Intimating, that the city of Abel was very famous, in ancient times, forgiving advice, and determining contro- versies. But of this there is no intimation except in this place, and the sense seems very forced and unnatural. I think R. S. Jarehi's exposition leads to the true interpre- tation, which our learned Bishop Patrick seems also to ap- prove; who observes, that the word n;iw'i3 refers, not to old time, but the beginning of the siege. As if she had said, When the people saw thee lay siege to the cil)', they said, surely they will ask us, if we will have peace, and then we sliall soon come to an agreement, and make an end ; put- tins Joab in mind of the rule in the law, Deut. xx. 10, which commands them to offer peace to the cities of other nations, when they came to besiege them, and therefore much more to a city of their own, as Abel was. This agrees well with what follows, that they were a peaceable people, and faithful to their prince, and therefore would iiot have refused to yield to him upon summons. — Chand- ler. Ver. 23. Now Joab icas over all the host of Is- rael ; and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada tras over the Cherethites and over the Pelethites. This hath occasioned a very severe reflection en David's honour and ju.stice, and he is reproached because Joab was continued in the command, and not a single .syllable of any notice taken liy David of the murder of Amasa, whom he himself had appointed general ; as though Da- vid had acquiesced in the murder, and confirmed Joab in the command of the army, as the reward of it. But that David greatly resented tliis murder of Amasa, is evident from his last advice to Solomon, in which he nobly recom- mends, and gives it in charge to him, to do justice on that bloody assassin for the murders of Abner and Ama.sa. David was not now able himself to do it, and Joab was too powerful a subject to be brought to any account. We have seen that he had in.solence enough, after Absalom's death, to threaten the king with a new revolt, if he did not do what he ordered him ; and after the assassination of Amasa, he usurped, in defiance of his master's appointment, the com- mand of all the Ibrces. They seem to have had an affec- tion for him as a brave and successful general ; he had just now restored the quiet of the land, bv entirely cjuelling the insurrection under Sheba, and returned to Jerusalem, with- out fear of the king, and in defiance of justice, as general- 228 2 SAMUEL. CiiAp. 21. issimo (if llie aimy; and coiilinucJ to assume this rank, not by Oaviil's uiiier anil inclinalion, bul by Ins mere acqnieseence in a measure llial was conlrary In his will, bul which he was not able to set aside. It should be ob- served to David's honour, that when the rebellion under Absalom, and the insurrection by tjbeba, were entirely sup- pressed, we read of no bluodv e.xecutions for treason and rebellion. David resolved that no one should be put to death on that account. He was all mercy and forgive- ness. The cursing Shiuiei was reprieved. The suspected Mephibosheth was restored, and the rebel general constitu- ted captain of the forces ' ^M 'o destroy them.,rom renaming it^^^^'^nhlT^l^lS^^'^^-^'if-J actually put manv oHhem ,nV ,'k '"^"'"^ "^ ^^^el," ar own hoL^c or fan^ly '^'L etcut'io'r '7i"" -boseof his nous violation of the public ftt,h^l°, Ik ""^ '''^^ ^ "°'o- .uilt Of periury andZS^/^S'^::!^,;!;: -- ^^|^ pleasure^/ GodT wh^ s the riXt''''' '^''™ '^ "'^'^'^ national crimes, but seems to l^vh' '''""^" °^ "'es affair of nncon;„„L_!™A'°.r=i^e ''een regarded as ai affair of no consequ;nce"ol- rather! "'''" ^^''^ed as an fill and Dublic-.nirS"?.,^!'.?!';^")," .acquiesced in as a use- ft.landpublic-™i;?,edTe'a."urT'r';H''h''"''''''^ '" ^^ => »se- ^2^ '^'^t^^^t^'^^rv''. ^^^:^^^ so extraordinary a calam V ^n a' ^J'^'"'^' '"°^'ed by causeofit,andwaLns3'hlr ? 'i"" ^""^ ""^ Saul, and his bloodv hn, l» ^ ^ the oracle, that it was for In consequenceof this Da;,/'''^'.''' '^''' "^^ Gibeonites. persons S^ho had e can^TIher '^"''^'""^ of *e principal " What shall I do fo? ™„ .nH^K^'"'''-^."'' ^^''^ 'o them: the atonement fha vi n L'"^, ^'■''T»-'";==> ^hall I make Lord V What satist^ctS ' """ ^"'^eritance of the that have been done ou thai V" require for the injuries for the prosperity of'.irpeoper'^Kitnn'r'^'' '° P'-^>' h.m: " We will have L\sXVor gold if SanP '"'"';';"■'' house ; neither for us shah fhn,? l-^ ^"'' "°f °^ ^is The king then bid them ask what t.'"^ '"^,". '? ^^^^^«'-" promised that he wouM do i. fnrM ^ "'"^^''^ ''^^e, and '■The man that consumed us and that'Sev,?/^ '''^P"'^^ ■• that M'e should be destroved fr^™ . ^'^'^'' against us, coasts of Israel • le? seven orh° remainmg in any of the and we will han- them im umo'^h'"?' ^' delivered unto us, who was chosen of The'^Lord '^" t7^ t" ^'^-"^^ °^ S^'"' replied: " I will gve them "'and „' c^'"^ immediately sparing Mephibosheth the son nf? m consequence of it, line of Sau5, who S an^claLaTo n?''"'' '" '''''"'■^''^ contending with him for the ni ' ?^'^■el■e capable of the possession of 1 he dcnverer,n?.^ disturbing^im in sons of Riznah «;„ r, "^"^eied to them the two ba.stard Micah, hrsToun^st iauXer'^r'Ar-'','"*' «^« ™" of ^illai. the Mehola'hite not one^f^vK"'^'' '^' «°" "f Bar- succeeding Saul especianvwhLf ''?"i'''a' "^^Pab'e of particularlV those by UeeWesson^wf''^';"''^ ''"^' =>","'-' ^'] ^"^ ''efealed the lodge a single n"r more In 1^' ',°.="'^ise him, not lo pass over Jordan Tesrand.ir- P'""^' ^l'' "'"^'^"tly ,o . 'est fte and all his people should be swal- anv great commo fois for ' ' /'' ^r'' ^'""' "ee from .hrouVhtt"har^^:',e\"o'untry^^'°" ^ "^^^^ ^--' f-"- soon as her two sons were out to riepfh 1 ^^^P^^' that as the Lor^or the reasons"Sf t'l^^'^lf °'''^,"' '° ■"'!'"^« of could, the further eont nuance o \, h"^"'" P'"^'™'' '^ ''= j^^eCi-HS"^"v--^^-'": ^^^?h'f^'^£iSH'-'-'- people was an actio^suitabtptn ;'^^!""^der of these poor and'if he was Sy enou!, ,o puf m f^^""'"''J '""^"- any provocation a whl!ii ° V E u ° '''e sword, wiihout sho^ufd hindt'him'fr:m° n/e^vonr'n" to"e v, ""'^■'^'^' V''' Amorites out of the hnd if i,! Vj ? '° f^termmate these people, by enrichin J them w,^h ?h •? 'if 'f^^ °^^'-' ^'^^ °"" »:?,s^'tehi^-H^^-b^^ ^ to^pe; ;'tl!a^ th^^cS lZiT:s::^fz ^"""t "4 power to reproach him \dth i^ H°^ , ^^ '° Samuel's absolutely e'ertain thaUinever v^ifed Saullnd'"'' "H not reproach him for his harhiJ r. '' ^"'^ ^o could fact is to deny tl™historv whthT' ^"' '" 1"^^''"" ""^ on Saul, as I doesTn^otw' acf v^arso^e^.e;' '^^r'^-^ !,' itse f was a perfidious anri ki j ""aisoever. Ihe deed many of the GibeoZes ,nd i f f °°' ' 'J"' 'destruction of to extirpate .S^~^d ? of^tem 'om^'f ';hr " "'""^ S'zii!;^-^-;tdSr^-^-'^^e;; G-^^s=a:;S?Fr'=-- views, and that he migh en e l^^V W ^r 'r/"" P"'"'^^' the tribes among whom they I'eT and If '^^''"^/"'"'^ "^ sess themsel ves of their cities and iw t° '""''''' '" PO"^" death prevented the f ill exeemion of ih' V' T"^""^ ^'' pose, which therefore seems to h^.f *"! barbarous pur- liltle while before i, ;f„^!"!.'°.'''^.^^ ''een be»un but a very were, to whom he'tho.V.^h?X "' '"? ."'beonitish towns might be agreeable, and fonSht'be' a r" "' ^' P^^P'e that powerful tribe in his iS t T^„ ""■ "'^ ''f'ammg was enormous in itself pnHo The crime therefore heinous circumstance.: ''and whi?"'''''' "'"' ">^ most in all o^o.. !,...'_ "nicn hi almost in"aira'»^es"hav'pl'nn'l.-!i'"'"' "" civilized "naliv!ns| highlv dcservinl^ ihe IL2''!, "f™ '''"' ''«fror, and as -i^^z.n"^^£pS?!----"c:rK^^ evidence wa? '^'^'^^^^Jt:^-^^^:'^ 230 2 SAMUEL. Chap. 21. stances exceedingly strong, urges this as a reason why the judges should nol clear him; that it would be extremely dangerous to the public, to permit such an impure polluted wretch to ctilc r into the temple ol'tlic gods and delile Ihein, and to sit down at the tables of those who were innocent; because this would produce barren and unl'ruiil'ul seasons, and render the public ali'airs unl'orlunate. JEMan also relates, that the Lacedemonians were punished with the en ire ruin of Sparta by an earthquake, which left only five buildinffs in the cily standing, for the murdermg some of the Helota-, who were slaves, and had fled into a temple for safely, afier they had surrendered themselves on the promise of .safety. When the noble Roman, Horatius, who, by his victory over the Curiatii, had established the supreiaacy of Home over Alba, was accu.sed by some of the principal citizens of Rome for having murdered his sister, who, upon his return from his victory had unseasonably and severely reproached him for killing her lover ; they ur^i'd his being brought to justice, because he had violated the laws, and recounted several instances of the divine ven- geance on cities who had .sulfered such atrocious crimes to go unpunished. But may it not be asked, that if God sought vengeance for a particular act of cruelty, perpe- trated by Saul, when was vengeance demanded for David's massacre of theGeshurites, Gezrites, Amalekites, Moabites, Ammonites, Jebusites, and others, who at times became the objects of David's wrath 1 The answer is, it was never de- manded, because there was no vengeance due, and the cases arc by no means parallel. There was no violation of the na- tional faith, no breach of oath, that David and his people had been guilty of in any of these instances. In most of them, the people mentioned were the aggressors ; and, as to the rest of them, they were the inveterate enemies of the Jews, wandering clans, who lived upon robbery and plunder, and lind been long before justly devoted to destruction. Be- sides, the Gibeonites were massacred in cold blood, in times of peace, unarmed, and incapable of any self-defence; and therefore every one must see the difference between these unhapppy people, whom Saul causelessly and treach- erously destroyed, and those whom David cut off; who provoked their own ruin by unjustly making war on his subjects, whom he was in duty and honour bound to pro- tect and defend, or who had been proscribed by God him- self for the crimes of which thev had been guilty. The persons employed with Saul in perpetrating these murders, were tho.se of his own house. The history here is express : " It is for Saul and his bloody house, becau.se he," viz. by them as his instruments, "slew the Gibeonites;" for which reason they justly said to David, that they de- manded satisfaction only of the man that had consumed them. He thought the destruction of the Gibeonites so popular a thing, as that he was resolved, himself and his family and relations, should have the whole credit and merit of the affair. Whether Jonathan and his brethren, who seem to have been brave men, were concerned in it, is not said. I think it probable they were not; for as thev were good soldiers, they would be ashamed to massacre unarmed slaves, and of too generous a disposition to have anv hand in so base and cruel an assassination. But if they every one refused to be employed in it, there were oiliers of Saul's house, i.e. his family, who certainly were; who ci'her in person, or by the soldiery, put many of these poor people to the sword ; in which latter ease they were eipially guiliy of the murder, as though they had killed every one of them with their own hands; just as Saul was Ruilty of the murder of the priests, and the massacre at Nob, though he employed Doeg in the first, and his soldiers in the latter execution. I think it probable from the choice which D.ivid made, that the very persons he gave up to the Gibeonites, were employed by Saul in his butchery, and thai for Ibis reason he delivered them up as sacrifices to publie jusiice. These were the two bastard sons of Rizpah, Saul's eoneiibine, and the five .sims of Miehal, ilie daughter ofS.aul, whieh she bare to Adriel, ihe son of Barzillai, the Meholathite. It appears to me, that Miehal was married tp this Adriel, before she was married to David, and had live children by hiin, whieh W(nild be all of them of age sulficient to b- employeil in this unri'.,'liteous aflair. Saul was about forty vears old when he came to the crown ; for his sons were all grown men, men of strength and valour, and his two daughters are spoken of as not being children at that time, but as women arrived at some maturity. From his being made king to David's marriage with Mi- ehal, was, bv the chronology of our Bible, thjny-two years. Allow her therefore to be ten years of age on'her fa'thei's advancement to the kingdom, she must be above forty years of age when David married her; a space of linie, in which she might have had many more children than five by a former husband, that would be of age sufficient, in the latter part of Saul's reign, to act under his commission in the slaughter of the Gibeonites. It is not very prob;.ble that Saul's daughter should continue unman icd nil she was forty years old and more, and the scripture is express, that she bare to Adriel, the son cf Barzillai, the Meholath- ite, five children. It is indeed .said, that Saul married his eldest daughter Merab, to Adriel, the Meholathite. But this Adriel might be a very difi'erent person Irom Adriel the son of Barzillai, who was the husband of Miehal, who seems to have been thus particularly described, to distin- guish him from the other Adriel, who, though a Meho- lathite, is nowhere said to be the son of Barzillai. If these remarks are just, we need no critical emendation of the text, and can defend the justice of David in giving up these persons to the vengeance of the Gibeonites. But supposing these sons of Miehal, or Merab, were too young to have any hand in the guilt of this transaction, I do not see that an immediate command from God to deliver them up to death is anywise inconsistent with the rectitude ol his nature, or the justice and equity of his moral providence. The judgment of Grotius on this affair is worthy our regard. " God," says that great man, " threatens in the law of Mo- ses, that he would visit the iniquity of the fathers on iheir posterity. But then he hath an absolute dominion and right, not only over all we have, but over life itself; so that he can take away from any one his own gift whensoever he pleases, without assigning any reason lor it. And there- fore when he lakes away the children of Achan, Saul, Jeroboam, and Achab, by an untimely and violent death, he exercises his right of dominion, not cf punishment, over them ; but, at the same time, he by this means more griev- ously punishes the parents of them. For whether the parents survive them, which the law principally supposes, the parents are certainly punished by seeing their children thus taken from them ; or whether they do not live to see their children cut off, yet the fear that they may suffer for their crimes, is a very great punishment to the parents." He further ob.serves, that "God does not make use of this extraordinary vengeance, except it be against crimes pecu- liarly dishonourable to hira; such as idolatry, perjury, sacrilege, and the like." The crime of Saul was a wilful breach of ihe laws of God and man, a perjurious violation of the national faith and honour, which it became God, the supreme governor of Ihe Jewish nation, to manifest his resentment against. Suppose all who were actual perpetrators of this aggra- vated criiue were dead, and out of the reach of vengeance. Yet some of their posterity were still remaining. But they were innocent. Allowed. Therefore. AVhal? That God was unjust in taking away their lives 1 But what right had they to live longer 1 Does the gift of life convey an inalienable right to live for ever, or to any particular pe- riod of life '>. And that in bar of God's right to resume it when he plea.ses, and when there are valuable ends to be answered bj' his resuming it? The evident intentitm of God, in ordering Ihe death of this part of Saul's family, was to be a publie attestation of his abhorrence of Saul's perfidy and cruelty, to strike a terror into the princes bis successors, and caution them against coniniiiting Ihe like offences, as they would nol have them avenged by the suf- ferings of iheir posierily, and especially to prevent all future attempts against the lives of the Gibeonites, whom God now declared to be under his protection, though they seem to have been looked on with a malignant eye by the Jewish nation ; who probably would have in time coin- plcled the extirpation which Saul began, had it not been for this remarkable manifest.ation of God's displc.isuie again.st it. The death of these seven persons therefore, supposing them all innocent, was, in this view, no punishmeni at all inflicted on them by God, but an appoiniment of God in virtue of his sovereign right over the lives of all men, to teach princes moderation and equity, and prevent for the future the commission of those enormous crimes, which, if permitted to go with impunity, would be inconsi.stent with the peace and welfare, and even being, of civil goy- Chap. 21. 2 SAMUEL, fn,w?.i'K '^ ^"^^ ''■'1 '■>«'=« ianocem persons no more iniHstice, by ordering them to die by the hand" of Uie G.beoij.tes, than ,f he had taken them Lay by a w k?nd of natural death, which I presume no real Thei? ^iU deny h>s right to, because n is a right which he exercires in the daily dispensations of his nrovidenrp AnH , i, j their deafh sliould be subserv" em -o nromotP fh '^i'-^"''"* t might be ,n he imagination of other.s, was to them mi ch mure honourable than f they had been ™t nff J,,h ^Se\nlhe ordinary course of^things when no public uilUv inseadol bein^^ a nunishmem be a real h Win cr T, f i " ' ron?t Xrbf J^ 1^^^^ ^r "° '- elsa'tVi-h^i^ • is: ziiiti Li^'L^^it by"thtWd chastises the sins of nations, how frequentt; a^rP thl in.'' 231 wisdom and show them the nPrP™,'"' T^ '^"""^ """"^ nnd virtuous behrviour It is fn If 7 "'^ ^ """"^ '■<^^'" 0U"ht to talfp nlnr^o ;„^^ii u ^- T"'^ constitution fir as these n^icnn " '^"'"■■'" governments; because, as • "hf to kfen his hTp'H'If'l' "^rT °"'^ ^""^ ^" inalienable .-md for mpn'^rn ?, ' " ''t'^r.'?"^ '' '° human justice; nother ?= M , i^f away the life of one for the fault of fore nn '-.pV.V^^" ''"'^^^ "''"'°"' forfeiture, and is there iiv". iS; ,° : fill f',°T '"J"? 'I"' ■™'' -'•' "» ™= by death, without any peculiar guilt or forfeitnrp nf nr either to human or divide justice^ and by vano" kind '^'j' dea hs, some ol them extremely mortifying and aSi^ Will any sensible Theist dare to arraign th^e fi^mice of gS ,nnkh "T^'"""? °' 'hings, or complain that God propcriv ot- namre ^ls'f° "'' "^",^/f ^« ^'^ '^ >he common cou is^ reasons nfn /""■ '»ys«'[.. I cannot comprehend all the tW T L P™v>^ence m this dispensation, nor do I think w,>h ,^n ^ "^''^ to demand that God should acouaim me with those reasons. It must be right, becau'^e it is Hp l.T swution of God; and therefore heliad an equa r ghno cm ofi these seven persons of Saul's family by the hands of Te Gibeoniles, as fie hath to cut off anyother persons in e common course of thinp, and, in taking them a^^y he lo more properly punishellhem, if thev wire wholly^ iLocem 01 the murder of the Gibeoni.es, than he punishes anvo dav'aren°nTL''H?"^^'"^'' ''^°"'-'^'' '"^^ ^ a'e e/eiy Michpl h-,H n ^ ''■^'e^P'^'- or accident; and Rizpah and Michal had no more reason to complain of the iniustirp f providence (or the loss of their children, ihL any other ten of th'^e vahfif 'I' ^^T P'-o/'dence bereates Hfem of ny death "^^^^^ °^ their family, by an untimely Gold's' ojifrTn?,r7''^' ^^'^ ^^^^ '^''^ '"">>i^ ^"i^'e. that fh„ f- ., ° ^^^^'^ ^''^^ persons to be delivered mi to he Gibeonites, is not in the least contrary to the MosL c law, nor any true notion of justice and equity nor makfn^ justice, when applied to Goi, one thing, and i-hen arpled to men, a quite aifferent thing; for th? rights of God and man over life are infinitely different. Fof fe is Ins gift filyfor^wrch^l "°": ''f^ °^ ™""' g'^«" for tha? pef od resided il 1, ''%"^"^°''<=d it, and may therefore be justly manTlf' w ihnnf H ' -^^ """^ P-""""^ ""^ '^'''^' P™P«^r to de- KkPsi, h doing any injustice to him from whom nort-TkPsfi^nA"'^''^ '"'°'*"'' "" "g''t that belongs to him, to Is his nr^iif -^^y P™P"'y> ^^'"^^ he hath a r°eal claim to, as his proper mhentance. But, with regard to men takeTi°Cn to?h'°'^''T'"'= '^''^i- to his lif:rtnd he who ,hT,l , another without a just forfeiture of it violates the mos sacred rights of nature, and wickedly robs him ol h L and''for''?hP l''^'T\^^'t ^'^ "^^^ "^v^^^ ^<^''o " to !^.^f 'm ^^ '?^^ °^ '"hi'^h he cannot make him anv possible compensation. But then it may be asked wha^ equit:r there is in punishing a whole nation wifh a three The^rnf ',h°' "' "'r' "^ ^^"' ^''^ J-- bloody house 1 and T?,d.^ ^" punishment appears, because both Israel and Judah consented to and acquiesced in the massacre This IS plamlv intimated in the history, which savs that and Judlh t'''''='"l"*'e^° '^"u^'^^' '° "^^ children Jfisae Tc'rfi.PS^'"^'''^*"'^'*"'' readiness to serve them The Israelites, as Mr. Le Clerc on the place observes seem IV ? some cause or Cher, to have envied the Gibeon t'es so that by extirpatmir them Saul thought to oblige ther^' And from hence it is evident, that'he did nof Sy them because they bad formerly deceived the Israelites and tha '^Vo£.Xlfv?o7e'"^' '" ''""^ ''^^' disple^asinllo't' fprrin'^'lV^^''" ^^'.''^d, how We are to account for the de- alter the fact was committed, and Saul's death I do not think myself obliged lo account for all the reasons by wh ch ^encpPTn'n'^' '" "^" administrations of his moral provi- i" ' ""r^,'"^ '■0""='it to be ignorant, w^henever those and cruelly; or why providence should never ewessts ,^ w, ,u 1 ^ delay of this punishment f6r several years t would by no means follow that there was none H^d soUe'tlV^r, ''""%''-' ""g'" have b^en beUer'ah" ,o se ves on this ^h'^'-, l°'\^ l'''"?-^- ''""■^V". offer then - Sanf ,v,p ■ "^•'f'^' "■'"^h deserve our regard. While «a welftP/rnP^'^'!"'''"''^*^ '^''^■'■dy. ^vSs living and cruelTv of M=T . ™r™P' o'' ""= Pf'Pheis and the acco nt «n,f p 'P"T"T' '^■■^^ ''^' ""^'"'" '° '^="1 him to an account, and execute the just vengeance on him and his 232 2 SAMUEL. Chap. 21. bloody house t In the beginning of David's rci^, his own Unsetllcit condilion fur seven years and mcjrc, when Saul's family dispuled the crown wiih him, and could none of them have been brouRht to justice by him ; the many neces- sary wars he was afterward en^ai^ed in, and perhaps not Ihinkinj; himself obliRcd to lalie notice of Saul's conduct durinfi his reign, or his very tenderness for llie family of his predecessor and father-in-law, might all concur to pre- vent any public inijuisition into this cruel transaction, or callin!> any of the olfenders to an account for it in the com- mon course of justice. And God permitted things to lake their natural course, and not to manifest his displeasure on this account, till ii could be done in such a manner, as should make his justice, as the God and king of Israel, more con- spicuous, and the execution of his vengeance more obser- vable anil awful, anyvf)OToi«i, the bearer of the silver-studded bow. But the Asiatic warrior often used a bow ofsteel or brass, which, on account of its great stiffness, he bent with his foot. Those that were made of horn or wood probably required lo be bent in the .same way; for the Hebrew always speaks of treading his bow, when he makes ready for the battle : and to tread and bend the bow are in all the wrilings of the Old Testament convertible phrases. The bow of sleel is distinctly mentioned by the Hebrew bard : " He teaches my hand to war, so that a bow of steel is broken by mine arms." This was a proof of great strength, and of uncom- mon success in war, which he ascribes with equal piety and gralitude to the infinite pow-er and goodness of Jehovah. To bend Ihe bow, was frequenlly proposed as a irial of slrength. After Ulj'sses had bent his bow, which all Ihe suilers of Penelope had iried in vain, he boasted to his son Telemachus of the deed, because it was an undenia- ble proof that he had not lost his ancient vigour, in which hewasaccu.stomed to glory. Herodotus relates, that when Cambyses sent his spies into the territories of Elhiopia, the king of that country, well understanding the design of their visit, thus addressed them : When the Persians can easily draw bows of Ihis largeness, then let ihem invade the Ethiopians. He then unstrung the boAV, and gave it lo them to carry lo their master. "The Persians themselves, according to Xenophon, carried bows three cubits in length. If these were made of sleel or bra.ss, which are bolh men- lioned in the sacred volume, and of a thickness propor- tioned to their length, they must have been very dangerous weapons even in close fight; and as such ihey are repre- sented by the prophet Isaiah: " Their bows also shall dash 236 2 SAMUEL. Chap. 22—24. the young men in pieces; and they bhall have no piiy on the fruit of the womb; their eyes shall not spare children." In time of peace, or when not encased with the enemy, the oriental warriors carried Iheii bow in a case, sometimes of cloth, bill more commonly of k-allier, htmg lo llicir t;irdles. When It was taken from the ca.sc, it was .said, in the lan- guage of Uabakkuk, to be " made quite naked." — Paxtok. Ver. 41. Thou hast iilso given me the necks of raine enemies, that 1 mi;,'lit Jestroj' them that liate ine. The neck is often used for the whole body, and in Ihreat- cnings, it is the part mentioned. A proprietoi of slaves is said to have their necks. To a person going among wicked or cruel people it is said, "Go not there, your puiUlara, i.e. neck, or nape, will be given to them." " De- pend npon it, government will have it ont of llic necks of those snuigglers." " Have you paid Chjnnan the money 1" " No, nor will 1 pay him." " Why %" " Bocau.se he has had it out oi my neck." Wlien two men have been fight- ing, the conqueror may be seen lo seize the vanquished by the neck, and thrust liim to Ihe ground. — Roberts. CHAPTER XXIII. Ver. If). And the three mighty men brake throug-h the host of the Philistines, and drew water ont of the well of Bethlehem, that iras by the gate, and took it, and brought it to David : never- theless he would not drink thereof, but poured it out unto the Lord. There is an account very similiar to this in Arrian's Life of Alexaiukr. Tunc poculo pleno, sicut oblatum est reddilo : nun solus, inquit bibere sustineo, nee tam exi- guiim devidere omnibus possum. " When liis armv was greatly oppressed wi;h he:it and thirst, a soldier brought hira a cup of w-ler; he ordered it to be carried back, say- ing, I cannot bear to drink alone, while so many are in want: and this cup is loo small to be divided among the wliole. Ctivc it lo ihe children for whom you brought it." — BuRDEn. CHAPTER XXIV. Ver. 1. And again the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and he moved Uavid against them to saj^ Go, number Israel and .Tudah. Here arises the qucslion, If Moses presupposed the law- fulness of this measure, and did aelunlly twice number the people, wherein consisted David's sin when he did the same'! Yet the Bible .says thai he actually did sin in this matter, and was punished for il by God, with a pesiilcnce, which lessened ihe sum of ihe people numbered, by 70,000. The history of this event is given in 'i Sam. .\.iciv. and 1 Chron. xxi.; and these passages I must beg the reader to peruse, if he wishes lo nndcrsland what follows. The common opinion is, that David oflended God by his pride, and his desiie to gratify il, by knowing over how many subjects he was king. This is, perhaps, ihe worst expla- nation that can be given of the unlawfulness of his order. Were God to punish by pestilence every ambitious motion in the hearts ol^ kings, and every sin they commit in thought, pestilences would never cease. It must, besides, appear very sirangc indeed, how such a man as Joab should have expressed so great an abhorrence at a sin that consisted merclv in pride of heart, and have so earnestly dissuaded David from it. Yet he thus remonstrates with him, say- ing, " May God multiply Ihe people a hundred-lbld, that the king may sec il ; but wherefore will Ihe king urge this measure?" Or, as we read in Chronicles, "May God mnlliplv the people a hundred-fold! Tliev are entirely devoted lo ihe king's service. But whyseeketli the king to do this? and why should guilt be brought upcm IsraeH" Notwithstanding this remonstrance, however, the king, we are told by both historians, repeated his command with so much rigour, that Joab lound it necessary lo carry it into execution. Now Joab was not, on other occasions, a man of narrow conscience. He had already deliberately plan- ned, and, in cold blood, perpelraied, iwo murders, merely 10 rid hnnself of rivals. And when David gave him the hint lo place Uriah in the post of danger, he was by no means squeamish, but immediately planned and com- menced an attack, in which, besides Uriah, a great num- ber of his bravest soldiers were .slain. His conscience, therefore, could not be incommoded by a mandate relative to a matter in itself lawful, and where Ihe sin, in whatever it consisted, lay altogether hid in the king's ambitions heart. If we think so, we must look upon him m the light of a court-chaplain, and a semi-pietisi ; and he certainly was neither. What he hesitated, therefore, about doing, must have appeared in his own eyes, something more serious Ihan bare murder. Josephus, however, has hit upon an idea, which may, by some, be thought lo account some- what more probably, than Ihe opinion now mentioned, for Ihe guilt which David is said lo have incurred on ihis oc- casion. " David," .says he, " made the people be numbered, without exacting for the sanctuary, the half-shekel of poll- tax enjoined by IheMo.saiclaw." But Ihis idea loses all its weight, if I am right in my opini'=^' *» obeying it. lin^fn „J f™''' ''■''" ^'"-^ sensible of this, and unwil- ling to execute the command, asks David, " Why he «" u d fv if'" ''v''"'''<= '° *>« mustered, with a mHitarv view" ^tf'l'^l^T',:''^' ^"^ aggravation. For it i 'sL ,ha{ wcit.l '■ -^ his command, numbered the peop e ''Ihev we e eleven htindred thousand men that drew Vo^rl" Ar,d amnno K • ^^'u f^?''' ^"'J Benjamin counted he nm irh4 Mnn'k "'■ 'he "^."'g'^vord wai abominable to joab" res '''indeed weV' ^ "''ders were to count them with the rest indeed, w e find them once armed upon an extraordi nat^n'^'i""'.'"'','^''' ^■''^ '° """^d 'he temple at ihecoro: nation of Joash, king of Judah. For, at hat lime thev ,nan\n',h'["* '° encompass the king'round about, ^lerV t?mnirl\ " Y^'P""' '" his hand." But that was ,n the en7r ' In7hlsi/'",.°'""'' T^P'^ ^''' ""' Permhled to sornp;,-^ ,"'5^- 'he»' 'eligious function, they were sometimes employed m other civil otfices. So David when he was making preparations for building the temple an pointed SIX thousand of them for officers and lud™'^ Gro ms, indeed observes, with regard to this fiet of D.-^^d" Iha he declared the people innocent: which he seems to have concluded from what David says, 1 Chron. xx 17 But It does iiot appear, from what has been said above hat they were altogether blameless, though not equally ';„■ nal w.lh himsell. And in such a ca,se, the equity of a na- tional punishment IS acknowledged bolh by Philo and Josephus m the passages cited from them by Grotius - CrITIC.I BlBLICA. ^ -JIUIIUJ. The,=e wars being thus happily ended, David enioved for some time a settled peace and piusperily, wThoit any foreign invasions to call him intl> thi field, or domest"? troubles o interrupt him in the affairs of governmen bm neo^ he"^'' persuaded and prevailed o"n fo nnmb r rhe people, he became the cause of trespass fo Israel -nd brought on thetn the severe punishment of a pestilence sTvs.'"Th'„°V''' ^°°^' i ?^""'*^'' ■■" ^^'^"'"^ '"hTs aff.i?' K,'»^»-i -^hat the anger of the Lord was kindled agains Isiael,' and he moved David against them to sav ''go number Israel and Judah.^' The^aulhor of the Chr^Jnides differently expresses ,1. " And Satan .stood up agaSist Is ael,and provoked David lo number Israel;" a^ This is" objected against as an absurd thing, that DaVid "ho, 1 be said to be moved both by God and Satan to mii be ,lie people. But I apprehend this difficulty may be easHv r^ Zrf^y "hserving, that these two places a e capab e oft cXnKi ",?'"*' ''^'"•1° '-^ '° ■■ender Ihem perfoclly econ- cileable with each other, according lo ihi genii s ofThe angnage, and the common forms ot"expressio"n in it The text in Samuel may be thus rendered: "And a"ain the S" or'"^nI'^r-~'' ''"'■"'"^'' ■;i^=""^^' I-ael; for hfmovel Uavid, or David was moved against them to say Go mimber Israel and Judah ;" active ,"erbs in the third person' be'?e&no' ^; '° "" ^-'^"■'^d a« impersonals, and'n ""c; be refe red to the nouns immediately foregoing; and thus hiclf T'",.','^.''i^ reconcileable with thS. in"ch"oni fe^ which says, that " Satan moved him to number the people " we'rendcy"w'""'''''^,''?^'"PP°'"''^-'^ 'he original words ^^e render He moved David against them," are the same m s^amuel and the Chronicles, that the word Snian hath 238 2 SAMUEL. Chap. 24. i: been omiiled by some careless Ir.inscriber in the text in Saiiuiel, wliicli'is expressly incnlioiicd in, anJ lo be sup- l)lieit li'oin tli.it ol' Chronicles; and ihfn the version will be, that " The anger of the Lord \v;is liindled :\i;ainst Israel, for Satan moved David to niiinber the people :" and very rokibly, had we more ancient MSS,, tins omission in ^amuel, if such, would be rectilied by them. A candid critic will make some allowances, both for delects and redundancies in books of that great antiquity, which the Old Testament books confessedly are; and where several of those books treat of the same all'.iirs, will have the good sense, as far as he c:hi, to sujiply what is defective in one, by what appears complete in ilie oilier. If there needs a supplement in Kings it is actually found in Chronicles, and tlierefore should bo inserted from thence. This would cer- tainly be, in like insl.inees, the case in other books, and it is injustice not lo apply the same fair rules of criticism, to remove the diHiciillies that may occur in the writings of the did Testament. But there is another way of rendering and imdersianding this passage, viz. "For he moved Da- vid," or, " David was moved against them," not, as in our version, To say, but -i:cn^, dieendo, by saying, " Go number Israel and Judah ;" which la.st words will then be, not David's to his olHcers, which follow in the next verse, but liis, wlio counselled David lo this action. And thus David's numbering the peo|ile will be, neither by the instigation of God, or Satan, a.s that word means the Devil. It is certain, Ihut God never insiigatcd and said to David, "Go, number the people." For if God had commanded this, David's lieari would nex'er hnve smote him for it, nor would he have acknowledged to God, " I have sinned greatly in thai I have done." N(n' would Joab have remonstrated against it, nor have represented it lo the king, as what would be a cause of trespass to Israel, if he had know-n that David had received sucli an order from God. Every circumstance in this acciMint proves, that there was no hand or direction of God in this affair. And if the Devil had bid him do it, I sup))Ose he might have .seen the cloven foot, and would scarce have followed the measure for the sake of the ad- visor. And yet somebody actually said to him: "Go, number the people ;" and this person .seems to have been one of his courtiers, or attendants; who, lo give David a higher notion of his grandeur, and of the number and strength of his forces, put it into his head, and persuaded him to lake the acccnint of them; who, in Chronicles, is therefore called Satan, or an adversary, either designedtv or consequentially, both lo David and his people. And this will e.xactly agree with what the author of the book of Chronicles says: "An adversary stood up against Israel, and provoked," or, as the word is rendered in Samuel, " moved him against them." Thus Mr. Le Clerc under- stands this pa.s,sage, and 1 think the expressions made n.se of seem to countenance and warrant the explication. But it is said, that David's numbering the people is oddly enough imputed lo him as a great sin in him lo require; for he was but a passive instrument in the ndair. But who do'h not know, that a man may bo hanged for a crime, lo which his indictment says, " He was moved by the Devil ;" and because the Devil moved him, is he therefore a passive Instrument, and free from guilt 1 Or doth the being per- suaded or moved by another lo do a bad action, render the {lerson so moved a passive instrument, or would it excuse lim, in a court of juslice, from the punishment due to his crimes'! It is further objected, that David was but the instrument of a purpose, confesscdlv overruled lo the exeoulion of that purpose by supernatural induence, and that to punish one in such circumstances, would be just as if we should con- vict a knife or pislol, and discharge the criminal. If David was the more instrument of a purpose, and overruled by supernatural influence to execule it, the similitude may be allowed. But who ever confessed that David was over- ruled lo do it by supornatural power? David himself did not, but confesses directly the contrary. David's heart smote hiin, and he said unto God, " Is it not I that com- manded the people to be numbered 1 Am not I the per.son who alone is accounlable for ill Even I it is that have sinned greatly, and done evil indeed, and very foolishly." David knew it was his own act, and ihat, whoever advLsed or instigated him to it, the blame was his own, and his pim- i.shment deserved. A confession that would have been absurd and false, if he knew that the influence he acted under, was really supernatural, or such as he could not resist, or overrule. But as David did not know this, it is impossible any one else should know it. There is nothing in the history to support the asseriion. If it was really Satan lhat moved him, he moved him no otherwise than as he doth all other men to thai which is wrong; not by influences which he could not resist, but by those undue passions and atlijctions which he might and ought to have resisted. But if the measure was suggested by one of his own counsellors, as really seems to be the case, it was liis duly lo have overruled it, and hearkened ti' the better ad- vice of Joab, who told him of the danger of it, and would fain have dissuaded him from execming it. The truth is, as I apprehend, that David's prosperity had loo much elated him, and that being advised by some ra.sh imprudent courtiers to take the number of his people, lhat he might better know his slrenglh, and be fully acquainted with ihe power and grandeur of his kingdom, his vanity, in this respect, got the belter of his duty; on which, God was pleased to check the rising presumption of his heart, by letting him see how vain his depondance on his forces was, and to punish him and them for their violation of a law, which ha had ordered to he observed under the se- verest penalty. For, among other commnnds that were given by God to Moses, this was one : " When thou lakest tlie sum of the children of Israel, alter their number, then shall they give every man a ransom for his life, unto ihe Lord, when thou numheresi them, that there be no plague among them, when thou numheresi them. This shall ihey give; everyone that passelh among them that are num- bered, half a shekel shall be the offering of the Lord ; every one that passelh among them lhat are numbered, from twenty years old, and above, shall give this offering lo the Lord." David, either not thinking of this command, or thinking himself as king of Israel, exempt from it,(jidercd the people to be numhered, without exacting the ransom from each of them. This was one of the highest sireiches of authority, and claiming a despotic arbitrary power over the people, as seems plain from Joab's words to him : "Are ihoy not all my lord's servants T' Why then this badge of ^slavery, to subject them to a census contrary to Ihe law of Hoses'! It was indeed assuming a prerogative lhat God reserved to himself, and a violation of one of the standing laws of the kingdom, for the capitalion l.ix thai God had appointed to bo taken, whenever they were num- bered, was ordered to be p.'iid for the ser\'iee of the taber- nacle, as a memorial, that Ciod was their supreme governor and king. But God, lo support the dignity of his own con- stitution, and to put David in mind, lhat though king, he was still to limit the exercise of his power by the precepts of the law, gives him by the prophet the option of ihree punishments, of which David cho.sc ihe plague; recollect- ing probably, at last, that this was the very punishment threatened by God to the violation of this .sialule, concern- ing the numbering the people ; as well as for Ihe rea.son he himself alleges: " Let us fall now into the hands of the Lord, for his mercies are great." It is evident from the history, lhat this action of David was looked upon as a very wrong step, even by Joab, who remonstrated against it, as apprehensive of the bad conse- quences lhat might attend it ; tor he says, " The Lord make his people a hundred times so many more as they he. But, my lord the king, are they not all my lord's servants'! Why then doth my lord require this thing ? Why will he be a cause of trespass to Israeli" And therefore Joab counted not Levi and Benjamin, because the king's word was abom- inable to him. Prohahly we do not understand all the circum.siancos of this affair; but Joab's censure of it, who was no .scrupulous man, shows that David's conduct in it was extremely impnidenl, and might subject his people lo very great inconveniences. But is it not strange, that because David sinned in numbering the people, therefore the people should be punished; since of ihe ihree pnnish- menl-s propounded to David for his choice, one of them mu.st necessarily fall upim his subjects'! Possibly this dif- ficulty may be eased, when I put my reader in mind, that kings are no otherwise to be punished in iheir regal capa- cities, nor oftentimes to be brought to correct the errors of their administration, hut by puhlic calamities; by famine, pestilence, foreign wars, domeslic convulsions, or .some other like distresses thai ad'ect their people. This David thought a punishmeni ; and if it he right at all for God to Chap. 25. 2 SAMUEL. 239 animadvert on the conduct of princes, or to show lils dis- pleasure against them for the public errors of their admin- istration, it must be right and fit for him tu afflict their peo- ple; and indeed this is what continually happens in the common course of providence, and the observation that, Quicquid delirant reges plectuntur Achivi, is an old and a true one. And if this be a difficulty, it af- fects natural religion as well as revealed, and the same ounsideratiims that will obviate the diliiculty in one case, will solve it also in the other. As to the thing itself, that kings are no otherwise to be punished in their regal capaci- ties, but by public calamities which affect their people, it is, I apprehend, so sell'-evident and certain, as that u can need no proof. Whether princes profit more or less, or nothing, by the misfortunes of their subjects, is nothing to tliis argument. Some bad kings may not profit by it. All good kings will. The people's welfare, however, is neces- sary to the prince's prosperity, and secures the principal blessings of his reign, which can never be enjoyed without it. On the other hand, kings must be aflected with, and deeply share in the misfortunes~of their people ; because a plague or a famine, or a hostile invasion, or any national calamity, lends to destroy the peace of government, or to subvert the foundations of it, lessens the revenues of princes, the number of their subjects, the profits of labour and in- dustry, and interrupts the enjoyment of those advantages and pleasures, which regal power and plenty can other- wise secure to the possessors of them. David was most- .sensiblv atfccled with his people's suflerings under that pes- tilence which his imprudence and their neglect had brought upon tliem. How tenderly, how aflT'ctionately doth he plead with God in their behalf! "Even I it is that have .siimcd. But as for tlicse sheep, what have they done !" What a noble instance of public spirit, and generous con- cern for the safety of his people, doth that moving and pa- thetic exposiulation manifest, winch he made when he saw the angel of the Lord standing between heaven and earth, with a drawn sword in his hand, stretched out over Jerusa- lem, and fell down with his elders, all clothed in sackcloth, upon their faces, and thus affectionately interceded for them : " Let thy hand, I pray thee, O Lord my God, be on me and on my father's house, but not on thy people, that they should be plagued." Here is the real language and spirit of a genuine -oi^iji/ Aaur, a true shepherd of the peo- ple, devoting liimself and family as a sacrifice to God for the .salvation of his subjects. Besides, in this case, the people were themselves very culpable ; for the command was absolute : " When thou takcsl the sum of the children of Israel, then shall they give every man a ransom for his soul." And therefore, as they knew or might have kno^m, that, upon being numbered, ihey were to pay the prescribed ransom, which yet they neglected or refused to do ; as partners in the offence, they ju.stly shared in the penalty inflicted. It is allowed, that the ta.x was not at this time demanded by David; and this was his sin, in setting aside a positive command of God, to gratify his own vanity and pride. The demanding this ta.^t by hi^ own authority might have created a national di.s- tuibanc-e, and therefore should have prevented him from numbering his people. But they submitted tobe numbered, and they were therelbre bound to pay the ta,x, whether Da- vid demanded it of them or not, tor the law did not e,\einpt them from the pavment, if lie who numbered them did noi dein.'ind it. Thev were to pny it as a ransom for their lives, anil to exempt themselves from the plague ; and wore therefore punished with a plague for tlieir neglect and dis- obedience. David indeed lakes the guilt upon hiinself, and declares his people innocent of it: " As for these sheep, what have they done?" And it is true, that the order to number the people was David's, of which his people were wlHiIly innocent. But they shoulil have remonstrated against the thing, or voluntarilv paid the capitation tax recpiircd of Ihem; and as they did neither, David was, as Jeab foreluld him, a cause of trespass lo Israel, and they could not plead imiocence, as a reason for their exemption from )>unishmenl. And even supposing they were entirely free from all blnme in this affair, were they so far entirely free from all other transgressions, as thai it was injustice in God to visit them by a pestilence 1 If not, God did them no injustice by sendiiig that pestilence ; and therefore not by sending it at that time, and as an immediate punishment of David's sin. God, by virtue of his supreme authority over mankind, may resume life whenever lie pleases. If there be no sin, the resumption of life will be no punish- ment; if there be, the resumption of it will not be unjust though the immediate reason of that resumption may be for the punishment of another ; especially, as all such in- stances have a real tendency to promote the public good, and to preserve alive, in the minds both of princes and people, that reverence for Deity, without which neither public nor private virtue can subsist, nor the prosperity of kingdoms ever be secured and established upon solid and lasting foundations. Upon this solemn humiliation of David, and interces.«ion with God for his people, the prophet Gad was sent to him the .same day, with an order that he should rear up an altar unto the Lord, in the thrashing-floorof Araunahlhe Jebu.site, the hill where Solomon's temple was afterward built. Da- vid accordingly purchased the ground, built an altar unto the Lord, oHered burnt-offerings and peace-offerings, where- by the Lord was entreated for the land, and the plague, which had raged from Dan to Beersheba, was stayed from Israel, the city of Jerusalem being mercifully spared, and exempted from this dreadful calamity. Afle'r this, David, encouraged by the gracious token God had given him of his acceptance at this thrashing-lloor of Araunah, by the fire from heaven that consumed his burnt-otTering, continued to offer upon the altar he had erected in this place ; and publicly declared, " This is the house of the Lord God, this is the altar of the burnt-offering for Israel;" hereby conse- crating this place for the ereclion of the temple, and to be the seat and centre of the public worship for all the tribes of Israel. On the whole, if they who object, credit the history of the Old Testament in this part of it, and think it true, that one of Ihese three plagues was offered to David, as the punishment of his ofience ; that he chose the pesti- lence, that it came accordingly, and was removed upon David's inlerces-iion ; they are as much concerned to ac- count for the difliculties of the afiair, as I or any other person can be. If they do not believe this part of the histo- ry, as the sacred wniings represent it, let them give us the account of it as it stands in their own imagination ; and tell US, whether there was any plague at all, how, and why it came, and how it went and di.sappeared so all of a sudden. In their account, whatever it be, David will stand certainly clear of every imputation; and, according to the scripture narration, he will be an offender, but only against the stat- ute law of the kingdom, as usurping an authority and dis- pensing power that did not belong to him, but not against any law of God, of original, intrinsic, and immutable obli- gation, as far as we can judge by the short and imperfect account that is left us of this transaction ; and so may still be the " man after God's own heart." — Chandler. Ver. 18. And Gad came that day to David, and said unto him. Go tip, rear an altar unto the Lord in the thrashing-floor of Araunah tlie Jebusite. Thrashing-floors, among the ancient Jews, were only, as they are to this day in the East, round level plots of ground in the open air, where the corn was trodden out by oxen, the Lihynr nreir of Horace, ode i. 1. 10. Thus Gideon's floor (Jnilr;''^ vi. 37) appears In have been in the open air; as was likewisethat of Araunah the Jebusite ; else it wouhl not have been a proper place for erecting an altar and of- fering sacrifice. In Hosea xiii. ."f, we read of Mf chaff ichieh h (In'rcn bii Ihc niiirlirind from I he floor. This circum- stance of the thrasliing-floor's being exposed to the agita- tion of the wind, seems to be tlie principal reason of its Hebrew name; which maybe further illusiraled by the direction which Hesiod gives his husbandman, )o Ihrnfh his corn in. n place well exposed lo the vinil. From the above account it appears that a thraahiiig-jloor (rendered in our textual translation a void place) might well be near the entrance of the gale of Samaria, and that it might afford no improper place for the kings of Israel and Judah to hear the prophets in. — Bubder. CHAPTER XXV. Ver. 23. And when David inquired of the Lord, he said. Thou shall not go up ; but fe'.ch a com- 240 1 KINGS. Chap. 1. pass behind them, and come upon llietn over against the mnlbeiry-trecs. 24. And let it be, when thou lioarest the sound of a going in the tops of the mulberry-trees, that tlien thou shalt bestir thyself: for tlioii sliall the Lord go out before thee, to smite the host of the Philistines. It is donbiful whether the mulberry-tree is once men- tioned in the scriplurcs. II' Ha.'i.=elqnist may be credileil, it scarcely ever grows in Judea, very lillle in Galilee, but abounds in Syria and mount Lebanon. Our translalors have rendered the original term Baca, by mulberry, in two different pa.ssages: "And wlicn David inquired of the Lord, he said. Thou shall mil ^o up, but fetch a compass behind them, and come upon Ihera over against the mulberry-lrees (Becaim ;) and lei it be, when thou hearesl the sound of a going in the tops of llie mulberry-lrees, that then thou shalt beslir thyself And tlic words. Who passing through the valley of Baca, nuike it a pool ; the rain also fiUeth the pools', — are in the margin, "Wlio passing through the valley of mulberry-trees. The Seventy, in Chronicles, render it pear-trees ;' in which ihey are followed by Aquila aud the 'Vulgate. Some think Baca, in the eighty-fourth Psalm, is the name of a rivulet, which burst out of the earth, at the foot of a mountain, with a plaintive murmur, from which it derived its name. But it is more probable, that Baca is the name of some shrub or tree. Those who translate it the mulberry-lree, to illustrate the pas.sage in the psalm, pretend ii grows best in the dry ground; but this seems to be unfounded. Marinus imagines, that Baca signifies the mulberry-tree, because the fruit of the mulberry exudes a juice resembling tears. Parkhurst rather thinks that Baca means a kind of large shrub, which the Arabs likewise call Baca, and which probably was so named from its dis- tilling an odoriferous gum. For Baca with an alcph, seems 10 be related to Baca with a hay, which signifies to ooze, to distil in small quantities, lo weep or shed tears. This idea Eerfectly corresponds with the description which Celsius as given of lliis valley. It is not, according to him, a place abounding with fountains and pools of water, but rugged and embarrassed with bushes and stones, which could not be pa.ssed through without labuur and suffering ; a striking emblem of that vale of thorns and tears, through which all believers must pass to the heavenly Jerusalem. The great uncertainly among interpreters concerning the real meaning of Ihe term Becaim, has induced Mr. Har- mer to hazard a conjecture, that the tree meant in this pas- sage is Ihe weeping-willow. But this plant is not found in a dry sandy vale, where the thirsty traveller is compelled to dig for water, and to form cisterns in the earth, to re- ceive Ihe rain of heaven. In such a situation, we expect to find the pimgenl aromatic shrub distilling its fragrant gum ; not the weeping-willow, the favourite situation of which is the watery plain, or the margin of the brook. — P.ixton. THE FIRST BOOK OF KINGS CHAPTER 1. Ver. 2. Wherefore his servants said unto him^ Let there be sought for my lord the king a young virgin ; and let her stand before the king, and let her cherish hiin, and let her lie in thy bosom, that my lord the king may get heat. This is by no means so uncommon a thing as people in England suppose. Men of seventy years of age aud up- wards often take a young virgin for the same purpose as David did, and no other. It is believed to be exceedingly healthful for an aged person thus lo sleep. " In the hot season, he is kepi cool, and in the cold sea.son, warm, by sleeping with a young person; his withered bodv derives nourishment froin the other." Thus, decrepit meii may be seen having a young female in the house, (to whom, gener- ally, they are not married,) and to whom they bequeath a considerable portion of their properly. — RoBEtiTs. Ver. 9. And Adonijah slew sheep, and O-ven, and fat cattle, by the stone of Zoheleth, which is by En-rogel, and called all his brethren the king's sons, and all the men of Jiidnh the king's servants. The oriental banquet, in consequence of the intense heat, is otlen spread upon the verdanl turf, benealh the shade of a tree, where the streaming rivulet supplies the company with wholesome water, and excites a gentle breeze to cool their burning temples. The vine and Ihe fig, it appears from the faithful page of inspiration, are preferred on .such joyous occasions: "In that day, .sailh ihe Lord of Hosts, shall ye call every man his neighbour under Ihe vine and' under the fig-tree." To fountains, or rivers, .says Dr. Chandler, the Turks and the Greeks frequently repair for refreshment, especially the latter on their festivals, when whole families aie seen sitting on the grass, and enjoying their early or evening repast, beneath the trees by the side of a rill. And we are a.ssured by the same author, that in such grateful reireais Ihey often give public enlerlain- menls. He visited an assembly of Greeks, who, after cele- brating a religious festival, were silling under half tents, with store of melons and grapes, besides lambs and sheep lo be killed, wine in gourds and skins, and other ncccs.sary provisions. Such appears to have hccn the feast which Adonijah gave his friends at En-rogel. It was held near a well or fountain of water, and there " he slew sheep, and oxen, and fat cattle, and inviled his brethren" and Ihe prin- cipal people of Ihe kingdom. En-rogel was not chosen for secrecy, tor it was in the vicinity of the royal city, but for Ihe beauty of the surrounding scenery. It was ncit a mag- nificent cold collation; the animals on which Ihey feasted were, on the contrary, killed and dressed on Ihe spot for this princely repast. In Hindostan fea.sls are "given in Ihe open halls and gardens, where a variety of strangers arc admitted, and much familiarily is allowed. This easily accounts for a circumstance in the hi.story of Chri.st, which is attended with considerable ditficuliy ; ihe penitent Mary coming into Ihe apartment and anointing his feel with Ihc ointment, and wiping thein with the hair of her head. This familiarilv is not only common, but far from being deemed either disrespectful or displeasing." More efl'ecl- ually lo screen Ihc company from Ihe burning sunbeams, a large canopy was spread upon lofiy pillars, and attached by cords of various colours : " Some of these awnings," says Forbes, "belonging to Ihe Indian emperors, were very costly, and distinguished bv various names. That which belonged to the emperor Akber was of such magnitude as to contain ten thousand persons; ami the erecting of it em- ployed one thousand men for a week, with the help of ma- chines; one of these awnings, without any ornaments, cost ten thousand rupees." Similar lo these were the splendid Chap. 2. 1 KINGS. 241 hangings under whicli Ahasuerus the king of Persia enler- lamed his court. They "were while, green, and blue, fastened with cords of fine linen and purple, to silver rings and pillars of marble." — P.ixton. Siloain was a fountain tinder the walls of Jerusalem, east, between the city aid the brook Kedron; it is sup- posed 10 be the same as the fountain En-rogel, or the Fuller's fountain. " The spring issues from a rock, and runs in a silent stream, according to the testimony of Jere- miah. It has a kind of ebb and flood, sometimes discharg- ing its current like the fountain of VaucUise; at others, retaining and scarcely suSering it to run at all. The pool, or rather the two pools of the same name, are quite close to the spring. They are still u.sed for washing linen as foriiierly. The water of the spring is brackish, and has a very disagreeable taste ; people still bathe their eyes with it, in memory of the miracle performed on the man born blind." (Chateaubriand.) — Burdeh. Ver. 14. Behold, while thou yet talkest there with the king, I also will come in after thee, and confirm thy words. The Hebrew has for confirm, " fill up." " I wish you to go and inform Tamban, that I will gladly go into' court and fill up all his words." " My friend, do not believe that man's words." — " Not believe them ! why, his words have been filled up by many people." " Well, you say you saw Muttoo turn his caule last night into your rice-fields, what proof have you V — " None, my lord, I was alone, and, therefore, have no one to fill up my words." " As Venase was coming through the cinnamon gardens, that notorious robber Kalloway met him, took from him his ear-rings, fmger-rings, and five gold mohurs; but, before he got otT, several people came up, who knew him well, so that there *ill be plenty of witnes.ses to fill up his words." — Roberts. Ver. 16. And Bath-sheba bowed, and did obei- sance unto the king. And the king said, Whtit wouldest thou ? When a husband goes on a journey, or when he returns, his wife, on seeing him, puts her hands together, and pre- sents them to him as an act of obei.sance. When she has an important request to make, she does the same thing; and it is surprising to see the weakness of him who pretends to be the stronger vessel, for, under such circumstances, she will gain almost any thing she wants. Hence, the force of their popular proverb, " 'The woman who regularly makes obeisance to tier husband, can make it rain whenever she pleases." When Bathsheba made her obeisance to the King, he asked, " What wouldest thou 1" but, the Hebrew has this, " What to thee 1" This accords with the idiom of the Tamul language. Thus it will be asked of a person who stands with his hands presented to a great man, iimmak-ciiMi, " To thee what V If speaking of a third person, aramik-enna, " To him what V or, literally, " Him to what V — Roberts. CHAPTER II. Ver. 5. Moreover, thou knowest also what Joab the son of Zeruiah did to me, and what he did to the two captains of the hosts of Israel, unto Abner the son of Ner, and imto Amasa the son of .lether, whotn he slew, and shed the blood of war in peace, and put the blood of war upon his girdle that -was abotit his loins, and in his shoes that were on his feet. 6. Do therefore according to thy wisdom, and let not his hoar head go down to the grave in peace. David having settled this great afl^air of Solomon's suc- cession to his throne, but a little before his death .sends for hiin, and gave hiin a particular charge, in reference to two state criminals, Joab and Shimei. "That to Joab in these words : " Thou knowest also what Joab the son of Zcruiali did to mc, and what he did to the two captains of the host of Israel, unto Abner the son of Ner, and unto Amasa the son of Jether, whom he slew, and shed the blood of war in peace, and put the blood of war upon his girdle that was upon his loins, and in his shoes that were upon his feet-" i. e. treacherously, and under pretence of peace and triend- ship, besprinkled his girdle and w el his shoes with the blood of inese two generals, as though he had slain them in battle. " But do thou according to thy wisdom, and let not his hoar head go down to the grave in peace." Iiere are three murders David mentions to Solomon as the ground of this charge, not to let him die a natural death. The one inti- mated, "thou knowest what he did to me," viz. when he cruelly stabbed Absalorn, contrary lo my immediate orders ; the two others expressly mentioned, those of Abner and Amasa ; on these accounts he advises him to put him to death ; and I allow David's dying advice, or rather order, in this instance, to be peremptory and tibsolule; and, if I understand any thing of justice and equity, it was an order worthy of a good king, and fit to be given in the la.st moments of his life. The reader will reinember, that the facts are these. Upon Abner's reconciliation with David, and bringing over the people to his interest, Joab out of revenge for his brother Asahel's death, whom Abner, forced to it by Asahel's rashness, had unwillingly slain, and probably envying him the glory of settling David on the throne of Israel, and afraid of his being placed at the head of the Hebrew army, as the reward of so signal a service, under the pretence of a friendly salutation, m the most base and cowardly manner, stabbed him unexpectedly lo the heart. David highly resented this murder, Ibllowed Abner's corpse to the grave, and to show what part he would have acted immediately, had it been in his power, says : "I am this day weak, though anointed king: and these men, the sons of Zeruiah, are too hard for me. The Lord shall reward the doer of evil according to his wickedness." After the rebellion under Absalom was ended, David thought this a proper opportunity to show his displeasure to Joab ; and as he imagined it would be an acceptable thing to the people of Israel, who were now zealous to restore the king to his throne, he ordered it to be signified to Amasa, who had been their general in the rebellion, that he would constitute him captain-general of his armies in the room of Joab, and actually appointed him, as such, to assemble the forces of Judah, and suppress the new insur- rection under Sheba. As Amasa was returning with his troops, Joab meets hitn, and with a compliment and a kiss, thrust his sword through his body, and laid him at a single blow dead at his feel; and immediately usurped the com- mand of the army, quelled the insurrection, and returned to Jerusalem. And now, reader, let me appeal to thy conscience. Were not these two execrable murders deserving of punishment 1 Was the cowardly base assassin worthy to live 1 If he was too powerful a subject for David to bring to justice, did not David do well, and act like a righteous prince, to give it in charge to his successor, to punish, as soon as ever he had pow'er, such a villain, according to his desert"? Mr. Baj'le's judgment is, that David well knew that Joab deserved death, and that the suffering the assassinations, with which that man's hands were polluted, to go unpunished, was a flagrant injury done to Ihe laws and to justice. With what truth then can it be said, that David delivered two murders in charge to his son Solomon ; one of them to be executed on his old faithful general, Joab T Was it charging Solomon to murder a man, to order him to put to death a criminal, for having basely committed two most execrable murders'! Or is ihe doing justice on murderers and assassins commit, ting murder ? Or is the representation ju.st, that this order, viz. to murder Joab, was aflerward fulfilled in the basest manner, by the administrator to this pious testament % Judge, reader, and be thyself a witness to the manner of Joab's execution, which is thus stigmatized with the epithet of basest. Solomon, in obedience to his father's directions, gives orders to Benaiah to put Joab to death in these words : " Fall cm him, that thou mayest take away the innocent blood which Joab shed, from me, and from Ihe house of my father ; and the Lord shall return his blood upon bis own head, who fell upon two men, more righteous and better than himself, and slew them with the sword, my father David knowing nothing thereof." Solomon was now king, firmly fixed on the throne, and had it in hi.' power to execute ju.stice on Ihe greatest offenders ; and rem smbering, I doubt not, how Saul's house was punished i r the in- nocent blood of the Gibeonites which he spilt, hei iswilling to secure himself and family from a like vengf nee. He 242 1 KINGS. Chap. 2. woulil hnvc been in some measure chai'seable wiih Joab's puill, had he icl'iiseil lo punish it when il \ia.s in his power; and especially, as he had il in charge from his faiher to e.\ccute the vengeance on him that his crime deserved. But where shall we here fix the character ol' basest ? What, on Solomon's command to lake away the p;uilt of innocent blood IVoni himself and his father's house; or on his ordering the execution of the man that shed it, the man that slew two men, more riu'hteous and belter than himself; or on God's returnins his own blood upon his head ; or, on his ordering Jonb to be slain at the horns of the altar, and not permitting even tlie altar of tiod himself lo be an asy- lum for nuinlerers; nallian's, and Saul's, and Shimei's teslimonv, to David's innocence and righteousness, serves to show, that the sanc- tity of David was really as universally assented to, as hath been imagined, while he was living, and all his action.s fresh in memory. I must beg leave also to add, that as Shimei owned himself to be a lying, slanderous, miquitous varlet, and that the charge of David's being "a man of blood, and guilty of the blood of Saul's house," was an in- iquitous, perverse calumny ; that charge destroys its own credit and truth ; and instead of serving to show that Da- vid's sanctity was not quite so universally assented to, as may be imagined, while he was yet living, rather serves to show that it was. For, as there are several unquestionable evidences lo his integrity and virtue, of persons that knew him well, and were his contemporaries ; as friends and enemies have given their united testimony in his favour, and there is but one evidence lo the contrary, and that a lying one, upon record, who retracted his owii charge pub- licly, and begged pardon for the falsehood of it; thesancliiy of David's character in the opinion of the public, while he lived, stands unimpeached ; and Shimei's infamous cal- umny against him, refuted and falsified by himself, can never, with justice, be pressed into the service against David to defame his reputation. As to the su.spicion here thrown in, that David's " actions, when fresh in memory, and perfectly known, were worse than have been repre- sented, or was prudent to transmit to these distant ages;" surely this must have been a very unreasonable one, if Ihe actions that have been transmitted to these ages are such, as justify the charges brought against David, and the splen- did character given him, of usurper, ungrateful, perfidious, perjured, whose conscience was his slave and his drudge, a tyrant, a Nero; in a word, a monster and a devil. Can he be painted in worse colours than these 1 Or do ihe enemies of David sii.spect the representations they have made of the actions recorded, as injurious and false, and want further materials to bespatter one of the greatest and best of princes "? But they needed no furlherniemoirs lo assist them. For, in spite of Shimei, and though he had retracted all his curses and calumnies, yet the world is told, after reciting Shimei's blasphemies: " This is pathetic, and tridy characteristic of the tyrant," to whom the speech was addressed. But David's real character was quite Ihe reverse of a tyrant. He never oppressed his subjects; but when he reigned over Israel, executed justice and judg- ment among all his people; and, perhaps, there never wr:s a prince of greater humanity and clemency, or Ihal gave more shining and disinterested proofs of it, ihan David, though he hath been characterized as the vilest of men, r,nd the worst of lyrants. Shimei himself was one illustrious proof of this. For when David's officers would have efTeclually silenced his reproaches, by putting the brawler to death, as he reslly deserved, what saith this Nero of the Hebrews ? Sec, reader, the lineaments of his blood-ihirsly disposjiion, in his reply to Abishai : "Lei him curse. For if Ihe L(id hath said unto him, curse David, who shall then sav, wherefore hast thou done sol Behold, my son, which came forth of my bowels, seekelh my life. How nnich more now may this Benjamile do it 1 Let him alone, and let him curse, if the Lord hath bidden him. It may be Ihat the Lord will look on my affliction, and that the Lonl will requite me good for his cursing this day." In ihis gi ievous calamity, David could not but see ihe hand of God, it was now falling heavy on him for his great sin in ihe a/lair of Uriah, and therefore ascribes the curses of Shimei lo his immediate permission, and, in some measure, even lo his appointment ; as he was now reduced to that low condition, through the effect of his displeasure, as Ihat this wielch dared to pour out these undeserved calumnies against him. This shows the moderation and great command of his tem- per, who would deny himself the vengeance due lo such vn outrageous in.sult on his person and character. Oh ! how perfect a picture doth this exhibit to us of a Nero, and who can help discerning and admiring the happy resemblance ! But it was not, it seems, piety, or humanity and goodness of heart in David, but policy and prudence," that prompled him lo preserve Shimei's life. For so we are told : " Some of his retinue were at the point of silencing this brawler with the ultima ratio regum ; but David prevented il ; wise- ly considering this was not a season for proceeding to ex- Iremilies." Why, what was there in the season lo prevent David from punishing a treasonable reviler and brawler as he deserved 1 What would David's cause and inlerest have suffered by permitting a single person lo be put to 246 1 KINGS. Cir.i death, for a crime llial made hiin worlhy of ill There is bill one possible inconvenieneytliat would have altonded it, nnd that is, there would have been wantiiif; oue noble iii- Ktauce of his generous disposition, and the >;ovcTnment of liis passions; wliieli is now reeorded, to do honour to his meinorv, and heighten the glory of his truly illustrious eharaet'er. Hut supposing that this was not a season for proceeding to extremities, \et when David recovered his throne, and had Shimci fully in his power, this surely was a season for fJavid's coming to any just extremities that he ■ pleased, and he did not want very powerful advisers to make use of them; for Abishai said to him: "Shall not Shiuiei be put to death for this, because he hath cursed the Lord's anointed !" And is there any one imm in the world, that would not have apnlauded David's justice, in ordering to execution a wretch that had cursed and pelted him with stones in his adversity'! It is true, Shimei owned his fault, and, ns it is expressed, reflecting on David's vindictive tem- per, came to make his submission, and petition forgiveness. This persuasion, one would think, would certainly have kept Shimei from ever coming near him, and forced him to seek safely by flight. I should rather have imagined, that, reflecliiig on David's merciful and forgiving temper, anrl the experience he had lately of it, in David's not per- mitling his olficeis to cut him ofl", when he was actually cursing and stoning him, he made his submission, and pe- titioned for mercy. If David had been the vindictive Nero, which he hath been represented to be, Shiinei's owning his fault would not have been his security, and he would have paid dearly for the scurrility of his abusive tongue ; espe- ciallvas he was one of Saul's family, whom, it is said, lest ihcv should hereafter prove thorns in his side, he conclu- ded it expedient to cut off'. But notwithstanding this expe- diency, David accepted his acknowledgments, and told him witli an oath: Thou shalt not die. But what shall we think, it is said, when we see this Nero of the Hebrews die in a manner uniform and consist- ent with the W'hole course of his life'? What will be our reflections, when we find him, with his last accents, deliv- ering two murders in charge to his son Solomon'! One against Joab, the other against Shimei, which we are now to consider. The charge that David gave to Solomon con- cerning him runs thus: " And behold thou hast with thee Shimei, the son of Gera, a Benjamite of Bahurim, which cursed me with a grievous curse, in the day when I went to Mahanaim; but I swore to him by the Lord, saying, I will not put Ihce to dcalh with the sword. Now therefore holil him not guiltless, for thou art a wise man, and know- c-t what thou oughtesi to do unto him; but his hoar head bring thou down to the grave with blood." This is the ground of the accusation brought against David ; that when he lay on his death-bed, where all mankind resign their re- sentments and animosities, his latest breath was employed in dictating this posthumous murder to his .son Solomon. Mv reader will not forget who Shimei was; of the house and family of Saul; that he was ii person of great power and influence in the tribe of Benjamin, of whom he had a thousand in his train, when he made his submission to Da- vid upon his restoration; and that the manner in which he accosted David, when fleeing from Jerusalem, discovered the inward rancour of his heart, and his readiness to join in anv measures to distress and disturb his governinent, and cause the crown to revert to the house of Saul. There- fore David puts Solomon in mind, that Shimei ci/r.wf/ him trilh a grievous curse, in the day that he went down to Ma- hanaim; that he was an implacable enemy to his person and family, one who was not to be trusted, and would not fail to show his hatred uiKm any proper occasion. It ap- pears further by the expression: ".Behold thou ha.st with Ihee Shimei;" that he was now in Jerusalem; and that therefore O.Tvid thought this a proper opportunity of confi- ning him, that he might not spread disafl'cction to Solo- num's government, among those of his own tribe, or of any of the other tribes of Israel ; a precaution the more neces- sary in the infancy of Solomon's reign, and as some of his brethren were imdined to dispute with him the succession to the crown ; and therefore David said: " But now do not thou hold him guiltless;" i. e. though I forgave him, and .swore to him that he should not die, do not thou let him go oir, do not leave him at liberty, nor treat him as an inno- cent man, thai is reconciled to my family, and thy succes- sion in the throne of Israel. He is Shimei still, and wants nothingbut a fair opportunity to declare it. lie is now with thee. Hold him fast, keep him continually under thine eye to prevent his doing any mischief; and if thou findest liim guilly of any malpractices, his hoar head biing thou down to the grave with blood ; cut him ofl' a.s an old olfeiider, and dangerous enemy, to secure Iby own peace, and the safety of thy government. Further, David's telling Solomon that he sw.-ire to Shi- mci by the Lord, that he would nol ]iut him to death for his outrage and treason, is a demonstrative proof, that he did not advise Solomon to put him to death lor the criine that he himself had solemnly forgiven him. For can any oue imagine, that David should tell Solomon, that he h;;d sworn by the Lord not to put Shimei to death, and, in the same breath, order him, in defiance of the oath, to be put to death by Solomon "! Common decency and prudence v. ould have made him conceal the circumstance of the oath, un- less he intended to brand himself publicly for the gros.<;e:;t perfidy and perjury; or, what is the real truth, to prevent Solomon from putting Shimei to death, in resentment for a crime for which he had solemnly sworn he would never execute him; and therefore it may be allowed Mr. Bayle, that strictly speaking, a man, who promises his enemy his life, doth not acquit himself of that promise, when he or- ders him to be put to death by his will. But this doth not afl'eet David's integrity, who either never promised him ab- solutely his life, or never gave any positive orders by his will to execute him. I add therefore, that the words them- selves, when rightly rendered, imply no such order. The common rendering of them is: His linnr /icacl briiii; Ihou down to the grave wilh blooi!. But it is a better interpreta- tion, and supported by parallel passages, if we render them. Bring down his gray hairs to the grave for liloud, or for be- ing guilty of it. Shimei was a man in blood, intentionally of murdering the king, and who actually attempted it by stoning him; and, on that account, deserved to be put to death. Now, though David could not order Solomon to put him to death for this attempt, because he had fcrgiven him, yet he might justly urge it, as a reason why Solomon should keep a constant strict guard over him, in order to prevent him from any seditious practices, or put him to death, if he found him guilly of any. The authors of the critical remarks give another turn to the words, which may be justified also by many other places of like nature. They would have the middle words put into a parenthesis, and the negative particle A L repeated in the last clause from the first; thus: " Now therefore do not hold him guiltless (for thou art a wise man, and knowest what thou oughtesi to do for him,) but do not bring down his hoary head with blood." I would propose a liitle alteration in the reading of the prefix (■«!(■. '" Do not hold him guiltless, (for ihoii art a wise man,) nor bring down his hoary head with blood." According to this translation, David's direction to Solomon will be: That he should not put Shimei to death for having cursed him, because he had forgiven him upon oath; but, at the same time, should not hold him guiltless; leaving it to Solomon's wisdom to inflict a proper punishment on him, provided it was not a capital one. If David had intended that Solomon should immediately put him to death, there would be no sense nor reason in what David adds; " Thou art a wise man, and knowest what thou oughtesi to do to him ;" which is evidently the same thing as saying: I give thee no particular directions about him, only observe him. Thou art a wise man, and knowest how to manage him, and to thy prudence and care 1 entirely leave him. This is the natural proper meaning of the expression, which cannot be construed into any other sen.se, without doing violence to the words. Now,'to what purpose was it to tell Solomon, that he knew how to behave to Shimei, if David's command was immediately to cut him ofl', and Solomon un- derstood hiin in this .sense 1 The thing is absurd in its na- ture, and there can be no meaning in a charge of ihis kind, viz, giving any man an absolute order to put another to death for a criine, and, in the same breath, leavinghim en- tirely to the management of his own wisdom and prudence, to put him to death or not. If he gave a positive order for his death, he did not leave him to Solomon's wisdom; and if he left him lo Solomon's wisdom, as he certainly did, he did not give him any positive order for his death. It is certain that Solomon did not understand liis father in this sense, of putting Shimei to death for his treason at Mahanaim; but only that he should have a watchful eye Chap. 2. 1 KINGS. 247 over him, and prevent him from all seditious practices for the fnlure. For what doth Solomon do after his father's death 1 What, instantly put Shimei to death'? No, but as a wise man, who knew what he ought to do to him, orders him to build a house for himself at Jerusalem ; where he confines him, that he might be perpetually under his inspec- tion, and bound him by an oath never to go further out of it than to the brook Kidrou ; telling him, that whenever he passed it, he should surely die. This is further evident from the different manner in which Solomon treated Joab and Shimei. Joab he immediately, on his accession, put to death, because David could be understood in no other sense, in the charge he gave concerning him, but absolutely to cut him off; for he gives no intimation that he had par- doned him, or that he left it to his son's prudence to do with him as he should think proper ; but says peremptorily, after recounting the two murders he had committed: Do (hou according to thy wisdom. Do justice on him, and thereby show thyself a wise man, and let not his hoar head go down to the grave in peace. Now if the charge had been the same in reference to Shimei as it was to Joab, what should have prevented Solomon from immediately executing Shimei as well as Joab 1 Solomon had much less to apprehend from executing Shimei, than Joab. Joab had an interest in the army, and had David's sons, and the high-priest of his parly, which Shimei could not have, as he was a powerful man of the house of Saul : a circum- stance this, however, enough to incline a jealous prince to get rid of him if he fairly could do it. And if Solomon had David's positive order to do it, the regard to his father's command, and the rules of policy, would have engaged him to have immediately executed him. But this Solomon, in his wisdom, knew he could not do ; for David told him that he had pardoned Shimei to prevent his execution, be- cause his offence was personal, and David had a right to forgive it. But he had never pardoned Joab, nor in justice could do it ; because he was guilty of death, for repeated murders, by the laws of God aiid man. Solomon therefore acted! wisely and justly in putting Joab to death, and show- ed his prudence in reference to Shimei, by sparing him; but honourably confining him, that he might'have the prop- er security for his future good behaviour. But to this it IS objected, that the executing Joab, and .sparing Shimei, was owing to a different cause from what I have now assigned. For Joab, by joining the party of Adonijah, had furnished the pretence for putting him to death, which Shimei doth not appear to have done. Joab therefore was assassinated, and Shimei watched. But this contradicts the history; for David, in his order to put Joab to death, mentions not one word about his being of Adonijah's party, but orders him to be cut off expressly for the treacheroiis assassination of Abner and Amasa, 'And when Solomon ordered his execution, not a word of Adonijah ; but take away the innocent blood which Joab shed from me, and troin the house of my father. So that, as the cause of Joab's execution was not his being of Adonijah's party, so the cause of Shimei's being spared, cannot be said to be, because he was not of Adonijah's party. The true reason of their treatment, was the different nature of their crimes, and the difference of the order relating to them. And as Joab was put to death for repeated murders, by the express order of the king, it is Vi-ilh great injustice that his death is censured as an assassination; especially as he was exe- cuted in the same manner as state criminals at that time generally were. Besides, if, as hath been asserted, David had, without any condition, and by a positive injunction, ordered Shimei to be put to death, then his joining, or not joining Adonijah, had been a circumstance of no weight; for, whether the one, or the other, Solomon ought not to have ordered him to be watched, but instantly to have put him to death, as he did Jo.ib. And if, because he was not of Adonijah's party, Solomon spared him, and ordered him only to be watched, then Solomon did not think his father's order to be an order to cut him off, but only to have a watchful eye over him. For David knew Shimei's circumstances as well as Solo- mon, and Solomon's conduct to Shimei is an abundant ex- plication nf the nature of his father's command, and how he himself understood it. This is the sentiment of F. Houbi- gam, who doth not so much as give a single intimation that Shimei was watched, and not put to death, becau.se he was not of Adonijah's party ; but absolutely denies that David gave any order at all to Solomon lo put him to death for the crimes which he had pardoned him, but only to watch his conduct, till he should render himself guilty by some fresh transgression. And when upon breaking his oath, he was sent for by Solomon, the king reproached him for his perjury, for acting contrary to the condilion of life which he himself acknowledged lo be just and equiitble', and for the wickedness that his heart was privy lo in his conduct lo his father David; the mercy ihat'h;d been shown him, in the pardon of that offence,' aggravating his fresh crime in violating his oath, and in transgressing ilie king's command; a crime that showed he was of a restless spirit, and incapable of being restrained within due bounds by the most solemn oaths, or any sense of interest, graliiude, or duty, whatsoever. Solomon adds: "The Lord shall lelurn thy wickedness on thine own head, and King Solo- mon shall be blessed : and the throne of David shall be established before the Lord for ever;" plainly intimating, that Solomon now cut him off, as an act of prudence and justice, because he knew him to be a turbulent implacable enemy to his person and government, and saw it neces.sary for establishing the thron'e of David before the Lord. I would further add, that Shimei himself, sensible of Solomon's great kindness to him, approves the sentence pronounced on him, and therefore the charge ihat David gave him, promising him upon oath obedience to the con- dition, on which his li'e was afterward lo depend. " The sentence is good. As my Lord the king hath said, so will thy servant do." It doth not appear that Solomon mention- ed one word about Shimei's cursing David, when he or- dered him to confine himself to Jerusalem, and that there- fore this was not the immediate reason why he confined him, but as his father had forewarned him. because he thought it would be a dangerous thing lo suffer a person of Shimei's family, tribe, interest, and known rancour to his crown and government, to be entirely at libertv. And, upon this supposition, Shimei could nol but own the justice of the sentence, and Solomon's lenity in pronouncing it. But if Shimei had any apprehension Ihat David had vio- lated his oath of safety to him by the charge he gave Solo- mon concerning him, or that Solomon had broken it, by making his life depend on a new condition, which his fa- ther had never obliged him to come under ; why did he not plead David's oath and promise, and that had no con- dition annexed to it, when he appeared before Solomon; that the annexing a new condilion to it was actually re- versing it, and therefore a breach of oath in David, if he directed it, or in Solomon, if it was his order only, and not David's ■? And though David, being dead, Shimei could not reproach him to his face, vet he might have reproached him, and Solomon himself lo' his own face, for this breach of oath, if there had been any. But Shimei urges nothing of all this in favour of himself, and instead of reproaching David or Solomon, acknowledges the king's moderation, and says: The sentence is good. It is most just and mer- ciful. As my lord Ihe king hath said, so will thy servant do. Shimei therefore knew, either that he had an ab.solute pardon from David, or that he had forfeited that pardon, or that, whatever was the purport of David's oath to him, no injustice had been done him, either by David's charge lo Solomon, or by Solomon's executing it. The ndver- .saries of David may choose which they please. David's honour, and Solomon's justice, will be abundantly vindi- cated. Let me beg Ihe candid reader's attention to another re~ mark: That though it halh been positively affirmed, that David guarantied Shimei's pardon with a solemn oath, yet this is by no means certain from the history. For let it' be observed, that alter Shimei's confession of his fault, Abi- shai said to David: " Shall not Shimei be put to death, be- cause he cursed the Lord's anointed 1" Meaning, be put lo death inslantly, as appears hv David's answer: "Shall there be any man put to death this day in Israel 1 Do I not know that I am this day king over Israel V Therefore the king said to Shimei: "Thou shall not die;" and the king swore lo him, viz. that he should not then, or that day, or at that time, be put lo the sword. And it is observable, that the Arabic version expressly mentions this circum- stance: "Thou shall not die si^Vn Ihisdav" This wts certainly all that the king declared to Abishai, that, as he Was that day restored to the exercise of his regal power, no man should that day be put to death ; and therefore he 248 1 KINGS. Cm swore to Shimei, that he should not llieii die. So again, in David'.s diioclion to Solomon iiboul Shimei, the .sune version halh the same word : " I sware lo him by God; I will not pill ihee lo the sword =i-Vn M/'.< i rci/nhiil kclumo- reem, as, he gave ihem provender, signifying that he tnixed some chopped straw and barley together for the asses. And thus also barley and ihopped si raw, as it lies just alter reap- ing unsepnratcd in llie held, might naturally be expressed by the Ilebrew word wc translate provender, which signi- fies barley and straw that had been mingled together, and accordingly seems to be so, Job xxiv. G, " They reap every one his corn in the Held"— " Hebrew, mingled com, or dredge." .says the margin. What ideas are usually affixed to secondary translation, I do not know; but Job apparent- ly alludes to the provender, or heap of chopped slrav.' and corn lying mingled together in the lield, after having pass- ed under the thrashing instrument, to %vhich he compares the .spoils that were taken from ilie pas.sengers, so early as his tune, by those that lived somewhat after the present mmncr of ihe wild Arabs, which spoils arc to Ihem what the harvest and vintage were to others. To this agrees that other passage of .lob where this word occurs, eh. vi. 5, " Will the ox low, in complaint, over his provender 1" or fodder, as it is translated in our version ; when he has not only straw enough, hut mixed with barley. The accurate Viiringa, in his commentary, has taken no- tice of that word's implying something of mixture which is translated provender iii Is. xxx. 21, but for want of more nicely aUending to eastern customs, though he has done it more than most commentators, he has been very unhappy in explaining the cause of it; for he supposes it signifies a niixlure of straw, hay, and bran. I have nowhere observ- ed in books of travels, that they give their labouring beasts bran in the East, and hay is not made there; the mixture that is meant, if we are to explain it by the present eastern usages, is chopped straw and barley. But the additional word there translated dean, and in the margin IcarcticiJ, which, Vitringa observes, is the proper meaning of the ^vord, maybe supposed to make the passage difficult. The Sepluagint seem to have thought the words signilied nothing more than strawminsjied with winnowed barley : and if the word translated provender, though originally intended to ex- press mixture, might afterward come losignify uncompound- ed food, as Vitringa supposes, the passage is easily decipher- ed; for though tlie word translated clenn does commonly signify fc«rc)io/, or m«(/c ."Vihc, yet not always; signifying .sometimes mere mixing, as in Is. Ixiii. 1, where it is used for staining a garment wilh blood, and so it may signify here, as the Septuagint seem to have understood Ihe pas- sage, chopped straw, leavened or mixed wilh barley. But there is no necessity of supposing the word Iransl.Tied prov- ender is used in a sense dilTerent from its common and an- cient meaning, and signifying uneompoundcd meat for cat- tle; that single word may be understood to mean chopped straw mingled wilh barley, fiince we find that barley, when given to beasts of labour, is .sometimes mingled, or, to ex- press il poetically, leavened, with a few beans, to which therefore the prophet might refer. The wild Arabs, who are extremely nice in managins their horses, give them no fo id but very clean barley. The Israelites were not so scrupulous, as appears from ihe passage I cited relating to the provision made for Sohimoii's horses, but ihcy may nevertheless think Ihe rleanness of the provender a very great recommendation of it, and seem to have done so, since Isaiah, in the nbuve-mentioncd pas.sage, speaks of leavened provender winnowed with Ihe shovel and with the fan. It is not the more imporlani lo them, as a good deal of earth, sand, and gravel, are wont, nolwilhslanding all their precautions, lo be taken up with the grain, in their way of inrashinj. Bui though the Israelites were not so scrupulous as Ihc Arabs, giving their beasis of burden straw as well as barley, yet it must h.nve been miieh more commodious for them in llieir journeying lo havi' carried barley alone, or balls of be-in, or barley-meal, rather llian a quantity of chopped straw, wilh a little other provender of a better kind; and accordingly we find no meniion made by Dr. Shaw, of any chopped straw being carried wilh Ihem to Mount Sinai, but only barley, wiih a (ew beans in- termixed, or the flour of one or other of Ihem, or both, made into balls wilh a little water. The Levile's mention- ing therefore his having straw, along with other proven- der, rather conveys Ihe idea of his being a person in mean circumslances, who was not able to feed his asses wilh pure barley, or those other sorts of provender that eastern trav- ellers are wont lo carry with Ihem. — Harmek. In Ihe East, horses are still fed with barley. HassclquisI observes, that in the plain of Jericho, the Arabians had sown barley for their horses. They are very careful of their straw, which Ihey cut into small bits, by an instru- ment which at the .same lime thrashes out the corn : this chopped straw, wilh barley, beans, and balls made of bean and barley-meal, or of the pounded kernels of dales, are what Ihey usually feed their beasis wilh. — Maillet. CHAPTER V. Ver. 6. Now therefore command thou tliat ihcy hew me cetJar-trees out of Lebanon ; and my servants shall be with thy servants : and unto thee will I give hire for thy servants accordinjr to all that thou shall appoint : for thou knowest that ilierr. js not among us any that can skill to hew timber like unto the Sidonians. The Hebrew word i-in aroz, whence the Chaldee and Syiiac Nnn arzo, and the Arabic and Ethiopic i-n arz, and Spanish alerze, unquestionably denotes the cedar; it is thus rendered by the Septuagint and other Greek versions «tc> ■<, and by the Vulgate cedras ; and the inhabitants of mount Lebanon slill call it ar~. The cedar is a large and ncble evergreen tree, and according to Toumefort makes a dis- tinct genus of plants, bul il is comprehended by Unnaeus among Ihe junipers.— Greenfield. The cedar grows, il is true, on the mountains of Amanus and Taurus, in Asia Minor, but it does not there attain the height and strength it acquires on mount Lebanon, on which account Ihe cedars of Lebanon have been renowned from Ihe most ancient times. Bul the cedar woods, w hich for- merly covered a part of Ihis mountain, have long ago vanished. Only on the northeast side is a small wood, consisting of an inconsiderable number of small thick cedars, and eight or nine hundred younger ones. The old- est and largest cedars are distinguished from the younger ones chiefly by ihis, that Ihe lailcr grow up straight, and their boughs branch out horizonially from the stem, hut hang down a little ; and in these two particulars, and iu general in their whole form, entirely resemble our Euro- pean pines and firs; whereas Ihe old cedars have a short and very thick trunk, which divides not far from the root, into three, four, or five large arms, which grow straight np, and arc very thick; someof them grow together for alKnil ten feel. "These trees," says Rauwolf, "which remain green during the whole year, have large trunks, which may be .some fathoms thick, and as high as our firs; but as ihey have larger arms, according lo which ihe sieiu bends, Ihis lakes away so much of their perpendicular height. The branches spread out pretty far in such a bcauliful equality, that they look as if they had been clipped above, and made even w iih particular care. Il may er.sily be perceived before you get very near them, that llierc is a great diflerence between these and olher resinous trees. Otherwise Ihey nearly resemble larch-trees, especially in the leaves, which are small, narrow, and shoot out as clo^e together." The latest accounts of the cedars of Lebanon are given by Mr. John Henry Mayer, who visited this part in Ilic summer of Ihe year I8IS. " I counted," says he, " nine principal ccdar-trccs, which were dislinguisiicd from .'II Ihe othei-s by their thickness and age. bul not by their heighi, for younger ones exceed ihem in Ihis respect. I measuicd the circumference of ihe trunk of one of Ihe largest wilh a cord, about four feet from the ground, and found it ten French ells and a half A single branch was ihirty steps in length to the end, when il divided into small twigs. The trunk of five of the largest consislsoflhrceor four divisions, each of which equals in circumference the stem of our largest oaks. The cedar itself, probably, belongs lo the cla.ss of trees with accrose leaves, but is nciiher a pine, nor Chap. 5—7. 1 KINGS. a fir, nor a larch, though the young cedars are like the lat- ter. The broken twigs almost resemble the elder, and the smell puts one in mind ol' the arbor v'ltoe. The greatest beauty of these trees consists in their stiff, strong, and far- spreading boughs; and, what no other kind of tree has, the briilleness of the wood, even of the smallest and tenderest twigs, which broke like glass, particularly the old ones. The whole wood, probably, does not contain above eight or nine hundred trees, large and small included. The yoimg and middle-aged ones bore fruit of the size of an egg, which were bright green, with browTi rings and spots, and stood upright on the small twigs. This peculiarity of the fruit ot the cedar also distinguishes it from other trees of the same genus: in other respects, it has an affinity and resem- blance to them, as well by its resinous quality as its form." ' Hardly any kind of wood unites so many good qualities for building as the cedar : its wood not only pleases the eye by Its reddish stripes, and exhales an agreeable smell, but it is hard, and without knots, and is never eaten by worms, and lasts so long, that some persons consider it as imperishable. Hence it was used for rafters and boards, either to cover the houses or floors: it was also employed in building the principal wall ; and combined with stones, so that, for in- stance, after three layers of stones, there followed one of cedar-wood. 1 Kings vi. 36. vii. 12. Ezra vi. 3, 4. Some- times, too, each division of the wall was built alternately wilh cedar- wood and stones, so that first a course of wood and then a course of stones, extended from one division to the other, and so each division nearly resembled a chess- board. The temple at Jerusalem, as well as the palace of Solomon, was built of cedar; and in the latter there was such a quantity of this wood, that it was called, 1 Kings vii. 2. X. 10, The house of Uie fnrca of Lebanon. (Rosen- 253 muUer.)— BuHDER. Ver. 9. My servants shall bring them down from Lebanon unto tho sea; and I will convey them ' by sea in floats unto the place that thou shall appoint me, and will cause them to be dis- charged there, and thou shalt receive them : and thou shalt accomplish my desire in givino- food for my household. Bishop Patrick supposes, " that they conveyed the pieces ol timber from the high parts of the mountains to the river Adonis, or to the plain of Biblos." " By floats is probably meant that tho pieces of timber were bound together, and so drawn through the rivers and the sea." In exactly the .^rae way, timber is conveved in all parts of the East. The trees are cut down before the rainy season, all the branches are lopped ofT, and the trunks are squared on the spot. Notches are then made in the logs, and they are tied together by ropes made of green withes gathered in the forests. If, however, the waters of the rainy season should not reach the spot where they are hewn down, they are dragged singly to the place where it is known that in the wet mpnsoon they will float. Thus, in passin? through re- mote forests in the dry season, the inexperienced travelTer in .seeing numerous trees felled in every direction, and then a^ain, in another place, a large collection bound together like a raft, which is also fastened to trees that are still standing, (to prevent it from being lost when the floods come,) is at a loss to know how it can be got to the river, or to the sea ; for he sees no trackor path except that which is m:ide by the wild beast: he knows no vehicle can ap- proach the place, and is convinced that men cannot carry it. But let him go thither when the rains have fallen, and he will see in one place men in a little canoe winding through the forest, in another directing a float with some men on it moving gentlv along; and in the river he sees large rafts sweeping down the stream, with the dexterous steersmen making for some neighbouring to\™, or the more distant occ.-in ; and then mav be seen in the harbour immense collections of the finest limber, which have been brought thither " by .sea in floats." Sometimes the rains come on earlier than expected ; or the logs may not have been fastened to trees still standing ; hence, when the floods come, they naturallv move towards the river; and then may be seen noble trees whirling and tumbling along till they reach the sea, and are thus lost to man.— Roberts. Two methods of conveying wood in floats appear to have been practised. The first by pushing single trunks of trees into the water, and suffering them to be carried alon<' bv the stream. This was commonly adopted as il rcarded firewood. The other was ranging'a number of planks close to each other m regular order, binding them together and steering them down the current. This was probably the mast ancient practice. The earliest ships or boats were nothing else than rafts, or a collection of deals and planks bound together. By the Greeks they were called f-'cAcdai, and by the Latins, Rales. The ancients ventured out to sea with them on piratical expeditions, as well as to carry on commerce : and after the invention of ships, ihey were still retained for the transportation of soldiers, and of heavy burdens. Pliny, lib. vi. cap. 56. Sirabo, lib. xvi. Scheffer, De Mililia Navali. Vctcrum, lib. i. cap. 3. Pitisci, Lcvicnn Antiquital. Rom. art. Rates. Solomon entered into a con- tract with Hiram, king of Tyre, by which the latter was to cause cedars for the use of the temple to be cut down on the western side of mount Lebanon, above Tripoli, and to be floated to Jaffa. At present no streams run from Lebanon to Jeru.salem ; and the Jordan, the only river in Palestine that could bear floats, is at a great distance from the cedar- forest. The wood, therefore, must have been brought along the coast by sea to Jaffa. — Bcrder. CHAPTER VI. Ver. 7. And the house, when il was in building, was built of stone made ready before it was brought thither: so that there was neither hammer, nor ax, 7ior any tool of iron, heard in the house while it was in building. This passage is illustrated by what D'Arvieux remarks of Alexandria in Eg>'pt. " The city gates, which are still standing, have a magnificent appearance, and are so high and broad, that we may infer from them the ancient great- ness and splendour of the place. They properly consist only of four square stones ; one of which serves as the threshold, two are raised on the sides, and the fourth laid across and resting upon them. I need not say that they are of great antiquity ; for it is well known, that for many centuries past .such iniinen.se stones have not been u.sed in building. It is a matter of surprise how the ancients could raise such heavy masses from the stone quarries, remove them, and set them up. Some are of opinion that these stones were cast, and, probably, only consisted of a heap of small stones, which were united by" the finest cement ; that at the place where they were wanted, wooden models or moulds were made, in A\-hich the cement and stones were mixed together, and when this mass became dry and suf- ficiently firm, the mould was taken off by degrees, and the stones then polished." — Rosenmuller. Ver. 18. And the cedar of the house within u-as carved wilh knobs and open flowers. The people of the East are exceedingly profuse in their carved work. See a temple ; it is almost from its founda- tion to its summit a complete mass of sculpture and carved work. Look at their sacred car in which their gods are drawn out in procession, and you are astonished at the labour, taste, and execution displayed by the workmen in carved work : nay, the roof and doors of private dwellings are all indebted to the chisel of the " cunning workman." The pillars that support the verandas, their chests, their couches, (as were those of Solomon,) the handles of differ- ent instruments, their ploughs, their vessels, (however rude in other respects,) must be adorned by the skill of the carver. — Roberts. CHAPTER VII. Ver. 7. Then he made a porch for the throne where he might judge, even the porch of judg- rnent: and it was covered with cedar from one side of the floor to the other. It deserves remark, that the ea.stern floors and ceilings are just the reverse of ours. Their ceilings are of woo^ ; ours of plaster or stucco-work ; their floors are of plaster or of painted tiles, ours of wood. This effectually detects a 251 1 KINGS. Chap. 7—10. mistake of FCimchi and R. Solomon, who, according lo Buxluil'i siipposcct the llooi' cil' tho ixii-lIi oljiidjrincnl whicli .Solomon built was all oCcwIar; whciras the sacred writer, 1 Kiiii;s vii. 7, nndoulv.eillv meant its covering a-lop, its ccilintr, was of cedar. Indeeil here in tho West, where these Jewish Rabbis lived, siich places are usually built alter the eastern iiioile, which malfcs their mistake so much the more straniie. Wesiminster Hall is, I think, paved with stone and ceileil with wood; and such without doubt was the cciliui; and the pavement of the porch lor judgment which Solomon built, and which was erected in a much hotter climate.— IIahmkh. Ver. 10. Ami tlio roiiiiilalimi was o/costly stones, creii great stones, stones of ten cubits, and stones ol eight cubits. In the ruins of Balbec, stones of great magnitude are ibund. " Bui what is still more a.stonishing, is, the enor- mvis stones which compose the .sloping wall. To the west the second l.iyer is formed of stones which are from twcnty- ei.,'ht to thiny-five feet long, by about nine in height. Over this layer, .it the northwest angle, there are three stones, which .ilone occupy a space of one hundred and seventy- live feet and one half: viz. the first, fi ly-eight feet .seven i.iches; the second, fifty-eight feet eleven; and the third, exactly lil'iy-eighl feet; and each of these are twelve feet thick. These stones are of a while granite, with large .shining llakes, like gypse. There is a quarry of this kind of Mono under the whole city, and in the adjoining mount- ains, which is open in several places: and, among others, on the right, as we approach the city, there is still lying there a .stone, hewn on three sides, which is sixty-nine feet two inches long, twelve feet ten inches broad, and thirteen feet three in thickness." ( Volney.) " The city of Jerusalem is utterly unlike any other place I hnve ever seen. Its situation upon an immense rock, s'lrrounded by valleys that seem cut out by the chisel ; the contrast exhibited between the extreinest degree of barren- ness and the exiremest degree of fertility, which border upon each other here almo:>t every yard, without one shade ol" milig:itcd character on cither side; the structure of the walls, luanv of the stones in which are fifteen or sixteen f'-'et long, by t\mr high and four deep, the very size men- tioned of the hewn stones of Solomon, 1 Kings vii. 10; the houses, where almost every one is a fortress, and the streets, where almost every one is a covered way, altogether formed an appearai'ice totally dissimilar from that of any other town I have met with either in Europe or Asia." (Carlyje.) — Bi'nnEii. CHAPTER VIII. Ver. 31. If any man trespass ngainst his neigh- bour, and an oath be laid upon him to cause him to swear, and the oath come before thine altar in this house. Bishop Patrick alleges, that it was the custom of all na- tions to touch the altar when they made a solemn oath, calling God to witness the truth of what they said, and lo punish them if they did not speak the truth: and he sup- poses, that Solomon alludes to this practice, in his prayer at the dedication of the temple: "If any man trespass against his neighbour, and an oath be laid upon him, to cause him to swear, and the oath come before thine altar in this house." But the royal suppliant says not one word about touching the altar ; hut clearly refers lo the general practice id" standing hefore it, for his words literally are: And the oath come (in:r^ ':dS) hefore the face of thine al- tar. In imitatiim of God's ancient people, many of the sur- rounding nations, among whom Livy and other celebrated writers of aniiipiity mention the Athenians, the Cartha- ginians, and the Romans, were accustomed to stand before ihc altar when they made oath ; but it does not appear they laid their hand upon it, and hy conse(|uence, no argument trom the sacred text, nor even from the customs of these natiims. can he drawn for the superstitious practice of lay- ing the hand upon the gospels and kissing them, instead of the solemn form authorized by God himself, of lifting up the right hand lo he.iven.— Paxton. Ver. 44. If thy people go out to battle against their enemy, whithersoever thou shall send tliem, and shall i)ray unto the Lokd towards the city which thou hast chosen, and loicards the house that I have buih for thy name. " By a decree passed in the eighteenth year of the Em- peror Adrian, the Jews were forbidden not only lo enter into the city of Jerusalem, (then called lEIia,) but even lo turn their looks towards it ; which most probably had a ref- erence to this custom of turning their faces towards the Holy City at their prayers. I observed thai Mecca, the country of their prophet, and from which, according to their idea, siilvtition was dispensed to them, is situated towards the south, and for this reason they pray with their faces turned towards that quarter." (Marui.) " The Mexicans prayed generally upon their knees, with their faces turned lowan's the east, and, therefore, made their sanctuaries with the door to the west." (Cullen's Mexico.) In a descriptitJii of the people of the Ganow hills, we find the same custom prevalent. " Their mode of swearing is very solemn : ihe oath IS taken upcm a stone, which they first saltiie, then, with their hands joined and uplifted, their eves steadfastly fixed to the hills, they call on Mahadcva in the most solemn manner, telling him to witness what they declare, and that he knows whether they speak true or false. They then again touch the stone, with all the appearance of the utmost fear, and bow their heads to it, calling again upim Maha- dcva. They also, during their relation, look steadfastly to the hills, and keep their right hand upon the stone. "When the first person swore before me, the awe and reverence with which the man swore forcibly struck me: my Moher- rir could hardly write, so much was he afl'ected by the so- lemnity. 1 understand their general belief to be, that iheir god resides in the hills ; ami though this belief may seem in- consistent with an awful idea of the divinity, these people appeared to stand in the utmost awe of their deity, from the fear of his punishing them for any misconduct in their fre- quent excursions to the hills." (Asiatic Researches.) "An hour before sunrise, the coffeegee having prepared our coff'ee, retired into a corner of the room, and having, with- out the least reserve, performed the necessary ablutions, spread his garment on the ground, and began his prayers: he turned himself lo the cast, and though .several persons entered and left the apartment during his devotions, he seemed quite absorbed, and rose, and knelt, and prostrated himself with as much appearance of piety as if he had been praying in the hi>incsf,ln cmiici/a b(?ic- (liclion, or to fhoir' gooil-trill. St. Paul says, " WithoiU all contradiction, the less is blessed of the greater ;" and this I believe, joined wilh greatness, is the only idea the Orientals attach to those who ble.ss others. Hence he who blesses another, must be a superior, cither in years, rank, or sanctity. The heathen never bless their gods. — Roberts. CHAPTER X. Ver. 1. And when the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon concerning the name of the Lord, she came to prove him with hard questions. The Septuagint has, for hard questions, nniy/ian, enig- mas, riddles. The Hindoos (especially their females)take great delight in riddles, apologues, and fables. By this method they convey pleasure, instruction, or reproof. Sec Chap. 10. 1 KINGS. 255 them in their marriage feasls, or in their " evenings at home ;" how pleasantly they pass their time, in thus puzzling each other, and calling forth the talents of the young. — Roberts. Ver. 4. And when the queen of Sheba had seen all Solomon's wisdoiTi, and the house that he had built, 5. And the meat of his table, and the sitting of his servants, and the attendance of his ministers, and their apparel, and bis cup-bearers, and bis ascent by which he went up unto the house of the Lord ; there was no more spirit in her. By these words we may understand that this ascent was consecrated to the use of Solomon alone. Thus we are told by Sir George Staunton, in his account of the first presenta- tion of the British embassy, that, " on his entrance into the tent, the emperor of China mounted immediately the throne by the front steps, consecrated to his use alone. He also informs us, that " one highway was reserved for the use of the emperor alone ; this was rendered perfectly level, dry, and smooth : cisterns were contrived on the sides of the imperial road, to hold water for sprinkling it occasionally, in order to keep down the dust : parallel to the emperor s, was another road, not quite so broad, nor swept continually with so much care, but perfectly commodious and safe : this was intended for the attendants of his imperial majesty : and upon this the British embassy was allowed to pass. All other travellers were excluded from these two privileged roads, and obliged to make out a path wherever they were able." — BuRDER. Ver. 8. Happy are, thy men, happy are these thy servants, which stand continually before thee, and that hear thy wisdom. " When the king" (of Persia) " is seated in public, his sons, ministers, and courtiers, stand erect, with their hands crossed, and in the exact place of their rank. They watch the looks of the sovereign, and a glance is a mandate. If he speak to them, you hear a voice reply, and see their lips move, but not a motion nor gesture betrays that there is an- imation in any other part of their frame." When he places himself at the windows of his palace, his domestics take their station in the court before it, hard by the fountain which plays in the middle, to walch the looks of their lord. A principal part of the regal state in Persia consists in the number of the men who stand before the monarch ; and we learn from the address of the queen of Sheba to Solomon, that he was not indifferent to this part of eastern splendour. It is reckoned an act of great humility in the king of Persia, or even in a person of high rank, to walk on foot, this being a part of the .service exacted from servants. When a prince or great man goes abroad, he is mounted on a horse, and always attended by a multitude of servants on foot, one bearing his pipe, another his shoes, another his cloak, a fourth his saddle-cloth, and so on, the number increasing with the dignity of the master. These statements impart great force to the remark of the wise man : " I have seen servants upon horses, and princes walking as servants upon the earth." — Paxtoi*. Ver. 16. And King Solomon made two hundred targets of beaten gold ; six hundred shekels of gold went to one target. The word n« tsinnah, used for those martial ensigns of royal dignity, which were carried before King Solomon, and which our version renders targets, 1 Kings x. IC, was supposed by the Septuagint to signify spears or lances: and as the word is to be understood to signify some sharp- pointed weapon, it may be more natural to understand it of a Uintx, than of a defensive piece of armour with a short sharp-pointed umbo in the middle, considering that shields of gold were also carried before this prince, at .solemn seasons. One can hardly find a disposition to admit, that two sorts of things so much alike as targets and shields, should be meant here; and if such similar defensive pieces of armour were hardly meant, the translation of the Septuagint is as natural as any, to say nothing of the au- thority of so ancient a version, in which, so far as appears by Lambert Bos, all the copies, which frequently disagree in other matters, concur. But whatever We may think of this way of translating the original word, we can hardly suppose such martial ensigns of honour were unknown in the time when this translation was made. It is certain they now appear in the Levant. Thus Windus, in his descrip- tion of a pompous cavalcade of the emperor of Morocco, tells us, that after several parties of people were pa.ssed, " came Muley Mahomet Lariba, one of the emperor's sons ; he is alcaid of the stables, or master of the horse : there attended him a guard of horse and foot, at the head of which he rode with a lance in his hand, the place where the blade joins to the wood covered with gold." Soon after which came the emperor himself. The account of this lance seems to give a clear illustra- tion, of what the Septuagint referred to in their translation of this passage ; if not of the original of the Hebrew his- torian. A comparatively modern prince of Persia seems to have emulated this piece of grandeur of Solomon, and to have even surpassed it, though by means of a different kind of weapon from either of those I have been mentioning. According to d'Herbelot, he had two troops of horsemen, consisting of a thousand each; one troop carrying maces of gold, each of which weighed one thousand drachms, or thousand crowns of gold ; the second, maces of silver of the same weight. These two brigades served him for his ordi- nary guard, and upon extraordinary ceremonies each of these horsemen carried liis mace upon his shoulder. One tenth part of the number would nave been extremely majes- tic.— Harmer. Ver. 18. Moreover, the king made a great throne of ivory, and overlaid jt with the best gold. The throne of Solomon is described as having been ex- tremely magnificent, (1 Kings x. 18,) having tw-elve lions; but on what part of it these ornamental animals were placed is not easy to determine, as we have no accurate idea of its form and construction. We shall therefore now merely extract a description of the mogul's throne, which we find had divers steps also, and, on the top of its ascent, four lions ; wherein it seems to bear a partial resemblance to Solomon's stately seat of majesty. " And further, they told me, that he (the mogul) hath at Agra a most glorious throne within his palace, ascended by divers steps, which are covered with plates of silver; upon the top of which ascent stand four lions, upon pedestals of curious coloured marble ; which lions are all made of massy silver, some part of them gilded with gold, and be.set with precious stones. Tho.se lions support a canopy of fine gold, under which the mogul sits when he appears in his greatest state and glory." — (Sir Thomas Roe's "Voyage.) Thrones were of different kinds; sometimes they resem- bled a stool, sometimes a chair, sometimes a sofa, and sometimes they were as large as a bed. One of the thrones of Tippoo Saib was the back of a very large royal tiger, made of gold, studded with precious stones ; and that part of his backwhich was employed asa seat, was covered with fine chintses, &c. byway of cushions. — Taylor in Cai.met. Ver. 20. And twelve lions stood there on the one side, and on the other, upon the six steps : there was not the like made in any kingdom. In after ages we read of thrones very glorious and ma- jestic. Atlianoeus says, that the throne of the Parthian kings was of gold, encompassed 'With four golden pillars, be.set with precious stones. The Persian kings sat in judg- ment under a golden vine, (and other trees of gold,) the bunches of whose grapes were made of several sorts of precious stones. To this article may be very properly an- nexed the following account of the famous peacock tlirone of the Great Mogul. " The Great Mogul has seven thrones, some set all over with diamonds; others with rubies, eme- ralds, and pearls. But the largest throne is erected in the hall of the fir.st court of the palace; it is, in form, like one of our field-beds, six feet long and four broad. I counted about a hundred and eight pale rubies in collets about that throne, the lea.st whereof weighed a hundred carats; but there are some that weigh two htmdred. Emeralds I 250 1 KINGS. Chap. 10. counlcd about a hundred and forty, that weighed some threescore, .some thirty carais. The iindcrparl of the can- opy is eiiiirely embroidered with pearls and diamonds, with n fringe of jicarls round ihe cilge. Upon ilie top of the canopy, which is maile lilal reasons wliich indu- ced the mariners of Solomon to bring him into Palestine, and that the sacred hi.storian .so distinctly mentions the circumstance. Nature, according to the remark of Var- ro, has certainly assigned the palm of beamy to the pea- cock ; but since the introduction of the ape into Palestine, an animal neither distinguished by the elegance of his form, nor the brilliancy of his colour, is mentioned at the same time, the historian might intend to direct the reader's attention, as well to the riches and splendour of Sohi- nion, as to his taste for rare and curious articles of natural history. In the Lesser Asia, and in Greece, the peacock was long held in high estimation, and frequently purchased by the great and the wealthy, at a very great price. We learii from Plutarch, that in the age of Pericles, a person at Athens made a great fortune by rearing these birds, and showing them to the public, at a certain price, every new moon; and to this exhibition, the cut ions Giecks crowded from the remotest parts of the country. The keeper of these birds, the same author informs irs sold a male and female for a thousand drachms, about ihirtv-six pounds of our money. Peacocks were very rare in Greece, even in Ihe time of Alexander, who, by the lesiiniony of j^Slian, was struck with astonishment at the sight of these birds on the banks of the Indus ; and fnun admiration of their beauty commanded every perscm that killed one of iheni, to be severely punished. Al Rome, as the samehistorian relates when Hortcnsius first killed one fur supper, he was brought to trial, and condemned to )iay a line. Their c^s according to Varro, were sold in his time at five dennni,' or more than three shillings a piece ; and the birds them- selves commonly at about two pounds of our money. The same writer aflirms, that M. A u (id ins Luzco derived an Chap. 10—12. 1 KINGS. 257 yearly revenue of more than sixty thousand pieces of silver, which amounts to four hundred and sixty-eight pounds filieen shillings sterling, from the sale of peacocks; for al- though their flesh is not better tasted than that of a domestic fowl, ihey were sold at a much greater price on account of the lichness and brilliancy of their plumes. These state- ments prove, that ihe peacock was deemed, in remote ages, a pre-f holes. Our translators then do noi appear to have been very happy in the choice of the word cracknels here. — Harmer. Ver. 6. And it was so, when Ahijah heard tlie sound of her feet, as she came in at the door, that he said, Come in, thou wife of Jeroboam ; why feiffnest tliou thyself to be another? for 1 am sent to thee tcith heavy tidings. This woman disguised herself in order to deceive the prophet, and therefore he addressed her by name, to show that she was known to him. Married wotiien are general- ly spoken to as the wife of such a person. Supposing a married female to be in a crowd, and a man on the outside wishes to speak to her, he will say, " Come hither, wife ofChinne Tamby ;" literally, Chinne Tamby'swife, hither come. "O! Muttoo's wife, where are you?" Should a person have to speak to a female who is walking before him, he will not call her by name, but address her, " Such a one's wife, I wish to speak to you."— Roberts. Ver. 10. Therefore, behold, I will bring evil upon the house of Jeroboam, and will cut off from Jeroboam him that pisseth against the wall, and him that is shut up, and left in Israel, and will take away the remnant of the house of Jeroboam, as a man taketh away dung, till it be all gone. Sometimes, when a successful prince has endeavoured to extirpate the preceding royal familv, some of them have escaped the slaughter, and secured themselves in a fortress or place of secrecy, while others have sought an asylum in foreign comitries, from whence thev have occasioned great anxiety to tlie usurper. The word shut up, strictly speak- ing, refers to the first of these cases; as in the preservation of Joash from Athaliah in a private apartment of the tem- ple. Such appears also to have been the case in more mod- ern times. '-Though more than thirty years had elapsed since the death of the Sultan Achmei, father of the new emperor, he had not. in that inler\'al, acquired any great information or improvement. Shvl up during this long in- terval in the apartment assigned him, with some eunuchs to wait on him, the equality of his age with that of the prin- ces who had a right to precede him, allowed him but little hope of reigning in his turn ; and he had, besides, well- grounded reasons for a more serious uneasiness." (Baron De Totl.1 But when David was in danger, he /.c/it himself close in Ziklag, but not so as to prevent him from making frequent excursions. In latter times, in the East, persons of royal descent have been Icfl, when the rest of a family have been cut off, if no danger was apprehended from them, onaccouni of some mental or bodily disqualification. Blind- ness saved the life of Mohammed Khod.nbendeh, a Persian prince of the sixteenth century, when his brother Ismael put all the rest of his brethren to death.— Harmer. We find divine anger ihretilenirigto "cut off from Jero- boam him who is shut tip and left in Israel," 1 Kin?s xiv. 10. In chap. xxi. "21, the same threat is made against Ahab; viilc also 2 Kings ix. 8. This .thvllins vp of the royal family appears sufficiently strange tons; and the rather as we perceive that the sons of David the king cnjoved libertv sufficient, and more than sufficient. The following cxlracl's will throw some light on this subject: " In one of them we find the royal family dwelling together on a mountain, which, though a place of confinement, vet had some ex- tent. In the other, we find them in a palace, which only in name differed from a prison. The crown being heredi- tary in one family, but elective in the person, and polyg- amy being permitted, must have multiplied these heirs very much, and produced constant disputes; so that it was found necessary to provide a remedy for the anarchy and ef- fusion of royal blood, which was otherwise inevitably to follow. The remedy was a humane and gentle one; they were confined in a good climate upon a high luountain, ana maintained there at the public expense. They arc there tausrht to read and write, but noihmgclse; 750' cloths for wrappmg round them ; 3000ounccs of gold, which is 30,000 dollars, or crowns, are allowed hv the stale for their main- tenance. These princes are hardly used, and, in troublous times, often put to death upon the smallest misinformation. While I was at Abyssinia, their revenue was so grossly misapplied, that some of them were said to have died with hunger and of cold, by the avarice and hard-hearleduess of Michael neglecting to furnish them necessaries. Nor had the king, as far as I could discern, that fellow-feeling one would have expected from a prince rescued from that very situation himself. Perhaps this was owing to his fear of Ras Michael. " However that be, and however distressing the situation of those princes, we cannot but be satisfied with it, when we look to the neighbouring kingdom of Sennaaror Nubia. There no mountain is trusted with the confinement ol their princes, but as soon as the father dies, the throats of all the collaterals, and alltheirdescendants that can be laid hold of, are cut; and this is the case with all the black states in the desert west of Sennaar, Dar Four, Sele, and Bagirma." (Bruce.) We see now how Athaliah miglit destroy, not merely an individual, but all the seed royal, (2 Kings xi. 1,) because, if she found access to the palace to accomplish the slaughter of any one, she might easily cut off the whole. This also renders credible the slaughter of Abab's sens, seventy young persons at one lime. They were kept shut up, it seems, in Samaria, where their keepers became their destroyers. How far the same confinement might take place in the instance of the sons of Gideon, (Judges ix. 2, 5,) wo cannot delermine; but it should appear, that at least they were kept in one place of abode, whether that place were the mansion or the tower of their father. — Tavlor in Calmet. CHAPTER XV. Ver. 2. Three years reigned he in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Maachah, the daughter of Abishalom. It has been conjectured by Mr. Baruh, that the phrase, "and his moiher's name was," &c. when expressed on a king's accession to the throne, at the bcginnins of his his- tory, does not always refer lo his natural mother, but that it is a title of honour and dignity, enjoyed by one of the rovalfamilv, denoting hertobe the first in ir.nk. This idea appears well founded from the following extracts: "The Oloo Kani is not goveines-s of the Crimea. This title, the literal translation of which is, great queen, simply denotes a dignity in the harem, which the khan usually confers on one of his sisters; or if he has none, on one of his daugh- ters, or relations. To this dignity are attached the revenues arising from several villages, and oiher rights." (Baron De ToU.) " On this occasion the king crowned his moth- er Malacotawit, conferring upon her the dignity and title of iteghc, i. e. as king's mother, regent and governess of the king when under age." (Brucc's Travels.) — BinoER. Ver. 18. And King Asa sent them to Ben-hadad, the son of Tabrimon, the son of Hczion, king of Syria, that dwelt at Damascus, saying, 19. There is a league between me and thee, and between my father and thy father : behold, I have sent unto thee a present of silver and gold ; come and break thy league with Baasha, king of Israel, that he may depart from me. I will not push my remarks on the presents of the East any further here, excepting the making this single obser- vation more, that the sending presents lo princes to induce them to help the distressed, has been practised in these countries in late times, as well as in the days of Asa, of whom we read, that he " took all the silver and the gold that were left in the treasures of the house of the Lord, and the trea.sures of the king's house, and delivered them into the hand of his servants: and king Asa sent them lo Benha- Chap. 16. 17. 1 KINGS. 261 dad the son of Tabrimon, the son of Hezion, king of Syria, that dwelt at Damascus, saying, There is a league between me and thee, and between my father and thy father: behold, I have sent unto thee a present of silver and gold ; come and break thy league with Baasha, king of Israel, that he may depart from me." To us it appears strange, that a present should be thought capable of inducing one prince to break with another, and engage himself in war ; but as it was anciently thought sufficient, so we find in the Gesta Dei per Francos, that an eastern nobleman, that had the custody of a castle called Hasarth, quarrelling with his master, the prince of Aleppo, and finding himself obliged to seek for foreign aid, sent presents to Godfrey of Bouillon, to induce him to assist him. "What they were we are not told : but gold and silver, the things Asa sent Benhadad, were frequently sent in those times to the crusade princes, and might probably be sent on this occasion to Godfrey. — II.4RMER. CHAPTER XVI. Ver. 34. In his days did Hiel the Bethelite build Jericho ; he laid the foundation thereof in Abi- ram his first-born, and set up the gates thereof in his youngest son Segub, according to the word of the Lord, which he spake by Joshua the son of Nun. See on Judges 11. 30, 31. CHAPTER XVII. Ver. 1 . And Elijah the Tishbite, who teas of the inhabitants of Gilead, said unto Ahab, As the Lord God of Israel liveth, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word. The latter rain falls in the middle or towards the end of April, from which, if there be three months to the harvest, as ihe prophet asserts, it must fall in the middle or toAvards the end of July. But at present in Syria, barley-harvest commences about the beginning of May, and that, as well as the wheat-harve?!, is finished by the twentieth of Ihe same month. In Judea the harvest is still more early. The rain, therefore, which God threatens to withhold from his people, must have commonly fallen in the first part of Feb- ruary. That a quaniity of snow descends at Jerusalem at this time, which is of great importance to the succeeding harvest, by making the fountains to overflow a little after- ward, is confirmed by the authority of Dr. Shaw. It is no real objection to this view, that the prophet threatens to withhold the rain; for the great difference of temperature in Paleslme, may be the cause that it snows in the mount- ainous districts, while it rains in other parts of the same country. By the moderate quantity of rain or snow which falls in the month of February, the reservoirs of water on which the cities of Palestine chiefly depend, are filled, and the pro.spect of a fruitful and plentiful year is opened. Of so great importance to the subsistence and comfort of that people are these rains, that upon their descent, they make similar rejoicings with the Egyptians upon the cutting of the Nile. The prophet evidently refers to both these cir- cumstances; to Ihe succeeding harvest, in these words: " Ihe piece or field upon which it rained not, withered ;" to the state of the cisterns in these: " .so two or three cities wandered into one city to drink water, but they were not satisfied." Hence, Mr. Harmer, who treats Jerome on this occasion with undue severity, is wrong in supposing that the inspired writer refers to the single circttmslancc of fill- ing their cisterns with water. He refers lo both, and this Jerome distinctly notices: " God su.spended the rain," says that father, " not only to punish them with want of bread, but also with thirst ; for in those countries in which they then resided, excepting a few fountains, they had only cistern- water; so that if the divine anger suspended the rains, there was more danger of perishing by thirst than by famine." .Teromc certainly committed a mistake when he referred the words of Amos to the latter rain ; but he understood as cerl^ainlv the true extent of the threatening. The former and the laUer rains were, in the davs of Eli- jah, suspended for three years and six months. But when the prophet said to Ahab, " As the Lord God of Israel liv- eth, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word ;" he could not mean, there shall be no rain at all for three years ; for long before their termination, the whole population of Israel must have miserably perished. It is not uncommon among the Ori- entals, to express a great deficiency by an absolute nega- tive. Thus Philo affirms, that in Egypt they have no win- ter ; by which, according to his own explanation, he meant no hail, no thunder, no violent storms of wind, which con- stitute an eastern winter. Pliny in like manner aflirms, there are no rains, no thunders, no earthquakes in that coimtry ; while Maillet, who quotes him, asserts that he had seen it rain there several times, and that there were two earthquakes in Egypt during his residence. His idea, therefore, is very plausible, that Pliny meant only to state the rare occurrence of these phenomena ; that it seldom feels the power of the earthquake, and when it does, sufl'ers but little damage ; that it very seldom rains or thunders, al- though on the seacoast the rains and thunders are often very violent; but it does not rain there as in other parts ol' the world. This account of the rain of Egypt is confirmed by the testimony of tw^o English travellers. When Pitts was at Cairo, the rain descended in torrents, and the streets having no kennels to carry off the water, it reached above the ankles, and in some places much higher. In Upper Egypt it rained and hailed almost a whole morning, when Dr. Pococke was there in the month of February ; and the following night it also rained very hard. These authentic statements unfold the true meaning of the prophet's asser- tion, " that Egypt has no rain;" he must be understood in the same qualified sense as Pliny and other writers. In the same manner, the words of Elijah to Ahab must be in- terpreted; they only mean, that the dew and the rain should not fall in the usual and necessary quantities. Such a suspension of rain and dew was sufficient to answer the corrective purposes of God, while an absolute drought of three years' continuance, must have convened the whole country into an uninhabitable waste. But such a destruc- tion is not Intimated in the scriptures; and, we may con- clude from the inspired narrative, did not take place. That guilty people were certainly reduced in the righteous judgments of God lo great straits; but still they were able to subsist until his fierce anger passed away, and mercy re- turned to bless their afflicted habitations. — Pjxton. Ver. 4. And it shall be, that thou shall drink of the brook ; and I have commanded the ravens to feed thee there. It is a singular circumstance, that the raven, an unclean bird, and one too of very gross and impure disposiiirns, was chosen by Jehovah to provide for his .servant Elijrh, when he concealed himself, by the divine command, from the fuiy of Ahab. So improbable is the story in the ear of reason, that morose and voracious ravens should be- come caterers for the prophet, that .some interpreters have maintained that the original word denotes mercliants or Arabians, or the inhabitants of the city Arbo ; according to this interpretation, the promise would run, " I have com- manded the Arabs, or Ihe Orcbim,to nourish thee." But it is easy to show that these opinions have no found.ntirn in scripture and reason. The prophet Ezekiel indeed de- scribes the merchants of Tyre by the phrase ("i3~rc ^:^-' ) arbi viearoheha, "thy merchants who transact thy busi- ness;" but the word orcbi m , (c:^^-'\') by itself, never sig- nifies merchants. Nor had God said in general, I hr.ve commanded the merchants, but I have commanded ihe merchants of this or that place, to nourish thee. The siii!,",- tioii of the place in which the miracle happened, refutes ihe olher opinions ; for in the neighbourhood of Jordan, where Elijah concealed himself, were no Arabs, no Orebim, and no city which bore Ihe name of Arbo. Besides, Ihe Arabs are not called in Hebrew (d'3t;) orebim, but (— ^::-v) arbim, and the inhabitants of Arbo, if any city of that name existed, according to the genius of the Hebrew h-n- guage, must have been called (d^i^iv) arabojim, not orebim. Add to this, Elijah was commanded to hide himself there; but how could he hide himself, if the inhabitants of the city or encampment knew of his retreat, as they mu.st have done, if his daily subsistence depended upon their bonnly. The place of his retreat must have been discovered in a 262 1 KINGS. CiiAiv 17. very ^liort lime l<> Aliab, wlio sought liiin with great in- iliislrv ill every ilireciion. The solemn dethTration ol' Oba- iliah'to the inophet, when he went by the divine command to shiiw himscll" to llie kmg, proves how impossible U was lor him to remain concealed in the inhabited part of the country; " As the Lord ihv God livelh, there is no nation or kingdom wliilhcr mv lorur!.uil ." This keen and ingenious sarcasm relates, I doubt not, to their gdd, as having been accustomed sometimes lo sleep, lo talk, lo go on a journey, or to join in the pursuit. That the Baal-peor of Assyria, and the Siva-lingam of India, are the same, is certain. And is it not interesting lo know that those things which are attributed to Baal are also attributed lo Siva 1 " Either he is talking." The margin has, Ibr " talking," mcditdtelh. Dr. A. Clarke says, " Perhaps the word should be inter- preted as in the margin, he mediiateth, he is in a jiroloimd revery, he is making some godlike projects, he is consider- ing how he may keep up his credit in ihe nation." Siva was once absorbed in a profound meditation: lo him the time appeared only as a moment, but to the world as ageB. Universal nature, for want of his alieniion, was t.boul lo expire. Women had ceased lo bear, and all ihiiigs wcie out of course. The gods and men became alarmed, ;.nd their enemies began to oppress them. All were afraid lo disturb him in his meditations, till Cama, the god of love, agreed to stand before him: when Siva, being aroused from his revery, sent fire from his frontal eye, which de- stroyed Ihe intruder. " Or he is pursuing." The Hebrew has this, " hatha pur- suit :" on which Dr. A. Clarke says, " he may be taking his pleasure in hunting." Siva is described as taking great pleasure in the eha.se; and in the month of Septem- ber, his image and that of Parvali, his -n^ife, are taken from the temple, put into a Icati-ngam, or car, and carried on men's shoulders to enjoy the pleasures of the chase! " Or he is in a journey." Siva is represented as taking longjourneys, and sometimes for very discreditable purposes. " Peradvenlure he sleepeth." Siva often did this, espe- cially ■when he took the form of a cooly ; for, after he had performed his task, he fell asleep under the tree called the Konda Maram. Thus the prophet mentioned four things, in some of which their god ■was engaged, and consequent- ly, could not attend to their requests. But it ■nas manifestly improper, if he were thus occupied, for them lo disturb him : vet Elijah said, " Cry aloud," let him hear you ; he is no doubt a god. When a holy person before the temple, or in any sacred place, is meditating, not one will presume lo disturb him: hoAV, then, could they interrupt their deity 1 When en- gaged in pleasure, whether of the chase or any other amusement, no one dares to interfere with the great man J and yet Baal was to be called from his pleasures. It is improper to interrupt those that are on a journey. They have an object in view, and that must first be accomplish- ed. No one will disturb a person when he is asleep — to them it seems to be almost p sin to awake a man from his slumbers. Where is your master? " Sillnri,^' asleep; and then you may walk ofl'till another day. Yet, improper as it was to interfere with Baal in his "engagements, ihe sarcastic prophet said, " Cry aloud." " And they cried aloud, and cui themselves with knives." Here, also, the devotees may be seen culling themselves with knives till Ihe blood stream from their bodies, or suspended with hooks in their flesh from a pole, or with their tongue cut out, or practising other cruelties on themselves, for the ex- piation of their sins, or Ihe glory of their gods.— Roberts. Ver. 28. And they cried aloud, and cut them- selves, after their manner, with knives and lan- cets, till the blood gushed out upon them. If we look into antiquitv, we shall find ihat nothing was more common in Ihe religious riles of several nations, than this barbarous custom. To this purpose we may observe, that (as Plutarch de Superstitione tells ns) Ihe priests of Bel- lona, when they sacrificed lo lhat goddess, besmeared the victim with their own blood. The Persian mn/rt used lo appease tempests, and allav the winds, by making incisions in their flesh. Thcv who" carried about the Syrian god- dess, cut and slashed themselves with knives, till the blood gushed out. This practice remains in many places at the present lime, and frequent instances of it may be met with in modern voyages and travels.— BiiiDEit. There has been no little supposition and conjecture, for what reason the priests of Baal " cut themselves, after their manner, with knives, and with lancets, till the blood gushed out upon them." 1 Kings xviii. 2H. This seems, by the story, to have been after Elijah had mocked them, (or, at least, while he was mocking them,) and had worked up their fervour and passions lo the utmost height. Mr. Harmer has touched lightly on this, but has not set it in so clear a view as it seems to be capable of, nor has he given very cogent instances. It may be taken as an instance of Chap. 18. 1 KINGS. 265 earnest entreaty, of conjuration, by the most powerful marks ol atfection : q. d. " Dost thou not see, O Baal ! willi what passion we adore thee ■?— how we give thee most decisive tokens of our aftection 1 We shrink at no pain, we decline no disfigurement, to demonstrate our love for thee; and yet Ihou answerest not! By every token of our regard, answer us ! By the freely flowing blood we shed for thee, answer us !" &c. They certainly demonstrated their attachment to Baal; but Baal did not testify his reciprocal attachment to them, in proof of his divinity, which was the article in debate between them and Elijah. Observe, how readily these still bleeding cuttings would identify the priests of Baal at the subsequent slaughter ; and how they tended to justify that slaughter; being contrary to the law' that ought 10 have governed the Hebrew nation, as we shall see pres- enlly. As the demonstration of love, by cuttings made in the flesh, still maintains itself in the East, a few instances may be at least amusing to European lovers, without fear of its becoming fashionable among us. " But the most ridiculous and senseless method of expressing their affec- tion, is their singing certain amorous and whining songs, composed on purpose for such mad occasions ; between every line whereof they cut and slash their naked arms with daggers: each endeavouring, in their emulative mad- ness, to exceed the other by the depth and number of the wounds he gives himself. [A lively picture this, of the singing, leaping, and self-slashing priests of Baal !] Some Turks, I have observed, when old, and past the follies which possessed their youth, show their arms, all gashed and scarred from wrist to elbow ; and express a great con- cern, but greater wonder, at their past simplicity." The "oddness of the style invited me to render some of the above named songs into English : Could I, dear ray of heavenly Hghr, Who now beliind a cloud dost shine, Obtain tlie blessing of thy sight. And taste thy injluence all divine; 'Thus would I shed my warm heart's blood. As now I gash my veiny arm : Wouldst thou, but like the sun, think good To draw it upward by some charm.' Another runs thus: 'O, lovely charmer, pity me ! See how my blood does from me fly .' Yet were I sure to conquer thee. Witness it, Heaven ! I'd gladly die.' " (Aaron Hill's TraveLt.) This account is confirmed by De la Motraye, who gives a print of such a subject. Lest the reader should think that llii^ love, and its tokens, are homages to the all-subduing and dislracting power of beauty only, we add Pitts' ac- count of the same procedure : " It is common for men there to fall m love with boys, as it is here in England to be in love with women; and I have seen many, when they have been drunk, give themselves deep gashes on their arms, mtk a Inije, saying, ' It is for the love I bear to such a boy!' and I assure you, I have seen several, who have had their arms full of great cuts, as tokens of their love," &c. (Pitts' Ac- count of Mohammedism.) This custom of cutting them- selves is taken, in other places of scripture, as a mark of afl'eclion : so Jer. xlviii. 37, " Every head shall be bald, every beard clipped, and vpon all hands, cuttings ; and upon the loins, sackcloth:" as tokens of excessive grief for the absence of those thus regarded. So, chap. xvi. ver. C, " Both the great and the small shall die in the land : they shall not be buried, neither shall men lamenl for them, nor cut l/iemseti-es," in proof of their aflection, and expression of their loss; "nor make themselves bald for them," by tearing their hair, &c. as a token of grief So, chap. xli. ti, " There canie from Samaria fourscore men, liaving their beards shaven, and their clothes rent, and having cut themselves, with ollerings to the house of the Lord." So, chap, xlvii. ;■), "Baldness is come upon Gaza: Ashkelon is I ut olT, with the residue of her valleys ; how long wilt thou cut Ihiiself >''' rather, perhaps, how deep, or to ii'hat length wilt thou rut thyself? All these places include the idea of painful absence of the parly beloved. Cuttings for the dead had the same radical idea of privation. The law says, Lev. xix. '38, and Deut. xiv. 1, "Ye are the children of the Lord your God ; ye shall not rut vmirselres, nor make any baldness between your eves, for the dead;" )'. c. restrain such excessive tokens of grief ; sorrow not as those without hope, if for a dead friend ; but if for a dead idol. as Calmet always takes it, then it prohibits the idolatrous custom, of which it also manifests ihe autiquitv Mr Harmer has anticipated us, in referring " the wounds in the hands" of the examined prophet, Zech. xiii. 6, to this custom ;— the prophet denies that he gave himself these wounds lu token of his aflection to an idol ; but admits that he had received them in token of aflection to a person. It IS usual to refer Ihe expression of the apostle. Gal vi 17 " I bear in my body the marks (stigmata) of the Lord Jesus, to those imprinted on soldiers by their command- ers ; or to those imprinted on slaves by their masters ; but would there be any degradation of the apostle, if we re- ferred them to tokens of affection towards Jesus l' q. d. " Let no man take upon him to [molest, fatigue,] trouble me by questioning my pretensions to the apostleship, or to the character of a true lover of Jesus Christ, as some among you Galatians have done ; for I think my losses, my suffer- ings, my scars, received in the fulfilment of my duty to him, are tokens suflSciently visible to every man who considers them of my regard to him, for whose sake 1 have borne, and still bear them: I shall therefore wriie no more in vin- dication of my character, in that re.spect, however it may be impugned."— Taylob in Calmet. Ver. 33. And he put the wood in order, and cut the bullock in pieces, and laid him on the wood, ttnd said. Fill four barrels with water, and pour it on the burnt-sacrifice, and on the wood. See on 1 Kings 17. 12. Ver. 41. And Elijah said unto Ahab, Get thee up, eat and drink; for there is a sound of abundance of rain. It is as common in the East to say there is the sound of rain, as it is in England to say there is an appearance of rain. Sometimes this refers to thunder, as the precursor; and at other times to a blowing noise in the clouds, which indicates rain is at hand. In the vicinity of a hill or tall trees, the sound is the loudest; and it is worthy of notice, that Elijah was in the neighbourhood of Mount Carmel. — Roberts. "Ver. 42. So Ahab went up to eat and to drink. And Elijah went up to the top of Carmel ; and he cast himself down upon the earth, and put his face between his knees. David's posture, mentioned 1 Chron. xvii. IG, in all probability was not unlike that of Elijah, which was one of most earnest supplication. I remember being present in Ihe supreme court at Matura, when the prisoners were brought up to receive their sentences; and when a Cinga- lese woman, on hearing her son's condemnation to sufler death, rushed through the crowd, and presenting herself before the bench, in the verj' posture ascribed to Elijah, en- treated, in the most heart-rending manner, that his life might be spared. — Cai.l-away. Who, In the East, has not seen the natives thus sitting on the earth, with their faces between Iheir knees 1 Those engaged in deep meditation, in a long train of reasoning, ■uhenrevolHng the past, or anticipating the future, when in great sorrow or fatigue, as coolies after a journey, may be .seen .seated ffn7(«n, may, it is very likely, excite the notion of something superior to a common lent ; so our translators use that term lo express the superb lent of a king of Babylon, Jer. xliii. 10, " He (Nebuchadnezzar) shall spread his royal pavilion over Ihem." A mere English reader will be surprised, perhaps, when he is told ihat the word ni;r sneci'th, Iranslalcd pa- vilions, 1 Kings XX. 12, 16, signifies nothing more than hnolhs ; and more still, if he is told that the sacred historian might, possibly, precisely design to be so understood, when describing ihe places in which kings were drinking. That the word signifies Uu>se slight temporary defences from the heat which are formed by ihc setting up the boughs of trees, is visible by what is said Jonah iv. Ti. and IN'eh. viii. l(i ; and we km>w thai Ihe common people of the East fre- quently sit under them ; but it maybe Ihoughl incredible Ihat princes should make use of such, as the term, precisely taken, seems lo imply. " And it came lo pass, when Ben- hadad heard lliis me.ssage, as he was drinking, he and the kings in the pavilions," 1 Kings xx. 12. " But Benhadad was drinking himself drunk in the pavilions, he and the kings, the thirty and two kings that helped him," v. IH. In the margin our translators have jmi the W( rd Irnls ; but Ihat there is nothing incredible in the accouni, if wc should understanilthe prophetic historian as meaning booths, prop- erly speaking, will appear, if we consider the greal sim- plicity of ancieni times, and the greal delight ihe people of the East take in verdure, and in caiing and drinking under the shade of trees; especially alter reading the following paragraph of Dr. Chandler's Travels in ihe Lesser Asia: "While we were employed on ihe Iheaire of Milelns, ihe Aga of Suki, son-in-law, by marriage, lo Elez.Oglu, crossed Ihe plain towarils us, alleiided by a considerable train of domestics and officers, iheir vests and their turbans of va- rious and lively colours, mounted on long-tailed horses. Chap. 20. 1 KINGS, 2G9 with showy trappings and furniture. He returned after hawking to Miletus ; and ■we went to visit him, with a present of coffee and sugar ; but we were told that two fa- vourite birds had flown away, and that he was vexed and tired. A couch was prepared for him beneath a shed, made against a cottage, and covered with green boughs, to keep off the sun. lie entered as we were standing by, and fell down on it to sleep, without taking any notice of us." A very mean place, a European would think, to be prepared for the reception of an aga that made so respectable a figure, and in a town which, though ruinated, still had several cottages, inhabited by Turkish families. It does not appear incredible then, that Benhadad, and the thirty- two petty kings that attended him, might actually be drink- ing wine beneath such green sheds, as a Turkish aga, of considerable distinction, chose to sleep under, rather than in an adjoining cottage, or rather than under a tent, which he otherwise might have carried with him, to repose under when he chose to rest himself Oriental manners are very dilferent from those in the West. — Harmer. Ver. 27. And the children of Israel were num- bered, and were all present, and went against them ; and the children of Israel pitched before them like two little flocks of kids ; but the Sy- rians filled the country. A flock of goats is fewer in number than a flock of sheep, because the former are given to wander and separate, while the latter, more gregarious in their temper, collect into one place. This is the reason, says Bochart, that the sacred writer compares the small army of the Israelites to a flock of goats rather than to a flock of sheep. While seven is always used by the Hebrews to denote a sufficient or com- plete number, two is constantly employed to signify a few, or verj' few. Thus the widow woman said to the prophet, " As the Lord thy God liveth, I have not a cake, but a handful of meal in a barrel, and a little oil in a cruise: and behold, I am gathering two sticks, that I may go in and dress it for me and my son, that we may eat it and die." The phrase is used in the same sense by the prophet con- cerning the reduced state of his people: "Yet gleaning grapes shall be left in it; as the shaking of an olive-tree, two or three berries in the top of the uppermost bough." Another prophet uses it in relation to the return of a small number of the captives to their own land : " I will take you ; one of a city and two of a family, and I will bring }'ou to Zion." And Hosea encourages his people to repent- ance with the promi.se, " After two days will he revive us : in the third day he will raise us up, and we shall live in his sight," or, within a very short lime he will deliver them from their enemies. The sacred historian accordingly compares the armies of Israel opposed to the Syrian-s'to "two little flocks of kids;" two, because they were few in number; little flocks, as goats from their roaming dispo- sition always are; flocks of kids, feeble and timid, without resources and without hope. A more complete and glowing picture of national weakness, even the pen of inspiration never drew. — Paxton. Ver. 28. And there came a man of God, and spake imto the king of Israel, and said. Thus saith the Lord, Because the Syrians have said, The Lord is God of the hills, but he is not God of the valleys ; therefore will I deliver all this great multittide into thy hand, and ye shall know that I am the Lord. That there were many gods who had each their particu- lar charge and jurisdiction, that some presided over whole countries, while others had but particular places under their tuil ion and government, and were some of them gods of the woods, others of the rivers, and others of the mountains, was plainly the doctrine of all heathen nations. Pan was reckoned the god of the mountains, for which reason he was styled 'Ooei/J.lrrK, mnvntain traverser ; and in like man- ner, the Syrians might have a conceit that the god of Israel was a god of the mountains, because Canaan, they saw, was a mountainous land; the Israelites delighted to sacrifice on high places; their law, they might have heard, was given on the top of a mountain ; their temple stood upon a famous eminence, as did Samaria, where they had so lately received a signal defeat : for their further notion was, that the gods of the mountains had a power to inject a panic fear into any army, whenever they pleased. Nay, that they did not only assist with their influence, but actually engaged them- selves in battle in behalf of their favourites, is a sentiment as old as Homer. — Stackhouse. Ver. 30. But the rest fled to Aphek, into the city ; and there a wall fell upon twentj' and seven thousand of the men that were left. And Ben-hadad fled, and came into the city, into an inner chamber. See on eh. 22. 25. In regard to this passage, we are not to suppose that this wall, or castle, or fort, (as it may be rendered,) fell upon every individual one, much less that it had killed every man it fell on : it is sufficient to justify the expression, that it fell upon the main body of these seven and twenty thou- sand, and that it killed some and maimed others, (for the scripture does not say that it killed all,) as is usual in such cases. Let us suppose then, that these Syrians, after their defeat on the plains of Aphek, betook themselves to this fenced city, and despairing of any quarter, mounted the walls, or retired into some castle, with a resolution to defend themselves to the last ; and that the Israelitish army coming upon them, plied the walls or the castle on every side £0 warmly with their batteries, that down they came at once, and killing some, wounding others, and making the rest disperse for fear, did all the execution that the text intends. Thus we may account for this event in a natural way; but it is more reasonable to think that God, upon this occa- sion, wrought a miracle ; and either by some sudden earth- quake or violent storm of wind, overturned these walls, or this fortress, upon the Syrians. And indeed, if any time was proper for his almighty arm to interpose, it was at such a time as this, when these blasphemous people had denied his sovereign power and authority in the government of the world, and thereby in some measure obliged him, in vindication of his own honour, to give them a full demon- stration of it, and to show that he was the God of the plains as well as of the mountains; that he could as effectually destroy them in strongholds as in the open field, and make the very walls, wherein they trusted for defence, the in- struments of their ruin. This Aphek, or Aphaca, (as it is called by profane au- thors,) was situated in Lihanus, upon the river Adonis, be- tween Heliopolis and Biblos, and in all probability is the same that Paul Lucas, in his voyage to the Levant, speaks of, as .swallowed up in a lake of Mount Libanus, about nine miles in circumference, wherein there are several houses, all entire, to be seen under water. The soil about this place (as the ancients tell us) was very bituminous, which seems to confirm their opinion, who think that subterraneous fires consumed the solid substance of the earth, whereon the city stood,sothatitwassubduedandsunkatonce,and a lake was soon formed in its place. — Stackhocse. Ver. 31. And his servants said unto him. Behold now, we have heard that the kings of the house of Israel are merciful kings: let us, I pray thee, put sackcloth on our loins, and ropes upon our heads, and go out to the king of Israel ; peradventure he will save thy life. The vanquished foe, in testimony of his submission, hung his sword from his neck, when he came into the presence of his conqueror. When Bagdat was taken by the Turks, in the year 1638, the governor's lieutenant and principal officer was sent to the grand vizier, with a scarf about his neck, and his sword wreathed in it, which is accounted by them a mark of deep humiliation and perfect submission, to beg for mercy in his own and his master's name. His request being granted, the governor came and was intro- duced to the grand seignior, and obtained, not only a con- firmation of the promise of life that had been made him, but also various presents of considerable value. These 270 1 KINGS. Chap. 21. oirctimstanccs forcibly recall lo our minds the message (if Benhailail, artcr liis sii;nal dcfeal, tn (he kiiiR of Israel ; ihe passage runs in these lei ins: "And his servants said unio liim, Behohl now, we have heard that ihe kings of the house of Israel are increifiil kinss; let us, I pray thee, put sackekith on our loins, and ropes upon our heads, and KO out to the kini; of Israel; |)eradveniiire he will save Ihy life. So lliey girded sacUeloihon iheir loins, and put ropes on their heads, and eaiiie lo the king of Israel, and said. Thy servant Benhadad saiih, I pray thee, let me live. And he said, Is he yet alive 1 he is my brother." The servants of Benhadad "succeeded in obtaining a verbal assurance that Ills life sliould be spared ; but a surer pledge of pro- leelioii was In deliver a banner into the hand of the sup- pliant. Ill the vear I0!li>, when Jerusalem was taken by ihe , crusaders, aboii'i three hundred Saracens got upon the roof ' of a very laliy building, and earnestly begged for quarter, but could nut be indnced by any promise of safely to come down, till they had received llie banner of Tancred, one of the chiefs of ihe crusaders, as a pledge of life. This they reckoned a more powerful protection than the most solemn promise; although in this instance their confidence was en- liiely misplaced ; for the faithless zealots who pretended to figlil' for the cross, put every man of them lo the sword. — I'.V.XTON. Vcr. 34. And Ben-hadad said unto Iiiiii, The citius which my father took from thy fatlier I will restore ; and thou shall make streets for thee in Damascus, as my father made in Sama- ria. Then said A/iah, I will send thee away with this covenant. So he made a covenant with him, and sent him away. When the king of Syria had obtained security for his life, and assurance of being restored in peace to his throne, he promised in return for such great and une.vpected fa- vours, lo restore the cities which his falher had taken from Israel, and to permit Ahab lo make streets in Damascus for himself, as his falher had made in Samaria. This ex- traordinary privilege of making sireels in Damascus, has e.xceediiigiv puzzled coimnentalors. Some of ihem sup- pose llie word linids-nlli signifies market-places, where com- modities were sold, the duties on which should belong to Ahab; others imagine he meant courts of justice, where the king of Israel should have the prerogative of silling in judgment, and exercising a jurisdiction over Ihe Syrians; others think they were a sort of piazzas, of which he should reteive the rents ; one class of interpreters understand by the word, fortifications or citadels; another class attempt to prove, that palaces are meant, which Ahab should be permitted to build as a proof of his superiorily. The priv- ileges w'hich we know, from the faithful page of history, were acluallv granted to ihe Venetians for their aid, by the states of the kingdom of Jerusalem, during ihe captivity of Bp.ldwin II., may perhaps e.tplain, in a more salisfaciory manner, these words of Benhadad. The instrument by which these privileges were secured, is preserved in the history of William, bishop of Tyre, the hislorian of Ihe crusades, from which it appears, they were accustomed to assign churches, and to give streets in their towns and cities, with very ample prerogatives in these streets, to Ihe fiireign nations who lent ihem the mo.sl eflt'ciual assislance. The S'enetians had a street in Acre, wiih full jurisdiction in ii ; and in what this consisted, we learn from ihe deed of setlleinent just mentioned; ihcv had aright to have in their streets an oven, a mill, a balh. weights, and measures for wine, oil, and honey; Ihey had also a right to judge causes among themselves, together wilh as great a juris- diction over all those who dwelt in their street, of what nation soever they might be, as the kings of Jeriisalemhad over others. Tlie same historian informs us, Iliat the Gen- oese also had a street in ihal eiiv. wilh full jurisdiction in it, and a ehurch, as a reward for their services, logelher wilh a third part of the dues of the port. In the treaty of peace granted by Bajazet, emperor of the Turks, to Eman- uel, the Greek emperor, it was siipulaled that the latter .should grant free liberty to ihe Turks lo dwell lo;;ether in one street of Conslanlinciple. wilh ihe free exercise of iheir own religion and laws, under a judge of Iheir own nation. This humiliating condition Ihe Greek emperor was obliged to accept; and a great number of Turks, with iheir fami- lies, were sent oul of Kithynia lo dwell in Consianunople, wliere a mosijue was built for their accommodation. It is not improbable, ihni the same kind of privileges that were granled to llie Venetians, ihe Genoese, and llie Turks, had been granted lo the father of Benhadad, by Ihe king of Israel, and were now olfered lo Ahab in Damascus, in the distressed state of his aliair.s. The Syrian monarch prom- ised to give his conqueror a number of streets m his capital city, for the use of his subjects, with peculiar rights and privileges, which enabled him to exercise the same juris- diction there as in his ow n dominions. — Paxtox. Mr. Hariner has remarked, that "the proposal of Benha- dad, as 10 the making and possession of streets in Damascus, was better relished by Ahab, than under.siood by comnien- lalors;" some of whom have guessed ihat lliis expression meant the erection of markets, or of courts of judicalure, or of piazzas, or of citadels and foriifications, &c. Mr. Harmcr then proceeds lo narrate Ihe privileges granled lo ihe Veneiians, in recompense for their aid, by the slates of the kingdom of Jerusalem ; and he observes, Ihat it was customary to assign cAiirchrs, and to give streets, in their towns, to foreign nations, &c. His instances, however, arc rather instances of rew'ards for services performed, than proofs of such terms as conditions of peace: proba- bly, therefore, it will not be disagreeable lo ihe reader lo see a passage still more applicable lo the history of Benha- dad, than any of those are which Mr. Harmer has pro- duced; it occurs in Knolles's " History of ihe Turks," p. '20G. " Baiazet having worthily relieucd his besieged cilie, returned againc to the siege of Constantinople, laying more hardly vnio it than before, building forls and bulwarks against it on the one side towards ihc land ; and passing oner the .strait of Bosphorus, huill a strong castle vpon Ihal strait ouer against Conslantinople, to impeach so much as was possible, all passage thereunio by sea. This strcighl siege (as most write) conlinned also Iwo ycies, which 1 suppose by the circumstance of the historic, to liaue been pari of the aforesaid eight yercs. Emanuel, the bcsicfied Emperor, vearied irith t/tcsejon^ irors, sent an einhassailor to liaiazct, to intreat with him a fence ; which Baiazet was ihe more willing 10 hearken vnio, for Ihat he heard newes, ihat Tamerlane, the great Tartarian Prince, intended shorily to warre iipcm him. Yet eould this peace vot he ohtained, Init npon condition thiit the Emperor should grant free liber- tie for the Turl.-s lo dwell logelher in one street of Conslan- tinople, iritk free exercise of their own relieion and laves, rnder a judge of their own notion ; and fnrlher. lo pay vnio the Turkish king a yeerely tribute often thousand duckals. Which dishonourable conditions Ihe disl'C.ved Emperor vas glad to accept of. So was Iliis long siege broken \j>, and presenlly a great sort of 7\irks irith Iheir families were sent Old nf nil/uinin, lo dwell in Conslantinople, and a chvrch there hvilt for Ihem : which nol long after was bv the Em- peror pulled downe to ihe ground, and the Turks againe driuen out of the cilie, at such time as Baiazei was by Ihc mighty Tamerlane oucrlhrowne and laken prisoner." The circumstances of ihese iwo stories are so much alike, that it merely now remains to notice Ihe propriety wilh which our translators have chosen the word streets, rather than any other proposed by commenialors. — T.^vi.oii in Cai.met. CHAPTER XXI. Ver. 2. And Ahab spake unto Naboth, sayiuL', Give me thy vineyard, that 1 may have it for a oarden of herbs, because it is near unto my house : and I will erive thee for it a better vine- yard than it ; or, if it seem gfood to thee, I will give thee tlie worth of it in monej'. Our first parents had for their residence a beauliful gar- den, which inay have had some influence upon iheir imme- diate descendants, in giving ihcm a predilection lor such situations. People in England will scarcely be able to ap- preciate the value which ihe Orientals place on a garden. The food of manvof them consists of vegetables, roots, and fruits ; their medicines, also, being indigenous, are most of them produced in their gardens. Hence ihey have iheir fine fruit trees, and the consiani shade; and here Ihev have their wells and places for bathing. See the proprietor, in his undress walking around his little domain; his fence Chap. 21. 1 KINGS. 271 or wall is so high no one can overlool< him; he strolls aboui lo smoke his shrool, to pick up the fruii, and cull the flowers; he cares not for the world; his soul is satisfied with the scenes around him. Ahab wished to have Na- borh's garden; but how could he part with "the inherit- ance" of his " fathers'!" There was scarcely a tree which had not some pleasing associations connected with it: one wa^ planted by the hand ol' a beloved ancestor, another in memory of some great event; the water he drank, and the fruit he ate, were from the same sources as those which lefreshcd his lathers. How then could he, in disobedience to God's command, and in violation of all those tender feelinss, give np his garden to Ahabl To part with such a place is, to the people of the East, like parting with life iisell". — RoBER'rs. Ver. 4. And he laid him do\\'n upon his bed, and turned away his face, and would eat no bread. Thus acted the puissant monarch, because he could not get Nabolh's garden. See the creature in the shape of a man pouting his lip, and throwing himself on his bed, and refusing to eat food, because he could not gain his wishes. The domestics brought refreshment, but their lord would not take it ; and, therefore, they went to queen Jezebel, to communicate the sorrowful intelligence ; and she imme- diatelv went to his majesty and inquired, "Why is tby spirit so sad, that thou eatest not bread V and he told his mournful story. How often do we see full-grown men acting in a similar way, when disappointed in their wishes: so near them, and they avert their faces ; olTer them food, they will not eat; and, generally speaking, their friends are so weak as, at any expense, to gratify their wishes. — Rob- erts. ^ Ver. 7. And .Jezebel's wife said unto him, Dost thou now govern the kingdom of Israel? arise, and eat bread, and let thy heart be merry : I will give thee the vineyard of Naboth the Jez- reelite. I do not find any statute that prohibited an Israelite from exchanging his inheritance ; nor was there, indeed, in such exchange, unless when it transferred a person to a difierent tribe, any thing contrary to the intention of the law, which was to prevent his latest posterity from ever being altoge- ther denuded of their land. Perhaps, therefore, it was a piece of mere crossness in Naboth to refuse, in such un- courlly terms, not only to sell, but even to exchange his vineyard with King Ahab, 1 Kings xxi. 7. At the same time, it is impossible to vindicate the despotic measure, to which the barbarous wife of this too obsequious monarch had recourse in order to obtain it ; for certainly Naboth was not obliged to exchange his vineyard, unless he chose. MiCHAELIS. Ver. 8. So she wrote letters in Ahab's name, and sealed them with his seal, and sent the letters unto the elders and to the nobles that were in his city dwelling with Naboth. At this day, in the East, not a female in ten thousand is acquainted with the art of writing; and I think it probable th:it Ahab's affectionate queen did not write the leUers with her own hand, but that she cailsed it to be done by others. It is not unlikely that the stale of female education, in modern limes, is precisely the .same as that of antiquity; for I do not recollect any female in the scriptures, except- ing Jezebel, who is mentioned as being concerned in the writing of letters. The talented Hindoo female, Aviyar, has left wonderful memorials of her cultivated mind; and I doubt not, when female education .shall become general in the East, from them will be furnished many an Aviyar, to bless and adorn the future age. — Roberts. The very ancient custom of sealing de.spatches with a seal or signet, set in a ring, is still retained in the East. Pococke says, " in Egypt they make the impression of their name with their seal, generally of cornelian, which they wear on their finger, and which' is blacked when they have occasion to seal with it." Hanway remarks, that " the Per- sian ink serves not only for writing, but for subscribing with their seal ; indeed, many of the Persians in high of- fice could not write. In their rings they wear agates, which serve for a seal, on which is frequently engraved iheir name, and some verse from the Koran." Shaw also has a remark exactly lo the same purpose. — Bt]RDEn. Ver. 10. And set two men, sons of Belial, before him, to bear witness against hitn, saying, Thou didst blaspheme God and the king. Princes never want instruments to execute their pleasure ; and yet it is strange, that among all these judges and great men, there should be none that abhorred such a villany. It must be considered, however, that for a long while they had cast off all fear and sense of God, and prostituted their consciences to please their king : nor dare they disobey Jezebel's commands, who had the full power and govern- ment of the king, (as they well knew,) and could easily have taken away their lives, had they relused to condemn Na- both.— Stackhocse. Ask any judge, any gentleman in the civil service of India, whether men may not be had in any village to swear anything for the fraction of a shilling 1 Jezebel would not find it dilhcult to procure agents to swear away the life of Naboth the Jezreelite. — Roberts. Ver. 13. And I will stretch over Jerusalem the line of Samaria, and the plummet of the house of Ahab ; and I will wipe Jerusalem as a man wipeth a dish, wiping it, and turning it upside down. The Vulgate renders this clause, DeUbo Jervmlcm, sicut deleri solent tainiUr : I will blot out Jerusalem as tablets are wont to be blotted out. It is a metaphor taken from the an- cient method of writing. They traced their letters with a stile on boards, thinly spread over with wax: for this pur- pose one end of the stile was sharp, the other end blunt and smooth; wilhthisthey could rub out what they had written, and so smooth the place, and spread back the wax, as to render it capable of receiving any other words. Thus the Lord had written down Jerusalem, never intending that its name or memorial should be blotted out ; but now the stile is turned, and the name Jerusalem is no longer to be found. BURDER. Ver. 15. And it came to pass, when Jezebel heard that Naboth was stoned, and was dead, that Jez- ebel said to Ahab, Arise, take possession of the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, which he re- fused to give thee for pioney: for Naboth is not alive, but dead. As Naboth, according to verse 10, was executed as a blasphemer and a traitor, his property did not go to his re- lations, but to the king. Even now, in the Turkish empire, and in Persia, the property of great men who are executed, falls to the public treasury, or the governors of the province seize upon it. The chans now enrich themselves with the confiscated property of criminals, and other fines, which formerly fell to the royal treasury, says Gmelin, in his Travels through Persia and Northern Persia. — Bcrder. Ver. 19. Thus saith the Lord, In the place where dogs licked the blood of Naboth shall dogs lick thy blood, even thine. There is a great dispute among the learned, as to the ac- complishment of this prophecy. At the first it was no doubt intended to be literally fulfilled, but upon Ahab's repent- ance, (as we find below,) the punishment was transferred from him to his son Jehoram, in whom it was actually ac- complished ; for his dead body was cast into the portion of the held of Naboth the Jezreelite, for the dogs to devour. 2 Kings ix. 25. Since Ahab's blood therefore was licked by dogs, not at Jezreel, but at Samaria, it seems necessary that we should understand the Hebrew word, which our translation renders, in the place where, not as denoting the 272 1 KINGS. Chap. 22. place, but llie raauuer in which the ihing was done; and NO llie sense of the passage will be, ihal as dogs licked, or in like manner, ns do"s licked Naboth's blood, even so shall they lick ihine, observe what I say, even thine. — Si'ACKHOL'SE. Vcr. 23. And of Jezebel also spake the Lord, saying-, The dogs shall eat Jezebel by the wall of Jezreel. This, lo an English ear, sounds very surprising; lliat .-luring the time of a single meal, so many dogs should be on llie spot, ready to devour, and should so speedily de- spalrh this business, in the very niid.st of a royal city, close uiuler the royal gateway, and where a considerable train of people had so lately passed, and, no donbl, many were eonlMuially passing: this, to an Knglish reader, appears oxireniely unaccountable ; bat we find it well accounted for by .VIr. Bruce, whose information the reader will receive with due allowance for the different manners and ideas of countries ; after which, this rapid devouring of Jezebel will not appear so extraordinary as it has hitherto done. " The bodies of those killed by the sword were hewn to pieces, and scattered about the streets, being denied burial. I was miserable, and almost driven to despair, at seeing my hunting-dogs twice let loose by the carelessness of my servants, bringing into the cmirtyard the heads and arms of slaughtered men, and which I could no way prevent, but by the destruction of the dogs themselves : the quantity of carrion, and the stench of it, brought down the hyenas in hundreds from the neighbouring mountains; and as few people in Gondar go out after it is dark, they enjoyed the streets to themselves, and seemed ready to dispute the pos- session of the city with the inhabitants. Often, when I went home late from the palace, and it was this time the king chose chielly for conversation, though I had but to pass the corner of the market-pUice before the palace, had lanterns with me, and was surrounded with armed men, I heard them grunting by twos and threes, so near me as to be alraid they would take some opportunity of seizing me by the leg. A pistol would have frightened them, and made Ihein speedily run, and I constantly carried two loaded at my girdle ; but the discharging a pistol in the night would have alarmed every one that heard it in the town, and it wa.s not now the time to add any thing to people's fears. I at last scarcely ever went out, and nothing occupied my thoughts but how to escape from this bloody country, by way of Sennaar, and how I could best exert my powei and influence over Yasine, at Ras el Feel, to pave my way, by a.ssisiing lue to pass the desert, into Alhara. The Icing, missing me at the palace, and hearing I had not been at Ras Michael's, began to inquire who had been with mel Aylo Confu soon ibund Yasine, who informed him of the whole matter. Upon this I was sent for to the palace, where I found the king, without anybody but menial ser- vants. He immediately reiuarked, that I looked very ill, which, indeed, I found to be the ca.se, as I had scarcely ate or slept since I .saw him last, or even for .some days before. He asked me, in a condoling tone, what ailed me 1 That besides looking sick, I seemed as if something had ruffled me, and put me out of humour. I told him, that what he observed was true : that coming across the markel-ptace, I had .seen Za Mariam, the Ras's doorkeeper, with three men bound, one of whom he fell a-haehing to pieces in my presence, and upon seeins me running across the place, stoppin? my nose, he called nie lo .slay till he should come and de-patch the other two, for he wanted to speak with me, as if he had been engaged about ordinary business ; that the soldiers, in consideration of his haste, immediately fell upon the other two, whose cries were still remaining in my ears; that the hvenas, at night, would scarcely let me pass in the streets, when I returned from the palace ■ and the dogsfled into mil house lo cat pieces of human carcMssesat their leisure." (Tnivels, vol. iv., page ftl, &c.) Without supposing that Jezreel was pestered with hye- nas, like Gondar. though that is not incredible, we iriay now easily admit of a sufficiency of dogs, accustomed lo carnage, which had pulled the body of .Tezebcl to pieces, and had devoured il before the palace gate, or hart with- drawn with parts of it to their hiding-places. But perhaps the mention of the head, hands, and feet, being left on the spot, indicates that it had not been removed by the dogs, but was eaten where it fell, (as those parts adjoined the mem- bers most likely to be removed,). so that the prophecy of Elijah was literally fulfilled : " In the portion of Jezreel, shall dogs eat Jezebel." This account illustrates also the readiness of the dogs lo lick the blood of Ahab, 1 Kings xxii. 38, in perfect conformity to which is the expression of the prophet Jeremiah, xv. 3, " I will appoint over them . ... the sword lo sl/iij, and the dogs to tear, and the fowls of the heaven, and the beasts of the earth, [ihc hyenas of Mr. Bruce, perhaps,] to devour and destroy. Mr. Brnce's ac- count also explains the mode of execution adopted by the prophet Samuel, with regard to Agag, king of the Amalek- ites, whom Samuel thus addresses : — " In like manner [literally, in like procedure as — ;. e. in the same identical mode of execution] as thy sword has made women barren, so shall thy mother be rendered barren [childless] among women." I Sam. xv. 33. If these words do noi iiiiplv that Agag had ripped up pregnant women, they at least imply that he had hcu^cd many prisoners to death ! for we find that " Samuel caused Agag lo be hewed in pieces before the face of the Lord [probably not before the residence of Saul, but before the tabernacle, &c.] in Gilgal," directing that very same mode of punishment (hitherto, we suppose, unadopted in Israel) to be used towards him, which he had formerly used towards others. The charaeler of the prophet Samuel has been vilified for cruelty on account of this history, with how little reason let the reader now judge; and compare a similar retributive act of justice on Adonibezek, Judges i. 7. — Taylor in Calmet. Ver. 27. And it came to pass, when Ahab heard those words, that he rent his clothes, and put sackcloth upon his flesh, and fasted, and lay in sackcloth, and went softly. See the man who goes into the presence of a superior ; he takes off his sandals, and walks softly — he has a timid air, and you cannot hear his foot tread on the ground. When a dutiful son goes to his father, or a devotee into the presence of a sacred personage, he walks in the same way. Has a proud, boasting man, been humbled, the people say, " Ah ! aha! he can now walk milha-vuka," i. c. softly. "What! the proud Mutto walk softly; whoever expected that 1" — Roberts. Going softly seems to have been one of the many expres- sions of mourning commonly used among the eastern nations. That it was in use among the Jews appears from the case of Ahab; and by mistake il has been confounded with walking barefoot. It seems to have been a very slow, solemn manner of walking, avcU adapted lo the slate of mourners labouring under great sorrow and dejection of mind. — Bukder. CHAPTER XXII. Ver. 11. And Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah inade him horns of iron ; and he said, Thus saith the Lord, AVith these shalt ihou push the Syrians, until thou have consumed them. The Indian soldier wears a horn of steel on the front of his helmet, directly over the forehead. In Abyssinia the headdress of the provincial governors, according lo Mr. Bruce, consists of a large broad fillet bound upon their forehead, and tied behind their head. In the middle of this rises a horn, or conical piece of silver, gilt, about four inches long, much in ihe shape of our ct>mnK>n candle ex- tinguishers. This is called kirn, a slight corruption of the Hebrew word kcren, a horn, and is only worn in re- views, or parailes afier victory. The crooked manner in which they hold the neck when this ornament is on their forehead, ior fear il should fall forward, seems to agree with what ihe Psalmist calls speaking with a .slill" neck : " Lifi not your horn on high ; speak not wiih a stiff neck ;" for il perfectly shows Ihc meaning of speaking in this atti- tude, when the horn is held exact like the horn of a uni- corn. An allusion is made to this custom in anoilier pas- sage; " But my horn shalt Ihou exalt like Ihe horn of a unicorn." To raise Ihe horn was lo clothe one with au- thority, or to do him honour ; lo lower it, cut il off, or lake il away, to deprive one of power, or lo treat him with dis- respect. Such were the " liorns of iron" which Zedekiah Chap. 22. 1 KINGS. 273 made for himself, when he presumed, in Ihe name of Jeho- vah, to flatter his prince with the promise of victory over his enemies : " Thus sailh the Lord, with these" military insignia " shall thou push the Syrians until thou hast con- sumed them." They were military ornaments, the symbols of strength, and courage, and power. — P.ixton. Ver. 16. And the king said unto him, How many- times shall I adjure thee that thou tell me nothing but that which is true in the name of the Lord ? In England, this solemn appeal is never made but in cases of extremity; but in the East, the most trifling cir- cumstance -ivill induce a person to say, Uimi-u ni-uddiderain, " By thy oath;" or, " I impose it upon thee."— Roberts. Ver. 25. And Micaiah said, Behold, thou shalt see in that day, when thou shalt go into an inner chamber to hide thyself. " In one of the halls of the seraglio at Constantinople," says De la Motraye, "the eunuch made us pass by several liille chambers, with doors shut, like the cells of monks or nuns as far as I could judge by one that another eunuch opened^ which was the only one I saw; and by the outside of others. Asan Firally Bashaw, being summoned by his friends, came out of a little house near the lowers, where he had been long hidden in his harein, which, had it been suspected by the mufti, he had not denied his fetfa to the emperor, for seizing his person, even there. The harems are sanctuaries, as sacred and inviolable for persons pur- sued by justice for any crime, debt, &e. as the Roman Catholic churches in Italy, Spain, Portugal, &c. Though the grand seignior's power over his creatures is such, that he may send some of his eunuchs even there to apprehend those who resist his will. The harems of the Greeks are almost as sacred as those of the Turks; so that the officers of justice dare not enter without being sure that a man is there, contrary to the law : and if they should go in and not find what they look for, the women may punish, and even kill them, without being molested for any infringe- ment of the law: on the contrary, the relations would have a right to make reprisals, and demand satisfaction for such violence." Those who have not seen the cells of monks, or nuns, in foreign countries, may conceive of a long gallery, or other spacious apartment, as a large hall, &c. into which the doors of the cells open : these cells consist of one room to each person, but frequently of two rooms, one of which is used for sleeping in; the other for less retired purposes, conversation, &c. Agreeably to this, it appears, that in the East also, we must first pass through a long hall, or gallery, before we can enter the peculiar abode of any particular woman of the harem. We may first apply this mode of dwelling to a circumstance threatened by the prophet Micaiah, to his opponent Zcdekiah, 1 Kinss .'j.xii. 25 " Thou shalt go into an inner chamber to hide thvself." Our translators have put in the margin, " from chamber to chamber." The Hebrew is, (mn 3 -.in cheder be chcder,) "chamber within chamber," which exactly agrees with the description extracted ; but it is new to cotisider this threat as predicting that Zedekiah should fly for shelter to a harem, [as we find Assan Firally Bashaw had done;] that his fear should render him, as it were, efleminate, and that he should seek refuge where it was not usual for'a man to .seek it ; where the "officers of justice," nor even those of conquerors, usually penetrated. There is an additional disgrace, a slins in these words, if this be the intention of the speaker, stronger than what has hitherto been noticed 35 m them. Is not something similar related of Benhadad 1 Kings XX. 30, " He fled," and was so overcome with fear' that he hid himself in " a chamber within chamber 1" As it is very characteristic of braggarts and drunkards (see verses 16, 18, &c.) to be mentally overwhelmed when in adversity, may we not suppose that Benhadad was now concealed in the harem? Following circumstances do not militate against this supposition. That the -word cheder means a woman's chamber, appears from Judges xv. 1, where Samson says, " I will go to my wife into her cham- ber," (n-nnn.)— Taylor in Cilmet. Ver. 43. And he walked in all the ways of Asa his father; he turned not aside from it, doing that which icas right in the eyes of the Lord : nevertheless the high places were not taken away; for the people offered and burnt incense yet in the high places. Many of old worshipped upon hills and on the tops of high mountains ; imagining that thev thereby obtained a nearer communication with heaven. ' Strabo says that the Pei;sians always performed their w^orship upon hills. Some nations, instead of an image, worshipped the hill as the deity. In Japan most of their temples are at this day upon eminences ; and often upon the ascent of high mountains, commanding fine views, with groves and rivulets of clear water: for they .say, that the gods are extremely delighted with such high and pleasant spots. (Ksmpfer's Japan.) This practice, in early times, was almost universal; and every mountain was esteemed holy. The people who prose- cuted this method of worship enjoyed a soothing infatuation, which flattered the gloom of superstition. The eminences to which they retired were lonely and silent, and seemed to be happily circumstanced for contemplation and prayer. They who frequented them were raised above the lower world, and fancied that they were brought into the vicinity of the powers of the air, and of the deity who resided in the higher regions. But the chief excellence for which they were frequented was, that they were looked upon as the peculiar places where God delivered his oracles.— BtmnER. Ver. 48. Jehoshaphat made ships of Tharshish to , go to Ophir for gold ; but they went not : for the ships were broken at Ezion-geber. " Suez, which was the Arsinoe of the ancients, is situated at the top of the Red Sea : it stands surrounded by the desert, and is a shabby, ill-built place ; the ships anchor a league from the town, to which the channel that leads is very narrow, and has only nine or ten feet depth of water; for which reason, the large ships that are built here must be towed down to the road, without mast, guns, or any thing in them ; there are eight of them lying here, which have not been to Juddah this year ; one of them is at least twelve himdred tons burden,'being as lofly as a hundred gun ship, though not longer than a frigate ; so that you may judge of the good proportions they observe in the con- .struction of their ships; the timber of which they are all buih is brought from Syria by water, to Cairo, and from thence on camels. This fleet sails for Juddah every year before the Hadge ; slays there two or three months and returns loaded with coffee: this is so material an article in the diet of a mussulman, that the prayers and wishes of them all are offered up for its safety : and I believe ne.xt to the loss of their country, the loss of their coflee wotild be most severely felt by them. The greatest part of it is sent to Constantinople, and other parts of Turkey but a small quantity going to France and Italy." (MajorRooke p 73 •) — BURDER. It J THE SECOND BOOK OF KINGS. CHAPTER I. Ver. 2. And Ahaziah fell down through a lattice in his upper chamber that was in Samaria, and was sick : and he sent messengers, and said unto them, Go, inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron, whether I shall recover of this disease. In the eastern countries the roofs of the houses were fiat, and surrounded witli a battlement, to prevent falling from them, because it was a customary thing for people to walk upon them, in order to take the air. Now in this battle- uieiU we may suppose ihat there were some wooden latti- ces for people to look through, of equal height with the par- apet wall, and that Ahaziah negligently leaning on it, as it was rotten and infirm it broke down, and let him fall into the court, or garden, belonging to his house. Or there is another way wherein he might fall. In these flat roofs there was generally an opening, which served instead of a sky light tg the huu.5e below, and this ooening might be done over with lattice-work, which the king, as he was carelessly walking, might chance to step upon and slip through. Nor is there any absurdity in supposing such lat- tice-work in a king's palace, when the world was not ar- rived to that height ot art and curiosity that we find in it now. — Stackhodse. Ver. 3. 7s it not because there is not a God in Is- rael, that ye go to inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron ? We, perhaps, may be a good deal surprised to find, that the drivim; awaif of flies should be thought by the inhabit- ants of the country about Ekron so imporiant, that they should give a name to the idol thev worshipped, expressive of that properly,(Baal-zebub, /on/ o/ac/v ;) more especially when this was not the only quality ascribed to him, but it was supposed the power of predicting such momentous matters as the continuance of the life of great princes, or their npproacliing death, did also belong to him; but pos- sibly a pas,sage in Vinisauf may lessen this astonishment. Viriisauf, speaking of the armv under our Richard the First, a little before he left the Holy Land, and describing them as marching on the plain not far from the .seacuast, towards a place called Ybelin, which belonged to the knights hos- pitalers of St. John of Jeru.salem, pretty near Hebron, says, " The army slopping a while there, rejoicing in the hope of speedily setting out for Jerusalem, were assailed by a inost minute kind of fly, living about like sparks, which they called cinciiincUic. With these the whole neighbouring region round about was filled. The.se most wretchedly infested the pilgrims, piercing with great smartness the hands, necks, throats, foreheads, and faces, and every part that was uncovered, a most violent burning tumour follow- ing the punctures made by them, so that all that they stung looked like lepers." He adds, "that they could hardly guard themselves from this most troublesome vexation, by covering their heads and necks with veils." What these fireflies were, and whether they shone in the dark, and for that reason are compared to sparks flying about, or whether they were compared to them on the account of the burning heat they occasioned, as well as a swelling in the flesh of all they wounded, I shall not take upon me to determine. I would only observe, Richard and his people met with them in that pari of the country, which seemed to be of the country which was not verv far from Ekron, and which seemed to be of much the sarne general nature— a plain not far from llie seacoa.st. Can we wonder, al^er this recital, that those poor hea- then who lived in and about Ekron, derived much conso- lation from the supposed powerof the idol they worshipped, to drive away the cincinnellte of that country, which were so extremely vexatious to these pilgrims of the I'ith centurj', and occasioned them so much pain. Lord of the fly, lord of these cincinnellce, must have appeared to them a very pleasing, a very important title. I will only add, that Sandys, in his travels in the sam- country, but more to the northward, speaks of the air appearing as if full of sparkles of Ji re, borne to and fro with the wind, after much rain anil a thunderstorm, which appearance of sparkles of fire he attributes to infinite swarms of flies that shone like glow-worms ; but he gives not the least intimation of their being incommoded by them. What this diflerence was owing to, it is quite beside the de- sign of the.se papers to inquire; whether its being about two months earlier in the year, more to the northward, or immediately afler much rain and a thunderstorm, was a cause of the innoxiousness of these animals when Sandys travelled, and even whether the appearance Sandys speaks of, was really owing to insects, or toanyeflfect of electricity, I leave to others to determine. — Harmer. Ver. 4. Now, therefore, thus saith the Lord, Then shall not come down from that bed on which thou art gone up, but shalt surely die. And Elijah departed. This expression may be illustrated by what Shaw says of the Moorish houses in Barbary,(Travels,p.209,) where, afler having observed that their chambers are spacious, of the same length with the square court on the sides of which they are built, he adds, " at one end of each chamber there is a little gallery raised three, four, or five feet above Ike floor, with a balustrade in the front of it, n-Hh a feir steps likewise leading up to it. Here they place their beds; a situation frequently alluded to in the holy scriptures, which may likewise illustrate the circumstance of Hezekiah's turning his face, wkcnhe prayed, tmcards the vail, (i. e. from his atlendaiits,) 2 Kings xx. 2, that the fervency of his de- votion might be the less taken notice of and observed. The like is related of Ahab, (1 Kings xxi. 4,) though probably he did thus, not upon a religious account, but in order to conceal from his attendants the anguish he was in for his late disappointment." — Burder. Ver. 8. And they answered him, He was a hairy man, and girt with a girdle of leather about his loins. And he said. It is Elijah the Tish- bite. See on Matt. 3. 4. Ver. 15. And the angel of the Lord said unto Elijah, Go down with him; be not afraid of him. And he arose, and went down with him unto the king. See on 1 Sam. 17. 51. Ver. 10. Therefore thou shalt not come down ofT that bed on which thou art gone up, but shalt surely die. At one end of each chamber is a little gallery, raised three or four feet above the floor, with a balustrade in front, to which thev go up bv a few steps. Here they place their beds • a situ.ition frequentiv alluded to in the holy scrip- tures Thus Jacob addressed his undutiful son, in his la-sl benediction : " Thou wentest up lo thy father's bed,— he Chap. 2. 2 KINGS. 275 went up 10 my couch." The allusion is ngain involved in the declaration of Elijah to the king of Samaria; "Now, therefore, thus saith the Lord, Thou shall not come down from that bed on which thou art gone up, but shall surely die." And the Psalmist sware imto the Lord, and vowed unto the mighty God of Jacob, " Surely I will not come into the tabernacle of my house, nor go up into ray bed, — until I find out a place for the Lord." This arrangement may likewise illustrate the circumstance of Hezekiah's " turning his face to the wall, when he prayed," that the greatness of his sorrow, and the fervour of his devotion, might, as much aspossjble, be concealed from his attendants. The same thing is related of Ahab, although we have no reason to think it was upon a religious account, but in order to conceal from those about him the anguish he felt for his late disappointment ; or, perhaps, by so great a show of sorrow, to provoke them to devise some means to gratify his wishes : " And he laid him down upon his bed, and turned away his face, and would eat no bread." — Paxton. CHAPTER II. Ver. 3. And the sons of the prophets that ivere at Bethel came forth to Elisha, and said unto him, Knowest thou that the Lord will take away thy master from thy head to-day 1 And he said. Yea, I know it ; hold ye your peace. The expression in the text is, " Knowest thou, that the Lord will take away thy master from thy head to-day V where the sons of the prophets allude to their manner of sitting in their school: for the scholars used to sit below their masters' feet, and the masters above over their heads, when they taught them : and therefore the sense of the words is, that God would deprive Elisha of his master Elijah's in- structions, viz. by a sudden death. For it does not appear that they had any notion of his translation ; so far from this, that they desired leave to send out some to seek for him, " if peradventure the spirit of the Lord had taken him up, and cast him upon some mountain, or into some valley," ver. 16. — St.*ckhouse. Ver. 11. And it came to pass, as they still went on, and talked, that, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire, and horses of fire, and parted them both asunder; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven. The Hindoos believe their supreme god Siva sends his angels, with a green chariot, to fetch the soulsof those who are devoted to him ; that there are occasionally horses, but at other times none. " The Iioly king 'rirru-Sangu (i. e. divine chank) was taken to heaven, body and soul, without the pain of dying." When a man, as a heathen, is very regular in his devotions ; or when he reproves others for vice, or neglect of duly, it is often .scornfully asked, "What! are you expecting the green chariot to be sent for youl" meaning, " Do you, by your devotions, expect to go to heaven in the chariot of Siva without the pain of dying 1" Does a man act with great injustice, the person who finds him out asks, " Will you get the green chariot for this!" Has a heathen embraced Christianity, he is asked the same question. " Charity, charity, "says the beggar at your door, "and the green chariot will be sent for you." — Roef.rt.s. Ver. 12. And Elisha saw it, and he cried, iVly fa- ther, my father ! the chariot of Tsrael, and the horsemen thereof And he saw him no more : and he took hold of his ovm clothes, and rent them in two pieces. The words of Elisha upon this occa-sion arc, " My fa- ther, my father!" (so they called their ma.sters and instruc- Icrs,) " the chariot of I.srael, and the horsemen thereof" The expression alludes to the form of the chariot and horses that he had just then beheld, and seems to imply, " That Elijah, by his example, and counsel, and prayers, and pow- er with God, did more for the defence and preservation of Israel, tlian all their chariots and horses, .-ind other warlike provisions;" unle.ss we may suppose, that this was an ab- rupt speech, which Elisha, in the consternation he was in, lelt unfinished, and so the sacred history has recorded it. — Stackhouse. Ver. 19. And the men of the city said unto Eli- sha, Behold, I pray thee, the situation of this city is pleasant, as my lord seeth ; but the water is naught, and the ground barren. Margin, " causing to miscarry." If the latter reading is allowed to be more just than the former, we must entertain a different idea of the situation of Jericho than the textual translation suggests. There are actually at this time cities where animal life of certain kinds pines, and decays, and dies ; and where that posterity which should replace such loss is either not conceived; or, if conceived, is not brought to the birth; or if brought to the birth, is fatal in delivery to both mother and ofispring. An instance of this kind oc- curs in Don UUoa's Voyage to South America. He says of the climate of Porto Bello, that "it destroys the vigour of nature, and often untimely cuts the thread of life." And of Sennaar, Mr. Bruce says, that " no horse, mule, ass, or any beast of burden, will breed or even live at Sennaar, or many miles about it. Poultry does not live there ; neither dog nor cat, sheep nor bullock, can be preserved a season there. They must go all, every half year, to the sands. Though every possible care be taken of them, they die in every place where the fat earth is about the town, during the first season of the rains." He further mentions, that the situation is equally unfavourable to most trees. — Burdeh. Ver. 20. And he said, Bring me a new cruise, and put salt therein. And they brought it to him. The Hebrew, tjelacMt{TThi') is used to denote a vessel of some capacity ; a vessel to be tunied upside down, in order that the inside maybe thoroughly wiped, (2 Kings xxi. 13;) "I will wipe Jerusalem, as a man wipeth a dish, turning it upside down." This implies, at least, that the opening of such a dish be not narrow but wide; that the dish itself be of a certain depth ; yet that the hand may readily reach to the bottom of it, and there may freely move, so as to wipe it thoroughly, &c. This vessel was capable also of bearing the fire, and of standing conve- niently over a fire ; for we read, 2 Chron. xxxv. 13, " The priests, &e. boiled parts of the holy offerings in pans {tjcln- chit,) and distributed them speedily among the people." Meaning, perhaps, that this was not the very kind of boiler which they would have chosen, had time permitted a choice; but that haste, and multiplicity of business, made them use whatever first came to hand, that was competent to the ser- vice. This application of these vessels, however, shows that they must have been of considerable capacity and depth ; as a very narrow or a very small dish, would not have answered the purpose required. [Or, was this speedy distribution of these viands, because they were best eaten hof!] A kind of dish or pan, which appears to answer these descriptions, is represented in the French work, en- titled Estampes du Levant, in the hands of a confectioner of the grand seignior's seraglio, who is carrying a deep dish, full of heated viands, (recently taken off the fire,) upon which he has put a cover, in order that those vi;inds may retain their heat and flavour. His being described on the plate as a confectioner, leads to the supposition that xvh.-;t he carries are delicacies; to this agrees his desire of pre- serving their heat; and the shape ol^ the vessel is evidently calcul.ated for standing, &c. over a fire. Moreover, from its form it may easily be rested on its side, for the purpose of being thoroughly wiped ; and a dish u.sed to contain delicacies, is most likely to receive such attention; for the comparison in tho^xt referred to, evidently implies some assiduity and exertion to wipe from the dish every particle inconsistent with complete cleanliness. This dish, we suppose, is of earth, or china; — that is, of porcelain, rather than of metal. We are now prepared to .see the import of Elisha's direction to the men of Jericho, (2 Kings ii. 20.) " Bring me a new tjdncliit" — one of the vessels used in your cookery — in those parts of your cookery which you es- teem the most delicate: a culinary vessel, but of the su- 278 2 KINGS. Chap. 2. pcrior kiml : " and put sail llierciu," what you constantly mingle in your food, what readily mixes with water : and this shall be a sign to you, that in your future use of this stream, you shall lind it salubrious, and fit for daily service in preparing, or accompanying, your daily sustenance. There is a striking picture of sloth, sljetchcd out very sim- ply, but very strongly, by the sagacious Solomon, (Prov. Xix. 24,) repealed almost verbatim, chap. xxvi. 15: A slntliful mail liKlelh tiis lianil in I'le Ijelachil : But will nol rebring il to liia moiuh. A slothful man liid»lli his ImncI in the Ijelarhit .—but It ([ricTCth hini to bring il again to his moulh. Meaning, he sees a dish, deep and capacious, filled with confectionary, sweetmeats, &c. whatever his appetite can desire in respect to relish and flavour ; of this he is greedy. Thus excited, he thrusts his hand — his right hand — deep into the dish, loads it with delicacies; but, alas! the labour of lifting it up to his mouth is too great, too cxce.s.sive, too fatiguing : he therefore docs not enjoy or taste what is be- fore him, though his appetite be so far allured as to desire, nnd his hand be so far exerted as to grasp. [This is the customary mode of conveying food to the mouth in the East, where knives and forks are not in use.] He sutlers the viands to become cold, and thereby to lose their flavour; while he debates the important movement of his hand to his month, if he does not rather totally forego the enjoyment, as demanding too vast an action ! Surely this picture of sloth is greatly heightened by this notion of the Ijelnchil. It seems to be suthciently striking, that two words, rendered by our translators lop, or bosom, (Prov. xvi. 33, cki/:, and the word before us,) should both signify vases, or vcs.sels. The first denotes, the lot-vase, used for containing the lot-peb- bles, &c. to be drawn out by the hand : the other a dish for meat ; neither of them referring to any part of the person, as our version seems to imply ; which reads, A slothful ni.in hidelh his hand in his bosom, And will nol bring il to his inoulh again. The powerful picture of sloth, painted by Solomon, gives occasion to enlarge somewhat further on the manner of eating among the Arabs; a manner that seems sufficiently rude to us, but which those who practise it insist is more natural and convenient, and not less cleanly than our own. " Extending their forefinger and thumb, (of the right hand always — the left hand is reserved for less honourable uses,) they say," observes D'Arvieux, "God made this fork before you made your steel ones." Mr. Jaokson says, " The Moors are, for the most part, more cleanly in their persons than in their garments. They wash their hands before every meal, which, as they use no knives or forks, they eat with their fingers: half a dozen persons sit round a large bowl of ouscasoe, and, after the usual ejaculation (Bismil- lah !) ' In the name of God !' each person puts his hand to the bowl, and taking up the food, throws it, by a dexterous jerk, into his mouth, without suffering his fingers to touch his lips. However repugnant this may be to our ideas of cleanliness, yet the hand being always washed, and never touching the moulh in the act of eating, these people are by no means so dirty as Europeans have sometimes hastily imagined. They have no chairs or tables in their houses, but sit crosslegged on carpels and cushions ; and at meals, the dish or bowl of provisions is placed on the floor." (Ac- count of Morocco, p. 155.) That a thorough sluggard should practise this " dexter- ous jerk of the hand," is not likely to nave entered into the contemplation of the royal sage, in the passages illustrated above : and to say truth, the latter observation .seems to be couched in terms much stronger than the former : "The sluggard musters up just strength enough to plunge his hand into the bowl; but this mightv elTort exhausts him, he finds his weariness (nw^:) too great, too excessive, to bring it up to his mouth, lo.ided though it be with the deli- cacies of the table." There is a force in thew'ord rendered hide or pinnae, which should nol he disregarded. — The sluggard buries deeply his hand : — it being customary with such characters In grasp at all, and more than all, which they can hold. Perhaps the action of a les.s polite class than that principally alluded to by Mr. Jackson, may best illustrate this reflection. We shall therefore add the fol- lowing from Major Rooke's Travels in Arabia : " On ray fust going on board, I .sat down with the Noquedahandhis ofl'icers to supper, the floor being both our tables and chairs, on which we seated ourselves in a circle, wiih a large bowl of rice in the middle, and some fish anddates before each per- son: here 1 likewise found that knives and forks were useless instruments in eating, and that nature had accommodated us with what answered the same purpose: we plunged our hands into the bowl, rolled up a handful of rice into a ball, and conveyed it to our mouths in that form; our repast was short, and to that succeeded cofix-e and washing ; and on their parts prayer, in which they were very frequent and fervent."— Taylor in Calmet. Ver. 23. And he went up from thence unto Beth- el : and tis he was going up by the waj', there came forth little children out of the city, and mocked him, and said unto hiin. Go up, thou bald-liead ; go up, thou bald-head. Some suppose this alludes to the head being uncovered. I was not a liule astonished in the East, when I first heard a man called a bald-head, who had a large quantity of hair on his head : and I found, upon inquiry, it was an epithet of CONTEMPT I A man who has killed himself is called "a bald-headed suicide!" A stupid fellow, "a bald-headed dunce." Of these who are powerless, " What can those bald-heads do 1" Hence the epithet has often been applied to the missionaries. Is a man told his wife does not manage domestic matters well, he replies, as if in contempt of him- self, "What can a bald-head do 1 must he not have a wife of the same kind^" Let a merchant, or any other person, who is going on business, meet a man who is really bald, and he will assuredly refuse to attend to the business; and pronounce, if he dare, some imprecations on the object of his hatred. Sometimes he will repeat the proverb, " Go, thou bald-head, pilferer of a small fish, and sucker of bones cast away by the goldsmith." Call a man a molliynn, i. e. bald-head, (which you may do, though lie have much hair,) and then abuse, or sticks or stones, will be sure to be your portion. Thus the epithet implies great scorn, and is given to those who are weak or mean. — Roberts. Ver. 23. And he went up from thence unto Bethel : and as he was going up by the way, there came forth little children out of the city, and mocked him, and said unto him. Go up, thou bald-head; go up, thou bald-head. 24. And he turned back, and looked on thein, and cursed them in the name of the Lord. And there came forth two she-bears out of the wood, and tare forty and two children of them. Bethel, it is well known, was one of the cities where Jeroboam had set up a golden calf, a place strangely ad- dicted to idolatry, and whose inhabitants had no small aversion to Elisha, as being the servant and successor of one, who had been a professed enemy to their wicked wor- ship, and himself no less an opposer of it. It is reasonable to suppose, therefore, that the children (if they w-cre child- ren, for the -word naarim may signify irroirn youths as well) who mocked Elisha, were excited and encouraged there- unto by their parents ; and therefore the judgment was just, in God's punishing the wickedness of these parents by the death of iheir children, who, though they suffered in this life, had the happiness to be rescued from the danger of an idolatrous education, which might have been of falal ten- dency both to their prc.>icnt and future stale. In the rncEn time it must be acknowledged, that the insolence of ihcse mockers (whether we suppose them children or youths) was very provoking, fora.'^much as they ridiculed, not only a man whose very age commanded reverence, but a prophet likewise, whose character, in all ages, was ac- counted .sacred, nay, and even God himself, whose honour ■n-as struck at in the reproaches against his servant, and that too in one of his most glorious and wonderful works, his assumption of Elijah into heaven: For, "Go up, thou bald-head, go up, thou bald-head," (besides the bitterness of the contempt expressed in the repetition of the words,) shows that they made a mere jest of any such translation; and therefore, in banter, they bid Elijah go up, whither, as he pretended, his friend and master was gone before. These provocations, one would think, were enough to Chap. 3. 2 KINGS. 277 draw an imprecation from llie proplicl ; but this impreca- tion did not proceed IVom any passiuii or private resentment of his own, but merely from the command and commission of his God ; who, for the terror and caution of other pro- fane persons and idolaters, as well as for the maintenance of the honour and authority of his prophets, "confirmed the word which had gone out of his servaju's mouth.'' The like is to be said of the destruction which Elijah called down from heaven upon the two captains and their companies, who came to ajiprehend him — that he did this, not out of any hasty passion or revenge, but purelv in obe- dience to the Holy Spirit, wherewith he was animated, and in zeal for the honour and glory of God, which in the per- son of his prophet, were grossly abused.— Stackuouse. Ver. 34. And there came forth two she-bears out of the wood, and tare forty and two children of them. These furious animals were she-bears, which, it is prob- able, had been just deprived of their young; and now fol- lowing the impulse of their outraged feelings, they rushed from the wood to revenge the loss. But it is evident their native ferocity was overruled and directed by divine prov- idence, to execute the dreadful .sentence pronounced by the prophet in his name. They must, therefore, be considered as tlie ministers of God, the Judge of all the earth, commis- sioned to punish the idolatrous inhabitants of Bethel and their profligate offspring, who probably acted on this occa- sion with their concurrence, if not by their command. He punished in a similar way the heathen colonies planted by the king of Assyria in the cities of Samaria, after the ex- pulsion of the ten tribes: " They feared not the Lord ; there- fore the Lord sent lions among them, which slew some of them." When he punished the youths of Bethel, (for so the phrase lillle children signifies 'in Hebrew,) by directing against them the rage of the she-bears, he only did what Moses had long before predicted, and left on record for their warning: "And if ye walk contrary unto me, and will not hearken unto me, I will bring seven limes more phigues upon you, according to your sins. I will also send wild beasts among you, which shall rob you of your child- ren." Bethel had been long the principal seat of idolatry, and its attendant vices; and to all their aggravated erimes| its inhabitants now added rude and impious mockery of a person whom they knew to be a prophet of the Lord, revi- ling with blasphemous tongues the Lord God of Elijah, and his now glorified servant. Baldness was reckoned a very great deformity in the East; and to be reproached with it, one of the grossest insults an Oriental could receive. Cesar, who was bald, could not bear to hear it mentioned in jest. It is one of the marks of disgrace which Homer fixes upon Thersites, that he had only a few straggling hairs on his pyramidal head. Their crime, therefore, justly merited the .severest punishment.— Paxton. CHAPTER III. Ver. 4. And Mesha king of Moab was a sheep- master, and rendered unto the king of Israel a hundred tliousand lambs, and a hundred thou- sand rams, with the wool. This was a prodigious number indeed ; but then we are to consider that these countries abound with sheep, inso- much that Solomon offered a hundred and twenty thou- sand at the dedication of the temple, 2 Chron. vii. 5, and the Reiibenites drove from the Hagarcns a hundred and fitly thousand, I Chron. v. 7. For, as Eochart observes, their sheep freiiuently brought forth two at a lime, and sometimes twice a year. The same learned man remarks, that in ancient times, when people's riches consi.stcd in cattle, this was the only way of paying tribute. It is ob- served by others likewise, thai this great number of cattle was not a tribute, which the Moabitcs were obliged to pay the Isr.Telites everyyear, but on some special occasion only, upon the accession "of every new king, for instance, when they were obliged to express their ho^mage in this manner, to make salisfnclion for some damages that the Israelites should at any time suffer from their invasions or revolts.— Stackhouse. Ver. 1 1. And one of the king of Israel's servants answered and said, Here is Elisha the son of Shaphat, which poured water on the hands of Elijaii. We read, Elisha " went after Elijah, and ministered unto him ;" which simply means he was his servant. The peo- ple of the East use their fingers in eating, instead of a knife and fork, or spoon ; and con.sequently after, (as well as befiire,) they are obliged to wash their hands. The master, having finished his meal, calls a .servant to pour water on his hands. The domestic then comes with a little brass vessel filled with water, and pours it on the hands and fm- ger.s till he hears the word potjuim, enough. — Roberts. There is a de.scription of Elisha the prophet, by a part of his oflice when .servant to Elijah, which appears rather strange to us. "Is there not here a prophet of the Lord V says King Jehoshaphat ; he is answered, " Here is Elisha ben Sliaphat, u-hn poured u-citer on the hands of Elijah," ('2 Kings iii. 11,) ;. e. who was his servant and constant attendant. So Pitts tells us: "The table being removed, before they rise (from the ground whereon they sit,) a slave, or servant, who stands attending on them with a cup of water to give them drink, steps into the middle with a basin, or copper pot of water, something like a coffee-pot, and a little soap, and Ids the n-aler run tipon Ihcir hands one after another, in order as they sit." Such service it appears Elisha performed for Elijah : what shall we say then to the remarkable action of our Lord, "who poured water into a basin, and washed his disciples' feet," after supper 1 Was he indeed among them os one who scrrelh ? On this subject, saj's D'Ohsson, " Ablution, i4Mcs//(, consists in washing the hands, feet, face, and a part of the head ; the law mentions them by the term—' the three parts consecrated to ablu- tion.' The mu.ssulman is generally seated on the edge of a sofa, with a pewter or copper vessel lined with tin placed before him upon a round piece of red cloth, to pre- vent the carpet or mat from being wet : a servant, kneeling on the ground, pours out water for his master ; another holds a cloth destined for these purifications. The person who purifies himself begins by baring his arms as far as the elbow. As he washes his hands, mouth, nostrils, face, arms, iS:c., he repeats the proper prayers. ... It is probable that Mohammed followed on this subject the book of Le- viticus." It is well known that we have an officer among ourselves, who, at the coronation, and formerly at all public festivals, held a basin of water for the king to wash his hands in, after dinner; but it is not equally well known, that Cardinal Wolsey, one time, when the Duke of Buck- ingham held the basin for Henry VIII., after the king had washed, put his own hand into the basin : the duke re- senting this intrusion, let some of the water fall on the habit of the cardinal, who never forgave the action, but brought the duke to the block, in consequence of his re- sentment.— Taylor in Calmet. Ver. 15. But now bring me a minstrel. And it came to pass, when the minstrel played, that the hand of the Lord came upon him. The music of great men in civil life, has been sometimes directed to persons of a sacred character, as an expressioii of respect, in the East ; perhaps the playing of the minstrel before the prophet Elisha is to be understood, in part, at least, in something of the same manner. When Dr. Richard Chandler was at Athens, the archbishop of that cily was upon ill terms with its Vaiwodc, and the Greeks in general siding with the Vaiwode, the archbishop was obliged to withdraw for a lime; but some time after, when Chandler and his fellow-travellers were at Corinth, they were informed that the archbishop was returned to Athens ; that the Bey or Vaiwode had received him kindly, and ordered his musicians to attend him at his palace; and that a complete revolution had h.-ppencd in his favour. Here we .«ee a civil magistrate, who had been displeased with a great ecclesiastic, sent his musicians to play at his archiepiscopal palace, in honour of him to whom this ma- gistrate was now reconciled. Elisha might require that a like honour should be done to him, and through him to the God whom he served, who had been sadly neglected and affronted in former times by the king of Israel. The pro- 278 2 KINGS. Chap. 1. Fi priely of it will appear in a still stronger liK'iI, if wc should suppose, that Elisha cimimaiuled llie ininsircl lo sin^, along with his music, a hymn to Jehovah, seiliny forth his being a God that gave rain, that preserved such as were ready lo lerish, the giver of victory, and whose iKiwer was neither iinited to his temple, nor to the Jewish country sacred to hiin, but cijuallv operative in every place. The coming of the spirit of prophecy upon Elisha, enabling him to declare a speedy copious fall ol rain in ihat neighbourhood, and a complete victory over their enemies, iminedialely upon the submissive conipliaiue of this idolatrous prince with the recjiiisiiion of Ihe prophet, and such a hymn iu praise of the God of Israel, seems to me fnll as natural an interpre- tation, as the supposing he desired the minstrel to come in order to play some soil composing tune, to calm his rutlled spirits, and to qualify him for the reception of the influences of Ihe spirit ol prophei-y. Was a warm and pungent zeal against the idolatries of Jehoram a disqualifying disposi- tion of souH and if it were, was mere music the happiest mode of inviting the divine influences'! Yet after this manner, I think, it has been commonly explained. Sing- ing was, and is, so frequently joined with the sound of musi- cal instruments in the East, that I apprehend no one will think it strange, that I suppose the minstrel sung as well as played in the presence of Elisha: and when it is recollect- ed that their songs are very frequently extemporaneous, it is natural to suppose the prophet required something to be sung, suitable both to his character and to Ihe occasion. — Harmkr. Ver. 16. And he said. Thus saith the Lord, Make this valley full of ditches: 17. For thus saith the Lord, Ye shall not see wind, neither shall ye see rain ; yet that valley shall ho filled with water, that ye may drink, both ye, and your cattle, and your beasts. A shower of rain in the Ea.st, is often preceded by a whirlwind, which darkens the sky with immense clouds of sand from the loose surface of the desert. To this com- mon phenomenon, the prophet alludes, in his direction to the king of Israel, who was marching with his army against IVIoab, and was ready lo perish in Ihe wilderness for want of water : " Thus saith the Lord, Make this val- ley full of ditches. For thus sailh the Lord, Ye shall not see wind, neither shall ye see rain; yet that valley shall be lilled with water, that ye may drink,' both ye, and your cat- tle, and your beasts." If a squall had not commonly pre- ceded rain, the prophet would not have said. Ye shall not see wind. — Paxton. Ver. 19. And ye shall smite every fenced city, and every choice city, and shall fell every good tree, and stop all wells of water, and mar every good piece of land with stones. Commentators take no pains, that I know of, to account for that part of the punishment of the king of Moab's re- bellion. Vt: ^htfU mor every good piece of land with sfonr.^ ; Ihougli it does not ap])ear very easy to conceive how this was to be done to any purpose, and indeed without giving as much trouble, or more, to Israel, to gather these stones, and carry them on their lands, as to the Moabites to gather them up again, and carry them off I would therefore pro- pose it lo the learned lo consider, whether we may not understand this of Israel's doing that nationallv, and as victors, which was done by private persons very frequently in these countries in ancient limes, by way of revenge, and which is meniioned in some ol' ihe'idd Roman law.s, I think, cited by Egmonl and Ileynian, who, speaking of the contentions and vindictive temper of ilie Arabs, lell us, they were ignorant, however, whotlier they still relained the method of revenge formerly common aniong them, and which is called ctfmtXwiin, mentioned in I.ih. fj'. Digest, dc extraord. criminilt. which contains Ihe following account. In proritir.ia Anihia, &e. That is, "in the province of Arabia, there is a crime called rMumX,n(,„(, or fixing of stones; it being a freniienl praclice among them, lo place stones in the grounds of those with whom Ihev are at variance, as a warning, that any person who dares lo till that field, should infallibly be slain, by the conirivanec of those who placed the stones there." 'I'll is malicious prac- tice, they add, is thought to have had its origin in Arabia Pelra'a. If the Israelites, as victors, who could prescribe what laws they thought proper to tlie conquered, placed such stones in the best grounds of the Moabites, as inter- dicting them from tillage, on pain of their owners being destroyed, they without much trouble effectually marred such fields as lung as their power over Moab lasted, which had before lliis eonlinued some lime, and by the suppression of this rebellion might be supposed lo continue long. As It was an ancient praclice in these countries, might it not be supposed to be as ancient as the limes of Elisha, and that he referred lo it 7 Perhaps the time to cast au-ay stones, and the time to gather stojies together, meniioned by ihe royal preacher, Eccles. iii. 5, is lo be under.siood in like manner, of giving lo nations with which there had been contests, the marks of perfect reconciliation, or continuing upon them some tokens of displeasure and resentment. If we suppose ihe latter part of liie verse is exegetical of the former, which the learned know is very common in the Hebrew poetry, it will belter agree with this explanation, than with that which suppo-ses, that the casting array of stoties, means the deviolishing of houses, and the gathering them together, the collecting them for Indlding; since the casting away of stones answers to embracing, in the latter part of the verse, not to the refraining from embracing. It may be supposed indeed that a transposition might be in- tended, such a one as appears in the eighth verse; but it is lo be observed, that the eighth verse finishes this catalogue of difl'erent seasons, and there is no transposition in the other particulars. "To which may be addcci, that this ex- planation makes the ca.sting away of stones, and gathering them together, of the fifth verse, precisely the same thing with the breaking down and building up of the third: the supposing a greater variety of thought here will be no dis- honour lo the roj'al poet. — Harmer. Ver. 27. Then he took liis eldest son, that should have reigned in his stead, and offered him for a burnt-offering upon the wall. And there was great indignation against Israel : And they departed from him, and returned to tltcir own land. Iu great distress, several persons, like the king of Moab, have offered their own children upon ihcir altars. Euse- bius and Lactantius mention several nalions who used these sacrifices. Cesar sa3's of the Gauls, thai when they were afflicted with grievous diseases, or in time of war, or great danger, they either offered men for sacrifices, or vowed they would oflfer them. For they imagined Gcd would not be appea.sed, unless the life of a man were ren- dered for the life of a man. — Blrder. CHAPTER IV. Ver. 1. Now there cried a certain woman of the wives of the sons of the prophets unto Elisha, saying. Thy servant my husband is dead ; and thou knoweslthat thy servant did fear the Lord: and tile creditor is come to take unto him my two sons to be bondmen. This was a case in which the Hebrews had such power over their children, that ihey might sell them lo pay what lliey owed ; and the creditor might force them lo it. Iluet thinks that from the Jews this custom was propagated lo the Athenians, and frcmi them lo the Romans. — Bi kder. The Jewish law looked upon children as ihc proper goods of their parents, who liad power lo sell them for seven years, as their creditors haci to compel them lo do it, in order lo pay llieir debts; and from the Jews this cus- tom was propagated to the Atlicnians, and from them lo the Romans. 'The Romans indeed had the most absolute control over their children. I5y the decree of Romulus Ihey could imprison, beal, kill, or sell them for slaves; but Niima Pouipilius first moderated this, and the emperor Dioclelian made a law, that no free persons should be sold upon account of debt. The ancient Athenians had Ihe like jurisdiction over their children, but Solon reformed this Chap. 4. 2 KINGS. cruel custom ; as indeed it seemed a little hard, that the children of a poor man, who have no manner of inherit- ance left them, should be compelled into slaverj', in order to pay their deceased father's debts ; and yet this was the custom, as appears from this passage, wherein the prophet does not pretend to reprove the creditor, but only puts the woman in a method to pay him. — Stackhouse. Ver. 10. Let us make a little chamber, I pray thee, on the wall ; and let us set for him there a bed, and n table, and a stool, and a candle- stick ; and it shall be when he cometh to us, that, he shall turn in thither. To most of these houses a smaller one is annexed, which sometimes rise.s one story higher than the house ; and at other times it consists of one or two rooms only, and a terrace; while others that are built, as they frequently are, over the porch or gateway, have, if we except the ground- floor, which they want, all the conveniences that belong to the house itself. They communicate with the gallery of the house by a door, and by another door, which opens immediately from a privy stair, with the porch or street, without giving the least disturbance to the house. In these back-houses, as they may be called, strangers are usually lodged and entertaiiied ; and to them likewise the men are wont to retire from the hurry and noise of their families, to be more at leisure for meditation and amusement ; and at other times, they are converted into wardrobes and maga- zines. This annexed building is in the holy scriptures named (^^'7y)a^^aA,• and we have reason to believe, that the little chamber which the Shunamite built for the propliet Elisha, whither, as the text informs us, he retired at his pleasure, without breaking in upon the private atfairs of the family, or being in his turn interrupted by them in his devotions, was a structure of this kind. It is thus described by the Shunamite herself: " Let us make a little chamber, I pray thee, on the wall ; and let us set for him there a bed, and a table, and a stool, and a candlestick ; and it shall be, that when he cometh to us, that he shall turn in thither! The internal communication of this chamber with the Shu- namite's house, may be inferred, as well from its being built upon the wall which enclosed her dwelling, as from her having so free access to it, and at the second invitation, standing in the door, while the prophet announced to her the birth of a son. — P.ixton. They did not then among the ancients sit universally as the modern inhabitants of the East now do, on the ground or floor, on some mat or carpet; they sometimes "sat on thrones, or seats more or le.ss like our chairs, often raised so high as to require a footstool. But it was considered as a piece of splendour, and offered as a mark of particular respect. It was doubtless for this reason that a seat of this kind was placed, along with some other furniture, in the chamber which the devout Shunamitess prepared for the prophet Elisha, 2 Kings iv. 10, which our version has very unhappily translated a stool, by which we mean the least honourable kind of seat in an apartment ; whereas the original word meant to express her respect for the prophet by the kind of seat she prepared for him. The word is r<03 kissa, the same that is commonly translated Ihroru:. The candlestick is, in like manner, to be considered as a piece of furniture, suitable to a room that was magnificently fitted up, according to the mode of those times, a light being kept burning all night long in such apartments. So a lamp was kept burning all night, in the apartment in which Dr. Richard Chandler slept, in the house of a Jew, who was vice-consul for the English nation, at the place where he first landed, when he proposed to visit the curious ruins of Asia Minor. Further, we are told bv De la Roque, in the account given of some French gentlemen's going to Arabia Felix, page 4.3, U, that they found only mats in the house of the captain of the port of Aden, where they were honour- ably received, which were to serve them for beds, chairs, and tables : so in the evening they brought them tapers without candlesticks, the want of which they were to sup- pU' as well as they could, which was but indifferently.— HARMEn. Ver. 20. And when he had taken him, and brought 279 him to his mother, he sat on her knees till noon and then died. ' The heat, in eastern countries, is often so excessive as to prove fatal to many people. To this cause is to' be attributed the death of the child at Shunem, in the days of Ehsha. Egmont and Heynian (vol. i. p. 333) found the air about Jericho extremely hot, and say that it destroyed several persons the year before they were there The army of King Baldwin IV. suffered considerably from this circumstance near Tiberias. The heat at the time was so unusually great, that as many died by that as by the sword After the battle, in their return to their former encamp- ment, a certain ecclesiastic, of some distinction in the church and in the army, not being able to bear the vehe- mence of the heat, was carried in a litter, but expired under mount Tabor.— (Harmer.) The child of the Shu- namite here spoken of, had gone to the reapers in the field, (v. 13,) where he suddenly complained of headache, (v 19 J and soon after died. Probably he had a sun-stroke, which was very natural in the great heat which prevails in those countries at harvest-time. Monconys, speaking of himself, says, " Towards evening, the sun had struck with such force on my head, that I was seized with a violent fever, and obliged to go to bed." Werli Von Zember relates the same of him- self and his companions. " After we had been obliged to remain a long time in this court, expo.sed to the heat of the sun, we almost all became ill, with dreadful headache, giddi- ness, and fever, so that some even lost their senses." Von Stammer says, " When we came into the desert, between the mountains, I was seized wtlh a very severe inflamma- tory fever : I was unable to remain any longer on the camel, but was forced to lie down on the ground, and became so ill, that they scarcely thought I was alive."— ROSENMULLER. Ver. 22. And she called unto her husband, and said, Send me, I pray thee, one of the young men, and one of the asses, that I may run to the man of God, and come again. The saddle ass retaining the characteristic perverseness of his kind, is apt to become restiff' under his rider, which in cases that require haste, renders it necessary to accele- rate his speed by means of the goad. This, according to Pococke, is commonly done for persons of rank by a ser- vant on foot. This method of travelling seems to have been quite common in Palestine ; for the Shunamite's husband expressed neither surprise nor hesitation, when she asked for " one of the young men, and one of the asses, that she might run to the man of God." The acknowledged inability of the ass to carry both the servant and his mistress, the custom of having an attendant, whose business it was to drive the animal forward, and the eager impatience of the bereaved mother, which required the utmost speed, sufficiently prove that she rode the ass herself, while the servant attended her on foot, or mounted perhaps on a camel, which persons in his condition often used on a journey. " And she said to her servant, Drive, (or lead,) and go forward; slack not riding for me, except I bid thee." Put him to the utmost speed, without regarding the inconveniences I may suffer. The pronoun /hy, it has been thought, is very improperly supplied in our tran.-slation, as it leads one to suppose that the .servant himself was the rider. But although no men- tion is made of the circumstance, it is not perfectly clear that the servant was not mounted on this occasion. The phra.se, cease not to ride, (a^^S) or cease not riding, natu- rally suggests that he was mounted. The ass which the Shunamiie .saddled, was a strong animal, as the name given him by the inspired writer imports; and if we may believe. MaiUet, the asses in EgT,'pt and Syria have nothing of that indolence and heaviness which are natural to ours; there- fore, if the servant was not furnished with a camel, or was not a running footman by profession, of which we have no proof, the ass mast have soon left him far behind, and ren- dered his services of no use. When the inspired writer says the Shunamite saddled her ass, he uses a pnrase which often occurs in the sacred writings, and seems to compre- hend any requisite for the convenience of the rider and the proper management of the animal.— Paxton. 280 2 KINGS. Chap. 4. Ver. 23 And he said, Wherefore wih thou go to him today 1 it is neither new moon nor sab- bath. And she said, It shall be well. Peter Delia Valle assures us, that ii is now customary in Arabia lo begin their journeys at the new moon. When the Shunaniile proposed soink 'o Elisha, her husband dis- suaded her by observing that it was neither new moon nor sabbath. — Buiider. Ver. 24. Then she saddled an ass, and said to her servant, Drive, and go forward ; slack not thy riding for me, e.vcept I bid thee. See on Judg. 10. 4. Where travellers are not so numerous as in caravans, their appearance ditTers a good deal from that of those who journev among tis. To see a person mounted and attended by a servant on foot, would seem odd to us ; and it would be much more so to see that servant driving the beast before him, or goading it along: yet these are eastern modes. So Dr. Pococke, in his account of Egypt, tells us that the man, the husband, 1 suppose he means, always leads the lady's a.ss there; and if .she has a servant, he goes on one side : but the ass-driver follows the man, goads on the beast, and wlien he is to turn, directs his head with a pole. The Shunamite, when she went to the prophet, did not desire so much attendance, only requesting her husband to send her an ass, and its driver, to whom she said, "Drive, and go forward, slack not thy riding for me, except I bid thee." 2 Kings iv. 2-1. It appears from the eastern manner of the women's riding on asses, that the word is rightly translated drire, rather than lead : and this account of Dr. Pococke will also explain why she did not desire two asses, one for herself, and the other for the servant that attended her. Solomon might refer to the same, when he .says, " I have seen servants upon horses, and princes walking as servants upon the earth,'' Eccl. x. 7. My reader, however, will meet with a more exact illustration of this passage in its proper place. — H.\RM?R. Ver. 29. Then he said to Gehazi, Gird up thy loins, and take my stafTin thy hand, and go thy way: if thou meet any man, salute him not; and if any salute thee, answer him not again : and lay my staff upon the face of the child. The rod, or staff, in the scriptures, is mentioned as an emblem of authority over inanimate nature, over man, and the diseases to which he was subject, ami also as an instru- ment of correction for the wicked. The Lord commanded Moses, " Take thy rod, and stretch out thy hand upon the waters of Egypt, upon their streams, upon their rivers, and upon their ponds, and upon all their pools of water, that they may become blood.' The magicians of the heathen king had their rods also, by which they performed many wonderful things. I see no reason to doubt that the staff of Elisha was of the same nature, and for the .same purposes, as the " rod of God," which did .such wonders in the hands of Moses. Gehazi, though he had the emblem of his mas- ter's office, could not perform the miracle : and no wonder; for the moment before he received the command froin Elisha, he showed his evil disposition to the mother of the dead child ; for when she caught the prophet " by the feet," lo state her case, he went " near to thrust her away." The orou-mullc-pirnmhn (r. r. a cane with one knot) is believed to possess miraculous power, whether in the hand of a magician or a private individual. It is about the size of the middle finger, and must have only one knot in its whole length. " A man bitten by a serpent will be a.ssu- redly cured, if the cane or rod be placed upon him ; nay, should he be dead, it will restore him lo life I" " Yes, sir, the man who has such a stick need fear neither serpents nor evil spirits." A native gentleman known to me has Ihe staff of his umbrella made of one of these rods, and great satisfaction and comfort has he in this his constant com- panion. " The sun cannot smile him by day, neither the moon by night; the serpents and wild beasts move ofl" swiftly ; and the evil spirits dare not come near to him." — RODEHT.-i. This command lo salute no one, naturally calls lo mind that which Jesus gave to the seventy disciples. Luke x. 4, Salute no one by Ihe way. It is explained by the custom of the East. Serious and taciturn as the natives of the East usually are, they grow talkative when they meet an ac- quaintance and salule him. This custom has come from Asia with the Arabs, and spread over the north coast of Africa. A modern traveller relates the reciprocal saluta- tions with which those are received who return with the caravans. " People go a great way to meet them ; as soon as ihey are perceived, Ihe questioning and salutation be- gin, and continue with the repetition of the same phrases; ' How do you do 1 God be praised that you are come in peace ! God give you peace ! How fares it with you V The higher the rank of the person returning home, the longer does the salutation last." — Burder. Elisha's enjoining Gehazi not to salute any that he met, or lo return the salutation of such, evidently expresses the haste he would have him make to recover the child, and bring him back to life. For the salutations of the East often lake up a long time. " The manner of salutation, as now practised by the people of Egypt, is not less ancient. The ordinary way of saluting people, when at a distance, is bringing the hand down to the knees, and then carrj'ing it lo the stomach. Marking their devotedness to a person by holding down the hand; as they do their aflection by their after raising it up to their heart. When they come close together afterward, they take each other by the hand in token of friendship. What is very pleasant, is to see the countrypeople reciprocally clapping each other's hands veiy smarily, twenty or thirty times together, in meeting, without .saying any thing more than Salamat aiche halcom ; that is to say, Hmo do you do ? I wish fov good heaUh. If this form of complimenting must be acknowledged to be simple, it must be admitted to be very aflectionate. Per- haps it marks out a better disposition of heart than all the studied phrases which are in use among us, and which politeness almost always makes use of at the expense of sincerity. After this first compliment many other friendly questions are asked, about the health of the family, meii- lioning each of the children distinctly, whose names ihey know," &c. If the forms of salutation among the ancient Jewish peasants took up as much time as those of the modern Egyptians that belong to that rank of life, it is no wonder the prophet commanded his servant to abstain from saluting those he might meet with, when sent to recover the child of the Shuiiamiless lo life: they that have aliriliuted this order to haste have done right; but Ihey ought lo have' shown the lediousness of eastern compli- ments.— Harmer. Salulaiions at meeting, are not less common in the East Ihan in the countries of Europe ; but are generally con- fined lo tho.se of Iheir own nation, or religious parly. When the Arabs salute each other, it is generally in these terms: Solum oleikum, peace be with you ; laying, as Ihey utter Ihe words, the right hand on the heart. The answer is, Alcikum essaluio, with you be peace ; lo which aged people are inclined to add, " and the mercy and blessing of God." The Mohammedans of Egypt and Syria never salute a Christian in these terms ; they content themselves with saying to them, "Good-day to you," or, " Friend, how do you do 1" Niebuhr's slaleinent is confirmed by Mr. Bruce, who says, that some Arabs, to whom he gave the salam, or salutation of peace, either made no reply, or ex- pressed their astonishment at his impudence in using such freedom. Thus it appears, that the Orientals have two kinds of salutations; one for strangers, and the other for their own countrymen, or persons of their own religiou.s profession. The Jews in the days of our Lord, seem lo have generally observed ihe same custom; Ihey would not address the usual complimenl of " Peace be to you," lo either heathens or publicans; the publicans of the Jewish nations would use it lo their countrymen who were pub- licans, but not to heathens; though the more rigid Jews refused to do it either lo publicans or heathens. Our Lord required his disciples to lay aside the moroseness of Jews, and cherish a benevolent disposition towards all around them : " If ye salule your brethren only, what do ye more than olhersi Do not even Ihe publicans so"!" They were bound bv Ihe same authority, lo embrace their brethren in Christ Willi a special affection, yet they were to look upon everv man as a brother, lo feel a sincere and cordial inle- I Chap. 5. 2 KINGS. 281 rest ill his welfare, and to express, at meeting, their benevo- lence, in language corresponding wilh the feelings of their hearts. This precept is not inconsistent with the charge which the prophet Llisha gave to his servant Gehazi, not lo salute any man he met, nor return his salutation ; for he wished him to make all the haste in his power to restore the child of the Shnnamite, who had laid him under so many obligations. The manners of the country rendered Elisha's precautions particularly proper and necessary, as the salutations of the East often take up a long time. — P.l.XTON. Ver. 30. And one went out into the field to gather herbs, and found a wild vine, and gathered thereof wild gourds his lapful, and came and shred them into the pot of pottage ; for they knew them not. Their common pottage in the East is made by cutting their meat into little pieces, and boiling them with rice, flour, and parsley, all which is afterward poured into a proper vessel. This in their language is called Shoorba. Parsley is used in this Shoorba, and a great many other herbs, in their cookery. These are not always gathered out of gardens, even by those that live in a more settled way than the Arabs : for Russel, after having given a long account of the garden stutf at Aleppo, tells us, that besides those from culture, the fields alTord bugloss, mallow, aspar- agus, which they use as potherbs, besides some others which they use in salads. This is the more extraordinary, as they have such a number of gardens about Aleppo, and will take off all wonder from the story of one's going into the fields, to gather herbs, to put into the pottage of the sons of the prophets, 3 Kings iv. 39, in a time when indeed Ahab, and doubtless some others, had gardens of herbs ; but it is not to be supposed things were so brought under culture as in later times. — Harme.r. Ver. 39. And one went out into the field to gather herbs, and found a wild vine, and gathered thereof wild gourds his lapful, and came and shred them into the pot of pottage: for they knew them not. 40. So they poured out for the men to eat: and it came to pass, as they were eating of the pottage, that they cried out and said, O thov, man of God, there is death in the pot : and they could not eat thereof. In the vales near Jordan, in the neighbourhood of Jericho, not far from the Dead Sea, is found, growing in great abun- dance, the vine of Sodom, a plant, from the fields around that devoted city, which produces grapes as bitter as gall, and wine as deadly as the poison of a serpent. This dele- terious fruit is mentioned hy Moses in terms which fully justify the assertion : " For their vine is of the vine of Sodom, and of the fields of Gomorrah; their grapes are grapes of gall, their clusters are bitter, their wine is the poison of dragons, and the cruel venom of a.sps." It is probably the wild vine, a species of gourd, which produces the coloiininlida, a fruit so e.'ccessively hitler that it cannot be e.nten ; and when given in medicine, proves a purgative so powerful, as to be frequently followed by excoriation of the vessels, and hemorrhage. It .seems therefore to have been early, and not without reason, considered as poisonous. It was of this wild vine the sons of the prophets ate; and its insianlaneous' effect, together with their knowledge of its violent action, easily accounts for their alarm. Another species of wild vine, but of a milder character, which grows in Palesline, near the highways and hedges, is the Lttbrusca. Its fruil is a very small grape, which becomes black when ripe ; but often it does not ripen at all. These are the wild grapes to which the prophet compares the in- I habitants of Jerusalem, and men of Judah : " And he looked that it should bring forth grapes, and it brought forth wild grapes." They are also the sour grapes lo which another inspired prophet alludes, when he preiiicls the de- j stroying judgments that were cotuing upon his rebellious people: "In those days they shall say no more, The fatliers , nave eaten a sour grape, and the children's teeth are set on I 36 edge.— Eveiy man that eatelh the sour grape, his teeth shall be set on edge." — Paxton. Ver. 42. And there came a man from Baal-shali- sha, and brought the man of God bread of the first-fruits, twenty loaves of barley, and full ears of corn in the husk thereof: andi he said, Give unto the people, that they may eat. See on I Kings 14. 3. The margin has, instead of in the husk, " in his scrip or garment." I think the marginal reading is better than ihe text. In what was the man to carry the ears of cornl In what may be seen every da)- — " in his scrip or garment." In the mantle (like a scarf) the natives carry many things : thus Ihe petty merchant takes some of his ware, and the traveller his rice. — Roberts. CHAPTER V. Ver. 6. And he brought the letter to the king of Israel, saying. Now, when this letter is come unto thee, behold, I have therewith sent Naa- man my servant to thee, that thou mayest re- cover him of his leprosy. Schultens observes that, " the right understanding of this pa.ssage depends on the custom of expelling lepers, and other infectious persons, from camps or cities, and re- proachfully driving them into solitary places; and that when these persons were cleansed and readmiued into cities or camps, they were said to be rccolkcti, gathered again from their leprosy, and again received into that society from which they had been cut off." — Burder. Ver. 1 1. But Naaman was wroth, and went away, and said, Behold, I thought, He will surely . come out to me, and stand and call on the name of the Lord his God, and strike his hand over the place, and recover the leper. Naaman thought that the prophet would effect his cure sooner and more certainly if he touched him with his hand, and, as it were, invigorated him by an effusion of his heal- ing power. Then, as in later times, lho.se who effected such miraculous cures were accustomed to touch the pa- tient. Thus, Jan Mocquel ,says, " when the sick were brought to the sheik of the Arabian Santons, (religious,) he touched either their right arm or foot, or stroked their breast and forehead, after money had been offered him." Among all nations superstition considers the touch as the principal requisite of a miraculous cure. Hans Egede, in his Greenland Mission^ says, "A Greenland man and woman requested me to blow upon their sick child, or lo lay my hands upon it: they hoped that it would recover. Many more sick Greenlanders begged Ihe same favour fix m me, because they considered me as a prophet, w'hom they believed able to cure the sick in a supernatural manner." RoSEN>roi.LER. When they consulted a prophet, the eastern modes required a present ; and they might think it was right rather lo present him with eatables than other things, because it frequently happened that they were detained there .some time, wailing the answer of God, during which lime hospi- tality would require the prophet to ask Ihcm to take some repast wilh him. And as the prophet would naturally treat them wilh some regard to their q-.ialily, they doubtless did then, as the Egyptians do now, proportion their presents lo their avowed rank and number of attendants. The pres- ent of Jeroboam's wife was that of a woman in affluent circumstances, though it by no meansdeletmined her lo be a prince.ss. That made to the prophet Samuel, was Ihe pre- sent of a person that expected lobe treated like a man in low life ; how great then must be his surprise, first to be treated wilh distinguished honour in a large company, and then to be anointed king over Israel ! Bill tlumgh this seems lo have been the original ground of presenting common eatables to persons who were visited at their o«Ti houses, 1 would by no means be understood to afl^rm they have alwavs kepi to this, and presented eatables 282 2 KINGS. CiiAi'. 5. when iliey cxpcvlfil loslay willi l hem ami lake Jomc repast, aiul other things when they did not. Accuracy is nut to be expected in such matters : the observation, however, nat- urally accounts lor the rise of this sort of presents. In olhor cases, the presents that anciently were, and of late have woni to be made to jier.sonaf,'es cnnnciit for study and piety, were larRe sums of money, or vestments : so the pres- ent that a Syrian nobleman woiild have made to an Israel- itish prophet, with whom Ir- did not exiiect to stay any time, or indeed to enter in his house, " Hihold, I thought, lie will certainly conic out jo inc, and stand, and call on the natne of the Lord his God, and strilic his haml over ihc place, and recover the leper," consisted of ten talents of silver, and six thousand pieces of gold, and ten changes of raimeiu. It is needless to mention the jiecuniary gratifica- tions that have heen given to men of learning in the East in later times ; but as to vestments, D'Heibelot tells lis, tliat Bokhteri, an illustrious poet of Cufah, in the ninth century, had so many presents made him in the course of liis life, lliat at his death he was found po.ssessed of a hun- dred complete sails of clothes, two hundred shirts, and five liundred turbans. — H.4RMEr. Ver. 9. So Naaman came with liis horses and with his chariot, and stood at the door of the house of Elisiia. 10. And Elisha sent a mes- senger unto him, sayinc;. Go and wash in Jor- dan seven times, and thy flesh shall come again to thee, and thou shalt bo clean. Elisha's not appearing to receive the Syrian general, is ascribed by some to the retired course of life which the prophel-> led; but then, why did he see hiui, and enter mio conversation with him, when he returned from his eure1 I should rather think, that it was not misbecoming the prophet, upon this occasion, to take some stale upon him, and to support the character and dignity of a prophet of the most high God ; especially, since tliis might be a means to raise the lionour of his religion and ministry, and to give Naaman a rightcr idea of his miraculous cure, when he found that it was neither by the prayer nor presence of the prophet, but by the divine power aiid good- ness, that it was etfected. — St.vckuouse. Ver. 18. In this thing the Lord pardon thy ser- vant, Ihal when my master goeth into the house of Rimmon to worship there, and he leaneth on my hand, and I bow myself in the house of Rimmon ; when I bow down myself in the house of Rimmon, the Loud pardon thy ser- vant in this thing. It is amusing to see full-grown men, as they walk along the road, like schoolboys at home, leaning on each other's hands. Those who ai'e weak, or sick, lean on another's shoulder. It is also a mark of friendship to lean on the shoulder of a companion. — Roeeuts. Ver. 21. So Gehazi followed after Naaman. And when Naaman saw him running after him, he liiihted down from the cliariot to meet him, and said, /sail well? The rtKi'/z/iHg of those that ride is considered in the East as an expression of ilccp respect ; so T)r. Pococke tells ns, that they are wont to descend from their asses in Egypt, whcMi they come near some tombs there, and that Christians and .lews are obliged to submit to this. So Ha.sselqui.sl l.dls Linnxus, in one of his letters to him, that Christians were obliged to alight from their asses in Eg\lit, wlicn they met with commanders of Ihi. sol, Hers there. ' This lie roni- plaiiis of as a hitler indignity, hut they that received the romplimeni, without doubt, recpii red it' as a most pleasing piece of respecl. Achsah's and Abigail's alighting, were without doubt then iiilendeil as expres-iions oi' revei'enee : but is it to be imagined, thai Naaman's alighling from his chariot, when Gehazi ran after him, arose frouT the same |iriii'-ip|f'? If it dill, there w;is a mighlv c-han'_'e in this hiughly Syrian aller his cure. That //<• should pay such a reverence lo a servant of the prophet must appear very surprising, yet we can hardly think the historian would have mentioned this cireninstanee .<« rerij disliiiclly in anv other view. Kebecca's alighting from the camel on which she rode, when Isaac came to meet her, is by no means any proof that the considering this as an expression of rev- erence, is a morleni thing in the EasI ; it, on llie contraiy, .strongly reminds one of U'Arvieux's account of a brides Ihrmoiiig herself al. Ike feel of Ike bridcgronm when solemnly presenied to him, which obtains among the Arabs. We met a Turk, says Dr. Richard Chandler, in his Asiatic iravels, " a person of distinction, as appeareil from his turban. He was on hor.seback with a single attendant. Our jani/ary and Armenians respectfully alighted, and made liiin a profound obeisance, the former kissing thuriin of liis garmenl." So Niebuhr tells us, that at Kahira, Grand Cairo, "the Jews and Christians, who, it may be. alighted at first through fear or respect, when a Mohamme- dan with a great train on horseback met them, are now obliged to pay this compliment to above thirty of the prin- cipal people of that city. AVhen these appear in public, they always cause a domestic to go before to give notice lo the Jews and Greeks, and even the Europeans that they meet with, to get off their as.ses as soon as possible, and they are qualified on occasion lo force ihemwiih a great club, w'hich they always carry in their hands."— HAnMEa. Ver. 21. So Gehazi followed after Naaman : and wlien Naaman saw )nm running after him, he lighted down from the chariot to meet him, and said, /.vail well? [Heb. margin, Is there peace .'] 22. And he said. All U well. I never read this passage without fancying a Malabar man running after the chariot, and on being met by Naa- man, making a most profound bow, and uttering the word sclam, peace — the word used on this occasion, and still in use among millions in the East. — Callaway. Ver. 27. The leprosy therefore of Naaman shall cleave unto thee, and unto thy seed for ever. And he went out from his presence a leper as white as snow. This was said by Elisha to Gehazi, because he ran afier Naaman, (who had been cured of his leprosy) and said, his master had sent him lo take "a talent of silver, and two changes of garments," and because he actually took pos.se.s- sion of them. There is an account in the Hindoo book, called Sci/lkv-Piinlna, of a leper who went to Ramiseram to bathe, in order lo bo cured of his complaiiil. He per- formed the required ceremonies, but the piie.sts refused his offerings. At last a Bramin came : in the moment of temptation he took the money, and immediatelv the leprosv of the pilgrim took possession of his body ! This complaint is believeil to come in consequence of great sin, and Iheie- fore no one likes to receive any reward or present from a person infected with leprosy. There are manv children born white, though their . parents are quite black. These are not lepers, but albi- nos; and are the same as the while negroes of Africa. To see a man of that kind almost naked, anil walkincamoii:.' the natives, has an unpleasant etfecl .-i3->N-VK) el arubolhehem, to their small or narrow- windows." The word is derived from a root which sig- nifies lo lie in wait for the prey; and is very expressive of Ihe concealed manner in which a person examines, through thai kind of window, an external object. Irwin describes the windtiws in upper Egyj^l, as having the same form and dimensions; and says expressly, that one of the windows of the houses in which they lodged, and through which ilicy looked into the street, inore resembled a pigeon-hole, tlian any thing else. P.iit the sacred writers mention another kind of window, which was large and airy: it was called (p^r.) hnlon, and was large enough to admit a porsoii of maliirc age being oast out of it; a punishment which that profligate woman Jezebel suffered by the com- mand of Jehu, the authorized exterminator of her family. — P.WTON. Dr. Shaw,' after having observed that the jealousy of the people there admits only of one small latticed window into the street, the rest opening into their own courts, says, " It is during the celebration only of some zeena, as they call a public festival, that these houses and their latticed win- dows or balconies are left open. For this being a time of great liberty, revelling, and extravagance, each family is ambitious of adorning both the inside and outside of tlie houses with their richest furniture, while crowds of both sexes, dres.sed out in their best apparel, and laying aside all modesty and restraint, go in and out where they please. The account we have, 2 Kings ix. 30, of Jezebel's painting her face, and tiring her head, and looking out at a win- dow, upon Jehu's public entrance into Jezreel, gives us a lively idea of an eastern lady at one of these zeenahs or solemnities." — Harmer. Ver. 33. And he said. Throw her down. So they threw her down : and some, of her blood was sprinkled on the wall, and on the horses : and he trode her under foot. While the above particulars were relating, it was a shuddering glance that looked down from the open side of the Ketkhoda's saloon, on almost the very spot where the unhappy victims had breathed their last. It recalled to my remembrance a similar window, for similar purposes, at Erivan, where the governor of that place used to dispose of his malefactors the moment sentence was pronounced. And while listening to the hideous details of a sort of pun- ishment so common in the East, I could not but recall simi- lar descriptions in ancient writers on these countries, which showed how old had been the practice of taking offenders to a height, and casting them headlong, sometimes from a rock, at others, from high battlements, and often from a window which commanded a sufficient steep. We have a dreadful picture of this most tremendous mode of pun- ishment in the second book of Kings. — Sir R. K. Porter. CHAPTER X. Ver. 1. And Ahab had seventy sons in Samaria. To those who are unaccustomed to the effects of polyga- my and concubinage, this appears a very remarkable cir- cumstance. In Homer, old King Priam is represented as having fifty sons and twelve daughters. Artaxerxes Mne- mon, king of Persia, had, by his concubines, who amount- ed to three hundred and sixty, not less than one hundred and fifteen sons, besides three by his queen. " Muley Ab- dallah, who was emperor of Morocco in 1720, is said, by his four wives, and the many thousand women he had in his seraglio during his long reign, lo have had seven hun- dred sons, able lo mount a horse; but the number of his daughters is not known." (Stewart's Jmirney to Mcqui- 7t£z.) — Border. Ver. 6. Then he wrote a letter the second time to them, saying, If ye be mine, and if ye will hearken unto my voice, take ye the heads of the men your master's sons, and come to me to Jezreel by to-morrow this time. (Now the king's sons, heiiig seventy persons, were with the great men of the city, which brought them up.) The rich hire a dedeh, or wet-nurse, for their children. If a boy, the father appoints a steady man, from Ihe age of two years, lo be his Inlch, who, I conjecture, must stand in the .same capacity as the bringcrs-up of children mentioned in the catastrophe of Ahab's sons. But if it be a daughter, she has a gees scfccd, or white head, attached to her for the same purpose as Ihe lale/i. (Morier.) — Border. Ver. 8. And there came a messenger, and told him, saying. They have brought the heads of the king's sons. And he said, Lay ye them in two heaps at the entering in of the gate until the morning. During this fight, ten tomauns were given for every head of the enemy that was brought lo Ihe prince : and it has 239 2 KINGS. Chap. 10. been known to occur, after the combal was over, that pris- iincrs li:ne been piil to di'alh in cold bloud, in order Ihat ilie lietids, wliicli are ininu'diaiely despalclied to tlic king, and dejioMied in heaps at ihe palace-gale, might make a more considerable show. — Mohier. Arrived al the palace of the jiaclia, inhabited by the dey, the lirsl object that struck our eyes were six bleeding heads, ranged along before the entraiiee ; and as if this ilreadful sight were liot snllicient of itself to harrow up the soul, it was still fuither aggravated by the necessity of .stepping over Ihein, in order to pass into the court. They were the heads of sonic Uirbulent agas, who had dared to murmur against the dey. (Pananti's Nnrnitii-e of a Residence in Algiers.) " The pacha of Diarbech has sent to Conslan- linople a circumstantial report of his expedition against the rebels of Mardin. This report has been accompanied bv a thousand heads, severed from the vanquished. These s.iiiguiriaiy trophies have been exposed, as usual, at the gate of the seraglio. The Tartar who brought them has obtained a pelisse of honour ; presents have also been sent to the pacha." {Litcrar)/ Panorama, vol. ix. p. 289.) A pyramid of heads, of a certain number of feet diameter, IS sometimes exacted in Persia; and so indiflerent are the executioners to the distresses of others, that they will .select a head of peculiar appearance, and long beard, to grace the summit ol it. Sir J. Malcolm says, that " when Timour slormed Ispahan, it was impossible to count the slain, but an account was taken of seventy thou.'=and heads, which were heajied in pyramids, as monuments of savage re- venge." " Three weeks before our arrival al Cattaro, they (the Monlenegrines) had some skirmishes with the Turks, and had brought home several of their heads, which were added to Ihe heap before the bishop's house." (Dodwell's Tour through Ctrecce.') — Burder, Ver. 12. And he arose and departed, and came to Samaria. And as he was at the shearing-house in the way, 13. Jehu met with the brethren of Ahaziah, kingofJudah, and said, Who are ye? And they answered. We are the brethren of Ahaziah ; and we go down to salute the child- ren of the king, and the children of the queen. W. And he said, Take them alive. And they took them alive, and slewthein at the pit of the shearing-house, even two and forty men : neither left he any of them. Our translators suppose, that the edifice at which Jehu slew the brethren of Ahaziah, king of Judali, was destined to the .sole purpose of shearing of sheep ; but as I apprehend, ihe term in the original is ambiguous, which is accordingly literally translated in the margin, the hmise ofshrphcrd'sbind- iiig, it might be better to use some less determinate word ; as the word, I ain ready to believe, may signify the binding sheep for shearing, the binding up their fleeces, after those fleeces taken from the sheep beforehand were washed ; or the binding the sheep for the purpose of milking, Whether it was erected for all three purposes, or if only for one of thein, then for which of the three, it may be very dilTicult precisely to say. A pit near such a building must be use- ful in any of the three cases, for the allbrding water for the sliccp that were detained there for some lime, in the first and lliird case, to drink; and for the washing the wool in the other. If the intention of the historian liad been to de- scribe it as the place appropriated to tlic shearing of sheep, it would have been natural for him to have used the word that precisely expresses that operation, not .such a general term as the house of binding. All know that sheep must he bound, or al least forciblv held, in order to be shorn ; and it appears in the Travels of Dr. Richard Chandler i>i the Lesser Asia, lhat " the shepherds theie, sitting at Ihe mouth of the pen, were wont to seize on the ewes and .she-goals, each bv llie hind leg, as they pressed forwanl, to milk them ," which seizing ihem, sufllcicnlly shows they must be held, shackled, or somehow bound, when milked. In another observation 1 have taken notice of Ihe readi- ness of great men, in the Ea.st, to repose themselves, when fatigued, under the shelter of roofs of a very mean kind ; the brethren, it seems, of Ahaziah ancienlly did the .same thing. But they found no more safely in ihis obscure re- treat, than they would have found in the palaces of either Samaria or Jezreel. Tlie slaying them at the pit, near this place, seems to have been owing to a custom at lhat time, whether arising from superstition, to preserve ibe land from being defiled, or any other notion, does not at first sight appear ; but it was, it seems, a cuslomarv thing at that lime to put people to death near water, at' least near where water was soon expected to flow, as appears trom 1 Kings xviii. 40. — Hahmkr. Ver. 15. And when he was departed thence, lie lighted on Jehonadab the son of Rechab, com- ing to meet liim ; and he saluted him, and said to him. Is thy heart right, as my heart is with thy heart 1 And Jehonadab answered. It is. If it be, give me thy hand. And he gave him his hand ; and he took him up to him into the chariot. A very solemn method of taking an oath in the East is by joining hands, uttering at the same time a euise upon the false swearer. To this form the wise man probably alludes in that proverb: "Though hand join in hand"-^ though they ratify their agreement by oath — "the wicked shall not be unpunished, but the seed of the righteous shall be delivered." This form of swearing is still observed in Egypt and the vicinity ; for when Mr. Bruce was at Shekh Ammer, he entreated the protection of the governor in pros- ecuting his journey, when the great people, who were as- sembled, came, and after joining hands, repeated a kind of prayer, of about two minutes long, by which they declared themselves and their children accursed, if ever thev lifted up their hands against him in the tell, or field, in the des- ert ; or in the case that he or his should fly to them for refuge, if they did not protect them at the risk of their lives, their families, and their fortunes ; or, as they emphatically expressed it, to the death of the la.st male child among them. The inspired writer has recorded an instance of this form of swearing in the history of Jehu : " And when he was departed thence, he lighted on Jehonadab, Ihe son of Re- chab, coming to meet him, and he saluted him, and said to him. Is thy heart right, as my heart is wilh thy heart ; and Jehonadab answered. It is. If itbe,givemethy hand. And he gave him his hand, and he look him up unto him into the chariot." Another .striking instance is quoted by Calmet from Ockley's history of the Saracens. Telha, just before he died, asked one of All's men if he belonged tothc emperor of the faithful; and being informed that he did, "Give me then, said he, your hand, lhat I may put mine in it, and by this action renew the oath of fidelity which I have already made to Ali." — Paxton. Deep as the reverence is with which the Orientals treat their princes, yet in some cases, a mode of treatment oc- curs that we are surprised at, as seeming to us of the Wcsl, too near an approach to that familiarity that lakes place among equals : the taking a new elected prince by the band, in token of acknowledging his princely character, may probably appear to us in ihis light. D'Herbelot, in explain- ing an eastern term, which, helells us, signifies the election or auguration of a calif, Ihe supreme head of the Moham- medans, both in civil and ecclesiastical matters, tells us, lhat " Ihis ceremony consisted in .stretching forth a person's hand, and taking lhat of him that thev acknowleilged for calif This was a sort of performing homage, and swear- ing fealty to him." He adds, lhat " Khondemir, a cele- brated historian, .speaking of the election of Othman, the third calif after Mohammed, says, lhat Ali alone did not present his hand lo him, and that upon lhat occasion Ab- (iurahinan, who had by compromise made ihc election, said to him, 'Ali! he who violates his wiird is the first person lhat is injured by so doing;' upon hearing of which words, Ali .stretched out his hand, and acknowledged Otbinan js calif." How mtich less solemn and expressive of reverence is this, than Ihe manner of paying homage and swearing feal- ty al the coronation of our princes; to say nothing of Ihe adoration lhat is practised in the Romish church, upon Ihe election of their great ecclesiastic ! It may however serve lo illustrate what we read concerning Jehonadab, Ihe head of an Ar.ib tribe thai lived in, and consequently was in some measure subject lo, the kingdom of Israel. " Jeho- Chap. 11—13. 2 KINGS. 289 nadab came to meet Jehu, and he saluted him ; and Jehu said to Jehon.idab, Is ihy lieart right as my heart is with thy heart ] and Jehonadab a?isHerecl, It is. And he said, If it be, give me tliy li:;iid : and he gave him his hand, and he took him up to linn into the ehariol." This giving him the hand appears not to have been the expression of private friendship ; but the solemn acknowledgment of him as king over Israel. Our translators seem to have suppos- ed, by their way of expressing matters, that Jehu saluted, or blessed Jehonadab, and Bishop Patrick thought it was plain iliat it ought so lobe understood ; but Icannoi but think It most natural to understand the words as signifying, that Jehonadab came to meet Jehu as then king of Israel ; and to compliment hira on being acknowdedgcd king of the country in which he dwelt; not that this newly anointed prince first saluted him. This would not have been in character. So when Jacob was introduced to Pharaoh, he is .said to have blessed Pharaoh, not Pharaoh Jacob, Gen. xlvii. 7. The words therefore should have been translated, with a slight variation, after some such manner as this, " He lighted on Jehonadab, the son of Rechab, coming to meet him, and he, Jehonadab, saluted him, and he, Jehu, said unto hira. Is thy heart," &c. — Harmer. CHAPTER XI. Ver. 2. But Jehosheba, the daughter of king Jo- ram, sister of Ahaziah, took Joash the son of Ahaziah, and stole him from among the king's sons which were slain ; and they hid him, even him and liis nurse, in the bedchamber, from Athaliah, so that he was not slain. A bedchamber does not, according to the visage of the East, mean a lodging room, but a repository for beds. Chardin says, " In the East beds are not rai.sed from the ground with posts, a canopy, and curtains ; people lie on the ground. In the evening they spread out a mattress or two of cotton, very light, of which thoy have several in great houses, against they should have occasion, and a room on purpose for them." From hence it appears that it was in a chamber of beds that Joash was concealed. — Harmeb. Ver. 12. And he brought forth the king's son, and put the crown upon him, and gave him the tes- timony : and they made hitn king, and anoint- ed him ; and they clapped their hands, and said, God save the king. The way by which females in the East express their joy, is by gently applying oneof their hands to their mouths. This custom appears to be very ancient, and seems to be referred to in several places of scripture. Pitts, describing the joy with which the leaders of their sacred caravans are received in the several towns of Barbary through which they pass, says, " This Emir Hagge, into whatever town he comes, is "received with a great deal of joy, because he is going about so religious a work. The women get upon the lops of the houses to view the parade, where they keep striking their forefingers on their lips softly as fast as they can, making a joyful noise all the while." The sacred writers suppose two different methods of expressing joy by a quick motion of the hand: the clapping of the hands, and that of one hund only, though these are confounded in our translation. The former of these methods obtained an- ciently, as an expression of malignant joy ; but other words, which our version translates clapping the hands, signify, the applying of only one hand somewhere with soilness, in testimony of^ a joy of a more agreeable kind. Thus in 2 Kings xi. 12, and Psalm xlvii. I, it should be rendered in the singular, Clapvmir hand, and as the word implies gentleness, it may allude to such an application of the hand to the mouth as has now been recited. — BttRDER. Ver. 14. And when she looked, behold, the king stood by a pillar, as the manner was, and the princes and the trutnpeters by the king; and all the people of the land rejoiced, and blew with trumpets ; and Athaliah rent her clothes, and cried, Treason, treason ! 37 The Orientals looked upon a seat by a pillar or column as a particular mark of respect. In the Iliad, Homer places Ulysses on a lofty throne, by a pillar: and in the Odyssey, he more than once alludes to the same custom. The kings of Israel were, for ihe same reason, placed at their corona- tion, or on days of public festivity, by a pillar in the house of the Lord. Joash, th'i king of Judah, stood by a pillar when he was admitted to the throne of his ancestors ; and Josiah, one of his succes.sors, when he made a covenant before the Lord. — Paxton. CHAPTER XII. Ver. 9. But Jehoiada the priest took a chest, and bored a hole in the lid of it, and set it beside the altar, on the right side as one cometh into the house of the Lord ; and the priests that kept the door put therein all the money that was brought into the house of the Lord. See on 1 Kings 18. 33. Ver. 10. And it was so, when they saw that there was much money in the chest, that the king's scribe and the high-priest came up, and they put up iti bags, and told the money that was found in the house of the Lord. It appears to have been usual in the East for money to be put into bags, which, being ascertained as to the exact sum deposited in each, were sealed, and probably labelled, and thus passed currently. Instances of this kind may be tra- ced in the scriptures, at least so far as that money was thus conveyed, and also thus delivered, from superior to inferior officers, for distribution : as in the passage referred to in this article. Major Rennel in giving an abstract of the Hi.story of Tobit, says, " we find him again at Nineveh, from whence he despatches his son Tobias to Rages byway of Ecbatana, for the money. At the latter place, he mar- ries his kinswoman Sara, and sends a messenger on to Rages. The mode of keeping and delivering the money was exactly as at present in the East. Gabriel, who kept the money in trust, ' brought forth bags, which were sealed up, and gave them to him,' and received in return the handwriting or acknowledgment which Tobias had taken care to require of his father before he left Nineveh. The money, we learn, was left in trust, or as a dcposife, and not on iistiry, and, as it may be concluded, with Tobit's seal on the bags. In the East,'in the present times, a bag of money passes (for some time at least) currently from hand to hand, under the authority of a banker's seal, without any exam- ination of its contents." — Bueder. CHAPTER XIII. Ver. 7. Neither did he leave of the people to Je- hoahaz but fifty horsemen, and ten chariots, and ten thousand footmen ; for the king of Syria had destroyed them, and had made them like the dust by thrashing. In modern Turkey, the custom of treading out the corn by oxen is still practised. This is a much quicker way than our method of beating out the corn with the flail, but less cleanly ; for, as it is performed in the open air, upon any round level plat of ground, daubed over with cow- dung, to prevent as much as possible the earth, sand, or gravel, from rising, a great quantity of them all, notwith- standing these precautions, must unavoidably be taken up nith the grain ; at the same time the straw, which is their only fodder, Ls by this means shattered to pieces. To this circumstance Ihe sacred historian alludes, with great force and propriety, in his brief description of the wretched state to which the kingdom of the ten tribes had been re- duced by Ihe arms of Hazael king of Syria : " Neither did he leave of the people to Jehoahaz but iifly horsemen, and ten chariots, and ten thousand footmen ; for the king of Syria had destroyed them, and had made them like Ihe dust by thrashing." — Paxton. Ver. 17. And he said. Open the window eastward : 290 KINCiS. Chap. 13—15. and he opened it. Then Elislia said, Sliool : nnd he shot. And he said, The arrow of the Lord's deliverance, and the arrow of deliver- ance from Syria ; for thou shalt smite the Syri- ans in Aphetv till thou have consumed (hem. It was an ancient cusloni to shoot an arrow, or cnsl a spear, iaio llie cmuUry wliicli an army inlendcil lo invade Ju.slin says, llial as scum as Alexander the Great had arrived on the coasts of Ionia, he threw a dart into the country ol the Persians. The darl, spear, or arrow, thus thrown, was an emblem of the commencement of hostilities. Virgil represents Turnus as giving the signal of attack by throwing a spear. Ecqiiis erit iiiccuin, O Juvonce, qui primus in hoslemi En, .lit, cl jnculuniinlorquens einittil in .inras. rrnu-ipiuln pugna* ; el cainixi sese aniuu.s infcrl. \Vlu> first, tie rricd, with nie ttie foe will darn 1 Tlipn iiurl'il a tlalt, (he signal of the war. — (Pitt.) Servius, in his note upon this place, shows that it was a custom 10 proclaim war in this way. The pntej- jmtratus, or chief of the Feciales, a sort of heralds, went to the con- fines of the enemy's country ; and, after some solemnities, said, with a loud voice, " I wage war with yon, for such and such reasons;" and then threw in a spear. It was then the business of the parties thus defied, or warned, to take the subject into consideration; and if they did not, within thirty days, come to some accominodalion, the war was begun. — feuttDEii. Ver. 21. And it came to pass, as they were bury- ing a man, that, behold, they spied a band of men ; and they cast the man into the sepulchre of Elisha . and when the man was let down, and touched the bones of Elisha, he revived, and stood up on his feet. With us, the poorest people have their coffins; if the re- lations cannot allord them, the parish is at the expense. In the East, on the contrary, they are not at all made use of in our times: Turks and Chrislians, Thevenot assures us, agree in this. The ancient Jews probably buried their dead in the same manner : neither was the body of our Lord, it seems, put into a coffin: nor that of Elisha, whose b;ines were loiichnl by the cmpse that was let down a little after into his sepulchre, ('2 Kingsxiii. 21.) It is no objection lo this account, ihal the widow of Nain's son is represented as carried forth Ui he buried in a E-ois, or bier, for tlie pres- ent inhabitanls of the Levant, who are well known lo lay their dead in the earth unenclosed, carry them frequently out to burial in a kind of coffin : .so Russel in particular describes the bier used by the Turks at Aleppo as a kind of coffin, much in the form of ours, only the lid rises with a ledge in the midille. Christians, indeed, that same author tells us, are carried lo the grave in an open bier : hut as the most common kind of bier there verv much resembles our coffins, that used by the people of Nain misht very possibly be of the same kind, in which case the word Eipnj was very proper. — Harmer. CHAPTER XIV. Ver. 0. And .Tehonsh the kinsf of Israel sent to Amaziah kintr of Judah, sayin"^, The thistle that rrns in Lebanon sent to the cedar that was in Lebanon, sayinrr. Give thy daughter to my son to wife : and there passed by a wild beast that was in Lebanon, and trode down the thistle. "We have here another beautiful instance of the way in which the ancients conveyed instruction or reproof in par- ables, apologues, or riddles. Jehoash, the king of Israel, the author of the parable, compares himself lo a cedar: and Amaziah, the King of Judah, to a thistle. It would no doubt be very annoying to Amaziah to be represented hv a thistle ! and his opponent bv a cedar. Rome years ago, two magistrates, who were mneh superior lo theii" predecessors in reference to the way in which they had discharged their duties, were appointed to take charge of separate districts. The natives, as usual, did not speak plainly as lo their merits, but under " the similitude of a parable." One of the districts was very famous for the banyan tree, the fruit of which is only eaten by the flying fox, birds, and mon- keys. The people, therefore, to show how nuieh better their present magistrate was than the former, said, " Ah ! the banyan of our country is now giving the fruit of the palmirah." Those of the other district {vhcrc the jmlnnrah was cj'e.ccdiiigh/ /ilenlifid) >^:\id o( their magistrate, "Have you not heard that our palmirah is now giving mangoes ?" Some men are always known by the name of certain trees. Thus, a person who is tall, and .stoops a little, is called the cocoa-nut tree, and he who has long legs and arms, is called the banyan, which spreads its arms, and lets fall its sup- porters lo the ground. It is, therefore, not very improbable that Jehoash was known by the name of the cedar, and Amaziah by that of the l/iiftle. — Roberts. CHAPTER XV. Ver. 28. And he did l/ial whieh was evil in the sight of the Lord; he departed not from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin. See on 2 Kings 2. 7. CHAPTER XVI. Ver. 3. But he walked in the way of the kings of Israel ; yea, and made his son to pass through the fire, according lo the abominations of the heathen, whom the Lord cast out from before the children of Israel. Few things are more shocking to humanity than the cus- tom of which such frequent mention is made in scripture, of making children, &c., pass through fire in honour of Moloch: a custom, the antiquity of which appears from its having been repeatedly forbidden by Moses, as Lev. xviii. 21, and at length, in chap. xx. 1 — 5, where ihe ex- pressions are very strong, of '■ giving his seed to Moloch." This cruelty, one would hope, was confined lo the stran- gers in Israel, and not adopted by any native Israelite; yet we afterward find the kings of Israel, themselves, prac- tising this superstition, and making ihcir children pass through the fire. This may be illu.stratcd by an instance: There is a remarkable variation of terms in ihe history of Ahaz, who (2 Kings xvi. 3) is said lo make "his son to pass through the fire, according to the abominations of the heathen," i. e. no doubt, in honour of Moloch — which, 2 f'hi'on.xxviii. 3, is expressed by " he burned his children in the fire." Now, as the book'of Chronicles is best un- derstood, by being considered as a supplementary and ex- planatory history to tlie book of Kings, it is somewhat sin- gular, that it lises by much the strongest word in this passage — for the import of ibor (lys'') is, generally, lo con- fnine, lo rlrar off: so Psal. Ixxxiii. 11, "as the fire burnclh a wood," so Isaiah i. 31; and ihis variation of exprcssiop. is further heightened, by the word son (who passed through) being singular in Kings, but plural (sons) in Chronicles. It seems very natural to ask, " If he burned his children in the fire, how could he leave any posterity lo succeed himl" We know, that the Rabbins have histories of the manner of passing through Ihe fires, or inio caves of fire; and there is an account of an image, whieh received children into its arms, and let them drop into a fire beneath, amid the shouts of the multitude, the noise of drums, and other instruments, to drown the shrieks of the agonizing infant, and the horrors of the parents' mind. Waiving further al- lusion to that account at present, we think Ihe following extract mayaffiird a good idea, in what manner the passing lhroiii;h, or orer fire, was anciently performed : ihe alien.. live reader will notice the particulars. " A still more a.s- tonishing instance of ihe superstition of the ancient Indians, in respect lo ihe venerated fire, remains at this day in Ihe grand annual festival holden in honour of Darma Rajah, and called ihe fea.st op fire; in which, as in the ancient riles of Moloch, Ihe devotees walk barefoot orer a sloiring fire, cJtrndiiig fnrlu feet. U is called the feast of lire, be- cause thev then walk on ihal element. It lasls eighteen days, during which time, those that make a vow to keep ii, must fastj abstain from women, lie on the bare ground, Chap. 17, IS 2 KINGS. 291 and walk on a brisk fire. The eiglileenth day, they assem- ble, on Ike sound of instruments; their heads cioiciicd with flowers, the body bcclavied toilh suJJ'ron, andfollon- in cadence Ike figures of Uarma Rajah, and Drobede, kis wife, who are carried there in procession : wlien they come lo llie fire, Uiey stir it, to animate its aclicitij, and take a little of the ashes, with which they rub their forehead, and when the gods liave been three times round it, they walk either fast or slow, according lo their zeal, over a very hot fire, ex- tending lo about forty feel in lenglli. Suwe earn/ tlicir chil- dren in their arms, and other.s lance.s, .sabres, and stand- ards. " The most iervent devotees walk several limes oier Ike fire. After tlic ceremony, the people prei^s to collect some of the ashes to rub their foreheads wilh, and obtain from the devotees some of the flowers wilh which they were adorned, and which they carefully preserve." (Son- nerat's Travels, vol, i. 154.) The flowers, then, were not burned. This extract is taken from Mr. Maurice's "history of Hindostan," and it accounts for several expressions used in scripture: such as causing children (very young per- haps) lo pass througk fire, a.s we see they are carried over the fire, by which means, though devoted, or consecrated, they were not destroyed ; neither were they injured, except by being profaned. Nevertheless, it might, and probably did happen, that some of those who thus passed, were hurt or maimed in the passing, or if not immediately slain by the fire, might be burnt in this superstitious pilgrimage, in such a manner as to contract fatal diseases. Shall we sup- pose, then, Ihat while some of the children of Ahaz passed safely over the fire, others were injured by it, and injured even to death'? But this could not be the case with all of them; as besides Hezekiali, his successor, we read of " Maa.seiah, the king's son," '2 Chron. xxviii. 7. Human- ity would induce us to hope that the expres.sion "burned" should be taken in a milder sense tlian Ihat of slaying by fire ; and, perhaps, this idea may be justified, by remarking the use of it — Exod. iii. 3, ?>, " the bush burned with fire, ygt the bush was not consumed." The word, therefore, being capable of a milder, as well as of a stronger sense, like our English word, to burn, it is desirable, if fact would permit, lo take it in the milder sense in this instance of Ahaz, and possibly in others. Nevertheless, as the cus- tom of widows burning them.selves to death, with the body of their deceased husbands, not only continues, but is daily practised in India, it eontribules to justify the harsher con- struction of the word to burn; as the superstitious cruelty which can deprive women of life, may easily be thought guilty of equal barbarily in the case of children, [and moreover the drowning of children in the Ganges, as an act of dedication, is common.] — Taylor in C.ii.met. CHAPTER XVII. Ver. 10. Andthevset them up imaoes aiul groves in every hi irh hill, and under every g;reen tree ; 11. And there they burnt incense in all the high places, as did the heathen whom the Lord carried away before them ; and wrouo-ht wicked things to provoke the Lord to anger. Thus did the wicked .Tews imitate the heathen. The whole verse mii^ht be a description of the localities, and usages of MonEiiN hcatlienism. See their high hills ; they are all famous for being the habilalion of some deity. On the summit there is generally a rude reprcsenlalion, formed by nature, or the distorted imagination, into the likeness of a god. In going lo the spot, images are set up in every di- rection, as .so many sentinels and guides lo the sacred ar- cana. See the fVrus religiosa, and numerous other trees, under which various .symbols of idolatry may be seen. Fastened into the roots of one, we discover the trident of Siva : under another, an emblem of Ganesa: there we see a few faded flowers, a broken cocoa-nut, an altar, or the ashes of a recent fire. — Roberts. Vor. 17. And they caused their sons and their datighters to pass through the fire. The Tamul translation has " to pass or tread onthe fire." Deul. xviii. 10.2 Kings xxiii. 10. xxi. G. Lev. xviii. 21. Jer. xxxii. 3,'). are rendered " sleji orci" the fire. To begin wilh Lev. xviii. 21. " Thou shall not let any of thy seed pass through the fire lo Moloch ; neither shalt thou profane the name of thy God : I am the Lord." The marginal references " to profane the name of thy God," are chap, xix. 12. " And ye shall not swe.4r by my name falsely, neither shalt thou profane the name of thy God." (See also chap. xx. 3. xxi. C. and xxii. 2. 32. Ezek. xxxvi. 20.) Connected Iherefore, wilh passing through the fire, as men- tioned in Lev. xviii. 21, and the marginal references, it is clear thai ihe name of God was profaned by .swearing. The Tamul translation of Lev. xviii. 21, for " pass through Ihe fire," has " step over the fire," which alludes to the oaih which is taken by stepping over the fire. It is a solemn way of swearing lo innocence, by first making a fire, and when stepping over lo exclaim, " lam not gvilty." Hence the frequency of Ihe question, (when a man denies an accusation,) "Will you step over the firel" But so careful are the healhen in reference loHre, when they are not on their oath, that they will not step over il. >See a trav- eller on his journey; does he come to a place where there has been a fire, lie will not step over il, but walk round it, lest any evil should come upon him. I think il, therefore, probable, from the words, "profane Ihe name of thy God," as mentioned in connexion wilh passing through the fire, and from the eastern c lstom, that the ancient idolaters did take a solemn oalh of allegiance to their gods, or of their innocence of crime, by thus stepping over the fire. But it is also a custom among these heathen to pass ihi'ough, or rather to walk on, the tire. Tliis is done some- limes in consequence of a vow, or from a wish to gain popularity, or lo merit Ihe favour of the gods. A fire is made on the ground, from twenty to thirty paces in length, and the individual walks on it' barefoot, backwards and forwards, as many times as he may believe the nature of his circumstances require. Some .say that these devotees put a composition on Iheir feet, which prevents them from being much burnt ; but I am of opinion this is not often the case. To walk on the fire is believed to be most acceptable to the cruel goddess Kali, the wife of Vyravar, who was the prince of devils. When a man is sick, he vows, " O Kali, mother, only cure me, and 1 will walk on fire in your holy presence." A father, for his deeply afilicted child, vows, " O Kali, or, O Vyravar, only deliver him, and when he is fifleen years of age, he shall walk on fire in your divine presence." — Roberts. Vev. 37. And the statutes, and the ordinances, and the law, and the commandment, which he wrote for you, ye shall observe to do for evermore ; and ye shall not fear other gods. The most prominent effect of heathenism on the minds of its votaries is fear ; and no wonder; for how can they love deilies guilly of such repeated acts of cruelly, injustice, falsehood, dishonesty, and impurity'? Strange as it may appear, European descendants, as well as native Christians, are in danger of fearino the gods of Ihe heathen. There are so many traditions of their malignity and power, that 11 requires strength of mind, and, above all, faith in Jesus Christ, the conqueror of devils, to give a perfect viclory over it. On this account the missionaries sent out by Den- mark, more than one hundred years ago, (and .some of their successors,) have "not approved of the native Christians studying Ihe healhen books and superslilions. This, how- ever, has had an injurious efl'ecl, because it disqualified the members of Ihe church to expose the errors of heathenism lo the people, and also conveyed an idea of something like inadequacy in the Gospel of Christ lo meet such a system. In view of this, the missionaries of the present day, and many of their converts, have, like Ezekiel, (chap, viii.) looked into this vile arcana; have dragged the monstrous transactions to light, exposed Ihem to public gaze, and driven from the field of argument, the proud and learned Bramin. — Roberts. CHAPTER XVIIL Ver. 8. He smote the Philistines, even unto Gaza, and the borders thereof, from the tower of the watchmen lo the fenced city. See on I.s. 1.!.2ri. 292 2 KINGS. Chap. IS. Ver. 11. And the king of Assyria did carry away Israel unto Assyria, and put thorn in Halali and in Hahor A;/ the river of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes. For the followiiio narrative, and the particular apnlica- tion of it, 5reat (•oniinenciaiion !•; due to the learned and inlelliKeni traveller. Atler describing .some sculptured fiKure.s which he had jusi seen, he says : ' At a pouU some- thinsjhi^'her up than the rough gigantic forms just described, in aVerv precipitous cliir, there appeared tome a still more interesting piece of sculpture, though I'robably not of such deep antiquity. Kven at so vast a height, the first glance .showed it to 'have been a work of some age accomplished in the art : for all here was executed with the care and fine expression of the very best at Perse|X)lis. I could not re- sist the impulse to examine it nearer than from the distance of the ground, anif would have been glad of Ciucen Semi- ramis'.s" stage of packs and fardels. To approach it at all was a business of difficulty and danger ; however, after much .scrambling and climbing, I at last got pretty iar up the rock, and finding a ledge, placed myself on it as firmly as 1 could; but still I was further from the object of all this peril than I had hoped: yet my eyes being tolerably long- sighted, and my glass more so, I managed to copy the whole sculpture with considerable exactness. It con- tains fourteen figures, one of which is in the air. The first figure (to our left in facing the sculpture) carries a spear, and is in the full Median habit, like the leaders of the guards at Persepolis: his hair is in a similar fashion, and bound with a fillet. The second figure holds a bent biw in his left hand; he is in much the same dress, with the addition of a quiver slung at his back by a belt that crosses his right shoulder, and his wrists are adorned with bracelets. The third personage is of a stature much larger than any other in the group, a usual distinction of royalty in oriental description ; and, from the air and attitude of the figure, I have no doubt he is meant to designate the king. The costume, excepting the beard not being quite so long, is precisely that of the regal dignity, exhibited in the basreliefs of Nakshi-Roustan, and Persepolis; a mix- ture of the pontiff-king, and the other sovereign personages. The rohe being the ample vesture of the one, and the dia- dem the simple band of the other : a style of crown which appears to have been the most ancient badge of supremacy of either king or pontllf. But as persons of inferior rank also wore fillets, it seems the distinction between theirs and their sovereign'^, consisted in the material or colour. For instance, the band or cydaris, which tbrmed the es.senlial part in the old Persian diadem, was composed of a twined substance of purple and white: and anv jierson below the royal dignity presuming to wear those colours unsanctioned by the king, was guilty of a transgression of the law, deem- ed equal to high treason. The fillets of the priesthood were probably white or silver; and the circlets of kings, in general, simple gold. Bracelets are on the wrists of this personage, and he holds up his hand in a commanding or anmonitory manner, the two forefingers being extended, and Jjie two others doubled down in the palm: an action also common on the tombs at Persepolis, and other monu- incnLs just cited; his left hand grasps a bow of a ditTercnt shape from that held by his officer, hut exactly like the one on which the king leans in the basrelief on the tomb at Nakshi-Roustan. This how, together with the left foot of the personage I am describing, rests on the horly of a pros- trate man, who lies on his back with outstretched arms, in the act of supplicating for mercy. This unhappy per- sonage, and also the first in the string of nine which ad- vance towards the king, are very much injured: however, enough remains of the almost dcfaci'd leader, when com- pared with the apparent condition of the succeeding eight, lo show that the whole nine are captiyes. The hands of all are tied behind their hacks, anil the coid is very dis- tinct which binds the neck of the one to the neck lif the other, till the mark of bondage reaches to the last in the line. If it were also originally attached to the leader, the cord is now without trace there; his hands, however, are evidenllv in the same trammels as his followers. The second figure in the processif>n has his hair so chvse to his head, that it appears to have been shaven, and a kind of caul covers it from the top of the forehead lo the middle of the head. He is dressed in a short tunic, reaching no fur- ther than the knee; a belt fastens it round the waist ; his legs are bare. Behind this figure is a much older person, with a rather pointed beard and bushy hair, and a similar caul covers the lop of his head. He too is habited in a short lunic, with something like the trouser, or booted ap- pearance on the limbs which is seen on some of the figures at Persepolis. In addition to the binding of the hands, the preceding figure, and this, are fastened together by a rope round their necks, which runs onward, noosing all the remaining eight in one string. This last-described person has the great peculiarity attached to him, of the skirt of his garment being covered entirely with inscrip- tions in the arrow-headed character. Next follows one m a long vestment, with full hair, without the caul. Then another in a short, plain tunic, with trousers. Then suc- ceeds a second long vestment. Afier him comes one in a short tunic, with naked legs, and, apparently, a perfectly bald head. He is followed by another in long vestments. But the ninth, and last in the gioup, who also is in the short tunic and trouser, has the singularity of wearing a prodigious high-pointed cap; his beard and hair are much ampler than any of his companions, and his face looks of a greater age. In the air, over the heads of the centre figures, appears the floating intelligence in his circle and car of sunbeams, .so often remarked on the sculptures of Nakshi-Rouslan and Persepolis. " Above the head of each individual in this basrelief is a compartment with an in.scriplion in the arrow-headed wri- ting, most probably descriptive of the character and situa- tion of each person. And immediately below the sculp- ture, are two lines in the same language, running the whole length of the group. Under these again, the exca- vation is continued to a considerable extent, containing eight deep and closely-written columns in the same char- acter. From .so much labour having been exerted on this part of the work, it excites more regret that so little pro- gress has yet been made towards deciphering the characler. The design of this sculpture appears to tally so well with the great event of the total conquest over Israel, by Salraa- neser, king of Assyria, and the Medes, that I venture to suggest the possibility of this basrelief having been made lo commemorate that final achievement. Certain circum- stances attending the entire captiviiy of the ten tribes, which took place in a second attack on their nation, when considered, seem to confirm the conjecture into a strong probability. In turning from ihis account in the scriptures, to the sculpture on the rock, the one seemed clearly to ex- plain the other. In the royal figure, I see Salmaneser, the son of the renowned Aibaces, followed by two appropriate leaders of the armies of his two dominions, Assyria and Media, carrying the spear and the bow. Him.self rests on the great royal weapon of the East, revered from earliest time as the badge of supreme power — Behold I do set vtij hoir in the cloud. Besides, he tramples on a prostrate foe; not one that is slain, but one who is a captive: this person not lying stretched out and motionless, but extending his arms in supplication. He must have been a king, lor on none below that dignity would the haughty foot of an east- ern monarch condescend lo tread. Then we see approach nine capti\'es. bound, as it were, in double bonds, in sign of a double oflcnce. We may understand this accumulated transgression, on recollecting that on the first invasion of Israel, by Tiglath-pileser, he carried away only part of three tribes ; and on the second by Salmaneser, he not only confirmed Hosliea on the throne, but spared the remaining people. Therefire, on this dcierinined rebellion of king and people, he punishes the ingratitude of both, by putting bolh in the most abject bonds, and bringing away the whole of the ten tribes into captivity; or, at least, the principal of the nation; in the same manner, prohahly, as was after- ward adopted by Nehuchadnez/ar of Babylon, with regard lo the inhabitants of Judea, he carried avaij all from jeni- aalcvi, and all the princes^ avd all the viightij men of ralovr^ even ten thnvsand caplires ; and all the craftsmen and smiths ; none rcviained, save the poorest sort of jKOple of the land. 2 Kings xxiv. 11. " Besides, it may bear on our argument, to remark, that, including the prostrate monarch, there are precisely ten captives: who might be regarded as the representatives, or heads, of each tribe, beginning with the king, who, a--- suredlv, would be considered as the chief of his: and end- Chap. 18. 2 KINGS. 293 ing with the ageJ figure at the end, whose liigh cap may have been an exaggerated representation of the mitre worn by the sacerdotal tribe of Levi: a just punishment of the priesthood at that time, which had debased itself by every species of idolatrous compliance with the whims, or rather wickedness of the people, in the adoption of pagan wor- ship. Hence, having all walked in the statutes of the heathen, the Lord rejected Israel, and delivered them into the hand of the spoilers. Doubtless, the figure with the inscription on his garments, from the singularity of the appendage, must have been .some noted personage in the history of the event ; and besides, it seems to designate a striking peculiarity of the Jews, who were accustomed to write memorable sentences of old, in the form of phylacte- ries, on different parts of their raiment. What those may mean, which cover the garment of this figure, we have no means of explaining, till the diligent researches of the learned may be able to decipher the arrow-headed charac- ter, and then a full light would be thrown on the whole history, by expounding the tablets over every head. If the aerial form above were ever intended to represent the heavenly apparition of a departed king, which is the opin- ion of some, that of the great Arbaces might appear here with striking propriety, at the final conquest of rebellious Israel. Should the discoveries of time prove my cnnjec- ture at all right, this basrelief must be nearly two hundred years older than any which are ascribed to Cyrus, atPerse- polis or Pasargada:." (Sir R. K. Porter.) — ISurder. {See engraving, pi. no. at the end of the volume.) Ver. 20. Thou sayest, (but they are but vain words,) Ihavc counsel and strength for the war. Now, on whom dost thou trust, that thou rebel- lest against me? The Hindoos say of boasting words, or those which do not proceed from the heart, they are " words of the mol'th;" but to speak evil of a person is called a ch-ondu-c/iadi , a hint of the UP. — Roberts. Ver. 23. Now therefore, I pray thee, give pledges to my lord the king of Assyria, and I will de- liver thee two thousand horses, if thou be able on thy part to set riders upon them. In the first periods of the Jewish history, the armies of Israel consisted all of footmen. At length Solomon raised a body of twelve thousand horse, and fourteen hundred chariots, some with two, and others with four horses ; but whether that magnificent prince intended them for pomp or war, is uncertain. Infantry was also the chief .strength of the Greek and Roman armies. Cavalrv is not so neces- sary in warm climates, where the march of troops is less incommoded with bad roads; nor can they be of so much use in mountainous countries, where their movements are attended with great difficulty and hazard. The ea.slern potentates, however, brought immense numbers of horse into the field, and chiefly trusted to their exertions for de- fence or conquest. The people of Israel, who were ap- pointed to " dwell alone," and not to mingle with the na- tions around tliem,nor imitate their policy, were expressly forbidden to maintain large bodies of cavalrv; and they accordingly prospered, or were defeated, as they obeyed or transgressed this divine command ; which a celebrated au- thor observes, cannot be justified by the measures of human prudence. Even upon political reasons, says Warburton, the Jews might be justified in the disuse of cavalry, in the defence of their country, but not in conquering it from a warlike people, who abounded in horses. Here, at lea.st, the exertion of an extraordinary providence was wonder- fully conspicuous. The kings who succeeded Solomon certainlv raised a body of horse for the defence of their dominions, which thev recruited from the studs of Eg^•pt, in those limes equally remarkable for their vigour and beauty. But the Jewish cavalrv were seldom very numer- ous; and under the religious kings of David's line, who made the divine law the rule of their policy, they were either disembodied altogether, or reduced to a very small number. In the reign of Hezekiah, when the country wa.s invaded by the king of Assyria, the .Tews seem to have had no force of this kind, for, said Rnhsbakeh, "Now,tliere- fore, I pray thee, give pledges to my lord, the king of As- syria, and I will deliver thee two thousand horses, if thou be able on thy part to set riders upon them." — Paxton. Ver. 28. Then Rabshakeh stood, and cried with a loud voice in the Jews' language, and spake, saying, Hear the word of the great king, the king of Assyria : 29. Thus saith the king. Let not Hezekiah deceive you; for he shall not be able to deliver you out of his hand : 30. Neither let Hezekiah make you trust in the Lord, say- ing. The Lord will surely deliver us, and this city shall not be delivered into the hand of the king of Assyria. 31. Hearken not to Heze- kiah : for thus saith the king of Assyria, Make an agreement with me by a present, and como out to me, and theti eat ye every man of his own vine, and every one of his fig-tree, and drink ye every one the waters of his cistern ; 32. Until I come and take you away to a land like vour own land ; a land of corn and wine, a land of bread and vineyards, a land of oil- olive and of honc)', that ye may live and not die : and hearken not unto Hezekiah, when he persuadeth you, saying, The Lord will deliv- er us. It must be owned that there is something extremely in- solent in the .speeclies of Rabshakeh to Hezekiah and his loyal subjects, (-2 Kings xviii. ;) his boastings, both as to matter and manner, appear to have been of the most un- limited kind, and to have wanted for no amplification in the capacity of the speaker to bestow on them : he describes his master's power in the highest terms, and even beyond w'hat fidelity, as a servant to the king of As.syria, inight have required from him. Probably his speeches are re- corded as being in a strain somewhat unusual, and it will not be easy to find their equal: nevertheless, the reader may be amused by the following portrait, which forms no bad companion to that of Rabshakeh; if it may not rival that in expression, it falls little short of it, and is, to say the least, an entertaining representation of ea.stern manner.s and train of thought. It should be reinarked, that Rabsha- keh was speaking openly, in defiance to enemies : Hyal Saib was conversing in his own residence. If, when speaking in private, he was thus eloquent, what had been his eloquence, had he been employed by his sovereign in a message of defiance 1 Hyat Saib, the jemadar, or governor of Baidanore, " having exhausted his whole string of questions, he turned the discourse to another subject — no less than his great and pui.ssant lord and master, Hyder, of whom he had endeav- oured to impress me with a great, if not a terrible idea; amplifying his honotu', his wealth, and the extent and opu- lence of his dominions ; and describing to me, in the most exaggerated terms, the number of liis troops, his military talents, his vast, and, according to his account, unrivalled genius; his amazing abilities in conquering and governing nations; and, above all, his amiable qualities and splendid endowments of heart, no less than understanding. " Having thus, with equal zeal and fidelity, endeavoured to impress me with veneration for his lord and master, and for that purpo.se attributed to him every perfection that luf.v be supposed to be divided among all the kings and generals that have lived since the birth of Christ, and given each their due, he turned to the Englisli government, and en- deavoured to demonstrate to me the folly and inuiditv of our attempting to resist his progress, wdiich he compared to that of the sea, to a tempest, to a torrent, to a lion's pace and fury — to every thing that an eastern imagination could sug- gest as a figure proper to exemplify grandeur and irresist- ible power. He then vaunted of his sovereign's successes over the English, some of which I had not heard of before, and did not believe ; and concluded by assuring me, that it was Hyder's determination to drive all Europeans from Indostan, which he averred he could not fail to do, con- sidering the weakness of the one, and the boundless power 294 2 KINGS. Chap 19. of the other. — He cxpenJed half an hour in this manner andili-scourse." (Campbell^ Travels to India.) — Taylok in C.ILMET. CHAPTER XIX. Ver. 3. And they said unto him, Thus sailh Hez- okiah, This day (s a day of trouble, and of re- buke, niid blasphemy : for the children are come to the birth, and there is not sircng-th to bring forth. When a person has all but accomplished his object, when only a very slight obstacle has prevented him, it is then sail], " The child came to the birth, but there was not strength to bring it forth." Some time ago, an opulent man accused another, who was also very rich, and in office, of improper conduct to the government: the matter was well investigated by competent authorities; but the accused, by his superior cunning, and by bribes, escaped, as by the "skin of his teeth;" and the people said, " Alas! the child eame to the mouth, but the hand could not take it." When a person has succeeded in gaining a blessing which he has long desired, he says, "Good, good! the child is born at last." Has a person lost his lawsuit in a provincial court, he will go to the capital to make an appeal to a superior court ; and should he there .succeed, he will say, in writing Id a friend, " Good news, good news ! the cliild is born." When a man has been tiyiug to gain an oHiee, his friend meeting him on return, does not always ask, " Is the child born ! or did it come to the birth V but, " Is it a male or a female !" If he say the former, he has gained his object ; if the latter, he has failed. — Roberts. Ver. 7. Behold, I will send a blast upon him, and he shall hear a rumour, and shall return to his own land; and I will cause him to fall by the sword in his own land. See on Is. 37. 36. The destruction of Sennacherib and his army appears to have been effected by that pestilential wind called the si- nionm. At Bagdad, October 9, 181S, Sir R. K. Porter informs us, (Travels, vol. ii. p. 229,) the master of the khan "told me, that they consider Ociobor the first month of their autumn, and feel it delightfully cool in comparison with Julv, August, and September; for that during fiirty days of the two first- named summer months, the hot wind blows from the des- ert, and its effects are often destructive. Its title is very ap- propriate, being called the samiel, or baudc semoom, the pestilential wind. It does not come in continued long cur- rents, but in gusts at different intervals, each blast lasting several minutes, and passing along with the rapidity of lightning. No one dare stir from their houses while this invisible flame is sweeping over the face of the country. Previous to its approach, the atmosphere becomes thick ;ind suffocating, and appearing pariicularly dense near the horizon, gives suflicient warningof the threatened mi.schief. Though hostile to human life, it is so far from being preju- dicial to the vegetable creation, that a continuance of the sniniel tends to ripen the fruits. I iniiuired what became of the cattle during such a plague, and was told the)' were seldom touched by it. It seems strange that I heir lungs should be so perfectly insensible to what seems instant destruction lo Ihe breath of man ; but so it is, that they are regularly driven down to water at the customary limes of day, even when the blasts are at the severest. The people who at- tend them are obliged to plaster their own fares, and other parts of Ihe body usually exposcil to Ihe air, with a .sort of muddy clay, which, in general, protects them from its most malignant effects. The periods of the winds' blowing are generally from noon till sunset ; they cease almost entirely during the night; and the direetion of Ihe gusts is always from the northeast. When it has passed over, a sulphuric, and indeed loathsome smell, like putriditv, remains for a longtime. The poison which occasions this smell must be deadly ; for if any uuforiunate traveller, too far from shel- ter, meet the blast, he falls immediaiily ; and in a few minutes his flesh becomes almost black, while both it and his bones at once arrive at so extreme a slate of corruption, that the smallest movement of the body would separate the one from the other." — Robinson. The south wind in those arid regions blowing over an immense surface of burning sand, becomes so charged with electrical matter, as to occasion the greatest danger, and olten instant death, to the unwary traveller. A Turk, who had twice performed the pilgrimage lo Mecca, told Dr. Clarke that he had witnessed more than once the direful effects of this hot pestilential wind in the desert. He has known all the water dried out of their skin bottles in an in- stant, by its influence. The camels alone gave notice of its approach, by making a noi.se, and burying their moulhs and nostrils in the sand. This was considered as an infal- lible token that Ihe desolation was at hand; and those who imitated the camels escaped suffocation. In some districts it commits great ravages, and at limes so totally burns up all the corn, that no animal will eat a blade of it, or touch any of its grain. It has been known, even in Persia, to destroy camels and other hardyanimals; its effects on the human frame are represented as incon- ceivably dreadful. In some instances it kills instantaneous- ly ; but in others the wretched sufferer lingers for hours, or even days, in the most excruciating torture. In those places where it is not fatal to life, it resembles the breath of a glowing furnace, destroys every symptom of vegetation, and will, even during the' night, scorch the skin in the most painful mannei. In the sandy desert it is often so healed as to destroy every thing, animal and vegetable, with which it comes in contact. In the inhabited country every article of furniture, of glass, and even of wood, becomes as hot as if it were exposed lo a raging fire. In Hindostan, when the hot wind blows, the atmosphere for many hours of the day becomes insupportable; the heavens are like brass, and the earth like heated iron. At such times the miserable in- habitants are obliged lo confine themselves in dark rooms, cooled by screens of matted grass kept continually watered. To this terrible agent the prophet alludes in his prediction of Sennacherib's overthrow : " Behold, I will send a blast upon him." The return of man to his native dust is as certain and .speedy as the blasting of a lender plant by the deadly breath of ihe simoom : " For the wind passeth over it, and it is gone; and the place thereof shall know it no more." Campbell, in his Travels, most significantly calls it a horrid wind, whose consuming blasts extend their ravages all the way from the extreme end of the Gulf of Cambaya up to Mosul. It carries along with it fleaks of fire, lite threads of silk; instantly .strikes dead those that breathe it, and consumes them inwardly to ashes; the fle.sh soon be- coming black as a coal, and dropping off the bones. The numbers that perish by its fatal influence are sometimes veiy great. Thevenot .stales, that in the year 16C5, in Ihe month of July, four thousand people died at Bassora by that wind, in three weeks' lime. By this powerful and leriiiic agent, invigorated by the arm, and guided by the finger of Jehovah, was Ihe numer- ous army of the proud and blaspheming Sennacherib de- stroyed under the walls of Libnan. In Ihe brief statement of Isaiah it is .said, " Then Ihe angel (or, as it may be ren- dered, Ihe messenger) of the Lord went forth, aiid sinole in the camp of the Assyrians a hundred and fourscore and five thousand men." Now this angel of Jehovah is ex- pressly called, in verse 7th of the .same chapter, rvacK, a blast or w-ind; which can hardly leave a doubt of the man- ner in which this passage is to be understood. — Paxton. Ver. 24. I have difrgednnd drunk stranire waters, and with the sole of my feel have I dried up all the rivers of besieged jilaces. The curious Vilringa ailmires ihe explanation which Grotius has given, of that watering with Ine foot by which Egypt was distinguished from Jtidea, derived from an ob- servation made onPhilo, who lived in Egypt, Philo having described a machine used by the peasants of that country for watering as wrought by the feel; which sort of water- ing Dr. Shaw has since understood of the gardener's pul- ling a slop lo Ihe further flowing of the water in the rill, in which those things were planled that wanted watering, by turning Ihe earth against it with his foot. Great re- siSecl is due lo so candid and ingenious a iraveller as Dr. Shaw ; 1 must however own, thai I apprehend Ihe mean- Chap. 19. 2 KINGS. 295 ing of Mo.'^es is more Iruly represented by Grotius than the doctor. Fur Mose.s seeiiis to intend to reprc-^ent the great labour of this way of watering by the foot, which the work- ing that instrument really wa.s, on which account ifc^eems to be laid aside in Egypt since the time of Philo, and easier methods of raising the water made use of; whereas the turning the earth with the foot which Dr. Shaw speaks of, is the least part of the labour of watering. If it should be remarked, that this machine was not older than Arcihme- des, which has been supposed, I would by way of reply ob- serve, that the more ancient Egyptian machmcs might be equally wrought with the foot, and were undoubtedly more laborious still, as otherwise the invention of Archimedes would not have brought iliem into disuse. But though I think the interpretation of Deut. xi. 10, by Grotius, is pref- erable to that of Dr. Shaw, I readily admit that the doctor's thought may be very naturally applied to these words of Sennacherib, to which however tlie doctor has not applied it ; for he seems to boast that he could as easily turn the water of great rivers, and cause their old channels to be- come dry, as a gardener stops the water from flowing any longer in a rill by the sole of his foot. And as the gardener stops up one rill and opens another with his mattock, to let in the water, so, says Sennacherib, I have digged and drank strange waters, that is, which did not heretofore flow in the places I have made them flow in. This is the easiest interpretation that can, I believe, be given to the word strange, made use of by this Assyrian prince, and makes the whole verse a reference to the east- ern way of watering: I have digged channels, and drank, and caused my army to drink out of new-made rivers, into which 1 have conducted the waters that used to flow else- where, and have laid those old channels dry with the sole of my foot, with as much ease as a gardener digs channels in his garden, and directing the waters of a cistern into a new rill, with his foot stops up that in which it before ran. In confirmation of all which, let it be remembered, that this way of watering by rills is in use in those countries from whence Sennacherib came ; continued down from ancient limes there, without doubt, as it is in Egypt. The understanding those words of the Psalmist, Ps. Ixv. 9, Thou lisilest Ike earth and iraterest it, than, greatlij cn- richest it iHlh the rivers of God, of the watering it as bj' a rill of water, makes an easy and beautiful sense; the rain being to the earth in general, the same thing from God, that a watering rill, or liftle river, is to a garden from man. — IIabmer. Ver. 26. Therefore their inhabitants were of small power, they were disnrayed and confounded ; thy were as the grass of the field, and as the green herb, as the grass on the house-tops, and as corn blasted before it be grown up. The Hebrew has, instead of small power, " short of hand." This figure is much tised here, and is taken from a man trying to reach an object for which his arm is not long enough. When it is wished to ascertain what is a man's capacity or power, it is asked, " Is his arm long or short V " Let me tell you, friend, Tamban will never succeed; his arm is not long enough." Of feeble people it is said, " they have short hands." — Roberts. Ver. 2iS. Because thy rage against ine and thy tumult is come up into ininc ears, therefore I will put iTiy hook in thy nose, and my bridle in thy lips, and I will turn thee back by the ■way by which thou earnest. A person says of his deliverer from prison or danger, " Ah ! the good man took me out by his tote," i. e. hook. A culprit says of the officers who cannot catch him, " Their hooks are become straight." The man who cannot drag another from his secrecy, says, " My hook is not sufiicient for that fellow." — Roberts. The dromedary difiers from the common camel, in being of a finer and rounder shape, and in having upon its back a smaller protuberance. This species (for the former sel- dom deviating from the beaten road, travels with its head at liberty) is governed by a bridle, which being usually fastened to a ring fixed in its nostrils, may very well illus- trate the expression which the sacred writer uses concern- ing Sennacherib : " I will put my hook m thy nose, and my bridle in thy lips, and [ will turn thee back by the way by which thou earnest." These words refer at once to the absolute control of heaven, under which he acted, and the swiftness of his retreat. — Paxton. Ver. 35. And it came to pass that night, that the angel of the Lord went out, and smote in the cainp of the Assyrians a hundred fourscore and five thousand : and when they arose early in the morning, behold, they were all dead corpses. Mr. Boswell, in his Life of Dr. Johnson, informs us, that it was a subject of conversation bet%veen them, in .what manner so great a multitude of Sennacherib's artny M'as destroyed. " We are not to suppose," sa)'s the doctor, in reply, " that the angel went abroad with a sword in his hand, slabbing them one by one; but that some powerful natural agent was employed; most probably the samyel." Whether the doctor had noticed some picture in which the angel was thus employed, is uncertain ; hut it should seem, that this idea is common ; and even Dr. Doddridge appears to have conceived of the angel, as of a person employed in slaughter ; for he says, in a note on the pa.ssage (Matt. xxvi. 53) where our Lord mentions tliat his Father could furnish him twelve legions of angels, " How dreadfully irresistible would such an army of angels have been, when one of these celestial spirits was able to destroy 185,000 Assyrians at one stroke 1" Without attempting to inve.-ti- gate the power of celestial spirits, we may endeavour to pre- sent the history of the destruction of Sennacherib's army, according to what, in all probability, was the real fact ; pre- mising that siviyel, sumiel, savivel, siimoo^i, simoovi, &c. are different names for the same meteor. Mr. Bruce's account of this wonderful natural phenomenon, affords some very interesting particulars. The extracts are from the quarto edition of his Travels. " On the 16th, at half past ten, we left El Mont, [death.] At eleven o'clock, while we contemplated with great plea- sure the rugged top of Chiggre, to which we were fast aji- proaching, and where we were to solace ourselves with plenty of good water, Idris cried out, ' Fall upon your faces, for here is the simoom !' I saw from the southeast a haze come, in colour like the purple part of the rainbow, but not so compressed or thick. It did not occupy twenty yards in breadth, and was about twelve feet high from the ground. It was a kind of blush upon the air, and it moved very rap- idly, for I scarce could turn to fall upon the ground, with my head to the northward, when I felt the heal of its current plainly upon my face. We all lay flat on the ground, as if dead, till Idris told us it was blown over. The meteor, or purple haze, which I saw, was indeed passed, but the light air that still blew was of heat to threaten suffocation. For my part, I found distinctly in my breast that I had imbibed a part of it, nor was I free of an asthmatic .sensation, till I had been some mouths in Italy, at the baths of Porelta, near two years afterward. A universal despondency had taken possession of our people. They ceased to speak to one another, and when they did it was in whispers, by which 1 easily guessed that they were increasing each other's fears, by vain suggestions, calculated to sink each other's spirits still further. This phenomenon of the simoom, unexpected by us, though foreseen by Idris, caused us all to relapse into our former despondency. It still continued to blow so as to exhaust us entirely, though the blast was so weak as scarcely would have raised a leaf from the ground. At twenty minutes before five, the simoom ceased, and a com- fortable and cooling breeze came by starts from the north. We had no sooner got into the plains than we felt great symptoms of the simoom, and about a quarter before twelve, our prisoner first, and then Idris, cried out. The simoom ! the simoom ! My curiosity would not suffer me to fall down without looking behind me; about due south, a little to the east, I saw the coloured haze, as before. It seemed now to be rather less compressed, and to have with it a shade of blue. The edges of it were not defined as those of the former; but like a very thin smoke, viilh. about a yard in the middle, tinged with these colours. We all fell upon our faces, and the simoom passed with a gentle ruflling 296 2 KINGS. Cm 20. wind. It continued lu blow in iliis manner till near three o'clock, so we were all taken ill at nif;lil, and scarcelv strength wa;; left us to load the camels. The Mmuom, wiili (he wind at southeast, imniedialolv I'nllowod the wind at north, and the u.sual despondencv lliat always accunipanieil it. Tlie blue im-teor, with wliicli ii bi'san pa.'^sins <|vcr us about twelve, and the ruljlinii innd that loHowed it, con- tinued till near two. Silence, and a despcrale kind ol indirtcrence about life, were the iimncdiate cflecis ujion us; and 1 be"an, seeing the condition ol my camels, to lear we were nlfdoomed to a .sandy grave, and to conteni))lale it Willi some degree of resignation. 1 here began to provide for the worst. I saw the fate of our camels fast approach- in" and that our men grew weak in proportion; our bread, too' bean to fail lis, alllinugli we had plenty ol ramel's flesh in°ils stead ; our waicr, though to all appearance we were lo lind it more frcquenily than in the beginning of our jouinev, was nevertheless brackish, and scarce served the purpose lo quench our ihir.st; and above all, the dreadful siiiioiiin had perfectly exhausted our sirength, and brought upon us a degree of cowardice and languor that we strug- gled with in vain." The following extract is from D'Osbornville's " Es.says, &c. on the East:" — "Some enlightened travellers have seriously written, that every individual who falls a victim lo this infection, is immediately reduced to ashes, though apparently only asleep; and that when laken hold of lo be awakened by passengers, the limbs part from the body and remain in the hand. Such travellers would evidently not have taken these tales on hearsay, if they had naid a proper attention to other facts, which ihey either did or ought to have heard. E.xperience proves, llial animals, by pressing their nostrils to the earlh, and men, by covering their heads in their mantles, have nothing to fear from these meteors. This demonstrates the impossibility that a poison which can only penetrate the most delicate parts of the brain or lungs, should calcine the skin, flesh, nerves, and bones. I acknowledge these accounts are had from ihe Arabs them- selves; but'their picturesque and extravagant expressions are a kind of imaginary coin, to know the true value of which, requires some practice." Notwithstanding this lemark, if the word immediately were exchanged for quickhi, the purport of the account might be almost exactly ju.stified. Our author proceeds— " I have twice had an opportunity of considering the eflect of these siphons, with some atlent'ion. 1 shall relate simply what I have seen in the ease of a merchant and two travel- lers, who were struck during their deep, and died on the spot. I ran to see if it was possible to afford them any .suc- cour, but they were already dead ; the victims of an interior sufocatiiis fire. There were apparent signs of the dissolu- tion of their fluids; a kind of serous matter i.ssued from the nostrils, mouth, and ears; and in something more than an hour, the whole body was in the same slate. However, as, according to their custom, thev [the Arabs] were dili- gent to pay them the last duties of humanity, I cannot aflirin that' the putrefaction was move or less rapid than usual in that country. As to the meteor itself, it may be examined with impunity at Ihe distance of three or four fathoms; and the country people are only afraul of being suprised by it when they arc asleep; neither are such acti- dents very'common, lor these siphons are only seen during two or three months of the year; and as their approach is felt, the camp-guards and the people awake are always very careful lo rouse those that sleep, who also have a general habit of covering their faces with inanlles." Any seeming contrariety of representation between Mr. Bruce and this traveller may be accounted for, by suppo- sing that in diflerenl deserts, or at dilTerent limes, (of the year, perhaps,) these meteors are more or less fatal; but the reader's aUenlion is desired, particularly, to certain ideas implied in these descriptions:—!. The meteor seems like a thin smoke, i. e, seen by ilaylisht, when Mr. Bruce travelled. '2. It passed with a ge'nlle ruffling wind. 3. Il was some hours in passing, -l. It affected Ihe mind, by en- feebling the body; producing despundency and cowardice. 5. Il is^dangero'us ny being breathed. G. It is peculiarly fatal lo persons sleeping. 7. lis ell'ects, even on those lo whom it is not fatal, arc debilitating and lasting. 8. It is felt ; and is compared to a sulTocaling fire. 9. lis extent is sometimes considerable; about half a mile; sometimes more, sometimes less. 10. Colonel Campbell says, at the clo.se of the extract from him, page 9, that " to prevent drawing it in, it is necessary first lo see it, which is not always practicable." No doubt, we may safely add, espc- ciiitli/^) ni^ht. These pariiculars respecting the nature and cflecis of Ihe simoom, will illn.strate, by comparison, occurrences record- ctl 2 Kings, chap xix., and Isaiah, chap, xxxvii. I. "Behold, I will send a hlnst ujion him," (Sennacherib.) The word rendered lihnt (r.\n ruaeh) does not imply a vehement wind ; but a gentle breathing, a breeze, a vapour, a reek, an exhalation ; and thus agrees perfectly with the descriptions extracied above. II. It is supposed Ihe prophet alludes to this meteor, Isa. chap. XXX. 27, " The Lord's anger is burning, or devouring, fire;" (" burning with his anger" — "his tongue i.i a diioiir- i>if;Jire." Eng. Trans) And ver. 3:!, " The breaih of the Lord, like a slream of brimstone, doth kindle il." III. The army of Sennacherib was destroyed hii nishl. No doubl Ihe unwarrantable pride of the king hi d extended also to his armv, (witness ihe arrogance of R,-ib.sh;.keh,) so that being in full security the othccrs and soldiers were nesligent; their discipline was relaxed; the"ean)p-guaids" were not alert ; or, perhaps, they iheniselves were ihe first taken off; and those who slept not vrnpped vf, imbibed the poison plentifully. If this had been an evening of dissolute mirth, (no uncommon ihinL' in a camp,) their joy (perhaps for a victory, or "the first night of their attacking the city," .says Josephus) became, by its eflects, one means ol their destruction. IV. If the Assyrians were not accustomed to the action of this meteor at home, they might little expect il ; and by night, might little watch for, or discern il. The total number of Sennacherib's army is not menlioned : perhaps it was three or four times the number slain; that it was very great, appears from his boastings sent to Hezekiah. If the extent of the meteor was half a mile, or a mile, in passing over a camp, it might destroy many thousands of sleepers; while those on each side of its course, escaped ; and Ihese, " rising early in the morning," discovered the slaughter of their fellows around them. The destruction of Cambyses' army of 50,000 men going for Ethiopia, is, in some respects, not' unlike this deslruction of the Assyrians. V. The subsequent languor, despondence, and coward ice, attending Ihis meteor, contribute lo explain the forced re- turn of Sennacherib home; even though his army might be very numerous, notwithstanding this diminution. Observe, il was not before . Jerusalem thai this event occurred, but lo the south. , VI. The Babylonish Talmud aftirms, that this destruc- tion of the Assyrians was executed by lightning; and some of the Targnfns are quoted for saying ihe same thing. Josephus says, " Sennacherib, on his return from the Egyptian war, found his army which he ha.'!<, by in.stances of numerous armies which have been occasionally raised, to show what may be done by despotic power, or the impulse of military glory; secondly, to show that the composition of Asiatic armies is such as may render credible those numbers which express their gross amount; while no just inference re- specting the entire population of a country can be drawn from the numbers stated as occasionally composing its ar- mies. As to the first particular, the accounlsof the armies of Seniiramis, of Darius,andof Xerxes, are in everybody's hands, but as these are not without suspicion of having been enlarged, either purposely by misieporl, or accidcn- tallv hv errors in copyists, I decline them; and rather sub- mitto'lhe reader's attention the account given by Knolles in his " History of the Turks," of the contending armies of Baja-ct and Tamerlane. It is no bad specimen of the " I will" of militar>' power, of the cares and anxieties at- tending on the stal'ion of command, and of the feelings of great minds on great occasions. " So, marching on, Tamerlane at length came to Bachi- chich, where he staid to refresh his army eight dales, and there againe took a generall muster thereof, wherein were found (as most write) fintr hrndred thousand horse, and six hundred Ihovsand fool'; or, as some others that were there present aifirme, three hiendred thousand- horsemen, and Jiuc hundred thousand fool of nl nations. Vnio whom he there gaue a generall pay, and, as his manner was, made vnto them an oration, informing them of such orders as he would haue kept, to the end thev might the better obserue the same : wiih much other mililarie discipline, whereof he was very curious with his captains. At which time, also, it wa.s lawfuU for euery common soldier to behold him \\ith more boldness than en other dales, forasmuch as he did for that time, and such like, lay aside his imperial majestic, and sliew liimselfe more familiar vnto them " Page -15. . . ." 3Talco-zius\\a\nn^ made true relation vnto Baiazet, was by him demanded' whether of the two armies he thought bigger or stronger V for now Baiazcl had a.ssembled a mightie armie ot' three hundred thousand men, or, as some report, of three hundred, thousand horsemen, and tu-ohuitdred thousand foot. Whereunto Mnlcozzius, baaing before cra- ned pardon, answered, 'That it could not be, but that Tamerlane might in reason haue the greater number, for that he was a commander of farre greater countries.' Wherewith proud i?(7/V7~c/ olTcnded, in great cholhr replied, ' Out of doubt, the sight of tlie Tartarian halh made this coward so aflraid, that he Ihinkeih euery enemie lo be two." 2115 " All which Tamerlane, walking this niglil vp and down in his caiiipe, heard, and much rcioiced to see the 302 1 CHRONICLES. Chap. 22— 2G. hope that his soldiers had alrcadie in general concciiied of the victorie. Who after llie second waicli lelurnini; viito his pauillion, and there caslini; liinisell' upon a carpel, had Ihougln to haue slept a while ; hut hiscmcs not siijcrinf,' Aim so U) da, he Iheii, as Ms nmniicr inis, enlkdjur a bookc, irlu-rciii KOS contained the Hues of his fathers and anceitors, and of other valient worthies, the irkkh he vsed ordtnanltj to read, as he then did: not as therwith vainly to decciue the lime, but to make vse ilH-reol, hv the imitation of that which was by them worlhilv done, and declining ol such dangers as they bv their rashness or oucisight lei into." Page -JIH [Vide'the same kind ol" occiipatioii ol Aluisucrus, Esther vi. 1-] . ,, , ,. .'' My will is," said Tamerlane, " that my men come for- ward vnto me, as soon as Ihey may, for I will aduance for- ward with (in hundred thousand fool men, liftie thousand vpon each of my two wings, and in the middest of llicm Jorly thousand of my best horsemen. My pleasure is, that "after thev haue tried the force of llicse men, that they come vnto my avaunlgard, of whom I wil dispose, and fiflii Ihonsand horse more in three bodies, whom thou shall command: which I wil assist with H0,000 horse, wherein shal be mine own person ; hauiiig 100,000 footmen behind me, who shal march in two squadrons: and for my areiewarrl 1 appoint 40,000 horse, and tiftie thousand footmen, who shal not march, but to my aid. And 1 wil make choice of 10,000 of my best horse, whom I wil send into euery place where I shal ihinke necdfull within my armie, for to imparl my commands." (Knollcs's History of the Turks, page 218.) [It is inipo.ssible, on this occasion, not to recollect the im- mense army led by Napoleon Bonaparte into Russia, ex- ceeding six hundred thousand troops ; also the forces engaged arcnind Leipsic, amounting (including both sides) to half a million of men. Vide Literarj Panorama, for Novem- ber, 1813.] It may be said, " Such mighty empires may well be supposed to raise for.:es, to which the small slate of Judea was incompetent ;" and this may safely be admitted. But what was, in all probability, the nature and composition of the Jewish, as of other eastern armies, we may learn from the following relations, which contribute to strengthen the credibility of the greater nnmhers recorded as composing them. 1 shall first offer what Baron De Toll reports of the armies raised by ihe chain of the Crimea; and then, as .still more descriptive of Asiatic armies, especially of those raised on the spur of an occasion, the remarks of M. Volney: " It may be presumed that the ru.stic, frugal life, which these p.astoral people lead, favours population, while the wants and excesses of luxury, among polished nations, strike at its very root. In fact, it is observed, that the people are le.ss numerous under the roofs of the Crimea, and the province of Boodjack, than in the tents of the No- giiais. The best calculation we can make, is fiom a view of the military forces which Ihe cham is able to assemble. AVe shall soon see this prince raising three armies at the same time ; one of a hundred thousand, men, which he com- manded in person; another of sixlii Ihonsand, commanded 1>V the calga; and a third o( forti/ thousand, hy Ihe noo- radin. He had the power of raising double the vninhcr, without prejudice to Ine necessary labours of the state. " The invasion of New Servia, which had been de- termined on at Con.stantinople, was consented to in the assembly of the grand vassals of Tartary, and orders vere expedited, throughout ihe provinces, for Ihe necessary military supplies. Three liorscmen were to be furnished hy eight families, which number was estimated lo be sufficient for the three armie.', which were all to be^in their operations at once. That of the nooradin, consisting of forty thou- sand men, had orders to repair lo the Little lion ; thai of Ihe calga, of sirlij thousand, was to range the left coast of Ihe Boristhenes, till they came beyond Ihe Orela ; and that which the cham commanded in' person, of a hundred thou- sand, was lo penetrate into New Servia." (De Tott.) " Si.rli/ thousand men, with them, are very far from being S^Tionymoiis wilh sirtt/ thousand soldiers, as in our armies. That "of which we are now .speaking affords a proof of this : it might amount, in fact, to fortv thousand men, which may be cla,ssed as follows; — Five thousand Mamlouk eav- a\ry. irhirhiens the u-hole rffertire armii ; ahoul fifteen hun- dred Barbary Arabs, on foot, and no other infantry, for the Turks are acquainted with none ; wilh ihcm the cavalry is every thing. Besides these, each Mamlouk having in his snile tieo footmen, armed wilh slaves, these would form a body of ten thousand valets, besides a number of servants and scrradgis, or atleiidaiits on horseback, for ihe bey and kachefs, which may be estimated at two thousand : all the rest were sutlers, and the usual train of followers. Such was this army, as described to be in Palestine, by per.sons who had seen and followed it. The Asiatic armies are wiofo, their marches ravages, their campaigns mere inroads, and their battles bloody frays. The strongest, or the most adventurous party, goes in search of the other, which not unfrequently flies without offering resistance : if they stand their ground, they engage pellmell, discharge their ear- bines, break their spears, and hack each other with llieir .sabres ; for they rarely have any cannon, and when they have, they are but of little service. A yonic frciinenthj diffuses itself without canse : one party flies, the other pur- sues, and shouts victory ; the vanquished submits to Ihe will of Ihe conqueror, and the campaign often terminates without a battle." (Volney.) It appears, by tliese extracts, thai the nunjbers which compose the gross of Asiatic armies are very far l"rom de- noting the Irne number of soldiers, fighting men, of that army ; in fact, when we deduct those whose attendance is of little advantage, it may be not very distant from truth, if we say, nine out of ten ate such as, in Europe, would be forbid the army ; nor is the suggestion absolutely despica- ble, that when we read 40, instead of 400, the true fighting corps of soldiers only are reckoned and stated. However that may be, these authorities are sufficient to justify the possibility of such numbers as scripture has recorded, being assembled for purposes of warfare ; of which purposes plunder is not one of the least, in the opinion of those who usually attend a camp. It follows, also, that no conclusive estimate of the population of a kingdom can be drawn from such assemblages, under such circumstances; and therefore, that no calculation ought to be hazarded on such imperfect data. — Tayloh in Calmet. CHAPTER XXII. Ver. 19. Now set your heart and your soul to seek the Lord your God: arise, therefore, and build ye the sanctuary of the Lord God, to bring the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and the holy vessels of God, into the house that is to be built to the name of the Lord. In all heathen temples, there are numerous vessels of brass, silver, and gold, which are especially holy. Tho.se, however, of the highest castes, may be allowed to touch, and even borrow them for certain purposes. Thus, a native gentleman, who is going to give a feast, borrows Ihe large caldron for the purpose of boiling the rice ; should his daughter be about lo be married, he has the loan of the silver salvers, plates, and even jewels ; which, however, must all be purified by incen.se and other ceremonies when returned to the temple. " The ark" finds a striking illus- tration in the kradagavi of the Hindoos, — a model of which may be seen in Ihe hou.se of the Royal Asiatic Society. In it are placed the idols, and other sacred symbols, which are carried on men's shoulders. — Roberts. CHAPTER XXVI. Ver. 0. Also ttnto Shcmaiah his son were sons born, that ruled throusfhout the house of their father: for they were mighty men of valour. It has been a frequent complaint among learned men, that it is commonly difficult, and oftentimes impossible, lo illustrate many pa.ssaees of the Jewish history, referred to in the annals of their princes, and in the predictions of Ihtir prophets, for want of jirolane historians of the neighbourinsr nations, of any great aniiquily; upon which I have been ready to think, that it might not be altogether vain to com- pare with Ihose more ancient transactions, evenf^ of a later date that have happened in ihose countries, in nearly simi- lar circumstances, since human nature is much Ihe same in all ages, allowing for the eccentricity thai sometimes arises from some distinguishing prejudices of ihal particular time. The situation of the Christian kings of Jerusalem, in particular, in the twelfth century, bears, in many respect-s. Chap. 27. 1 CHRONICLES. 303 a strong resemblance lo that of the kings of Jiidah; and the history of the crusades maj- serve to throw some light on the transactions of the Jewish princes. At lea.st the com- paring them together may be amusing. It is said of King Uzziah, 1 Chron. xxi'i. G, that " he went forth and warred against the Philistines, and broke down the wall of Gath, and the wall of Jabnch, and the wall of Ashdod, and built cities about Ashdod and among the Philistines." Thus we find, in the time of the ernsades, when that ancient city of the Philistines, called Ashkelon, had freijnently made in- roads into the territories of the kingdom of Jerusalem, the Christians built two strong castles not far from Ashkelon ; and finding the usefulness of these structures, King Fulk, in the spring of the year of our Lord 1138, attended by the patriarch of Jerusalem and his other prelates, proceeded to build another castle, called Blanclie Guarda, which he garrisoned with such soldiers as he could depend upon, furnishing them with arms and provisions. These watch- ing the people of Ashkelon, often defeated their attempts, and sometimes they did not content themselves with being on the defensive, but attacked them, and did them great mischief, gaining the advantage of them. This occa- sioned those who claimed a right to the adjoining country, encouraged by the neighbourhood of such a strong place, to build many villages, in which many families dwelt, concerned in tilling the ground, and raising provisions for other parts of their territories. Upon this the people of Ashkelon, finding themselves encompassed round by a number of inexpugnable fortresses, began to grow very un- easy at their situation, and to apply to Egypt for help by repeated messages ! Exactly in the same manner we may believe Uzziah built cities about Ashdod, that were fortified to repress the excursions of its inhabitants, and to secure to his people the fertile pastures which lay thereabout ; and which pastures, I presume, the Philistines claimed, and indeed all the low land from the foot of the mountains to the sea, but to which Israel claimed a right, and of a part of which this powerful Jewish prince actually took posses- sion, and made settlements for his people there, which he thus guarded from the A.shdodites: " He built cities about Ashdod, even among the Philistines," for so I would ren- der the words, as the historian appears to be speaking of the .same cities in both clauses. Uzziah did more than King Fulk could do, for he beat down the walls not only of Gath and Jabneh, two neighbouring cities, but of Ashdod itself, which must have cut off all thoughts of their disturb- ing the Jewish settlers, protected by strong fortresses, when they themselves lay open to those garrisons. Ashkelon, on the contrary, reinained strongly fortified, by fortresses built by the Christians. — Harmer. Ver. 13. And they cast lots, as well the small as the great, according to the house of their fa- thers, for every gate. 14. And the lot east- ward fell to Shelemiah. Then for Zechariah his son (a wise counsellor) they cast lots, and his lot came out northward. 15. To Obed- edom southward ; and to his sons the house of Asuppim. 16. To Shuppim and Hosah the. lot came forth westward, with the gate Shal- lecheth, by the causeway of the going up, ward against ward. Thus the gates were assigned to the difl'erent oflScers by lot. On the death of a parent, the whole of his fields and gardens are often divided among his children, and great disputes generally arise as to whom shall be given this or that part of the pfoperly. One says, " I will have the field to the east." " No," says another, " I will have that :" and it is not till they have quarrelled and exhausted their store of ingenuity and abuse, that they will consent to settle the matter by lot. The ]dan they take is as follows: they draw on the ground the cardinal points: they then write the names of the parties on .separate leaves, and mix them all togctlier: a little child is then called, and told to take one leaf and place it on any point of the compass he pleases ; this being done, the leaf is opened, and to the person whose name is found therein will be given the field or garden which is in that direction. I think it therefore probable, that ,he lots eastward, we.stward, northward, and southward, which fell to Shelemiah, Zechariah, Obed-edom, and Shuppim, were drawn something in the same way. — Roberts. Ver. 27. Out of the spoils won in battles did they dedicate to maintain the house of the Lord. According to the law of Moses, the booty was to be divided equally between those who were in the battle, and those who were in the camp, whatever disparity there might be in the number of each party. The law further requires, that out of that part of the spoils which was assigned to the fighting men, ihe Lord's share should be separated : and for every iive hundred men, oxen, sheep, &c. they were to take one for the high-priest, as being the Lord's first-fruits, and out of the other moiety belonging to the children of Israel, they were to give for every fifty men, oxen, sheep, &c. one to the Levites. Among the Greeks and Romans the plunder was brought together into one common stock, and divided afterward among the ofti- cers and soldiers, paying some respect to their rank in the distribution. Sometimes the soldiers made a reserve of the chief part of the booty, to present, by way of compliment, to their respective generals. The gods were always remem- bered. And the priests had suflicient influence to procure them a handsome ofl'ering, and other acceptable presents. — BURDER. CHAPTER XXVII. Ver. 25. And over the king's treasures was Az- maveth the son of Adiel : and over the store- houses in the fields, in the cities, and in the villages, and in the castles, ivas Jehonathan the son of Uzziah. Subterranean granaries were common in the East. The following is a detailed account of those now used by the Moors: — After the harvest they used to enclose their corn in subterraneous granaries, which are pits dug in the earth, where the corn is preserved for a considerable time. This custom is very ancient, and ought to be general in all warm countries, inhabited by wandering people. To secure the corn from moisture, they line these pits with straw, in pro- portion as they fill them, and cover them with the same ; when the granary is filled, they cover it with a stone, upon which they put some earth in a pyramidal form, to dis- perse the water in case of rain. Amongthe wealthier part, the fathers commonly fill one granary at the birth of each child, and empty it at their marriage. I have seen corn E reserved in this manner during five-and-twenty years. It ad lost its whiteness. When by motives of convenience, or by an imperial order, Ihe Moors are obliged to change their habitations, not being able to carry their grain with them, they leave over these granaries a mark of stones heaped together: they have much trouble in finding them again. It is the custom now to observe the earth at the rising of the sun, when a thick vapour ascends from them : they then discover the granarv, upon which the sun has a marked effect, on account of 'the fermentation of llie corn which is shut up. — Bdruer. Ver. 28. And over the olive-trees, and the syca- more-trees that ipere in the low plains, vas Baal-hanan the Gederite: and over the cellars of oil was Joash. When our translation represents Joash as over the cellars of oil, in the lime of King David, 1 Chron. xxvii. 28, they have certainly without any necessity, and perhaps improp- erly, substituted a particular term for a general expression. .Toash was at that time, according to the sacred historian, over the treasures of oil ; but whether it was kept in cellars, or in some other way, does not at all appear in the original history. The modern Greeks, according to Dr. Richard Chandler, do not keep their oil in cellars, but in large earthen jars, sunk in the ground, in areas before their houses. Thecustom might obtain amongthe Jews : as then it was needless, it must be improper to use the particular term cellars, when the original uses a word of the most ireneral signification. It is'certain they sometimes buried their oil in the earth, in order to secrete it in times of dan- 304 1 CHRONICLES. Chap. 29. gci-, on wtiich occa-sion lliey must be siipposeil toilioose the most unlikt'lv places, where sii< h CDiictMlnu'iii would he )ea.st suspeelcil, in theii lielils; whether lliey were wont to bury it, at other times, in Iheir courlyanl.s, cannot be so easily asccrlnined. — IIahmkh. The Egyptians are not the only people lo whose palate the I'mil ol the sveamnrc is airrerable ; IInssoli|Uist, the Swedish traveller; I'oiind it vcrv irratcliil to the taste; he describes it as soli, waterv, ami sweetish, with something of an aromatic llavour. The Iruit of this tree comes lo maturity several limes in a season ; accordinij to some wri- ters not fewer than seven times, althon'^h prolific figs, or such as are perfectly formed, ripen cmly once. Thus the .sycamore produces a fresh crop of agreeable, and not un- wholesome fruit, seven limes a-year, for the use of those that dwell under its shadow; a boon which ])erhaps no other tree in the garden of Nature bestows on man. Nor is it a dangerous or a labcirious task to gather the ligs ; they sceui to have so little hold of the parent tree, that " if they be shaken, they shall even fall into the mouth of the eater." The disposition of the fig-lree to part with her untimely or precocious figs, is noticed by John, in the bc)ok of Revela- tion : " And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even its a fig-ircc casleth Iter untimely figs when she is sliaken of a mighty wind." This accounts for the appointment of a particular oflicer in the reign of David, whose sole duty it was to watch over tlic plantations of sycamore and olive- trees: " And over the olive-trees and the sycamore-trees that were in the low plains, was Baalhanan the Gederite." So valuable was the sycamore in the land of Canaan, during the reign of David, (from which undoubtedly may be inferred the high estimation in which it was held in every age,) that, in the commission of Baalhanan, the ofli- cer charged with its protection, it is joined with the olive, one of the most precious gifts which the God of nature has bestowed on the oriental nations. JIassekjuist found the sycamore growing in great numbers in the plains and fields of Lower Egypt, which verifies the accuracy of the inspired writer ; and it appears from the same traveller, that the olive delights insimilar situations; for, in his journey from Jall'a to Rama, he passed through fine vales abounding with olive-trees. — P.ixto.m. Vor. 30. Over tlie camels also was Ohil the Ish- maclite : and over the asses iras .Telideiah the Moronothite. Natural historians mention two varieties of this animal, the domestic and the wild a.ss ; but it is to the former our attention at present is to be directed. His colour is gener- ally a reddish brown ; a circmnstance to which he owes his name in the Hebrew te.xt; for (->MDn)/i«j«oc is derived from a verb which signifies lo be red or dun. This ap- pears to have been the predominating colour in the orien- tal regions ; but we learn from the song of Deborah, that some a.sses were while, and on this account reserved for persons of high rank in the stale. The term (p.-.s) nl/ion is another name for that creaiure, from a root which signi- fies lo be firm or strong ; because he is equal lo a greater load than any animal of the same size. To this quality Jacob alluded in his last benediction : " Issachar is a .slron" ass, couching down between Iwo burdens." Or, it may re'^ fer lo the stublKun temper Ibr which he is remarkable, and the stupid insensibility which enaliles him to disregard the severest casligalion, iill he has accomplished his purpo.se. These (lualities are beautifullv described by Homer, in the mil hook of the Iliad; but the pa.ssage is too long lo be quoled. In the patriarchal ages, the breed of this animal, which ■we regard with so much unmerited contempt, was greatly encouraged, and constituted no inconsiderable portion of wealth among oriental she])herds. It is on this account the number of asses in the herds of Abram, and other patri- archs, is so frequently staled by Moses, in the book of Gen- esis. So highly were they valued in those times of primi- tive simplicity, that they were formed into separate droves, and coinmitted to the management of princes, and other persons of distinction. The sacred historian informs us, ihat Aiiab, a Horile prince, did not think it unbecoming his dignity to feed the asses of /.ibeon his father: and that the sons of Jacob seized the a.sses of Shechem and his peo- ple, and drove them away, with the sheep and the o.xen. During the seven years of famine that wasled the land of Kgypt, and reduced the people to the greatest distress, Jo- seph purchased their asses, and gave them corn lo pre- serve them alive. When the people of Israel subdued the Midianites, they carried away " threescore and one thou- sand asses." ]n times long posterior, Saul, the sun of Ki.-h, was .sent in cpiest of liis iiiiher's a.sses, Avliich had strayed from their pasture; and he was engaged in this service when the prophet Samuel received a command lo anoint him king over Israel. After David's accession lo the throne, and the Lord had given him rest from all his enemies, he appointed Jchdciah the Meronoihite, a prince in Israel, to superintend tliis part of his jiroperty. Nor was this animal unworthy of such attention and care. Ilis humility, pa- tience, and temperance, Qualities in which he greatly excels, eminently fitted him for the service of man. His great value was sotm discovered, and he was prelerred even lo the horse, for many domestic purposes. The sons of Jacob employed him to carry burdens of every kind; and he seems to have been the only quadruped they took with them in their repeated journeys into Egypt, to purchase corn for their households; and their descendants continued for many ages to employ him in the same manner. The fruits of the field, the produce of the vineyard, provisions and merchandise of all kinds, were carried on the backs of asses. He was long used for the .saddle in the oriental regions ; and persons of high rank appeared in public, mounted on this animal. Those which the great and wealthy selected for their use, were larger and more elegant animals than the mean and un.shapely creature with which we are ac- quainted. Dr. Ru.sscl, in his hi.story of Aleppo, mentions n variety of ilie ass in Syria, much larger than ihe common breed; and other travellers .say, that some of them in Per- sia arc kept like horses for the saildlc, which have smooth hair, carry their heads well, and are quicker in their mo- tions tlian the ordinary kind, which are dressed like horses and taught to amble like them. — Paxton. CHAPTER XXIX. Ver. 24. And all the ]iriiices, and the niindity men, and all the sons likewise of King Davitl, submitted themselves unto Solomon the king. The Hebrew has, for submitted, " Gave the hand under." To give "the hand under," is a beautiful orientalism to denote fiihmhfioii. Sec the man who wishes to submit lo a superior ; he stands at a short distance, then stooping, he keeps moving his hands lo the ground, and .says, " 1 submit, my lord." "You recollect having heard that Kandan and Cliinnan had a .serious quarrel"!" — "Yes, I heard il." — "Well, they have settled the matter now, for Cliinnan went lo him lasl evening, and ' gave his liand under.' " "The Modeliar is no longer angrv with me, because I have pill down my hand to the ground." " That rebellious son has. for uianv vears, refused lo acknowledge his fallier's authority, but he has at last nut his hand under," (. c. he has submitted to him — lias become obedient.— JRoberts. (See Engraving.') THE SECOND BOOK OF CHRONICLES, CHAPTER I. Ver. 16. And Solomon had horses brought out of Egypt, and linen yarn ; the king's merchants received the linen yarn at a price. See on 1 Kings 10. 28. CHAPTER V. Ver. 12. Also the Levites, which were the singers, all of them of Asaph, of Heman, of Jeduthun, with their sons and their brethren, being array- ed in white linen, having cymbals and psalte- ries and harps, stood at the east end of the altar, and with them a hundred and twenty priests sounding with trumpets. No person in Greece and Italy appeared at an entertain- ment in black, because it was a colour reserved for times of mourning, but always in white, or some other cheerful colour, which corresponded with the joyous nature of the occasion. Such were the garments of salvation in which the people of Israel celebrated their festivals, or entertained their friends. When Solomon brought up the ark of the Lord from the city of David, and placed it between the cherubim in the most holy place, the sons of Asaph, of Heman, and Jeduthun, and their brethren, who conducted the songs in the temple, stood at the east end of the altar, arrayed in vestures of fine linen, the chosen emblem of purity and joy. The few faithful witnesses that remained in Sardis, and had not defiled their garments, were prom- ised the distinguishing honour of walking with their Sa- viour in white. And to encourage them in their steadfast adherence to the cause of God and truth, it is added, " He that overcomelh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment." On the mount of transfiguration, the raiment of Christ became white as the light ; and in the same garb of joy and gladness the angels appear at his resurrection. — PiXTON. CHAPTER VI. Ver. 28. If there be dearth in the land, if there be pestilence, if there be blasting, or mildew, locusts, or caterpillars ; if their enemies besiege them in the cities of their land ; whatsoever sore or whatsoever sickness there be. We arc so little acquainted with the various species of destructive insects that ravage the eastern countries, that it may be thought e.'ctremely difficult to determine what kind was meant by Solomon, in his prayer at the dedication of the temple, 2 Chron. vi. 28, by the word (Vrn) chased, which our version renders caterpillars, and which is distin- guished by him there from the locusts, which genus is so remarkable for eating up almost every green thing ; but a pas.sage of Sir John Chardin may probably illustrate that part of Solomon's address to him whom he considered as the God of universal nature. The paragraph of Solo- mon's prayer is this ; When heaven is shut iip, and there is no rain, because thcij have sinned against thee ; if they pray towards this place, &c If there be in the land famine, if there be pestilence, blasting, mildew, locusts, or if there be caterpillars ; if their enemies besiege them in the land of their cities, &c Then hear thou in heaven thy dwelling- place, and forgive and do, &c. The causes of famine, reckoned up here, are want of rain, blasting, mildew, lo- custs, and caterpillars, according to our translation: with which may be compared the following passage of Chardin, 39 in the second tome of his Travels: "Persia is subject to have its harvest spoiled by hail, by drought, or by insects, either locusts, or small insects, which they call sim, which are small white lice, which fix themselves on the foot of the stalk of corn, gnaw it, and make it die. It is rare for a year to be exempt from one or the other of these scourges, which afiect the ploughed land and the gar- dens," &c. The enumeration by Solomon, and that of this modern writer, though not exactly alike, yet so nearly re- semble each other, that one would be inclined to believe these small insects are what Solomon meant, by the word translated caterpillars in our English version. — Hahmer. CHAPTER VII. Ver. 13. If I shut up heaven that there be no rain, or if I command the locusts to devour the land, or if I send pestilence among my people. A term used by the sacred writers to signify the locust, is (ajn) A<7 o-ffii, which our translators render sometimes locust and sometimes grasshopper. They translate it locusts in the following passage: " If I shut up heaven that there be no more rain, or if I command the locusts (hagab) to de- vour the land, or if I send a pestilence among my people : if my people shall humble themselves and pray unto me, and seek my face, then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive theirsin, andhealtheirland." Wecannot reasonably doubt that the word, in this place, denotes the locust, for this decla- ration was made in answer to Solomon's prayer at the dedica- tion of the temple, that if the heaven should be shut up, and there should be no rain ; or if there should be famine, pesti- lence, blasting, mildew, locust, or caterpillar, then God would hear them when they spread forth their hands towards that holy place. It must also be remembered, that the grass- hopper is an inofiensive animal, or noxious in a very slight degree, and therefore by no means a proper subject for deprecation in the temple. This circumstance also shows, that the Hebrew term here does not mean the cicada, as some writers have supposed ; for though the noise which they make is extremely disagreeable and disturbing, as Chandler complains, it is not an insect so distressing to the Orientals, as to admit the idea that it was a subject of sol- emn prayer at the dedication. To disturb the slumbers of the weary traveller, or the toil-worn peasant, and to devour the fruits of the earth, and plunge the inhabitants of a coun- try into all the horrors of famine, are evils of a very differ- ent magnitude. Hagab is rendered grasshopper in the twelfth chapter of Ec'clesiastes ; and the circumstances, it must be confess- ed, harmonize with the character of those creatures; for it will be readily admitted that their chirping must be dis- agreeable to the aged and infirm, that naturally love quiet, and are commonly unable to bear much noise. But it is more probable that hagab denotes the locust, which is pro- verbially loquacious. They make a very loud, screaking, and disagreeable noise, with their wings; if one begin, others join, and the hateful concert becomes universal ; a pause then ensues, and, as it Avere, on a signal given, it again commences ; and in this manner they continue squalling for two or three hours without intermission. Mr. Harmer is of opinion, that hugab ought to be rendered lo- cust in this passage too, because it becomes a burden by its depredations, and desire fails; that is, every green thing disappears, and nature puts on the semblance of imiversal deadness ; and such istheaffecting appearance of the human body in extreme old age ; it resembles a tree which the lo- cust has stripped of its leaves, has deprived of its bark, and left naked and bare, to wither in the blast, and moulder, by degrees, into the dust from whence it rose. The inlei'pre- lation is ingenious ; but the common meaning seems to be 306 2 CHRONICLES. Chap. 9. still more expressive, and is ceriainly imire alTcctins. Some kinds ol ihe lociisl are very .small and light. Were the cicada uul lo be cla.s.sed among tlic locust tribes, slill the figure remains in all its force and beauty. The nii- niUe.st of those small insects becomes a burden to extreme old age, weighed down with a load of years, and worn with toils and cares, to the verge of existence. The jpowers and faculties of hodv and mnid are etjually debilitated, and the relish for the ehjovnicnts of .sense, which he once lelt so keenly, is extinguished for ever. Some insects live under a regular govcrnnieni, and, like the hee, submit to the au- thoriTv of a chief; but Ihe wise man observes, " The locusts have 'no king, vet they go forth by bands." How just is this remark ! 'The heacl of the column, when the army is not tossed and scattered by the winds, which often hap- pens, is directed by their Voracious desire of food; and the rest follow in long succession, under the influence of Ihe same instinct ; but the devastations they commit areas methodical and complete, as if they acted under the strict- est disciiiline. In Barbary and Palestine, the locusts appear about the latter end of March. By the middle of April their num- bers are so increased, that in Ihe heal of Ihe day they form ilicinselves into large and numerous swarms, fly in the air like a succession of clouds; and, as the prophet Joel ex- presses it, " darken Ihe sun." When a brisk gale happens lo blow, so that these swarms are crowded by others, or thrown one upon another, the musing and intelligent trav- eller obtains a lively idea of the Psalmi.si's comparison : '• i am tossed up and down like the locust." In the monlh of May, when the ovaries of those insects are ripe and tur- gid, each of these swarms begins gradually to disappear, and retire into Ihe plains, where they deposile their eg^s. The,se are no sooner hatched in June, than each of tne broods collect themselves into a large body, sometimes ex- tended more than a furlong on every side; and then march- ing directly towards the sea, they suflTer nothing to escape IheiB, eating up every thing that is green and juicy, from the tender and lowly vegetable, lo Ihe coarse leaf and bark of the vine and the pomegranate. In prosecuting their Work of dcslruclion, Ihey keep their ranks like soldiers in order of battle, cliuibing as they advance, over every tree or wall that stands in their way ; they enler into Ihe very houses and bedchambers, like so many thieves. It is im- possible to stop their motions, or even lo alter their line of march; while Ihe front is regardless of danger, and the rear presses on so close, that a retreat is altogether impos- sible. A day or two after one of these broods is in motion, others arc already hatched lo march and glean after ihem, gnawing olf Ihe very hark, and the young branches of such trees as had before escaped with the loss only of their fruit and foliage ; so justly have they been compared by the prophet to a great army. — Paxton. CHAPTER IX. Ver. 24. And they brought every man his pres- ent, vessels of silver, and vessels of gold, and raiment, harness, and spices, horse.s, and mules, a rate year by year. Presents of vestments, on Ihe other hand, are fretjuently made in these countries lo Ihe great, and (hose that are in public stations; and they expect them. Tlievenot tells us, it was a custom in Egv'pl, in his lime, for the consuls of the European nations lo send the bashaw a present of .so many vests, and so many Ix'sides to some officers, both when a new bashaw caine, or a new consul entered his office, as were rated al above a Ihousand piasters. Does not this last account remind us of the presents that were made to SoU)mon, by Ihe neighbnuring princes, al set limes, San of which, we are expressly told, consisted of raiment 1 . Chron. ix. 'i\. This may be tlionght not very well lo agree with a remark of Sir J. Cliardin, mentioned under a former observation, " that vcslmenis ;tre not prc>:enied by inferiors lo superiors ; or even by an eipial to an ecpial ;" but there is really no inconsistem-y ; vestmenis are not the things that are chosen by those that would make a present to the great, in common; but they may be ordered to be sent as a sort of a tribute, or a due which Ihe superior claims. The other things mentioned in that passage of Chroni- cles, vessels of silver, and ves-sels of gold, harness and spi- ces, horses and mules, still conlinue to be thought fit pres- ents to the great. So Ru.s.sel tells us, in his account of the eastern visits, that if it is a visit of ceremony from a ba- shaw or a person in power, a fine horse, sometimes with fur- niture, or some such valuable ihing, is made a present lo him al his depart lire; and the Baron Fabricius, in his letters concerning Charles XII. of Sweden, tells us, that when he was seized al Bender, Ihe house being set on file, the rich presents that had been made him, consisting of tents, sabres, saddles and bridles adorned with jewels, rich housings ana harnesses, lo the value of 200,000 crowns, were consumed. Of the resl, Ihe vessels of silver and Ihe spices may be il- lustrated by that story of D'Herbelot concerning Akhschid, the commander of an eastern province, who is said to have purchased peace of Jezid, general of the Iroops of one of the califs, by .sending him a present of seven hundred Ihou- sand drachms of silver in ready money; four hundred loads of safl'ron, which that country produced in abundance ; and four hundred slaves, who each of ihem carried a rich tur- ban of silk in a silver basin. — Harmer. Presents of dresses are alluded to very frequently in Ihe hislorical books of scripture, and in ihe earliest times: when Jo.seph gave lo each of his brethren a change of rai- ment, and to Benjamin five changes of raiment, it is men- tioned without particular notice, and as a customary inci- dent, (Gen. xlv. 22, 23.) Naaman gave to Gehazi, from among Ihe presents intended for Elisha, who declined ac- cepting any, (as we have seen above, some persons did, on extraordinary occasions,) two changes of raiment; and even Solomon, king as he was, received raiment as pres- ents, (2 Chron. ix. 24.) This custom is slill maintained in the East : it is mentioned by all travellers ; and we have merely clio.sen lo give Ihe following extract from De la Mo- traye, in preference to what might easily have been pro- duced from others, because he notices, as a particularity, that the grand seignior gives his garment of honour before the wearer is admitted to his presence; but the vizier gives his honorary dresses after ihe presentation : will this apply to Ihe parable of Ihe wedding garment, and to the behaviour of Ihe king, who expected to have found all his guests clad in robes of honour'! (Malt. xxii. 11.) Is any thing like this management observable, Zech. iu.t Joshua being in- troduced lo the angel of the Lord, not lo the Lord himself, stood before the angel with fillhy garments; but he ordered a handsome raffetan to be given him. Jonathan, son of Saul, divested himself of his robe, and his upper garment, even to his sword, his bow, and his girdle — partly intending David the greater honour, as having been apparel worn by himself; but principally, it may be conjectured, through hnsle and speed, he being impatient of honouring David, and covenanting for his afl^eclion. Jonathan would not stay III srxi! f(U' raiment, bm instantly gave him his own. The idea of honour connected with the ca felon, appears also in Ihe prodigal's father, — '■ brim; forth l/icheft robe." We find Ihe liberality in this kind of^ gitis was considerable : Ezra ii. O'.t, " The chief of the fathers gave one hundred priests' garments." Neh. vii. 70, " The Tirshatha gave five hun- dred and Ihiriy priesl.s' garments." This would appear siifficienily singular among us; but in the East, where to give is to honour, the gift of garments, or of any other usable commodities, is in perfect compliance wilt estab- lished sentiments and customs. " The vizier entered at another door, and their excel- lencies rose lo salute him afler their manner, which was returned by a little inclining of his head ; afler which he sal down on the corner of his sofn, irhirh is the wost honour' (ihle place; then his chancellor, his kiahia, ami ihe Chia- ouz Ba.shaw, came and stood before him. till coflee was brought in; after which M. de Chateauneuf presented M. de Ferriol (o him, as his successor, who delivered him the king his master's letters, eomplimenling him as from his majesty and himself lo which the vizier answered very obligingly ; then ihey gave Iwo dishes of coffee to their ex- cellencies, with sweetmeats, and afterward the perfumes and sherbet; then ihey clothed them with caeketans »/■ a iilver broeailc, with large silk flowers ; and to those that were admitted into Ihe apartrnents with them, they gave otheis of brocade, almost all silk, except some slight gold or silver flowers; according lo the custom usually observed towards all foreign ministers. "CafTetans are long vests of gold or silver brocade, Chap. 9—16. 2 CHRONICLES. 307 flowered willi silk, which ilie grand seignior and the viz- ier present to those to whom ihey give audience : the grand seignior before, and the vizier alter audience." (De la Motraye's Travels.) — Taylor in Calmet. Ver. 28. And they brought unto Solomon horses out of Egypt, and out of all lands. The people of Israel were, by their law, forbidden to multiply horses ; for which several rea.sons may be as- signed. The land of Canaan, intersected in almost every direction by hills and mountains, was less adapted to the rearing of horses than other parts of Syria; but the prin- cipal reason might be, to discourage the art of war, to which mankind in all ages have shown so strong a pro- pensity, which is so hostile to the interests of true religion, of wliich they were the chosen depositaries, and prevent them from relying for the defence of tlieir country, rather on the strength of their armies, which, in the East, chiefly consisted of eavahy, than on the promised aid of Jehovah. Tills wise and salutary command, however, was often dis- regarded, even by the more pious kings of David's line, who imitated the princes around Ihem in the number and excellence of their horses. Solomon set the first example of transgressing that precept, and of departing from the simplicity of his fathers: " For Solomon gathered together chariots and horsemen; and he had a thousand and four hundred chariots, and twelve tliousand horsemen, whom he bestowed in the cities for chariots, and with the king at Jerusalem." Joseplius informs us he had twenty thousand horses, which surpa.ssed all others in beauty and swiftness. The.se were mounted by young men in the bloom of )'outh, excelling all their countrymen in stature and comeliness, with long flowing hair, habited in rich dresses of Tyrian purple, their hair powdered with gold-dust, which, bv re- flecting the beams of the sun, shed a dazzling splendour around their heads. It was the practice of those in the highest rank of society, in the time of Josephus, to adorn their persons in the gorgeous manner he describes; and the strong partiality which the historian cherished for his country, it is evident, induced him to transfer the extrava- gance of his own age to the time of Solomon. The .same overweening desire to exalt the power, the riches, and the .splendour of his nation, in the nio.st brilliant epoch of her history, has prevailed upon him to contradict the page of inspiration itself, which expre.ssly limits the number of Solomon's horses to twelve thousand. The sacred his- torian informs us, that these horses were purchased in Egypt, and in all the surrounding countries, by the Jew- ish merchants, where the fame of so great a king procured ihem ea.sy access, and liberalencouragement. It is extreme- ly probable that Solomon's stud wa.s replenished from re- gions lying at a very great distance from .Teru.salem ; but the .sacred writers particularly celebrate the breeds of As- syria, Togarmah, and Egypt. The horses of Togarmah were brought to the fairs of Tyre, and were sufficiently numerous and valuable to attract the notice of Ezekiel, who thus addresses the merchant city : " They of the house of Togarmah traded in thy fairs, with horses, and horsemen, and mules." These, in the opinion of Bochart and other geographers, were the Cappadocians, whose country has been, from time immemorial, celebrated for its superior breed of horses. The propliets of Jehovah frequently ad- vert to the admirable qualities of the Assyrian ch.i'rger. Isaiah, describing the terrible devastation which the land of Judea was doomed lo sutler bv the Assyrian armies, xyarns his people that their horses'hoofs shall be counted like Hint— comjiacl and durable as the flinty rock; qualities which, in limes when the shoeing of horses was unknown, must have been of very great importance. The value of a .solid hoof has not escaped the notice of Homer's muse, who celebrates, in many passages n{ his immortal poems, llie brazen-footed horses. In the admirable instructions which Virgil communicates to the Italian husbandmen, a solid hoof is mentioned as indispensably requisite in a good breed of horses. The amazing rapidity of their move- menls is expressed with much bcautv and force in the next clause: "Their wheels shall belike a whirlwind;" and, with equal felicity, in these words of Jeremiah: " Be- hold, he shall come up as clouds, and his chariots shall be as a whirlwind ; his horses are swifter than eagles." The prophet Ilabakkiik, in describing the same quality, uses a dilferenl ligure, but one equally striking : "Their horses also are swifter than the leopards, and are more fierce than the evening wolves ; and their horsemen shall spread them- selves, and their horsemen shall come from far; they shall fly as the eagle that hasieth to eat." — Paxton. CHAPTER XIII. Ver. 5. Ought ye not to know that the Lord God of Israel gave the kingdom over Israel to Da- vid for ever, even to him and to his sons by a covenant of salt 1 The Orientals were accustomed also to ratify their fed- eral engagements by salt. This substance was, among the ancients, the emblem of friendship and fidelity, and there- fore u.sed in all their sacrifices and covenants. It is a sa- cred pledge of hospitality which they never venture to vio- late. Numerous instances occur of travellers in Arabia, after being plundered and stripped by the wandering tribes of the desert, claiming the protection of some civilized Arab, who, after receiving him into his tent, and giving him salt, instantly relieves his distress, and never forsakes him till he has placed him in safety. An agreement, thus ratified, is called in scripture, "a covenant of salt." , The obliga- tion which this sj-mbol imposes on the mind of 'an Oriental, is well illustrated by the Baron De Tott in thi^ following anecdote: One who" was desirous of his acquaintance, promised in a short time lo return. The baron had already attended him half way down the stairca.se, when stopping, and turning briskly to one of his domestics. Bring me di- rectly, said he, some bread and .salt. What he requested was brought ; when, taking a Utile .salt between his fingers, and puUing it with a mysterious air on a bit of bread, he ate it with a devout gravity, assuring De Tott he might now rely on him. — Paxton. CHAPTER XVI. Ver. 14, And they buried him in his own sepul- chres, which he had made for himself in the city of David, and laid him in the bed which was filled with sweet odours and divers kinds of spices prepared by the apothecaries' art; and they made a very great burning for him. A passage from Drummond's Travels ought not to be omitted here, in which he gives an account of the manner in which a large quantity of .spices and perfumes was made use of, to do honour to the dead. It seems, according to a tradition that prevailed among the Turks, "An eminent prophet, who lived in Mesopotamia many ages ago, whose name was Zechariah, was beheaded by the prince of that country, on account of his virtuous opposition to some lewd scheme of his. His head he ordered to be put into a stone urn, two feet square, upon the lop of w hich was an in.scrip- tion, importing ihat lh.it uin enclosed the head of that great prophet Zechariah. This urn remained in the easlle of Aleppo till about eight hundred years ago, when it was removed into an old Christian church in that city, after- ward turned into a mosque, which decaying, another was built near it, and the place where the head was deposited choked up by a wall." About forty years before IVTr. Drummond wrote this account, which was in December, 17•l^', consequently about the year 1708, a zealous grand vizier, who pretended to have been admoni.shed in a dream to remove this ,^tone ves,sel into a more conspicuous place, had it removed accordingly, with many religious ceie- monies, and affixed in a conspicuous part of a mosque : and in the close of all it is said, " the urn was opened, and filled with spices and perfumes, lo the value of four hun- dred pounds." Here \vc .see in late times honour was done to llie supposed head of an eminent .saint, by filling its re- pository with odoriferous substances. The' bed of .sweet spices, in which Asa was laid, seems to hay's!: been of the same kind, or something very much like it. Might not large quantities of precious perfumes, in like manner, be sircwed, or designed to be strewed, about the body of our Lord'! This would require large quantities. Zechariah of Mesopotamia had been dead so long, that nothing of lliis kind could be done wilh any view to preserve his head 308 2 CHRONICLES. Chap. 20—26. from decay, it was merely to do him hononr; the spices used by the Jews in burial might be for the same purpose. — Harmer. CHAPTER XX. Ver. 20. And they arose early in the morning, and went forth into tlie wilderness of Tekoa : and as they went forth, .Tehoshaphat stood and said, Hear me, O Jiidah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem; believe in the Lord your God, so shall you be established ; believe his prophets, so shall ye prosper. See on 2 Sara. 10. 9, 10. Ver. 28. And they came to Jerusalem with psalteries and harps and trumpets, unto the house of the Lord. See on 1 Sam. IG. 20. CHAPTER XXI. Ver. 20. Thirty and two years old was he when he began to reign, and he reigned in Jerusalem eight years, and departed without being de- sired ; howbeit they buried him in the city of David, but not in the sepulchres of the kings. The burying of persons in their cities is also an eastern manner ot doing them honour. They are in common buried without the walls of their towns, as is apparent, from many places of the Old and New Testament. The an- cient Jews also were thus buried ; but sometimes they bury in their cities, when they do a person a disiinguished hon- our. " Each side of the road," says the aiuhor of the His- tory of the piratical stales of Barbary, " without the gate, is crowded with sepulchres. Those of the pacha and the deys are built near the gate of Babalonet. They are be- tween ten and twelve feet high, very curiously white-wash- ed, and built in the form of a dome. Hali t)ey, as a very eminent mark of distinction, was buried in an enclosed tomb within the city. For forty days successively his tomb was decorated with flowers, and surrounded with people, offering up prayers to God for his soul. This dey was ac- counted a saint, and a particular favourite of heaven, be- cause he died a natural death ; a happiness of which there are few instances since the establishment of the deys in Algiers." No comment is more lively, or more sure, than this, on those that speak of the burying of the kings of the house of David within Jeru.salem; lliose sepulchres, and that of Huldah the prophetess, being the only ones to be found there. But it is not a perfect comment ; for it is to be remembered that a peculiar holiness belonged to Jeru- salem, 35 well as the ditjnity of being the roval city, but no particular sanctity is ascribed to Algiers, by those people that buried Hali Dey there. — Harmer. CHAPTER XXII. Ver. 11. But Jehoshabeath, the daughter of the king, took Joash the son of Ahaziah, and stole him from among the king's sons that were slain, and put him and his nurse in a bedcham- ber. So Jebnshaboiith, the daughter of King Jehoratn, the wife of Jehoiada the priest, (for she was the sister of Ahaziah,) hid him from Athaliah, so that she slew him not. The bedchamber in the temple, in which Jehoshcba hid Joash in the days of Athaliah, mentioned 2 Kings xi. "2, and 2 Chron. x.iii. 11, docs not seem to mean a /orf^'iVirr- chamher, but a cknmhcr used as a rcposilon/ for bcih. I am indebted to Sif John Chardin for this thought, which seems to be a just one ; for I he original words mj-n -Mna bachnilnr fuimvtittolh, signify a chnynhcr of bnh, and the expression differs from that which is used wlicn a lod^ini^-chnmbcr is meant. He supposes then that place is inoani, whore beds arc kept: for in the Ea.«t, anur customs, dif- fers very little, in many respects, from this Persian execu- tion. Samuel was a person of high distinction in Israel : he Chap. 5—8. EZRA. 511 liad been their judge, or supreme governor under God ; he was a prophet too ; and we are ready to think his sacred hands should not have been employed in the actual shed- ding of blood. How strange would it be in our eye.s, if we should see one of our kings cuuingoffthe head of a traitor with his own hands; or an archbishop of Canterbury stab- bing a foreign captive prince ! But different countries have very different usages. Soliman, king of Persia, who hew- ed this unfaithful officer in pieces, reigned over a much larger and richer country than Judea, and at the same time was considered by his subjects as sacred a person as Sam- uel : supposed to be descended from their prophet Moham- med, to reign by a divine constitution, and to be possessed, we are assured by this writer in another place, of a kind of prophetic penetration and authority. — 1 have said, it appears to signify the same thing as eating one's bread, in the West, but, probably, with some particular kind of energy, mark- ing out not merely the obligations of gratitude, but the .strictest ties of fidelity. For as the letter was written not only by some of the great officers on the western side of the Euphrates, but in the name of the several colonies of peo- ple that had been transplanted thither, the Dinaites, the Apharsathchites, the Tarpelites, &c. ver. 9, 10, it is not to be stipposed these tribes of people all received their food from the palace, or a stipend for their support; but with great adulation they might pretend they considered them- selves as held under as strong engagements of fidelity to the kings of Persia, as if they had eaten salt in his palace. The following story from D'Herbelot will explain this, if the views of these ancient Persians maybe supposed to cor- respond with those of the Persians of the ninth century. Jacoub ben Laith, the founder of a dynasty of Persian princes called the Sofiarides, rising, like many other of the ancestors of the princes of the East, from a very low state to royal power, being in his first setting out in the use of arms no better than a freebooter or robber, is yet said to have maintained some regard to decency in his depreda- tions, and never to have entirely stripped those that he rob- bed, always leaving them something to soften their afflic- tion. Among other exploits that are recorded of him, he is said to " have broken into the palace of the prince of that country, and having collected a very large booty, which he was on the point of carrying away, he found his foot kick- ed something, which made him stumble. He imagined it might be something of value, and putting it to his mouth, the better to distinguish what it was, his tongue soon in- formed hitn it was a lump of salt. Upon this, according to the morality, or rather superstition of the country, where the people considered salt as a ^i/mbnl ond pledge of ^u/spi- lalilii, he was so touched, that he left all his booty, retiring without taking away anything with him. The next morn- ing, the risk they had run of losing many valuable things, being perceived, great was the surprise, and strict the in- quiry, what should be the occasion of their being left. At length Jacoub was found to be the person concerned, who having given an account, very sincerely, of the whole transaction to the prince, he gained his esteem so effectual- ly, that it might be said with truth, that it was his regard for salt that laid the foundation of his after fortune. The prince employed him as a man of courage and genius in many enterprises, and finding him successful in all of them, he raised him, by little and little, to the chief posts among his troops, so that at that prince's death, he found himself possessed of the command in chief, and had such interest in their affections, that they preferred his interests to those of the children of the deceased prince, and he became nAso- lutc maslcr of that province, from whence he afterward spread his conquests far and wide." When the Aphar- sathchites, the Tarpelites, and the other transplanted tribes, told Artaxerxes, the Persian monarch, that they were salt- ed with the .salt of his palace, it appears, according to these things, to mean, that they considered thenxselvcs as eating his bread, on account of being put and continued in pos- session of a considerable part of the Jewish country, by him and his predeces.sors; and that their engagements of fideli- ty to him were indeed as strong, as if they had eaten salt in his palace. — Harmer. CHAPTER V. Ver. 7. They sent a letter unto him, wherein was written thus ; Unto Daritts the king, all peace. The people of the East are always very particular as to the way in wliich they commence a letter. Thus, they take into consideration the rank of the individual to w-hoiii they write, and keep in view also what is their object. " To you who are respected by kings." " To him who has the happiness of royalty." " To the feet of his ex- cellency, my father, looking towards the place where he is worshipping, I write." A father to his son says, " Head of all blessings, chief of life, precious pearl." When peo- ple meet each other on the road, they say, " Salom, peace to you." Or, when they send a message, or ask a favour, it is always accompanied by a salavi. — Roberts. CHAPTER VI. Ver. 2. And there w-as found at Achmetha, in the palace that is in the province of the Medes, a roll, and therein was a record thus written. This passage proves the great antiquity of the custom of making copies to be deposited in the archives, of the impor- tant ordinances of the magistrates, and particularly of charters, granted either to individuals or whole commu- nities. Thus, in an inscription on an ancient marble, quoted by Thomas Smith, it is said of a privilege granted for a separate sepulchre, " Of this inscription two copies have been made, one of which is deposited in the archives." In the same manner, elsewhere, "A copy of this inscription shall be deposited in the archives." — Rosenmuller. Ver. 11. Also I have made a decree, that who- soever shall alter this word, let timber be pulled down frotn his house, and, being- set up, let him be hanged thereon. Lud. de Dieu observes, that there is no proper construc- tion in the words which we render, and being set up; he would therefore translate them, after the Seventy, " and standing, let him be beat upon it," or " whipped," as the manner was among the Persians and other nations. Among the Jews, they who were beaten, did not stand, but lay down. Deut. xxv. 2. If a greater punishment be here meant, then he makes the first words refer to the wood, and the latter to the man. " And from above, let it fall upon him ;" that is, the stake being lifted up, shall be stuck into his body, and come out at his fundament. This was a cruel practice among the eastern people, and is yet con- tinued there. — Burder. CHAPTER VIII. Ver. 2 1 . Then I proclaimed a fast there at the river of Ahava, that we might afflict ourselves before our God, to seek of him a right way for us, and for our little ones, and for all our substance. The whole valley was covered with the tents of the pil- grims ; for a very few, compared with their numbers, could find lodgings in the building. These several en- campments, according to their towns cr districts, were placed a little apart, each under its own special standard. Their cattle were grazing about, and the people whii attended them, in their primitive eastern garbs. Women appeared, carrying in water from the brooks, and children were sporting at the lent doors. Towards evening, this pious muUitude, to the number of eleven hundred at least, began their evening orisons, literally shouting their prayers, while the singing of the hymns, responded by the echoes from the mountains, was almost deafening. At intervals, during the devotion, matchlocks, muskets, and pistols, were repeatedly fired, division answering division, as if it were some concerted signal. This mixture of military and religious proceeding, produced an effect perfectly novel to a European eye, in the nineteenth century; though it might have been more than sufliciently familiar to that of a knight-companion in the thirteenth, when the crusades covered every hauberk with a pilgrim's amice. But the recollection of what country I saw these in, conjured up a very different image. I w^as in the land of the Medes, on the very spot to which the ten tribes were brought in cap- tivity about two thousand years ago; and from which, in the fulness of time, the scattered remnants were collected, (after the first return, B. C. .53fi, by command of Cyrus,) and led back to their native lantl, on the decree of Arta- 312 EZRA. Chap. 9, 10. xerxes the king, when Ezra gathered ihem together to the river that runneth to Ahava, and there they abuile in their tents three clays : ami he viewed the people and the priests. And he proclaimed a fast there, that they might atllict themselves before God, to seek of him a right way for them, and for their little ones, and for their substance. And the Lord was entreated of them, and he delivered them from the hand of the eneniv, and of such as lay in wait by the way. And Kzra, and those with him, came to Jerusalem. We see in this account, from the book of Ezra, chap. viii. that the wild tribes of the moimtains were then regarded as banditti; and that no decrees of safe-conduct from the king would have more effect in those days, than in the present, to protect a rich caravan from ambuscade and depredation. But I must own, there are some points of observation in the encampment before me, which a little disturbed the resemblance between its holy grouping, and that which followed the really pious ordinance of the sa- cred scribe of Israel. The Mohammedan evening prayer over, all was noise of another description; bustle and riot- ous merriment, more like preparations of a fair, than a worship ; showing at once the difl'erence in spirit between the two religions. In the one, the moral law walked hand in hand with the ceremonial ; and the mandate of wor- shipping the one God, in purity of heart, and in strictness of practice, was unvaryingly asserted in the chastisement or welfare of the people ; and so we sec it was acknowl- edged by the seemly and humble joy under pardon, with which the recalled Israelites returned to the land of their temple. But here the performance of certain rites seemed to be all in all. The preachers of the multitude holding forth, that as they advance nearer to the shrines of their pilgrimage, so in due proportion their sins depart from them; and thus every step tney approach, the load becomes lighter and lighter, till the last atom Hies off the moment they fall prostrate before the tomb of the prophet, or saint ; and from which holy spot they rise perfectly clear, free, and often too willing to commence a new score, to be as readily wiped away. — Sir R. K. Porter. CHAPTER IX. Ver. 3. And when I heard this thing, I rent my garment and my mantle, and plucked off the hair of my head and of my beard, and sat down astonished. Oriental mourners divested themselves of all ornaments, and laid aside their jewels, gold, and every thing rich and splendid in their dress. The Grecian ladies were directed in this manner to mourn the death of Achilles : " Not clothed in rich attire of gems and gold, with glittering silks or purple." This proof of humiliation and submis- sion Jehovah required of his offending people in the wil- derness: "Therefore, now put off thy ornaments from thee, that I may know what to do unto thee. And the children of Israel stripped themselves of their ornaments by the Mount Horeb." Long after the time of Moses, that rebellious nation again received a command of similar import ; " Strip you, and make you bare, and gird sack- cloth upon your loins." — P.\xton. Ver. 6. And said, O my God ! I am ashamed and blush to lift up my face to thee, my God : for our iniquities are increased over our head, and our trespass is grown up unto tho heavens. " Ah, that fellow's sins are on his head : how numerous are the sins on his head. Alas ! for such'a head as that. Who can lake them from his headi His iniquity is so great, you may see it on his head." Does a man wish to extenuate his crime, to make himself appear not so great a sinner as some suppose, he asks, " What ! has my guilt grown up to heaven 1 no ! no !" " Abominable wretch, your guilt has reached to the heavens." " Can you call that little, which has grown up to the heavens 7" — Roberts. Ver. 8. And now for a little space grace hath been showed from the Lord our God, to leave us a remnant to escape, and to give us a nail in his holy place, that our God may lighten our eyes, and give us a little reviving in our bondage. See on Isa. 22. 23. The margin has, " or a pin," that is, " a constant and sure abode." It is worthy of notice, that the Tamul trans- lation has it, " a hut in his holy place." To " lighten" the eyes signifies to give comfort, to strengthen, to refresh. A father says to his son, when he wishes him to do any thing, " My child, make the.se eyes light," " O woman, enlighten my eyes, lest I be swallowed up with sorrow." " O that our eyes were clear! who will take away the darkness from my eyes V — Roberts. CHAPTER X. Ver. 1. Now when Ezra had prayed, and when lie had confessed, weeping and casting himself down before the house of God, there assembled unto him out of Israel a very great congrega- tion of men, and women, and children: for the people wept very sore. People on their arrival from England are astonished at the apparent devotion of the Hindoos, when they see them cast themselves down before their temples. Those of high rank, and in elegant attire, do not hesitate thus to prostrate themselves in the dust, before the people. How often, as you pass along, may you see a man stretched his full length on the ground, with his face in the dust, pouring out liis complaint, or making his requests unto the gods. It mat- ters not to him who or what may be near him ; he heeds not, and moves not, till his devotions are finished. — Roberts. Ver. 9. Then all the men of Judahand Benjamin gathered themselves together unto Jerusalem within three days ; it was the ninth month, and the twentieth day of the month ; and all the people sat in the street of the house of God, trembling because of this matter, and for tho great rain. What a marked illustration we have of this passage every wet monsoon. See the people on a court-day, or when they are called to the different offices on business. The rain comes on ; they have only a piece of cotton round their loins, and a small leaf, which they carry over their heads: they all run in a stooping position (as if that would save them from the rain) to the nearest tree, and there they sit in groups, huddled together, and trembling " for the great rain." — Roberts. NEHEMIAH. CHAPTER I. Ver, 11. O Lord, I beseech thee, let now thine ear be attentive to the prayer of thy servant, and to the prayer of thy servants, who desire to fear thy name ; and prosper, I pray thee, thy servant this day, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man : for I was the king's cup- bearer. Houbigant supposes that Nehemiah repeated ihis prayer, which he had often before used, now again in silence, while he administered the cup to the king in his office. The office of cupbearer was a place of great honour and advantage in the Persian court, because of the privilege which it gave him who bare it, of being daily in the king's presence, and the opportunity which he had thereby of gaining his favour, for procuring any petition he should make to him. That it was a place of great advantage seems evident by Nehemiah's gaining those immense riches which enabled him for so many years, out of his own purse only, to live in his government with great splendour and expense, wiihout burdening the people. According to Xenophon, the cupbearer with the Persians and Medes used to take the wine out of the vessels into the cup, and pour some of it into his left hand, and drink it, that if there was any poison in it, the king might not be hurt -, and then he delivered it to him upon three fingers. BURDER. CHAPTER II. Ver. 2. Wherefore the king said unto me. Why is thy countenance sad, seeing thou art not sick ? this is nothing else but sorrow of heart. When friends, servants, or acquaintances, have a request to make, or a secret to disclose, they walk about with a gloomy countenance, and never speak but when spoken to. Their object is to induce you to ask what is the matter, because they think you will then be disposed to listen to their complaint. — Roberts. Ver. 7. Moreover, I said unto the king. If it please the king, let letters be given me to the governors beyond the river, that they may con- vey me over, till I come into Judah. No person of consequence travels in the East without a letter, or katt-ali, i. e. a command from the Rasa, the gov- ernor, the collector, or officer in authority, to the different chiefs of the districts through which he may have to travel. Were it not for this, there would often be a difficulty in getting supplies, and there would generally be a great de- lay ; the olficers would be insolent and overbearing, and the purveyors would demand thrice the sum the articles were worth. The letters in question are generally in duplicate, so that one precedes the traveller, and the other is m his possession. Thus, when he arrives at the choultry or rest-house, there will always be people to receive him, who are ready to furnish him with supplies, and coolies to help him on his journey. Sometimes they declare they are in the greatest want ; they cannot get rice, they have neither fish nor fowls, and are brought to the lowest ebb of misery. — Roberts. Ver. 8. And the king granted me, according to the good hand of my God upon me. The hand is sometimes taken in an ill sense for inflict- ing punishments, and sometimes in a good sense, for we e.\lcnil favours lo men with the hand. Thus Drusius cx- 40 plains Psalm Ixxxvjii. 5, cut off from ihy luind, that is, fall- en from thy grace and favour. Pindar thus uses the hand of God, for his help and aid, Gmd o-Ok TraXofio, by the hand of God : which the scholiast interprets, by the power and help of God. Thus Nehemiah is here to be understood. — Eur- DEH, CHAPTER IV. Ver. 3. Now Tobiah the Ammonite was by him, and he said, Even that which they build, if a fox go up, he shall even break down their stone wall. When men deride the workmanship of a mason, they say, " Che! why, if a dog or a jackal run against that wall, it will fall." " A wall ! why, it will not keep out the jack- als."— Roberts. Ver. 14. And I looked, and rose up, and said unto the nobles, and to the rulers, and to the rest of the people, Be not ye afraid of them ; remem- ber the Lord which is great and terrible, and fight for your brethren, your sons and your daughters, your wives and your houses. The ancients appear to have done more to excite the valour of their soldiers, than merely exhorting them to be courageous. This will appear in the following citation: " A circumstance which greatly tends to inflame them with heroic ardour, is the manner in which their battalions are formed. They are neither mustered nor imbodied by chance : they fight in clans, united by consanguinity, a family of warriors : their tenderest pledges are near them in the field. In the heat of the engagement, the soldier hears the shrieks of his wife, and the cries of his children. These are the darling witnesses of his conduct; the ap- plauders of his valour, at once beloved and valued. The wounded seek their mothers and their wives ; undismayed at the sight, the women count each honourable scar, and suck the gushing blood : they are even hardy enough to mix with the combatants, administering refreshment, and exhorting them to deeds of valour." (Tacitus, De Mor. Germ.) — Burder. Ver. 21. So we laboured in the work: and half of them held the spears, from the rising of the morning till the stars appeared. Thus did the people labour from the earliest dawn till the latest glimp.se of evening light. "Well, Tamby, have you found your cattle?" "Found them'? no! and I wan- dered from the rising east, till the .stars appeared." " At what time do you intend to leave the temple V " Not till the stars appear." " When do you expect the guests t" " Immediately when the stars appear." — Roberts. CHAPTER V. Ver. 13. Also I shook my lap, and said, So God shake out every man from his house, and from his labour, that performeth not this promise, even thus be he shaken out and emptied. When men or women curse each other, they shake the lap, J. e. their cloth, or robe, and say, " It shall be so with thee." Does a man begin to shake his sali, or waistcloth, in the presence of another, the other will say, "Why do you shake your cloth herel go to some other place." "What! can you shake your lap here ? do it not, do it not." " i es, yes;' it is all true enough; this misery has come upon me through that wretched man shaking his cloth in my pres- 314 NEHEMIAII. Chap. 5. cnce." The natives always carry a pouch, made of the leaf of the cocoa, or other trees, in their lap ; in one pari of which they keep tlieir money, and inaiioilicrtheirare'-a- nm, helel leaf, and tobacco. It is amusing to see how careful they are never to have that pouch empty ; lor they have an idea, that so km? as a single coin shall be found in it, (or any of the articles alluded to,) the a TTnicrioN will be so yreat, that the contents of the pouch will not be long without companions. See the Englishman, who wants any thing out of a pouch or bag; if he cannot soon Imd the ar- ticle he requires, he shakes out the whole : not sii the Hin- doo ; he will fumble and grope for an hour, rather than shake out the wliole. "Do that! why, who knows how long the pouch will remain empty I" It is therefore evi- (iem, thai to shake the lap conveyed with it the idea of a curse. — Roberts. Instead of the fibula that was used by the Romans, the Arabs join together with thread, or with a wooden bodkin, the two upper corners of this garment; and after having placed ihcin fir.st over one of their shoulders, they then fuld the rest of il about their bodies. The outer fold serves Ihcm freijuenlly instead of an apron, in which they carry herbs, loaves, corn, and other articles, and may illustrate several allusions made to it in scripture: thus, "One of the sons of the prophets went out into the field, to gather lierbs, and found a wild vine, and gathered there of wild gourds, his lajiful." And the Psalmist offers up his prayer, That Jehovah wonld " render unto his neighbours seven- fold into their bosom, their reproach." The same al- lusion occurs in our Lord's direction to his disciples: "Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, sliall men give into your bosom." It was also the fold of this robe which Nehemiah shook before his people, as a signifi- cant emblem of the manner in which God should deal with the man who ventured to violate his oath, and promise to restore the possessions of their impoverished brethren : " Also, I shook my lap, and said. So God shake out every man from his house, and from his labour, that performeth not this promise, even thus be he shaken out and emptied." — Paxton. He shook the dust out of the foreskirts of his garment, as a symbol of what follows. A similar rile was used in the ca.se of peace and war, when the Roman ambassadors proposed the choice of one to the Carthaginians, as having cither in their bosom to shake out. (Floras, 1. ii. c. 6. Livy, 1. xxi. c. 18.) " When the Roman ambassadors entered the senate of Carthage, they had their toga gathered up in their bosom. They said. We carry here peace and war: you may have which ycm will. The senate answered. You may give which you please. They then shook their toga, and said, We bring you war. To which all the senate an- swered. We cheerfully accept il." — Bdhder. Ver. 14. Moreover from tlie time that I was ap- pointed to lie their (rovenior in the land of Jii- dah, from the twentieth year even unto the two and thirtieth year of Artaxer.\e.s the kinaf, thai is, twelve years, I and my hrethren have not eaten the bread of the trovernor. Nehemiah did not eat that bread which jiroperly be- longed to hiin as the governor. When the Orientals say they eal the rice of a person, il denotes they are under ob- ligations to him. People who have formerly been em- nloyed by you often come and say, " Ah, my lord, how ii>ng il is since I had the pleasure of eating your rice." Those who are in the service of the government, are .said to eat the rice of the king. A servant, who is requested to injure his master, says, "No, no; have I not ealen his rice for many daysT' Of a person who has been faithful to a superior, it is .said, " Yes, yes; he has eaten his rice, or he would not have been .so true to him." — Robebt.s. Ver. 15. But the former governors that luul hc-n before me wereehar^:eahle niito the people, and had taken of them bread and wine, lii-sides forty shekels of silver; yea, even their servants bare rule over the people: but so did not I, because of the fear of Dod. The demanding provisions with roughness and severity by such as travel under the direction of government, or authorized by government to do il, is at this day so prac- tised in the East, as greatly to illustrate several passa- ges of scripture. When the Baron De Toll was sent, in 17G7, to the chain of the Tartars, by the French ministry, as resident of France with that Tartar prince, he had a wikmanilar, or conductor, given him by the pacha of Kot- chim, upon his entering the Turkish territories, whose business it was to precede and prepare the way for him, as is usually done in those countries to amba.sf,adors, and such as travel gratis, at the expense of the porte, or Turk- ish court. This conductor, whose name, it seems, was Ali Aga, made great use of his whip, when he came among the poor Greeks of Moldavia, to induce them to furnish out that assistance and those provisions he wanted for the baron; for though it was represented as travelling at the expense of the porle, it was really at the expense of the inhabitants of those towns or villages to which he came. The baron appears to have been greatly hurl by that mode of procedure with those poor peasants, and would rather have procured what he wanted with his money, which he thought would be sulhcienlly eflicacious, if the command of the mikmandar should not be sufficient without the whip. The baron's account of the success of his eflbrls is a very droll one, which he has enlivened by throwing it into the form of dialiigues between himsell and the Greeks, and Ali Aga and those peasants, in which he has imitated the broken language the Greeks made use of, pretending not to understand Turkish, in order to make il more mirthlvil. It M'ould be much too long for these papers, and quite un- necessary for my design, to transcrine these dialogues; it is sufficient to say, that after the jealousy of the poor op- pressed Greeks of their being to be pillaged, or more heavi- ly loaded with demands by the Turks, had prevented their voluntarily supplying the baron for his money, Ali Aga undertook the business, and upon the Moldavian's pretend- ing not to understand the Turkish language, he knocked him down with his fist, and kept kicking him while he was rising; which brought him to complain, in good Turkish, of his beating him so, when he knew very well they were poor people, who were often in want of necessaries, and whose princes scarcely left them the air they breathed. "Pshaw! thou art joting, friend," was the reply of Ali Aga, "thou art in want of nothing, except of being well basted a little oftener ; but all in good lime. Proceed we to business. I must in.stantly have two sheep, a dozen of fowls, a dozen of pigeons, fitly pounds of bread, four oqucs of butter, with salt, pepper, nutmeg, cinnamon, lemons, wines, salad, and good oil of olive, all in great plenty." With tears ihe Moldavian replied, " I have alreadv told you that we are poor creatures, without so much as bread to eat. Where must we get cinnamon 1" The whip, it seems, was taken from under his habit, and the Moldavian beaten till he could bear it no longer, but was forced to fly, finding Ali Aga inexorable, and that these provisions must be produced; and, in fact, we are ttild, the quarter of an hour was not expired, wiiliiii which time Ali Aga required thai these things shouhl be produced, and affirmed to ihe baron that they would be brought before the primate, or chief of the Moldavians of that town, who had been so se- verely handled, assis'.ed by three of his countrymen ; all the provisions were brought, without forgelling even the cinnamon. May not this account be supposed to illustrate that pa.s- sage of Nemehiah, chap. v. 15 : The former gorcrnors thai had been before vie, were chnrgenble iiiito Ihe people, and had taken oj them bread aitit wine, besides fo?'ty shekels of siller : yen, eren their servants bare rule orcr the people : t»il so did not I, because of the fear of Ood. It is evident something oppressive is meant. And that it related to the taking bread from them, or eatables in general, together with wine, perhaps sheep, fowls, pigeons, butter, fruit, and other things, when probably they were travelling, or sojourning in some place at a distance from home. And that the like imperi- ous and unrighteous demand had, (idm time to time, been made upon them by the servants of these governors, whom they might have occasion to send about Ihe country. I cannot account for the setting down the precise number of f<.trtv, when speaking of shekels, but by supposing that Ihe word besides, here, tn ncher, should have been translated afterword, «hich il more commonly, if not more certainly, Chap. 6. NEHEMIAH. SIS signifies; and means, lliat after-ward they were wont to commute this demand for provisions into money, oHen amounting to forty shekels. It is certain it would not mean the whole annual allowance to the governor by the children of the captivity ; that would have been much too small; nor could it mean what every householder was to pay annually towards the governor's support, for fifty shekels was as much as each mighty man of wealth was assessed at by Menahera, when he wanted to raise a large sum of money for the king of Assyria, and when Israel was not in so low a state as in the time of Nehemiah : it must then, sure- ly, mean the value of that quantity of eatables and wine they might charge any town with, when single towns were charged with the support of the governor's table for a sin- gle repast, or a single day, which it is natural to suppose could only be when they thought fit to travel from place to place. This, it seems, their servants took the liberty too to require, when they were sent on a journey. And if they that belonged to the officers of the king of Persia enforced their requisitums in a manner similar to that made use of by the people belonging to the Turkish governors of prov- inces, when they travel on a public account ainong the Greeks of Moldavia, it is no wonder that Nehemiah ob- serves, with emotion, in this passage. Yea, even their ser- vants bare rule over the people; bill so did not /, beeause of the fear of God. — Harmer. Ver. 17. Moreover, there toere at my table a hun- dred and fifty of the Jews and rulers, besides those that came luito us from among the heathen that are about us. 18. Now (hat which was prepared for me daily urns one o.\ and s\\ choice sheep ; also fowls Avere prepared for me, and once in ten day.s store of all sorts of wine: yet for all this required not I the bread of the gov- ernor, because the bondage was heavy upon this people. Nehemiah calculated the eipenses of his table, not by the money he paid, but by the provisions consumed by his guests. Such is still the practice in the East. So Dc la Motraye informs us of the seraglio at Constantinople: " One may judge of the numbers who live in this palace, by the prodigious quantity of provisions consumed in it yearly, which some of the haltchis, or cooks, assured me amounted to more than 30,0tW oxen, '20,000 calves, 00,000 sheep, 16,000 lambs 10,000 kids, 100,000 turkeys, geese, and goslings, 200,000 fowls and chickens, 100,000 pigeons, without reckoning wild-fowl or fish, of the last of which he only named 130,000 calcam-bats, or tnrbots." — Burder. CHAPTER VI. Ver. 5. Then sent Sanballat his servant unto me, in like manner, the fifth time, with an open letter in his hand. A letter has its Hebrew name from the circumstance of its being rolled or folded together. The modern Arabs roll up their letters, and then flnlicn them to the breadth of an inch, and instead of .sealing them, paste up then' ends. The Persians make up Iheir letters in a roll about sue inches long, a bit of paper is fastened round it with gum, and sealed with an impression of ink. In Turkey, letters are commonly sent to persons of distinction in a bag or purse ; to equals they are also enclosed, but to inferiors, or those who are held in conlempi, they are sent open or unenclosed. This explains Ihe reason of Nehemiah's observation: " Then .sent Sanballat his servant unto me, with an open letter in his hand." In refusing him the mark of respect usually paid to persons of his station, and treating him con- temptuously, by sending the letter without the customary appendages, when presented to persons of respectability, Sanballat olfored him a deliberate insult. Had this open letter come from Geshein,who was an Arab, it might have passed unnoticed, but as it came from Sanballat, ihc gov- ernor had reason to expect the ceremony of enclosing it in a bag, since he wa.s a person of distinction in the Persian court, and at that time governor of Jiidea. — Paxton. Nordcn tells us, that when ho and his company were at Essauen, an express arrived there, despatched by an Arab prince, who brought a letter directed to the reys, (or mas- ter of their barque,) enjoining him not to set out with his barque, or carry them any farther, adding, that in a day's time he should be at Essauen, and there would give his orders relative to them. " The letter, howeyer, accord- ing to the usage of the Turks," says this author, " was open ; and as the reys was not on board, the pilot carried it to one of our fathers to read it." Sanballat's sending his servant, then, with an open letter, which is mentioned Neh. vi. 5, doth not appear an odd thing, it should seem ; but if it was according to their usages, why is this circum- stance complained of, as it visibly isl Why indeed is it mentioned at all ! Why ! because, however the sending letters open to common people may be customary in these countries, it is not according to their usages to send them so to people of distinction. So Dr. Pococke, in his account of that very country where Norden was when this letter was brought, gives us, among other things, in the 57ih plate, the figure of a Turkish letter put into a satin bag, to be sent to a great man, with a paper tied to it, directed and sealed, and an ivory buHon lied on the wax. So Lady Montague says, the hassa of Belgrade's answer to the Eng- lish ambassador, going to Constantinople, was brought to him in a purse of scarlet satin. The great emir, indeed, of the Arabs, according to D'Arvieux, was not wont to en- close his letters in these bags, any more than to have them adorned with flourishes ; but that is supposed to have been owing to the unpolilcness of the Arabs ; and he tells us, that when he acted as secretary to the emir, he supplied these defects, and that his doing so was highly acceptable to the emir. Had this open letter, then, come from Geshem, who was an Arab, it might have passed unnoticed; hut as it was from Sanballat, the enclosmg it in a handsome bag was a ceremony Nehemiah had rea.son to expect from him, since he was a person of distinction in the Persian court, and then governor of Judea ; and the not doing it was the greatest insult, insinuating, that though Nehemiah wa.s, according to him, preparing to assume the royal dignity, he should be so far from acknowledging him in that charac- ter, that he would not even pay him the compliment due to every person of distinction. Ghardin gives us a like account of the eastern letters, adding this circumstance, that those that are unenclosed as sent to common peo- ple, are usually rolled up ; in which form their paper com- monly appears. A letter in the form of a small roll of pa- per, would appear very odd in our eyes, but it seems is very common there. If this is the true representation of the af- fair, commentators have given but a poor account of it. San- ballat sent him a message, says one of Ihem, " pretend- ing, it is likely, special respect and kindness unto him, in- forming him what was laid to his charge." So far Mr. Harmer. Contrast with this open letter to Nehemiah Ihe closed, rolled, or folded letter, sent by Sennacherib to Hezekjah, 2 Kings xix. 14. We read, verse 0, " He sent messen- gers to Hezekiah, saying" — " And Hezekiah received the [scpher} kftrr at the hantl of the messenger, and read it ; and Hezekiah went up into Ihe house of the Lord, and spread it bclbre the Lord." It was therefore folded or roll- ed, and no doubt enclosed in a proper envelope; and I wonhl not be certain whether this action of taking a letter from its case is not expressed here by Ihe wordfowA, which signifies to divide, to separate. Consider also the pa.ssage, Isaiah xxix. 11 : " Ann the vision shall he to you, as the word of a [sephcr, the same as Ihe letter spread by Hezekiah] letter that is scaled — sealed up in a bag, closely — which is given to a man of learning to read, but he says, ' It is sealed' — how should I know what information It contains'? I merely can discover to whom it is directed ;" while the unlearned cannot even read the address. We see such occurrences daily in Ihe sireets of London : messengers sent with lelters, desire passengers to read the direclions for them. — Observe, the messengers sent to Hezekiah are described as saying, when in fact, they say nothing, but only deliver a letter containing the message. — Taylor in Calmet. CHAPTER VL Ver. 10. Afterward I came unto the house of Shemaiah, the son of Delaiah, the son of Me- hetabeel, who was shut up ; and he said. Let us 316 NEHEMIAH. Chap. 7—13. meet together in the house of God, witliin the temple ; and let us shut the doors ol the tem- ple : for they will come to slay thee ; yea, in the night they will coine to slay thee. By the house of God, mlhin the Umple, (as it is in llie text, Nehem. vi. 10,) Shemaiah certainly meant the sanctuary ; and to advise Ncheniiah to retreat thiilier, lie had a f,'ood £retence, because it was bulh a strong and a sacred place, King defended by a !,'nard of Levites, and, by its holiness, privileged from all rude approaches ; but his real design herein might be, not only to disgrace Neheiniah, and dis- hearten the people, when they .saw their governor's cow- ardice, but to prepare the way likewise lor the enemies' assaulting and taking the city, when there was no leader to oppose them ; to give countenance to the calumny that had been .spread abroad, of his affecting to be made king, because he fled upon the report of it ; and perhaps, by the assistance of some other priests, that were his confederates, cither to destroy him, or to secure his person until the city was betrayed iiito the enemies' hands. — Stackhouse. CHAPTER VII. Ver. 1. Now it came to pass, when the wall was built, and I had set up the doors, and the porters, and the singers, and the Levites were appointed, 2. That I gave my brother Hanani, and Hana- niah the ruler of the palace, charge over Jeru- saleiTi ; (for he was a faithful man, and feared God above many.) Nehemiah, ver)' likely, was now returning to Shushan, to give the king an account of the state of affairs in Judea; and therefore he took care to place such men in the city as he knew would faithfully secure it in his absence. Hanani is said to be his brother; but he chose his officers, not out of partial views to his own kindred, but because he knew that they would acquit themselves in their employment W'ith a strict fideliiy. Hanani had given proof of his zeal for God and his country, in his taking a tedious journey from Jerusalem to Shushan, to inform Nehemiah of the sad state of Jerusalem, and to implore his helping hand to relieve it, chap. i. And the reason why Nehemiah put such trust and confidence in Hananiah, was, because he was a man of conscience, and acted upon religious princi- ples, which would keep him from those temptations to per- fidiousness, which he might probably meet with in his absence, and against which a man destitute of the fear of God has no sulficient fence. — Stackhouse. Ver. 3. And I said unto them. Let not the gates of Jerusalem be opened until the sun be hot ; and while they stand by, let them shut the doors, and bar l/icm : and appoint watches of the inhabitants of Jerusalein, every one in his watch, and every one to he over against his house. In the hot countries of the East, they frequently travel in the night, and arrive at midnight at the place of their destination. Luke xi. 5. Mark .liii. 35. Probably they did not therefore usually shut their gates at the going down of the sun, if they did so at all ihrongh the night. Thevenot could nut, however, obtain admission into Suez in the night, and was forced to wait some hours in the cold, without the walls. Doubdan, returning from the river Jordan to Jerusalem, in 11)52, tells us, that when he and his companions arrived in the valley of Jehoshaphat, thev were much surprised to find that the gales of the city were shut, which obliged them to Ind^e on the ground at the door of the seprilchre of the Blessed Virgin, to wait for the re- turn of day, along with more than a thousand other people, who were obliged to continue there the rest of the night, as well as they. At length, about four o'clock, seeing every- body making for the city, thev also set forward, with the design of entering by St. Stephen's gate ; but they found it .shut, and above two thousand people, who were jhere in wailing, without knowing the cause of all this. At first they thought it might be too early, and that it was not cus- tomary to open so soon : but an hour after a report was .spread that the inhabitants had shut their gates because the pea.sants of the country about, had formed a design of pil- laging the city in the absence of the governor and of nis guards, and that as soon as he should arrive, the gales should be opened. — Burder. Ver. 4. Now the city was large and great, hut the people were few therein, and the houses vere not built. One reason why the bulk of the Jews (who were origin- ally pastural, and lovers of agriculture) might rather choose to live in the country than at Jerusalem, was, because it was more suited to their genius and manner of life; but at this time their enemies were so enraged to .see the walls built again, and so restless in their designs to keep the city from rising to its former splendour, that it terrified many from coming to dwell there, thinking themselves more safe in the country, where their enemies had no pretence to dis- turb them. — Stackhouse. CHAPTER VJIl. Ver. 10. Then he said unto them. Go your way, eat the fat, and drink the sweet, and send por- tions unto them for whom nothing is prepared ; for this day is holy unto our Lord; neither be ye sorry ; for the joy of the Lord is your strength. The eastern princes, and the eastern people, not only invite their friends to feasts, but it is their custom to send a portion of the banquet to those that cannot well come to it, especially their relations, and those in a slate of mourning. This sending of portions to those for whom nothing was prepared, has been understood by those commentators I nave consulted, to mean the poor ; sending portion.s, how- ever, to one another, is e.\pressly distinguished in Esth. ix. a, from fsifls to the poor. There would not have been the shadow of'a difficulty in this, had the historian been speaking of a private feast, but he is describing a national festival, where every one was supposed to be equally con- cerned : those, then, for n-hom twlhivg was prepared, it should seem, means those that were in a state of mourning. Mourning for private calamities being here supposed to take place of rejoicing for public concerns. Bnt it is not only to those that are in a state of mourning that provisions are sometimes sent ; others are honoured by princes in the same manner, who could not conveniently attend to the royal table, or to whom it was supposed not lobe convenient. So when the grand emir found it incommoded Monsieur D'Arvieux to eat with him, he complaisantly desired him 10 take his own time for eating, and sent him what he liked from his kitchen, and at the time he cho.se. And ihus, when King David would needs suppose, for secret reasons, too well known to himself, that it would be inconvenient for Uriah to continue at the royal palace, and therefore dis- missed him to his own house, " there followed him a mess of meal from the king." 2 Sam. xi. 8, 10.— Harmer. Ver. 37. And it yieldeth much increase unto the kings whom thou hast set over us because of our sins : also they have doiuinion over our bodies, and over our cattle, at their pleasure, and we are in great distress. hese people attribute all their losses and afflictions to ■ SINS. Has a man lost his wife or child, he says, " En- These their i pdrntin-nemitiiom, for the sake of my sins, this evil has come upon me." " Whv, friend, do yo" live in this strange land V " Because of my sins.'' No people can refer more to sin as the source of Iheir mi.sery, and yet none appear more anxious lo commit it. " The sins of my ancestors, the sins of my ancestors, are in this habiiation," says the old sinner, who wishes lo escape the sighl of his own. — Roberts. CHAPTER XIII. Ver. 15. In those days saw I in Jiidah some tread- in" wine-presses on the sabbath, and bringing Chap. 13. NEHEMIAH. in sheaves, and lading- asses; as also wine, grapes, and figs, and all manner of burdens, which they brought into Jerusalem on the sab- bath-day : and 1 testified against th»m in the day wherein they sold victuals. In peaceful time,?, the press in which the grapes and ohves were trodden, was constructed in the vineyard; but in time of war and danger, it was removed into the nearest cily. This precaution the restored captives were reduced to lake for iheir .safety, at the time they were visited by Ne- hemiah. In a stale of great weakness themselves, without an efficient government or means of defence, they were ex- posed to the hostile machinations of numerous and power- ful enemies. For this reason, many of the Jews brought their grapes from the vineyards, and trod them in Jeru.sa- '" The Syriac runs to the same effect, while Ihe Chaldee paraphrasi translates, " Hast thou not overcovered him with Ihy word ?" In the latter clause of this verse, the words, " increased in Ihe land," are, in the Hebrew, " overflowed the land." Our common version merely gives the sense of the original, without the figure, whose force and elegance render it highly worthy of being retained. The Hebrew (yti) jicraz does not simply mean to increase, but to burH or break forth as a torrent ; and hence to orerjlow or exundate its lioun- daries. The word is used in the same rendering in many parts of the Bible, in which it cannot be otherwise Irans- lalcd. The following instance may suffice, from the stan- dard English text, 2"Sam. v. '20: " The Lord hath broken forth upon mine enemies before me, as the breach of waters : "therefore he called the name of that place Ban I -FEitAzm." The Arabians employ, to this hour, the very same term to express the mouth or embouchure, the most rapid and irre- sistible part of a stream, in proof of which, Golius, with much pertinency, brings llie following counlel from Gjan- hari, the whole' of which is highly applicable, and where the word mouth, in the second line, is in Ihe original ex- pressed by this very term : — "His rustiins wcaltli o'crflmved Iiim with its heaps: So, at its mout/i, the mad Eiii>tiratcs .s\vcci)s." Dr. Slock has caught something of the idea, though it is not so clearly expressed as it might have been: " And Ills possessions burst out tlirongti (tic land." So the versions of Junius and TremcUius, and Piscalor, "Etpccnsejus in viiiltiludinnn crupcrit in terra" — "Ann his cattle, for multitude, have bursl forth through the land." nipo sulistancc or possession, is often used for cattle, as the earliest substance or possession. So cattle, among our- selves, is said by the etymologists to be derived from capi- tal in. — Good. Ver. 12. And the Lord said unto Satan, Behold, all that he hath is in thy power ; only tipon hiiTiself put not forth thine hand. So Satan went forth from the presence of the Lord. Chap. 1. JOB. 325 The subject proposed by tlie writer of the ensuing poem is the trial and triumph of the integrity of Job ; a character of whose origin no certain documents have descended to us, but who, at the period in question, was chief magistrate, or emir, as we shouki style him in the present day, of the city of Uz; powerful and prosperous beyond all the sons of the East, and whose virtue and piety were as eminently distinguished as his rank. Of the four characters intro- duced into the poem, as his friends, Eliphaz, Bildad, Zophar, and Elihu, the lirst three are denominated, in all the Greek translations of the poem, kings of the respective cities or districts to which their names are prefixed ; and the last is particularized, in the Chaldee paraphrase, as a relation of Abraham, and was probably, therefore, a des- cendant of Buz, the second son of Nahor, the brother of Abraham, as conjectured by Bochart. There are some critics, however, and of great distinction for learning and piety, who, in opposition to these biographical remarks, contend that the whole of the poem, as well in its charac- ters as in its structure, is fabulous. Snch especially is the opinion of Professor Michaelis, whose chief arguments are derived from the nature of ihe exordium, in which Satan appears as the accuser of Job; from the temptations and sufferings permitted by the great Governor of the world to befall an upright character; from the roundness of the numbers by which the patriarch's possessions are described, as seven thousand, three thousand, one thousand, and five hundred ; and from the years he is said to have lived after his recovery from disease. It may perhaps be thought to demand a more subjugating force than is lodged in these arguments, to transmute into fable what has uni- formly been regarded as fact, both in Europe and Asia, for perhaps upwards of four thousand years ; ■i\-liich appears to have descended as fact, in a regular stream of belief, in the very country which forms the scene of the history, from the supposed time of its occurrence to the present day ; the chief character in which is represented as having had an actual existence, and is often associated with real char- acters, as Noah, Abrahain, Ismael, Isaac, Jacob, and So- lomon, in various parts of the book which is there held most sacred, and which, so far as it is derived from nation- al history or tradition, is entitled to minute attention ; and (which should seem long since to have settled the question definitely) a character which, precisely in the .same man- ner, is associated with real characters in the authoritative pages of the Old Testament. " It is altogether incredible," observes M. Michaelis, " that such a conversation ever took place bet^veen the Almighty and Satan, who is supposed to return with news froin the' terrestrial regions." But why should such a conversation bo supposed incredible t The auempt at wit in this passage is somewhat out of place; for tlic interrogation of the Almighty, " Hast thou fixed thy view upon my servant Job, a perfect and upright man 1" instead of aiming at the acquisition of news, is intended as a severe and most appropriate sarcasm upon the fallen spirit. " Hast thoc, who, with superior faculties and a rnore comprehensive knowledge of my will, hast not con- tinued perfect and upright, fi.xed thv view upon a subordi- nate being, far weaker and less informed than thyself, who has continued so V The attendance of the apostate at the tribunal of the Almighty is plainly designed to show us, that good and evil angels are equally amenable to him, and e<|ually subject to his authority; — a doctrine common to every part of the Jewish and Christian scriptures, and, ex- cept in the mythology of the Parsees, recognised by perhaps every anci;'nt system of religion whatever. The part as- signoil to Satan in Ihe present work is that expressly as- signed to him in the case of Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden, and of our Saviour in the wilderness ; and Which is assigned to him generally, in regard to mankind at large, by all the Evangelists and Apostles, whose writings have reached us, both in their strictest historical narratives, and closest arguiTientalive inductions. And, hence, the argu- ment which should induce us to regard the present passage as fabtilous, should induce us to regard all the rest in the .-%ame light, which are imbued with the .same doctrine; — a view of the subject which would sweep into nothingness a much larger portion of the Bible llian I am confident M. Michaelis would choose to part with. The other argu- ments are comparatively of siuall moment. We want not fable to tell us that good and upright men inay occasionally become the victims of accumulated calamities; for it is a living fact, wliich, in the m)'stery of providence, is perpet- ually occurring in every country : while as to the round- ness of the numbers by which the patriarch's possessions are described, nothing could have been more ungraceful or superfluous than for the poet to have descended to units had even the literal numeration demanded it. And, al- though he is stated to have lived a hundred and forty years after his restoration to prosperity, and in an era in which the duration of man did not perhaps much exceed that of the present day, it should be recollected, that in his person, as well as in his property, he was specially gifted by the Almighty : that, from various passages, he seems to have been j^ounger than all the interlocutors, except Elihu, and much younger than one or two of them ; that his longevity is particularly remarked, as though of more than usual ex- tent ; and that, even in the present age of the world, we have well-authenticated instances of persons having lived, in.different parts of the globe, to the age of a hundred and fifly, a hundred and sixty, and even a hundred and seventy years. It is not necessary for the historical truth of the book of Job, that its language should be a direct transcript of that actually employed by the difl'erent characters introduced into it ; for in such case we should scarcely have a single book of real history in the world. The Iliad, Shah Nameh, and the Lusiad, must at once drop all pretensions to such a description; and even the pages of Sallust and Cesar, of Rollin and Hume, must stand upon very questionable au- thority. It is enough that the real sentiment be given, and the general style copied: and this, in truth, is all that is aimed at, not only in our best reports of parliamentary speeches, but, in many instances, (which indeed is much more to the purpose.) by the writers of the New Testament, in their quotations from the Old. The general scope and moral of the ensuing poem, namely, that the troubles and affliction of the good man are, for the most part, designed as tests of his virtue and integrity, out of which be will at length emerge with additional splendour and happiness, are common to eastern poets, and not uncommon to those of Greece. The Odyssey is expressly constructed upon such a basis; and, like the poem before us, has every appear- ance of being founded upon real historj', and calls in to its aid the macliinery of a sublime and supernatural agency. But in various respects the poem of Job stands alone and unrivalled. In addition to every corporeal suffering and privation which it is possible for man to endure, it carries forward the trial, in a manner and to an extent which has never been attempted elsewhere, into the keenest faculties and sensations of the mind; and mixes the bitterest taunts and accusations of friendship, with the agonies of family bereavement and despair. 'The body of other poems con- sists chiefly of incidents ; that of the present poem of col- loquy or argument, in which the general train of reason- ing is so w'ell sustained, its mauer so important, its language so ornamented, the doctrines it develops so sublime, its transitions from passion to passion so varied and abrupt, that the want of incidents is not felt, and the attention is still riveted, as by enchantment. In other poems, the su- pernatural agencyis fictitious, and often incongruous : here Ihe whole is solid reality, supported, in its grand outline by the concurrent testimony of every other part of the scriptures; an agency not obtru.sively introduced, but de- manded by the magnitude of the occasion ; and as much more exalted and magnificent than every other kind of similar interference, as it is more veritable and solemn. The suffbring hero is sublimely called forth to the perform- ance of his part, in the presence of men and of angels ; each becomes inleresled, and equally interested, in his conduct ; the Almighty a.ssents to the trial, and for a period wilhdraws his divine aid; the malice of Satan is in its full career of activity ; hell hopes, earth trembles, and every good spirit is suspended with awful anxiety. The wreck of his substance is in vain ; the wreck of his family is in vain ; the scalding sores of a corroding leprosy are in vain ; the artillery of ijisulis, reproaches, and railing, poured forth from the mouth of bosom friends, are in vain. Though at times put in some degree off his guard, the holy sufferer is never completely overpowered. He .sustains the shock without yielding : he still holds fast his integrity. Thus terminates the trial of faith : — Satan is confounded; fidelity triumphs; and the Almighty, with a magnificence well worthy of the occasion, unveils his resplendent iri- 326 JOB. Chap. 2. bunal, and crowns the afflicted champion with his ap- plause. This poem has been generally supposed to possess a dra- matic character, cither of a more or a less perfect degree ; but, in order to give it such a pretension, it has uniformly been found necessary lo strip it of its magnificent exordium and close, which are unquestionably narrative ; and even then the dramatic cast is so singularly interrupted by the appearance of the bislorinn himself, at the commencement of every speech, to inform us of the name of the person who is about to take up the argumeni, that many critics, and among the rest Bishop Lowlh, are doubtful of the propriety of referring it to this department of poetry, though they do not know where else to give it a place. In the present writer's view of the subject, it is a regular Hebrew epic ; and, were it necessary to enter so minutely into the ques- tion, it might easily be proved to possess all the more prom- inent features of an epic, as collected and laid down bj' Aristotle himself; such as unity, completion, and grandeur in its action ; loftiness in its .sentiments and language ; mul- titude and variety in the pa.ssions which it develops. Even the characters, though not numerous, are discriminated, and well supported ; the milder and more modest temper of Eliphaz is well contrasted with the forward and unre- strained violence of Bildad ; the terseness and brevity of Zophar with the pent-up and overflowing fulness of Elihu ; while in Job himself we perceive a dignity of mind that nothing can humiliate, a firmness that nothing can subdue, still habitually disclosing themselves, amid-st the mingled tumult of hope, fear, rage, tenderness, triumph, and de- spair, with which he is alternately distracted. I throw out this hint, however, not with a view of ascribing any addi- tional merit to the poem itself, but merely lo observe, .so far as a single fact is possessed of authority, that mental taste, or the internal discernment of real beauty, is the same in all ages and nations ; and that the rules of the Greek critic are deduced from a principle of universal impulse and operation. Nothing can have been more unfortunate for this most excellent composition, than its division into chapters, and especially such a division as that in common use ; in which not only the unity of the general subject, hut, in many in- stances, that of a single paragraph, or even of a single clause, is completely broken in upon and destroyed. The natural division, and that which was unquestionably in- tended by its author, is into si.r parts, or books; for iii this order it .still continues to run, notwithstanding all the confu- sion it has encountered by sub-arrangements. These six parts are, An openmg or exordium, containing the intro- ductory history and decree concerning Job ;— three distinct series of arguments, in each of which the speakers are re- gidarly allotted their respective turns; — the summing up of the cointrover.sy; — and the close or catastrophe, consisting of the suffering hero's grand and glorious acquittal, and res- toration to prosperity and happiness. — Good. Ver. 14. And there came a messenger unto .Tob, and said, The o.xen were ploughing, and the asses feeding beside them. Heb. " She-asses." In our common version, which seems borrowed from Tyndal, o.ww; yet why the sex, which is so expressly mentioned in the original and the Septuagint, and is copied into every version with which I am acquaint- ed, excepting these two, should be here suppressed, I know not. Female asses, on account of their milk, were much more highly esteemed, at all limes, in the East, than males, a few of which only appear to have been kept for continu- ing the breed ; and hence, perhaps, they are not noticed in ver. 3 of this chapter, which gives us a catalogue of the patriarch's live-stock. Shc-a.s,ses, moreover, on "account of their milk, were generallv preferred for travelling. The ass of Balaam is expressly declared to have been female, Numb. xxii. 21 ; as is that of Abraham, Gen. xxii.3.— Goon. Ver. 1.5. And the Saboans fell vpnn them, and took them away ; yea, they have slain the servants with the edge of the sword ; and I only am es- caped alone to tell thee. Heb. " And the Sabean rushed forth" — a poetic expres- sion for " the Sabcans," or " Sabean tribe.'' The Syriac version gives us, " a band or company rushed forth," the word Sabean being omitted. Saba, or Sheba, was a town or city of Arabia Deseria; and the Sabeans and Chal- deans were wont to wander in distinct bands or hordes, upon predatory excursions, over the whole of the border country, and perhaps, at times, as far as from the banks of the Euphrates to the outskirts of Egypt. The Bedouin Arabs of the present day present us with the best specimens of these parties of irregular plunderers. Both are equally entitled to the appellation of Kedarines ; the root of which, in Arabic as well as in Hebrew, implies a.wot/W, incvrnon, tiimvU; and both either have employed, or still continue to employ, as a covering for their tents, a coarse brown hair cloth, obtained from their dark-coloured and shaggy goats : whence the fair bride of Solomon, in the song of songs,— " Brown am I, but comely, O ye daugtitere of Jerusalem ! As the tents of Kedar." Good. Ver. 20. Then Job arose, and rent his mantle, and shaved his head, and fell down upon the ground, and worshipped. These are two of the actions by which great distress or agony of mind has, in all ages, been accustomed to be ex- pressed in the Ea.st. In addition to these, sometimes the hair of the beard was also shaven or plucked of!', as was done by Ezra, on his arrival at Jerusalem, on finding that the Hebrews, instead of keeping themselves a distinct and holy people, after their return from captivity, had in- termixed with the nations around them, and plunged into all their abominations and idolatries. Ezra ix. 3. And sometimes, instead of shaving the hair of the head, the mourner, in the fulness of his humiliation and self-abase- ment, threw the dust, in which he sat, all over him, and purposely covered his hair with it. See Job ii. 1'2. After shaving the head, when this sign of distress was adopted, a vow was occasionally oflfered to the Almighty, in the hope of obtaining deliverance. This seems to have been a frequent custom with St. Paul, who did both, as well at Cenchrea as at Jerusalem, and in both places probably on this very account. See Acts xviii. 18. andxxi. 24. — Goon. CHAPTER II. Ver. 4. And Satan answered the Lord, and said. Skin for skin ; yea, all that a man hatli will he give for his life. The Arabs set the exploits of their chiefs in the dialogue form, like the book of Job. The Cingalese often spend hours at night in reciting alternately the exploits of Bu'dhu, and of their gods and devils. I have ofien been disturbed by them. This passage, imperfectly explained by most commentators, is, by Mr. Robinson, set in so clear a light, that the reader will be better satisfied with a quotation, than an abridgment. " Before the invention of money, Inuie used to be carried on by barter, that is, by exchanging one commodity for another. The man who had been hunting in the woods for wild beasts, would carry their skins to market, .nnd exchange thcmwith the armourer for so many bows and arrows. As these tralTickers were liable to be robbed, they sometimes agreed to give a party of men a share for defending them; and skins were a very ancient tribute. With them they redeemed their own shares of property and their lives. It is to one or both of these cus- toms, that the text alludes, as a proverb. Imagine one of these primitive fairs. A multitude of people from all parts, of different tribes and languages, in a broad field, all over- spread with various commodilies to be exchanged. Imagine this fair to be held after a good hunting season, and a bad harvest. The skinners are numerous, and clothing cheap. AVlieat, the slnff of life, is scarce, and the whole fair dread a famine. How many skins this year will a man give for this necessaiy article, without which, he and his family must inevitably die 1 Why, each would add to the heap, and put 'skin upon skin, for all' the skins 'that a roan hath, will he give for his life.' Imagine the wheat growers, of whom Job was one, carrying home the skins, which they had taken for wheat. Imagine the party engaged lo protect them, raising the tribute, and threatening if it were not paid, to put them to death. What proportion of skins would these merchants give, in this case of necessity 1 Hkin vpon Chap. 2. JOB. 327 skin, all the skins thai they have, will they give forlhcir lives. The proverb then means, that we should save our lives at any price." — Callaway. Ver. 7. So went Satan forth from the presence of the Lord, and smote Job with sore biles, from the sole of his foot unto his crown. Respectable people have the greatest possible dread and disgust at biles, and all cutaneous diseases. Here, then, we see the princely Job the victim of a loathsome disorder, sitting among the ashes and broken earthen vessels, the impure refuse of the kitchen and other places. See the poor neglected object who is labouring under similar diseases at this day, from the head to the foot ; he is cov- ered with scales and blotches, around his loins is a scanty rag, he wanders from one lonely place to another, and when he sees you, stretches oat a hand towards you, and another to his sores, and piteously implores help ! — Roberts. Ver. 7. So went Satan forth from the presence of the Lord, and smote Job with sore biles, from the sole of his foot unto his crown. 8. And he took him a potsherd to scrape himself withal ; and he sat down among the ashes. A remarkable disease mentioned in the scriptures is that which was inflicted on Job, and of which he so feelingly complains in several parts of his book. Commentators have dilTered as to its peculiar nature; but the best in- formed have lixed upon elephaiiiiasis, as a disease well known in eastern countries, and corresponding with the hints which Job gives of it in his conversations with his friends. The following is an abridgment of what is said of it by Dr. Heberden and Michaelis. It begins with a sudden eruption of tubercles or tumours of different sizes, of a red colour, attended with great heat and itching, on different parts of the body, and a degree of fever, by which the skin acquires a remarkably shining appearance; but when the fever abates, the tubercles become either indolent knots, or in some degree scirrhous, and of a livid or copper colour ; and after some months they degenerate into letid ulcers. As the disease advances, the features of the face swell, the hair of the eyebrows falls off, the voice becomes hoarse, tlie breath exceedingly offensive, the skin of the body is unu.sually loose, wrinkled, rough, destitute of hairs, and overspread with tumours, and often with ulcers, or else with a thick, moist, scabby crust, upon tho.se which have begun to dry up; and the legs are sometimes emaciated and ulcerated, sometimes affected with tumours, without ulceration, and sometimes swelled like posts, and indurated, having very thin scales, apparently much finer than those in leprosy, only not so white ; while the soles of the feet, being thicker than the rest of the skin, feel peculiarly pained by the tumours and ulcers. Such is the slate of those afflicted with elephantiasis; nor have they even inter- missions of ease by refreshing rest ; for as their days are rendered wretched by the distension of the skin by tumours, and a succession of burning, ill-conditioned ulcers, so their nights are tormented by peqietual restlessness or frightful dreams. The accuser of the brethren, therefore, evidently sliowed his sagacity and malice, when he selected this as the most likely means to provoke Job to impatience. But having described the leading features of the disea.se, let us ne.xt attend to the hints that are given us in the book of Job, and see whether the one corresponds with the other. In ch. ii. 7, 8, we are told, that "Satan smote Job with sore biles, from the sole of his foot even to his crown; and that he look a potsherd to scrape himself" This is evidently descriptive of elephantiasis, in its mo.st active and rapid stale, when the body is covered with tumours, which break into ulcers, and the skin becomes scaly. In ch. vi. 1, Job complain.s, that "the arrows of the Almighty were within liim, and that the poison thereof drank up his spirit ;" thereby comparing the pain he felt to that experienced from poisoned arrows; while the infection of the disease, like the influence of poison, spreads itself over the whole frame. It was formerly mentioned as an attendant on ele- phantiasis, that the patient could obtain no refreshing sleep, but was tormented with restlessness and frightful dreams. Accordingly, Job, in ch. vii. 3, 1, 13, 11, 15, complains in the following mournful manner : " I am made to possess months of vanity, and wearisome nights are appointed to me. When I lie down, I say. When shall I arise, and the night be gone ■? and I am full of tossings to and fro unto the dawning of the day. — When I say, IVIy bed shall com- fort me, my couch shall ease my complaint ; then thou scarest me with dreams, and lerrifiest me through visions : so that my soul chooseth strangling, and death rather than my life." The itchiness of ill-conditioned ulcers has often been ascribed to animalculse, and their stench is intolera- ble. Accordingly, Job says, in ch. vii. 5, " My flesh is clothed with worms and clods of dust : my skin is broken, and become loathsome." It was said that the tumours and ulcers were peculiarly painful on the soles of the feet, from the thickness of the skin in those parts; and to that he refers in ch. xiii. 27, where he says, " Thou settest a print upon the heels of my feet;" literally, "Thou imprintest thyself, that is, thy wrath, on the soles of my feet." It was noticed that the skin in elephantiasis, when the disease hath become general, is loose, rough, and wrinkled ; and Job, ch. xvi. 8, complains of this very thing, that " his skin was filled with wrinkles." An offensive breath was noticed as another evil imder which the patient laboured ; and this was the case with Job, for he complains, in ch. xvii. 1, that " his breath was corrupt ; that his days were extinct ; and thai the grave was ready for him," as for a putrid carcass ; adding in verse 44th, " I have said to corruption. Thou art my father; and to the worm, thou art my mother and my sister." The only other notice we have of the disease is in ch. XXX. 17, 30, where we hear him complaining that his bones were pierced with acute pain in the night season; and that his sinews, by their starting, gave him no rest; that his skin was black upon him; and his bones were burnt up with heat; all which accord well with the disease in question, when it hath laken possession of the system, and hath filled the body with livid, copper-coloured, scir- rhous tumours, or black corrupted ulcers. Upon the whole, then, it appears probable, that the disease with which Job was afflicted was elephantiasis. — Brown. Ver. 8. And he took him a potsherd to scrape himself withal ; and he sat down among the ashes. This self-abasement appears to have been common among the Hebrews, as well as the Arabians or Idumceans, and was so probably among other oriental nations of high anti- quity, in cases "of deep and severe affliction. The coarsest dress, as of hair or sackcloth, was worn on such occasions; and the vilest and most humiliating situation, as a dust or cinder-heap, surrounded by potsherds and other household refuse, made choice of to sit in. It may easily be conjec- tured what considerable quantities of potsherds, or frag- ments of pottery, must have been collected in the dust-heaps above referred to, from a recollection, that in the earlier ages of the world, when the art of metallurgy was but in its infancy, almost all the domestic utensils employed for every purpose were of pottery alone. Pottery may hence be fairly supposed the oldest of the mechanical inventions : and on this account the Hebrew term here made use of, (^'•^^, a potler, pottery, or potsherds,) became afterward extended to signify wares of every other kind, or their fabricators, and hence artisans in general, whether in brass, iron, wood, or stone. The same word also, when used in the signification of a potsherd, a fragment or splinter of pottery, was also employed to import a sharp instrument in general, as a rasp, scraper, or scalpel, a sense in which it has to this day descended to the Arabs; for the Arabic word, (identically, as to letters, the same as the Hebrew w^n,) as a verb, implies to scrape or rasp with an edged tool, (the purpose to which the win or shard, was directed in the text;) and, as a substantive, a scab, or sharp and morbid incrustation of the skin — the object to which it was applied. — Good. Ver. 9. Then said his wife unto him. Dost thou still retain thine integrity? Curse God, and Some .suppose this ought to be, bless God and die; but Job would not have reproved his wife for such advice, ex- cept she meant it ironically. It is a fact, that when the 328 JOB. Chap. 3. heathen have lo pass ihiough much siiflering, ihcy often ask, " Shall we make an ollerinf; to the uoils lor this V' i. e. Shall we olftr our devotions, our gratitude, lor alHieiionsI Job was a servant of the true God, bill his wife might have been a heathen; and then the advice, in its most literal acceptation, would be i)erfectly in character. Nothing is more common than for the heathen, under certain circum- stances, lo curse their gods. Hear the man who has made expensive offerings to his deity, in hope of gaining some great blessing, and who has been disappointed, and he will pour out all his imprecations on the god whose good devotee (V. Chetty) of the supreme god Siva, after he had lost his property, "shall I serve him any more'! What! make olferings to him? No, no; he is the lowest of all gods." With these facts before us, it is not difficult to believe that Job's wife actually meant what she said.— ROBEIITS. Vcr. 10. But he said unto her. Thou speakest as one of the foolish women speaketh. What ! shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil ? In all this did not Job sin with his lips. It is not easy to know to whom Job alludes by " the foolish women;" but in all pans of the East, females are spoken of as being much inferior to man in wisdom ; and nearly all their sages have proudly descanted on the igno- rance of women. In the Hindoo book called the Kiirral, it is said, " All women are ignorant." In other works it is said, "Ignorance is a woman's jewel." "Female wis- dom is from the evil one." " The feminine qualities are four; ignorance, fear, shame, and impunity." "To a woman disclose not a secret." " Talk not to me in that way ; it is all female wisdom." — Robert.s. Sanctius thinks that Job refers to the Iduniean women, who, like other heathens, when their gods did not please them, or they could not obtain of them what they desired, would reproach and cast Ihem away, and throw them into the fire, or the water, as the Persians are said to do. — BuRDER. Ver. 11. Now when Job's three friends heard of all this evil that was come upon him, they came every one from his own ))lace ; Eliphaz the Temanitc, and Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite ; for they had made an appoint- ment together to come to mourn with hiin, and to comfort him. Has a man fallen into some great calamity, his friends immediately go to his house to comfort hiin. ' Thus, to the house of mourning for the dead may be seen numbers of people going daily, .studying to find out some source of comfort for their afflicted friend. " Whither are you going V "As a comforter to my friend in sorrow." "How great is his distre.ss ! he will not listen to the voice of the comforters." — Roberts. Ver. 12. And when they lifted up their eyes afar ofT, and knew him not, they lifted up their voice and wept ; and they rent every one his mantle, and sprinkled dust upon their heads towards heaven. Sec on Josh. 7. 6. Ver. 13. So they sat down with him upon the ground seven days and seven nights, and none spake a word unto him ; for they saw that his grief was very great. Those who go to .sympathize with the afflicted, are often silerU lor hours together. As there were seven (hii/s for mourning in the scriptures, /to liere ; and the seventh is always the greatest. The chief mourner, during the whole of these days, will never speak, except when it is abso- lutely necessary. When a visiter comes in, he simply looks and bows down his head. — Robertb. CHAPTER III. Ver. 1. After this opened Job liis mouth, and cur- sed his day. It is to be observed, says Mr. Blackwell, (Inquiry into the Life of Homer,) that the Turks, Arabians, and Indians, and in general most of the inhabitants of the East, are a solitary kind of people ; they speak but seldom, and never long without emotion. Speaking is a matter of moment among .such people, as we may gather from their usual in- troductions: for, before they deliver their thoughts, they give notice by saying, / will open my m/nUh, as here ; that is, unloose their tongue. It is thus in Homer, Hesiod, and Orpheus; and thus also Virgil: finem dedit ore loquendi. He made an end of spealiing with his mouth.— Bitrdbb. Ver. 3. Let the day perish wherein I was born, and the night i« ■which it was said. There is a man-child conceived. Dr. Boothroyd prefers, " Perish the day in which I was born; the night it was said, Lo! a man child." Dr. A. Clarke thinks the word conceive " should be taken in the sense of being born ;" and the Tamul translation takes the same view. When a male child is born, the midwife goes outside the house, and says aloud three times, " A male child, a male child, a male child is borii !" — Roberts. Ver. 12. Why did the knees prevent me? or why the breasts that I should suck. This is not to be understood of the mother; but either of the midwife, who received the new-born infant into her lap, or of the father, as it was usual for him to take the child upon his knees as .soon as it was born. Gen. 1. 23. This custotn obtained among the Greeks and Romans. Hence the goddess Levana had her name, causing the father in this way to omi the child.— Gill. Ver. 14. With kings and coiuisellors of the earth, which built desolate places for themselves. This description is intended as a contrast lo that con- tained in the {wo ensuing lines; and the same sort of con- trast is admirably continued throughout the entire passage. The grave is the common recentacle of all ; of the patri- otic princes who have restorea lo their ancient magnifi- cence the ruins of former cities, and fixed their palaces in them ; and of the sordid accumulators of wealth, which they have not spirit to make use of; of the wicked, who have never ceased from troubling, and of those who have been wearied and worn out by their ve.tations; of the high and the low, the slave and his task-master, the ser- vant and his lord. This idea has not, in general, been at- tended to, and hence the passage has not been clearly un- derstood. Our common rendering, " Which buill desolate places for themselves," is hardly explicit, though it is liter- ally consonant with most of the versions. Schuliens, not adverting to the antithesis intended to subsist between the fourteenth anil fifteenth verses, imagines he perceives in the passage a metaphorical reference lo the massy pyramids or sepulchres of Ihe Eg>-ptian monarchs, of which several have descended lo our own day ; and this idea has also been generally followed. But the conception is too recon- dite, and far li?ss impressive, as it appears to me, than that now offered. The images and phraseology of this poem, as I have already had occasion lo obser%'e, were often copi- ed by the boldest writers of the Jewish people; by King David, Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel; and the smallest al- tenlion to their respective compositions will show us that Ihe idea here communicated soon became proverbial ; and ihat " the restorer of ruined wastes," or " of ancient ruins," was not onlv a phrase in general acceptation, but regarded Chap. 4. JOB. 329 as a character of universal veneration and esteem. Thus Isai. Iviii. Hi; — And thy descendants shall rebuild the ancient waste. The foundations prostrate for many ages sllalt thou raise up: And thou Shalt be called The repairer of ruins, The restorer of paths to walk in. SoEzek. xixvi. 33:— And I will also cause you to dwell in the cities ; And the mined wastes shall be rebuilt. It is useless to quote further : the parallel passages are al- most innumerable. — Good. Ver. '2 1 . Which long- for death, but it cometh not ; and dig for it more than for hid treasures. We are con.stanlly hearing of trea.-^ures which have been or are about to be discovered. Sometimes you may see a large space of ground, which has been completely turned up, or an old foundation, or ruin, entirely demolished, in hopes of finding the hidden gold. A man has found a small coin, has heaid a tradition, or has had a dream, and off he goes to his toil. Perhaps he has been seen on the spot, or he has consulted a soothsayer; the report gets out ; and then come the needy, the old, and the young, a motley group, all full of anxiety, to join in the spoil. Some have iron in- struments, others have sticks, and some their fingers to scratch up the ground. At last some of them begin lo look at each olher with considerable suspicion, as if all were not right, and each seems to wish he had not come on so foolish an errand, and then steal off as quietly as they can. I once knew a deep tank made completely dry , (by immense labour,) in the hope of finding great treasures, which were said to have been cast in during the ancient wars. Passing near, one day, when they had nearly finished their work, and their hopes had considerably moderated, I went up to the sanguine owner, (whose face immediately began to show ils chagrin,) and inquired, " Why are you taking so much trouble to empty that tank V He replied, as cidmUj as he coulil, " We are merely cleaning it out." Poor linan ! I believe he found nothing but stones and bones, and a few copper coins. " Dig for it more than for hid treasures," finds a practical illustration in the East, and is a figure of common use in the language. — Roberts. CHAPTER IV. Ver. 2. If we assay to commune with thee, wilt thou be grieved? but who can withhold him- self from speaking? The term no:, " to essay or attempt," is peculiarly expres- sive in the Hebrew, and is derived from the sense of smell exercised by hounds and other animals, in essaying or exploring the track of the prey they are in pursuit of It is still used among the Arabs for a pleasant smell or odour. Eliphaz means to insinuate his de.sire to select the very mildest reply he could possibly meet with upon a minute research, such as, while it answered the purpose of expo- sing the fallacy of the patriarch's reasoning, should hurt his feelings as little as possible. — Good. Ver. 6. Is not this thy fear, thy confidence, the uprightness of thy ways, and thy hope? The clew to the genuine sense of this passage will be obtained by a slight transposition of the latter hemistich: " Is not this fear of thine, tny confidence ; and the upright- ness of thy ways, thy hope V Job hat! before affirmed, chap. iii. 25, 26, " The thing which I greatly feared is come upon me, and ihat which I was afraid of is come unto me. I was not in safety, neither had I rest, neither was I quiet; yet trouble came;" i. e. I was continually exercised by a godly fear, a holy misgiving; I did not dare to cherish a sentiment of carnal security; even in the height of my prosperity, I was deeply sensible of ray exposure to calam- ity, and lived habitually under a trembling anticipation of its approach. To this Eliphaz alludes; q. d. Here is some- thing for which it is hard to account. " Behold, thou hast instructed many, and thou hast strengthened the weak hanrts. Thy words have upholden him that was falling, and thou hast strengthened the feeble knees. But now it is come upon thee, and thou faintest; it touchelh thee, and thou art 42 troubled." How is this'? Why is thy practice so much at variance with thy precepts "? If thou art the man thou claimest to be; if thou hast been governed, as thou alle- gest, by a prevailing fear of God, and hast never indulged a feeling of self-sufficient security, why is not this thy fear a source of humble confidence to thee in the day of distress 1 and why does not the recollection of the unimpeachable integrity and uprightness of thy ways, serve as an anchor of hope, amid the tossings of a tried and troubled spirit ? This surely were to have been expected from one of thy character. A heart conscious of innocence could not but sustain itself in such a trial ; it would be entirely contrary to the analogy of the divine dispensations to suppose that such a one would be the victim of overwhelming judg- ments; for " remember, I pray thee, who ever perished being innocent 1 or when were the righteous cast oSV This interpretation makes the whole address of Eliphaz consistent, coherent, and clear, though founded upon the fallacy, that men are invariably dealt with in this world according to their desert. — Bisu. Ver. 9. By the blast of God they perish, and by the breath- of his nostrils are they consumed. When people are angry, they distend their nostrils and blow with great force : the action may be taken from some animals, which, when angry, blow violently through their no.ses. Of a man who is much given to anger, it is said, " That fellow is always blowing through his nose." " You may blow through your nose for a thousand years, it will never injure me." " Go not near the breathof his nostril.s, he will injure j'ou." — Roberts. Ver. 15. Then a spirit passed before my face ; the hair of my flesh stood up. This refers to the great fear of Job ; but the same effect is often ascribed to great joy. Thus, in Hindoo books, in describing the ecstasy of gods or men, it is often said, " The hair of their flesh stood erect." A father says lo his long absent child, " My son, not having seen yoiir lotus face for so long, my hair stands up with joy." — Roberts. Ver. 19. How much less o?/ them that dwell in houses of clay, whose foundation is in the dust, which are crushed before the moth ? It is probable that this means a moth-worm, which is one state ol^ the creature alluded to. It is first enclosed in an egg, froiD whence it issues a worm, and after a time becomes a complete insect, or moth. The following ex- tracts from Niebubr may throw light on this passage, that man is crushed by so feeble a thing as a worm : — " A dis- ease very common in Yemen is the attack of the Guinev- worm, or ihe Vcna-Mcdinensis, as it is called by the physi- cians of Europe. This disease is supposed to be occasioned by the use of the putrid waters, which people are obligeil to drink in several parts of Yemen ; and for this reason Ihe Arabians always pass water, with the nature of which they are unacquainted, through a linen cloth, before drinking it. Where one unfortunately swallows anj' of the eggs of this insect, no immediate consequence follows; but after a con- siderable lime, the worm begins to show itself through the skin. Our physician, Mr. Cramer, was, within a few days of his death, atlacked by five of these worms at once, although this was more than five months after we had left Arabia. In the isle of Karek I .saw a French officer named Le Page, who, afler a long and difficult journey performed on foot, and in an Indian dress, between Pondicherry and Sural, through the heart of India, was bu.'sy extracting a worm out of his body. He supposed that he had got it'by drinking bad water in the country of Ihe Mahratlas. This disorder is not dangerous if ihe person affected can extract the worm without breaking it. With this view it is rolled on a small bit of wood as it comes out of the skin. It is slender as a thread, and two or three feet long. Il gives no pain as il makes ils way out of Ihe body, unless what may he occasioned by Ihe cafe which must he'takenof it for some weeks. If unluckily it be broken, it then returns into the body, and Ihe most disagreeable consequences ensue, palsy, a gangrene, and somciimes death." — Bi'rder. 330 JOB. Chap. 5, 6. Ver. CHAPTER V. 5. Whose harvest the htingry eateth up, and takelh it even out oCllie thorns, and the robber swallovvelh up their siihstance. This seems a manifest allusion to the liallVsiarved Arabs of the desert, who were always ready lor plunder, as their descendants are lo this day. Such starvelings are thus de- scribed bv Volnev : " These men are smaller, leaner, and blacker than anyof the Bedouins yet known; their wasted le"s had only lemlons wiihoiit calves; their belly was glued toTheir back' In general, the Hedouins are small, lean, and swarihv more so, however, iii the bosom of the desert, than on the' borders of the cultivated country. They are ordi- narily about five feet two inches high. They seldom have more than about six ounces of food for the whole day. Six 01 seven dales, soaked in melted butler, a little milk, or funl serve a man for twenty-four hours; and he seems happ'v wlien he can add a small portion of coarse flour, or a liiilc b.ill of rice. Their camels also, which are their chicl' support, are remarkably meager, living on the mean- est and most scanty provision. Nature has given it a small head, without' ears, at the end of a long neck, with- out flesh: she has taken from its legs and thighs every muscle not immediately requisite for motion; and, in short, has bestowed on 'its withered body only the vessels and tendons necessary to connect its frame together ; she has furnished it with a strong jaw, that it may grind the hardest aliments ; and lest it should consume too much, she has straitened its stomach, and obliged it to chew the cud." — BtlRDEH. 'Ver. 7. Yet man is born unto trouble, as sparks fly upward. the Hebrew, " Sons of the burning coal." The word son, among the Hindoos, is applied to man, and all kinds of animal life. Men of ignoble parentage are called sons of thi koddekal, i. e. the mechanics. 'When animals, reptiles, or insects, are troublesome, they are called passasinudia. maaifal, sons of the devil ; or vease-mnggal, sons of the prostitute, or of the treacherous ones. See the ploughman, at his occupation; should the bullocks prove restive, he immediately vociferates the epithets alluded to. Listen to the almost breathless cowherd, who is running after some of his refractory kine, to bring them to the fold, and he abu.ses them in tlie most coarse and indelicate language. The man also, who, for the first time, discovers the while ants destroying his property, bawls out with all his might, "Ah! veasc-maggal, sons of the prostitute." — Roberts. Ver. 21. Thou shall be hid from the scourofe of the tons^ue ; neither shall thou be afraid of de- struction when it cometh. Dr. A. Clarke says, " the Targum refers this to the in- cantations of Balaam: from the injury by the tongue of Balaam thou shall be hidden." The people live in great fear of the scourge of the tongue, and that independent of an incaiitaliiin, because thev believe the tongues of some men liave the power of inflicting a dreadful curse on any object which has incurred their displeasure. Thus, many of the evils of life are believed to come from nd-vonm, the curse or the scourge of the tongue. " Have you heard •what Kandan's Icuigiic has done for Mutloo V " No ! what hasha]ipencd 1" " Wliy, some lime ago, Kandan promised on his next voyage to bring Mulloo a cargo of rice, bul he did not keep his word; Kandan, therefore, became very angry, and said, * I shall not be surprised at hearing of thy \^s.sel being wrecked.' Mulloo again sailed, without caring for Kandan's tongue; but lo ! his vessel has been knocked to pieces on the rocks, and I saw him this morning on his way home, beating his bead, and exclaiming, 'Ah! this tid-ronni, nd-i^onni, Ibis evil tongue, this evil tongue, my vessel has gone to pieces on the rocks." Bul the tongues of some men are believed to possess malignant power, not only in imprecati(ms, bul also in their hh-^^ings and priii^rx. " The other day, when I ami sonic others were silting with our friend the doctor, one of his daughters came lo speak to her father; as she was delivering her message, one of the parly exclaimed, ' What a beautiful sel of teeth!' and lioni that moment they began to decay." "Alas! alas! poor old Murager purchased a fine milch cow yesterday, and ^vas driving her along the road this morning, on his way home, when, behold, a fellow met them and said, ' Ah, what large teats I' The cow broke from the siring, she rushed lo ihc hedge, and a stake ran ihrough her udder." "Ah, what a miserable man is Valen ! a few days ago, as his wife was nursing the infant, he said, ' How comely art thou, my fawn !' when immediately a cancer made iis ap- pearance in her breast, from which she can never recover." — Roberts. Ver. 23. For thou shall be in league with the stones of the field ; and the beasts of the field shall be at peace with thee. See on 2 Kings 3. 19. In a country where wild beasts are so numerous and so fierce, and where the natives have so few means of defence, can it be a matter of surprise that people on a journey are always under the influence of great fear 1 The father .says to his son, when he is about to depart, "Fear not; the beasts will be thy friends." The dealer in charms .says, when giving one of his potent spells, " Be not afraid, young man ; this shall make the cruel beasts respect thee." — Roberts. Ver. 25. Thou shall know also that thy seed sAa// be great, and thine ofl^spring as the grass of the earth. When a priest, or an aged person, blesses a ycting couple, he says, " 'Your children shall be as the grass, arruga-piitu, (Agrostis Linearis.) Yes ; j'ou shall twine and bind your- selves together like the grass." — Roberts. Ver. 26. Thou shall come to thj/ grave in a full age, like as a shock of corn cometh in his sea- son. Literally, " in dried up," or, " shrivelled age ;" and hence the term here employed, (nVs) is applied by ihe Arabians to designate the vinler season, in which everything is cor- rugated or shrivelled. On which account some commen- tators propose, that the text should be rendered " in ihe n-inler of life;" poetically, indeed, bul not thoroughly con- sistent with Ihe metaphor of a shock of corn : which, in close congruily with the emblematic picture of winter, al its season of maturity, is dried vp and contracted, and thus far ofl'ers an equal similitude of ripe old age; but which forci- bly increases the similitude by the well known fact, that, like ripe old age also, it must be committed to the earth in order lo spring to newness of life; for, in both cases, " the seed which thou sowesi shall not quicken, except it die." Tvndal has given the passage tlius : " In a fajTe age lyke as the corn sheewcs are broughte into the bame in due sea- son:" whence Sandys, "Tlien, full of days, like weighty stiocks of corn, In season reaped, stialt to ihy grave be borne." Nor very diflerently Schultens, notwithstanding that he ad- mils that the Hebrew (N=n) in itself implies "congestion, accumulalion, or heaping logelher." " Inlrubii in decrcp- ita sencctute ad tumulum," " Thou shall enter into the lomb in decrepit age ;" meaning, as a shock of corn cnten into the barii. — Goon. Great is the desire of the men of the Easl to sec a good iM.i age. Thus the beggars, when relieved, ollen bless you, and say, " Ah ! my lord, may you live a thousand years." " Live, live, till the shakings of age." — Roberts. CHAPTER VI. Ver. 2. Oh that my grief were thoroughly weigh- ed, and my calamity laid in the balances to- gether ! " Ah ! my lord, could you weigh my poverty, I am sure you would relieve me." " The sorrows of that man's .soul, who can weigh theml" "Alas! if my sorrows could be weighed, then would pity be shown unlo me." — Roberts. Chap. 7. JOB. 331 Ver. 4. For the arrows of the Almighty ar« with- in me, the poison whereof drinketh up my spi- rit ; the terrors of God do set themselves in ar- ray against me. The practice of using poisoned arrows is universal among the interior nations of Southern Africa, to whom the gospel has not reached. The strongest of all the poisons used is that which has been discovered by the most uncivilized of all the nations, the wild Bushmen ; a woimd from which is attended with great pain and thirst, while the poison is working throughout the system, and aUended with great depression. 1 brought some of the poison with me to England, to see if any antidote against it could be discov- ered. It has exactly the appearance of black wax, and is found deposited in" sheltered corners of rocks, but how it came there is yet unknown. A medical gentleman, who had devoted much attention to the different kinds of known poisons, after delivering .some lectures in London on that particular subject, heard of the Bushman poison, and ap- plied to me to furnish him with some of it, that he might analyze it, and endeavour to find out an antidote. I rejoiced that the matter had fallen into such good hands, and imme- diately forwarded it by post. I received different letters, containing various experiments, but all had failed. I re- member the first trial lie made of the power of the poison was, by wetting the point of a needle, and, after dipping it into the powder, pricking a bird with it, which died almost immediately. Tne same experiment was made on a second bird, while some antidote was immediately applied to coun- teract the effects of the poison. Afier a short time it also died. Various antidotes were tried in the same way, but all proved equally ineffectual. — CAMPBELt.. Ver. G. Can that which is unsavoury be eaten without salt? or is there any taste in the white The eastern people of^en make use of bread, with nothing more than salt, or some such trifling addition, such as sum- mer-savory dried and powdered. This, Russel says, is done by many at Aleppo. The Septuagint translation of this passage seems to refer to the same practice, when it renders the first part of the verse, " will bread be eaten without salt 1" — BCRDER. Ver. 12. Is my strength the strength of stones? or is my flesh of brass 1 Is a servant ordered to do a thing for which he has not strength; to undergo great hardships; he asks, "Is my strength as iron 1 Am I a stone 1" — Roberts. Ver. 15. My brethren have dealt deceitfully as a brook, and as the stream of brooks they pass away; 16. Which are blackish by reason of the ice, and wherein the snow is hid : 17. What time they wax warm they vanish ; when it is hot, they are consumed out of their place. The phra.se in this place is a strict orientalism, " My brethren have acteil (or played) the flood with me:" and the proverbial form is at least as common now among the Arabians, as it could be when the present poem was com- posed. Fairly explained, nothing can be more apposite, nothing more exquisite, than the image before us, and the whole of its description. Arabia ha.s hut few rivers ; Proper Arabia perhaps none ; for what in this last country are called rivers, are mere torrents, which descend from the mountains during the rains, and for a short period af- terward. A few rivers are found in Yemen, or the south- ern province; and the Tigris and Euphrates, as touching its northern limits in their passage along Irak Arnbi, have occasionally been laid claim to by Arabian geographers. Even the Asiam of Najd, or Neged, the province of Sandy Arabia, though laid down as a cimsiderable river in the maps, is a mere brook. Hence the country is chiefly water- ed and fertilized by exudations of ils dry channels, an overflow of which is uniformly regarded as a great treasure and blessing; the inhabitants in the neighbourhood hail its appearance, and prepare to enrich themselves out of its stores, by admitting it into their tanks or reservoirs. But it often happens, that the blessing is converted to a curse; that the torrent rushes with so much abruptness and rapid- ity, as to carry every thing before it; and that, exhausted by its own violence, its duration is as brief as its stream is rapid, allowing them scarcely time to slake their own thirst, or, at least, to fill their domestic utensils. Fair and specious, therefore, as is its first appearance, it is in the end full of deceit and cruel disappointment; " Et viatores(says Dr. Lowth, upon the passage before us) per Araboc deserta errantes sitique confectos perfide dcstituunt," Pra?l. xii. p. 110 — it promises comfort, but overwhelms with mortifica- tion. Such (says Job) are the companions who come to visit me in my affliction ; they affect to console me, but they redouble my distress. — Good. In desert parts of Africa it has aflbrded much joy to fall in with a brook of water, especially when running in the direction of the journey, expecting it would prove a valua- ble companion. Perhaps before it accompanied us two miles, it became invisible by sinking into the sand; but two miles farther along, it would re-appear and run as be- fore, and raise hopes of its continuance ; but after running a few hundred j'ards, would finally sink into the .sand, not again to rise. In both cases it raised hopes which were not realized ; of course it deceived. Perhaps it is to such brooks that Job refers in the 15th verse. There are many in Africa, which are described in verse 17, which run in the winter, or rainy season ; but the return of the hot season completely dries them up, which prove often great disap- pointments to stranger travellers. — Campbell. Ver. 18. The paths of their way are turned aside ; they go to nothing, and perish. Rendered by Schultens and Reiskc, " into the desert, the empty space, or land of nothing;" but the former is the more forcible rendering. The torrent progressively evap- orating and branching into fresh outlets, becomes at length itself nothing. The original means equally " nolhing," and " a desert," or place of nolhing. It is usually rendered in the former signification. 1 have already observed that the latter is preferred by Reiske and Schuliens ; but either will answer. The whole description is directly coincident with a very valuable article inserted by Major Colebrooke, in the sev- enth volume of Asiatic Researches, and entitled, " On the Course of the Ganges through Bengal." He observes, that the occasional obstructions which the rivers of Bengal meet with, on the return of their periodical flux, produce not un- frequenlly some very extraordinary alterations in the course and bending of Iheir respective beds, and hence, some equally extraordinary changes in the general face of the country. While some villages that, in common, are scarce- ly visited by a river, even at ils utmost rise, are overflowed and suddenly swept away; others, actually seated on the banks of an arm, and that used to be regularly inundated, are totally deserted, and the inhabitants have to travel over many miles to obtain water. He adds, ihat the Ganges has evinced chaneies of this nature, in a greater degree than any other Indian stream ; and that even since Ihe survey of Major Rennel, in 1764, it has devialcd in its course not less than two miles and a half; whence several of the vil- lages which figure in his map are no longer to be found in the situations assigned them; while islands of considerable magnitude, now inhabited and cultivated, have started into being where the river then rolled its deepest waters. — Good. Ver. 28. Now, therefore, be content : look upon me : for it is evident unto you if I lie. When a person is accused of uttering a falsehood, he says, " Look in my face, and you will soon see I am inno- cent." " My face will tell you the truth." When Ihe countenance does not indicate guilt, it is said, " Ah ! his face does not say so." " The man's face does not contain the witness of giiill." — Roberts. CHAPTER VII. Ver. 2. As a servant earnestly desireth the shadow, 332 JOB. Chap. 7—9. ami as a hireling lookelh for the reward o/his work. The people of Ihc Ea.st measure lime by the length of their shadow. Hence, if you ask a man what o'clock it is, he immediately jfoes in the sun, stands erect, then lookin? where his shadow terminates, he measures the length with his feet, and tells vnu nearly the time. Thusthi-y earnest- ly desire thk shadow which indicates the time for leaving their work. A person wishing to leave his toil, says, " How long mv shadow is in coming." " Why did you not come sooner 1" " Because I waited for my shadow." — Roberts. Vcr. 2, As a servant earnestly desireth the shadou', and as a hireling looketh for the reward of his work ; 3. So am I made to possess months of vanity, and wearisome nights are appointed to me. The expression, when fairly rendered from the original, is peculiarly forcible: " So much worse is mv destiny than that of the bondsman and the hireling, that, while they pant and look early for the night-shade, as the close of their trouble, even ihe night is not free from troubles to myself." — Good. Ver. 10. He shall return no more to his house, neither shall his place know him any more. Inanimate objects are often spoken of as if they knew their owners. A man who has sold his field, says, " That will not kiuiw me any more." Docs a field not produce good crops, it is said, " That field doth not know its owner." Has a man been long absent from his home, he asks, wliec enter- ing the door, " Ah ! do you know me 7" Does he, after this, walk through his garden and grounds, the servants say, " Ah ! how pleased these are to see you !" Has a per- son been unfortunate at sea, it is said, " The sea does not know him." — Roberts. Ver. 12. Am I a sea, or a whale, that thou settest a watch over me? Some siippase this alludes to the sea overflowing its banks. But the Orientals also believe that the sea is the dwelling-place of tnany of their spiritual enemies. Hence thev have a deity to watch the shore, whose name is Kali- Numerous enemies, also, are compared to the scr), and wicked chiefs who oppress the people, to timingalam, i. e. a whale. "Ah! that whale, who can escape himV — Roberts. Crocodiles are very terrible to the inhabitants of Eg>'pt ; when therefore they appear, they watch them with great attention, and take proper precautions to secure them, so that they should not he able to avoid the deadly weapons afterward used to kill them. To these watchings, and those deadly after-assaults, I apprehend Job refers, when he says, fjm la trhnlr^ (but a rrorflttile no doubt is what is meant there,) Ih/il Him sellrsi a trulrh orermc? " Different methods," says Maillet, " are used to take crocodiles, and some of them very singular; the most common is to dig deep ditches along the Nile, which are covered with straw, and into which the crociidilc may probably tumble. Some- times they take them with hooks, which are baited with a quarter of a pig, or with bacon, of which they are very fond. Some hide themselves in the places which they know to be frequented by this creature, and lay snares for him." — Bik- DER. Ver. 10. How Ions; wih thou not depart from me, nor let me alone till I swallow down mv spit- tle? This is a proveib among the Arabians to the present day, by which they understand. Give me leave to rest after my fatigue. This is the favour which Job complains is not granted to him. There are two instances which illustrate the pa-ssage (quoted by Schullens) in Harris's Narratives, entitled the Assembly. One is of a pcr.son, who, when eagerly prcs-scd to gist; an account of his travels, answered with impatience, " Let me swallow down my spittle, for my journey hath fatigued me." The other instance is of a quick return made to one who used that proverb, " Suffer me," said the pcr.son importuned, " to swallow down my spittle:" to which his friend replied, "You mav if you please swallow down even Tigris and Euphrates;'' that is, take what time you please. — BtmoER. CHAPTER VIII. Ver. 11. Can the rush grow up without mire? can the flag grow without water? The reed grows in immense numbers on the banks and in the streams of the Nile. Extensive woods of the canes Phrai^'mit and CaUima mai^Tosfcs^ which rise to the height of twelve yards, cover the marshes in the neighbourhood of Suez. The stems are conveyed all over Egypt and Arabia, and arc employed by the Orientals in construct- ing the flat terraces of their habitations. Calmet thinks it probable that this e-xtensive region of canes gave name to the Red Sea, which, in those times, entirely inundated the marshes on its borders. Jam Suph is a sea that pro- duces canes ; and as the Arabs denote two sorts of canes by the general name buz, the surname being added after- ward, Moses, the sacred historian, following the same ancient denominations, did not attend to the specifical nice- ties of botanology. This same leader of the people, un- derwent the first dangers of his life in a cradle made of the reeds donax or hagni. This information induced Cal- met to conclude, that in these reeds, which covered the banks of the Nile, we have what our translation renders the flags, ^uph,> in which Moses was concealed in his trunk, or ark of bulrusnes, goma. The remarkable height to which they grow, and their vast abundance, lead to the persuasion, that in some thick tuft of them, the future prophet of Israel wjs concealed. It appears also, from the interrogati(m of Job, that the ginna cannot reach its full stature without an abundant supply of water: " Can the rush — goma, rather the tall strong cane or reed — grow up without water I" This plant, therefore, being a tall reed, is with great pro- priety associated with the kanah, or cane : " In the habita- tion of dragons, where each lay, shall be grass, with canes and reeds." — Paxton. Vcr. 12. While it is yet in his greenness, and not cut down, it withereth before any other herb. The application of this beautiful similitude is easy, and its moral exquisitely correct and pertinent. As the most succulent plants are dependant upon foreign support for a continuance of that succulence, and in the midst of their vigour are sooner parched up than plants of less humidity ; So the most prosperous sinner does not derive his pro.sper- iiy from himsell, and is often destroyed in the highday of his enjoyments, more signally and abruptly than those who arc less favoured, and appear to stand less securely. — Good. CHAPTER IX. Ver. IS. He will not suffer me to take my breath, but filleth me with bitterness. Of a cruel master it is said, " When his servants stop to lake their breath, he abuses them." " The man grudges me my breath." " What ! can I work without taking my breath 1" " The toil is always upon me: I have not time for breathing." — Roberts. Ver. 25. Now my days are swifter than a post : the)' flee away, they see no good. " Ah ! my days are like an arrow." " What is my time I 'tis like the wind." " 'Tis like cotton spread in the strong wind." "See that falling leaf; that is life." "'Tis but as a snap of the finger." " Am I not like a flower V "Yes; it is a stream." " Arierr-vni^Ic, i. e. abiibble! how softly it glides along I how beautiful its colonrs! bnt how soon it disappears." — Roberts. The common pace of travelling in the Ea.st is rerr slow. Camels go little more than two miles an hour. Those who carried mes,' differently. Drome- daries, a sort of camel, which is exceedingly swift, are used for this purpose ; and I«idy M. W. Montague asserts, that Chap. 9—12. they far outrun the swiftest horses. There are also mes- sengers who run on foot, and who sometimes go a hundred and fifty miles in less than twenty-four hours; with what . energy then might Job say, " My days are swifter than a post." Instead of passing away with a slowness of motion like that of a caravan, my days of prosperity have disap- peared with a swiftness like that of a messenger carrying despatches. — Biirder. Ver. 26. They are passed away as the swift ships ; as the eagle that hasteth to the prey. " The swift ships." Many interpretations have been given of this expression. The author of the Fragments an- nexed to Calmet's Dictionary, observes, that if it can be rendered supposable that any animal, or class of animals, may be metaphorically called ships, it is the dromedary, well known to Job. The eastern writers apply the term to camels and dromedaries. " The whole caravan being now assembled, consists of a thousand horses, mules, and asses, and of five hundred camels : these are the ships of Arabia ; their seas are the deserts." (Sandy's Travels,) " What enables the shepherd to perform the long and tiresome jour- neys across Africa, is the camel, emphatically called by the Arabs, the ship of the desert : he .seems to have been crea- ted for this very traHe." (Bruce's Travels.) Of the drom- edary, which is a kind of camel, Mr. Morgan {Hislory of Algiers) says, " I .saw one perfectly white all over, belong- ing lo Leila Oumane, princess of that noble Arab Neja, named Heyl ben Ali, upon which she put a very great value, never .sending it abroad bvU upon some extraordina- ry occasion, when the greatest expedition was required: having others, inferior in swiftness, for more ordinary messages. They say that one of these Aasharies will, in one night, and through a level country, traverse as mnch ground as any single horse can perform in ten, which is no exaggeration of the matter, since many have affirmed to me, (hat it makes nothing of holding its rapid pace, which is a most violent hard trot, for four-and-twenty hours on a slrelch, without showing tiie least sign of weariness or in- clination to bait 1 and that then having swallowed a ball or two of a sort of paste made up of barley-meal, and, maybe, a Utile powder of dry dates among it, wilh a bowl of wa- ter, or camel's milk, if to be had, and which the courier seldom forgets to be provided wiih in skins, as well for the sustenance of himself as of his pegasus, the indefatigable animal will seem as fresh as at first setting out, and ready to continue running at the same scarcely credible rate, for as many hours longer, and so on from one extremity of the African desert to the other, provided its rider could hold out without sleep, and other refreshments." The follow- ing extracts from Arabic poetry, translated by Sir W. Jones, speak the same language: — "Even now stie (the camel) has a spirit so brislt, tliat she flies witli the rein, Iil«e a dun cloud driven by the wind, after it has discharged its sliower. " Long is her necic ; and when she raises it wilh celerity, it resem- bles the stern of a ship, floating aloft on the billowy Tigris. "Ah, the vehicles which bore away my fair one, on the morning when the tribe of Malee departed, and their camels were traversing the banks of Delia, resembled large ships, "Sailing from Aduli, or vessels of (the merchant) Ibn Yamin, which the mariner now turns obliquely, and now steers in a direct course : "Ships which cleave the foaming waves with their prows, as a boy at pla5' divides with his hand the collected eartli," — Bcbder, CHAPTER X. Ver. 10. Hast thou not poured me out as milk, and curdled ine like cheese ? Much philological learning has been brought to the ex- planation of this pa.ssage. In the preceding verse, Job is speaking of his oeath. " Wilt thou bring me unto dust again "?" But what has the pouring out of milk to do with death ? The people of the East pour milk upon their heads after performing the funeral obsequies. Has a father a profligate son, one he never expects to reclaim, he says, in reference lo him, " Ah ! I have poured milk upon my head," J, p, " T have tlone with him; he is as one dead to me." "And curdled me like cheese." The cheese of the East is little better than curds : and these also are used at the funeral ceremonies. — Robehts. JOB. 333 CHAPTER Xlt. Ver. 2. No doubt but ye are the people, and wis- dom shall die with you. The people of the East take great pleasure in irony, and some of their satirical sayings are very cutting. When a sage intimates that he has superior wisdom, or when he is disposed to rally another for his meager attainments, he says, " Yes, yes; you are the man I" "Your wisdom is like the sea. " You found it in dreams." " When you die, whither will wisdom go 1" " You have all wisdom I" " When gone, alas ! what will become of wisdom 1" " O the Nyanil O the philosopher!" — Robehts. Ver. 4. I am as one mocked of his neighbour, who caljeth upon God, and he answereth him: the just upright man is laughed to scorn. Though Job, in his distress, cried unto the Lord, his neighbours mocked him, and laughed him lo scorn; show- ing their own impiety, and belief that God would not an- swer him. Sometimes, when a heathen (who is supposed to be forsaken, of the gods) performs a penance or religious austerity, others will mock him, and say, "Fast for me also ; yes, perform the poosy for me, and you shall have all you want." Should a man, who is suffering under the punishment due to his crimes, cry to the gods for help, those who are near reply, {for the gods,) " Yes, we are here ; what do you want ! we will help you." "When the gods come, tell them I am gone home; I could not remain any longer." Thus was the just, the upright Job, laughed to scorn when he called upon God, — Roberts. Ver. 5, He that is ready to slip witli his feet is as a lamp despised in the thought of him that is at The critics are by no means agreed on the import of this passage ; and, to say truth, we cannot flatter ourselves with a complete removal of its uncertainty. However, the attempt to explain it is honourable, even though it fail. To us it seems to suggest a comparison between \he super- abundant splendours of the interior of a wealthy man's dwelling, and the dark, dismal, night-wandering of a way- worn traveller. To adii a lamp, however brightly burning, to what Mr. Good calls " the sunshine of the prosperous," were to render that lamp a contempt, a ridicule, whereas the man who stays amid mire and clay, in outer darkness, would rejoice to profit by its lustre. A travelling lamp, though its light be vivid, would be laughed at amid the various elegant illuminations in the interior of a hou.se fiUed up with great taste by a man of fashion : nevertheless, however awkward, coarse, and clumsy, it may be, the man who is falling into a quagmire would be extremely thankful for its assistance. This acceptation of the sentiment de- mands no dislocation of any word in the text: but, whether it completely dissipates the obscurity of the passage, the reader must judge. — Taylor in C.*lmet. D'Oyley and Mant quote from Caryl and Poole as fol- lows : " A despised lamp is of the same signification with a smoking firebrand ; which last is a proverb for that which is almo.-^t spent, and therefore despised and thrown away as useless." In view of these observations, it is worthy of notice, that of a man who is much despised, or who is very contemptible, it is said, " That fellow is like the half-con- sumed firebrand of the funeral pile," Job, by his enemies, was counted as a despised lamp. When a person is sick unto death, it is said, " His lamp is going out." After death, " His lamp has gone out." When a person is indis- posed, should a lamp give a dim light, the people of the house will become much alarmed, as they think it a bad sign. A lamp, therefore, which burns diitily, (as did that of Job,) will be lightly esteemed. — Roberts. Ver. 20. He removeth away the speech of the trusty, and taketh away the understanding of the aged. The term ta^jpt seems, in this present place, lo imply some- thing more than " of the aged," as it is commonly render- ed ; and rather intimates, " the aged officially convened in 334 JOB. Chap. 12—15 public council;" whence it is rendered "sfn/i/or.f," by Schul- tens and Dr. Stuck : but ciders, or ehlermen, is a more pcne- ral term, and hence more extcns-ively appropriate, as well as more consonant with what ouslit ever lo be the unaffect- ed siinpliciiy of biblical lan^juage. Tliou>;h the term. <«/»«- /nrs includes the idea of ajje, il includes it more remotely. In Gen. 1. 7, \vc have a similar use of the term elders ; for we are told, that " when Josepli went np into the land of Canaan to bury his father, with him went all the servants of Pharaoh, the clilcrs of his house, and all the ctdcrs of Ike iatki of Egypt;" in other words, the chief officers of stale, the privy counsellors, and the entire senate or body of le- gislators, chosen from tlie land or people. — Good. Ver. 2'2. He discovereth deep things out of dark- ness, and bringeth out to light the shadow of death. The author of the poem discovers a great partiality for this figure : the reader can scarely fail to recollect its oc- currence in ch. X. 21, 22. In the present instance, how- ever, it appears to be used in a different sense, and to allude, in chdracteristic imagery, to the dark and recon- dite plo's, the deep and desperate designs, of traitors and conspirators, or other state-villains : for il should be observ- ed, that the entire passage has a reference to the machinery of a regular and political government; and that its general ilrifi is to imprint upon the mind of the hearer the important doctrine, that the wlioleof the constituent principles of such a government, i:s othcers and institutions, its monarch and princes, iis privy-counsellors, judges, and ministers of state ; its chieftains, public orators, and assembly of elders; its nobles, or men of hereditary rank; and its stout, robust peasantry, as we should express it in the present day ; nay, the deep, designing villains that plot in secret its destruc- tion,— that the nations themselves, and the heads or sove- reigns of the nations, are all and equally in the hands of the Almighty ; that, wilh him, human pomp is poverty, human excellence turpitude, human judgment error, human wisdom folly, human dignities contempt, human strength weakness. — Good. CHAPTER XIII. Ver. 15. Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him ; but I will maintain mine own ways be- fore him. When a master chastises an affectionate slave, or tells him to leave his service, he says, " My lord, though you slay me, yet will I trust in you." Does a husband beat his wiie, she exclaims. " My husband, though you kill me, I will not let you go." " Kill me, my lord, if you please, but I will not leave you : I trust in you." " Oh ! beat me not ; do I not trust in you 7" " What an affectionate wife that is: though her husband cut her to pieces, yet she trusts in him." "The fellow is always beating her, yet she confides in him." — Roberts. Ver. 24. Wherefore hidcst thou thy face, and boldest me for thine enemy? Job, in his distress, makes this pathetic inquiry of the Lord. Should a great man become displeased with a per- son lo whom he has been previously kind, he will, when he .sees him ap])roarhing, avert his face, or conceal it wilh his hand, which shows at once what is the slate of the case. The poor man then mourns, and complains, and asks, " Ah ! why does he hide his face V The wife says lo her offended husband, " Why do you hide your facel" The son to his father, " Hide not your face from your son." — Roberts. Ver. 26. For thou writest bitter things against me. " Ah! the things that man has written against me to the judge, are all knssjtpu, all bitter." " Oh ! that is a bitter, bluer fault." " Who will make this bitterness sweet 1" — Roberts. Ver. 27. Thou puttcst my feet also in the storks, and lookest narrowly tmto all my paths ; thou settest a print upon the heels of my feet. The punishment of the slocks has been common in the Ea,st from the most remote antiquitv, as is seen in all their records. But whether the slocks were formerly like clogs, or as those of the present dav, it is impossible to say. Those now in use differ from those in England, as the unfortunate culprit has lo lie with his back on the ground, having his feet fast in one pair, and his hands in another. Thus, all he can do is to writhe his body; his arms and legs being so fast, that he cannot possibly move them. A man placed in great dilficulty, says, " Alas! I am now in the stocks." "I have put my boy in the Muneu," i. e. slocks; which means, he is confined, or sent to school. To a young man of roving habits, it is said, " You must have your feet in the slocks," i. e. get married. " Alas ! alas ! I am now in the stocks; the guards are around mv path, and a seal is pul upon my feet." — Roberts. {See Engraving.) CHAPTER XIV. Ver. 4. Who can bring a clean l/iing out of an unclean ? not one. The following are common sayings : — " Who can turn a black crow into a white crane V' " Who can make the bitter fruit sweet 1" " Who can make straight ihe tail of the dog V " If you give the serpent sweet things, will his poison depart 1" — Roberts. Ver. 7. For there is hope of a tree, if it be cut down, that it will sprout again, and that the tender branch thereof will not cease. Trees here appear to be more tenacious of life than in England. See them blown down ; yet from the roots fresh shoots .spring up. See them sometimes at such an angle (through storms) that their branches nearly touch the ground, and yet they keep that position, and continue to bear fruit. Those trees, also, which have actually been cut down, after a few showers, soon begin to send forth the " tender branch." The plantain-tree, after it has borne fruit once, is cut down ; but from its roots another springs up, which, in its turn, also gives fruit, and is then cut down, to make way for another. Thus, in reference to this tree, it may be truly said. Cut it down, but " the tender branch thereof will not cejise." — Roberts. Ver. 17. My transgression is sealed up in a bag, and thou sewest up mine iniquity. The money that is collected together in the treasures of eastern princes is told up in certain equal sums, ptit into bags, find sealed. — (Chardin.) These are what in some parts of the Levant are called pvrsef, where they reckon great expenses by so many purses. The money collected in the temple in the time of Joash. for its reparation, seems, in like manner, to have been lold up in bags of equal value to each other, and probably delivered sealed lo those who paid the workmen, (2 Kings xii. 10.) If Job alludes to this custom, it should seem that he considered his offences as reckoned by God lo be very numerous, as well as not suf- fered to be lost in inattention, since thev are only consider- able sums which are thus kept. — Harmer. Ver. 19. The waters wear the stones: thou wash- es! away the things which grow out of the dust of the earth; and thou destroyest'the hope of man. Is a man found fault with because he makes slow pro- press in his undertaking, he .savs, " Never mind ; the water which runs so softly, will, in time, wear away the .stones." — Roberts. CHAPTER XV. Ver. 7. Art thou the first man l/i»t wn.s born ? or wast thou made before the hills? When a majority of people agree on any subject, should an individual pertinaciously oppose them, it will he asked, "What! were you born before all others'!" "Yes, yes; he i-s the fir-l man: no wonder he has so much wisdom !" i "SaUtm lo theyirJ^' man."— Roberts. I Chap. IG. JOB. 335 Hebrew, " Wast thou born first of mankind V Such ap- pears to me the true rendering, though it is given differently by ditferent commentators, and will admit of various sig- nifications ; the word mw {Adam) being either a proper name, or an appellative for mankind at large ; whence some of the oldest versions render the passage, " Wast thou born before Adam V while the generality, and in my opinion more correctly, give us, " An primus homo natus esV "Art thou the first-born of men f" or, "Wast thou born first of mankind 1" — Good. Ver. 26. He rtmneth upon him, even on his neck, upon the thick bosses of his bucklers. Wrestlers, before they began their combats, were rubbed all over in a rough manner, and afterward anointed with oil, in order to increase the strength and flexibility of their limbs. But as this imction, in making the skin too slippery, rendered it difficult for (hem to take hold of each other, they remedied that inconvenience, sometimes by rolling themselves in the dust of the Palaestra, sometimes by throw- ing fine sand upon each other, kept for that purpose in Xystae, or porticoes of the Gymnasia. Thus prepared, they began their combat. They were matched two against two, and sometimes several couples contended at the same time. In this combat, the whole aim and design of the wrestlers was to throw their adversary upon the ground. Both strength and art were employed to this purpose ; they seized each other by the arms, drew forward, pushed back- ward, used many distortions and twistings of the body, locking their limbs in each other's, seizing by the neck or throat, pressing in their arms, struggling, plying on all sides, lifting from the ground, dashing their heads'logether like rams, and twisting one another's necks. In this man- ner, the athletse wrestled standing, the combat ending with the fall of one of the competitors. To this combat the words of Eliphaz seem to apply: " For he stretcheth out his hand agamst God" like a wrestler, challenging his an- tagonist to the contest, "and strengthening himself," rather vaunteth himself, stands up haughtily, and boasts of his prowe-ss in the full view of " the Almighty," throwing abroad his arms, clapping his hands together, springing into the middle of the ring, and taking his station there in the adjusted attitude of defiance. " He runneth upon him, even on his neck," or with his neck stretched out, furi- ously dashing his head against the other; and this he does. even when he perceives that his adversary is covered with defensive armour, upon which he can make no impression : " he runneth upon the thick bosses of his bucklers." — P.VXTON. Ver. 33. He shall shake off his unripe grape as the vine, and shall cast off his flower as the olive. It would be a valuable acquisition to the learned world, if observations made in Judea itself, or rather, in this case' in the land of Uz, were communicated to it, relating to the natural causes which occasion, from time to time, a disap- pointment of their hopes from their vineyards and olive plantations ; and the effects of a violently sultry southeast wind on their most useful or remarkable vegetables. I very much question, however, whether the words of Eliphaz, iii the book of Job, xv. 33, refer to any blasting of the vine'by natural causes; they seem rather "to express the violently taking away the unripe grapes by the wild Arabs, of which I have given an account in the preceding volume. It is certain the word npa biser, translated here ■unripe grape, is used to express those grapes that were so far advanced' in growth as to be eaten, though not properly ripened, as ap- pears from Jeremiah xxxi. 29, and Ezek. xviii. 2; and the verb ron> i/aclnnas, translated here shake ojf, signifies re- moving by violence, consequently cannot be meant of any thing done in the natural course of things, but by a human hand ; and if so, may as well be applied to the depredations of the Arabs, as the impetuosity or deleterious quality of any wind, the energy of poetry making use of a verb ac- tive instead of its passive. It may not be amiss, before I close, just to take notice, that the vulgar Latin translation was so little apprehensive that grapes, when grown to anv considerable size, were wont to drop, that its authors, or correctors, have rendered the words after this manner : " Leedetur quasi vinea in pri- mofiore botrus ejus," that is, " his cluster shall be injured as a vine when it first comes into flower;" intimating, that if any damage is done to the vine at all by an intemperate season, they supposed it would be upon its first flowering. How arduous is the business of translating a foreign poem into English verse ! A multitude of circumstances must be attended to by such a translator, when he finds himself obliged, as he often does, to vary the expressions a little, on account of his verse ; and, for want of full information as to particular points, he must frequently fail. Mistakes of this kind demand great candour.— Harmeh. A north or northeast wind frequently proves injurious to the olive-trees in Greece, by destroying the blossom. Dr. Chandler says, " We ate under an olive-tree, then laden with pale yellow flowers: a strong breeze from the sea scattered the bloom and incommoded us, but the spot aflibrded no shelter more eligible." In another place, he observes, " The olive-groves are now, as anciently, a prin- cipal source of the riches of Athens. The mills for pressing and grinding the olives are in the town ; the oil is depos- ited in large earthen jars, sunk in the ground, in the areas before the houses. The crops had failed five years suc- cessively, when we arrived; the cause assigned was a northerly wind, called Greco-Tramontane, which destroyed the flower. The fruit is set in about a fortnight, when the apprehension from this unpropitious quarter ceases. The bloom in the following year was unhurt, and we had the pleasure of leaving the Athenians happy in the prospect of a plentiful harvest." — Burder. CHAPTER XVI. Ver. 3. Shall vain words have an end? or what imboldeneth thee that thou answerest ? The Hebrew has, " words of wind." " His promise ! it is only wind." " His words are all wind." " The wind has taken away his words." " Breath, breath ; all breath !" — Roberts. Ver. 4. I also could speak as ye do: if your soul were in my soul's stead, I could heap up words against you, and shake my head at you. The whole of this passage is rendered unintelligible, in its usual mode of translating, by attributing a conditional instead of a future tense to it : "I also cmtld speak, &c." or, " But I could speak," — instead of, " But I will speak," or "talk on."— Good. Ver. 9. He teareth me in his wrath who hateth me: he gnasheth upon me with his teeth; mine enemy sharpeneth his eyes upon me. " Has not the cruel man been sharpening his eyes upon me'!" "His eyes are like arrows: they pierce my life," " Truly, his cutting eyes are always upon me." " Yes, yes; the eyesof the serpent." — Roberts. Ver. 10. They have gaped upon me with their mouth ; they have smitten me upon the cheek reproachfully : they have gathered themselves together against me. Here is another living picture of eastern manners. See the exasperated man ; he opens his mouth like a wild beast, shows his teeth, then suddenly .snaps them together. Again he pretends to make another snatch, and growls like a tiger. Should he not dare to come near, he moves his hand, as if striking you on the cheek, and .says, " I will beat thy kan- nan. i. e. cheek, thou low-caste fellow." — Roberts. From the following extracts, this treatment appears to have been considered verv injurious. " Davage was deep- ly incensed : nor could I do more than induce him to come to the factory on business while I was there; Mr. Pringle having, m one of his fits, struck him on the cheek with the sole of his .slipper, the deepest insult that can be offered to an Asiatic; among whom it is considered as a mark of dis- resnect to touch even the sole of the loot." (Lord Valen- tia.) " In the Mahratta camp, belonging to Scindia, his prime minister, Surjee Rao, was murdered in the open bazar: his mistresses were, as usual, stripped of all they 336 JOB. Chap. 17, 18. possessed ; and his favourite one vlas sent fur lo court, and severely beaten in the presence of Scindia's wife, wlio add- ed to \\\c indisnily, by Ki^'infC '"■'' Ncveral blows herself with a slipper." (Broughton.) " When the vazir declared himself unable lo procure the money, Fathh Ali Shah re- proached him for his crimes, struck him on the face, and with the high wooden heel nf a slipper, always iron-bound, beat out several of his teeth." (Sir W. Ouseley.) The Hindoo, religiously abstaining from animal food and inloxiraiin^ liquors, becomes thereby of so very mild a temper, that he cm bear almost any thing without emo- t'on, e-xcept slinpcrin;,' ; that is, a stroke with the sole of a slipper or sandal, after a person has taken it off his foot and spit on ii ; this is dreaded above all afl'ronts, and con- r'dercd as no less ignominious than spitting in the face, or bespattering with dirt, among Europeans. — Biirder. CHAPTER XVII. Ver. 1. My breath is corrupt, my days are ex- tinct, the graves are ready for me. A man far advanced in years, or one who is in deep affliction, says, " The place of burning is near to me, and the wood is laid together for my funeral pile." " How are you, my friend T' "How am I? I will tell you. Go, order them to get the wood together to burn this body." A father sometimes says of his wicked sons, " Yes, I know they de- sire my death ; they have been preparing for the funeral ; they are ready to wa-sh me: the bier is at hand, and the wood is prepared." " Wliy do yon all look so anxious"! I am not ready for the washing." — Roberts. Ver. 3. Lay down now, put me in a surety with thee; who is he thai will strike hands with me ? See on Prov. 6. 1. The difficulty in this passage has resulted, in the first place, from the abruptness of the transition; and|Secondly, from its being, in its common construction, very improperly separated from the preceding verse, and applied lo the Al- mighty mstead of lo Eliphaz, the last speaker, to whom Job is peculiarly addressing himself The fair interpreta- tion is, " But if there be any meaning in what ye say — if ye do not revile iny character, but believe me to be the op- pressor and the hypocrite ye a.sserl — come on : I will still venture to stake myself against any of you. Will any of you venture to stake me against yourselves 1 Who is he that will strike hands with me 1 that will dare lo measure his deserts with my own 1 and appeal to the Almighty, in proof that he is a juster man than t am V It is an argnmcn- tum ad homintm, of peculiar force and appropriation, ad- mirably calculated to confound and silence the persons to whom it is addressed. The custom of staking one thing again.st another is of very early origin, and found in the rudest and simplest modes of social life ; hence the pasto- rals of Theocritus, as well as of Virgil, abound with ref- erences to this practice.— Good. Ver. 9, The ris-hteous also shall hold on his way, and he that hath clean hands shall be stronger and stronger. The idea here suggested is that of purity and holiness. Porphyry observes, that in the Leontian mysteries the initi- ated had their hands washed with honey, instead of water, to intimate that they were to keep their hands pure from all wickedness and mischief; honey being of a cleansing na- ture, and preserving other things from corruption. — Bor- der. Ver. 14. 1 have said to corruption, Thou art my father : to the worm. Thou art my mother and my sister. Those who retire from the world to spend their lives in a desert place, for the purpose of performing religious aus- terities, olten exclaim to the beasts, " Yes ; you are my relations, you are my parents; these are my companions and friends." — Roberts. Ver. IG. They shall go down to the bars of the pit, when our rest togetlier i$ in the dust. I Literally, to the limbs — " the grasping limbs," " the tre- mendous claws or talons" of the grave. The imagery is peculiarly bold, and Irue to the general character under which the grave is presented to usin the figuralivelanguage of sacred poetry, — as a monster, ever greedy to devour, with horrid jaws wide gaping for his prey; and, in the pas- sage before Us, with limbs in unison with his jaws, and ready to seize hold of the victims allotted to him, with a strength and violence from which none can extricate them- selves. The common rendering o( fvlcra, recla, vr bars, as of a prison, is as unnecessary a' departure from the proper figure, as it is from the primary meaning of the original term. — Good. CHAPTER XVIII. Ver, 2. How long will it be ere you make an end of words ? The commgnlators are not agreed to whom the opening of this speech is addressed. Being in the plural number, it cannot, according to the common forms ol Hebrew col- loquy, be addressed to Job alone. Le Clerc, however, at- tempts to prove, that, under particular circumstances, such a form may be admitted, and especially when particular respect is intended. Other interpreters conceive that it is addressed to Job and Eliphaz, to whom Job had been just replying. But the greater number concur in supposing that it relates to the family or domestics of Job, in conjunc- tion with himself, who, it' may be conceived, were present, and at least tacitly approving his rebukes : " 'At cvm Ivd faviilw," is the explanation of Reiske. It is more probable that it applies to the interlocutors generally. — Good. Ver. 4. He teareth himself in his anger; shall the earth be forsaken for thee? and shall the rock be removed out of his place ? " Foolish man, why are you so angry 1 Will your anger pull down the mountain, or take a single hair from the head of your enemy V " This evil is only felt in your own heart and house : it is your own destruction." — Roberts. Ver. 5. Yea, the light of the wicked shall be put out, and the spark of his fire shall net shine. 6. The light shall be dark in his tabernacle, and his candle shall be put out with him. See on 1 Kings 11.26. Ver. 8. For he is cast into a net by hiS^Mmfeet, and he walketh upon a snare. The original implies a snare with pieces of wood, or other substance, put crosswise, or bar-\vise, so as to sus- tain the deceitful covering of turf, or other soil, put over it to hide ihe mi.schief it conceals. The term is used Exod. xxvii. 4, to express a grating, or net-ucork nf brass. The same kind of snare or pitfall is .still frequently employed throughout India, in elephant-hunting. — Good. Ver. 15. It shall dwell in his tabernacle, because it is none of his : brimstone shall be scattered upon his habitation. A A-ery singular method of expressing sorrow among the ancients, was by burning brimstone in the house of the decea.sed. Livy mentions this practice as general among the Romans; and some commentators think it is referred to in these words of Bildad : " Brimstone shallbe scattered upon his habitation." The idea corresjionds with Ihe de- sign of the speaker, which is to describe Ihe miserable end of the hypocrite. — Paxton. Ver. 16. His roots shall be dried up beneath, and above shall his branch be cut off th lot Man is often described as a tree, and his destnietion by lie culling off of the branches, "Alas! alas! he is like a ree who.se branches have been struck by Ihe lightning." He is a tree killed by the shepherds ;" which alludes lo 'le practice (in dry weather, when the gia.'i.s is burned up) f climbing the trees to lop ofl" the branches and leaves for EutefD Posture of Submiwioo.— 1 Cbno. 39; U. Eastern l.clli-ri — Cirnl:!, 8. Ntll.6:ff- Funeril CLuiot of Uu Eul.— 3 Slnfa 9: 99. Eftttera mode of Pumshmeol— Job 18: S7 Enaailliif Ttoii{Iu.— Ex. 1% M. Ibel or Rock Qotl— Pulir KM: 13. WIIJ Am -Job 33: i-a Chap. 19. JOB. 337 the use of the flocks and cattle. " His branches and shoots are destroyed ;" which means, himself and family. " I know all his branches and bunches;" meaning all his con- nexions. (See on Luke xxiii. 31.) — Roberts. Ver. 17. His remembrance shall perish from the earth, and he shall have no name in the street. " What kind of a man is Ramar V " I will tell you : his name is in every street ;" which means, he is a person of great fame. " Ah ! my lord, only grant me this lavour, and your name shall be in every street." " Who does not wish his name to be in the streets 1" " Wretch, where is thy name'? What dog of the street will acknowledge thee"?" " From generation to generation shall his name be in the streets." " Where is thy name written in stone ■? No : it is written in water." — Roberts. Ver. 19. He shall neither have son nor nephew among his people, nor any remaining in his dwellings. Heb. " Among his sojournings" — from -•> " to sojourn," or "dwell for a short and uncertain period," as in travelling. The idea is peculiarly e.x;pressive and forcible: not only among his own people, and in his own settled habitation, shall his name, his memory, his family, be extinguished ; but no asylum, no refuge, shall be afforded them in distant countries, and among strangers, with whom he had casually sojourned, and where his memory might be supposed to call forth the hospitalities of friendship. The Jewish his- tory affords innumerable instances of persons compelled to fly from their native homes, and seek an asylum in the bosom of strangers, to whom they were only casually, or even altogether unknown : and, without ranging further, the history of Moses himself, the probable writer of the poem, furnishes us with a memorable example. — Good. The original word for dwellings, Schultens says, signi- fies a territory of refuge for strangers. The great men among the Arabs called their respective districts by this name, because they took under their protection all defence- less and necessitous persons who fled thither ; they prided themselves in having a great number of these clients or de- pendants. This was an ancient custom in Arabia, and continues to the present day. The Arabian poets frequent- ly refer to it. — Burder. CHAPTER XIX. Ver. 3. These ten times have ye reproached me ; you are not ashamed thai yon make yourselves strange to me. See on Gen. 31. 7, 8. Ver. 6. Know now that God hath overthrown me, and hath compassed me with his net. The allusion here may be to an ancient mode of combat practised among the Persians, Goths, and Romans. The custom among the Romans was this: one of the combatants was armed with a sword and shield, the other with a tri- dent and net; the net he endeavoured to cast over the head of his adversary, in which, when he succeeded, the entan- gled person was soon pulled down by a noose, that fastened round his neck, and then despatched. The person who carried the net and Irident was called Retiarius, and the other, who carried the sword and shield, Secutor, or the pursuer, because, when the Retiarius missed his throw, he was obliged to run about the ground till he got his net in order for a second throw, while the Secutor followed him, to prevent, and despatch him. The Persians used a run- nin? loop, which horsemen endeavoured to cast over the ■ heads of their enemies, that they might null them off their horses. The Goths used a hoop fastened to a pole. (Olaus Magnus.) " In the old Mexican paintings, we find war- riors almost naked, with their bodies wrapped in a net of large meshes, which they throw over the heads of their enemy." (Humboldt.)— Burder. Ver. 10. I called my servant, and he gave mc no answer : I entreated him with my mouth. 43 When a man becomes reduced in the world, his slaves no longer obey him: he calls, but they answer not; he looks, and they laugh at him. Hence the verse— Kandalum, Paysar Alitalum, Varar Kavi-Kavi-Endar. " Though I call, he comes not ; though he sees, he answers not; or, I am engaged, engaged, says he." — Rob- erts. Ver. 17. My breath is strange to my wife, though I entreated for the children's sake of mine own body. It is not often that husbands, in these regions, conde- scend to entreat their wives, but they are sometimes (as when sick or in any way dependant) obliged to humble themselves. He then says, " My wife's breath is not now as mine." " For the sake of your children listen to my words." Nothing is more provoking to a woman than to say she has the breath of a man. — Roberts. Ver. 20. My bone cleaveth to my skin and to my flesh, and I am escaped with the skin of my teeth. I suppose the above words have given rise to the old English saying, " He has escaped with the skin of his teeth ;" which denotes he has had great difficulty in avoid- ing the danger. But have the teeth any skinl It was formerly a custom among the heathen kings to knock out the teeth of their prisoners, or those who had offended them ; and to this practice the Psalmist .seems to allude : " Thou hast broken the teeth of the ungodly;" and, " Break their teeth, O God ! in their mouth." Those who had been thus treated said, " We have escaped with the mii- rasu," i. e. tke gums of our teeth. When a man is angry with another, he says, " Take care ; I will knock thy teeth out. Thou shall only have thy gums lef^." "What!" asks the person thus threatened, "am I thy slave, to have my teeth knocked out 1" But the teeth are always spoken of as being very valuable ; and by them the people often esti- mate the worth of any blessing. " Ah ! the king might have granted me that favour ; his teeth would not have fallen out on that account." " Would his gums have been left, if he had told me that secret 1" " Yes, yes, take care, or you will lose your pearls," (teeth.) " See the miserable man ; the sickness has left him his gums only." — Roberts. There is scarcely any verse in the whole poem that has more puzzled the commentators, and excited a greater variety of renderings, than this. The word skin is here repeated from the preceding line, for the sake of an itera- tion; in which figure no poets have more largely indulged than the Asiatics, whether ancient or modern. It is a word of extensive meaning, and implies generally, cuticle, peel, integument, skiti ; and in the present place more particu- larly, the gums, which are the proper integuments of the teeth, the substance in which they are first produced, and which, through life, affords a nutritious covering to their base. It may also be rendered film, although I do not think this the direct sense of the terra in the present pas- sage ; it rather implies integuments generally, and has been preferred by the original writer to any other term expres- sive of the same meaning, on account, as I have already observed, of the iteration hereby produced. — Good. In the celebrated inscription on the pillar at Delhi, called the Lat of Feeroz Shah, is the following passage, exhibit- ing a similar hyperbole in different terms: "Blades of grass are perceived between thine adversary's teeth." {Asiatic Researches.) The author of the Fragments subjoined toCalmet's Dictionary, thus paraphrases the passage : " My upper row of teeth stands out so far as to adhere to my up- per lip, that being so shrivelled and dried up, as to sink upon my teeth, which closely press it." He observes, if our translation be right, it may receive some illustration from the following instances of those who did not escape with the skin of their teeth. " Prithwinarayan issued an order to Suruparatana, his brother, to put to death some of the principal inhabitants of the town of Cirtipur, and to cut off the noses and lips of every one, even the mfants who 33S JOB. Chap. 19. were not found in ihe anus of their muthcrs; ordering, at the same time, all llie noses and lijis ihat had been cut off to be preserved, that he niisht ascertain how many souls there were, and to change the name of the town to Naska- tapir, which si^jnifies, the town of cut noses. The order was carried into execution with every mark of horror and cruelly, none escaping but those who could play on wind iuslrunients: many put an end to their lives in despair; others came in great bodies to us in search of medicines; and it was most shocking to see so many living people with their leelh and noses resembling the sculls of the deceased." (Asiatic Res.) — Burder. Ver. 23. O that my words were now writteti ! oh that they were printed in a book ! 24. That they were graven with an iron pen and lead in the rock for ever ! The most ancient way of writing W'as upon the leaves of the palm-tree. Afterward they made use of the inner bark of a tree for this purpose ; wliich inner bark being in Latin called iihcr, the Greek lSiil\oi, from hence, a book, hath ever since, in the Latin language, been called liher, and in the Greek, fSuJXos, because their books anciently consisted of leaves made of such inner barks. The Chinese slill make use of such inner barks, or rinds of trees, to write upon, as some of their books brought into Europe plainly show. Another way made use of among the Greeks and Romans, and which was as ancient as Homer, (for he makes mention of it in his poems,) was to write on tables of wood, covered over with wax. On these they wrote with a bod- kin, or stile of iron, with which they engraved their letters on the wax ; and hence it is that the different ways of men's writings or compositions are called different styles. This way was mostly made use of in the writing of letters or epistles; hence such epistles are in Latin called tobella; and the carriers of them tabellarii. When their epistles were thus written, they lied the tables together with a thread or string, setting their seal upon the knot, and so .sent them to the party to whom they were directed, who, cutting Ihe siring, opened and read them. It is observable also, that anciently they wrote their public records on vol- umes or rolls of lead, and their private matters on fine linen and wax. The l"ormer of these customs we trace in Job's wish, " O that my words were now written ! O that they were printed in a book ! that Ihey were graven with an iron pen and lead in the rock for ever!" There is a way of writing in the East, which is designed to fix words on the memory, but the writing is not designed to continue. The children in Barbary that are sent to school, make no nse of paper. Dr. Shaw tells us, but each boy writes on a smooth, thin board, slightly daubed over with whiting, which may be wiped off or renewed at pleasure. There are few that retain what they have learned in their youth ; doubtless things were often wiped out of the memory of the Arabs in the days of Job, as well as out of their writing- tables. Job therefore says, " O that they were written in a book," from whence they should not be blotted out ! But books were liable to injuries, and for this reason he wishes his words might be even srnren in a rock, the most lasting way of all. Thus the distinction between icriling and wriling in a book, becomes perfectly sensible, and the gra- dation appears in its beauty, which is lost in our translation, where the word printed is introduced, which, besides its im- propriety, conveys no idea of the meaning of Job, records that are designed to last long not being distinguished from less durable papers by being printed. — Bluder. The word rock, which our translators have made u.se of, seems to me to be more just than thai used by Schullens. It is certain thai the word ^n tzur, whi<-h is in the original, signifies in other places of the book of Job, a rock ; and never there, or anywhere else in the scriptures, that I am aware of, and I have with some care examined the point, does it signify a small sepulchral stone, or monumental pillar. On the other hand, I am sure the words that are used for this purpose, when ihe sacred writers speak of the sepulchral .sione on Rachel's grave; of the pillar erected by Ah.salom to keep up his memory; and of that monu- ment which marked out the place where the prophet was bnned that prophesied against the altar of Jemboain, and which continued to Ihe days of Jo-iah; are different. Nor can the using this term appear strange, if we consider ihe extreme antiquity of the book of J b; since it is easy to imagine, that the first inscriptions on stones were engraved on some places of the rocks, which were accidently smooth- ed, and made pretty even. And, in fact, we find soine that are very ancient, engraved on the natural rock, and what is reinarkable, in Arabia, where ii is supposed Job lived. This is one of the most curious observations in that account of the prefetto of Egypt, which was published by Ihe lale bishop of Clogher ; and is, in my apprehension, an ex- quisite confirmation of our translation, though there Is reason to think neither the writer nor editor of that journal thought of this passage, and so consequently claims a place in this collection. The jirefetto, speaking in his journal of his disengaging himsell at length from the mountains of Faran, says, " they came to a large plain, surrounded however with high hills, at the foot of which we reposed ourselves in our lenls, at about half an hour after ten. These hills are called Gcbd el Mokalab, that is, the Written Mountains: for, as soon as we had parted from the mountains of Faran, we passed by several others for an hour together, engraved with ancient unknown characters, which were cut in the hard marble rock, .so high as to be in many places at twelve or fourteen feet distance from the ground : and though we had in our company persons who were acquainted with the Arabic, Greek, Hebrew, Syriac, Coptic, Latin, Armenian, Turkish, English, Illyrican, German, and Bohemian languages, yet none of them had any knowledge of these characters ; which have nevertheless been cut into the hard rock, with Ihe greatest industry, in a place where there is neither wale'', nor any thing to be gotten to eat. It is probable, therefore, these unknown characters contain some very secret mysteries, and that they were engraved either by the Chaldeans, or some other persons long before the coming of Christ." The curious bishop of Clogher, who most laudably made very generous proposals to the Antiquarian Society, to en- gage them to try to decipher the.se inscriptions, was ready to imagine they are the ancient Hebrew characters, which the Israelites, having learned to write at the time of giving Ihe law, diverted themselves with engraving on these mount- ains, during their abode in the wilderness. There are still in Arabia several inscriptions in the natural rock ; and this way of writing is very durable, for these engravings have, It seems, outlived the knowledge of Ihe characters made use of; the practice was, for the same reason, very ancient as well as durable ; and if the.se letters are not so ancient as the days of Moses, which Ihe Bishop of Clogher sujtposes, yet these inscriptions might very well be Ihe continuation of a practice in use in the days of Job, and may therefore be thought to be referred to in these words of his, O that thev trere i^raren .... in the rocJc forever! — HjRMER. Ver. 23. O that my words were now written ! oh that they were printed in a book I 24 That they were graven Avith an iron pen and lead in the rock for ever ! 25. For I know that my Redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter daj/ upon the earth ; 26. And though, after my skin, worms destroy this hoily. yet in iny flesh shall I see God : 27. Whom I shall see for myself and mine eyes shall behold, and not another ; thovgh my reins be consumed within me. It has been the fashion with a class of interpreters and divines, pleased perhaps to a.ssociate their own with the celebrated names of Groiius, Le Clerc, and AVarburton, lo explode from this passage any reference to a future life, or Ihe expectation of the Messiah; and no slight contempt has been expressed for the credulity and mental servitude (very candidly taken for granted) of those who enlerlain the be- lief of such a reference. This has, however, been the opin- ion of Ihe greater number of scripture critics, ancient and modern, popish and prolestant. The usual objeciions against this interpretation are, that no vestiges appear in the book of Job, of any acquaintance with the doclrinc of a future life; that it would be very extraordinary if there really existed in the mind of the composer of this book, any Chap. I'J. JOB. knowledge of the ReJeemer lo come, that such a glorious hope should show itself nowhere but in this single passage; thai we cannot reconcile such an avowal with the despond- ency which appears to have prevailed in the mind of Job; and that the terms employed do not necessarily import more than the ]-ersuasion of a deliverance, by divine goodness, from the present calamity, and a restoration to health and happiness, in the present life. To these reasonings we reply, 1. Admitting that there is no intimation of the doctrine of immortality and a future judgment, or of the expectation of a Messiah, in any other pan of this book, the consequence does not follow. It should be recollected that, in a poetical book, the matter is disposed considerably according lo the taste and choice of the writer; and that a more vivid im- pression might be made, by presenting a capital circum- stance, with its brightness arid force collected into one point, than would be produced if it were dispersed through the general composition. The whole texture of this passage, introduced with the most impassioned wish for attention and pei^petual remembrance, and sustained in thesublimest style of utterance, is evidently thus contrived to interest and impre.ss in the highest degree. Those of our objectors who ascribe the date of the poem to the period of the captivity, cannot refuse to admit that the writer possessed whatever knowledge the Jewish nation had with respect to a Messiah and a futui;e state. The writings of Moses and the former prophets, and the greater part of the works of the laUer prophets, and the books grouped with the Psalms, were, at this time, the accredited scriptures of the Jews; and few will be so hardy as lo affirm, that no intimations occur in those writings of the doctrines which constituted the hope and con.solation of Israel. On this (in my opinion, untenable) hypothesis, it would appear highly credible that some very distinct ref- erence to those doctrines would enter materially into the structure of the work. i. The alleged inconsistency between these expressions of triumphant confidence, as we understand them, and the gloominess and despondency generally prevalent in the speeches of Job, presses equally on our opponents, who con- fine tlie passage to the expectation of restored prosperity in the present life. It lies even more against them, for Job, not only before, but in his very last ''peech, cviilen/Ii/ de- spaired of a resloraliim to lempoml fcllci'it- His projierty might, indeed, by some wonderful, though almost incredible reverse of God's providence, be retrieved ; or, at least, equivalent comforts in that class of things might be obtain- ed : but his children were destroyed; they could not live again : and his owu disorder, pro'bablv the' dreadful orien- tal leprosj', was incurable and fatal.' Yet, between tliis hopeless condition as to earthly enjovnients, and a vigorous aspiration of the mind after spiritual and immortal ble.ss- ings, there is no inconsistency. A man must have little judgment, little taste, and le.ss' moral sensibility, who does not perceive in these alternations of faith and diffidence, despair and hope, a picture exquisitely just and touching, of the human mind, under the influence of the most agita- 'i"? '^I'.nflict between religious principle resting on the be- lief of invisible existences, and, on the other hand, the dic- tates of sense, the pressure of misery, and the violence of temptations. :). But we are not disposed to grant either ofthe assump- tions before mentioned. We have better evidence than the dicta of German anli-supcrnalurali.sts, or the opinions of English refiners upon theology, that the patriarchs from whom the tradition of divine truths had descended to Job, "confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth, and desired a better country, that is, a heavenly." Nor is it credible that the promi.se dfa Messiah was totally unknown to the true worshippers of Jehovah in Arabia, allied to the family of Abraham, and in the habil of reve- rciiiially cherishing the remains of primeval truth. And, besides the possession of the palriarclial religion, what is there lo prevent anv but a deist from conceiving that God might ixsiMRK his faithful and afflicted servant with the krunvledge and the joyful confidence which he expresses? Is not such a supposition consonnni with all the known scheme and principles of the divine dispensations 1 Was not the occasion worthy of the inlerposiiion ? Has it not always been the faith of the Jewish and of the Chrisiian church, thai the ultimate seiilimenlx which it is the design of the book of Job to support and illustrate, and which, in the se- quel of the book, receive the stamp of divine approbation form a part ofthe body of revealed truth 1 There are also many passages in the book which may be rationally urged as recognitions of a future state. 4. The bare assertion that the terms of the pa.ssage do not import so much as is usually attributed to them", may be fairly enough met by asserting the conlrary. To the un- learned reader, as well as to the critical scholar, the means of judging for himself are industriously presented, in the close version given above, and in the remarks and refer- ences subjoined. The words are as plain as in any instance the language of prophecy ran be expected to be. It appears to me strictly rational, probable, and in harmony with the great plan of a progressive revelation, to regard this re- markable passage as dictated by the Spirit of prophecy, who, "in many portions, and in many modes, spake to the fathers." Let me also entreat the reader's most impartial considera- tion, whether the sense here maintained is not required, even necessitated, by the words, taken in their fair meaning and connexion ; and whelher the affixing of a lower inier- pretalion does not oblige those who take this course, to put a manifest force upon the phrases, and upon the marks of pre-eminent importance with which the sacred author has signalized them. After employing the utmost force and beauty of language to stamp importance upon the words which 'he was about to utter, and to ensure for them a never-dying attention, the patriarch protests his confidence that the living God, the eternal, independent, and unchanging One, would be his Vindicator from injustice, and his Redeemer from all his sorrows ; and would restore him from the state of death, to a new life of supreme happiness in the favour and enjoy- ment of God. It is not necessary lo suppose that Job understood the full import and extent of what he was " moved by the Holy Spirit to speak." The general belief on the divine testi- mony of a future Saviour from sin and its consequent evils, would place him on a level with other saints, in his own and many succeeding ages, who "died in faith, not re- ceiving the promises" in iheir clearest development, "but SEEIKG THE.M AFAR OFF." Evcu whcn thosc promiscs had received many accessions of successive revelations, the Jewish prophets did not apprehend the exact design and meaning of their own predictions; for " they inquired and searclied diligently— what or what kind of time, the Spirit of Christ which was in Ihem did signify." Our inquiry is, therefore, not so much what the patriarch actually under- stood, as what the Author of inspiration intended; since it was " not unto themselves, but unto us," that the patriarchs and prophets "ministered those things." "No prophecy of scripture is of self-solution;" but is made gradually plainer by new communicalions from the same omniscient source, and by the light of events. Upon this principle, it is proper for us to compare the language of this passage, with the character and declara- tions of Him to whom " all the prophets gave witness." He, in the fulnessof the times, was manifested, as the Redeemer from sin and death, the First and the Last, and the Living One, the Resurrection and the Life ; who, in the appointed season, " is coining with the clouds, and every eye shall see him; whose voice the dead shall hear, and hearing, shall live." If, then, the evidence which we can attain in this case, be sufficient to satisfy an impartial judgment, that the pas- sage before us was "given by inspiration of God," as a prophecy of the .second coming of the only Redeemer and Judge of mankind ; it is no less evidence in point to our present investigation, on the person of the Great Deliverer, than if it directly regarded his first advent : — and it unequi- vocally designates Him by the highest titles and attributes of Deiiy. Upon the hypothesis of those who regard the book of Job as a divine parable, all doctrinal and practical con- clusions from it are slrenglhened, rather than rendered weak or precarious. — J. P. Smith. Vor. 24. Thtit they were graven with an iron pen and lead in the rock for ever! This probably refers lo the ancient practice of writing on sler having saluted the company, sat himself down to the table, without ceremony; ate with us during some time, and then went away, repealing several times the name of God. They told us it was some traveller, who, no doubt, stood in need of refreshment, and who had profited by the opportunity, according lo the custom of the East, which is to exercise hospitality at all limes, and towards all persons." The reader will be pleased to see the ancient hospitality of the East still maintained, and even a stranger profiting by an opportunity of supplying his wants. It reminds us of the gue.sts of Abraham, (Gen. chap, xviii.,) of the con- duct of Job, (chap. xxxi. 17,) and especially, perhaps, of that frankness with which the apostles of Christ were to enter into a man's house after a .salutation, and there lo con- tinue "eating and drinking such things as were set before them," Luke x. 7. Such behaviour would be considered as extremely intrusive, and indeed insupportable, among our- selves; but the maxims of ihe East would qualify ihal, as they do many other customs, by local proprieties, on which we'are incompetent to determine.— Tavi.or in Calmet. Ver. 22. Then let mine arm fall from my shoulder- hlade, and mine arm be broken from the bone. It is said, " If I have done as you say, may these legs be broken." "Yes, let these eyes he blinrl, if I have seen the thing you mention." " May this body wither and faint, if I am guilty of ihat crime."" " If I uttered that expression, then let the worms eat out this tongue."— Roberts. Ver. 2G. If I beheld the sun when it shiiied, or the moon walking in brightness, 27. And my heart hath been secretly enticed, or my mouth hath kissed my hand: 28. This also ?cfrp an iniquity to be punished hi/ the judge: for I should have denied the God that is above. To kiss ihe hand and place it on the head, is a token of respect less revolting toour minds, than someofthose which have been mentioned. An Oriental pays his respects to a person of superior station, by kissing his hand, and putting It to his forehead; hut if thesiiperioi- he of a condescending temper, he will snatch away his hand, as soon as the other has touched it ; Ihen the inferior puts his own fingers lo his lips, and afterward to his forehead. It seems, according to Pitt's, to be a common uraciice among ihe Mohammedans, that when they cannot kiss the h.ind of a superior, they kiss Iheir own, and put it to Iheir forehead: thus also they ven- erate an unseen being, whtun they cannot touch. But the custom existed long before t he nac of Mohammed; for in the .•iaine way ihe ancient idolaters worshipped their distant or unseen deities. " If," said Job, " I beheld the sun when it shined, or the moon walking in brightness, and my heart liath been secretly enticed, and mv mouih hath kis.sed my Chap. 31—33. JOB. 351 hand, this also were an iniquity to be punished by the judge; for 1 shoukl have denied the God that is above." Had the alflicted man done this, in the case to which he refers, it would have been an idolatrous action, although it is exactly agreeable to the civil expressions of respect which obtained m his country, and over all the East. — ^Paxton. Ver. 32. The stranger did not lodge in the street ; but I opened my doors to the traveller. No people can be more kind and hospitable to travellers of their own caste, than those of the Ea.st ; and even men of the lower grades have always places to go to. See the stranger enter the premises; he looks at the master and says, paratkcasc, i. e. a pilgrim, and he is allowed to take up his abode for the night. For his entertainment, he has to re- peat the jmthenam, news of his country and journey, or any legend of olden time. — Roberts. Ver. 35. Oh that one would hear me ! hehold, my desire is that the Almighty would answer me, and that mine adver.sary had written a book : 36. Surely I would take it upon iny shoulder, and bind it as a crown to me. This refers to accusations against the innocent Job. A man charged of a crime which he has not committed, says, " If I am guilty, I will carry it on my head." " I am sure you have done this deed." — "H" " Yes." — " Then will I wear it on my head." " That fellow wears his crimes on his head," i. c. he is not ashamed of them. The head is reckoned superior to all other parts of the body. — Roberts. The business of book-making, it is to be presumed, had made but little progress in the days of Job, and it is not easy to see how such a performance, on the part of Job's adver- sary, as the writing a book, could have afforded any peculiar gratification to tlie afflicted man's feelings. In modern times, when such an enterprise is of all others the most hazardous, it might perhaps be a very appropriate expres- sion of ill-will-, to wish that an adversary had engaged in a publishing speculation. But in the case of Job and his uialigners, we must seek for a different explication ; for even had the trade of authorship been as common and as perilous in those days as it now is, we cannot but consider Job too good a man to have given vent to so bad a wish. Prom the context, we learn that the pious sufferer was aggrieved by the raguenessoi the charges preferred against him by his fiarsh-judging comforters. They dealt in loose generalities, affording him no opportunity to vindicate him- self by answering to a specific accusation. In the words cited, he utters the earnest wish that a definite form were given to the injurious imputations of his false friends. He would fain be summoned to a formal trial ; he would have the cfwrgcs hnokcd against him, that he might know what were the aspersions which were to be wiped from his char- acter. Such an accusation, thus definitely wriuen, he would bear about publicly and conspicuously, that he might pub- licly and conspicuously confute it; he would bear it as an ornament, convinced it would, in the end, by his triumphant disproval of it, redound to the still higher honour of his innocence. That the Heb. scphcr, booli, may without vio- lence be thus interpreted, is clear from Deut. xxiv. 1 : " Let him write a 4/7/ of ilii-oixcment, (sepher,) and give it in her liand, and send her out of his house." In the present con- nexion it is tantamount to a l>lll of eiidictmenl. — Busn. From the following extract it appears what is the cus- tomary kind of homage which, in the East, is paid not only to sovereignty, but to communications of the sovereign's will, whether by word or letter: "When the mognl, by letters, sends his commands lo any of his governors, these papers are enterlained with as much respect as if himself were present; for the governor, having intelligence that such letters are coming near him, himself, with other infe- rior officers, rides forth to meet the palnmnr, or messenger, that brings them, and as soon as he sees those letters, he alights from his horse, falls down im the earth, and takes them from the messenger, tryid t^n/s t/irw,n/i his/icad, vhcrcon tic biiuh them fiisl : then retiring to his place of public meet- ing, he reads and answers them." (Sir Thomas Roe.) — Blikdf.k. When Soliman ascended the throne, " the letter which was to be presented to the new monarch was delivered lo the general of the slaves, contained in a purse of cloth of gold, drawn together with strings of twisted gold and silk with tassels of the same. The general threw himself at his majesty's feet, bowing to the very ground ; then rising upon his knees, he drew out of the bosom of his garment the bag containing the letter which the as.senibly had sent to the new monarch. Presently he opened the bag, took out the letter, kissed it, laid it to his forehead, presented it to his majesty, and then rose up." To such a custom Job evidently refers in these words : " Oh that mine adversary had written a book: surely I would take it upon my shoulder, and bind it as a crown to me," or, on my head. — Paxton. Ver. 38. If my land cry against me, or that the furrows likewise thereof complain. Does a man through idleness or meanness neglect to cultivate, or water, or manure his fields and gardens, those who pass that way say, " Ah I these fields have good reason to complain against the owner." " Sir, if yon defraud these fields, will they not defraud you V " The fellow who robs his own lands, will he not rob you 1" " These fields are in great sorrow, throngh the neglect of their owner." — Roberts. Ver. 39. If I have eaten the fruits thereof without money, or have caused the owners thereof to lose their life. Was not Job the owner of the land 1 Does he not say in the preceding verse my land 1 How then could he have caused the owners to lose their life 1 Dr. Boothroyd has it, "or have grieved the soul of its managers." Coverdale has it, " grieved any of the ploughmen." The Tamul has the same idea : " If I have eaten the fruits thereof without paying for the labour, or have afllicted the soul of the cnUi- vaton." Great landowners in the East do not generally cultivate their own fields : they employ men, who find all the labour, and have a certain part of the produce for their remuneration. The cultivator, if defrauded, will say, "The furrows I have made bear witness against hini; they complain." Job therefore means, if the fields could complain for want of proper culture, or if he had afflicted the tiller, or eaten the produce without rewarding him for his toils, then " let thistles grow instead of wheal and cockle instead of barley." — Roberts. CHAPTER XXXII. Ver. 5. When Elihu saw that there was no an- swer in the mouth of these three men, then his wrath was kindled. When men are completely confounded, when they have not a word to say in reply, it is said, " in their uiyila, i. e. mouth, there is no answer." — Roberts. Ver. 21. Let me not, I pray you, accept any man's person ; neither let me give flattering titles unto man. The Hebre-iv word here used signifies to surname, or more properly to call a person by a name which does not .strictly belong to him, and that generally in compliment or flattery. Mr. Scott on this passage informs us from Po- cocke, that " the Arabs make court to their superiors by carefully avoiding to address them by their proper names, instead of which, they salute them with .some title or epi- thet expressive of respect." — Burder. CHAPTER XXXIII. Vor. 0. Behold, I am according to thy wish in God's stead ; I also am formed out of the clay. "The body and the herb, which come from the clay, will also return to it." " The body must return to the dust, why then trouble yourself! Will it exist for an immeasurable period 1" — Roberts. Ver. 16. Then he openeth the ears of men, and sealeth their instruction. 352 JOB. Chap. 33—38. It is usual 10 say, " I will open lliat fellow'.s cars. I will take away the covering." " Ah! will you not open your ears 1" — Roberts. Vcr. 24. Then he is gracious unto him, and saith, Deliver him from going iovm to the pit; I h.ivc found a ransom. A species of capital punishment which serves to illus- trate llie sacred t'-^rt, is the pit into which the condemned ["".sons were precipitated. The Athenians, and particu- Inrlv the tribe Hippothoontis, frequently condemned offend- ers to the pit. Il was a dark, noisome hole, and had sharp spikes at the lop, that no criminal might escape; and others a", the bottom, to pierce and torment those unhappy persons that were cast in. Similar to this place was the Lacede- monian Kcii.i,!nt, into which Aristomenes, the Messenian, being cast, made his escape in a very surprising maimer. This mode of punishment is of great antiquity; for the speakers in the book of Job make several allusions to it. Thus, in the speech of Elihu : " He keepelh back his soul from the pit, and his life from perishing by the sword." — " Then is he gracious unto him, and sailh. Deliver him I'roni going down to the pit ; I have found a ransom." — " He will deliver his .soul from going down into the pit, and his life shall see the light." The allusions in the book of P.salms are numerous and interesting ; thus llic Psalmist prays, " Be not silent to me ; lest if thou be silent to me, I become like them that go down into the pit." — " Let them be cast into deep pits, that they rise not up again." The following allusion occurs in the prophecies of I.saiah : " The captive exile hastenelh, that ne may be loosed, and thai he should not die in the pit, nor that his bread should fail." — P.\.\T0.v. CHAPTER XXXIV. Vcr. 7. What man is like Job, wAo drinketh up scorning like water? Of a man who does not care for contempt or hatred, it is said, " He drinks up their hatred like water." When a man is every way superior to his enemies, " Ah ! he drinks them up like water." " He is a man of wonderful talents, for he drinks up science as water." Thus, Elihu wished to show that Job had hardened himself, and was insensible to scorn, for he had swallowed it as water. — Roeert.s. CHAPTER XXXVI. Ver. 3. I will fetch iny knowledge from afar, and will ascribe righteousness to my Maker. There is something in our nature which places superior importance on any thing w'hich comes from afar. When a man has to contend with a person who is veiy learned, should a friend express a doubt as to the result, or advise him to take great care, he will say, " Fear not, vcggvlnnra- tila, from very far I will fetch my arguments." " The arguments which are afar off, shall now be brought near." " Well, sir, since you pre.ss me, I will fetch my knowledge from afar." — Roberts. CHAPTER XXXVII. Ver. 6. For he saith to the snow, Be thou on the earth; likewise to the small rain, and to the great rain of his strength. In the East Indies the commencement and the breaking of the monsoons are generally very severe ; the rain descends in the most astonishing torrents. In a few hours the inhab- itants find themselves in a liquid plain. The high and ihe low grounds arc equally covered, and exhibit ihe appear- ance of an immense lake, and surrounded by thick dark- ness, which prevents them from distinguishing a single object, except such as the vivid glare of lightning displays in horrible forms. In the winter months the mountain Hoods swell the small rivers of India in a wonderful man- ner. Within a few hours Ihey often rise twenty or thirty feel above their usual height, and run with astonishing rapidity ; and the larger rivers, before gentle and pellucid, are then furious and destructive, sweeping away whole villages, with their inhabitants and cattle, while tigers and other furious animals from Ihe wilds join the general wreck, and unite their horrid voices with the cries of old men and helpless women, and the shrieks of their expiring children, in its pas.sage to the ocean. Il is in such a scene that the beauty of Elihu's speech to Job, in which he mentions "the great rain of his strength," are properly understood. Even in the milder climate of Judea, the rains pour down three or four days and nights together, as vehemently as if they would drown the country, sweeping away in their furious course the produce of the field, and the soil on which il grew, the flocks and herds, and human dwellings, with their hapless inmates, in one promiscuous ruin. Far dif- ferent are the feelings awakened in the mind, by the sight of a majestic, pure, and quiet river, on whose verdant pas- tures the Hocks repose, or drink, without alarm or danger, of its flowing waters. So full of majesty and gentleness, neither alarming the fears, endangering the safety, nor encouraging the carelessness of genuine Chrislians, are the consolations of true religion. So the Psalmist felt, when he selected the loveliest image in the natural world to convey an idea of the rich and ample provision which the divine bounty has made for man : " He maketh me to lie down in green pastures ; he leadelh me beside the still waters." — Paxton. Ver. 7. He sealeth up the hand of every man, that all men may know his work. Has a man something in his hand which he does not wish to show to another, he sa3-s, " My hand is sealed." Of a gentleman who is very benevolent, il is said, " His hand is sealed for charity only." " Please, sir, give me this." — " What ! is my hand sealed to give to all V' " What secret was that which Tamban told you last evening 1" — " I can- not answer ; my mouth is sealed." " That man never for- gets an injury." — " No, no, he seals it in his mind." A husband who has full confidence in his wife, says, " I have sealed her." Canticles iv. 12. To seal a person, therefore, is to secure him, and prevent others from injuring him, — Roberts. CHAPTER XXXVIII. Ver. 3. Gird up now thy loins like a man; for I will demand of thee, and answer thou me. " Well, Tamby, you have a diflicult task before you : gird up your loins."' " Come, help me to gird this sdli, i. e. mantle, or shawl, round my loins ; I have a long way lo nm." "Poor fellow! he soon gave it up; his loins were not well gilded." — Roberts. Ver. 14. It is turned as clay to the seal; and they stand as a garment. The birds pillage Ihe granary of Joseph extremely, where the corn of Egypt is deposited that is paid as a lax to the grand seignior, for it is quite uncovered at ihe top, there being liltle or no rain in that country; its doors how- ever are kept carefully sealed, but its inspectors do not make use of wax upon this occasion, but put their seal upon a handful of clay, with which they cover the lock of the door. This serves instead of wax ; and it is visible, things of the greatest value might be safely sealed up in the same manner. Had Junius known this circumstance, or had he at least reflected on it, he would not perhaps have explained Job xxxviii. 14, // v.f tvnicd rt-i rftjy lofhcscal, of the pollers adorning clay with various paintings, or various emboss- ings ; especially had he considered, that the produclions of the wheel of the poller, in the age and the country of Job, were, in all probability, very clumsy, unadorned things, since even still in Egypt, the ancient source of ails, the ewer, which is made, according to Norden, very clumsy, is one of the best pieces of earthenware that they have there, all the art of tne poller, in that country, ronsi.sting in an ability to make some vile pots or dishes,"without varnish. — Harmer. Ver. 16. Hast thou entered into the springs of the sea ? or hast thou walked in the search of the depth ? To a vain boasting fellow it is said, " Yes, yes ; the Chap. 39. JOB. 353 sea is only knee-deep to thee." " It is all true ; thou hast measured the sea." — Roberts. Ver. 34. Canst thou lift up thy voice to the clouds, that abundance of waters may cover thee? 35. Canst thou send lightnings, that they may go, and say unto thee, Here we are ? This probably refers to thunder, and its eiTects in pro- ducing rain. It is said, " Why, fellow, are you making such a noise 1 Are you going to shake the clouds 1 Is it rain you are going to produce V " What is all this noise about 1 Is it rain you want V " Cease, cease j'our roaring; the rain will not come." " Listen to that elephant, rain is coming." — Roberts. Ver. 39. Wilt thou hunt the proy for the lions 1 or fill the appetite of the young lions ? To a man who is boasting of the speed of his foot, or his prowess, it is said, " Yes, there is no doubt thou wilt hunt the prey for the tiger." When a person does a favour for a cruel man, it is asked, " What ! give food to the tiger V "O yes; give milk to the serpent." "Here comes the sportsman ; he has been hunting prey for the tiger." — Roberts. CHAPTER XXXIX. Ver. I. Knowest thou the time when the wild goats of the rock bring forth? oV canst thou mark when the hinds do calve? It is well known that the hind goes with yoimg eight months, and brings forth her fawn in the beginning of au- tumn. Why then does Jehovah address these interroga- tions to Job: " Knowest thou the time when the wild goats of the rock bring forth 1 Or canst thou mark when the hinds do calve ? Canst thou number the months that they fulfil ■? Or knowest thou the time when they bring forth f" Could Job be ignorant of circumstances which were ob- vious to all the shepherds in the East, who had numerous opportunities of observing the habits and manners of these creatures 1 It is obvious that Jehovah could not refer lo the mere speculative knowledge of these facts, but to that which is proper to himself, by which he not only knows, but also directs and governs all things. This is confirmed by the use of the verb (^c^') sJuutmr, which .signifies to ob- serve, 10 keep, or to guard: Knowest thou the lime when the wild goats bring forth, the parturition of the hinds dost thou guard'! Without the protecting care of God, who up- holds all his works by the word of his power, the whole race of these timid creatures would soon be destroyed by the violence of wild beasls, or the arts of the hunter. Ii is with great propriety, says one of the ancients, that Jehovah demands, " The birth of the hinds dost thou guard V for, since this animal is always in flight, and with fear and ter- ror always leaping and skipping about, she could never bring her young to maturity without such a special protec- tion. The providence of God, therefore, is equally con- spicuous in the preservation of the mother and the fawn ; both are the objects of his compassion and tender care ; and consequently, that alllicted man had no reason to charge his Maker with unkindncss, who condescends to watch over the goats and the hinds. — Paxton. Ver. 3. They bow themselves, they bring forth their young ones, they cast out their sorrows. 4. Their young ones are in good liking, they grow up with corn; they go forth, and return not unto them. The hind has no sooner brought forth her fawn, than the pain she sulTered is forgotten : " They bow themselves" to bring forth their young ones, "they cast out their sorrows." These words must forcibly remind the reader of the ma- ternal pains and joys of a higher order of beings: "A wom.in, when she is in travail, hath sorrow, because her hour is come : but as soon as she is delivered of the child, she remembereth no more the anguish, for joy that a man is born into the world." It is added, " Their young ones arc in good liking, they grow up with corn ; they go forth, 45 and return not unto them." Though they are brought forth in sorrow, and have no human owner to provide for their wants, and to guard them from danger, yet, after being suckled a while, they become vigorous and active, and shift for themselves in the open fields. They grow up with corn, says our translation ; but the fawn is not com- monly fed in the cornfield, because it lives in the deserts, and frequents those places which are far remote from the cultivated field. Besides, in Arabia, where Job flourished, the harvest is reaped in the months of March and April, long before the hinds bring forth their young. The fawn, therefore, does not thrive with corn, but with the few shrubs and hardy plants which grow in the wilderness or open country. But the inspired writer has committed no mistake ; the original phrase is capable of another transla- tion, which perfectly corresponds with the condition of that animal, in those parts of the world. In Chaldee, the word (-133) babar, or (ni33) babara, is evidently the same as the Hebrew (71^13) bahonts. Thus in Laban's address to Jacob, when he arrived in Padanaram, " Why standest thou with- out," the Hebrew word is (I'lna) bahouls ; and in Jonathan and Onkelos it is (ni33) JoAara. The same remark applies to a text in the book of Exodus : " If he rise again and walk abroad upon his staff;" in Hebrew (vi:i3) bahouts; in Chaldee, (n-'33) babara. Hence, the phrase may be trans- lated, They grow up without, or in the open field. Many other instances might be specified, but these are sufficient to establish the justice of the remark. Even the Hebrew phrase itself is translated by Schultens, " in the open field," which is indisputably the sense of the passage under con- sideration. Thus, when the fawn is calved, it grows up in the desert, under the watchful providence of God ; it soon forsakes the spot where it was brought forth, and suckled by the dam, and returns no more. — Paxton. Ver. 5. Who hath sent out the wild ass free? or who hath loosed the bands of the wild ass? 6. Whose house I have made the wilderness, and the barren land his dwellings. 7. He scorneth the multitude of the city, neither re- gardcth he the crying of the driver. 8, The range of the mountains is his pasture, and he searcheth after every green thing. This animal was called orot aypiot, among the Greeks, and onager by the Romans. Some natural historians con- sider it'as a different species from the tame and domestic ass; but others, among whom is the celebrated Buffon, af- firm, that it differs from its unhappy relation only in those particulars which are the proper effects of independence and liberty. Although more elegantly shaped, the general form of its body is the same ; but in temper and manners it is extremely dissimilar. Intended to fill a higher place in the kingdom of nature, than its abject and enslaved brother, it exhibits endowments which, in all ages, have commanded the admiration of every observer. Animated by an unconquerable love of liberty, this high-.spirited ani- mal submits his neck with great reluctance to the yoke of man ; extremely jealous of the least restraint, he shuns the inhabited country, and steadily rejects all the delicacies it has to offer. His chosen haunt is the solitary and inhos- pitable desert, where he roves at his ease, exulting in the possession of unrestrained freedom. The.se are not acci- dental nor acquired traits in his character; but instincts, implanted by the hand of his Maker, that are neither to be extinguished nor modified by length of time, nor change of circumstances. To this wild and imtameable temper, Je- hovah him.self condescends to direct the attention of Job, when he answered him out of the whirlwind, and said: " Who hath sent out the wild ass free "? or who hath loosed the bands of the wild assl whose house I have made the wilderness, and the barren land his dwellings. He scorn- eth the multitude of the city, neither regardeth he the cry- ing of the driver. The range of the mountains is his pas- ture, and he searcheth after every green thing." The proper name of this animal in the Hebrew language, is (nib) ipara, a term which, according to some writers, is expressive of its extreme suspicion. It is employed by Mo- ses to denote the wild and untractable disposition of Ish- mael and his descendants; and by Zophar, to characterize a vain, self-righteous, and obstinate person. In accordance 354 JOB. Chap. 39. with ihis ide.T, ilie noun furnishes a verb in llie Hiplul form, which signifies lo acl n.N wiUlly ns ilie (inatjer. Oilieis de- rive Ihe noun from a ChaMee verb, which signifus lo run wilh great swiftness; and everv writer, ancient and modern, who lias treated of this animal, li:is aliesicd tlie wonderful celerity wilh which it Hies over ihe deserl. According lo Leo A'fricauu'-, ihe wild ass yields only to the horses of Barbary ; and Xenophon avers, in his Anabasis, that il out- runs the lleetest hoi-ses. Il has feel like ihe whirlwind, says Oppian ; yElian asserts, that il seems as if it were car- ried forwaid bv wings like a bird. These teslinionies are confirmed by Professor Gmclin, who saw numerous troops of ihem in the deserts of Great Tarlarv, and says, The onagers are animals adapted lo runnin?' and of such swiftness, that Ihe best horses cannot equal Ihem. Relying on its extraordinary powers, it fre- quently mocks the pursuit of the hunter ; and in ihe slri- kin" description of its Creator, '•Scorneth Ihe multitude of the city." that invade ils relreats, and seek its de.slruclion. It laughs (as ihe original term properly signifies) at their numbers and Iheir speed, and .seems to take a malicious pleasure in disappointing Iheir hopes. Xenophon slates, that the onagers in Mesopotamia, when pursued on horse- back, will slop suddenly in the midst of their career, till the hunters approach, and then dart away with surprising ve- locity ; and again stop, as if inviting them to make another crtbr'l to overtake them, but immediately dart away again like an arrow shot from a bow: indeed, it would be impos- sible for men to take them, without the assistance of art. " We gave chase," says Mr. Morier, " to two wild asses, but which had so much the speed of our horses, that when they had got at .some distance, they slood still and looked behind at us, snorting with Iheir noses in Ihe air, as if in contempt of our endeavours to catch them." The hunters, however, often lie in wait for ihem at ihe ponds of brackish water, to which Ihey resort to drink ; or take ihem alive by means of concealed pits, half filled wilh planlsand branches of trees, lo le.s.sen the creature's fall. At other limes Ihe chase is continued by relays of fresli horses, which the hunters mount as ihe others are exhausted, till the strength of the animal is so completely worn out, that it can be easily overtaken. Tlie wild ass, unsocial in his temper, and impatient of re.slrainl, fi'equenls the solitary wilderness, and the vast in- hospitable deserl, the salt marsh, and the mountain range. This is Ihe .scene adapted to his nature and instincts, and his proper domain allotted lo him by Ihe author of his being. We are not left to infer this fact from the manners and habit-s of the animal ; Jehovah himself has attested it in lhe.se terms: "Whose house I have made the wilder- ness, and the barren land his dwellings." He who made Ihe wild ass free, and loosed his hands, provides a habita- tion for him in the desert, where the voice of man is not heard, nor a human dwelling meets his eye. But every deserl is not equally to his liking; il is Ihe barren or sail land in which he delights. So grateful is salt lo his taste, that he uniformly prefers brackish water lo fresh, and se- lects for his food those plants that are impregtialed wilh saline particles, or thai have bitter juices. He therefore retires from ihe cultivated or fertile regions, not merely lo be free from the domination of man, but to enjoy the pas- ture which is agreeable to his instincts. " The multitude," or the abundance of Ihe city, " he despises for the salt or bitler leaf on Ihe sandy waste." Into such a state of desolation and sterility was Ihe in- heritance of God's ancient people reduced, by the arms of Nebuchadnezzar: " Upon the land of my people shall come up thorns and briers, yea, upon all the houses of joy in the joyous city: because the palacesshall be forsaken, the mul- titude of ihe city shall be lefl, the forts and towers shall be dens for ever, a joy of wild a.sses, a pa.slure of flocks." A more atfecling picture can scarcely be conceived; the de- populated fields and ruined cities of a country once flow- ing wilh milk and honey, were lo become the favourite haunts of those shy creatures " for ever," or during the long period of seventy years. " Until ihe spirit" should be poured upon them from on high, from the beginning lo Ihe end of the captivity, a tedious and irksome period lo Ihe unhappy captives, were the wild a.sses to siray through Iheir barren fields, and repose in their deserted houses, undisturbed bv the presence of man. But the pride and barbarity of their oppressor were soon visited wilh corres- ponding punishmenl. He was deprived of reason, which lie had so greatly abused, and by the violence of his disor- der, " driven from Ihe sons of men, and his heart was made like the beasts; and his dwelling was wilh the wild asses," in the salt land and frightful desert. He seems to have been divested of ever)' thing human but Ihe form ; irra- tional and sensual, he was guided solely by his animal propensities. Nor was he longer able to distinguish what was becoming or agreeable, even to Ihe anim:.l nature of man ; every desire and appetite was become so brutish, that he fell no wish lo associate wilh beings of his own kind, but lived wilh the beasts, and fed in their pasture. Some respectable writers have considered the onager as a .solitary creature, refusing lo associate even with those of his own species, because he shuns the presence of man, and frequents the most frightful solitudes. But Ihis hasty opinion is completely refuted by the Icslimonv of modern travellers, the nomadic hordes of Tarlary, and the trading companies of Bukharia. From their accounts we learn that the wild asses are slill very numerous in the deserts of Great Tarlary, and come annually in great herds, which spread themselves in ihe mountainous deserts to Ihe north and east of Lake Aral. Here ihey pass the summer, and assemble in ihe autumn by hundreds, and even by thou- sands, in order lo return in company lo Iheir former re- treats in Ihe mountains of Northern Asia. The grega- rious character of the wild ass is not in reality contradicted by Ihe prophet in these words : " For thev are gone up lo Assyria, a wild ass alone by himself: Ephraim halh hired lovers." In this passage he describes the perverse and un- traclable dispositions of Ephraim, and the certain destruc- tion to which their obstinacy exposed them. A wild ass alone, they were by their foolish conduct ready lo become a prey lo the destroyer. But it is rather the king of Assyria, than the ten tribes, whom he compares to that animal. Instead of trusting in the Lord iheir God, ihey courted the favour, and solicited the protection of that ambitious and artlul monarch, who, like "a wild ass alone," consulted only his own selfish inclinations, and aimed at his own aggrandizement. This ill-advised measure, from which Ihey promised themselves so much advantage, he declares, would certainly hasten this catastrophe, which they sought lo avoid. They should find, when too late, that ihey had been the dupes "of his deceitful policy, and Ihe victims of his unprincipled ambition. The wild ass, like almost every creature that inhabits Ihe barren wilderness, is re- duced lo subsist on coarse and scanty fare. The sweets of unbounded liberty are counterbalanced by ihe unremitting labour which is' necessary to procure him a precarious subsistence. In those salt and dreary wastes, which provi- dence has allotted for his residence, very {e^^ plants are to be found, and those, from the heat of the climate and the nature of ihe soil, are stinted in their growth, and bitter lo Ihe taste : " They see not when good comelh ;" for they grow in the parched places in the wilderness, " in a sail land, and not inhabited." In such inhospitable regions, Ihe wild ass is compelled lo traverse a great extent of country, lo scour the plains, and range over the mountains, in order to find here and there a few blades of coarse, withered gra.ss, and browse the lops of the few sluntea shrubs which languish in those sandy wilds. Such are the allusions involved in these words: "The range of the mountains is his pasture, and he searcheih afler every green thing." Every natural historian has recorded the extreme wild- ncss of Ihis animal. He is so jealous of his liberty, Ihat on the slightest alarm, or the first appearance of danger, he flies wilh amazing swiftness into the desert. His senses are so acute, that it is impossible lo approach him in the open country. But in spite of all his vigilance, the hunt- er often encloses him in his toils, and leads him away into captivilv. Even in this unhappy state, he never submits his neck to Ihe yoke of man wiihoul a determined resist- ance. " Sent out free" by Him that made him, he is tena- ciousof his independence, and opposes, lo Ihe extraordinary methods which his captors are lorcedto emplov, the most savage obstinacy; and for the most pari, he baftles all their endeavours lo tame him ; slill he " scorneth the multitude of Ihe city, neither regards he the crying of the driver." On Ihe authority of this text, Chrj'sostom says, "Ihis animal is strong and tintameable ; man can never subdue him, whatever efforts he may make for ihai purpose." But Varro Chap. 39. JOB. 355 affirms, on the contrary, that " the wild ass is fit I'oi- labour; tliat he IS easily tamed ; and that when he is once tamed, he never resumes his original wildness." The words of Jeliovali certainly give no countenance to the opinion of the Greek father; they only intimate, that it is extremely diffi- cult to subdue the high spirit and stubborn temper of this animal; for the apostle James declares, that "every kind of beast is tamed, and hath been lamed of mankind;" and great numbers of them are actually broken to the yoke in Persia, and some other countries. But it appears from the statement of Professor Graelin, that the Persians tame the young onagers ; and the reason probably is, that they seldom or never succeed in rendering a full grown onager serviceable to man. Not more untaraeable and indocile is the wild ass, in the mind of Zophar, th^n the human kind, in their present degenerate state: "Vain man would be wise, though man be born like a wild ass's colt." Empty, self-conceited man, still aspires to equal God in wisdom and knowledge; siill fondly supposes himself qualilied to sit in judgment on the divine proceedings, and to take the exclusive management of his own atfairs, although the wild ass's colt is not more rude, indocile, and untractable. Nor is this an acquired habit : he is born a wild ass's colt, and therefore, by nature equally impatient of .salutary restraint, equally wilful in consulting his own inclinations. And this defect in his character, no created arm is able to subdue; it yields only to the sanctifying influences of the Holy Spirit, who makes hiiu willing in the day of effectual calling, by a disjilay of altnighty power. — Paxton. Ver. 13. Gai>est thou the goodly wings unto tlie peacocks ? or wings and feathers unto the ostrich? These birds are exceedingly numerous in the East ; and it gives a kind of enchantment to a morning scene, to see flocks of them together, spreading their beautiful plumage in the rays of the sun. They proudly stalk along, and then run with great speed, particularly if they get sight of a ser- pent; and the reptile must wind along in his best style, or lie will soon become the prey of the lordly bird. A hu.s- band sometimes says to his wife, "Come hither, my beauti- ful peacock. Had they not their beauty from j-oul" This bird is sacred to Scandan. — Robehts. Ver. 13. Giivesl thou the goodly wings unto the peacocks 1 or wings and feathers unto the ostrich? 14. Which leaveth her eggs in the earth, and warmoth them in the dust, 1.'5. And forgetteth that the foot may crush them, or that the wikl beast may break them. 16. She is hardened against her young ones, as though thcij vcrr not hers; her labour is in vain without fear : 17. Because God hath deprived her of wisdom, neither hath he iinparted to her undcrstandiniT. 18. What time she lifteth up herself on high, she scorneth the horse and lii^s rider. The ostrich is by far the largest among ihe winged tribes, and seems to be the connecting link between the quadruped and the fowl. She is not lo be classed with the former, becau.se .she is furnished with a kind of wings, wliich, if they cannot raise her from the ground, greatly accelerate her flight; not wiili the latter, for "the feathers which grow out of her small wing.s, are all unwoven and decom- posed, and their beards consist of long hairs detached from one another, and do not form a compact bodv to s'.rik' the air with advantage; which is the principal office for which the feathers of the wing are inlended." Those of the tail have also the same structure, and, by consequence, cannot oppose lo the air a suitable resistance. Tlicy can neither ctpand nor close, as circumstances require, nor take differ- ent inclinations; and what is not a little remarkable, all the feathers which cover the body exhibit the same con- formation. The ostrich has nol, like the greater part of oiler birds, feathers of various kinds, .some sofi and downy, which are next (he .skin-; and others of a more firm arid compact consistence, which cover the former ; and others still longer and of greater strength, and on which the move- ments of the animal depend. All her feathers are of one kind, all of them bearded with detached hairs or filaments, without consistence and reciprocal adherence; in oneword, they are of no utility in flying, or in directing the flight. Besides the peculiar structure of her wings, she is pressed down to the earth by her enormous size. BufTon calculates the weight of a living o.strich, in middling condition, at no less than sixty-five or eiglily pounds; which would require an immense power in the wings and motive muscles of these members, to raise and support in the air so ponderous a raa.ss. Thus by her excessive weight and the loose tex- ture of her feathers, she is condemned, like a quadruped, laboriously to run upon the surface of ihe earth, without being ever able to mount up into the air. But although incapable of raising herself from the ground, she is admira- bly fitted for running. The greater part of her body is covered wilh hair, rather than feathers; her head and her sides have Utile or no hair ; and her legs, which are very thick and muscular, and in wliich her principal force re- sides, are in like manner almost naked; her large sinewy and plump feet, which have only two toes, resemble consid- erably the feet of a camel ; her wings, armed wilh two spikes, like those of a porcupine, are rather a kind of arms than wings, which are given her for defence. These characteristic features throw great light on a part of the description which Jehovah him.self has condescend- ed to give of this animal in the book of Job. It begins with this interrogation: " Gavcst thou wings and feathers unto the ostrich 1" Dr. Shaw translates it: " The wing of the ostrich is expanded ; the very feathers and plumage of the slork." According to BufTon, the ostrich is covered with fealhers alternately while and black, and sometimes gray by the mixlure of these two colours. They are shortest, says the author, on Ihe lower part of the neck, the rest of which is entirely naked; they become longer on the back and the belly; and are longest at the extremity of the tail and the wings; but he denies that any of them have been found with red, green, blue, or yellow plumes. This assertion, however, is not quite correct; for if credit is due to Dr. Shaw, " when the ostrich is full grown, the neck, particularly of the male, which before was almost naked, is now very beautifully covered with red feathers. The plumage, likewise, upon the shoulders, the back, and some parts of the wings, from being hitherto of a dark grayish colour, becomes now as black as jet, while some of the feathers relain an exquisite whiteness. They are, as de- scribed in Ihe thirteenth verse, the very fealhers and plu- mage of the stork; that is, they consist of such black and while feathers as the stork, called from ihence irtXnpyo;, is kTiown to have. Bui the belly, the thighs, and the breast, do not partake of this covering, being usually naked ; and when touched are of the same warmth as the flesh of the quadrupeds. The ostrich, though she inhabits the sandy de.serts, where she is exposed to few interruptions, is extremely vigilant and shy. She betakes herself lo flight on the first alarm, and tr.-iver.ses the waste wilh so great agilily and swiflness, that Ihe Arab is never able to overtake her, even when he is mounted upon his horse of Family. The fact is thus slated by Jehovah ; "What time she lifteth up herself on high, she scorneth the horse and his rider." She affords him only an opporlunily of ai'miring at a distance Ihe ex- traoriliiiary a^'ilily and slalelincss of her motions, Ihe rich- ness of her I'.liiniage, and the great propriety of ascribing to her " an expanded quivering wing." Nothing certainlv can be more beautiful and entertaining than such a sighf; the wings, by their continual though unwearied vibrations, .serving her at once for sails and oars, while her feet, no less assisting in conveying her out of sight, are equally in- sensible of fatigue. Her surprising swiflness is confirmed by the writer of a voyage to Senegal, who says, " She sets offal a hard gallop; but after being excited a little, she ex- pands her wings, as if to catch the wind, and abandons her- .self to a .speed so great Ihat she seems not to touch the ground." "I am persuaded," continues that writer, "she would leave far behind the swiftest English courser." Bulfon al.so admits that the ostrich runs faster than the horse. These unexceptionable testimonies completely vin- dicate the assertion of the inspired writer. But as it is on horseback Ihe Arab pursues and lakes her, il is necessary 356 JOB. Chap. 39. 10 explain how Iic accomplishes his purpose, and show its consislcncy with the sacred wriiings. " When Ihe Arab rouses an ostrich," says Buflfon, '• he follows her at a dis- tance, without pressing her too hard, but sulUcicntly to prevent her from taking food, yet not to determine her to escape by a prompt flight." Here the celebrated naturalist fairly ailmits that she has it in her nower to escape if she were snihciently alarmed. " It is the more easy," contin- nes our author, " to follow her in this manner, because she does not proceed in a straight line, and because she de- scribes almost always in her course a circle more or less ex- tended." The Arabs, then, have it in their power to direct their pursuit in a concentric interior circle, and by conse- quence straighter; and to f; of the waters, makes the sea resemble a laij;(; cal- dron furiously boilni« over a strong fire; or the ascendin-; water, beinu mixed with sand and iiuid trom the bottom, excited bv the violent a-itation, resembles m colour, and in the smooihness of its swell, a pot of omlinent; than which, more slrikin- ligures can scarcely be presented to the mind. It is the opinion of ancient writers, that the crocodile ex- hales from his body an odour like musk, with which he perfumes the pool where he j,'anibols; and they a.ssign this as the reason that the turbulence of the gulf which receives him, is eoinpared lo the boiling of a pot of ointment. B»t adin'illing what so many have as.^crled, that the crocodile difluses a fragrant odour around him, it can hardlybe sup- posed thai the quantitv exhaled can be so great as to war- rant such a comparison. The inspired writer seems to al- lude, not lo the ointment or its fragrance, but to the boiling of the pot in which .spices are decocting, an operation which probably requires a very brisk ebullition. Those who maintain ihai leviathan is the whale, demand how the crocodile, which mhabils the river, can make the sea boil ! But the dilliculty admits of an easy solution ; the word sea, both in Hebrew and English, is often used in a restricted sense for nnv large expanse of water. The Jew- ish and Arabian writers, agreeably to this sen.se, frequently speak of the Nile, and its adjacent lakes, as a sea, and with great propriety, for the river itself is broad and deep, and at a certain season of the year, it overflows its banks, and covers the whole surface of Lower Egypt. The lakes which have been formed by the inundations, are of considerable depth and extent, and sw'arin with crocodiles; these may be called seas, with as much propriety as the sacred writers of the New Testament call the lake of Sodom the Salt Sea, and the lake of Tiberias the Sea of Galilee. The royal Psalmist, it must be admitted, mentions the sea in the prop- er sense of the term, as the haunt of leviathan : " So is this great and wide sea, wherein are things creeping innumer- able; both small and great beasts. There go the ships: there is that leviathan whom thou hast made lo play there- in." But as the sea is, in that passage, opposed to the earth, it may comprehend the whole body of waters which sur- round' and intersect the dry land, and by consequence, the proper habitation of the crocodile. This solution, however, is by no means necessary to establish the claims of this an- imal to the scripture title of leviathan, for it has been fully ascertained, by modern travellers, that he actually frequents the sea, although he generally prefers those rivers which are subject to annual inundat'ions. Crocodiles, or aliga- lors, are very common on the coast and in the deep rivers of Jamaica, though they prefer the banks of such rivers as, in consequence of frequent or periodical overflowing, are covered with mud, in which thev find abundance of testa- ceous fish, worms, and frogs, for food. In South America, they chicflv frcqueiil marshy lakes, and drowned savaiiiuis; but' in Noith America, they infest both the .salt parts of the rivers near the sea, the fresh currents above the reach of the tide, and the lakes both of salt and fresh water. The slimy banks ofthe.se rivers within the range of the tide, are covered by thick forests of mangrove-trees, in the entangled thickets of which the crocodiles conceal themselves, and lie in wait for their prey. According to Pinto, they abound on the coast of New Guinea; and Dampicr found several on the shores of Timor, an island in the South Sea. The hippopotamus is a powerful adversary to the crocodile, and so much the more dangerous, that it is able lo pursue him to the very hottom of the gulf. They are .so numerous in the bay of Vincent Pinron, and the lakes which communi- cate with it, as to obstruct, by tlieir numbers, the piraguas and canoes which navigate those waters. When De la Borde was sailing along ihe eastern shore of South Ameri- ca in a canoe, and wisliing to enter a small river, he found its mouth occupied by about a dozen large crocodiles. These testimonies prove, beyond a doubt, that the crocodile frequents the mouths of rivers and the bays of the sea, as well as the fresh-water stream and lake; and by conse- quence, Ihe Psalmist might, in perfect agreement with the habits of that animal, represent him as playing in the great and wide sea, while Ihe ships pursue iheir way to Ihe de- sired haven. — Paxton. JOB. Chap. 41. Vcr. 32. lie maketh a path to shine after him; une would think the deep ti> be hoary. He swims with so much force and violence near Ihe sur- face of the water, that his path may be easily traced by the deep furrow which he leaves behind him, and Ihe whitening foam he excites. The same appearances at- tend the motion of the dolphin: but ihe long withdrawing furrow, and the hoary foam, are not confined to the sea ; they are likew-ise to be seen in the river and in the lake; and by consequence, may characterize, with sullicient pro- priety, the motion of the crocodile in the Nile and its adja- cent lakes. — Paxton. Ver. 33. Upon earth there is not his like, who is made without fear. This clause Bochart renders. There is not his like upon Ihe dust, (which is certainly the true meaning of the phrase, al n/7,^«r;) because, the crocodile is rather to be classed among reptiles ihan quadrupeds. His feet are so short, thai he rather seems to creep than walk, so that he may, with great proprietv, be reckoned among " ihe creeping things of the earth." But he dilTers from reptiles in this, that while they are in danger of being trampled upon, and bruised by Ihe foot of the passenger, he is liable to no such accident. It cannot be said, in strictness of speech, that he is ir;ade without fear, for he is known lo fly from the bold and resolute attack of an enemy; but Ihe expression may be understood hvperbolically, as denoting a very high de- gree of intrepidity. The words of the inspired writer, how- ever, are capable of another version, which at once removes the difficulty, and corresponds with the real character of the animal :' He is so made, that he cannot be bruised ; he cannot be crushed like a sei-pent, or trampled under Ihe feet of his pursuer. — Paxton. Ver. 34. He beholdeth all high things : he is a king over all the children of pride. " He beholdeth all high things ;" or, as it may be transla- ted, hedespiseth all thai ishigh; " he is a king over all the children of pride." No creature is so large, so sirong, so courageous, if we can believe the oriental writers, but he regards it with indifference or contempt. Men, women, and particularly children, who incautiously approach his haunts, become a prey lo his devouring maw. The caniel the horse, the ox. and other portly quadrupeds, which fall in his way, he fiercely attacks, and forthwith devours. He will even venture to encounter, and not always wilhoul success, the elephant and the tiger, when they come to drmk in the stream. His first attempt is to strike them down to Ihe ground, or break their legs with his tail, in w hich he generally succeeds : he then drags Ihem lo the bottom of Ihe river; or if they are animals of a moderate size, he swallows them up 'entire, without taking the trouble of piuiing them to death. The alligator, says Forbes, some- times basks in the sunbeams on the banks of ihe river, but oftener floats on its surface : there concealing his head and feet, he appears like the rough tnuik of a tree both in shape and' colour: by this deception, dogs and other animals fear- lessly approach, and are suddenly plunged to the bottom by their insidious foe. Even the roval tiger, when he quits his covert and comes to drink at the stream, becomes his prey. From this description, it appears Ihat no animal is more terrible than the crocodile; no creature in form, in temper, in strength, and 1n habits, so nearly resembles leviathan, as described by Jehovah himself, in the book of Job, and con- sequently none has equally powerful claims to the name. This conclusion is greatly si lengthened by several allusions lo the leviathan in other'partsof scripture. In the pronhe- ries of Isaiah, he is called "the piercing serpent, or dragon : and Ihat the prophet under that symbol refere 10 the king of Egypt, appears from these words : " And it shall come 10 passVn that day, Ihat the Lord .shall beat off" from Ihe channel of the river unto the stream of Egypt, and ye shall be gathered one bv one." The prophet Ezekiel gives lo Phaiaidi the name of Ihe great dragon, or leviathan: " Speak and say, thus saveth the Lord God: Behold, I am a-ainsi thee, Pharaoh king of Eg\-pl, "he great dragon ihat liTth in the midst of his rivers; which has said, My river is Chap. 42. JOB. 365 mine own, and I have made it for myself." But it would certain!)' be very preposterous to ^ive the name of the ele- phant 10 the king of Egypt, which is neither a native of that country, nor ever known to visit the banks of the Nile. In allusion to the destruction of Pharaoh and his army in the Red Sea, the Psalmist sings: " Thou didst divide the sea by thy strength ; thou brakest the heads of the dragons in the water ; thou brakest the heads of leviathan in pieces, and gavest him to be meat to the people inhabiting the wil- derness." But why should Pharaoh and his people be com- pared so frequently, and with so much emphasis, to the great dragon or leviathan, but because some remarkable, some terrible creature, infests their valley, to which that name properly applies 1 But no formidable beast of prey, except the crocodile, distinguishes Egypt from the surrounding re- gions; and since this creature is universally allowed to be extremely strong, cruel, and destructive, we must conclude ii is no other than the leviathan of the in.spired writers. The inhabitaius of Egypt regarded the crocodile as the most powerful defender of their country, and the Nile as the .source of all their pleasures and sociable enjoyments, and elevated both to the rank of deities. This accounts for the singular language of the prophet Ezekiel, and the boast which he puts into the mouth of Pharaoh : "My river is mine own, and I have made it for myself." — Paxton. CHAPTER XLII. Ver. 10. And the Lord turned the captivity of Job, when he prayed for his friends ; also the Lord gave Job twice as much as he had before. Our idea of captivity seems to be principally confined to prisoners of war ; but in the East, adversity, great adver- sity, and many other troubles, are spoken of in the same way. Thus, a man formerly in great prosperity, speaks of his present state as if he were in prison. " I am now a captive." " Yes, I am a slave." If again elevated, " his captivity is changed." — Roberts. Ver. 11. Then came there tmto him all his brethren, and all his sisters, and all they that had been of his acquaintance before, and did eat bread with him in his house ; and they be- moaned him, and comforted him over all the evil that the Lord had brought upon him : every man also gave him a piece of money, and every one an ear-ring of gold. The custom alluded to of relations and friends giving re- lief to a person in distress, is practised in the East at this day. When a man has suffered a great loss by an accident, by want of skill, or by the roguery of another, he goes to his brothers and sisters, and all his acquaintances, and de- scribes his misfortunes. He then mentions a day when he will give a feast, and invites them all to partake of it. At the time appointed they come, arrayed in their best robes, each having money, ear-rings, finger-rings, or other gifts suited to the condition of the person in distress. The indi- vidual himself meets them at the gate, gives them a hearly welcome, the mu.sic strikes up, and the guests are ushered into the apartments prepared for the feast. When they have finished their repast, and are about to retire, they each ap- proach the object of their commiseration, and present their donations, and best wishes for future prosperity. A rich merchant in North Ceylon, named Siva Sangu Chetty, was suddenly reduced to poverty; but by this plan he was re- stored to his former prosperity. Two money brokers, also, who were sent to these parts by their employer, (who lived on the opposite continent,) lost one thousand rix-doUars, belonging to their master ; they therefore called those of their caste, profession, and country, to partake of a feast, at which time the whole of their loss was made up. Wlien a young man puts on the ear-rings or turban for the first lime, a feast of the same description, and for the same purpose, is given, to enable him to meet the expense of the rings, and to assist him in future pursuits of life. When a young woman also becomes marriageable, the female relations and acquaintances are called to perform the same service, in order to enable her to purchase jewels, or to furnish a marriage portion. In having recourse lo this custom, there is nothing that is considered mean ; for parents who are respectable and wealthy often do the same thing. Here, then, we have another simple and interesting illustration o! a most praiseworthy usage of the days of ancient Job.— Roberts. Ver. 14. And he called the name of the first Jeini- ma ; and the name of the second, Kezia ; and the name of the third, Kerenhappuch. To vary names by substituting a word similar in sound, is very prevalent in the East. The following extract from Sir Thomas Roe, is a striking example of this circumstance. " They speak very much in honour of Moses, whom they call Moosa coXim Alia, Moses the publisher of the mind of God : so of Abraham, whom they call Ibrahivi carim Alia, Abraham the honoured, or the friend, of God: so of Ish- mael, whom they call Ismal, the sacrifice of God : so of Jacob, whom they call Acoh, the blessing of God : so of Jo- seph, whom they call Ecsoff, the betrayed for God : so of David, whom they call Dahnod, the lover and praiser of God : .so of Solomon, whom they call Sclymon, the wisdom of God : all expressed in short Arabian words, which they sing in ditties, unto their particular remembrance. Many men are called by these names: others are called Mahmud, or Chaan, which signifies the moon ; or Frista, which sig- nifies a .star. And they call their women by the names of spices or odours; or of pearls or precious stones; or else by other names of pretty or pleasing signification. So Job called his daughters." — Bcrder. Ver. 15. And in all the land were no women found so fair as the daughters of Job ; and their father gave them inheritance among their brethren. In the scriptures the word fair may sometimes refer to the form of the features, as well as the colour of the skin : but great value is attached to a woman of a light complex- ion. Hence our English females are greatly admired in the East, and instances have occurred where great exertions have been made to gain the hand of a fair daughter of Brit- ain. The acme of perfection in a Hindoo lady is to be of the colour of gold I — Roberts. THE BOOK OF PSALMS. PSALM I. Ver. 3. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season: his leaf also shall not wither ; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper. Dr. Boolhroyd has it, "Like a tree planted by water streams;" and Dr. A.Clarke says, "The streams or di- visions of waters." This probably alludes lo the artificial sircams which run from the lakes or wells: by the side of these may be .seen trees, at all sea.sons covered "with luxuriant verdure, blossoms, or fruit, becau.se the root is deriving con- tinual nourishment from the stream; while at a distance, where no water is, may be seen dwartish and unhealthy trees, with scarcely a leaf to shake in the winds of heaven. — Roberts. We see no reason to suppose, with many commentators, that allusion is had to any particular species of tree, as, for example, the palm, the olive, or the pomegranate, each of which has been conceived to be intended, frimi its peculiar adaplcdness to represent the permanent and prolific nature of the good man's happiness. It is indeed said of the righte- ous, Ps. xcii. 1'3, that " he shall flourish like the palm-tree ; he shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon;" but it will answer all the demands of the passage to understand it otany tree advantageously situated, and evincing a vigorous and thrifty prowth. In the arid climes of the East, the trees, unless sustained by artificial irrigation, are apt to lose their ver- dure during the sultriness of the summer months — a fact which affords an interesting clew to the imagery here em- ployed. Although the word " rivers" is adopted in our authorized translation, yet it is by no means an adequate representative of the original, '•jss the term thus rendered, from >'^D to divide, lo sunder, to split, properly signifies di- risioii^, partilions, sections ; i. e. branching cuts, trenches, or water-courses, issuing either from a large body of water, as a lake, a pond, a river, Ps. xlvi. 1 ; or from a well or fountain-head, Prov. v. 16. Job xxvi. 6; and alludes to the methods still practised among the oriental nations, of eon- veving water to gardens and orchards. This was by means of'canals or rivulets flowing in artificial channels, called D'j>a dirisions; i.e. cuts or trendies, -which distributed the water in all directions. The whole land of Egypt was anciently sluiced in this manner, by innumerable canals and water-courses, designed to convey the fertilizing waters of the Nile over every part of the valley through which it ran. Maundrell (Tr,iv. p. 122) speaks of a similar mode of irrigation in the neighbourhood of Damascus: "The gar- dens are thick set with fruit trees of all kinds, kept fresh and verdant by the waters of the Barady. This river, as soon as it issues out of the cleft of the mountain before mentioned, into the plain, is immediately divided into three streains, of which the middlemost and largest runs directly to Damascus, through a large open field called the Ager Damascenus, and is distributed to all the cisterns and fount- ains in the city. The other two, which I take lo be the work of art, are drawn round, the one lo the right, the other to the leli, on the borders of the gardens, into which they are let out, as they pass, t>i/ Utile ricniels, and so dis- posed all over the vast wooil ; iiisomuch that there is not a garden, but has a fine, (juick stream running through it." The same traveller describing, p. 8<), the orange garden of the emir of Beyroot, observes, that " it contains a large quadrangular plot of ground divided into sixteen lesser squares, four in a row, with walks between them. The walks are shaded with orange-trees of a large spreading size. Every one of these sixteen lesser s(iuarcs in the gar- den was bordered with stone ; and in the stone-work were troughs, very artificially contrived, for conveying the water all over the garden ; there being little outlets cut at every tree for the stream, as it passed by, to flow out and water it." A striking allusion to trees cultivated in this manner occurs Ezek. xxxi. 3, 4 : " Behold, the Assyrian was a cedar in Lebanon, with fair branches and with a shadowing shroud, and of a high stature, and his top was among the thick boughs. The waters made him great, the deep set him up on high, with her rivers running ro^md abmd his plants, and sent out her tilllc rivers linlo all the trees of the field." So Eccl. ii. t), " I made me pools of water to n-aler Ihcrcwilh the wood that bringeth forth trees." To the same purpose, Prov. xxi. 1, " The king's heart is in the hand of the Lord, as the rivers of waters, (o^3-';'?b divisions of wa- ters ;) he turneth it whithersoever he will ;" i. e. as these fertilizing rivulets, the work of art, are conducted forward and backward, to the right hand or the left, diverted or stopped at the will of him who manages them, so is the heart of kings, and, by parity of reasoning, of the rich and mighty of the earth, swayed at the sovereign disposal of the Lord of all creatures. He, by the course of his providence, and by the inward promptings of his Spirit, can turn the enriching tide of their bounty in any diteelion he sees fit, whether to bless the poor with bread, or to supply the means of salvation to the destitute. — Bush. Ver. 4. The ungodly arc not so; but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away. We must recollect here, that in the East the thrashing- floors are places in the open air, (Gen. I. 10,) on which the corn is not thrashed, as with us, but beaten out by means of a sledge, in such a manner that the straw is at the .same time cut very small. "When the straw is cut small enough, they put fresh corn in the place, and after- ward separate the corn from the cut-straw, by throwing it in the air with a wooden shovel, for the wind drives the straw a little farther, so that only the pure corn falls to the ground." (Thevenot.)^RosENiyrci-LER. PSALM II. Ver. I. Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing? The Hebrew word which Luther has translated heathen, igojim,) signifies, in fact, people in general ; but it is used in the Old Testament, for the most part, and by the later (and even modern) Jews, exclusively of other nations who arc not Jews, and that with a contemptuous and odious secondary meaning. Other nations, also, have similar names for foreigners, and for such as are not of their re- ligious faith. Thus the Greeks and Romans called them Barbarians, that is, properly, inhabitants of the desert. The Arabs called them Adsch'cm, by which they mean, first, their neighbours the Persians, and then all foreigners in general. The Mohammedans call all the people of the earth, who do not believe the pretended divine mission of Mo- hammed, Kufl'ar in the plural, Kafar in the singular, and by a corrupted pronunciation, Gaur, (Giavur,) which signi- fies unbelievers and infidels. Hence the name Kaflers, which the inhabitants of the .southeastern coast of Africa received from the Mohammedan An'abs. — Rosenmcli.er. Ver. 9. Thou shall break them Avith a rod of iron; thou shall dash thcni in pieces like a pot- ter's vessel. "Begone! wretch," says the infuriated man, "or I will dash lliee to pieces as a kiiddam," i. e. an earthen ves.sel.— Roberts. The rod, in remote antiquity, was a wooden staff, not much shorter than the height of a man, with golden studs or nails, or sometimes ornamented at the top with a round Ps 5— r. PSALMS. 367 knob, such as are seen in the hands of the Persian kings, on the monuments of Persepolis. Justin says, " that at the time of the rape of the Sabine virgins, the kings, as insignia of their dignity, bore, instead of the diadem, long staves, which the Greeks called sceptres." Hence it may be conceived how, in Homer, kings made use of the scep- tre to strike with. The sceptre, as well as throne, is often used as a symbol of government. Hence in Ps. xlv. 6, a right sceptre is the emblem of a just government. And in the above passage it is said of Ihe king celebrated in this Psalm, that he would break his enemies with a rod of iron, by which his dominion is represented as terrible and de- strnctii'e over those who oppose him. The sense is, that he will conquer them with irresistible power. A similar picture is given of the Messiah in Num. xxiv. 17. " There shall come a star out of Jacob, and a sceptre shall rise out of Israel, and shall smite the corners (according to Luther, the ' princes') of Moab." — RoaENMULLER. PSALM V. Ver. 7. But as for me, I will come into thy house in the multitude of thy mercy; and in thy fear will I worship towards thy holy temple. It is very natural that people, when praying, should turn the face towards the quarter where the place dedicated to the Divinity is situated; and which is considered as his abode. Heiice the Jews prayed with their faces turned towards the temple, (I Kings viii. 38, 44, 48 ;) and those re- siding out of Jerusalem, turned it towards that point of the heavens in which Jerusalem lay. Dan. vi. 10. Thus the Mohammedans, when praying, always turn their faces towards Mecca. " Kebla," s&ys Bjornstahl, "signifies, in Arabic, the point towards which all true Mussulmen turn their faces when praying; whether in the open air or in their temples, where it is always marked by a niche, in which not only the iman stands, but also some finely written copies of the Koran are lying. This point is always towards Mecca ; for there stands the Caaba, or quadran- gular house, said to have been first built by Abraham and Ishraael, and which is the great sanctuary of the Moham- medans, for the sake of which such great pilgrimages are annually undertaken to Mecca, and thence to Medina, where Mohammed is buried.'-RosENMULLER. Ver. 12. For thou, Lord, wilt hless the righteous; with favour wilt thou compass him as with a shield. A shield is a defensive piece of armour, and is used to ward oft" the blows that are aimed at the person who wears it. In this passage of the Psalmist it is spoken of in a differ- ent sense. It is to be used by a divine power for the pres- ervation of the people of God : and, connected with their safety, they are to be honoured and exalted : and both their preservation and exaltation are to be so complete, that they are said to be compassed about with the favour of God as with a shield, in the same manner as a person completely covered with, or elevated upon, a large broad shield. This interpretation of the words is paralleled by a practice whicn, subsequent to the age of the Psalmist, obtained among the Romans, of which the following instances may be selected : " Brinno was placed on a shield, according to the custom of the nation, and being carried in triumph on the shoulders of the men, was declared commander-in- chief" The shields of the ancients, as a scholiast observes upon the Iliad, ii. 389, were so large as almost to cover a whole man, and hollowed, so that ihey in a manner enclosed the body in front. Hence Homer speaks of the surround- ing shield. Tyrtaeus, in the second of his hymns, .still ex- tant, says, " The warrior stands in the contest firm upon both feet ; the hollow of the spacious shield covering below his sides and thighs, and his brea-stand shoulders above." — BURDER. PSALM VI. Title — To the chief Musician on Neginoth upon Sheminith. A Psalm of David. This superscription is In Luther, " upon eight strings." I can hardly think that a musical in.strument of eight strings is meant here, as the Hebrew word {scheminith) does not appear among the musical instruments mentioned in the Old Testament. The meaning of the Hebrew word is, octave ; and in 1 Cbron. xv. 21, where the singers of the temple are enumerated, it stands after a word which prop- erly signifies virgins, {alavwth,) and may therefore sig- nify a treble part, which was sung by women. " Might not this," says Forkal, " have signified among the Hebrews nearly the same that ' virgin air' signified among the Ger- man poets, called master-singers in the middle ages 1" — ROSENMULLER. Ver. 2. Have mercy upon me, O Lord ; for I am weak : O Lord, heal me ; for my bones are vexed. Dr. Boothroyd translates, " For my bones are troubled." The object of the expression appears to be, to show thai the trouble has taken fast hold, it is deeply seated, my bones are its resting-place. The Hindoos, in extreme grief or joy, say, " our bones are melted;" i.e. like boiling lead, they are completely dissolved. — Roberts. Ver. 8. Depart from me, all ye workers of ini- quity : for the Lord hath heard the voice of my weeping. Silent grief is not much known in the East: hence, when the people speak of sorrow, they say its voice. " Have I not heard the voice of his lamentation V — Rob- erts. PSALM VII. Ver. 12. If he turn not, he will whet his sword ; he hath bent his bow, and made it ready. The Hebrew word signifies literally, "that he hath trod- den on his bow," that is, to bend it. Arrian, in his Account of India, says, " Such of iheir warriors as combat on foot, carry a bow which is as long as a man. When they want to bend it, they set it upon the ground, and tread on it with the left foot, while they draw on the string." — Rosenmui^ler. Ver. 13. He hath also prepared for him the in- struments of death ; he ordaineth his arrows against the persecutors. This sentence may be rendered more accurately, " he makes his arrows burning." The image is deduced from such fiery arrows as are described by Ammianus Marcelli- nus. They consisted of a hollowed reed, to the lower part of which, under the point or barb, was fastened a round re- ceptacle, made of iron, for combustible materials, so that such an arrow had the form of a distaff. The reed, as the above author says, was filled with burning naptha ; and when Ihe arrow was shot from a .slack bow, (for if dis- charged from a light bow the fire went out,) it struck the enemies' ranks and remained infixed, the flame consuming whatever it met with ; water poured on it increased its vio- lence ; there was no other means to extinguish it but by throwing earth upon it. Similar darls or arrows, which were twined round wilh tar and pitch, and set fire to, are described by Livy, as having been made use of by the in- habitants of the city of Saguntum, when besieged by the Romans. An allusion to such arrows is also made in Ephesians vi. 16. — Rosenmdller. Ver. 14. Behold, he travaileth with iniquity, and hath conceived mischief, and brought forth false- hood. Dr. Boothroyd translates this, " Lo, the wicked hath con- ceived iniquily, and is big with mischief; but an abortion shall he bring forth :" which certainly corresponds better with the order of the figure of the text. " What induces that man to come so much lo this place"! depend upon it, he is preparing some plans." — " Yes, I am of opinion his womb has conceived something." Does the person begin to disclose his purposes, it is said, " Ah ! it is this j'ou have been conceiving Ihe last few days." But when he puts his plans into practice, "Yes, he is now in parlurilion." 368 PSALMS. Ps. 8—16. "Well! how has ihc mailer endcdV— " Ended I he has broughl fyrlh poykul," i. e. Iie.s. — Robehtb, PSALM VIII. Ver. 6. Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands: thou hast put all things under his feel. This is a common figure of speech lo denote ihe supe- riority of one man over another ; hence the worshippers of the gods often say in their devotions, " We put your feel upon our heads." " Truly, the feet of Siva are upon my head." " My Gooroo, my Gootoo, have I not put your feel upon my head V " My lord, believe not that man ; your feet have always been upon my head." " Ah ! a mighty king was he ; all things were under his feet." — Roberts. PSALM IX. Ver. 14. That I may show forth all thy praise in the gates of the daughter of Zion : I will re- joice in thy salvation. That is, in Jerusalem, meaning in the temple itself. The " gales of the daughter of Zion" are opposed to the "gates of death," mentioned in the preceding verse. Zion is the general name of Ihe mountain, on whose irregular emi- nences the cily of Jerusalem was built. Bui in a more limited sense, ihe name of Zion was given to Ihe highest of Ihose eminences, on which, besides a part of the city, the palace of David, and several public buildings, were built. This Mount Zion was joined on the south side by means of a bridge, with the moimtain or hill of Moriah, which was entirely occupied by the extensive buildings of the temple. In ihe Old Testament, we are often to understand by Zion and Jerusalem, the national sanctuary, Ihe temple particu- larly, where, as in ihe above passage, the adoration of God, and the thanksgivings to be publicly olfered him,arespoken of Zion or Jerusalem is called daughter, because the He- brews used to figure cities, communities, and slates, under the images of women, and the inhabitants as children. Thus, the daughter of Tyre, Ihe dougAlcr of Babylon, for the cily of Tyre and the city of Babylon. Even now, the head of the government of Tunis, in Barbary, is called Dey, or Day, that is, as D'Arvieux observes, mother's brother ; because the republic is considered as the mother, the citi- zens as her children, and the Turkish sultan as ihe consort of the republic. — RosEN^^JLLER. Ver. 15. The heathen are sunk down in the pit that they made: in the net which they hid is their own foot taken. This image is taken from the catching of wild beasts, by means of strong ropes or nets. Lichlenslein, in speaking of the hunting of Ihe Koofsa,(Kafrcrs,) says, " They catch much game by means of nets; in the woodv dislricis, thev oflen make low hedges, miles in length, between which they leave openings ; in these openings, through which the game tries to escape, they conceal snares, which are placed so in- geniously that the animals are caught in them by the le?, and cannot extricate themselves." Also lions and elephants are caught in this manner; the latter, when they have been brought by means of fire, or by tame elephants, to a narrow- place, where they cannot turn back, are caught by throwing ropes round their legs. Ropes and nooses are meant by the figurative expression, snares of death, 2 Sam. xxii. 6, which the people of the an- cient world used, both in Ihe chase and in war. The word is sometimes rendered net, as in this passage. Arrian, in his Treaiise on Hunting, relates, that Cyrus met with wild asses in the plains of Arabia, which were so swift, that none of his horsemen were able to catch them. Yet Ihe young Lybians, even boys of eight years of age, or not much older, had pursued them, mounted on Iheir horses, without saddle or bridle, till they threw a noose over them, and thus took them. He gives instructions to pursue slags with trained horses and dogs, till ihey can be either shot wiih arrows, or taken alive hy throwing a noose over them. These are the strong snares which Pollux means, when he .sneaks of the wild asses, and they are also the same as tno.sc in which Ilabis, the natural son of an ancient Span- ish king, was taken. He was exposed when a child, and suckled by a hind : having grown up among the stags, he had auained their swiftness, so that he fled with them over the mountains, and traversed forests, till he was at length caughi in a noose. In the same manner Ulloa saw the Guasos (one of Ihe aboriginal Peruvian nations) catch with their nooses (the Spani.sh lazo)themost active and cautious man as easily as Ihe wild bull. Some English pirates once approaching Iheir shore, and thinking lo drive off the Guasos with Iheir firearms, the latter threw Iheir nooses towards the vessels, and so pulled on shore those who had not fallen down at first sight; one who was caughi e-caped wilh his life, notwithstanding he had been ihus violenllv drawn from the boat to Ihe shore, ihe noose having caughi him over Ihe shoulder on the one side, and the arm on the other ; but it was some time befort he was able to recover his strength. In the same manner the Sagarlhian horse- men in the Persian army used their nooses in war. — (He- rodotus.) These people, who, according lo Slephanus, lived on the Caspian Sea, had no olher arms than a noose and a dagger, lo kill with the one ihe enemy whom ihev had canghl wilh the other. The same is relaied by Pausa- nias, of the Sauromaii. — RosEN^a•I.LER, PSALM X. Ver. 5. His ways are always gfrievous: thy jud?- ments are far above out of his sight : as for all his eneinies, he pufl'eth at them. Of a proud and powerful man, it is said, " He puffs awav his foes;" i. e. Ihey are so contemptible, so light, that like a flake of cotton, he puffs them from his presence. Great is the contempt which is shown by puffing through the mouth and blowing through the nostrils. — Roberts. Ver. 1.5. Break thou the arm of the wicked and the evil man: seek out his wickedness till thou find none. This member is often selected as an object for impreca- tions. " Ah ! the kalian, the thief, his hand shall be lorn off for that." "Evil one, thon wilt lose thy hand for this violence." But the hand or arm is also selected as an ob- ject for blessings. " My son, (says the father,) may ihe gods keep thy hands and thy feel." — Roberts. PSALM XI. Ver. 6. Upon the wicked he shall rain snares, fire, and brimstone, and a horrible tempest; i/iis shall be the portion of their cup. The gods are described as doing ihis upon their enemies; and magicians, in cursing each oiner, or those who are the objects of their ire, say, the fiery rain shall descend upon them. — Roberts. PSALM XIV. Ver. 4. Have all the workers of iniquity no knowl- edge ? who eat up my people as they eat bread, and call not upon the Lord. "Wicked one, the fiends shall eat thee." "That vile king eats the people as he does his rice." " Go not near that fellow, he will eat thee." But, strange as it may ap- pear, relations say of those of iheir friends who are dead, they have eaten them. Thus, a son, in speaking of his deceased parent, says, "Alas! alas! I have ealen my father." " My child, my child !" sayslhe bereaved mother, " have I ealen you V The figure conveys extreme grief, and an intimation thai the melancholy event has been occa- sioned by Ihe sins or faults of the survivors. In cursing a married man, it is common lo s.iy, " Yes, thou wilt soon have to cat thy good wife." And lo a poor widow, " Wretch ! hast thou not eaten thy husband 1" — Roberts. PSALM XVI. Ver. 4. Their sorrows shall be multiplied that hasten after another iro(/ : their drink-oflerinps of blood will I not offer, nor take up their names into my lips. I Ps. 15—15 PSALMS. 369 This refers to the custom of many heathen people, to drink the wine of the sacrifice mixed with blood, particu- larly when they bound themselves by dreadful oaths, and to the performance of fearful deeds. This drink was called by the Romans viiium assiratwni^ because assir, according to Festus, signifies blood in the ancient Latin language. In this manner, as Sallust relates, Catiline took the oaths with his accomplices. " It was said at the tiine that Cati- line, after making a speech, calling on the accomplices of his crime to take an oath, presented them with human blood mixed with wine, in cups; and when every one had drank o it, after pronouncing an imprecation, as is cus- tomary in solemn .sacrifices, explained his plan." In a similar manner, Silius Italicus makes the Carthaginian Hannibal swear, an instance which is particularly suitable to illustrate the above passage, because the Carthaginians were of Phenician or Canaanite origin. When the prophet Zechariah describes the conversion of the Philistines, he makes Jehovah say, (x. 7,) " And I will take away his blood out of his mouth, and his abominations from between his teeth ; but he that remaineth, even he, shall be for our God." The drinking of blood at sacrifices was prohibited to the Israelites upon pain of death. — Rosenmulleb. Ver. 7. I will bless the Lord, who hath given me counsel ; my reins also instruct me in the night-seasons. Night is the time for the chief joys and sorrows of the Hindoos, and it is then they are principally engaged in the worship of their gods; because they believe praise is more acceptable to them then, than at any other period. It is believed, also, that the senses have more power in the night; that then is the time for thought and instruction; hence they profess to derive much of their wisdom at that sea.son. The Psalmist says, "Thou hast visited me in the night ;" and the heathen priests always pretend to have their communications with the gods " when deep sleep fallelh on man." See them at their bloody sacrifices, they are nearly always held at the same time, and what with the sickly glare of lamps, the din of drums, the shrill sound of trumpets, the anxious features of the votaries, the ferocious scowl of the sacrificer, the bloody knife, and the bleeding victim, all wind up the mind to a high pilch of horror, and excite our conlempt for the deities and demons to whom night is the time of offering and praise. — RoBEttTs. PSALM XVII. my sentence come I Ver. 2. Let my sentence come forth from thy presence ; let thine eyes behold the things that are equal. David, in his integrity, thus cried to the Almighty, and so people in the East, who are innocent, when pleading in court, say, " Let us have your sentence;" i. e. in contradiction of that of their enemies. " See, my lord, the things that are right," "Justice! justice!" — Roberts. Ver. 10. They are enclosed in their own fat: with their mouth they speak proudly. To say a man is fat, often means he is very proud. Of one who speaks pompously, it is said, " What can we do "! tassi-kul-lap-inal," i. e. from the fat of his flesh he declares himself. "Oh! the fat of his muulh; how largely he talks!" "Take care, fellow, or I will restrain the fat of thv mouth." " From the intoxication of his blood he thus talks to you." — Roberts. Ver. 11. They have now compnssed iis in our steps ; they have set their eyes bowing down to the earth. A man who has people watching him to find out a cause for accusation to ihe king, or great men. says, " Yes, ihcy are aro'ind my legs and my feel ; their eyes are always open ; ihev are ever watching my snraihi," i. e. steps; i. c. thev are looking for the impress, or footsteps, in the earth. Piir this purpose, Ihe eyes of the enemies of David were " bowing down to the earth." — Roberts. 47 PSALM xvni. Ver. 2. The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and iTiy deliverer: my God, my strength, in whom I will trust ; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower. See on Eph. 6. 16. That is, my strong, mighty deliverer. The image is taken from the bull, whose strength and defensive weapon lie in his horns. Hence a horn is the symbol of strength. Jer. xlviii. 25, says, " The horn of Moab is cut off';" that is, his power is weakened. Micah iv. 13, says, " Arise and thrash, O daughter of Zion ; for I will make thy horn iron, and I will make thy loot brass ; and thou shalt beat in pieces many people." Ps. cxxxii. 17, " There will I make the horn of David to bud : I have adorned a lamp for mine anointed ;" translated by Luther, " will make him strong and mighty," The Greeks and Romans made use of the same image. The former said of a bold and valiant man, " He has horns." Horace says of wine, that it revived the hope of the afflicted, and gave the poor " horns," thai is, courage and strength. — Rosenmuller. The most extraordinary oriental costume which I have yet seen, is the head-dress worn by many females at Deir el Kamr, and in all the adjacent region of Mount Lebanon. In the cities on ihe .seacoast it is not so frequently seen. It is called Tantoor, and is set on ihe forehead, projecting like a straight horn. It is from fifteen to twenty inches long; in its thickness gradually diminishing; having its diameter at one extremity about four inches, at the other about two. It is hollow, otherwise the weight would be in- supportable to the slifliest neck ; and it is tinselled over, so as to give it a silvery appearance. The end with the larger diameter rests on the forehead, where it is strapped to, by one strap passing behind the head, and another passing under the chin : the horn itself protrudes straight forward, inclining upward, at an angle of about twenty or thirty degrees. Over the further extremity they throw Ihe veil, which thus serves the double purpose of modesty and shade. I could hear no account of the origin of this unicorn costume. In its style it difl^ers materially from the horns described by Bruce in Abyssinia, and by other travellers, which have been considered as illustrating those passages in scripture, " Lift not up your horn on high. — Thy horn hast thou exalted," &c. For here it is Ihe females that wear it ; and not the men, as in Abyssinia : it has no ap- pearance of strength, nor indeed, to me, of beauty; although, doubtless, among the females of Mount Lebanon, there may be as much vanity in their mode of adjusting and bearing this article of dress, as is to be found at any European toilet. Some, indeed, though very few, wear this monstrous orna- ment protruding from one, side of the face, in.stead of the front : but I could obtain no satisfactory account of this heretical fashion, any more ihan of Ihe orthndox position of Ihe Tantoor. Il is not worn hy the Druse women only. The servant of the house where I lived at Deir el Kamr wore one : so also did a young woman, whose marriage I there witnessed: several, likewise, of the virgins, ihat were her fellows, and bore her company, wore this head-dress; all these were Christians. Hanna Doomani told me that it is used chiefly by the lower orders: at least that those who have been brought up at Damascus, or at the principal cilics, would not think of wearing it. In other words, probably, it is the true ancient female mountaineer's cos- tume ; but what is its degree of antiquity, it may be difficult to discover. — Jowett. Ver. .5. The sorrows of hell compassed me about; the snares of death prevented me. The margin has, for sorroti's, " cords." (2 Sam. xxii. 6. Prov. xiii. 14, and xiv. 27.) Dr. Boothroyd translates, " The cords of hades enclosed me ; Ihe snares o death were laiil forme." The Psalmist .says in pnother place. He " shall rain snares" upon the wicked. From the par- ;illel texts in Samuel and Proverbs, ii is evident thai pkath, bv Ihe anciems, in figure at le.n.st, was phrsomkiko nnd de- scribed as having sn.vres, wilh which to calch Ilie bodies of men. The Hindoo Yama, " ihe catcher of ihe souls of men," bears some resemblance to the Charon and Minos of Ihe Egyptians and Grecians. Yama rides on a buffalo, has 370 PSALMS. Ps. 18—22. a large s.VAnE in liis hand, and is every tt'ay a mojl hide- ous looking monster. In his anxiely lo till his caves with mortals, ho was oficn involved in great disputes with the gods and other.'*; as in the case of Marcander, who was a Favourite of the supreme Siva. He had already cast his SNARE upon him, and was about to drai; him to the lower regions, when the deity appeared, and compelled him to relinquish his prey. When people are in the article ol death, they are said to be caught in the snare of Yama. (See Matt, ixiii. 33.)— Roberts. Ver. 33. He maketh my feet like hinds' feet, and setteth me upon my high places. The allusions to this animal in the sacred volume, though not numerous, are of considerable importance. Its name in Hebrew, (?''n) ail, is considered by Dr. Shaw as a gen- eric word, including all the species of the deer kind ; ■whether they are distinguished by round horns, as the stag; or by fiat ones, a.s the fallow-deer; or by the small- ness of the branches, as the roe. The term originally signified aid or assistance; and, in the progress of language, by a natural and easy transition, came to denote an animal fiirnished with the nieans of defence, but limited to horned animals, particularly the slag and the hind. This creature seems to resemble the goal, in being remarkably sure-footed, and delighting in elevated situations. The royal Psalmist alludes to both circumstances in one of his triumphant odes: " He maketh my feet like hinds' feet, and setteth me upon my high places. He might also refer, in the first clause, to the uncommon solidity and hardness of its hoof, which Virgil compares to brass, which enables it to tread, with ease, the pointed rocks. It may seem, from the words of David, that the female possesses a surer fool and a harder hoof than the male, for he ascribes to himself the feet of the hind ; but since natural historians have not remarked any difference between them, it is prob- able he was led to the choice from some other cause, which it may not be easy to di.scover. The prophet Habakkuk, in the close of his prayer, has the same allusion, and nearly in the same words : " He will make my feet like hinds' feet, and he will make me to walk upon my high places." While the Psalmist contents himself with referring merely to the firmness and security of his position, " he setteth me upon my high places," the prophet encourages himself with the persuasion, that his God would conduct him through every danger, with the same ease and .safety as the hind walks among the cliffs of the rock. — Paxton. PSALM XIX. Ver. 4. Their line is gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In them hath he set a tabernacle for the sim ; 5. Which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, and rejoiceth as a strong man to run a race. The espousals by money, or a written instrument, were performed by the man and woman under a tent or canopy erected for that purpose. Into this chamber the bride- groom was accustomed to go with his bride, that he might talk with her more familiarly ; which was considered as a ceremony of confirmation to the wedlock. While he was there, no person was allowed to enter ; his friends and at- tendants wailed for him at the door, with torches and lamps in their hands; and when he came out, he was received by all that were present with great joy and acclamalinn. To this ancient custom, ihc Psalmist alludes in his magnifi- cent description of the heavens : " In them he set a taber- nacle for the sun ; which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, and rejoices as a strong man lo run a race." — Paxton. Ver. 10. More to be desired are they than gold, yen, than much fine gold ; sweeter also than honey and the honey-comb. There is no difference made among us, between the delicacy of honey in the comb, and after its separation from it. We may therefore be at a lo.ss to enter into the energy of that expression, " Sweeter than honey, and the honey- comb," Ps. xix. 10; or, to express it Willi thesame emphasis as our translation does the preceding clause, " Sweeter than honey, yea, than the honeycomb," which last, it should seem, from the turn of thought of the Psalmisl, is as much to be preferred lo honey, as the finest gold is lo thai of a more impure nature. But this will appear in a more easy light, if the diet and the relish of the present Moors of West Baibaiy be thought to resemble those of the limes of the Psalmist : for a paper published fir.sl in the Philosophical Transactions, and alter that by Dr. Halley, in the Miscellanea Curiosa, informs us, that they esteem honey a wholesome breakfast, " and the most delicious that which is in the comb, with the young bees in it, before they come out of their cases, while they still look milkwhite, and resemble, being taking out, gen- tles, such as fishers use: these I have often ate of, but they seemed insipid lo my palate, and sometimes I found they gave me the heartburn. — Harmeb. PSALM XX. Ver. 5. We will rejoice in thy salvation, and in the name of our God we will set up our ban- ners; the Lord fulfil all thy petitions. In all religions as well as warlike processions, the people carry banners. Hence on the pinnacles of their sacred cars, on the domes or gateways of their temples, and on the roof of a new house, may be seen the banner of the caste or sect floating in the air. Siva, the supreme, also is described as having a banner in the celestial world. When a person makes a solemn vow to go on a pilgrim- age, lo perform a penance, or lo bathe in holy water ; or when a man has a dispute in a court of law, or in any other way ; or when a disobedient son has resolved lo act as he pleases ; it is said, " Why try to move him from his pur- pose 1 l-ussil-kaUi, he has tied up, and stands by his ban- ner :" which implies, he must and will abide by his purpose. — Roberts. The banners formerly so much used were a part of mili- tary equipage, borne in times of war lo as.semb!e, direct, distinguish, and encourage the troops. They might possi- bly be used for other purposes also. Occasions of joy, splendid processions, and especially a royal habitation, might severally be distinguished in this way. The words of the Psalmist may perhaps be wholly figurative: but if they should be literally understood, the allusicpn of erecting abanner in the name of the Lord, acknowledging his glory, and imploring his favour, might be justified from an exist- ing practice. Certain it is, that we find this custom preva- lent on this very principle, in other places, into which it might originally have been introduced from Judea. Thus Mr. Turner says, " I was told that it was a custom with the soobah lo ascend the hill every month, when he sets up a white flag, and performs some religious ceremonies, to con- ciliate the favour of a dewta, or invisible being, the genius of the place, who is said to hover about the summit, dis- pensing at his will good and evil to every thing around him." (Turner's Travels.) — Bubper. PSALM XXII. Title — To the chief Musician upon Aijeleth Sha- har, (Hind of the Morning.) A Psalm of Da- vid. Many curious observations have been made on the titles of the {".salms, hut attended wiili the greatest uncertainty. Later eastern customs, respecting the titles of books and poems, may perhaps give a little more certainty lo these matters ; bul great precision must not be expected. D'Her- bclot tells us, that a Persian mciaphysical and mystic poem was called a ffo.w Bush. A collection of moral essays, the Gnrden of Ancmnnies. Another eastern book, the IJon of the Poreil. That Scherfeddin al Baussiri called a poem of his, written in praise of his Arabian prophet, who, he af- firmed, had cured him of a paralytic disorder in his sleep, the Habil of a Derrcesh ; and because he is celebrated there for having given sight to a blind person, this poem is also ' enlitled by ils author, the Bright Star. The ancient Jewish taste may reasonably be supposed to have been of thesame kind. Agreeable to which is Iheci- Ps. 22. PSALMS. 37. planation some learned men have given, of David's com- manding the bow lo be taught the children of Israel, 2 Sam. i. 18, which they apprehended did not relate to the use of that weapon in war, but to the hymn which he composed on occasionof the death of Saul and Jonathan, and from which he entitled this elegy, as they think, the Buw. The twenty- second P.saltn might, in like manner, be called the Hind of the Morning ; the fit'ty-sixth , the Dove dumb in distant places ; the sixtieth, the Lily of the Tcitimont/ ; the eightieth, the Lilies of the Testimony, in the plural ; and the forty-fifth, .simply the Lilies. It is sufficiently evident, I should think, that these terms do not denote certain musical instruments. For if they did, why do the more common names of the timbrel, the harp, the psaltery, and the trumpet, with which psalms were sung, Ps. Ixxxi. 2, 3, never appear in those titles'? Do they signify certain tunes ■? It ought not however to be imagined that these tunes are so called from their bear- mg some resemblance to the noises made by the things mentioned in the titles, for lilies axe silent, if this supposition .should otherwise have been allowed with respect lo the Hind of the Morning. Nor does the fifty-sixth P.salm speak of the mourning of the dove, but of its dumbness. If they signify tunes at all, they must signify the tunes to which such songs or hymns were sung, as were distinguished by these names : and so the inquiry will terminate in this point, whether the Psalms to which these titles are affixed were called by these names ; or whether they were some other psalms, or songs, to the tune of which these were to be sung. And as we do not find the bow referred to, nor the same name twice made use of, so far as our lights reach, it seems most probable that these are the names of those very Psalms to which they are prefixed. The forty-second Psalm, it may be thought, might very well have been entitled the Hind of the Morning, because, as that panted after the water brooks, so panted the soul of the Psalmist after God; but the twenty-second Psalm, it is certain, might equally well be distinguished by this title, Dogs have compassed me, the assembly of the vicked hare enclosed m£: and as the Psalmist, in the forty-second Psalm, rather chose to compare himself to a hart, than a hind, the twenty-second P.salm much better answers this title, in which he speaks of his hunted soul in the feminine gen- der : Deliver my soul from the svyord, my dtrrling (which in the original is feminine) from the power of the dog. Every one that reflects on the circumstances of David, at the lime to which the fifty-sixth Psalm refers, and considers the oriental taste, will nol wonder to see that Psalm en- tilled the Dore dumb in distant places ; nor are lilies more improper lo be made the title of other Psalms, with proper distinctions, than a Garden of Ancmonies to be the name of a collection of moral discourses. — Harmer. Ver. 6. But I am a worm, and no man ; a re- proach of men, an'l despised of the people. When a man complains and abhors himself, he asks, " What am 11 a worm! a worm!" " Ah! ihe proud man; he regarded me as a worm : well should I like to say to him, we are all worms." " Worm, crawl out of my pres- ence."— Roberts. Ver. 7. All they that see me laugh me to scorn ; they shoot out the lip, they shake the head. Ainsworth has this — " All they that see me, doe skofTat mee: they make-a-mow with the lip, they wag the head." It is exceedingly contemptuous to prolruile the lower lip; and, generally speaking, it is only done to those of a mean condition. Those who cannot grant a favour, or who have not the power to perform something they have been re- quested to do, " shoot out the lip." To .shake the head is a favourite way of giving the negative, and is also a mark of disdain. — Roberts. Ver. 10. 1 was cast upon thee from the womb. " What !" asks the old slave, " will you dismis.? me now ■! Have I not been cast upon you from the ketpum ?" womb — Roberts. Ver. 12. Many hulls have compassed me: strong hulls of Bashan have beset me round, Bishop Home says, the laller verse, if literally transla- ted, runs thus ; " Rebuke the wild beast of the reeds, the congregation of the mighty among ihe calves of the nations .skipping or exulting with pieces of silver." Wicked men' or those who have much bodily strength, who insult and domineer over the weak, and all "lew-d fellows of the baser sort," are called mddukul, i. e. bulls. " Of what country are you the bull V People of docile dispositions — those who live at peace with their neighbours — are called cows or calves; hence when violent men injure them, it is said, " See those bulls how they are oppressing the calves ; look at them, they are always butting the cows." " Why has this mad bull of Point Pedro come hither ^ Go, bull, go, graze in thy own pastures." David, therefore, prayed that the Lord would rebuke the bulls who thus trotibled his people. — Roberts. The strength of the bull is too remarkable to require de- scription ; and his courage and fierceness are so great, that he ventures at times to combat the lion himself. Nor is he more celebrated for these qualities, than for his disposi- tion to unite with those of his own kind, against their com- mon enemy. For these reasons he has been chosen by the Spirit of inspiration, to symbolize the powerful, fierce, and implacable enemies of our blessed Redeemer; who, for- getting their personal animosities, combined against his precious life, and succeeded in procuring his crucifixion: " Many bulls have compassed me: strong bulls of Bashan have beset me round." Nor can we conceive a more stri- king and appropriate symbol of a fierce and ruthless war- rior; an instance of which occurs in that supplication of David : " Rebuke the company of the spearmen, the mul- titude of the bulls, with the calves of the people, till every one submit himself with pieces of silver." In the sublime description of I.saiah, which seems to refer to .some great revolutions, which are to be effected in times long poste- rior to the age in which he flourished; probably in these last days, antecedent to the millennial stale of the church ; the complete destruction of her strong and cruel enemies is thus foretold : " And the unicorns shall come down wiih them, and the bullocks with the bulls, and their land shall be soaked with blood, and their du.st made fat with fat- ness."— Paxtun. Ver. 10. For dogs have compassed me; the as- sembly of the wicked have enclosed me : they pierced my hands and my feet. "The dog," says Poiret, "loses in Barbary, as in the East in general, a part of tho.se social qualities which make him the friend of man. He is no longer that domes- tic, mild, insinuating animal, faithfully attached to his master, and ever ready to defend him, even at the expense of his life. Among the Arabs he is cruel, blood-thirsty, always hungry, and never satisfied. His look is savage, his physiognomy ignoble, and his appearance disagreeable. The Moors grant him, indeed, a corner of their tent ; but this is all. They never caress him, never throw him any thing to eal. To this treatment, in my opinion, must the indifference of the dogs towards their master be asciibcd. Very often they have not even any master. They choose a tent as a place of refuge ; thej' are snfl^ered to remain there, and no furihcr noiice is taken of them. Refuse, carrion, filth, every thing is good enough for them, if thev can but appease their hunger. They are lean, emaciated, and have scarcely any belly. Among themselves they sel- dom bite each other ; biU they unite against the stranger who approaches the Arab tents, furiously attack him, ;:nd would tear him to pieces if he did not seek safety in flight from this starved troop. If any person were unable lo de- fend himself, or had the misfortune lo fall, he would be in danger of being devoured, for these dogs are very greedy after human flesh." D'Arvieux also observes, that tlie Bedouin Arabs keep a great number of dogs, which nm about in and out of the camp, begin lo bark at the least noise they hear, and answer each other. " These dogs," says he, " are not accustomed to see people walking about late at night, and I believe that they would tear any one in pieces who should venture to approach the camp." " In Mo- rocco," saysHiist, "there are dogs in abundance, and as the greater partof the Moors have scarcely enough to live on for themselves, much less to feed dogs, they suffer them to lie about the streets so starved Ihat thev can hardly hang to- 372 PSALMS. Ps. as. gelher, and almost devoured by fleas and vermin. But these dogs, which do not move during tlie daytime, though they are frequently trodden on, are so insupportable in the night, not only on account of their barking, bellowing, and cries, but also because thev are so .-iavage and .sleep so little, that nobody is able to go' through the streets without a watch- man." " During all the long lour through this dreary and melan- choly cilv, (Alexandria, in Kgypt,) Europe and its liveli- ness was'piciured to me only by the bustle and by the activ- ity of the sparrows. I here mi longer recognised the dog, that friend of man, the attached and faithful companion, the livelv and honest courtier ; he is here a gloomy egotist, unknottii to the host under whose roof he dwells, cut oft' from human intercourse, without being less of a slave; he does not know him whose house he protects, and devours his corpse without repugnance. The following circumstance will fully paint his character. In the evening of the day on which 1 arrived at Alexandria, 1 went to our ship to supply myself with clean linen. It was eleven o'clock at night when I came again on shore, and I was half a league from my quarters. I was obliged to go through a city taken only that morning by storm, and in which I did not know a street. No reward could induce my man to quit his boat and accompany me. I undertook the journey alone, and went over the burying-ground, in spile of the manes, as I was best acquainted wilh this roan. At the first habitations of the living, I was attacked bv whole troops of furious dogs, who made their attacks from the doors, from the streets, and the roofs; and the barking re- .sounded from house to house, from one family to another. I soon, however, observed that the war declared against me was not grounded on any coalition; for as soon as I had quilted the territory of the attackers, they were driven away by the others, who received ine on their frontiers. The darkness was only lightened by the stars, and bv the constant glimmer of the nights in this climate. Not to lose this advantage, to avoid the barking of the dogs, and to lake a road which I knew could not lead me astray, I left the streets, and resolved to go along the beach; but walls and timber-yards, which extended to the sea, blocked up the way. After having waded through the water to escape from the dogs, and climbed over walls where the sea was too deep, exhausted by anxiety and fatigue, and quite wet, I reached one of our sentinels about midnight, in the conviction that the dog is the most dreadful among the Egyptian plagues." (Denon.) — Rosf.nmii.i.er. Ver. 2 1 . Save me from the lion's mouth : for thou hast heard me from the horns of the unicorns. Those who are in great trouble from the power or cruelty of others, often cry out to their gods — " Ah ! save me from the tusk of the elephant ! From the mouth of the tiger, and the tusks of the boar, deliver me — deliver me!" "'Who will save me from the horn of the kandam .'" This animal is now extinct in these regions, and it is not easy to deter- mine what it was: the word in the Snlhiir-A^nralhc is rendered jungle-cow, but it was probably the rhinoceros; and Dr. Boothrovd translates, " from the horns of the rhinoceros, defend me." — Roberto. PSALM XXIII. 'Ver. 1. The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. 2. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures : he Icadeth me beside the still waters. In this figure the Psalmist had in his view a shepherd leading his flock into luxuriant fields, and causing them to quencli their thirst and repose by gentle streams. In a tropical clime, a tranquil stream and a green pasture are peculiarly pleasing to the eye. Hence many eastern alle- gories are taken from such scenes. " Never, never will I forget my God : he has brought me into a plenteous pastur- age, and fulded me near an abundance of water." " 'Why does he like this country"!" — " Because he has good gra- ziits;." " Tamban has left his master, because there was not much gra.ss." " Much grass ! why the bull was never .satisfied." "Well, friend, whiiher are you going'! in search of grass and water 1" — " 'Ves; the fat one has be- come lean, because his grass has withered and his water failed." — Roberts. The patriarchs wandered with their cattle amtmg the towns and villages of Canaan, and led Ihein even in the most populous districts without molestation. And it is a remarkable fact, that the Kenites and Rechabites lived in Palestine under tents, and fed their cattle wherever they could fmd pasture, when the country was crowded with in- habitants, long afier it had been divided by lot among the tribes. The Bedouin Arat)s claim the same privilege in those countries to this day, which, depopulated as they are, probably contain as many inliabitants in their tow-ns and villages, as in the days of Abraham. Nor is this custom peculiar to Palestine ; in Barbar)' and other places, ihey live in the same manner. Great numbers of Arabiaii shepherds come inlo Egypt itself, in the months of Novem- ber, December, and January, from three or four hundred leagues distance, to feed their camels and their horses. Aflcr having spent some time in the neighbourhood of the Nile, they retire into the deserts, from whence, by routes with which they are acquainted, they pass into other regions to dwell there, in like manner, some months of the year, till the return of the usual season recalls them to the vale of Egypt. To this custom of leading the flocks Ironi one country and region to another, the royal Psalmist alludes in that beautiful pastoral: " The Lord is my shepherd ; I shall not want. He makeih me to lie down in green pas- tures; he leadeth me beside the still waters. He resloreth my soul ; he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness, for his name's sake." We are taught by the prophet to look for the same blessings from the vigilant care and tender- ness of Messiah ; " 'They shall feed in the wavs, and their pastures shall be in all high places. They sball not hun- ger nor thirst ; neither shall tne heat nor sun smite them ; for he that hath mercy on them, shall lead them; even by the springs of water shall he guide them, and I will make all my mountains a way, and my highways shall be exalt- ed." The conduct of the eastern shepherd in leading his flock to the green pastures, and the still waters, is clearly alluded to by John, Ln the book of Revelation: " For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne, shall feed them, and lead them unto living fountains of waters ; and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes." — Paxton. Ver. 4. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil : for thou art with me; thy rod and thy stafl' they comfort me. " He was indeed a good king ; bv his sceptre and um- brella he comforted his subjects." By the staff" or scepirc he gently governed and protected his people; and by his vmlirdlahe defended them from the fierce rays of the sun. " Yes; by these are we instructed, guided, supported, and defended; what have we to fear"! great is onr safely and confidence." " You are now becoming an old man, and your children are young, what will become of them after your death V — " An ! friend, is there not a staflTinlhe hand of God?" "Truly, my wife and children have gone; ihey have reclined in the place of burning, but my .stafl" is still wilh me." " See the wicked one, he has not a stafl' left." — Roberts. In the bag or scrip, which is mentioned by Semuel as a part of the shepherd's furniture, his provisions, and other necessaries, are carried. He bears in his hand a stnflT of considerable length, with which he keeps his cattle in order, and numbers them when they return from the field. To this instrument the Psalmist refers in that beautiful and afl"ecting passage, where he addres.ses Jehovah as ihe shep- herd of his soul: " Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy stafl" they comfort me." — Paxton. Ver. ,"». Thou preparest a taWe before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anoinlest my head with oil ; iny cup runneth over. In Hindostan, when a person of rank and opulence re- ceives a guest, whom he wishes to distinguish by peculiar marks of regard, he pours upon his hands and arms, in the presence of the whole company, a delightful odoriferous perfume, puts a golden cup into his hand, and pours wine intoii till it run over; assuring him at the same time, that Ps. 24—29. PSALMS. 373 it is to him a great pleasure lo receive him into his house, and that he shall find under his roof every comfort which he could bestow. The reference to this custom, which at one time was probably general throughout the East, in the twenty-third Psalm, is at once beautiful and striking: " Thou prejparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies ; thou anointest my head with oil, my cup runneth over." The Lord had early received the Psalmist into fa- vour ; raised him to the highest honours, from a very hum- ble condition ; and, what was infinitely better, he set before him the inestimable blessings of redeeming love, prepared him by a copious unction of the holy Spirit to enjoy them, and welcomed him in the most honourable manner.'by put- ting the cup of salvation into his hand, in the presence of .nil his people, and pouring into it with unsparing liberality, the wine of heavenly consolation. — P;(xton. On all joyful occasions the people of the East anoini the head with oil. Hence.attheir marriages, and other festive times, the young and old may be seen with their long black tresses neatly tied on the crown of the head, shining and smooth, like polished ebony. The Psalmist, therefore, re- joicing in God as his protector, says, "Thou anointest my head with oil." It is an act of great respect to pour per- fumed oil on the head of a distinguished guest ; hence the woman in the gospel manifested her respect for the Saviour by pouring " precious ointment" on his head.— Robert.'^. In the East, the people frequently anoint their visiters with some very fragrant perfume ; and give them a cup or a glass of some choice wine, which they are careful to fill till it runs over. The first was designed to show their love and respect ; the latter to imply that while they remained there, they should have an abundance of every thing. To something of this kind the Psalmist probably alludes in this passage, — Burdeb. PSALM XXIV. Vcr. 7. Lift up your heads, O ye gates ; and be ye Jift up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in. See on Prov. 17. 19. PSALM XXV. Ver. 1.5. Mine eyes are ever towards the Lord ; for he shall pluck my feet out of the net. " Those who delight in fowling, do not spring the game with dogs, as we do; but, shading themselves with an ob- long piece of canvass, stretched over a couple of reeds or sticks, like a door, they walk with it through the several brakes and avenues, where they expect lo find game. The canvass is usually spotted, or painted with the figure of a leopard, and perforated near the top in a few places, for the fowler to look through, and observe what passes before him. The partridge, and other gregarious birds, when the canvass approaches, will covey together, although they were feeding before at some distance from one another. The woodcock, quail, and other birds, which do not commonly feed in flocks, will, at sight of the extended canvass, .stand still and look with astonishment, which gives the sportsman an op- portunity of coming very near them; and then resting the canvass upon the ground, and directing the muzzle of his pipcp through one of the holes, he will sometimes shoot a whole covey at a time. The Arabs have another, but a more laborious method of catching these birds; for ob- serving that thev become languid and fatigued, after they have been hastily put up two or three times, they immedi- a-elv run in upon them, and knock them down with their bludgeons. They are likewise well acquainted with that method of catching partridges called tunnelling ; and to make the capture the greater, they will sometimes place behind the net a cage with some tame ones within, which, bv their perpetual chirping and calling, quickly bring down the coveys which are within hearing, and' by that means deslrov great numbers of them. To hunt the'jack- al, which greatly abounds in that country, they sometimes use a leopard which has been trained tohunting from his youth. The hunter keeps the animal before him on his horse, and when he meets with a jackal, the leopard leaps down, and creeps along till he thinks himself within reach of the prey, when he leaps upon it with incredible agility, throwing himself seventeen or eighteen feet at a time." These statements illustrate the force and propriety of those passages of holy writ, which allude to the arts and imple- ments of the hunter and the fowler, by which the timid vic- tim is taken ere it is aware ; or the bold is compelled by main force, or by deadly wounds, to submit lo his more cunning or powerful adversary. It is not without reason the Psalmist rejoiced that the snare was broken, and his soul had escaped as a bird from the snare of the fowler; and that God had brought his feet out of the net. — Paxton. PSALM XXVII. Ver. 6. And now shall my head be lifted up above mine enemies round about me : therefore will I offer in his tabernacle sacrifices of joy; I will sing, yea, I will sing praises unto the Lord. " The Modeliar is now fixed in his situation." — " IsheT' — " Yes, yes, he is on the mountain, and is like unto it." " Who will take me out of this mud, and place me upon the moimtaiu V — Roberts. PSALM XXVIII. Ver. 1. Unto thee will I cry, O Lord, my rock; be not silent to me: lest, if thou be silent to me, I become like them that go down into the pit. See on Job 33. 18, 24. Ver. 2. Hear the voice of my supplications, when I cry unto thee, when I lift up my hands towards thy holy oracle. See on Ps. 44. 20. PSALM XXIX. Ver. 5. The voice of the Lord breaketh the ce- dars; yea, the Lord breaketh the cedars of Lebanon. See on Deut. 3. 25. Ver. 9. The voice of the Lord maketh the hinds to calve, and discovereth the forests : and in his temple doth every one speak oi his glory. Ainsworth translates, " Jehovah maketh the hinds trem- blingly to travel." The thunder of the East is far more terrific than that of England. The explosion is so sudden and so vast, that the earth literally trembles under its power: fierce animals rush into the' covert, and birds fly affrighted to the shade. Then it is the people say, " Ah'! this will cause the womb to tremble." " This thunder will make the pains to come." " I fear there will be a fallin" this day." — Roberts. ° It seems to be generally admitted, that the hind brings forth her young with great difiicultv; and, so much appears to be suggested in the third verse of the same chapter- " They bow themselves, they bring forth their young ones they cast out their sorrows." But if Pliny, and other nat- ural historians, are worthy of credit, divine providence has been graciously pleased to provide certain herbs which greatly facilitate the birth ; and by an unerring instinct he directs the hind to feed upon them, when the time of ges- tation draws towards a close. Whatever be in this asser- tion, we know from higher authority, that providence does promote the parturition of the hind, by awakening her fears and agitating her frame by the rdlling thunder- "The voice of Jehovah, (a common Hebrew phrase, denoting thunder,) maketh the hinds to calve." Nor ought we to wonder that so timorous a creature as the hind should be so much affected by that awfully imposing sound, when some of the proudest men that ever existed, have been made to tremble. Augustus, the Roman emperor, according to feuelonius, was ,so terrified when it thundered, that he wrapped a seal-skin round his body, with the view of de- fending it from the lightning, and concealed himself in some 374 PSALMS. Ps. 30—32. secret corner till the lerapesi ceased. The tyrant Caligula, who somelimes aHecled tn threaten Jupiter himself, covered liis head, or hid himself under a bed; and Horace con- fesses, he was reclaimed fruinallieism by the terror of thun- der and lightning.— Paxton. PSALM XXX. Title — A Psalm and Song at the dedication of the house of David. It was common, when any person had finished a house. and entered into il, to celebrate it with great rejoicing, and keep a festival, to which his friends were invited, and to perUirm some religious ceremonies, to secure the protection of heaven. Thus, when the second temple was finished, the priests and Leviies, and the rest of Ihe captivity, kept the dedication of the house of God with joy, and offered numerous sacrifices, Ezra vi. 16. We read in the New Testament of the feast of thededicalion, appoinledby Juda.s Maccaba!us, in memory of the purification and restoration of the temple of Jerusalem, after it had been defiled and laid in ruins by Aniiochus Epiphanes; and celebrated an- nually, to the time of its destruction by Titus, by solemn sacrifices, music, songs, and hymns to the praise of God; and feasts, and every thing that could give the people plea- sure, for eight days successively. (Josephus.) This was customary even among private persons. The Romans also dedicated their temples and their theatres. So also they acted wi!h respect to their slalues, palaces, and houses. — ClIANDLEn. . Ver. 1. I will extol thee, O Lord; for thou hast lifted me up, an I hast not made my foes to re- joice over me. " Thou hast lifted me up." The verb is used, in itsoriginal meaning, to denote (Ac reciprocating motion of the buckets of a well, one descending as the other rises, and rice versa ; and is here applied, with admirable propriety, to point out the various reciprocations and changes of David's forturies, as described in this psalm, as to prosperity and adversity; and particularly, that gracious reverse of his afflicted con- dition, which lie nowcelebrales, God having raised him up to great honour and prosperity; for having built his palace, " he perceived that the Lord had established him King over Israel, and that he had e.Kalled his kingdom, for his people Israel's sake." — Chandler. Ver. 5. For his an<^er endurttk hut a moment ; in his favour is life: weepinij may endure for a niirht, but joy comcth in the morning. The Tamul method of expressing a moment is to move Ihe hand once round the head, and give a snap of the finger. Thus they say of any thins which endures but a shoit time, " It is onlV as' the snap of the fingers." The people of the Eant have nearlv all their feslivities in the night ; they say it is the sorrowful time, and therefore adopt this plan to make it pass more pleasantly away. To those who are in difriculiies or sorrow; to widows, orphans, and strangers, " night is the time to weep;" hence in passing through the village mav be heard people crving aloud to their drpnrted friends, or bitterly lamenting their own condition. They have, however, some very pleasing and philosophical say- ings on the uncertainty of the sorrows and jovs of life. In the b:>iik Scanita-Purunn, il is wriHen, " The wise, when plea.ne at all in the summer, is what is most common in the East. Jacobus de Viiriaco assures us it is thus in Judea; for he observes that " lightning and thunder are wont, in the western countries, to be in the summer, but happen in the Holy Land in win- ter. In the summer it seldom or never rains there : but in winter, though the returns of rain are not so frequent, after they begin to fall, they pour down for three or four days and nights together, as vehemently as if they would drown the country." The withered appearance of an eastern summer, which is very dry, is doubtless what the Psalmist refers to when he says, " my moisture is turned into the drought of summer." The reference is not to any particu- lar year of drought, but to what commonly occurs. — Har- MER. Ver. 7. Thou ari my hiding-place; thou shall preserve me from trouble ; thou shalt compass me about with songs of deliverance. Selah. We see in the case of David, and many others, that they often had to conceal themselves in caves, mountains, and desert places, from the pursuit of their enemies. In countries like these, where the police is imperfect, where population is so scattered, and where it is so easy to sustain life, it can be no wonder that offenders and injured men often conceal themselves for months and years from the vigilance of their pursuers. It is an every-day occurrence to hear of men thus hiding themselves. Hasapersontoaccotmt for his conduct, or to appear in a court of justice, he packs up his valuables, and makes a start into the jungle, or to some distant country. Perhaps he prowls about the skirts of a forest, and occasion- , ally visits his family in the night. See him on his way, he walks so softly that the most delicate-eared animal cannot detect him; he looks In every direction ; puts his ears near the ground, and listens for any sound ; again he proceeds, sometimes crawling, sometimes walking, till he has reached his hiding-place. But the natives themselves are famous for assisting each other to elude the search of their pursuers ; and often, as did Jonathan and Ahimaaz, they conceal them- selves in the well ! Sometimes an offender will run to a man of rank who is at enmity with his foe, and say, " My lord, you must be my hiding-place against that wicked man, who has committed so many crimes against you." " Ah ! the good man, he was my hiding-place." — Roberts. PSALM XXXIV. Ver. 8. O taste and see that the Lord is good : blessed is the man that trusteth in him. " I have Tusse-pdrtain," i. e. tasted and seen the holy man. " The Modeliar is a good man; I have lasted of him many times." " Tamby, have you been to see the collector V — " No, I am afraid of him." — "Pear not; I have tasted of him, and he is very sweet." " Do you pretend to know me V — "Yes, I know you well; many times have I tasted of you, and have proved you to be all bitterness." A wife says of a good husband, " I have tasted him, and he is very sweet." Does a father chastise his child, he asks, " Do you now laste me ? Am I sweet or sour 1 When you commit such things, I shall always be sour to you." Of a good and absent child, he says, " My son, my son I when will yon return, that I may again taste your sweetness." — Roberts. Ver. 20. He keepeth all his bones : them is broken. not one of A curious opinion of the Jews is, that wherever their bodies may be buried, it is only in their own promised land that the resurrection can take place; and, therefore, they who are interred in any other part of the world must take their way to Palestine under ground; and this will be an operatioii of dreadful toil and pain, although clefts and caverns will be opened for them bv the Almighty. Whether it arose from this superstition, or from that love for the land of their fathers, which, in the Jews, is connected with the strongest feelings of faith and hope, certain it is, that tool. many have directed their remains to be sent there. " We were fraughted wiih wool," says an old traveller, "from Constantinople to Sidon, in which sacks, as most cer- tainly was told to me, were many Jews' bones put into little chests, but unknown to any of the ship. The Jews, our merchants, told me of them at my reUirn from Jeru- salem to Saphet, but earnestly entreated me not to tell it, for fear of preventing them another time." Sometimes a wealthy Jew has been known to import earth from Jeru- salem wherewith to line his grave. (Cluarierly Review.) — BURDER. PSALM XXXV. Ver. 5. Let them be as chaff before the wind : and let the angel of the Lord chase them. " Begone ! fellow ; contend not with my brother or me : thou art as chaff before the wind I" " Not a word, or soon wilt thou be as cotton before the wind !" — Roberts. Ver. 21. Yea, they opened their mouth wide against me, a7id said, Aha, aha ! our eye hath seen it. Dr. Boothroyd, " They open wide their mouth against me, and say, Aha ! aha ! our eye seeth what we wished." See that rude fellow, who has triumphed over another; he distends his mouth to the utmost, then claps his hands, and bawls out, "Agd! agd! I have seen, I have seen." So provoking is this exclamation, that a man, though vaii- quished, will often commence another attack. An officer who has lost his situation is sure to have this salutation from those he has injured. Has a man been foiled in argument, has he failed in some feat he promised to per- form, has he in any way made himself ridiculous, the people open their mouths, and- shout aloud, saying, " Agd I finished, finished, fallen, fallen." Then they laugh, and clap their hands, till the poor fellow gets out of their sight. — Roberts. PSALM XXXVL Ver. II. Let not the foot of pride come against me, and let not the hand of the wicked remove me. Here we have another instance of the feet and hands being used for the whole man. Our Saviour said of the man : " The hand of him that betrayeth me." Of a sick person to whom the physician will not administer any more medicine, it will be said, paregdri-kivultdn, " The hand of the doctor has forsaken him." A servant is under the hand of his master. The foot of pride probably alludes to the custom of the conqueror trampling upon the vanquished : for in the next verse it is said, " The workers of iniquity are fallen: they are cast down, and shall upt be able to rise." — Roberts. PSALM XXXVII. Ver. 6. And he shall bring forth thy righteous- ness as the light, and thy judgment as the noon- day. " Righteousness and the light are but one." " His righ- teousness is as the light." " Yes, he is indeed a wise judge, his decision is as the noonday." "What an erroneous judgment is this ! my case was as powerful and clear as the sun in his zenith." — Roberts. Ver. 3.5. I have seen the wicked in great power, and spreading himself like a green bay-tree. The margin has, instead of green bay-tree, " a tree that groweth in his own soil." Ainsworth, " I have seen Iho wicked daunting terrible, and spreading himself bare, as a green .self-growing laurel." A truly wicked man is com- pared to a tamarind-tree, whose wood is exceedingly hard, and whose fruit is sour. " Thai jiassdsu, i. e. fiend, is like the marvlM-marram" {Terminalia-Alate.) This tree re- sists the most powerful storms ; it never loses its leaves, and is sacred to Vyraver, the prince of devils. I have 376 PSALMS. Ps. 39—42. seen some ihal would measure from lliirty lo forty feel in circumfcience. The tainarind-iroe ai Port Pedro, under which Baldeus preached, measures ihiriy feel. — Roberts. PSALM XXXIX. Ver. 5. Behold, thou hast made my days as a hand-breadth, and mine age is as nothing before thee: verily every man at his best stale is alto- gether vanity. Selah. " What are the days of man t Only four fingers." " My son has gone, and has only had a life of four fingers." "You have had much pleasure?" — "Not so; it has only been the breadih of four fingers." " Is he a great land- owner 1" — " Yes, he has about the breadth of four fingers." " I am [old that the hatred betwixt those people is daily decreasing r' — "Yes; that which is left is about four fingers in breadth." — Roberts. Ver. 10. Remove thy stroke away from me: I am consumed by the blow of thy hand. 1 1. When thou with rebukes dost correct man for iniquity, thou makest his beauty to consume away like a moth ; surely every man is vanity. Selah. See on Job 4. 9. The moths of the East are very large and beautiful, but short-lived. After a few showers these splendid insects may be seen fluttering in every breeze ; but the dry weather and their numerous enemies soon consign them to the com- mon lot. Thus the beauty of man consumes away like that of this gay rover, dressed in his robes of purple, and scar- let, aad green. — Roberts. PSALM XL. Ver. 6. Sacrifice and offering thou didst not de- sire; mine ears hast thou opened: burnt-offer- ing and sin-offering hast thou not required. Ainsworih, " Mine ears hast thou digged open." In scripture phrase, the Lord is said to speak m the ears of his people. Those young heathen who are above ten years of age, and tmder twenty, have the ubbatheasum whispered in their ears, which is believed lo have a very sacred ef- fect.— Roberts. Ver. 7. Then said I, Lo, I come : in the volume of the book it is written of me. I have elsewhere observed, that the oriental books and letters, which are wont both of them to be rolled up, are usually wrapped in a covering of an elegant kind: I would here add, thaWhey have sometimes words on these cover- ings, which have a general notion of what is contained in them ; which management obtained in much elder times, and might possibly be in use when some of the Psalms were written. Sir John Chard in, describing the manner of dismissing the ambassadors and envoys that were at the court of the Persian monarch, when he was there, after mentioning the presents that were made them, goes on to inform us, " that the letters to the crowned heads were sealed; that for the cardinal natron was open: that for the pope was formed so as to be larger than the rest; it was enclosed in a bag of very rich brocade, and sealed at the ends, which had fringes hanging down the bag half way. The seal was applied lo the place where the knot was on both sides, upon red wax, of the diameter of a piece of fifteen sols, and very thick. Upon th^ middle of one of the sides of the bag were written these two Persian words, Hamel Faiel, which signify, excellent or precious writing." After which he goes on lo explain the reasons that occasion the Persian prince to treat the popes with such distinguished honour, which it would be of no use to con- sider here. The remark I would make relates to the in- scription on the outside of the rich bag enclosing Ihese despatches, and which, in few words, expressed ihe gen- eral nature of what was contained in the roll within: it was a royal writing. This practice of writing on the out- side of Ihe case of a letter, or book rolled up, seems to be at least as ancient as the lime of Chrysostom, according to a note of Lambert Bos on the 40ih Psalm. ChrysoMom, we are told there, remarks, that they call a wrapper the Ktit, which is the word the Scptua'gint translators make use of to express the Hebrew word rhi-^ mi-pillalh, which we translate rolitme: "In ihe volume of the book it is writ- ten of me." Chrysostom seems lo suppose there was written in or on tne sacred volume, a word or words which signified the coming of the Messiah. But Chrysos- tom would hardly have thought of such an interpretation, had it not been frequently done at Constantinople in his time, or by the more eastern princes that had business to transact with the Greek emperors ; or been known lo have been before those times practised among the Jews. — Hab- MER. PSALM XLI. Ver. 9. Yea, mine own familiar friend in whom I trusted, which did eat of my bread, hath lifted his heel against me. " The man who has eaten my rice has now become a traitor; yes, he has cut my kutJu-lial," i. e. heel. — Roberts. To eat of the same bread has been reckoned in every age a sure pledge of inviolable friendship. Pythagoras com- manded his disciples not lo break bread, because, say ihey, the bond of friendship is not to be broken ; and all friends should assemble round the same cake. A cake of bread, observes Curt ius, was the most sacred pledge of amity among the Macedonians. Nothing was reckoned baser, in the East, than to offer violence to those at whose table they had been entertained. .Sschines, in his oration against Demosthenes, reproaches him especially because he had accused him, though they had eaten at the .same table, and joined in the same sacred ceremonies. In perfect har- mony with these views and feelings, which seem lo have beenderived from a very remote antiquity, the holy Psalmist complains of Ahithophel : " Yea, mine own familiar friend, in whom I trusted, who did eat of my bread, bath lifted up his heel against me." And a greater than David, in ref- erence to Judas Iscariot: " I speak not of you all ; I know whom I have chosen ; but that the scripture maybe fulfilled, he that eateth bread with me hath lifted up his heel against me." The traitor had lived for more than three years m the relations of peace and amity with his L5rd : he had been called in the apostolic office, and had been admitted lo the same familiar intercourse with his divine Master, as the other disciples had enjoyed. These invaluable privi- leges greatly aggravated his crime ; but his eating bread at his Master's table, while he was plotting against his life, was the crowning point of his enormous wickedness. — Paxton. PSALM XLII. Ver. 1. As the hart panteth after the water-brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God. In the East, where streams are not common, and where the deer are so often chased by their savage co-tenants of the forest and the glade, no wonder thai they are often driven from their favourite haunts to the parched grounds. After this, their thirst becomes excessive, but they dare not return to the water, lest they should again meet the enemy. When the good Ramar and his people went through the thirsty wilderness, it is written, " As Ihe deer cried for water, so did they." " In going through the des- ert yesterday, my thirst was so great, I cried out like the deer for water." — Roberts. Ver. 7. Dcepcalleth unto deep at the noise of thy water-spouts: all thy waves and thy billows are gone over me. A water-spout at sea is a splendid sight ; in shape it re- sembles a funnel, with the lube pointing to the water. In 1819, a large one burst near our ship, which caused con- siderable alarm to all on board. We were near lo it be- fore we were aware, and the captain ordered the guns lo be loaded and discharged, lo cause it to break. Happily for us, it burst at some distance ; but the noise the water Ps. 42—45. PSALMS. 377 made in rushing frmn the waUr-spoul, and again in dash- ing into Ihc sea, strungly reminded me of this expression, " Deep callelh unto deep at the noise of thy water-spouts." Roberts. Natural philosophers often make mention of waier-spouts, which are most surprising appearances ; but hardly any of the commentators, that I have observed, speak of them, though our translators have used the term. Psalm xlii. 7, and the Psalmist seems to be directly describing those phenomena, and painting a storm at sea. And none of them, I think, take notice of the frequency of water-spouts on the Jewish coasts, and consequently that it was natural for a Jewish poet lo mention them, in the description of a violent and dangerous storm. That this however is the fact, we learn from Dr. Shaw, who tells us, that water-spouts are more frequently near the capes of Latikea, Greego, and Carmel, than in any other part of the Mediterranean. These are all places on the coast of Syria, and the last of them everybody knows in Judea, it being a place rendered famous by the prayers of the prophet Elijah. The Jews then could not be ignorant of what frequently happened on their coasts, and David must have known of these dangers of the sea, if he had not actually seen some of them, as Dr. Shaw did. Strange then ! since this is the case, that commentators should speak of these water-spouts as only meaning vehement rains; or that any should imagine that he compares his afflictions to the pouring of water through the .spouts of a house, as Bythner seems to do in his Lyra, when they have nothing to do with a storm at sea, which the Psalmist is evidently describing. Others have remarked that these spouts are often seen in the Mediterranean, but I do not remember to have seen it anywhere remarked, before I read Dr. Shaw, that they are more frequent on the Syrian and Jewish coasts, than any other part of this sea ; and as the doctor has not ap- plied the observation to the explaining any part of scrip- ture, I thought it was right to take notice of it in these pa- pers, and as it belongs to the natural history of Judea, it comes into this chapter. — Harmer. Ver. 11. Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me ? Hope thou in God ; for I shall yet praise him, who is the health of my countenance, and ray God. Ainsworth, " the salvations of my face." " Oh ! Siva, are you not the salvation of my face V says the prostrate devotee. " To whom shall I make known my distress? are not you the salvation of my face V " Alas ! alas ! the salvation of my face has departed." " The blossoming on my face is now withered and gone," says the widow, la- menting over the corpse of her husband. — Roberts. PSALM XLIV. Ver. 20. If we have forgotten the name of our God, or stretched out our hands to a strange god. The stretching out the hand towards an object of devotion, or a holy place, was an ancient usage among Jews and heathens both, and it continues in the East to this time, which continuance I do not remember lo have seen re- marked. " If," says the Psalmist, " we have forgotten the name of our God, or stretched out our hands to a .strange god: .shall not God search this out"!" Ps. xliv. 20, 21. "Ethi- opia shall soon stretch out her hands unto God," Ps. Ixviii. 31. " Hear the voice of my supplications, when I cry unto thee : when I lift up my hand towards thy holy oracle," P.salm xxviii. 2. That this attitude in prayer has continued among the eastern people, appears by the following passages from Pitts, in his account of the religion and manners of the Moham- medans. Speaking of the Algerines throwing wax can- dles and pots of oil overboard, as a present lo some marab- bol, or Mohammedan saint, Pitts goes on, and says, " When this is done, they all together hold up their hands, begging the maraljbot's blessing, and a prosperous voyage." This they do in common, it seems, when in the Straits' mouth ; "and if at any time they happen to be in a very great strait or distress, as being cha.sed, or in a storm, they 48 will gather money, and do likewise." In the same page he tells us, the " marabbots have generally a little neat room built over their graves, resembling in figure their mosques or churches, which is very nicely cleaned, and well looked after." And in the succeeding page he tells us, " Many people there are, who will scarcely pass by any of them without lifting up their hands, and saying some short prayer." He mentions the same devotion again as prac- tised towards a saint that lies buried on the shore of the Red Sea. In like manner, he tells us, that at quiuing the beet, or holy house at Mecca, to which they make devout pilgrim- ages, " they hold up their hands towards the beet, making earnest petitions ; and then keep going backward till they come to the abovesaid farewell gate. All the way as they retreat, they continue petitioning, holding up their hands, with their eyes fixed on the beet, until they are out of sight of it: and so go to their lodgings weeping." — Harmer. PSALM XLV. Ver. 1. My heart is enditing a good matter: I speak of the things which I have made touch- ing the King ; my tongue is the pen of a ready writer. This Psalm is a poetical composition, in the form of an epithalamium, or song of congratulation, upon the marriage of a great king, to be sung to music at the wedding-fea,st. The topics are such as were the usual groundwork of such gratulatory odes with the poets of antiquity : they all fall under two general heads, the praises of the bridegroom, and the praises of the bride. The bridegroom is praised for the comeliness of his person, and the urbanity of his address, for his military exploits, for the extent of his con- quests, for the upright administration of his government, for the magnificence of his court. The bride is celebrated for her high birth, for the beauty of her person, the richness of her dress, and her numerous train of blooming bride- maids. It is foretold that the marriage will be fruitful, and that the sons of the great king will be sovereigns of the whole earth. In this general structure of the poem, we find nothing but the common topics and the common ar- rangement of every wedding-song: but when we recollect that the relation between the Saviour and his church is represented in the writings both of the Old and New Tes- tament, under the image of the relation of a husband to his wife, that it is a favourite image with all the ancient prophets, when they would set forth the loving-kindness of God for the church, or the church's dutiful return of love to him ; while, on the contrary, the idolatry of the church, in her apo.stacies, is represented as the adultery of a mar- ried woman ; that this image has been consecrated to this signification by our Lord's own use of it, who describes God in the act of settling the church in her final state of peace and perfection, as a king making a marriage for his son ; — the conjecture that will naturally arise upon the recollection of these circumstances will be, that Inis epi- thalamium, preserved among the sacred writings of the an- cient Jewish church, celebrates no common marriage, but the great mystical wedding, that Christ is the bridegroom, and the .spouse his church. And this was the unanimous opinion of all antiquity, without exception even of the Jewish expositors. For although, with the veil of igno- rance and prejudice upon their understandings and their hearts, they discern not the completion of this or of any of their prophecies in the Son of Mary, yet they allow, that this is one of the prophecies w-hich relate to the Mes.siah and Messiah's people ; and none of them ever dreamed of an application of it to the marriage of any earthly prince. It is the more extraordinary, that there should have arisen in the Christian church, in later ages, expositors of great name and authority, and, indeed, of great learning, who have maintained, that the immediate subject of the psalm is the marriage of Solomon with Pharaoh's daughter, and can discover only a distant reference lo Christ and the church, as typified by the Jewish king and his Egj'ptian bride. But read this p.salm, and tell me if you can any- where find King Solomon. We find, indeed, passages which may be applicable to Solomon, but not more appli- cable to him than to many other earthly kings ; such as comeliness of person and urbanity of address, mentioned 378 PSALMS. Ps. 45. in the second verse. These nii;;lii be qu.nlilio^, for .-.ny thing Ihat we know to the eonlrary, behiii^ing to .SoUnuoii; I say, lor any thing that we know to the eonlrary, fur in these particulars ihe sacreil history gives no information. We read of Solomon's learning, anil of his wisdom, and of the admirable sagacity and integrity of his judicial deci- sions: but we read not at all, as lar as I recollect, of the extraordinary comeline-^s of his ner.son, or the allabiliiy of his speech. And if he po.-^sessed tlicse,qualilies, they are no more than other monarehs have possessed, in a degree not to be surpassed by Solomon. Splendour and slaloliness of dress, twice mentioned in this psalm, were not peculiar to Solomon, but belong to every great and opulent mon- arch. Other circumsianccs might be inenliuned, applica- ble, indeed, to Solomon, but no otherwise than as generally applicable to every king. But the circumstances which ate characlerislic of the kmg who is the hero of this poem, are every one of lliem utierly inapplicable to Solomon, inso- much, that not one of them can be ascribed lo him, without contradic:iiig the history of his reign. Tlie hero of this poem is a warrior, who girds his sword upon his thigh, rides in pursuit of Hying foes, makes havoc among them ' with his sharp arrows, and reigns at last by conijuest over his vanquislied enemies. Now Solomon was no warrior: he enjoyed a long reign of forty years of uninterrupted peace. He retained, indeed, the sovereignty of the coun- tries which his father had conquered, but he made no new conquests of his own. " He had dominion over all the region west of the Euphrates, over all the kings on this side of the river, (they were his vassals,) and he had peace on all sides round abuut him. And Judah and Israel dwelt safely, every man under his vine, and under his fig-tree, from Dan even to Beershcba, all the days of Solomon." If Solomon ever girded a sword upon his thigh, it must have been merely for state ; if he had a quiver of sliaip arrows, he could have had no use for them but in hunling. And it was with great good judgment, that upon the revision of our English Bible, in the reign of James the First, the Calvini.stic argument of this psalm, as it stood in Clueen Elizabeth's Bible, was expunged, and that other substituted which we now read in our Bible of ilie larger size, in these words: " The majesty and grace of Christ's kingdom ; the duty of the church, and the benefits thereof;" which, indeed, contain a most exact summary of the whole doctrine of the psalm. And the particulars of this, it is my intention in future discourses to expound. The psalm takes its beginning in a plain, unaffected manner, with a ver.se briefly declarative of Ihe importance of the subject, the atuhor's extraordinary knowleitge of it. and the manner in which it will be treated: — ".My licart is ciiititing a good mailer;" or rather, " My lir.irl l;il* the Spirit of God inspires his thoughts, and prompts his utterance. After this brief preface, declaring that his sub- ject is Messiah, chiefly in his kingly character; thai he cannot contain the thoughts which are rising in his mind; that he speaks not from himself, or from previous study, but from inspiration at the moment, he plunges at once into the subject he had propounded, addressing the King Messiah, as if he were actually standing in the royal pres- ence. And in this same strain, indeed, the whole song proceeds ; as referring to a scene present to the prophet's eye, or to things which he saw doing. — Horslev. Ver. 2. Thou ait fairer than the children of men; giacc is poured into thy lips ; therefore God hath blessed thee for ever. We have no account in the gospels of our Saviour's perscm. Some writers of an early age (but none so early as to have seen him) speak of it as wanting dignity, and or his physiognomy as unpleasing. It would be difficult, I believe, to find any better foundation for this strange no- tion, than an injudicious interpretation of certain propiic- cies, in a literal meaning, which represent the humiliation which the Son of God was lo undergo, by clothing his divinity with flesh, in images taken from personal de- formity. But from what is recorded in the gospels, of the ease with which our Saviour mixed in what, in the modern style, we should call good company; of the respectful attention .shown to him, beyond any thing his rcpnled birth or fortune might demand; and the manner in which his discourses, either of severe reproof or gentle admonition, were received, we may reasonably conclude, that he had a dignity of exterior appearance, remarkably corresponding with that authority of speech, which, upon some occasions, impressed even his enemies with awe, and with that digni- fien mildness, which seems to have been his more natural and usual tone, and drew the applause and admiration of all who heard him. External feature, however, is gene- rally the impression of the mind upon the body, and words arc but Ihe echo of the thoughts; and, in prophecy, more is usually meant than meets the ear in the first sound, and most obvious sense of the terms employed. Beauty and grace of speech are certainly used in this text as figures of much higher qualities, which were conspicuous in our Lord, and in him alone of all the sons of men. That image of God in which Adam was created, in our Lord appeared perfect and entire ; in the unspotted innocency of his life, the sanctity of his manners, and his perfect obedience to the law of Ciod ; in the va.'-t powers of his mind, intellectual and moral: inlelleotual, in his comprehension of all knowl- edge ; moral, in his power of resisting all the allurements of vice, and of encounlering all Ihe difiiculties of virtue and religion, despising hardship and shame, enduring pain and death. This wa-s the beauty with which he was adorned beyond Ihe sons of men. In him, the beauly of ihc divine image was refulgent in its original perfection ; in all the sons of Adam, obscured and marred, in a degree lo be scarce discernible; the will depraved, the imagination de- bauched, the reason weak, the passions rampant ! This deformity is not externally visible, nor the spiritual beauly which is its opposite: but, could the eye be turned ni'on the internal man, we should see the hideous shape of a will at enmity with God; a heart disregarding his law, insensible of his goodness, fearless of his wrath, .swelling with Ihe passions of ambition, avarice, vain-glory, lust. Yet this is the picture of Ihe unregencralcd man, by the depravity consequent upon the fall, born in iniquity, and conceived in sin. Christ, on the contrary, by Ihe mysterious manner of his concepliitn, was born without spot of sin ; he grew up and lived full of grace and truth, perfectiv sanctified in flesh and spirit. With this beauly he was "adorned beyond the sons of men." — Horsi.et. Ver. 3. Gird thy sword upon thy thigh, O most Migiity, with tliy glory and thy majesty. From the commendation of the comeliness of the king's person, and the graciousness of his speech, the P.salmist, in the same figurative style, passes lo the lopic of his prowess as a warrior, linder which character our Lord is perpetu- ally described in Ihe prophecies. The enemies he had lo Ps. 45. PSALMS. 379 engage are llie wiekeJ passions of men, the devil in his wiles and machinations, and llie jierseculing powers of the world. The warfare is continued through the whcjle of the period 1 have mentioned, commencing upon our Lord's as- cension, at which time lie is repre.sented, in the Revelation, as going forth upon a " while horse, with a crown upon his head, and a bow in his hand, conquering and to conquer." The Psalmist, in imagery almost the same, accosts him as a warlike prince preparing to take the field; describes his weapons, and the magnificence of his armour, and prom- ises him victory and universal dominion. This verse, I fear, must be but ill understood by the English reader. The words, " O most Mighty !" very weak- ly render the original, which is a single word, one of the titles of Christ, in its literal sense expressive of might and valour. But the great dithculty which, in my apprelien- sion, must perple.\- ihe English reader, lies in the exhorta- tion, to gird on glory and majesty togetlier with the sword. The things have no obvious connexion ; and how are ma- jesty and glory, in any sense which the words may bear in our language, to be girt on upon the person 7 The truth is, that, in the Hebrew language, these words have a great variety and latitude of meaning; and either these "very v.'ords, or their .synonymes, are used m other places for splendid dress, and for robes of stale ; and being things to be girt on, they must here denote some part of tlie warrior's dress. They signify such sort of armimr, of costly male- rials and exquisite workmanship, as was worn by the greatest generals, and by kings when they led their armies in person, and was contrived for ornament as well as safety. The whole verse might be intelligibly and yet faithfully rendered, in these words ; — " WarriDr ! gird lliy sword upon tliy Ihigli ; Uuckle on tliy refulgent, dazzling armour."— Horsley. Ver. 4. And in thj'- majesty ride prosperously, be- cause of truth, aiid meekness, and righteous- ness ; and thy right hand shall teach thee ter- rible things. That is, take aim with thy bow and arrow at the enemy; be prosperous, or succe.ssful in the aim taken ; ride on in pursuit of the flying foe, in the cause of religious truth, evangelical humility, and righteousness. "And thy rigtit hand shall teach theo lerriblo things ;'' rather, "And ihy own right hand shall show lliec wonderful things." In these words, the Saviour, effecting every Ihing by his own power, is represented under the image of a great champion in the field, who is prompted by his own courage, and a reliance on his own strength and skill, to attempt what might seem impracticable; singly to attack whole .squadrons of the enemy; to cut his way tlirough their em- battled troops ; to scale llieir ramparts and their walls, and at last achieve what seems a wonder to himself, when the fray is over, when he is at leisure to survey the bulwarks he has demolished, and ihe many carca.sses' his single arm has stretched upon the plain, Stich great things he will be able to cfl'eet. It yet remains to he more fully explained, what is meant in the Psalmist's detail of the Messiah's war, by those •' wonder.s" which " his own right hand was to .show' liim :'' *-Thy own riyht hand sh.itl show (hee w ih. ... fiRure is opened, and ilie propriety ol the application shown: " For the word of God," says the in.spircd author, " is quick and powerful, (rather, lively and energetic,) and sharper than any Iwo-edgod s«-nrd, and piercing to the parting ol soul and spirit, and to the joints and marrow;"— that is, as the soldier's sword of steel cuts through all the exterior in- tcumenls of skin and ninscle, to the bone, and even through the hard substance of the bone itself, to the very marrow, and divides the ligaments which keep the joiiils of the body together; so this spiritual sword of God's awful word penetrates the inmost recesses of the human mind, pierces to the very lineof separation, as it were, of the sensitive and the intelligent principle, lops off the animal part, divides the joints where reason and passion are united, sets the m- tcUect free to exert its powers, kills sin in our members, opens passages for grace to enter and enrich the marrow of the soul, and thus delivers the man from his body of death. Such are the eflccts for which the powerful word of terror is eoinpared to a two-edged sword. The comparison of the word of promise to the arrow is more easily understood, being more familiar, and analo- gous to those figures of speech which run through all lan- guages, by which, whatever makes a quick and smart impression on the moral feelings, is represented under the image of a pointed missile weapon; as when we speak of "the thrilling darts of harmony," or "the shafts of elo- quence." The Psalmist speaks of these arrows of God's word, as sticking in " the hearts of the King's enemies," that is, of the King Messiah ; for he, you will remember, is the only king in question. His enemies, in the highest sense of the word, are those who are avowedly leagued with the apislate faction; atheists, deists, idolaters, heretics, perverse disputers, those who, in any manner of set design, oppose the gospel ; who resist the truth by argument, or encounter it'wilh ridicule; who explain it away by sophis- ticated interpretations, or endeavour to cnish it by the force of persecution. Of such hardened enemies there is no hope, till they have been hacked and hewed, belaboured, and all bui slain (lu theslrong languageof one of the ancient prophets) by the heavy sword of the word of terror. But, in a lower sense, all are enemies till they hear of Christ, and the terms of his peace arc offered to them. Many such are wrought upon by mild admonition, and receive in their hearts the arrows of the word of persuasion. Such, no doubt, were many of thiTse Jews who were pricked to Ihe heart by St. Peter's first sermon, on the day of Pente- cost; and even those wor.se enemies, if they can be brought to their feeling hy the ghastly wounds and gashes of the terrific sword of the word of' threatening, may aflerwavd be pierced by the arrow, and carry about in their hearts its barbed point. And by the joint effect of these two weapons, the sword and the arrow, the word of terror and the word of persuasion, " peoples," says the Psalmist, that is, whole kingdoms and nations in a inass, "shall fall under thee ;" shall forsake thrir ancient superstitions, renounce their idols, and submii Ihem-^elyes to Christ. So much for the offensive weapons, the sword and the arrows. But the defensive armour demands our attention : for it has its use, no doubt, in the Messiah's war. His person, you will remember, is clad, in the third verse, "with refulgeni, daz/.luig armour." This maybe und(-r- slood of whatever is ailmirnble and amiable in the external form and appearance of the Christian reli,gion. First, the character of Jesus himself; his piety towards God, his phi- lanthropy towards man; his meekness, humility, ready for- giveness of injuries, patience, enduram-e of pain and death. Secondly, the same light of good works shining, in a less degree, in the lives of his disciple^, particularly the apos- tles and blessed martyrs. Thinllv, whatever is decent and seemly in the govcrnmenl, the discipline, and the rites of the church. All these things, as they tend to draw the admiration, and conciliate the good-will of men, and initi- catc the malice of the perseciuor, arc aptly represented under the image of the Messiah's defensive armour, and hail a piincipai share in making "peoples fall under him." HoKSl.EV. Vev. G. Thy throne, O Goil, is for ever and crer: tlic sceptre of thy kingiiom is a right sceptre. 7. Thou lovest righteousness, and hutest wicked- ness : therefore (Jod, thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows. It was before shown, how inapplicable this address is to Solomon ; and it is obvious, that it is equally inapplicable to any earthly monarch : for of no thnme but God s can it be afhrmed with truth, that it is for ever and ever ; of no king, but of God and of his Christ, it can be said, that he loves righteousness with a perfect love, and hates wicked- ness with a perfect hate; of no sceptre, but the sceptre of God and of his Christ, that it is a straight sceptre. The sceptre has been, from the earliest ages, a badge of royalty. It was originally nothing more than a straight slender rod, studded sometimes for ornament with little nails of gold. It was an emblem of the perfect integrity of the monarch in Ihe exercise of his power, both by himself and by his ministers, inflexibly adhering to the straight line of right and justice, as a mason or carpenter to his rule. The per- fection of the emblem consisted in the straightness of the stick; for every thing else was ornament. The straight- ness, therefore", ascribed by the Psalmist to Messiah's sceptre, is to be understood of the invariable justice of the administration of his government. Now, certainly there have been many kings, both in ancient and in modei-n times, to whom the praise is due of a cordial -regard in general to righteou.sness, and of a settled principle of dis- like to wickedness; many who, in the exercise of their authority, and the measure of their government, have been generally directed by that just .sense of right and wrong: but yet kings are not exempt from the frailties of human nature ; the very best of them are, at least, in an equal de- gree with other good men, liable to the surprises of the passions, and the seductions of temptation ; insomuch that that predominant love of righteousness and hatred of ini- quity, maintaining an ateolnte ascendency in the mind, in all times, and upon all occasions, which the P.h, and like many other names of plants, passed from the eastern 384 PSALMS. Chap. 55—57. into the Grcok, and from Ihis into must European languages, signifies ihc plant called in German, wolilfjenuuli, (j. e. pleasanl,) probably on account of its aromalic smell, and also marjoram, but called by botanists origanum creticum. Kanwolf found this plant on'ihc Mount of Olives, and be- tween llamab and Joppa. — Rosenmulleb. PSALM LV. Ver. 6. And I said, Oh that I liad wings like a dove! for then would I flee away, and be at rest. The Hindoos have a science called Aagit/a-Kannam, which leaches the art of flying ! and numbers in ever}' age have tried to acquire it. Those who wish to attain a bless- ing which is afar oH", or who desire to escape from trouble, often exclaim, " Oh ! that I had learned the Aagiya-Kan- iiam ; then should I gain the desire of my heart." " Could I but fly, these things would not be so." — Roberts. Ver. 7. Lo, then would I wander far olfi a?id re- main in the wilderness. Selah. The classical bards of Greece and Rome make frequent allusions to the surprising rapidity of the dove, and adorn their lines with many beautiful figures from the manner in which she flies. Sophocles compares the speed with which she cleaves the ethereal clouds, lo the impetuous rapidity of the whirlwind; and Euripides, the furious impetuosity of the Bacchanals rushing upon Pentheus, lo the celerity of her motions. And Kimchi gives it as the reason why the P.salmist prefers the dove lo other birds, that while they become weary with flying, and alight upon a rock or a tree to recruit their strength, and are taken, the dove, when she is fatigued, allernalely rests one wing and flies with the other, and by this means escapes from the swiftest pur- suers. The Orientals knew well how to avail themselves of her inipetuouswingon variousoccasions. Itisacurious fact, that she was long employed in those countries as a courier, to carry tidings of importance between distant cities. jElian asserls, that Tauroslhenes comimmicated to his father at .lEgina, by a earrier pigeon, the news of his success in the Olvmpic games, on the very same day in which he obtained the prize. The Romans, it appears from Plinj', often employed doves in the same service ; for Brutus, during the siege of Mutina, sent lellers lied lo their feet, into the camp of the consuls. This remarkable cus- tom has descended lo modern times; Volney informs us, thai in Turkey the use of carrier pigeons has been laid aside, only for the last thirty or forty years, because the Curd robbers killed the birds, and carried off their de- spatches.— Paxton. Ver. 17. Evening, and morning, and at noon, will I pray, and cry aloud ; and he shall hear my voice. The frequency and the particular seasons of prayer are circumstances chiefly connected with the situation and dis- position of such as habituate themselves to this e-xercise. But from a singular conformity of practice in persons re- mote both as lo age and place, it appears probable that some idea must have obtained generally, that it was expedient and acceptable to prav three times every day. Such was the practice of David, and also of Daniel, (see ch. vi. 10,) and as a parallel, though, as far as connected with an idol- atrous .system, a different ease, we are informed that " it is an invariable rule with the Bramins to perform their devo- tions three times every day: at sunrise, at noon.atid at sun- set." (Maurice.) — BcnnER. Ver. 21. Tfie words of his inouth were smoother than butter, but war was in his heart : his words were softer than oil, yet were they drawn swords. See on Cant. 3. 8. PSALM LVI. Ver. 8. Thou tellest my wanderings: put thou my tears into thy bottle : arc tiny not in thy book? The lachrymatories used in Greece and Rome are, I be- lieve, unknown to the Hindoo.s. A person in distress, as he weeps, .says, " Ah ! Lord, lake care of these tears, let them not run in vain." " Alas I my husband, why beat uie 1 my tears are known to Go3." — Roberts. The custom of putting tears into the amjmlla or uma: lacnjnutles, so well known among the Romans, seems lo have been more anciently in use in Asia, and particularly among the Hebrews. These lachrymal urns were of differ- ent materials, some of glass, .some of earth, and of various forms and shapes. One went about to each person in the company at the height of his grief with a piece of cotton in his hand, with which he carefully collects the falling tears, and which he then squeezes into the bottle, preserving them with the greatest care. This was no difficult matter; for Homer says the tears of Telemachus, when he heard of his father, dropped on the ground. They were placed on the sepulchres of the deceased as a memorial of the affection and sorrow of their surviving relations and friends. It will be difficult to account, on any other suppo- sition, for the following expressions of the Psalmist : " Put thou my tears into thy bottle." If this view be admitted, the meaning will be: "Let my distress, and the tears I shed in coniequeuce of it, be ever before thee." — Paxton. PSALM LVll. Ver. 4. My soul is among lions ; and I lie eveii among thein that are set on fire, even the sons of men, whose teeth are spears and arrows, atid their tongue a sharp sword. The arrows were usually made of light wood, with a head of brass or iron, which was commonly barbed. Some- limes they were armed with two, three, or four hooks. The heads of arrows were sometimes dipped in poison. Horace mentions the renenatcc agittir, the poisoned arrows of the ancient Moors in Africa. They were used by many oiher nations in difterent parts of the world ; and if we believe the reports of modern travellers, these cruel weapons are not yet laid aside by some barbarous tribes. The negroes in the countries of Bomou and Sondan fight with poisoned arrows ; the arrow is short, and made of iron ; the smallest scratch with it causes the boily to swell, and is infallibly mortal, unless counteracted by an antidote known among the natives. Everywhere, the poison used for this inhu- man purpose was of the deadliest kind ; and the slightest wound was followed by almost instant death. From this statement it will appear, that arrows were by no means contemptible instruments of destruction, although they are not to be compared with the tremendous inventions of mod- ern warfare. We are not therefore to be surprised that .so many striking allusions to the arrow, and the trodden bow, occur in the loftier strains of the inspired writers. The bitter words of the wicked are called " their arrows ;"" their teeth are spears and arrows;" and the man that bearelh false witness against his neighbour, is "a sharp arrow." But in these comparisons there is perhaps a literal meaninsr, which supposes a connexion between the mouth and the arrow. The circumstance related by Mr. Park might pos- sibly have its parallel in the conduct of the ancients; and if it had, clearly accounts for such figures as have been quoted. " Each of the negroes took from his quiver a handful of arrows, and putting two between his teeth, and one in his bow, waved to us wilh his hand to keep at a dis- tance." Some are of opinion, that "the fiery darts," con- cerning which the aposile Paul warned his Ephesian eon- verLs, allude to the poisoned arrow.s, or javelins, which were .so frequently used in tho.se times ; others contend, Ihat the allusion is made to those rais-sile weapons, which were sometimes employed by the ancients in battles and sieges, to scatter fire in the ranks, or among the dwell- ings of their enemies. These were the -vp^jpa fliXn of Arrian, and the nvpipopai oiom of Thucydides, the heads of which were surrounded with combustible matter, and set on fire, when they were launched against the hostile army." — Paxton. Ver. 8. Awake up, my glory; awake psaltery and harp; I 7n;/.«f//will awake early. Dr. Boothroyd has this, " Awake, my glory 1 awake, lyre I Ps. 58. PSALMS. 385 and harp!" The Orientals oAen speak to inanimate ob- jects as if they had inielligence. Thus, a strolling musician, before he begins to play in your presence, says, " Arise, arise, my harp, before this great king ! play sweetly in his hearing, and uell shall thou be rewarded." A person- who has sold an article, says to it, when being carried away, ''Go, Ihou, go." The Prophet says, "Awake, oh sword !" "When two heroes were preparing for a duel, one of them found a dilKculiy in drawing his sword from the scabbard; at which his antagonist asked, ' What! is thy sword afraid 1' — ' No,' replied the other, ' it is only hungry for thy blood.' " — Roberts. PSALM LVIII, Ver. 3. The wicked are estranged from the womb ; they go astray as soon as they be born, speak- ing lies. 4. Their poison is like the poison of a serpent ; thei/ arc like the deaf adder that stoppeth her ear. " Do you ask whence he had this disposition 1 I will tell you ; it was irom the womb." " Expect him not to change ; he had it in the womb." The figure of the wicked going astray as soon as they are born, seems to be taken from the disposition and power of a young serpent soon after its birth. The youngest serpent can convey poison to any thing it bites ; and the suffering in all cases is great, though the bile is seldom fatal. Put a stick near the reptile, whose age does not amount to many days, and he will immediately snap at it. The young of the tiger and alligator are equally fierce in their earlie.st habits. — Roberts. Several of the .serpent tribe are believed to be deaf, or very dull of hearing. Perhaps that which is called the pudikmn, the beaver serpent, is more so than any other. I have several times been close npon them, but they did not offer to get out of the way. They lurk in the path, and the victim bitten by them will expire a few minutes after the bite. " Talk not to him : he is as the deaf serpent, he will nol hear." " Truly, I am a deaf serpent, and may soon bile you." "Young man, if you repeat the vbbntheasum, which the priest has whispered in your ear, your next birth will be that of a deaf serpent." — Roberts. Ver. 4. Their poison is like the poison of a ser- pent ; they are like the deaf adder that stoppeth her ear. " It appears, says Chardin, that all the teeth of a serpent are not venomou.s", because those that charm them will cause their .serpents to bite them till they draw blood, and yet the wound will not swell. Adders will swell at the sound of a flute, raising themselves up on one half of their body, turn- ing the other part about, and beating proper lime ; being wonderfully delighted with music, and following the in- .strument. lis head, before round and long like an eel, it spreads out broad and flat, like a fan. Adders and serpents twist themselves round the neck and naked body of young children, belonging to those that charm them. At Surat, an Armenian seeing one of them make an adder bite his flesh, without receiving any injury, said, I can do that; and causing himself to be wounded in the hand, he died in le.ss than two hours." A serpent's possessing a musical ear, its keeping time in its motions with the harmony, its altering the shape of its head, are circumstances which, if true, are very wonderful. — Harmeb. Ver. 5. Which will not hearken to the voice of charmers, charming nei'er so wisely. Whelher any man ever possessed the power to enchant or charm adders and serpents ; or whelher ihose who pre- tended to do so profited only by popular credulity, it is cer- tain that a favourable opinion of magical power once existed. Numerous testimonies to this purpose may he collec'ed from ancient writers. Modern travellers also afford their evidence. Mr. Browne, in his Travels in Africa, thus describes the charmers of serpents. Romeili is nn open place of an irregular form, where feats of jug- gling are )ierformed. The charmers of serpents seem also worihv of remark, their powers seem exiraordinarv. The serpent most common at Khaira is of the viper class, and 49 undoubtedly poisonous. If one of them enter a hou.se, the charmer is sent for, who uses a certain form of words. I have seen three serpents enticed out oi the cabin of a ship lying near the shore. The operalor handled them, and then pul them into a bag. At other times 1 have seen ihe serpents twist round the bodies of these psylli in all direc- tions, without having had iheir fangs exiracled or broken, and without doing them any injury. — Burder. Ver. 5. Which will not hearken to the voice of charmers, charniingnever so wisely. 6. Break their teeth, O God, in their mouth : break out the great teeth of the young lions, O Lord. See on Eccl. x. 11. The kuravan, or serpent charmer, maybe found in every village, and some who have gained great fame actually live by the art. Occasionally they travel about the district, to exhibit iheir skill. In a basket they have several ser- pents, which they place on the ground. The kuravan then commences playing on his inslrument, and to talk to the reptiles, at which they creep out, and begin to mantle about with their heads erect, and iheir hoods distended. After this, he puis his arm to them, which they aflfect to bite, and somelimes leave the marks of Iheir leeth. From close observation I am convinced that all these serpents thus exhibited have their poisonous fangs extract- ed, and the Psalmist seems to have had his eyes on that when he says, " Break their teeth." Living animals have been repeatedly offered to the man for his .serpents to bile, but he would never allow it ; because he knew no harm would ensue. It is, however, granted, that some of these men may be- lieve in the power of their charms, and there can be no doubt that serpents in iheir wild state are alfecled by Ihe influence of music. One of these men once went to a friend of mine (in the civil service) wilh his serpents, and charmed them before him. After some time the gentleman said, " I have a cobracapella in a cage, canyon charm him I" " Oh! yes," said the charmer. The serpent was let out of the cage, and the man began his incantations and charms; the reptile fastened on his arm, and he was dead before the night. The following is said to be a most potent charm for all poisonous serpents : — S-ulteUdvi, pande, kee/e, soolave, akaru- dan^ varan, orou, vatfavii, kiddaittha, pdmba, valli-ya, vuUa- kal, vdya ; which means, " Oh ! serpent, thou who art coiled in the path, get out of my way ; for around thee are the mongoos, ihe porcupine, and the kite in his circles is ready to lake thee." The mongoos is in shape and size much like the English weasel. The porcupine is also a great enemy of the serpent. The kite, before he pounces on his prey, flies round in circles, and then drops like a store; he seizes the reptile with his talons just behind Ihe head, carries it up in the air, and bills il in the head till it expires. But there are also charmers for bears, tigers, elephants, and other fierce animals. A parly having lo go through forests or deserts to a distant country, generally conlrive to have some one among ihem possessed of Ihal art. A servant of mine joined himself to a company who were going from Batticaloa to Colombo. There was a magician, who walked in front, who had acquired great fame as a charmer of serpents and other wild animals. After a few dayslhey saw a large elephant, and the charmer said, "Fear not." But the animal continued lo approach ; and my ser- vant thought it expedient lo decamp and climb a tree. The others, also, began lo retire; but the old man remained on the spot, repealing his charms. At last the elephant took him in his proboscis, and laid him gcniiy on the ground; then lopped offilie charmer's head, arms, and legs, and crushed ihe lifeless body flat on ihe earlh. By Ihe power of charms the magicians pretend to have influence over ghosts, beasts, fire, wind, and water. — Rob- erts. Ver. 8. As a snail which melteth, let every one of them pass away; like the luitimely birth of a woman, that they may not see the sun. The snail is, in the Hebrew scriptures, called S'-ir sah- be.lul, which the learned Bochart derives from '?-=«', a path, 336 PSALMS. Ps. 58—62. because the suail marks om lii.< palh wiih his slime and so is called ■''^:=', the path-maker; or, from :w, to lodge a t«, and >i>, a wimlingshdt, cochlea, the well-known habitation which this animal carries about with him. Parkl.urst is of opinion, that a better account of the name may be de- duced from the peculiar manner in which snails thrust Ihem- selvcs Jonrard In mov.n-, and from the lorce wih which ■ ■'.. 1 "- on which they light. 1 he refused them leet and claws ra in inu> iuh, ••"" • ■■■ ; , i, Ihey adhere to any substauec i'n.."'j','^j,'„!,';*,L,'T,i,i wise Author of nature, having to creep and climb, has compensated theni in a way mo.e commodious for their state of lile, by the broad skin along eac 1 side of the belly, and the undulating motion observa- ble there. By the latter, they creep; by the former, as- «;isted bv the jVlutinous slime emitted Irom their body, they adhere 'firmly and securely to all kinds of superficies, partly by ihe lenaciiy of their slime, and partly by the pressure of the •itinosphere. Thus, the snail wastes herself by her own motion every undulation leaving some of her moisture be- hind- and in the ssme manner, the actions of wicked men prove their destruction. They may, like the snail, carry their defence along with them, and retire into it on every apiiearance of danger; they may confidently trust in their own resources, and banish far away the fear of evil; but the principles of ruin are at work within them, and although the progress may be slow, the result is certain. The holy Psalmist, guided by the spirit of inspiration, prayed, " As a snail which melteth, let every one of tliem pass away ; and Jehovah answered, " The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God."— P.4.\ton. Ver. 9. Before your pots can feel the thorns, he shall take them away as with a whirlwind, both living, and in his wrath. The Arabs heat stone pitchers by kindling fires in them, and then daub the outside with dough, which is thus baked. " They kindle a fire in a large stone pitcher, and when it is hot they mix the meal in water, as we do to make paste, and daub it with the hollow of their hands upon the outside of the pitcher, and this soft pappy dough spreads and is baked in an instant; the heat ol the pitcher having dried up all its moisture, the bread comes off in small thin slices, like one of our wafers." (D'Arvieux.)— Border. PSALM LIX. Ver. 14. And at evening let them return, and le* them make a noise like a dog, and go round about the city. Many cities in Syria, and other parts of the East, are crowded with dogs, which belong to no particular person, and by consequence, have none to feed them, but get their food in the streets, and about the markets. Dogs also abound in all the Indian towns and villages, and are nu- merous, noisy, and troublesome, especially to travellers. Like those in Syria, they have no respective owner, gen- erally subsist upon charity, and are never destroyed. They freqiientlyhunl in large packs, like the jackals, which they resemble' in many other respects. These allusions arc clearly involved iii the prayer of the royal Psalmist for de- liverance from his enemies : " And ai evening let them return ; and let them make a noise like a dog, and go round about the city. Let them wander up and down for meat, and grudge, if they be not satisfied." — Paxton. Ver. 1.5. Let them wander up and down for meat, and grudge, if they be not satisfied. The great external purity which is so studiously attended to by the modern eastern people, as well as the ancient, produces some odd circumstances with respect to their dogs. They do not suffer ihem in their houses, and even with care avoid iheir touching them in the .streets, which would be considered as a defilement. One would imagine then, that under these circumstances, as they do not appear by any means to be necessary in their cities, however im- portant thev may be to those that feed flocks, there should ue very few of Ihese creatures found in those places; they arc notwithstanding there in great numbers, and crowd Iheir streets. They do not appear to belong to particular persons, as our dogs do, nor to be fed distinctly by such as might claim some interest in them, but get their food as they can. At the .same time thev consider it as right to take some care of them, and the 'charitable people among them frequently give money every week, or month, to butchers and bakers, to feed them at stated times, and some leave legacies at their deaths, for the same purpose. This is Le Bruyn's account. Thevenot and Maillet mention something of the same sort. In like manner, dogs seem to have been looked upon among the Jews in a disagreeable light, yet they had them in considerable numbers in their cities, Ps. lix. 14. They were not, however, shut up in their houses or courts, Ps. lix. 6, 14 ; but seem to have been forced to seek iheir food where thev could find it, Ps. lix. 15; to which I may add, that some care of them seems to be indirectly enjoined to the Jews, Exod. xxii. 31; circumstances that seem to be more illustrated by these travellers into the East, than by any commentators that I know of.— Harmer. PSALM LX. Vev. 3. Thou hast showed thy people hard things; thou hast made us to drink the wine of astonish- ment. 4. Thou hast given a banner to them that fear thee, that it may be displayed because of the truth. Selah. Albertus Aquensis tells us, that when Jerusalem was taken in 1099, about three hundred Saracens got upon the roof of a very lofty building, and earnestly begged for quarter, but could not be induced by any promises of safety to come down, until they had received the banner of Tan- cred, one of the chiefs of the crusade army, as a pledge of life. It did not indeed avail them, as that historian ob- serves; for their behaviour occasioned such indignation, that they were destroyed to a man. The event showed the faithlessness of these zealots, whom no solemnities could bind ; but the Saracens surrendering themselves upon the delivery of a standard to them, proves in what a strong light th'ey looked upon the giving them a banner, since it in- duced them to trust it, when they would not trust any prom- ises. Perhaps the delivery of a banner was anciently esteemed, in like manner, an obligation to protect, and that Ihe Psalmist might consider it in this light, when, upon a victory gained over Ihe Syrians and Edomites, alter the public affairs of Israel had been in a bad .state, he says, Thou hasl ihoiced Ihy people hard things, &c. Thou haU given a banwr to them that fear thee. Though thoti didst for a time give up thine Israel into the hands of their enemies, thou ha.st now given them an assurance of thy having received them under thy protection. When the Psalmist is represented as saying, Tho^i hast given a ban- ner to them that fear thee, that it maybe displayed, it maybe questioned wheiher it is rightly translated, since it is most probable they used ancientlv only a spear, properly orna- mented, to distinguish it froin a common one, as ihis same Albertus tells us, that a vcrv long spear, covered all over with silver, to which another writer of those crusade wars adds a ball of gold on the top, was the standard of the Egyptian princes at that time, and carried before their armies. Thou hast given a banner, r: ves, an ensign, or a standard, to them thai fear thee, that it may be lifted up, may perhaps be a better version ; or rather, that they may lift it vp to themselves, or encourage themselves with llie confident persuasion that they are under the protection of God because of the truth, thy word of promise, which is an assurance of protection, like the giving ine and my people a banner, the surest of pledges. — Habmer. Ver, 4 Thou hast given a banner to them that fear thee, that it may be displayed because of the truth. Selah. Has a person gained a signal triumph over his enemy by the assistance of another, he then says of the latter, "He has given me a victorious kuddi," banner. "Yes," say the conquerors, " we have gained a victorious banner "— Roberts. PSALM LXII. Ver. 3. How long will ye imagine mischief against a man ? ye shall be slain all of you : Ps. 63—68. PSALMS. 387 as a bowing wall shall ye be, and as a totter- ing fence. Dr. Boothroyd, " like a tottering wall." In consequence of heavy rains and tloods, and unsound foundations, it is VERY common to see walls much out of perpendicular, and some of them so much so, that it might be thought scarcely possible for them to stand. " Poor old Raman is very ill, I hear."—" Yes, the wall is bowing." " Begone, thou low caste ; thou art a kuUe-chivver " i. e. a ruined wall. " By the oppression of ihe head man the people of that village are like a ruined wall." — Roberts. PSALM LXIII. Ver. 10. They shall fall by the sword; they shall be a portion for foxes. The jackal is here probably referred to. In India, the disgusting sight of jacKals devouring human bodies, may be seen every day. So ravenous are these animals, that ihey frequently steal infanis as they lie by the breast of the mother ; and sick persons, who lie friendless in the street, or by the side of the Ganges, are sometimes devoured alive by these animals in the nighl. Persons in a state of intoxi- cation have thus been devoured as they lay in the streets of Calcutta. (Ward.) — Burder. PSALM LXV. Ver. 1. Praise waiteth for thee, O God, in Zion; and unto thee shall the vow be performed. Margin, " is silent." Ainsworth, " Prayse silent way- teth for thee, O God." The people of the East are much given 10 meditation and silent praise, and sometimes they may be seen for hours so completely absorbed, as to be in- sensible to all surrounding objects. " Oh '. Swamy, have you not heard my silent praises'!" Among the devotees are to be found the silent praises of Siva. " My lord, only grant me this favour, and you will hear even my silent praises." — Roberts. Ver. 13. The pastures are clothed with flocks; the valleys also are covered over with corn ; they shout for joy, they also sing. People in passing iields or gardens, after a fine rain, say, "Ah! how these fields and tiees are laughing to-day." "Yes, you may well laugh; this is a fine time for you." " How nicely these flowers are laughing together."— Rob- erts. PSALM LXVIII. Ver. 9. Thou, O God, didst send a plentiful rain, whereby thou didst confirm thine inheritance, when it was weary. I have taken notice of the traces of rain found in the des- ert between the Nile and the Red Sea ; and I would here remark, that rain sometimes is found to fall in that part of the desert which lies on the eastern side of the Red Sea, where Israel wandered so many years, which circumstance is referred to in the scripture, and therefore claims some attention among the other observations contained in these papers. Pills, in his return to Egypt from Mecca, which he visit- ed on a religious account, found rain in this desert. His words are as follows: "We travelled through a certain vallev, which is called by the name of A'lash el Wnit, i. e. the river of the fire, the vale being so excessively hot, that the verv water in their goat skins has sometimes been dried up with llie gloomy, scorching heat. But we had the hap- piness to pass through it wlien it rained, so that the fervent heat was much allayed iherebv; which the hagges looked on as a great blessing, and did not a little praise God for it." This naturallv reminds us of a passage in the CSih Psalm, ver. 9: "Thou, O God, didsl send a plentiful rain, whercbv thou didst confirm thine inheritance, when il was weary ;" speaking of God's going before his people when ihev came out of I5gvpl, and entered upon their sojourning in this wilderness. TheMoliammedan pilgrims that were with Pitts, do not seem to have wanted water to drink, hut the fall of rain, it seems, was highly acceptable to them, on account of cooling the air in a place where, from its situation, it was frequently wont to be extremely hot. One of the first things that occurs lo a reflecting mind upon reading this passage of the Psalmist, is, an inquiry whether this rain was miraculous, or a common exerlioii of the power of the God of nature, though under the direc- tion of a gracious providence. It seems now, from this account of Mr. Pills, to have been the last, and not contrary to the common course of things in that wilderness. No mention is made of this merciful shower in the books of Moses, so far as I remember; but as we are told in the Psalm, immediately after, of the fleeing of kings, if the circumstances referied to here are ranged in exact order, it must have been before the Amalekites set upon Israel in Rephidim ; but there can be no dependance upon that, especially as menlion is made of Sinai in a preceding verse, and in the outset of the description of God^s marching be- fore his people through the wilderness. — Harmer. Ver. 13. Though ye have lain among the pots, yet shall ye be as the wings of a dove covered with silver, and her feathers with yellow gold. The dove is universally admitted to be one of the most beautiful objects in nature. The brilliancy of her plumage, the splendour of her eye, the innocence of her look, the excellence of her dispositions, and the purity of her man- ners, have been the theme of admiration and praise in every age. To the snowy whiteness of her wings, and the rich golden hues which adorn her neck, the inspired Psalm- ist alludes in these elegant strains : " Though ye have lain among the pots, yet ye shall be as the wings of a dove cov- ered with silver, and her feathers with yellow gold." These bold figures do not seldom occur in the cla.ssical poets of antiquity. Virgil celebrates the argeiitens iinser, the silver-coloured goose; Ovid, the crow, which once ri- valled the dove in whiteness; Lucretius, the changeful hues of her neck, which she turns to the sunbeam, as if conscious of its unrivalled beauty. Mr. Harmer is of opin- ion, that Ihe holy Psalmist alludes, not to an animal adorned merely by the hand of nature, but to Ihe doves that were consecrated to tlie Syrian deities, and ornamented with trinkets of gold ; and agreeably lo this view, he interprets the passage, " Israel is to me as a consecrated dove; and though your circum.stances have made you rather appear like a poor dove, blackened by taking np ils abode in a .smoky hole of the rock ; yet shall ye become beautiful and glorious as a Syrian silver-coloured pigeon, on whom some ornainent of gold is put." But this view makes the Holy Gho.st speak with some approbation, or at least without cen- sure, of a heathenish rite, and even to borrow from it a fig- ure to illustrate the eflecls of divine favour among his cho- sen people. No other instance of this kinalin- ist mav allude to this scene, in which he had perhapsacted a pan,' while he tended his father's flocks, in ihat singular promise, " Though ye have lain among Ihe pots, yet shall ye be as the wings of a dove covered with silver, and her 388 PSALMS Ps. 69. feathers wiih yellow gold." The people of Israel, who had long bi-nt their necks to the Kalliiis; yoke of Egypt, and groaned under ihc most cruel oppression, may not unhtly be compared to a dove in the fissure of a rock, which had been terrified by the intrusion of strangers, and polluted by the smoke of their fires, which ascended to the roof of the cavern, and penetrated into the most remote and secret corner ; or by the smul of the pots, which they had set over these fires for culinary purpo.ses, among which she flnitered in her haste to escape. The dove issues from the cave of the shepherds, black an! dirty, her heart dejected, and her fuathers in disorder; but, having washed herself in the riimiing stream, and triinined her plumage, she gradually recovers the serenity of her disposition, the pu- rity of her colour, and the elegance of her appearance. So did the people of Israel more than once escape by the favour of Jehovah, from a low and despised condition, and gradually ri.se to great prosperity and splendour. In Egypt, Ihey laboured in the brick-kilns, and m all the services of the field — a poor, enslaved, and oppressed people; and after Iheir settlement in the land of promise, ihcy were often re- duced to a state of extreme di.stress; but in their misery they cried to the Lord, and he heard and delivered them from all Iheir calamities; he subdued the surrounding na- tions to their sway; he poured the accumulated riches of ancient kings into their treasury ; he made them the terror or the admiration of the East. ' But the holy Psalmist may have a prospective reference to the deliverance which the Gentile nations were to obtain, from the basest and most despicable condition, the worshipping of wood and stone, the gratifying of the vilest lusts, and their advancement to the service of Christ, and the practice of universal holiness and virtue. His woids are not less applicable to the de- liverance of the church, from the distresses in which she may be at any tiine involved, and the restoration of individ- ual believers from a .slate of spiritual decline. On these joyous occasions, the people of God shake ofl' their fears and their sorrows, and lesunie their wonted serenity, peace, and joy ; they worship God in the beauty of holi- ness; they press forward with renovated vigour lo the promised inheritance ; they are as a dove, the most beauti- ful of the species, whose wings rival silver in whiteness, and the feathers of whose neck, the yellow radiance of gold. — IntD. The Hebrew word may refer to those fire-ranges or rows of stones on which the caldrons or pots were placed for boiling, probably something like, but more durable in their structure, than those which Niebuhr says are used by the wandering Arabs. " Their fireplace is .soon constructed; they onlv set their pots upon several separate stones, or over a hole digged in the earth." Lying among these, denotes the most abject slavery; for thisseems to have been the place of rest allotted to the vilest slaves. So old Laertes, grieving for the loss of his son, is described in Homer, as in the winter, sleeping where the slaves did, in the ashes near the fire.— Bubder. Ver. 14. When the Aliiiio-lity scultcrocl kitigs in it, it was white as snow in Salmon. Perhaps in allusion to the bones of the slaughtered foe, which were scattered about, and lay bleaching on the sum- mit of Salmon. — B. Ver. 15. The hill of God is ns the hill of Bashan ; a high hill, as the hill of Bashan. The Hebrew word is plural, and means a mountain of eminences, or backs. This mav, perhaps, be a title pecu- liarly applicable to Bashan. The mountain with teeth, might be a name given it, from the appearance of the face of it, studded over with small hills. Monserrat, in Spain, is an instance of a mountain deriving its name from its shape ; as il is Mons Serratas, or a mountain whose craggy cliffs have, at a distance, the resemblance of the teeth of a saw. The Sierra Morena, in Spain, is named from its shape and colour. — Burder. Ver. 21. But God shall wound the head of his enemies, mid the hairy scalp of such a one as goeth on still in his trespasses. This language, in the East, is equivalent lo saying, " I will kill you." " The king will soon break the ucAe- (the scalp) of that fellow." " Tamban's ucAe is broken, he died last week." " Under the scalp is the royal wind, which is the last to depart aAer death." "With those who are bur'ud, it remains three days in its place: but when the body IS lnini£(l, it immediate'ly takes its departure, which is a great advantage." — Roberts. Ver. 25. The singers went before, the players on instruments foUmced after ; among them vere the damsels playing with timbrels. This, no doubt, is a description of a religious procession in the time of David. In the sacred and domestic proces- sions of the Hindoos they observe the .same order, and have the same class of people in attendance. See them taking their god to exhibit to the people, or lo remove some calam- ity; he is put into his car or tabernacle, and the whole is placed on men's shoulders. As they move along, the men and women precede, and sing his praises ; then follow the musicians, who play with all their might in honour of the god, and for the enjoyment of the people.— Roberts. Ver. 30. Rebuke the company of spearmen, the multitude of the bulls, with the calves of the people, till every one submit himself with pieces of silver: scatter thou the people that delight in war. Literally, rebuke the beast of the reeds, or canes. This in all probability means the wild-boar, which is considered as destructive to the people of Israel, Psalm Iiix. 13. That wild-boars abound in marshes, fens, and reedy places, ap- pears from Le Bruyn, who .savs, " we were in a large plain full of canals, marshes, and bullrushes. This part ol*the country is infested by a vast number of wild-boars, that march in troops, and 'destroy all the seeds and fruits of the earth, and pursue their ravages as far as the entrance into the villages. The inhabitants, in order to remedy this mi.s- chief, set fire to the rushes which afford them a retreat, and destroyed above fifty in that manner: but those that escaped the flames spread themselves all round in such a manner, that the people themselves were obliged to have recourse to flight, and have never disturbed them since for fear of drawing upon themselves some greater calamity. They assured me that some of these creatures were as large as cows." — BCHDER. Ver. 31. Princes shall come out of EffA'pt; Ethi- opia shall soon stretch out her hands unto God. See on Ps. 44. 20. PSALM LXIX. Ver. 9. For the zeal of thy house hath eaten me up; and the reproaches of them that reproach- ed thee are fallen upon me. He who is zealous in his religion, or ardent in hisattach- ments, is said tobe eaten up. " Old Muttoo has determined to leave his home for ever; he is to walk barefoot lo the Ganges for the salvation of his soul : his zeal has eaten him up." — Roberts. Ver. 11. Deliver me out of the mire, and let me not stink: let me be delivered from them that hate me, and out of the deep waters. "Ah! this ciearu, this c/ieani," (this mud, this mud,) says Ihe man who is in trouble, " who will pull me out V " I am like the bullock, with his legs fast in the mud ; Ihe more I struggle, the faster I am." — Roberts. Ver. 21. They gave me also gall for my meat; and in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink. The refreshing quality of vinegar cannot be doubled; but a royal personage had reason to complain of his ireal- ment in having this only presented to him to quench his Ps. 69—74. PSALMS. 389 thirst, when it was only made use of by the meanest people. Pitts tells us, that the food that he and the rest had when first taken by the Algerines, was generally only five or six spoonfuls of vinegar, half a spoonful of oil, a few olives, with a small quantity of black biscuit, and a pint of water, a day. The juice of lemons is what those of higher life now use, and probably among the higher orders the juice of pomegranates might be used, to produce a grateful acidity. — Harmer. Ver. 31. This also shall please the Lord better than an ox or bullock that hath horns and hoofs. Dr. Boothroyd, " For this will be more acceptable to Je- hovah than a full-horned and a full-hoofed steer." Buffa- loes, which are offered in sacrifice, must always be full grown, and must have their horns and hoofs of a particular size and shape. Those without horns are ofiered to devils. Thus, it is difficult and expensive to procure a victim of the right kind. The writer of this psalm is supposed to have been a captive in Babylon, and consequently poor, and otherwise unable to bringan acceptable sacrifice to the Lord; but he rejoiced to know that he "heareth the poor, and despiseth not his prisoners ;" and that, by praising " the name of God with a song," and by magnifying him with thanksgiving, would be more acceptable than the most perfect victim ofiered to him in sacrifice. — Roberts. PSALM LXXI. Ver. 11. Saying, God hath forsaken him; per- secute and take him : for there is none to de- liver him. When a respectable man, in the service of his sovereign, or superior, falls into disgrace ; when rich men become poor, or servaifts lose the favour of their masters ; then a horde of accusers, who did not before dare to show their faces, come forward with the most fearful stories of the wickedness of the fallen man. Formerly they were ever flattering and cringing at his feet ; but now they are the most brutal and bold of his enemies. — Roberts. PSALM LXXH. Ver. 5. They shall fear thee as long- as the sun and moon endure, throughout all generations. At the time appointed for the commencement of the new year, which, ainong the Singalese, is alwaj's in April, the king sat on his throne in state, surrounded By his chiefs, and the event was announced to the people by the discharge of jingalls. At the hour appointed for the second ceremo- nv, young women of certain families, with lighted tapers in Iheir hands, and a silver dish containing undressed rice, and turmeric water, stood at a little distance from the king, and when he directed his face to the southeast, with imbal leaves under his feet, and nuga leaves in his hand, and ap- plied the medicinal juice to his head and body, they thrice exclaimed, Increase of age to our sovereign of five thou- sand years! increase of age as long as the sun and moon last ! "increase of age as long as heaven and earth exist ! By the chiefs and people of con.sequence, this part of the ceremony was performed in a manner as nearly similar as possible. (Davy's Account of Ceylon.) — Bcroer. Ver. 9. They that dwell in the wilderness shall bow before him; and his enemies shall lick the dust. This is a very favourite M'ay of threatening among the Hindoos. The half frantic man says to his foe, " Yes, thou shall soon eat the earth ;" which means his mouth will soon be open to receive it, as in death. " Soon, soon wilt thou have man," i. e. earth, " in thy mouth." In time of great scarcity, it is said, " The people are now eating earth; the cruel, cruel king, did nothing but put earth in the mouihs of his subjects." — Roberts. In Mr. Hugh Boyd's account of his embas.sy lo the king of Candy, in Ceylon, there is a paragraph which sinsularly illustrates this part of the Psnlin ; .nnd shows the adulation and obsequious reverence wilh which an eastern monarch is approached. Describing his inlrodurlion to Ihe king, he says, " The removal of the curtain was the signal of onr obeisances. Mine, by stipulation, was to be only kneeling. My companions immediately began the performance of theirs, which were in the most perfect degree of eastern humiliation. They almost literally licked the dust; pros- trating themselves with their faces almost close to the stone floor, and throwing out their arms and legs; then rising on their knees, they repeated in a very loud voice a certain form of words of the most extravagant meaning that can be conceived : — that the head of the king of kings might reach beyond the sun; that he might live a thousand years," &c. Compare this with the passage of scripture now referred to. " He shall have dominion also from sea to sea, and from the river unto the ends of the earth. They that dwell in the wilderness shall bow before him, and his enemies shall lick the dust," i. e. the wild unconqiiered Arabians shall be brought to abject submission. This is beautifully emble- matic of the triumph of Christ over those nations and indi- viduals, whom it appeared impo.ssible for the Gospel to sub- due. " The kings of Tarshish and of the Isles shall bring presents ; the kings of Sheba and Seba shall olfer gifts. Yea, all kings shall fall down before him; all nations shall serve him." — Bi'rder. Ver. 16. There shall be a handful of corn in the earth upon the top of the mountains; the fruit thereof shall shake like Lebanon : and the}/ of the city shall flourish like grass of the earth. The rapidity with which grass grows in Ihe East is the idea here referred lo. " When the ground there hath been destitute of rain nine months together, and looks all of it like the barren sand in the deserts of Arabia, where there is not one spire of green grass to be found, within a few days after those fat enriching showers begin to fall, the face of the earth there (as it were by a new resurrection) is so revived, and, as it were, so renewed, as that it is present- ly covered all over with a pure green mantle. (Sir "Thomas Roe.) BUHDER. PSALM LXXIV. Ver. 11. Why withdrawest thou thy hand, even thy right hand? pluck it out of thy bosom. The word which we translate bosom does not always, in eastern language, mean the breast ; but often the lap, or that part of the body where the long robe folds round the loins. Thus, in the folds of the garment, in front of the body, the Orientals keep their little valuables, and there, when they are perfectly at ease, they place their hands. Sternhold and Hopkins, who tran.slaled from the original text, have the .same idea : — " Why dost thou draw thy hand aback, And hide it in thy lap?" To a king, whose enemies have invaded his territories, and are ravaging his kingdom, it will be said, should he not make any exertions to repel them, " Why does your majesty keep your hands in your jnaddn/ila, (bosom 1) Take yottr sword, your heroism thence." When two men go to a magistrate to complain of each other, perhaps one says, " He has beaten me severely, my lord." Then the other replies, " It is true, I did strike him, but these wounds on my body show he did not keep his hands in his bosom." " Complain not to me, fellow, for want of food ; do I not see yon always with your hands in your bosom 1" "He has been cursing me in Ihe most fearful way, but I told him lo put the imprecations in his own bosom." " Thy right hand," whichisthe handof honour. Hence, " the right hand of the Most High." The Hindoos have a right-hand casle, and when they take a solemn oath they . lift up that hand to heaven. The whole of the right side of a man is believed to he more honourable than the left, and all its members are said to be larger and stronger ; and, to give more dignity to it, they call it the anparkham, i. e. the male side; whereas the other is called the female. This idea, also, is followed up in reference to their great deity, Siva ; his right side is call- ed male, and the other the female; which notion also ap- plies to the Jupiter of western antiquity, as he was said to be male and also female. — Roberts. 390 PSALMS. Ps. 75. Ver. 13. Thou didst Jivido the sea by thy strength; thou brakcst the heads of the (lraj,'ons in the waters. 14. Thou brakest the lieads of levia- than in pieces, ami i^avest him lo be meat to the people iiiliabitinij the wilderness. See on Job 41. 1, &c. Ver, 19. O deliver not the soul of thy turtle-dove unto the multitude o/Me wicked; forgetnotthe congreijation of thy poor for ever. It has already been observed, that ihe turlle-duve never admils a second male, but lingers out her life in sorrowful widowhood. To ihis remarkable circumstance, these words of David are by many thought lo refer : " O deliver not the soul of thy turtle-dove unto the multitude of the wicked ; forget not the congregation of thy poor for ever." As the turtle cleaves to her mate with unshaken fidelity, so these interpreters say, had Israel adhered lo their God. But it is well known that God's ancient people were a stifl- necked and rebellious race, equally fickle and perfidious, and discovering on almost every occasion a most violent and imreasonable inclination to the worship of heathen deities. It is, therefore, more natural to suppose, that the holy P.salmi.st, by this term, alludes to the weak and helpless state of his people, that like the turtle had neither power nor inclination to resist their numerous enemies. The dove is a harmless and simple creature, equally destitute of skill and courage for the combat ; and the turtle is the smallest of the family. She is therefore a most proper emblem of the national imbecility into which the people of Israel had sunk, in consequence of their numerous iniqui- ties, with which they had long provoked the God of their fathers. They who were the terror of surrounding na- tions, while they feared the Lord and kept his command- ments, whom (jod himself instructed in Ihe art of war, and ted to certain victory, had by their folly become the scorn i>f their neighbours, and an easy prey to every invader. — P.IXTOX, Sometimes those that have no tents, shelter themselves from Ihe inclemency of the night air, in holes and caverns ivhich they find in th^ir rocky hills, where they can kindle fires to warm themselves, as well as to dress their provis- ions; to which may be added, that ilovcs also, in those countries, frequ.-ntly haunt such places, as well as some ti'.her birds. Hr. Richard Chandler, in his travels in Asia Minor, hat. hjlb taken notice of the doves there lodging in Boles of ;h; locks; and of the shepherds and fishermen oeing wori U make use of such retreats, and of their kin- Jling file; -n them, by which practice those doves must be freqiie.ii,\ very much smutted, and their feathers dirtied. And I .1 i"e been sometimes ready to imagine, that an at- icn'io't t'j these circumstances may afford as easy and aaiii.a' an account as any that has been given of that ns.'^jc.a'ion of such very dilferenl things as dorcs and aiiioiii flnrjs^ which we meet with in the 6fllh Psalm. It is certain the people of Israel are compared to a dove, in the book o( Psalms ; " O deliver not the soul of thy turtle-dove unto the multitude of the wicked; forget not the congrega- tion of thy poor for ever," Ps. lx.xiv. 19; and the same image appears to have been made use of, inthistiSth Psalm. If ii was made use of, it was not unnatural lo compare Israel, who had been in a very afflicted state in Egypt, lo a dove making its abode in the hollow of a rock, which hod been smniied by the fires shepherds had made in it for the heal- ing their milk, or other culinary purposes ; which led them to make such little heaps of .stones, on which they might set their pots, having a hollow under them, in which they nil Ihe fuel, according lo the eastern mode, of which I have given an account elsewhere, and which little build- ii.gs are meant hv the word here translated pots. This imngc might very properly be made use of lo ex- pressanykind of aftliction Israel might have sufTered, when ihcv are compared as a body of people lo a dove; and cer- tainly not less so, when they had been forced to work wilh- O'li remission in ihe hrick-kitns of Egypt. For so the sense will be something like this: O my people I though ye have been like a dove in a hole of a rock, that hath bceii black- ened by Ihe fires of the shepherds forlhe boiling their pots; yet on this joyous occasion did you appear as the mosl beautiful of that species, whose wings are like silver, and the more muscular parts, from whence ihe strength of the wings are derived, like the splendour of gold. — Har- MER. PSALM LXXV. Ver. 4. I said unto the fools, Deal not foolishly; and to the wicked, Lift not up the horn: 5. Lift not up your horn on high : speak not vith a stiff neck. This passage will receive some illustration from Bruce's remarks in his Travels lo discover the source of the Nile, where, speaking of the head-dress of the governors of the provinces of Abyssinia, he represents il as consisting of a large broad fillet bound upon their forehead, and lied be- hind their head. In the middle of this was a horn, or a conical piece of silver gilt, about four inches long, much in the shape of our common candle extinguishers. This is called kirn, or horn, and is only worn in reviews, or parades aftei victory. The crooked manner in which they hold Ihe neck, when this ornament is on their forehead, for fear it should fall forward, seems to agree with what the Psalmist calls fpeniing with a stiff neck, for it perfectly shows the meaning of .speaking with a stiff neck, when you hold the horn on high, or erect, like ihe horn of a unicorn. BURDER. Mr. Munroe, speaking of ihe females in a Maronite vil- lage, in Mount Lebanon, observes: " Bui the mosl remark- able peculiarities of iheir dress, are the immense silver ear-rings hanging forward upon the neck, and the tantoura, or ' horn,' which supports the veil. This latter ornament varies in form, material, and position, according to the dignity, taste, and circumstances of the wearer. They are of gold, silver gilt, or silver, and sometimesof wood. The former are either plain or figured in low relief, and occa- sionally set with jewels; but the length and position of them is that upon which the traveller looks with the great- est interest, as illustrating and explaining a familiar ex- pression of scripture. The young, the rich, and Ihe vain, wear the latiloum of great length, standing straight up from Ihe top of the forehead; whereas the humlale, the poor, and the aged, place it upon the side of the head, much shorter, and spreading at the end like a trumpet. I do not mean to say, that these distinctions are universal, but I was told that they are very general, and thus the 'exalted horn' still remains a mark of power and confidence, as it was in the days of Israel's glory." — (Summer Ramble in Syria, 1833.)— B. " We stopped for the nighl at Ihe village of Barook, chiefly inhabited by Druses, many of whom are said lo have adopted the creed of their Maronite neighbours. Our lent was placed close to the house of the principal vender of small wares, round which an arrival soon attract- ed a crowd, but far superior in appearance and civility to Ihe inhabitants of any district we had previously seen. Most of the men wore clean white turbans, and the women were wrapped in blue veils, beneath which a lanloor, that in- variable article of Druse luxury, which is worn day and night, made a conspicuous figure. This we had now an opportunity of examining, for our host, accompanied by his wife, c.ime to our lent, auractcd by the novelty of tea, which they both drank, when well sweetened, with apparent satisfaction. The lady, in return, .satisfied otir curiosity by taking off her lanloor, which was of silver, rudely enclosed with flowers, stars, and other devices. In lerigth it was. per- haps, something more than a foot ; but in shape had Mule resemblance lo a horn, being a mere hollow lube, increas- ing in size from the diameter of an inch and a half at one extroinity, to three inches at Ihe other, where il lerminaled like Ihe motuh of a trumpet. If Ihe smaller end was rlosed, it might serve for a drinking-cup ; and in Germany glasses of the same form anil size are occasionally used. This strange ornament, placed on a cushion, is securely fixed lo Ihe ripper part of the forehead by two silk cords, which, after surrounding the head, hang behind nearly lo the ground, terminating in large tassels, which amongthe belter classes are capped with silver."— (Hogg's Visit lo Damas- cus, Jerusalem, Ac., 1833.)— B. A man of lofty bearing is said to carry his nous- very high. To him who is proiidlv interfering with the affairs of another it will be said, " Why show your knmbu (horn) Ps. 75—78. PSALMS. 391 I here 1" " "What ! are you a horn for me 1" "See thai fel- low, what a fine horn he has; he will make the people run." " Truly, my lord, you have a great horn." " Chinnan has lest his money, ay, and his horn.ship too." "Alas! alas! I am like the deer, whose horns have fallen off." — Rob- Ver. 8. For in the hand of the Lord there is a cup, and the wine is red; it is full of mixture, and he poureth out of the same ; but the dregs thereof, all the wicked of the earth shall wring them out, and drink them. Red wi ne, in particular, is more esteemed in the East than white. And we are told in the travels of Olearius, that it is customary with the Armenian Christians in Persia to put Brazil wood, or safiron, into their wine, to give it a higher colour, when the wine is not so red as they like, they making no account of white wine. He mentions the same thing also in another place. These accounts of their putting Brazil wood or saffron into their wines, to give them a deeper red, seem to discover an energy in the Hebrew word mx adam, which is used Prov. xxiii. 31, that I never remarked anywhere. It is of the conjugation called Hith- pahel, cnN.T yilliaddam, which, according to grammarians, denotes an action that turns upon the agent itself: it is not always, it may be accurately observed ; but in this case it should seem that it ought to be taken according to the strict- ness of grammar, and that it intimates the wine's making itself redder by something put into it : Look not on the wine when it inakelh itself red. It appears, indeed, from Is. Ixiii. 2, that some of the wines about Judea were naturally red ; but so Olearius supposed those wines to be which he met with in Persia, only more deeply tinged by art; and this colouring it, apparently is to make it more pleasing and templing to the eye. There are two other places relating to wine, in which our translators have used the term red ; but the original word -ion chcmer differs from that in Proverbs, and I should therefore imagine intended another idea ; what that might be, may, perhaps, appear in the sequel. The word, it is certain, sometimes signifies what is made thick or turbid; so it expresses the thickening water with mud, Ps. Ixxvi. 3. May it not then signify the thickening wine with its lees 1 It seems plainly to do so in one of the passages : " In the hand of the Lord is a cup, and the wine is red, or turbid: it is full of mixture, and he poureth out the same : but the dregs thereof, all the wicked of the earth shall wring them out, and drink them," Ps. Ixxv. 8. The turbidness of wine makes it very inebriating, and consequently expressive of the disorder affliction brings on the mind ; thus, Thevenot, I remember, tells us the wine of Shiras, in Persia, is full of lees, and therefore very heady ; to remedy which, they fil- trate it through a cloth, and then it is very clear, and free from fumes. — Harmeh. The punishments which Jehovah inflicts upon the wick- ed, are compared to a cupful! of fermenting wine, mixed with intoxicating herbs, of which all those to whom it is given must drink the dregs or sediment. The same image is found, not only frequently in other places in the Old Tes- tament, but also very often in the Arabian poets. Thus Taabbata Scharran, in a passage of an Arabic Anthology, by Alb. Schullens; " To those of the tribe of Hodail, we gave the cup of death, whose dregs were confusion, shame, and reproach." Another poet says: " A cup such as they gave us, we gave to them." When Calif Almansor had his valiant, though dreaded general, Abre-Moslem, murder- ed, he repeated the following verse, in which he addressed the corpse: " A cup such as he gave, gave I him, bitterer to the taste than wormwood." (Elmacin.) — Bbrdeb. PSALM LXXVI. Ver. 1 1 Vow, and pay unto the Lord your God : let all that be round about him bring presents unto him that ought to be feared. Taxes in Persia are commonly levied under the form of presents to the monarch. The usual presents are those made annually by all governors of provinces and districts, chiefs of tribes, ministers, and all others invested with high office, at the feast ui the vernal equinox. These gifts are regulated by the nature of the office, and tlie wealth of the individual, and consist of the best ot the produce of every part of the kingdom. Sometimes a large sum of money is given, which is always the most acceptable present. Allu- sive to this custom is that command in relation to Messiah : " Let all that are round about him bring presents unto him that ought to be feared." Besides these ordinary presei.is, extraordinary largesses, of a less defined nature, but which are also of very considerable amount, are expected. Of this kind were, in ihe opinion of some wruers, the pres- ents which the enemies of Saul refused to bring, at his accession to the throne of Israel : "But the children of Belial said. How shall this man save us 1 And they de- spised him, and brought him no presents. BiU he held his peace." — Paxton . PSALM LXXVII. Ver. 2. In the day of my trouble I sought the Lord ; my sore ran in the night, and ceased not : my soul refused to be comforted. The margin has, instead of sore, " Aomd." Ainsworth, " In the day of my distress I sought the Lord : my hand by night reached out and ceased not." Dr. Boolhroyd, "In the day of my distress I seek Jehovah : by night, my hand, without ceasing, is stretched out unto him." Dr. A. Clarke says, " My hand was stretched out," i. e. in prayer. The Tamul translation, " My hands, in the night, were spread out, and ceased not." " Ah !" says the sorrowful mother, over her afflicted child, " all night long were my hands spread out to the gods on thy behalf" In that position do they sometimes hold their hands for the night together. Some devotees do this with their right hand throughoul the whole of their lives, till the arm becomes quite stiff. — Roberts. Ver. 10. And I said, this is my infirmity: but I will remember the years of the right hand of the Most High. Dr. Boothroyd, " Then I said, this is the time of my sorrow ; but the right hand of the Most High can change it." I have shown that superior honour is given to the RIGHT hand. It is that with which men fight : the " sword arm," consequently protection, or deliverance, comes from that. David was in great distress ; but, he asks, has " God forgotten to be gracious^" To this his heart replied, No ! and he determined to believe in the right hand of Ihe Most High, which had often delivered and defended him in days past, and which could again change all his circumstances. The right hand is that which dispenses gifts ; no Hindoo would offer a present with his left hand. A miser is said to have two left hands ! " Never, never shall I forget the right hand of that good man : he always relieved my wants." " Ah ! the ungrateful wretch, how many years have I helped him! he has forgotten my right hand." "Yes, poor fellow, he has lost all his property ; he cannot now use his right hand." "My children, my children," says the aged father, " how many years have I supported you? Surely you will never forget the right hand of your father." — Roberts. PSALM LXXVIII. Ver 21. Therefore the Lord heard /A/s, and was wroth; so a fire was kindled against Jacob, and anger also came up against Israel. The first supply of quails was followed by no visible judgment from heaven ; for although they were guilty of murmuring against the Lord, he spared ihem in his love and in his pity; but they provoked him on this occasion, by their indecent desire of good living; by loathing the manna, which was provided for them by his distinguishing kindness; by regretting the provisions which they had en- joyed in Goshen ; and by denying the divine power and goodness, which they had already experienced in supplying them with quails, soon after they came out of Egvpi, and of which they had every day the most substantial proofs, in giving Ihem bread from heaven. Incensed by this un- dutiful conduct, .Tehovah unequivocally notified his righ- teous displeasure, before he granted their demands: "Ye shall eat it a whole month, uniil it come otU at your nos- 302 PSALMS. Ps. 78. trils, andit be loath.some unto you ; because iliat ye havp despised Ihc Lord which is ainon- you, and have wepi be- fore him, savins, Whv came we lurth out ol Eu'Vpt t These words arc a nro..|-, ihai he had heard ihe niuinuir- in-sof his people w.ih i;reai indi^naiion. When, ihcrc- fore, Ihe monill was compleied, and while the llesh « h which Ihev had sorsed themselves wa5 yet in ihcir mou h, ^ he wrath of the Lord was kindled against the people and .he Lord smote .he people with a very great pfag.ic^ Various are .he views which in.erpreiers have S'ven of this ludgmenl ; bin iheir opinion seems enti led lo the nrcfercnce, who si.ppo.sc it was a fire from heaven, by which s<„ne of the people were consumed. T. heir undu- liful murmurings were punished in this manner, a very shori time before: " And when the people complained, it disnleased Ihe Lord ; and the Lord heard it, and his anger was k-indled; and the fire of the Lord burnt among them, and consumed them that were in the uttermost parts of the camp " Bocharl, indeed, considers this brief statement as a summary view of the scene which is more minutely de- scribed in the res. of Ihe chapter, The same place, he thinks, is called Taberah, from ihe conflagration, and Ki- broih-hataavah, " because there they buried the people that lusted." But this opinion seems to rest upon no solid foun- dation ; no trace of a more brief, and then of a more extended narrative, can be discovered in the passage. The sacred writer plainly describes two different calamities, of which the lirst was 'indisputably by fire, which renders it not im- probable that the second was also produced by the same de- vouring element. This probability is greatly increased by the words of David, in his sublime description of this very judgment- "Therefore, ihe Lord heard, and wa.s wroth; so a'fiie was kindled against Jacob, and anger also came up a-'ainst Israel ; because they believed not God, nor trusted in his salvation." An instance of similar perverseness is recorded of this people, soon after they came out of Egypt. But, although ihev were perhaps equally blameable, they were not subjected to the same punishment ; for, in this in- stance, Jehovah bestowed upon them a supply of quails that evening; and the day after, he rained manna from heaven around their ten.s. He had a right to punish them for their iniquity ; but he graciou.sly turned away his anger, and yielded to their importunities. And for this forbearance, several reasons may be assigned. If any fall a second time into the sins whichhad already been forgiven, he is more guilty than before; because he both insults the justice, and tramples on the grace and mercy of God. Besides, in this instance, the people of Israel murmured against their lead- ers, becau.se they M'ere pressed by famine, and in want of all the necessaries of life. But in the desert of Paran, bread from heaven descended in daily showers around their en- campment, in suflicient quan.iiv to satisfy the whole con- gregation; thev lived on angel's food; they were satiated with the bread of heaven ; and by consequence, the flesh which they demanded with .so great eagerness and impoi- tunily, was not required to supply their necessi.y, but to gratify iheir lustful desires. When they murmured against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness of Sin, they had but lately come out of Egypt— they were still in a rude and un- tutored state, for the law was not yet given ; but in Paran they rebelled, after long and various experience of the di- vine care and goodness, after the law was given, and after they had been instructed by many sufferings, in the evil nature and biUer consequences of sin; their conduct, there- fore, was much more criminal, and deservedly subjected them lo severe castigation. — Paxton. Ver. 2.5. Man A\d cat ansrels' food : he sent them meat to the full. 26. He caiisetl an east wind to blow in the heaven ; and by his power he broutjht in the south wind. 27. He rained flesh also upon thoin ns dust, and feathered fowls like as the sand of the sea. See on Ex. 16. 12, 13. On this passage it has been asked. How can these winds blow together, and at the same time bring up the quails from the sea into the desert 1 The Seven.y interpreters, and the Vulgate, found it so difficult lo give a satisfactory answer lo these queries, that they were induced to render the first clause, " He removed the east wind from ihc hea- ven;" as if ihe removal of one wind wa^ necessarily suc- ceeded by another. But this version cannoi be admiiied, because ihe Psalmist clearly intends lo represent the cast and the south winds, as .he join, instruiiicnis of divine goodne.ss, which, by their united force, collected and brought up Ihc quails from the sea. If the Psalmist had meant lo express the removing of the east wind, he niu.sl have used the phrase, (c:'o»n \n')from the heaven ; but instead of this, he uses the words, (o-cc:) in or iiUo the heavens, w hich con- vey an idea quite the reverse. Our version, therefoie, gives Ihe true sense of the sacred text ; He caused an east wind to blow in the heaven ; that is, he imroduced it for ihe very purpose of bringing Ihe quails into the camp. To this may be added, that in the whole of this Psalm, as often in ihe other poetical books of the Hebrews, the two hemi- stiches are almost parallel, and mutually explain each other. From whence it follows, that (vr>) yasah in this text, has nearly the same meaning as its parallel veib, (j^:") vain- hag, which signifies to introduce. This is accordingly the sense which all interpreters, ancient and modern, have adopted, except the Septuagint and the Vulgale. From this statement it appears, that the royal Psalmist in this pas.sage means to excite, not to remove the east wind ; to introduce, not to expel it from the heavens. But to un- derstand the matter clearly, let it be remembered, iha. ihe people of Israel were at that time in the wilderness ol Pa- ran; at the distance of three days' journey from Sinai, di- rectly north from the extftemity of the Arabian gulf; and by consequence, from Theman, the country from whence the south wind blows, whose name it commonly beais, in Ihe Hebrew text, which brought the quails into .he camp of Israel. The same region is named (='ip) li-aclim, that is, the east ; because it lay towards the southeast ; and was de- nominated somelimes by the one name, and sometimes by the other. Although the cardinal winds are reckoned four in number, which are again subdivided into many more; yet the ancient philosophers, and particularly Aristotle and Theophraslus, distributed them into two, the north and the south. The westerly winds they included in the north, be- cause they are colder; and the easterly winds in the south, because they are attended by a greater degree of heat. But, since the east wind was anciently comprehended in ihe south, the east and the south maybe used in this text as sy- nonymous ; and by consequence, the east is the same, or neai-ly the same, as Ihe south wind. Nor is it in this text alone' that the sacred writers ascribe to Ihe east, what might seem to be the proper effects of Ihe south wind ; the same Ihing may be observed in every part of scripture. It burns up the fruits of the earth; it blasts the vines, and olher fruit-bearing trees; it drove back the Red Sea, and opened a passage to the people of God ; it dries up the fountains of water ; and by its irresistible violence, it da-shes the ships of Tharshish in pieces ; and, in fine, scatters destruction among the dwellings of wicked men, and sweeps Ihem from the face of the earth, into the silent mansions of the grave. The prophet Isaiah on this account, calls it a rough wind; and Jonah feelingly describes the vehemence wiih which it beat upon his head till he fainted, and wish- ed in himself to die. The Greek inlerprelcrs uniformly render it the south wind ; and Theodorel regards these two winds as nearly the same. Although, therefore, the phrase (o>-ipn nn) rnah hakadim, properly and precisely speaking, denotes the east wind ; yet, because the east and the south winds resemble each ot'her in many particulars, Ihe He- brews, in the opinion of Bochart and olher learned writers, r.ppear to have used these names promiscuously; which is Ihe reason that (o-ip) kadim is, in every part of the Greek version, and particularly in the text under review, render- ed the south wind. Thus the same wind seems lo have been intended by both these terms, the south or African wind, -which, froin Ihe interior of Egypt, wafted Ihe quails intothe desert, and scattered them round Ihe lents of Israel. This diflicully admits of olher solutions equally natural and easy. The'inspired writer mavbe nndcrst(K>d to mean the southeast wind, which might bring the quails as well from the east as from the south; or, that hoih the east and the south winds were employed on that occasion, the first to scalier about the tents of Israel the congregaied flocks, which the la.si had swept into the desert ; or, in order lo se- cure a complete supply for so great a mul.i.ude, to gather at the same time from'the east and the south, the widely dis- Ps. 7S. PSALMS. 393 persed troops of these birds, wliicli, in ilislaut regions of the sky, were pursuing Iheir iinniial journey from their winter quarters, to the more temperate latitudes. It is indeed objected by some writers, that the west wind, rather ihan the east, ought to blow, in order to produce the effect recorded by Moses ; and that, according to Pliny and Aristotle, the quails do not trust themselves to the sky when the humid and boisterous south wind blows; and for this reason, the winds blowing from the north and west, are dis- tinguished by the name of ornilhian, because they are fa- vourable to the migratory tribes. But no miracle is in- volved in this circumstance ; for these ancient authors only mean, that the quails pursue their journey with greater dif- ficulty, and are more easily taken when the south wind blows; while, according to the observation of others, these birds of passage were brought back in the spring, by the south winds, which are the most proper for conducting them from the banks of the Nile and the shores of the Red Sea, into the wilderness of Paran. — Paxton. Vef. 31. The wrath of God came upon them, and slew the fattest of them, and smote down the chosen men of Israel. See on Ps. 22. 12. Ver. 45. He sent divers sorts of flies among them, which devoured them ; and frogs, which de- stroyed them. See on Ex. 8. 4. Ver. 47. He destroyed their vines with hail, and their sycamore-trees with frost. The land of Egypt never produced a sufficient quantity of wine to supply the wants of its inhabitants : but still it contained many vines, although it could not boast of ex- tensive and loaded vineyards. The vines of Egypt are conjoined by the Psalmist, with the sycamores, in his tri- umphant song on the plagues which desolated that country, and procured the liberation of his ancestors: " He destroy- ed their vines with hail, and their sycamore-trees with frost." This was to the people of Egypt a very serious lo.ss ; for the grape has been in all ages a principal part of the viands, wuh which they treated their friends. Norden was enter- tained with coffee and grapes by the aga of Essauen: and when Maillet resided in that country, Ine natives used the young leaves of their vines even more than the fruit. A principal article of iheir diet consist in minced meat, which they wrap up in small parcels in vine leaves, and laying thus one leaf upon another, they season it according to the custom of their country, and vnake of it one of the most delicate dishes presented on their tables. The remainder of the vintage they convert into wine, of so delicious a taste and flavour, that it was carried to Rome in the days of her pride and luxury, and esteemed by epicures the third in the number of their most esteemed wines. The use of wine being prohibited by the Mohammedan law, very little is manufactured at present; but it seems, in ancient times, to have been produced in much greater abundance. In the reign of the Pharaohs, it was certainly made in considerable quantities for the use of the court, who probably could pro- cure no such wine from other countries, nor were they acquainted with such liquors as the great now drink in Egypt; and consequently the loss of their vines, as the sacred writer insinuates, must have been considerable. The grapes of Egypt are .said to be much smaller than those which grow in the land of Canaan. Dandini, though an Italian, seems to have been surprised at the extraordi- nary size of the grapes produced in the vineyards of Leb- anon. They are as large as primes, and as may be in- ferred from the richnessand flavour of the wines for which the moimlains of Lebanon have been renowned from time immemorial, of the most delicious taste. To the size and flavour of these grapes, brought by the spies to the camp in the wilderness, the Italian traveller, little versed, it should seem, in the history of the Old Testament, imputes the ardour with which the people of Israel pro,secuted the conquest of Palestine. The magnificent cluster which the spies brought from Eshcol, was certainly fitted, in no com- mon degree, to stimulate the parched armies of Israel to 50 deeds of heroic valour ; but their kindling spirit was efl^ec- tually damped by the report of the spies, who were intimi- dated by the robust and martial appearance of the Canaan- ites, the strength of their cities, and the gigantic stature of the son.i of Anak. The grapes produced in the land of Egypt, although very delicious, are extremely small : but those which grow in the vineyards of Coelo Syria and Palestine, swell to a sur- prising bigness. The famous bunch of Eshcol required the strength of two men to bear it. This difference suffi- ciently accounts for the surprise and pleasure which the people of Israel manifested, when they first beheld, in the Darren and sandy desert, the fruits which grew in their fu- ture inheritance. The extraordinary size of the grapes of Canaan, isconfirmedbythe authority of a modern traveller. In traversing the country about Bethlehem, Doubdan found a most delightful valley full of aromatic herbs and rose bushes, and planted with vines, which he supposed were of the choicest kind: it was actually the valley of Eshcol, from whence the spies carried that prodigious bunch of grapes to Moses, of which we read in the book of Num- bers. That writer, it is true, saw no such cluster, for he did not visit that fruitful spot in the time of the vintage; but the monks assured him, they still found some, even in the present neglected slate of the country, which weighed ten or twelve pounds. The vin?yards of Canaan produce grapes of different kinds ; some of them are red, and some white, but the greater part are black. To the juice of the red grape, the sacred writers make frequent allusions : " Wherefore art thou red in thine apparel, and thy garments like him that treadelh in the wine fat I" " In that day, sing ye unto her a vineyard of red wine : I the Lord do keep it." It is, therefore, with strict propriety, the inspired writer calls it " the blood of the grape," a phrase which seems intended to indicate the colour of the juice, or the wine produced from it : " Thou didst drink the pure blood of the grape." The sycamore forms the middle link in the vegetable kingdom, between the fig and the mulberry; and partakes, according to some natural historians, of the nature of both. This is the reason the Greeks call it (nu,ci//opiit, — a name compounded of (rumf, a fig-tree, and /lopoj, a mulberry. It resembles the fig-tree in the shape and size of its fruit ; which grows neither in clusters, nor at the end of the branches, but by a very singular law, sticking to the trunk of the tree. Its taste is much like that of the wild fig, and pretty agreeable; Pliny says the fruit is very sweet. It may seem strange that so inferior a tree as the syca- more should be clas.sed by the P.salmist with the choicest vines, in his ode on the plagues of Egypt: " He destroyed their vines with hail, and their sycamore-trees with frost." Many other trees, it may be suppo.sed, might be of much greater consequence to them ; and in particular, the date, which, on account of its fruit, the modern Egyptians hold in the highest estimation. But it ought to be remembered, that .several trees which are now found in Egypt, and highly valued, might not then be introduced. Very few trees at present in Egypt, are supposed to be natives of the country. If this idea be just, the sj-camore and the vine might, at that early period, be in reality the mo.st valuable trees in that kingdom. I3ut, admitting that the sycamore was, in respect of intrinsic properties or general utility, much in- ferior to some other trees which they po.s.sessed, accidental circumstances might give it an importance to which it had originally no claim. The sliade of this mnbrageous tree is so grateful to the inhabitants of those warm latitudes, that they plant it along the side of the waj'S near their villa- ges ; and as a full-grown sycamore branches out to so great a distance, that it forms a canopy for a circle of forty paces in diameter, a single row of trees on one side of the way is sufficient. It is often seen stretching its arms over the houses, to screen the fiiinting inhabitant from the glowing heats of the summer. This was a benefit so important to them, that it obtained a place in the divine promise: " They shall sit every man uncler his vine and under his fig-tree ;" and to show at once the certainty of the promise, and the value of the favour, it is repeated by another inspired prophet: "Ye shall call every man his neighbour under his vine and under his fig-tree." Now, it appears from the most authentic records, that the ancient Egyptian cof- fins, intended to preserve to many generations the bodies of departed relatives; the little square boxes which were 394 PSALMS. Ps. 78—80. placL'il at llie feci of llic iniiinmie.-i, clulosins the inslrii- ineril.s and iilcn.sils in inliiiauire, which belonged In Ihc trade and occupation of the deceased ; the figures and in- struments of wood found in the catacombs, — arc all made of sycamore wood, which, though spongy and porous to appearance, has continueil ciilire and uncorruptcd for at least three thousand yeais. The iniiuinerablo barks which ply on the river and over all the vale, in the time of the inundation, are also fabricaled of sycamore wood. But besides the various im|H)rlant uses to which the wood was applied, lliesvcamorc produces a species of fig, upon which the people alinost entirely subsist, thinking themselves well regaled, when they have a piece of bread, a couple of sycamore figs, and a pitcher filled with water from the Nile. — Paxto.m. Vcr. 03. Tilt! fire consumed their yoting incn ; and tlioir inaidi'iis were not given to marriage. This is described as erne of the effects of God's anger upon Israel. In Hindoo families, sometimes, the marriage ol daughters is delayed; this is, however, always consid- ered as a great calamity and disgrace. If a person sees girls more than twelve years of age unmarried in a family, he says, " How is it, that that Bramin can sit at home, and eat his food with comfort, when his daughters, at such an age, remain unmarried V (Ward.) — Burder. Ver. 64. Their priests fell by the sword ; their widows made no lamentation. and When the cholera swept off such multitudes, the cities from every house had a fearful effect on the passers by ; but, after some lime, though the scourge remained, tne people ceased to lament, asking, " Why should we mourn 1 the Amma" i. e. the goddess, "is at her play." Thus, in- stead of the shrieks and howls so common on such occa- sions, scarcely a sigh or a whisper was heard from the survivers. — Roberts. Ver. 6G. And he smote his enemies in the hinder parts : he put them to a perpetual reproach. Dr. Boothroyd, " And smole his enemies in the hinder parts, and he put them to perpetual disgrace." Some com- mentators think this alluaes '• to the emerods inflicted on the Philistines;" but the figure is used in reference lo those who are conquered, and who consequently show their huks when running away. " I will make that fellow show his back," means, " I will cause him to run from me." It is also considered exceedingly disgraceful to be beaten on that part. — Roberts. PSALM LXXIX. Ver. 2. The dead bodies of thy servants have they given /" he meat unto the fowls of the heaven, the flesh of thy stints unto the beasts of the earth. 3. Their blood have they shed like water round abottt Jerusalem ; and there was none to bury them. See on 1 Sam. 31. 9. Criminals were at other times executed in public ; and then commonly without the city. To such executions without the gate, the Psalmist imdoubledly refers in this complaint : "The dead hodiesof ihysainis have they given to be meat unto the fowls of the heaven, the flesh of thy saints unto the beasts of the earth. Their blood have they shed like water nmnd about Jerusalem; and there was none to bury them." The last clause admits of two senses. 1st. There was no friend or relations left to bury them. 2d. None were allowed to perform this l.asl office. Thedes- poli.sm of eastern princes ofien proceeds to a degree of ex- travagance which is apt to fill the mind with ashinishment and horror. It has been thought, from lime immemorial, highly criminal to bury those who had lost their lives by the hand of an executioner, without permission. In Mo- rocco, no person dares to bury the body of a malefactor wiiliout an order from the emperor; and Windus, who visited that country, speaking of a man who was sawed in two, informs us, thai " hi- body must have remained to be eaten by the dogs, if the emperor had not pardoned him ; an extravagant custom lo pardim a man alier he is dead; but unless he does so, no person dares bury the body." To such a degree of savage barbarity it is probable the ene- mies of God's people carried their opposition, that no per- s(m dared to bury the dead bodiesof their innocent victims. — P.IXTON. Ver. 11. Let the sighing of the prisoner come be- fore thee; according to the greatness of thy power preserve thou those that are appointed to die. To illustrate the miserable condition of an oriental pris- oner, Chardin relates a story of a very great Armenian merchant, who for some reason was thrown into prison. So long as he bribed the jailer with large donations, lie was treated with the greatest kindness and aUention ; but upon the party who sued the Armenian presenting a consioer- able sum, first to the judge and afterward to the jailer, the prisoner first experienced a change of treatment. His privileges were retrenched ; he was then closely confined ; then treated with such inhumanity, as not to be permitted to drink but once in twenty-four hours, and this in the hot- test time of the year ; and no person was suffered to .see him but the servants of the prison ; at length he was thrown into a dungeon, where he was in a quarter of an hour brought to the point, which all this severe usage was intended to gain. After such a relation, we cannot be surprised to find the sacred writers placing so .strong an emphasis on "the sighing of the prisoner," and speaking of its coming before God, and the necessity of almighty power being exerted for his deliverance. — Paxton. PSALM LXXX. Ver. 4. O Lord God of hosts, how long wilt thou be angry against the prayer of thy people. Hebrew, "wilt thou smoke 1" Ainsworlh, "Jehovah, God of hosts; how long wilt thou smoke against the prayer of thy peopled" Of an angry man, it is said, " He is con- tinually smol-iiis" " My friend, why do you smoke .s| to-day ■?" "This smoke drives me away; I cannot beat it." " How many days is this smoke to remain in my house T' " What care' I for the smoke ■! Il does not hurt me. "^Roberts. Ver. 5. Thou feedest them with the bread of tears ; and givest them tears to drink in great measure. When a ma.ster or a father is angry, he says lo his chil- dren or servants, " Yes, in future you .shall have rice, and the water of your eyes to eat." " You shall have the water of your eyes in abundance to drink." " Alas ! alas ! lam ever drinking tears." — Roberts. Ver. 1 3. The boar out of the wood doth waste it, and the wild beast of the field doth devour it. See on 2 Sam. 18. 8. Wild hogs are exceedingly numerous and destructive in the East: hence a fine garden will in one night be com- pletely destroyed. The herd is generally led by old boars, that go along with great .speed and fierceness. Should there be a fence, they will go round till they find a weak place, and then tlicy all rush in. In travelling, sometimes a large patch ol grass may be seen comjiletely lorn up, which has been done by the wild hog for the sake of the roots. These animals are also very ferocious, as ihey will not hesitate to attack either man or bea.st, when placed in circumstances of difficulty. One of ihem once ran at a friend of mine, when travelling in his palanquin ; but the creature, not calculating well as lo the speed of the coolies, only just struck the pole with his tusk ; but ihe hole he left behind in the hard wood was nearly half an inch deep. — Roberts. Under the beautiful allegory of a vine, the royal P.salm- ist describes Ihc rise and fall of the .Jewish commonweallh, in this adilress to Jehovah : " Thou hast brought a vine out of Egj'pt, thou hast cast out the heathen and planted it. Ps. 81. PSALMS. 395 Thou prepareJsl a room Ijclorc ii, and tlidsi cause it to take deep root, and it filled llie land, The hills were covered with the shadow of ir, and the boughs thereof were like the Soodly cedars. She sent out her boughs unto the sea, and her branches unto the river. Why hast thou then broken down her hedges, so that all they that pass by the way, do pluck her? The boar out of the wood doth waste it, and the wild beast of the field doth devour it." This terrible animal is both fierce and cruel, and so swift that few of the savage tribes can outstrip him in running. His chief abode, says Forbes, is in the forests and jungle.-;; but when the grain is nearly ripe, he commits great ravages in the fields and sugar plantations. The powers that subverted the Jewish nation, are compared to the wild boar and the wild beast of the field, by which the vine is wasted and devoured; and no figure could be more happily cho.sen. That ferocious and destructive animal, not satisfied with devouring the fruit, lacerates and breaks with his sharp and powerful lusks the branches of the vine, or with his snout digs it up by the roots, pollutes it with his touch, or tramples it under'his feet. In Egypt, according to Herod- otus and other writers, the labours of this ferocious animal are rendered useful to man. When the Nile has retired within his proper channel, the husbandman .scatters his grain upon the irrigated soil, and sends out a number of swine, that partly by treading it with their feet, partly by digging it with their snont, immediately turn it up, and by this means cover the seed. But in every other part of the world, the hog is odious to the husbandman. It was an es- tablished custom among the Greeks and Romans, to offer a hog in sacrifice to Ceres, at the beginning of harvest, and another to Bacchus, before they began to gather the vint- age; because that animal is equally hostile to the growing com and the loaded vineyard. From these examples it is quite evident that the prophet meant to describe, under the figure of a wild boar, the cruel and implacable enemies of the church. And it is extremely probable, that he alluded to some more remarkable adversary, as Sennacherib, the king of Assyria, or Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon ; both of whom were not less ferocious and destructive than the savage by which they were symbolized. — Paxton. Ver. 17. Let thy hand be upon the man of thy right hand, upon the son of man whom thou madest strong for thyself If we would understand the genuine import of this phrase, we must attend to a custom which obtained in Judea and other eastern countries, At meals the master of the feast placed the person whom he loved best on his right hand, as a token of love and respect : and as they sat on couches, in the intervals between the dishes, when the master leaned upon his left elbow, the man at his right hand, leaning also on his, would naturally repose his head on the master's bosom ; while at the same time the master laiil his right hand on ihc favourite's shoulder or side, in testimony of his favourable regard. See also John xxi. 20. (Pirie.)— BuRDEs. PSALM LXXXI. Ver. 2. Take a psalm, and bring hither the tim- brel, the plea.sant harp with the psaltery. By timbrels are meant the hand-instruments, still used in the F.ast, and called riZ/T, the same name which .stands here in the llchrcw text. By the Hebrew word kiiinor, here translated harp, we are probably to understand a siringed in.strumenl, a kind of guitar, similar to those called by the Arabs, lamhura. Jose|)hus .says, that this instrument had ten strings, and was played with a plectrum ; in mcue an- cient times, however, it appears to have been played with the fingers, as we may infer from 1 Sain. xvi. 23. xviii. 16. xix. 9. It is almost always mentioned in the Old Testa- ment on occasions of cheerful entertainments and rejoi- cings. The name of the third in-lrnment, nabel, men- tioned in the text, and here translated psnllory, has also been preserved in the Greek and Latin lantriiages, nabla, nablium. As the Hebrew word signifies a lealhern bottle, it has been cmjoctured that the sounding-board was of that shape. But St. Jerome and Isidore say that the in.'-trument resembled a Greek delta inverted, v- This leads us to conjecture that nabel was ihat Vw.A of lyre so frocjuenlly found on ancient monuments, and in statues of Apollo, A similar stringed instrument is still usual in the East. Nie- buhr has given a description and drawing of one in his Travels, vol. i. p. 179. He .saw it in the hand of the bar- bari, who came from Dongola to Cairo, and call it in their language hissir, whereas the Arabs call it, like other foreign stringed instruments, /«?H4ra. "The belly of it is like a wooden dish, with a small hole below, and having a skin stretched over it, which is higher in the middle than on the sides. Two sticks, which are united at the top by a third, go obliquely through the skin. Five catgut strings lie over it, supported by a bridge. There are no pegs to this in- strument, but each string is tuned by having some linen wound with it round the transverse .stick. It is played in two diflercnt ways, namely, either pinched with the fingers, or by passing a piece of leather, which hangs at the side, over the strings ; and my barbari danced as he played." According to the observation of one Rabbi Simeon, quoted by Rabbi Salomon Jarchi, in his commentary on the above passage in the Psalms, kinnor differed from nabel only in number of strings and pegs. — Rosenmuller. Ver. 10. I am the Lord thy God, which brought thee out of tlie land of Egypt : open thy mouth wide, and I will fill it. "My friend, you tell me yoit are in great distress: take my advice : go io ihe kin^, and opemjour moiitk wide.^' "I went to the great man and opened my mouth, but he has not given me any thing." " 1 opened my mouth to him, and have gained all 1 wanted." " Why open your mouth there '! it will be all in vain." Does a person not wish to be troubled, he says to the applicant, " Do not say Ah, ah ! here;" which means, do not open your mouth, because that word cannot be pronounced without opening the mouth. — R0BERT.S. Ver. IG. He should have fed them also with the finest of the wheat : and with honey out of the rock should I have satisfied thee. The soil, both of the maritime and inland parts of Syria and Phenicia, is of a light loamy nature, and easily culti- vated. Syria may be considered as a country con.sisting of three long strips of land, exhibiting different qualities: one extending along the Mediterranean, forming a warm hu- mid valley, the salubrity of which is doubtful, but which is extremely fertile; the other, which forms its frontier, is a hillv, rugged soil, but more salubrious; the third, lying be- yond the eastern hills, coiubines the drought of the latter, "with the heat of the former. We have seen by what a happy combination of climate and .soil this province unites in a small compass the advantages and productions of dif- ferent zones, insomuch that the God of nature seems to have designed it for one of the most agreeable habitations of this continent. The soil is a fine mould, without stones, and almost without even the smallest pebble. Volney himself, who furnishes the particulars of this statement, is compelled to admit, Ihat what is said of its actual fertility, exactly corresponds with the idea given of it in the Hebrew scriptures. Wherever wheat is sown, if the rains do not fail, it repays the cultivator with profusion, and grows to the height of a man. The Mount of Olives, near Jerusa- lem, aiul several other districts in Judea and Galilee, are covered with olive plantations, whose fruit is equal to any produced in the Levant. The fig-trees in the neighbour- nood of Joppa, are equally beautiful and productive as the olive. Were the Holy Land as well inhabited and culti- vated as formerly. Dr. Shaw declares it would still be more fruitful than the very best part of Syria or Phenicia ; for the soil itself is generally much richer, and all things considered, yields a preferable crop. Thus, the cotton, which is gathered in the plains of Rama, Esdraelon, and Zabulon, is in greater esteem, according to that excellent writer, than what is cultivated near Sidon and Tripnli ; neither is it jrossible for pulse, wheat, or grain of any kind, lo be richer or belter lasted, than what is commonly sold at Jeni.salem. The barrenness, or scarcity rather, of which some authors may either ignorantly or maliciously com- plain, iloes not proceed, in the opinion of Dr. Shaw, from Ihc inrapaciiy or natural nnfruiifulncss of the country, but 396 PSALMS. Ps. 84. from ihc want of inhabitants, and from the great aversion 10 labour and industry in those few by whom it is possess- ed. The perpetual discords and depredations amons the pclly princes who share this fine country, greatly obstruct the operations of the hu.sbaiiduian, who must have small encouragemenl to sow, when it is quite uncertain who shall Rather in the harvest. It is in other respecLs a fertile countn-, and still capable of alTordiri'^' to its nciRhbours the like ample supjilies of corn and oil, which it is known to liave done in ilie days of Solomon, who gave yearly to Hiram twenty thousand measures of wheal for food to his household, arid twenty measures of pure oil. The parts about Jerusalem particularly, being rocky and mountainous, have been therefore supposed to be barren and unfruitful : yet, granting this conclusion, which is however far from' being just, a country is not to be charac- terized from one single district of it, but from the whole. And besides, the blessing which was given to Judah was not of the same kind with the blessing of Ashcr or of Issa- char, that " his bread should be fat or his land pleasant," but that " his eyes should be red with wine, and his leeth should be white' with milk." In the estimation of the Jew- ish lawgiver, milk and honey (the chief dainlics and sub- si.sience of the earlier ages, as they still continue to be of the Bedouin Arabs) are the glory of all lands; these pro- ductions are either actually enjoyed in the lot of Jndah, or at least, might be obtained by proper care and application. The abundance of wine alone is wanting at present; yet the acknowledged goodness of that little, which is still made at Jerusalem .nnd Hebron, clearly proves, that these barren rocks, as they are called, would yield a much greater quantity, if the abstemious Turk and Arab would permit the vine to be fnrlhcr propagated and improved. Wild honey, which formed a pan of the food of John the Tapiist in the wilderness, may indicate to us the great plenty of it in those deserts ; and, that consequently taking the hint from nature, and •iticing the bees into hives and larger colonies, it might be produced in much greater quan- tity. Josephus accordingly calls Jericho the honey-bearing country. The great abundance of wild honey is often mentioned in scripture ; a memorable instance of which occurs in the first book of Samuel : " And all they of the land came to a wood, and there was honey upon the ground; and when the people were come to the wood, be- hold the honey dropped." This circumstance perfectlv accords with the view which Moses gave of the promised land, in the song with which he closed his long and event- ful career : " He made him to suck h(pncy out of the rock, and oil out of the flimy rock." That good land preserved its character in the lime of David, who thus celebrates the distinguishing bounty of God to his chosen people : " He would have fed them also with the finest of the wheat, and with honey out of the rock would 1 have satisfied thee." In these holy strains, the sacred poet availed himself of the inosl valuable produet.s of Canaan, to lead the failh and hope of his nation to bounties of a higher order, of greater price, and more urgent necessity, than any which the soil even of that favoured region, stimulated and sustained as it certainly was by the .special blessing of heaven, produced, — the bounties of sovereign and redeeming mercy, pur- cha.sed with the blood, and imparted by the spirit of the Son of God. — Paxton. PSALM LXXXIV. 'Ver. 1. How amiable are thy tabernacles, O Lord of hosts! 2. My soul long-oth, yea, even fainteth, for the courts of the Lord ; iiiy heart and my flesh crieth out for the living Ciotl. The first part of the Psalm cannot be belter illu.sirated (lei there be no misinterpretation ') achsub. It occurs in the following description of wicked men : " They have sharpened their tongues like a serpent : adders' poison is under their lips." The Chaldee renders it the poison of a spider; but the most common in- terpretation is that which our translators have adopted. Some, however, contend that the asp is intended ; and in support of their opinion, quote the authority of many Greek and Latin interpreters, and what must be decisive with every Christian, the suffrage of an inspired apostle, who gives this version of the Hebrew text : " The poison of asps is under their lips." The name in Hebrew is derived from an Arabic verb, which signifies to coil up; which perfectly corresponds with the nature of this animal, for, in prepar- ing to strike, it contracts itself into a spiral form, and raises its horrid head from the middle of the orb. It a.ssumcs the same form when it goes to sleep, coiling its body into a num- ber of circles, with its head in the centre. This is the reason that in Greek, A<77ri5 denotes a shield, as well as a serpent. Now, the Grecian shields are circular, as we learn from Virgil, but whether the name of thefhield(A»7rif) was derived from the serpent, or the name of the serpent from the form of the shield, it is of no consequence to deter- mine.— Paxton. PSALM xcn. Ver. 10. But my horn shalt thou exalt like i//e. horn of a unicorn : I shall be anointed with fresh oil. Montanus has, instead of fresh oil, given the literal meaning of the original, t'iriV/c olco, with green oil. Ains- worlh al.so says, " fresh or green oile.' Calniel, " As Ihe plants imparted somewhatoftheircolour, asw-ell asof their fragrance, hence the expression green oil." Harracr, " I shall be anointed with green oil." Some of the.se writers 40D PSALMS. Ps, 92. think ihc Icrm green, as it is in the original, means " pre- cious fragrant oil ;" others, literally sreen in coi.olk ; and others, frksii or newi.y made oil. But I think it will ap- pear 10 mean coi.d drawn oil, that which has been expressed or squeezed from the nut or fruit withmit Ihe process of bailing. The Orientals prefer this kind for anointing lliem- selves to all others; it is considered the most precious, the most pure and eHicacious. Nearly all the medicinal oils are thus extracted ; and because they cannot gain so much by this method as by the bciiling process, oiN so drawn are very dear. Hence their name fur the article also thus pre- pared is palclu\ i. e. autxN oil ! But this term in eastern phraseology is applied to other things, which are unboiled or rniv ; thus unboiled water is called palc/ic, green water: palc/ie-piil, also, green milk, means that which has not been boiled, and the butler made from it is called green butter ; and uncooked meat, or yams, goby the same name. I think, therefore, the Psalmist alludes to that valuable article which is called grekn oil, on account of its being expressed from the nut, or frttit, without the process of boiling. — Rob- erts. The virgin-oil (I'ogleo virgineo) is made as well from green and unripe, as from ripe fruit ; hut with the differ- ence, that no hot water, or very little, is u.sed, in the press- ing: by which the berries are less affected, and less of the acrid or crude elements extracted from them. In this mannerless oil is obtained, but it is whiter, more pleasant, and justly preferred to every other sort. The ancients called it green oil, probably on account of its being ex- tracted from green and unripe berries. This explains a passage in Suetonius, which says, " that Julius Cesar, out of politeness, ate old and spoiled oil, instead of green, not to give the person who had invited him any ground to complain of his want of politeness, or his inattention. Some commentators on the Bible reasonably .suppose that this green oil is spoken of as being the best, when the P.salinist expresses the happiness with which God had blessed him : / am anointed with green oil, (Keyssler.) — BURDKR. Mr. Bruce, after having given it as his opinion that the reem of scripture is the rhinoceros, .says, " the derivation of this word, both in the Hebrew and in the Ethiopic, seems to be from erectness, or standing straight. This is certainly no particular quality in the animal itself, which is not more, or even ^o much erect, as many other quadrupeds, for in its knees it is rather crooked ; but it is from the circumstance and manner in which his horn is placed. The horns of other animals are inclined to some degree of parallelism with the nose or os frontis. The horn of the rhinoceros alone is erect and perpendicular to this bone, on which it .stands at right angles, thereby possessing a greater purchase, or power, as a lever, than any horn could possibly have in any other position. " This situation of the horn is very liappily alluded to in the sacred writings : mil horn shall Ihou e.r/iU like Ike horn of a unicorn ; and the horn here al- luded to is not wholly figurative, as 1 have already taken notice in the course of my history, but was really an orna- ment worn by great men in the days of victory, preferment, or rejoicing, when they were anointed wiih liew, sweel, or fresh oil, a circumstance which David joins with that of erecting the horn." The term for unicorn, in the Hebrew text, is (an) rim, or(3N-') reem ; and is derived from a verb, which sig- nifies to be exalted or lifted up. This term, which in He- brew signifies only height, is rendered by the Greek inter- preters ;ioi/)«.'o.K, and by the Latins unicornis; both which answer to our English word unicorn. Jerome and others, doubtful to what animal it belongs, render it sometimes rhiniiceros, and sometimes unicorn. It is evident from the sacred scriptures, that the reem is an animal of considera- ble height, and of great .strength. Thus Balaam reluctant- ly declared concerning Israel : " God brought them out of Egypt 1 he hath as it were the strength of (a reem) a uni- corn." So great in the estimation of that reluctant seer, was the strength of the reem, that he repeats the eulogium in the very same words in Ihe next cliapter. From the grateful ascriptions of David, we learn that it is a horned animal : " Bui mv horn shall thou exalt like the horn of a unicorn." And Moses, in his benediction of Joseph, states a most important fact, that it has twu horns; Ihe words are: His horns are like the horns of (cms n rccm, in the sin- gular number) a unicorn. Some interpreter.s, determined to support the claims of the unicorn to the honour of a place in the sacred volume, contend, that in this instance Ihe sin- gular, by an enallage or change of number, is put for the plural. But this is a gratuitous assertion ; and besides, if admitted, would greatly diminish the force and propriety of the comparison. The two sons of Joseph, Ephraim and iManasseli, had been adopted into the family ol Jacob, and appointed the founders of two distinct tribes, whose descend- ants in the times of Moses were become numerous and re- spectable in the congregation. These were ihc two horns with which Jo.seph was to aUack and subdue his enemies; and by consequence, propriely required an allusion to a creature, not with one, but with two horns. In the book of Job, the reem is repre.sented as a very fierce and intractable animal, which, although po.ssc.ssed of sufficient strength to labour, sternly and peilinaciou.sly re- fuses to bend his neck to the yoke: " Will ihe unicorn (in Hebrew Ihe reem) be willing to serve thee, or lea.se, with/orcc. In this sense also, it is not less descriptive of Ihe buffalo, which runs with great speed and violence when excited ; as is often Ihe case in regard lo whole herds, which then rush blindly forwards wilh Iremendous power. (See the account of Major Long's Ps. 02. PSALMS. 403 expedition to the Rocky Mountains.) In three' other pas- sage.>i, the rcetn is closely coupled with ihe common o.x, or with Ihe employment of the latter. In Ps. xxix. 6, it is said, " He maketh them also to skip like a calf; Lebanon and Sirion like a young recm;" where the young of the iccm stands in parallelism with the calf, so thai we should naturally expect a great similarity between them. Isa. xxxiv. 7, "And the rcemim shall comedown with them, and the bullocks with the bulls," &c. Here, in verse 6, it is said that the Lord has a great sacrifice in Bozrah ; and the idea in verse 7 is, according to the LXX and Gesenius, that the rccvdm shall ro77ie down, i. e. shall make part of this sacrifice, as also the bullocks, old and young, of the land of Edom, so that their " land shall be soaked with blood," &c. The other passage is Job xxix. 9^1'2, " Will the rccm be willing to serve thee, or abide by the crib? Canst thou bind the rccm with his band in the furrow, or will he harrow the valleys after thee'? Will thou trust him because his strength is great, or wilt thou leave thy labour to him'! Wilt thou believe him, that he will bring home thy seed, and gather it into thy barn V Here Job is asked, whether he would dare to intrust to the reem such and such labours as were usually performed by oxen. Nothing can be more appropriate to the wild buffalo than this language ; and we have seen above that the Hebrews probably knew it only in a ■«'ild state. The only other passage where the rccm is mentioned is P.s. xxii. 21, and this requires a more extended notice. The Psalmist in deep distress saj's in verse 13, " Manv bulls (ens) have compassed me, strong bulls of Bashan have beset me round. They gaped upon me with their mouths, as a ravening and roaring lion. For dogs have compassed me," &c. Here it will be observed that three animals are mentioned as besetting the writer, hulls of Bashan, lions, dogs. The Psalmist proceeds to speak of his deliverance ; verse 20, " Deliver my soul fine] from the sword, my darling [me] from the power of the dog. Save me from the lion s mouth ; for thou hast heard [and saved] me from the horns of the reemim." Here also it will be seen are three animals, corresponding to the three before mentioned as besetting him, but ranged in an inverted order, viz. the dog, the lion, and the rccm. in place of the bulls of Bashan ; that is, from the whole struc- ture of the poem, and the fact that these animals and no others are alluded to, the inference is almost irresistible, that the recmi'm of verse 21 are the pa rm of verse 12, the bulls of Bashan, as has been already suggested above. At least we may infer that the recm was an animal not so unlike those bulls, but that it might with propriety be in- terchanged with them in poetic parallelism ; a circumstance most appropriately true of the wildbiiflfalo, andof him only. From all these considerations, and from the fact that the buffalo must have been far better known in western Asia than either the rhinoceros or the oryx, (even if the descrip- tion of the rccm suited these animals in other respects,) we feel justified in assuming the taiirus biibaliis, or \vi\d buf- falo,tobethe cccmof the Hebrew scriptures, and the unicorn of the English version. The principal dithculty in the way of this assumption, is the fact that the LXX have usually translated the Hebrew rccm by /lot-rffto-.tc, viticorn, mte-horii. It must, however, be borne in mind, that these translators lived many centuries aOer the Hebrew scriptures were written, and not long indeed before the birth of Christ ; thev lived, i<>i>, in Egypt, where it is not impossible that the buffalo had in their age be£un to be domesticated. In such circumstances, and being unacquainted with Ihe animal in his fierce and sav- age state, they may have thought that the allusions to the reem were not fully answered by the half-domesticated ani- mal before them, and they may, therefore, have felt them- selves at liberty to insert ihe name of some animal which seemed to them more appropriate. That they did often lake such liberties, is well known. An instance occurs in the very passage of Isaiah above quoted, ch. xxxiv. 7, where the Hebrew is c^'rn ay o^-iti, "and the bullocks with the bulls," i. e. the bulls with the strong ones, or, according; to Gesenius, "the hulls both young and old :" thisllieLXX translates, «.i; ol «pioi »-,iio! raSoi,, " and the rams(or welhers) and the bulls," — certainly a qtiiil pro quo not less striking Ihin thai of putting unicorn for biiffnio. That the LXX, in using the word monoceros, (unicorn, one-horn,) did not understand by it the rhinoceros, would seem obvious; both because the )altcr always had its ap- propriate and peculiar name in Greek, (^xowpus. rhinoceros nose-horn,) taken from Ihe position of its horii upon the snout; and also from the circumstance so much insisted on above in the extracts from Mr. Bruce, that the rhino- ceros of that part of Africa adjacent to Egypt actually has tieo horns. They appear rather to have had in mind the half-fabulous unicorn, described by Pliny, but lost sight of by all subsequent naturalists ; although imperfect hints and accounts of a similar animal have been given by travellers in Africa and India, in different centuries, and entirely in- dependent of each other. The interesting nature of the subject renders it proper to exhibit here all the evidence which exists in respect to such an animal ; especially as it is nowhere bronght together in the Engli.sh language, or at least in no such form as to render it generally accessible. The figure of the unicorn, in various attitudes, is depict- ed, according to Niebuhr, on almost all the stair-cases found among the ruins of Persepolis. One of these figures is given in vol. ii. plate xxiii. of Niebuhr's Travels; and also in vol. i. p. 594, 595, of the Travels of Sir R. K. Por- ter. The latter traveller supposes it to be the representa- tion of a bull with a single norn. Pliny, in speaking of the wild beasts of India, says with regard to the animal in question : Asperrimam autetn feravi vwnoccrotem , rcfiqvo corpore equo similem, capite cervo, pedibus elephanli, cnuda apro, miigiiu gravi, itno cornu nigro media fronte cubitornni diiimi cminenlc. Hanc fcram viravi neganl capi. (Hist. Nat. vii. 21.) " The unicorn is an exceeding fierce ani- mal, resembling a horse as to the rest of its body, but having the head like a slag, the feet like an elephant, and the tail like a wild boar: its roaring is loud, and it has a black horn of about two cubits projecting from the middle of its f irehead." These seem to be the chief ancient notices of the existence of the animal in question. In 1530, Ludivico de Bartema, a Roman patrician, trav- elled 10 Egypt, Arabia, and India; and having assumed the character of a Mu.ssulman, he was able to visit Mecca with the Had], or great caravan of pil<»rims. In his account of the curiosities of this cilv, in Ramusio's Collection of Travels, (Racolta di 'Viaggi, 'Venel. 1,563, p. 103,) he .says : "On the other side of the Caaba is a walled court, in which we saw two unicorns, which were pointed out to us as a rarity ; and they are indeed truly remarkable. The larger of the two is built like a three-year-old colt, and has a horn upon the forehead about three ellslong. The other unicorn was smaller, like a yearling foal, and has a horn perhaps four spans long. — This animal has the colour of a yellowish brown hor.se, a head like a stag, a neck not very long, with a thin mane ; the legs are small and slender, like those of a hind or roe ; the hoofs of the forefeet are divided, and re- semble the hoofs of a goat. These two animals were sent to the sultan of Mecca, as a rarity of great value, and very seldom found, by a king of Ethiopia, who wished to secure, by this present, the good will of the sultan of Mecca." Don Juan Gabriel, a Portuguese colonel, who lived several years in Abyssinia, assures us, that in the region of Agamos, in the Abyssinian province of Damota, he had seen an animal of the form and size tif a middle-sized horse, of a dark chestnut-brown colour, and wi h a whitish horn, about five spans long, upon the forehead ; the mane and tail were black, and the legs short and slender. Several other Portuguese, who were placed in confinement upon a high miuinlain in the district of Namna, bv the Abyssinian king, Adamas Sajhedo, related that they had seen, at the foot of the mountain, several unicorns feeding. (Ludoll's Hist. jEthiop. lib. i. c. 10. n. 80, .seq.) These accounts are con- firmed by Father Lobo, who lived for a long time as a mis- sionary in Abyssinia. He adds, that the unicorn is extremel v shy, and escapes from closer observation by a speedy flight into the forests ; for which reason there is no exact de- scription of him. CVoyage histor. d'Abyssinie, Amst. 1728, vol. i.p. S3, 291.) All these accounts are certainly not ap- plicable to the rhinoceros; although it is singular that Mr. Bruce speaks only of the latter animal as not uncommon in Abyssinia, and makes apparently no allusion to the above arcounls. In more recent limes we find further traces of the ani- mal in question in Southern Africa. Dr. Sparrmann, the Swedish naturalist, who visited the Cape of Good Hope and the adjacent regions, in the years 177'2-177l>, gives, in his travels, the following account : Jacob Knork, an ob- .scrving peasant on Hippopotamus river, who had travelled 404 PSALMS. Ps. 92. over the grealer pari of Soulhern Afiici, luund on the face of a perpendicular rwk a drawing inadu by the lIi>lientol.-i, representing; a iiuadrnpcd wiili one liurn. The Hotlcnlols told liim that ihe animal there represented was very like the horse on which he rode, but had a Mrai^^ht liorn upon the forehead. They added, that these one-horned animals were rare, that Ihev ran with great rapidity, and were also very fierce. They also described the manner of hunting Ihcin. " It is not probable," Dr. Sparnnann remarks, " that the savages wholly invented lliis story, and that loo .so very circumstantially ; still le.ss can we suppose, that they should have received and retained, merely Irom history or tradi- tion, the remembrance of such an animal. These regions are very seldom visited ; and the creature might, therefore, long remain unknown. That an animal so rare should not be better known to the modern world, proves nothing against its existence. The greater part ol Africa is still aiming the Icrnr. incngniltr. Even the giraffe has been again discovered only within comparatively a few years. So also the ?»«, which, till recently, was held to be a fable of the ancients." A somewhat more definite account of a similar animal is contained in the Transactions of the Zealand Academy of Sciences at Flushing. (Pt. xv. Middelb. 170-2. Prief p. Ivi.) The account was tran.smitted to the society in 1791, from the Cape of Good Hope, by Mr. Henry Cloetc. It slates that a bastard Hottentot, Gerrit Slinger by name, re- lated, that while engaged several years before with a party, in pursuit of the savage Bushmen, they had got sight of nine strange animals, which they followed on horseback, and shot one of them. This animal resembled a horse, and ■was of a light-gray colour, with white stripes under the lower jaw. It had a single horn, directly in front, as long as one's arm, and at the base about as thick. Towards the middle the horn was somewhat flattened, but had a sharp point ; it was not attached to the bone of the forehead, but fi.xed only in the skin. The head was like that of the horse, and the size also about the same. The hoofs were round, like those of a horse, but divided below like those of o.ven. This remarkable animal was shot between the so- called Table Moimtain and Hippopotamus river, about si.\- teen days' journey on horse-back from Cambedo, which w^ould be about a month's journey in o.x-wagons from Cape- town. Mr. Cloete mentions, that several ditferent natives and Hottentots testify to the existence of a similar animal with one horn, of which they profess to have seen drawings bv hundreds, made by Ihe Bushmen on rocks and stones. He supposes that it would not be difficult to obtain one of these animals, if desired. His letter is dated at the Cape, April 8, 1791. (See thus far Rosenmuller's Altes u. neues Morgenland, ii. p. '269, seq. Leipz. 1818.) Such appear to have been the latest accounts of the ani- mal in question, when it was again suddenly brought into notice as existing in the elevated regions of central India. The auarterly Review for Oct. 18-'0, (vol. xxiv. p. 120,) in a notice of Frazier's tour ihrough the Himalaya Moun- tains, goes on to remark as follows: "We have no doubt that a little lime will bring to light many objects of natural history peculiar to the elevated regions of Central Asia, and hitherto unknown in the animal, vegetable, and mineral kingdoms, particularly in the two former. This is an opinion which we have long entertained ; but we are led to the expression of it on the present occasion, by having been favoured with the perusal of a mos' interesting com- munication from Major leaner, commanding in the rajah of Sikkim's territories, in the hilly country east of Ncpaul, addressed to Adjutant-general Nicol,and iransniitledbv him to the Marquis of Hastings. This impoitani paper expli- citly states that Ihe unicorn, so long considered as a fabu- lous animal, actually exists at this moment in the interior of Thibet, where it is well known to the inhabitants. ' This,'— we cony from the Major's letter—' is a very cnrioii.s fact, and it may be necessarv to mention how the circumstance became known to me. In a Thibctinn man- uscript, containing the names ofditrerent animals, which I procured the olher day from the hilN, ihe unicuni is classed under the head of those whose hoofs are divided : it is call- ed the one-horned hn'pn. Upon inquiring what kind of animal it was, to our astonishment, the person whobrimght the manuscript described exailly ihe unicorn of the an- cients ; saying, that it was a native of the interior of Thibet, about the .size of a laltoo, [a horse from twelve to thirteen hands high,] fierce and extremely wild ; .seld.nn, if ever, caught alive, but frequently shot : and that the tlesh was used for food.' — 'The person,' Major Latter adds, 'who gave me this information, has repeatedly seen these ani- mals, and eaien the flesh of them. They go together in herds, like our wild buflaloes, and are very frcqucnlly to be met with on the borders of the great de.sert, about a month's journey from Las^a, in that part of the country in- habited by the wandering Tartars.' " This communication is accompanied by a drawing made by ihe messenger from recollection. It bears some resemblance to a horse, but has cloven hoofs, a long curved horn growing out of the forehead, and a boar-shaped tail, like lliat of ihe/tro mo?i<7CCJ 0.5 described by Pliny. From its herding together, as the unicorn of the scriptures is said to do, as well as from ihe rest of the description, it is evi- dent that it cannot be the rhinoceros, which is a solitary animal ; besides. Major Latter states, that in Ihe Thibetian manuscript the rhinoceros is described under the name of ferva, and classed wilh the elephant; 'neither,' .says he, 'is it the wild horse, (well known in Thibet,) for thai has also a different name, and is cla.ssed in the manuscript wilh the animals which have the hoofs undivided.' — '1 have written,' he subjoins, ' to the Sachia Lama, requesting him to procure me a perfect skin of the animal, wilh the head, horn, and hoofs; but it will be a longtime before I can get it down, for they are not to be met with nearer than a month's journey from Lassa.' " As a sequel 10 this account, we find the following para- graph in the Calcutta Government Gazette, August, 1821 : " Major Latter has obtained the horn of a young unicorn from the Sachia Lama, which is now before us. It is twenty inches in length ; at the root it is four inches and a half in circumference, and tapers to a point ; it is black, rather flat at the sides, and has fifteen rings, but they are only prominent on one side; it is nearly straight. IVIajor Laiterexpectsto obtain the headoftheanimal, wilh the hoofs and Ihe skin, very .shortly, which will afl'ord positive proof of the form and character of the tfo'po, or Thibet unicorn." Such are the latest accounts which have reached ns of this animal ; and although their credibility cannot well be contested, and the coincidence of the description wilh that of Pliny is so striking, yet it is singular that in the lapse of more than ten years, (1832,) nothing further should have been heard on a subject so interesting. — But whatever may be the fact as to the existence of this animal, the adoption of it by the LXX, as being the Hebrew rcrm, cannot well be correct ; boih for the rca.sons already adduced above, and also from the circumstance, that the rccm was evident- ly an animal frequent and well known in the countries where Ihe .scenes of the Bible are laid ; while the unicorn, at all events, is and was an animal of exceeding rarity. — Robinson in Cai.met. Ver. 12. The ripfhteous shall flourish like the palm-tree; ho shall grow like a cedar in Leb- anon. The palm-tree is ven,' common in Judea, and in the sur- rounding regions. The Hebrews call it (i:;n) Inviar, and the Greeks ifioinl, p/uiii.r. The finest-palm trees grow about Jericho and Engeddi; they also flourish in great numbers along the banks of .Tordan, and towards Scytho- polis. Jericho is by way of dislinction called " the cilv of palm-trees." It seems indeed to have been reccgnised as Ihe common symbol of the Holy Land ; for Judea is repre- sented on several coins of Vespasian, by a disconsolate woman silting under a palm-tree ; and in like manner, upon the Greek coin of his son Titus, struck on a similar occa- sion, we see a shield suspended on a palin-trce, « iih a vic- tory writing upon it. The .same tree is delineated upon a medal of Domilian, as an emblem of Neanolis or Naplosa, the ancient Sichem ; and upon a medal of Trajan, it is the symbol of Sepphoris, the metropolis of Galilee, From these facts it may be presumeii that the palm-tree was formerly much cultivated in Palestine. Several of them slill grow ill Ihe neighbourhood of Jericho, which abounds with water, where ihe climale is warm, and the soil sandy; a siluation in which they delight, and where they rise to full maturity. But at Jcnisalem, Sichem, and olher places to the northward, two or three of ihem are rarely seen together; and even these, as their fruit seldom or never Ps. 92—102. PSALMS. 405 comes to maturity, are of no further service than, like the palm-tree of Deborah, to shade the dwellmgsof the parched mhabitants, or to supply them with branches at the solemn festival. The present condition and quality of palm-trees in Canaan, leads us to conclude, that they never at any time were either very numerous or fruitful in that country. The opinion that Plienice is the same with a country of date- trees, does not appear probable; for if such a valuable plant had ever been cultivated in Palestine with success, it would have been cultivated down to the present times, as in Egypt and in Barbary. In these countries the traveller meets with large plantations of palm-trees on the seacoast, as well as in the interior; although those only which grow in the sandy deserts of Sahara, and the regions of Getulia, and the Jereeda, bring their fruit to perfection. They are propagated chieHy from young shoots taken from the roots of full-grown trees; which, if well transplanted and taken care of, will yield their fruit in the sixth or seventh year; while those which are raised immediately from the kernel, will not bear till about their sixteenth year. This method of raising the ,ii, in English, the horned owl. The learned Bochart suspected that koua might denote the o?iocralaluf, thus named from its monstrous cap or bag un- der the lower chap. It must be admitted, that l.mis might properly enough be given as a name to that bird, from this extraordinary circumstance in its form ; but after the most diligent inquiry, the writer has not been able to discover any difference between the pelican of the ancients, and the onocrotalus ; and as konth is mentioned in the same con- texts with kims; and rendered in the ancient versions either the pelican or onocroldhif, kovs, in his opinion, must have a diiierent meaning. This idea receives no little confirm- ation from a passage in the bund red and. second Psalm, where kous is followed in construction by haraholh, and signifies kmi$, not of the desert, as we render it, but of the desolate or ruined buildings; which exactly corresponds with the habits of the owl, but does not seem so applicable to the nnocrolahts, or pelican. Buflbn calls the horned owl the eagle of the night, and the sovereign of that tribe of birds which shun the light of day, and never fly but in the even- ing, or after it is dark. But, as a description of it is con- nected with the illustration of no pa.s.sage of scripture, it falls not within the design of this work. The voice of the horned owl is said to be frightful, and is often heard re- sounding in the silence of night ; which is the season of his activity, when he flies abroad in search of his prey. He inhabits the lonely rocks or deserted towers on the sides of the mountains; he seldom descends into the plain, and never w^iUingly perches upon trees. The dreary and fright- ful note of the owl sounding along the desert, and alarming or terrifying the birds that are reposing in their nests, rep- resents, in a very striking manner, the deep and lonely af- flictions of the royal Psalmist, and the aflecting complaints which his distresses wrung from his bosom. Yansvph is another term which our translators render the owl ; it occurs only three times in the sacred volume, and is derived from the verb nnt/inji/i, to blow, or from ne- s/icji/i, the twilight or the dawn. It is supposed to denote a species of owl, which flics about in the twilight ; and is the same as the twilight bird. But of this interpretation Park- hurst disapproves, contending, that since the yansiiph is clearly mentioned by Moses among the water-fowls, and the Seventy have in two passages rendered it by ibis, it should seem to mean some kind o( water-fowl, resembling the bird of that nam.e; and from its derivation, remarkable for its blowing. And of such birds, he .says, the mcst emi- nent .seems to be the bittern, which, in the north of Eng- land, is called the mire-drum, from the noi*-e it makes, which mav be heard a huig way ofl". But the t>pinion of Bochart, that it denotes the owl, is more probable; because the owl delights in the silent desert, where little or no wa- ter is to be found; while ilic ibis is an aquatic bird, whose instincts lead it to the lake, or running stream. In the thirty-fourth chapter of Isaiah, the vntifiiph is mentioned as frequenting the tiesolated land of Isdoni, which, according to Dr. Shaw, is remarkably destitute of water, and by con- sci|ucnce, quite improper for the abode of a water-fowl, which feeds on fish. It is admiltted that the kmil/i, or peli- can, another water-fowl, is mentioned in the same text Ps. 102—104. PSALMS, 407 with yansiipk; that all the larger water-fowls are extreme- ly shy ; that they sometimes build their nests in retired places, a long way from the water where they seeU their food; and that even the common heron will come at least twelve or fourteen miles, and perhaps much farther, from her usual residence, to the lakes and stream* which abound with fish. But no argument can be founded on the ar- rangements of scripture, in matters of this kind ; because the inspired writers do not always observe a strict order, or scientific classification. It ought also to be remember- ed, that in the passage quoted from Isaiah, the yansuph is connected with the r^en, which is not an aquatic bird. The owl and the raven are associated with greater. propri- ety in scenes of desolation, to which they have been assign- ed by the common suflfrage of mankind, and accordingly re- garded as inauspicious birds, and objects of fear and aver- sion : — "Foeilacme fit volucris venturi nuntia luctus Ignavus oubo diruru mortalibus omen." — Ovid. The presence of the owl and the raven, two hateful birds, in company with the cormorant and the bittern, greatly heighten the general effect of the picture delineated by the prophet: " But the cormorant and the bittern shall possess It; the owl also and the raven .shall dwell in it; and he shall stretch out upon it the line of confusion, and the stones of emptiness." — Paxton. Ver. 7. 1 watch, and am as a sparrow alone upon the house-top. Brookes says of this bird, " It usually sits alone on the tops of old buildings and roofs of churches, singing very sweetly, especially in the morning; and is an oriental bird." — Border. The sparrow has been considered by some interpreters as a solitary moping bird, which loves to dwell on the house-top alone ; and so timid, that she endeavours to con- ceal herself in the darkest corners, and passes the night in sleepless anxiety. Hence they translate the words of the Psalmist : " I watch, and am as a sparrow alone upon the house-top." But her character and manners by no means agree with their description. She is a pert, loquacious, bustling creature, which, instead of courting the dark and solitary corner, is commonly found chirping and fluttering about in the crowd. The term in this text, therefore, must be understood in its general sense, and probably refers to some variety of the owl. Jerome renders it, I was as a sol- itary bird on the roof The Hebrew text contains nothing which can with propriety stiggest the sparrow, or any sim- ilar bird; and indeed, nothing seems to be more remote from the mind of David: all the circumstances seem to indicate some bird of the night; for the Psalmist, bending under a load of severe aflBiction, shuns the society of men, and mingles his unceasing groans and lamentations with the mournful hootings of those solitary birds which disturb the lonely desert. " By reason of the voice of my groaning, my bones cleave to my skin ; I am like a pelican of the wilderness; I am like an owl of the desert." He then pro- ceeds with his comparison: "I watch, and am as a bird upon the house-top alone ;" I watch, that is, I have spent a sleepless night: or, as it is paraphrased in the Chaldee, I have watched the whole nignt long, without once closing my eyes. Every part of this description directs our atten- tion to some nocturnal bird, which hates the light, and comes forth from its hiding-place when the shadows of evening fall, to hunt the prey, and from the top of .some ruined tower, to tell its joys or its sorrows to a slumbering world. But, with what propriety can the sparrow be called a solitary bird, when it is gregarious, and, so far from lov- ing solitude, builds her nest in the roofs of our dwellings ? Natural historians mention two kinds of this bird, one do- mestic, and the other wild. But the wild sparrow does not repair for shelter, like her relative, mentioned by David, to the human dwelling; she never takes her .station on the house-top, but seeks a home in her native woods. If the allusion, therefore, be made to the sparrow, it must be to the domestic, not to the wild species. It is in vain to argue, that the domestic sparrow may be called solitary, when she is deprived of her mate ; for she does not, like the turtle, when she loses her spouse, remain in a state of inconsola- ble widowhood, but accepts, without reluctance, the first companion that solicits her affections. Hence the Psalm- ist undoubtedly refers to some species of the owl, whose dreary note and solitary dispositions, are celebrated by almost every poet of antiquity. — Paxton. Ver. 11. My days are like a shadow that declineth ; and I am withered like grass. " My days are like the declining shadow," says the old man : "my shadow is fast declining:" siyanthu, siyanlhu, declining, declining. " I am withered." Indran, the king of heaven, said of himself and others. They were withered by the mandates of Sooran. "Alas! his face and heart are withered." " My heart is withered, I cannot eat my food." " Sorrow, not age, has withered my face." " Alas ! how soon this blossom has withered." — Roberts. Ver. 26. They shall perish, but thou shall endure; yea, all of them shall wax old like a garment ; as a vesture shah thou change them, and they shall be changed. It is reckoned in the East, according to Dr. Pocockc, a mark of respect often to change their garments, in the time of a visit for a night or two. He expresses himself, however, with obscurity and some uncertainly; but it is made certain by the accounts of other travellers, that it is a matter of state and magnificence. So Thevenot tells us, that when he saw the grand seignior go to the new mosque, he was clad in a satin doliman of a flesh colour, and a vest of almost the same colour ; but when he had said his prayers, then he changed his vest, and put on one of a particular kind of green. At another time he went to ihe mosque in a vest of crimson velvet, but returned in one of a fired satin. To this frequent change of vestments among the great, possibly the Psalmist alludes, when, speaking of the Lord of all, he sa)'s. The heavens, unchangeable as they are, when compared with the productions of the earth, shall perish, while he shall remain ; yea, they shall be laid aside, in comparison of his immortality, as soon as a gar- ment grows old ; or rather, this change which they .shall undergo, shall come on more speedily, with respect to his eternity, than the laying aside of a vestment which kings and princes change often in a day. The changing of clothes is a piece of eastern magnificence : how wonder- fully sublime, then, in this view, is this representation of the grandeur of God, " Thou shalt change these heavens as a prince changes his vesture." — Harmes. PSALM cm. Ver. 15. As for man, his days are as grass; as a flower of the field, so he flourisheth. See on 2 Kings 19. 7. Ver. 16. For the wind passeth over it, and it is gone ; and the place thereof shall know it no more. See on Est. 1. 5, 6. PSALM CIV. Ver. 2. Who coverest thyself with light as ivith a garment ; who stretchest out the heavens like a curtain. It is usual in the summer season, and upon all occasions when a large company is to be received, to have the court of the house (which is the middle of an open square) shel- tered from the heat of the weather by an umbrella or veil, which, being expanded upon ropes from one side of the parapet-wall to the other, may be folded or unfolded at pleasure. The Psalmist seems to allude to some covering of this kind in that beautiful expression of " stretching out the heavens like a curtain." — Shaw. Ver. 10. He sendeth the springs into the valleys, which nm among the hills. 11. They give drink to every beast of the field : the wild asses quench their thirst. See on Job 39. 5. 40S PiiALMS. Pb. 104. Ver. \7. Where the birds make their nests: «s for the stork, the fir-trees are Iser house. This bird has long been celebrated for her amiable and pioiis disposition, in which she has no rival amonj; the feathered race. Her Hebrew name is r/iasida, which sig- nifies pious or benign ; to the honour of which, her char- acter and habits, as descritied by the pen of antiquity, prove her to be fully entitled. Her kind, benevolent lerii- per, she discovers in feeding her parents in the time of incubation, when they have not leisure to seek their food, or when lliev have become old, and unable to provide for themselves. This attention of the stork to her parents is confirmed by the united voice of antiquity ; and we find nothing in the scriptures to invalidate the testimony. She was classed by the Jewish lawgiver among the unclean birds, probably because she feeds on serpents, and other venomous animals, and rears her young by means of the .same species of food. In the challenge which the Almighty addressed to .Tob, the wings and feathers of the ostrich are compared with those of the stork: "Gavesl thou the goodly wings unto Ihc peacocks, or wings and feathers unto the ostrich ;" or, as it is rendered by the leartird Bochart, and after him by Dr. Shaw, "the plumage of the stork." Nat- ural historians inform us, that the wings are tipped with black, and a part of the head and thighs are adorned with feathers of the same colour ; the rest of the body is white. Albert .^ays, the stork has black wings, the tail and other parts white; while Turner asserts, that the wings are white, spotted with black. From these different accounts, it is evident that the feathers of the stork are black and while, and not always disposed in the same manner. Slie con- structs her nest with admirable .skill, of dry twigs from the forest, and coarse grass from the marsh ; liut wisely yield- ing to circumstances, she does not confine herself to one situation. At one time she selects for her dwelling the pinnacle of a deserted lower, or the canal of an ancient aqueduct ; at another, the roof of a church or dwelling- house. She frequently retires from the noise and bustle of the town, into the circumjacent fields; but .she never builds her nest on the ground. She chooses the highest tree of the forest for her dwelling ; but always prefers the fir, when it is equally suitable to her purpose. This fact is clearly stated by the Psalmist, in his meditation on the power of God : " As for the stork, the fir-trees are her nouse." In another passige, the Psalmist calls the nest of the sparrow her house: "Yea, the sparrow hath found a house, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young." But the term house is not used in these pa.ssages, merely by a figure of speech ; if the descrip- tion of ancient writers be true, it is in every respect the most proper and expressive that can be .selected. The stork chooses the site of her dwelling with much care and intelligence; she combines her materials with great art, and pro.secutes her plan with surprising exactness. After the structure is finished, she examines it on all sides, tries its firmness and solidity, supplies any defect she may dis- cover, and with admirable industry, reduces with her bill an unsightly projection, or ill-adjusted twig, till it perfectly corresponds with her instinctive conception of safety, neat- ness, and comfort. The inspired writer alludes to this bird, with an air of con.stant and intimate acquaintance : " As for the .stork, the fir-tree is her house." We learn from the narrative of Doubdan, that the fields between Cana and Nazareth are covered with numerous flocks of them, each flock contain- ing, according to his computation, more than a thousand. In some parts, the ground is entirely whitened by them ; and on the wing they darken the air like a congeries of clouds. At the approach of evening, they retire to roost on the trees. The inhabitants carefully abstain from hurt- ing them, on account of their important services in clearing the country of venomous animals. The annual migr,ation of this bird did not escape the notice of the prophet Jere- miah, who employs it with powerful effect for the purpose of exposing the stupidity of God's ancient people : " Yea, the stork in the heaven knoweth her appointed time, and the turtle, the crane, and the swallow, observe the time of their coming; but my people know not the judgment of the Lord." They know, with unerring precision, the time when it is neccs.sary for them to remove from one place lo another, and the region whither they are to bend their llight ; but the people of God, that received many .special revelations from heaven, and enjoyed the continual in- structions of his prophets, had become so depraved, that they neither understood the meaning of mercies nor judg- ments ; they knew not how to accommodate themselves to either, nor to answer the design of heaven in such dispen- sations ; they knew not the signs of their limes, nor what they ought to do. The stork, ihat had neither instrucler lo guide her, nor reason to reflect, and judgment lo deter- mine, what was proper lo be done, found no difficulty in discerning the precise time of her departure and return. — Paxto.n. Ver. 18. The high hills are a refuge for the wild goats, and the rocks for the conies. The wild goat, or ibex, belongs lo the same species with the domestic goat, and exhibits nearly the same character and dispositions. His Hebrew name, yaala, from a verb which signifies lo ascend, indicates one of the strongest habits implanted in his nature, lo scale the loftiest pinnacle of the rock, and the highest ridge of the mouniams. He takes his station on the edge of the .steep, and seems to de- light in gazing on thegulf below, or surveying the immense void before him. Those frightful precipices which are in- accessible lo man, and other animals, where the most adventurous hunter dares not follow him, are his favourite haunts. He sleeps on their brow ; he sports on iheir small- est projections, secure from the attack of his enemies. These facts were observed by the shepherds of the East, recorded by the pen of inspiration, and celebrated in the songs of Zion : " The high hills are a refuge for the wild goals." In the expostulation which Jehovah addressed to Job, they are called "the wild goats of the rock;" because it is the place which the Creator has appointed for their proper abode, and lo which he has adapted all their dispo- sitions and habits. The dreary and frightful precipices, which frown over the Dead Sea, towards the wilderness of Engedi, the inspired historian of David's life calls em- phatically " the rocks of the wild goats," as if accessible only to those animals. The ibex is distinguished by the size of his horns. No creature, .saj's Gesner, has horns so lar|:e as those of tie mountain goat, for they reach from his head as far as his buttocks. Long before his time, Pliny remarked, that the ibex is a creature of wonderful swiftness, although its head is loaded with vast horns. According lo Scaliger, the horns of an elderly goat are sometimes eighteen pounds weight, and marked by twenty-four circular prominences, the indi- cations of as many years. The horns of the ibe.v, accord- ing to the Chaldee interpreter, are mentioned by the prophet among the valuable commodities which enriched the mer- chants of Tyre, in the days of her prosperity : " The men of Dedan were thy merchants ; many isles were the mer- chandise of thy hand ; they brought ihee for a present, horns of ivory and ebony." It is certain Ihat ihe horns of this animal were greatly esteemed among the ancients, on account of the various useful purposes to which they were converted. The Cretan archers had them manufactured into bows; and the votaries of Bacchus, into large cups, one of which, says vElian, could easily hold ihree measures. The conjecture of Bochart is therefore extremely prol)able, Ihat the \i,n\.>< of Homer, is the ibex of the Latins ; for he calls it a wild goat, says that it was taken among the rocks, and had horns of sixteen palms, of which ihe bow of Pan- darus was fabricated. We may conclude from the wisdom and goodness of God, which shine conspicuously in all his works, Ihat the enormous horns of the ibex are not a use- less encumbrance, but, in some respects, necessary to its safely and comfort. The Arabian writers aver, that when it sees ihe hunter approach the lop of the rock, where it ■ happens to have taken its station, and has no other way of ■ escape, turning on its back, it throws iLself down the pieci- ■ pice, at once defended by its long bending horns from the projections of the rock, and saved from being dashed in pieces, or even hurl by the fall. The opinion of Pliny is more worthy of credit, thai the horns of tne ibex serve as a poise to its bmly in its perilous excursions among the pre- cipitous rocks, or when it attempts to leap from one crag to another. The feats which it is said to perform among the Alpine summits, are almost incredible; one fact, however, seems lo be certain, thai in bounding from one height to Ps. 104. PSALMS. 409 another, it far surpasses all the other varieties of the spe- cies. To hunt the ibe.x has been justly reckoned a most perilous enterprise, which frequently terminates in the hunter's destruction. These facts place in a very strong light the extreme dangers which at one time compelled David to seek a refuge from the pursuit of his infatuated father-in-law, among the rocks of the wild goats ; and, at the same time, the bitter and implacable spirit which prompted Saul to follow him in places so full of peril. The Hebrew name of the cony is derived from a verb which signifies to hide, and seems to indicate a creature of a timid and harmless disposition. Unable to avoid or en- counter the various dangers to which it would be exposed in the plain, it seeks a shelter among the rocks, in the fis- sures of which it hides itself from the pursuit of its ene- mies. This circumstance is attested by the sacred writer, in one of the songs of Zion : " The high hills are a refuge for the wild goats, and the rocks for the (=':£W) shaphans." The choice which the shaphan makes of the rock for the place of its abode, is mentioned by Solomon as a proof of sagacity : " The shaphans are but a feeble folk, yet make they their houses in the rocks." It is evident from these words also, that the shaphan is a gregarious animal, al- though they afford us no hint from which the numbers which constitute their little communities may be inferred. To what particular animal the name shaphan really be- longs, has been much disputed among the learned. In our version it is rendered by the word cony or rabbit ; in which our translators have followed the greater part of modern interpreters. Several circumstances seem to fa- vour this interpretation ; it is twice connected in the law of Moses with the hare, as if it were a kindred animal ; the noun in the plural is rendered hare by the Seventy, in which they have been followed by many ancient inter- preters of great name : the meaning of shaphan seems to correspond with the timidity of the rabbit; and it is certain that the Rabbinical writers formerly interpreted the origi- nal word in this manner. Besides, the rabbit is a gregari- ous animal, of a diminutive size, and found in great num- bers in the plain of Jericho. But these facts are not sufficient to establish the point for which they are brought forward ; for, instead of seeking a habitation in the fissures of the rocks, the rabbit delights to burrow in the sandy downs. Sometimes, indeed, he digs a receptacle for him- .self in rocky eminences, where the openings are filled with earth, bat he generally prefers a dwelling in the sand, a situation for which he is evidently formed by nature. The words of David clearly show, that the instincts and habits of the shaphan, as naturally and constantly lead him to the rocks for shelter, as those of his associate impel him to rove among the mountains. He does not allude to an occa- sional residence, but to a fixed and permanent abode ; not to the wanderings of a few, but to the habitual choice of a whole species. But the rabbit as uniformly seeks the sandy plain, as the wild goat the summit of the mountain. The shaphan, according to Solomon, discovers great wis- dom and sagacity in retiring from the plain country, to the natural fastness which the almighty Creator has provided for iis reception ; but it is no mark of wisdom in the rabbit, that he forsakes occasionally the sandy plain, which he is naturally formed to occupy, and retires to the rocks, which are so little suited to his habits and manners. This is an act of rashness or folly, not of wisdom. The wise man is also noting the sagacity of a whole species, not of a ram- bling individual; but the species is to be found on the plain, not among the rocks. Nor is the rabbit a feeble creature; he runs with considerable swiftness ; and he is provided with the means of digging his burrow, which he employs with so great energy, particularly when alarmed by the approach of danger, that he buries himself in the sand with surprising rapidity. To exert his strength, ac- cording to e.visting circumstances, is all the sagacity which he discovers; and this, it must be admitted, is not peculiar to hiui, but common to the hare, the hedgehog, and many other animals. He betrays no foresight, except in prepa- ring his dwelling, and he is never known to supply the want of strength by any contrivance. The shaphan, as described both by David and Solomon, exhibits a very dif- ferent character, and therefore cannot be the same animal. But if we applv these characters to the daman Israel, or, as Mr. Bruce c.n'Us it, the nMcoko, the identity of this ani- mal with the shaphan of the scriptures will instan'ly appear ; " The daman is a harmless creature, of the same size and quality with the rabbit, and with the like incur- vating po.sture and disposition of the fore-teeth. But it is of a browner colour, with smaller eyes, and a head more pointed, like the marmot's ; the forefeet likewise are short and the hinder are nearly as long in proportion as those of the jerboa. Though this animal is known sometimes to burrow in the ground, yet he is so much attached to the rock, that he is seldom or never seen on the ground, or from among large stones in the mouth of caves, where he fixes his constant residence. He is grcgariou.s, as the wise man intimates, and lives in families ; he is a native of Judea, Palestine, and Arabia, and consequently, must have been familiar to Solomon, and other inspired writers. The royal Psalmist, in a passage already quoted, describes him with great propriety, and joins him with other animals, which were perfectly known in that country. Solomon favours us with a more detailed account of his character: " There be four things which are little upon the earth, but they are exceeding wise ; the sephanim are a feeble folk, yet make they their houses in the rocks." This exactly corresponds with the character which natural historians give us of the daman Israel, which they represent as equally feeble in body and temper. The toes of his fore- feet very much resemble the fingers of the human hand ; his feet are perfectly round, very pulpy or fleshy, liable to be excoriated or hurt, and of a soft fleshy substance. They are quite inadequate to dig holes in the ground, much more to force their way into the hard rock. Unable or afraid to stand upright on his feet, he steals along every moment as it were apprehensive of danger, his belly al- most close to the ground, advancing a few steps at a time, and then pausing, as if afraid or uncertain whether he should proceed. His whole appearance and behaviour in- dicate a mild, feeble, and timid disposition ; which is eon- firmed by the ease with which he is tamed. Conscious as it were of his total inability to dig in the ground, or to mingle with the sterner beasts of the field, he builds his house on rocks, more inaccessible than those to which the cony retires, and in which he resides in greater safety, not by exertions of strength, for he has it not, but by his own sagacity and judgment. Solomon has therefore justly char- acterized him as "a feeble animal, but exceeding wise." The Arabian writers confound the daman Israel with the jerboa, which seems to be a species of rat. It ruminates, builds its house on the rocks, or digs its abode in the ground, but always in some high and rocky place, where it may be safe from the influx of waters, and the foot of the wild beast. If we may believe the Arabic writer quoted by Bochart, these diminutive animals discover no little saga- city in the conduct of public aflairs, particularly in appoint- ing a leader, whose business it is to give them notice on the approach of danger, and who in case of neglect is punished with death, and succeeded by another more attentive to their safety. Mr. Bruce, on the contrary, contends with great earnestness, that the habits of the jerboa are quite different from those which Solomon ascribes to the sha- phan ; he asserts, that the jerboa always digs his habita- tion in the smoother places of the desert, especially where the soil is fixed gravel ; for in that chiefly he burrows, dividing his hole below into many mansions. He is not gregarious, like the shaphan, nor is he distinguished for his feebleness, which he supplies by his wisdom. Although, therefore, he ruminates in common with some other ani- mals, and abounds in Judea, he cannot be the shaphan of the scripture. Hence, it is probable, that the Arabian wri- ters improperly confounded the daman Israel, or shaphan, and the jerboa ; and t> may be considered as nearly certain, that the shaphan of Solomon is not the rabbit, but the daman Israel, which, though bearing some resemblance to it, is an animal of a diflferent species. — Paxton. Ver. 20. Thou inakest darkness, and it is night, wherein all the beasts of the forest do creep forth. Immediately after landing, we hired horses to conduct us to Fanskog, ten miles and a half, where we arrived at so neat an inn, and were withal so subdued by want of sleep and fatigue, that we rested for a few houi^s, writing our journals without candles half an hour after midnight, by a light that could not be called twilight; it was rather the 410 PSALMS. P.s. 105—110. glare of noon, bt'ing refleclcil .so .strongly from ihe walls and hou.ses, that it was painful to our eyes, and we began already to perceive, what we never fell before, thai dark- ness is one of those benevolent gills of Providence, the value of which, as conducive to repose, wc only become sensible of, when it ceases altogether to return. There were no shutters to the windows,and the continual blaze which sur- rounded us, wc could gladly have dispensed with, had it been possible. When we closed our eyes, they seemed to be still open ; wc even bounil (Pii them our handkerchiefs; but a remaining impression of brightness, like a .shining light, wearied and oppressed them. To this inconvenience wc were aflcrwaril more exposed, and although use rendered us somewhat less aireclcJ by it, it was an evil of which wc all complained, and wc hailed Ihe returning gloom of au- tumn as a comfort and a blessing. — Clarke. PSALM CV. ViT. 26. He sent Moses his servant, ami Aaion whom he had cliosen. Calmel says the word servant, among the Hebrews, " generally signifies a slave :" and Dr. A. Clarke says, (on Rom. i. 1, " Paul a servant of Jesus Christ,") the word iavXot, which we translate servant, properly means a slave, one who is the entire property of his master, and is used here by the apostle with great propriety. In eastern lan- guage the word used as expressive of the relationship of men to their deities is slave. " I am the ndumi" i.e. si.AVt:, " of the supreme Siva." " I am the devoted slave of Vishnoo." Hindoo saints are always called the ,s/«r«ofthe gods. The term servant is applied to one who is at liberlyto dispose of himseJf, in serving different masters : but not so a slave, he is the property of liis owner; from him he receives protec- tion and support, and he is not at liberty to serve another master; hence it is that the native Christians, in praying to the true God, and our Saviour Jesus Christ, always speak of themselves as slaves; they are not their own, but "bought with a price." — Roberts. Ver. 30. The land broujjht forth frogs in abun- dance, in the chambers of their kings. It is not difficult for an Englishman in an eastern wet monsoon, to form a tolerable idea of that plague of Egypt, in which the frogs were in the " houses, bedchambers, beds, and kneading-lroughs," of the Egyptians. In the season alluded to, myriads of them send forth their constant croak in every direction, and a man not possessed of overmuch patience, becomes as petulant as was Ihe licentious god, and is ready to exclaim, "Croak, rro-ik, inrteed I sliati choke If you pe.stcr ami bore my oars any more with your crnak, croak, croak." A new-comer, on seeing them leap about the rooms, be- comes disgusted, and forihwilhbegins an attack upon them, but the ne.\t evening will bring a rclurnof his active visiters. It may appear almost incredible, but in one evening we killed upwards of forty of these guests in the Jaflna Mission House. They had principally concealed themselves in a small tunnel connected with the hathing-room, and their noise had become almost insupportable. I have been amused when a man has been making a speech which has not given pleasure to his audience, to hear another per- .son ask, " What has that fellow been croaking about, like a frog of the wet monsoon V The natives al.so do us the honour of .saying, that our singing, in parl.s, is vorv much like Ihe notes of the large and su*ll frogs. The bass singers, say they, resemble the croak of the bull-frogs, and the other parts ihe notes of the small fry. — Roberts.' PSALM CVII. Ver. 5. Huncjry niiil thir.sty, their soul fainted in them. Many perish, victims of the most horrible thirst. It is then that the value of a cup of water is really felt ; he that has a zenzabia of il is the richest of all : in such a case, there is no distinction ; if the master has none, the servant will not give il to him ; for very few are the instances where a man will voluntarily lose his life to save that of another, particularly in a caravan in the desert, where people are strangers to each other. What a situation for a man, though a rich one, perhaps Ihe owner of all the caravans! He is dying for a cup of water; no one gives it to him ; he offers all he possesses; no one hears him; they are all dying, though by walking a few hours farther they might be saved. The camels are lying down, and cannot be made to rise ; no one has strength lo walk; only he that has a glass of that precious liquid lives to walk a mile farther, and per- haps dies too. If Ihe voyages on seas are dangerous, so are those in the deserts. At sea, the provLsions ver)' often fail; in the desert, it is worse. At sea, storms are met with ; in Ihe desert there cannot be a greater storm than lo find a dry well. At sea, one meets pirates; we escape, we sur- render, or die; in the desert they rob the traveller of all his property and water. They let him live, perhaps, but what a life ! lo die the most barbarous and agonizing death. In short, to be thirsty in a desert, without water, exposed lo the burning sun, without .shelter, and no hopes ol finding either, is the most terrible situation that a man can be placed in, and I believe that it is one of the greatest sufferings that a iuiman being can sustain. The eyes grow inflamed, the tongue and lips swell, a hollow sound is heard in the ears, which brings on deafness, and Ihe brains appear to grow thick and inflamed. All these feelings arise from Ihe want of a little water. In the midst of all this misery, the deceit- ful mirages appear before Ihe traveller, at no great distance, .something like a lake or river of clear fresh water. The deception of this phenomenon is well known, but il does not fail to invite the longing traveller towards that element, and to put him in remembrance of the happiness of being on such a spot. If perchance a traveller is not undeceived, he hastens his pace to reach it sooner : the more he advances towards it, the more it goes from him, till at last it vanishes entirely, and the deluded passenger often asks where is Ihe water he saw at no great distance. He can scarcely believe that he was .so deceived ; he protests that he saw the waves running before the wind, and the reflection of the high rocks in the water. (Belzoni.) — Burdeb. Ver. 1 6. For he hath broken the gates of brass, and cut the bars of iron in sunder. See on Acts 12. 10. PSALM CIX. Ver. 9. Let his children be fatherless, and his wife a widow. 10. Let his children be con- tinually \'a2abonds, and beg: let them seek their bread also out of their desolate places. Listen to two married men who arc quarrelling, you will hear the one accost the other, " Thy family will soon come to destruction." " And what willbecome of thine ?" rejoins the other : "I will tell thee ; thy w'ife will soon lake off her ikdli," which means she will be a widow, as the Md/i isthe marriage jewel, which must be taken off on Ihe death of a husband. " Yes, thy children will soon be beggars ; I shall see them at my door." — Roberts. Ver. 23. I am gone like the shadow when it de- clineth : I am tossed up and down as the locust. See on 2Chron. 7. 13. Dr. Shaw, speaking of the swarms of locusts, which he saw near Algiers, in 1724 and 1725, says, "when the wind blew briskly, so that these swarms were crowded by others, we had a lively idea of that comparison of the Psalmi.st, of being tossed up and doion as the locust." — Birder. PSALM ex. Ver. 1. The Lord said unto my Lord, Sil thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool. The host always places a distinguished guest on his right hand, because that side is considered more honourable than Ihe other. Hence the rank known by the name o{ ratang- kitiar, right-hand caste, is very superior to ihe idnngkiynr, or left-hand caste.— Roberts. Ps. 112—120. PSALMS. 411 PSALM CXII. Ver. 10, Tlie wicked shall see it, and be grieved; he shall gnash with his teeth, and melt away ; the desire of the wicked shall perish. An enraged man snaps his teeth together, as if about to bile tlie object of liisanger. Thus, in the hoo]i liamyamivi , the giant lidvanan is described as in his fury gnashing together his " thirty-two teeth !" " Look at the beast, how he gnashes )iis teeth." "Go near that fellow." — "Not I, indeed, he will only gnash his teeth." — Roberts. PSALM CXIII. Ver. 9. He maketh the barren woman to keep house, to be a joyful mother of children. Should a married woman, who has long been considered steril, become a mother, her joy, and that of her husband and Irienils, is most extravagant. " They called her Malady" i. e. barren, "but she has given us some good fruit." " My neighbours pointed at me, and said. Malady: but what will they say now V A man who manifests great delight, is said lo be like the barren woman, who has borne a child. Of any thing which is exceedingly valuable, it is said, "This is as precious as the sun of the barren woman," I. c. of her who had long been reputed barren. — Roberts. PSALM CXIX. Ver. 82. Mine eyes fail for thy word, saying. When wilt thou comfort me? Has a mother promised to visit her son or daughter, and should she not be able to go, the son or daughter will say, " Alas ! my mother promised to come lo me ; how long have I been looking for her"? but a speck has grown upon my eye." " I cannot see, my eyes have failed me ;" i. e. by lookin'gso intensely for her coming. — Roberts. Ver. 83. For I am become like a bottle in the smoke ; yet do I not forget thy statutes. Bottles are made of the skins of goats, sheep, and other animals ; and there are several articles preserved in them, in the same way as tlie English keep hogs' lard in bladders. Some kinds of medicinal oil, assafojtida, honey, a kind of treacle, and other drugs, are kept fur a great length of time, by hanging the bottles in the smoke, which soon causes them to become black and shrivelled. The P,-;almist was ready to faint for the salvation of the Lord : his eyes had failed in looking for H's blessing, and anxiely had made him like unio a skin botlle, .shrivelled and blackened in the smoke. — Roberts. Cups and drinking vessels of gold and silver were doubt- less used in the courts of princes. (1 King.s x. 21.) But in the Arab icnts leathern bottles, as well as pitchers, were used. These of course were smoky habitations. To this latter circumstance, and ihc contrast between ihe drinking utensils, the Psalmist alludes : " My appearance in my present state is as different from what ii was when I dwelt at court, as the furniture of a palace difiers from that of a poor Arab's tenl." — ITarmer. The eastern butllc is made of a goat or kid skin, stripped off, wiihoul opening the belly; Ihe apertures made by cutting off the tail and I e Li's are sewed up, and when filled, it is lied about the neck. The Arabs and Persians never go a journey without a small leathern bottle of water hanging by their side like a scrip. These skin bottles preserve their water, milk, and other liquids, in a fresher state than any »..iftlher vessels they can use. The people of the East, indeed, put into them every thing they mean to carry to a distance, whether dry or liquid, and very rarely make use of boxes and pots, unless lo preserve such things as are liable to be broken. They enclose these leathern bottles in woollen sacks, becausetheir beasts of carriage often fall down under their load, or east it down on the sandv desert. This method of transporting the necessaries of life has another advan- tage; the skin bottles preserve them fresher; defend them against the ants, and other in.sects, which cannot penetrate the skin ; and prevent the du. The Lord is thy keeper; the Lono is thy shade upon thy right liand. An umbrella is a very ancient, as well as honourable de- fence against the pernicious efi'ecls ol" the scorching beams of the sun, in those sultry countries; may we not then sup- pose this is that kind of shade the Psalmist refers to in the l'21st P-^alm '> ver. 5, "The Lord is thy keeper; the Lord is thy shade upon thy right hand." " The sun shall not smile thee bv day, nor the moon by night." Niehuhr, who visited the southern part of Arabia, gives us the following account of a solemn procession of the Iman that resides at Sana, who is a great prince in that part of Arabi.i, and considered as a holy personage, being descend- ed from Mohammed, their great prophet. " It is well known that the sultan at Coiislanlinople goes every Friday to the mosque, if his health will at all admit of it. The Iman of Sana observes also this religious practice, with vast pomp. We only saw him in his return, because this was repre- .sented to us as the most curious part of the .solemnity, on account of the lung circuit he then takes, and the great number of his attendants, after their having pcrl'ormed their devotions in other inosques The Iman was preceded by some hundreds of soldiers. He, and each of the princes of his numerous family, caused amdalla, or large umbrella, to be carried by his side, and it is a privilege which, in this country, is appropriated to princes of the blood, just as the sultan of Constantinople permits none but his vizier to have his kaik, or gondola, covered behind, to keep him from the heat of the .sun. They say that in the other provinces of Yemen, the independent lords, such, for example, as the sheiks of Jafi, and Ihose of Haschid u Bekil, the scherif of Abu Arisch, and many others, cause these milallas, in like manner, to he carried for their use, as a mark of their independence. Besides the princes, the Iman had in his train at least six hundred lords of the most distinguished rank, as well ecclesiastics as seculars, and those of llie mili- tary line, many of them mounted on superb horses, and a great multitude of people attended him on foot. On each side of the Iman was carried a flag, dilferent from ours, in that each of them was surmounted with a little silver vessel like a censer. It is said that within some charms were put, to which thev attributed a power of making the Iman in- vincible. Many other standards were unfurled with the same censer-like vessels, but without any regularity. In one word, the whole train was numerous, and in some measure magnificent, but no order seemingly was observed." It appears by the carvings at Persepolis," umbrellas were very ajiciently u.sed by tlie eastern princes ; charms, we have reason to believe, were at least as ancient : may we not, with some degree of probability, suppose then this 121st P.salm refers to these umbrellas, where the response made, probablv, by the ministers of the sanctuary, to the declaration of tlic king, in the two first verses, reminded him that Jkhovau would be to him all that heathen princes hoped for, as to defence and honour, from their royal um- brellas and their sacred charms, but hoped for in vain, as to them 1. " The Lord shall be thy shade on thy right hand. The sun shall not smite thee by day nor the moon by night." nARMKR. Ver. G. The sitn shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night. A meridian summer's sun in England gives but a faint idea of the power of this luminary in the East; and yet, even in this temperate climate, who has not been incon- venienced when exposed to his rays 1 But how much greater is his eflccl in India ! Sometimes " a stroke of the sun" smites man and beast with inslant death. The moon has also a pernicious effect upon ihose who sleep in its beams; and fish, having been exposed to them for one night, be- comes most injurious to those who eat it : hence our English .seamen, when sailing in tropical climes, alwavs take care to place their fish out of " the sight of the inoon.'^ — Robkrts. The very .severe cold of the nights in the East was ascribed by the ancients to the influence of the mocui, which they also supposed to be the origin of the dew. Macrohius stiys " that the nurses used to cover their sucklin;r< against the moon, that they might not, as damp wood which bends in the heat, get crooked limbs from the superabundance of moisture. It is also well known," continues he, " that he who has slept in the moonlight is heavy when he awakes, and as if deprived of his senses, and, as it were, oppressed by the weight of the dampness which is spread over his whole body." The same opinion of the injurious effects of the light of the moon upon the human body, still prevailed in the East Indies in later limes. Iwrgen Anderson, in his Description of the East, says, " One must here (in Batavia) take great care not to sleep in the beams of the moon un- covered. I have seen many people whose neck has become crooked, so that they look more to the side than forward. I will not decide whether it is to be ascribed lo the moon, as people imagine here." In some of the .southern pans of Europe the same opinions are entertained of the pernicious influence of the moonbeams. An English gentleman walk- ins in the evening in the garden of a Portuguese nobleman at Lisbon, was most seriously admonished by the owner to put on his hat, to protect him from the moonbeams. The fishermen in Sicily are said to cover, during the night, the fish which they expose to dry on the sea-shore, alleging that the beams "of the moon cause them to putrefy. — Rosen- MULLER. PSALM CXXII. Ver. 2. Our feet shall stand within thy gates, Jerusalem. O I think, so far as the sense is concerned, it does not mat- ter whether this be read in the past, present, or future tense ; for, in my opinion, the arguments on that subject are of little importance. I believe it to be a declaration of affec- tion for Jerusalem, in which the feet, as the instruments of going to the holy place, were in eastern style naturally as- sociated. The devout Hindoo, when absent from thesacrcd citvofSedambarum, often exclaims, "Ah! Sedambarum, my feet are ever walking in thee." "Ah! Sira-slolham, are not my feet in thee V A man who has long been absent from his favourite temple, says, on his return, " My feel once more tread this holy place." — Roberts. PSALM CXXIII. Ver. 2. Behold, as the eyes of servants look unto the hand of their masters, and as the eyes of a maiden unto the hand of her mistress; so our eyes wail upon the Lord our God, until that he have mercy upon us. The HAND is looked at as the member by which a supe- rior gives protection or dispenses favours ; and if tnis Psalm be, as some suppose, a complaint of the captives in Babylon, it may refer to the hand as the inslrnment of de- liverance. A man in trouble says, " I will look at the hand of my friend." " 1 looked at the hand of my mistress, and have been comforted." A father, on reluming from a journey, .says, " My children will look to my hands," i. e. for a present. Of a troublesome person it is said, " lie is always looking at my hands." A slave cf a cruel master says io his god, " Ah ! Swamy, why am I appointed lo look at his hands'!" — Roberts. The Easterns direct their servants very generally by signs — even in matters of consequence. The Cingalese intimate their wish for a person to approach, by bending the finger with the point towards the person wanted, as if to .seize him — quite in the opposite direction to the English wav of beckoning. To depart is signified by a side nod ; anil a frown by a front one.— Callaway. The servants or slaves in the East attend Iheir master* or mistresses with the profoundcst respect. Maundrell observes, that the .servants in Turkey sland round their master and his guests with the profoundcst respecl, silence, and order, imaginable. Pococke says, that at a visit in Egypt, every thing is done wiih the greatest decency, and the' most profound silence, the slaves or servants standing at the bottom of the room, with their hands joined before them, watching with the utmost attention eveiy motion of their master, who commands Ihcm by signs. De La Motraye says, that ihe eastern ladies are waited on "even at the least wink of the eye, or motion of Ihe fingers, and that in a manner not perceptible lo strangers." The Baron De Toll Ps. 124—127. relates a remarkable instance of the authority attending this mode of commanding, and of the use of siguilicant motions. "The customary ceremonies on these .occasions were over, and Racub (the new vizier) continued to discour.se familiarly with the ambassador, when the mnzar aga (or high provost) coming into the hall, and approaching the pacha, whispered something in his ear, and we observed that all the answer he received from him was a slight horizontal motion with his hand, after which the vizier instantly resuming an agreeable smile, continued the conversation for some time longer: we then left the hall of audience, and came to the foot of the great staircase, where we remounted ourhorses: here, nine heads, cut off, and placed in a row on the out- side of the first gate, completely explained the sign, which the vizier had made use of in our presence." Hence we discover the propriety of the actions performed by the pro- phets. Ezekiel was a sign to the people in not mourning for the dead, (chap, xxiv.) in his removing into captivity, and digging through the wall, (chap, xii.) Such conduct was perfectly well "understood, and was very significant. — BtTRDER. PSALM CXXIV. Ver. 7. Our soul is escaped as a bird out of the snare of the fowlers : the snare is broken, and we are escaped. A man who has narrowly escaped danger says, " My life is like that of the bird which has escaped from the snare." The life of a man is often compared to that of a bird. Thus, of him whose spirit has departed, it is said, " Ah ! the bird has left its nest ; it has gone away." " As the un- hatched bird must first burst from the shell before it can fly, so must this soul burst from its body." — Roberts. PSALM CXXV. Ver. 2. As the mountams are round abotit Jeru- salem, so the Lord is round about his people from henceforth, even for ever. The description which Volney gives of his approach to Jerusalem, furnishes no contemptible illtislration of this verse ; and as it is pleasant to compel an avowed infidel to illustrate and confirm the religion of Christ, which he detests, 1 shall subjoin his account. " Two days' jour- ney south of Nablous, following the direction of the mount- ains, which gradually become more rocky and barren, we arrive at a town, which, like many others already men- tioned, presents a striking example of the vicissitude of human affairs: when we behold its walls levelled, its ditches filled up, and all its buildings embarrassed with ruins, we scarcely can believe we view that celebrated metropolis, which formerly baffled the efforts of the most powerful empires, and for a time resisted the efforts of Rome herself; though by a whimsical change of fortune, its ruins now receive her homage and reverence: in a word, we with difficulty recognise Jerusalem. Nor is our astonishment less, to think ol' its ancient greatness, when we consider its situation amidst a rugged soil, destitute of water, and surrounded by dry channels of torrents and steep heights. Distant from every great road, it seems neither to have been calculated for' a considerable marl of com- meiTp, nor the centre of a great consumption. It however overcame every obstacle, and mav be adiluced as a proof of what popular opinion may effecl', in the hands of an able legislator, or when favoured by happy circumstances." The proud unbeliever hail found a shorter and easier road lo his conclusion, in tlie volume of inspiration; and par- ticularly in the passages quoted above, from the Psalms of David, who refers the singular prosperitv of Jerusalem to the peculiar favour of Heaven. This w'as the real source of her greatness, and it was this alone, and not the natural strenslh of her situation, nor the skill and valour of her defenders, which enabled her so long to baffle the designs of her enemies. — Paxton, PSALM CXXVL Ver. 2. Then was our mouth filled with laiifjliter, and our tongue with singing: ; then said they PSALMS. 413 among the heathen, The Lord hath done great things for them. " See that happy man ; his mouth is always full of laugh- ing, his tongue is always singing; he is ever showing his teeth." — Roberts. Ver. 4. Turn again our captivity, O Lord, as the streams in the south. This image is taken from the lorrenls in the deserts to the south of Judea ; in Idumea, Arabia Petreea, &c., a mount- ainous country. These torrents were constantly dried up in the summer, (Job vi. 17, 18,) and as constantly returned after the rainy season, and filled again their deserted chan- nels. The point of the comparison seems lo be the return and renewal of these (not rivers, but) torrents, which yearly leave their beds dry, but fill them again ; as the Jews had left their country desolate, but now flowed again into it. — Bp. HoRNE. Ver. 5. They that sow in tears shall reap in joy. 6. He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing- precious seed, shall, doubtless, come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves loith him. See on Ezek. 35. 4. These figures are taken from agricultural pursuits ; tne seed, being well watered, will produce a plenteous harvest. The Jews in their captivity had been sowing good seed, had watered it with their tears, and the time was now come for them to reap with joy, and to return with their sheaves re- joicing. It is proverbial to say to a boy who weeps because he must go to school, or because he cannot easily acquire his lesson, " My child, the plants of science require the water of the eyes." " If you .sow with tears, the profit will appear in your own hands." — Robert.?. The writer of the account of the ruins of Balbec, speak- ing of the valley in which it stood, observes, that it has very little wood ; and adds, " though shade be so essential an article of oriental luxury, yet Yew plantations of trees are seen in Turkey, the inhabitants being discouraged from labours, which produce such distant and precarious enjoy- ment, in a country where even the annual fruits of their in- dustiy are uncertain. In Palestine we have often seen the husbandman sowing, accompanied by an armed friend, to prevent his being robbed of the seed." The Israelites that returned from Babylon upon the proclamation of Cyrus, were in similar circumstances to husbandmen sowing their corn amidst enemies and robbers. The rebuilding of their towns and their temple resembled a time of sowing ; but they had reason to fear that the neighbouring nations would defeat these efforts. (Nehem. iv. 7.) In opposition to this apprehension the Psalmist expresses his hope, perhaps pre- dicts, that there would be a happy issue of these beginnings, to re-people their country. — Harmer. PSALM CXXVII. Ver. 4. As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man: so arc children of the youth. 5. Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them": they shall not be ashamed, but they shall speak with the enemies in the gate. The margin has, instead of speal; "subdue the enemies in the gate." In ancient books, and also among the learned (in common conversation,) sons are spoken of as thearrows of their fathers. To have a numerous male progeny is con- sidered a great advantage ; and people are afraid of offend- ing such a family, lest the arrows should he sent at them. What a fine fellow is the son of Kandan ! he is like an arrow in the hand of a hero."— Roberts. The Orientals are accustomed lo call brave and valiant sons the "arrows" and " darls" of their parents, because Ihev are able to defend them. " To sharpen arrows," " to make sharp arrows," is among them, to get brave and valiant sons. Merrick mentions a similar Chinese mode of ex- pression. " When a son is born in a family, it is customary 414 PSALxMS. Ps. 128—132. to hang up bows and arrows before ilic house, as a sign thai the fomily has acquired a di-fendcr." — Rosenmui.i.er. PSALM CXXVIII. Ver. 3. Thy wife shall be as a fruitful vine by the sides of thy house : thy children like olive- plants round about thy table. The people are exceedint;)y fond of having their houses covered wuh diflercnl kinds of vines ; hence may be seen various creepers thus trained, bearing an abundance of fruil. Many interesting figures, therefore, arc taken I'rom I)lanls which are thus sistained. A priest in blessing a married couple, often says, "Ah! may you be like the trees Canm- ViiUcii ar\A Cal-Pcisga-T/iaru!" These are .said to grow in the celestial world, and are joined together: the Cama-VaUcij, being parasitical, cannot live without the other. — U0BK11T.S. The natives of those countries are careful to decorate ilicir habitations with the choicest products of the vegetable kinsdoui. The quadrangular court in front of their houses, i'^ adurriod with spreading trees, aromatic shrubs, and fra- grant flowers, which are continually refreshed by the crys- tal waters of a fountain playing in the middle. To increase the beauty of the scene they cover tlie stairs which lead to the upper apartments with vines, and have often a lattice- work of wood rai.sed again.st the dead walls, upon which climbs a vine, or other mantling shrub. This pleasing i-uslom justifies Doddridge in supposing the occasion of our Lord's comparing himself to a vine, might be his standing near a window, or in some court by the side of the house, where the sight of a vine creeping upon the staircase orthe wall might suggest this beautiful simile. This kind of (prnament seems to have been very contmon in Judea, and may be traced to a very remote antiquity. From the fa- miliar manner in which the P.salmist alludes to it, we may suppose it wasoneof the decorations about the royal palace: " Thy wife shall be as a fruitful vine by the sides of thy house; tliv children like olive-plants round about the table. Behold, that thus shall the man be blessed that feareth the Lord." Kimchi, a celebrated Jewish writer, explains the psalm in the same way ; and observes, that a wife is eom- jiared to a vine, because that alone of all trees can be planl- I'd in a house. In confirmation of Kimchi's remark, Dr. Hussel .says, " It is generally true, if fruit-bearing trees bi- intended, as the vine is almost the only fruit-tree which is planted in the houses ; pomegranates are another." — Pax- ton. PSALM CXXIX. Ver. 3. The ploiio-hers ploughed upon my back ; they made long their furrows. " The enemies of Israel cut their backs, as the ploughers cut the soil." (Dr. Boothroyd.) When a man is in much (rouble through oppressors, he says, " How they plough me and turn mc up ! All are now ploughing me. Begone! have you not already turned me up 1" "Alas! alas! my enemies, nay, my children, are now ploughing me." — Rob- erts. Ver. 6. Lot them be as the grass upon the house- tops, which withereth afore it groweth up; 7. Wherewith the mower filleth not his hand, nor he lluit bindeth sheaves, his bosom. Sec on Ruth 2. 4, 5. The tops of the houses in Judea were flat, and so grass grew upon them, being covered with plaster of terrace. As it was but small and weak, and, heing on high, was exposed to the scorching sun, it was .soon withered. (Shaw.) Menochius savs, that he saw such roofs in the island of Corsica, flat, and having earth upon them, on which grass grew of its own accord ; but being burnt up in summer lime by the sun, soon withi'red. But what Olaus Magnus relates' is extraordinary. He says, that in the northern (iothic countries Ihcy feed their cattle frnin the tops of houses, cspeciallv in a time of siege ; that llicir houses are built of stone, high and large, and covered with rafters of fir and bark of birch: on this is laid gras.s-enrth, cut out of the fields four-.square, and sowed with barley or oat."!, .so that their roofs look like green meadows : and thai what is sown, and the grass that grows ihcreon, may not wither before plucked up, they very diligently water it. Maundrell says, that these words allude to Ihecustom of plucking up corn from the roots bv handfuls, leaving the most fruitful fields as naked as if nothing had ever grown in them ; and that this is done, thai they may not lose any of the straw, which is generally verj- short] and necessary for the sustenance of their cattle, no hay being made in that country. — BenoEn. In the morning the master of the house laid in a slock of earth, which was carried and spread evenly on the top of the house, which is flat. The wnole roof is'lhns formed of mere earth, laid on and rolled bard and flat. On the top of every house is a large .stone roller, for the purpose of hard- ening and flattening this layer of rude soil, so that the rain may not penetrate; but upon this surface, as may be sup- posed, grass and weeds grow freely. It is to such gra.ss that the Psalmist alludes, as useless and bad. — Jowitt. The reapers in Palestine and Syria make use of the sickle, in cutting down their crops, and according to the present custom in this country, "fill their hand" with the corn, and those who bind up the sheaves, their "bosom." When the crop is thin and short, which is generally the case in light soils, and with their imperfect cultivation, it is not reaped with the sickle, but plucked up by the root with the liand. By this mode of reaping they leave the most fruitful fields as naked as if nothing had ever grown on them ; and as no hay is made in the East, this is done, that they may not lose any of the straw, which is necessary for the sustenance of their cattle. The practice of reaping with the hand is perhaps involved in these words of the Psalmist, to which reference has already been made : " Let them be as the grass upon the house-tops, which withereth afore it groweth up; wherewith the mower filleth not his hand, nor he that bindeth sheaves, his bosom." The tops of the hou.ses in Judea are flat, and being covered with plas- ter of terrace, are frequently grown over with gra.ss. ^s it is but small and weak, and i'rom its elevation exposed to the scorching sun, it is soon withered. To prevent this, thev pluck it up lor the use of their cattle, with the hand. A more beautiful and striking figure, to display the weak and evanescent condition of wicked men, cannot easily be con- ceived. Thev are every moment exposed to the judgments of God, like the grass on the house-top, which is tossed by the breeze, and .scorched by the sun, and to the grasp of Omnipotence, which, weak and defenceless as they are, they can neither avoid nor resist. The sudden destruction of the wicked is described by the same writer, under another figure not less remarkable for its force and propriety : " I have seen the wicked in great power, and spreading him- self like a green bay-tree. Yet he pas.sed away, and, lo, he was not; yea, I sought him, but he could not be found." — Paxton. " Ah ! that wretched family shall soon be as withered grass." " Go, vile one, for soon -wilt thou be as parched gra.ss." — Roberts. PSALM CXXXII. Ver. 0. Let thy priests be clothed with righteous- ness; and let thy saints shout for joy. " See that excellent man ; he wears the garments of jus- tice and charily." — Roberts. Ver. 17. There will I make the horn of David to bud : 1 have ordained a lamp for mine anointed. " Yes, that man will flourish ; already his horn hasbegim to appear — it is growing." — Roberts. Ver. 18. His enemies will I clothe with shame; but upon himself shall his crown flourish. This idea seems lo be taken from the nature of the ancient crowns bestowed upon conquerors. From the earliest periods of hi.stoiy the laurel, olive, and ivy, fur- nished crowns to adorn the heads of heroes, who had con- quered in the field of bailie, gained the prize in ihe race, Ps. 133—141. PSALMS. 415 or performed some olher important service !o tlie public. These were the dear-bought rewards of the most heroic exploits of aiuiquily. This sets the propriety of the phrase in full view. The idea of a crown of gold and jewels flourishing, is at least unnatural: whereas flourishing is natural to laurels and oaks. These were put upon the heads of the victors in full verdure. (Pirie.)— Buhdeh. PSALM CXXXIII. Ver. 3. As the dew of Hermon, and as the dew that descended upon the mountains of Zion : for there the Lord commanded the blessing, eve?!, life for evermore. See on Ps. 89. 13. A great dilBcully occurs in the comparison which the Psalmist makes to the dew of Hermon, that fell on the hill of Zion ; which might easily be interpreted, if it had been observed, that the clouds which lay on Hermon, being brought by the north winds to Jerusalem, caused the dews to fall plentifully on the hill of Zion. But there is a Shihon mentioned in the tribe of Issachar, (Josh. xix. 19,) which may be the Zion spoken of by Eusebius and Saint Jerome, as near Mount Tabor; and there might be a hill there of that name, on which the dew of the other Hermon might fall, that was to the east of Esdraelon. However, as there is no certainly that Mount Hermon in that part is even men- tioned in scripture, so I should rather think it to be spoken of this famous mountain, and that Tabor and Hermon are joined together, as rejoicing in the name of God, not on account of their being near to one another, but because they are two of the highest hills in all Palestine. So that if any one considers this beautiful piece of eloquence of the Psalmist, and that liermon is elsewhere actually called Zion, (Deut. iv. 48,) he will doubtless be satisfied, that the most natural interpretation of the Psalmist would be to suppose, though the whole might be called both Hermon and Zion, yet that the highest summit of this mountain was in particular called Hermon, and that a lower part of it had the name of Zion; on which supposition, the dew falling from the top of it down to the lower parts, might well be compared m every respect to fke precious ointment iipon the head that ran down unto the beard, even unto Aaron's beard, and went down to the skirts of his clothing, and that both of them in this sense are very proper emblems of the blessings of unity and friendship, which diffuse themselves throughout the whole society. (Pococke.) — Birder. When Maundrell was in the neighbourhood of Mount Hermon, he remarked, " We were instructed by expe- rience, what the Psalmist means by the dew of Hermon, our tents being as wet with it as if it had rained all night," In Arabia, says Dr. Shaw, the dew often wets the traveller who has no covering but the heavens, to the skin ; but no sooner is the sun risen, and the atmosphere a little heated, than the mists are quickly dispersed, and the copious moist- ure which the dews communicated to the sands would be entirely evaporated. — P.\xto.m. PSALM CXXXV. Ver. 7. He causcth the vapours to ascend from the ends of the earth ; he maketh lightnings for the rain : he bringeth the wind out of his treasures. In Syria, lightnings are frequent in the autumnal months. Seldom a night passes without a great deal of lightning in the northwest, but without thunder; but when it appears in the west or southwest points, it is a sure sign of aii- iroaching rain, and is often attended with thunder. It las been observed already, that a squall of wind and clouds of dust, are the usual forerunners of the first rains. To these natural phenomena, the sacred writers frequently allude ; and in the preci.se order which has been marked in the preceding observations. The royal Psalmist, in a very beautiful strain, ascribes them to the immediate agen- cy of heaven : " He causeth the vapours to ascend from the ends of ihe earth : he maketh lightnings for the rain : he bnngelh the wind out of his treasures." The cisternsof the clouds are replenished by exhalations from every part ol the globe ; and, when they are ready to open and pour E out their refreshing showers on the parched ground the glad tidings are announced by the rapid lightning, and the precious treasure is scattered over the fields by the attendant winds; and that the sweet singer of Israel looked through nature with an accurate, discriminating eye, is confirmed by the concurring testimony of all ages.— Paxton. Russel says, that at Aleppo a night seldom pas.ses with- out lightning in the northwest quarter, but not attended with thunder. When it appears in the west or southwest points, it is a sure sign of the approaching rain; this light- ning is often followed by thunder. Thus " God maketh the lightnings for the rain ; and when he uttereth his voice, there is a multitude of waters in the heavens;" and as these refreshing showers are preceded by squalls of wind, " he bringeth forth the wind out of his treasure," Jer. li. IG.— Harmer. PSALM CXXXVII. Ver. 1. By the rivers of Babylon there we sat down ; yea, we wept, when we remembered Zion. See on Lam. 2. 10. Ver. 5. If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget her cunning. In the Hindoo book, Scanda-Purana, it is written, " Singa- Muggam, on seeing that his heart throbbed, the tears flowed, and his hands and feet forgot their cunning." "Yes; if I lose thee, if I forget thee, it will be like the losing, like the forgetting of these eyes and arms." — Roberts. The last words mean, may my right hand forget, refuse to perform its service ; namely, cease to move, be benumbed. A similar, and, as it appears, proverbial expression, is found in an old Arabian poem, in De Sacy's Chrestom Arab: "No, never have I done any thing that could displease thee ; if this is not true, may my hand be unable to lift my scourge ;" that is, may it be lamed. — Rosenmuller. PSALM CXXXVIII. Ver. 6. Though the Lord be high, yet hath he respect unto the lowly : but the proud he know- eth afiir ofl' This is truly oriental : " Nan avari veggu iooratila ar- rika-rain, i. e. I know him afar ofl^ Let him be at a great distance ; allow him to conduct his plans with the greatest secrecy; yet, I compass his path, I am close to him. You pretend to describe the fellow to me : I know him w^ell ; there is no need to go near to him, for I can recognise him at the greatest distance. See how he carries his head ; look at his gait; who can mistake his proud bearing"?" "How does your brother conduct himself?" — "I cannot tell, for he knows me afar off." — Roberts. PSALM CXL. Ver. 4. Keep me, O Lord, from the hand of the wicked ; preserve me from the violent man ; who have purposed to overthrow my goings. See on Ps. 91. 13. PSALM CXLI. Ver. .5. Let the righteous smite me ; it shall be a kindness: and let him reprove me; it shall be an excellent oil, which shall not break my head: for yet iny prayer also shall be in their calamities. Certain oils are said to have a most salutary eflfect on the head ; hence in fevers, or any other complaints which af- fect the head, the medical men always recommend oil. I have known people who were deranged, cured in a very short time by nothing more than the application of a peculiar kind of oil to the head. There are, however, other kinds, which are believed (when thus applied) to produce delir- ium. Thus the reproofs of the righteous were compared 4iG to excellent uil, which produced a most salutary cfTecl on the head. So common is this practice ot" anointing the head, that all who can afford it do it every week. But siransie as it may appear, the crown of the head is the place selected for chastisement. Thus owners of slaves, or hus- bands, or schoolmasters, beat the heads of the ofl'enders with their knuckles. Should an urchin come late to school, or forget his lesson, the pedagogue says to -some of the other boys, "Go, beat his head." " Begone, fellow! or I will beat thy head." Should a man be thus chastised by an inferior, he quotes the old proverb—" If my head is to be beaten, let it be done with the fingers that have rings on ;" meaning a man of rank. "Yes, yes ; let a holy man smite my head : and what of thatl it is an excellent oil." " My master has been beating my head, but it lias been good 3il for me." — Roberts. Ver. 6. When their judges are overthrown in stony places, they shall hear my wortis ; for they are sweet. Ainsworth, " Their judges are thrown down by the rock sides." In 'i Chronicles .xxv. 12, it is recorded that the chil- dren of Judah took ten thousand captives, "and brought them unto the top of the rock, and cast them down from the top of the rock, that they were all broken in pieces." It was a custom in all parts of the East thus to despatch criminals, by casting them down a precipice ; the Tar- peian rock affords a similar instance. But who were these judges'! probably those " men that work iniquity," as mentioned in the 4th verse. In the 5th verse he speaks of the salutary nature of the reproofs of the righteous, but in the 7th he seems to refer to the cruel results of having UNRIGHTEOUS judgcs ; foT in conscqucnce of their smitings he says, " Our bones are scattered at the grave's mouth, as when one cutteth and cleaveth wood;" i. e, their bones were like the fragments and chips scattered on the earth, left by the hewers of wood. Therefore these judges were to be " overthrown in stony places." — Roberts. Ver. 7. Our bones are scattered at the grave's mouth, as when one cutteth and cleaveth icood upon the earth. A remarkable expression of the Psalmist David, Psalm cxli. 7, appears to have much poetical heightening in it, which even its author, in all probability, did not mean should be accepted /iVcraHi/ ; while, nevertheless, it might be susceptible of a literal acceptation, and is sometimes a fact. — The P.salmist says, " Our bones are scattered at the grave's mouth, as when one cutteth and cleaveth vood upon the earth." This .seems to be strong eastern paint- ing, and almost figurative language; hut that it may be strictly true, the following extract demonstrates : " At five o'clock we left Garisana, our journey being still to the eastward of north ; and at a quarter past six in the evening arrived at the village of that name, vhose inhdbitanU had all perished irilh hunger the yearbeforc ; their wretched bmus being nil viilmried, and scaUercd upon the surface of the ground, where the rillage fnrmcrbj stood. We encamped amonn the bones of the dead ; iin space could be found free from them; and oh the 23d, at six in the morning, full of horror at this miserable spectacle, we set out for Teawa ; this was the seventh day from Ras El Feel. After an hour's travelling, we came to a small river, which still had water standing in some considerable pools, although its banks were destitute of any kind of shade." (Bruce.) The reading of this account thrills us with horror; what then must have been the sufferings of the ancient Jews at such a sight 1 — when to have no burial was reckoned among the greatest calamities; when their land was thought to be polluted, in which the dead (even criminals) were in any manner exposed to view; and to whom the very touch of a dead body, or part of it, or of any thing that had touched a dead body, was esteemed a defilement, and required a ceremonial ablution? — Taylor in Calmet. PSALM CXLII. Ver. 7. Bring my soul out of prison, that I may praise thy name ; the righteous shall coin pass PSALMS. Ps. 141—148. me about ; for thou shnlt deal bountifully with me. These people speak of afflictioD.s, difficulties, and sorrows, as so many prisons. " Iijo intha marryil eppo xmltu pome 7" i.e. "Aliis! when will this imprisonment goV exclaims the man in his diliiculiies. — Roberts. PSALM CXLIV. Ver. 12. That our sons viay be as plants grown up in their youth ; t/iat our daughters may be as corner-stones, polished after the similitude of a palace. Of a man who has a hopeful and beautiful family, it is said, " His sons are like shoots, (springing up from the parent stock,) and his daughters are like carved work and precious stones." — Roberts, Ver. 13. That our garners may be full, affording all manner of store: thai our sheep may bring forth thousands and ten thousands in our streets. The surprising fecundity of the sheep has been celebrated by writers of every class. It has not escaped the notice of the royal Psalmist, who, in a beautiful ascription of praise to the living and the true God, entreats, that the sheep of his chosen people might " bring forth thousands and ten thousands in their streets." In another song of Zion, he represents, by a very elegant metaphor, the numerous flocks, covering like a garment the face of the field; " The pastures are clothed with flocks ; the valleys also are cov- ered over with com ; they shout for joy, they also sing." The bold figure is fully warranted by the protiigious num- bers of sheep which whitened the extensive pastures of Syria and Canaan. In that part of Arabia which borders on Judea, the patriarch Job ipossessed at first seven thou- sand, and afler the return of his prosperity, fourteen thou- sand sheep ; and Mesha, the king of Moab, paid the king of Israel "a yearly tribute of a hundred thousand lambs, and an equal number of rams with the wool." In the war which the tribe of Reuben waged with the Hagarites, the former drove away " two hundred and fifty thousand sheep." At the dedication of the temple, Solomon offered in sacri- fice " a hundred and twenty thousand sheep." At the feast of the passover, Josiah, the king of Judah, " gave to the people, of the flock, lambs and kids, all for the passover- oflerings, for all that were present, to the number of thirty thou.sand, and three thousand bullocks ; these were of the king's substance." The ewe brings forth her young com- monly once a year, and in more ungenial climes, seldom more than one lamb at a time. But in the oriental regions, twin lambs are as frequent as they are rare in other places; which accounts in a satisfactory manner for the prodigious numbers which the Syrian shepherd led to the mountains. This uncommon fruitfulness seems to be intimated by Sol- omon in his address to the spouse : " Thy teeth are like a flock of sheep that are even sham, wOiich came up from the washing; whereof every one beareth twins, and none is barren among them." — Paxton. PSALM CXLVIII. Ver. 9. Mountains, and all hills ; fruitful trees, and all cedars: 10. Beasts, and all cattle; creeping things, and flying fowl : 11. Kings of the earth, and all people; princes, and all judges of the earth: 12. Both young men and maidens; old men and children: 13. Let them praise the name of the Lord : for his name alone is excellent; his glory w above the earth and heaven. Those who are unacquainted with oriental literature, sometimes affect to smile at the addresses which are made in scripture to animate and inanimate nature. " How ridiculous," say Ihev, "to talk alxiut the mountains skipping like rams, and the little hills like lambs !" but they know not that this is according to the figurative and luxuriant Ps. 149, 150. PSALMS, 417 genius of Ihe people of Ihe East. The proprietor of lands, forests, orcliards, and gardens, often exclaims, when walk- ing among them in time of drought, " Ah ! trees, plants, and flowers, tanks and cattle, birds and fish, and all living creatures, sing praises to the gods, and rain shall be given to you." — Roberts. PSALM CXLIX. Ver. 5. Let the saints be joyful in glory : sing aloud upon their beds. let them After the troops were assembled, a public sacrifice was offered upon the national altar, which was succeeded by a martial feast prepared for the whole army ; and to confirm their purpose ana inflame their courage, a hymn to Jehovah closed the festival. The hundred and forty-ninth psalm, was, in Ihe opinion of Doddridge, composed on such an occasion ; it was sung when David's army was marching • out to war against the remains of the devoted nations of Canaan, and first went up in solemn procession to the house of God, there, as it were, to consecrate the arms he put into their hands. On that occasion, the devout mon- arch called on his associates in arms (ver. 5) " to sing aloud upon their beds," that is, the couches upon which they reclined at the banquet attending their sacrifices, which gives a clear and important sense to a very obscure and dillicult passage. To these military sacrifices and banquets the people were summoned by the sound of two silver trumpets of a cubit long, according to Josephus, but, like ours, wider at bottom. These were blown by two priests, as the law of Moses required ; and they were sounded in a particular manner, that the people might know the meaning of the summons. Then the anointed for the war, going from one battalion to another, exhorted Ihe soldiers in the Hebrew language, no other being al- lowed on that occasion, to fight valiantly for their country, and for the cities of their God. Officers were appointed to give notice, that those whose business it was should make suSicient provision for the army, before they marched ; and every tenth man was appointed for this purpose. This arrangement was made by a resolution of the tribes, recorded in the book of Judges : " And we will take ten men of a hundred throughout all the tribes of Israel, and a hundred of a thousand, and a thousand out of ten thousand, to fetch victual for the people, that they may do, when they come to Gibeah of Benjamin, according to all the folly that they have wrought in Israel." Mr. Harmer contends, that " these men were not intended so much to collect food for 53 the use of their companions in that expedition, as to dress it, to serve it up, and to wait upon them in eating it." But although the difference is not very material, the suppo- sition that the tenth part of the .irmy was to forage for the rest is more natural, and at the same time more agreeable to the literal meaning of the text, which signifies to hunt the prey. — Paxton. PSALM CL. Ver. 3. Praise him with the sound of the trum- pet : praise him with the psaltery and harp. 4. Praise him with the timbrel and dance ; praise him with stringed instruments and or- gans. 5. Praise him with the loud cymbals ; praise him upon the high-sounding cymbals. Instruments of music were used in Ihe worship of the Most High God : and the Hindoos, in singing praises, and performing religious ceremonies to their deities, always nave the same accompaniments. Thus the trumpet and the " high-sounding cymbals," the timbrels, (which corre- spond partly with the tambarine,) Ihe harp, imj kiiinor, (also called kinnora in Tamul,) is a stringed instrument, played with the fingers: and maybe heard in all their tem- ples at the time of service. The devotee engaged in ma- king offerings often exclaims, " Praise him, O ye musicians ! praise him; praise the Swamy :" and great is their enthu- siasm ; their eyes, their heads, their tongues, their hands, their legs, are all engaged. At a marriage, or when a great man gives a feast, the guests go to the players on insiru- ments, and say, " Praise the noble host, praise the bride and the groom ; praise aloud, O cymbals ! give forth the voice, ye trumpets; strike up the harp and the timbrel; praise him in the song, serve him, serve him." — Roberts. Ver. 5. Praise him with the loud cymbals : praise him upon the high-sounding cymbals. The Hebrew word, which is here translated cymbal, sig- nifies rather, metal plates or basins. In the above passage, a larger and smaller kind are probably meant, both of which are still customary in the East. The latter are metal plates, castanets, such as the oriental female dancers take two on each hand, over one finger and the thumb. For military music, they have large plates of the same form. And these are those which are here called " high-sounding cymbals." — Bdhdeh. THE BOOK OF PROVERBS. CHAPTER I. Ver. 1. The proverbs of Solomon, the son of Da- vid, king of Israel. In those period? of remote antiquity, which may with the utmost propriety be styled the infancies of societies and nations, the usual, if not the only mode of instrijciion, was by detached aphorisms or proverbs. Human wisdom was then indeed in a rnde and unfinished slate : it was not digested, mcihodized, or reduced to order and connexion. Those who by genius and reflection, exercised in the .school rf experience, had accumulated a stock of knowledge, weie desirous of reducing it into the most coirpendious form, and comprised in a few maxims those observations which they apprehended most essential lo human happiness. This mode of insi ruction was, in trurh, more likely than any other to prove eflicacious with men in a rude stage of soci- ety ; for It professed not to dispute, but to command ; not to persuade, but to compel: it conducted them, not by a circuit of argument, but lea itnmediately to the approbation and practice of integrity and virtue. That it might not, how- ever, be altogether destitute of allurement, and lest it should disgust by an appearance of roughness and severity, .some degree of ornament became necessary ; and the instruciers of mankind added to their precepts the graces of harmony, and illuminated them with metaphors, comparisons, allu- sions, and the other embellishments of style. This manner, which with other nations prevailed only during the first periods of civilization, with the Hebrews continued to be a favourite style to the latest ages of their literature. — LOWTII. Ver. 6. To understand a proverb, and the interpre- tation ; the words of the wise, and their dark sayings. The people of the East look upon the acquirements of antiquity as being every way superior to those of modern times ; thus their noblest works of art and their sciences are indebted to antiquity for their invention and perfection. Instead, therefore, of their minds being enlightened and excited by the splendid productions of modern genius, they are ever reverting to the wisdom of their forefathers, and sighing over the lo.ss of many of their occult sciences. We, on the other hand, by contemplating the imposing achieve- ments of the present age, are in danger of looking with contempt on antiquity, and of pursuing with thoughtless avidity the novelties and speculations of modern inven- tions. Solomon could repeat " three thousand proverbs, and his songs were a thousand and five;" and many of the philos- ophers of the present age in the East have scarcely any other wi.sdom. Listen to two men engaged in argument: should he who is on the point of being foiled, quote an ap- posite proverb against his antagonist, an advantage is con- sidered as having been gained, which scarcely any thing can counteract. See a man who is pondering over some difficulty : his reason cannot decide as to the course he ought to pursue, when, perhaps, some one repeats a pnlla- mulU, i. c. an old saying: the whole of his doubts are at once removed, and he starts with vigour in the prescribed course. " Young man, talk not to me with infant wisdom, what are the sayings of the ancients ! you ought to obey your parents. Li.slen ! ' The father and the mother are the first deities a child has lo acknowledge.' Is it not said, ' Children who obey willingly are as ambrosia to the gods '!' " " Were you my friend, you would not an thus ; because, as the proverb says, ' True friends have but one soul in two bodies.' " "I am told you have been trying lo ruin me ; ' but will the moon be injured by the barking of a dogT" "You have become proud, and conduct yonr-elf like the upstart who must ' carry his silk umbrella to keep off the sun at midnight !' " " You talk about your hopes of some coming good : what say the ancients'! ' Expect- ATioN is the midday dream of life.'" " Cea.se lobe indolent, for, as our fathers said, ' Idleness is the rust of the mind.' " " That you have been guilty of many crimes I cannot doubt, as the proverb says, 'Will there be smoke without fireT Your wife has, I fear, led you astray, but she will be your ruin: what said the men of antiquiiy 1 ' As is the affection of a file for the iron, of a parasitical plant for the tree which supports it; so is the affection of a violent woman for her husband: she is like Ynma, (the deity of death,) who eats and destroys without appearing to do so.'" With these specimens, the English reader may form a tolerable idea of the importance which is attached to proverbs. — Roberts. Ver. 19. So are the ways of every one that is greedy of gain ; which taketh away the life of the owners thereof The words rendered " greedy of gain," denote one who cuts or clips off every scrap of money he possibly can. In the times of Abraham and Moses, and long afier, they used to weigh their silver, and, no doubt, to cut and clip off pieces of it, to make weight in their dealings with each other, as is practised by some nations, particularly the Chinese, to this day. — Bdbder. Ver. 26. I also will laugh at your calamity ; I will mock when your fear cometh ; 27. When your fear cometh as desolation, and your de- struction cometh as a whirlwind ; when distress and anguish cometh upon you. According to Savary, the south wind, which blows in Egypt from February to May, fills the atmosphere with a subtile dust, which impedes respiration, and brings with it pernicious vapours. Sometimes it appears only in the shape of an impetuous whirlwind, which passes rapidly, and is fatal to the traveller, surprised in the middle of the deserts. Torrents of burning sand roll before it, the firma- ment is enveloped in a thick veil, and the sun appears of the colour of blood. It is therefore with strict propriety that the sacred writers distinguish from all others the whirlwinds of the south, and with peculiar force and beauty, compare the sudden approach of calamity to their impetuous and destructive career. " I also will laugh at your calamity ; I will mock when your fear cometh : when your fear cometh as desolation, and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind : when distress and anguish cometh upon you." Whole caravans have been overwhelmed in a moment, by the immense quantity of sand which it puts in motion. The Arab who conducted Mr. Bruce through the frightful deserts of Senaar, pointed out to him a spot among some sandy hillocks, where the ground seemed to be more elevated than the rest, where one of the largest caravans which ever came out of Egv'pt was covered with sand, to the number of several thousand camels. This awful phenomenon Addison has well described in the fol- lowing lines, which he puts into the mouth of Syphax, a Numidian prince : — " Fo where our wide Numidian states extend, Sudden Ilie impetuous hurricanes tie.'jrend. Wheel through the air, in circ line eddies ptay. Tear un the sands, and sweep wliole plains away. The helpless traveller, with wiKi surprise, Sees the dry desert all around him rise. And, smoitacrid in the dusty whirlwind, dies."— Pjixtom. Chap. 3—6. PROVERBS. 419 CHAPTER III. Ver. 8. It shall be health to thy navel, and mar- row to thy bones. Tlie navel of an infant is often very clumsily managed in the East : hence it is no uncommon thing to see that part greatly enlarged, and diseased. The fear of the Lord, therefore, would be as medicine and health to the navel, causing it to grow and prosper. Strange as it may appear, the navel is often spoken of as a criterion of prosperity ; and Solomon appears to have had the same idea, for he mentions this health of the navel as being the result of trusting in the Lord, and of acknowledging Him in all our ways. He says in the next verse, " Honour the Lord with thy substance, and with the first-fruits of all thine increase : so shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wine." And this reference to the navel, as being connected with earthly prosperity, is com- mon at this day. Has a person arisen from poverty to af- fluence, it is said, " His navel has grown much larger." Should he insult the man from whom he has derived his prosperity, the latter will ask, " Who made your navel to grow 1" — Roberts. Medicines in the East are chiefly applied externally, and in particular to the stomach and belly. This compari.son, Chardin says, is drawn from the plasters, ointments, oils, and frictions, which are made use of in the East upon the belly and stomach inmost maladies; they being ignorant in the villages, of the art of making decoctions and potions, and the proper doses of such things. — Harmer. CHAPTER IV. Ver. 13. Take fast hold of instruction; let her not go : keep her ; for she is thy life. It is said of the filed will or purpose of those who take fast hold of learning or anyother thing, " Ah! they are like the hand of the monkey in the shell of the cocoa-nut j it will not let go the rice." " On the banks of a broad river there was once a very large herd of monkeys, which greatly injured the fields and gardens of the inhabitants. Several consultations were held as to the best way of getting rid of those troublesome ma- rauders: to lake their lives was altogether contrary to the religious prejudices of the people; and to lake them in traps was almost impossible, as the monkeys never approached any place without well examining the ground. At last it was determined to procure a sufficient number of cocoa- nuts; to make in each a small hole, and fill them with rice. These were strewed on the ground, and the people retired to walclv. 'he success of their plan. The offenders soon went to tfie place, and seeing the rice (their favourite food) in the nuts, they began to eat the few grains scattered about on the ground ; btit these only exciting their appetite, they each thrust a hand through the small hole into the nut, which was soon clasped full of rice. The hand now be- came so enlarged that it could not be withdrawn without losing its booty : to leave such a dainty was more than the monkey could consent to; the people therefore came for- ward, and soon seized their foes, as the cocoa-nut attached to the hand prevented them from gelling quickly out of the way. They were, therefore, all made pris mers, and fer- ried across the river, and lefl to seek their food in the wil- derness." " Take fast hold of instruction ; let her not go; keep her; for she is thy life." — Roberts. CHAPTER V. Ver. 18. Let thy fountain be blessed ; and rejoice with the wife of thy youth. 19. Let her be as the lovincf hind and pleasant roe; let her brea.sts satisfy thee at all times, and be thou ravished always with her love. The hind is celebrated for affection to her mate ; hence a man, in speaking of his wife, oflen calls her by that name. " Mv hind, my hind! where is my hind?" "Ala.s! my hind has fallen; the arrow has pierced her life." — Roberts. The hind of loves, and the roe of grace, in the language of the ancient Hebrews, mean, the amiable hmd and the love- ly roe. These creatures, it is generally admitted, in I he whole form of their bodies, and in all their dispositions and man- ners, are wonderfully pleasing. The ancients were partic- ularly delighted with them; they kept them in their houses; they fed thera at their tables with the greatest care ; they washed, and combed, and adorned them with garlands of flowers, and chains of gold or silver. The hind seems to have been admitted to all those privileges, except that of reposing with her master on the same couch, which must have been rendered inconvenient by the largeness of her size. If these things are duly considered, the charge of the wise man will not appear so singular ; to the ear of an Ori- ental it was quite intelligible, and perfectly proper. Let a man tenderly love his spouse ; relax in her company from the severer duties of life ; take pleasure in her innocent and amiable conversation ; and in fine, treat her with all the kindness, and admit her to all the familiarity, which the beauty of her form, the excellence of her dispositions, and the nearness of her relation, entitle her to expect. — Paxton. The Orientals still compare a beautiful woman to a hind, or the gazelle, which resembles the roe. " When the Arabs wish to describe the beauty of a woman, they say, that she has the eyes of a gazelle. All their songs, in which they celebrate their mistresses, speak of nothing but gazelle eyes, and they need only compare them to this animal, to describe, in one word, a perfect beauty. The gazelle is in fact a very pretty animal; it has something innocently timid about it, not unlike the modesty and bash- fulness of a young girl." (D'Arvieux.) Sparrmann says of the Cape or African gazelle, which is very nearly re- lated to that of Palestine, " This animal is, perhaps, the most beautiful of all gazelles, and is particularly distin- guished, as the gazelle in general, for its fiery and beauti- ful eyes : hence, in some parts of the East, it is properly considered as the greatest prai.se which can be bestowed on the beauty of a woman, to say, Thy eyes are like the eyes of a gazelle." — Rosenmcller. Ver. 19. Let her be as the loving hind and pleasant roe ; let her breasts satisfy thee at all times, and be thou ravished always with her love. See on 2 Sam. 2. 18. CHAPTER VI. Ver. 1. My son, if thou be surety for thy friend, if thou hast stricken thy hand with a stranger, 2. Thou art snared with the words of thy mouth. It was at first reckoned sufficient if the covenant was made in the presence of all the people ; but in process of time, the ceremony of striking hands was introduced at the conclusion of a bargain, which has maintained its ground among the customs of civilized nations down to the present time. To strike hands with another was the emblem of agreement among the Greeks under the walls of Troy ; for Nestor complains, in a public assembly of the chiefs, (hat the Trojans had violated the engagements which they had sanctioned by libations of wine, and giving their right hands. And in another passage, Agamemnon protests that the agreement which the Trojans had ratified by the blood of lambs, libations of wine, and their riglil hands, could not in any way be set aside. The Roman failh was plighted in the same way; for in Virgil, when Dido marked from her watch-towers the Trojan fleet .setting forward with bal- anced sails, she exclaimed. Is this the honour, the faith? " En dextra fidesque V The wise man alludes often to this mode of ratifying a bargain, which shows it was in gene- ral practice among the people : " My son, if thou be sure- ty lor thy friend, if thou nast stricken thy hand with a stranger, thou art snared with the words of thy mouth." Traces of this custom may be discovered in ages long an- terior to that in which Solomon flourished; for Job, in his solemn appeal to God from the tribunal of men, thus ex- presses himself: " Lay down now, put me in surety with thee ; who is he that will strike hands with me V — P.ixton. Ver. 5. Deliver thyself as a roe from the hand oj the hunter, and as a bird from the hand of the fowler. 420 PROVERBS. Chap. 7. Does a man complain of his numerous enemies, ii will be said, " Lean away, friend, as the duer from the .snare." " Fly off, tly off, as Ihe bird from Ihe fowler." " Go slyly lo ihe plaee ; and llien, should you see the snare, (ly away like a bird." — Roberts. Before dogs were so generally employed, the hunters were obliged to make use of nets and snares, to entani^le Ihe game. When the antelope finds it.self enclosed in the toils, terror lends it additional strength and activity ; it strains every nerve, with vigorous antf incessant exertion, to break the snare, and escape before the pursuer arrives. And such is the conduct which Ihe wise man recommends lo him who has rashly engaged to be surety for his neigh- bour : " Deliver thyself as (an antelope) from the hand of Ihe hunter, and as' a bird from the hand of the fowler." The snare is spread, the adversary is at hand, instantly exert all thy powers lo obtain a discharge of the obligation ; a momenl's hesitation may involve thee and thy family in irretrievable ruin. — Paxton. Vcr. G. Go to the nnt, thou sluggard: consider her ways, and be wise. The name of this ininute insect in Hebrew is (nVo:) »c- vialn, from a root which signifies to cut down; perhaps because the God of nature has taught it to divide or cut ofi' the top of the grain, which it lays up in its subterraneous cells for Ihe winter, to prevent their germination. This operation is attested by numerous ancient writers, among whom we observe the celebrated names of Pliny and Plu- tarch. It is at least certain, that Ihe ant cuts otfthe tops of growing corn, that it may seize upon the grain ; which may perhaps be the true rea.son of its Hebrew name. The ai- lusions tuthis little animal in the sacred writings, although not numerous, are by no means unimportant. The wisest of Tnen refers us lo the briglu example of its foresight and activity : " Go lo the ant, thou sluggard ; consider her ways, and be wise : which having no guide, overseer, or ruler, provideth her ineat in the summer, and galherelh her food in the harvest." Their uniform care and promptitude in improving every moment as il passes ; the admirable order in which ihey proceed lo the scene of action ; the perfect harmony wliich reigns in their bands ; the eagerness which Ihey discover in running to Ihe assistance of the weak or the fatiincd ; the readiness with which those thai have no burden yield ihe way to their fellows that bend under their loids, or whrn ihe grain happens to be too heavy, cut il in twi), and lake the half upon liieir own shoulders; furnish a striking example of industry, benevolence, and concord, to the human family. Nor should the skill and vigour ■which Ihey display 111 digsing underground, in building their houses, and in conslruciing their cells, in (illing their granaries with corn for the winter, in forming channels for carrving otV Ihe rain, in bringing forth their hidden slores which are in danger of spoiling by the moisture, and ex- Tn)sing them to the sun and air, be passed over in silence. These, and many other operations, clearly show how in- slruclivea teacher is the ant, even to men of understanding; and how much reason Solomon had to hold up its .shining example lo their imilalinn. We tin I another allusion lo ihe ant near the close of the same book : " The ants are a people not strong, yet ihey prepare iheir meal in the summer." Il is, according lo the royal preacher, one of those things which are little upon Ihe earih, bin exceeding wise. The superior wisdom of Ihe am has been recognised by many writers. Horace, in Ihe passage from which Ihe preceding quolation is taken, praises iis sagacity ; Virgil celebrates its foresight, in pro- viding for the wants and infirmities of old age, while it is young and vigorous : "atqtie inopi incliirns formica sonecia?." And we learn from Hesiod, that among the earliest Greeks il was called Idris ; that is, wise, because il foresaw the coining storm, and the inaiispirious day, and collected her store. Aristotle observes, that some of those animals wliiih have no blood, possess more iniclligence and sagacity Ihan some that have blood; amonj which are ihe bees and llie ants. Cicero believed that ihe ant is not only I'lirnished with senses, but also with mind, reason, and meinorv: " In formica non modo scnsus sed etiain mens, ratio, memoria"." Some authors go so far as lo prefer Ihe ant to man himself, on account of Ihe vigorous intelligence and sagacity which they display in all their operations. Allhough this opinion IS justly chargeable with extravagance, yet it must be ad- inilled, that Ihe union of so many noble (jualities in so small a corpuscle, is one of the most remarkable phenomena in Ihe works of nature. This is admitted by Solomon himself: " The ants are a people not strong, yc'l Ihey pre- pare Iheir meal in the summer." He calls them a people, because they are gregarious; living in a slate of society, though without any king or leader lo maintain order and superintend their affairs. The terra people is frequently applied lo them by ancient writers. iElian says, in a pas- sage already quoled, Ihat the ants which ascend Ihe stalks of growing corn, Ihrow down Ihe spikes which they have bit off, r(j fnfii,!, ri.i »iir(ii, tothc people, ihat is, the ants below. Apuleius, describing the manner in wliidi Ihe ants convoke an assembly of the nations, says, thai when ihe signal is given, Ruunt alias superque alitesepedum populorum undac. The wise man adds, ihey are not strong; that is, they are feeble insects ; nor is il po.ssible ihat great strength can re- side in so ininute a creature. Hence the Arabians say con- temptuously of a man that hasbecome weak and infirm, " he is feebler than the ant." — Paxton. Ver. 13. He winketh with his eyes, he speaketh with his feet, he teacheth with his fingers. See on Malt. (!. 3. It should be remembered, that when people are in their houses, they do not wear sandals; consequently their feet and toes are exposed. When guests wish to speak with each other, so as not to be observed by the host, they convey their meaning by the feel and toes. Does a person wish lo leave a room in company with another, he lilts up one of his feet ; and should ihe olher refuse, he also lifts up a foot, and ihen suddenly puis il down on ihe ground. " He teachelh with his finger.s." When merchants wish lomakea bargain in ihe presence of others, without making known Iheir lerms, ihey sit on the ground, have a niece of cloth thrown over ihe lap, and Ihen put each a hana under, and thus speak wilh the fiDgers! When ihe Bramins con- vey religious mysteries to their disciples, they leach wilh their fingers, having the hands concealed in Ihe folds of their robes. — Roberts. Ver. 27. Can a man take fire in his bosom, and liis clothes not be burnt? When an individual denies a crime of which he has been accused, it will he asked, " Will you put fire in your bosom 1" " I am innocent, I am innocenl ; in proof of which I will put fire in my bosom." Does a man boast he will do that winch is impossible, another will say, " He is going lo put fire in his bosom without being burned." — Roberts. Ver. 34. For jealousy is the rage of a man ; therefore he will not spare in the day of ven- geance. Jealousy is very common and powerful among the people of Ihe Ea.sl; and is frequently carried loan extent, of which we have no example in European countries. " AVhoever, in Persia, has Ihe misforlune lo see, or ihe imprudence lo look at, Ihe wife of a man of rank, were it but as she travels on ihe road, and al ever so great a dislance, is .sure lo be severely beaten by her eunuchs, and, perhaps, put lo death ; and to meet any of the king's concubines is such a capital crime, that, on a certain occasion, when the favourite queen happened, during the chase, to be overtaken by a storm, and uiuler the necessity of taking refuge in a hamlet, not one of the people wonlii let her majesty in, Ihat they might not have Ihe inisforluncof seeing her." (Micliaelis.) — Birpkr. CH.APTER VII \'er. lU. Anil, behold, there niet him a woman, inilh the attire of a harlot, and subtle of heart. Females of ihat class are generally dressed in scarlet; have Iheir robes wound lightly round their bodies; iheir evclids and finger nails are painted or stained ; and they w'car numerous ornaments. (J Kings ix. itO.) See on Isa. iii. Ill, and following verses. — Roberts. Chap. 9. PROVERBS. 421 Ver. 1 1. She is loud and stubborn ; her feet abide not in her house. In ancient Greece, the women were strictly confined within their lodgings, especially virgins and widows ; of whom the former, as having less' experience in the world, were more closely watched. Their apartment was com- monly well guarded with locks and bolts; and sometimes they were so straitly confined, that they could not pass from one part to another without permission. New-mar- ried women were almost under as strict a confinement as virgins ; but when once they had brought forth a child, Ihey commonly enjoyed greater liberty. 1 his indulgence, how- ever, was entirely owing to the kindness of their husbands ; for those who were jealous or morose, kept their wives in perpetual imprisonment. But how gentle and kind soever husbands might be, it was considered as very indecent for women to go abroad. A Jewess was not so much confined ; but still it was deemed improper for her to appear much in public ; for in Hebrew she is called (n-osp) iilmali, from a verb which signifies to hide or conceal, because she was seldom or never pennitted to mingle in promiscuous com- pany. The married women, though less restrained, were slill expected to keep at home, and occupy their time In the management of their household. In the book of Proverbs, the wi.se man states it as a mark of a dissolute woman, that " her feet abide not in her house :" while "every wise wo- man," by her industrious and prudent conduct, "bulldeth liCr house." " She looketh well to the ways of her house- hold, and eateth not the bread of idleness." — P.sxton. Ver. 16. I have decked my bed with coverings of tapestry, with carved works, with fine linen of Egypt. We are not to suppose that all beds were alike ; no doubt, when King David wanted warmth, his attendants woiiid put both luattresses below, and coverlets above, to procure it for him. Neither are we to understand, when a bed is the subject of boasting, that it consisted merely of the krahbaton, or ore!:h. In Pro. vii. 10, the harlot vaunts of her bed, as highly ornamented " with tapestry-work — with brocade I have brocaded — bedecked — my orcsh ; the covering to my duan (rather the makosf) is fine linen of Egvpt, embo-ssed with embroidery." This description may be much illustrated by the account which Baron De Toit gives of a bed, in which he was expected to sleep, and in which he might have slept, had not European habit incapaci- tated him from that enjoyment : " The time fortaking our re- pose was now come, and we were conducted Into another large room. In the middle of which was a kind of bed, irilh- oul bedslead or curlains. Though the coverlet and pillows exceeded in magnificence the richness of the sola, which likewise ornamented the apartiuent, I foresaw thai I could expect but little rest on this bed, and had the curiosity to examine its make In a more particular manner. Fifteen Viattre^aes of tinilled eoflon, about Ihrcc inches thick, placed ime vpon another, formed the ground-work, and were cov- ered by a sheet of Indian linen, sewed on the last mattress. A coverlet of i'rec); satin, adorned with gold, cmltroidrrcd in emho!i:it:d vork, was, In like manner, fastened to theshe(_'ls, tne ends of which, turned in, were sewed down alternately. Two larse pillows of crimson satin, covered with the like etnbroidern, in ndtich there van no vant of gold or spangles, rested on two cushions of the sofa, brought near to serve for a back, and Intended to support our heads. The taking of the pillows entirely away would have been a good re- source. If we had had any bolster; and the expedient of turning the other side upward having only .served to show they were embroidered in ihe same irianner on the botlom, we at last determined lo lav our handkerchiefs over tlicm, which, however, did not jirevenl our being very sensible of ihe embossed ornaments tmdcrneath." Heie we have (1.) many mallre.sses of (luilled collon : (2.) a sheet of Indian linen ; ((/ner!/, inuslln, or Ihe fine linen of Egypt ?) (3.) a coverlet of green salin, embossed : (•1.) two large pillows, embossed also: (.5.) two euslilons from the sofa, to form a back. So that wc see an eastern bed may bean article of furnilure sufficiently complii aled. This description, ctunpared with a note of De T^a Mo- traye, (p. 172,) leads to the supposilion, that somewhat like what he informs us is called MAK.\as, i. c. a brocaded cover- ing for show, is what the harlot boasts of, as being the upper covering to her minder, or orcsh. " On a rich sofa," .says he, " was a false covering of plain green silk for the same reason as that In the hall ; but I lifted it up, while the two eunuchs who were with us had their backs turned, and J found that the makass of the minders was a very rich brocade, icitha gold ground, and Jlowercd with silk of several colours, and the cushions of green relvet also, grounded vnlh gold, and Jloircred like thcnt.'^ Note, "The minders\\a\e two covers, one of which is called MAKASS,/or ornament: and the other to preserve that, especially when they are rich, as the.se were. ' This was in Ihe seraglio at Constantinople. It is perfectly in character for the harlot, who (Pro. ix. 14) "sits on a kind of throne at her door," and who in this passage boasts of all her .showy embellishment.s, to mention wtialever is gaudy, even to the lin.sel bedeekings of her room, her furniture, and her makasses, assuming nothing less than regal dignity in words and description : though her apartment be the way to hell; and the alcove containing her bed be the very lurking chamber of death. — Taylor in Cai.met. Ver. 27. Her house is the way to hell, going down to the chambers of death. See on Is. 22. Ki. CHAPTER IX. Ver. 1. Wisdom hath built her house, she hath hewn out her seven pillars: 2. She hath kill- ed her beasts ; she hath mingled her wine ; she hath also furnished her table : 3. She hath sent forth her maidens: she crieth upon the highest places of the city, 4. Whoso is simple, let him turn in hither : as fnr him that wanteth understanding, she saith to him, 5. Come, eat of my bread, and drink of the wine -which I have mingled. Hasselquist takes notice of wliat appears lo us an old cus- tom in Egypt, which he supposes is very ancient, though he does not apply it to the illustration of any passage of scripture ; it seems, however, to be referred to by Solomon in Ihe book of Proverbs. He saw, he .says, a number of women, who went about inviting people lo a banquet, in a singular, and, without doubt, very ancient manner. They were about ten or twelve, covered with black veils, as is customary in that country. They were preceded by four eunuchs; after thetu, and on the side, were Moors with their usual walking staves. As they were walking, they all joined in making a noise, which he was told signified their joy, but which he could not find resembled a jovful or pleasing song. The sound was so singular, as that he found himself at a loss li> give an idea of it to those that never heard it. Il was shrill, but had a parlicular quaver- ing, which Ihey learnt by long practice. The passage in Proverbs, which seems lo allude lo this practice, is Ihe beginning of the ninlh chapter: " Wisdom hath killed her beasis; slie halh mingled her wine; she halh also furnish- ed her table; she halh sent forth her maidens: she crieth upon I he highest places of the city. Whoso is simple, let him liirn in hilher: as for him thai wantelh understanding, she saith lo liiin, f'oine, eat of my bread, and drink of the wine which I have mingled." Here tlje reader observes, that the invilalion is supposed to be mai'e bv more than one person ; that they were of Ihe female sex thai were employed In the .service ; and that Ihe invilalion I;; supposed not lo have been, as among us, a pilvale message, but open lo the notice of all. Whether It was with a singing tone of voice, as now In Egypt, does not, delerminalely at leasl, appear bv the vord hei'e made use of, and which Is translated crieth: She rr/cM, by her marden-i, upon the highest places of the cit>/. It may not be improper lo add, that though the eastern people now eat oul of the dishes ofleutlmes, which arc brought in singly, and follow one another with great rapidity, noi out of plates, yet many le.sser appendages are placed round about I lie table by way of preparation, which seems to be what is meant by the expression, she also halh furnished her tabic ; in one word, all things leerc ihcn ready, and the more dis- 4-22 PROVERBS. Chap. 9—11. tanl kinds of proparalion liad been followed by the nearer, till every thin? was ready, so as thai the repast miKhl im- nicdiatelv begin. The tallle were killed, the jara of wine emptied into drinking vessels, and the little attendants on the great dishes placed on the table. — Harmkb. Vcr. 11. For she sittelh at the door of her house, on a seat in the higli places of the city. The custom of silting at their doors, in the most alluring pomp that romes within their reach, is still an eastern prac- tice. "These women," says Pitts, speaking of the ladies of pleasure at Grand Cairo, " used to sit at the door, or walk in the streets unveiled. They are commonly very rich in their clothes, some having their shifts and drawers of silk, &c. These courtesans, or ladies of pleasure, as well as other women , have broad velvet caps on their heads, beautified with abundance of pearls, and other costly and gaudy ornaments, &c. The.se madams go along the streets smoking their pines of four or five feet long ; and when they sit at their doors, a man can scarce pass by but they will endeavour to decoy him in." — Bueder, CHAPTER X. A'er. 11. The mouth of a rig^hteous manis a well of life; but violence covcreth the mouth of the wicked. " The langnage of a holy man is like a well with good springs : thousands may be refreshed there." " The words of a bad man are like the springs of the sea; though verv btrong, they are not sweet." " Violence covereth the mouth of the wicked." To cover the mouth is the sign of sorrow ; thus, they who act violently will sooner or later reap the fruits thereof. They will have to cover their mouth in token of sorrow for the past, and in anticipation of the fu- ture.— Roberts. CHAPTER XI. Ver. 1. A false balance is abomination to the Lord : but a just weight is his delight. Great severity has been frequently exercised in the pun- ishment of those who were detected in ihe kind of fraud here referred to. " A police-officer observing one morning a female, not a native, carrying a large piece of cheese, in- quired where she had purchased it; being ignorant of the vender's name, she conducted him to his shop, and the magistrate, suspecting the nuan'iiy to be deficient in weight, placed it in the scales, ami found his suspicion verified : whereupon he straightway ordered his attendants to cut from the most fleshy part of the delinquent's person what would be equivalent to the just measure: the order was instantly executed, an I the sufferer bled to death." (JolifTe.) BURDER. Ver. 21. Tliniigh hand join \n hand, the wicked shall not be unpunished: but the seed of the righteous shall be delivered. See on 2 Kings 10. 15 To join hands was anciently, and still continues in the East, a .solemn method of taking an oath, and making an engagement. This circumstance is probably alluded lo in these word ^ of Solomon; its present existence is dearly ascertained by what Mr. Bruce (Trav. vol. i. ]i. 1!)!)) re- lates: " I was so enraged at the traitorous part which Has- san had acted, that, at pariin?. I could not help saving to Ibrahim— Now, shekh, I have done everv thing vou have de- sired, without ever expecting fee or reward ; the only thing I now ask you, ami it is probably the last, is, that you avenge me upon this Hassan, who is" every day in vour power. Upon this he eare me his hand, saving, he shall not die in his bed, or I shall never see old a?e."— BrnnErt. The expression, Ihmiuh hmul i„i,i hi hnml, mav bear a slight correction, conformable both lo the original Hebrew, and also to the custom aetuallv prevailing in Svria. The original Vj T y'mi\tW sisnifief, hund l,> hnnil. And this is the custom of persons in the Kasi. when they greet each other, or strike hands, in token of friendship and a^greemcnt. They touch their right hands respcciiveh ; and then raise them up to their lips and forehead. This is ihe universal eastern courtesy; the English version, and the devices grounded upon it, give the idea of hund clasped in hand^ which is European, rather than oriental. The sen.se, there- fore, is, 'I'haugh hand meet hand — intimalin:: that heart as- sents lo heart in the perpetration of wickedness — yet shall not the wicked go unpunished, — Jowktt. There is a remarkable passage (Proverbs xi. 21) thus rendered by our translators: " Thmiuh hand join in hand, the wicked shall not be unpunished; but the seed of ihe righteous shall be delivered :" i. e. though they make many associations, and oaths, and join hands among themselves, (as formed part of the ceremony of swearing among these shepherds of Suakem,) yet they shall not be punished." But Michaelis proposes anoiher sense of these words, " hand in hand" — my hand in your hand, i. c. as a token of swearing, " the wicked shall not go unpunished." — Taylor in Cal- MET. Ver. 22. As a jewel of gold in a swine's snout, so is a fair woman which is without discretion. Nearly all the females of the East wear a jewel of gold in their nostrils, or in the septum of Ihe nose ; and some of them are exceedingly beautiful, and of great value. The oriental lady looks with as much pleasure on the gem which ADORNS her nose, as any of her sex in England do upon those which deck their ears. But as is that splendid jewel in the snout of a swine, so is beauty in a woman without discretion. She may have the ornament, her mien may be graceful, and her person attractive ; but wiihoul ihe matchless jewel of virtue, she is like the swine with a gem in her nose, wallowing in the mire. "The most beautiful ornament of a woman is virtue," Tamnl proverb. — Roberts. This proverb is manifestly an allusion lo the custom of wearing nose-jewels, or rings set with jewels, hanging from the nostrils, as ear-rings from the ears, by holes bored to receive them. This fashion, however strange il may appear to us, was formerly, and is still, common in many parts of the East, among women of all ranks Paul Lucas, speaking of a village, or clan of wandering people, a little on this side of the Euphrates, says, " The women al- most all of them travel on foot ; I saw none handsome among them. They have almost all of them the nose bored, and wear in it a great ring, which makes ihem still more deformed." But in regard to this custom, belter authority cannot be produced than thai of Pieiro della Valle, in Ihe account which he gives of Signora Maani Gioerida, his own wife. The description of her dre.ss, as to Ihe orna- mental pans of it, with which he introduces the mention of this particular, will give us some notion of the taste of the eastern ladies for finery. " The ornaments of gold, and of jewels, for the head, for the neck, for the arms, for the legs, and for the feet, (for they wear rings even on iheir loes,) are indeed, unlike those of the Tuiks, carried lo great ex cess, but not of great value; as turquoises, small rubies, emeralds, carbuncles, garnets, pearls, and the like. My spouse dresses herself with all of ihem, according lo iheir fashion, with exception however of certain uglv rings, of very large size, set with jewels, which, in truth very ab- surdly, it is the custom to wear fastened lo one of their nos- trils, like bufialoes; an ancient custom however in the East, which, as we find in the holy scripJures, prevailed among the Hebrew ladies, even in the time of .Solomon. These nose-rings, in complaisance to me, she has left off; liut I have not yet been able lo prevail with her cousin and her sisters to do the same. So fond are they of an old cus- tom, be it ever so absurd, who have been long habituated to it." To this account may be subjoined ihe oKscrvaiion made by Chardin, as cited in Harmer: " Il is the custom in almost all ihe East for the women lo wear rings in their noses, in the left nostril, which is bored low down in the middle. These rings are of gold, and have commonly two pearls and one ruby between, placed in the ring. I never saw a girl or young woman in Arabia, or in all Persia, who did not wear a ring after this manner in her nostril." — BuRDER. Ver. 20. He that witliholdeth corn, the people shall curse him : but blessing shall hr upon the head of him that selleth ;'/. Mirza Ahady, in conjunction with the prince's mother, Chap. 11—15. PROVERBS. 423 was believed to have monopolized all the corn of the coun- try ; and he had no sooner reached Shiraz than he raised its price, which, of course, produced a correspondent ad- vance in that of hread. Venire alfame n'a point d'oreilles, — the people became outrageous in their misery. As is usual in all public calamities in the East, they commenced by shuitmg their shops in the bazar. They then resorted to the house of the sheikh-el-islam, the head of the law, re- quiring him to issue zfetimh, which might make it la%vful to kill Mirza Ahady, and one or two more, whom they knew to be his coadjutors in oppressing them. They then appeared in a body before the gale of the prince's palace, where they expressed their grievances in a tumultuous way, anil deminded that Mirza Ahadv should be delivered upio them. Mohammed Zeky Khan, o'urformerniehmander, was sent out by the prince to appease them, accompanied by Mirza Banker, the chief baker of the city, who was one tif those whove life had been denounced. As soon as the lat- ter appeared, he was overwhelmed with insults and re- pro iches : b it he minaged to pacify them, by saying. What crime have I committed'! Mirza Ahady is the man to abuse; if he .sells corn at extravagant prices, bread must ri.se in consequence. In the meantime, Mirza Ahady had .secreted himself from the fury of the mob; but being countenanced by the prince's mother, and, consequently, by the prince himself, he let the storm rage, and solaced himself by ma- king fresh plans for raising more money. The price of bread was lowered for a few days, until the commotion should cease : and, as it was necessary that some .satisfac- tion should be given to the people, all the bakers of the town were collected together, and publicly bastinadoed on the soles of their feet." (Morier.) " We are told of the fate of one person in whose house an immense quantity of grain was found : a stake was fixed in the centre of his granary, to which he was bound, and left to perish from hunger amidst that abundance which he had refused to share with his fellow-citizens." (Malcolm.)— Burder. Ver. 29. He that troubleth his own house shall inherit the wind: and the fool shall be servant to the wise of heart. This form of expression is still used in India. " I un- derstand Kaiidan will give a large dowry with his daugh- ter; she will, therefore, be a good bargain for your son." — " You are correct, my friend ; she is to inherit the wmd." " I once had extensive lands for my portion ; but now I in- herit the wind." " I k-now you would like lo have hold of my property : but you may take the wind." — Roberts. CHAPTER XII. Ver. 10. A righteous wia^j regardeth the life of his beast: but the tender mercies of the wicked are. cruel. " During my stay at Sural, I rode out most evenings with our worthy chief, and, among other uncommon sights lo a stranger, I look notice that many trees had jars hanging to several of the boughs; on inquiring, I was told that they were filled with water every evening, by men hired on pur- pose by the Gentoos, in order to supply the birds with drink. This account excited a desire of visiting the banyan hospi- tal, as I had heard much of their benevolence to all kinds of animals that were either sick, lame, or infirm, through age or accident. On my arrival, there were presented to my view many horses, cows, and oxen, in one apartment; in another, dogs, sheep, goats, and monkeys, with clean straw for them to repo.se on. Atjove-slairs were depositories for seeds of many sorts, and flat broad dishes for water, for the use oftho.se birds and insects which might chance to come into the apartment through the windows, which were lat- ticed, with apertures large enough lo admit small birds to enter. I was told by the attendants, that each apartment was cleaned every morning, the beasts fed and littered once a day, the seeds above-stairs winnowed, the dishes washed, and clean water put in them daily." (Parson's Travels in Asia.) Thevenot describes a banyan hospital, where he .saw a number of .sick oxen, camels, and horses, and many invalids of the feathered race. " Animals deemed in- curable," he says, " were maintained there for life; those that recovered were sold to Hindoos exclusively."— Burder. Ver. 27. The slothful «ia a roastelh not that which he took in hunting; but the substance of a dili- gent man is precious. There is something particular in the word (t^h) charalt used in this passage of Solomon; it is not the word that is commonly u.'^ed for roas^iw^, but it signifies rM\\eT singing as appears from Dan. iii. 27. No author, I think, gives us an account what this should mean, understood in this sense. Besides wild-boars, antelopes, and hares, which are par- ticularly mentioned by D'Arvieux, when he speaks of the Aiabsas diverting themselves with hunting in the Holy Land, Dr. Shaw tells us, all kinds of game are found in great plenty in that country ; but I do not remember an ac- count of any thing being prepared for food bv singing, that IS taken eiiher in burning or hawking, excepi hares, which I have indeed somewhere read of as dre.^sed, in the East, after this manner: a hole being dug in the ground, and the earih .scooped out of it laid all round iis edge, the brush- wood with which it is filled is set on fire, the hareis thrown unskinned into the hole, and afterward covered with heated earth that was laid round about it, where it continues till it is thought to be done enough, and then being brought to table, sprinkled with salt, is found to be very agreeable food. — Harmer. CHAPTER XV. Ver. 17. Better is a dinner of herbs where love is, than a stalled ox, and hatred therewith. This passage is rendered by the Septuagint, as if they understood it of the forced accommodation of travellers, which Arabs and conquered people were obliged to submit to. It was not unusual for travellers to eat at the expense of those who were not pleased with entertaining them ; and to use a kind of force, which produced hatred. Dr. Shaw notices this circumstance. Speaking of Barbary, he says, " In this country, the Arabs and other inhabitants are obliged, either by long custom, by the particular tenure of their lands, or from fear and compulsion, to give the Spahees, and their company, the Moquanah, as they call it, which is such a sufficient quantitv of provisions, for ourselves, together with straw and barley for our mules and horses. Besides a bowl of milk, and a basket of figs, raisins, or dates, which, upon our arrival, were presented to us, to stay our appetites^ the master of the tent where we lodged fetched us from his flock, according to the number of our company, a kid or a goat, a lamb or a sheep, half of which was immediately seethed by his wife, and served up with cuscasooe; the rest was made Kab-ab, i. e. cut into pieces, and roasted, which we reserved for our breakfa.st or dinner the next dav." In the next page he says, " when we were entertained in a courlcous manner, (for the Arabs will sometimes supply us with nothing till it is extolled by force,) the author used to give the master of the lent a knife, a couple of flints, or a small quantity of English gunpowder," &c. To prevent such parties frotii living at free charges upon them, the Arabs take care to pilch in woods, valleys, or places the least conspicuous, and that in consequence they found it diflicult often to dis- cover them. — Burder. Ver. 19. The way of the slothful »!ffire is as a hedge of thorns: but the way of the righteous is made plain. The oriental gardens were either open plantations, or enclosures defended by walls or hedges. Rauwolf found about Tripoli, many jarrlcns rnd vineyards enclosed for the most part with hedges, and separated by shady walks. Some fences in the floiy Land, in later times, are not less beautiful than our living fences of while thorn, and per- feclly answer the description of ancient Jewish prophets, who inform us, that the hedges in their times consisted of thorns, and that the spikes of these thornv plants were ex- ceedingly sharp. Doubdan found a very fruitful vineyard, full of olives, fig-trees, and vines, aboui eight miles south- west froin Bethlehem, enclosed with a hedge; and that part of it adjoining lo the road, strongly formed of thorns and rose-bushes, intermingled with pomegranate-trees of surpassing beauty and fragrance. A hedge composed of 424 PROVERBS. Chap. 16. rose-bushes and wilil pomcgianalc-sliriibs, ilicii in full flower, mingled wiili oilier llinrny plants, adorned in llie varied livery of spring, iiiii.si have made al once a sironij and beauliliil fence. The wild pomegranale-lree, the spe- cies probably used in fencing, is much more prickly than the other variety ; and when miiiKlcd with other thorny bushes, of which thev have several kinds in Palestine, some who.se prickles arc very long and sharp, mu.'t form a hedge very diHiciilt to penetrate. These facts illustrate the beauiy'aud force of several pa.s.sages in the .sacred vol- ume : thus, in the Proverbs of Solomon, " The way of the slothful man is as a liedge of thorns;" it is obstructed with dilliciilties, which the sloth and indolence of his tem- per represent as gallin? or insuperable ; but which a mod- erate share of re-ohiliuii and perseverance would easily remove or surmount, — Paxton. Hasselquist says, that he .saw the plantain-tree, the vine, the peach, and llie mulberry-tree, all four made use of in Egypt to hedge about a garden : now these are all un- iirmed plants. This consideration throws a great energy into the words of Solomon : The vnii of Ihc slot/if iil man is a hedge of thorns. It appears as dirticiilt to him, not only as breaking through a hedge, but even through a thnni fence: and also into that threatening of God to Israel: Jieho/d, I will hedge vp the way with thorns, Hosea ii. (j. — BUJIDER. CHAPTER XVI. Ver. 11. A just weight and balance are the Lord's; all the weights of the bag are his work. The Jews were required to be exact in their weights and measures, that the poor might not be defrauded. He.sy- chius remarks upon this point, as a reason for such great care, that what the possession of a field or house is to a wealthy man, that the measure of corn, or wine, or the weight of bread, is to the poor, who have daily need of such things for the support of life. " The Jewish doctors assert, that it was a constitution of their wise men, for the preventing of all frauds in these matters, that no weights, balances, or measures, should be made oi' any metal, as of iron, lead, tin, (which were liable to rust, or might be bent, or easily impaired,) but of marble, stone, or glass, which were less subject to be abused : and therefore t!ie scripture, speaking of the justice of God's judgments, observes, (ac- cording to the Vulgnte,) that theij are weighed with all the stones ill the bag." (Lewis.) — BiJrdeb. Ver. 14. The wrath of a king is as messengers of death ; but ;i wise man will pacify it. Executions in the East are oflen very prompt and arbi- trary. In many cases the su.spicion is no .sotmer entertained, or the cause of oflcnce given, than the fatal order is issued; the messenger of death hurries to the unsuspecting victim, shows his warrant, and executes his orders that instant in silence and solitude. Instances of this kind are continually occurring in the Turkish and Persian histories. "When the enemies of a great man among the Turks have gained influence enough over the prince to procure a warrant for his death, a capidgi (the name of the othcer who executes these orders) is sent to him, who shows him the order he has received to carry back his head; the other takes the warrant of the grand'seignior, kisses it, puts it on his head in token of respect, and then having performed his ahlu- lions. and .said his prayers, freelv resigns his life. The capidgi having slrangleii him, cut.s o(f his head, and brings it to Constant inoiile. The grand seignior's order is im- plicitly obeyed ; tile .servants of the victim never attempt to hinder the executioner, although these capidgis come very ofleti with few or no attendants." It appears from the writings of Chardin, that the nobility and grandees of Persia are put to death in a manner equally silent, hasty, and unobstructed. Such executions were riot uncommon among the Jews under the government of their kings. Solomon sent Benaiah as his capidgi, or executioner, to put Adonijah, a prince of his own family, to death ; and Joab, the commander-in-chief of the force's in the reign of his father. A capidgi likewise beheaded John the Baptist in the prison, and carried his head to the court of Herod. To such silent and hasty executioners the royal preacher seems to refer in that proverb, " The wrath of a king is as messengers of death; but a wise man will pacify it;" his displeasure expo.ses the unhappy oirender to immediate death, and mayhll the unsuspeciiug bosom with terror and dismay, like the appearance of a capidgi ; but by wise and prudent conduct, a man may sometimes escape the danger. From the dreadful promptitude with which Benaiah exe- cuted the commands (,f Solomon on Adonijah and Joab, it may be concluded that the execnlioner of the court was as little ceiemonitms, and the ancient Jews nearly as pas- sive, as the Turks or Persians The prophet Elisha is the only person on the inspired record, who ventured to resist the bloody mandate of the .sovereign ; the incident is re- corded in these terms: " But Elisha sat in his house, and the elders .sat with him ; and the king sent a man from before him; but ere the messenger came to him, he said to the elders. See how this son of a murderer has .sent to take away my head ! Look when the messenger Cometh ; shut the door, and hold him fast at the door — is not the .sound of his master's feet behind him V But if such mandates had not been too common among the Jews, and in general submitted to without resistance, Jehoram had scarcely ventured to despatch a single messenger to take away the life of so eminent a person as Elisha. — Paxton. Ver. 1.5. In the light of the king's countenance is life ; and his favour is as a cloud of the latter rain. Poets often speak of the generosity of the great, as the clouds full of rain, but the uncharitable are like the clouds without rain. " O the benevolent man ! he is like the fruit- ful rain ; ever giving, but never receiving." — Roberts. The former and latter rains is a phrase quite familiar to every reader of the scriptures. The distinction which it announces is founded in nature, and is of great impor- tance in those parts of the world. At Aleppo, the drought of summer commonly terminates in September, by some heavy showers, which occasionally continue .some days; af^erw hich, there is an interval of fine weather, of between twenty and thirty days, when the showers return, which are called the second rains. The first rains fall between the twenty-sixth of September and the sixth of October: but it is later in Judea ; the former rain, descending in Palestine about the beginning of November. The seasons in the East are exceedingly regular, yet it is not to be sup- posed that Ihey admit of no variation ; the descent of the first and second rain occasionally varies a whole month. But the first and second rains of Syria, mentioned bv Rus- sel, do not seem to correspond with the former and latter rains of the holy scriptures. This is the opinion of Jerome, who lived long in Palestine : nor do the natural historians of those countries take any notice of the first and second rains in autumn ; but uniformly speak of the former and latter rains. It is therefore of some importance to inquire, what are the times of the year when these rains descend. Here it may be proper to observe, that rain in the vernal season, is represented by oriental writers as of great ad- vantage. The more wet the .spring, the later the harvest, and the more plentiful the crop. In Barbary, the vernal rains arc indispensably requisite to secure the hopes of the hu.sbandman. If the latter rains fall as usual in the middle of April, he reckons his crop secure ; but extremely doubt- ful if they happen io fail. This accounts well for the great value which Solomon sets upon them: "In the light of the king's countenance is life, and his favour is as a cloud of the latter rain." To this may be added, that the words translated the Ibrmer and latter rains, are not J expressive of first and second ; and by consequence, do 1 not refer to the rains mentioned by Riissel, but mark a distinction of much greater importance. They must there- fore be the same as the vernal rains, which are universally allowed to be of the utmost consequence in those regions. The time of the first rains is diflerenlly slated by modern travellers. According to Dr. Shaw, the first autumnal rains usually fall about the eleventh of November; from a manuscript journal of travels in those countries, Mr. Harmer found that the rain fell in the Holy Land on the second of Novemlier; and he was assured by the historian of the revolt of Ali Bey, who lived .some years in Palestine, that the rains begin to fall there .iboutthc eighteenth day of September; at first they descend in slight showei.s, but as Chap. 17. PROVERBS. 425 the season advances, tliey become very copious and heavy, thoiijj'li never continual. Dr. Shaw seems to suppose, that the Arabs of Barbary do not begin to break up their grounds till the first rains of autumn fall ; while the author of the history of Ali Bey's revolt supposes that they sometimes plough their land before the descent of the rain, because the soil is then light, and easily worked. This statement contains nothing incredi- ble; grain will remain long in the earth unhurt, and vege- tate as soon as the descending showers communicate suf- ficient moisture. The oriental husbandman may cultivate his field, as is often done in other countries, in expectation of rain ; a circumstance to which Solomon seems to refer: " He that observeth the wind shall not sow, and he that regardelh the clouds shall not reap." If they never sowed in the East but when the soil was moLstened with rain, they could have no reason lo observe whether the wind threatened rain or promised fair weather; but if the seed was cast into the ground previous lo the descent of the rain, they might naturally enough be induced lo wait till they observed the signs of its approach. The rainy season in the beginning of winter, by the concurring testimony of travellers, is commonly introduced by a gale of wind from the northeast. In Syria, the winds are variable in JNovem- ber, and the two succeeding months; .seldom strong, but more inclined to the north and east, than any of the other quarters. They conlinue to blow nearly in the same di- rection, till about the end of February, when they begin to blow hard westerly. The weather in April is in general fair and clear; seldom dark or cloudy, except n-hen it rains, which it does in hard thundershowers, as in the last month, but not so often. When light northerly or easterly breezes happen to blow, they have commonly a few close, hazy days ; but the westerly winds are generally fresh. — Paxton. CHAPTER XVII. Ver. 12. Let a bear, robbed of her whelps, meet a man, rather than a fool in his folly. The furious passions of the female bear never mount so high, nor burn .so fiercely, as when she happens lo be de- prived of her young. When she returns lo her den, and mi.ssesthe objects of her love and care, she becomes almost frantic with rage. Disregarding every consideration of danger lo herself, she attacks, with intense ferocity, every animal that comes in her way, " and in the bitterness of her heart, will dare to attack even a band of armed men." The Russians of Kamschatka never venture lo fire on a young bear when the mother is near ; for if Ihe cub drop, she becomes enraged lo a degree little short of madness ; and if she gelsightof the enemy, will only quit her revenge with her life. " A more desperate attempt, therefore, can scarcely be performed, than to carry oifher young in her ab- sence. The moment she returns, and misses ihem, her pas- sions are inflamed ; her scent enables her to track ihe plun- derer ; and unless he has reached some place of safely before the infuriated animal overtake him, his only safely is in dropping one of the cubs, and continuing to' flee ; for tiie mother, alleniive lo its safely, carries it home lo her den, be- fore .she renews the pursuit." These stalemenis furnish an admirable illustration of a passage in Ihe coun.sel of Hushai lo Absalom, in which he represents Ihe danger of auacking David and his followers with so small a force as twelve ihoii.sand chosen men, when their tried courage was inflamed, and their spirits were imbillered bv the variety and severity of Iheir sufferings, and when their cauiiori, malurcd by long and extensive experience in the art of war, and sharpened by the novelty and peril of Iheir circumstances, would certainly lead Ihem to aniicipale, and take measures to defeat ihe ailempt. " Hushai said unto Absalom, The counsel that Aliilhophel hath given, is not good at this lime; for (said Hushai) thou knowest thy father and his men, that Ihey be mighty men, and they be chafed in their minds as a bear robbed of her whelps in Ihe field." The frantic rage of Ihe female bear, when she has lost her young, gives wonderful energy lo Ihe proverb of Solomon : " Lei a bear, robbedof her whelps, meet a man, ralher than a fool in his folly." Dreadful as it is lo meet a bear in such circumstances. It is yet more dangerous lo meet a " fool in his folly," a furious and re- vengeful man, under the influence of his impeluous pas- sions, and his heart dclermined on their imuicdialc gralifi- 51 cation. Naturally slubborn and cruel as ihe bear and equally devolcd lo his lusts as she is to her young, he pur- sues Ihem wiih equal fury and eagerness. It is possible to escape the vengeance of a bereaved bear, by surrendering part of the liUer, and diverting part of her pursuit ; but no consideration of interest or duty, no partial gratifications can arrest his furious career, or divert his attention. Rea- son, degraded and enslaved, lends all her remaning wis- dom and energy lo passion, and renders the fool more cruel and mischievous than the bear, in proportion as she is su- perior lo instinct. — Paxton. Ver. 18. A man void of understanding striketh hands, and becoineth surety in the presence of his friend. See on ch. 6. 1. TheHindooproverbsays,"i>/OTn'i:/d7-mifore their fathers betrolh lliem, who have voices like thunder, who have tender, or rolling, or cat eyes, who have coarse hair, who are (p|dcr than yourself, who are full of smiles, who are very alhlelic, who arc caught in the jiell of useless and strange religions, who despise Ihe i:ooriw, and call the gods' statues; have nuihing to do with them." Solomon says, in another place, " The contentionsof a wife are a cimtinual dropping;" and ihe Tamul proverb has it "She is like the thunder ofilierain, and is ever dropping. — RonEnTS. This expression the LXX render ti- oi«.i »■..(«,). The Vul- gate, " in domo commimi," in a common honse ; that is, in a hoase comimm or shared out to several families. Dr. Shaw says, that "the general method of building, both in Barbaryand the Levant, seems to have continued the .same from the earliest ages down to this lime, without the least alteration or iinproveineni : large doors, spacious chambers &e. The conn is for the roost part surrounded with a cloister, over which, when the house has one or more sto- ries, there is a gallery erected. From the cloisters or galle- ries we are conducted into large .spacious chambers of the same length with the court, but seldom or nevei communi- cating with one another. One of them frequently serves a whole family; particularly when a father indulges his married children to live with him ; or when several per- sons join in the rent of the same house." — Bcrder CHAPTER XXII. Ver. 13. The slothful man saith, There is a lion without, I shall be slain in the streets. The sluggard is fond of sleep ; and, lo excnse his sloth- fulness, he makes use of the pretence, when he is to go out of his house in ihe morning dawn, and lo follow his busi- ness, lhat he might fall a prey to one of the wild beasts which prowl about during the night. When it becomes dark, the people of the East shut themselves up in their houses for fear of Ihe wild beasts. Thus Alvarez, in his account of Ethiopia, says, that " in Abyssinia, as soon a.s night .sets in, nobody is to be seen abroad for fear of wild bea-sts, of which the country is full." — Rosenmvu.er. Ver. 14. The inouth of strange women is a deep pit: he that is abhorred of the Lord shall fall therein. Maundrell, describing the passage out of Ihejurisdiclion of Ihe Bashaw of Aleppo into that of him of Tripoli, tells us, the road was rocky and uneven, but attended wilh va- riety. " Sometimes it' led us under the cool shade of thick trees: sometimes through narrow valleys, watered with fresh murmuring torrents: and then for a good while to- gether upon the brink of a precipice. And in all places it treated us wilh the prospect of plants and flowers of divers kinds: as myrtles, oleanders, cyclamens, &e. Having spent about two hours in this manner, we descended into a low valley; at the bottom of which is a fis-sure into the earth, of a great depth ; but withal so narrow, lhat it is not discernible to the eye till you arrive just upon it, though to the ear a notice of it is given at a great distance, by reason of Ihe noise of a stream running down into it from the hills. We could not guess it to be less than thirty yards deep. But it is so narrow, lhat a small arch, not four yards over, lands you on its other side. They call it lAc f/ieii's wife ; a name given to it from a woman of that quality, who fell into it, and, I need not add, perished." May not Solomon refer to some such dangerous place as ihis, when he says, " The mouth of a strange woman is a deep pit ; he that is abhorred of the Lord shall fall therein," Prov. xxvii. II ; and, " A w"hore is a deep ditch ; and a strange woman is a narrow pii," Prov. xxiii. 27. The flowery pleasures of the place, where this fatal pit was, make the allusion still more striking. How agreeable lo sense the path that led to this cluimber of death ! — Harmeb. Ver. 20. Be not thou 07jc of them that strike hands, or of them that are sureties for debts. Sec on ch. G. I. CHAPTER XXIII. Ver. 3. Be not desirous of his dainties; for they arc deceitful meat. See on Gen. 27. i. Ver. 5. Wilt thou set thine eyes upon that which is not? for riches certainly make thenisclve.s wings; they fly away, as an eagle towards heaven. A husband who complains of the extravagance of his faiilily, says, " How is it that wings grow on all my proper- ty ? not many days ago I purchased a large quantiiv of ;«?(<- (hj, but it has taken ihe wing and flown away. The next lime I buy any thing, I will look well after Ihe wings." "You a.sk me lo give you money, and I would, if I pos- se.s.sed any." — " Po,ssessed any ! why ! have wings grown on your silver and gold?" " Alas! alas! I no sooner get Chap. 23—25. PROVERBS. 429 Eat thou not the bread of him thai hath evil eye, neither desire thou his dainty things into the house, than wings grow on them, and ihcy fly away. Last week I began to clip wings ; but they have soon grown again." — Roberts. Ver. 6. an meats : 7. For as lie thinketh in his heart, so is he : Eat and drink, saith he to thee ; but his heart is not with thee. 8. The morsel which thou hast eaten shall thou vomit up, and lose thy sweet words. Whether the same ideas are to be attached to the expres- sion " evil eye," as used by Solomon, and as understood by the Egyptians, may not be easily ascertained, though per- haps worlhy of consideration. Pococlce says of the Egyp- tians, that " they have a great notion of the magic art, have books about it, and think there is much virtue in talismans and charms ; but particularly are strongly possessed with an opinion of the evil eye. When a child is commended, ex- cept you give it soine blessing, if they are not very well as- sured of your good will, they use charms against the evil eye ; and particularly when they think any ill success at- tends them on account of an evil eye, ihey throw salt into the fire." — BuRDER. Many references are made in the scriptures to an evil EYE. Sometimes they mean anger or envy ; but in the pas- sage cited an allusion appears to be made to the malignant influence nf an evil eye: "The morsel which thou hast eaten shalt thou vomit up." The kan-nuru, evil-eye, of some people is believed to have a most baneful effect upon whatsoever it shall be fixed. Those who are reputed to have such eyes are always avoided, and none but near rela- tions will invite them to a feast. " Your cattle, your wives, your children, your orchards, your fields, are all in danger iVom that fellow's eyes. The other day he passed my gar- den, cast his eye upon my lime-tree, and the fruit has since fallen to the ground. Ay, and worse than that, he caught a look at my child's face, and a large abscess has since appeared." To prevent such eyes from doing any injury to their children, many parents (both Mohammedan and Hindoo) adorn them with numerous jewels and jackets of varied colours, lo attract the eye from the person to the ornaments. — Robert.^. Ver. 20. Be not atnong wine-bibbers ; among riot- ous eaters of flesh. The Arabs are described by Shaw, as very abstemious. They rarely diminish their flocks by using them for food, but live chiefly upon bread, milk, butter, dates, or what they receive in exchange for their wool. Their frugality is in many in>;tances the effect of narrow circumstances; and shows with what propriety Solomon describes an ex- pensive way of living by their frequent eating of flesh. — BURDKR. Ver. 27. For a whore is a deep ditch; and a strange woman is a narrow pit. See on ch. 23. 14. Ver. 30. They that tarry long at the wine, thoy that go to seek mixed wine. Dandini informs us that it was the practice of tipplers not merely to tarry lonu' over the bottle, but over the wine cask. " Thesoodness of the wineof Candia renders the Candiots great drinkers, and it oflcn happens, that two or three great drinkers will sit down together at the foot of a cask, from whence they will not depart till they have emptied it." See also Isaiah v. U. — Burder. Ver. ol. Look not thou upon the wine when it is ml, when it giveth his colour in the cup, when it movcth itself aright. Red wines were most esteemed in the East. So much was the red colour admired, that when it was too white they gave it a deeper tinge by mixing it with saffron or Brazil wood. By extracting the colouring matter of such ingredients, the wine may be said to make itself redder ; a circumstance which, in Mr. Harmer's opinion, Solomon means to express in that proverb, "Look not on the wine when it is red, when it giveth his colour in the cup, when it moveth itself aright." The verb is in the Hebrew Mid- dle Voice, or Hithpahel conjugation, which denotes an ac- tion that turns upon the agent itself, and in this instance im- parts great energy to the warning. — Paxton. CHAPTER XXIV. Ver. 11. If thou forbear to deliver them that are drawn unto death, and those that are ready lo be slain. It was allowed among the Jews, that if any person could ofl'er any thing in favour of a prisoner after sentence was pa.ssed, fie might be heard before execution was done : and therefore it was usual, as the Mishna shows, that when a man was led to execution, a crier went before him and pro- claimed, " This man is now going to be executed for such a crime, and such and such are witnesses again.st hira ; whoever knows him to be innocent, let him come forth, and make it appear." — Doddridge. Ver. 2(3. Everyman shall kiss Ais lips that giveth a right answer. The rescripts of authority used to be kissed whether they were believed to be just or not ; and the letters of people of figure were treated in this manner ; hut it is possible these words may refer to another custom, which D'Arvieux gives an accomit of in his description of the Arabs of Mount Carmel, who, when Ihey present any petition to their emir for a favour, offer their billets to him' with their right hands, after having first kissed the papers. The Hebrew manner of expression is sliort ; every lip shall kiss, one makelh to re- turn a right answer, that is, every one shall be ready to pre- sent the state of his case, kissing it as he delivers it, when there is a judge whose decisions are celebrated for being equitable. — Hariwer. Ver. 31. And lo, it was all grown over with thorns, and nettles had covered the face thereof, and the stone wall- thereof was broken down. Stone walls were frequently used for the preservation of vineyards, as well as living fences. Van Egmont and Hey- man, describing the country about Saphet, a celebrated city of Galilee, tell us, " the country round it is finely improved, the declivity being covered with vines supported by low walls." — Harmer. CHAPTER XXV. Ver. 7. For better it is that it be said unto thee. Come up hither, than that thou shouldst be put lower in the presence of the prince whom thine eyes have seen. In an eastern feast or ceremony, nothing can exceed the particularity which is observed in reference to the rank and consequent precedence of tlie guests. Excepting where kin5;s or members of the royal family are present, the floor and seats are always of an equal height ; but the upper part of a room is most i-e.spcctable, and there the most dignified individual will be placed. Should, however, an inferior presume to occupy that situation, he will soon be told to go to a lower station. There are also rooms assigned to dif- ferent guests, in reference to their rank or ca.stc, and none but their peers can remain in the place. I was once present at the marriage fea.st of a pcr.son of high caste: the ceremonies were finished, and the festivities had com- rnenced ; but just before the .supper was announced, it was discovered that one of the guests was not quite equal in rank lo those in the .same apartment. A hint was therefore given to him, but he refused to leave the place : the host was then called ; but, as the guesl was scarcely a grade lower than the rest, he felt unwilling to put him out. The remainder, therefore, consisting of the first men in the town, immediately arose and left the house — Roberts. 430 PROVERBS. Chap. 2G. Ver. 1 1 . A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver. Some suppose this alludes lo fruil served up in filigree- work : but I l)elieve it docs not refer lo real fruit, but to representations and ornaments in solid gold. The Vulgate has, instead of pictures, " in Icr.lis arsicnlch," " in silver beds." The Tamul tnuislaiion has, in place of pictures ol •silver, relU-lattnm, i. e. salvers or trays of silver. The Rev. T. II. llorne, " Apples of gold in net-work of silver." In the (ith and 7th ver.scs, directions are siven as to the way a person ought to conihu-l himself in the presence of a king; and words fitly spoken are compared, in their effect on the mind, to apples of fri)ld, in salvers of silver, when presented ns tributes or presents to the mighty. When eastern princes visit eacn other, or when men of rank have to go into their presence, they often send silver trays, on which are gold ornaments, as presents to the king, to propitiate him in their favour. Thus, when the governor-general, and the native sovereigns, visit each other, it is said, they distributed so many tiuvs of jewels, or other articles of great value. Golden ornaments, whether in the shape of fruit or any other thing, when placed on highly-polished silver .salvers, or in net-work of the same metal, have a very beautiful appearance to the eye, and are highly ac- cepiable and gratifying to him who receives them. As, then, apples or jewels of gold are in "salvers," or "beds," or " net-work" of silver, to the feelings of the receiver, so arc words fitly spoken, when addressed to the mind of him who is prepared to receive them. To confirm this expla- nation, the ne.xt verse is very apposite : '' As an ear-ring of gold, and an ornament of fine gold, so is a wise reprover upon an obedient ear." The effect, then, of a wise re- proof on an obedient ear, is equal to that produced by the presents of ear-rings of gold, or ornaments of fine gold. — Roberts. Ver. 13. As the cold of snow in the tiine of har- vest, so is a faithful inesseatrer to them that send him ; for he refresheth the soul of his masters. The custom of cooling wines with snow, was usual ninong the eastern nations, and was derived from the Asiatics and Greeks to the Romans. The snow of Leb- anon was celebrated, in the time of D'Vitriaco, for its refrigerating power in tempering their wine : " All sum- mer, and especially in the sultry dog-days, and the month of August, sn«w of an extreme cold nature, is carried from Mount Libanus, two or three day.s' journey, that, being mixed with wine, it may make it cold as ice. The snow is kept from melting by the heat of the sun, or the warmth of the air, by being covered up with straw." To this cus- tom, the wise man seems to allude in that proverb : " As Ihe cold of snow in the time of harvest; so is a faithful servant to them that send him, for he refreshes the soul of his masters." The royal preacher could not speak of a fall of snow in the lime of harvest, as pleasant and refreshing; it luust, on the contrary, have been very incommoding, as we actually find it in this country ; he must therefore be understood to mean licpiids cooled by snow. The sense then will be: As the mi.xing of snow with wine, in the sultrv lime of harvest, is pleasing and refreshing; .so a suc- cessful messenger revives the spirit of his inaster who sent nim, and who was greatly depressed from an apprehension of his failure. — Paxton. Ver. 14. Whoso hoa-stcth himself of a false gift, w like clouds and wind without rain. See on 2 Kings 3. 16, 17. Ver. 17. Withdraw thy foot from thy neighbour's house, lest he be weary of thee, and so hate thee. " The premises are in grief through him who so often visit.s them." — Tamul Proverb. " The man, whoi-though lost in Ihe dark, and yet refuses to go to the house of him who will not treat him with respect, is worth ten millions of pieces of gold."— Ronr.riTs. Ver. 19. Confidence in an unfaithful man in time of trouble, is like a broken tooth, and a foot out of joint. The ea.stern saying, " To put confidence in an unfaithful man, i.s like trying to cross a river on a horse made of clay," is quoted for the same purpose. — Roberts. Ver. 23. The north wind driveth away rain ; so doth an angry countenance a backbiting tongue. Our translators were at a loss how to render Prov. xxv. 23 : they could not tell whether Solomon spoke of the norl/t wind as driving away rain, or brin^in!; il forth, and there- fore put one sense in the text, and the other in the margin. I have observed nothing decisive as to this point in the books of travels which I have perused, and indeed very little more relating to the winds, excepting the violent heat they sometimes bring with them in these countries. At Aleppo, " the coldest winils in the winter are those that blow from between the northwest and the east, and the nearer they approach to Ihe last-mentioned point, Ihe colder they are during the winter, and part of the spring. But from the beginning of May to the end of September, the winds blowing from the very same points, bring with ihem a degree and kind of heat which one would imagine came out of an oven, and which, when it blows hard, will afl'ect metals within the houses, such as locks of room-doors, nearly as much as if they had been exposed to Ihe rays of the sun ; yet it is remarkable that water kept in jars is much cooler at this time than when a cool westerly wind blows. In these seasons, Ihe only remedy is to shut all the doors and windows, for thongh these winds do not kill as the sammiel, which are much of the same nature, do in the desert, yet they are extremely troublesome, causing a languor and difficulty of respiration to most people," &c. — Harmer. Ver. 27. It is not good to eat much honey ; so for men to search their own glory is not glory. Delieious as honey is to an eastern palate, it has been thought sometimes to have produced terrible efltcl.s. So Sanutus tells us, that the English that attended Edward 1. into the Holy Land, died in great number.s, as they inarched, in June, to demolish a place, which he ascribes to the excessive heat, and their intemperate eating of fruits and honey. This, perhaps, may give us Ihe thought of Solomon when he says, "It is not good to eat much honey." He had before, in the same chapter, mentioned that an ex- cess in eating honey occasioned sickne.ss and vomiting; but, if it was thought sometimes to produce deadly efl'ecl.s, there is a greater energy in the instruction. — Harmer. CHAPTER XXVI. Ver. 3. A whip for the horse, a bridle for the ass, and a rod for the fool's back. According to our notions, we should rather say, "A bridle for the horse, and a whip for the ass." But it should be remembered that the eastern asses, particularly those of the Arabian breed, are much larger, more beautiful, and better goers, than those in our cold northerly countries. " In Arabia," says Nicholson, " we meet with two kinds of asses. The small and sluggish kind are as little esteemed in Ihe East as in Europe. But there are .•some of a species large and spirited, which appeared to me more convenient for travelling than the horses, and which are very dear." Such, no doubt, there are evidently in Palestine, and as the modern Arabs take pains in training them lo a pleasant pace, there is the highest probability that something of the Kind was practised among the ancienl Israelites ; since from ntimerous passages of Ihe Old Testament it appears that lines were the beasts on which that people, and even their great men, usually rode. Their a.sses, therefore, being active and well broke, would need only a bridle to guide them ; whereas their horses, being scarce, and prob- ably often caught wild, and badly broke, would be much less manageable, and frequently require the correction of the iphip." — PARKtitTRST. In the East, ihe horse was taught only two motions, to walk in .stale, or to push forward in full career; a bridle was therefore unnecessary, and seldom used, except for Chap. 27. PROVERBS. 431 mere ornament; the voice, or the hand of his ma.ster, was sufficient to direct his way, or to stop his course. While the ass reluctantly submits to the control of the bridle, he presents his back with stupid insensibility to the rod. This instrument of correction is, therefore, reserved for the fool, and is necessary to subdue the vicious propensities of his heart, and turn him from the error of his way. The an- cient Israelites preferred the young ass for the saddle. It is on this account the sacred writers so frequently mention riding on young asses and on ass colts. They must have found them, from experience, like the young of all animals, more tractable, lively, and active, than their parents, and, by consequence, better adapted to this employment. ButTon remarked particularly of the young ass, that ii is a gay, nimble, and gentle animal, " and therefore to be preferred for riding to the same animal when become lazy and stub- born through age." " Indeed, the Hebrew name of the young a^s, iv," from a root which signifies to rouse or excite, " is expressive of its character for sprightliness and activity." On public and solemn occasions, they adorned the asses which ihey rode, with rich and splendid trappings. " Li this manner," says an excellent writer of E.ssays on Sacred Zoology, "the'magistrates, in the time of the Juefees, appear to have rode in slate. They proceeded to the gate ol their city, where they sat to hear causes, in slow proces- sion, mounted on asses superbly caparisoned with white cloth, which covered the greater part of the animal's body. It is thus that we must interpret the words of Deborah : ' Speak, ye that ride on white asses,' on asses caparisoned with coverings made of white woollen cloth, ' ye that sit in judgment, and walk,' or march in state, ' by the way.' The colour is not that of the animal, but of his hiran, or covering, for the ass is commonly dun, and not white." No doubt can be entertained in relation to the existence of the custom alluded to in this quotation. It prevails among the Arabs to the present day ; but it appears rather imnatural to ascribe the colour of a covering to the crea- ture that wears it. We do not call a man white or black, because he happens to be dressed in vestments of white or black cloth ; neither did the Hebrews. The expression naturally suggests the colour of the animal itself, not of its trappings; and the only point to be ascertained is, whether the ass is found of a white colour. Bulfon informs us, that the colour of the ass is not dun, but flaxen, and the belly of a silvery white. In many instances, the silvery white pre- dominates ; for Caitwright, who travelled into the East, atlirms, that he beheld, on the banks of the Euphrates, great droves of wild beasts, among which were many wild as.ses, all white. Oppian describes the wild ass, as having a coat of silvery white ; and the one which Professor Gmelin brought from Tarlary, was of the same colour. White asses, according to Morier, come from Arabia ; their scarcity makes them valuable, and gives them con.se- quence. The men of the law count it a dignity, and suited to their character, to ride on asses of this colour. As the Hebrews always appeared in white garments at their pub- lic festivals, and on days of rejoicing, or when the courts of justice were held; so they naturally preferred white a.sses, because the colour suited the occasion, and because asses of this colour being more rare and costly, were more covet- ed by the great and the wealthy. The same view is taken of this question by Lewis, who says, the asses in Judea " were commonly of a red colour; and therefore white asses were highly valued, and used by persons of superior note and quality." In this passage he clearly speaks of the colour of the animals lhem.selves, not of their coverings. — Pa.kton. Ver. 11. As a dog- returneth to his vomit; so a fool returneth to his folly. " See the fellow," it is said, " he has repeatedly suffered for his folly ; how often has he been corrected ! and yet, like the dog, he eats up the food he has vomited." " Yes, he is ever washing his legs, and ever running into the mud." " You fool ; because you fell nine times, must you fall again V — Roberts. Ver. 14. As the door turneth upon his hinges, so doth the slothful upon his bed. The doors of the ancients did not turn on hinges, but on pivots thus constructed : the upright of the moveable door next the wall had, at each extremity, a copper case sunk into it, with a projecting point on the inside, to take the better hold of the wood-work. This case was generally of a cylindric form; but there have been found some square ones, from which there sprang on each side iron straps, serving to bind together and strengthen the boards with which the door was constructed hollow. (Winckelman's HerculaBeum.l — Bhrder. Ver. 17. He that passeth by, and meddleth with strife belonging not to him, is like one that taketh a dog by the ears. " Why meddle with that matter 1" " Will a rat seize a cat by the ears V " I will break thy bones, thou low caste." — " No doubt about that ; I suppose in the same way as the rat which seized my cat last night; begone, or I will give thee a bite." — Roberts. Ver, 25. When he speaketh fair, believe him not; for there are seven abominations in his heart. The number seven is often used to denote many. " If we have rain, we shall have a crop of seven years." " My friend, I came to see you seven times, but the servants always said leeiv-iingarar " i. e. he is eating. " I will never speak to that fellow again; he has treated me with contempt these seven times." "You stupid ass, I have told you seven times." " The wind is fair, and the dhony is ready for sea." — " I cannot believe you ; I have already been on board seven times." — Roberts. CHAPTER XXVII. Ver. 6. Faithful are the wounds of a friend ; but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful. " Begone ! wretch : j'ou cannot deceive me. I am more afraid of your smiles, than the reproaches of ray friend. I know the serpent— get out of my way." "Ah!" says the stranger, "the trees of mv own village are better to me than the friends of this place.'' — Roberts. Ver. 9. Ointment and perfume rejoice the heart ; so doth the sweetness of a man's friend by hearty counsel. At the close of a visit in the East, it is common to sprinkle rose, or some other sweet-scented water, on the guests, and to perfume them with aloe-wood, which is brought last, and serves for a sign that it is time for a stranger to lake leave. It is thus described by M. Savary : " Towards the conclu- sion of a visit among persons of distinction in Egypt, a slave, holding in his hand a silver plate, on which are burning precious essences, approaches the face of the visit- ers, each of whom in his turn perfumes his beard. They then pour rose-waler on his head and hands. This is the last ceremony, after which it is usual to withdraw." As to the method of using the aloe-wood, Maundrell says, they have for this purpose a small silver chafingdish, covered with a lid full of holes, and fixed upon a handsome plate. In this they put some fresh coals, and upon them a piece of lignum aloes, and then shutting it up, the smoke imme- diately ascends wiih a grateful odour through the cover. Probably to such a custom, so calculated to refresh and exhilarate, the words of Solomon have an allusion. — Burder. Great numbers of authors take notice of this part of Eastern complaisance, but some are much more particular and distinct than others. Maundrell, for instance, who gives a most entertaining account of the ceremony of burn- ing odours under the chin, does not mention any thing of the sprinkling sweel-.scenled waters; however, many other writers do, and Dr. Pococke has given us the figure of the vessel they make use of upon this occasion, in his first volume. They are both then used in the East, but if one is spoken of more than the other, it is, I think, the per- fuming persons with odoriferous smoke. The scriptures, in like manner, speak of perfumes as used anciently for civil purposes, as well as sacred, though they do not men- tion particulars. " Ointment and perfumes rejoice the heart," Prov. xxvii. 9. Perhaps this word, perfume, com- PROVERBS. CuAP. 27. prc-lieiids in ils nicaaing, the waters distilled from ri)ses, aiiJ odorilcrous Mowers, whose soenls in llic East, at least in K^vpt, if Maillct nKiy be admitted to be a jiidpe, arc inucli liijilier and more cxi]hatical ; indeed, we can .scarcely conceive any thing more lorcible and beautiful than Ihe compari.son. To the second objection, it is sulli- cient to reply, that Bochart has merely asserted the forma- tion of the horse-leech from putrid mire ; but Ihe absurdity of equivocal generation has already been considered. Mer- cer supposes, lhat the two daughters of the horse-leech are the forks of her tongue, by which she inflicts the wound ; but this exposition is inadmi.ssible, because she is destitute of that member, and acts merely by suction. Bochart, supposing that the clause where it is introduced, cannot with propriety be connected with any part of Ihe context, considers it, of cour.se, as independent ; and admitting the derivation of aluka from nlak, to hang or be appended, in- terprets the term as denoting the termination of human life, appended as it were to the purpose of God, limiting the term of our inortal existence ; and by consequence, that her two daughters are death and the grave, or, should the.se be thought nearly synonymous, the grave, where the body returns to its dust, a'nd the world of spirits, where the soul takes up its abode. But with all deference to such high authority, this interpretation appears very forced and unnatural. The common interpretation seems, in every respect, entitled to the preference. Solomon, having in the preceding verses mentioned those that devoured the properly of the poor, as the worst of all the generations he haa specified, proceeds in the fifteenth verse to state and illustrate the insatiable cupidity with which they prose- cuted their schemes of rapine and plunder. — As the horse- leech hath two daughters, cruelty and thirst of blood, which cannot be satisfied ; so, the oppressor of the poor has two dispositions, cruelty and avarice, which never say they have enough, but continually demand additional gratifica- tions.— Paxton. Ver. 17. The eye that mockoth at his father, and despispth to obey his mother, (he ravens of tlie valley shall pick it out, and the young eagles shall oat it. In the East, in consequence of the superstitions of hea- thenism, numerous human bodies are exposed lo become Ihe prey of birds and wild beasts; and it is worthy of being recorded, that the evb is the first part selected by the former, as their favourite portion, Ii is, however, considered to be a great misfortune to be left without sepulchral rites; and it is no uncommon imprecation to hear, " Ah ! the crows shall one day pick out thy kvk.s." " Yes, the lizards shall lay their eggs in thy socket.'s." — RnncRTs. Solomon appears to give a distinct character to some of the ravens m Palestine, when he says, " The eye that mocketh at his father, and despiseth to obey his mother, the ravens of the valley shall pick it out, and the young eagles shall cat it." The wise man, in this pa.ssa^e, mav allude to a species of raven, which prefers the valley for her habitation to the clelts of the rock; or he may perhaps refer to some sequestered valley in the Land of" Promise. much frequented by these birds, which derived its name from that circumsiance; or, as the rocky precipice where the raven loves to build her nest, often overhangs the tor- rent, (which the original word,Sn: nnlmt, also signifies,) and the lofty tree, which is e<|uallv acceptable, rises on its banks, the royal preacher inight.bv lhat phrase, merely in- tend the ravens which prefer such situations Bochart conjectures, lhat ihe valley alluded lo was Tophcl, in the neighbourhood of Jerusalem, which the prophet Jeremiah calls the valley of the dead bodies; because ihe dead bodies of criminals were cast into it, where ihey remained without burial, hll ihey were devoured by tltuk'.; i,f ravens which I collected for that purpose from Ihe circumjacent country. If this conjecture be right, the meaning of Solomon will be this; He who is guilty of so great a crime, shall be sul)- jeeted to an infamous punishment ; and shall be cast into the valley of dead bodies, and .shall find no grave, but the devouring maw of the impure and voracious raven. It was a common punishment in the Ea.st, (and one which the Orientals dreaded above all others,) to expose in the open fields Ihe bodies of evil-doers that had suffered by the laws of their offended country, to be devoured by the bea.sts of Ihe field, and the fowls of heaven. Hence, in Aristophanes, an old man deprecates the punishment of being exposed to the ridiculeof women,or given as a banquet to the ravens; and Horace, in his .sixleenlh epistle to Quiniius, repre- senls it as the last degree of degradation, to be devourctl by these hateful birds. " non pasces in criice corvns." The wise man insinuates, that the raven makes his first and keenest attack on the eye; which perfectly corresponds with his habits, for he always begins his banquet with that part of Ihe body. Isidore .says of him, " Priino in cadave- ribus oculum petit:" and Ep'ictctus, 'Oi (.ti- »-.ip.i«« tu,v tctc- XcvTfjKOTt.iv rot's oipBaXiwx's ^t'luin'Qi'Tat : the ravens devour the eyes of the dead. Many other testimonies might be ad- duced; but these are sufficient to justify the allusion in the proverb. — Paxton. Ver. 25. The ants are a people not strong, yet tliey prepare their meat in the summer. See on eh. C. 6. Ver. 26. The conies are but a feeble folk, yet make they their houses in the rocks. See on Ps. 104. 18. Ver. 27. The locusts have no king, yet go they forth all of them by bands. See on 2 Chron. 7. 13. Ver. 33. Surely the churning of milk bringeth forth butter, and the wringing of the nose bring- eth forth blood ; so the forcing of wrath bring- eth forth strife. The ancient way of making butter in Arabia and Pales- line, was probably nearly Ihe same as is still practised by the Bedouin Arabs and'Moors in Barbarv, and which is thus described by Dr. Shaw ; " Their meihod of making butter is by pulling Ihe milk or cream in a goal's-skin turned inside out, which they suspend from one side of Ihe tent to the other, and then pressing it to and fro in one uniform direction, they quickly occasion the separation of the unc- tuous and wheyey parts." So " the buller of the Moors in the empire of Morocco, which is bad, is made of all the milk as it comes from Ihe cow, by pulling it into a .skin and shaking it till the buller separates from it." (Stewart's Journey to Mequinez.) And what is more to the purpose, as relating lo what is .still practised in Palestine, Hasselquisl[ speaking of an encampmentofihe Arabs, which he found not far from Tiberias, at the foot of Ihe mountain or hill where Christ preached his sermon, says, " they make buller in a leathern hag hung on three poles, erected for the purpose, in Ihe form of a cone, and drawn to and fro by two women." BuilDRR. The following is a description given by Thevenot of the manner of making buller at Damascus, which he, however, expressly assures us, is the same all over the East. " They tie a stick with both ends lo Ihe hind-feet of a goal's-skin, which .serves instead of a leathern bag, lhat is, each end of the slick to one fool, and Ihe same with ihe forefeet, that the.sc slicks mav serve as handles; ihey then put the milk into this bag, close it carefully, shake it about, holding by the two sticks; after a lime, add some water, and then shake it as before, till butter comes."— Rosenmii.i.er. CHAPTER XXXI. Vor. 18, She perceivoth lhat her merchandise «.« good : her cnndle goelli not out by iiio'ht. i Chap. 2. ECCLESIASTES. 435 To give a modern instance of a similar kind — Monsieur De Guys, in his Sentimental Journey through Greece, says, " embroidery is the constant employment oC the Greek wo- men. Those who follow it for a living are employed in it from morning to night, as are also their daughters and slaves. This is a picture of the industrious wife, painted after nature by Virgil, in the eighth book of his jEneid: — ' Night was now sliding in tier middle course : The first repose was finish'd ; wlien the dame. Who by her distaft"'s slender art subsists, Waives tlie spread embers and the sleeping fire. Night adding to her work ; and calls her maids To tlieir loTig tasks, by lighted tapers urg'd.' I have a living portrait of the same kind constantly before my eyes. The lamp of a pretty neighbour of mine, who follows that trade, is always lighted before day, and her young assistants are all at work betimes in the morning." — BURDER. Ver. 24. She maketh fine linen, and selleth it ; and delivereth girdles unto the merchant. Herodotus, it seems, thought the Egyptian women's car- rying on commerce was a curiosity that deserved to be in- serted in his history ; it can hardly then be thought an im- propriety to take notice of this circumstance in a collection of papers tending to illustrate the scriptures, and especially in a country where the women indeed spin, but the meii not only buy and sell, but weave, and do almost every thing else relating to manufactures. The commerce mentioned by Herodotus is lost, according to Maillet, from among the women of Egypt in general, being only retained by the Arabs of that country who live in the raoimtains. The Arabian historians say, that the women used to deal in buy- ing and selling of things woven of silk, gold, and silver, of pure silk, of cotton, of cotton and thread, or simple linen cloth, whether made in the country or imported ; the men in wheat, barley, rice, and other productions of the earth. Maillet, in giving an account of the alteration in this re- spect in Egypt, aiiirms that this usage still continues among the Arabs to this day, who live in the mountains ; and con- sequently he must be understood to affirm, that the things that are woven among the Arabs and sold, are sold by the women, who are indeed the persons that weave the men's hykes in Barbary, according to Dr. Shaw, and doubtless weave in Egypt. — Hakmer. ECCLESIASTES, OR THE PREACHER. CHAPTER II. Ver. 4. I made me great works ; I built me houses ; I planted me vineyards ; 5. I made me gardens and orchards, and I planted trees in them of all kind of fruits ; 6. I made me pooLs of water, to water therewith the wood that bringeth forth trees. The following accoimt of these reservoirs will evince at what an immense expense and labour they were constructed. Solomon's cisterns " are seated in a valley, and are three in number, each occupying a different level, and placed in a right line with each other, so that the waters of the one may descend into the next below it. Their figures are quad- rangular: the first, or southern one, being about three hun- dred feet long ; the second, four hundred; and the third, five hundred ; the breadth of each being abotit two hundred feel. They are all lined with masonry, and descended to by narrow flights of steps, at one of the corners; the whole depth, when emtp)', not exceeding twenty or thirty feet. They were, at the present moment, all dry ; but though they may be considered useful works in so barren and destiiute a country as Judea, yet they are hardly to be reckoned among the splendid monuments of a luxurious sovereign's wealth or power, sinre there are many of the Hebrew tanks in Bombay, the works of private individuals, in a mere commercial settlement, which arc much more elegant in their design, and more expensive in their construction, than any of these. Near these reservoirs there are two small fountains, of whose waters we drank, and thought them good. These are said to have originally supplied the cis- terns through subterranean aqueducts; but they are now fallen into decay from neglect, and merely serve as a water- ing-place for cattle, and a washing-stream for the females of the neighbouring country." (Buckingham.) " After a slight repast, we took leave of our hosts, and set out in a southern direction to examine the Piscine, said to have been constructed by Solomon. The roval preacher has been imagined to allude to these, ainong other mstanccs of his splendour and magnificence, in the passajje where he is argumg for the insufficiency of worldly pursuits to pro- cure happiness, Eccl. ii. G. They are three in number, placed nearly in a direct line above each other, like the locks of a canal. By this arrangement, the surplus of the first flows into the second, which is again discharged into the third : from thence a constant supply of living water is carried along the sides of the hill to Bethlehem and Jeru- salem. The figure of these cisterns is rectangular, and they are all nearly of the same width, but of considerable dirference in length, the third being almost half as large again as the first. They are still in a certain state of preser- vation, and with a slight expense might be perfectly re- stored. The source from whence they are supplied is about a furlong distant; the spring rises several feet below the surface, the aperture of which is secured by a door, so con- trived, that it may be impenetrably closed on any sudden dangerof the water being contaminated." (Jolliffe's Letters.) — BuRnER. At about an hour's distance to the south of Bethlehein, are the pools of Solomon. They are three in number, of an oblong figure, and are supported by abutments. The antiquity of their appearance entitles them, Dr. Richardson thinks, to be considered as the work of the Jewish monarch : " like every thing Jewish," he says, " they are more re- markable for .strength than for beauty." They are situated at the south end of a small valley, and are so disposed on the sloping ground, that the waters of the uppermo.st may descend into the second, and those of the second into the third. That on the west is nearest the source of the spring, and is about 180 feet long ; the .second is about GOO feet in length, and the third about G60; the breadth of all three being nearly the same, about 270 feet. They are lined with a thict coat of plaster, and are capable of containing a great quantity of water, which they discharge into a small aqueduct that conveys it to Jerusalem. This aqueduct is built on a foundation of stone : the water runs through round earthen pipes, about ten inches ia diameter, which are cased with two stones, hewn out so as to fit them, and they are covered over with rough stones, well cemented to- gether. The whole is .so much sunk into the ground on the side of the hills round which it is carried, that in many places nothing is to be seen of it. In time of war, however, this aqueduct could be of no service to .Ternsalcm, a.s the communication could be easily cut off. Tlie fountain which 436 ECCLESIASTES. Chap. 3, 4. supplies these pools is at aboul llie distance of 140 paces fruin them. "This," savs Maiindrell, "the friars will have to be that scaled fountain to which the holy spouse is compared, Cant. iv. I'i." And he represents it to have beeh by no means dilhcult to seal un these springs, as they rise under ground, and have no other avenue than a little hole, "like to the mouth of a narrow well." " Through this hole you descend directly down, but not wiihout some difficulty, forabout lour yards; and llu-n arrive inavaulled room filieen paces Ions and cifrlit broad. Joining to this is another room of the same fashion, but somewhat less. Both these rooms are covered wiih handsome sione arches, very ancient, and periiaps the work of Solomon himself. You find here four places at which the water rises. From these separate sources it is conveyed by little rivulel-s into a kind of basin, and from ihence is carried by a large subterraneous passage down into the pools. In ihc way, before it arrives at the pools, there is an aqueduct of brick pipes, which re- ceives part of the stream, and carries it by many turnings and windings to Jerusalem. Below the pools, here runs down a narrow rocky valley, enclosed on both sides with high mountains. This the friars will have to be ' the en- closed garden' alluded to in the same place of the Canticles. As to the pools, it is probable enough they may be the .same with Solomon's; there not being the like store of excellent spring-water to be met with anywhere else throughout Palestine. But, for the gardens, one may safely atiirm,that if Solomon made them in the rocky ground which is now assigned for them, he demonstrated "realer power and wealth in finishing his design, than wisdom in choosing the place for it." — Modern Traveller. It were very desirable to convey some idea, though im- perfect, of the nature and arrangement of the gardens an- nexed to royal palaces, in the East; for which this would be a proper place. But to bring the subject wiihin a mode- rale compass is not easy ; and every situation has peculiari- ties, which do not admit of illustration by comparison, or of application to our present purpose. The gardens of the seraglio at Constantinople command an extensive sea view, and "are constructed accordingly. Dr. E. D. Clarke and M. Pouqueville agree that they are far from magnificent, as Europeans eslimate masnificence; and may rather be thought wildernes.ses than gardens. They abound in fruit- tress, in treillages, in fountains, and in kiosques. Their other ornaments are but meager ; and iheir flowers, which should conslitute the chief dislinclion of a garden, especially of an imperial garden, are but ordinary. In fact, those gentle- men ralher apologize to their readers for anticipated disap- poinimenl. " I promise," says Dr. Clarke, "to conduct my readers, not only within the reliremenl of Ihe seraglio, but into the harem iiscif, and the most secluded haunts of the Turkish sovereign. Would only I could also promise a degree of satisfaction, in this respect adequate to their de- sire of information." Chardin has given plates of several Persian gardens; and from what he says— which is confirmed by Mr. Morier — coolness and shade beneath wide-spreading trees, water, and verdure, are the governing powers of a Persian para- dise. It might be so, anciently, at Jerusalem; nevertheless, we are s'ill left in uncertainty as to what might characterize the ancient city of David, his palace, and his gardens. We may safely infer that they were extensive, since his demesne occupied the whole area of Mount Zion : they afforded a variety of heights, since Ihe mount was far from level : it rose, alrf the subject," but in eastern idiom, it is, "1 went bound it." " Have you studied Rrammarl"— " Ye.s, siiltr. suite," round and round. " That man is well aciiuainlcd with magic, for to my knowledge he has been round and round it : nay more, I am' told he has compahskd ai.i. the sciences." — Roberts. Vcr. '2(5. Ami I fiml more liittcr than deatli the woman whose heart is snares and nets, and her hands as bands: whoso pleaseth God shall es- cape from her ; but the sinner shall be taken by her. The following insidious mode of robbery gives a very lively comment tipou lhe.se words of Solomon : " The most cunning robbers in ihe world are in this country. They use a certain slip with a running noose, which they cast with so much sleight about a man's neck when they are within reach of him, that they never fail, so that they strangle him in a trice. They have another curious trick also to catch travellers. They send out a handsome woman upon the road, who, with her hair dishevelled, seems lo be all in tears, sighing and coniplainingof some misfortune which she pretends lias befallen her. Now, as she takes the same way as the traveller goes, he easily falls into conversation with her, and finding her beautiful, offers her his assistance, which she accepts: but he hath no sooner taken her up on horseback behind him, but she throws ihe snare about his neck, and strangles him, or at least stuns him, until the robbers who lie hid come running in to her assistance, and complete what she hath begun." (Thevenol.) — Bubder. CHAPTER IX. Ver. 8. Let thy garments be always white; and let thy head lack no ointment. This comparison loses all its force in Europe, but in India, where white cotton is the dress of all the inhabitants, and where the beauty of garments consists, not in their shape, but in their being clean and white, the exhortation tiecomcs sirikingly proper. A Hindoo calechist address- ing a native Christian on the necessity of correctness of conduct, said, See how welctune a persoii is whose garments are clean and while. Such let our conduct be, and then, though we have lost caste, such will be our reception. (Ward.) — BuRDER. Ver. 12. For man also knoweth not his time: as the fishes that are taken in an evil net, and as the birds tliai arc caiifjht in the snare ; so arc the sons of men snared in an evil time, when it falieth suddenly upon them. "Alas! alas! trouble has come suddenly upon me ; lam caught as fishes in the nel." " We are all of us to be caught as fishes in the net." — Roberto. CHAPTER X. Ver. 7. I have seen servants upon horses, and princes walking as servants upon the earth. See on 1 Kings 10. 8. In all ages and nations, we read or hear of complaints against those who have arisen from obscurity lo respecta- bility or rank in the slate. It is not so modern as some suppose for servants and inferiors to imitate their superiors; and though some would like to see a return of Ihe " good old times!" when a man's vest and jerkin woiihl have lo be regulated by his rank, such things are doubtless best left to themselves. The Hindoos are most tenacious in their adherence to caste, and should any one, through property or circumstances, be elevated in society, he will always be looked upon with secret conlenipt. Their proverb is, " He who once walked on the groumi, is now in his palanquin; and he who was in his palanquin, is now on the ground." — Roberts. Persons of rank and opulence, in thase countries, are now distinguished from their inferiois, by riding on horseback when they go abroad; while those of meaner station, and Christians of every rank, the consuls of Christian powers excepted, are obliged lo content themselves with the ass or the mule. A Turkish grandee, proud of his exclusive firivilege, moves on horseback with a very slow and state- y pace. To the honour of riding unon horses, and the stately manner in which the oriental nobles proceed through the streets, with a number of .servants walking before them, the wise man seems lo allude, in his account of the disor- ders which occasionally prevail in society ; " I have seen servants upon horses, and princes walking as servants upon the earth.— Paxton. ^ Ver. 8. He that diggeth a pit shall fall into it ; and whoso breaketh a hedge, a serpent shall bite hiin. Other enclosures have fences of loose stones, or mud walls, some of Ihem very low, w'hich often furnish a re- treat to venomous reptiles. To ihis circuniitance Ihe royal preacher alludes, in his observations of wisdom and folly : " He that diggeth a pit, shall fall into it : and whoso break- eth a hedge, a serpent shall bite him." The term which our translators render hedge in this passage, they might with more propriety have rendered wall, as they had done in another part of the writings of Solomon: " I went by the field of the slothful, and by the vineyard of the man void of understanding; and lo, it was all grown over with thorns, and nettles had covered the face thereof, and the stone wall thereof was broken down." — Paxton. Vcr. 11. Surely the serpent will bite without en- chantment ; and a babbler is no better. The incantation of serpents is one of the most curious and interesting facts in natural history. This wonderful art, which sooths the wrath, and disarms the fury of the deadliest snake, and renders it obedient to the charmer's voice, is not an invention of modern times; for we discover manifest traces of it in the remotest antiquity. It is assert- ed, that Orpheus, who probably flourished soon afler letters were introduced into Greece, knew how lo still the hissing of Ihe approaching snake, and lo extinguish the poison of the creeping serpent. The Argonauts are said lo have subdued by the power of song ihe terrible dragon that guarded Ihe golden fleece: Hfeiti tio^rn ftX^m wpm. Ovid ascribes the same effect lo the soporific influence of cerlain herbs, and magic sentences. But it seems to have been the general persuasion of the ancients, that Ihe principal power of Ihe charmer lay in Ihe sweeiness of his music. Pliny says accordingly, that serpents were drawn from their lurking-places by the power of music. Serpents, says Augustine, are supposed to hear and understand the words of the Marsi ; so thai, by their incantations, these reptiles, for the most pari, sally forth from Iheir holes. The wonderful eflect which music produces on the serpent tribes, is confirmed by the testimony of several rcspeclabic moderns. Adders swell at the sound of a flute, raising themselves upon the one half of their body, turning them- selves round, healing proper lime, and following the inslru- ment. Their head, naturally round and long like an eel, becomes broad and flat like a fan. The lame serpents, many of which the Orientals keep in their houses, are known lo leave their holes in hot wealhcr, at Ihe sound of a musical inslrumcni, and run upon the performer. Dr. Shaw had an opporlunitv of seeing a number of serpents keep exact lime wilh the dervishes in their circulatory dances, running over their heads and arms, turning when they lurned, and stopping when Ihey slopped. The rallle- .snake acknowledges the power of music as much as any of his familv ; of which Ihe following instance is a decisive proof: When C'lialeaubriand was in Canada, a ,«nake of that species entered their encampment ; a young Canadian, one of Ihe parly, who could play on the flute, to divert his associates, advanced against Ihe serpent wilh his new species of weapon. " On Ihe approach of his enemy, the haughty reptile coilcil himself into a spiral line, flattened his head, inflated his cheeks, conlracled his lips, displayed his en- venomed fangs and his bloody throat ; his double tongue glowed like two flames of fire; his eyes were burning coals; his body, swollen wilh rage, rose and fell like the Chap. 10. ECCLESIASTES. 439 bellows of a forge; his dilated skin assumed a dull and scaly appearance ; and his tail, which sounded the denun- ciation of death, vibrated with so great rapidity, as to resemble a light vapour. The Canadian now began to play upon his flute, the serpent started with surprise, and drew back his head. In proportion as he was struck with the magic eflJi^ct, his eyes lost their fierceness, the oscilla- tions of his tail became slower, and the sound which it emitted became weaker, and gradually died away. Less perpendicular upon their spiral line, the rings of the fasci- nated serpent were by degrees expanded, and sunk one after another upon the ground, in concentric circles. The shades of azure, green, white, and gold, recovered their brilliancy on his quivering skin, and slightly turning his head, he remained motionless, in the attitude of attention and pleasure. At this moment, the Canadian advanced a few steps, producing with his flute sweet and simple notes. The reptile, inclining his variegated neck, opened a pas- sage with his head through the high grass, and began to creep after the musician, stopping when he stopped, and beginning to follow him again, as soon as he moved for- ward." In this manner he was led out of their camp, at- tended by a great number of spectators, both savages and Europeans, who could scarcely believe their eyes, when they beheld this wonderful effect of harmony. The assem- bly unanimously decreed that the serpent which had so highly entertained them should be permitted to escape. Many of them are carried in baskets through Hindostan, and procure a maintenance for a set of people who play a few simple notes on the flute, with which the snakes seem much delighted, and keep time by a graceful motion of the head, erecting about half their length from the ground, and following the music with gentle curves, like the undulating lines of a swan's neck. The serpent most common at Cairo, belongs to the viper class, and is undoubtedly poisonous. If one of them enter a house, the charmer is sent for, who u.ses a certain form of words. By this means, Mr. Brown saw three serpents en- ticed out of the cabin of a ship lying near the shore. The operator handled them, and put them into a bag. At other times, he saw the fa.scinated reptiles twist round the bodies of these charmers in all directions, without having had their fangs extracted, or broken, and without doing them any harm. Adders and serpents will twist themselves round the neck and naked bodies of young children be- longing to the charmers, and suffer them to escape unhurt. But if any person who is ignorant of the art happens to ap- proach them, their destructive powers immediately revive. AtSurat, an Armenian seeing one of these charmers make an adder bite him, without receiving any other injury than the mere incision, boasted he could do the same ; and caus- mg himself to be wounded in the hand, died in less than two hours. While the creature is under the influence of the charm, they sometimes break out the tooth which conveys the poi- son, and render it quite harmless : for the poison is contain- ed in a bag, at the bottom of the fangs, which lie flat in the mouth, and are erected only when the serpent intends lo bile. The bag, upon being pressed, discharges the poison through a hole or groove in the fang, formed to receive it, into the wound, which is at the same instant inflicted by the tooih. That all the teeth are not venomous, is evident from this circumstance, that the charmers will cause their serpents to bite them, till they draw blood, and yet the hand will not swell. But on some serpents, these charms seem to have no power ; and it appears from scripture, that the adder some- times lakes precauliims lo prevent the fascination which he sees preparing for him; "for the deaf adder shulleth her ear, and will not hear the voice of the most skilful charm- er." The method is said lo be this: the reptile" lays one ear close to the ground, and with his tail covers the other, that he cannot hear the sound of the music ; or he repels the incantation by hissing violently. The same allusion is involved in the words of Solomon : " Surely the serpent will bile without enchantment, and a babbler is no better." The threatening of the prophet Jeremiah proceeds upon the same fact : " I will .■send serpents (cockatrices) among yon, which will not be charmed, and they shall bite you." In all ihese quotations, the sacred writers, while they take it for granted that many .serpents are disarmed by charm- ing, plainly admit, that ihe powers of the charmer are in vain exerled upon olhers. To account for this exception, it has been alleged, that in some serpents the sense of hear- ing is very imperfect, while the power of vision is exceed- ingly acute; but the most intelligent natural historians maintain, that the very reverse is true. In the serpent tribes, the sense of hearing is much more acute than the sense of vision. Pliny observes, that the serpent is much more frequently roused by the ear than by sight : "Jam primum hebetes oculos hulc malo dedit, eosque non in fronle ex adverse cernere sed in lemporibus: itaque excila- tur, sed saepius audilu quam visu." In this part of his work, the ancient naturalist discourses not concerning any particular species, but the whole class of serpents, asserting of them all, that nature has compensated the dulness of their sight, by Ihe aculeness of their hearing. Unable to resist the force of truth, others maintain, that Ihe adder is deaf, not by nature, but by design ; for Ihe Psalmist says, she shulleth her ear, and will not hear the voice of the charmer. But ihe phrase perhaps means no more than this, that some adders are of a temper so stubborn, that ihe various arts of Ihe charmer make no impression ; they are like creatures destitute of hearing, or whose ears are so completely obstructed, that no sounds can enter. The same phrase is used in other parts of scripture to signify a hard and obdurate heart: " Whoso sloppelh his ears at the cry of Ihe poor, he also shall cry himself, but shall not be heard." Il is used in the same sense by the prophet : " That .stoppelh his ears from hearing of blood, and shulleth his eyes from seeing evil." The righteous man remains as unmoved by the cruel and sanguinary counsels of the wicked, as if he had stopped his ears. In the same man- ner, the stubborn or infuriated aspic, as little regards the power of song, as if her sense of hearing were obstructed or destroyed. If the serpent repel the charm, or is deaf to the song, the charmer, it is believed, exposes himself to great danger, the whole force of the incantation falling upon the head of ils author, against whom the exasperated animal directs its deadliest rage. But which of the serpent tribes have Ihe power to repel the incantations of the charmer, or inject a poison which his art is unable to counteract, no ancient Greek writer has been able lo discover, or has thought prop- er lo mention. jElian states, indeed, that Ihe bite of an aspic admits of no remedy, the powers of medicine, and the arts of Ihe charmer, being equally unavailing. But Iheir omission has been amply supplied by Ihe Arabian philoso- phers quoted by Bochart, our principal guide in this part of the work. These clear and accurate writers divide serpents into three classes. In Ihe first, the force of the poison is so intense, that Ihe sufferer does not survive Iheir attack long- er than three hours, nor does the wound admit of any cure, for they belong lo the class of deaf or stridulous serpents, which are either not afiected by music and other charms, or which, by their loud and furious hissing, defeat the pur- pose of Ihe charmer. The only remedy, in this case, is in- stantaneous amputation, or searing Ihe wound with a hot iron, which extinguishes the virus, or prevents it from reaching the sanguiferous system. In this class they place Ihe regulus, the basilisk, and the various kinds of asps, with all those ihe poison of which is in the highest degree of in- tensity. This doclrine seems to correspond with the view which Ihe Psalmist and the prophet give us in Ihe passages already quoted, of the adder and cockatrice, or basilisk. It is certain, however, from Ihe authentic statements of dif- ferent travellers, that some of those serpents, as Ihe aspic and Ihe basilisk, which the Arabians place on the list of deaf and unlameable snakes, whose bile admits of no rem- edy, have been frequently subjected to Ihe power of Ihe charmer ; nor is it necessary to refer Ihe words of the in- .spired writers lo this subject, for they nowhere recognise the classification adopted by the Arabian philosophers. The only legitimate conclusion to be drawn from Iheir words, is, that the power of the charmer often fails, whether he try to fascinate the aspic, basilisk, or any other kind of serpent. In order to vindicate the sacred writers, il is not necessary lo suppose, wilh the Arabians, that some species of serpents exist, which the charmer endeavours in vain to fascinate; for in operating upon the same species, the suc- cess of his incantations may he various. — Paxton. Ver. 16. Wo to thee, O land, when thy king is a child, and thy princes cat in the morning ! 440 ECCLtSlAS'fES. Chap. 11. Il is considered to be raosl gross, most Hisj?raceful, and ruinous, lo eat eahi.t in the morning: uf.^urhaone ii in said, "Ah! ihal fellow was born wwh his belly."—" The beast eals on his bed !"— " Bclore ihc water awakes, that crealure begins to take his loo I," which alludes to the nr>- lion thai water in the well sleep.^ in ihe^night. " He only eats and sleeps pmulv-pole" i. e. as a pig.—" How can we prosper 1 he no so..ner awakes than he cries, teeit! lecn! food I food! — RoBKKTS. Ver. 1 0. Wo to thee, O land, when thy king is a chilli, and thy princes oat in the morning! 17, Blessed art thou, O land, when thy Wing is the son of" nobles, and thy princes eat in due season, for strength, and not for drunkenness! Dr. Russel tells us of the eastern people, that " as soon as they get up in the morning, ihey breakfast on fried eggs, cheese, honey, leban," &c. We are not to suppose that when Solomon says, " Wo 10 ihee, O laud, when thy king is a child, and thy princes oat in the morning," Eccles, x. Iti, that he means absolute- ly all kinds of eating; but feasting, the indulging themselves such length of time in eating, and drinking proportionably of wine, so as improperly to abridge the hours that should be employed in alfairs of government, and perhaps to dis- qualify themselves for a cool and dispassionate judgment of matters. This is confirmed by the following words, " Blessed art thou, O land, when thy king is the son of nobles, and thy princes eat in due season, for strength, and not for drunken- ness," ver. 17. They may with propriety eat in a morning, bread, honev, milk, fruit,'which, in summer, is a common breakfast w'ith them, but it would be wrong then to drink wine as freely as in the close of the day. Wine being forbidden (he Mohammedans by their reli- gion, and only drank by the more licentious among them, in a more private manner, it is not to be expected to appear at their breakfasts ; but it is used by others, who are not under such restraints, in the morning, as well as in their other repasts. So Dr. Chandler tells us, in his Travels in Asia Minor : " In this country, on account of the heat, it is usual lo rise with the dawn. About daybreak we received from the French consul, a Greek, with a respectable beard, a present of grapes, the clusters large and rich, with other fruits, all fresh gathered. We had, besides, bread and coffee for breakfast, and good wines, particularly one sort, of an ex- quisite flavour, called muscadel." If Ihey drank then wine at all in a morning, it ought lo be, according to the royal preacher, in small quantities, for strength, not for drunkenne.ss. The eastern people, Arabians and Turks both, are ob- served to eat very fast, and, in common, without drinking; hut when they feast and drink wine, Ihey begin with fruit and sweatmeats, and drinking wine, and they sit long at table : Wo lo the land whose princes so cat in a morning, eating after this manner a great variety of things, and slowly, as they do when feasting, and prolonging the time with wine. So the prophet Isaiah, in like manner, says, ch. V. 11, " Wo unto them that rise up early in the raorii- ing, that they may follow strong drink, that continue until nighl, until wineinllame them." Such appears to be the view of Soluincm here. If great men will indulge themselves in the pleasures of the table and of wine, it certainly should be in the evening, when public business is finished. — Habmer. Ver. 20. Curse not the king, no, not in thy thought : and curse not the rich in thy bedchamber ; for a bird of the air shall carry the voice, and that which hath wings shall tell the matter. The manner of sending advice by pigeons was this: They took doves, which had a very young and unfledged brood, and carried them on horseback to the place from whence ihey wished them to return, taking care to let them have a full view. When any advices were received, the correspondent lied a billet lo the pigeon's foot, or under the wing, and let her loose. The bird, impatient to see her young, flew off" with the utmost impetuosity, and soon ar- rived at the place of her destination. These pigeons have been known to travel irom Alex;indreita to Aleppo, a dis- tance of ^eventy miles, in six hours, and in two ddVs from Bagdad ; and when taught, ihey never fail, unless ii be very dark, in which case 11. ey usually send two, lor tear of mis- take. The noeis of Greece and Rome, oi.en allude lo these winged couriers, and iheir surprising industry. Ana- creon's dove, which he celebrates in his ninth ode, was employed to carry her master's le ters; and her fideliiyand despatch are eulogized in these lines ; Eyoi (?t Afa^oojTi, &c. " In such things, I minister to Anacreon ; and now see what letters 1 bring him." It is more than probable, that to this singular cuslora Solomon alludes in the following passage: "Curse not ihe king, no, not in thy thought; and curse not the rich in thy bedchamber; for a bird of the air shall carry the voice, and they which have wings shall tell ihe matter." "The remote antiquity of the age in which ihe wise man flourish- ed, is no valid objection; for the customs and usage.s of Orientals, are aln\ost as permanent as the soil on which they tread. Averse lo change, and content, for the most part, with what their lathers have taught ihem, ihey trans- mit the lessons they have received, and the customs they have learned, with little alteration, from one generation lo another. The pigeon was employed in carrying messages, and bearing intelligence, long before the coming of Christ, as we know from the odes of Anacreon and other classics ; and the custom seems lo have been very general, and quite familiar. When, therefore, the character of those nations, and the stability of their customs, are duly considered, it will not be reckoned extravagant to say, Solomon, in this text, must have had his eye on the carrier pigeon. — Pax- ton. CHAPTER XI. Ver. 1. Casrt thy bread upon the waters; for thou shall find it after many days. I believe Dr. Adam Clarke is right in supposing that this alludes lo the .sowing of rice. The Tamul translation has it, " Cast thy food upon the waters, and the profit thereof shall be found after manv days." Rice fields are so made as to receive and retain ifie rains of the wet monsoon, or lo be watered from the tanks or artilicial lakes. The rice prospers the most when the ground, at the liine of sowing, is in the state of mud, or covered with a little water. In some lands, ihe water is allowed first to overflow the whole, and then the roots are just .stuck into the mud, leaving the blades to float on the .surface. In reaping-time, as the water often remains, the farmer simply lops oft" the ears. See on Job xiiv. 24. — Roberts. The Arabs have a very similar proverb, " Do good, ihrow bread into Ihe water, it will one day be repaid thee." The Turks have borrowed il from the Arabs, with a slight alteration, according to which, it is as follows; " Do good, throw b: ead into the water ; even if the fish does not know, yel the Creator knows il." The meaning of the Hebrew, as well as of the Arabic and Turkish proverb, is, " Dis- tribute thy bread lo all poor people, whether known or un- known to thee ; throw thy bread even into the water, re- gardless whether it swims, and who may derive advantage from il, whether men or fish; for even ihis charity, le- stowed at a venture, God will repay thee sooner or later." — ROSENMCI.LEH. Ver. 9. Rejoice, O young man, in thy youth, and let thy heart cheer thee in the days of thy youth, and walk in the ways of thy heart, and in the sight of thine eyes: but know thou, that for all these things God will bring thee into judgment. Herodotus, speaking of the Egyptians, says, that " at the enlerlainments of the rich, just as thecompanvare about to rise from the repast, a small coffin is carried round, con- taining a perfect representation of a dead body ; il is in size sometimes of one, but never of more than two cubits, and as it is shown lo the guests in rotation, the bearer exclaims. Cast your eyes on this figure ; after death you yourself wiU resemble if, drink, then, and be happy."— Bcrder. Chap. 1. SOLOMON'S SONG. 441 CHAPTER XII. Ver. 4. And the doors shall be shut in the streets, when the sound of the grinding is low; and he shall rise up at the voice of the bird ; and all the daughters of music shall be brought low. It is to the first crowing of the house-cock in the morn- ing, which is before daybreak, that Solomon probably al- ludes. This well describes the readiness of the restless old man to quit his uneasy bed, since it was much earlier than the usual time of rising. In the East, it was common to all, the young and the healthy, as well as the aged, to rise with the dawn. The people in the East bake every day, and usually grind their corn as they want it. The grinding is the first work in the morning. This grinding with their mills makes a considerable noise, or rather, as Sir John Chardin says, " the songs of those who work them." May not this help to explain the meaning of this passage, in which the royal preacher, describing the infirmities of old age, among other weaknesses, says, the doors shall be shut in the streets, when the sound of the grinding is low ? that is, the feeble old man shall not be able to rise from his bed early in the morning to attend that necessary employment of grinding corn, con- sequently his doors shall be shut ; neither will the noise of their songs, which are usual at that employment, be heard, or when it is heard, it will be only in a low, feeble tone. — BURDEH. Ver. 5. Also when they shall be afraid of that which is high, and fears shall be in the way, and the almond-tree shall flourish, and the grasshopper shall be a burden, and desire shall fail ; because man goeth to his long home, and the mourners go about the streets. See on Jer. 1. 11, 12. Ver. 1 1. The words of the wise are as goads, and as nails fastened by the masters of assemblies, tvhich are given from one shepherd. It is said, " The words of that judge are quite certain ; they are like the driven nails." " I have heard all he has to say, and the effect on my mind is like anail driven home." " What a speaker ! all his words are nails ; who will draw them out again?" — Roberts. THE SONG OF SOLOMON. CHAPTER I. Ver. 5. I am black, but comely, O ye daughters of Jerusalem ; as the tents of Kedar, as the cur- tains of Solomon. Entertainments are frequently given in the country under tents, which, by the variety of their colours, and the pecu- liar manner in which they are sometimes pitched, make a very pleasant appearance. To this agreeable custom the spouse probably alludes, in that description of her person : " I am black, but comely, O ye daughters of Jerusalem ; as the tents of Kedar, as the curtains of Solomon." The seeming contradiction in the first clause, is easily obviated. The Arabs generally make use of tents covered with black hair-cloth ; the other nations around them live in booths, or huts, constructed of reeds and boughs, or other materials, or in tents of different colours. In Palestine, the Turco- mans live in tents of white linen cloth ; while the Turks, in their encampments, prefer green or red, which have a very pleasing effect in tne eye of the traveller. It is only the Arabian tents, or the tents of Kedar, which are uni- formly black, or striped. This is the reason the spouse compares her.self, not to tents in general, which are of different colours, but to those of Kedar, which are all cov- ered with black hair-cloth, and have therefore a disagreea- ble appearance. These tenls are stretched on three or four pickets, only five or six feet high, which gives them a very flat appearance : at a distance, one of these camps seems only like a number of black spots. To be black, but comely, involves no contradiction ; for it is certain that the face may be discoloured by the sun, to the influence of which the spouse positively ascribes her sable hue, and yet possess an exquisite gracefulness. The Arab women, whom Mr. Wood saw among the ruins of Palmyra, were well shaped, and, although very swarthy, yet had good features. Zenobia, the celebrated queen of that renowned city, was reckoned eminently beautit^ul ; and the description we have of her person answers to that char- acter; her complexion of a dark brown, (the necessary cf- feet of her way of life in that burning climate ;) her eyes black and sparkling, and of an tmcommon fire; her coun- tenance animated and sprightly in a very high degree; her person graceful and genteel beyond imagination ; her teeth white as pearl; her voice clear and strong. Such is the picture which historians have drawn of the beautiful and unfortimate Zenobia; from whence it appears, that a person may be both black and comely ; and by consequence, that the description of Solomon, which certainly refers to the moral and religious state and character of the genuine worshipper of Jehovah, is neither incongruous nor exag- gerated, but perfectly agreeable to nature. In this case, however, the duskiness of complexion was not natural, but the consequence of exposure to the rays of the sun ; for the .spouse anticipates the surprise which the daughters of Jerusalem woulcl feel when they beheld her countenance : " Look not upon me, because I am black, because the sun hath looked upon me." Females of distinction in Pales- tine, and even in Mesopotamia, are not only beautiful and well-shaped, but, in consequence of being always kept from the rays of the sun, are very fair. This fact is attested by D'Arvieux, who was favoured with a sight of several Ara- bian ladies of high rank. It is not unworthy of notice, that the scripture bears the same testimony concerning the com- plexion of Sarah, of Rebecca, and of Rachel ; they were " beautiful and well-favoured." But the women in general are extremely brown and swarthy in the complexion ; al- though there are not a few of exquisite beauty in these torrid regions, especially among those who are less exposed' to theheat of the sun. It is on this account that the prophet Jeremiah, when he would describe a beautiful women, rep- resents her as one that keeps at home : because those who are desirous to preserve their beauty, go very little abroad. The spouse proceeds, " As the tents of Kedar, as the cur- tains of Solomon." By the last clause may be understood those splendid tents, to which the great monarch, who, by his own confession, denied himself no earthly pleasure, retired in the heats of summer, or when he wished to enter- tain his nobles and courtiers, or .sought the amusement of the chase. Some are of opinion, these curtains refer to the 442 SOLOMON'S SONG. Chap. 2. sumptuous hangings which surrounded ihe bed of the Israel- itish king: and their idea receives some countenance from a manuscript note of Dr. Russel's, which slates, that mos- chclo curtains are sometimes suspended over the beds in Syria and Palestine. Bui .since it is common in Hebrew poetry to express nearly the same thought in the second parallel line as in the first; and since it is equally common m scripture to put a part for the whole, — it is more natural to suppose, thai the lenis of Solomon are actually meant in this passage ; and as we are sure they were extremely mag- nificent, they nii^ht, with great propriety, be introduced here, on account of their beauty. — Paxton. Ver. 7. Tell me, O tiioii whom my soul loveth, where thou feedest, where thou makest thy flock to rest at noon : for why should I be as one that turneth aside by the flocks of thy companions 1 Before noon, the shepherds and their flocks may be seen slowly moving towards .some shady banyan, or other tree, where they recline during the heat of the day. The sheep sleep, or lazily chew the cud ; and the .shepherds plat pouches, mats, or baskets, or in dreamy musings while away their time. — Roberts. Ver. 9. I have compared thee, O my love, to a company of horses in Pharaoh's chariots. This appears a very coarse compliment to a mere English reader, arising froin the difference of our manners ; but the horse is an animal in very high estimation in the East. The Arabians are extravagantly iond of their horses, and caress them as if they were their children. D'Arvieux gives a diverting account of the alTectionate caresses an Arab used to give a mare which belonged to him. He had sold it to a merchant at Rama, and when he came to see it, (which he frequently did,) he would weep over it, kiss its eyes, and when he departed, go backwards, bidding it adieu in the most tender manner. The horses of Egypt are so remark- able for stateliness and beauty, as to be sent as presents of great value to the sublime porle ; and it appears from sacred history, that they were in no less esteem formerly among the kings of Syria, and of the Hittites, as well as Solomon himself, who bought his horses at 150 shekels, which (at Dean Prideaux's calculation of three shillings the shekel) is £'ii. 10.5. each, a very considerable price at which to purchase twelve thousand horses together. The qualities which form the beauty of these horses, are tallness, propor- tionable corpulency, and .stateliness of manner ; the same qualities which they admire in their women, particularly torpukncy, which is known to be one of the most esteemed charactersof beauty inthe East. Niebuhrsa)'s, "asplump- ness is thought a beauty in the East, the women, in order to obtain this beauty, swallow, every morning and every even- ing, three of these insects, (a .species o( tcncbrioncs,') fried in butter." Upon this principle is founded the compliment of Solomon ; and it is remarkable that the elegant Theoc- ritus, in his epithalamium for the celebrated queen Helen, whom he described as jilump and f^rge, uses exactly the same image, comparing her to l/ie horse in Ihe charinis of Thessaly. — Bcrder. Ver. 10. Thy cheeks are comely with rows of jeirel.i, thy neck with chains of gold. Olearius observes, in his description of the dress of the Persian women, " around the cheeks and chin they have one or two rows of pearls or jewels, so that the whole face is adorned with pearls or jewels. I am aware that this is a very ancient eastern custom ; for already in Solomon's song it is said, " thy cheeks are comelv with rows of jewels," &c. All these Persian court ladies had over their curled locks, instead of pearls, two long and thick cords of woven and beaten gold, hanging down from the crown of the head over the face on both sides; this ornament, because it is worn at court, is quite usual amonj; the Persian women, and does not become them ill, in their black hair." (Delia Valla.) Rauwolf gives a similar description of the head-dress of the Arabian women in the desert of Mesopotamia : "When they wish to adorn themselves, they have their trinkets, sucli as balls of marble, and yellow agate, glass beads of divers colours, longish pieces of metal strung upon a thread, hanging pendent upon their temples, nearly a span in length. — ROSENMLXLER. Ver. 12. While the King silteth at his table, my spikenard sendeth forth the smell thereof. See on Mark 14. 3, 5. Ver. 13. A bundle of myrrh is my well-beloved unto me; he shall lie all night betwixt my breasts. The eastern women, among other ornaments, used little perfume-boxes, or vessels filled with perfumes, to smell at. These were worn suspended from the neck, and hanging down on the breast. This circumstance is alluded to in the hindU of myrrh. These olfactoriola, or smelling-boxes, (as the Vulsate rightly denominates them,) are still in use among the Persian women, to whose necklaces, which fall below the bosom, is fastened a large box of sweets; some of these boxes are as big as one's hand ; Ihe common ones are of gold, the others are covered with jewels, Thev are all bored through, and filled with a black pa.sle very light, made of musk and amber, but of very strong smell. — Border. Ver. 14. My beloved is unto me as a cluster of camphire in the vineyards of Engedi. " A cluster of camphire." This is the al-hennah, or Cy- prus. It is here mentioned as a perfume, and its clusters are noticed. This beautiful odoriferous plant, if it is not annually cut and kept low, grows ten or twelve feel high, putting out its little flowers in clusters, which yield a most grateful smell, like camphire, and may, therefore, be alluded to. Cant, i, 14, Its plants after they are dried and powdered, are disposed of to good advantage in all the markets of this kingdom, of Timis. For with this all the African ladies, that can purchase it, tinge their lips, hair, hands, and feel ; rendering them thereby of a tawny, saffron colour, which, with them, is reckoned a great beauty. Russel mentions the same practice of dying their feet and hands with hen- nah, as general among'all sects and conditions at Aleppo. Hasselquist assures us he saw the nails of .some mummies tinged with the al-hennah, which proves the antiquity of the practice. And as this plant does not appear to be a native of Palestine, but of India and Eg>pt, and seems mentioned, Cant. i. 14, as a curiosity growing in the vineyards of En- gedi, it is probable that ihe Jews might be acquainted with its use as a die or tinge before they had experienced its odoriferous quality, and might, from the former circum- stance, give it its name. See more concerning the hennah, or al-hennah, in Harmer's Outlinesof a New Commentary on Solomon's Song, p. 218, &c.— Burder. CHAPTER II. Ver. 1. I am the rose of Sharon and the lily of the valleys. In the East this flower is extremely fragrant, and has al- ways been much admired. In what esteem it was held by the ancient Greeks, may be seen in the Odes of Anacreon, and the comparisons in Ecclus. 24. 14. 18. L. 8, .show that the 5ews were likewise much delighted with it. " In no countrv of the world does the rose grow in such perfection as in Persia ; in no country is it so cultivated and prized by the natives. Their sjardens and courts are crowded w'iih its plants, their rooms ornamented with vases, filled with its gathered bunches, and every bath .strewn with the full-blown flowers, plucked from the ever-replenished stems. Even Ihe humblest individual, who pays a piece of copper money for a few whifs of a kelioun, feels a double enjoy- ment when he finds it stuck with a bud from hisdearnative tree." (Sir R. K. Porter.) — Kirdeh. Ver. 3. As the apple-tree among the trees of the wood, so is my beloved among the sons. I sat down under his shadow with great delight, and his fruit was sweet to my taste. In Canaan, and the circumjacent regions, the apple-tree J Chap. 2. SOLOMON'S SONG. 443 is of no value ; and, therefore, seems by no means entitled to the praise with which it is honoured by the spirit of in- spiration. The inhabitants of Palestine and Egypt import (heir apples from Damascus, the produce of their own orch- ards being almost unlit for use. The tree then, to which the spou.se compares her Lord in the Song of Solomon, whose shade was so refreshing, and whose fruit was so de- licious, so comforting, so restorative, could not be the apple- tree, whose fruit can hardly be eaten; nor could the apple- tree, which the prophet mentions with the vine, the lig, the palm, and the pomegranate, which furnished the hungry with a grateful repast, the failure of which was considered as a public calamity,be really of thatspecies: " The vine isdried up, the fig-tree languisheth, the pomegranate-tree, the palm- tree, also the apple-tree, even all the trees of the field, are withered ; because joy is withered away from the sons of men." M.Forskallsays,lheapple-tree is extremely rare, and is named lijffah by the inhabitants of Palestine. In deference to his authority, the editor of Calmet, with every disposition to render the original term by the ciiron, is inclined to revert again to the apple. But if, as Forskall admits, the apple- tree is extremely rare, it cannot, with propriety, be classed with the vine, and other fruit-bearing trees, that are ex- tremely common in Palestine and Syria. And if it grow " with difficulty in hot countries," and required even Ihe "assiduous attention" of such a monarch as Solomon, be- fore it could be raised and propagated, an inspired writer certainly would not number it among the " trees of the field," which, as the phrase clearly implies, can live and thrive without the fostering care of man. The citron is a large and beautiful tree, always green, perfuming the air with its exquisite odour, and extending a deep and refreshing shade over the panting inhabitants of the torrid regions. Well, then, might the spouse exclaim : " As the citron-tree among the trees of the wood ; so is my beloved among the sons. I sat down under his shadow with great delight, and his fruit was sweet to my taste." A more beautiful object can hardly be conceived, than a large and spreading ritron, loaded with gold-coloured apples, and clothed with leaves of the richest green. Maundrell prefer- red the orange garden, or citron grove, at Beroot, the palace of the Emir Facardine, on the coast of Syria, to every thing else he met with there, although it was'only a large quad- rangular plo! of ground, divided intosixteen smaller squares: but the walks were so shaded with orange-trees, of a large spreading size, and so richly adorned with fruit, that he thought nothing could be more perfect in its kind, or, had it been duly cultivated, could have been more delightful. When it is recollected that the difference between citron and orange-trees is not very discernible, excepting by the fruit, both of which, however, have the same golden colour, this passage of Maundrcll's may serve as a comment on the words ofSolomon, quored in the beginningof the. section.— Paxton. Shade, according to Mr. Wood, in his description of the rums of Balbec, is an essential article in oriental luxury. The greatest people seek these refreshments, as well as the meaner. So Dr. Pococke found the patriarch of the Ma- roniles, (who was one of their greatest families,) and a bishop, sitling under a tree. Any tree that is thick and spreading dolh for them; but it must certainly be an addi- tion to their enjoying of themselves, when the tree is of a fragrant nature, as well as sliady, which the cUron-tree is. Travellers there, we find in their accounts, have made use of plane-trees, walnut-trees, &c., and Egmont and Heyman were entertained with cofiee at Mount Sinai, under the orange-trees of the garden of that place. The people of those countries not only frequently sit un- der shady trees, and take collations under them, bin some- times the fruit of those trees under which they sit, is shaken down upon them, as an agreeablencss. So Dr. Pocoke tells us, when he was at Sidon, he was entertained in a garden, in the shade of some npricot-frecf:,&ni\ the fruit of them was shaken upon him. He speaks of it indeed as if it was done as a great proof of their abundance, but it seems rather to have been designed as an agreeable addition to the entertain- ment.— Harmer. Ver. 5. Stay me with flagons, comfort me with apples ; for I am sick of love. Dr.Boothroyd :— " Support me with cordials; with citrons: for slill I languish with love." Dr. support me A.Clarke: — The versions in general understand some kind of oint- ments or perfumes by the first term," i. e. flagons. " Com- fort me with apples :" they had not apples, as we in Eng- land ; It is, therefore, probable that the citron or the orange (both of which are believed to be good for the complaint al- luded to) is the fruit meant. " I am sick of love." Is it. not amusing to see parents and physicians treating this af- fection as a DISEASE of a very serious nature 1 It is called the Cuma-Cdc/uU, i. e. Cupid's fever, which is said to be produced by a wound inflicted by one of his five arrows. When a young man or woman becomes languid, looks thin, refuses Ibod, seeks retirement, and neglects duties, the father and mother hold grave consuhations ; they apply to the medical man, and he furnishes them with medicines, which are forthwith to be administered, to relieve the poor patient. I believe the " versions in general" are right in supposing ' ointments or perfumes" are meant, instead of flagons, be- cause they are still considered to be most efficacious in re- moving the COMPLAINT. Thus, when the fever is most dis- tressing, the sufl"erer is washed with ro.se-water, rubbed with perfumed oils, and the dust of sandal wood. The margin has, instead of comfort, " straw me with apples ;" which probably means the citrons were to be put near to him, as it is believed they imbibe the heat, and consequently lessen the fever. It is also thought lo be highly beneficia'l for the young suflerer to sleep on the tender leaves of the plantain-tree, {Jbaimna,) or the lotus flowers ; and if, in ad- dition, strings of pearls are tied to difierent parts of the body, there is reason to hope the patient will do well.— Roberts. Ver. 7. I charge you, O ye daughters of Jerusa- lem, by the roes, and by the hinds of the field, that ye stir not up, nor awake wy love, till he please. See on 2 Sam. 2. 18. Here again the custom illustrates the passage ; it would be considered barbarous in the extreme to awake a person out of his sleep. How often, in going lo the house of a native, you are saluted with " NiUera-Icvlla-larur;' i.e.'- He sleeps." Ask them to arouse him : the reply is, " Koodalha," i. e. " I cannot." Indeed, to request such a thing shows at once that you are griffin, or new-comer. " Only think of that ignorant Englishman : he went to the house of our chief, and being told he was asleep, he said he must see him, and actually made such a noise as to awake him ; and then laughed at what he had done."— Roberts. The antelope, like the hind, with which it is so fre- quently associated in scripture, is a timid creature, ex- tremely jealous and watchful, sleeps little, is easily dis- turbed, takes alarm on the slightest occasion ; and the mo- ment its fears are awakened, it flies, or seems rather to dis- appear, from the sight of the intruder. Soft and cautious is the step which interruptsnotthe light slumbers of this gentle and suspicious creature. It is probable, from some hints in the sacred volume, that the shepherd in the eastern desert, sometimes wished to beguile Ihe tedious moments, by con- templating the beautiful form of the sleeping antelope. But this was a gratification he could not hope to enjoy, unless he approached it wiih the utmost care, and maintained a profound silence. When, therefore, an Oriental charged his companion by the antelope, not to disturb the repose of another, he intimated, by a mo.st expressive and beaulifiil allusion, the necessity of using the greatest circumspeclicn. This statement imparls a great degree of clearness and energy, to the solemn adjuration which the spouse twice addrcs.'^cs to the daughters of Jerusalem, when she charged them not to dislurb Ihe repose of her beloved ; " I charge you, O ye daughters of Jerusalem, by the rocs, (the anl°e- lopes,) and hy the hinds of the field, that )'e stir not up nor awake my love, till he please." In this language, which is pastoral, and equally beautiful and significant; the spouse delicately inliinales her anxiety to detain her Lord, thatshe may enjoy the happiness of contemplating his glory; her deep .sense of the evil nature and bitter consequences of sin ; her apprehension, lest her companions, the members of her family, should hy some rash and unholy deed provoke him to dcparl ; and how reasonable it was, that they who coveted the society of that beautiful creature, and we'te accustomed to walch over its slumbers in guarded silence, .should be 444 SOLOMON'S SONG. Chap. 2. equally cautious not to disturb the communion which she then enjoyed with her Saviour. — P^xroK. Ver. 8. The voire of my beloved ! behold, he Cometh leaping upon the mountains, skipping upon llie hills. See on Ps. 18. 33. Ver. 8. The voice of my beloved ! behold, he Cometh leaping upon the mountains, skipping upon the hills. 9. My beloved is like a roe, or a young hart: behold, he standeth behind our wall, he looketh forth at the window, showing himself through the lattice. Mr. Harmer thinks this means the green wall, as it were, of a kiosque, or eastern arbunr, which is thus described by L.i. The supposition cannot be admitted. An inspired writer never departs from the strictest truth and piopriety in the use of figures, according to the rules of oriental composition; and there- fore a meaning directly opposite must be the true one, to correspond with the physical character of that wind. The nature of the prayer also requires a different version ; for is it to be supposed that the spouse, in the same breath, would desire two directly opposite winds to blow upon her garden 1 It now remains to inquire, if the original te.xt will admit of another version; and it must be evident, that the only difficulty lies in the term which we render. Come thou. Now the verb bo, signifies both to come and to de- part; literally, to remove from one place to another. In this sense of going or departing, it is used in the prophecies of Jonah twice in one verse : " He found a ship (baa) go- ing to Tarshish ; so he paid the fare thereof, and went down into it (labo) to go with them." It occurs again in this sense in the book of Ruth, and is so rendered in our trans- lation : " He went fvayabo) lo lie down at the end of the heap of corn." The going down or departure of the sun, is expres,sed by a derivative of the same verb in the book of Denleronoiiiy : " Are thev not on the other side Jordan, by the way where the .sun go'clh down ?" Joshua uses it in the same sense ; " Unto the great sea, (Mebo,) towards the going down of the sun, shall be your coast." The passage, then, under consideration, maybe rendered in this manner, putting the address to the south wind in a parenthesis : Arise, O north wind, (retire, thou south,) blow upon my garden, let the spices thereof flow forth, that my beloved may come into his garden, and eat his pleasant fruits. This conclusion, were any confirmation necessary to es- tablish so plain a truth, is verified by the testimony of Le Bruin, already quoted, who, in ihe course of his travels in Palestine, found, from experience, that it produced an op- pressive heat, not the gentle and inviting warmth which Sanctius suppo.sed. No traveller, so far as the writer has been able to discover, gives a favourable account of the south wind ; consequently, it cannot be an object of desire; the view therefore which Harmer fust gave of this text, is, in every respect, entitled to the preference: "Awake, O north wind,(depart, thou south,) blow upon my garden, that the spices thereof may flow out." — P.ixton. CHAPTER V. Ver. 2. I sleep, but my heart waketh: it U the voice of my beloved tiiat knockcth, aaying. Open to me, my sister, my love, my dove, my nndefilrd : for my head is filled with dew, and my locks with the drops of the night. See on ch. G. 9. Ver. 4. My beloved put in his hand by the hole of the door, and my bowels were moved for him. In Ihe capital of Egypt, also, all their locks and keys are of wood ; they have iione of iron, not even for their city gates, which mav with ease hf opened without a key. The keys, or bits of timber, with liiilc piceps of \v\\x\ lift up other pieces of wire that are in the lock, and enter into certain little holes, out of which the ends of the wires that are in the key have just expelled Ihe corresponding wires ; upon which the gale is opened. But to accomplish this, a key is not necessary ; the Egyptian lock is so imperfectly made, that one may wilhoul difhcully open it wild his fin- ger, armed with a little soft paste. The locks in Canaan, at one time, do not seem to have been made with greater art, if Solomon allude to the ease with which they were frequently opened without a key : " My beloved put in his hand by the hole of the door, and my bowels were moved for him." — Paxton. Ver. 5. I rose up to open to my beloved ; and my hands dropped tcith myrrh, and my fingers tcith sweet-smelling-myrrh, upon the handles of the lock. When the spouse rose from her bed to open to her tie- loved, her hand dropped myrrh, (balsam,) and her fingers sweet-smelling myrrh, on the handles of the lock. In this remark, she seems to allude rather to a liquid than a pow- der; for the word rendered dropped, signifies lo distil as the heavens or the clouds do rain, or as Ihe mountains are said to distil new wine from the vines planted there, or a.s the inverted cups of lilies shed their ro.scid or honey drops. The same term is figuratively applied to words or dis- course, which are -said lo distil as the dew, and drop as the rain ; but still the allusion is lo some liquid. As a noun, it is the name of .stacte, or myrrh, distilling from the tree of its own accord, without incision. Again, Ihe word rendered sweet-smelling signifies passing off, distilling, or trickling down; and, therefore, in its present connexion, more na- turally refers to a fluid than lo a dry powder. If these ob- servations be just, it will not be difficult to ascertain the real sense of the passage. When the spouse rose from her bed, to open the door of her apartment, she hastily prepared to receive her beloved, by washing herself with myrrh and water ; or, according to an established custom in the East, by anointing her head with liquid essence of balsam: a part of which, in either case, might remain on her hands and fingers, and from them trickle down on the handles of the lock. — Paxton. Ver. 7. The watchmen that went about the city found me, they smote me, they wounded me ; the keepers of the walls took away my veil from me. See on Ezek. 33. 2. They plucked off her veil, in order lo discover who she was. ll is well known that the eunuchs, in the eastern countries, are at present authorized to treat the females un- der their charge in this manner. — Birdeh. Ver. 10. My beloved h white and rndd)', the cliiefest among ten thousand. In our translation, the church represents her Saviour as . the standard-bearer in the armies of the living God. "My beloved is while and rudily, the chicfcsl among ten thou- sand ;" or, according to the margin, a standard-bearer among ten thousand. These phrases are made synony- mous, on the groundless supposition that a standard-bearer is the chief of the company ; for among the modern Orien- tals, a standard-bearer is not Ihe chief, more than among ihc nations of Europe. He is, on Ihe contrary, ihe lowest commissioned officer in the corps who bears Ihe colours. This, however, seems lo be merely a mistake of our trans- lators, in rendering the phrase dai^vl mcrihrthak. If we un- derstand by the word ilassage', then, is rightly translated Chap. 5—7. SOLOMON'S SONG. 447 thus : My beloved is while and ruddy, and honourable, as one before whom, or around whom, ten thousand standards are borne. The compliment is returned by her Lord in these words : " Thou art beautiful, O my love, as Tirzah, comely as Je- rusalem, terrible as an army with banners ;" and again, " Who is she that looketh forth as the morning, fair as the moon, clear as the sun, terrible as an army with banners V Mr. Harnier imagines that these texts refer to a marriage procession, surrounded with flambeaux. But what is terri- ble in a company of women, even although " dressed in rich attire, surrounded with nuptial flambeaux," blazing ever so fiercely 1 Besides, his view sinks the last member of the comparison, and, indeed, seems to throw over it an air of ridicule: Who is this that looketh forth as the morn- ing, fair as the moon, clear as the sun, and dazzling, like a bride lighted home with flambeaux'! The common trans- lation certainly sustains much better the dignity of the last clause, while it gives the genume meaning of (o'n) aim, which, in every passage of scripture where it occurs, signi- fies either terrible, or the tumult and confusion of mind which terror produce.\ — Paxton. Ver. 12. His eyes are as the eyes of doves by the rivers of water, washed with milk, and fitly set. Hebrew, for fitly set, " sitting in fulness ;" that is, " fitly placed, and set as a precious stone in the foil of a ring." " See that youth, what a beautiful eye he has ! it is like a sapphire set in silver;" which means, the metal represents the white and the blue, the other part of the eye. The eyes of their more sacred idols are made of precious stones. " Washed with milk." Though people thus wash them- selves after a funeral, the custom is also spoken of by way of figure, as a matter of great joy. " Oh ! yes, they are a happy pair ; they wash themselves with milk." " The joy is as great as being bathed in milk." But some do thus ac- tually wash their bodies three or four times a month, and the effect is said to be cooling and pleasing. I suppose, however, it arises a.s much from an idea of luxury, as any other cause. The residence of the god Vishnoo is said to be surrounded by a se.i of milk, which may also be an- other reason to induce the devotee thus to bathe himself. — Roberts. The eyes of a dove, always brilliant and lovely, kindle with peculiar delight by the side of a crystal brook, for this is her favourite haunt ; here, she loves to wash and to quench her thirst. But the inspired writer seems to inti- mate, that not satisfied with a single rivulet, she delights especially in those places which are watered with numer- ous streams, whose full flowing tide approaches the height of the banks, and offers her an easy and abundant supply. They seem as if they were washed with milk, from their shining whiteness ; and fitly, rather fully set, like a gem set in gold, neither too prominent nor too depressed, but so formed as with nice adaptation to fill up the socket. — Paxtok. Ver. 15. His legs are as pillars of marble set upon sockets of fine gold ; his countenance is as Lebanon, excellent as the cedars. " His thighs are as pillars of marble, fixed upon pedes- tals of fine gold ;" alluding to his sandals bound on his feet with golden ribands ; or, perhaps, expressive of the feet themselves, as being of a redder tincture than the legs and thighs. The Asiatics used to die their feet of a deep red colour. Thus the lover in Gitagovinda says, O damsel, shall I die red with the juice of alactaca, those beautiful feet, which will make the full-blown land lotos blush with shame 1 (Sir W. Jones.) — Bubder. CHAPTER VI. Ver. 4. Thou art beautiful, O my love, as Tir- zah; comely as Jerusalem; terxihle as an army with banners. This and the next chapter give an idea of what were the notions of beauty in the bride; she was like the city of Tir- zah, belonging to the tribe of Ephraim. A handsome Hiur doo female is compared to the sacred city of Seedambaram. The following, also, are signs of beauty in an eastern wo- man : her skin is the colour of gold ; her hands, nails, and soles of the feet, are of a reddish hue ; her limbs must be smooth, and her gait like the stately swan. Her feet are small, like the beautiful lotus ; her waist is slender as the lightning ; her arms are short, and her fingers resemble the five petals of the kanlha flower ; her breasts are like the young cocoa-nut, and her neck is as the trunk cf the areca- tree. Her mouth is like the ambal flower, and her lips as coral ; her teeth are like beautiful pearls ; her nose is high, and lifted up, like that of the chameleon, (when raised to snuff the wind ;) her eyes are like the sting of a wasp, and the karungu-vally flower ; her brows are like the bow, and nicely separated ; and her hair is as the black cloud. — Rob- erts. Ver. 9. My dove, my undefiled, is but one : she is the only one of her mother, she is the choice one of her that bare her. The conjugal chastity of the dove has been celebrated by every writer, who has described or alluded to her char- acter. She admits but of one mate ; she never forsakes him till death puts an end to their union ; and never aban- dons of her own accord, the nest which their united labour has provided. jElian, and other ancient writers, afiirm, that the turtle and the wood-pigeon punish adultery with death. The black pigeon, when her mate dies, obstinately rejects the embraces of another, and continues in a wid- owed state for life. Hence, among the EgjTitians, a black pigeon was the symbol of a widow who declined to enter again into the marriage relation. This fact was so well known, or at least so generally admitted among the an- cients, that TertuUian endeavours to establish the doctrine of monogamy by the example of that bird. These facts have been transferred by later authors to the widowed tur- tle, which, deaf to the solicitations of another mate, con- tinues, in mournful strains, to deplore her loss, till death puts a period to her sorrows. These facts unfold the true reason, that the church is by Solomon so frequently com- pared to the dove. — Paxton. Ver. 11. I went down into the garden of nuts, to see the fruits of the valley, and to see whether the vine flourished, and the pomegranates budded. See on ch. 7. 11, 12. CHAPTER VII. Ver. 1. How beautiful are thy feet with shoes, O prince's daughter ! the joints of thy thighs are like jewels, the work of the hands of a cunning workman. The word rendered joints means the concealed dress, or drawers, which are still worn by the Moorish and Turkish women of rank. Lady M. W. Montague, in describing her Turkish dress, says, " the first part of my dress is a pair of drawers, very full, that reaches down to my shoes, and conceals the legs more modestly than your petticoats ; they are of a thin, rose-coloured damask, brocaded with flowers." BURDER. Ver. 3. Thy two breasts are like two young roes that are twins. See on ch. 2. 8. Ver. 4. Thy neck is as a tower of ivory ; thine eyes like the fish-pools in Heshbon, by the gate of Bathrabbim ; thy nose is as the tower of Lebanon, which looketh towards Damascus. Whatever is majestic and comely in the human coun- tenance ; whatever commands the reverence, and excites the love of the beholder, — Lebanon, and its towering ce- dars, are employed by the sacred writers to express. In the commendation of the church, the countenance of her Lord is as Lebanon, excellent as the cedars : while in the eulogium which he pronounces on his beloved, one fea- ture of her countenance is compared to the highest peak of that mountain, to the Sannin, which rises, with majestic 448 SOLOMON'S SONG. Chap. 8. grandeur, above the tallcsl cedars that adorn il.i .sumniii.s: " Thy nose is as the lower of Lebanon, which hmketh towards Damascus." CalmctiniaKines, with no small degree of probability, that the suered writer alludes to an elesjant tower of white marble, which, in his days, crowned the summit of a lofty precipice, at the foot of which the river Barrady foams, about the distance of two miles from Da- raa.scus. When Maundrell visited the place, he found a small structure, like a sheik's sepulchre, erected on the highest point of the precipice, where it had probably stood. From this elevated station, which forms a part of Leba- non, the traveller enjoyed the most perfect view of the city. So charmmg was the landscape, so rich and diversified the scenery, that he confessedly found it no easy niaUer to tear himself away from the paradise of delights which bloomed at his feet. Nor was a very late traveller less delighted with this most enchanting prospect. — P.ixton. Ver. 5. Thy head upon thee is like Carmel, and the hair of thy head lilce purple ; the King is held in the galleries. The only remarkable mountain on the western border of Canaan, is Carmel, which lies on the seacoast, at the south end of the tribe of Ashcr, and is frequently men- tioned in the .sacred writings. On this mountain, which is very rocky, and about two thousand feet in height, the prophet Elijah fixed his residence : and the monks of the Greek church, who have a convent upon it, show the in- quisitive stranger the grotto, neatly cut out in the solid rock, where, at a distance from the tumult of the world, the ven- erable seer reposed. At the distance of a lea^jue are two fountains, which they pretend the prophet, by his miracu- lous powers, made to spring out of the earth ; and lower down, towards the foot of the mountain, is the cave where he instructed the people. It is an excavation in the rock, cut very smooth, both above and below, of about twenty paces in length, fifteen in breadth, and very high ; and Thevenot, who paid a visit to the monks of Mount Car- mel, pronounces it one of the finest grottoes that can be seen. The beautiful shape and towering height of Carmel, furnish Solomon with a striking simile, expressive of the loveliness and majesty of the church in the eyes of her Redeemer: " Thy liead upon thee is like Carmel, and the hair of thv head like purple; the King is held in the gal- leries." The mountain itself is nothing but rock. The monks, however, have with great labour covered .some parts of it with soil, on which they cultivate flowers and fruits of various kinds; but the fields around have been celebra- ted in all ages for the extent of their pastures, and the rich- ness of their verdure. So great was the fertility of this region, that, in the language of the sacred writers, the name, Carmel, is often equivalent to a fruitful tield. This was undoubtedly the reason that the covetous and churlish Na- bal chose it for the range of his numerous flocks and herds. — Paxto.m. Ver. 8. I said, I will go up to the palm-tree, I will take hold of the boughs thereof; now also thy breasts shall be as clusters of the vine, and the smell of thy nose like apples. See on ch. 2. 3. Ver. 11. Come, my beloved, let us go forth into the field; let us lodge in the village. 12. Let us get up early to the vineyards; let us see if the vine flourish, whethrr tiie tender grape ap- pear, and the pomegranates bud forth : there will I give thee my loves. In the gardens around Aleppo, commodious villas are built, for the use of the inhabitants, to which they retire during the oppre.ssive heats of summer. Here, ai'nid the wild an