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AlSr ESSAY

ON THE

SPIRIT AND CHARACTERISTICS

HEBREW POETRY.

J. M. HIRSCHFELDER.

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A SHORT ESSAY

ON THE SPIRIT AND CHARACTERISTICS OF HEBREW POETRY.

Many circumstances contributed to make the ancient Hebrews a
highly poetic people. The nomadic and peaceful life of the
Patriarchs; the bondage of the Israelites in Egypt, and their
wonderful delivcranco and exodus from that land ; their wanderings
through the wilderness; their taking possession of a land that
was said to flow with milk and honey ; their natural taste for music,
Avhich was afterwards carefully fostered in the Temple service ; the
beautiful and romantic scenery of the holy land ; their magnificent
Temple and its imposing service : these and many other circumstances
iu the chequered history of the Israelites, furnished inexhaustible
sources from which the most sublime poetic images might be drawn,
and which the IlebrcAV poets were never weary of turning to account. .
Hence, "the Bible," as a writer has justly observed, "is a mass of
beautiful figures ; its words and its thoughts are alike poetical ; it
has gathered around its central truths all natural beauty and
interest ; it is a temple with one altar and one God, but illuminated
by a thousand varied lights, and studded with a thousand orna-
ments." The inherent love of the ancient Hebrews for poetry is
strikingly apparent, even from the limited amount of literature that
has escaped tlie ravages of time. Their language, as soon as it
passes the limits of mere narration, at once becomes dignified :
their blessings ; their prayers and supplications ; their exhortations
and denunciations; their charges and admonitions; their dire
lamentations and triumphant bursts of joy; all display strikingly
their natural taste for poetry.: and hence it is that so much of the
Hebrew Scriptures is Avrittcn in poetry, and that even among the
prose writings we so frequently meet with poetic effusions.
So early as in Genesis iv. 23, 24, we have an example of a desultory
piece of poetry abruptly introduced, in the address of Lamech to
•his wives :

" Adah and Zillah, hear my voice,
Wives of Lamecli, give ear to my speccli !
If I Lave slain a man to my wounding,
And a young man to my hurt :
If Cain shall be avenged seven times,
Then Lamech seventy times seven."*

This address is in hemistichs, according to the genius of Hebrew
poetry. It was, no doubt, handed down by tradition to the time

* Comiuentators have been not a little puzzled in ende;vvouring to discover the
cause that gave rise to this address, so abruptly introduced. From the absence of
auv further information than simply what may be gathered from the speech itself,

of Moses, and is not only the most ancient piece of poetry in the
Old Testament, but also the only relic of antediluvian poetry

extant.

The celebrated blessing and prophecy of Jacob, as recorded ni
Gen. xlix. 3-27 inclusive, is also couched in highly poetic language.
The striking difference in style that pervades that portion of the
chapter from the rest, must be apparent to the English reader. The
chapter commences with plain prose composition : —

" And Jacob called unto his sons, and said, gather yourselves
together, and I will declare to you that which shall befall you in
the last days. Gather yourselves together, and hear, ye sons of
Jacob, and hearken to Israel your father."

But at the next verse begins the prophesy, and with it a totally

different style of composition ; the language becomes dignified and

figurative, and assumes all the characteristics of Hebrew poetry.

We shall subjoin the next four verses, that the reader may sec the

difference of style from those just quoted : —

" Reuben, my first born art thou,
My might, and the beginning of my strength,
The excellency of dignity, and the excellency of power.
A boiling up as of water art thou, thou shalt not excel,
For thou ascendedst the bed of thy father,
Then didst thou defile it : —
My couch he ascended !

Simeon and Levi are brethren ;

Instruments of violence are their covenants.

My Boul, enter not into their deliberations,

My honour, be not joined in their assembly, -

For in their anger they slew a man.

And in their wantonness they maimed an ox."

Besides these there are many other poetical compositions
dispersed throughout the prose books of the Old Testament. As
for instance : the song by the well. Num. xxi. 17, 18 ; the prophe-
cies of Balaam, Num. xxiii. and xxiv; the triumphal song of
Deborah, Judges v. ; the parable of Jotham, Judges ix. 7-15 ; the
riddle of Samson, and the solution of it by the Philistines, Judges
xiv. 14, 18 ; the exulting chant of Hannah, 1 Samuel ii. 1-10 ; the

all that can be advanced on the subject must necessarily be mere conjecture. Still,
from the strain of the address it is evident that Lamech contrasts some minor
oflFence of his own with the hideous crime of fratricide of Cain. It is, therefore,
not improbable that Lamech had slain some one in self-defence, and that this
address was intended to console his wives, who, perhaps, felt alarmed lest the friends
of the deceased might seek an opportunity to avenge his death. To allay their
fear, Lamech contrasts his offence with that of Cain ; as much as to say, surely if
Cain, who had slain his brother without the least provocation, shall be avenged
eeven-fold should any one seek his life, then Lamech who had merely killed a man
in self-defence, shall certainly be avenged seventy and seven fold ; that is, incomparably
greater will his punishment be, who should slay Lamech, who has only acted in his
own defence. The expressions " a man" and a "young man" do not imply that
Lamoch had slain two persons, as it is quite in accordance, as will be hereafter
shewn; with the cenius of Hebrew poetry, to repeat the same idea in different terms.

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sublime elegy of David on the death of his friend Jonathan, II. Samuel

i. 19-27 &c.

' Of ""the poetical books of the Old Testament, the first that claims
our notice is the book of Job, as being, no doubt, tie most ancient
writing that has come down to us. There are indeed some who
maintain that the author of this book lived as late as the time of
Solomon, or one or two centuries afterwards ; whilst others, still
more extravagant in their views, place him shortly before or during
the Babylonish captivity ; these are, however, fortuitous conjectures,
which can neither be sustained by proof nor supported by rea-
sonable arguments, Avhilst many circumstances, gathered from
the book itself, plainly tend to sliow that the author of the
book must ha^e lived, if not in the patriarchal age, at least before
the exodeof the Israelites from Egypt; but as this subject will
be fully discussed hereafter in the commentary on that book, it is
unnecessary to dwell upon it here.

In the book of Job we possess a monument of genius, which,
simply regarded as a literary production, is without doubt one of
the most characteristic and sublime that has come down to us
from the ancient world. The poetical merit of this book is very
great; wc may say, unrivalled. Its style is pure, its images are
sublime, its ideas loftv, and the language and arguments at once
powerful and impressive. The poesy of the book of Job is the
pure poesy of nature ; the animal, vegetable and mineral kingdoms,
the heavens, the seas and their contents, all contribute richly to
embellish the conceptions of the author. Job had evidently made
the material universe his study, but as he rambled through its vast
domain in search of knowledge, wherewith to store his inquirmg
mind, he beheld likewise everywhere the handy work of the Most
High ; and thus as he drank deeper and deeper of its intellectual
draughts, he became at the same time more and more firmly impressed
with°the all-pervading power, greatness and love of its Lord and
Creator. The study of nature had made him better acquainted
with the merciful dealings of the God of nature, and hence his firm
belief in the overruling power of the Almighty. In everything
he perceives the hand of God, and though it be far beyond his
comprehension, he still maintains that it is so ordered for some
wise purpose. This doctrine he establishes by such arguments as
the following : —

" Secure are the tents of the robbers,
And those provoking God live iu tranquillity ;
Into whose hand God bringeth abundantly."

Job xii. <J.

" Why do the wicked Uvo ;
They grow old, and even incrcnso in wcaltli.
Their seed is established iu their sight, about them ;
And their oflFspring before their eyes.
Their houses arc secure from fear,
And the rod of God is not upon them.
His ox cngendereth, and faileth not ;
His cow calveth, and doth not miscarry ?"

.lob xxi. 7-10.

As much as to say : ' This indeed may appear marvellous to us, yet
so it is. The wicked live, they grow old, and even become rich.
Their children are established around them; their dwellings are
secure ; no chastisements of God apparently come upon them, though
they have merited them ; their cattle increase ; in short, everything
seems to prosper with them. Here, then, is prosperity, where we
should expect poverty ; here is what may tend to make life happy,
where we should look for affliction and misery. Such are the inscru-
table ways of God, such are his inscrutable dealings with man !
Truly they are past finding out !'

Upon this doctrine of overruling providence. Job takes his stand
against his friends, who consider his calamities and sufferings as the
consequence of some sin which he had committed. Job, on the
contrary, maintains that, as the wicked do often prosper, so the
most upright may frequently be very unfortunate. God acts accord-
ing to his sovereign pleasure. His omnipotence is indeed apparent
in every part of the creation; but his justice in the government of
the Avorld cannot always be comprehended ; of tliis we have
examples in the prosperity of the wicked, and the sufferings and
afflictions to which the righteous are frequently subjected. It must
not, however, be inferred from Job's contending that the calamities
which had befallen him were no evidence of his guilt, that he enter-
tained the idea that man may be altogether free from sin. No, he
entirely repudiates such a notion : — -

" Truly I know it is so, c

And how shall man be just with God?"

Job ix. 2.

* It is as you have stated regarding the sinful nature of man. I
fully acknowledge that it admits of no doubt, for no man can be just
in the sight of God.' And again, at verse 20, he says : —

"If I am right, my mouth condemns me ;
Am I perfect, and it will declare me guilty."

As much as to say: 'Although I may appear just in my own eyes, and
do not feel conscious of any guilt, still my own mouth must acknow-
ledge that I am a sinner. But whilst I fully admit that no man is
free from sin, yet this by no means argues that the calamities which
have befallen me are chastisements for sin.'

"One thiuff it is, therefore I say iV,
Tcrfect or unjust, he destroyed."

Vor. 22.

—that is, ' One thing m certain, and therefore I say it freely, upright
or wicked, all arc liahlc to affliction, and consequently my sufferings
are no proof of sin.'

Job had no doubt instituted a rigid self-examination ; and although
he may have seen many shortcomings in his past actions, yet he
could not discover any sin of such a nature as to lead to such
chastisements. His children, too, had evidently been brought up in
the fear of God : this is apparent from the anxiety Avhich he evinced
in his rising up early in the morning, to offer burnt offerings as an
atonement for the sins ^vhich his sons might have committed in an
unguarded moment during their festivities. The sudden bereavement
of possessions and children, and the infliction of such intense bodily
suffering, must necessarily have been a perfect riddle to Job ; and,
feeling conscious that these calamities were not the conse(iuenccs of
sin which either he or his sons had committed, he looked upon them
with an eye of faith, as instances of those dealings of God with
man, Avhicli no human wisdom is able to fathom.

But although Job's sufferings and calamities were to him involved
in such perfect mystery, that mystery is entirely solved in the two
first chapters of the book, in which we have a full account of all that
transpired with regard to Job's trial. The occurrences upon earth
and the transactions in heaven, are alike brought before us in the
most vivid and distinct manner, intended to bring to our view subjects
worthy of the deepest meditation, and to convey lessons of moment-
ous import.

The book begins with a brief history of Job before his trial :
" There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job ; and
that man was perfect and upright, and one that feared God and
eschewed evil." This verse, then, forms the grand theme of the
whole l)ook. The piety of Job gave rise to his trial, and his trial
gave rise afterwards to the discussion between him and his three
friends. But in order to give a full idea of the extent of Job's trial,
the account goes on to say, that he had been blessed with seven sons
and three daughters ; that his substance was seven thousand sheep,
and three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen, and five
hundred she asses, and a %cry great household, so that he was the
greatest of all the men of the East. Here the account might have
finished ; everything necessary to the comprehension of the magni-
tude of the trial is contained in the preceding statement. But the
sacred writer tells us further, that Job's sons went and made a feast,

which thoy celebrated at one another's houses in turn, and wliich
consequently lasted seven days ; and that they also invited their
sisters to eat and to drink with them. And further, that as soon as
the days of their feasting had expired. Job always sent for tlioni,
and sanctified thorn, and offered burnt offerings according to their
number, saying, "It may be that my sons have sinned, and cursed
God in their hearts." This allusion to the .customary yearly cele-
bration of a feast by Job's sons is evidently introduced in the fir ;t
place to shew that not only did Job lead a pious life, but that it
likewise was his anxious desire to keep his whole family from the
pollution of sin; secondly, to shew the kindly and harmonious
feeling that pervaded his household; and, thirdly, to indicate by
their feasting together how Job was at once bereaved of all his
children.

The inspired writer having informed us of the great piety and
prosperous condition of Job, next proceeds to tell us what took i»liicc
concerning him in heaven. On a certain day, when tlie holy
angels came to present themselves before the Lord, Satan, the great
enemy of mankind, came also among them. And the Lord asked
him, "Whence comcstthou?" The reply being, "From going to
and fro in the earth," the Lord enquired of him whether he had
considered that truly pious and just man Job, whose et^ual was not
upon earth. Whereupo.i the subtle spirit replied: "Doth Job fear
God for naught ? Hast thou not blessed him on every side ? But
put now forth thine hand upon all that he hath : deprive him of his
possessions, and see whether ho will still persevere in his piety."
And the Lord said unto Satan: "Behold all that he hath is in thy
power ; only upon himself put not forth thy hand." So Satan went
forth from the presence of the Lord.* From this narrative we
learn, then, that Job's calamities were inflicted as a trial, to prove
whether his piety would cease with his prosperity ; whether, when
plunged from the highest pinnacle of happiness into the deepest
miseries conceivable, he would still continue steadfast in the fear of
God. The sequel of the narrative tells us how the good patriarch
conducted himself under his heavy aflaictions. So rapidly, we
are told, did one misfortune succeed upon the other, that before one
messenger had finished his tale of havoc, another came with still

* The scene in heaven has been imitited by Bayley, in hia "Festus," and by Goethe
in the "Prologue to Faust." It is inuc to be regretted that a subject like this, where
the Deity takes such a prominent part, dhould have ever been made subservient to the
secular drama ; but it becomes still more reprehensible when the author so far forgets
himself as to employ lanauaee irreverent and disrespectful to the Deity, such as Goethe
puts in the mouth of his Ideal demon. Its wit may indeed please some, but its coarse-
ness cannot fail to disgust.

more appalling tiding ; so that Job found himself, in but a few hours,
flockless, childless, bereaved of servants— a prince converted to a
beggar. But Job's piety was too firmly implanted to bo shaken.
Like a tree firmly rooted, which bids defiance to the raging tempest,
stood the patient patriarch, unmoved by the tempests of affliction
which Satan in rapid succession hurled upon him. lie did not tear
his gray hair in agony, nor did he break forth into a wild frenzy of
grief; but, after the custom of his country, in a seemly manner, ho
rent his mantle* and shaved his head, and fell down upon the ground
and worshipped, saying: "Naked came I out of my mother's womb,
and naked shall I return thither: the Lord gave, and 'i.o Lord hath
taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord."

The great firmness which Job displayed in this severe trial becomes
even more strikingly apparent, when we consider the plan which
Satan adopted in inflicting the calamities. He arranged everything
in such a manner as to make Job feel them most severely, and if
possible to make them effective to shake his faith. In the first place
it will be seen, in enumerating Job's possessions, the sacred writer
begins with his children, as the best and dearest of them all ; then
he mentions the sheep and camels, as forming the next most impor-
tant part of his wealth ; and lastly, the oxen and she asses. In the
infliction of the calamities, however, we find the older reversed.
First comes the messenger with tidings of the loss of the oxen and
asses, the least valuable of hfs possessions ; next he receives the
news of the entire loss of the sheep, and after that, of the loss of
the camels ; and lastly, when Job was already enough afflicted, then
comes the painful intelligence of the death of all his children.
Satan, too, lets the first and third misfortunes be effected by human
agents — namely, the Sabeans and Chaldeans ; but the second and
fourth by supernatural agencies — namely, lightning and storm.
This circumstance must have greatly increased the grief of Job, as
that which was most dear to him was taken from him, as he would
naturally think, by God. All was therefore arranged so as to make
Job feel the aflliction most severely, and if possible to shake him in
his faith.

* The practice of rending the clothes as a sign of mourning and expression of grief,
or of horror, is very ancient. Thus Reuben rent his clothes when he came to the
pit and found that Joseph was no more there. Jacob rent his clothes when he recog-
nized the coat of his son, thinking a wild beast had torn him. Joseph's brothers rent
their clothes when the cup was found in Benjamin's sack; and this custom is often
alluded to throughout the Bible, down to the last age of the Jewish empire. In the
Acts, xiv. 14, we read that Barnabas and Paul rent their clothes when they heard that
the priest of Jupiter and the people at Lystra were about to offer sacrifices to them.
It is still practised by the modern Jews at the death of the following relatives— namely,
father, mother, brother, sister, son, daughter, and wife. They make a cut with a knife
in the coat, on the right side, then rend it about a hand's breadth: but for father or
mother both coat and waistcoat are thus torn, and on the left eide.

But the cup of Job's sorrow was not yet full • there were still
other griefs in store for him. Satan had indeed put his piety to the
severest test, without in the least making him swerve from his fsiith ;
but he was not contented with this trial, for it is not in his nature to
desist so long as there remains a spark of hope of entrapping his
victim. Hence we are told, when the sons of God came again to
present themselves before the Lord, that Satan came also among
them ; and that when God asked him whether he had considered his
servant Job, remaining still perfect and upright^ notwithstanding
his severe trials, Satan answered: "Skin for skin, yea, all that a
man hath will ho give for his life. But put forth thine hand now,
and touch his bonr and his iiesh, and he will curse thee to thy face."
And the Lord said unto Satan: "Behold he is in thy hand, but save
his life." Satan having obtained this permission (for without it he
could not have touched a hair of Job's head), went forth accordingly,
and smote Job with sore boils even from the sole of his foot unto
his crown. But the tempter was also foiled in this attempt. Job
remained as firm in his faith as before ; and when his wife came, not
indeed to console him in his distress, nor speak words of comfort to
him, as she ought to have done, but rather to upbraid him for still
retaining his integrity, he calmly exclaimed : "What! shall we
receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil ?"
Could Job but have heard the song of triumph that must have burst
from the angelic host, when he uttered these memorable words, it
would have been consolation to his bleeding heart, and soothinsi
balm to bis distressing sores.

This expression of humble submission to the will of God closes
the trial of Job ; the good fight is fought, and Satan proved a liar.
But there is another struggle for him at hand. When Job's three
friends heard of the evil that had befallen him, they came to mourn
with him and to comfort him ; and they sat down witli him on the
ground seven days and seven nights. Had the friends of Job strictly
adhered to this laudable intention, their words of comfort could not
have failed to cheer the much-afflicted patriarch ; for wliat can be
more animating, what more consoling, than a few kind words from
a sincere friend in the time of trouble and affliction ' But as it was,
instead of imparting comfort, they only a~gravated his grief; instead
of binding up his bleeding heart, they wounded it still more, by their
charging him with being either a grievous sinner or a great hypocrite.

• 11

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Job being at last overcome by pain and grief, endeavours to seek
relief by giving vent to his long suppressed feelings. The thought
that if ho had never been born, or had died at the time of his
birth, so that he now would be at rest and free from suffering and
sorrow, wrung from him that bitter curse contained in ch. iii., which
is unquestionably the most piercing cry of woe and lamentation
ever uttered in this world.*

This outburst of intense grief, lays the foundation for the argu-
ments between Job and his three friends. The profound silence
that had hitherto reigned in the place of mourning being now
broken by Job himself, his having given utterance to language
which, in the opinion of his friends, was highly reprehensible,
induced Eliphaz, as being probably the oldest of the three, to begin
to remonstrate with Job on the injustice of his complaint, and in
this he Avas afterwards followed by Bildad and Zophar ; Job "eplying
to each of them in turn. The principal points which form the
subject of discussion, from ch. iv. to ch. xxxi. inclusive, may be
briefly summed up as folloAvs : his friends urge against hira :

1st — That, as no man is free from sin, therefore all men are liable
to misfortunes.

2nd — That misfortunes and afflictions must in all cases be regarded
as visitations for some sin committed, as it is inconsistent with
infinite justice to afflict without cause, or to punish without guilt ;
and therefore, that Job's maintaining that he suffered innocently was
the height of folly, and his repining at the chastisement of God
was only adding fresh sin to his former transgressions.

3rd — That although a man may for a time be chastised for sin,
yet he may be restored again to his former prosperity, and even be
blessed with more success, if ho sincerely repent of his sins, and
firmly resolve to lead a better life.

4th — That although the wicked may for a time be seemingly
prosperous, yet his prosperity is never of long duration, for the
judgments of God will surely overtake him sooner or later.

Job, on the other hand, maintains against his friends :

1st — That the just and upright man may at times be destined to
suffer the severest calamities, rhile the wicked is frequently very
prosperous ; that it is beyond the range of human understanding

* Swift made it a practice each birthday to retire into his closet in order to read
the third chapter of Job.

always to fathom God's dealings with man ; that it is consequently
exceedingly cruel and unjust, as well as uncharitable, to charge
a man with sin because he is unfortunate or suffering under severe
affliction; and that such conduct is well deserving the severest
punishment of the Almighty.

2nd — That there are cases in which the sufferer has a right to
justify himself before God, and even to repine at His decrees
under deep affliction. TI is supposed right Job strenuously main-
tains against his friends regarding his case to be one of those in
which such a liberty is questionable.

The discussion is kept up by the contending parties with great skilly
and the most eloquent diction ; the language becoming gradually
more passionate, until at last Job silences his friends, and remains
the victor. But although Job had very properly defended the
principle, that the righteous may sometimes be subjected to heavy
trials, and therefore, to infer from a man's misfortunes that he
must be a sinner, is both unreasonable and unjust : yet as in the course
of the discussion, he had made some very extravagant and unwar-
rantable assertionji, persisting in the opinion that in many cases
the sufferer might justify himself before God, and repine at
His decrees, he could not be allowed to keep possession of
the field. Another interlocutor consequently steps forward to
reason with Job. A young man named Elihu, who had been present
and heard the arguments of both parties, but according to the
strict rules of etiquette, had refrained from speaking, or as the
Hebrew would say. laid his hand upon his mouth until those more
advanced in age had finished ; when he perceived thc«t the three
friends had nothing more to reply, and that the discussion was
apparently at an end, ventured likewise to express his opinion.
He begins by expressing his great disappointment at the three
friends not being able to convince Job of his error ; and then
addressing himself directly to Job, he endeavours to impre««! upon
him by the most forcible arguments drawn from God's unlimited
sovereignty and unsearchable wisdom, that it was not inconsistent
with Divine justice to afflict oven the most righteous, and therefore
all calamities should be borne without murmur, it being ever our
duty humbly to submit to the Divine dispensations. He reproves
Job for boasting of his integrity, and for charging God with injus-
tice, and urges upon him that it is for man, who is a sinful

« <

creature, to humble himself before God, whose ways are just and
whose judgments are upright.

Yea, surely God will not do wickedly,

And the Almighty will not pervert judgment.

Ch. xxxiv. 12.

The speech of Elihu, which begins at ch. xxxii. and ends with
ch. xxxvii.j is at once powerful, impressive and sublime, and had
no doubt the effect of carrying conviction to the mind of Job, who
had listened to the rebukes and admonitions of Elihu without
offering a word in reply, although he had challenged him to do so.

If there are (i.e., if thou hast) words, answer me:
Bpeak, for I desire to justify thee (i.e., thy justification).

Ch. xxxiii. 32.

But although Elihu had silenced Job, yet he had by no means
given a satisfactory solution of the question at issue. He likewise
maintains, with the three friends, that no one suffers innocently, but
in all cases calamities are to be regarded as punishments for sins
committed, and as they are intended as corrections, they may
consequently be inflicted even on the most upright man. We
learn, however, from the two first chapters that Job's calamities
did not befal him on account of sin, but were inflicted as a trial to
prove his steadfastness in the fear of God; and we also learn
further, that God justified Job in maintaining his innocency against
his three friends, whilst His wrath was kindled against them, for not
having spoken of Him the thing that is right, as Job had dene.
God indeed blames Job for not perceiving the Divine justice in
everything, and for repining at His decree, instead of yielding
unrestricted submission to His will; but not for vindicating
his integrity against his friends. The chief point of discussion
would therefore have remained undecided at the close of Elihu's
speech, and as Job did not reply to him, it would have left the
false impression that he was really afflicted for some sin which he
must have committed, but for the final interposition of God him-
self. Accordingly, as soon as Elihu finished speaking, a violent
thunderstorm arose, out of which the Lord addressed Job, showering
down upon in i question after question in rapid succession, illustra-
tive of His omnipotence in the formation and disposition of the
works of creation, and showing how foolishly the latter had
acted in presuming to reason with God, when His mighty works
prove Kis infinite Majesty, and consequently His absolute justice.

Such questions on topics so profound, so mysterious, could not fail
to shovr clearly the shallowness of human knowledge, and to con-
vince Job of his utter incapability of understanding the ways and
designs of the omnipotent Jehovah. Accordingly, even before
the series of questions had come to a close, he exclaims in deep

humility,

Behold, I am vile, -what shall I answer thee ?
My hand I lay upon my mouth.
Once have I spoken, but I -will no more reply,
Yea twice, but I will do it no more.

Ch. xl. 4. & 5.

Job having acknowledged and sincerely repented of his offence,
God now addressed the three friends, and declared to them His
displeasure because they had not spoken of Him " the thing that
was right as His servant Job hath done," and commanded that they
should bring an offering as an atonement for their guilt, and that
Job should pray for them, who^e prayer He would accept. These
commands being performed. Cod made an end of Job's suffering,
and granted him renewed prosperity, blessing his latter days even
more than those before his trial.

From this brief analysis of the book of Job, it will be observed,
that whilst it conveys many wholesome lessons, its chief design is to
set forth one grand and momentous truth, viz : that the affliction
of the righteous and the prosperity of the tvicJced are perfectly
consistent with Divine justice; that calamity, as the veiled grace
of Gfod, is never alone tvith the ^qyright, but that manifest proofs
of Cfod's favour always accompany or follow if.

The book of Job will therefore ever be to the pious an inexhaust-
ible source from whence he may draw consolations in the time of
calamity. If sorrow for a time cast its dismal shades over a
once happy home, the book of Job is well calculated to dispel the
gloom, and cheer the drooping spirit. If calamity rack the mind
and threaten to drive to despair, the book of Job affords solace to
the distressed, and directs him to look up to Him who will never
forsake those of a contrite heart. If sickness prostrate the frail
body, and make it groan under excruciating pain, the book of Job
teaches that under such a visitation may be veiled the Divine grace,
and encourages to submit humbly and patiently to the will of a
merciful and just God.

But it may be said ; although the book of Job satisfactorily
Bolves the question, so far as the righteous is concerned, it affords

< »■

* » **

no clear solution as regards the prosperity of the Tricked. This, no
doubt, is quite correct, but it must be remembered that the main
point of discussion must necessarily be the calamities of the righteous,
as arising from the innocent suffering of Job; the prosperity of
the wicked is merely incidentally introduced, and forms no direct
part of the plan of book. Indeed the problem, Tvhy the wicked
often prosper must ever remain a mystery ; we know it often is so,
but why, we cannot tell ; human knowledge and human wisdom
cannot fathom it. Still, as the book of Job distinctly sets forth
that infinite wisdom and justice pervade all the works of the
Almighty, it follows that if the wicked be sometimes permitted to
prosper, it must be for some wise and just purpose. This is all
that comes within the scope of the book, and is all that is necessary
for us to know.

In the book of Job we find, however, many forcible allusions to
the transient felicity ]of the wicked. As for instance ch. v. 3 & 4.

«' I have seen" says Eliphaz, " a foolish man (i.e., a wicked man) taking root;

But suddenly I cursed his habitation.

His children are far from help :

They are crushed in the gate, and there is no deliverer."

Eliphaz shows here in the example of a sinner, that although he was
prosperous, and thus firmly established, yet quickly matters changed,
so that whilst he at first would have pronounced his habitation
happy on account of such prosperity, and blessed him, regarding
him as a pious man, he soon saw reason to curse the place as being
that of a curse-laden sinner ; for suddenly his well-merited mis-
fortunes and troubles came upon him. And so great were the
misfortunes that befel that impious man, than even his children
after him suifered from it. His children v«^ere oppressed in the
gate, (which was a common place of assembly for the inhabitants
of a city, and also the place where justice was administered), and
there Avas no one to take their part. The book of Job is therefore
well calculated to teach the wicked, who may be revelling in
luxury, that his prosperity is no indication of God's favour, but
that on the contrary. His righteous judgments may even overtake
him in this world ; so that, where all is happiness to-day, there may
be nothing but misery to-morrow.

The book of Job is a composition which is universally admired
for the loftiness of its style, the magnificence of its descriptions,
the energy of its expressions, the sublimity of its thoughts and the

grandeur of its imagery. It presents everything lifelike to our
view ; and Gilfillan has justly remarked, that " If any word can
express the merit of the natural descriptions in Job, it is the word
gusto. You do something more than see his behemoth, his war-horse,
and his leviathan. You touch, smell, hear, and handle them too.
It is no shadow of the object he sets before you, but the object
itself, in its length, breadth, height and thickness."

Moses, the great lawgiver, has given to the poetry of his nation
another turn. True, wc still behold in him the poetic genius
leaning upon the shepherd's staff, but then his poetical writings are
embellished with rich embroidery whioh the Bedouin despises.
His poetic pictures are chiefly drawn from the motley history of
his nation, which he has painted with a masterly hand, in the most
vivid colours. He is happy in prose as well as in poetry, his
style, though easy, is notwithstanding spirited, and his admonitions
to the rebellious Israelites are at once grand and impressive. Pro-
fessor Wahl, formerly of the University of Leipzig, in speaking of the
poetry of Moses, has so beautifully described its merit, that I cannot
forbear quoting it, although it will lose much of its force and beauty
in translation. He says: "Seine Poesie ist lebendig, wachsend,
und umfassend, Moses Genius ist nicht matt; sein FlUgelschlag,
indem or daherschwebt, tont reine Spharenharmonie, bricht den
^ther, und trift die gerade Bahn zur Sonne— i.e. His poetry is
animated, attractive, and comprehensive; the genius of Moses is not
feeble ; the stroke of his pinions as he soars aloft sends forth the
pure harmony of the spheres, cleaves the aether and pursues the
direct path to the sun." The song of Moses by the Red Sea* (Exod.
xvi. 19.) is a song of victory, but all such songs of the Hebrews are
at the same time songs of praise to Him who is the Disposer of all
events. Victory was always looked upon by the pious and faithful
of the nation as attained only by the special interposition of the
Almighty, and accordingly, the praise of God forms always the most
prominent part in their triumphal songs. The song of Moses,

*The Red Sea, or Arabian Gulf, is an extensive gulf of the Indian Ocean, dividing
Arabia from the opposite coast of Africa. Its length is about 1,400 miles and its
greatest breadth about iiOO miles. The English nime Ked Sea is a tran'slation of
the Latin name rubrum mare, which is again a translation of the Greek term
fpvdpa OaKac^a {I.e., the Eed Sea). There are various opinions advanced regarding

SpJI'u." t •. 'T*".. ^T^ ^^'^^ '^ '^"°*^^^^'i '*' f'-""^ t^e coral rocks and
reefs with which it abounds; but it is well known that the coral of the red sea is
White, and hence this supposition must fall to the ground. Others again would derive
Its name; either irom the reddish colour of the waters, or from the red sand at the

Deut. xxxii. 1, 43, to the assembled Israellties, before his death, is
a poem Avhich strikingly displays the poetical powers of its author.
The language, whilst it is full of pathos, is at the same time gentle
and winning, searching the inmost depths of the soul, and, well
calculated to arouse the slumbering feelings to a lively sensibility to
the infinite power, majesty, and mercy of the Almiglity. His last
prophetic blessing of the children of Israel, Deut. xxxiii., and
the xc. Psalm, entitled, "a prayer of Moses, the man of God," are
other examples of highly poetic and sublime compositions of the
great lawgiver and prophet.

To David belongs the honor of having brought the Lyric
Poetry of the Hebrews to perfection. He evinced from his youth a
passion for music as well as for poetry. His early years were
spent as a shepherd in tending his father's flocks in the field, where
he gathered the many flowers which so often adorn his writings.
His skill on the harp procured him admittance to the presence of
the king, a circumstance which must have greatly encouraged him
to improve the musical talents with which he was so highly gifted.
But, having several times narrowly escaped, with the harp in his hand,
the deadly spear which Saul hurled at him through jealousy, he
fled into the wilderness of Judea, where he wandered for several
years. There in the lonely desert, wandering from place to place,
seeking a safe abode, his harp was his comforter and friend.
Its melodious tones assuaged his fears, and made him forgetful of
envy and hatred. It was not laid aside when brighter days smiled
upon him, but it still remained his companion in the royal palace,

bottom of it ; but we are told by many writers tliat so far from its waters having a
red appearance, it is rather of a greenish colour from the great quantity of sea-weeds
and moss that grow in it. We may also remark that the waters of almost all
shallow seas are apparently of a green colour. It is therefore more likely that it
received its name from the land of Edom, as its north-eastern part washes that
country. Now the Hebrew word Qi^ (Sdom) signifies red, and was a name given
to Esau on the occasion of his selling his birthright to Jacob for a mess of pottage,
(See Gen. xxv., 30); and from him this name was transferred to the country which
his posterity possessed. Hence the name, sea of Edom. Prideaux tells us, (see
Connection i. 14, 15), that the ancient inhabitants of the neighbouring countries
called it (Yam Edom), i.e., the sea of Edom ; this name, however, does not occur in
Scripture The Greek having mistaken Edom for an appellative instead of a proper
name, accordingly called it 'tpvOp^ OdXacraa i. e., the Red Sea. The Hebrew name is
q^^ ^., (Yam Siiph), i.e., the sea of Sedge, and is so called from the great quantity

of sea-weed that grows there. It is stated by several heathen writers that the
Ichthiophagi fi. e., those Egyptians who lived near the Red Sea, and chiefly main-
tained themselves by the fish they catch), dwelt la huts made of ribs of fish, aod
covered with sea-weed.

I^i

where he continued to increase the poetry of the Hebrews ; clangers,
conquests, cares, grief, every pious act that he performed, presented
new matter to him ; and thus we have in the productions of the king
of song, a true mirror of his life and times. Iljnce, Luther calls
the Psalms : "a garden where the most beautiful flowers and fruits
flourish, but where, at other times, also the most tempestuous winds
rage."

Although most of the Psalms no doubt have been composed upon
particular occasions, yet there are some which can neither be
ascribed to any particular time, nor regarded as referring to any
incident in the history of David. Thus, for instance. Psalm i., is
strictly a religious song, divided into two regular strophes of three
verses each ; the first strophe setting forth the happiness of the
pious, and the second the fate of the wicked. Of Psalms of similar
import, we have several in the book of Psalms, as for instance, the
cxii. and cxxv. Again, we have many hymns of praise and adora-
tion, displaying God's power, majesty, and glory; as Psalms viii.
xix. xxix., &c. In Psalm cxxxiii., we have a beautiful ode on unity
and brotherly love; and Psalms xxxii., 1. and cxix., are purely
religious didactic poems. Many of the Psalms possess great subli-
mity, but softness, tenderness, and pathos are their prevailing
characteristics.

Bishop Horn* has justly remarked that, " The Psalms are an
epitome of the Bible, adapted to the purpose of devotion. They
treat occasionally of the creation and formation of the world ; the
dispensations of Providence, and the economy of grace ; the trans-
actions of the patriarchs : the Exodus of Ihe children of Israel ;
their journey through the wilderness, and settlement in Canaan ;
their law, priesthood, and ritual ; the exploits of their great men,
wrought through faith; their sins and captivities, their repentances
and restorations ; the suflFerings and victories of David ; the
peaceful and happy reign of Solomon ; the advent of Messiah,
with its efifects and consequences ; His incarnation, birth, life,
passion, death, resurrection, ascension, kingdom, and priesthood ;
the effusion of the Spirit ; the conversion of the nations ; the
rejection of the Jews ; the establishment, increase, and prosperity of
the Christian Church ; the end of the wicked, and the final triumph
of the righteous with their Lord and King." Well, indeed, might

*Preface to his Commentary on the Psalms.

> 1

:i-x

Hooker ask, " What is there necessary for man to know which
the Psalms arc not able to teach?" And well might Luther say of
the Psalms : " Thou readest through them the hearts of all the saints ;
and hence the Psalter is the manual of all saints ; for each finds
in it, in whatever circumstances he is placed, psalms and words so
well adapted to his condition, and so fully according with the
feelings, that they seem to have been thus composed for his own
sake, insomuch, that he cannot find, or even wish to find, any words
that arc better suited to his case."

All the Psalms, Avith the exception of thirty-four, are furnished
with an inscription. Some of these inscriptions set forth the
respective authors of the Psalms. Thus seventy-four* are ascribed
to David, twelve to Asaph, f eleven to the s(»ns of Korah, two to
Solomon, one to Moses, one to Ilcman (one of the leaders of the
temple music; sec 1 Chron. vi. oo,) and one to Ethan (also one of
David's singers; see 1 Chron. vi. 44.) Sometimes these inscrip-
tions stato the occasion upon Avhich the Psalms Avere composed.
As, for instance, the title of Psalm iii. — "A Psalm of David when
he fled from Absalom his son"; or of Psalm vii. — "Shiggaion {i.e.
an elegy or plaintive song) cf David, Avhich he sang unto the Lord,
concerning the Avords of Cush the Benjamite." Sometimes the
inscription indicates the kind of composition to Avhich the Psalm
belongs — as b''5ip?3 (maskll) Psalm xxxii. 1 — i.e., a song or poem

teaching A\'isdom or piety. H^SiTl (t'phillah); Psalm Ixxxvi. 1 — i.e. a

prayer. Also the kind of instruments Avith Avhich the Psalm is to
be accompanied, as JnilD"''!^p (n'glnoth) Psalm iv. 1 — i.e., stringed

instruments. SnlbTlp (n'chiloth). Psalm v., 1 — i.e., pipes or flutes,

or perhaps Avind instruments in general.

Much obscurity prevails as regards the proper import of some of
the terms employed in the inscriptions, and this arises no doubt from
the imperfect knoAvlcdgc we possess of the temple music. The
translators of our authorised version have therefore acted wisely in
retaining for the most part the HcbreAv words ; it Avas far better to
retain the original term, than to assume a translation based merely
upon conjecture.

* To the above, the Septuagint version adds ten Psalms more, viz., the zxxiii.,
sliii., xci,, xciv. to xcix. and civ.

•)• Asaph was the son of Barachins of the tribe of Levi, and was appointed by David
to preside over the choral services ' hich he instituted. See 1 Chron. xvi., 4, 5.

The term n^jj Csclah), Avhich occurs seventy-three times in the
Psalms is commonly regarded to denote rent or pause^ and as it stands
generally in the middle of a Psalm at the end of a section or strophe,
its use appears to have been to direct the singers in chanting tho
Psalms to rest or pause Avhilst the instruments played an interlude
or symphony. This supposition is supported by the authority of the
Septuagint, where the term nbp (sclah) is rendered by 8ta-\|raXyua,
i.e. interlude, symphoiiy,

Solomon seems to have inherited a love of \ ^^^yfrom his father.
We are distinctly told, 1 Kings iv. 32, that he uu . composed three
thousand proverbs and and one thousand and five songs;* of the
latter, however, unhappily only two Psalms and the Song of Songs
are now extant. In the writings of Solomon we have the precious
relics of one who was gifted Avith "a wise and an understanding
heart," such as has never been possessed by any human being before
or since. It would, therefore, be presumption to dilate upon the
excellencies of the productions emanating from a source so richly
endowed with heavenly wisdom.

The book of Proverbs furnishes us with a beautiful specimen of
Proverbial or Gnomic poetry of the Hebrews ; and is unquestionably
the most exquisite composition of its kind that has ever been penned.
It contains about five hundred short and impressive sayings, tho
result of the profoundest human sagacity, replete with solemn truths,
wholesome counsels, and tender admonitions ; addressing themselves
with equal aptitude to the king on the throne, and the suppliant
beggar ; to the advanced in years as well as the young. Who would
not gather such "apples of gold with figures of silvei-.f (Eng. vers,
in pictures of silver) Prov. xxv. 2. As brevity gives life to the
proverb, the Hebrew language is particularly well adapted to this
species of composition, but must necessarily lose much of its pointed-

* As early as one hundred years before the Christian era, the apocryphal book
called ''The Wisdom of Solomon" appeared, which is still extant in the Greek,
purporting to be the production of that monarch. Its style, however, is unlike that
of Solomon, and it contains expressions and ideas which tend to prove thatitoriginnlel
in the Alexandrian school. Indeed, from the quotations from the Prophets Isainh and
Jeremiah, it would appear that the author, whoever he may have been, had no desire
to pass it off as the composition of that monarch. The Book of Wisdom, however,
has justly been admired for the lofty and sublime ideas of the perfections of the Deity
■which it contains, and for the highly moral tendency of its precepts,

f The Hebrew word ini'=i3'i25)D (maskiyoth), which I have rendered by figuret,

occurs in the singular, Ezek. viii. 12, " every man in the chambers of flis imagery,"
■which appear from verses 10 and 11 to have been chambers of which the walls were

■*' 1 •*

hagf)

take away

XXV. 4.

ness and vigour by translation into any of our modern languages, as
their structure cannot admit such brevity of expression. From the
following example taken at random, the reader will be able to form
some idea of the correctness of what I have stated:
kell Uttstsoreph vslyyetse mikkiiseph sTgira

^b3 q-i.2ib fi<:?';i qp3?a D^yp

a vessel for the flacr andthororball goforth from the illvcr thu ilro«s

chap.

It will be perceived that there are only six words in the Hebrew,
whilst there are no less than seventeen in the English translation.
The following verse has likewise seventeen words in the English
version, but oidy seven in the original:

" Take nway the wicked from before tlie king,

And his tlironc shall be establislied iu righteousness."

Prov. XXV. 5.

Although almost every nation has its proverbs, yet the people of

the east seemed to have had a special fondness for such sententi.

ous sayings. With them they appear to have been a favourite mode

of instruction, as peculiarly fitted to impress the mind, and imprint

the truth more firmly on the memory. The Proverbs of Solomon,

however, form a distinct class, altogether unlike those of other

nations. The latter, it is true, often inculcate certain rules of

conduct or of caution which experience has shown to be usefu^ for

some end or purpose. Some of them even convey moral instruction ;

take for instance the German proverb —

" Unschuld und ein gut Gcwis?en

Sind ein sanftcs lluhekissen." i.e.

«' Innocence and a good conscience are a soft pillow."

Still there are many which have quite a contrary tendency, ret-
ting forth principles altogether at variance with true religion. As
for example —

"Noth hatkein Gebot." i.e.
" Necessity has no law."

The Proverbs of Solomon, on the other hand, furnish nothing but

painted with figures of idols to which the idolatrous Israelites paid adoration. It
occurs again, Levit. xxvi. 1. fTi^ip?? "l^^ {^^^n inasklth) where it means a stone

with the image of an idol. In Numb, xxxiii. 52., it occurs in the plural, wiien it no
doubt means itii'iges r.iade of wood or stone, (Kng. vers., pictures.) So in the above
passage, it means images of silver, artfully worked in the apples of gold to increase
their beauty. Some have rendered "apples of gold in baskets of silver," but as the
word fllStO?^ (maskith) no where occurs in the sense of basket, such an interpreta-
tion is altogether inndmissihlc. By the " apples of gold," we understand such as
may have been used as ornaments of dress, or for adorning vessels.

, ' .,

truly wise and holy precepts, calculated to promote both the moral
and religious culture of the people. They constitute a mine of
divine wisdom, and like a brilliant luminary diffuse their heavenly
light. Well might the learned and pious Jerome in advising one of
his friends, in regard to the education of his daughter, recommend
to have her instructed in the Proverbs of Solomon for godly life.

The book of Proverbs consists of several independent collections.
The first ten chapters form an unbroken discourse, the subject of
which is almost entirely the praise of wisdom and the blessings it
confers on these who diligently seek after it. From chapter x. to
chapter xxii. 16, we have a collection of desultory aphorisms on
various topics. At chapter xxii. 17, the stylo again alters, assum-
ing an admonitory tone, with a closer connection of sentences
similar to that of the first ten chapters, and continues so to chapter
XXV., when the disconnected proverbs recommence. The thirtieth
chapter, according to its title, contains the proverbs of another sage :
" The words of Agur the son of Jakeh, the saying (Engl. ver. " the
prophecy ") ivhich the men spoke unto Ithiel," &c. The sayings of
this sage assume more the form of enigmas, of which the oriental
nations were also very fond. In chapter thirty-first we have
The words of the king Lemuel, the sayings (Engl. ver. the pro-
phecy*) which his mother taught him," and from them Ave may
learn what constituted the virtues of the women of that country
and age. This chapter furnishes us also with an acrostic or alpha-
betical poem, commencing at the tenth verse, the chaiacicnstic
form of which is, that it consists of tAventy-two lines, according to
the number of the letters of the Hebrew alphabet, the first
word of every line commencing with a letter in its order as it
stands in the alphabet, so that the first line begins with the letter
U^ (aleph) a, the second Avith i^ (beth) h, and so on.

* The Hebrew word Jj^'JB^ (massa) above rendered ' prophecy ' occurs generally

in the inscriptions of prophecies, and as many of these are of a threatening nature,
the English and some other versions have rendered it by burden — as Isuiuh xiii. l!
" The burden of Babylon which Isaiah the son of Amoz did see." See also chap. xiv. 28,'
chap. XV. 1. But neither the rendering burden uov prophecy is suitable in Prov. xxx!
1, and xxxi, 1. The word in question is derived from the verb JJ^tlJS (nasii)
to lift up, sometimes with special reference to any thing lifted up or uttered
with the voice, as a song; see 1 Chron. xv. 22, "And Chenaniah, chief of the
Levites J^^fe^Sl (bammassfi) in the song; he instructed iJ^tSTalU (hamuiiissu) in

the song, because he was skilful;" so again, verse 27, also a prophcci/, oracle or
divine revelation. And indeed, wherever the word is rendered by burden iu'thc inscrip-

((

• '•

As the names Agur and Lemuel Jo not occur clscwhoro in scrip-
ture, it ia tliHicult to conjecture wlio these persons wore. The sup-
position thi t Lemuel is a name which Solomon had assumed is
merely conjecture, there not bein<,' the slightest proof to sustain it.
On the contrary, we cannot easily conceive why Solomon should
have assumed another name just in the lr;jt chapter of the book.

The book of Ecclesiastes may be called a sermon in the garb of
highly poetic diction. Its text is "Vanity of vanities;* all is
vanity:" chap. i. 2.; a fundamental truth, which indeed pervades the
whole sacred writ, but is here compressed into fe.v words. Upon
this text the preacher enlarges, setting forth his own convictions
regarding the uselessness and utter nothingness of all things apper-
taining to this life, interspersing his discourse here and there with
sentences of wisdom and rules of life, and finally concluding his
remarks with the brief but comprehensive exhortation : " Let us
hear the conclusion of the whole matter — fear God, and keep his
commandments; for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall
bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether
it he good, or whether it be evil." Chap. xii. 13, 14. As much as
to say — from what has been said regarding the vanity of all earthly
enjoyments, or things appertaining to this life, the conclusion is,
that it is the highest folly for man to set his affections upon them,
seeing his life passes away like a shadow ; but rather, let him fear
God and keep his commandments ; by which alone he may secure
that happiness in the life to come, which endureth for ever.

The Hebrew name of this book is f^btlp ikoheleth) i.e. a preacher,

by which title Solomon is denoted — " The words of the preacher,
the son of David, king of Jerusalem." Chap. i. 1. The naroo
Ecclesiastes in the English version is merely a transcript of the
Greek word 'E«/r?v7;crtao-T?/9 from the Septuagint version, also signi-
fying a preacher. It has been contended by many interpreters that
Solomon cannot be the author of this book, inasmuch as words occur

tions of prophecies, one or other of these ■words would be more cuitable, ns the
prophecies witli which this word is found, in their inscriptions are not alwaj'S of a
threateuinp; nature ; some of them rather importing good. At any ratc^ the sense
would be more clearly conveyed and better understood by every class of readers.
It signifies also a saying or maxim, as in the two passages of Proverbs above referred to.

* Vanity of vanities, i.e. the most excessive vanity. This is one of the modes of
forming the superlative degree in the Hebrew language, viz., by placing a noun in
construction with one of the same kind in the plural. So "a servant of servants,"
i.e. a servant of the lowest class. Gen. ix. 25.

m it which tend to prove that it must have been written at a later
pericd than that of Solomon, but no one has, as jet, attempted to
show who is to be considered the real author. So far, on this point,
we have nothing but conjectures. De Wette dismisses the subject
verj briefly, merely stating, "By a fiction, Solomon is introduced
here as^ speaking."— /n^rof?. to the Old Test. § 283. Professor
Kurtz is somewhat more explicit, he says: "The name of the
author cannot be ascertained. It is an error to suppose that he
professes to be king Solomon himself; it is rather his purpose to in-
troduce the reader, by means of poetic imagery, to an assembly in
which the Avise Solomon (as a representative of wisdom and the
author of the proverbial mode of instruction) expresses his views
respecting the problems of this Y\hr— Manual of Sacred History,
§ 110. The supposition of Augusti is somewhat more novel. This
writer maintains that Solomon merely appears in the character of
a man deceased, or a ghost.

The supposition, on the contrary, that Solomon was really the
author of it, is at least based upon something more substantial than
mere conjecture. In the first place, the title of the book explicitly
declares him to be the author, and this positive statement ought not,
in my opinion, to be set aside merely because there are a few
foreign words introduced into the book. Secondly, the affinities of
Ecclesiastes in thought and style with the book of Proverbs are so
marked, as to leave hardly any doubt that they are both the pro-
duction of one author. Thirdly, several passages in the book agree
with no other person than that prince, as chap. i. 12., chap. vii. 25,
26, 27, chap. xii. 9, &c. Fourthly, tradition and the common
opinion of the ancients declare Solomon to be the author.

Every Hebrew scholar must admit that there occ\ir in the book of
Ecclesiastes not only words which are not found in the A\ritings be-
longing to the golden age of Hebrew literature, but likewise also
Chaldaisms. Thus, we find i^|- (s'man) chap. iii. 1, time, for ^^

(eth) time, J):^t^^ (gumats) a pit, for -^i^l (bor) a pit, ^y^^ (htiviil)
vanity, for ^5,1 (hevel) vanity. Their number has, however, been
greatly exaggerated ; the mighty mountain, on a closer inspection,
after all turns out but a small hill, which no ordinary Hebrew
scholar need be afraid to ascend, though he may not have
the assistance of the Chaldee and Syriac to aid him. I am

altogether at a loss to see what should have so "greatly puzzled ''
Dr. Clark. One of the peculiarities which occur very frequently
in Ecclesiastes, and which are said to point to a later origin of that
book, is the prefix p* (she), the fragment of the relative pronoun

llTi^J (ilsher) ivliich. The same peculiarity, however, is found in the

books of Judges, Job, and the Canticles.

The Song of Solomon is justly entitled fii*|i'Sti y^^ (shir

hashshirim) lit. Song of Songs, i.e., the most exquisite or most ex-
cellent song. Its great poetical merit, its depth of thought and
richness of sentiment, render this name highly appropriate. In
perusing this beautiful literary gem, we feel ourselves transported
as it were into a fairy land, with silvery fountains and rippling
rivulets, with mountains of myrrh and hills of frankincense, with
blooming gardens and fruitful orchards, with an azure sky and
balmy breeze ; where the fleet roe and young hart gambol upon the
mountain of spices, and where the woods resound with the carrol of
birds and the cooing of the turtle dove.

'There exists a diversity of opinion among commentators as to
what gave rise to this song, but that which has been advanced
by Origen (who regards it as an epithalamium, or marriage song)
in the preface to his commentary on this book, is unquestionably
the most plausible. This opinion has been adopted by many learned
divines, and among those by the learned Bishop Lowth, who remarks,
*"The Song of Songs,' for so it is called, cither on account of the
excellence of the subject or of the composition, is an epithalamium
or nuptial dialogue, or rather, if Ave may be allowed to give it a title
more agreeable to the genius of the Hebrews, a Song of Loves.
Such is the title of Psalm xlv. It is expressive of the utmost fervour
as well as delicacy of passion, it is instinct with all the spirit and
sweetness of affection. The principal characters are Solomon and his
bride, who are represented speaking both in dialogue, and in soli-
loquy, when accidently separated. Virgins, also, the companions of
the bride, are introduced, who seem to be constantly on the stage,
and bear a part in the dialogue. Mention is also made of young
men, friends of the bridegroom, but they are mute persons. This
is exactly conformable to the manners of the Hebrews, who had
always a number of companions to the bridegroom, thirty of whom
were present in honour of Samson at his nuptial feast. (Judg. xiv.

11.) In tho New Testament, according to the Hebrew ' liom, they
are called children or sons of the bridechamber, and friends of the
bridegroom. There, too, we find mention of the virgins who went
forth to meet the bridegroom and conduct him home ; which circum-
stances indicate that this poem is founded on the nuptial rites of
the Hebrews, and is expressive of the forms or ceremonial of their
marriage." But whilst the Avhole strain of the poem clearly shows
it to be a nuptial song, yet under the guidance of divine inspiration
it was so constructed as to form a mystical allegory representing
the relation subsisting between the Lord and His church, as His
bride. There are several considerations which render an allcfrorical
interpretation of the Song of Solomon imperative. First, its ad-
mission among the canonical books of tlie Old Testament ; for it
can hardly be supposed that a book treating merely of earthly love
would have found a place among the inspired writings. Secondly,
both the Old and New Testament abound with bridal and nuptial
terms referring more or less pointedly to the relation of the Lord
to His church. As Isaiah liv. 5 ; Jerem. ii. 2, iii. 1, &c. ; Ezek.
xvi. 8-14, and xxiii; Hosea ii. 19-20; Matt. ix. 15; John iii. 29;
2 Cor. xi. 2; Eph. v. 23-27; Rev. xix. 7, xxi. 2, xxii. 17. Thirdly,
the forty-fifth Psalm, which is one of the Messianic Psalms, bears in
its character a striking resemblance to the Song of Solomon, and is
called " a song of loves." Fourthly, it has been well observed, that
" the native soil of all compositions of the Hebrews, is religion,
namely, the theocracy." Fifthly, some of the images employed in
the book absolutely require an allegorical interpretation, as for
example: "Thou art beautiful, my love, as Tirzah, comely as
Jerusalem, terrible as an army with banners." Chap. iv. 4. The
beauty (i.e. excellence) of the church is compared to Tirzah and
Jerusalem. The former was an ancient Canaanitish city, beautifully
situated, which Jeroboam made the capital of his kingdom, and
it remained so until Omri built Samaria ; the latter is the world-
renowned capital of the Jews. The final triumph of the church is
beautifully compared to a victorious army with its Avaving banners.
A literal application of this passage to the bride of Solomon must
at best be awkward and far-fetched. Both the ancient and modern
Jews have adopted an allegorical interpretation of this book, although
they differ in their applications. According to the Chaldee para-
phrast the poem contains a figurative description of the merciful
and gracious dealings of God towards His people. Aben Ezra

maintains that the Song of Solomon represents the history of the
Jews from Abraham to the Messiah. Other Jewish writers consider
Wisdom, with which Solomon was acquainted from his youth, and
Avith whose beauty he was captivated, as personified in or by the
bride. All sound Christian commentators, from the time of Origen
to the present day, have regarded the book as containing a divine
allegory, and understand it to be descriptive of the union of Christ
and His church.

We may also observe here that it has been a common practice
among the Oriential nations from a rery early period to express
religious sentiments allegorically under the garb of amatory poems,
of which the Gita-govinda* affords an example. Even at the pro-
sent day the Egyptian Arabs sing religious love-songs at their
festivals, in which Mahommed is the beloved subject, and v/hich are
intended to have only a spiritual sense. Mr. Lane has translated ■
several passages to show the great similarity of these songs to that
of Solomon. He further states, "Finding that songs of this de-
scription are extremely numerous, and almost the only poems sung
at Zikrs ; f that they are composed for this purpose, and intended
only to have a spiritual sense, (though certainly not understood in
such a sense by the generality of the vulgar) ; I cannot entertain
any doubt as to the design of Solomon's Song." — Lane's Modern
Egyptians, vol. II., pages 196 and 197.

An ancient fiither of the church has very pertinently remarked,
" that Isaiah deserved the name of an evangelist rather than a
prophet." Indeed this " Prince of Prophets," as some divines de-
nominate him, has with such precision and clearness described
events that were to come to pass in the most distant times, that his
predictions resemble more histories of by-gone occurrences than

* Gita-govinda (which is one of the names of Chrishna) is a beautiful and popular
pastoral drama by the celebrated Hindoo poet Jojad6va, who flourished about A.D.
120. The subject of this poem is «< the loves of Chrishna and Radha," or the reci-
procal attraction between the Divine goodness and the human soul. A very accurate
edition of the original text, with notes, and a Latin translation, edited by Lassen, was
published at Bonn, in 1836, An English translation was published by Sir William
Jones, in the third volume of the Asiatic Researches.

t The performance of the Zikrp is the repetition of Allah, i.e. the name of God, or
the profession of his unity, &c. Those who perform it bow the head and body each
time they pronounce the name, alternately to the right and the left. It is sometimes
performed by a great many durweeshes, who then form a ring and move round in a
circle, exclaiming over and over again, Allah, bowing the head and body each time.
During the performance of Zikrs they sing also religious love-songs. The Zikrs is
frequently performed during private festivities.
L

)rophecies that were only to transpire after a lapse of centuries.
The style, too, of this divine writer has been universally admired as
the most perfect model of sublimity. The uniform grandeur, the
lofty diction, the richness of figure, the depth of thought, which
pervade the whole book of Isaiah, require that it should not only
be carefully read, but diligently studied, in order to be properly
understood, and its beauties fully appreciated. Thus, for instance,
when we read, chap. vii. 18, 19 : "And it shall come to pass in that
day, that the Lord shall whistle to (Eng. ver. "hiss for") the fly
which is in the uppermost part of the rivers of Egypt, and for the
bee that is in the land of Assyria. And they shall come, and shall
rest all of them in the desolate valleys, and in the holes of the
rocks, and upon all the thorns, and upon all the pastures." (Eng.
ver. " bushes.") It must not be understood that the land was to be
afflicted by flies and bees which for that purpose were called
from Egypt and Assyria, for we should in vain look in the Jewish
history for the fulfilment of this prophecy — no such occurrence being
recorded therein. No — the Prophet, by a bold but appropriate
figure, compares here the Egyptian armies that were to invade Judea
to the flies, which the marshy grounds of Egypt produce in abund-
ance ; and the Assyrian armies to bees, which are said to abound in
that country. The metaphor, " he will whistle," is taken from the
practice of those who kept bees, and who were accustomed to draw
them out of their hives into the fields, and lead them back again by
a whistle. Virgil states, that bells and timbrels were also used for
that purpose. The expression further indicates the great control
which Jehovah exercises over the enemies of Judea. It requires but
a whistle, and behold swiftly they come to execute his judgment.
Again, when it is said, chap. xiii. 19, 20, "Behold, tbe day of the
Lord cometh, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the
land desolate : and he shall destroy the sinners out of it. For the
stars of heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give their
light : the sun shall be darkened in his going forth, and the moon
shall not cause her light to shine." It must not be supposed that
all this was actually to take place when Babylon, against which this
oracle is directed, was to be destroyed, for assuredly we should again
in vain look in history for a literal accomplishment. This is merely
figurative language, which the Hebrew potts employ in depicting
the overthrow and destruction of kingdoms, or any great political

A .

revolution. In like manner they depict, by a contrary figure., the
restoration or prosperity of kingdoms, states, and princes. In those
cases, the sun, moon, and stars are represented as shining with in-
creased splendour, and never setting ; the moon becomes like the
meridian sun, and the sun's light is augmented sevenfold. See ch.
XXX. 26.

When we cast a glance at the pictures which the book of Isaiah
contains, we are lost in astonishment and admiration at the diversity
of subjects which they present, as well as their life-like and natural
delineations. They form one grand panorama, the scenes of which
the mind never becomes weary of contemplating. But it was neither
the eloquence nor the power of delineation with which Isaiah was
so highly gifted, that procured for him the epithet of " Prince of
Prophets," but rather the fact, that his prophetic eye scanned the
vista of futurity with greater precision than any other of the in-
spired writers. When he foretells, chap. vii. 8, the entire de-
population of the kingdom of Israel, so that it should cease to be a
distinct people, he tells the precise time when that event should
take place. This prophecy had its literal fulfilment in Esarhaddon
carrying away the remainder of the ten tribes that had been left by
Tiglath Pileser and Shalmaneser. In describing, chap. x. 28-32,
the march of Senacherib's army against Jerusalem, although by
an unusual route and attended with great difficulty, he mentions
with marked precision, the very places through which they should
pass. It is probable that Senacherib chose this very route, although
round about and by no means easy for the march of an army, in the
hope of surprising the city.

But in none of the prophecies has Isaiah been so fully exr)licit,
as in those which refer to that happy and glorious event, the com-
ing of the Messiah. For this he may well be called the proto-
Evangelist, as if we combine the various prophecies contained in
the book relating to the Messiah, we obtain a complete gospel.

According to an ancient tradition, Isaiah suffered martyrdom in
the reign of king Manasseh, who caused him to be sawn in two.
This tradition has been retained by most of the fathers of the
church, and the Church of Rome has set apart the sixth of July in
her calendar in commemoration of it. The tradition is somewhat
confirmed by 2 Kings xxi. 16, where it is said, "Manasseh shed
innocent blood very much, till he had filled Jerusalem from one end
to another;" and by Josephus, who states, that "he barbarously

slew all the righteous men that were .1 mong the Hebrews, nor would
he spare the prophets." (Ant. b. x., eh. iii. par. 1.) It is not un-
likely that St. Paul in his Epistle to the Hebrews also alludes to
this when he says: "They were stoned, they were sawn asunder,
were tempted, were slain with the sword." — Chap. xi. 37.

The writings of Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and the minor prophets, are
all highly poetical ; but having already trespassed beyond the limits
which had been assigned to this essay, we must, though very re-
luctantly, refrain from noticing each book separately, and proceed
to offer a few remarks on the characteristics of Hebrew poetry.

The learned have expended not a little labour and ingenuity in
endeavoring to solve the problem, as to what constitutes Hebrew
poetry. According to Josephus (Antiquities b. ii., chap. iii. p. 4.;
b. iv. chap. viii. p. 44.; b. vii. chap. xii. p. 3.) there arc to be found
in some of the poetical writings of the Old Testament, both hexa-
meter and tetrameter verses. Philo likewise asserts that Moses
was acquainted with metre. These positive statements, coming
from such ancient sources, induced Gomarus, Grave and many others,
to institute a search for those characteristic attributes of the
Hebrew muse. But all their endeavours to discover either metre
or rhyme proved unsuccessful ; and well it might, for they were in
fact seeking for a thing which never existed. " The ground of
difference," as a Avriter has well remarked, " observable between the
poetry of other nations and that of the Hebrews, lies in the fact that
the prosodies of the former prescribe certain strict and undeviating
limits, within which the poet is compelled to move in the expression
of his feelings ; such as the length of the verses, the arrangement of
the syllables composing them according to quantity, the place of the
cesura, &c., to which moderns have added the regular recurrence of
like endings, or rhymes. The sacred Hebrew muse, on the contrary,
maintaining her primitive simplicity, lays down no arbitrary laws
of versification with which to fetter the genius of the poet ; she re-
quires of her votary neither more nor less than that he should find
himself in that state of excited and exalted feeling which is necessary
to the production of all genuine poetry, and possess the power of
delineating his emotions with truth and vigour."

It is true that we meet with some isolated passages which appear
to rhyme, as for instance, Psalm Ixxii. 10.

« r a-

29
yashivu minchali v'iyyim

^n^©'^ nn5)3 d^^jssT

yakrivu

eshkar

us Vll

tharshish
sh'vil

malche
malche

The kings of Tarshish and of the isles shall bring presents.
The Kings of Sheba and Seba shall ofiFer gifts.

See also Isaiah i. 25, 29 ; Prov. vi. 1, 2 ; Job vi. 9 ; and so in a few
other places.

Those apparent rhymes are however only produced accidentally,
arising as will be seen from the pronominal suffixes of the last
words. Even in the witty reply of Samson, in which rhyme was pro-
bably intended, the similarity of sound in the last syllable of each
line is the necessary result of the pronominal suffixes.

•^riTn

Liilo chrirushtem b'eglathi
Lo m'tsfithem chidathi

If ye had not ploughed with my heifer,
Ye had not found out my riddle.

Judges, xiv. 18.

But although it is certain that neither metre nor rhyme are to
be found in Hebrew poetry, the reader cannot be at a loss to
distinguish readily the poetical from the prose writings. There is
a certain style prevading the former, Avhich unmistakeably shows
them to be compositions altogether of a grander and more elevated
order. This stylo, which forms the chief characteristic of the sacred
poetry of the Old Testament, is ijarallelism, and has its existence,
not as an embellishment like the artificial decorations of metre
and rhyme in the poetry of other nations, but as the natural
and inseparable accompaniment of genuine poetry. Hence wo find
this style already employed in the very infancy of the human
race, as may be seen from the address of Lamech to his wives.

Adah and Zillah, hear my voice,

Wives of Lamech, give ear to my speech I

If I have slain a man to my wounding,

And a young man to my hurt :

If Cain sliall be avenged seven times

Then Lamech seventy times seven.

Gen. iv. 23, 24.

« r »^

Here it will be perceived that in the second, fourth and sixth lines
the same sentiments are expressed as in the first, third and fifth, the
language only being varied.

The various kinds of parallelism have generally been reduced
into three classes, namely, synonymous^ antithetic and synthetic ; but
these are hardly sufficient to embrace the infinite variety of con-
struction which exists in Hebrew poetry. Still as this arrangement
is the one generally adopted, and as it will saifice to give the reader
an idea of the principal forms which are met with, wo shall retain
it here.

I. Synonymous Parallelism. To this class belong the following
varieties, namely —

Those in which the idea of the first clause is repeated in the second,

the language being merely slightly altered, as

How shall I curse, whom God bath not cursed ?

And how shall I defy, whom Jehovah hath not defied ?

Balaam's prophecy, Numb, xxiii. 8.
Jehovah, what is man, that thou knowest (i.e. carest for) him?
And the son of man, that thou regardest him ?

Psalm cxliv. 3.

For affliction cometh not out of the dust,
And trouble springeth not out of the ground.

Job V. G,
Happy is the man that findeth wisdom.
And the man that gctteth understanding.

Prov. iii. 13,
For they shall be ashamed of the oaks which yo* have desired,
And they shall blush for the gardens which ye have cliosen.

Isaiah i. 29.
Woe to him that buildcth a town with blood,
And establisheth a city by iniquity.

Ilab. ii. 12,

Sometimes the idea expressed in the first clause, is repeated twice,
thus forming a stanza of three lines, as

Let them be ashamed and confounded together who seek my life to destroy it.

Let them be driven back and made ashamed who wish me evil.

Let them be desolate in reward of their shame who say to me, Aha, Aha !

Psalm xl. 15, 16,

More frequently, however, the two first lines only are synonymous,

whilst in the third the idea is more fully developed, as

* In the change of person in the above passage, namely, from the third to the
second person, we have an example of the bold ligure of speech called by gramma-
rians enallagc personanm, which the prophets often employ to give additional force
to their declarations and cxhortaticDS. Sometimes there is also a change from the
third to the first person, as "And he shall bless thy bread and thy Avater; and I will
take sickness from among thee "— Exod. xxiii. 25. So we find also the change from
the first person to the third, as " And I will drive thco from thy station, and from
thy state he shall pull theo down." Isaiah xxii. 19,

« »

Thy righteousness is like great mountains ; (lit. mountains of God.)
Thy judgments like a great deep :
Man and beast thou helpest, Jehovah.

Psalni xxxvi. 7 (Eng. vcr. verso G.)
And ho shall cat on the right, and he hungry ;
Ami devour on the left, and not be satis^tied;
Every one shall devour the flesh of his arm.

Isaiah ix. 19 (Eng. ver. verse 20.)

Sometimes we meet with stanzas of four lines having a double
parallelism, so that the second clause corresponds to the first, and
the fourth to the third, as

God is not man, that ho should lie ;

Or the son of man, that he siiould repent:

Hath he said, and shall he not do it?

Or hath ho spoken, and shall he not perform it?

Balaam's prophecy, Numb, xxiii. 19.

Toll it not in Gath,

Publish it not in the streets of Askelon ;

Lest the daughters of the Philistines rejoice,

Lest the daughters of the uncircumcised triumph.

David's elegy, 2 Sam. i. 20.

So we meet likewise with stanzas of six lines, every alternate line
forming a parallelism with the one proceeding, as

Therefore as the flame of fire consumeth the stubble,

And as the ignited grass falls away,

So their root shall be as rottenness.

And their blossom shall go up as fine dust:

For tiiey have rejected the law of Jehovah of Hosts,

i\jiil despised the word of the Holy One of Israel.

Isaiah v. 24.

II. Antithetic Parallelism. To this class belong those parallel-
isms in which the second clause contains an opposition of terms and
sentiments, to those expressed in the first. This class of parallelism is
particularly adapted to all kinds of sententious sayings, hence H
occurs very frequently in the Proverbs of Solomon, where it has
been employed with marked effect. The degrees of antithesis are
various. Sometimes there is an exact contraposition of word to
word, as

Faithful I are the wounds | of a friend.

But deceitful | are the kisses | of an enemy.*

Prov. xxvii. 6.
They ] bow down | and fall,
But we I rise up | and stand.

Psalm XX. 9 (Eng. ver. verse 8.)

In like manner we meet with four lines, in which the third

stands in antithesis with the first, and the fourth with the second, as

* "Faithful are the wounds of a friend," i.e. sincere are the rebukes of a friend.
The Hebrew word JnilSTlS'D (nataroth) has been variously rendered. Literally it

signifies abundant, but is evidently employed in the above passage in an accessary
signification, deceitful, as the parallelism clearly indicates. So Ewald " falsch," i.e.
false.

If yo shall bo ■willing and obey,
Tlio good of the land ye shall cat ;
But ifyo shnll refuse and rebel,
By the sword yo shall bo consumed,

Isaiah i. 19, 20,

More frequently, however, the contraposition of word to -,vorfl docs

not extend throughout the sentence, as

Righteousness exaltcth a nation :
But sin is a reproach to a people,

Prov, xiv, 34,

Here the two last terms, "nation," "people," are not antithetic
but synonymous terms.

Sometimes wc meet with stanzas of four lines, of which the two
last stand in antithesis with the two preceding, as

The ox knoweth his owner,

And the ass the crib of his master ;

Israel doth not know me,

My people doth not consider,

Isaiah i. 3.

III. Synthetic Parallelism. To this class belong those in which
the parallelism merely consists in the similar form of construction,
and where the writer, after having expressed an idea, keeps it con-
stantly in view, whilst he dilates upon it. As Job iii. 3-9.

Let the day perish wherein I was born.

And the night in tvhich it was said, a man-child is conceived.

Let that day be darkness :

Let God not regard it from above ;

Nor let light shine upon it, &c.

Here the idea expressed in the two first lines is constantly kept
in view in the subsequent verses. Another beautiful example of this
kind of parallelism wc have in Ecclesiastes xii. 1-7.

1. But remember thy Creator in the days of thy youth,

While as yet the evil days come not, and the years draw nigh.
When thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them.

2. While the sun, and the light, and the moon, and the stars bo not darkened.
And the clouds return after the rain.

3. In the day when the keepers of the house shall tremble,
And the strong men bow themelves down.

And the grinders cease because they have become few,
And those that look out of the windows be darkened,

4. And the door shall be shut in the street.
When the sound of the mill is low ;

And he shall rise up at the voice of the sparrow.
And all the daughters of song shall be brought low.

6, Also for a height they are afraid, and terrors are in the way ;

And the almond is rejected, and the locust becomes a burden, and the

[caper-berry fails.
For man goes to his long home,
And the mourners go about the street.

« \ »

miuain

{

Before the silver cord bo loosed,

And the golden bowl bo broken,

And the bucket bo broken at the fountain,

And broken the wheel at the cistern.

And the dust return to the earth as it was :
And the spirit to 'lod who gave it.*

* For an explanation of tho first five lines, see Introduction, page 22. " The
keepers of tho house," are tho two hands, which are properly so called, as they are
employed to ward oft" any danger that may tiireateu the botiy. "And tho strong
men," are the legs and foot wliich carry tlio body. The legs through the relaxing
of tho muscles in i,ld age bend at tho knees, tho weight of the body being too heavy

for them. Tho Hebrew tor .n ^iH "^tjpiji (anshe chayil) denotes men of strengtht

men of valour, hence also iiitn of tear, i.e. warriors. Now as those who possessed
great strength in the legs and feet were considered among the best warriors or strong
men, tlio feet and logs thonselves are hero metaphorically called "strong men."
"Tho grinders cease," i.e. tho teeth which in old age become few. "Those that
look out of the windows are darkened," are plainly the eyes. Tho eye-lashes aro
hero compared to windows, or rather to tho lattice-work of tho windows, which is
tho literal moaning of the Hebrew word fli^l^li^ (arubboth). Lattice-work being

employed in tho east instead of glass, the literal rendering would bo those that look
out through the lattice windows." This figure obtains additional beauty and becomes
more strikingly appropriate when wo consider that in Hebrew, the apple of the eye
is called "ll^? ^'^ {h\)Xh ay'm) i.q. daughter of the eye, ov ^'^'^ 'li'0''!i5 ^•6- '''<'«

man of the eye. "And the door shall be shut in the street." The door evi-
dently means the lips, which form the door of the mouth. For a similar expression,
see Psalm cxli. '6; iMichah vii. 5. — "Keep the doors of thy mouth." The street is
mentioned merely to show that tho outside door is meant. "Are shut," when the
teeth arc gone the lips become compressed. "When tho sound of tho mill is low."
As the teeth are in the preceding verse, called "grinders," it follows that the mill
itself must be tho mouth. "And he shall rise up at the voice of tho sparrow."
This expresses tho restlessness of old age. In the cast, it is a common practice
both with the young and old to rise with the dawn. Some render the passage "it
rises to the voice of the sparrow," i.e. it attains to the voice of the sparrow, which
is very feeble, referring it to the feeble voice of the aged. But I think that
although the voice generally becomes feeble in old age, still it would be somewhat ex-
cessive to compare it to the chirping of a bird. "Daughters of the song," is merely
a poetic expression for song. So " daughters of Jerusalem," i.e. inhabitants of
Jerusalem — "Daughters of Tyre." i.e. inhabitants of Tyre. And so in the Talmud
bip tlS (bath kol) lit. the daughter of tho voice, i.e. simply the voice. The loss

of the voice \a tho natural result from the loss of the teeth and the falling in of the
lips. "For a hfight they are afraid," i.e. they have an aversion to ascend high
places, being too fatiguing. " And terrors are in the way," i.e. they are in constant
dread of falling, their eyesight having grown dim, and their legs become enfeebled.
Hence the cautious and slow gait of old people. " And the almond is rejected."
The rejection of this delicate and once favourite fruit arises from the loss of the
teeth, the old being no longer able to masticate it. Tho English version has
rendered this passage "and the almond tree shall flourish," as likewise the Septua-
gint, Syriac and Vulgate versions, which would refer to the white hairs, here com-
pared to the profuse white flowers of the almond tree. This figure is rendered still
more appropriate by the fact, that this tree is the first which wakes from its winter
slumber, hence called in Hebrew Tp'QI) (shaked) i.e. the tvaker, and from its blossom-
ing in Palestine in January, so that the hoary hairs of the winter of life form a
beautiful similitude with ihe winter blossoms of the almond tree. Gesenius's
objection to this comparison, "that the flower of the almond tree is not white, but
rose-coloured," is altogether trifling, since white by far predominates in the blossom,
M

« \ *

Another characteristic of Hebrew poetry, is jmdation, i.e. where

every succeeding expression is heightened in force, as

Ho slttiiiK in tho hoavcns bUuII laugh :
The Lord shiill dcrido them.
Tlicn ho hIihU spoak unto them in hi.s angor,
And in his wrath ho ahall conl'uund them.

Here it will be observed, at first God is represented as merely
umilirKj at tho designs of the kings of tho earth, then as deriding
them, then as speaking to them, or as it would be more literally
rendered as earnestly spnaJciiifj to them, and lastly as confounding
them. Psalm ii. 4, 5.

Frequently too wo find two definite numbers employed, the second
being greater than the first in order to express an indefinite number,
a3

In six troubles ho shall deliver thee :
And in seven no evil shall touch thee.

Job V. 19.

Give a portion to seven, and also to eight ;

For thou knowcst not 'what evil shall be upon tho earth.

Ecclcs. xi. 2.

and when viewed from a little distance, tho rose-coloured lingo is scarcely visible.
My reason for adopting a dlft'erent rendering is entirely founded upon philological
grounds. Tho Hebrew word Hptli (staked) denotes both an almond tree, see Jcr. i.
11, and an almond nut, seo Gen. xliii. 11, so that either rendering would do so fur as
this word is concerned. Not so, however, with tho verb V'i^D'^ (yanets) which
ia the future hiphil of the verb y-Jjij^ (niirits) which signifies to dvspise, to deride, to
reject, but never to blossom, in which case cither the verb ni.5 (paruch), see Hab.
iii. 17; Gen. xl. 10, or the verb Vqi (nuts), seo Cant. vi. 11,, would have been em-
ployed. Besides, the rendering which I have given agrees better with the context.
"And tho locust becomes a burden." Tho species of locust denoted by '2'y'r]

(chagav) is according to Lev. xi. 22, permitted to be eaten. It is said that it is
even to this day brought into the market for sale, and that the hard shelled ones
resemble in taste tho crawfish, and are regarded as a great delicacy. Diodorus
Siculus speaks of a people of Ethiopia who were so fond of them that they were called
Acridophagi, i.e. eaters of locusts. Tho sense of the text then is, that the most de-
licious viands Ijecome a burden to the old man, whose appetite fails, or who cannot
digest them. " And tho caper-berry fails." The caper-berry is said to be a provoca-
tive of appetite and lust, aud was used as a stimulant. But even this fails to produce
its usual results. At verse 0, commences another exhortation, and we must there-
fore supply from the first verse— Remember thy creator— Before the silver cord
be loosed. "The silver cord," i.e. (the nervous system) made of silver threads, means
the chain" by which " the golden bowl," i.e. the lamp of life is suspended, which is
here represented to fall to tho ground, when the cord by which it hangs is loosed
and is broken in pieces. "And the bucket be broken at the fountain, and broken
the wi^eel at the cistern." The same idea is here repeated under a different figure.
When such mishaps befall tho water apparatus, no more water is to be had; so like-
wise when the apparatus for breathing is broken, tho breath must necessarily cease.

t ?

There is still another gradation which we frequently meet with,
and which consists in a thought or idea that has just been expressed
being again taken up and more fully carried out, as

Curse ye Moroz, said tho angel of the Loril,
CunsE YK bitterly its inlmbitiiiits ;
For tiiev came not to the help of the Loni),
To TUB help or the Lord agaiust tho mighty.

Song of Deborah, Judg. v. 28.

QoD OP VENGEANCE, Jchovah ;
God of venoeakce, shine forth !

Paalra zciv. 1.

Wo have yet to notice another characteristic of Hebrew poetry,
and that is, the use of certain words wliich are only found in the
poetical wi-itinga, and for which others arc employed in the prose
compositions. As for example, ni?p (mllluh) a word in poetry ; -|^T

(davfir) a word in prose ; ll5iDJS5 (enosh) a man, poetry ; tj-ijjj (iidam)

a man, prose, ntlb^ (athah) to come, poetry; jj^'i^l (bo) to come,

prose, &c.

Also the use of certain epithets for substantives, as niib (I'vanSh)

i.e. the white, for the moon, Cant. vi. 10, Isaiah xxiv. 23; in prose
always f^y (yareach) i.e. the moon. n72n (chammah) i.e. heat,
for the sun,' Job xxx. 28; Isaiah xxx. 26; in prose '0)5113 (shgmCsh)

i.e. the sun, &c.

So likewise the use of the construct plural form with prepositions,
as ib^ (ale) for b2? (^1) upon, ibsjii (Sle) for bi$ (el) unto. -^^S

(ade) for ^p (ad) until.

Also the use of the poetical pronominal suffix i^ (mo) for Qn
(hSm) them. And tho Chaldee plural ending "ii— (in) instead of
I31-T- (im).

Now all these characteristics of Hebrew poetry exist in the books
of the Prophets, as well as in the book of Job, the Psalms and the
Proverbs, which are universally admitted to be poetical, and it follows
therefore that the former as well as the latter must be written in
poetry. It must be from a total disregard of these charac-
teristics, or being misled by the somewhat more sententious and
regular form of construction of the lines that exist in Job, the
Psalms, the Proverbs, Canticles, Lamentations, and in some of the
isolated poems of the Old Testament, that so many entertain the
erroneous idea that the prophetical books were written in prose.

% i .*^-

-"uded. Of tl,esc poeJs ZTtjuT '" "*"='' ™ ''"«> •''ready

fi-ov..x.xx,., versos 10-81; Lament ,■•::■' "'"'■' "'-v-, cxiv;
they consist of tiventy-two lines o,- Itnn '"'' '"•' ""'' ""'"■' ''°™ «:
ofletters in the Hebrew 4ZC t ? "I""'"'" '° *" ■"»»''-
n-ng with cacl, letter in resnhr 1^ '^ "'" °'' ^'"'^» begin-

Thus the first line begins f'^f;; '' «'»"-" 'he alphabet,
these, some, however, a°e more tllT"°"f "■'* ^ *' ''t"- Of
and cxii., and Lament, iii. The tw & 1 "'•™.°"'«s, as Psalms oxi.
every stanza having two lino eten t ?'" ?""' ^'""»« »«»'■>
three lines eaeh, thts making' up tt " "" '"'' '""'"^ ^»'->'
the Hebrew Bible, the stanzas a"e If T- "'""'^-'«-<'- As in

-yoin here the two first veC ", C™ " ' '"'" ""^^ ' ^™ »h""
»ill serve as a guide. """ "'"■ '" '-^S"!'"- lines, which

Wn;' iffij): a-.j'ia ^*
It -lib •■ ''^'SeD-i?^ a^tim .i

the last twoverseswhicheah "V .'""^ *-'''' ^'''■•""•l- I"
-rks the end of the fet. The ^"0^^ ""?' '"" ^'^ C"™)
poems, viz.. Lament, iii. consists of twi * '"'*"' alphabetical
each, as "" "* ''>enty-two stanzas of three lines

1st Stanza.

■■ inn?? t^m ^?? n.s«i n55n .5^ „

2ncl Stanza.

i« ? and not ra.m He English.

cxlv

37 ■

In these perfectly alphabetical poems the lines in each poem are
strikingly equal to one another in length, and scarcely less so in the
number of words.

The other nine poems are less perfect in their structure. In
them the stanzas only are marked with initial letters. Psalra'cxix.
is divided into twenty-two divisions each containing eight stanzas
of two lines, and all the stanzas of each division are marked by the
same mit.al, so that the eight stanzas of the first division begin with
&5 (aleph) a, and those of the second with ^ (beth) b, &c Psalm
XXV., xxxiv. (beginning at the second verse), and cxlv.', Prov. xxxi.
begmning at the tenth verse), and Lament, iv. consist of stanzas of
two lines each ; Lamentations i. and ii. of stanzas of three line<=,
and Psalm xxxvii. of stanzas of four lines. There exist, however,
irregularities in the latter eight poems, which may be imputed to the
carelessness of the transcribers, or to the fact of not being able to find
a word beginning with the letter required. Hence we find that
Bometiraes a letter was missed or repeated. Thus, for example, in
Psalm XXV. there is no stanza beginning with ^ (beth) b, unless we
regard the word nnbS! (olohai) i.e. my God, as originally belong-
ing to the first verse. The next word ^3 (b'chu) would then afford
the letter required. Or we may suppose, with Eosenmliller and
others, that the word irib.N} (Glohai), like the interjections of the
Greek tragic writers, was not reckoned with the verse. In this as
well as in Psalm xxxiv., there is also no stanza commencing with
the letter ^ (wav). And in Psalm xxv. there is likewise no stanza
beginning with p (koph), but two stanzas commence with ^ (resh).
Again in Psalm xxxvii. there is no stanza beginning with the letter
^ (nyin), and the letter ^jr (tsade) stands before the letter 5 (pe). It
IS difficult to determine the design of this kind of composi-
tion. Lowth thinks "that it was intended for the assistance of
the memory; and was chiefly employed in subjects of common use
as maxims of morality, and forms of devotion," and in this supposi'
tion he probably may be correct.