Skip to main content

Full text of "The books of the Prophets Micah, Obadiah, Joel, and Jonah"

See other formats


WESTMINSTER  COMMENTARIES 
EDITED  BY  WALTER  LOCK  D.D. 

LADY  MARGARET  PROFESSOR  OF  DIVINITY 
IN  THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  OXFORD 


THE  BOOKS  OF  THE  PROPHETS 

MICAH  OBADIAH 
JOEL  AND  JONAH 


THE  BOOKS  OF  THE  PROPHETS 

MICAH  OBADIAH 
JOEL  AND  JONAH 

WITH  INTRODUCTION  AND  NOTES 


BY 


G.  W.  WADE  D.D. 

SENIOR  TUTOR  OF  8T  DAVID'S  COLLEGE,  LAMPETBR, 
CANON  OF  8T  ASAPH 


METHUEN  &  CO.  LTD. 

36  ESSEX  STREET  W.C. 

LONDON 


First  published  in  1925 


PRINTED  IN  GREAT  BRITAIN 


DULCISSIMAE  DILECTISSIMAE 


PREFATORY  NOTE  BY  THE  GENERAL  EDITOR 

THE  primary  object  of  these  Commentaries  is  to  be  exe- 
getical,  to  interpret  the  meaning  of  each  book  of  the 
Bible  in  the  light  of  modern  knowledge  to  English  readers. 
The  Editors  will  not  deal,  except  subordinately,  with  questions 
of  textual  criticism  or  philology ;  but  taking  the  English  text 
in  the  Revised  Version  as  their  basis,  they  will  aim  at  com- 
bining a  hearty  acceptance  of  critical  principles  with  loyalty  to 
the  Catholic  Faith. 

The  series  will  be  less  elementary  than  the  Cambridge  Bible 
for  Schools,  less  critical  than  the  International  Critical  Com- 
mentary, less  didactic  than  the  Expositor's  Bible ;  and  it  is 
hoped  that  it  may  be  of  use  both  to  theological  students  and  to 
the  clergy,  as  well  as  to  the  growing  number  of  educated  laymen 
and  laywomen  who  wish  to  read  the  Bible  intelligently  and 
reverently. 
Each  commentary  will  therefore  have 

(i)  An  Introduction  stating  the  bearing  of  modern  criticism 
and  research  upon  the  historical  character  of  the  book,  and 
drawing  out  the  contribution  which  the  book,  as  a  whole,  makes 
to  the  body  of  religious  truth. 

(ii)  A  careful  paraphrase  of  the  text  with  notes  on  the 
more  difficult  passages  and,  if  need  be,  excursuses  on  any 
points  of  special  importance  either  for  doctrine,  or  ecclesiastical 
organization,  or  spiritual  life. 

But  the  books  of  the  Bible  are  so  varied  in  character  that 
considerable  latitude  is  needed,  as  to  the  proportion  which  the 
various  parts  should  hold  to  each  other.  The  General  Editor 
will  therefore  only  endeavour  to  secure  a  general  uniformity  in 


Tiii  NOTE 

scope  and  character:  but  the  exact  method  adopted  in  each 
case  and  the  final  responsibility  for  the  statements  made  will 
rest  with  the  individual  contributors. 

By  permission  of  the  Delegates  of  the  Oxford  University 
Press  and  of  the  Syndics  of  the  Cambridge  University  Press 
the  Text  used  in  this  Series  of  Commentaries  is  the  Revised 
Version  of  the  Holy  Scriptures. 

WALTER  LOCK 


PREFACE 

THE  existence  of  so  many  excellent  books  relating  to  the 
Minor  Prophets,  collectively  or  singly,  may  be  thought  to 
render  the  production  of  another  work  on  the  same  subject  super- 
fluous. But  a  series  of  commentaries  on  the  whole  Bible,  when  once 
started,  calls  for  completion ;  and  this  is  perhaps  sufficient  justi- 
fication for  the  present  volume.  Nevertheless  its  writer  has  not 
been  content  merely  to  preserve  what  in  previous  commentators 
appeared  most  worth  preservation,  but  has  endeavoured  to  sup- 
plement it,  wherever  expansion  or  addition  seemed  desirable. 
Possibly  an  apology  is  required  for  the  sections  in  the  Introduc- 
tion dealing  with  Messianic  Prophecy  and  Hebrew  Versification. 
But  Christology  is  attracting  renewed  attention  now,  so  that  a 
review  of  the  Old  Testament  passages  connected  with  it  cannot 
be  deemed  altogether  untimely  or  out  of  place ;  whilst  the  inclu- 
sion of  a  slight  sketch  of  the  principles  of  Hebrew  poetic  rhythm 
has  its  utility  in  a  book  which  takes  some  account  of  the  textual 
criticism  of  such  of  the  prophetic  writings  as  are  here  included. 

In  the  preparation  of  the  volume  the  writer  has  consulted  the 
works  of  older  scholars  like  Maurer,  Caspari,  Ewald,  Pusey,  Hen- 
derson, and  various  contributors  to  the  Speaker's  Commentary ; 
but  he  is  mainly  indebted  to  more  recent  critics,  such  as  Marti, 
Nowack,  Sellin,  Van  Hoonacker,  and  Wellhausen  on  the  Conti- 
nent, and  Bewer,  Cheyne,  Driver,  Horton,Kirkpatrick,  Lanchester, 
G.  Adam  Smith,  J.  M.  Powis  Smith,  and  W.  Robertson  Smith  in 
this  country  or  in  America.  Whilst,  however,  he  has  derived  from 
his  predecessors  much  of  his  material,  he  has  sought  (as  in  a  pre- 
vious work)  to  exercise  an  independent  judgment  in  drawing  con- 
clusions from  the  data  that  have  been  collected. 

For  great  assistance  in  the  preparation  of  the  manuscript  the 
writer  wishes  to  express  his  deep  indebtedness  to  his  wife.  The 
book  has  been  read  in  MS.  and  in  proof  by  Dr  Lock,  the  General 
Editor,  and  his  meticulous  care  has  caused  the  author,  who  fondly 
imagined  himself  to  be  something  of  an  adept  in  condensation,  to 


x  PREFACE 

feel  that,  after  all,  he  is  but  a  mere  novice  in  the  art.  Dr  Lock, 
however,  has  done  far  more  than  recommend  omissions ;  he  has 
contributed  a  number  of  very  valuable  suggestions,  for  which  the 
warmest  thanks  are  due.  Help  with  the  proofs  has  also  been 
received  from  the  Rev.  D.  D.  Bartlett,  B.A.,  Lecturer  in  Theology 
at  Lampeter  College.  His  scrutiny  of  them  has  resulted  in  the 
discovery  and  removal  of  many  oversights  and  blemishes  which 
had  previously  escaped  detection,  and  his  kindly  service  calls 
for  most  grateful  acknowledgment. 

G.W.W. 


CONTENTS 

PAOH 

INTRODUCTION  TO  MICAH xv 

CHAPTER    I.     The  Title  and  Contents xv 

CHAPTER  II.    The  Disputed  Unity  of  the  Book     ....  xxii 
Chronological  Table  of  the  Prophecies  in  the  Book 

of  Micah xxvi 

CHAPTER  III.  The  Conditions  of  Micah's  Age  and  the  Tenor  of  his 

Teaching xxvi 

INTRODUCTION  TO  OBADIAH xxxii 

CHAPTER   I.     The  Title,  Contents,  and  Structure  ....  xxxii 

CHAPTER  II.    The  Passage  Common  to  Obadiah  and  Jeremiah     .  xxxiv 

CHAPTER  III.  The  Date xxxviii 

CHAPTER  IV.  Edom  and  the  Edomites xliv 

INTRODUCTION  TO  JOEL li 

CHAPTER    I.     The  Title  and  Contents li 

CHAPTER  II.    The  Interpretation  of  the  Book       ....  liv 

CHAPTER  III.  The  Unity  of  the  Book Ivi 

CHAPTER  IV.   The  Date  of  the  Book Ixi 

CHAPTER  V.    Joel  and  Eschatology Ixxii 

Note  on  Locusts Ixxvi 

INTRODUCTION  TO  JONAH Ixxviii 

CHAPTER    I.     The  Title,  Contents,  and  Purpose    ....  Ixxviii 

CHAPTER  II.    The  Date Ixxxii 

CHAPTER  III.  The  Defective  Unity  of  the  Book     ....  Ixxxv 

CHAPTER  IV.   The  Character  of  the  Narrative       ....  xci 

GENERAL  SUPPLEMENT  TO  THE  SEPARATE  INTRODUC- 
TIONS       c 

CHAPTER   I.     The  Theology  of  the  Books  of  Micah,  Obadiah,  Joel, 

and  Jonah c 

CHAPTER  II.    Messianic  Prophecy cvii 

CHAPTER  III.   Hebrew  Versification  cxxxiv 


xii  CONTENTS 

PAGE 

COMMENTARY  ON  MICAH 1 

COMMENTARY  ON  OBADIAH 67 

APPENDIX.    The  Oracle   quoted   in   common   by  Obadiah   and 

Jeremiah 87 

COMMENTARY  ON  JOEL 88 

COMMENTARY  ON  JONAH 120 

ADDITIONAL  NOTE  by  the  General  Editor 142 

APPENDIX  I.    The  Psalm  in  ch.  ii.  rendered  in  the  Rhythm  of  the 

Original 143 

APPENDIX  II.   Critical  Analysis  of  Jonah 144 

INDEX  .  147 


A    LIST    OF    TRANSLATIONS,    COMMENTARIES,    AND 
OTHER  WORKS  CONSULTED  (WITH  ABBREVIATIONS). 

Aq.  Aquila's  Greek  Translation  of  the  Old  Testament  (in  field's  Hexaplorum 

quae  supersunt). 

A.V.   Authorized  Version  of  the  Bible,  1611. 
Bewer.  Bower's  Critical  and  Exegetical  Commentary  on  Obadiah,  Joel,  and 

Jonah  (I.C.C.),  1912. 
C.B.  Century  Bible. 
Camb.B.  Cambridge  Bible. 

Caspari.  C.  P.  Caspari's  Der  Prophet  Obadja,  1842. 

Cheyne.   T.  K.  Cheyne's  Micah,  with  Notes  and  Introduction  (Camb.B.),  1882. 
Driver.  S.  R.  Driver's  The  Books  of  Joel  and  Amos  (Camb.B.),  1897. 

„       Gen.  S.  R.  Driver's  The  Book  of  Genesis  (WestC.). 

„       LOT.  S.  R.  Driver's  Introduction  to  the  Literature  of  the  Old  Testa- 
ment, 1891  and  later  editions. 
E.B.  Expositor's  Bible. 

Enc.Bib.  Cheyne  and  Black's  Encyclopaedia  Biblica,  1899—1903. 
Ewald.    H.  Ewald's  The  Prophets  of  the  Old  Testament  (E.T.). 
Expos.    The  Expositor. 

Hastings,  DB.   J.  Hastings'  Dictionary  of  the  Bible,  1898—1904. 
Henderson.  E.  Henderson's  The  Book  of  the  Twelve  Prophets,  1858. 
Horton.   R.  F.  Horton's  The  Minor  Propfots  Hosea... Micah  (C.B.). 
I.C.C.   International  Critical  Commentary. 
JE.    The  Prophetic  Document  of  the  Pentateuch. 
JTS.   The  Journal  of  Theological  Studies. 

Kirkpatrick.   A.  F.  Kirkpatrick's  The  Doctrine  of  the  Prophets,  2nd  ed.,  1897. 
Lanchester.   H.  C.  0.  Lanchester's  Obadiah  and  Jonah  (Camb.B.),  1918. 
LXX.   The  Septuagint  Translation  of  the  Old  Testament,  ed.  Swete,  1894. 
Marti.  D.  K.  Marti's  Das  Dodekapropheton,  1904. 
Maurer.    F.  J.  V.  Maurer's  Commentarius  Grammaticus  criticus  in  Vetus 

Testamentum,  vol.  IL,  1838. 

Nowack.  W.  Nowack's  Die  Kleinen  Propheten,  1903. 

Old  Latin.   The  Old  Latin  Version  (cited  from  JTS.  vol.  v.  247  f.,  378  f.,  VL  67  f.). 
P.    The  Priestly  Document  of  the  Pentateuch. 
Pusey.   E.  B.  Pusey's  The  Minor  Prophets,  1860. 
R.V.  The  Revised  Version  of  the  Bible,  1884. 

Sayce,  HCM.  A.  H.  Sayce's  The  Higher  Criticism  and  the  Monuments,  1894. 
Schrader,  CO  T.  Schroder's  The  Cuneiform  Inscriptions  and  the  O.T.  (B.T.). 
Sellin,  10 T.  E.  Sellin's  Introduction  to  the  O.T.  (E.T.). 

Smith,  G.  A.  Sir  George  Adam  Smith's  The  Book  of  the  XII  Prophets  (E.B.). 
„  HGHL.,  Sir  G.  A.  Smith's  Historical  Geography  of  the  Holy 

Land. 

Smith,  J.  M.  P.  J.  M.  Powis  Smith's  Critical  and  Historical  Commentary  on 
Micah  (I.C.C.),  1912. 


xiv  TRANSLATIONS,  COMMENTARIES 

Smith,  W.  R.  W.  Robertson  Smith's  The  Prophets  of  Israel,  1895. 

"Speaker's  Bible"  (The).    The  Holy  Bible,  with  a  Commentary  etc.,  1871—  6. 

Sym.   Syrnmachus's  Greek  Translation  of  the  Old  Testament  (in  Field). 

Syr.   The  Syriac  Translation  of  the  O.T. 

Th.  Theodotion's  Translation  of  the  O.T.  (in  Field). 

Van  Hoonacker.    A.  Van  Hoonacker's  Les  Douze  Petits  Prophetes. 

Vulg.   Biblia  Sacra  Vulgatee  Editionis. 

Wellhausen.  J.  Wellhausen's  Die  Kleine  Propheten,  1898. 

West.C.  Westminster  Commentaries,  edited  by  W.  Lock,  D.D. 

***  The  use  of  Hebrew  characters  has  been  avoided,  and  Hebrew  words  and 
phrases,  when  reference  to  the  original  has  been  found  necessary,  have  been 
transliterated.  Readers  who  are  unacquainted  with  Hebrew  should  observe 
(1)  that  all  Hebrew  letters  are  consonants,  the  accompanying  vowels  being 
originally  transmitted  by  oral  tradition  only,  and  when  eventually  written  down, 
being  marked  merely  by  "points";  (2)  that  the  difference  between  several  of 
the  consonants  is  small,  those  which  can  be  most  easily  mistaken  for  one  another 
being  d  and  r,  b  and  c,  v  and  y,  h  and  kh,  b  and  m,  g  and  n,  n  and  c;  (3)  that  the 
same  symbol  served  for  s  and  sh;  (4)  that  in  the  unpointed  text  doubled  letters 
were  indistinguishable  from  single  letters,  and  aspirated  labials,  gutturals  and 
dentals  were  indistinguishable  from  the  corresponding  unaspirated  letters. 
Knowledge  of  these  facts  will  enable  the  plausibility  of  various  emendations  of 
the  Hebrew  text  to  be  more  fairly  estimated  than  might  otherwise  be  the  case. 
In  the  present  work  for  the  sake  of  convenience  no  distinction  in  transliterating 
has  been  made  between  the  letters  he  and  kheth  (both  alike  being  represented, 
as  in  the  English  Bible,  by  h\  between  samech  and  sin  (the  substitute  for  both 
being  s\  or  between  teth  and  tav  (both  appearing  as  i).  The  letters  aleph  and 
ay  in  are  indicated  by  (')  and  (')  respectively. 


INTRODUCTION  TO  MICAH. 

CHAPTER  I. 

THE  TITLE  AND  CONTENTS. 

WITHIN  the  volume  which  is  entitled  The  Book  of  the  XII  Prophets 
the  writings  that  are  ascribed  to  Micah  occupy  in  the  Hebrew  Scriptures 
the  sixth  place,  following  after  Hosea,  Joel,  Amos,  Obadiah,  and  Jonah; 
but  the  internal  evidence  of  several  of  these  books  makes  it  probable 
that  the  order  in  which  they  are  arranged  departs  widely  from  the  true 
historical  succession  of  the  prophets  whose  names  they  bear.  In  the 
LXX.  the  order  in  two  cases  is  different,  Micah  being  placed  third 
(after  Amos)  and  Joel  being  transposed  to  the  fourth  position,  imme- 
diately next  to  Micah.  This  rearrangement,  though  still  failing  to 
correspond  to  the  chronological  order  (so  far  as  it  is  ascertainable),  has 
at  least  the  advantage  of  putting  Micah  in  his  right  place  by  bringing 
his  book  into  closer  relation  with  those  of  Hosea  and  Amos.  For  that 
Micah's  activity  fell  within  the  same  century  as  theirs  appears  not  only 
from  the  heading  of  his  book  (which  may  owe  its  origin  to  an  editor, 
p.  1)  but  from  Jer.  xxvi.  18,  where  it  is  expressly  stated  that  the 
prediction  contained  in  Mic.  iii.  12  was  uttered  in  the  reign  of  Hezekiah 
(727  (or  720)— 692). 

In  the  opening  verse  of  the  book  Micah's  prophetic  career  is  repre- 
sented as  beginning  in  the  reign  of  Jotham  and  extending  through  that 
of  Ahaz  into  that  of  Hezekiah.  The  limits  thus  implied  cannot  be 
decided  with  any  certainty,  for  calculations  based  on  the  duration  of 
the  reigns  of  the  rulers  of  Judah,  as  given  in  the  books  of  Kings,  lead 
to  results  regarding  the  accession-years  of  the  three  sovereigns  named 
in  Mic.  i.  1  which  are  mutually  inconsistent,  according  as  the  reckoning 
is  made  backwards  from  (a)  the  capture  of  Samaria  by  Sargon  in  722, 
(b)  the  invasion  of  Judah  by  Sennacherib  in  701,  (c)  the  capture  of 
Jerusalem  by  Nebuchadrezzar  in  587;  and  consequently  some  or  all  of 
the  figures  upon  which  the  calculations  are  based  must  be  erroneous. 
In  the  following  tables,  which  give  the  Biblical  figures,  the  years  for  the 
duration  of  each  king's  reign  are  reduced  by  one,  since  the  Hebrew 
historians  generally,  though  not  quite  uniformly,  reckoned  inclusively1, 

1  See,  for  instance,  1  Kgs.  xv.  25  and  28,  xvi.  8  and  15. 


XVI 


INTRODUCTION 


so  that  the  year  of  a  king's  death  and  of  his  successor's  accession  was 
by  them  comprised  within  the  reign  of  each  and,  in  the  sum  of  the 
years  of  two  consecutive  reigns,  was  counted  twice  over. 

(«)  (6)  (c) 

Jotham  (15)  757  Jotham  (15) 

Ahaz  (15)  ...  742  Ahaz  (15)     ... 

Hezekiah  (28)  727  Hezekiah  (28) 

Fall  of  Samaria]  -^o  Sennacherib's     \ 

in  H.'s  Qth  year  }  '   "  Invasion  in  H.'s(-  701 
llth  year  ) 


744 

Jotham  (15) 

750 

729 

Ahaz  (15)    ... 

735 

714 

Hezekiah  (28) 

720 

Manasseh  (54) 

692 

701 

Amon  (1)    ... 

638 

Josiah  (30) 

637 

Jehoahaz  (J) 

607 

Jehoiakim  (10) 

607 

Jehoiachin  (j) 

597 

Zedekiah  (10) 

597 

Fall  of  Jerusalem 

587 

It  will  be  seen  from  these  tables  (a)  that  if,  according  to  2  Kgs.  xviii.  10, 
the  Fall  of  Samaria  occurred  in  722  in  Hezekiah's  6th  year,  the  invasion 
of  Judah  by  Sennacherib  in  701  must  have  happened  in  his  27th  year 
and  not  (as  stated  in  2  Kgs.  xviii.  13)  in  his  14th;  (b)  that  if  Sen- 
nacherib's invasion  took  place  in  Hezekiah's  14th  year,  Samaria  must 
have  fallen,  not  in  that  king's  6th  year,  but  in  the  8th  year  of  his  father 
Ahaz;  (c)  that  if  Hezekiah  came  to  the  throne  in  720  (the  figure  reached 
by  calculating  from  the  Fall  of  Jerusalem  in  587),  the  Fall  of  Samaria 
must  have  occurred  in  Ahaz's  14th  year,  and  Sennacherib's  invasion  in 
Hezekiah's  20th  year.  In  view  of  these  inconsistencies,  it  is  only  possible 
to  form  a  more  or  less  conjectural  scheme  of  chronology  for  the  reigns 
of  the  sovereigns  mentioned;  and  one  which  is  perhaps  as  plausible  as 
any  other  is  the  following,  which  assigns  to  each  king  a  length  of  reign 
differing,  indeed,  from  that  given  in  2  Kings,  but  at  least  consistent  with 
the  dates  fixed  in  the  Assyrian  inscriptions  for  certain  events  that  hap- 
pened within  the  reigns  in  question1: — 

Jotham  (3)  738 

Ahaz  (8)      ...  735 

Hezekiah  (35)  727—692 

The  view  that  Ahaz  was  succeeded  by  Hezekiah  in  727  may  perhaps 
derive  some  confirmation  from  an  oracle  addressed  to  the  Philistines, 
contained  in  Is.  xiv.  28 — 32,  which  is  assigned  to  the  year  of  Ahaz's 

1  The  events  referred  to  are  (a)  the  payment  of  tribute  by  Ahaz  to  Tiglath-Pileser, 
who  died  in  727 ;  (b)  the  capture  of  Samaria  in  722  by  Sargon,  who  reigned  from 
723  to  705 ;  (c)  the  invasion  of  Judah  in  701  by  Sennacherib,  whose  reign  lasted 
from  705  to  681.  See  Schrader,  COT.  i.  pp.  249,  264,  286. 


MICAH  xvii 

death;  for  it  was  in  727  that  there  occurred  the  death  of  the  Assyrian 
king  Tiglath-Pileser,  and  it  is  very  probable  that  Tiglath-Pileser  is 
the  "rod"  alluded  to  in  v.  29  which  had  smitten  Philistia,  but  was 
then  "broken."  The  scheme  given  above  adopts  the  statement  of  2  Kings 
that  Samaria  was  destroyed  in  Hezekiah's  6th  year  ;  but  from  this  it 
follows  that  Sennacherib's  invasion  occurred  in  Hezekiah's  27th,  so 
that  the  statement  in  2  Kings  that  it  took  place  in  his  14th  year  must 
be  rejected  as  an  error.  It  has  been  suggested  that  the  figure  14  has 
been  mistakenly  deduced  from  the  fact  that  Hezekiah's  illness  recorded 
in  2  Kgs.  xx  is  represented  as  following  close  upon  Sennacherib's  in- 
vasion and  occurring  15  years  before  the  end  of  Hezekiah's  reign,  which 
lasted  29  years1.  Some  of  the  discrepancies  between  the  dates  given  or 
implied  by  the  historian  of  the  books  of  Kings  in  connection  with  Heze- 
kiah  may  be  reduced,  though  not  removed,  by  the  supposition  (lacking 
explicit  support  in  the  O.T.)  that  during  the  latter  part  of  his  father's 
reign  he  acted  as  regent  for  Ahaz,  or  was  associated  with  him  in  the 
government:  if  so,  727  may  be  the  beginning  of  his  joint  reign  with 
Ahaz  and  720  that  of  his  rule  as  sole  sovereign.  If  this  supposition 
commends  itself,  the  last  table  must  be  amended  thus  :  — 

Jotham(3)    ......      738 

Ahaz  (15)      ......       735 


Hezekiah  sole  king  (28)  720—692 

According  to  the  scheme  suggested  above,  Micah's  prophetic  activity 
(if  the  statement  in  i.  1  be  accepted)  began  before  735,  and  lasted  at 
least  until  after  722,  for  though  some  of  the  contents  of  ch.  i.  must  date 
from  before  the  overthrow  of  Samaria  in  722  (perhaps  between  725 
and  723),  the  use  of  Israel  to  denote  Judah  in  ch.  iii.  proves  that  when 
the  oracles  which  this  later  chapter  contains  were  delivered,  the 
Northern  kingdom  must  have  come  to  an  end.  It  is,  however,  not  easy 
to  feel  much  confidence  in  the  assertion  in  i.  1  that  the  prophet  began 
his  ministry  in  the  reign  of  Jotham  (738  —  735  ?),  for  the  earliest  of  his 
oracles  seems  to  have  in  view  the  impending  destruction  of  Samaria  in 
722.  And  inasmuch  as  there  is  no  allusion  in  his  writings  to  the  Syro- 
Israelite  alliance  against  Judah  at  the  beginning  of  Ahaz's  reign  (2  Kgs. 
xvi.  5,  Is.  vii.  1  f.),  or  to  the  Assyrian  invasion  of  the  district  of  Galilee 
in  734  (2  Kgs.  xvi.  9),  it  seems  unlikely  that  any  of  his  surviving 

1  See  Van  Hoonacker,  Les  Douze  Petits  PropJietes,  p.  343. 


xviii  INTRODUCTION 

prophecies  dates  from  the  reign  of  that  king  either  (unless  the  Fall  of 
Samaria  really  occurred  whilst  Ahaz  was  still  on  the  throne).  The  only 
internal  argument  for  assigning  part  of  the  book  to  the  reign  of  Ahaz 
must  be  based  on  the  belief  that  the  passage  iv.  1 — 3,  which  appears 
also  in  Is.  ii.  2 — 4,  was  borrowed  by  Isaiah  from  Micah,  and  that  since 
Is.  ii.  5 — 21  (22)  belongs  to  the  time  of  Ahaz,  the  preceding  passage 
common  to  both  prophets  must  have  been  composed  by  Micah  in  that 
king's  reign  at  latest.  But  since  it  is  far  more  probable  that  the  passage 
in  question  proceeds  from  neither  prophet  (p.  28),  it  follows  that  this 
argument  falls  to  the  ground.  The  contents  of  ch.  iii.  are  shewn  by 
Jer.  xxvi.  18  to  be  contemporary  with  Hezekiah,  and  the  utterances  in 
chs.  i.,  ii.  are  so  similar  in  tenor  that  they  are  not  likely  to  be  far  re- 
moved in  point  of  time.  Accordingly  it  may  be  affirmed  without  much 
hesitation  that  the  reign  of  Hezekiah  is  alone  known  for  certain  to 
have  included  within  it  a  considerable  portion  of  Micah' s  prophetic 
ministry.  As  to  how  far  into  that  reign  his  career  lasted,  it  is  impos- 
sible to  form  any  trustworthy  conclusion. 

Of  the  personal  history  of  Micah  nothing  is  recorded,  or  capable  of 
being  inferred,  beyond  an  allusion  to  his  home  (i.  1)  and  some  more  or 
less  plausible  deductions  about  him  drawn  from  the  contents  of  his 
prophecies.  His  name  was  apparently  a  shortened  form  of  Micaiah 
(Michayahu,  Michayhu,  Michdyah),  another  variation  being  Mica 
(Michd'):  the  equivalents  in  the  LXX.  are  Metxatas  and  Mt^a.  The 
appellation  was  not  uncommon,  a  dozen  other  instances  of  it  occurring 
in  the  Hebrew  O.T.  and  in  the  Apocrypha1.  In  one  passage  (2  Ch. 
xiii.  2)  it  appears  to  be  feminine,  but  here  the  name  is  probably  an 
error  for  Maacah  (see  2  Ch.  xi.  20).  Its  signification  is  "Who  is  like 
Jehovah  ? "  (cf.  Ex.  xv.  1 1),  so  that  it  resembles  in  sense  the  name  Michael, 
"Who  is  like  God?"  Analogous  formations  are  found  in  Assyrian, 
e.g.  Manna-M-du-rabu2.  The  abbreviation  Micah  or  Mica  is  paralleled 
by  Abda  for  Abdiah.  As  has  been  seen,  the  prophet  began  his  activity 
later  than  his  contemporary  Isaiah  (who  received  his  prophetic  call  as 
early  as  the  end  of  Uzziah's  reign).  He  was  a  native  of,  or  a  resident 
in,  Moresheth-gath,  a  small  town  or  hamlet  in  the  Lowland  (con- 
stituting the  south  and  south-west  of  Judah),  and  usually  identified 
with  the  modern  Beit-Jibrin.  According  to  tradition  the  locality  was 
not  only  his  birthplace  but  his  place  of  burial  also.  His  home  was 

1  See  Jud.  xvii.,  xviii.,  1  Kgs.  xxii.,  2  Kgs.  xxii.  12,  1  Ch.  v.  5,  viii.  34,  xxiii.  20, 
2  Ch.  xvii.  7,  xxxiv.  20,  Neh.  xii.  35,  41,  Jer.  xxxvi.  11,  Judith  vi.  15. 

2  See  Gray,  Hebrew  Proper  Names,  p.  157. 


MICAH  xix 

thus  in  a  rural  district,  and  not,  like  that  of  Isaiah,  in  the  capital.  As 
a  dweller  in  the  country  and  probably  occupying  a  humble  position  (it 
is  noteworthy  that  his  father's  name  is  not  mentioned1)  he  was  not 
likely  to  be  in  touch  with  state  policy  in  the  same  degree  as  Isaiah ; 
and  there  are  no  references  in  his  book  to  any  advice  proffered  by  him 
to  the  king  and  his  council  similar  to  that  given  by  Isaiah,  first  to 
Ahaz,  and  secondly  to  Hezekiah.  Nevertheless  he  must  have  been 
acquainted  with  the  capital,  to  the  inhabitants  of  which  several  of  his 
denunciations  are  expressly  addressed  (i.  5,  iii.  9).  His  oracles  had 
in  view  solely  the  defective  religious  and  moral  conditions  of  the  time ; 
and  though  he  asserted  that  the  sins  which  he  denounced  would,  if  not 
repented  of,  bring  about  the  political  subversion  of  the  country,  he  did 
not  intimate  the  name  of  the  power  which  was  to  be  the  agent  of  the 
Divine  judgment.  It  is  true  that  in  one  prophecy  included  in  his  book 
(v.  5,  6)  there  are  allusions  to  Assyria  and  the  Assyrian;  but  these 
occur  in  a  section  which  appears  to  be  of  later  date  than  Micah's  time 
(p.  39).  In  another  oracle  (iv.  10)  mention  is  made  of  Babylon  as  a 
place  whither  the  people  for  their  offences  were  to  be  deported,  and 
Babylon  in  the  last  quarter  of  the  8th  century  was  subject  to  Assyria ; 
but  there  are  reasons  rendering  it  probable  that  this  section,  too,  is 
not  by  Micah  (p.  35). 

Micah's  literary  qualities  must  be  judged  by  those  parts  of  the  book 
which  alone  can  be  indisputably  regarded  as  proceeding  from  him  (see 
pp.  1,  28).  His  style  is  forceful  and  impetuous,  and  is  marked  by  the 
frequent  use  of  rhetorical  questions  and  commands  (i.  5,  11,  13,  16, 
iii.  1);  and  like  most  Hebrew  writers,  he  employs  a  number  of  vivid 
figures  of  speech  (ii.  3,  iii.  2,  3,  10),  and  is  fond  of  alliteration  and 
assonance.  The  last  feature  is  especially  noteworthy  in  a  passage 
(i.  10 — 15)  where  he  plays  upon  the  appellations  of  various  localities 
which  he  expected  to  be  overrun  by  an  enemy,  and  finds  in  their 
names  allusions  to  occurrences  which  are  soon  to  happen  in  connection 
with  them. 

The  contents  of  the  book  fall  into  three  divisions:  i. — iii.,  iv. — v., 
vi. — vii.  The  first  three  chapters,  with  the  exception  of  a  very  small 
section  in  ch.  ii.  (w.  12,  13),  consist  of  denunciations  of  iniquities 
marking  both  branches  of  the  Hebrew  people,  and  announcements 
of  the  fate  destined  to  befall  them  by  way  of  penalty;  though  the 

1  This  is  the  case  with  Amos,  Obadiah,  Nahum,  and  Habakkuk,  but  not  with 
Isaiah,  Jeremiah,  Ezekiel,  Hosea,  and  some  other  prophets. 

62 


xx  INTRODUCTION 

prophet's  attention  is  concentrated  chiefly  upon  the  many  forms  of 
social  wickedness  abounding  in  his  own  country  of  Judah,  and  upon 
the  vengeance  impending  over  the  offenders  in  it.  From  ch.  iv. 
onwards  the  contents  are  very  mixed,  though  chs.  iv.  and  v.  are 
distinguished  from  chs.  vi.  and  vii.  by  the  fact  that  in  the  former 
there  predominate  prophecies  of  future  dignity  and  felicity  in  store  for 
the  Jewish  people  after  a  period  of  humiliation  and  affliction,  deliver- 
ance from  which  is  to  be  followed  by  external  triumphs  accompanied 
by  internal  purification.  In  the  final  pair  of  chapters  the  prevailing 
tone  is  more  subdued,  though  the  general  sombreness  of  them  is  not 
unrelieved.  A  remonstrance  against  a  misapprehension  of  what  God 
desires  from  men  is  succeeded  by  a  renewed  denunciation  of  social 
offences  and  an  announcement  of  the  retribution  which  will  overtake 
them;  and  this  is  followed  by  a  confession  of  sin  from  the  community 
already  enduring  the  penalty  of  its  wickedness,  but  nevertheless  con- 
fident of  eventually  experiencing  God's  mercy.  It  will  be  seen  from 
this  that  the  book  as  a  whole  lacks  any  systematic  structure ;  that  its 
contents  comprise  a  number  of  sections  of  which  many  stand  in  no 
logical  or  orderly  relation  to  one  another ;  that  various  oracles  included 
within  it  must  have  been  delivered  on  distinct  occasions ;  and  that  the 
situations  implied  in  several  of  them  appear  to  be  so  widely  sundered 
in  respect  of  time  that  the  book  must  contain  the  utterances  of  several 
prophets. 

A  clearer  comprehension  of  the  contents  of  the  book  and  of  the 
problems  to  which  they  give  rise  will  be  gained  through  a  somewhat 
fuller  analysis  :— 

I.  (a)  i.  2 — 16.  A  description  of  the  descent  of  Jehovah  in  judgment, 
and  a  declaration  in  general  terms  that  the  transgressions  of  Israel 
and  Judah  occasioning  it  are  concentrated  in  their  respective  capitals. 
Samaria  is  to  be  punished  with  the  demolition  of  its  buildings  and  the 
destruction  of  its  idols;  but  retribution  (seemingly  through  the  same 
agent)  will  extend  to  Jerusalem  also,  and  distress  and  despair  are  to 
befall  numerous  towns  in  the  Lowland  of  Judah. 

(b)  ii.  1 — 11.    A  denunciation  of  the  specific  sin  of  Judah — the 
deliberate  and  violent  spoliation  of  the  weak  by  the  powerful;  and  an 
announcement  (received  with  incredulity  by  those  addressed)  of  a  corre- 
sponding nemesis  planned  by  Jehovah  for  the  spoilers,  whose  lands  will 
be  divided  by  foreign  enemies  and  who  will  themselves  be  driven  into 
exile. 

(c)  ii.  12—13.   A  declaration  of  Jehovah's  purpose  to  re-assemble 


MICAH  xxi 

the  remnant  of  His  people,  and  to  lead  them  forth  from  the  place  within 
which  they  are  confined. 

(d)  i\i.  1 — 12.  A  description,  parallel  to  that  of  ii.  1 — 11,  of  the 
devouring  of  the  people  by  their  rulers,  who  abuse  their  authority,  and 
whose  appeals  to  Jehovah,  when  vengeance  reaches  them,  will  be  un- 
heeded; a  warning  to  mercenary  prophets  that  there  will  be  withdrawn 
,  from  them  all  prophetic  faculty  to  which  they  lay  claim;  and  a  pre- 
diction that  the  perversion  of  justice  by  corrupt  judges  and  self-com- 
placent priests  will  be  avenged  by  the  razing  of  Zion  to  the  ground. 

II.  (e)  iv.  1 — 5.  An  announcement  of  the  future  elevation  of  mount 
Zion  above  all  other  heights;   of  the  convergence  thither  of  many 
peoples  to  seek  from  thence  knowledge  about  Jehovah;  and  of  their 
acceptance,  in  disputes,  of  His  arbitration  in  lieu  of  war. 

(/)  iv.  6 — 8.  A  prediction  of  the  re-assembling  of  dispersed  Jews, 
and  the  restoration  to  Zion  of  the  dominion  that  had  formerly  been  hers. 

(g]  iv.  9 — 10.  A  derisive  address  to  the  inhabitants  of  Zion  (here 
conceived  as  distressed  and  resourceless)  who  must  evacuate  their  city 
and  experience  deportation  to  Babylon,  whence  they  will  be  eventually 
rescued. 

(h)  iv.  11 — 13.  A  passage  breathing  a  different  spirit  from  the 
preceding — Zion  being  represented  as  assaulted  by  many  nations,  but 
receiving  an  assurance  from  Jehovah  that  He  will  enable  her  to  destroy 
them,  and  to  consecrate  their  spoil  to  Him. 

(i)  v.  1 — 6.  The  standpoint  again  changing,  an  ironical  command  is 
addressed  to  the  populace  of  Jerusalem  to  raid  as  they  had  been  wont 
to  do1,  followed  by  an  announcement  that  Jehovah's  abandonment  of 
the  city  to  siege  and  her  king  to  humiliation  will  last  only  until  the 
emergence  from  Bethlehem  of  a  Ruler,  who,  through  Divine  help,  will 
ensure  his  people's  security  from  future  invasion. 

(j)  v-  ? — 9.  A  prophecy  of  the  superiority  which  (through  the  power 
of  God)  the  remnant  of  Israel  is  to  manifest  over  other  peoples. 

(k)  v.  10 — 15.  An  announcement  of  Jehovah's  purpose  to  remove 
from  among  His  people  their  military  resources,  their  superstitious 
devices,  and  their  idolatrous  emblems. 

III.  (/)  vi.  1 — 8.   A  controversy  between  Jehovah  and  His  people, 
in  which  the  former  explains  to  the  latter  what  His  real  requirements 
from  them  are — namely,  not  costly  sacrifices  but  the  practice  of  justice, 
mercy,  and  humility. 

1  The  reading  and  meaning  are  very  doubtful. 


xxii  INTRODUCTION 

(m)  vi.  9 — vii.  6.  A  charge  against  the  people  of  dishonesty,  violence, 
and  deceit ;  a  prophecy  of  retribution  inflicted  through  the  ravage  of  the 
land  by  invaders ;  and  a  lament  over  the  extinction  of  the  good,  and  the 
universal  prevalence  of  bloodshed,  treachery,  corruption,  and  domestic 
feuds. 

(n)  vii.  7 — 13.  A  humble  confession,  by  the  collective  community 
(the  true  Israel),  unprotected  and  distressed,  that  its  affliction  has 
been  deserved  by  its  offences;  followed  by  an  announcement  from  God 
of  an  approaching  day  for  the  rebuilding  of  the  walls  of  Jerusalem,  and 
for  the  return  of  its  members  still  in  exile. 

(0)  vii.  14 — 20.  An  entreaty  to  God  from  the  prophet  to  tend  His 
people  and  to  enlarge  their  narrow  boundaries;  and  an  expression  of 
confidence  that,  through  His  mercy,  relief  will  come. 

The  sections  marked  (a),  (b),  and  (d)  are  together  of  a  tenor  that 
creates  no  suspicion  of  their  genuineness  as  utterances  of  Micah;  and 
in  sections  (&)  and  (m)  there  is  nothing  incompatible  with  his  authorship, 
though  the  conditions  described  were  not  peculiar  to  his  age.  But  it  is 
otherwise  with  regard  to  the  remaining  sections.  Several,  to  all  appear- 
ance, imply  situations  which  were  not  realized  until  long  after  the  8th 
century  had  closed,  and  the  impression  produced  by  such  sections  is 
not  adequately  explained  by  the  supposition  that  the  book,  whilst 
proceeding  from  a  single  prophet  living  in  the  8th  century,  contains 
discourses  delivered  in  a  variety  of  circumstances  falling  within  one 
man's  lifetime,  and  calling  now  for  threatenings  and  now  for  conso- 
lation. For  though  there  are  instances  in  prophetic  literature  of  a 
remarkable  capacity  of  prevision  on  the  part  of  the  Hebrew  prophets, 
yet  these  sections  of  the  book  of  Micah  seem  to  presuppose  conditions 
belonging  to  an  age  later  than  that  prophet's,  and  not  to  predict  their 
occurrence ;  so  that  doubts  about  his  authorship  of  them  are  inevitably 
occasioned.  An  examination  of  such  will  be  undertaken  in  the  course 
of  the  commentary,  whilst  some  general  considerations  bearing  on  the 
subject  will  occupy  the  next  chapter. 

CHAPTER  II. 

THE  DISPUTED  UNITY  OF  THE  BOOK. 

BEFORE  an  attempt  can  be  made  to  describe  in  some  detail  the  pur- 
port of  Micah's  prophecies,  it  is  necessary  to  determine  whether  all 
portions  of  the  book  designated  by  his  name  are  his ;  and  if  not,  what 
parts  can  be  reasonably  regarded  as  proceeding  from  him,  and  what 


MICAH  xxiii 

must,  in  all  probability,  be  assigned  to  another  or  others.  The  review 
of  the  contents  just  furnished  shews  that  there  is  much  diversity  of 
subject-matter;  that,  whilst  some  chapters  denounce  prevalent  sins  and 
foretell  retribution  for  such,  certain  others  assume  that  chastisement  has 
already  fallen,  and  that  the  chastened  people  need  comfort  and  consola- 
tion, so  that  these  latter  are  full  of  encouraging  promises  of  deliverance. 
In  considering  whether  the  chapters,  or  sections  of  chapters,  distinguished 
in  this  way  are  of  different  origin  from  those  arraigning  the  people  for 
numerous  forms  of  crime,  and  foretelling  their  punishment,  account 
must  be  taken  of  the  fact  that  the  predictions  of  ill,  since  they  were 
designed  as  warnings,  tended,  so  far  as  they  produced  an  impression  upon 
their  hearers'  consciences,  to  bring  about  their  own  non-fulfilment.  Such 
predictions,  though  often  absolute  in  form,  were  usually  in  essence  con- 
ditional ;  and  it  was  implied  that  the  penalties  announced  in  them  could 
be  averted  by  the  repentance  of  the  offenders.  That  this  happened  in  the 
case  of  one  of  Micah's  prophecies  appears  from  Jer.  xxvi.  17 — 19,  where 
it  is  expressly  stated  that  Micah's  declaration  that  Jerusalem  would  be 
reduced  to  complete  desolation  caused  the  king  (Hezekiah)  to  fear  Jehovah 
and  entreat  His  favour;  and  that  a  change  of  disposition  on  the  part  of 
sovereign  and  people  led  God  to  relent.  It  is  therefore  intelligible  that 
prophets,  who  at  one  time  prophesied  evil,  should  at  another,  when 
signs  of  reformation  became  manifest,  deliver  oracles  of  quite  a  different 
tone;  or,  since  they  believed  their  race  to  be  Jehovah's  chosen  people, 
should,  even  when  affirming  the  certainty  of  Divine  vengeance,  yet  hold 
out  hopes  of  ultimate  mercy.  Brief  summaries  of  such  diverse  prophecies, 
if  they  were  copied  on  the  same  roll,  or  became  otherwise  united,  would 
inevitably,  since  the  circumstances  in  which  they  were  originally  de- 
livered were  not  preserved,  appear  mutually  contradictory.  In  view  of 
this,  it  cannot  immediately  be  inferred  that  a  striking  unlikeness  in  the 
contents  of  two  contiguous  passages  involves  difference  of  authorship : 
it  is  necessary  to  enquire  whether  the  unlikeness  can  be  sufficiently 
accounted  for  by  a  changed  situation  within  the  limits  of  a  single 
prophet's  ministry,  or  by  an  alteration  in  his  attitude  and  outlook ;  or 
whether  the  matter  and  manner  of  the  passages  in  question  are  so 
different  as  to  render  this  explanation  inadequate. 

The  passages  which  most  acutely  raise  the  question  whether  they  pro- 
ceed from  Micah  are  those  in  which  announcements  about  the  future 
presume  the  existence  of  conditions  very  different  from  those  of  Micah's 
time,  without  any  explanation  of  the  way  in  which  these  conditions  have 
been  brought  about.  Thus  in  the  case  of  the  prophecy  in  iv.  1 — 5, 


xxiv  INTRODUCTION 

which  foretells  that  the  Temple  hill  is  to  enjoy  pre-eminence  over  all 
other  hills  and  to  become  the  seat  of  religious  instruction  for  the  heathen 
nations,  it  may  be  observed  that  it  follows  a  prediction  of  doom  for 
Jerusalem  and  (necessarily)  of  death  or  captivity  for  its  inhabitants 
(iii.  12).  But  the  sequel  (in  iv.  1 — 5)  of  this  prediction  of  over- 
whelming disaster  does  not  announce  first  a  return  of  Jewish  captives 
from  exile  and  then  their  exaltation  to  a  position  of  dignity  among  the 
surrounding  peoples,  but  presupposes  that  they  are  already  re-established 
in  their  own  land.  There  is  nothing  in  the  earlier  part  of  the  book  to 
explain  this  change  of  situation,  except  the  short  section  ii.  12 — 13, 
which  is  isolated  in  its  present  context ;  and  even  this,  though  it  predicts 
a  re-assembling  of  a  remnant  of  the  people  (seemingly  from  captivity), 
says  nothing  about  the  impression  produced,  by  the  restoration  of  the 
Jews,  upon  the  heathen  who  witness  it,  or  hear  of  it,  leading  them  to  seek 
to  learn  about  the  God  who  had  effected  it.  A  second  prophecy  out  of 
harmony  with  its  preceding  context  occurs  in  vii.  7 — 20.  The  previous 
section  vii.  1 — 6  deplores  the  disappearance  of  the  righteous  from  the 
land,  and  the  prevalence  of  violence  and  strife,  whilst  intimating  (v.  4b) 
that  a  judgment  from  God  is  imminent.  But  the  passage  that  follows 
(vii.  7 — 20)  consists  partly  of  penitential  utterances  from  a  community 
already  experiencing  grievous  adversity,  and  partly  of  consolatory  pre- 
dictions from  a  prophet  that  the  walls  of  Jerusalem  are  to  be  rebuilt,  that 
the  limits  checking  the  expansion  of  its  people  are  to  be  removed,  and 
that  there  is  to  be  a  return  of  numbers  that  are  still  in  exile.  The  passage 
plainly  takes  for  granted  that  the  offending  land  has  already  endured 
punishment  through  the  dismantling  of  its  capital  and  the  deportation 
of  many  of  its  citizens :  it  assumes  that  chastisement  has  induced  peni- 
tence; but  that  the  city's  walls  are  still  in  the  condition  to  which  foreign 
conquerors  had  reduced  them :  what  it  predicts  is  the  reconstruction  of 
the  walls,  and  an  augmentation  of  the  community's  territory  and  popula- 
tion. If  the  section  proceeds  from  Micah,  it  must  be  supposed  that  besides 
foretelling  his  countrymen's  exile,  he  foresaw  both  their  rescue  from  it 
and  the  circumstance  that  Jerusalem,  after  the  return  of  its  citizens  to 
their  own  soil,  would  long  remain  un walled,  and  the  re-occupied  land 
would  be  circumscribed  in  area;  but  that  he  did  not  explicitly  foretell 
the  occurrence  of  these  conditions,  leaving  this  to  be  inferred  from  a  pre- 
diction that  in  such  conditions  (the  existence  of  which  is  presumed)  a 
change  for  the  better  would  eventually  take  place.  This  is  so  violent  an 
assumption  that  it  is  preferable  to  conclude  that  the  section  really 
originated  with  a  prophet  who  lived  some  70  or  80  years  after  the 


MICAH  xxv 

Return,  was  acquainted  with  the  small  numbers  and  defenceless  situation 
of  the  repatriated  exiles,  and  delivered  the  oracle  contained  in  this 
section  in  order  to  cheer  them  with  the  prospect  of  relief. 

The  high  probability  that  at  least  two  sections  of  the  book  are  not  the 
authentic  productions  of  Micah  prepares  us  to  entertain  with  less  hesi- 
tation doubts  that  prima  facie  may  arise  respecting  the  genuineness 
of  others  also.  Those  which,  next  to  iv.  1 — 5  and  vii.  7 — 20,  create 
suspicion  are  ii.  12 — 13,  the  remainder  of  ch.  iv.,  and  large  parts  of 
chs.  v.  and  vi.  The  grounds  for  questioning  their  genuineness  are  not 
quite  so  cogent  as  those  which  have  been  adduced  in  disproof  of  the 
authenticity  of  iv.  1 — 5  and  vii.  7 — 20,  though  they  have  considerable 
weight,  for  the  evidence  is  cumulative,  and  the  reasons  advanced  for 
denying  to  Micah  other  sections  beside  those  just  cited,  if  not  very  con- 
clusive when  taken  by  themselves,  appear  in  a  different  light  and 
assume  greater  importance  when  once  it  is  seen  that  the  book  contains 
at  least  two  passages  of  which  the  later  origin  is  fairly  patent. 

If  it  appears  probable  that  all  or  most  of  these  sections  did  not 
originate  with  Micah  in  the  8th  century,  various  explanations  suggest 
themselves  to  account  for  their  presence  in  a  collection  of  his  prophecies. 
One  is  the  possibility  that  more  than  one  prophet  whose  utterances 
have  been  preserved  bore  the  name  of  Micah ;  if  so,  then  there  would 
inevitably  be  some  risk  of  confusion,  and  oracles  really  emanating  from 
two  or  more  persons  would  come  to  be  ascribed  to  a  single  prophet. 
Another  is  the  circumstance  that  rolls  of  leather  or  papyrus  were  valu- 
able enough  to  make  it  desirable  that,  if  one  were  begun,  it  should  be 
filled ;  so  that  any  blank  space  in  a  roll  only  partially  occupied  by  the 
oracles  of  Micah  would  readily  be  utilized  for  recording  some  delivered 
by  other  prophets,  without  any  mark  being  appended  to  testify  to  their 
separate  origin.  For  in  this  connection  it  has  to  be  remembered  that 
amongst  the  Hebrews  little  or  no  care  was  taken  to  preserve  the  names 
of  the  authors  of  literary  compositions.  They  had  no  sense  of  the  value 
of  literary  property  or  literary  reputation,  such  as  prevails  amongst 
ourselves.  Almost  all  the  historical  works  of  the  O.T.  are  of  unknown 
authorship.  The  poem  of  Job  is  anonymous ;  Ecclesiastes  is  pseudony- 
mous ;  and  among  the  prophetical  writings  a  large  part  of  the  book  of 
Isaiah  (including  chs.  xl. — Iv.  and  Ivi. — Ixvi.)  and  the  last  six  chapters 
of  the  book  of  Zechariah  have  been  shewn  by  internal  evidence  to 
proceed  from  writers  of  whose  names  we  are  absolutely  ignorant. 
Accordingly,  the  hypothesis,  to  which  various  facts  point,  that  within  the 
book  of  Micah  there  have  been  included  a  number  of  isolated  oracles 


xxvi  INTRODUCTION 

delivered  by  some  unknown  writers  living  at  different  times  is  not  an 
extreme  one,  but  is  justified  by  parallels  forthcoming  from  other 
quarters. 

CHRONOLOGICAL  TABLE  or  THE  PROPHECIES  IN  THE  BOOK  OF  MICAH. 

(«)  ch.  i.  8th  cent,  (second  half,  shortly  before  722),  Micah's. 

8th  cent  (between  722  and  701),  Micah's. 

8th  cent,  (perhaps  Micah's)  or  7th  cent. 
7th  cent,  (second  half). 

7th  cent,  (end)  or  6th  cent,  (beginning). 

6th  cent,  (middle,  587—537). 

6th  cent,  (second  half,  after  537). 
5th  cent,  (first  half). 


CHAPTER  III. 

THE  CONDITIONS  OF  MICAH'S  AGE  AND  THE  TENOR  OF  HIS  TEACHING. 

MICAH'S  authorship  of  the  opening  oracles  (i. — iii. ,  apart  from  ii.  1 2 — 13) 
cannot  be  questioned;  but  though  he  was  a  prophet  of  Judah,  these 
utterances  include  a  denunciation  of  Northern  Israel  and  its  capital 
Samaria,  as  well  as  of  Judah  and  its  capital  Jerusalem.  It  soon,  how- 
ever, becomes  apparent  that  the  prophet's  thoughts  were  chiefly  centred 
upon  the  conditions  and  destiny  of  his  own  country;  and  that  he 
alluded  to  Samaria  merely,  or  at  least  principally,  because  its  impending 
fate  conveyed  a  warning  to  Jerusalem.  Consequently  it  is  upon  the 
internal  situation  of  Judah  that  the  contents  of  the  first  three  chapters 
really  throw  light  and  focus  attention. 

Independent  evidence  for  the  religious  and  social  state  of  that  country 
is  furnished  by  Micah's  elder  contemporary  Isaiah.  The  prophetic 
activity  of  Isaiah  much  exceeded  in  length  (so  far  as  can  be  judged) 
that  of  Micah,  for  it  extended  (according  to  Is.  i.  1,  vi.  1)  from  the  last 
year  of  Uzziah,  through  the  reigns  of  Jotham  and  Ahaz,  into  the  middle, 
at  least,  of  the  reign  of  Hezekiah;  and  the  statements  prefixed  to 
chs.  i.  and  vi.  are  confirmed  by  the  internal  evidence  of  the  book; 
whereas  it  seems  probable  that  Micah's  ministry  was  confined  to  the 
reign  of  Hezekiah  (p.  xviii).  And  the  circumstance  that  some  of  the 


MICAH  xxvii 

former  prophet's  utterances  were  delivered  during  the  lifetime  of  Jotham 
and  Ahaz,  both  of  whom  in  character  were  inferior  to  Ahaz's  successor, 
and  that  by  the  latter  king  much-needed  reforms  were  instituted,  may 
suggest,  at  first  sight,  that  the  conditions  subsisting  in  Judah  under 
Hezekiah  cannot  have  been  quite  so  bad  as  Micah  describes.  In  point 
of  fact,  however,  though  Hezekiah  made  an  effort  to  put  an  end  to 
religious  and  moral  disorder,  yet  there  is  enough  evidence  to  shew  that 
the  reformation  effected  was  more  tardy  and  superficial  than  might  be 
concluded  from  the  representation  of  the  historian  in  2  Kgs.  xviii.  4. 
Various  statements  in  the  writings  of  Isaiah  imply  that  much  that  was 
corrupt  continued  to  exist  even  as  late  as  the  Assyrian  invasion  of  701, 
so  that  in  using  the  testimony  of  Isaiah  generally  to  substantiate  the 
assertions  of  his  younger  contemporary,  there  is  no  need  to  discriminate 
very  narrowly  between  statements  applying  to  different  reigns.  All 
alike  shew  that  the  sombre  colours  in  which  Micah  depicted  the  condi- 
tions of  the  country  in  his  days  were  not  darker  in  hue  than  the  facts 
justified ;  and  that  no  erroneous  inferences  will  be  deduced,  if  his  account 
of  the  superstitions,  injustices  and  disorders  rife  under  Hezekiah  is 
supported  and  illustrated  by  passages  from  Isaiah  dating  not  only  from 
that  king's  reign  but  also  from  the  reigns  of  his  two  immediate 
predecessors. 

Since  reasons  have  already  been  given  for  concluding  that  two 
sections  of  the  book  of  Micah  are  not  the  work  of  that  prophet,  and 
since  arguments  will  be  furnished  later  for  thinking  that  various  others 
are  likewise  not  among  his  genuine  productions,  it  is  important,  in 
considering  his  strictures  upon  the  contemporary  situation  in  Judah, 
and  in  summarizing  his  announcements  about  its  people's  future,  to 
draw  testimony  only  from  those  portions  of  the  book  of  which  his 
authorship  is  undisputed.  These  are  confined  to  chs.  i. — iii.  (except 
ii.  12 — 13);  but  since  a  few  passages  in  the  rest  of  the  book  are  not 
inconsistent  with  the  conditions  implied  in  the  first  three  chapters  and 
may  come  from  Micah  these  will  also  be  taken  into  account. 

Isaiah's  indictment  of  his  countrymen  included  charges  of  idolatrous 
and  superstitious  practices  (i.  29,  ii.  8,  20,  xxx.  22),  of  oppression, 
violence,  and  bloodshed  (i.  15,  17,  iii.  14,  15,  v.  7,  8,  xxx.  12,  xxxiii. 
15),  of  widespread  intemperance  (v.  11,  12,  22,  xxviii.  7),  of  insubordi- 
nation to  authority  (iii.  5),  of  venality  among  the  classes  most  re- 
sponsible for  upholding  morality,  order,  and  justice  (i.  23,  v.  23),  and 
of  arrogant  reliance  upon  material  resources  and  political  intrigues 
(xviii.,  xx.,  xxii.  9 — 11,  xxx.  1 — 3,  xxxi.  1).  As  Isaiah  was  a  states- 


xxviii  INTRODUCTION 

man,  he  included  in  his  censures  not  only  social  crimes  and  delin- 
quencies, but  also  various  features  of  the  foreign  policy  of  his  country; 
and  he  attributed  many  of  the  evils,  of  which  he  complained  in  his 
early  utterances,  to  the  character  of  the  reigning  king  and  his  court. 
Micah's  outlook  was  far  less  comprehensive.  As  he  belonged  perhaps 
to  the  yeoman  class,  and,  at  any  rate,  was  a  resident  in  a  small  pro- 
vincial town  (though  not  unacquainted  with  the  capital),  his  obser- 
vations and  reflections  were  confined  to  the  ills  from  which  the  poorer 
and  weaker  ranks  of  the  population  were  suffering  at  the  hands  of 
their  social  superiors  (see  especially  iii.  1 — 3):  questions  of  foreign 
alliances  and  entanglements  were  beyond  his  range,  and  he  did  not 
seek  to  influence  the  external  relations  of  the  state.  But  apart  from 
this  difference  distinguishing  the  two  prophets,  there  is  a  singular 
agreement  between  them  as  regards  alike  the  worship  of  idols,  the 
wrongs  inflicted  upon  the  poor  by  the  opulent,  the  dishonesty  of  the 
judicial  authorities,  enabling  evil-doers  to  escape  human  justice,  and 
the  self-delusion  (based  on  the  belief  that  Jehovah  and  Israel  were 
indissolubly  united)  that  led  them  to  deem  themselves  safe  from  Divine 
justice  also.  In  the  minds  of  the  prophets  as  a  body,  from  the  earliest 
to  the  latest,  religion  and  social  morality  were  solidly  bound  together. 
Thus  Micah  denounced,  just  as  Isaiah  did,  the  seizure  of  houses  and 
lands  by  the  rich  and  powerful,  who  in  this  way  gratified  their  pride 
and  covetousness  where  they  were  able  to  do  so.  Robbery  by  violence 
was  committed  on  the  highways,  peaceful  travellers  being  stripped 
even  of  the  garments  they  wore1.  Women  and  children  were  evicted 
from  their  homes  and  driven  to  seek  refuge  outside  their  own  country, 
which  was  Jehovah's  land.  The  upper  classes  lived  on  the  lower,  either 
through  oppressive  exactions  of  money  and  produce,  through  the  con- 
scription of  their  labour,  or  through  the  unrelieved  pressure  of  economic 
conditions;  so  that  they  are  represented  by  the  prophet  as  plucking 
the  skin  from  the  flesh  and  the  flesh  from  the  bone.  By  such  as  did 
not  resort  to  open  violence,  dishonest  gains  were  acquired  through  the 
use  of  false  weights  and  measures,  and  by  fraudulent  representations 
(vi.  10,  11).  And  the  exploitation  of  one  class  by  another  was  accom- 
panied by  distrust,  disunion,  and  strife  amongst  the  members  of  the 
same  household,  where  the  authority  of  the  elders  over  the  younger 
was  defied,  and  the  loyalty  expected  from  servants  towards  their 
masters  was  replaced  by  open  hostility  (vii.  5 — 6).  Nor  was  redress,  or 

1  The  passage  (ii.  8)  is  possibly  corrupt. 


MICAH  xxix 

even  a  hearing,  for  their  grievances  obtainable  from  those — the  magis- 
trates, priests,  and  prophets — who  were  expressly  commissioned  by  God 
to  afford  justice  to  the  wronged,  for  their  decisions  about  the  com- 
plaints made  to  them  were  determined  not  by  equity  but  by  self- 
interest;  judgment  was  wrested  and  the  oracles  of  God  perverted  in 
favour  of  such  as  paid  them  best.  All  apprehension  of  Divine  resentment 
for  such  conduct  was  removed  by  the  reflection  that  no  ill  could  befall 
those  who  had  Jehovah  and  His  Temple  in  their  midst  (cf.  Jer.  vii.  4) ; 
and  the  only  prophets  popularly  deemed  to  be  His  spokesmen  were 
persons  whose  utterances  encouraged  the  magnates  to  indulge  their 
vices. 

Some  of  the  causes  that  produced  among  the  higher  ranks  of  Judah, 
during  the  times  of  Ahaz  and  Hezekiah,  a  pride  in  luxury,  a  love  of 
display,  and  a  passion  for  the  expansion  of  estates,  which  could  only 
be  gratified  through  the  unscrupulous  exercise  of  power  and  influence, 
are  traceable  without  much  difficulty.  One  was  the  return  of  prosperity 
to  the  Southern  kingdom  in  the  reign  of  Uzziah.  In  particular,  there 
had  probably  been  a  renewal  of  maritime  trade  through  the  re-acquisi- 
tion of  Elath,  the  seaport  on  the  gulf  of  Akaba  (2  Kgs.  xiv.  22) 1. 
Though  it  was  lost  again  under  Ahaz  (2  Kgs.  xvi.  6,  mg.),  it  must, 
during  the  period  of  its  retention,  have  fostered  considerably  the  de- 
velopment of  commerce  with  the  East;  and  the  resultant  introduction 
into  the  country  of  unfamiliar  products  from  Arabia  and  elsewhere  was 
calculated  to  create  among  the  classes  who  profited  by  the  promotion 
of  such  traffic  a  materialistic  spirit  and  self-indulgent  habits.  More- 
over Uzziah  is  also  credited  by  the  author  of  Chronicles  with  successes 
obtained  over  the  Philistines,  the  Arabians,  and  the  Meunim  (or 
Minseans),  and  with  the  receiving  of  tribute  from  the  Ammonites ;  so 
that  if  these  representations  have  any  truth  behind  them,  an  attitude 
of  self-confidence  was  likely  to  be  engendered  in  Judsean  statesmen. 
A  second  cause  also  tending  to  bring  about  the  conditions  of  which 
Micah  and  his  contemporary  Isaiah  complained  may  be  discovered  in 
the  closer  relations  which  Judah  was  now  entering  upon  with  the 
empires  that  lay  to  the  N.E.  and  S.W.  of  it.  Hitherto  the  nations 
with  which  the  two  Hebrew  kingdoms  had  been  most  nearly  associated, 
either  in  peace  or  war,  were  the  Moabites,  the  Edomites,  and  the 
Syrians  (Arameans)  of  Damascus.  But  the  danger  with  which  the  last- 


1  It  must  have  been  lost  when  Edom  threw  off  the  control  of  Judah  in  the  reign 
of  Jehoram  (2  Kgs.  viii.  20,  22). 


xxx  INTRODUCTION 

named  people,  in  alliance  with  Northern  Israel,  threatened  Judah  in 
the  time  of  Ahaz,  had  led  the  Judsean  king  to  seek  help  from  Assyria 
(2  Kgs.  xvi.  7);  and  envoys  sent  to  Nineveh  must  have  brought  back 
reports  of  its  greatness  and  splendour  calculated  to  stir  the  imagi- 
nations of  the  chief  citizens  of  Jerusalem.  And  rather  later,  from  a 
different  quarter,  Egypt,  which  was  the  chief  antagonist  of  Assyria,  no 
doubt  exerted  similar  influence,  for,  having  motives  of  her  own  for 
desiring  to  detach  Judah  from  the  side  of  her  rival,  she  both  despatched 
to  Hezekiah,  and  received  from  him,  embassies  (see  Is.  xviii.,  xxx.  1 — 6, 
xxxi.  1 — 3),  which  must  likewise  have  contributed  to  stimulate  tastes 
and  aspirations  that  rapidly  corrupted  the  simplicity  of  life  that  had 
previously  prevailed.  The  propensities  thus  fostered  were  accompanied 
by  a  lowered  sense  of  social  duty  and  a  decay  of  considerateness 
towards  the  poor  and  needy;  so  that  injuries  of  the  worst  kind  were 
perpetrated  upon  them  without  interference  or  relief  from  the  officials 
who  should  have  been  the  protectors  of  the  defenceless. 

It  is  reasonable  to  conjecture  that  the  intense  and  concentrated 
indignation  of  Micah  was  fanned  by  scenes  he  had  actually  witnessed 
in  country  places.  So  far  as  can  be  judged  from  his  utterances,  he  was 
a  man  of  impressionable  character  and  strong  emotions,  whose  in- 
dignation was  easily  roused  by  the  sight  of  hardship  and  wrong.  Isaiah, 
too,  no  doubt,  uttered  his  denunciations  of  contemporary  iniquities  from 
fulness  of  knowledge ;  but  as  he  was  a  dweller  in  Jerusalem,  his  feelings 
of  resentment  could  hardly  have  been  as  acute  as  those  of  a  native  of 
Moresheth-gath,  who  had  personally  seen  the  cruelty  committed  on 
the  helpless  peasantry  by  the  avaricious  and  tyrannical.  In  affirming 
that  chastisement  awaited  such  offences,  Micah  refrained  from  speci- 
fying the  agency  by  which  it  was  to  be  inflicted :  at  least  in  those 
prophecies  which  can  be  confidently  attributed  to  him,  there  is  no 
express  mention  of  Assyria,  the  mighty  empire  on  the  Tigris  that 
menaced  the  independence  of  the  small  Palestinian  states,  as  is  the 
case  with  Isaiah  (see  x.  5£,  24  f.,  xiv.  24 — 27).  Nevertheless  his  de- 
claration that  the  fatal  blow  impending  over  Samaria  threatened  Jeru- 
salem also  could  only  point  to  Assyria  as  God's  instrument  for  the 
chastisement  of  Judah.  The  prospect  of  the  speedy  overthrow  of  the 
Northern  kingdom,  having  (as  it  seemed)  its  certain  sequel  in  the 
invasion  of  his  own  land,  filled  him  with  the  profoundest  distress  (i.  8, 
9).  His  anticipations  of  retribution  for  both  countries  were  definite 
and  precise.  The  sites  of  the  offending  capitals  of  Israel  and  Judah 
were  to  become  unoccupied  ground;  the  buildings  of  the  two  cities 


MICAH  xxxi 

were  to  be  demolished,  and  reduced  to  scattered  heaps  of  stones; 
whilst  the  summit  of  Zion  upon  which  the  Temple  of  Jehovah  stood 
was  to  be  made  as  bare  as  the  top  of  a  forest-clad  hill,  where  ground 
had  been  cleared  for  a  "high  place."  The  objects  of  false  worship,  the 
numerous  idols  of  wood  and  stone,  were  to  be  destroyed;  the  classes 
that  had  driven  others  from  their  homes  in  order  to  augment  their 
own  possessions  would  themselves  be  carried  into  exile  in  foreign  lands ; 
and  in  the  time  of  their  distress  Jehovah  would  be  as  deaf  to  their 
appeals  to  Him  as  they  had  been  callous  to  the  appeals  of  their 
victims.  The  law  of  equivalent  retaliation  would  be  imposed  upon 
them:  the  evictions  which  they  had  enforced  would  be  avenged  by 
their  own  deportation.  If  some  of  the  predictions  of  the  book  fore- 
telling in  the  end  a  brighter  future  for  the  nation  are  really  Micah's, 
the  realization  of  such  was  only  looked  for  after  the  moral  evils  of  the 
state  had  been  purged  out  by  a  chastisement  of  the  most  drastic  kind. 
The  activity  of  the  Hebrew  prophets  often  paved  the  road  to 
organized  reforms  set  on  foot  by  secular  or  religious  administrators, 
who  could  embody  in  statutes 'and  institutions  the  principles  affirmed 
in  prophetic  oracles.  Jeremiah's  utterances  promoted  the  religious  re- 
formation carried  out  by  Josiah ;  and  the  teaching  of  Ezekiel  laid  the 
ground-plan  of  the  system  of  law  and  ritual  embodied  in  the  Priestly 
code  of  the  Pentateuch.  In  the  same  way  it  is  reasonable  to  suppose 
that  in  an  earlier  age  Micah  and  Isaiah  were  potent  influences  in 
leading  Hezekiah  to  undertake  in  the  course  of  his  reign  the  abolition 
of  some  of  the  worst  of  contemporary  corruptions  prevailing  amongst 
his  subjects,  which  is  briefly  recorded  by  the  historian  of  the  books  of 
Kings  (2  Kgs.  xviii.  4). 


INTRODUCTION  TO  OBADIAH. 

CHAPTER  I. 

THE  TITLE,  CONTENTS,  AND  STRUCTURE. 

THE  book  of  Obadiah  (unlike  the  books  of  Hosea,  Amos,  Micah,  and 
some  others  of  the  Minor  Prophets)  has  no  superscription,  explaining 
when  it  was  composed.  It  stands  in  the  Hebrew  Bible  fourth  in  the 
order  of  the  Twelve,  being  next  to  Amos  and  followed  by  Jonah,  though 
in  the  LXX.  it  occupies  the  fifth  place  between  Joel  and  Jonah  (the  book 
of  Micah  following  immediately  upon  Amos);  and  its  position  in  the 
Hebrew  Canon  has  been  appealed  to  as  evidence  of  its  date,  it  being 
supposed  that  the  Minor  Prophets  have  been  arranged  in  approximately 
chronological  order,  and  that  consequently  Obadiah  in  point  of  time 
cannot  be  far  removed  from  Amos.  But  since  both  Joel,  which  precedes 
Obadiah  in  the  Canon,  and  Jonah,  which  succeeds  it,  are  probably  later 
than  Haggai  (520B.C.),  standing  tenth  among  the  Twelve  (pp.  Ixxii, 
Ixxxv),  any  such  inference  is  precarious.  The  circumstance  that  Obadiah 
in  the  Hebrew  is  put  next  to  Amos  is  perhaps  due  to  the  fact  that  it 
relates  to  the  doom  of  Edom,  the  occupation  of  which  country  by  Israel 
is  predicted  in  the  concluding  section  of  Amos  (ix.  12).  The  book  pre- 
sumably derives  its  title  from  the  name  of  the  writer  (if  it  is  a  unity) 
or  of  one  of  the  writers  (if  it  is  composite).  The  name  Obadiah  (which 
migbt  be  merely  a  description,  "servant  of  Jehovah")  occurs  as  a 
designation  of  at  least  twelve  individuals  mentioned  in  the  O.T.1, 
though  of  only  three  are  any  particulars  given.  Of  these  the  most 
notable  was  the  steward  of  Ahab's  household  (1  Kgs.  xviii.),  who  pre- 
served the  lives  of  a  hundred  prophets  of  Jehovah,  when  they  were 
persecuted  by  Jezebel ;  but  there  is  nothing  to  connect  the  book  with 
him  or  any  of  the  other  Obadiahs  elsewhere  mentioned.  Even  the  form 
of  the  name  which  serves  as  its  title  is  not  quite  certain.  The  Heb. 
text  of  Ob.  1  has  'Obhadhyak;  and  this  is  the  way  in  which  the  name 
is  written  everywhere  in  the  Heb.  except  in  1  Kgs.  xviii.,  1  Ch.  xxvii. 
19,  and  2  Ch.  xxxiv.  12,  where  it  is  pointed  'Obhadhyahu*.  But  whilst 

1  1  Kgs.  xviii.  3f.,  1  Ch.  iii.  21,  vii.  3,  viii.  38  (  =  ix.  44),  ix.  16,  xii.  9,  xxvii.  19, 
2  Ch.  xvii.  7,  xxxiv.  12,  Ez.  viii.  9,  Neh.  x.  5  (6),  xii.  25. 

2  Similar  variations  are  found  in  connection  with  the  names  Amaziah,  Elijah, 
Hezekiah,  Isaiah,  Jeremiah,  etc. 


OBADIAH  xxxiii 

in  Ob.  1  the  Vatican  codex  of  the  LXX.  has  'O/3&Yov  (cf.  1  Ch.  iii.  21), 
the  Alexandrine  codex  has  'AySStov,  as  also  in  1  Kgs.  xviii.  3  f., 
1  Ch.  xxvii.  19;  and  since  in  other  cases  the  LXX.  generally  represents 
the  name  by  'A/28ia?  or  'A/38ia,  it  is  possible  that  the  title  of  the  book 
should  be  written  Abdiah1  (cf.  Abdiel,  1  Ch.  v.  15,  and  the  Arabic 
Abdullah)  instead  of  Obadiah. 

The  theme  of  the  book  is  the  pride  and  self-confidence  of  Edom,  the 
malice  shewn  by  it  towards  the  Jewish  people  (in  spite  of  ties  of  blood) 
on  the  occasion  of  a  great  calamity  sustained  by  the  latter,  the  deserved 
retribution  it  has  already  undergone  at  the  hands  of  its  own  allies  (ir* 
accordance  with  an  earlier  prophecy  which  is  quoted  in  whole  or  in 
part),  and  the  prospective  vengeance  which  is  to  overtake  it  from  those 
whom  it  has  wronged,  when  the  expatriated  Jews,  restored  to  their 
former  possessions,  will  enlarge  their  territory  at  the  cost  of  the  Edom- 
ites  and  other  heathen  neighbours.  The  fact  that  the  book  is  thus 
almost  wholly  concentrated  upon  a  single  subject,  and  its  limited 
extent  (it  is  the  shortest  of  all  in  the  O.T.),  create  the  expectation 
that  the  questions  presented  by  it  will  be  confined  to  discovering  what 
the  occasion  was  on  which  the  Edomites  exhibited  the  malice  com- 
plained of,  and  whether  the  book  was  written  prior  to  it  or  after  it.  But 
its  simplicity  is  illusory,  and  the  problems  to  which  it  gives  rise  are  both 
more  numerous  and  more  involved  than  at  first  sight  appears.  Thus : — 

(1)  The  circumstance  that  a  portion  of  Ob.  (w.  1 — 5)  is  almost 
identical  with  a  passage  in  Jer.  (xlix.  14 — 16,  9)  makes  it  necessary 
to  determine  the  relation  between  them,  and  to  settle  whether  the 
writer  of  Obadiah  has  borrowed  from  the  author  of  Jeremiah  or  the 
reverse,  or  whether  both  are  indebted  to  an  earlier  oracle. 

(2)  The  fact  that  there  is  a  sudden  transition  in  v.  15  from  the  topic 
of  a  judgment  upon  Edom  alone  to  that  of  a  judgment  upon  all  the 
heathen  renders  it  questionable  whether  such  an  abrupt  change  of 
subject-matter  is  compatible  with  unity  of  authorship. 

(3)  The  variation  in  the  use  of  the  tenses  (themselves  susceptible 
of  more  than  one  meaning)  makes  it  uncertain  whether  the  book  is 
consistently  a  prophecy,  or,  if  not,  to  what  extent  it  is  partly  a  prophecy 
of  the  future  and  partly  a  description  of  the  past. 

The  small  compass  of  Obadiah  naturally  creates  an  antecedent  pre- 
sumption that  it  is  the  production  of  a  single  mind.  But  in  view  of  the  fact 
that  so  many  of  the  prophetical  writings  are  composite,  the  possibility 

1  In  1  Kgs.  iv.  6,  Neh.  xi.  17  Abda  stands  for  Abdiah  (as  Mica  does  for  Micaiah). 


xxxiv  INTRODUCTION 

that  the  book  contains  the  work  of  more  than  one  writer  cannot  be 
disregarded.  The  assumption  that  it  is  a  unity  may  involve  putting  an 
unnatural  interpretation  upon  certain  passages  in  it,  in  order  to  bring 
them  into  harmony  with  the  rest ;  and  if  the  hypothesis  of  a  composite 
origin  affords  the  best  solution  of  the  questions  which  its  contents 
occasion,  its  small  size  becomes  a  negligible  consideration.  Some  of  the 
problems  which  arise  especially  in  connection  with  the  concluding  portion 
of  the  book  are  rendered  all  the  harder  by  the  state  of  the  text,  which 
in  one  or  two  places  appears  to  be  too  corrupt  to  be  interpreted  or  cor- 
rected with  any  confidence. 

The  sharp  transition  at  w.  15a,  16  f.  from  the  subject  of  Edom  singly 
to  that  of  the  nations  at  large  (the  2nd  pers.  sing,  giving  place  to  the 
2nd  pers.  plur.,  and  the  predicted  retribution  embracing  other  peoples 
beside  the  Edomites)  divides  the  book  into  two  distinct  parts.  Of  these 
the  first  describes  an  overthrow  of  Edom  which  is  either  impending  in 
the  near  future  or  is  in  process  of  happening;  whilst  the  second  is  a 
prediction  of  calamities  yet  to  come  upon  the  oppressors  of  Israel, 
including,  but  not  confined  to,  the  Edomites.  But  within  the  first 
fifteen  verses  are  a  certain  number  (w.  1 — 5)  which  occur  also  in 
Jer.  xlix. ;  and  if,  as  will  appear  presently,  these  verses  are  probably 
derived  by  both  prophets  from  an  earlier  source,  there  are  three  sections  of 
the  book,  of  which  the  origin  and  date  require  independent  investigation. 

CHAPTER  II. 

THE  PASSAGE  COMMON  TO  OBADIAH  AND  JEREMIAH. 

THE  relations  subsisting  between  several  verses  of  Ob.  and  Jer.  xlix. 
create  a  problem  of  some  difficulty  and  no  little  interest. 

The  opening  verses  of  Ob.  (1 — 5)  so  closely  resemble  Jer.  xlix.  14 — 16, 
and  9,  not  only  in  substance  but  in  actual  phraseology,  that  it  is  im- 
possible to  suppose  that  the  two  passages  are  independent.  Either,  then, 
(i)  Ob.  has  borrowed  from  Jer.,  or  (ii)  Jer.  has  borrowed  from  Ob.,  or,  if 
neither  of  these  alternatives  proves  admissible,  then  (iii)  both  are  in- 
debted to  an  earlier  oracle. 

(i)  The  prophecy  against  Edom  in  Jer.  xlix.,  in  which  the  verses 
common  to  both  Jer.  and  Ob.  are  included,  is  not  dated1;  but  since  v.  12 

1  Within  the  group  of  chapters  xlvi. — xlix.  the  prophecy  against  Egypt  (xlvi. ) 
was  delivered  in  604 B.C.;  but  this  alone  is  precisely  dated,  and  the  occasion  of  some 
of  the  remaining  predictions  comprised  in  these  chapters  is  disputed  (see  Driver,  Jer. 
pp.  270,  271,  note;  Binns,  Jer.  pp.  318,  319  (West.C.)). 


OBADIAH  xxxv 

of  that  chapter  seems  to  imply  that  the  cup  of  suffering  had  not  yet  been 
drunk  by  Jehovah's  people,  it  is  probable  that  the  prophecy  was  uttered 
before  the  Fall  of  Jerusalem  in  587 ;  and  since  Ob.  was  almost  certainly 
written  after  that  date  (p.  xliii),  the  possibility  of  borrowing  on  the  part 
of  the  latter  is  manifest.  Nevertheless  against  the  conclusion  that  Jer. 
is  the  original  source  of  the  verses  that  appear  in  both  there  are  two 
considerations  of  much  weight. 

(a)  In  Ob.  the  consecutiveness  of  the  verses  is  less  interrupted,  and 
the  sequence  of  thought  is  better  observed,  than  in  Jer.  In  Ob.  these 
verses  constitute  a  well-organized  whole.  The  only  break  in  the  con- 
nection is  a  parenthetic  exclamation,  whilst  the  opening  verse  is  an 
appropriate  introduction  to  the  verses  which  follow.  On  the  other  hand, 
the  verse  which  so  aptly  begins  the  prophecy  in  Ob.  is  in  Jer.  preceded 
at  some  distance  by  a  verse  which  in  Ob.  is  the  last  of  the  five;  whilst 
of  the  verses  which  in  Jer.  are  peculiar  to  that  book  and  come  between 
this  verse  and  the  rest  that  are  common  to  the  two  prophets,  some 
relate  to  a  distinct  subject.  There  is  thus  a  presumption  that,  if  one  of 
the  two  prophets  has  borrowed  from  the  other,  it  is  not  the  author  of  Ob. 
who  is  the  borrower,  since  in  his  pages  the  verses  in  question  are  more 
coherent  than  in  the  other  work  which  contains  them. 

A  comparison  of  the  two  passages  in  Ob.  and  Jer.,  arranged  in  parallel 
columns,  and  rendered  literally,  will  shew  clearly  both  the  divergence  in  the 
order  of  the  verses  and  the  resemblance  in  matter  and  wording. 

Ob.  Jer. 

1  A  communication  have  we  (LXX.  14  A  communication  have  I  heard 
I)  heard  from  Jehovah,  and  a  messen-  from   Jehovah,   and  a  messenger  is 
ger  has  been  sent  among  the  nations,  being  sent  among  the  nations,  'Gather 
'Rise  ye,  and  let  us  rise  against  her  yourselves,  and  go  against  her,  and 
to  war.'  rise  to  war.' 

2  "Lo,  I  make  thee  small  among  15   "For,  lo,   I   make   thee  small 
the  nations:  thou  art  despised  greatly,  among  the  nations,  despised  among 

men. 

3  The  pride  of  thine  heart  hath          16  Thy  terribleness  hath  deceived 
deceived  thee1,  dweller  in  the  clefts      thee1,  the  pride  of  thine  heart,  dweller 
of  (the)  rock,  the  height  of  his  abode ;      in  the  clefts  of  the  rock,  holder  of  the 
saying  in  his  heart,  'Who  will  bring      height  of  the  hill : 

me  down  to  the  earth?' 

4  If  thou  makest   on   high  as  a      though  thou   makest  on   high  as  a 
vulture,  and  if  thy  nest  is  set  (LXX.      vulture  thy  nest, 

if  thou  settest  thy  nest)  among  the 
stars, 

1  There  is  a  slight  difference  in  the  Hebrew  here. 

01 


xxxvi  INTRODUCTION 

Ob,  Jer. 

from  thence  will  I  bring  thee  down,"  from  thence  will  I  bring  thee  down," 

is  the  utterance  of  Jehovah.  is  the  utterance  of  Jehovah. 

5  If  thieves  came  to  thee,  if  ma-  9  If  vintagers  come  to  thee, 
rauders  of  the  night 
(How  art  thou  brought  to  naught!), 

would  they  not  steal  (only)  till  satisfied  ?  they  will  not  leave  gleanings  ; 

if  vintagers  came  to  thee,  if  thieves  by  night, 

would  they  not  leave  gleanings  ?  they  will  destroy  till  satisfied. 

(b)  In  the  verses  common  to  both  writers  there  are  none  of  the  turns 
of  speech  to  which  Jeremiah  is  partial,  whereas  these  are  found  in  the 
immediate  context  in  which  the  verses  in  question  appear  in  his  book. 

Thus  within  the  ten  verses  included  in  Jeremiah's  prophecy  against  Edom 
(xlix.  7 — 22)  that  have  no  equivalent  in  Ob.  1 — 5,  the  following  contain  features 
which  are  met  with  elsewhere  in  Jer. : — 

v.  8,  flee.. .turn  back',  the  same  verbs  are  conjoined  in  xlvi.  5,  21,  xlix.  24: 

the  time  that  I  shall  visit  (or  the  time  of  visitation);  see  vi.  15,  x.  15,  xlvi. 
21, 1.  27,  31,  cf.  also  xlviii.  44: 

v.  13,  accumulated  synonyms  expressive  of  conditions  provoking  contempt 
and  scorn;  see  xxiv.  9,  xxv.  9,  11,  18,  xxix.  18,  xlii.  18: 

v.  17,  be  astonished... hiss;  see  xviii.  16,  xix.  8, 1.  13: 

v.  18,  the  overthrow  of  Sodom  and  Gomorrah;  see  1.  40: 

no  man  shall  dwell  therein;  see  xlix.  33, 1.  40,  li  43: 

v.  19,  the  pride  of  Jordan;  see  xii.  5, 1.  44 : 

v.  20,  to  purpose  purposes  (or  its  equivalent);  see  xi.  19,  xviii.  11,  18,  xxix. 
11,  xlix.  30,  L  45: 

the  little  ones  of  the  flock;  see  1.  45: 

v.  22,  fly  as  the  eagle  and  spread  out  his  wings ;  see  xlviii.  40. 

This  circumstance  is  even  more  decisive  against  the  view  that  the 
verses  in  Ob.  have  been  borrowed  from  Jer.  than  the  one  noticed  under  (a) ; 
for  it  is  extremely  improbable  that  a  writer,  in  drawing  upon  another's 
work,  should  have  selected  from  a  single  chapter  just  those  verses  which 
contain  none  of  the  original  author's  favourite  expressions.  If  borrowing 
has  occurred  between  the  two  writers,  the  fact  that  the  verses  in  dispute 
do  not  exhibit  any  of  Jeremiah's  phrases  amid  a  context  which  has 
several  is  only  consistent  with  the  supposition  that  they  have  been 
derived  by  Jeremiah  from  Obadiah. 

(ii)  It  is,  however,  almost  equally  clear  that  Ob.  is  not  the  original 
source  of  the  verses  in  question.  This  conclusion  is  suggested,  to  begin 
with,  by  the  fact  that  only  these  five  verses  recur  in  Jer.,  although  the 
subject-matter  of  them  (the  sin  of  Edom  and  its  retribution)  is  further 
pursued  by  Obadiah ;  and  the  remainder  of  his  book  would  have  afforded 
material  for  additional  borrowing  if  he  had  been  previously  drawn  upon. 


OBADIAH  xxxvii 

But  it  is  decisively  confirmed  by  an  investigation  of  the  metre  in  which 
the  verses  common  to  the  two  writers  are  composed.  The  passage  Jer. 
xlix.  14 — 16,  9  consists  of  almost  perfect  elegiac  (or  Kinati)  lines  (see 
p.  cxlii).  So  slight  are  the  departures  from  this  rhythm  that  it  is  reason- 
able to  infer  that  the  original  passage  was  constructed  according  to  this 
metrical  scheme,  and  that  any  irregularities  discernible  in  the  existing 
text  are  due  to  some  slight  corruption.  In  the  corresponding  passage  in 
Ob.  the  same  metrical  system  can  be  detected  here  and  there  (see  v.  5H) ; 
but  in  various  places  it  is  disorganized,  partly  by  the  absence  of  words 
needed  to  complete  the  metre,  partly  by  the  presence  of  words  that  are 
metrically  superfluous,  and  are  not  required  by  the  sense.  Comparison 
between  the  two  parallel  sections  affords  means  of  reconstructing  with 
much  plausibility  the  original  passage;  and  from  such  reconstruction  it 
becomes  tolerably  clear  that  the  version  in  Ob.,  though  preserving  more 
closely  than  the  version  of  Jer.  the  probable  order  of  the  verses  as  they 
were  at  first  arranged  (p.  xxxv),  reproduces  less  accurately  than  Jer.  the 
authentic  form  of  the  separate  verses,  and  that  consequently  Ob.  cannot 
be  the  source  from  which  Jeremiah  has  borrowed. 

(iii)  There  remains,  then,  the  alternative  that  the  writers  have  drawn 
upon  a  third  source,  namely  an  oracle  by  an  earlier  prophet.  Of  the  use 
of  portions  of  earlier  prophecies  by  later  writers  there  are  several 
probable  examples  in  the  O.T.  Apart  from  short  quotations  (such  as 
Num.  xxi.  28,  29,  included  in  Jer.  xlviii.  45,  46),  instances  of  the  in- 
corporation of  comparatively  long  passages  are  furnished  by  the  identity 
of  Is.  ii.  2 — 4  with  Mic.  iv.  1 — 3,  and  the  identity  of  Is.  xv.  2 — 6  and 
xvi.  6 — 11  with  Jer.  xlviii.  29 — 34,  36,  and  in  each  of  these  cases  the 
passage  common  to  the  two  writers  named  has  almost  certainly  been  de- 
rived by  both  of  them  from  a  prior  author1.  A  reason  for  the  use  by 
Obadiah  of  the  work  of  a  preceding  prophet  may  be  readily  suggested. 
He  witnessed,  as  he  believed,  the  fulfilment  of  the  earlier  prediction,  and 
quoted  it  in  connection  with  his  own  description  of  the  event  which 
confirmed  its  truth. 


1  In  the  N.T.  an  instance  of  the  use  of  an  earlier  work  by  two  later  writers  is 
furnished  by  the  appropriation  of  Mk.  in  whole  or  in  part  by  both  Mt.  and  Lk., 
though  they  have  handled  it  with  great  freedom. 


xxxviii  INTRODUCTION 

CHAPTER  III. 

THE  DATE. 

THE  book  of  Obadiah  having  been  provisionally  analysed  into  the 
three  sections  (I)  w.  1—5;  (II)  wo.  6—14,  15b;  (III)  w.  15a,  16—21, 
of  which  (I)  has  been  shewn  to  be  derived  in  all  probability  by  the 
author  of  (II)  from  an  earlier  writer,  it  remains  to  consider  more  at 
length  the  justification  of  this  analysis,  and  the  date  to  which  the 
several  sections  can  most  plausibly  be  assigned. 

(I)  In  w.  1 — 5,  an  oracle  from  Jehovah  announces,  at  a  time  when 
a  confederacy  is  being  organized  against  Edom,  that  it  is  the  Divine 
purpose  to  humiliate  that  nation ;  that  its  pride  in  its  security  among 
inaccessible  rocks  is  ill-grounded ;  and  that  its  spoliation  and  destruc- 
tion will  be  complete.  The  tenses  vary  between  perfects  and  futures; 
but  future  tenses  are  predominant ;  and  the  general  impression  produced 
by  the  passage  is  that  it  is  not  a  description  of  events  that  have  already 
happened  but  a  prophecy  relating  to  the  future.  Owing  to  the  vagueness 
of  the  language,  there  is  no  positive  indication  of  the  time  when  it  was 
written ;  but  there  is  some  negative  evidence  which  seems  to  exclude  a 
post-exilic  date.  The  self-confident  attitude  attributed  to  Edom  suggests 
that  the  country  was  at  the  time  unmolested  and  prosperous ;  and  the 
fact  that  a  Hebrew  prophet  was  prompted  to  predict  for  it  disaster  seems 
most  naturally  explained  by  assuming  that  some  success  had  recently 
been  gained  by  the  Edomites  to  the  prejudice  of  its  neighbour,  but  the 
prophecy  does  not  breathe  the  feeling  of  bitter  resentment  marking  the 
rest  of  the  verses  down  to  v.  15,  and  evoked  by  the  conduct  of  the 
Edomites  on  the  occasion  of  the  overthrow  of  Jerusalem  in  587.  The 
situation  implied  would  correspond  to  the  condition  produced  through 
the  Edomites'  re-acquisition  of  their  independence  in  the  reign  of 
Jehoram  (2  Kgs.  viii.  20 — 22)1;  or  by  their  recovery,  in  the  reign  of 
Ahaz,  of  the  harbour  of  Elath,  which  had  so  far  remained  in  Jewish 
hands,  but  was  then  restored  to  Edom  by  Rezin  of  Syria  (2  Kgs.  xvi.  6, 
marg.),  on  which  occasion,  according  to  2  Ch.  xxviii.  17,  the  Edomites 
entered  Judah  and  carried  off  some  of  its  inhabitants  as  prisoners. 
Consequently,  though  the  precise  date  of  the  prophecy  must  be  a 
matter  of  conjecture,  it  may  be  regarded  with  some  confidence  as 
pre-exilic. 

1  Some  have  thought  that  the  Edomites  may  have  participated  in  the  raid  made 
by  the  Philistines  and  the  Arabians  related  in  2  Ch.  xxi.  16,  17. 


OBADIAH 


XXXIX 


(II)  The  section  comprised  in  w.  6 — 15  (or,  in  strictness,  6 — 14, 
15b,  for  15a  belongs  to  the  succeeding  section)  must  have  been  composed 
at  a  date  subsequent  to  the  later  of  two  events : — (1)  the  forcible  entry 
made  into  Jerusalem  by  an  unnamed  foreign  people  on  an  occasion  when 
the  Edomites  had  exulted  at  the  capture  of  the  city  and  taken  part  in 
the  accompanying  rapine  and  slaughter  (w.  11 — 14);  (2)  the  ravage  of 
Edom  at  a  later  period  by  an  inroad  of  tribes  previously  friendly,  in 
which  the  Jews  (as  represented  by  the  writer)  saw  a  meet  recompense 
for  the  wrong  previously  perpetrated  by  the  Edomites  on  themselves. 
The  first  of  these  two  events  is  generally  identified  with  the  capture  of 
Jerusalem  by  the  Babylonians,  when  the  Edomites  exhibited  the  utmost 
delight  at  the  calamity  sustained  by  their  kinsmen,  and  in  consequence 
created  in  the  Jews  feelings  of  the  most  intense  indignation.  Jerusalem, 
indeed,  is  recorded  in  the  O.T.  to  have  been  entered  by  an  enemy  no 
less  than  five  times1;  but  the  only  occasions  on  which  Edomites 
are  known  to  have  participated  in,  or  rejoiced  at,  the  assault  were  the 
last  two — the  siege  and  capture  of  the  city  by  the  Babylonians,  first  in 
597  and  again  in  587,  as  related  in  2  Kgs.  xxiv.,  xxv.  Both  times  the 
capital  was  plundered,  and  numbers  of  the  citizens  deported ;  but 
manifestly  it  is  the  second  of  these  occasions,  rather  than  the  first,  that 
suits  the  language  of  Obadiah  best.  The  account  in  2  Kings,  indeed,  does 
not  enumerate  Edomites  in  connection  with  the  overthrow  of  the  Jewish 
capital;  but  their  presence  and  the  malicious  satisfaction  which  they 
expressed  are  attested  by  Ps.  cxxxvii.  7,  Ezek.  xxxv.  5  (cf.  xxv.  12, 
Lam.  iv.  21,  22).  The  magnitude  of  the  disaster,  and  the  bitter  resent- 
ment felt  by  the  Jews  to  wards  the  Edomites  for  the  malevolence  which  they 
then  displayed,  answer  sufficiently  closely  to  the  description  in  Obadiah 
(especially  the  expressions  in  w.  12,  13)  for  this  event  to  be  accepted 
as  the  one  which  the  writer  had  in  mind  when  he  discerned  in  the 
Edomites'  conduct  towards  his  countrymen  an  explanation  of  their  own 
subsequent  misfortune. 

But  though  there  is  a  general  agreement  that  this  section  of  Obadiah 
has  in  view  the  events  of  587,  it  has  not  been  universally  admitted 
that  it  was  written  after  them.  Caspari,  for  instance,  holds  that  it  is  a 
prediction  of  the  fall  of  Jerusalem  (the  past  tenses  in  w.  11,  16  being 
explained  as  prophetic  perfects).  He  is  led  to  this  conclusion  partly  by 
the  position  of  Obadiah  in  the  Canon  after  Joel  and  Amos  (see  p.  xxxii), 


1  See  (a)  1  Kgs.  xiv.  25,  26,  2  Ch.  xii.  2—9;  (6)  2  Ch.  xxi.  16, 17;  (c)  2  Egg.  xiv. 
8—14,  2  Ch.  xxv.  17—24;  (d)  2  Kgs.  xxiv.  10—16;  (e)  2  Kgs.  xxv.  1—21. 


xl  INTRODUCTION 

by  the  supposed  use  of  Obadiah  by  Jeremiah  (see  p.  xxxv),  and  by  the 
absence  of  any  indebtedness  to  confessedly  post-exilic  writings  like 
Is.  xxxiv.  and  3  Is.  Ixiii.  But  he  lays  most  stress  on  the  two  facts 
(a)  that  warnings  to  the  Edomites  (such  as  those  contained  in  w. 
12 — 14)  to  refrain  from  a  certain  line  of  conduct  are  unintelligible  if 
the  deeds  against  which  they  are  cautioned  had  already  been  committed 
by  them ;  and  (b)  that  the  denunciation  of  the  Edomites  alone  for  their 
crime  against  Judah  is  irreconcilable  with  the  supposition  that  the 
passage  was  written  after  the  Fall  of  Jerusalem,  it  being  inconceivable 
that  the  writer  could  then  have  ignored  the  Babylonians,  the  chief  per- 
petrators of  his  country's  ruin,  or  confined  his  attention  to  those  who  took 
only  a  subordinate  part  in  the  tragedy.  In  connection  with  the  latter 
of  these  two  contentions,  it  is  argued  that,  if  the  writer  lived  before 
587,  the  features  manifested  by  the  prophecy  are  natural  enough;  for 
whereas  prophetic  foresight  might  not  enable  him  long  beforehand  to 
specify  the  destined  chastisers  of  his  country  except  by  the  vague 
description  of  "strangers,"  he  could  easily  anticipate  the  attitude  of 
the  Edomites  on  the  occasion,  owing  to  the  hostility  which  they  had 
displayed  towards  the  Jews  previously  (cf.  Am.  i.  11).  With  regard  to 
the  argument  based  on  the  imperatives  in  w.  12 — 14,  though  the  use 
of  them  may  be  admitted  to  be  remarkable,  it  can  be  fairly  accounted 
for  by  the  writer's  imaginative  power :  he  transports  himself  into  the 
past,  envisages  the  scene  of  the  city's  capture,  and  dramatically 
addresses  the  Edomites  as  though  he  saw  them  in  the  act  of  doing  what 
he  knew  they  actually  had  done.  In  respect  of  the  omission  of  all  men- 
tion of  the  Babylonians,  the  argument  is  of  still  less  weight.  Even  in  a 
writing  composed  shortly  after  587  there  would  be  nothing  surprising  if, 
in  a  denunciation  of  Edom  for  participating  with  foreigners  in  despoiling 
a  kindred  people,  the  foreigners  in  question  should  not  be  alluded  to 
by  name,  for  the  guilt  of  the  accomplices  was  independent  of  that  of 
the  principals  in  the  crime,  and  it  could  occupy  the  writer's  thoughts 
to  the  exclusion  of  anything  else  (cf.  Ezek.  xxv.  12 — 14,  xxxv.,  Lam.  iv.). 
But  the  circumstance  becomes  perfectly  natural  if  (as  is  probable  for 
reasons  given  below)  the  composition  of  this  section  of  Ob.  was  separ- 
ated from  the  events  of  587  by  a  considerable  interval,  during  which 
the  Babylonian  empire  had  perished,  whereas  the  Edomites  had  still 
a  country. 

The  occasion  of  the  Edomites'  display  of  malice  towards  the  Jews  is 
easier  to  determine  than  the  later  occasion  which  brought  a  nemesis 
upon  them  for  their  misconduct  and  upon  which  the  writer  looks  back 


OBADIAH  xli 

with  satisfaction  (v.  7).  A  conquest  of  Edom  shortly  after  587  by  the 
Babylonians  with  whom  the  Edomites  had  co-operated  previously  would 
satisfy  Obadiah's  language  in  v.  7,  and  cannot  be  dismissed  as  impossible. 
Not  long  before  587  Edom  was  seemingly  leagued  with  Moab,  Ammon, 
Tyre,  and  Zidon  (see  Jer.  xxvii.  3,  6) ;  and  since,  according  to  Josephus 
(Ant.  x.  9,  §  7),  Moab  and  Ammon  were  subdued  by  the  Babylonian 
Nebuchadrezzar  when  he  invaded  Egypt  in  582,  five  years  after  his 
subjugation  of  Judah,  Edom  may  have  undergone  the  same  fate.  The 
absence,  however,  of  any  explicit  historic  evidence  that  Nebuchadrezzar 
invaded  and  spoiled  Edom  on  the  occasion  alluded  to  renders  this 
explanation  very  doubtful.  Much  more  may  be  said  in  favour  of  the 
view  which  identifies  the  calamity  suffered  by  Edom  with  some  phase 
in  the  dispossession  of  its  people  by  the  Nabatseans,  who  were  in  occu- 
pation of  Edom  in  312  B.C.  (see  Diod.  Sic.  xix.  94).  The  Nabatseans  are 
described  as  Arabs  by  Josephus  (Ant.  i.  12,  §4,  xin.  1,  §2,  cf.  Strabo, 
xvi.  2,  §  34,  4,  §§  2,  21);  and  the  terms  applied  in  Ob.  7  to  the  assailants 
of  Edom  would  probably  be  as  appropriate  to  them  as  to  the  Baby- 
lonians. Their  establishment  at  Petra,  the  Edomite  capital,  at  the  date 
mentioned  is  likely  to  have  involved  the  expulsion  of  large  numbers  of 
the  native  inhabitants.  At  the  time  when  the  book  of  Malachi  was 
composed  (circ.  450B.C.)  Edom  had  already  undergone  desolation  (see 
Mai.  i.  3,  4) ;  and  though  the  devastators  of  the  country  are  not  named, 
it  is  probable  that  they  were  the  Arabian  people  just  referred  to.  If 
this  identification  is  correct,  it  is  clear  that  the  Edomites  had  already 
suffered  from  the  inroads  of  the  Nabataeans  by  the  middle  of  the  5th 
century.  And  the  condition  which  raids  would  produce  seems  adequate 
to  explain  the  language  in  which  the  calamity  experienced  by  the 
Edomites  is  described  by  Obadiah.  If  his  words  are  not  unduly  pressed, 
and  allowance  is  made  for  rhetoric,  his  description  is  scarcely  too  dark 
for  the  state  of  a  land  ravaged  by  marauders,  even  though  it  had  not 
permanently  passed  into  their  hands.  How  early  the  Nabataeans  had 
begun  to  raid  Edom  cannot  be  ascertained ;  but  there  are  indications 
that  the  Edomites  were  pushing  northwards  into  Judah  shortly  after 
587  (see  Ezek.  xxxv.  10,  xxxvi.  5).  This  movement  may  have  been  due  to 
hostile  pressure  already  driving  some  of  the  inhabitants  of  Edom  to 
seek  a  new  abode.  Knowledge  of  the  cause  that  forced  the  Edomites 
to  leave  their  own  country  could  not  fail  to  become  disseminated  among 
the  neighbouring  peoples;  and  to  a  Jewish  prophet  their  expulsion  from 
their  homes  would  seem  a  fit  requital  for  the  injury  which  no  long 
while  before  they  had  inflicted  on  their  neighbours.  There  thus  seems 


xlii  INTRODUCTION 

to  be  no  serious  difficulty  in  the  way  of  assigning  the  heart  of  the  book 
to  the  interval  between  587  and  the  date  of  Malachi  (the  middle  of  the 
5th  century),  though  it  is  quite  possible  that  it  may  have  been  com- 
posed during  the  half-century  following  Malachi. 

(Ill)  The  final  section  (w.  15%  16 — 21)  predicts  renewed  calamity 
for  Edom.  But  the  passage  differs  in  tenor  from  what  has  gone  before. 
In  the  previous  part  of  the  book  Edom  alone  is  in  mind,  but  here  the 
punishment  of  the  Edomites  is  viewed  as  an  episode  in  a  Divine  visi- 
tation upon  the  nations  at  large,  who  are  all  represented  as  destined 
to  drain  the  cup  of  Jehovah's  vengeance.  And  this  change  of  outlook, 
coupled  with  the  circumstance  that  the  2nd  pers.  sing,  is  here  replaced 
by  the  2nd  pers.  plural,  suggests  the  work  of  another  author.  This 
conclusion  is  confirmed  by  a  difference  in  style.  The  vigorous  and 
varied  diction  of  the  anterior  portion  of  the  book  gives  place  to  a 
much  less  impressive  phraseology ;  the  tone  is  less  animated  and  the 
figures  of  speech  are  trite.  The  spirit  in  which  the  author  writes  is 
less  that  of  a  Prophet  than  of  an  Apocalyptist.  The  situation,  too, 
in  which  the  section  was  written  differs  to  some  extent  from  that 
implied  previously.  When  it  was  composed,  the  Edomites  were  ap- 
parently settled  in  the  Negeb  (or  South)  of  Judah  and  were  a  source 
of  annoyance  to  their  Jewish  neighbours.  But  there  is  no  expectation 
of  punishment  impending  over  the  Edomite  wrongdoers  from  any 
contemporary  power :  the  writer  looks  for  retribution  to  fall  upon  them 
in  a  general  judgment  which  will  come  on  the  whole  heathen  world 
from  Jehovah,  and  after  which  the  exiles  of  both  branches  of  Israel 
will  regain  their  former  possessions,  and  consume,  like  a  fire,  their 
injurious  neighbours.  Any  precise  determination  of  the  date  is  un- 
fortunately precluded  by  the  absence  of  all  references  to  contemporary 
conditions  admitting  of  definite  identification.  The  one  supplied  by 
the  mention  of  Sepharad  as  a  locality  where  there  was  a  body  of  Jewish 
exiles  is  useless,  since  the  place  intended  is  extremely  doubtful.  The 
view  that  the  writer  has  in  mind  a  settlement  of  Jews  in  Lydia  and 
Phrygia  established  by  Antiochus  the  Great  (224 — 187),  as  related  by 
Josephus  (Ant.  xn.  3,  §  4),  and  that  the  section  consequently  was 
written  at  a  comparatively  late  date  in  the  Greek  period  is  difficult 
to  reconcile  with  the  inclusion  of  the  book  among  the  Twelve  Minor 
Prophets,  for  allusion  is  made  to  these  in  Ecclus.  xlix.  10,  so  that  the 
collection  must  have  been  completed  before  180  B.C.  and  the  separate 
books  in  it  written  still  earlier.  And  a  further  fact  opposed  to  this  late 
origin  is  the  circumstance  that  Ob.  is  probably  quoted  in  Joel,  for  in 


OBADIAH  xliii 

Joel  ii.  32  (Heb.  iii.  5)  the  words  "In  mount  Zion  and  in  Jerusalem  there 
shall  be  those  that  escape,  as  Jehovah  hath  said"  seem  to  be  a  citation 
of  the  prediction  in  Ob.  17,  "In  mount  Zion  there  shall  be  those  that 
escape."  If  really  so,  then  a  date  in  the  latter  half  of  the  Persian 
period,  perhaps  between  450  and  400  B.C.,  will  be  the  latest  to  which 
this  part  of  the  book  can  with  any  plausibility  be  attributed.  The 
writer  appears  to  include  himself  among,  or  at  least  to  be  in  contact 
with,  a  body  of  Israelites  referred  to  in  v.  20  (this  host  or  fortress), 
though  who  they  are  is  quite  obscure. 

Little  or  no  light  is  thrown  upon  the  date  of  Ob.  by  the  language 
in  which  it  is  written;  and  though  there  is  some  difference  of  style 
between  the  various  parts  of  it,  there  are  virtually  no  indications,  in 
the  words  or  forms  used  in  them,  that  they  were  composed  at  widely 
separated  periods.  There  are,  indeed,  certain  words  that  occur  only 
here,  or  are  very  rare,  or  are  used  here  in  a  sense  not  found  elsewhere. 
Such  are  (rocky)  clefts  (haghdvim),  hidden  treasures  (matsponim),  snare 
(mdzor),  slaughter  (ketel),  disaster  (noc/ier),  crossway  (perek),  swallow 
down  (lu').  But  a7ra£  Aeyo/zeva  are  met  with  in  most  books  of  the  O.T. ; 
and  of  the  rare  words  enumerated  above  ketel  is  the  only  one  that  is  at 
all  suggestive  of  a  late  period  in  the  Hebrew  language. 

It  will  be  convenient  to  summarize  here  the  conclusions  reached  in 
regard  to  the  probable  dates  of  the  several  divisions  of  the  book. 

I.  Verses  1 — 5,  eighth  century? 

II.  „      6 — 14,  15b,  middle  of  the  fifth  century. 

III.  „       15a,  16—21,  last  half  of  the  fifth  century. 

As  the  book  comprises  sections  seemingly  proceeding  from  three 
distinct  writers  separated  in  point  of  time,  it  is  uncertain  to  which  of 
them  the  name  Obadiah  properly  belongs.  If  it  is  worth  while  to  hazard 
a  conjecture,  it  is  perhaps  most  likely  that  the  book  is  called  after  the 
prophet  who  composed  the  portion  of  it  comprised  in  w.  6 — 14,  15b  and 
who  incorporated  the  prophecy  (w.  1 — 5)  of  a  predecessor;  and  to  whose 
own  work  there  was  afterwards  appended  an  oracle  delivered  at  a  sub- 
sequent date,  perhaps  by  a  Judsean  prophet  resident  somewhere  within 
the  former  territory  of  the  Ten  Tribes,  if  not  in  the  actual  neighbourhood 
of  Samaria  (see  p.  85). 


xliv  INTRODUCTION 

CHAPTER  IV. 

EDOM  AND  THE  EDOMITES. 

THE  region  to  which  the  name  Edom  was  especially  applied  was  the 
mountain-ridge,  red  in  colour,  called  Seir,  on  the  east  side  of  the 
Arabah,  i.e.  the  deep  gorge  that  extends  from  the  southern  extremity  of 
the  Dead  Sea  to  the  gulf  of  Akaba  (see  Gen.  xxxii.  3,  xxxvi.  8).    But 
at  the  time  of  the  Exodus  and  the  Wanderings  of  Israel  the  Edomites 
also  occupied  the  plateau  on  the  west  side  of  the  Arabah,  as  far  as 
Kadesh  (which  is  described  as  being  on  the  border  of  Edom  (Num. 
xx.  16,  JE)).    Hence  Edom  stood  in  the  way  of  any  approach  from  the 
Sinai  tic  peninsula  to  wards  the  country  east  of  the  Jordan ;  and  accordingly 
the  Israelites  collectively,  or  at  least  some  of  the  tribes,  had  to  compass 
the  Edomite  territory.    On  the  north  Edom  was  contiguous  to  Moab, 
being  separated  from  it  probably  by  the  Wddy-el-Ahsa,  which  is  usually, 
though  not  with  certainty,  identified  with  the  torrent  Zered  (Dt.  ii.  13). 
On  the  south  it  extended  to  the  northern  end  of  the  gulf  of  Akaba, 
where  Elath  served  as  a  port.    In  length  it  did  not  exceed  100  miles;  in 
breadth  its  limits  are  less  easily  defined,  but  its  greatest  extent  from  east 
to  west  probably  fell  considerably  short  of  50  miles,  and  it  doubtless 
varied  at  different  periods.     Its  physical  features   are  diversified. 
Though  Seir  consists  in  the  main  of  bare  cliffs,  which  rise  to  an  average 
elevation  of  2000  ft.,  these  are  cut  by  glens  and  ravines  capable  of  pro- 
ducing abundant  vegetation;  and  the  name  itself  ("hairy")  is  probably 
due  to  the  brushwood  covering  it.     "The  country  (writes  Professor 
Palmer)  is  extremely  fertile,  and  presents  a  favourable  contrast  to  the 
sterile  region  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  Arabah.    Goodly  streams  flow 
through  the  valleys,  which  are  filled  with  trees  and  flowers ;  while  on  the 
uplands  to  the  east,  rich  pasture  lands  and  cornfields  may  everywhere 
be  seen.    With  a  peaceful  and  industrious  population  it  might  become 
one  of  the  wealthiest,  as  it  is  certainly  one  of  the  most  picturesque, 
countries  in  the  world1."    Hence  it  is  possible  that  the  ambiguous 
language  of  Isaac's  Blessing  upon  Esau  in  Gen.  xxvii.  39 — 40,  which  is 
generally  regarded  as  descriptive  of  Edom,  is  to  be  understood  in  a  sense 
as  favourable  as  that  of  v.  28;  and  there  still  exist  many  traces  of 
former  cultivation.    On  the  other  hand,  at  the  present  day  the  con- 
dition of  the  country  exhibits  the  inevitable  result  of  insecurity  and 

1  Quoted  in  Harper,  The  Bible  and  Modern  Discoveries,  p.  343. 


OBADIAH  xlv 

neglect.  "  The  gifts  of  nature  are  lavished  in  vain,  and  what  little  corn 
the  half-savage  Fellahin  can  produce  serves  scarcely  any  other  purpose 
than  to  excite  the  cupidity  of  the  Bedawin."  In  ancient  times  the 
principal  towns  were  Sela  (or  Petra)  and  Bozrah  (the  modern  Busairah), 
whilst  others  that  are  mentioned  are  Dinhabah  and  Avith. 

The  people  that  inhabited  the  country  before  the  occupation  of  it  by 
the  Edomites  were  the  Horites  (Gen.  xiv.  6,  Dt.  ii.  12).     The  name  is 
generally  taken  to  mean  "  cave-dwellers,"  from  kor,  "  a  hole,"  though 
Sayce1  connects  it  with  the  root  hdvar,  "to  be  white,"  and  supposes  that 
it  designated  a  white  race  in  contrast  to  the  "red "-skinned  Edomites 
who  succeeded  them.    The  cliffs,  which  are  a  conspicuous  feature  of 
mount  Seir,  abound  in  caves ;   and  the  Horites  were  presumably  an 
aboriginal  race  that  had  in  these  their  dwellings.    They  were  subse- 
quently dispossessed  or  absorbed  by  the  Edomites,  whom   Hebrew 
traditions  represent  as  descended  from  Esau,  a  brother  of  their  own 
eponymous  ancestor  Israel  or  Jacob,  the  father  of  the  brothers  being 
Isaac,  the  son  of  Abraham.   It  is  not  necessary  to  consider  here  whether 
any  historic  personalities  lie  behind  these  names;  but  it  is  generally 
agreed  that  the  relationship  represented  as  subsisting  between  the 
patriarchs  that  figure  in  early  Hebrew  tradition  reflects  current  beliefs 
respecting  the  ties  of  kinship,  near  or  remote,  uniting  the  tribes  or 
peoples  reputed  to  have  sprung  from  them.     On  this  principle  the 
Israelites  were  more  closely  connected  with  the  Edomites  than  with  the 
Moabites  and  Ammonites,  for  whereas  the  two  latter  peoples  are  depicted 
as  sprung  from  Lot,  Abraham's  nephew,  Israel  and  Edom  are  both 
described  as  descended  from  Abraham's  son  Isaac.   Of  Isaac's  children, 
Esau,  the  traditional  progenitor  of  the  Edomites,  is  represented  as  the 
elder,  a  circumstance  probably  embodying   the   conviction   that  the 
Edomites  were  firmly  established  in  their  historic  home  in  mount  Seir 
before  the  Israelites  were  settled  in  Canaan.    The  belief  implied  in  the 
traditions  preserved  in  the  book  of  Genesis  that  Edom  was  more  nearly 
related  to  Israel  than  either  Moab  or  Ammon  finds  confirmation  in  the 
fact  that,  although  all  three  nations  were  generally  hostile  to  the 
Israelites,  yet  it  was  Edom  which  by  its  conduct  on  the  occasion  of  the 
Fall  of  Jerusalem  evoked  the  bitterest  resentment.    The  view  that  the 
tradition,  by  describing  Esau  as  the  elder  brother,  meant  to  imply  that 
the  Edomites  were  the  older  nation,  is  borne  out  by  the  notices  of  their 
early  history.  They  were  in  possession  of  mount  Seir  and  the  adjoining 

1  See  HCM.  p.  204. 


xlvi  INTRODUCTION 

district  on  the  west  of  the  Arabah  when  the  Israelites  were  yet  in  a 
nomadic  stage  of  civilization;  and  they  were  in  the  enjoyment  of  a 
settled  form  of  government  before  their  kinsmen  attained  to  such. 
They  appear  to  have  been  ruled  first  by  tribal  or  clan  chiefs  (termed  in 
the  R.  V.  dukes,  from  the  Vulg.  duces\  and  subsequently  by  kings.  These 
kings  can  scarcely  have  reigned  by  hereditary  right,  since,  in  the  list  of 
them  given  in  Gen.  xxxvi.  (if  this  is  trustworthy),  none  is  represented 
as  the  son  of  his  predecessor ;  and  it  is  possible  that  the  monarchy  was 
elective.  But  in  view  of  the  fact  that  a  succession  of  chiefs  both  pre- 
ceded and  followed  the  kings,  it  seems  more  likely  that  the  rule  of  a 
single  sovereign  was  dependent  upon  the  ability  of  some  particular  chief 
to  become  paramount  over  the  rest.  The  beginnings  of  monarchy  in 
Edom  seem  to  have  occurred  when  Israel  was  still  wandering  in  the 
desert,  if  importance  can  be  attached  to  the  circumstance  that  in  the 
"Song  of  Miriam,"  on  the  occasion  of  the  Exodus,  allusion  is  made  to 
the  "  chiefs  "  of  Edom,  whereas  when  the  Israelites  were  preparing  to 
enter  Canaan,  it  was  to  a  king  that  application  was  made  for  leave  to 
traverse  the  Edomite  territory.  But  though  Edom  reached  a  settled  con- 
dition before  Israel,  the  ancient  blessing  of  Isaac,  predicting  that  Esau 
should  live  by  his  sword,  probably  reflects  the  warlike  and  predatory 
habits  of  the  people,  who  depended  largely  for  their  support  upon  the 
chase  and  upon  plunder. 

As  regards  the  language  of  Edom  the  only  evidence  is  that  supplied 
by  the  few  names  of  persons  and  places  that  have  been  preserved. 
These  confirm  the  inference,  drawn  from  the  traditional  relationship 
subsisting  between  Edom  and  Israel,  that  it  resembled  Hebrew,  since 
most  of  the  names  admit  of  being  interpreted  from  Hebrew  roots. 

Of  the  religion  of  Edom  little  is  known.  Among  the  names  of 
Edomite  gods  mentioned  in  inscriptions  or  deduced  from  other  sources 
are  Hadad  (not  definitely  known  as  an  Edomite  deity,  but  inferred  to 
have  been  such  from  the  royal  names  Hadad  and  Benhadad  (cf. 
Benaiah}),  Kaush  (occurring  in  certain  seemingly  theophoric  names 
like  Kaush-malak,  Kaush-gabr)  and  Koze  (Jos.  Ant.  xv.  7,  §  9).  From 
the  proper  name  Obed-edom,  it  may  be  concluded  with  some  plausi- 
bility that  Edom  was  also  the  appellation  of  a  deity,  who  was  pre- 
sumably worshipped  by  the  Edomites;  but  there  appears  to  be  no 
independent  evidence  to  corroborate  the  conclusion.  The  occurrence  of 
various  animal  names  amongst  the  Edomites  in  Gen.  xxxvi.,  such  as 
Aiah  (vulture),  Achbor  (mouse),  and  Zibeon  (hyaena),  suggests  that 
there  once  prevailed  in  Edom  a  totemistic  stage  of  culture,  in  which 


OBADIAH  xlvii 

families  and  clans  were  believed  to  be  akin  to  certain  animals  after 
which  they  were  called  (see  p.  120). 

As  has  been  already  said,  the  occupation  of  mount  Seir  by  the 
Edomites  barred  the  way  of  Israel  when  the  latter,  either  in  whole  or 
in  part,  attempted  to  enter  Canaan  from  the  east.  The  sources  of  the 
Pentateuch  give  conflicting  accounts  of  the  relations  between  the  two 
peoples  on  the  occasion.  According  to  the  principal  narrative,  the 
Israelites  asked  for  leave  to  cross  Edom,  but  being  refused,  avoided 
any  violation  of  it  by  making  a  devour  to  the  south,  traversing  its 
western  border  as  far  as  the  head  of  the  gulf  of  Akaba,  and  then  turning 
northward  along  its  eastern  frontier  (Num.  xx.  14 — 21,  xxi.  4,  JE). 
But  there  are  other  passages  which  imply  no  such  circuit,  but  repre- 
sent the  Israelites  as  crossing  the  intervening  country  from  mount  Hor 
(probably  Jebel  Madurah,  N.  W.  of  Ain  Kadis)  to  the  borders  of  Moab  (see 
Num.  xxxiii.  37  f.,  P,  cf.  xxi.  4a,  10,  11,  P),  though  there  is  nothing 
to  decide  whether  they  are  conceived  as  having  done  this  by  permis- 
sion of  the  Edomites  or  whether  they  pursued  a  route  which  at  the 
time  was  outside  the  Edomite  territory.  During  the  conquest  of 
Canaan  and  the  period  of  the  Judges  nothing  is  recorded  of  the  re- 
lations between  the  two  peoples.  But  there  are  not  lacking  indications 
that  there  was  some  intermingling  between  them.  Othniel,  one  of  the 
earliest  Judges,  is  described  as  a  son  of  Kenaz,  and  the  latter  is  repre- 
sented as  a  grandson  of  Esau.  The  Kenizzites  were  settled  in  Judah, 
the  Chronicler  appearing  to  reckon  Kenaz  among  the  descendants  of 
Judah  (1  Ch.  iv.  13,  15);  and  as  there  is  reason  to  think  that  Judah 
entered  Canaan  not  from  the  east  but  from  the  south,  it  is  probable 
that  there  was  some  intermixture  between  Israelite  and  Edomite  clans 
during  the  wanderings  of  the  former  in  the  wilderness.  After  kingly 
government  was  established  in  Israel  and  the  people  began  to  increase 
in  strength  and  to  extend  their  borders,  it  was  inevitable  that  grounds 
of  quarrel  should  arise  between  them  and  their  neighbours.  The  Medi- 
terranean seaboard  was  closed  by  the  Philistines  (p.  82) ;  and  if  the 
Israelites  were  to  possess  a  port,  it  was  on  the  Red  Sea  littoral  that 
they  had  to  find  it.  Hence  a  protracted  struggle,  marked  by  varying 
fortune,  ensued  between  the  two  nations.  Saul  is  recorded  to  have 
been  successful  over  Edom  (1  Sam.  xiv.  47);  and  the  country  was  sub- 
jugated by  his  successor  David  (2  Sam.  viii.  13,  mg.,  1  Ch.  xviii.  11,  12). 
A  great  victory  was  obtained  in  the  Valley  of  Salt  (presumably  the 
plain  immediately  to  the  south  of  the  Dead  Sea)  and  the  country  was 
garrisoned.  But  the  success  of  Joab,  David's  general,  cannot  have 


xlviii  INTRODUCTION 

been  as  great  as  is  represented  in  1  Kgs.  xi.  15,  16,  where  he  is 
alleged  to  have  exterminated  the  Edomite  male  population;  for  the 
Edomites  even  in  the  next  reign  seem  to  have  given  much  trouble  to 
the  conquerors.  Hadad,  of  the  Edomite  royal  house,  who  had  married 
an  Egyptian  princess,  after  having  taken  refuge  in  Egypt  during  the 
invasion  of  his  country  in  David's  reign,  returned  when  Solomon 
ascended  the  Israelite  throne,  and  (according  to  1  Kgs.  xi.  25,  LXX.) 
became  king  of  Edom.  But  Solomon  (who  included  Edomite  women 
in  his  harem)  was  able  to  retain  Ezion-geber,  a  port  on  the  gulf  of 
Akaba,  and  was  then  in  a  position  to  take  part  in  the  profitable  trade 
to  Ophir  (variously  considered  to  have  been  situated  on  the  east  coast 
of  Africa,  in  S.E.  Arabia  (cf.  Gen.  x.  29),  in  India,  or  even  in  the 
Malay  peninsula) ;  and  it  seems  probable  that  Hadad's  restoration  to 
the  throne  of  Edom  did  not  secure  for  the  country  complete  independ- 
ence. After  the  disruption  of  the  Hebrew  kingdom,  Judah  succeeded 
in  maintaining  suzerainty  over  Edom  for  some  period.  According  to 
1  Kgs.  xxii.  47  there  was  no  king  in  Edom  during  the  reign  of  Jeho- 
shaphat  (who,  like  Solomon,  made  use  of  Ezion-geber)  and  the  land 
was  governed  by  a  deputy.  In  the  reign  of  Jehoram,  however,  Edom 
seems  once  more  to  have  had  a  native  ruler,  for  an  Edomite  king  took 
part  in  the  war  conducted  by  Ahab  of  Israel  and  Jehoram  against 
Moab  (2  Kgs.  iii.  9);  but  he  was  probably  at  the  time  a  vassal.  Later 
in  Jehoram's  reign  the  Edomites  recovered  their  independence  (2  Kgs. 
viii.  20 — 22),  but  they  seem  to  have  been  unable  to  eject  the  Judasans 
from  Elath,  a  port  a  little  to  the  south  of  Ezion-geber ;  and  it  was  not 
until  the  reign  of  Ahaz  that  it  was  regained  for  them  by  Rezin  of 
Syria  (2  Kgs.  xvi.  6b  mg.).  According  to  the  Chronicler  (2  Ch.  xxviii.  17), 
the  Edomites  took  advantage  of  the  attack  of  Rezin  upon  Ahaz  to 
invade  the  southern  borders  of  Judah  and  carry  away  captives.  The 
struggle  for  national  freedom  which  this  history  implies  was  doubtless 
marked  by  much  savagery,  and  the  prophet  Amos  denounces  Edom 
for  its  relentlessness  (Am.  i.  11).  The  Edomites  not  only  pursued  their 
own  wars  mercilessly,  but  bought  captive  Judaean  slaves  from  the 
neighbouring  Philistines  (Am.  i.  6).  Their  conflict  with  Judah  did 
not  cease  with  the  acquisition  of  their  independence  in  the  reign  of 
Jehoram,  for  the  Judaean  king  Amaziah,  about  fifty  years  later, 
attempted  to  reconquer  the  country,  inflicted  a  severe  defeat  upon  its 
people,  and  captured  Sela,  which  he  called  Joktheel.  Elath,  as  has  been 
said,  still  remained  in  Judsean  hands  and  must  have  been  accessible 
from  Judah  by  a  secure  road,  if  it  was  to  be  of  any  value;  so  that 


OBADIAH  xlix 

possibly  the  part  of  Edom  which  had  effectually  thrown  off  Judsean 
authority  was  small.  But  with  the  loss  of  Elath  in  the  reign  of  Ahaz 
Judaean  sovereignty  over  Edom  seems  to  have  come  to  an  end;  and 
even  Hezekiah,  though  he  was  stronger  than  his  father,  is  not  recorded 
to  have  attempted  the  re- subjugation  of  the  country.  In  point  of  fact 
all  the  small  Palestinian  states  were  now  menaced  by  Assyria ;  and  the 
names  of  Edomite  kings  appear  with  those  of  others  in  the  cuneiform 
inscriptions  who  paid  tribute  to  Assyrian  rulers.  Kaush-malak  was 
tributary  to  Tiglath-Pileser  III  (744—727),  Malik-ram  to  Sennacherib 
(705—681),  and  Kaush-gabr  to  Esarhaddon  (681—668)  and  Asshur- 
banipal  (668—626). 

It  might  have  been  expected  that  a  common  danger  would  have 
lessened  the  animosity  prevailing  between  two  nearly-allied  peoples; 
but  such  was  not  the  case  when  the  Babylonians,  having  aided  in  the 
destruction  of  the  Assyrian  empire  in  612,  attacked  Judah  early  in 
the  following  century.  Although  the  menace  from  Babylon  led  for  a 
moment  to  an  attempt  on  the  part  of  Edom  and  others  of  the  states 
bordering  on  Judah  to  form  a  coalition  with  the  latter  for  combined 
defence  (Jer.  xxvii.  3),  nothing  was  effected;  and  when  in  587  Nebu- 
chadrezzar, the  king  of  Babylon,  took  Jerusalem,  the  Edomites  not 
only  manifested  the  utmost  satisfaction  at  the  overthrow  of  their 
neighbours,  but,  according  to  the  statements  of  Judaean  writers,  behaved 
with  great  barbarity  to  the  unhappy  Jews,  sharing  both  in  the  plunder 
of  the  city  and  in  the  slaughter  of  its  citizens.  Their  conduct  on  this 
occasion  made  an  abiding  impression  on  the  surviving  Jewish  people ; 
predictions  of  calamity  for  Edom  and  the  Edomites  are  frequent  in 
post-exilic  prophecies  (3  Is.  Ixiii.  1 — 6,  Joel  iii.  19,  Mai.  i.  4);  and  even 
the  author  of  Ecclus.,  writing  about  180  B.C.,  displays  his  hatred  for 
them,  if  the  Heb.  of  1.  26  (see  mg.)  preserves  a  correct  reading.  And 
not  only  did  the  Edomites  exult  over  the  Fall  of  Jerusalem,  but  they 
occupied  part  of  the  territory  of  Judah,  settling  in  the  Negeb  (or 
South)  and  taking  possession  of  Hebron,  which  remained  in  their  hands 
(whether  continuously  or  not,  does  not  appear)  until  the  time  of 
the  Maccabees.  Their  inroad  into  the  south  of  Judah,  however,  was 
probably  due  to  disasters  of  their  own.  The  Nabatseans  (see  p.  xli) 
are  related  by  Diodorus  Siculus  (xix.  98)  to  have  been  in  occupation  of 
Petra  in  312  B.C.  ;  and  this  seizure  of  their  capital  must  have  resulted 
in  the  withdrawal  of  numbers  of  Edomites  from  their  own  country  into 
neighbouring  lands;  amongst  which  Judah,  now  thinly  populated, 
would  offer  many  advantages  as  a  place  of  refuge.  Here  they  remained 

w.  d 


1  INTRODUCTION 

until  the  rise  of  the  Maccabees  and  the  renewal  of  a  warlike  spirit 
among  the  Jews,  when  they  were  expelled  from  the  places  which  they 
had  seized.  Judas  Maccabeus  inflicted  a  severe  defeat  upon  them  at 
Akrabattine  (in  the  neighbourhood  of  the  ascent  of  Akrabbim,  south 
of  the  Dead  Sea)  and  likewise  attacked  them  successfully  at  Hebron 
(1  Mace.  v.  3,  65).  John  Hyrcanus  in  128  B.C.  drove  them  from  Adora 
and  Mareshah  (Jos.  Ant.  xm.  9,  §  1,  B.  J.  I.  2,  §  6),  and  so  completely 
subjugated  them  that  he  was  able  to  impose  upon  them  acceptance  of 
the  Jewish  Law  and  the  rite  of  circumcision.  Edom  thus  became 
amalgamated  with  Judah;  and  it  was  by  a  family  of  Edomite  origin 
that  the  Jews  were  eventually  ruled.  This  was  the  house  of  Herod, 
which  first  became  prominent  under  Antipater,  who  was  made  governor 
of  Edom  (called  in  Greek  Idumcea)  by  Alexander  Jannseus  (104 — 78). 
His  son,  likewise  named  Antipater,  was  appointed  procurator  of  Judaea 
by  Julius  Csesar,  and  was  the  father  of  Herod  the  Great.  The  latter 
was  made  king  of  Judsea  by  the  Roman  senate;  and  after  Actium 
(39  B.C.)  received  from  Octavianus  an  extension  of  his  dominions  by 
the  inclusion  of  Trachonitis.  One  of  his  sons,  Herod  Antipas,  became, 
under  his  father's  will,  tetrarch  of  Galilee  and  Persea,  and  married  a 
daughter  of  Aretas,  king  of  Arabia  Petrcea  (the  title  by  which  the 
kingdom  of  Edom  was  known  to  the  Romans).  The  country  was  de- 
vastated by  Simon  of  Gerasa  shortly  before  the  siege  of  Jerusalem  by 
Titus  (Jos.  Ant.  xvi.  8,  §  5 ;  14,  §  4 ;  xvm.  2,  §  1 ;  B.  J.  iv.  9,  §  7).  Its 
independence  came  to  an  end  in  105A.D.,  when  the  Roman  emperor 
Trajan  reduced  it  to  a  province,  its  capital  Petra  being  re-named 
Hadriana  (after  Hadrian,  the  general  who  captured  it,  and  who  became 
Trajan's  successor). 


INTRODUCTION  TO  JOEL. 

CHAPTER  I. 

THE  TITLE  AND  CONTENTS. 

THE  book  of  Joel  affords  little  information  respecting  its  author. 
The  name  is  not  rare1,  and  is  usually  interpreted  to  mean  "Jehovah  is 
God,"  being  related  to  Elijah  ("My  God  is  Jehovah")  as  Joab  ("Je- 
hovah is  father")  is  to  Abijah.  But  though  the  name  must  have  had 
for  Jews  the  significance  stated,  it  is  questionable  whether  this  was  its 
original  meaning,  since  the  occurrence  of  it  in  certain  Phoenician  inscrip- 
tions throws  some  doubt  on  its  connection  with  Jehovah2.  Nothing  is 
known  concerning  the  prophet;  and  the  only  information  obtainable 
about  the  period  in  Hebrew  history  which  witnessed  his  prophetic 
activity  has  to  be  inferred  from  the  internal  evidence  of  the  book. 
Even  the  precise  form  of  his  father's  name  is  uncertain,  since  the  Hebrew 
gives  it  as  Pethuel,  whereas  the  Versions  have  Bethuel*  or  Bathuel 
(see  p.  88).  He  is  said  by  Epiphauius  to  have  belonged  to  the  tribe 
of  Reuben ;  but  he  must  in  any  case  have  been  a  resident  at  Jerusalem, 
and  was  identified  with  its  interests  (ii.  1,  15,  23,  iii.  1,  16,  17,  20), 
since  he  not  only  repeatedly  refers  to  that  city,  but  also  speaks  of  the 
offerings  made  in  the  Temple,  and  of  the  ministrations  of  the  priests 
there.  Where  the  term  Israel  occurs  in  the  book  (as  in  ii.  27,  iii.  2,  16), 
it  clearly  refers  to  Judah. 

The  occasion  of  the  prophecy  which  the  book  contains  was  the 
appearance  in  the  land  of  extensive  flights  of  locusts,  accompanied  by 
extreme  drought,  the  two  together  involving  an  unprecedented  destruc- 
tion of  vegetation,  and  consequent  scarcity  and  distress  for  both  man 
and  beast.  Through  the  ravages  of  the  locusts  the  harvest,  the  vintage, 
and  the  other  products  of  the  soil  were  consumed;  the  supply  of  food 
for  the  support  of  life,  and  of  cereal  and  wine  offerings  for  the  service 
of  religion,  was  cut  off ;  and  the  devastation  of  the  crops,  the  trees,  and 
the  herbage  caused  by  successive  swarms  of  the  insects  for  several  years 

1  It  is  the  appellation  of  at  least  a  dozen  different  persons  in  the  O.T.:   see 
(1)  1  Sam.  viii.  2  (1  Ch.  vi.  33),  (2)  1  Ch.  iv.  35,  (3)  1  Ch.  v.  4,  (4)  1  Ch.  v.  12, 
(5)  1  Ch.  vii.  3,  (6)  1  Ch.  xi.  38,  (7)  1  Ch.  xxvii.  20,  (8)  Ezra  x.  43,  (9)  Neh.  xi.  9, 
(10)  1  Ch.  vi.  36,  but  see  mg.,  (11)  1  Ch.  xv.  7,  11,  (12)  2  Ch.  xxix.  12. 

2  See  Oxford  Heb.  Lex.  p.  222:  cf.  Gray,  Heb.  Proper  Names,  p.  153. 
8  Cf.  Gen.  xxii.  23. 


lii  INTRODUCTION 

(ii.  25)  had  been  augmented  by  a  deficiency  of  the  usual  rain.  This 
calamitous  situation  drew  from  the  prophet  counsel  for  the  people's 
need.  Interpreting  the  visitation  as  a  prelude  to,  or  perhaps  as  a  phase 
of,  Jehovah's  Judgment  Day,  he  urged  his  countrymen  to  seek,  by  sincere 
repentance  and  every  token  of  contrition,  to  prevail  upon  their  God  to 
save  them  from  the  worst,  and  so  preserve  His  worshippers  from  becoming 
the  scorn  of  the  heathen  (ii.  17,  mg.). 

The  book  falls  into  three  parts.  The  first  section  (i.  2 — ii.  17)  consists 
of  a  description  of  the  sufferings  of  the  country  and  of  the  resistless 
advance  of  the  locusts,  followed  by  the  appeal  of  the  prophet  to  both 
priests  and  people  to  make  supplication  to  Jehovah  to  spare  them. 
This  first  section  is  separated  from  the  next  by  a  brief  narrative  (ii.  18, 
19a),  which  is  followed  by  a  second  address  from  the  prophet  (ii.  19b — 27). 
Between  ii.  17  and  the  succeeding  verse  an  interval  of  time  must  be 
supposed  to  have  elapsed,  during  which  Jehovah's  acceptance  of  His 
people's  prayer  has  been  manifested  by  a  turn  for  the  better  in  their 
position.  He  has  already  sent  rain :  and  in  the  second  section  (ii.  19b — 27) 
the  prophet  conveys  God's  promise  that  the  locusts  will  be  removed, 
and  comforts  the  afflicted  community  with  the  prospect  of  such  ample 
upplies  of  corn  and  other  fruits  of  the  earth  as  will  make  good  what 
the  insects  had  devoured.  Upon  this  second  section,  which  is  limited 
to  assurances  of  physical  blessings,  there  ensues  a  third  (ii.  28 — iii.  21 
(Heb.  iii.  1 — iv.  21))  containing  predictions  that  at  some  later  date 
Jehovah's  material  bounty  will  be  followed  by  the  gift  of  His  Spirit,  in 
virtue  of  which  all  classes  of  the  people  will  become  prophets.  This  will 
be  a  sign,  amongst  others,  of  the  imminence  of  the  judgment,  from 
which  those  who  shall  invoke  His  name  (i.e.  the  Jews)  are  to  be  saved 
in  Jerusalem,  but  which  will  be  executed  upon  the  heathen.  After  the 
recall  of  those  Jews  who  are  still  in  exile,  all  nations  will  be  brought 
together  and  be  judged  by  God  in  the  vicinity  of  Jerusalem  for  their 
treatment  of  Judah  and  its  population.  The  Phoenicians  and  Philistines, 
in  particular,  because  they  have  sold  Jewish  captives  as  slaves,  will  them- 
selves be  enslaved.  The  nations  in  general,  assembled  in  the  valley  of 
Jehoshaphat,  will  there  be  trampled  by  Jehovah's  hosts  like  grapes  in  a 
winepress.  Such  an  issue  will  confirm  the  faith  of  the  Jews  in  their 
God  and  in  the  future  inviolability  of  their  country.  The  fertility  of  its 
most  barren  localities  will  be  ensured;  Egypt  and  Edom  are  to  be 
doomed  to  desolation  for  violence  committed  on  the  Jews ;  and  Zion 
will  become  Jehovah's  dwelling-place.  With  this  section  the  book 
closes. 


JOEL  liii 

Though  there  is  a  break  after  ii.  17  which  implies  the  lapse  of 
an  interval,  the  most  important  division  of  the  book  occurs  at  ii.  27, 
where  there  is  a  change  of  subject-matter,  so  that  the  book  falls  into 
two  main  halves,  each  with  an  interest  of  its  own.  The  first  half, 
i.  2 — ii.  27,  is  concerned  solely  with  the  disasters  occasioned  by  the 
locusts,  with  Jehovah's  promise  to  remove  the  plague,  and  with  His 
assurance  of  renewed  fertility  for  the  land,  and  material  blessings  for 
its  people.  But  in  ii.  28 — iii.  21  the  subject  is  exclusively  a  universal 
judgment,  resulting  in  the  deliverance  and  felicity  of  the  Jews  and  the 
punishment  of  the  heathen  who  have  maltreated  them.  But  though  the 
two  halves  are  thus  contrasted  in  respect  of  their  subject-matter,  there 
is  no  real  severance  between  them.  The  spiritual  endowment  of  the 
Jews  pre-announced  in  ii.  28 — 29  is  the  counterpart  of  the  material 
plenty  foretold  in  ii.  19—27  (note  afterward,  v.  28).  And  all  through 
the  section  relating  to  the  locust-plague  (i.  2 — ii.  17)  the  locusts  are 
represented  as  forerunners  of  the  Judgment  Day,  and  their  devastation 
of  the  land  of  Israel  is  described  as  accompanied  by  all  the  terrifying 
portents  in  nature  that  are  destined  to  attend  the  predicted  annihila- 
tion of  the  heathen  (cf.  ii.  lb,  2,  10,  11  with  ii.  31,  iii.  15,  16).  Such 
portents  in  the  account  of  the  locusts  cannot  be  satisfactorily  explained 
as  due  to  features  noticeable  in  connection  with  the  actual  movements 
of  these  insects,  for  though  they  constitute  a  very  serious  plague,  they 
are  not  an  unusual  one  in  Palestine  (cf.  Dt.  xxviii.  38,  1  Kgs.  viii.  37, 
Am.  iv.  9).  There  are,  indeed,  present  in  the  prophet's  narrative  traits 
which,  though  startling,  doubtless  reflect  a  real  experience  of  a  locust- 
plague  (e.g.  ii.  3,  5,  6).  Travellers  relate  that  flights  of  locusts  are 
sometimes  so  extensive  that  they  even  obscure  the  sky.  But  the  shaking 
of  earth  and  heaven,  the  pealing  of  thunder,  and  the  withdrawal  of  the 
light  of  the  sun,  moon,  and  stars  cannot  be  thus  explained.  And  the  fact 
that  the  same  features  figure  both  in  a  description  of  a  destructive  swarm 
of  locusts  and  in  a  prediction  of  a  comprehensive  judgment  executed 
upon  the  assembled  heathen  nations,  thus  bringing  into  relation  with 
one  another  two  events  which  to  modern  minds  are  incommensurate, 
has  occasioned  a  very  serious  difficulty  in  the  interpretation  of  the  book, 
of  which  a  solution  has  been  sought  in  various  ways. 


liv  INTRODUCTION 

CHAPTER  II. 

THE  INTERPRETATION  OF  THE  BOOK. 

OF  the  two  subjects  with  which  the  book  is  concerned,  a  disastrous 
plague  of  locusts  in  Palestine,  and  a  Divine  judgment  upon  the  whole 
heathen  world,  the  first  is  represented  as  actually  being  experienced 
when  the  work  opens,  and  is  looked  back  upon  as  past,  as  the  book 
proceeds,  whilst  the  second  is  still  in  the  future,  and  its  occurrence 
only  predicted;  yet  the  two  are  described  in  such  similar  language, 
that  they  appear  to  be  successive  stages  of  one  process,  the  first  as  well 
as  the  second  realizing  the  terrors  of  the  day  of  Jehovah.  From  the 
terms  used  in  ii.  1,  2,  indeed,  the  locusts  might  be  taken  to  be  mere 
precursors  of  the  Day  of  Jehovah,  with  its  accompaniment  of  gloom  and 
darkness,  thunder  and  earthquake;  but  in  ii.  10, 11  the  same  portentous 
signs  in  nature  attend  the  locusts  as  are  manifest  when  the  heathen  are 
gathered  for  their  doom  in  the  Valley  of  Decision  (iii.  15,  16,  cf.  ii.  31). 
The  fact  that  two  events  seemingly  so  different  in  character  and  im- 
portance are  thus  co-ordinated  and  treated  as  though  they  were  on  the 
same  plane  has  been  accounted  for  in  different  ways. 

Formerly  attempts  were  made  to  lessen  the  unnaturalness  of  painting 
in  the  same  colours  a  destructive  locust-plague  and  the  final  judgment 
upon  the  heathen,  by  interpreting  the  locusts  allegorically.  The  suc- 
cessive swarms  of  locusts  were  explained  as  denoting  successive  invasions 
of  heathen  enemies;  and  since  four  distinct  names  are  used  for  the 
locusts,  they  were  taken  to  represent  either  assaults  upon  Palestine  by 
four  different  nations1,  or  four  assaults  at  different  times  by  the  same 
nation2.  Support  for  this  view  that  the  locusts  are  figures  for  hostile 
hosts  was  obtained  from  (a)  the  circumstance  that  the  locusts  are 
actually  described  as  a  nation  and  a  people  (i.  6,  ii.  2) ;  (b)  the  fact 
that  they  are  termed  Jehovah's  army  and  camp  (ii.  11,  25);  (c)  the 
charge  preferred  against  them  of  overweening  conduct,  with  its  implica- 
tion of  moral  accountability  (ii.  20,  end) ;  (d)  the  epithet  the  northerner 
(ii.  20)  applied  to  them,  for  whereas  locusts  rarely  come  to  Palestine 
from  a  northerly  direction  (since  the  chief  breeding-ground  of  the 

1  In  the  margin  of  Codex  Marchalianus  (6th  century)  of  the  LXX.  there  is  a  note 
to  ii.  25  explaining  the  four  names  for  locusts  there  given  as  standing  for  Alytiimot, 
Ea.pv\6viot,'A.<T<rijp<.oi,"E\\'r]V€s,*PutJ(.aioi,ibe  Assyrians  and  Babylonians  being  perhaps 
reckoned  together. 

3  Hilgenfeld  took  the  four  swarms  to  represent  Persian  invasions  (1)  under 
Cambyses,  525 ;  (2)  under  Xerxes,  484 ;  (3)  and  (4)  under  Artaxerxes  I,  460—458 
(see  Van  Hoonacker,  Les  Dome  Petits  Prophetes,  p.  133). 


JOEL  Iv 

swarms  that  devastate  Western  Asia  is  Arabia,  whence  they  are  carried 
to  Palestine  by  southerly  winds),  it  was  from  the  north  that  the  expected 
advance  of  the  nations  hostile  to  Israel  was  looked  for  (Jer.  i.  14,  Ezek. 
xxxviii.  6,  15,  xxxix.  2);  (e)  a  possible  translation  of  ii.  17  as  given  in 
the  R.V.  text,  which  interprets  it  as  a  prayer  that  the  nations  may  not 
rule  over  Jehovah's  people ;  (/)  the  magnitude  of  the  terror  and  destruc- 
tion caused  by  them,  exceeding  the  results  produced  by  real  locusts ; 
(g)  the  connection  of  the  scourge  with  the  day  of  Jehovah,  which  else- 
where is  often  associated  with  the  invasion  of  Israel  by  hostile  forces. 
But  such  an  allegorical  explanation  is  totally  inconsistent  with  the 
natural  significance  of  the  writer's  language.  That  the  locusts  are 
meant  to  be  understood  as  real  locusts  and  not  as  human  invaders 
appears  from  the  facts  (a)  that  they  are  compared  to  an  invading  army, 
and  therefore  must  be  really  distinct  from  such ;  (b)  that  the  damage 
which  they  inflict  is  wrought  solely  through  the  destruction  of  vege- 
tation; (c)  that  the  comparison  of  their  entry  into  the  city  to  that  of 
a  thief,  though  suitable  for  a  swarm  of  locusts  penetrating  into  houses 
through  the  windows,  is  inappropriate  for  a  victorious  host;  (d)  that 
the  manner  of  their  destruction  (ii.  20)  is  one  which  is  not  uncommon 
in  the  case  of  locusts  (cf.  Ex.  x.  19),  but  is  unnatural  in  the  case  of 
soldiers;  (e)  that  the  calamity  occasioned  by  them  is  repaired  by  the 
revival  of  vegetation  and  the  renewal  of  bountiful  harvests;  (./ )  that 
the  Hebrew  of  ii.  17  admits  of  a  different  rendering  (see  mg.).  The 
writer,  indeed,  depicting  them  poetically,  invests  them  with  certain 
human  qualities,  and  even  (if  the  last  clause  of  ii.  20  is  genuine,  see 
p.  105)  ascribes  to  them  human  responsibility.  But  human  qualities  are 
often  attributed  to  the  lower  creatures  by  Hebrew  writers  (as  well  as 
by  others),  see  Job  xxxix.  7,  22,  xl.  23;  and  it  cannot  seriously  be 
doubted  that  Joel  has  in  his  mind  not  men  but  insects,  which,  though 
personified  and  likened  to  warriors,  are  meant  to  be  understood  literally. 
And  though  there  is  an  element  of  hyperbole  in  his  language,  yet  much 
of  it  is  extraordinarily  true  to  experience.  Accordingly,  the  violence 
that  is  felt  to  be  done  to  the  plain  sense  of  the  book  by  the  allegorical 
interpretation  has  led  to  another  view,  which  maintains  that  whilst  the 
locusts  are  intended  to  signify  insects,  they  signify  not  ordinary  but 
supernatural  locusts,  agents  designed  to  take  part  in  the  execution  of 
the  Divine  judgment  in  the  Day  of  Jehovah  (cf.  Rev.  ix.  3 — 11).  But 
this  explanation  is  a  desperate  expedient,  and  can  only  be  justified  if 
failure  attends  all  other  methods  of  rendering  intelligible  the  relation 
of  the  locusts  to  the  great  and  terrible  Day. 


Ivi  INTRODUCTION 

More  recently  it  has  been  sought  to  cut  the  knot  by  a  process  of 
critical  analysis.  One  solution  dissects  the  book  into  two  different 
works  occupied  with  distinct  subjects,  each  part  being  the  production 
of  a  separate  author.  A  second  solution  is  found  in  the  hypothesis 
that  the  book  consists  of  two  originally  disconnected  parts  of  a  single 
work,  both  proceeding,  in  the  main,  from  the  author  whose  name  the 
book  bears,  but  differing  in  subject-matter;  and  that  the  first  has  been 
assimilated  to  the  second  by  a  number  of  interpolations  designed  to 
interpret  the  locust-plague,  which  it  describes,  in  the  light  of  the  com- 
prehensive judgment  predicted  in  the  latter  half  of  the  book.  Instances 
of  such  supposed  interpolations  are  i.  15,  ii.  lb,  2a,  6,  10,  11  (cf.  iii. 
14 — 16).  These  verses  or  parts  of  verses  contain  parallels  with  other 
books ;  and  this  fact  has  also  been  held  to  favour  the  view  that  they 
are  insertions. 

The  question  whether  the  features  of  the  work  really  require  either 
its  partition,  or  the  less  disruptive  hypothesis  of  extensive  interpolation, 
is  considered  in  the  next  chapter.  The  parallels  between  Joel  and  other 
O.T.  writings,  with  the  inferences  to  be  drawn  from  them  with  regard 
to  priority,  are  reserved  for  discussion  in  ch.  iv.  in  connection  with  the 
date.  If  it  can  be  shewn  that  the  priority  probably  rests  not  with  Joel 
but  with  the  other  writings  that  are  compared  with  it,  it  need  not 
follow  that  the  passages  in  Joel  have  been  introduced  by  an  editor; 
they  may  reflect  the  influence  of  the  earlier  compositions  upon  the 
author  himself.  There  is,  however,  in  the  book  one  group  of  verses, 
viz.  iii.  4 — 8  (Heb.  iv.  4 — 8),  the  authenticity  of  which  is  suspected 
for  reasons  of  a  special  nature ;  and  the  arguments  against  its  genuine- 
ness have  considerable  weight  (see  p.  Ix). 

CHAPTER  III. 

THE  UNITY  OF  THE  BOOK. 

THE  disparity  in  importance  between  the  subjects  of  the  two  halves 
of  the  book,  and  the  occurrence  in  i.  2 — ii.  27  (where  the  main  interest 
is  the  scarcity  caused  by  the  locusts)  of  expressions  which  appear 
appropriate  only  to  the  catastrophe  that  is  to  overtake  the  heathen 
nations  as  predicted  in  ii.  28 — iii.  21,  have  led  (as  has  been  seen)  to 
the  denial  of  its  unity  (i.  2 — ii.  27  being  the  original  work  by  a  pre-exilic 
author  and  ii.  28 — iii.  21  being  a  supplement  by  a  post-exilic  writer1), 

1  See  Driver,  LOT.6  p.  311,  note. 


JOEL  Mi 

or  to  a  theory  of  interpolations.  Consideration,  however,  of  the  place 
which  dearth  occupies  amongst  Divine  judgments  in  the  O.T.,  and  of 
the  way  in  which  the  term  the  day  of  Jehovah  is  employed  in  the  pro- 
phetic writings,  will  shew  that  the  two  sections  of  the  book  are  not  as 
irreconcilable  as  is  represented.  The  similarity  in  the  treatment  of  the 
subject-matter  of  the  two  parts  becomes  intelligible  if  the  conditions  of 
Eastern  life  at  the  time  are  adequately  appreciated,  and  if  the  writer's 
language  is  not  interpreted  in  too  prosaic  and  literal  a  fashion. 

In  a  country  and  in  an  age  in  which  external  trade  cannot  have  been 
highly  developed,  and  in  which  facilities  for  the  transport  of  commodities 
from  abroad  must  have  been  meagre,  any  occurrence  which  diminished 
or  destroyed  the  harvest  was  bound  to  wear  a  serious  aspect.  Amongst 
a  people  to  whom  anything  unusual  presented  itself  as  a  direct  interven- 
tion of  the  Deity,  a  succession  of  locust  swarms,  occasioning  complete 
failure  of  the  crops,  must  have  inevitably  appeared  to  be  a  Divine 
judgment  upon  the  nation  for  its  offences.  And  the  light  in  which  such 
a  chastisement  was  regarded,  and  the  gravity  of  the  affliction  which  it 
involved,  can  be  judged  not  only  by  the  prominence  given  to  instances 
of  dearth  in  the  historical  books  (Gen.  xli.  54,  2  Kgs.  iv.  38,  Neh.  v.  3), 
but  also  from  the  inclusion  of  it  in  the  list  of  Jehovah's  four  sore 
judgments  in  Ezek.  xiv.  12 — 23.  From  all  of  these — sword,  famine,  wild 
beasts,  and  pestilence — the  land  of  Judah  was  liable  to  suffer  during  the 
period  prior  to  the  Exile.  But  from  that  event  onwards  Judah  for  many 
centuries  enjoyed  no  national  independence,  being  incorporated  within 
the  dominions  of  a  great  empire,  first  Babylon,  and  afterwards  Persia, 
under  whose  rule,  though  it  was  humiliated,  it  was  practically  free  from 
hostile  ravage.  Accordingly  the  sword  was  no  longer  to  be  feared  in 
the  same  degree  as  during  the  pre-exilic  age ;  and  by  the  diminution, 
if  not  the  elimination,  of  this  source  of  danger,  with  its  attendant  evils 
of  carnage  and  rapine,  the  calamities  of  famine  and  pestilence  to  which 
the  country  continued  to  be  exposed,  would  become  proportionately  more 
impressive.  And  it  is  noteworthy  that  in  the  prophetic  writings  of  the 
Persian  period,  like  Haggai  and  Malachi,  it  is  dearth  which  is  represented 
as  the  penalty  that  punishes  the  Jews  for  their  offences  (Hag.  i.  6  f., 
Mai.  ii.  3).  And  if,  as  will  be  seen,  Joel  is  not  earlier  than  the  Persian 
period,  it  is  to  be  expected  that  the  destruction  of  the  harvest  and 
vintage  by  an  exceptionally  severe  visitation  of  locusts  would  inspire 
intense  alarm,  as  indicating  a  terrible  outbreak  of  Divine  wrath  against 
the  people. 

It  was  such  a  manifestation  of  Divine  resentment  that  the  day  of 


Iviii  INTRODUCTION 

Jehovah  was  conceived  by  the  prophets  to  usher  in.  In  their  expecta- 
tion the  Day  was  some  decisive  event  bringing  to  a  close  the  contemporary 
age  which  was  so  distressful  to  the  pious  among  their  countrymen,  and 
introducing  another  age  fraught  with  felicity  for  such  as  were  deemed 
worthy  to  survive  the  impending  crisis.  But  whilst  the  expression  con- 
veyed the  idea  of  a  conclusive  judgment,  settling,  as  it  were,  the  long- 
standing account  which  Jehovah  had  with  the  sinful  both  within  and 
outside  Israel,  its  significance  was  not  limited  to  a  single  experience. 
If  the  people,  by  opportune  repentance,  averted  for  a  while  the  punishment 
that  had  threatened  them,  a  relapse  into  sin  might  revive  forebodings 
that  had  passed  into  the  background.  Moreover,  a  calamity  that  had 
already  overtaken  the  nation  for  earlier  transgressions  could  then  be 
regarded  by  the  conscience-stricken  as  a  mere  instalment  of  a  retribution 
which  in  its  full  severity  was  still  to  come.  And  it  is  from  this  point 
of  view  that  the  references  to  the  day  of  Jehovah  in  Joel  i.  2 — ii.  27  are 
to  be  understood.  The  acute  distress  caused  by  the  plague  of  locusts 
was  a  symptom  of  the  Divine  anger,  and  a  premonition  of  worse  disasters 
yet  in  store.  But  the  intensity  of  Jehovah's  indignation  was  not,  in  fact, 
experienced.  In  consequence  of  the  response  to  the  prophet's  summons 
to  repentance,  the  destruction  that  menaced  the  people  was  removed ; 
the  fruits  of  the  earth  were  once  more  granted  to  them ;  and  the  signs 
of  the  Day's  approach,  which  had  worn  such  a  threatening  aspect  to 
Israel,  disappeared.  It  was  then  predicted  that  these  tokens  would  be 
succeeded  by  others,  heralding  the  annihilation  of  Israel's  enemies. 
For  Jehovah's  chastisement  of  His  people  did  not  terminate  His  relations 
with  them.  He  remained  their  God ;  and  now  that  they  had  amended 
their  ways,  their  wrongs  required  to  be  redressed.  The  Day  would 
therefore  reach  its  consummation  in  vengeance  upon  the  heathen  who 
had  so  long  exercised  domination  over  them.  The  circumstance  that 
the  conception  of  the  Day  has  a  place  in  each  of  the  two  halves  of  the 
book  is  explained  by  its  having  two  aspects ;  and  the  fact  that  in  the 
second  half  it  is  regarded  as  finally  to  be  realized  in  a  future  overthrow  of 
all  the  heathen  nations  in  the  valley  of  Jehoshaphat  is  not  inconsistent 
with  an  earlier  phase  being  thought  of  as  exemplified  in  the  impoverish- 
ment of  Israel  through  swarms  of  locusts.  The  view  which  considers  the 
account  of  the  plague  of  locusts  and  the  prediction  of  the  universal 
judgment  upon  the  nations  to  proceed  from  the  same  author,  but  seeks 
to  remove  from  the  former  all  reference  to  the  Day  of  Jehovah,  does  so 
because  of  the  celestial  portents  represented  as  accompanying  the  locust 
swarms.  In  an  imaginative  picture  of  the  destruction,  by  Jehovah 


JOEL  lix 

in  Person,  of  the  heathen  hosts,  disturbances  and  convulsions  of  nature, 
the  darkening  of  the  luminaries,  the  quaking  of  the  earth,  and  the 
trembling  of  the  heavens,  are  deemed  to  be  features  which  are  not 
inappropriate;  but  their  presence  in  even  a  poetic  description  of  so 
ordinary  an  occurrence  as  a  plague  of  locusts  (though  of  abnormal 
proportions)  is,  it  is  contended,  out  of  place.  But  this  contention  ignores 
the  evidence  for  hyperbolical  diction,  inspired  by  religious  emotion, 
which  is  supplied  by  Hebrew  literature  in  general.  Other  prophets,  in 
their  representation  of  events  as  familiar  as  a  locust-plague,  or  at  least, 
of  events  not  greatly  transcending  common  experiences,  afford  ample 
parallels  to  the  phrases  used  in  Joel.  The  event,  for  instance,  which  is 
anticipated  in  Amos  v.  20  is  an  invasion  of  the  land  by  Assyria,  and 
the  deportation  of  its  people  to  another  country  (v.  27);  but  the  lan- 
guage used  in  connection  with  it  suggests,  if  it  is  interpreted  literally, 
an  accompanying  obscuration  of  the  sky — "Shall  not  the  day  of  Jehovah 
be  darkness  and  not  light?  even  very  dark,  and  no  brightness  in  it1?" 
(v.  20,  cf.  Joel  ii.  1,  2.)  The  writer  of  the  prophecy  contained  in 
Is.  xiii.  1 — xiv.  23  has  in  view  the  overthrow  of  Babylon  by  the  Medes; 
but  he  leads  up  to  his  account  of  the  massacre  of  its  inhabitants,  in 
which  neither  age  nor  sex  will  be  spared  (probably  no  unprecedented 
feature  in  the  sack  of  a  hostile  capital),  by  declaring  "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... I  (Jehovah)  will  make  the  heavens  to  tremble,  and  the  earth 
shall  be  shaken  out  of  her  place"  (xiii.  10,  13).  And,  again,  it  is 
generally  thought  that  the  occasion  which  evoked  Zephaniah's  prophecy 
was  the  irruption  into  Asia  of  hordes  of  Scythians1,  but  though  the 
prophet  anticipates  a  judgment  for  Judah  through  the  instrumentality 
of  such  human  agents,  he  describes  it  as  "a  day  of  darkness  and 
gloominess,  a  day  of  clouds  and  thick  darkness"  (i.  15).  There  is  thus 
in  the  language  of  Joel  nothing  that  is  seriously  out  of  keeping  with 
the  habits  of  thought  and  modes  of  expression  common  amongst  the 
prophetic  writers  generally.  The  celestial  manifestations  which  are 
represented  as  attending  certain  disasters  of  no  uncommon  nature, 
though  it  may  be  of  uncommon  magnitude,  are  obviously  figures  of 
speech  which  were  never  meant  by  their  authors  to  be  interpreted  with 
prosaic  literalness. 

Metaphors  derived  from  gloom  and  darkness  to  express  calamitous 

1  See  Driver,  Minor  Prophets,  n.  p.  106  (C.B.). 


Ix  INTRODUCTION 

and  terrifying  conditions  are,  indeed,  so  instinctive  that  the  use  of  them 
by  the  prophets  in  connection  with  evils  brought  about  by  physical 
causes  or  human  agents  does  not  need  to  be  enlarged  upon.   But  it  is 
not  unlikely  that  the  metaphors  in  question  may  also  have  had  their 
source  in  eclipses,  which,  in  an  age  ignorant  of  their  origin,  were  calcu- 
lated to  be  very  alarming.   The  association,  indeed,  of  the  trembling  of 
earth  and  heaven  with  darkness,  in  some  of  the  passages  just  cited,  may 
point  to  a  further  source  from  which  the  latter  metaphor  may  come. 
The  idea  of  a  convulsion  of  the  physical  world  is  clearly  drawn  from 
the  experience  of  an  earthquake ;  and  the  memory  of  one  which  occurred 
in  the  reign  of  Uzziah  of  Judah  was  long  preserved  (Am.  i.  1,  2  Zech. 
xiv.  5).    And  the  clouds  of  dust  raised  by  falling  buildings,  filling  the 
atmosphere  and  discolouring  the  light  of  the  sun,  would  add  an  addi- 
tional element  of  horror;  so  that  into  mental  pictures  conjured  up  by 
the  thought  of  an  earthquake  the  obscuration  of  the  luminaries  might 
naturally  enter.  The  purpose  of  these  and  similar  figures  cf  speech  was  to 
create  in  the  mind  of  the  hearer  or  reader  conceptions  of  fear  and  agony, 
independently  of  any  particular  occasion.   This  is  apparent  from  the 
analogous  introduction  of  allusions  to  storm  and  hurricane  into  descrip- 
tions of  martial  conflict,  as  in  Am.  i.  14,  15  "I  will  kindle  a  fire  in... 
Rabbah,  and  it  shall  devour  the  palaces  thereof,  with  shouting  in  the  day 
of  battle,  with  a  tempest  in  the  day  of  the  whirlwind :  and  their  (the 
Ammonites')  king  shall  go  into  captivity,  he  and  his  princes  together." 
It  is  plain  from  such  an  example  that  there  is  nothing  singular  in  the 
reference  to  the  shaking  of  the  earth  and  the  darkening  of  the  sky  in 
Joel  even  in  connection  with  the  plague  of  locusts.    The  presence  of 
these  features  in  the  prophet's  description  is  designed  merely  to  heighten 
the  impression  which  he  wishes  to  produce  of  the  terrible  nature  of  the 
calamity.     The  writer  does  not  mean  that  the  devastation  caused  by 
the  locusts  was  actually  accompanied  by  earthquake  or  eclipse,  but  that 
it  was  of  a  magnitude  calculated  to  inspire  alarm  comparable  to  that 
arising  from  the  latter  causes,  the  expressions  employed  by  him  being 
customary,  almost  stereotyped,  symbols  of  fearful  conditions. 

The  only  passage  for  the  rejection  of  which  as  an  insertion  plausible 
reasons  can  be  urged  is  iii.  4—8  (Heb.  iv.  4—8).  The  passage  is  a 
denunciation  of  injuries  committed  upon  the  Jews  by  the  people  of 
Tyre,  Zidon,  and  Philistia,  and  an  assurance  that  such  injuries  will  be 
avenged.  The  grounds  for  questioning  its  authenticity  are  as  follows. 
(a)  The  passage  is  written  in  prose,  whereas  the  context  on  either  side 
is  in  verse,  (b)  It  is  a  digression,  interrupting  the  connection  between 


JOEL  Ixi 

the  subject-matter  of  iii.  3  and  of  iii.  9  f.  In  these  groups  of  verses  the 
subject  is  the  prediction  of  vengeance  against  all  the  nations ;  and  the 
singling  out,  in  the  intervening  section,  of  Phoenicians  and  Philistines 
for  special  denunciation  disturbs  the  current  of  thought  very  awkwardly. 
(c)  The  statement  that  these  people  had  sold  Jews  as  slaves  (v.  6)  repeats 
a  charge  already  directed  in  general  terms  against  the  nations  at  large 
(v.  3).  (d)  The  retribution  which  is  to  overtake  them  differs  from  that 
which  awaits  the  collective  heathen  nations.  These  are  to  be  extermin- 
ated by  Jehovah  and  His  celestial  hosts;  whereas  the  two  peoples  who 
are  the  subjects  of  consideration  in  w.  4 — 8  are  to  be  sold  into  slavery, 
thereby  undergoing  the  same  experience  which  they  had  inflicted  on 
others.  The  date  of  the  interpolation  need  not  be  much  later  than  that 
of  the  rest  of  the  book :  a  suggestion  as  to  the  occasion  which  produced 
it  is  offered  on  p.  1 14. 

CHAPTER  IV. 

THE  DATE  or*  THE  BOOK. 

OF  the  time  when  the  book  was  written  there  is  given  in  the  opening 
verse  no  indication,  such  as  occurs  in  Isaiah  and  Jeremiah  among  the 
Major  prophets,  and  Hosea,  Amos,  Micah,  Zephaniah,  Haggai,  and 
Zechariah  among  the  Minor.  Nor  is  there  any  reference  to  the  writer  in 
the  historical  books,  for  though  the  name  Joel  occurs  in  them  not  in- 
frequently (see  p.  li),  there  is  nothing  to  identify  the  prophet  with 
any  of  the  individuals  elsewhere  mentioned.  The  circumstance  that  the 
prophecy  is  placed  in  the  Canon  between  Hosea  and  Amos,  which  were 
both  written  in  the  8th  century,  has  been  held  to  favour  an  early  date ; 
but  the  forward  position  amongst  the  Twelve  occupied  by  certain  pro- 
phetic works  which  for  cogent  reasons  have  come  to  be  regarded  as  of 
relatively  late  origin  (e.g.  the  book  of  Jonah)  deprives  the  consideration 
of  any  importance.  Moreover  the  arrangement  by  which  Joel  is  followed 
by  Amos  can  be  explained  by  certain  features  in  the  two  books ;  for  Joel 
ends  with  the  announcement  of  a  comprehensive  judgment  upon  all 
heathen  nations,  specific  mention  being  made  of  Tyre,  Zidon,  Philistia, 
Egypt,  and  Edom;  whilst  Amos  begins  with  a  series  of  predictions 
against  a  number  of  heathen  powers  including  Tyre,  Philistia,  and 
Edom ;  and  moreover  the  phrase  "  Jehovah  shall  roar  from  Zion,  and  utter 
his  voice  from  Jerusalem  "  occurs  near  the  conclusion  of  Joel  (iii.  16), 
and  forms  the  opening  of  Amos.  Consequently  the  date  of  the  book  has 
to  be  determined  indirectly  from  internal  evidence.  This  consists  of 


Ixii  INTRODUCTION 

(i)  the  historical  allusions  found  in  the  work,  and  the  social  and  religious 
condition  of  the  people  which  is  implied ;  (ii)  the  parallels  offered  to  its 
more  distinctive  ideas  by  other  prophecies  of  more  or  less  certain  date ; 
(iii)  the  literary  relations  between  it  and  other  writings,  as  either  quoting 
or  quoted ;  (iv)  the  style  and  diction. 

(i)  The  occurrence  which  evoked  the  prophet's  utterances  was  (as  has 
been  seen)  a  calamitous  plague  of  locusts,  productive  of  extreme  dearth, 
an  incident  too  common  in  the  East  to  afford  any  clue.  The  places 
and  peoples  named  in  the  course  of  the  book  are  Tyre  and  Zidon, 
Philistia,  the  Greeks,  the  Sabeans,  Egypt,  and  Edom ;  but  the  allusions 
are  vague,  nor  are  the  references  to  contemporary  internal  conditions 
very  illuminating.  The  relevant  criteria  may  be  conveniently  divided 
into  positive  and  negative. 

(1)  POSITIVE. 

(a)  The  population  of  Judah  is  represented  as  scattered  among  the 
nations,  who  have  parted  among  them  its  lands.  One  phrase,  indeed,  as 
commonly  rendered,  refers  to  the  "captivity  of  Judah  and  Jerusalem," 
which  Jehovah  purposes  "to  bring  again"  (iii.  1);  but  as  the  expression 
is  of  somewhat  doubtful  significance,  it  cannot  by  itself  be  deemed 
decisively  to  imply  the  Exile  or  to  predict  the  Return.     But  that  the 
country  had  been  occupied  by  invaders  and  its  inhabitants  (wholly 
or  in  part)  had  been  despoiled  and  enslaved  is  clearly  stated  (iii. 
2,3). 

(b)  Tyre,  Zidon,  and  Philistia  are  described  as  having  taken  away 
Jehovah's  silver  and  gold  (an  expression  which  may  mean  the  spoliation 
of  the  country  in  general  or  of  the  Temple  in  particular),  and  as  having 
sold  Jewish  slaves  to  the  Greeks  (iii.  4 — 6). 

(c)  Egypt  and  Edom  are  threatened  with  desolation  because  they 
have  done  violence  to  the  people  of  Judah  and  have  shed  innocent 
blood  in  their  land. 

(d)  Mention  is  made  of  a  locality  called  the  valley  of  Jehoshaphat, 
recalling  the  king  of  that  name  who  reigned  circ.  876 — 851. 

(e)  The  due  maintenance  of  the  Temple  worship  is  a  matter  of  deep 
concern,  with  which  the  prophet  appears  to  sympathize  (i.  9,  16);  and 
the  prospect  of  the  suspension  of  the  meal  offering  and  the  drink 
offering  through  the  ravages  of  the  locusts  occasions  great  distress. 

(/)  In  the  national  appeal  to  Jehovah  for  deliverance  from  the 
plague,  the  priests  are  described  as  taking  the  leading  place. 

(g)  To  render  the  appeal  more  effectual  the  prophet  exhorts  the 
people  to  hold  a  public  fast. 


JOEL  Ixiii 

(2)  NEGATIVE. 

(a)  The  kingdom  of  Northern  Israel  (the  Ten  Tribes)  is  not  mentioned. 
The  name  Israel,  indeed,  occurs  in  the  book  (ii.  27,  iii.  16),  but  the 
context  makes  it  plain  that  the  word  is  only  a  title  for  Judah  (cf. 
p.  107). 

(b)  There  is  no  allusion  to  the  Syrians,  the  Moabites,  the  Ammonites, 
the  Assyrians,  the  Babylonians,  or  the  Persians. 

(c)  There  is  an  absence  of  references  to  any  special  national  vices. 
That  the  people  are  sinful,  and  that  the  locusts  are  viewed  as  a  judg- 
ment for  their  sins,  is  implied  by  the  exhortation  to  repentance ;  but 
neither  idolatry,  nor  social  injustice,  nor  gross  sensuality  is  specified  as 
having  provoked  Jehovah's  anger. 

(d)  No  mention  is  made  of  a  contemporary  king  or  of  princes,  the 
only  officials   alluded   to  (besides  the  priests)  being  perhaps   elders 
(i.  14  mg.,  ii.  15  mg.,  though  see  p.  88). 

Of  the  positive  criteria  here  enumerated  all,  with  one  exception, 
can  be  shewn  to  be  indecisive.  The  Phoenicians,  who  constituted  the 
population  of  Tyre  and  Zidon,  are  nowhere  recorded  in  the  O.T.  to 
have  actually  invaded  Judsean  territory  (which  their  situation  did  not 
render  easy),  though  in  Jud.  x.  12  the  Zidonians  are  reckoned  among 
the  nations  who  had  oppressed  Israel  before  the  time  of  Jephthah; 
so  that  the  reference  to  them  is  most  naturally  interpreted  to  mean 
not  that  they  had  themselves  participated  in  the  robbery  and  en- 
slavement of  Judah,  but  that  they  had  bought  valuables  and  slaves 
from  some  unnamed  despoilers  and  enslavers  of  the  Jews,  and  dis- 
posed of  them  to  more  remote  purchasers.  The  Phoenicians  were  known 
to  the  Hebrews  as  active  traders  as  early  as  the  reign  of  Solomon; 
and  they  were  doubtless  at  all  times  ready  to  engage  in  the  slave 
traffic.  Tyre  was  expressly  denounced  in  the  8th  century  by  Amos 
(i.  9,  10),  apparently  for  selling  slaves  (though  not  necessarily  Jewish 
slaves)  to  Edom ;  and  in  the  6th  cent,  was  described  by  Ezekiel  (xxvii.  13) 
as  purchasing  "the  persons  of  men  and  vessels  of  brass"  in  exchange 
for  its  own  wares.  Prophecies  against  both  Tyre  and  Zidon  also  occur 
in  Is.  xxiii.1,  Jer.  xxv.  222,  2  Zech.  ix.  2— 4s.  The  Philistines,  on  the 
other  hand,  were  close  neighbours  of  Judah,  and  a  constant  source  of 
injury  and  annoyance  from  the  time  of  the  Judges  onwards;  and  their 
successful  raids  were  sure  to  have  resulted  in  the  enslaving  of  captives. 

1  Perhaps  between  597  and  587  B.C. 

2  Between  626  and  586  B.C. 

3  Probably  later  than  333  B.C. 


Ixiv  INTRODUCTION 

Their  wars  with  Judah  in  the  reigns  of  Saul  and  David  before  the  Dis- 
ruption, and  in  those  of  Jehoram  and  Ahaz  after  it,  during  the  9th 
and  8th  centuries,  are  related  in  the  books  of  Samuel  and  Kings.  The 
people  of  Gaza,  one  of  their  cities,  were  denounced  by  Amos  in  the 
8th  cent,  for  carrying  away  captives  from  Jewish  border  towns  and 
delivering  them  up  (doubtless  as  slaves)  to  Edom,  in  the  same  manner 
as  the  Tyrians ;  the  inhabitants  of  Ashdod  took  part  in  the  hostility  of 
Sanballat  against  Jerusalem  in  the  time  (5th  century)  of  Nehemiah 
(Neh.  iv.  7) ;  and  Philistines  participated  in  attacks  upon  Judah  as  late 
as  the  2nd  century  (1  Mace.  iii.  41).  Oracles  against  them  were  uttered 
by  Isaiah  (xiv.  28 — 32),  Jeremiah  (xlvii.),  Zephaniah  (ii.  4 — 5),  Ezekiel 
(xxv.  15 — 17),  Deutero-Zechariah  (ix.  5 — 7),  and  the  author  of  Is.  xi. 
11 — 14.  Even  the  reference  to  the  Greeks  (Javan,  the  lonians)  cannot 
be  regarded  as  pointing  conclusively  to  a  particular  period,  though  it 
suggests  a  late  rather  than  an  early  date.  They  are  not  named,  indeed, 
in  the  O.T.,  before  the  time  of  Ezekiel  (xxvii.  13,  19);  but  the  early 
intercourse  between  Judah  and  Phoenicia  makes  it  quite  possible  that 
the  Jews  were  acquainted  with  the  name  of  the  Ionian  Greeks  long 
before  the  date  when  it  is  first  found  in  their  Scriptures.  The  Sabeans 
(Heb.  Shebhaim,  a  people  of  S.  Arabia),  mentioned  as  a  distant  nation 
to  whom  Phoenicians  and  Philistines  in  retaliation  are  to  be  sold  into 
slavery,  were  known  to  the  Hebrews  in  the  time  of  Solomon;  and 
allusions  to  them  or  to  their  country  occur  in  Jer.  vi.  20,  Ezek.  xxvii.  22, 
xxxviii.  13,  3  Is.  Ix.  6,  Job  i.  15,  vi.  19.  Egypt  came  into  relation  with 
Judah  both  at  an  early  and  at  a  late  period.  The  memory  of  the 
oppression  in  Egypt  was  never  erased  from  Jewish  minds  (cf.  Mic.  vi.  4, 
Ps.  cv.,  cvi.,  cxiv.),  and  the  Egyptians  had  invaded  Judah  both  in  the 
reign  of  Rehoboam  (about  the  close  of  the  10th  century)  and  in  the  time 
of  Josiah  (at  the  end  of  the  7th).  Utterances  against  Egypt  appear 
in  Is.  xxx.,  xxxi.,  Jer.  xlvi.,  Ezek.  xxix. — xxxi.,  and  Is.  xix.  Edom, 
like  Philistia,  was  continually  hostile  to  Judah,  and  for  some  period  was 
subject  to  it.  The  Edomites  were  conquered  by  David,  revolted  in  the 
reign  of  Jehoram  (851 — 843),  carried  away  captives  in  the  reign  of  Ahaz 
(according  to  2  Ch.  xxviii.  17),  and  earned  the  unrelenting  hatred 
of  the  Jews  by  their  malicious  satisfaction  on  the  occasion  of  the  Fall 
of  Jerusalem  in  587  (p.  xxxix).  They  are  denounced  in  Am.  i.  11,  12, 
Jer.  xlix.  7 — 22,  Ezek.  xxv.  12 — 14,  xxxv.,  Ob.  8 — 14,  Is.  xxxiv.  5,  Ixiii. 
1  f.,  Mai.  i.  2 — 4,  Ps.  cxxxvii.  7.  Mention  of  the  Valley  of  Jehoshaphai, 
even  if  it  was  originally  named  after  that  king,  only  proves  that  the 
book  was  written  later  than  his  reign,  which  has  never  been  questioned ; 


JOEL  Ixv 

whilst  it  is  probable  that  in  reality  the  name  has  only  a  symbolic 
sense.  In  regard  to  the  reference  to  the  Temple  and  its  worship,  there 
is  nothing  to  determine  whether  the  temple  in  the  prophet's  thoughts 
is  the  first  or  the  second.  And  if  his  attitude  towards  ritual  obser- 
vances contrasts  with  that  of  the  First  Isaiah  (8th  century),  it  likewise 
contrasts  with  that  of  the  Third  Isaiah  (5th  century).  Public  fasting,  too, 
was  a  religious  practice  amongst  the  Hebrews  in  both  early  and  late  times 
(1  Sam.  vii.  6,  1  Kgs.  xxi.  9,  Neh.  ix.  1).  Nor  were  meal  offerings  and 
drink  offerings  exclusively  of  late  institution;  for  they  are  mentioned 
together  in  the  account  of  the  sacrifices  of  Ahaz  whose  reign  fell  within 
the  8th  century  (see  2  Kgs.  xvi.  13). 

The  negative  evidence  is  equally  ambiguous.  Inferences  from  silence 
are  generally  precarious,  and  in  regard  to  the  kingdom  of  Northern 
Israel,  to  Syria,  to  Moab,  and  to  Ammon  the  writer  of  the  book  may 
have  had,  from  the  immediate  circumstances  of  his  time,  no  occasion 
to  mention  them.  The  case  is  rather  different  with  his  silence  respecting 
Assyria  and  Babylon.  Each  of  these  two  states  during  its  period  of 
supremacy  in  Western  Asia  so  completely  dominated  the  political 
situation  that  it  represented  for  contemporary  Hebrew  prophets  the 
hostile  world-power  of  the  age ;  and  it  is  difficult  to  suppose  that  Joel 
could  fail  to  refer  to  one  or  the  other  if  either  was,  at  the  time  that 
he  wrote,  prominent.  But  his  silence  is  compatible  with  one  of  two 
alternatives;  he  may  have  written  before  the  rise  of  Assyria  (circ.  850) 
or  after  the  fall  of  Babylon  in  538.  On  the  other  hand,  omission  of  all 
reference  to  Persia  is  not  inconsistent  with  the  hypothesis  that  the 
book  was  written  during  the  period  of  Persian  predominance,  since  the 
Persians,  from  the  seventh  decade  of  the  6th  century  (when  they  re- 
placed the  Babylonians  as  Israel's  lords)  to  about  the  middle  of  the 
4th  century,  usually  treated  the  Jews  with  leniency.  The  circumstance 
that  the  prophet,  though  exhorting  his  countrymen  to  repent  and 
turn  to  their  God,  does  not  charge  them  with  specific  sins  is  note- 
worthy; but  if  it  is  an  exception  to  the  general  practice  of  the  pro- 
phets, it  does  not  point  to  one  age  more  than  to  another.  But  his 
silence  respecting  any  individual  ruler  of  the  country,  in  connection 
with  the  appeal  to  Jehovah,  really  seems  to  exclude  as  a  possible  date 
for  the  book  every  period  in  pre-exilic  times  save  one.  The  only 
occasion  before  the  Exile  when  the  absence  of  all  reference  to  the  king 
is  intelligible  is  the  comparatively  short  interval  in  the  9th  century 
when  the  de  jure  ruler  of  Judah  was  a  minor. 

This  occurred  in  the  reign  of  Joash,  the  son  of  Ahaziah,  who  was 
w.  * 


Ixvi  INTRODUCTION 

7  years  old  at  his  accession  (2  Kgs.  xi.  21);  and  it  is  to  this  date 
(a  few  years  following  836)  that  the  book  has  been  assigned  by  many 
scholars,  who  thus  regard  it  as  the  earliest  of  the  prophetical  writings. 
If  this  view  is  correct,  the  prominence  given  to  the  priests  and  the 
absence  of  all  mention  of  the  sovereign  is  fairly  accounted  for,  since 
the  chief  authority  during  the  minority  of  Joash  rested  with  the  high 
priest  Jehoiada.  On  the  same  assumption  some  other  features  of  the 
book  likewise  receive  an  explanation.  Prior  to  the  reign  of  Joash  there 
had  taken  place  in  the  reign  of  Rehoboam  the  invasion  of  Judah  by 
the  Egyptian  Shishak  (1  Kgs.  xiv.  25,  26),  which  can  be  regarded  as 
occasioning  the  prediction  of  Egypt's  desolation  and  the  promise  that 
foreigners  should  pass  through  the  land  no  more  (iii.  17).  Moreover, 
although  before  the  time  of  Joash  Assyria  had  so  far  become  a  danger 
to  the  Northern  kingdom  that  Jehu  paid  tribute  to  it  in  842,  yet  it 
had  not  begun  to  menace  Judah;  and  though  the  Syrians  spoiled 
Judah  and  Jerusalem  in  the  reign  of  Joash  himself,  this  was  seemingly 
after  he  had  taken  the  control  of  the  kingdom  into  his  own  hands,  and 
the  event  would  thus  befall  later  than  the  origin  of  the  book,  if  this 
was  composed  shortly  after  his  accession.  The  revolt  of  Edom  from 
Judah  in  the  reign  of  Jehoram  (2  Kgs.  viii.  20 — 22),  in  the  course  of 
which,  no  doubt,  many  Jews  were  killed,  would  account  for  the  re- 
tribution declared  to  be  in  store  for  the  Edomites.  Moreover  in  the 
reign  of  Jehoram  (according  to  2  Ch.  xxi.  16,  17)  Philistines  and 
Arabians  had  raided  Judah,  despoiled  the  royal  possessions,  and  carried 
away  as  prisoners  the  king's  wives  and  sons;  and  it  is  natural  to 
assume  that  many  of  these  captives  were  sold  as  slaves. 

But  whilst  this  view  satisfies  many  of  the  conditions  of  the  problem, 
there  is  one  feature  in  the  book  which  is  sufficient  to  negative  the 
hypothesis  of  a  pre-exilic  date.  This  is  the  representation  (iii.  2)  that 
Jehovah's  people  had  been  scattered  amongst  the  nations,  and  that  His 
land  had  been  parted  by  lot.  Such  a  statement  cannot  be  adequately 
explained  by  any  event  except  the  overthrow  of  Judah  by  the  Baby- 
lonians in  587,  the  destruction  of  its  independence,  the  occupation  of 
its  territory,  and  the  dispersal  of  its  people.  The  language  is  not  satis- 
fied by  the  sale  of  slaves,  following  upon  a  raid,  and  plainly  implies 
more  than  a  temporary  inroad,  like  that  made  by  the  Philistines  and 
Arabians.  And  confirmation  of  this  is  supplied  by  the  real  significance 
of  the  ambiguous  words  when  I  shall  bring  again  the  captivity  (or  turn 
the  fortune)  of  Judah  and  Jerusalem  (iii.  1).  Though  the  words  can 
be  used  of  recovery  from  disaster  other  than  expatriation  (see  Ezek. 


JOEL  Ixvii 

xvi.  53,  Job  xlii.  10),  they  are  employed  only  of  restoration  from  great 
disaster ;  and,  in  relation  to  Israel,  customarily  mean  restoration  from 
exile  (see  Jer.  xxix.  14,  xxx.  3,  18,  xxxii.  44,  xxxiii.  7,  11,  Am.  ix.  14, 
Dt.  xxx.  3).  And  whilst  the  remaining  features  of  the  book  are  com- 
patible with  a  pre-exilic  date,  some  are  quite  as  intelligible,  and  others 
are  more  natural,  on  the  assumption  that  the  book  was  composed  after 
the  Exile.  Silence  respecting  Northern  Israel  and  Damascus,  and  the 
empires  of  Assyria  and  Babylon,  with  the  omission  of  all  mention  of  a 
king  or  princes  of  Judah,  is  most  simply  explained  by  the  hypothesis 
that  the  four  kingdoms  or  empires  just  enumerated,  together  with 
Judah,  had,  as  independent  nationalities,  all  come  to  an  end.  Although 
allusion  is  made  to  particular  heathen  peoples  (iii.  4,  19)  as  destined 
objects  of  Jehovah's  vengeance,  the  general  tone  of  the  book  suggests 
that  the  writer's  countrymen  regarded  as  their  foes  the  heathen  world 
at  large,  an  attitude  most  intelligible  after  they  had  experienced  a 
long  term  of  uninterrupted  subordination  to  successive  heathen  powers. 
The  animosity  displayed  against  Edom  is  most  fully  accounted  for  by 
the  delight  manifested  by  the  Edornites  on  the  occasion  of  the  Fall  of 
Jerusalem  in  587.  The  Egyptians,  under  Pharaoh  Necho,  had  killed 
one  Jewish  king  in  battle  and  dethroned  another  (2  Kgs.  xxiii.  29,  33) 
shortly  before  the  close  of  the  7th  century.  The  allusion  to  the  Greeks, 
though  it  is  admittedly  possible  that  they  were  known  by  name  to  the 
Hebrews  in  pre-exilic  times,  is  paralleled  within  the  O.T.  only  in  exilic 
and  post-exilic  writings  (see  on  iii.  6).  The  gathering  of  the  Jewish 
people  by  the  sound  of  a  trumpet  blown  in  Zion  (ii.  1,  15)  suggests 
the  small  post-exilic  community,  rather  than  the  larger  pre-exilic 
kingdom  (contrast  Jer.  iv.  5).  The  importance  of  the  priests  (ii.  16,  17)1 
is  also  more  in  keeping  with  a  post-exilic  than  with  a  pre-exilic  date. 
The  prominence  given  to  the  Temple  offerings  and  the  distress 
occasioned  by  the  cessation  of  them  through  the  locusts  are  consistent 
with  the  care  displayed  about  them  in  the  age  of  Nehemiah  (see  Neh. 
x.  32,  33).  And  the  absence,  in  the  prophet's  exhortation  to  repent- 
ance (ii.  13),  of  any  sense  of  disloyalty  on  the  people's  part  to  Jehovah 
in  the  immediate  past  through  idolatry,  and  the  omission  of  any 
warning  against  that  particular  sin  (such  as  appears  not  only  in  the 
prophetical  writings  of  the  8th  century,  but  even  in  Deuteronomy,  a 
book  of  probably  7th  century  date)  are  more  in  accordance  with  an 
age  when  the  inclination  to  idol  worship  had  been  more  or  less  eradi- 

1  Of.  Is.  xxiv.  2,  a  passage  probably  not  earlier  than  the  4th  century. 


Ixviii  INTRODUCTION 

cated  from  the  people  than  with  one  in  which  it  was  constantly  ex- 
hibited. 

(ii)  The  resemblance  between  certain  peculiar  conceptions  that  are 
common  to  Joel  and  some  other  prophets  raises  questions  of  priority, 
though  such  are  difficult  to  settle  with  much  confidence.  The  con- 
ceptions referred  to  are  those  relating  to  (a)  Jehovah's  gathering  of 
all  nations  to  the  vicinity  of  Jerusalem  to  fight,  and  His  destruction 
of  them  there;  and  (b)  the  issuing  from  the  Temple  of  a  fountain 
which  is  designed  to  water  an  unfertile  valley  in  the  neighbourhood, 
and  (by  implication)  to  render  it  fruitful.  Parallels  to  the  first  occur 
in  Ezek.  chs.  xxxviii.,  xxxix.,  and  2  Zech.  xii.  1 — 9,  xiv.  1 — 7  (cf.  also 
3  Is.  Ixvi.  18);  and  to  the  second  in  Ezek.  xlvii.  1 — 12  and  2  Zech.  xiv.  8. 
The  date  of  the  concluding  chs.  of  2  Zech.  (xii. — xiv.)  is  debated;  but 
there  is  much  plausibility  in  the  view  that  they  were  composed  in  the 
4th  century1;  and  certainly  Ezekiel  did  not  write  earlier  than  the 
beginning  of  the  6th  century,  after  the  first  deportation  of  Jews  to 
Babylonia.  The  nations  whose  hosts  Ezekiel  represents  as  destined  to 
be  gathered  against  Judah  after  it  has  been  restored  from  exile  are 
arrayed  under  Gog,  of  the  land  of  Magog,  and  include  the  Persians  and 
a  number  of  distant  peoples  dwelling  in  Western  Asia  and  Northern 
Africa.  The  similar  passage  in  Joel  does  not  specify  any  particular 
peoples,  but  describes  all  nations  as  brought  down  into  the  valley  of 
Jehoshaphat.  It  seems  most  likely  that  Ezekiel  is  the  more  original  of 
the  two  parallel  passages,  and  that  in  Joel,  the  more  detailed  represen- 
tation of  the  other  prophet  has  been  compressed  and  generalized.  If 
so,  this  determines  the  posteriority  of  Joel  to  Ezekiel.  The  same  con- 
clusion is  favoured  by  a  comparison  of  their  respective  predictions  of 
the  stream  of  water  that  is  to  issue  from  the  Temple.  The  purpose 
which  the  stream  is  to  serve  is  in  Ezekiel  clearly  explained;  the  water  is 
to  flow  into  the  Dead  Sea  and  to  heal  its  saltness,  whilst  upon  the  banks 
are  to  grow  all  manner  of  useful  and  health-giving  fruit-trees.  In  Joel 
the  stream  is  doubtless  meant  to  promote  a  similar  end,  but  its  purpose 
is  expressed  obscurely  and  enigmatically.  Hence  the  author  of  the  latter 
book  is  likely  to  have  written  for  readers  who  were  familiar  with  the 
idea  and  would  understand  his  meaning  in  spite  of  the  obscurity  of  his 
words.  The  chronological  relation  which  is  thus  established  between 
the  two  prophets  confirms  for  Joel  the  post-exilic  date  probable  on  other 
grounds. 

1  See  Driver,  Minor  Prophets,  n.  p.  230  f.  (C.B.). 


JOEL 


Ixix 


(iii)  The  parallels  in  phraseology  and  expression  which  subsist  between 
Joel  and  other  O.T.  writings  are  extremely  numerous.  If  those  which 
may  be  regarded  as  mere  coincidences  are  left  out  of  account,  there  still 
remain  enough  to  shew  that  "either  Joel  was  greatly  influenced  by 
earlier  writers,  or,  himself  living  early,  his  prophecy  was  remarkably 
influential  over  a  large  number  of  other  writers1."  The  following  are  the 
most  striking  parallels : 


Joel  i.  15,  For  near  is  the  day  of 
Jehovah,  and  as  destruction  from  the 
Destroyer  (Shaddai)  shall  it  come. 

Joel  ii.  2,  A  day  of  darkness  and 
gloominess,  a  day  of  clouds  and  thick 
darkness. 

Joel  ii.  6,  All  faces  gather  colour. 

Joel  ii.  27,  And  ye  shall  know  that 
I  am  in  the  midst  of  Israel,  and  that 
I  am  Jehovah  your  God,  and  there  is 
none  else. 


Joel  ii.  28,  I  will  pour  out  my  spirit 
upon  all  flesh. 

Joel  ii.  31,  Before  the  great  and 
terrible  day  of  Jehovah  come. 

Joel  ii.  32,  For  in  mount  Zion  and 
in  Jerusalem  shall  be  they  that  escape, 
as  Jehovah  hath  said. 

Joel  iii.  2,  And  I  will  plead  with 
them  ('immdm)  there. 

Joel  iii.  3,  And  for  ('el)  my  people 
they  cast  lots. 

Joel  iii.  10,  Beat  your  mattocks  (or 
coulters)  into  swords  and  yourpruning- 
hooks  into  lances. 

Joel  iii.  16,  And  Jehovah  shall  roar 
from  Zion  and  utter  his  voice  from 
Jerusalem. 

Joel  iii.    18,  The  mountains  shall 


Is.  xiii.  6,  For  near  is  the  day  of 
Jehovah,  and  as  destruction  from  the 
Destroyer  (Shaddai)  shall  it  come. 

Zeph.  i.  15,  A  day  of  darkness  and 
gloominess,  a  day  of  clouds  and  thick 
darkness. 

Nah.  ii.  10  (11),  The  faces  of  all  of 
them  gather  colour. 

Ezek.  xxxvi.  11,  And  ye  shall  know 
that  I  am  Jehovah. 

Ezek.  xxxix.  28,  And  they  shall  know 
that  I  am  Jehovah  their  God. 

2  Is.  xlv.  5, 1  am  Jehovah  and  there 
is  none  else. 

Ezek.  xxxix.  29,  When  I  have  poured 
out  my  spirit  upon  the  house  of  Israel. 

Mai.  iv.  5,  Before  the  great  and  ter- 
rible day  of  Jehovah  come. 

Ob.  17,  And  in  mount  Zion  shall  be 
they  that  escape. 

Ezek.  xxxviii.  22,  And  I  will  plead 
with  him  ('itto\  i.e.  with  Gog  (p.  Ixviii). 

Ob.  11,  And  upon  ('a/)  Jerusalem 
they  cast  lots2. 

Mic.  iv.  3  (  =  Is.  ii.  4),  They  shall 
beat  their  swords  into  mattocks  (or 
coulters)  andtheir  spears  into  pruning  - 
hooks3. 

Am.  i.  2,  Jehovah  shall  roar  from 
Zion  and  utter  his  voice  from  Jeru- 
salem. 

Am.  ix.  13,  And  the  mountains  shall 


1  See  G.  B.  Gray,  Critical  Int.  to  the  O.T.  p.  209,  and  Expositor,  Sept.  1893, 
p.  208  f.;  Driver,  Joel  and  Amos,  pp.  19—22  (Camb.B.). 

2  Cp.  also  Nah.  iii.  10. 

3  A  similar  inversion  of  a  phrase  occurring  in  other  prophetic  writings  is  found 
in  Joel  ii.  3  compared  with  Ezek.  xxxvi.  35,  2  Is.  Ii.  3. 


Ixx  INTRODUCTION 

drop  sweet  wine,  and  the  hills  shall  cause  sweet  wine  to  drop,  and  all  hills 

run  with  milk.  shall  be  dissolved. 

Joel  iii.  19,  For  the  violence  done          Ob.  10,  For  the  violence  done  (by 

(by  Edom)  to  the  children  of  Judah.  Edom)  to  thy  brother  Jacob. 

Further  instances  where  there  is  identity  or  close  resemblance  be- 
tween Joel  and  other  O.T.  books  are  cited  in  the  commentary.  The 
above  are  selected  because  they  are  parallels  between  Joel  and  a  number 
of  prophetic  oracles  all  of  which  except  Amos  probably  originated 
not  earlier  than  the  second  half  of  the  7th  century  and  several  after 
587.  It  is  clearly  more  likely  that  the  author  of  Joel  lived  late  enough 
to  be  familiar  with,  and  to  draw  upon,  the  writings  enumerated  above 
than  that  he  lived  before  their  authors,  who  all  made  use  of  his  small 
book.  An  examination  in  detail  of  some  of  the  parallel  passages  con- 
firms the  conclusion  that  Joel  is  the  borrower.  Thus  in  Joel  ii.  32,  if 
placed  by  the  side  of  Ob.  17,  the  writer  seems  expressly  to  refer  the 
words  he  uses  to  another  by  attaching  to  the  passage  common  to  him- 
self and  Obadiah  the  addition  aas  Jehovah  hath  said."  And  similarly 
Joel  iii.  10  is  more  likely  to  be  modelled  on  Mic.  iv.  3  (=Is.  ii.  4)  than 
the  reverse ;  as  Van  Hoonacker  remarks,  though  the  transformation  of 
weapons  of  war  into  implements  of  labour  is  an  appropriate  charac- 
terization of  a  reign  of  peace,  the  converse  idea  would  only  be  natural 
to  a  people  lacking  arms  (cf.  1  Sam.  xiii.  20 — 22).  And  this  conclusion 
becomes  the  more  convincing  from  the  fact  that  in  certain  cases  the 
phrases  common  to  both  hirn  and  other  writers  are  almost  frequent 
enough  in  the  latter  to  be  styled  characteristic.  Thus,  for  example, 
Ye  shall  know  that  I  am  Jehovah  recurs  constantly  in  Ezekiel,  whilst 
/  am  Jehovah  and  there  is  none  else  occurs  three  times  in  2  Isaiah.  It 
is  manifestly  improbable  in  the  extreme  that  each  of  these  two  writers 
should  have  derived  a  favourite  expression  from  one  and  the  same 
work.  Hence  an  examination  of  Joel  and  other  prophetic  writers  in 
respect  of  the  phraseology  which  they  employ  in  common  corroborates 
the  inference  already  reached  that  the  former  did  not  live  before  the 
Exile ;  and  if  he  has  borrowed  from  Malachi,  whose  prophecy  belongs 
to  the  age  of  Ezra  and  Nehemiah,  he  cannot  have  been  earlier  than  the 
middle  of  the  5th  century. 

(iv)  There  is  little,  it  is  true,  in  Joel's  style  to  suggest  that  he  is 
not  a  writer  belonging  to  the  best  period :  his  syntax  is  distinctive  of 
good  Hebrew.  But  in  his  vocabulary  he  shews  affinity  with  writings 
composed  comparatively  late  in  Hebrew  literary  history;  and  some  of 
the  words  he  uses  are  rare  in  Hebrew  but  common  in  Aramaic. 


JOEL  Ixxi 

The  following  is  a  list  of  words  occurring  in  Joel  but  found  else- 
where in  the  O.T.  only  in  writings  not  earlier  than  Jeremiah,  or  in 
passages  of  uncertain  but  probably  late  date.  The  importance  of  these 
varies,  since  the  absence  of  some  from  early  books  may  be  due  to  the 
fact  that  the  subject-matter  of  such  books  afforded  no  occasion  for 
their  use ;  but  on  the  whole,  the  list  confirms  the  assignment  of  Joel 
to  a  post-exilic  date.  The  English  equivalents  are  those  that  are  given 
in  the  R.V. : — jaw  teeth  (methall'oth,  i.  61) ;  the  LORD'S  ministers  (meshd- 
rethe  Yehovah,  i.  9,  ii.  17);  apple  tree  (tappuah,  i.  12);  groan  ('dnah, 
i.  18);  be  perplexed  (buck,  i.  182);  weapon  (shelah,  ii.  83);  hinder  part 
(soph,  ii.  20 4);  spring  up  (ddsha,  ii.  22 6);  spear  (rdmah,  iii.  106); 
sickle  (maggdl,  iii.  13). 

The  following  occur  in  Heb.  only  in  Joel : — barked,  literally  a  splinter 
(ketsdphah,  i.  7);  lament  (}dlah,  i.  8);  seed  (perudhah,  i.  17);  rot  ('dbhash 
i.  17);  clod  (meghrdphah,  i.  17);  barn  (mamgkurah,  i.  17);  break  or 
entangle  ('dbhat,  ii.  7);  ill  savour  (tsahdnah,  ii.  20);  haste  ((ush,  iii.  11). 
Joel,  like  late  writers  in  general,  uses  the  pronoun  'am  instead  of 
'dnochl;  and  in  disjunctive  questions  (i.  2)  follows  late  and  not  early 
practice.  He  has  the  combinations  generation  and  generation  (ii.  2, 
iii.  20)  and  all  flesh  (ii.  28),  which  occur  first  in  Deut.,  but  are  only 
frequent  in  exilic  and  post-exilic  writings ;  and  he  employs  the  sons  of 
the  Greeks  (iii.  6),  where  the  Greeks  or  the  sons  of  Greece  might  be  ex- 
pected, his  usage  being  paralleled  only  in  Chron.  He  likewise  inverts 
(ii.  13)  after  the  fashion  of  post-exilic  writers  the  order  of  the  epithets 
full  of  compassion  and  gracious,  occurring  in  Ex.  xxxiv.  6. 

The  circumstance  that  Joel  uses  a  number  of  late  words  and  phrases 
and  yet  writes  for  the  most  part  in  the  manner  of  the  best  Hebrew 
authors  finds  a  satisfactory  explanation  in  the  assumption  that  he  was 
very  familiar  with  the  earlier  literature  of  his  country.  He  absorbed 
sufficient  of  its  spirit  to  enable  him  to  write  in  the  smooth  and  flowing 
style  of  the  best  of  his  predecessors,  whilst  the  linguistic  usage  of  his 
own  age  here  and  there  coloured  his  diction.  It  is  observable  that 
even  in  expressions  and  phrases  which  appear  to  be  borrowed  from,  or 
at  least  influenced  by,  earlier  models,  words  employed  in  the  parallel 
passages  are  sometimes  replaced  by  others  that  are  characteristic  of  a 

1  Elsewhere  only  in  Job  and  Prov.  (xxx.  14). 

2  Elsewhere  only  in  Ex.  xiv.  3  (P)  and  Esth.  iii.  15. 

3  See  note  on  ii.  8. 

4  Elsewhere  only  in  Ch.  and  Eccles.  and  the  Aramaic  of  Daniel. 

5  Elsewhere  only  in  Gen.  i.  11  (P),  in  a  causative  form. 

6  See  note  on  iii.  10. 


Ixxii  INTRODUCTION 

late  period  (see  notes,  pp.  100,  115).  This  would  occur  all  the  more 
naturally  if  his  reproductions  of  earlier  writers  were  due  not  so  much 
to  direct  quotation  as  to  the  impressions  left  upon  his  mind  by  con- 
stant reading1. 

The  conclusion  to  which  the  preceding  lines  of  investigation  point  is 
that  the  book  of  Joel  cannot  have  been  written  before  the  Exile ;  and 
as  its  writer  plainly  lived  in  Jerusalem,  it  follows  that  his  work  must 
have  been  composed  after  the  Return.  Since  it  is  implied  that  the 
(second)  Temple  was  in  existence,  the  book  must  be  later  than  Haggai 
and  Zechariah  (circ.  520) ;  and  since  it  also  seems  to  be  implied  that 
the  city  was  walled,  it  is  probably  later  than  the  erection  of  the 
fortifications  of  Nehemiah  (circ.  444).  On  the  other  hand,  there  is  no 
suggestion  in  it  of  suffering  caused  by  the  rigour  of  an  oppressive 
power;  so  that  it  is  scarcely  likely  to  have  been  written  during  or 
after  the  reign  of  Artaxerxes  Ochus  (358 — 337),  who  was  the  first 
Persian  king  to  ill-treat  his  Jewish  subjects.  On  the  whole,  the  date 
of  it  (apart  from  iii.  4 — 8)  may  be  conjecturally  fixed  at  about  400  B.c.2. 

If  the  section  iii.  4 — 8  is  really  an  insertion  (see  p.  Ix),  it  must  be 
later  than  its  context.  Nothing  is  known  from  other  O.T.  sources  of 
any  action  by  Phosnicians  or  Philistines  in  connection  with  the  Fall  of 
Jerusalem  in  587  to  justify  the  charge  here  brought  against  them.  It 
has  been  suggested  that  these  two  peoples  may  have  taken  advantage 
of  the  punishment  inflicted  on  the  Jews  by  Artaxerxes  Ochus  to  make 
purchases  of  treasure  and  slaves.  Whatever  may  have  been  the  occasion 
which  caused  the  writer's  complaint  against  them,  a  fulfilment  of  his 
prediction  about  them  may  be  seen  in  the  capture  of  Tyre  and  Gaza 
and  the  enslavement  of  their  populations  by  Alexander  in  322,  unless, 
indeed,  this  prophecy  is  a  reflection  of  those  events. 

CHAPTER  V. 

JOEL   AND   ESCHATOLOGY. 

THE  conclusion  just  reached  that  Joel  was  composed  after  the  Return 
of  the  Jews  from  exile  obtains  additional  corroboration  from  the  fact 
that  a  relatively  late  origin  accounts  best  for  a  certain  element  in  it  which 
would  otherwise  be  difficult  to  explain.  This  element  is  the  element  of 
Apocalyptic.  Apocalyptic  prophecy  is  linked  to  the  prophecy  current  in 

1  See  G.  B.  Gray,  Expositor,  I.e.,  p.  223  f. 

3  "The  book  as  a  whole  is  later  than  Malachi,"  Sellin,  IOT.  p.  164. 


JOEL  Ixxiii 

the  ages  of  Assyrian  and  Babylonian  supremacy  by  the  common  idea 
of  an  approaching  day  of  Jehovah,  for  though  the  actual  phrase  is  not 
always  employed,  the  thought  of  a  Divine  judgment  is  never  far  from 
the  minds  of  most  of  the  prophetic  writers,  both  early  and  late.  But 
there  is  a  significant  difference  in  the  emphasis  which  is  placed  by  the 
late  writers  upon  the  two  sides  which  a  Divine  judgment,  as  explained 
by  their  predecessors,  presented.  The  term  the  day  of  Jehovah,  which 
had  been  prevalent  in  Israel  before  the  time  of  Amos  to  describe  the 
desired  intervention  of  Jehovah  in  the  perennial  struggle  between  Israel 
and  its  foes,  was  taken  up  by  that  prophet  and  declared  to  involve 
a  crisis  which  would  be  determined  by  ethical  principles.  When  it  came, 
it  would  set  on  foot  a  process  of  discrimination  between  the  righteous 
and  the  unrighteous  which  would  begin  with  Israel  itself.  The  elimina- 
tion from  the  latter  of  all  the  corrupt  and  corrupting  elements  in  it 
would,  indeed,  be  followed  by  the  removal,  or  the  destruction,  of  the 
foreign  agencies  employed  in  the  work  of  purification ;  but  the  principal 
stress  was  laid  upon  the  chastisement  merited  by  the  sins  of  the  people 
and  not  upon  the  eventual  blessings  which  were  in  store  for  a  humbled 
and  repentant  remnant.  When  the  prophets  saw  the  religious  and  moral 
evils  that  were  rife  among  their  countrymen,  it  was  natural  that,  in 
order  to  awaken  them  to  a  sense  of  their  guilt  and  to  bring  about  their 
amendment,  they  should  insist  more  upon  the  threatening,  than  upon 
the  cheering,  aspect  of  the  Day  of  Jehovah.  With  their  successors  after 
the  Exile  it  was  largely  the  reverse.  The  capture  of  Jerusalem,  the 
overthrow  of  the  Jewish  state,  and  the  deportation  of  the  flower  of  its 
people  by  a  nation  which  was  devoted  to  idolatry,  inevitably  had  the 
effect  of  altering,  in  the  minds  of  Hebrew  contemporary  thinkers,  the 
balance  of  national  deserts  and  fortune.  The  return  of  a  section  of  the 
exiles  to  their  former  homes  did  not  redress  the  balance.  Judah  and 
Jerusalem  still  remained  under  alien  rule,  and  the  material  conditions  of 
the  people  failed  to  correspond  to  the  prospects  that  had  been  held  out  by 
Deutero-Isaiah  and  other  prophets  of  the  exilic  period,  and  were,  indeed, 
the  more  depressing  by  the  force  of  contrast.  Accordingly,  the  post- 
exilic  writers  were  led  to  emphasize  less  the  retribution  deserved  by  their 
countrymen  for  their  repeated  offences  than  the  retribution  merited  by 
the  heathen  for  their  prolonged  supremacy  over  God's  own  people. 

The  external  situation  of  Israel  in  the  post-exilic  age  would  not  have 
exerted  upon  the  spiritual  leaders  of  the  nation  the  particular  influence 
it  did  apart  from  the  fact  that  monotheism  had  by  this  time  acquired 
a  firm  hold  over  the  people  at  large.  That  Jehovah  alone  controlled  the 


Ixxiv  INTRODUCTION 

forces  of  nature  and  the  fortunes  of  men  had  been  a  doctrine  urged  by  the 
prophets  ever  since  the  8th  century.  But  it  was  only  after  a  considerable 
interval  that  this  monotheistic  belief  came  to  prevail  generally.  So  far  as 
can  be  judged,  it  was  the  experience  of  the  Exile  that  alone  detached  the 
bulk  of  the  people  finally  from  idolatry :  at  any  rate,  a  section  that  did 
not  undergo  that  experience  but  remained  on  the  soil  of  Palestine  con- 
tinued to  be  addicted  to  it1.  With  those,  however,  who  had  shared  the 
Exile  in  Babylon,  and  who  preserved  its  memories,  monotheism  became 
a  settled  religious  conviction.  The  elaboration  of  the  sacrificial  system 
by  Ezekiel  and  the  codification  of  the  Law  by  Ezra  and  other  scribes 
must  have  deepened,  even  for  many  who  were  fully  alive  to  the  moral 
deficiencies  of  the  nation,  their  consciousness  of  the  religious  gulf 
separating  Israel  from  the  rest  of  the  world.  But  the  belief  that  they 
alone  of  all  the  peoples  of  the  earth  worshipped  the  one  true  God  became, 
in  the  circumstances  in  which  they  were  placed,  a  source  of  painful  per- 
plexity. As  the  recollection  of  their  past  apostasies  faded,  their  mono- 
theistic faith  rendered  their  continued  subordination  to  Gentile  powers 
the  more  unintelligible  and  intolerable.  Hence  refuge  was  sought  in  the 
consideration  that  God  was  bound  in  the  end  to  avenge  His  people, 
and  that  the  overthrow  of  the  heathen  world  would  be  all  the  more 
complete  in  proportion  to  its  long  postponement.  Apocalyptic  prophecy 
was  thus  the  product  of  a  particular  age  and  situation;  and  the  presence 
of  Apocalyptic  features  in  a  prophetical  writing  is  almost  incompre- 
hensible apart  from  an  exilic  or  post-exilic  date. 

The  fact  that  Apocalyptic  prophecy  resulted  from  the  reaction  of  the 
Hebrew  mind,  not  to  some  temporary  calamity,  but  to  a  protracted 
period  of  national  humiliation,  affected  the  form  which  it  assumed.  The 
hopes  which  at  the  Return  had  attached  to  Zerubbabel  had  come  to 
nothing  (cf.  p.  cxxiii) ;  and  there  was  no  longer  anything  to  encourage 
the  expectation  that  there  would  emerge  from  the  nation  a  great  leader 
destined  to  right  all  wrong  (although,  as  appears  from  the  Psalms  of 
Solomon,  the  expectation  survived  in  certain  circles  until  the  1st 
century  B.C.  (p.  cxxvi)).  Whatever  anticipations  were  entertained  of  a 
retrieval  of  the  national  fortunes  tended  to  be  independent  of  contem- 
porary circumstances,  and  to  be  moulded  exclusively  by  theological 
considerations.  They  did  not  reproduce  in  an  idealized  shape  past 
history  and  experience,  but  represented  what  the  imagination  deemed 
to  be  most  appropriate  to  the  power  and  majesty  of  the  Almighty.  In 

i  See  3  Is.  Ivii. 


JOEL  Ixxv 

consequence,  the  descriptions  of  the  future  which  was  to  make  amends 
for  the  unhappy  present  were  more  than  ordinarily  out  of  touch  with 
mundane  reality.  Instead  of  the  overthrow  of  some  single  oppressive 
power  to  whom  retribution  might  seem  due  either  for  actual  aggression, 
or,  if  the  power  in  question  could  be  viewed  as  commissioned  by  Jehovah 
to  chastise  Israel,  for  exceeding  His  mandate,  there  was  predicted  the 
extermination  of  the  whole,  or  the  greater  portion,  of  the  Gentile  world. 
The  heathen  were  depicted  as  moved  by  Jehovah  to  muster  against 
Israel,  and  to  court  the  destruction  designed  for  them.  Sometimes 
Israel  was  represented  as  taking  part  in  the  slaughter  of  them ;  but  more 
commonly  their  annihilation  was  thought  of  as  effected  by  Jehovah 
alone,  or  by  Him  in  company  with  His  celestial  armies.  In  the  details 
of  the  descriptions  alike  of  the  catastrophe  in  store  for  the  heathen  and 
of  the  subsequent  felicity  of  Israel  the  exuberance  of  Hebrew  rhetoric 
reached  its  climax,  and  the  imagery  became  weird  and  bizarre  in  an 
unusual  degree. 

The  time  when  the  hoped-for  redress  would  be  realized  was  left  vague 
and  undefined,  though  in  this  respect  Apocalyptic  prophecy  did  not 
depart  from  the  usage  of  Hebrew  prophecy  in  general.  The  expression 
in  the  latter  days  (literally,  in  the  sequel  of  days,  see  Mic.  iv.  1),  which 
was  sometimes  employed  to  denote  the  period  when  the  depressing 
conditions  of  the  present  were  to  be  replaced  by  happier  circumstances, 
is  apt  to  suggest  associations  which  do  not  properly  belong  to  it.  It 
marks  relative  finality  only,  introducing  a  phase  of  the  future  which  is 
.final  only  in  the  sense  that  the  speaker's  thoughts  at  the  time  do  not 
extend  beyond  it.  It  is,  in  fact,  little  more  than  an  equivalent  for 
aftenvards  (see  Hos.  iii.  5  and  cf.  Jer.  xlviii.  47  with  xlix.  6);  and  it 
is  this  latter  term  which  is  used  by  Joel  in  connection  with  the  out- 
pouring of  the  Spirit,  which  is  the  prelude  to  the  Apocalyptic  scene 
with  which  his  book  ends.  His  closing  prophecies  are  consequently 
eschatological  only  in  a  relative  sense.  There  is  nothing  to  suggest  that 
either  the  Prophets  or  the  Apocalyptists  of  the  O.T.  expected  that  what 
they  announced  was  far  distant  in  point  of  time ;  the  date  at  which 
their  prophecies  were  to  be  fulfilled  was  left  undefined,  and  their 
ruling  tendency  was  greatly  to  foreshorten  the  interval  separating  that 
fulfilment  (so  far  as  it  occurred)  from  their  own  age.  And  there  is 
equally  little  reason  to  suppose  that  the  conditions  to  which  they  looked 
forward  were  regarded  by  them  as  fixed  and  absolute.  The  future  which 
the  Hebrew  prophets  were  wont  to  describe  was  a  constantly  shifting 
future,  as  each  successive  generation  of  them  found  the  anticipations  of 


Ixxvi  INTRODUCTION 

their  predecessors  to  be  only  imperfectly  realized ;  and  they  cannot  have 
credited  their  own  representations  about  the  consummation  that  was 
yet  in  store  for  God's  people  with  any  greater  quality  of  finality  than 
marked  those  of  earlier  days,  however  much  their  language  seems  to  us 
to  convey  that  impression.  What  was  really  permanent  and  unvarying 
was  their  religious  faith,  to  which  they  gave  concrete  embodiment 
through  the  transient  creations  of  their  imagination. 


NOTE  ON  LOCUSTS. 

According  to  the  classification  of  insects  by  reference  to  their  wings  or  their 
lack  of  wings,  locusts  belong  to  the  order  Orthoptera,  in  which  the  wings 
are  four  in  number,  the  anterior  pair  being  small  and  straight  and  the  posterior 
large,  and,  when  at  rest,  folded  under  the  others.  This  order  embraces  two 
divisions,  Cursoria  and  Saltatoria;  and  the  latter  division  comprises  three 
families,  the  Gryllidae  (represented  by  crickets),  the  Locustidae  (exemplified 
by  grasshoppers),  and  the  Acridiidae,  which  include  the  various  kinds  of  true 
locusts.   Only  those  species  are  usually  accounted  true  locusts  which  are  both 
migratory  and  destructive.   Of  these  there  are  several  varieties,  but  here  it  is 
unnecessary  to  mention  any  except  those  that  are  most  common  in  Palestine. 
These  are  the  Oedipoda  migratoria  (or  Pachytylus  migratorius)  and  the 
Acridium  peregrinum.    The  first  of  these  is  grey  or  green  in  colour,  and  varies 
in  length  from  l£  to  2  inches.    The  second  is  yellow  or  reddish,  and  is  rather 
larger  than  the  first-named.    Both  of  these  varieties  ravage  Asia,  but  only  the 
Oedipoda  migratoria  extends  its  devastations  to  Europe,  being  very  destructive 
in  S.  Russia.   The  extent  of  their  migrations,  their  numbers,  and  their  voracity 
make  them  one  of  the  greatest  of  scourges  to  the  lands  which  they  infest. 
Of  the  distance  that  their  flights  may  cover,  a  thousand  miles  is  said  to  be  a 
moderate  calculation.    The  size  to  which  their  swarms  can  attain  may  be 
estimated  from  the  accounts  of  observers,  modern  as  well  as  ancient,  when 
they  describe  their  approach  as  sometimes  darkening  the  sky,  compare  the 
rustling  of  their  wings  to  the  sound  of  many  waters,  or  of  wind-tossed  trees, 
and  state  that  they  often  advance  in  clouds  (if  in  the  air)  or  in  columns  (if  on 
the  ground)  that  stretch  for  several  miles.    Their  voracity  is  not  confined  to 
any  one  of  the  three  stages  of  development  through  which  they  pass  (the  larva, 
the  pupa,  and  the  perfect  insect)  but  is  equally  conspicuous  in  all  of  these. 
The  destruction  which  they  cause  is  such  that,  when  a  large  swarm  settles  in 
any  neighbourhood,  all  vegetation  quickly  disappears;   and  not  only  is  the 
foliage  of  the  trees  (like  the  herbage  of  the  fields)  devoured,  but  even  the  very 
bark  is  attacked.    The  distress  resulting  to  the  population  of  the  districts 
affected  is  very  serious,  owing  to  the  ruin  of  the  crops,  and  preventive  measures 
appear  to  be  attended  with  but  indifferent  success. 

In  the  Hebrew  of  the  O.T.  there  are  nine  names  for  locusts  or  insects  similar 
to  them.  These  are  (1)  \irbeh,  (2)  sol'dm,  (3)  hargol,  (4)  haghdbh,  (5)  gazdm, 
(6)  yelek,  (7)  hasil,  (8)  gobh,  (9)  tselatsal.  It  is  not  likely  that  all  these  denote 


JOEL  Ixxvii 

different  varieties,  or,  indeed,  that  they  all  denote  true  locusts.  The  only  passage 
in  which  kinds  are  expressly  distinguished  is  Lev.  xi.  22,  where  the  first  four 
of  those  enumerated  above  are  mentioned;  but  since  they  are  given  as  species 
of  leaping  insects,  some  of  them  may  be  crickets  or  grasshoppers.  The  name 
in  commonest  use  is  'arbeh  (see  Ex.  x.  4,  Dt.  xxviii.  38,  Prov.  xxx.  27,  Nah.  iii.  15, 
etc.),  and  this  is  included  in  the  list  of  four  names  occurring  in  Joel  i.  4  (where 
it  is  represented  in  the  LXX.  by  aKpi'y).  Joel  manifestly  describes  true  locusts, 
for  he  dwells  upon  their  numbers,  their  onward  movements,  and  their  destruc- 
tiveness;  and  inasmuch  as  Acridium  peregrinum  is  the  locust  most  frequent 
in  Palestine,  it  is  the  one  for  which  'arbeh  seems  the  most  appropriate  term  *. 
It  cannot,  however,  be  assumed  that  all  or  any  of  the  names  in  Joel  are  meant 
to  designate  distinct  species ;  and  even  if  they  are  so  meant,  it  is  quite  impossible 
to  identify  them  with  any  confidence.  It  has  been  suggested  that  Jidsil  is 
Oedipoda  migratoria ;  but  there  are  really  no  data  for  attaching  to  it  this 
name  rather  than  one  of  the  others. 


Etymologically  it  is  usually  taken  to  mean  "the  multitudinous." 


INTRODUCTION  TO  JONAH. 

CHAPTER  I. 

THE  TITLE,  CONTENTS,  AND  PURPOSE. 

THE  book  of  Jonah,  though  included  among  the  prophetical  writings 
(being  the  fifth  according  to  the  Heb.,  the  sixth  according  to  the  LXX., 
of  the  Minor  Prophets)  is,  in  form,  an  historical  narrative,  relating  an 
episode  in  the  life  of  the  prophet  whose  name  it  bears.  There  is  nothing 
in  the  contents  to  suggest  that  the  prophet  was  the  writer  of  it,  and 
much  to  negative  such  a  conclusion1.     Probably,  then,  like  Joshua, 
Ruth,  and  Esther,  it  derives  its  title  from  the  character  who  is  the 
subject  of  it,  and  of  whom  mention  is  made  in  2  Kgs.  xiv.  25.    Jonah, 
the  son  of  Amittai,  was,  like  Hosea  and  Amos,  a  contemporary  of 
Jeroboam  IL,  king  of  Israel  from  782  to  741  B.C.,  and  belonged  to 
Gath-hepher  (or  Gittah-hepher,  Josh.  xix.  13)  in  Zebulun,  within  the 
district  of  Galilee2;  he  was  therefore  not  a  Judaean  but  a  Northern 
Israelite.  The  site  of  Gath-hepher  is  generally  identified  with  El  Meshhed, 
a  village  3  miles  N.E.  of  Nazareth,  where  a  tomb  of  the  prophet,  accord- 
ing to  tradition,  still  exists.    All  that  is  stated  about  him  in  2  Kgs.  is 
that  he  predicted  the  success  of  Jeroboam  II.  in  recovering  the  lands 
taken  from  his  predecessor  Joash,  and  in  restoring  the  borders  of  the 
Northern  kingdom  from  the  gorge  between  Lebanon  and  Hermon  to  the 
gulf  of  Akaba.    In  the  book  of  Jonah  there  is  no  reference  to  this  pre- 
diction, or  to  any  circumstance  connected  with  the  reign  of  Jeroboam ; 
,  but  that  the  prophet  whose  experiences  are  described  in  it  (see  i.  1)  is 
meant  to  be  identified  with  the  prophet  named  in  2  Kgs.  xiv.  25  cannot 
reasonably  be  questioned  in  view  of  the  fact  that  his  own  name  and 
that  of  his  father  are  found  in  combination  only  in  these  two  passages3. 

1  The  mere  fact  that  the  prophet  is  referred  to  throughout  in  the  3rd  person  is, 
of  course,  no  disproof  that  he  was  the  author  (as  the  Commentaries  of  Caesar  and 
the  Anabasis  of  Xenophon  shew). 

2  This  circumstance  contradicts  the  statement  attributed  to  the  Jews  in  Job.  vii. 
52.   Possibly,  however,  the  true  reading  in  this  passage  is  preserved  in  the  Egyptian 
Sahidic  Version,  "The  prophet  ariseth  not  out  of  Galilee"  (Peake,  Comm.  on  the 
Bible,  p.  753). 

3  It  has  been  maintained  by  Winckler  that  in  2  Kgs.  xiv.  25  the  words  son  of 
Amittai  are  a  later  addition,  on  the  ground  that,  since  mention  is  made  of  the 
prophet's  home,  mention  of  his  father  likewise  is  against  usage.    But,  as  Bewer 
points  out,  a  parallel  is  furnished  by  1  Kgs.  xix.  16. 


JONAH  Ixxix 

The  book  in  its  present  shape  narrates  that  Jonah  was  directed  by 
Jehovah  to  go  to  Nineveh,  the  capital  of  Assyria,  and  warn  its  people 
that  its  destruction  was  imminent  because  of  its  wickedness ;  that  he, 
believing  that,  if  it  repented,  it  would  be  spared,  sought  to  evade  the 
command  by  taking  ship  from  Joppa  to  Tarshish,  a  distant  port ;  that 
Jehovah  caused  the  ship  to  be  overtaken  by  a  violent  storm,  leading  the 
seamen  to  supplicate  their  gods  for  the  preservation  of  their  lives;  that  it 
was  inferred  by  the  crew  that  the  storm  was  occasioned  by  the  sin  of  some- 
one on  board ;  that  lots  were  drawn  to  decide  who  was  the  offender,  and 
that,  when  the  lot  fell  upon  Jonah,  he  admitted  his  guilt;  that  after  the 
sailors  had  vainly  tried  to  reach  the  land,  he,  at  his  own  suggestion,  was 
thrown  into  the  sea,  which  at  once  became  calm ;  that  he  was  saved  from 
drowning  by  being  swallowed  by  a  great  fish ;  that  in  the  fish's  belly, 
where  he  remained  three  days  and  nights,  he  prayed  to  Jehovah,  giving 
thanks  in  a  psalm  for  his  preservation ;  that  after  Jehovah  had  directed 
the  fish  to  disgorge  him  on  to  dry  land,  he  was  again  commanded  to 
proceed  to  Nineveh,  and  obeyed ;  and  that  in  consequence  of  his 
announcement  of  the  impending  overthrow  of  the  city,  its  people,  before 
a  prescribed  period  of  respite  expired,  repented  of  their  evil  ways  with 
every  sign  of  sorrow;  that  God  accordingly  withheld  the  threatened 
vengeance,  and  that  this  clemency  displeased  Jonah,  who  from  dis- 
appointment prayed  for  death;  that,  whilst  he  waited,  under  a  booth 
which  he  had  constructed,  to  see  what  would  happen  to  the  city,  God 
made  a  shady  plant  to  spring  up  in  a  night  to  shield  him  from  the  sun's 
heat,  and  then  as  speedily  caused  it  to  decay ;  that  Jonah  felt  pity  for 
it,  thus  dying,  and  was  thereupon  bidden  by  God  to  reflect  whether  He 
Himself  had  not  more  reason  to  feel  pity  for  the  vast  number  of  human 
beings  and  cattle  in  the  great  city,  whose  preservation  had  offended 
Jonah. 

But  though  the  book  is  thus  in  form  a  history,  comparable  with  the 
histories  of  Elijah  and  Elisha  (1  Kgs.  xvii. — xix.,  2  Kgs.  i. — ix.,  xiii.),  and 
alluding,  like  these,  to  various  historical  localities,  it  is  clear  that  its 
author  did  not  relate  the  incidents  recorded  therein  in  the  spirit,  or  with 
the  aim,  of  an  historian,  but  that  he  narrated  them  with  a  didactic 
purpose,  and  was  only  concerned  with  them  so  far  as  they  served  that 
purpose.  This  is  apparent  from  his  failure  to  furnish  information  upon 
a  number  of  matters  which  for  an  historian  could  not  but  have  interest ; 
and  from  his  omission  to  bring  his  narrative  to  a  proper  conclusion. 
Thus,  in  addition  to  the  absence  of  other  details,  nothing  is  said  of 
(a)  the  time  when  Jonah  lived,  or  the  place  where  he  received  his 


Ixxx  INTRODUCTION 

instructions  to  go  to  Nineveh ;  (b)  the  name  of  the  contemporary  king 
of  Nineveh,  who  figures  in  the  narrative;  (c)  the  prophet's  return  to  his 
own  country.  The  book  ends  with  Jehovah's  address,  conveying  His 
rebuke  to  Jonah ;  and  when  the  author  has  indicated  the  religious  lesson 
which  he  sought  to  impart,  he  brings  his  recital  to  a  close,  leaving 
Jonah  outside  the  walls  of  Nineveh.  Hence  the  historical  interest  is 
altogether  subordinated  to  the  ethical  and  spiritual;  and  the  work, 
though  superficially  a  history  and  containing  only  one  short  oracle 
(iii.  4),  finds  its  proper  place  among  the  prophetical  writings. 

The  central  object  of  the  book  manifestly  is  to  reprove  the  spirit  of 
religious  exclusiveness  and  vindictiveness  evinced  by  the  Jewish  race 
(personified  by  Jonah)  towards  the  Gentiles.  Along  with  this  principal 
aim  the  narrative  illustrates  various  religious  conceptions;  and  some  of 
these  may  have  been  consciously  kept  in  view  by  the  writer.  Human 
inability  to  frustrate  the  Divine  purposes ;  the  control  exercised  by  God 
over  the  physical  forces  of  nature  and  the  animate  creation,  and  His 
utilization  of  them  to  further  His  ends ;  His  desire  to  give  to  all  men  an 
opportunity  of  turning  from  their  errors ;  the  response  which  a  Divine 
warning  can  evoke  even  from  heathen  hearts;  the  power  of  prayer  and 
the  efficacy  of  sincere  repentance  to  influence  the  Deity  and  to  avert  His 
anger ;  the  conditional  character  of  prophetic  predictions — all  these  are 
exemplified  in  the  course  of  the  history.  But  the  illustration  of  none 
of  these  last  conceptions  constitutes  the  real  intention  of  the  book. 
This  is  to  throw  into  relief  and  expose  the  hard  and  grudging  disposition 
of  those  Jews  who  regarded  with  jealousy  any  mercy  shewn  by  the  God 
of  Israel  to  the  heathen  world.  Such  an  unlovely  trait  is  exhibited  in 
the  person  of  one  of  their  own  prophets ;  it  is  represented  as  the  motive 
of  his  avoidance,  by  flight,  of  his  commission  in  the  first  chapter,  and 
of  his  displeasure  and  complaints  in  the  last;  and  it  is  set  in  effective 
contrast  to  the  humaneness  of  the  Almighty  towards  all  His  creatures 
alike,  including  even  cattle  (iv.  11).  That  God  was  not  indifferent  to  the 
fate  of  the  heathen,  but  cared  for  the  Gentiles  as  well  as  for  Israel,  was 
not,  indeed,  a  truth  here  presented  to  the  Jewish  people  for  the  first 
time.  Monotheism,  when,  by  degrees,  it  had  replaced  henotheism  in 
Israel,  involved  as  a  corollary  the  belief  that  Jehovah  stood  in  the  same 
relation  to  all  mankind,  and  that  the  repentance  which  had  repeatedly 
saved  Israel  from  the  destruction  which  its  offences  merited  could  avail 
to  save  the  Gentiles  also.  Under  these  circumstances  it  was  impossible 
for  thinkers  of  a  sympathetic  and  generous  temper  not  to  presume  in 
the  Deity  a  desire  to  induce  repentance  in  all  offenders  alike,  in  order 


JONAH  Ixxxi 

that  all  alike  might  be  spared.  And  if,  as  history  appeared  to  shew, 
Israel  had  been  privileged  to  know  the  true  God  sooner  than  others,  such 
a  prerogative  could  only  involve  a  corresponding  responsibility  to  extend 
that  knowledge  to  the  rest  of  mankind.  The  idea  that  Israel  was 
designed  to  be  God's  agent  in  making  Him  more  fully  and  intimately 
known  to  the  heathen  was  one  which,  on  the  assumption  that  Jonah  is 
not  of  earlier  date  than  the  5th  or  4th  century  (p.  Ixxxv),  had  already 
been  pressed  upon  the  national  conscience  by  prophets  like  the  Second 
Isaiah  and  the  writer  of  the  "  Servant  Songs,"  whose  compositions  are 
incorporated  in  2  Is.1.  But  the  conviction  that  this  was  the  national 
function  was  far  from  being  universally  held  by  the  people.  The 
experience  of  racial  suffering  and  humiliation  had  embittered  them ;  and 
the  writings  of  some  of  their  prophets  had  enhanced  this  bitterness,  and 
had  fostered  the  hope  that  retribution  would  eventually  overtake  the 
nations  which  had  trampled  them  underfoot2.  Belief,  too,  in  a  perma- 
nent distinction  between  Israel  and  the  rest  of  the  world  had  been  much 
strengthened  by  the  influence  of  the  legalistic  circle  of  Ezra  and  his 
successors.  It  was  the  popular  spirit  which  could  not  tolerate  the 
thought  that  God  should  grant  to  the  heathen  repentance  and  pardon 
that  constituted  the  theme  of  the  book  of  Jonah.  The  writer  shews  to 
his  countrymen  their  own  attitude  mirrored  in  the  conduct  of  the 
prophet,  who,  having  received  a  Divine  injunction  to  warn  a  heathen 
city  of  coming  doom,  with  a  view  to  inducing  penitence,  seeks  to  escape 
the  execution  of  the  command;  and  then,  when  he  has  at  last  performed 
it,  grieves  that  God  accepts  the  repentance  which  his  own  preaching  has 
elicited.  He  appears  all  the  more  repellent  by  the  side  both  of  the 
heathen  sailors  (whose  religious  instincts  are  manifest  alike  in  suppli- 
cation and  in  thanksgiving  for  their  rescue,  and  who,  though  believing 
it  to  be  the  Divine  will  that  they  should  expose  Jonah  to  destruction, 
do  so  with  reluctance),  and  of  the  citizens  of  Nineveh  (who  respond  so 
readily  to  the  Divine  summons  to  amend  their  lives).  And  the  self- 
centred  disposition  of  the  prophet,  and  the  lack  of  all  sense  of  proportion 
in  his  estimate  of  things,  are  thrown  into  the  boldest  relief  when  he 
complains  of  God's  pity  in  sparing  thousands  of  human  beings  of  whom 
He  is  the  Creator,  whilst  his  own  pity  is  restricted  to  a  plant  upon  the 
growth  of  which  he  had  spent  neither  thought  nor  labour.  The  book  of 
Jonah,  in  its  protest  against  Israel's  religious  narrowness,  and  in  its 

1  2  Is.  xlii.  1—4,  xlix.  1—6,  1.  4—9,  Hi.  13— liii.  12. 

2  See  Ob.  1—18,  Is.  xiii.  1— xiv.  23,  3  Is.  Ixiii.  1—6,  Ps.  cxxxvii.  7—9,  Jer. 
xlvi. — xlix. 


Ixxxii  INTRODUCTION 

effort  to  instil  into  the  people  a  spirit  of  good  will  towards  the  Gentile 
world,  does  not  (as  has  been  pointed  out)  stand  altogether  alone  in  the 
O.T.  (its  closest  parallel,  in  certain  aspects,  being  the  book  of  Ruth). 
But  its  teaching  is  certainly  on  a  level  with  the  most  elevated  that  is 
found  in  the  Hebrew  Scriptures ;  and  in  breadth  of  view  and  generosity 
of  temper  it  approaches  as  nearly  as  any,  and  nearer  than  most  of  them, 
to  the  comprehensive  attitude  of  Christianity. 

CHAPTER  II. 

THE  DATE. 

LIGHT  is  thrown  upon  the  date  of  the  book  by  the  traces  in  it  of  the 
influence  of  other  writings  and  by  the  character  of  its  language. 

The  writer  seems  to  have  been  acquainted  with  the  story  of  Elijah  in 
1  Kgs.  xix.,  for  some  of  the  utterances  attributed  to  Jonah  bear  a  curious 
resemblance  to  those  of  the  earlier  prophet  (see  on  iv.  3,  8).  The 
peculiar  combination  of  the  names  Jehovah  God  (in  iv.  6)  appears  to 
betray  knowledge  of  Gen.  ii.,  iii.  (where  the  addition  of  God  to  Jehovah 
is  best  explained  as  due  to  the  compiler  who  united  the  Priestly  and 
Prophetic  narratives  out  of  which  Genesis  has  been  constituted).  And 
finally,  use  is  made  of  quotations  from  the  book  of  Joel  (in  iii.  9,  iv.  2), 
which  are  also  reminiscences  of  Ex.  xxxiv.  6,  and  Ps.  Ixxxvi.  15.  Of 
these  several  writings  the  history  of  Elijah  may  have  been  in  existence 
for  some  time  before  the  Exile;  but  even  if  the  Priestly  narrative  of  the 
Pentateuch  dates  from  the  Exilic  period1,  the  editor  who  combined  it 
with  the  Prophetic  narrative  probably  lived  after  the  Exile.  The  date 
of  Joel  is  disputed,  but  the  probabilities  are  strongly  in  favour  of  its 
being  a  post-exilic  work  (see  p.  Ixxii).  Hence  the  use  in  Jonah  of  the 
writings  cited  points  to  the  conclusion  that,  like  the  latest  of  them,  it, 
too,  was  written  in  post-exilic  times. 

Again,  the  attitude  of  the  writer  to  the  Gentile  world,  as  represented 
by  Nineveh,  is  more  natural  in  a  comparatively  late  period  of  Hebrew 
history  than  at  an  earlier  era.  If  his  purpose  was  to  create  in  his 
countrymen  a  kindlier  and  more  generous  feeling  towards  the  heathen, 
such  a  sympathetic  spirit  is  most  intelligible  in  one  who  lived  after, 
rather  than  before,  the  Exile.  The  broad  humanity  of  the  book  has, 
within  the  O.T.,  a  parallel,  as  already  remarked,  in  the  "Servant  Songs" 
included  in  Deutero-Isaiah.  In  these  the  "Servant  of  Jehovah"  most 

1  See  Driver,  LOT.e,  pp.  135—159. 


JONAH  Ixxxiii 

probably  personifies  Israel,  viewed  from  an  ideal  standpoint ;  and  it  is 
expressly  affirmed  that  it  is  the  mission  of  the  "Servant"  to  be  a  source 
of  religious  enlightenment  to  the  Gentile  peoples  (see  especially  xlix.  6). 
It  is  difficult  not  to  think  that  the  author  of  Jonah  not  only  shared  the 
temper  of  the  writer  of  these  "Songs,"  but  had  been  influenced  by  them. 
The  same  inference  about  the  comparatively  late  origin  of  the  book 
is  deducible  from  its  language.  The  diction  of  the  narrative  differs 
considerably  from  that  which  characterizes  the  prophetic  writings  of  the 
8th  century  (the  age  in  which  the  historic  Jonah  lived),  and  a  number 
of  words,  expressions,  or  meanings  found  in  it  occur  elsewhere  only  or 
cbiefly  in  works  known,  or  reasonably  believed,  to  be  of  post-exilic  date, 
and  to  have  originated  in  the  5th,  or  some  still  later,  century  (such  as 
Chronicles,  Ezra,  Nehemiah,  Daniel,  The  Song  of  Songs,  and  certain 
Psalms).  The  following  are  the  principal  instances  :— 

(a)  'dskatk,  "to  think"  (i.  6),  recurs  only  in  Dan.  vi.  4. 

(b)  shathak,  "to  be  calm,  at  rest"  (i.  11,  12),  is  found  again  only 
in  Ps.  cvii.  30,  Prov.  xxvi.  20. 

(c)  minnah,  "to  appoint,  prepare"  (i.  17  (ii.  1),  iv.  6,  7,  8),  does  not 
recur  in  this  sense  anywhere  in  the  O.T.  except  in  Job  vii.  3,  Ps.  Ixi.  7  (8), 
Dan.  i.  5,  10,  11,  and  (in  the  passive)  1  Ch.  ix.  29;  though  the  form 
mdnah  has  a  signification  approximating  to  it  in  2  Is.  liii.  12,  3  Is.  Ixv.  12. 

(d)  ta'am,  "a  decree,  command"  (iii.  7),  is  found  with  this  meaning 
nowhere  else,  though  the  Aramaic  te'em  occurs  with  the  same  sense  in 
Dan.  iii.  10,  Ez.  iv.  19,  21,  vi.  14,  vii.  23,  etc.1. 

(e)  'dmal,  "to  labour,  toil"  (iv.  10),  occurs  in  Eccles.  i.  3,  ii.  11,  19, 
20,  21,  etc.,  Ps.  cxxvii.  1,  Prov.  xvi.  26,  but  not  elsewhere. 

(/)  ribbo,  "myriad"  (iv.  11),  is  found  in  Hos.  viii.  12  (text  as 
written,  not  read),  Ps.  Ixviii.  17  (18),  but  otherwise  only  in  late 
writings  like  1  Ch.  (xxix.  7),  Ezra  (ii.  64,  69),  Nehemiah  (vii.  66,  etc.), 
Daniel  (vii.  10,  xi.  12).  Three  other  features  which  are  rather  more 
characteristic  of  late  than  of  early  writings  are  the  following : — 

(a)  A  slight  preponderance  of  'dm  over  'anuchl.    (The  former  is 
predominant  in  late  books  like  Ezek.,  Lam.,  Chr.,  Ez.,  Esth.,  Eccles.) 

(b)  The  employment  of  le  for  the  accus.  (iv.  6,  if  the  text  is  sound). 
The  use  of  it  "occurs... rarely  in  the  early  and  middle  periods  of  the 
language,  and  with  greater  frequency  in  exilic  and  post-exilic  writings " 
(Driver,  Heb.  Text  of  Sam.  p.  146). 

(c)  The  use  of  she  for  'asher  (i.  7,  12,  iv.  10).   This,  though  common 

1  Pusey  considers  that  this  Aramaic  word  (used  at  Nineveh)  has  been  given  by  the 
author  of  the  book  a  Hebrew  pronunciation. 


Ixxxiv  INTRODUCTION 

in  late  writings,  is  neither  uniformly  characteristic  of,  nor  exclusively 
confined  to,  these.  Amongst  late  compositions  in  which  it  is  very 
frequent  are  Cant,  and  Eccles. ;  but  it  does  not  occur  in  Dan.,  Neh.,  or 
Esth.  It  is  found  only  once  in  Ezra  (viii.  20),  and  only  twice  in 
Chronicles,  probably  once  in  Job  (xix.  29),  and  nineteen  times  in  the 
Fifth  book  of  the  Psalms.  In  the  earlier  writings  of  the  O.T.  it  occurs 
in  Jud.  v.  7  (The  Song  of  Deborah),  vi.  17,  vii.  12,  viii.  26,  2  Kgs.  vi.  11, 
Lam.  ii.  15,  16,  iv.  9,  v.  18  ;  perhaps  in  Gen.  vi.  3,  xlix.  10  (LXX.);  and 
probably  in  the  names  Methushael  and  Miskael.  The  range  of  its  use 
seems  best  accounted  for  by  the  supposition  that  it  did  not  become 
prevalent  until  a  late  period  in  Hebrew  literary  history,  but  existed  as 
a  dialectic  peculiarity  (probably  North  Palestinian)  at  a  much  earlier 
date1. 

Reference  is  sometimes  made  to  the  occurrence,  in  this  book  only,  of 
the  words  sephmah  "decked  ship"  (i.  5)  and  kerl'ah  "proclamation" 
(iii.  2),  and  to  the  circumstance  that  mallah  "mariner"  (i.  5)  recurs 
only  in  Ezek. ;  but  these  facts  throw  little  light  on  the  time  of  the  book's 
origin.  In  the  case  of  the  first  and  third,  their  presence  here  and  their 
rarity  elsewhere  are  sufficiently  explained  by  the  subject-matter  of  the 
work  and  the  differing  nature  of  the  contents  of  most  other  O.T. 
writings. 

The  diction  of  the  psalm  in  ch.  ii.  is  not  remarkable.  The  numerous 
resemblances,  however,  which  it  presents  to  various  other  psalms  of 
different  dates,  some  seemingly  of  late  origin,  render  it  likely  that  it 
is  a  late  composition :  the  author,  who  appears  to  be  distinct  from  the 
writer  of  the  rest  of  the  book  (p.  Ixxxv),  must  have  lived  at  a  time 
when  a  considerable  body  of  literature  of  this  kind  existed,  and  pre- 
sumably drew  upon  it. 

From  this  review  of  the  literary  allusions  in  Jonah  and  of  its  phrase- 
ology it  is  plain  that  both  combine  to  support  the  belief  that  the  book 
is  not  earlier  than  the  post-exilic  period  of  Ezra  and  Nehemiah  (i.e.  the 
5th  century  B.C.).  On  the  other  hand,  the  mention  of  the  twelve  prophets 
in  Ecclus.  xlix.  10  shews  that  the  composition  of  Jonah  cannot  be  sub- 
sequent to  the  close  of  the  3rd  century,  since  Ecclus.  probably  dates 
from  the  beginning  of  the  2nd  century  (circ.  180  B.C.).  Mention  is 
likewise  made  of  the  book  in  Tobit  (xiv.  4),  which  is  also,  in  all  likeli- 
hood, a  2nd  century  work2.  These  limits  give  the  period  between  the 


1  See  Driver,  LOT.6,  p.  322,  cf.  p.  188,  note. 

2  See  Hastings,  DB.  iv.  p.  788. 


JONAH  Ixxxv 

end  of  the  5th  and  the  end  of  the  3rd  century  as  the  extreme  interval 
within  which  Jonah  must  have  been  written.  If  the  book  of  Joel  is  a 
4th  century  production,  the  limits  will  be  somewhat  narrower  (between 
350  and  200);  but  the  almost  complete  absence  in  Jonah  of  refer- 
ences to  historic  persons  or  events  of  known  date  renders  greater 
precision  impossible. 

CHAPTER  III. 

THE  DEFECTIVE  UNITY  OF  THE  BOOK. 

THE  unity  of  the  book  has  been  questioned  by  several  scholars. 
Perhaps  the  gravest  doubts  are  raised  by  the  psalm  in  ch.  ii.  This  is 
really  a  thanksgiving,  not  a  prayer;  and  in  its  existing  position  is 
meant  to  be  understood  as  an  expression  of  gratitude  to  God  on  the 
part  of  Jonah  for  his  being  preserved  from  drowning.  The  reasons  for 
doubting  its  authenticity  as  an  original  constituent  of  the  work  are 
substantial ;  and  it  seems  probable  that  it  was  neither  composed  by  the 
author  of  the  book  nor  inserted  by  him  from  another  source.  It  appears 
too  little  suited  to  the  prophet's  case  to  be  easily  accepted  as  the  com- 
position of  the  author  of  Jonah,  for  it  contains  not  even  the  remotest 
allusion  to  the  peculiar  way  in  which  the  prophet  had  been  rescued; 
and  its  language  might  serve  as  a  thanksgiving  for  anyone  saved  by 
the  most  ordinary  means  from  a  death  by  drowning,  or  might  even 
voice  the  emotions  of  the  collective  Hebrew  people  in  or  after  a  time 
of  national  affliction1.  Nor  is  its  unsuitability  as  a  thanksgiving  com- 
posed for  Jonah  of  an  exclusively  negative  character,  for  the  allusion 
to  the  Temple  (v.  4)  is  inappropriate  in  the  mouth  of  a  prophet  of  the 
Northern  Kingdom.  These  objections  to  its  proceeding  from  the 
author  of  the  book  are  perhaps  not  absolutely  fatal  to  its  being  an 
integral  part  of  it,  since  it  is  possible  to  suppose  that,  though  it  was 
not  written  by  the  author  of  Jonah,  yet  it  was  taken  by  him  from 
another  source,  and  inserted  in  his  own  work  as  being  the  best  avail- 
able for  his  requirements.  Although  intended  for  a  different  situation, 
and  perhaps  meant  as  a  thanksgiving  to  God  from  one  who  on  dry 
land  expresses  his  gratitude  for  having  been  saved  from  perishing  in 
the  waters,  it  may  have  been  deemed  fit,  faute  de  mieux,  to  be  attri- 
buted to  the  prophet  whilst  he  was  in  the  belly  of  the  fish,  since  the 
fish  figures  in  the  story  as  the  agent  of  his  deliverance  from  drowning. 

1  Cf.  Cheyne,  Origin  of  the  Psalter,  p.  127. 


Ixxxvi  INTRODUCTION 

But  the  writer  of  Jonah  in  the  rest  of  his  book  is  so  brief  and  com- 
pressed, and  confines  himself  so  closely  to  the  object  which  he  has  in 
view  (not  even  bestowing  a  thought  upon  the  prophet's  return  from 
Nineveh  as  soon  as,  in  the  course  of  the  narrative,  the  heart  of  its 
teaching  is  reached),  that  it  seems  extremely  unlikely  that  he  would 
have  inserted  a  psalm  in  the  middle  of  so  concentrated  a  piece  of  work. 
Moreover,  although  the  prophet  is  depicted  in  ii.  2  as  conscience- 
stricken,  the  rest  of  the  book  does  not  present  him  in  a  favourable  light, 
so  that  it  is  improbable  that  the  writer  of  it  would  have  depicted  him  as 
full  of  gratitude  to  God  for  the  rescue  which  he  had  experienced.  The 
most  natural  explanation  of  the  psalm,  therefore,  is  that  it  was  inter- 
polated in  its  present  position  by  an  editor  or  a  reader  who  missed  the 
prayer  alluded  to  in  ii.  1 ;  though  to  modern  minds  a  more  appropriate 
place  for  a  thanksgiving  (such  as  the  psalm  is)  would  appear  to  be 
after  v.  10.  Before  it  was  inserted,  the  verb  prayed  in  v.  1  must  have 
signified  an  actual  petition  for  deliverance,  to  which  v.  10,  following  imme- 
diately upon  it,  describes  the  response.  Parallel  instances  of  psalms  being 
interpolated  in  narratives  to  which  they  are  certainly  or  probably  alien 
are  the  Song  of  Hannah  (1  Sam.  ii.  1—10,  see  Driver,  LOT.6  p.  174), 
and  the  "Writing"  of  Hezekiah  (Is.  xxxviii.  9 — 20);  cf.  also  the  Song 
of  the  Three  Children  (inserted  by  the  LXX.  in  Dan.  iii.). 

In  the  narrative  portion  of  the  book  there  are  certain  inconsistencies 
of  representation,  of  greater  or  less  importance,  which  require  to  be 
accounted  for.  It  is  possible  that  they  are  due  to  additions  that  have 
been  made  to  the  text,  or  to  some  dislocation  which  it  has  undergone ; 
and  they  can  be  at  least  partly  remedied  by  excision  or  transposition. 
But  another  explanation  suggests  itself,  namely,  that  the  book  is  com- 
posite, and  has  been  constructed  out  of  two  versions  of  a  single  story. 
This  explanation  at  first  glance  seems  improbable  in  view  of  the 
brevity  of  the  work ;  but  the  facts  that  countenance  it  at  least  deserve 
consideration.  The  principal  are  as  follows : — 

(a)  In  i.  3aa  Jonah  flees  of  set  purpose  to  Tarshish ;  but  in  i.  3a0  his 
going  there  seems  due  to  the  circumstance  that  the  place  was  the  desti- 
nation of  the  ship  which  he  happened  to  find  at  Joppa.    In  this  v.  the 
words  from  the  presence  of  Jehovah  appear  twice  (once  in  each  half- 
verse).   The  conjunction  beginning  the  second  half-verse  can  mean  but. 

(b)  In  i.  7  lots  are  cast  to  decide  to  whose  sin  the  storm  is  due;  but 
in  i.  8  Jonah  himself  is  asked  to  tell  the  sailors  on  whose  account  the 
trouble  had  happened. 

(c)  In  i.  13  mention  of  the  efforts  of  the  sailors  to  bring  back  the 


JONAH 


Ixxxvii 


ship  to  shore  seems  out  of  place  after  the  appeal  to  the  lot  (v.  7),  and 
after  Jonah's  direction  to  them  to  throw  him  overboard  (v.  12).  The 
nevertheless  of  the  R.V.  is  not  the  only  meaning  of  the  Heb.;  it  can 
signify  and.  The  last  clause  of  this  v.  differs  slightly  from  the  similar 
clause  in  v.  11, 

(d)  In  iii.  4  the  Heb.  text  represents  the  respite  granted  to  Nineveh 
as  being  forty  days,  but  the  LXX.  B  has  three  days ;  and  both  of  these 
representations  receive  some  support  from  the  sequel  (see  infra). 

(e)  In  iii.  5  the  fast  and  other  signs  of  repentance  at  Nineveh  pro- 
ceed from  the  spontaneous  action  of  the  people,  and  information  of 
Jonah's  preaching  does  not  reach  the  king  till  afterwards  (v.  6).    This 
is  unnatural,  and  looks  as  though  two  variant  representations  had 
been  combined,  v.  5  constituting  one,  and  w.  6 — 9  constituting  the 
other.   This  is  confirmed  by  a  slight  difference  of  phraseology  between 
v.  5  and  v.  6. 

(/)  In  iv.  1 — 4  Jonah  is  at  once  aware  of  God's  purpose  not  to 
destroy  Nineveh;  but  in  iv.  5  he  is  described  as  sitting  outside  the 
city  (under  a  booth  which  he  had  made)  in  order  to  see  what  would 
become  of  it.  The  latter  account  is  consistent  only  with  the  reading  of 
the  Heb.  text  in  iii.  4 ;  but  the  former  is  compatible  with,  if  it  does 
not  actually  demand,  that  of  the  LXX. 

(g)  In  iv.  5  Jonah  builds  himself  a  booth  to  shield  himself  from  the 
sun;  but  in  iv.  6  God  makes  a  shrub  to  spring  up  to  afford  him  shelter. 
The  booth  and  the  shrub  look  like  variant  devices,  derived  from 
parallel  accounts,  for  securing  the  same  result. 

(h)  In  iv.  8  the  distress  occasioned  to  Jonah  through  the  heat 
striking  his  undefended  head  leads  the  reader  to  expect  from  him  re- 
pinings  on  account  of  his  own  suffering;  but  in  iv.  9 — 10  his  complaints 
appear  disinterested,  and  caused  by  a  sentiment  of  pity  for  the  sudden 
destruction  of  the  shrub. 

In  some  places  there  are  repetitions,  in  different  contexts,  of  the 
same  phrase  (i.  llb  and  i.  13b,  iv.  3  and  iv.  8,  iv.  4  and  iv.  9);  whilst 
one  verse  seems  to  contain  a  doublet  varying  in  phraseology  (i.  14), 
though  whether  significance  attaches  to  these  facts  depends  upon  other 
features  with  which  they  are  combined. 

Of  the  inconsistencies  enumerated  some  are  not  very  serious.  But 
there  remain  a  sufficient  number  of  substantial  discrepancies  to  render 
the  theory  that  the  narrative  is  composite  more  plausible  than  it 
appears  at  first  sight.  Several  critics  who  are  sensible  of  them  have 
sought  to  remove  them  by  textual  alteration.  But  in  the  light  of  the 


Ixxxviii  INTRODUCTION 

composite  origin  of  so  many  Hebrew  writings,  the  view  that  this  book 
is  also  compiled  from  more  than  one  version  of  the  same  story  cannot 
be  dismissed  as  fanciful ;  and  in  short  it  seems  to  afford  a  simpler  solu- 
tion of  some  real  difficulties  than  the  supposition  of  interpolation  or 
displacement.  The  advantage  of  such  a  view  is  that  by  a  single  hypo- 
thesis numerous  phenomena  are  accounted  for,  which  otherwise  have 
to  be  explained  by  a  number  of  separate  assumptions.  Its  chief  defect 
is  the  absence  of  strongly  confirmatory  evidence  from  the  phraseology 
(such  as  helps  to  establish  the  documentary  analysis  of  the  Pentateuch). 
No  assistance,  for  example,  is  derivable  from  the  fluctuations  in  the 
use  of  the  Divine  names  Jehovah  and  God  ('Elohim).  In  i.  6,  iii.  5, 
8 — 10,  God  is  appropriately  put  into  the  mouth  of,  or  used  in  con- 
nection with,  the  heathen:  in  i.  14,  16  Jehovah  is  equally  fittingly 
employed  where  the  heathen  are  represented  as  praying  and  making 
vows  to  the  God  of  the  Hebrews;  but  in  iv.  7 — 9  the  use  of  God 
cannot  be  thus  explained,  and  here  it  is  manifest  from  the  contents  of 
vv.  1  and  9  that  these  verses  must  proceed  from  the  same  hand  that 
wrote  vv.  10,  11  (where  Jehovah  occurs).  It  is  this  circumstance  that 
renders  precarious  any  attempt  to  disentangle  in  minute  detail  the 
strands  from  which  the  narrative  has,  ex  hypotkesi,  been  woven.  Never- 
theless it  may  be  expedient  to  outline  a  scheme  of  analysis  here,  if 
with  no  other  aim  than  to  illustrate  the  kind  of  solution  which  the 
literary  problem  of  the  book  seems  to  require.  The  following  scheme 
assumes  that  the  constituent  sources  are  two;  and  these  are  dis- 
tinguished as  A  and  B,  wherever  sufficient  criteria  appear  to  be  present. 
Where  such  fail,  it  is  inferred  that  the  two  sources  were  of  one  tenor ; 
and  this  common  matter  is  printed  between  them.  See  also  p.  144. 


i.3a 


i.5b 


i.  7 


A  Common 

i.  1—2 


i.  4 


i.  3b 
i.  5a 


i.  5C— 6 


L  8— 10a 


A  Common          B 

i.  14a 
i.  14b  i.  14C 

i.  14d— iii.  4a 
iii.  4bLXX.  iii.4bHeb. 


iii.  5 


iii.  10— iv.  4 


iv.  6—7 


iii.  6—9 
iv.  5 


i.  10b  iv.  8a 

i.  11—12  iv.  8b— 11 

i.  13 

The  distinctive  features  of  the  two  supposed  sources  are  as  follows  :— 
According  to  A  Jonah,  on  being  sent  to  Nineveh,  went  by  design  to 


JONAH  Ixxxix 

Tarshish.  In  the  storm  the  mariners  first  threw  overboard  the  gear 
(or  the  cargo)  of  the  ship,  to  lighten  it;  and  then  cast  lots  to  discover 
on  whose  account  the  trouble  had  befallen  them,  that  they  might  get 
rid  of  him.  The  lot  falling  on  Jonah,  they  realized  the  significance  of 
a  previous  confession  made  by  him  that  he  had  fled  from  the  presence 
of  Jehovah ;  and  they  sought  to  return  to  the  shore  in  order  to  land 
him.  But  since  they  could  not  do  so  owing  to  the  storm,  then,  with  a 
prayer  to  Jehovah,  they  threw  the  prophet  into  the  sea.  The  episodes 
of  the  fish,  of  Jonah's  journey  to  Nineveh,  and  of  his  announcement 
there  were  told  on  common  lines  by  both  sources;  but  in  A  the  period 
of  grace  granted  to  Nineveh  by  Jehovah  was  three  days  (as  stated  by 
the  LXX.).  The  people  fasted  and  repented,  and  God  spared  the  city, 
but  Jonah  was  indignant  and  begged  to  die.  To  afford  him  shade  in 
the  heat,  God  caused  to  grow  in  a  single  night  a  shrub  which  He  de- 
stroyed next  day;  and  Jonah  being  angry  through  pity  for  the  shrub, 
God  asked  Him  whether  He  Himself  had  not  more  reason  to  pity  the 
vast  number  of  living  creatures  contained  in  .Nineveh. 

According  to  B,  Jonah,  being  sent  to  Nineveh,  went  to  Joppa  and 
chanced  to  find  there  a  ship  bound  for  Tarshish.  In  the  storm  the 
mariners  prayed  to  their  gods,  and  Jonah,  who  had  gone  below  to 
sleep,  was  bidden  by  the  captain  to  pray  to  his  God  likewise.  The 
prophet's  withdrawal  having  directed  attention  to  him,  the  crew  put 
questions  to  him  about  himself,  and  on  his  declaring  that  he  was  a 
worshipper  of  Jehovah,  the  Creator  of  the  sea  and  land,  they  were 
afraid.  Asking  him  what  they  should  do  to  him,  that  the  sea  might 
become  calm,  they  were  told  by  the  prophet  to  cast  him  overboard,  for 
he  knew  that  the  storm  had  occurred  on  his  account.  So,  praying  that 
they  might  not  be  guilty  of  innocent  blood,  they  threw  him  into  the 
sea.  As  already  stated,  this  source  recounted  the  incidents  of  the  fish, 
Jonah's  journey  to  Nineveh,  and  his  announcement  there  in  the  same 
way  as  A,  but  it  represented  Nineveh's  term  of  grace  as  40  days.  In- 
formation about  Jonah's  warning  having  reached  the  king,  he  issued  a 
proclamation,  urging  his  people  to  repent.  Jonah  went  outside  the 
city  to  await  the  issue,  which  would  not  be  known  until  after  an 
interval  of  more  than  a  month,  and  built  a  booth  to  shelter  him  in  the 
meanwhile.  God  caused  an  east  wind  to  rise  [and  it  destroyed  the 
booth].  Probably  this  version  ended  with  a  description  of  Jonah's 
distress,  similar  to  that  in  iv.  8b,  and  a  comment  from  God  upon  his 
plaint. 

The  statement  in  iv.  8  that  God  prepared  an  east  wind  is  an  incom- 


xc  INTRODUCTION 

plete  one,  for  nothing  is  said  about  the  purpose  for  which  it  was 
intended.  But  it  is  a  plausible  suggestion  that  it  served  a  similar  end 
to  that  served  by  the  worm  (v.  7)  in  the  companion  version,  and  tore 
down  Jonah's  booth  as  the  worm  destroyed  the  shrub.  The  con- 
struction of  the  booth  clearly  had  in  view  a  long  interval  of  waiting,  so 
that  the  source  (B)  which  contained  the  account  of  it  must  have  had 
in  iii.  4  the  forty  days  of  the  Heb.  text.  On  the  other  hand,  it  seems 
not  improbable  that  the  parallel  source  (A)  had  the  three  days  of  the 
LXX.,  and  that  it  supposed  that  Jonah  became  aware  that  Nineveh's 
repentance  had  averted  its  destruction  by  the  time  he  had  crossed  the 
city  from  one  side  to  the  other  (which  he  would  spend  three  days  in 
doing).  In  these  circumstances  there  was  no  necessity  for  the  prophet 
to  build  a  booth ;  his  departure  for  home  would  be  almost  immediate, 
and  such  relief  as  he  needed  would  be  appropriately  supplied  by  the 
springing  up  of  the  shrub  in  a  night. 

The  termination  of  the  hypothetical  version  indicated  by  B  seems 
not  to  have  been  incorporated.  In  the  book  as  we  have  it  B  ends 
abruptly,  and  the  tenor  of  God's  final  speech  to  Jonah,  as  contained  in 
it,  can  only  be  conjectured.  Possibly  the  concluding  speech  of  the 
Almighty  contrasted  Jonah's  selfish  concern  for  his  own  individual  dis- 
tress, consequent  upon  the  demolition  of  the  booth,  with  the  concern 
which  He  Himself  had  for  the  prospective  suffering  of  the  vast  population 
of  the  threatened  city  (without  specific  reference  to  children  or  cattle). 

It  has  been  contended  that,  in  the  case  of  a  book  of  so  pronounced  a 
didactic  aim  as  Jonah,  a  composite  origin  is  improbable;  and  that  its 
scheme,  in  which  details  are  so  inconspicuous  and  so  carefully  sub- 
ordinated to  the  special  purpose  of  the  work,  bears  the  impress  of  a 
single  mind.  But  this  criticism  does  not  seem  fatal  to  the  compara- 
tively simple  theory  here  sketched.  No  doubt  the  general  plan  really 
proceeded  from  a  single  mind;  but  it  is  not  unlikely  that  the  story, 
when  once  originated,  became  circulated  in  more  than  one  form.  So 
interesting  a  narrative  could  scarcely  fail  to  be  popular;  and  varia- 
tions would  tend  to  appear  in  it  in  the  course  of  transmission.  Sub- 
sequently, two  versions  of  it  were  combined,  most,  though  probably 
not  quite  all,  of  the  variations  in  them  being  retained ;  and  the  result 
is  the  work  in  the  condition  in  which  we  possess  it. 


JONAH  xci 

CHAPTER  IV. 

THE  CHARACTER  OF  THE  NARRATIVE. 

WHILST  a  didactic  purpose  is  visible  throughout  the  book,  and  there 
is  a  general  agreement  respecting  the  lesson  which  it  is  intended 
to  convey  (though  the  different  features  in  its  teaching  have  been 
variously  emphasized  by  different  commentators),  there  has  been  much 
diversity  of  view  regarding  the  character  of  its  contents.  The  historical 
form  in  which  it  is  couched  is  not  necessarily  any  proof  that  it  is,  or 
was  intended  by  its  writer  to  be  considered,  an  actual  history,  but  is 
consistent  alike  with  its  being  meant  either  as  a  record  of  real  events 
or  as  a  work  of  fancy.  A  writer  with  a  moral  or  religious  end  to  serve 
may  select  and  adopt,  for  his  purpose  of  illustrating  by  analogy  a 
spiritual  truth,  an  account  of  some  action  or  experience  either  familiarly 
occurring,  or  reported  to  have  once  occurred,  or  else  he  may  invent, 
with  the  same  object,  a  purely  imaginary  history.  And  in  estimating 
the  character  of  the  contents  of  the  book  of  Jonah,  and  in  determining 
whether  it  is  meant  as  a  history  or  as  a  parable,  it  is  not  sufficient  to 
decide  whether  or  not  it  is  a  history  according  to  modern  notions  of 
what  is  credible :  it  is  necessary  to  consider  whether  it  contains  anything 
that  would  be  deemed  incredible  as  history  in  the  age  which  saw  it 
produced,  and  for  which  it  was  designed,  since  alleged  experiences  appear 
probable  or  improbable  according  to  the  acquaintance  with  nature  and 
natural  processes  that  prevails  at  different  epochs.  Should  it  be  con- 
cluded, however,  on  good  grounds  that  the  narrative  is  not  a  history 
and  was  not  intended  for  such,  but  was  invented  simply  with  a  religious 
purpose  in  view,  there  will  remain  the  further  question  whether  it  is  a 
parable  or  an  allegory.  In  an  allegory  all,  or  at  least  most,  of  the  details 
have  a  symbolic  meaning ;  in  a  parable  the  symbolism  is  to  be  sought  in 
the  general  purport  of  the  story,  the  incidental  details  only  helping  to 
bring  out  the  desired  significance  or  to  render  the  representation  more 
realistic. 

That  the  contents  of  the  book  of  Jonah  are  not  as  a  whole  historical 
if  judged  by  modern  ideas  of  what  is  intrinsically  likely,  ought  not  to 
require  to  be  argued  at  length.   The  book  has  been  classed  by  Budde 
with  Midrashim,  a  Midrash  being  "an  imaginative  development  of  a 
thought  or  theme  suggested  by  Scripture1";  and  examples  of  such  are 

1  Driver,  LOT.  p.  497. 


xcii  INTRODUCTION 

the  stories  of  Tobit  and  Susanna  preserved  in  the  Apocrypha.  The 
writer  of  Chronicles  refers  to  Midrashim  (R.V.  commentary)  containing 
accounts  of  the  actions  and  sayings  of  various  Israelite  kings  (2  Ch. 
xiii.  22,  xxiv.  27);  and  Budde  regards  the  book  of  Jonah  as  a  Midrash 
on  2  Kgs.  xiv.  25,  which  included  the  record  of  Jonah's  prediction  there 
related,  and  followed  it  (after  v.  27)  with  the  narrative  of  the  prophet's 
mission  to  Nineveh  (the  conjunction  And  with  which,  in  the  Heb., 
the  book  begins  linking  the  two l).  The  suggested  connection,  however, 
with  2  Kgs.  xiv.  27  is  not  really  close  enough  to  be  plausible.  Though 
Israel  had  come  into  contact  with  Assyria  before  Jonah's  time  (Jehu,  the 
great-grandfather  of  Jeroboam  II,  being  an  Assyrian  vassal2),  and  though 
the  supposition  that  the  book  was  once  part  of  some  larger  whole  accounts 
very  well  for  the  absence  in  it  of  any  particulars  respecting  the  prophet's 
home  or  date,  there  is  no  allusion  in  the  history  of  Jeroboam  II  (2  Kgs. 
xiv.  23 — 29)  to  Assyria;  whilst  the  first  mention  of  Nineveh  in  the 
books  of  Kings  does  not  occur  until  much  later  (xix.  36).  Nevertheless 
whether  the  book  belongs  to  the  class  of  Midrashim  or  not,  the  estimate 
of  it  as,  in  the  main,  a  creation  of  the  imagination  is  sound.  It  is  not 
impossible,  indeed,  that  tradition  actually  attributed  to  Jonah  a  journey 
to  Nineveh,  and  that  around  him  and  his  experiences  legends  had 
accumulated.  Indeed,  in  the  absence  of  a  satisfactory  explanation 
afforded  by  the  meaning  of  his  name  (see  p.  120),  it  is  difficult  to 
understand  why  a  prophet  living  at  a  definite  time  and  place,  but  not 
otherwise  very  distinguished  (as,  for  instance,  Elijah  and  Elisha  were), 
and  not  connected,  in  the  books  of  Kings,  with  Nineveh,  should  have 
been  selected  by  the  writer  to  illustrate  the  purpose  which  he  had  in 
,.  mind,  unless  some  incident  traditionally  associated  with  him  rendered 
the  choice  appropriate.  Elisha  is  recorded  to  have  gone  to  Damascus, 
the  capital  of  Aram  (or  Syria)  (2  Kgs.  viii.  7) ;  and  it  is  not  incredible 
that  a  prophet  living  in  the  Assyrian  period  of  Hebrew  history  may,  on 
some  occasion,  have  travelled,  or  been  conveyed,  to  a  city  as  remote  as 
the  Assyrian  capital.  But  that  of  such  a  journey,  if  any  really  took 
place,  the  book  presents  a  true  account  is  eminently  improbable.  The 
long  interval  separating  the  date  at  which  the  work  was  composed  (see 
p.  Ixxxv)  from  the  date  of  the  events  which  it  professes  to  record  would 
impair  its  value  as  an  authority  for  detailed  occurrences,  even  if  they 
were  of  a  less  miraculous  character  than  those  actually  recounted.  The 

1  But  see  note  on  i.  1. 

2  This  is  shewn  by  the  inscription  of  Shalmaneser  II  on  the  Black  Obelisk  now 
in  the  British  Museum. 


JONAH  xciii 

title  "king  of  Nineveh,"  to  designate  the  king  of  Assyria,  is  said  to  be 
one  which  could  never  have  been  applied  to  him  in  Assyria  itself1. 
There  is  no  parallel  in  the  historical  books  of  the  O.T.  for  a  mission 
like  that  on  which  Jonah  is  represented  as  having  been  sent;  and  the 
success  described  as  attending  his  preaching  lacks  plausibility2.  Though 
a  foreigner  in  Assyria  and  quite  unaccompanied,  he  is  represented  as 
bringing  to  repentance  the  population  of  a  city  depicted  as  so  large  that 
it  required  three  days'  journey  to  cross.  And  the  record  of  so  extra- 
ordinary an  achievement  is  accompanied  by  the  recital  of  other  wonders 
which  are  even  more  astonishing.  Such  marvels  as  Jonah's  living  for 
three  days  and  nights  within  the  belly  of  a  fish,  his  ejection  by  the  fish 
on  to  dry  land,  and  the  growth  of  a  tree  (or  shrub)  within  a  single  night 
to  a  size  sufficient  to  shield  him  from  the  sun,  invest  the  narrative  with 
an  atmosphere  like  that  of  wonderland.  These  physical  marvels  consti- 
tute at  the  present  day  an  insurmountable  obstacle  to  a  general  belief 
in  the  book  as  a  record  of  actual  facts.  The  abstract  possibility  of  the 
miraculous  (admitted  by  most  theists  who  hold  that  the  uniformities 
of  nature  are  only  the  expression  of  a  Divine  will,  which  has  the  power 
to  vary  them  at  pleasure)  cannot,  in  the  light  of  our  long  experience  of 
the  regularity  of  nature,  render  plausible  the  particular  miracles  here 
related.  The  credibility  of  a  reported  miracle  has  to  be  estimated  by 
the  weighing  of  testimony  and  a  balancing  of  probabilities ;  and  in  the 
case  of  alleged  occurrences  so  abnormal  as  those  here  in  question, 
attested  as  they  are  by  no  evidence  which  is  even  approximately  con- 
temporary, there  can  be  only  one  verdict. 

Some  theologians,  indeed,  in  order  to  make  the  miracle  connected 
with  the  fish  easier  of  belief,  have  adduced  examples,  first  of  monsters 
capable  of  swallowing  a  man,  and  secondly  of  men  being  actually 
swallowed  and  afterwards  disgorged  alive.  The  fish  that  figures  in  the 
story  is  not  necessarily  to  be  identified  with  a  whale;  but  there  are 
even  whales  that  are  able  to  swallow  a  man.  For  instance,  the  gullet 
of  the  spermaceti  whale  or  cachalot,  a  creature  which  has  a  length  of 
55  or  60  feet,  is  capacious  enough  to  take  down  a  man  without  diffi- 
culty3. Again  it  has  been  pointed  out  that  the  rorqual,  the  largest 
variety  of  which  (the  "blue  whale")  sometimes  attains  a  length  of 

1  See  Sayce,  H CM.  p.  487. 

2  Assyriologists,  however,  have  drawn  attention  to  the  circumstance  that  in  the 
reign  of  Eamman-nirari  III  a  monotheistic  reform  is  represented  to  have  occurred 
at  Nineveh. 

3  F.  T.  Bullen,  speaking  of  the  sperm  whale,  says  that  it  "can  swallow  morsels 
of  truly  heroic  size,  at  least  6  ft.  cube." 


xciv  INTRODUCTION 

85  feet,  though  it  has  a  gullet  too  small  for  a  man  to  pass  through,  yet 
possesses  longitudinal  folds  beneath  its  jaws  and  throat  within  which 
a  man  could  lie  at  full  length.  Since,  however,  the  Heb.  expression 
is  perfectly  vague,  and  the  Greek  equivalent  employed  in  the  LXX.  and 
the  N.T.  (K^TOS)  is  applied  to  various  marine  creatures  of  large  size,  a 
more  likely  monster  to  seize  and  swallow  a  human  being  is  some  variety 
of  shark.  Some  specimens  of  the  genus  Carcharias  reach  a  length  of 
25  feet,  whilst  of  the  genus  Carcharodon,  a  native  of  tropical  and  sub- 
tropical seas,  instances  have  been  found  with  a  length  of  40  feet.  One 
of  the  latter,  measuring  36 J  feet,  had  a  jaw  20  inches  wide  (measured 
transversely).  And  examples  are  cited  of  sailors  who  have  actually  been 
swallowed  by  sharks  and  disgorged  alive.  But  such  examples,  so  far  as 
they  are  genuine,  do  not  really  meet  the  difficulties  involved  in  the 
narrative.  For  the  prophet  is  not  only  represented  as  having  been 
swallowed  by  the  great  fish ;  he  is  described  as  having  remained  alive 
and  conscious  within  it  for  three  days  and  nights ;  and  as  having  been, 
at  the  close  of  that  period,  thrown  up  on  the  shore  in  a  condition  sound 
enough  to  allow  him  eventually  to  proceed  on  his  mission  to  Nineveh. 
Consequently  instances  of  "escapes"  like  those  referred  to  could,  even 
if  authentic,  do  little  to  render  the  story  more  credible  to  modern 
minds. 

Pusey  (Minor  Prophets,  p.  258)  quotes  the  following  incident  from  Miiller, 
Vollstdndige  Natur system  des  Ritters  Karl  von  Linne,  Th.  in.  p.  268.  "In 
1758  in  stormy  weather  a  sailor  fell  overboard  from  a  frigate  in  the  Mediter- 
ranean. A  shark  was  close  by,  which,  as  he  was  swimming  and  crying  for  help, 
took  him  in  his  wide  throat,  so  that  he  forthwith  disappeared.  Other  sailors 
had  leapt  into  the  sloop  to  help  their  comrade  while  yet  swimming :  the  captain 
had  a  gun,  which  stood  on  the  deck,  discharged  at  the  fish,  which  struck  it  so 
that  it  cast  out  the  sailor  which  it  had  in  its  throat,  who  was  taken  up,  alive 
and  little  injured,  by  the  sloop  which  had  now  come  up.  The  fish  was  harpooned, 
taken  up  on  the  frigate,  and  dried.  The  captain  made  a  present  of  the  fish  to 
the  sailor,  who  by  God's  Providence  had  been  so  wonderfully  preserved.  The 
sailor  went  around  Europe  exhibiting  it.... The  dried  fish  was  20  ft.  long,  and, 
with  expanded  fins,  9  ft.  wide,  and  weighed  3924  pounds." 

Konig  (Hastings,  DB.  n.  p.  750,  citing  the  Neue  Luth.  Kirchenzeitung, 
1895,  p.  303  f.)  relates  that  a  whale-hunter  named  James  Bartley  was  in  Feb. 
1891  swallowed  by  a  whale,  and  that  on  the  following  day  when  the  animal  was 
killed,  was  taken  alive  out  of  its  stomach.  But  Lukyn  Williams,  investigating 
the  story,  learnt  that  neither  the  owners  of  the  ship  nor  the  widow  of  the 
captain  had  ever  heard  of  it:  see  Exp.  Times,  Aug.  1906,  Jan.  1907. 

It  is  sometimes  urged,  however,  that  belief  both  in  the  historical 
truth  of  the  book  as  a  whole  and  in  the  physical  miracle  of  the  fish  is 


JONAH  xcv 

necessitated  for  Christians  by  Christ's  allusions  to  them  in  the  Gospels. 
It  is  contended  that  our  Lord's  declaration,  that  in  the  Judgment  the 
men  of  Nineveh  would  rise  up  and  condemn  the  Jews  of  His  own  genera- 
tion (Mt.  xii.  39,  41  =Lk.  xi.  29,  30,  32),  implies  His  own  acceptance  of 
the  story  of  Jonah's  mission;  whilst  His  comparison  of  the  prophet's 
imprisonment  in  the  fish's  belly  to  His  own  entombment  in  the  earth 
(Mt.  xii.  40)  is  evidence  that  He  likewise  regarded  as  true  the  narrative 
about  the  fish  (which  may  have  been  the  Scripture  to  which  He  referred 
as  foreshadowing  His  rising  again  on  the  third  day  (Lk.  xviii.  31 — 33, 
cf.  1  Cor.  xv.  4))1.  But  the  issue  is  not  quite  so  plain  as  this  suggests. 
His  reference  to  the  Ninevites,  indeed,  has  good  support  behind  it, 
occurring  as  it  does  both  in  Mt.  and  in  Lk.2;  but  even  so,  it  does  not 
necessarily  place  the  literal  truth  of  the  account  in  the  book  of  Jonah 
beyond  question.  His  treatment  of  the  narrative  as  historical  may  have 
been  a  consequence  inseparable  from  the  conditions  of  His  incarnation. 
Limitations  of  knowledge,  equally  with  physical  weakness  and  infirmity 
appear  to  be  inevitable  concomitants  of  a  true  humanity,  and  were 
manifested  by  our  Lord  on  several  occasions3;  and  the  fact  that  He  (in 
common  with  His  countrymen  at  large)  treated  the  book  of  Jonah  as  a 
record  of  actual  facts  can  reasonably  be  considered  a  natural  result  of 
His  being  bom  a  Jew  at  a  particular  era.  His  allusion  to  Jonah's  deten- 
tion in  tbe  belly  of  the  fish  for  three  days  and  nights,  if  a  genuine 
utterance,  admits  of  being  accounted  for  on  the  same  lines.  But  the 
authenticity  of  the  statement  thus  attributed  to  Him  is  open  to  grave 
suspicion.  It  is  found  in  Mt.  alone,  being  absent  from  the  parallel  in 
Lk.  xi.  29,  30,  32 ;  and  where  it  occurs  in  the  First  Gospel,  it  is  out  of 
keeping  with  its  context.  For  the  purport  of  our  Lord's  answer  to  those 
who  requested  a  sign  was  that  no  sign  of  the  nature  desired,  immediate 
and  visible,  should  be  granted.  The  sole  sign  that  should  be  given  to  them 
was  such  as  was  involved  in  His  preaching,  of  which  Jonah's  preaching 
at  Nineveh  was  a  counterpart.  Only  when  the  sign  of  Jonah  in  Mt. 
xii.  39  is  thus  understood  to  be  the  prophet's  proclamation  to  the  Ninevites 
does  the  argument  that  follows  in  v.  41  (=  Lk.  xi.  32)  become  intelligible ; 
the  Ninevites  repented  in  response  to  Jonah's  warnings,  whereas  the  Jewish 
contemporaries  of  Jesus  paid  no  heed  to  One  among  them  who  was  greater 

1  More  probably  the  Scripture  in  question  is  Hos.  vi.  2. 

2  Certain  narratives  and  discourses  common  to  the  First  and  Third  Gospels  but 
peculiar  to  them  appear  to  be  derived  from  an  earlier  source  usually  designated  by 
the  symbol  Q. 

3  See  Mk.  v.  9,  30,  vi.  38,  ix.  16,  33,  xi.  13. 


xcvi  INTRODUCTION 

than  Jonah.  It  seems  probable,  therefore,  that  the  allusion  in  v.  40  to 
Jonah's  imprisonment  in  the  belly  of  the  fish  was  not  really  our  Lord's, 
but  originated  after  His  Resurrection.  When  a  belief  in  the  physical 
resuscitation  of  His  body  from  the  grave  had  grown  prevalent,  a  com- 
parison between  the  Resurrection  after  a  three  days'  entombment1  and 
Jonah's  release  after  spending  three  days  and  three  nights  within  the 
fish  became  natural,  and  a  corresponding  interpretation  of  Christ's 
reference  to  the  sign  of  Jonah  seems  to  have  been  introduced  into  the 
latest  of  the  Synoptic  Gospels. 

But  whilst  there  is  every  reason  for  concluding  that  the  marvels 
related  in  the  book  of  Jonah  are  really  unhistorical,  there  is  no  reason 
for  classing  the  narrative  amongst  JaUes  (like  that  contained  in  Jud.  ix. 
7 — 15).  A  fable,  in  contrast  to  a  parable,  is  a  story  in  which  things 
happen  that  transcend  the  limits  of  what  contemporary  belief  regards 
as  possible  in  the  place,  or  at  the  time,  supposed ;  whereas  in  a  parable 
these  limits  are  respected.  And  such  is  the  case  here,  for  none  of  the 
incidents  narrated  in  the  book  overstep  the  range  of  wonders  deemed 
credible  by  Hebrew  writers,  as  will  be  realized  if  only  a  few  of  the 
marvels  that  figure  in  the  historical  books  of  the  Hebrew  Scriptures  be 
recalled2.  The  acquaintance  which  the  Hebrews  had  with  nature  was 
not  sufficiently  wide  and  exact,  and  their  ideas  about  natural  law  were 
not  sufficiently  thought  out,  to  prevent  them  from  imagining  the  occur- 
rence of  extraordinary  and  abnormal  incidents  through  the  interposition 
of  God  in  the  interest  of  His  people  or  of  His  prophets.  Moreover,  such 
marvels  are  generally  attributed  to  a  distant  past,  and  tend  to  secure  a 
greater  degree  of  credence  than  would  be  accorded  to  them  if  they  were 
reported  of  a  more  recent  age3.  This  is  as  true  of  the  miracles  narrated 
in  the  book  of  Jonah  as  of  most  others  in  the  O.T.  Jonah  was  a  prophet 
who  lived  some  three  or  four  hundred  years  before  the  writer  who  here 
gives  an  account  of  him;  and  since  he  was  "a  man  of  God,"  represented 
as  entrusted  with  a  commission  from  the  Almighty,  who  could  not  allow 
His  purposes  to  be  foiled  by  any  act  of  man,  no  improbability  would 
attach  to  a  current  tradition  (if  such  was  in  circulation)  ascribing  such 
strange  experiences  to  the  prophet;  nor  would  a  Hebrew  writer  hesitate 


1  According  to  the  Gospel  narrative  our  Lord's  Body  lay  in  the  grave  only  one 
whole  day  and  parts  of  two  others ;  but  on  the  third  day  and  after  three  days  are 
regarded  as  equivalent  expressions  (Mt.  xvi.  21,  Mk.  viii.  31). 

2  See  Num.  xvii.  8,  xxii.  28,  Josh.  iii.  14—17,  vi.  1—20,  x.  13,  14,  2  Kgs.  ii.  8, 
iv.  1—7,  42—44,  vi.  1—7,  etc. 

3  Cp.  Verg.  Aen.  x.  792,  Si  quafidem  tanto  est  open  latura  vetustas. 


JONAH  xcvii 

to  introduce  them  as  credible  incidents  into  an  edifying  story  of  his  own 
invention1. 

But  whilst  it  is  tolerably  certain  that  there  is  nothing  recorded  in  the 
book  of  Jonah  which  either  its  author,  or  the  majority  of  his  contem- 
poraries, would  find  any  difficulty  in  believing,  so  that  the  narrative  is 
not  a  fable  but  a  parable,  it  is  not  easy  to  determine  whether  the  author, 
in  seeking  to  convey  a  desired  religious  lesson,  really  utilized  traditions 
associating  Jonah  with  Nineveh,  and  availed  himself  of  legends  that  had 
gathered  round  the  prophet,  or  whether  the  story  is  altogether  the 
product  of  his  fancy.  The  narrative  is  certainly  a  parable  in  intention ; 
and  if  there  are  actual  traditions  behind  it,  the  historical  interest  is  so 
subordinated  that  it  is  almost  a  parable  in  form.  But  the  supposition 
that  there  previously  existed  a  traditional  nucleus  of  which  the  writer 
made  use  has  the  advantage  of  accounting  for  the  choice  of  Jonah  as 
the  figure  round  which  the  story  moves  (see  p.  xcii).  In  the  absence  of 
such  an  explanation,  it  seems  necessary  to  treat  the  narrative  not  as  a 
parable  but  as  a  deliberate  and  elaborate  allegory2.  If  it  is  regarded 
simply  as  a  parable,  the  only  real  symbolic  element  in  it  is  Jonah 
himself.  The  prophet  is  typical  of  the  Israelite  people,  and  his  un- 
willingness to  become  the  agent  in  saving  Nineveh  from  destruction 
illustrates  Jewish  ill-will  towards  the  heathen  world.  But  to  the  other 
features  in  it  no  symbolism  attaches;  they  are  only  the  circumstances 
against  which  Jonah's  character  is  displayed,  or  by  which  the  develop- 
ment of  the  Divine  purpose  is  helped  forward.  On  the  other  hand,  if 
the  story  is  treated  as  an  allegory,  then  the  names  of  Jonah  and  his 
father  Amittai,  the  stormy  sea,  the  great  fish,  Nineveh,  and  the  tree 
(or  shrub)  that  sprang  up  in  a  night,  all  have  a  symbolic  value.  Jonah 
represents  Israel ;  but  the  choice  of  him  rather  than  of  another  prophet 
to  typify  his  countrymen  is  accounted  for  by  his  name.  The  word  Jonah 
signifies  "a  dove,"  a  bird  to  which  the  Israelite  nation  is  more  than 
once  likened,  whilst  Amittai,  the  name  of  the  prophet's  father,  means 
"truthful"  or  "man  of  truth."  Hence  there  would  be  some  appropriate- 
ness in  symbolizing  Israel,  the  nation  entrusted  with  the  truth  of  God, 
by  Jonah  the  son  of  Amittai.  Jonah  is  naturally  represented  as  a 

1  The  miracles  related  in  the  book  of  Daniel,  a  work  of  the  2nd  century,  are 
associated  with  characters  represented  as  living  in  the  6th  century. 

2  The  distinction  between  a  parable  and  an  allegory  adopted  in  what  follows  is 
that  of  Jiilicher:  see  JTS.  Jan.  1900,  p.  162  f.    Examples  of  allegories  occur  in 
2  Esd.  ix.  38— x.  59  and  xiii.    In  the  N.T.  the  "parables"  of  the  Sower  and  of  the 
Wheat  and  Tares  are  allegorical  in  character;  see  Mk.  iv.  3 — 8,  14—20,  Mt   xiii 
24—30,  37—42. 

w.  „ 


xcviii  INTRODUCTION 

prophet,  inasmuch  as  Israel,  in  the  writings  of  the  Second  Isaiah  and 

elsewhere,  was  regarded  as  having  a  prophetic  vocation  amongst  man- 

kind (p.  Ixxxi).    Nineveh,  the  capital  of  the  greatest  empire  known  to  the 

Israelites  in  the  age  of  the  historic  Jonah,  was  a  fitting  type  of  the 

heathen  world,  which  Israel,  personified  by  Jonah,  was  designed  by  God 

to  bring  to  repentance.   But  Israel  disregarded  its  duty,  and  whilst  thus 

evading  its  true  mission,  was  swallowed  up  by  a  hostile  world-power 

(the  Babylonian  empire)1.   Even  the  casting  of  Jonah  into  the  sea  could 

represent  the  overthrow  of  Israel  as  a  nation,  and  its  submergence 

beneath  heathen  domination.  But  no  doubt  the  great  fish  that  swallowed 

Jonah  may  be  regarded  as  more  decidedly  typical  of  the  empire  that 

absorbed  Israel.    Nebuchadrezzar,  king  of  Babylon,  the  power  that 

extinguished  Israel's  national  existence,  is  expressly  likened  by  Jeremiah 

to  a  sea-monster;  and  Israel,  in  being  carried  into  captivity,  is  figura- 

tively declared  to  have  been  devoured  and  swallowed  up  (  Jer.  li.  34)  ; 

whilst  'God  in  restoring  Israel  is  similarly  represented  as  bringing  forth 

out  of  the  mouth  of  Bel  (the  god  of  Babylon)  that  which  he  had 

swallowed  (Jer.  li.  44).    It  was  only  after  the  Captivity  that  Israel 

recognized  that  it  had  a  duty  to  the  Gentiles  ;  but  even  then  it  had  in 

general  little  sympathy  with  God's  merciful  purposes  towards  them,  and 

its  attitude  is  reflected  in  the  conduct  and  temper  of  Jonah  subsequent 

to  his  release  from  his  imprisonment  in  the  fish.   The  plant  which  raised 

in  Jonah  hopes  that  were  quickly  blighted  has  been  taken  as  an  emblem 

of  Zerubbabel,  designated  by  Zechariah  as  the  Shoot  or  Sprout  (iii.  8, 

vi.  12),  of  whom  great  expectations  were  at  one  time  entertained,  but 

who  failed  to  fulfil  them  (p.  cxxiii).    This  allegorical  interpretation  of 

the  book  is  open  to  some  serious  objections.    In  the  first  place,  there  is 

comparatively  little  evidence  within  the  O.T.  itself  that  Israel  was  ever 

symbolized  by  a  dove.    It  is  often,  indeed,  from  various  points  of  view 

compared  to  one  (Hos.  vii.  11,  xi.  11,  2  Is.  lix.  11,  Ix.  8,  Ps.  Ixviii.  13, 

see  also  Ps.  Iv.  62),  but  so  are  other  peoples  (Jer.  xlviii.  28,  Nah.  ii.  73); 

and  the  only  instance  of  a  dove  being  treated  as  a  symbol  of  the  Israelite 

nation  (perhaps  in  contrast  to  heathen  powers,  conceived  as  birds  of 

prey)  seems  to  be  the  title  of  Ps.  Ivi.,  where  Yonath  'elem  rekoMm,  "the 

silent  dove  of  them  that  are  far  off"  (apparently  the  air  to  which  the 


1  See  G.  A.  Smith,  Book  of  the  XII  Prophets,  n.  p.  523  foil. 

2  By  Jewish  interpreters  Cant.  ii.  14  (0  my  dove),  iv.  1  (thine  eyes  are  as  doves), 
were  applied  to  Israel  (Enc.  Bib.  n.  2567).    In  Ps.  Ixxiv.  19  Israel  is  figuratively 
designated  Jehovah's  turtle-dove  (tor). 

3  Here  Huzzab,  if  a  title,  probably  denotes  either  the  Assyrian  queen,  or  the  city 
of  Nineveh. 


JONAH  xcix 


psalm  was  to  be  sung)  is  rendered  in  the  LXX.  by  virep  TOV  Xaov  aVo  TWV 
dyiW  /Ae/xaKpv//,/xeVov  ("on  behalf  of  the  people  removed  to  a  distance 
from  the  sanctuary").  Next,  there  is  a  decided  lack  of  consistency  in 
an  allegory  in  which  one  heathen  empire  is  symbolized  by  a  sea-monster, 
whilst  the  rest  of  the  heathen  world  is  represented  by  an  historical  city 
that  once  formed  part  of  that  world.  Thirdly,  to  explain  the  great  fish 
as  an  emblem  of  Babylon,  the  destroyer  of  Israel's  independence,  is  to 
misconceive  the  part  played  by  it  in  the  story  ;  the  fish  is  an  agent  not 
of  destruction  but  of  preservation,  its  function  being  to  save  Jonah  from 
drowning,  not  to  injure  him.  Fourthly,  the  explanation  of  the  plant  as 
an  emblem  of  Zerubbabel  is  forced;  for  there  is  no  verbal  expression 
employed  in  the  account  of  its  growth  which  is  suggestive  of  the  term 
(tsemah)  applied  to  Zerubbabel  by  Zechariah,  although  the  cognate  verb 
was  available,  if  the  writer  had  had  the  supposed  signification  in  his 
mind  (see  Gen.  ii.  5,  9).  And  finally,  the  effectiveness  of  the  lesson 
which  the  book  is  designed  to  enforce  is  seriously  impaired  by  the 
allegorical  interpretation.  Consideration  of  the  import  of  the  subor- 
dinate features  in  the  story  distracts  attention  from  the  two  principal 
figures  in  it,  the  Almighty  and  Jonah;  and  the  contrast  between  the 
compassionateness  of  God  and  the  inhumanity  of  the  Jewish  people  in 
the  person  of  one  of  their  prophets  becomes  obscured. 


GENERAL  SUPPLEMENT  TO  THE 
SEPARATE  INTRODUCTIONS. 

CHAPTER  I. 

THE  THEOLOGY  OF  THE  BOOKS  OF  MICAH,  OBADIAH,  JOEL  AND  JONAH. 

SOME  account  of  the  message  conveyed  by  the  prophet  Micah  to  his 
contemporaries  has  already  been  given,  and  attention  will  be  drawn  in 
the  commentary  to  the  teaching  of  the  other  oracles  and  prophecies  that 
are  comprised  in  this  volume.  Nevertheless  it  will  not  be  inexpedient 
to  treat  collectively  all  the  writings  that  are  here  united,  and  to  bring 
under  review  their  main  theological  and  religious  conceptions.  As  they 
all  belong  to  a  period  when  the  prophetic  order  in  Israel  had  arrived  at 
a  belief  in  Jehovah  as  the  only  existing  God,  whose  exalted  nature  and 
character  demanded  a  proportionately  elevated  standard  of  conduct  and 
worship  from  His  servants,  it  will  be  most  convenient  to  begin  by  sum- 
marizing the  principal  attributes  ascribed  to  God  in  the  8th  and  two  or 
three  following  centuries,  and  then  to  consider  how  far  these  writings 
illustrate,  enlarge,  or  modify  the  view  of  God  by  this  time  attained. 
The  enquiry  is  best  divided  into  three  parts,  relating  to  (I)  the  Being  of 
God;  (II)  His  dealings  with  mankind;  (III)  the  duties  of  men  towards 
Him. 

I.  No  systematic  or  coherent  exposition  of  the  Divine  nature  is  found 
in  the  O.T. ;  the  ideas  entertained  about  God  have  to  be  collected  from 
incidental  statements  or  implications  occurring  in  writings  of  various 
dates,  and  reflecting  lower  and  higher  stages  of  intuition  and  inspiration, 
which  are  incapable  of  being  fully  harmonized.  But  if  attention  be  con- 
centrated on  the  teaching  of  the  writing  prophets,  to  the  exclusion  of 
the  immature  phases  of  belief  prevailing  in  earlier  times,  some  common 
religious  convictions  can  be  clearly  discerned.  The  chief  qualities 
ascribed  to  God  which  emerge  from  this  teaching  are  Unity,  Spirit, 
Wisdom,  Goodness,  and  Power1.  All  these  are  inseparable  from  Per- 
sonality ;  and  it  is  obvious  that  by  the  Hebrews  God  was  regarded  as  a 
Person.  The  Divine  nature  was  conceived  after  the  analogy  of  human 
nature,  but  was  deemed  to  be  free  from  the  limitations  that  accompany 

1  Another  quality  is  Holiness  (see  Otto,  The  Idea  of  the  Holy) ;  but  this  is  not 
conspicuously  illustrated  in  the  Prophets  here  considered. 


GENERAL  SUPPLEMENT  ci 

humanity.  The  ideas  formed  about  God's  attributes  of  mind  and 
character  had  a  history,  primitive  fancies  about  Him  being  shed  in 
course  of  time  as  unworthy  and  untrue.  But  to  trace  the  gradual  dis- 
appearance of  such  primitive  fancies  is  unnecessary  here:  what  is 
important  for  the  present  purpose  is  to  consider  the  conceptions  about 
God  cherished  by  the  Hebrews  when  their  religious  progress  during  the 
period  covered  by  the  O.T.  reached  its  culmination. 

(a)  The  Divine  Unity,  belief  in  which  only  by  degrees  replaced  a 
phase  of  thought  that  took  the  existence  of  a  plurality  of  gods  for 
granted,  came  to  be  the  most  fundamental  conviction  of  Hebrew  religious 
thinkers.    It  finds  most  emphatic  expression  in  Dt.  vi.  4,  Jehovah  our 
God  is  one  Jehovah.   The  best  rendering,  however,  of  this  passage  and 
its  true  meaning  are  rather  doubtful  (as  the  variety  of  translations  given 
in  the  R.V.  mg.  shews),  for  it  may  imply  either  that  Jehovah  is  single 
and  indivisible,  in  contrast  to  the  multiplicity  and  variety  of  the  gods 
of  the  heathen,  or  that  He  is  unique  and  incomparable.    Probably  it 
combines  the  two  ideas  that  He  is  intrinsically  one  and  self-consistent ; 
and  that  He  exists  without  a  rival,  all  other  spiritual  powers  being 
subordinate  to  Him1.   That  Jehovah  is  the  only  existing  Deity  is  not 
asserted  as  explicitly  by  any  of  the  prophets  with  whom  we  are  here 
concerned  as  it  is  (for  example)  by  Deutero-Isaiah  (see  2  Is.  xliii.  10, 
xliv.  6,  xlv.  14,  21,  etc.),  but  the  idea  is  implicitly  present.    He  is  the 
God  of  heaven,  the  maker  of  the  sea  and  the  dry  land  (Jon.  i.  9) ;  He 
controls  the  forces  and  agencies  of  nature,  using  them  both  to  punish 
men,  and  to  bring  them  relief  and  prosperity  (Joel  ii.  11,  19,  23 — 25, 
iii.  18,  Jonah  i.  4,  17,  ii.  10) ;  He  is  the  Judge  of  all  peoples  (Mic.  i.  2), 
and  calls  all  nations  to  account  for  the  wrongs  done  by  them  to  Israel 
(Ob.  15,  Joel  iii.  2,  11).    If  His  sole  Godhead  is  not  expressly  affirmed 
by  these  prophets,  the  ascription  to  Him  of  such  authority  over  the 
physical  world  and  the  races  of  men  adequately  attests  their  belief  in  it. 

(b)  That  Jehovah  was  Spirit  and  not  flesh  was  implied  by  Isaiah  when 
he  declared  the  Egyptians  to  be  men  and  not  God,  and  their  horses  flesh 
and  not  spirit  (Is.  xxxi.  3);  and  the  desire  to  preserve  (even  at  the 
cost  of  discouraging  all  graphic  and  plastic  art)  the  belief  in  Jehovah  as 
a  spirit  lacking  corporeal  form  was  one  of  the  motives  that  led  to  the 
prohibition  by  the  religious  teachers  of  Israel  of  all  material  symbols  of 
Him  (cf.  Mic.  v.  13, 14,  and  see  notes  ad  loc.}.  Nevertheless  the  Hebrews 
seem  to  have  found  great  difficulty  in  conceiving  God  to  be  altogether 

1  Gf.  Driver,  Deut.  pp.  89,  90. 


cii  INTRODUCTION 

immaterial,  and  it  looks  as  if  they  were  inclined  to  think  of  spirit  as 
merely  an  extremely  tenuous  and  impalpable  form  of  matter1.  The 
importance  of  safeguarding  the  belief  that  God  in  His  nature  is  only 
spirit  and  not,  like  man,  spirit  and  body  lay  in  its  connection  with  the 
belief  in  His  omnipresence.  From  the  limitations  inseparable  from  a 
solid  bodily  frame  a  spiritual  Being  could  be  deemed  to  be  free ;  so  that 
if  God  were  spirit  only,  His  presence  everywhere  would  be  the  more 
easily  intelligible.  Jehovah's  ubiquity  is  implied  in  several  passages  of 
these  prophets.  He  observes  and  punishes  evil  that  is  committed  in 
Judah  and  Jerusalem  (Mic.  ii.  1 — 11);  but  with  equal  facility  He 
gathers  and  redeems  His  chastened  people  from  the  distant  lands  where 
they  have  been  dispersed  (Mic.  ii.  12 — 13,  iv.  6).  He  requites  wrong- 
doers alike  in  Tyre,  in  Zidon,  in  Edom  and  in  Egypt  (Joel  iii.  4 — 8, 19). 
Perhaps  the  book  of  Jonah  illustrates  most  vividly  the  conviction  enter- 
tained of  His  omnipresence.  He  commands  the  prophet,  whilst  in  the 
Holy  Land,  to  depart  on  a  mission  to  Nineveh ;  when  His  messenger 
disobeys  and  crosses  the  sea,  He  raises  a  storm ;  and  when  Jonah  is 
thrown  overboard  from  the  ship  conveying  him,  He  causes  a  monster  of 
the  deep  first  to  swallow  and  then  to  disgorge  him ;  and  when  at  last 
the  prophet  goes  to  Nineveh,  God's  activity  there  is  manifested  by  the 
miraculous  growth  and  equally  miraculous  destruction  of  the  gourd. 
Nevertheless,  though  the  Lord's  omnipresence  is  thus  conspicuously 
brought  into  mind,  it  is  regarded  as  not  incompatible  with  His  having, 
in  a  special  sense,  His  dwelling  in  Zion  (Joel  iii.  17,  21).  It  is  thence 
that  He  roars  against  His  adversaries  (Joel  iii.  16);  thither  heathen 
peoples,  impressed  by  His  might,  will  ultimately  resort  to  be  instructed 
about  Him  (Mic.  iv.  2);  and  there  the  centre  of  His  kingdom  is  to  be 
(Ob.  21).  The  explanation  of  this  seeming  incongruity  is  to  be  found 
in  the  thought  that,  though  God  is  nowhere  absent  from  the  world,  yet 
He  is  most  intimately  present  in  the  hearts  of  His  servants  and  wor- 
shippers, and  these  were  to  be  found  chiefly,  though  not  exclusively,  in 
the  Jewish  capital. 

(c)  The  greatness  of  God's  Intelligence  and  Wisdom  does  not  receive 
abstract  emphasis  in  these  prophecies  as  it  does  in  some  other  of  the 
O.T.  books  (Prov.  iii.  19,  Jer.  x.  12,  Job  xxxvi.  5),  but  there  is  ample 
evidence  therein  of  a  belief  in  the  boundless  resources  of  His  under- 
standing. He  devises  evil  against  evil-doers,  from  which  they  can  find 
no  escape  (Mic.  ii.  3).  He  foils  the  plans  of  Zion's  foes,  and  disappoints 

1  Cf.  p.  108. 


GENERAL  SUPPLEMENT  ciii 

their  expectations  (ib.  iv.  1 1, 1 2).  He  humbles  the  pride  of  the  Edomites 
amid  their  inaccessible  cliffs  (Ob.  3);  and  threatens  with  destruction 
the  great  city  of  Nineveh  (Jon.  i.  2,  iii.  2).  That  the  fortunes  of  peoples 
are  under  His  control  is  tacitly  but  none  the  less  plainly  affirmed 
wherever  one  nation,  in  the  fancied  pursuit  of  its  own  designs,  is  repre- 
sented as  being  really  the  agent  of  Jehovah  for  chastising  the  offences 
of  another  (Ob.  7—14,  Mic.  i.  5f.,  iii.  9—12).  And  equally  impressive 
does  the  working  of  Divine  Providence  appear  (though  the  fact  is  not 
explicitly  proclaimed  by  the  prophets  but  left  to  be  read  between  the 
lines  they  have  written)  when  the  deportation  of  the  Jewish  race  into  a 
remote  region  and  their  subsequent  wonderful  restoration  to  their  own 
home  are  seen  to  be  events  resulting  in  the  bringing  of  heathen  peoples 
to  a  knowledge  of  the  God  of  Israel  (Mic.  iv.  1 — 4,  vii.  16 — 17). 

(d)  God's  Ethical  Character  is  perhaps  that  aspect  of  Him  which  is 
most  prominently  thrown  into  relief  by  the  Hebrew  prophetic  writers  in 
general.  The  qualities  entering  into  their  conception  of  it  are  principally 
His  justice,  His  compassion,  His  forgivingness,  and  His  faithfulness.  The 
first  of  these  attributes  is  accentuated  by  the  resentment  represented  as 
provoked  in  Him  by  the  social  wickedness  prevalent  in  Judah — the 
oppression  and  spoliation  of  the  poor,  the  corruptness  of  the  governing 
classes,  and  the  dishonesty  practised  in  trade  (Mic.  ii.  1,  2,  8,  9,  iii.  1 — 3, 
9 — 11,  vi.  10 — 12,  vii.  1 — 4);  and  not  less  by  His  wrath  against  the 
Edomites  for  their  unbrotherly  conduct  to  Judah  on  the  occasion  of  the 
latter's  overthrow  (Ob.  10 — 14).  For  all  such  iniquity  retribution  swift 
and  heavy  is  predicted.  But  Jehovah's  justice  does  not  exclude  com- 
passion when  due  chastisement  has  been  inflicted :  from  the  exile  which 
is  destined  to  purify  the  Jewish  people  they  are  ultimately  to  be 
rescued ;  and  from  the  humiliating  conditions  which  continue  to  beset 
them  even  after  their  repatriation  they  are  to  be  relieved  (Mic.  ii.  12 — 
13,  iv.  6 — 8,  v.  2 — 9,  vii.  11 — 12).  Repentance  for  misdeeds  speedily 
evokes  the  Divine  pardon,  and  leads  to  alleviation  of  the  troubles  that 
have  demonstrated  the  Divine  wrath  (Joel  ii.  18  f.).  Nor  is  His  com- 
passionateness  confined  to  Israel.  He  manifests  interest  in  the  heathen; 
sends  a  prophet  to  warn  the  people  of  Nineveh  of  the  destruction  that 
their  sins  have  provoked;  spares  them  when  they  are  penitent;  and, 
rebuking  Jonah  for  his  displeasure  at  the  city's  reprieve,  intimates  His 
concern  for  its  innocent  children  and  even  its  cattle  (Jon.  i.  2  f.,  iv.  11). 

It  is  observable  that  the  prophets  here  under  review  regarded  the 
existing  world  as  the  exclusive  field  for  the  retribution  and  the  recom- 
pense meted  out  by  God  to  the  evil  and  the  good  respectively.  And 


civ  INTRODUCTION 

since  they  could  not  believe  that  God  failed  to  govern  His  world  with 
equity,  they  looked  for  wrongdoing  to  be  requited  without  fail  in  this 
life  (unless  requital  was  averted  by  timely  repentance) ;  and  when 
vengeance  did  not  overtake  the  actual  wrongdoers  during  their  own 
lifetime,  they  supposed  that  it  would  eventually  befall  their  posterity 
(the  responsibility  which  we  consider  to  attach  to  individual  offenders 
being  regarded  by  the  early  Hebrews  as  embracing  their  households  and 
their  descendants).  Similarly  when  the  innocent  seemed  to  miss  their 
reward,  the  apparent  miscarriage  of  Divine  justice  was  accounted  for  by 
the  existence  of  some  ancestral  guilt  which  had  escaped  detection  by 
man  but  was  known  to  God.  It  was,  however,  recognized  at  last  that 
this  view  was  not  really  satisfactory ;  and  so  some  Hebrew  thinkers  in 
the  long  run  came  to  believe  that  the  vindication  of  the  righteous  and 
the  punishment  of  the  unrighteous  would  be  consummated  in  another 
sphere  of  life,  though  the  scene  and  manner  of  the  same  were  differently 
conceived  by  various  minds  (see  Ps.  xvi.,  xvii.,  xlix.,  Ixxiii.,  Job  xxv.  27, 
Dan.  xii.  2,  3,  Wisd.  iii.  1 — 9).  But  this  hope  lay  beyond  the  range  of 
thought  of  our  four  prophets,  in  whose  writings  there  is  no  hint  of 
human  immortality. 

(e)  That  the  prophets  to  whom  these  books  are  due  considered  that 
Jehovah  possessed  all  the  Power  necessary  for  the  execution  of  His 
designs  is  evinced  by  their  attributing  to  Him  as  Author  both  present 
and  past  national  catastrophes  and  deliverances  (Joel  ii.  11,  Mic.  iv.  6, 
7,  vi.  4,  5)  and  by  their  confident  predictions  about  what  He  would 
accomplish  both  of  good  and  of  ill  in  the  future.  But  there  is  a  difference 
between  the  ancient  and  the  modern  conceptions  of  the  Divine  method 
of  working  in  the  natural  world  which  here  calls  for  brief  notice. 

The  Hebrews  so  far  emphasized  the  distinction  between  God  and  His 
universe  that  they  were  prone  to  represent  Him  as  acting  upon  it  from 
without.  Concentrating  their  thoughts  upon  His  transcendence  in 
respect  of  nature,  and  having  little  interest  in  the  scientific  investigation 
of  physical  phenomena,  they  felt  no  difficulty  in  crediting  marvellous 
stories  of  departures  from  common  experience  through  the  immediate 
intervention  of  God.  Modem  thought,  on  the  other  hand,  accentuating 
the  Divine  immanence  in  natural  processes,  systematic  and  regular  in 
their  operation,  finds  it  difficult  to  accept  as  historic  many  of  the 
miracles  recorded  in  the  O.T.,  of  which  notable  examples  occur  in  Jonah 
(p.  xciii).  The  Hebrew  writers,  of  course,  could  not  be  blind  to  some  of 
the  regularities  observable  in  nature.  But  they  were  more  interested  in 
the  purposes  which  nature's  Creator  appeared  to  have  in  view  than  in 


GENERAL  SUPPLEMENT  cv 

the  chain  of  secondary  causes  by  which  He  brought  results  to  pass ;  and 
in  the  study  of  the  O.T.  this  difference  of  mental  attitude  between  its 
authors  and  their  modern  readers  has  constantly  to  be  kept  in  mind. 

II.  Jehovah  was  originally  the  God  of  Israel  (or  of  some  of  the  tribes 
that  constituted  Israel)  just  as  Chemosh  was  the  god  of  Moab,  Milconi 
the  god  of  Ammon,  and  Asshur  the  god  of  Assyria ;  and  it  was  not 
until  the  8th  century  that  He  was  affirmed  by  the  prophets  of  Israel  to 
be  the  only  God.  It  might  have  been  antecedently  expected  that  when 
a  purely  national  god  came  to  be  declared  the  sole  and  supreme  divinity 
in  heaven  and  earth  it  would  be  likewise  contended  that  He  was  not  in 
any  exclusive  or  peculiar  sense  the  God  of  Israel  merely,  but  was  the 
God  of  all  peoples  alike,  impartially  interested  in  the  welfare  of  the 
whole  of  mankind.  This  step,  however,  the  prophets  (including  those 
here  under  discussion)  did  not  fully  take :  whilst  asserting  that  Jehovah 
directed  the  fortunes  of  Israel's  neighbours  as  well  as  of  Israel  itself,  and 
that  He  was  the  Judge  of  all  nations  equally,  they  continued  to  foster 
in  their  countrymen  the  conviction  that  He  felt  special  concern  for 
them,  and  gave  them  the  foremost  place  in  His  love  and  care.  They 
were  His  people  and  His  heritage  (Joel  ii.  17,  iii.  2),  and  Zion,  their 
capital,  was  His  holy  mountain  (ib.  iii.  17,  Ob.  16).  The  bond  between 
Him  and  them  went  back  to  the  age  of  their  forefathers ;  and  in  their 
distress  they  could  appeal  trustfully  to  the  sworn  promise  which  He 
had  made  to  the  patriarchs  Abraham  and  Jacob  (Mic.  vii.  20).  The 
truth  underlying  this  conception  of  a  bond  and  covenant  subsisting 
between  Israel  and  the  Almighty  is  to  be  sought  in  the  signal  privileges 
which  certain  races  and  nationalities  seem  to  enjoy  in  comparison  with 
others  in  regard  to  intellectual  faculties  and  aptitudes,  or  to  qualities 
of  disposition  and  character.  Familiar  examples  in  antiquity  of  such 
gifted  peoples  are  furnished  by  the  Greeks  and  Romans,  who  were  so 
remarkably  endowed,  the  one  with  a  genius  for  art  and  literature,  and 
the  other  with  a  singular  ability  for  government  and  organization,  the 
artistic  creativeness  and  the  instinct  for  political  order,  which  respectively 
characterized  them,  witnessing  to  the  presence  in  them  of  an  exceptional 
degree  of  what  may  reasonably  be  called  inspiration.  Capacities  of 
another  kind  have  been  equally  distinctive  of  certain  other  peoples. 
The  Hebrews,  if  their  prophets  may  be  looked  upon  as  the  flower  of 
their  race,  were  pre-eminently  distinguished  by  a  special  measure  of 
insight  into  religious  truth,  which,  at  the  same  time,  from  a  theological 
standpoint,  implies,  and  can  justly  be  represented  to  be,  a  unique 
revelation,  imparted  to  them  by  God,  of  His  moral  attributes  (according 


cvi  INTRODUCTION 

as  we  accentuate  the  human  or  the  Divine  factor  co-operating  in 
human  history).  It  was  from  Israel,  too,  that  our  Lord  Himself  drew 
His  human  lineage,  crowning  the  line  of  the  prophets  and  likewise,  as 
the  Christ  or  Messiah,  realizing  the  ideal  of  filial  conduct  in  relation 
to  God  which  a  national  king,  concentrating  in  his  own  person  the 
vocation  of  his  race,  had  long  been  expected,  but  expected  in  vain,  to 
fulfil  (p.  cxxx).  But  whilst  the  prophets  believed  themselves  to  be  the 
channels  of  Divine  oracles  to  their  people,  who  were  regarded  by  them 
as  standing  in  an  exceptional  relation  to  the  one  true  God,  they  recog- 
nized (though  not  all  equally)  that  this  privileged  position  carried  with 
it  certain  responsibilities,  and  that  if  Israel  was  the  depository  of  Divine 
revelations,  it  was  entrusted  with  them  for  the  eventual  good  of  man- 
kind. This  conception  of  their  race's  function  in  the  world  takes  more 
than  one  form.  In  many  prophetic  passages  (2  Is.  xlii.  6,  xlix.  6,  Zech. 
viii.  23,  etc.),  and  not  least  conspicuously  in  Mic.  iv.  1 — 3  ( =  Is.  ii. 
2 — 4),  the  prevalent  idea  is  that  Israel  through  its  wonderful  experiences 
of  national  extinction  and  subsequent  revival  would  attract  the  attention 
of  a  multitude  of  peoples  to  the  God  of  Israel  who  had  wrought  so 
marvellously  for  His  votaries,  and  would  induce  the  heathen  to  seek  at 
Jerusalem  for  knowledge  about  so  potent  a  Deity.  But  in  one  of  the 
four  books  included  in  this  volume,  namely  Jonah,  this  idea  assumes  a 
different  shape.  It  is  presupposed  that  Israel  had  a  direct  mission 
towards  the  rest  of  the  world  which  it  was  its  duty  to  execute.  The 
chief  character  in  the  book  is  a  personification  of  Israel;  and  the 
prophet  is  represented  as  expressly  charged  by  God  to  warn  the  people 
of  the  heathen  city  of  Nineveh  (symbolizing  the  Gentile  world)  of  their 
imminent  doom  unless  they  would  repent  and  secure  their  pardon.  The 
author  thus  illustrated  what  he  took  to  be  the  vocation  of  Israel  amongst 
mankind,  whilst  at  the  same  time  by  depicting  Jonah  as  first  of  all 
trying  to  evade  his  commission,  and  then  as  being  displeased  at  the 
mercy  shewn  by  God  to  the  Ninevites  when  penitent,  he  held  up  a 
mirror  to  those  of  his  countrymen  who  grudged  to  their  Gentile  neigh- 
bours any  share  in  God's  compassion,  instead  of  lending  themselves 
gladly  to  promote  His  saving  purposes. 

III.  Since  Jehovah  was  believed  to  be  bound  to  Israel  by  a  per- 
manent and  inviolable  tie,  since  He  was  regarded  as  the  owner  of  the 
land  and  as  its  people's  Divine  king,  and  since  He  was  supposed,  like 
human  sovereigns,  to  take  pleasure  in  honorific  oblations  and  other 
tokens  of  homage,  which  in  general  there  was  no  unwillingness  on  the 
part  of  the  people  to  render  (the  mass  of  men  at  all  times  being  ready 


GENERAL  SUPPLEMENT  cvii 

to  perform  religious  ceremonies),  the  early  prophets  (such  as  Elijah) 
found  little  to  censure  in  their  nation,  save  when  a^disposition  was 
manifested  by  a  contemporary  ruler,  followed  by  a  section  of  his  sub- 
jects, either  to  represent  Jehovah  by  some  material  symbol,  or  else  to 
abandon  the  exclusive  worship  of  Him  and  to  pay  adoration  to  the 
god  of  a  neighbouring  state.  But  the  deeper  insight  into  the  nature  of 
God  marking  the  prophets  who  appeared  in  the  8th  century  and  their 
successors  caused  these  to  contend  that  no  formal  service  of  Jehovah, 
divorced  from  the  discharge  of  moral  duties,  could  ensure  the  retention 
of  His  favour ;  and  that  the  multiplication  of  sacrifices  by  those  who 
were  guilty  of  social  offences  could  only  aggravate  the  Divine  dis- 
pleasure. Of  the  four  prophets  here  dealt  with  Micah  in  Jehovah's 
name  denounced  with  the  utmost  vehemence  the  violence  and  cor- 
ruption of  the  more  powerful  classes  among  his  contemporaries ;  and 
declared  that  under  such  conditions  the  trust  reposed  in  the  presence 
of  Jehovah  amongst  them  was  a  fatal  delusion.  In  his  surviving  oracles, 
indeed,  he  does  not,  like  Amos  and  Isaiah,  directly  assail  the  folly  of 
imagining  that  God  would  be  content  with  sacrificial  offerings  in  lieu 
of  social  righteousness ;  but  by  a  later  prophet,  whose  utterances  are 
included  in  the  book  bearing  Micah's  name,  there  is  repudiated  most 
impressively  the  thought  that  sin  can  be  expiated  by  sacrifices  however 
costly,  since  God's  essential  requirements  from  man  are  justice,  mercy, 
and  humility  before  his  Maker. 


CHAPTER  II. 

MESSIANIC  PROPHECY. 

THE  occurrence  in  Mic.  v.  2 — 6  of  a  prediction  of  the  kind  usually 
designated  Messianic,  and  the  citation  of  part  of  it  in  the  New  Testament 
(Mt.  ii.  6),  render  it  desirable  to  bring  this  oracle  into  relation  with 
other  prophecies  of  the  same  class.  It  is  not  proposed,  indeed,  to  take 
account  in  detail  of  the  whole  field  of  Messianic  prophecy;  but  it  will 
be  useful  to  review  briefly  such  predictions  as  appear  to  be  of  earlier 
date  than  Mic.  v.  2 — 6,  and  to  distinguish  in  these  certain  common  or 
contrasted  features ;  whilst  it  will  contribute  to  a  better  comprehension 
of  the  whole  subject  if  some  attention  is  paid  to  the  directions  in  which 
prophetic  anticipations  developed  during  the  centuries  subsequent  to 
the  probable  date  of  Mic.  v.  2 — 6,  and  the  realization  which  these 
received  in  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 


cviii  INTRODUCTION 

The  term  Messiah  is  a  title  meaning  " anointed";  and,  when  not  used 
as  an  adjective,  is  followed  in  the  O.T.  by  the  genitive  of  the  Divine 
name  Jehovah  or  an  equivalent  possessive  pronoun  (my,  thy,  his).  It  is 
applied  to  various  classes  of  persons,  including  Israelite  kings  (1  Sam. 
ii.  10,  xii.  3,  xxiv.  6,  10,  etc.,  2  Sam.  xix.  21,  Lam.  iv.  20),  high  priests 
(Lev.  iv.  3,  5,  16,  vi.  22  (15),  2  Mace.  i.  10,  and  perhaps  Ps.  Ixxxiv.  9 
(10)),  the  patriarchs  (Ps.  cv.  15),  and  collective  Israel  (Hab.  iii.  13, 
Ps.  xxviii.  8).  It  was  perhaps  also  applicable  to  prophets,  for  these 
were  sometimes  anointed  (1  Kgs.  xix.  16);  and  though  the  term  is  not 
actually  employed  in  the  O.T.  in  connection  with  them,  yet  it  is  probable 
that  the  Hebrew  patriarchs  were  denominated  by  the  writer  of  Ps.  cv. 
Jehovah's  anointed  in  virtue  of  their  being  accounted  prophets  (cf. 
Gen.  xx.  7).  In  one  instance  it  is  also  used  of  a  foreign  ruler  (Cyrus),  re- 
garded as  an  accredited  agent  to  carry  out  Jehovah's  designs  (2  Is.  xlv.  1). 
The  practice  of  anointing  persons  by  way  of  investing  them  with 
authority  is  perhaps  a  survival  from  a  totemistic  stage  of  religion,  when 
some  animal  or  plant  was  taken  to  be  the  divine  ancestor  of  a  particular 
tribe  or  clan,  which,  in  consequence,  bore  its  name  (see  p.  120),  and 
when  its  blood  or  fat  (if  the  totem  was  an  animal)  or  the  oil  obtained 
from  it  (if  it  was  a  berry-bearing  plant  like  the  olive)  was  deemed,  where 
smeared  upon  a  member  of  the  tribe  or  clan,  to  be  a  means  of  imparting 
to  him  some  of  the  qualities  of  the  sacred  ancestor.  Later,  when  the 
totemistic  stage  of  thought  was  outgrown  and  replaced  by  a  more 
enlightened  form  of  religious  belief,  the  ceremony  of  anointing  and  the 
use  of  the  term  naturally  became  purely  symbolical  (see  3  Is.  Ixi.  1). 

Although,  as  has  been  seen,  the  title  Messiah  was  applied  to  more 
than  one  class  of  official,  it  was  predominantly  used  of  kings.  Both 
Saul  and  David,  as  well  as  some  of  their  successors,  are  severally  termed 
the  Messiah  of  Jehovah  (I  Sam.  xxiv.  6,  2  Sam.  xix.  21,  Ps.  ii.  2,  xviii. 
50,  etc.);  and  the  rite  of  consecration  by  means  of  oil  is  expressly 
mentioned  in  connection  with  them  (1  Sam.  x.  1,  xvi.  13,  1  Kgs.  i.  39, 
xix.  16,  Ps.  Ixxxix.  20)/  It  is  the  association  of  the  term  with  the  function 
of  kingship  that  has  caused  the  epithet  Messianic  to  be  employed  to 
describe  certain  predictions,  delivered  by  the  prophets  on  occasions  of 
national  disaster  or  depression,  which  foretold  the  advent  of  a  king 
destined  to  put  an  end  to  the  distress  of  his  people  and  to  restore  them 
to  greatness  and  glory  (though  to  such  an  expected  king  the  title 
Messiah  is  not  actually  applied).  But  the  term  Messianic  is  also  loosely 
used  to  denote  prophecies  predicting  for  Israel  conditions  of  peace  and 
prosperity  without  any  reference  to  a  human  ruler;  and  it  is  likewise 


GENERAL  SUPPLEMENT  cix 

applied  to  passages  in  the  prophetic  writings,  wherein  announcement  is 
made  of  a  future  line  of  kings  under  whom  the  nation  is  to  enjoy 
felicity,  but  without  stress  being  laid  upon  any  pre-eminent  individual 
amongst  them/  Hence  the  nature  of  the  prophecy  in  Mic.  v.  renders  it 
expedient  to  confine  detailed  attention  to  those  prophecies  only  which 
pre-announce,  or  appear  to  pre-announce,  the  advent  of  an  individual 
prince  of  consummate  qualities ;  but  before  considering  these  it  will  be 
desirable  to  begin  with  a  more  general  survey,  and  to  trace,  as  far  as 
possible,  the  genesis  of  this  expectation,  in  times  of  adversity,  of  a 
happier  future,  in  descriptions  of  which  a  king  of  exceptional  parts 
occasionally  but  not  uniformly  figures. 

Some  of  the  peoples  of  antiquity,  in  contrasting  contemporary  evils 
under  which  they  suffered  with  a  better  time  that  their  fancy  painted, 
placed  the  latter  in  the  prehistoric  past,  from  which  they  supposed  that 
there  had  been  a  continuous  declension  down  to  their  own  day.  Thus 
the  Greek  poet  Hesiod  begins  his  account  of  the  history  of  mankind  with 
a  Golden  race,  when  the  primitive  god  Kronos  (the  equivalent  of  the 
Latin  Saturnus)  held  sway ;  and  traces  growing  deterioration  through 
the  races  of  Silver,  Bronze,  and  the  Heroes  until  he  comes  to  his  own, 
which  he  calls  the  race  of  Iron,  the  last  and  worst.  The  retrospect 
is  shared  by  the  Roman  Vergil,  though  in  a  less  sombre  spirit  (G.  I. 
125  f.) ;  and  even  when  the  latter  (after  the  peace  of  Brundisium 
in  B.C.  40)  looked  forward  to  the  dawning,  in  the  near  future,  of  a 
happier  age  than  that  with  which  he  had  been  familiar,  he  conceived  it 
to  be  a  return  to  the  conditions  of  the  earth's  infancy : — 

Magnus  ab  integro  sceclorum  nascitur  or  do. 

lam  redit  et  Virgo  (Astrsea),  redeunt  Saturnia  regna. 

But  this  was  not  the  outlook  of  the  Hebrews.  For  them  the  future 
held  something  better  than  there  had  ever  been  before ;  and  so  far  as 
they  drew  upon  the  past  in  giving  shape  to  their  hopes,  they  did  not 
recur  to  the  myths  current  concerning  the  primaeval  world,  but  to  a 
phase  in  their  own  historical  experience,  enhanced  and  magnified  by  a 
glowing  imagination. 

The  confidence  in  its  future  which  Israel  retained  throughout  longer 
or  shorter  periods  of  affliction  and  humiliation,  and  which  eventually 
took  form  in  the  Messianic  hope,  had  its  foundation  in  religion.  Israel's 
religion,  however,  in  its  early  character  did  not  differ  greatly  from 
that  of  kindred  and  surrounding  peoples.  Like  other  nations  the 
Israelites  started  with  monolatry — a  belief  in,  and  the  worship  of,  a 


ex  INTRODUCTION 

single  deity,  without  any  accompanying  disbelief  in  the  existence  of 
other  divinities  to  whom  their  neighbours  rendered  allegiance,  and  who, 
in  times  of  warfare,  were  the  antagonists  of  their  own  God  Jehovah. 
Their  thoughts  about  Jehovah  and  their  feelings  towards  Him  were  not 
dissimilar  to  those  which  the  Moabites,  for  example,  cherished  con- 
cerning Chemosh.  They  were  individually  Jehovah's  sons  and  daughters, 
or  the  collective  community  was  His  son  (Hos.  xi.  1,  Dt.  xxxii.  6),  as  the 
Moabites  were  the  sons  and  daughters  of  Chemosh  (Num.  xxi.  29) ;  in  the 
conduct  of  their  wars  Jehovah  took  part ;  and  He  was  as  much  concerned 
as  they  in  the  issue,  since  their  success  or  failure  in  them  redounded  to 
His  reputation  or  to  His  discredit  (Ex.  xv.  3,  4,  Jud.  iv.  14,  v.  23,  vii.  20, 
2  Sam.  v.  24,  Ps.  Ixxix.  10). 

In  the  case  of  the  Semitic  races  generally  triumph  in  war  tended  not 
only  to  foster  national  pride  but  also  to  develope  a  conviction  that  the 
national  divinity  was  superior  to  rival  gods.  And  in  the  instance  of 
Israel  the  belief  which  came  to  be  entertained  about  Jehovah's  exceptional 
power  in  comparison  with  that  of  other  deities  can  be  traced  to  two 
definite  events  in  their  history.  The  first  of  these  was  the  deliverance 
from  bondage  in  Egypt,  followed,  as  it  was,  by  the  conquest  of  Canaan. 
It  was  the  escape  from  their  Egyptian  task-masters,  through  occurrences 
which  seemed  to  be  due  to  the  providence  of  Jehovah,  that  especially 
caused  the  Israelites  to  deem  themselves  the  objects  of  His  paternal 
care,  and  to  judge  Him  to  be  mightier  than  all  the  gods  of  Egypt  (see 
Hos.  xi.  1,  xii.  9,  Am.  ii.  10,  iii.  1,  2,  Ex.  xii.  12,  Num.  xxxiii.  4);  and 
His  graciousness  and  His  strength  were  shortly  afterwards  as  signally 
manifested  by  His  ejection  from  before  them  of  the  tribes  of  Canaan 
and  the  bestowal  upon  His  worshippers  of  the  possessions  of  its  in- 
habitants (Neh.  ix.  24,  Ps.  xliv.  2,  Ixxviii.  55,  Ixxx.  8,  cxxxvi.  17 — 22). 
A  subsequent  age  sought  to  demonstrate  that  these  wonderful  experiences 
were  the  outcome  of  Jehovah's  benevolent  purposes  towards  their 
nation  by  representing  them  as  having  been  predicted  by  Him  long 
before  to  their  ancestors  when  these  were  but  lonely  wanderers  (see 
Gen.  xii.  1—3,  xiii.  14 — 17,  xv.  13—16,  2  Sam.  vii.  23, 24).  The  second 
event  which  made  a  deep  impression  on  the  national  mind  as  attesting 
alike  Jehovah's  interest  in,  and  love  for,  Israel,  and  His  ability  to  give 
proof  of  both  in  the  promotion  of  its  fortunes,  was  the  establishment  of 
the  monarchy.  The  need  of  a  king  to  weld  a  loose  aggregate  of  quarrel- 
some tribes  into  a  nation  became  manifest  when  serious  danger 
threatened  from  the  Philistines  (p.  82).  The  reign  of  the  first  sovereign, 
Saul,  ended,  indeed,  in  disaster ;  but  his  successor  David  shewed  himself 


GENERAL  SUPPLEMENT  cxi 

capable  of  consolidating  his  subjects  into  a  unity,  which  lasted  to  the 
end  of  his  own  life  and  that  of  his  son  Solomon,  and  enabled  the  people 
not  merely  to  defend  themselves  against  aggression  but  to  extend  their 
territories  in  various  directions.  That  the  institution  of  the  monarchy 
in  Israel,  with  the  resultant  triumphs  over  peoples  like  Moab  and  Edom, 
obtained  in  the  reign  of  David,  was  also  regarded  as  predetermined  in 
the  counsels  of  Jehovah  appears  from  a  prophecy  of  it  which  is  attributed 
to  the  seer  Balaam  and  represented  as  delivered  by  him  whilst  Israel 
was  yet  in  the  wilderness  (see  Num.  xxiv.  15—19),  though  the  precision 
of  it  suggests  that  it  is  really  a  vaticinium  post  eventum,  and  originated 
after  the  monarchy  had  come  into  existence1. 

In  this  connection  it  is  desirable  to  discuss  here  a  passage  which  has  often 
been  deemed  Messianic  in  the  sense  denned  above,  though  probably  erroneously. 
This  is  Genesis  xlix.  10,  part  of  the  prediction  about  Judah  included  among 
the  "Blessings"  represented  as  pronounced  by  the  patriarch  Jacob  upon  all  his 
sons2.  These  "blessings,"  in  general,  appear  to  date  from  the  period  of  the 
Judges ;  but  v.  10  may  reasonably  be  suspected  to  be  of  post-Davidic  origin. 
As  will  be  seen  from  the  various  renderings  of  the  passage  offered  in  the  text 
and  margin  of  the  R.V.,  both  the  meaning  and  the  originality  of  the  existing 
Hebrew  are  doubtful.  The  most  obvious  translation  of  the  present  text  is  the 
following  (cf.  the  R.V.  margin) : 

"  The  sceptre  shall  not  depart  from  Judah, 
Nor  the  ruler's  staff  from  between  his  feet, 
Until  he  come  to  Shiloh, 
And  unto  him  shall  the  obedience  of  the  peoples  be." 

This  is  supported  by  the  fact  that  everywhere  else  in  the  O.T.  Shiloh  is  a  place- 
name,  and  denotes  the  locality  where  all  the  congregation  of  Israel  is  recorded 
to  have  assembled  after  the  invasion  of  Canaan  by  Joshua,  in  order  to  determine 
by  lot  what  parts  of  the  country  should  belong  to  each  of  the  seven  tribes  that 
had  not  previously  received  their  portions  (Josh,  xviii.).  But  historically  it  is 
very  unlikely  that  the  tribe  of  Judah  gathered  at  Shiloh  in  the  time  of  Joshua, 
even  if  there  was  an  assembly  of  other  tribes  there  (Judah  and  Simeon  appear 
to  have  entered  Canaan  from  the  south3);  and  certainly  nothing  happened  at 
Shiloh  affecting  the  fortunes  or  position  of  Judah,  as  suggested  in  the  verse 
under  consideration.  An  alternative  rendering  of  the  existing  Hebrew  of  the 
third  line  is  that  which  is  given  in  the  text  of  the  R.V.,  "Until  Shiloh  come"; 
and  it  has  been  widely  assumed  that  by  Shiloh  is  meant  the  Messiah ;  and  the 
passage  is  taken  as  a  real  prediction  that  the  regal  associations  attaching  to 
the  tribe  of  Judah,  through  the  circumstance  that  the  dynasty  of  David  belonged 
to  that  tribe,  would  last  until  the  Messiah's  advent ;  and  that  He,  at  His  coming, 
would  receive  the  allegiance  of  the  world.  If  this  were  really  a  probable  inter- 

1  See  Gray,  Numbers,  pp.  313,  314  (I.C.C.);  Kennedy,  Numbers,  p.  332  (C.B.). 

2  See  Driver,  Gen.  pp.  385,  386,  410—415  (West.G.). 

3  See  Burney,  Judges,  pp.  cv,  46. 


cxii  INTRODUCTION 

pretation,  the  passage  would  be  Messianic  in  the  strict  sense.  But  Shiloh  is- 
not  a  name  elsewhere  in  the  Bible  applied  to  the  Messiah,  and  it  does  not 
connote  a  meaning  which  would  be  appropriate  to  him,  for  the  Hebrew  root 
with  which  it  seems  to  be  connected  signifies  "to  be  quiet,"  "to  be  at  ease,"  or 
even  "to  be  easy-going,"  but  not  "to  be  peaceful"  (in  the  proper  sense).  In 
these  circumstances,  it  appears  necessary  to  conclude  that  the  traditional 
Hebrew  text  is  faulty,  and  that  the  authentic  text  is  preserved  in  the  LXX. 
and  other  Greek  versions,  in  the  Syriac,  and  in  several  of  the  Targums.  All 
these  translations  and  paraphrases  were  made  from  a  text  that,  instead  of 
Shiloh,  had  Shelloh,  which  can  signify  (as  the  R.V.  notices  in  the  margin) 
either  "that  which  is  his"  or  "he  whose  it  (the  sceptre)  is."  But  the  first 
of  these  significations,  yielding  the  rendering  "until  that  which  is  his  shall 
come,"  makes  poor  sense,  for  it  is  not  easy  to  see  how  Judah's  acquisition  of  its 
own  would  mark  the  cessation  of  its  previous  authority.  The  second  possible 
signification — "until  he  shall  come  whose  it  (the  sceptre)  is" — has  likewise 
been  taken  to  have  the  Messiah  in  view.  It  is  assumed  that  the  sceptre  must 
be  an  emblem  of  royal  authority ;  and  the  passage  has  been  understood  to  be 
a  prediction  that  a  succession  of  kings  belonging  to  the  tribe  of  Judah  would 
not  terminate  until  the  coming  of  the  Messiah,  through  whom  the  limited  realm 
possessed  by  previous  sovereigns  would  be  transformed  into  one  of  world- wide 
extent.  But  a  similar  objection  to  that  attaching  to  the  alternative  translation 
presents  itself  here,  for  Judah,  as  the  tribe  of  the  reigning  dynasty,  would 
acquire  enhanced  eminence  through  the  replacement  of  a  line  of  ordinary  kings 
by  the  Messiah  himself,  and  would  not  experience  a  loss  of  importance  (as  the 
word  until  suggests).  These  objections,  however,  are  avoided  if  the  passage  be 
interpreted  of  the  termination  of  Judah's  tribal  independence  through  the  firm 
establishment  of  monarchical  authority  in  the  hands  of  David.  When  the 
collective  tribes  became  united  into  a  kingdom  under  a  single  ruler,  the 
authority  previously  exercised  by  each  tribe  over  its  own  members  passed  to 
the  king,  and  Judah  would  lose  this,  equally  with  the  rest  of  the  tribes.  If  such 
be  the  right  explanation  (and  though  it  is  not  free  from  difficulty,  it  seems 
more  plausible  than  the  others)  the  import  of  the  passage  appears  to  be  a 
prophecy  of  the  advent,  not  of  the  Messiah,  but  of  the  first  sovereign  springing 
from  the  tribe  of  Judah ;  though  it  is  perhaps  less  likely  to  be  a  real  prediction 
of  that  event,  and  to  date  from  a  time  prior  to  it,  than  to  be  an  oracle 
composed  after  the  occasion  which  it  purports  to  foretell,  originating  either  in 
the  reign  of  David  himself  or  in  that  of  Solomon,  but  put  into  the  mouth  of  the 
patriarch  Jacob1. 

The  success  which,  in  spite  of  internal  troubles,  marked  David's 
reign — his  expulsion  of  the  Philistines  from  Israelite  territory,  his 
capture  of  Jerusalem  from  the  Jebusites,  his  conversion  of  it  into  a 
capital  for  the  nation  which  he  had  consolidated,  and  his  victories  over 
Moab,  Ammon,  Edom,  and  other  peoples — profoundly  impressed  the 

1  The  passage  seems  to  be  referred  to  in  Ezek.  xxi.  27,  where  it  appears  to  be 
invested  with  a  Messianic  significance. 


GENERAL  SUPPLEMENT  cxiii 

minds  of  his  countrymen.  His  house  came  to  be  viewed  as  the  nerve-centre 
of  the  state,  the  seat  and  mainspring  of  its  activities,  and  the  channel 
through  which  God  had  chosen  to  glorify  Israel.  In  David  and  his  line 
the  filial  relation  which  Israel  was  believed  to  occupy  towards  Jehovah 
(p.  ex)  was  held  to  be  concentrated.  If  the  nation  was  Jehovah's  son, 
as  evidenced  by  the  marvellous  favour  which  it  had  enjoyed,  the  suc- 
cessive sovereigns  of  David's  lineage  could  be  deemed  to  represent  in 
this  respect  their  collective  subjects;  and  in  virtue  of  the  fact  that  they 
were  individual  personalities,  they  were  qualified  to  realize  this  concep- 
tion the  more  vividly  and  effectually  (see  2  Sam.  vii.  12 — 16,  Ps.  Ixxxix. 
26,  27).  Many  Judsean  kings,  of  course,  in  their  character  and  conduct 
fell  far  below  the  ideal  which  such  relationship  involved,  disregarding; 
the  administration  of  justice  to  their  subjects,  and  fancying  that  formal 
acts  of  worship  would  satisfy  Jehovah.  Nevertheless  repeated  failures 
on  the  part  of  one  monarch  after  another  to  exhibit  the  disposition,  or  to 
experience  the  fortune,  appropriate  to  a  ruler  whom  Jehovah  graciously 
styled  His  son,  could  not  destroy  the  conviction  entertained  by  the 
prophets  that  it  was  through  a  descendant  of  David  that  the  high 
destiny  believed  to  be  designed  for  Israel  would  be  fulfilled.  The 
retribution  which  was  bound  to  follow  moral  and  religious  offences  could 
not  (it  was  thought)  cancel  Jehovah's  promises.  Consequently  the 
national  hope,  if  often  disappointed,  continually  revived,  for  Jehovah 
would  be  faithful  to  His  covenant.  He  was  permanently  Israel's 
spiritual  King  (1  Sam.  xii.  12,  Is.  xxxiii.  22,  Ps.  xliv.  4,  Ixxiv.  12, 
xcviii.  6,  2  Is.  xliii.  15),  and  it  was  through  a  human  king,  deriving  his 
ancestry  from  the  son  of  Jesse,  and  acting  as  Jehovah's  vicegerent, 
that  the  Divine  goodness  towards  Israel  would  finally  be  consummated. 
For  the  purpose  of  reviewing  the  nature  of  the  assurances  respecting 
a  glorious  future  with  which  the  prophets  sought  to  relieve  the  despond- 
ency of  their  fellow-countrymen  in  times  of  calamity,  it  is  proposed  here 
to  divide  them  into  classes  according  to  their  tenor,  without  respect  to 
chronology,  though  within  these  classes  regard  will  be  paid  to  chronological 
order,  so  far  as  this  is  clearly  ascertainable.  In  the  first  class  will  be 
included  prophecies  wherein  no  mention  is  made  of  a  human  king  in 
connection  with  the  felicity  promised  to  the  people.  In  the  next  there 
will  be  comprised  those  predictions  in  which  the  restoration  of  happy 
national  conditions  is  associated  with  the  rule  of  righteous  kings  be- 
longing to  David's  house.  The  third  will  contain  certain  oracles  which 
appear  to  announce  with  more  or  less  definiteness  the  birth  of  an 
individual  king  of  pre-eminent  attributes,  whose  function  it  will  be  to 
w.  ;. 


cxiv  INTRODUCTION 

ensure  for  his  people  both  external  security  and  internal  integrity.  The 
oracles  constituting  this  last  class,  and  alone  properly  deserving  the 
title  Messianic,  will  require  to  be  considered  at  greater  length  than  the 
others,  which  can  be  dismissed  without  much  discussion. 

1.  Of  the  class  of  passages  from  which  all  stress  upon,  or  even 
mention  of,  a  king  or  kings  of  David's  line  is  absent  and  in  which 
Jehovah  Himself  is  represented  as  being  in  Person  His  people's  Protector 
and  Ruler,  illustrations  may  be  taken  from  Is.  iv.  2 — 6,  xxxiii.  20 — 24, 
3  Is.  Ix.1.    Of  these  passages  the  first  is  probably  Isaianic  in  origin  (with 
the  exception  of  vv.  5,  6,  which  contain  some  late  features)  but  the 
other  two  are  most  likely  post-exilic.    Is.  iv.  2 — 6  is  a  prediction  that, 
after  a  severe  judgment  shall  have  eradicated  impenitent  offenders  from 
the  nation,  the  land  will  be  clothed  with  luxuriant  vegetation  and  will 
produce  abundant  crops,  supplying  the  needs  of,  and  reflecting  glory 
upon,  the  surviving  inhabitants,  who  will  all  be  holy  and  pious  in 
character,  and  who  will  be  screened  by  Jehovah  Himself  from  all  distress 
arising  from  injurious  conditions.    In  Is.  xxxiii.  20 — 24  (seemingly  a 
late  conclusion  appended  to  an  Isaianic  oracle)  it  is  declared  that 
Jehovah  will  abide  with  Israel,  encompassing  and  safeguarding  them 
in  virtue  of  His  being  their  Judge,  their  Lawgiver,  and  their  King. 
3  Is.  Ix.,  an  oracle  designed  to  comfort  the  Jews  during  the  depressing 
years  following  their  return  from  exile,  when  they  were  a  small  com- 
munity impoverished  and  harassed,  assures  them  of  a  speedy  increase 
in  their  numbers  and  wealth,  and  predicts  that  violence  and  devastation 
will  cease  from  the  land,  arid  that  Jehovah  Himself  will  be  there  to 
illumine  and  glorify  His  people.    In  prophecies  like  these  the  writers  are 
content  to  emphasize  Jehovah's  loving  care  for  Israel,  notwithstanding 
its  earlier  offences,  and  do  not  concern  themselves  with  explaining  the 
agencies  by  which  He  will  accomplish  His  gracious  purposes. 

2.  But  in  another  class  of  prophecies  the  contrast,  material  and  moral, 
which  it  is  anticipated  that  the  future  will  offer  to  the  unhappy  present 
is  associated  with  the  rule  of  a  royal  dynasty  that  will  ensure  among  the 
people  the  maintenance  of  justice,  order,  and  true  religion;   and  the 
restoration  of  the  national  fortunes  is  generally  connected  with  the 
revival  of  the  Davidic  house,  the  traditions  of  David's  reign  being 
idealized  by  distance.   An  oracle  looking  to  the  authority  of  a  righteous 
sovereign  and  just  ministers  as  a  condition  of  the  attainment  by  the 
people  of  the  standard  of  conduct  required  from  them  by  Jehovah  occurs 

1  See  also  Mic.  iv.  7. 


GENERAL  SUPPLEMENT  CXT 

in  Is.  xxxii.  1 — 8.  In  the  books  of  Jeremiah  and  Ezekiel,  the  authors 
of  which  witnessed  the  destruction  of  the  Judsean  monarchy,  there  are 
contained  definite  anticipations  of  the  re-establishment  of  David's  line 
on  the  throne,  as  God's  destined  agency  for  safeguarding  the  people  from 
any  relapse  into  the  sins  which  had  been  so  severely  punished.  To 
comfort  their  countrymen,  confronted  with  captivity  in  a  foreign  land, 
these  prophets,  at  the  end  of  the  7th  and  the  beginning  of  the  6th  century, 
held  out  to  them  promises  that  the  period  of  their  servitude  would  be 
limited,  that  in  the  end  they  should  return  to  their  own  soil  with  their 
proneness  to  apostasy  eradicated  by  the  bestowal  of  a  new  heart  and 
spirit,  and  that  in  their  former  home  they  should  dwell  in  safety, 
protected  and  wisely  governed  by  a  righteous  descendant  of  David.  The 
expected  king  is  spoken  of  in  the  singular  (as  "a  scion  of  David"  or  as 
"David");  but  both  prophets  doubtless  had  in  mind  a  succession  of 
rulers  who  should  reproduce  the  virtues,  and  renew  the  achievements, 
of  their  illustrious  ancestor  (see  Jer.  xxiii.  5,  6,  xxx.  9,  Ezek.  xxxiv.  23). 
The  use  of  the  title  David  to  designate  a  restored  Davidic  dynasty 
appears  likewise  in  a  passage  which  is  probably  an  interpolation  in  the 
book  of  Hosea  (iii.  4,  5) ;  and  an  oracle  added  to  the  book  of  Amos 
(ix.  11  f.)  after  the  termination  of  the  Davidic  monarchy  announces  in 
somewhat  similar  terms  that  Jehovah  "will  raise  up  the  tabernacle  of 
David  that  is  fallen." 

3.  In  the  prophetic  passages  just  considered,  which  contemplate  the 
renewal  of  the  monarchy  after  a  period  of  affliction,  there  is  nothing 
suggesting  that  the  king,  or  the  succession  of  kings,  that  the  prophets 
had  in  mind,  would  be  characterized  by  extraordinary  attributes  to  which 
only  unusual  titles  could  do  justice.  But  there  are  a  few  oracles  in  which 
a  king  whose  advent  is  anticipated  is  portrayed  in  terms  of  a  remarkable 
and  startling  kind;  and  though  the  import  of  them  is  not  beyond  doubt, 
they  call  for  fuller  notice.  They  occur  in  the  book  of  Isaiah,  and  it  is 
with  these  that  the  prophecy  of  Micah  v.  2 — 6  falls  into  line. 

Isaiah  discharged  his  prophetic  ministry  in  the  kingdom  of  Judah 
during  the  reign  of  Ahaz  (circ.  735 — 720  B.C.);  and  the  occasion  of  the 
first  of  his  prophecies  (vii.  14 — 17)  that  must  be  here  discussed  was  a 
coalition  formed  against  his  country  by  the  kingdom  of  Northern  Israel 
(or  Ephraim)  and  the  Syrians  of  Damascus.  The  leaders  of  these  hostile 
powers  were  respectively  Pekah  and  Rezin.  The  two  allies  had  probably 
combined  together  with  the  view  of  forcing  Judah  to  join  them  against 
Assyria,  or  of  deposing  Ahaz  if  compliance  was  refused.  The  Syrian 
army,  after  encamping  on  Ephraimite  territory  and  drawing  reinforce- 


cxvi  INTRODUCTION 

ments  from  it,  advanced  to  invest  Jerusalem,  causing  the  utmost 
consternation  to  both  its  king  and  its  people.  To  reassure  Ahaz  the 
prophet  Isaiah  went  to  meet  him,  and  bade  him  lay  aside  his  fear. 
Neither  of  the  two  confederates  (he  declared)  was  really  formidable : 
both  were  only  like  smouldering  embers,  more  smoke  than  flame ;  and 
their  threat  of  deposing  the  king  and  replacing  him  by  a  minion  of  the 
Syrian  sovereign  could  be  disregarded.  But  the  condition  of  deliverance 
was  tranquil  faith  in  Jehovah,  not  the  adoption  of  some  political  device, 
such  as  an  appeal  to  Assyria  for  help.  And  to  encourage  Ahaz  to 
repose  trust  in  Jehovah  Isaiah  felt  empowered  to  offer  a  sign,  the 
occurrence  of  which  would  be  an  assurance  that  the  prophet  spoke  by 
Divine  authority.  The  sign  might  be  anything  that  the  king  liked  to 
choose,  since  Jehovah's  power  was  universal.  But  Ahaz,  having  presum- 
ably decided  to  seek  foreign  aid,  refused  the  offer:  he  would  not  (he 
said)  put  Jehovah  to  the  test.  Whereupon  the  prophet  affirmed  that 
Jehovah  Himself  would,  unsolicited,  indicate  a  sign,  which  is  described 
in  the  three  verses  vii.  14 — 16,  but  of  which  the  precise  nature  is  the 
subject  of  some  uncertainty.  The  word  rendered  in  the  R.V.  by  virgin 
means  a  woman  of  marriageable  age  whether  actually  married  or  not 
(for  it  is  the  feminine  of  a  word  denoting  a  youth  or  stripling),  and 
does  not  connote  virginity,  a  condition  which  would  be  expressed  in 
Heb.  by  another  term;  and  accordingly  the  word  virgin  would  be 
better  replaced  by  damsel.  But  the  Hebrew  of  the  passage  admits  of 
being  rendered  by  both  "a  damsel1"  and  "the  damsel";  and  two  diver- 
gent interpretations  become  possible.  If  the  former  translation  be 
adopted,  the  sign  consists  in  the  bestowal  in  the  near  future  by  any 
young  woman,  pregnant  at  the  time  of  the  prophet's  utterance,  of  the 
name  Immanuel  ("God  is  with  us")  upon  her  baby  (when  born)  as  a 
recognition  of  God's  presence  with  His  people,  evinced  by  the  with- 
drawal from  Jerusalem  of  the  menacing  hosts  of  Syria  and  Northern 
Israel,  as  predicted  by  the  prophet.  Such  an  intervention  by  Jehovah, 
reflected  in  the  name  given  to  one,  or  more  than  one,  infant  born  just 
after  the  people's  experience  of  relief  from  their  peril  would  be  calculated 
to  convince  the  king  of  Isaiah's  authority  to  speak  in  Jehovah's  name, 
and  induce  him  to  believe  in  the  further  prediction  that  the  power  of 
Judah's  enemies  to  do  subsequent  injury  would  be  crippled  or  wholly 
destroyed  within  a  few  years.  This  interpretation  implies  that  by  the 
"sign"  is  meant  an  occurrence  in  the  near  future  likely  to  recall  and 

1  See  Davidson,  Heb.  Syntax,  §  21  (e). 


GENERAL  SUPPLEMENT  cxvii 

confirm  a  previous  assertion,  the  truth  of  which  had  been  doubted ;  and 
this  explanation  of  it  can  be  supported  by  the  parallel  in  Ex.  iii.  12 
(where,  before  Israel's  escape  from  Egypt,  Jehovah  affirms  that  the 
eventual  safe  arrival  of  the  people  at  Horeb  will  be  a  sign  that  He  had 
been  with  Moses  in  bringing  that  escape  to  pass).  This  interpretation, 
however,  fails  to  account  for  the  use  of  the  word  "a  damsel"  or  "a 
young  woman"  (lalmah)  instead  of  "a  woman"  ('is/ishak) ',  for  such  a 
term  suggests  that  the  child  who  is  to  be  named  Immanuel  will  be  his 
mother's  first-born ;  whereas  on  this  theory  of  the  sign  the  name  might 
be  easily  given,  in  the  circumstances  supposed,  by  any  mother  to  her 
recently  born  child,  whether  she  had  previously  had  offspring  or  not.  On 
the  other  hand,  if  the  second  possible  rendering  of  the  ambiguous  term 
hd'almak  be  adopted  and  it  be  translated  "the  damsel,"  the  prediction 
must  refer  to  some  particular  birth  already  much  in  the  thoughts  and 
hopes  of  the  people,  and  the  sign  must  consist  in  the  fact  that  the  young 
woman  predestined  to  be  the  mother  of  a  wonderful  child  designed  by 
God  for  sovereignty  and  high  achievement  will  bear  him  very  shortly, 
some  marvel  attending  his  entrance  into  the  world  marking  him  out  a3 
the  fulfilment  of  the  popular  anticipations,  and  leading  to  the  bestowal 
upon  him,  by  his  mother,  of  the  name  Immanuel1.  This  suggestion  has 
in  its  favour  (a)  that  it  is  not  out  of  proportion  to  the  range  of  choice 
submitted  to  Ahaz  when  bidden  to  ask  a  sign  (for  if  the  limits  named 
are  the  height  of  heaven  above  and  the  world  of  the  dead  beneath,  some 
marvellous  event  might  be  looked  for  as  the  sign  proffered  by  the 
prophet  in  consequence  of  Ahaz's  refusal  to  choose  one) ;  (b)  that  it 
accounts  for  the  application  of  the  term  hci'almak  to  the  mother  of  the 
child,  who  would  naturally  be  expected  to  be  her  first-born ;  (c)  that  in 
viii.  8  the  Hebrew  text  as  pointed  most  obviously  implies  that  the 
prophet  there  apostrophizes  the  as  yet  unborn  Immanuel  as  being  the 
lord  of  the  land.  Nevertheless  this  explanation,  like  the  preceding,  is 
not  free  from  difficulty,  (a)  The  currency  in  Israel  of  such  an  anticipa- 
tion as  is  here  described  is  an  assumption  lacking  independent  evidence 
to  support  it.  (/?)  The  passage  in  viii.  8  admits  of  being  slightly 
modified  so  as  to  be  rendered,  not  the  breadth  of  thy  land,  0  Immanuel, 
but  the  breadth  of  the  land.  For  God  is  with  us.  (y)  About  any  cir- 
cumstances destined  to  attend  the  child's  birth  and  calculated  to 
identify  him  with  the  looked-for  king  or  deliverer,  causing  his  mother 
to  name  him  Immanuel,  the  narrative  contains  not  a  word.  In  the  case 

1  See  JTS.  vol.  x.  pp.  580—584. 


cxviii  INTRODUCTION 

of  various  distinguished  personalities  figuring  in  earlier  Hebrew  history, 
certain  unusual  features  are  recorded  to  have  been  predicted  about,  and 
to  have  accompanied,  their  conception  or  their  birth  (e.g.  Isaac,  Samson, 
Samuel);  but  the  present  pre-announcement  is  silent  concerning  any 
corresponding  marvel  in  connection  with  the  birth  of  Immanuel.  And 
although  the  term  'almak,  which  is  applicable  to  both  married  and 
unmarried  women  still  in  the  flower  of  their  youth,  is  expressly  trans- 
lated in  the  LXX.  by  TmpfleVos  (reproduced  in  the  account  of  our  Lord's 
birth  in  Mt.  i.  23),  the  other  Greek  translations  represent  it  more 
correctly  by  i/eavis,  so  that  the  inference  that  Isaiah  had  in  his  mind 
the  idea  that  the  child  whose  advent  he  predicted  would  be  the  offspring 
of  a  virgin-mother  cannot  reasonably  be  drawn  from  the  Hebrew  text. 
In  view,  then,  of  the  obscurity  investing  the  prophecy,  it  would  be 
indefensible  to  give  to  the  passage  a  Messianic  import  if  it  stood  in 
isolation. 

This,  however,  is  not  the  case.  For,  some  33  years  after  this,  Isaiah 
uttered  another  oracle  in  which  he,  on  a  second  occasion  when  the  for- 
tunes of  his  country  were  at  a  low  ebb,  again  assured  his  fellow-country- 
men that  Jehovah  would  raise  up  for  them  a  king  of  remarkable  qualities 
of  intellect  and  character,  who,  though  he  was  not  to  be  their  actual 
deliverer  from  the  danger  encompassing  them  (that  would  be  averted 
otherwise  by  God),  would  be  their  security  in  the  future  against  any 
renewal  of  either  external  or  internal  ills. 

The  oracle  in  question  was  delivered,  so  far  as  can  be  judged,  in  701, 
when,  in  the  reign  of  Hezekiah,  the  son  and  successor  of  Ahaz,  Judah 
was  ravaged  by  the  Assyrian  king  Sennacherib ;  and  the  prophet's  words, 
contained  in  ix.  2 — 7,  are  marked  by  the  parallelism  characteristic  of 
Hebrew  poetry1.  The  language  of  the  prophecy  is  for  the  most  part 
couched  in  past  tenses,  as  though  the  prophet  was  narrating  occurrences 
that  had  already  happened;  but  this  is  a  feature  often  found  in  Hebrew 
descriptions  of  future  events,  the  speaker  or  writer,  in  the  fulness  of 
his  conviction  that  what  he  predicts  will  really  take  place,  representing 
it  as  already  realized. 

The  centre  of  interest  lies  in  w.  6,  7,  the  preceding  part  of  the  passage 
depicting  the  intensity  of  the  satisfaction  occasioned  by  the  birth  of  the 

1  To  the  prophet's  utterance  has  been  prefixed  a  note  in  prose  (constituting  the 
first  verse  of  the  chapter)  apparently  emanating  from  a  later  scribe,  who,  being 
perhaps  a  native  of  Galilee  and  resident  in  exile,  thought  of  the  devastation  brought, 
long  before,  upon  his  home  by  Tiglath-Pileser  in  734,  and  who  applied  to  his  own 
land  the  consolatory  prospect  which  was  really  intended  by  Isaiah  for  his  fellow- 
Judeeans. 


GENERAL  SUPPLEMENT 


CX1X 


ideal  king,  the  relief  from  all  oppression  which  will  soon  be  experienced, 
and  the  destruction  of  the  weapons  and  accoutrements  of  the  hostile 
soldiery.  After  describing  the  removal  of  every  trace  of  the  occupation 
of  the  land  by  the  Assyrian  troops,  the  prophet  announces  the  birth  of 
a  king,  who  is  designated  by  a  fourfold  name,  expressing  his  qualifica- 
tions for  the  high  functions  which  he  is  to  discharge — Wonderful 
Counsellor,  Divine  Warrior,  Perpetual  Father,  Prince  of  Peace.  His 
destiny  is  to  sit  on  the  throne  of  David  as  sovereign,  possessing  in 
exceptional  measure  sagacity  and  military  prowess,  and  ruling  with 
paternal  care  and  in  unbroken  tranquillity  an  extensive  dominion. 

It  is  obvious  that  the  oracle  depicts  a  monarch  of  consummate  attri- 
butes, but  none  of  the  epithets  applied  to  him  which  on  the  surface 
suggest  that  he  is  to  be  of  superhuman  nature  really  convey  that 
meaning.  The  two  that  appear  to  do  so  are  the  second  and  third.  Of 
these  the  former  (Heb.  'El  Gibbor)  could  be  rendered  by  Mighty  God 
as  well  as  by  Divine  Warrior,  and  is  actually  used  of  Jehovah  in  x.  21; 
but  in  the  light  of  the  phrase  which,  though  translated  above  by  Won- 
derful Counsellor,  yet  strictly  means  "a  wonder  of  a  counsellor,"  it 
seems  better  to  turn  it  by  Divine  Warrior,  literally  "a  god  of  a  warrior." 
In  Hebrew  certain  words  meaning  "God,"  namely  'El  and  its  equivalent 
}Eldhim,&rQ  not  infrequently  employed  to  designate  men  eminent  through 
the  possession  of  power  or  authority.  In  Ezek.  xxxi.  11  the  heathen 
king  Nebuchadrezzar  is  styled  "the  god  (El)  of  the  nations,"  whilst  in 
Ps.  xlv.  6  a  Jewish  king  is  called  "  God"  and  in  Ex.  xxi.  6,  xxii.  8,  Ps.  Ixxxii. 
1,  6  "judges"  are  termed  "gods"  (eldhim),  as  being  in  virtue  of  their 
office  Jehovah's  representatives.  These  words  thus  seem  to  have  been 
used  of  human  beings  endowed  with  god-like  qualities  or  invested 
with  god-like  functions,  much  in  the  same  way  as  the  Latin  deus  occa- 
sionally was  (cf.  Cic.  Att.  iv.  16,  3,  deus  itte  noster  Plato).  The  latter 
of  the  two  epithets  under  consideration — Perpetual  Father  (Heb. 
'abhi  ladh,  literally  "father  of  everlastingness") — still  less  involves  the 
conclusion  that  the  person  so  described,  though  of  extraordinary  endow- 
ments, is  more  than  human.  The  word  ladh  can  be  employed  of  continued 
existence  or  activity  up  to  the  limits  imposed  by  human  nature  (see 
Ps.  xxi.  4,  xxii.  26,  Prov.  xii.  19) '.  Hence  "father  of  everlastingness2" 

1  The  synonymous  lulam  can  similarly  be  used  to  describe  not  only  an  indefinite 
period  of  long,  though  not  necessarily  endless,  duration,  but  even  a  defined  period 
(Ex.  xxi.  6,  Dt.  xv.  17,  and  Jer.  xxv.  9  compared  with  v.  11). 

2  The  alternative  rendering  "father  (i.e.  bestower  and  distributor)  of  spoil"  is 
incongruous  with  the  general  drift  of  the  passage,  which  stresses  the  righteous  and 
peaceful  character  of  the  promised  king's  rule. 


cxx  INTRODUCTION 

only  means  that  the  king  described  will  be  the  protector  and  benefactor 
of  his  people  (cf.  Gen.  xlv.  8,  Job  xxix.  16,  Is.  xxii.  21)  uninterruptedly 
throughout  an  extended  lifetime,  but  does  not  imply  that  he  will  be 
exempt  from  mortality.  The  statement  that  the  promised  ruler  will 
occupy  the  throne  of  David  suggests  that  he  will  be  of  Davidic  descent 
and  will  succeed  to  the  sovereignty  by  natural  right. 

It  is  the  existence  of  this  prophecy  that  inclines  the  balance  of 
probability  in  the  case  of  the  oracle  in  vii.  14 — 16  towards  the  second 
of  the  two  explanations  considered  above,  and  renders  more  plausible 
than  would  otherwise  be  the  case  the  interpretation  that  sees  in  the 
predicted  Immanuel  the  expected  Messiah.  If  so,  it  is,  of  course,  obvious 
that  the  anticipation  expressed  in  735  that  the  Messiah  would  be  born 
within  a  few  months  was  disappointed;  and  it  seems,  at  first  sight, 
unnatural  to  suppose  that  Isaiah,  after  his  prediction  on  that  occasion 
had  been  falsified,  should  have  committed  himself  to  a  repetition  of  it 
a  generation  later.  But,  as  will  be  seen,  successive  disillusionments 
did  not  prevent  successive  Hebrew  prophets  from  renewing  the  predic- 
tions of  their  predecessors,  and  "projecting  upon  the  shifting  future" 
the  figure  of  an  ideal  king  whom  they  expected  to  confirm  his  countrymen 
in  the  ways  of  God,  and  in  the  felicity  attendant  thereon.  Consequently 
there  is  nothing  strained  in  the  supposition  that  Isaiah  himself  in  the 
course  of  his  prophetic  ministry  foretold  on  two  occasions  the  near 
advent  of  such  a  king,  the  non-fulfilment  of  his  earlier  prediction  not 
restraining  him  from  repeating  it  at  a  later  date.  And  it  appears  probable 
that  he  did  not  originate  the  idea  of  the  emergence  in  Israel  of  a  won- 
derful Prince  but  that  he  took  up,  and  lent  his  authority  to,  an  antici- 
pation popularly  current ;  and  expressly  asserted,  at  different  periods 
separated  by  a  long  interval,  that  the  birth  of  the  expected  ruler  was 
close  at  hand. 

It  is  of  these  two  predictions  of  Isaiah  that  the  prophecy  in  Mic.  v.  2 — 6 
appears  to  be  a  re-affirmation.  The  second  of  the  older  prophet's  oracles 
was  fulfilled,  within  the  time  expected,  as  little  as  the  first;  but  the 
failure  of  it  did  not  prevent  a  subsequent  prophet  from  uttering  another 
of  similar  tenor,  which,  by  the  terms  in  which  it  is  couched,  seems  to 
have  direct  reference  to  Is.  vii.  14.  The  oracle  in  question  can  scarcely 
be  Micah's,  but  must  proceed  from  a  prophet  living  in  the  reign  of  one 
or  other  of  the  last  two  kings  of  Judah  (see  p.  39).  The  occasion  was  a 
time  when  Jerusalem  was  beleaguered,  probably  by  the  forces  of  Babylon ; 
and  the  Judsean  king  was  exposed  to  the  insults  (or  worse)  which  in 
antiquity  a  cruel  foe  was  wont  to  inflict  upon  a  defeated  enemy.  But 


GENERAL  SUPPLEMENT  cxxi 

in  the  midst  of  the  calamities  with  which  his  countrymen  were  surrounded 
the  prophet  alluded  to  came  forward  to  comfort  them  with  hopes  and 
assurances  of  a  brighter  future.  In  spite  of  the  merited  retribution 
due  to  national  offences,  they  could  still  trust  Jehovah  not  to  abandon 
His  people  finally.  To  the  humiliation  of  the  reigning  king,  and  to  the 
chastisement  which  the  people  had  yet  to  endure,  there  would  succeed  a 
time  of  security,  order,  and  happiness  under  a  subsequent  ruler,  sprung 
from  the  same  stock  as  David  himself.  The  prophet  did  not  intimate 
clearly  whether  the  relief  would  come  in  the  near  or  in  a  more  distant 
future ;  but  the  period  of  the  nation's  surrender  to  its  foes  would  last, 
at  any  rate,  until  the  moment  was  ripe  for  the  mother  of  the  coming 
king  to  give  him  birth.  With  his  advent  the  fortunes  of  the  people  would 
change.  A  David  redimvus,  he  would  draw  his  strain  from  Bethlehem. 
Under  him  would  be  re-united  the  severed  branches  of  the  house  of 
Jacob.  His  government  of  his  subjects  would  be  marked  by  all  the  care 
and  tenderness  bestowed  by  a  shepherd  upon  his  flock ;  in  the  discharge 
of  his  duties  he  would  be  supported  by  the  plenitude  of  the  Divine  favour; 
and  his  people  would  abide  undisturbed,  since  the  resources  at  their 
king's  disposal  would  render  him  superior  to  all  possible  foes,  so  that, 
if  hostile  forces  should  renew  their  inroads  upon  the  land,  they  would 
be  successfully  repelled. 

The  Messianic  character  of  this  prophecy  must  be  judged  by  its 
resemblance  to  the  tenor  of  the  two  that  have  just  been  examined.  The 
import  of  Is.  vii.  14 — 16  is,  as  has  been  seen,  ambiguous;  but  it  can 
scarcely  be  doubted  that  v.  14  was  in  the  thoughts  of  the  writer  of 
Mic.  v.  3,  for  the  words  "until  the  time  that  she  which  travaileth  hath 
brought  forth"  at  once  recall  the  announcement  " Behold,  the  damsel 
shall  conceive  and  bear  a  son."  The  two  passages,  in  fact,  mutually 
throw  light  upon  one  another ;  at  least,  the  words  of  the  later  prophet 
shew  how  he  understood  the  oracle  of  his  predecessor.  But  there  is  a 
conspicuous  feature  of  difference  between  the  outlook  of  the  one  and 
that  of  the  other.  By  the  author  of  Mic.  v.  2 — 6  the  birth  of  the 
Messiah,  the  occurrence  of  which  Isaiah,  nearly  150  years  previously, 
expected  within  a  year,  is  relegated  to  a  future  considerably  in  advance 
of  the  prophet's  own  time,  for  there  lies  immediately  before  the  nation 
an  interval  during  which  God's  favour  will  be  withdrawn  from  them. 

This  Messianic  prophecy,  included  in  the  book  of  Micah,  appears  to 
date  from  some  year  shortly  before  the  Exile :  the  next  that  calls  for 
notice  is  one  which  probably  originated  during  the  Exile.  This  is  con- 
tained in  Is.  xi.  1 — 9,  and  seems  to  have  been  delivered  after  the  Fall 


cxxii  INTRODUCTION 

of  the  Jewish  kingdom,  for  the  opening  words  "And  there  shall  come 
forth  a  shoot  from  the  stock  of  Jesse,  and  a  scion  out  of  his  roots  shall 
bear  fruit"  point  to  a  time  when  Judah  had  ceased  to  be  independent 
and  when  the  succession  of  Davidic  kings  had  terminated,  though  the 
family  from  which  David  himself  had  sprung  was  not  extinct.  The 
word  rendered  stock  by  the  R.  V.  really  means  stump,  that  part  of  a  tree 
which  remains  in  the  earth  after  the  trunk  has  been  felled  (Job  xiv.  7,  8), 
and  would  be  inappropriate  to  the  house  of  Jesse  so  long  as  a  descendant 
of  it  was  still  on  the  throne.  The  promised  king,  through  the  presence 
in  him  of  the  spirit  of  God,  will  be  endowed  with  the  intellectual  and 
practical  faculties  needed  for  a  consummate  judge  and  ruler.  Similar 
features  to  these  have  been  noticed  in  previous  portrayals  of  the  Messiah; 
but  a  novel  element  in  this  prophecy  is  a  predicted  transformation  of 
the  animal  world.  The  suppression  of  evil  amongst  men  will  be  accom- 
panied by  a  change  in  the  habits  of  carnivorous  beasts,  which,  abandon- 
ing their  natural  food,  will  browse  like  cattle  upon  herbs  and  grass. 
Pictures  of  peaceful  conditions  prevailing  among  mankind  enter  into 
other  accounts  of  the  Messianic  age  (see  Is.  ii.  4  (=  Mic.  iv.  3),  2  Zech. 
ix.  10,  Ps.  Ixxii.  7,  Hos.  ii.  18,  Ezek.  xxxiv.  25),  but  here  the  reign  of 
peace  extends  to  the  lower  animals,  so  that  the  most  savage  beasts  and 
most  deadly  reptiles  lose  their  noxious  qualities  and  associate  harmlessly 
with  the  creatures  that  have  previously  formed  their  prey.  The  scene 
of  this  marvellous  change,  however,  is  probably  conceived  by  the  prophet 
to  be  Judaea  or  Palestine  only  (Jehovah's  "holy  mountain"),  not  the 
world  at  large.  Parallel  ideal  descriptions  of  past  or  future  felicity  occur 
in  various  Greek  and  Latin  authors,  as  is  well  known :  amongst  such  may 
be  cited  Theocritus  (Id.  xxiv.  86,  87),  Vergil  (Georg.  i.  125  f.,  Ed.  iv. 
18—25,  v.  60,  61),  and  Horace  (Epod.  xvi.  53,  54). 

The  coming  Prince  who  is  the  subject  of  the  prophecies  just  discussed 
was  doubtless  regarded  by  the  prophets  who  spoke  of  him  as  being  of 
human  origin  and  nature,  though  endowed  with  god-like  qualities  and 
intended  to  be  God's  agent  for  ensuring  His  people's  permanent  welfare. 
And  probably,  if  they  had  been  interrogated,  they  would  have  admitted 
that  he  was  mortal  like  other  men,  and  in  the  course  of  nature  would 
die,  and  be  followed  on  the  throne  by  a  successor.  But  in  the  intensity 
of  their  longing  for  him,  and  in  the  exuberance  of  the  hopes  that  circled 
around  him,  his  mortality  passed  out  of  view,  their  thoughts  being  con- 
centrated solely  upon  the  amelioration  which  he  was  to  effect  in  his 
country's  condition  and  fortunes.  And  so  deep  was  the  impression  which 
they  produced  upon  the  minds  of  their  countrymen  that  the  expectation 


GENERAL  SUPPLEMENT  cxxiii 

of  such  a  Messiah  continued  to  survive  repeated  disillusionment,  and 
lasted  into  the  early  Christian  centuries. 

In  the  course  of  the  Exile,  however,  the  Messianic  idea  momentarily 
underwent  a  strange  metamorphosis.  When  about  the  year  538  the 
Elamite  Cyrus  threatened,  and  finally  destroyed,  the  power  of  Babylon, 
he  raised  in  the  hearts  of  some  of  the  Jewish  exiles  high  hopes  that  he 
would  not  only  overthrow  the  tyrant  city  but  also  liberate  those  whom 
it  detained  in  captivity.  And  a  contemporary  prophet  who  sought  to 
sustain  the  spirits  of  his  countrymen  with  this  prospect  actually  applied 
to  Cyrus  the  title  of  Jehovah's  Messiah  (2  Is.  xlv.  1)  as  being  God's 
agent,  raised  up  to  fulfil  His  design  of  releasing  His  people  from  their 
detention  and  restoring  them  to  their  own  land.  As  the  term  etymo- 
logically  only  means  "Jehovah's  anointed,  or  consecrated,  one,"  it  could, 
of  course,  be  employed  in  more  than  one  connection  (p.  cviii) ;  never- 
theless the  use  of  it  by  Deutero- Isaiah  to  designate  a  foreign  potentate 
lacks  a  parallel  elsewhere. 

When  Cyrus,  after  his  overthrow  of  Babylon,  allowed  the  Jewish 
exiles  confined  within  his  newly-acquired  dominions  to  return  to  their 
native  soil,  a  large  body  availed  themselves  of  the  permission.  At  their 
head,  or  at  least  included  among  them,  was  Zerubbabel,  variously 
represented  as  the  son  of  Shealtiel  or  of  Pedaiah  (Ez.  iii.  8,  1  Ch.  iii. 
19),  and  being  presumably  the  real  son  of  the  one,  and  the  legal  son 
of  the  other  (through  a  Levirate  marriage).  Both  Shealtiel  and  Pedaiah 
appear  in  the  O.T.  as  sons  of  Jehoiachin;  but  in  Lk.  iii.  27  the  former 
(here  called  Salathiel)  is  enumerated  among  the  descendants  of  David 
through  Nathan  and  not  through  Solomon,  so  that  he  may  have  been 
adopted  by  Jehoiachin.  In  any  case,  Zerubbabel  drew  his  lineage  from 
David ;  and  it  was  natural  that  on  such  a  happy  occasion  as  the  Return 
from  Babylon  high  hopes  should  centre  in  him.  The  expectations  raised 
found  expression  in  an  oracle  uttered  by  the  prophet  Zechariah  (iii.  8, 
vi.  12),  who  declared  him  to  be  the  scion  of  David's  house  that  had  been 
the  subject  of  Jeremiah's  prophecy  (p.  cxv).  But  though  Zerubbabel 
rebuilt  the  temple  at  Jerusalem  which  had  been  destroyed  by  Nebu- 
chadrezzar, no  renewal  of  Jewish  independence  was  humanly  possible 
under  the  Persian  kings;  so  that  the  fulfilment  of  the  Messianic 
prophecies,  which  their  restoration  from  exile  had  led  the  Jewish  people 
to  anticipate,  was  still  deferred. 

Nevertheless  the  confident  hope  that  the  Jewish  race  would  again 
have  a  king  of  their  own  survived  the  depressing  experiences  which 
prevailed  for  so  many  years  after  the  Return ;  and  a  renewed  prediction 


cxxiv  INTRODUCTION 

that  this  hope  would  be  realized  was  conveyed  to  his  countrymen  by  a 
prophet  whose  writings  have  been  included  in  the  book  of  Zechariah 
(ix.  9,  10),  but  who  appears  to  have  lived  at  some  date  subsequent  to 
the  destruction  of  the  Persian  empire  by  the  Greeks  (in  333).    The 
circumstances  which  were  to  render  possible  so  desired  a  consummation 
would  (it  was  implied)  be  brought  about  by  God :  the  king  would  not 
achieve  independence  for  himself  and  his  country,  but  would  be  vindicated 
and  saved  by  the  Almighty,  and  would  enter  his  capital  not  mounted 
on  a  war-horse  but  riding  upon  an  ass,  the  beast  of  burden  used  in 
times  of  peace.   Under  his  rule  all  the  agencies  of  war  were  to  disappear 
and  peacefulness  was  to  pervade  his  dominions,  which  would  be  world- 
wide (as  the  world  was  then  known  to  the  Hebrews).    The  epithet 
"lowly,"  which  the  R.V.  employs  to  represent  one  of  the  attributes  of 
the  king,  and  which  suggests  a  meek  and  submissive  disposition,  is  mis- 
leading, for  the  Hebrew  word  has  reference  to  condition,  and  describes 
the  Messiah  as  belonging  to  a  community  that  had  hitherto  been  held 
in  subjection  by  some  dominant  power.    This  passage  from  Deutero- 
Zechariah  is  all  the  more  noteworthy  through  the  fact  that  our  Lord,  on 
the  occasion  of  His  entry  into  Jerusalem  shortly  before  His  arrest  and 
death,  deliberately  took  steps  to  enact  the  scene  depicted  by  the  prophet. 
The  only  remaining  passages  in  the  O.T.  which  it  is  desirable  to 
notice  here  occur  in  certain  psalms.    Of  these  Ps.  ii.  purports  to  be 
written  on  some  occasion  when  a  ruler  styled  "Jehovah's  Messiah"  is 
confronted  by  a  confederacy  of  rebellious  subject-nations.    In  face  of 
this  menace  encouragement  comes  to  him,  through  the  psalmist,  from 
Jehovah,  Who  declares  that  the  king  is  His  Son,  and  that  He  will 
subdue  under  him  the  revolting  peoples ;  whereupon  the  poet  admonishes- 
the  latter  to  submit  in  time,  lest  they  should  be  overtaken  by  complete 
destruction.    The  date  of  the  psalm  has  been  much  disputed,  for  its 
origin  has  been  placed  as  early  as  the  time  of  Solomon  in  the  tenth 
century  B.C.,  and  as  late  as  that  of  the  Maccabsean  sovereigns  at  the 
end  of  the  second  or  the  beginning  of  the  first.    It  probably  has  in  view 
some  historic  ruler,  and  a  combination  of  enemies  against  him  at  the 
beginning  of  his  reign  (as  suggested  by  Jehovah's  words  "  This  day  have 
I  begotten  thee,"  i.e.  recognized  thee  as  my  Son).   The  privilege  of  son- 
ship  which  God  is  represented  as  bestowing  upon  the  king  is  doubtless 
to  be  regarded  as  official :  each  successive  Jewish  sovereign  in  virtue 
of  his  office  embodied  and  concentrated  in  himself  the  filial  relationship 
towards  Jehovah  which  properly  belonged  to  the  whole  collective  people 
(cf.  p.  ex).    But  as  the  king  here  addressed  fell  short,  like  all  his  pre- 


GENERAL  SUPPLEMENT  cxxv 

decessors,  either  in  his  qualities,  or  in  his  experiences,  or  in  both,  of 
what  might  be  expected  of  one  invested  with  so  great  a  distinction,  the 
utterance  of  the  poet  came  later  to  be  applied  to  the  ideal  Messiah  who 
was  still  to  come;  and  in  the  N.T.,  w.  1,  2,  and  7  are  expressly  viewed 
as  Messianic  in  the  sense  in  which  this  term  is  commonly  used  (see 
Acts  iv.  25,  26,  xiii.  33,  Rom.  i.  4,  Heb.  i.  5,  v.  5). 

In  Ps.  Ixxxix.,  obviously  written  in  circumstances  of  grievous  national 
distress,  the  writer  is  deeply  moved  by  the  humiliation  of  his  country 
and  its  king,  in  spite  of  the  promises  made  in  the  past  to  David's  house. 
God  (through  His  prophets)  had  affirmed  that  He  would  constitute  the 
king  His  first-born,  the  highest  of  earthly  potentates ;  but  notwith- 
standing this,  the  contemporary  heir  of  David's  sovereignty  had  been 
dethroned  and  covered  with  dishonour.  The  date  of  the  psalm  is 
probably  shortly  before  the  fall  of  the  Jewish  monarchy;  and  it  has 
been  plausibly  conjectured  that  the  king  whose  abasement  is  deplored 
is  Jehoiachin,  who  was  carried  into  captivity  by  Nebuchadrezzar  in  597. 
If  so,  the  poem  must  have  been  composed  within  a  few  years  of  the 
prophetic  passage  contained  in  Mic.  v.  1 — 6. 

The  only  other  psalm  requiring  attention  is  Ps.  ex.  There  the  term 
Messiah  does  not  occur,  but  the  psalm  is  regarded  as  Messianic  in  the 
N.T.,  and  may  be  included  here.  In  it  the  poet  conveys  to  one  whom 
he  styles  his  Lord  ('adhonai)  a  communication  from  Jehovah  to  the 
effect  that  he  has  been  chosen  by  God  to  share  His  throne ;  is  assured 
of  victory  over  his  enemies ;  and  has  been  appointed  a  priest,  so  that  he 
will  unite  in  himself,  like  Melchizedek  of  old  (Gen.  xiv.  18),  the  functions 
of  both  the  kingship  and  the  priesthood1.  The  psalm  is,  to  all  appear- 
ance, addressed  by  its  author  to  some  historical  ruler  or  national  chief; 
but  in  the  title  it  is  attributed  to  David,  who  both  by  our  Lord  and  by 
others  was  assumed  to  have  had  in  mind  the  Messiah  (see  Mk.  xii.  36, 
Acts  ii.  34,  35,  Heb.  i.  13).  The  person  whom  the  psalmist  had  in 
his  thoughts  was  probably  Simon  Maccabseus  (143 — 135  B.C.).  For,  in 
the  first  place,  it  can  scarcely  be  an  accident  that  w.  1,  2,  3,  and  4 
(apart  from  the  prefatory  words  "The  LORD  saith  unto  my  lord")  each 

1  An  anticipation  of  the  union  in  the  same  person  of  both  royal  and  sacerdotal 
functions  appears  at  first  sight  in  Zech.  vi.  13;  but  instead  of  the  words  "and  he 
(the  "scion"  of  Jer.  xxiii.  5,  see  p.  cxv)... shall  sit  and  rule  upon  his  throne;  and  he 
shall  be  a  priest  upon  his  throne ;  and  the  counsel  of  peace  shall  be  between  them 
both,"  the  LXX.  has  Kal  Kadteirai  Kal  Kardp^ei  eirl  TOV  dpbvov  atToO,  Kal  &TTCU  6  lepevs 
(i.e.  Joshua)  e/c  5e£iwi/  avrov,  Kal  (3ov\r)  elprjviKrj  &TTCU  dva  utaov  d^or^puv.  This 
reading,  or  something  like  it,  alone  explains  the  concluding  sentence  "and  the 
counsel  of  peace  shall  be  between  them  both."  In  the  existing  Heb.  text  there 
is  clearly  some  defect. 


cxxvi  INTRODUCTION 

begins  with  one  of  the  letters  composing  the  name  Simon1;  and  secondly, 
Simon  Maccabseus  was  made  by  his  countrymen  both  leader  and  high 
priest.  The  objection  urged  against  this  conclusion,  that  certain  of  the 
Maccabees  were  first  priests  and  then  princes,  cannot  be  considered 
serious,  since  the  historian  of  1  Mace,  more  than  once  speaks  of  Simon 
as  leader  and  high  priest  in  this  order  (see  xiv.  35,  41).  He  proved 
an  able  ruler;  but  his  achievements  did  not  exhaust  his  country- 
men's ideals;  and  so  after  his  death  a  poem,  which  originally  seems  to 
have  had  him  in  view,  came  to  be  treated  by  the  Jews  as  prophetic  of  a 
still  greater  personality,  and  by  our  Lord's  contemporaries  was  applied 
to  the  Messiah  (as  is  presupposed  by  the  argument  in  Mk.  xii.  36). 

The  survival  of  the  Messianic  hope  after  the  Canon  of  the  O.T.  was 
closed  is  evidenced  by  the  occurrence  of  it  in  two  Jewish  productions 
emanating,  the  one  from  Egypt,  the  other  from  Palestine.  The  first  of 
these  was  a  work  based  on  a  collection  of  oracles  passing  as  Sibylline, 
which  was  expanded  by  a  Jew  (probably  of  Alexandria)  who  wrote  in 
Greek  during  (it  is  supposed)  the  last  quarter  of  the  2nd  century  B.C. 
The  relevant  passage  is  found  in  in.  652 — 656,  and  runs  as  follows : 
"And  then  shall  God  send  from  the  sun  a  king,  who  shall  cause  the 
whole  world  to  cease  from  baleful  war,  killing  some,  and  with  others 
making  trusty  compacts.  And  he  will  do  all  these  things  not  through 
his  own  counsels,  but  in  obedience  to  the  good  ordinances  of  the  great 
God."  This  prophecy  merely  reproduces  in  very  general  terms  previous 
predictions  of  the  advent  of  a  king  possessing  universal  sway,  enforcing 
peace,  and  obeying  in  all  things  the  Divine  will.  The  second  work 
proceeds  not  from  a  Jew  of  the  Dispersion  but  from  a  resident  or  resi- 
dents in  Palestine,  probably  belonging  to  the  sect  of  the  Pharisees.  It 
is  known  as  the  Psalms  of  Solomon,  and  consists  of  a  collection  of  poems 
inferred  to  have  been  composed  between  70  and  40  B.C.  At  present  the 
poems  are  extant  in  Greek,  not  in  Hebrew ;  but  it  is  probable  that  the 
Greek  text  is  a  translation  of  a  Hebrew  original.  In.  Ps.  xvii.,  after  a 
lament  over  the  past  calamitous  experiences  of  the  Jewish  people,  there 
occurs  a  prayer  for  the  speedy  advent  of  a  king,  who  is  obviously  the 
Messiah  of  earlier  hopes :  "Behold,  0  Lord,  and  raise  up  unto  them 
their  king,  the  son  of  David,  in  the  time  which  thou,  0  God,  knowest, 
that  he  may  reign  over  Israel  thy  servant ;  and  gird  him  with  strength 
that  he  may  break  in  pieces  them  that  rule  unjustly.... He  shall  possess 
the  nations  of  the  heathen  to  serve  him  beneath  his  yoke,  and  he  shall 

1  In  Heb.  StiiH'oN. 


GENERAL  SUPPLEMENT  cxxvii 

glorify  the  Lord  in  a  place  to  be  seen  of  the  whole  earth ;  and  he  shall 
purge  Jerusalem  to  make  it  holy,  even  as  it  was  in  the  days  of  old. . . . 
And  there  shall  be  no  iniquity  in  his  days  in  their  midst;  for  all  shall 
be  holy,  and  their  king  is  the  Lord  Messiah."  This  poet,  like  the  last- 
mentioned,  repeats,  for  the  most  part,  ideas  which  occur  in  various  O.T. 
prophecies,  including  the  descent  of  the  king  from  David;  and  the  only 
novel  feature  calling  for  remark  is  the  phrase  the  Lord  Messiah  (Xpto-ro? 
Kv'ptos).  As  Kvptos  was  a  title  applied  by  pagans  to  many  of  their  deities, 
it  is  possible  that  it  is  here  used  of  the  Messiah  through  the  infection 
of  contemporary  heathen  custom ;  but  it  is  more  probable  that  the  ex- 
pression is  a  copyist's  mistake  for  the  Lord's  Messiah  (X/aio-ros  KV/HOV), 
since  this  error  actually  occurs  in  the  LXX.  of  Lam.  iv.  20,  where  the 
Hebrew  has  the  Anointed  of  Jehovah1  (designating  thereby  king  Zede- 
kiah). 

It  is  unnecessary  here  to  trace  further  the  expectation  of  a  Messiah 
as  it  is  presented  in  all  the  other  writings  of  the  2nd  and  1st  centuries  B.C. 
It  may,  however,  be  observed  in  passing  that  in  one  of  these,  known  as 
The  Testaments  of  the  Twelve  Patriarchs,  the  Messiah  is  represented  as 
springing  not  from  Judah  but  from  Levi,  and  as  combining  in  his  single 
person  both  the  sovereignty  and  the  priesthood  (Test.  Reub.  vi.  7). 

In  the  passages  from  the  O.T.  that  have  come  under  review  the 
Messiah  is  a  mundane  ruler,  wonderfully  empowered  by  God  to  establish 
conditions  of  peace,  piety,  and  prosperity  among  His  own  people,  and 
to  diffuse  a  benignant  influence  over  the  adjoining  nations.  But  in  an 
Apocalypse  comprised  in  a  composite  work  attributed  to  the  patriarch 
Enoch,  and  produced  perhaps  a  quarter  of  a  century  before  the  Psalms 
of  Solomon,  the  title  Messiah  is  twice  applied  to  a  personality  who  is 
not  of  terrestrial,  but  of  celestial,  origin.  This  heavenly  Messiah,  who  is 
prevailingly  designated  in  this  Apocalypse  by  the  name  Son  of  man2,  is 
described  as  having  the  appearance  of  a  man  (being  like  one  of  the  holy 
angels),  as  having  been  present  with  God  ("the  Lord  of  Spirits")  before 
the  creation  of  the  luminaries,  as  being  endowed  with  wisdom  and 
understanding  and  might  (cf.  Is.  xi.  2),  and  as  being  destined  to  judge 
the  world,  to  reveal  all  secrets  (bringing  hidden  good  and  evil  to  light), 
and  to  support  and  vindicate  the  righteous.  The  title  "Son  of  man" 
is  derived  from  Dan.  vii.3,  where,  in  a  series  of  visions  in  which  four 


1  See  Ryle  and  James,  The  Psalms  of  Solomon,  pp.  137—141. 

2  Other  titles  applied  to  him  are  The  Righteous  One  and  The  Elect  One. 

3  The  probable  date  of  the  book  of  Daniel  is  between  168  and  165  B.C. 


cxxviii  INTRODUCTION 

successive  heathen  empires  are  symbolized  by  beasts  of  prey,  there 
finally  appears,  coming  with  the  clouds  of  heaven,  a  figure  "like  unto  a 
son  of  man"  (i.e.  man-like,  instead  of  beast-like),  which  represents  the 
Jewish  people,  who,  in  contrast  to  the  nations  that  have  preceded  them, 
are  to  enjoy  perpetual  dominion.  But  whereas  in  Daniel  the  expression 
"son  of  man"  is  only  &  personification  of  the  collective  Jewish  race,  in 
Enoch  it  denotes  a  person.  How  the  transition  from  the  one  to  the 
other  occurred  is  a  matter  of  speculation.  The  circumstance  that  in 
Daniel  the  human  figure  symbolizing  Israel  comes  with  the  clouds  of 
heaven  is  only  meant  to  indicate  that  the  people  represented  have  the 
sanction  and  favour  of  God,  as  contrasted  with  the  other  nations 
symbolized  by  beasts,  which  are  depicted  as  rising  from  the  sea  and 
thereby  are  marked  as  worldly  powers  alien  to  God.  But  it  would  be 
tolerably  easy  for  prosaic  minds  to  take  the  representation  literally, 
and  to  understand  the  figure  "like  unto  a  son  of  man"  to  be  not  a  mere 
symbol,  but  a  heavenly  counterpart,  of  the  Jewish  people  abiding  from 
eternity  with  God.  This  would  be  facilitated  by  a  tendency  in  post- 
exilic  times  for  earthly  entities  to  be  conceived  as  subsisting  with  God 
in  heaven  prior  to  their  manifestation  upon  earth:  for  instance,  in 
Ex.  xxv.  40  the  furniture  of  the  Tabernacle  is  described  as  being  made 
by  Moses  after  the  pattern  (obviously  supposed  to  be  pre-existent) 
shewn  to  him  by  God  in  mount  Sinai  (cf.  also  Heb.  viii.  5,  Rev.  xxi.  2). 
And  as  the  historic  Jewish  people  were  considered  to  be  represented  by, 
and,  in  a  sense,  summed  up  in,  their  successive  individual  rulers,  in  the 
series  of  whom  one,  of  pre-eminent  gifts,  was  expected  to  rectify  finally 
all  the  evils  committed  or  sustained  by  his  countrymen,  so,  when  the 
hope  of  such  an  earthly  Messiah  grew  faint,  the  heavenly  counterpart 
of  the  collective  nation  became  transmuted  into  a  celestial  Messiah  who 
was  to  descend  from  heaven  as  Jehovah's  vicegerent  in  order  to  bring 
about  the  overthrow  of  the  heathen  without,  and  the  impious  within, 
Israel,  and  to  avenge  the  pious  people  of  God  who  had  suffered  from 
both1.  This  development  of  the  Messianic  hope,  however,  was  probably 
peculiar  to  a  narrow  circle  of  thinkers,  for  the  book  of  Enoch  does  not 
seem  to  have  been  widely  known ;  and  amongst  the  mass  of  the  people 
the  earlier  idea  of  a  terrestrial  Messiah,  the  son  of  David,  held  its 
ground  (cf.  Lk.  i.  32,  33,  Acts  i.  6). 

1  Since,  however,  Messiah  merely  means  "consecrated,"  and  consecration  could 
be  used  in  connection  with  different  functions  (p.  cviii),  the  application  of  the  term 
in  Enoch  to  the  celestial  "  Son  of  man"  may  be  unconnected  with  its  employment 
as  a  title  for  the  terrestrial  "Son  of  David." 


GENERAL  SUPPLEMENT  cxxix 

From  what  has  been  said,  it  is  clear  that  during  that  period  which  is 
covered  by  the  O.T.  Scriptures  and  for  a  century  later  the  realization  of 
the  Messianic  hope  ever  eluded  the  prophets  and  apocalyptists  who 
entertained  it.  The  Anointed  king  of  extraordinary  endowments,  who 
was  expected  to  deliver  his  people  both  from  national  sinfulness  and 
from  foreign  tyranny,  and  whose  near  advent  was  predicted  at  intervals 
during  seven  hundred  years,  never  appeared  within  that  long  period; 
or,  if  ever  for  a  brief  moment  some  conspicuous  figure  was  identified 
with  him,  the  impression  produced  upon  his  contemporaries  speedily 
faded.  It  was  Jesus  of  Nazareth  who  first  applied  to  Himself  the  titles 
of  The  Christ,  The  Son  of  God  (or  The  Son),  and  The  Son  of  man,  thereby 
claiming  that  in  some  sense  He  fulfilled  the  predictions  occurring  in 
the  sacred  books  of  His  race,  and  who  first  succeeded  in  convincing  a 
number  (even  though  only  a  small  minority)  of  His  countrymen  that 
His  claim  was  well  founded.  Accordingly  it  will  be  worth  while  to  con- 
sider very  shortly  both  how  (from  the  standpoint  of  His  humanity)  He 
came  to  believe  Himself  to  be  the  Personality  designated  by  these  titles, 
and  in  what  respects  the  fulfilment,  which  He  contended  that  the 
Scriptures  received  in  Him,  answered  to,  or  departed  from,  the  original 
import  of  the  prophecies  which  He  had  in  mind. 

It  was  merely  as  a  prophet  that  Jesus  began  His  ministry,  proclaiming 
the  nearness  of  the  hoped-for  kingdom  of  God1  and  urging  repentance 
as  the  necessary  condition  of  escaping  the  judgment  which  would 
previously  sift  those  who  were  worthy  to  enter  the  kingdom  from  those 
who  were  unworthy.  He  was  deemed  a  prophet  by  the  people  to  whom 
His  first  discourses  were  addressed  (Mk.  vi.  15);  and  He  applied  the 
same  description  to  Himself  (Mk.  vi.  4).  He  claimed  to  heal  the  afflicted 
through  His  possession  of  the  Holy  Spirit  (Mt.  xii.  28  =  Lk.  xi.  20);  and 
it  was  the  presence  of  the  spirit  of  God  with  men  that  constituted  them 
prophets  (Num.  xi.  29,  2  Is.  xlviii.  16,  3  Is.  Ixi.  1,  Joel  ii.  28;  see  also 
1  Cor.  xii.  10,  II)2. 

But  at  Caesarea  Philippi,  not  long  before  He  departed  from  Galilee  to 

1  Though  the  idea  of  Jehovah's  sovereignty  first  over  Israel  and  then  eventually 
over  all  the  earth  (1  Sam.  viii.  7,  xii.  12,  Zeph.  iii.  15,  Ps.  xlvii.  2,  7,  2  Zech.  xiv.  9) 
is  found  in  the  O.T.,  the  actual  phrase  the  kingdom  of  God  or  its  equivalent  the 
kingdom  of  heaven  does  not  occur  there. 

2  Jesus'  disciples  after  His  death  identified  Him  with  the  prophet  like  Moses  who 
was  expected  to  appear  in  fulfilment  of  the  prediction  in  Dt.  xviii.  15,  18  (see 
Acts  iii.  22,  vii.  37,  cf.  Joh.  i.  21).   But  this  prediction  in  reality  had  in  view  not 
the  emergence  from  within  Israel  of  a  single  prophet  but  of  a  succession  of  prophets, 
who  should  exercise  the  influence  which  amongst  heathen  people  was  exercised  by 
diviners  (see  vv.  10 — 14). 


cxxx  INTRODUCTION 

go  to  Jerusalem,  He  intimated  to  His  disciples  that  He  really  was  what 
they  acknowledged  they  had  come  to  think  Him  to  be — the  Christ l ; 
and  on  another  occasion  (in  an  utterance  recorded  in  a  document 
which  is  prior  in  date  to  the  Gospels  of  Mt.  and  Lk.  and  probably  to 
that  of  Mk.  also,  and  so  is  a  good  authority)  He  spoke  of  Himself  as 
"the  Son"  (i.e.  of  God)  in  a  pre-eminent  and  unique  sense2.  Again, 
when  He  declared  that  whosoever  should  give  a  cup  of  water  to  His 
disciples  because  they  were  Christ's  should  have  his  reward,  He  clearly 
applied  "Christ"  to  Himself3.  Once  more,  when  He  was  questioned  about 
the  time  of  the  End,  and  replied  that  of  the  day  and  hour  neither  the 
angels  nor  the  Son  had  any  knowledge,  He  similarly  distinguished 
Himself  by  the  title  "Son"  (Mk.  xiii.  32).  And,  finally,  when  He  was 
being  tried  before  the  High  Priest,  and  was  asked  whether  He  was  the 
Christ,  the  Son  of  the  Blessed,  He  publicly  avowed  that  He  was4. 
Yet  though  it  was  only  near  the  close  of  His  ministry  that  He  thus 
openly  affirmed  Himself  to  be  the  Christ,  it  is  plain  that  (if  the  earliest 
report  of  His  life  is  of  any  value)  He  must  have  been  convinced  in  His 
own  mind,  before  He  began  His  ministry,  that  He  was  in  truth  all  that 
He  afterwards  explicitly  claimed  to  be.  For  the  story  of  the  Temptation 
(an  experience  that  preceded  that  ministry)  obviously  depicts  in 
symbolic  form  certain  inward  doubts  and  debates  arising  in  Him,  after 
His  baptism  by  John,  about  the  powers  which  He,  if  really  the  Son  of 
God,  was  endowed  with,  and  free  to  use;  about  the  risks  He  might 
presume  to  run  in  reliance  upon  God  as  His  Father;  and  about  the 
kind  of  career  He,  as  Messiah,  was  meant  by  God  to  embark  on.  In 
the  last  temptation  (according  to  Mt.'s  order)  there  seems  to  have 
come  before  Him  the  thought  of  the  wordly  ambitions  which  might 
possibly  absorb  Him  (luring  Him  to  worship  Satan,  the  prince  of  this 
world),  if  He,  in  pursuance  of  His  Messianic  mission,  were  to  seek  to 
bring  deliverance  and  triumph  to  his  countrymen  through  force  of  arms 
and  the  acquisition  of  dominion.  His  repulse  of  the  Tempter  must 
symbolize  His  final  rejection  of  such  aspects  of  the  Messiah's  prerogative 
and  r61e  as  first  occurred  to  Him,  and  His  decision  that  His  duty  lay 
in  quite  other  directions. 

Jesus'  inward  conviction  concerning  His  Sonship,  which  is  pre- 
supposed in  the  record  of  the  Temptation,  appears  to  have  been  first 
fully  reached  on  the  occasion  of  His  Baptism,  where  it  is  represented 

1  Mk.  viii.  27  f.  2  Mt.  xi.  25—27  (  =  Lk.  x.  21,  22);  cf.  also  Mk.  xii.  6. 

3  Mk.  ix.  41.  4  Mk.  xiv.  61,  62. 


GENERAL  SUPPLEMENT  cxxxi 

under  sensible  imagery  and  described  as  a  Voice  from  heaven  addressing 
Him  and  declaring,  "Thou  art  my  Son,  the  Beloved,  in  whom  I  am  well 
pleased";  whilst  at  the  same  time  the  Divine  Spirit  in  the  form  of  a 
dove  descended  upon  Him.  The  words  ascribed  to  the  voice  loosely 
combine  parts  of  two  O.T.  passages:  (1)  Ps.  ii.  7,  Yto's  /MOV  e!  <™,  eyoi 

ytytvvqKa.  (re;    (2)  2  Is.   xlii.    1,  'iSov,   6  Trats  ^uov,  6V  jjpeTKra.'   6 

/txov,  6V  evSoV^o-ev  tj  $'VXTJ  fj.ovl.  The  first  refers  expressly  to  the 
Messiah  (p.  cxxiv),  whereas  the  second  has  in  view  collective  Israel ;  and 
in  these  circumstances  it  seems  rather  more  reasonable  to  look  for  the 
source  of  the  words  in  Ps.  ii.  than  in  2  Is.  xlii.,  in  spite  of  the  slightly 
greater  divergence.  However  this  may  be,  some  of  the  steps  whereby 
Jesus  in  His  human  consciousness  attained  the  momentous  conviction 
which  in  the  Evangelist's  narrative  is  externalized  as  an  utterance  from 
heaven  may  perhaps  with  reverence  be  conjectured.  His  Davidic  descent 
(Rom.  i.  3,  2  Tim.  ii.  8)  can,  indeed,  have  counted  for  little  or  nothing, 
since  there  must  have  been  many  who  could  claim  the  same.  But  we 
cannot  seriously  err,  if  we  include  among  the  grounds  of  His  beliet 
about  Himself  as  the  Son  of  God  a  profound  apprehension  of  what 
perfect  spiritual  Sonship  involves,  and  a  singular  sense  of  harmony 
between  His  own  will  and  the  Father's,  pointing  to  unique  relations 
between  them2.  Such  a  conclusion  concerning  Himself  and  God  was 
presumably  not  unconnected  with  the  relations  believed  to  subsist 
between  His  race  and  Jehovah :  if  He  was  individually  the  "Son  of  God," 
it  was  because  the  collective  nation  was  God's  Son;  and  He  was  its 
representative  in  an  ideal  and  pre-eminent  degree  through  knowing 
Himself  to  have  that  full  understanding  of  the  Divine  requirements  and 
that  complete  submissiveness  to  them  which  were  looked  for,  though 
vainly,  from  Israel.  And  the  persuasion  that  He  was  endued  in  full 
measure  with  the  Spirit  of  God  (cf.  Joh.  iii.  34)  must  have  become 
confirmed  in  Him  as  soon  as  He  discovered  that  He  possessed  in  an 
exceptional  degree  mysterious  psychic  faculties  enabling  Him  to  produce 
upon  the  minds,  and  through  the  mind,  upon  the  bodies,  of  the  afflicted 
marvellous  cures.  Such  cures,  whilst  related  to  have  been  wrought  by 
the  prophets  of  old,  had  not  been  performed  by  John  the  Baptist,  though 
he  was  accounted  a  prophet  (Mk.  xi.  32);  and  John  had  announced 
that  One  was  appointed  to  succeed  him,  who  was  mightier  than  he 

1  This  Greek  does  not  occur  in  the  LXX.  of  2  Is.  xlii.  1,  but  comes  from  a  version 
quoted  in  Mt.  xii.  18. 

2  In  Wisd.  ii.  13,  18  the  righteous  man  is  represented  as  calling  himself  the 
"child  (or  "servant")  of  the  Lord"  (TCUS  Kvplov)  and  the  "son  of  Grod"  (vibs  deod). 


cxxxii  INTRODUCTION 

(Mk.  i.  7).  The  relief  of  physical  infirmities  was  traditionally  associated 
with  the  Messianic  age;  and  Jesus'  consciousness  of  the  presence  in 
Himself  of  extraordinary  powers  to  effect  such  relief  was  calculated  to 
reinforce  His  conviction  that  He  was  the  long-anticipated  embodiment 
of  the  true  relationship  between  Israel  and  its  God1. 

All  that  now  remains  to  be  done  here,  for  the  purpose  of  this  sketch, 
is  to  compare  very  succinctly  the  traditional  Messianic  expectation 
with  such  realization  as  it  obtained  in  our  Saviour.  The  differences  are 
striking,  though  the  prophetic  conception  of  the  Messiah  was  very  far 
from  an  ignoble  one.  The  hoped-for  king  was  thought  of  as  one  who 
would  be  endowed  with  the  Spirit  of  Jehovah  (Is.  xi.  2),  enabling  him 
to  suppress  iniquity  among  his  subjects,  to  terminate  their  subjection  to 
foreign  control,  and  to  promote  and  maintain  universal  peace.  As  being 
a  sovereign,  it  would  be  through  the  authority  and  the  methods  of  a 
ruler  that  he  would  further  the  aims  of  God  for  the  good  of  his  people ; 
and  it  was  expected  that,  if  need  required,  he  would  ensure  right  and 
justice  by  an  appeal  to  force  (Is.  xi.  4).  Now  the  first  feature  of  unlike- 
ness  presented  by  Jesus,  the  Christ,  to  the  Messiah  of  popular  Jewish 
anticipation  was  that  of  station.  Jesus  was  an  artisan ;  it  was  amongst 
the  labouring  classes,  ignorant  of  the  Law,  and  despised  by  those  who 
were  learned  in  it,  that  He  principally  conducted  His  ministry;  and 
His  emissaries  were  drawn  from  such  people  as  fishermen  and  tax- 
collectors.  A  second  feature  of  dissimilarity  was  the  means  He  used  to 
effect  among  His  countrymen  that  amendment  of  life  which  God 
demanded.  The  authoritative  tone  which  marked  His  utterances 
(Mk.  i.  22)  was  no  more  than  that  of  a  prophet.  His  authority  was  not 
of  an  official  character,  and  it  was  not  supported  by  any  compulsion ;  and 
though  on  one  occasion  Jesus,  by  the  manner  in  which  He  entered 
Jerusalem,  recalled  to  those  who  were  acquainted  with  the  Scriptures 
the  description  of  the  Messianic  King  contained  in  the  book  of  Zechariah 
(p.  cxxiv),  yet  He  refrained  altogether  from  participating  in  political 
agitation.  His  humble  position  in  life  need  not  have  precluded  Him 
from  this,  had  He  been  disposed  to  pursue  it;  for  there  must  have  been 
numbers  of  those  who  afterwards  were  known  as  the  Zealots  who  would 
have  followed  Him  if,  as  the  Messiah,  He  had  summoned  them  to  a  war 
of  emancipation  from  the  control  of  Borne.  But  the  redemption  which 
He  sought  to  bring  about  was  redemption  from  sin;  and  so  different 
were  His  methods  from  those  to  which  rulers  commonly  have  recourse 

1  Cf.  McNeile,  N.T.  Teaching  in  the  Light  of  St  Paul's,  p.  26. 


GENERAL  SUPPLEMENT  cxxxiii 

in  dealing  with  such  as  oppose  them,  that  He  actually  directed  His 
followers  not  to  resist  those  who  ill-treated  them1.  And  a  third 
divergence  from  the  prophetic  conception  of  the  Messiah  was  even 
more  profound  than  the  other  two.  Among  the  attributes  of  the 
promised  King  an  earthly  life  of  endless  duration  (as  has  been  already 
observed)  was  probably  not  included;  but  if  so,  the  thought  of  his 
mortality  was  naturally  kept  in  the  background;  and  any  idea  of  his 
undergoing  a  death  by  violence  in  the  discharge  of  the  duties  committed 
to  him  by  God  is  nowhere  found.  Such  an  idea,  indeed,  was  wholly 
repugnant  to  the  current  belief  concerning  him.  But  Jesus,  in  the 
course  of  His  ministry,  became  convinced  that  there  awaited  Him  a 
violent  end  in  consequence  of  the  antagonism  which  His  teaching  aroused 
in  the  ecclesiastical  officials  of  His  nation ;  and  from  such  a  fate  He 
did  not  shrink.  His  own  conception  of  the  Anointed  Son  of  God, 
therefore,  included  the  endurance  of  suffering  and  death,  provided 
thereby  He  could  promote  the  purposes  of  the  Father.  In  order  to  find 
in  the  Scriptures  a  prediction  of  such  a  destiny  He  put  a  Messianic 
construction  upon  the  passage  in  2  Is.  lii.  13 — liii.  12  (see  Mk.  x.  45), 
though  the  Figure  whose  extinction  is  there  described  and  whose 
revival  is  there  foretold  appears  to  have  represented  in  the  prophet's 
thoughts  the  Jewish  people  whose  national  existence  had  come  to  a  close 
through  exile  in  Babylon.  Thus  our  Lord,  whilst  not  breaking  altogether 
with  the  traditional  notion  that  the  Messiah  must  be  a  King  (see  Mk. 
xv.  2),  was  in  the  highest  degree  original  and  independent  in  His  ideas 
concerning  the  way  in  which  the  Messianic  King  was  to  fulfil  God's 
designs  for  the  salvation  of  Israel2.  Born  in  a  humble  station,  He  based 
His  Messianic  claims  upon  a  consciousness  of  Son  ship  rooted  in  profound 
spiritual  intuitions  and  perfect  obedience ;  in  pursuing  His  mission  of 
bringing  the  people  into  right  relations  with  God  He  confined  Himself 
exclusively  to  instruction  and  example ;  and  in  fulfilling  His  ministry 
to  the  end  He  submitted  patiently  to  an  agonizing  death. 

It  has  been  already  noticed  that  the  title  Messiah  was  not  only 
popularly  applied  to  the  king  of  Davidic  descent  expected  by  many 


1  It  was  no  doubt  because  of  the  contrast  between  His  own  conception  of  the 
Messiah's  character  and  office  and  that  of  the  populace  that  He  did  not  publicly 
disclose,  until  near  the  end  of  His  life,  His  belief  about  Himself.    It  was  not  until 
His  most  intimate  disciples  had  become  familiar  with  His  ideas  and  His  ideals  that 
He  could  venture  to  avow  even  to  them  that  He  was  the  Messiah.   Their  faith  in 
His  Messiahship,  impaired  by  the  Crucifixion,  was  restored  by  the  Resurrection 
visions  and  the  gift  of  the  Spirit  (Acts  ii.  22 — 36). 

2  Of.  Joh.  xviii.  37. 


cxxxiv  INTRODUCTION 

of  the  O.T.  prophets,  but  is  likewise  used,  though  rarely,  in  the  book  of 
Enoch  in  connection  with  the  celestial  "Son  of  man"  whose  office  as 
Judge  of  all  mankind  is  described  by  the  Apocalyptist.  The  designation 
"Son  of  man  "  was  one  which  (as  previously  remarked)  Jesus  sometimes 
employed  of  Himself1;  and  by  declaring  that  He  was  destined  to  come 
in  the  glory  of  His  Father  (Mk.  viii.  38,  cf.  xiv.  62)  He  seems  to  have 
identified  Himself  with  the  Figure  portrayed  in  Enoch.  But  here 
again  Jesus  modified  the  conception  of  which  He  made  use,  for  the 
Apocalyptic  writer  nowhere  hints  that  the  Being  whom  he  represents  as 
commissioned  in  heaven  by  God  to  pass  final  judgment  upon  men  was, 
before  that,  to  appear  on  earth  to  bring  sinners  to  repentance ;  whereas 
Jesus,  though  affirming  that  the  same  function  of  judgment  was  to  be 
His  in  the  future,  yet  laboured,  during  a  brief  earthly  ministry  marked 
by  lowliness,  sympathy,  and  self-surrender  even  to  death,  to  seek  and 
to  save  those  who  were  in  danger  of  being  lost2. 


CHAPTER  III. 

HEBREW  VERSIFICATION. 

INASMUCH  as  some  acquaintance  with  the  principles  of  Hebrew 
versification  contributes  not  only  to  a  better  appreciation  of  the 
prophetic  writings,  but  also  to  a  clearer  understanding  of  the  conditions 
which  must  be  taken  into  account  where  it  is  sought  to  emend  suspected 
corruptions  of  the  text,  it  seems  expedient  to  notice  the  subject  here, 
though  the  treatment  of  it  must  necessarily  be  brief3. 

The  poetry  of  national  literatures  is  distinguished  from  their  prose 
not  in  spirit  merely  but  likewise  in  form ;  and  the  formal  differences  are 
of  diverse  kinds.  In  Latin  and  Greek,  for  instance,  verse  is  marked  by 
a  succession  of  groups  of  long  and  short  syllables,  so  arranged  that  the 

1  In  the  following  passages  in  the  Gospels  it  is  not  unlikely  that  the  title  has 
been  substituted  by  the  Evangelists  for  a  different  phrase  :  Mk.  ii.  10,  28,  Mt.  xi.  19 
(=Lk.  vii.  34),  x.  23,  xii.  32  (  =  Lk.  xii.  10),  xiii.  37,  41,  Lk.  vi.  22  (contrast  Mt.  v. 
11),  xii.  8  (contrast  Mt.  x.  32):  possibly,  too,  Mt.  viii.  20  (  =  Lk.  ix.  58),  though 
this  utterance  probably  occurred  on  the  way  to  Jerusalem  as  Lk.  represents.    The 
title  has  been  arbitrarily  inserted  in  Mt.  xvi.  13  (contrast  Mk.  viii.  27,  Lk.  ix.  20). 

2  The  thought  that  the  "  Son  of  man"  should  suffer  was  strange  and  unintelligible 
to  Peter  and  the  other  Apostles  (see  Mk.  viii.  29 — 32).    In  this  passage,  as  in  Mk.  xiv. 
61,  62,  the  titles  "the  Christ"  and  "the  Son  of  man"  are  treated  as  equivalent. 

*  Further  information  will  be  found  in  G.  B.  Gray,  The  Forms  of  Hebrew  Poetry ; 
and  some  considerations  of  importance  are  emphasized  in  Sir  G.  A.  Smith's 
Jeremiah,  p.  30  foil.  See  also  an  article  by  T.  H.  Robinson  in  the  Expositor, 
Ap.  1924. 


GENERAL  SUPPLEMENT  cxxxv 

regular  recurrence  of  them  in  a  definite  order  constitutes  a  rhythmical 
system,  which  is  lacking  in  continuous  prose.  In  modern  languages  a  like 
rhythmical  effect  is  produced  by  the  recurrence  in  a  series  of  lines  (more 
or  less  uniform  in  length)  of  words  characterized  by  particular  accents 
or  stresses,  together  with  (in  most  varieties  of  verse)  the  rhyming  of  the 
terminations  of  certain  of  the  lines.  But  in  Hebrew,  though  regularity 
in  respect  of  accentual  beats  (as  will  appear)  is  a  factor  in  poetic 
structure,  the  dominating  feature  is  some  measure  of  correspondence  in 
meaning,  and  not  merely  in  sound,  between  two  or  more  consecutive 
clauses  or  sentences  terminated  by  a  pause.  It  is  this  sense-corre- 
spondence between  successive  lines  which  is  most  distinctive  of  Hebrew 
verse.  Groups  of  lines  related  to  one  another  in  this  way  compose  a  unity 
in  themselves,  independent  of  their  immediate  context,  for  through  the 
response  which  the  second  of  two  lines  makes  to  the  first  (or,  in  the  case 
of  quatrains,  the  third  makes  to  the  first  and  the  fourth  to  the  second1, 
or  more  rarely  the  fourth  to  the  first  and  the  third  to  the  second2),  an 
interruption  is  caused  in  the  natural  sequence  of  the  writer's  thought, 
his  train  of  reflection  not  being  carried  forward  until  the  idea  contained 
in  one  line  or  pair  of  lines  has  been  reiterated  or  otherwise  thrown  into 
relief  by  a  second  line  or  pair.  The  meaning  of  the  two  lines  or 
couplets  is  by  no  means  invariably  identical  or  even  similar;  but 
whether  the  second  reproduces  more  or  less  closely  the  sense  of  the 
first,  or  presents  a  direct  contrast  to  it,  there  is  an  unmistakable 
symmetry  between  them  in  regard  to  contents  and  structure.  In  many 
cases  the  symmetry  extends  to  the  number  and  arrangement  of  the 
words,  term  answering  term,  though  more  often  it  subsists  less  between 
individual  words  than  between  groups  of  words.  This  correspondence 
in  significance  and  form  is  designated  parallelism.  The  use  of  it  serves 
more  than  one  end ;  for  not  only  does  the  echo  of  the  first  line,  produced 
by  the  purport  or  the  construction  of  the  second,  yield  an  aesthetic 
gratification  to  the  ear,  but  it  helps  to  elucidate  the  thought,  either 
through  repeating  the  same  sentiment  in  other  words  or  through  the 
expression  of  an  opposite  idea.  By  its  aid  the  truth  which  it  is  desired 
to  convey  can  be  enforced  without  the  monotony  which  would  result 
from  a  mere  reiteration  of  it  in  identical  terms. 

As  has  been  already  implied,  there  is  a  good  deal  of  variety  in  the 
quality  and  the  closeness  of  the  parallelism  which  is  so  prominent  a 
feature  of  Hebrew  poetry.  Not  only  may  the  correspondence  consist  in 

1  See  Mic.  i.  4.  2  See  Mt<  vii.  6> 


cxxxvi  INTRODUCTION 

contrast  as  well  as  in  repetition,  but  it  is  often  incomplete;  the  second 
line  of  a  couplet,  if  duplicating  in  some  degree  the  signification  of  the 
first,  may  reproduce  only  part  of  it,  appending  to  it  some  additional 
notion  not  present  in  the  other.  The  nature  of  parallelism,  however,  is 
most  clearly  apprehended  when  the  correspondence  is  complete;  and 
some  illustrations  of  complete  parallelism  may  with  advantage  be  sup- 
plied here.  Two  main  varieties  can  be  discerned.  (1)  The  first  has  been 
styled  synonymous  parallelism,  in  which  the  tenor  of  the  first  line  is 
reproduced  by  the  second  in  equivalent  or  proportionate  terms.  The 
following  are  examples  wherein,  though  they  are  given  in  English,  the 
various  words  required  to  represent  a  single  Hebrew  term  are  united  by 
hyphens,  and  the  order  of  the  original  is,  as  far  as  possible,  observed  :— 

(a)  2  Sam.  i.  20b, 

"Lest-rejoice-should  the-daughters-of  tlio- Philistines, 
Lest-triumph-should  the-daughters-of  the-uncircumcised." 

(6)  Ps.  cv.  6, 

"0-secd-of  Abraham  his-servant, 
0-children-of  Jacob  his-choscn." 

(c)  Ps.  cxlii.  1  (2), 

"  With-my-voice  to- Jehovah  I-cry, 
With-my-voice  to-Jchovah  I-makc-supplication." 

In  the  foregoing  instances  the  arrangement  of  the  words  within  both 
lines  is  the  same;  but  this  is  not  a  constant  rule:  more  often  the  order 
varies,  with  the  result  that  the  tendency  to  monotony  is  further  relieved. 
This  occurs  in  the  following:— 

(a)  Ps.  lix.  2  (:*), 

"  I  )oliver-me  from-the-workers-of  iniquity, 
And-from-the-men-of  blood  save-me." 

(6)  Ps.  xviii.  14  (15), 

"Ile-sent-forth  his-arrows  and-scattered-them, 
And-his-lightnings  he-shot-forth  and-dispersed-them." 

Synonymous  parallelism  appears  not  only  in  couplets  but  likewise  in 
quatrains,  as  may  be  illustrated  by  the  ensuing  instance:— 

Ps.  ciii.  11,  12, 

"As-high-as-is  the-heaven  above- the- earth, 
So-grcat-is  his-mercy  upon-those-that-fear-him ; 
As-far-as-is  thc-oast  from-the-west, 
So-far-hath-he-removed  from-us  our-transgressions." 

See  also  Mt.  vi.  19,  20,  vii.  13b,  14. 


GENERAL  SUPPLEMENT  cxxxvii 

(2)  The  second  variety  of  parallelism  is  distinguished  as  antitln'tn-, 
wherein  the  sentiment  conveyed  by  the  first  line  is  confronted  by  a 
contrast  in  the  second.  This  kind  is  illustrated  by  the  following 
examples  :— 

(a)  Ps.  xviii.  26  (27), 

"  With-the-pure  thou-wilt-shew-thyself-pure, 
Aiul-with-tho-porvorso  thou-wilt-shew-thyself-froward." 

(b)  Ps.  xx.  8  (9), 

"They  are-bowed-down  and-fallcn, 
But-wo  are-risen  and-stand-upright." 

By  its  nature  it  is  particularly  adapted  for  giving  expression  to  the  sharp 
contrasts  observable  in  human  dispositions  or  destinies  which  proverbial 
sayings  and  aphorisms  summarize ;  and  instances  are  abundant  in  the 
book  of  Proverbs.  It  will  be  needless  to  cite  here  more  than  one : — 

Prov.  xi.  3, 

"Tho-integrity-of  tho-upright  shall-guide-thoni, 

But-thc-crookediK'ss-of  the-treiichc'i-ous  shall-di\stroy-thoin." 

The  correspondence,  however,  of  many  parallel  clauses  is  by  no  means 
as  perfect  as  this ;  and  it  is  desirable  to  exemplify  incomplete  parallelism 
as  well  as  the  variety  just  considered.  In  couplets  which  exhibit  incom- 
plete parallelism,  one  line  lacks  a  constituent  contained  in  the  other, 
and  the  want  of  this  is  sometimes  made  good  by  an  expansion  of  one 
of  the  remaining  constituents,  though  oftener  it  is  left  without  any 
compensation.  A  couplet  wherein  the  verbal  correspondence  is  defective, 
but  symmetry  is  maintained  by  the  enlargement  of  one  of  the  terms  is 
found  in  Jud.  v.  4, 

"Jehovah,  \vhen-thou-weiitest-forth  out-of-Soir, 
Wheii-thou -inarchcdst  out-of-the-field-of  IMoni." 

Here  the  absence,  in  the  second  line,  of  any  equivalent  for  the  name 
Jehovah  in  the  first  is  supplied  by  the  occurrence  of  the  compound 
expression  the-field-of  Edom  in  response  to  Seir.  On  the  other  hand, 
in  Ps.  vi.  1  (2),  where  the  name  Jehovah  similarly  appears  only  in  the 
first  line  of  the  couplet,  it  will  be  seen  that  there  is  no  equivalent  for 
it  in  the  second, 

"Jehovah,  in-thine-anger  rebuke-me-not, 
And-in-thy-displeasure  chasten-me-not." 

Other  examples  of  incomplete  parallelism  where  some  term,  present 
in  only  one  of  the  lines,  is  balanced  by  the  expansion,  in  the  second  line, 
of  some  other  of  the  constituent  terms  are  Ps.  xlvi.  1  (2),  xlvii.  3  (4), 


cxxxviii  INTRODUCTION 

ciii.  7,  Prov.  v.  1  and  ix.  1 ;  whilst  instances  of  incomplete  parallelism 
without  such  compensation  are  found  in  Ps.  v.  1  (2),  xxv.  4,  Ixxii.  2, 
cviii.  3  (4),  cxiv.  2,  Prov.  xi.  9,  Is.  i.  26a. 

Sense-parallelism,  however,  in  all  its  varieties  is  by  no  means  a 
universal  feature  of  Hebrew  poetry,  as  two  or  three  examples  will  suffice 
to  shew : — 

(a)  Ps.  xxxix.  13  (14), 

"Look-away  from-me  that-I-may-brighten-up, 
Before  I -go-hence  and-be-no-more." 

(b)  Prov.  xxv.  19, 

"A-broken  tooth  and-a-tottering  foot, 
(Such  is)  confidence  in-a-traitor  in-a-day-of  trouble." 

(c)  Prov.  xxix.  13, 

"A-poor-man  and-a-man-of  violence  meet: 
Jehovah  lighteneth  the-eyes-of  both." 

In  all  these  cases  the  second  line  of  each  pair  is  neither  synonymous 
with,  nor  antithetic  to,  the  first :  it  only  completes  the  writer's  train  of 
thought  and  does  not  repeat  it  or  present  a  contrast  to  it.  Couplets  of 
this  kind  were  classed  by  Bp.  Lowth  under  the  term  synthetic  or  con- 
structive parallelism1',  but  the  designation  is  obviously  inappropriate, 
for  there  is  no  parallelism  of  import  at  all2.  Nevertheless,  in  spite  of 
the  absence  of  this,  a  balance  between  the  lines  is  clearly  discernible, 
and  this  calls  for  fuller  notice. 

At  first  sight  this  balance  or  parity  between  the  two  halves  of  each 
couplet  may  appear  to  be  secured  by  the  inclusion,  in  each  line,  of  an 
equivalent  number  of  words  (as  is  the  case  with  many  of  the  above 
examples).  But  it  very  frequently  happens  that  this  numerical  equi- 
valence is  lacking,  and  though  the  inequality  is  often  slight,  yet  in  some 
instances  (both  where  parallelism  of  thought  is  present  and  also  where 
it  is  absent)  the  disproportion  in  the  length  of  the  lines  of  a  couplet,  or 
in  the  length  of  both  lines  as  compared  with  that  of  the  rest  of  the  series 
in  which  they  are  included,  is  considerable.  For  example,  the  couplet  in 
Prov.  x.  12  has  only  three  words  in  the  first  line,  but  five  in  the  second; 
whilst  conversely  that  in  Prov.  xii.  21  has  five  in  the  first  but  only  three 
in  the  second.  The  treatment,  however,  of  these  uneven  lines  in  the 
Massoretic  text  points  to  a  clue  which  explains  several  of  the  peculiarities 
of  Hebrew  versification;  for  in  the  case  of  Prov.  x.  12  the  first  three  words 


1  See  his  Lectures  on  the  Sacred  Poetry  of  the  Hebrews  (tr.  by  Gregory),  n.  p.  49. 

2  See  Gray,  op.  cit.  pp.  49,  50. 


GENERAL  SUPPLEMENT  cxxxix 

of  the  second  line,  and  in  the  case  of  Prov.  xii.  21  two  pairs  of  words 
in  the  first  line,  are  severally  grouped  and  united  together  by  a  sign 
called  Makkeph  which  has  the  effect  of  causing  each  of  these  groups  to 
have  the  value  of  only  a  single  word,  with  one  rhythmical  beat.  It  will 
thus  be  seen  that  each  line  of  the  two  verses  cited  above  has  only  three 
stresses  or  beats,  and  so  are  rhythmically  equivalent  to  one  another. 
In  English  the  effect  may  be  roughly  represented  thus : — 

(a)  Prov.  x.  12, 

"Hatred  stirreth  strifes, 

(But)  over  all  transgression  covereth  love." 
(6)  Prov.  xii.  21, 


"There-happeneth  not  to-the-righteous  any  mischief, 

/  /    / 

But-the-wicked  incur  evil." 

From  this  it  becomes  tolerably  clear  that  in  Hebrew  poetry  the  length 
of  the  lines  composing  a  couplet  or  a  series  of  couplets  may  be  determined 
not  simply  by  the  number  of  separate  words  comprised  in  them  but  by 
the  number  of  stresses;  so  that  in  a  system  of  verses  the  lines  may  be 
equal,  if  measured  by  the  stressed  words  or  groups  of  words  which  they 
contain,  though  very  unequal  if  every  word  in  them  is  counted  indepen- 
dently1. 

In  the  Hebrew  text  of  the  poetic  books  of  the  O.T.  the  part  played 
by  makkeph  in  the  production  of  the  intended  rhythm  can  easily  be 
discerned  by  an  attentive  reader ;  but  at  the  same  time  it  is  difficult  to 
avoid  the  conclusion  that  by  the  Hebrew  copyists  to  whom  we  owe  the 
present  text  it  has  been  used  carelessly,  and  that  they  have  on  some 
occasions  inserted  it  where  it  is  not  needed  and,  more  frequently,  have 
omitted  it  where  the  prevailing  rhythm  of  a  passage  seems  to  require  it. 
For  example,  in  Mic.  vi.  1 — 3  the  metre  obviously  consists  of  a  suc- 
cession of  lines  of  three  beats  (or  trimeters);  but  they  are  not  perfectly 
regular,  since  here  and  there  in  the  Massoretic  text  a  makkeph  is  either 
lacking  or  redundant.  It  is  possible,  of  course,  if  not  probable,  that 
the  Hebrew  poets,  like  others,  conceded  to  themselves  some  licence; 
and  numerous  passages  are  found  where,  though  the  predominant  rhythm 
is  produced  by  a  series  of  couplets,  severally  composed  of  two  trimeters, 
yet  there  occur  at  intervals  couplets  of  which  only  the  first  line  contains 

1  Further  illustrations  of  the  use  of  makkeph  occur  in  Dt.  xxxii.  vv.  1,  13,  22,  41. 


cxl  INTRODUCTION 

three  stressed  words,  or  groups  of  words,  the  other  having  but  two, 
these  not  admitting  of  being  converted  into  trimeters  by  the  omission 
of  a  makkeph.  Some  instances  have  already  come  under  notice  (see 
p.  cxxxvii),  and  others  are  afforded  by  Mic.  i.  4a,  Ps.  cv.  22,  cvii.  29. 
Occasionally,  too,  there  are  interspersed  in  a  system  of  trimeters  couplets 
of  the  form  2  :  3  (see  Ps.  ciii.  18,  cvi.  42,  cxix.  16) ;  nor  are  these  the  only 
irregularities  met  with  in  such  a  system,  for  there  also  occur  couplets  of 
the  form  4  : 3  (see  Ps.  cv.  1,  41,  44,  cvii.  26)  and  perhaps  4  : 2  (Ps.  cv.  25, 
cvi.  4).  In  view  of  these  facts  it  is  likely  that  the  Hebrew  writers  were 
not  consistently  rigorous  in  their  observance  of  metrical  regularity 
throughout  a  poem  or  a  poetic  passage.  Nevertheless,  they  may  have  been 
really  stricter  than  appears  on  the  surface,  for  it  can  scarcely  be  doubted 
that  in  some  instances  the  original  structure  of  a  verse  has  been  dis- 
torted by  insertions.  This  is  certainly  the  case  in  Mic.  iv.  3,  for  this 
passage  is  found  also  in  Is.  ii.  4,  and  there  the  words  for  many  and  afar 
off,  which  disturb  the  metre  in  Micah,  are  absent.  See  also  p.  31. 

In  attempts  to  recognize  or  recover  the  metrical  structure  of  various 
poetical  passages,  which  in  the  present  Hebrew  text  seem  irregular,  there 
must  be  taken  into  account,  besides  the  possibility  of  a  misuse  of  makkeph 
by  the  Hebrew  scribes,  two  other  considerations.  One  is  the  fact  that 
a  series  of  metrical  couplets  is  often  preceded  by  an  introductory,  or 
followed  by  a  concluding,  word  or  phrase  which  is  not  comprised  within 
the  metre:  for  example  in  Joel  ii.  28  (=  Heb.  iii.  1),  the  words  "And 
it  shall  come  to  pass  afterward  that"  are  extra  metrum,  the  rest  of  the 
verse  constituting  four  trimeters.  The  other  is  the  likelihood  that  the 
original  text  of  a  passage  is  sometimes  better  preserved  in  the  LXX. 
than  in  the  Hebrew,  so  that  in  the  former  there  can  be  detected  the 
rhythm  which  in  the  latter  is  obscured.  Such  seems  to  be  the  case  in 
Mic.  v.  2  (Heb.  v.  1),  where  the  symmetry  of  the  opening  clauses 
(tetrameters)  is  evident  in  the  Greek  Version,  which  begins  with  Kal-o-v, 

oucos   'E</>pa$a    (answered   by    6A.tyo(TTOS-eT  Tov-etvcu    €i/-^tXtacrii/ 

,  whereas  the  Heb.  has  merely  But-thou  Bethlehem  Ephrathah.  On 
the  other  hand,  in  Mic.  i.  3  (where  the  introductory  words  For  behold 
are  not  included  in  the  metre)  the  LXX.  does  not  contain  the  words 
and  tread  which  occur  in  the  Heb.;  and  the  verb  thus  translated  maybe 
suspected  to  be  an  insertion,  though  the  Massoretes  have  conserved  the 
trimeter  rhythm  by  giving  to  the  words  upon  the  high  places  of  the  earth 
(through  the  use  of  makkeph)  a  single  stress  instead  of  two. 

The  elevated  passages,  then,  contained  in  the  O.T.  Scriptures,  and 
exhibiting  poetical  structure,  are  distinguished  either  by  parallelism 


GENERAL  SUPPLEMENT  cxli 

of  thought,  or  by  a  series  of  uniform  (or  nearly  uniform)  rhythmic  beast 
or  by  both  these  features  together1.  Their  writers,  like  other  poets, 
subjected  themselves  to  rules,  though  perhaps  not  very  exigent  rules, 
and  produced  their  works  under  restrictions  of  form  which,  whilst 
limiting  in  some  measure  their  freedom,  gave  to  what  they  wrote  greater 
effectiveness.  Their  words,  through  being  uttered  in  rhythmical  cadence, 
not  only  gained  in  force  or  sublimity  but  were  more  easily  remembered 
and  transmitted  with  accuracy  by  those  who  heard  them :  and  it  will 
be  recalled  that  the  utterances  of  the  Greek  oracles  were  generally 
couched  in  hexameters.  It  is  not  necessary  to  pursue  the  subject  now 
at  any  length,  as  the  principal  object  of  the  brief  treatment  of  it  here 
is  to  render  intelligible  the  discussion  of  some  of  the  textual  emendations 
which  will  come  under  notice  in  the  ensuing  pages.  The  contents  of  the 
Prophetic  books  in  general,  of  the  book  of  Psalms,  and  of  the  composi- 
tions comprised  in  what  is  commonly  known  as  "Wisdom"  literature 
(e.g.  Proverbs),  are  largely  metrical  in  the  sense  explained;  so  that  where 
corruption  of  the  text  is  suspected,  the  attempted  correction  of  it  cannot 
always  be  independent  of  metrical  considerations;  and  suggested  emenda- 
tions of  many  passages  suspected  to  be  faulty  ought,  if  they  are  to 
commend  themselves,  to  conform  to  the  dominant  rhythm  of  the  imme- 
diate context.  Even  in  cases  where  the  existing  text  presents  no  serious 
difficulties,  the  metre  of  a  passage  may  be  a  factor  in  deciding  upon  the 
relative  merits  of  two  competing  readings.  For  example,  if  in  the 
Massoretic  text  a  line  marked  by  three  rhythmical  beats  be  followed  by 
a  parallel  line  of  only  two,  and  if  one  or  more  of  the  Versions  should 
point  to  the  existence  of  a  parallel  line  having  the  normal  three  beats, 
there  is  a  strong  probability  that  the  reading  implied  by  the  Versions 
is  original.  On  the  other  hand,  there  must  not  be  overlooked  the  likeli- 
hood that  there  may  have  been  (as  already  observed)  some  laxity  in 
requiring  corresponding  lines  to  be  in  all  cases  rhythmically  equivalent 
to  one  another:  our  knowledge  of  Hebrew  metrical  rules  is  scarcely 
exact  enough  to  justify  disregard  of  documentary  evidence,  save  in 
exceptional  instances.  Accordingly  where  neither  the  desired  sense  nor 
the  evidence  of  the  Versions  favours  the  conclusion  that  something  has 
been  lost  from,  or  added  to,  the  current  text,  the  occurrence,  in  a  verse- 
system,  of  a  line  of  irregular  length  does  not  appear  to  afford  sufficient 
ground  for  emending  the  line  by  mere  conjecture. 

1  Intermingled,  of  course,  with  passages  having  the  rhythm  of  poetry  there  occur 
others  which  are  in  prose:  see,  for  instance,  Jer.  vii.,  where  v.  29  is  metrical,  but 
the  verses  that  follow  are  not. 


cxlii  INTRODUCTION 

The  commonest  metres  used  in  Hebrew  poetic  compositions  are  the 
dimeter  (with  two  beats)  and  the  trimeter  (with  three) ;  whilst  tetra- 
meters (with  four  beats)  are  not  rare  (see  Ps.  xxix.  1,  2,  Ixxxix.  11 — 16, 
cxliv.  15,  Joel  iii.  3,  Am.  ix.  14,  Job  iv.  2).  After  what  has  been  said 
these  do  not  call  for  further  remark,  yet  it  may  be  well  to  subjoin  an 
illustration  of  all  in  combination,  though  some  have  been  exemplified 
separately  already.  In  many  poems  there  occur  rapid  transitions  from 
one  metrical  form  to  another;  and  an  instance  of  the  three  metres  just 
enumerated  is  found  within  narrow  compass  in  Is.  ix.  2 — 3  (Heb.  1 — 2). 
Here  the  first  verse  is  in  trimeters ;  the  first  half  of  the  second  is  in 
dimeters ;  whilst  the  last  half  is  in  tetrameters.  In  the  translation,  the 
English  words  that  represent  a  single  Hebrew  term  are,  as  before,  joined 
by  hyphens,  whilst  such  insertions  as  the  English  idiom  requires  are 
placed  in  brackets : — 

2(1)      "  The-people  that- walked  in-darkness 

Have-seen  (a)  great  light ; 
Dwellers  in-a-land-of  gloom, 
Light  hath-shone  upon-them. 

3a  (2)  Thou-hast-multiplied  the-rejoicing1, 

Thou-hast-increased  the-joy : 

3b  They-joy  before-thee  as-with-the-joy  in-harvest, 

Like-as  (men)  rej6ice  when-dividing  spoil." 

Rather  more  must  be  said  about  another  metre,  in  which  the  lines  are 
not  usually  arranged  in  couplets  (though  see  p.  143),  so  that  there 
is  an  absence  of  the  balanced  cadence  observable  in  the  varieties  pre- 
viously considered,  but  every  line  is  commonly  divided  into  two  unequal 
parts,  producing  the  effect  of  &  falling  cadence.  This  is  generally  known 
by  a  Hebrew  name,  Kinah,  meaning  "lamentation"  (especially  for  the 
dead),  see  2  Sam.  i.  17,  2  Ch.  xxxv.  25,  Ezek.  xix.  1,  Am.  v.  1.  Whilst, 
however,  the  term  seems  to  have  denoted  specifically  the  wailing  of 
women  employed  as  professional  mourners — "keening"  women — (see 
Jer.  ix.  20),  and  was  then  extended  to  songs  and  poems  of  a  plaintive 
tone,  the  rhythm  designated  by  it  was  also  used  in  other  compositions, 
and  particularly  in  satiric  taunt-songs.  The  metre  is  marked  in  general 
by  five  accentual  beats  with  a  pause  after  the  first  three2,  though  in 


1  This  is  the  rendering  of  an  emendation:   the  present  Hebrew  text  makes 
nonsense  of  the  next  line  and  destroys  the  parallelism. 

2  Instances  of  isolated  couplets  exhibiting  this  rhythm  occur  in  Mic.  ii.  2,  v.  9, 
10,  13,  Am.  iii.  3,  Ps.  ii.  11,  Is.  i.  21».   In  Mic.  vii.  14—21  a  series  of  Kinah  lines 
seem  spoilt  by  insertions  (see  pp.  63,  66). 


GENERAL  SUPPLEMENT  cxliii 

some  instances  the  pause  occurs  after  the  first  two  (see  Mic.  vii.  14, 
Lam.  ii.  4b),  whilst  lines  are  occasionally  found  where  there  are  only 
four  beats,  with  the  pause  similarly  after  the  first  two;  and  still  more 
rarely  there  are  encountered  lines  of  six  beats,  with  the  pause  after  the 
first  four  (see  Is.  xiv.  16b).  As  in  the  case  of  other  metres,  the  charac- 
teristic rhythm  of  the  Kinah  is  sometimes  disguised  in  the  present  Heb. 
text  through  the  absence  or  intrusion  of  makkeph.  In  the  following 
illustrative  passage  from  Is.  xiv.  4 — 8,  makkeph  has  been  inserted  in  a 
few  places  and  one  or  two  plausible  emendations  have  been  adopted : — 

How  there-is-stilled  (the)  oppressor,  |  stilled  (the  proud)  vaunting1! 
Jehovah  hath-broken  the-staff-of  the- wicked,  |  the-rod-of  (the)  rulers, 
Which-struck-at  (the)  peoples  in-anger  I  with-str6ke  unremitted, 
Which-ruled  (all  the)  nations  in-fury  |  with-rulea  unrelenting. 
In-peace,  in-repose  all-the-earth !  |  (They)  burst  into-shouting. 
At-thee  e'en-the-fir-trees  rejoice,  |  the-cedars-of  Lebanon : — 
"Now  thou-art-prone,  there-ariseth  |  no  feller  agaiust-us." 

The  verses  quoted  exemplify,  as  far  as  possible  in  English,  not  only 
the  ordinary  cadence  of  the  Kinah*  but  also  one  of  the  rarer  rhythms 
which  it  sometimes  admits.  More  extensive  illustration  is  afforded  by 
the  book  of  Lamentations ;  and  other  instances  of  poems  constructed  in 
this  metre  will  be  found,  within  this  volume,  on  pp.  87,  143.  Here 
exhaustive  treatment  of  it  or  of  other  varieties  of  Hebrew  metrical 
systems  is  unnecessary  for  reasons  already  explained. 


1  Here  madhhebhah  (B.V.  the  golden  city)  is  replaced  by  marhebhah. 

2  Here  murdaph  (R.V.  persecution)  is  replaced  by  mirdath. 

3  An  interesting  parallel  to  the  Kinah  is  offered  in  Latin  by  the  Saturnian  metre, 
which  was  also  regulated  by  accent  and  not  by  quantity  :  each  line  consisted  of  two 
divisions,  marked  respectively  by  three  accents  and  two,  though  certain  departures 
from  this  norm  were  permitted.    The  following  is  an  illustration  : 

Ddbunt  mdlum  Metelli  \  Navio  poetce. 


MICAH 

CHAPTERS  I. — III. 

It  is  generally  recognized  that  these  chapters  (with  the  exception  of  ii.  12—13, 
see  p.  20)  consist  of  genuine  utterances  of  Micah.  They  are  prophecies  of 
a  judgment  awaiting  each  of  the  Hebrew  sister-kingdoms ;  but  though  the 
predictions  of  impending  disaster  are  unqualified  by  any  suggestion  that  it  can 
be  averted  by  repentance,  they  were  doubtless  designed  to  induce  reformation 
(p.  xxiii.);  and  in  the  case  of  Judah,  the  prophet's  purpose  was  not  wholly 
a  failure  (p.  xxxi.).  The  cause  of  the  Divine  resentment  is  in  ch.  i.  idol  worship, 
in  chs.  ii.  and  iii.  social  oppression  and  corruption. 

CHAPTER  I. 

This  ch.  is  an  announcement  that  Jehovah  is  about  to  judge  His  people  for 
their  sins  of  idolatry.  Samaria  will  be  demolished ;  and  the  enemy  that  is  to 
bring  about  its  overthrow  will  sweep  onward  into  Judah,  and  overwhelm  the 
towns  of  the  Lowland. 

I.     1  THE  word  of  the  LORD  that  came  to  Micah  the  Morashtite 

I.  1.  This  prefatory  verse,  in  ascribing  by  implication  the  whole  book 
to  Micah,  is  shown,  by  the  nature  of  various  sections,  to  be  only 
partially  correct;  see  pp.  xxii.  f.,  28  f.  The  resemblance  which  the  verse 
bears  to  the  opening  of  the  books  of  Hosea  and  Isaiah  renders  it  not 
unlikely  that  all  these  prefatory  notices  are  of  editorial  origin. 

The  word  of  the  LORD.  The  original  has  The  word  of  Jehovah,  the 
English  substitute  for  the  Divine  Name  being  adopted  from  the  LXX., 
which  has  Aoyos  KvpiW  From  motives  of  reverence  the  Jews  avoided 
pronouncing  the  personal  name  by  which  the  God  of  Israel  was  known. 
This  in  historic  times  was  JAHVEH  (pronounced  Yahweh),  an  appella- 
tion which,  since  it  coincides  with  a  dialectic  form  of  the  ordinary 
Hebrew  for  He  will  be,  is  probably  an  adaptation  (perhaps  a  popular 
etymology)  of  a  prehistoric  name  which  is  irrecoverable.  JAHVEH  was 
seemingly  interpreted  to  be  an  abbreviation  of  He  will  be  what  He  will 
be  (cf.  Ex.  iii.  14,  15,  mg.),  the  phrase  conveying  both  a  belief  in  the 
activity  of  the  national  God  and  an  acknowledgment  of  the  inscrutability 
of  His  nature  and  purposes.  Fear  of  infringing  the  sanctity  of  this 
Divine  Name  caused,  in  practice,  the  replacement  of  its  vowels  by  those 
of  the  title  'Adhonai,  "my  Lord"  (represented  by  the  Greek  Kvpios) 
whilst  the  consonants  were  retained,  this  modification  resulting  in  the 
form  JEHOVAH1.  Other  reverential  substitutes  were  the  Name  (Lev. 

1  The  a  and  the  e  in  the  first  syllable  of  'Adhonai  and  Jehovah  respectively  are 
equivalent,  the  difference  being  due  to  the  initial  consonants  of  the  two,  which 
require  dissimilar  vowels. 

w.  1 


2  MICAH  [i.  i 

in  the  days  of  Jotham,  Ahaz,  and  Hezekiah,  kings  of  Judah, 
which  he  saw  concerning  Samaria  and  Jerusalem. 

xxiv.  11),  the  Heavens  (Dan.  iv.  26),  the  Blessed  (Mk.  xiv.  61),  the 
Power  (Mk.  xiv.  62).  A  title  like  'Adhonai  or  Kvpios  had,  for  the 
development  of  religion,  a  great  advantage  over  a  proper  name  like 
Jehovah,  since  the  latter  was  only  appropriate  to  a  deity  who  was 
believed  to  be  one  of  a  large  number,  whereas  the  former  was  not  un- 
suitable for  a  national  divinity  when  such  came  to  be  regarded  as  the 
only  existing  God. 

In  general,  phrases  such  as  The  loord  of  the  Lord  hath  come  unto  me  ( Jer. 
xxv.  3),  Thus  saith  the  LORD  (passim),  and  the  like,  only  expressed  the 
conviction  of  the  prophet  using  them  that  what  he  said  was  God's  truth ; 
but  it  is  not  improbable  that  they  had  their  origin  in  the  experiences  of 
religious  ecstasy.  Persons  subject  to  such,  in  moments  of  psychic 
exaltation  (sometimes  stimulated  by  music  (1  Sam.  x.  5 — 13,  cf.  2  Kgs. 
iii.  15)  and  doubtless  by  dancing  also),  believed  that  they  heard  a  Voice 
from  heaven  addressing  them  (see  Num.  xxiv.  3,  4,  15,  16).  In  the 
case  of  men  of  reflection  and  insight,  the  thoughts  expressed  may  well 
have  been  long  in  their  minds;  but  as  they  were  probably  subject  to 
strong  emotions  and  at  intervals  lost  their  self-control,  the  ideas  that 
filled  them  were  likely  to  find  utterance  without  the  speakers  being 
conscious  of  any  intermediate  step  of  reasoning  or  inference,  so  that  the 
thoughts  to  which  they  gave  expression  would  appear  to  come  to  them 
at  the  moment,  and  to  be  received  by  them  directly  from  God  through 
ecstatic  audition1.  Possibly  in  the  phrase  saith  the  LORD  (iv.  6,  v.  10, 
vi.  1,  etc.)  and  its  equivalents,  the  present  tense  should  be  replaced  by 
the  past  said,  alluding  to  the  occasion  when  the  prophet  believed  that 
he  had  heard  God  addressing  him2. 

Micah.  In  Jer.  xxvi.  18  the  prophet  is  called  Micaiah,  which  is  pro- 
bably the  true  form  of  his  name:  the  LXX.  in  both  places  has  MctgoMf. 

the  Morashtite.  I.e.  a  native  of  Moresheth-gath,  see  p.  xviii.  Similar 
local  designations  are  appended  to  the  names  of  Elijah,  Elisha,  Jonah, 
Jeremiah,  and  Nahum  (1  Kgs.  xvii.  1  (LXX.),  xix.  16,  2  Kgs.  xiv.  25, 
Jer.  i.  1,  Nah.  i.  1). 

in  the  days  of  Jotham,  etc.  The  period  covered  by  the  reigns  of  the 
kings  enumerated  may  have  amounted  to  forty-six  years  (738 — 692); 
but  there  is  no  internal  evidence  pointing  to  the  conclusion  that  any 
part  of  the  book  dates  from  the  time  of  the  first-mentioned  king.  The 
earliest  prediction  in  it  was  certainly  prior  to  the  destruction  of  Samaria 
(i.  6);  but  the  expression  her  (Samaria's)  wounds  are  incurable  (v.  9) 
suggests  that  the  prophecy  was  uttered  when  the  fate  of  the  city  and 
kingdom  was  virtually  sealed  (i.e.  very  shortly  before  722).  It  is  some- 
what uncertain  who  was  the  contemporary  king  of  Judah  (see  p.  xvi.). 

which  he  saw.  The  Heb.  verb  is  hdzah  (see  on  iii.  7).  No  visions  are 
recorded  in  the  book  as  having  been  seen  by  Micah;  and  the  word 

1  Cf.  Joyce,  Inspiration  of  Prophecy  y  p.  74  f. 

2  See  T.  H.  Robinson,  Prophecy  and  the  Prophets  in  Ancient  Israel,  pp.  43 — 45. 


i.  2]  MICAH  3 

2  Hear,  ye  peoples,  all  of  you  ;  hearken,  0  earth,  and  all  1that 

1  Heb.  the  fulness  thereof. 

saw  here  used  may  be  conventional  (cf.  Hab.  i.  1)  and  equivalent  to 
"received  from  God."  Even  in  some  cases  where  actual  "visions"  appear 
at  first  sight  to  be  described  (Am.  vii.  1,  4,  7,  viii.  1,  Jer.  i.  11 — 13), 
such  do  not  necessarily  imply  abnormal  visual  experiences ;  the  object 
shewn  or  seen  may  have  been  something  that  happened  at  the  time  to 
be  under  the  prophet's  eyes,  and  suggested  to  him  thoughts  which  could 
be  ascribed  to  God  as  their  source.  The  visions  related  in  Zech.  i. — vi., 
which  are  much  more  complex,  are  also  probably  literary  devices — 
"conscious  and  artistic  allegories1."  On  the  other  hand,  those  related 
to  have  been  witnessed  by  Jsaiah  (ch.  vi.)  and  by  Ezekiel  (ch.  i.)  can 
with  more  plausibility  be  explained  as  seen  by  the  prophets  under 
conditions  of  trance2.  At  an  early  period  in  Israel's  religious  history  it 
was  believed  that  the  Deity  Himself  could  be  visible  to  man,  since  He 
had  a  corporeal  form,  though  the  sight  of  the  face  of  God  was  fatal  to 
the  beholder  (see  Ex.  xxxiii.  20—23). 

concerning  Samaria  and  Jerusalem.  The  only  portion  of  the  book 
relating  with  certainty  to  Samaria  is  i.  5 — 9,  though  some  scholars  hare 
thought  vi.  9 — 16  to  have  the  Northern  kingdom  in  view  (p.  53). 

2 — 7.  The  descent  of  Jehovah,  the  universal  Judge,  from  His  heavenly 
temple  to  punish  the  offences  of  Israel  and  Judah,  and  the  sentence 
pronounced  upon  Samaria. 

2.  Jehovah  is  regarded  by  the  prophet  as  coming  to  arraign  the 
heathen  for  their  sins  equally  with  the  two  Hebrew  kingdoms;  but  the 
only  "case"  here  gone  into  is  that  of  the  latter,  at  whose  trial  the  other 
nations,  as  being  in  the  like  situation,  are  bidden  to  attend.  There  is 
no  good  reason  for  considering  w.  2 — 5a  to  be  unoriginal  (and  supplied 
by  a  subsequent  editor)  just  because  in  these  Jehovah  is  represented  as 
judging  heathen  peoples  and  it  is  implied  that  His  temple  is  in  heaven. 
The  Lord  appears  as  the  judge  of  the  heathen  in  Am.  i.  3 — ii.  3,  Is.  iii. 
13  (both  a  little  earlier  than  Micah);  and  though  the  passages  where 
Jehovah's  temple  is  explicitly  identified  with  heaven  (Ps.  xi.  4,  xviii. 
6,  9)  are  certainly  or  probably  later  than  the  8th  century,  yet  heaven  is 
the  locality  from  which  God  descends  upon  Sinai  in  Ex.  xix.  llb,  18,  20 
(derived  from  the  early  source  J)  and  from  which  His  angel  calls  to 
Abraham  in  Gen.  xxii.  11  (from  the  almost  equally  early  source  E).  It 
is  nearly  incredible  that  Micah's  prophecy  should  ever  have  begun  with 
so  abrupt  a  question  (v.  5b)  as  What  is  the  transgression  of  Jacob? 

The  prophet  bids  the  peoples  attend  to  his  announcement  of  Jehovah's 
imminent  approach.  The  sentence  has  been  attached  quite  uniutelli- 
gently  in  1  Kgs.  xxii.  28  (Heb.)  to  an  utterance  of  another  Micaiah  with 
whom  the  prophet  of  Moresheth  was  confused;  the  addition  is  absent 
from  the  LXX. 

0  earth... therein  is.    In  Ezek.  xxx.  12  the  same  words  (in  the  Heb.) 

1  G.  A.  Smith,  Book  of  the  XII  Prophets,  n.  p.  274. 
*  See  Joyce,  Inspiration  of  Prophecy,  pp.  9f.f  110  f. 

1—2 


4  MICAH  [i.  2-4 

therein  is:  and  let  the  Lord  GOD  be  witness  1  against  you,  the 
Lord  from  his  holy  temple.  3  For,  behold,  the  LORD  cometh 
forth  out  of  his  place,  and  will  come  down,  and  tread  upon  the 
high  places  of  the  earth.  4  And  the  mountains  shall  be  molten 
under  him,  and  the  valleys  shall  be  cleft,  as  wax  before  the  fire, 

1  Or,  among 

are  used  of  a  single  country  (Egypt) ;  but  here  the  reference  is  to  the 
world  at  large,  and  its  human  inhabitants  (LXX.  KOL  Travre?  ot  Iv  avrfi). 

the  Lord  GOD.  Better,  the  Lord  JEHO  VAH.  As  the  vowels  of  'A  dhonai 
were  used  in  the  vocalization  of  Jehovah  (p.  1),  it  became  necessary, 
when  'Adhonai  (literally,  my  Lord)  was  prefixed  to  the  latter,  to  adopt 
in  connection  with  the  consonants  JHVH  the  vowels  ofMoMm,  "God." 
Here  LXX.  B  has  Kvptos  Kvptos  but  in  Ob.  1  Kvpios  6  Ocos.  Similar  to 
the  prefixing  of  the  title  my  Lord  to  the  name  Jehovah  was  the  employ- 
ment by  the  heathen  peoples  of  Lord  (}Adhon)  in  association  with  the 
names  of  their  own  divinities — }Adhon  'Eshmun,  'Adhon  Shalman,  etc. 
Here,  however,  the  occurrence  of  the  title  impairs  the  rhythm  of  tbe  v. ; 
and  it  is  absent  from  the  Alexandrine  codex  of  the  LXX. :  there  is  much 
evidence  tbat  it  was  frequently  inserted  by  copyists  (see  Am.  i.  8,  iv.  2, 
v.  1 6,  vi.  8,  where,  though  present  in  the  Hebrew,  it  is  absent  from  the 
LXX.). 

be  witness.  God  is  similarly  a  witness  against  men  in  Jer.  xxix.  23, 
as  being  "He  that  knoweth"  their  most  secret  deeds :  cf.  also  Mai.  iii.  5. 

his  holy  temple.  God's  heavenly  abode  (1  Kgs.  viii.  30,  Ps.  xi.  4), 
whence  He  is  about  to  descend  to  the  earth  (v.  3,  cf.  Is.  xxvi.  21),  is 
similarly  called  "the  sanctuary"  (6  vaos)  in  Rev.  xvi.  17. 

3.  For,  behold,  etc.    Verses  3  and  4  describe  a  Theophany,  wherein 
the  Divine  activity  is  described  through  the  medium  of  physical  imagery. 

and  tread.  This  is  absent  from  the  LXX. ;  and  tbe  rhythm  of  the  v. 
is  improved  by  its  omission  (though  see  p.  cxl.).  The  verb  resembles 
the  preceding  word  closely  enough  to  be  an  accidental  dittograph ;  or  it 
may  have  been  inserted  by  a  copyist  who  recalled  Am.  iv.  13. 

the  high  places.  Better,  the  heights  (to  avoid  the  religious  associations 
(see  on  v.  5)  attaching  to  the  other  phrase).  The  conception  is  inspired 
by  the  movement,  along  the  mountain  tops,  of  the  storm  clouds  with 
which  the  Almighty  was  believed  to  screen  the  brightness  of  His 
Presence:  cf.  Ps.  xviii.  10,  11. 

4.  And  the  mountains,  etc.    God's  descent  is  thought  of  as  accom- 
panied by  a  violent  thunderstorm  (cf.  Ex.  xix.  18),  causing  landslides 
on  the  hills  (like  the  melting  of  wax,  cf.  Ps.  xcvii.  5,  3  Is.  Ixiv.  1,  3)  and 
rifts  in  the  valleys  (like  the  effects  of  a  cataract1).   Similar  descriptions 
of  the  results  produced  on  nature  by  a  Theophany  occur  in  Jud.  v.  5, 
Nab.  i.  5,  Hab.  iii.  6. 

1  The  strict  sense  of  the  last  clause  of  v.  4  is  the  valleys  shall  be  cleft... by  the  like 
of  waters  that  are  poured  down  a  steep  place  :  cf.  Is.  i.  25  (I  will  purge  away. ..with 
the  like  of  lye). 


i.  4,  s]  MICAH  5 

as  waters  that  are  poured  down  a  steep  place.  5  For  the  trans- 
gression of  Jacob  is  all  this,  and  for  the  sins  of  the  house  of 
Israel.  What  is  the  transgression  of  Jacob  ?  is  it  not  Samaria  ? 
and  what  are  the  high  places  of  Judah?  are  they  not  Jerusalem? 

5.  For  the  transgression,  etc.  I.e.  in  retribution  for  the  transgression 
of  Jacob  (Northern  Israel)  and  Judah  Jehovah's  resentment  is  mani- 
fested thus.  If  the  text  is  sound  and  the  names  employed  are  intended 
to  be  distinct,  Israel  must  stand  for  the  Southern  kingdom,  but  this  is 
natural  only  in  passages  written  after  the  destruction  of  the  sister- 
kingdom,  or  where  ambiguity  is  impossible.  Here  it  is  too  equivocal  to 
be  probable,  and  it  should  be  replaced  by  Judah  (this  clause  being 
assimilated  to  the  next).  Although  Micah  was  a  Judaean  prophet,  the 
sin  and  approaching  punishment  of  the  kingdom  of  which  Samaria  was 
the  capital  were  first  in  his  thoughts,  since  that  realm  was  more  exposed 
than  its  neighbour  to  the  assault  of  an  enemy  (Assyria)  advancing  from 
the  north.  For  the  sins  the  LXX.  has  the  sin ;  which  makes  the 
parallelism  closer. 

What  is  the  transgression,  etc.  Strictly,  Who  is  the  transgression! 
i.e.  what  group  of  people  is  the  living  embodiment  of  the  corruption 
infecting  the  rest  of  the  nation?  In  each  case  the  answer  is,  the  citizens 
of  the  capital.  Amos  refers  to  the  idolatry  of  Samaria  (viii.  14),  and 
Isaiah  to  the  idols  of  both  cities  (x.  10). 

the  high  places.  The  term  designates  the  sites  of  sacrificial  worship 
on  the  summits  of  hills,  positions  enabling  the  smoke  of  the  sacrifices 
to  disperse  easily,  and  so  to  convey  the  savour  of  the  burnt  offerings  to 
the  heavenly  deities  whom  it  was  desired  to  gratify.  In  early  times  in 
Hebrew  history  "high  places"  were  consecrated  to  the  worship  of 
Jehovah  (1  Sam.  ix.  12,  1  Kgs.  iii.  3,  4,  xviii.  20)  no  less  than  to  that 
of  other  divinities  (1  Kgs.  xi.  7,  Jer.  xxxii.  35);  and  mount  Zion,  where 
the  Temple  was  erected  by  Solomon,  must  have  been  of  the  nature  of 
a  "high  place,"  one  among  several  others  in  the  land  (cf.  1  Kgs.  xv.  14, 
2  Kgs.  xii.  3).  Eventually,  however,  in  the  7th  century  this  was  con- 
stituted the  sole  locality  where  sacrifice  to  Jehovah  was  permitted 
(Dt.  xii.  4  f.,  2  Kgs.  xxiii.  3),  the  reason  for  this  limitation  being 
doubtless  the  pollution  of  the  worship  of  Israel's  God  by  the  licentious 
practices  associated  with  the  cult  of  Canaanite  deities,  which  was  like- 
wise conducted  at  "high  places."  In  the  present  passage  the  LXX., 
instead  of  what  are  the  high  places  of  Judah  ?  has  what  is  the  sin  of  the 
house  of  Judah?  which  is  preferable,  since  not  only  does  harmony  with 
the  rest  of  the  v.  require  this,  but  it  is  difficult  to  see  how  "high  places" 
could  exist  in  Jerusalem  side  by  side  with  the  Temple.  It  has  been 
suggested  that  the  word  for  house-of  (beyth]  has  been  corrupted  into  that 
for  high  places  (bdmotk),  since  the  letters  for  y  and  m  in  the  early  Heb. 
alphabet  were  less  dissimilar  than  in  the  later,  and  that  the  word  for 
sin  (hattath)  has  been  accidentally  lost.  (The  questions  and  answers  as 
here  re-constructed  seem  to  form  two  lines  in  the  Kinah  metre  (p.  cxlii.), 


6  MICAH  [i.  6,  7 

6  Therefore  I  will  make  Samaria  as  an  heap  of  the  field,  and  as 
the  plantings  of  a  vineyard :  and  I  will  pour  down  the  stones 
thereof  into  the  valley,  and  I  will  discover  the  foundations 
thereof.  7  And  all  her  graven  images  shall  be  beaten  to  pieces, 
and  all  her  hires  shall  be  burned  with  fire,  and  all  her  idols  will 

whereas  in  the  existing  Heb.  text  they  appear  to  constitute  four 
dimeters). 

6.  as  an  heap  of  the  field.    Better,  into  a  heap  (of  stones)  in  a  field 
(cf.  the  Vulgate,  quasi  acervum  lapidum  in  agro).    The  Assyrian  king 
Tiglath-Pileser  similarly  speaks  of  changing  an  enemy's  territory  "into 
a  rubbish  mound  and  fields"  (Schrader,  COT.  I.  p.  227,  ii.  p.  148). 
For  the  rendering  a  heap  in  a  field,  where  the  Hebrew  is  literally  "a 
heap  of  a  field,"  cf.  the  similar  use  of  the  objective  genitive  in  Gen.  iii. 
24,  the  way^  of  (i.e.  to)  the  tree  of  life,  Prov.  vii.  27,  the  way  of  (i.e.  to) 
Sheol.    So  in  Latin,  abaci  vasa  is  used  for  "vessels  on  a  sideboard." 
Many  critics  propose  the  omission  of  the  word  for  a  heap  and  would 
render,  into  a  field,  so  as  to  bring  the  statement  into  harmony  with 
iii.  12 ;  and  Wellhausen  would  substitute  (by  a  slight  change)  into  a 
forest  of  the  field  (i.e.  a  wild  forest),  comparing  Ezek.  xx.  46  (xxi.  2 
Heb.).   But  Micah  need  not  be  suspected  of  limiting  himself  to  stereo- 
typed phrases,  and  tbe  text  is  supported  by  the  parallel  in  the  second 
half  of  the  v.    The  predicted  demolition  of  Samaria,  which  lay  on  a 
hill  (1  Kgs.  xvi.  24,  Am.  iv.  1,  vi.  1),  is  thought  of  as  causing  its  stones 
to  be  piled  in  the  valley  below.    For  the  fulfilment  of  the  prediction, 
at  least  so  far  as  the  capture  of  Samaria  is  concerned,  see  2  Kgs.  xviii. 
9—10. 

as  the  plantings,  etc.  Better,  into  the  plantings,  etc.  The  writer's 
thought  is  that  the  foundations  of  Samaria,  after  its  ruin,  will  be 
thoroughly  cleared  away  in  order  that  the  good  soil  needed  for  vines 
may  be  reached. 

discover.   Better,  uncover  or  expose. 

7.  all  her  graven  images.    The  destruction  that  is  to  overtake  the 
city  will  extend  to  the  symbols  of  the  deities  to  whom  it  ascribes  its 
blessings  (cf.  Hos.  ii.  5)  and  renders  worship. 

beaten  to  pieces.  This  implies  that  the  graven  images  were  constructed 
of  stone  or  marble. 

all  her  hires.  This,  if  the  text  is  sound,  must  mean  the  gold  and 
silver  given'  to  and  for  the  idol-gods  by  their  votaries  (Hos.  viii.  4, 
xiii.  2)  in  the  hope  of  procuring  from  them  in  fuller  measure  the  fruits 
of  the  earth  and  of  the  flock.  But  the  term  hire  is  applied  in  Hos.  ii.  12, 
ix.  1  to  the  bounty  believed  to  be  given  by  the  idol-gods  (Israel's  lovers) 
who  thereby  seduced  Israel  from  the  worship  of  Jehovah ;  and  what  is 
wanted  here  is  a  plain  designation  for  objects  of  idolatry  like  those  on 
either  side,  viz.  graven  images  and  idols.  J.  M.  P.  Smith  and  others 
seek  to  retain  the  term  thus  translated,  and  to  bring  it  into  harmony 
with  the  context  by  assigning  it  not  to  the  root  meaning  "to  give,"  "to 


I.  7-9] 


MICAH 


1  lay  desolate :  for  of  the  hire  of  an  harlot  hath  she  gathered 
them,  and  unto  the  hire  of  an  harlot  shall  they  return.    8  For 
this  will  I  wail  and  howl,  I  will  go  stripped  and  naked :    I  will 
make  a  wailing  like  the  jackals,  and  a  mourning  like  the  ostriches. 
9  For  her  wounds  are  incurable :  for  it  is  come  even  unto  Judah; 
it  reacheth  unto  the  gate  of  my  people,  even  to  Jerusalem. 

hire,"  but  to  another  (for  which  support  is  found  in  Arabic)  signifying 
"to  resemble,"  and  by  supposing  that  the  noun  here  employed  has  the 
sense  of  "images."  But  it  is  eminently  unlikely  that  there  should  here 
be  used  for  "images"  a  word  identical  in  form  with  another  occurring 
twice  in  the  rest  of  the  v.  in  the  sense  of  "hire":  the  only  resource  is 
to  assume  that  the  text  is  corrupt.  As  the  objects  which  the  writer  had 
in  mind  were  such  as  could  be  burnt,  they  mast  have  been  of  wood,  and 
Wellhausen  conjectures  all  her  Asherim  (see  on  v.  14);  cf.  Dt.  xii.  3, 

2  Kgs.  xxiii.  15.    But  the  noun  suggested  is  fern.,  whereas  the  verb  is 
masc.,  and  a  more  plausible  emendation  is  sun-images  (hammdnim): 
cf.  Is.  xvii.  8,  xxvii.  9. 

the  hire  of  an  harlot.  The  term  harlot  seems  to  be  used  here  in 
connection  with  religious  prostitution  (Dt.  xxiii.  17,  18,  Hos.  iv.  13,  14, 
Baruch  vi.  43)  the  proceeds  of  which  were  devoted  to  the  adornment 
of  the  idol-gods  (cf.  Bar.  vi.  9 — 11).  The  valuables  decorating  Samaria's 
idols  are  destined  to  be  carried  away  by  her  destroyers  and  used  by 
them  for  impure  purposes  similar  to  those  in  connection  with  which 
they  were  originally  procured  (cf.  Hdt.  I.  199). 

hath  she  gathered  them.  The  Syr.  and  Vulg.  have  they  were  gathered, 
which  suits  best  the  parallel  shall  they  return. 

8 — 9.  Micah's  anguish  in  consequence  of  the  doom  foreseen  by  him, 
inasmuch  as  the  fall  of  Samaria  presages  that  of  his  own  country. 

8.  stripped  and  naked.    Better,   barefoot   (LXX.   di/wrdSeTos)    and 
stripped  (i.e.  lacking  an  outer  garment,  cf.  Job  xxii.  6,  Joh.  xxi.  7). 
This  was  a  token  of  mourning;  cf.  Is.  xx.  2 — 4  (though  the  word  for 
barefoot  is  not  the  same),  2  Sam.  xv.  30. 

like  the  jackals... like  the  ostriches.  Cf.  Job  xxx.  29.  The  howling  of 
the  jackal,  which  is  prolonged  and  mournful,  is  alluded  to  in  Is.  xiii. 
22 ;  whilst  the  Heb.  word  for  ostrich  in  Job  xxxix.  13  comes  from  a  root 
meaning  "to  raise  a  piercing  screech";  and  the  bird's  cry  has  been 
described  as  fearful  and  affrighting. 

9.  her  wounds  are  incurable.   Since  the  adj.  and  the  verb  come  are  in 
the  sing.,  and  the  LXX.  has  rf  TrXrjyij  avr/Js,  the  text  should  be  altered 
to  her  wound  is  incurable :  for  the  last  expression  cf.  Jer.  xxx.  15. 

it  reacheth  unto  the  gate  of  my  people.  Perhaps  better,  he  reacheth,  for 
the  subject  of  this  verb  (which  is  masc.,  not  fern.,  so  that  it  cannot,  like 
the  preceding,  refer  to  wound}  is  probably  "the  enemy."  By  the  gate  of 
my  people  the  prophet  designates  Jerusalem,  which  is  so  called  because 
it  was  the  principal  centre  of  population,  since  it  was  in  the  gateway  of 
a  town  that  its  inhabitants  chiefly  assembled  for  traffic  (2  Kgs.  vii.  1), 


8  MICAH  [i.  10 

10  Tell  it  not  in  Gath,  weep  not  at  all :  at  ^eth-le-Aphrah  2have 

1  That  is,  A  house  of  dust.  2  Another  reading  is,  roll  thyself. 

for  judicial  proceedings  (Dt.  xxi.  19),  or  for  social  converse  (Ruth  iv.  11, 
Proy.  xxiv.  7).  From  this  point  onward  Micah's  prophecies  are  ex- 
clusively concerned  with  the  destiny  of  his  own  country,  which  he 
anticipates  will  be  the  invader's  next  victim.  If  w.  5 — 9  date  from 
just  before  722,  the  expected  approach  of  the  conquerors  of  Samaria 
against  Jerusalem  did  not  occur  till  more  than  20  years  later  (701),  and 
then  came  not  from  the  direction  of  Samaria  (in  the  N.)  but  from  Lachish 
in  the  S.W.  (Is.  xxxvi.  2).  It  has  been  inferred  by  some  that  the  date 
of  this  prophecy  must  be  later  than  722  because  the  tribute  paid  to 
Assyria  by  Ahaz  (2  Kgs.  xvi.  7,  8)  was  doubtless  continued  by  Hezekiah 
during  the  early  part  of  his  reign,  so  that  in  722  there  could  be  no  real 
danger  to  Judah  from  Assyria.  And  as  the  city  of  Samaria  was  not 
destroyed  in  that  year  by  the  overthrow  of  the  kingdom  of  which  it  was 
the  capital  (Samaria  is  named  as  joining  in  720  a  coalition  of  Syrian 
states  against  Assyria),  it  has  been  argued  that  the  present  prophecy 
dates  from  a  later  time,  when  Hezekiah  was  intriguing  with  Philistia  (as 
he  did  in  713 — 711)  or  with  Egypt  (as  shortly  before  701),  occasions  when 
measures  may  have  been  taken  by  the  Assyrians  to  dismantle  Samaria. 
Nevertheless  it  is  difficult  to  think  that  Micah  could  have  produced 
this  prophecy,  containing  a  reference  to  Jacob  ( -  Israel)  in  v.  5,  after 
the  Northern  kingdom  had  come  to  an  end,  without  a  word  to  intimate 
that  such  a  catastrophe  had  occurred;  and  it  seems  most  likely  that 
this  oracle  was  uttered  just  before  722,  but  that  the  prophet  had  no 
clear  grasp  of  the  political  relations  between  Judah  and  Assyria,  and 
expected  the  impending  overthrow  of  one  of  the  Hebrew  states  to  be 
but  a  prelude  to  that  of  the  other. 

10 — 16.  In  these  verses  the  prophet  visualizes  Jerusalem  as  compassed 
by  a  foe  who  overruns  Judah  and  occupies  a  number  of  small  towns 
which  were  less  strongly  defended  than  the  capital.  Micah  apostrophizes 
these  places  or  their  inhabitants  in  turn,  playing  upon  the  etymologies 
of  the  names,  and  using  in  his  addresses  to  them  words  that  produce 
assonances,  so  that  their  appellations  appear  prophetic  of  their  fate  or 
else  offer  a  pathetic  contrast  to  it.  The  effect  of  the  paronomasias  in  the 
original  may  in  some  measure  be  illustrated  by  substituting  the  names 
of  certain  English  towns  or  villages  yielding  similar  assonances : — 
"Tell  it  not  in  Tellisford";  "cry  not  (see  note  on  v.  10)  in  Crynant"; 
"at  Duston  have  I  rolled  myself  (or  "roll  yourselves")  in  dust" ;  "pass 
ye  away,  0  inhabitant  of  Fairford,  in  foulness  and  shame";  "the 
inhabitant  of  March  hath  not  marched  forth" ;  "the  wailing  of  Knighton 
shall  take  from  you  the  near  support  thereof";  "the  inhabitant  of 
Bitterley  waiteth  anxiously  for  fortune's  sweets";  "bind  the  chariot  to 
the  horse,  0  inhabitant  of  Horsham" ;  "thou  shalt  give  a  parting  dowry 
to  Bridekirk";  "the  houses  of  Diss  shall  be  a  disappointment  to  the 
kings  of  Israel" ;  "I  will  yet  bring  unto  thee,  0  inhabitant  of  Herriard, 
him  that  shall  inherit  thee."  It  may  seem  surprising  that  the  prophet, 


i.  10]  MICAH  9 

in  his  state  of  distress,  should  thus  indulge  in  puns ;  but  Isaiah,  under 
like  conditions  of  strong  emotion  (indignation  or  grief),  made  similar 
use  of  paronomasia  (v.  7,  vii.  9,  x.  28 — 32):  cf.  also  Am.  v.  5,  Zeph.  ii.  4. 

10.  Tell  it  not  in  Gath.  Hebrew,  Be-Ghath'altaggldhu.  The  prophet, 
borrowing  a  phrase  from  David's  lament  over  Saul  and  Jonathan  (2  Sam. 
i.  20),  deprecates  the  carrying  of  news  about  Jerusalem's  perilous 
situation  to  other  Palestinian  towns  where  it  might  be  received  with 
malicious  satisfaction.  Gath  was  originally  a  Philistine  city,  variously 
identified  with  Tell  el  Sdfi  near  the  Wddy  es  Sunt  (the  ancient  "valley 
of  Elah"),  some  18  miles  from  the  coast,  and  with  the  later  Eleuthero- 
polis,  the  modern  Beit-Jibrin,  8  miles  further  south,  and  about  24  miles 
from  the  sea.  It  had  been  taken  by  Uzziah  (according  to  2  Ch.  xxvi.  6) ; 
and  as  it  is  not  mentioned  among  other  Philistine  cities  in  Am.  i.  7,  8, 
it  may  no  longer  have  been  in  Philistine  occupation.  Some  critics,  in 
order  to  obtain  mention  here  of  a  Judsean,  instead  of  a  Philistine,  town, 
propose  Rejoice  not  ('al  tdghllu)  in  Giloh  (Josh.  xv.  51),  or  in  Gilgal 
(Josh.  v.  9),  the  suggested  change  in  the  verb  having  some  support  in 
the  Syriac.  The  LXX.  has  /^  fuyaA.v'i/€o-0e  (i.e.  'al  taghdilu),  magnify 
not  yourselves. 

weep  not  at  all  The  Heb.  is  bdcko  'al  tibhcu,  which  the  English  of 
the  R.V.  represents.  This,  if  the  authentic  text  (it  is  supported  by  Aq., 
Sym.  and  the  Vulg.),  must  mean  "suppress  all  outward  signs  of  grief 
that  might  betray  to  unfriendly  neighbours  your  inward  distress."  But 
the  circumstance  that  the  exhortation  occurs  in  a  context  full  of  word- 
plays upon  various  place-names  raises  the  expectation  of  a  place-name 
here,  as  in  the  first  and  third  clauses  of  the  verse.  The  Vatican  codex 
of  the  LXX.  for  bdcho  has  01  cV  'A/cet/x,  where  the  /u.  may  be  a  dittograph 
of  the  initial  of  the  next  word  /XT/.  If  ot  lv  'A*ei'  be  the  original  reading 
of  the  Greek,  it  points  to  the  conclusion  that  bdcho  represents  be-1  Acco, 
and  the  translation  of  this  will  be,  in  Acco  weep  not  (for  the  suppression 
of  the  initial  letter  of  'A ceo  cf.  (in  the  Heb.)  Josh.  xix.  3  (Balah) 
with  Josh.  xv.  29  (Ba'alah)  and  the  name  Bel  for  Ba'al).  Acco,  the 
later  Ptolemais,  is  the  modern  Acre,  a  city  situated  at  the  N.  angle  of 
a  bay  near  mount  Carmel.  Though  included  in  the  tribe  of  Asher,  it 
was  very  imperfectly  subjugated  by  the  Israelites  at  the  Conquest,  and 
remained  largely  Canaanite  (Jud.  i.  31).  Since  the  place  was  not  near 
enough  to  Jerusalem  for  its  name  to  occur  readily  to  a  Judean  prophet 
as  a  place  where,  as  at  Gath,  the  report  of  Jerusalem's  danger  might 
soon  spread  and  arouse  malicious  joy,  it  was  probably  chosen  because 
of  the  assonance  which,  when  the  preposition  be  was  prefixed  to  it,  was 
afforded  with  the  verb  "to  weep"  (bdchah)\  and  (as  has  been  noted)  it 
retained  a  native  element  in  the  population  which  was  probably  not 
very  friendly  to  the  Hebrews.  Some  critics,  however,  thinking  the  name 
of  a  locality  near  Jerusalem  to  be  required,  replace  bdcho  by  be-Bhochim 
"in  Bochim"  (Jud.  ii.  1), orbe-Bhdchd'  "in  Baca"  ("Balsam  (or  Mulberry) 
vale  ")  (Ps.  Ixxxiv.  6  mg.,  2  Sam.  v.  23  and  mg.) ;  and  one  codex  (Q)  of  the 
LXX.  has  in  the  margin  er  Ba^ei/x,  which  favours  the  first  emendation. 

Beth-le-Aphrah.    This  place  (the  name  of  which  means  "House  of 


10  MICAH  [i. 

I  rolled  myself  in  the  dust.  11  Pass  ye  away,  0  *  inhabitant  of 
Shaphir,  in  nakedness  and  shame:  the  Mnhabitant  of  Zaanan 
is  not  come  forth;  the  wailing  of  Beth-ezel  shall  take  from 
you  the  2stay  thereof.  12  For  the l  inhabitant  of  Maroth  3waiteth 

1  Heb.  inhabitress.  2  Or,  standing  place  3  Or,  is  in  travail 

Dust")  is  nowhere  else  mentioned,  and  as  Theodotion  has  Ophrah,  some 
scholars  would  substitute  Beth-Ophrah.  There  was  an  Ophrah  in  Ben- 
jamin (Josh,  xviii.  23)  and  another  in  Manasseh  (Jud.  vi.  11,  24,  viii. 
27) ;  whilst  a  Wady  called  el  Ghufr  seems  to  point  to  a  third  town  of 
the  same  name,  situated  in  the  Lowland  of  Judah.  The  last  may  be  the 
one  here  intended. 

have  I  rolled  myself.  This,  the  reading  of  the  Heb.  text  (hith- 
pallashti),  which  seems  to  be  intended  as  a  play  upon  the  word  for 
"Philistine"  (Pelishti),  is  replaced  in  the  Heb.  mg.  by  an  imperative, 
roll  thyself;  whilst  the  LXX.  and  Vulg.  imply  the  plural,  roll  yourselves, 
which  agrees  best  with  the  plural  imperative  in  the  next  verse. 

in  the  dust.  The  Heb.  for  dust  (ldphdr)  echoes  the  sound  and  signi- 
ficance of  Beth-le-Aphrah  (see  above).  To  roll,  or  wallow,  in  dust  and 
ashes  was  a  habit  that  marked  mourners;  see  Jer.  vi.  26,  Ezek.  xxvii.  30; 
cf.  also  2  Sam.  xiii.  19  and  p.  136. 

11.  Pass  ye  away,  0  inhabitant  of  Shaphir.    The  sing,  inhabitant 
(literally,  inhabitress)  is  used  collectively,  and  the  Heb.  has  a  pron.  in 
the  masc.  plural.    Shaphir  is  possibly  the  same  as  Shamir  mentioned  as 
a  town  of  Judah  in  Josh.  xv.  48,  where  the  Alexandrine  MS.  of  the  LXX. 
has  2<a<f>cip.    The  site  has  been  plausibly  identified  with  Suafir,  about 
4  miles  S.E.  of  Ashdod,  and  rather  more  than  that  distance  N.E.  of 
Ascalon.    There  was  also  a  Shamir  in  Epbraim  (Jud.  x.  1).    The  name 
Shaphir  (? whence  the  Greek  cra7r<£eipos,  "sapphire")  means  "beauty" 
(expressed  by  the  LXX.'s  (KaroiKouo-a)  /caAok  and  the  Vulg.'s  (habitatio) 
Pulchra),  and  so  offers  a  contrast  to  the  miserable  plight  of  its  in- 
habitants, who,  on  the  approach  of  the  enemy,  will  have  to  leave  it 
ignominiously. 

Zaanan.  This  is  generally  identified  with  the  Zenan  (Tsenari)  of 
Josh.  xv.  37,  a  town  in  the  Lowland  of  Judah.  The  paronomasia  here 
arises  from  the  occurrence,  both  in  the  place-name  (Heb.  Tsa'andn)  and 
in  the  verb  ydtsd\  "to  come  (or  "go")  forth,"  of  the  group  of  sounds 
tsa.  The  inhabitants  of  Zaanan  will  not  go  forth  to  succour  the  fugitives 
from  other  places,  lest  they  themselves  should  be  cut  off  by  the  foe. 

Beth-ezel.  This  town,  the  name  of  which  signifies  "House  of 
proximity"  (cf.  the  Vulg.  domus  vicina),  and  which  from  its  nearness 
should  be  a  refuge  (cf.  mg.)  for  those  flying  from  their  own  homes,  will 
be  too  panic-stricken  to  afford  relief ;  and  the  wail  arising  from  it  will 
announce,  to  such  as  may  look  to  it  for  help,  the  failure  of  their  hopes. 
Beth-ezel  is  perhaps  the  same  as  the  Azel  of  2  Zech.  xiv.  5,  its  situation 
being  unknown. 

12.  For.   The  conjunction  repeats  the  for  in  v.  9,  explaining,  like  it, 
the  prophet's  distress  (v.  8). 


i.  ri-i4]  MICAH  11 

anxiously  for  good:  because  evil  is  come  down  from  the 
LORD  unto  the  gate  of  Jerusalem.  13  Bind  the  chariot  to  the 
swift  steed,  0  a  inhabitant  of  Lachish :  she  was  the  beginning 
of  sin  to  the  daughter  of  Zion ;  for  the  transgressions  of  Israel 
were  found  in  thee.  14  Therefore  shalt  thou  give  a  parting  gift 
to  Moresheth-gath :  the  houses  of  Achzib  shall  be  2a  deceitful 

1  Heb.  inhdbitress.  2  Heb.  achzab. 

Maroth.  The  site  is  unknown,  for  Ewald's  identification  of  it  with 
Maaratk  in  the  hill  country  of  Judah  (Josh.  xv.  59)  is  unlikely.  The 
meaning  of  its  name,  "bitterness"  (cf.  Sym.  ij  Tra/DaTrtKpcuVovo-a),  affords 
a  contrast  to  the  good  fortune  for  which  its  people  vainly  hope.  The 
root-meaning  of  the  verb  rendered  wait  anxiously  J  or  is  "writhe,"  and 
can  be  used  of  throes  of  pain,  both  mental  and  physical  (see  mg.). 

13.  Bind  the  chariot,  etc.   The  people  of  Lachish  are  bidden  to  attach 
their  swiftest  steed  (Heb.  rechesh)  to  their  chariot  (for  the  inversion 
cf.  Gen.  xlvi.  29  (literally  made  fast  his  chariot  to  the  horses))  in  order 
to  escape,  if  possible,  the  pursuit  of  the  invader.   Lachish  was  originally 
an  Amorite  city,  situated  in  the  Lowland  (Josh.  xv.  39) :  it  was  fortified 
by  Rehoboam,  and  to  it  king  Amaziah  tied  from  before  a  conspiracy 
(2  Kgs.  xiv.  19).    Its  site  is  thought  to  be  Tell-el-Hesy,  16  m.  E.  of 
Gaza.    Instead  of  the  present  Heb.  text  the  LXX.  seems  to  have  had 
before  it  A  multitude  of  chariots  and  swift  steeds  (i.e.  of  an  invader), 
0  inhabitant  of  Lachish! — perhaps  with  reference  to  the  "evil"  men- 
tioned in  the  preceding  v. 

she  was  the  beginning  of  sin,  etc.  The  most  obvious  explanation  of 
this  statement  is  that  from  Lachish  some  idolatrous  cult  had  been 
introduced  into  the  Jewish  capital,  though  G.  A.  Smith  thinks  that, 
owing  to  its  situation  between  Jerusalem  and  Egypt,  it  was  the  first 
town  to  receive  the  contingents  of  Egyptian  cavalry  on  which  Hezekiah 
placed  reliance  (Is.  xxxi.  1).  For  the  parenthetic  use  of  the  3rd  pers., 
where  the  2nd  might  be  expected,  cf.  Is.  xxii.  16,  17. 

the  transgressions  of  Israel.  If  the  sin  derived  from  Lachish  was  some 
form  of  idolatry,  Israel  here  probably  denotes  the  Ephraimite  kingdom, 
where  such  may  have  originated  (cf.  vi.  16);  but  if  the  alternative  ex- 
planation of  the  sin  be  accepted,  the  national  name  stands  for  Judah 
(as  in  v.  14). 

14.  thou.    I.e.  Judah. 

a  parting  gift  to  Moresheth-gath.  There  is  an  assonance  between  the 
name  Moresheth  and  the  Heb.  for  "a  betrothed  woman"  (moreseth). 
Judah,  which  is  expected  to  lose  the  town  through  the  success  of  an 
enemy,  is  bidden  to  give  a  dowry  to  it,  as  a  parent  might  do  to  a 
daughter  about  to  marry  and  pass  permanently  into  the  possession  of 
another  (cf.  1  Kgs.  ix.  16).  The  town  was  Micah's  home  (v.  1). 

Achzib.  The  place  here  meant  (the  Chezib  of  Gen.  xxxviii.  5)  was  in 
the  Lowland  (Josh.  xv.  44),  and  is  plausibly  identified  with  Ain  Kozbeh, 
a  little  N.  of  the  valley  of  Elah. 


12  MICAH  [I.  14-16 

thing  unto  the  kings  of  Israel.    15  I  will  yet  bring  unto  thee,  O 

1  inhabitant  of  Mareshah,  him  that  shall  possess  thee :  the  glory 
of  Israel  shall  come  even  unto  Adullam.  16  Make  thee  bald,  and 

1  Heb.  inhabitress. 

a  deceitful  thing.  Heb.  'achzdbh,  a  term  used  in  Jer.  xv.  18  of  a  brook 
that  runs  dry,  and  so  disappoints  a  traveller  who  has  hoped  to  quench 
his  thirst  at  it.  The  relief  anticipated  from  Achzib  is  to  prove  equally 
delusive,  the  town  justifying  its  name  (which  the  Vulg.  renders  by 
domus  Mendacii). 

the  kings  of  Israel.  The  plural  kings  should  perhaps  be  replaced  by 
king,  the  plur.  suffix  being  a  dittograph  of  the  initial  of  the  next  word. 
Here  Israel  must  certainly  be  a  synonym  for  Judah :  cf.  2  Kgs.  xviii.  4, 

2  Ch.  xxviii.  19. 

15.  Mareshah.   This  also  was  in  the  Lowland  (Josh.  xv.  44),  and 
among  the  towns  represented  in  2  Ch.  xi.  5 — 10  as  fortified  by  Reho- 
boam.    There  is  a  locality  still  called  Mer'ash,  2  m.  S.W.  of  Beit-Jibrin. 
Between  the  place-name  and  the  words  him  that  shall  possess  thee  (Heb. 
yoresh,  the  Assyrian  invader  being  meant)  there  is  a  slight  assonance. 
Normal  Heb.  syntax  would  be  better  preserved  by  a  change  of  points, 
so  as  to  produce  (instead  of  the  rendering  of  the  R.V.)  the  translation 
I  will  bring  thee... unto  him  that  shall  possess  thee  (lodh  hayyoresh  'dbhi 
Idch  being  replaced  by  (adh  hayyoresh  'obhilech).   In  the  English,  yet 
must  then  be  omitted. 

the  glory  of  Israel... Adullam.  Possibly  the  glory  of  Israel  may 
describe  the  Ark  (cf.  1  Sam.  iv.  21),  which  will  have  to  be  carried  for 
safety  to  Adullam,  a  town  in  the  Lowland  (the  modern  Id-'el-md), 
fortified  by  Rehoboam,  and  famous  for  its  caves  (Josh.  xii.  15,  2  Ch. 
xi.  7,  1  Sam.  xxii.  1).  But  the  true  meaning  seems  to  be  that  the  men 
of  rank  among  the  Jewish  people  (for  this  sense  of  glory  see  Is.  v.  13, 
viii.  7,  xvii.  3)  will  be  compelled  to  take  refuge  there  just  as  David 
did.  Pusey  (with  the  A.V.)  renders  he  (the  invader)  shall  come  unto 
Adullam,  the  glory  of  Israel;  but  there  is  nothing  to  account  for  such 
a  high  estimate  of  Adullam.  An  ingenious  emendation  (ladh  'Adullam 
being  replaced  by  ladh  loldm)  yields  the  sense  the  glory  of  Israel  shall 
go  down  (i.e.  set,  the  verb  being  used  in  this  sense  in  iii.  6  and  else- 
where) for  ever. 

16.  Make  thee  bald.   Judah  is  here  addressed.    To  pluck  off,  or 
shave,  the  hair  was  a  usage  practised  in  antiquity  by  mourners  (Is. 
xxii.  12,  Jer.  vii.  29,  Am.  viii.  10,  Job  i.  20,  Ez.  ix.  3),  the  custom 
perhaps  originating  with  the  presentation  to  the  dead  of  offerings  of 
hair  which  were  placed  on  the  corpse  or  laid  on  the  tomb  (cf.  Horn.  H. 
xxm.  135—6,  Soph.  El.  448—451).    The  custom  of  making  the  head 
bald  in  token  of  grief  for  the  departed  survived  among  several  peoples. 
Herodotus,  for  instance,  states  (iv.  71)  that  the  Scythians,  amongst 
other  ceremonies  at  the  burial  of  a  king,  used  to  shave  their  hair; 
and  Suetonius  relates  ( Vit.  Col.  v.)  that  on  the  occasion  of  the  death 


I.  16-11.  l] 


MICAH 


13 


poll  thee  for  the  children  of  thy  delight :  enlarge  thy  baldness 
as  the  l eagle;  for  they  are  gone  into  captivity  from  thee. 

1  Or,  vulture 

of  Germanicus  regulos  barbam  posuisse  et  uxorum  capita  rasisse  ad 
indicium  maximi  luctus.  The  practice  of  the  rite  in  connection  with 
the  cult  of  the  dead  was  forbidden  amongst  the  Hebrew  people— at 
any  rate  by  the  later  codes  of  the  Law ;  but  Judah  is  here  directed  to 
observe  it  merely  as  a  token  of  mourning,  since  her  children  are  to  be 
taken  from  her  by  her  enemies. 

as  the  eagle.  Better,  as  the  vulture.  The  Hebrew  term  is  applicable  to 
both  birds;  but  it  is  the  latter  alone  that  can  be  meant  here  since  only 
certain  varieties  of  vulture,  notably  the  griffon  vulture  (a  bird  abundant 
in  Palestine),  have  the  head  and  neck  bare  of  feathers.  The  same  bird, 
which  feeds  on  carrion,  must  be  designated  in  Job  xxxix.  30,  Mt.  xxiv. 
28  (=Lk.  xvii.  37). 

CHAPTER  II.  1—11. 

In  the  first  eleven  verses  of  this  ch.  a  return  is  made  from  the  announcement 
of  the  coming  doom  of  Judah,  on  account  of  its  wickedness,  to  an  invective 
against  the  perpetrators  of  the  heinous  sins  calling  for  retribution.  The  offences 
which  the  prophet  here  denounces  are  anti-social — the  seizure  of  lands  and 
houses  by  those  who  covet  them,  the  practice  of  highway  robbery,  and  the  ex- 
pulsion of  families  from  their  homes;  and  the  prophet  declares  that  the  authors 
of  such  spoliation  shall  themselves  be  despoiled  and  deported  by  a  heathen  foe. 
Unfortunately  the  text  of  this  ch.  is  extremely  obscure  and  probably  corrupt ; 
and  to  render  parts  of  it  intelligible  recourse  has  to  be  made  oftener  than  usual 
to  emendation. 

II.  1  Woe  to  them  that  devise  iniquity  and  work  evil  upon  their 

II.  1 — 2.  A  denunciation  of  those  whose  greed  leads  them  to  rob  their 
weaker  neighbours  of  their  property  in  order  to  augment  their  own  estates. 
Like  charges  of  rapacity  were  brought  by  Isaiah  (v.  8)  against  wealthy 
and  grasping  landowners,  who  sought  to  extend  their  possessions  by  ex- 
propriating the  smaller  freeholders  (cf.  also  Hos.  v.  10,  of  Israel).  They 
possessed  the  power  to  do  so,  and  deemed  might  the  equivalent  of  right. 
The  methods  adopted  were  seemingly  not  acts  of  open  violence,  but  de- 
vices which,  though  violations  of  morality,  could  be  brought  within  the 
limits  of  law,  for  they  required  to  be  thought  out  in  the  stillness  of  the 
night  hours  before  being  put  into  operation  in  the  day-time.  One  such 
would  be  the  harsh  foreclosing  of  a  mortgage  before  the  owner  was  in  a 
position  to  redeem  it;  for  what  took  place  after  the  Return  from  the  Exile 
in  the  time  of  Nehemiah  (v.  3  f.)  is  likely  to  have  occurred  also  in  bad 
periods  prior  to  the  Exile.  Another  would  be  the  enforcement  of  false 
claims  to  property  through  the  suborning  of  unprincipled  witnesses  and 
the  bribing  of  venal  judges. 

1.  and  work  evil.  These  words  have  been  pronounced  to  be  an  insertion 


14  MICAH  [ii.  !-3 

beds!  when  the  morning  is  light,  they  practise  it,  because  it 
is  in  the  power  of  their  hand.  2  And  they  covet  fields,  and 
seize  them ;  and  houses,  and  take  them  away :  and  they  oppress 
a  man  and  his  house,  even  a  man  and  his  heritage.  3  Therefore 
thus  saith  the  LORD  :  Behold,  against  this  family  do  I  devise  an 

because  upon  the  "bed"  evil  could  only  be  planned,  not  executed;  but 
in  the  context  they  may  reasonably  be  understood  to  mean  the  mental 
working  out  of  the  means  for  accomplishing  the  meditated  iniquity.  For 
the  use  of  the  verb  "to  work"  in  the  sense  of  "to  devise"  or  "to  project" 
see  Ps.  Iviii.  2  (3) ;  and  for  upon  their  beds  cf.  Ps.  xxxvi.  4.  The  phrase 
it  is  in  the  power  of  (their)  hand  occurs  in  Gen.  xxxi.  29,  Prov.  iii.  27. 

2.  fields... houses.   The  loss  of  ancestral  lands  was  more  deeply  felt 
in  ancient  than  in  modern  communities,  where   manufactures  and 
commerce  offer  numerous  alternatives  to  an  agricultural  life ;  and  the 
verb  here  rendered  seize  is  used  of  tearing  away  from  a  man  his  skin 
(iii.  2)  and  from  a  woman's  bosom  her  fatherless  child  (Job  xxiv.  9). 
The  Mosaic  Law  sought  to  prevent  the  permanent  alienation  of  landed 
property  from  its  original  owners  or  their  kindred  by  various  enact- 
ments, such  as  those  which  enjoined  the  restoration  of  estates  (lost  by 
purchase)  every  fiftieth  year  (Lev.  xxv.  10),  and  the  right  of  daughters, 
brothers,  and  uncles  to  inherit,  when  a  man  died  without  male  issue 
(Num.  xxvii.  1 — 11,  cf.  xxxiii.  54).    It  was  assumed  that  the  land,  at 
its  conquest,  had  been  divided  by  Jehovah  between  the  various  tribes 
and  families  which  then  entered  upon  its  occupation,   so  that  the 
retention  of  patrimonies  was  tenaciously  defended;  cf.  1  Kgs.  xxi.  4. 
In  this  and  some  other  chapters  Micah  "speaks  as  a  man  of  the  people, 
and  reveals  to  us  as  no  other  prophet  does,  the  feelings  of  the  common- 
alty towards  their  oppressors.   To  the  peasantry  the  nobles  seemed  to 
have  no  object  but  plunder."    W.  R.  Smith  (The  Prophets  of  Israel, 
p.  289). 

they  oppress  a  man  and  his  house.  If  the  word  house  is  taken  literally, 
then  the  dwelling  is  represented  as  sensible  of  the  oppression  to  which 
the  dweller  in  it  is  subject:  cf.  Hab.  ii.  11,  Job  xxxi.  38.  But  house  may 
be  used  in  the  sense  of  household,  including  wife  and  servants  (as  in 
Dt.  vi.  22,  etc.;  see  JTS.  vol.  xxv.  p.  80  f.). 

3 — 5.   The  retribution  destined  to  fall  upon  the  wrongdoers. 

3.  against  this  family.   I.e.  against  Israel  (=  Judah,  see  i.  5,  15  and 
cf.  Jer.  v.  15)  which,  out  of  all  the  families  of  the  earth,  was  the  one 
which  Jehovah  had  admitted  to  His  intimacy  (Am.  iii.  1,  2).    The 
application  of  the  term  family  to  a  nation  seems  to  have  originated 
with  the  belief  that  all  peoples  had  descended  from  the  three  sons  of 
Noah  and  their  households  (see  Gen.  x.). 

/  devise  an  evil.  Jehovah  requites  the  devisers  of  iniquity  by  devices 
of  His  own,  which  aim  at  their  inevitable  ruin.  The  word  evil,  used  in 
v.  1  of  iniquitous  conduct,  is  here  employed  of  retributive  punishment: 
cf.  2  Is.  xlv.  7,  Am.  iii.  6. 


II.  3,  4]  MICAH  15 

evil,  from  which  ye  shall  not  remove  your  necks,  neither  shall 
ye  walk  haughtily ;  for  it  is  an  evil  time.  4  In  that  day  shall  they 
take  up  a  parable  against  you,  and  lament  xwith  a  doleful 
lamentation,  and  say,  We  be  utterly  spoiled:  he  changeth  the 

1  Or,  with  the  lamentation,  It  is  done;  and  say  &c. 

remove  your  necks.  The  evil  predicted  is  compared  to  a  yoke  on  the 
neck  of  a  beast  of  burden:  cf.  Dt.  xxviii.  48,  Jer.  xxvii.  12. 

haughtily.  Perhaps  better,  erect  (LXX.  opQoC) :  under  the  yoke  of  a 
foreign  master  they  will  walk  bent,  like  cattle. 

it  is  an  evil  time.  The  same  phrase  occurs  in  Am.  v.  13,  but  whereas 
there  it  refers  to  the  internal  corruption  of  the  State,  here  it  has  in  view 
the  external  calamities  menacing  the  country. 

4.  take  up.  I.e.  take  upon  the  lips  or  tongue;  cf.  Num.  xxiii.  7.  A 
derivative  of  the  verb  was  employed  to  denote  a  prophetic  utterance  or 
oracle,  rendered  in  the  English  Bible  by  burden  (see  Is.  xiii.  1,  Nah.  i.  1, 
Hab.  i.  1,  etc.).  The  similar  English  word,  meaning  the  refrain  of  a  song, 
is  of  different  origin  and  comes  from  the  Latin  burdo,  the  hum  of  a  bee 
or  the  drone  of  bagpipes. 

a  parable.  Better  here,  a  taunt  song.  The  word  used  signifies,  in 
general,  any  utterance  marked  by  correspondence  between  two  things, 
whether  two  objects  of  thought  which  are  compared  or  contrasted  to- 
gether, or  two  sentences  which  are  parallel  in  form.  "Similitude"  or 
"parable"  is,  in  strictness,  its  best  equivalent  (the  LXX.  has  Trapa/JoXrJ), 
but  according  to  the  character  of  what  is  expressed,  it  acquired  the 
meaning  of  "proverb,"  "by-word,"  "didactic  poem,"  or  "derisive  song" 
(see  Is.  xiv.  4,  Hab.  ii.  6).  It  is  in  this  last  sense  that  it  is  used  in  the 
present  context,  where  it  describes  the  character  of  the  lamentation 
with  which  the  enemies  of  the  Jewish  people  travesty  their  sorrowful 
plaint  and  ridicule  their  woe. 

doleful.  The  Heb.  term  (nihyah)  thus  rendered  is  taken  by  some 
scholars  as  part  of  the  verb  "to  be,"  and  regarded  as  the  beginning  of 
the  lamentation,  and  the  passage  has  been  translated  (cf.  mg.),  "It  is 
done1"  (or  "It  has  been2"),  one  saith,  "we  be  utterly  spoiled"  etc.  But 
the  word  in  question  appears  to  be  due  to  dittography  and  should  be 
omitted ;  the  rendering  will  then  be  and  lament  with  a  lamentation  and 
say,  We,  etc.  The  substantive  employed  denotes  a  funeral  dirge  over 
such  as  are  actually  dead  or  such  as  are  about  to  die  (Jer.  xxxi.  15, 
cf.  Ezek.  xxxii.  18). 

and  say.  The  verb,  if  the  text  is  sound,  has  an  indefinite  subject — 
one  saith,  and  (if  the  previous  word  (nihyah)  is  retained  and  translated 
It  is  done,  as  in  the  R.V.  mg.)  must  be  used  like  the  Latin  inquit.  But 
this  is  not  in  accord  with  the  Hebrew  idiom,  and  probably  a  letter  has 
been  lost,  the  true  reading  being  not  'dmar  but  lemur — saying;  the 

T  W      1-  \    ' 

LXX.  has  Xtyuv. 

1  Cf.  Rev.  xvi.  17,  Vtyover.  8  Cf.  Fait  Ilium. 


16  MICAH  [ii.  4,  5 

portion  of  my  people:  how  doth  he  Remove  it  from  me!  to  the 
rebellious  he  divideth  our  fields.    5  Therefore  thou  shalt  have 

1  Or,  depart  from 

We  be,  etc.  The  words  from  here  to  the  end  of  the  verse  doubtless 
compose  the  parody  with  which  their  captors  travesty  the  wailing  of 
the  captives. 

he  changeth,  etc.  As  the  text  stands,  the  subject  of  the  verb  is  God, 
the  ultimate  Author  of  Judah's  calamity.  The  procedure  which  occurred 
at  the  Conquest  (it  is  complained)  is  reversed :  the  land  which  He  once 
allotted  to  the  Hebrew  people  is  now  withdrawn  from  them,  and  trans- 
ferred to,  and  divided  among,  those — the  heathen — who  have  been 
rebellious  in  the  sense  that  they  have  not  obeyed  His  laws,  as  made 
known  to  them  through  reason  and  conscience  (cf.  Rom.  ii.  15).  But 
the  absence  of  any  expressed  subject  for  the  verb  is  strange,  and  the 
rebellious  (lit.  a  rebel,  Heb.  shobhebh),  a  term  suitable  enough  when 
applied  to  Israel,  as  in  Jer.  iii.  14,  xxxi.  22,  is  not  very  appropriate  to 
describe  the  heathen  (though  it  is  used  of  the  children  of  Ammon  in 
Jer.  xlix.  4).  A  different  text  is  suggested  by  the  LXX.  which  has 

ToAcuTrcopia  eraXatTrcop^cra/Aei/  •  /xept?  Aaot)  JJLOV  Kare/JitTpijOr)  tv  (r^oivta), 
icat  OVK  -rfv  6  KaraXvcrcov  avrov  rov  aTrocrrpe^af  01  aypot  rj^v  Sie/xeptcr^trav. 

The  Heb.  underlying  this  has  been  conjecturally  reconstructed  in  various 
ways ;  and  the  most  plausible  emendation,  involving  a  transposition  of 
the  first  clause,  is,  The  portion  of  my  people  is  measured  out  by  line 
(ydmlr  being  replaced  by  yimmadh,  followed  by  the  insertion  of  behebhel) 
and  there  is  none  to  restore  it  (eych  ydmlsh  Ii  being  replaced  by  ve'eyn 
meshibh) :  to  those  who  lead  us  captive  (leshdbhebh  replaced  by  leshdbhenu) 
our  fields  are  divided  (yehallech  re-pointed  yehullach) :  we  are  utterly 
spoiled.  This  re-construction  yields  the  Kinah  metre  in  which  taunt- 
songs  are  usually  composed  (see  p.  cxlii.). 

5.  Therefore,  etc.  This  is  a  very  difficult  verse,  and  has  been  di- 
versely translated  and  interpreted.  In  view  of  the  singular  pronoun 
thou,  it  has  been  deemed  by  some  to  be  an  indignant  reply  to  Micah 
from  the  classes  that  he  reproaches :  they  are  supposed  to  declare  that 
in  consequence  of  his  words  no  representative  of  his  shall  participate 
in  any  casting  of  lots  (cf.  Josh.  xiv.  1,  2)  for  the  division  of  parcels  of 
ground  (delimited  by  the  measuring  line)  among  the  Hebrew  community 
{Jehovah's  congregation).  But  the  pronoun  thou  may  denote  some 
individual  representative  of  the  offending  classes  denounced  in  w.  1 — 2, 
or  else  the  singular  may  be  an  accidental  error  for  the  plur.  you  (the 
final  m  of  the  Heb.  plural  suffix  being  lost  before  the  initial  m  of  the 
following  word).  In  any  case,  the  passage  is  best  taken  as  a  continuation 
of  the  sentence  pronounced  by  the  prophet  upon  those  who  oppress 
their  social  inferiors,  the  therefore  of  this  v.  resuming  the  therefore  of 
v.  3.  Those  who  have  wronged  the  weak  by  robbing  them  of  their 
patrimonies  will  have  no  posterity  (cf.  Jer.  xxix.  32)  to  cast  the  lot 
for  a  share  in  the  apportionment  of  lands  when,  after  the  predicted 
chastisement  has  been  undergone,  there  occurs  in  Israel  a  redistribution 


ii.  5-7]  MICAH  17 

none  that  shall  cast  the  line  by  lot  in  the  congregation  of  the 
LORD.  6  a  Prophesy  ye  not,  thus  they  prophesy.  They  shall  not 
prophesy  2to  these:  reproaches  shall  not  depart.  7  3 Shall  it  be 

1  Or,  Prophesy  ye  not,  they  are  ever  prophesying,  say  they.  Heb.  Drop  &c.  See 
Amos  vii.  16.  2  Or.  of  these  things :  their  reproaches  never  cease 

3  Or,  0  thou  that  art  named  the  house  of  Jacob 

of  the  soil.  Some  doubt  has  been  thrown  upon  the  authenticity  of  the 
v.  through  the  presence  in  it  of  the  expression  the  congregation  (or 
assembly)  of^  Jehovah,  since  elsewhere  this  is  found  almost  exclusively 
in  comparatively  late  writings  (like  Dt.,  the  Priestly  code  of  the  Penta- 
teuch, Neh.,  and  Chron.).  Nevertheless  the  phrase  that  excites  suspicion 
occurs  in  Num.  xx.  4  (which  may  be  from  JE). 

6 — 7.  These  verses,  admitting  various  explanations  in  detail,  contain 
protests  uttered  by  the  classes  whom  Micah  has  just  denounced,  and 
the  extinction  of  whose  posterity  he  has  predicted.  For  similar  protests 
against  other  prophets  see  Am.  ii.  12,  vii.  10  f.,  Is.  xxviii.  9,  10. 

6.  Prophesy  ye  not.    The  R.V.  appears  rightly  to  consider  these 
opening  words  of  the  v.  to  be  addressed  by  false  prophets  supporting 
the  oppressors,  or  (if  the  mg.  be  adopted)  by  the  latter  themselves,  to 
Micah  and  other  true  prophets,  whom  it  is  sought  to  hinder  from 
prophesying  woe.    The  verb  here  rendered  to  prophesy  is  literally  to 
drop  (see  St.  xxxii.  2,  Am.  vii.  16,  cf.  Ezek.  xx.  46,  xxi.  2),  and  the 
phrase  may  originally  have  had  reference  to  the  froth  and  foam  which 
dripped  from  the  lips  of  the  prophets  when  tbey  raved  in  a  state  of 
religious  ecstasy.    The  next  clause  must  be  an  announcement  that 
steps  will  be  taken  to  prevent  by  force  tbe  true  prophets  from  speaking 
further — They  shall  not  prophesy  to  these  people  (Aq.  eis  TOVTOVS),  or,  as 
in  the  mg.,  of  these  things  (i.e.  of  impending  retribution);   and  the 
concluding  words  should  probably  be  rendered,  reproaches  do  not  de- 
part (i.e.  never  cease),  or  shall  not  reproaches  depart  f  (i.e.  be  put  an 
end  to  ?).   Another  possible  way  of  translating  the  first  half  of  the  v. 
(if  the  Heb.  accents  are  disregarded)  is,  Prophesy  not:  they  only  shall 
prophesy  who  will  not  prophesy  of  these  things.   Kirkpatrick  *  distributes 
the  clauses  between  the  two  parties  thus: — Prophesy  ye  not  is  the 
utterance  of  the  false  prophets,  and  Micah's  rejoinder  is,  They  (the 
true  prophets)  shall  prophesy.   To  this  the  others  reply,  They  shall  not 
(at  any  rate)  prophesy  of  these  (evils) ;  and  Micah's  defiant  retort  is, 
.Reproaches  shall  not  depart  (i.e.  shall  not  be  discontinued).   But  the 
text  of  this  last  clause  is  not  above  suspicion,  for  whereas  the  noun  is 
fern,  plur.,  the  verb  is  in  the  masc.  sing.   The  word  rendered  reproaches 
also  means  (in  the  singular)  humiliation  or  ignominy  •  and  as  the  Vulg. 
has  non  comprehendet  confusio,  and  Aq.  renders  the  verb  by  ov  icaraAi^, 
there  is  some  support  for  the   conjectural  emendation   lo'   tassigh* 
celimmah  (for  lo'  yissagh*  celimmoth),  ignominy  shall  not  overtake  us. 

7.  Shall  it  be  said,  0  house  of  Jacob.   The  R.V.,  both  in  the  text 

1  See  The  Doctrine  of  the  Prophets,  p.  222,  note. 

2  These  verbs  in  the  Heb.  have  different  sibilants. 


18  MICAH  [ii.  7, 8 

said,  0  house  of  Jacob,  Is  the  spirit  of  the  LORD  Straitened? 
are  these  his  doings?  Do  not  my  words  do  good  to  him  that 
walketh  uprightly?  8  But  2of  late  my  people  is  risen  up  as  an 

1  Or,  impatient  Heb.  shortened.  2  Heb.  yesterday. 

and  in  the  mg.,  assumes  that  Micah's  opponents  in  this  v.  address  their 
fellow-countrymen  (Jacob  standing  for  Judah,  cf.  iii.  1,  8,  9,  v.  7,  8, 
Ps.  Lxxvii.  15),  though  the  rendering  of  the  mg.  (for  which  cf.  2  Is. 
xlviii.  1)  implies  a  different  vocalization  of  the  consonants  of  the  first 
word.  But  the  LXX.  arid  the  Vulg.  (6  Ae'ywv,  dicit)  both  regard  this 
verb  as  active  (not  passive);  and  this  has  suggested  an  emendation 
giving  the  translation  Hath  the  house  of  Israel  said ...?  or  Doth  the 
house  of  Israel  say ...?  the  enquiry  being  put  by  Micah. 

Is  the  spirit  of  the  LORD  straitened?  The  question  expresses  the  in- 
credulity, entertained  by  those  who  are  denounced  by  Micah,  that 
Jehovah  can  really  be  angry  with  them,  as  represented  by  the  prophet. 
The  verb  rendered  to  be  straitened  is  literally  to  be  short]  and  the 
questioners  mean,  "  Is  Jehovah's  temper  short  (or  impatient ;  for  this 
sense  cf.  Num.  xxi.  4,  mg.,  Prov.  xiv.  17,  Heb.)?" 

are  these  his  doings?  I.e.  does  the  vengeance  with  which  we  are 
threatened  resemble  His  usual  bearing  towards  us  ? 

Do  not  my  words,  etc.  If  the  text  be  retained,  Jehovah  must  be 
supposed  to  speak  here,  correcting  the  idea,  implied  in  the  question 
just  cited,  that  He  does  not  resent  the  deeds  of  the  wicked.  But  the 
LXX.  has  ov\  ot  Ao'yoi  avrov,  K.T.\.,  Do  not  His  words,  etc.,  the  question 
being  put,  like  the  preceding,  by  the  evil-doers,  who  are  unconscious 
that  they  are  otherwise  than  righteous  in  their  proceedings,  and  feel 
quite  assured  of  Jehovah's  favour. 

8.  But  of  late,  etc.  This  and  the  following  three  vv.  are  uttered  by 
Jehovah  speaking  through  His  prophet,  and  if  in  the  preceding  v.  the 
reading  of  the  LXX.  be  adopted  (as  is  done  above),  His  answer  to  the 
evil-doers  begins  here.  The  strong  and  unscrupulous  are  charged  with 
committing  robbery  by  violence,  stripping  from  peaceable  wayfarers 
their  robe  (an  outer  mantle  enveloping  the  garment,  which  was  worn 
next  the  skin,  Ex.  xxii.  27,  Dt.  xxiv.  13).  But  it  is  impossible  not  to 
suspect  that  the  text  is  corrupt,  (a)  There  is  nothing  elsewhere  to 
indicate  that  the  wickedness  complained  of  is  only  a  very  recent 
development  (the  word  translated  of  late  literally  means  yesterday}, 
(b)  The  phrase  my  people  is  here  used  of  those  who  perpetrate  violence, 
whereas  in  v.  9  (cf.  iii.  3)  it  is  employed,  more  suitably,  of  those  who 
suffer  from  it.  (c)  The  person  (or  persons)  against  whom  the  people 
is  risen  up  as  an  enemy  is  (or  are)  left  unexplained,  (d)  The  preposition 
rendered  from  off  means  off  (or  in)  the  front  of  a  person  or  thing.  Of 
various  proposed  emendations  one  which  departs  but  little  from  the 
existing  text  whilst  yielding  a  superior  sense,  is  that  advocated  by 
W.  R.  Smith  (Prophets  of  Israel,  p.  429),  But  ye  are  to  my  people  (w$- 
'attem  le  'ammi  for  we-ethmul  lammi)  as  an  enemy  that  rises  up  (ydkum 


ii.  s-i i]  MICAH  19 

enemy :  ye  strip  the  robe  from  off  the  garment  from  them  that 
pass  by  securely  as  men  averse  from  war.  9  The  women  of  my 
people  ye  cast  out  from  their  pleasant  houses ;  from  their  young 
children  ye  take  away  my  glory  for  ever.  10  Arise  ye,  and  depart ; 
for  this  is  not  your  rest :  because  of  uncleanness  Hhat  de- 
stroyeth,  even  with  a  grievous  destruction.  11  If  a  man  walking 
2  in  wind  and  falsehood  do  lie,  saying,  I  will  prophesy  unto  thee 
of  wine  and  of  strong  drink ;  he  shall  even  be  the  prophet  of 
this  people. 

1  The  Sept.  has,  ye  shall  be  destroyed  with  <&c.        2  Or,  in  a  spirit  of  falsehood 

for  yekdmem)  in  front  of  him  that  is  at  peace  with  him  (the  LXX.'s 
Ka.riva.vrL  rfjs  eip^vr/s  points  to  sholemoh  for  salmah) :  ye  strip  the  robe 
from  them  that  pass  by  securely,  averse  from  (i.e.  not  thinking  of)  war. 

9.  The  women,  etc.    In  this  v.  the  charge  preferred  against  the  upper 
classes  seems  to  be  the  merciless  eviction  of  poor  women  (probably 
widows,  cf.  Is.  x.  2),  motived  by  a  boundless  desire  for  extensive  estates 
(see  v.  2).    The  R.V.,  in  rendering  the  original  by  from  their  pleasant 
houses ..  .from  their  young  children,  silently  emends  the  Heb.  (which  is 
ungrammatical)  by  the  LXX. 

my  glory.  This  must  mean  the  glory  which  Jehovah  had  bestowed ; 
and  probably  refers  to  the  fertility  of  Judah's  country,  and  the  beauty 
of  its  capital:  cf.  Ezek.  xvi.  14  (where  my  majesty  represents  the  same 
Heb.)  and  see  Dan.  viii.  9,  xi.  16,  Ps.  xlviii.  2.  This  glorious  inheritance 
the  children  of  the  poor,  through  the  exactions  of  the  powerful,  have  to 
abandon.  The  LXX.,  however,  here  has  mountains;  and  it  may  be 
suggested  that  my  glory  should  be  replaced  by  my  mountain,  i.e.  the 
hilly  ground  constituting  the  territory  of  Judah  (hardri  for  hadhari). 

10.  God's  sentence  upon  the  sinners — they  are  to  be  treated  as  they 
have  treated  their  victims. 

for  this  is  not  your  rest.  The  land,  though  originally  given  to  the 
people  as  their  permanent  resting-place  after  the  wanderings  in  the 
wilderness  (for  this  sense  of  rest  see  Num.  x.  33,  Dt.  xii.  9,  cf.  Josh.  i. 
13,  xxiii.  1),  must  be  forfeited,  and  they  are  to  depart  from  it  into 
captivity  because  of  their  moral  pollution. 

that  destroyeth.  Instead  of  the  active  verb  (attached  as  a  relative 
clause  to  uncleanness}  the  LXX.  has,  preferably,  the  passive,  ye  shall  be 
destroyed  (the  following  word  even  being  omitted). 

11.  A  description  of  the  kind  of  prophet  acceptable  to  the  people 
who  would  silence  Micah.   The  verse  would  be  more  in  place  after  v.  6, 
conveying  the  conclusion  drawn  by  Micah  from  what  is  there  said  by 
his  opponents. 

walking  in  wind  and  falsehood.  The  word  rendered  wind  also  means 
spirit,  and  a  preferable  translation  (the  two  nouns  constituting  a  hen- 
diadys)  is  walking  in  a  spirit  of  falsehood  (cf.  1  Kgs.  xxii.  22).  For  the 
construction  cf.  Prov.  vi.  12  (walketh  in  frowardness  of  mouth).  A 

2—2 


20  MICAH  [ii.  n 

prophet  who  was  indifferent  to  moral  truth  and  was  content  by  his 
utterances  to  pander  to  the  sensual  cravings  of  his  hearers  would  stand 
high  in  their  estimation.  For  the  prevalence  of  drunken  habits  in  Judah 
see  Is.  v.  11,  12,  22;  and  for  intoxication  among  prophets  see  Is. 
xxviii.  7. 

CHAPTER  II.  12 — 13. 

These  two  verses  are  obviously  not  an  immediate  continuation  of  the  pre- 
ceding passage.  They  declare  that  those  addressed  are  to  be  concentrated 
within  some  city,  whence  they  are  soon  to  issue  forth ;  but  the  situation  implied 
has  been  diversely  explained.  Some  critics  (e.g.  W.  E.  Barnes)  consider  that 
the  section  is  wholly  menacing  in  tone,  and  that  it  predicts  that  the  Jewish 
people  will  be  herded  within  their  capital,  through  invasion,  and  that  this  will 
be  preliminary  to  their  deportation  into  exile1.  But  this  view  is  inconsistent 
with  the  idea  conveyed  by  the  phrase  as  a  flock  in  the  midst  of  their  pasture, 
which  suggests  care  and  protection,  and  by  the  words  the  breaker  is  gone  up 
before  them,  which  are  less  suggestive  of  an  enemy  assaulting  a  besieged  city 
than  of  a  pioneer  in  an  escape  from  a  place  of  durance.  Van  Hoonacker, 
sensible  of  some  of  these  considerations,  seeks  to  obtain  a  similar  interpretation 
by  changing  (of)  Bozrah  (botsrah)  into  in  distress  (batstsdrah)  (after  the  LXX. 
ev  QXfyci),  by  replacing  in  the  midst  of  their  pasture  (haddobhero2)  by  in  the 
midst  of  plague  (haddebher)  and  by  omitting  the  final  clause  of  v.  13,  which 
W.  E.  Barnes  retains  but  would  render  and  Jehovah  is  on  high  above  them 
(seated  in  judgment).  Others  (including  apparently  Sellin,  1OT.  p.  176) 
suppose  that  the  purport  of  the  passage  is  consolatory  in  a  time  of  trial  prior 
to  the  exile,  affirming  that  the  remnant  of  Judah  are  to  be  concentrated  in 
Jerusalem  for  their  preservation,  when  the  surrounding  country  is  occupied  by 
an  invader ;  and  that  they  will  be  enabled  to  sally  forth  from  it  again  through 
his  retirement.  Both  these  views  leave  the  verses  to  Micah.  But  the  situation 
which  the  section  most  clearly  presumes  is  that  of  a  body  of  Jews  detained  in 
exile,  whence  it  is  announced  that  they  are  to  be  shortly  delivered ;  and  if  this 
is  correct,  the  passage  probably  does  not  proceed  from  Micah.  It  is  true  that 
predictions  of  exile,  such  as  appear  in  i.  16,  ii  4, 10,  are  sometimes  accompanied 
by  prophecies  of  a  return  from  it  (see  Jer.  xxxii  28—44,  Ezek.  vi.,  xi.  16—20), 
yet  here  the  transition  from  an  announcement  of  deportation  into  a  foreign 
land  to  a  promise  of  restoration  is  exceptionally  abrupt;  and  the  writer's 
language  conveys  the  impression  that  his  fellow-countrymen  are  actually 
dispersed  in  a  land  of  captivity  from  which  he  is  empowered  to  predict  their 
return.  Moreover  the  representation  that  Jehovah  will  shepherd  His  flock 
resembles  that  of  the  exilic  prophet  Deutero-Isaiah  (see  2  Is.  xl.  11),  whilst  the 
reference  to  the  breaker  and  the  departure  of  the  people  through  the  gate  of 
their  oppressors'  capital  recalls  2  Is.  xlv.  2.  It  is  therefore  probable  that  this 
small  section  is  an  independent  oracle  of  exilic  date,  addressed  to  the  captives 
in  Babylonia,  who  had  been  taken  thither  about  130  years  after  Micah's  time, 
and  who  are  to  be  assembled  by  God  preparatory  to  repatriation. 

1  See  JTS.  xxv.  p.  81. 

a  This  is  ungrammatical,  so  that  there  must  be  some  error. 


ii.  12,  1 3]  MICAH  21 

12  I  will  surely  assemble,  0  Jacob,  all  of  thee;  I  will  surely 
gather  the  remnant  of  Israel;  I  will  put  them  together  as 
the  sheep  of  Bozrah :  as  a  flock  in  the  midst  of  their  pasture, 
they  shall  make  great  noise  by  reason  of  the  multitude  0/men. 
13  The  breaker  is  gone  up  before  them :  they  have  broken  forth 
and  passed  on  to  the  gate,  and  are  gone  out  thereat :  and  their 
king  is  passed  on  before  them,  and  the  LORD  at  the  head  of  them. 

12.  I  will... all  of  thee.    Perhaps  better  (as  suggested  by  the  LXX.) 
/  will  surely  assemble  Jacob,  all  of  him.  Cf.  iv.  6,  Is.  xi.  12. 

the  remnant  of  Israel.  The  precise  phrase  occurs  only  in  the  relatively 
late  prophets  Jeremiah  (xxxi.  7),  Ezekiel  (ix.  8,  xi.  13),  and  Zephaniah 
(iii.  13). 

as  the  sheep  of  Bozrah.  The  best  known  Bozrah  was  in  Edom  (1  Ch. 
i.  44,  Am.  i.  12,  Is.  xxxiv.  6,  3  Is.  Ixiii.  1,  Jer.  xlix.  13):  and  the  reason 
for  alluding  to  it  in  connection  with  flocks  of  sheep  is  obscure.  There 
was,  however,  also  a  Bozrah  in  Moab  (see  Jer.  xlviii.  24),  and  Moab  was 
famous  as  a  pastoral  country  (see  2  Kgs.  iii.  4).  But  a  parallel  to  clause 
b,  in  the  midst  of  their  pasture,  is  desirable,  and  the  Oxford  Heb.  Lex. 
takes  botsrah  here  to  be  a  common  noun  meaning  enclosure  (Sym.  and 
Th.  have  cV  o^vptu/xart) ;  whilst  many  scholars  conjecture  batstslrah  for 
botsrah,  in  the  sheepfold  (the  Vulg.  has  in  ovili),  it  being  assumed,  from 
comparison  with  the  Arabic,  that  there  existed  in  Heb.  a  word  tslrah 
meaning  "encampment"  or  "enclosure."  For  the  conception  of  exiled 
Israel  as  a  scattered  flock  re-assembled  by  God,  their  Shepherd,  cf. 
Ezek.  xxxiv.  12f. 

they  shall... men.  Better  (with  G.  A.  Smith),  and  they  shall  hum  with 
men  (the  conjunction  and  being  obtained  from  the  suffix  ungrammatically 
attached  to  the  preceding  word).  The  metaphor  of  a  flock  of  sheep  is, 
in  this  last  clause,  blended  with  a  reference  to  the  human  beings  of  whom 
the  sheep  are  a  figure  (Ezek.  xxxvi.  38).  For  the  promise  to  the  exiled 
people  of  a  multiplication  of  their  numbers  on  tneir  return  home  cf. 
Ezek.  xxxvi.  10. 

13.  The  breaker.    The  fences  behind  which  the  exiles  are  confined 
will  be  breached,  the  breaker  probably  being  Jehovah,  though  the 
allusion  may  possibly  be  to  Jehovah's  agent,  Cyrus  the  Elamite,  who 
captured  Babylon  and  restored  the  Jews  to  their  own  land.   The  writer 
of  this  passage  may,  like  Deutero-Isaiah,  have  watched  with  deep 
interest  the  advance  of  Cyrus  against  Babylon. 

is  gone  up.  The  verb  is  frequently  employed  of  those  who  return  to 
their  native  soil;  cf.  Ez.  ii.  1,  Neh.  vii.  6,  Hos.  i.  11.  Jerusalem,  in  the 
thoughts  of  the  exiles,  was  still  their  capital. 

their  king.  On  the  occasion  of  the  Return  the  representative  of 
Judah's  royal  house  was  Zerubbabel  or  Sheshbazzar  (if  these  are  rightly 
identified,  cf.  Ezra  ii.  2  with  i.  11).  But  the  parallel  clause  suggests 
that  the  title  king  designates  Jehovah:  cf.  1  Sam.  xii.  12,  Dt.  xxxiii.  5, 
2  Is.  xli.  21,  xliii.  15,  xliv.  6,  Hi.  12. 


22  MICAH  [in.  1-3 

CHAPTER  III. 

The  contents  of  this  chapter  consist  of  further  utterances  of  Micah,  and 
maintain  the  denunciatory  tone  of  the  foregoing  chapters  ending  with  ii.  11. 
Though  the  opening  words  (Hear,  I  pray  you,  etc.)  indicate  that  it  is  an 
address  separate  from  that  comprised  in  ii.  1 — 11,  the  general  tenor  is  similar, 
including  both  the  arraignment  of  sins  committed,  and  the  prediction  of 
calamities  that  will  punish  them.  But  whereas  those  who  are  the  objects 
of  invective  in  ch.  ii.  are  the  influential  and  powerful  classes  without  precise 
definition,  those  for  whom  a  nemesis  is  foretold  here  are  specified  as  the  rulers, 
the  prophets,  and  the  priests.  The  date  of  the  oracle  is  determined  by  the 
reference  to  it  in  Jer.  xxvi.  18,  where  it  is  stated  that  Micah  delivered  it  in 
the  reign  of  Hezekiah  (727  (or  720)— 692  B.C.). 

III.  1  And  I  said,  Hear,  I  pray  you,  ye  heads  of  Jacob,  and 
rulers  of  the  house  of  Israel :  is  it  not  for  you  to  know  judgement? 
2  who  hate  the  good,  and  love  the  evil ;  who  pluck  off  their  skin 
from  off  them,  and  their  flesh  from  off  their  bones ;  3  who  also 
eat  the  flesh  of  my  people ;  and  they  flay  their  skin  from  off  them, 
and  break  their  bones :  yea,  they  chop  them  in  pieces,  as  for  the 

1 — 4.  An  expostulation  and  a  warning  to  the  governing  classes  for 
their  rapacious  treatment  of  the  governed. 

1.  And  I  said.  These  words  do  not  appear  to  connect  the  present 
passage  immediately  with  ii.  11  (no  personal  pronoun  is  expressed  in 
the  Heb.,  marking  an  antithesis  between  the  speaker  here  and  the  false 
but  popular  prophets  referred  to  there),  but  they  suggest  that  there 
once  preceded  it  some  account  of  the  circumstances  in  which  the  prophet 
felt  constrained  to  speak. 

ye  heads  of  Jacob,  and  rulers  of  the  house  of  Israel.  The  officials  of  the 
state  were  similarly  denounced  by  Isaiah  (i.  10).  Instead  of  ye  heads  of 
Jacob  the  LXX.  has  at  dpxal  oucov  'la/cwft  cf.  v.  9.  The  names  Jacob  and 
Israel  are  synonyms  for  Judah,  as  in  ii.  12. 

to  know  judgement.  An  essential  requirement  for  those  in  authority 
was  both  a  knowledge  of  the  principles  of  justice  and  a  sense  of  obligation 
to  administer  it  to  suitors :  cf.  Am.  v.  15. 

their  skin... their  flesh.  The  pronouns  must  refer  to  my  people, 
mentioned  in  tbe  following  verse:  cf.  the  similar  anticipatory  use  of 
the  personal  pronoun  in  Is.  xiii.  2. 

3.  eat  the  flesh,  etc.  For  the  phraseology  cf.  Ps.  xiv.  4.  The  people 
are  likened  to  sheep  who  are  devoured  by  the  shepherds  (a  figure  for 
the  rulers)  who  should  protect  them :  cf.  Ezek.  xxxiv.  2 — 4. 

break  their  bones.  The  verb  seems  to  mean  literally  "to  cause  to 
break  forth " ;  so  perhaps  the  rendering  should  be,  lay  bare  (to  sight) 
their  bones. 

chop  them  in  pieces.  The  verb  appears  to  be  another  form  of  a  com- 
moner word  meaning  "to  divide  for  distribution";  cf.  3  Is.  Iviii.  7  (and 
see  next  note) :  LX 


in.  3-5]  MICAH  23 

pot,  and  as  flesh  within  the  caldron.  4  Then  shall  they  cry  unto 
the  LORD,  but  he  will  not  answer  them  :  yea,  he  will  hide  his 
face  from  them  at  that  time,  according  as  they  have  wrought 
evil  in  their  doings.  5  Thus  saith  the  LORD  concerning  the 
prophets  that  make  my  people  to  err ;  that  bite  with  their  teeth 
and  cry,  Peace ;  and  whoso  putteth  not  into  their  mouths,  they 

as  for  the  pot.  The  rendering  for  is  unnatural.  The  Vulg.  rightly 
has  in  lebete,  whilst  the  LXX.  has  ws  crap/cas  et?  Ae'/fyra;  and  a  re- 
arrangement of  the  consonants  of  the  word  translated  as  gives  the 
reading  (which  the  LXX.  supports  and  the  parallelism  demands)  they 
deal  them  out  like  meat  in  the  pot.  For  the  last  word  cf.  1  Sam.  ii.  14. 
The  prophet's  complaint  against  the  rulers  seems  to  be  that  they  sub- 
ordinate equity  to  the  promotion  of  their  own  interest,  or  that  of  their 
class,  the  weak  and  helpless  being  brought  under  the  operation  of 
oppressive  ordinances,  designed  to  extract  from  them  their  money  or 
other  possessions,  in  order  to  swell  the  fortunes,  or  minister  to  the 
enjoyment,  of  those  who  should  be  their  protectors. 

4.  Then  shall  they  cry,  etc.    To  the   oppressors  there  will  come 
a  time  of  retribution ;  and  then  they  who  have  been  deaf  to  entreaties 
will  find  their  own  prayers  to  Jehovah  disregarded :  cf.  Job  xxvii.  9. 

he  will  hide  his  face.  To  do  this  was  to  manifest  displeasure;  see 
Dt.  xxxi.  17,  Ps.  xiii.  1,  xxx.  7,  xliv.  24,  and  cf.  Is.  i.  15.  Conversely, 
Divine  satisfaction  was  indicated  when  God  turned,  or  lifted,  upon 
His  servants  the  light  of  His  countenance;  see  Ps.  iv.  6,  xxxi.  16, 
Ixvii.  1,  Ixxx.  3,  etc.  To  "  see  the  face "  of  a  king  was  a  privilege 
which  migbt  be  granted  or  refused  to  a  subject  (2  Sam.  xiv.  24,  2  Kgs. 
xxv.  19);  and  to  "see  the  face"  of  God  figuratively,  through  happy 
experiences,  was  a  still  higher  privilege.  The  words  at  that  time  spoil 
tbe  balance  of  the  clauses,  and  should  probably  be  omitted. 

according  as.  The  LXX.  has  dvP  w,  because  (a  meaning  which  the 
Heb.  admits:  cf.  1  Sam.  xxviii.  18,  2  Kgs.  xvii.  26  (end)). 

5 — 8.  Here  transition  is  made  to  the  false  prophets  who,  indifferent 
to  moral  and  religious  truth,  make  the  favourable  or  unfavourable 
purport  of  their  utterances  to  depend  upon  what  they  can  exact  from 
those  who  consult  them.  For  such  conduct  requital  will  come  through 
the  withdrawal,  in  the  hour  of  their  need,  of  all  Divine  illumination. 

5.  that  make  my  people  to  err.    Contemporary  prophets  are  similarly 
charged  with  being  deceivers  in  Is.  ix.  15,  Jer.  v.  31,  xiv.  14,  xxiii.  13, 
Ezek.  xiii.  9. 

that  bite  with  their  teeth  and  cry,  Peace.  The  verb  bite  is  commonly 
employed  in  connection  with  venomous  serpents  (Gen.  xlix.  17,  Num. 
xxi.  6,  9,  Am.  v.  19,  Eccles.  x.  8,  11)  or  used  figuratively  of  the  effects 
of  wine  (Prov.  xxiii.  32);  but  here  it  must  refer  to  the  satisfaction,  by 
the  prophets,  of  their  bodily  needs.  The  second  clause  is  conditional 
on  the  first;  and  the  meaning  is — only  when  their  appetites  are  grati- 
fied by  enquirers  consulting  them  do  they  utter  favourable  oracles  (cf. 


24  MICAH  [in.  5-7 

even  prepare  war  against  him :  6  Therefore  it  shall  be  night  unto 
you,  that  ye  shall  have  no  vision ;  and  it  shall  be  dark  unto  you, 
that  ye  shall  not  divine ;  and  the  sun  shall  go  down  upon  the 
prophets,  and  the  day  shall  be  black  over  them.  7  And  the  seers 

1  Heb.  sanctify. 

Jer.  vi.  13,  14):  if  they  fail  to  get  what  they  want,  their  utterances 
become  menacing. 

prepare  war  against  him.  The  words  are  not  to  be  taken  in  a  literal 
sense,  What  the  false  prophets  did  was  to  pronounce  anyone,  who 
would  not  feed  and  support  them,  to  be  an  enemy  of  God  and  the 
state,  and  so,  by  exposing  him  to  suspicion  and  persecution,  to  ac- 
complish his  ruin.  To  prepare  war  is  literally  "to  consecrate  (or,  as 
in  the  mg.,  "sanctify")  war"  (cf.  Jer.  vi.  4,  Joel  iii.  9);  and  soldiers 
were  consecrated  men  (Is.  xiii.  3,  cf.  Jer.  xxii.  7).  In  primitive  times 
among  Semitic  peoples  war  was  not  a  struggle  merely  between  human 
antagonists  but  between  the  gods  of  the  combatant  nations  (cf.  p.  ex.), 
and  so  had  a  religious  aspect:  the  two  sides,  before  the  campaign 
opened,  offered  sacrifices  to  their  respective  deities  and  sought  and 
received  their  directions  for  the  conduct  of  it ;  and  after  it,  if  success- 
ful, they  devoted  to  them  the  lives  and  possessions  of  the  defeated 
enemy:  see  for  the  Hebrews  1  Sam.  vii.  9,  xiii.  9,  2  Sam.  v.  19,  Josh, 
vi.  17;  and  for  the  Moabites  the  inscription  of  Mesha1  (where  the 
king  relates  how  Chemosh,  the  Moabite  deity,  bade  him  go  and  take 
Nebo,  and  when  he  had  captured  it,  he  devoted  it  to  his  god).  How 
completely  in  the  early  history  of  Israel  the  cause  of  the  nation  was 
deemed  the  cause  of  its  Deity  appears  from  the  fact  that  the  Israelites' 
wars  were  called  "the  wars  of  Jehovah"  (Num.  xxi.  14),  that  His  Ark 
accompanied  their  armies  (Num.  x.  35,  36),  and  tbat  the  prophetess 
Deborah,  when  the  city  of  Meroz  held  aloof  from  Israel's  revolt  against 
the  Canaanites,  cursed  it  because  it  came  not  to  the  help  of  Jehovah. 

6.  Therefore,  etc.    The  false  prophets,  whose  predictions  have  been 
dictated  by  their  self-interest,  will  be  deprived  of  all  their  pretended 
faculties  of  insight  and  prevision  when  God's  judgment  is  executed  (cf. 
Ezek.  xiii.  2  f.,  Is.  xxix.  10,  11).    Their  ostensible  ability  to  counsel  or 
console  will  disappear  just  when  most  needed,  and  in  place  of  basking 
in  the  sunlight  of  prosperity,  as  hitherto,  they  will  be  plunged  in  the 
gloom  of  calamity.    For  the  figures  of  speech  cf.  Am.  v.  18,  viii.  9. 
Instead  of  the  verb  it  shall  be  dark  the  LXX.  and  Vulg.  have  nouns 
(cTKoria,  tenebrai),  which  preserve  the  parallelism  better. 

7.  the  seers.    It  would  seem  that  the  individuals  who  were  denoted 
by  tbe  term  seer  (which  is  used  to  translate  two  Hebrew  synonyms,  ro'eh 
and  hozeh)  actually  were,  or  were  believed  to  be,  endowed  by  God  with 
a  faculty  of  clairvoyance  or  second-sight,  which  caused  them  to  be 

1  See  Hastings,  DB.  in.  pp.  404—408. 


HI.  7, 8]  MICAH  25 

shall  be  ashamed,  and  the  diviners  confounded ;  yea,  they  shall 
all  cover  their  lips :  for  there  is  no  answer  of  God.  8  But  I  truly 

consulted  by  persons  in  perplexity.  A  narrative  throwing  light  upon 
the  reputation  which  they  enjoyed  in  early  times  for  abnormal  powers 
of  mental  vision,  upon  the  nature  of  the  enquiries  put  to  them,  and 
upon  the  remuneration  which  was  offered  to  them  is  contained  in  1  Sam. 
ix.  1 — x.  16.  In  this  account  it  is  explained  that  the  term  (roeh),  there 
applied  to  Samuel  (cf.  1  Ch.  ix.  22),  was  an  ancient  one,  afterwards 
supplanted  by  the  term  "prophet"  (ndbhi')  which,  if  derived  from  the 
root  ndbha',  "  to  bubble  up,"  denoted  one  who  was  thought  to  exhibit  the 
influence  of  God  within  him  not  through  clairvoyance  but  through 
outbursts  of  ecstatic  speech1.  But  though  "prophet"  became  the  pre- 
vailing title,  yet  seer  was  retained  in  use:  see  2  Sam.  xv.  27,  2  Ch. 
xvi.  7,  Is.  xxx.  10  (instances  ofro'eh)  and  2  Kgs.  xvii.  13,  2  Ch.  ix.  29, 
xix.  2,  Am.  vii.  12  (instances  of  hozeh). 

ashamed.  I.e.  overwhelmed  with  disappointment  at  the  failure  of 
their  hopes  and  predictions.  The  combination  of  the  verb  with  con- 
founded recurs  in  Jer.  xv.  9,  Ps.  xxxv.  26,  xl.  14,  etc. 

diviners.  These  were  a  class  of  persons  whose  presence  in  Israel  was 
probably  due  to  foreign  influence,  for  they  are  associated  with  the 
Philistines  (1  Sam.  vi.  2),  Canaanites  (Dt.  xviii.  14,  1  Sam.  xxviii.  8), 
Ammonites  (Ezek.  xxi.  29  (34)),  and  Babylonians  (2  Is.  xliv.  25).  ^  They 
were  perhaps  addicted  to  necromancy  and  magic  arts,  for  which,  in 
Israel,  the  intellectual  and  spiritual  illumination  marking  the  true 
prophets  of  Jehovah  was  (according  to  Dt.  xviii.  10)  to  be  the  substitute. 
shall  all  cover  their  lips.  This  was  a  sign  of  distress  displayed  especially 
by  mourners  for  the  dead  (Ezek.  xxiv.  17,  22).  The  word  rendered  lips 
is  literally  "moustache"  (the  LXX.  in  2  Sam.  xix.  25  translates  it  by 
pva-Tag,  from  which  the  English  term  is  derived);  and  the  practice  of 
covering  the  hair  of  the  chin  and  upper  lip  on  occasions  of  mourning 
was  perhaps  a  substitute  for  the  removal  of  it.  This  custom  of  removing 
or  concealing  the  hair  of  the  lips,  on  the  part  of  the  relatives  of  a  dead 
person,  may  have  been  originally  designed  to  alter  the  appearance  of 
the  face,  and  so  prevent  recognition  by  the  ghost  of  the  deceased,  who 
might  otherwise  haunt  them.  (The  adoption,  by  mourners,  of  a  special 
garb,  dissimilar  to  that  worn  at  other  times,  may  have  the  same  ex- 
planation.) Eventually,  the  covering  of  the  lips  became  a  mere  conven- 
tional token  of  wretchedness,  for  the  practice  was  observed  by  lepers 
(Lev.  xiii.  45). 

8.  But  I  truly,  etc.  Micah,  in  distinction  from  the  prophets  just 
described  by  him  (v.  5),  claims  to  be  divinely  enabled  to  denounce  with 
courage  the  sins  prevalent  in  the  nation.  By  power  is  meant  the  excep- 
tional capacity  conferred  upon  him  for  the  discharge  of  his  mission; 

1  Another  derivation  connects  ndbhi1  with  Arabic  and  Assyrian  words  meaning 
to  "announce,"  "proclaim,"  which  would  imply  that  the  prophet  got  his  Heb. 
name  because  he  was  regarded  as  God's  spokesman. 


26  MICAH  [in.  8-10 

am  full  of  power  *by  the  spirit  of  the  LORD,  and  of  judgement, 
and  of  might,  to  declare  unto  Jacob  his  transgression,  and  to 
Israel  his  sin.  9  Hear  this,  I  pray  you,  ye  heads  of  the  house  of 
Jacob,  and  rulers  of  the  house  of  Israel,  that  abhor  judgement, 
and  pervert  all  equity.  10  They  build  up  Zion  with  blood,  and 

1  Or,  even  the  spirit 

judgment  stands  for  the  decisions  he  has  to  pronounce;  whilst  might 
describes  the  resolution  and  fortitude  with  which  he  will  face  opposition 
in  the  discharge  of  his  duty. 

by  the  spirit  of  the  LORD.  To  the  spirit  of  God  was  ascribed  the 
origin  of  any  extraordinary  force,  physical  or  psychical,  by  which  a  man 
felt  himself  to  be  empowered  beyond  the  normal  limits  of  human  ability 
(cf.  Acts  i.  8),  or  which  carried  him  away  on  some  irresistible  tide  of 
emotion.  This  sense,  which  the  prophets  had,  of  being  subject  to  some 
influence  constraining  them  to  act,  against  their  inclination,  in  a  certain 
way  finds  expression  in  vivid  metaphors:  see  1  Kgs.  xviii.  12  (cf.  2  Kgs. 
ii.  16),  Jer.  xx.  7—9,  Ezek.  ii.  2,  iii.  12,  14,  xi.  1.  The  feeling  of  ex- 
ternal compulsion  exerted  by  the  spirit  caused  it  sometimes  to  be 
described  as  "Jehovah's  hand"  (1  Kgs.  xviii.  46,  Ezek.  viii.  1).  The 
Heb.  of  the  phrase  by  the  spirit  of  the  LORD  is  peculiar,  though  the 
meaning  by  given  to  the  preposition  here  used  may  perhaps  be  defended 
by  Gen.  iv.  1,  xlix.  25  (but  see  Driver,  ad  toe.).  The  phrase,  however, 
seriously  disturbs  the  rhythm  of  the  v.,  and  it  is  probably  the  correct 
but  unnecessary  comment  of  a  copyist  or  reader,  which  has  become 
inserted  in  the  text. 

declare... transgression.   Cf.  3  Is.  Iviii.  1. 

9 — 11.  In  these  w.  there  is  a  resumption  of  the  arraignment  of  the 
civil  magistrates  contained  in  w.  1 — 4 ;  but  on  this  occasion  the  priests 
are  joined  with  them,  and  both  classes  are  charged  with  venality  in 
connection  with  their  decisions  upon  civil  and  religious  matters. 

9.  this.   I.e.  the  announcement  of  merited  doom  (v.  12). 

10.  They  build.  Better  (continuing  the  preceding  sentence),  building : 
the  Heb.  has  the  sing.,  which  requires  correction  to  the  plur.,  after  the 
LXX.  01  otKoSo/xowTss,  Vulg.  qui  cedificatis.    The  prophet's  meaning 
seems  to  be  that  the  wealth  which  enabled  the  ruling  classes  to  erect 
imposing  mansions  and  so  to  enlarge  and  beautify  the  capital  was 
amassed  through  judicial  murders  (the  property  of  innocent  victims 
being  confiscated  (cf.  Is.  i.  15,  Hab.  ii.  12)),  or  through  a  system  of 
forced  labour  (whereby  they  compelled  the  poor  to  work  for  them  without 
remuneration  (Jer.  xxii.  13 — 19)). 

Zion.  This,  in  primitive  times,  was  only  part  of  the  larger  area  after- 
wards included  in  Jerusalem.  It  was  the  name  belonging  to  the  Jebusite 
fortress  (2  Sam.  v.  7)  which  was  captured  by  David  and  made  the 
capital  of  his  kingdom.  The  later  Jerusalem  occupied  two  adjacent  hills 
separated  from  the  adjoining  country  on  the  east  and  west  respectively 


in.  io,  1 1]  MICAH  27 

Jerusalem  with  iniquity.  11  The  heads  thereof  judge  for  reward, 
and  the  priests  thereof  teach  for  hire,  and  the  prophets  thereof 
divine  for  money :  yet  will  they  lean  upon  the  LORD,  and  say, 

by  the  valley  of  the  Kidron1  and  the  valley  of  the  son  of  Hinnom2,  and 
divided  from  one  another  by  a  shallow  depression3;  and  the  Jebusite 
fortress  was  in  all  probability  situated  on  the  eastern  hill.  Though  the 
name  Zion  came  to  be  given  later  to  the  western  hill,  which  is  the  more 
extensive  and  the  more  commanding  of  the  two  heights,  yet  the  eastern 
must  have  been  the  one  occupied  by  the  Jebusite  community,  since  it 
alone  has  a  water  supply  (in  the  Kidron  valley).  The  southern  end  of 
this  hill  was  known  as  the  Ophel  (cf.  iv.  8),  and  was  the  original  site  of 
Zion :  the  northern  extremity,  which  was  of  higher  elevation,  was  the 
site  of  the  Temple,  this  being,  at  first,  outside  of  Zion  (1  Kgs.  viii.  1). 

11.  judge  for  reward.  For  other  allusions  to  judicial  corruption  in 
Judah  see  vii.  3,  Is.  i.  23,  Ezek.  xxii.  12.  Warnings  against  it  occur  in 
the  Law  (Ex.  xxiii.  1,  Dt.  xvi.  19). 

the  priests.  The  misconduct  of  the  sacerdotal  order  is  dwelt  upon  by 
other  prophetic  writers  (see  Is.  xxviii.  7,  Hos.  iv.  6,  v.  1,  Jer.  ii.  26, 
v.  31,  etc.).  The  accusation  against  them  here  is  that  in  expounding 
the  Divine  Law  (which  was  one  of  their  functions  (see  Lev.  x.  11,  Dt. 
xvii.  8 — 13,  Mai.  ii.  7))  when  application  was  made  to  them  for  the 
solution  of  perplexing  questions  of  conduct,  wherever  the  codes  included 
in  the  Pentateuch  (so  far  as  they  were  in  existence  at  this  time)  did  not 
afford  guidance,  they  delivered  as  decisions  of  Jehovah  such  answers  as 
the  enquirers  made  it  worth  their  while  to  furnish. 

the  prophets.  These,  as  well  as  the  priests,  were  channels  of  Divine 
instruction;  and  were  intended  to  occupy  in  Israel  the  place  of  the 
augurs,  sorcerers,  wizards,  and  necromancers  to  whom  the  heathen 
resorted  (Dt.  xviii.  10  f):  cf.  p.  25. 

divine.  Though  the  verb  and  the  corresponding  noun  (divination)  are 
generally  used  in  connection  with  methods  of  ascertaining  the  will  of 
heaven  practised  by  heathen  peoples  and  forbidden  in  Israel  (cf.  Ezek. 
xxi.  21,  1  Sam.  xv.  23  (where  witchcraft  is  properly  divination}),  and 
commonly  carried  with  them  associations  of  falsehood  and  lying  (see 
Jer.  xiv.  14,  Ezek.  xiii.  6,  9,  xxii.  28,  2  Zech.  x.  2),  yet  the  substantive 
is  employed  in  a  good  sense  in  Prov.  xvi.  10  (mg.). 

yet  will  they  lean  upon  the  LORD.  The  magistrates,  priests,  and 
prophets,  whom  Micah  condemns  were  worshippers  of  Jehovah,  as  the 
national  divinity,  but  were  so  little  sensible  of  His  moral  character  that, 
whilst  committing  all  kinds  of  iniquity,  they  reposed  serene  confidence 
in  His  protection,  not  recognizing  that  this  was  conditional  upon  their 
right-dealing  (cf.  Am.  v.  14).  The  source  of  their  confidence  was  the 

1  Now  called  Wady  Sittna  Mariam  (Valley  of  our  Lady  Mary). 

2  Now  Wddy  er  Eabdbi. 

3  Formerly  known  as  the  Tyropceon  (Valley  of  the  cheese-makers),  but  now  as 
El  Wad  (the  Valley). 


28  MIC  AH  [m.  n,  12 

Is  not  the  LORD  in  the  midst  of  us?  no  evil  shall  come  upon  us. 
12  Therefore  shall  Zion  for  your  sake  be  plowed  as  a  field,  and 
Jerusalem  shall  become  heaps,  and  the  mountain  of  the  house 
as  the  high  places  of  a  forest. 

bond  thought  by  Semitic  peoples  to  subsist  between  a  god  and  the  nation 
which  offered  to  him  the  sacrifices  and  ceremonial  homage  that  he  was 
believed  to  value.  They  reflected  that  in  Jerusalem  was  Jehovah's 
Temple  (cf.  Jer.  vii.  4),  and  within  the  Temple  was  the  Ark  (cf.  Jer. 
iii.  16),  with  which  His  presence  and  glory  were  peculiarly  associated 
(see  Num.  xiv.  42,  44,  1  Sam.  iv.  3,  21,  Ps.  Ixxviii.  61).  In  the  time  of 
our  Lord  similar  trust  was  placed  by  the  Pharisees  and  Sadducees  in 
their  descent  from  Abraham  (Mt.  iii.  9). 

12.  Therefore,  etc.  The  prediction  contained  in  this  v.  was  not  ful- 
filled for  more  than  a  century;  and  a  subsequent  generation  recognized 
that  the  fulfilment  had  been  deferred  in  consequence  of  the  repentance 
of  the  king  and  his  people  (Jer.  xxvi.  19).  But  the  religious  and  moral 
collapse  that  occurred  under  later  kings  brought  at  last  the  judgment 
foretold;  and  in  587  Jerusalem  was  captured  by  the  Babylonians,  its 
walls  dismantled,  and  its  principal  citizens  deported. 

for  your  sake.   I.e.  in  consequence  of  your  misconduct:  cf.  Dt.  i.  37. 

heaps.   I.e.  heaps  of  ruins  (as  in  i.  6). 

the  mountain  of  the  house.  I.e.  mount  Zion,  the  site  of  the  Temple 
(p.  27). 

the  high  places  of  a  forest.  The  LXX.,  Sym.  and  Th.  all  represent 
high  places  by  a  singular  (aA<ros,  t^os  and  /3owos  respectively).  The 
notion  here  conveyed  is  that  of  a  clearing  (like  the  Latin  lucus)  on  the 
summit  of  a  wooded  hill.  To  such  a  bare  and  lonely  condition  would 
the  city,  with  its  splendid  fane,  be  reduced:  cf.  Lam.  v.  18. 

CHAPTERS  IV.,  V. 

With  ch.  iii.  there  ends  all  of  the  book  that  can  with  confidence  be  assigned 
to  Micah  (prophesying  in  the  8th  century),  though  there  are  two  other  passages 
which  may  also  proceed  from  him  (see  pp.  52,  56).  The  rest  of  it  would  seem 
to  be  of  later  origin.  These  two  chapters,  in  particular,  consist  of  several 
oracles — some  very  short — apparently  having  in  view  diverse  situations,  and 
probably  composed  by  various  writers  living  at  separate  periods  of  Hebrew 
history,  but  all  subsequent  to  the  8th  century. 

CHAPTER  IV.  1—5. 

In  this  section  the  tone  of  menace  towards  Jerusalem  marking  chs.  i. — iii 
gives  place  to  an  utterance  of  different  spirit,  predicting  for  mount  Zion  pre- 
eminence over  other  heights,  and  the  dignity  of  becoming  a  centre  for  the 
diffusion  of  a  knowledge  of  Jehovah's  requirements  among  the  nations  of 
the  world,  who  will  resort  thither  for  instruction,  and  will  submit  their  disputes 
to  Jehovah's  arbitrament  Its  contents,  when  compared  with  those  of  the 


iv.]  MICAH  29 

preceding  ch.,  suggest  for  it  quite  other  authorship  (cf.  p.  xxiii.  f.).  Thus  (1)  the 
assumption  made  in  it  that  the  Temple  at  Jerusalem  is  the  sole  seat  of 
the  worship  of  Jehovah  would  be  impossible  in  Micah's  time,  and  presupposes 
the  abolition  of  the  country  sanctuaries  by  Josiah  (2  Kgs.  xxiii.),  circ.  620  B.C. 
(2)  There  is  a  complete  lack  of  connection  between  it  and  its  immediate  context 
(ii.  12 — 13  is  remote),  for  the  initial  assertion  that  Jerusalem  will  become  the 
seat  of  religious  instruction  for  the  heathen  world  involves  a  situation  which 
is  unexplained,  since  nothing  is  said  to  account  for  the  circumstance  that  after 
the  city  has  been  doomed  to  destruction  (iii.  12),  and  its  populace,  by  im- 
plication, slaughtered  or  enslaved,  it  is  once  more  the  home  of  Jews  and  the 
site  of  Jehovah's  house :  contrast  Jer.  iii.  6 — 25.  (3)  The  idea  that  the  heathen 
will  spontaneously  make  pilgrimages  to  Jerusalem  to  obtain  there  some  know- 
ledge of  Jehovah  presupposes  a  wonderful  intervention  by  Him  in  the  fortunes 
of  the  Jews,  attracting  attention  to  their  God;  but  no  light  is  here  thrown  on 
the  nature  of  the  occurrence:  contrast  vii.  15 — 16,  Ezek.  xx.  41,  xxviii.  25, 
xxxvii.  21—28,  2  Is.  xlv.  1—6, 14,  22—24,  xlix.  7.  These  features  in  combination 
render  it  tolerably  certain  that  the  passage  does  not  proceed  from  Micah. 
The  greater  part  of  the  section  occurs  also  in  Is.  ii.  2 — 4 ;  and  the  reasons  that 
cause  Micah's  authorship  to  be  questioned  are  likewise  obstacles  in  the  way  of 
believing  it  to  be  a  genuine  prophecy  of  Isaiah,  or  to  be  derived  by  both 
prophets  from  an  earlier  source.  The  character  of  the  passage  points  to  its 
being  of  post-exilic  origin,  and  inserted  in  both  of  the  books  wherein  it  is  now 
included.  The  passage  in  Is.  xi.  10  which  is  sometimes  cited  as  a  pre-exilic 
parallel  is  probably  itself  post-exilic  *.  Certain  small  variations  are  discernible 
in  the  two  versions  when  compared ;  and  that  in  Micah  contains  a  verse  that 
is  absent  from  Isaiah.  This  will  be  apparent  if  they  are  placed  side  by  side  in 
a  translation  a  little  more  exact  than  that  of  the  R.T. 

Isaiah  ii,  Micah  iv. 

2  And  it  shall  come  to  pass  in  the          1   And  it  shall  come  to  pass  in  the 
sequel  of  days  that  established  shall  sequel  of  days  that  the  mountain  of 
be  the  mountain  of  Jehovah's  house  Jehovah's  house  shall  be  established 
on  the  top  of  the  mountains,  and  shall  on  the  top  of  the  mountains  and  it 
be  lifted  up  above  the  hills,  and  unto  shall  be  lifted  up  above  the  hills,  and 
it  shall  all  the  nations  stream.  on  to  it  shall  peoples  stream. 

3  And  many  peoples  shall  go  and          2  And  many  nations  shall  go  and 
say,  Come  ye,  and  let  us  go  up  to  the  say,  Come  ye,  and  let  us  go  up  to  the 
mountain  of  Jehovah,  to  the  house  of  mountain  of  Jehovah,  and  to  the  house 
the  God  of  Jacob,  that  He  may  teach  of  the  God  of  Jacob,  that  He  may 
us  out  of  His  ways,  and  that  we  may  teach  us  out  of  His  ways,  and  that  we 
walk  in  His  paths,  for  out  of  Zion  may  walk  in  His  paths,  for  out  of  Zion 
shall  go  forth  instruction,  and  the  shall  go  forth  instruction,   and  the 
word  of  Jehovah  from  Jerusalem.  word  of  Jehovah  from  Jerusalem. 

1  See  the  commentary  on  Isaiah  in  this  series,  p.  86,  or  Gray,  Isaiah,  p.  223 
(I.C.C.). 


30  MICAH  [iv.  r 

Isaiah  ii.  Micah  iv. 

4  And  He  shall  judge  between  the  3  And    He   shall  judge   between 

nations  and  shall  give  decisions  for  great  peoples  and  shall  give  decisions 

great  peoples;   and  they  shall  beat  for  strong  nations  afar  off;  and  they 

the  swords  of  them  into  coulters  and  shall  beat  their  swords  into  coulters 

their  spears  into  pruning  hooks ;  na-  and  their  spears  into  pruning  hooks ; 

tion  shall  not  lift  up  sword  against  nation  shall  not  lift  up  sword  against 

nation,  neither  shall  they  any  more  nation,  neither  shall  they  any  more 

learn  war.  learn  war. 

4  But  they  shall  sit  every  man 
under  his  vine  and  under  his  fig  tree, 
none  making  them  afraid;  for  the 
mouth  of  JEHOVAH  of  hosts  hath 
spoken  it. 

IV.  1  lEut  in  the  latter  days  it  shall  come  to  pass,  that  the 
mountain  of  the  LORD'S  house  shall  be  established  2in  the  top  of 

1  See  Is.  ii.  2—4.  2  Or,  at  the  head 

1.  in  the  latter  days.  Better,  in  the  sequel^  of  days,  an  expression 
which  denotes  a  future  period  varying  in  connotation  with  the  outlook 
of  the  successive  speakers  or  writers  who  employ  it.  It  is  generally 
used  in  connection  with  predictions  of  good  fortune,  and  "  designates 
the  period  when  the  hopes,  whatever  they  are,  that  relieve  a  dis- 
satisfying present  will  be  fulfilled."  In  Gen.  xlix.  1  the  range  of  the 
prospect  signified  by  it  does  not  extend  beyond  the  conquest  of  Canaan ; 
in  Num.  xxiv.  14  it  is  the  time  of  the  monarchy  and  the  mastery  by 
Israel  of  the  surrounding  countries  of  Moab  and  Edom ;  in  Hos.  iii.  5 
(end)  and  Dt.  iv.  30  it  is  the  restoration  of  Israel  from  conditions  of 
tribulation  and  distress ;  whilst  in  Dan.  ii.  28  it  is  the  emergence  of  the 
kingdoms  destined  to  succeed  to  the  empire  of  the  Babylonians  under 
Nebuchadrezzar.  In  the  present  passage  it  denotes  an  ideal  age  sub- 
sequent to  the  restoration  of  Israel  to  its  own  land.  The  N.T.  equiva- 
lents are  ew*  tcr^arou  TWV  xpovw  (1  Pet.  i.  20),  €TT'  €ar\aTov  TOV  ^povov 
(Jude  18),  and  «r*  eo-xarov  TWJ/  ^//.epwv  TOVTWV  (Heb.  i.  2). 

the  mountain,  etc.  I.e.  the  Temple  hill  (see  on  p.  27),  which,  at  the 
point  where  the  Temple  was  built,  reaches  an  altitude  of  2400  ft.  above 
the  sea. 

established  in  the  top.  Better,  established  on  the  top  (cf.  Ex.  xxiv.  17, 
Ps.  Ixxii.  16).  The  writer  conceives  mount  Zion  not  merely  as  being  at 
the  head  of  all  other  heights  (as  in  the  mg.),  but  as  elevated  upon  them, 
this  not  only  marking  its  superior  rank  as  the  site  of  Jehovah's  sanc- 
tuary, but  also  enabling  it  to  be  descried  from  a  distance  by  those  who 

1  The  term  rendered  sequel  sometimes  means  the  end  of  a  period  as  distinguished 
from  its  beginning  (2  Is.  xlvi.  10),  or  the  end  of  an  individual  life,  or  of  a  phase  in 
a  nation's  career  (Prov.  v.  4,  Jer.  xxxi.  17). 


iv.  i-3]  MICAH  31 

the  mountains,  and  it  shall  be  exalted  above  the  hills ;  and 
peoples  shall  flow  unto  it.  2  And  many  nations  shall  go  and  say, 
Come  ye,  and  let  us  go  up  to  the  mountain  of  the  LORD,  and 
to  the  house  of  the  God  of  Jacob ;  and  he  will  teach  us  of  his 
ways,  and  we  will  walk  in  his  paths :  for  out  of  Zion  shall  go 
forth  Hhe  law,  and  the  word  of  the  LORD  from  Jerusalem.  3  And 
he  shall  judge  2between  3many  peoples,  and  shall  4reprove  strong 
nations  afar  off;  and  they  shall  beat  their  swords  into  plowshares, 

1  Or,  instruction  2  Or,  among  3  Or,  great 

4  Or,  decide  concerning 

wish  to  reach  it.  In  the  parallel  passage  in  Isaiah  the  order  of  the 
words  has  been  disturbed,  and  the  metre  impaired. 

it.  The  pronoun  is  here  expressed  in  the  Heb.,  preserving  the 
rhythm :  in  Is.  it  is  absent. 

peoples.   Is.  has  all  the  nations. 

flow.    Or  stream-,  cf.  Jer.  xxxi.  12,  li.  44. 

2.  And  many  nations  shall,  etc.    Cf.  Zech.  viii.  21,  22. 

the  God  of  Jacob.  The  name  Jacob  here  describes  the  people  of 
Judah  only,  as  in  iii.  1,  8. 

teach  us  of  his  ways.  Literally,  teach  us  out  of  his  ways,  i.e.  impart 
from  His  unlimited  store  of  spiritual  illumination  such  amount  as  is 
essential  and  sufficient  for  the  course  of  life  He  requires  from  men. 

the  law.  Better  (as  in  the  mg.),  instruction :  the  noun  corresponds 
to  the  verb  teach  in  the  previous  clause.  In  the  N.T.  a  counterpart  of 
the  statement  here  made  may  be  found  in  Lk.  xxiv.  47 :  cf.  also  1  Cor. 
xiv.  24,  25. 

3.  And  he  shall  judge,  etc.   The  utterance  of  the  nations  ceases  with 
the  end  of  v.  2,  and  the  speaker  here  is  the  propbet. 

many  peoples.  Better  (as  in  the  mg.),  great  peoples  (parallel  with 
strong  nations,  cf.  Dt.  iv.  38).  The  clause,  however,  is  too  long  to  be 
in  keeping  with  the  prevailing  rhythm,  and  Is.,  where  there  is  no  adj. 
with  peoples,  has  preserved  tbe  better  text. 

reprove.  Better,  give  decisions  for  (note  mg.);  cf.  Is.  xi.  4.  Where 
Jehovah  is  universally  accepted  as  arbitrator  in  international  disputes, 
there  will  be  no  more  occasion  for  appeals  to  the  sword. 

afar  off.  This  is  in  all  probability  an  interpolation:  it  is  absent 
from  Isaiah  and  spoils  the  balance  of  the  clauses. 

plowshares.  Perhaps  better,  coulters  (the  blade  fixed  in  front  of 
the  ploughshare),  into  which  swords  could  be  more  easily  converted. 
Sym.,  however  (on  1  Sam.  xiii.  20),  gives  as  its  equivalent  the  Greek 
o-Ka^etov,  "  a  spade  "  or  "  mattock."  The  abolition  of  military  weapons 
from  among  both  houses  of  Israel,  and  the  proclamation  of  universal 
peace  amongst  the  surrounding  nations,  is  predicted  for  the  Messianic 
Age  in  2  Zech.  ix.  10,  Ps.  xlvi.  9,  Is.  xi.  9. 


32  MICAH  [iv.  3-5 

and  their  spears  into  pruninghooks :  nation  shall  not  lift  up 
sword  against  nation,  neither  shall  they  learn  war  any  more. 
4  But  they  shall  sit  every  man  under  his  vine  and  under  his  fig 
tree ;  and  none  shall  make  them  afraid :  for  the  mouth  of  the 
LORD  of  hosts  hath  spoken  it.  5  For  all  the  peoples  1will  walk 
every  one  in  the  name  of  his  god,  and  we  will  walk  in  the  name 
of  the  LORD  our  God  for  ever  and  ever. 

1  Or,  walk 

pruninghooks.  Compare  Martial's  epigram  (Falx  ex  ense) :  Pax 
me  certa  duds  placidos  curvavit  in  usus;  Agricolce  nunc  sum,  militis 
ante  fui  (xiv.  34). 

4.  This  v.  is  not  contained  in  Is.,  and  is  probably  an  expansion  in 
prose  of  the  preceding  oracle.   Vines  and  fig  trees  were  characteristic 
products  of  Palestine  (Dt.  viii.  8,  Hos.  ii.  12).   Similar  descriptions  of 
peace  and  plenty  are  found  in  1  Kgs.  iv.  25,  2  Kgs.  xviii.  31,  Zech.  iii. 
10 :  for  the  second  clause  cf.  Is.  xvii.  2,  Jer.  xxx.  10,  xlvi.  27,  etc. 

the  LOED  of  hosts.  It  has  been  debated  whether,  in  the  phrases 
JEHOVAH  of  hosts  and  God  of  hosts  (Am.  iii.  13,  v.  27),  the  hosts  are 
terrestrial,  or  celestial,  armies.  If  the  former,  the  forces  of  Israel 
(called  the  hosts  of  JEHOVAH  in  Ex.  vii.  4,  cf.  1  Sam.  xvii.  36)  must  be 
meant ;  but  probably  the  term  really  has  reference  to  armies  of  angels ; 
cf.  Dt.  xxxiii.  2,  Joel  iii.  II1. 

5.  For  all  the  peoples,  etc.  Better,  Though  all  the  peoples  walk  (cf.  mg. ) 
each  in  the  name  of  his  god,  yet  we  will  walk  in  the  name  of  JEHOVAH, 
our  God,  for  ever  and  ever.    For  the  translation  though  (or  although) 
cf.  Ps.  xlix.  18  (19),  Ex.  xiii.  17,  Dt.  xxix.  19  (18),  Josh.  xvii.  18. 
This  v.  places  in  contrast  to  the  ideal  future  depicted  in  the  foregoing 
vv.  the  contemporary  condition  of  the  surrounding  world,  wherein 
idolatry  still  prevails;  but  the  writer,  notwithstanding,  voices  his  own 
and  his  countrymen's  resolve  to  be  unfalteringly  loyal  to  Jehovah.    To 
walk  in  the  name  of  Jehovah  probably  means  to  behave  according  to  the 
revelation  of  Himself  which  God  has  granted.    Though  the  name  of 
Jehovah  is  occasionally  used  to  denote  a  Theophany  (Is.  xxx.  27),  it 
more  commonly  expresses  a  disclosure  of  His  character;    so  that 
Jerusalem,  with  its  temple,  which  was  the  locality  where  God's  moral 
and  spiritual  nature  was  pre-eminently  revealed  through  the  Mosaic 
Law  and  Prophetic  instruction,  was  styled  the  place  where  Jehovah 
had  put  His  name  (see  Dt.  xii.  11,  and  cf.  1  Kgs.  viii.  20,  29). 


1  See  further,  The  Book  of  Isaiah  (in  this  series),  pp.  12,  13. 


iv.  6, 7]  MICAH  33 

CHAPTER  IV.  6—8. 

That  these  three  verses  originated  at  a  time  distinct  from  that  which 
witnessed  the  composition  of  the  previous  five  is  suggested  by  the  different 
situation  of  the  Jewish  people.  Whereas  in  vv.  1 — 5  it  is  assumed  that  the 
people  are  already  restored  to  their  own  land,  and  the  predictive  element 
relates  to  the  future  dignity  which  they  are  to  enjoy,  here  it  is  presupposed 
that,  having  undergone  rejection  by  Jehovah,  they  are  still  in  exile,  and  the 
prediction  which  the  passage  contains  foretells  their  return  to  their  former 
homes,  and  the  restoration  to  them  of  the  dominion  which  was  once  theirs. 
The  most  natural  conclusion  to  which  the  interna  evidence  points  is  that  this 
oracle  is  neither  by  Micah  nor  by  the  author  of  the  preceding  section,  but 
(like  that  in  ii.  12 — 13)  proceeds  from  a  prophet  living  in  exilic  times  amongst 
the  captives  in  Babylon,  and  was  designed  to  console  and  encourage  them  with 
a  near  prospect  of  deliverance.  (Note  the  occurrence  of  the  verbs  /  will 
assemble  and  I  will  gather  in  both  ii.  12  and  iv.  6.)  A  pre-exilic  date,  however, 
becomes  possible  if  these  verses  and  verses  9 — 10  are  transposed,  as  suggested 
by  J.  M.  P.  Smith,  though  the  century  in  which  they  were  written  must  have 
been  not  the  8th  (when  Micah  lived)  but  the  6th,  or  not  earlier  than  the  very 
end  of  the  7th ;  see  p.  35. 

6  In  that  day,  saith  the  LORD,  will  I  assemble  her  that  halteth, 
and  I  will  gather  her  that  is  driven  away,  and  her  that  I  have 
afflicted ;  7  and  I  will  make  her  that  halted  a  remnant,  and  her 
that  was  cast  far  off  a  strong  nation :  and  the  LORD  shall  reign 

6.  In  that  day.   I.e.  the  coming  Day  of  Jehovah,  which,  in  the  mind 
of  the  pre-exilic  prophets,  was  generally  conceived  to  be  a  time  of 
judgment  and  disaster  for  the  sinful  people,  but  which  during  and  after 
the  Exile  was  increasingly  regarded  as  an  occasion  fraught  with  re- 
demption for  those  who  had  already  undergone  retribution  for  their 
offences;  see  Is.  xi.  11,  xii.  1,  Am.  ix.  11,  and  contrast  Am.  v.  18. 

her  that  halteth.  A  figure  for  an  afflicted  community:  cf.  Zeph.  iii.  19. 

and  her  that  I  have  afflicted.  The  presence  of  this  clause  disturbs  the 
parallelism  between  the  rest  of  the  v.  and  7a;  it  is  probably  a  prosaic 
explanation  of  the  preceding  metaphorical  term. 

7.  a  remnant.    In  this  context  the  word  must  signify  a  germ  from 
which  the  nation  can  be  renewed:  cf.  v.  7.   For  the  promise  cf.  3  Is. 
Ix.  22. 

her  that  was  cast  off.  The  Vulg.  has  earn  qua;  labor  aver  at  (i.e.  "her 
that  was  distressed"),  apparently  reading  hannildjah  for  hannahala }ah. 

the  LORD  shall  reign  over  them.  In  prophetic  descriptions  of  the 
happy  future  in  store  for  Jehovah's  people  sometimes  the  sovereign 
who  is  to  rule  them  is  a  king  of  human  descent,  endowed  with  Divine 
qualities  (Is.  viii.  8,  ix.  6  f.);  at  other  times  he  is  Jehovah  Himself 
(Is.  xxiv.  23,  Ob.  21) :  see  p.  cxiv. 


34  MICAH  [iv.  7, 8 

over  them  in  mount  Zion  from  henceforth  even  for  ever.  8  And 
thou,  0  tower  of  Hhe  flock,  2the  hill  of  the  daughter  of  Zion, 
unto  thee  shall  it  come ;  yea,  the  former  dominion  shall  come, 
the  kingdom  of  the  daughter  of  Jerusalem. 

i  Or,  Eder    See  Gen.  xxxv.  21.  2  Heb.  Ophel. 

from  henceforth.   Better,  from  thenceforth. 

8.  0  tower  of  the  flock.  The  term  likens  Jerusalem  to  a  solitary 
watch-tower,  such  as  might  be  constructed  by  shepherds  to  protect 
them,  whilst  guarding  their  sheep  on  lonely  pasture  grounds,  from 
marauders  or  beasts  of  prey  (cf.  2  Ch.  xxvi.  10,  2  Kgs.  xvii.  9);  and 
consequently  it  implies  that  the  city  apostrophized  by  the  prophet  is 
situated  amid  solitude  and  desolation,  its  surviving  buildings  being  no 
better  than  temporary  shelters.  The  Heb.  for  the  phrase  is  Migdal 
'Edher,  identical  with  the  name  of  a  place  (according  to  Jerome,  a  mile 
from  Bethlehem)  mentioned  in  the  history  of  the  patriarch  Jacob  (Gen. 
xxxv.  21);  but  here  the  term  is  only  symbolical. 

the  hill.  Heb.  the  'Ophel,  a  word  meaning  "a  swelling"  (cf.  the  Latin 
tumulus)  and  so  applicable  to  several  heights.  There  was  an  ophel 
within  the  territory  of  the  Northern  Kingdom  (2  Kgs.  v.  24),  and  the 
Moabite  king  Mesha  mentions  in  his  inscription  "the  wall  of  the  Ophel" 
in  connection  with  a  place  variously  vocalized  as  Korhah  or  Kerehoh : 
but  the  term  was  used  especially  of  the  southern  extremity  of  the  Temple 
hill  (see  2  Ch.  xxvii.  3,  xxxiii.  14,  Neh.  iii.  26,  27),  as  here. 

shall  it  come.. .shall  come,  etc.  The  text  has  probably  undergone  some 
slight  dislocation:  one  of  the  verbs  lacks  a  subject,  one  of  the  nouns 
(the  kingdom)  wants  a  verb,  and  the  rhythm  is  faulty.  A  plausible  re- 
arrangement is,  unto  thee  shall  come  the  former  dominion,  and  there  shall 
arrive  (the  verb  here  differs  from  the  preceding)  the  kingdom  of  the 
daughter  of  Jerusalem.  The  verb  rendered  come  ('dthah)  is  one  which 
appears  comparatively  late  in  Hebrew  literature,  and  seems  to  be  used 
first  in  Deuteronomy  (seven  times),  unless  Is.  xxi.  12,  14  are  earlier 
instances,  so  that  its  occurrence  here  favours  for  this  section  a  date 
later  than  Micah's  age.  By  the  former  dominion  is  meant  the  extensive 
authority  which  was  possessed  by  David,  Solomon,  and  their  more 
powerful  successors  on  the  throne  of  Judah  (such  as  Uzziah).  In  the 

Second  clause  the  LXX.  has  /3acriAeia  CK  Ba/3vA<j3vos  ry  Ovyarpl  'lepovo-aXyiJi, 

the  name  of  Babylon  being  probably  an  insertion  suggested  by  v.  10. 
CHAPTERS  IV.  9— V.  15. 

This  large  section  is  by  some  critics  treated  as  a  single  whole :  whether  it 
can  reasonably  be  regarded  as  a  unity  can  best  be  determined  after  the  several 
divisions  into  which  it  naturally  falls  have  been  surveyed  in  detail.  If  a  plausible 
conclusion  as  to  origin  can  be  reached  in  regard  to  the  first  group  of  verses 
(w.  9 — 10),  it  can  be  reconsidered  whether  the  contents  of  the  succeeding  groups, 
prima  facie  rather  discrepant,  allow  them  to  be  viewed  as  emanating  from  the 
same  period. 


IV.  9,  io]  MICAH  35 

CHAPTER  IV.  9—10. 

These  two  verses  appear  to  be  distinct  from  the  preceding  context.  They 
imply  that  Jerusalem,  at  a  time  when  it  still  had  a  king,  was  in  a  desperate 
plight,  its  citizens  being  penned  within  it  by  a  hostile  army  at  its  gates,  and 
exile  being  in  prospect  for  some  or  all  of  them.  The  mention  of  Babylon  in 
v.  10  as  the  destined  place  of  exile  precludes  the  reign  of  Hezekiah  as  the  date 
of  the  oracle  unless  the  words  even  unto  Babylon  be  omitted  as  a  mistaken 
gloss.  The  hypothesis  which  best  suits  the  situation  is  that  the  prophecy  was 
uttered  near  the  close  of  the  reign  of  Zedekiah.  The  armies  of  Babylon  had 
beleaguered  Jerusalem  for  nearly  18  months  (2  Kgs.  xxv.  1 — 3,  Jer.  Hi.  1 — 6). 
At  the  termination  of  that  period  a  breach  in  the  fortifications  was  made  by 
the  enemy;  and  Zedekiah,  with  his  chief  officers,  fled  by  night,  leaving  the 
kingdom  and  its  capital  without  a  head.  This  will  explain  the  question  asked 
mockingly  by  the  prophet  in  v.  9.  The  city  was  soon  captured  and  the  king 
taken,  and  both  he  and  the  flower  of  his  people  were  carried  to  Babylon. 

9  Now  why  dost  thou  cry  out  aloud?  Is  there  no  king  in  thee, 
is  thy  counsellor  perished,  that  pangs  have  taken  hold  of  thee 
as  of  a  woman  in  travail  ?  10  Be  in  pain,  and  labour  to  bring 
forth,  0  daughter  of  Zion,  like  a  woman  in  travail:  for  now 
shalt  thou  go  forth  out  of  the  city,  and  shalt  dwell  in  the  field, 

9.  Now  why  dost  thou  cry,  etc.    If  this  passage  could  be  referred  to 
Micah  as  its  author,  the  situation  which  the  prophet  had  in  mind  would 
be  the  advance  upon  Jerusalem  of  Sennacherib's  forces,  as  described  in 
2  Kgs.  xviii.  17,  and  the  king  and  counsellor  might  be  taken  to  be 
Jehovah  (the  question,  Is  there  no  king  in  thee?    implying  that  the 
people  need  not  despair  as  though  God  had  altogether  forsaken  them — 
He  was  not  finally  estranged).   But  this  view  is  rendered  impossible  by 
v.  10  unless  it  is  emended;   and  the  occasion  must  be  the  flight  of 
Zedekiah  during  the  siege  of  Jerusalem  by  the  Babylonians.   It  may  be 
assumed  that  tidings  have  just  spread  among  the  populace  that  the  king 
and  his  nobles  have  deserted  them ;  and  the  prophet  tauntingly  asks 
the  terrified  citizens  (who  for  the  most  part  had  supported  the  senseless 
revolt  against  Babylon)  whether  they  have  not  a  ruler  or  counsellor  to 
direct  them  in  the  defence  of  the  city. 

as  of  a  woman,  etc.  The  same  simile  to  express  acute  suffering  occurs 
frequently  (cf.  Jer.  vi.  24,  xxii.  23,  etc.). 

10.  Be  in  pain,  etc.    The  prophet  here  drops  his  taunting  tone,  and 
declares  that  there  is  real  cause  for  anguish :  the  population  of  Jeru- 
salem must  leave  their  homes,  and  be  carried  captive  to  Babylon ;  and 
only  after  exile  there  will  deliverance  come. 

labour  to  bring  forth.  Literally,  thrust  forth,  though  this  sense  is  rare 
(cf.  Ps.  Ixxi.  6a). 

shalt  thou... the  city.  I.e.  thou  must  surrender  and  evacuate  it:  cf. 
2  Kgs.  xxiv.  12. 

shalt  dwell  in  the  field.    Outside  the  city  walls  the  captives  would  be 

3—2 


36  MICAH  [iv.  10 

and  shalt  come  even  unto  Babylon ;  there  shalt  thou  be  rescued ; 
there  shall  the  LOUD  redeem  thee  from  the  hand  of  thine  enemies. 

herded  together  by  the  conquerors  in  preparation  for  removal  to  Babylon, 
more  than  500  miles  away  as  the  crow  flies. 

even  unto  Babylon.  If  this  section  is  assigned  to  an  occasion  just 
before  the  Fall  of  Jerusalem  in  587,  the  mention  of  Babylon  as  the 
destined  place  of  exile  is  perfectly  natural  (cf.  Jer.  xx.  4  f.,  xxii.  25, 
xxvii.  12),  but  in  the  time  of  Micah  Assyria  was  Judah's  most  menacing 
enemy,  and  Babylon  was  merely  one  of  Assyria's  subject  states1;  so 
that  if  Micah's  authorship  of  the  section  be  defended,  these  words  must 
be  omitted  as  an  interpolation  (for  2  Kgs.  xvii.  24  is  not  a  real  parallel), 
due  to  a  misunderstanding  as  to  the  scene  of  the  promised  rescue,  which 
in  Micah's  thoughts  was  the  field  (i.e.  the  open  country  outside  Jeru- 
salem, where  the  invading  Assyrians  would  meet  with  disaster),  but 
was  taken  by  a  post-captivity  reader  to  be  Babylon,  and  an  explanation 
inserted  in  the  nig.,  whence  it  was  introduced  into  the  text.  But  the 
view  adopted  above,  that  the  prediction  really  has  in  view  the  Baby- 
lonian captivity  seems  more  plausible.  It  was  not  until  the  overthrow 
of  the  Assyrian  empire  by  the  Medes  and  the  capture  of  Nineveh  in 
607  (later  investigations  point  to  612  as  the  correct  date)  that  Babylon 
attained  independence  under  Nabopolassar,  who  aided  the  Medes  in 
their  assault  upon  Nineveh.  The  predominance  in  W.  Asia  previously 
enjoyed  by  Assyria  was  grasped  at  by  Egypt;  but  the  Egyptian  forces 
were  defeated  at  Carchemish  (on  the  Euphrates)  in  605  by  Nebu- 
chadrezzar, son  of  Nabopolassar;  and  in  consequence  the  Babylonian 
king  had  Palestine  at  his  mercy,  and  proceeded  to  overrun  Judah  and 
to  besiege  Jerusalem. 

CHAPTER  IV.  11-13. 

In  these  verses  Jerusalem,  after  its  rescue  from  Babylon,  is  again  thought  of 
as  surrounded  by  enemies  bent  on  its  overthrow.  Their  hostile  efforts,  however, 
are  not  destined  to  result  in  the  city's  destruction :  on  the  contrary,  Jehovah 
designs  the  assailants  to  be  slaughtered  by  those  whom  they  attack,  and  their 
spoil  to  be  devoted  to  Him.  There  is  here  no  allusion  to  any  particular  enemy, 
such  as  the  Assyrians  or  the  Babylonians,  but  to  a  multitude  of  hostile  nations, 
such  as  are  represented  in  Ezekiel  xxxviii.,  xxxix.  as  mustering  to  fight  against 
Jerusalem,  and  there  is  a  striking  contrast  between  the  predictions  of  the 
overthrow  of  the  city  in  iii.  12  and  in  iv.  10  and  the  present  announcement  of 
its  inviolability  and  of  the  annihilation  of  its  foes.  The  latter  anticipation  occurs 
in  various  post-exilic  writers,  but  as  it  is  also  found  in  Ezekiel,  whose  ministry 
began  a  few  years  before  the  Fall  of  Jerusalem,  the  presence  of  the  same  idea 
here  does  not  altogether  preclude  for  this  prophecy  an  origin  just  preceding 
the  Exile,  though  a  confident  opinion  about  its  date  is  impossible. 


1  On  Is.  xxxix.  6  see  the  commentary  on  Isaiah  in  this  series,  p.  246. 


iv.  ii-i3]  MICAH  37 

11  And  now  many  nations  are  assembled  against  thee,  that 
say,  Let  her  be  defiled,  and  let  our  eye  *see  its  desire  upon  Zion. 
12  But  they  know  not  the  thoughts  of  the  LORD,  neither  under- 
stand they  his  counsel:  for  he  hath  gathered  them  as  the  sheaves 
to  the  threshing-floor.  13  Arise  and  thresh,  0  daughter  of 
Zion:  for  I  will  make  thine  horn  iron,  and  I  will  make  thy 
hoofs  brass :  and  thou  shalt  beat  in  pieces  many  peoples :  and 

1  Or,  gaze  upon 

11.  And  now.   This  appears  to  indicate  an  occasion  distinct  from  the 
nmv  of  v.  9. 

many  nations,  etc.  Though  Isaiah  in  the  8th  century  could  speak  of 
many  nations  as  assailing  Jerusalem  (xvii.  12,  13,  xxix.  1,  cf.  xxii.  6), 
the  various  subject  nationalities  included  in  the  Assyrian  hosts  being 
in  his  mind1,  yet  in  various  passages  of  his  prophecies  he  names  the 
enemy  that  in  his  day  imperilled  the  Jewish  capital ;  and  he  looked  for 
the  defeat  of  that  enemy  to  be  effected  not  through  the  Jewish  people 
themselves  but  through  tbe  direct  interposition  of  Jehovah  (Is.  xxxvii. 
2i — 35).  Here  the  writer's  conception  more  nearly  resembles  that  in 
2  Zech.  xii.  2  f. 

Let  her  be  defiled.  I.e.  let  her  be  desecrated.  The  prophet  makes  the 
enemy  speak  from  the  standpoint  of  an  inhabitant  of  Jehovah's  land, 
who  would  regard  its  occupation  by  a  heathen  foe  as  a  pollution :  cf. 
Joel  iii.  17. 

let  our  eye  see,  etc.  The  phrase  in  the  original  is  merely  let  our  eyes 
look  (or  gaze)  upon  Zion]  but  when  the  object  looked  upon  was  an 
enemy,  it  carried  with  it  tbe  implication  of  satisfaction  at  tbe  sight,  and 
so  became  equivalent  to  "gloating  over" :  cf.  (though  the  verb  used  is 
different)  Ezek.  xxviii.  17,  Ob.  12,  13,  Ps.  xxii.  17. 

12.  they  know  not,  etc.    The  foe,  in  pursuit  of  their  own  purposes, 
unconsciously  fulfil  Jehovah's :  the  mustering  of  their  forces  to  assail 
Zion  only  paves  the  way  for  their  own  wholesale  destruction. 

13.  Arise  and  thresh.   For  the  metaphor  cf.  2  Kgs.  xiii.  7,  Am.  i.  3, 
Hab.iii.  12,  Jer.  li.  33,  Is.  xxi.  10,2  Is.xli.  15.  The  processes  of  threshing 
adopted  by  the  Hebrews  with  different  kinds  of  cereals  and  pulse  are 
described  in  Is.  xxviii.  27,  28  mg. 

thine  horn... thy  hoofs.  Oxen  were  used  to  separate  the  grain  from  tbe 
husk  by  treading  upon  it  (Dt.  xxv.  4,  Hos.  x.  11,  1  Cor.  ix.  9),  so  that 
the  mention  of  the  hoofs  is  appropriate ;  but  tbe  reference  to  the  horn 
seems  to  introduce  the  alien  idea  of  goring  and  tossing  an  adversary 
(1  Kgs.  xxii.  11,  Dt.  xxxiii.  17b).  Hebrew  writers  were  specially  prone 
to  mix  their  metaphors  (see,  for  example,  Is.  xiv.  29,  xxviii.  18b,  xxx. 
28);  but  possibly  here  the  figure  is  merely  meant  to  suggest  power  and 
strength. 

1  Cf.  also  Is.  viii.  9,  where  the  reference  is  to  the  allied  forces  of  Syria  and 
Northern  Israel. 


38  MICAH  [iv.  13 

Hhou  shalt  devote  their  gain  unto  the  LORD,  and  their  substance 
unto  the  Lord  of  the  whole  earth. 

1  So  the  ancient  versions.   The  Hebrew  text  as  pointed  reads,  I  will  devote. 

thou  shalt  devote  their  gain,  etc.  Though  the  Heb.  text  has  a  form 
which  is  the  regular  one  for  the  first  person  (I  will  devote],  the  Versions 
(as  the  mg.  notes)  have  the  second  person  (e.g.  LXX.  ava^Veis)  and  are 
followed  by  the  E/.V.  The  verb  rendered  devote  means  to  "seclude"  or 
"withdraw"  something  from  common  use  (the  root  being  the  same  as 
that  of  harem).  Such  separation,  in  the  case  of  enemy  persons  or 
possessions  previously  associated  with  the  worship  of  alien  gods,  was 
designed  to  prevent  the  infection  of  a  foreign  cult  from  spreading 
amongst  those  whose  loyalty  to  their  own  God  it  was  desired  to  safe- 
guard. Human  beings  who  were  thus  devoted  were  destroyed,  and  total 
destruction  was  sometimes  extended  to  cattle  and  other  kinds  of  booty 
(hence  the  Vulg.  here  has  interftcies) ;  whilst  if  they  were  spared,  they 
were  dedicated  to  the  service  of  the  national  sanctuary;  see  Dt.  ii.  34, 
35,  Josh.  vi.  17 — 19,  1  Sam.  xv.  3.  The  custom  was  not  peculiar  to  the 
Hebrews,  but  was  practised  by  the  Moabites  likewise  (see  p.  24).  By 
gain  is  meant  acquisitions  obtained  by  violence :  the  Vulg.  has  rapinas. 

the  Lord  of  the  whole  earth.  When  the  word  Lord  is  not  printed  in 
capitals,  it  is  a  title,  'Adhdn  (cf.  p.  4),  and  does  not  represent  the 
personal  name  JEHOVAH  (see  p.  1):  cf.  Josh.  iii.  11,  Zech.  iv.  14,  vi.  5, 
Ps.  xcvii.  5. 

CHAPTER  V.  1—9. 

This  section,  when  compared  with  the  preceding,  manifestly  has  in  view 
quite  another  situation.  In  iv.  1 1 — 13,  Jerusalem,  though  attacked  by  numerous 
foes,  is  enabled  by  Jehovah  to  destroy  them.  But  here,  in  the  first  place, 
Jerusalem  is  depicted  as  besieged  and  its  ruler  insulted;  and  next,  it  is 
announced  that,  after  a  period  of  national  humiliation,  there  will  emerge  from 
David's  birthplace,  Bethlehem,  a  ruler  who  will  be  invested  with  world-wide 
dominion,  and  under  whom  the  land  will  be  safe  from  hostile  invasion;  and  the 
remnant  of  the  people  surviving  the  period  of  depression  will  become  as 
formidable  to  their  enemies  as  a  lion  is  to  sheep.  If  all  these  nine  verses  are 
grouped  together,  the  data  for  settling  the  time  of  their  origin  are,  on  the 
surface,  conflicting.  Verse  1  points  to  the  time  of  the  monarchy,  for  the  judge 
of  Israel  must  signify  the  king;  but  the  only  occasions  when  the  Judean  king 
was  exposed  to  personal  indignity  at  the  hands  of  foreign  enemies  occurred 
towards  the  close  of  the  monarchical  period,  first  when  Jehoahaz  was  taken 
prisoner  by  the  Egyptian  Necho,  and  next  when  Jehoiachin  and  Zedekiah 
were  successively  captured  and  deported  by  the  Babylonian  Nebuchadrezzar 
in  the  first  quarter  of  the  6th  century.  It  accords  with  this  that  the  appearance 
of  the  great  ruler  who  is  to  be  his  people's  permanent  safeguard  is  placed 
after  a  period  of  national  subjection  to  foreign  foes,  a  condition  which  is  most 
intelligible  if  explained  by  the  Babylonian  captivity.  On  the  other  hand,  the 


v.  i]  MIC  AH  39 

enemy  from  whom  the  promised  ruler  is  to  secure  his  people  is  called  the 
Assyrian,  this  people  being  the  dominant  power  in  the  second  half  of  the 
8th  century,  but  losing  its  imperial  position  at  the  end  of  the  7th  century. 
There  is  evidence,  however,  that  the  name  Assyria  was  applied  to  the  various 
peoples  who  succeeded  in  turn  to  the  empire  of  the  Assyrians,  viz.  the  Baby- 
lonians (Lam.  v.  6),  the  Persians  (Bz.  vi.  22,  Is.  xxvii.  13?),  the  Greeks  of 
Alexander's  Age  (2  Zech.  x.  10,  note  the  mention  of  Greece  in  ix.  13),  and 
perhaps  the  Syrians  of  Maccabaean  times  (Ps.  Ixxxiii.  8?);  so  that  there  is 
nothing  unreasonable  in  taking  Assyria  in  v.  6  to  designate  Babylonia.  The 
prophet  from  whom  the  oracle  proceeds  may  (unlike  Deutero-Isaiah)  have 
expected  his  countrymen  to  be  restored  to  independence  and  greatness  other- 
wise than  through  the  total  destruction  of  the  Babylonian  empire,  and  to  need 
protection  against  renewed  assaults  by  the  same  power.  Accordingly  the 
simplest  solution  of  the  problem  of  date  seems  to  be  the  assignment  of  the 
section  to  some  period  within  the  last  20  (or  preferably  the  last  10)  years  prior 
to  the  Fall  of  Jerusalem  in  587. 

These  nine  verses  are  here  treated  as  a  single  oracle;  but  several  critics 
(e.g.  J.  M.  P.  Smith)  deny  their  unity  and  consider  that  v.  1  stands  in  isolation 
from  the  verses  that  follow ;  and  that  w.  5,  6  are  distinct  from  the  context  on 
either  side  of  them ;  and  it  must  be  allowed  that  of  the  problem  presented  no 
solution  is  very  satisfying. 

V.    1  Now  shalt  thou  gather  thyself  in  troops,  O  daughter  of 

1.  Now  shalt  thou... troops,  etc.  Better,  Now  shalt  thou  gather  thy- 
self for  a  foray,  0  daughter  of  forays.  The  time  here  indicated  by  now 
seeins  to  be  the  same  as  that  of  iv.  9,  10.  The  word  (gedhudh),  rendered 
troops  by  the  R.V.,  is  generally  used  of  bands  of  marauders  (1  Sam. 
xxx.  8,  2  Kgs.  v.  2,  xxiv.  2,  Hos.  vi.  9,  vii.  1),  though  occasionally  of 
regular  divisions  of  the  Israelite  armies  (2  Oh.  xxvi.  11),  as  well  as 
of  the  hosts  of  God  (Job  xxv.  3).  It  seems  not  improbable  that  the 
prophet,  in  calling  Jerusalem  daughter  of  forays,  has  in  mind  highway 
robberies,  like  those  alluded  to  by  Micah  (ii.  8)  as  rife  in  his  time. 
Such  disorders,  if  frequent  in  the  8th  century  under  Hezekiah,  are 
not  likely  to  have  been  less  common  in  the  7th  and  6th  under  such 
rulers  as  Manasseh,  Jehoiakim,  Jehoiachin,  or  Zedekiah ;  and  the 
term  gedhudh  in  the  plural  occurs  in  Hos.  vi.  9  in  reference  to  troops  of 
robbers  who  seemingly  raided  unprotected  homesteads  outside  Samaria. 
If  so,  then  the  address,  Now  shalt  thou  gather  thyself  for  a  foray  may 
be  a  sarcastic  command  to  the  lawless  population  of  Jerusalem,  penned 
in  by  a  powerful  enemy,  to  act  under  such  circumstances  as  they  had 
previously  been  wont  to  do  when  at  large.  The  verb  employed  (gddhadh) 
is  that  occurring  in  Ps.  xciv.  21  (of  those  who  combine  against  the 
righteous)  and  in  Jer.  v.  7  (of  the  throngs  of  profligates  who  in  that 
prophet's  time  gathered  at  the  houses  of  loose  women).  In  the  phrase 
daughter  of  forays  (the  Heb.  has  the  sing.)  the  gen.  is  descriptive  (cf. 
Num.  xvii.  10,  sons  of  rebellion}.  The  Vulg.  h&sfilia  latronis.  In  the 

LXX.  the  Opening  sentence  is  Nw  e/x^pa^^crcrac  Ovydr-^p  e/x^pay/xa),  im- 


40  MIC  AH  [v.  i,  2 

troops :  he  hath  laid  siege  against  us:  they  shall  smite  the  judge 
of  Israel  with  a  rod  upon  the  cheek. 

2  But  thou,  Beth-lehem  Ephrathah,  which  art  little  to  be 

plying  the  noun  gddher  and  the  verb  gddhar-,  and  if  the  2  pers.  imper. 
be  substituted  for  the  3  pers.  fut.,  the  rendering  will  be  Now  fence 
thyself,  daughter  of  fences  (i.e.  defences),  and  the  command  can  be 
understood  as  an  ironical  exhortation  to  Jerusalem  to  put  in  order  her 
fortifications,  if  she  contemplates  defiance  of  Babylon,  as  happened  in 
the  reigns  of  both  Jehoiachin  and  Zedekiah  (2  Kgs.  xxiv.  10 — 12,  20). 
This  reading  seems  preferable  to  that  of  the  present  Heb.  text,  though 
the  particular  form  of  the  verb  implied  does  not  occur  elsewhere. 
Wellhausen,  followed  by  many  scholars,  corrects  the  text  to  Now  cut 
thyself  severely  (one  meaning  of  gadhadh},  the  command  being  a  mocking 
direction  to  the  people  of  Jerusalem  to  gash  themselves  after  the 
manner  of  the  heathen,  for  this  was  a  practice  customary  in  appeals 
to  their  divinities  for  help  (1  Kgs.  xviii.  28). 

the  judge  of  Israel.  The  word  judge  appears  to  be  used  in  place  of 
king  (cf.  Am.  ii.  3)  for  the  sake  of  an  assonance  with  the  word  rod 
(shophet  and  shebhet). 

2.  But  thou,  Beth-lehem  Ephrathah.  The  prophet  relieves  the  gloom 
of  the  distressful  present  by  placing  before  his  beleaguered  and  humi- 
liated countrymen  the  prospect  of  a  happier  time  to  follow,  when  from 
Bethlehem  there  will  come  forth  a  ruler  who  will  repeat  on  a  grander 
scale  the  services  rendered  to  bis  people  by  David.  The  representation 
that  the  promised  ruler  is  to  arise  from  Bethlehem  possibly  implies 
that  he  is  not  to  be  a  descendant  of  David  though  he  is  to  spring  from 
Jesse's  family:  the  prophet  may  have  anticipated  the  extinction  of 
the  seed  royal  of  Davidic  origin ;  cf.  Jer.  xxii.  28 — 30.  But  more 
probably  the  expression  is  chosen  in  order  to  suggest  that  the  destined 
sovereign  will  be  a  second  David. 

Ephrathah.  This  appears  to  have  been  the  name  of  the  district  in 
which  the  Bethlehem  here  intended  was  situated  (see  Ruth  iv.  11  and 
cf.  i.  2,  1  Sam.  xvii.  12),  for  there  was  another  Bethlehem  in  the 
territory  of  Zebulun  (Josh.  xix.  15),  from  which  it  was  sometimes 
distinguished  as  Bethlehem  Judah  (Jud.  xvii.  7).  The  Ephrath  where 
Rachel  died  (Gen.  xxxv.  19,  xlviii.  7)  was  near  Bethel  (in  Benjamin, 
not  Judah,  1  Sam.  x.  2),  and  its  identification  with  Bethlehem  (in 
Gen.  1.  c.)  seems  to  be  an  erroneous  gloss.  The  Ephrathah  of  Ps.  cxxxii.  6 
is  probably  the  same  as  that  here  mentioned,  for  Kiriath-Jearim,  with 
which  it  is  associated  by  the  Psalmist,  is  placed  by  Eusebius  9  or  10 
miles  W.  of  Jerusalem,  and  so  may  have  been  included  in  the  same 
district  as  Bethlehem.  Van  Hoonacker  thinks  that  the  name  is  here 
introduced  because  of  the  assonance  with  the  root  pdrdh,  "to  produce," 
with  allusion  to  Bethlehem  as  the  birthplace  of  the  Messianic  prince. 
The  LXX.  has  B^Ae'e/x  ol/cos  'EcfrpdOa,  which  probably  points  to  the 
true  text  of  the  Heb.  original  (p.  cxl.). 


v.  2,  3]  MICAH  41 

among  the  l  thousands  of  Judah,  out  of  thee  shall  one  come 
forth  unto  me  that  is  to  be  ruler  in  Israel  ;  whose  goings  forth 
are  from  of  old,  2from  everlasting.  3  Therefore  will  he  give  them 

1  Or,  families   See  Judg.  vi.  15.  2  Or,  from  ancient  days 

little  to  be  among.  I.e.  barely  populous  enough  to  be  included 
among.  Bethlehem  does  not  figure  among  the  cities  of  Judah  enu- 
merated in  Josh.  xv.  20  —  63  ;  and  it  is  called  a  village  in  Joh.  vii.  42. 
It  is  situated  6  miles  south  by  west  of  Jerusalem. 

the  thousands  of  Judah.  The  term  thousand  was  applied  to  a  division 
of  an  army  (Ex.  xviii.  21,  Num.  xxxi.  14),  a  division  of  a  tribe  (Jud. 
vi.  15,  mg.,  1  Sam.  x.  19),  and  apparently  an  area  within  the  territory 
of  a  tribe. 

unto  me.  The  speaker  is  Jehovah,  whose  purposes  the  predicted 
ruler  will  carry  out. 

This  v.,  down  to  Israel,  is  quoted  in  Mt.  ii.  6,  where  the  numerous 
divergences  from  the  LXX.  (which  appear  when  the  passages  are 
placed  side  by  side)  point  to  the  employment  by  the  Evangelist  of  an 
independent  translation  made  from  a  Heb.  text  not  exactly  the  same 
as  ours,  and  included  in  a  collection  of  O.T.  passages  "regarded  as 
prophecies  of  events  in  the  life  of  the  Messiah1." 

LXX.  Mt. 

KOI  <TV,  BTj0\fcp,  OIKOS  'E(ppa$a,  dXt-  KOI  <rv,  BrjffXft^  yij  'lovSa,  ovdapws 

yoo~Tos  ft  TOV  flvai  cv  ^iXiaariv  'loJda  '  f\a)(iaTTj  ft  ev  rots  rjye/^oo'ti/  'louSa  •  etc. 

f£    ov    pot    €£f\(v<r(Tai    TOV    flvai    €is  (rov    yap    e^eXeucrerai    rjyovpfvos   o<rris 

TOV  'lo-parjX.  Troipavd  TOV  Xaov  pov  TOV  'l0-par;X2. 


whose  goings  forth,  etc.  Some  take  the  expression  goings  forth  to 
refer  to  the  origin  of  the  Messianic  king  in  the  eternal  purposes  of  God. 
But  more  probably  it  is  an  allusion  to  the  promised  ruler's  lineage, 
which  was  of  great  antiquity,  his  line  of  descent  reaching  back  to  the 
distant  past.  If  the  oracle  dates  from  near  the  end  of  the  monarchy 
(circ.  587),  something  like  400  years  must  have  elapsed  since  the  time 
of  David  the  son  of  Jesse  the  Bethlehemite. 

from  everlasting.  Better  (as  in  the  mg.),from  ancient  days]  cf.  vii. 
14,  20,  Mai.  iii.  4,  3  Is.  Ixiii.  11,  Am.  ix.  11. 

3.  Therefore  will  he  give  them  up,  until,  etc.  This  seems  to  imply  that 
Judah  is  to  be  surrendered  by  God  to  its  foes  for  no  more  than  a  limited 
period.  Since  a  David  redivivus  is  destined  to  appear,  the  surrender 
will  last  only  until  the  mother  of  the  promised  ruler  gives  birth  to  him 
(cf.  Is.  vii.  14,  a  passage  which  the  prophet  probably  had  in  mind). 
The  words  she^  which  travaileth  have  been  taken  by  some  to  refer  to  the 
collective  nation.  By  certain  scholars  the  whole  v.  is  regarded  as  a  later 
insertion  ;  but  this  is  a  needless  supposition,  since  Jeremiah,  with  whom 

1  Box,  St  Matt.  p.  76  (C.B.).  »  Cf.  2  Sam.  v.  2. 


42  MICAH  [v.  3-5 

up,  until  the  time  that  she  which  travaileth  hath  brought  forth: 
then  the  residue  of  his  brethren  shall  return  xunto  the  children 
of  Israel.  4  And  he  shall  stand,  and  shall  feed  his  flock  in  the 
strength  of  the  LORD,  in  the  majesty  of  the  name  of  the  LORD 
his  God :  and  they  shall  abide  ;  for  now  shall  he  be  great  unto 
the  ends  of  the  earth.  5  And  this  man  shall  be  our  peace  :  when 
the  Assyrian  shall  come  into  our  land,  and  when  he  shall  tread 

1  Or,  with 

the  writer  of  the  present  passage  was  probably  contemporary,  anticipated 
for  his  countrymen  a  period  of  subjection  under  a  foreign  power,  to  be 
followed  by  subsequent  deliverance. 

the  residue  of  his  brethren.  It  is  not  clear  whether  the  allusion  is  to 
the  exiles  of  Judah,  or  to  those  of  the  Northern  Kingdom :  probably 
the  latter,  Israel  standing  for  Judah  (representing  the  true  Israel). 
The  re-union  of  both  branches  of  the  Hebrew  people  is  a  feature  of 
many  prophecies :  see  Hos.  iii.  5,  Is.  xi.  12,  Jer.  iii.  18,  Ezek.  xxxvii. 
16  f. 

4.  shall  feed  his  flock.    The  relation  of  a  ruler  to  his  subjects  is 
likened  to  that  of  a  shepherd  to  his  flock  hardly  less  frequently  in  the 
O.T.  than  in  the  poems  of  Homer  (who  regularly  styles  the  Greek  chiefs 
shepherds  of  their  people);   see  2  Sam.  v.  2,  Jer.  iii.  15,  Ezek.  xxxiv. 
23,  xxxvii.  24. 

in  the  strength  of  the  LOUD.  Cf.  the  endowments  of  the  sovereign 
whose  advent  is  foretold  in  Is.  xi.  2. 

in  the  majesty  of  the  name.  The  name  of  Jehovah  was  a  summary 
expression  for  the  disclosure  of  His  character  (p.  32),  and  by  this  the 
future  ruler  would  be  enlightened  and  supported  in  his  task. 

they  shall  abide.    I.e.  shall  continue  in  security;  cf.  iv.  4. 

for  now.   Better,  for  then :  cf.  vii.  4. 

great  unto  the  ends  of  the  earth.  Cf.  the  description  of  the  king  in 
Ps.  ii.  8,  Ixxii.  8 ;  also  Lk.  i.  32. 

5.  And  this  man  shall  be  our  peace,  etc.    If  this  is  rightly  taken  (as 
by  the  Vulg.,  iste)  to  mean  "this  man"  (cf.  Gen.  v.  29  Rob.),  peace  must 
stand  for  "peacemaker"  (cf.  Eph.  ii.  14,  which  was  perhaps  suggested 
to  St  Paul  by  this  passage,  and  the  title  Jehovah-Shalom  in  Jud.  vi.  24), 
or  possibly  "protector"  (cf.   Zech.  viii.   10,  where  peace  stands   for 
"protection").    This  function  of  the  Messiah  is  emphasized  in  Is.  ix.  6 
(cf.  Lk.  ii.  14).    Nevertheless  the  Heb.,  which  is  literally  And  this  shall 
be  peace  (cf.  the  LXX.  co-rat  avrvj  dpyvr)),  admits  of  a  different  and 
perhaps  preferable  interpretation — "And  in  this  way  (as  explained  in 
the  rest  of  the  v.}  will  peace  be  ensured."   For  the  pronoun  in  this  kind 
of  connection  cf.  Gen.  xx.  13. 

the  Assyrian.  If  the  prophecy  has  been  correctly  dated  (see  p.  38), 
the  Babylonians  must  be  designated  by  this  term. 


v.  5,  6]  MICAH  43 

in  our  palaces,  then  shall  we  raise  against  him  seven  shepherds, 
and  eight  1principal  men.  6  And  they  shall 2  waste  the  land  of 
Assyria  with  the  sword,  and  the  land  of  Nimrod  in  the  entrances 
thereof:  and  he  shall  deliver  us  from  the  Assyrian,  when  he 

1  Or,  princes  among  men  3  Or,  eat  up   Or,  be  shepherds  over 

in  our  palaces.  The  LXX.  has  CTT!  TTJV  xwpav  rf^v,  and  as  the  entry 
of  the  foe  into  Judah's  palaces  would  mean  their  presence  in  the  heart 
of  the  country,  the  text  should  probably  be  emended  to  on  our  soil: 
cf.  v.  6. 

then  shall  we  raise,  etc.  At  first  sigbt,  this  v.  seems  to  represent  the 
security  of  the  land  as  being  ensured  by  a  plurality  of  defenders  rather 
than  by  tbe  single  ruler  and  shepherd  described  in  w.  2 — 4;  and  some 
critics  (e.g.  Van  Hoonacker)  have  concluded  that  this  v.,  together  with 
6a,  is  too  little  in  accord  with  its  context  to  be  of  the  same  origin.  But 
the  seven  shepherds  and  eight  principal  (literally  anointed,  cf.  Josh.  xiii. 
21,  Ezek.  xxxii.  30  Heb.)  men  may  denote  the  subordinates  of  the  Ruler, 
who,  like  David  of  old,  will  have  his  chieftains  and  officers  for  the  exe- 
cution of  his  plans  of  defence.  The  combination  seven  and  eight  where 
we  should  say  "seven  or  eight"  (the  use  in  Heb.  of  and  as  equivalent 
to  or  may  be  illustrated  by  Lev.  xxii.  23,  Job  xxxi.  26)  *  merely  ex- 
presses a  considerable  but  indefinite  number ;  cf.  Am.  i.  3,  Eccles.  xi.  2, 
Job  v.  19,  Ecclus.  xxv.  7. 

6.  waste.  Literally,  pasture  on,  and  so  consume :  see  Jer.  vi.  3,  and 
cf.  Num.  xxii.  4. 

the  land  of  Nimrod.  The  kingdom  of  Nimrod,  as  described  in  Heb. 
legend,  was  at  first  the  land  of  Shinar,  i.e.  Babylonia;  but  was  subse- 
quently extended  so  as  to  include  Assyria  (Gen.  x.  9 — 11).  The  figure 
of  Nimrod  himself  is  usually  identified  with  the  Gilgamesh  mentioned 
in  the  cuneiform  inscriptions,  who,  though  differing  from  Nimrod  in 
name,  is  depicted,  like  him,  as  a  great  hunter,  and  as  having  saved  the 
city  of  Erech,  one  of  the  places  included  in  Nimrod's  dominions  (Gen.  I.e.). 

in  the  entrances  thereof.  The  word  entrances  is  more  suitable  to  a 
city  (Is.  iii.  26)  than  to  a  country  (though  cf.  Nah.  iii.  13,  the  gates  of 
thy  land  (of  Nineveh),  and  the  pass  through  the  Taurus  mountains, 
called  the  Cilician  gates} ;  and  the  parallelism  suggests  that  the  true 
reading  and  rendering  is  with  drawn  (literally  opened)  blade  (biphthihah 
for  biphthdheha) ;  cf.  Ps.  Iv.  21  (22).  Reference  here  to  a  weapon  is 
favoured  by  Aq.'s  «V  £t/3wcus  ("spears"  or  "pikes")  and  the  Vulg.'s  in 
lanceis  eius  (though  the  particular  weapon  meant  must  have  been  mis- 
understood). The  verb  "to  open"  (pdthah)  is  used  of  drawing  swords 
in  Ezek.  xxi.  28  (33),  Ps.  xxxvii.  14. 

he  shall  deliver  us.  Strictly  he  shall  effect  deliverance,  there  being  no 
us  in  the  Heb.  The  pronoun  he  refers  to  the  promised  ruler.  Some 

1  Cf.  the  Greek  T/HJ  xai  rerpd/cts  and  the  Latin  ter  quaterque. 


44  MICAH  [v.  6-9 

cometh  into  our  land,  and  when  he  treadeth  within  our  border. 
7  And  the  remnant  of  Jacob  shall  be  in  the  midst  of  many  peoples 
as  dew  from  the  LORD,  as  showers  upon  the  grass ;  that  tarrieth 
not  for  man,  nor  waiteth  for  the  sons  of  men.  8  And  the  remnant 
of  Jacob  shall  be  among  the  nations,  in  the  midst  of  many 
peoples,  as  a  lion  among  the  beasts  of  the  forest,  as  a  young  lion 
among  the  flocks  of  sheep :  who,  if  he  go  through,  treadeth  down 
and  teareth  in  pieces,  and  there  is  none  to  deliver.  9  Let  thine 
hand  be  lifted  up  above  thine  adversaries,  and  let  all  thine  enemies 
be  cut  off. 

critics,  who  think  that  w.  5,  6  together  contain  an  oracle  distinct  from 
that  in  w.  2 — 4,  change  the  sing,  into  the  plur., — they  shall  deliver  us. 

7.  And  the  remnant  of  Jacob.    Cf.  ii.  12  (the  remnant  of  Israel).   The 
title  Jacob  is  used  of  Judah,  as  in  ii.  12,  iii.  9. 

as  dew. .  .as  showers.  At  first  sight  the  point  of  the  comparison  would 
seem  to  be  the  numbers  of  the  dewdrpps  and  raindrops  (cf.  Ps.  Ix.  3), 
but  the  verbs  tarrieth  and  waiteth  are  in  the  singular  and  must  belong 
to  the  grass,  to  which  the  relative  that  in  the  next  clause  refers.  Con- 
sequently the  increase  which  Israel  is  to  experience  must  be  likened  to 
the  innumerable  blades  of  the  herbage,  watered  by  the  dew  and  rain 
(cf.  Dt.  xxxii.  2),  and  thus  owing  their  multiplication  to  God  and  not 
to  man :  cf.  Job  v.  25,  Ps.  Ixxii.  16.  The  writer  here  tbinks  of  the  rem- 
nant of  tbe  Jews  not  as  exercising  a  gentle  and  beneficent  influence 
amongst  mankind  but  as  possessing,  through  augmented  numbers, 
great  powers  of  offence. 

8.  as  a  lion. ..as  a  young  lion.   Israel  by  reason  of  its  increase  through 
Divine  help  will  prevail  over,  and  annihilate,  its  enemies ;  it  will  be 
comparable  to  a  lion  among  other  wild  animals  or  among  still  more 
defenceless  sheep,  able  to  destroy  them  without  resistance. 

the  beasts  of  the  forest  must  here  include  the  weaker  beasts  of  prey 
(Dt.  xxviii.  26,  Is.  xviii.  6),  though  tbe  word  rendered  beasts  usually 
means  "cattle." 

9.  Let  thine  hand,  etc.   In  tbe  Heb.  this  verse  appears  to  be  a  prayer 
to  Jehovah  (cf.  Is.  xxvi.  11)  to  promote  the  triumph  of  the  remnant 
over  its  foes,  the  prophet  assuming  that  Israel's  enemies  are  God's 
enemies.   But  the  LXX.  and  Vulg.  have  future  tenses  instead  of  jussives, 
and  presumably  consider  Israel  to  be  addressed:  cf.  3  Is.  Ix.  12. 

Tbe  three  verses  7 — 9  by  certain  scholars  are  assigned  to  some  date 
in  the  Persian  period,  on  the  ground  that  they  imply  a  widespread 
dispersion  of  the  Jews  throughout  tbe  world,  such  as  did  not  obtain  in 
the  6th  century. 


v.  io,  n]  MICAH  45 

CHAPTER  V.  10—15. 

These  verses  consist  of  an  announcement  of  Jehovah's  decision  to  remove 
from  the  nation  both  the  material  resources  and  the  superstitious  symbols  and 
practices  in  which  trust  had  been  placed  instead  of  in  Himself.  The  passage 
has  been  very  widely  attributed  to  the  8th  century,  with  Micah  as  its  author; 
but  its  contents  are  equally  suitable  to  a  later  period.  It  is  true  that  reliance 
upon  chariots  and  horses  obtained  from  Egypt  was  a  feature  in  the  state-policy 
of  Judah  during  the  reign  of  Hezekiah,  which  was  denounced  by  Isaiah  (xxx. 
16,  xxxi.  1);  and  the  worship  of  graven  images,  of  Asherim,  and  of  pillars,  and 
the  practice  of  soothsaying  prevailed  amongst  the  people  (Is.  ii.  6,  8,  x.  10, 
xvii.  8,  xxx.  22,  xxxi.  7).  Nevertheless  reference  to  all  or  almost  all  the  objects 
and  usages  here  mentioned  as  sources  of  confidence  occurs  in  writings  of,  or 
relating  to,  the  7th  century — see  Dt.  xvii.  16  (horses),  xviii.  10,  Jer.  xxvii.  9 
(sorcerers  and  soothsayers),  Dt.  vii.  5,  Jer.  viii.  19  (graven  images),  2  Kgs.  xxiii. 
14  (pillars  and  Asherim);  so  that  there  is  nothing  to  prevent  the  section  from 
dating  from  the  end  of  that  century  or  from  the  beginning  of  the  next  A  post- 
exilic  origin  for  the  section  is  discountenanced  by  the  allusions  to  military 
forces  and  (fortified)  cities :  the  Jews  were  then  for  several  centuries  in 
a  position  of  subjection  to  one  or  other  foreign  power. 

From  a  review  of  the  several  groups  of  verses  (iv.  9 — v.  15)  that  have  just 
been  considered,  it  becomes  apparent  that,  as  the  references  to  contemporary 
conditions  in  each  of  them  point  to,  or  are  compatible  with,  a  date  just  before 
the  close  of  the  7th  century  or  early  in  the  6th,  save  for  the  mention  of  the 
Assyrian  in  v.  5,  whilst  this  name  admits  of  being  understood  of  the  Baby- 
lonians, there  is  no  insuperable  obstacle  preventing  all  these  oracles  from  being 
regarded  as  proceeding,  if  not  from  a  single  prophet  writing  during  the  reign 
of  Zedekiah,  at  least  from  prophets  of  that  period,  though  in  the  ideas  or  the 
spirit  of  certain  passages  (especially  iv.  11 — 13)  there  is  a  suggestion  of  the 
atmosphere  of  post-exilic  times. 

10  And  it  shall  come  to  pass  in  that  day,  saith  the  LORD,  that 
I  will  cut  off  thy  horses  out  of  the  midst  of  thee,  and  will  destroy 
thy  chariots :  11  and  I  will  cut  off  the  cities  of  thy  land,  and  will 

10.  thy  horses.    These,  in  war,  were  employed  for  drawing  chariots. 
In  the  reign  of  Solomon  they  were  procured  from  Muzri  (south  of  the 
Taurus  mountains)  and  Cue  (Cilicia,  north  of  the  same  chain)1,  but  at 
a  later  date  were  obtained  from  Egypt.   In  the  future  here  contemplated 
the  people  will  no  longer  trust  for  security  to  military  defences  but  to 
the  protection  of  Jehovah. 

11.  the  cities  of  thy  land.    I.e.  fortresses,  which  might  foster  in  the 
nation  feelings  of  self-sufficiency :  the  overthrow  of  such  strongholds  is 
predicted  in  Is.  ii.  15,  Hos.  viii.  14,  Jer.  iv.  7,  ix.  11,  Ezek.  vi.  6.    In 
lieu  of  such  defences,  Israel,  though  dwelling  in  the  open  country,  will 
have  her  safety  ensured  by  God :  cf.  Zech.  ii.  4,  5. 

1  See  Burney,  Heb.  Text  of  Kings,  p.  151. 


46  MICAH  [v.  ri-i4 

throw  down  all  thy  strong  holds :  12  and  I  will  cut  off  witchcrafts 
out  of  thine  hand ;  and  thou  shalt  have  no  more  soothsayers  : 
13  and  I  will  cut  off  thy  graven  images  and  thy  l  pillars  out  of 
the  midst  of  thee ;  and  thou  shalt  no  more  worship  the  work  of 
thine  hands.  14  And  I  will  pluck  up  thine  2Asherim  out  of  the 

1  Or,  obelisks  2  See  Ex.  xxxiv.  13. 

12.  witchcrafts.    Perhaps  better,  sorceries  (the  rendering  of  the  R.  V. 
in  2  Is.  xlvii.  9).    The  verb  (cut  off... out  of  thine  hand}  suggests  that 
the  sorcerers  employed  something  material,  such  as  drugs  or  berbs  (cf. 
LXX.  4>°LP/JLaKa,  vnlg.  malejlcia),  to  cause  the  magical  effects  which  they 
professed  ability  to  produce. 

soothsayers.  These  were  prevalent  in  Judah  during  Isaiah's  time  (see 
Is.  ii.  6).  The  Heb.  term  which  in  the  R.  V.  is  sometimes  translated  one 
that  practiseth  augury,  and  was  formerly  thought  to  be  connected  with 
a  Heb.  root  meaning  "a  cloud,"  is  now  considered  to  refer  to  tbe 
humming  or  crooning  noise  which  marked  the  utterances  of  such 
diviners.  The  LXX.  here  renders  it  by  a-n-o^^eyyo/ACj/ot. 

13.  pillars.    These  were  upright  stones  or  obelisks  (cf.  mg.)  which, 
being  probably  at  first  unhewn  boulders  (the  Celtic  meini  hirion),  were 
regarded  as  the  abodes  of  deities  in  consequence  of  some  noteworthy 
occurrence  that  had  happened  in  proximity  to  them.    They  were  wont 
to  be  smeared  with  fat  or  oil,  in  order  that  such  offerings  might  be 
thereby  conveyed  to  the  spirits  thought  to  dwell  in  them,  or  to  be 
connected  with  them  (cf.  Gen.  xxxv.  14,  15).    Subsequently  artificial 
columns  were  erected  near  altars,  or  in  front  of  temples,  probably  aa 
symbols  of  the  divinity  to  whom  worship  was  offered.    Such  pillars  must 
at  one  time  have  been  associated  with  JEHOVAH  (as  the  story  of  Jacob 
at  Bethel  implies,  cf.  also  Is.  xix.  19)  as  well  as  with  other  gods  (2  Kgs. 
iii.  2,  x.  26,  27,  cf.  Dt.  vii.  5,  xii.  3),  and  the  two  columns  reared  in 
front  of  the  Temple  (1  Kgs.  vii.  15)  were  presumably  of  similar  signi- 
ficance.   As  the  religion  of  Israel  became  more  spiritual  under  the 
influence  of  the  prophets,  the  erection  of  pillars  was  discountenanced  by 
them;  and  in  the  legislation  of  Deuteronomy  they  were  directed  to  be 
destroyed. 

the  work  of  thine  hands.    Cf.  Is.  ii.  8,  Jer.  xxv.  6,  7,  2  Kgs.  xxii.  17. 

14.  Asherim.    The  singular  is  Asherah,  and  in  addition  to  Asherim 
there  is  a  rarer  plur.  Asheroth  (2  Ch.  xix.  3,  xxxiii.  3).    The  objects 
denoted  by  the  name  were  tree-trunks  or  wooden  poles  (Jud.  vi.  26), 
which  could  be  plucked  up,  cut  down,  or  burnt  (Ex.  xxxiv.  13,  2  Kgs. 
xviii.  4,  xxiii.  15,  2  Ch.  xiv.  3);  and,  like  the  pillars,  were  raised  beside 
altars,  both  of  Jehovah  (as  implied  by  the  prohibition  in  Dt.  xvi.  21, 
cf.  Jer.  xvii.  2)  and  of  the  Baalim  (Dt.  vii.  5,  xii.  3).    They  were 
probably  survivals  of  tree  worship;  for  trees  in  primitive  times  were 
thought  to  be  animated  by  spirits,  whose  activities  were  manifested  in 
the  movements  and  rustle  of  the  leaves  (cf.  Is.  i.  29,  Ivii.  5,  Ezek.  vi. 
13).    There  is,  however,  some  evidence  (derived  from  inscriptions)  that 


v.  i4,  is]  MICAH  47 

midst  of  thee :  and  I  will  destroy  thy  Cities.  15  And  I  will  execute 
vengeance  in  anger  and  fury  upon  the  nations  2  which  hearkened 
not. 

1  Or,  enemies  2  Or,  such  as  they  have  not  heard 

Asherah  was  also  the  name  of  an  Amorite  and  Babylonian  goddess ;  and 
this  is  confirmed  by  passages  in  the  O.T.  which  speak  of  the  prophets  of 
the  Baal  and  of  the  Asherah  (1  Kgs.  xviii.  19),  of  a  graven  image  of  the 
Asherah  (2  Kgs.  xxi.  7),  and  of  houses  (shrines)  of  the  Asherah  (2  Kgs. 
xxiii.  7,  mg.).  If  the  name  were  originally  a  divine  appellation,  the 
deity  so  designated  was  perhaps  a  deity  of  "good  fortune"  (dshar  is  the 
root  whence  come  the  Heb.  words  for  "happiness"),  like  the  masculine 
Gad  (see  3  Is.  Ixv.  11,  mg.).  Of  such  a  goddess  the  pole  which  the  word 
usually  denotes  must  have  been  a  symbol1. 

cities.  This  word,  ldrim,  as  a  parallel  here  to  the  Asherim,  is  in- 
appropriate, if  rendered  as  usual  by  cities-,  and  still  more  so,  if  translated 
adversaries  (cf.  1  Sam.  xxviii.  16,  Ps.  cxxxix.  20),  or  replaced  by  tsdrim, 
enemies;  for  the  rest  of  the  objects  mentioned  are  sources  of  Judah's 
self-confidence.  Some  other  term  meaning  "images"  is  wanted,  and  an 
emendation  with  this  signification,  approved  by  many,  is  'atsabbim 
(coupled  with  'Asherim  in  2  Ch.  xxiv.  18),  whilst  Van  Hoonacker 
proposes  the  substitution  of  letsim,  trees,  comparing  Dt.  xvi.  21.  But  it 
may  be  suggested  that  a  correction  closer  to  the  existing  text  would  be 
ts'trim,  a  word  occurring  with  the  required  sense  of  idols  in  2  Is.  xlv.  16. 

15.  And  I  will  execute,  etc.  This  v.  seems  to  be  an  announcement 
of  vengeance  upon  the  heathen  guilty  of  idolatry.  The  connection, 
however,  with  the  preceding  v.  is  obscure;  and  this  has  possibly  been 
added  by  someone  who  could  not  suppose  that  idols  were  to  be  abolished 
in  Israel,  without  any  reference  to  their  extinction  among  foreign 
nations,  or  to  the  punishment  that  would  overtake  those  who  should 
retain  them. 

which  hearkened  not.  I.e.  which  shall  not  have  hearkened  to  the 
Divine  command  to  abandon  idolatry.  (For  the  perf.  in  the  sense  of  a 
future  perf.  cf.,  in  the  Heb.,  Gen.  xlviii.  6.)  The  LXX.  has  because  (for 
this  sense  of  'dsher  cf.  Num.  xx.  13)  they  hearkened  not.  The  relative 
pronoun,  however,  may  be  taken,  as  in  the  mg.,  to  refer  to  the  Divine 
vengeance,  and  the  rendering  will  then  be,  such  as  they  have  not  pre- 
viously heard  of,  i.e.  unprecedented. 

CHAPTERS  VI.— VII. 

These  two  chapters  are  clearly  marked  off  by  their  contents  from  those  that 
precede ;  but  there  are  sufficient  differences  between  various  parts  of  them  to 
render  it  desirable  to  examine  each  of  these  parts  separately,  with  a  view  to 
collecting  the  evidence  throwing  light  upon  the  circumstances  of  its  origin, 
as  this  will  decide  whether  all  are  assignable  or  not  to  a  single  period  or 
author. 

1  See  Burney,  Judges,  p.  195  f. 


48  MICAH  [vi.  i,  * 

CHAPTER  VI.  1-8. 

This  section  is  not  a  continuation  of  any  in  the  preceding  chapter.  It  conveys 
an  address  from  Jehovah  to  Israel,  explaining  to  His  people  (who  feel  that  He 
is  estranged  from  them,  but  are  at  a  loss  to  know  how  to  satisfy  Him)  the 
nature  of  the  service  which  He  really  requires.  Presumably  some  disappointing 
experience  had  caused  them  to  infer  that  God  was  angry  with  them ;  and  in 
order  to  propitiate  Him,  they  had  had  recourse  to  more  numerous  or  more 
costly  sacrifices  than  the  ordinary,  but  with  no  satisfactory  result.  Accordingly, 
the  prophet,  commissioned  to  be  God's  spokesman,  enters  into  argument  with 
his  countrymen  and  seeks  to  disabuse  them  of  certain  mistaken  ideas  about 
what  God  desires.  The  general  drift  of  his  contention — that  God  values  in 
man  justice  and  mercy  towards  fellow-men  and  a  humble  bearing  towards 
Himself,  and  not  material  oblations — resembles  that  of  several  other  prophetic 
writers  (see  p.  52) ;  but  there  is  a  calmness  and  tenderness  in  this  expostulation 
which  is  distinctive ;  and  the  concluding  definition  of  the  Divine  requirements 
is  as  profound  as  it  is  concise.  The  tone  of  the  passage  is  unlike  that  which 
marks  the  parts  of  the  book  most  confidently  assignable  to  Micah ;  but  there 
is  not  much  evidence  to  enable  the  date  of  its  origin  to  be  determined  with 
anything  like  precision.  The  sacrifice  of  children  is  mentioned  in  connection 
with  the  reigns  both  of  Ahaz  (2  Kgs.  xvi.  3)  and  of  Manasseh  (2  Kgs.  xxi.  6  f., 
cf.  Jer.  vii.  31,  xix.  5,  Ezek.  xx.  26).  The  presence  in  it,  however,  of  phrases 
(v.  4)  characteristic  of  the  book  of  Deuteronomy  points  to  the  conclusion  that 
it  is  not  earlier  than  the  probable  date  of  that  work,  viz.  the  reign  of  Manasseh, 
692 — 638  (see  Driver,  Dt.  p.  xliv  f.).  On  the  other  hand,  the  allusion  to  burnt 
offerings  (o.  6)  as  the  sacrifices  thought  to  be  needed  for  expiating  offences 
against  God  suggests  that  the  passage  is  earlier  than  the  time  of  Ezekiel 
or  the  Exile,  for  then  sin-offerings,  specifically  so  designated,  were  ordained 
(Ezek.  xliii.  19,  xlv.  17).  Hence  the  time  of  composition  may  be  the  age  of 
Jeremiah  (second  half  of  the  7th  century).  With  this  agrees  the  individualizing 
address,  0  man  (v.  8),  for  it  was  in  this  age  that  a  sense  of  the  importance  of 
the  individual,  independently  of  the  family  or  the  community,  began  to  make 
itself  felt 

VI.  1  Hear  ye  now  what  the  LORD  saith :  Arise,  contend 
thou  before  the  mountains,  and  let  the  hills  hear  thy  voice. 
2  Hear,  0  ye  mountains,  the  LORD'S  controversy,  and  ye  endur- 

1.  Hear. .  .saith.  The  prophet  declares  the  commission  he  has  received 
from  JEHOVAH  (Arise,  contend  thou,  etc.)  to  act  as  His  advocate  in  the 
controversy  between  Him  and  Israel. 

contend  thou  before  the  mountains.  The  physical  world,  the  abiding 
scene  and  witness  of  human  history,  is  to  hear  the  pleadings  (as  in  Is. 
i.  2,  Jer.  ii.  12,  Ps.  1.  1,  4,  Dt.  xxxii.  1).  In  connection  with  the  verb 
here  employed  the  preposition  'eth  commonly  signifies  with  (i.e.  against), 
see  Num.  xx.  13,  Jud.  viii.  1,  2  Is.  1.  8;  but  it  has  the  meaning  before 
(i.e.  in  the  presence  of)  in  Gen.  xx.  16  end  (mg.),  Is.  xxx.  8. 

2.  ye  enduring  foundations  of  the  earth.   The  order  of  the  Heb.  which 


vi.  2-5]  MICAH  49 

ing  foundations  of  the  earth :  for  the  LORD  hath  a  controversy 
with  his  people,  and  he  will  plead  with  Israel.  3  0  my  people, 
what  have  I  done  unto  thee  ?  and  wherein  have  I  wearied  thee  ? 
testify  against  me.  4  For  I  brought  thee  up  out  of  the  land  of 
Egypt,  and  redeemed  thee  out  of  the  house  of  bondage ;  and  I 
sent  before  thee  Moses,  Aaron,  and  Miriam.  5  0  my  people,  re- 
member now  what  Balak  king  of  Moab  consulted,  and  what 
Balaam  the  son  of  Beor  answered  him ;  remember  from  Shittim 

is  thus  rendered  is  irregular,  and  many  critics  favour  the  conjectural 
emendation,  Give  ear,  ye  foundations  of  the  earth  (the  same  verb  being 
used  as  a  parallel  to  hear  in  Joel  i.  2,  Dt.  xxxii.  1,  Is.  i.  2). 
Israel.   Judah  must  be  meant,  as  in  v.  1. 

3.  what  have  I  done  unto  thee?  Jehovah,  instead  of  proceeding  with 
His  charge  against  Israel,  leaves  it  to  the  latter  to  state  their  complaint 
against  Him:  cf.  Jer.  ii.  5. 

wherein  have  I  wearied  thee?  I.e.  in  what  respects  have  My  demands 
been  so  onerous  as  to  palliate  thy  misconduct  towards  Me1?  Cf.  2  Is.  xliii. 
23,  Mai.  i.  13. 

4.  For  I  brought  thee  up,  etc.   Jehovah  forestalls  any  complaint  from 
Israel  that  He  was  exacting  in  His  requirements  by  referring  to  His  care 
for  them,  from  their  sojourn  in  Egypt  to  their  arrival  in  Canaan  (v.  5). 

redeemed  ...bondage.  The  phrases  to  redeem  (in  connection  with  the 
deliverance  from  Egypt)  and  the  house  of  bondage  (literally,  of  bondmen) 
recur  frequently  in  Dt.  (vii.  8,  xiii.  5,  xxiv.  18),  but  are  rare  elsewhere 
(see  Driver,  Dt.  pp.  Ixxix,  Ixxxii). 

and  Miriam.  This  association  of  Miriam  with  Moses  and  Aaron  in 
a  prominent  capacity  on  tbe  occasion  of  the  Exodus  finds  no  parallel 
elsewhere,  though  she  is  represented  as  leading  the  women's  triumph 
song  (Ex.  xv.  20,  21)  and  as  claiming  (in  conjunction  with  Aaron)  to 
be  an  agent  of  Divine  communications  equal  to  Moses  (Num.  xii.  2  f.), 
her  self-assertion  being  punished  with  leprosy. 

5.  consulted.  Better,  planned,  see  Num.  xxii.  4 — 6.  Balak,  in  desiring 
Balaam  to  curse  Israel,  believed  that  an  imprecation,  once  uttered,  ful- 
filled itself  automatically  (cf.  Zech.  v.  3,  4).    The  Moabite  king's  design 
was  foiled  through  Balaam's  substitution  (by  Jehovah's  direction)  of  a 
blessing,  which  was  similarly  thought  to  be  irreversible  (cf.  Gen.  xxvii.  33, 
Mt.  x.  13  =  Lk.  x.  61).  Maurer  compares  Horn.  H.  ix.  453 — 457,  and  Hor. 
Epod.  v.  89 — 90,  Diris  agam  vos:  dira  detestatio  nulla  expiatur  victima. 

Balaam.  For  his  replies  to  Balak  see  Num.  xxii.  8,  13,  18,  xxiii.  11  f. 
Though  he  was  used  by  Jehovah  as  a  channel  of  revelation,  he  was  not 
an  Israelite  by  race,  but  is  variously  represented  as  living  either  in 
Pethor  (Mesopotamia)  near  the  Euphrates,  or  amongst  the  Ammonites 
(see  Num.  xxii.  5  Vulg.,  Dt.  xxiii.  4). 

from  Shittim  unto  Gilgal.  Before  these  words  there  seems  to  have  been 

1  Here  your  peace  means  "your  blessing"  (or  "salutation"). 
w.  4 


50  MICAH  [vi.  5-7 

unto  Gilgal,  that  ye  may  know  the  righteous  acts  of  the  LORD. 
6  Wherewith  shall  I  come  before  the  LORD,  and  bow  myself  before 
the  high  God?  shall  I  come  before  him  with  burnt  offerings,  with 
calves  of  a  year  old  ?  7  Will  the  LORD  be  pleased  with  thousands 
of  rams,  or  with  ten  thousands  of  rivers  of  oil  ?  shall  I  give  my 

lost  some  expression  like  and  the  passage,  the  allusion  being  to  the 
crossing  of  the  Jordan  (subsequent  to  the  incident  in  which  Balak  and 
Balaam  figured);  for  Shittim  was  the  site  of  the  camp  on  the  E.  bank, 
whence  the  Israelites  started  for  the  river,  and  Gilgal  was  the  spot 
where  they  first  encamped  on  the  W.  bank  after  the  crossing :  see  Josh, 
iii.  1,  iv.  19,  v.  9. 

the  righteous  acts.  Literally,  the  righteousnesses ;  cf.  Jud.  v.  11,  1  Sam. 
xii.  7,  Ps.  ciii.  6.  The  word  in  these  passages  has  the  special  connotation 
of  actions  wrought  by  God  in  vindication  of  His  people  (cf.  vii.  9,  Ps. 
xxxvi.  10,  li.  14),  such  being  demonstrations  of  His  faithfulness  to  His 
covenant  with  Israel. 

6.  Wherewith,  etc.   The  speaker  (a  representative  Israelite)  assumes 
that  Jehovab  can  be  appeased,  like  other  divinities,  by  material  offerings, 
if  these  are  sufficiently  valuable ;  but  is  in  doubt  as  to  what  will  content 
Him. 

the  high  God.  I.e.  the  God  who  dwells  on  high:  cf.  Is.  xxxiii.  5,  3  Is. 
Ivii.  15. 

with  burnt  offerings.  For  the  expiation  of  sin  by  offerings  see  1  Sam. 
xxvi.  19.  Animal  sacrifices,  specifically  designated  burnt  offerings,  were 
wholly  consumed  by  fire,  the  victims  being  (it  was  thought)  thereby 
conveyed  (through  the  smoke  and  savour)  to  the  Deity  in  their  entirety ; 
but  in  peace  offerings  only  portions  of  the  victims  were  burnt,  the  rest 
being  consumed  partly  by  the  offerer  and  his  household  and  partly  by 
the  priests,  the  idea  being  that  they  were  feasts  of  communion  between 
the  worshipper  and  the  Deity,  whose  representatives  the  priests  were. 

calves  of  a  year  old.  According  to  the  Law,  this  age  was  a  require- 
ment in  the  case  of  the  Passover  sacrifice  (Ex.  xii.  5)  and  of  certain 
offerings  enjoined  in  Lev.  ix.  3,  Num.  xv.  27. 

7.  thousands  of  rams... rivers  of  oil.    Both  expressions  are  highly 
rhetorical;   similar  rhetoric  occurs  in  Job  xx.  17,  xxix.  6.    The  word 
rendered  rivers  is  literally  torrents,  answering  to  the  modern  wddies, 
channels  that  are  dry  in  summer,  but  swollen  with  rain  in  the  winter. 
Oil  in  small  quantities  was  an  accompaniment  of  several  sacrifices 
prescribed  in  the  Mosaic  Law;  but  in  primitive  times  it  may  have  been 
offered  independently  of  other  things  (cf.  Gen.  xxviii.  18).    In  a  pastoral 
stage  of  civilization  it  was  probably  the  melted  fat  of  animals,  since 
vegetable  oil  could  only  come  into  use  after  an  agricultural  phase  of  life 
was  reached.    The  Vulg.  instead  of  ten  thousands  of  rivers  of  oil  has 
many  thousands  of  fat  goats  (multis  millibus  hircoi-um  pinguium),  a 
rendering  which  may  be  either  a  deliberate  substitution  for  the  sake  of 
improving  the  parallelism,  or  an  attempt  to  make  sense  of  a  depraved 


vi.  7]  MICAH  51 

firstborn  for  my  transgression,  the  fruit  of  my  body  for  the  sin 

reading,  x€t/x"PPwv  ("winter  streams")  having  been  corrupted  into 
Xt/xapo)]/  ("goats").  LXX.  B  has  X«M<WWV  irtovw1,  but  codex  A  replaces 
the  noun  by  apvwv. 

my  firstborn.  Human  sacrifices  were  practised  in  Israel  during  the 
monarchy  by  kings  who  imitated  the  barbarous  usages  of  their  neigh- 
bours (see  2  Kgs.  xxi.  6  f.,  Jer.  vii.  31,  xix.  5,  xxxii.  35,  3  Is.  Ivii.  5; 
and  cf.  2  Kgs.  iii.  27),  but  it  is  clear  from  the  instance  of  Jephthah  that 
in  still  earlier  times  they  were  not  regarded  by  religious  minds  as  re- 
pugnant to  Jehovah,  if  occasion  appeared  to  call  for  them;  and  the 
execution  of  captives  and  others  "before  Jehovah"  must  have  been 
survivals  of  such  sacrifices  (1  Sam.  xv.  33,  2  Sam.  xxi.  9).  The  story 
of  Abraham's  offering  of  Isaac,  for  whom  a  ram  was  substituted  before 
the  sacrifice  was  completed  (just  as  in  one  form  of  the  Greek  legend  of 
Iphigenia,  the  maiden,  when  about  to  be  sacrificed  to  Artemis,  was 
replaced  by  a  hind,  Eur.  /.  A.  1578  —  1589),  probably  reflects  the 
transition  from  human  sacrifices  in  honour  of  Jehovah  to  a  less  repulsive 
rite  (Jephthah's  offering  of  his  daughter  at  a  later  period  being  accounted 
for  by  the  circumstances  of  his  vow).  It  is,  however,  unlikely  that,  in 
the  age  when  the  present  passage  was  written,  such  were  still  thought 
by  any  but  the  most  unethical  characters  to  be  compatible  with  the 
worship  of  Jehovah  ;  the  expression  is  an  hyperbole,  the  sacrifice  of  the 
firstborn  son  being  the  costliest  conceivable.  The  idea  behind  the  kind 
of  sacrifice  here  imagined  is  plainly  that  atonement  for  sin  could  be 
made  by  the  sinner  through  some  self-inflicted  mortification  or  loss; 
but  this  is  not  the  only  principle  that  can  be  traced  in  the  piacular 
sacrifices  of  the  Hebrews.  There  are  two  others:  (1)  the  satisfaction 
imparted  by  a  gift,  which  (it  was  thought)  would  dispose  the  offended 
deity  to  overlook  the  sinner's  offence  (cf.  1  Sam.  xxvi.  19);  (2)  the 
substitution,  for  the  offender's  forfeited  life,  of  the  life  of  another, 
though  innocent  (see  2  Sam.  xxi.  1  —  14,  xxiv.  10,  17,  2  Is.  liii.  5,  6,  10, 
4  Mace.  vi.  29).  A  contrast  to  these  beliefs  was  presented  by  the  ethical 
principle,  asserted  by  most  of  the  Hebrew  prophets,  that  reconciliation 
with  God  (at-one-ment)  could  only  be  effected  by  the  repentance  of  the 
sinner,  followed  by  his  reformation.  Nevertheless,  for  bringing  about 
such  repentance  and  reformation  the  suffering  or  death  of  a  person  or 
persons  other  than  the  sinner  has  often  proved  a  most  potent  agency. 
Such  a  result  may  ensue  (a)  from  the  knowledge  of  a  better  ideal  of 
conduct,  which  the  relatively  righteous,  through  involuntary  misfortune 
patiently  borne,  may  become  the  means  of  diffusing  among  the  un- 
righteous (as  exemplified  by  the  Jews,  who,  through  their  dispersion 
among  the  Gentiles,  acquainted  the  latter  with  a  monotheistic  faith2); 
(b)  from  the  appeal  which  the  voluntary  self-sacrifice  of  the  righteous  on 
behalf  of  the  unrighteous  is  calculated  to  make  to  the  latter  (as  illus- 


1  Aq.  has  \tL\j.a.pp<av  f\atov. 

2  This  seems  to  have  been  in  the  mind  of  the  writer  of  2  Is.  Hi.  13—  liii.  12. 

4—2 


52  MICAH  [VI.  7,  8 

of  my  soul?  8  He  hath  shewed  thee,  0  man,  what  is  good;  and 
what  doth  the  LORD  require  of  thee,  but  to  do  justly,  and  to  love 
mercy,  and  to  walk  humbly  with  thy  God? 

trated  by  our  Lord's  surrender  of  Himself  to  death  for  the  redemption 
of  "many"  (Mk.  x.  45)). 

8.  He  hath  shewed.  The  subject  of  the  verb,  if  the  latter  is  correctly 
vocalized,  is  JEHOVAH,  but  the  Vulg.  has  indicabo  and  the  LXX.  tbe 
passive — aV^yyeX^. 

what  doth  the  LORD,  etc.  Contrary  to  the  popular  belief  that  God 
could  be  placated  or  conciliated  in  one  or  other  of  the  ways  explained 
above,  it  is  here  affirmed  that  the  Divine  favour  could  only  be  gained 
or  regained  by  the  discharge  of  moral  obligations  to  fellow-men,  and  by 
a  right  attitude  of  heart  towards  the  Almighty.  That  the  requirements 
of  God  from  man  consist  not  in  ceremonial  worship  and  material  offerings 
(though  these  may  be  aids  to  spiritual  religion)  but  in  tbe  practice  of 
the  social  duties  of  justice  and  mercy  and  in  the  religious  virtue  of 
humility  is  asserted  in  various  terms  by  other  prophets  (see  Is.  i.  11,  19, 
Am.  v.  21—24,  Hos.  vi.  6,  Jer.  vii.  4—7,  21—23,  Zech.  vii.  9,  10)  and 
by  several  of  the  psalmists  and  other  O.T.  writers  (Ps.  xl.  6,  7, 1.  7 — 15, 
li.  16—17,  Dt.  x.  12 f.,  Prov.  xv.  8,  xxi.  3,  27,  1  Sam.  xv.  22);  and  is 
re-affirmed  in  tbe  N.T.  (Mk.  ii.  23—28,  iii.  1—6,  xii.  33,  34,  Mt.  ix.  13, 
xii.  7,  xviii.  4,  xxiii.  23  (=Lk.  xi.  42),  Lk.  xiv.  1—6,  James  i.  27,  ii.  13, 
iv.  10,  1  Pet.  v.  6). 

to  walk  humbly.  The  word  represented  by  humbly  only  occurs  else- 
where in  Prov.  xi.  2,  where  the  LXX.  for  the  corresponding  adjective 
uses  TttTretvos.  Jehovah's  demands  for  justice  and  mercy  had  been 
affirmed  before  (see  above) ;  but  the  third  requirement  is  stressed  for 
the  first  time  here  (though  both  Amos  and  Hosea  condemned  the  pride 
of  Israel  (Am.  vi.  8  mg.,  Hos.  v.  5,  vii.  10)).  To  bear  oneself  humbly 
with  God  involves  not  merely  submission  to  His  will,  as  indicated  in  the 
circumstances  and  events  of  life,  but  also  a  spirit  of  teachableness, 
responsive  to  intimations  of  His  wishes  conveyed  through  ideas  and 
ideals — whether  originating  from  within  or  imparted  from  without.  This 
quality  of  docility,  indeed,  is  a  more  essential  part  of  true  humility  than 
resignation,  for  adverse  circumstances  may  be  designed  by  God  for  men, 
not  to  induce  a  spirit  of  submissiveness,  but  to  stimulate  intelligent 
efforts  to  ameliorate  them. 

CHAPTER  VI.  9—16. 

This  section,  by  its  contents  and  spirit,  is  quite  unlike  that  just  considered, 
and  more  nearly  resembles  the  passages  ii.  1 — 11,  iii.  If.  Both  here  and  in 
vi.  1—  8  Jehovah  addresses  His  people,  but  whereas  the  preceding  section  is 
marked  by  a  pleading  and  appealing  tone,  this  breathes  a  spirit  of  stern 
indignation  against  the  inhabitants  of  Jerusalem  for  the  practice  of  dishonesty 
in  trade,  the  perpetration  of  violence,  and  the  general  prevalence  of  falsehood 
and  insincerity ;  and  pronounces  the  punishment  which  is  to  be  inflicted  upon 


vi.  9]  MICAH  53 

such  a  guilty  people.  Fraud,  force,  and  falsehood  have,  of  course,  been  peculiar 
to  no  age  in  Hebrew  or  any  other  history;  but  the  allusions  to  Omri  and 
Ahah  (v.  16)  are  most  natural  in  a  composition  written  before  rather  than 
after  the  complete  disappearance  from  among  the  Jews  of  a  national  govern- 
ment; and  if,  as  this  suggests,  the  present  passage  is  pre-exilic,  it  may  originate 
with  Micah  in  the  reign  of  Hezekiah,  or  with  a  later  prophet  living  under 
Manasseh  or  the  corrupt  successors  of  Josiah.  In  the  references  to  the 
retribution  impending  over  the  cfty,  there  is  one  (v.  13)  which,  if  the  Heb. 
text  be  retained  (see  note),  seems  to  imply  that  it  has  in  some  measure 
occurred  already;  but  even  this  would  be  quite  consistent  with  a  date  in  the 
reign  of  Hezekiah  (when  Judah  was  invaded  by  Sennacherib)  or  in  the  reign 
of  Jehoiakim  (see  2  Kgs.  xxiv.  2).  The  complaint  in  v.  16  that  the  people 
whom  the  prophet  addresses  follow  the  evil  precedents  of  Omri  and  Ahab, 
who  were  rulers  of  Northern  Israel,  need  not  involve  the  conclusion  (favoured 
by  Van  Hoonacker)  that  Samaria  is  the  object  of  the  prophet's  denunciation, 
for  the  kings  of  Judah  from  Ahaziah  onwards  were  descendants,  on  the  female 
side,  of  Omri  through  Athaliah ;  and  it  is  made  a  charge  against  Ahaziah  that 
he  walked  in  the  way  of  the  house  of  Ahab  (see  2  Kgs.  viii.  26,  27,  and  cf. 
xvii.  19). 

9  The  voice  of  the  LORD  crieth  unto  the  city,  and  the  man  of 
wisdom  will  1see  thy  name:   hear  ye  the  rod,  and  who  hath 

1  Some  ancient  versions  read,  fear. 

9.  The  voice  of,  etc.  oiffarkf  JEHOVAH  crieth.  The  prophet  directs 
the  attention  of  the  denizens  of  the  city  (Jerusalem)  to  Jehovah's  com- 
plaints against  them. 

and  the  man  of  wisdom,  etc.  This  sentence  as  it  stands  in  the  Heb. 
is  very  difficult.  The  verb  is  in  the  masc.,  though  the  term  rendered 
wisdom  is  fern. ;  and  to  get  sense  out  of  the  construction,  it  must  be 
assumed  that  wisdom  is  equivalent  to  "man  of  wisdom"  (cf.  Prov.  xiii. 
6  mg.,  where  sin  stands  for  "man  of  sin,"  and  Prov.  xvii.  4,  where 
falsehood  is  used  for  "  a  liar  ").  Moreover,  though  the  verb  to  see  can 
denote  other  sense-perceptions  besides  vision  (cf.  Ex.  xx.  18,  Jer.  ii.  3 1)1, 
yet  the  phrase  to  see  thy  name  is  unusual;  and  there  is  probably  some 
corruption.  In  Heb.  the  verbs  "  to  see  "  and  "  to  fear  "  are  in  some  of 
their  forms  very  similar;  and  since  the  LXX.  has  o-oxrei  <£o/3ov/xeVovs 
TO  oVo/xa  av-rov,  a  very  slight  alteration  of  one  word  (yirdh'1  for  yireh) 
will  yield  the  unexceptionable  sense,  and  it  is  wisdom  to  fear  Thy 
name  (cf.  Job  xxviii.  28,  Prov.  ix.  10,  xv.  33,  Ecclus.  i.  14) — a  paren- 
thetic reflection  that  Jehovah's  complaints  cannot  be  trifled  with.  The 
word  rendered  wisdom  is  found,  for  the  most  part,  in  the  books  of 
Proverbs  and  Job,  though  it  also  occurs  in  Is.  xxviii.  29;  and  the 
aphorism,  coming  between  two  clauses  that  balance  one  another,  is 
suspected,  not  without  reason,  to  be  a  moralizing  insertion. 

hear  ye  the  rod,  etc.   This,  if  the  text  be  sound,  can  only  mean,  ' '  Be 

1  Cf.  Mt.  xiv.  30,  Rev.  i.  12.  *  For  the  form  cf.  Ps.  Ixxxvi.  11. 


64  MICAH  [vi.  9-1* 

appointed  it.  10  Are  there  yet  the  treasures  of  wickedness  in 
the  house  of  the  wicked,  and  the  scant l  measure  that  is  abomi- 
nable? 11  Shall  I  be  pure  with  wicked  balances,  and  with  a  bag 
of  deceitful  weights?  12  For  the  rich  men  thereof  are  full  of 

1  Heb.  ephah. 

warned  by  the  instrument  of  the  present  chastisement  (see  v.  13)  and 
by  Him  who  has  appointed  it  (cf.  Jer.  xlvii.  7)  for  its  task  (in  order 
that  the  punishment  may  not  be  prolonged)";  and  the  reference  is 
probably  to  a  foreign  invader,  who,  if  the  section  proceeds  from  Micah, 
will  be  the  Assyrian  (styled  by  God  His  "  club  "  and  "  rod  "  in  Is.  x.  5). 
But  there  are  serious  difficulties  of  grammar  involved  in  this  trans- 
lation; for  beside  the  facts  that  the  Heb.  has  merely  rod  (not  the  rod) 
and  that  the  pronoun  rendered  it  is  fern.,  whereas  rod  is  elsewhere 
masc.,  the  word  rendered  who  is  not  equivalent  to  him  who,  but  is  an 
interrogative.  Instead  of  rod  the  LXX.  (<f>v\y),  Syr.  and  Vulg.  imply 
"tribe"  (another  signification  of  the  same  word,  matteh),  treating  it 
as  a  vocative ;  whilst  the  LXX.  includes  in  this  sentence  the  word  lodh 
(yet),  which  in  the  Heb.  stands  at  the  beginning  of  the  next  (in  an  un- 
natural position  before  the  interrogative  (though  cf.  (in  the  Heb.)  Gen. 
xix.  12)),  but  reads  it  as  I1r  (city);  and  Wellhausen,  guided  by  this, 
has  proposed  the  ingenious  emendation,  Hear,  0  tribe  (i.e.  Judah, 
distinguished  from  its  capital)  and  assembly  of  the  city  (i.e.  Jerusalem), 
replacing  uml  ye'ddhah  lddk  by  umo'edk  hd'ir.  This  agrees  with  the 
mention  of  the  city  in  the  preceding  clause. 

10.  Are  there. . .  ?  The  form  of  the  word  (ha-ish  instead  of  ha-yesh) 
thus  rendered  is  irregular  (though  cf.  2  Sam.  xiv.  19);  and  it  has  been 
proposed  by  Wellhausen   to   add  a  letter  and   so  produce  a  verb 
(hd'esksheh),   meaning   shall  I  condone...?   (the   Vulg.   has  numquid 
iustificaboT):  cf.  the  question  in  the  following  v.   The  word  rendered 
yet  is  doubtless  due  to  textual  corruption  (see  above)  and  is  wrongly 
included  in  this  v. 

the  scant  measure.  Literally,  the  lean  ephah,  an  ephah  being  a  "dry" 
measure  containing  approximately  a  bushel. 

11.  Shall  I  be  pure  with,  etc.    The  speaker  may  be  God,  asking 
Himself  whether  He  will  be  free  from  complicity  if  He  overlooks  such 
dishonesty;  or  it  may  be  the  prophet  (representing  his  countrymen) 
parleying  with  his  conscience.    The  LXX.  has  d  Si/caiw^WrcH  ei/,  etc., 
shall  a  man  be  held  pure  (or  innocent)  before  God  with,  etc. ;  but  better 
than  either  the  LXX.  or  the  present  Heb.  text  is  the  proposal  to  retain 
the  1st  pers.  of  the  latter,  but  to  change  the  points — shall  I  (God) 
hold  a  man  pure  in  spite  of  wicked  balances  ?   For  this  sense  of  the  pre- 
position (be)  cf.  2  Is.  xlvii.  9. 

a  bag.  This,  for  containing  portable  weights,  was  carried  by  traders 
or  hawkers;  see  Dt.  xxv.  13,  Prov.  xvi.  11. 

weights.  Literally,  stones.  Early  inscribed  stone  weights  have  been 
found  both  in  Babylonia  and  in  Palestine;  see  Hastings,  DB.  iv. 


vi.  i7-i5]  MICAH  55 

violence,  and  the  inhabitants  thereof  have  spoken  lies,  and  their 
tongue  is  deceitful  in  their  mouth.  13  Therefore  I  also  have 
smitten  thee  with  a  grievous  wound ;  I  have  made  thee  desolate 
because  of  thy  sins.  14  Thou  shalt  eat,  but  not  be  satisfied ;  and 
thy  humiliation  shall  be  in  the  midst  of  thee :  and  thou  shalt 
remove,  but  shalt  not  carry  away  safe;  and  that  which  thou 
carriest  away  will  I  give  up  to  the  sword.  15  Thou  shalt  sow,  but 
shalt  not  reap  :  thou  shalt  tread  the  olives,  but  shalt  not  anoint 

1  Or,  emptiness 

pp.  902,  904.  The  prevalence  of  the  kind  of  dishonesty  here  denounced 
is  attested  by  Hos.  xii.  7,  Am.  viii.  5  (prophets  in  Northern  Israel), 
and  by  the  prohibitions  in  Dt.  xxv.  13 — 15  (a  Judsean  document), 
Ezek.  xlv.  10,  Lev.  xix.  35,  36  (post-exilic). 

12.  For  the  rick  men  thereof.    The  translation  for  (or  because)  is 
justified  by  Num.  xx.  13,  Josh.  iv.  7;  so  that  there  is  no  need  to 
render  of  which  (the  pronoun  referring  to  the  city  in  v.  9)  the  rich  men, 
etc.  and  to  transpose  (as  some  scholars  suggest)  vv.  11  and  12. 

13.  /  also  have  smitten.  ..wound.    Literally,  I  also  have  made  grievous 
the  smiting  of  thee.   This  suggests  that  the  chastisement  is  already  severe 
(cf.  v.  9,  note) :  but  the  LXX.  (which  has  the  verb  apxto-Qai),  and  Aq. 
(/cat  eyw  ^p^dfji^v  rov  Trara^at)  imply  /  also  have  begun  to  smite  thee. 
The  correction  (involving  merely  a  change  of  points)  admits  of  being 
construed  with  the  following  verb  as  easily  as  does  the  existing  text. 
The  pronoun  thee,  being  masc.,  must  refer  to   the  citizens  viewed 
collectively.    In  the  light  of  the  next  v.  the  chastisement  must  be 
supposed  to  be  ravage  and  siege  at  the  hands  of  an  enemy. 

14.  not  be  satisfied.    I.e.  there  will  be  a  shortage  of  food  in  con- 
sequence of  a  hostile  blockade :  compare  the  language  of  Hos.  iv.  10, 
Lev.  xxvi.  26. 

thy  humiliation.  This  rendering  follows  the  Vulg.,  but  a  preferable 
translation  (see  mg.)  is  thy  emptiness  (in  a  physical  sense).  The  Heb. 
word  only  occurs  here. 

thou  shalt  remove... sword.  Of  these  two  clauses  the  first  apparently 
refers  to  goods  (cf.  Is.  v.  29),  the  second  (as  shewn  by  mention  of  the 
sword)  to  persons. 

15.  Thou  shalt  sow,  etc.    The  offenders  will  lose  not  only  their  dis- 
honest gains,  but  the  fruit  of  their  industry.    This  v.,  implying  the 
ravage  of  the  land  by  the  enemy  and  resultant  scarcity  in  the  city, 
would  certainly  be  more  appropriately  placed  immediately  after  v.  14a, 
which  it  explains;  and  some  critics  accordingly  transpose  it.    For  the 
tenor  of  thev.  cf.  Lev.  xxvi.  16,  Dt.  xxviii.  30,  33,  38 — 40,  67,  Am.  v.  11. 

tread  the  olives.  Allusions  to  the  treading  of  olives  in  presses  occur 
in  Dt.  xxxiii.  24,  Jud.  ix.  27,  Job  xxiv.  11,  Is.  xvi.  10,  3  Is.  Ixiii.  2,  Joel  ii. 
24;  but  the  berries  were  also  crushed  by  being  beaten  (as  implied  in 
Ex.  xxvii.  20). 


56  MICAH  [vi. 


15, 


thee  with  oil  ;  and  the  vintage,  but  shalt  not  drink  the  wine. 
16  For  the  statutes  of  Omri  are  kept,  and  all  the  works  of  the 
house  of  Ahab,  and  ye  walk  in  their  counsels:  that  I  should  make 
thee  *a  desolation,  and  the  inhabitants  thereof  an  hissing;  and 
ye  shall  bear  the  reproach  of  my  people. 

1  Or,  an  astonishment 

the  vintage.  The  Heb.  word  is  the  same  as  that  generally  translated 
new  wine  (see  Joel  i.  10,  Prov.  iii.  10),  and  denotes  for  the  most  part 
the  unfermented  juice  of  the  grape  (3  Is.  Ixv.  8)  ;  but  here  must  mean 
"  the  grapes  "  :  cf.  Is.  xxiv.  7. 

16.  the  statutes  of  Omri  are  kept.  The  verb  is  inappropriate  in  both 
form  (reflexive)  and  number  (sing.),  and  the  LXX.  and  some  other 
Versions  have  thou  hast  kept  the  statutes  of  Omri,  which  is  preferable. 
The  historian  of  Kgs.,  though  describing  Omri  as  exceeding  his  pre- 
decessors in  wickedness,  only  explains  that,  like  Jeroboam,  he  worshipped 
Jehovah  under  the  figure  of  a  calf  or  young  bull.  But  after  an  enu- 
meration of  offences  like  those  in  vv.  10  —  12,  the  statutes  of  Omri  are 
probably  to  be  interpreted  by  the  works  of  the  house  of  Ahab,  which 
may  be  illustrated  by  the  judicial  murder  of  Naboth  and  the  confiscation 
of  his  estate  (1  Kgs.  xxi.);  and  it  may  perhaps  be  inferred  that  Omri's 
government  (like  his  son's)  was  oppressive  to  the  poorer  classes  among 
his  subjects.  Politically,  he  was  one  of  the  most  powerful  sovereigns 
of  Northern  Israel,  the  territory  of  which  the  Assyrians  called  after  his 
name. 

that  I  should  make  thee,  etc.  According  to  Heb.  idiom,  the  penalty 
consequent  upon  a  crime  can  be  represented  as  a  purpose,  as  though 
the  criminal  designed  his  own  retribution.  The  law  that  sin  brings 
chastisement  is  assumed  to  be  known,  so  that  he  who  plans  the  one 
plans  the  other.  There  is  considerable  confusion  among  the  genders 
and  numbers  of  the  pronouns  in  this  verse  (ye...  thee  (masc.  sing.)... 
thereof  (fern,  sing.)),  reference  being  made  sometimes  to  the  people 
(either  distributively  in  the  plural  or  collectively  in  the  singular)  and 
sometimes  to  the  city;  but  probably  thee  should  be  replaced  by  it  (i.e. 
the  city,  v.  9,  which  is  fern.). 

an  hissing.  I.e.  an  object  of  derision  (cf.  Jer.  xix.  8,  xxv.  9,  18, 
xxix.  18). 

of  my  people.  There  is  clearly  a  textual  error  here  :  what  the  sense 
requires  is  of  the  peoples  as  read  by  the  LXX.  :  cf.  Ezek.  xxxvi.  15. 

CHAPTER  VII.  1—6. 

These  six  verses  depict  conditions  of  disorder,  corruption,  and  strife, 
resembling  those  presented  in  the  previous  section  (vi.  9  —  16),  though  they 
lack  any  specific  allusions  pointing  to  a  particular  period  as  the  date  of  their 
origin.  In  form  they  consist  of  a  complaint  from  the  prophet  concerning  the 
prevalence  of  violence  among  the  people,  the  failure  of  justice,  and  the  existence 


VII.  i- 


MICAH 


57 


of  feuds  dividing  friends  and  families.  Most  of  these  evils  were  features  in 
Hebrew  history  that  often  recurred,  and  are  consistent  equally  with  the  age 
of  Micah  (see  i.— iii.),  and  with  the  age  after  the  Return  in  537  (see  3  Is.  lix.). 
But  in  the  absence  of  any  criteria  decisive  for  one  period  rather  than  another, 
there  is  no  cogent  reason  for  separating  these  verses  from  those  in  vi.  9—16 
(see  p.  52). 

VII.  1  Woe  is  me !  for  I  am  as  when  they  have  gathered  the 
summer  fruits,  as  the  grape  gleanings  of  the  vintage:  there  is  no 
cluster  to  eat;  1my  soul  desireth  the  firstripe  fig.  2  The  godly 
man  is  perished  out  of  the  earth,  and  there  is  none  upright 
among  men:  they  all  lie  in  wait  for  blood;  they  hunt  every 
man  his  brother  with  a  net.  3  2  Their  hands  are  upon  that 

1  Or,  nor  firstripe  fig  which  my  soul  desired 

2  Or,  Both  hands  are  put  forth  for  evil  to  do  it  <&c. 

1.   /  am  as  when  they  have  gathered,  etc.    Literally,  /  am  as  the 


crete  term  gleanings  just  as  a  similar  abstract  is  combined  with  the 
latter  term  in  Is.  xvii.  6,  xxiv.  13.  The  concise  comparison  requires  in 
English  to  be  expanded  (see  below). 

my  soul  desireth,  etc.  Better  (cf.  mg.),  there  is  no  firstripe  fig  which 
my  soul  desireth  (the  negative  expressed  in  the  preceding  clause  being 
supplied  in  this).  The  first  figs  of  the  season,  for  which  Heb.  has  a 
special  term,  ripen  at  the  end  of  May  or  the  beginning  of  June,  and  in 
early  times  were  highly  appreciated  (Is.  xxviii.  4,  Jer.  xxiv.  2,  Hos.  ix. 
10;  cf.  Mk.  xi.  13).  The  speaker  means  "I  am  as  one  who,  at  the  end 
of  the  vintage  or  the  fig  harvest,  looks  for  fruit  in  vain,"  the  "fruit" 
being  a  figure  for  the  godly  and  the  upright. 

2.  The  godly  man.    The  writer  proceeds  to  explain  the  significance 
of  the  preceding  metaphors.  The  adjective  here  employed  describes  one 
who  displays  both  kindness  to  his  fellow-men  and  love  to  God.    Its 
primary  meaning  appears  to  be  kind]  but  since  kindness,  especially  at 
times  when  tbe  higher  ranks  of  society  ill-treated  their  inferiors,  was  a 
mark  of  the  God-fearing,  it  acquired  the  secondary  sense  of  pious,  or 
godly1. 

out  of  the  earth.  Better,  out  of  the  land.  The  like  complaint  finds 
expression  in  3  Is.  Ivii.  1,  Ps.  xii.  1. 

blood.  Properly,  deeds  of  blood,  the  Heb.  plural  being  similarly  used 
in  2  Sam.  xvi.  8,  Is.  i.  15,  iv.  4,  etc. 

they  hunt... net.  An  expressive  figure  for  the  efforts  made  by  the 
designing  and  malicious  to  entrap  their  neighbours.  For  the  use  of  nets  in 
hunting  see  2  Is.  li.  20,  and  for  the  figure  of  speech  cf.  Ps.  xxxv.  7,  Ivii.  6. 

3.  Their  hands,  etc.    The  literal  sense  of  the  Hebrew  seems  to  be 

1  See  Driver,  Parallel  Psalter,  pp.  443—4. 


58  MICAH  [vii. 


3,  4 


which  is  evil  to  do  it  diligently;  the  prince  asketh,  and  the 
judge  is  ready  for  a  reward ;  and  the  great  man,  he  uttereth  the 
mischief  of  his  soul :  thus  they  weave  it  together.  4  The  best  of 
them  is  as  a  brier:  Hhe  most  upright  is  worse  than  a  thorn 
hedge :  the  day  of  thy  watchmen,  even  thy  visitation,  is  come ; 

1  Or,  the  straightest  is  as  it  were  taken  from  dc. 

Upon  the  evil  (are)  both  hands  (or  palms)  skilfully  (or  thoroughly)  to  do 
it-,  but  the  real  meaning  is  perhaps  As  regards  that  which  is  evil,  their 
two  hands  are  ready  to  do  it  skilfully  (or  thoroughly).  For  the  rendering 
of  the  preposition  by  as  regards  or  concerning  cf.  Lev.  vi.  7  (Heb.  v.  26). 
Nevertheless  the  sentence  is  awkward,  and  since  the  LXX.  has  evrt  TO 
KO.KOV  TO.S  x«/>as  auTwv  €Toijua£ovcnv,  many  critics  emend  the  text  so  as  to 
yield  the  sense  To  do  evil  they  make  skilful  (or  ready)  their  hands. 

the  prince.  The  title  here  seems  to  signify  no  more  than  the  magis- 
trate-, cf.  Ex.  ii.  14,  xviii.  21  (where  the  word  rulers  translates  the  same 
Heb.  term),  Is.  i.  23,  etc. 

asketh.  The  object,  supplied  in  thought,  is  "a  reward"  (i.e.  a  bribe), 
as  in  the  next  clause. 

the  judge  is  ready  for  a  reward.  The  Heb.,  if  sound,  should  perhaps 
be  rendered  the  judge  doeth  it  (the  request  of  a  suitor)  for  a  reward. 
But  possibly  (as  Nowack  has  suggested)  a  verb,  judgeth,  has  been  lost 
through  haplography.  The  acceptance  of  bribes  is  expressly  prohibited 
in  the  Law  (see  Dt.  xvi.  19). 

the  great  man.  The  person  here  described  is  the  influential  suitor 
who  seeks  to  obtain  a  decision  in  his  favour  by  corrupt  means  from  a 
venal  magistrate. 

the  mischief.  Better,  the  evil  desire  (for  so  the  same  word  is  rendered 
in  Prov.  x.  3).  Sym.  has  rr}v  cirtdv/u'av,  the  Vulg.  desiderium. 

thus  they  weave  it  together.  The  Heb.  verb  does  not  occur  elsewhere 
(it  seems  to  mean  "to  twist"  or  "intertwine"),  and  possibly  there  has 
occurred  the  loss  of  a  word  or  words.  The  sentence  presumably  describes 
some  arrangement  between  a  litigant  and  an  official  for  the  deliverance 
of  an  unjust  decision. 

4.   as  a  brier.    I.e.  they  are  dangerous  to  have  to  do  with. 

is  worse  than  a  thorn  hedge.  I.e.  is  more  crooked  and  harmful  than 
such  a  hedge.  For  this  explanation  of  the  Heb.  text  (in  which  there  is 
absent  an  adjective  or  a  verb  equivalent  to  "(is)  worse")  cf.  the  con- 
struction in  Is.  x.  10.  But  Sym.  has  w?  e£  c^pay/jLov,  and  the  true 
reading  may  be  cimsuchah  instead  of  mimmesuchah — is  like  a  thorn  hedge. 

the  day  of... is  come.  The  prophet  here  addresses  the  people.  The 
verb  is  fern.,  agreeing  with  thy  visitation,  and  possibly  the  day  of^  thy 
watchmen  is  a  note  inserted  by  a  copyist,  identifying  the  "visitation" 
with  the  "day"  of  nemesis  which  the  prophets,  the  city's  "watchmen" 
(cf.  Is.  xxi.  6,  Jer.  vi.  17,  Ezek.  iii.  17,  xxxiii.  7,  Hab.  ii.  1),  anticipated. 
As  the  poss.  pron.  attached  to  perplexity  at  the  end  of  the  v.  is  in  the  3rd 
pers.  plur.,  thy  visitation  should  probably  be  replaced  by  their  visitation. 


vii.  4-6]  MICAH  59 

now  shall  be  their  perplexity.  5  Trust  ye  not  in  a  friend,  put  ye 
not  confidence  in  a  1  guide :  keep  the  doors  of  thy  mouth  from 
her  that  lieth  in  thy  bosom.  6  For  the  son  dishonoureth  the 
father,  the  daughter  riseth  up  against  her  mother,  the  daughter 
in  law  against  her  mother  in  law ;  a  man's  enemies  are  the  men 
of  his  own  house. 

1  Or,  familiar  friend 

now.   Better,  then;  cf.  y.  4. 

perplexity.  I.e.  the  bewilderment  created  by  tbe  coming  of  unexpected 
retribution  (cf.  Is.  xxii.  5). 

5.  a  guide.   Better,  an  intimate,  or  (as  in  the  mg.)  a  familiar  friend. 

6.  dishonoureth.   Cf.  LXX.  an^ei.   The  Heb.  literally  is  treats  as  a, 
fool:  the  same  word  occurs  in  Nan.  iii.  6,  Dt.  xxxii.  15,  Jer.  xiv.  21; 
and  in  the  R.V.  is  rendered  by  various  equivalents. 

the  men  of  his  own  house.  I.e.  his  domestic  servants  (Gen.  xvii.  23, 
etc.).  Amongst  the  Hebrews  parental  authority  was  supreme  over  the 
children,  who  could  be  sold  as  slaves  (Ex.  xxi.  7,  2  Kgs.  iv.  1,  Neh.  v.  5), 
or  even  offered  in  sacrifice  (Jud.  xi.  29 — 40,  2  Kgs.  xxi.  6).  In  the  case 
of  daughters  marriage  only  transferred  them  from  the  despotic  authority 
of  the  father  to  that  of  the  husband;  and  amongst  tbe  Romans  the 
position  of  women  was  similar  (cf.  Livy  xxxiv.  2,  Maiores  nostrifeminas 
voluerunt  in  manu  esse  parentium,  fratrum,  virorum).  So  far  as  parents 
are  concerned,  it  is  the  power  of  the  father  rather  than  of  the  mother 
tbat  generally  comes  under  notice  in  the  O.T.  writings,  yet  the  utmost 
respect  towards  both  parents  was  enjoined  in  the  Law  and  elsewhere 
(Ex.  xx.  12,  Lev.  xix.  3,  Dt.  xxvii.  16,  Prov.  xxiii.  22,  etc.);  and  it  was 
directed  that  anyone  guilty  of  striking  or  cursing  either  father  or  mother 
should  be  put  to  deatb  (Ex.  xxi.  15,  Lev.  xx.  9).  Hence  the  conditions 
here  depicted  would  be  more  shocking  to  Eastern  even  than  to  Western 
sentiment.  Over  servants  and  slaves  the  rights  of  a  Hebrew  were 
likewise  extensive,  and  included  the  infliction  of  physical  chastise- 
ment; so  tbat  it  was  deemed  necessary  to  limit  them  by  imposing 
punishment  on  the  owner  of  a  slave,  if  the  latter  died  under  his  master's 
blows,  and  to  require  tbat  a  slave  should  gain  bis  liberty  as  compen- 
sation, if  he  sustained  severe  bodily  injury  from  his  master  (Ex.  xxi. 
20 f.).  But  the  relations  between  master  and  servant  were  sometimes 
very  intimate  (Gen.  xxiv.  2);  and  the  latter,  if  the  former  bad  no  son, 
might,  as  a  member  of  the  household,  become  his  heir  (Gen.  xv.  2). 

This  v.  suggested  the  words  used  by  our  Lord  to  describe  the  divisions 
that  would  be  occasioned  even  within  family  circles  by  the  welcome 
given  to  His  teaching  by  some  members,  and  the  antagonism  roused  by 
it  in  others  (Mt.  x.  35,  36  =  Lk.  xii.  51 — 53).  Maurer  compares  Ov. 
Met.  i.  444  f.,  Non  hospes  ab  hospite  tutus,  Non  socer  a  genero;  fratrum 
quoque  gratia  rara  est.  Imminet  exitio  vir  coniugis,  ilia  mariti.  Lurida 
terribiks  miscent  aconita  novercai;  and  there  may  be  added  Seneca, 
Thyestes,  40 — 43,  Fratrem  expavescat  f  rater  et  natumparens,  Natusque 
patrem...immineat  viro  Infesta  coniux. 


60  MICAH  [VIL  7,  8 

CHAPTER  VIL  7—20.- 

This  group  of  verses,  as  a  whole,  offers  a  marked  contrast  to  what  has  gone 
before.  In  the  preceding  group  there  is  an  indignant  lament  over  the  preva- 
lence of  dishonesty  and  crime  amongst  the  people,  and  there  is  placed  before 
them  the  prospect  of  impending  retribution.  But  here  the  retribution  for  the 
national  offences  has  come  to  pass,  and  the  people  are  in  a  situation  of  adversity 
and  abasement,  though  not  bereft  of  hope.  Obviously  a  considerable  interval 
must  separate  v.  7  from  the  foregoing  v.  6.  It  is  not,  however,  clear  at  the  first 
glance  that  all  these  14  verses  date  from  one  period.  The  extremely  plaintive 
tone  of  vv.  7 — 10  implies  that  the  humiliation  of  the  people  is  extreme, 
and  suggests  that  they  are  still  in  exile,  and  that  the  passage  dates  from  the 
period  587 — 537.  But  the  next  three  00.,  announcing  that  the  walls  of 
Jerusalem  are  to  be  rebuilt,  appear  to  proceed  from  a  time  when  the  Jews 
were  once  again  in  their  own  land,  i.e.  after  the  Return  in  537  but  before  the 
refortification  of  Jerusalem  by  Nehemiah  in  444  (p.  61).  Even  then,  however, 
there  was  present  in  the  Jewish  community  an  acute  sense  of  depression  and 
disappointment :  neighbours  were  insolent  and  malicious ;  the  territory  re- 
occupied  was  very  restricted,  and  numbers  of  their  fellow-countrymen  were 
still  in  foreign  countries,  so  that  the  chastisement  due  for  past  sins  appeared 
unexhausted  by  the  50  years'  exile,  and  the  people  were  despondent  on  account 
of  their  straitened  and  defenceless  position.  In  the  light  of  this,  the  first  im- 
pression produced  by  vv.  8 — 10  calls  for  re-consideration,  since  in  the  middle 
of  the  5th  century  (as  well  as  in  the  6th)  there  was  not  lacking  occasion  for 
a  confession  like  that  contained  in  these  vs.,  for  an  announcement  like  that  in 
v.  12,  and  for  an  attitude  of  prayerfulness  and  expectancy  such  as  is  manifested 
in  the  concluding  ra  14—20  (p.  63).  On  the  whole,  therefore,  the  simplest 
conclusion  is  that  this  whole  section  is  a  unity,  and  was  composed  in  the  5th 
century  after  the  Return,  about  450.  Sellin  suggests  as  a  reason  for  its  inclusion 
in  the  expanded  book  of  Micah  that  it  was  added  in  order  that  the  book  should 
once  more  close  on  a  note  of  promise. 

7  But  as  for  me,  *I  will  look  unto  the  LORD;  I  will  wait  for 
the  God  of  my  salvation :  my  God  will  hear  me.  8  Rejoice  not 
against  me,  0  2mine  enemy :  when  I  fell,  I  shall  arise ;  when  I 

1  Or,  in  the  LORD  will  I  keep  watch  2  See  ver.  10. 

7 — 10.  An  acknowledgment,  on  the  part  of  the  personified  com- 
munity, deeply  penitent,  of  sin  against  Jehovah;  a  resolve  to  bear 
patiently  the  retribution  that  has  been  merited;  and  an  assertion  of 
confidence  in  the  Divine  mercy. 

7.  /  will  look  unto.  Better,  I  will  look  out  for  (or  watch  for) :  for  the 
sense  cf.  Ps.  v.  3  (4). 

wait  for.  The  same  verb  is  translated  hope  in  (God)  by  the  R.V.  in 
Ps.  xxxviii.  16  (15),  xlii.  5  (6),  xliii.  5. 

the  God  of  my  salvation.  Better  (in  this  connection),  the  God  of  my 
deliverance-,  cf.  Is.  xvii.  10,  Ps.  xviii.  46,  xxvii.  9,  Hab.  iii.  18. 

8.  0  mine  enemy.   The  original  is  a  fern,  sing.,  and  represents  a  per- 


VII.  8-io] 


MICAH 


61 


sit  in  darkness,  the  LORD  shall  be  a  light  unto  me.  9  I  will  bear 
the  indignation  of  the  LORD,  because  I  have  sinned  against  him ; 
until  he  plead  my  cause,  and  execute  judgement  for  me :  he  will 
bring  me  forth  to  the  light,  and  I  shall  behold  his  righteousness. 
10  Then  mine  enemy  shall  see  it,  and  shame  shall  cover  her ;  which 
said  unto  me,  Where  is  the  LORD  thy  God?  Mine  eyes  shall  behold 
her ;  now  shall  she  be  trodden  down  as  the  mire  of  the  streets. 

sonified  collective,  either  Babylon  (cf.  2  Is.  xlvii.  1  f.,  Jer.  1.  9,  10),  or 
Edom  (Ob.  12),  or  the  ill-disposed  neighbours  of  the  Jews  about  the 
time  of  Nehemiah,  such  as  the  Samaritans  and  the  Ammonites  with 
their  allies  (Neb.  ii.  19,  iv.  1 — 3),  according  to  the  conclusion  reached 
concerning  the  date  of  these  four  w.  (p.  60). 

when  I  fall. . .  when  I  sit.  Better,  though  I  have  fallen . . .  though  I  sit. 
For  these  verbs  used  in  connection  with  a  city  or  people  cf.  Am.  v.  2, 
Lam.  i.  1. 

darkness.  I.e.  the  gloom  of  adversity  in  contrast  to  the  light  of 
prosperity  (cf.  Is.  ix.  2,  3  Is.  Iviii.  10). 

9.  the  indignation  of  the  LORD.    Jehovah  had  employed,  as  the  in- 
struments of  His  wrath,  the  heathen  (cf.  Is.  x.  5),  who  had  destroyed 
Judab's  independence. 

plead  my  cause.  The  sense  would  be  better  expressed  by  strive  in  my 
quarrel  or  (more  literally)  contend  in  my  contention:  cf.  Ps.  xliii.  1, 
cxix.  154,  etc. 

his  righteousness.  I.e.  His  faithfulness,  as  manifested  by  Judah's 
ultimate  vindication  (cf.  3  Is.  Ivi.  lb  and  lix.  9). 

10.  shame.   I.e.  confusion  and  disappointment  (cf.  Ob.  10). 
Where. ..thy  God?   The  same  derisive  question  occurs  in  Joel  ii.  17, 

Ps.  Ixxix.  10,  cxv.  2,  cf.  Num.  xiv.  15,  16,  Dt.  ix.  28 :  the  humiliation  of 
a  people  was  thought  to  prove  the  inferiority  of  its  national  divinity  to 
tbat  of  the  triumphant  enemy. 

shall  behold  her.  I.e.  shall  view  with  satisfaction  the  degradation  of 
her  who  had  fancied  that  Jehovah,  the  God  of  the  Jews,  was  impotent. 

now.   Better,  then,  as  in  v.  4,  vii.  4. 

CHAPTER  VII.  11—13. 

This  short  passage  conveys  an  assurance  from  Jehovah,  through  the  prophet, 
that  the  walls  of  Jerusalem  are  to  be  built  and  those  of  her  people  who  are 
still  in  exile  are  to  return  to  her. 

The  date  of  these  verses  can  scarcely  be  any  but  shortly  before  the  period 
of  Nehemiah,  who  arrived  at  Jerusalem  from  Persia  in  445,  and,  with  the 
sanction  of  the  Persian  king,  proceeded  to  restore  the  city's  walls,  the  re- 
building of  which  was  completed  in  444.  The  decision  reached  about  the 
occasion  when  these  vv.  originated  should  probably  be  allowed  to  dominate 
the  discussion  concerning  the  origin  of  the  whole  section  mi.  7 — 20  (p.  60); 
and  if  there  is  no  interruption  between  the  four  vv.  7 — 10  and  the  present 
three,  these  contain  Jehovah's  response  to  the  prayer  in  the  former. 


62  MICAH  [VIL  ii,  12 

11  l A  day  for  building  thy  walls!  in  that  day  shall  2the  3 decree 
be  far  removed.  12  In  that  day  shall  they  come  unto  thee,  from 
Assyria  and  the  cities  of  4  Egypt,  and  from  4 Egypt  even  to  the 
River,  and  from  sea  to  sea,  and  from  mountain  to  mountain. 

1  Or,  In  the  day  that  thy  walls  are  to  be  built  2  See  Zeph.  ii.  2. 

3  Or,  boundary  4  Heb.  Mazor. 

11.  A  day... thy  walls!  The  prophet  addresses  Jerusalem  (personified 
as  a  woman).    The  word  here  used  for  walls  strictly  signifies  fences  (cf. 
Sym.  Tors  <^>ay^ovs  o-ov)  separating  a  vineyard  from  the  road  or  from 
waste  ground  (Is.  v.  5,  Ps.  Ixxx.  12,  Num.  xxii.  24,  Prov.  xxiv.  31),  but 
it  is  applied  to  the  wall  of  Jerusalem  in  Ezra  ix.  9. 

the  decree.  If  this  rendering  be  retained  (cf.  LXX.  vo/u/xa,  Sym. 
cTTtrayr/,  Th.  Trpoo-ray/xa),  the  meaning  is  that  the  Persian  decree  re- 
stricting the  liberties  of  the  Jews  will  be  cancelled  (cf.  Ezra  iv.  21). 
But  the  verb  employed  favours  the  translation  the  limit  or  the  boundary 
(see  mg.  and  cf.  Prov.  viii.  29,  Jer.  v.  22,  and  for  the  same  verb  in 
a  similar  connection  see  Is.  xxvi.  15),  the  writer  having  in  his  thoughts 
the  confined  area  prescribed  for  the  Jews  by  the  Persian  authorities 
when  the  exiles  were  allowed  to  settle  once  more  on  their  native  soil. 

be  far  removed.  Better  (to  suit  the  translation  advocated  above),  be 
extended,  i.e.  for  the  accommodation  of  the  additional  numbers  whose 
return  is  predicted  in  the  next  v.  The  circumscribed  boundaries  of  the 
district  occupied  by  the  Jews  in  the  time  of  Nehemiah  may  be  inferred 
from  the  names  of  the  towns  whose  inhabitants  alone  took  part  in  the 
re-building  of  the  walls  (see  Neh.  iii.).  It  has  been  calculated  that  the 
localities  enumerated  were  included  within  an  area  of  20  miles  square1. 

12.  shall  they  come  unto  thee.    The  reference  is  probably  not  to 
heathen  peoples  hasting  to  join  themselves  to  Israel  (iv.  2,  2  Is.  xlv. 
14,  Iv.  5,  Zech.  viii.  20 — 23)  but  to  Jewish  exiles  returning  to  their 
native  land  (Is.  xi.  11,  xxvii.  13,  Hos.  xi.  11,  2  Is.  xliii.  5,  6,  xlix.  12). 

Assyria.  In  the  time  of  Nehemiah  Assyria  as  an  empire  had  perished, 
but  its  name  was  retained  to  designate  one  or  other  of  the  empires  that 
had  displaced  it  (p.  39).  Here  it  seems  to  stand  for  Persia. 

and  the  cities  of  Egypt.  A  parallel  to  the  clauses  in  the  rest  of  the  v. 
is  wanted,  and  a  very  slight  emendation  of  the  text  gives  even  unto 
Egypt  (va'adhe  for  ve'dre),  which  meets  the  requirements.  The  term 
here  used  for  Egypt  is  not  that  commonly  employed  (Mizraim)  but 
that  occurring  in  2  Kgs.  xix.  24,  Is.  xix.  6,  xxxvii.  25  (Mazor).  Assyria 
and  Egypt  are  similarly  used  to  mark  the  north-eastern  and  south- 
western confines  of  the  Jewish  Dispersion  in  Is.  xi.  15,  xxvii.  13,  Hos. 
xi.  11,  2  Zech.  x.  10. 

the  River.   I.e.  the  Euphrates  (Gen.  xxxi.  21,  Ex.  xxiii.  31,  etc.). 

from  sea  to  sea,  and  from  mountain  to  mountain.  This  is  a  rendering 
of  the  LXX.  rather  than  of  the  Heb.,  which,  through  some  accident, 

1  See  Kent,  Hist,  of  the  Jewish  People,  p.  159. 


vii.  i3,  i4]  MIC  AH  63 

13  Yet  shall  the  land  be  desolate  because  of  them  that  dwell 
therein,  for  the  fruit  of  their  doings. 

has  become  disarranged  and  defective.  The  expression  is  probably 
merely  rhetorical  (cf.  Ps.  Ixxii.  8) ;  but  if  the  limits  are  to  be  defined, 
the  seas  may  be  the  Mediterranean  and  the  Persian  Gulf,  and  the 
mountains  those  of  Abyssinia  and  Armenia. 

13.  Yet  shall  the  land,  etc.   This  rendering  implies  a  reminder  that 
the  predicted  redemption  must  be  preceded  by  a  judgment.    For  the 
adversative  sense  given  to  the  conjunction  see  iv.  4,  Is.  x.  20,  1  Kgs. 
x.  7.   The  translation,  however,  should  perhaps  be,  And  the  earth  shall, 
etc.  (the  earth  being  contrasted  with  Jewish  territory  as  man  is  con- 
trasted with  Israel  in  Jer.  xxxii.  20).    The  mercy  granted  to  the  Jews 
is  to  be  accompanied  by  vengeance  wreaked  on  the  heathen  world  that 
has  oppressed  them  beyond  what  God  desired  (cf.  2  Is.  xlvii.  6,  Zech. 
i.  15). 

for  the  fruit.  I.e.  because  of  the  issue  (or  outcome);  cf.  Hos.  x.  13, 
Is.  iii.  10,  Prov.  i.  31. 

CHAPTER  VII.  14—20. 

A  prayer  to  God  from  the  prophet  on  behalf  of  the  people,  entreating  Him 
to  do  for  them  wonders  as  of  old,  and  voicing  a  conviction  that  He  will  shew 
them  compassion  and  forgiveness. 

To  the  date  of  this  passage  (in  which,  as  contrasted  with  vv.  7 — 13,  God  is 
addressed  directly  in  the  2nd  person)  the  only  clue  is  contained  in  v.  14,  which 
reflects  the  conditions  of  a  period  when  the  Jewish  people  were  a  small  and 
depressed  body,  conscious  of  a  guilty  past,  surrounded  by  aliens,  and  longing 
for  a  renewal  of  the  happier  times  long  ago  when  they  enjoyed  a  more  ample 
territory.  This  situation  is  most  intelligible  on  the  hypothesis  that  the  passage 
was  composed  in  the  post-exilic  age,  perhaps  within  the  5th  century  B.C.  ;  and 
probably  the  section  is  continuous  with  the  preceding  vv.  1 1  (or  7) — 13,  but, 
unlike  those  verses,  is  written  in  the  Kinah  rhythm,  though  this,  in  places, 
has  been  disturbed. 

14  xFeed  thy  people  with  thy  rod,  the  flock  of  thine  heritage, 

1  Or,  Rule 

14.  Feed  thy  people,  etc.   Jehovah  is  likened  to  a  shepherd  (cf.  Gen. 
xlix.  24,  Ps.  xxiii.  1,  Ixxx.  1),  carrying  a  club  with  which  to  protect 
his  sheep  from  fierce  animals  (Ps.  xxiii.  4). 

the  flock  of  thine  heritage.  This  particular  combination  of  terms  does 
not  appear  elsewhere  (though  cf.  Ps.  xxviii.  9).  Israel,  however,  is 
frequently  styled  Jehovah's  heritage  (Dt.  iv.  20,  ix.  26,  Joel  ii.  17,  etc.), 
the  expression  being  apparently  transferred  from  the  land  of  Canaan 
(the  mountain  of  Jehovah's  inheritance,  Ex.  xv.  17,  cf.  1  Sam.  xxvi.  19) 
to  the  people  whom  Jehovah  planted  in  it.  Land  could  not  be  alienated 
in  perpetuity  (Lev.  xxv.),  and  so  the  description  of  Israel  as  Jehovah's 
heritage  emphasizes  the  permanence  of  the  relation  believed  to  subsist 
between  them  and  God. 


64  MICAH  [vii.  i4,  15 

which  dwell  solitarily,  in  the  forest  in  the  midst  of  Carmel :  let 
them  feed  in  Bashan  and  Gilead,  as  in  the  days  of  old.  15  As  in 
the  days  of  thy  coming  forth  out  of  the  land  of  Egypt  will  I  shew 

solitarily.  In  some  passages  the  expression  describes  the  seclusion 
of  Israel  under  God's  peculiar  care  (Num.  xxiii.  9,  Dt.  xxxiii.  28),  but 
here  it  seems  to  have  reference  to  the  isolation  (cf.  Lam.  i.  1)  of  the 
small  Jewish  post-exilic  community  closely  encompassed  by  unfriendly 
and  jealous  neighbours. 

in  the  forest... Carmel.  Carmel  is  the  sole  headland  that  breaks  the 
straight  coast  of  Palestine  between  Sidon  and  Egypt,  and  constitutes 
the  seaward  extremity  of  a  limestone  ridge  12  or  13  miles  long,  and 
(at  the  promontory)  500  ft.  high.  If  the  name  is  here  understood  of 
this  ridge,  the  phrase  in  the  forest... Carmel  must  be  construed  with 
the  verb  feed,  with  reference  to  the  woods  clothing  it  (Is.  xxxiii.  9, 
Am.  i.  2),  regarded  as  affording  shelter  (cf.  Ezek.  xxxiv.  25),  and  to 
the  fertile  glades  intersecting  them.  But  the  Hebrew  word  is  also 
a  common  noun,  meaning  a  garden-like  district  (cf.  Is.  xvi.  10,  Jer. 
ii.  7),  and  a  preferable  rendering  is,  in  a  forest  in  the  midst  of  a  garden- 
land.  The  area  of  unproductive  soil  to  which  (either  through  restrictions 
imposed  on  the  Jews  by  their  over-lords,  or  in  consequence  of  the  few- 
ness of  their  numbers)  they  were  at  first  confined,  and  which  was 
surrounded  by  more  fruitful  regions  in  the  possession  of  others,  is 
likened  to  a  sterile  forest  in  the  middle  of  a  fertile  and  beautiful 
country. 

let  them... Gilead.  Compare  2  Zech.  x.  10.  The  districts  named, 
which  were  once  in  the  occupation  of  united  Israel,  were  pasture  lands 
(cf.  Jer.  1.  19).  Bashan,  stretching  (for  some  30  miles)  eastwards  of  the 
Sea  of  Galilee  and  the  Waters  of  Merom,  and  reaching  from  the  Yarmuk 
northwards  in  the  direction  of  Hermon,  was  famous  for  its  horned 
cattle  (Dt.  xxxii.  14,  Am.  iv.  1,  Ps.  xxii.  12);  whilst  Gilead,  on  the 
E.  of  the  Jordan,  extending  from  the  north  end  of  the  Dead  Sea  to 
the  south  extremity  of  the  Sea  of  Galilee,  was  also  adapted  for  pasturage, 
and  was  in  consequence  desired,  at  the  time  of  the  Conquest,  by  the 
tribes  of  Reuben  and  Gad  that  were  rich  in  flocks  and  herds  (Num. 
xxxii.). 

as  in  the  days  of  old.  The  reference  to  the  re-occupation  of  Gilead 
by  the  prophet's  countrymen  is  not  easily  reconcilable  with  Micah's 
authorship  of  this  section,  for  in  his  time  it  was  either  actually  in  the 
possession,  if  not,  indeed,  of  Judah,  at  any  rate  of  the  sister-kingdom 
of  Northern  Israel,  or  had  only  recently  been  lost  (2  Kgs.  xv.  29). 

15.  thy  coming  forth...  will  I  shew.  Probably  Jehovah  speaks  here 
(to  the  end  of  v.  17),  declaring,  in  answer  to  the  petition  in  v.  14,  that 
He  will  do  as  much  for  Israel  in  the  immediate  future  as  He  did  for 
them  on  the  occasion  of  the  Exodus.  But  some  critics  consider  that 
the  prophet  and  people  are  the  speakers  (as  in  the  preceding  v.  and 
apparently  in  v.  17),  and  propose  to  replace  the  future  mil  I  shew 


vii.  i5-i8]  MICAH  65 

unto  him  marvellous  things.  16  The  nations  shall  see  and  be 
ashamed  of  all  their  might :  they  shall  lay  their  hand  upon  their 
mouth,  their  ears  shall  be  deaf.  17  They  shall  lick  the  dust  like 
a  serpent;  like  crawling  things  of  the  earth  they  shall  come 
trembling  out  of  their  close  places :  they  shall  come  with  fear 
unto  the  LORD  our  God,  and  shall  be  afraid  because  of  thee. 
18  Who  is  a  God  like  unto  thee,  that  pardoneth  iniquity,  and 
passeth  by  the  transgression  of  the  remnant  of  his  heritage?  he 

unto  him  by  the  imperative  shew  unto  us\  in  which  case  thy  coming 
forth  must  refer  to  Jehovah  as  having  accompanied  Israel  in  their 
departure  from  Egypt.  But  this  alteration  is  superfluous,  if  v.  17  be 
emended.  The  only  correction  required  here  is  the  omission  of  land 
(of),  which  impairs  the  rhythm  and  is  absent  from  the  LXX. 

marvellous  things.  The  expression  is  similarly  used  in  relation  to  the 
Exodus  in  Ex.  xv.  11,  Ps.  Ixxviii.  11. 

16.  ashamed  of  all  tlmr  might.   I.e.  abashed  because  of  their  proved 
inferiority  to  Israel  supported  by  Jehovah:  cf.  2  Is.  xlv.  14. 

lay  their  hand  upon  tlmr  mouth,  etc.  Their  confusion  will  deprive 
them  temporarily  of  speech  (Jud.  xviii.  19,  Job  xxi.  5,  Prov.  xxx.  32) 
and  hearing.  Cf.  Ps.  xxxviii.  13 — 14. 

17.  lick  the  dust.    A  figure  for  utter  abasement;  cf.  Ps.  Ixxii.  9, 
2  Is.  xlix.  23. 

like  crawling  things  of  the  earth.  These  words  should  be  connected 
with  the  preceding  clause,  and  a  full  stop  should  be  placed  at  earth. 

they  shall  come  trembling,  etc.  This  clause  should  go  with  the 
following  (see  below)  and  begin  with  a  capital  letter. 

their  close  places.  I.e.  their  fortresses,  in  which  they  had  previously 
felt  secure :  cf.  Ps.  xviii.  45. 

they  shall  come  with  fear.   Literally,  they  shall  fear. 

unto  the  LORD  our  God.  These  words  harmonize  badly  with  the 
natural  impression  that  in  w.  15 — 17  God  is  the  speaker,  and  have 
with  some  reason  been  suspected  to  be  interpolated,  for  they  destroy 
the  rhythm.  Without  them,  v.  17  consists  of  two  Kinah  lines,  of  which 
the  second  is,  They  shall  come  trembling  out  of  their  close  places:  they 
shall  fear  and  be  afraid  because  of  thee  (Israel). 

18.  Who  is  a  God  like  unto  thee.   This  and  the  following  w.  are  a  re- 
sponse to  Jehovah's  assurances  in  w.  15—17.    The  opening  question 
finds  summary  expression  in  the  name  Micah  (see  p.  xviii). 

that  pardoneth  iniquity.  Compare  the  description  of  the  Divine 
character  in  Ex.  xxxiv.  6,  7,  Ps.  ciii.  8,  Jer.  iii.  12.  The  next  clause 
would  afford  a  better  balance  to  this,  if  it  were  reduced  to  and  passeth 
by  transgression-,  the  additional  words  may  have  been  suggested  to 
a  reader  by  Jer.  1.  20.  The  Divine  forgivingness,  here  expressed  abso- 
lutely, is  really  conditional,  though  upon  the  sincerity  of  human 
repentance,  not  upon  the  sum  of  human  deserts. 


w. 


66  MIC  AH  [vn.  18-10 

retaineth  not  his  anger  for  ever,  because  he  delighteth  in  mercy. 
19  He  will  turn  again  and  have  compassion  upon  us;  he  will 
1  tread  our  iniquities  under  foot:  and  thou  wilt  cast  all  their  sins 
into  the  depths  of  the  sea.  20  2Thou  wilt 3 perform  the  truth  to 
Jacob,  and  the  mercy  to  Abraham,  which  thou  hast  sworn  unto 
our  fathers  from  the  days  of  old. 

1  Or,  subdue  our  iniquities  '2  Or,  Thou  wilt  shew  thy  faithfulness  &c. 

3  Heb.  give. 

he  retaineth  not,  etc.  This  latter  part  of  v.  18  and  the  first  half  of 
v.  19  (down  to  foot),  both  of  which  are  marked  by  the  3rd  pers.  (con- 
trast the  2nd  pers.  in  18a,  19b)  are  suspected  of  being  insertions: 
certainly  the  rhythm  changes. 

19.  he  ivill  tread... sea.   These  are  strong  metaphors  for  the  complete 
removal  of  Israel's  offences  from  the  Divine  memory;  put  out  of  sight, 
they  will  be  out  of  mind :  cf.  the  similar  figures  of  speech  in  Is.  xxxviii. 
17.    Instead  of  all  their  sins  the  LXX.  and  Vulg.  have  preferably  all 
our  sins.    With  the  second  half  of  the  v.  (and  thou,  etc.)  there  is  a  re- 
turn to  the  Kinah  metre. 

20.  wilt  perform  the  truth  to.    I.e.  wilt  deal  faithfully  with :  cf.  Neh. 
ix.  33.    God's  changelessness  (which  is  implied  in  the  description  of 
Him  as  the  God  of  truth,  Ps.   xxxi.   5)  makes  it  certain  that  the 
graciousness  once  shown  to  Israel's  ancestors  will  not  be  wanting  to 
their  descendants. 

Jacob... Abraham.  The  names  of  the  patriarchs  here  stand  for  their 
posterity. 

hast  sworn.   See  Gen.  xxii.  16,  and  cf.  Lk.  i.  73. 


OBADIAH 

1  THE  vision  of  Obadiah. 

Thus  saith  the  Lord  GOD  L  concerning  Edom:  We  have  heard 
tidings  from  the  LORD,  and  an  ambassador  is  sent  among  the 

1  See  Jer.  xlix.  7—22. 

1.  vision.  The  term,  which  strictly  refers  to  impressions  of  a  visual 
character  actually  or  ostensibly  experienced  in  prophetic  ecstasy  (see 
Dan.  viii.  1,  2,  15,  ix.  21,  cf.  Ezek.  xiii.  16)1,  is  here  used  to  designate 
the  contents  of  a  prophetic  book,  conveying  Divine  revelations  received 
through  the  intellectual  and  spiritual  faculties  (uot  through  the  senses) ; 
cf.  Is.  i.  1,  Nah.  i.  1,  Hab.  ii.  2.  The  LXX.  has  opoum,  but  Aq.  e/co-rao-i?. 

Obadiah.  For  the  significance  of  the  name  see  p.  xxxii.  Besides 
occurring  frequently  in  the  O.T.,  it  has  also  been  found  on  a  seal 
bearing,  in  the  early  Hebrew  script,  the  words  'Obhadhyahu  'ebhedh 
hammelech,  "Obadiak  servant  of  the  king"  (Benzinger,  Heb.  Arch. 
p.  258).  Proper  names  parallel  in  formation  to  Obadiah  or  Abdiah  are 
Ebed-Ashtoreth,  Ebed-eshmun,  Ebed-baal. 

Thus... Edom.  These  words  are  a  necessary  introduction  to  what 
follows  in  order  to  render  clear  what  people  are  meant  by  the  pronouns 
her  and  thee,  and  accordingly  are  not  likely  to  be  a  later  addition,  as 
Ewald  and  others  have  thought,  but  must  have  been  attached  to  the 
oracle  from  the  first. 

We  have  heard  tidings  from  the  LORD.  If  the  Heb.  text  is  correct, 
the  speakers  must  be  people  in  general,  who  had  heard  a  report  about 
a  confederation  being  organized  against  Edom,  the  words  and  an  am- 
bassador is  sent,  etc.  being  equivalent  to  that  an  ambassador  is  sent,  etc. : 
cf.  Gen.  xxx.  27  (where  "I  have  divined  that  the  LORD  hath  blessed  me" 
is  literally  "I  have  divined  and  JEHOVAH  hath  blessed  me").  But  the 
expression  coming  from  Jehovah  must  imply  a  Divine  oracle,  which 
would  be  imparted  directly  not  to  a  multitude  of  people  but  to  a 
prophet.  And  the  LXX.  here  and  the  Heb.  of  the  parallel  passage  Jer. 
xlix.  14  have  the  1st  pers.  sing,  instead  of  the  1st  pers.  plur. ;  and  if, 
as  is  probable,  this  is  the  authentic  text,  the  translation  should  be 
/  (i.e.  the  prophet)  have  heard  a  communication  (the  same  word  as  that 
which  is  used  of  an  oracle  and  rendered  message  in  Is.  xxviii.  9,  19) 
from  JEHOVAH.  This  announcement  is  prefatory  to  the  actual  oracle, 
which  begins  with  v.  2. 

and  an  ambassador  is  sent.  If  in  the  preceding  clause  the  reading  of 
the  LXX.  be  adopted,  in  this  the  word  rendered  is  sent  should  be  pointed 

1  Cf.  Thouless,  Int.  to  the  Psychology  of  Religion,  p.  T6  f. 

5—2 


68  OBADIAH  [1-3 

nations,  saying,  Arise  ye,  and  let  us  rise  up  against  her  in  battle. 
2  Behold,  I  have  made  thee  small  among  the  nations :  thou  art 
greatly  despised.  3  The  pride  of  thine  heart  hath  deceived  thee, 

as  in  Jer.  xlix.  14  (which,  instead  of  shullah,  has  shdluah)  and  the 
translation  should  be,  whilst  a  messenger  is  being  sent,  the  clause  im- 
plying that  the  revelation  from  Jehovah  to  the  prophet  coincides  with 
the  despatch  of  an  envoy  to  a  group  of  nations  (probably  neighbouring 
Arabian  tribes)  to  concert  against  Edom  a  combined  attack  which  will 
prove  the  agency  destined  to  fulfil  the  oracle  which  the  prophet  proceeds 
to  disclose.  For  the  Heb.  tslr  in  the  sense  of  messenger  cf.  Prov.  xiii. 
17,  xxv.  13.  Ewald  takes  the  messenger  to  be  an  angel,  charged  by 
God  to  rouse  the  nations  to  battle  against  Edorn:  compare  Jud.  v.  23. 
The  rhythm  of  this  introductory  line  is  either  4  : 3  or  3  : 3,  according 
as  the  text  is  retained  as  it  stands  or  a  makkeph  is  inserted  between 
me'eth  and  Yehdvah,  cf.  p.  cxxxix. 

Arise  ye,  etc.  The  words  are  those  of  the  ambassador  addressing  (in 
the  name  of  the  people  taking  the  lead  in  promoting  a  confederacy 
against  Edom)  the  nations  to  whom  he  is  sent.  The  rhythm  here  is 
2  : 2.  The  introductory  "saying"  is  absent,  as  in  Mic.  ii.  11,  Is.  iii.  6, 
Ps.  Iii.  6.  The  fern,  pronoun  her  refers  to  the  land  of  Edom  (cf.  Ezek. 
xxxvi.  5  Heb.),  though  the  masculine  (representing  the  population)  is 
employed  subsequently.  The  Vulg.  substitutes  the  masc.  here,  and 
Wellhausen,  followed  by  Nowack,  would  alter  the  Heb.  text  accordingly. 
Jer.  xlix.  14  has,  Gather  yourselves  and  come  against  her,  which  is 
probably  nearer  the  language  of  the  original  prophecy,  since  the  sentence 
constitutes  an  unexceptionable  pentameter,  whereas  Ob.'s  version  is 
metrically  irregular. 

2.  Behold,  I  have  made  thee  small  The  speaker  here  is  Jehovah.   The 
perfect  tense  introduces  a  prediction  (cf.  2  Is.  xli.  15  Heb.),  the  purpose 
of  God  being  regarded  as  already  virtually  accomplished.    The  agency 
about  to  be  employed  for  the  reduction  of  Edom  to  powerlessness  is  the 
confederacy  alluded  to  in  v.  1.    The  oracle  (w.  2 — 5)  is  probably  com- 
posed in  the  Kinah  rhythm.    The  introductory  Behold  (Jer.  For  behold) 
is  outside  the  metre. 

thou  art  greatly  despised.  The  parallel  passage,  Jer.  xlix.  15,  has  and 
despised  among  men  (the  words  depending  upon  /  have  made  thee).  In 
Ob.  the  pronoun  thou  (art)  conveys  an  unnecessary  emphasis;  and  since 
Jer.'s  reading  forms  an  excellent  pentameter,  of  which  Ob.'s  is  easily 
explicable  as  a  corruption,  the  original  source  probably  had  the  line  in 
the  form  in  which  it  appears  in  Jer. 

3.  The  pride  of  thine  heart.    The  phraseology  resembles  that  of 
1  Sam.  xvii.  28.    The  source  of  Edom's  arrogance  was  the  fancied 
security  ensured  by  its  precipitous  cliffs  (see  p.  xlv). 

hath  deceived  thee.  The  LXX.  has  (.Trrjpt  ac,  mistaking  nasha?  for  ndsd' ; 
and  in  the  same  version  a  similar  error  occurs  in  v.  7.  The  parallel 
in  Jer.  xlix.  16  is  Thy  terribleness,  the  pride  of  thine  heart  hath  deceived 


3, 4]  OBADIAH  69 

0  thou  that  dwellest  in  the  clefts  of  Hhe  rock,  whose  habitation 
is  high ;  that  saith  in  his  heart,  Who  shall  bring  me  down  to  the 
ground?  4  Though  thou  mount  on  high  as  the  eagle,  and  though 

1  Or,  Sela  See  2  Kings  xiv.  7. 

thee,  and  a  slight  emendation,  yielding  the  translation  Thy  terribleness 
hath  deceived  thee,  the  pride  of  thine  heart,  probably  reproduces  the 
original,  of  which  Ob.  retains  only  a  part. 

0  thou  that  dwellest  in  the  clefts  of  the  rock.  The  word  rendered  clefts 
occurs  elsewhere  only  in  the  parallel  Jer.  xlix.  16  and  in  Cant.  ii.  14 
(where  it  is  used  of  the  abode  of  the  dove).  The  term  the  rock  (sela') 
may  either  refer  (as  in  Is.  xvi.  1,  2  Is.  xlii.  11)  to  the  rocky  surface  of 
Edom  generally  (as  the  mount  of  Esau  in  w.  8,  19  does  to  its  hilly 
character),  or  convey  (see  mg.)  an  allusion  to  the  Edomite  capital  Sela 
(2  Kgs.  xiv.  7),  the  later  Petra.  The  city  is  very  difficult  of  approach, 
for  it  lies  in  a  quadrangular  plain  bounded  by  cliffs  of  great  height 
(cf.  Pliny,  H.N.  vi.  32,  oppiditm...circumdatum  montibus  inaccessis), 
which  are  penetrated  by  passes  defensible  by  a  mere  handful  of  men. 
The  almost  vertical  sides  of  the  crags  are  covered  with  columns  and 
pediments  carved  out  of  the  solid  rock  and  forming  the  entrances  to 
tombs  and  temples  excavated  in  the  cliff  walls. 

whose  habitation  is  high.  The  Heb.  literally  translated  is  the  height  of 
his  habitation,  and  it  is  possible  to  connect  the  words  with  the  foregoing 
participle  thou  that  dwellest  by  supplying  a  preposition  from  the  pre- 
ceding clause  (as  is  done  in  Is.  xxviii.  6,  2  Is.  xlviii.  14).  A  second 
participle,  however,  is  preserved  in  Jer.  xlix.  16,  which  has  that  holdest 
the  height  of  the  hill,  and  probably  the  participle  was  included  in  the 
text  of  the  original  oracle  which,  if  a  poem  in  the  Kinah  metre,  perhaps 
here  had,  0  dweller  in  the  clefts  of  the  rock,  holder  of  the  height  (to  which 
Jer.'s  addition  of  the  hill  is  a  needless  supplement).  The  LXX.  here  has 
v\l/£v  KaroLKLdv  avrov,  which  implies  (instead  of  the  substantive  height) 
a  participle  from  the  same  root,  raising  on  high  his  habitation;  and  this, 
which  is  supported  by  the  Syr.,  Old  Latin,  and  Vulgate,  has  been  widely 
adopted  by  modern  editors.  For  the  insertion  of  a  description  in  the 
3rd  person  into  an  address  couched  in  the  2nd  pers.  cf.  Mic.  i.  13. 

that  saith... to  the  ground.  This  secret  defiance  does  not  occur  in 
Jer.  xlix.  16 ;  and  since,  in  addition,  it  is  not  cast  in  the  normal  Kinah 
metre  (though  the  rhythm  (2  : 3)  here  occurring  is  permissible),  it  is 
probably  no  part  of  the  original  oracle,  but  has  been  added  to  illustrate 
how  far  Edom's  self-confidence  could  carry  her.  In  Heb.  to  say  in  one's 
heart  means  "to  think"  (cf.  Ps.  liii.  1,  Is.  xiv.  13),  for  the  heart  was 
regarded  by  the  Hebrews  as  the  seat  of  intelligence  (men  of  under- 
standing in  Job  xxxiv.  10  is  literally  men  of  heart;  cf.  Job  xxxvi.  5, 
Prov.  xv.  32).  The  Latin  bene  cordatus  and  excors  similarly  mean 
"intelligent"  and  " unintelligent"  respectively. 

4.  Though  thou  mount  on  high.  LXX.  eaV  /xeTewpto-^s.  This  rendering 
suggests  lofty  flight  (an  admissible  interpretation  of  the  Heb.  verb,  see 


70  OKAIMA1I  |,, 

thy  nest  hescf  amou^  thcslai'  ,  I  will  hriii'.-;  Hire  down  from  thence, 
Kaifh  I  lie  Louh.  f>  If  thieves  e;ime  to  I  lice,  if  rollers  l>y  ni^lit, 
(how  art  l.lioii  cut  oil'!  )  would  they  not  steal  till  they  had  enough  ? 
if  grapegathereri  came  to  thee,  would  they  not  leave  some 


.loh  \\.\ix.  ii7);  hut  the.  :i,lhi:  ion  inn::!,  ica.lly  he.  to  the  sifua.tion  of  the 
Kdomite  dwellings,  and  ill  the.  orii'inaJ  oracle  I,  lie  verh  was  connected 
with  the  suhstanl  ive  y/r.s7  (see  .Jer.  xlix.  K',;,  so  l,|i;i,l,  ;i,  prefcraJilc  trai, 

lion  i:  •.,  ff  thou  maktit  on  high  thy  nest  (the  noun  hem;-  supplied  from 

the  following  olatlSe).     I'W  the.  meta.phor  cf.  Num.  xxiv.  li  I  ,  lla.h.  ii.  !). 

a.s-  fin'  <•<«//<•.    Or  <ts  ///,  •  T//./////V;   ;ccon   Mi.-,  i.   1C. 

^///r/  flioiKjh  7////  JMrt  Ar  Mt...itOr8,  Thi.-.  tr;i,n;;la,ti«)ii  a.  ::uinc  ..  a  .n  6 
re.ptiona.l  r.on:;t  nic.tion  in  the.  lleh.  '/'/;/.  vvilJi  tin-.  p;i.;;:;ive  p;i  rtici  pl(- 
(the  l;i,tter  hen;  is  IIMII::II;I|  in  form,  l.liDii'di  rf.  Num.  xxiv.  ^  I  )  ;  hut  the 
IjXX.  h:i;:  /  •"  «'"i-  <M  ,,  //.'.;.,  r  ;<.,r  ,",nij,t,,\-  0>/\  r<"M,i«/'r  MOP,  \\hieh  ;:n  |  »|  iort;; 
Ndwaek'.;  eiiiend;itiun  Insult  fur  .sv-yy/,  yif-ldiii;^  the  rendering  '///'/  llntnyh 
llt<>ii:<ll<tlliiiii<;:t<iin<ni<tlln'::l<irs.  \'\tr  the  liyperholee.t  I,,.  \i\/.  I.';, 
1';;,.  Ixxiii.  (J,  Jer.  |j.  58,  Job  IX  <">,  Am.  ix.  j^j  Ahirt.  vm.  .'{<;,  II,  DIHHIIS 
</t«r  r<rl/<-<  :;/<!<  r<i  jnil^il\  Ih.r.  O,/.  i.  |,  ;;<;,  >S'//A//-///./"  J'crni  m  .svVr/v/, 

/Vr;  Bhaketpeare,  /AO//A/,  m.  ,'»,  7'//r//  /•/•//>  ///•/;/  ///>  that  his  httls  may 


I  trill  l>r/n<!  llnt'  dnirn.  (  'ompare  Ml,  xi.  28*.  l''«>r  thi::  0,  .li-r.  xlix. 
Hi1'  oiler;;  a,  (lillerenl  text,  '/'//<>//<///  llnni  nniki'st  on  ///////  //.>;  ^  i-nllnrc  ///// 
;/r.s7,  y-/v//y/  ////•//'•»'  /  //'/'//  hriinj  lh<'<'  dotni,  x«i/lt  J<lior«li.  The.  Concluding 
jihra.;:e  of  the  v\  (.sv  //'///  .1  <'linr<il/)  i:;  :i.h,:cnt  from  the  LXX.,  a.nd  if  this  is 
le-.inled  an  outside  the.  metre,  the.  readme  of  .Icr.  i,;  a,  normal  kintili 
line,  a,nd  pn»ha,hly  represent:;  tlie.  wording  of  HK>  ori-ina,!  BOUT06J 
whereas  Oh.';;  text  is  iinmetrical  and  ha.;  pie.,uma.hly  ari.cn  thioiish 
expansion. 

.').     //'  /7//V/V.S-,    etc.     Bc-lier,     //'  merely    ////r/v«,    etc.    (the.    restrictive 
turn-Ill,  or  o/////,  hein;-;  ;;upplied  mentally,  a,    in    Is,   v.    I  (),  Am.  vi.  (.l).     To 
accentuate   l.hr.  e.omplefenes.s,  of  the  spoliation   lhrea,tenin^  Kdoin,  it  i 
c.Mitra.sled   with    the   les.s,   thorough   e|eara,nee  made  when  thieves  idle  a, 
house  or  vinl.T'rr,    si  i  ip  a   vineyard  :    in    hoth   of   these  ome.fhili^ 

i  nerally  left,  hut  the  des.poileis.  of  Mdom  will   la.ke  all. 

i/-nif>/n-rs  />//  iiiijhf..    This  elan  ;.e.  does,  not  occur  in  the  parallel  p.-i 
Jer.  xlix.  (J,  thoiijdi    the   words  hi/  ii'ujht  an;  there  inrhidcd    in  the.  piv 
redin"  s.enteiice,  which  runs,   //"///  /V/vx  />//  ii'iif/if,  etc. 

(hntr  «/'/  Ihoii  ail  <>{!/).  Literally,  lioir  «rt  llioii  nnidc  l<>  0MM/  (e.f. 
IH.  XV.  I,  -lei.  xlvii.  .;.,  /eph.  i.  II).  This  ahrupl  ,  exclania  lion  isa.com 
men!  elicited  from  ()hadiah  hy  the  fiillilmentof  the  oracle  in  hisoun 
days:  (^f.  i\  ('..  The.  LXX.  has  read  the  verh  <liuinth  as  -nuimli,  "l<> 
throw,"  "ca;;t,"  a,nd  rendered  it  by  UTre,.,  >/'</>  »/s  :;  and  I  he  Vul^.  has  con- 
d  it  with  tltiin<i-m,  "to  he  hrou:dit  to  .  ilence. 

ijni.in-<in-lln-n-rx.     Vines   were  vrown    in    I'Mom  (cf.   Num.  xx.   I  7);  and 
traveller;;  in  the  country  ha.ve  olccrved  on  the   rocky  hill  .  idc 
of  terraceH  designed  a;      itci    I«T  vineyards. 


|-7]  OUADIAII  71 


the  //>//"/;  <>/  i  arched  out! 

how  hi'l'kn  t  t    up'    7  All  the  men  of  Uiy 

<:onfr<l<-r;if     h:i  w  ''Uroiiirhl   Ui<:<:  on  thy  WHY,  even  lo  the  l>onl<;r: 


iflrfi,,',,!'!  '//'"/"  ••.    Th':  H<  h.  h;=-  .vhirh 

•-<:  01  oliv<:   li.'.i 

v;;.    I  ;:  ,!,'»ri'-;illy 

in  .Iu'l.    viii.  2;.     In  .!• 

(I  ill.  'iiinl.l.i  !•!• 

:in'iHi'-r;  :    :».n'l  |»roli;i.l»ly  rcpc*'! 

!»;,  wliich  fi;i'l,  If  grapegather(  '/"•''/ 

11  ill  /    flit-lining.-.       If  l.lii'-n-      I,  if  ni'/lil     ///'//  //.-///   V-    //v,//  //// 

.//////.     1  1.  <im-in-'i'ii!'  i  '•'! 

ly  F'.r   I,  vljo  will   r- 

\><\f.\\  rn'/'lific'l  }>y  Ol>.,  wli'< 
M    l\i<-    r/i  ;..lfinn:i 

6.  //  ,  who 

'jil'.f«:»l    !  M   in 

.-lorn,  wh» 

'I'll';   f.w  -I    7 

•  h;thly   writ.UMi   Hik«:  t.h".   }/.'  in    t.h't    K'nuili   in< 

,;,    //•///  ^niii'.n   ifl  Mir.  ii.  -1,  .h;r.  ix. 

thf;    tl  /        /-         '!       •  ;  // 

I  'ml     >•:  •:j)l;iin»:'l 

'i<l  rn;'.  of  th':  li.V.     The  |i»:r.:-:on;tl  n-'un'-  tt:>.an'v::\. 
•i.  xxxvi 

hl«;  tj|(;  morj  ,   t.h».,  1661 

wr,;Jth. 

MMylit  »r  |>hra'f;  V 

;••:  \>y  \\i<-  >>{  lli",   H<:k    v<-rh  <ltH.l<ih.)  1><:K:  Ufftd, 

whirh   primarily  '//I'larily 

oa^ernen  i  // 

10  /;/</  /  hurt-  ,,,';'/<  /•;  '/// 

'  i>l<t,r#H. 

7.  yl  //  ////    0Mfl   ''/'  //'//  r"  "  .     /I//  '/";  w//   '//    ///y 
c/wfi<i<>i    ('.  •,;•    Uif-    phr.-i.v:    rf.    I                                 '  ••••ion    in     '  -<vii. 
22  /n^.).    Thf;  proj>l'                        [^irfinpg  some  neightxjuririj 

withou1  9   part.iri;,  :/lom 

viUi  I'Morn  imp'//;'l  uj>on  t.linrri. 

/.      A    !fi<>r<;   I;1 
>f"  but,  th<;  meaning  in  ol  Tho 


72  OBADIAH  [7 

the  men  that  were  at  peace  with  thee  have  deceived  thee,  and 
prevailed  against  thee ;  lthey  that  eat  thy  bread  lay  a  2snare  under 

1  Or,  thy  bread  they  make  &c.  2  Or,  wound 

most  plausible  way  of  interpreting  the  verb  is  to  give  it  the  sense  of 
"dismiss"  or  " escort  back,"  as  in  2  Sam.  iii.  21,  Gen.  xii.  20;  and 
then  two  explanations  are  possible:  (1)  have  escorted  as  far  as  the 
border  thy  envoys,  with  their  appeal  for  help  refused ;  (2)  have  escorted 
as  Jar  as  the  border  thy  fugitives,  who  had  crossed  it  in  flight  and  who 
have  now  been  turned  back  and  thereby  exposed  to  the  savagery  of  the 
pursuing  foe.  The  R.V.  mg.  have  driven  thee  out  even  to  the  border  (i.e. 
have  expelled  thy  people  from  their  native  soil)  is  improbable;  for 
though  the  verb  (shalah)  can  signify  "to  drive  out"  (cf.  Gen.  iii.  23, 
Ex.  vi.  1,  2  Sam.  xiii.  16,  1  Kgs.  ix.  7),  the  preposition  as  far  as  ((adk) 
is  not  very  suitable  in  this  connection ;  from  (mm)  or  across  ('el  (ebher) 
would  be  more  appropriate. 

the  men  that  were  at  peace,  etc.  Literally,  the  men  of  thy  peace;  cf. 
Ps.  xli.  9,  Jer.  xx.  10,  xxxviii.  22  (where  the  R.V.  has  thy  familiar 
friends).  The  people  referred  to  are  clearly  those  who,  in  time  of  peace, 
had  made  an  unexpected  attack  upon  Edom;  and  they  have  been 
plausibly  identified  with  the  Nabataeans  (see  p.  xli). 

they  that  eat  thy  bread  lay  a  snare  under  thee.  If  the  Heb.  text  is 
to  be  retained  as  it  stands,  the  only  admissible  translation  is  that  of 
the  R.V.  mg.,  thy  bread  they  make  a  snare  under  thee.  This,  which 
seems  to  be  the  explanation  adopted  by  Aq.,  who  has  aprov  crov  Orja-owiv 
cTri'Seo-o',  means  "they  ("the  men  of  thy  peace")  recompense  by 
treachery  the  hospitality  which  thou  hast  shown  to  them."  Some 
scholars  think  that  the  word  men  can  be  extended  from  the  preceding 
clause  to  this  (the  men  of  thy  bread  meaning  lc  thy  dependants  ") ;  but 
such  extension  is  difficult  to  parallel.  As  these  interpretations  of  the 
existing  text  are  unsatisfactory,  there  is  probably  some  defect  or 
corruption  in  it.  The  simplest  correction  is  to  change  the  pointing  of 
the  word  rendered  "bread"  (lekem),  and  by  converting  it  into  the 
participle  of  laham,  "  to  war,"  get  the  translation  they  that  war  against 
thee  lay  a  snare  under  thee.  But  the  verb  la/iam,  "  to  war,"  is  rare  in  the 
form  here  proposed  (though  see  Ps.  xxxv.  1  (Heb.),  Ivi.  2  (3)),  and  the 
clause  would  have  four  beats  instead  of  the  three  required  by  a  normal 
Kinah  line.  Hitzig  and  Gratz  assume  the  loss,  before  the  word  bread, 
of  a  participle  ('ochele,  "eaters,"  cf.  Sym.  ot  oTn/eo-fliwres  o-ot,  Vulg.  qui 
comedunt  tecum\  and  render  (like  the  R.V.  text)  they  that  eat  thy 
bread  lay  a  snare  under  thee.  This,  however,  also  destroys  the  rhythm, 
though  emendation  of  the  text  is  to  be  sought  in  this  direction.  The 
letters  LHMCh  may  be  an  accidental  dittograph  of  part  of  the 
preceding  ShLMCh  (for  the  LXX.  ignores  the  word),  and  the  phrase 
the  eaters  of  thy  bread  (ochele  lahmechd)  may  be  disguised  in  part  of 
the  previous  clause  translated  (have)  prevailed  against  thee  (ydchelu, 
lechd):  if  so,  the  whole  t?.,  rendered  literally  and  with  the  order  of  the 
Heb.  retained,  will  run:  As  far  as  the  border  did  send  thee  \  all  the 


7-9]  OBADIAH  73 

thee:  there  is  none  understanding  Hn  him.  8  Shall  I  not  in  that 
day,  saith  the  LORD,  destroy  the  wise  men  out  of  Edom,  and  under- 
standing out  of  the  mount  of  Esau?  9  And  thy  mighty  men, 
0  Teman,  shall  be  dismayed,  to  the  end  that  every  one  may  be  cut 

1  Or,  of  it 

men  of  thy  covenant:  Deceived  thee  the  eaters  of  thy  bread,  \  the  men  of 
thy  peace:  Place  they  a  snare  underneath  thee;  \  no  sense  is  there  in  him. 
This  reconstruction  preserves  the  Kinah  metre  satisfactorily1.  The 
eating  of  bread  together  involved  obligations  of  friendship  and  mutual 
protection  (cf.  Ps.  xli.  9),  which  Edom's  neighbours  had  violated.  The 
meaning  of  the  word  (mazor)  rendered  snare  is  doubtful.  Elsewhere 
(Hos.  v.  13  and  perhaps  Jer.  xxx.  13)  it  has  the  signification  si  wound, 
as  given  in  the  mg.  here ;  but  this  is  unsuitable  to  the  present  context. 
The  meaning  cord  or  snare  lias  been  deduced  from  a  root  signifying 
to  "twist"  or  "weave,"  and  Th.  has  Sccr/xoV;  but  a  very  slight  emenda- 
tion (mdtsodh)  proposed  by  Van  Hoonacker  furnishes  a  term,  signifying 
net,  which  occurs  in  Job  xix.  6,  Prov.  xii.  12.  The  LXX.  has  IveSpa, 
Sym.  dAAoTpiWiv,  and  the  Vulgate  insldias.  Another  emendation, 
which  disregards  the  evidence  of  the  Greek  and  Latin  renderings,  is 
Marti's  madhvr,  "dwelling"  (Dan.  iv.  25  (22),  32  (29));  this  produces 
the  translation  they  that  eat  thy  bread  make  their  dwelling  in  thy  place 
(for  in  Heb.  "  under"  a  person  is  often  equivalent  to  "instead  of"  that 
person). 

there  is  none  understand  in  <j  in  him.  LXX.  OVK  ZCTTIV  o-vveo-is  civ-rots.  The 
words  probably  describe  not  so  much  the  lack  of  foresight  which  caused 
the  Edomites  to  fall  victims  to  treachery  as  the  bewilderment  con- 
sequent upon  such  an  experience :  they  do  not  know  what  to  do.  For 
the  phraseology  cf.  Dt.  xxxii.  28. 

8 — 9.  The  transition  in  these  w.  (cf.  Jer.  xlix.  7)  to  the  future  tense 
suggests  that  here  the  earlier  oracle  may  be  drawn  upon,  though  the 
Kinah  rhythm  is  not  maintained.  The  vengeance  which,  in  v.  7,  is 
represented  as  having  already  befallen  is  once  more  regarded  as  still  to 
come  (as  in  v.  4). 

8.  Shall  I  not,  etc.    The  counsellors  of  Edom  will  fail  to  avert  from 
their  nation  an  imminent  disaster,  or  to  extricate  it  from  one  already 
present ;  and  this  failure  will  be  occasioned  by  Jehovah,  whose  day  is 
coming  (see  v.  15). 

understanding.    I.e.  men  of  understanding:  cf.  p.  53. 

the  mount  of  Esau.  I.e.  the  mountain  land  of  Edom :  see  Ezek. 
xxxv.  2  and  cf.  Josh.  xx.  7  (where  the  hill  country  of  Naphtali  is 
literally  the  mount  of  Naphtali}. 

9.  Teman.    This,  though  strictly  a  district  at  one  extremity  of 
Edom  (qua  vergit  ad  austrakm  partemt  St  Jerome),  just  as  Dedan 


1  See  JTS.  xvn.  pp.  405 — 6  (T.  H.  Robinson,  who,  however,  prefers  a  slightly 
different  order  of  the  wording). 


74  OB  ADI  AH  [9-11 

off  from  the  mount  of  Esau  by  slaughter.  10  For  the  violence  done 
to  thy  brother  Jacob  shame  shall  cover  thee,  and  thou  shalt  be 
cut  off  for  ever.  11  In  the  day  that  thou  stoodest  *on  the  other 
side,  in  the  day  that  strangers  carried  away  his  2 substance,  and 

1  Or,  aloof  2  Or,  forces 

was  at  the  other  (see  Ezek.  xxv.  13),  is  here  a  synonym  for  Edom  in 
general  (as  in  Jer.  xlix.  7,  Am.  i.  11,  12).  The  Temanites  had  a  reputa- 
tion for  wisdom;  see  Baruch  iii.  23. 

by  slaughter.  If  this  expression  is  retained  within  v.  9,  the  preposition 
is  correctly  translated.  But  the  balance  of  the  clauses  is  best  kept  by 
the  transfer  of  the  word  to  the  next  v.  (where  the  Versions  place  it,  see 
below),  in  which  case  the  preposition  must  be  otherwise  rendered. 

10.  For  the  violence,  etc.    I.e.  by  reason  of  the  violence,  etc.    The 
LXX.,  Syr.,  and  Vulg.  begin  this  v.  with  For  the  slaughter  and  for  the 
violence,  i.e.  because  of  the  outrages  inflicted  by  the  Edomites  on  the 
Jews;  and  this  arrangement  of  the  text  is  preferable  to  that  of  the 
present  Hebrew.    There  is,  however,  no  conjunction  between  the  two 
nouns  in  the  original;  and  since  in  Joel  iii.  19,  which  seems  to  have 
this  passage  of  Ob.  in  view,  the  expression  For  the  slaughter  does  not 
appear,  it  should  probably  be  rejected  here  as  an  interpolation :  it  may 
have  been  inserted  (as  Nowack  suggests)  in  order  to  paint  in  more 
lurid  colours  Edom's  guilt,  to  which  the  term  violence  by  itself  did  less 
than  justice.    The  Heb.  word  translated  slaughter  occurs  within  the 
O.T.  nowhere  but  here;  and  the  corresponding  verb  is  found  only  in 
late  writings  (Ps.  cxxxix.  19,  Job  xiii.  15,  xxiv.  14),  but  is  frequent  in 
Aramaic.    It  can  scarcely  be  a  gloss  on  the  word  rendered  violence 
(hdmas),  for  this  is  quite  a  common  term,  and  would  not  require  an 
explanatory  addition. 

thy  brother  Jacob.  The  name  Jacob  is  expressly  used  (in  place  of 
Israel  or  Judah)  in  order  to  recall  the  relationship  between  the  nations. 
In  Deut.  xxiii.  7  the  claims  of  kinship  between  the  two  peoples  are 
urged  upon  Israel;  but  Edom  had  shown  no  reciprocal  sense  of  the 
brotherly  relationship. 

shame  shall  cover,  etc.  Although  this  v.  has  future  tenses,  it  seems 
to  proceed  not  from  the  early  oracle  quoted  in  w.  1 — 5  (to  the  metrical 
scheme  of  which  it  cannot  be  easily  adjusted)  but  from  the  writer 
(Obadiah)  who  incorporated  the  latter.  Obadiah,  for  the  moment, 
adopts  the  predictive  tone  of  the  prophet  from  whom  he  has  previously 
borrowed. 

thou  shalt  be  cut  off  for  ever.  The  expression  is  an  hyperbole:  the 
Edomites,  though  dispossessed  by  the  Nabataeans,  long  remained 
a  thorn  in  the  side  of  their  Jewish  neighbours  ;  and  eventually  an 
Edomite,  in  the  person  of  Herod,  became  king  of  JudaBa  (p.  1). 

11.  on  the  other  side.   The  phrase  can  be  used  both  of  mere  aloofness 
(cf.  mg.  and  see  2  Kgs.  ii.  7,  Ps.  xxxviii.  11  (12),  and  the  verb  in  Lk. 
x.  31,  32  (avTi7rap?7\0ei/)),  and  also  of  a  hostile  attitude  (2  Sam.  xviii.  13 


ii,  i  a]  OBADIAH  75 

foreigners  entered  into  his  gates,  and  cast  lots  upon  Jerusalem, 
even  thou  wast  as  one  of  them.  12  But  look  not  thou  on  the  day 

and  (with  a  different  preposition)  Dan.  x.  13).  Probably  the  latter 
sense  is  meant  here :  Vulg.  adversus  eum. 

strangers... foreigners.  I.e.  the  Babylonians  (p.  xxxix):  cf.  Lam.  v.  2. 
Against  these  foreign  foes  the  ties  of  kindred  should  have  led  Edom 
to  side  with  Judah. 

carried  away  his  substance.  Though  the  verb  rendered  carry  away 
commonly  means  to  "transport"  captives,  it  is  used  in  connection  with 
spoil  (not  prisoners)  in  2  Ch.  xxi.  17;  and  the  substantive  with  which 
it  is  here  employed  is,  in  view  of  its  use  in  v.  13  (cf.  Is.  viii.  4,  Jer. 
xv.  13),  rightly  rendered  by  substance  rather  than  by  forces  (as  in  the 
mg.),  though  the  LXX.  has  Svva/xiv  and  the  Vulg.  exercitum. 

his  gates.  This  is  the  reading  of  the  Heb.  mg.,  and  is  supported  by 
the  LXX.  and  Vulg. :  the  Heb.  text  has  his  gate,  which  is  confirmed 
by  v.  13.  Mention  of  the  entry  into  the  city  after  the  looting  is  in 
strictness  illogical  (contrast  v.  13);  but  the  second  clause  really  marks 
the  occasion  which  afforded  opportunity  for  looting:  cf.  Verg.  A.  u.  353, 
Moriamur  et  in  media  arma  rttamus. 

cast  lots  upon  Jerusalem.  The  previous  mention  of  the  removal  of 
the  substance  of  the  Jewish  people  is  in  favour  of  understanding  this 
phrase  of  the  apportionment  of  the  persons  of  the  vanquished  as  slaves 
(cf.  Joel  iii.  3  (iv.  3)),  the  name  of  the  city  representing  its  inhabitants, 
as  in  2  Is.  xl.  1,  2.  For  the  practice  of  casting  lots  to  settle  claims  cf. 
Num.  xxxiv.  13,  Ps.  xxii.  18,  Mk.  xv.  24,  and  see  p.  16. 

even  thou  wast  as  one  of  them.  Though  the  Ammonites,  Moabites, 
and  Philistines  also  exulted  like  the  Edomites  over  the  fall  of  Jeru- 
salem (Ezek.  xxv.),  the  close  relationship  between  Israel  and  Edom 
aggravated  the  offence  of  the  last-named  people,  when  they  shared  in 
the  despoiling  of  a  kindred  race. 

12 — 14.  These  verses  appear  to  be  written  in  the  Kinah  metre 
(p.  cxliii),  though  not  with  perfect  regularity.  The  imperatives  which 
they  contain  are  merely  rhetorical,  the  writer  really  having  in  mind 
past  events  and  not  future  contingencies.  He  is  carried  back  in  thought 
to  incidents  in  the  sack  of  Jerusalem;  and  as  though  present  on  the 
occasion,  he  cautions  the  Edomites  against  committing  the  offences  of 
which  he  knows  them  to  have  been  guilty,  and  which  subsequently 
brought  vengeance  upon  them. 

12.  But  look  not  thou  on,  etc.  I.e.  gaze  not  with  satisfaction  upon, 
etc. ;  for  the  phrase  see  p.  37.  The  occurrence  of  the  conjunction 
before  the  imperative  here  and  the  absence  of  one  before  v.  13,  together 
with  the  tautology  of  12 a  and  13b,  have  led  Wellhausen  to  place  v.  13 
next  to  v.  11  and  to  reject  v.  12  as  a  later  insertion.  But  the  three 
verses  12 — 14  seem  to  have  in  view  successive  proceedings  on  the  part 
of  the  Edomites,  against  which  they  are  dramatically  warned.  In  v.  12 
they  are  still  outside  the  doomed  city,  and  are  bidden  not  to  gloat  over 
its  fall;  in  v.  13  they  are  about  to  enter  it,  and  are  admonished  not  to 


76  OBADIAH  [n,  is 

of  thy  brother  in  1the  day  of  his  disaster,  and  rejoice  not  over  the 
children  of  Judah  in  the  day  of  their  destruction;  neither  speak 
proudly  in  the  day  of  distress.  13  Enter  not  into  the  gate  of  my 
people  in  the  day  of  their  calamity ;  yea,  look  not  thou  on  their 

1  Or,  the  day  that  he  was  made  a  stranger 

do  so,  or  to  witness,  or  participate  in,  the  looting;  whilst  in  v.  14  they 
have  withdrawn  from  it  in  order  to  cut  off  the  fugitives,  and  are  urged 
to  spare  them.  The  conjunction  (vav)  at  the  beginning  of  v.  12  may  be 
explained  by  its  use  "  to  introduce  an  impassioned  speech,  without 
anything  expressed  previously,  to  which  it  can  be  attached"  (Driver, 
Heb.  Tenses*,  p.  168,  note). 

the  day  of  thy  brother.  I.e.  the  occasion  of  thy  brother's  reverse;  cf. 
Ps.  xxxvii.  13,  Is.  xiii.  22,  Job  xviii.  20.  The  expression  day  is  often 
thus  used  to  denote  the  occurrence  of  either  good  or  bad  fortune  in 
connection  with  some  place  or  person ;  cf.  Ps.  cxxxvii.  1  (the  day  of 
Jerusalem),  Is.  ix.  4  (the  day  of  Midian),  Hos.  i.  11  (ii.  2)  (the  day  of 
Jezreel,  i.e.  of  Israel),  2  Mace.  xv.  36  (the  day  of  Mordecai).  But  in 
view  of  the  fact  that  day  is  repeated  immediately  afterwards,  the  word 
here  may  be  an  unerased  scribal  error,  and  the  true  reading  be  (as 
Winckler  suggests),  Look  not  thou  on  thy  brother. 

in  the  day  of  his  disaster.  The  precise  sense  of  the  word  (nocher) 
rendered  disaster,  and  found  only  here,  is  rather  doubtful.  Since  it  is 
etymologically  connected  with  the  term  usually  rendered  " stranger"  or 
"foreigner,"  the  phrase  in  this  connection  may  mean  "the  day  of  his 
becoming  a  stranger"  (cf.  the  mg.)  in  the  eyes  of  God,  and  being  de- 
prived of  all  claim  to  His  consideration;  and  this  interpretation  is 
supported  by  Aq.'s  ctTro^evcoa-ews  OLVTOV  (cf.  the  use  of  the  cognate  verb 
in  Jer.  xix.  4).  But  the  signification  disaster  seems  warranted  by  the 
occurrence  of  the  similar  form  necher  in  Job  xxxi.  3  (where  it  is  parallel 
to  "calamity"),  and  may  be  illustrated  by  the  Latin  aliena fortuna. 

neither  speak  proudly.  The  literal  translation  is,  and  enlarge  not  thy 
mouth,  an  expression  which  does  not  recur  in  the  O.T.,  though  the 
similar  phrases  make  ivide,  and  open  wide,  the  mouth  are  found  in  3  Is. 
Ivii.  4,  Ps.  xxxv.  21,  Lam.  ii.  16;  cf.  also  1  Sam.  ii.  1.  Possibly  it  has 
reference  to  indulgence  in  unrestrained  and  insulting  laughter.  The 
rendering  of  the  R.V.  seems  to  follow  the  LXX.  ^  /xeyaXop^/xov^?,  but 
this  corresponds  to  a  different  Heb.  phrase  ("make  large  with  thy 
mouth")  occurring  in  Ezek.  xxxv.  13. 

13.  the  gate  of  my  people.  I.e.  Jerusalem,  cf.  Mic.  i.  9.  The  LXX. 
has  gates,  cf.  v.  11. 

in  the  day  of  their  calamity.  In  place  of  the  threefold  recurrence  of 
the  same  word  calamity  ('edh)  in  this  verse  the  LXX.  has  distinct  terms, 
TToVwv,  oA.e'0pov,  and  aTrooAiW  The  true  reading  cannot  be  restored  with 
certainty ;  but  beyom  'amaldm,  in  the  day  of  their  trouble,  would  be 
suitable  here,  and  the  LXX.  renders  'dmdl  by  TTOVOS  in  Gen.  xli.  51, 


,3-i5]  OBADIAH  77 

affliction  in  the  day  of  their  calamity,  neither  lay  ye  hands  on  their 
substance  in  the  day  of  their  calamity.  14  And  stand  thou  not  in 
the  crossway,  to  cut  off  those  of  his  that  escape ;  and  deliver  not 
up  those  of  his  that  remain  in  the  day  of  distress.  15  For  the  day 

Job  v.  6.  The  reference  is  to  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem  by  the 
Babylonians,  which  is  described  in  similar  terms  in  Ezek.  xxxv.  5. 

neither  lay  ye  hands.  The  Heb.  text  has  suffered  some  corruption 
(the  2nd  pers.  fern.  plur.  appearing  where  the  masc.  sing,  is  wanted)  but 
Bewer's  proposal  to  replace  'al  tishlahnah  by  }al  tishlah  na  (for  the 
position  of  net  after  the  verb  instead  of  after  the  negative  cf.  Jud.  xix. 
23)  is  all  that  is  needed  to  restore  the  required  form  of  the  verb :  the  in- 
sertion, in  tbe  Heb.,  of  "hand"  seems  unnecessary  in  view  of  2  Sam.  vi.  6. 

their  calamity.  Here,  where  the  Hebrew  has  calamity  for  the  third 
time  within  a  single  verse,  the  LXX.  has  aTrcoXtas  avruv,  which  in  v.  12  is 
its  rendering  of  'obhadhdm,  their  destruction,  so  that  probably  this  word 
should  be  substituted  for  the  present  Heb.  text  }edhdm  (which  may  be 
due  to  a  scribal  error). 

14.  the  crossway.  The  Heb.  word  (perek)  thus  translated  is  of  doubt- 
ful meaning  here.  In  Nah.  iii.  1,  tbe  only  place  where  it  recurs,  it  must 
be  equivalent  to  "rapine"  (the  root  signifying  "to  rend"):  but  in  the 
present  passage  it  must  mean  either  a  breach  in  the  city's  walls  (usually 
expressed  by  perets),  a  parting  (or  fork)  of  the  roads,  or  (as  Marti 
suggests)  a  mountain  pass  or  ravine  (cf.  the  cognate  verb  in  1  Kgs.  xix. 
11).  The  LXX.  has  ra?  8i€K0oAds,  the  Vulg.  exitibu*. 

15 — 21.  The  tenor  of  the  contents  of  the  book  here  undergoes  a 
change.  The  remainder  is  concerned  not  with  a  past  judgment  that  has 
already  overtaken  Edom  exclusively,  but  a  future  judgment  awaiting 
the  heathen  world  in  general,  including,  but  not  confined  to,  the 
Edomites.  Here  destruction  from  Jehovah  is  impending  over  all  the 
nations,  who  are  doomed  to  drain  the  cup  of  His  fury  and  to  perish ; 
whereas  of  the  Israelites  who  have  already  drunk  of  it  a  remnant  will 
survive,  and  will  recover  from  their  spoilers  the  possessions  of  which 
they  have  been  robbed.  Here,  too,  there  is  a  change  in  the  people 
addressed  by  the  writer,  and  in  the  manner  of  the  address.  Previously 
Edom  has  been  apostrophized  in  the  2nd  pers.  sing.,  and  Israel  has  been 
referred  to  in  the  3rd  pers. ;  but  in  v.  1 6  it  is  the  Israelites  who  are 
addressed  (in  the  2nd  pers.  plural).  The  coincidence  of  these  features 
points  to  the  conclusion  that  there  begins  in  v.  15  the  work  of  a  different 
prophet.  In  the  second  balf  of  v.  15,  however,  there  is  a  brief  recurrence 
to  the  earlier  subject-matter  and  mode  of  speech;  so  that  within  the 
verse  the  utterances  of  the  two  prophets  have  been  dovetailed,  and  15b, 
which  is  the  sequel  of  v.  14,  should  logically  change  places  with  15a, 
which  connects  with  v.  16f. 

15a.  For,  etc.  The  section  (beginning  with  this  clause)  which  is  here 
added  to  the  earlier  part  of  the  book  is  of  an  Apocalyptic  character, 
see  p.  xlii. 


78  OBADIAH  [15 

of  the  LORD  is  near  upon  all  the  nations :   as  thou  hast  done,  it 
shall  be  done  unto  thee;  thy  l  dealing  shall  return  upon  thine 

1  Or,  recompence 

the  day  of  the  LORD.  This  term  denotes  a  signal  manifestation  (in 
the  nearer  or  remoter  future)  of  Jehovah's  activity  which  the  populace 
and  the  prophets  of  Israel  alike  looked  for,  but  to  which  they  attached 
a  different  significance.  By  the  populace,  inasmuch  as  Israel  was 
Jehovah's  people,  it  was  uniformly  expected  to  bring  destruction  upon 
their  oppressors  and  relief  to  Israel  itself  (Am.  v.  18);  but  in  the  view 
of  the  prophets  its  coming  was  fraught  with  overthrow  for  everything 
(whether  within  Israel  or  in  the  outside  world)  that  was  morally  evil. 
Yet  whilst  the  prophets  anticipated  that  on  the  Day  of  Jehovah  their 
countrymen  would  have  to  sustain  a  judgment  from  God  no  less  than 
other  nations,  so  far  as  they  had  ignored  His  ethical  and  spiritual  re- 
quirements, they  were  not  oblivious  of  the  covenant  believed  to  subsist 
between  Him  and  His  chosen  people.  Consequently  even  among  the 
prophets  the  day  of  Jehovah  had  a  varying  import,  according  as  con- 
temporary conditions  rendered  admonition  or  consolation  the  more 
urgent  duty.  Prior  to  the  Exile  they  made  the  former  task  their  principal 
aim,  and  sought  to  convince  the  people  that  in  consequence  of  their  sins 
they  had  more  to  fear  than  to  hope  from  some  exceptional  intervention 
of  Jehovah  in  human  affairs  (see  Am.  v.  18 — 20,  Is.  ii.  12  f).  But  in 
post-exilic  times,  when  their  country's  offences  seemed  to  have  been 
expiated,  and  their  chastisement  to  have  been  intensified,  by  the  agents 
who  inflicted  it,  beyond  what  was  deserved,  they  encouraged  their 
countrymen  to  await  from  Jehovah  the  speedy  occurrence  of  vindication 
for  Israel  and  of  punishment  for  its  enemies. 

is  near.    The  same  assertion  appears  in  Joel  i.  15,  iii.  14. 

all  the  nations.  The  fact  that  the  Jewish  people,  even  when  they  had 
reached  a  monotheistic  stage  of  belief,  nevertheless  continued  to  draw 
such  a  line  of  cleavage  between  themselves  and  the  rest  of  the  world  as 
is  implied  in  this  and  similar  passages  can  be  accounted  for  partly  by 
the  retention  of  the  name  of  the  national  deity,  Jehovah,  to  denote  the 
God  of  all  the  earth,  and  partly  by  the  circumstance  that  after  the 
Exile  their  religion  was  all  that  remained  of  their  nationality,  and 
consequently  perpetuated  in  some  measure  the  limitations  of  the  latter. 

15b.  as  thou  hast^  done,  etc.  This  half  of  the  v.  is  a  continuation  of 
the  direct  denunciation  of  Edom  in  w.  2 — 14  (that  nation  being 
addressed  here,  as  there,  in  the  2nd  pers.  sing.);  and  it  would  be  more 
in  place  if  it  preceded  the  first  half.  It  may  proceed  from  the  prophetical 
writer  who  composed  the  earlier  part  of  the  book  (exclusive  of  the  verses 
borrowed  from  a  still  earlier  prophet),  but  has  been  transposed;  or  else 
it  is  a  connecting  link  introduced  by  the  author  of  w.  15a,  16 — 21. 
For  the  sentiment  expressed  cf.  Is.  iii.  11,  Jer.  1.  15,  29,  Hab.  ii.  8, 
Lam.  iii.  64,  Ezek.  xxxv.  15,  Rev.  xviii.  6.  The  word  rendered  dealing, 
though  it  has  the  sense  of  recompense  (as  given  in  the  mg.),  is  here  used 


is-17]  OBADIAH  79 

own  head.  16  For  as  ye  have  drunk  upon  my  holy  mountain,  so 
shall  all  the  nations  drink  continually,  yea,  they  shall  drink,  and 
Swallow  down,  and  shall  be  as  though  they  had  not  been.  17  But 
in  mount  Zion  there  shall  be  those  that  escape,  and  it  shall 

1  Or,  talk  foolishly 

of  the  initial  offence  provoking  retribution;  see  Joel  iii.  4,  7  and  cf. 
Prov.  xii.  14.  For  the  phrase  return  upon  thine  own  head  cf.  Ps.  vii.  16. 

16.  For  as  ye  have  drunk...  so  shall  all  the  nations  drink.  It  seems 
absolutely  necessary  to  put  upon  the  verb  drink  the  same  sense  in  both 
clauses  ;  and  since  in  the  second  it  can  only  be  reasonably  interpreted, 
in  a  metaphorical  sense,  of  draining  the  cup  of  suffering  and  woe  (as  in 
2  Is.  li.  17,  22,  Jer.  xxy.  15,  xlix.  12,  Lam.  iv.  21,  Ezek.  xxiii.  32—34, 
Ps.  Ix.  3,  Ixxv.  8,  Hab.  ii.  16,  Mk.  x.  38,  xiy.  36,  Job.  xviii.  11,  Rev.  xiv. 
10,  etc.),  it  must  have  tbe  same  signification  in  the  first.  Under  these 
circumstances  the  words  must  be  addressed  to  the  prophet's  country- 
men, who  are  meant  to  understand  that  the  Divine  chastisement  which 
they  had  experienced  will  now  be  undergone  by  the  heathen  peoples, 
cf.  Jer.  xlix.  12.  Some  scholars,  however,  suppose  that  the  prophet's 
utterance  is  directed  to  the  Edomites,  and  Konig  (ap.  Van  Hoonacker) 
gives  to  the  verb  drink  in  both  clauses  a  literal  meaning  —  "as  ye 
Edomites  have  drunk  in  revelry  upon  the  mountains  of  Judah  on  the 
occasion  of  the  overthrow  of  Jerusalem,  so  shall  all  the  nations  drink 
upon  the  mountains  of  Edom  in  continuous  triumph";  and  some  codices 
of  the  LXX.  actually  insert  olvov  as  the  object  of  the  verb  Trioi/rat  (see 
below).  But  this  explanation  is  contradicted  by  tbe  concluding  clause 
of  the  v.j  which  predicts  for  the  nations  not  triumph  but  destruction. 

my  holy  mountain.  I.e.  the  Temple  hill  (as  in  Is.  xxvii.  13,  3  Is.  Ivi.  7, 
Zeph.  iii.  11,  Joel  ii.  2,  iii.  17,  etc.). 

shall...  drink  continually.  The  nations,  unlike  Israel  whose  chastise- 
ment was  only  temporary,  are  to  undergo  retribution  uninterruptedly 
until  their  extermination  is  accomplished.  The  principal  MSS.  of  the 
LXX.  have  nothing  corresponding  to  continually  (tdrnidh),  but  some  (as 
has  been  said  above)  have,  instead,  the  word  olvov;  and  several  modern 
scholars,  in  consequence,  would  replace  tdmldh  by  hemer  (wine)')  cf. 
Dt.  xxxii.  14. 

swallow  down.  This  rendering  is  very  uncertain,  for  the  Heb.  verb 
elsewhere  means  to  talk  wildly,  rave  (see  mg.  ;  and  cf.  Job  vi.  3,  Prov. 
xx.  25).  Wellhausen  and  Nowack  propose  to  replace  this  verb,  Id'u,  by 
nd'u,  stagger  (cf.  Is.  xxiv.  20,  xxix.  9);  whilst  Bewer  suggests  the 
passive  (pual)  ofbdla',  be  swallowed  up  (cf.  Job  xxxvii.  20,  Is.  ix.  16  mg.). 

as  though  they  had  not  been.    Cf.  Job  x.   19,  Wisd.  ii.  2  (tJs  ofy 


17.  But  in  mount  Zion...  escape.  The  name  mount  Zion  (for  the 
strict  denotation  of  which  see  p.  26)  here  designates  Jerusalem  as  a 
whole.  There  the  survivors  of  Israel  will  be  secure  from  the  annihilation 
in  store  for  the  nations.  The  survival  of  a  remnant  of  Jehovah's  people, 


80  OBADIAH  [i7,  ,8 

be  holy ;  and  the  house  of  Jacob  shall  possess  their  possessions. 
18  And  the  house  of  Jacob  shall  be  a  fire,  and  the  house  of 
Joseph  a  flame,  and  the  house  of  Esau  for  stubble,  and  they  shall 
burn  among  them,  and  devour  them:  and  there  shall  not  be 
any  remaining  to  the  house  of  Esau ;  for  the  LORD  hath  spoken 

purified  by  chastisement,  is  predicted  by  other  prophets  also;  see  for 
pre-exilic  times  Is.  iv.  2,  x.  20,  xxxvii.  31,  32,  and  for  the  post-exilic 
age  Zech.  viii.  12,  Joel  ii.  32  (which  seems  to  be  a  quotation  from  the 
present  passage).  The  word  rendered  those  that  escape  is  an  abstract 
(like  "captivity"  for  "a  body  of  captives,"  Jer.  xxxiii.  7). 

and  it  shall  be  holy.  The  Hebrew  may  also  be  rendered,  and  there 
shall  be  holiness,  or  and  there  shall  be  a  sanctuary  (i.e.  an  inviolable 
retreat).  The  clause,  if  retained,  assures  to  Zion  immunity  from  a 
repetition  of  the  outrages  previously  sustained  at  the  hands  of  the 
heathen  nations  (v.  16).  But  since  it  seems  to  impair  the  balance  of 
the  v.  (which  consists  of  two  tetrameters),  it  is  most  likely  an  insertion 
from  Joel  iii.  17,  where  it  forms  part  of  a  longer  description,  and  where 
it  is  more  appropriate  to  the  context.  If  it  is  really  an  interpolation 
from  Joel,  the  gender  of  the  verb  has  been  adjusted  to  its  present  sur- 
roundings. 

the  house  of  Jacob.   The  phrase  is  here  equivalent  to  Judah  (cf.  v.  18). 

shall  possess  their  possessions.  I.e.  shall  repossess  their  own  former 
territories :  for  possess  in  tbis  sense  cf.  Dt.  xxx.  5,  Jer.  xxx.  3.  The 
LXX.  (followed  by  the  Vulg.)  has  shall  possess  those  that  dispossessed  them 
(rovs  KaTaK\7)povofjitja-avra<s  avrovs),  involving  a  different  pointing.  The 
passage  implies  the  return  of  Jewish  exiles  to  their  own  land,  predictions 
of  which  occur  in  Is.  xi.  11  f.,  xiv.  2,  2  Is.  xliii.  5,  xlix.  22,  3  Is.  Ix.  4, 
Jer.  xxx.  10,  xlvi.  27,  Mic.  vii.  12. 

18.  Jacob... Joseph.  These  stand  respectively  for  the  two  branches 
(or  erstwhile  kingdoms)  of  the  Israelite  people  (cf.  Ps.  Ixxvii.  15),  whose 
reunion  is  anticipated  by  the  writer  as  by  other  prophets  (Is.  xi.  13, 
Jer.  iii.  18,  xxx.  3,  xxxi.  5,  6,  27,  Ezek,  xxxvii.  16,  Hos.  i.  11,  iii.  5, 
2  Zech.  x.  6). 

a  fire... for  stubble.  Similar  imagery  occurs  in  Is.  v.  24,  x.  17,  2  Is. 
xlvii.  14,  2  Zech.  xii.  6,  Mai.  iv.  1.  For  parallel  predictions  of  Israel's 
participation  in  the  execution  of  judgment  upon  its  former  oppressors 
see  Is.  xi.  14,  2  Is.  xli.  15,  16,  Mic.  iv.  11—13. 

there  shall  not... remaining.    Compare  Jer.  xlii.  17.   The  Alexandrine 

Codex  of  the  LXX.  has  OVK  4'crrat  7rvp<j>6po<;  (of  which  the  Trvpo^opos  of  the 

Vatican  codex  is  a  corruption),  and  the  Old  Latin  version  has  ignifer. 
The  term  Trup^o'pos  denoted  a  priest  who,  in  a  Spartan  army,  had  charge 
of  the  sacred  fire  taken  from  the  altar  of  Zeus,  which  was  always  kept 
alight  to  consume  the  sacrifices  offered  for  the  army;  and  since  his 
person,  by  Greek  international  usage,  was  held  inviolable  (Hesychius 
being  quoted  as  explaining  the  word  to  mean  6  TTI>P  ^e/awv  KCU  6  /xoVos 
eis  Iv  7roXe/xu)),  there  arose  the  proverb  (descriptive  of  complete 


1  8,  19]  OB  ADI  AH  81 

it.   19  And  they  of  the  South  shall  possess  the  mount  of  Esau; 


annihilation)  ovSe  7rvp<£dpos  cXctyO-r)  (cf.  Hdt.  vm.  6).  The  prediction  in 
the  present  passage  obtained  fulfilment  in  some  degree  during  the 
Maccabaean  period  of  Jewish  history  (see  p.  1). 

19.  This  verse  predicts  the  expansion  of  the  Jewish  community  in 
all  directions  beyond  the  narrow  boundaries  encompassing  it  in  post- 
exilic  times  (see  Mic.  vii.  11  and  cf.  3  Is.  Ixi.  7);  but  the  precise 
meaning  of  the  passage  is  obscure,  and  the  text  has  probably  undergone 
much  corruption.  The  literal  rendering  of  the  Hebrew  is,  And  the 
South  shall  possess  the  mountain  of  Esau  and  the  Lowland  the  Philistines 
and  they  shall  possess  the  field  of  Ephraim  and  the  field  of  Samaria  and 
Benjamin  Gilead.  The  South  and  the  Lowland  were  physical  divisions 
of  the  territory  of  Judah  (which  alone  the  writer  in  this  v.  seems  to 
have  in  view);  and  as  the  passage  stands,  it  declares  that  the  in- 
habitants of  the  first  are  to  occupy  Edom,  and  those  of  the  second  are 
to  seize  in  the  W.  the  land  of  the  Philistines  (cf.  Is.  xi.  14)  and  to 
spread  in  the  N.  over  the  former  territory  of  Ephraim  and  Samaria, 
including  Benjamin  (lying  between  Ephraim  and  Judah)  ;  whilst  the 
Benjamites,  in  lieu  of  their  prior  possessions  (thus  lost),  are  to  cross 
the  Jordan,  and  appropriate  the  district  of  Gilead.  But  it  is  difficult 
to  think  that  the  passage  in  its  present  form  is  complete.  The  extension 
of  the  population  of  the  South  towards  Edom  and  of  the  denizens  of 
the  Lowland  towards  Philistia  is  natural  enough  ;  but  it  is  not  equally 
natural  that  the  dwellers  in  the  Lowland  should  be  destined  to  occupy 
Ephraim  also.  Hence  there  is  probably  some  defect  in  the  text,  the 
real  subject  of  the  second  verb  shall  possess  being  lost.  The  LXX. 
instead  of  the  field  of  Ephraim  has  TO  opos  'E^pa'i/x,  and  though  at  first 
sight  TO  opos  looks  like  an  accus.,  it  may  really  be  a  nominative, 
implying  in  the  Heb.  hd-hdr  'eth  'Ephraim  (instead  of  'eth  sedheh 
'Ephraim,  as  the  present  text  has  it).  If  this  is  the  original  form  of 
the  passage,  as  supposed  by  Ewald  and  G.  A.  Smith,  the  translation 
of  the  second  half  of  the  verse  will  be  and  they  of  the  hill  country  (of 
Judah)  shall  possess  Ephraim  and  the  field  of  Samaria,  and  they  of 
Benjamin  Gilead,.  This  supplies  the  defect  under  which  the  Hebrew, 
as  we  now  have  it,  labours,  and  brings  the  passage  into  harmony  with 
Jer.  xxxii.  44,  xxxiii.  13. 

the  South.  In  Heb.  the  Neghebh.  This  was  the  district,  originally 
within  Judah  (Josh.  xv.  21),  lying  south  of  Hebron  and  extending 
towards  the  border  of  Edom  as  far  as  the  plateau  of  Jebel  es  Magrah. 
It  consists  of  a  succession  of  rolling  hills,  the  ridges  running  east  and 
west;  its  surface  is  treeless  and  waterless  (except  when  the  wadies 
which  cut  it  are  filled  by  the  winter  rains)  ;  and  its  present  aspect  is 
one  of  barrenness  and  desolation.  There  are  reasons,  however,  for 
thinking  that  at  various  times  it  has  been  cultivated  and  has  main- 
tained a  considerable  population. 

shall  possess.  .  .Esau.  The  occupation  of  Edom  by  Judah  is  predicted 
in  Am.  ix.  11,  12,  Is.  xi.  14;  cf.  Num.  xxiv.  18. 


82  OBADIAH  [19 

and  they  of  the  lowland  the  Philistines  :  and  they  shall  possess 


the  lowland.  In  Heb.  the  jShephelak;  Aq.  y  TrcSu/^'.  This  was  a  region 
lying  between  the  hill  country  of  Judah  (see  below)  and  the  maritime 
plain.  It  thus  bordered  on  Philistia,  but  was  of  rather  uncertain 
delimitation,  though  cities  within  it  were  certainly  included  in  Judah, 
according  to  Josh.  xv.  33  —  36.  It  consists  of  a  mass  of  low  hills  which, 
when  viewed  from  the  maritime  plain,  appear  "buttressing  the  central 
range"  of  Judah,  but  which  are  really  separated  from  the  latter  by 
a  series  of  valleys1. 

the  Philistines.  I.e.  the  land  of  the  Philistines.  There  has  been 
much  speculation  as  to  the  origin  of  this  people.  The  association  of 
Philistines  and  Pelethites  (perhaps  another  form  of  the  same  national 
title)  with  Cherethites  in  Ezek.  xxv.  16,  Zeph.  ii.  5,  2  Sam.  viii.  18, 
xv.  18,  xx.  7  has  suggested  that  they  were  Cretans2;  and  the  conclusion 
that  they  were  a  non-Semitic  race  is  supported  by  the  fact  that  they 
did  not  practise  circumcision,  a  usage  prevailing  among  the  majority 
of  the  Semitic  peoples  inhabiting  Palestine.  It  is  perhaps  also  signi- 
ficant that  the  LXX.  frequently  represents  their  name  by  aAAo<£iAoi. 
In  Gen.  x.  14  they  are  connected  with  the  Casluhim;  but  in  Am.  ix.  7 
their  home,  prior  to  their  settlement  in  Palestine,  is  said  to  have  been 
Caphtor  (cf.  Jer.  xlvii.  4),  a  name  plausibly  identified  with  Keftiu, 
which  in  the  Egyptian  inscriptions  denotes  a  locality  from  which 
articles  resembling  the  products  of  Crete  were  brought  to  Egypt  in 
the  reign  of  Thutmose  III  (first  half  of  the  15th  century  B.c.)3.  Crete, 
however,  does  not  appear  to  have  been  their  native  soil  :  at  least,  they 
differed  in  their  military  equipment  from  the  Minoan  inhabitants  of 
that  island  ;  and  it  has  been  thought  that  they  crossed  to  Crete  from 
Caria4.  In  the  Egyptian  inscriptions  there  are  allusions  to  a  people 
called  Pulasati:  and  if  the  identification  of  the  Philistines  with  these 
is  correct,  the  occasion  of  their  establishing  themselves  in  Canaan  was 
their  failure  in  an  attempt,  made  in  conjunction  with  a  number  of 
allied  tribes,  to  over-run  Egypt  in  the  12th  century  B.C.  :  being  foiled 
in  this  enterprise  by  Rameses  III,  they  settled  on  the  seaboard  that 
trends  from  the  Delta  northward.  Their  immigration  into  the  country 
(Palestine)  which  came  to  be  named  after  them  probably  took  place 
later  than  the  conquest  of  Canaan  by  the  Israelites,  but  not  later  than 
the  period  of  the  Judges  (see  Jud.  xiii.  1);  and  their  occupation  of  the 
coast  affords  a  reasonable  explanation  of  the  movements  of  the  Danites 
recorded  in  Jud.  xviii.  If  this  synchronism  is  approximately  correct, 
the  mention  of  Philistines  in  Canaan  in  the  age  of  Abraham  (Gen. 
xxvi.  1),  or  even  at  the  date  of  the  Exodus  (Ex.  xiii.  17),  must  be 
anachronistic5.  The  relations  between  them  and  Israel  were  generally 

1  G.  A.  Smith,  HGHL.  p.  203. 

2  The  LXX.  in  Ezek.  and  Zeph.  represent  the  Cherethites 

3  Macalister,  The  Philistines,  etc.  pp.  9  —  10. 

4  See  Cambridge  Ancient  History,  u.  pp.  286  —  7. 
6  Cf.  Sayce,  Early  History  of  the  Hebrews,  p.  64. 


i9]  OBADIAH  83 

the  field  of  Ephraim,  and  the  field  of  Samaria :  and  Benjamin 

unfriendly.  They  were  conquered  by  David  (2  Sam.  v.  17 — 25),  but 
continued  to  be  troublesome  long  after  his  time  (2  Kgs.  xviii.  8,  2  Ch. 
xxviii.  18,  Ps.  Ixxxiii.  7);  and  the  subjugation  of  them  by  the  Jews  is 
often  the  subject  of  prophetic  predictions  (see  Is.  xi.  14,  Jer.  xxv.  20, 
Ezek.  xxv.  15—17). 

and  they  shall  possess ...  Samaria.    If,  as  is  argued  on  p.   81,  the 

reading  of  the  LXX.  KOL  KdTaKXrjpovofjitjcrovo-i  TO  opos  'E</>pcu/x  KOLL  TO  TreSiov 

2a/xap£i'as  should  be  adopted  here,  the  subject  of  the  verb  will  be  they 
of  the  hill  country  (TO  opo?  representing  kd-kar,  which,  followed  by 
the  particle  'etk,  must  be  substituted  for  'eth  sedheh  in  the  present 
Heb.  text).  Part  of  the  territory  assigned  to  Judah  at  the  Conquest 
(according  to  Josh,  xv.)  was  distinguished  as  the  Mountain,  in  contrast 
to  the  South,  the  Lowland,  and  the  Wilderness.  The  sense,  then,  of 
this  passage  will  be  that  whilst  the  inhabitants  of  the  South  are  to 
possess  Edom,  and  those  of  the  Lowland  are  to  acquire  Philistia,  the 
occupants  of  the  Mountain  (or  hill  country)  are  to  expand  northward 
and  possess  the  territory  of  the  former  tribe  of  Ephraim  (extending 
from  Bethel  and  Bethhoron  on  the  south  to  the  brook  of  Kanah  (near 
Shechem)  on  the  north).  The  words  and  the  field  of  Samaria  are 
perhaps  a  gloss,  the  conjunction  being  explanatory  and  equivalent  to 
even  (cf.  1  Sam.  xvii.  40) :  the  omission  of  them  would  improve  the 
symmetry  of  the  clauses  in  the  v.  The  term  field  has  the  signification 
of  "region"  or  "territory,"  as  in  Gen.  xiv.  7,  Num.  xxi.  20,  etc.;  and 
can  be  applied  to  a  hilly  district  as  well  as  to  level  ground  (see  Gen. 
xxxii.  3). 

and  Benjamin  shall  possess  Gilead.  If  the  inhabitants  of  the  hill 
country  of  Judah  are  thought  of  as  destined  to  spread  into  the  former 
territory  of  Ephraim,  they  would  inevitably  absorb  that  of  Benjamin 
(lying  between  Judah  and  Ephraim);  and  the  Benjamites  are  accord- 
ingly to  be  compensated  with  Gilead.  The  LXX.  has  *at  Bcwa/x.eti'  /cai  T^V 
Ta\aa.of.LTLv,  apparently  regarding  both  words  as  ace.  after  the  foregoing 
Ka.TaK\r)povopijo-ovo-iv,  and  supposing  that  a  section  of  the  Judeans  are 
to  occupy  Gilead  in  addition  to  the  territories  of  Benjamin  and  Ephraim ; 
but  Sym.  and  Th.  have  *at  Bei/ia/u^  ot  T^V  FaXaaS,  taking  Bevia/uV  as 
the  subject  of  the  verb  supplied;  whilst  the  Vulg.  has  explicitly  et 
Benjamin  possidebit  Galaad.  Bewer  thinks  that  the  whole  verse 
contains  various  explanatory  glosses,  and  considers  that  it  originally 
ran,  And  they  shall  possess  the  South  and  the  Lowland,  and  they  shall 
possess  mount  Ephraim  (adopting  the  LXX/s  TO  opos  'E<£pcuju,  and 
treating  the  phrase  as  object),  and  the  Ammonites  (replacing  binydmm 
by  bene  'ammori).  After  the  local  names  there  were  then  inserted 
definitions  (marked  by  the  prefixed  particle  }eth)  as  in  Ezek.  iv.  1, 
xxxvi.  12,  the  South  being  explained  by  the  mount  of  Esau,  the  Lowland 
by  the  Philistines,  mount  Ephraim  by  the  field  of  Samaria,  and  the 
Ammonites  by  Gilead  (the  insertions  being  designed  to  identify  the 
localities  in  the  writer's  own  time).  But  this  interpretation  does  not 

6—2 


84  OBADIAH  [ 


19,    20 


shall  possess  Gilead.   20  And  the  captivity  of  this  *  host  of  the 

1  Or,  fortress 

account  for  the  conjunction  in  and  the  field  of  Samaria,  supposed  to 
be  a  gloss  on  mount  Ephraim  (for  there  is  no  conjunction  before  the 
other  hypothetical  glosses);  whilst  Gilead  should  be  glossed  by  the 
Ammonites  (not  the  reverse). 

20.  The  authentic  text  of  this  v.  is  so  uncertain  that  any  explanation 
of  it  is  bound  to  be  precarious.  The  original  rendered  literally  is  And 
the  captivity  of  this  fortress  (or  host)  of  the  children  of  Israel  who  (or 
which)  the  Canaanites  even  unto  Zarephath  and  the  captivity  of  Jeru- 
salem which  is  in  Sepharad  shall  possess  the  cities  of  the  South:,  but  this 
is  clearly  defective,  and  has  been  supplemented  in  various  ways : 

(1)  The  R/.V.  text  supplies  before  the  Canaanites  the  preposition 
" among"  (be)  and  after  it  the  verb  "possess,"  which  may  be  got  from 
the  concluding  clause  of  either  this  v.  or  the  preceding.  By  the  captivity 
of  this  host  (if  such  be  the  right  rendering)  of  the  children  of  Israel  must 
be  meant  members  of  some  Hebrew  provincial  community  (in  contrast 
to  members  of  the  Jewish  capital),  held  prisoners  among  the  Canaanites 
(or  Phoenicians) :  these  when  released  are  to  have  possessions  extending 
even  unto  Zarephath.  But  this  explanation  leaves  unexpressed  the  object 
of  the  verb  "  possess  "  which  is  supplied  in  the  first  half  of  the  v.  and 
needs  before  the  Canaanites  the  word  dwell  (as  well  as  among). 

(2)  The  R.V.  second  mg.  avoids  one  difficulty  by  regarding  the 
cities  of  the  South  (at  the  end  of  the  v.)  as  the  destined  possessions  of 
both  groups  of  captives,  defining  the  first  as  those  which  are  among  the 
Canaanites  even  unto  Zarephath.    But  to  take  the  words  even  unto 
Zarephath  as  marking  the  extent  of  the  dispersal  of  captive  Hebrews 
among  the  Phoenicians  still  requires  the  insertion,  after  the  relative 
which,  of  a  verb  like  dwell. 

(3)  The  R.V.  first  mg.  supplies  the  verb  "  shall  possess  "  before,  not 
after,  the  relative  pronoun  (which  it  treats  as  neuter)  and  supplies 
before  the  Canaanites  not  the  preposition  "among"  but  the  preposition 
"  to  "  (le) ;  and  the  resultant  translation  of  the  first  half  of  the  verse 
is  And  the  captivity  of  this  host  of  the  children  of  Israel  shall  possess 
that  which  belongeth  to  the  Canaanites,  even  unto  Zarephath.    This 
rendering  not  only  furnishes  an  object  to  the  verb  "shall  possess,"  but 
also  affords  a  natural  connection  for  the  words  even  unto  Zarephath. 
But  before  the  word  Canaanites  there  might  be  expected  the  preposition 
commonly  employed  to  mark  possession,  le  or  la(c). 

(4)  The  LXX.  has  777  before  TWV  XavavcuW,  suggesting  that  the 
Greek  translators  had  before  them  the  reading  'eth  'erets  instead  of 
the  relative  pronoun  'dsher  of  the  present  Hebrew  text.    The  adoption 
of  this,  and  of  the  rendering  of  hel  by  fortress  instead  of  by  host,  yields 
the  translation,  And  the  captivity  of  this  fortress  of  the  children  of  Israel 
shall  possess  the  land  of  the  Canaanites  even  unto  Zarephath ;  and  such 
seems  the  best  solution  of  the  difficulties  presented  by  the  passage. 
The  words  this  fortress  possibly  designate  Samaria  (since  it  is  contrasted 


20]  OBADIAH  85 

children  of  Israel, l  which  are  among  the  Canaanites,  shall  possess 
even  unto  Zarephath ;  and  the  captivity  of  Jerusalem,  which  is  in 

1  Or,  shall  possess  that  which  belongeth  to  the  Canaanites,  even  &c.  Or,  which 
are  among  the  Canaanites,  even  unto  Zarephath,  and  &c. 

with  Jerusalem] ;  if  so,  the  captivity  (i.e.  the  captives)  of  this  fortress 
must  signify  Samaria's  deported  inhabitants,  whom  the  prophet  ex- 
pects to  return  and  take  possession,  not  of  their  former  abode  (for  this 
is  to  be  occupied  by  the  inhabitants  of  the  hill  country  of  Judah,  see 
on  v.  19),  but  part  of  Phoenicia  as  far  as  Zarephath.  The  word  hel 
which  the  translation  host,  adopted  by  the  R.V.  text,  assumes  to  be 
equivalent  to  hayil  (cf.  Sym.  and  Th.  T^S  oWa/zcws  raimjs  and  Vulg. 
exercitus  huius)  probably  here  has  the  meaning  which  it  bears  in 
Lam.  ii.  8,  Nah.  iii.  8 — namely,  rampart  or  fortification  •  and  the 
writer,  by  attaching  to  it  the  pronoun  this,  seems  to  imply  that  he 
dwelt  near  the  fortress  designated.  Ewald  proposed  to  replace  the 
term  by  hoi,  "sand,"  interpreted  in  the  sense  of  coast,  and  took  it  to 
refer  to  the  Israelite  tribes  north  of  Ephraim,  flanking  the  Mediter- 
ranean. Zarephath  (mentioned  in  1  Kgs.  xvii.  9)  is  represented  in  the 
LXX.  by  Sarepta  (cf.  Lk.  iv.  26):  it  was  situated  between  Tyre  and 
Zidon,  about  8  miles  S.  of  the  latter.  There  still  survive  ruins  of  it 
along  the  shore  in  front  of  the  Arabic  village  of  Sarafend. 

Bewer,  who  takes  (like  the  supporters  of  the  interpretation  given 
above)  the  children  of  Israel  to  mean  descendants  of  the  northern 
Israelites,  whose  independence  was  destroyed  by  Sargon,  considers 
that  in  ha-hel  there  is  disguised  (through  textual  corruption)  the 
locality  Halak,  to  which,  among  other  places,  the  captives  of  Samaria 
were  deported  (2  Kgs.  xvii.  6) ;  and  he  reconstructs  the  text  so  as  to 
obtain  the  translation  And  the  captivity  of  the  children  of  Israel  that 
are  in  Halah  shall  possess  the  Canaanites  (i.e.  Phoenicia)  as  far  as 
Zarephath. 

the  captivity  of  Jerusalem.  I.e.  bodies  of  Judean  captives  deported 
from  Jerusalem,  first  by  the  Babylonian  Nebuchadrezzar,  and  later 
possibly  by  various  Persian  rulers. 

Sepharad.  The  locality  intended  is  quite  uncertain.  East  of  Palestine 
a  Saparda  in  S.  W.  Media  is  named  in  an  inscription  of  Sargon 
(721 — 705),  and  another,  situated  N.E.  of  Nineveh,  is  mentioned  in 
an  inscription  of  Esar-haddon  (681 — 668);  and  if  either  of  these  was 
an  Assyrian  possession,  it  may,  on  the  overthrow  of  Assyria,  have  fallen 
to  Babylon  and  become  the  abode  of  Jewish  captives.  In  the  west  there 
was  a  (Jparda  (Sparda)  situated  in  Asia  Minor,  near  Bithynia  and 
Galatia,  which  was  conquered  by  Cyrus,  the  Persian,  and  again  by 
Darius  Hystaspis  (Sayce,  HCM.  p.  483);  and  Jews  are  related  to 
have  been  transported  into  Asia  Minor  by  Artaxerxes  Ochus  (358— 
337).  The  fact  that  Qparda  is  mentioned  in  connection  with  the  laund, 
i.e.  the  lonians  (Schrader,  COT.  I.  p.  446)  has  suggested  its  identi- 
fication with  Sardis.  The  LXX.  has  ?ws  'E<£pa0a  which  (it  has  been 


86  OB  ADI  AH  [ao,  21 

Sepharad,  shall  possess  the  cities  of  the  South.  21  And  saviours 
shall  come  up  on  mount  Zion  to  judge  the  mount  of  Esau ;  and 
the  kingdom  shall  be  the  LORD'S. 

conjectured)  is  a  scribal  error  for  ews  3e<£pa0a.  The  Vulg.  represents 
in  Sepharad  by  in  Bosporo  (which  may  possibly  preserve  a  tradition 
that  associated  Sepharad  with  Bithynia).  By  later  Jewish  interpreters 
the  locality  was  identified  with  Spain,  and  the  Spanish  Jews  are  still 
known  as  the  Sephardim. 

the  cities  of  the  South.  At  the  time  when  the  author  of  this  passage 
wrote,  the  South  of  Judah  may  have  been  occupied  by  a  hostile 
people — probably  Edomites,  who  even  in  the  2nd  century  B.C.  were 
in  possession  of  Hebron  (1  Mace.  v.  65).  In  any  case  the  Jews  dwelling 
there,  by  pushing  into  Edom  (v.  19),  would  leave  room  for  the  returning 
exiles  here  spoken  of. 

21.  And  saviours... Zion.  The  meaning  seems  to  be  that  deliverers 
(cf.  Jud.  iii.  9,  15,  2  Kgs.  xiii.  5,  NeK.  ix.  27)  will  come  to  mount  Zion 
to  ensure  the  safety  of  the  Jews  gathered  there,  and  to  inflict  the 
destined  retribution  on  Edom  (cf.  v.  18);  and  these  thoughts  may  have 
been  inspired  by  the  visit  to  Jerusalem  of  Nehemiah,  who  fortified  the 
city.  The  construction  come  up  on  (instead  of  come  up  to,  or  on  to) 
mount  Zion  is  rather  unusual  (be  instead  of  'el  or  (al),  but  seems 
sufficiently  defended  by  2  Sam.  ii.  1,  1  Ch.  xiv.  11.  The  LXX.,  how- 
ever, has  Kat  ai/a^croi/rat  avacr<i)£o/xevoi  e£  o/oous  Seiwv,  And  those  who  are 
saved  (see  v.  17)  shall  go  up  (i.e.  on  an  expedition,  cf.  Jer.  xlix.  29, 
1.  tyfrom  mount  Zion  (using  other  vowels  and  a  different  preposition). 

to  judge,  etc.  I.e.  to  execute  judgment  (cf.  1  Sam.  iii.  13)  on  the 
mountain  land  of  Edom. 

and  the  kingdom... the  LORD'S.  The  rule  of  Jehovah  over  the  whole 
world,  which  could  be  questioned  so  long  as  the  wrongs  inflicted  on 
His  people  were  unredressed,  would  be  vindicated  as  soon  as  retribution 
overtook  the  wrongdoers :  cf.  Ex.  xv.  18,  Ps.  xxii.  28,  xlvii.  8,  xciii.  1, 
2  Zech.  xiv.  9,  Rev.  xix.  6.  Although  the  context  here  involves 
a  narrow  racial  conception  of  Jehovah's  kingdom,  which  is  viewed  as 
established  through  the  supremacy  of  Israel  over  other  peoples,  the 
prediction  has  found,  and  is  finding,  a  more  universalist  and  spiritual 
fulfilment  through  the  extension  of  Christianity,  which,  though  origin- 
ating in  the  midst  of  Judaism,  has  become  detached  from  it,  and  with 
such  detachment  has  shed  the  idea  of  Jewish  sovereignty  over  the 
Gentiles. 


OBADIAH  87 


APPENDIX 

THE  ORACLE  QUOTED  IN  COMMON  BY  OBADIAH 
AND  JEREMIAH. 

The  likeness  between  the  two  passages  Ob.  1  —  5  and  Jer.  xlix.  14  — 
16,  9  cannot  be  satisfactorily  accounted  for  except  on  the  supposition 
that  they  have  a  common  origin  in  an  earlier  oracle  which  has  been 
incorporated  by  both  prophetic  writers.  This  oracle  was  metrical  in 
structure  ;  but  it  is  not  at  once  clear  in  what  metre  it  was  composed, 
since,  where  the  two  texts  are  in  conflict,  the  underlying  source  can  be 
reconstructed  in  more  than  one  way.  Certain  lines  obviously  are  marked 
by  the  Kinah  (or  Pentameter)  rhythm,  but  several  of  the  alternate 
lines  admit  of  being  regarded  as  either  hexameters  or  pentameters, 
according  to  the  deductions  drawn  from  the  available  data.  If  the 
poem  be  reconstructed  so  as  to  present  a  series  of  alternating  hexa- 
meter (or  double  trimeter)  and  pentameter  lines,  we  get  a  system  of 
verses  resembling  the  Elegiac  poems  occurring  in  Greek  and  Latin 
literature.  It  would  probably,  however,  be  difficult  to  find  a  parallel 
for  such  an  arrangement  elsewhere  in  the  O.T.  ;  and  general  considera- 
tions are  in  favour  of  the  conclusion  that  the  oracle  consisted  of 
a  succession  of  pentameters,  with  the  exception  of  the  first  line,  which 
must  be  an  hexameter  (or  two  trimeters). 

The  discrepant  texts  of  Ob.  and  Jer.  have  been  compared  in  the 
commentary  in  some  detail.  From  this  comparison  the  original  form 
of  the  oracle  can  be  recovered  with  some  confidence  ;  and  a  plausible 
reconstruction  of  it  is  as  follows  :— 

Loquitur  propheta  ignotus. 

**  A  communication  have  I  heard  from  Jehovah,  |  while  a  messenger 
among  the  nations  is  being  sent  :  — 

[Nuntii  iussum.] 
'  Assemble  yourselves,  and  come  against  her,  |  and  rise  up  for  war.' 

[JEHOVAE  Oraculum.] 

'  Small  I  make  thee  among  the  nations,  |  despised  among  men. 
Thy  terribleness  hath  deceived  thee,  |  the  pride  of  thine  heart. 
O  dweller  in  the  clefts  of  the  rock,  |  holder  of  the  height, 
Though  thou  makest  on  high,  as  a  vulture,  thy  nest,  | 

[from  thence  will  I  bring  thee  down. 
If  vintagers  come  to  thee  |  they  will  not  leave  gleanings, 
If  thieves  by  night,  |  they  will  destroy  till  satisfied."5 


JOEL 

CHAPTERS  I.  1— II.  17. 

This  section  of  the  book  describes  the  disastrous  effects  of  the  plague  of 
locusts,  explains  the  need  of  repentance  on  the  part  of  the  people  for  the  sins 
occasioning  the  Divine  wrath,  and  voices  the  prophet's  demand  for  an  appeal 
to  God  to  spare  the  sufferers. 

I.  1  THE  word  of  the  LORD  that  came  to  Joel  the  son  of 
Pethuel. 

2  Hear  this,  ye  old  men,  and  give  ear,  all  ye  inhabitants  of 
the  land.  Hath  this  been  in  your  days,  or  in  the  days  of  your 
fathers?  3  Tell  ye  your  children  of  it,  and  let  your  children  tell 

1.  This  v.  constitutes  the  title  of  the  book,  and  in  form  resembles 
Hos.  i.  1,  Mic.  i.  1,  Zeph.  i.  1,  Hag.  i.  1.    The  phrase  The  word  of  the 
LORD  (or  JEHOVAH,  see  p.  1)  came  to...  is  frequent  in  connection 
with  Divine  revelations,  see  Gen.  xv.  1,  1  Sam.  xv.  10,  2  Sam.  vii.  4, 
xxiv.  11,  1  Kgs.  xvi.  1,  Is.  xxxviii.  4,  Jer.  i.  2,  11,  Ezek.  iii.  16,  etc. 

Joel.   On  the  meaning  of  the  name  see  p.  li. 

Pethuel.  This  appellation  occurs  only  here.  The  Heb.  form  is 
followed  by  the  Vulg.  (Pkatuel),  but  the  LXX.,  Old  Latin,  and  Syr. 
have  Bethuel  or  Bathuel,  identical  with  the  name  of  Rebekah's  father 
(Gen.  xxii.  22).  Both  names  are  difficult  to  interpret.  Pethuel,  if  con- 
nected with  the  Heb.  pdthah,  presumably  means  "  Persuaded  of  God1." 
The  first  element  of  Bethuel  cannot  be  explained  from  any  Heb.  verb : 
in  the  Oxford  Heb.  Lex.  it  is  suggested  that  it  is  equivalent  to  Methuel, 
"man  of  God." 

2 — 7.  Attention  is  called  to  the  unprecedented  character  of  the 
recent  calamity,  and  its  consequences. 

2.  Hear... give  ear.    The  same  parallelism  occurs  in  Gen.  iv.  23, 
Jud.  v.  3,  Is.  i.  2,  Hos.  v.  1,  Ps.  xlix.  1. 

ye  old  men.  This  (cf.  v.  14,  ii.  16)  is  a  better  rendering  than  ye  elders 
(the  official  heads  of  the  community)  since  appeal  is  made  to  length  of 
experience  (cf.  Dt.  xxxii.  7). 

the  land.  I.e.  Judah  (as  appears  from  the  mention  of  the  Temple  in 
w.  9,  13,  etc.). 

this.  I.e.  the  like  of  what  is  explained  in  v.  4 :  the  Old  Latin  has 
talia. 

3.  Tell  ye... generation.    To  adapt  this  v.  to  the  metre  of  the  sur- 
rounding context  (where  trimeters  are  employed)  Nowack  proposes,  by 
the  omission  of  the  middle  portion,  to  reduce  it  to  Tell  ye  your  children 

1  Cf.  Jeruel,  "Founded  of  God." 


i.  3-6]  JOEL  89 

their  children,  and  their  children  another  generation.  4  That 
which  Hhe  palmer  worm  hath  left  hath  Hhe  locust  eaten;  and 
that  which  the  locust  hath  left  hath  Hhe  cankerworm  eaten; 
and  that  which  the  cankerworm  hath  left  hath  Hhe  caterpiller 
eaten.  5  Awake,  ye  drunkards,  and  weep;  and  howl,  all  ye 
drinkers  of  wine,  because  of  the  sweet  wine ;  for  it  is  cut  off  from 
your  mouth.  6  For  a  nation  is  come  up  upon  my  land,  strong, 

1  Probably,  different  kinds  of  locusts,  or  locusts  in  different  stages  of  growth. 

oj  it  and  let  your  children  tell  another  (i.e.  the  next,  cf.  Ps.  cix.  13) 
generation. 

4.  The  four  names  used  in  this  v.  to  denote  various  sorts  of  locusts 
might  etymologically  be  represented  by  the  shearer,  the  swarmer,  the 
lapper  (i.e.  one  that  laps,  or  licks  up,  herbage),  and  the  finisher.    The 
variety  of  names,  however,  seems  to  be  employed,  not  for  the  purpose 
of  distinguishing  with  precision  different  species  (for  only  one  of  the 
names  which  in  Lev.  xi.  22  are  used  to  denote  kinds  occurs  here),  still 
less  to  denote  distinct  stages  of  growth  in  the  same  insect  (for  the  same 
terms  appear  in  a  different  order  in  ii.  25,  and  the  mature  locust  would 
not  consume  what  in  an  earlier  stage  of  development  it  had  left  un- 
devoured,  but  would  move  on  to  fresh  ground),  but  to  suggest  the 
interminable  succession  of  the  swarms.    For  allusions  in  the  O.T.  to 
the  locusts'  incalculable  numbers  cf.  Jud.  vi.  5,  vii.  12,  Jer.  xlvi.  23, 
Nah.  iii.  15,  Ps.  cv.  341. 

5.  Aiuake,  ye  drunkards.    The  sleep  induced  by  intoxication  must 
cease,  since  the  means  of  further  indulgence  in  potations  has  been 
destroyed.   For  the  injury  caused  by  locusts  to  vines  cf.  Theoc.  v.  108, 

a/cpi'Scs...^  /xru  A.w/3a<7eur$€  ras  a/iTreXo?. 

the  sweet  wine.  The  Heb.  word  ('cms),  thus  rendered,  denotes  juice 
"pressed"  (cf.  the  verb  in  Mai.  iv.  3  (iii.  21))  not  only  from  grapes  but 
also  from  other  fruits:  it  recurs  in  Am.  ix.  13  (=Joel  iii.  18),  2  Is. 
xlix.  26,  Cant.  viii.  2.  In  such  raw  juice  the  process  of  fermentation 
had  started  but  was  not  completed :  cf.  the  effects  attributed  to  yXevKo? 
in  Acts  ii.  13.  The  LXX.  in  iii.  18  renders  it  by  yAuKaoyAo's,  but  in  Is. 
and  Cant,  by  otvos  ve'os  and  i/a/xa  respectively. 

for  it  is  cut  off  from  your  mouth.  The  LXX.  has  because  there  have 
been  cut  off  from  your  mouth  joy  and  gladness  (a  pentameter  instead  of 
a  trimeter). 

6.  a  nation.   This  expression,  here  applied  to  locusts,  is  paralleled 
by  the  use  of  people  in  connection  with  the  same  insects  in  ii.  2,  and 
with  ants  and  coneys  in  Prov.  xxx.  25,  26.  So  Homer  employs  Wvea  of 
geese,  cranes,  flies,  bees,  and  swine  (//.  n.  87,  458,  469,  Od.  xiv.  93) ; 
and  Maurer  quotes  Verg.  G.  in.  73,  gentis  (of  horses),  and  Columella, 
ix.  13,  duo  populi  (of  bees). 

1  Agatharchides  (quoted  by  Henderson)  speaks  of  axpldw  7r\?70oy 


90  JOEL  [i.  6-8 

and  without  number ;  his  teeth  are  the  teeth  of  a  lion,  and  he 
hath  the  jaw  teeth  of  a  great  lion.  7  He  hath  laid  my  vine  waste, 
and  *  barked  my  fig  tree:  he  hath  made  it  clean  bare,  and  cast 
it  2away ;  the  branches  thereof  are  made  white.  8  Lament  like 

1  Or,  broken  2  Or,  down 

is  come  up.  The  verb  is  regularly  used  of  hostile  incursions,  cf.  1  Kgs. 
xiv.  25,  2  Kgs.  xviii.  13,  and  see  p.  86. 

my  land.  The  prophet,  here  and  in  v.  7,  speaks  as  the  representative 
of  his  countrymen. 

strong.  I.e.  in  virtue  of  their  irresistible  numbers.  The  adjective  is 
sometimes  merely  a  synonym  for  "many"  (Am.  v.  12,  Ps.  xxxv.  18, 
Prov.  vii.  26,  2  Is.  liii.  12). 

the  jaw  teeth.  The  Heb.  word  only  occurs  in  late  writings  (Prov. 
xxx.  14,  Job  xxix.  17).  The  LXX.  has  at  /xv'Aat  avrov,  and  the  Latin 
versions  molares  eius,  so  that  if  these  versions  are  followed,  perhaps 
a  more  expressive  rendering  would  be  the  grinders.  Sym.  has  KOL  at 
fjivXoLL  GJS  Aeovros  and  the  Latin  versions  recognize  ws,  so  that  Sievers, 
followed  by  Marti,  may  be  right  in  proposing  to  read  in  the  last  clause 
and  his  grinders  are  as  the  teeth  of  a  great  lion.  The  import  of  the 
comparison  consists  in  the  locusts'  destructiveness,  though  their  man- 
dibles are  actually  both  strong  and  sharp,  and  are  described  by  one 
traveller  as  "  saw-like." 

a  great  lion.  The  term  (Idbhi')  here  used  is  rendered  by  the  R.V.  in 
Gen.  xlix.  9,  Num.  xxiv.  9,  Dt.  xxxiii.  20,  and  other  places  by  lioness, 
but  in  Is.  v.  29  by  lion.  The  LXX.  has  O-KV^VOV,  the  Vulgate  catuli 
leonis. 

7.  He  hath... Jig  tree.    Literally,  he  hath  made  my  vine  a  desolation, 
and  my  fig  tree  chips.    The  word  rendered  chips  only  occurs  here;  but 
a  very  similar  one  is  found  in  Hos.  x.  7  (see  mg.).    Locusts  are  known 
to  devour  the  bark  and  young  twigs  of  trees;  and  Pliny,  HN.  XL  29, 
describes  them  as  omnia  morsu  erodentes,  et  fores  quoque  tectorum.  The 
vine  and  the  fig  tree  are  mentioned  together  as  being  characteristic 
of  Palestine  (see  on  Mic.  iv.  4). 

made  it  clean  bare,  and  cast  it  away.  The  first  verb  has  in  view  the 
consumption  by  the  locusts  of  the  edible  portions  of  the  trees,  the  second 
the  rejection  of  those  parts  which  they  have  gnawed  but  found  uneatable, 
and  so  dropped  (cf.  mg.). 

8.  Lament.   An  exhortation  to  mourning  addressed  to  the  land,  or 
to  its  collective  people,  personified  as  a  woman :  cf.  Is.  iii.  26,  Am.  v.  2, 
Jer.  xiv.  17.   The  verb  in  this  sense  occurs  only  here. 

girded  with  sackcloth.  The  wearing  of  sackcloth  was  an  accompani- 
ment of  sorrow  in  general,  whether  for  the  dead  (2  Sam.  iii.  31),  for 
private  or  public  calamities  (Am.  viii.  10,  Jer.  vi.  26,  Job  xvi.  15, 
Esth.  iv.  3),  or  for  sin  (1  Kgs.  xxi.  27,  Neh.  ix.  1).  The  expression 
implies  the  wearing  of  a  loin  cloth  woven  of  dark  hair  (cf.  2  Is.  1.  3,  Rev. 
vi.  12),  probably  of  the  goat  (cf.  /tcXai/atyts)  or  of  the  camel.  The  Old 


I.  s-io]  JOEL  91 

a  virgin  girded  with  sackcloth  for  the  husband  of  her  youth. 

9  The  meal  offering  and  the  drink  offering  is  cut  off  from  the 
house  of  the  LORD;   the  priests,  the  LORD'S  ministers,  mourn. 

10  The  field  is  wasted,  the  land  mourneth ;  for  the  corn  is  wasted, 

Latin  version  here  has  praecinctam  cilicium.  To  the  use,  in  connection 
with  mourning  and  penitence,  of  this,  the  scantiest  and  cheapest  of 
garments,  more  than  one  motive  probably  contributed.  On  the  one 
hand,  the  prevalent  physical  conception  of  "uncleanness"  attaching  to 
the  dead  (cf.  Num.  xix.  13 — 19)  and  of  its  infectious  character  (Hag. 
ii.  13)  would  lead  to  the  employment  of  something  that  could  be  dis- 
carded without  much  loss,  to  save  valuable  attire  from  becoming  con- 
taminated and  useless.  On  the  other  hand,  since  sackcloth  was  the 
garb  of  slaves  and  captives  (1  Kgs.  xx.  31,  32),  the  use  of  it  would  be 
a  mark  of  humility,  calculated  to  propitiate  an  offended  deity,  whose 
anger  had  been  manifested  by  the  death  of  the  person  mourned.  For 
another  possible  explanation  of  mourning  apparel  see  p.  25. 

the  husband  of  her  youth.  For  the  combination  cf.  a  wife  of  youth 
(Prov.  v.  18,  2  Is.  liv.  6,  Mai.  ii.  14,  15).  In  view  of  the  word  virgin 
(LXX.  VV/X^T;),  the  term  here  rendered  husband  (literally  owner,  Gen. 
xx.  3,  Ex.  xxi.  3,  22)  must  refer  to  one  to  whom  the  maid  was  only 
betrothed  and  not  yet  wedded  (though  the  same  law  applied  to  her  as 
to  the  wedded  wife,  Dt.  xxii.  22—24,  Mt.  i.  19). 

9 — 13.  A  renewed  description  of  the  devastation  caused  by  the 
locusts,  and  the  consequent  interruption  of  the  Temple  offerings. 

9.  The  meal  offering.    The  Heb.  term  (minhah)  thus  translated  was 
in  early  times  applied  to  offerings  of  all  kinds  (see  Gen.  iv.  3,  4,  1  Sam. 
ii.  12 — 17),  and  the  LXX.  here  has  Ovo-ia,  the  Old  Latin  hostia,  and  the 
Vulg.  sacrificium.  Later,  however,  it  came  to  denote  specifically  a  cereal 
offering  (Lev.  ii.  1—3,  1  Kgs.  viii.  64,  1  Ch.  xxi.  23),  this,  together  with 
a  drink  offering  (of  wine),  being  the  usual  accompaniment  of  a  flesh 
offering  (Num.  xv.  1 — 10).   Such  accessories  illustrate  the  close  analogy 
subsisting  between  sacrifices  and  feasts  in  early  religious  usage  (cf.  Bel 
and  the  Dragon,  3).    The  suspension  of  the  meal  and  drink  offering  is 
here  viewed  as  one  of  the  greatest  calamities  resulting  from  the  plague 
of  locusts,  a  fact  suggesting  that  what  the  writer  has  particularly  in 
mind  is  the  daily  burnt  sacrifice,  accompanied  by  offerings  of  fine  flour, 
oil,  and  wine,  prescribed  in  Ex.  xxix.  38 — 42,  Num.  xxviii.  3 — 8  (cf. 
Neh.  x.  33,  39). 

the  LORD'S  ministers.  The  LXX.  implies  the  reading  the  ministers 
of  the  altar,  as  in  v.  13. 

10.  The  cessation  of  the  Temple  offerings  is  caused  by  the  destruction 
of  the  agricultural  products  that  provided  them. 

the  land  mournetli.  The  "pathetic  fallacy"  whereby  inanimate  nature 
is  represented  as  sentient  by  those  who,  from  a  desire  for  sympathy, 
transfer  to  their  environment  their  own  moods  is  aided  in  some  cir- 
cumstances by  the  actual  appearance  of  natural  objects,  according  as 


92  JOEL  [i.  10-12 

the  new  wine  is  l dried  up,  the  oil  languisheth.  11  2Be  ashamed, 
0  ye  husbandmen,  howl,  0  ye  vinedressers,  for  the  wheat  and  for 
the  barley ;  for  the  harvest  of  the  field  is  perished.  12  The  vine 
is  Withered,  and  the  fig  tree  languisheth:  the  pomegranate  tree, 
the  palm  tree  also,  and  the  apple  tree,  even  all  the  trees  of  the 

1  Or,  ashamed  2  Or,  The  husbandmen  are  ashamed,  the  vinedressers  howl 

they  flourish  or  fade  under  favourable  or  unfavourable  conditions :  cf. 
Am.  i.  2,  Jer.  xii.  4,  Is.  xxxiii.  9,  Ps.  Ixv.  13. 

the  new  wine.  From  the  passages  in  which  this  term  (tirosh)  is  used 
(if  they  are  interpreted  strictly)  it  would  appear  that  it  was  applied  to 
the  juice  of  the  grape  both  before  fermentation  (ii.  24,  3  Is.  Ixv.  8)  and 
after  it  (Hos.  iv.  11,  Jud.  ix.  13)1.  The  LXX.  generally  represents  it  by 
olvos,  but  sometimes  by  ^tOw^a. 

is  dried  up.  Or,  is  abashed  (cf.  nig.),  see  v.  11  (where  it  is  applied  to 
the  husbandmen).  The  new  wine,  failing  through  the  destruction  of  the 
vines,  is  represented  as  conscious  that  it  has  not  answered  expectations : 
cf.  Jer.  xiv.  3,  4.  Corn,  wine,  and  (olive)  oil  constituted  the  three  main 
products  of  Palestine  (Dt.  vii.  13,  xi.  14,  xii.  17,  Hos.  ii.  8,  Jer.  xxxi. 
12).  The  last  was  used  as  an  unguent  (Ex.  xxx.  24,  25,  Dt.  xxviii.  40, 
Am.  vi.  6,  Mic.  vi.  15),  as  an  illuminant  (Ex.  xxvii.  20),  as  an  in- 
gredient in  food  (1  Kgs.  xvii.  12,  Ezek.  xvi.  13)  and  religious  offerings 
(Num.  xxviii.  5,  Lev.  ii.  1),  and  as  a  remedy  for  wounds  (Is.  i.  6,  Lk. 
x.  34). 

11.  Be  ashamed... howl.    The  commands  are  equivalent  to  a  descrip- 
tion.  But  the  LXX.  for  the  former  has  a  past  tense,  whilst  Sym.  has 
KaTr)<Txvv6r](j-ai')  and  this  is  followed  in  the  R.V.  mg. 

ye  vinedressers.  The  word  is  here  used  of  fruitgrowers  in  general : 
cf.  v.  12. 

for  the  wheat,  etc.  The  writer  here  has  in  mind  the  husbandmen 
only;  the  reason  for  the  vinedressers'  grief  is  deferred  till  v.  12  (where 
trees  are  mentioned). 

the  harvest.   The  LXX.  has  rpvyrjro^  perhaps  reading  bdtsir  for  Jcdtsir. 

12.  the  pomegranate  tree.    This,  Punica  granatum,  grows  to  a  height 
of  20  ft.,  has  lancet-shaped  leaves,  and  bears  large  red  blossoms  and  a 
fruit  of  the  size  and  colour  of  an  orange,  though  rather  redder  and  with 
a  harder  rind,  enclosing  numerous  red  pips.    Its  juice  was  converted 
into  a  beverage  (Cant.  viii.  2). 

the  palm  tree.  This,  Phoenix  dactylifera,  though  abundant  only  in 
the  warmest  parts  of  Palestine,  such  as  the  neighbourhood  of  Jericho  in 
the  Jordan  valley  (Dt.  xxxiv.  3,  Jud.  i.  16),  and  of  Engedi  by  the 
margin  of  the  Dead  Sea  (Ecclus.  xxiv.  14),  was  sufficiently  common  to 
be  associated  particularly  with  Judaea.  Pliny  (HN.  xin.  6  (4))  writes, 
Judaea  vero  inclita  est  vel  magis  palmis;  and  the  coins  by  which 
Vespasian  commemorated  the  Fall  of  Jerusalem  in  A.D.  70  represent  the 

1  See  Driver,  Joel  and  Amos,  p.  79. 


I.  12-14]  JOEL  93 

field  are  withered:  for  joy  is  1  withered  away  from  the  sons  of 
men.  13  Gird  yourselves  with  sackcloth,  and  lament,  ye  priests; 
howl,  ye  ministers  of  the  altar ;  come,  lie  all  night  in  sackcloth, 
ye  ministers  of  my  God:  for  the  meal  offering  and  the  drink 
offering  is  withholden  from  the  house  of  your  God.  14  Sanctify 

1  Or,  ashamed 

city,  personified  as  a  weeping  woman,  seated  under  a  palm  tree  (Madden, 
Coins  of  the  Jews,  p.  209). 

the  apple  tree.  The  Heb.  term  only  occurs  in  late  compositions  (Prov. 
xxv.  11,  Cant.  ii.  3,  5,  vii.  8,  viii.  5).  On  the  strength  of  Prov.  I.e. 
apples  o)  gold  in  baskets  (or  filigree  work)  of  silver,  it  has  been  argued 
that  the  word  means  the  citron,  the  orange,  or  the  apricot,  rather  than 
the  apple;  but  the  bitter  taste  of  the  citron  (contrast  Cant.  ii.  3)  and 
the  lack  of  scent  in  the  apricot  (contrast  Cant.  vii.  8)  are  against  its 
identification  with  either  of  these ;  whilst  the  orange  is  said  not  to  have 
been  introduced  into  Palestine  until  the  Middle  Ages.  By  some  scholars 
it  is  denied  that  Prov.  xxv.  11  can  refer  to  any  natural  fruit1:  if  so,  the 
evidence  of  Cant,  favours  the  apple. 

for  joy  is  withered,  etc.  Perhaps  better,  for  joy  is  abashed  from  (i.e. 
avoids  in  shame)  the  presence  of  the  sons  of  men.  The  causal  particle 
for  introduces  the  reason,  not  for  the  statement  immediately  preceding, 
but  for  the  exhortation  to  howl  and  lament,  in  vv.  5,  8,  11.  In  an 
agricultural  country  like  Palestine  prosperity  was  so  closely  dependent 
upon  the  fruits  of  the  earth  that  the  joy  of  harvest  became  proverbial 
for  extreme  gladness  (Is.  ix.  3,  cf.  xvi.  10,  Ps.  iv.  7). 

13.  Gird  yourselves  with  sackcloth.   The  verb  here  is  used  elliptically 
as  in  Is.  xxxii.  11;  contrast  Jer.  iv.  8,  vi.  26. 

lament.  The  use  of  this  Heb.  word  in  Is.  xxxii.  12  suggests  that, 
like  the  Greek  KO'TTTO/ACU  and  the  Latin  plango,  it  originally  implied  the 
beating  of  the  breast,  though  it  came  to  mean  no  more  than  the  utter- 
ance of  doleful  cries  (Jer.  iv.  8,  2  Zech.  xii.  10). 

ye  ministers  of  the  altar.  Cf.  Ezek.  xlv.  4  (the  ministers  of  the  sane- 
tuary),  xlvi.  24  (the  ministers  of  the  house}. 

lie  all  night.  Their  intercession  is  not  to  be  suspended  through  need 
for  repose. 

ye  ministers  of  my  God.  The  LXX.  has  ye  ministers  of  God,  which, 
in  view  of  your  God  at  the  end  of  the  v.,  is  preferable. 

14 — 20.  An  exhortation  urging  an  appeal  to  God  to  relieve  the 
distress  occasioned  by  the  locust-plague  and  an  accompanying  drought. 

14.  Sanctify  a  fast.   The  command  is  addressed  to  the  priests.    The 
verb  to  sanctify,  used  in  connection  with  fasts,  gatherings  of  the  people 
(ii.  16),  and  war  (iii.  9),  implies  that  with  all  these  things  there  was 
associated  the  idea  of  consecration  (see  p.  24),  though  the  verb,  in  such 
contexts,  practically  means  "to  institute,  set  on  foot."    Fasting  was 

1  See  Toy,  Prov.  p.  462. 


94  JOEL  [i.  i4,  15 

a  fast,  call  a  solemn  assembly,  gather  the  ^Id  men  and  all  the 
inhabitants  of  the  land  unto  the  house  of  the  LORD  your  God, 
and  cry  unto  the  LORD.  15  Alas  for  the  day!  for  the  day  of  the 
LORD  is  at  hand,  and  as  destruction  from  2the  Almighty  shall  it 

1  Or,  elders  2  Heb.  Shaddai. 

probably  at  first  a  means  .of  sanctification,  whereby  religious  devotees 
prepared  themselves  for  the  reception  of  sacred  food  (such  as  the  flesh 
of  a  totem  animal).  At  a  more  developed  stage  of  belief  it  was  a  natural 
expression  of  penitential  humiliation;  and  as  the  Jewish  religious 
system  became  increasingly  organized,  it  passed  into  a  formal  act  of 
self-mortification.  Fasting  on  the  part  of  individuals  as  a  manifestation 
of  humility  and  penitence  is  mentioned  in  2  Sam.  xii.  16,  1  Kgs.  xxi. 
27,  Ez.  x.  6,  Neh.  i.  4,  and  Dan.  ix.  3;  and  general  fasts  are  described  in 
Jud.  xx.  26,  1  Sam.  vii.  6,  2  Ch.  xx.  3,  Ez.  viii.  21,  Jer.  xxxvi.  9,  etc. 
The  anniversaries  of  national  calamities  were  marked  by  fasts  in  post- 
exilic  times  (Zech.  vii.  5) ;  and  the  fasting  enjoined  on  the  Day  of 
Atonement  (Lev.  xvi.  29)  led  to  its  being  styled  pre-eminently  "the 
Fast"  (Acts  xxvii.  9). 

a  solemn  assembly.  The  term  ('dtsdrah),  though  it  could  be  applied 
to  any  gathering  (Jer.  ix.  2),  usually  denoted  an  assemblage  for  some 
religious  purpose,  such  as  might  be  held  in  connection  with  the  worship 
not  only  of  Jehovah  (Is.  i.  13)  but  also  of  other  gods  (2  Kgs.  x.  20).  It 
was  specifically  employed  to  designate  gatherings  of  pilgrims  on  tbe 
concluding  days  of  the  feasts  of  Unleavened  Bread  (Dt.  xvi.  8)  and  of 
Tabernacles  (Lev.  xxiii.  36,  Num.  xxix.  35;  cf.  Neh.  viii.  18). 

the  house  of  the  LORD  your  God.  The  LXX.  lacks  the  name  Jehovah, 
and  the  house  of  your  God  alone  suits  the  metre  (dimeters). 

15.  the  day  of  the  LORD  is  at  hand.  Cf.  ii.  1,  iii.  14.  Tbe  same  phrase 
occurs  in  several  other  prophecies;  Is.  xiii.  6,  Ezek.  xxx.  3,  Ob.  15, 
Zeph.  i.  7.  See  p.  78. 

as  destruction  from  the  Almighty.  Better  (since  there  is  an  assonance 
in  the  original),  as  destruction  from  the  Destroyer  (Heb.  Shaddai} :  cf. 
Is.  xiii.  6.  If  there  is  any  etymological  connection  between  the  Divine 
title  Shaddai  here  used  and  the  Heb.  root  skddhadh,  "to  destroy,"  the 
former  eventually  lost  its  sinister  significance  and  came  to  mean  the 
Mighty  (Job  xv.  25),  whose  power  was  employed  for  beneficent  as  well 
as  for  harmful  purposes  (Ps.  xci.  1,  Job  xxii.  25,  xxix.  5).  In  some 
passages  in  the  O.T.  it  is  attached  as  an  adjective  to  El  (God),  as  in 
Gen.  xvii.  1,  xliii.  14,  xlviii.  3,  etc. ;  and  in  other  passages  it  is  used 
alone  as  a  personal  name  for  the  Deity  (Num.  xxiv.  4,  16,  Ps.  Ixviii.  14, 
Job  v.  17,  etc.).  It  is  also  an  element  in  the  theophoric  names 
Zurishaddai  and  Ammishaddai  (Num.  i.  6,  12).  By  the  writer  of  the 
Priestly  narrative  (P),  forming  one  of  the  strands  of  the  Pentateuch,  El 
Shaddai  was  regarded  as  the  sole  name  for  God  known  in  pre-Mosaic 
times  (Ex.  vi.  3);  and  it  was  probably  from  the  same  point  of  view  that 
it  was  used  by  the  writer  of  Job  (where  it  occurs  thirty-one  times).  In 


I.  15-17]  JOEL  95 

come.  16  Is  not  the  meat  cut  off  before  our  eyes,  yea,  joy  and 
gladness  from  the  house  of  our  God?  17  The  seeds  xrot  under 
their  clods ;  the  garners  are  laid  desolate,  the  barns  are  broken 

1  Or,  shrivel 

addition  to  the  derivation  from  shddhadh,  which  this  passage  suggests, 
other  etymologies  have  been  proposed :  (1)  the  word  skedh,  which  in  the 
O.T.  means  "demon"  (Dt.  xxxii.  17,  Ps.  cvi.  37),  but  which  may  once 
have  meant  "lord";  (2)  the  Assyrian  skadu,  "mountain,"  a  title  applied 
in  the  cuneiform  inscriptions  to  the  gods  Bel  and  Asshur,  and  perhaps 
transferred  by  the  Hebrews  to  Jehovah  (cf.  the  use  of  "my  rock,"  in 
Ps.  xviii.  2,  xxxi.  3,  Ixii.  6);  (3)  the  Hebrew  shadh,  meaning  "breast," 
but  this,  in  spite  of  the  name  Thaddceus,  seems  highly  improbable. 

16.  the  meat.    Better,  the  food,  i.e.  the  materials  for  the  Temple 
sacrifices  (vv.  9,  13). 

joy. ..of  our  God.  The  Hebrew  feasts  were  originally  agricultural 
festivals,  the  feast  of  Unleavened  Bread  marking  the  beginning  of  the 
harvest,  that  of  Weeks  the  completion  of  the  same,  and  that  of  In- 
gathering the  close  of  the  vintage,  so  that  all  were  seasons  of  plenty  and 
mirth.  The  early  aspect  of  them  became  modified  in  later  times,  but 
was  not  obliterated. 

17.  TJie  seeds  rot  under  their  clods.    Perhaps  better,  The  grains  (of 
corn)  shrivel  under  their  clods.    It  seems  to  be  implied  that  the  locust- 
plague  was  accompanied  by  a  severe  drought  (see  v.  20),  but  this  clause 
is  of  very  uncertain  meaning,  for  three  of  the  four  Heb.  words  only 
occur  here.    The  last  word,  in  particular  (meghrephothehem),  presents 
great  difficulties;  for  it  seems  to  be  derived  from  gdraph,  "to  sweep  or 
scrape  away,"  and  so  should  mean  an  implement  like  a  broom,  besom, 
or  shovel;  but  the  translation  the  grains  shrivel  under  their  (the  hus- 
bandmen's) shovels  yields  a  very  indifferent  sense.   It  is  best  to  assume 
that  there  has  been  some  textual  corruption,  and  to  substitute  (with 
Sievers)  righbkehem,  the  term  used  for  clods  in  Job  xxi.  33,  xxxviii.  38, 
translating  as  above.    The  LXX.  has  i(TKipr^aa.v  Sa/xaA.€is  CTTL  rat?  <£arvais 

avTw,  which  has  been  explained  to  mean  the  calves  stamp  (impatiently) 
at  their  (empty)  stalls.  The  Greek  Sa/zaAcis  certainly  represents  paroth 
(in  place  of  perudhoth),  and  rats  ^a-n/cus  probably  implies  riphthehem  (cf. 
Hab.  iii.  17).  But  if  etr/apT^o-av  stands  for  pashu  (instead  of  'dbheshu), 
this  means  "frisk  light-heartedly"  (Mai.  iv.  2  (Heb.  iii.  20)),  and  the 
sense  given  to  the  prepos.  is  unusual ;  whilst  the  mention  of  the  cattle 
here  is  premature  (see  v.  18).  The  Vulg.  has  computuerunt  iumenta 
(perddhoth  for  perudhoth)  in  stercore  suo. 

the  garners.  The  Heb.  word  ordinarily  means  treasures,  but  is  some- 
times used  as  a  compact  expression  for  treasure-houses  and  must  here 
have  the  transferred  sense  of  store-houses  (for  grain) :  cf.  1  Ch.  xxvii.  25, 
Neh.  xiii.  12. 

the  barns.  The  Heb.  word  (mammeghuroth)  only  occurs  here,  and  is 
perhaps  an  accidental  error  for  the  plural  of  one  which  is  found  in 
Hag.  ii.  19  (meghurah).  The  LXX.  has  Xrjvoi,  but  the  Vulg.  apotheca?. 


96  JOEL  [i.  17 


-20 


down  ;  for  the  corn  is  l  withered.  18  How  do  the  beasts  groan  ! 
the  herds  of  cattle  are  perplexed,  because  they  have  no  pasture; 
yea,  the  flocks  of  sheep  2are  made  desolate.  19  0  LORD,  to  thee  do 
I  cry  :  for  the  fire  hath  devoured  the  3  pastures  of  the  wilderness, 
and  the  flame  hath  burned  all  the  trees  of  the  field.  20  Yea,  the 
beasts  of  the  field  pant  unto  thee  :  for  the  water  brooks  are  dried 
up,  and  the  fire  hath  devoured  the  3  pastures  of  the  wilderness. 

1  Or,  ashamed  2  Or,  suffer  punishment  3  Or,  folds 

are  broken  down.   I.e.  have  become  dilapidated  through  neglect  (cf. 
Prov.  xxiv.  31),  since  there  has  been  no  grain  requiring  storage. 


is  withered.  Or,  is  abashed.  The  LXX.  has  cfypdvOrj  ;  but  the  Vulgate, 
confusum  est. 

18.  How  do  the  beasts  groan!   The  LXX.,  translating  from  a  slightly 
different  text,  has  ri  airoO-rja-o^v  eavrots  —  in  the  sense  of  what  shall  we 
put  into  them  (the  stalls)?;  and  Bewer  thinks  this  text  preferable. 

are  perplexed.  Perhaps  better,  are  at  a  loss.  The  verb  is  used  in  Ex. 
xiv.  3  of  the  confused  movements  of  the  Israelites  in  their  escape  from 
Egypt;  and  here  means  that  the  cattle  do  not  know  where  to  turn  for 
pasturage.  But  the  LXX.  has  €KXavo-av,  implying  bdchu  for  ndbhochu. 

yea,  the  flocks.  Less  pasture  would  suffice  for  sheep  than  would  be 
needed  for  cattle,  but  even  the  flocks  cannot  find  enough. 

are  made  desolate.  Literally,  are  made  guilty  (ne'shamu),  which  must 
be  understood  to  signify  (as  in  the  mg.),  suffer  punishment.  But  the 
LXX.  has  TJfavio-Orjo-av,  and  the  Vulg.  disperierunt,  which  probably 
represent  the  ordinary  term  for  are  made  desolate  (nashammu),  i.e.  are 
famished  (cf.  Lam.  iv.  5)  ;  and  Wellhausen  and  others  would  substitute 
this  for  the  present  Heb.  text. 

19.  to  thee  do  I  cry.   Only  Jehovah,  who  sent  the  destruction  (v.  15), 
could  avert  it.    Instead  of  the  1st  pers.  sing.  Sievers,  followed  by 
Bewer,  would  read  the  3rd  pers.  plur.,  they  (the  beasts)  cry:  cf.  v.  20. 

the  fire.  The  locusts  and  drought  together  had  produced  the  same 
effects  as  fire  would  have  caused  ;  cf.  ii.  3. 

the  pastures  of  the  wilderness.  The  word  which  the  RV.  renders  by 
wilderness  denotes  uncultivated  ground,  suitable  for  the  feeding  of  sheep. 

20.  the  beasts  of  the  field.    I.e.  the  wild  animals.    Some  of  these, 
though  not  dependent  for  food  upon  the  vegetation  destroyed  by  the 
locusts,  would  require  water,  which  the  drought  had  exhausted. 

pant  unto  thee.  For  the  verb  here  used  cf.  Ps.  xlii.  1  :  for  the  thought 
cf.  Job  xxxviii.  41,  Ps.  cxlvii.  9. 

the  water  brooks.  The  Heb.  word,  though  applicable  to  natural 
watercourses  (see  Ps.  xlii.  1),  seems  strictly  to  denote  artificial  con- 
duits (runnels),  being  most  frequently  employed  by  Ezekiel,  who  lived 
in  Babylonia. 

and  the  fire,  etc.  These  concluding  words  of  v.  20  repeat  part  of 
v.  19,  and  it  has  been  proposed  by  Marti  and  others  to  omit  them  as 
an  accidental  repetition:  certainly  without  them  there  is  more  sym- 
metry between  this  v.  and  the  preceding. 


ii.  i,  2]  JOEL  97 

CHAPTER  II.  1—17. 

II.  1  Blow  ye  the  trumpet  in  Zion,  and  sound  an  alarm  in  my 
holy  mountain ;  let  all  the  inhabitants  of  the  land  tremble :  for 
the  day  of  the  LORD  cometh,  for  it  is  nigh  at  hand ;  2  a  day  of 
darkness  and  gloominess,  a  day  of  clouds  and  thick  darkness,  as 
the  daAvn  spread  upon  the  mountains ;  a  great  people  and  a  strong, 

1 — 17.  A  summons  addressed  to  the  collective  people  to  attend 
a  service  of  intercession  at  the  Temple,  in  the  hope  that  Jehovah,  in 
response  to  the  prayers  of  His  people,  may  refrain  from  punishing 
them  further. 

The  opening  v.  is  a  command  from  Jehovah  communicated  through 
the  prophet  to  the  officials  of  the  community;  but  the  explanation  of 
the  need  for  it  passes  into  a  second  description  of  the  locust-plague, 
couched  in  even  more  alarming  terms;  so  that  the. injunction  of  v.  I 
is  repeated  in  v.  15. 

1.  the  trumpet.     Strictly,  the  horn  or  cornet.    Rams'  horns,  though 
employed  to  give  martial  signals  (Jud.  iii.  27,  2  Sam.  ii.  28,  xx.  1), 
were  also  used,  especially  in  later  times,  in  connection  with  religious 
functions,  such  as  the  Day  of  Atonement  (Lev.  xxv.  9) :  cf.  Ps.  xlvii.  5, 
Ixxxi.  3,  2  Ch.  xv.  14. 

sound  an  alarm.  The  verb  is  commonly  used  of  uttering  martial, 
distressful,  or  joyful,  shouts  (Jud.  vii.  21,  1  Sam.  xvii.  52,  Is.  xv.  4, 
Mic.  iv.  9,  1  Sam.  iv.  5,  Ps.  xlvii.  1  (2));  but  here  means  to  "sound 
a  blast "  with  a  horn  (as  in  Hos.  v.  8),  rousing  the  people  to  a  sense  of 
their  situation. 

my  holy  mountain.  I.e.  Zion  (v.  15):  cf.  iii.  17,  Is.  xxvii.  13,  3  Is. 
Ixv.  11,  Ezek.  xx.  40. 

cometh.  The  tense  in  the  original  is  a  prophetic  perfect :  though  the 
day  of  Jehovah  has  not  yet  fully  come,  the  locusts  are  regarded  as 
God's  agents  in  initiating  His  judgment  (v.  11). 

for  it  is  nigh  at  hand.  The  break  between  v.  1  and  v.  2  should  be 
neglected,  and  the  text  should  run— -for  nigh  at  hand  is  a  day,  etc. 
The  words  a  day  of  darkness... thick  darkness  are  quoted  from  Zeph. 
i.  15b,  and  the  clause  here  prefixed  to  them  seems  to  be  extra  metrum. 
Though  flights  of  locusts  darken  the  sky  (cf.  Pliny,  HN.  XL  29,  solem 
obumbrant),  the  gloom  here  meant  is  not  so  much  physical  as  mental, 
and  implies  conditions  of  alarm  as  great  as  that  which  an  abnormal 
darkening  of  the  sky  might  occasion  (cf.  Is.  v.  30,  viii.  22,  Jer.  xiii.  16, 
Am.  v.  18). 

2.  as  the  dawn,  etc.  These  words  should  be  linked  with  the  following 
(not  with  the  preceding)  sentence,  for  the  quotation  from  Zephaniah 
ends  at  thick  darkness;  and  the  rendering  should  be,  As  the  dawn 
there  is  spread  upon  the  mountains  a  great  people  and  a  strong  (cf.  the 
LXX.,   cos  op6po<s   xy&T](r€Ta.i    CTTI  TO,   oprj   Aaos   7roA.vs    /cat    icr^vpds).     The 

dawn  is  usually  a  simile  for  relief  from  gloom  or  distress  (Is.  viii.  20, 


98  JOEL  [ii.  2-4 

there  hath  not  been  ever  the  like,  neither  shall  be  any  more  after 
them,  even  to  the  years  of  many  generations.  3  A  fire  devoureth 
before  them ;  and  behind  them  a  flame  burneth :  the  land  is  as 
the  garden  of  Eden  before  them,  and  behind  them  a  desolate 
wilderness ;  yea,  and  none  hath  escaped  them.  4  The  appearance 
of  them  is  as  the  appearance  of  horses ;  and  as  l  horsemen,  so  do 

1  Or,  war-horses 

3  Is.  Iviii.  8);  but  here  the  comparison  has  in  view  the  dimness 
(diluculum)  produced  on  the  horizon  by  the  enormous  numbers  of 
approaching  locusts.  An  American  lady,  in  an  article  published  in  the 
Times  of  Sept.  15,  1916,  writes  of  swarms  observed  at  Beirut  in  Syria, 
"the  steady  sub-tropical  sunlight  was  changed  into  a  fluttering,  un- 
certain, wavering  half-dimness." 

there  hath  not... the  like.  Similar  rhetorical  phrases  occur  in  Ex.  x.  6, 
14,  xi.  6,  2  Kgs.  xviii.  5,  xxiii.  25. 

3.  A  fire.    That  locusts,  by  devouring  the  herbage,  create  all  the 
appearance  of  a  prairie  fire  is  attested  by  many  travellers.   One,  writing 
of  experiences  in  Formosa,  says,  "  Bamboo  groves  have  been  stripped 
of  their  leaves  and  left  standing  like  saplings  after  a  rapid  bush  fire. . . . 
And  grass  has  been  devoured,  so  that  the  bare  ground  appeared  as  if 
burned  "  (quoted  by  Driver  from  the  Standard,  Dec.  25,  1896). 

the  garden  of  Eden.  This  is  a  compressed  phrase  for  the  garden  of 
Jehovah  (or  of  God)  in  Eden  (see  Gen.  ii.  8,  and  cf.  Gen.  xiii.  10,  2  Is. 
li.  3,  Ezek.  xxxi.  8,  9).  The  converse  of  the  transformation  here  de- 
scribed is  contemplated  in  Ezek.  xxxvi.  35.  Eden  was  seemingly  the 
alluvial  plain  (Assyrian,  edinu)  watered  by  the  Tigris  and  Euphrates, 
wherein  the  legendary  garden  of  Jehovah  was  believed  to  be  situated.  But 
the  LXX.,  here  as  in  some  other  places,  connects  it  with  a  word  meaning 
"delight,"  and  renders  the  garden  of  Eden  by  Trapa'Scio-os  rpv^s. 

none  hath  escaped  them.  The  strict  sense  (in  view  of  2  Sam.  xv.  14) 
must  be  nothing  of  it  (the  land,  regarded  as  masc.,  cf.  Gen.  xiii.  6)  hath 
escaped.  The  Heb.  expression,  which  is  commonly  used  in  connection 
with  human  beings  (ii.  32  (Heb.  iii.  5),  Ob.  17,  Is.  iv.  2),  is  here  applied 
to  vegetation,  as  in  Ex.  x.  5.  The  American  lady  previously  quoted 
says  of  the  young  broods  of  locusts,  "  They  do  not  fly,  but  like  armies 
of  large  black  ants,  they  marched  across  the  sandy  plain  until  they 
reached  the  first  field.  There  they  stopped  to  eat,  and  never  moved 
until  every  plant  had  been  stripped.  Herbs,  bushes,  and  trees  were 
left  naked,  robbed  even  of  the  bark." 

4.  as  the  appearance  of  horses.   Compare  Rev.  ix.  7.   The  resemblance 
between  the  head  of  a  locust  and  that  of  a  horse  is  confirmed  by  other 
observers,  and  is  reflected  in  the  Italian  word  cavallette  and  the  German 
name  for  a  grasshopper,  Heupferd. 

as  horsemen.  Better  (as  in  the  mg.),  as  war-horses.  The  Heb.  term 
is  ambiguous,  but  the  parallelism  and  the  converse  comparison  in  Job 
xxxix.  20  favour  the  mg.,  though  the  LXX.  has 


IT.  4-7]  JOEL  99 

they  run.  5  Like  the  noise  of  chariots  on  the  tops  of  the  moun- 
tains do  they  leap,  like  the  noise  of  a  flame  of  fire  that  devoureth 
the  stubble,  as  a  strong  people  set  in  battle  array.  6  At  their 
presence  the  peoples  are  in  anguish :  all  faces  are  waxed  pale. 
7  They  run  like  mighty  men ;  they  climb  the  wall  like  men  of 
war ;  and  they  march  every  one  on  his  ways,  and  they  break  not 

5.  Like  the  noise  of  chariots.   Better,  As  with  the  noise  of  chariots; 
cf.  Rev.  ix.  9.    The  noise  caused  by  flights  of  locusts  is  widely  attested. 
Pliny,  for  example  (HN.  x.  29),  states,  tanto  volant  pennarum  stridore 
ut  alicB  allies  credantur;   and  the  sound  has  been  compared  to  the 
dashing  of  water  occasioned  by  a  mill-wheel,  to  the  roar  of  a  cataract, 
to  the  noise  of  wind  blowing  through  trees,  and  to  the  tramp  of  armed 
hosts. 

leap.  The  verb  in  Heb.  ordinarily  means  "to  dance"  (Job  xxi.  11), 
but  is  also  used  of  the  "jumping"  of  chariots,  when  rapidly  driven 
(Nah.  iii.  2). 

like  the  noise  of  aflame,  etc.  This  comparison  has  been  thought  to 
illustrate  the  sound  of  the  locusts'  mandibles  in  the  process  of  eating : 
an  American  entomologist  (quoted  by  Driver)  likens  the  sound  to  "the 
crackling  of  a  prairie  fire." 

as  a  strong  people.  The  LXX.  has  ok  A.ao?  TTOA.VS  /cal  to-^vpo's  (as  in 
v.  2),  and  the  additional  adjective  makes  this  clause  agree  metrically 
with  the  preceding  clauses,  which  are  pentameters. 

6.  the  peoples  are  in  anguish.    This  is  explicable  from  the  prospect 
of  the  scarcity  of  food  that  so  frequently  attends  the  ravages  of  locusts. 

are  waxed  pale.  Literally,  gather  (or  collect)  colour  \  but  it  is  doubtful 
whether  this  means  "to  contract"  (or  "withdraw")  colour,  and  so  "to 
grow  pale  " ;  or  "to  accumulate  "  colour,  and  so  "to  flush  "  (with  excite- 
ment). Perhaps  the  latter  is  the  more  probable  (cf.  Is.  xiii.  8),  for 
a  different  verb  (dsaph,  not  kibbets)  is  used  for  "to  withdraw":  see 
v.  10,  iii.  15. 

7.  They  run  like  mighty  men.    Thomson,  The  Land  and  the  Book, 
p.  297,  describes  locusts  as  coming  on  "  like  a  disciplined  army  " ;  and 
Morier  (quoted  by  Henderson)  says,  "  They  moved  in  one  body,  which 
had  tbe  appearance  of  being  organized  by  a  leader." 

they  climb  the  wall.  Morier  (sup.)  writes,  "  They  entered  the  inmost 
recesses  of  the  houses,  were  found  in  every  corner,  stuck  to  our  clothes, 
and  infested  our  food." 

they  break  not  their  ranks.  The  sense  of  the  Hebrew  seems  to  be 
they  do  not  entangle  their  tracks,  each  keeps  his  own  course ;  but  the 
verb  elsewhere  signifies  "to  take,  or  lend,  on  pledge,"  and  from  this 
the  meaning  required  here  is  not  easily  obtained.  If  the  text  is  to  be 
kept,  probably  a  different  root  must  be  assumed.  But  the  LXX.  has 
ov  /XT)  €KKXtV(ocrtv  ras  rpi/Sovs  avran/,  and  conjectural  emendations  based 
on  this  are,  they  do  not  make  crooked,  or  they  do  not  turn  aside,  their 
tracks  (of  which  the  first  seems  the  better). 

7—2 


100  JOEL  [n.  7-10 

their  ranks.  8  Neither  doth  one  thrust  another;  they  march 
every  one  in  his  path :  and  Hhey  burst  through  the  weapons,  and 
2  break  not  off  their  course.  9  They  leap  upon  the  city ;  they  run 
upon  the  wall ;  they  climb  up  into  the  houses ;  they  enter  in  at 
the  windows  like  a  thief.  10  The  earth  quaketh  before  them ;  the 

1  Or,  when  they  fall  around  the  weapons,  they  (&c. 
2  Or,  are  not  wounded 

8.  every  one  in  his  path.    Literally,  each  on  his  highway,  as  if  he  had 
a  road  defined  for  himself  alone.   Jerome  (quoted  by  Henderson),  re- 
ferring to  the  order  maintained  by  the  locusts  even  in  their  flight, 
writes  "tanto  ordine.-.volitant  ut  instar  tesserularum,  quse  in  pavi- 
mentis  artificis  figuntur  manu,  suum  locum  teneant,  et  ne  puncto 
quidem,  ut  ita  dicam,  ungueve  transverso  declinent  ad  alterum." 

they  burst  through  the  weapons.  This  rendering,  in  view  of  the  con- 
text, is  preferable  to  that  of  the  mg.  ( where  fall  around  seems  to  mean 
"alight  among").  The  verb  employed  can  be  used  of  violent  assaults, 
"  fall  upon "  (see  Is.  xvi.  9) ;  and  here  implies  that  the  locusts  fling 
themselves  through  (or  between)  the  weapons  with  which  men  vainly 
try  to  oppose  their  march.  The  Heb.  noun  for  weapon  (shelah\  here 
used  collectively,  strictly  means  a  missile,  and  occurs  only  in  late 
writings  like  Job  (xxxiii.  18),  Chronicles  (2  Ch.  xxxii.  5),  and  Nehe- 
miah  (iv.  17  (11)).  In  2  Ch.  xxiii.  10  it  replaces  the  more  ordinary 
term  for  weapon  (cell]  employed  in  the  parallel  passage  2  Kgs.  xi.  11. 
Even  modern  measures  for  staying  the  progress  of  locusts  are  very 
often  ineffectual.  The  lady  whose  description  has  already  been  drawn 
upon  writes:  "Hedges  of  thorn  and  bramble  were  built  round  the 
fields.... At  the  thorny  barricade  they  (the  locusts)  immediately  began 
to  climb  and  creep  through.  Then  the  owners  of  the  field,  when  the 
whole  hedge  was  filled  with  young  locusts,  set  fire  to  it.  Millions  of 
insects  were  destroyed  in  that  way,  but  myriads  were  moving  on  be- 
hind, creeping  over  the  smouldering  branches  and  bodies,  burning  up 
themselves,  leaving  room  for  the  next.  New  thorn  branches  were  thrown 
down  and  burnt  up  again,  but  the  brambles  gave  out  long  before  the 
locusts  did."  Recently  in  South  Africa  arsenic  has  been  used  in  attempts 
to  destroy  them. 

9.  They  leap  upon  the  city.   The  Heb.  verb  in  strictness  means  that 
the  locusts  swarm  round  about  the  city  (Jerusalem),  eagerly  seeking 
ingress:   the  same  word  (shakak)  describes  the  "ranging"  bear  in 
Prov.  xxviii.  15. 

enter  in  at  the  windows.  Cf.  Ex.  x.  6.  The  writer  has  in  mind 
latticed,  unglazed,  windows.  It  is  said  that  in  1869  many  inhabitants 
of  Nazareth  had  to  abandon  their  houses  in  consequence  of  the  locusts. 

10.  The  earth  quaketh,  etc.    The  language,  like  that  of  v.  2,  is  not 
to  be  understood  literally,  but  describes  conventionally  how  the  plague 
of  locusts  occasioned  all  the  terror  associated  with  earthquake  or 
eclipse ;  see  p.  Ix. 


ii.  ro-i3]  JOEL  101 

heavens  tremble :  the  sun  and  the  moon  are  darkened,  and  the 
stars  withdraw  their  shining:  11  and  the  LORD  uttereth  his  voice 
before  his  army ;  for  his  camp  is  very  great ;  for  he  is  strong 
that  executeth  his  word :  for  the  day  of  the  LORD  is  great  and 
very  terrible ;  and  who  can  abide  it?  12  Yet  even  now,  saith  the 
LORD,  turn  ye  unto  me  with  all  your  heart,  and  with  fasting,  and 
with  weeping,  and  with  mourning:  13  and  rend  your  heart,  and 
not  your  garments,  and  turn  unto  the  LORD  your  God :  for  he  is 
gracious  and  full  of  compassion,  slow  to  anger,  and  plenteous  in 

the  heavens  tremble.  The  sky  is  regarded  as  a  solid  vault :  cf.  2  Sam. 
xxii.  8  (=  Ps.  xviii.  7),  Is.  xiii.  13. 

the  sun  and  the  moon,  etc.  Cf.  Is.  xiii.  10,  Ezek.  xxxii.  7,  Mt.  xxiv.  29, 
Rev.  vi.  12. 

11.  uttereth  his  voice.     I.e.  thunders  (Ps.  xviii.   13).     Thunder  is 
generally  a  feature  in  O.T.  descriptions  of  awe-inspiring  scenes;  see 
Ex.  xix.  16. 

his  army.   The  locusts  are  viewed  as  Jehovah's  agents  of  vengeance. 

his  camp.  The  Heb.  for  camp  can  be  used  of  an  army  on  the  march ; 
see  Josh.  viii.  13,  x.  5,  Jud.  iv.  15,  2  Kgs.  iii.  9. 

for  the  day,  etc.  See  v.  21  and  Mai.  iv.  5.  Instead  of  very  terrible 
the  LXX.  has  tTTL<f>a\rrjs  o-^oSpa  and  the  Old  Latin  manifestus  nimium, 
implying  nodha1  for  nord'.  But  Sym.  has  cVi^o/fo?. 

who  can  abide  it?  The  passage  shows  the  influence  of  Mai.  iii.  2 :  cf. 
Jer.  x.  10. 

12.  Yet  even  now.    I.e.  in  spite  of  the  dreadful  prospect,  there  yet 
may  be  a  possibility,  through  a  change  in  the  people's  disposition  and 
conduct,  of  prevailing  upon  Jehovah  to  withhold  the  worst.    Yet  is 
literally  and :  cf.  p.  63. 

with  all  your  heart.  I.e.  resolutely  (cf.  1  Sam.  vii.  3, 1  Kgs.  viii.  48), 
the  heart  amongst  the  Hebrews  being  regarded  as  the  seat  of  the  will 
as  well  as  of  the  intelligence  (p.  69):  cf.  Ex.  xxxv.  5,  of  a  witting 
(literally,  free)  heart. 

fasting. ..weeping. . .mourning.  The  same  combination  occurs  in  Esth. 
iv.  3. 

13.  and  rend  your  heart,  etc.    This  exhortation  shows  that  the 
prophet,  whilst  enjoining  the  outward  tokens  of  contrition,  had  no 
defective  sense  of  the  need  of  inward  penitence :  cf.  Jer.  iv.  4. 

and  not  your  garments.  I.e.  not  your  garments  only.  Tearing  the 
apparel  (Gen.  xxxvii.  29,  34,  Josh.  vii.  6,  1  Sam.  iv.  12,  1  Kgs.  xxi.  27), 
like  tearing  the  hair  and  beard  (Ez.  ix.  3),  was,  no  doubt,  originally  an 
uncontrollable  act,  giving  relief  to  intense  emotion;  but  eventually 
came  to  be  a  conventional  expression  of  humiliation  and  self-abase- 
ment. 

gracious  and  full  of  compassion.  This  order  of  the  Heb.  words  is  com- 
monest in  late  writings  (2  Ch.  xxx.  9,  Neh.  ix.  17,  31,  Ps.  cxi.  4,  cxii.  4, 


102  JOEL  [ii.  13-17 

mercy,  and  repenteth  him  of  the  evil.  14  Who  knoweth  whether 
he  will  not  turn  and  repent,  and  leave  a  blessing  behind  him,  even 
a  meal  offering  and  a  drink  offering  unto  the  LORD  your  God? 

15  Blow  the  trumpet  in  Zion,  sanctify  a  fast,  call  a  solemn  assem- 
bly; 16  gather  the  people,  sanctify  the  congregation,  assemble 
the  1o\d  men,  gather  the  children,  and  those  that  suck  the  breasts : 
let  the  bridegroom  go  forth  of  his  chamber,  and  the  bride  out  of 
her  closet.  17  Let  the  priests,  the  ministers  of  the  LORD,  weep 
between  the  porch  and  the  altar,  and  let  them  say,  Spare  thy 

1  Or,  elders 

cxlv.  8).  The  reverse  order  occurs  in  the  early  passage  Ex.  xxxiv.  6 
(JE),  and  is  preserved  in  Ps.  Ixxxvi.  15,  ciii.  8. 

and  repenteth  him.  Better,  and  repentant,  for,  like  the  preceding 
phrase,  this  describes  a  permanent  feature  of  character1. 

14.  and  repent.    God  relents  when  man  repents :  cf.  Jonah  iii.  9. 
leave  a  blessing.   I.e.  leave  some  surviving  portion  of  the  products  of 

the  soil,  now  exposed  to  complete  destruction.  For  blessing  in  a  concrete 
sense  cf.  Gen.  xxxiii.  11,  Josh.  xv.  19,  Jud.  i.  15,  etc. 

15.  Blow,  etc.   The  command  of  v.  1  is  here  resumed  and  expanded. 
a  solemn  assembly.    See  on  i.  14.    The  Heb.  word  etymologically 

seems  to  mean  a  concourse  confined  within  a  limited  space. 

16.  sanctify  the  congregation.    The  sanctification  of  the  people,  as  a 
preliminary  to  their  approaching  near  to  the  Deity  or  to  sacred  things, 
consisted  during  early  times  in  ablutions,  in  a  change  of  apparel,  and 
in  abstention  from  conjugal  relations;  see  Gen.  xxxv.  2,  Ex.  xix.  10,  15, 
2  Kgs.  x.  20 — 22,  1  Sam.  xxi.  4,  5.    The  word  congregation,  though 
used  to  denote  an  assemblage  in  general,  was  specially  employed  to 
designate  the   community  of  Israel,  which  was  Jehovah's  assembly 
(Mic.  ii.  5,  Num.  xvi.  3);  the  LXX.  here  renders  it  by  cfcjcAqcria. 

the  old  men.   This  is  preferable  to  the  elders  of  the  mg. :  see  on  i.  2. 

the  bridegroom.  The  exemption  from  public  duties  ordinarily  granted 
to  newly  married  persons  (Dt.  xx.  5)  was  on  this  occasion  to  be  sus- 
pended. 

chamber... closet.  These  words  must  here  be  synonyms  for  the  bridal 
pavilion  (Ps.  xix.  5,  2  Sam.  xvi.  22). 

17.  the  porch.    The  existence  of  this  in  connection  with  the  first 
Temple  is  specifically  mentioned  (1  Kgs.  vi.  3,  vii.  19);   and  it  was 
probably  reproduced  in  the  second  Temple,  particulars  of  which  are 
largely  wanting.    The  position  of  the  porch  was  at  the  east  end  of  the 
main  structure. 

the  altar.  I.e.  the  altar  of  burnt  offering  in  the  open  forecourt  ex- 
tending eastwards  in  front  of  the  Temple  buildings. 

1  Joel  ii.  13  forms  one  of  the  introductory  sentences  prefixed  in  the  Prayer  Book 
to  the  Order  for  Morning  and  Evening  Prayer. 


II.  i7,  is]  JOEL  103 

people,  0  LORD,  and  give  not  thine  heritage  to  reproach,  that  the 
nations  should  1rule  over  them :  wherefore  should  they  say  among 
the  peoples,  Where  is  their  God? 

1  Or,  use  a  byword  against  them 

give  not  thine  heritage  to  reproach.  The  phrase  to  give  to  reproach 
recurs  only  in  Jer.  xxiv.  9,  xxix.  18,  Ezek.  v.  14.  For  the  conception  of 
Israel  as  Jehovah's  heritage  see  p.  63 :  Israel  is  similarly  described  as 
Jehovah's  peculiar  treasure  (Ex.  xix.  5,  Dt.  vii.  6,  Ps.  cxxxv.  4). 

rule  over  them.  Better  (as  in  the  nig.),  use  a  byword  against  them. 
The  verb  (mashal)  is  of  ambiguous  meaning,  and,  when  employed  else- 
where with  the  preposition  here  used,  uniformly  signifies  to  rule  over 
(cf.  Gen.  iii.  16,  iv.  7,  xxiv.  2,  etc.);  and  such  is  the  sense  given  to  it 
in  this  passage  by  the  LXX.  (TOV  KarapgaL  avron/  WVTJ}  and  the  Vulg. 
(ut  dominentur  eis  nationes).  This,  however,  is  incompatible  with  the 
context,  which  contemplates  not  the  rule  but  the  railing  of  foreigners, 
and  requires  the  other  sense — to  make  proverbs  (or  bywords)  concerning; 
though  with  this  signification  the  verb  ordinarily  takes  not  the  pre- 
position that  appears  here  (b#)  but  others  (see  Ezek.  xvii.  2,  xviii.  2). 

wherefore  should  they  say,  etc.  The  attention  of  Jehovah  is  called  to 
the  possibility  of  His  power  being  disparaged  by  the  heathen  (cf.  Mic. 
vii.  10)  through  the  misfortunes  of  His  people,  in  order  that  He  may 
thereby  be  induced  to  vindicate  both  Himself  and  them 1. 


CHAPTER  II.  18—27. 

This  section,  constituting  the  second  of  the  three  parts  of  the  book,  re- 
presents Jehovah's  response  to  the  prayer  of  His  penitent  people.  He  promises 
to  remove  the  locusts,  to  end  the  drought,  and  to  renew  the  vegetation  that 
has  been  destroyed.  It  is  left  to  be  understood  that  the  exhortation  in  ii.  12— 
1 7  had  been  acted  upon,  and  that  the  people's  repentance  was  sincere,  influencing 
Jehovah  to  stay  the  further  execution  of  His  judgment  upon  them,  and  to 
restore  fertility  to  the  wasted  land. 

18  Then  was  the  LORD  jealous  for  his  land,  and  had  pity  on  his 

18—20.  These  w.  describe  a  change  in  Jehovah's  attitude  con- 
sequent upon  His  people's  penitence,  and  convey  assurances  that  He 
will  undo  the  evil  that  He  has  inflicted. 

18.   jealous.     The  Heb.  word  is  used  in  two  connections,  where 

(1)  jealous  and  (2)  zealous  seem  to  be  respectively  the  best  equivalents. 
The  emotions  implied  are  represented  as  roused  in  Jehovah  (1)  by 
Israel's  offences  against  Himself,  especially  their  worship  of  other  gods ; 

(2)  by  their  sufferings  at  the  hands  of  their  enemies:  see  for  (1)  Ex. 
xx.  5,  xxxiv.  14,  Josh.  xxiv.  19,  and  for  (2)  Is.  ix.  7,  xxxvii.  32,  Ezek. 

1  In  the  Prayer  Book  Joel  ii.  12—17  forms  the  Epistle  for  Ash  Wednesday. 


104  JOEL  [ii.  18-20 

people.  19  And  the  LORD  answered  and  said  unto  his  people, 
Behold,  I  will  send  you  corn,  and  wine,  and  oil,  and  ye  shall  be 
satisfied  therewith:  and  I  will  no  more  make  you  a  reproach 
among  the  nations :  20  but  I  will  remove  far  off  from  you  the 
northern  army,  and  will  drive  him  into  a  land  barren  and 
desolate,  xhis  forepart  2into  the  eastern  sea,  and  his  hinder  part 

1  Or,  with  his  forepart  2  Or,  toward 

xxxvi.  5,  Zech.  i.  14,  viii.  2.  Pusey  regards  the  tenses  in  this  and  the 
next  v.  as  futures  (will. . .be jealous.. . ,  (will}  pity, . . .will  answer  and  say] ; 
but  the  Heb.  construction  continues  the  perfect  tenses  in  w.  10,  11. 

The  LXX.  rightly  has  €^X(uorev...€<jf)€to-aTo...a7reKpt^r7...€r7rev. 

19.  make  you  a  reproach.    The  phrase  differs  slightly  from  that 
employed  in  v.  17,  and  recurs  in  Ezek.  xxii.  4,  Ps.  Ixxviii.  66. 

20.  the  northern  army.  Literally,  the  northerner  (LXX.  rov  aVo  /3oppa, 
Vulg.  eum  qui  ab  Aquilone  est).    Since  locusts  usually  enter  Palestine 
from  the  S.E.,  this  expression  has  embarrassed  the  interpretation  of 
Joel.    It  must,  however  (as  the  rest  of  the  v.  shews),  refer  to  the  locusts ; 
and  instances  have  occurred  of  their  presence  in  Syria,  whence  a  north 
wind  would  carry  them  into  Palestine.    But  the  epithet  cannot  imply 
such  an  accidental  association  with  the  north  as  this;  and  as  a  standing 
attributive,  if  understood  to  mean  that  their  home  and  breeding-ground 
was  north  of  Palestine,  it  would  be  false  (p.  liv).    Hence  the  use  of  it 
here  must  be  explained  differently,  namely,  through  associations  that 
had  gathered  round  the  day  of  Jehovah.    It  had  been  predicted  by 
Jeremiah  that  evil  would  come  to  Judah  from  the  north  (i.  14,  x.  22), 
and  Babylon,  which  proved  to  be  the  agent  of  Jehovah's  judgment,  is 
represented  by  both  Jeremiah  (xvi.  15,  xxiii.  8)  and  Zechariah  (ii.  6,  7) 
as  in  the  north,  though  really  it  was  situated  as  regards  Palestine  almost 
due  E.    Similarly  Ezekiel  represents  Gog,  whose  invading  hordes  com- 
prise several  nations  lying  to  the  south  or  south-west  of  the  Holy  Land 
(such  as  Ethiopia  and  Libya),  as  destined  to  advance  against  Judah 
from  the  uttermost  parts  of  the  north  (xxxix.  1,  2).    Thus  that  quarter 
would  naturally  come  to  be  regarded  as  the  direction  whence  the 
executors  of  Divine  judgments  were  generally  to  be  looked  for;   and 
eventually,  by  a  usage  common  to  all  languages,  the  word  northerner 
could  discard  its  etymological  sense  and  be  employed  to  denote  any 
agency  bringing  danger  or  calamity,  whether  it  came  from  the  geo- 
graphical north  or  not.   Accordingly,  the  word  here,  as  applied  to  the 
locusts,  has  not  a  local  but  a  symbolical  significance.    It  is  probable 
that  the  original  reason  why  the  north  came  to  be  regarded  by  the  Jews 
as  the  quarter  whence  evil  would  issue  is  to  be  found  in  the  situation, 
relative  to  Judah,  of  its  great  oppressor  (in  the  8th  cent.)  Assyria,  which, 
though  in  strictness  N.E.  of  Palestine,  could  be  loosely  considered  to 
lie  to  the  N.  of  it  (cf.  Is.  xiv.  31,  Zeph.  ii.  13). 

and  desolate.    The  rhythm  would  be  improved  by  the  omission  of  this 
adjective,  which  is  absent  from  the  LXX. ;  but  as  the  latter  begins  the 


II.    20-22]  JOEL  10 


the  western  sea;  and  his  stink  shall  come  up,  and  his  ill 
savour  shall  come  up,  because  he  hath  done  great  things.  21  Fear 
not,  O  land,  be  glad  and  rejoice;  for  the  LORD  hath  done  great 
things.  22  Be  not  afraid,  ye  beasts  of  the  field  ;  for  the  pastures 
of  the  wilderness  do  spring,  for  the  tree  beareth  her  fruit,  the  fig 

1  Or,  toward 

next  clause  with  a  verb  (KCU  a<£cm<3),  probably  (as  Bewer  suggests)  it  had 
virtually  the  same  Hebrew,  but  read  it  differently. 

his  forepart,  etc.  The  swarm  of  locusts  is  assumed  to  be  stretched 
across  tbe  country,  so  that  whilst  the  central  body  was  to  be  driven 
into  the  southern  desert  (whence  presumably  they  had  really  come),  tbe 
extremities  would  be  cast  into  the  Dead  Sea  and  tbe  Mediterranean. 
The  eastern  flank  of  the  swarm  is  called  the  forepart  and  tbe  western 
the  hinder  part  because  the  front  and  back  of  anything  were,  in  tbe  view 
of  tbe  Hebrews,  the  sides  which  severally  faced,  or  extended  towards, 
the  east  and  west. 

the  eastern  sea  ...the  western  sea.  Literally,  the  front  sea  (Ezek.  xlvii. 
18)  and  the  hinder  sea  (Dt.  xi.  24,  xxxiv.  2). 

his  stink...  his  ill  savour.  Tbe  tautology  of  tbese  two  clauses  and  a 
syntactical  irregularity,  if  the  second  is  rendered  and  his  ill  savour  shall 
come  up1,  favour  the  conclusion  that  the  word  translated  stink  (which  is 
an  ordinary  term)  is  a  gloss  on  the  rare  word  (tsahanah)  rendered  ill 
savour,  which  only  recurs  in  the  Hebrew  fragments  of  Ecclus.  (xi.  12). 
The  second  balf  of  tbe  verse  will  then  be  reduced  to  that  his  ill  savour 
may  come  up,  wbicb  is  what  the  syntax  demands. 

because  he...  great  things.  These  words,  if  authentic,  must  be  equiva- 
lent to  "because  he  hatb  acted  overweeningly"  (or  "hath  magnified 
himself";  cf.  Lam.  i.  9,  Ps.  xxxv.  26).  Tbe  representation  of  the  locusts 
as  acting  (like  human  beings)  arrogantly  is  not  impossible  in  a  context 
wbicb  describes  them  after  the  manner  of  a  host  of  men;  but  tbe 
resemblance  of  the  expression  to  that  used  of  Jehovah  immediately 
afterwards  (v.  21,  cf.  Ps.  cxxvi.  2,  3)  makes  it  difficult  to  think  it  genuine 
here  :  it  looks  like  an  accidental  dittograpb,  wbich  should  be  omitted. 
Tbe  offensive  exhalations  arising  from  immense  quantities  of  drowned 
locusts  have  been  noticed  by  historians  and  travellers  both  ancient  and 
modern. 

21  —  24.  These  w.,  which  assume  that  the  promises  of  m>.  19  and  20 
have  been  fulfilled,  constitute  a  short  ode,  in  which  the  prophet  exhorts 
tbe  people  to  be  grateful  to  the  God  who  has  given  them  relief. 

21.  0  land.    Better,   0  ground  (the  Heb.   being  not  'erets  but 
'ddhdmah). 

22.  of  the  wilderness.   Better,  of  the  prairie  (cf.  p.  96). 
do  spring.   Better,  put  forth  grass;  cf.  Gen.  i.  11. 

for  the  tree,  etc.    Here  the  writer  seems  to  pass  from  the  beasts  that 

1  See  Driver,  Heb.  Tenses,  §  175  obs.;  Davidson,  Heb.  Syntax,  §  64,  Hem.  6. 


106  JOEL  [ii. 


22,    23 


tree  and  the  vine  do  yield  their  strength.  23  Be  glad  then,  ye 
children  of  Zion,  and  rejoice  in  the  LORD  your  God :  for  he  giveth 
you  the  former  rain  Hn  just  measure,  and  he  causeth  to  come 
down  for  you  the  rain,  the  former  rain  and  the  latter  rain,  2in 

1  Or,  in  (or  for)  righteousness  2  Or,  at  the  first 

graze  in  the  pastures  to  men,  who  make  more  use  of  the  fruits  of  trees 
than  do  most  animals. 

their  strength.  I.e.  all  that  they  are  capable  of  producing :  cf.  Gen. 
iv.  12. 

23.  the  former  rain.  This  term  (hammoreh,  cf.  Ps.  Ixxxiv.  6  (7)) 
denotes  the  rain  that  falls  at  the  beginning  of  the  agricultural  year  in 
November;  but  a  general  rather  than  a  specific  term  would  be  most 
appropriate  here.  Possibly  there  is  some  textual  corruption :  if  so,  it 
may  be  suggested  that  the  expression  should  be  replaced  by  copiousness 
of  water  (hd-revdyah).  The  LXX.  has  rd  ^pw/xara,  and  Vollers,  in  con- 
sequence, has  proposed  habbiryah,  "food,"  which  the  LXX.  translates 
by  ppufjia  in  2  Sam.  xiii.  5,  7,  10;  but  mention  of  food  in  this  place 
seems  premature,  for  the  crops  have  still  to  grow.  Sym.  has  rov 
vTroStiKvvovTa  (cf.  the  Vulg.  quoted  in  the  next  note). 

in  just  measure.  Better,  faithfully,  since  a  literal  translation  is 
according  to  (Jehovah's)  righteousness,  i.e.  His  faithfulness  to  His 
promises:  cf.  Dt.  xxviii.  11,  12.  For  this  sense  of  the  Heb.  word  cf. 
2  Is.  xlii.  6,  xlv.  13,  Zech.  viii.  8.  But  it  is  also  possible  to  render  (with 
the  mg.)  for  (i.e.  as  a  token  of)  righteousness;  the  irrigation  of  the 
springing  crops  and  the  promise  of  abundance  would  be  evidence  to  the 
world  that  the  people  were  no  longer  counted  offenders  by  their  God. 
The  Heb.  rendered  in  the  R.V.  by  the  former  rain  in  just  measure  is 
translated  in  the  Vulg.  (against  the  context)  by  doctorem  iustitia?,  the 
word  moreh  having  tbe  signification  of  teacher  in  Prov.  v.  13,  Is.  xxx.  20, 
Hab.  ii.  18,  and  the  prepos.  le  being  taken  to  express  tbe  gen. 

the  rain.  The  term  (geshem)  here  used  has  a  comprehensive  sense,  as 
in  Lev.  xxvi.  4,  Ezek.  xxxiv.  26,  Am.  iv.  7. 

the  former  rain.  See  above.  This  and  the  following  word  are  perhaps 
explanatory  insertions :  their  omission  would  improve  the  rhythm  of  the  v. 

the  latter  rain.  This  term  (Heb.  malkosh)  denotes  the  spring  rain  in 
March  and  April,  which  falls  shortly  before  harvest,  when  its  value  is 
very  great  (see  Job  xxix.  23,  Prov.  xvi.  15). 

in  the  first  month.  This  rendering  of  the  Heb.  (bdrishon)  can  be 
justified  by  Gen.  viii.  13,  Num.  ix.  5,  Ezek.  xxix.  17,  xlv.  18;  but  if 
the  text  is  sound,  it  must  refer  to  the  season  of  the  latter  rain  only, 
for  the  first  month  (of  the  ecclesiastical  year)  was  Nisan,  corresponding 
to  our  March — April  when  the  late  (or  spring)  rain  fell.  The  LXX., 
however,  has  Ka0ws  ^Trpoa-Oev  and  the  Vulgate  sicut  inprincipio  (implying 
cdrl'shonah) — as  at  the  first  (cf.  Dt.  ix.  18,  Dan.  xi.  29),  i.e.  the  previous 
happier  conditions  are  to  be  restored.  Another  variant  (bdrl'shonah)  is 
implied  by  the  R.V.  mg.,  at  the  first  (better,  first  of  all,  cf.  1  Kgs. 


ii.  23-n]  JOEL  107 

the  first  month.  24  And  the  floors  shall  be  full  of  wheat,  and  the 
fats  shall  overflow  with  wine  and  oil.  25  And  I  will  restore  to  you 
the  years  that  Hhe  locust  hath  eaten,  the  cankerworm,  and  the 
caterpiller,  and  the  palmerworm,  my  great  army  which  I  sent 
among  you.  26  And  ye  shall  eat  in  plenty  and  be  satisfied,  and 
shall  praise  the  name  of  the  LORD  your  God,  that  hath  dealt 
wondrously  with  you :  and  my  people  shall  never  be  ashamed. 
27  And  ye  shall  know  that  I  am  in  the  midst  of  Israel,  and  that 
I  am  the  LORD  your  God,  and  there  is  none  else :  and  my  people 
shall  never  be  ashamed. 

1  See  ch.  i.  4. 

xvii.  13),  i.e.  the  material  blessings  promised  in  w.  19—27  will  precede 
the  gift  of  the  spirit  mentioned  in  v.  28. 

24.  the  floors.  These,  used  in  threshing,  consisted  of  a  space  of  ground, 
beaten  hard,  upon  which  the  ears  of  corn  (for  the  length  of  stalk  cut 
was  very  short)  were  spread  in  a  layer.    One  method  of  threshing  was 
to  drag  over  the  ears  a  heavy  sledge  (i.e.  a  board,  roughened  on  the 
under-side  with  pieces  of  sharp  stone),  which  pressed  out  the  grain  and 
chopped  the  straw  into  chaff,  the  latter  being  afterwards  winnowed 
away1.   For  another  process  see  p.  37. 

fats.  An  archaism  for  vats.  The  vat  (yekebh)  was  a  small  but  re- 
latively deep  trough  hewn  in  the  rock  (Is.  v.  2  mg.)  at  a  lower  level 
than  the  wider  but  shallower  winepress  (gath),  and  was  designed  to 
receive  the  juice  flowing  from  the  grapes  trodden  in  the  press.  The 
LXX.  distinguishes  them  as  VTTO\TJVLOV  and  A^vo's  respectively.  The  word 
rendered  vat  is  sometimes  used  irregularly  for  the  winepress  (Job 
xxiv.  11,  Is.  xvi.  10),  and  the  LXX.  here  has  ot  \yvoi. 

with... oil.  Presses  and  vats  were  also  used  in  the  extraction  of  oil 
from  olives  (see  Mic.  vi.  15),  a  circumstance  of  which  the  name  Geth- 
semane  (oil-press)  is  a  reminder. 

25.  And  I,  etc.    The  utterance  of  Jehovah,  interrupted  at  v.  21,  is 
here  continued. 

the  years... eaten.  I.e.  the  equivalent  of  the  produce  destroyed  in  the 
past  years. 

26.  praise.  The  verb  here  used  is  characteristic  of  the  Psalms  (Ixxiv. 
21,  cxlviii.  5),  and  seems  to  be  one  peculiarly  associated  with  the 
Temple  worship. 

27.  that  I  am..  .Israel.   The  changed  condition  of  the  land  would  be 
an  effectual  reply  to  the  mocking  challenge  in  v.  17.    Israel  here  stands 
for  Judah :  see  iii.  2,  16,  and  cf.  Mic.  vi.  2. 

/  am  the  LORD  your  God.  Better,  /  am  JEHO  VAH  your  God.  The 
phrase  occurs  in  Ezek.  xx.  5,  7,  19,  etc.,  and  is  exceedingly  frequent  in 
the  Priestly  code  of  the  Pentateuch  (Ex.  vi.  7,  xvi.  12,  Lev.  xviii.  2,  etc.). 

1  See  Driver,  Joel  and  Amos,  p.  227. 


108  JOEL  [II.  27,  28 

there  is  none  else.  The  thought,  expressed  in  more  than  one  form,  is 
characteristic  of,  though  not  confined  to,  Deutero-Isaiah  (see  2  Is.  xlv. 
r>,  (;,  14,  etc.,  xlvi.  9);  and  its  occurrence  here  is  perhaps  due  to  the 
influence  of  that  prophet's  writings. 

and  my  people... ashamed.  This  sentence  repeats  the  conclusion  of 
v.  26,  and  as  its  presence  here  weakens  the  emphasis  which  the  preceding 
clause  in  this  v.  requires,  it  should  probably  be  omitted  as  an  accidental 
duplicate.  Wellhausen  and  others,  on  the  contrary,  propose  the  omission 
of  the  final  clause  in  v.  26. 


CHAPTERS  II.  28— III.  21. 

With  ii.  28  begins  the  third  section  of  the  book,  extending  to  the  end. 
This  has  in  view  a  sequel  to  the  predictions  (in  ii.  19 — 27)  of  the  material 
blessings  which  are  about  to  be  conferred  on  God's  people ;  for  the  return  of 
plenty  is  to  be  followed  by  the  bestowal  of  spiritual  gifts  also,  whilst  ensuing 
upon  this  will  occur  the  advent  of  Jehovah's  day  of  judgment.  Of  that  Day 
the  devastation  of  the  land  by  the  locusts  had  previously  been  regarded  as 
a  preliminary  phase,  presaging  a  fuller  outbreak  of  Divine  resentment  upon 
the  Jews  in  the  near  future ;  but  from  the  terrors  of  it  they,  in  consequence 
of  the  moral  change  in  them,  will  be  delivered,  and  the  Divine  judgment  will 
be  confined  to  the  heathen  for  their  malice  towards  the  Jews.  In  the  Hebrew 
the  section  ii.  28 — 32  constitutes  ch.  iii. 

28  And  it  shall  come  to  pass  afterward,  that  I  will  pour 
out  my  spirit  upon  all  flesh ;  and  your  sons  and  your  daughters 

28 — 32.  A  prediction  of  the  descent  upon  all  ages  and  classes 
amongst  the  Jewish  people  of  God's  spirit,  followed  by  signs  of  Jehovah's 
Day,  when  destruction,  from  which  the  true  worshippers  of  Jehovah  will 
escape,  is  to  overwhelm  the  heathen. 

28.  afterward.  This,  rendered  in  Acts  ii.  17  by  cv  rals  eo-^arats 
^epa^,  is  virtually  equivalent  to  in  the  latter  (or  the  sequel  of)  dayt 
(Mic.  iv.  1):  cf.  Jer.  xlviii.  47  with  xlix.  6. 

/  will  pour  out.  The  same  verb  is  used  in  connection  with  the  Divine 
Spirit  in  Ezek.  xxxix.  29,  2  Zech.  xii.  10;  and  the  like  physical  metaphor 
is  employed  of  the  manifestation  of  such  impalpable  realities  as  anger 
(Hos.  v.  10,  Ezek.  xiv.  19)  and  contempt  (Job  xii.  21).  So  in  Greek 
Homer  uses  x€/<0  in  connection  with  UTTI/OS  and  even  Ka'AAos  (Od.  n.  395, 
xxm.  156). 

my  spirit.  God's  Spirit  is  represented  alike  as  the  origin  of  all  life 
(Job  xxxiii.  4,  Ps.  civ.  30),  as  the  cause  of  the  transformation  of  nature 
(Is.  xxxii.  15)  and  of  the  reformation  of  man  (Ezek.  xxxvi.  27),  and  as 
the  source  of  all  exceptional  human  faculties,  whether  physical  (Jud. 
xiv.  6),  artistic  (Ex.  xxxv.  31),  intellectual,  or  moral  (Mic.  iii.  8,  Is.  xi.  2), 
but  especially  of  prophetic  ecstasy  (Num.  xi.  25  f.,  1  Sam.  x.  6,  10). 
Here  it  is  promised  that  the  psychical  endowments  and  emotional  out- 


II.  28-3 1 ]  JOEL  109 

shall  prophesy,  your  old  men  shall  dream  dreams,  your  young 
men  shall  see  visions:  29  and  also  upon  the  servants  and 
upon  the  handmaids  in  those  days  will  I  pour  out  my  spirit. 
:*()  And  I  will  shew  wonders  in  the  heavens  and  in  the  earth, 
blood,  and  fire,  and  pillars  of  smoke.  31  The  sun  shall  be  turned 
into  darkness,  and  the  moon  into  blood,  before  the  great  and 

bursts,  hitherto  confined  to  a  few  individuals,  constituting  them  seers 
and  prophets,  will  be  extended  to  all  classes,  even  the  humblest.  Cf. 
Num.  xi.  29,  3  Is.  lix.  21. 

all  flesh.  The  expression,  which  is  sometimes  inclusive  of  all  living 
creatures  (Gen.  vi.  17,  Lev.  xvii.  14,  Num.  xviii.  15)  and  sometimes 
limited  to  mankind  (Gen.  vi.  12,  13,  Num.  xvi.  22,  Dt.  v.  26,  2  Is. 
xlix.  26),  is  here  confined  to  Jews  only  (as  the  words  your  sons  and  your 
daughters  shew) :  cf.  Ezek.  xxxix.  29. 

prophesy.  The  term  here  probably  has  in  view  the  utterance  of  fervid 
and  rapturous  language  under  the  influence  of  powerful  religious  emo- 
tion, as  illustrated  by  the  narratives  in  Num.  xi.  25 — 27,  1  Sam.  x.  5, 
6,  10,  xix.  24. 

dreams.  ..visions.  These  were  usual,  but  not  the  sole,  channels  whereby 
God  was  believed  to  communicate  with  His  prophets  and  others  (Num. 
xii.  6;  cf.  1  Sam.  xxviii.  6,  15,  Dt.  xiii.  3,  Jer.  xxiii.  25 — 28,  2  Zech. 
xiii.  4,  Dan.  vii.  1). 

young  men.  I.e.  men  of  military  age,  actual  or  potential  warriors 
(Jud.  xiv.  10,  Is.  ix.  17,  2  Kgs.  viii.  12). 

29.  the  servants.   The  LXX.  has  TOVS  Sov'Aovs  /xov. 

30.  wonders.    Perhaps  better,  portents,  extraordinary  occurrences 
suggestive  of  Divine  action,  or  of  the  nearness  of  the  Divine  presence: 
cf.  Ex.  vii.  3,  xi.  9,  Dt.  vi.  22,  Ps.  cv.  5.    By  such  the  Day  of  Jehovah 
is  to  be  ushered  in. 

blood... fire... smoke.  It  is  not  quite  clear  whether  the  portents  here 
mentioned  are  celestial  or  terrestrial.  They  may  be  blood-red,  fiery,  and 
lurid  appearances  in  the  sky  and  atmosphere  (the  pillars  of  smoke  being 
suggested  by  the  columns  of  dust  and  sand  raised  by  whirlwinds),  or 
they  may  be  accompaniments  of  war — carnage,  the  firing  of  towns,  and 
the  columns  of  smoke  rising  from  the  conflagrations.  In  the  latter  case 
the  parallelism  with  the  first  half  of  the  v.  is  inverted,  see  p.  cxxxv. 

31.  The  sun  shall  be  turned,  etc.    Cf.  Is.  xiii.  10.    The  language  is 
taken  from  the  phenomena  of  eclipses,  but  it  is  not  so  much  the 
phenomena  themselves  as  the  alarm  attending  them  that  the  writer 
wishes  to  call  before  the  mind :  cf.  p.  Ix.    The  passage  has  influenced 
Rev.  vi.  12.    Cf.  Lucan,  Phars.  I.  539—542,  lam  Phoebe...  subita  per- 
cussa  expalluit  umbra.    Ipse  caput  medio  Titan  cum  ferret  Olympo, 
Condidit  ardentes  atra  caligine  cur r us  Involvitque  orbem  tenebris. 

bejore  the  great .. .come.  The  phraseology  is  identical  with  that  of 
Mai.  iv.  5  (iii.  23).  For  terrible  the  LXX.  has  eTri^an?:  cf.  ii.  11. 


110  JOEL  [ii.  3I,  3, 

terrible  day  of  the  LORD  come.  32  And  it  shall  come  to  pass,  that 
whosoever  shall  call  on  the  name  of  the  LORD  shall  be  delivered  : 

32.  whosoever  shall  call  on  the  name,  etc.  Strictly,  the  Heb.  means 
whoso  shall  call  with  the  name  of  Jehovah  :  the  same  phrase  occurs  in 
Gen.  iv.  26,  xii.  8,  Jer.  x.  25,  Zeph.  iii.  9.  The  invocation  of  a  deity  by 
his  name  was  believed  to  exert  an  influence  upon  him,  so  that  it  was 
often  deemed  expedient  to  keep  the  name  from  the  knowledge  of  those 
who  might  use  it  to  the  detriment  of  his  true  worshippers.  It  was  for 
this  reason  that  the  name  of  the  tutelary  deity  of  Rome  is  alleged  to 
have  been  wrapped  in  mystery,  lest,  through  its  becoming  known  to  an 
enemy,  the  safety  of  the  city  should  be  imperilled1.  The  persons 
designated  by  the  phrase  here  employed  are  the  Jews  collectively;  but 
in  Rom.  x.  13  St  Paul,  quoting  from  the  LXX.,  adduces  the  words  Tras 

os  av  €7rt/caA.€cr>yrai  TO  oVo/aa  Kuptov  (rw^crerat  in  Support  of  his  contention 

that  God  is  merciful  to  all  who  call  upon  Him,  whether  Jews  or  Gentiles. 
Verses  28—  32a  were  quoted  by  St  Peter  at  Pentecost  (Acts  ii.  17—21). 

The  Apostle  (or  his  reporter)  used  a  Greek  version,  but  the  quotation 

deviates  in  some  respects  from  the  LXX.    The  differences  are  as  follows  : 

Joel  (LXX.).  Acts. 

(a)   fjLera  ravra  KOI  (a)    ei>  rais  €<r\aTais  ij/j.cpcus 

(o)    ol  rrp€O'(BvT€poi  vp.wv  evvnvia  ev-  (b)    ol  veavicrKoi  v/teoi/  opdaeif  oifsovrai 

•unvia(r6r)O'ovTa.i    KOI    ol   vcavicrKoi   v/ucoi/       KOI  ol  Trpc&ftvTfpoi  vfj-cov  evvTrviois   ev- 

opd<T€is  o^ovrai.  vnviacrOrfO-ovTat. 

(c)  KOI  (c)    Kai  ye 

(d)  ras  dov\as  (d)  ray  dou\as  /zov 

rov  TTvevfJiaTos  pov  (0)    e/c^cw  drro  rov  TrvcvfjLctTos  fiov  Kal 


(JO  *"  r?  ovpavw  (f]  fv  r<5  oupai/a)  av<o 

(g}    KOI  cVi  rfjs  yfjs.  (g)   KOI  crrj^ela  enl  rrjs  yfjs  ACOTCO. 

The  speaking  with  tongues  at  Pentecost,  in  which  St  Peter  saw 
a  fulfilment  of  this  prediction  of  Joel,  was  doubtless  akin  in  nature  to 
the  prophesying  which  is  here  in  view  (see  on  v.  28).  Various  passages 
in  the  O.T.  imply  that  in  many  cases  "  prophesying  "  meant  wild  and 
uncontrolled  speech  resulting  from  religious  rapture  or  enthusiasm,  so 
that  a  prophet  was  sometimes  derided  as  a  madman  (see  Hos.  ix.  7, 
Jer.  xxix.  26,  2  Kgs.  ix.  11);  and  that  the  utterances  of  the  Christian 
believers  assembled  at  Pentecost  were  of  a  fervid  and  excited  character 
is  suggested  by  the  contemptuous  observations  made  by  some  of  those 
that  heard  them  (Acts  ii.  13),  whilst  the  comments  passed  by  St  Paul 
upon  the  similar  phenomena  at  Corinth  point  in  the  same  direction 
(1  Cor.  xiv.  23).  Probably  the  disciples,  under  the  influence  of  religious 
emotion,  broke  out  into  ecstatic  speeches  and  exclamations,  which  were 
only  partially  intelligible  to  many  who  were  present.  Into  such  utter- 
ances there  might  enter  phrases,  or  even  long  passages,  couched  in 

1  The  divinity  in  question  is  said  to  have  been  called  Valentia,  probably  a 
translation  of  the  Greek  '  Pay*?;. 


ii.  3^-m.  i]  JOEL  111 

for  in  mount  Zion  and  in  Jerusalem  there  shall  be  those  that 
escape,  as  the  LORD  hath  said,  and  l  among  the  remnant  those 
whom  the  LORD  doth  call. 

1  Or,  in  the  remnant  whom  <£c. 

languages  or  dialects  not  normally  used  by  the  speakers,  their  memory 
and  speech-centres  being  so  stimulated  by  the  stress  of  emotional  feeling 
as  to  recall  and  to  repeat  what  had  once  been  heard  but  had  become 
forgotten.  Various  parallels  from  the  experience  of  religious  revivals 
in  later  times  have  been  collected  by  A.  Wright,  Some  N.  T.  Problems, 
p.  297  f.,  and  K.  Lake,  The  Earlier  Epistles  of  St  Paul,  p.  241  f.  The 
occurrence,  in  what  was  uttered,  of  some  foreign  words  or  expressions 
would  account  for  the  impression  produced  on  the  multitude  at  Pente- 
cost that  the  speakers  were  acquainted  with  foreign  languages  (Acts  ii. 
5 — 11),  as  well  as  for  the  need  of  an  interpreter  on  other  occasions 
(such  as  St  Paul  alludes  to,  1  Cor.  xiv.  27).  The  feature  in  the  incident 
at  Pentecost  which  led  St  Peter  to  see  in  it  a  fulfilment  of  the  prophecy 
of  Joel  was  the  diffusion,  amongst  the  whole  body  of  disciples,  of  such 
a  gift  of  "prophecy"  as  was  ordinarily  confined  to  a  few  chosen  in- 
dividuals; and  the  bestowal  of  this  gift,  in  the  light  of  the  promise 
made  by  Jesus  (as  reported  in  Lk.  xxiv.  49),  was  regarded  as  proof  of 
His  Messiahship  (Acts  ii.  33 — 36).  But  the  most  cogent  evidence  that 
the  early  Christian  believers  were  taken  possession  of  by  the  Holy 
Spirit  was  afforded  not  by  any  temporary  outbursts  of  religious  ecstasy 
but  by  the  permanent  change  that  occurred  in  their  characters,  and  by 
their  manifestation  of  the  fruits  of  the  Spirit,  such  as  are  enumerated 
by  St  Paul  in  Gal.  v.  22,  23. 

for  in  mount  Zion,  etc.  Jerusalem  is  to  be  the  only  place  of  safety 
from  the  terrors  of  the  Day  of  Jehovah.  The  phrase  seems  to  be  borrowed 
from  Ob.  17  (to  which  the  words  as  the  LORD  hath  said  probably  allude). 

and  among  the  remnant,  etc.  Better,  and  among  the  remnant  (or 
among  the  survivors)  there  shall  be  those  whom  Jehovah  doth  call.  By 
these  are  meant  the  Jews  of  the  Dispersion,  who  will  be  summoned 
from  among  the  heathen  to  share  the  preservation  ensured  to  their 
fellow-countrymen  who  dwell  in  Zion.  For  the  gathering  of  dispersed 
Jews  cf.  Is.  xi.  11,  xxvii.  13,  2  Zech.  x.  10,  Jer.  xxiii.  3,  Ecclus.  xxxvi. 
11—14,  2  Mace.  ii.  18.  The  heathen,  in  contrast  to  the  Jews,  are 
reserved  for  vengeance  (iii.  2).  The  final  clause  of  this  v.  was  in 
St  Peter's  mind  when  he  spoke  at  Pentecost  (Acts  ii.  39). 

CHAPTER  III. 
III.     1  For,  behold,  in  those  days,  and  in  that  time,  when 

1 — 3.  These  w.  explain  the  nature  of  the  crisis  from  which  the 
Jews  are  to  be  preserved  (as  promised  in  ii.  32)  and  introduce  the 
account,  continued  in  v.  9  f,  of  the  mustering  of  all  the  heathen  in 
one  spot,  where,  in  retribution  for  the  evil  done  by  them  to  Israel, 
they  are  doomed  to  extermination.  In  the  Heb.  this  ch.  constitutes  ch.  iv. 


112  JOEL  [m.  1-3 

1  shall  bring  again  the   captivity  of  Judah  and  Jerusalem, 

2  I  will  gather  all  nations,  and  will  bring  them  down   into 
Hhe  valley  of  Jehoshaphat;  and  I  will  plead  with  them  there 
for  my  people  and  for  my  heritage  Israel,  whom  they  have 
scattered  among  the  nations,  and  parted  my  land.   3  And  they 
have  cast  lots  for  my  people :  and  have  given  a  boy  for  an  harlot, 

1  See  ver.  12. 

1.  bring  again  the  captivity.    This  rendering  is  supported  by  the 
LXX.  (eTTio-Tptyu)  TV]v  aixfj-ah-uo-iav)  •  but  perhaps  a  better  translation 
is,  retrieve  the  fortune  (literally  retrieve  the  retrieval),  for  this  is  the 
only  admissible  rendering  of  the  phrase  in  Job  xlii.  10  and  Ezek. 
xvi.  53,  and  is  the  most  suitable  in  some  other  passages.   Even  after 
the  Return  in  the  time  of  Zerubbabel  the  situation  of  the  Jews  for 
a  long  while  was  very  depressed,  and  a  happy  turn  in  their  fortunes 
(including  the  restoration  of  such  Jews  as  were  yet  in  heathen  lands) 
was  still  an  object  of  earnest  desire  (cf.  p.  60). 

2.  /  will  gather  all  nations,  etc.    The  assembling,  by  Jehovah,  of  all 
the  heathen  for  annihilation  is  similarly  predicted  in  3  Is.  Ixvi.  16 — 18, 
Mic.  iv.  12,  Zeph.  iii.  8. 

the  valley  of  Jehoshaphat.  The  name  is  here  chosen  for  its  symbolic 
meaning  ("Jehovah  judges"),  as  appears  from  v.  14,  and  Th.  has  TTJV 
X^pav  r>Js  Kpio-ews;  but  whether  it  was  taken  from  some  spot  actually 
called  after  king  Jehoshaphat  is  unknown.  The  writer  cannot  have  in 
mind  the  locality  which  (according  to  2  Ch.  xx.  1 — 30)  was  the  scene 
of  an  overthrow  sustained  by  a  confederation  of  Moabites,  Ammonites, 
Edomites,  and  Meunim  (id.  xxvi.  7),  who  attacked  Israel  in  the  time 
of  Jehoshaphat,  for  this  was  near  Tekoa.  The  place  in  the  prophet's 
thoughts  is  clearly  near  Jerusalem  (see  v.  16),  and  the  name  he  gives 
to  it  has  been  traditionally  associated  since  the  4th  cent.  A.D.  with 
the  gorge  of  the  Kidron,  E.  of  Jerusalem.  The  Kidron,  however,  is 
a  torrent- valley  (nahal)  and  not  a  vale  ('emek),  the  word  used  here1. 
The  situation  which  answers  the  writer's  imaginative  conception  least 
inadequately  is  the  valley  of  Hinnom,  W.  of  Jerusalem,  or  the  extension 
of  it  (after  its  junction  with  the  Kidron)  S.  of  the  city.  This  is  usually 
described  as  a  valley  (gai),  but  is  called  a  vale  in  Jer.  xxxi.  40. 

/  will  plead  with  them.  Better,  /  will  join  issue  with  them  (cf.  the 
LXX.  SiaKpt^'o-o/zfu  TT/DOS  aurovs,  Vulgate  disceptabo  cum  eis).  The  Heb. 
has  a  form  (here  used  in  a  reciprocal  sense)  of  the  verb  shdpkat,  which 
enters  into  the  composition  of  the  name  Jehoshaphat. 

whom  they  have  scattered.  The  occasion  alluded  to  is  probably  the 
capture  of  Jerusalem  and  the  deportation  of  its  citizens  in  587. 

3.  cast  lots.   For  this  way  of  disposing  of  captives,  see  Ob.  11,  Nah. 
iii.  10. 

given... for  an  harlot.    I.e.  given  as  the  price  of  a  harlot:  cf.  Aq. 


i  Cf.  G.  A.  Smith,  HOHL.  pp.  384,  654. 


in.  3-5]  JOEL  113 

and  sold  a  girl  for  wine,  that  they  might  drink.  4  Yea,  and  what 
are  ye  to  me,  0  Tyre,  and  Zidon,  and  all  the  regions  of  Philistia? 
1  will  ye  render  me  a  recompence?  and  if  ye  recompense  me,  swiftly 
and  speedily  will  I  return  your  2  recompence  upon  your  own  head. 
5  Forasmuch  as  ye  have  taken  my  silver  and  my  gold,  and  have 

1  Or,  will  ye  repay  a  deed  of  mine,  or  will  ye  do  aught  unto  me?  swiftly  <&c. 

2  Or,  deed 


Kopd<nov  dvrl  iropviys.  The  offence  of  selling  members  of  Je- 
hovah's community  into  slavery  was  aggravated  by  the  sensuality  to 
which  the  proceeds  of  the  sale  were  devoted. 

that  they  might  drink.  Better,  and  drank  it.  But  the  symmetry  of 
the  parallelism  and  the  rhythm  of  the  v.  (for  both  this  and  the  fore- 
going appear  to  consist  of  trimeters)  are  improved  by  the  omission  of 
the  clause  (as  suggested  by  Schwally)  as  a  needless  expansion  of  what 
precedes. 

4  —  8.  For  the  reasons  that  render  it  probable  that  these  w.  are  an 
insertion  and  not  part  of  the  book  in  its  original  form,  and  for 
a  suggestion  as  to  the  date  of  their  composition  see  p.  114.  They  are 
written  in  prose  and  express  the  complaint  which  Jehovah  has  against 
the  people  of  Phrenicia  and  Philistia  for  pillaging  the  possessions,  and 
enslaving  the  persons,  of  His  people  ;  and  they  go  on  to  announce  the 
nemesis  which  is  to  befall  them. 

4.  Yea,  and  what...  to  me.    Better,  And  ye,  too,  what  will  ye  do 
to  me?   In  the  Heb.  there  is  no  verb,  but  the  phrase  must  be  understood 
as  in  Hos.  vi.  4  (where  the  verb  do  is  expressed). 

all  the  regions  of  Philistia.  Literally,  all  the  circuits  of  Philistia. 
The  word  (gdlll)  rendered  regions  means  anything  that  can  roll  or 
turn  (and  is  applicable  to  rings  and  folding  doors),  but  could  be  used 
to  describe  a  circuit  or  area  of  ground  (see  Is.  ix.  1  mg.,  Ezek.  xlvii.  8 
(region),  Josh.  xxii.  10,  11).  Here  it  is  employed  to  denote  the  districts, 
probably  each  under  separate  authority,  which  constituted  the  Philistine 
Pentapolis  (1  Sam.  vi.  4,  Josh.  xiii.  2,  1  Mace.  v.  15). 

will  ye  render  me,  etc.  The  whole  v.  is  better  translated  (cf.  mg.) 
a  deed  of  mine  will  such  as  ye  repay  ?  or  will  such  as  ye  (unprovoked) 
do  aught  to  me  ?  Swiftly  and  speedily  will  I  return  your  deed  upon  your 
/lead.  The  pronoun  ye  is  emphatic  in  the  Heb.  and  the  use  of  it  is 
intended  to  accentuate  the  disproportion  between  the  adversaries. 
The  word  gemul  in  the  last  clause,  which  in  the  R.V.  text  is  rendered 
by  recompence,  is  rarely  used  of  good  or  evil  done  spontaneously,  but 
must  here  mean  some  gratuitous  act  of  aggression  (as  in  2  Ch.  xx.  11). 

5.  taken.   Probably  they  had  purchased  what  had  been  pillaged  by 
others. 

my  silver...  my  gold.  The  reference  may  be  either  to  the  nation's 
possessions  in  general  (for  these,  in  a  sense,  were  Jehovah's,  cf.  Hos. 
ii.  8,  1  Ch.  xxix.  14),  or  to  the  treasures  of  the  Temple  in  particular. 
The  occasion  may  be  the  plundering  of  the  capital  by  the  Babylonians 

w.  8 


114  JOEL  [in.  5-8 

carried  into  your  temples  my  goodly  pleasant  things ;  6  the  children 
also  of  Judah  and  the  children  of  Jerusalem  have  ye  sold  unto 
the  sons  of  the  Grecians,  that  ye  might  remove  them  far  from 
their  border:  7  behold,  I  will  stir  them  up  out  of  the  place 
whither  ye  have  sold  them,  and  will  return  your  ^ecompence 
upon  your  own  head;  8  and  I  will  sell  your  sons  and  your 
daughters  into  the  hand  of  the  children  of  Judah,  and  they  shall 
sell  them  to  the  men  of  Sheba,  to  a  nation  far  off:  for  the  LORD 
hath  spoken  it. 

1  Or,  deed 

in  587 ;  but  if  the  passage  (w.  4 — 8)  is  an  insertion,  it  is  likely  to  be 
some  much  later  act  of  spoliation,  such  as  occurred  when  punishment 
was  inflicted  on  the  Jews  by  Artaxerxes  Ochus,  about  the  middle  of  the 
4th  cent.  B.C. 

carried  into  your  temples.  Compare  the  action  ascribed  to  Nebucha- 
drezzar in  Dan.  i.  2.  A  similar  proceeding  is  recorded  of  David  in 
2  Sam.  viii.  11. 

6.  the  children  also  of  Judah,  etc.    The  Phoenicians  were  known  not 
only  as  slave-dealers  (Ezek.  xxvii.  13,  Am.  i.  9,  1  Mace.  iii.  41)  but 
also  as  kidnappers  (Hdt.  i.  1,  n.  54).    It  will  be  recalled  that  Syrus  was 
a  common  slave-name  among  the  Greeks  and  the  Romans;   and  the 
appellation  would  doubtless  be  applied  to  Jews  as  well  as  to  other 
captives  from  Palestine. 

the  sons  of  the  Grecians.  Cf.  the  Homeric  phrase  vte?  'A^aio^. 
The  name  used  by  the  Hebrews  for  Greece  and  the  Greeks — Javan — 
was  derived  from  the  lonians,  i.e.  the  Ionian  colonies  in  Asia  Minor. 
The  expression  here  employed  (the  sons  of  the  Grecians)  where  the  sons 
of  Greece  might  be  expected  (cf.  the  sons  of  Ammori),  is  parallel  to  the 
use,  in  2  Chron.  xx.  19,  of  the  sons  of  the  Korahites  instead  of  the  sons 
of  Korah  (Ps.  xlii.  title,  and  elsewhere).  Allusions  to  the  Greeks  occur 
in  Gen.  x.  2,  4  (P),  Ezek.  xxvii.  13,  3  Is.  Ixvi.  19,  Dan.  viii.  21,  xi.  2 
(all  passages  later  than  the  Exile). 

7.  I  will  stir  them  up.    I.e.  I  will  incite  and  aid  them  to  depart. 
your  recompence.    Better,  your  (unprovoked)  deed:  see  p.  113. 

8.  /  will  sell.    The  verb  sell,  which  is  used  in  the  literal  sense  in 
the  next  clause,  is  here  employed  figuratively  in  the  sense  of  "  I  will 
deliver  up"  (cf.  Jud.  ii.  14,  iii.  8).   So  far  as  the  prediction  in  these  w. 
was  realized,  it  found  fulfilment,  after  Joel's  time,  in  the  enslavement 
of  numbers  of  the  people  of  Tyre  and  Gaza  by  Alexander  in  333  B.C. 
Many  of  those  who  were  then  reduced  to  slavery  were  doubtless  bought 
by  the  Jews  in  order  to  sell  again. 

the  men  of  Sheba.  These  were  a  people  of  South  Arabia,  variously 
represented  as  Semites  (Gen.  x.  28,  xxv.  3  (JE))  and  Hamites  (Gen.  x.  7 
(P)),  and  well  known  as  traders  (cf.  Ezek.  xxvii.  22).  Their  country  was 
famous  for  its  spices  (1  Kgs.  x.  10),  and  was  regarded  by  Jewish  writers 


m.  9-i  i]  JOEL  115 

9  Proclaim  ye  this  among  the  nations;  x  prepare  war:  stir 
up  the  mighty  men;  let  all  the  men  of  war  draw  near,  let 
them  come  up.  10  Beat  your  plowshares  into  swords,  and 
your  pruninghooks  into  spears :  let  the  weak  say,  I  am  strong. 
11  2  Haste  ye,  and  come,  all  ye  nations  round  about,  and  gather 

1  Heb.  sanctify.  2  Or,  Assemble  yourselves 

as  a  distant  and  wealthy  land  (Ps.  Ixxii.  10) ;  its  situation  was  some 
200  miles  N.  of  Aden,  and  it  could  be  reached  by  caravans. 

to  a  nation  far  off.  Perhaps  better  (as  there  is  a  change  in  the  pre- 
position), for  a  nation  far  off,  who  would  purchase  the  slaves  from  the 
men  of  Sheba. 

9—17.  Here  the  declaration  of  what  Jehovah  is  about  to  do  to  the 
heathen  nations  (begun  in  w.  I — 3)  is  continued.  They  are  bidden  to 
arm  themselves  for  a  conflict  with  Jehovah  and  His  celestial  hosts,  but 
are  destined  to  be  annihilated  by  Him,  with  whom  His  own  people  will 
find  security. 

9.  Proclaim  ye  this.   Jehovah  charges  His  messengers  to  convey  a 
challenge  to  the  nations  (v.  2) :  cf.  the  challenge  in  Is.  viii.  9,  10. 

prepare  war.  Literally  (as  in  the  mg.),  sanctify  (or  consecrate]  war: 
see  p.  24. 

draw  near.  The  expression  is  used  of  warlike  collisions  (Jud.  xx.  23, 
2  Sam.  x.  13,  etc.). 

10.  Beat  your  plowshares,  etc.   The  heathen  are  bidden  to  take  care 
that  there  is  no  deficiency  in  their  equipment  for  so  critical  a  contest. 
Classical  parallels  for  the  conversion  of  tools  into  weapons,  here  con- 
templated, occur  in  Ovid,  F.  I.  699,  Sarcula  cessabant  versique  in  pila 
ligones,  Vergil,  G.  I.  508,  Curvce  rigidum  fakes  conflantur  in  ensem. 
The  precise  agricultural  implement  intended  by  the  word  rendered 
plowshare  is  uncertain;   perhaps  coulters  is  the  best  equivalent  (see 
p.  31). 

spears.  The  word  (rtimahini)  here  used  differs  from  that  employed  in 
the  converse  passage  Mic.  iv.  3  (=  Is.  ii.  4),  and  is  confined  to  late,  or 
comparatively  late,  compositions  such  as  Jeremiah,  the  Priestly  narrative 
of  the  Pentateuch,  Nehemiah,  and  Chronicles,  with  the  exception  of 
two  passages,  Jud.  v.  8  (the  Song  of  Deborah)  and  1  Kgs.  xviii.  28 
(the  history  of  Elijah),  both  of  which  appear  to  be  of  Ephraimite  origin. 
Some  dialectic  features  of  the  northern  tribes  seem  to  have  survived  in 
later  Hebrew. 

let  the  weak,  etc.  Cf.  2  Zech.  xii.  8.  In  such  a  crisis  there  must  be 
universal  service. 

11.  Haste  ye.    This  Heb.  verb  (lush)  occurs  only  here,  and  is  of 
doubtful  meaning.  The  LXX.  and  Syr.  render  it  (as  in  the  mg.)  Assemble 
yourselves;  but,  according  to  Driver,  there  is  no  philological  basis  for 
this  translation.    The  R.V.  assumes  that  it  is  equivalent  to  the  common 
word  for  haste  (hush). 

gather  yourselves  together.    The  Heb.  really  has  and  they  shall  gather 

8—2 


116  JOEL  [m.  11-14 

yourselves  together :  thither  cause  thy  mighty  ones  to  come  down, 
O  LORD.  12  Let  the  nations  bestir  themselves,  and  come  up  to  the 
valley  of  *  Jehoshaphat :  for  there  will  I  sit  to  judge  all  the  nations 
round  about.  13  Put  ye  in  the  sickle,  for  the  2 harvest  is  ripe: 
come, 3 tread  ye ;  for  the  winepress  is  full,  the  fats  overflow ;  for 
their  wickedness  is  great.  14  Multitudes,  multitudes  in  the  valley 

1  That  is,  The  LoBDJudgeth.  2  Or,  vintage 

3  Or,  get  you  down 

themselves  together;  but  this  disturbs  the  sequence  of  imperatives,  and 
the  K.V.  has  silently  adopted  the  reading  of  the  LXX.  cnWx^Te. 
Metrical  considerations  are  in  favour  of  the  omission  of  the  verb 
altogether. 

thither.    I.e.  to  the  vale  of  Jehoshaphat. 

cause  thy  mighty  ones,  etc.  Jehovah  was  believed  to  have  at  His  dis- 
posal a  host  of  supernatural  warriors  (see  2  Kgs.  vi.  17,  Ps.  Ixxviii.  25, 
ciii.  20,  and  cf.  Josh.  v.  13—15,  2  Th.  i.  7),  whom  He  is  urged  by  the 
prophet  to  bring  from  heaven.  But  the  LXX.  has  6  irpavs  CO-TW  //.a^T^'s, 
let  the  soft  (or  faint)-hearted  become  a  mighty  one  (or  warrior) ;  cf.  v.  10 
(end). 

12.  come  up.    The  vale  of  Jehoshaphat  is  assumed  to  be  near  Jeru- 
salem, the  Jewish  capital,  so  that  this  verb  is  used  where,  at  first  sight, 
descend  would  seem  to  be  more  appropriate  (cf.  p.  86). 

will  I  sit  to  judge.  The  clause  reproduces  the  significance  of  the 
name  Jehoshaphat  (p.  112),  but  Jehovah  is  here  conceived  as  presiding 
at  the  annihilation,  not  the  trial,  of  the  nations. 

13.  Put  ye  in,  etc.    The  command  is  addressed  by  Jehovah  to  His 
attendant  angels.   Cf.  Mt.  xiii.  39 — 41. 

the  harvest.  Better  (as  in  tbe  mg.),  the  vintage.  The  slaughter  of  the 
heathen  is  represented  under  the  figure  of  the  treading  of  grapes  (cf. 
3  Is.  Ixiii.  3,  Lam.  i.  15,  Rev.  xiv.  19,  20,  xix.  15);  and  the  Heb.  word 
here  employed,  though  it  properly  means  "harvest,"  is  applied  to  the 
vintage,  as  in  Is.  xvi.  9,  xviii.  4,  5.  The  LXX.  has  Tpvyr/ros. 

is  ripe.  The  verb  elsewhere  signifies  to  be  boiled  (Ezek.  xxiv.  5),  and 
the  transition  of  meaning  may  be  illustrated  by  the  use  of  the  Latin 
coquo',  see  Cic.  de  Sen.  §  71,  Poma...si  matura  et  cocta  decidunt,  Verg. 
G.  n.  522,  Mitis  in  apricis  coquitur  vindemia  saxis. 

tread  ye.  This  rendering,  which  assumes  that  the  imperative  comes 
from  rddhah,  is  supported  by  the  LXX.  (Traretre),  but  the  mg.  get  you 
down  (i.e.  into  the  winepress,  p.  107),  which  takes  the  verb  to  be  ydradh, 
has  the  Vulg.  in  its  favour  (descendite). 

the  fats  overflow.  The  previous  exhortation  to  tread  the  grapes  in  the 
press  would  be  uncalled  for  if  tbe  vats  were  already  full  and  running 
over;  and  as  the  LXX.  has  vTrepe/c^etTe  TO,  vTroA^Vta,  Bewer  with  reason 
suggests  a  change  of  points  in  the  verb  (imperat.  for  indie.),  and  gives 
it  a  causal  sense,  make  the  vats  overflow. 


m.  14-18]  JOEL  117 

of  decision!  for  the  day  of  the  LORD  is  near  in  the  valley  of 
decision.  15  The  sun  and  the  moon  are  darkened,  and  the  stars 
withdraw  their  shining.  16  And  the  LORD  shall  roar  from  Zion, 
and  utter  his  voice  from  Jerusalem;  and  the  heavens  and  the 
earth  shall  shake :  but  the  LORD  will  be  a  refuge  unto  his  people, 
and  a  strong  hold  to  the  children  of  Israel.  17  So  shall  ye  know 
that  I  am  the  LORD  your  God,  dwelling  in  Zion  my  holy  moun- 
tain :  then  shall  Jerusalem  be  holy,  and  there  shall  no  strangers 
pass  through  her  any  more.  18  And  it  shall  come  to  pass  in  that 

their  wickedness.  The  figure  of  speech  in  the  early  part  of  the  v.  is 
here  abandoned,  the  pronoun  their  referring  to  the  nations  symbolized 
by  the  grapes. 

14.  Multitudes,  multitudes,  etc.    The  speaker,  in  this  and  the  next 
two  vv.,  is  the  prophet.    The  duplication  of  the  word  multitudes  serves, 
according  to  Hebrew  idiom,  to  heighten  the  sense  of  the  numbers :  cf. 
Jud.  v.  22,  Ex.  viii.  14  (Heb.  10,  literally  heaps,  heaps). 

of  decision.    Literally  of  sharp  (or  strict)  decision. 

15.  The  sun  and  the  moon,  etc.    Probably  the  writer  only  wishes  to 
illustrate  the  terrifying  character  of  the  crisis  by  recalling  to  the  mind 
the  consternation  occasioned  by  eclipses  (see  p.  Ix) ;  but  it  is  possible 
that  the  darkening  of  the  luminaries  (cf.  Is.  xiii.  10,  xxxiv.  4)  is  meant 
to  imply  the  suppression,  before  Jehovah's  might,  of  the  heavenly  bodies, 
regarded  as  the  abodes  of  celestial  powers  antagonistic  to  Him  (cf.  Is. 
xxiv.  21),  for  the  host  of  heaven  at  some  periods  of  Heb.  history  were 
the  objects  of  idolatrous  worship  (2  Kgs.  xxiii.  5,  11). 

16.  And  the  LORD  shall  roar,  etc.   The  words  occur  also  in  Am.  i.  2, 
the  coincidence  pointing  to  borrowing  on  the  part  of  one  writer  or  the 
other  (see  p.  Ixix).   Jehovah  is  expressly  likened  to  a  lion,  whose  lair  is 
Jerusalem,  in  Ps.  Ixxvi.  2,  mg. ;  cf.  Hos.  xi.  10. 

a  refuge  unto  his  people,  etc.  Jehovah  is  described  in  similar  terms 
in  Ps.  xiv.  6,  xlvi.  1. 

17.  dwelling  in  Zion.    Jehovah  is  represented  by  Ezekiel  (xi.  23)  as 
having  abandoned  Zion  (in  consequence  of  its  wickedness)  to  the  on- 
slaught of  the  Babylonians ;  but  on  the  restoration  of  its  people  to  their 
country,  He  had  returned  with  them  (cf.  Mic.  ii.  13,  2  Is.  xl.  10,  11), 
and  His  continuous  presence  in  Jerusalem  would  thenceforward  secure 
the  city  from  further  molestation. 

shall... be  holy.  I.e.  shall  be  undenled  by  the  entry  into  it  of  heathen 
foemen:  cf.  Ob.  17,  2  Zech.  ix.  8,  2  Is.  lii.  1,  Nah.  i.  15.  A  more  ethical 
conception  of  holiness  is  attached  to  the  New  Jerusalem  in  Rev.  xxi.  27, 
xxii.  14,  15. 

18 — 21.  A  description  of  the  fruitfulness  which,  after  the  crisis  just 
described,  is  to  mark  the  land  of  Judah  (cf.  Is.  iv.  2),  in  contrast  to  the 
doom  of  barrenness  which  is  to  be  the  fate  of  Egypt  and  Edom  for  the 
crimes  committed  by  them. 


118  JOEL  [m.  is,  19 

day,  that  the  mountains  shall  drop  down  sweet  wine,  and  the  hills 
shall  flow  with  milk,  and  all  the  brooks  of  Judah  shall  flow  with 
waters ;  and  a  fountain  shall  come  forth  of  the  house  of  the  LORD, 
and  shall  water  Hhe  valley  of  Shittim.  19  Egypt  shall  be  a  deso- 

1  That  is,  the  valley  of  acacias. 

18.  the  mountains . . .  milk.  The  passage  is  substantially  identical  with 
Am.  ix.  13b  (save  for  the  concluding  words);  and  represents  hyper- 
bolically  the  exceptional  fertility  of  the  vineyards  on  the  hillsides 
(cf.  p.  70),  and  the  richness  of  the  upland  pastures.  Parallels  among 
Latin  writers  occur  in  Ov.  Met.  I.  Ill,  Flumina  iam  lactis,  iamflumina 
nectaris  ibant,  Flavaque  de  viridi  stillabant  ilice  mella;  Verg.  G.  I.  132, 
Passim  rims  currentia  vina. 

all  the  brooks,  etc.  Literally,  all  the  channels  (Is.  viii.  7).  In  a  land 
like  Palestine,  where  so  many  of  the  wadies  run  dry  in  summer  (cf.  i.  20 
and  note),  an  ample  supply  of  water  is  one  of  the  most  desired  of 
blessings :  cf.  Is.  xxx.  25,  Jud.  i.  15. 

a  fountain  shall  come  forth,  etc.  The  conception  is  derived  from 
Ezekiel  xlviii.  1  f.  (p.  Ixviii)  and  recurs  in  2  Zech.  xiv.  8.  The  idea  of  a 
fountain  issuing  from  the  house  of  Jehovah  was  probably  suggested  by 
the  Gihon  spring  (the  Ain  Sitti  Mariam),  which  gushed  from  below  the 
hill  upon  which  the  Temple  stood,  and  flowed  down  the  Kidron  gorge. 
This  is  presumably  the  fons  perennis  aquae  mentioned  by  Tacitus, 
Hist.  v.  12. 

the  valley  of  Shittim.  Literally  "the  torrent- valley  of  the  acacias." 
Even  this,  conspicuous  for  its  dryness  (since  the  acacia,  which  is 
a  thorny  tree  (Sym.  has  TTJV  KoiAaSa  TUV  a/cav0o3i/),  producing  pods  and 
having  heavy  and  very  hard  wood,  flourishes  in  a  dry  soil,  and  "  is  the 
characteristic  tree  of  the  desert  wadies")1,  will  be  irrigated  like  the  rest 
of  the  land.  No  ravine  bearing  the  name  here  mentioned  is  alluded  to 
elsewhere  in  the  O.T.  (though  there  was  an  "Acacia  meadow"  (Abel 
Shittim)  on  the  east  side  of  the  Jordan  seven  or  eight  miles  from  the 
N.  extremity  of  the  Dead  Sea  (Num.  xxv.  1,  Josh.  ii.  1,  Mic.  vi.  5)); 
but  since  in  the  passage  in  Ezekiel,  upon  which  the  writer  of  Joel  has 
drawn,  the  irrigating  waters  flow  from  the  east  of  the  Temple,  the 
"  torrent- valley  of  the  acacias  "  was  probably  the  name  of  some  arid 
wady  lying  between  Jerusalem  and  the  Jordan.  The  present  passage 
has  contributed  to  influence  Rev.  xxii.  1. 

19.  Egypt  shall  be,  etc.  The  occasion  of  the  wrongs  inflicted  by 
Egypt  which  the  writer  has  in  mind  was  probably  the  invasion  of  Judah 
by  Pharaoh  Necho  at  some  date  between  610  and  594  (2  Kgs.  xxiii. 
29—35,  2  Ch.  xxxv.  20—24).  This  reference  is  not  excluded  by  the 
fact  that  the  bloodshed  at  Megiddo,  where  Necho  defeated  Josiah,  took 
place  in  war,  for  the  second  half  of  the  v.  may  relate  to  Edom  only. 
Bewer  suggests  that  the  passage  alludes  to  the  incursion  into  Palestine 

1  Hastings,  DB.  iv.  p.  507. 


in.  19-21]  JOEL  119 

lation,  and  Edom  shall  be  a  desolate  wilderness,  for  the  violence 
done  to  the  children  of  Judah,  because  they  have  shed  innocent 
blood  in  their  land.  20  But  Judah  shall  1  abide  for  ever,  and 
Jerusalem  from  generation  to  generation.  21  And  I  will 2  cleanse 
their  blood  that  I  have  not  cleansed :  for  the  LORD  dwelleth  in 
Zion. 

1  Or,  be  inhabited  2  Or,  hold  as  innocent 

of  Ptolemy  Lagi  in  320B.C.  The  prediction  of  Egypt's  desolation  can 
hardly  be  said  to  have  been  fulfilled ;  but  the  country  at  least  lost  its 
independence  when  it  became  included  first  within  the  Macedonian, 
and  next  within  the  Roman,  empire.  Prophecies  of  parallel  import 
occur  in  Is.  xix.,  xx.,  Jer.  xlvi.,  Ezek.  xxix. — xxxii.  The  occasion  when 
Edom  earned,  most  of  all,  the  bitter  hatred  of  the  Jews,  such  as  is 
evinced  here,  was  the  capture  of  Jerusalem  by  the  Babylonians  in  587 
(see  p.  xlix). 

for  the  violence,  etc.  The  expression  is  perhaps  derived  from  Ob.  10 
(with  some  modification) :  cf.  p.  74. 

in  their  land.  If  the  occasions  of  Egyptian  and  Edomite  malevolence 
have  been  correctly  identified,  this  must  mean,  in  the  land  of  the 
children  of  Judah.  But  Driver  and  others  think  that  the  reference  is 
to  the  lands  of  Egypt  and  Edom,  where  Jews  who  were  dwelling  there 
peaceably  may  have  been  treacherously  massacred. 

20.  shall  abide.    I.e.  shall  continue  unmolested :  cf.  Mic.  v.  4  (3). 
The  mg.  shall  be  inhabited  (cf.  LXX.  KaToi/o^orcrcu)  finds  support  in 
Is.  xiii.  20,  Ezek.  xxvi.  20,  2  Zech.  ix.  5 :  and  the  same  ambiguity  as 
is  present  here  occurs  in  Jer.  xvii.  25. 

21.  /  will  cleanse  their  blood,  etc.    This,  if  the  text  is  sound,  must 
mean,  "  I  will  cleanse  (through  the  infliction  of  retribution  upon  the 
blood-guilty)  their  (i.e.  the  victims')  blood  that  I  have  hitherto  (by 
sparing  those  who  spilt  it)  left  uncleansed."  But  the  Heb.  verb  rendered 
"  cleanse  "  elsewhere  means  "  to  clear,"  or  "  treat  as  innocent"  (cf.  mg.), 
and  has  as  its  object  persons  (Jer.  xxx.  11,  Job  ix.  28).   Tbe  LXX.  has 

Kai  c/c^T^oro)  (or  €/<8iK^cra))  TO  al/xa  avrwv,  KCU  ov  pr)  a0u)iocru>,  I  will  avengG 

their  blood  and  I  will  not  hold  innocent  the  guilty  (cf.  Ex.  xxxiv.  7, 
Num.  xiv.  18,  Nah.  i.  3).  This  implies  in  the  first  clause  the  reading 
ve-nikkamti  for  ve-nikkethi  and  seemingly  treats  Id  nikkethi  (in  the 
second  clause)  as  a  prophetic  perfect  (equivalent  to  a  future).  But 
a  prophetic  perfect  is  here  unnatural,  and  the  passage  is  brought  into 
closer  accord  with  Hebrew  usage  by  substituting  (with  Nowack)  the 
verb  nikkem  for  nikkah  in  both  clauses,  and  so  obtaining  the  translation, 
/  will  avenge  their  blood  which  /  have  not  (hitherto)  avenged. 

for  the  LORD  dwelleth  in  Zion.  Literally,  and  Jehovah  dwelleth  in 
Zion,  which  is  tantamount  to  "as  surely  as  Jehovah  dwelleth  in  Zion." 
For  this  use  of  the  conjunction  and  cf.  2  Is.  li.  15  (where  For  I  am 
Jehovah  thy  God  is  literally  And  I  am  Jehovah  thy  God). 


JONAH 

CHAPTER  I. 

I.     1  Now  the  word  of  the  LORD  came  unto  Jonah  the  son  of 

1 — 3.  Jonah's  commission  to  declare  to  Nineveh  its  doom,  and  his 
attempt  to  evade  his  duty. 

1.  Now.  Strictly,  And.  Since  the  writer  casts  his  censure  of  his 
countrymen's  attitude  towards  the  Gentiles  into  the  form  of  an  historical 
narrative,  he  begins  in  the  way  usual  with  Hebrew  historians  (see  the 
opening  words  of  Exodus,  Leviticus,  Numbers,  Joshua,  Judges,  Ruth, 
Samuel,  Kings,  Ezra  and  Esther) :  the  conjunction  attaches  the  book 
(as  it  were)  to  other  and  earlier  narratives.  The  prophetic  book  of 
Ezekiel  begins  similarly. 

the  word  of  the  LORD  came.    See  p.  88. 

Jonah.  What  is  known  about  the  prophet  is  related  on  p.  Ixxviii. 
Various  places  are  pointed  out  in  local  traditions  as  his  tomb,  there 
being  one  near  Nazareth,  a  second  close  to  Hebron,  and  a  third  hard 
by  the  ruins  of  Nineveh  (p.  122).  The  name  means  "a  dove."  Many 
Hebrew  personal  names  were  those  of  animals;  and  though  it  is  possible 
that  they  may  have  been  of  the  nature  of  individual  nicknames,  due 
to  some  fancied  resemblance  in  feature  or  disposition  between  the 
animals  and  the  human  personalities  designated,  it  is  perhaps  more 
probable  that  they  go  back  to  a  totemistic  stage  of  thought,  and  were 
originally  tribal  names,  though  they  were  afterwards  transferred  to 
individuals.  A  totem  is  customarily  some  species  of  animal  or  plant 
from  which  a  particular  tribe  or  clan  believes  that  its  life  is  derived, 
and  upon  which  its  welfare  depends.  The  members  of  the  community 
are  called  after  its  name;  and  they  ordinarily  abstain  from  injuring  it 
(as  being  akin  to  themselves)  except  when,  in  order  to  assimilate  its 
virtues,  or  to  place  themselves  more  fully  under  its  protection,  they 
sacramentally  eat  it  or  (if  it  is  an  animal)  dress  themselves  in  its  hide. 
The  animal  or  plant  in  question  is  thus  practically  regarded  as  a  god 
from  whom  the  tribe  is  descended,  the  explanation  of  such  an  attitude 
of  mind  being  presumably  that  primitive  races  were  deeply  impressed 
by  the  difference  between  themselves  and  the  life  around  them,  and 
were  prone  to  look  upon  many  objects  of  the  lower  creation  as  super- 
human rather  than  as  sub-human.  This  system  of  belief  prevails  widely 
among  savage  races  in  Africa,  America,  and  Australia  at  the  present 
day ;  and  it  has  been  inferred  that  it  once  existed  among  the  Semitic 
nations,  including  the  Hebrews,  for  the  following  reasons,  (a)  Many  of 
these  regarded  themselves  as  being  the  offspring  of,  or  filially  related 
to,  the  deities  whom  they  worshipped  (cf.  Num.  xxi.  29,  Dt.  xiv.  1, 
Hos.  xi.  1,  Mai.  ii.  11).  (6)  Numerous  Semitic  gods  were  thought  to 


i.  i,  ,]  JONAH  121 

Amittai,  saying,  2  Arise,  go  to  Nineveh,  that  great  city,  and 

have  animal  shapes :  there  was  a  heifer  Baal  (Tob.  i.  5) ;  Jehovah  in 
early  times  was  represented  as  a  calf  or  young  bull  (Ex.  xxxii.  4  mg., 
1  Kgs.  xii.  28),  and  perhaps  also  as  a  sdrdph  or  winged  serpent  (Num. 
xxi.  8,  9,  2  Kgs.  xviii.  4);  at  Eryx,  in  Sicily,  Ashtoreth  had  the  form 
of  a  dove;  whilst  other  divinities  were  worshipped  under  the  figures 
of  a  lion,  a  horse,  or  a  vulture.  (In  Greece,  too,  certain  deities  were 
associated  with  animals;  e.g.  Artemis  was  connected  with  the  bear, 
and  Dionysus  (ravpo/cepws  0eo's)  with  the  bull;  whilst  the  epithets 
AVKCUO?  and  S/xiv0evs,  attached  to  Apollo,  suggest  some  primal  link 
between  that  god  and  the  wolf  (AvW)  and  the  mouse  (Cretan  or/«v0o«).) 
(c)  A  considerable  number  of  both  tribal  and  individual  appellations 
among  the  Semites  were  those  of  animals.  Nahash,  an  Ammonite  king 
(1  Sam.  xi.  1),  bore  the  name  of  "snake."  Epher,  the  name  of  a  Midianite 
clan  (Gen.  xxv.  4),  means  a  stag  or  mountain  goat;  the  Midianite  chiefs 
Oreb  and  Zeeb  (Jud.  vii.  25)  and  the  Midianitess  Zipporah  (Ex.  ii.  21) 
had  names  signifying  "raven,"  "wolf,"  and  "sparrow";  and  the 
Israelites  Caleb,  Shaphan,  Achbor,  Laish,  Hezir,  and  the  women  Eglah 
and  Deborah,  were  designated  after  the  dog,  coney,  mouse,  lion,  swine, 
calf,  and  bee  respectively,  (d)  Names  of  this  type  occur  very  fre- 
quently in  narratives  relating  to  early  times,  but  rarely  after  the  Exile. 
(e]  Several  of  the  animals  just  mentioned  were  for  the  Hebrews 
"unclean"  (Lev.  xi.);  and  this,  with  some  probability,  may  be  taken 
to  mean  that  they  were  once  taboo,  and  too  holy  to  be  used  as  food 
under  ordinary  circumstances,  but  might  be  eaten  at  a  religious  feast; 
and  some  of  the  creatures  enumerated  were  thus  eaten  by  degenerate 
Jews  in  post-exilic  times  (3  Is.  Ixv.  4,  Ixvi.  3).  The  evidence  here  sum- 
marized is  confessedly  inconclusive,  but  certainly  favours  the  view  that 
has  been  indicated  above1. 

Amittai.  The  name,  which  only  occurs  here  and  in  2  Kgs.  xiv.  25,  is 
a  derivative  of  'emetk,  "truth,"  and  means  "man  of  truth  " :  cf.  Bar- 
zillai,  "man  of  iron."  Jewish  tradition  represented  Jonah  as  the  son 
of  the  widow  of  Zarephath,  who  is  said  to  have  called  her  child  "  the 
son  of  Amittai "  because  the  prophet  Elijah  had  spoken  to  her  truth 
about  him  (1  Kgs.  xvii.  24). 

2.  Nineveh.  In  the  cuneiform  inscriptions  the  name  of  the  city  is 
written  Ninud  and  Nina;  in  Greek  writers  Nu/o?.  It  was  the  latest 
capital  of  Assyria,  situated  250  miles  N.W.  of  Babylon,  to  which 
Assyria  was  at  first  subject,  Nineveh  being  originally  a  Babylonian 
settlement  (cf.  Gen.  x.  10,  11).  It  seems  to  have  been  about  1850  B.C. 
that  Assyria  became  an  independent  state;  and  its  earliest  capitals 
were  Asshur  and  Calah  (60  miles  and  18  miles  S.  of  Nineveh  re- 
spectively). The  Assyrian  court  was  removed  from  Asshur  to  Calah 
about  1300,  and  from  Calah  to  Nineveh  about  1100.  Asshur-nazir-pal  III 
(884 — 860)  again  made  Calah  the  royal  residence;  but  Sennacherib 

1  Cp.  Gray,  Heb.  Proper  Names,  pp.  86—115. 


122  JONAH  [I.  2,  3 

cry  against  it ;  for  their  wickedness  is  come  up  before  me.  3  But 
Jonah  rose  up  to  flee  unto  Tarshish  from  the  presence  of  the  LORD  ; 

(704 — 681)  once  more  restored  to  Nineveh  the  dignity  of  being  the 
capital  city.  He  greatly  enlarged  and  adorned  it,  its  circumference  (it 
is  said)  being  no  less  than  7j  miles.  It  was  destroyed  in  612  by  the 
Medes  under  Cyaxares  (Hdt.  i.  106),  aided  by  a  Chaldean,  Nabo- 
polassar,  who  had  made  himself  king  of  Babylon :  its  overthrow  is  the 
subject  of  the  book  of  Nahum.  Its  site  is  marked  by  mounds  on  the 
E.  bank  of  the  Tigris  opposite  the  present  town  of  Mosul,  the  principal 
being  at  Kouyunjik  and  Nebi-yunus  (the  latter  preserving  the  memory 
of  the  prophet  Jonah,  to  whom  a  mosque  is  dedicated). 

The  reason  why  the  writer  of  this  book  took  Nineveh  as  typical 
of  the  heathen  world,  and  represented  it  as  being  an  object  of  concern 
to  God,  can  only  be  conjectured.  Either  there  was  a  tradition  connecting 
Jonah  with  it,  or  else  the  circumstance  that  of  all  the  famous  cities  of 
the  past  it  was  the  one  whose  inhabitants  had  done  most  permanent 
injury  to  his  fellow  Hebrews  (for  Assyria  had  carried  the  people  of 
Northern  Israel  into  captivity,  whence  they  had  not  returned)  rendered 
it  the  best  illustration  of  God's  comprehensive  mercy. 

that  great  city.  Compare  iii.  3,  iv.  11.  In  Gen.  x.  12  the  same 
description  is  applied  apparently  to  a  group  of  four  cities  (including 
Nineveh)  which  lay  between  the  rivers  Tigris,  Khusur,  Zab,  and 
Gomal. 

cry  against  it.  Cf.  the  similar  phrase  in  1  Kgs.  xiii.  2.  The  purport 
of  the  cry  (or  proclamation)  must  have  been  the  same  as  that  stated 
later  in  iii.  4. 

their  wickedness.  The  pronoun  refers  to  the  citizens  implied  in  the 
previous  mention  of  the  city:  cf.  v.  3  (them,  i.e.  the  mariners  implied 
in  the  reference  to  the  ship):  see  also  Mk.  vi.  11,  Acts  viii.  5,  Gen. 
xv.  13.  For  the  wickedness  of  Nineveh  as  viewed  by  a  Hebrew  prophet 

see  Nah.  ii.  11,  12,  iii.  1,  19.  The  LXX.  has  77  Kpavyrj  -ny?  Kaxtas  avr^s; 
cf.  Gen.  xviii.  21,  iv.  10. 

is  come  up  before  me.  Jehovah  is  conceived  by  the  writer  not  as 
a  mere  national  deity,  but  as  the  Judge  of  the  whole  earth  (Gen.  xviii. 
25).  The  phraseology  (which  implies  that  God  is  seated  in  heaven)  is 
similar  to  that  in  Gen.  vi.  13,  1  Sam.  v.  12,  Lam.  i.  22,  Acts  x.  4. 

3.  Tarshish.  This  was  a  place  famed  amongst  the  Hebrews  for  its 
minerals  (Jer.  x.  9,  Ezek.  xxvii.  12),  and  was  reached  from  Palestine  by 
a  long  sea  voyage  (being  amongst  the  most  distant  localities,  3  Is. 
Ixvi.  19);  so  that  " Tarshish  ships"  (Is.  ii.  16,  3  Is.  Ix.  9,  Ezek. 
xxvii.  25,  Ps.  xlviii.  7)  came  to  be  a  term  applied  to  the  more  sea- 
worthy vessels  (cf.  the  LXX.  of  Is.  ii.  16,  irXolov  OaXda-^^).  On  the 
other  hand,  it  is  reckoned  in  Gen.  x.  4  among  the  "  sons  "  of  Javan 
(probably  representing  Ionia  or  Greece),  the  others  being  Elishah, 
Kittim  and  Dodanim  (1  Ch.  i.  7,  Rodanim),  of  which  the  first  may 
possibly  represent  Hellas,  and  the  others  more  certainly  Cyprus  (with 
its  town  of  KiViof)  and  Rhodes,  so  that  it  may  plausibly  be  looked  for 


L  3]  JONAH  123 

and  he  went  down  to  Joppa,  and  found  a  ship  going  to  Tarshish  : 

in  Greek  waters.  It  was  especially  connected  by  commerce  with  Tyre 
and  Zidon  (Is.  xxiii.  6,  Ezek.  xxvii.  12);  but  as  the  Phoenicians  were 
bold  sailors,  this  fact  does  not  throw  much  light  upon  its  situation.  By 
Josephus  it  was  identified  with  Tarsus  (on  the  Cydnus)  in  Cilicia 
(Ant.  ix.  10,  2),  though  Tarsus  was  not  a  port;  whilst  in  the  LXX., 
when  it  is  not  transliterated  or  paraphrased  as  it  is  here,  it  is  identified 
with  Carthage  (Is.  xxiii.  1,  Ezek.  xxvii.  12).  It  is  most  commonly 
thought  to  have  been  the  same  as  the  Greek  Tartessos,  a  name 
successively  applied  first  to  a  river  in  Spain  (the  Baetis  or  Guadal- 
quivir) ;  then  to  a  tribe  there  (the  Tartessii) ;  and  finally  to  a  Phoenician 
colony  in  the  same  country  (perhaps  Gades  or  Cadiz).  The  abundance 
of  minerals  in  the  Spanish  peninsula,  especially  the  presence  there  of 
tin,  which  was  obtained  from  Tarshish  (Ezek.  xxvii.  12)  supports  the 
view  that  Tarshish  was  a  locality  within  it.  But  since  the  place  may 
have  been  an  emporium  for  metals  rather  than  a  mining  district,  some 
authorities  favour  the  conclusion  that  it  was  Etruria,  whose  inhabitants 
were  Tyrsenians  or  Tyrrhenians,  a  race  of  Asiatic  origin  (cf.  Hdt.  I.  94), 
and  perhaps  represented  by  Tiras  in  Gen.  x.  2  and  by  the  Tursha 
known  to  the  Egyptians.  Others  suggest  Tharros,  a  place  in  Sardinia. 
The  evidence  (which  is  reviewed  in  JTS.  vol.  XVIL,  p.  280  f.)  is  too 
conflicting  to  yield  a  confident  conclusion,  though  the  arguments  for 
a  locality  in  Spain  are  perhaps  preponderant. 

If  the  narrative  is  a  unity,  the  mention  here  of  Tarshish  as  Jonah's 
destination  anticipates  the  next  clause,  and  some  critics  would  omit 
unto  Tarshish.  But  as  there  are  discrepancies  in  the  book,  these  clauses, 
which  suggest  respectively  that  the  prophet  went  to  Tarshish  by  design 
and  by  chance,  may  be  derived  from  duplicate  and  slightly  variant 
versions  (p.  Ixxxvi). 

from  the  presence  of  the  LORD.  The  phrase  (since  the  book  is  cast  in 
an  antique  mould)  probably  means  withdrawal  from  Jehovah's  land  (as 
in  Gen.  iv.  14,  16,  1  Sam.  xxvi.  19,  20,  Jer.  xxiii.  39),  though  it  is  clear 
that  the  writer  no  more  entertained  a  localized  conception  of  the  Deity 
than  did  the  writer  of  Ps.  cxxxix.  The  expression,  however,  may  only 
signify  the  abandonment  of  the  position  and  functions  of  a  minister  of 
Jehovah  (see  1  Kgs.  xvii.  1,  xviii.  15,  2  Kgs.  iii.  14,  v.  16,  Lk.  i.  19). 
The  motive  for  Jonah's  action  is  given  in  iv.  2. 

went  down.  I.e.  from  his  home  at  Gath-hepher  to  the  coast.  The 
nearest  port  would  have  been  either  Acco  (the  modern  Acre),  or 
Tyre. 

Joppa.  This  form  of  the  name  is  Greek — 'loir-try :  in  Hebrew  it  is 
Yapho,  in  the  Egyptian  inscriptions  of  the  15th  century  B.C.  Yepu, 
and  in  the  Tell-el-Amarna  tablets  (14th  century  B.C.),  Yapu.  The 
place,  now  called  Jdfd  or  Jaffa,  stands  on  a  rocky  eminence,  50  miles 
from  Gath-hepher,  and  affords  the  only  shelter  for  ships  between  the 
coast  of  Egypt  and  Mount  Carmel.  The  harbour,  such  as  it  is,  "is 
formed  by  a  low  ledge  of  rock  running  out  at  a  sharp  angle  in  a  N.W. 


124  JONAH  [i.  3-6 

so  he  paid  the  fare  thereof,  and  went  down  into  it,  to  go  with 
them  unto  Tarshish  from  the  presence  of  the  LORD.  4  But  the 
LORD  xsent  out  a  great  wind  into  the  sea,  and  there  was  a  mighty 
tempest  in  the  sea,  so  that  the  ship  was  like  to  be  broken.  5  Then 
the  mariners  were  afraid,  and  cried  every  man  unto  his  god ;  and 
they  cast  forth  the  wares  that  were  in  the  ship  into  the  sea,  to 
lighten  it  unto  them.  But  Jonah  was  gone  down  into  the  inner- 
most parts  of  the  ship ;  and  he  lay,  and  was  fast  asleep.  6  So  the 

1  Or,  hurled 

direction  from  the  southern  end  of  the  town1."  In  ancient  times  it 
served  as  a  port  to  Jerusalem  (Ez.  iii.  7,  2  Ch.  ii.  16),  though  it  was 
never  in  the  possession  of  Israel  until  taken  by  Jonathan  the  Maccabee 
in  148B.C.  (1  Mace.  x.  76),  and  afterwards  garrisoned  by  his  brother 
Simon  (1  Mace.  xii.  33,  34,  xiii.  11,  xiv.  5).  After  experiencing  some 
changes  of  ownership,  it  became,  during  the  wars  between  the  Jews  and 
the  Romans,  a  nest  of  pirates ;  and  it  was  attacked,  and  its  inhabitants 
were  destroyed,  by  Vespasian  in  68  A.D.  (Jos.  BJ.  in.  9,  1 — 3).  It  has 
undergone  various  assaults  in  mediaeval  and  modern  times,  including 
one  by  Napoleon.  Its  present  population  is  about  8000.  The  oranges 
for  which  Jaffa  is  now  famous  are  said  to  have  been  introduced  from 
China. 

went  down  into  it.    Compare  v.  5. 

4 — 17.  The  arrest  of  the  prophet's  flight  by  a  storm  and  his  miraculous 
preservation  from  drowning. 

4.  sent  out.    Literally,  cast  or  hurled  (see  mg.  and  cf.  1  Sam.  xviii.  11, 
xx.  33),  the  word  here  used  suggesting  the  violence  of  the  wind. 

a  mighty  tempest.  It  was  in  the  same  region  that  St  Paul  encountered 
the  tempestuous  wind  called  Euraquilo  (Acts  xxvii.  14). 

was  like  to  be  broken.  Literally,  was  minded  to  be  broken  (cf.  Ps.  Ixxiii. 
16  was  minded  to  know),  like  the  French  le  vaisseau  pensa  se  briser. 

The  LXX.  has  €/af8vveve  crvvTpi/3f]vai. 

5.  mariners.   The  Heb.  word  (occurring  also  in  Ezek.  xxvii.  9,  27,  29) 
is  equivalent,  in  etymology,  to  our  "salt"  and  the  Greek  dAiev's. 

every  man  unto  his  god.  The  crew  (like  so  many  crews  to-day)  were 
of  various  nationalities :  cf.  Ezek.  xxvii.  8  (where  the  cities  of  Arvad 
and  Zidon  supply  Tyre  with  rowers). 

the  wares.  Better,  the  gear  (LXX.  r£v  tr/ceuwv,  cf.  TO  O-KCVOS  in  Acts 
xxvii.  17).  The  Heb.  word,  like  the  Greek  6VXa  and  the  Latin  arma, 
has  the  double  sense  of  "tackling"  and  "weapons." 

to  lighten  it  unto  them.  Literally,  "to  lighten  (the  calamity)  from 
upon  them":  cf.  1  Kgs.  xii.  10  (Heb.). 

the  innermost  parts  of  the  ship.  I.e.  either  a  lower  deck,  or  else  the 
hold:  LXX.  rrjv  KoiX.r)v.  The  word  here  employed  for  ship  is  not  the 

1  Hastings,  DB.  n.  p.  755. 


i.  6-8]  JONAH  125 

shipmaster  came  to  him,  and  said  unto  him,  What  meanest  thou, 
O  sleeper?  arise,  call  upon  thy  God,  if  so  be  that  God  will  think 
upon  us,  that  we  perish  not.  7  And  they  said  every  one  to  his 
fellow,  Come,  and  let  us  cast  lots,  that  we  may  know  for  whose 
cause  this  evil  is  upon  us.  So  they  cast  lots,  and  the  lot  fell  upon 
Jonah.  8  Then  said  they  unto  him,  Tell  us,  we  pray  thee,  for 
whose  cause  this  evil  is  upon  us;  what  is  thine  occupation?  and 

common  term  used  in  v.  3,  but  means  a  decked  vessel,  from  a  Hebrew 
root  meaning  "to  cover."  The  English  substantive  deck  similarly  means 
a  covering,  and  was  originally  regarded  as  a  roof  for  the  hold.  So  in 
Greek  a  decked  vessel  was  termed  -n-Xolov  ia-Teya.arn.tvov  (from  o-T€ya£eiv, 
"to  cover"). 

was  fast  asleep.  Or,  better,  slept  soundly.  The  LXX.  has  and  he 
slept  and  snored. 

6.  the  shipmaster.    Literally  "the  chief  of  the  rope-pullers."    The 
LXX.  has  6  Trpojpevs  (i.e.  "the  look-out  man"  in  the  bow  of  the  ship), 
but  the  other  Greek  translators  have  6  KvficpvTJTrjs,  whence  the  Vulg. 
gubernator. 

What  meanest  thou,  0  sleeper  ?  Perhaps  better,  What  meanest  thou  by 
sleeping  soundly?  (cf.  Vulg.  Quid  tu  sopore  deprimeris?).  The  last  verb 
is  used  of  the  "deep  sleep"  of  Sisera  (Jud.  iv.  21),  and  a  cognate  noun 
of  the  "deep  sleep"  sent  by  God  upon  Adam  (Gen.  ii.  21).  For  the 
Heb.  construction  cf.  Is.  xxii.  16. 

will  think  upon  us.  The  Aramaic  verb  hith'ashsheth  here  used  (see 
p.  Ixxxiii)  takes  the  place  of  the  common  Hebrew  verb  hdshabh  occurring 
in  the  same  sense  in  Ps.  xl.  17  (18)  and  elsewhere.  The  LXX.  has  OTTWS 

Stcuruxrr;  6  $eos  rj/xas. 

7.  let  us  cast  lots.    Tbe  use  of  the  lot  was  an  appeal  to  God  (cf.  Prov. 
xvi.  33)  to  decide  upon  whom  the  responsibility  for  what  had  happened 
rested:   cf.  the  instances  of  Achan  (Josh.  vii.   14 f.)  and  Jonathan 
(1  Sam.  xiv.  40  f.).    Unless  the  guilty  person  could  be  detected  and 
removed,  the  wbole  company  were  endangered :   cf.  JEsch.  Septem  c. 
Thebas,  595 — 600.   It  was  through  the  casting  of  lots  that  the  Apostles 
appealed  to  the  Lord  to  determine  who  should  fill  the  place  among 
them  forfeited  by  the  traitor  Judas  (Acts  i.  26) :  cf.  also  Horn.  //.  vn. 

171,  K\ypio  vvv  Tr€7rd\ax&c.  Sta/A7repes  os  K€  Aa^triv. 

for  whose  cause.  Better,  on  whose  account.  The  Heb.  is  peculiar,  see 
p.  Ixxxiii. 

8.  for  whose  cause.   Better  (in  order  to  mark  a  difference  in  the  Heb. 
between  this  and  the  preceding),  on  account  of  whom.    This  question  is 
identical  in  purport  with  that  which,  according  to  v.  7,  had  already 
been  decided  by  tbe  lot,  and  seems  otiose  after  it  (though  it  is,  no  doubt, 
possible  to  explain  it  as  due  to  the  wish  to  obtain  a  confession  from  the 
culprit).   It  is  absent  from  tbe  Vatican  codex  of  the  LXX.  and  from  some 
Hebrew  manuscripts,  and  is  omitted  by  Nowack  as  a  gloss  on  v.  7,  which 
has  been  accidentally  misplaced.    It  is  not  unlikely,  however,  that  the 


126  JONAH  [i.  8-12 

whence  comest  thou?  what  is  thy  country?  and  of  what  people 
art  thou?  9  And  he  said  unto  them,  I  am  an  Hebrew;  and  I  fear 
the  LORD,  the  God  of  heaven,  which  hath  made  the  sea  and  the 
dry  land.  10  Then  were  the  men  exceedingly  afraid,  and  said 
unto  him,  What  is  this  that  thou  hast  done?  For  the  men  knew 
that  he  fled  from  the  presence  of  the  LORD,  because  he  had  told 
them.  11  Then  said  they  unto  him,  What  shall  we  do  unto  thee, 
that  the  sea  may  be  calm  unto  us?  for  the  sea  grew  more  and 
more  tempestuous.  12  And  he  said  unto  them,  Take  me  up,  and 
cast  me  forth  into  the  sea ;  so  shall  the  sea  be  calm  unto  you : 

two  questions  proceed  from  different  versions  of  the  story  (see  p.  Ixxxvi), 
and  that  in  one  of  these  the  question  in  this  verse  followed  directly 
upon  v.  6,  the  suspicions  of  the  sailors  being  aroused  by  the  fact  that 
Jonah  took  no  part  in  their  supplications  to  heaven. 

9.  an  Hebrew.    This  was  a  customary  term  used  in  early  times  to 
designate  an  Israelite  in  contrast  to  a  foreigner  (Gen.  xl.  15,  Ex.  i.  19, 
ii.  7,  iii.  18,  etc. :  cf.  also  Phil.  iii.  5).   The  word  Hebrew  etymologically 
means   "one  from  the  other  side"  of  some  familiar  boundary  (not 
necessarily  the  river  Jordan  only,  which  Israel  crossed  on  entering 
Canaan).    Instead  of  the  description  a  Hebrew,  the  LXX.  has  SouXos 
Kv/oiov,  reading  'abhdi  for  'ibkri  and  interpreting  it  as  'ebhedh  Yehovah. 
The  other  Greek  translators  have  'E/Jpcuos. 

I  fear  the  LORD.  Strictly,  "I  am  a  fearer  (i.e.  a  worshipper)  of 
JEHOVAH"  (cf.  Dt.  vi.  13,  Ps.  cxv.  11).  The  expression  does  not  imply 
a  claim  to  exceptional  piety,  but  merely  describes  the  cult  of  which  he 
was  a  follower. 

the  God  of  heaven.  The  phrase  occurs  in  Gen.  xxiv.  3,  7  (J) ;  but 
otherwise  only  in  post-exilic  writings  (2  Ch.  xxxvi.  23,  Ez.  i.  2,  Neh.  i. 
4,  5,  Ps.  cxxxvi.  26,  and  (in  an  Aramaic  form)  Ez.  v.  11,  vi.  9,  Dan.  ii. 
18,  19,  etc.). 

10.  Then  were  the  men... afraid.    The  description  of  JEHOVAH  as 
Maker  of  the  sea  and  the  dry  land  led  to  the  inference  that  the  storm 
came  from  Him. 

For  the  men  knew,  etc.  This  points  to  some  prior  communication 
imparted  by  Jonah  about  his  flight  (v.  3),  and  reported  in  one  of  the 
two  versions  out  of  which  the  present  narrative  seems  to  have  been 
compiled,  but  omitted  in  the  process  of  compilation.  The  sentence  here 
was  probably  once  connected  with  v.  7;  but  some  words,  such  as  "thou 
art  the  man ;  thou  hast  sinned  against  thy  God,"  have  been  dropped 
between  them.  In  view  of  other  evidence  of  the  composite  character  of 
the  book,  this  appears  a  preferable  hypothesis  to  that  of  Wellliausen, 
who  takes  the  words  because  he  had  told  them  to  be  a  gloss. 

11.  12.    These  two  verses  seem  originally  to  have  followed  upon 
vv.  8 — 10a.    Jonah's  avowal  that  he  was  a  worshipper  of  Jehovah,  the 
Maker  of  the  sea,  led  them  to  ask  him  what  they  should  do  to  him  to 


I.  12-15]  JONAH  127 

for  I  know  that  for  my  sake  this  great  tempest  is  upon  you. 
13  Nevertheless  the  men  rowed  hard  to  get  them  back  to  the 
land;  but  they  could  not:  for  the  sea  grew  more  and  more 
tempestuous  against  them.  14  Wherefore  they  cried  unto  the 
LORD,  and  said,  We  beseech  thee,  O  LORD,  we  beseech  thee,  let 
us  not  perish  for  this  man's  life,  and  lay  not  upon  us  innocent 
blood:  for  thou,  0  LORD,  hast  done  as  it  pleased  thee.  15  So 
they  took  up  Jonah,  and  cast  him  forth  into  the  sea :  and  the  sea 

avert  the  anger  of  his  God.  The  prophet's  declaration  in  v.  12  that  he 
knew  the  tempest  to  have  occurred  on  his  account  appears  unnecessary 
after  he  had  been  marked  out  as  the  guilty  individual  by  the  decision 
of  the  lot;  and  the  verse  containing  it  presumably  comes  from  a  version 
which  did  not  include  the  episode  of  the  sailors'  casting  of  lots. 

13.  Nevertheless  the  men  rowed,  etc.   This  rendering  probably  conveys 
a  wrong  impression  of  the  Hebrew,  which  has  And  the  men  rowed 
(literally  dug]  *.  Although  the  conjunction  here  employed  sometimes  has 
an  adversative  sense  (see  p.  63),  this  v.  is  not  a  natural  continuation 
of  v.  12;  and  hence  Winckler  would  transpose  it  to  after  v.  4.    But  on 
the  theory  that  the  book  is  a  compilation,  the  v.  is  suitable  enough  as 
the  original  sequel  of  v.  10b.    The  sailors,  having  inferred  that  Jonah 
had  gravely  offended  by  fleeing  from  the  land  of  Jehovah,  exerted  them- 
selves first  of  all  to  restore  him  to  it,  for  this  might  turn  out  to  be  all 
that  Jehovah  wanted. 

the  land.   More  strictly,  the  dry  land,  as  in  ii.  10,  Gen.  i.  9,  etc. 

14.  We  beseech  thee,  0  LORD.    Literally,  Pray,  JEHOVAH.    The 
sailors  naturally  address  Jonah's  God,  since  they  had  ascertained  that 
He  had  caused  the  tempest  which  endangered  them,  and  their  own 
deities  had  proved  powerless  to  calm  it. 

let  us  not  perish,  etc.  The  words  are  a  plea  that  JEHOVAH  will  not 
avenge  the  death  of  His  worshipper,  if  by  the  latter's  direction  they 
cast  him  into  the  sea.  The  phrase  for  (i.e.  for  destroying)  this  mans 
life  has  a  parallel  in  2  Sam.  xiv.  7. 

for  thou,  0  LORD,  etc.  Compare  1  Sam.  iii.  18,  Ps.  cxv.  3,  cxxxv.  6. 
The  sailors  mean  that  Jehovah  Himself,  by  sending  the  storm  which 
the  fall  of  the  lot  or  Jonah's  own  admission  had  shown  that  the  prophet 
had  provoked,  caused  them  to  adopt  the  course  they  were  taking. 

15.  So  they  took  up  Jonah,  etc.    Various  commentators  quote  a 
parallel  Buddhist  story  about  a  certain  Mittavindaka  of  Benares,  who 
had  gone  to  sea  in  disobedience  to  his  mother.    As  the  ship  came  to  a 
stop,  and  could  not  proceed,  the  mariners  cast  lots  to  discover  on  whose 
account  the  trouble  had  happened;   and  when  Mittavindaka  was  in- 
dicated as  occasioning,  through  his  fault,  the  interruption  of  the  voyage, 
he  was  set  adrift  on  a  float,  and  the  ship  then  continued  her  course. 

1  A  similar  metaphor  is  common  in  Latin  and  English  (cequor  arare,  to  plough 
the  sea). 


128  JONAH  [i.  15-11.  ^ 

ceased  from  her  raging.  16  Then  the  men  feared  the  LORD  ex- 
ceedingly ;  and  they  offered  a  sacrifice  unto  the  LORD,  and  made 
vows.  17  And  the  LORD  prepared  a  great  fish  to  swallow  up 
Jonah ;  and  Jonah  was  in  the  belly  of  the  fish  three  days  and 
three  nights. 

her  raging.  The  word,  commonly  used  of  human  or  Divine  anger 
(Prov.  xix.  12,  2  Ch.  xvi.  10,  Is.  xxx.  30),  is  here  employed  of  the  sea, 
just  as  Ovid  speaks  of  maris  ira  (Met*  i.  370).  The  LXX.  has  rov  o-aXov 

avrrjs. 

16.  feared  the  LORD.   This  does  not  necessarily  mean  more  than  that 
the  sailors,  influenced  by  the  sudden  cessation  of  the  storm  in  accord- 
ance with  the  prophet's  words  (v.  12),  worshipped  Jehovah  as  a  powerful 
deity  whom  it  was  expedient  to  propitiate,  in  addition  to  their  own 
divinities:  cf.  2  Kgs.  xvii.  33,  41. 

offered  a  sacrifice.  Cf.  the  act  of  Noah  when  the  Ark  rested  upon  the 
earth  (Gen.  viii.  20). 

made  vows.  These  were  presumably  promises  of  further  sacrifices,  in 
the  event  of  their  reaching  the  land  safely :  cf.  Verg.  G.  i.  436,  Votaque 
servati  solvent  in  litore  nautce;  A.  in.  404,  Positis  aris  lam  vota  in 
litore  solves. 

17.  prepared.    Better,  appointed  or  ordained;  cf.  LXX.  7rpoo-eVa£ev; 
and  so  in  iv.  6,  7,  8.   But  the  Vulg.  has  proeparamt. 

a  great  fish.  LXX.  K-rjrei  //,eyaA.u>,  whence  the  use  of  K??TOS  in  Mt.  xii.  40. 
The  Greek  term  was  applied  to  viviparous  marine  creatures  like  seals 
and  whales ;  but  was  also  extended  to  fish,  such  as  sharks.  A  story  not 
wholly  unlike  this  figures  in  Greek  legend.  The  dithyrambic  poet  Arion, 
whilst  voyaging  to  Italy  and  Sicily,  found  himself  beset  by  the  crew  of  the 
ship,  who,  coveting  his  money,  demanded  that  he  should  throw  himself 
into  the  sea;  and  when,  before  doing  so,  he  was  allowed  to  play  on  his 
harp,  a  dolphin  came  and  took  him  upon  its  back,  carrying  him  safely 
to  Tsenarus  (Hdt.  i.  24).  It  is  quite  alien  to  the  spirit  of  the  present 
narrative  to  rationalize  the  fish  into  a  vessel  bearing  the  figure-head 
and  name  of  some  sea-creature  (like  the  ship  Pristis  in  Verg.  A.  v.  116), 
and  to  suppose  that  it  picked  up  Jonah. 

and  Jonah... three  nights.  The  passage,  as  rendered  in  the  LXX.,  is 
quoted  in  Mt.  xii.  40  (see  p.  xcv).  The  Hebrew  method  of  reckoning 
periods  of  time  was  generally  inclusive-,  cf.  Jud.  xiv.  17  with  18,  Mk. 
viii.  31  with  Mt.  xvi.  21. 

CHAPTER  II. 

II.  1  Then  Jonah  prayed  unto  the  LORD  his  God  out  of  the 
fish's  belly.  2  And  he  said, 

1 — 10.   Jonah's  prayer  and  his  restoration  to  the  land. 

1.  Then  Jonah  prayed.  If  the  following  psalm  is  an  insertion  (see 
p.  Ixxxv),  the  verb  here  used  was  probably  intended  originally  to  have  its 
proper  sense  (see  iv.  1  (2),  1  Kgs.  viii.  33,  etc.),  expressing  a  petition  for 


II.  2]  JONAH  129 

I  called  Jby  reason  of  mine  affliction  unto  the  LORD, 

And  he  answered  me ; 

Out  of  the  belly  of  2hell  cried  I, 

And  thou  heardest  my  voice. 

1  Or,  out  of  mine  affliction  2  Heb.  Sheol. 

restoration  to  the  land ;  but  taken  in  connection  with  the  psalm,  which 
is  an  utterance  of  gratitude  for  a  deliverance  already  experienced,  it 
must  be  understood  to  mean  gave  thanks  (as  in  1  Sam.  ii.  1)  for  his 
preservation  from  drowning. 

the  fish's  belly.  The  Hebrew  word  for  fish  here  is  the  fern,  daghah, 
which  ordinarily  has  a  collective  signification  (Gen.  i.  26,  Ex.  vii.  18, 
etc.);  but  in  this  place  must  be  synonymous  with  the  masc.  dagh,  used 
in  i.  17  (ii.  1),  ii.  10  (11)  of  a  single  fish. 

2 — 9.  The  psalm  contained  in  these  verses  is  written  in  the  Hebrew 
elegiac  (or  Kinah)  metre  (see  p.  143).  The  lines  are  arranged  in  a  series 
of  couplets  (seemingly  seven),  the  constituents  of  each  being  more  or 
less  parallel  in  thought  or  expression,  so  that  any  serious  departure  not 
only  from  the  prevailing  rhythm  but  from  the  normal  correspondence 
of  ideas  and  wording  raises  suspicions  of  textual  corruption.  The  re- 
semblances which  it  offers  to  many  of  the  psalms  collected  in  the  Psalter 
are  pointed  out  where  they  occur,  though  it  may  be  true,  as  Pusey 
observes,  that  no  one  verse  is  (wholly)  taken  from  any  psalm ;  and  there 
are  suggestive  likenesses  subsisting  between  it  and  the  psalm  in  Ecclus. 
Ii.  1 — 12.  The  submergence  in  deep  waters  which  is  so  graphically 
described  was  perhaps  meant  originally  to  be  figurative  of  a  desperate 
situation  of  a  different  kind:  cf.  Ps.  xviii.  16,  xlii.  7,  Ixix.  1  f.,  cxxiv.  4, 
Lam.  iii.  54,  and  see  p.  Ixxxv.  Parallel  metaphors  for  overwhelming 
calamities  are  common  in  other  languages :  cf.  Shakespeare's  "a  sea  of 
troubles"  (Hamlet,  Act  in.  Sc.  1),  and  JEschylus's  x^m-^v  KOL  KO.K.W 

rpiKu/u'a  (P  V.  1015). 

2.  /  called.  The  original  author  of  the  psalm  must  have  had  in  mind 
an  appeal  addressed  to  God  in  a  past  emergency,  to  which  a  response 
had  been  mercifully  granted :  cf.  Ps.  cxx.  1. 

by  reason  of  mine  affliction.  Since  the  same  preposition  is  used  in  both 
halves  of  the  v.,  and  in  the  second  must  signify  "  withdrawal  from,"  it 
is  probable  that  it  conveys  the  same  sense  in  the  first  half,  and  that  the 
mg.  is  correct — out  of  mine  affliction :  cf.  Vulg.  de  tribulatione  mea. 

liell.  Heb.  Sheol.  For  the  personification  of  Sheol  (the  capacious 
region  below  the  earth,  whither  the  human  spirit  departed  at  death)  as 
a  monster  cf.  Is.  v.  14,  Prov.  i.  12, 15,  Ecclus.  Ii.  5,  and  our  own  metaphor 
"the  jaws  of  death."  The  hyperbolic  representation  of  a  person  exposed 
to  extreme  danger  as  being  already  in  the  nether  world  has  its  counter- 
part in  the  language  of  Ps.  xviii.  5,  xxx.  3.  Possibly  it  was  the  metaphor 
of  belly  that  occasioned  this  psalm  (the  thanksgiving  of  one  who  had 
been  in  peril  of  drowning)  to  be  inserted  in  this  place  by  an  editor  or 
reader,  who  missed  the  prayer  ascribed  to  Jonah  in  v.  1  and  sought  to 
supply  it. 


130  JONAH  [ii.  3,  4 

3  For  thou  didst  cast  me  into  the  depth,  in  the  heart  of  the  seas, 
And  the  flood  was  round  about  me ; 

All  thy  waves  and  thy  billows  passed  over  me. 

4  And  I  said,  I  am  cast  out  from  before  thine  eyes ; 
Yet  I  will  look  again  toward  thy  holy  temple. 

3.  For  thou  didst.    Literally,  And  thou  didst,  the  Hebrew  writer 
appending  by  and  an  explanation  of  the  affliction  referred  to  in  v.  2, 
where  we  should  use  for  (cf.  1  Sam.  xviii.  11,  where/or  he  said  is  literally 
and  he  said). 

the  depth.  The  Heb.  term  rendered  depth  recurs  in  Ps.  Ixviii.  22, 
Ixix.  15,  Mic.  vii.  19,  etc.  The  LXX.  has  the  plur.  fidOy.  But  the  first 
half  of  the  Kinah  line  here  is  too  long,  so  that  the  metre  suggests  some 
omission.  The  word  that  can  best  be  spared  is  this  (metsulah),  which 
lacks  the  preposition  that  is  prefixed  to  the  next  word,  and  looks  like  a 
gloss  explanatory  of  the  following  figure  in  (or  into,  for  be  in  this  sense 
cf.  Is.  xix.  23)  the  heart  of  the  seas. 

the  heart  oj  the  seas.  The  same  metaphorical  phrase  occurs  in  Ezek. 
xxvii.  4,  25,  26 ;  cf.  also  Ex.  xv.  8,  Ps.  xlvi.  2.  Cf.  the  similar  phrase 
the  heart  of  the  earth  (Mt.  xii.  40). 

the  flood.  Literally,  the  stream  or  river.  The  word  is  commonly  em- 
ployed in  connection  with  rivers  (Job  xiv.  11),  especially  large  rivers, 
like  the  Euphrates  (Is.  xi.  15)  and  the  Nile  (Is.  xix.  5);  but  it  also 
occurs  (in  the  plural)  as  a  parallel  to  seas  in  Ps.  xxiv.  2 :  cf.  the  Homeric 
TTora/xoto  pUBpa  'OK€avo{;  (II.  xiv.  245).  The  LXX.  has  Trora/xot  and  the 
0.  Lat.  version  flumina ;  and  some  critics  would  substitute  the  plural  here. 

waves... billows.  Literally,  breakers .. .rollers ;  cf.  Ps.  xlii.  7  (where  the 
phrase  is  used  figuratively  of  grievous  distress). 

4.  I  said.    I.e.  I  thought:  cf.  Is.  xxxviii.  11,  and  the  Greek  <j>vj  in 
Horn.  II.  n.  37. 

/  am  cast  out,  etc.  The  psalmist  in  the  extremity  of  his  peril  felt 
himself  overlooked  by  God :  cf.  Ps.  xxxi.  22. 

Yet  I  will  look,  etc.  The  present  Heb.  text,  by  beginning  with  Yet 
('ach,  literally  only),  here  marks  a  transition  from  despair  to  hope,  due 
(according  to  Van  Hoonacker)  to  Jonah's  sense  of  comparative  security 
in  the  belly  of  the  fish.  But  Th.  has  TTOK  (eych)  e7rt/?Aei//co,  KT\.,  How 
shall  I  look...?  which  agrees  better  with  the  circumstance  that  the 
description  of  the  speaker's  desperate  situation  is  continued  in  the  next 
verses  to  the  end  of  6a.  The  LXX.  appears  to  support  this  reading  by 

having  apa  (for  apa?)  Trpoa-Qiqcro)  TOV  e7ri/3A.ei/fai. 

toward  thy  holy  temple.  The  author  of  the  psalm  was  doubtless  a 
member  of  the  kingdom  of  Judah  or  (more  probably)  of  the  post-exilic 
Judsean  community,  for  whom  it  would  be  natural  to  direct  his  face 
towards  the  Temple  at  Jerusalem  (1  Kgs.  viii.  29,  30,  48,  Ps.  v.  7, 
cxxxviii.  2,  Dan.  vi.  10);  but  the  words  are  inappropriate  to  the  his- 
torical Jonah,  who  was  a  member  of  the  Northern  Kingdom,  which  had 
its  own  shrines. 


ii.  5,  6]  JONAH  §  131 

5  The  waters  compassed  me  about,  even  to  the  soul ; 
The  deep  was  round  about  me ; 

The  weeds  were  wrapped  about  my  head. 

6  I  went  down  to  the  bottoms  of  the  mountains ; 
The  earth  with  her  bars  dosed  upon  me  for  ever : 

Yet  hast  thou  brought  up  my  life  from  Hhe  pit,  0  LORD  my 
God. 

1  Or,  corruption 

5.  even  to  the  soul.    I.e.  even  to  the  danger  of  life:  cf.  Ps.  Ixix.  1, 
Jer.  iv.  10. 

The  deep.  The  Heb.  word  is  the  same  as  that  occurring  in  Gen.  i.  2, 
where  it  means  the  primaeval  chaos  of  waters  that  preceded  the  formation 
of  the  cosmos.  Elsewhere  (Ps.  Ixxi.  20,  cvi.  9,  etc.)  it  is  used  to  denote 
the  sea.  The  LXX.  renders  it  by  a/^vo-o-o?,  but  Sym.  by  0a'A.a<rcra. 

The  weeds.  The  Heb.  word,  which  here  denotes  sea  weed,  was  used 
especially  to  describe  the  reeds  or  flags  of  the  Nile  (Ex.  ii.  3,  5,  Is. 
xix.  6)  and  of  the  Gulf  of  Suez,  the  latter  being  called  in  Hebrew  "the 
sea  of  reeds"  (which  are  abundant  at  its  northern  extremity).  The  term 
was  perhaps  an  Egyptian  loan-word. 

about  my  head.  Verses  5  and  6  are  probably  here  wrongly  divided; 
and  to  the  end  of  v.  5  there  should  be  added  from  the  next  v.  the  words 
at  the  bottoms  of  the  mountains :  see  the  following  note. 

6.  There  is  reason  to  suspect,  in  the  present  Heb.  text  of  this  verse, 
some  disorder  and  corruption.    The  LXX.  includes  within  v.  5  the  words 
to  (or  at)  the  bottoms  oj  the  mountains ;  and  for  the  first  half  of  v.  6  it 
has  /  went  down  to  the  earth  (implying  ladrets  for  hd'drets),  whose  bars 
are  everlasting  detainers  (KO.TOXOL  alwioi).    The  transfer  of  the  words  at 
the  bottoms  of  the  mountains  to  v.  5  completes  the  metre  of  tbe  final 
clause  of  that  verse,  which  is  otherwise  defective.   For  the  rendering  of 
the  preposition  (le)  by  at  (instead  of  by  to)  cf.  Gen.  xlix.  13,  Jud.  v.  17. 
The  mountains  are  regarded  as  having  their  bases  in  the  sea  (cf.  Ps. 
xxiv.  2).    By  the  transposition  just  explained  the  remainder  of  v.  6, 
which  at  present  consists  of  three  clauses,  is  reduced  to  the  normal 
couplet;  nevertheless  there  must  be  some  textual  error  in  it,  as  will  be 
seen  from  the  fact  that  the  R.V.  has  to  supply  a  word  (the  Vulg.  has 
concluserunt  me).   The  textual  corruption  is  probably  in  the  Heb.  word 
ba'adhi,  rendered  upon  (or  about)  me  (cf.  Jud.  iii.  22,  Job  i.  10,  etc.), 
which   may  conceal   either  a  noun  or  a  verb.    In  place  of  it  Van 
Hoonacker,  followed  by  Bewer,  conjectures  bolts  (badde),  comparing 
Job  xvii.  16  and  rendering  the  first  line  of  the  couplet,  I  went  down  to 
the  earth,  whose  bars  are  everlasting  bolts.    (For  the  irregular  use,  in  the 
Heb.,  of  the  construct,  instead  of  the  absolute,  form  of  the  word  see 
Gesenius,  Heb.  Gram.  §  130a.) 

Yet  hast  thou,  etc.  This  constitutes  the  second  line  of  the  fifth 
couplet. 

the  pit.  The  term  is  sometimes  synonymous  with  the  grave  (Ps.  xxx.  9), 

9—2 


132  JONAH  [n.  7-9 

7  When  my  soul  fainted  within  me,  I  remembered  the  LORD  : 
And  my  prayer  came  in  unto  thee,  into  thine  holy  temple. 

8  They  that  regard  lying  vanities 
Forsake  their  own  mercy. 

9  But  I  will  sacrifice  unto  thee  with  the  voice  of  thanksgiving ; 
I  will  pay  that  which  I  have  vowed. 

Salvation  is  of  the  LORD. 

sometimes,  as  here,  with  Skeol.    The  mg.  corruption  (cf.  Vulg.  de  cor- 
ruptione)  seems  erroneously  to  associate  the  word  with  a  different  root. 

7.  fainted  within  me.    Literally,  fainted  upon  me  (the  preposition 
emphasizing,  as  it  were,  the  sense  of  oppression) :  cf.  Ps.  cxlii.  3,  mg., 
and  (with  a  different  preposition)  cvii.  5. 

thine  holy  temple.  Probably  the  earthly  temple  is  meant  (as  in  v.  4), 
but  possibly  the  temple  in  heaven  (as  in  Ps.  xi.  4,  xviii.  6). 

8.  lying  vanities.  I.e.  false  gods.  The  particular  expression  here  used 
recurs  only  in  Ps.  xxxi.  6;  but  vanities  is  a  common  term  in  Hebrew 
writings  for  heathen  deities  (Dt.  xxxii.  21,  Jer.  x.  15,  xiv.  22,  xviii.  15). 

Forsake  their  own  mercy.  I.e.  banish  from  their  thoughts  the  source 
of  the  succour  experienced  by  them.  The  term  mercy  seems  to  be  used 
here  as  a  title  for  Jehovah  (cf.  Ps.  cxliv.  2,  KV.  my  lovingMndness), 
and  should  be  printed  with  a  capital  letter.  Some  scholars,  however, 
render  their  piety,  i.e.  their  duty  towards  God.  For  the  meaning  of  the 
Hebrew  root  see  further  on  p.  57.  The  replacement  of  the  word 
(hasddm)  by  the  conjectural  emendation  their  Refuge  (mahasehem,  cf. 
Joel  iii.  16,  Ps.  xiv.  6,  etc.)  seems  unnecessary. 

The  whole  of  this  v.  constitutes  the  first  line  of  the  seventh  couplet. 

9.  But  I  will  sacrifice,  etc.   Better,  But  as  for  me,  I  will  sacrifice, 
etc.  (the  pronoun  being  emphatic) :   cf.  Ps.  cxvi.  17,  1.  14,  23.    This 
clause  (down  to  thanksgiving)  forms  the  second  line  of  the  seventh 
couplet.   The  LXX.  expands  thanksgiving  into  praise  and  thanksgiving. 

that  which  I  have  vowed.  For  the  practice,  among  the  Hebrews,  of 
making,  in  time  of  need,  vows  which  were  to  be  paid  if  the  desired  relief 
came,  cf.  Gen.  xxviii.  20  f.  (Jacob),  Jud.  xi.  30,  31  (Jephthah),  1  Sam. 
i.  11  (Hannah),  Job  xxii.  27. 

Salvation  is  of  the  LORD.  Or,  Help  belongs  to  JEHOVAH:  cf.  Ps.  iii. 
8,  Rev.  vii.  10. 

The  concluding  two  lines  of  the  psalm  (I  will  pay ..  .of  the  LORD),  as 
arranged  in  the  II. V.,  constitute  only  a  single  line  in  the  Hebrew  (not 
a  couplet),  and  this  appears  to  be  outside  the  structure  of  the  poem, 
which  consists  of  seven  couplets  (see  p.  143).  The  psalm,  though  com- 
prising numerous  expressions  occurring  in  other  psalms,  is  not  a  mere 
cento,  but  exhibits  some  originality  of  phrase  (see  v.  6).  Hebrew  writers 
(as  has  been  said)  often  compared  calamitous  experiences  to  immersion 
in  deep  waters  (see  p.  129,  and  to  the  examples  there  cited  add  2  Is. 
xliii.  2).  In  the  light  of  certain  of  these  parallels,  it  is  not  surprising 
that  some  have  thought  that  the  psalm  is  really  meant  to  be  an  ex- 


II.  lo-ni.  3]  JONAH  133 

10  And  the  LORD  spake  unto  the  fish,  and  it  vomited  out  Jonah 
upon  the  dry  land. 

pression  of  national,  and  not  individual,  feeling.  This  view  finds  support 
in  the  reflection  (v.  8)  upon  the  folly  of  idolatry ;  nevertheless  the 
vividness  of  the  language  in  w.  5,  6  rather  favours  the  conclusion  that 
the  poem  is  really  a  personal  thanksgiving  for  some  deliverance  from 
drowning,  though  effected  by  less  extraordinary  means  than  that 
whereby  Jonah  is  represented  as  preserved. 

10.  spake  unto  the  fish.  Cf.  Gen.  iii.  14  (said  unto  the  serpent),  1  Kgs. 
xvii.  4  (have  commanded  the  ravens}.  The  word  spake  is  literally  said. 

upon  the  dry  land.  Presumably  somewhere  on  the  coast  of  Palestine, 
near  Joppa,  whence  the  ship  had  started,  and  which  the  sailors  were 
trying  to  regain.  Josephus,  however,  describes  the  fish  as  carrying  Jonah 
into  the  Euxine  (Ant.  ix.  10,  2),  perhaps  because  he  thought  the  S.E. 
coast  of  that  sea  would  be  the  nearest  starting-point  for  Nineveh. 

CHAPTER  III. 

III.  1  And  the  word  of  the  LORD  came  unto  Jonah  the  second 
time,  saying,  2  Arise,  go  unto  Nineveh,  that  great  city,  and x  preach 
unto  it  the  preaching  that  I  bid  thee.  3  So  Jonah  arose,  and  went 
unto  Nineveh,  according  to  the  word  of  the  LORD.  Now  Nineveh 

1  Or,  cry   See  ch.  i.  2. 

1 — 4.   The  prophet's  discharge  of  his  commission. 

1.  And  the  word... time.    The  writer  leaves  it  obscure  whether 
Jehovah's  communication  reached  the  prophet  on  the  shore  where  the 
fish  disgorged  him,  or  at  his  home,  whither  he  had  returned.    The 
despatch  of  the  prophet  once  more  to  carry  out  the  duty  from  which  he 
had  previously  shrunk  recalls  the  narrative  of  Elijah  at  Horeb  (1  Kgs. 
xix.,  see  especially  v.  4). 

2.  that  great  city.    The  reiterated  allusions  to  Nineveh's  greatness 
(i.  2,  iv.  11)  accentuate  the  appeal  which  the  number  of  lives  at  stake 
in  it  made  to  the  Divine  compassion. 

preach.  Literally,  cry  (the  same  word  as  in  i.  2,  2  Is.  xl.  3,  etc.);  but 
a  better  translation  would  be  proclaim  (LXX.  KTJPV£OV). 

the  preaching... bid  thee.  The  LXX.  has  Kara  TO  K-rjpvy^a  TO  tpirpovOtv 
o  eya>  €\d\rja-a  7rp6<s  ac.  The  word  rendered  preaching  (literally,  cry,  in 
the  sense  of  proclamation)  occurs  only  here. 

3.  Nineveh  was,  etc.   The  tense  does  not  necessarily  imply  that  the 
city,  in  the  writer's  time,  had  ceased  to  exist:  cf.  Joh.  xi.  18. 

an  exceeding  great  city.  Literally,  a  city  great  for  God  (cf.  mg.),  i.e. 
great  even  in  the  judgment  of  God,  Who  estimates  by  a  standard  higher 
than  human;  cf.  Acts  vii.  20  (aVretos  TO>  0eu>),  2  Cor.  x.  4  (Sward  TW 
flew),  Gen.  x.  9  ("a  mighty  hunter  before  Jehovah"),  Lk.  i.  15  (/*eya<? 
Kvptov).  Somewhat  similar  are  Ps.  xxxvi.  6,  Ixviii.  15  ("moun- 


134  JONAH  [in.  3-5 

was  1an  exceeding  great  city,  of  three  days'  journey.  4  And  Jonah 
began  to  enter  into  the  city  a  day's  journey,  and  he  cried,  and 
said,  Yet  forty  days,  and  Nineveh  shall  be  overthrown.  5  And 

1  Heb.  a  city  great  unto  God. 

tains  of  God"  for  "high  mountains"),  Is.  xiv.  13  ("stars  of  God"  for 
"lofty  stars"),  Ps.  Ixxx.  10  ("cedars  of  God"  for  "tall  cedars"),  Gen. 
xxiii.  6  ("a  prince  of  God"  for  "a  mighty  prince"),  xxx.  8  ("wrestlings 
of  God"  for  "vigorous  wrestlings"). 

of  three  days'  journey.  It  is  clear  from  v.  4  (which  represents  that 
Jonah  advanced  one  day's  journey  into  the  city  before  beginning  to 
announce  his  message)  that  the  phrase  here  is  meant  to  describe  the 
measure  of  the  city's  diameter,  not  its  circumference.  If  a  day's  journey 
be  assumed  to  be  20  miles  (Herodotus,  iv.  101,  reckons  it  at  200  stades, 
a  stade  being  about  200  yards),  this  would  imply  a  diameter  of  60  miles. 
The  actual  circuit  of  its  ruins,  as  reported  by  Felix  Jones  in  1855 
(quoted  by  Bewer),  is  about  7  J  miles,  though  the  plain  which  is  bounded 
by  the  rivers  Tigris,  Khusur,  Zab,  and  Gomal,  and  which  embraces  the 
ruins  of  Nineveh,  Dur  Sargon,  and  Calah,  measures  about  61 J  miles  in 
circumference.  This  would  naturally  include  extensive  pasture  grounds 
(cf.  iv.  11  end). 

4.  a  day's  journey.  This,  according  to  the  estimate  of  Nineveh's  size 
in  v.  3,  would  carry  Jonah  almost  into  the  heart  of  the  city. 

Yet  Jorty  days... overthrown.  This  is  perhaps  only  meant  to  be  a 
summary  of  what  the  prophet  said :  cf.  the  brief  proclamation  attributed 
to  Jesus  in  Mk.  i.  15, -Mt.  iv.  17.  The  announcement  is  couched  in 
unconditional  terms,  but  it  is  implied  in  iv.  2  that  Jonah  understood 
that  the  destruction  of  the  city  was  really  dependent  upon  the  conduct 
of  its  people,  whose  repentance  could  avert  it:  cf.  Jer.  xviii.  7,  8,  and 
p.  xxiii.  It  is  not  stated  how  Jonah,  a  Hebrew,  made  himself  intelligible 
to  the  citizens  of  Nineveh  who  spoke  Assyrian.  If  the  author  had 
thought  about  the  matter,  he  might  have  explained  that  the  prophet 
used  Aramaic,  which  was  a  medium  of  international  intercourse  between 
Assyrian  and  Hebrew  officials  at  the  end  of  the  eighth  century  B.C. 
(2  Kgs.  xviii.  26).  Since,  however,  the  religious  bearings  of  the  story 
were  alone  of  importance,  such  considerations  did  not  interest  the 
narrator. 

Instead  of  forty  days  the  LXX.  has  rpets  ij^pai  (the  other  Greek 
translators  following  the  Heb.).  ~Both  forty  and  three  are  conventional 
periods  of  time  in  the  O.T.  (for  the  former  in  connection  with  days  see 
Gen.  vii.  17,  Ex.  xxiv.  18,  1  Kgs.  xix.  8,  and  for  the  latter  see  Gen. 
xxx.  36,  xl.  13,  19,  Ex.  iii.  18,  x.  22,  etc.);  so  that  the  variation  may  be 
either  accidental  or  intentional  in  origin.  Three  may  be  a  copyist's 
error,  introduced  through  the  nearness  of  the  same  figure  in  v.  3 ;  whilst 
conversely/br^  may  be  a  deliberate  correction  in  view  of  the  fasting 
mentioned  in  v.  5,  since  40  days  was  a  period  associated  with  the  fasts 
of  Moses  and  Elijah  (Dt.  ix.  9,  1  Kgs.  xix.  8).  But  a  decision  between 


in.  5, 6]  JONAH  135 

the  people  of  Nineveh  believed  God ;  and  they  proclaimed  a  fast, 
and  put  on  sackcloth,  from  the  greatest  of  them  even  to  the  least 
of  them.  6  *And  the  tidings  reached  the  king  of  Nineveh,  and  he 

1  Or,  For  word  came  unto  the  king  &c. 

the  two  readings  in  respect  of  originality  is  not  called  for,  since  both  are 
probably  genuine,  several  features  in  the  book  uniting  to  show  that  it 
has  been  constructed  out  of  two  versions  of  a  single  story,  one  of  which 
presumably  had  three  days,  whilst  the  other  had  forty  days  (see  further 
on  iv.  5,  and  p.  Ixxxvii). 

overthrown.  The  verb  and  the  corresponding  noun  are  used  in  con- 
nection with  the  destruction  of  the  cities  of  the  Plain  (Gen.  xix.  25,  29, 
Dt.  xxix.  23,  Is.  xiii.  19,  etc.).  There  is  nothing  said  here  about  the 
nature  of  the  contemplated  overthrow,  which  Josephus  (Ant.  ix.  10,  2) 
represents  as  the  loss  of  Nineveh's  dominion  over  other  nations. 

5 — 10.    The  repentance  of  the  Ninevites  and  their  respite  by  God. 

5.  believed  God.  Strictly,  believed  in  God  (as  in  Gen.  xv.  6,  Ex.  xiv.  31 
(Heb.),  etc.).    The  immediate  repentance  of  the  Ninevites  is  doubtless 
intended  by  the  writer  as  a  contrast  to  the  indifference  or  hostility  with 
which  his  own  countrymen  had  so  often  received  the  warnings  of  their 
prophets.   It  has  been  suggested  by  Trumbull  (see  Bewer,  p.  5)  that  the 
impression  produced  by  Jonah  upon  the  population  of  Nineveh  was  the 
result  of  the  miracle  that  had  happened  to  him.    One  of  the  deities 
worshipped  there  was  a  fish-god  (called  by  Berosus,  Oannes) ;  and  the 
ejection  of  the  prophet  alive  by  the  fish  having  been  witnessed,  the 
report  of  it  created  among  the  inhabitants  the  conviction  that  it  was 
one  of  their  own  gods  who  demanded  their  repentance.    Such  an  ex- 
planation presupposes  that  the  narrative  has  far  more  historical  value 
than  can  reasonably  be  claimed  for  it.    On  the  other  hand,  if  any  sub- 
stratum of  fact  underlies  the  account  of  Jonah's  preaching  at  Nineveh, 
the  effect  represented  as  produced  by  him  can  be  in  some  measure 
paralleled.   Layard  relates  "  I  have  known  a  Christian  priest  frighten  a 
whole  Mussulman  town  into  repentance  by  publicly  proclaiming  that  he 
had  received  a  Divine  mission  to  announce  a  coming  earthquake  or 
plague"  (Nineveh  and  Babylon,  p.  367). 

proclaimed  a  fast,  and  put  on  sackcloth.  The  practice  of  abstinence 
and  the  assuming  of  a  particular  vesture  in  connection  with  religious 
observances  and  occasions  probably  have  their  explanation  in  physical 
ideas  of  holiness ;  see  pp.  90,  93 . 

6.  And  the  tidings  reached  the  king,  etc.   By  the  tidings  is  meant  the 
report  of  Jonah's  utterance.    There  is  a  lack  of  plausibility  in  the 
representation  that  the  king  received  information  of  the  prophet's  an- 
nouncement only  after  the  people  had  taken  action  upon  it  (v.  5),  and 
that  he  proclaimed  a  fast,  with  its  usual  concomitants  (w.  7, 8),  when  such 
was  already  being  observed.   The  difficulty,  which  some  critics  propose 
to  remove  either  by  placing  v.  5  after  v.  9,  or  by  omitting  w.  6 — 9  as 
a  later  insertion,  is  best  solved  by  the  supposition  that  the  book  is 


136  JONAH  [in.  6-8 

arose  from  his  throne,  and  laid  his  robe  from  him,  and  covered 
him  with  sackcloth,  and  sat  in  ashes.  7  And  he  made  proclama- 
tion and  l  published  through  Nineveh  by  the  decree  of  the  king 
and  his  nobles,  saying,  Let  neither  man  nor  beast,  herd  nor  flock, 
taste  any  thing  :  let  them  not  feed,  nor  drink  water  :  8  but  let 

1  Heb.  said 

composite,  and  that  the  constituent  versions  out  of  which  it  has  been 
woven  together  differed  in  detail  here,  one  assigning  the  public  fast  to 
an  impulse  on  the  part  of  the  collective  people,  and  the  other  ascribing 
it  to  the  initiative  of  tbe  sovereign. 

the  king  of  Nineveh.  The  king  of  Assyria  is  nowhere  else  called  by 
this  title.  The  reigning  Assyrian  sovereign  in  the  time  of  the  historical 
Jonah  may  have  been  any  one  of  five  —  Ramman-nirari  (810  —  782),  Shal- 
maneser  IV  (781—772),  Asshur-dan  III  (771—754),  Asshur-nirari  IV 
(753—745),  and  Tiglath-Pileser  (744—727). 

covered  him  ivith  sackcloth.  For  the  wearing  of  sackcloth  as  a  token 
of  mourning  among  the  Hebrews  see  p.  90.  The  custom  is  assumed  in 
Jer.  xlix.  3,  Ezek.  xxvii.  31  to  have  prevailed  likewise  amongst  neigh- 
bouring Gentile  nations. 

sat  in  ashes.  Compare  Job  ii.  8,  Dan.  ix.  3,  3  Is.  Iviii.  5,  Mt.  xi.  21 
(=  Lk.  x.  13).  Possibly  the  sitting  in  ashes,  like  the  casting  of  earth  or 
dust  on  the  head  (Josh.  vii.  6,  2  Sam.  i.  2,  cf.  Horn.  H.  XVIIL  23,  241), 
was  a  survival  from  a  time  when  contact  with  the  remains  of  the  in- 
cinerated or  buried  dead  was  a  method  of  bringing  the  departed  into 
relation  with  his  sorrowing  kinsfolk:  cf.  Horn.  //.  xvm.  26  (of  Achilles), 

avros  8'  f.v  Kovirffri  yu.eya.5  ^u,€yaA.a>o"Tt  ravucr^eis  |  KZLTO. 

7.  And  he  made  proclamation,  etc.  Perhaps  better,  And  one  (i.e.  an 
official)  made  proclamation,  etc.  :  cf.  LXX.  /cat  tKypvyOr]  /cat  eppcOv). 

the  decree.  This  sense  of  the  term  used  in  the  original  is  an  Aramaism 
(p.  Ixxxiii).  The  LXX.  omits  the  word  and  has  merely  Trapa  rov  y 


his  nobles.  Literally,  his  great  ones  or  grandees:  cf.  Prov.  xviii.  16. 
The  decree  here  proceeds  from  the  king  and  his  nobles  together,  just  as 
in  Dan.  vi.  17  the  signets  used  by  Darius  are  those  of  both  himself  and 

his  lords.    The  LXX.  has  Trapa  TWV  /xeytarai/wv  avrov. 

Let  neither  ..  .taste  any  thing.  When  Nineveh  was  beset  by  the  Medes 
and  Babylonians,  the  king  then  reigning  enjoined  a  fast  of  a  hundred 
days2. 

nor  beast.  In  view  of  the  addition  herd  nor  flock  in  the  next  clause, 
the  term  beast  must  here  be  limited  to  draught  animals  and  beasts  of 
burden  (1  Kgs.  xviii.  5):  the  Greek  and  Latin  renderings  are  TO,  KTTJVTJ 
and  iumenta  respectively. 


>OTpri<Ti 
2  Kennedy,  quoted  by  Lanchester,  Ob.  and  Jonah,  p.  41. 


in.  8-10]  JONAH  137 

them  be  covered  with  sackcloth,  both  man  and  beast,  and  let  them 
cry  mightily  unto  God :  yea,  let  them  turn  every  one  from  his 
evil  way,  and  from  the  violence  that  is  in  their  hands.  9  Who 
knoweth  whether  God  will  not  turn  and  repent,  and  turn  away 
from  his  fierce  anger,  that  we  perish  not?  10  And  God  saw  their 
works,  that  they  turned  from  their  evil  way ;  and  God  repented  of 
the  evil,  which  he  said  he  would  do  unto  them ;  and  he  did  it  not. 
let  them  not  feed.  ..water.  It  is  the  animals  previously  mentioned  that 
are  chiefly  in  the  mind  of  the  writer,  for  the  verb  rendered  feed  is  the 
customary  one  for  feeding  in  pastures. 

8.  let  them  be  covered.    Literally,  let  them  cover  themselves.    The  in- 
clusion of  the  cattle  in  the  king's  order  enjoining  national  mourning 
obtains  illustration  not  only  from  Judith  iv.  10,  but  also  from  parallel 
narratives  in  Classical  authors.    Herodotus  relates  that  the  Persians,  on 
the  occasion  of  the  death  of  Masistius,  clipped  their  horses  and  baggage 
animals  (ix.  24) ;   whilst  Plutarch  states  that  Alexander  did  the  same 
when  Hephaestion  died  (Alex.  72),  and  that  the  Thessalians  cut  off  their 
horses'  manes  (as  well  as  their  own  hair)  in  mourning  for  the  Theban 
Pelopidas  (Pel.  33).   Of.  also  Eur.  Ale.  425— 429.   Funeral  trappings  on 
horses  are  not  unknown  even  among  ourselves. 

let  them  cry.  Grammatically  this  applies  to  the  animals  as  well  as  to 
the  human  beings  in  the  city,  but  the  carelessness  of  expression  scarcely 
needs  to  be  remedied  by  emendation.  The  LXX.  in  this  v.  has  And 
they  were  covered... and  cried... and  turned,  etc. 

turn... from  his  evil  way.  The  national  repentance  was  not  to  be 
limited  to  outward  tokens  of  sorrow:  cf.  Jer.  xviii.  11,  xxvi.  3,  3  Is. 
Iviii.  6,  7,  9,  10,  Joel  ii.  13. 

violence.  Aggression  upon  the  rights  of  others  was  a  feature  in  the 
career  of  Assyria  as  a  nation  (cf.  Is.  x.  13,  14,  Nah.  ii.  11,  12,  iii.  1),  and 
no  doubt  characterized  its  citizens  in  their  individual  relations. 

in  their  hands.  Literally,  in  their  two  palms.  For  similar  phrases  cf. 
Job  xvi.  17,  1  Ch.  xii.  17,  3  Is.  lix.  6. 

9.  Who  knoweth,  etc.    The  expression,  which  is  borrowed  from  Joel 
ii.  14,  is  placed  in  the  mouth  of  the  people  by  the  LXX.,  which  prefixes 
Acyovres:  see  v.  8. 

10.  And  God  saw... their  evil  way.   The  repentance  of  the  Ninevites 
at  the  preaching  of  Jonah  was  contrasted  by  our  Lord  with  the  im- 
penitence of  the  Jews  in  spite  of  His  own  preaching  (Mt.  xii.  41  =  Lk. 
xi.  32). 

and  God  repented,  etc.  The  same  phrase  occurs  in  Ex.  xxxii.  14,  Am. 
vii.  3,  Jer.  xviii.  7,  8.  God's  threatened  chastisement  was  conditional ; 
and  His  relenting  from  His  purpose  was  consequent  upon  the  offenders' 
contrition. 

he  did  it  not.  I.e.  at  the  time  which  the  writer  describes.  The  con- 
version of  the  Ninevites  from  their  evil  practices  on  this  occasion,  if 
historical,  did  not  finally  preclude  the  subsequent  destruction  of  their  city. 


138  JONAH  [iv.  1-5 

CHAPTER  IV. 

IV.  1  But  it  displeased  Jonah  exceedingly,  and  he  was  angry. 
2  And  he  prayed  unto  the  LORD,  and  said,  I  pray  thee,  0  LORD, 
was  not  this  my  saying,  when  I  was  yet  in  my  country? 
Therefore  I l  hasted  to  flee  unto  Tarshish :  for  I  knew  that  thou 
art  a  gracious  God,  and  full  of  compassion,  slow  to  anger,  and 
plenteous  in  mercy,  and  repentest  thee  of  the  evil.  3  Therefore 
now,  0  LOKD,  take,  I  beseech  thee,  my  life  from  me;  for  it  is 
better  for  me  to  die  than  to  live.  4  And  the  LORD  said,  2Doest 
thou  well  to  be  angry?  5  Then  Jonah  went  out  of  the  city,  and 

1  Or,  was  beforehand  in  fleeing  2  Or,  Art  thou  greatly  angry  ? 

1 — 11.   Jonah's  displeasure  at  the  mercy  shown  to  the  Ninevites,  and 
God's  rebuke. 

1.  But  it  displeased  Jonah.    The  writer  doubtless  thinks  of  Jonah's 
displeasure  as  mainly  due  to  the  clemency  shown  to  his  country's 
enemies  by  God,  but  possibly  also  as  occasioned  in  part  by  mortification 
because  his  prediction  was  not  fulfilled  (since  this  was  calculated  to 
bring  discredit  and  derision  upon  a  prophet,  see  Dt.  xviii.  22,  Jer. 
xx.  7—8). 

and  he  was  angry.    The  LXX.  has  KOL  o-w^O-rj  ("  he  was  upset "), 
the  Old  Lat.  et  mcestus  foetus  est. 

2.  my  saying.   I.e.  my  reflection. 

/  hasted  to  flee.   Or,  I  fled  betimes  (literally  (as  in  the  mg.),  "  I  was 
beforehand  in  fleeing,"  LXX.  7rpoe'(£0ao-a  TOT)  <£vyeu'}  Vulg.  prceoccupavi 


a  gracious  God,  etc.  The  phraseology  appears  to  be  borrowed  from 
Joel  ii.  13  (see  note);  cf.  also  Ex.  xxxiv.  6,  Num.  xiv.  18,  Ps.  Ixxxvi. 
15,  etc. 

3.  take,  I  beseech  thee,  my  life.    A  similar  request  was  made  in 
despondency  (arising  from  a  very  different  source  from  that  implied 
in  Jonah's  case)  by  both  Moses  and  Elijah  (Num.  xi.  15, 1  Kgs.  xix.  4). 

4.  Doest  thou  well  to  be  angry  ?  Cf.  Sym.  a/oa  St/cattos  IXvinqVirp  •  Vulg. 
putasne  bene  irasceris  tu?  According  to  this  translation,  Jonah  is  not 
directly  rebuked  for  his  anger,  but  is  invited  to  reflect  whether  it  is 
justifiable.    The  general  meaning,  however,  of  the  Heb.  verb  repre- 
sented by  the  adv.  is  "  to  do  (a  thing)  perfectly  or  thoroughly "  (see 
Mic.  vii.  3,  Dt.  xiii.  14  (15),  Jer.  i.  12),  and  so  is  in  favour  of  the 
rendering  Art  thou  thoroughly  angry?  and  this  is  the  sense  given  to  it 
by  the  LXX.  (d  o-<j>68pa  AcXuTnjo-at  o-v;)  and  the  Old  Latin  (si  valde  (or 
vehementer)  contristatus  es  tut);  though  such  a  question  attributes  to 
the  Deity  a  bantering  attitude  which  seems  unnatural. 

5.  Then  Jonah  went  out.    Literally,  And  Jonah  went  out.    If  the 
narrative  is  a  complete  unity,  it  must  be  supposed  that  Jonah,  though 
virtually  convinced  (as  his  auger  showed)  that  God  would  spare  the 


iv.  s,  6]  JONAH  139 

sat  on  the  east  side  of  the  city,  and  there  made  him  a  booth,  and 
sat  under  it  in  the  shadow,  till  he  might  see  what  would  become 
of  the  city.  6  And  the  LORD  God  prepared  a  l gourd,  and  made  it 

1  Or,  Palma  Christi  Heb.  kikayon. 

city,  yet  did  not  give  up  all  hope  of  seeing  its  destruction  accomplished. 
But  the  natural  implication  of  the  passage  is  that  he  had  not  yet  learnt 
that  the  city  was  to  be  spared ;  so  that  Sellin  thinks  that  this  v.  has 
been  displaced,  and  that  its  original  position  was  after  iii.  4.  It  is  more 
probable,  however,  that  the  v.  comes  from  a  version  distinct  from  that 
whence  the  adjoining  verses  have  been  drawn  (see  p.  Ixxxvii).  The  con- 
junction and  probably  linked  the  present  passage  to  iii.  9. 

on  the  east  side.  Jonah  appears  to  have  crossed  the  city:  on  ap- 
proaching it  from  Palestine,  he  would  naturally  enter  it  on  the  west 
side.  In  designating  the  quarters  of  the  sky  the  Hebrews  turned  to 
the  rising  sun,  so  that  the  east  side  of  a  place  or  thing  was  the  front 
(cf.  Joel  ii.  20). 

a  booth.  The  term  (equivalent  to  the  O-K^V^  of  Mk.  ix.  5)  describes 
a  shelter  like  the  structures  of  leafy  boughs  occupied  by  the  Hebrews 
on  the  occasion  of  the  Feast  of  Tabernacles  (Lev.  xxiii.  42,  Neb.  viii. 
14 — 17).  That  the  prophet  felt  the  need  of  such  a  shelter  clearly  pre- 
supposes that  he  expected  that  the  fate  of  the  city  would  not  be 
determined  until  after  the  lapse  of  some  considerable  interval,  so  that 
this  passage  coheres  best  with  the  representation  (iii.  4,  Heb.)  that  the 
space  of  time  within  which  repentance  was  required  was  forty  days 
(not  three  days,  as  represented  in  iii.  4,  LXX.).  This  period  was  not 
yet  exhausted. 

6.  the  LORD  God.  Strictly,  JEHOVAH  God.  The  combination  is 
rare  outside  of  Gen.  ii.,  iii. 

prepared.    Better,  appointed,  as  in  i.  17,  iv.  7,  8. 

a  gourd.  Probably  a  better  rendering  is  a  palm-christ  (Palma 
Christi)1.  The  Heb.  word  is  kikayon  (which  Aq.  and  Th.  transliterate — 
K(K€<ov),  and  the  resemblance  between  it  and  the  word  Kiiu,  mentioned  in 
Hdt.  n.  94  as  tbe  Egyptian  name  for  the  o-iAAiKuVpiov  and  applied  by 
Dioscorides  to  the  /cporoov,  a  tree  producing  the  castor-oil  berry,  favours 
the  view  that  the  castor- oil  plant  (Ricinus  communis,  Linnaeus)  is  meant. 
This  is  described  by  Pliny  (Hist.  Nat.  xv.  7)  as  altitudine  olece,  caule 
ferulaceo,  folio  vitium,  semine  uvarum  gracilium  pallidarumqw,  and 
grows,  under  favourable  conditions,  to  a  height  of  30  or  40  feet.  It  has 
broad  palmate  serrated  leaves  like  those  of  a  plane,  only  larger,  and  some- 
times measuring  more  than  a  foot  across.  It  is  a  native  of  tbe  East 
Indies,  but  flourishes  in  most  tropical  and  semi-tropical  countries.  The 
LXX.,  which  renders  the  Hebrew  term  by  KoXoKwO-*)  (Cucurbita  lage- 
naria),  takes  it  to  be  a  gourd,  which  is  also  of  rapid  growth  and  has  large 

1  A.V.  mg.  has  palmcrist.  The  name  is  said  to  be  due  to  the  hand-like  shape  of 
the  leaves. 


140  JONAH  [iv.  6-3 

to  come  up  over  Jonah,  that  it  might  be  a  shadow  over  his  head, 
to  deliver  him  from  his  evil  case.  So  Jonah  was  exceeding  glad 
because  of  the  gourd.  7  But  God  prepared  a  worm  when  the 
morning  rose  the  next  day,  and  it  smote  the  gourd,  that  it 
withered.  8  And  it  came  to  pass,  when  the  sun  arose,  that  God 
prepared  a  sultry  east  wind ;  and  the  sun  beat  upon  the  head  of 

leaves.  As  this  is  of  a  vine-like  nature,  it  has  been  argued  (by  those 
who  assume  that  the  narrative  is  completely  self-consistent)  that  this 
identification  suits  the  account  in  the  text  best,  since  a  trailing  plant 
was  more  suitable  for  covering  Jonah's  booth  than  a  tree,  such  as  the 
castor-oil  plant,  could  be.  Of  the  early  translators  Sym.  assumes  that 
the  plant  intended  was  of  a  trailing  nature,  and  translates  it  by  KIO-O-OS, 
and  the  Vulg.  (following  him)  has  hedera.  The  text,  however,  does  not 
state  that  the  klkdyon  was  designed  to  screen  the  booth  and  to  render 
it  more  impervious  to  the  sun's  rays :  the  natural  sense  of  v.  6  is  that 
it  was  meant  by  itself  is  afford  to  Jonah  the  shelter  he  needed.  In 
reality,  the  booth  and  the  klkdyon  seem  to  serve  the  same  purpose,  and 
the  accounts  of  them  in  w.  5  and  6  to  be  not  successive,  but  parallel, 
presumably  contained  in  different  versions  of  the  story.  Hence,  as  the 
chief  argument  for  considering  the  plant  in  question  to  be  a  gourd 
breaks  down,  there  is  no  objection  to  the  identification  of  it  with  the 
Ricinus  communis  (as  the  similarity  between  the  Hebrew  and  Greek 
words  suggests).  This,  which  in  Mediterranean  countries  is  known  as 
the  Palma  Christi,  is  normally  speedy  in  its  development  (it  has  been 
known  in  America  to  reach  a  height  of  13  feet  in  3  months);  but  the 
present  narrative,  which  describes  it  as  growing  in  a  single  night  (v.  10) 
tall  enough  to  shelter  Jonah,  manifestly  implies  a  miracle. 

made  it  to  come  up.  The  Heb.  admits  of  the  rendering,  it  came  up,  and 
the  LXX.  and  the  Latin  Versions  have  di/c/fy  and  ascendit  respectively. 

that  it  might  be  a  shadow.  It  is  a  reasonable  inference  from  these 
words  that  the  plant  was  designed  to  furnish  protection  from  the  sun 
independently  of  any  structure  like  the  booth  of  y.  5,  though  Pusey 
quotes  from  the  Talmud  passages  showing  that  the  kind  of  booth  erected 
at  the  Feast  of  Tabernacles  was  not  impervious  to  the  sun's  heat,  which 
was  kept  out  by  various  devices. 

to  deliver  him.  The  construction  (the  use  of  Id  to  express  the  direct 
object)  is  unusual,  and  is  thought  to  be  due  to  Aramaic  influence,  though 
it  occurs  sporadically  in  early  Hebrew.  The  LXX.  for  to  deliver  has  TOV 
o-*ia£eiv  (vocalizing  differently). 

his  evil  case.    I.e.  the  physical  distress  occasioned  by  the  heat. 

7.  a  worm.  The  singular  is  perhaps  used  collectively,  as  in  Dt.  xxviii. 
39,  Is.  xiv.  11.    The  palm-christ  is  said  to  be  subject  to  the  attacks  of 
caterpillars,  which  strip  it  of  its  leaves;   but  the  writer  of  the  book 
obviously  has  in  view  a  process  of  destruction  as  miraculous  in  its 
rapidity  as  the  previous  growth. 

8.  a  sultry  east  wind.    The  wind  meant  is  one  that  blows  from  the 


iv.  8-1 1]  JONAH  141 

Jonah,  that  he  fainted,  and  requested  for  himself  that  he  might 
die,  and  said,  It  is  better  for  me  to  die  than  to  live.  9  And  God 
said  to  Jonah,  Doest  thou  well  to  be  angry  for  the  gourd?  And 
he  said,  I  do  well  to  be  angry  even  unto  death.  10  And  the  LORD 
said,  Thou  hast  had  pity  on  the  gourd,  for  the  which  thou  hast 
not  laboured,  neither  madest  it  grow ;  which  came  up  in  a  night, 
and  perished  in  a  night:  11  and  should  not  I  have  pity  on 

S.E.,  called  in  Arabic  sherkiyeh  (whence  "sirocco"):  for  its  scorching 
and  destructive  character  cf.  Gen.  xli.  6,  Ezek.  xvii.  10  (see  Driver, 
Par.  Psalter,  p.  136).  The  epithet  translated  "sultry"  (harlsKith)  occurs 
only  here,  and  is  of  doubtful  derivation  and  significance.  The  most 
plausible  explanation  connects  it  with  horesh,  "autumn,"  in  the  sense 
primarily  of  an  "autumnal,"  and  secondarily  of  a  very  hot,  wind  (LXX. 
7rvf.vfjLo.ri  Kcnxrovos  cr\)VK.a.iovTi).  As  the  narrative  stands,  it  must  be 
assumed  that  the  hot  wind  is  mentioned  as  something  which  merely 
aggravated  Jonah's  discomfort;  but  it  is  a  plausible  conjecture  that  the 
compiler  has  omitted  a  clause,  occurring  in  one  of  the  alternative  versions, 
of  which  the  tenor  was,  and  it  tore  down  the  booth.  If  the  booth  and  the 
palm-christ  were  originally  distinct  agencies  subserving,  in  the  different 
versions,  the  same  end  of  sheltering  Jonah,  it  is  probable  that  they  were 
both  represented  as  destroyed,  the  one  by  a  wind,  and  the  other  by  a 
worm. 

and  the  sun  beat,  etc.  In  regard  to  the  heat  at  Nineveh  Pusey  quotes 
from  Layard  (Nin.  and  Bab.,  p.  366),  "Few  European  travellers  can 
brave  the  perpendicular  rays  of  the  Assyrian  sun.  Even  the  well- 
seasoned  Arab  seeks  the  shade  during  the  day,  and  journeys  by  night, 
unless  driven  forth  at  noontide  by  necessity  or  the  love  of  war." 

requested  for  himself,  etc.  The  resemblance  to  the  language  of  Elijah 
(1  Kgs.  xix.  4)  is  very  noticeable  here. 

9.  Doest  thou  well  to  be  angry?    See  on  u.  4.    Jonah's  anger  on  this 
occasion  had  a  different  origin :  previously  it  was  due  to  the  sparing  of 
Nineveh ;  now  it  is  caused  by  the  destruction  of  the  palm-christ. 

even  unto  death.  The  phrase  is  used  in  connection  with  various  emo- 
tions to  express  intensity :  cf.  Jud.  xvi.  1 6,  Mk.  xiv.  34. 

10.  Thou  hast  had  pity.    The  pronoun  thou  is  emphatic  here,  as  is 
the  /  in  v.  11.    Whilst  Jonah  had  done  nothing  for  the  plant  whose 
fate  he  deplored,  God  was  tbe  Creator  of  the  living  beings  in  Nineveh. 

laboured.  The  verb  here  used  ( 'dmal)  is  apparently  late  (see  p.  Ixxxiii), 
and  takes  the  place  of  the  earlier  yagha'  (Josh.  xxiv.  13). 

which  came  up  in  a  night.  Literally,  "the  son  (i.e.  the  product)  of  a 
night."  The  expression  resembles  the  common  idiom  employed  in  Heb. 
to  express  age  (e.g.  a  yearling  is  "the  son  of  a  year,"  Ex.  xii.  5). 

11 .  and  should  not  I  have  pity,  etc.    "  God  waives  for  a  time  the  fact  of 
the  repentance  of  Nineveh"  (Pusey),  and  here  speaks  only  of  the  appeal 
to  His  compassion  made  by  the  tender  age  of  so  many  in  the  city  which 
Jonah  wishes  to  see  destroyed.   Cf.  Wisd.  xi.  26. 


142  JONAH  [iv.  n 

Nineveh,  that  great  city ;  wherein  are  more  than  sixscore  thou- 
sand persons  that  cannot  discern  between  their  right  hand  and 
their  left  hand;  and  also  much  cattle? 

sixscore  thousand.  Literally,  twelve  myriads.  The  Heb.  for  myriad 
(ribbo),  here  used,  is  confined  almost  exclusively  to  late  books  (see 
p.  Ixxxiii). 

that  cannot... hand.  The  expression  (with  which  cf.  Dt.  i.  39,  Is.  vii. 
15,  16)  denotes  very  young  children,  in  whom  intelligence  had  not  yet 
awakened,  and  who  consequently  could  have  no  responsibility  for  the 
city's  wickedness  (i.  2).  Such  would  be  under  two  years  of  age,  and  the 
number  of  them  (120,000)  is  thought  to  imply  a  population  of  600,000. 
F.  Jones  estimated,  from  the  extent  of  the  ruins  of  Nineveh,  that  its 
inhabitants  must  really  have  amounted  to  174,000. 

much  cattle?  The  numerous  cattle  were  as  irresponsible  as  the 
children.  The  writer's  thought  that  God  has  care  for  animals  is  found 
elsewhere  in  the  O.T.,  see  Ex.  xx.  10,  xxiii.  12,  Dt.  xxv.  4,  Ps.  cxlvii.  9 : 
cf.  also  Mt.  vi.  26,  x.  29. 

The  effectiveness  of  the  question  with  which  the  book  concludes  is 
not  allowed  by  the  writer  to  be  impaired  by  any  further  particulars 
about  Jonah  himself,  his  reflections  upon  the  Divine  remonstrance,  or 
his  return  home. 


ADDITIONAL  NOTE  BY  THE  GENERAL  EDITOR. 

The  Book  of  Jonah  has  lent  itself  more  than  any  other  of  the  Minor 
Prophets  to  artistic  illustration,  especially  in  painted  glass.  The  chief 
incident  represented  is  that  of  Jonah's  escape  from  the  whale's  belly. 
This  is  natural,  since  it  was  treated  as  typical  of  our  Lord's  Resurrection. 
In  the  windows  of  four  Oxford  Colleges  there  are  Jonah-scenes ;  and 
three  of  them — those  in  University,  Lincoln,  and  Wadham  Colleges — 
depict  the  incident  mentioned.  But  in  Christ  Church  there  is  another 
scene  (the  work  of  Van  Ling)  which  touches  a  central  thought  of  the 
book :  the  prophet  is  seated  under  the  gourd,  gazing  sadly  at  the  city  of 
Nineveh,  as  it  stretches  undestroyed  and  magnificent  before  his  eyes. 


JONAH  143 


APPENDIX  I 

THE  PSALM  IN  CH.  II.  RENDERED  IN  THE  RHYTHM 
OF  THE  ORIGINAL. 

The  following  will  serve  in  some  slight  degree  to  illustrate  the 
rhythm  of  the  psalm  in  ch.  ii.  The  rendering  is  necessarily  in  places 
a  little  less  close  to  the  original  than  that  which  is  given  in  the  R.V. 
or  supported  in  the  commentary,  and  in  two  passages  additional  emenda- 
tions are  adopted,  for  metrical  convenience. 

1.  "Out  of  my  straits  did  I  cry  |  to  Jehovah,  who  answered; 

From  the  belly  of  Sheol  complained  ;  |  thou  heardest  my  calling. 

2.  To  the  heart  of  the  seas  was  I  cast;  |  embraced  me  their  current; 
All  of  thy  billows  and  waves  |  went  swirling  above  me. 

3.  Methought,  I  am  driven  away  |  from  the  range  of  thy  vision  : 
How  shall  I  once  more  behold  |  thy  temple  most  holy  ? 

4.  The  waters  did  clasp  me  about  ;  |  the  deep  did  encompass. 
Twisted  was  weed  round  my  head,  |  at  the  base  of  the  mountains. 

5.  I  sank  to  where  earth  with  its  bars    imprisons1  for  ever; 

But  my  life  thou  didst  bring  from  the  pit,  |  0  Jehovah  my  G6d. 

6.  When  the  soul  that  was  in  me  grew  faint,  |  my  God  I  remembered  ; 
And  my  prayer  entered  into  thy  courts,  |  thy  temple  most  h61y. 

7.  Who  ,revere  the  Vain  and  the  False  |  abandon  their  Refuge  2  ; 
But  I  with  the  voice  of  thanksgiving  |  will  offerings  render. 
What  I  have  vowed  I  will  pay:  |  from  Jehovah  comes  succour." 

1  Here  instead  of  ba'adhi  is  substituted  'atsZru  "detain,"  which  is  translated  by 
in  the  LXX.  of  Jud.  xiii.  15,  16.    In  the  present  passage  the  LXX.  has 


Here  instead  of  hasdam  there  is  substituted  (after  Marti)  mahasehem  "their 
refuge." 


144 


JONAH 


APPENDIX  II 


CRITICAL  ANALYSIS  OF  JONAH. 

The  following  translation  (more  literal  than  the  R.V.)  of  the  narrative 
portion  of  the  book  will  make  plain  the  tenor  of  each  of  the  hypothetical 


sources. 


Version  A  Matter  common  to  both  Versions 

i.  1  And  the  word  of  Jehovah  came  unto 
Jonah,  the  son  of  Amittai,  saying,  2  Arise,  go 
to  Nineveh,  the  great  city,  and  cry  against  it, 
for  their  wickedness  hath  come  up  into  my 


Version  B 


my 


presence. 

3a  But  Jonah  arose  to  flee  to  Tar- 
shish  from  the  presence  of  Jehovah. 


3b  But  he  went  down  to  Joppa  and 
found  a  ship  going  to  Tarshish.   And 
he  paid  the  fare  of  it,  and  went  down 
into  it  to  go  with  them  to  Tarshish 
from  the  presence  of  Jehovah. 
4  And  Jehovah  had  flung  a  great  wind  into 
the  sea,  and  there  was  a  great  tempest  in  the 
sea,  and  the  ship  was  about  to  be  shattered. 


5b  And  they  flung  the  gear  which 
was  in  the  ship  into  the  sea  to  lighten 
it  from  off  them. 


7  And  they  said  each  to  his  mate, 
Come,  that  we  may  cast  lots  and  know 
on  whose  account  this  evil  has  hap- 
pened to  us.  And  they  cast  lots  and 
the  lot  fell  upon  Jonah. 


10b  And  they  said  to  him,  What  is 
this  that  thou  hast  done  ?  for  the  men 
knew  that  it  was  from  the  presence  of 
Jehovah  that  he  was  fleeing,  for  he 
had  told  them.  13  And  the  men  rowed 
to  restore  him  to  the  dry  land,  but 
thev  were  not  able,  for  the  sea  went 
on  being  tempestuous  upon  them. 


5a  Then  the  seamen  were  afraid,  and 
cried  each  to  his  god.  5C  But  Jonah 
had  gone  down  into  the  hold  of  the 
vessel  and  lay  down  and  slept  soundly. 
6  And  the  captain  of  the  sailors  ap- 
proached him  and  said  to  him,  Why 
art  thou  sound  asleep?  Arise,  cry  to 
thy  God;  perchance  God  will  think 
upon  us  that  we  perish  not. 

8  And  they  said  to  him,  Tell  us  now 
on  account  of  whom  this  evil  has  hap- 
pened to  us.  What  is  thy  occupation  ? 
Whence  dost  thou  come  ?  What  is  thy 
land  ?  And  of  what  people  art  thou  ? 
9  And  he  said  to  them,  I  am  a  He- 
brew; and  I  am  a  worshipper  of  Je- 
hovah, the  God  of  heaven,  who  made 
the  sea  and  the  dry  land.  10a  And 
the  men  feared  with  great  fear. 

1 1  And  they  said  to  him,  What  shall 
we  do  to  thee  that  the  sea  may  be 
calm  from  off  us ;  for  the  sea  went  on 
being  tempestuous.  12  And  he  said 
to  them,  Take  me  up  and  fling  me 
into  the  sea  that  the  sea  may  be  calm 
from  off  you,  for  I  know  that  on  my 
account  this  great  tempest  is  upon 
you. 


APPENDIX  II 


145 


life, 


Version  A  Matter  common  to  both  Versions  Version  B 

14a  And  they  cried  to  Jehovah  and  said, 
Pray,  Jehovah, 
14b  Let  us  not  perish  for  this  man's          14C  [and]  Do  not  lay  upon  us  inno- 


cent blood, 

14d  for  thou,  Jehovah,  hast  done  as  thou  hast 
pleased.  15  And  they  took  up  Jonah  and  flung 
him  into  the  sea,  and  the  sea  stayed  from  its 
raging.  16  And  the  men  feared  Jehovah  with 
great  fear,  and  they  sacrificed  a  sacrifice  to 
Jehovah  and  vowed  vows. 

ii.  1  But  Jehovah  appointed  a  great  fish  to 
swallow  Jonah,  and  Jonah  was  in  the  bowels  of 
the  fish  three  days  and  three  nights.  2  And 
Jonah  made  petition  unto  Jehovah  his  God 
from  the  bowels  of  the  fish.  11  And  Jehovah 
said  to  the  fish... and  it  disgorged  Jonah  on  to 
the  dry  land. 

iii.  1  And  the  word  of  Jehovah  came  to  Jonah 
a  second  time,  saying,  2  Arise,  go  to  Nineveh, 
the  great  city,  and  cry  unto  it  the  cry  that  I 
speak  unto  thee.  3  And  Jonah  arose  and  went 
to  Nineveh,  according  to  the  word  of  Jehovah. 
And  Nineveh  was  a  great  city  (even)  for  God, 
three  days'  journey  (across).  4a  And  Jonah 
began  to  enter  into  the  city  one  day's  journey, 
and  he  cried  and  said : 


4b  (LXX.)  Yet  three  days  and  Nine- 
veh shall  be  overthrown.  5  And  the 
people  of  Nineveh  believed  God ;  and 
they  proclaimed  a  fast  and  put  on 
sackcloth,  from  the  greatest  of  them 
even  unto  the  least  of  them.  10  And 
God  saw  their  works,  that  they  turned 
from  their  evil  way,  and  God  repented 
concerning  the  evil  which  he  said  he 
would  do  unto  them,  and  he  did  it  not. 
iv.  1  But  for  Jonah  it  was  evil,  a  great 
evil,  and  he  was  angry.  2  And  he 
made  petition  unto  Jehovah  and  said, 
Pray,  Jehovah,  was  not  this  my  say- 
ing, while  I  was  yet  on  my  own  soil  ? 
Therefore  I  was  beforehand  in  fleeing 
unto  Tarshish ;  for  I  knew  that  thou 
art  a  gracious  God  and  compassionate, 
slow  to  anger,  plenteous  in  mercy,  and 
repentant  of  the  evil.  3  And  now, 
Jehovah,  take  my  life  from  me,  for 
better  for  me  is  my  death  than  my 
life. 

4  And  Jehovah  said,  Doest  thou 
well  to  be  angry  ?  6  And  Jehovah  God 
appointed  a  palmchrist,  and  it  came 
up  over  Jonah,  to  be  a  shade  over  his 
head,  to  deliver  him  from  his  evil  state. 

w. 


4b  (Heb.)  Yet  forty  days  and  Nine- 
veh shall  be  overthrown.  6  And  the 
matter  reached  the  king  of  Nineveh, 
and  he  arose  from  his  throne,  and  laid 
his  robe  from  off  him,  and  covered 
himself  with  sackcloth,  and  sat  in 
ashes.  7  And  one  made  proclamation 
and  said  in  Nineveh  by  the  decree  of 
the  king  and  his  great  men,  saying, 
Let  neither  man  nor  beast,  herd  nor 
flock,  taste  anything,  let  them  not 
feed  nor  drink  water ;  8  but  let  them 
be  covered  with  sackcloth,  both  man 
and  beast;  and  let  them  cry  with 
might  to  God ;  and  let  them  turn  each 
from  his  evil  way,  and  from  the  vio- 
lence that  is  in  their  hands.  9  Who 
knoweth  whether  God  will  turn  and 
repent,  and  turn  from  the  heat  of  his 
anger  that  we  perish  not  ? 


iv.  5  Arid  Jonah  went  out  of  the 
city  and  sat  on  the  east  side  of  the 
city  and  there  made  for  himself  a 
booth  and  sat  under  the  shade  until 
he  should  see  what  would  happen  to 

10 


146 


APPENDIX  II 


Version  A 

And  Jonah  was  glad  with  great  glad- 
ness because  of  the  palmchrist.  7  But 
God  appointed  a  worm,  when  the  dawn 
arose  on  the  morrow,  and  it  smote  the 
palmchrist,  and  it  withered;  8b  and 
the  sun  smote  upon  the  head  of  Jonah 
and  he  fainted,  and  requested  for 
himself  that  he  might  die,  and  said, 
Better  for  me  is  my  death  than  my 
life.  9  And  God  said  to  Jonah,  Doest 
thou  well  to  be  angry  on  account  of 
the  palmchrist?  And  he  said,  I  do 
well  to  be  angry  even  unto  death. 
10  And  Jehovah  said,  Thou  hast  pity 
on  the  palmchrist,  on  which  thou  didst 
not  labour,  neither  madest  it  to  grow, 
which  came  into  being  in  a  night  and 
perished  in  a  night;  11  and  should 
not  /  have  pity  on  Nineveh,  the  great 
city,  wherein  are  more  than  twelve 
myriads  of  persons  that  discern  not 
between  their  right  hand  and  their 
left,  and  much  cattle  ? 


Version  B 

the  city.  8a  And  it  came  to  pass  when 
the  sun  arose  that  God  appointed  a 
sultry  east  wind;  (and  it  overthrew 
the  booth.) 


INDEX 


Abide  (  =  be  unmolested),  To  42,  119 

Abraham's  offering  of  Isaac  51 

Acco9 

Achzib  11 

'adh,  Meaning  of  Heb.  cxix 

'ddhon  a  title  of  heathen  deities  4 

'adhonai  a  title  of  JEHOVAH  1,  4 

Adora  1 

Adullam  12 

.Eschylus  quoted  or  cited  125,  129 

Agatharchides  quoted  89 

Ahab  xlviii,  53,  56 

Ahaz  xv,  xvi,  xvii,  xviii,  xxix,  xxx,  xlviii, 

Ixiv,  cxv,  cxvi,  cxvii,  8,  48 
Akaba,  Gulf  of  xliv,  xlvii 
Akrabattine  1 

Alexander  the  Great  xlii,  Ixxii,  114,  137 
Alexander  Jannaus  1 
Alienation  of  lands  14 
All  flesh  109 
Allegory  xcvii 
'almah,  Meaning  of  the  fleb.  cxvi,  cxvii, 

cxviii 

Almighty,  The  94 
Altar  (of  the  Temple),  The  102 
Amaziah  xlviii,  11 
Ambassador  67 

Amittai,  Meaning  of  the  name  xcvii,  121 
Ammon,  Ammonites  xli,  xlv,  61,  75 
Analysis  of  the  book  of  Jonah,  Critical 

Ixxxviii,  144—146 

Anointed  of  JEHOVAH,  The  cviii,  cxxiii 
Anointing,  Significance  of  the  rite  of  cviii 
Anonymity  of  many  Heb.  writings  xxv 
Antiochus  the  Great  xlii 
Antithetic  Parallelism  cxxxvii 
Apocalyptic  Ixxii,  Ixxiv 
Apple  Tree  93 

Apportionment  of  lands  by  lot  16 
Aquila,  Readings  and  Renderings  of  9, 

17,  43,  67,  72,  76,  82,  112,  139 
Arabah,  The  xliv 
Arabia  Petreea  1 
Arabians  xxix,  xli,  Ixvi,  68 
Arion  128 

Army  (applied  to  locusts)  liv,  101 
Artaxerxes  Ochus  Ixxii,  85,  114 
Ashamed  (  =  disappointed),  To  be  25 
Ashdod  Ixiv 
'Asherim  45,  46,  47 
Ashes,  To  sit  in  136 
Asshur  (city)  121 
Asshur  (deity)  cv 
Assonance  8,  12,  40,  94 


Assyria,  Assyrians,  Allusions  to  xix,  xxx, 
Ixxix,  xciii,  36,  54,  62,  104, 
122,  137 

as  designations  of  other  coun- 
tries and  peoples  39,  42,  45, 
62 

Atonement,  Heb.  ideas  concerning  51 

Audition,  Ecstatic  2 

Authority  of  parents  and  masters,  The 
59 

Avith  xlv 

Babylon,  Babylonians  xix,  xxxix,  xl,  xli, 
xlix,  20,  21,  28,  34,  35,  36,  42,  43,  75, 
104,  113,  117,  136 

Bag  54 

Balaam  cxi,  49 

Balak  49 

Baldness  as  a  token  of  mourning,  Arti- 
ficial 12 

Baptism  of  Jesus,  The  cxxx,  cxxxi 

Bark  of  trees  eaten  by  locusts  90 

Barns  95 

Bashan  64 

Beasts  of  the  field  96 

Beats,  Hebrew  versification  measured  by 
cxxxix 

Benhadad  xlvi 

Benjamin  81,  83 

Beth-ezel  10 

Beth-le-Aphrah  9 

Bethlehem  40,  41 

Bethuel  li 

Bite,  To  23 

Blessing,  Isaac's  xliv 

Jacob's  cxi,  cxii 

Blessings  and  curses  self-fulfilling  49 

'Blood,  and  fire,  and  pillars  of  smoke' 
109 

Bond  between  JEHOVAH  and  Israel,  The 
ev,  27,  28 

Bondage,  House  of  49 

Booth  139 

Boundary  62 

Bozrah  xlv,  21 

'Bread,  They  that  eat  thy'  72 

Break  ranks,  To  99 

Break  the  bones  of,  To  22 

Breaker,  The  20,  21 

Bring  again  the  captivity  of,  To  Ixii,  Ixvi, 
112 

Brooks  118 

'Brought  thee  on  thy  way'  71 

Burden  15 


10—2 


148 


INDEX 


Burnt  offerings  48,  50 

'Burst  through  the  weapons,  They'  100 

Byword  against,  To  use  a  103 

Caesarea  Philippi,  The  Apostles'  confes- 
sion at  cxxix 
Calah  121,  134 
Calamity  77 

Call  on  the  name  of  a  deity,  To  110 
Camp  (applied  to  a  swarm  of  locusts) 

liv,  101 

Canaanites,  84,  85 
Caphtor  82 

'Captivity  of  Jerusalem,  The'  85 
'Captivity  of  this  host,  The'  84 
Captivity,  To  bring  again  the  Ixii,  Ixvi, 

112 

Carchemish,  The  battle  of  36 
Carmel  64 
Carry  away,  To  75 
Casluhim  82 
Cast  lots  for  captives,  To  75,  112 

for  the  detection  of  offenders  or 
the  appointment  of  officials 
125 

for  parcels  of  ground  16 
Castor-oil  plant  139 
Cattle,  God's  care  for  142 
Ceremonial  worship  and  social  morality 

compared  cvii,  27,  28 
Chemosh  cv,  ex,  24 
Cherethites  82 

Children,  The  sacrifice  of  48,  51 
Chop  in  pieces,  To  22 
'  Christ '  applied  to  Jesus,  The  title  Cxxix, 

cxxx 
Chronological  Tables  of  kings  of  Judah 

xvi,  xvii 

Cicero  quoted  cxix,  116 
Circuits  113 
Cities  (=  fortresses)  45 
Cleanse  the  blood  of,  To  119 
4  Clefts  of  the  rocks,  The '  69 
Clods  95 

'Close  places,  Their'  65 
Columella  quoted  89 
Come  up,  To  90 
Come  up  on,  To  86 
Common  to  two  books,  Passages  xxxiv — 

xxxvii,  29—30,  67—71,  87 
Communion,  Sacrifices  of  50 
Complete  Parallelism  cxxxvi 
'  Confederacy,  The  men  of  thy '  71 
Congregation  of  the  Lord,  The  17,  102 
Conjectural  emendations  cxliii,  7, 12, 16, 

17,  18,  19,  47,  106 
Consecrate  war,  To  24 
Constructive  Parallelism  cxxxviii 
Corruption  in  Judah,  Causes  of  xxix 


Counterparts  in  heaven   of  things  on 

earth  cxxviii 
Covenant  between  JEHOVAH  and  Israel, 

Thecv 

Cover  the  lips,  To  25 
Crete,  Cretans  82 
Crossway  77 
Curses  self-fulfilling  49 
Cyaxares  122 
Cyrus  cviii,  cxxiii,  85 

Damascus  xxix,  cxv 

Damsel  cxvi,  cxvii 

Daniel,  The  term  'son  of  man'  in  cxxvii, 

cxxviii 

Darius  Hystaspis  85 
Darkness  as  a  figure  for  calamity  lix,  24, 

61 
Date  of  Joel  Ixi — Ixxii 

Jonah  Ixxxii — Ixxxiv 

Dates  of  the  oracles  in  Micah  xxvi,  20, 

28,   33,  34  f., 

48,  52,  56,  60 

Obadiah  xxxviii 

— xliii 
accession  of  kings  of  Judah  xvi, 

xvii 

Daughter  of  troops  39 
David  xlvii,  Ixiv,  ex,  cxii,  cxiii 
'David'  as  the  designation  of  a  dynasty 

cxv 

David  redivivus,  A  cxxi,  41 
David's  reign,  The  religious  importance 

of  ex,  cxi 

Dawn  (=  dimness),  The  97,  98 
Day  of  JEHOVAH  (the  LOBD),  The  liv,  Iv, 

Ivii,  Iviii,  33,  78 
'Dealing,  Thy'  78 
Dealings  of  God  with  mankind,  The  cv, 

cvi 

Dearth  Ivii 
Deceitful  thing,  A  12 
Decree,  62,  136 
Deep,  The  131 
Deep  waters  a  figure  for  calamity  Ixxxv, 

129,  132 
Depth,  The  130 
Destroyer,  The  94,  95 
Devote,  To  38 
Dew  (in  a  simile)  44 
Dimeters  cxlii,  6,  94 
Dinhabah  xlv 

Diodorus  Siculus  cited  xli,  xlix 
Disaster  76 

Dishonesty  in  trade  xxviii,  52,  54 
Dishonour,  To  59 

Divine,  To,  Diviners,  Divination  25,  27 
Do  great  things,  To  105 
Dove  a  symbol  of  Israel  xcviii 


INDEX 


149 


Dreams  and  visions  as  channels  of  reve- 
lation 109 

Drink,  To  (used  figuratively)  79 

Drink  offerings  Ixv,  91 

Drop,  To  (used  of  prophetic  utterances) 
17 

Dukes  xlvi 

Dust,  To  roll  in  the  10 

Duties  of  men  to  God,  The  cvi 

E  3  (see  also  JE) 

Eagle  used  generically  13 

Earthquakes,  Language    reflecting   the 

experience  of  60 
Eastern  sea,  The  105 
Eclipses,  Expressions  suggested  by  Ix, 

109,  117 
Eden  98 

Edom,  The  country  of  xliv,  69 
Edomites,  The  xxxiii,  xxxiv,  xxxviii — 
xlii,  xliv — 1,  Ixiii,  Ixiv,  67 
—79,  81,  86,  119 
Forms  of  government  among 

the  xlvi 
Israel's   relationship   to  the 

xlv 

The  language  of  the  xlvi 
The  religion  of  the  xlvi 
Israel's    relations   with    the 

xlvii— 1 
Egypt,  Egyptians  xxx,  Ixiv,  Ixvi,  Ixvii, 

ex,  45,  62,  82,  118—119 
Eighth  century,  Prophecies  dating  from 

the  xxvi,  xxxviii,  xliii 
'El,  'Elohim  cxix 
Elath  xxix,  xxxviii,  xlviii 
Elders  88 

Elijah,  Elisha  Ixxix,  xcii,  133,  138,  141 
Emendations,  Conjectural  cxliii,  7,  12, 

16,  17,  18,  19,  47,  106 
'Enduring  foundations  of  the  earth'  48 
Enoch,    The    book    of    cxxvii,   cxxviii, 

cxxxiv 

Entrances  (of  a  land),  The  43 
Ephraim,  The  field  of  81 
Ephrathah  40 
Esarhaddon  xlix,  85 
Esau  xlv,  71 

The  mount  of  73 
'Escape,  Those  that'  79 
Eschatology,  Joel  and  Ixxii — Ixxvi 
Ethical  character  of  God,  The  ciii,  civ 
Euphrates,  The  62 
Euripides  cited  51,  137 
Everlasting  (applied  to  a  limited  period) 

cxix 

'Exceeding  great  city,  An'  133 
Exile  predicted  for  the  Jewish  people  xx, 
xxi,  19,  36 


Exile,  Prophecies  dating  from  the  xxvi, 

cxxi,  20,  33 
Exodus,  The  religious  influence  of  the 

ex 

Expiatory  sacrifices  48,  51 
Extra  metrum,  Words  and  phrases  cxl,  68 
Ezion-geber  xlviii 
Ezra  Ixxiv,  Ixxxi 

Fable  xcvi 

1  Family'  (applied  to  a  nation),  The  term 

14 

Fasting,  Fasts  Ixv,  93,  94 
Fats,  Wine-  107 

Feasts,  Occasions  of  the  Hebrew  95 
Feed,  To  (used  figuratively)  42 
Field  36,  83 

Field  of  Ephraim,  The  81,  83 
Samaria,  The  81,  83 
Fifth  century,  Prophecies  dating  from 

the  xxvi,  xliii,  Ixxii,  60,  61,  63 
First  month,  The  106 
Firstripe  fig  57 
Flood  130 

Floors,  Threshing  107 
Forays  39 
Fore-part  105 

Forgivingness  of  God,  The  65 
'Former  dominion,  The'  34 
Former  rain,  The  106 
'Fortress,  The  captivity  of  this   84 
Forty  days  Ixxxix,  xc,  134 
Fountain  issuing  from  the  Temple  Ixviii, 

118 
Fourth  century,  Prophecies  dating  from 

the  Ixxii,  Ixxxv 
Fruit  63 
Fulfilments  of  prophecy  1,  Ixxii,  cxxix, 

cxxxii,  cxxxiii,  8,  114 
Future,  Contrast  between  Hebrew  and 

heathen  hopes  of  the  cix  f. 

galil,  Meaning  of  the  Heb.  113 

Garden-land,  A  64 

Garden  of  Eden,  The  98 

Garment  18 

Garners  95 

'Gate  of  my  people,  The'  7 

Gateways  as  places  of  assemblage  7 

Gath9 

Gath-hepher  Ixxviii 

Gather  in  troops,  To  39 

Gaza  Ixiv,  Ixxii,  114 

Gear  124 

gemul,  Meaning  of  the  Heb.  113 

General  Supplement  to  the  separate  In- 
troductions c — cxliii 

Gentiles.  God's  care  for  the  Ixxx,  Ixxxi, 
141 


150 


INDEX 


Gihon  118 
Gilead  64,  81,  83 
Gilgal  50 
Gilgamesh  43 
Gittah-hepher  Ixxviii 
Give  to  reproach,  To  103 
Gleaning  grapes  71 
Glory,  JEHOVAH'S  19 

of  Israel,  The  12 
Go  up,  To  21,  86 

GOD,  Hebrew  beliefs  concerning  c — cvii 
GOD'S  dealings  with  mankind  cv — cvi 

requirements  from  men  cvi,  cvii 
Godly  57 
Gog  Ixviii,  104 
Gourd  139,  140 

'Gracious  and  full  of  compassion '  101 
Grass  (used  figuratively)  44 
Graven  images  6,  45 
Great  fish,  A  128 
Great  lion,  A  90 

Greece,    Grecians,    Greeks    Ixiv,    Ixvii, 
114 

Hadad  xlvi,  xlviii 

Hadriana  1 

Hand  upon  the  mouth,  To  lay  the  65 

Harvest  (  =  the  vintage)  The  116 

Heart  the  seat  of  intelligence,  The  69 

of  the  will,  The  101 
To  say  in  one's  69 

Heart  of  the  seas,  The  130 

Heavenly  bodies  the  abodes  of  celestial 
powers  117 

Heavenly  Messiah,  The  cxxvii,  cxxviii 

Heavens  regarded  as  solid,  The  101 

Hebrew,  Meaning  of  the  word  126 

Hebrew  confidence  in  the  future  cix 

methods  of  reckoning  time  128 
and  modern  thought  contrasted 

civ 
versification  cxxxiv — cxliii 

Hebron  xlix,  1,  86 

hel,  Meaning  of  the  Heb.  84,  85 

Hell  129 

Heritage,  Israel  as  JEHOVAH'S  63,  103 

Herod,  The  house  of  1,  74 

Herodotus  quoted  or  cited  7,  12,  81,  114, 
122,  123,  128,  134,  137,  139 

Hesiod  cited  cix 

Hesychius  quoted  80 

Hezekiah  xvi,  xvii,  xviii,  xxiii,  xxvi,  xxix, 
xxxi,  cxviii,  8,  53 

Hidden  treasures  71 

Hide  the  face,  To  23 

High  places  5 

•High  places  of  a  forest,  The'  28 

Hill  country  of  Judah,  The  83,  85 

Hinder-part  105 


Hinnom,  Valley  of  the  son  of  27,  112 

Hires  6 

'Holy'  applied  to  Jerusalem  (Zion),  The 

epithet  80 

Holy  mountain,  God's  cxxii,  79,  97 
Holy  temple,  God's  130,  132 
Homer  quoted  or  cited  12,  42,  49,  89, 

108,  125,  130,  136 
Hor,  Mount  xlvii 

Horace  quoted  or  cited  cxxii,  49,  70 
Horites  xlv 
Horn  97 
Horsemen  98 
Horses,  Locusts  likened  to  98 

The  sources  of  Judah's  supply 

of  45 

1  Host,  The  captivity  of  this'  84 
House  (  =  household)  14 
Human  sacrifices  51 
Humbly,  To  walk  52 
•Humiliation,  Thy'  55 
Husband  of  youth,  A  91 
Hyperbole,  Instances  of  Iv,  51,  70,  74, 

118,  129 

Idolatry  xxi,  6,  45 — 47 

Idumsea  1 

Ill-savour  105 

Immanuel,  The  Prophecy  of  cxv — cxviii 

Incomplete  Parallelism  cxxxvii 

Introduction  to  Joel  li — Ixxvii 

Jonah  Ixxviii — xcix 
Micah  xv — xxxi 
Obadiah  xxxii — 1 

Ionia,  lonians  Ixiv,  85,  114,  122 

Iphigenia  51 

Isaac,  Abraham's  offering  of  51 

Isaac's  blessing  of  Esau  xliv 

Isaiah's  corroboration  of  Micah's  account 

of  Judah  xxvi — xxix 
Messianic  prophecies  cxv — cxx 

Israel  as  a  designation  of  Judah  xvii,  li, 
12,  18,  22,  42,  49 

J  3,  126  (see  also  JE) 

Jackals  7 

Jacob  as  a  designation  of  Israel  5,  8 

of  Judah  18,  22, 

31,  44,  80 

Jacob's  Blessing  cxi,  cxii 
Javan  Ixiv,  114,  122 
Jaw  teeth  90 
JE  xliv,  17,  102,  114  (see  also  Prophetic 

narrative  of  the  Pentateuch,  The) 
Jealous  103 
Jehoahaz  38 

Jehoiachin  cxxv,  38,  39,  40 
Jehoiada  Ixvi 
Jehoiakim  39,  53 


INDEX 


151 


Jehoram  xlviii 
Jehoshaphat  xlviii 

The  valley  of  Ixiv,  112 
JEHOVAH,  The  original  form  of  the  name 

1 

Pronunciation  of  the  name  1 
Substitutes  for  the  name  1,  2 
The  character  attributed  to 

ciii 

The  development  of  ideas  con- 
cerning c 
The  Day  of  liv,  Iv,  Ivii,  Iviii, 

Ixxiii,  33,  78 
JEHOVAH  God  Ixxxii,  139 
Jephthah's  sacrifice  of  his  daughter  51 
Jeremiah  and   Obadiah,  Passage  com- 
mon to  xxxiv — xxxviii,  xliii,  67—71, 
87 

Jeroboam  II  Ixxviii 
Jerome  cited  or  quoted  34,  73,  100 
Jerusalem — its  experiences   of  capture 

xxxix,  28 

— its  situation  26,  27 
— its  walls  restored  by  Nehe- 

miah  Ixxii,  62 

Prophecies  concerning  xx,  xxi, 
xxii,  li,  5,  7,  13,  28,  34,  36, 
38,  52,  111,  117 
Jesus  of  Nazareth — His  claim  to  be  a 

prophet  cxxix 
— His  claim  to  be  the  Son  of  God 

cxxix — cxxxiii 
— His  claim  to  be  the  Christ  cvi, 

cxxix,  cxxx 
— His  claim  to  be  the  Son  of  man 

cxxix,  cxxxiv 

— His  fulfilment  of  Messianic  pro- 
phecies cxxxii,  cxxxiii 
Joab  xlvii 
Joash  Ixv,  Ixvi 

Joel,  Introduction  to  li — Ixxvii 
The  meaning  of  the  name  li 
Parallels  between  other  O.T.  writ- 
ings and  Ixix,  Ixx 
The  Contents  of  lii 
The  Interpretation  of  liv — Ivi 
An  insertion  in  Ix,  Ixxii 
The  Style  and  Vocabulary  of  Ixx, 

Ixxi 

The  Theology  of  ci — cv 
The  Unity  of  Ivi— Ixi 
The  Date  of  Ixi— Ixxii 
Commentary  on  88 — 119 
Joel  and  Eschatology  Ixxii — Ixxvi 
John  Hyrcanus  1 
Jonah,  Introduction  to  Ixxviii — xcix 

The  meaning  of  the  name  xcvii, 

120 
The  Date  of  the  prophet  Ixxviii 


Jonah,  The  Contents   and  Purpose  of 

Ixxix— Ixxxii 
The  Character  and  Import  of  xci 

— xcix 

The  defective  Unity  of  Ixxxv — xc 
The  Date  of  Ixxxii— Ixxxv 
The  Diction  of  Ixxxiii,  Ixxxiv 
The  miracles  related  in  xciii — 

xcvi 
The    Psalm    in    Ixxxiv — Ixxxvi, 

128—132,  143 
The  Theology  of  ci — cvi 
Commentary  on  120 — 146 
Artistic  illustrations  of  incidents 

in  142 
Critical  Analysis  of  Ixxxviii,  144 

—146 

Jonathan  Maccabaaus  124 
Joppa  Ixxix,  123,  124 
Joseph  (  =  Israel)  80 
Josephus  cited  xli,  xlii,  xlvi,  1,  123, 124, 

133,  135 
Josiah  118 
Jotham  xvi,  xvii,  2 
Joy  of  harvest,  The  93 
Judah,  Jacob's  blessing  on  cxi,  cxii 
Judas  Maccabaeus  1 
Judge,  To  86 

'Judge  of  Israel,  The'  38,  40 
Judgment,  The  Divine  liv,  Ivi,  Iviii,  8 — 

7,  14,  19,  28,  78 
Judicial  corruption  27,  56,  58 
Julius  Caesar  1 
'Just  measure,  In'  106 

Kaush  xlvi 

Kenaz,  Kenizzites  xlvii 

Kidron,  The  27,  112,  118 

Kinah  metre,  The  xxxvii,  cxlii,  cxliii,  5, 

16,  63,  65,  66,  68,  71,  87,  129,  143 
King,  JEHOVAH  as  His  people's  cxiii,  cxiv, 

21 
Kingdom  of  God  (or  of  JEHOVAH),  The 

cxxix,  86 

Kings  of  Judah,  Dates  of  xvi,  xvii 
Kingship,  Influence  of  the  ex 
Koze  xlvi 

Laehish  11 

Lament,  To  90,  93 

'Latter  days,  In  the'  Ixxv,  30 

Latter  rain,  The  106 

Law  (=  instruction)  31 

Leap  upon,  To  100 

Leaping  of  locusts,  The  99 

Limit  62 

Lion,  Israel  likened  to  a  44 

JEHOVAH  likened  to  a  117 
Livy  quoted  59 


162 


INDEX 


Locusts,  The  varieties  of  Ixxvi,  Ixxvii 

The  vast  numbers  and  extreme 
destructiveness  of  1,  liii, 
Ixxvi,  89,  98 

The  significance  in  Joel  of  the 
liv — Ivi 

Look  on,  To  75 

Lord  4 

LORD  God,  The  139 

Lord  Messiah,  The  cxxvii 

LORD  of  hosts,  The  32 

Lots,  To  cast  16,  75,  125 

Lowland,  The  xviii,  10,  11,  81,  82 

Lowly  cxxiv 

Lucan  quoted  109 

LXX,  Readings  and  Renderings  of  the 
xv,  xxxii,  liv,  Ixxviii,  Ixxxvi,  Ixxxvii, 
Ixxxviii,  Ixxxix,  xc,  cxii,  cxviii,  cxxv, 
cxxvii,  cxl,  1,  2,  3,  4,  5,  7,  9,  10,  11, 
15,  16,  18,  19,  20,  22,  23,  24,  25,  26, 
28,  34,  38,  39,  40,  42,  43,  44,  46,  47, 
51,  52,  53,  54,  55,  56,  57,  58,  62,  65, 
66,  67,  68,  69,  70,  72,  73,  74,  75,  76, 
77,  79,  80,  81,  82,  83,  84,  85,  86,  88, 
89,  90,  91,  92,  93,  94,  95,  96,  97,  98, 
99,  101,  102,  103,  104,  106,  107,  109, 
110,  112,  115,  116,  119,  122,  123,  124, 
125,  126,  128,  130,  131,  132,  133,  134, 
136,  137,  138,  139,  140,  141,  143,  145 

Lying  vanities  132 

Makkeph  cxxxix — cxliii,  68 

Manasseh  xvi,  39,  48,  53 

Mareshah  1,  12 

Mariners  Ixxxiv,  124 

Maroth  11 

Martial  quoted  32,  70 

Mdshdl,    The    meaning    of    the    Heb. 

103 

Masters'  authority  over  servants  59 
Mazor  62 

Meal  offerings  Ixv,  91 
Medes,  The  lix,  36,  122,  136 
Megiddo,  Battle  of  118 
'Mercy,  Their  own'  132 
Mesha,  The  Inscription  of  24,  34 
Messenger  68 
'  Messiah,'  The  meaning  of  the  term  cviii, 

cxxviii 

Messiah,  The  celestial  cxxvii,  cxxxiv 
Messianic  Prophecy  cvii — cxxxiv 

Prophecy — various  senses   of 
the  term  cvii — cix,  'cxiii — 
cxv 
Messianic  prophecies   in   Isaiah   cxv — 

cxx,  cxxi,  cxxii 
in  Micah  cxx,  cxxi,  38—43 
in  Zechariah  cxxiii,  cxxiv 
in  the  Psalms  cxxiv — cxxvi 


Messianic  prophecies  in  the  Psalms  of 

Solomon  cxxvi,  cxxvii 
in  the  Sibylline  oracles  cxxvi 
in  the  Testaments  of  the  XII 

Patriarchs  cxxvii 
Methods,  Ancient  and  Modern  views  of 

Divine  civ 

Metre,  Varieties  of  Hebrew  cxl,  cxlii,  cxliii 
Meunim  xxix,  112 
Micah,  Introduction  to  xv— xxxi 
Meaning  of  the  name  xviii 
Abode  and  character  of  xviii 
Social  conditions  in  the  age  of 

xxvi — xxxi 

Literary  qualities  of  xix 
The  religious  teaching  of  xxvi— 

xxxi 

Contents  of  xix — xxii 
The  disputed  unity  of  xxii— xxvi 
Dates  of  the  various  oracles  in  xv, 
xxiv— xxvi,  29,  33,  35,  36,  38, 
39,  45,  48,  53,  57,  60,  61,  63 
The  Theology  of  ci — cvii 
Commentary  on  1 — 66 
Midrdsh,  Midrdshim  xci,  xcii 
Mighty  God  cxix 
Mighty  ones,  JEHOVAH'S  116 
Milcom  cv 
Minor  Prophets,  Defective  chronological 

arrangement  of  the  xv,  xxxii,  Ixi 
Miracles  xciii — xcvi,  civ 
Miriam  xlvi,  49 
Mittavindaka  127 
Moab,  Moabites  xxix,  xliv,  xlv,  xlviii, 

24,  34,  38,  75 
Modern  and  Hebrew  thought  contrasted 

civ 
Monarchy,  The  religious  influence  of  the 

ex 

Monolatry  cix,  ex 
Monotheism  Ixxx,  cv 
Morashtite,  The  2 
Moresheth-gath  xviii,  11 
Moses,  A  prophet  like  unto  cxxix 
Mount  (mountain)  of  Esau,  The  73 
Mountain,  The  (a  division  of  Judah)  83 
Mount  on  high,  To  69 
Mourning  customs  10,  12,  13,  25,  90 

Nabatseans  xli,  xlix,  72,  74 

nabhi',  Etymology  of  the  Heb.  25 

Nabopolassar  36,  122 

Name  of  a  deity,  To  call  on  the  110 

Name  of  JEHOVAH,  The  32,  42 

Napoleon  124 

'Nation'  applied  to  locusts,  The  term 

liv,  89 
Nations,  Assemblage  of  all  the  Ixviii,  36, 

37,  112 


INDEX 


153 


Nebuchadrezzar  xli,  xlix,  xcviii,  cxix, 

cxxv,  36,  38,  114 
Necho  Ixvii,  118 
Negeb,  Neghebh  xlii,  xlix,  81 
Nehemiah  Ixvii,  Ixxii,  60,  61,  62,  86 
Nets,  Hunting-  57 

New  Testament,  Passages  referred  to, 
or  quoted,  in  the  xcv,  oxviii,  cxxiv, 
cxxv,  41,  59,  110,  111,  128,  137 
New  wine  56,  92 
Nimrod  43 
Nineveh,  The  early  history  of  xcii,  121, 

122 

The  site  of  122 
The  size  of  122,  133,  134 
The  king  of  xciii,  136 
The  population  of  142 
Ninevites  xcv,  xcvii,  xcviii,  cvi, 

36,  122,  135 

Northern  army,  The,  Northerner,  The, 
liv,  104 

Obadiah,  Introduction  to  xxxii — 1 

The  form  and  meaning  of  the 

name  xxxii,  67 
Contents  of  xxxiii,  xxxiv 
Divisions  in  xxxiv 
Dates  of  the  divisions  in  xxxviii 

— xliii 

The  Passage  common  to  Jere- 
miah and  xxxiv— xxxvii,  67 
—71,  87 

The  Theology  of  c— cvii 
Commentary  on  67 — 86 
Obed-edom  xlvi 
Oil,  Uses  of  46,  50,  92 
Old  Latin  Version,  Readings  and  Render- 
ings of  the  69,  80,  88,  91,  101,  130, 
138 

Olives  trodden  in  presses  55 
Omnipresence  of  God,  The  cii 
Omri  53,  56 

Open  (=  draw  (a  weapon)),  To  43 
Ophel  27,  34 
Ophir  xlviii 

Oracle  quoted  in  common  by  Obadiah 
and    Jeremiah,   The,    xxxiv — xxxvii, 
87 
Order  of  the  Minor  Prophets  in  Heb. 

and  LXX,  The  xv,  xxxii,  Ixi,  Ixxviii 
Ostriches  7 

'Other  side,  On  the'  74 
Ovid  quoted  59,  115,  118,  128 
Oxen  used  for  treading  corn  37 

P  xlvii,  Ixxi,  94,  114  (see  also  Priestly 

code) 

Pale,  To  wax  99 
Palmchrist  139 


Palm-tree  92 

Parable  xcvi,  xcvii,  15 

Parallelism  in  Heb.  versification  cxxxv — 

cxxxviii 
Parallels  between  Joel  and  other  writers 

Ixix,  Ixx 
Parallels  to  the  story  of  Jonah   127, 

128 

Parents'  authority  over  children  59 
Paronomasia  8 
Parting  gift,  A  11 

'Pastures  of  the  Wilderness,  The'  105 
Pathetic  fallacy,  The  91 
Peace  42 

Peace-offerings  50 
'  Peace  with  thee,  The  men  that  were  at' 

72 

Pekah  cxv 
Pelethites  82 

Pentameters  cxlii,  87,  89,  99 
Pentecost,  The  Speaking  with  Tongues 

at  110,  111 
'People'  applied  to  locusts,  The  term 

liv 

Perform  the  truth,  To  66 
Perpetual  Father  cxix 
Perplexed,  To  be  (used  of  animals)  96 
Persia,  Persians  Ivii,  Ixv,  Ixviii,  Ixxii 
Pethuel  li 
Petra  xli,  69 
Philistia,  Philistines  xxix,   lii,  Ix,   Ixi, 

Ixii,   Ixiv,    Ixvi,    Ixxii,    75,    81,    82, 

113 
Phoenicia,  Phoenicians  lii,  Ixiii,  Ixxii,  84, 

85,  113,  114 
Piacular  sacrifices  51 
Pillars  46 
Pit,  The  131 
Plead  with,  To  112 
Pliny  quoted  69,  90,  92,  97,  99,  139 
Plowshares  31 
Plutarch  quoted  137 
Pomegranate  tree  92 
Porch  (of  the  Temple)  The  102 
Possess  (  =  re-possess),  To  80 
Pour  out,  To  (in  connection  with  im- 
material things)  108 
Power  of  God,  The  civ 
Predictions  calculated  to  defeat  their 

fulfilment  xxiii,  134 
Prepare  war,  To  24 
'  Presence  of  the  LORD,  From  the '  123 
Press,  Wine-  107,  116 
Priestly  code  (or  Narrative)  of  the  Pen- 
tateuch, The  xxxi,  Ixxxii,  17,  94,  107, 

115 

Priests,  Corruption  among  xxi,  xxix,  27 
Prince  58 
Prince  of  Peace  cxix 


154 


INDEX 


Prophecies  against  Edom  xxxiii,  xxxiv, 

xxxviii,   xlix, 

Hi,  Ixi,   Ixii, 

67—86,  119 

Egypt   lii,    Ixi,    Ixii, 

Ixiv,  118 
Judah  xxi,   xxx,    35, 

38—39,  52—53 
Samaria  xx,  3  —  7 
Tyre  Ix,  Ixi,  Ixii,  Ixiii, 

113,  114 
the  nations  xxi,  xxxiv, 

Ixviii,  111—119 
Zidon  Ix,  Ixi,  Ixii, 

Ixiii,  113,  114 
Prophecies  of  the  return  of  Jewish  exiles 

xxi,  20,  62,  111 
rebuilding  of  the  walls 
of  Jerusalem    xxii, 
xxiv,  62 
re-union  of  the  Hebrew 

peoples  42 

assembling  of  peoples 
at  Jerusalem  for  in- 
struction xxiii,  xxiv, 
28—32 

victory  of  the  Jewish 
people  over  their 
enemies  xxi,  36,  37 

Prophesying,  Nature  of  early  109—111 
Prophetic  Narrative  of  the  Pentateuch, 

The  Ixxxii  (see  also  JE) 
Prophets,  Corruption  among  xxix,  23, 

27 
Prostitution    associated  with    religious 

rites  7 
Psalm  in  the  book  of  Jonah,  The  Ixxxiv  — 

Ixxxvi,  128—132,  143 
Psalms,  Messianic  passages  in  the  cxxiv  — 

cxxvi 
Psalms  of  Solomon,  The  Ixxiv,  cxxvi, 

cxxvii 

Ptolemy  Lagi  119 
80 


Earns'  horns  97 

Eebuilding  of  the  walls  of  Jerusalem 

predicted,  The  xxiv,  62 
Eecompence  113 
Eeforms  promoted  by  various  prophets 

xxxi 

Eegions  113 
Eehoboam  Ixiv 
'  Eemaining,  Not  any  '  80 
Eemnant  33,  79,  111 
Eend  garments  (as  a  token  of  sorrow), 

To  101 

Eeprove  (  =  arbitrate  for),  To  31 
Eest  (  =*  resting-place)  19 


Eestoration  predicted  for  Jewish  exiles 

xxi,  20,  21,  62,  111 
Eesults  represented  in  Heb.  as  purposes 

56 

Ee-union  of  Israel  and  Judah,  The  42 
Eezin  xxxviii,  xlviii,  cxv 
Ehythmical  beats  (or  stresses)  in  Heb. 

versification  cxxxix,  cxli 
'Eighteous  acts  of  the  LORD,  The'  50 
'Eighteousness,  According  to  Jehovah's' 

106 

Eipe  116 
Eiver,  The  62 
Eobe  18 
'Eock'    a    designation  of    Edom,   The 

69 

Eod  53,  54 
Eow,  To  127 
Eule  over,  To  103 
Eulers,  Corruption  among  xxix,  xxx,  22, 

58 
Euth,  The  book  of  Ixxxii 

Sabeans  Ixii,  Ixiv 
Sackcloth  90,  136 
Sacrifices,  Human  51 

Various  classes  of  50 
Sacrificial    offerings    contrasted    with 

moral  service  cvi,  cvii 
«  Saith  the  LORD  '  2 
Samaria  xvii,  xx,  3,  5 — 8,  83 
Samaritans  61 
Sanballat  Ixiv 

Sanctify,  Sanctification  24,  93,  102 
Sarepta  85 
Sargon  xvi,  85 
Saturnian  metre,  The  cxliii 
Saul,  xlvii,  cviii,  ex 
Saviours  86 

Say  in  one's  heart,  To  69 
Scion  of  David's  house,  A  cxv,  cxxiii 
See,  To  (in  connection  with  revelation) 

2,3 

See  one's  desire  upon,  To  37 
See  the  face  of,  To  23 
Seek  up,  To  71 
Seer  24,  25 
Seir  xliv,  xlv 
Sela  xlv,  xlviii 
Sell  (=  deliver  up),  To  114 
Seneca  quoted  59 

Sennacherib  xvi,  xlix,  cxviii,  35,  53 
Sense-correspondence    in    Heb.     verse 

cxxxv 

Sepharad  xlii,  85,  86 
Septuagint,  see  LXX 
Sequel  of  days,  In  the  Ixxv,  30 
Servant  of  JEHOVAH,  The  Ixxxii 
'Servant  Songs',  The  Ixxxi,  Ixxxii 


INDEX 


155 


Servants,  The  authority  of  masters  over  59 
Seventh  century,  Prophecies  dating  from 

the  xxvi,  45,  48 
Shaddai  94 

Shakespeare  quoted  70,  129 
Shaphir  10 
Sharks  xciv,  128 
Sheba  114 
Sheol  129 
Shephelah,  The  82 
'Shepherd'  used  figuratively,  The  term, 

42,  43 

Sheshbazzar  21 
Shiloh  cxi,  cxii 
Ship,  Decked  Ixxxiv,  124 
Ship-master  125 
Shishak  Ixvi 
Shittim  49,  50 

The  valley  of  118 
'Shoot'    used    figuratively,    The   term 

xcviii 

Showers  (in  a  simile)  44 
Sibylline  oracles,  The  cxxvi 
Sign  of  Jonah,  The  xcv 
Signs  cxvi 

Simon  Maccabeeus  cxxv,  cxxvi,  124 
Simon  of  Gerasa  1 
Sin  offerings  48 
Sit  in  ashes,  To  136 
Sixth  century,  Prophecies  dating  from 

the  xxvi,  20,  29,  33,  41 
Slaughter  74 

Slaves,  Traffic  in  Ixii,  Ixiii,  114 
Snare  72,  73 
Social  morality  and  ceremonial  worship 

compared  cvii,  27,  28 
Solemn  assembly  94,  102 
Solomon  xlviii,  5,  45 
Solomon,  The  Psalms  of  cxxvi,  cxxvii 
'  Son  of  God'  used  of  collective  Israel  ex, 

cxiii 

of  Israelite  kings  cxiii 
by  Jesus  of  Himself 

cxxix — cxxxiii 

'  Son  of  man '  in  Enoch  cxxviii 
'Son  of  man'  used  by  Jesus  of  Himself 

cxxix,  cxxxiv 

Sons  of  the  Grecians,  The  Ixxi,  114 
Soothsayers  46 
Sophocles  cited  12 
Sorceries  46 
Sound  an  alarm,  To  97 
South,  The  xlii,  81,  86 
Speaking  with  Tongues,  The  110,  111 
Spears  115 
Spirit  of  God  the  source  of  prophecy, 

The  26 

Spirit  of  the  Lord,  The  26,  108 
Spiritual  Nature  of  God,  The  ci,  cii 


'Sprout'  used  figuratively,   The    term 

xcviii 

Strabo  cited  xli 
Straitened  18 
Stream  issuing  from  the  Temple  Ixviii, 

118 
Stresses,    Hebrew    verse   measured    by 

cxxxix 

Stubble  (in  a  simile)  80 
Substance  75 

Substitutes  for  the  Divine  Name  1,  2 
Suetonius  quoted  12,  13 
'Sultry  east  wind,  A'  140,  141 
Sun,  The  darkening  of  the  lix 
Swallow  down,  To  79 
Sweet  wine  89 
Symmachus,  Headings  and  Eenderings 

of  9,  11,  21,  28,  31,  58,  62,  72,  83,  85, 

90,  92,  101,  106,  118,  131,  138,  140 
Synonymous  Parallelism  cxxxvi 
Synthetic  Parallelism  cxxxviii 
Syria,  Syrians  xxix,  Ixvi,  cxv,  cxvi 
Syriac  version,  Headings  and  Eenderings 

of  the  cxii,  7,  9,  54,  69,  74,  88,  115 

Tacitus  quoted  118 

Tarshish  122,  123 

Taunt  song  15 

Teman  73 

Temple,  The  site  of  the  27 

The  heavenly  4 
Temple  hill,  The  27,  30 
Temptation  of  Jesus,  The  cxxx 
Testaments  of  the  XII  Patriarchs,  The 

cxxvii 

Tetrameters  cxl,  cxiii 
Theocritus  quoted  or  cited  cxxii,  89 
Theodotion,  Readings  and  Renderings  of 

21,    28,    62,    73,   83,   85,    112,    130, 

139 
Theology  of  the  books  of  Micah,  Obadiah, 

Joel,  and  Jonah,  The  c — cvii 
Theophany,  Description  of  a  4 
'Those  that  escape'  79 
Thousand,  A  41 
Three  days  Ixxxvii,  Ixxxix,  134 
Thresh,  To  (used  figuratively)  37 
'Tidings  from  the  LORD'  67 
Tiglath-Pileser  xvi,  xvii,  xlix,  6 
Tigris  122 
Titus  1 

Totemism  xlvi,  120 
'Tower  of  the  flock'  34 
Trajan  1 

Trimeters  cxxxix,  cxl,  cxiii,  88,  113 
Troops,  To  gather  in  39 
Trumpet  97 

Tyre  Ixi,  Ixii,  Ixiii,  Ixxii,  114 
Tyropceon,  The  27 


156 


INDEX 


Unity  of  God,  The  ci 
Uzziah  xxix,  Ix,  9,  34 

Valley  of  Decision,  The  liv 

of  Jehoshaphat,  The  Ixii,  Ixiv, 

112 

of  Salt,  The  xlvii 
of  the  son  of  Hinnom  27,  112 

Varieties  of  Heb.  metre  cxliii 

Vats,  Wine-  107 

vav,  Various  senses  of  the  Heb.  Ixxxvi, 
Ixxxvii,  43,  63,  66,  101,  119,  127,  130 

Vergil  quoted  or  cited  cix,  cxxii,  75,  89, 
115,  116,  118,  128 

Versification,  Hebrew  cxxxiv — cxliii 

Vespasian  92,  124 

Vinedressers  92 

Vineyards,  Edomite  70 

Vintage  (used  figuratively)  116 

Virgin,  Meaning  of  the  Heb.  word  trans- 
lated in  the  R.V.  by  cxvi,  cxvii 

Vision  67 

Visions,  Prophetic  2,  3,  109 

Voices  from  heaven  cxxxi,  2 

Vows  132 

Vulgate,  Readings  and  Renderings  of  the 
7,  10,  12,  17,  18,  24,  26,  33,  38,  39,  42, 
44,  49,  50,  52,  54,  55,  58,  66,  68,  69, 
70,  72,  73,  74,  75,  77,  80,  83,  85,  86. 
90,  91,  95,  96, 103,  104,  112,  116,  125, 
128,  129,  131,  132,  136,  138,  140 

Vulture  13 

Wadies  27,  50,  81 


Walk  in  the  name  of  the  LORD,  To  32 

Walls  62 

Wares  124 

'  Watchmen,  Thy '  58 

Water  brooks  96 

Wax  pale,  To  99 

Weapons  100 

Wearing   of   sackcloth    as    a  token   of 

mourning,  The  90,  91 
Weeds  131 
Weights  54 
Western  sea,  The  105 
Whales  xciii,  xciv,  128 
Wilderness,  The  96 
Wind  (  =  spirit)  19 
Wisdom  of  God,  The  cii,  ciii 
'Wisdom'  Literature  cxli 
Witchcrafts  46 
Witness,  God  as  a  4 
Wonderful  Counsellor  cxix 
Word  of  the  LORD,  The  2 
Work  (=  devise),  To  13,  14 


Zaanan  10 

Zarephath  85 

Zedekiah  35,  38,  39,  40,  45 

Zered,  The  torrent  xliv 

Zerubbabel  Ixxiv,  xcviii,  xcix,  cxxiii,  21 

Zidon  Ixi,  Ixii,  Ixiii 

Zion  as  JEHOVAH'S  abode  cii,  117,  119 

Zion,  Predictions  relating  to  xxi,  28,  30, 

79,  86 
The  site  of  26,  27 


CAMBRIDGE  :    PRINTED  BY  W.  LEWIS  AT  THE  UNIVERSITY  PRESS 


§ 


P     Q) 
TO   ,CJ 


O     <D 

0     «U;    W 

«   ^  ^ 
o  o 

•    <D     O 

b  ,0 
(C 

0*0) 


I? 


E-t 

• 

O 


,0     <D    O 
•H     S    ^H 

«  la 

O 


University  of  Toroni 
Library 


DO  NOT 

REMOVE 

THE 

CARD 

FROM 

THIS 

POCKET 


Acme  Library  Card  Pocket 

Uader  P«u  "Rd.  Ind«z  Flit" 
Made  by  LIBRARY  BUREAU