BS/450 ^9.V27 ^>' ^ NOV 27 1968 . j A New Tranflation of the Forty-ninth Pfalm, IN A SERMON PREACHED BEFORE THE UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD, &c. &c. A new Tranjlation of the Forty-ninth Pfalm, SERMON {>ov27,968^; PREACHED BEFORE ^n^ THE UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD, AT ST, MARY'S, ON SUNDAY, JUNE 3. 1810. To which are add^d, REMARKS CRITICAL AND PHILOLOGICAL ON LEVIATHAN, DESCRIBED IN THE FORTY-FIRST CHAPTER OF JOB. BY THE REV. WILLIAM VANSITTART, M. A. RECTOR OF WHITE WALTHAM, BERKS. OXFORD, At the Univerfity Prefs for the Author j And fold by J. Parker, Oxford 3 T. Deighton, Cambridge 5 J. F. and C. Rivington, and T. Payne, London. MDCCCX. PREFACE In the following Sermon the reader is pre- fented with a new tranflation of the forty- ninth Pfalm. This new verfion has not been hazarded before the author was convinced, that the old tranflation of our Prayer Book and Englifh Bible was not a fair reprefenta- tion of the Hebrew text. Learned men, who have attempted an illuftration of this Pfalm, have confefled its difficulties, and almoft the impoffibility of arriving at any good fenfe, from the prefent ftate of its Hebrew original : they have, accordingly, in the firft place, al- tered the text agreeably to what they con- ceived muft have been the Pfalmift's intention, and then framed their verfion according to the Pfalm fo amended. In the tranflation here pro- pofed, no fuch liberty has been even thought of, but the original has been adhered to clofely VI and rigidly ; and it is from this fteady adhe- rence to the text, that the following has origi- nated and been completed, which is now, with all deference and modeftv, fubmitted to the judgment of the learned reader. In the Remarks on Leviathan, the reader will perceive the difference between the divi- fion of the chapters in our Englifh and He- brew Bible ; and as the author has ufed the arrangement of our Englijfh Bible, as perhaps the moft convenient for his purpofe, it Ihould be obferved, that the firft verfe in the Remarks anfwers to the 20th verfe of the 40th chapter of the original. The Hebrew begins the de- fcription of Leviathan in Job xl. 20. and con- tinues it throughout the 41 ft chapter. The Englilh Bible confines the defcription to the 4 1 ft chapter alone. The text which has been ufed is that of the Englifh Polyglot; with this difference, that it is given without the Maforetic points. The rea- fon for this is, that y^vh, ftript of the vowel Vll points, appears in a better ftate for a critical examination. In regard to the extracts out of Mr. Hamil- ton's JEgyptiaca, which the author but lately- obtained, they furnifli a moft valuable addition to thefe Remarks, and will be equally prized by the claffical fcholar, even without the acquire- ment of the Hebrew language, as excellent notes upon the ancient writers upon Egypt, who have touched upon the worlhip of the crocodile. Psalm xHx. 14. They lie in the hell like Jheep, death gnaweth upon them, and the righteous Jball have domination over them in the morning : their leauty Jhall confume in the fepulchre out of their dwelling » 1 HE Pfalm, of which this verfe forms a part, has generally been confidered as defcriptive of the refurrecftion. That great truth was known but imperfedly to the inhabitants of Judea, in comparifon to what it is now among Chrif- tians, fince life and immortality have been brought to light by the Gofpel. The doftrine was however taught by the Prophets and other holy men, but we may imagine with no very great fuccefs, particularly if we judge from the tenor of the Pfalms, which are con- tinually reproving the wicked, and the ene- mies of God, for their unbelief. The Jews, at the times when the different Pfalms were com- pofed, confided greatly of fcofFers and irreli- gious perfons, who, infulting the godly, conti- nually enquired of them, where was their God ; not unlike the fcofFers predifted by the Apoftle Peter to arife in the laft days, who w^ould de- B mand exultingly, *' where was the promife of *' his coming'." This forty-ninth Pfalm is a remarkable in- fiance of the irrehgious man's contention with the Pfalmift, and of the denial of the great truth of the refurredion. No man, it is aflerted roundlyb, may deliver his brother, nor make agreement unto God for him. The whole Pfalm, to be clearly underftood, muft be confidered as a dialogue between a believer in that great truth and thefe fcofFers : or rather, that the fcofFer himfelf was not pre- fent, but that the religious man puts forward the fentiments of the fcofFer, which he after- wards controverts. It ftiould be divided into the parts refpedively belonging to each ; and then, with a different rendering of a few of the words from the prefent tranflation, it will clearly exhibit the providence of God alTerting a deliverance from the grave, and the milBon of an ambaflador to abolifh the power of death. This Pfalm, in the fhape in which it appears at prefent in our Prayer-book verfion, carries with it the air more of a denial, than a proof of therefurreftion. And indeed Bifhop Hare fays the fame thing, but unjuftly, of its original, in a note upon verfe 13. If, argues he, the * 2 Pet. iii. 4. b Verfe 7. Pfalmift had thought about the refurredion in this Pfalm, he would have fet forth in clear and magnificent language, not briefly and ob- fcurely, the happinefs with which the pious would then be received. '' Si Pfaltes in hoc car- " mine de refurreftione cogitalTet, non brevi- " ter et obfcure; fed dilucide et magnifice, feli- *' citatem qua pii tunc mafti erunt praedicaflet." It aflerts the univerfal death both of the high and low, rich and poor, learned and ignorant ; configns them to the grave, and there leaves them, without power in any one to redeem them. To us, with its prefent tranflation, it yields but a very imperfed: light and hope of another life. If our profped: extended no far- ther than what this verfion unfolds to us, it would be moft limited and dark. Not fo its original to the Jews ; who build upon it the hope of the refurrecftion, and confole them- felves with it at the burial of a departed fellow creature. Dean Addifon, in his Travels into Barbary ^ informs us, that the Jews were ac- cuftomed to fing the forty-ninth Pfalm, in a fort of plain fong, at their funeral proceflions. Whence it is clear they muft have confidered it as prefiguring and fubftantiating the deliver- ance from the grave. Whence too, we may a See Harmer*s Obfervations upon Scripture, vol. iii. pag.409. B 2 imagine, they derived from the original a much clearer light into the refurrecftion, than we can poffibly do from our tranflation of it. He, whofe faith in another life was grounded only upon our Englifli tranflation, would have but a faint and glimmering light ; and if the Jews of Barbary had not a livelier hope, then, as they followed a brother to the grave, they would have forrowed for his departure, rather than have exulted for his deliverance out of the mi- feries of this finful world. This Pfalm, confifting of twenty verfes, may be divided into four parts, befides a verfe, forming a kind of burthen to it, repeated at the clofe. The firft part, confifting of four verfes, is a prooemium, fetting forth the great- nefs and the myftery of the fubjeft. The fe- cond part, verfe 5 to verfe 1 1 , contains the fentiments which the irreligious man profefles upon the refurredion. Then comes the 12th verfe, forminga fort of creed, or irreligious tenet held by the fcofFer. The third part, the 13th, 14th, and 15th verfes, embraces the adual ftate of mankind in regard to death and a deliverer from the grave. The fourth, containing the l6th, 17th, 18th, and 19th verfes, is a confo- lation to the good man, not to be caft down at his poverty, or repine under it, or be envi- ous of the riches of another ; and for this rea- fon, becaufe his riches and his pomp cannot fol- low him. The Pfalm clofes with the 20th verfe, which is almoft a repetition of the 12th. Before, however, I enter upon the Pfalm, I would call your attention to the laft verfe of the preceding one. It is very remarkable. It is this: For this God is our God for ever and ever ; He will be our guide even unto death. rniD Sv cid mortem; though fuper mortem, beyond death, would be the more proper tranflation. The Pfalmift in this Pfalm fings the praifes of Sion, the city of God : and con- cludes, that the God, to whom Sion belonged, was his and the people of Ifrael's God. This God is our God for ever and ever ; Hefliall guide us beyond death, I have made guide a verb, as it is in the ori- ginal. Now this verfe muft not be palled over without comment. The words are very im- portant and extraordinary. The Pfalmift does not fay this God is our God, for a week, or a month, or a year, or for an age ; but for ever and ever. How can he be their God for ever and ever, unlefs they have an exiftence for the fame immeafurable time, wherein they may be his people ? How can he guide them beyond death, unlefs they are fomewhere to be guided ? B 3 I have been the more particular in fetting forth this verfe, that the Pfalmift may not ap- pear to enter too abruptly upon the weighty matter contained in the Pfalm under difcuf- fion. The Pfalm begins with a folemn call to the people to liften ; and the greatnefs of the fub- j eft may well be conceived, by that call being extended to all the inhabitants of the world. 1 . Hear this all ye people ; Give ear all ye inhabitants of the world. 2. Both low and high. Rich and poor, together. 3. My mouth fliall fpeak of wifdom. And the meditation of my heart Ihall be of underftanding. 4. I will incline mine ear to a parable ; I will open my dark (or myfterious) faying upon the harp. Here ends the prooemium, or the opening of the fubjeft ; and at the next verfe the materies of the Pfalm commences. This firft part needs no alteration. The fe- cond part requires being put into a new and different fliape. I fliall begin with reading as much of this fecond part as is requilite for our purpofe, according as it ftands in our Bible tranflation ; repeat it in the ftate I wifli it to appear ; then make a few critical remarks upon it : and the fame method will be continued throughout the whole Pfalm. 5. Wherefore fhould I fear in the days of evil. When the iniquity of my heels Ihall compafs me about ? 6. They that truft in their wealth. And boaft themfelves in the multitude of their riches ; 7. None of them can by any means redeem his brother. Nor give to God a ranfom for him. 8. For the redemption of their foul is pre- cious, And it ceafeth for ever ; Q. That he fliould ftill live for ever. And not fee corruption. 10. For he feeth that wife men die, like wife the fool and the brutifh perfon pe- rilh, and leave their wealth to others. Now, it is to be remembered, thefe words are fpoken of the irreligious man, whofe fenti- ments are here brought forward, and which are expofed fully and clearly in the third part. Although this fecond part will aflume a new appearance altogether from that juft cited, yet there is not the leaft alteration in the original Hebrew text. Perhaps it may appear fo at B4 8 firil fight in the word Dt^^fii their foul, which has the plural pronoun affixed to it, purpofely for increafing the fignification, and which I have rendered, inftead of their foul, the foul of any one mah. It might, I think, be ren- dered his foul, in regard to the Angular num- ber preceding it ; and as it refers to ti^\V, which apparently governs either a Angular or plural number. The change of perfons is not allowable in the EngUfh language, though it frequently takes place in the Hebrew ; becaufe in this laft language the plural number is ima- gined to increafe the fignification. Another in- ftance of this ufage of the plural number, where C^»N is referred to, after having before governed a Angular, is at the clofe of this Pfalm, in the verb ^^^-)^ and will be remarked in its place. This change of perfons has added con- fiderably to the difficulties of tranflators and commentators, and not unfrequently confufes the fenfe. But to return to the new fliape, in which I would wifh the Pfalm to appear : 5. Wherefore fhould I fear in the evil days The iniquity of mine enemy who com- pafleth me about ? 6. They that truft in their ftrength. And make their boaft in the quantity of their riches. Say 07' affert their maxims upon death. 7. No man lliall redeem a brother, Or pay to God his ranfom ; 8. Or the price of the redemption of the foul of any one: But he has ceafed exiftence for ever. 9. Shall he then hereafter live to victory. And not fee corruption ? 10. For it appeareth the wife die; The fool and the ignorant perfon perifli likewife ; And leave their wealth to others. ^np5^ mine enemy, from np;r to fupplant. However, if we continue to underftand '^pjr my heel, in the lingular number, it would be with reference to a fnare, or a gin, fet for the purpofe of* catching any one by the heel or foot. This may be illultrated Job xviii. 8, 9, 10. where it is faid of the wicked, 8. For he is call into a net by his own feet, And he walketh upon a fnare. 9. The gin fhall take him by the heel, And the robber Ihall prevail againft him. 10. The fnare is laid for him in the ground. And a trap for him in the way. Some read, inftead of n?^ brother, "]K verily, which is likewife found in fome MSS. and then the verb would be in the paffive voice, thus ; Verily no man Ihall be redeemed. Or his ranfom paid to God, 10 Or the price of the redemption of the foul of any one. In verfe the eighth, the Seventy and Vul- gate, inftead of the plural affix to the noun t:^Q^foul, read the Angular ; iLTSi for D^*D^ LXX. Tvi^ y^vx^f ctvrS, Vulg. animce fude. The verb Sin tranflated, he has ceafed exijience for ever, means literally to ceafe being in the llate one was in before ; as when the hungry are no more hungry, as when thofe who were alive are no longer in exift- ence. The ninth verfe is rendered interroga- tively. Where perfons are in difcourfe toge- ther, the mark of interrogation is dropt. The word hereafter, the rendering of "iiy, is very important, denoting a future period. Jerom, Aquila, and Symmachus, render thus : Jerom, Sed qziiefcet infcecula, et vivet ultra in Jempiteimum . Aqu. Kcti sTToLixrctTo elf al^voL, kcc) (^yjcreTdi sk viKof, Symmachus, 'AAAct Tretva-di^svof to) etlmt rirco LXX. and Origen, KcCt eKOTriaa-ev ek rov ulcovct, Grabe aflerts, sK07rU(rsv in this place is put for eKOTrcKrev. In verfe lo. I have rendered n^T O, for it appearethy inftead of he feeth. The remaining 11 verfe in this fecond part, and alfo the twelfth, the kind of burthen of the Pfalm, need no al- teration. I ihall limply read them without comment. Their inward thought is, their houfes are for ever. Their dwelling-places to all generations : They have called lands after their own names. Man, though formed in honour, abideth not; He is like the beafts that perifh. That is, man, though formed even in the image of God, hath no continuance here or hereafter. This verfe is the kind of creed or maxim of the fcofFers ; who allow the fupe- riority of man over the brute creation, both in his make and endowments ; but aflert, that, from his not remaining after this life, he is but on an equality with the beafts that perifli. We come now to the third part of the Pfalm, which contains the believer's obferva- tion upon the preceding fentiments, as well as his declaration concerning the future ftate of all mankind ; as alfo the arrival of an ambafla- dor to abolilh the grave, and accomplifh the re- demption of the foul. Thefe three verfes, the 13th, I4th,and I5th, (comprifing the third part,) are in the Bible tranflation as follows. 12 ''This their way is their folly: yet their pof- terity approve their fayings. Selah. '' Like flieep they are laid in the grave ; death fhall feed on them ; and the upright fhall have dominion over them in the morning ; and their beauty fhall confume in the grave from their dwelling. ''But God ihall redeem my foul from the power of the grave : for he fhall receive me.'* The ancient as well as the modern tranfla- tors appear to have had no clear idea of the I4thverfe: in all probability the change of the number of the pronouns deceived them. Where fo many and great fcholars have failed, it appears almofl prefumption to think of fuc- cefs ; but with your indulgence I will pro- ceed with my interpretation, and the reafons for it : 13. This their dodrine is their folly ; And thofe who come after them praife their faying. Selah. *iDb bOD. It may alfo be rendered, their con- Jidence, as well as their folly. This their doc- trine is their confidence : but it is generally taken for folly. Sdd is one of thofe words which have two fignifications ; of which one is nearly the con- trary of the other. 14. They are laid in the grave like fheep in the fold -, 13 Death Ihall fliepherd them ; But the upright fliall rule them at morn- ing, And their ambaffador fhall arife from his glorious habitation to abolilh the grave. 1 5 . Verily God fliall redeem my foul. For he fliall take me from the clutches of the grave. The Pfalmifl, as appears to me, illufl;rates the ftate of the dead by a fliepherd folding his flieep at night, and loofening them from the fold in the morning. And accordingly I have maintained this figure through the verfe. The 14th verfe may be divided into four claufes. ifl:. They are laid in the grave like flieep in a fold. 2d. Death fliall fliepherd them. 3d. But the upright fliall rule them at morn- ing. 4th. And their ambafl!ador fliall arife from his glorious habitation to abolifli the grave, ift. They are laid in the grave. Rather, they are appointed to the grave, int^* they are put in order or military array. They are ap- pointed to the grave as flieep are by their fliep- herd to the fold. All men, not the unjull only. 14 Underftand t^^^ or Dite in its diftributive fenfe. 2d. Death Jhall Jhepherd them ; that is, Death Ihall have power fo far as to bring them to the grave. 3d. But the upright, or the true fliepherds, in opposition to death as a fliepherd, Ihall rule them at morning. Tiy a m*) dominium exercere. It may alfo be derived from 11* defcendit. But the true fliepherds fliall go to them at morning, de- fcend upon them as a Ihepherd goes to his flieep at morning, to loofen them from their fold. Dn^* the upright. We may underftand this word of the true fhepherds, carrying on the figure of fpeech with which the verfe fet out. Thefe upright, or true fliepherds, may poffi- bly be referred to the faints, who, as St. Paul tells us, fliall judge the world ^. Or they may be illuftrated by our Lord's allufion to his twelve difciples, fitting upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Ifrael ^. The whole of the followers of the blefl^ed Jefus are fpoken of as a flock, and as his flieep. And the holy Re- * I Cor. vi. 2. ^ Matt. xix. $8. 15 deemer himfelf is faid to be a fliepherd, that good ftiepherd that knoweth his fheep, and is known of them, John x. 14 ; that good fliep- herd, that giveth his Ufe for his ftieep. ver. 1 1 . "ipl^ in the morning. This is a particular expreffion, denoting any early affiltance or op- portune deliverance. Thus, Pfalm xxx. 5. ** Heavinefs may endure for a night, but joy " Cometh in the morning;' and, Pfalm xlvi. 5. " God fliall help her, and that right early.'" 4th. And their ambaflador fliall arife from his glorious habitation to abolifli the grave. y^ an ambajfador, agent, or mejfenger. One upon whom the bufinefs turns, as upon a hinge. Now if IIV be fubftituted in its ftead, as many editions read, then it may be rendered their rock, which is a much fuller and ftronger word. ** Their rock fliall arife from his glo- " rious habitation." LXX. 7] fioTlS'SlOL CtVTCOV, Vulg. auxiliiim eorum, biKCr m*7lb to abolijh the grave. Ad dejtru^ endum orcum ; or, ad dejirudionem orci : which is a frequent mode of fpeech in the New Teftament. 2 Tim. i. lo. Heb. ii. 14. Some MSS. read ni^Db ad confumendum orcum ; which is nearly of the fame import with ni^:nb. The root of this word is rhi ve- 16 terafcit : but it is equally ufed in the tranlitive fenfe, as in 1 Chron. xvii. 9. mblb may be taken in the future fignifica- tion, and is equivalent with rhy. Thus: Their ambaflador, from his glorious habitation, fhall abolifli the grave. If the word is ufed in this future fenfe, it deftroys the neceffity of un- derftanding arife, Symmachus gives the word a tranlitive fig- nification ; to Ss kdatspov olvtuv TrctXoLiua-ei ci^yif Hades Jhall aholijh their Jlrength : which if it was reverfed would be nearly right. 1^ blTO D a prepofition prefixed, lb a pro- noun affixed. From his glorious habitation, bint hahitaculum. When applied to Jehovah's habitation, it means the heavens ; thus, Ifaiah Ixiii. 15. " Look down from heaven, and be- " hold from the habitation of thy holinefs, and *' of thy glory." -]nn^^£)^n ^tvip bir^ hki LXX. f;C TYl^ So^yi^ UVTCOV. Vulg. a gloria eorum. All the tranflators have rendered the pro- noun in the plural number ; this I ima- gine they did, becaufe I'V has a plural pro- noun, which has contributed very much to miflead them. The Seventy render bllt ^0^^, and the Vulgate gloria, which is the reafon why I have inferted the epithet, glorious ha- bitation. 17 We may now go on with the fourth part of the Pfalm, namely, the confolation of the believer, and that he repine not at the prof- peri ty of the wicked. 1 6. Be not thou afraid when one is made rich. When the glory of his houfe is increafed; 17. For when he dieth he fliall carry nothing away : His glory fhall not defcend after him. Thefe two verfes require no alteration, and therefore will not be repeated. The remainder of this fourth part runs thus in the Bible : 18. Though while he Uved he blefled his foul ; And men will praife thee, when thou doeft well for thyfelf. 19. He fhall go to the generation of his fa- thers ; They fliall never fee light. The alteration I mean to fuggeft in thefe two verfes is very trifling, chiefly in the word heJhallgOy becaufe our tranflators have changed the perfon, ufurping the third for the fecond. For he blefled himfelf during his life ; But men fhall praife thee, becaufe thou doeft: good for thyfelf. Thou fhalt enter into the generation of his fathers ; 18 But they fliall never fee light. That is, neither he nor any of the profperous wicked ftiall ever fee light. In the 1 8th verfe, '' men Ihall praife thee/' the Hebrew v^ord is yrs's pointed as if it was the third perfon plural. I have retained the tranflation of our Englifh Bible. LXX. i^ofjLoXoyYia-ereii (roi, Vulg. covfitebitur tibi. If it could be rendered " but it Ihall be well " with thee," I fliould be better pleafed. Some propofe reading ^^miK thy fathers, but upon no foundation, excepting the exi- gence of the place. 1i>?-|* In the plural number, to increafe the fignification. This verb is governed of t*^'K, which had through the preceding verfes go- verned a fingular number. tr^K is a very parti- cular word, and not unfrequently governs, in the fame fentence, both a fingular and plural number. In Pfalm Ixii. 5. where c^»K had re- ferred to the plural number, it all of a fudden refers to the fingular. Many of thefe peculiari- ties appear in the Pfalms, as in Pf. xxxix. 7. V. 10. tr^K^when referring to a coUedive body, may 19 govern a plural number; which is the cafe with 1K"\» in the tgth verfe; and the plural pronoun of t^'£): in the 8th: the plural verb iKn^ is faid of all the rich, and the plural pro- noun Dt:*flj of the fouls of every one. This change of numbers caufes a very great confufion. Yet I do not wifh to accufe the text on that account of being erroneous, much lefs depraved in the words IN"!* and Dt^•fl3 ; but would rather confider them as peculiarities of the word ti^^N, confiftent with the genius of the Hebrew language, but not of the Englifli. The Seventy, Vulgate, and Syriac, render in the Angular number, as if nKT. LXX. O-^STCtt, Vulg. videbit, Syr. ^).j^. In regard to the expreflion, ** thou flialt en- " ter into the generation of his fathers," it may perhaps want a little explanation. The greateft blefling to be defired by a Jew was, the continuance of his family to the lateft times, and his children, and children's children ever fucceeding to his inheritance. The greateft curfe, on the contrary, which he dreaded, was the cutting off his family, and a ftranger fuc- ceeding to his place. Thus, the greateft blefling promifed to David, if his children continued in the fervice of Jehovah, was, that ^' there fliould 02 20 *' not fail him a man upon the throne of If- " rael ^:" thus likewife, '^ the Lord hath fworn " in truth unto David, he will not turn from " it, Of the fruit of thy body will I fet upon " thy throne. If thy children will keep my " covenant, and my teftimony, that I ftiall " teach them, their children alfo fliall fit upon '' thy throne for evermore^." Something of this kind is meant by the pious man entering into the generation of the rich man, who would be cut off. The Pfalm finifhes with the repetition of the 12th verfe, only changing ]'V for ]'i\ Man is formed in honour, but will not underftand; He is like the beafts that perifh. By this change of *»y for X>y>, the fentiment of the fcofFer, that man trill not remain, that is, have another life hereafter, is blotted out ; and ivill not underjland, fubftituted in its place. Thus fliewing, that man in his per- verfe difpofition and want of underftanding, and not in any thing elfe, refembles the bealls that periih. Having now gone through the Pfalm in parts, I will recapitulate the whole, together with the original text. * I Kings ii. 4. ^ Pfalm cxxxii. 11, la. 21 J ^m^n -n^Dn nnsN 'Mk "71^;::^ nos : ^:nD^ apj^ pj^ vn 'do n^^k nob : nDD a'r\^i<'7 ]n^ k"? tr^x niD^ ms sb nx niN' nvni ^'DD nn» iniD» nD\tD3n nNn» o nm nn^ Dn:D:^'o obiv^ >^'nn onnp d:i nTi DVT ni:: intr biKcrS invd : iS ^ato b^m n^b^b on^vi npn^ Dn::'^ C 3 22 : in^n nno nnn» o tr^N ntj^v* o ntd ^k : iV n^CD'D o 11V1 1-11^ v^nn iji^iD: o To /Ae chief Miijician, a Pfalm for thefons of Korah, PART I. 1 . Hear this, all ye people ; Give ear, all ye inhabitants of the world : 2. Both low and high. Rich and poor, together. 3. My mouth Ihall fpeak of wifdom ; And the meditation of my heart Ihall be of underftanding. 4. I will incline mine ear to a parable ; I will open my myfterious fpeech upon the harp. PART II. 5. Wherefore fhould I fear in the evil days The iniquity of mine enemy that com- paffeth me about ? 6. They that truft in their wealth. And boaft themfelves in the quantity of their riches; {Say or ajfert their maxims,) 23 7. No man fliall redeem a brother. Or give to God his ranfom : 8. Or the price of the redemption of the foul of any one. But he has ceafed exittence for ever. 9. Shall he then hereafter live to vidtory. And not fee corruption ? 10. For it appeareth the wife die; The fool and the ignorant perfon perifti likev^ife. And leave their w^ealth to others. 1 1. But their inv^ard thought is, their houfes are for ever ; Their dwelling-places from generation to generation : They have called lands after their own names. 12. Man, though formed in honour, abideth not ; He is like the beafts that periQi. PART III. 13. This their dodrine is their folly 5 Yet thofe, who come after them, praife their fayings. Selah. 14. They are laid in the grave like fheep in a fold ; Death fliall fliepherd them ; c 4 24 But the upright Ihall rule them at morn- ings And their ambaflador Ihall arife from his glorious habitation To abolilh the grave. 15. Verily God fhall redeem my foul ; For he Ihall take me from the clutches of the grave. PART IV. lO. Fear not thou when one is grown rich. When the fplendor of his houfe is in- creafed ; 1 7. For at his death he Ihall carry nothing away ; His pomp Ihall not follow him. 18. For he blefled himfelf during his life ; But men fliall praife thee becaufe thou doeft good for thyfelf ig. Thou fhalt enter into the generation of his fathers, But he fliall never fee light. 20. Man is formed in honour, but will not underftand ; He is like the beafts that perifli. The Pfalm, in its prefent new fliape, fub- ftantiates firmly the dodrine of the refurrec- tion. It not only eftablifties that great truth. 25 but predicSs alfo the arrival of an ambaflador from heaven, to abolifh the power of the grave. Many of the Pfalms contain prophetic defcriptions of the perfon, the might, and the kingdom of Chrill. And this Pfalm, under dif- cuffion, points decidedly to him as the de- ftroyer of death ; and fo he is fet forth in the New Teftament. The author of the Epiftle to the Hebrews, chap. ii. 14. declares, that Chrift through his death dellroyed him that had the power of death, that is, the devil. Chrift undergoing death, and riling again from the grave, achieved that vidory which, the Apo- ftle fays, deftroyed him that had the power of death. Likewife, 2 Tim. i. lo. the Apoftle aflerts the appearance of our Saviour Jefus Chrift, who hath aboliihed death, and brought life and immortahty to light, through the Gofpel. In this age, now that Chriftians have the life, hiftory, and achievements of the ever blefled Jefus familiar to them ; as likewife, that greater helps towards a more thorough knowledge of the Hebrew language are in their poffeflion ; they are better able than others, of preceding times, to difcern the pro- phetic parts, which relate to the Chrift. Many paflages prove to be predidive of that divine perfon, which would never have been efteemed 26 fucli, had not their completion been difco- Tered in the New Teftament : their fulfilment eftabliflies their prophetic tendency. The Pfalm we have difcirfled is an example of this in its 14th verfe ; for neither had the Seventy Greek tranllators the leaft idea of the ambaf- fador that fliould abolifti the grave ; neither had the Syriac verlionift, at whatever time he might have lived ; neither the framers of the Vulgate, in the early ages of Chriffianity. Whether the Jews expeded this ambaflador, from this particular Pfalm, cannot perhaps be now afcertained ; but that they confidered it defcriptive of the refurreftion, and the deliver- ance from the grave, is clear, fo far as relates to thofe of that religion dwelling in Barbary. But if the Jews had the advantage of this light, yet upon Chriftians has a much brighter day arifen. The myfterious covering, that fliaded the profpecft into futurity, has been re- moved ; the vail has been torn off; and the eye of the Chriftian penetrates, through faith, beyond the grave, into the heavenly manfions, whither his Saviour Chrift hath gone before : who, after his refurre(9:ion, pafled through the heavens, and fat down at the right hand of the Majefty on high, angels, principalities, and powers, being made fubjed; to him. The generality of the Heathen, before the 27 rifing of the Sun of righteoufnefs, lay for the moft part in darknefs, and in the ihadow of death. Only their moft enlightened one was able to look beyond the verge of the world, and difcover, that if death was but a removal into the prefence of the moft virtuous and dif- tinguiftied men, who had departed before him, it would be a moft pleafant journey ^. Poffibly we may fee fome flight analogy between this wife Heathen's expectation of enjoying the fociety and converfation of the worthies who had preceded him, and the alTemblage of the fouls of juft men made perfect, into which the Chriftian hopes to be received. But few befides that enlightened worthy thought of any fuch a journey : they differed but little, in their future expeftations, from the beafts that perifti. Whereas every Chrif- tian, nay the meaneft, looks forward with the utmoft confidence, after the diflblution of this earthly houfe of his tabernacle, for a building of God, an houfe not made with hands, eter- nal in the heavens. He knows that help has been laid upon One that is mighty, able to fave to the uttermoft all thofe who come unto God through him: he knows moreover that his ranfom hath been paid, and a fufficient * See Platonis 'ATroAoy/a iScox^aroyj, fed. 2,i, ed. Forfter. 28 price given for the deliverance of his foul. He looks up with conltancy to Jefus, the author and the finifher of his faith; the ambaflador who hath abolifhed death, and fnatched him from the clutches of the grave. Let us then, with all due and hearty gratitude for fo great a deliverance from the loweft pit, render thanks unto God, who giveth us the vidory, through our Lord Jefus Chrift. Now to God the Father, &c. Perhaps it may be neceflary to fay a word refpe£ling CDnnp in the nth verfe, inafmuch as all the verfions render '^ their fepulchres," inftead of " their inward thought/' as if it had been written CDnnp ; and becaufe many great names have, on the authority of the interpreters, advocated c^nnp rather than CD^np. I have however adhered to the text, as a departure from it is not to be warranted, unlefs upon a very great neceffity ; and, befides, it is not fupported by any manufcript. The prepofition n may be underftood before tZDn'^p, which would fignify " in their inward thoughts/' Since the delivery of this difcourfe, I have met with De Dieu's work upon Difficult Parts of the Hebrew Text; and as he appears to have had nearly the fame idea of the fourth claufe of the 14th verfe, which I have conceived of it, I will here infert it in his own words. " Tanquam oves in fepulchro ponentur, mors depafcet ** eos : et dominabuntur eis re6li mane, et legatus eorum " (reSiorum) eft ad atterendum fepulchrum, ne fit habi- " taculum ei, (fepulchro. J Legatus re^lorum eft Chriftus, ** qui fepulchrum ita attrivit, ut non fit ei amplius habita- 29 " culum, in quo re6tos detineat : unde illud Apoftoli, i Cor. '^ XV. 55. Tra a-« a5r) to vjxoj ; Atque eo nomine re6li domi- " nantur impiis, quia fepulcho ita comprehenduntur, ut " mors depafcat eos. Si autem fecundum to np velis ver- " tere rupes eoriim, re6le quadrat, nam et illud ad Chrillum ** optime pertinet. Illud autem r^b^b poteft etiam verti, " oportet atterere, id enim faepe valet b infinitivi. Ut fen- '* fus fit et legatum eorum, vel et rupem eorum, oportet " atterere fepulchrum/' De Dieu makes ^nr death's habitation, or a prifon at his command, in which the juft were confined, but which the ambaflfador of the ju(l would defl:roy; and in this manner the juft fiiould rule the wicked, who being con- fined in the grave would be at his difpofal. De Dieu refers i'; to death ; but if it be referred to Chrift, it im- proves the rendering. " And their ambaflador fliall abolifli the grave from " being an habitation for himfelf ;" that is, the grave fhall not have power to detain the ambalFador, but he fhall burft it, and raife himfelf again ; it being i7npoJJible for him to be holden of it ^. Thus this verfe would prefigure Chrift's refurre6lion ; and the following verfe would con- firm it. " Verily God (hall redeem my foul, for he ihall take me " from the clutches of the grave/' This conftru6lion of V; ^nfD is not forced, and is dire(ftly applicable to Chrift, who was to burft the bands of death. Good and natural however as is this interpre- tation, yet becaufe the LXX. and Vulgate render '^ir, U^u, and gloria, I am rather inclined to refer it to the heavens, and to Chrift*s defcent from the heavens. Al- though b2* may be taken for the grave, yet I do not know that in any part of the Scripture it refers to the grave. * A£l8 ii. 24. REMARKS, CRITICAL AND PHILOLOGICAL, ON LEVIATHAN, DESCRIBED IN THE FORTY-FIRST CHAPTER OF JOB. 1 HE number of pages already written by veteran fcholars, in illuftration of Leviathan, fufficiently deter the inexperienced tiro from taking up arms in the fame fervice : but as the like uncertainty ftill remains in regard to what animal is there reprefented, I humbly conceive the following remarks, even if" they meet not with the wiflied for fuccefs, will, at leaft, through their novelty, be excufed intrufion upon the public. The fources from which they are drawn are new and curious. I was convinced nothing in the common trad of obfervation, purfued by critics, was able to elucidate Leviathan ; be- caufe the moll prominent parts of the de- fcription had been left untouched ; and its pe- culiarities, which, when tolerably clearly ex- plained, ftamp a certainty upon the whole, entirely negleded. Ancient and modern writers upon Egypt, travellers into that country, naturalifts, and, laftly, hieroglyphics, have furniflied thefe ob- fervations. They contain, as appears to me, a chain of illuftration never before attempted ; and the beft adapted of all others for the dif- 34 covery of the animal, hitherto moil obfcurely reprefented, and very little explained even by the learned. The reader, in applying himfelf to the fol- lowing remarks, will remember, the book of Job is poetical in the higheft degree, and will accordingly feparate the plain matters of faft from the figurative expreffions ; by which means the animal there reprefented will be reduced within his more native, and a tangible fliape. At different times various animals have been taken for Leviathan. Thus : one commen- tator has fuppofed a whale ; a fecond, a ma- rine ferpent ; a third, fome monllrous fiery dragon; a fourth, even Satan himfelf^: but of late, the generality of writers have concurred in affigning the crocodile; to which opinion I likewife fubfcribe. But as this affent has not been given upon the mere ipfe dixit of another, but has been drawn from the writers and fources above mentioned, it is * Wefley on Job, pag. 301. quotes Cartwrlght, affirm- ing, " antiquorum plerique turn per Behemoth, turn per " Leviathan, Diabolum intelligunt.'* Mercer fays, " noftri " collegerunt hanc defcriptionem Leviathanis ad Satanam " pertinere." And, '^ Multa in Leviathanis defcriptione " nulh aHi quam Diabolo, aut faltem non adeo proprie " congruunt." 35 hoped that the reafons, upon which it is founded, may meet the approbation of the learned, and contribute to place the fubjeft in a new, clear, and fatisfa6lory light. But firfi: of all a word or two about the term Leviathan ; and then another, to prove that the Hebrew writer, from his defcription of the oftrich, in the xxxixth chapter of Job, 15th verfe, and from particular words and circum- ftances, was acquainted with Egypt. Firfi then, in regard to the term Leviathan. In Pfalm Ixxiv. 14. it is evidently put for Pharaoh king of Egypt; and Leviathan lignifies, ac- cording to Mr. Merrick, crocodile, or fome fea- monfter ; likewife, Ifaiah xxvii. 1. Leviathan, according to Bifhop Lowth, means the croco- dile,, and, Ezek. xxix. 3. Pharaoh, or a king of Egypt, is called the great dragon, that is, cro- codile, "• Behold, I am againll thee, Pharaoh " king of Egypt, the great dragon, that lieth " in the midd of his rivers." What animal other than the crocodile can be here meant ; " which hath faid, My river is my own, I have '* made it for myfelf," which reigneth fupreme in the Nile, the river of Egypt ? And furely a lefs figurative language than the Hebrew might reprefent an inhuman king of Egypt under the fimilitude of that mondrous tyrant of the waters of the Nile. Moreover, Ezek. D 2 36 xxxii. 2. the prophet takes up a lamentatiom for Pharaoh, king of Egypt, and fays of him, '* Thou art as a whale {y^DD cetannin) in the *' feas ; and thou cameft forth with thy rivers, '' and troublefl: the waters with thy feet, and '^ fouleft their rivers." Bochart is decidedly of opinion, that Levia- than is the crocodile, and alfo, that the \>^r\ is the fame animal^ Ezek. xxix. 3. xxxii. 2. He fubftantiates his opinion from the proper- ties there afcribed to Leviathan, and to the (»:n. *' The ^on is not a whale, as people ima- '* gine; for a whale has neither feet, nor fcales, '' neither is it to be found in the rivers of '' Egypt ; neither does it afcend therefrom upon '' the land ; neither is it taken in the mefhes '' of a net :' all of which properties are afcribed * Ibidem Ezech. xxix. 3. et xxxii. 5. ^' ]^:ri thannin non " eft balaena, ut volunt. Neque enim balaena pedes habet, ^* nee fquamas, nee verfatur in -^gypti rivis, nee inde ^' afcendit in terram, neque retium indagine cingitur. " Qu3R tamen omnia eo loco adhibet Ezech. in ^gypti " Thannin, feu ceti defcriptione. Unde vel caeco planum " fiat, balaenam non intelligi, fed crocodilum, quern ce- *^ taceis pifcibus accenferi fcribit Scaliger. Itaque etiam " a Jobo vocatur Leviathan in ampla et accurata ejus de- '^ fcriptione capp. 40. et 41. A Talmudicis denique patet " id ipfum fignificari, quo loco fcribunt tov ri'Sb^ Calbitk, " id eft, caniculam, feu ichneumonem terrori effe tm Le- "' viathan." In TraBatu de Salhatho, fol. 77. B. 37 by Ezekiel to the ]^:n of Egypt, in the defcrip- tion of the whale. Whence it is plain, even to a blind man, that it is not a whale which is here fpoken of, but the crocodile ; which Scaliger writes may be reckoned among the whale fpecies, cetaceis pijcibus accenferi. Hence it is called Leviathan by Job in his long and accurate defcription of it. Job xl. 41. It appears likewife, that the very fame animal is meant by the Talmudifts in the place where they write that the no^D calbith, that is, the little dog, or ichneumon, is an objed of terror to Leviathan. Bochart, in TraSatu de Sab- bat ho , vol. ii. chap. 7- De cetibus et cetaceis pijcibus. The lexicographers know nothing of the connexion of \^^^b v^ith its root nib, which has three fignifications in Taylor's Hebrew Concordance. ift. Mutiiari, mutuo dare vel accipere. 2d. Adjiingerefe, adhcerere. 3d. Leviathan, ferpens marinns. Leviathan, every one agrees, means fome large and furprifing creature; and, in the cafe of the crocodile, reprefents an animal confid- ing of two different natures ; amphibious, uniting the nature of a creeping beaft to that of a fifti. Hence its derivation might be from the fecond fignification of nib fe adjungere; D 3 38 hence quqji bellua terreftris pifcium generi fe adjiingens. Many Hebrew nouns are de- rived from roots, with much lefs connexion than this has ^. Thus far concerning Leviathan. My wifli for afcertaining that the Hebrew writer was acquainted with Egypt is, that it is a ftep to- wards fliewing, that the crocodile of the Nile might probably be known to him, and there- fore the more likely to occupy a place in the catalogue of his animals. Upon this fubjecl I fhall make thefe few ob- fervations. Firft then, in regard to the oftrich ; fhe is defcribed, Job xxxix. 14. as leaving her eggs upon the ground, which the dull: fjand, proba- bly the better tranflation) hatches. This pe- a Now fuppofing Leviathan means fomething of an ex- traordinary compofition, or adhering together, or that it is a figurative expreffion for fomething extraordinary, or out of the common way, may it not be a queftion, whe- ther it can refer to things inanimate, as well as animate ; as Pfalm civ. 26. There Jail thejhips, That Leviathan thou haft formed tofpori therein ; That is, that machine of extraordinary make, Sec. The ex- preffion of fporting on the fea is as applicable to a veflel as a fifh. S9 culiarity, if it be true, fixes the ollrich fo de- fcribed to that particular country where this pecuharity takes place ; becaufe, in the coun- tries adjoining the Cape of Good Hope, the oftrich fits upon her eggs, hatches them, and attends upon the young ones until they are able to take care of themfelves \ Now if this peculiarity of not fitting upon the eggs really exifis in the ofirich of Egypt, or any very bordering country, it is conclufive at once, that the Hebrew writer defcribes an oftrich, either of Egypt, or fome adjoining country. 2dly. The word |D:iiV, Job xl. 26. fignifies a 7^eed, rujh, or bidrnjh, growing upon the banks of the river Nile, of which the Egyp- tians make ropes even to this day. 3dly. Job xli. ]6. it is faid of Leviathan, his eyes are like the eyelids of the morning. The hieroglyphic, by which the Egyptians reprefented the fun-rife, is the crocodile's eye. The manner in which that animal's eyes raife themlelves upon his afcending out of the water, refembles the fun rifing through the clouds of the eaftern horizon. To thefe three obfervations a fourth may be added, full as ftrong as either of the others ; namely, the ^ See Kolben's Voyage to the Cape of Good Hope, and Vaillant's Travels. D4 40 defcription of behemoth and Leviathan, fol- lowing immediately one upon the other, and clofing the catalogue of animals The behe- moth is generally conceived to be the hippo- potamus of the Nile ; and as he and the cro- codile are the tvv^o moft extraordinary crea- tures of Egypt, and both amphibious ; it is no vronder they fliould be claffed fo immediately together. None of the w^ild animals of Egypt wrere dreaded by the inhabitants equally v^ith thefe two ; they were the largeft in fize, and the moft aftonifhing in nature; and for this reafon artfully kept back till the clofe of the enumeration of the whole. Oth, the termination of behemoth, is Egyp- tian ; from which it may be fairly argued, the beaft, as well as his name, comes from Egypt. Wefley, in his Commentary upon Job, afferts, thatfome neighbouring country muft be meant by the word i^y, in verfe 15, xlth chapter. '' Unde obiter argumentum habemus pro Jobi " fede non longe ab ^Egyptoponenda." Many have imagined the elephant to be de- fignated by behemoth. But then it is doubted, whether that animal was fo wxll known to the inhabitants of Judea, that a writer of that country could have defcribed it. Mr. Bruce, in the Appendix to his Travels, p. 195. 8vo. edit, identifies the elephant under the 41 defcription of behemoth; but immediately af- terwards overfets his affertion by faying, the elephant does not eat grafs : whereas one of the peculiarities of behemoth is, that '' he *^ eateth grafs as an ox." In regard to Leviathan ; if he was not the crocodile, what Jew was there competent of his own knowledge to delineate a marine fer- pent, or monfter, fo accurately defcribed as is Leviathan, Job xli.? Thefe obfervations have been made to fliew a kind of probability, at lealt, that the Hebrew writer, being acquainted with Egypt, might naturally, together with the other animals he was defcribing, enumerate the crocodile, the moft celebrated inhabitant of the Nile. The main proof that Leviathan is the cro- codile of the Nile, arifes chiefly from fome particular circumftances and contingencies, attending the crocodiles of Egypt, and of no other country : and if thefe circumftances are fuch, that we can fuppofe the Hebrew writer drew his ideas from them in his defcription of Leviathan, they will afford an almoft certainty, that Leviathan reprefents the crocodile of the Nile. What turned my attention particularly to the crocodile, was a pafl^age in Herodotus, (Eu- terpe Ixix.) where the hiftorian defcribes that 42 animal, and relates the peculiarities attendant upon him in parts of Egypt. Tcia-i ^gi/ ^vj t^v AlyvTTTicov looi ela-i ol KpoKo^stAoi, toIo-i o ov, ^ curs TroXsfjLii^c TrepiSTri^a-i. Of ^s tts^i ts SyiQctf koli Tyjv MoiPiof XifjLvrjv oiKScvTS^, xct/ Kci^Tci r,yyivTcii cLvrong slvdi loiig' SK TTcLVTOdv Si svd SKoLTcPoi TPe(p^a-i JcpoKo- ^SiXov, ^i^i^ary^ivov slvai xsL^oyi^sct' aoTvi(xoLTA ts A/- 3'iVA xuTA y.c?A xpixTSd sg rce- oncL h^svisg, kcCi clf^(pi- osdg TTSPi T^g SjHTTpoo'S'ii^g TToaccgj x,a) trmci aTroTcniTct ^tS'ivTsg KcCi Ipviict, Kcii TTSPiSTrovTsg ug }cclKKl^cl '(fiv- Tcig, '' Some of the Egyptians," fays the hif- torian, '' hold the crocodile facred, others do '' not, but purfue him as an enemy. The inha- '^ bitants of Thebes, and others bordering upon '^ lake Moeris, elleem him facred. Each of '* thefe people breed up a fingle crocodile, '^ which they render very gentle; they put '' ear-rings^ either gems, or of fufile work, or '' gold, into his ears, and bracelets upon his ^* fore feet, and feed him with the facred food ^' appointed for him, and treat him with the '^ moft honourable diftinAion while he lives." Thefe peculiarities (my mind being prepof- fefled that the crocodile was the animal repre- fented) immediately drew my attention to the 3d, 4th, and 5th verfes of the 41 ft chapter of Job, and threw fome light upon what I thought the moft extraordinary part of the defcription of Leviathan. 43 3. Will he make many fupplications unto thee ? Will he fpeak mildly unto thee ? 4. Will he make a covenant with thee ? Wilt thou take him for a fervant for ever ? 5. Wilt thou play with him as a bird ? Or wilt thou bind him for thy maidens ? But what afterwards perfuaded me that the Hebrew writer took his ideas from thefe pecu- liarities of the Thebaid crocodile, was the ver- iion of the LXX. which, I think, may be faid to preferve the ring, and the bracelet, worn by the facred crocodile, though not upon the parts mentioned by Herodotus. And the fame likewife may be faid of the Vulgate. But that the LXX. underftood the crocodile by Levia- than, I fliall prove hereafter, from a particular vs^ord in their verfion, which dilfents very re- markably from the Maforetic Hebrew origi- nal, and the other verfions of the Old Tefta- ment. In difpofing the following remarks, I fliall firfl: tranfcribe the Hebrew original; then, under- neath it, the tranflation of our Englifh Bibles ; and afterwards, any alteration I may think neceflary to propofe in its Head. But where the difference is very flight between the Old 44 and the New tranflation, I fliall omit tranfcrib- ing the former. HDni \n'^b ^^t2n The LXX. '^A?gir Jg ^^oLKovTa, sv dyKiq-po) TSPiB-tj- Canft thou draw out Leviathan with a hook ? Or his tongue w^th a cord which thou letteft down ? This verfe is tranflated interrogatively, but the original is without the note of interroga- tion, as " thou draweft," in the affirmative. Inftead of this prefent tranflation, I would propofe the following, which ftill muft be put into a different Ihape, without the interroga- tory form. I think we might underftand nil N^ the expreffion which ulhers in the defcrip- tion of behemoth ; which v^ould be thus : Behold now Leviathan, whom thou lead- eft about with a hook, Or a rope, which thou fixeft upon his fnout. (lt^*Dn) lead about. LXX. H^ei?, I conceive this verb fignifies leading about, rather than drawing out; and that the leading about Le- viathan is meant, inftead of dragging him out 45 of the water. Hence, perhaps, leading about one of the tame crocodiles. The word for forcibly drawing out Leviathan with a hook, Ezek. xxix. 4, is l^n^yn from the root nb^ afcendit, '' And I will bring thee up out of the midll " of thy rivers." Thus, perhaps, ItTD may be confidered a word of lefs force than n^jr, and anfwering to the Englifh term lead about. The Hebrew root ypt:; (whence jr^^^) fignifies, according to the lexicographers, to Jinh to the bottom, Hiph. to caufe to finh, Cocceius renders it in this place, indes, alte immittes. The LXX. render Trs^i^mi? circumpones; Tn- You will put a halter, or head-ftall, or muzzle about his fnout. Vulg. ligabis, Syr. L»0) q-j^~mjL Arab. «x>Ij {^^^b) his tongue. This word has puzzled all the different clafles of tranflators and com- mentators, from the earlieft to the prefent times. Many who have imagined the croco- dile to be defcribed under the title of Levia- than, have given up their opinion, in confe- 46 quence of hiftorians and naturalifts having ilated, that that animal has no tongue. TXc^ia-a-cLv Jf f4.Svov B-i^piav in 6pvi(TCLy STTl a-KlfJLTTOaog 6V fJlAXd ytoa-fA^iciO^ 7rcipsKTSTcCjui,svct). Plut Mor. 976. B. '' Our ^^ good friend Philinus, lately returned to us *' from travelling into Egypt, reported he ^' had feen at Antaeopolis an old woman fleep- *' ing with a crocodile, that lay moft elegantly '* adorned and extended upon a bed." ^lian fays of the crocodile, Tolf Je 'O/u^SiTctif cWToov ol TPe(pojtjL6voi ev rcCi^ ytjuivcti^ vtt olvtuv TreTToifj^ fji.evctif. " The crocodiles in the artificial lakes " are domeftic with the Ombitae, and come to '* them when they call." Julian, de Nat, Jni- mal. X. 24. The fame author fays again, book viii. 4. 59 AlyvTrTicov ^e cdc^go KsyovTuv r^f U^ig KooKo^iiXag elvai TT^u^ff Kcii Tojv ys S'SPctTrevrriocov STn-^ctvoLovrcov X.0C1 67rci(pct}f/,sva)v vTro/xsveiv, Jicct >iii(pMg (pspeiv, kol) ksx'^vsvoli KCtS'ieVTOOV SKSiVCOVy KOLt Tiig OaOVTUg £ kcci ri]v ovpciv cipo'/]}CTo$- XiTTKrt jLcev yct^ ts kci) (poXia-t 7r£(PpoLX.Tcii, koCi cog- ky e'lTTOt tU a)7rAiq-uij jccu soikcctiv ocoi$' Kaorspotf yj Koy- XcLi?, De Nat. Anim. x. 24. '" Shut up with '* a thick Ikin and fcales, with which he ap- " pears armed as with the ftrongeii; fliells, he " is impenetrable as to his back and tail." And Diodorus Siculus, pag. 41. feft. 35. to jf (rJ^ct ^CtV^CLqCidg \)7rQ TVig l^lXTiOO^ O0XVpC*)TCLl' TO jLCSV yctP ^ep" fjLct avrS TTOLM (poXtSooTov s^iv KoLi T'ij (niXvipoTV\Ti ^icc(pepov. '^ His body is protected by nature in a moft '* extraordinary manner ; for his whole Ikin is ** impenetrable with fcales of a wonderful hard " texture." Diod. Sic. pag 41. feet. 35. Mo- dern travellers defcribe the fcales of the croco- dile as impenetrable to a muiket-ball. Apply this to the 26th and other verfes. nn^ ^svDVD rm niK bnn vnti^^w is. 3 8. His neefings kindle a light, And his eyes are as the eyelids of the morning. 74 Colle6lumque premens volvit fub naribus ig- nem, Schultens Job xli. lo. remarks, ''Amphibia, " quo diutius fpiritum continent, dum aquis '' erant immerfa, eo acrius fpirare quum emer- '' gere incipiunt ; fpiritumque diu preflum fie *' effervelcere, tamque violentum erumpere, ut '' flammas evomere videantur." '' Amphibious animals, the longer time they '' hold their breath under water, refpire fo " much the more ftrongly when they begin to *' emerge. And the breath confined for a length '' of time efFervefces in fuch a manner, and '' breaks forth fo violently, that they appear '' to vomit forth flames." His eyes are like the eyelids of the morning. I at firft thought this line was a poetical fi- gure. But I now find it a truth originating from the refemblance, which the ^Egyptians thought the crocodile's eye, when he firfi: e- merged out of the water, bore to the fun rifing from out of the fea, in which he was fuppofed to fet. Hence the crocodile's eyes are the hieroglyphic reprefenting the fun-rife. Thus Horus Apollo Niliacus. 'Av^roA^j/ ^ Myovres- dvo o(p3-ctAju.i^ zpoKo^etX^ ^Ct}'ypct(pS(nv, STrsi^yjTrep ttcivtos- Lib. i. 81. '' When the Egyptians reprefent '* the fun-rife, they paint the two eyes of the 75 *' crocodile, becaufe the eyes are the parts of *' that animaFs whole body, which appear the *' firft, upon his coming out of the water." This peculiarity of the raifing of the eves, and the neelings from the noftrils, take place immediately when the crocodile comes forth out of the water. This verfe fliews a moft intimate knowledge of the crocodile. How- could the Hebrew writer have acquired it? Could he ever have examined a wild crocodile fo clofely and fo minutely as to difoover his llrong refpirations, and obferve the change in the appearance of his eyes, immediately upon his coming out of the water ? Methinks the moft eager and fedulous naturalift would never have dared approach the animal fufficiently near to make this obfervation. Was it then one of the tame crocodiles that ferved for examination, or one caught and dragged out violently ? Perhaps the dragging out the cro- codile by force would prevent the peculiarity of the eye, which takes place w^hen the animal comes voluntarily out of the water. In the water, the animal is dull eyed, but on land, extremely quicklighted. Herod. Euterpe Ixviii. Pliny fays, '' Hebetes *' oculos hoc animal dicitur habere in aqua, ex- '' tra acerrimi vifus." 76 iD^on» tTK nno *)D^n^ t^n^^b void 19. imNi ni£)D in:D ic'^ ^'^^ v")»n:D 20. NV» VM nn^i tonV s^^na wd: 21. 1 9. Out of his mouth go burning torches. Sparks of fire leap out. 20. Out of his noftrils goeth fmoke. As out of a boiling pot or cauldron. 21. His breath kindleth coals. And a flame goeth out of his mouth. When the mouth of the crocodile is open, the flefh (as of moft other animals) refembles fome- what the pale colour of a flame. And as the animal is without a tongue, and the fmall en- trance of the throat is covered over with Ikin, it exhibits fomething of the appearance of a burn- ing cauldron. At leafi the perfon flying away from one might eafily in his fear affirm fparks of fire, or even a flame, iflued out of his mouth. But I do not think that this will fuffice for the explanation of thefe three verfes. There is a peculiarity in them, which is deferving of notice. They afcribe nearly the fame qualities to the crocodile which David does to the Je- hovah, the God of the children of Ifrael. '* There went up a fmoke out of his nofirils, " and fire out of his mouth devoured : coals " were kindled by it." Pfalm xviii. 8. How are we to reconcile thefe two defcrip- tions ? How are we to clafs the magnificence 77 of Jehovah, and the infpired fublime account of his anger, with the fame qualities in the crocodile ? What proportion can there exift between a creature and the Creator? What ftrange concurrence of circumftances can tend to elevate a crocodile to the fame rank with the Maker of the univerfe, or place him upon an equal footing with God himfelf ? Can the difficulty be folved by the well-known and authenticated circumftance, that the crocodile of the Nile was worfliipped in parts of Egypt as a God, and that the qualities here attributed to him, relate to him in his capacity as God ? Some of the Egyptians, fays JElian, the Ombitae, for inftance, reverence crocodiles, full as much as we do the Olympian gods. T^f k^okoMkh^ Tii^ S-eif rif 'OAw^TTiV. ^Han. lib. x. cap. 21. Mr. Hamilton, page 78. fpeaking of a temple at Ombos, fays, fome of the hieroglyphics of this interefting monument ferve to explain the deities which were worfliipped within its walls ; the crocodile, and the fun ; or more properly fpeaking, the fun under the myfterious emblems of the crocodile and the beetle. This pecuharity attending the crocodile, as well as his being received as an emblem of the fun, gives a facility to the explanation, at w^hich we could not otherwife have arrived. 78 Dr. Pococke defcribes a temple at Efne, containing many hieroglyphics drawn from the crocodile. '^ This whole building is very ** richly carved with hieroglyphics. I faw one '* man with the goat's head ; and a man with " a crocodile's head is cut over the middle ** door, that is oppoiite to the entrance. There " are feveral others in the walls with croco- *' diles heads likewife, and alio fome croco- *' diles ; which makes me think that this was " the city of crocodiles, where that beaft was " worfliipped." I think the crocodile's head upon the man might be a hieroglyphic, re- prefenting the deity, from which it cometh, that the mouth, noftrils, breath, and neck, are fo magnificently fet forth and defcribed. niKi i^nn r:Qb^ py r^' nKivi 22. In his neck remaineth ftrength. And forrow exulteth before him. The neck of the crocodile is very ftrong, being nearly of the fame thicknefs with the body. The term neck, ftretched out, entire, unbent, is a figurative expreffion, denoting Jlrength. Any ornament put upon the neck is a mark of honour ; hence Pharaoh put a gold chain about Jofeph's neck ; hence the obey- ing the inflrudion of the father, and the not forfaking the law of the mother, is faid in the 79 Proverbs of the Wife Man, to be an " orna- '' ment of grace unto the head, and chains " about the neck." chap. i. 9. On the con- trary, the bowing the neck, and receiving a yoke, is an expreffion of weaknefs and dif- grace. The LXX. tranflate the latter part of this verfe in very ftrong terms. Deftru(9:ion goeth before him. They appear to have read miK yinn v:£3^ Whereof Vlin is confirmed by two manufcript copies : and nilJC is compofed of the fame let- ters as n!lN"7, oi^ly ii^ different order. DID^ bl Vbj/ ^W IplT ntri 'VDD 23. The flakes of his flefli adhere together ; Firm in himfelf, he cannot be moved. n^nnn nbDD iwi tnt^ idd ti^» ^:h 24. His heart is as firm as a flone. Yea, as hard as a piece of the nether milflone. LXX, ''E<^yiK6 Jf coa-TTSp oLKjitav cLvyjActTOf. He flood firm as an anvil, not to be moved. Vulg. Stringetur quaji malleatoris incus. The crocodile, according to Mr. Bryant, was an emblem of prefervation in floods and 80 inundations. See Plagues of Egypt, pag. 35. Will this illuftrate the ciycf/^oov clvy[Xclto<; of LXX. When he is elevated on high, the mighty tremble; They are caft down from their hopes. Our tranflation, when he raifeth up himfelf, fuppofes either for the purpofe of taking ven- geance, or at leaft in felf defence. (inji^D) from Kt^O elevavit , portavit ; the eleva- tion of the crocodile refers to his exaltation as God. LXX. ^^a.(psvTog jg clvtS. (dhi::',!:) a fpe fua. IILT fperavit, expeBavit, (^^^t0^n*) {^tOH erravit, in the middle voice, to caufe onefelf to w^ander, fo as not to obtain one's dell res ; to deprive onefelf of any thing ; to cafi: onefelf down, or away from any thing, through fear. Syr. and Arab. Through fear of him the mighty tremble. And the brave are humbled. Vulg. Cum fublatus fuerit, twiebu7it angeli et teiiiti purgahwitur. From the word angeli, we may imagine the Vulgate was fpeaking of God. Here finiih the feven verfes which belong to ni^lXl "in. Although it is only the three firft verfes of this feven, which give to the cro- codile the fame attributes which David does 81 to his God ; yet the 22d, 23d, 24th, and 25th verfes are rendered by the old interpreters " with almoft godlike powers." Thus the LXX. fay of him, '' deftruftion goeth before him ;*' and that he is fo ftrong he cannot be moved ; i ^nn the fignification of the adverb diligenter, diligently, quickly, or alertly, underltanding it of his paffing quickly over the mud. 1D1» hejlretus himjelf, from TDi fubftravit. See the commentators for various interpretations of the laft part of this verfe. He maketh the deep to boil like a pot ; He maketh the fea like a pot of ointment. ID^ the Nile fo called from its lize. Some think this verfe explanatory of the ruffling of the v^aves in the crocodile's trad ; 83 others apply the latter part of the verfe to a mulky odour in the crocodile. Whether there is any fuch odour I know not, nor do I think it very explanatory of the verfe. Nothing, as appears to me, except an hieroglyphic, will illuftrate it, and I am not acquainted with any. Whether the water in a boiling pot was an hieroglyphic, reprefenting the agitation of the river in the crocodile's trad ? Mr. Bryant, where before cited, affirms the crocodile to be an emblem of lymphatic prophecy. Whether in his prophetic infpiration he was fuppofed to agitate the water in a greater degree than at other times, and therefore it might be faid, ^' he maketh the deep to boil like a pot ?'' ni'trb Dinn it:?n^ yn^ tn» rnnK S2. He maketh a path to Ihine after him ; He efleemeth the deep his habitation. Whether the bright coloured lines upon the crocodile's fide refleft a light, as he moves through the water ? (ni^trb) adfejfionem, r\y\V feffio refidentia, from yv'^fedit, LXX. ffV Tre^lTTdTOV, nn h:ib w^r\ ibt^^D nov bv v^^ ^s. i^nty ^n ^D ^v n^D Kin nxn^ ni:i Sd nj< Upon the earth there is not his like ; Is he not made not to be trodden down ? G 2 84 He looketh with contempt upon all high things ; He is king over all animals, ''Wyn is he not made 9 a few manufcripts read ncryn. LXX. IleTrottjjbcevov iyKouvcLTrctl^sa-B'At vttq toov oi,y- yi^GOV fJLOV, Vulg. QuifaBus ejl ut nullum timeret, nn 'bl^ without fear, or not to he trodden down; from riDH fradus, attritus, conjlernatus fuit, LXX. PJjTog Se (icttriXiv? Trdncov tSv ev rol^ vSct(nv, Syr. Arab. King over all animals. Vulg. Rexjuper univerjos Jilios Jiiperbice. Thefe two laft verfes are the fumming up of the great might of the crocodile, and may be fuppofed fpoken by his prieft, or a wor- fhipper, in defence of his divinity, and not un- like the crying out of the Ephefians, in vin- dication of their goddefs Diana, Ads xix. 28. MeyoLXyj n '' k^rsfjug 'E(pe(ri&)v, " Great is Diana of '' the Ephefians." I have now gone through my remarks upon the defcription of Leviathan. The learned reader will appreciate for himfelf their value and capacity for the purpofe to which they are applied. I fhall be happy if they are as fatisfadlory proofs to others, as they are to myfelf, that the crocodile of the Nile is the 85 animal intended under the name of Levia- than. Claffical authors of Greece and Rome, the refearches of naturalifts, and the accounts of travellers, have, in Mr. Harmer's Obfervations, been moft fuccefsfully employed in the illuf- tration of Scripture. Thefe remarks have been coUefted from the fame fource, and may all be found in the authors and books w^hence they are extracted. I have frequently ad- mired the obfervations of the above-named learned perfon, and feen their efficacy in the folution of difficult paflages, as w^ell as the beauty they have oftentimes imparted to the expreffions to w^hich they have been applied. I would obferve, of the defcription of Le- viathan, that it appears drawn from acftual properties and contingencies, as do likewife the defcriptions of the other animals, in the 39th and 40th chapters of the book of Job. The oftrich and the eagle are fet forth with their peculiar properties. The horfe has a high and grand colouring of poetry bellowed upon him ; and yet his different peculiarities are all real, and not fiftitious. Now, if the Hebrew writer, inftead of calling the horfe by his real name, had written the figurative one of Levia- than ; yet would the Virgilian defcription of the fame animal, and his other well known O 3 86 and acftual properties, have marked the horfe as the animal intended. Not lefs clearly is the crocodile defignated under the name of Levia- than; and no lefs apphcable to the defining that animal, are the accounts of hiftorians, na- turalifts, and travellers. The accuracy of the remarks, the enumera- tion of the properties, both of the wild and do- meftic animals, defcribed in the 3()th and 40th chapters, Ihevv the Hebrew writer to have been a naturalift of no mean acquirements, and fully warrant us in drawing the conclufion, that the fame accuracy and regard to truth, which diredled his pen in delineating the horfe, the oftrich, and the eagle, equally guided it in the crocodile ; and that he was defcribing real and acftual properties which exifted in the crocodile, in his tame ftate, when he enquires. Wilt thou play with him as a bird ? Wilt thou bind him with ornaments as a bridegroom for thy maidens ? As he was, when he makes the horfe fay, ha, ha, among the trumpets; or as when he aflerts of the oftrich, What time fhe lifteth up herfelf on high, She fcorneth the horfe and his rider. Job xxxix. 8. What is related of the oftrich is illuftrated by a paftage out of Sonnini's Travels into 87 upper and lower Egypt : where fpeaking of the oltrich, he fays, ** the purfuit of tlu fc rmi- '* malij is one of the exercil'cs, in wliich the *' Arab difplays the greateft adchefs, and his ** horfe the greateft fpeed. Huflein (Sonnini's *' conductor acrofs the defert to Cairo,) who ** was an experienced fportfman, in order to *' give an idea of the length of this kind of *' chafe, informed me, that, if it was begun at *' eight o'clock in the morning, the hunters *' could not flop thie oftrich, by throwirjg a " ftick between his legs, as at tfie antelope, " till about four in the afternoon." Tranfla- tion, page 336. We will now put this 41 ft chapter together, and fee the refult of the whole. The chapter introduces two fpeakers in the Ihape of dialogue, one of whom queftions the other in regard to fuch and fuch circumftances relating to Leviathan ; and this continues till the twelfth verfe ; at which the defcrip- tion of Leviathan commences. The dialogue is profeiTed to be between the Almighty Je- hovah and his fervant Job. But whether it is the Jehovah hinjfelf, or Ibmc orjc re- prefenting him, is not to be enquired in this place. As it is, the perfon appears extremely well acquainted with the crocodile, as he docs alfo with the other animals defcribed in the G 4 88 39th and 40th chapters. I almoft think that the other perfon of the dialogue, or whoever is reprefented by Job, is a worfhipper of the crocodile, or one well knowing the worfhip paid to that creature ; and that the eleven firft verfes are an expofure of the folly of making an animal of a favage nature, and one whofe -head could be pierced with fifh hooks, a God. Of thefe eleven verfes, the fix firfl: appear to relate to the mode of treatment received by the crocodile in the places where he was worfliip- ped ; the remaining five to his treatment at Tentyra, and wherever he was confidered as a defl:ru(ftive animal. At the twelfth verfe the defcription of Le- viathan commences, and is divided into three parts, and clafled under the different heads of V12 his parts; 2. mmi:i 111 great might; 3. iDnv rn his well-armed make. Of thefe, the firfl: and the third defcribe him as truly as a naturalifl: would do. The fecond or mid- dle part magnifies him as a God. If then this fecond part be in honour of the crocodile as God, then the perfon fpeaking it mufl: be either an inhabitant of Egypt, a worfliipper of that animal, or one well acquainted at leafl: with his worfliip. Or perhaps the whole chapter may be altogether an argument be- 89 tween an Ifraelite and an Egyptian, to con- vert the latter to the true God. In our Englifh tranflation the marks of in- terrogation are not fufficiently difcriminated. The verfes without that mark are rendered in- terrogatively, equally the fame with thofe which are diftinguifhed by it. When thefe are properly noticed, they will give a clearer iniight into the interpretation. I fliall begin this chap- ter of Leviathan, with underftanding K^ n^tl the words which uflier in the defcription of be- hemoth. Job. xl. 15. 1 . Behold now Leviathan, whom thou lead- eft about with a hook. Or a rope, which thou fixeft upon his fnout. 2. Haft thou put a ring in his nofe ? Or pierced his jaw through with a clafp ? 3. Has he in return made many fupplica- tions unto thee ? Has he fpoken foft words unto thee ? 4. Has he made a covenant with thee ? Haft thou taken him a fervant for ever ? 5. Haft thou played with him as a bird } Haft thou bound him w4th ornaments as a bridegroom for thy maidens ? 0. Behold now the priefts make a feaft in honour of him ; They divide him among the worihippers. 90 ;. Haft thou filled his Ikin with barbed irons ? Or his head with fifh-fpears ? 8. Then lay thine hand upon him ; Remember the battle ; withdraw not. 9. Behold his hope is delufive : Shall he not be thrown down in the pre- fence of thofe who fee him ? 10. He is not fo fierce, but one may ftir him up: Who then is he that fliall ftand before me? 1 1 . Who hath prevented me, but I will re- pay ? Whatever is under the whole heaven is mine. PART I. inn His parts, 12. I will not conceal his parts, Nor great might, nor fitnefs of his armed nature. 13. Who can difcover the colour of his gar- ment ? Who can come to him with the rein of his bit ? 14. Who can open the doors of his face? Terror is within the compafs of his teeth. 15. His back is as ftrong pieces of ftiields, 91 Shut up with the clofeftfeal. 16. One joineth another ; Not a breath of air entereth between them. 17. Each fitteth into the other ; They adhere together, they cannot be disjoined. 18. His neefings kindle a light. And his eyes are like the eyelids of the morning. PART II. npin:i nni His great might, 19. Out of his mouth go burning torches ; Sparks of fire leap out. 20. Out of his noftrils goeth fmoke. As out of a boiling pot or cauldron. 2 1 . His breath kindleth coals. And a flame goeth out of his mouth. 22. In his neck remaineth flrength, And forrow exulteth before him. 23. The flakes of his flefli adhere together: Firm in himfelf, he cannot be moved. 24. His heart is as firm as a ftone ; Yea, as hard as a piece of the nether milftone. 25. When he is elevated on high, the mighty tremble ; They are cafl: down from their hopes. 92 PART III. ID'iy yn His well-armed make, 26. The fword of him that layeth at him cannot hold. The fpear, the dart, nor the pike. 27. He efteemeth iron as ftraw, Brafs as rotten wood. 28. The arrow cannot make him flee ; Sling ftones are turned with him into ftubble. 29. Darts are counted as ftubble. And he laugheth at the fhaking of a fpear. 30. His belly is as pieces of ftiell ; He ftrews himfelf alert over the mud. 3 1 . He maketh the deep to boil like a pot ; He maketh the fea like a pot of oint- ment. 32. He maketh a path to Ihine after him, He efteemeth the deep his habitation. 33. Upon the earth there is not his like ; Is he not made not to be broken down ? 34. He looketh with contempt upon all high things. He is king over all animals. 93 In the foregoing Remarks, I have confidered the firft verfe as reprefenting Leviathan led about, rather than drawn out of the water. If, however, any one prefers this laft interpretation, ftill it will not afFe6l the fenfe of the remainder. Behold now Leviathan, whom thou draweft out with a hook, Or a rope, which thou fixeft upon his fnout. With refpe6l to ver. 5. Mr. Hamilton, when at Ombos, examined the figures of the crocodile, if he could difcover any ornaments upon them ; but without fuccefs. He, ne- verthelefs, obferved the offerings made to that animal, which fufficiently confirm the delicate mode of living mentioned by Herodotus. Mr. Hamilton was alfo fortu- nate in difcovering many catacombs of the facred croco- diles, out of which the natives who (hewed them brought many fkulls, two jaw-bones, fpines, tails, &c. of thefe animals, on which were ftill to be feen the bitumen which preferved them, and the cotton cloth in which they were wrapped. Apply this to Herodotus, Euterpe Ixix. who fays, " when the facred crocodiles die, the *' Egyptians embalm them, and bury them in the facred ^^ tombs :" onto^uvovTOL^ §£ Ta^i^eucavrej ^aTrroiicri iv i^^