The poetry of the Pentateuch;

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THE

POETRY

OF

THE PENTATEUCH.

BY THE

REV. JOHN HOBART GAUNTER, B.D.

INCnMBENT MINISTER OF ST. PAUL's CHAPF.L, ST. MARYLEBONF;
AND DOMESTIC CIIATLAIN TO THE KARL OF THANET.

IN

T W O Y O L U M E S.
VOL. II.

LONDON:
E. CHURTON, 26, HOLLES STREET;

AND SOLD DY

JAMES MADDEN AND CO. (LATE PARBURY AND CO.)
LEADEN HALL .STUKET.

I8;i9.

PRINTED BY J. CA RFIEI.D, WAJiDOlIR STRtCT,
TRINTER TO THE QUEKn's mOST EXCELLENT MAJESTY.

CO NT K NTS.

CHAPTER I.

PAGt

Character of Balaam's prophecies. Essentially different in style
from the writings of Moses. Lowth's observations on the style
of the Hebrew writings generally. Internal evidence of tiie
prophecies attributed to Balaam being the compositions of that
prophet. Probability that Balaam committed liis prophecies to
writing. Reasons assigned. The subjects of the Hebrew
writings a natural cause of their sublimity 1

Chap. II. — Balaam's fourth prophecy 11

Chap. III. — Balaam's fourth prophecy continued 19

Chap. IV. — Balaam's fourth prophecy continued 48

Chap. V. — Balaam's prophecy on Amalek 58

Chap. VI. — Balaam's prophecy on the Kenites G9

Chap. VII. — Conclusion of Balaam's prophecies 83

Chap. VIII. — A fragment from Micah attributed to Balaam. Rea-
sons assigned. Critical and analytical exposition of the passage 90

Chap. IX. — Difference of style observable in the various poetic
portions of the Pentateucli. How these portions were probably
preserved and transmitted. Opinions concerning them. The
variation of style no argument against their inspiration. Dif-
ferent compositions of the Pentateuch contrasted. Ezekiel's
prophecy against Egypt 112

Chap. X. — The prophetic ode in the thirty-second chapter of Deu-
teronomy considered 127

Chap. XI. — The projihctic ode continued i;i3

611791

IV CONTENTS.

PAGF.

Chap. XII. — The prophetic ode continued 149

Chap. XIII. — Tlie prophetic ode continued 10:5

Chap. XIV. — The prophetic ode continued 187

Chap. XV. — Tlie prophetic ode continued 207

Chap. XVI.— The prophetic ode continued 23G

Chap. XVII.— The prophetic ode continued 2C5

Chap. XVIII.— The propiietic ode continued 284

Chap. XIX. — ^Tlie prophetic ode continued 309

Chap. XX. — The prophetic ode continued S2'>

Chap. XXI. — The prophetic ode continued 341

Chap. XXII. — The prophetic ode concluded SGS

Chap. XXIII.— The benedictions of Moses on the twelve tribes ,.

considered . '. 401

Chap. XXIV. — The benedictions on Reuben, Sin on\, Levi, and

Judah 423

Chap. XXV. — The benediction on Levi 435

Chap. XXVI. — The benediction on Benjamin 458

Chap. XXVII.— The benediction on Josepli 400

Chap. XXVIII. — The benedictions upon Zebulun, Issachar, and

Gad 498

Chap, XXIX.— The benedictions upon Dan and Naphtali . . 515

Chap. XXX. — The benediction upon Asher. Conclusion . . 524

THE

POETRY OF THE PENTATEUCH.

CHAPTER I.

Character of Balaam's prophecies. Essentially different
in style from the writings of Moses. Lowth's obser-
vations on the style of the Hebreiv writings generally.
Internal eyicl-nce of the proj)hecies attributed to Ba-
laam being the compositions of that prophet. Pro-
bability that Balaam committed his prophecies to
writing. Reasons assigned. The subjects of the He-
brew writings a natural cause of their sublimity.

From the view which has hecn ah'eady taken of.
Balaam's prophecies, I think it must be clear
that they are among the finest specimens of
poetry with which the Bible — that sacred depo-
sitory of the sublimest efforts of human intellect,
operating under the immediate influence of inspi-
ration— is so abundantly enriched. These sacred
poems, rising, as they do, out of the comparative
darkness of a primitive age, when literature may
be truly said to have had neither name nor exist-

VOL. II. li

ence, have been declared, by the unanimous voice
of commentators, to exhibit the highest attributes
by which such compositions are distinguished.
They are pre-eminently elevated, filling the
mind with the most delightful impressions, and
the ear with the most exquisite harmony, which
latter quality is even retained in the simple but
energetic translation authorized by the Church
of England. They differ, however, essentially
in their poetical character from any similar
writings of Moses ; and this circumstance is the
strongest internal evidence of their authenticity.
It shows them to have been emanations from a
mind of totally different temperament, though,
poetically considered, of similar organization,
at least so far as it was under the direct influence
of inspiration. The manner pursued in them
is manifestly not identical with that of the
Hebrew lawgiver; and this gives them a high
specific value, as original compositions of a
primitive age, which has left to posterity few
records of its rude but masculine genius. The
style in these noble productions has more re-
finement than that of Moses, but less vigour
— more eloquence, but less simplicity — more
grace, but less grandeur — more variety, but
less condensation. It is more artificial and
redundant, but less comprehensive and exact —
— more glowingly picturesque, but less severely
graphic ; and yet it possesses, in a very high
degree, some of the qualities by which the style
of Moses is especially distinguished. There are
passages in which the condensation is singu-
larly close ; and I know of nothing, even among

the Hebrew writings, which at times exhibits
such a fund of meaning in so few words.

The following remarks of Bishop Lowth, with
reference to Hebrew poetry generally,* will, I
think, in most particulars, especially apply to
the pro})hecies of Balaam : — " ' The great excel-
lence of the poetic dialect,' as Aristotle most
judiciously remarks, ' consists in perspicuity
without meanness. Familiar terms and words
in common use form a clear and perspicuous,
but frequently a low style ; unusual or foreign
expressions give it an air of grandeur, but fre-
quently render it obscure. 'f Of those which
he calls foreign, the principal force lies in the
metaphor ; but ' as the temperate and reason-
able use of this figure enlivens a composition,
so the frequent introduction of metaphors ob-
scures it, and if they very commonly occur, it
will be little better than an enigma. 'j; If the
Hebrew poets be examined by the rules and
precepts of this great philosopher and critic, it
will readily be allowed that they have assidu-
ously attended to the sublimity of their compo-
sitions by the abundance and splendour of their
figures, though it may be doubted whether they
might not have been more temperate in the use
of them. For in those poems, at least, in which
something of uncommon grandeur and sublimity
is aimed at, there predominates a perpetual, I
had almost said, a continued use of the meta-
phor, sometimes daringly introduced, sometimes
rushing in with innuinent hazard of propriety.

* See Sixth Praelection. t Poet. cap. 22. t lb.

B 2

A metaphor thus licentiously intruded is fre-
quently continued to an immoderate extent.
The orientals are attached to this style of com-
position ; and many flights which our ears,
too fastidious, perhaps, in these respects, will
scarcely bear, must be allowed to the general
freedom and boldness of these writers. But if
we examine the sacred poems, and consider, at
the same time, that a great degree of obscurity
must result from the total oblivion in which
many sources of their imagery must be involved;
of which many examples may be found in the
Song of Solomon, as well as in other parts of
the sacred writings; we shall, I think, find cause
to wonder, that in writings of so great anti-
quity, and in such an unlimited use of figurative
expression, there should yet appear so much
purity and perspicuity, both in sentiment and
language. In order to explore the real cause
of this remarkable fact, and to explain more
accurately the genius of the parabolic style, I
shall premise a few observations concerning the
use of the metaphor in Hebrevy poetry, which I
trust will be sufficiently clear to those who pe-
ruse them with attention, and which I think, in
general, are founded in truth.

" In the first place, the Helirew poets frequently
make use of imagery borrowed from common
life, and from objects well known and familiar.
On this the perspicuity of figurative language
will be found, in a great measure, to depend ;
for a principal use of metaphors is to illustrate
the subject by a tacit comparison ; but if, instead
of familiar ideas, we introduce such as are new

and not perfectly understood ; if we endeavoiir
to demonstrate what is plain by what is occult,
instead of making a subject clearer, we render
it more perplexed and difficult. To obviate this
inconvenience, we must take care, not only to
avoid the violent and too frequent use of meta-
phors, but also not to introduce such as are ob-
scure and but slightly related. From these
causes, and especially from the latter, arises the
difficulty of the Latin satirist, Persius; and but
for the uncommon accuracy of the sacred poets
in this respect, we should now be scarcely able
to comprehend a single word of their productions.
" In the next place, the Hebrews not only
deduce their metaphors from familiar or well-
known objects, but preserve one constant track
and manner in the use and accommodation of
them to their subject. The parabolic, indeed,
may be accounted a peculiar style, in which
things moral, political, and divine, are marked
and represented by comparisons implied or ex-
pressed, and adopted from sensible objects. As
in common and plain language, therefore, cer-
tain words serve for signs of certain ideas, so,
for the most part, in the parabolic style, certain
natural images serve to illustrate certain ideas
more abstruse and refined. This assertion,
indeed, is not to be understood absolutely with-
out exception; but thus far, at least, we may
affirm, that the sacred poets, in illustrating the
same subject, make a much more constant use
of the same imagery than other poets are accus-
tomed to do ; and this practice has a surprising
effect in preserving perspicuity.

6

" I must observe, in the last place, that the
Hebrews employ more freely and more daring'ly
that imagery, in particular, which is borrowed
from the most obvious and familiar objects, and
the figurative effect of which is established and
defined by general and constant use. This, as
it renders a composition clear and luminous,
even where there is the greatest danger of ob-
scurity, so it shelters effectually the sacred poets
from the imputation of exuberance, harshness,
or bombast."

I have already remarked upon the obvious
difference of style betwixt the prophecies of
Balaam and the poetical writings of Moses,
which will at once ratify the conclusion that the
former, no less than the latter, were really the
productions of him whose name they bear, not
only from their specific and inherent claims to
originality, so distinctly marked upon the very
face of them, but because they are quoted by
the Hebrew lawgiver as the compositions of
Balaam ; declared to have been uttered by him ;
and it is unquestionable that they exhibit the
strongest internal evidence of not having been
produced by the writer of the Pentateuch. How
Moses became acquainted with the precise words
used by Balaam on the several occasions spoken
of in the book of Numbers, may seem a question
of some perplexity ; but I think that at least a
reasonable conjecture may be offered. It is more
than probable that Balaam himself wrote an ac-
count of the extraordinary transactions recorded
of him in the sacred history. It is scarcely to
be imagined, that a man possessing such high

intellectual endowments as the son of Bosor
evidently did, should have permitted so many
remarkable transactions to have lapsed into the
gulph of oblivion, being, as they were, distin-
guished by such miraculous circumstanoes, and
maintaining, as he did, so prominent a position
in a series of events expressly directed to their
consummation by God, in opposition to the most
powerful efTorts of man. We know that they
who are conscious of possessing extraordinary
mental accomplishments, naturally feel a dis-
position to perpetuate the memory of them by
some recorded evidence. The desire of perpe-
tuity is a feeling so prevalent in the human
heart, that we can scarcely find an exception
to its moving the desire of signalizing, by
some memento of its power, the higher opera-
tions of the intellect. We can, therefore,
hardly suppose that the gifted bard of Meso-
potamia should have been a great exception to
the rule, and not have noted down events in
his own extraordinary life, so calculated to fix
upon him an enduring reputation. His pro-
phecies bear with them all the marks of well-
considered compositions.

To me, then, upon the whole, it appears
a natural conclusion, and no less natural than
satisfactory, that Balaam committed his prophe-
cies to writing after he had delivered them, and
not only so, but that he composed them accord-
ing to the strictest rules of the poetic art then
practised among the Hebrew races.

When Balaam was slain among the princes
of Midian, who were attacked by Moses the

8

same year in which those notable predictions
were delivered on the mountains of Moab, these
exquisite productions probably fell into the
hands of the conqueror, who, under the infallible
guidance of inspiration, introduced them into
his history, knowing-, without the possibility of
mistake, for his mind was directed by the spirit
of omniscience, that they contained the oracles
of divine revelation, and consequently of un-
erring- truth. Thus may we at once reasonably
account for the accuracy with which these pro-
phetic songs appear in the Mosaic Scriptures,
exhibiting, as they do, certain characteristics of
style so widely different from those ])eculiar to
the inspired author of the Pentateuch. The
same may be said of the blessings pronounced
by Isaac and Jacob, respectively, upon their
sons : these were no doubt preserved by the
posterities of those patriarchs, and are recorded
by the sacred historian in the very terms em-
ployed by the persons who delivered them, since
they bear full as strong marks of identical origi-
nality as the compositions of Balaam.

We can scarcely be surprised that the sub-
jects which inspired the primitive bards, who
figure so prominently in the Hebrew Scriptures,
should have produced the richest fruits of the
poetic art, allied, as poetry frequently is, with
the most exalted aspirations of the human mind,
and adapted, as it especially is, for the conser-
vation of remarkable events. God and his
attributes are the themes which those bards
exclusively celebrate — the grandest that lan-
guage can be employed to adorn, and to the

9

supreme dignity of which poetry so essentially
belongs, as being' the most elevated form of
expressing lofty sentiments and sublime thoughts.
The noblest epics which have elicited the poetic
genius of different countries, have been based
upon subjects either immediately connected with,
or remotely allied to, religion. The authors of
the Mahabarat and of the Ramayana, two Hin-
doo epics of high celebrity and extraordinary
magnitude, extending each to several hundred
thousand lines, of the Iliad and Odessy, of the
Inferno, of the Jerusalem delivered, of Paradise
Lost, and of Paradise Regained, have, either di-
rectly or consequentially, all made the Deity and
his illimitable perfections the subjects of their
immortal song. "Poetry," says Herder, "with-
out God is a showy Papyrus without moisture ;
every system of morals without him is a mere
parasitical plant. It makes a flowery display
in fine words, and sends forth its branches hither
and thither ; nay, it insinuates itself into every
weak spot and crevice of the human soul; but
the sun rises, and it vanishes."

Sacred themes have inspired the greatest
poets of almost every age, and of every civilized
country where the true God has been adored,
the doctrine of redemption promulgated, and
the divine attributes avowed. Those sublime
themes have called forth the highest intel-
lectual endowments of man, of whom an old
poet* has thus quaintly but eloquently sung —

• Sir John Davies, born 1570.

10

oil, what is man, great Maker of mankind,
That thou to him so great respect dost bear ;
That thou adorn'st him with so bright a mind,
Mak'st him a king, and even an angel's peer.

Oh, what a lively life, what heavenly power,
What spreading virtue, what a sparkling fire.
How great, how plentiful, how rich a dower,
Dost thou within this dying flesh inspire !

Thou leav'st thy print in other works of thine,
But thy whole image thou in man hast writ ;
There cannot be a creature more divine.
Except, like thee, it should be infinite.

But it exceeds man's thought to think how high
God hath raised man, since God a man became ;
The angels do admire this mystery,
But are astonished when they view the same.

Nor hath he given these blessings for a day.
Nor made them on the body's life depend;
The soul, though made in time, survivesfor aye,
And though it hath beginning, sees no end.

CHAPTER II.

Ba/aam's fourth prophecy.

Let us now consider Balaam's fourth predic-
tion, certainly inferior to none of the preceding.
So soon as this unholy man had delivered his
third prophetic announcement, Balak was so
highly exasperated that he ordered him to
quit his dominions without delay. The king
of Moab obviously thought that the bard of
Pethor had, of his own free will, blessed the
Israelites, and that he might have cursed them
had he been so inclined, though Balaam had
forewarned him not to expect that he should
deliver anything but what the Deity really com-
municated and desired should be promulgated.
Balak supposed that the true God of Israel
was as easy to be propitiated by animal sacri-
fices, as the imaginary deities of Moab, and
that, therefore, his disappointment arose solely
from the treachery of the man whom he had
engaged, at great cost of treasure, to execrate
the dreaded enemies of Canaan, not from the
latter's inability to act against the divine deter-
mination. Stung by disappointment, and with-
out allowing himself time to reflect, or most

12

likely too impetuous to submit to the sober
discipline of reflection, he at once declares his
intention of withholding from his avaricious
mercenary the rewards promised to his success
in bringing destruction upon Israel, assuring
him that it was his gracious intention to have
elevated him to the highest civil dignities, but
declaring with an impious taunt that the Lord
whom he professed to serve, instead of reward-
ing him for his worship and service, had " kept
him back from honour." This was a covert
impeachment of the divine justice, and went to
insinuate the impolicy of serving a divinity who
requited his worshippers with loss.

The severity of Balak's disappointment is, per-
haps, more forcibly exhibited by this sarcastic
impiety than by the exasperation under which
he manifestly laboured at the moment when he
so peremptorily commanded Balaam to leave his
dominions. So vehement is this indignation,
that he does not merely in general terms order
the prophet to quit his presence and depart at
once from his territories but passionately bids
him commence his journey with the least possible
delay — " therefore now flee thou to thy place"
— ' use the utmost expedition in quitting my
territories, and withdrawing thyself from the
presence of one who would have rewarded thee
with kingly munificence.' Balaam in his reply
reminds the enraged sovereign, in the most
emphatic terms, what he had declared upon
first reaching his capital, that he had no power
to act contrary to that omnipotent will which he
was about to consult. " Spake I not also to

13

thy messengers which thou sentest unto me,
saying, if Balak would give me his house-full
of silver and gold, I cannot go beyond the com-
mandment of the Lord, to do either good or
l)ad of mine own mind ; but what the Lord saith
that will I speak*?" 'I have, therefore, used no
deception in this matter, but faithfully delivered
the revelations made to me.'

The king of Moab appears to have been
somewhat appeased by this just expostulation, as
he listens without further interruption to the
oracle which the prophet had yet to deliver.
This was the most important of the whole
series. We shall observe, that this remark-
able prophecy was not distinguished, as those
previously uttered had been, by the erection of
seven altars, and the sacrifice of as many burnt-
offerings, Balaam does not attempt to so-
lemnize this prediction by the introduction of
those rites of heathen superstition, which in
three successive instances had turned out to be
so utterly inefficacious in realizing the end for
which they were ostensibly offered. There is a
becoming solemnity in the manner of introduc-
ing this annunciation of Israel's political supre-
macy and spiritual distinction. Although now
all hope of reward was cut off from the avari-
cious prophet, ere he departs from Moab a dis-
appointed and degraded man, he once more
proclaims the divine benediction upon that
favoured people whom the Deity had deter-
mined to bless. Haviu"' ent2:ao"ed the kinjv's
attention, he said unto him — " Come, therefore,
and I wiil advertise thee what this people shall

14

do unto thy people in the latter days. And he
took up his parable and said : —

Balaam, the son of Beor, hath said.
And the man whose eyes are open hath said ;
He hath said, which heard the words of God,
And knew the knowledge of the Most High,
Which saw the vision of the Almighty,
Falling into a trance, but having his eyes open :

I shall see him, but not now ;

I shall behold him, but not nigh :
There shall come a Star out of Jacob,
And a Sceptre shall rise out of Israel,
And shall smite the corners of Moab,
And destroy all the children of Sheth :

And Edom shall be a possession,

Seir also shall be a possession for his enemies,

And Israel shall do valiantly:
Out of Jacob shall come He that shall have dominion,
And shall destroy him that remaineth of the city."

It will be seen that in the exordiums of all
these prophetic songs, Balaam ingeniously con-
trives, by indirect implication, to let the king of
Moab know, while the prophetic rapture was
upon him, that the person whom the monarch
had employed to curse Israel, was under the
immediate control of the true God ; he, con-
sequently, leads his royal patron to the infer-
ence not to be evaded, that, though endowed
with the gift of prophecy, he was, nevertheless,
unable to predict according to the dictates of
any other will than that of Him who supplied
the oracle. These communications are made
to the Moabitish monarch each time in nearly
equivalent terms, though these terms are dif-
ferently arranged, except in the two latter
prophecies, in which they almost exactly cor-
respond. In the tirst and second, the corres-

15

pondency lies more in the spirit than in the
expressions of the exordium ; in the third and
fourth, the expressions are nearly similar. These
predictions are, in fact, classed in pairs. Thus
the four inspired poems exhibit a general
parallelism of construction and arrangement
analogous to the specific and local parallelism
of the clauses in which this artifice, peculiar to
Hebrew poetry, occurs.

By the repetitions adopted by the prophetic
bard, in the several introductions to his predic-
tions, he each time confirms the truth of his
previous statements ; and yet, so little credu-
lous was the heathen king, by whom he was
employed to devote a whole people to destruc-
tion, that he either did not, or would not, be-
lieve what was thus solemnly delivered.

It appears hardly credible to a really pious
mind, that Balaam, favoured as he was with a
direct revelation from God himself, and seeing,
as he must have done, how his own wicked
designs were contravened l)y the infallible will
of Him from whom no secrets are hid, and who
is everlastingly dispensing good, should still have
entertained designs directly obnoxious to fhis
wrath, notwithstanding his many and great mer-
cies. How grievously must the conscience of such
a man have troubled him. He never could have
said — he certainly never could have felt, that re-
pose of mind, expressed by a somewhat ([uaint,
but nevertheless eloquent writer, of a much
later age.*

• Sir Tlionias Browne.

16

'' I thank God that (with joy I mention it) I
was never afraid of hell, nor never grew pale at
the description of that place: I have so fixed
my contemplations on heaven, that I have almost
forgot the idea of hell, and am afraid rather to
lose the joys of the one, than endure the misery
of the other — to be deprived of them is a perfect
hell, and needs, methinks, no addition to com-
plete our afflictions : that terrible term hath
never detained me from sin, nor do I owe any
good action to the name thereof. I fear God,
yet am not afraid of him : his mercies make me
ashamed of my sins, before his judgments afraid
thereof. These are the forced and secondary
methods of his wisdom, which he useth but as
the last remedy and upon provocation ; a course
rather to deter the wicked, than incite the
virtuous to his worship. I can hardly think
there was ever any scared into heaven. They
go the fairest way to heaven that would serve
God without a hell. Other mercenaries that
crouch unto him, in fear of hell, though they
term themselves the servants, are indeed but
the slaves of the Almighty.

" And, to be true, and speak my soul, when I
survey the occurrences of my life, and call into
account the finger of God, I can perceive no-
thing but an abyss and mass of mercies, either in
general to mankind, or in particular to myself,
and whether out of the prejudice of my affec-
tion, or an inverting and partial conceit of his
mercies, I know not; but those which others
term crosses, afflictions, judgments, misfortunes,
to me, who inquire further into them than their

17

visible effects, tbey both appear, and in event
have ever proved, the secret and dissembled
favours of his affection. It is a singular piece
of wisdom to apprehend truly and without pas-
sion the works of God ; and so well to distin-
guish his justice and his mercy, as not to
miscal those noble attributes: yet it is likewise
an honest piece of logic, so to dispute and argue
the proceedings of God, as to distinguish even
his judgments into mercies. For God is merci-
ful unto all, because better to the worst than the
best deserve ; and to say he punisheth none in
this world, though it be a paradox, is no absur-
dity. To one that hath committed nmrder, if
the judge should only ordain a fine, it were a
madness to call this a punishment, and to repine
at the sentence rather than admire the clemency
of the judge. Thus, our offences being mortal,
and deserving not only death, but damnation,
if the goodness of God be content to traverse
and pass them over with a loss, misfortune, or
disease, what frenzy were it to term this a
punishment, rather than an extremity of mercy,
and to groan under the rod of his judgments,
rather than admire the sceptre of his mercies j
Therefore, to adore, honour, and admire him, is
a debt of gratitude due from the obligation of
our nature, states, and conditions; and with
these thoughts, he that knows them best will
not deny that I adore him. That I obtain
heaven, and the bliss thereof, is accidental, and
not the intended work of my devotion ; it
being a felicity I can neither think to deserve,
nor scarce in modesty to expect. For those
VOL. II. c

18

two ends of us all, either as rewards or piinisb-
meiits, are mercifully ordained and dispropor-
tionably disposed unto our actions ; the one
being so far beyond our deserts, the other so
infinitely below our demerits."*

* Religi<» Medici, imrt. 1.

CHAPTER III.

SalauiHs fourth prophecy, continued.

Having already explained the introduction of
the third prophecy, which precisely, or very
nearly so, corresponds with that of the one
now to be examined, I shall proceed to the
consideration of the prediction itself.

I shall see him, but not now :
I shall behold bim, but not nigh.

In these two hemistichs, the parallelisms are
not only strikingly obvious, but they are like-
wise singularly elegant and comprehensive,
being at once gradational and constructive;
a union of these forms not un frequently occur-
ring in the metrical portions of the Hebrew
Scriptures. It will be seen that in the couplet
just quoted the subjects of the verses are ex-
pressed in nearly equivalent terms, nevertheless
that the parallel phrases in the last verse rise into
greater force of meaning than those employed
in the first ; the immediate reference being to
a more exalted object, the language conse-
quently assumes a tone of greater elevation.
Besides this, the structure of each hemistich,
the euphonious collocation of the words, their
relative position and emphasis, the elocutive

c 2

20

pauses, are all so exactly similar, that the two
forms of parallelism just mentioned are clearly
exhibited in this example. The entire of what
follows, moreover, has so musical a rhythm that
the ear is gratified with the most delicate har-
mony, no less than the mind, with its powerful
meaning, if it be delivered with common
attention to the laws of elocution, w ithout which
the best attuned verse will be scarcely more
agreeable than the most barbarous. The whole
passage, consisting of three pair of lines, is
exquisitely tender and graceful, the gradational
parallelism being maintained in the four latter
hemistichs, which reach the highest elevation
both of thought and of expression.

In the distich with which this prophecy opens,
reference is manifestly made to the Messiah,
though the passage is enveloped in such
obscurity as materially tends to perplex the
interpretation. A vast deal of learning has
been displayed to little purpose in the endea-
vour to reduce to a certainty what, after all,
must be left to conjecture, though, as.it appears
to me, some very satisfactory guesses have been
made as to the meaning of this unusually
intractable passage. According to the judg-
ment of many eminent commentators, Christ is
the person alluded to in the first and two fol-
lowing couplets of this prophecy, after the
introduction. But the difficulty arises, as we
shall presently see, from the circumstance of
actions being ascribed to the person spoken of,
which do not at all agree with the character of
the Messiah.

21

In order to surmount this perplexing* obstacle
to such an interpretation, David is supposed to
be the person primarily meant, and the Saviour
secondarily; the one being- the type of the other,
the antitype being thus exhibited in the type ;
and the arguments in favour of this view of the
question, seem very reasonable and conclusive.
David was a temporal, Christ a spiritual con-
queror. David established the possession of
the earthly Canaan, Christ of the heavenly.
David had perpetual conflicts with the powers
and principalities of earth; Christ with the
principalities and powers of hell. David
therefore is the person primarily referred
to by Balaam, and in him was involved the
reference to that more distinguished character
who was prefigured by him. Balaam probably
did not understand the full meaning of his
own prophecy, and alluding, as he did, to a
personage who was to take our nature upon
him in the fulness of time, a fact of which he
was doubtless very imperfectly informed, he
was unable tootfer an elucidation of the mystery
contained in the oracle which his own lips had
delivered ; those embarrassments, therefore, in
which he has involved it, Avere, it may be pre-
sumed, the natural effect of his want of per-
ception of its scope and tendency ; for had he
entertained a definite comprehension of these,
we may reasonably infer that he would not have
involved it in so much obscurity. So closely con-
nected, however, was the advent of a Messiah
with the settlement of the Israelites in Pales-
tine, the iheatre of his miracles and of that

22

great act of expiation by which he restored man
to the privileges forfeited by transgression, that
a prophetic reference to this advent was inse-
parable, so to speak, from the temporal settle-
ment of the Jews, — mixed up as the promise to
Abraham in Canaan was, with that promise made
to Adam in paradise, — the latter being co-essen-
tial with, though preparatory to, the former.

The possession of Canaan by the seed of
Abraham was necessary to the fulfilment of
that dispensation of mercy, of which an assur-
ance was given in the very curse that imme-
diately followed transgression ; consequently the
bard of Pethor, in predicting this, was led
by a natural and necessary sequence, to that
coming upon earth of the Lord of glory, which
was the assurance, that in addition to the earthly
inheritance to be so shortly secured by the pos-
terity of the righteous patriarch, a brighter in-
heritance, "incorruptible and undefiled, and that
fadeth not away," was reserved for them in
heaven, and likewise for those who become the
seed of Abraham, and therefore the Israel of
God, by exercising that faith, bearing the im-
perishable record of good works, which was
accounted to Abraham for righteousness.

I shall see him, but not now.

Here the future is used for the present, the ori-
ginal being,

I see him, but not now. '

The whole couplet may be thus expounded :
• Looking through the darkness shrouding the

23

remote future, which I am permitted to inves-
tigate within certain limitations, I see him who
is to exist afar off in the coming time. He is
not actually before me, but appears to me in a
vision, and thoug-h I do not observe him with
my bodily, I do with my prophetic eye, which
carries my perception into the distant future,
where things to be realized at a remote period
become actually present.

I shall behold hiui, but not nigh.

Although he is at a distance with respect to
time, I nevertheless behold him as distinctly in
that solemn vision of the future, which the
spirit of inspiration raises before me, as if he
were now really in my presence. Listen, there-
fore, to what I have to communicate respecting
him, for he is one who shall be greatly sig-
nalized in Canaan :' —

There shall come a star out of Jacob,
And a sceptre shall rise out of Israel,
And shall smite the comers of Moab,
And destroy all the children of Sheth ;

that is, 'an illustrious prince shall issue from the
seed of Jacob; from him, in the fulness of time,
shall proceed one still more illustrious, the
former of whom shall destroy the Moabites,
overcoming their territory from one corner to
the other ; that is, entirely subduing it, and ex-
terminating the people; the latter, though of a
pacific character, who will appear upon earth
as the herald of glad tidings, not of sanguinary
struggles lor supremacy, shall, nevertheless.

24

obtain univtsrsal dominion. His will be an em-
pire that shall extend beyond the boundaries of
time, and be exercised both upon earth and in
heaven.'

Balaam, as it appears to me, unconsciously
prophesied of Him promised to the first trans-
gressor— of Him who was to " bruise the ser-
pent's head," and restore man to his forfeited
inheritance ; — a promise altogether unknown to
the gentile, but cherished with anxious recollec-
tion by the more pious Hebrew,

Saviour of mankind, man, Emanuel,
AVho, sinless, died for sin; who vanquished hell;
The first fruits of the grave ; whose life did give
Light to our darkness; in whose death we live: —
Oh, strengthen thou my faith, eom^ert my will
That mine may thine obey ; protect me still,
So that the latter death may not devour
My soul, sealed with thy seal. So, in the hour
When thou whose body sanctified this tomb,
Unjustly judged, a glorious judge shall come
To judge the world with justice; by that sign
I may be known and entertained for thine.

(George Sandys..)

This is the sceptre which the seer of Mesopo-
tamia unwittingly predicted should rise out of
Israel, and overcome, not destroy, as our version
has it, "all the children of Seth." Seth being
that son of Adam from whom all the human
race, since the deluge, have sprung, the poste-
rity of Cain and Abel having perished in
that universal submersion of the world, the
" children of Seth" will, by consequence, signify
all mankind. The primitive righteousness in
which the patriarch lived to whom allusion is
here made, is universally allowed. " An apo-
cryphal book, called the lesser Genesis, pre-

25

tends," says Calmet, " that when Seth was forty
years old, he was rapt up into heaven by angels,
and was there told of the crime the watchers or
angels should commit ; and the coming of the
Saviour into the world ; of which events he in-
formed his parents, Adam and Eve. That the
posterity of Seth continued for a thousand years
after the creation of the world in the country
just above Eden, where they lived in profound
peace and quiet ; but the devil being envious of
their happiness and innocence, seduced them by
the charms and beauty of the daughters of men ;
or, as Moses says, ' the sons of God saw the
daughters of men that they were fair ; and they
took them wives of all which they chose.'
Lastly, the same book tells us, that Seth, at the
age of one hundred and ninety-one years, took
to wife his own sister, called Azura. Epiphanius
calls her Orea, and Ireuf^us, or rather the
Gnostics in Irenreus, call her Norea."*

That Balaam was not a stranger to the common
expectation of a Messiah among the seed of
Jacob — of one who was to execute the covenant
of reconciliation between an offended Creator
and his erring creatures — might be presumed
from several circumstances; thoughl am inclined
to believe he really was ignorant of it, notwith-
standing that he might have been generally
acquainted with the God of Abraham, that patri-
arch having, it is probal)le, disseminated the prin-
ciples of the pure primitive religion through
Mesopotamia during his residence in Haran, a

* Iren. lib. i. cap. 34, ex Gnost. Syncell. Chronic, p. 10, ex parva
Oenesi.

26

town of that country in which his father Terah
died. The prophet of Pethor who, in his early
life, was no doubt a worshipper of the true
God, as I have before stated, must have conse-
quently been familiar with the patriarchal wor-
ship, and most probably exercised it piously in
the early years of his life until his evil passions
obtained the mastery over his spiritual appetite,
and, being learned in the abstruse doctrines of
the eastern sages, he adopted the more pro-
fitable profession of sorcery, because it brought
him into that sort of reputation which furnished
the means of gratifying his constitutional avarice.
The temptations of gain were too mighty for
him, and he threw off the restraint of a spiritual
service, for the wages of a temporal; practising
those arts which, in almost all ages of the
world, have been productive of great gain. That
as he was acquainted with the only wise God, he
therefore might be presumed to have received
some intimation of the expectations entertained
by the Jews of a promised deliverer, though not a
fact beyond controversy, is, nevertheless, it must
be allowed, supported by strong presumptive evi-
dence. He certainly was no stranger to the Je-
hovah of the Israelites, though he bowed to idols
during the latter years of his life. The fact of
his knowledge^ at least, of the true God, may be
considered as fully established from the circum-
stance recorded in the history of this remarka-
ble personage, that on the first appearance of
Balak's messengers, he sought the Lord, in order
to ascertain if he might be permitted to under-
take the journey. Here, then, was at once an

27

acknowledgment of a ruling and controling
Providence, and that the idols of the heathen
were not the objects of Balaam's serious wor-
ship, even though he had offered to them exter-
nal homage, a fact of which there is not only no
proof, but much improbabilit5^ The idol to
which he bowed was mammon — his avarice was
his ruin ; for this he bartered the salvation of his
immortal soul. His knowledge of the patriar-
chal expectation grounded upon the terms of
the condemnatory sentence pronounced upon
our first parents and their tempter in Paradise,
might, with sufficient show of reason, be pre-
sumed, from the very tenor of the prophecy now
under our consideration.

Of the perplexed passage already quoted, a
Jewish commentator of high repute, Rabbi
Moses ben Maimon, gives the following para-
phrase : —

T shall see him (David), but not now:

I shall behold him (the Messiah), but not nigh.

A star (David) shall come out of Jacob

And a sceptre (the Messiah) shall rise out of Israel,

And (David) shall smite the corners of Moab,

And (the Messiah) destroy all the children of Seth.

If this be the true reading, which I am disposed
to think it is. we cannot fail to be struck with
the artificial construction of the whole passage,
it being obviously made subservient to certain
given laws of Hebrew verse, which are traceable
throughout a large portion of the Bible. The al-
ternations of reference to the agents pointed at
under the symbols of a star and sceptre, are ma-
nifestly employed for the sake of maintaining
the parallel clauses in their due harmony and

28

proportion ; they at the same time preserve
that miity of relation kept up throughout this
section of the prophecy, which it would have
lost if given according to the ordinary rules
of metrical distribution. As the verses are now
arranged, though the perfect consecution of sense
is broken, the gradational parallelisms are beau-
tifully observed, which was, no doubt, a specific
object of the poet, who has, throughout these
prophetic songs, shown an extreme attention to
those artifices which are peculiar, and may be
said to be exclusively confined to Hebrew
poetry. It must, however, be admitted, that in
these exquisite compositions of " the son of
Bosor," beauty of structure is occasionally ob-
tained at the sacrifice of perspicuity; neverthe-
less we are to bear in mind, that such an
arrangement was probably perfectly intelligible
to the Hebrews, for there can be no doubt that
what is now read in their scriptures, though fre-
quently obscure to us, presented no pbscurity to
them.

Unless those alternations of reference to
David and to Christ are allowed to exist in the
couplets alluded to, — a form of metrical con-
struction, of which many examples, if not pre-
cisely similar, at least bearing the strongest
affinity, might be produced from the poetical
portions of the sacred writings, — the passage will
be so encumbered with difficulties as to be
scarcely intelligible. So interpreted, it is at
once consistent and clear. We can neither
apply it exclusively to David nor to Christ, be-
cause circumstances are predicted which, in the

29

issue, were only realized by the one, and like-
wise circumstances which were only consum-
mated by the other. Issues are foretold alto-
gether inapplicable to both conjointly, but
belongino- to each individually. David was a
commander of armies and a temporal con-
queror; the Messiah was a leader of pacific
hosts, a vanquisher of passions, of prejudices, of
sin, but not of armed warriors. David's was
the sovereignty secured by conquest; Christ's a
dominion of peace. David maintained a political,
Christ a spiritual empire. The one presided
over the temporal, the other over the eternal
interests of men. The terms of the prophecy,
therefore, will, as I have said, exclusively apply
to neither, but disjunctively to both. The one
was a type of the other, and thus the type and
the antitype are not confounded, but so blended
together in this prophetic song, that the asso-
ciation may be perfectly recognized, at the
same time that the peculiar distinctions are
plainly maintained. That in which they agreed
is the more clearly manifested by that in which
they differed, and the superiority of the spiritual
over the temporal dominion is exhibited with a
surprising delicacy of touch and singular force
of contrast. The chief obscurity lies in the refe-
rences being rather indicated than expressed,
these being made obvious only by the results
evidently belonging to them.

Supposing Balaam to have been acquainted
with the general expectation of a Messiah by
the Israelites, his notions of him would, it is
reasonable to conclude, have been vagiie and

30

undefined; but if he were really not acquainted
with this expectation, he merely delivered the
divine oracle as communicated to him, without
being aware of the object to whom it referred,
and the want of perspicuity in this prediction
gives great show of probal)ility to such a pre-
sumption. Balaam might have been aware that
he was proclaiming the future domination of
some remarkable personage, by whom one more
remarkable was adumbrated, without being in-
formed of the specific characters of either more
definitely than he has declared in the pro-
phecy.

The images employed in it will be faund
singularly striking and discriminative.

There shall come a star out of Jacob.

A star denotes splendour. David was the
wealthiest kino; of his time. He lived in ffreat
earthly pomp, and his court was distinguished
for its magnificence. He wielded the mighty
elements of temporal power. Although sur-
passed in all these particulars by his imme-
diate successor Solomon, he might justly be
compared to a star as diffusing the glories of his
extensive jurisdiction over the nations whom he
had subjugated. His alliance was courted and
his influence dreaded. He was pre-eminently a
star among the sovereigns of his time, and his
reign certainly comprised the most important
era of the political economy of the Jews, as he
first established that complete supremacy in the
land of Canaan, which the sovereigns who suc-
ceeded him maintained \sith various interrup-

31

tions and forfeitures, until the degraded remnant
of the stock of Abraham fell under the galling
dominion of Rome, which abridged their na-
tional independence, and accelerated their final
dispersion. The star is an object eminently
brilliant, and fixed in an elevation at once sub-
lime and imposing; but clouds may pass over it
and mar its brightness, storms may eclipse its
splendour, and the very mists which exhale
from the earth may shroud its lustre. The
career of David, bright as it appeared, was
overclouded with disaster. The splendours of
his court were dimmed by domestic troubles and
political vexations. The glories of his reign
were overcast by the sad influence of his own
unchaste passions. Sorrows overtook him,
cares crowded upon him, rebellion disturbed his
repose, and filial disobedience opened the flood-
gates of sorrow upon his heart; nevertheless
his reio-n was the most illustrious in the Hebrew
annals. His conduct before he ascended the
throne of Israel was that of a great and o;ood
man. Towards Saul, during that sovereign's life,
he was forbearing and magnanimous, and at his
death, treated his memory with honour instead
of ignomy, ordering the Amalekite to be put
to death Avho confessed that he had dispatched
the Lord's anointed,* He avenged the death of
Ishbosheth, Saul's son, who had disputed his
claim to the throne, and having caused the mur-
derers of that rash prince to be slain, expelled
the Jebusites from Jerusalem, and took up his

* 2 Sam. i. 2—16.

32

abode in that sacred city. He defeated the
Philistines, redeemed the ark of which they had
obtained possession, brought it to Jerusalem,
and deposited it " in his place, in the midst of
the tabernacle that David had pitched for it."*
Having freed his country from the Philistines,
he subdued the Moabites, treating them with a
severity for which we are neither perfectly ac-
quainted with the motives, nor indeed with
the circumstances of his persecution of this un-
happy people. He subjugated all Syria, made
an expedition as far as the Euphrates, and con-
quered the eastern Edomites in the valley of
Salt. He next routed the Ammonites with
great slaughter, finally took Rabbah, their
capital, which he plundered, and subjected the
inhabitants to the most grievous punishments.
" He brought forth the people that were therein,
and put them under saws and under harrows of
iron, and under axes of iron, and made them
pass through the brick-kiln ; and thus did he
unto all the cities of the children of Ammon."f
These signal successes finally established him
upon the throne of Israel, which he transmitted
to his successor with an extent of dominion that
well entitled him to be distinguished among the
eminent of the earth.

The greatness of a sovereign is very much shown
in the talents of those who are subordinate to
him, and David had the wisdom to select men of
the greatest abilities, who contributed mainly to
the almost uninterrupted success of his arms.

• 2 Sam. vi. 17. t Ibid. xii. SI.

33

Joab was one of the most eminent generals of
his age, thongh he was, at the same time,
imperious, cruel, and remorseless.

David was unquestionably a person of great
capacity and courage, which were both strongly
exhibited in the early part of his career. His
devotion to God, tliough interrupted by occa-
sional impulses of licentious passion, was sincere
and ardent, and perhaps there is nowhere to be
found a more beautiful example of resignation
to the divine will than that afforded by this cele-
brated king upon the death of the child borne
to him by the wife of Uriah the Hittite, whom
he had so criminally seduced, and whose hus-
band he had still more criminally abandoned to
destruction, in order that he might espouse his
guilty relict. The character of David, take it
altogether, politically, morally, and spiritually,
stands prominent among those of the most re-
nowned Hebrew Avorthies. He was appropriately
compared to a star by the prophet of Pethor,
under all the circumstances of his chequered,
but, nevertheless, illustrious life; and the com-
parison will bear a still closer application, when
we consider that he went down to the grave in
a mature old age, in the full hope of that joyful
immortality to which he shall rise again at the
last day, and, taking his place among the ever-
lasting luminaries in heaven, shine in undimmed
brightness there, through the endless duration
of eternity.

It was from the race of David, we shall re-
member, that Scripture intimates the Messiah
should spring. He is called emphatically " the

VOL, II. D

34

seed of David," because David was the first dis-
tinguished king of the Hebrews, and of the tribe
of Judah, from which the Emmanuel was to pro-
ceed. Saul, having degraded himself by his
multiplied follies, the crown was transferred to
a more worthy object, who rendered himself
illustrious by leading to victory the armies of
the living God, and by signally chastising his
enemies, the blasphemers of his sacred name.

Daniel has employed the figure of a star to
denote persons raised to supreme authority.
" And it waxed great, even to the host of
heaven, and it cast down some of the host and
of the stars to the ground and stamped upon
them."* St. John uses the same figure in the
Revelations :f " The seven stars are the angels
of the seven churches."

It is perfectly clear that this metaphor, as
employed by the bard of Mesopotamia, applies
literally to David, although it may, in a se-
condary sense, have an ulterior reference to the
Messiah, the external splendour of David's
reign being more appropriately adumbrated
under the figure of a luminous orb, than the
temporal homeliness of the Saviour's. The one
was attended, through the greater part of his
public life, with all the " pomp and circum-
stance" of worldly royalty; the other, through-
out the entire period of his, " had not where to
lay his head." The one wore the diadem of
earthly sovereigns, glittering with gems, and
displaying the rarest ingenuity of the crafts-
man ; the other bore on his lacerated and bleeding

* Daniel viii. 10. t Chapter i. 20.

35

brows a crown of thorns, less gorgjeous, indeed,
but far more glorious than the brightest coronet
that ever encircled the temples of the greatest
among mortal potentates.

Bishop Patrick supposes the star to refer ex-
clusively to the Messiah, and in this supposition
he is followed by a host of English divines, who
have confided on the authority of his great name,
without taking the trouble of examining for
themselves. I cannot, however, think his rea-
soning conclusive. Itis undoubtedly true, that the
celebrated ancient Jewish paraphrasts, Onkelos
and Jonathan, interpret it of the Messiah, but it
is no less true that most of the modern Jewish
commentators, amonffwhom were some extreme-
ly learned men, interpret it of David, who reduced
the Moabites to subjection, thus literally fulfil-
ling this part of Balaam's notable prophecy.

"Some have thought," says Calmet,* " that
Balaam foretold the appearance of that star which
shone at the time of our Saviour's birth, and
guided the magi into Judaea, to worship the
person whose birth it declared. But this star
did not come out of Jacob ; and what is said
there cannot apply to this star, which plainly
points at a ruler, a conqueror, a great prince,
in a word, the Messiah. The Jews were so well
convinced of this, at the time of Jesus Christ
and afterwards, that the famous impostor, Bar-
chaliba, caused himself to be called Bar-
cocheba, "son of the star," pretending to be the

• Dictioaa)7 of the Bible, art. Star*.
■D 2

as

Messiah, which involved the Jews of Palestine
in a revolt that completed the ruin of their
unfortunate nation."

It will be observed that Calmet here says, the
star " points at a ruler, a conqueror, a great
prince, in a word, the Messiah." Now it is cer-
tain that David was literally the three first, and
the Saviour only metcfphorically so ; Calmet,
therefore, leaps to the conclusion without bearing
in mind that what he here applies exclusively to
Christ, will, with equal propriety and pertinency,
apply to David, nay, with more truth and cohe-
rency, as I think I shall be able shortly to
make appear.

""Christ was a star and a sceptre," says the
Dean of Rochester, " that is, a God and a king,
a divine and human being, whose kingdom of
glory was in the heavens, and whose kingdom
of grace was to be established upon earth. He
was the illuminating God that came out of
Jacob, and shed his glorious light upon the
world, that mankind might see their way to
heaven. He was the great king of holiness and
truth that arose out of Israel, and has ruled, is
ruling, and will rule in the strength and majesty
of God."* Not only is this a straining of the
prophecy beyond what is warranted by the con-
text, but, to my apprehension, the poetic beauty
of the passage is greatly abridged, if not entirely
neutralized by this ingenious but inconclusive
exposition. By applying both comparisons to
the Messiah, they paralyze each other. Balaam

• Exposition of the Counsel of God, for the Redemption of the World,
by the Very Rev. Robert Stevens, D.D. pp. 101, 102.

37

was too great a poet thus to multiply compa-
risons to the destruction of the symmetry of
his composition, the beauty of which is now
preserved by the nice discrimination shown in
the application of the two metaphors, a star
and a sceptre, individually to David and to
Christ.

Dr. Stevens has given a mere exposition in
general terms, partially contradicted by some
of the details of the prediction, which can-
not, under any ordinary laws of interpretation,
be rendered directly and solely applicable to
Christ. If both the metaphors of a star and
sceptre refer to him, it will at once be evident
that the clause immediately following must
likewise refer to him ; but by the universal con-
sent of commentators, the destruction of the
Moabites, as foretold in this prophecy, is to be
referred solely and distinctly to David's con-
quest of that people, for " he smote Moab, and
measured them with a line, castiuo; them down
to the ground ; even with two lines measured
he to put to death, and with one full line to
keep alive; and so the Moabites became David's
servants."* This eminent king and warrior,
than whom none was more distinguished in the
exterminating wars of that period, fulfilled the
prophecy to the very letter, ravaging the coun-
try mentioned in it from the boundaries to the
centre, and reducing the inhabitants to a state
of the most servile dependence. It can, how-
ever, nowhere be said of the Messiah, either
figuratively or literally, that he " smote tke

* 2 Samuel viii. 2.

38

comers of Moab," for in his time the Moabites
were, so to speak, an extinguished race — the
memorial of them had departed ; they had no
longer any eminence among the kingdoms of
the world : and, moreover, he came upon earth
not to destroy, but to fulfil; not to smite, but to
heal. His was not a dispensation of vindictive
justice, but of beneficent mercy ; — not a war-
fare of sanguinary conflicts with hostile arms,
the dreadful issues of which are calamities, suf-
ferings, and death ; but a warfare for the estab-
lishment of universal peace in that world where
" there is joy for evermore."

The sceptre, as applied to our blessed Re-
deemer, denotes simply dominion, without any
of its ordinary concomitants of external splen-
dour, the pompous appendages of royalty, and
those gorgeous displays witnessed at the courts
of temporal princes, by which their dignity is
presumed to be supported, their political in-
fluence strengthened, and their popularity
maintained. The sceptre shadows forth no
such extraneous magnificence. It is merely an
emblem of abstract supremacy, without its
worldly accompaniments of power, or those out-
ward exhibitions of regal pageantry, held to
be indispensable for the due maintenance of
sovereign dignity ; and is therefore applied to
the spiritual domination of the Saviour with
no less discrimination than propriety. It is
an extremely appropriate emblem of spiritual
predominancy. A star, on the contrary, being
an inferior luminary, is not an appropriate em-
blem of deity, who is alone and above all

39

things, and consequently deo-raded by any com-
parison which conveys the idea of something of
its own kind superior to itself. A star is one of
millions, equal in brightness and beauty, and
is exceeded in all its attributes by celestial
luminaries of a higher order. A sceptre, on the
other hand, is nothing more than the outward
and visible sign of dominion, and, in its mere
abstract signification, as employed by the
prophet, denotes simply power — that power
which accompanies supremacy. The sceptre
is a specific emblem, the star a general one ;
the latter justly applicable to David, who had his
equals, the former much more justly applicable
to Christ, who had no equal; the one, while
sovereign of Israel, living in vast splendour,
but whose authority was, nevertheless, circum-
scribed; the other, though passing his life amid
poverty and destitution, nevertheless exercising
a dominion which shall finally pervade the earth,
and be eternal in that world where " there shall
be time no lono-er."

The metaphors employed by Balaam in the
clauses we are now examining, and so fre-
quently adopted by the Hebrew poets, were, no
doubt, as Bishop Warburton has observed, taken
from the hieroglyphics, which appear to have
considerably influenced the language of eastern
poetry, and very naturally so, when we remem-
ber the long term of Egyptian bondage from
which Moses finally delivered his persecuted
brethren.

Although accompanied with less external
splendour, the sovereignty of Christ was to be

40

more complete and universal than that of
David. " He was to have dominion from sea
to sea," but this dominion was to be accom-
panied with no personal pomp. His sovereignty
was to be over the hearts of men. It was to be a
spiritual empire, not asocial or political tyranny.
This was fully realized during the Saviour's
sojourn upon earth. His empire formed an
interesting contrast with the domination exer-
cised by the sovereigns of the world, some
among whom, at the period of his incarnation,
enjoyed a supremacy which extended over
almost every region of the then discovered
globe. How feeble, nevertheless, to the supre-
macy of him " whose wisdom ruleth over all."
" Of all the prophecies," says Stackhouse,*
'' which God, at this time, delivered from the
mouth of Balaam, there is one of a more
eminent and peculiar nature.

I shall see him, but not now;
I shall behold him, but not nigh :
There shall come a star out of Jacob,
And a sceptre shall rise out of Israel,
And shall smite the corners of Moab,
And destroy all the children of Sheth.

" All opinions agree in this, that Balaam here
speaks of a king and conqueror ; and, perhaps,
in calling him a star, he accommodates himself
to the long-established notion, that the appear-
ance of comets denoted either the exaltation
or destruction of kingdoms : but the great
question is, of what king or conqueror it is that
he speaks.

* History of the Bible, folio rdit. 1742, vol. i. p. 502.

41

" Some* have applied the prophecy entirely
to David, the most illustrious of the Jewish
monarchs, who extended his conquests far and
wide. Othersf have applied it entirely to the
Messiah, supposing- that the metaphor of a star
comports better with him and his celestial
origin than with David, and that the main
strokes of the prophecy resemble a heavenly
more than an earthly conqueror. The matter,
however, may be compromised, if we will but al-
low of a learned man's observation,;]; namely, that
the most remarkal)le prophecies in the Old Testa-
ment usually bear a two-fold sense; one relating
to the times before the Messiah, and the other
either fulfilled in the person of the Messiah, or
in the members of his body, the church, of which
kind we may justly esteem the preceding pro-
phecy. For though its primary aspect may be
towards David, yet, whoever considers it atten-
tively shall perceive that its ideas are too full
to extend no farther, and must, therefore, in a
secondary and more exalted sense, refer us to
Christ, ' whose kingdom ruleth over all,' and
' to whom all things are put in subjection under
his feet.'

" In this sense, the generality of Jews, as well
as Christians, have all along understood it, and
it is no improbable conjecture, whatever some
may think of it, that by the strength of this
prophecy, kept upon record among the oriental
archives, the magi of that country, at our

• See Le Clerc's Conimtnlary on Numbers xxiv.

t Patrick's Coin. ibid. i Grotius on Matl. i. 22.

42

Saviour's nativity, were directed to Jerusalem,
and inquired, ' Where is he that is born king of
the Jews ? for we have seen his star in the east,
and are come to worship him.'* And upon a
further supposition, that these very magi were
descended from Balaam in a direct line, he
might then, with propriety enough, pronounce
of the Messiah, 'I shall see him,' that is, see
him in my posterity, ' but not now ; I shall be-
hold him, but not nigh.' " The supposition
contained in the last paragraph of this quotation,
was first broached by Origen in his exposition of
the text; but his ingenious conjecture has been
ably set aside by the learned Witsius.f

If we receive the interpretation of this diffi-
cult passage suggested by Moses ben Maimon,
with whose view of it I implicitly concur, the
corresponding clauses will stand thus : —

I shall'see him (David) but not now!

There shall come a star out of Jacob,

And shall smite the corners of Moab.

I shall behold him (the Messiah) but not nigh!

And a sceptre shall rise out of Israel,

And destroy (overcome) all the children of Sheth.

It should be clearly understood by the reader
that similar dislocations of the sense by which
its consecutive order is interrupted, is a thing
of not unfrequent occurrence in the Hebrew
scriptures. I might show many instances of
this, but shall, however, content myself by pro-
ducing one example from the great evangelical
poet and prophet Isaiah,^; in which the sense is

* Malt. ii. 2. t Miscel. Sacra, lib. i. cap. 16. t Chap, xxxiv. C.

43

intercepted for the sake of the metrical con-
struction, which is that of alternate parallelism,
as will be perceived by the extract, and present-
ing one of the most elegant specimens of
artificial accommodation to the laws of versifi-
cation to be found in the sacred writings, preg-
nant as they are with similar evidences of poetic
expediency.

The sword of the Lord is filled with blood,
It is made fat with fatness,
And with the blood of lambs and goats.
With the fat of the kidneys of rams.

The corresponding or parallel lines are here the
first and third, the second and fourth, which are
consecutive as to the sense, as the followino:
reading, in which this remains unbroken, will
show : —

The sword of the Lord is filled with blood,
And with the blood of lambs and goats :
It is made fat with fatness,
With the fat of the kidneys of rams.

In the passage under discussion from Balaam's
fourth prophecy there is a similar hyperbaton ;
the sense being, as I conceive, dislocated
for the sake of maintaining the gradational
parallelism, and what reader of taste will deny
that as they now stand, the couplets are much
more poetically disposed, than when reduced to
two triplets, according to the direct succession
of the corresponding parts. To the Hebrews,
familiar of course with this mode of composition,
the im})ort was no less obvious than if the rela-

44

five terms of the sentence had followed in their
more natural order : we must not, therefore, im-
pute obscurity to writers whose productions
were, no doubt, perfectly intellig'ible to those for
whose express information those productions
were primarily designed.

In that portion of Balaam's fourth prediction
upon which I have felt myself compelled to
occupy the reader's attention at considerable
length, the attributes of each person there
spoken of are beautifully defined, David shall
crush the political power of the Moabites,
Christ shall finally overcome the religious pre-
judices of all mankind. The one event has
passed ; the other is to come. The one has
been completely, the other only partially rea-
lized. The spiritual ruler was beheld, " but not
niffh," for the ultimate effects of his dominion
remain to be accomplished, though they are
hourly progressing towards their consummation.

Herder's rendering is as follows: —

I see him, but he is not yet,
I behold him, but he is yet afar ofl'.
There cometh a star out of Jacob,
A sceptre riseth out of Israel,
Which smitelh the corners of Moab,
And destroyeth his high fortresses.

The learned German observes* upon liis own
version of the last hemistich — " the fortresses
are obviously in parallelism with the ' corners of
Moab.' If the one signifies the fortified sum-

Si)iri( of lli'brew ]'o(;lr>, \<d. ii. j). 177.

45

mils and angles of the mountains, then the other
signifies the towers built on these, or the men
who garrison them. ' The children of Seth' is
a term that could have no meaning here, as
distinguishing the family descent." To this it
may be replied, that there was no direct inten-
tion of distinguishing the family descent ; at
least, nothing appears in the words of the
prophet to warrant such a conclusion. The
phrase is merely used, as I apprehend, in a
poetical sense, by way of synecdoche, to
denote the whole human race — that Christ
would subdue unto himself the entire poste-
rity of Seth, from whose descendant, Noah,
the whole world was peopled after the deluge,
and that they should finally become " one fold
under one shepherd, Jesus Christ the righteous."
There is, as may be readily perceived by a
close attention to the artificial but exquisitely
refined texture of the passage, a remarkable
significancy in thus referring to that good son
of Adam, the forefather of the existing human
race ; placing their progenitor in prominent
conjunction with David, at once the type and
progenitor of Christ, — not, indeed, by direct
generation, but by legal adoption, — and with his
illustrious descendant, our blessed Redeemer, to
whom all mankind are indebted for their birth
to spiritual life, as to Seth for their birth to
temporal life. Herder evidently did not per-
ceive the alternations of reference in the paral-
lelisms, which he considered to be simply grada-
tional, not observing the hyperbaton, purposely

46

employed to render them so, each referring, as
he concluded, to the same object. He accord-
ingly, after Le Clerc, applies the whole passage
to David, thus stunting, and thereby abridging
it of its beautiful proportions. Besides having
the large majority of commentators against
him, his version gives so restricted an interpre-
tation to the whole passage, as to deprive it of
much of that copiousness of signification com-
bined with uncommon condensation of language,
which the exposition previously proposed would
exhibit, and which is a distinguished character-
istic, though certainly in a less degree than
in some other examples that might be quoted
from the early Hebrew poets, of these highly
finished compositions.

I know not where I could refer for brighter
specimens of poetical excellence than to the pro-
phetic poems of Balaam, which, although they
fall behind some of the prophecies of Isaiah,
and some of the grander portions of Job, in
that prodigious elevation of thought and ex-
quisite adaptation of phrase for which those
productions are so celebrated, nevertheless,
frequently display the richest emanations of
genius. It is hardly possible to conceive finer
specimens of primitive poetry.

He shall smite the corners of Moab,

is to me an image at once felicitously expressive
and eminently picturesque. It flashes upon
the understanding in a flood of light. In the

47

corners of an edifice lies the chief strength :
if, therefore, these are destroyed, the whole
structure must fall. Thus we cannot fail to
perceive how eloquently significative the phrase
is of that complete subjugation of theMoabites,
by David, which subsequently ensued. What
animation and force of colouring it imparts
to a simple idea !

CHAPTER IV.

Balaam's Jourth prophecy, continued.

Having mentioned David as the adopted proge-
nitor as well as the type of Christ, I break off
here to give the view of Dr. Macknight upon
this subject, taken from his observations upon
the genealogies of Joseph and Mary, as given
by St. Matthew and St, Luke. "But," says
that acute and laborious writer, " to show this
opinion all the favour possible, namely, that
Joseph had a legal as well as natural father, who
were brothers by their mother, let us allow that
Joseph had a legal father, whose pedigree is
likewise given, and that, by the custom of the
Jews, he might be called the son of his legal
father. It will necessarily follow, on these suppo-
sitions, that we are altogether uncertain whether
our Lord's mother, from whom alone he sprang,
was a daughter of David, and consequently can-
not prove that he had any other relation to David
than that his mother was married to one of the
descendants of that prince. Let the reader judge
whether this fully comes up to the import of the
passages of scripture, which tell us he was ' made
of the seed of David' (Rom. i. 3), and that, ' ac-
cording to the flesh, he was raised of the fruit of
his loins' (Acts ii. 30). Upon the whole, this

49

important difficulty may be removed more hap-
pily, by supposing that Matthew gives Joseph's
pedigree, and Luke, Mary's. For the words of the
latter evangelist, properly pointed and translated,
run thus : ' And Jesus himself, when he began
his ministry, was about thirty years of age, being
(as was supposed, the son of Joseph) the son of
Heli.' He was the son of Joseph by common
report, but in reality the son of Heli by his
mother, who was Heli's dauohter. We have
a parallel example (Gen. xxxvi. 2), where Aho-
libamah's pedigree is thus deduced : Aholiba-
mah, the daughter of Anah, the daughter of
Ziheon. For since it appears, from verses 24,
25, that Anah was the son, not the daughter, of
Zibeon, it is undeniable that Moses calls Aholi-
bamah the daughter both of Anah and of Zibeon,
as Luke calls Jesus the son both of Joseph and
of Heli. And as Aholibamah is properly called
the daughter of Zibeon, because she was his
grand-daughter, so Jesus is fitly called the son
of Heli, because he was his o-rand-son. In the
mean time, the common pointing and construc-
tion of the passage may be retained consistently
with the opinion I am contending for, because,
though the words, son of Heli ^ should be referred
to Joseph, they may imply no more but that
Joseph was Heli's son-in-law, his son by marriage
with his daughter Mary.' The ancient Jews
and Christians understood this passage in the
one or other of these senses ; for the Talmudists
commonly call Mary by the name of Heli's
daughter.

"That Matthew should have deduced our

VOL. If. E

50

Lord's pedigree by enumerating the ancestors
of Joseph, who was not his real father, may be
accounted for on the supposition that he wrote
posterior to Luke, who has given his real pedi-
gree, and that he intended to remove the scru-
ples of those who knew that the Messiah was to
be the heir of David's crown. In this view,
though Joseph was not Christ's real father, it
was directly for the evangelist's purpose to derive
his pedigree from David, and show that he was
the eldest surviving branch of the posterity of
that prince ; because, this point established, it was
well enough understood that Joseph, by marrying
our Lord's mother, after he knew that she was
with child of him, adopted him for his son, and
raised him both to the dignity and privileges of
David's heir. Accordingly, the genealogy is
concluded in terms which imply this : ' Jacob
begat Joseph, the husband of Mary, of whom
was born Jesus.' Joseph is not called the father
of Jesus, but the husband of his mother Mary.
To conclude; the privileges following this adop-
tion will appear to be more essentially connected
with it, if, as is probable, Joseph never had any
child. For thus, the regal line of David's des-
cendants by Solomon failing in Joseph, his rights
were properly transferred to Jesus, his adopted
son, who indeed was of the same family, though
by another branch. Matthew, therefore, has
deduced our Lord's political and royal pedigree
with a view to prove his title to the kingdom of
Israel, by virtue of the rights which he acquired
through his adoption ; whereas Luke explains
his natural descent in the several successions

51

of those from whom he derived his huiium
nature."*

" It was necessary," says Dr. Whitby, f "that
the genealogy of Jesus should be deduced from
Joseph, because it was so generally received by
the Jews, that Jesus was the son of the carpen-
ter (Matthew xiii. 55), the son of Joseph (John vi.
42), so that if Joseph had not been acknowledged
to have been of the tribe of Judah and of the
family of David, they would not have failed to
have objected this as a just prejudice against all
Christ's pretences to have been the Messiah ;
wherefore, the divine wisdom was pleased to
direct this apostle to remove that stumbling-
block. Secondly, it was also necessary, by rea-
son of that received rule among the Jews, that
the family of the mother' is not called a family ;
and it was not fit that St. Matthew, in this matter,
should recede from the constant rules and cus-
toms of that nation, the families being always pre-
served and continued in the males of Israel, and
all their genealogies being reckoned from them.

" But still it may be said, that Joseph, being
not the natural, but the reputed father of the
holy Jesus, this cannot be sufficient to prove
that Jesus came from the loins of David (Acts
ii. 30), or was the fruit of his body according to
the promise (Psalm cxxxii. II), To this it is
answered, that Joseph and Mary were of the
same tribe and family, and therefore, by giving
us the genealogy of Joseph, the apostle did, at

* Macknight's Harmony of the Gospels, vol. i. pp. 294, 295.
t See Wliitby's Commentary, note on Matt. i. 16.

E 2

52

the same lime, g'ive us the genealogy of Mary,
and consequently of Jesus the son of Mary,
and show that he was of the seed of David.
Hence, several of the ancients, inquiring why
Jesus was conceived of a virgin espoused and
not of one perfectly at liberty, say this was done
that by the family of Joseph the family of Mary
might be shown; and this will be made highly
probable from scripture and from history. For
although those words (Luke i. 27), ' the angel
Gabriel was sent to a virgin, espoused to a man
whose name was Joseph, of the house of David,
and the virgin's name was Mary,' do not of
themselves prove this, because it may be Joseph,
and not the virgin, who is said to be of the house
of David, yet may they also be translated thus :
' to a virgin of the house of David, espoused to
a man whose name was Joseph, and the virgin's
name was Mary.' And this translation is con-
firmed from the following words of the angel to
her : ' thou shalt conceive in thy womb and
bear a son, and the Lord shall give him the
throne of his father David ;' she, therefore, who
conceived this son must be of the house of
David ; and this is further proved from the taxa-
tion mentioned (Luke ii. 3 — 5). Whence it
appears, first, that all went to be taxed, women
as well as men, for ' Joseph with his espoused
wife, Mary, went up to be taxed,' which trouble-
some journey she who was so near the time of
her travail would not have taken, had it not been
necessary. Secondly, that every one, men and
women, went up to their own city to be taxed
(verse 3). Thirdly, that Joseph went up to

53

Bethlehem, the city of David, to he taxed, ' he-
cause he was of the house and Hueage of David'
(verse 4). Since, therefore, Mary went up to
Bethlehem with him to be taxed, she must have
done it for the same reason, because she was
of the same house and lineage. Add to this,
that Domitian, having given out a command to
destroy all that could be found of the house or
family of David, some, descended from Judas,
the brother of our Lord, were brought before
him, as being of the family of David, which they
freely owned."

I have been the more anxious to show, from
such two high authorities upon all scriptural
questions, the connexion, by descent, of Christ
with David, as it gives singular pertinency to
the prophecy of Balaam, which we have been
examining. These persons are placed in signifi-
cant juxtaposition, which, to my apprehension, is
made clear in the Targum of Onkelos, although
he applied the passage exclusively of the Mes-
siah. It is beautifully and perspicuously ren-
dered by that learned rabbi : —

I shall see him, but not now,

I shall behold him, but he is not near.

When a king shall rise from tlie house of Jacob,

And the Messiah be anointed from the house of Israel,

He shall slay the princes of Moab,

And rule over all the children of men.

1 think this u})on the whole a very satisfactory
exposition. The three next hemistichs of the
prophecy obviously refer to David's conquests
and the final settlement of the Israelites in
('anaan.

54

And Edon) shall be a possession,

Seir also shall be a possession for his enemies ;

And Israel shall do valiantly.

Under the name of Seir was comprehended
the monntainous parts ot'Edom. It shall be a
possession tor the enemies of Moab, who are
the Israelites. The meaning will consequently
be, that those persons whom Balak had sent for
Balaam to execrate, or rather their posterity,
should not only obtain possession of the plains
of Edom, but that even the mountains and
strongholds should fall under their dominion ;
in short, that there should not remain a single
spot of land unsubdued.

The subjugation of the Edomites, who were a
valiant and hardy race, descendants of Esau,
was accomplished by David, thus fulfilling Isaac's
prophecy, that Jacob should rule over Esau.*
The Edomites were a warlike community, and
though frequently reduced to subjection, as fre-
quently threw off the yoke and re-asserted their
independence. Amaziah, king of Judah, upon
one occasion slew a thousand of their troops,
and obliged ten thousand more to leap from a
rock,f on which it is supposed stood Petra, a
city of Arabia Petrsea, and the capital of South
Edom. This signal victory, nevertheless, though
for the moment decisive, did not produce their
permanent subjugation. It is certain, however,
that David made himself master of their territory,
as Balaam had predicted. "And he put garri-
sons in Edom, throughout all Edom put he

• Genesis xxvii. 29. t 2 Chron. xxv. 11, 12.

55

garrisons, and all they of Edom became David's
servants ; and the Lord preserved David whither-
soever he went."*

It will be observed how dexteronsly the tem-
poral conquests of David and the spiritual su-
premacy of Christ are brought together in this
prophecy, which embraces at once the political
economy of the Jews under their most eminent
sovereign and lawgiver, the son of Jesse, and
the religious economy introduced into the world
by the still more eminent son of the virgin,
both proceeding from that stock upon whom
the mercenary prophet of Pethor had been
commanded by his patron, the king of Moab,
to imprecate an exterminating malediction.

And Israel shall do valiantly.

This part of the divine oracle was fully rea-
lized durino; the reiscn of Saul's immediate suc-
cessor, who, as I have already said, vanquished
the Edomites in several desperate engagements,
finally making himself master of their whole ter-
ritory. The bard continues to dwell with perti-
nacious eloquence upon the valour and prospec-
tive achievements of those sons of Abraham who
were heirs of Canaan by promise, which must
have been to Balak a bitter thing to hear,
since he virtually commanded his own punish-
ment in ordering a curse to be pronounced
upon those whom God had determined to bless.
Thus it is that wicked men frequently precipi-
tate their own misery by the very means which

* 2 Samuel viii. 14.

56

they make use of to evade it. Balak, by
seeking to bring a curse upon the Israelites,
brought a blessing upon them, with disappoint-
ment and consequent anguish to himself. He
in fact prepared the lash for his own scourging.

Out of Jacob shall come He that shall have dominion,
And shall destroy him that remaineth in the city.

This was literally fulfilled in David, who not
only defeated the Edomites in open warfare, but
likewise obtained possession of their cities, some
of which he probably razed to the ground, and
destroyed the inhabitants on account of some
signal provocation. The first line of the con-
cluding couplet, I should say, refers to Christ
as well as to David, and so the Psalmist
himself appears to have understood it, as he
clearly had it in his mind in the seventy -second
Psalm, in which he describes the universal do-
minion of the Messiah : —

He shall have dominion from sea to sea,

And from the river unto the ends of the earth.*

The majority of commentators are, I think,
agreed in applying this prediction both to David
and to Christ, the one being a type of the other;
the type, therefore, and antitype are poetically
approximated in this prophetic song, which, not-
withstanding the occasional difficulties of inter-
pretation it presents, undoubtedly contains some
of the finest poetry of which language has !)ccmi
made the animated and eflective vehicle. Tht)sc

* Verse 8.

57

beauties stand out in bold and prominent relief;
and such persons as delight in the graces of
verbal construction and of idiom peculiar to
Hebrew poetry, to evolve which has employed
the brightest minds of every Christian country,
will find them far more abundant in the deposi-
tories of revelation than in any work which the
uninspired wit of man has combined to produce.
I shall conclude this chapter with Herder's ver-
sion of this prophecy, in which I think he has,
in some parts, greatly warped the sense.

Thus saith Balaam, the son of Beor,
Thus saith the man whose eyes are open,
He saith who heareth the words of God ,
And knoweth the knowledge of the Most High,
Who saw the vision of the Almighty,
Falling down, but with eyes open.

I see him, but he is not yet,
I behold him, but he is yet afar off.
There cometh a star out of Jacob,
A sceptre riseth out of Israel,
Which smiteth the corners of Moab,
And destroy eth his high fortresses.
Edom is his possession,
The hostile Seir his conquest,
Israel doth valiant deeds,
Out of Jacob cometh a conqueror,
And wasteth the remnant of the habitations.

CHAPTER V.

Balaam's prophecy on Amalek.

Having now considered the four principal pro-
phecies of Balaam, we come to the prediction
pronounced upon Amalek. It is confined to a
single couplet, and contains nothing very worthy
of notice, in a poetical point of view ; never-
theless it exhibits, like the longer prophecies,
a certain metrical conformation not to be mis-
taken, and by which all Hebrew poetry is more
or less distinguished. " And when he looked
upon Amalek, he took up his parable and said :" —

Amalek was the first of the nations,

But his latter end shall be that he perish for ever.

There will be perceived a slight indication
of antithetical parallelism in this couplet. Al-
though the trace of it be not very distinct to a
loose and general observer, it is nevertheless
obvious to a more careful scrutiny ; and then the
significancy of the parallelism becomes at once
perceptible. It is indeed true that the antithesis
comprised in the two phrases the ''''first of the
nations," and " his latter end" is not so direct
and palpable, but it may possibly appear rather
the effect of accident than of design ; still,
the force and comprehensiveness, the senten-
tious strength and efficacy thus imparted to

59

the declanition in each verse of the couplet
hy this artificial opposition of the prominent
phrases, would naturally lead to the conclusion
that this could not have heen a mere contingent
or accidental beauty, especially emanating, as it
did, from so accomplished a mind as that of the
poet whose productions, though short and few
in number, have immortalized the name of
Balaam. Herder proposes much the same
reading as our translators, but does not so
clearly define the parallels: —

Amalek, the first among tlie nations,
His end shall be, to perish for ever.

Had he rendered it the bep'innins: of the nations,

on '

which construction the original would have well
borne, there would have been a clearer antithesis
than in our authorized translation, and it would
at the same time have heightened the sense. It
does not do this, but, besides being feeble, re-
linquishes a poetical grace, preserved by the
learned men who contributed to form our very
literal, and therefore most admirable version ; for
the scrupulosity of those profound and pious
scholars to give an exact transfusion of the
original, caused them to exhibit many beauties
of \\hich they probably were scarcely conscious,
and which would, it is more than Ukely, have
otherwise been lost in the more ambitious desire
of givhig them greater prominency or greater
brilliancy. As they have rendered this couplet
respecting the origin and end of Amalek, there
will be perceived, besides the antithesis in the
phrases as already pointed out, a still further

60

contrast in the opposition of the tenses " was"
and " shall be," not discriminated by Herder,
though they are deserving of attention, as they
harmonize so well with the whole structure of
the couplet, which was, as I conceive, intended
to bear the antithetical form of construction.
This direct opposition in the terms of the paral-
lel clauses is, I think, too perceptibly artificial
not to have been the result of premeditation
rather than of accident.

" And when he looked upon Amalek, he took
up his parable and said," — that is, he cast his
eyes towards that part of the country inhabited
by the Amalekites, the most eminent people
among the early settlers in Canaan. They are
supposed by Herbelot to have descended from a
son of Ham, named Amalek, but as he produces
no authority to establish this opinion, it is to be
received with that caution which it is always
prudent to observe in the absence of direct
proof, more especially where no data are af-
forded to sanction such a surmise. Althouo;h,
however, the fact maintained by Herbelot re-
mains unsubstantiated, the antiquity of the
Amalekites may nevertheless be presumed from
the words of Balaam, who designates them the
first of the nations ; by which he no doubt
means to imply that they were not only the
most ancient of the Canaanitish nations, but
likewise the most powerful ; and their power
was sufficiently shown in the difficulty which
the Israelites had in subduing them, as recorded
in the seventeenth chapter of Exodus. Balaam,
to the great mortification of his royal host, pre-

61

diets of that ancient and powerful people, who
had been the first to attack the Israelites after
their miraculous escape from Egyptian bondage,
and whom the latter defeated with g'reat diffi-
culty, but whom they were again so shortly to
subdue, —

His latter end shall be that he perish for ever.

The subjugation of the Amalekites was com-
menced under Saul, nearly completed under
David, and finally accomplished by the sons of
Simeon, in the reign of Hezekiah, king of
Judah.* Since the period of their complete
extirpation from the land of Canaan, they have
ceased to exist as a people, at least as a political
community, and no traces of them has been
now, for many centuries, discoverable. Like a
stream absorbed by the sands of the desert, they
are lost in the vast expanse of time, and " the
place thereof knoweth them no more," thus ful-
filling the strong language of the prediction,
"that he perish for ever." The pleonasm here
imparts additional solemnity to the close of the
distich, although it is certain that the full sense
would have been oiven to the concluding verse
had the two last words been omitted ; it would,
nevertheless, have lost all that additional im-
pressiveness now derived from a simple idea
being enforced by the application of another,
simple, but kindred, and thus becoming ex-
panded into a complex idea, at once elevating
the mind by dilating the thought. The simple
notion of perishing is greatly enhanced by the

* 1 Chroii. iv. 41—43.

62

equally simple, but still more solemn notion of
unlimited duration being appended to it: —

And his latter end shall be that he perish for ever.

This prediction has been fully realized with re-
ference to the Amalekites. They are now
totally expunged from the records of time. His-
tory is altogether silent respecting them. They
once had a place in her annals, but have no
longer a political existence among the king-
doms and principalities of the earth. How are
the mighty fallen! The land which they in-
habited has, for untold generations, been under
foreign domination, and there remains no ves-
tige of their once acknowledged supremacy. As
a nation, they have utterly and everlastingly
perished. " And where," asks Bishop Newton,
" is the name or the nation of Amalek subsist-
ing at this day? What history, what tradition
concerning them is remaining anywhere"? They
are but just enough known and remembered, to
show that what God had threatened he hath
punctually fulfilled : ' I will utterly put out the
remembrance of Amalek from under heaven,
and his latter end shall be that he perish for
ever.'" This prophecy has, in the lapse of
ages, received the most complete confirmation ;
the nation of the Amalekites is no more.

I have already remarked upon the distich
embracing this important prediction, which is
very elegant, and though it certainly does not
rise to that high elevation of eloquence shown
in the more elaborate eftusions of the same pro-
phetic bard, already considered, still, as I have

63

endeavoured to show, the strong points of con-
trast render it not only very emphatic, but ex-
ceedingly expressive. That most ancient peo-
ple, whose doom it pronounces — so ancient indeed
that their origin cannot be determined with any
thing like an approach to certainty, the first of
the nations inhabiting that land of promise from
which the divine decree had gone forth that
they should be shortly expelled — shall have a
speedy termination. The strong opposition of cir-
cumstance in the extreme antiquity of the Ama-
lekites, and the complete dissolution eventually
to overtake them as a nation, is sufficiently im-
posing to deserve notice. There is something
no less dignified than solemn in the terms by
which the idea of final destruction is conveyed.
A vivid but saddening impression is left upon
the mind by the very simple but no less forcible
expressions employed to announce so fearful
an issue. What an awful sentiment is produced
by the words " forever." Whether it refer to
joy or to sorrow, the image which it presents to
the imagination is alike sublime.

In the Targum of Onkelos, the couplet refer-
ring to the annihilation of the Amalekites is
very happily rendered, the parallelism being
most faithfully preserved, though a different
reading is given to the first clause. It may,
however, be rather considered a close paraphrase
than a literal translation : —

Ainalelv was the hcf^inning of tlie wars with Israel,
Therefore his end shall be that he perish for ever.

64

This interpretation is approved by the Targuni
of Jerusalem, which gives the sense still more
plainly in the first clause. " The Amalekites
were the Ji7'st people that made war against
Israel. And in the latter days they shall make
war against them." A different exposition is
evidently suggested in both these passages from
that supported by our version, but I quote
these expositions chiefly for the sake of showing
the presence of the antithetical parallelism,
which, probably, without any immediate design
of the paraphrasts, is preserved in both, though
in the former much more clearly.

There is considerable difference of opinion
among commentators, as to whether Balaam
really alluded to the extreme antiquity of the
people upon whom he was at this moment look-
ing, and concerning whom he was uttering a
most important prophecy, or whether he merely
designed to charge them honourably with being
the first among the nations of Canaan to attack
the posterity of Abraham, lately delivered from
Egyptian bondage, and in full march to take
possession of the Holy Land. Notwithstanding
the exposition given by the Targumsof Onkelos
and Jerusalem, I am inclined to think that he
referred to the remote antiquity of this people,
who are mentioned so early as the wars of Che-
dorlaomer,* so that they must have been a
nation before the time of Abraham and of Lot,
consequently much anterior to the Moabites
and Edomites, or any of the nations descended

* Genesis xiv. 7.

65

from those patriarchs. Either interpretation
may be received upon sufficient grounds of pro-
bability, for by neither is the metrical symme-
try of the couplet disturbed.

The difficulty which opposes the certain in
terpretation of this passa^^e arises from the
circumstance of the Amalekites, alluded to by
Balaam, not being very distinctly defined, there
having been more than one people of this name.

" On the whole," says the writer of the addi-
tions to Calmet's Dictionary of the Bible,* " we
seem to be warranted in suggesting ; first, that
there were more kinds of Amalekites than one.
Secondly, that the tribe which Saul destroyed
might not be very numerous at that time ; and
that the tract of country mentioned in relation
to them, was that of their flight, not that of
their possession, unless as rovers or bedouins.
Thirdly, that they were turbulent and violent to-
wards their neighbours, as formerly they had been
towards the strao-o-lers of Israel : which accounts
why their neighbours were not displeased at
their expulsion. Fourthly, that such being their
character, they might have produced a war,
giving recent cause of oft'ence to Israel; though
Scripture only mentions the fulfilment of an an-
cient prophecy. N.B. Perhaps there never had
been peace between the two nations. Fifthly,
that Agag, slain by Samuel, had been extremely
cruel, which seems warranted by the expression,
' as thy sword has made mothers childless :'
and therefore he met with no more than his
just punishment in the death he received.

* See Taylor'i edition, art. Amalekites.
VOL. II. F

6G

" We should, on this article, carefully distin-
guish the peoj)le called Arnalekites (Genesis
xiv. 7) from the tribe exterminated or expa-
triated by Saul (1 Samuel xiv. 48; xxx. 1;
xxxvii. 8), in consequence of the anathema
(Exodus xvii. 14); and apparently both these
should be distinguished from the descendants
of Eliphaz and Timnah. (Genesis xxxvi. 12.)

"•Balaam says (Numbers xxiv. 20,) Amalek
was the first or chief of the nations; that is,
around the country within his view or ken: this
agrees with the derivation from Melek, the king
or ruler ; query, king's people.

" The Arab writers often mention and glory
in their descent from Amalek : their historians,
poets, commentators on the poets, and genealo-
gists, all boast of this; and down to the very
days of Mahomet, many families traced their
descent from this progenitor, and prided them-
selves on the distinction.

" Probably the different tribes bearing this
name might, in a geographical view, be thus
arranged. First, Amalek, the ancient, (Genesis
xiv. 7), where the phrase is remarkable, ' all the
country of the Amalekites," which implies a
great extent. This people we may place near
the Jordan. (Numbers xxiv. 20.)

" Second, a tribe in the region east of Egypt,
between Egypt and Canaan. (Exodus xvii, 8;
1 Samuel xiv. &c.)

" Third, the descendants of Eliphaz.

" It was against the second of these that
Moses and Joshua fought (Exodus xvii. 8 — 13),

67

against which tribe perpetual hostility was to
be maintained, (verse 16, and 1 Samuel xv.)

" It was also, most probably, to the ancient
Amalekites (No. 1) that Balaam alluded (Num-
bers xxiv. 20,) as having been 'head of the
peoples ;' for the descendants of Esau were very
far from answering to this title; in fact, they
were but just appearing as a tribe or family.
Even at this day, the Arabs distinguish between
families of pure Arab blood, and those of mixed
descent ; but they include the posterity of Ish-
mael among those of mixed descent, while they
reckon the Amalekites:, by parentage, as of pure
blood. The posterity of Esau, therefore, could
hardly claim privilege above that of Ishmael,
either by antiquity or by importance. Neither
is it any way likely, that the Amalekites of
Esau's family should extend their settlements to
where we find those Amalekites (No. 2) which
attacked Israel, at the very borders of Egypt,
and on the shores of the Red Sea. Instead of
Maachatai (Deuteronomy iii. 14; Joshua xii.
4, 5; xiii. 11 — 13), the Seventy read the kings
of the Amalekites, which implies that this peo-
ple had occupied very extensive territories.
The same countries seem to be alluded to by
David (Psalm Ixxxiii, 7): he had already men-
tioned Edom, the Ishmaelites, Moab, &c., yet,
distinct from these, he mentions Gebel, Ammon,
and Amalck, consequently this Amalek was
not of the descent of Esau or of Ishmael.

" The spies sent to explore the land of Canaan
(Numbers xiii. 29), report that the Amalekites

f2

68

inhabited the south ; which agrees exactly with
that equivocation of David to Achish (1 Samuel
xxvii.) David invaded the Amalekites (verse 8),
but (verse 10) he says he went 'against the
south of Judah/ the south of the Jerahmeelites,
the south of the Kenites ; which indeed was very
true, as he went against the Amalekites, who
were south of all those places.

" D'Herbelot tells us, that the Mussulmen
give the name of Amalekites to those giants
which inhabited Palestine when the Israelites
attacked it : they suppose that some of these
even fled to Barbary ; and this agrees with the
opinion of those who mention inscriptions found
in Barbary, importing that the people who MTote
them fled from Canaan, from the face of
Joshua, son of Nun, the robber." — Vide Procop
de Bella Vandal and Beland, Pal, p. 82.

CHAPTER VI.

Balaam'' s prophecy on the Keniles.

Balaam how proceeds to take up his parable
against the Kenites, saying, in a loftier strain of
poetical rapture,

strong is thy dwelling-place,
And thou puttest thy nest in a rock.
Nevertheless the Kenite shall be wasted
Until Asher shall carry thee away captive.

Who these Kenites were, is not determined,
and, at this distance of time, it is impossible to
solve an historical problem of much difficulty,
which has ensasced the investii^ation of the most
distinguished men in the walks of Hebrew litera-
turc, who have still left it a question to be
decided. We must then, under circumstances
at best but discouraging, be satisfied with con-
jecture based upon reasonable assumption from
analogous facts or inductive processes of reason-
ing. Though it is impossible absolutely to fix
the identity of the people here spoken of by
Balaam, there is sufficient in his description of
them, brief as it is, to show their character, and
to sanction the reasonable inferences of Calmet
and others, who have followed him in this and
similar arduous fields of inquiry. " The Ke-
nites," says that learned man,* " were a people

*See Dictionary of the Bible, art. Kenites.

70

which dwelt west of the Red Sea, and extended
themselves pretty far into Arabia Petrsea.
Jethro, Moses' father-in-law, and a priest of
Midian, was a Kenite ; and in Saul's time
the Kenites were mingled with the Amale-
kites. * Although the Kenites were among
those people whose lands God had promised to
the descendants of Abraham, nevertheless, in
consideration of Jethro, the father-in-law of
Moses, all of them who submitted to the He-
brews were suffered to live in their own country.
The rest fled, in all probability, to the Edom-
ites and Amalekites. The lands of the Kenites
were in Judah's lot.

" Balaam, when invited by Balak, king of
Moab, to curse Israel, stood on a mountain,
whence, addressing himself to the Kenites, he
said,

strong is thy dwelling-place,
And thou puttest thy nest in a rock.
Nevertheless the Kenite shall be wasted
Until Ashur shall carry thee away captive.

The Kenites dwelt in mountains and rocks
almost inaccessible. Ken signifies a nest, a hole,
a cave ; and Kinnim, in Greek, may be trans-
lated Troglodytes (or Cavites.) The Kenites
were carried into captivity by Nebuchadnezzar ;
they are not mentioned after the time of Saul ;
but they sul)sisted in a mingled state among
the Edomites and other nations of Arabia
Pctrcta."f

* 1 Samuel xv. G.

t See further Josephns Antiq. lib. I.

71

strong is thy dwelling-place,

And thou puttest thy nest in a rock.

Here is a poetical allusion to the name of this
people, a thing common with the Hebrew bards,
ken signifying a nest as already mentioned. It
is eloquently expressive of the lofty site of their
habitations, comparing the Kenites to eagles
and similar birds of prey, which construct their
eyries in inaccessible rocks. The eagle is
known to be a bird of great strength and courage,
resisting any attack upon its elevated dwelling-
place with indomitable resolution. Indeed, it is
always a perilous adventure to besiege these
ferocious birds in their rocky fastnesses, where,
upon the ledge of some gigantic clift" that
beetles over the impetuous surge beneath, they
stand upon such vantage-ground as places the
bold adventurer who comes to the assault frohi
below in a condition of no common hazard.
Such were the people referred to by Balaam in
the prophecy. They were hardy, bold, and re-
solute ; capable of extreme endurance, inhabit-
ing regions elevated and almost inaccessible. In
defiance, however, of their lofty and unapproach-
able position, they shall be eventually reached
by the strong arm of power, and involved in the
fate of that people, of whom it had been just
pronounced that they shall " perish for ever."
By what means this should be effected, is not
told, or even implied by the poet; but the result
is, nevertheless, to be traced, for under Saul
they were a very insignificant people, — suj)-
posing them to be the same whom Cahnet has

72

described in the passage quoted from his
Dictionary of the Bible, — so reduced in numbers
and contemptible in power, that we nowhere
find the Israelitish monarch engaged in active
hostility against them. They were diminished
to their comparative insignificancy by the con-
tinued and sanguinary wars in which they had
been engaged in conjunction with the nations
of Canaan which had opposed, though unsuc-
cessfully, those strangers, of whom it had been
prophesied several generations previously, that
they should become possessors of the land by
promise. So that during the reign of Saul they
were so utterly contemptible, as a political
community, notwithstanding the singular advan-
tages of locality which those mountainous dis-
tricts inhabited by them commanded, as to be
unworthy the hostile notice of that brave but
intemperate sovereign.

The opening of the prophecy referring to the
Kenites is remarkably elegant. The first
hemistich stating a literal fact, in the simplest
terms, is immediately followed by its corres-
ponding m-ember, stating likewise a literal
fact, but in language eminently and exquisitely
figurative. The first hemistich is a mere
plain foundation, out of which the more ornate
beauties of the superstructure rise into pic-
turesque relief. Nothing can well convey a
finer idea of the strength and security of those
fortresses in the mountains which appear to
have given shelter to the Kenites, being like-
wise garrisoned by them, than the image of an
eagle placing its nest upon the top of a crag

73

beetling over a precipice, and so high above
the roar of the foaming torrent or luxuriant
valley beneath, as to defy the approach of any
assailant, save such as should possess the wings
of an eagle, or the superior sagacity of man
that can overcome all impediments, except those
which an almighty power wills not that he
should surmount.

It is remarkable, in the compass of a short
passage containing so few words, how complete
is the poetical association. Every term is preg-
nant with meaning ; ideas seem to crowd out
of the words, and expand into the most har-
monious combinations, as essences from a small
vessel in which they have been confined, when
the obstructintr ao;ent is removed. Here is a
very favourable specimen of that condensation
of lano:uasi:e combined with the most luxuriant
fertility of thought, which I have before re-
marked to be so kindred a feature of Hebrew
poetry.

I can scarcely imagine a more felicitous
example of graphic development, though the
elements of the picture only are exhibited, out
of which it finally rises in the most complete
form upon the mind, than is presented in this
short but comprehensive prediction. The ideas
suggested are at once distinct and vivid, each
bearing the seeds of others that seem to fructify
and grow out of it, like the far-famed banyan-
tree of the east, which throws out a forest
from one stem, with an effect almost magical,
I know of no poetry out of the Bible, in which
this peculiar excellence is to be discovered in a

74

like degree. We have not only a lively idea
of the character of the Kenites as a nation con-
veyed to us by their singular choice of habita-
tion, but likewise their relative strength as a
political community. They could not have
been very numerous to have established their
dwellings upon the summits of inaccessible
rocks. This very circumstance denotes their
character and social qualities; for the bold and
hardy mountaineer is almost everywhere the
same. He is a daring, simple, rugged child of
nature, with few wants, and therefore few wishes,
and whose freedom or political independence is
secured by the almost inaccessible locality of
his domestic habitation.

The Kenites were beyond doubt a brave and
independent race, rendered robust as well by
the peculiar circumstances inseparable from the
situation which they had originally selected for
their national settlement, as by their alienation
from luxury and the enervating enjoyments
within the reach of those who dwell in crowded
cities or populous districts, where the vast
influx of wealth not only solicits to enjoyment,
but furnishes the means of securing it. They
lived probably on plunder, when the scanty
supplies of the mountains on which they had
established their retreat fell short of their wants,
which were naturally few and simple, though,
notwithstanding, often supplied at great labour
and peril. An image of complete security is
suggested by the poet of uncommon strength of
position, nevertheless one of proportionate peril,
and ex})<)sed to perpetual vicissitude. A pic-

75

ture, combininf^ many strontj^ and emphatic
details — those details branching from it rather as
matters of inference than of recorded fact — is
produced before the imagination, every shade of
the tablet suggesting a corresponding and
definite reality, and every tint being the reflec-
tion of some tangible image, all extraneous
ornament being eliminated as injurious to the
simple but severe design, whose Doric symmetry
and uncomplexed majesty of proportion are so
justly congruous to the sacred gravity of the
subject, which the poet has selected to display
the power of his genius. We are directly led to
the severe life of the mountaineer — a life of
unrelieved toil and stern vicissitude, he being the
object of constant privation, and exposed to
perpetual hazard, nevertheless, blessed in his
natural protection from the inroads of more
powerful foes, powerful by their number and
warlike appointments; — we at once imagine
the rigid but contented lot of those solitary
highlanders, their fearlessness of subjugation,
their resolution of resistance, together with all
those natural appendages of locality, uniting the
peculiar moral attributes which such a locality, by
necessary consequence, imposes upon the inhabi-
tants ; and yet these people, amid all their
security, are doomed, according to the declara-
tion of the prophet, to be reached by the arm of
human power: —

Nevertheless the Kenite shall be wasted
Until Ashur shall carry thee away captive.

In spite of the security of their position ; — in

76

spite of their natural hardihood and extreme
difficulty of approach, the Kenites shall suffer
loss and gradual diminution in common with the
other nations of Canaan, until they are finally
made captive by the Assyrians, and driven
into a foreign land, there to be merged and
lost, at least so far as their existence as a
political community was concerned, among
strange races. The Kenites, like the Amale-
kites, were gradually wasted by repeated wars
and subjugations, and ultimately became absorb-
ed into other nations who had risen whilst they
had declined in the scale of political power.
A few centuries after the prediction of Balaam,
they had no standing among the established
communities of the world, they scarcely existed
in name, and were finally swamped in the
overwhelming stream of time. This has been
the case with empires of more recent establish-
ment, but likewise of far more extended do-
minion ; for now the mighty supremacy of
Rome has ceased to exert its gigantic influ-
ence over the world ; it has become the
mere marvel of history, where alone it will be
perpetuated till years shall cease to be num-
bered, and the passing intervals of duration are
swallowed up in the illimitable, indivisible, and
never-ceasing progress of eternity.

Until Ashur sball cari-y thee away captive.

Here, by a common synecdoche, that son of
Shem, named Ashur, who gave his name to the
Assyrians, is put for the people deriving their

77

national designation from him. This passage,
therefore, implies that the Kenites shall be
reduced by degrees, until the period of their
final overthrow by the king of Assyria's armies,
by whom, together with the Israelites, they
were eventually reduced to a state of the most
detrradinff bondao;e.

How very elegant and expressive is the intro-
duction of the svnecdoche in this verse ! it
simplifies the idea without taking from its
amplitude, as a mere symbol often realizes to
the mind a complex event with far greater
force than the employment of a literal but
more diffuse description.

" The Assyrians and Babylonians," says Dr.
Adam Clarke,* " who carried away captive the
ten tribes (2 Kings xvii. 6) and the Jews into
Babylon (2 Kings xxv.) probably carried away
the Kenites also. Indeed this seems pretty evi-
dent, as we find some Kenites mentioned am.ong
the Jews after their return from the Babylo-
nish captivity (1 Chron. ii. 55.)" Dr. Dodd's
account of the Kenites is as follows :f — " Jethro,
father-in-law of Moses, is called (Exod iii. 1) the
priest of Midian, and in the first chapter of
Judges (verse 16) the Kenite. We may infer,
therefore, that the Midianites and the Kenites
are the same; or, at least, that the Kenites
were some of the tribes of Midian. The
Midianites are said to be confederate with the
Moabites in the beginning of the story, and one
would naturally expect some notice to be taken

* See liis note on the passage. t See his note.

78

9

of them or their tribes in the course of the
prophecies. Now of the Kenites, it appears,
from Judges i. 16, that part followed Israel,
but the greater part, we may presume, remained
with the Midianites and Amalekites. We read
(1 Sam. XV. 6,) that there were Kenites dwel-
ling among the Amalekites, and so the Kenites
are fitly mentioned here next after the Amale-
kites. Their situation is said to be strong and
secure among the mountains : —

Strong is thy dwelling-place, »

And thou puttest thy nest in a rock :

wherein is an allusion to the name, the same
Hebrew word signifying a nest and a Kenite.

Nevertheless the Kenite shall be wasted
Until Ashur carry thee away captive.

The Amalekites were to be utterly destroyed,
but the Kenites were to be carried away captive.
And accordingly when Saul was sent by divine
commission to destroy the Amalekites, he
ordered the Kenites to depart from among
them; for the kindness which some of them
showed to Israel, their posterity was saved
(1 Samuel xv. 6.) ' And Saul said unto the Ke-
nites, go, depart, get you down from among the
Amalekites, lest I destroy you with them ;
for ye showed kindness to all the children of
Israel when they came up out of Egypt. So
the Kenites departed from among the Amale-
kites.' This passage shows that they were
wasted and reduced to a low condition, and as
the kings of Assyria carried away captive not

79

only the Jews, but likewise the Syrians and
several other nations (2 Kings xvi. 9; xix. 12,
13), it is highly probable that the Kenites
shared the same fate with their neighbours,
and were carried away by the same torrent,
especially as we iind some Kenites mentioned
among the Jews after their return from captivity
(1 Chron. ii. 55.)"* " What people are meant
by the name Kenites," says Bishop Patrick, f
"is not clearly evident; for there were a people
called Kenites who were part of the nation that
inhabited the land of Canaan (Genesis xv. 19).
These cannot be here intended ; for they were
too far off from this place. And as for the
Kenites mentioned in Judges i. 16, and iv. 11,
who dwelt among the Israelites when they came
into Canaan, they had as yet no fixed state,
but were with them in the wilderness. There-
fore, it is likely they were some of the kindred
of Jethro (originally derived from the same
family that he was of) who remained in Midian,
and adjoined so close to the country of the
Amalekites, that they are said to dwell among
them (1 Samuel xv. 6.)"

Alas ! who shall live when God doeth this!

These words admit of two interpretations ; either
that the time shall be so remote as to be beyond
the natural lives of any person then existing, or
that the period in which this prediction shall be
accomplished, will be so rife in disastrous events,
that no one shall escape some deplorable visita-

• See likewise Bishop Newton on the passage. t See his note.

80

tion. We may readily conceive the confusion
and terror which accompanies the overthrow of
a country, the takin^ij its people captive, the
dismantlino- of cities, and the spreading of spolia-
tion through the land. All this was eventually
brought to pass in the desolations caused by the
Assyrian armies in their dreadful career of con-
quest which terminated in the Babylonish capti-
vity. The expressions of the passage just quoted
are strong, and according to either interpreta-
tion given, convey a vivid idea of the calami-
ties to be looked for, and which at a sub-
sequent period fully realized the melancholy
expectations to which the words of the prophet
must have naturally given rise. The expres-
sion—

Alas! who shall live when God doeth this!

being not definite but equivocal, is a direct
appeal to the imagination, which is set at work
rather upon the probable than the real, and the
evils to be expected at the period referred to
in the prophecy, are anticipated in the fullest
excess of their amount. The solemnity of the
question, and the manner in which the sacred
name of God is employed, not only add to this
solemnity, but greatly enhance the awful im-
pression which the question is calculated to
convey. The calamities to be apprehended are
of such a terrible nature, that those whom they
are appointed to overtake will scarcely be able
to survive the visitation. The divine power
will be fearfuUv manifest.

81

Expressions which rather intimate than de-
tail the accompaniments of all important events,
are calculated to produce a much stronger effect
by calling in the aid of the imagination to lend
its colouring to those particulars, than mere
literal descriptions, which formally state naked
details without exciting any ulterior expecta-
tions, at once relieving the mind from the neces-
sity of further exertion. The calamities to be
inferred from the prophetic words —

Alas ! who shall live when God doeth this !

are superlatively great, though not expressly
enumerated; and whatever could be anticipated
from them was fully eff'ectuated in the event.
Those expressions which imply the most mo-
mentous results, under whatever circumstances,
always fill the mind with more lofty impres-
sions of them, than when the particulars of such
results are elaborately stated. This might
be shown by a very simple example. Suppose
I were describing the progress of an enemy,
and were to say — They poured into the
country from north to south, and how fearful
was the devastation which ensued ! No details
could convey so awful a conviction of ter-
rible havoc as the latter exclamation, be-
cause it would imply that the devastation was
so great as to be indescribable ; but the moment
particulars are minutely entered upon, however
horrible, the extent of the mischief being at once
fully developed, this ascertained reality is far less
dreadful than where an impression is left upon

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82

the imagination that it is so terrible as to baffle
the powers of language to express. The pro-
phet evidently felt the force of this, and there-
fore sums up the prediction against the Ke-
nites in one mighty exclamation of indefinite,
but emphatic allusion to some future catastrophe,
terminating in dreadful issues.

CHAPTER VII.

Conclusion of Balaam's prophecies.

After having withdrawn his eyes from that })art
of the country where he had looked upon the
Kenites, and foretold the end of that numerically
small but hardy race, the prophet continued : —

And ships shall come from the coast of Chittini,
And shall afflict Asshur, and shall afflict Eber;
And he also shall perish for ever.

Bishop Patrick supposes the Greeks to be
first intended by the word Chittim, and next, the
Romans; each fulfilling the several portions of
the prophecy. Both were the scourges of Asia.

Bishop Newton says, " Balaam might here
mean either Greece or Italy, or both, the par-
ticular names of those countries being at that
time, perhaps, unknown in the cast ; and the
passage may be better understood of both, be-
cause Greece and Italy were alike the scourges
of Asia."

Chittim was a general name for the countries
and islands in the Mediterranean sea, according
to Bishop Newton; but Calmet contends that
the word refers simply to Macedonia ; it is,
however, generally believed, upon the authority

G 2

"84

of Josephus, that Chittim, to whose posterity
this prophecy of Balaam iindouhtedly refers,
the son of Javan, the g-randsoii of Noah, settled
in Italy, as well as in Celicia, Macedonia, and
Cyprus. Mr. Ainsworth, therefore, presumes
that the prediction may imply both the troubles
which befel the Assyrians and Jews by the
Greeks and Seleucidae, in the days of Antiochus.
Although the passage is not without difficulty,
the large majority of commentators concur in
nearly the same interpretation.

And shall afflict Asshur.

It is well known to the readers of ancient
history, that the Assyrians were conquered by
Alexander of Macedon, familiarly known as
Alexander the Great, whose extraordinary con-
quests placed him in the van of the heroes of
antiquity. He subdued all the countries under
the government of this people, overthrowing
the Persian empire, to which the Chaldeans and
Assyrians were tributary. With an army of
only thirty-two thousand foot and five thousand
horse, this youthful hero invaded Asia, at a
period of his life when men of his birth and sta-
tion were generally undergoing that initiatory
discipline which was to give them an insight
into the science of arms. In an incredibly short
space of time he conquered all the provinces of
Asia Minor, took the celebrated city of Tyre
after an obstinate siege of seven months, and
made himself master of Egy])t, Media, Syria,
and Persia. He spread his con([uests over India,

85

invaded Scythia, visited the Indian ocean, and
retired to Babylon, laden with the trophies of
conquest, where he died, in the thirty-second
year of his age, having eclipsed his glories by
the magnitude of his excesses. He, therefore,
above all the generals of Greece and Italy, might
well be denominated, in the words of Bishop
Newton, " the scourge of Asia." " The Romans,
indeed," says Patrick, " afterwards overthrew the
Greek empire ; but we do not read that they
made war against the Assyrians until the time
of the emperor Trajan, who overthrew them,
and reduced their country to a province of
Rome."

And shall afflict Eber.

This probably refers to a people on the other
side of the Euphrates. The prophet may,
therefore, be understood to say, — ' He shall
alHict the Assyrians and the nations bordering
upon the Euphrates, who were either under
their dominion or tributary to them : he would
overthrow the Assyrians, their tributaries, and
allies.'

If we pause to reflect upon the importance of
those prophecies which have immortalized the
name of Balaam, wc cannot fail to be impressed
with the very important issues to which they
refer. They point to the distinguished con-
quests of the Israelites ; their final settlement in
the promised land ; to the extirpation of the
princi])al Canaanitish nations; to the spiritual
dominion of Judah, at the coming of Shiloli

86

the Peace-maker, who by his one great act of
expiation Mas to ratify the deliverance of man-
kind from the shackles of sin and death ; to the
abrasion of the Amalekites from the records of
time ; to the ultimate destruction of the Ke-
nites, and of the Assyrians ; and, in fact, to the
final subjugation of Greece and Rome, which is
evidently likewise implied in these remarkable
and copious revelations from the fountain of
all wisdom, communicated through a genius
of the highest order, though a wicked man.

And he also shall perish for ever.

Not Ashur and P^bcr, but the empires of the
conquerors of those countries, the Macedonian,
Grecian, and Roman states, which in the issue
signally came to pass. So that, in fact, the
end of the conquerors and of the conquered was
precisely similar.

Their end is that they are perished for ever.

In the prophetic portions of scripture, fre-
quent allusions are made to the downfal of the
Grecian and Roman empires; and when we
consider what an extraordinary height of poli-
tical eminence those states attained, notwithstand-
ing the abominations of idolatry by which they
Avere disgraced, we cannot fail to be struck with
their present condition among the flourishing
communities of the christian world, a memorial
scarcely remaining of what they were in the
zenith of their prosperity. This has been the
natural consequence of those vile superstitions

87

which effeminated the minds of their people and
prepared them for final subjection to a race, fi^^ht-
ino^ under the christian banner, and directed by
" that wisdom which is from above." To what
are the kingdomsof a remoter antiquity reduced?
— To the empty pageant of a name ! They are
become, in the language of the sublimest poet of
his age, the lofty and inspired Isaiah, "A joy of
wild asses, a pasture of flocks."

There is great solemnity in the conclusion of
Balaam's prophecies, combined with a simplicity
that cannot fail to point the attention to those
subsequent issues which induced such remark-
able political changes among the nations of
the earth. He predicts that the conquerors of
the Moabites and of the seed of Jacob shall in
turn be expunged from the chronicles of human
events, and that not a vestige shall ultimately
remain of that power which subdued the world.
How signally has this fearful consummation
been realized ! Where shall we find the mighty
cities which once poured forth their myriads
through a hundred gates, the fame of whose
grandeur and extent amazed mankind? Where
are now the lofty walls of imperial Babylon,
in which «:uilt wore her o-arish robe in the broad
eye of day, and of which the vengeance of Al-
mighty God has now left scarcely a percep-
tible trace, the lion making his lair where once
stood the palaces of her kings ? Where are
Nineveh the great, Thebes, Memphis, Perse-
polis, and other potent cities of the earth, and
which spread the fame of their magnificence to
its farthest limits? — With the things beyond

(

88

(he flood ! The names of Sesostris, Cambyses,
Cyrus ; of Thornistoclcs, Epaminondas, Alexan-
der; of Pyrrhus, Hannibal, Mithridates; ofCorio-
lanus, Pompey, Csesar, together with those of a
host of conquerors, are remembered but as de-
sio-natino: the heroes of historical romance. The
glory of empires sustained by these heroes has
departed, and there remains a melancholy void
in those parts of the globe where they once held
undisputed supremacy. The empire of virtue,
on the contrary, stands fast for ever, whilst that
which is comprised in mere earthly dominion
quickly vanishes : — the latter is the meteor of a
season, the former an everlasting light : —

As some tall cliff that rears its awful form,
Swells from the vale, and midway leaves the storm.
Though round its breast the rolling clouds are spread.
Eternal sunshine settles on its head.

How must Balak's soul have quailed under
the unexpected announcement which he so un-
wittingly heard from the lips of his stipendiary
prophet! — that the people whom he had ex-
pected to hear anathematized should rise into
greater celebrity and power after their over-
throw by the Assyrian armies, and exist as a po-
litical community in that land from which he
sought to expel them by means of an agency
which he imagined far more powerful than the
force of arms, when those haughty subduers of
the earth, beneath whose puissance they had
been for a season prostrated, should have passed
to the home of their fathers, and their empire
into oblivion. How was the wickedness of Balak
made to recoil upon himself in the disappoint-

89

mcnt which followed his flattering but I)ase
expectations ! The very oracle from which he
looked for an overwhelming anathema upon his
foes, bore to his ear that blessing upon them
which was to him a curse, and this was followed
by the declaration of his own subjugation, in-
cluded in that of the nations of Canaan. The
warlike Amalekites were to yield their power
to the predominancy of the sons of Israel. The
Kenites, amid their mountain fastnesses, were
to be subdued and absorbed into other races,
and the fruitful country of his ancestors was
to be delivered over to the hated but invincible
Israelites. What an agonizing reliection to the
sovereign of Moab, who, instead of the fiat of
extermination against the natural enemies of
his race, hoard, from the mouth of his own hired
mercenary, a sentence of benediction !

Herder translates Balaam's concluding pro-
phecy as follows, breaking it into five hemis-
tichs : —

Who shall live when God doeth this?
Ships from Italia's coasts
Bring down the pride of Asshur,
And humble the pride of Eber :
He also shall perisli for ever.*

The reading of the second hemistich.

Ships from Italia's coasts,

is, to a certain extent, a limiting of the sense;
nevertheless, here is high authority for the ap

* Spirit of Hebrew Poetry, vol. ii. p. 177.

90

l)licatioii of the word Chittim to the Roman
state, in the climax of its prosperity, the great-
est which history has recorded.

The Greek commonwealth eventually suc-
cumbed to the Roman, the gigantic power of
the latter, after the gradual decline of cen-
turies, falling under the Christian domination,
subject to which, it still continues a dwarfed
and crippled republic. If we look at this impe-
rial city, when the palaces of the Caesars were
adorned with the spoils of conquest from the
remotest shores of the then discovered world —
when her voice gave laws to trembling millions,
and her supremacy was acknowledged round
the entire circle embraced by civilization — if
we look at imperial Rome under the mild
despotism of Caesar Augustus, and now under
the spiritual tyranny of a Christian Bishop, who
claims a sovereign vicegerency upon earth over
the very wills and affections of men, we shall
behold the extremes of political glory and de-
gradation— of temporal grandeur and religious
subserviency. Rome is now sunk, both politi-
cally and morally, to the lowest line of social
and spiritual humiliation. She is as bad as when
under the dominion of paganism, being the
stronghold of priestcraft, superstition, and error.
She lies prostrate amid the mighty ruins of her
former greatness, a gigantic skeleton, upon
which the reptile progeny of corruption are
continually quickening into baneful activity,
and over which they are perpetually leaving the
feculencies of their brief but revolting life.

I have dwelt the longer upon these latter

91

passages of Balaam's prophecies, because the
historical allusions are involved in some per-
plexity, and it is impossible that any beauties of
composition can become readily perceptible,
unless those allusions be more or less under-
stood ; I have, therefore, been at some pains to
explain them at length, in order that the poe-
tical graces, which, though not so abundant
as in the longer predictions, may be brought
more directly to view, as well as those histori-
cal relations of which these latter predictions
are the subjects. When the matter is not
readily understood, many latent excellencies of
composition will naturally escape attention,
there not being sufficient stimulus produced to
keep it alive, which must be the case where
the sense baffles ordinary penetration. It ne-
cessarily, therefore, sometimes happens that
numerous beauties are hidden beneath the
obscurities occasionally existing in the He-
l)rew writings, not because the authors of
them were deficient in that perspicuity which
is almost universally the concomitant of true
genius, but because, as I have elsewhere said,
references are constantly made to customs
but partially known, or which have alto-
gether ceased to exist, so that those writers
are really no further obscure than as the igno-
rance of the reader renders them so.

The last three prophecies of the seer of Me-
sopotamia certainly do not abound so much in
those richer embellishments, distributed with
such prolific luxuriance throughout the longer
and more important predictions: still there is a

92

chaste and elegant, though unpretending plain-
ness in the last, which is an admirable offset to
the more ornate character of those preceding it,
thus not only adding variety to the subjects,
but at the same time showing the fertility of
Balaam's genius, which, though exuberant in
imagery, could, with ease, cast off those ex-
ternal graces of composition, and exhibit the
severer simplicity of those more primitive bards,
who abjured what they held to be the meretri-
cious aids of ornament as inconcomitant with,
or, at least, as not necessary to enhance the
unpretending, but, nevertheless, imposing dig-
nity of truth.

If we consider that those noble effusions of
the most gifted minds must necessarily suffer a
diminution of their splendour by being examined
through the vehicle of a translation, we shall
readily apprehend that the originals are among
the finest productions of the human intellect, for
it cannot be denied that, even in our common
version of the Holy Scriptures, necessarily im-
perfect as all translations must be, the highest
beauties of poetry are perceptible. They lie
embedded in the richest ore, the stratum in
which the hand of genius has deposited them,
combining the elements of all that is elevated
in thought and transcendent in wisdom. The
lustre of those sublime compositions is indeed
much abridged by the medium through which
we behold it, still those master-pieces of the
poetic art are brought before us in all their ex-
quisite grace of outline and admirable symmetry

93

of proportion, though like g'ems seen througli a
veil, they may have lost some oi'tliat brightness in
which they shine so luminously in their original
setting. It cannot but happen that a transfusion
of the productions of such remote and primitive
times, from a very ancient and consequently
very difficult language, must be attended with
the loss of much of that specific beauty, which
the Hebrew, above every other description of
poetry, displays ; nevertheless this will make the
fact more evident, that in proportion as the
translation abounds in poetic wealth must be
the fruitfulness of the source whence it is
derived ; and as no translation can, by j)os-
sibility, transfuse all the beauties of its original,
the Hebrew writings must consequently be
exuberant in beauties.

In what I have said of these extraordinary
productions of the bard of Pethor, it has been
my aim to convey information, and, at the same
time, to improve the taste for Scripture read-
ing, by showing that the sacred writings, even
apart from their inspiration, are more worthy
the study of the most refined and best instructed
minds, than the noblest compositions of mere
human genius to which the divine gift of inspi-
ration has not been imparted. I have been
anxious to show that the Hebrew scriptures, as
containing the richest treasures of the poetic
art, in addition to the solemn claim which they
put forth as the revelations of an Almighty will,
ought to be read with greater interest, not to
say devotion, than any works of uninspired

94

men, however eloquent or sublime. So fruitful
are the sources of enjoyment in the Bible, that
I am persuaded no intelligent infidel could read
that sacred book without admiration, and I do
sincerely believe that any one, who merely
took it up as a matter of amusement, would
soon recur to it as a matter of duty. Once
induce people to read their Bibles, even
though it be only from the secondary motive
of recreation, and you will end by rendering
them wise unto salvation, for they will soon feel
its spiritual influence affecting their hearts,
even while its poetical graces are absorbing
their minds. Devotion will follow admiration
in most instances; I should, therefore, at any
time, consider, that a great gain had been ac-
complished to the cause of religion, where the
unbeliever could be induced to peruse the
Holy Scriptures from whatever motive, except
that of making them the subject of profane
ridicule, or with the view of perverting their
sacred meaning.

In the history of Balaam, a great moral lesson
is taught. It exhibits the signal providence of
God, and is, moreover, a remarkable illustra-
tion of the fact, that the evil petitions of men,
when granted, will assuredly issue in their own
injury. If we solicit the Almighty to accord
what our consciences assure us he does not ap-
prove, we can have reasonably nothing to ex-
pect but evil from the divine acquiescence.
Those portions of the sacred narrative to which I
have directed the reader's attention in these pages

95

are fullydescrving of his most serious regard ; and
if what I have offered to his consideration shall
be the means of exciting him to a more earnest
study, not only of that narrative in particular,
but of the sacred volume generally, I shall have
abundant reason to bless God that my efl'orts in
his behalf, and likewise for my own profit, have
not been made in vain.

CHAPTER VIIL

A fragment from Micah attributed to Balaam. lieasuns
assigned. Critical and analyticid exposition of the
passage.

There is a fragment happily preserved by the
prophet Micah, which there seems to be very
little doubt was among the compositions of Ba-
laam, as it shows all the characteristic features
of his style. Why Moses omitted to introduce
it, is a question not so easily answered, never-
theless, the strong internal evidence which it
bears, from its kindred similarity to the pro-
phecies of Balaam, of having emanated from
the same mind, will, upon the authority of such
names as those of Bishop Lowth and Bishop
Butler, sufficiently justify its being classed with
those productions, as, in point of composition,
identical with them. Of this remarkable pas-
sage. Bishop Lowth observes :* " Among the
proj)hecies of Balaam, I will also venture to
class that most elegant poem, which is rescued
from oblivion by the prophet Micah, (chapter
vi. 6 — 8), and which, in matter and diction, in the
structure, form and character of the composition,
so admirably agrees with the other monuments

* Pieelect. xviii.

97

of his fame, that it evidently appears to he a
citation from the answer of Balaam to the king
of the Moahites."

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?

Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams,

Or with ten thousands of rivers of oil ?

Shall I give my first-born for my transgression,

The fruit of my body for the sin of my soul ?

He hath showed thee, O 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?

Upon Bishop Lowth's authority, in which
he has the concurrence of Bishop Butler, a
high sanction, I shall proceed to examine this
very beautiful specimen of ancient Hebrew poe-
try, as the production of the prophet of Pethor.
The two learned men just named imagine it to
have been uttered betwixt the first and second
predictions in the order quoted by Moses, but I
rather presume it to have been delivered after
th6 fourth, when Balak had received full proof
of the inefficacy of enchantments and burnt-
offerings, and of the power of that God whom
his enemies exclusively worshipped, and by
whom they were so signally blessed. Having
been three times disappointed, in a rage, he
ordered the prophet instantly to quit his do-
minions. Balaam, however, pronounces a fourth
prophecy, and immediately the king of Moab is,
as it would seem, convinced that the unholy seer
has acted under the inlluence of a controlino-
providence. He becomes reconciled to the pro-

VOL. II. H

98

phet, and asks him, with an earnest force of
entreaty, what he can do to propitiate the God
of Israel.

In this fragment, which, as Bishop Lowth
conjectures, Micah* has preserved as the com-
position of Balaam, Balak appears to ask the
questions contained in the sixth and seventh
verses of the chapter in which they are found ;
to these Balaam replies in the eighth verse.
Here is the poet's definition of a righteous
man, whom he wishes to he like in his death.
He enumerates the qualities necessary to con-
stitute a man righteous ; and it is the last end
of a person fulfilling the character here drawn
hy him that he desires, in the first place, his
should resemhle. Though conscious of the wick-
edness of his own life, he is, notwithstanding,
anxiously willing that his death should be
like that of a o;ood man, who had nothinij; to
dread from his crimes, but every thing to hope
for from his virtues.

There is extraordinary solemnity — a solem-
nity amounting to the highest sublimity — in the
cpiestions of the Moabitish king ; they rise suc-
cessively in force, until they at length attain
the greatest elevation of o-randeur : —

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 ?

Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams.

Or with ten thousands of rivers of oil ?

Shall I give my first-born for my transgression.

The fruit of my body for the sin of my soul ?

* See Micah vi. C — S.

99

How do these solemn and earnest interroii'a-
tions mat^nify the omnipotence of the Lord of
Hosts ! Here we find a heathen, and a wicked
one too, so overwhehned hy his consciousness
of the divine power, as to break out into a strain
of fervent and lofty acknowledgment, expressing
the most awful feeline^s towards that God whom
he had so long scandalized, by offering his ado-
ration to unsightly representations of mere
human fabrication. He is not, however, ani-
mated with reverence towards the Lord Jehovah,
but with terror, the invariable accompaniment
of weak and superstitious minds. With what
earnest excitement does he declare his ignorance
how that august Being, whom he has hitherto
failed to conciliate by becoming acts of devotion,
is now to be approached. His apprehensions,
indeed, are roused ; nevertheless, no really
devout feelings are awakened, for he still desires
evil at the hands of God, whom, had he known
him as he is, a God of mercy, of loving-kind-
ness and of unerring truth, he would not have
dared to approach, even with the expectation
of a dispensation so opposed to his perfect
attributes, as that of exterminating; a righteous,
for the temporal behoof of a depraved, peoj)le.
'What,' asks the royal Moabite, under the
vexation of repeated disappointment, ' are the
means I can employ to obtain the favour which
I so anxiously seek, and upon the consummation
of which, my soul is bent, — an issue of the utmost
importance to me, as it involves the ruin of my
foes'? Can you name any sacrifice, however
great, however costly, however painful to me

H 2

100

to make, that will obtain for me the realization
of tliose desires so dear to my heart ■? What shall
render me an object of celestial benefaction?
I am ready to purchase such a privilege at any
cost. What is there I can offer to his most ex-
cellent majesty, to his awful omnipotence, who
has placed my foes under his own o-uidance and
protection *? Shall I at once signalize my devo-
tion and try to secure his almighty sanction, by
slaughtering a holocaust upon the reeking altars
of that temple where animal sacrifices are immo-
lated to the mute god of my idolatry? Shall I
present as an available expiation for my trans-
gression, in having provoked eternal wrath, a
sin-offering of my first-born, the heir and repre-
sentative of my house *? Is there anything I can
give as an oblation sufficiently valuable for such
a purpose, as obtaining at once the divine exe-
cration of my enemies, and the good will of
Jehovah, whose power I have hitherto disre-
garded and despised?'

The whole of these interrogations, gradually
rising in strength and fervour, until they close
in a grand and solemn climax, are admirably
significative of the state of Balak's mind at
this moment. They clearly develop the cha-
racter of the man ; his vast and irrepressible
idea of omnipotence ; his intense hatred of
the Israelites ; his readiness to make any sacri-
fice, however great, to obtain his impious ends;
his selfishness ; his fierce and unbending tem-
perament; his ruthless hostility against those
enemies to whom the land of Canaan had been
promised for an inheritance. There is, how-

101

ever, cuiiid the energetic declamation of the dis-
appointed monarch, an outbreak of natural ten-
derness in the contrast most eloquently made
betwixt the offering of his first-born son and
the object of that offering ; — these nevertheless,
appearinglight in his estimation, weighed against
the intense desire by v, hich his heart was en-
grossed, of propitiating so august a being as th(;
omnipotent Jehovah, and thus rendering him
favourable to his unholy purpose.

The particulars, it will be observed, enume-
rated by the king of Moab, are of the most
valuable description ; in those remote times
flocks and herds being the most prized of a mo-
narch's property. If, therefore, '• thousands of
rams" had, upon certain great occasions, been of-
fered up in sacrifice, there must soon have been
an end to the further propagation of the species
Utter ruin would have been the consequence
of such immensely prodigal oblations. Oil was
much used, not only in ordinary sacrifices, but
likewise in most of those numerous rites
prescribed in the heathen formularies, as well as
for domestic purposes : it was consequently a
staple commodity of high importance, and there-
fore of paramount value. Some of the rarer
oils were worth nearly their weight in gold, as
is the case even now; the atar-gul, conmionly
known under the corrupted title of ottar of
roses, being commonly sold at three or four
guineas the ounce, and this frequently in a
deteriorated state, from the dishonest practices
of traders.

It will be evident that the terms employed

102

by Balak, of^' thousands of rams" and " ten thou-
sands of rivers of oil," were mere poetical hyper-
boles, expressive generally of numbers and quan-
tity. He meant simply to signify that no expense
of treasure should be spared by him, if he might
thereby accomplish his evil purpose. What-
ever the Lord should require of him, even
were it all his flocks and herds, all his royal
stores, nay, even the heir of his house — he was
ready to ofl^er, in order to accomplish the de-
struction of his dreaded enemies.

The three couplets containing Balak's ques-
tions to the son of Bosor, which rise gradually in
force, although clothed in the vivid colours
of poetical exaggeration, are, nevertheless, most
solemnly impressive ; the disappointed monarch
meaning no more than that he was perfectly ready
to make any sacrifice, however great, to obtain
the favour of the Most High. See in what beau-
tiful gradation the members of the couplets
advance above each other. In the first verse,
the royal interlocutor mentions those burnt-
offerings generally which were made of the
inferior animals appointed for sacrifice. In the
next, we have something more valuable, " calves
of a year old," but without reference to num-
ber. Then follow " thousands of rams," which
are immediately succeeded by "ten thousands of
rivers of oil," and the climax closes with the
mention of the royal first-born, the successor to
regal dignities and dominion, as a sacrifice
for parental transgression. All this is clearly
not the effiect of an accidental enumeration of
objects with the view of expressing a simple

103

ilctcrrnination, but a beautiful selcctiou of gra-
duated expressious, chosen for the purpose of
throwing over the passage the radiant hues,
combined with the fervid eloquence, of poetry.

But it may be asked how Balak came to be
so great a poet, vrhen no records of his genius
are found in the Bible, and there is consequently
nothing to lep^d to such an assumption. To
this it may be replied that Balaam did not
record the very words uttered by Balak, but
simply the spirit of them, to which he imparted
the graces of his own gifted mind, casting
them into that mould of epic grandeur, of which
the sentiments rendered them so eminently sus-
ceptible. Under this supposition we lose nothing
of the truth of the king of Moab's declarations, by
having them invested with the prismatic tints of
poetry. Balaam, no doubt, drew up a narrative of
the whole transaction, throwing it into a poetic
form, but adding really no fiction to enhance the
interest it was well calculated to excite amonff
the posterities of those whom it so especially
concerned.

Looking at this remarkable passage as a
metrical composition, it appears to me to pre-
sent one of the finest specimens of climax to
be found in the sacred writings, in which ex-
amples of the highest order abound. It is
worthy of observation how pointedly the con-
trast is exhibited in the last clause: —

Shall I give my first-born for my transgression,
The fruit of my body for the sin of my soiil ?

An offering of the dearest object in time, for

104

the salvation of the clearest objccL in eternity!
Here is a fine specimen of gradational parallelism,
the noblest production of the body to be offered
for the lapse of the soul, — the loss of the one for
ihes^amoHhe other. In addition to all this, how
delicately is the harmony of the rhythm preserv-
ed and how admirably do the sentiments corres-
pond with the character of Balak. The " burnt-
offerino's," the " calves of a year old," " thousands
of rams," and "ten thousands of rivers of oil," are
each and all trifles in comparison with the first-
born son, as an oblation propitiatory of divine
favour. How solem.nly and affectingly does the
subject close ! And yet the disposition of the
Moabitish sovereign is the more truly depicted
by this emphatic question, than if he had
made the strongest asseverations of ready acqui-
escence. The very energy of the passage carries
with it an earnestness of persuasion altogether ir-
resistible. It appears to import, as I have before
intimated, that, in order to obtain the fulfilment
of his execrable purpose, the extermination
of those whom God had so signally favoured,
he was not only willing, but prepared to undergo
any privation, even to the immolation of his
first-born son, — a sentiment of truculent insensi-
bility, which suflficiently characterizes the ruth-
less temperament of this sanguinary but pusil-
lanimous prince. ' Will this justify me,' he
seems to ask, ' in the sight of God — of that God
whom I have so long affected to despise, but of
whose supremacy I have now had signal proof?
will this render that Omnipotent and everlasting
Being, who can annihilate the universe by a

105

mere impulse of his will, at once favourable to
my desires and myself acceptable in his sig-ht?
for I am prepared, nay, willing, to purchase
the accomplishment of my desire at any cost,
especially if such a sacrifice will obtain not
only the consummation of my wishes, but, at the
same time, expiate the sin of those wishes.'

Here the character of Balak is, as it were,
incidentally produced before us in all its native
ferocity and heartlessness. He is made himself
to proclaim it, whilst apparently oftering to God
the profane tribute of his praise ; for such praise
as his, was indeed a profanation. He must have
been the most abandoned of men.

I have before observed that, as a composition,
this fragment is eminently beautiful. Nothing-
can more strikingly show the elevated notion
entertained by Balak of the Divinity, of whom
the idols which he had been accustomed to
worship were at once a mockery and a pro-
fanation. Looking at it, as a poetical effusion,
of the highest and most sacred character, we
cannot fail to discover that it is the production
of a singularly gifted mind. There is great
sublimity in the opening distich, produced by
the finely discriminated but distinct gradation
of the parallels. The first clause characterizes
the Lord Jehovah, in whom all the attributes
of Deity are combined, concentrated and sus-
tained. In the second, the sense is heightened
by a simple, but expressive additament. Jeho-
vah is here called the " Hio-h God" — God over
all, the All-wise, the Everlasting, the Omnipo-
tent. The parallelism, though varied, retains a

106

close relation in the first and second verses
of the cou[)let, advancing- with dignified aug-
mentation of force to the highest grandeur
of expression, "come," "bow myself," "the
Lord" and "most high God," being the corres-
ponding terms; but in which an evident gra-
dation of meaning is observable, showing
how strong was the impression of Deity
upon the royal heathen's mind; and this
had been decidedly produced by the great
manifestation of divine power exhibited through
Balaam's agency. There is an involuntary
reverence signified in this passage, certainly
not rising out of Balaam's desire to act contrary
to the divine will, but in spite of it.

Shall I come before him with burnt-offerings,

With calves of a year old?

In this question the idea of absolute reverence
is nothing abated, but carried on. As if he had
said ' God is so august that I can make him no
sufficient offering — that is, none worthy of his
dignity. I therefore ask you, his prophet,
how I am to approach him in a way likely to
render him favourable to my earnest appeals'?
Shall it be with burnt-offerings '? Do you think
that these will secure his favour, or any sacri-
fice recorded in the heathen ritual, however
magnificent or multiplied?'

Shall I give my first-born for my transgression,
The fruit of ray body for the sin of my soul ?

Here is a noble couplet ; it is powerfully ex-
pressive of the feelings, which, at that moment,

107

atritated the monarch's heart, and is truly a
mao-nificent termination to this fine extract,
which is pregnant with the inspirations of true
poetry. In each hemistich every expression is
fervid, in the highest degree, imparting an im-
pulse of force to that which follows it, until the
vehement questions of the king terminate in a
grand and impressive close. There is a solemn
earnestness pervading the entire passage, which
raises it to the fervour of the sublimest elo-
quence ; at the same time that it is placed in
prominent opposition to the calm sobriety, but
terse significancy of the prophet's reply, which
is full of the dignity of an inspired oracle.

This reply is at once definitive. It contains
the true character of a man after God's own
heart, the very reverse of what Balak was,
implying that such a man will be ever favour-
ably heard by Him to whom the humble
appeals of the holy are never made in vain, and
who had distinguished the profligate Balaam
with the gift of prophecy. It succinctly, though
at the same time most impressively, enumerates
the few but important qualities of a righteous
man, whom the unholy prophet desires to be
like in his death. It is a noble piece of spiritual
teaching, although it emanated from the lips of
a profane and wicked instructor.

He liatli showed thee, O man ! what is good.
And what doth tlie Lord require of tliee,
But to do justly, and to love mercy,
And to walk liunibly with thy God?

" Here," says Bishop Butler,* "■ is a good man

* Sec his Sermon on the character of Balaam.

108

expressly characterized as distinct from a dis-
honest and superstitious man. No words can
more strongly exclude dishonesty and falseness
of heart, than doing justice and loving mercy;
and both these, as well as walking humbly with
God, are put in opposition to those ceremonial
methods of recommendation which Balak hoped
might have served the turn. From hence ap-
pears what he meant by the righteous whose
death he desired to die."

We see in this answer to the Moabitish king,
how the seer of Mesopotamia acting in the ca-
pacity of an accredited agent of the most high
God, who, for purposes inscrutable to us, some-
limes causes wicked agents to become the
secondary means of good results, humbles the
pride of his royal patron, levelling his dignity
to that of the lowest among those over whom
he held dominion.

He hath showed thee, O man ! what is good.

In these words, besides the humiliation to which
the haughty monarch is brought by the vicarious
agent of a higher authority, — an authority at
once omnipotent and eternal, — is contained a
covert, indeed, but severe rebuke of the royal
transgressor. Balak is here named simply as
one of his species, not as a member of that
species especially distinguished by the marks of
earthly exaltation. He is humbled, therefore,
at the same time that he is rebuked.

lie hath slioweil thw>, () man ! what is good.

109

As the Deity had made manifest to Balak his
proper course of action, tliat monarch was, un-
questionably, the more re})rehensible in persist-
ing in his wicked designs against the Israehtes
who were God's chosen people, and in not acting
up to the light which had already penetrated
his heart. That he was an irreligious man, as
well as a cowardly and vindictive tyrant, may
safely be inferred from the prophet's reproachful
reply ; for the qualities which Balaam expresses
as essential to the character of a righteous man
were the very reverse of those exhibited by
Balak, throughout the whole of the scenes
in which Balaam had been engaged with him.
The royal delinquent clearly acted against his
better convictions, as is fully implied by the
verses immediately following his appeal to the
])rophet ; he had, consequently, no cloak for
his sin, having been sufficiently instructed, by
the suo-o-cstions of his own conscience, in that
which is good ; for the conscience is a teacher
which, though its lessons are only whispered in
a " still small voice" to the heart, speaks with
o-reater force of truth and of conviction than the
wisest homilies, or the most impressive axioms
of moral wisdom.

He hath showed thee, O man ! what is good.
And what dotli the Lord require of thee,
But to do justly, and to love mercy,
And to walk humbly with thy God ?

This is a very simple exercise of spiritual dis-
cipline. All the re(|uisites here enumerated,
however, Balak had obviously failed to a])ply :

110

the mention of them, therefore, was, in truth,
a severe reproach, as it showed at once that he
was not the righteous man whom a performance
of those solemn obUgations constituted. The
king of Moab had certainly not done justly in
brino-ing the prophet of Pethor all the way from
Mesopotamia for a selfish and criminal purpose ;
neither had he exhibited any love of mercy in
desiring him to curse an innocent people ; nor
could he be said to " walk humbly with his
God," in commanding Balaam to bring evil
upon those whom that God had so signally pro-
tected. Nothing could be more opposed to the
character here given of a righteous man than
the sovereign of Moab, vvho had betrayed
qualities the very reverse to those enumerated
by the prophet, as constituting such a man.
All those traits of disobedience and insub-
ordination, manifested by Balak in his non-
observance of the obligations declared by the
seer as forming a character approved of God,
are, by inference, applied to the person who
had promised to advance him to honour. They
were made to convey the strongest animadver-
sion upon Balak 's conduct, not expressed in-
deed, but too evidently implied to be misunder-
stood. And observe how poetically the several
particulars of the quatrain are distributed ; each
quality expressed as indispensable to the charac-
ter of a righteous man, rising in solemn force
and emphasis, until, as in the couplets imme-
diately preceding, the whole ends in a magnifi-
cent climax. This is a common mode among
the HebrcAvs of terminating their sacred com-

Ill

positions, as it is always calculated to leave the
strongest impression upon the mind. The prac-
tice of justice, the exhibition of rnercy, and
veneration for the Divinity, are the great con-
stituents of such a person, as it was the ol)ject
of Balaam to describe. Those qualities com-
l)ine the entire sum of righteousness, and are far
more efficacious in bringing him into favour-
able communion with God than whole burnt-
offerings and sacrifices. The mind of such a
man must be essentially spiritualized, and thus
fitted for the intromission of every new acces-
sion of good. There is a most unpretending,
but nevertheless truly sublime simplicity pre-
served throughout this fragment, which is pro-
digiously elevated, not by the language, but
by the sentiments, though the former is chastely
choice and significantly simple. In the first coup-
let of Balaam's reply the immediate opposition
of man and God is eminently happy, there being
unusual force in the antithesis ; both are men-
tioned without any qualification, the one appear-
ing in his abstract nature of weakness and depend-
ance, the other in his inaccessible character of
omnipotence and everlasting supremacy. The
lines which follow are every way worthy of the
lines that precede them. This splendid record of
Balaam's genius, whatever may have been his
character as a man, will place him, as a poet,
upon a level with the greatest writers of anti-
quity.

CHAPTER IX.

Difference of style observable in the various poetic por-
tions of the Pentateuch. How these portions were
probably preserved and transmitted. Opinions concern-
ing them. The variation of style no argument against
their inspiration. Dijferent compositions of the Pen-
tateuch contrasted. Ezekiel's prophecy against Egypt.

I HAVE already spoken of the difference of style
observable in the various poetical portions of
the five books of Moses, clearly showino- that
those portions were not the composition of one
man, but of the several parties to whom they
are ascribed in the inspired volume. Although
the ffreat Hebrew lawo:iver does not mention
the writers of the parts quoted by him
as having actually produced them, but seems
rather to record these passages as conveying
the sentiments of, or as the revelations made to
those parties, as is commonly the case in histori-
cal compositions, not produced under the influ-
ence of inspiration, in which the supposed sen-
timents of the characters are given rather than
the precise words in which they were delivered ;
nevertheless, the extreme variation of style and
difference of poetical treatment, will sufficiently
show, that certain portions of the Pentateuch,
such as the blessings of Noah, Isaac, and Jacob,
were actually the productions of those severally

113

represented as t^iving utterance to them ; these
extraordinary effluences of the divine mind,
through the human, having, no doubt, been pre-
served in the early patriarchal families and handed
down, pure and unalloyed by oral tradition, as
has been the case with numerous productions of
the Celtic bards in ages long subsequent, but
still remote by comparison with our own times.
In the earlier periods of the world, we may well
imagine that all productions, whether poetical or
otherwise, to which importance was attached,
were kept w ith extreme care by the descendants
of those who composed them, as evidences of
ancestral distinction; since it is natural for men
to be proud of any memorial by which their fore-
fathers have o])tained repute. Even though writ-
ten records did not exist, there could be no great
difficulty in preserving the occasional creations
ofgenius which beamed like rays of glory through
an atmosphere of comparatively intellectual
darkness ; and in proportion to their rarity was
the facility of conservation. Moses could have
no difficulty, in the character which he sustained
among the Israelites, as a lawgiver divinely
commissioned and inspired, in having access to
whatever existed among the families over whom
he held, not only a political but likewise a spi-
ritual control, likely either to improve or adorn
the history which he was composing for their
behoof: for although he wrote the Penta-
teuch under the guidance of the Holy S})irit,
this did not prevent the introduction of matter,
though produced long anterior to the time of his
writing, and likewise dictated — that is the

VOL. II. I

114

matter though not the words in which it had
heen preserved — by the same Spirit.

In consequence of several parts of the Pen-
tateuch being evidently not the composition of
Moses, as I have already shown, some learned
men, among whom were Le Clerc and Simon,
have questioned his claim to the authorship of
those books, but their conjectures upon this sub-
ject are so futile, and have been so frequently and
ably confuted, that I shall not stay to prove the
fact against them here. Of late years, how-
ever, "the question of the originals of the Pen-
tateuch has been discussed with great acumen,
and much critical investigation. The result
seems to be, not that those documents were
composed or arranged since the days of Moses,
(except so far as concerns Ezra's revision for his
edition,) but that they existed before Moses,
were combined and regulated by him — perhaps,
even, some of them translated from more an-
cient memoirs, preserved in the families of
Shem, Abraham, and the Hebrew patriarchs.
As these came from a considerable distance east
of the Euphrates, the objections derived from
that incident are completely obviated by this
supposition ; and the others dwindle into insig-
nificance by our better acquaintance with the
ancient history of persons and places.

" It may be taken, for instance, first, that the
book of Genesis contains sundry repetitions, or
double narratives of the same early events.
Secondly, that these duplicate narratives, when
closely compared, present characteristic differ-
ences of style. Thirdly, that these differences

115

are too considerable, and too distinct to admit
of any other explanation than that of different
originals taken into association."*

We can easily understand that Moses had ac-
cess to any oral or written records existing; in his
time amonn^ the tribes over which he had been
appointed supreme ruler, but how he obtained
possession of the prophecies of Balaam, an
enemy to the Hebrew race, and holding no in-
tercourse with them, may not appear so readily
obvious. I have, however, already offered a
conjecture. f Although this fact cannot now be
positively ascertained, it is nevertheless proba-
ble, that the prophet himself, actuated perhaps
by the desire of posthumous reputation, really
wrote them, in order that the Jews, a people
whom he certainly foresaw would eventually be-
come possessors of the soil, from which the king
of Moab sought to expel them, might in pro-
cess of time be informed how favourably he had
spoken of them in his prophetic announcements
to his royal patron, though under a divine im-
pulse which he could neither resist nor control.
This conjecture, proposed in a preceding chap-
ter, will sufficiently account for the circum-
stance of Moses having become possessed of
these sublime compositions, which are doubtless
introduced into his history precisely as they
were composed by the gifted son of Bosor, the
renowned seer of Mesopotamia. Of these sacred
songs, containing the loftiest truths of inspi-
ration, the beauties are clear and definite,

* See additions to C'almet's Diet, of the Bible, art. Pentateuch.
A'ol. ii. pp.7 and 8.

I 2

116

even thoiio-h examined through the less distinct
medium ot" a translation, in which the specific
character of the composition is apt to he con-
founded with that of some other rendered by the
same hand, from the sentiments of the different
writers thus passing, as it were, through the
alemhick of one mind ; nevertheless, with such a
mighty impediment to the detection of extreme
peculiarity of style, and direct identifications of
thought, the difference is so palpable that no
translation can disguise it, and there is not a single
passage introduced into the five books of Moses,
as uttered by individuals bearing a prominent
part in those inspired writings, which does not
show its own peculiar marks of identity. The
prophetic portions are especially distinguished
by these notations of individuality. They all
carry upon the very face of them the strongest
internal evidence of being the compositions of
those persons whose names are attached to them
by the inspired penman ; and thus it will appear
that the variety of poetry is as great, even in the
Pentateuch, as in a ponderous volume of modern
anthology. The ordinary readers of the Bible,
taking it for granted that every word contained
in those sections of it of which Moses is the
acknowledged author, was penned by him at the
dictation of the Holy Spirit, perceive not those
o])vious varieties which, though less percep-
tible through the veil of a translation, are still
broadly prominent to critical scrutiny in the
Mosaic scriptures. They, consequently, not
only do not appreciate many of the kindred
beauties in those writinirs. but at the same

117

time tail to detect some of the stron<^est marks
of that authenticity which, while it proves their
orioinaUty, confirms their inspiration.

It is plain that Moses, under divine direction,
introduced into his narrative whatever he found
recorded in the families of the patriarchs, likely
to throw any light upon the sacied history of
the period: this will at once account for the
frequent changes of style manifest in his
writings ; which changes are acknowledged by
all Hebrew scholars of any pretensions to
critical discrimination. Where, for instance,
can be found a greater contrast than the frag-
ment in the fourth chapter of Genesis, so
severely simple in its style, and condensed in
its language, containing Lamech's address to
his wives, in which there is the absence of all
ornament, and the rich, highly metaphorical
and sublimely elevated prophecies of Jacob?
The one is rigidly literal, the other eminently
figurative ; the one is utterly unembellished, the
other splendidly decorated ; the one is alto-
gether destitute of rhetorical aid, the other
enriched with the most picturesque imagery.
And yet the elements of true poetry are alike
preserved in both. In truth, the ordinary forms
of prose composition belong to neither. In the
one, simplicity is the character ; in the other,
deep mystical representation : the one records a
past fact, founding a simple argument upon it,
embraced in a single proposition ; the other
proclaims things to be by means of glowing and
stupendous images, which represent rather than
specify the future event.

118

A scarcely less decided contrast may be
traced in the simple predictions of Noah and
the more florid hut more refined and synnnetrical
prophecies of Balaam, in which, as I have en-
deavoured to show, the happiest appliances of
poetic skill are exhibited. Although in the latter
we discover the highest attainments of art em-
ployed to array the conceptions of a profound
and original genius, yet, in the former, we can-
not fail to trace the endowments of a very ex-
traordinary mind. Noah was unquestionably
no ordinary man, and even in the short frag-
ment which Moses has preserved of his ability
as a poet, we perceive the elements of excellence
which satisfy us that had he devoted his mind
to metrical composition, he would have attained
no ordinary rank among the Hebrew bards.
Short as the account of him is in the sacred
history, enough is said to show that he was not
only a good, but a wise man. He was distin-
guished by God from his birth, and selected by
him for the restitution of the world after its
submersion by the deluge. He " was a just man,
and perfect in his generations. — Noah walked
with God." According to the testimony of St.
Peter,* he was " a preacher of righteousness;"
and the brief narrative of his life sufficiently
shows that he was a '' doer" of it. All these facts
prove his wisdom as well as his goodness,
and, as I have said before, the brief specimen of
his talents as a poet recorded by Moses, con-
firms the presumptive testimony, to be gathered
from his short history in the writings of that

* 2 Peter ii 5.

119

inspired legislator, that he was a man in the
highest degree intellectually as well as spiri-
tually endowed. His malediction and blessings,
however, though unquestionably showing an
advance upon the severer and more inartificial
production of his immediate progenitor Lamech,
are decidedly inferior in the loftier inspirations
of poetry to the subsequent benedictions of
Isaac, which are again exceeded in the rare
qualifications of poetical excellence by those of
his immediate descendant Jacob, and the still
more eloquent, though less varied, and, perhaps
upon the whole, less sublime effusions of the
bard of Pethor. So that as we advance into times
less primitive, when social and political commu-
nion had begun to be extensively diffused, we
find the Hebrew poetry casting off, to a consi-
derable extent, its stern and homely simplicity,
and adopting the decorative graces of more re-
fined periods. The gradual advance towards a
highly ornate style, still retaining that remark-
able condensation of thought and viirorous
conciseness of expression, together with that
exact concinnity so peculiar and concurrent in
all the Hebrew poetical writings of the sacred
volume, is strikingly observable from the plain
effusion of Lamech to the compositions of the
Psalmist, and thence to those of the prophets ;
among which are to be found the sublimest pro-
ductions of inspiration. It is, moreover, worthy
of remark, that notwithstanding the refinement
and greater display of ornament by which the He-
brew poetry is distinguished as its authors ap-
proached to a period of more general civiliza-

120

tioii, the same characteristics arc to he traced,
in its earUest specimens, as distin^nish the
latest; and if" we make allowances for the im-
provement of time and circumstance, we shall
discover the same intellectual pre-eminence in
the prophecies of Noah, as in those of Jacob
and Moses. In the former, there is wonderful
condensation. A vast array of thought is evolved
by the judicious application of a few simple
terms, and the most fervid images arise to
the mind, although those images which the poet
has embodied into words are perfectly unadorned
by the ornaments of mere expression. They are,
however, the parents of others, which seem to
rise out of them, as beautifully tinted blossoms
from the embryo bud.

Speaking of these glorious productions of the
patriarchal ages, which are still the admiration
of the most enlightened minds, Herder says :*
" In Tyre, Sidon, or Carthage, in a warlike
state of Cyclops and cannibals, such poems
were never sung, such simply sublime and
divine thoughts never produced, as in this
country of agriculturists and herdsmen, amidst
mountains which toil and industry alone could
render productive. The poetess Deborah was
a dweller in tents, beneath the palm-trees ; the
Psalmist David was a shepherd; Amos was
the same ; and in all the prophets, the simpli-
city of rural nature, in their language and
imagery, is too obvious to be mistaken. Who-
ever will, then, may choose the poetry of re-

* Spirit of Hebrew Poetry, vol.ii. p. 124.

121

finement and luxurious pride, hut that which
human nature finds adapted to its most indis-
pensahle wants, which it requires for support in
its greatest trials and for its earliest develop-
ment, cordial sympathy, simplicity, and dignity,
are found in their fullest abundance in the
ancient mature thoughts of patriarchal instruc-
tion."

The causes of that advance in the graces of
literary composition manifested even in the days
of Jacob, and brought to high perfection under
Moses, may be readily apprehended. They are
to be sought in the social changes consequent
upon the residence of Abraham's descendants,
among a people then singularly distinguished
for their wisdom and refinement in the arts
of life. Egypt, from the earliest epoch of its
recorded history, was a country celebrated for
its progress in intellectual cultivation, being, at
the time of the sojourn in Goshen of the twelve
patriarchs who subsequently became heads of the
twelve Jewish tribes, the most classical country
of the world, renowned alike for social and poli-
tical pre-eminence. It was raised to the highest
celebrity under Joseph, to whom it was indebted
for many wise laws and judicious regulations,
both financial and agrarian, and famed for the
attainments of its population, both in the pro-
founder sciences and more eleoant arts. Thoujih
the wisdom of which it boasted was of that
esoterick character from which all other na-
tions have, for the space of more than three
thousand years, been debarred by that selfish
jealousy of national distinction, which was in

122

those earlier periods of the world the bane of
civil communication, and consequently of social
enlargement — thouo-h this wisdom was confined
almost exclusively to its own districts, being
wrapped up in the cry ptick web of hierogly phicks,
its renown was, nevertheless, spread to the fur-
thest regions of the earth ; and although India
continues to dispute with Egypt the palm of
supremacy in primitive wisdom, it is certain,
that, at the earliest period of its dark and fabu-
lous annals, the latter country was the glory of
the nations, both in political and intellectual
pre-eminence. In this populous and gifted land,
the descendants of the righteous Abraham no
doubt derived many signal advantages from the
learning of the people among whom they had
been so kindly permitted to settle under the
government of a generous potentate, who gave
them a district to dwell in, and extended to
them the protection of his wise and liberal
legislation ; and when we consider the compa-
ratively general mental culture of the Egyp-
tians, though the profounder mysteries of their
religion and philosophy, being of a character
grossly mythick, were committed exclusively to
the investigation and exposition of their priests,
who were therefore called mag-i or wise men —
for although the magi, so far as is now known
of them, were a sect peculiar to Persia, I be-
lieve them to have had their origin in Egypt*

• " That the mysteries," says Warburton,t " were invented, es-
tablished and supported by lawgivers, may be seen from the place of
their original, which was Egypt." " Now, in Egypt, all religious wor-

t See Divine Legation, book ii. sec. 4.

123

— we at once cease to wonder that the prophe-
cies of Jacob, who had dwelt among- this highly
endowed race seventeen years when he deli-
vered them, should far transcend those of his
father, who had never obtained any advantages
of literary acquirement but what the humble
tents of his parent supplied. There was a vast
difference between the gorgeous splendour of
Pharaoh's court and the domestic simplicity of
Abraham's nomadic habitation; the one abound-
ing in magnificence, the other remarkable for
the utter absence of it.

In contemplating those contrasts in the
temporal condition of man, which the Deity
has thought fit to establish in this world of pre-
paration for a better, I am involuntarily led to
a beautiful little poem of Phineas Fletcher, a
poet born in the latter part of the sixteenth
century, and cousin to the celebrated dramatist
of the same name, entitled, "The Poor Man to
the Scornful Rich Man." It is so exquisitely
beautiful, and of so earnestly devout a cha-
racter, that, although not immediately con-
nected with the subject under discussion, the
reader will, nevertheless, I think, derive grati-
fication from perusing it.

ship being planned and established by statesmen, and directed to the
ends of civil polity, we must conclude that the mysteries were origi-
nally invented by legislators. The sages who brought them out of
Egypt and propagated them in Asia, in Greece, and Britain, were all
kings or lawgivers; such as Zoroaster, Inachus, Orpheus Melam-
pus, Trophonius, Minos, Cinyras, Erectheus, and the Druids." It is
well known that Zoroaster, king of Bactria, was the originator of tiie
magian superstition among the Persians, which Marburton clearly con-
cludes he brought out of Egypt.

124

If well thou view'st us with no squinted eye,

No partial judgment, thou wilt quickly rate

Thy wealth no richer than my poverty.

My want no poorer than thy rich estate:
Our ends and births alike; in this, as T,
Poor thou wert born, and poor again shalt die.

My little fills my little-wishing mind ;
Thou, having more than much, yet seekest more :
Who seeks, still wishes what he seeks to find ;
Who wishes, wants; and whoso wants, is poor;

Then this must follow of necessity, —

Poor are thy riches, rich my poverty.

Though still thou gelt'st, yet is thy want not spent.
But, as thy wealth, so grows thy wealthy itch ;
But with my little, I am much content —
Content hath all ; and who hath all, is rich :

Then this in reason thou must needs confess.

If I have little, yet that thou hast less.

Whatever man possesses, God hath lent,

And to his audit liable is ever,

To reckon how, and when, and where he spent ;

Then this thou braggest — thou art a great receiver.
Little my debt, when little is my store,—
The more thou hast, thy debt still grows the more.

But seeing God himself descended down

To enrich the poor by his rich poverty ;

His meat, his house, his grave, were not his own,

Yet all is his from all eternity :

Let me be like my head, whom I adore !

Be thou great, wealthy, — I still base and poor.

This is one of those beautiful thino^s which
may claim a place beside the still brighter gems
of Hebrew poetry. Although inferior, it is never-
theless of a rare order of excellence.

Having said so much of the political and
intellectual supremacy of Egypt under the
first Pharaohs, and indeed up to the time of
the overthrow of that Pharaoh " who knew
not Joseph," and his multitudinous army in tiic

125

Red Sea, and more especially as I am upon tlie
subject of Hebrew poetry, I cannot refrain Irom
quoting that magnificent prophecy of Ezekiel*
against Egypt, which in the issue so signally
came to pass.

Thus saith the Lord God ;
Behold, I am against thee, Pharaoh, king of Egypt:
The great dragon that lieth in the midst of his rivers, which hath said
My river is mine own, and I have made it for myself.

But I will put hooks in thy jaws.
And I will cause the fish of thy I'ivers to stick unto thy scales.
And I will bring thee up out of the midst of thy rivers,
And all the fish of thy rivers shall stick unto thy scales.
And I will leave thee thrown into the wilderness,

Thee and all the fish of thy rivers :

Thou shalt fall upon the open fields ;
Thou shalt not be brought together, nor gathered :
I have given thee for meat to the beasts of the field

And to the fowls of the heaven.
And all the inhabitants of Egypt shall know that I am the Lord,
Because they have been a staff of I'eed to the house of Israel.
When they took hold of thee by the hand,
Thou didst break, and rend all their shoulder :
And when they leaned upon thee, thou brakest,
And madest all their loins to be at a stand.

Therefore, thus saith the Lord God ;
Behold, I will bring a sword upon thee.
And cut off man and beast out of thee.
And the land of Egypt shall be desolate and waste ;

And they shall know that I am the Lord :
Because he hath said, the river is mine, and I have made it.
Behold, therefore, I am against thee, and against thy rivers.
And I will make the land of Egypt utterly waste and desolate.
From the tower of Syene even unto the border of Ethiopia.
No foot of man shall pass through it, nor foot of beast
Shall pass through it, neither shall it be inhabited forty years.

And I will make the land of Egypt desolate

In the midst of the countries that are desolate,
And her cities among the cities that are laid waste

Shall be desolate forty years :
And I will scatter the Egyjitians among the nations,
And will disperse them through the countries.
Vet thus saitli the Lord God ; at the end of forty years
Will. I gather the Egyptians from thej[)cople whither tliey were
scattered :

* Chapter xxix.

126

And I will bring again the captivity of Egypt,

And will cause them to return into the land of Pathros,
Into the land of their habitation ; and they shall be there abase kingdom.
It shall be the basest of the kingdoms ;

Neither shall it exalt itself any more above the nations,
For I will diminish them, that they shall no more rule over the nations.
And it shall be no more the confidence of the house of Israel,

Which bringeth their iniquity to remembrance,
When they shall look after them :

And they shall know that I am the Lord.

CHAPTER X.

The prophetic ode in the thirty-second chapter of
Deuteronomy considered.

The next composition to which I shall direct
the reader's attention, is the prophetic ode
written by Moses, and contained in the thirty-
second chapter of Deuteronomy. Of this sub-
lime composition Bishop Lowth saysf — " The
exordium is singularly magnificent: the plan
and conduct of the poem is just, natural, and
well accommodated to the subject; for it is
almost in the order of an historical narration.
It embraces a variety of the sublimest subjects
and sentiments; it displays the truth and justice
of God, his paternal love, and his unfailing"
tenderness to his chosen people ; and, on the
other hand, their ungrateful and contumacious
spirit. The ardour of divine indignation and
the heavy denunciations of vengeance are after-
wards expressed in a remarkable personifica-
tion, which is scarcely to be paralleled from all
the choicest treasures of the Muses. The fervour
of wrath is however tempered with the milder
beams of lenity and mercy, and ends at last
in promises and consolation. The subject and

* Twenty-eighth Praelection.

128

style of this poem bear so exact a resemblance
to the prophetic as well as to the lyric composi-
tions of the Hebrews, that it unites all the force,
energy, find l)oldness of the latter, with the
exquisite variety and grandeur of imagery so
peculiar to the former."

This praise from the first Hebrew scholar of
his age and country, himself too a poet of a high
order, will be fully borne out when we come to
look at the poem in detail. It will then be seen
how mych persons have lost who, claiming to
possess a refined taste for poetry, seek for the
sublimest specimens of it only in heathen poets,
and in the writings of those of our own country to
whom posterity has given a place only second to
names consecrated by the prolonged reputation
of ages. I am in hopes to be able to show that
no production of a heathen or christian pen can
pretend to the most distant competition, in the
higher aims of poetical excellence, with this
transcendent composition of the Hebrew law-
giver; and the only wonder is, how so many
who are constantly reading it, fail to discover
those beauties which, — as the sunbeams spread
their glories round the entire circle of the hori-
zon, filling the whole expanse of the mighty
circumference, — absorb the mind of the reader,
who has the taste to discriminate and the heart
to feel, with their rich and resplendent lustre.

A number of versions have been made of this
immortal ode, which may be pronounced the
most perfect thing of its kind existing. It has
suffered greatly from the carelessness of tran-
scribers, no less than from the pretended im-

129

provements of translators, and I think, upon the
whole, the authorized version of it has never
been exceeded. Though it sometimes does not
give a very clear sense, it is generally re-
markably spirited and faithful. In this poem
all the grand characteristics of Hebrew poetry
are exhibited. Whoever wishes to satisfy him-
self concernin"^ the true character and o-enius
of its inspired author, let him read this sublime
ode. " It consists of sentences, pointed, ener-
getic, concise, and splendid ; but the sentences
are truly elevated and sublime, the language
bright and animated, the expression and phrase-
ology uncommon ; while the mind of the poet
never continues fixed to any single point, but
glances continually from one object to another.
These remarks are of such a nature that the
diligent reader will apprehend them better by
experience and his own observation, than by
means of any commentary or explanation what-
ever."*

'* I have yet to place before you," says
Herder,f " the soul of Moses, severe, full of
zeal, and borne down ^ith anxiety, even to
death, in his last glowing and poetical effusion.
What his deeds, his institutions, his descriptions,
and his other poems have produced, Ave shall
inquire in the se([uel ; but in this poem, the
images that surround you are the flaming
mountain, the fiery and cloudy pillars which
went before Israel, and in them the angel of
the countenance of Jehovah."

• Lowth's 15th Piaelec. t Spirit of Hebrew Poetry, vol. i. p. 2T9.
VOL. II. K

130

The foUowiii": is our common Bible version
of this prophetic song, broken into hemistichs: —

Give ear, O ye heavens, and I will speak ;

And hear, O earth, thevs^ords of my mouth.

My doctrine shall drop as the rain,

My speech shall distil as the dew.

As the small rain upon the tender herb,

And as the showers upon the grass :

Because I will publish the name of the Lord :

Ascribe ye greatness unto our God.

He is the Rock, his work is perfect :

For all his ways are judgment :

A God of truth and without iniquity.

Just and right is he.

They have corrupted themselves.

Their spot is not the spot of his children :

They are a perverse and crooked generation .

Do ye thus requite the Lord,

O foolish people and unwise ?

Is not he thy father that hath bought thee?

Hath he not made thee, and established thee ?

Remember the days of old.

Consider the years of many generations :

Ask thy father, and he will show thee ;

Thy elders, and they will tell thee.

When the Most High divided to tlie nations their inheritance,

When he separated the sons of Adam,

He set the bounds of the people

According to the number of the children of Israel.

For the Lord's portion is his people ;

Jacob is the lot of his inheritance.

He found him in a desert land,

And in the waste howling wilderness ;

He led him about, he instructed him,

He kept him as the apple of his eye.

As an eagle stirreth up her nest,

Fluttereth over her young,

Spreadeth abroad her wings ;

Taketh them, beareth them on her wings;

So tiie Lord alone did lead him,

And there was no strange god with him.

He made him ride on the high places of the earth,

That he might eat the increase of the fields ;

And he made him to suck honey out of the rock.

And oil out of the flinty rock ;

Butter of kine, and milk of sheep,

With fat of lambs, and rams of the breed of Bashan,

131

And goals, with the fat of kidneys of wheat;

And thou didst drink the pure blood of the grape.

liut Joshurun waxed fat, and kicked :

Thou art waxen fat, thou art grown thick,

Tiiou art covered with fatness ;

Then he forsook God which made him.

And lightly esteemed the Rock of his salvation.

They provoked him to jealousy with strange gods,

With abominations provoked they him to anger.

They sacrificed unto devils, not to God ;

To gods whom they knew not.

To new gods that came newly up.

Whom your fathers feared not.

Of the Rock that begat thee thou art unmindful,

And hast forgotten God that formed thee.

And when the Lord saw it, he abhorred them,

Because of the provoking of his sons, and of his daughters.

And he said, I will hide my face from them,

I will see what their end shall be :

For they are a very froward generation,

Children in whom is no faith.

They have moved me to jealousy with that which is not God ;
They have provoked me to anger with their vanities :
And I will move them to jealousy with those which are not a people;
I will provoke them to anger with a foolish nation.
For a fire is kindled in mine anger.
And shall burn unto the lowest hell.
And shall consume the earth with her increase,
And set on fire the foundations of the mountains.
I will heap mischiefs upon them ;
I will spend mine arrows upon them.
They shall be burnt with hunger,
And devoured with burning heat.
And with bitter destruction :
I will also send the teeth of beasts upon them,
With the poison of serpents of the dust.
The sword without, and terror within.
Shall destroy both the young man and the vii'gin,
The suckling also, with the man of gray hairs.
I said I would scatter them into corners,
I would make the remembrance of them to cease from among men :
Were it not that I feared the wrath of the enemy,
Lest their adversaries should behave themselves strangely.
And lest they should say, our hand is high.
And the Lord hath not done all this.
For they are a nation void of counsel.
Neither is tliere any understanding in them.
() tliat they were wise,

K 2

132

That they understood tliis,

That tliey would consider their latter end!

How should one chase a thousand,

And two put ten thousand to flight,

Except their Rock had sold them,

And the Lord had shut them up?

For their rock is not as our Rock,

Even our enemies themselves being judges.

For their vine is of the vine of Sodom,

And of the fields of Gomorrah :

Their grapes are grapes of gall, their clusters are bitter.

Their wine is the poison of dragons.

And the cruel venom of asps.

Is not this laid up in store with me,

And sealed up among my treasures?

To me belongeth vengeance and recompense ;

Their foot shall slide in due time:

For the day of their calamity is at hand,

And the things that shall come upon them make haste.

For the Lord shall judge his people.

And repent himself for his servants.

When he seeth that their power is gone.

And there is none shut up, or left.

And he shall say. Where are their gods,

Their rock in whom they trusted,

Which did eat the fat of their sacrifices.

And drank the wine of their drink-offerings?

Let them rise up and help you.

And be your protection.

See now that I, even I, am he.

And there is no god with me :

I kill, and I make alive;

I wound, and I heal :

Neither is there any that can deliver oivt of my band.

For I lift up my hand to heaven,

And say, I live for ever.

If I whet my glittering sword,

And mine hand take hold on judgment ;

I will render vengeance to mine enemies,

And will reward them tliat hate me.

I will make mine arrows drunk with blood,

And my sword shall devour flesh ;

And that with the blood of the slain and of the captives.

From the beginning of revenges upon the enemy.

Rejoice, O ye nations, with his people :

For he will avenge the blood of his servants,

And will render vengeance to his adversaries,

And will be merciful unto his land and to his people.

CHAPTER Xr.

The prophetic ode continued.

A CAREFUL perusal of this magnificent compo-^
sition, if it be accompanied with even an ordi-
nary perception of the beautiful, cannot fail to
make manifest its rare qualities. The intellectual
reader will detect in every verse some beauty
worthy of the genius of a man, not only divinely
inspired, but who has proved himself to be en-
dowed with surprising poAvers of intellect, as
his thanksgiving ode, after the passage of the
Red Sea, sufficiently demonstrates.

The bard commences the sublime sons: which
we are now to examine with a solemn obtesta-
tion, first to heaven, then to earth ; the former
to sanction what he is about to deliver, the
latter to receive it as a communication from the
source of eternal wisdom. The solemn ffran-
deur of this invocation is worthy of the transcen
dant composition of which it forms a part ; being
the opening of a brief, indeed, but elegant and
impressive exordium. The parallelism in this
proemial couplet is better maintained by Herder
than by our translators. He reads the passage,

Give ear, O ye lieavens, (o my speech;
Hear, O earth, the words of my mouth.

According to this distribution of the corres-

134

ponding terms, instead of the parallelism being
strictly gradational, it is retrogradational, that
is, it does not advance but recedes in force.
' Give ear' is a more emphatic expression than
' hear,' the one implying excess of attention, as
if he had said, ' O ye blest inhabitants of heaven,
deign to give your undivided notice,' the other
signifying simply the ordinary act of listening;
— the former is the superlative, the latter the
positive of the same action. Thus it will appear
that, although these expressions have a specific
relation in sense, they exhibit altogether an
inverse ratio of force.

Although at the first view the second pair of
parallel terms may appear to be synonymous,
a nearer scrutiny will nevertheless show them
to be very different. The one set of terms is
general, the other specific ; and here the exqui-
site discrimination and elevated taste of the
poet are singularly remarkable. In the first
hemistich, the hosts of heaven are invoked to
listen to his speech, generally , that is, without any
particular specification ; — in short, to the import
of what he was about to deliver. The mere graces
of human eloquence and the adornments of poe-
try could have no charm for the celestial minis-
trants, who saw no beauty in words specially
adapted to the capacities of human agents, but
without which the communications of divine
wisdom could not be proclaimed. The heavenly
powers then are besought to give ear to the
sacred revelations which Moses had been
inspired to proclaim to those upon earth,
whose conversion from sin to holiness caused

135

joy even among their blessed communities.
The inhabitants of earth, for whose immediate
benefit this divine hymn was composed, are next
called upon by its inspired author, to listen to
"the words of his mouth." Moses had arrayed
the heavenly truths which he was commissioned
by the Holy Spirit of God to unfold, in language
at once impressive and sublime. All the graces
of poetry, of which he was so perfect a master,
were employed to adorn those celestial commu-
nications. The most elegant and persuasive arts
of rhetorick had been enlisted to give no less
beauty than force to the oracles contained in this
prophetic song. Its author, therefore, bids his
hearers listen with the deepest interest, not only
to its wisdom, but likewise to the expressions by
which that wisdom is imparted, to mark the elo-
quence and poetic grandeur of the composition,
as well as the infallible revelation which it
promulgates; for this they could only receive
through the words spoken, where as the prin-
cipalities and powers of heaven needed no such
vehicles of communication.

In applying the more emphatic term " give
car" to heaven, the poet's main object probably
was merely to give its due effect to the parallel-
ism. The solemnity of the invocation requiring
that a word of greater emphasis should be em
ployed in connection with the superior object
"heaven" than with the inferior object " earth,"
it was used by the inspired bard without losing-
sight of the artifice by which he intended to
embellish his solemn obtestation of both. Tha
phrases are applied with a delicate perception

136

of eflectivc adaptation. It is, indeed, true, that
it did not require deeper attention in angels than
in men to become acquainted with the subject
of the poet's song, still it must be conceded that
in a production in which the adornments of poetic
eloquence were, without doubt, carefully con-
sidered, the more dignified expression better
became the former than the latter, and was con-
sequently so applied by Moses, as I conceive,
because it more effectively advanced the structure
of his verse and the expressive elegance of his
phraseology, than if a different order of compo-
sition had been observed. We now cannot fail to
recognise the skill of the writer, no less than the
profound wisdom of the legislator ; and above
all, the exalted inspiration of the prophet.

Bishop Lowth, who has thrown more light
upon the intricate subject of Hebrew poetry and
shown a more accurate perception of its beau-
ties than any writer before him, has rendered
w ith great felicity the quatrain, following the
opening couplet of this song. He reads it as
follows : —

My doctrine shall drop as the rain ;
My language shall alight like the dew :
As the small rain upon the tender herb ;
And like the thjck drops upon the grass.

In these lines there is an evident hyberbaton,
though the alternation of the parallel clauses is
not so distinctly preserved by our translators as
by Bishop Lowth ; the former, it is probable, not
being aware of the peculiar construction of this
passage. The word "showers," which they
employ, does not appear to ;be parallel with

137

*' dew," although it really is so, while the " thick
drops" used by Lowth have a very striking cor-
respondency, showing a kindred, though not a
synonymous sense. How justly and with what
nice discernment are the two first hemistichs
adapted to the two preceding clauses forming
the invocation, which has been already consi-
dered, " doctrine" being in direct parallelism with
the concluding terms of the first, and " lan-
guage" with those of the second hemistich. As
if the prophet had said — ' Give ear, O ye hosts
of heaven, to my speech,' that is, to the doctrine
which Jehovah has commissioned me to pro-
claim; 'and hear, O ye inhabitants of earth, the
words of my mouth ! — mark, and treasure up in
your memories likewise the language in which
I am about to deliver the oracles of God.'

Herder gives much the same reading as
Bishop Lowth to the two first lines of the qua-
train. Neither of these versions can scarcely be
said to (Utter from that of our Bibles. The
German rendering is —

My doctrine shall drop as the rain ;
]\Iy words shall distil as the dew.

I have already remarked that there is an ob-
vious hyperbaton in the quatrain we are now
examining. It will be observed that the strict
consecution of sense, which is interrupted
though without being obstructed by the paral-
lelism, is traceable in the alternate lines : the
clauses, therefore, disposed in their most natu-
ral order according to the immediate relation
of the phrases, would stand thus : —

138

My doctrine shall drop as the rain —
As the small rain upon the tender herh ;
My language shall alight like the dew,
And like the thick drops upon the grass.

Here are two comparisons bearing as strong an
analogy of relation as apparently to render them
almost identical, yet displaying so fine a dis-
tinction as clearly to exhibit their individuality ;
the bard's " doctrine" being compared to rain,
which fertilizes, and his "language" to dew, which
not only fertilizes but adorns : for let any ad-
mirer of the beauties of nature look at a land-
scape through those thin mists formed by a
rapid evaporation of the dews upon the herbage
and trees, under the influence of the morning sun ;
let him observe the sunbeams reflected in myriads
of vivid and fantastic scintillations from the thick
drops upon the grass, and verdant foliage of the
landscape ; — let him notice the fresh and grate-
ful verdure presented under the moist covering,
which throws over it a rich transparent bloom,
the vigorous life that everywhere prevails in
the vegetable kingdom before him, the becom-
ing drapery which appears to invest the whole
scene, and he can scarcely fail to acknowledge
the beauty no less than the fecundity derived
from the refreshing dews of heaven.

I beg leave to direct the reader's attention to
the admirable propriety of the terms in this elo-
quent passage, and he will, I am satisfied, at
once perceive what a consummate master Moses
was of the various resources of language, an ac-
(luirement which belongs exclusively to talent of
the rarest order, for language being the vehicle of

139

communicating thought can only be rendered
capalile of placing it in its most favourable as-
pect by superior minds. This is one of the
great triumphs of genius.

My doctrine shall drop as the rain ;
My language shall alight like the dew.

How felicitous are these comparisons and how
beautifully distinguished ! My " doctrine," he
says, shall have the force of rain which falls
direct to the earth by its own gravity ; it shall at
once meet the perceptions of those who hear it,
and produce the most beneficial effects. Like
the dew that expands over the land in imper-
ceptible vapour and gently settling upon the
trees and herbage, gathers into "thick drops"
which fructify while they adorn the landscape,
my "language" shall fall agreeably upon the
ear, carrying with encreased effiect to the
mind and heart those divine truths which my
words are employed to convey.

The parallelisms in the distich are not grada-
tional but cognate, in the strictest sense of the
word ; they do not advance in force, but show, as
it were, a kindred alliance : nevertheless, the cor-
responding terms, notwithstanding this close rela-
tionship, are so elegantly varied as to impart the
charm of variety in its most agreeable form,
each phrase suggesting its own peculiar hues of
thought, all these so beautifully melting into
one harmonious whole as to leave a perfectly
graphic impression u})on the imagination, the
entire meaning being seen as in a skilfully dis-
posed picture. There is so equable a libration

140

of the clauses that they appear moulded upon
the nicest prescripts of art, the presence of which
is only perceptible from the consummate sym-
metry of arrangement displayed ; they are ad-
justed with so near an equalization that the one
seems in the reading a fine echo of the other, nor
can this exact beauty of proportion well fail to
arrest a critical scrutiny, whilst the poetical
structure is too prominent to escape the most
obtuse perception. Observe how the compari-
sons rise in the corresponding verses of the
quatrain, that is, in the alternate lines : —

My doctrine shall drop as the rain,

As the small rain upon the tender herb.

' My doctrine shall not only drop as the rain
that descends in a rapid shower, and then pas-
ses, but as the small or co7itinuous rain which
falls upon the tender grass, supplying it with
necessary and perpetual nourishment.'

My language shall alight like the dew,
Like the thick drops upon the grass.

' My language shall not merely extend its in-
iluence like the dew which floats over the surface
of the soil, falling gently upon the surrounding
veo-etation : but as the same dew when it has be-
come condensed into " thick drops" imparts a
"■erminating energy to the herbage on which it
has descended, making its way to the roots and
thus supplying them with the fructifying prin-
ciple, so shall what I am about to deliver,
clothed in the most captivating graces of ex-
pression, sink into the hearts of those who hear

141

it, and give a quickening impulse to that
spiritual perception which else would lose its vital
energy, and become insufficient to sustain the
soul in its laborious flight to the everlasting
beatitude of heaven.'

These comparisons are the more consistent
from the well-known fact, that, in the east,
during the prevalence of the periodical rains,
which continue with scarcely any intermission
for many weeks, the land only receives the ne-
cessary quantity of moisture for the harvest of
invariable abundance that almost immediately
ensues ; in fact, this continuous rain, which sel-
dom fails at these regular intervals of supply,
after a long period of drought, is absolutely
necessary to saturate the soil so long desiccated
by the ardent rays of a tropical sun, over which
for days together no cloud interposes its wel-
come shelter. The dews descending copiously
durino; the nio-ht in those climes where the
solar influence is often destructive, not only of
vegetable but of animal life, alight upon the
jungles, or eastern forests, and being gathered
into " thick drops," are received in the broad
foliage of the trees; being there accumulated,
they fall upon the soil beneath, thus supplying
the requisite aliment without which, during at
least three fourths of the year, the vegetation
must entirely cease.

The comparisons then cm])loyed by Moses,
in a region under such different conditions of
nature from those by which not i)nly our own
country but a large portion of the habitable
world is governed, were particularly a])pro-

142

priatc, and would, as a matter of course, be rea-
dily appreciated by those to whom they were ad-
dressed; upon their minds the impression of
that influence, inseparable from the revelation he
was about to promulgate in prophetic song, would
be strong in proportion to their consciousness
of the importance of those two agents of fecun-
dity, rain and dew, in a climate where moisture
was so absolutely essential to the common wants
as well as to the more pressing necessities of
the multitudinous population. Mr. Roberts, in
his "Oriental Illustrations of Scripture,"* has a
very good note on the passage now under ex-
amination.

" Oriental writers," he says, " often speak of
beautiful language as dropping upon the hearers.
The Hebrew has for ' prophecy' (Micah ii. 6,)
the term drop. The same word is used for
drops of rain, for tears, or for the dew dropping
from flowers. When a man has received con-
solation from another, he says, ' his words were
like rain upon the parched corn.' Of a beauti-
ful speaker and an appropriate subject, it is
said, ' Ah! his speech is like the honey rain,
upon the pandal bower of sugar.' "

The Jerusalem Targum thus paraphrases
the whole passage. " Let the doctrine of my
law be as sweet upon the children of Israel as the
rain, and the words of my mouth be received as
the delectable dew ; let it be as gentle showers
refreshing the grass, and as the drops of the
latter rain descending and watering the blades

* Page 129.

143

of corn in the month of march." This is a
good general sense, though the poetical con-
struction is lost sight of by the Targumist, so
much so that we are led to conclude the learned
paraphrast did not perceive it, or if he did, he
probably thought it secondary to the main
object of the inspired author, and was, there-
fore, only desirous of enforcing the sense of
what Moses had here written, not anxious to
distinguish its peculiar graces of composition.

The couplet which follows closes the exor-
dium of this magnificent ode : —

Because I will publish the name of the Lord :
Ascribe ye greatness unto our God.

Herder has given great dignity to this distich,
merely by a slight variation of the principal
term, and by repeating it in the second line : —

For I will publish the name of Jehovah —
Ascribe ye greatness to Jehovah, our God.

That is, ' ascribe all the attributes of perfection
to the Deity, whom we, the Hebrews, worship,
who is not, like the dumb divinities of the
heathens, a monstrous fabrication of wood and
stone, but the Almighty and everlasting Je-
hovah— " the Lord of all power and might,"
whom we the seed of Abrahamare bound to adore.
He has signally manifested his power, in deliver-
ing us from the hands of Pharaoh; his might, in
dividing the Red Sea, and overwhelming the hosts
of that tyrannical potentate ; his love, in leading
us through the wilderness to that promised land

144

of which the posterity of Jacob shall shortly
take possession.'

The distinction here is remarkable. Moses
does not desire his auditors to ascribe o-reatness
to God, but to Jehovah, especially theii^ God,
because the heathens likewise ascribed great-
ness to the Divinity, but mistook him. They
saw him through " the clouds and darkness" of
superstition, which transformed him from an in-
tangible essence into a palpable substance of
repelling deformity. They symbolized his attri-
butes under the monstrous types of human in-
firmity, thus degrading him to a level M'ith the
lowest objects of his vast creation. The inspired
poet, therefore, does not demand a mere general
acknowledgment of divine greatness, but a par-
ticular and solemn ascription of universal
potency to that unerring Divinity of the He-
brews, " who is God, and none else," in contra-
distinction to the idols of the Canaanites, who
were nothing but senseless matter. The Israelites
had received abundant proofs of the omnipo-
tence of Jehovah in the numerous miracles
wrought for their deliverance, both in Egypt
and in the wilderness, their entire march
from the Red Sea to the borders of Canaan
being one continued scene of providential inter-
position. Moses, therefore, simply called upon
his countrymen who had but too often manfested
a most intemperate proclivity to rebellion,
to perform, in the present instance, an act of
gratitude, in making public confession of the
wonders wrought by the Deity in their behalf, that
by ascribing greatness, or omnipotence, to Him

145

alone, they might at once proclaim the impo-
tency of the factitious deities of Canaan, by the
Very act of showing the supremacy of Jehovah,
they being contemptible in proportion as He
was pre-eminent.

When the prophetic bard had declared,

My doctrine shall drop as the rain,
My speech shall distil as the dew,

in order to show why such an effect must result
from what he is about to deliver, he at once
proclaims the subject of his song, —

Because I will publish the name of the Lord ;

That is, ' I will tell of his infinite power, of his
ineffable wisdom, of his eternal majesty. I
will declare the marvellous acts of his provi-
dence in favour of Israel, his chosen. My song
shall be of Him who alike governs heaven and
earth, whose wisdom directs and sustains the
universe ; to whom the w orship of his peculiar
people, whom he has brought out of great tribu-
lation, is so justly and so entirely due.'

The gifted bard was fairly justified in assum-
ing the influence of his doctrine, the persua-
siveness of his eloquence, and the marvellous
eflFect of his poetry, when inspired by such a
theme of imposing solemnity ; and justly has he
established his claim to the distinction which he
here asserts.

'I am about,' he says, ' to make the Lord
Jehovah, who delivered you and myself out of
that hard bondage to which we should have
probably been subjected in the land of Egypt to

VOL. II. L

146

the end of time, the suhject of my song; and,
therefore, now call upon you» in consideration
of what he has done for you in the place of your
captivity and in the country of the heathen —

Ascribe ye greatness to Jehovah, onr God.

Confess his omnipotence, his universal sove-
reignty, his ahounding mercy, and make him
the sole ohject of your worship.'

Here closes the exordium of this magnificent
ode, though Dr. Hales considers that the intro-
ductory portion extends to the termination of
the fifth verse. He observes that " this majestic
vindication of the tutelar God of Israel with his
chosen people consists of six parts. The first
opens with an animated summons to the inhabi-
tants of heaven and earth, to angels and men,
or the whole rational creation to listen to the
prophet's wholesome and refreshing discourse,
contrasting the veracity and justice of God
with the iniquity and ingratitude of his people.
This forms the introduction to the whole poem,
from the first verse to the end of the fifth."

I confess, to me it appears, that the introduc-
tory portion of this prophetic ode terminates
with the fourth couplet ; for in the fifth he enters
upon the subject of the poem by contrasting the
divine goodness with human ingratitude, which
is the prominent feature of this extraordinary
effusion of a most highly gifted mind.

It was the opinion of Josephus that the entire
poem was composed in hexameter verse. His
words are these : — " This was the form of poli-
tical government which was left to us by Moses.

147

Moreover he had already delivered laws in
writing in the fortieth year after he came out of
Eo^ypt, concerning' which we will discourse in
another book. But now, in the following days, —
for he called them to assemble continually, — he
delivered blessings to them, and curses upon
those who should not live according to the laws,
but should transgress the duties that were deter-
mined for them to observe. After this he read
to them a prophetic song, which was composed
in hexameter verse, and left it to them in the
holy book; it contained a prediction of what was
to come to pass afterwards. Agreeably whereto
all things have happened all along, and do still
happen to us ; and wherein he has not at all
deviated from the truth."*

Although this affirmation of Josephus, so con-
fidently made, namely, that the production of
the Hebrew lawgiver to which he refers was
written in hexameter verse, cannot be sustained,
it is nevertheless a remarkable fact, that the
third and fourth lines of the proem form together
a perfect verse of this kind, as rendered in our ver-
sion, as will be seen by marking the feet thus : — ■

My— doc I trine— shall — drop | as — the — rain; | my — speech | shall —
distil I as — the — dew.

This, it is true, does not form the ordinary
classic hexameter, of which the first four feet
may be either dactyls or spondees ; the fifth
foot ))eing generally a dactyl, and the sixth in-
variably a spondee, as in the following line of
Horace : —

* Ant. book iv. chap. 8.

l2

148

Aut pro I desse vo | lunt, aut ( delec | tare po | etae.

The hexameter produced by our translators, no
further corresponds with this metrical arrange-
ment than as it forms a verse of six feet, these
feet being anapaests and iambuses; still it
is certain that a perfect rhythm is established,
and that the two clauses form a regularly me-
trical line. Although those learned men who
completed our authorized translation of the
Bible were probably, in this instance, not aware
of having wrought out an hexameter ; that
very probability will, however, give us the
stronger reason to infer that they were led into
this symmetrical distribution of the phrases by
the artificial and euphonious construction of
the original.

CHAPTER XII.

The prophetic ode continued.

I IMAGINE the poem itself to commence with
the following passage, which emphatically pro-
claims the divine attributes : —

He is the Rock, his work is perfect :
For all his ways are judgment :
A God of truth and without iniquity,
Just and right is he.

Maimonides observes,* that the word in the
first hemistich of this passage translated rock,
signifies fomitain, origin, first cause ; he there-
fore reads the line —

He is the First Cause, his work is perfect.

The common reading, however, presents a con-
gruous and sublime image, justly applicable to
the Deity, whose truth is immutable and his
attributes eternal,

" The image of a rock," says Herder,f " so
frequent in this piece as almost to lose its
figurative character, was undoubtedly taken
from Sinai and the rocks of Arabia, among
which Israel had so long wandered. On Mount
Sinai the covenant was made, and on the part

* More Nevochim, chap. xvi. f Spirit of Hebrew Poetry, vol. i. p. 280.

150

of God it was enduring as the everlasting rocks."
He gives a very intelligible and elegant reading,
in substance the same as our translators : —

He is a Rock, his work is perfect,
And all his dealings are riglit ;
A God of truth, without iniquity —
Sincere and righteous is he.

Father Houbigant proposes the following,
rejecting with Maimonides the term rock, and
giving an interpretation consentaneous with that
of the learned rabbi : —

The works of the Creator are perfect,
For all his ways are regularly established.
He is a faithful God and immutable:
He is just and also unchangeable.

I do not, however, think that either this or
Herder's version presents the stern but vigorous
simplicity of our authorized translation. There
is a colossal strength about it, which is rendered
the more apparent by the employment of the
most ordinary terms, and from the almost entire
absence of embellishment, this occurring only in
the first line, in which there is a striking simili-
tude. The opening image is indeed one of
gigantic dimensions, and none could have been
more appropriately chosen from the vast or
grand in nature. " God is the rock." This
is a type of stability, power, and duration. It
maintains its position, its qualities, its character,
through the whole course of time, unchanged by
circumstance, uninfluenced by revolutions, un-
touched by years. Storms pass over it, but it
remains unmoved. The waves of the ocean

151

dash against, l)ut do not upheave it. It stands
firm and immoveable amid the lapse as well as
amid the contingencies of ages and the ravages
of decay, still fixed in the earth upon its own
everlasting foundation, speaking relatively to
finite things, and only to be subverted " when
there shall be time no longer." God is all and
much more than this type of him represents.
He is omnipotent, unchangeable, eternal, perfect
in goodness and truth, " the same yesterday,
to-day, and for ever."

It is but fair to state, in justification of Hou-
bigant's interpretation, that the Septuagint, the
Samaritan, Arabic, and Syriac versions, toge-
ther with the Vulgate, concur in rendering the
original word God, interpreted by our translators
*'rock." Itappears to me tosignify little, so faras
the sense is concerned, whether the term " rock"
or " the Creator" be employed, as they both
signify the same thing, the one typically, the
other literally, characterizing the Deity.

The ingenious reader cannot fail to perceive,
that in each of the versions given of this passage
the usual form of parallelism is shown to exist,
but I think it must be allowed that the grada-
tional advance of meaning is more distinctly shown
in the first, which is the common English ver-
sion, than in either of the other two, though
both Houl)igant and Herder were obviously
aware of its existence. The phrases are
much more happily varied than in Houbigant's
version especially, being cognate but neither
synonymous nor ecpuvalent; they are more than
either. The parallel terms in the first couplet

152

are " his work is perfect" and " his ways are
judgment." That is, 'whatever he does neces-
sarily partakes of his perfection, consequently
cannot possibly be subject to any defect, the
whole course of his providence being directed
by the most infallible judgment, and by the
most consummate wisdom.' There is not then a
repetition of the same thought in the first and
second hemistichs ; but the latter rises above
the former in weight of importance, if not in
force of signification. The former refers to
God's dispensations in time, the latter to the
universal and abstract character of his provi-
dence. The one relates to his "works," the
other to his "ways," that is, to his acts and
Mdll. Whatever he does is perfect, for it is the
issue of an unerring and all-wise determination.
In these two short hemistichs the cause and
the consequence are exhibited with marvellous
impressiveness and felicity of expression. God's
"works" are visible, his -' ways" are invisible ;
yet both are always operating in the pro-
duction of good. Thus it will appear that
in these brief but expressive clauses the corres-
ponding phrases rise in a beautiful ascent of
emphasis, establishing that peculiar artifice of
construction so common in the sacred writings.
In the second couplet, although the parallel
terms are not so broadly obvious, they are,
nevertheless, marked by correspondencies sufl[i-
ciently manifest to show that the author had
the idea of parallelism in his mind.

A God of truth and without iniquity ;
Just and risht is He.

153

The relative phrases in this distich are " a God
of truth" and "just," " without iniquity" and
"right." Now I think it can be shown that
these expressions have a mutual relation of sin-
gular propriety, — all strikingly concurrent in
working out the picture of divine perfection.
The Almighty is ever faithful to his promises,
consequently a "God of truth;" thus his erring
creatures have the strongest guarantee they
can desire for the fulfilment of those promises.
He never deceives nor does an injury, because
he is incapable of wrong, thus he is " without
iniquity" — the very perfection of goodness. He
is ever " just" in punishing, and " right" in
rewarding, because he is both wise and unerring.
With him error is impossible. His truth and
goodness, his justice and infallibility constitute
his perfection. The Godhead stands confessed
in the vast beauty of his holiness, and in the
consummate sublimity of his attributes. His
dispensations are unfailing.

We see how the sense is heightened in the
second hemistich, compared with that of the
corresponding expressions in the first. God is
true^ but he is likewise just, for truth is the
most valuable quality of justice. He promises
rewards, but he likewise denounces punishments.
He is a lover of good, but a hater of evil. His
truth then is merged in his justice, which is the
perfection of it. Love and terror are at once
inspired by these contrasted attributes of mercy
and justice. He is true to reward, j/^s^ to punish,
merciful to the good, inflexible to the wicked.
The dread of sufiering everlasting punishment

154

being generally greater than the hope of enjoy-
ing eternal reward — for the natural man is more
prone to dread the punitive discipline of God
than to feel delight in his dispensations of
mercy, fear being the dominant feeling in the
human heart; — it will hence be seen that more
force is attached to the attribute of justice
than to that of truth, because as I have before
said, the latter is but an essential and germane
quality of the former ; this, therefore, takes the
more prominent station above that which is
united to it in inseparable alliance.

In . the second pair of kindred terms, the
word " right" in the last line has an emphasis
and importance above the phrase "without
iniquity" in the first. God is not only incapable
of doing wrong, or of practising deception
towards his creatures, but is unerring in his
acts. Whatever he does must be " right."
Not only is he " without iniquity," but he is
incapable of being mistaken. The phrase in
the first hemistich simply expresses a negative
quality. The corresponding term in the last
defines a positive and specific attribute. The
Deity is "right" in rewarding, in dispensing
mercies, in awarding penalties — right in all his
dealings with his creatures, and this by a moral
necessity — because he is incapable of wrong.

They have corrupted themselves,

Their spot is not the spot of his children ;

They are a perverse and crooked generation.

This passage has very much perplexed the
commentators ; but Dr. Adam Clarke has so

155

ing-enious, and, upon the whole, so satisfactory a
note, that I cannot do better than extract it
entire,

" This verse," says he, " is variously under-
stood. They are corrupted, not his; children of
pollution; Kennicott. They are corru/pt; they
are not his children; they are blotted; Hou-
BiGANT. This is according to the Samaritan.
The interpretation commonly given to these
words is as unfounded as it is exceptionable :
* God's children have their spots, that is, their
sins, but sin in them is not like sin in others;
in others, sin is exceedingly sinful, but God does
not see the sins of his children as he sees the
sins of his enemies, &c.' Unfortunately for this
bad doctrine, there is no foundation for it in the
sacj'cd text, which, though very obscure, may
be thus translated : — He (Israel) hath corr^upted
himself. They (the Israelites) are 7iot his
children ; they a7'e spotted. Coverdale renders
the whole passage thus : — ' The fro ward and
overthwart generation have marred themselves
to himward, and are not his children, because
of their deformity.' This is the se?ise of the
verse. Let it be observed that the word spot,
which is repeated in our translation, occurs but
once in the original, and the marginal read-
ing is greatly to be preferred : He hath cor-
rupted to himself that they are not his children;
that is their blot. And because they had the
l)lot of sin on them, because they Mere spotted
with iniquity, and marked idolaters, therefore
God renounces them. There may be here an
alhision to the marks whicli the worshipj)ers

156

of particular idols had on different parts of
their bodies, especially on their foreheads; and
as idolatry is the crime with which they are
here charged, the spot or mark mentioned may
refer to the mark or stigma of their idol. The
different sects of idolaters in the east are distin-
g'uished by their sectarian marks, the stigma of
their respective idols. These sectarian marks,
particularly on the forehead, amount to nearly
one hundred among the Hindoos, and especially
among the two sects, the worshippers of Seeva
and the worshippers of Vishnoo. In many
cases, these marks are renewed daily, for they
account it irreligious to perform any sacred rite
to their god without his mark on the forehead ;
the marks are generally horizontal and perpen-
dicular lines, crescents, circles, leaves, eyes,
&c., in red, black, white, and yellow. This
very custom is referred to in Revelations (xx, 4),
where the beast gives his mark to his followers,
and it is very likely that Moses refers to such a
custom among the idolatrous of his own day.
This removes all the difficulty of the text.
Tod's children have no sinful spots, because
Christ saves them from their sins; and their
motto or ma7^k is, holiness to the Lord."

" Dr. Adam Clarke," says Mr. Roberts,* " is,
I believe, correct in supposing this (' their spot is
not the spot of his children') alludes to the mark
which idolaters have on their forehead to show
what deity they serve. The worshippers of
Siva have a spot on the brow, in a line with the
nose, made of the ashes of cow's dung. The

* Oriental Illustrations, p. 129.

157

followers of Vishnoo have yellow marks, others
have Vermillion, and some black."

These marks are renewed daily, and, in some
instances, two or three times betwixt smirise
and sunset. They are repeated after every
bath, which all pious Hindoos take once,
twice, or even three times within the twenty-
four hours. The sectarian marks, as the learned
commentator calls them, are of necessity re-
newed after each lustration where they are
desired to be retained, which is invariably the
case among the higher castes. Being painted upon
the forehead with a sacred pigment composed
of ochre or vermillion and oil, which is but
slightly adhesive, these marks of caste are readily
effaced by the water; so that the idolatrous
stigma or spot is repeatedly restored after such
spiritual abrasion.

Bishop Kidder's paraphrase of this triplet,
though somewhat feeble, affords, notwithstand-
ing, a sufficiently clear interpretation. " They
have sinned, and have been so far from imita-
ting God, ' whose work is perfect, &c.' that they
have been most unlike him, their crimes l)eino:
of so high a nature, that they speak them to be
not his peculiar people, but a perverse and
crooked generation."

Houbigant reduces the triplet to a very ele-
gant and comprehensive couplet, in which there
is a remarkably beautiful example of gradational
parallelism : —

They are coirupt; they are not his children :

They are blotted ; a wicked and perverse generation.

158

'They are not only "corrupt;" they are more
than this, "they are blotted;" that is, com-
pletely corrupted. There is no soundness in
them ; they have altogether become abominable.
They are not God's children, but a wicked and
perverse generation, for they could not be the
one whilst they were the other.' The parallel
terms are certainly here marked with sufficient
precision, whilst it is no less certain that, in
our authorized translation, we can trace them
but indistinctly. The ascent of force in the
couplet just given is quite clear. The first
phrase states corruption simply ; the correspond-
ing phrase implies entire feculency — " they
are blotted" — covered with pollution. So,
likewise, in the second pair of terms, not
only are they not God's children, but "a
wicked and perverse generation." By a very
natural transposition of the members of the first
clause a striking epanode might have been
produced, as will be seen : —

They are not his children ; they are corrupt,

They are blotted ; a wicked and perverse generation.

In this arrangement, the two more prominent
propositions commence and end the distich,
the two subordinate being placed between them,
the whole series forming an impressive climax.
The couplet thus distributed begins with the
Israelites' estrangement from God, and ends
with their complete perversity, the climax follow-
ing thus — ' they are not God's children, they are
corrupt, they are covered with moral pollution,
they are altogether perverse and abominable, in

159

consequence of their numerous and repeated
idolatries,' The first is a nei^ative, the last a
positive declaration of wickedness. They are
no longer the favoured offspring of him who
delivered them from Egyptian bondage, but a
community of ungrateful rebels ; in short, they
are not the one, because they are the other, the
two middle members in this epanodistic arrange-
ment showing how completely the degenerate
Israelites were deserving of such an accusation.
Herder's version is feeble, though the sense is
clear : —

They only are no longer his children,
Their iniquity has turned them from him,
A faithless and perverse generation.

The poetical beauty is certainly not heightened
in this transfusion of the original into a modern
lanffuasre : the learned German has, how ever, a
ffood note. "This somewhat harsh arrano'cment
of the words," he says, " is undoubtedly ge-
nuine, because a similar one occurs repeatedly
(verses 17, 21), and it is, as it were, the soul of
the piece. God remains their father, with un-
changing faithfulness, but they only have for-
saken him, and become, first, through unlike-
ness, and then, of necessity, no longer his
children. They have first become ignorant of
him, and he has then rejected them." Herder*
has evidently followed the translation of Bishop
Lowth,f who reads — " Their evil disposition
hath corrupted his children, which are indeed

* Spirit of Hebrew Poetrj', vol. i. p. 280. t See Praelect. xr.

160

no longer his;" but says, in a note, "I have
endeavoured, so far as I was able, to ren-
der perspicuous the Hebrew reading, but, after
all, that which is adopted by the Seventy, the
Samaritan, and the Syriac, is, perhaps, nt^arer
the truth. ' They are corrupted, they are not
his (they are) sons of error, or blemish' — which
is also partly confirmed by Aqnila, the Vulgate,
and Symmachus."

Hence it is evident that Lowth, sanctioned by
theversions above named, favours the rendering
of father Houbigant, which is decidedly more
poetical than his own or Herder's. Although our
translators have somewhat perplexed this pas-
sage,! think, nevertheless, they have shown that
they were not insensible to its poetical beauty ;
and it strikes me that a narrower scrutiny of their
interpretation will show that they have come
nearer to the sense than seems to be generally
apprehended. I certainly do not consider that
the interpretation given by Dr. Adam Clarke as
that commonly assumed is a just one ; namely,
" God's children have their spots, that is, their
sins, but sin in them is not like sin in others ; in
others, sin is exceeding sinful, but God does
7iot see the sins of his children as he sees the
sins of his enemies, &;c."

This is indeed a baneful doctrine, and one
that may, in truth, be well characterized as bad.
I entirely agree with the excellent commentator
just named, that " spots" probably refer to the
marks assumed by heathen worshippers, then
as now, to designate their castes or sects.
The most pious of those heathens were, no

161

tloubl, for this is still their character, exceedinoly
scrupulous in renewino- daily their sectarian
marks, whenever these were defaced by accident
or other causes. In persons so sadly misg'uided
by the errors of a wild and intemperate super-
stition, this was in truth an act of piety, how-
mistaken, since they considered it an obligation
imposed upon them by their religion.

As the Israelites had corrupted themselves by
practising the idolatries of those misguided
heathens, and by other abominations which had
provoked God's displeasure, Moses, alluding to
the marks of religious distinction adopted by
the gentile nations, says of his own countrymen,

Their spot is not the spot of his children;

that is, 'the mark by which their religion is dis-
tinii'uishcd from that of the idolater is no lono;er
the mark by which those whom he had made his
peculiar people may be recognized, because,
havino; embraced the idolatries of the Gentiles,
they have virtually assumed their mark or
"spot," the notation of a worship which the
Lord Jehovah not only does not approve but
which had been interdicted by him to the seed
of Abraham, under a denunciation of severe
penalties.' According to this interpretation,
which I believe to be the true one, the word
spot is a mere metaphor, referring to a well-known
heathen custom already explained, and the
line in which it is found simply implies that the
religious services of the Israelites, mixed as they
frequently arc with the impure rites of heathen
superstition, are not the characteristics of that

VOL. II. M

162

pure and holy worship which it is the province
of God's chihlrento perform ; they, consequently,
who have ceased to exhibit the characteristics by
which his true worshippers may be distinguished
are no longer the objects of his paternity or
providential solicitude ; — their religious obser-
vances are not the relig-ious observances of those
who delight to honour him ;

Their spot is not the spot of his children.

Viewed in this light, I do not see that the
passage varies much in sense from the Septua-
gint and Samaritan versions, whose interpreta-
tions Bishop Lowth approves. All three declare
the same thing, the common version only in a
somewhat diiferent form, and certainly by much
the most poetical. I must confess it appears
to me, that a far more serious exception has
been taken asrainst the textual renderino; of our
translators, than is warranted by a fair view of
the clause : to a superficial scrutiny, it may ap-
pear somewhat embarrassed, but a closer exami-
nation enables us to bring out a very intelligible
meaning, garbed in the vesture of poetry, and
carrying a corresponding impression to the mind
of the pious and intellectual incpiirer.

CHAPTER XIII.

llie prophetic ode continued.

Dr. Hales considers this poem really to begin
here, the exordium continuing to the end of the
fifth verse. Bishop Lovvth, however, evidently
did not think so, since he connects the last
member of it with what immediately follows in
the sixth, as we shall presently see. The com-
mon readino- is as follows : —

Do ye thus requite the Lord,

O foolisli people and unwise '.

Is he not thy father that hath bougiit thee ?

Hath he not made thee and established thee ?

The poet here reproaches the Israelites with
their atrocious ingratitude to God, by enumera-
ting the manifold benefits which he had heaped
upon them. They had " provoked his wrath
and indignation against them" in various ways,
and with various degrees of turpitude. They
had formed an idol, the golden calf, in the wil-
derness and worshipped it with profane enthu-
siasm. They had murmured because there was
a deficiency of water, and their Almighty bene-
factor wrought a miracle to relieve them. They
had expressed intemperate dissatisfaction at
being fed with manna, and God provided them

M 2

164

with " meat from heaven." In the rebellion of
Korah, they had provoked him to visit them
with the earthquake and the pestilence. They
blasphemed that divine guardian who had pro-
tected them through so many })erils, and were
plag'ued with fiery serpents, which caused a sad
mortality among them. Even this dreadful in-
fliction did not utterly subdue their rehelliows
spirit. They subsequently formed unholy alli-
ances with the women of Midian, v^ho seduced
them to idolatry, and all the numerous vices
consequent upon such a lax and depraved wor-
ship. Here was sufficient cause for the reproof
of their lawgiver : —

Do ye thus requite the Lord,
O foolish people and unwise?

At first sight, this latter hemistich appears to
be nothing more than an unmeaning pleonasm.
" foolish" and " unwise" being, according to
their commonly received acceptation, strictly
synonymous terms ; but in this clause the ex-
pressions are contrasted, not assimilated, the
one signifying infirmity of heart, the other in-
firmity of mind in conjunction with it. Moses
had just before called the Israelites a " perverse
and crooked generation;" he immediately after-
wards calls them " foolish and unwise." These
two latter terms are in direct parallelism with
the two former. The Israelites were '' perverse,"
but not only so, they were " foolish ;" that is,
imprudently and recklessly wicked, in spite of
their better convictions — reduced to the lowest
state of moral infirmity, for foolishness, in (he

165

sense here given, does not imply mental, hut
moral desuetude. They were crooked, warped,
distorted, stubborn, and pertinacious, qualities
which are the usual concomitants of a depraved
heart ; and " unwise," without that strength of
understanding which fortifies the soul to stand
manfully against the assaults of sin, and to
repel the weak solicitations of the flesh. In-
stead of resisting temptation, they courted it,
thus sinking into depravity, and persisting in
wickedness ; the consequence of which was,
that their hearts became the more corrupt, and
their understandings the more obscure. Thus
considered, the several terms employed to ex-
press the wickedness of God's people, are beau-
tifully varied, at the same time that they pre-
serve the necessary poetical correspondency.

Bishop Lowth distributes the entire passage
as follows :* —

Their evil disposition hath corrupted his cliildren.

Which are indeed no longer his :

Perverse and crooked generation ?

Will ye thus requite Jehovah,

Foolish people and unwise ?

Is he not thy Father and thy Redeemer?

Did he not make thee, and form thee?

" Foolishness," says Cruden,f "" is to be un
derstood, not only according to its natural and
literal meaning, for one who is an idiot or a very
weak man, and for the discourses and notions of
fools and madmen; but in the language of
Scripture, especially in the book of Proverbs,

* See Fifteenth Preelection. t Concordance, art. Fool.

166

fool is the usual character of the sinner, and
folly and foolishness are put for sin. ' My
wounds stink and are corrupt through my fool-
ishness,' says David (Psalm xxxviii. 5.) And
again, he says (Psalm lix. 5), ' God, thou
knovvest my foolishness.' "

Thus, then, it will appear that expressions
commonly held to be synonymous in the sacred
writings have sometimes a wide distinction of
meaning. Lowth's translation of the following
couplet is eminently happy : —

Is he not thy Father and thy Redeenjer?
Did he not make thee and form thee?

In these lines, the reciprocal relation in the
terms is very striking. As if the prophet had
said, ' Is he not thy Father who made thee, or
endowed thee with temporal life — thy Redeemer
who formed, or prepared thee for spiritual life,
when thou hadst been abandoned to spiritual
death V The one applies to the physical, the
other to the spiritual creation of man.

This I take to be the primary signification of
these lines, but there is likewise a secondary
sense in which they may be taken. Moses was
reproaching the Israelites for their signal ingra-
titude to that omnipotent being, who had not
only delivered them from Egyptian bondage, but
guided them through those numerous perils by
which they were beset in their journey to the land of
promise. * Is it thus,' he asks, ' that you requite
the author of your deliverance from the tyranny
of Pharaoh — the Lord God of your creation,
who first brought you into the world and ad-

167

vaiiced you to special privileoes, nuikin<r yon
his peculiar people, and exercising towards you
the affection of a natural father ; who has raised
you to the dignity of a mighty nation, framed
for you wise laws, and proposed to you a system
of legislation which shall render you the admira-
tion of the world ^ Has he not redeemed you
from the despotism of the tyrant of Egypt, and
raised you to especial distinction among the
surrounding nations that shall fix upon you a
perpetual pre-eminence ; and how have you re-
quited these " manifold and great mercies T'
With the basest ingratitude !'

" Taking this poem as an example," says
Lowtli, * " the first general observation to which
I would direct attention is, the sudden and fre-
quent changes in the persons, and principally
in the addresses and expostulations. In the ex-
ordium of this poem, Moses displays the truth
and justice of Almighty God, most sacredly re-
garded in all his acts and counsels : whence he
takes occasion to reprove the perfidy and wick-
edness of his ungrateful people; at first, as if his
censure were only pointed at the absent —

Their evil disposition hath corrupted his children,
Which are indeed no longer his : —

" He then suddenly directs his discourse to them-
selves : —

Perverse and crooked generation !
Will ye thus requite Jehovah,
Foolisli people and unwise?
Is he not thy Fatlier and thy Redeemer ?
Did he not make thee and form thee ?

* Fifteenth Prsclection.

168

" After his indignation has somewhat subsided,
adverting to a remoter period, he [)eautiluily
enlarges upon the indulgence and more than
paternal affection continually manifested by Al-
mighty God towards the Israelites, from the time
when he first chose them for his peculiar people ;
and all this again without seeming directly to
ap})ly it to them. He afterwards admirably
exaggerates the stupidity and barbarity of this
ungrateful people, which exceeds that of the
brutes themselves. Observe with what force
the indignation of the prophet again breaks
forth : —

But Jeshurun grew fat and resisted ;
Thou grewestfat, thou wast made thick,
Thou wast covered with fat !
And he deserted the God that made him,
And despised the Rock of his salvation.

" The abrupt transition in one short sentence
to the Israelites, and back again, is wonderfully
forcible and pointed, and excellently expressive
of disgust and indignation. There is a passage
of Yirgil, which, though it be less animated, is
certainly not unworthy of being compared with
this of Moses ; it is that in which, by an ingenious
apostrophe, he upbraids the traitor with his
crime, and at the same time exonerates the
king from the imputation of cruelty : —

By godlike Tullus doom'd the traitor dies :
(And thou false Metius, dost too late repent
Thy violated faith !) by furious steeds
In pieces torn, his entrails strew the ground.
And the low brambles drink his streaming blood.

169

"I mig'ht proceed and produce several exam-
ples in point from the same poem, and innumer-
able from other parts of the sacred writings,
different from each other both in expression and
form. These, however, are sufficient to demon-
strate the force of this kind of composition in
expressing the more vehement aff'ections, and in
markino- those sudden emotions which distract
the mind and divide its attention."

Herder's view of the sixth verse and his note
upon it are worthy of notice. He refers only to
what I conceive to be the secondary sense.

Is this your requital to Jehovali,

O foolish people, and unwise ?

Is he not thy Father, he that hath bought thee ? ,

That hath made thee, and established thee ?

^ Moses at this early period has here the expres-
sion which the prophets often use ; that God
received Israel in Abraham as a child, pre])ared
him as a people for himself, and gave him being
as a father. Under Moses he bought him to
himself out of Egypt as a bond-servant ; and
has, therefore, the claim both of a master and of
a father, as Moses here distinctly expresses it.
How truly, also, is the distinction found in the
spirit and the events of the different periods."

Herder's translation does not differ from that
of our Bibles, but his note shows that he would
restrict tlie unport of the passage, which is cer-
tainly susce[)til)le of greater latitude of inter-
pretation than he seems willing to accord to it;
for God not only rescued the posterity of Jacob
from Egyptian bondage, but likewise advanced

170

them to' the signal privileges of being his people.
This, however, was but a secondary dispensa-
tion of his mercy, for he was besides not only
their Creator but their Redeemer.

Remember the days of old,
Considei- the years of many generations :
Ask thy father and he will show tliee,
Thy eiders and tliey will tell thee.

In this portion of his divine song, Moses bids
the Israelites look back upon departed years,
and tells them that they would at once perceive
how liberally the mercies of their heavenly
Father had been dealt outto them : ' cast, he says,
a retrospective glance into the remote past and
you will see how the divine blessings have been
dispensed to your forefathers. The Almighty
Jehovah promised an abundant posterity to
Abraham, and renewed the promise to Jacob.
How have these promises been realized ! He
has multiplied your seed exceedingly until they
have become as the stars of heaven for multi-
tude. He has brought you out of great tribu-
lation to that land " flowing with milk and honey"
which he declared you shall inherit, and
upon the possession of which you are now about
to enter. Trace in your minds the time which
has elapsed since the days of the patriarch Noah,
regularly from generation to generation, and
what will you discover ? What, but the trans-
cendant mercy of God, and the signal ingrati-
tude of man ! If you are unable to do this, con-
sult the sages and elderly men among you who
have devoted their lives to the acquisition of

171

knowlcdo-e, and they Mill instruct you in what
it behoves you to know, the events of ])ast
periods in which the dispensations of your
Almighty guardian have been so marvellously
displayed. Your fathers, and the elders among
your tribes who have had greater experience, will
be able to tell you of things of which they have
been eye witnesses, or which they have ascer-
tained from authentic records, that will exhibit the
divine goodness towards man in all its wonder-
ful and illimitable perfection. I call upon you
to direct your earnest thoughts to those merci-
ful distributions of providence signalized towards
your fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, then
extended to Joseph in Egypt, afterwards to the
whole Hebrew tribes, during their sojourn in
that idolatrous land, whence he finally brought
them out with a miraculous deliverance, guard-
ed, supported, and governed them in the wilder-
ness. See how, from a":e to asce, the lovino--
kindness of Jehovah, has distinguished his pecu-
liar people among whom you are still numbered,
and who are about to enter into that inheri-
tance promised to the righteous son of Terah,
the illustrious Abraham.

In the first two of these four hemistichs the
parallelism evidently graduates.

Remember the daijs of old :

Consider the years of many generations.

Although the terms " days" and "years" alike
refer to an indefinite period of past time, still it
cannot be denied that the last clause gives a
stronger impression ofremoteness than that which

172

i mmdiately precedes it : " the days of old" may
imply a term not very long antecedent to the
present, say a couple of centuries, or less ; " the
years of many generations," on the contrary,
at once suggest the idea of a vast flux of time,
through many long and far distant intervals.
The repetition of the same thought in terms cor-
relative, indeed, but much more emphatic, im-
parts great additional force to the sentiment.
It seems as if the author considered it of such im-
portance that, not content m ith the first simple
statement of it, he conceives it necessary to give
it additional weight, by arraying it in a more
amplified and luxuriant phraseology by which a
double effect is obtained — that of giving it addi-
tional force, and likewise of casting around it
the garb of poetical adornment. No one will
deny that the pleonastical form of expression
here used, carries with it much more impressive-
ness than would have been produced by the
mere suggestion of reminiscence conveyed in
the first line. The addition of the second greatly
enhances the dignity of a reflection naturally
grave and imposing. There is a solemnity in the
climax which strikes deeply into the thoughts,
rousing their latent energies and forcing them
into active exercise.

The poet bids his hearers go back to the time
when this numerous community, about to be-
come a powerful nation, by enjoying the con-
summation of that promise which gave them the
land of Canaan for an inheritance, was in its
helpless infancy ; — when it was comprised in
a few nomadic families who wandered about from

173

place to place livingimder tents upon the ])ro(luce
of their flocks — and see how the mighty Jehovah
has advanced them to eminence among the poli-
tical communities of the earth ! By thus draM' ing
their recollections to past events, he the more
vividly brings home to their consciences the
picture of their past and present ingratitude.

In the second distich a similar gradational
parallelism will be traced as in the first, and with
even greater distinctness.

Ask thy father and he will show thee ;
Thy elders and they will tell thee.

No one can fail to perceive that in these
hemistichs the words " father" and " show,"
"elders" and "tell," are respectively parallel,
the corresponding terms in the second line hav-
ing an increased effect of signification above
those of the first.

Ask thy father and he will show thee,

says the Hebrew legislator, for he is a man of
more experience than thou art, he will conse-
([uently impart to thee the results of his expe-
rience in the mercies of a superintending and
beneficent providence. From him thou wilt
learn what with a most reprehensible iridiffer-
ence thou hast not yet sought to know. He
will show thee those things with which it be-
hoves thee to be acquainted, and unfold to thee
truths, which, as they will make thee wiser,
ouiiht to make thee better. He will bear tcsti-
mony of the divine favour towards thy race

174

in "days of old," no less than now. He will com-
nuioicate to thee that information respecting
God's merciful benefactions in the families de-
scended from him to whom the promise of a
numerous posterity and bountiful inheritance
was given, which his greater maturity of age
and more enlarged opportunities have enabled
him to acquire. When thou hast obtained all the
information which thy father can impart to
thee, upon this interesting subject, go to the
elders^ the men of wisdom, whose lives have been
devoted to the acquisition of knowledge, to
whom consequently the records of past times are
familiar, and they will tell thee what their graver
and more matured experience has imparted to
them. They will unfold to thee the various
events of past times, those signal manifestations
of providential mercy which have been displayed
for the benefit of your forefathers from age to
age, and carry you back to those remote periods
when God's visible dispensations first distin-
guished the progenitors of our race.

In this view of the entire passage we shall
trace a correspondency of sense, though not a
parallelism of terms, in the alternate lines of the
two couplets forming the seventh verse, accord-
ing to our Bible division of this sublime canticle,
as we shall see by a transposition of the second
and third clauses.

Remember the days of old —
Ask thy father and he will show thee :
Consider the years of many generations,-
(Ask) thy elders and they will tell thee.

175

As if he had said ; ' rcspGctinijj the less remote
times thy father will give thee every necessary
information, but of those more primitive periods,
the events of which are much less known though
not less important, those learned sages wlio
make the histories of by-gone ages their chief
study, and devote their lives to the elaborate
researches of wisdom — they will impart to you
that profounder knowledge which is almost
exclusively entrusted to them.'

It is surprising how clearly the specific refer-
ences are observed throughout this extraordinary
production. They are marked with a precision
nowhere to be mistaken. There is not the least
confusion in the adaptation of the terms, when
once the reader has become familiar with the
peculiar laws of distribution by which they are
governed : notwithstanding the frequent arti-
fices of construction traceable in the couplets,
the subjects and agencies are appropriated with
a distinct and exquisite discernment. Even
where the direct order of the sense is inter-
rupted for the sake of that peculiar arrangement,
which the artifice of parallelism occasionally
demands, the congruity is never marred, — the
end of the l^roken thread at once meets the
eye and is united, in most cases, to its corres-
ponding part, without either difficulty or per-
plexity ; and indeed where these are found, as
they no doubt sometimes are, thisoftener arises
from our ii»:norance of customs and usages which
have long since ceased to exist, and to which
reference is frequently made in the sacred writ-

176
inti^s, than to any actual obscurity or perplexity

in the writings themselves.

When the Most High divided to the nations their inheritance,.

When he separated the sons of Adam,

He set the bounds of the people

According to the number of the chihlren of Israel.

For the Lord's portion is his people ;

Jacob is the lot of his inheritance.

It must be confessed that father Houl)io^nnt has
given a more satisfactory intcrj)retation of this
somewhat confused passage than our translators.
His version is —

When the Most High gave the nations their inheritance,

When he separated the sons of Adam,

Terminating the bounds of the people ;

Jacob was the portion of the Lord,

Israel the lot of his inheritance :

When the Lord divided his people

According to the number of the children of Israel.

"In which words," he says, "Moses teaches
that when God dispersed the rest of mankind
upon the earth, having assigned them the bounds
of the possessions which they had chosen, he
reserved to himself Jacobhis people, and Israel
his inheritance ; so many lots being assigned to
them in the land of Canaan, and afterwards
given them to possess, as there were sons of
Israel, that is twelve ; which sense is most plain
and no less consonant to the style of Moses
than it is adapted to the meaning of the place.
First, to the style of Moses, which, in this
metrical writing, makes the latter clause cor-
respond to the former. Secondly, to the mean-
ing of the passage, for after, it is sairl, that

177

bounds were assigned to the people, the oppo-
sition requires it to be added, that the Lord
received his own people, the Israelites, to him-
self; not everywhere dispersed like the rest,
but assembled under his own peculiar dominion
in the same country."

Patrick gives the words of the original this
clear and simple interpretation. — "God made
such a distribution to other people, particularly
to the seven nations of Canaan, within such
bounds and limits, as that there might be suffi-
cient room for so numerous a people as the
Israelites, when they came to take possession of
that country."

The Septuagint renders the second distich as
follows : —

He established the bounds of the nations
According to the number of the angels of God.

Upon which Bishop Warburton remarks: — "It
is intelligible enough as referring to the old
notion original to Egypt, the country where this
translation was made. The Egyptians, as appears
from Herodotus, Plato, and other ancient writers,
were the first people who deified their kings,
legislators, and public benefactors ; who invented
the doctrine that there were local tutelary deities,
who had taken upon themselves or were entrusted
with the care and protection of particular nations
and people, and that the earth was first divided by
its Creator among a number of inferior and subor-
dinate divinities. This notion these verses refer
to; and Justin Martyr tells us, that ' in the be-
ginning God committed the government of the
world to angels, who abusing their trust, were
VOL. ir. N

178

degraded from their regency.' He might have
learned thus much from this translation ; he
might have taken it from a worse place."*

I shall now endeavour to give a detailed ex-
position of the whole passage.

When the Most High divided the nations their inheritance.

The sense is here continued from the preced-
ing verse, where the poet desires the Israelites
to take a retrospective view into the very remote
past, or "the years of many generations," — that
is, into times before they were a peculiar people,
when the whole human race formed but one com-
munity— and they will find that even then God
was not unmindful of their temporal felicity.
The division of the inheritance here spoken of
is supposed, by Dr. Kennicott, to have a refer-
ence to the distribution of territory made after
the flood among the sons of Noah; the earth
being divided by lot between his three sons ;
Asia falling to the share of Shem, Africa to that
of Ham, and Europe to that of Japheth. The
posterity of these patriarchs still continue to
occupy those portions of the habitable world
assigned to them through their progenitors,
according to the divine command, after a pre-
vious decision by lot.

When God separated the sons of Adam, who,
until the confounding of language at Babel were
probably one people, without any distinction of
classes or tribes, — for the descendants of the first
patriarchs evidently lived together as one com-

* See Warburton's Divine Legation, vol. i. p. 101.

179

munity, although the "inheritance" was "di-
vided" amono; the sons of Noah ; — at the dis-
persion, the " sons of Adam," (in other words,
the immediate descendants of Noah, who, after
the flood, Avas the great progenitor of the whole
human race, which had, up to the confusion of
tongues at Babel, formed but one vast, undivided
family) were, from that period, scattered over
different regions of the earth, forming various
political communities, though under a mere inci-
pient and consequently a very imperfect form
of legislation; the posterities, nevertheless, of
the three patriarchs, Shem, Ham, and Japheth,
occupying those divisions of the earth which
had been originally decided by lot under a divine
sanction.

He set the bounds of the people

According to the number of tlic children of Israel ;

that is, even at this remote period, God had
prospectively settled the inheritance of his fu-
ture people Israel. Their temporal destination
was already decreed in the councils of the
Most High. Although in these primitive times
they had no existence as a nation, the mighty
Jehovah, desig-nino: todistino-uish that race from
whom he had predetermined that the adorable
Messiah should spring, when the three sons of
Noah had their " inheritance" divided or por-
tioned out to them, so distributed among the
first settlers the land which he designed should
be the future possession of Abraham's seed,
as to have a reserve for that people, whom it
was his determination to signalize by peculiar

N 2

180

privileojes; so that, in process of time, Avhen
the seed of Jacob came to assume possession of
their covenanted inheritance, they found a suf-
ficient extent of territory for every separate
tribe. "God," says Bochart, "so distributed
the earth among the several people that were
therein, that he reserved, or in his counsel de-
signed, such a part of the earth for the Israel-
ites, who were then unborn, as he knew would
afford a commodious habitation to a most nu-
merous nation."

For the Lord's portion is his people ;
Jacob is the lot of his inheritance.

The Lord constituted the Israelites his chosen
people ; he distinguished them in a remarkable
manner during the whole period of their politi-
cal existence. They were, in the language of
their lawgiver, his " portion," for he had, in his
merciful loving-kindness, made them exclusively
his own. He selected them from all other com-
munities of the earth, gave them laws for the
administration of their national policy, selected
them as the race from among whom the Emma-
nuel was to come into the world for the great
purpose of human redemption, and finally set-
tled them in the earthly Canaan which he had
decreed they should possess from the beginning
of time.

It is said, with reference to that God who had
so liberally supplied the Israelites from the
stores of his abundance, that

Jacob is the lot of his inheritance.

181

in allusion to the mode of surveying land in
the east, where it was measured or divided by
means of a cord, rendered lot by our translators.
From this practice the metaphor is taken, and
to this reference is likewise made in the six-
teenth psalm.*

The Lord is the portion of mine inheritance and of my cup:

Thou mainlainest my lot.

The lines are fallen unto me in pleasant places,

Yea, I have a goodly heritage.

The intention of Moses, in the couplet under
our examination, evidently was to express the
abounding love which the Deity had exhibited
for the people whom he had so especially chosen,
and which he manifested in his numerous dis-
pensations of blessings towards them. They
were signalized by him in the most remarkable
manner, not only as being the race from which
that seed of the woman was to spring who
should "bruise the serpent's head," and thus
"give freedom to them that were bound" under
the penalties of a broken law, but likewise by
the visible displays of divine mercy so conspi-
cuously shown from the time of their memorable
exodus, when Pharaoh and his host were drowned,
to the period of their taking possession of the
promised inheritance. In characterizing, there-
fore, God's loving-kindness towards his ungrate-
ful countrymen, the enthusiastic poet rises into
an emphatic hyperbole, and describes them as
"the Lord's portion," and "the lot of his in-
heritance."

* Verses 5 and C.

182

Haviiif^ now, as I hope, made evident the
nieanino- of the passage, which is not without its
difficulties of interpretation, in consequence of
the brevity of the several clauses composing it,
I shall devote the remainder of this chapter to
an exposition of its poetical structure. Of the
three couplets of which it consists, the first and
last exhibit the usual gradational parallelism in
so marked a manner that it cannot escape ob-
servation. Of this, there is no indication what-
ever in the two middle clauses. These are
confined between two pair of lines, in which this
artifice is manifest, each referring, though un-
der different shades of signification, to territo-
rial possession ; the entire passage thus pre-
senting an epanodistic form of distribution.
There is a beautiful proportion maintained in
this arrangement, the two couplets in which the
parallelism is present flanking the clauses in
which it does not exist, each couplet being thus
placed in skilful contrast with the same object,
which serves as an ascreeable offset to both. The
parallelisms are preserved as well in Houbigant's
as in our authorized translation, though that com-
mentator breaks the passage into an additional
hemistich, and inverts the order of the fourth.
The parallel terms in the first distich are, "divided
their inheritance" and " separated," " the na-
tions" and " the sons of Adam." The first pair of
terms refer to the same thing, the second to the
same people. Their separation was the result
of the division spoken of; the territory was
"divided," in consequence of which they "'sepa-
rated." Here, then, is a distinction in the

183

phrases, which clearly discriminate the event
and its immediate consequence. It cannot be
denied that the second line of the couplet is
more important than the first ; it carries the
subject to its issue. In the first, allusion
is only made to the allotment of territory por-
tioned out to the descendants of Noah after the
deluge ; but in the second, to that dispersion
which converted his posterity into sundry
communities, and from which the grand result
of national legislation subsequently followed ;
so that the latter clause of the distich obviously
rises above the former in importance of allusion,
if not actually in force of signification.

The second pair of corresponding terms have
not so much a gradation of sense as of emphasis,
*' Sons of Adam," is not only a more eloquent,
but likewise a more poetical phrase than " na-
tions;" besides, it comprehends the whole human
race, whereas the latter phrase only embraces
certain integral portions of it under one general
term. In this view, it certainly exhibits an ad-
vanced force of meanino*. It carries the thoughts
back to the first great progenitor of man, who,
whatever his frailty, was nevertheless a glorious
and distinguished creature. Let those who are
so fond of dwelling upon the utter worthlessness
of humanity, in which, however fallen from its
original purity, the divine image is not ut-
terly extinct, remember, that God incarnate
died to redeem it from the penalty of death
eternal. " In his love and in his pity" he saved
the lapsed posterity of Adam, because, though
vastly degenerate, he still considered they were

184

worth the greatest sacrifice that couhl be made
for them, — no less than that of God in the flesh.
In the concluding couplet, the parallel phrases
are "the Lord's portion" and "his inheritance,"
"his people" and "Jacob," The first pair of
terms are mere poetical adaptations represent-
ing the Deity, as is frequently the case with
the Hebrew poets, as having a "portion" and
" inheritance" like his creatures, to whom these
are temporal blessings altogether of a superlative
kind. The more ample the temporal portion,
the greater generally is the presumed temporal
satisfaction, and however delusive such a pre-
sumption may, in most instances prove, yet the
augmentation of such a boon is too commonly
the great object of human endeavour. The en-
tire passage, I need hardly say, is exceedingly
poetical, representing the omnipotent and eternal
Jehovah as taking delight in his people Israel,
similar to that which persons are supposed to
experience in the enjoyment of rich territorial
possessions, one of the greatest temporal blessings,
in the general estimation of men, which the Deity
can confer. The impression is the stronger as it
is effected through the prevailing passions of
our weak ambition, the very failings of our nature
being here made instrumental in rendering more
vivid our perception of the divine attributes, and
of his merciful dealings with the degenerate
seed of a most righteous forefather. " Jacob,"
the parallel term with " his people," is a com-
mon synecdoche for the seed of Jacob, so that,
in this one word, direct communication is o-iven
to us who his people are. They are the de-

185

scendants of him who was the immediate proge-
nitor of the twelve tribes. Thus a number of
ideas are conveyed at the same time that a spe-
cific statement is, as it were, given in one emphatic
term. It is surprising of how many ideas a
single word is made the vehicle, either directly
or by inference in the sacred writings, in which
there is no waste of language, though the ])leo-
nastic form of expression is so often adopted,
and although it is commonly in the highest de-
gree tropical.

The parallelism in this place is distinctly gra-
dational, for in the first corresponding term a sim-
ple idea only is suggested, in the last a complex.
Something more than his people is expressed by
it ; namely, that they are the descendants of
Jacob, It is worthy of remark, that although
the two clauses of the couplet express the same
thing, the one does so in language perfectly
simple, the other in language eminently figura-
tive ; the first term of the concluding hemistich
being an elegant synecdoche, the second a de-
scriptive metaphor, and the third an expressive
image; Jacob signifying his numerous posterity,
lot their near and privileged communion with
God, and inheritance his hereditary connection,
so to speak, with his chosen people. They be-
long to him by that indefeasible law of right
which governs the universe. The divine rights
are constantly represented by human symbols,
because infinite as well as finite objects can be
defined no other way. God is described as
having an inheritance in the Hebrews, because
they were everlastingly and unalienably his;

186

that is, so long as he might think fit to retain
them in his keeping. They were

The lot of his inheritance,

as he had " divided" or separated them from the
gentile nations, and made them his pecnliar
people. Herder is, I think, much more than
usually successful in his rendering of this some-
what perplexed passage. I think he gives it
clearness.

When the Almighty gave the nations their lands —

When he separated the children of men,

He limited the bounds of nations

That the numbers of Israel might have room ;

For the portion of God is his people,

Jacob, the lot of his inheritance.

There is, it will be perceived, no essential dif-
ference betwixt this and the reading of our
venerable translators, though it must be con-
fessed that the former is decidedly more dis-
tinctly and clearly put.

CHAPTER XIV.

The prophetic ode continued.

The two couplets which follow are admirably
descriptive of God's au<^ust dispensations to-
wards the children of Israel. The poet, by
way of impressing the more strongly upon the
minds of his hearers their uniform ingratitude
towards Him, who had so mercifully sustained
them throuiJ-h difficulties and trials as numerous
as they were severe, refers back to the time
when they were exposed to the perils of the
desert : —

He found him in a desert land,
And in the waste howling wilderness ;
He led him about, he instructed him ;
He kept him as the apple of his eye.

In these lines, as I have already said, the
divine guardianship of the Israelites is signitied
in terms of extreme beauty. It is a passage ol'
great sublimity.

He found him in a desert land ;

in a region where the difficulty of obtaining the
necessary supplies for a long and arduous
journey was great, the produce being scanty;

188

And in the waste howling wilderness,

where there was none; where there were neither
cornfields nor pastures, flocks nor herds ; where
there was nothin<^ to be seen but sterile plains,
rugged rocks, and barren hills ; where the wells
supplied only waters of bitterness, and fiery
serpents impeded their march. Here God sus-
tained the Israelites with so careful a regard to
their necessities, that " their raiment waxed
not old, neither did their feet swell," during
forty years.* Here he produced water from the
rock to assuage their thirst, when they clamour-
ously demanded to be conducted back to the
place of their former bondage, and manna to
appease their hunger, even when they were
ripe for rebellion. He led them about during
two generations in that inhospitable region,
supplying all their wants with fatherly care,
continually working miracles in their behalf,
subduing the nations who attempted to impede
their progress towards that land of promise
whither they were directing their march under
his almighty guardianship and direction. Here
he gave them those laws both ecclesiastical,
moral, and civil, which were to furnish them
with a system of legislation, and render them
eventually " wise unto salvation." In this
wilderness was proclaimed amid the thunders
of Sinai, that code of wise institutes, the cere-
monial part of which was annulled, but the
essential or spiritual part of which was ratified
and fulfilled by Christ, who showed its efficacy

« Deut. viii. I.

189

by his own example, and thus "justified the
ways of God to man."

In order to ascertain the valuable instruction
which the Lord Jehovah gave to the Israelites
in this waste and howling wilderness, for the
benefit of all future generations, we have only
to read with due attention the Mosaic history,
and we shall at once see that those statutes
which he commanded to be observed by the
Abrahamic race, were not only the best adapted
to their condition, but were so eminently wise,
that they have formed the basis of every system
of statism adopted by the civilized communi-
ties of the earth. They are the root of all law,
the mainspring of all government, the source of
all good polity The glory of Athens and of
Rome was alike founded upon the political
wisdom which emanated from them, and the
very essence of them was afterwards embraced
in the famous code of Justinian. It was in these
sagacious prescripts, emanating from the divine
mind, that the Lord " instructed" the Israelites
with the authority of a legislator and the tender-
ness of a father, —

He kept them as the apple of his eye.

He preserved them with the greatest care and
loving-kindness.

Some idea of the character of that waste and
howling wilderness in which God led, instructed,
and kept his people, may be formed from Har-
mer's valuable observations on passages of
Scripture. In the fourth volume of that work,*

* Page 125.

190

he says, "Irwin further describes the mountains
of the desert of Thebais (Upper Egypt) as
sometimes so steep and dangerous, as to in-
duce even very bold and hardy travellers to avoid
them by taking a large circuit ; and that, for
want of proper knowledge of the way, such a
wrong path may be taken as may on a sudden
bring them into the greatest dangers, while at
other times a dreary waste may extend itself so
prodigiously as to make it difficult, without
assistance, to find the way to a proper outlet.
All which shows us the meaning of those words
of the song of Moses, Deuteronomy xxxii. 10: —

He led him about, he instructed him,
He kept him as the apple of his eye.

" Jehovah certainly instructed Israel in reli-
gion, by delivering to him his law in this wilder-
ness ; but it is not, I presume, of this kind of
teaching that Moses speaks, as Bishop Patrick
supposes, but God's instructing Israel how to
avoid the dangers of the journey, by leading the
people about this and that precipitous hill,
directing them to proper passes through the
mountains, and guiding them through the intri-
cacies of that difficult journey which might, and
probably would, have confounded the most con-
summate Arab guides. They that could have
safely enough conducted a small caravan of
travellers through this desert, might have been
very unequal to the task of directing such an
enormous multitude, encumbered with cattle,
women, children, and utensils. The passages
of Irwin, that establish the observations I have

191

been making, follow here. ' At half-past eleven
we resumed our march, and soon came to the
foot of a prodigious hill, which we unexpectedly
found we were to ascend. It was perpendicular,
like the one we had passed some hours before ;
but what rendered the access more difficult, the
path which we were to tread was nearly right up
and down. The captain of the robbers seeing
the obstacles we had to overcome, wisely sent
all his camels round the moimtain where he
knew there was a defile, and only accompanied
us with the beast he rode. We luckily met
with no accident in climbing this height.' (page
325.) They afterwards descended, he tells us,
into a valley, by a passage easy enough, and stop-
ping to dine, at half-past five o'clock, they were
joined by theArabs, who had made an astonishing
march to overtake them (page 326.) ' We soon
quitted the dale, and ascended the high ground
by the side of a mountain that overlooks it in this
part. The path was narrow and perpendicular,
and much resembled a ladder. To make it worse
we preceded the robbers, and an ignorant guide
among our people led us astray. Here we found
ourselves in a pretty situation : we had kept the
lower road on the side of the hill, instead of that
towards the summit, until we could proceed no
further; we were now obliged to gain the
heights, in order to recover the road, in perform-
ing which we drove our poor camels up such
steeps that we had the greatest difficulty to
climb after them. We were under the neces-
sity of leaving them to themselves, as the
danger of leading them through })laces, where

192

the least false step would have precipitated both
man and beast into the unfathomable abyss
below, was too critical to hazard. We hit at
lenf^th upon the proper path, and were glad to
find ourselves in the road of our unerring guides,
the robbeis, after having won every foot of the
ground with real peril and fatigue.' (page 324.)
Again. ' Our road, after leaving the valley lay
over level ground. As it would be next to an
impossibility to find the way over these stony
flats, where the heavy foot of the camel leaves
no impression, the different bands of robbers
have heaped up stones at unequal distances, for
their direction through this desert. We have
derived great assistance from the robbers in this
respect, who are our guides, when the marks
either fail or are unintelligible to us.'

" The predatory Arabs were more successful
guides to Mr. Irwin and his companions than
those he brought with him from Ghinnah;
but the march of Israel through deserts of the
like nature, was through such an extent and
variety of country, and in such circumstances,
as to multitudes and incumbrances, as to make
divine interposition necessary. The openings
through the rocks seem to have been prepared
by Him to whom all things from the beginning
of the world were foreknown, with great w isdom
and goodness, to enable them to accomplish
this stupendous march."

Although our translators have rendered the
two couplets comprised in the tenth verse of
the chapter, containing the prophetic song of
Moses, in the past tens(% in the Hebrew they are

193

in the future — this enallage, as the rhetoricians
call similar chanties of the tenses, being adopted
as a poetic grace. Bishop Lovvth's remarks on
this change are well deserving of attention.

" In another point it must be confessed," he
says,* " they differ from other writers, namely,
when they intimate past events in the form of
the future tense ; and I nmst add that this is a
matter of considerable difficulty. If we resort to
the translators and commentators, so far are
they from affording any solution, that they do not
so much as notice it, accommodating, as much
as possible, the form of the tenses to the subject
and context, and explaining it rather according
to their own opinions, than according to the rules
of grammar, or any fixed and established prin-
ciples. If, again, we apply to the grammarians,
we shall find ourselves no less at a loss: they
indeed remark the circumstance, but they nei-
ther explain the reason of it, nor yet are candid
enough to make confession of their own igno-
rance. They endeavour to confuse their disci-
ples by the use of a Greek term, and have
always at hand a sort of inexplicable and mys-
terious enallage, or change of the tenses, with
which, rather than say nothing, they attcin})t
to evade a closer inquiry, as if the change were
made by accident, and from no principle or
motive ; than which nothing can be conceived
more absurd or imj)ertinent. That these ap-
parent anomalies, however, are not without their
peculiar force and beauty, I have not a doubt ;

* Fifteenth Praslection.
VOL. II. O

194

that many of them should cause difficulty and
obscurity, considering the great antiquity of
the Hebrew language, is not to be wondered at.
Some light may, notwithstanding, be reflected
upon the subject, by a careful attention to the
state of the writer's mind, and by considering
properly what ideas were likely to be prevalent
in his imagination at the time of his writing.
There is a remarkable instance of this form of
construction in that very song of Moses to
which we have been just alluding. After men-
tioning the divine dispensation by which the
Israelites were distinguished as the chosen
people of God, he proceeds to state with what
love and tenderness the Almighty had cherished
them, from the time in which he brought them
from Egypt, led them by the hand through the
wilderness, and, as it were, carried them in
his bosom : all these, though past events, are
expressed in the future tense.

He will find him in a desert land,

In the vast and howling wilderness;

He will lead him about, he will instruct him ;

He will keep him as the pupil of his eye.

" You will readily judge whether this passage
can admit of any other explication than that of
Moses supposing himself present at the time
when the Almighty selected the people of
Israel for himself; and thence, as from an emi-
nence, contemplating the consequences of that
dispensation."

As the Hebrew has no present tense, the past
is always substituted, but as the enallage pecu-

195

liar to the original is a philological anomaly,
and has no positive congeniality with oiu' lan-
guage, I think the pious persons to whom
we are so infinitely indebted for their admi-
rable translation of the Scriptures, did wisely
in adopting that tense most expressive of the
time to which the poem refers. Houbigant
reads after the Samaritan : —

He sustained them in a desert land :

He made him fat in a dry and sandy place :

He was present with him ; he took care of him :

He kept him as the apple of his eye.

Herder has given an extremely poetical turn to
the third verse, as will be perceived by quoting
his representation of the text: —

He found him in a desert land,

In a waste and howling wilderness ;

He took him in his arms and taught him;

He guarded him as the apple of his eye.

It will be seen that none of these versions
differ materially in sense They each charac-
terize the merciful dealinos of God with his
chosen people, with only some slight variation
of the terms, and this general agreement renders
the interpretation much more easy than where
the difference is wider, and the various read-
ings less consentaneous. Of the poetical confor-
mation of the couplets, I would observe that, in
the first pair of lines, the gradational parallelism
is very gracefully exhibited, and in the second
there is an extremely beautiful climax, display-
ing, in language of the highest eloquence, God's
love towards those whom he had so eminently

o 2

196

signalized with liis favour, as that of a father to-
wards his chiklren. He is first represented as
leading Jacob, in whom is comprehended that
numerous posterity, which, on their departure
from Egypt, amounted to six hundred thousand
effective men, the women and chiklren being
probably more than four times that amounts

He led him about.

This is a phrase expressive of uncommon solici-
tude. The Lord directed the steps of his chosen
with the anxiety of a parent desirous to secure
the welfare and improvement of his oiFspring.
Here is at once an exquisite picture of paternal
tenderness and of divine compassion. God
" led about" his favourite Jacob. He next " in-
structed" him — made him acquainted with the
difficulties of the journey, that he might be the
better able to overcome them. He " instructed"
him further in all the practical wisdom of
morality and the spiritual efficacy of religion.

He kept him as the apple of his eye,

protecting him from the perils by which he was
perpetually beset in the wilderness; guarding
him with a vigilance and tenderness which he
could only exercise towards an object for whom
he entertained a strong and abiding affection.
Thus the climax closes with the fullest manifes-
tation of divine love. God first leads, next in-
sti'ucts, and then vigilantly guards. And ob-
serve, with how appropriate a comparison the
whole concludes: —

197

He kept him as the apple of his eye.

The watchfulness of Jehovah over the seed of
Jacob amid the blinding and suffocating sands
of the desert, is most fitly compared to the care
which, in such a region of casualty and disas-
ter, a person would naturally take of his eyes, so
likely to be injured by the burning particles
continually floating in the hot and stagnant air.
The eye is one of the most delicate and finely
constructed org-ans of the human frame, and
there is none of which we are more anxious to
preserve the natural powers. Nothing, there-
fore, could well convey a stronger impression of
God's unfailing protection of the Israelites, than
the idea of that anxiety which a person manifests
for the preservation of his sight in localities
where it is constantly exposed to the hazard of
injury. He was as careful of his people as a
prudent man is of the pupil of his eye.

In the two first lines of this passage there
will be found a striking advance of sense, as I
have already intimated.

He found him in a desert land —

in a land uncultivated, and from which nature
consequently withheld her wonted supplies,
nevertheless in a region not absolutely and en-
tirely barren. " A desert land" does not neces-
sarily imply complete sterility. It may be
partially })roductive and distributed into dis-
tricts, in some of which the hand of cultivation
has bestowed its labours : still, compared with

198

more fruitful localities, it is a " desert land."
The phrase, however, by no means conveys the
notion of an utter absence of fecundity, for
that soil may be pronounced barren which is
only in a very limited degree productive. A
barren country would not imply that nothing,
but only that little was produced.

When the Israelites first commenced their
march after their safe passage over the Red
Sea, it does not appear that they suffered those
privations to which they were exposed when they
advanced into the heart of the wilderness. The
further they proceeded the greater the difficul-
ties and obstacles which presented themselves.
They discovered neither water nor any means of
subsistence, and must have consequently perished
had not the Deity miraculously supplied their
wants. One vast tract of apparently inter-
minable waste lay before them, upon which the
rays of a cloudless sun constantly fell, and which
was seldom refreshed by the nourishing rain, or
moistened by the genial dews of heaven. They
had advanced beyond the desert land, and
found themselves

In a waste howling wilderness.

Here the words imply all that can be supposed
of sterility, repulsiveness, and desolation. The
country was utterly arid, only fit to be made
the habitation of wild beasts and creatures hos-
tile to man. Here were no springs, no fruits, no
grain, no cattle; it was a perilous and "howl-
ing wilderness," subject to those tropical hurri-
canes whichappal the st*(juf est heart, and against

199

the tViohtful violence of which there is no secu-
rity but in the divine protection. Here prowled
the savag'e beast of prey, exposed to all those ter-
rible pangs of hunger and thirst under which he
met with no sympathy in the dreadful desolation
around him, when driven by superior strength
from the forests, where he had found a more
favourable sanctuary and a better chance of sus-
tenance. Here horrible reptiles, which it was
death to approach, fixed their solitary abode,
and from this scene of appalling abandonment
there were no means of escape but those sup-
plied by the divine mercy.

It will at once be seen that the " waste howl-
ing wilderness" from which vegetation was alto-
gether banished, and in which nothing was
heard but the "bowlings" of the tropical storm
and the still more dismal ululations of wild
beasts, is a scene of far greater repulsiveness
and desolation, than the " desert land" partially
populated, and also partially cultivated. The
border of the desert, though unlike a fruitful
country, is still very different from the desert
itself; the one, is a desert land supplying a
stinted produce ; the other, is a complete waste
communicating none.

In the first hemistich of the couplet upon
which I have been expatiating, the term desert
characterizes the nature of the soil; it Avas un-
cultivated, unproductive, still not utterly ste-
rile, not strictly and absolutely a waste. It was
only relatively barren ; that epithet, therefore,
denoting sterility, was only here used in a com-
parative sense to represent how much less fruitful

200

the country bordeiiii*>- upon the wilderness was,
than land in a more genial locality usually is.
The corresponding phrase, however, in the next
hemistich exhibits no such limitation ; there
no restriction is put upon the sense, hut, on the
contrary, the greatest latitude is given to it.
The region there mentioned was not only a
desert in the broadest sense of the term, but a
tract utterly desolate and unproductive, sur-
rounded by perils, forbidding the approach of
the traveller, to whom it threatens suffering and
death.

This distinction in the parallel expressions,
shows not only the eminent skill, but likewise
the surpassing taste of the poet ; for instead of
being mere clumsy repetitions, they are, in the
highest degree, distinctive and forcible. They
wonderfully heighten the effect of the descrip-
tion, bringing in all its minute details to the
mind's eye the entire march of the children of
Israel from the pass of Pihahiroth to the borders
of Canaan, where their long and disastrous
journey was to terminate in the occupation of
their promised inheritance. We appear at
once to see them fixing their different encamp-
ments, first, in the land upon the desert borders,
then proceeding onward and encountering the
severe and unexpected privations of the wil-
derness ; without water, " hungry and thirsty,
their soul fainted in them," until, from the top
of Pisgah, Moses saw the prolific country of
Palestine stretching before his anxious eye in
all the magnificence of its fruitfulness, assuring
that numerous communitv whom he had so ably

201

conducted to the termination of their march,
that they should shortly enter into their tempo-
ral rest, — a type of that heavenly rest to Avhich
he was ahout to be summoned.

From what I have said respecting the " hov\ I-
ino- wilderness" mentioned by Moses in this sub-
lime song, I would not have it inferred that the
whole progress of the Israelites from Pihahiroth
to Canaan was through a perfect desert, but
only that liortions of their long and perilous
journey were through districts such as I have
described. That they were exposed to those
dreadful casualties by which travellers crossing-
deserts are so frequently overtaken is evident
from the whole history of their progress, during
which they must have been almost cut off, but
for the divine interposition. They were saved
from perishing by hunger and thirst only by
the miraculous dispensations with which God in
his rnercy visited them in their extremity. It
is, however, sufficient to justify the verbal dis-
tinctions of the text, that part of the Israelitish
march was through a district so arid and barren
as fully to bear out the designation of the
" waste howling wilderness."

One remarkable feature of this noble com-
position, in common with all the Hebrew poetical
writings, is the extraordinary manner in which
the poet suggests ideas to the mind without
supplying the terms literally corresponding with
those ideas, but by the mere skilful and felicitous
contrasts of the descriptive phrases, by which
thoughts are rather intimated than ex})ressed.
They seem to grow out of the w ords from the [)ecu-

202

liar mode of their disposition, as a sort of contin-
<»;ent or supervenient produce, continually super-
inducing new and vivid images perfectly con-
genial to the subject, and enlivening it with the
most harmonious combinations of decorative
colouring. The expressions are often the mere
seeds of thought, as in the prophecies of Noah,
Isaac, and Jacob, which expand into a rich and
luxuriant production. It is this power of causing
the mind of the reader to work out its own con-
ceptions from the seed cast upon the surface
of it, and of putting it into a state of quick and
healthy germination by its own inherent acti-
vity— it is this power of making the imagination
assist in moulding the issues of wisdom, of be-
coming cognizant of its own untried strength,
that renders the compositions of the early
Hebrew poets, and of Moses more especially,
so astonishingly effective. There is a latent
power in them, in addition to what we actually
feel during their perusal, which renders us
sensible to the presence of genius, only ap-
proached by the contributors to those inspired
and imperishable records in which are con-
tained the words of eternal life, and of which
the Mosaic Scriptures form so prominent and
essential a part.

The tenth verse of this extraordinary poem
— extraordinary alike for the genius displayed
in it, as well as for the divine truths which it
conveys — by a slight alteration in the distribution
of the hemistichs, may be converted into a beau-
tiful epanode, as will be seen by placing the
second line last,: —

20.3

He found liim iii a desert land :
He led him about, he instructed him,
He kept him as the apple of his eye,
In the waste howling wilderness.

The first hemistich and the last represent the
wonderful exercise of divine mercy, the one
in its gj^eat, the other in its gixatei' extent
of manifestation, both, nevertheless, exhibiting
the same dispensation under different degrees of
activity. The scene of God's most signal dis-
plays of loving-kindness to the seed of Abraham
was the wilderness where they were exposed to
peril, from which only the divine interposition
could relieve them. To that sterile region,
under somewhat different modifications, direct
reference is made in the first and last verses of
the quatrain, according to the epanodistic form
of construction, while the middle clauses declare
the character of God's beneficent dealings with
his people. He had conducted them safely
through the scene of temporal trial; he had pro-
tected them from the terrible dangers with which
they were beset, by directing their progress,
sustaining them in their marches, and suggest-
ing their encampments. He not only gave
them wise laws and appointed judicious go-
vernors to dispense these laws, but made them
acquainted with the various passes, as Harmer
seems to suppose, thus preventing them from
falling into the hands of those predatory hordes
who generally occupy the habitable parts of
desert and inhospitable regions. He became
their guardian and defender, protecting them

204

with constant and visible care, in a land not
inhabited, save by foes, either brute or intel-
ligent.

It will be seen that the middle clauses re-
present the divine mercies ; the first and last
the place in which they were dispensed. The
distinction is striking, and by this arrangement
the epanodos is rendered perfect. Although
the inspired author has not so disposed the
hemistichs in this passage, nevertheless, its
susceptibility of such effect is one of the many
proofs of latent power, which I have already
mentioned, as distinguishing the poetry of the
Pentateuch, and more especially that of the
Hebrew lawgiver.

I think our translators have adhered more
strictly to the sense, and have better maintained
the gradational parallelism, than either Lowth
or Herder. By retaining the copulative con-
junction AND, they indicate that distinction
required by the laws of parallel gradation be-
tween " the desert land" and " howling wilder-
ness;" whereas Lowth and Herder manifestly
represent them as synonymous, signifying pre-
cisely one and the same thing. In their ver-
sions there is not that gradation marked by our
translators; the " desert land" of the former is
the " waste howling wilderness," whereas, in
reality, they are different localities of the same
region ; for God not only found the Israelites
on the desert or border country, which was
generally unfruitful, but likewise in the " waste
howling wilderness," which was entirely so.

205

Houbigant's reading, notwithstanding that it
is given upon the authority of the Samaritan
copy, I cannot look upon as an improvement ;
it lacks the simplicity and elevation of our
version.

The journey of the Israelites through the
wilderness may be considered as an instructive
type of the human pilgrimage, so exquisitely,
though quaintly described by George Herbert.

I travel on, seeing the hill, where lay
My expectation.
A long it was and weary way.
The gloomy cave of Desperation
1 I left on the one and on the other side

The rock of Pride.

And so I came to fancy's meadow, strew'd
With many a flower:
Fain would I here have made abode,
But I was quicken'd by my hour.
So to Care's copse I came, and there got through,
With much ado.

That led me to the wild of Passion, which
Some call tiie world;
A wasted place, but sometimes rich.
Here I was robb'd of all my gold.
Save one good angel, which a friend had tied
Close to my side.

At length I got unto the gladsome hill

Where lay my hope.
Where lay my heart; and climbing still,
When I had gain'd the brow and top,
A lake of brackish waters on the ground
Was all I found.

With that abash'd and struck with many a sting
Of swarming fears^
I fell and cried, "Alas, my King!"
Can both the way and end be tears ?
Yet taking heart, I rose, and then perceiv'd
1 was deceiv'd.

206

My hill was farther ; so I shrunk away ;
Yet heard a cry,
Just as I went, — " None goes that way
And lives :" if that be all, said I,
After so foul a journey deatli is fair.
And but a chair.

CHAPTER XV.

The prophetic ode contiymed.

The next passage of this incomparable song is
one of almost unexampled beauty, even in the
Hebrew Scriptures where such examples abound.
It is, besides, level to the comprehension and
taste of the most ordinary mind, for it appears
next to impossible that any reader of the slight-
est discernment should fail to distinguish its
characteristic excellence.

As an eagle stirreth up her nest,

Flutteieth over her young,

Spreadeth abroad her wings, taketb tlieni,

Beareth them upon her wings ; —

So the Lord alone did lead him,

And there was no strange god with him.

I know of nothing, even in the book of Job, that
surpasses this passage for accuracy of illustra-
tion, and exquisite poetical adornment. It is
an incomparable picture of divine tenderness
towards human infirmity, realizing with marvel-
lous vividness of imagery and irresistible truth
of delineation, that merciful sustcntation which
God extends to his infirm creatures, whom he
distinguishes as objects of his parental solicitude ;
it is a matchless picture of divine paternity. The
eagle, great in power, supreme over all the

208

feathered tribes, which l)ehol(l hiin with awe and
cower at his approach; an emblem at once of
strength and universal domination, appearing to
the ffazer from the earth beneath to soar to the
very sun and hold communion with the inhabi-
tants of those inaccessible heights to which the
thoughts only of man can aspire ; — this tremen-
dous bird of prey, with all its fierce instincts, its
terrible strength, its fearless courage and dread-
ful fatality of ferocious determination under
aggression or provocation, is remarkable for its
tenderness towards its offspring. Its domestic
habits are singularly gentle. Its parental atten-
tion to its young is agreeably described in Mr.
Wood's zoography.*

" The eagles," writes Mr. Wood, " are accus-
tomed to build their aeries in the cavities of some
almost inaccessible rock, which is hardly to be
ascended by the aid of ladders and grappling
irons. As soon as the shepherds have disco-
vered their retreat, they raise a little hut at the
foot of the rock, where they screen themselves
from the fury of these dangerous birds when
they convey provisions to their young. The
male carefully nourishes them for the space of
three months, and the female is engaged in the
same employment, until the young bird is capable
of quitting the aerie : but when that period is
completed, they make him sp^'ing into the air and
bear him up with their wings and talons when
he is in danger of falling. Whilst the young
eagle continues in the aerie, the parents ravage

* Vol. i. pr. 381— 383.

209

all the neighbouring country ; they seize what-
ever falls in their way and bear it to their young.
But the fields and woods supply them with their
best game, for there they destroy pheasants,
partridges, woodcocks, wild ducks, hares, and
young fawns. The shepherds, at the very in-
stant they perceive the old birds have left their
aerie, plant their ladders and climb the rocks, as
well as they are able, and then carry off what the
eagles have conveyed to their offspring, and, in
the room of what they take, leave the entrails
of certain animals. But as this cannot be done
so expeditiously as to prevent the young eagles
from devouring part of their food, the shepherds
must necessarily bring away what has been
already mutilated ; but in recompence for this
disadvantage, what they thus take has a much
finer flavour than anything the markets afford.
When the young eagle has strength to fly,
which requires a considerable time to attain,
because he is deprived of the excellent food pro-
vided by his parental guardians and obliged to
put up with what is very indifferent, the shep-
herds fasten him to the aerie, that the parent
birds may continue to supply him with what
they take, till the disagreeable task of providing
for an offspring that per})etually fatigues them,
obliges, first the male, and then the female to
forsake him. The male transfers himself to a
new situation, and the female shortly follows
the track of her faithful mate; after which their
tenderness for another progeny makes them for-
get the former, whom the shepherds leave in the
VOL. II. P

210

aerie to starve, unless they are compassionate
enough to remove him." By this description of
the domestic habits of the eagle it will be per-
ceived how appropriate is the comparison used
by Moses. " This admirable similitude," observes
Dr. Hales, " so sublimely beautiful, and yet so
simple and natural, of the parent eagle training
his young nestlings to fly : first, ' stirring them
up, or rousing them from the nest, then ' hovenng
about them,' to watch and encourage their timid
efforts ;* ' spreading abroad his wings,' to receive
them when drooping, 'taking them up, carry-
ing them on his shoulder,' to ease them, when
wearied and exhausted by unusual efforts; is
probably painted from the life, with so much
circumstantial imagery, from the scenes which
Moses mio-ht have often witnessed in the
deserts of Arabia Petrpea. God himself had been
pleased to employ this comparison, " I bare you
on eagles' wings."

Dr. Hales, with a most judicious discernment,
renders the fourth hemistich of this passage, —

Beareth them upon his shoulders ;

<

as it is clear the parent bird could not bear the
new fledged eaglets upon its wings, since this
would not only encumber its flight, but the
violent motion would inevitably dislodge its in-
experienced charge. The several clauses rise
in a regular progression of perfective beauty ;
vmtil they attain the most consummate sym-

* Exodus \ix. 4.

211

metry. There is the exactest harmony of propor-
tion in every member of the passage which, mider
the image of the sovereign of the feathered tribes,
symbolizes the divine paternity. First, the eag-le
rouses its offspring from the nest placed upon some
inaccessible height, immediately over the foam-
ing torrent, or the rock eternally lashed by the
flowing and recoiling sea; next hovers over
it; then spreads its pinions in order to assist its
imperfect fiight ; finally taking it up and placing
it between its wings. These several gradations
of instinctive tenderness in the most powerful
and most ferocious of birds, are beautifully
noted, and altogether complete such a picture of
parental solicitude, as fills the mind with one vast
absorbing impression. No detailed description,
however elaborately wrought, could have rea-
lized so faithful a representation of those attri-
butes of mercy and loving-kindness which our
Almighty Benefactor continually loves to dis-
play. Nothing can exceed the vividness of the
several accessories presented to the imagina-
tion in this animated detail of the most touch-
ing animal instincts.
The phrase.

As an eagle stirreth up her nest,

is a mere metonymy, in which the term nest is
used for what it contains, it bein<»: a common
figure, as Bochart observes, for authors to put
continens pro contento, the thing containing for
the thing contained. He further observes, that
this strong parental affection more especiallv

p2

212

characterizes the black eagle, though it is more
or less to be traced in the habits of the race
generally ; and that description of eagle to which
Bochart alludes was most probably a native of
those mountainous parts of the region called by
way of distinction the wilderness, in which the
Hebrew lawgiver passed so large a portion of
his life.

Bishop Lowth differs very little in his trans-
lation of this fine passage from our common ver-
sion; the difference substantively lies only in two
words, but his change, though it does not at all
affect the sense, is confessedly an improvement.
He reads, — -

As the eagle stirreth up her nest,
Fluttereth over her young;
Expandeth her plumes; taketh them,
Beareth them upon her wings ;
So the Lord, &c.

The substitution of" plumes," which is a com-
plete equivalent for " wings," in order to avoid
the close and literal repetition, is undeniably
a substitution for the better, though I still pre-
fer Dr. Hales' application of the word shoulders
as still more consonant to the sense of the con-
text, and as giving a truer notion of the action
represented. In this example it will appear
that there is an equality observed in the distri-
bution of the clauses, by which each clause bears
a certain j)roportion to the other, so that the
whole shows a relative adaptation of parts ; and
although the parallelisms are less prominently
traceable than is usual in passages where that

213

artifice is evidently desig"ned to be exhibited,
they are, nevertheless, to be detected, though
rather in the kindred details of the picture
than in direct correspondencies of expression.
The image itself, by which the parallelism
would be substantiated, is not indeed repeated,
but the attributes or specific qualities of that
image are consecutively introduced in the
four hemistichs embraced in this magnificent
example, each clause of the respective coup-
lets having a correspondency with, and depen-
dency upon one another, for their due effect in
the regular sequence of concurrent actions.
Without this close concurrency of the different
members the whole passage would lose its beau-
tiful harmony of association and delicate pro-
priety of adjustment, and like a disorganized
map be destitute of coherency.

Notwithstanding, however, the general con-
nexion of the four hemistichs, in which the vari-
ous parental instincts of the eagle are so admi-
rably developed, there is nevertheless a more im-
mediate conformity, or rather a more direct rela-
tionship between the first pair. They form a com-
plete integral portion of a more complete whole,
still depending upon the consentaneous clauses
which follow for the perfect fulfilment of thatdeli-
neation which they only in part realize. They
describe the action of the eagle in its mood of
incipient tenderness, covering hernest before her
young ones have been taken out of it to com-
mence their training: for future flight.

The second ])air of hemistichs represents
what takes place when the yet undisciplined

214

offspring is preparing, under the tuition of its
parent, to quit the precincts of its home. After
it has left the nest, it mounts the shoulder of the
stronger bird and takes its first flight. The two
gradations of disciplinary treatment on the partof
the parent eagle are accurately defined; the con-
summation depending upon their just and appro-
priate union. It is worth observing how strictly
this distinction of parts is observed. Although the
clauses severally rise in a marked progression,
each distich is nevertheless complete in itself,
the lines composing it having that mutual rela-
tion which brings them into positive though less
distinct parallelism. It is really surprising to
observe with what a severe adherence to the
rules of art Moses seems to construct every line
of his poem, and yet the art is nowhere an im-
pediment to the introduction of beauties, but on
the contrary is rendered ancillary to their due
effect upon the reader's mind.
Herder's translation is —

As the eagle covers her nest around,
And hovers over her young,
Spreads her wings, takes them thereon
And bears them aloft upon her wings ;
So did Jehovah lead him, himself alone,
There was no strange god with him.

The German version varies from ours only in
the first verse ; here the bard is made to repre-
sent the eagle as brooding over her young instead
of rousing them, which makes the climax as-
cend from perfect quiescency to the extreme of
activity. So exquisitely beautiful is this pas-
sage, and at the same time so intelligible — so

215

transparent, if the term may be allowed, — that it
is next to impossible to give a feeble translation
to it; and so little do either Lowth or Herder
differ from our venerable translators in their
reading of this portion of Moses' prophetic ode,
that we may consider them all as giving essen-
tially the same sense ; their several variations
being only in the accessories of the passage, not
in its vital import.

The image of an eagle " stirring up her
nest," or rousing her young, and obliging them
to quit it, in order to commence the discipline
of volitation, is a very lively picture, and for-
cibly represents God's dealings with his people
in Egypt, where, by a series of dreadful visita-
tions upon the Egyptians, he compelled them to
allow the posterity of Jacob to quit a country
which he had so grievously afflicted. It was by
"a mighty hand and a stretched out arm " that
he wrought their deliverance. As the young
eagles required to be roused from their nest,
become foul with numerous deposits and
various accumulations of animal matter, in
order to induce them to quit so filthy a sanctu-
ary ; so the Israelites, until " stirred" by the voice
of God, and compelled by the tyranny of Pha-
raoh, whom the Deity for his own wise pur-
poses had permitted to afflict them, were re-
luctant to depart from a land where, under a
milder and more equitable administration, their
immediate forefathers had enjoyed undisturbed
freedom.

So the Lord alone did lead him,

And there was no strange god with iiim.

216

" This," observes Bishop Patrick, " is an exact
resemblance of God's tender care of his people
Israel ; whom he solicited by Moses and Aaron
to aspire after their liberty, when they were op-
pressed in Egypt; just as an eagle excites her
young ones, when they lie drowsy in the filth of
their nests, to fly away ; and as the eagle flutter-
eth over them, with her wings spread abroad,
so God, by his spirit, moved the Israelites to be
obedient to their deliverers out of Egypt. For
Moses uses the very same word, when he speaks
of the spirit of God 'moving upon the waters.'
(Genesis i. 2.) And as the eagle carries her
fainting young ones on her wings, so God sup-
ported them when they were weary, and upheld
them in dangerous ways; insomuch, that he
is said to carry them in his arms as a father
doth his child. (Deuteronomy i. 31.)

And there was no strange god with him

to help or assist him ; but by his almighty
power alone they were protected and preserved ;
which made their sin the more heinous in sacri-
ficing to other gods,* as if they had been their
benefactors."

In this concluding couplet, the subject of com-
parison is brought forward with great effect,
and the whole concludes with a solemnity at
once befitting the subject, and the prodigious
but merciful exercise of divine power : God's
dealings with the Israelites is presented with
extreme vividness and with a dignity becoming
the occasion. After drawing a most animated

* Dent, xxxii. 17.

217

picture of parental tenderness, by which our
strongest sympathies are excited, the poet tells
us that thus God did cherish and protect his
people : —

So the Lord alone did lead him,

because none else was able to do so. Who could
have performed the miracles which he wrought
for the deliverance of his chosen from Egyptian
bondage, but "the Lord alone V Those miracles
were the work of omnipotence, and none but an
omnipotent agent could have so signalized his
marvellous power. The Egyptian magicians
tried to imitate some of them, but this only con-
firmed their impotence, and proved to a demon-
stration, that the power was not in man, " whose
breath is in his nostrils," to accomplish such
" wonders" as are the sole prerogative of God-
head. The little and apparently insignificant
word alone is very emphatic in this passage.
" It was God, and none else," who performed
those mighty deeds which caused the Egyptian
monarch to tremble on his throne, and rendered
every house throughout his extensive dominions
a house of mournino-. Thouoh Moses was the
ostensible instrument, it was the agency of the
<livinity which operated in these miraculous
visitations of retribution upon a wicked king,
and his licentious people. He not only did all
these things for the deliverance of Israel, but
preserved and conducted them by the marvel-
lous agencies of his providence during their
entire sojourn in the ^\ilderness. It was the
Jjord alone who led thcni.

218

And there was no strange god with him.

Here is only an amplification of the same idea
contained in the first clause of the distich. The
Deity had no help, he was not assisted by any
strange god, for his almighty power, in its un-
divided and indivisible plenitude, was sufficient
to sustain his people. His superiority over the
factitious divinities of Egypt was abundantly
manifested. These were unable to protect their
votaries from the sore ills which beset them in
consequence of Pharaoh's stubborn resistance of
the divine commands, whilst the God of Israel
finally rescued the Israelites from the tyranny
of that unfeeling despot. " O Lord God of hosts,
who is a strong Lord like unto thee*?"

It is worthy of observation with how subtle a
skill the parallelism is produced in this couplet.
It is made entirely to depend upon the word
" alone," which greatly extends the sense. The
Israelites had no other leader but God. Moses
was only the instrument by whom he acted ; his
guidance was suggested by the Lord, who really
led his people. The second clause is exegetical
of the first, being a paraphrase of it : the same
idea is carried out. If the first hemistich had
run simply thus : —

So the Lord did lead him,

no parallelism could have been traced ; but
now the latter clause has an immediate and
inseparable dependency upon the first, which it
explains by a direct amplification of the first
simple thought. So delicately is the poetical

219

distribution of terms sometimes conducted, that
the artifice entirely escapes attention; we feel the
latent and mysterious power, though we do not
detect the cause by which it is governed until
we come to apply the touchstone of dialectical
and analytical scrutiny, which lays bare all the
resources of art, and exhibits the means by
which every poetical or rhetorical result is
obtained.

It is abundantly evident, to my apprehension
at least, from each verse of this sublime attes-
tation of the genius of Moses, that it was com-
posed with the severest and most scrupulous
attention to the laws of metrical arrangement;
for perhaps there cannot be mentioned, within
the vast circle of literary production, a single
composition exhibiting more decidedly a con-
stant application of the highest resources of
art.

He made him ride on the high places of the earth,
That he might cat the increase of the fields;
And he made him to suck honey out of the rock,
And oil out of the flinty rock.

Here is an enallage of tenses, by which a past
tense is put for the future ; showing that what
was to be in the coming time, for the j)as-
sage is evidently })rophetic, Mas as clearly pre-
sent to the mind of Moses, as if it were at that
moment actually taking place. This form of
speech is very common among the Hebrew
poets, especially where what they are delivering
is prophetical; and it is certainly nujch more
inn)rcssivc' than if the future tense wvvc em-

220

ployed. It brings at once before the mind the
issues of the future, not as an expectation, but
as a reaUty. It gives a positive existence to the
prospective event, which the mere assurance of
it, as an event to happen, docs not produce. The
declaration that a future thing actually has been
given from the tongue of one delivering a divine
oracle, is calculated to strike the mind and heart
with much fuller force of conviction than the
mere assurance that it shall be. In the one
case, we feel the distant result to be positive;
in the other, contingent. There is the vague-
ness of uncertainty hanging over our mental
impressions, arising out of the latter form of
claration, which is dissipated by the former,
representing, as it does, to the imagination, the
prophetic perceptions of the inspired lawgiver,
carried forward into futurity, and bringing that
actually down to a period already past, which
was only to be consummated at some distant
advance of time. Thus it will appear that the
form of expression adopted by the prophetic
bard in this passage, is much more emphatic than
if he had observed that order of the tenses
which the subject appears literally to demand.

He made him ride on the high places of the earth ;

that is, M'hen the posterity of Jacob, represented
in their progenitor, shall have secured their
promised settlement, they shall enjoy the most
productive and secure possessions, for which
they will be indebted to that divine guardian
who " led them through the wilderness like a
flock;" for he will l)riug them triumphantly into

221

the land covenanted to their fathers, expelHnf^
the heathens before them, and " laying waste
his dwelling-place;" he will cause those whom
he has rescued from the tyranny of an idolatrous
people to pass over Jordan, to subdue their nu-
merous foes, and finally, after a succession of
glorious conquests, to establish themselves in
that country to which they shall eventually give
a name, and where the sun of Christianity shall
ultimately rise to enlighten the earth, — for there
" the day spring from on high" shall appear
" with healing in his wings," — and snap
asu»der the chains of eternal death in which sin
had bound every descendant of Adam.

That he might eat the increase of the fields ;

in other words, that he might enjoy the most
complete territorial prosperity, having abun-
dance of grain, of fruit and of every luxury pro-
duced by a prolific soil.

The whole land of Palestine is eminently
fruitful, the earth being of the richest descri]>
tion. Dr. Shaw informs us that it rarely re-
quires more than one pair of beeves to plough
it.

" Moses speaks of Canaan as of the finest
country in the world — ' a land flowing with milk
and honey.' Profane authors also speak of it
much in the same manner. HecatfEus (Apud.
Joseph, contr. Ap. p. 1 049),who had been brought
up with Alexander the Great, and who wrote in
the time of Ptolemy I., mentions this country as
very fruitful and well peopled, an excellent pro-
vince, that bore all kinds of good fruit. Pliny

222

gives a similar rlescriptioii of it, and says Jeru-
salem was not only the most famous city of
Judsea, but of the whole east. He describes the
course of the Jordan, as of a delicious river ;
he speaks advantageously of the lake of Gen-
nesareth, of the balm of Judsea, its palm-trees,
&c. Tacitus (Hist. lib. xv. cap. 6), Ammianus
Marcellinus, and most of the ancients who have
mentioned Canaan, have spoken of it with equal
commendations. The Mohammedans speak of
it extravagantly. They tell us, that besides the
two principal cities of the country, Jerusalem
and Jericho, this province had a thousand-vil-
lages, each of which had many fine gardens.
That the grapes were so large, that five men
could hardly carry a cluster of them, and that
five men might hide themselves in the shell
of one pomegranate ! That this country was
anciently inhabited by giants of the race of
Amalek."*

And he made him to suck honey out of the rock.

This line is very expressive of the extraordinary
fruitfulness of the soil, it being so marvel-
lously productive, that even in the most stony
and barren portions of it, blossoms would ex-
pand and flowers spring up in such profusion,
that the bees would be obliged to deposit their
honey even in the clefts of rocks; thus show-
ing that there should be no part of the blessed
land where honey, as well as the most nutritious
esculents and more elegant vegetable produc-

* Calmet's Dictionary of the Bible, art. Canaan.

223

tions of the earth, might not be obtained in the
greatest profusion. " This rock-honey," Patrick
observes, " seems to be spoken of as the best of
its kind, being joined with the finest wheat: —

He should have fed them also with the finest of the wheat :
And with honey out of the rock should I have satisfied thee.*"

There is a passage in Virgil's fourth Eclogue,
describing the fruitfulness of the earth in the
golden age, which so nearly resembles the se-
cond and third hemistichs of the thirteenth verse
of this prophetic ode, as would almost lead to
the belief that the Mantuan bard was not unac-
quainted with the Mosaic scriptures: —

Unlaboured harvests shall the fields adorn,

And clustered grapes shall blush on every thorn ;

The knotted oaks shall showers of honey weep,

And through the matted grass the liquid gold shall creep. t

Not only does Moses describe the stony parts of
Palestine as being abundant in the richer pro-
ductions of the soil, but that even the summits
of the rocks should be covered with so fine a
deposit of mould as to produce olive-trees in
such plenty, that from them a sufficient supply
of oil would be obtained for the inhabitants of
the land. The olive-tree is found to thrive best
in elevated localities which are rocky, and
therefore unfavourable to general vegetation.
This being a hardy shrub, it grows healthily
where there is only a thin stratum of earth,
fixing its roots within the interstices of the

* Psalm Ixxxi. 10. t Drydeu's translation.

224

rocks, which support it during" the term of its
hardy but luxuriant growth. It is surprising
how well acquainted Moses appears to have
been with the natural history, not only of
the country in which he had so long sojourned,
but likewise of that which the seed of Jacob
were about to enter.

With reference to the poetical beauty and
structure of the passage now under examination,
I have a few remarks to make.

He made him ride upon the high places of the earth.

This is a fine metaphor, signifying that he should
enter the country as a conqueror (the poet of
course applies here to the posterity of Jacob
collectively); he should "ride on the high
places" as one who had gained them by con-
quest, asserting his supremacy and manifesting
his power. He should not only " ride" on the
level country, but over the lofty and more fruit-
ful mountains, showing by this how general and
absolute would be his dominion over the con-
quered land. Here he shall dwell and live
deliciously, for the expression to " ride" sig-
nifies, as writes the prophet.*

I will make Ephraim to ride;

Judah shall plough, and Jacob shall break his clods;

that is, the people of Israel shall live in plea-
sure when Judah shall live laboriously.

The ideas of riding and walking are opposed
in the line under notice, not in words, but the

♦ Hosea x. 11. See Dodd's note.

225

one is suggested by the other, the former present-
ing a picture of acquired power and temporal
means, rendered more vivid by the opposite of all
this intimated in the latter, which, though only
understood, is equally present to the reader's
mind. Observe with how marked an emphasis
universal empire over the vanquished land is
displayed ; for Jacob, that is, the Israelites, shall
" ride on the high places," but as he must first
possess himself of the plains before he can occupy
the high places, this latter phrase will conse-
quently imply both. Herder translates the
couplet —

He bore him to the mountain heights,
And fed him with the fruits of the earth :

which has sutficient simplicity and perspicuity,
but is inferior in copiousness of thought and
amplitude of meaning to our common reading.

That he might eat the increase of the fields;

or, that he might take possession of the whole
country, and enjoy the provisions of a land,
in the figurative language of poesy, " flowing
with milk and honey." It is astonishing how
much may be inferred from these words. " The
increase of the fields" signifies literally all that the
land produces, and not only so, but it implies
likewise that the Israelites shall enjoy those
eminent territorial advantages which shall ac-
crue to them from the possession of this ex-
tremely productive region.

VOL. II. Q

226

He made him to suck honey out of the rock,
And oil out of the flinty rock.

A similar distinction of the terms will be ob-
served to that which I have already so often
pointed out. " Rock" and " flinty rock," do not
sustain the same idea in this couplet; the first
term applies to stony strata in the mountains, in
which there is a great number of fissures and
interstitial separations ; the other to solid rocks,
upon which there is a scanty deposit of earth,
sufficient to sustain the growth of the olive-tree
and other hardy plants. It is clear that a dis-
tinction was intended between the correspond-
ing terms in these two hemistichs, and this at once
occurs to the mind, as the only distinction which
can reasona])ly exist ; the first term applying
to silicious strata, the other to compact masses
of stone. I confess it seems to me that a more
exact correspondency, and a more immediate
cognation, would appear in the relative mem-
bers of the distich, if the subject of each line
were inserted thus: —

He made him to suck oil out of the rock.
And honey out of the flinty rock ;

for it is well known to naturalists that olive-
trees thrive better in a stony than in a marly or
rich soil. Within the divisions of stony layers,
so common in hilly localities, they fix their
tenacious roots, which hold with amazing tena-
city, and the plants in those situations are
usually covered with an abundant supply of fruit.

227

The " rock," then, of the sacred text, will apply
most appropriately to the growth of olives, and
the " flinty" or solid rock, in which there are nu-
merous holes and indentations, to the labour of
bees, which deposit their honey in such places
of security as will best place it beyond the
reach of the spoiler. I am satisfied that the
two expressions were intended to represent dif-
ferent modifications of the same or nearly the
same image, the difference only lying between
congested, but unconcreted, and solid rock ;
that therefore the latter expression was designed
by the inspired bard to rise in force of emphasis
above the former, as we have already seen ex-
emplified in the preceding couplets.

The words " to suck honey" are exceedingly
emphatic, as they express extreme relish, thus
presenting a vivid picture of luxurious enjoy-
ment by the judicious use of one very simple
but significant phrase. Moses does not merely
say that the sons of Jacob shall obtain oil and
honey, but that they shall have both in excessive
abundance, and the fineness of the quality is im-
plied by the manner in which they are repre-
sented as enjoying them. Thus, under the images
of fecundity and of luxury suggested in this ex-
pressive couplet, the poet leads directly to the
inference that the favoured seed of Abraham
shall possess all the temporal blessings which one
of the most fruitful regions of the earth should
yield. Here is a specimen of painting by
words, a facultv in which the Hebrew lawgiver
was unrivalled, not approached by any thing out
of the sacred writings.

Q 2

228

Butter of kine, and milk of sheep,
With fat of lambs, and rams of the breed of Bashan,
And goats, with the fat of kidneys of wheat ;
And thou didst drink the pure blood of the grape.

In these four hemistichs the picture of temporal
prosperity is continued. The first clause is, as
usual, distinguished by that accurate discrimi-
nation of objects and of circumstances which I
have pointed out in other passages, and which
so strongly marks the just perception and con-
summate genius of the author of this magnificent
composition. Cows yield the best butter, ewes
the richest milk ; the promised inheritance of
the Israelites, therefore, is to furnish a plentiful
su})ply of both. This infers likewise that it shall
abound with flocks and herds. Observe how
one consequence, though not stated, rises out of
another. Those subjects are predicated which
by consequence involve others. They could not
have plenty of " butter of kine and milk of
sheep" unless their flocks and herds were nu-
merous, but they might nevertheless possess
numerous flocks and herds without having abun-
dance of butter and milk, for disease might be
among their cattle, and various other casualties
might frustrate the supply ; lioth, however, are
positively implied in the lines as they now
stand, since abundance of the produce of cattle
necessarily supposes a number of kine and
sheep bearing its proportion to that abundance.
It is further to be remarked, that the poet does
not simply say the country shall produce butter
and milk in vast quantities, but signifies besides
that it will yield the best of both, and this too in

229 ' -

a sinole hemistich, in which the expressions are
beautifully contrasted and balanced with so ex-
quisite a nicety of adjustment, even in our ver-
sion, as to form a line perfectly metrical.

Butter I of kine | and milk | of sheep.

Here is a line most agreeably modulated, and
no less expressive in the sense than musical in
the sound. It consists of four feet, a pyrrhic
and three iambuses. This distribution into feet
was, no doubt, quite accidental on the part of
our translators, they being led into it, as I have
before observed, by the metrical arrangement
of the original Hebrew.

With fat of lambs, and rams of the breed of Bashan,

that is, with the fat lambs of the flock, or, as it
might have been rendered, the fatlings of lambs.
By" rams of the breedof Bashan," we are to un-
derstand the finest that could be produced, for
Bashan, says Reland, was esteemed one of the
most fruitful countries in the world; its rich
pastures, oaks, and fine cattle, are exceedingly
commended.*

And goats, with the fat of kidneys of wheat.

Dr. Adam Clarke has an excellent note upon
this verse. "Almost every person knows,"
says he, "that the kidney is enveloped in a coat
of the purest fat in the body of the animal, for
which several anatomical reasons miii'ht be
given. As the kidney itself is to the abundantly

* Palatst. lib, 1.

. . 230

surroundini*' fat, so is the germ of the grain to
the lobes, or farinaceous parts. The expression
may here be considered as a very strong and
pecuHarly happy figure to point out the finest
wheat, containing the most healthy and vigorous
germ, growing in a very large and nutritive
grain ; and consequently the whole figure points
out a species of wheat equally excellent both
for seed and bread. This beautiful metaphor
seems to have escaped the notice of every com-
mentator." This is a mistake : many commen-
tators have noticed it, among whom I may
mention Bishop Patrick, Bishop Kidder, and
Dr. Hales. "Some of the greatest delica-
cies in India," says Mr. Forbes in his oriental
memoirs, " are now made from the rolong flour,
which is called the heart or kidney of the
wheat." Herder translates this verse,

The fat kidneys of goats, and bread of wheat,

and observes, " I have departed here from
the interpunction of the Hebrew, because the
phrase ' fat of kidneys of wheat' seems to have
no good sense, and the more natural sense is
obvious. The detail of these fruits and eatables
is proof, like everything else in it, of the unbor-
rowed truth of this poem. After the people
had been so long in the desert, these hills must
seem an Elysium, and their fruits the food of
Paradise. '

It is very clear from this note that the Ger-
man commentator was altogether insensible to
the l)eauty of the metaphor Avhich Dr. Adam
Clarke has so happily analyzed.

23 i

The fat kidneys of goats,

is to my mind a very unsatisfactory renderinjr,
since it gives a sense, as I apprehend, altoge-
ther beside the intention of Moses. He is evi-
dently pointing to the best things of their
respective kinds in the land of Canaan, namely,
cows' butter, and sheep's milk, the fatlings of
lambs, of rams, and of goats of the breed of
Bashan, which were the finest breeds known,
and wheat of the plumpest and most farinaceous
grain. He did not refer to the fat of the ani-
mals, but to their fatness. What an absurd
anomaly to talk of the Israelites eating fat and
suet as one of the great privileged luxuries of
their promised inheritance. This could have been
neither a very flattering nor a very gratifying
prediction. It would have betokened neither ex-
traordinary prosperity nor abundance, whilst the
phrase " bread of wheat" would have signified
nothing more than animprovementin their condi-
tion, so far as the supply of the mere necessaries .
of life was concerned, without at all provoking
the inference of extreme territorial plenty ; for
their only eating wheaten bread would not
imply this. Moses promised his countrymen
something better than

The fat kidoeys of goats, and bread of wheat.

He not only promised them flocks and herds in
vast multitudes, and of the choicest breeds, but
likewise the produce of those flocks and herds
in the greatest tjuantity, and of the richest
quality, the fattest of the former for domestic

232

consumption, besides corn of the finest grain,
and grapes in such profusion, that the Israelites
should drink the juice of them pure, and,, thus
far more abundantly, without submitting ^it
to the process of vinous fermentation, which
limits the enjoyment of it; since suffering and
personal injury invariably follow excess.

I am surprised that a mind so poetically con-
stituted as Herder's should have overlooked
the graphic beauty of the metaphor which he
rejects as perverting the meaning, and have
substituted a mere literal, but bald adjunct, in
his severe and scrupulous desire to appropriate
the relative terms, which sadly alters, and at
the same time, in my judgment, greatly de-
teriorates the sense. It drags it down from its
present sublime elevation to the most ordinary
common place.

The expression " fat of kidneys of wheat"
may be thus interpreted — wheat plump, rich
and farinaceous, like the kidney fat, the finest
and most nutritive in the animal body. I con-
sider that, as in the passage now under con-
sideration, it was manifestly the intention of
Moses to describe every object in Canaan men-
tioned by him as the best of its kind ; he
signifies not only that the sheep, but likewise
that the goats, were of the breed of Bashan, a
district celebrated for its cattle of all denomi-
nations; for bulls of Bashan are mentioned by
the Psalmist, —

Many bulls have compassed me ;

Strong bulls of IJashan have beset me round.*

* Psaljn xxii. 12.

233

This, though a mountainous district, was, never-
theless, extremely fertile, containing numerous
valleys which supplied the richest pasture. The
hill of Bashan, immortalized by the Psalmist,
formed part of this fertile region : —

The hill of God is as the hill of Bashan,
An high hill, as the hill of Bashan.

Now it is well known that g-oats are invariably
the inhabitants of hilly districts, and as every
part of this region was fruitful, it is but natural
to infer that the goats, as well as the sheep and
oxen bred there, were the finest of their species.
I am the more confirmed in the propriety of
this reading, as it not only renders the passage
more consistent, but rescues it from the charge
of that defect which a diminution of beauty im-
plies. All the other objects mentioned by the
inspired bard are characterized by the highest
order of excellence, I therefore conclude that
the goats were likewise intended by him to be
distinguished as the choicest of their kind.

And thou didst drink the pure blood of the grape.

This latter expression was made use of by Jacob
in his prophetic benediction upon Judah, and
from him Moses most probably borrowed it, as
he employs it for a similar purpose, namely,
to denote the fruitfulness of Palestine generally,
where the vine should be cultivated with such suc-
cess, that the new possessors of this productive
land would drink the juice of the grape as
plcntifidly as water.

The whole. of this portion of the ode, from the

234

twelfth verse to the fifteenth incUisive, gives a
most eloquent description of the fertility of that
land which the Israelites were ahout to possess —
a region abounding not only with all the neces-
saries, but likewise with all the luxuries of life, —
and thus the more fully projects to view the
base ingratitude of the people, who had been
so signally blessed when under the rebellious
son of Nebat, a large portion of them, no less
than ten of the tribes, abandoned the w orship of
the true God, and with daring impiety bowed
before those dumb idols which Jeroboam so
audaciously set up. In numerous instances this
degenerate people, who had been so divinely pro-
tected and so eminently distinguished, threw off
their allegiance to their God, and committed the
most atrocious abominations, to which the pro-
phet refers in terms of scornful reproach, com-
paring the abandoned seed of Jacob to the
pampered beasts of the field.

It may be worth while to observe, before con-
cluding this chapter, how dexterously the poet
implies the vast abundance of the vinous pro-
duce of Palestine, by the judicious application
of a single epithet : —

And thou didst drink the pure blood of the grape.

It is not said that they should drink wine, which
is the blood of the grape in an artificial state,
after it has undergone the necessary process of
fermentation, but it is promised that they shall
drink the juice of grapes pure, without mixture ;
a circumstance that much more strongly

235

indicates the prodigious abundance of this
fruit, because a far greater quantity of its
juice may be taken in the simple form than
after it has undergone the action of spiritual-
ization. A wide distinction, therefore, is to
be made betwixt the expression as used by
Moses, " the pure blood of the grape," which
implies the simple juice of this fruit, and the
more general phrase " blood of the grape,"
which unites the idea of that fermented luxury
produced from it.

It will be noticed that the particulars here
stated refer to the future condition of the Israel-
ites in Canaan ; the whole passage is prophetic.
The same may be said of the fifth verse of the
chapter —

They have corrupted themselves,

Their spot is not the spot of his children :

They are a perverse and crooked generation ;

which, though it may refer to the idolatries of
the Israelites before their entrance into Canaan,
in a secondary sense, points principally to their
spiritual degeneracy after, when they reached the
very acme of moral turpitude.

CHAPTER XVI.

The prophetic ode continued.

*' The third part of this prophetic song," writes
Dr. Hales, " to the end of the eighteenth verse,
describes the usual but ungenerous effect of pros-
perity upon " Jeshurun," or righteous Israel
heretofore, in their adoption of the false gods
of the neighbouring nations, and forgetfulness
of the true God, their Creator and protector.
This is expressed in the most animated and
glowing apostrophes, or changes of person, in
which this most highly wrought composition
abounds; uniting all the fire and richness of
oriental eloquence with the close and accurate
reasoning of occidental composition."

But Jeshurun waxed fat, and kicked :

Thou art waxen fat, thou art grown thick,

Thou art covered with fatness ;

Then he forsook God which made him,

And lightly esteemed the Rock of his salvation.

Upon the first line of this passage Dr. Dodd has
the following note. '' Israel is called Jeshurun
both here and in chap, xxxiii. 5, 26, and Isaiah
xliv. 2. The word may be derived either
from Jeshur, righteousness, because they were a
people professing righteousness, or governed by
righteous laws; or from Shur, to see, because

237

they were favoured with divine manifestations.
See Ainsworth. Vitringa and Yenema prefer the
first sense. Le Clerc and Cahiiet think that
Jeshurnn is a diminutive for Israel. The meta-
phor is taken from a pampered horse, which
grows wanton and vicious with kindness and
good keeping. The reader is to consider Moses
here speaking as a prophet, of things future as
past, which Venema thinks have a particular
reference to the rebellion and ingratitude of
the Israelites, from the time of Solomon down
to the coming of the Saviour. Vitringa well
observes that the Jews never so much dis-
honoured the rock of their salvation as when re-
jecting Jesus Christ. Houbigant observes upon
this verse, that the confusion of persons and
things evidently proves the order to be changed,
which he would thus restore ; reading after the
words —

Thou didst drink the pure blood of the grape.

Thou art waxen fat, grown thick, and covered with fatness ;

Jacob hath eaten, and is filled,

Israel is made fat, and hath kicked ;

He hath forsaken God who made him ;

He hath despised the God of his salvation."

f

"Why Israel is called Jeshurun," says Patrick,
" is not easy to resolve. Cocceius in his Ultima
Mosis, sect. 973, derives it from Shur, which
signifies to see, behold or descry. From
whence in the future tense and the plural
number comes Jeshuru, which by the addition
of nun,* paragogicum, as they speak, makes

* Nun is here a paragogic particle.

238

Jeshurun, that is, ' the people who had the vision
of God.' I know nothing more simple nor more
probable than this, which highly aggravated
their sin, who, having God so nigh unto them,
(ver. 4, 7.) and their elders having had a sight
of him (Exodns xxiv. 10,) was so ungrateful as
to rebel against him and worship other gods."

Jeshurun waxed fat, and kicked.

What can be more expressive of insensible
ingratitude and fatuitous presumption than
this most significant image ! Israel is repre-
sented as enjoying all the temporal blessings of
the promised land with that brutal indifference
towards Him who bestowed those blessings,
evinced by animals which have no better
o'uide than their instincts in the manifestation
of their feelings. As a vigorous steer which
has been allowed to grow fat in rich pastures
kicks at him who placed it there in the mere
wantonness of unrestraint, so will the Israelites
(for this is all said by way of anticipation, the
prophetic afflatus now evidently swaying the
mind of the poet) rebel against " the Lord
that bought them" and do evil in his sight.
How completely was this prospective announce-
ment verified in the issue ! the Israelites be-
came at once presumptuous and dissolute.

Thou art waxen fat, thou art grown thick,
Thou art covered with fatness.

Here the cognate comparisons multiply, as if
the prophet was unable to abandon the thought

239

oflsrael's disgraceful requital for God's manifold
and great mercies. He seems to dwell upon
their baseness, as if it was a predominating
impression of his mind, gradually increasing
the force of this one prevailing idea, which
for the moment appears to have absorbed his
whole thoughts. We shall perceive, that al-
though the image of fatness is repeated in each
clause of the passage, it is each tim.e with addi-
tional emphasis.

Thou art waxen fat, thou art grown thick ;

' Not only art thou become fat, but the bulk of
thy body is greatly increased, and this to such
a degree, that

Thou art covered with fatness —

thou hast reached to such an excess of gross-
ness that thy pampered appetites have made
thee unmindful of anything but how thou mayest
best gratify them. This has rendered thee
selfish, presumptuous, and ungrateful.'

Thus the several comparisons gradually ad-
vance in effect of signification, without in the
least abating their close cognation, the gra-
duating force of each being, on the contrary,
increased by it. This rapid duplication of the
metaphor with its gradational adjunct, eleva-
ting it at every break of the sentence where the
new impulse of emphasis is given, is among the
most effective things to be found in this extraor-
dinary poem, which so profusely abounds with
them. It beautifully exhibits the excited state

240

of the prophet's mind. He was too indignant to
ponder his words with his usual precision, though
they were really "weighed in the balance of the
sanctuary," or to seek for new images to illus-
trate his thoughts ; but being engrossed by one
prevailing idea, instead of multiplying compa-
risons, in the vehemence of his indignation he
seizes upon a strong metaphor and amplifies it
with prodigious energy until the resources of
amplification are exhausted : he then arriveis
at the corollary of his proposition, that Israel
having become pampered and mindful only of
their own enjoyments, they would as a natural
consequence forsake the Lord Jehovah, and
lightly esteem the God of their salvation.

An old poet of our own country* has painted
so just a picture of man's ingratitude, that I am
sure the reader will not consider its insertion
here out of place.

MAN'S INGRATITUDE.

A thankful heart hath earn'd one favour twice,
But he that is ungrateful wants no vice :
The beast that only lives the life of sense,
Prone to his several actions and propense
To what he does, without the advice of will,
Guided by nature, that does nothing ill,
In practic maxims proves it a thing hateful
To accept a favour, and to live ungrateful :
But man whose more diviner soul hath gain'd
A higher step to reason ; nay attain'd
A higher step than that, the light of grace,
Comes short of them, and in that point more base
Than they, most prompt and versed in that rude
Unnatural and high sin, ingratitude.
The stall-fed ox that is grown fat will know
His careful feeder, and acknowledge too ;

* Francis Quarles.

241

The prouder courser will at length espy

His master's bounty in his keeper's eye :

The air-dividing falcon will requite

Her falconer's pains with a well-pleasing flight :

The generous spaniel loves his master's eye,

And licks his fingers, though no meat be by :

But man, ungrateful man, that's born and bred

By heaven's immediate power ; maintained and fed

By his providing hand ; observed, attended

By his indulgent grace ; preserved, defended

By his prevailing arm ; this man I say,

Is more ungrateful, more obdure than they.

By him we live and move, from him we have

What blessings he can give, or we can crave ;

Food for our hunger, dainties for our pleasure ;

Trades for our business, pastimes for our leisure.

In grief he is our joy; in want, our wealth ;

In bondage, freedom ; and in sickness, health ;

In peace, our council ; and in war, our leader ;

At sea, our pilot ; and in suits, our pleader ;

In pain, our help ; in triumph, our renown;

In life, our comfort ; and in death, our crown.

Yet man, O most ungrateful man, can ever

Enjoy thy gift, but never mind the giver ;

And like the swine, though pampered with enough,

His eyes are never higher than the trough.

We still receive ; our hearts we seldom lift

To heaven, but drown the giver in the gift ;

We taste the scollops and return the shells —

Our sweet pomegranates want their silver bells ;

We take the gift ; the hand that did present it

We oft reward ; forget the friend that sent it.

A blessing given to those will not disburse

Some thanks, is little better than a curse.

Great giver of all blessings, thou that art
The Lord of gifts, give me a grateful heart ;

0 give me that, or keep thy favours from me !

1 wish no blessings with a vengeance to me.

The triplet exhibiting the insolence and in-
gratitude of Israel in the prophetic ode of
Moses, is immediately followed by a couplet
signifying their reckless abandonment of their
Almighty Protector: —

VOL. II. R

242

Then he forsook God which made hhn,

And lightly esteemed the Rock of his salvation.

The cause of Israel's spiritual alienation, as is
but too generally the case now, appears to have
been his seduction from God's worship by the idols
of the world. That very prosperity to which
the Deity had advanced him, and which ought to
have rendered him a more worthy recipient of
divine gifts, was, on the contrary, the cause of
his wedding himself to the enticements of appe-
tite, and repudiating that discipline and " spi-
ritual discernment" which were required of him,
in return for such numerous and signal dispen-
sations. No sooner had the Israelites obtained
undisturbed possession of Canaan, subsequently
called Palestine, than their whole political his-
tory presents a confused scene of rebellions and
of usurpations, its dark page being crowded with
all the various violences of civil commotion, of
social discord, and political disunion. They
ultimately divided into two separate commu-
nities, conforming themselves to the abomina-
tions of idolatry, either positive or implied —
worshipping idols made with hands, or those
baser idols of sense which enlist the passions
and enslave the heart ; these latter services more
immediately and more permanently provoking
the divine indignation, than those offered to
deities of wood and stone, which though more
rationally degrading, are still the less positively
guilty effects of ignorance and superstition.
The Israelites abandoning themselves to the
blandishments of this world; proud of their su-
premacy over the nations by whom they were im-

243

mediately surrounded; arrogant in consequence
of their descent from him to whose righteousness
they were so especially indebted for such muni-
ficent displays of the divine favour ; possessing
a fruitful country ; and thus being affluent in
earthly possessions, they became pampered, set
their Almighty Benefactor at defiance, despised
his ordinances, resisted his authority, and gave
themselves up to the evil solicitations of their
hearts' lusts.

First, Israel forsook God which made him,
and then, as a natural consequence of such
ungrateful depravity,

He lightly esteemed the Rock of his salvation.

This was sadly consummated in the further pro-
gress of the Jewish polity. The degenerate
seed of Jacob not only rebelled against their
Creator, but at length " lightly esteemed" their
Redeemer. "He was despised and rejected" of
them. " He came to his own, but his own received
him not." "He was made the scorn of men."
How completely did they realize the prophetic
picture of the Psalmist — *

But in mine adversity they rejoiced,

And gathered themselves together :

Yea, the abjects gathered themselves together against me,

And I knew it not ;

They did tear me, and ceased not :

With hypocritical mockers in feasts,

They gnashed upon me with their teeth.

In the couplet of Moses' divine song which we
have l)ecn considering, there might be produced
not only a beautiful parallelism of construction,

* Psalm XXXV. 15, 16.

r 2

244

Ijiit likewise such a remarkable relation in the
corresponding; terms, as would bring out a fine
example of cognate parallelism to the reader's
view. If the couplet were disengaged from the
metaphor with which the concluding line is now
enriched, the passage might be rendered thus : —

And lie forsook God which created him :
And he despised God which redeemed him.

Here we should have in combination an exam-
ple of constructive and of cognate parallelism,
the one rising out of the other, and the op-
posed terms mutually imparting a metrical
cadence, this being nearly, if not precisely the
same in both clauses.

I know not if the perfect simplicity and exact
symmetrical proportion maintained in this mode
of converting the original into English, would
not more than countervail the significant meta-
phor with which the poet has graced the last
hemistich of this passage. The Creator and
Redeemer are seen in more immediate and ob-
vious juxtaposition ; the terms are distributed
with a juster regard to the harmony of construc-
tion, besides which, they more directly assist
and enforce each other.

The phrase "lightly esteemed" is a free and
paraphrastic translation of the Hebrew; the
implied negative expresses the strongest positive
affirmation — he lightly esteemed, that is, he
greatly despised. Phrases so used often become
much more emphatic than when the declaration
is literally and directly made; as when^ve say.

245

he is anything but a good man, it immediately
forces the inference that he is an extremely bad
one.

Bishop Patrick's note on the whole passage
is eminently happy. "As there was a progress
in the Israelites' insolent forgetfulness of God,
expressed in three phrases, which may signify
three degrees of their stupidity, ' waxen fat,'
'grown thick,' and 'covered with fatness;' so
some observe as many degrees of their rebellion.
First, they kicked against God, that is, they threw
off the yoke of his laws and refused to observe
them. Secondly, they forsook God and fell into
idolatry. And lastly, they lightly esteemed the
rock of their salvation. Where the Hebrew word
nibbel signifies more than a light esteem ; for if
it comes from nebelah, a dead carcass, as some
think it doth, it denotes the greatest abhorrence,
nothing being so much abominated among the
Jews as a dead carcass, the touchino- of which
was the highest pollution And thus Cocceius
and Vitringa understand it, who observe that
this was never so fulfilled as in their behaviour
towards our Lord Christ, who was indeed the
rock of their salvation, and so vilely used by
them as if he had been the most loathsome man
upon earth. So Vitringa expounds these words in
his Observ. Sacr. lib. 2, cap. 9, p. 173 — instar
Jlagitii tractavit rupem salutis sufe. For this is
a word used by God himself when he would
express his utter detestation of Nineveh and his
dealin"" with her accordin"; to her abominable
wickedness ; — ' I will cast al)omiiiable filth upon
thee, and make thee vile,' Nahuni iii. 6. And

246

when he speaks of the disgrace he would put
upon his own temple — Jeremiah xiv. 21. The
Seventy, indeed, simply expound the word he
departed ; but the last words they expound
'from God his Saviour,' as Onkelos also, 'his
most mighty Redeemer ;' which in the most emi-
nent sense is the Lord Jesus, for none brought
such salvation to them and wrought such a
redemption for them as he did, who is ' the
stone which God laid in Zion,' Isaiah xxviii. 16.
But instead of flying to him as men in danger
do to a rock or strong fortress, they not only
rejected him, but abused and put the highest
indignities upon him."

I think Herder, in his translation of verse fif-
teenth of the chapter we are examining, has
greatly abated its beauty by cramping the
triplet into a single distich, and thus consider-
ably weakening the force of the climax. He
reads —

Then Jeshurun waxed stout and rebelled ;
Thou wast too fat, too satiate, too full,
Thou didst forsake the God that made thee.
And lightly esteem the Rock of thy salvation.

Upon the term Jeshurun, Herder observes —
" This word is a title of fondness given to
Israel in the character of a child ; a personifica-
tion which runs through most of this piece."

" Too satiate and too full," are merely syno-
nymous, and completely interrupt the beautiful
gradation which our translation exhibits.

They provoked him to jealousy with strange gods,
With abominations provoked they him to anger.

247

The word "jealousy" in the first line of this coup-
let is used to express the divine displeasure, as
in Psalm Ixxix. 5 : —

How long, Lord ?

Wilt thou be angry for ever ?

Shall thy jealousy burn like fire ?

Moses now introduces against the sons of Jacob
the specific charge of idolatry, and not only so,
but infers likewise those abominations which are
invariably consequential to it; for it is notorious
that in all ages of the world the most revolting
impurities have been continually committed in
the heathen sanctuaries : these have always
been the scenes of licentiousness too shocking
for the public eye and therefore confined to the
penetralia of those desecrated fanes. From
such abominations the Israelites, after they had
obtained quiet possession of the promised inheri-
tance, were evidently not free, for in numerous
instances, as their subsequent history sufficiently
shows, "they walked after the law of a carnal
commandment," prefering the "beggarly ele-
ments" of pagan superstition to the spiritual
nourishment of religion " pure and undefiled
before God;" and grievously did they suffer in
the issue from the divine anger thus wantonly
and ungratefully provoked. In our Saviour's
time the corruption of the Jews was notorious.

Josephus characterizes their chief priests and
popular leaders " as profligate wretches, Avho
having purchased their places l)y bribes or by
acts of iniquity, maintained their ill-acquired
authority by the most flagitious and abominable

248

crimes. Nor were the religious creeds of these
men more pm-e : having- espoused the princi-
ples of various sects, they suffered themselves
to be led away by the prejudice and animosity
of party, — though, as in the case of our Saviour,
they would sometimes abandon them to promote
some favourite measure, — and were commonly
more intent on the gratification of private en-
mity, than studious of advancing the cause of
religion, or promoting the public welfare. The
subordinate or inferior members were infected
with the corruption of the head : the priests and
other ministers of religion were become disso-
solute and abandoned in the highest degree;
while the common people, instigated by ex-
amples so depraved, rushed headlong into every
kind oi initjnity, and by their incessant sedi-
tions, robberies, and extortions, armed against
themselves both the justice of God and the
veniieance of men."* "Their o-reat men were
to an incredible degree depraved in morals,
many of them Sadducees in principle, and in
practice the most profligate sensualists and
debauchees: their atrocious and abandoned
wickedness, as Josephus testifies, transcended
all the enormities which the most corrupt age
of the world had ever beheld, "f

After their settlement in Canaan, the Israel-
ites, to a deplorable extent, joined in the idol-
atries of the heathen. Moloch, the idol of the
Ammonites ; Achad, a Syrian deity symbolizing
the sun; Baal-Peor, an idol of the Moabites ;

* Home's Introduction, \c. vol. i. ji. 180. t Ibid. p. 181.

249

Astarte, a goddess of the Sidonians ; Baal-
berith, a divinity of the Shechemites, with
many others, were worshipped by the Israelites.
In the eighth chapter of Ezekiel, at the four-
teenth verse, an account is given of Jewish
women " weeping for Tammuz," an Egyptian
divinity, and of men worshipping the sun. " Then
he brouoht me to the door of the o-ate of the
Lord's house which was toward the north ; and
behold, there sat women weeping for Tammuz.
Then said he unto me, hast thou seen this, O
son of man ? turn thee yet again, and thou shalt
see greater abominations than these. And he
brouiiht me into the inner court of the Lord's
house, and behold, at the door of the temple of
the Lord, between the porch and the altar,
were about five and twenty men, with their
backs toward the temple of the Lord, and
their faces toward the east; and they wor-
shipped the sun toward the east."

In fact the idolatries of the Jews were even
more detestable than those of the heathen, be-
cause the latter had never been advanced to the
privileges of a better dispensation; they confined
themselves, moreover, to the idols worshipped
by their respective communities, having been
brought up in the belief that such a degraded
service was the only eft'ectual passport to a
happy immortality ; whereas those Israelites,
who had proselyted from the true religion to one
of false morality and the vilest superstition, ac-
knowledged all the factitious divinities adored by
the difl'erent comnnniities of the gentile M'orld.
Among the former, therefore, there existed an

250

abominable intercommunity of worship with
the various chisses of pagans, who prostrated
themselves Ijefore deities of wood and stone.
Considered in this light the idolatries of the
Israelites were, in the last degree, atrocious and
insulting to the mighty majesty of heaven.

It can hardly escape notice that in the pair of
lines.

They provoked him to jealousy with strange gods,
With abominations provoked they him to anger, —

a perfect epanode is produced, the two chief
propositions severally beginning and ending
the couplet, and the two inferior being shut
in between them. The inversion in the last
hemistich, forming the epanode, enhances the
importance of the corresponding member of the
clause preceding it, by the immediate prox-
imity in which they are thus reciprocally placed,
not only keeping up the impression of the
iniquity practised by the posterity of Jacob, but
strengthening it to the highest extreme before
proceeding to the awful consequence of it, the
terrible certainty of God's anger, which must
always suppose grievous punishment.

Having briefly shown the deplorable state of
spiritual degradation into which the Israelites
sank after their settlement in Palestine — for the
whole description is here prospective, being
prophetically delivered — and this state of moral
alienation, the schism of Jeroboam no doubt
contributed greatly to induce, it is surprising to
observe how completely the prophetic declara-
tion of Moses was subsecpiently fulfilled.

251

They provoked him to jealousy with strange gods,
With abominations provoked they him to anger.

Independent of the epanodistic beauty of arrange-
ment which this couplet displays, I do not
think a finer example of gradational parallelism
could be selected from any portion of the sacred
writings. Herder's version of the passage is
uncommonly felicitous, as it maintains the gra-
dation in each parallel of the clauses. He
renders it with excellent discernment: —

They moved his jealousy with strange gods ;
With abominations they provoked him to anger.

I have already said that jealousy, as here
employed, signifies the divine displeasure. " It
imports," says Cruden,* " the hot displeasue
and indignation of God, Psalm Ixxix. 5 ; 1 Cor.
X. 22." Observe then how beautifully the
terms of each hemistich advance in strength of
signification. First, we have the displeasure of
the Lord opposed in the parallel line to his
anger, that is, to his displeasure greatly ao-o-ra-
vated, for the one is manifestly the excess of
the other. The first is "moved," the last
"provoked;" the former by the worship of
"strange gods," the latter by the moral atroci-
ties consequent upon such a profane worship.
Can anything be more distinctly marked than
these gradations of sense, heightenino- at
every advance the emphatic charge against
God's ungrateful and degenerate people.

I have already observed that this expressive

* Concordance, art. Jealousy.

252

couplet assumes the form of an epanode, but
the beauty of this peculiar disposition of the
members of each clause will be made more ap-
parent by a few additional remarks. The first
and last members of the distich, as now distri-
buted, represent in very strong terms, under
somewhat different modifications of phrase, the
wrath of Jehovah at the revolt of the Israelites.
These respectively commence and end the
couplet, while the two dependant members, im-
puting their idolatry and the iniquity resulting
from it, take the intermediate interval between
them, as in the several former examples I have
given of this figure. God's displeasure and anger
take the most prominent place at thecommence-
ment and conclusion, because they are the causes
of all the dreadful penalties awarded to sin. The
idolatries of the Israelites and their accruing:
abominations would be matters of no moment
whatever, if they did not provoke the divine
indignation, that awful harbinger of woe and
calamity to man. Thus it is, therefore, that the
two members of the sentence expressive of this
indignation take their positions in the van
and rear of the distich, in order that they may
first produce, and then leave the strongest im-
pression upon the mind.

The sacred poet next proceeds to declare, in
more direct terms, the idolatries to which he
refers'^ : —

They sacrificed unto devils, not to God;
To gods whom they knew not,
To new gods that came newly up,
Whom your fathers feared not.

253

Moses here declares with reference to the fu-
ture, that the Israelites sacrificed to evil spirits
who could not benefit them, as well as to dumb
idols which could not serve them, — because these
latter were formed from mere inert matter — and
became thus disaffected to Jehovah, who emi-
nently befriended them. Instead of offerino- ho-
mage to him who was their protector, and who
had proved his willingness to defend them, they
were seduced from their fealty to him, by the
heathens, with whom they entered into domestic
alliances, and persuaded to offer sacrifices to
those malignant powers which delight in the
destruction, as God does in the salvation, of
mankind. The Israelites were altogether stran-
gers to those mute divinities which they were
induced to acknowledge, especially after the divi-
sion of the tribes caused by the schism of Jero-
boam, by those idolatrous races with whom they
entered into impolitic confederacies. Many of
the false gods worshipped by the Hebrew set-
tlers in courteous imitation of their new allies,
were idols of recent invention, which some of
their pagan confederates had set "newly up"
for their own worship, as if they imagined that
by a multiplication of divinities they should
likewise multiply their prospects of heavenly
benefaction. Hence, no doubt, originated those
pantheistic dogmas which have since taken so
dominant a position in all systems of heathen
divinity. Such, however, were not the deities
which had been reverenced by the righteous
forefathers of the Hebrews, Abraham, Isaac,
and Jacob, who acknowledged no god save the

254

Lord Jehovah, whom they served with an in-
tensely devout and thankful affiance. Nothing
could well exceed the difference betwixt the
severe simplicity of the patriarchal worship,
which, apart from the ceremonial services of the
temple, continued under the Mosaic dispensa-
tion, although ultimately corrupted by pagan
innovations, and that mixed order of religious
service into which the descendants of Jacob
declined after their settlement in Palestine, and
which seems to have been greatly induced by
their almost uninterrupted course of prosperity.
"The Israelites," as Warburton* justly ob-
serves, " were most prone to idolatry in jjros-
perous times, and generally returned to the
God of their fathers in adversity, as appears
from their whole history, Against this impo-
tence of mind, they were more than once cau-
tioned, before they entered into the land of
blessings, that they might afterwards be left
without excuse. ' And it shall be,' says Moses,
' when the Lord thy God shall have brought
thee into the land which he sware unto thy
fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob,
to give thee great and goodly cities which
thou buildedst not, and houses full of all good
things which thou filledst not, and wells digged
which thou diggedst not, vineyards and olive-
trees which thou plantedst not ; when thou shalt
have eaten and be full ; then beware lest thou
forget the Lord, which brought thee forth out of
the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage.

* Divine Legation of Moses, book v, sec. 2.

255

Thou shalt fear the Lord thy God, and serve
him, and shalt swear by his name. Ye shall not
go after other gods, of the gods of the people
which are roundabout you.'* However, Moses
himself lived to see an example of this perver-
sity while they remained in the wilderness, for
he says, —

But Jeshurun waxed fat, and kicked :

Thou art waxen fat, thou art grown thick,

Thou art covered with fatness ;

Then he forsook God which made him,

And lightly esteemed the Rock of his salvation. t

And the prophet Hosea assures us, that the day
of prosperity was the constant season of ido-
latry : —

Israel is an empty vine, he bringeth forth fruit unto himself:
According to the multitude of his fruit he hath increased the altars ;
According to the goodnessof his land they have made goodly images, t

And again, —

According to their pasture, so were they filled ;
They were filled, and their heart was exalted;
Therefore have they forgotten me.§

" This, therefore, is a clear proof that their
defection from the God of Israel was not any
doubt of his goodness or of his power, but a
wanton abuse of his blessings. Had they ques-
tioned the truth of the law, their behaviour had
been otherwise : they would have adhered to it
in times of prosperity, and would have left it in

• Deut. vi. 10, et seq. ; and chapter viii. 1 1 , et seq.
t Deut. xxxii. 15. J Hosea x. 1. § Hosea xiii. 6.

256

adversity and trouble. This the deists would do
well to consider."

We shall perceive in the quatrain comprised
in the seventeenth verse of the poem now under
examination, that, as usual, the terms ascend
gradually to a climax. The gradations are of the
most delicate description. First, the Israelites are
represented as sacrificing to evil spirits ; that
is, to beings at least capable of independent
agency, everlastingly separated from the author
of all good, and possessing certain powers, though
these were only powers of mischief; — next, " to
gods whom they knew not" — to heathen divi-
nities of whose powers and influences they were
utterly ignorant, whom their ancestors had
never recognized, and whom, therefore, their
sons could not have been taught to serve;
then,

To new gods that came newly up ;

to idols newly invented by the heathen, to blocks
of stone and stocks of wood formed into monstrous
shapes, for such were usually their local deities,
according to the capricious suggestions of super-
stition, without any experience of benefit from a
worship which could produce nothing but disap-
pointment and disgrace. Finally, to gods

Whom their fathers feared not,

because they feared and offered homage to
the only wise God — and likewise because those
commentitious divinities Avere subjects of loath-
ing rather than of reverence, being made, as
they frequently were, the objects of rites posi-

257

lively abhorrent to humanity. The degenerate
posterity, therefore, of those patriarchs with
whom the God of Jeshurun condescended to
enter into a most holy covenant, had not the
example of those ancestors to plead in exte-
nuation of their ao-oravated wickedness. Thus
are the different degrees of imputed iniquity
marked in the idolatries of the degenerate
descendants from a righteous forefather. The
" new gods" served by the Israelites in Pales-
tine were evil in the fullest sense ; besides this,
they were really unknown to them, and not only
so, but they were the inventions and fabri-
cations of men, — such as were utterly despised
by the more holy progenitors of the Hebrews,
who knew them to be senseless abominations,
lumps of monstrous deformity, disgusting mis-
appropriations of matter.

The nice but manifest gradations of meaning
in this noble quatrain have been admirably ob-
served by Herder; his rendering is extremely
happy :—

They sacrificed to demons, not to Ood ;
To idols, of whom they had no knowledge ;
To new gods, that were newly invented,
Before whom your fathers trembled not.

Here the several terms rise in beautiful progres-
sion, imparting at once distinctness, grace, and
force, to the whole passage. The idea of trem-
bling, in the last hemistich, is perfectly conso-
nant to idol worship; and here a just dis-
tinction is drawn betwixt the homage paid to
the true God and the servile adoration of the
VOL. II. s

258

terrified idolater. The latter " trembles" before
the dumb divinity whom he professes to serve,
fears him as an avenger of whom he stands in
continual dread, and whom he is constantly
approaching with piaculary offerings of propi-
tiation, apprehending his inflictions rather than
confiding in his beneficence. On the contrary,
the pious worshipper of the only wise God ap-
proaches him with confidence in his mercy, and
with reliance upon his love; he fears indeed the
loss of that love, but while he fears, pours out
his heart before him, and receives the assurance
of his benefactions. He is not the slave of wild
and gloomy terrors, for he adores the Deity whom
he serves, and "there is no fear in love; but
perfect love casteth out fear, because fear hath
torment. He that feareth, therefore, is not
made perfect in love."*

Of the Rock that begat thee thou art unmindful,
And hast forgotten God that formed thee.

1 cannot but concur with Houbigant in reading
the first clause.

Of the Creator that begat thee thou art not unmindful,

for he has unquestionably the sanction of nearly
all the best commentators. In this couplet, I
think we may trace a decided reference to God
the Father and to God the Son, under separate
and distinct agencies, though acting in that
mysterious union of personality in which they
have existed from all eternity.

* 1 John iv. 18.

259

The Creator that begat thee ;

inconsequence of whose predetermined purpose
man was brought into existence; begotten of
God through the immediate agency of his son,
for " all things were made by him, and without
him was not anything made that was made."*
God was the first or determining cause of man's
creation, Christ was the secondary or operative
cause. These two divine subsistencies, co-eter-
nal together and co-equal, determined man's
existence and formed him; the whole and su-
preme Godhead being the agent in the first,
that is, in determining that man should exist;
the second person in this everlasting but myste-
rious hypostasis being the immediate agent in
the work of formation ; so that the work was
conceived and perfected by the co-existing Triad
constituting the almighty and everlasting God.
God the Father was the remote but absolute,
God the Son the immediate and active, God the
Holy Ghost the spiritualizing and completing,
cause of man's formation ; man was therefore
begotten by the perfect, undivided Godhead.

The word begotten, in this verse, must be used
in a restricted sense; namely, that Deity in the
abstract, was the origin of man's existence, not
the producing instrument of it. That this is the
interpretation required will be sufficiently evi-
dent from the latter clause of the couplet : —

And hast forgotten God that /ormed thee ;

where formed is placed in opposition to begat^

* John i. S.

s 2

the one implying passive determination, the
other active agency. I think the distinction is
very clear, and was desig'ned by the prophetic
bard. We owe our creation to God — that eter-
nal and omnipotent Being from whose almighty
will all things have proceeded. In this sense
he may be said to have begotten us, since he was
the first and only cause of our being begotten,
but man's actual formation w^as the positive
work of the Son ; and thus in the passage before
us the Israelites are reproached with forget-
fulness, not only of Him from whom they origi-
nally derived their creation to life temporal,
but likewise of Him to whom they were indebted
for their restoration, under certain moral pre-
scriptions, to life eternal.

If this should appear a forcing of the passage
beyond the limits of fair or admissible interpre-
tation, I would beg ti.e reader to consider the
following argument. It is admitted on all
hands that the expectation of the promised
Emmanuel, who was to " bruise the serpent's
head," and thus cancel the penalty denounced
against transgression, was familiar to the He-
brews under the Abrahamic dispensation ; and,
through the patriarchs, from Abraham to Jacob,
was transmitted to their descendants. "Abra-
ham rejoiced to see Christ's day, he saw it and was
glad." Of this we have the assurance of Christ
himself.* Isaac and Jacob were no less spiritually
imbued with the hopes of a consummation in
futurity, that should restore to them a paradise

* See John viii. 56.

261

eternal in the heavens fort'eited bv the trans'-
gression in Eden. That this expectation,
couched indeed under an obscure prophecy and
distinguished through the mists ofa cryptical but
nevertheless positive revelation, was preserved
in Egypt among the Hebrew inhabitants of
Goshen, even amid the extremest hardships of
their bondage, we need no further testimony
than the typical reference to Christ's expiatory
sacrifice in the passover, instituted on the eve of
their deliverance from Egyptian tyranny; so
minutely symbolizing in its sad but expressive
details that memorable immolation upon Mount
Calvary which has delivered man from a spiritual
slavery, of which the Egyptian servitude may
be considered a clear and intended symbol.
Moses then beino- in direct intercourse with
God, and the second person in the sacred
Trinity being the vehicle of that intercourse —
for the supreme abstract divinity, in the full
plenitude of his almighty perfections, " no man
hath seen nor can see," there being no possible
access to his visible presence — it is altogether
beyond reasonable supposition that Moses
should have been ignorant of circumstances
upon which the only hope of salvation to man
was grounded. He had been distinguished by
several personal communications with the author
at once of man's creation and redemption;
what then so natural as that he should refer to
that mysterious uni(Mi of personality in the
Godhead, to which not only the Israelites were
so largely and so especially indebted, but from
which the brightest j)rospccts of immortality

262 ,

are derived to man, when he was givhig" a pro-
phetic representation of their revolt from that
God who had been so faithfully served by their
forefathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Though
to them only were the promises given, to their
descendants was the consummation manifested.
He refers to the divine mercy in redeeming
them, as well as to the divine love in creating
them, in order that the vile ingratitude of his
favoured people should be made to appear in
the strongest light.

The doctrine of expiation for sin by the
sacrifice of a Saviour, was to be traced from
the very fall of man ; for though in conse-
quence of that infraction of a divine law man
was condemned to the penalty of death, never-
theless a merciful provision was made by which
he might escape it, and still ascend to the throne
of his Creator's glory. " A secret reprieve,
kept hid, indeed, from the early world, passed
alons: with the sentence of condemnation. So
that they who never received their due in this
world, would still be kept in existence, till they
had received it in the next ; such being in no
other sense sufferers by the administration of
an unequal providence, than in being ignorant
of the reparation which attended them. For
we learn from Sacred Writ, what the principles
of natural reason do not impeach, that the death
of Christ had a retrospect from the fall of
Adam ; and that redemption was, from the
first, amongst the principal ingredients in God's
moral government of man."*

* Divine Lrgalion, book vii. chiip. I.

263

Before I proceed to the next passa^^'e of this
divine song, I beg leave to recal the reader's
attention to the poetical structure of the verse
last quoted : —

Of the Rock that begat thee thou art unmindful,
And hast forgotten God that formed thee.

Here is manifestly an epanodistic distribution
of the several members of the two clauses.
This is, as I conceive, a beautiful specimen, and
so naturally does the order seem to run, notwith-
standing the inversion in the first line, that the
presence of any thing like artifice is not de-
tected. The idea of God's omnipotence in
determining the existence of man and of his
love in creating him, respectively end and com-
mence the couplet. The first idea of that su-
preme power, with whose mere volition active
creation is identical, elevates the mind to a feel-
ing of sublime devotion; this impression being
strengthened by the picture of divine love with
which the couplet terminates, as it were, repro-
ducing the first idea and combining it with the
last, whilst the intermediate notions of disregard
and forgetfulness in man come fitly between
those benign exhibitions of supremacy and be-
neficence in God. The picture of unmindfulness
of infinite mercy on the part of those who had
been so long recipients of it, so generally shown
by the Israelites after their settlement in Canaan,
projects their ingratitude into greater promi-
nency by its immediate apposition with God's
providential agency, and by being enclosed
between the dominant illustrations of his

264

almighty power and infinite love. The poetical
arrangement in these two lines is calcnlated to
give the greatest possible force to the several
members of this admirably constructed couplet.
Besides the epanode present in the coup-
let under notice, the gTadational parallelism
is likewise most favourably exhibited. The
advancing force in the corresponding phrases
is obvious. In the first two the passive deter-
mination is opposed to the active energy ;
the act of formation in the second clause rises
above the notion of predetermined existence
intimated in the first: disrecrard is heitrhtened
into utter forgetfulness, the one in fact the
cause, the other the effect; for the latter is
but too commonly a consequence of the former.
Thus it will be observed that the phrases though
correspondent and kindred, have an identic
import of their owm, those in the concluding
clause carrying a more extended scope of signi-
fication than those in the one preceding. Bishop
Patrick interprets the last line —

And hast forgotten God that formed thee,

" into a kingdom of priests, making the Is-
raelites his peculiar people;" but I do not con-
ceive that this interpretation is warranted by
the context; it moreover entirely overturns the
poetical conformation of the passage. Bishop
Patrick was, doubtless, a great, good, and learned
man, — an excellent commentator, a most exem-
plary christian, but certainly, and I do not say
this to his disparagement, no poet.

CHAPTER XVIL

The prophetic ode continued.

The inspired bard next proceeds to exhibit the
consequences of the Israelites' defalcations, which
were in truth deplorable : —

And when the Lord saw it, he abhorred them, •

Because of the provoking of his sons and of his daughters.

The interestini^ iniag^e of paternity is still
kept up, Jeshurun being a disobedient and re-
fractory son, God a just but chastening father;
for his temporal punishments are invariably
dispensations of mercy. His abhorrence of
their wickedness whom he had so eminently ex-
alted above all the other nations of the earth
was but a prelude to the judgments about to
overtake them. He had borne Mith them long,
and at length they provoked his extremest
indignation. In the wilderness he had visited
them with his chastisements, but, upon their
repentance, had invariably delivered them and
restored them to his favour. They had re-
ceived abundant experience of the merciful
dealing of his providence; still they were neither
won to obedience by his loving-kindness, nor

266

awed by his punitive discipline from the per-
petration of crime. When at length the Deity,
who had been to them such a kind and compas-
sionate father, saw their hardened depravity in
deserting" him for the idols of the heathen, he
in his indignation abandoned them ; — he left
them to the consequences of that depravity ; — he
abhorred them. The result was that they were
defeated by numerous enemies and borne into
the most odious captivity, where they endured
greater privations than their forefathers did
during the extremities of their Egyptian servi-
tude. They were finally split into factions, and
made war upon each other with the most in-
human determination. They suffered all the
evils of dissension and political animosity. The
disease of leprosy became so common among
them as to be a social curse. They were sub-
jected to wicked rulers, and made to feel the
miserable consequences of corrupt legislation.
They were frequently vanquished by the neigh-
bouring nations, and exposed to the hard vicissi-
tudes of subjugation.

For a period of near three hundred years the
Jewish history presents little else but alternate
scenes of oppression and deliverance, as will be
seen in Judges, from the second to the seven-
teenth chapter. The degenerate descendants
of Abraham were subsequently governed by
tyrannical kings, and frequently brought to the
verge of destruction. They became at length
captives in a strange land, and remembering
the fertile plains from which they had been
driven, they sat down and wept by the waters of

267

Babylon, hang'iug their harps upon the billows
in token of their utter despondency and desti-
tution.

Not only were the men of Israel seduced from
the worship of the true God after their entrance
into Canaan, but the women likewise were dis-
tinguished for their idolatries ; and to this
Moses evidently alludes in the verse, —

Because of the provoking of his sons and of his daughters.

In this clause the iniquity of God's favoured
people is represented the more heinous under the
affecting allegory of ungrateful children, revolt-
ing from an indulgent parent, and provoking his
severe but just correction. The idolatries of the
Jewish women were notorious, and are not only
referred to by Ezekiel, quoted in a former
chapter,* but likewise by the prophet Jeremiah,
in the following passage. " Then all the men
which knew that their wives had burned incense
unto other gods, and all the women that stood
by, a great multitude, even all the people that
dwelt in the land of Egypt, in Pathros, an-
swered Jeremiah, "f

Herder's translation of this passage is ex-
tremely judicious : —

This Jehovah saw, and cast away in anger
Those who were his sons and daughters.

He withdrew his paternal guardianshi]), and
gave them up to their own hearts' lusts. No
punishment could be more grievous, for being
abandoned by that omnipotent being who had

* Vol. 11. iiage219. t ('liaiitrr xliv. verse 15.

268

delivered them from Egyptian bondage, it was
morally impossible that they should go rightly.
Having provoked their ruler and guardian to
withhold from them his unfailing protection they
were left to their own guidance, the issue of
which was a multiplication of temporal evil, in
every shape and in every variety.

The greatest penalty which the Deity can
inflict upon man in this world, is the vAithdrawal
of his grace. In fact, this is at once to resign
him into the power of that terrible adversary,
who will be sure to take advantage of such aban-
donment, and " bring him into captivity to
the law of sin."

In tracing the political history of the Jews we
cannot fail to see, that in proportion as their
spiritual lapses were greater or less, their na-
tional prosperity was raised or depressed. The
Almighty invariably marked their moral obli-
quities with visible manifestations of his displea-
sure ; still this does not appear to have opened
their eyes to the enormity of rising in hostility
against him, and of provoking the severe visita-
tions of his wrath.

The couplet which declares the divine dis-
pleasure against Israel, conveys a vivid idea not
only of its excess, but of its universality. It em-
braced the whole population, for even women
are expressly included, as given over to the ex-
treme operation of almighty wrath. The great
cause of God's anger against them, was their
idolatries, including the most obscene rites, in
which the women evidently acted as con-
spicuous a part as the men. Maimonides

269-

justly observes,* that the word in the orioiuaf
Hebrew, rendered by our translators " the pro-
voking-," is only applied to God when it refers
to the idolatries ot" his chosen people.

How much stronger is the impression of
divine displeasure rendered by the image of a
father exercising the severities of his chasten-
ing indignation towards his disobedient children ;
not towards his sons only, but towards his
daughters also, and exposing those weak vessels
to the terrible operations of his wrath. It further
shows, with the most vivid force of representa-
tion, how complete throughout the whole land of
Canaan was the spiritual desuetude of the peo-
ple, God's whole family, both sons and daugh-
ters, raised by him to the highest pitch of tem-
poral prosperity and glory, having revolted from
him and, rejecting his benign paternity, offered
their fealty to objects which had no power to
appreciate it, — to idols of wood and stone, the
work of men's hands.

They have mouths, but they speak not;
Eyes have they, but they see not ;
They have ears, but they hear not ;
Neither is there any breath In their mouths.
They that make them are like unto them :
So is every one that trusteth in them.t

The reader will bear in mind that throughout
this poem the past tense is constantly used i'or
the future, so that those events are declared to
be past which are actually to come ; such is
the form of expression assumed by the language
of prophecy in the Hebrew scriptures.

* More Nevochim, clinj). 3G. 1 Psalm c\xxv. 16 — 18.

« 270

The poet now proclaims God's determination
respecting his incorrigible peoj)le in terms of
tremendous import : —

And he said, I will hide my face from them,
I will see what their end shall be :
For they are a very froward generation,
Children in whom is no faith.

" I will hide my face from them" is expressive
of utter abandonment, as if the indignant Jeho-
vah had said, ' I will now let this depraved
people reap the harvest of their own perverse
and froward conduct ; I will not again inter-
fere to protect them as I have hitherto done :
I will no longer allow myself to become an eye-
witness of their abominations, which are as un-
fit for me to behold as for them to commit. I
will pour out my indignation upon them ; I will
not only withhold from them my tender pater-
nity, but leave them to the consequences of their
own rash behaviour.' And how signally was this
threat fulfilled in the days of their pride, when
they were given up to spoliation and massacre ;
when robbers prowled through their cities, wild
beasts entered their villages, and murderers
infested their country !

The miseries which overtook them are de-
scribed by Ezekiel with great but fearful subli-
mity.*

My face will I turn also from them, and they shall pollute my secret

place :

For the robbers shall enter into it, and defile it.
Make a chain : for the land is full of bloody crimes, and the city is

full of violence.

* Chap. vii. verse 22 to the end.

271

Wherefore I will bring the worst of the heathen, and they shall pos-
sess their houses :

I will also make the pomp of the strong to cease ;
And their holy places shall be defiled.
Destruction cometh ; and they shall seek peace, and there shall be

none.
Mischief shall come upon mischief, and rumour shall be upon rumour ;

Then shall they seek a vision of the prophet ;
But the law shall perish from thepriest,andcounselfrom the ancients.
Thekingshall mourn, and the prince shall be clothed with desolation.
And the hands of the people of the land shall be troubled :
I will do unto them after their way, and according to their deserts will
I judge them;

And they shall know that I am the Lord.

Here is an awful confirmation of the pro-
phetic announcement of Moses. God not only
hrought all these calamites upon his rebellious
people, but he likewise withdrew the Shechi-
nah — that celestial glory which represented his
presence — from his temple, constantly dese-
crated to the vilest uses. Even in our Saviour's
time we find cattle stalled in the outer court of
the sanctuary, which formed part of the conse-
crated edifice. This court was made a scene of
public trafl[ic.

I will see what their end shall be ;

that is, I will determine the disasters which
shall come upon them, and these shall issue in
dreadful civil commotions, the most terrible
political convulsions, and in the final subversion
of their constitution. All this in due time was
sadly realized, and has been recorded in the
sacred scriptures for the benefit of mankind in
all succeeding ages of the world ; for as Bishop
Warburton justly observes,* " without question,

* Divine Legation, appendix to book 3.

2T2

the exceedino- perversity find unvvorttiiness of
this people was recorded in sacred story, as
for other uses to us unknown, so for this, to
obviate that egregious folly, both of Jews and
gentiles, in supposing that the Israelites were
thus distinguished, or represented to be thus
distinguished, as the peculiar favourites of
heaven; an absurdity which all who attended to
the nature of the God of Israel could confute,
and which the Jewish history amply exposes."

The dreadful calamities which finally over-
took the Jews at the subversion of their polity
may be conceived from this one fact alone, that
during the siege of Jerusalem by Titus, a mil-
lion and a half of souls are said to have perished
in a single year, and the besieged were crucified
in such multitudes before the walls of that once
holy city, that at length the Roman soldiers
could not find wood for crosses to continue this
inhuman pastime.

In the first couplet of the passage last quoted
the two ideas of" hiding the face" and "seeing"
are so opposed, as mutually to enhance their
force. God threatens to hide his face from
the Israelites, but still to keep a vigilant
watch over their career of iniquity.

I will hide mxjface from them,
I will see v/hat their end shall be.

The terms in the last clause are strengthened
by their contrast with those of the first. God does
not simply mark his people's progress in sin,
but he does so under the influence of that
exasperation against them which their vices

273

have caused. On the other hand, he does not
merely hide his face from them, but likewise
takes cognizance of their evil courses; resolved
that their iniquities shall ultimately issue in
the subversion of their state, and their dispersion
through all parts of the civilized earth.

For they are a very froward generation ;
Children in whom is no faith.

Observe what is the effect here of keeping
up the image of paternity and filiation; the
former exhibiting all the anxiety and solicitude
of that relation, the latter the ingratitude of
those who so wickedly sustained the character
of this abused correlative. The iniquity of
these

Children in whom is no faith,

is rendered the more prominent by the near
relationship in which they are represented as
placed to God. As the children of such a father
— the chosen people of such a God, — the per-
verseness and infidelity of the Jews are infinitely
heightened. They are not described gene-
rally as persons in whom is no faith, but as
children who had abandoned their spiritual and
almighty Parent, and given themselves up, as
an inspired author subsequently said, " to strong
delusion to believe a lie."* They continually
broke their covenant with Jehovah, as the book
of Judges, and indeed their whole history, up to
the period of their dispersion after the taking
of Jerusalem, sufficiently testifies.

* 2 Thessalonians ii. 11.
VOL. II. T

274

It is surprising how skilfully Moses has se-
lected and adapted his images, in order to give
a powerful picture of Hebrew ingratitude, and
this he does by placing in full contrast the
relationship betwixt God and the Israelites as
parent and children ; showing how recklessly
they had relinquished the service of such a father
that of heathen idols, which revolt from him
plunged them into all kinds of licentiousness.

The figure called by rhetoricians anthropo-
pathy, a description of metaphor by which the
physical attributes of the creature are ascribed
to the Creator, is very happily introduced in
this passage ; and this, though a mere poetical
expedient, was absolutely necessary in the pre-
sent instance, in order to maintain, in their full
force of application, those relations of paternity
and filiation, under which figures the poet, re-
presents God's kindness towards the Israelites
and their criminal provocations of his anger.
The Deity is made to say,

I will hide my face from them,
I will see what their end shall be:

in which he is presented to us with the physical
attributes of man.

The employment of this figure is common
with the Hebrew writers, especially where they
are anxious to place in an unusually strong light
the visible and active agencies of the Most High,
whether for the illustration of his mercy, or
of his justice.

275

They have moyed me to jealousy with that which is not God ;

They have provoked me to anger with their vanities :

And I will move them to jealousy with those which are not a

people ;
I will provoke them to anger with a foolish nation.

Here again direct allusion is made to the idol-
atries of the Jews. They moved the divine
indignation, by offering their homage to things
which were not only without the attributes of
divinity, but which did not even possess those
of humanity. This was in truth sufficient to
excite the severest displeasure of him who had
not only shown his paternal regard for the un-
worthy descendants of the righteous Abraham,
buthad elevated them to great political eminence
above the nations of the earth, and did not aban-
don them to the natural consequences of their
own iniquity until this had so far transcended the
limits of his mercy, that to leave them without
chastisement would have been an absolute
impeachment of his justice.

In the passage last quoted, because God's re-
bellious people had provoked his wrath by offer-
ing their homage to "that which Mas not God,"
he threatens through his prophet to requite them,
by making their own wickedness recoil upon
themselves ; sin being the root from which the
vintage of suffering is invariably gathered. He
consequently caused them to endure the sad
penalties of a general infraction of his laws from
those who " were not a people;" — for the threat
now uttered by the oracular voice of Moses was
eventually consummated under circumstances
the most deplorable that can well be imagined,

T 2

276

when they became subject to the ^entiles whom
they always characterized as fooUsh, but who
ultimately triumphed over them and completely
subverted their constitution. They were first de-
livered over to the Assyrians, Chaldeans, and
other nations who worshipped " that which is not
God" and were therefore not acknowledged by
him as his people ; and finally subjugated by the
Romans, who when this prophetic record was de-
livered had no political existence. How far
does the intense vision of prophecy project
into the long, dim vista of future time ! The
Jews at length saw the gentiles, with whom they
refused to have communion, retaliating upon
them their proud contempt, and advanced to
that dignity in the divine estimation from which
they had been degraded. Those gentiles whom
they, in the acme of their vain-glory, had affected
to despise, were taken into covenant with God,
received from him the " adoption and the glory"
of which the Jews had been deprived, these latter
beiuiT cast off as an abominable branch to wither
and perish in their own corruption, or to lie
spiritually dead upon the weedy fallows of time,
until the christian temple shall receive them
into the privileges, promises, and glory of its
most holy worship.

It certainly does seem strange that the pro-
phetic announcement of Moses should have had
no influence in deterring the Israelites from those
moral pollutions which he now foretold they
would fall into, and which eventually accumu-
lated upon them all the consequences, and many
much more awful, detailed by the prophets

277

They sinned recklessly anddesperately, and there-
fore richly deserved the evils which betel them.
They provoked the displeasure of their heavenly
father, and were consequently obliged to pay the
full penalty attached to such audacious provoca-
tion. What a grievous affliction must it have been
to this proud nation when in aftertimes they be-
held the barbarous gentiles, for such the arrogant
Jews always declared them to be, — those com-
munities whom they had affected to scorn as
unworthy of receiving the common ministra-
tions of humanity, — exalted to the dignity which
they had forfeited, and bestowing upon them
even a fuller measure of contempt than they,
even in the extreme height of their prosperity,
had meted out to those whom they marked with
the opprobrious designation of " the uncircum-
cised." God could hardly have dealt a heavier
punishment to a nation of their proud and arro-
g'ant spirit.

We shall perceive that the quatrain, in which
this exaltation of the gentiles and debasement
of the Jews is signified, consists of two pair of
lines, in which the parallelisms are both subse-
([uent and alternate ; that is, the clauses make
a good sense as they stand and are in parallelism,
or they will form an hyberbaton with alternate
correspondencies of relation. In the first
couplet the gradational parallelism is too mani-
fest to escape the most obtuse perception.

They have moved me to jealousy with that which is not God;
They have provoked me to anger with their vanities.

In each line of this distich provocation is ex-

278-

pressed; in the first clause, however, it is more
feeble than in the last. In the one, God's jea-
lousy* or displeaswe is moved, in the other, his
anger is pi'ovoked. God's displeasure is " moved"
by the idolatries of the Israelites; his anger is
'' provoked" by their vanities — that is, by the
vices consequent upon those idolatries. The
word " vanities" in this passage evidently refers
to their worship of idols, which were " vain
things" — things that could not profit the wor-
shipper, though it was pretended that they
were endued with the attributes of omnipo-
tence; they were consequently " lying vanities,"
" deceitful wonders." The gradation of sense is
clearly perceptible ; so is it likewise in the second
couplet, in which two of the phrases employed
are the same as in the foregoing ; but the con-
cluding terms of each line are remarkably dis-
criminated, as we shall presently see.

I will move them to jealousy with those which are not a people ;
I will provoke them to anger with a foolish nation.

The gentiles were certainly not a people in
the same sense the Israelites were ; that is, a
peculiar people — a people of God. Thus the
former are designated as " not a people," — not a
people advanced to the distinction of being
especially under divine protection, as a civil and
religious community, as were the descendants
of that patriarch whose faith " was counted to
him for righteousness." In this sense then the
heathens were unquestionably not a people — not

For the scripture sense of jealousy, sec vol. ii. page 247.

279

a community divinely sanctioned and sustained.
The Assyrians and Chaldeans, however, by
whom the Israelites were subsequently over-
come, though " not a people of God," were,
nevertheless, nations " foolish" in the estima-
tion of the Jews, less on account of their
multiplied enormities, than because God had
not advanced them to the same spiritual pri-
vileo-es with themselves.

The word " foolish" in this clause signifies
wickedness generally, and often the extremity
of wickedness is comprehended within the mean-
ing of this term, — infidelity for instance.

The fool hath said in his heart,
There is no God.*

"A foolish nation," therefore, will signify a
people who knew not God, and were abandoned
to all the moral consequences of such a state.
It is a strange perversity in the human cha-
racter, that the errors men condemn in others,
they are most ready to exhibit in their own
conduct; a fact everywhere exemplified in
the history of the Jews, who, though they affect-
ed to despise the gentiles on account of their
idolatries, still made themselves conspicuous for
those very offences which they reprobated in
their heathen neighbours.

The beauty of the quatrain which we have
been considering, will be found greatly to con-
sist in the correspondency of the alternate
clauses, which, besides being in perfect paral-

* Psalm xiv. 1.

280

lelism with one another, preserve a beautiful
order in the sense. In the first clause this, as
will be perceived, bears an exact reciprocation
with the third, and in the second with the fourth,
thus : —

They have moved me to jealousy with that which is not God,
And I will move them to jealousy with those which are not

a people :
They have provoked me to anger with their vanities ;
And I will provoke them to anger with a foolish nation.

Here are two distinct couplets forming a
complete sense as the clauses are now distri-
buted, and in direct parallelism with each other,
there being an evident parallelism of the coup-
lets as well as of the clauses, the latter couplet
being exegetical of the former, the sense of the
last however rising above that of the first ; though
the advance of force by which it is distinguished
is not so great as in other examples which have
been produced, still, I trust, that it has been
plainly shown to exist. The strong antitheti-
cal import of the phrases in both divisions of the
quatrain is worthy of notice — they have moved
ME, the infallible God, to jealousy ; and I will
move them, fallible and sinful 7nen. The pro-
digious contrast between the being offended,
and the persons ofl'ending, cannot but strike the
mind by this skilful and very appropriate dispo-
sition of the two subjects of these clauses, the
predicates of each following with like force of
opposed effect. The expressions " that which is
not God," and " those which are not a people,"
involve an antithesis like those in the preceding
members of their respective clauses, characteriz-

281

ing by inference stronger than direct affirmation,
the ntter impotency of the heathen idols and the
consequent fatuity of their worshippers ; since, if
the former were not God, which their votaries de-
clared them to be, they were nothing, — only inert
matter ; for there can be no neutral ground em-
braced in the idea of divinity. It is perfection or
nothing. Omnipotence and impotence cannot
have any imaginable relationship — not even the
most remote. There are no gradations in divine
perfection; it is complete, total, universal. It is
impossible there should exist any sympathy
between this and its direct opposite — the one,
therefore, cannot be the other.

Those idols venerated by pagan worshippers,
not being God, they were utterly worthless —
the very reverse of God, as there are no degrees
in the notion of abstract, infallible, universal
supremacy. That not being divine which claimed
to be so, must be vile in proportion to the
fallacy of such claim, and thus altogether abomi-
nable. The complete worthlessness of those
idols could not have been well characterized in
stronger terms than Moses has here employed.
The assumption by inference having the effect
of the most positive declaration; nay, the nega-
tives in both lines are, in my judgment, more
strongly declarative of the total impotency of the
heathen divinities, and the absolute alienation of
their worshippers from the true God, than the
most detailed specifications would have been
The former were " not God," the latter "not a
people," but aliens from him. In the subse-
quent half of the quatrain, the corresponding

282

expressions "vanities" and " a foolish nation"
are exceeding-ly significant, rising with a beau-
tiful progression of emphasis, the former refer-
ing, as already stated, to the sin of idolatry and
its consequences ; the latter to the degraded
condition of idolaters. Vanity in scripture is
often put for lying — a vice greatly fomented by
idolatry, as says the Psalmist, with his own
peculiar eloquence —

How long will ye love vanity and seek after leasing ?

and I can testify from personal observation dur-
ing a residence of several years in a heathen
country,* that this infirmity is so universal
as to be held in no disrepute ; on the contrary,
it is generally commended.

Foolishness is frequently used by the Hebrew
writers, as I have before stated, for sin in the
abstract. David says, in the sixty-ninth Psalm,

O God, thou knowest my foolishness; (that is, my wickedness;)
And my sins are not hid from thee.

Thus it will be perceived with what a nice gra-
dation the phrases rise in importance of signi-
fication, advancing from cause to effect, both of
which are inferred with great force in each
couplet of the passage before us. With Her-
der's translation and note I shall conclude this
chapter.

They moved me to jealousy with their no-god,
They provoked me to anger with their idols :
I also will move their jealousy with a no-people,
With a foolish nation will I provoke their anger.

* Hindostan.

283

" The idiomatic form of expression, children,
no-children; God, no-god: nation, no-nation;
or, not-nation, rnns through the whole piece,
and is entirely in the spirit of the lawgiver.
The oro-anization which he formed was for him
the only one ; all other nations were to him no
nations, not organized states, but uncivilized
hordes."*

» Spirit of Hebrew Poetry, vol. i, p. 283.

CHAPTER XVIII.

The prophetic ode continued.

The poet now proceeds to declare in the strongest
terms which language can convey, those terri-
ble dispensations of retributory justice with
which God was resolved to visit the rebellious
Israelites in the very climax of their profligacy.
It must not be foro-otten that the whole refer-
ence is here prospective ; Moses is deliver-
ing the divine revelations, and therefore speaks
with the unerring tongue of a prophet of the
true, infallible, and eternal Jehovah.

For a fire is kindled in mine anger,

And shall burn unto the lowest hell,

And shall consume the earth with her increase,

And set on fire the foundations of the mountains.

The expressions employed in this passage are
among the most emphatic which language can
supply. They realize a truly appalling picture
of desolation. Fire is the most terrible agent of
destruction known; and is a sublime symbol of
God's desolating power, when he determines to
visit countries with that retribution which their
enormities have provoked. What can so vividly
depict the prodigious and astounding effects
of his chastisements as the ima<»e of fire lieiu":

285

kindled by the breath of his mouth, and by the
terrible blast of his vengeance (and let us re-
member the veno'eance of God is not a fuo-itive
passion but an immutable principle, — a necessary
attribute of his justice) excited to such fearful,
such vital ener^^y of combustion as to burn even
to the lowest abyss — that is, to the very founda-
tions of the earth, through the centre of this
solid but combustible globe ; whence it should
hurst forth and spread over the whole surface
and circumference, consuming everything upon
it, and overthrowing the most stupendous monu-
ments of human ingenuity ; for the verse —

And set on fire the foundations of the mountains,

literally signifies ' and shall subvert their
strongest fortresses,' in which allusion is evi-
dently made to the destruction of Jerusalem
under Titus.

Of the dreadful destruction of the Jcavs dur-
ing the siege of their capital, a full account is
given by Josephus, in the sixth and seventh books
of his Jewish war. After the city had fallen
into the hands of Titus, the historian relates
that "as soon as the army had no move people
to slay or to plunder, because there remained
none to be the objects of their fury (for they
would not have spared any, had there remained
any other such work to be done), Caesar gave
orders that they should now demolish the entire
city and temple, but should leave as many of
the towers standing as were of the greatest
eminency, that is, Phasaelus and I ri])picns and

286

Mariamne, and so much of the wall as enclosed
the city on the west side. This wall was spared
in order to afford a camp for such as were to lie
in garrison, as were the towers also spared, in
order to demonstrate to posterity what kind of
city it was, and how well fortified, which the
Roman valour had subdued ; but for all the
rest of the wall, it was so thoroughly laid even
with the ground by those who dug it up to the
foundation, that there was nothing left to make
those who came thither believe it had ever been
inhabited. This was the end which Jerusalem
came to by the madness of those who were for
innovations ; a city otherwise of great magni-
ficence, and of mighty fame among all man-
kind."*

The destruction of the temple is thus given
l)y the same historian : — " And now two of the
legions had completed their banks on the eighth
day of the month Lous.f Whereupon Titus
gave orders that the battering-rams should be
brought, and set over against the western edifice
of the inner temple ; for, before these were
brought, the firmest of all the other engines
had battered the wall for six days together
without ceasing, without making any impression
upon it; but the vast largeness and strong con-
nexion of the stones were superior to that engine
and to the other battering-rams also. Other
Romans did, indeed, undermine the foundations
of the northern gate, and after a world of pains,

* Jewish War, bookvii. chap. 1.

t The eleventh month of the Jewish civil year, which answers
to our July.

287

removed the outermost stones ; yet was the gate
still upheld by the inner stones, and remained
unhurt, till the workmen, despairing of all such
attempts by engines and crows, brought their
ladders to the cloisters. Now the Jews did
not interrupt them in so doing ; but when they
were gotten up, they fell upon them, and fought
with them ; some of them they thrust down, and
threw them backward headlong ; others they
met and slew : they also beat many of those
who went down the ladders again, and slew them
with their swords before they could bring their
shields to protect them ; nay, some of the
ladders they threw down from above, when they
were full of armed men: a o-reat slauohter was
made of the Jews also at the same time, while
those that bore the ensio-ns fouoht hard for
them, as deeming it a terrible thing, and what
would tend to their great shame, if they per-
mitted them to be stolen away. Yet did the
Jews at length get possession of these ensigns,
and destioyed those who had gone up the lad-
ders, while the rest were so intimidated by what
those suffered who were slain, that they retired,
although not one of the Romans died without
having done good service before his death. Of
the seditious those who had fought bravely in
former battles did so now, as besides them did
Eleazar, the brother's son of Simon the Tyrant.
But when Titus perceived that his endeavours
to spare a foreign temple turned to the damage
of his soldiers, and made them be killed, he grave
order to set the gates on fire."

"And now the soldiers had already put fire to

288

the gates, and the silver that was over them
quickly carried the flames to the wood within,
whence it spread and caught hold of the
cloisters. When the Jews perceived them-
selves surrounded by flames, their minds and
bodies became at once depressed, and they
were so astounded that none of them attempted
either to quench the fire, or defend himself, but
stood silent spectators of the scene. They did not,
however, so grieve at the loss of what the fire
was now consuming, as to be rendered wiser
from experience. It only served to whet their
animosity against the Romans. The fire con-
tinued during that and the subsequent day,
for the soldiers were not able to burn the clois-
ters entire, but only piecemeal."*

" On the next day, Titus commanded part of
his army to quench the fire. Assembling six of
his chief officers, he asked M'hat they would
advise should be done with reference to the
holy sanctuary. Some advised its demolition,
others advised its being saved, and converted
into a citadel, but Titus determined to spare it
as a signal memorial of his triumph, and as an
honour to his clemency. In accordance with
this determination he ordered the fire to be
quenched.

The next day Titus retired into the tower
of Antonia, and resolved to storm the tem-
ple on the following morning, and to invest
the sacred building with his whole army. But
as for the temple God had long before doomed

Jewish War, book vi. chap. 4.

289

it to the flaines; and now that fatal day was
come according to the revolution of ages. It
was the tenth day of the month Lous, upon
which it had been before burnt by the king
of Babylon, although these flames were occa-
sioned by the Jews themselves; upon Titus
retiring the seditious lay still for a while,
and then again attacked the Romans, when
they who guarded the temple fought with those
who were quenching the fire which was burn-
ing in the inner court. These Romans, how-
ever put the Jews to flight, and followed them
to the very walls of the temple. At this period
one of the soldiers, without orders, urged by
a sort of divine enthusiasm, snatched a fras:-
ment from the burning materials, and being
raised by a companion, set fire to a window of
gold, which opened upon a passage leading to
the apartments on the north side of the sanc-
tuary. As the flames ascended the Jews
raised a great shout, and ran together to prevent
their spreading. Now they heeded not their
own lives, nor were restrained by any consider-
ations of personal safety, since that holy edi-
fice was about to perish which they had been
appointed to guard.

" And now a person ran to Titus, who was
reposing in his tent after the last battle, and
told him of the fire; upon which he rose and
hastened to the temple in order to see it extin-
guished. He was followed by all his chief offi-
cers and several of his legions, who raised a
great clamour. Titus, calling to the soldiers
who were fighting with a loud voice, made a

VOL. 11. u

290

signal with his right hand for them to extinguish
the flames, but they could not hear him in con-
sequence of the noise, neither did they attend to
his signal, some being engaged in actual conflict,
and others excited with passion. The legions
which had followed him, crowding into the tem-
ple, many were trampled to death, both Jews and
Romans perishing in miserable confusion. As
for the seditious, they were everywhere repulsed
and slain ; while numbers of the defenceless citi-
zens being weak and unarmed, w^ere inhumanly
slaughtered wherever they were caught. The
altar was surrounded with heaps of slain, and
the steps which led to it were covered with their
blood, the dead bodies continually rolling down
upon the pavement beneath.

" And when Titus saw that he could not restrain
the fury of the soldiers, as the fire had not
reached the holy place, he entered and found
it to be nothino- inferior to what the Jews had
stated concerning it. As the flames had not
reached the interior, though burning the cham-
bers around it, Titus, supposing the building
might still be saved, endeavoured to persuade
the soldiers to quench the fire, but to no pur-
pose. The hope of plunder induced many to
proceed under the idea that the inner apart-
ments were filled with treasure, seeing that all
the ornaments were of gold. As Titus was en-
deavouring to restrain the fury of his troops,
a soldier threw fire upon the hinges of the gate.
Immediately the flames issued from the holy
place and obliged the emperor to retire, followed
by his officers. The building was now shortly

291

fired in every part, iiiid thus destroyed without
the command or approbation of Titus."*

Thus, then, was the temple destroyed by fire,
fulfilling in ages, so long subsequent, the pro-
phecy of the Jewish lawgiver, that a "fire should
be kindled in God's anger, and burn unto the
lowest hell, and consume the earth with her in-
crease, and set on fire the foundations of the
mountains." Is not all this strikingly coincident
with the singular fact related by Ammianus
Marcellinus, that when the apostate Julian com-
manded the Jewish temple to be rebuilt, dread-
ful balls of fire burst out with an overwhelming
irruption near the foundations, which threw
down the walls, scorched the workmen, and
rendered the place so inaccessible, that they
desisted from any further attempt to rebuild
thejn.

If we take the four hemistichs composing the
twenty-second verse of this magnificent ode,
according to the division of our Bible, in their
most literal sense, we shall find that, as a
burst of poetical eloquence, they rise to the
highest altitude of sublimity. The whole picture
presented is stupendous. It embraces the en-
tire circle of nature within the mighty span
of its desolation. Not only is the lowest abyss
reached ; — so are likewise the highest moun-
tains. The desolating agent rushes from the
depths beneath to the heights above, destroying,
in its overwhelming course of devastation, every
intermediate object, consuming the very earth

* Jewish War, book vi. chap. 4.

u 2

292

with her increase, and scattering over her entire
surface the direful elements of ruin. In this
passao;e, as in the preceding, an hyperbaton
may, I think, he traced, there being a more
immediate affinity betwixt the alternate than
the consecutive lines, as we shall instantly see
by transposing them : —

For a fire is kindled in mine anger,
And shall consume the earth with her increase;

And shall burn unto the lowest hell,
And set on fire the foundations of the mountains.

There will be perceived a beautiful example of
antithetical parallelism in the latter couplet,
according to this arrangement : —

And shall burn unto the lowest hell.

And set on fire the foundations of the mountains.

Here extreme depth and height are evidently
contrasted, and with prodigious effect. The fire
of divine wrath reachinti: from the centre to the
highest accessible points of the habitable globe.
Observe, too, how admirably the proprieties of
expression are considered : —

Shall hum unto the lowest hell.

And set on fire the foundations of the mountains ;

in which the different action of fire down-
wards and upwards is discriminated with ex-
traordinary accuracy of perception. In burning
to the centre, its progress is continuous and in-
discriminately progressive, but upon the surface,
it is communicated from one object to another:
it sweeps along and is propelled forward by

293

accessory agencies, such as wind, currents of air,
and certain atmospheric influences. The ideas
therefore of "burning" and "setting on fire"
are kept quite distinct, and the terms adapted
witli exquisite congruity to the two objects which
they are introduced to iUustrate. To bmm, is
actually to consume ; to set on Jire^ is the pre-
liminary work of that destructive agent — for fire
must be communicated before it can consume — •
the expressions, therefore, though showing the
parallel of relation, are not identical.

I will heap mischiefs upon them;
I will spend mine arrows upon them.

Here is a gradational parallelism, but most
poetically carried out of the usual order of
this artifice of construction, it being exhibited,
not in the terms, but in the sense; the corres-
ponding expressions, nevertheless, having a
strong reciprocal cognation. The first phrase is
almost literal, the second entirely metaphorical,
the latter amplifying, by the figurative process,
the simple idea conveyed in the former. Let
us see how powerfully the Cjccess of affliction is
depicted in both clauses. In the first clause,
God is represented as saying,

I will heap mischiefs upon them ;

that is, 'I will accumulate calamities upon them
to such a degree, that they shall be finally
crushed beneath the burthen of their afflictions.
These shall be heaped upon them until they can
bear no more.'

I will spend mine arrows upon them.

294

' As they have dared to defy my power and pro-
voke my wrath, I will exhaust the quiver of my
vengeauce upon these degenerate descendants
of my once beloved people, and they shall cease
to stand towards me in the endearing relation of
children. I will cast them off, and force them
to " drink of the cup of my indignation." '

There will be observed, in these two hemis-
tichs, an exquisite distinction in the terms, both
being significative of superlative judgments, yet
each representing them under different forms of
expression, the paramount idea however, which
is that of God's judicial visitation, being domi-
nant in both. The one conveys to the mind
an impression of the divine determination in
nearly literal terms of great comprehensiveness,
the other producing precisely the same effect
by an image of singular energy ; e. g.

I will heap mischiefs upon them ;
I will spend mine arrotvs upon them.

Both these phrases evidently imply punishment
in its greatest excess. The " mischiefs" will
amount to an enormous aggregate, and the
" arrows" shall continue to be discharged until
the quiver of divine wrath is exhausted. No-
thing can be more tremendous than these de-
nunciations. How skilfully, too, are the two
antagonist ideas of accumulation and exhaus-
tion opposed in this passage, each giving force
to the other, and combining to heighten the
principal object, namely, God's retributory dis-
pensations. The very opposition of the terms
gives greater vividness lo the one prevailing

295

impression, which it was evidently the poet's
express intention to convey. The empty quiver
is an exquisite image, throwing out into bolder
and more prominent relief the heaped calamities
to which those plagues, symbolized by the arrows
of almighty vengeance, are a terrible and appal-
ling supplement. The judgments of Jehovah
are frequently compared to arrows in Scripture,
as in Job, chapter vi. 4 : —

For the arrows of the Almighty are within me,
The poison whereof drinketh up my spirit.

Homer makes use of the same metaphor
in describing the pestilence which visited the
Grecian camp.* It must be admitted that the
passage is an exceedingly fine one, reaching
nearly to the sublimity of the Hebrew : —

Thus Chryses prayed ; the favouring power attends,
And from Olympus' lofty tops descends.
Bent was his bow the Grecian hearts to wound ;
Fierce as he moved, his silver shafts resound; —
The fleet in view, he twang'd his deadly bow,
And hissing fly the feather'd fates below.
On mules and dogs the infection first began,
And last the vengeful arrows fix'd in man.

Herder has been much more feeble than is
usual with him in his rendering of this fine
couplet, in which the Hebrew poet has exhibited
the highest resources of his art. The learned
German, though differing from our translators
but in a single word, has, however, by that dif-
ference, greatly attenuated the masculine vigour

* Iliad, book i. verse 4S, et seq.

296

of the second line, as it stands in our Bible, by
having overlooked the antithetical structure of
the original, in which its beauty much con-
sists : —

I will heap up afflictions upon them,
And my arrows will I send upon them.

How tame is this beautiful image rendered by
the word "send ;" and not only so, but the anta-
gonist ideas before pointed out not being trace-
able, one of the greatest charms of the passage
is at once effaced. I confess it appears to me
that, by a very inconsiderable inversion of the
members in the last hemistich, a graceful im-
provement might have been made, without in
the slightest degree abridging the spirit of
the original. I would read,

I will heap mischiefs upon them, —
Upon them I will spend mine arrows.

This trifling change, besides giving an epano-
distic turn to the couplet, obviates the recur-
rence of the same termination, which strikes the
ear as somewhat ungraceful. The last clause,
moreover, would thus conclude with that word
which represents, with such terrific effect, the
severity of providential judgments, and which,
in this sublime song, may be said to be the key-
stone of the poetic arch thrown so grandly over
the prophetic denunciation of God's chastise-
ments. When these are threatened by the
sacred writers, they invariably employ terms of
terrible energy. Thus Ezekiel* —

* Chap, xxxviii. ver. 18—23.

297

And it shall come to pass at the same time

When Gog shall come against the land of Israel,
Saith the Lord God, that my fury shall come up in my face.
For in my jealousy and in the fire of my wrath have I spoken,
Surely in that day there shall be a great shaking in the land of Israel;
So that the fishes of the sea, and the fowls of the heaven,
And the beasts of the field, and all creeping things that creep upon the earth ,

And all the men that are upon the face of the earth.
Shall shake at my presence, and the mountains shall be thrown down.
And the steep places shall fall, and every wall shall fall to the ground.
And I will call for a sword against him throughout all my mountains,
Saith the Lord God : every man's sword shall be against his brother.
And I will plead against him with pestilence and with blood;

And I will rain upon him, and upon his bands.

And upon the many people that are with him.
An overflowing rain, and great hail-stones, fire, and brimstone.

Thus will I magnify myself, and sanctify myself ;

And I will be known in the eyes of many nations,

And they shall know that I am the Lord.

This whole passage is full of tremendous sub-
limity; but Moses rises to equal elevation in
the fearful enumeration of God's judgments
g'iven in his prophetic ode, which are thus
continued ; —

They shall be burnt with hunger,

And devoured with burning heat,

And with bitter destruction :

I will also send the teeth of beasts upon them,

With the poison of serpents of the dust.

In the opening triplet there is a fine climax
— they shall first be tormented with hunger,
then parched with thirst, which shall be fol-
lowed with destruction of the most agonizing
description, for this is the natural issue of both.
Here the arrows of divine wrath are shown as
in active operation, and sadly fatal is the exe-
cution wrought by them. The phrase " burnt
with hunger" is. I think, of questionable pro-

298

pricty, notwithstaiidino- that it is vindicated
by Bishop Patrick,* who writes, " and first he
threatens a famine, with which he says they
should be burnt, either because those judgments
are compared to fire, verse 22, or because ex-
treme hunger parches the inward parts, and
makes the visage as black as a coal, as Jeremiah
speaks, Lamentations iv. 8." Why I object to
the expression as it now stands in our Bible, is
because it breaks the beautiful continuity of
the climax ; the terms do not graduate as in
Herder's version, which I think is extremely
happy, excepting only the first pair of lines,
and these I 'have already shown to be weak-
ened by his having overlooked the contrasted
relation of the phrases in each clause. I
give his translation of the twenty-fifth and
twenty-sixth verses entire : —

I will heap up afflictions upon them,

And my arrows will I send upon them ;

Consumed with hunger, and burned with heat,

Devoured with bitter destruction,

I will send upon them the teeth of wild beasts,

With the poison of serpents from the dust.

The arrangement of these three couplets is
manifestly epanodistic, an artifice of which
Moses appears to have been very fond, as he
frequently resorts to it. The first two lines of
this passage contain the divine threats of ven-
geance, the two middle displaying the fulfilment
of those threatenings ; and while the Israelites
suffer from these awful dispensations, ulterior

* See his note on the verse.

299

iu(l<ji;meiits are again threatened. Iii this dis-
tribution of the several clauses, it will be seen
that the commencing and concluding couplets
respectively convey God's terrible denunciations
of punishment, the middle couplet describing
the actual operation of the menaced woes. In
our authorized translation this elegant artifice
of arrangement is less obvious than in Herder's,
who has managed it with great address, borne
out, no doubt, by the consentaneous structure
of the original Hebrew. The gradations of
phrase in the central distich are marked with
great precision by the German translator, who
has selected the corresponding terms with great
judgment. " Consumed with hunger" intimates
the gradual but painful progress of the woes
first threatened ; '' burned with heat" shows a
more active agency and a more rapid progress ;
" devoured with bitter destruction" at once gives
out the full force of the climax — that voracious
activity in destroying displayed by the hungry
beast of prey. I confess Herder's version of
the four latter lines of this passage strikes me
as being extremely spirited. Bishop Lowth
gives quite a different interpretation to the
second member of the third clause, as disposed
by the German connnentator. He reads,*

I will spend mine arrows upon them.

They shall be eaten up with hunger, a prey unto binl.s,

And to bitter destruction !

I will also send the teeth of beasts upon them,

With tiie poison of the reptiles of the earth.

* See his T>v(nl\ -first Prselection.

300

In this rendering it will at once be perceived
that the climax present in Herder's and in
our common version is interrupted ; thus the
progressive force and towering energy of the
passage are greatly abated. It is indeed true
that the modes of destruction are in a degree
extended by Lowth, and there is a climax of
those modes, though retarded by the interven-
tion of a hemistich, which breaks the rapid
gradation of sense in the different objects con-
secutively named; still even here the natural
progression is somewhat disturbed by the pri-
ority being given to birds; beasts always taking
precedence of birds, fish, and reptiles, in the
conventional order of nature, at least according
to the common classification of zoographers. I
certainly cannot think that Bishop Lowth has
exercised his usual discrimination and taste in
the order here observed, as it clearly interrupts
the more perfect gradation of the terms, sub-
stituting an imperfect climax for one of great
strength and beauty. Neither, in my judgment,
is " eaten up" so appropriate or so elegant a
term as " devoured." Although both these me-
taphoric signs are of precisely the same import,
the one nevertheless presents to the mind the
detailed, the other the general action. " Eating
up" brings immediately before the imagination
the process of mastication among carnivorous
creatures in all its revolting details, realizing
the repulsive picture of tearing and mangling
prey ; devouring comes with a softened aspect :
we are directed more to the metaphoric than to
the literal meaning, and only dwell upon the

301

general action, or ratlicr the effect of the gene-
ral action ; whereas, in the former phrase, the
mind abandons the metaphor, being as it were
forced from it by the strong images obtruded
upon our thoughts, and clings with a shrinking
unwillino:ness to the literal meanino-.

I think the original would have justified Her-
der in translating the third line —

Consumed with hunger, and burned with thirst ;

for the introduction of this latter correlative
seems to be demanded ; besides, the context
appears incomplete as it now stands, and would
be rendered complete by the change proposed.
" Burned with heat" is a mere redundancy, for
it is clear the deo;enerate Israelites could not be
burned with cold ; on the contrary, " burned
with thirst," besides carrying out the natural
relation to the other member of the same hemis-
tich, advances the climax and greatly heightens
the picture of God's active justice. Thirst is the
consequence of hunger, it is likewise not only
aggravated but produced by heat; so that being
"burned with heat," under the influence of hun-
ger, the sufferer must of necessity be parched
with thirst The context therefore, as it ap-
pears to me, requires the employment of this
latter image of suffering, not only as it is an
vmfailing concomitant of hunger, but as neces-
sary to supply the proper gradation of terms
to complete the climax. In addition to this,
thirst invariably accompanies fevers, calentures,
and those diseases peculiar to tropical climates;
as therefore it indicates the presence of those dis-

302

eases, beino- combined with the peculiar diagnos-
tics of each, it may Ijy an easy synecdoche be put
to represent them all. These were the arrows
discharged from the quiver of divine wrath.
What tremendous severity of retribution is here
displayed ! Amid such contingencies and dan-
gers, who can wonder at the brevity of human
life ! — a subject which Quarles has touched upon
with singular pathos and great poetic fervour.

Behold

How short a span

Was long enough, of old,

To measure out the life of man I

In those well-tempered days his time was then

Surveyed, cast up, and found but threescore years and ten.

Alas!

And what is that ?

They come, and slide, and pass.

Before ray pen can tell thee what.

The posts of Time are swift, which having run

Their seven short stages o'er, their short-liv'd task is done.

Our days

Begun, we lend

To sleep, to antic plays

And toys, until the first stage end :

Twelve waning moons, twice five times told, we give

To unrecovered loss we rather breathe than live.

We spend

A ten years' breatli,

Before we apprehend

What 'tis to live, or fear a death :

Our childish dreams are filled with painted joys,

Which please our sense awhile, and, waking, prove but toys.

How vain.

How wretched is

Poor man, that doth remain

A slave to such a state as this!

His days are short, at longest ; few, at most ;

They are but bad, at best ; yet lavished out, or lost.

303

They be

The secret springs

That make our minutes flee

On wheels more swift than eagles' wings :

Our life's a clock, and every gasp of breath

Breathes forth a warning grief, till time shall strike a death.

How soon

Our new-born light

Attains to full-aged noon !

And this, how soon to grey-haired night I

We spring, we bud, we blossom, and we blast

Ere we can count our days, — our days they flee so fast.

They end

When scarce begun ;

And, ere we apprehend

That we begin to live, our life is done :

Man count thy days ; and if they fly too fast

For thy dull thoughts to count, count every day thy last.

I take this to be one of the most exquisite
thinojs of its kind in the Eno-lish lano-uao-e ; it
is full of the chastest sobriety of feeling and
elevation of thought.

I now return to the prophetic ode of Moses.

The sword without,

And terror within.
Shall destroy both (he young man and the virgin,
The suckling also with the man of gray hairs.

"Sometimes," says Bishop Jcbb, "by a pecu-
liar artifice of construction, the third line forms
a continuous sense with the first, and the fourth
with the second. Of this variety a strikinoj
example occurs in Bishop Lowth's nineteenth
pnclection : its distin<2;uishing' feature, however,
is not there sufficiently noted." After quoting
the forty-second verse of Moses' prophetic song,

304

I-

he quotes the twenty-fifth verse, which he exh
bits as an alternate quatrain as follows : —

From without the sword shall destroy ;
And in the inmost apartments terror :
Both the young man and the virgin ;
The suckling with the man of gray hairs.

" The youths and virgins, led out of doors by
the vigour and buoyancy natural at their time of
life, fall victims to the sword in the streets of
the city ; while infancy and old age, confined by
helplessness and decrepitude to the inner cham-
bers of the house, perish there by fear, before
the sword can reach them." If we take the
verses in that order which the sense suggests,
we shall see how this picture is completed : —

From without the sword shall destroy
Both the young man and the virgin ;
And in the inmost apartments teri'or —
The suckling with the man of gray hairs.

In this quatrain how universal and complete
is the destruction indicated ! Youth and robust
strength, helpless infancy, and declining age
alike become victims to the sword of the slayer
and the dagger of the assassin. Not only in the
streets is this work of carnage carried on, but
the sanctuaries of private life are invaded, and
their apartments made the scene of the most cruel
butcheries. Young and old of either sex are
united in one common ruin ; no place, however
sacred, is secure from the profane intrusion of
those sanguinary ministers of death, who spread
the carnage of the sword without and its terror

305

"within. How fully was all this brought to pass
in after-times, when the holy Zion was be-
leaguered by the Roman armies, and when it
might have been truly said, applying the words
of Jeremiah, "the people were cast out into the
streets of Jerusalem because of the famine and
the sword, and there was none to bury them."*
Then was accomplished the prediction of Moses
in an age so long antecedent, with all its details
of horror and of ruthless devastation. This pro-
phecy is generally applied by commentators
to events long prior to the siege of Jerusalem,
but I conceive the scope of the prediction em-
braces the whole series of disasters which
befel the Jews from their entrance into Pales-
tine, until the final dissolution of their govern-
ment, when God's chastisements had fallen
heavily upon them, and there no longer remained,
to use the grand image of the poet, one arrow
in the quiver of almighty wrath.

It will be evident by the slightest attention to
the passage of the ode last quoted, that had the
clauses been distributed according- to the con-
secutive order of the sense, as the reader
will immediately perceive by transposing them,
the antithetical parallelism now present in the
first, and the cognate parallelism present in the
second distich, would have been completely de-
stroyed. The hyperbaton was, no doubt, em-
ployed here for the sake of making these
beautiful parallelisms apparent. In the last
distich of the quatrain there is an extremely

• Chap. xiv. 16,
VOL. II. X

306

liappy epanodistic arrangement of the members
of the two clauses, —

Shall destroy both the young man and the virgin.
The suckling also with the man of gray hairs.

In this disposition of the several objects enu-
merated, it will be observed that they do not
follow in due order, but are diverted into a
more artificial distribution. It is not said, as
would have been done according to the natural
succession of those objects —

Both the young man with the man of gray hairs,
The suckling and the virgin,

but the two weaker are placed between the two
stronger, " the young man" and " the man with
gray hairs" respectively commencing and ending
the distich, while the " suckling" and " virgin"
occupy the middle station of protection and se-
curity ; this artificial position of the terms alone,
without any additional aid of words, impressing
upon the mind their respective characteristics
of masculine strength on the one hand, from
manhood to old age, and on the other of feminine
weakness from infancy to puberty. It may in-
deed be truly said, that the same thing would
have existed had the several objects in the two
lines taken their proper order, thus —

Both the young man with the man of gray hairs,
The suckling and the virgin ;

as here the two extremes of weakness, helpless
infancy and impotent age, take the middle

307

station, and robust youtii of either sex, the two
extremities of the distich. This, however, is a
far less agreeable arrangement than the other,
because woman naturally claims the protection
of her stronger correlative, and the picture of
security is much more accordant with our human
prepossessions and sympathies, where infancy
and womanhood are flanked by man in youth,
under the defence of his active streno-th ; and
man in age, under the shield of that moral
influence which is often a much better security.
Besides, we always associate with woman the
idea of weakness; we look upon her as a being-
wanting a human protector, and this feeling is
confirmed in the passage before us. The arrange-
ment therefore which Moses has chosen, is, in
my judgment, much more touching and much
more true than if he had placed the objects
enumerated according to their more direct
succession.

I shall conclude this chapter with a noble
extract from the Lamentations* of Jeremiah,
in which that eloquent prophet has stupen-
dously worked out the picture of desolation so
vigorously sketched by Moses.

How hath the Lord covered the daughter of Zion with a cloud in his

anger,
And cast down from heaven unto the earth the beauty of Israel,
And remembered not his footstool in the day of his anger !
The Lord hath swallowed up all the habitations of Jacob, and hath

not pitied :
He hath thrown down in his wrath the strongholds of the daughter of

Judah;

He liatii brought Iheiu down to the ground :

* Chap. ii. 1— ».

X 2

308

He hath polluted the kingdom and the princes thereof.
He hath cut off in his fierce anger all the horn of Israel :
He hath drawn back his right hand from before the enemy,
And he burned against Jacob like a flaming fire, which devoureth
round about.

He hath bent his bow like an enemy :
He stood with his right hand as an adversary,
And slew all that were pleasant to the eye
In the tabernacle of the daughter of Zion :
He poured out his fury like fire.

The Lord was as an enemy : he hath swallowed up Israel,
He hath swallowed up all her palaces : he hath destroyed his strong

holds.
And hath increased in the daughter of Judah mourning and lamen-
tation.
And he hath violently taken away his tabernacle, as if it were of a
garden :

He hath destroyed his places of the assembly:
The Lord hath caused the solemn feasts and sabbaths to be forgotten in

Zion,
And hath despised in the indignation of his anger the king and the

priests.
The Lord hath cast off his altar, he hath abhorred his sanctuary.
He hath given up into the hand of the enemy the walls of her palaces;
They have made a noise in the house of the Lord, as in the day of s^
solemn feast.

CHAPTER XIX.

The prophetic ode continued.

The measure of calamity is not filled up, the
arrows of almighty vengeance are not yet
exhausted. The poet continues his strain of
prophetic retribution on the ungrateful and
disobedient Israelites : —

I said, I would scatter them into corners,

I would make the remembrance of them to cease from among men.

In this passage we have the idea excited of
consternation prevailing to such an extent among
the unhappy inhabitants of Judaea, that they
should hide themselves in the most secret and
inaccessible places from the presence of a deso-
lating enemy who would cause so complete a
destruction, that scarcely any memorial of them
should remain — that they should be all but
exterminated. It is worthy of remark how
skilfully Moses varies the subjects of his de-
scriptions, and yet keeps them all in strict
dependency upon each other, never rupturing
the harmonious concatenation of parts, so as
to disturb the integral unity. In several pre-
cedino; clauses, we have seen the arrows in full
operation. The various inflictions to be dealt
upon God's disobedient people are declared

310

in the previous passa<>e with teart'ul distinctness
and earnestness of expression. In the couplet
last quoted, the effects of those visitations are
presented. Great terror and consternation seize
upon the revolted inhabitants of the land — upon
those who inherited it by promise ; the degenerate
descendants of that righteous forefather to whom
this promise was made, — causing them to run to
the gloomy recesses of forests and of caverns ;
having less dread of wild beasts than of enemies
of their own kind. God would have at once
extirpated them but for the reasons expressed
in the two couplets next to be considered : the
time, however, finally arrived when their social
joys were banished ; when their constitution was
subverted and they were dispersed among the
nations, no longer a people favoured of Jehovah,
and proposing laws to the whole world.

To that condition of things which followed the
destruction of their capital, the prophet, I
think, here incidentally points ; and how fully
have his denunciations of future temporal retri-
bution been realized in the subsequent history
of this remarkable people ! Even now they may
be said to be " scattered into corners," for in
every civili.zed country, they are rather tole-
rated than admitted among its community to the
privileges of citizens. They possess not the
immunities of the native born, but are looked
upon as aliens, and the brand of scorn, though
no longer of persecution, is yet upon them.
The threat of an irritated and outraoed God,
uttered upwards of three thousand years ago, is
still in operation. The remembrance of the sons

311

of Jacob, as a nation pre-eminently distingnished
for spiritual privileges and political power, has
ceased from among- men.

Those awful consequences which followed the
revolt of the Jews from that Deity who had so
marvellously befriended them, have been de-
tailed, with appalling minuteness, by Josephus,
in his Jewish war, to which I again refer.* The
calamities which befel them during the memo-
rable sieo-e of Jerusalem bv Titus, are such as to
show ns, with the most convincing force of de-
monstration, how fearful a thing it is " to fall
into the hands of the living God."

" But as for the more wealthy, it proved the
same thing to them whether they quitted or
remained in the city ; for all such persons were
put to death under the pretence that they were
going to desert, but it was in reality in order
that the robbers might obtain what they pos-
sessed. The frenzy of the seditious did also in-
crease with their famine, and both these miseries
were daily aggravated ; for there was no corn seen
anywhere, but the robbers immediately searched
for it in private houses : if they found any, they
tormented the owners for having denied that
they possessed it; and if they found none, they
tormented them the more under the idea that it
was somewhere concealed. Whether they really
had any or not, the robbers presvnned, from the
appearance of their unhappy victims, who, if
they were in tolerably good condition, they at
once concluded to be in no want of food, but if

• The unleanied render is referred to Winston's translation.

312

they appeared lean and ill favoured, their ty-
rants made no further search, thinking it useless
to kill persons whom they imagined must evi-
dently soon die from want of nourishment.
There were indeed many who sold all that they
had for one measure of grain, the richer of
wheat, the poorer of barley. This being done,
they shut themselves up in the innermost apart-
ments of their houses to eat what they had thus
obtained. Some devoured without grinding it,
in consequence of their extreme hunger, others
converted it into bread, according as necessity
or fear dictated. No table was spread for a
regular meal, but the unhappy wretches snatched
the bread out of the fire half baked, and de-
voured it voraciously.

" It was in truth a sight to draw tears from
our eyes, to see that while the stronger had
more food than they required, the M^eaker were
everywhere lamenting the want of it. But famine
overmasters all other passions, and it is destruc-
tive of nothing so much as of modesty. Now
what ought to have been reverenced was despised ;
so much so that children tore the food from
their fathers' mouths as they were eating it; but
what was still more pitiable, mothers were seen
to do this to their helpless babes. When, more-
over, those most dear to them were perishing
before their eyes, they were not ashamed to
deprive them of that which might have pre-
served their tender lives. While, however, they
obtained food in this unnatural way, they were
observed by the seditious, who rushed in upon
them, and took from them by force what they

313

themselves had by force obtained. For when
those robbers saw any house shut up, it was to
them a signal that the inhabitants had procured
food ; upon which they broke open the doors,
and, entering, tore what they were eating from
their very throats. The men who held their
food fast were beaten, and if the women con-
cealed the grain they had obtained, the hair was
torn from their heads for so doing. There was
no commiseration shown either to the young or
to the aged, but infants were lifted from the
ground, as they clung to the meat they were so
anxious to devour, and dashed down upon the floor.
They however exercised the greatest cruelties
towards those who had opposed their entrance,
and had succeeded in swallowing what the
intruders had determined to seize, acting as if
they had been unjustly defrauded of their rights.
They likewise applied terrible torments to
discover where food was concealed. Men were
obliged to endure tortures terrible to name, in
order to extort confession of a hidden loaf, or
of a handful of barley-meal, and this was done
when their tormentors were not themselves
hungry, for such conduct would have been less
cruel had necessity compelled them to exercise
it. All this villany, however, was perpetrated
in order to keep up the frenzy of excitement,
and to secure provisions for the time when they
might re(juire them. These wicked men went
also to meet those who had left the city secretly
by night and had reached the Roman guards,
in order to g-ather wild herbs. When the
latter imagined they had escaped the enemy

314

with their treasure, their dissolute and unna-
tural countrymen took from them what they had
obtained at such hazard; nor would they restore
to them the least portion, though uroed with the
most solemn entreaties, but told the unhappy
sufferers they ought to be satisfied that they
were not put to death as well as spoiled.

" Such were the afflictions which the common
people suffered from those tyrants, while the
more opulent were brought before them : some,
being accused of devising treacherous plots,
were put to death ; others were charged with
an attempt to betray the city into the hands of
the Romans; while false witnesses were suborned
to testify that they had come to the resolution
of deserting to the enemy. He who had been
utterly despoiled by Simon was sent to John,
and those who had been plundered by John
were sent to Simon, who robbed them of what
the other had left. Thus they drank the
blood of the citizens, and divided their corpses
between them, so that although ambition
caused them to contend for supremacy, yet
did they perfectly agree in their vicious prac-
tices."*

Nothing can exceed in magnitude of horror
the frightful details of the Jewish historian
above quoted, who shows with a distinctness
perfectly ap palling, the terrible consummation
of prophecy which, for many generations pre-
viously and under the strongest images, had
represented those awful issues.

* Jewish War, book v, cliaii. 10.

815

After the couplet last i[Uoted from the ode,
God is declared as giving; the reason why he
did not utterly exterminate the rebellious seed
of Abraham from " the lot of their inheritance"
and " scatter them into corners," where " the
teeth of wild beasts would have been upon
them, and the poison of serpents of the dust,
" to destroy them utterly" from the face of the
whole earth.

I said, I would scatter them into corners,

I would make the remembrance of them to cease from among men :

Were it not that I feared the wrath of the enemy,

Lest their adversaries should behave themselves strangely.

And lest they should say, our hand is high,

And the Lord hath not done all this.

For they are a nation void of counsel.

Neither is there any understanding in them.

Nothing can more strongly depict the ama-
zing presumption of the Jews than this passage.
It shows how fully they deserved the extreme se-
verity of divine wrath, although they were spared
from absolute extermination. For this, two
reasons are assigned. God did not extirpate
the degenerate seed of Abraham, because he
would not give the heathen the opportunity to
exult, and, in their triumph over those whom
he had so long visibly protected, to blaspheme
his holy name ; — lest, moreover, they should
ascribe to their own factitious divinities, hewn
from the senseless rock or carved from the
unconscious trunk, those fearful issues which
were the result of his own almighty and infal-
lible will.

The second reason assigned by God for spar-
ing the Israelites is, lest the arrogant gentiles

316

should boast that they, and not God, were the
cause of Israel's melancholy discomfiture and de-
solation. Notwithstanding the manifold miscar-
riages of his people, it is evident that God was
unwilling to desert them. He was still reluctant so
to abase them as to give their enemies occasion
to exult in their distress ; nor was it until they
had, by a long course of almost unparalleled
profligacy, matured themselves for that terrible
harvest of retribution which they were forced
by the arm of almighty justice to reap, that they
were given over to the sword of the destroyer.

The heathen who knew not the Lord Jehovah,
and therefore acknowledged none of his dis-
pensations, would not hesitate to attribute all the
reverses which happened to the Jews, not to
the wickedness of that ungrateful race, but
to their own superior valour and conduct — not
to the chastening discipline of Him who alone
can award punishment or dispense blessings,
but to their own political foresight and prac-
tical wisdom ; the Deity therefore was unwilling
to supply food for the arrogance of those pre-
sumptuous idolaters, by putting the yoke of
immediate and hard servitude upon the necks
of the revolted Jews. These, it is true, had
offered him the grossest provocation ; but the
gentiles, who were numerically so much more
powerful, were still not to be elevated upon the
ruin of his once privileged children ; these latter
therefore were to be grievously punished, not
annihilated, lest the idolaters should find cause
to triumph, and continue their abominations
with the greater confidence of impunity. The

317

chastisements of the Israelites thus fell far short
of their deserts. The employment of the word
" feared" in the third line, is manifestly nothing
more than an appropriation of that description
of metaphor, called anthropopathy, and which I
have hefore explained,* imputing- the passions
of man to God. It is of common occurrence
in the Hehrew scriptures. I need hardly say
to a reader of ordinary perception that it is
altogether impossible God should fear man,
but such ascription of human passions and
affections to the Divinity often tends to present
to the imagination a far more vivid picture of
his judgments, or of his mercies, than if such
strong aids to the effect of descriptive poetry
were omitted. These and similar artifices of
composition are agreeable upon another account ;
they act upon the sympathies with a direct in-
fluence, by bringing God, as it were, present to
us, in a tangible shape, and placing our hu-
manity, if I may so speak, in immediate con-
tact with his divinity. It fills our minds with more
definite conceptions of his stupendous agencies ;
it depicts before them, under a seemingly palpa-
ble shape, that mysterious and ineffable Being
who is " himself alone," existing everywhere,
yet visible nowhere, filling heaven and earth,
the universe, and all space, yet undiscovered
and unknown, but in his attributes ; thus awaken-
ing a more positive perception of the solemn
relations existing between Creator and creature,
than if the holy scriptures only represented

• See yol. ii. p. 274.

318

the almighty arbiter of our destinies, as he
truly is, an omnipotent Agent, without parts or
passions, sensible to no emotions, an infinitely
pervading and intransitive spirit, everlasting,
omnipresent, unrevealable to human sense, and
inaccessible by human comprehension.

The appropriation to the Deity of such terms
as tend to fix within us definite notions of
him in his prominent attributes of justice and
of love, do not at all derogate from his trans-
cendent dignity ; on the contrary, they sustain
it. While we appear to see, by the vividness
of the picture offered to our mental scrutiny,
the very process of God's beneficent and judicial
dispensations in the actions represented, our
reason is sufficiently guarded to prevent its
falling a dupe to the beautiful illusion. Our
impressions are strengthened at the same time
that our knowledge is not imposed upon. We
feel that such terms cannot be literally applied
to God, but in their strong metaphorical signi-
fication they seem to realize his presence under
such an aspect of celestial majesty and glory
as we can entertain a sensible notion of, no less
than appreciate and comprehend. This, however
it may fall short, as it infinitely does, of his
unimaginable perfections, nevertheless tends to
produce such a sensible perception of those
perfections as is calculated to render us fearful
of his judgments, obedient to his precepts, and
affectionately grateful for his numerous bene-
factions of loving-kindness.

As the clauses embraced in the twenty-
seventh and following verse of this ode may be

319

liable to misinterpretation by a hasty or indif-
ferent reader, I will here give a brief para-
phrase of the entire passage. After describing
the plagnes which Jehovah will bring upon the
posterity of Jacob, — the pangs of hunger and
thirst, the multiplication of beasts of prey and
of venomous serpents in the land inhabited by
them, for their punishment and partial de-
struction,— the poet represents God as say-
ing:-— ' I would immediately visit this ungrate-
ful and rebellious race with complete extir-
pation, but that it would give the heathen an
opportunity of triumphing in their fall, and, in the
excess of their presumptuous arrogance, afford
occasion to them of boastino- that it was their
valour and military conduct which had brought
such complete ruin upon their foes, not the
interposition of my avenging arm. I will not
thus allow the idolaters cause to set up a vain-
glorious triumph ; I forbear therefore to exter-
minate my alienated people, lest their pagan foes
should proclaim a false conquest over them,
and say, we have accomplished their destruction
and not the God in whom they once trusted.
But for this I certainly would have swept the
descendants of Israel from the face of the earth,
for they have become so wicked a communitv
that the very councils in which their learned
and chief men preside, sanction their profligacy
by imposing no check upon them. They are
in fact so desperately licentious, that their under-
standing is tainted by the moral contagion of
their vices, and being without the guidance of
well-regulated thoughts, and no longer under

320

the discipline of a discreetly organized judg-
ment, they run heedlessly on to their own de-
struction.'

Herder's translation of these verses is clear
and comprehensive: —

I had almost said, I will destroy them,
And blot out their name among men ;
Had I not feared the pride of the enemy,
That their oppressors would mistake it
And say, 'our own high hand
And not Jehovah hath done this.'
For they are a nation void of counsel ;
There is no understanding in them.

The learned German seems to refer, in the
concluding couplet, not to the Jews but to the
heathen: the subsequent context positively con-
tradicts such an interpretation, as the Jews
are immediately addressed —

O that they were wise,

That they understood tliis,

That they would consider their latter end !

Here it is manifest that the Jews and not the
gentiles are addressed.

The passage on which I have been now dwell-
ing, contains at the close a parallelism of great
eleo-ance and significancy. The verses imme-
diately preceding are exceedingly vigorous,
strongly contrasting the august majesty of Je-
hovah with the impotent arrogance of the hea-
then, the whole ending in a pair of very em-
phatic lines, exhibiting the Jews as reduced to
a state of moral degradation still lower than
their pagan and presumptuous neighbours : — •

For they (the Jews) are a nation void of counsel,
Neither is there any understanding in them.

321

The latter clause, it will he ohscrved, rises here
Avith a marked gradation of force ; the Jews are a
nation void of counsel, abandoned to tlie delusions
of passion, infirm of judgment, wanting in discre-
tion, and therefore readily led to do wrong.
They follow the fond suggestions of their own
depraved hearts, forsaking the guidance of
Him who could alone direct them wisely, and
thus, as a necessary consequence, act wickedly.

Neither is there any understanding in them ;

the result of which is, that being directed by
their passions rather than by their reason, they
have sunk into the lowest state of moral degra-
dation : their understanding has been so brought
into subjection under the tyranny of sin that it
has ceased to be a safe guide; not only are their
hearts corrupt, but their minds are likewise
in a condition of total depravity; they are alto-
gether become abominable ; in sum, the whole
man is under the dominion of evil.

That this couplet must apply to the Jews
will be evident by connecting it with the
preceding passage of the context, in which
they are expressly referred to beyond the pos-
sibility of question, thus —

I said, I would scatter them into corners,

I would make the remembrance of them to cease from among men :

For they are a nation void of counsel,

Neither is there any understanding in them.

Here the sense follows in its natural order, not
being distmbcd by the interposition either of

VOL. II. Y

322

any subsidiary or extraneous object. The pre-
sent arrangement, however, was, no doubt,
adopted by the inspired bard, for a purpose. It is
clearly epanodistic, and it will be readily per-
ceived that, though the position of the several
couplets is perfectly natural, and that no in-
versions or other artifices are employed to
effect this construction, the epanode is neverthe-
less present. This is produced simply by the
two central couplets forming a parenthesis,
dependent upon the first pair of lines, but inter-
rupting the immediate succession of sense by
diverting it from the Jews to the heathen. In
the first distich and in the last, as they now
stand in the ode, reference is made to the
Jews, both pointing out their extreme dege-
neracy ; the first by inference in declaring their
desert of punishment; the last specially by
stating the cause of their deserving it. The
two middle couplets, of which the subject is
secondary, or rather subsidiary to the first and
last, are placed between them, thus bringing
into direct juxtaposition the moral desuetude
both of Jews and heathens. It is very skilfully
managed, and the more skilful from the apparent
absence of all art. Thus it is, that by tracing
the prescriptive artifices of structure, so com-
mon in the Hebrew writings, we are frequently
enabled to unravel perplexities, and evolve the
obvious interpretation. The metrical construc-
tion adopted by the inspired bards, whose com-
positions are collected in Holy Writ, often serve
as a clue to guide us out of the labyrinth of ob-
scurity in which so many portions of those compo-

323

sitions appear to \w involved, only l)ecanse the
peculiar resources of their art, of which they
made constant use, are either not contemplated or
not understood hy the "encral readers of Scrip-
ture. I therefore think that a proper under-
standing- of the poetry of the Bible will thro>\^
more light upon the difficulties of the pro-
phetical portions of that divine book, which are
nearly all poetical, than studying the best com*
mentaries ever writteu, which often contain the
most extravagant speculations, especially where
obscurity gives latitude for the exercise of an
enthusiastic but ill-governed fancy.

Before I bring this chapter to a conclusion,
I would direct the reader's attention to the
figure employed in the fifth line. ' Our hand is
high." It has great force of signification: in-
deed it may be said, almost without a metaphor,
to teem with meaning. Our " hand," that is,
our power, is not like the power of men, but
like that of God, mighty to destroy. This the
heathen felt no shame in saying, for no-
thino- could exceed their arrogance, and the
Deity was unwilling to give them any additional
cause to display it ; he well knew how capable
they were of manifesting the loftiest presump-
tion. To him their haughty pride was no secret.
They were in the habit of magnify ing the power of
those idols which their own hands had fashioned,
and of assuming for them an equality with him
who created the material out of which they
were constructed; thus extolling their own might
in magnifying that of their gods. They claimed
for themselves that sufficiency of power which

Y 2

324

belongs alone to Omnipotence, assuming in their
own persons the capability of doing what the
Deity only could accomplish. They were at all
times ready to maintain that "their hand was
high," and for this reason it was that the mighty
Jehovah levelled them with the dust, frequently
heaping upon them the most dreadful calamities.
It is no wonder then that he forbore to extermi-
nate his people Israel, lest their foes should
not only triumph over them, but declare their
own power to have been the cause of such
triumph.

We have a common expression in use
among us at this day, which approaches very
near to the signification of that employed in
the sacred text, and probably was originally
adopted from it, for it has all the character of
an oriental idiom. How often do we hear it
said in common parlance, when a person boasts
of something which he has accomplished out of
the ordinary course of achievement, or when he
assumes the character of potential influence —
" he carries it with a high hand," implying
the assumption of superiority far above what is
found generally to exist in the ordinary re-
lationship betwixt man and man.

CHAPTER XX.

2'he prophetic ode continued.

In what follows we have a remarkable example
of that abrupt change of person so often observ-
able in the Hebrew writings, especially in the
poetical sections of them. The poet had, to the
end of the passage quoted in the last chapter,
represented the Deity as personally declaring
his determination to visit the Israelites with
terrible penalties as a just and reasonable pun-
ishment for their manifold offences. He now
suddenly breaks off' and speaks in his own
person, apostrophizing his degenerate country-
men with great tenderness.

O that they were wise,

That they understood this,

That they would consider their latter end \

How sliould one chase a thousand,

And two put ten thousand to flight,

Except their Rock Iiad sold them.

And the Lord had shut them up?

For their rock is not as our Rock,

Even our enemies themselves being judges.

There is considerable artifice of construction
in the whole of these very pathetic lines, there

.326

!>ein<»; a remarkable coiiibnnity in the hcmistichs
<i,enerally, besides a separate but close corres-
pondency in several of the members.

O that they were wise,

Tliat they understood this,

That they would consider their latter end !

Moses, in terms of the tenderest reproach,
laments the perverseness of his countrymen,
Avho, in spite of the numerous warnings they
had received, would not take heed to their
ways and turn their thoughts to that advancing
future when the divine judgments were so awfully
threatened; as if he had said, *oh, that this
perverse people would take warning by the
chastisements to which they have already been
subjected for their numerous defalcations and
revolts, andcarry their thoughts forward into the
latter times — that is, into remote ages to come,
when the prophecy which I have just delivered
shall be consummated. Such a timely consider-
ation would, perhaps, awe their stubborn
hearts and bring them back to their former
affiance in the divine love.'

The gradations of sense in this triplet cannot
escape observation —

() tliat they were wise,

that they had the requisite prudence to direct
their minds to this subject, that they would think
more of the future than of the present, and pon-
der the dreadful consequences of sin, rather than
the animal gratification Avliich it procures, the

327

one l)LUii<»; infinitely permanent, the other in the
hii»'hest decree transitory.

That they understood this.

They ninst first apply their minds to apprehend
before they can understand it ; they must become
" wise" before they could relieve themselves,
with God's ojrace, from their foolishness ; they
must acquire wisdom to think before they can
have sagacity to understand : — they must do the
one before they could be in a condition to
do the other. Having acquired this under-
standing, a third process of the mind is de-
manded from them — that they would consider.
Until they had arrived at a perfect understand-
ing of the subject, they could not tell what
would result from it. They were first then to
apply their mental faculties to a right appre-
ciation of divine judgments, and having ac-
quired a just comprehension of their object
and tendency, to consider future consequences.
There is, in this triplet, a series of three depen-
dant clauses, rising gradually in the order of
climax, as will be perceived from the explana-
tion just given. How much more expres-
sive and forcible is this arrangement than that
of Herder, who has thrown the passage into a
single distich, in which the parallelism is ex-
ceedingly feeble and indistinct: —

O ! that tiiey were wise to understand this,
That they wouhl consider their latter end.

In this arrangement of the clauses, there is much

less coherency of parts, because the ascend-
ino- scale of sense is broken, and their immedi-
ate dependency consequently interrupted. "Oh!
that they were wise," — that they would exer-
cise their reflective faculties ! " that they would
understand" — that they would thus produce the
fimits of wisdom ! " that they would consider" —
that they would properly appropriate the results
of this accjuisition of wisdom, and consider or
reflect upon the future issues of a determined
persistency in provocation. Here the ascendiiio*
scale is perfect, and the steps are beautifully pro-
gressive. Herder's couplet is graceful but no
thing more; it lacks the dignity, the impressive-
ness, the correct marks of proportion, and
exact correspondency of parts maintained in the
triplet, as given by our translators.

The term " wisdom" is often used in scrip-
ture to express experience, as in Job xii. 12.

With the ancient is wisdom ;

And in length of days, understanding ;

thus showing that knowledge is the result of
experience. In this view of the term Moses
may be supposed to have said in the passage
just examined, 'oh! that the experience of
God's judicial acts towards my rebellious coun-
trymen would cause them to think seriously of
the future and not provoke him to greater
severities.'

The poet seems to dwell with solemn ear-
nestness upon the reflection that caused him
uuguish of heart, for the visitations which he

329

tbresavv must tall upon tlie perverse and dege-
nerate Jews. There is an exquisite pathos in
his thus accumulatin«2: additional strength to the
thought as it advances in the progress of com-
pletion within the matrix oi" his own proliiic
mind. It places Moses before us, moreover, in
an amiable and affecting light. The anxieties
of his heart, and the perturbations of his spirit
become clearly revealed to us — his extreme
solicitude for the people whom he had been
divinely appointed to govern; his wisdom as a
lawgiver, and his virtue as a man, are at once
recognized in this brief but emphatic manifes-
tation cf his social affections.

The term "latter end" in the last clause of the
triplet is commonly understood to signify death,
but the context by no means warrants such a
construction, for the prophet is distinctly refer-
ing" to a future period, when the judgments of
an avenging Deity sliall fall upon the alien-
ated Jews — alienated fromthe divine compassion
and mercy in consequence of their multiplied
enormities ; he, thereibrc, expresses a wish that
the present generation would take Avarning
from his prophetical declaration of God's deter-
mination to visit them with extreme severity in
the latter days, when their iniquity shall be full;
— that they would turn their attention to those
times when that dispensation under which they
will have been so long distinguished as a pe-
culiar people, shall be superseded by one of
more eminent dignity and perfection ; when
that " day star from on high," obscurely i)ro-
mised in tlie earthly j)aradisc and subsc([uently

330

adiiinhrated in the temple sacrifices, shall visit
the world " in the fulness of the Godhead ho-
dily," and restore them and all their gentile
brethren to those privileges which both had
equally lost in Adam.

' Oh that this evil generation would consider
those times,' exclaims Moses, under an impulse of
prophetic rapture, ' when the mercies of Jehovah
shall be fully developed, after he has displayed
upon them the visitations of his wrath ; when
they shall behold the advent of the promised
deliverer of whom it had been solemnly declared
by God himself, that he should " bruise the
serpent's head," and thus release mankind from
the curse provoked by the temptation of that
all but omnipotent enemy.'

It is evident that, in this predictive ode,
Moses glances through the whole period of the
Jewish economy, from the time at which he was
then speaking, to the great period of human sig-
iialization, when that visible triumph over death
and hell was obtained upon the cross, which has
sealed to man the covenant of salvation, ratified
by the sacrifice of the divine Redeemer. The
Jewish lawgiver refers to this period with a
solemnity suited to its importance. He merely
alludes to it in general terms, as if it were a sub-
ject too well understood, and at the same time of
too sacred a character to need any detailed
specification. The very indefiniteness of the
allusion to the great expiatoi'y sacrifice upon
Mount Calvary for human dereliction, imparts
a character of grave dignity to the passage, pre-
cisely adapted to the sublimity of such a theme

831

The reference, taint tliough it may seem, is on that
account the more touchino-. Every expression is
strikingly appropriate, the whole passage embrac-
ing one fervid but natural desire, for what could be
more so than that he sliould wish his unrighteous
countrymen would direct their thoughts to that
great act of omnipotent love, which should re-
store them from death to life eternal, as a means
of withdrawing them from the perilous condi-
tion of sin. He then declares in a strain of
strong but magnificent hyperbole, what would
l)e the effect of a prudent consideration of those
better times when the seal should be finally
fixed to the erand covenant of mercv-

How should one chase a thousand,
And two put ten tliousand to flight,
Except their Rock liad sold them,
And the Lord had shut them up?

" That is," as Dodd* judiciously observes,
" would they but wisely reflect and be moved
i)y the terror of these punishments upon their
posterity, to a different conduct, how ffom-ishing
should be their estate at home, how victorious
their arms abroad ! The sacred m riter adds,
'how certainly should they do this, if their Rock
had not sold them ;' that is, if their Creator had
not entirely given them up, and abandoned his
protection of them." The two first hemistichsare,
however, understood by a great nimiber of com-
mentators as not referring to the Israelites, but
to their enemies. Houbigant understands the
passage thus: "for how comes it to pass that
one should chase a thousand (one enemy a

*" .Sec his nute yii Hir |':i>s;ig;r.

332

thousand Israelites), and two put ten thousand
to flight, unless because that God will deliver
them (into the hands of their foes), — unless
because the Lord will shut them up;" that is,
so straiten them that they must fall an easy
prey to their conciuerors.

Bishop Patrick, Dr. Hales, Dr. Adam Clarke,
with various commentators, both ancient and
modern, adopt this interpretation, but I confess
Dr. Dodd's reading appears to me more con-
current, with the scope of the context where
Moses at once recals to the minds of his country-
men their former glorious victories over the gen-
tiles, and signifies that their future conquests
should be greater, if they would only so comport
themselves as to secure a continuance of heavenly
aid; for nothing could reduce them to a state of
heathen subjugation but their abandonment by
that august being who had protected them from
the tyranny of pagan conquerors. No advantage
could be obtained over men who had hitherto
fought under his direction, unless he gave them
up to the sword of their enemies. Thus Moses
draws an implied contrast betwixt their former
prowess when God's right arm got them the
victory, and their state of deplorable desuetude
when his aid should be withheld from them ; at
the same time intimating, that if they would
only duly consider the divine mercies already
vouchsafed, and act up to the dictates of a
pious gratitude, they would still, as formerly,
discomfit their idolatrous foes, and maintain
that supremacy, which, under the direction o
an all-wise Providence, they were about to

333

establish, previously to the coming of the latter
times, in the land of Canaan,

In the first pair of hemistichs, we shall ob-
serve the common gradational parallelism
marked with more than usual distinctness: —

How should one chase a thousand,
And two put ten thousand to flight.

In the first hemistich, the idea is simply that
of pursuit ; in the second it is amplified into
rout. Much more comparatively is done by the
two mentioned in the second clause than by the
OTieinthe first. The "one" only pursues; this is
the commencing step to the issue accomplished
by the " two." Being put to flight implies previ-
ous resistance; so that the enemy is represented
as first pursued, then overtaken, then put to
rout. These three actions, therefore, are com-
prehended in the result of the pursuit mentioned
in the first verse. There is a marked distinction
and an evident advance of force in the terms,
and most skilfully are the relative combinations
of power discriminated. We perceive, moreover,
even a mathematical accuracy in the increased
power derived from the union of two separate
forces ; for it is clear that if one man would be
able to discomfit a thousand foes, two men,
under precisely the same circumstances, would bo
more than a match for two thousand ; the com-
bined effx)rts of the two sino'le forces more than
doubling their integral power when not in com
bination, the proportion of force increasing bv
such combination in a greater ratio than as from
one to two. The uniting of these two single ([uan-

V

334

titles would form an ago-regate of power more
than double the sum of the divided quantities,
and, it might happen, in the proportion of two
to ten. What I mean is, that if one singly would
be equal to a thousand, the two united might be
equal to ten thousand. This increase of ratio
betwixt a single and doubled force, shows that
Moses was not altogether unacquainted with the
science of geometrical proportions. The laws
by which these are governed, though sufficiently
recondite, and only open to the man of science,
had not, it is to be presumed, escaped the pene-
tratins: research of him who was instructed in all
the far-famed wisdom of the Egyptians, then
the most learned people upon earth. Indeed
every verse of this incomparable production,
which has developed the great genius of its
author, exhibits the elements of profound and
varied wisdom.

In the two latter clauses of the thirtieth verse,
there will be perceived an advance in the sense
by comparing the last line with the first. This
is very happily shown by Herder, who has well
preserved the parallelism : —

Is it not, that their Rock Imth forsaken them,
That Jehovah hath gii-en them for a prey?

His interpretation, however, of the two pre-
ceding lines, refers them to the heathen, not to
the Jews ; but whichever reading we adopt, the
arocument of Moses is substantially the same.
According to one interpretation, the poet is
made to express his anxious wish that the Jews
would only consider what should happen to

335

them hereafter — that one should chase a thou-
sand and two put ten thoiisand to flight, but
for their great provocations which would cause
God to o'ive them over to the enemy and
shut them up so as to prevent their escape. Ac-
cording to the other view of the passage, Moses
asks ' how it should happen that one of the hea-
then will eventually discomfit a thousand Jews,
and two ten thousand'?' To this he replies,
* the cause is to be souo;ht in the latter havino-
provoked God to abandon them to the foe.' The
conclusion from both these interpretations is
the same, namely, that the delinquencies of the
Jews shall awaken the active justice of heaven:
for whether their wickedness should prevent them
from vanquishing the heathen, or cause their
discomfiture by them, — in either case, the punish-
ment of God's rebellious people is declared; so
that both views of this verse substantively rea-
lize the same end.

Although in our translation the parallelism in
the two last clauses is less obvious than in
Herder's version, it is nevertheless sufficiently
so to be traced.

Except their Rock had sold them,
And the Lord had shut them up.

It is clear that the parallel terms in these
hemistichs, as our translators have rendered
them, present a greater amplification of sense
in the last line than in the first.

Except tlieir Rock had sohl them,

336

implies, unless their Creator had allowed them
to fall into the hands of the enemy — had for-
saken them, as Herder reads, abandoned them
to their foes by withholding his aid from them.

And the Lord had shut them up ;

that is, cut off from them all means of escape,
so that when once in the power of the enemy,
they would be entirely at their mercy. Thus
the parallel term which concludes the first
clause, implies their being given over to the
foe ; that which concludes the second, their com-
plete subjugation. Here is evidently a pro-
gressive action in the course of completion in
the first hemistich, brought to its consummation
in the second. The distinction is certainly more
clearly projected to the reader's view in Her-
der's than in our common version, Jehovah,
as he gives it, the parallel to Rock, much better
shows the gradational advance than the word
Lord as we have it in our Bible, the former
expressing the supreme Godhead under that
mysterious designation which a Jew never ven-
tures to utter without the most solemn feelings
of awe. Rock signifies the Creator, or a distinct
agency in the sacred Trinity ; Jehovah, the united
Three in One, so that the gradation of sense
need not be made more apparent.

For their rock is not as our Rock,

Even our enemies themselves being judges.

In this distich, the impotency of the gentile
divinities is happily contrasted with the omni-
potence of the God of Israel, to whose mighty

337

and august power the heathens themselves had
frequently borne testimony. * The pagan
deities are here called their rock, as Patrick
observes, " because they relied on them for
safety." Still the proof of their inferiority, as
Moses argues, is sufficiently established in the fact,
that their worshippers had magnified the power
of the Lord Jehovah. The argument was a very
strong one. The poet moreover makes direct
allusion in this verse to the future idolatries of
his countrymen, which he shows to be the more
abominable, inasmuch as the gentiles themselves
have borne testimony that their idol divinities
whom the degenerate seed of Abraham shall
be induced to worship, are not the true God
" who brought them out of Egypt with a mighty
hand and a stretched out arm" — a fact acknow-
ledged even by the votaries of those unconscious
deities whom the Israelites will be won to serve.
" For these enemies," observes Dodd, " were
often forced to acknowledo;e the over-rulino;
power of Jehovah controlling all their designs
and all the efforts of their gods, though they
considered him only as the local tutelary God
of the Jews. Perhaps the reader will think the
whole clause from verse 28 not improperly con-
nected thus : ' Oh that they were wise ! then they
would understand this ! they would understand
what should happen to them hereafter ! how
one should chase a thousand, and two put ten
thousand to flight, if it was not because their
Creator had sold them, and the Lord had shut

♦ Numbers xxiii. 19—22. 1 Samuel iv. 7, 8. Daniel iii, 29.
VOL. II. Z

338

them up. For, not as our God is their god,
even our enemies being judges,'"

Moses, thus making the testimony of the
heathen to operate against his countrymen in a
matt r which the former must be supposed to
approve, is the strongest argument he could
have advanced against the criminality of the
latter. They are not only incidentally but pos-
itively condemned by the very persons who
had seduced them to apostatize from the God
of their fathers, and who, therefore, it might
be presumed, approved of their conduct. They
were condemned by those who had corrupted
them, not indeed in direct terms, but indi-
rectly, through their praise of that august
Being whom the " perverse" seed of Jacob
had abandoned.

The term rock is frequently used in Scripture
as a symbol of the Divinity, denoting that his
attributes are everlasting, like that most en-
during thing in time, to compare infinite with
finite, the rock embedded in the ocean, or fixed
upon the everlasting hills. " The name of
rock," says Cruden,* "is given to God by way
of metaphor, because God is the strength, the
refuge, and the asylum of his people, as the
rocks were in those places whither the people
retired in case of an unforeseen attack or irrup-
tion of the enemy, as in Psalm xviii. 31.

For who is God save the Lord?
Or who is a rock save our God ?"

There is something extremely imposing in the

* Concordance, :irl. Kotk.

339

use of the metaphor in this pkce. Moses does
not deg-rade the sacred name of the divinity hy
placing it in immediate ap]K)sition with that of
heathen deities, neither does he say,

For their God is not as our God

which Mould be apparently claiming for the
idols of the Canaauites a rank and importance
equal to that of the God of Israel — it would be
virtually placing them upon an equality; but he
cloaks the sublime image of omnipotence under
a metaphor, thus generalizing the idea of divi-
nity into the more diffuse and ordinary notion
of his mere attribute of power. A quality of the
being, not the Almighty infinite himself, is thus
brought before the mind; as if he had said,
' their affiance is not ours — the rebellious
Israelites who abandon Jehovah cannot have
the same security as we who trust in him ; the
power and protection on which they rely for
the consummation of the brightest hopes of their
humanity is very different from that upon
which we have been accustomed to repose our
confidence. We have established our faith upon
one who is able to realize our highest expecta-
tions, while the heathens and those among my
degenerate countrymen who have become their
religious allies and members of their worship-
ping assemblies, have confided in mere ima-
ginary powers, which can neither hear their
appeals, nor help them in their necessities.' The
mode of allusion to him " with whom is terrible
majesty," is, in the extreme sense of the terms,
impressive and poetical, bringing the divine

z 2

340

power with greater effect to the imag'hiation, by
an emblematical representation of it, than if it had
been literally defined — the symbol, by the mere
force of association, generating new objects of
reflection, while the literal description would
have confined it to a single, grand, indeed,
but definite idea. Now there is a contrast sug-
gested between the power of the heathen divi-
nities and that of the true God; whereas, had
the former been honoured with the divine de-
signation, it would have appeared to be assuming
for them a co-equality in those perfections which
belong alone to him. The passage is managed
with consummate skill and with no less effect.
It will be observed that two trains of thought
present themselves, that which belongs to the
representative agent, and that which belongs to
the thing represented, namely, God ; — the qua-
lities of the one being in every respect super-
lative for a material and therefore finite object,
greatly heightening our impressions of the illi-
mitable and ineffable qualities of the other.
How admirably, too, does the metaphor harmo-
nize with the preceding clauses, in which the
idea of relative power is predominant, expressed
by the one chasing a thousand, and two putting
ten thousand to flight. The whole passage is
full of poetry.

CHAPTER XXI.

37/e prophetic ode continued.

The inspired bard o^oes on in a strain oF prodi-
gious fervor to depict the mournful degradation
of his countrymen, still bringing the future back-
ward to the present, as was commonly the case
with the Hebrew prophets.

For their vine is of the vine of Sodom,

And of the fields of Gomorrah :

Their grapes are grapes of gall, their clusters are bitter :

Their wine is the poison of dragons,

And the cruel venom of asps.

It is well known to the reader of scripture
that Sodom was the capital of Pentapolis, which
signifies the country of five cities. These five
cities were Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, Zeboim,
and Zoar ; all of which, with the exception of
Zoar, whither Lot fled, were destroyed in that
fiery inundation which effectuated the divine
vengeance upon the inhabitants of those sinks
of profligacy. The country round was at that
time eminently fruitful, producing most of the
luxuries as well as necessaries of life in pro-
digal abundance. In consequence of the over-
throw of these five cities, the whole aspect of the
district waschangcd. After the burning of Sodom,

342

ttie plain was overflowed by the river Jordan,
forming- a lake known at present by the name of
the lake Asphaltites, or the Dead Sea, so called
in later times from the vulgar error, that no
animal can live in it. The waters of this lake
are asserted by Galen* to be so strongly impreg-
nated with salt, that if any be thrown into it, the
water will scarcely dissolve it. The story of
the famous apples of Sodom is well known, and
furnished Milton with the ideas so forcibly
brought out in the following extract from his
sublime poem of Paradise Lost: —

Cveedi]y they pluckt
The fruitage, fair to sight, like that which grew
Near that bituminous lake, where Sodom flam'd :
This more delusive, not the touch but taste
Deceiv'd ; they, fondly thinking to allay
Their appetite with gust, instead of fruit
Chew'd bitter asshes, which the offended taste
With spattering noise rejected.

Volney's account of the present state of this
district cannot fail to be interesting.

" The south of Syria, that is, the hollow
through which the Jordan flows, is a country of
volcanos ; the bituminous and sulphureous
sources of the lake Asphaltites, the lava, the
pumice-stones thrown upon its banks, and the
hot baths of Tabaria, demonstrate that this
valley has been the seat of a subterraneous fire
which is not yet extinguished. Clouds of smoke
are often observed to issue from the lake, and
new crevices to be formed upon its banks. If
conjectures in such cases were not too liable to

* De Simpl. medic. Facult. lib, iv, cap. 19.

343

error, we miglit suspect that the whole valley
has been formed only by a violent sinking- of
a country which formerly poured the Jordan
into the Mediterranean. It appears certain, at
least, that the catastrophe of five cities destroy-
ed by fire, must have been occasioned by the
eruption of a volcano then burning. Strabo
expressly says, that " the tradition of the
inhabitants of the country, (that is, of the Jews
themselves,) was, that formerly the valley of
the lake was peopled by thirteen flourishing
cities, and that they were swallowed up by a
volcano." This account seems to be confirmed
by the quantities of ruins still found by travel-
lers on the western border. These eruptions
have ceased long since, but earthquakes which
usually succeed them, still continue to be felt at
intervals in this country. The coast in gen-
eral is subject to them, and history gives us
many examples of earthquakes, which have
changed the face of Antioch, Laodicea, Tripoli,
Berytus, Tyre, Sidon, &c. In our time, in the
year 1759, there happened one which caused
the o-reatest ravao-es. It is said to have de-
stroyed in the valley of Balbec, upwards of
twenty thousand persons, a loss which has never
been repaired. For three months the shock of
it terrified the inhabitants of Lebanon so much,
as to make them abandon their houses and dwell
under tents."*

For their viue is of the vine of Sodom,
And of the fields of Gomorrali.

* Volney's Travels, vol. i. p. 30;$.

344

The Israelites are here compared to a vine
which is of rapid growth and very fruitful ; but
the poet declares that those sons of Jacob who
had multiplied to such an extent as to be " as
the sand on the sea-shore for multitude," were
no longer the produce of that vine " which the
Lord had planted," but of one whose fruits were
bitter, like the produce of the Dead Sea shore.
Nothing- can exceed in strength of asperity the
terms employed to denote the moral odiousness
into which the Israelites subsequently lapsed.
Sodom was a city doomed to destruction in con-
sequence of the atrocious profligacy of its citi-
zens. The fields of Gomorrah were converted
into a sterile and blasted wilderness surrounding
the Dead Sea, where everything wore the aspect
of death.

Their grapes are grapes of gall.

This and the comparisons which follow give the
strongest possible impression of the moral de-
gradation into which the profligate Israelites
subsequently fell at the period contemplated by
the prophet. The whole of this is a metaphorical
picture, representing the spiritual desuetude of
Jacob's posterity, the impression being, no doubt,
current in the days of Moses, that the district
of the original Pentapolis was a region whose
fruits were, as Tacitus* describes them, acra et
inania velut in cinerem venescunt.

The actions of the Israelites are fitly charac-
terized by these im,ages of " grapes of gall," and

* Hist, lib. V. cpp. G.

345

"bitter clusters." Their conduct was not only
worthless but distasteful — they were in the
highest degree wicked. The usual advance oi"
force is observable in the triplet comprising the
thirty-second verse of the ode. In the first hemis-
tich the notion simply of a vine is conveyed ; — a
vine, however, of bad quality, for it is the vine
of Sodom. Next, the idea of the prolific cha-
racter of this vine is suggested ; it is of the fields of
Gomorrah, — a vine spreading over a vast extent
of surface, covering whole fields ; those fields,
however, being upon a land visited with divine
vengeance, — a blasted and accursed region. Then
follows the quality of the productions of this
vine; they are gall, "their clusters are bitter,"
vmfit for use, and only fit to be cast upon the
dunghills.

There is something exceedingly impressive in
these progressive representations of Hebrew
delinquency, showing with a vivid earnest-
ness of delineation, the utter degradation into
which the Israelites would fall. Every hemis-
tich contains a complete picture, each rising
in pointed severity of truth, and enhanced by
the rich poetical array in which they are seve-
rally adorned.

Their wine is the poison of dragons,
And the cruel venom of asps.

In this couplet the terms advance with increased
intensity ; they are the strongest of which lan-
guage can be conceived susceptible. Nothing
could exceed the depravity of that people whom
God had honoured with exclusive distinction,
but whom he was about to al)andon to the ter-

346

rible consequences of their criminal propensities.
These the poet could compare to nothing more
justly than to the poison of dragons, to the poi-
son of creatures in the highest degree venomous
and disijustino; to behold — creatures whose
bodies are the receptacles of a most dreadful
ao-ent of destruction.

The word " drao-ons" seems to be used in this
passage for venomous serpents generally ; thus
signifying that the conduct of that highly fa-
voured people, whom God had delivered from
the misery of Egyptian tyranny, was to the last
degree odious ; not only was their wine, that is,
their whole conduct, full of iniquity which
spread with terrible rapidity throughout the
land, causing a moral fatality just as the poison
of serpents infects and inflames the body,
but their wickedness resembled the still more
deadly venom of asps, a poison so potential
in its operation as to be suddenly and inva-
riably fatal.

The asp is a kind of serpent whose venom
is of such prodigious activity, that as it pene-
trates, it almost instantly kills : like that of the
rattle-snake, it defies all remedies. This crea-
ture, which is very small, usually lies convolved
in a circle with its head in the centre; this,
when disturbed, it raises like the umbilicus of a
shield, whence its name asp, from ainric, the
Greek w ord for shield. It is often mentioned in
scripture ; the most remarkable instance is in
Psalm Iviii. 4: —

They are like the deaf adder that stoppeth her ear;
Which will not hearken to the voice of charmers,
Charming never so wisely.

347

It is affinned of the asp that it stops its
ears with its tail, to prevent its hearintr. In
order the more satisfactorily to explain this pas-
sag-e, bearing so strongly as it does upon the
subject before us, some commentators are of
opinion, that there is a sort of asp really deaf,
which is the most dangerous of its kind, and
that the Psalmist here speaks of it.*

Mr. Roberts has some interesting observa-
tions on this passage, which are well worthy of
attention. " The kwavan, or snake-charmer,
may be found in every village, and some who
have gained great fame actually live by the
art. Occasionally they travel about the
district to exhibit their skill. In a basket
they have several serpents, which they place
on the ground. The kuravan then commences
playing on his instrument, and talking to the
reptiles, at which they creep out and begin to
mantle about, with their heads erect and their
hoods distended. After this he puts his arm to
them, which they affect to bite, and sometimes
leave the marks of their teeth.

" From close observation, I am convinced
that all these serpents thus exhibited have their
poisonous fangs extracted, and the Psalmist
seems to have had his ejes on that when he
says, 'break their teeth.' Living animals have
been repeatedly offered to the man for his ser-
pents to bite, but he would never allow it ; be-
cause he knew no harm would ensue.

" It is however granted that some of these

* Sec IJochail (!.• ;)riim;il Sacf. pari ii. lib.:; liip. a.

348

men may believe in the power of their charms,
and there can be no doubt tliat serpents in their
wild state are affected by the influence of music.
One of these men once went to a friend of
mine "with his serpents, and charmed them
before him. After some time, the gentleman
said, ' I have a cobra-capella in a cage, can you
charm him'?' ' Oh yes,' replied the charmer.
The serpent was let out of the cage, and the
man began his incantations and charms; the
reptile fastened on his arm, and he was dead
before night.

" The following is said to be a most potent charm
for all poisonous serpents : — Suttellmn, pande,
keere^ soolavea, karudcm-varan, orou, 'vattami,
kiddantha,pamba, valliya, vuttakal, vaya ; which
means, ' O serpent, who art coiled in the path,
get out of my way; for around thee are the
mongoos, the porcupine; and the kite in his
circles is ready to take thee.' The mongoos is in
shape and size much like the English weazel.
The porcupine is also a great enemy to the ser-
pent. The kite, before he pounces upon his
prey, flies round in circles, and then drops like
a stone; he seizes the reptile with his talons
just behind the head, carries it up into the air,
and bills it in the head till it expires.

" But there are also charmers for bears, tigers,
elephants, and other fierce animals. A party
having to go through forests or deserts, to a
distant country, generally contrive to have
some one among them possessed of that art. A
servant of mine joined himself to a company
who were going from Batticaloa to Colombo.

349

There was a magician, wlio walked in front,
who had acquired great fame as a charmer of
serpents and other wild animals. After a few
days they saw a large elephant, and the charmer
said ' fear not.' The animal continued to a}>
proach, and my servant thought it expedient to
decamp and climb a tree. The others also
began to retire ; but the old man remained on
the spot repeating his charms. At length the
elephant took him in his proboscis, and laid
him gently on the ground ; then lopped off the
charmer's head, arms, and legs, and crushed the
lifeless body flat upon the earth.

" By the power of charms, the magicians pre-
tend to have influence over ghosts, beasts, fire,
wind, and water."*

Some commentators imagine that the word
" dragon" in the first line of the last couplet refers
to the gecko, a venomous lizard, most commonly
found in Egypt; and this supposition appears
the more likely from the repelling form of this
creature, and the uncommon malignity of its
venom. Moses, no doubt, became acquainted
with it in Egypt, where it may be said to be
common. An account of this singular but re-
pulsive reptile cannot be out of place here.

"Of all the oviparous quadrupeds," says the
Covmt dela Cepede, " this is the first which con-
tains a deadly poison. Nature, in this instance,
appears to act against herself. In a lizard,
whose species is l)ut too prolific, she exalts a
corrosive liquor to such a degree as to carrv

* Oriental Illustrations of Scripture, pp. 335 — 337.

350

corruption and dissolution among all animals
into which this active humour may penetrate : one
might say, she prepares in the gecko only death
and annihilation. This deadly lizard, which de-
serves all our attention on account of its dan-
gerous properties, has some resemhlance to the
cameleon ; its head, almost triangular, is large
in comparison with its body; the eyes are very
large; the tongue flat, covered with small scales,
and the end is rounded. The teeth are sharp
and so strong, that, according to Bontius, they
are able to make impressions on the hardest
substances — even on steel. The gecko is almost
entirely covered with little warts, more or less
rising ; the under part of the thighs is furnished
with a row of tubercles, raised and grooved;
the feet are remarkable for oval scales, more or
less hollowed in the middle, as large as the
under surface of the toes themselves, and regu-
larly disposed one over another, like the slates
on the roof of a house. The tail of the gecko is
commonly rather longer than the body, though
sometimes not so long ; it is round, thin, and
covered with rings or circular bands, formed of
several rows of very small scales. The colour
of the gecko is a clear green, spotted with bril-
liant red. The name gecko imitates the cry of
this animal, which is heard especially before
rain. It is found in Egypt, India, Amboyna,
and the Moluccas. It inhabits by choice the
crevices of half rotten trees as well as humid
places. It is sometimes met with in houses,
where it occasions great alarm, and where every
exertion is used to destroy it speedily. Bontius

351

writes that its bite is so venomous that, if the
part bitten is not cut away or burned, death
ensues in a few hours."

The following is the account of Bontius: —
" This creature, which is not only found in Brazil,
but also in the Isle of Java, belonging to the
East Indies, and which, by our people, is called
gecko, from its constant cry, is properly an
Indian salamander. It is about a foot long; its
skin is of a pale or sea-green colour, with red
spots. The head is not unlike that of a tortoise,
with a strait mouth. The eyes are very large,
starting out of the head, with long and small
eye-apples (eye-balls. ) The tail is distinguished
by several white rings. Its teeth are so sharp,
as to make an impression even on steel. Each
of its four legs has crooked claws, armed at the
ends with nails. Its gait is very slow, but wherever
it fastens it is not easily removed. It dwells
commonly upon rotten trees, or among the ruins
of old houses and churches. It oftentimes set-
tles near the bedsteads, which makes the Moors
sometimes pull down their huts. Its constant
cry is gecko; but before it begins, it makes a
kind of hissing noise. The sting* of this crea-
ture is so venomous that the wound proves
mortal, unless it be inmiediately burnt with a hot
iron or cut off. The blood is of a palish colour,
resembling poison itself."

" The Javanese used to dip their arrows into
the blood of this creature ; and those who deal

* It has no sting — it bites.

352

in poison among them — an art much esteemed in
Java by both sexes — hang it up, with a string
tied to the tail, on the ceihng, by which means,
it being exasperated to the highest pitch, sends
forth a yellow liquor out of its month, which
they gather in small pots set underneath, and
afterwards coagulate into a body in the sun.
This they continue for several months together,
by giving daily food to the creature. It is
unquestionably the strongest poison in the
world. The urine of this animal is of so corro-
sive a quality, that it not only raises blisters
wherever it touches the skin, but turns the flesh
black and causes a gangrene. The inhabitants
of the East Indies say that the best remedy
against this poison is the curcumie root. Such a
gecko had got within the body of the wall of the
church in the Receif, which obliged us to have
a great hole made in the said wall to dislodge
it from thence."*

After rain the gecko quits its retreat ; its
motion is not very quick ; it catches ants and
worms. The eggs of this reptile are oval, and
commonly as large as a hazel-nut. The female
covers them carefully with a slight shelter of
earth, and the heat of the sun hatches them.
The Jesuit mathematicians, sent into the East
Indies by Louis the Fourteenth, have described
a lizard in the kingdom of Siam, named tokaie,
which is evidently the same as the gecko.
That which they examined exceeded one foot

* See Churchill's Voyages, vol. ii, p. 12.

ill leiigtli to the end ol' the tail. The name of
tokaie, like that of gecko, is an imitation of
sounds made by the creature.

Hasselquist writes thus concerning the gecko.
"It is very common at Cairo, as well in the
houses as without. The venom of this animal
has a singularity, in that it issues from the balls
of its toes. It seeks all places and things
where salt has been employed ; and where it
has walked over them, this dangerous venom
marks the track. In the month of July 1750,
I saw two women and a girl at Cairo, who
narrowly escaped death from having eaten cheese
upon which this animal had shed its venom.
I had another occasion at Cairo of being con-
vinced of the sharpness of its venom, as it ran off
the hand of a man who was endeavouring to
catch it ; his hand was instantly covered with red
inflamed pustules, attended by a sensation like
that which is caused by the stinging of a nettle.
It croaks at night almost like a frog."

This reptile yields in malignity to few of the
most deadly serpents. Foskall, the Danish
naturalist, says of it, " The gecko is called in
Egypt Abu Burs, Father of Leprosy, that is
extremely leprous : at Aleppo simply Burs,
Leprosy. It is frec^uent in the houses at Cairo ;
wanders about in summer weather; has much
the same squeak as a weasel ; is not much seen
in winter, but hides itself in the roofs of houses
and re-appears in the middle of March. If the
tail be separated from the living animal, it will
give signs of life and motion half an hour after-
wards. They say this lizard hunts and lives on

VOL. II. 2 A

354

poultry. Its name is said to be derived from its
properties ; for if it drops any of its spittle on
salt intended for the table, it would produce a
leprosy on any man Avho should partake of it ;
for this reason they carefully put away salt, or
keep an onion by it, which the lizard cannot
bear. Others think that its name is taken
from the resemblance of its colour to that of a
leper."*

It is remarkable that notwithstanding^ the
ample accounts furnished of this reptile, there
is no evidence whether it has the fang teeth of
venomous serpents, or whether being imbued
with venom throughout, it poisons by contact, —
by its exudations, its saliva, and not otherwise.
Bontius speaks of its bite or sting. It has
recently been ascertained that the ornithorin-
chus paradoxus of New Holland possesses a
venom, emitted from the spurs with which
nature has furnished it.

From hence I think it will appear no unrea-
sonable conjecture that Moses had this venom-
ous lizard in his mind when he used the term
" dragon" in his prophetic song, to characterize
the excessive depravity of his countrymen. I
imagine the reader must have already perceived
the extreme vigour of the expressions employed
by the inspired poet in the passage last intro-
duced from this divine ode. Every term has
its own specific force of signification, which it
imparts to the accumulated energy of the whole
clause.

* See Fragments to C'almet's Dictionary of the Bible.

355

For their viue is of tlie vine of Sodora,
And of the fields of Goinorrah.

This perhaps would have been better ren-
dered— it would at least have given a higher
poetical turn to the passage by making the cor-
respondency between the clauses more com-
plete— thus, —

For of the vine of Sodom is llieir vine,
Their grapes are of the fields of Gomorrah.

Not only does this arrangement of the hemis-
tichs produce an elegant epanode, but it brings
out the images with greater clearness and defini-
tively confirms the parallelism. It gives further
a much more distinct gradation of sense,
which was, as I apprehend, the poet's express
intention. He was desirous of throwing: all the
power of his muse into this emphatic passage,
and he has certainly succeeded marvellously.
In the first line he implies the general cha-
racter of the vine; signifying the moral cor-
ruptions of the Hebrews, their extreme dege-
neracy and social degradation. ' You are corrupt'
he says ' like the citizens of Sodom, who were
overwhelmed in a storm of fire from heaven for
their crying enormities. The extremity of their
punishment may therefore suppose the severity
of yours.' In the second hemistich allusion
is made to the deeds of the Israelites, their
" grapes" or their fruits are from the fields of
Gomorrah, then a sterile and blasted region,
which produced nothing but the most depraved
vegetation. Their stock is like that of a people
altogether stained with the vilest moral pollu-

2a2

356

tions, whom God had consequently visited
with terrible chastisement ; their conduct is like
the produce of barren and desolate regions
which have been marked by the dreadful judg-
ments of heaven.

A direct and individual importance is given to
each parallel term of the distich, the " vine"
and the " grapes" having a separate as well as a
united relation, representing as it were cause and
effect, the one distinguishing the agents, the
other their acts. The " vine of Sodom" and
'■'■ the fields of Gomorrah," though reciprocal,
are likewise distinct accessories in the picture,
— the one referring to the inhabitants, the
other to the country. ^ o far the terms are
in the highest degree figurative ; next fol-
lows a clearer development of the truth by the
employment of a more simple metaphor.

Their grapes are gall.

To this point the expressions have been
gradually advancing, and the whole of what fol-
lows to the termination of the climax, is exe-
getical of the first and second clauses, and
brings out the complete representation of de-
pravity, traced upon the imagination of the
poet, with a variety of detail so perfect and
consentaneous that the reader's mind is filled
with the mao-nificent and luminous distribution
of the poetical accidents. Not only are their
grapes " gall," offensive to the taste, but the
entire clusters TiXG so — there is a ^o^aZ corruption.
Their juice is like " the poison of dragons ;" of
animals whose venom produces frightful erup-

357

tions over the uhole body, and loathsome lep-
rosy ; nay, more than this, it may be compared
to the "venomofasps," a description of serpent,
the bite of which is invariably fatal, causing
death under grievous torment. Thus the
climax closes with the most appalling issue that
can rise to the thoughts.

Their wine is the poison of dragons,
And the cruel venom of asps.

I need not stop to point out the gradational
parallelism, it must be obvious to the most
indifferent reader ; venom being the deadliest
description of poison, and asps among the most
fatal of serpents.

Is not this laid up in store with me,
And sealed up among my treasures?

Here there is an abrupt change of person, a si-
milar instance of which has been already noticed.
From the twenty-ninth to the thirty- fourth
verse, Moses speaks in his own person ; here
the Lord is again introduced as speaking. This
and the next verse of the ode contain the second
reason of the subsequent punishment of the
Jews; a reason rising out of the decrees of God
as the first rose out of their depravity, figura-
tively expressed in the thirty -second and thirty-
third verses of this incomparable canticle.

" This," says God, (by which we are to under-
stand, as the learned Cocceiushas well observed,
not what precedes but what follows) — " this my
vengeance, the time destined for the overthrow
of a republic whose citizens are so depraved;

358

this time, is it not laid up in store wit/t me? Let
not, therefore, these ohstinate Jews think that
my justice will suffer them to pass unpunished,
and that because the sentence against their ini-
quity is deferred, therefore it never will be
executed." The phrase " sealed up among my
treasures," is an allusion to deeds which are
signed and sealed, though not presently exe-
cuted, but kept safely aud secretly in a cabinet,
(see Job xiv. 17,) and the meaning is, that the
time of God's future vengeance, though fixed and
determined in his own mind, is yet preserved
Avith him as a profound secret, known only to
himself.*

Herder's rendering is very elegant, and he
has managed to keep clear of obscurity.

Have I not already my secret counsel,
Sealed and laid up in my treasures !

This would likewise imply God's determination
to visit his rebellious people with his vengeance
when the measure of their iniquity shall be full ;
but I think our common version gives rather a
greater amplification of meaning than Herder's —

Is not this laid up in store with me,
And sealed up among my treasures ?

" That is,"' says Bishop Kidder, " is not this
vengeance with which I now threaten them,
though they flatter themselves in their present
impunity, reserved for them, and kept in store
for them, against the time when their iniquities

* See Dodds n<'lc,

859

shall be full and shall require it"?" As if God
had said — ' is not my secret determination taken
with reference to this rebellious people, though
not immediately to be manifested, like a deed
fegularly signed, sealed, and properly prepared
to be executed, laid up in a cabinet until the
time when it shall be required for final execu-
tion.'

It is curious to observe how extremely varied
are the metaphors employed in this divine
poem. They display extraordinary knowledge
on the part of Moses ; nature, art and science,
being alike at his command, and made the sources
of those illustrations suggested by his rich
and exuberant fancy. The lines really present
a sublime thought. ' Is not this my determina-
tion to visit with a terrible retribution the rebel-
lious seed of Jacob, sealed up among the trea-
sures of my unerring wisdom, which compre-
hend all things past, present, and to come; like a
legislative document upon which the safety of
a whole country depends, laid by until the time
for its execution arrives.' What an idea does
this suggest of the awful folly of provoking
God's wrath, which is ever ready to fall at its
appointed period; and though he forbear to
strike for the moment, this is no proof of human
security, especially where continued provocation
has been given. The intimation of divine
anger is wrapped up in this passage within the
extremely narrow compass of a metaphor, and
yet so clearly evolved, that the minuteness of
the compass to which it is limited, only adds
to its force when released, and cast at once

360

with its full weight of conviction upon the
mind, as confined air when allowed to escape,
makes a feebler or louder report according to
its compression, or, in other words, according
to the dimensions of the space which it pre-
viously occupied.

God's vengeance is not only "laid up in
store," but " sealed amono- his treasures," as
marked for use when occasion shall call for it.
This implies that it is sure to be employed :
there is only a question of time. It does not
lie undistino-uished amona: the treasures of the
Almighty, but has the divine seal appended to
it, showing that it is an instrument positively
fitted and prepared for the moment when it shall
be brought into action, by the measure of human
delinquency being full. All these delicate shades
of relation have a peculiar significancy and
poetical grace, which could only have resulted
from the most gifted mind.

To me belongeth vengeance, and recompense;

Their foot sliall slide in due time :

For the day of their calamity is at hand,

And the things that shall come upon them make haste.

In the first clause, the Deity is represented
as proclaiming his two great attributes of justice
and mercy, which may be said to form the sum
of his perfections ; all his other qualities being
embraced within the mighty operation of these
two. It is evident that none but a God, " to
whom vengeance belongeth," could inflict such
punishment for human delinquency as would
be unerringly just and exemplary. It is equally

3GI

evident that none but that infallible God, who is
the abstract and essence of love, could recom-
pense without the possibility of doing wroRf^.
In the passao;e just quoted, his loving- mercy
is coupled with his vindictive justice, to show that
the one is never exercised without the presence
of the other. Both exist in the same omni-
potent will, and both are ever ready to be put
into active force. Every exercise of a divine
attribute has benefit for its end, and therefore,
however severely the sterner may fall, it is
always tempered by the milder; for the ven-
geance of God is not the vengeance of man, a
ruthless desire of returning evil for evil, but a
timely and salutary correction of error for the
sake of educing good. Such vengeance only
belongeth to the Deity. He vindicates his insulted
majesty ; he punishes the violations of his holy
laws, because such violations tend to produce
positive mischief, which his chastisements cor-
rect. These latter are inflicted without those
emotions of pain or of pleasure peculiar to
humanity ; for he has no pleasure in punishing,
but delighteth in mercy. His punishments have
only good for their object ; nay, it is impossi-
ble that anything but this should result from
them, as it must, by a moral necessity, be the issue
of a discipline imposed by an infallible will :
the infliction, therefore, of God's justice is as
much a general boon as the exercise of his
mercy, the former in fact merges in the latter,
since both conduce to the production of benefit.
Men exercise vengeance from mere personal
motives to gratify a fierce and unruly passion ;

362

God exercises it from precisely the same mo
tive which actuates the operations of his love —
the consummation of human welfare. With
him vengeance is not a mutable passion but an
immutable principle, and every principle of
action by which a perfect and infallible Being
is governed, must issue in universal good.

Their foot shall slide in due time.

We here find two very strong metaphors
employed — " TheirjToo^ shall slide." This refers
to the presumptuous confidence of the Israelites,
Avho, when they shall once plant their feet,
that is, literally, obtain permanent possession
of the promised land, will consider them-
selves secure ; nevertheless, says the voice of
Jehovah, ' let them stand as firm as they may
in their imagined security, " their foot shall
slide" into the pit which they will heedlessly
dig for themselves.' In this brief sentence the
o})posite notions of arrogant confidence, and
of perilous insecurity, are finely suggested.
The first idea presented by the foot is that
of standing, and the action of standing
implies firmness. The seed of Abraham once
settled in their destined inheritance, the earthly
Canaan, shall imagine themselves secure. The
next idea of the foot sliding represents the
vain folly of such presumptive security, and
that however arrogantlya man may assure himself
that he stands, he should, nevertheless, " take
heed lest he fall." Thus the Deity signifies,
throuirh the mouth of his accredited minister.

3(i3

that his degenerate people, in spite of their
reliance npon their own stability, would lapse
into mischief and its concurrent miseries, " in
due time" — that is, so soon as he should see fit
to bring about such an issue. I know not how
a sadder or more vivid impression of the moral
condition of the Israelites could well have been
conveyed than by thus forcibly symbolizing their
certain and near approximation to judgment.
The intervention of a possibility in their behalf is
not once suggested. The vengeance of Jehovah
is not proclaimed in the passage we are con-
sidering, as a casualty, but as an awful certainty ;
not as an event that may^ but that will actually
take place. How prominently is the moral every-
where worked out in this sublime production of
the Hebrew muse ! Sin is invariably followed
by punishment, righteousness by reward. Such
are the fundamental principles of the divine
dispensations. These momentous truths are
not conveyed by the Jewish lawgiver in a grave
and laboured homily, but communicated in a
series of vivid and forcible illustrations, repre-
senting rather than demonstrating the result, and
the more intense conviction arises from that
which is thus exhibited than from that which
is actually proved.

It frec^uently happens that the image of a
truth conveyed to the mind through the feelings
has a o-reater effect in awakenino- conviction
than the dry logical process of demonstration ;
for we often believe implicitly what is not
proved, and no loss freciuentiv (\n not loo! con-

364

vinccd of matters capable of being-reduced almost
to demonstrative certainty ; and for this reason,
because we may not fully comprehend the induc-
tive perplexities by which the proof is reached,
when we may be made readily sensible of the
vivid and impressive power with which the
truth is illustrated. Thus it will not uncom-
monly happen that representative proof, if I
may so call it, will produce stronger conviction
than demonstrative. Conviction may, I think,
be more generally said to be attained through
the senses adjunctively, than through the reason
abstractedly, especially where the former are
made the vehicles of communicating to the latter
the facts upon which our conviction is based.

For the day of their calamity is at hand,

And the things that shall come upon them make haste.

The gradational parallelism in this couplet
stands out too prominently to be overlooked by
the most superficial reader. The sense in both
clauses is much the same, but beautifully ad-
vanced in the second line, in which it is given
with far greater amplitude of signification. The
first clause simply states the fact, —

For the day of their calamity is at hand.

Here we have a general definite idea of ap-
proaching calamity.

And the things that shall come upon them make haste.

In this line the one general idea is broken into

365

many — " tlie thing's tliat shall come upon them"
— many thing's declaratory of God's displeasure,
and in their union constituting the calamity
threatened, shall overtake them, and that
speedily ; — these " things" are already on their
mission ; they "• make haste" to fulfil Jehovah's
immutable decree, and to overtake the guilty. All
this is fearfully impressive. It implies at once
the earnestness of the divine determination, and
the excess of his approaching judgments.
The indefinite manner in which these are de-
clared only heightens the presumption of their
severity. The Israelites are warned not of the
coming of a single calamity, but of a plurality of
what are called accidents by the unphilosophi-
cal and unwise; yet which are all determined
in the eternal decrees of him who, in the pleni-
tude of his providential agency, directs all things
to their issues. They are warned of national,
not of individual bereavements. If there had
existed cause for the apprehension of only one
general calamity, there might not have been so
much reason for the anticipation of evil in a
careless and licentious people who were daily
revolting from the worship of their Creator,
and offering- itto his creature ; but when " thino-s,"
evil things, — that is, retributory penalties —
were threatened as in their immediate and
certain progress of visitation, there was, one
would imagine, much more than sufficient to
arrest the most thoughtless in his career of
recklessness and turn him " from the ways
of Satan unto God."

'AGG

The entire passage may be thus interpreted :
'To me belong the attributes both of judgment
and of mercy, which I exercise according to the
determinations of my immutable will, that can
neither err nor produce evil ; for this cannot
issue from a perfect purpose, nor from an equally
perfect agency. Although my degenerate peo-
ple Israel imagine that they are standingfirm,and
continue to sin in their presumptuous security,
they shall find, nevertheless, that they will slide
and fall into those mischiefs which they have been
so long provoking ; for the time of their punish-
ment is approaching, and the miseries about to
overtake them are already on the wing. They
shall shortly feel the full weight of my indigna-
tion, which they have so arrogantly dared to
excite.'

Thisproclamation of God's purpose was even-
tually brought into active operation when the
wretched descendants of the righteous patriarch
fell a prey to the Chaldeans and Babylonians,
which was followed by a course of events alter-
nating from dark to bright, and from happy to sor-
rowful, until their nation was overwhelmed by the
Roman power, and they became wanderers upon
the face of the whole earth.

Although this was the ultimate issue of their
aggravated enormities, the mercy of Jehovah
was nevertheless often signally displayed in their
favour, for recompense, as the inspired bard
justly declares, belongeth to him as well as
vengeance. He often interposed in their be-
half, discomfited the pagan armies, as in the

367

instance of the Assyrian hosts led against
them by Sennacherib, and destroyed, as is
reasonably imaoined, by that pestilential blast
of the desert called the Simoom, The divine
interference is exquisitely touched upon in the
concluding verses of this sublime song*.

CHxVPTER XXII.

The prophetic ode continued.

" The sixth and last part of this son^," says Dr.
Hales, " rehearses the consolation of Israel,
and the signal punishment of their foes. It
begins with God's expostulation with his people
when reduced to their lowest state of desolation,
referring them for relief, ironically, to the vain
idols in which they had trusted, and to which
they had sacrificed : and by an admirable con-
trast, describing his own self-existence as ' living
for evermore,' and his sole and exclusive power
' to kill' and 'to make alive,' to ' wound'
and to 'heal.' Hence the captivity is called
the wound of Israel, which is to be healed at the
restoration of Israel (Isaiah xxx. 26); while his
power to ' kill' or destroy his adversaries, as a
mighty warrior with 'sword and arrows,' or the
miseries of war, forms the conclusion of it."

For the Lord shall judge his people,
And repent himself for his servants,
When he seeth that their power is gone,
And there is none shut up, or left.

After the operation ofdivinejustice shall have
been completed, the attribute of mercy shall be
displayed; for to God and to him alone belong

369

" vengeance and recompense." This is a notable
illustration of that consoling declaration of the
Psalmist, —

Neither will he keep his anger for ever.*

When he has reduced his disobedient people
to the lowest abasement and to the most humi-
liating state of suffering ; when he has given
them over to the enemy, who shall reduce them
to a hard bondage, — a bondage far worse than
that of Egypt, from which he had so mercifully
delivered them — he will restrain the severity of
his wrath, and commence towards them a more
benignant exercise of his beneficent provi-
dence. He will cast back upon their enemies
the miseries which they shall have heaped upon
his people, and again visit the latter with his super-
abounding mercies. And how completely has
the first been accomplished ! Where are now the
Chaldeans, the Assyrians, the men of Nineveh*?
Where are Babylon the mighty, and Rome the
magnificent? — the one an almost untraceable
ruin, where the lion and tiger skulk to their
solitary and stern repose; the other an insignifi-
cant principality, where superstition maintains
her supremacy among a degenerate race of citi-
zens, who bow to the empty shadow of power, and
do homage to a fictitious representative of our
blessed Redeemer. The full accomplishment of
the latter part of this prophetic announcement is
still to be looked for, when the solemn declara-
tion of prophecy shall be fulfilled: " There shall

* Psalm ciii. 9.
VOL. II. 2 B

370

be one fold under one shepherd, Jesus Christ the
righteous" — when, in the magnificent language
of the poetic Habakkuk, (chap. ii. 14),

The earth shall be filled with the knowledge

Of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.

So extensive was the prophetic perception of
Moses, that he was enabled at one view to
look through the whole extent of the Jewish
history from the origin of that polity to its ter-
mination; and not only so, but his prescient
eye reached to those remote times, the issues of
which are yet to be accomplished, but at which
he glanced with a fervour of spirit that excited
a sublimity of eloquence befitting so glorious a
theme of exultation, as the restoration of God's
outcast people, and the final establishment of
Christ's kingdom upon earth.

In the pair of distichs commencing the last
division of this sublime song, there will be
traced two very favourable examples of paral-
lelism strictly cognate: —

The Lord shall judge his people.
And repent himself for his servants.

He will relax from the severity of his justice
towards those whom he had exalted to the dis-
tinction of being his people, and extend his
mercy towards them, although they had for-
feited the high privileges he had originally con-
ferred upon them, and been reduced from the
condition of children under the care of an in-
dulgent but unerring father, to that of servants
under a severe yet just master. Having re-

371

nounced their evil ways, and returned to his
worship and service, he determines to spare
them from the further severities of his wrath
and restore them to his favour. I confess there
appears to me an evident reference in this pas-
sage to the period of Jewish conversion when
*' the one fokl under one shepherd," spoken of
by the apostle, will extend through all countries
and embrace all people. In the distich just
quoted, the corresponding terms of the paral-
lelism are rather kindred than gradational ; they
scarcely advance in force, and though they vary
somewhat in meaning, they represent the same
dispensation of divine mercy; this couplet, there-
fore, presents a legitimate cognate parallelism.

When he seeth that their power is gone,
And there is none shut up or left ;

that is, when he seeth their constitution is
utterly destroyed, and they have no longer a ter-
ritory— that they have neither fortresses nor for-
tified cities whither they can repair for security
against an unsparing enemy, and within the
walls of which they might still contend for that
political eminence which they had so long en-
joyed under the patriarchs, their lawgiver, their
kings, their judges, and subordinate rulers; —
that neither have they remaining any armies by
which they might dispute in the open field that
right af inheritance promised to Abraham, and
afterwards ratified to them under the immediate
successors of Moses.

2 B 2

372

When he seeth that their power is gone,
And there is none shut up or left.

The corresponding phrases in this couplet, like
those of the last, are equivalent or kindred
merely. The ideas have much the same force in
both hemistichs, though differently clothed in
each, and become strengthened by the varied
hues of thoucrht which are cast over them. Be-
sides the parallelisms in this passage, an elegant
hyperbaton may be traced, by transposing the
second and third clauses, e. g.

The Lord shall judge his people

When he seeth that their power is gone,

And repent Iiimself for his servants,

(When he seeth) there is none shut up or left.

According to the collocation of the several
members of this passage by the inspired bard,
the two dominant ideas of God's mercy and of
Israel's destitution are kept perfectly distinct; a
mode of arrangement exactly consistent with the
dignity of the august dispenser of mercy, and
with the moral humiliation of those who dared
to rise up in audacious hostility agp.inst that
almighty deliverer, who had rescued them from
the tyranny of Pharaoh, and eventually brought
them triumphantly into the promised posses-
sion. Moses therefore has imparted great ele-
vation to the quatrain by so disposing its
members as to maintain the parallelisms ; thus
drawing a marked line of division betwixt the
two c(mtrasted subjects in each couplet; namely,
the merciful agency of Jehovah, and the utter de-
solation of those upon whom it is here solemnly

373

declared by the poet that he will eventually
exercise it. Although the passage is extremely
elegant, when so disposed as to bring out the
natural succession of the sense, as I have shown
by the arrangement of the clauses last made, that
arrangement, nevertheless, is far inferior in im-
pressiveness and vivid effect to the artificial
distribution adopted by Moses.

And he shall say, where are their gods,
Their rock in whom they trusted,
Which did eat the fat of their sacrifices,
And drank the wine of their drink-offerings ?
Let them rise up and help you,
And be your protection.

Moses now represents the Almighty as rebuking
in a tone of bitter irony, as a salutary reflection
upon their folly, the criminality of the Israel-
ites in havins: withdrawn themselves from his
service, and offered their worship to the idols of
Canaan, which, as they had learned by sad
experience, were unable to serve them in their
troubles, or protect them from the miseries
by which they were surrounded. All this mani-
festly refers to the future condition of the Jews.
'Where,' he asks, ' are those pretended deities
whom they choose to endow with my attributes,
and to whom they offer their sacrifices of beasts
and oblations of wine ? Let those unsightly
images of wood and stone, " that have mouths
but speak not," to which they have bowed in
idolatrous homage, descend from their pedestals
to the assistance of you, my once favoured
people, and aftbrd you that protection, which
you have by this time learned that I alone am
able to bestow.'

374

The irony in these lines, though extremely
bitter, is, nevertheless, introduced with great
propriety at the moment, when the balance of
divine justice is about to decline from its steady
libration of fixed retribution, and lean to the
scale of mercy.

The reproof which it conveys is not only ex-
ceedingly pertinent but admirably calculated to
leave a lively impression, pointing, as it did,
to the manifest impotency of those fabricated
divinities worshipped among the Israelites in
solemn mockery of the true God, by bidding
the idolatrous descendants of Abraham call
upon their idols for protection and succour
in their wretched state of moral declension and
of social misery; thus making them feel the utter
incompetency of those dumb images to bestow it.
There is something very affecting in the pic-
ture of complete destitution here presented. The
remnant of the seed of Jacob are reduced to
so pitiful a condition as to be unable to raise
an army for their defence ; without even a
city to take refuge in against the exterminating
hostility of their numerous and implacable foes.
In such a state of deplorable desuetude, they
are called upon with a taunt of severe reproach
by that merciful protector whom they had so long
outraged by disobedience and apostacy to apply
to the gods of the heathen, which had suffi-
ciently shown that as they could not hear so neither
could they help their worshippers. A people
so circumstanced, with no other hope of heavenly
benefaction than that to be expected from in-
sensible idols, were indeed in a condition of

375

spiritual bereavement, such as can scarcely be
imagined ; with no trust for mercy, for consola-
tion, for benefit, but in deities of wood and
stone, or in those still more abominable idols,
their lusts and evil passions. A state of complete
destitution could not be more vividly pictured
than is here conveyed by inference to the reader's
mind. It is evident that had not God opened the
arms of his mercy to receive the wretched pos-
terity of Jacob there remained for them no pros-
pect but that of speedy extermination — there
could have been no hope for them henceforth and
for ever. He did not desire that they should be
" swept with the besom of destruction" from the
land of the living, but interposed in their be-
half, notwithstanding their many and crying
enormities ; and they even now exist as a great
national monument of his mercy, to be gathered
at some future time into the fold of the hea-
venly shepherd.

The figure anthropopathy, in which human
qualities are applied to the Deity, is here again
employed with most happy effect. The taunt
which the poet represents the Almighty as
casting at the miserable remnant of Abraham's
seed, does not at all convey the idea of that
malicious mockery which accompanies success-
ful revenge, but that of a chastening providence ;
showing by a well-timed reproach the folly of
trusting to those things which God abhors, but
which man is notwithstanding so disposed to wor-
ship. The ironical form in which the reproach
is conveyed, renders it indeed the more pointed
though not the more cruel : and its object being

376

mild, rather than severe reproof; it was, in truth,
a kind, — by no means a harsh punishment. This
mode of censure was, above all other methods,
likely to direct the thoughts of the hearers to
the absolute fatuity of a community highly
civilized and intelligent, which had once known
the true God, and had been signalized by such
exclusive marks of favour as to be exalted to
the dignity of being especially his people, revolt-
ing from his worship to offer it to senseless
matter, and giving full licence to the solicita-
tions of their own depraved appetites. The taunt
employed by Jehovah to remind them of their
apostacy brings into much stronger relief the
extreme folly of this unworthy people.

The reader will always bear in mind that this
is a representation of what was to be in the
future time, not what had actually taken place.

In the six hemistichs last quoted a clear and,
as I think, beautiful epanode may be traced,
and this without any recourse to artifice —
without the transposition of a single member, or
resorting to the aid of inversion, the mode by
which this figure is almost invariably produced.

And he shall say, where are their gods,

Their rock in whom they trusted.

Which did eat the fat of their sacrifices,
And drank the wine of their drink-offerings ?

Let them rise up and help you.

And be your protection.

The above arrangement of the clauses will
sufficiently develope the epanode. The two
first refer to the heathen gods, the impotence
of which, though not positively expressed, is

377

implied; being comprehended in the reference
made to o-ods which had not been alile to
dehver those who trusted in them from the
miseries to which they had been so grievously
subjected. The two concluding hemistichs
confirm the inference suggested in the two first ;
and thus the same idea intimated in the first
and fully evolved in the last pair of lines, is
left upon the mind in its complete develope-
ment at the conclusion. Meanwhile the subor-
dinate parts of the representation, the detail of
idolatrous worship and specific acts of homage
to those impotent divinities are comprised in
the two central clauses. Nothing can be more
skilful and effective than this arrangement,
especially as the object of the poet manifestly
was to convey the strongest possible impression
of the heinousness of the Israelites' revolt from
the God of their fathers — the beneficent and
almighty Jehovah, — whom they had such weighty
reasons for serving faithfully. I need not add
another word to show the vast but exquisite
skill of the Jewish lawgiver in disposing of the
strong points of his sublime composition to the
l^est advantage.

See now that I, even I, am he,
And there is no god with me :
I kill, and I make alive;
I wound, and I heal :
Neither is there any that can deliver out of my hand.
For I lift up my hand to heaven,
And say, I live for ever.

The Deity is represented in these lines as
])roclaiming his power in terms of prodigious

378

sublimity. We seem to hear the voice of the
eternal One, and the impression is proportion-
ably solenm.

See now that I, even I, am he.

The repetition in this hemistich has exceed-
ing force ; as if the Lord Jehovah had said,
' observe now that I, not the false deities to whom
the idolatrous heathen render homage, but
the incomprehensible, incommunicable I am,
the one God, almighty, infinite, eternal ; I alone
am he who is entitled to and can repay your
fealty ; for

There is no god with me :

I am inaccessible in my supreme and abstract
character of the sole, all perfect Godhead,
though accessible in my attributes to every
living soul who seeks me earnestly. I am he
that dwelleth alone in that august miij-ht and
majesty "which no man can aspire unto;" to
whom only belong universal power and un-
limited supremacy.'

From Bishop Patrick's note on the text it
will be observed that a more extended and very
important interpretation has been given to it.
*' The words in the Hebrew," says that able com-
mentator, "being I, I am he, the author of the
Old Nitzacon was sensible that we christians
might hence observe that there are two who are
here called God, the Father and the Son ; and
therefore takes care to inform his readers, that
there are not two first principles of things ; which,
as no christian is so ibolisli as to affirm, so their

379

own authors have acknowleclged more persons
than one, here called God. Thus Jonathan, in
his paraphrase, plainly supposes another person
in the Divinity, whom he calls the Word, when
he thus explains this verse. 'When the Word
of the Lord shall reveal himself to redeem his
people, he shall say to all people, I am He that
have been, and am, and shall be,* and by my word
kill and make alive. I have smote the people
of Israel, and I will heal them in the end of
the days.' Which makes these words a plain
prophecy of the Messiah, and him to be God.
And so the Jerusalem Targum : ' See that I now
am he in my Word, and there is no god besides
me ! I am he who kill the living in this world,
and raise the dead in the world to come.'"

Into the merits of this interpretation I do not
enter, but it cannot be denied that the whole
passage is sublimely declarative of God's mercy
and justice. Upon this latter attribute let us hear
George Herbert, a poet born in the latter end
of Queen Elizabeth's reign.

JUSTICE.

Oh dreadful justice ! what a fright and terror
Wast thou of old,
When sin and error
Did show and shape thy looks to me,
And through their glass discolour thee !
He that did but look up, was proud and bold.

The dishes of thy balance seemed to gape
Like two great pits;
The beam and scape
Did like some torturing engine show :
Thy hand above did burn and glow,
Daunting the stoutest hearts, the proudest wils.

* See Rev. i. 8.

380

But now that Christ's pure veil presents the sight
I see no fears :
Thy hand is white,
Thy scales like buckets, which attend
And interchangeably descend,
Lifting to heaven from this well of tears.

For where before that thou didst call on me,
Now still I touch
And harp on thee.
God's promises have made thee mine :
Why should I justice now decline?
Against me there is none, but for me much.

The presence of divine justice, and the certainty
that it neither slumbers nor sleeps, is emphati-
cally declared in the second distich of the pas-
sage last quoted from the prophetic ode of
Moses.

I kill, and I make alive ;
I wound, and I heal.

Here the literal and metaphorical expressions
unite to form an extremely beautiful anticlimax.
Death and salvation, chastening and restoration,
either from mental or bodily anguish, are alike
the issues of God's immutable determination.
Not only is he able to destroy and to save, to
inflict punishment and dispense blessings, but
when the terrible visitations of his providence
are in actual course of operation, it is suffi-
ciently obvious to human experience that —

Neither is there any that can deliver out of his hand.

AH these manifestations of admitted supremacy
are placed in effective contrast with the miser-
able and utter impotency of those monstrous
deformities worshipped by the gentile nations.
The opposition between complete plenitude and

381

absolute nullity of power — in short, between
the God of Abraham and the God of the ffen-
tiles, — while it brings out in a more impressive
shape the utter inanity of the one, exhibits more
forcibly by extreme contrast the fulness of per-
fection— the incalculable infinitude of the other.
It will be evident that the poet did not re-
present God as declaring his omnipotence in
order merely to convince the Israelites of a fact
of which they were ignorant, for they had
received too many stupendous proofs of it from
the days of Abraham to those of Moses inclu-
sive; and had they doubted the simple declara-
tion of that lawgiver, though made under the
influence of inspiration, would not, it is likely,
have brought them out of their delusion : but
his object clearly was to recal to their minds
that of which indeed they were sufficiently
assured, but which, notwithstanding, had failed to
dispose them to the practice of holy living ;
namely, that the God who had delivered them
from Egyptian slavery, could alone release them
from those miseries in which their future de-
linquencies should involve them, and restore
them to the privileges which they would in con-
sequence forfeit. Doubtless, the intention like-
wise was, to assure his alienated people of final
deliverance from the melancholy consequences of
their future various crimes upon their earnest
repentance, and to point to those ultimate hopes
which all classes and conditions of men are en-
couraged to entertain — that beyond the boun-
daries of time there is a reward for the righteous
which the '* graven images" of the idolater are

382

unable to communicate, but which He alone can
bestow who fills heaven and earth.

In the two hemistichs last quoted there is an
evident parallelism of construction : —

I kill, and I make alive ;
I wound, and I heal.

In each of these lines the emphatic words are
placed in precisely the same position, there
being an exact correspondency and equality
between the propositions. There is, moreover,
a delicate flow of harmony, which cannot fail
to make itself perceptible to a well-tuned ear.

It will be at once seen, with reference to the
descriptive effect of this and the preceding dis-
tich, that the terms employed to characterize
the divine attributes, are singularly appropriate
and emphatical. I may add to what I have
already observed on this part of the subject,
that the employment of the two personal pro-
nouns, and the latter indefinitely, I am He, is
singularly significative. ' I am that only Being
which has no equal, who is alone indescribable
and incomprehensible.' The reference is to
something which has' no similitude ; to an al-
mighty agent, like to nothing but itself; — I am
He, — the only immutable Being, always existing,
always acting, known only to himself, because
alone omniscient ; infinite in all his attributes,
and therefore not to be fully apprehended by
anything inferior to himself, no language
being equal to inspire any adequate conception
of Him ; an essence the most subtile, refined and
intelligent, pervading all things, and to which

888

all thino-s are subject, still perfectly abstract
and inaccessible. I am He — ^tbe illimitable,
tbe incomprehensible, ever the same, " with
whom is no varialileness, nor shadow of turn-
ing;" "one God, world without end." Past
and future with Him combine, as it were, but
one everlasting present, for where there are no
divisions of duration, there can be neither past
nor future. These are only relative terms in time.
Everything is eternally passing in the omnis-
cient mind. It is everlastingly present to it.
"He is the same yesterday, to-day, and for
ever." With Him the "yesterday" has not
past ! With Him the " for ever" is not to come.
He pervades eternity, past as well as present;
future as well as past; space as well as infinite
duration. He is, in fine, " the almighty, ever-
lasting God,"

I think it cannot fail to be perceived that there
is great sublimity in this employment of the per-
sonal pronoun without any specification of its rela-
tive subject, but with a grand though indefinite
application, upon which the imagination instantly
fixes with that awe and fulness of apprehension
which so vast an object is calculated to inspire.
Then follows the positive assertion of undivided
supremacy : —

And there is no god with me.

* I am single and alone in my indivisible but
hypostatical unity ; — the divinities worshipped
by idolatrous nations are not associated with
me; they are nothing — I am all things.' The
ineffable Godhead does not condescend to dis-

384

parage the gods of the heathen, that would be
far beneath his infinite dignity, but he proves
their impotency by his own supremacy, of whom
they are the very opposite : — ' They are weak —
I am mighty, —

I kill, and I make alive ;
I wound, and I heal.'

There was no occasion to offer any other evi-
dence of omnipotence, for the power of giving
life and of taking it away is the greatest imagi-
nable proof of its belonging to that almighty
Affent, who alone can do both ; since life is the
greatest boon of heaven to man, and its extinc-
tion the fullest evidence of that power which
communicated it. The two extreme evidences
of divine agency here stated, are the capability
of bestowing and of extinguishing life, both
qualities essential to God and peculiar to him
alone. Next comes the exhibition of his bland
dispensation of mercy, displayed in chastening
and consoling, in bruising and in healing. If
he wounds, he heals; and as he cannot do the
one, so neither can he do the other, without
having good for his object. This, in fact, is the
invariable issue of either and of both : for if we
provoke his chastisements, they fall upon us in
consequence of our own delinquencies ; but even
while the wound is being inflicted, the remedy
is prepared to heal it, which we have only to
apply and the cure is certain. All the terms
referred to in the two hemistichs last quoted
are singularly expressive of mighty and august
attributes : —

385

Neitlier is there any that can deliver out of his hand,

either for good or for ill. This is the sufRcient
consolation of the righteous, the never-failing
terror of the wicked. There is no rescue from
the judicial determinations of Providence; there
is no abduction from the vigilance of divine
love or from the tenderness of divine compas-
sion. There is no evading the justice, nor
superseding the mercy of God. " He is about
our path, and about our bed, and spieth out all
our ways." How beautifully does the Psalmist
express the ubiquity of the Godhead !

Whither shall I go from thy spirit ?

Or, whither shall I flee from thy presence ?

If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there :

If I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there.

If I take the wings of the morning,

And dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea ;

Even there shall thy hand lead me,

And thy right hand shall hold me.

If I say, surely the darkness shall cover me ;

Even the night shall be light about me.

Yea, the darkness hideth not from thee ;

But the night shineth as the day :

The darkness and the light are both alike to thee.*

The two clauses forming the fortieth verse
of the poem under examination, are more than
usually solemn. There is a ponderous power of
effect in them Avhich absolutely fills the mind
with awe.

For I lift up my hand to heaven,
And say, I live for ever.

The action expressed in the first line alludes

• Psalm cxxxix. 7 — 1 J.
VOL. II. 2 c

386

to the usual manner of taking oaths among the
Jews, which was by lifting the hand to heaven,
as may be proved from the fourteenth chapter
of Genesis. " I have lift up mine hand unto
the Lord, the most high God, the possessor of
heaven and earth, that I will not take from a
thread even to a shoe-latchet, and that I will
not take any thing that is thine, lest thou
shouldest say, I have made Abram rich: save
only that which the young men have eaten, and
the portion of the men which went with me,
Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre ; let them take their
portion."

The poet represents that august master whom
he served as confirming by oath, or at least
by an action in which an oath is implied, the
attestation of his omnipotence. The form of
adjuration is the most solemn imaginable, and
though no such assurance on the part of a Being
at once infinite and unerring, was needed to con-
vince even the faithless Israelites of that power
which had already guided them through the
Red Sea and the less perilous waters of Jordan ;
still the mere representation of the Deity as
engaged in so solemn a deed, tends greatly to
strengthen the impression of all which had pre-
ceded it. The figure before spoken of, in which
human passions are ascribed to divine agencies,
is here again employed with impressive effect.
God is exhibited as performing the most solemn
act of man — as confirming by an oath his ever-
lasting supremacy — as swearing by himself that
he is infinite and eternal.

387

This whole passage, like that which precedes
it, forms a fine epanode.

See now that I, even I, am he,
And there is no god wUh me :

I kill, and I make alive ;

I wound, and I heal :

Neither is there any that can deliver out of my hand.
For I lift up my hand to heaven,
And say, I live for ever.

It will be seen at a single glance that the
first and last pair of hemistichs contain propo-
sitions which have a direct and mutual relation.
They each alike refer to the divine supremacy.
In the first distich, this is declared simply; in
the last, it is ratified by an oath : while the
specifications of the qualities of his two great
attributes, justice and mercy, to which is
added the third attribute of power, are confined
between them. In the opening clauses the idea
of omnipotence is broadly developed, and in the
concluding ones it is confirmed in the strongest
manner.

I cannot persuade myself to concur with
Bishop Patrick, followed though he is by the
respectable and pious editors of D'Oyly and
Mant's Bible, that the words —

For I lift up my hand to heaven.
And say, I live for ever,

refer to the succeedino- clauses. I consider the
sense as complete, and to terminate with the
epanode, declarative of God's eternity and
self-existence. I see no reason why it should
be extended to the next verse, for to me there

2 c 2

388

is soraethincp much more sublime in that solemn
adjuration confirmatory of the divinity of Jeho-
vah, than in his swearing by heaven that he will
take vengeance upon his enemies. The latter
is an image altogether repulsive to the notion
which we naturally entertain of Deity ; it con-
veys the idea of revenge in its worst sense,
as a fierce irruption of passion, which is a
human imperfection; not as forming a part of
God's corrective discipline, with which passion
can neither be combined nor associated. God's
awful declaration in the subsequent clause,
that he " will whet his sword," at once presents
to our imaginations a picture of the divine
Justiciary, acting in his august capacity of al-
mighty arbiter and dispenser of punishment for
human delinquency ; but swearing by heaven,
thus using a most solemn and vehement oath,
that he will " whet his sword," at once banishes,
the sacred impression, and brings the supreme
Majesty on High before our contemplations
under the unbecoming and revolting image of
a human avenger, who delights not in mercy
but in sacrifice. The gifted bard has acted
with a wiser discretion and with a purer taste
in not derogating from the dignity of the God-
head, while he applies to him with exquisite
aptitude of illustration, under the most expres-
sive metaphors, the habitudes, actions, and feel-
ings of men. All these, however, are but sym-
bols of those attributes of Jehovah brought into
operation, in his dealings with his apostate
people ; they are merely significative of those
acts of his ineffable providence which could not

389

be depicted by the literal forms of speech, and
therefore such metaphorical aids were had re-
course to in order to render more vivid the im-
pressions of eternal justice and mercy, as they
always exist in the sublimest combination with
Him " whose wisdom ruleth over all."

If I whet my glittering sword,

And mine hand lake hold on judgment;

I will rendervengeance to mine enemies,

And will reward them that hate me.

I will make mine arrows drunk with blood,

And my sword shall devour flesh ;

And that with the blood of the slain and of the captives,

From the beginning of revenges upon the enemy.

Now are uttered the awful denunciations of
almighty wrath upon those enemies by whom
the Israelites had been afflicted, and by whom
likewise their God had been defied. Retribu-
tion shall overtake them : they are sons of
Belial, and deserve no further forbearance. The
terms used in these two verses, being the forty-
first and forty-second of the ode, are of tremen-
dous import : they are the strongest which the
subject could suggest or language furnish,
admirably characterizing the stupendous seve-
rity of divine chastisements, where these have
been long and wantonly provoked. Moses ex-
hibits the omnipotent governor of the universe
declaring that should he be challenged to pre-
pare himself for the infliction of condign pun-
ishment upon the impious and refractory hea-
then— if he once commence the application of his
retributory penalties, nothing shall stay his arm,
but he M'ill direct them to their most fatal con-

390

summation. The full measure of his vengeance
that is, of his judicial dispensations, shall be
dealt out to them. He will requite them ac-
cordinfic to the heinousness of their offences,
which have placed them beyond the extreme li-
mitations of his forgiveness. He will make so
terrible a slaughter among them, that not even
the captives shall be spared. The arrows of
his warriors shall be steeped in blood, and their
swords sated with carnage. All this shall come
upon the enemies of Israel and of Jehovah from
the moment that the omnipotent arbiter of
wrong shall commence the exercise of his
"reventres." What could have been a more
gratifying assurance to the Israelites than this,
after the prophetic announcement of such griev-
ous miseries as were to accrue to their own
race ; nevertheless, neither the menace of pun-
ishment to themselves, nor of retribution upon
their foes, had the effect of inducing them
to propitiate that clemency which was ever
ready to be accorded, rather than provoke the
chastisements which followed. I know not if a
passage of more stupendous sublimity could be
selected from the rich and varied mass of Hebrew
poetry than that comprised in the two verses
last quoted. They are terribly magnificent,
and awfully impressive, filling the imagination
with the most gigantic conceptions of God's
illimitable power and august majesty.

In the first hemistich the preparatory action
of vengeance is finely brought out. The line
is extremely grand : —

If I whet nir frUKerinp, sword.

391

Nothing can exceed this in prodigious strength,
and let me say vital force of illustration. The
action of whetting the sword not only shows
that it was drawn for use, and that it was about
to be employed with extraordinary activity. It
indicates in the strongest manner the extent and
severity of that execution which should eventu-
ally fall upon the enemies of God and of Israel ;
it is a silent but awful intimation of desolation
and of death.

And mine hand take hold on judgment.

Here is an advance from the preparatory
action to the actual infliction. The image of
the ' hand taking hold on judgment' is obviously
significative of God dealing out his punishments.
He holds in his hand the rod that scourges
his enemies and the sword that slays them,
exercising this with unerring fatality should he
determine to pour upon those who have provoked
it the full measure of his anger.

In the couplet which immediately follows this
awful picture of the divine determination, the
metaphors are dropped and literal terms em-
ployed ; God declares his intention without dis-
guise, should provocation compel him to use
the " o-litterino; sword," whetted for vengeance.
These literal expressions contrast very beau-
tifully with the figurative ones in the preceding
clauses, brinsinff out the literal allusions couched
under them with vigorous and terrifying distinct-
ness. ' I will then do all,' he seems to say,
' that the preparatory action of whetting my
sword implies; I will execute a full and terrible

392

retribution on my enemies; I will requite to the
extreme measure of their deserving them that
hate me, and have evinced their hatred by wor-
shipping other gods beside me, and seducing my
people to mock me with their idolatries and
to commit those abominations consequential to
such a debasing worship. So prodigious shall
be the slaughter of that iniquitous people, if I
am provoked to use the prepared instrument of
justice, that the expression of it in simple terms
will convey no adequate conception of its tre-
mendous extent and unsparing severity,'

I will make mine arrows drunk with blood.

Now the poet passes again from the literal to
the figurative, greatly heightening the vividness
of his descriptions by these effective transitions.
The variety of his style and of his verbal adap-
tations appears almost endless. In the first line
of the second quatrain the figure is of uncommon
force. The Deity there intimates that his arrows
shall be steeped in the gore of so many victims
that they shall be absolutely drunk or saturated
with it. " Drunk" in this clause implies the
immense quantity of blood that shall be shed,
and a stronger or more powerfully illustrative
metaphor could not have been selected firom the
copious vocabularies of language.

And my sword shall devour flesh.

Here we have the correlative term " devour,"
a metaphor equally forcible with the preceding.
They both imply excess. As if the almighty

393

speaker had said — ' My sword shall destroy flesh
with such eagerness and despatch, that it shall
actually appear to devour it. It shall operate
with all the terrible violence and rapacity of a
beast of prey, which slaughters and destroys
with equal celerity.' The concluding line of
the second quatrain —

From the beginning of revenges upon the enemy,

has been variously rendered. As it now stands
in our Bible, the sense is not certainly
readily obvious, and the reading is rejected by
a large majority of commentators. I take it
simply to signify that ' from the moment I begin
to execute punishment upon the enemy, I will
proceed to its consummation in the manner I
have threatened.' The interpretation suggested
by Parkhurst is 1 think generally embraced. He
reads, and it is no doubt a good meaning, —

From the hairy head of the enemy ;

to which there is a passage in the sixty-eighth
Psalm* perfectly parallel; —

But God shall wound the head of his enemies,
And the hairy scalp of such an one as goeth on still in his
trespasses.

In each of the two quatrains forming the
forty -first and forty -second verses of the ode,
there will be observed a similar hyperbaton, as
in the twenty-fifth verse already noted,f which

* Verse 21. t Vol. ii. page 301.

394

will be immediately perceived by transposing
the lines in the consecutive order required by
the sense : —

If I whet my glittering sword,
I will render vengeance to mine enemies;
If mine hand take hold on judgment,
I will reward them that hate me.

The hyperbaton in this quatrain has not, so
far as I know, been noticed by commentators,
and it certainly is not quite so obvious as in the
succeeding passage, as we shall presently see,
still I think it clearly exists. The whetting of
the glittering sword is naturally followed by
vengeance upon the enemy ; the exercise of
judgment is the requital to those enemies for
their hatred. The second and fourth lines, ac-
cording to the above arrangement, have an im-
mediate and direct reference to the first and
third respectively. The sense, moreover, is
more clearly evolved by this distribution of the
members than in the order in which they stand
in the poem ; nevertheless, the order there
observed is certainly more poetical and more
effective, nor can the sense be mistaken, at the
same time that the energy is greater. There is
a parallelism in the lines, which have a manifest
correspondency. " If I whet," and " if my hand,"
&c. ; here the contingent action, that is, the
action depending upon the turn of events, is
alike expressed in both these hemistichs ; but
in the next two clauses, " I will render," " I
will reward," &c., the action expressed is post-
tive; so that the relation of the several lines is

395

thus more strongly and strikingly marked. Tw o
classes of actions, therefore, the contingent and
the positive, are rej3resented in the clauses, and
these are so disposed that those containing the
corresponding propositions immediately follow
each other, thus forming two parallel couplets,
which is not only a more graceful but likewise
a more impressive arrangement. I have no
doubt that the hyperbaton was intended in this
passage, as well as in the following, where it
cannot be disputed, as will be at once obvious
by transposing the second and third hemistichs
as in the preceding example : —

I will make mine arrows drunk with blood,

And that with the blood of the slain and of the captives ;

And my sword shall devour flesh

From the hairy scalp of the enemy.

I have adopted Parkhurst's reading of the
last line in this place, in order to put the sense
of the passage more clearly before the reader's
eye. I need offer no argument to show that
this is the proper distribution of the clauses to
render them concurrent with the sense. The
mode of arrangement, however, adopted by the
poet, may be defended upon reasonable grounds.
By the judicious use of the figure above named
he brings the strongest images of the two coup-
lets, and the weaker ones respectively into im-
mediate apposition, thereby imparting greater
prominency to both. When they are sepa-
rated, the force of their united impression is
decidedly weakened. Those instruments of
stern justice, the " arrows" and the '• sword,"
are placed together, and then the objects upon

396

which they are to operate. Thus are the two
ideas kept distinct, and thereby rendered the
more active upon the imaojination. The dis-
tribution of the corresponding members in these
two quatrains evinces consummate dexterity of
arrangement.

Rejoice, O ye nations, with liis people :

For he will avenge the blood of his servants.

And will render vengeance to his adversaries,

And will be merciful unto his land, and to his people.

The conclusion of the poem is an eloquent
burst of exultation, calling both on Jews and
gentiles, at their blending together, after so
long a segregation, " one fold under one shep-
herd," to rejoice at God's dealings with both : —

Rejoice, O ye nations, with his people ;

that is, ' Rejoice, O ye gentiles, together with
his peculiar people; ye shall ultimately be each
objects of his merciful dispensations, for both
shall become one church under the great Bishop
of souls, Jesus Christ, the righteous.

He will avenge the blood of his servants ;

that is, as Venema and others understand it, the
blood of his holy apostles.

And will render vengeance to his adversaries ;

" to all such," says Bishop Patrick, " as oppose
the blessed union of Jews and gentiles in one
church and faith ; and first to the Jews, who set
themselves against it, more than any others
(being mad with the apostles for preaching to

397

the gentiles), and then to the Romans, who per-
secuted all those who embraced Christianity."

And will be merciful unto his land, and to his people,

by means of that expiatory sacrifice which
will purge the land from its defilements and
reconcile the everlasting Father to his offend-
ing children, who shall be finally one people
with the o-entiles. As in this clause " his land"
signifies the whole world, so " his people" must
likewise signify its entire population. The poem
consequently terminates with a beautiful allu-
sion to that eventual consummation of prophecy,
when the Redeemer's kingdom shall be uni-
versally established upon earth, when men of
every kindred and tongue and nation and clime
shall unite in the same form of adoration to
God, through Christ; and, after the pains of this
life ended, rise to that life of immortal fruition
where " there shall be no more death, neither
sorrow, nor crying ; neither shall there be any
more pain, for the former things are passed
away," —

Where the prisoners rest together ;
And hear not the voice of the oppressor.*

There is a decided epanode in the concluding
verse of the ode. The first line expresses the
exultation of the Jews and gentiles, the two
middle lines referring to that retribution and
vengeance which shall eventually overtake the
persecutors of his servants, and the despisers of
his worship. The distinction between avenging

* Job iii. 18.

398

and takino^ vengeance is exquisitely discrimi-
nated in the second and third clauses : —

For he will avenge the blood of his servants,
And will render vengeance to his adversaries.

He will visit with a just retribution the mur-
derers of his holy apostles and zealous ministers,
the christian martyrs ; but the whole weight of
his almighty wrath shall fall upon those who
obstruct the conversion of souls to him, — who
dare to oppose the progress of the christian
dispensation.

Theodoret's observations upon this verse are
much to the purpose. " The gentiles and the
Jews, the people of God, might well rejoice
together ; for there were, even amongst the
Jews, many myriads who believed in Christ the
Lord, as well as by far the greater part of the
gentile world. But the heathens were indebted
to the Jewish believers for their knowledge,
and received the principles and precepts of the
christian institution solely from them ; for the
holy apostles were Jews. The prophet, there-
fore, enjoying a clear view of this great period,
exults —

Rejoice, O ye nations, with his people ;

that is, with the believing Jews."

Herder's version from the thirty-sixth verse
to the end differs much from the generally
received interpretation ; though I do not em-
brace it, I give it, because he is not without
authorities for the exposition he adopts.

399

Jehovah is now the judge of his people;

It repents him that they are his children ;

He seeth that their power is departed,

That nothing is left to them more.

He asks them where are now their gods,

The guardian god in whom they trusted?

Which did eat the fat of their sacrifices ;

And drank the wine of their drink-offerings?

Let them now rise up and help you ;

Let them now be your protection.

See now that I, even I, am he,

And there are no gods with me.

I am he that killeth and maketh alive,

I am he that woundeth and healeth,

And none can deliver out of mine hand.

For I lift my hand to heaven,
And say, I am the living one,
From eternity to eternity.
If I whet my glittering sword.
And my hand take hold on judgment,
I will render vengeance to mine enemies.
And will reward them that hate me ;
I will make mine arrows drunk with blood,
My sword shall satiate itself with flesh,
The blood of the slain and of the captives.
With the head of the chief of my enemy.
Rejoice, ye gentiles, now his people,
He will avenge the blood of his servants.
And render vengeance to his enemies.
And purify his land and people.

Upon the first verse of this portion of the poem,
Herder says: " Those translations which take
these Unes in a favourahle sense, have the con-
text plainly against them. The curse proceeds
and continues to the end of the poem. The
blessing first begins in the next chapter. It is
indeed a fearful consideration, that God must
thus forget the father in the judge, and yet feel
that they are his children." This is quite in
accordance with the general spirit of Herder's
expositions ; he always manifests a desire to
bring the early prophecies within the nearest

400

limitations, and is unwilling to see the occa-
sional extent of their application. On the
clause —

And I will reward them that hate me,

he observes — " I can understand these words
only as still referring to the Jewish nation, once
his children, now his open enemies, on whom
God avenires himself.

He rejects them, and takes the gentiles for
his people." On the concluding line —

And purify his land and people,

he says — " The last line is obscure to my mind,
because the connecting particle in the Hebrew
is wanting before the word people. It would
seem as if it were wished to read as a blessing
what was meant as a curse, though the blessing
properly follows in a separate chapter. The
gentiles are here summoned, as now the people
of God, to witness the divine judgment upon
Israel. He avenges the blood of his servants
upon this people, and purifies the land from sin.
I will not decide whether in relation to the last
word we should read and or from his people.
This chapter ends like the last of the prophets.
The nation is cast forth and banished from the
land."

CHAPTER XXIII.

The benedictions of Moses on the txoelve tribes
considered.

The last of the poetical portions of the Penta-
teuch is found in the thirty-third chapter of
Deuteronomy, containing what may be called
the dying benediction of Moses upon the chil-
dren of Israel.

Of the prophetic ode just considered it may
be remarked that it relates to the posterity of
Jacob collectively and generally — the following
benedictions refer to the tribes severally and
separately.

" And this is the blessing, wherewith Moses
the man of God blessed the children of Israel
before his death. And he said,"*

The Lord came from Sinai,

And rose up from Seir unto them ;

He sbined forth from mount Paran,

And he came with ten thousands of saints:

From his ri^ht liand went a fiery law for thorn.

Yea, he loved tlie people ;

All his saints are in thy hand :

A nd they sat down at thy feet ;

Every one shall receive of thy words, ,

Moses commanded us a law,

Even tlie inheritance of the congregation of Jacob.

And he was king in Jeshurun,

\\ lien the heads of (he people

And tlie tribes of Israel were gathered together.

* Dent, xwiii. 1—8.

VOL. ir. 2d

402

The obscurities in this exordium are not few, nor
are these by any means inconsiderable ; they for-
tunately, however, happen to occur in that part
of the poem, namely the proemial or introduc-
tory portion, which is by much the least impor-
tant; but, notwithstanding the perplexities pre-
sented even here, I think the several passages
may be rendered sufficiently intelligible. I
shall do my best to effect this desirable object
without apprehension of discouragement.

The Lord came from Sinai.

The poet begins very naturally and with great
solemnity to remind the Israelites of that me-
morable and august event of which he had been
made the medium of communication to them, —
the delivery of the law from Mount Sinai. Upon
this event their very existence as a nation de-
pended, and likewise their social and political
superiority over the many warlike races by
whom they were surrounded. Here the promul-
gation of that merciful covenant, which raised
them to the superior dignity of God's peculiar
people, took place amid grand manifestations of
power. Then, in the sublime language of the
Psalmist,*

The voice of thy thunder was in the heaven :

The lightnings lightened the world :

The earth trembled and shook.

Thy way is in the sea,

And thy path in the great waters,

And thy footsteps are not known.

Thou leddest thy people like a flock

By the hand of Moses and Aaron.

* Psalm Ixxvii. 18, ad fin.

403

From Sinai God proclaimed his laM' to the
seed of Abraham with a solemnity so awful
that, although so recently the objects of a
miraculous deliverance, they trembled at his
presence, and shrank with terror from the stu-
pendous displays of his providential agency. As
this act of grace especially signalized the Jews
as a race separated from the rest of mankind,
it was an event to which their recollections
could not be so appropriately called, as at the
period when their inspired lawgiver and beloved
leader, about to be withdrawn from them for
ever, was on the eve of pouring out his prophetic
spirit upon them. It was the object of the
poet, no doubt, to recal to the minds of his
hearers the wonderful exemplifications of al-
mighty beneficence in their behalf; he therefore
naturally directs their attention to a circumstance
the most magnificent in visible splendour, and
the firstin actual importance — the delivery from
Mount Sinai of that law by which they were
henceforward to be governed.

And rose up from Seir unto them ;
He shined forth from mount Paran.

The exact locality of Seir has been the cause of
diflKculty in the first line of this extract ; but if
we suppose that Seir and Paran formed part of
the same ridge of mountains as Sinai, the three
hemistichs in which these places are severally
mentioned will form only a gradual amplifica-
tion of the one grand picture of the marvellous
display of God's glory at the delivery of the
law. This probably took place several times

2 D 2

404

and was, it may be presumed, more or less mani-
fested during the whole period that Moses abode
in the mount ; he consequently here alludes to
those particular intervals when it was the more
signally exhibited ; for the time occupied in
the completion of this merciful dispensation
was a protracted term of several weeks, Moses
having been twice absent in the mount forty
days.

There is a parallel passage in the song
of Deborah, of extreme beauty, referring un-
doubtedly to the same event.

Lord, when thou wen test out of Seir,

When thou marchedst out of the field of Edom,

The earth trembled, and the heavens dropped,

The clouds also dropped water.

The mountains melted from before the Lord,

Even that Sinai from before the Lord God of Israel.*

In the several places mentioned by Moses,
at different periods during his sojourn in the
mount eighty days, God displayed his incom-
parable glory in thunders and lightning, accom-
panied probably by other atmospheric phe-
nomena, which the Israelites had not been
accustomed to behold, for such are peculiar to
desert tracts; — " there were thunders and light-
nings, and a thick cloud upon the mount, and
the voice of the trumpet exceeding loud ; so
that all the people that was in the camp
trembled. "f The all-wise Benefactor gave to
them the law by his servant Moses, amid the
most sublime attestation of his omnipotence,
exciting the terror of those who beheld.

* Judges V, 4 — 6. t Exodus xix. 16.

405

And he came with ten thousands of saints.

That is, as I understand, with the pious Dr.
Mede, with a multitude of the heavenly host
which attended him when the law was delivered.
A large definite number is frequently used in
scripture to express an indefinite multitude, and
I take it to be so in this place. Moses giving a
general description of what had occurred upon
that occasion forty years previously, of which
therefore a large proportion of the Israelites
whom he then addressed could not have been eye-
witnesses, represents the Deity, accompanied
by myriads of celestial ministrants, as visibly
present. This is a grand poetical sketch of an
event at once extraordinary and memorable in
Jewish history, so worthy too of remembrance
by that highly favoured people. I take it to
be nothing more than a representation adapted
to human perceptions, of a circumstance beyond
the limitation of words to pourtray in all its
stupendous magnificence of detail.

From his right hand went a fiery law for them ;

that is, said simply what is here expressed
metaphorically, ' he delivered his law amid fire
and smoke,' or as the Jerusalem Targum justly
expounds it — ' he stretched his right hand out of
the midst of flames of fire, and gave the law
unto his people.'

"By the conclusion of this verse," says Bishop
Patrick,* " it is apparent that the former part

• See his note on (he passage.

406

of it belongs entirely to God's mercy unto the
children of Israel, upon whom he bestowed his
law in most illustrious tokens of his presence ;
which makes it highly probable that his 'rising
up from Seir and shining from Mount Paran,'
belongs to the same matter, that is, the cloud
wherein he descended on Sinai, with a vast host
of angels, extended itself so far as to cover the
neighbouring mountains of Seir and Paran."

The imagery throughout this passage is ex-
ceedingly imposing. The Deity appears descend-
ing from heaven upon Mount Sinai ; then his
glory shining like a radiant sun on Mount Seir
and Mount Paran, extending from Sinai to
those hills, and covering the circumjacent
country with its awful splendour. Here, accom-
panied by countless multitudes of beatified
spirits, he promulgates the terms of that cove-
nant which was to guide the Jews until the
ceremonial part of it should be abrogated by a
superior dispensation, proclaimed to the world
by Him who " holds the keys of hell and of
death," who came into the world to sustain his
triumph over sin, and restore man to the pri-
vileges he had forfeited by transgression. I can-
not conceive that a more animated picture could
have been oiven of this eminent event — an event
at once attesting the glory and beneficent
providence of God towards a people who, in
the issue so basely requited his love by aban-
doning his worship for the idols of the heathen,
and becominjT the slaves of their lusts, instead
of continuing righteous before him.

407

Yea, he loved the people ;
All his saints are in thy hand :
And they sat down at thy feet ;
Every one shall receive of thy words.

The prophet now reminds the IsraeUtes how
visibly God had displayed his love towards
them in first rescuing them from the oppressive
tyranny of Pharaoh, then in promulgating for
their observance a law, and finally in leading
them safely through the wilderness, where they
were beset with perils, and bringing them to
the borders of that land of promise of which
they were now about to take possession. This is
very adroitly managed. The poet never fails,
when the opportunity offers, to recal, incidently
as it were, to the mind of his hearers the manifold
exhibitions of divine love, thereby making their
ingratitude appear in the more odious light.
In proportion as God was merciful they were
base in alienating themselves from his worship,
and Moses shows this baseness on their part the
more vividly by making the numerous bene-
factions of Jehovah so prominent a feature of
this noble song.

All his saints arc in thy hand.

The enallage, or change of person, in this
hemistich, so common in the Hebrew writings,
was no doubt employed merely as a poetical
adornment. In the original it has a pecu-
liar grace and effect which are not, because
they cannot be, communicated in a transla-
tion. Kennicott, Houbigant, Durell and others
get rid of the enallage altogether by continuing

408

the pronoun in the same person, which is cer-
tainly more agreeable to an English ear.

Moses calls the Israelites God's saints in
reference to the nineteenth chapter of Exodus,
in which he says,* they shall be " a holy
nation." It is clear that by the word "saints"
in the clause under notice is not meant the
superior sanctity of Jacob's posterity, but their
eminent distinction, being advanced by the
Almighty to a condition of social and political
superiority over all other people ; they are his
saints — that privileged seed of Abraham who
were to inherit the promises. They are "in
his hand." He has a special desire to protect
them. He is still mindful of his covenant with
them and will assuredly fulfil it, for he is a
God of truth, and " his word standeth fast for
ever."

And they sat down at thy ieet ;

that is. this people whom God had determined
to befriend have promised submission to his
will and implicit obedience to his law. They
are pictured by the gifted bard as pupils sitting
at the feet of their teacher listening to his in-
structions ; which may refer to the multitude
assembling at the foot of Mount Sinai to hear
the promulgation of that system of legislation
which was to be the fundamental stamina of all
political and moral codes in every civilized
country throughout all time ; and this the Leviti-
cal law has certainly been from the period of its

• Ver. 6.

409

proclamation by Moses to the present hour. St.
Paul describes himself as broug-ht up at the
feet of Gamaliel.* "It was," says Pseud-
Ambrosius, "the tradition of the synagogue to
dispute sitting ; the seniors in dignity, in chairs;
the next to them on benches, and the last on
the pavement upon mats." " For the disciples,"
says Buxtorf, " sat at the feet of their masters,"
and therefore, by way of advice to others to
become disciples of their wise men, they used
to say ' put thyself in the dust of their feet;'
accordingly we find Mary sitting at the feet of
Jesus. f " If the same mode of sitting prevailed
in Judaea anciently, in respect of master and
scholars, as prevails now in the east, the phrase,
'they sat down at his feet,' is very descriptive
and accurate, for the master is seated on a
carpet spread on the ground, with his books
before him, and around him, at a little distance
beyond his books, sit his scholars in a circle at-
tending to his instructions."! The same form
of expression is used in the east at this day, but
only in reference to great saints and teachers.
" He had his holiness at the feet of the gooroo
(a learned priest,) or his learning at the feet of
the philosopher."^ To those who know how
few changes have taken place in oriental cus-
toms since the most primitive times, it will
appear but a reasonable conclusion that the
same mode of teaching existed in the days of
Moses as in those of Gamaliel ; and to show the

* Acts xxii. 3.
t See Whitby's note on Acts xxii. 3. { FrtTRments to Calmet, p. 101.
§ See Roberts' Oriculal lllubtrations, p. 579.

410

value of ancient modes of instruction, that plan
introduced into England by Dr. Bell, called
the Madras system, and now so universally
adopted in our national schools, was the common
form of teaching throughout Hindostan when
the people of this island were no better than
a race of uncivilized barbarians. When Britain
was under the domination of, and a slave
to, druidical tyranny and immersed in bar-
barism, which is the unfailing handmaid of
ignorance, Hindoston had her national schools,
regulated upon the supposed system of Dr. Bell,
but which he only transferred to Europe from
that now neglected and degraded country.

Every one shall receive of thy words.

That is, all God's people shall partake of the
blessings of the divine law declared from " the
mountain that burned with fire," and which they
" sat down at his feet to hear." There is a
quiet grace in the four clauses contained in the
second verse of the introduction to the several
benedictions which follow it, that contrasts very
strikingly with the sublimer objects alluded to
in those lines that precede them. The fact of
God's love to his people is strongly enforced and
the picture of paternal guardianship beautifully
brought out, being skilfully relieved by the sub-
ordinate, though scarcely less important, feature
of a heavenly benefactor in the act of teaching
his anxious disciples, gathered round him to
receive that wisdom which he is ever ready to
communicate to all who are willing to receive

411

it. " They sit," as Herder justly observes,
" at the feet of their father, who teaches and
admonishes them as children."

In the exordium of this poem there appear
no artifices of construction ; the whole is ex-
tremely simple, combining sublimity with ele-
gance.

The correctness of the common read inn; has
been disputed by some commentators, among
whom are Houbigant, Kennicott, Durell, Herder,
and others of less note ; but I confess their
emendations do not appear to me to give so
good a sense generally, or to retain so effec-
tually the poetical character of the passage.
Dr. Kennicott renders the first two verses of
the exordium as follows: — ■

Jehovah came from Sinai,

And he arose unon tliem from Seir ;

He shone forth from ]\Iount Pap.an,

And he came from MEiiiBAH-KAnESFi :

From his right hand a fire shone forth u^jon them.

Truly, he loved his people.

And he blessed all his saints :

For they fell down at his feet

And they received of his v\-ords.

It will be observed that the phrase in our com-
mon version translated " ten thousand of saints,"
Dr. Kennicott, who is followed by Herder, reads
as the name of a place. This, no doubt,
gives a clear and consistent sense, but it cer-
tainly subtracts greatly from the grandeur of the
general representation, communicating a poverty
and tameness to the Avhole passage. The com-
mon reading, moreover, is so well supported ; it
is, besides, so nuich more consonant to the whole
description of which it forms an essential part,

412

and above all no much more poetical, that I
should be extremely reluctant to relinquish it
even upon such respectable authority, supported
thou<i;h it is by the concurrence of Dr. Adam
Clarke. Herder's version,* though differing
from Kennicott's, is certainly more spirited.

Jehovah came from Sinai,
Went forth to them from Seir,
Shone forth from Mount Paran.
He came from mountains of Kadesh ;
And round him was radiant fire.
How greatly doth he love the tribes !
All the pomp of his glory is around him,
And every one at thy feet
Received thy commandment.

He has the following note on the words

And round him was radiant fire.

" That the common construction of the term
here as a fiery law is harsh, every one is sen
sible, and here too it does not suit the context.
God comes (verses two and three) as a teacher of
the people, while the tribes sit at his feet to
learn of him. Moses becomes their teacher, and
his law is the utterance of the mouth of the Most
Hio-h, a far more dignified image than when
God is represented as bringing it in his hand.
I prefer rather to consider the radiant glory of
the right hand in the third verse, as placed in
contrast with the expression described in the
second, and pomp and majesty distinguished
from grace. Habakknk explains the image
and interprets it by radiant fire shooting rays.

• Spirit of Heb. Poet. >ol. ii. page 15?.

413

In later times those images were converted into
the Siarayat ayyeXtor, the ranks and orders of angels,
and this illustrates their meaning."
On the line,

And every one at thy feet,

the same writer observes ; " how fine a contrast
have we here of fearful majesty and condescend-
ing grace ! Only Moses could have thusspoken
of the giving of the law. The word used in the
third verse means plainly not angels, but the
assembled tribes which had been already named,
and are ao:ain referred to in the fifth verse.
They sit at the feet of their father who teaches
and admonishes them as children. The notion
of angels teaching is a later rabbinical inter-
pretation."

I am not persuaded by this reasoning to em-
brace the learned German's exposition; it is
plausible but inconclusive. It appears to me
quite evident that, in the fifth clause, reference
is distinctly made to the circumstance of
the mount burning with fire at the declaration
of the law. The whole context, as I conceive,
warrants no other conclusion.

Moses commanded us a law,

Even the inheritance of the congregation of Jacob.

And he was king in Jeshurun,

When tlie heads of the people

And the tribes of Israel were gathered together.

Houbjo-ant encloses the first two lines of this
passage in brackets, as he thinks them entirely
out of place where they now are, and supposes
that they originally commenced the poem.

414

Dr. Keniiicott, following father Houbigant, has
shown the great inconsistency of making Moses
the speaker of the words as they now stand in our
version, and has pointed out the probable origin
of the insertion of his name in the original MSS.
from which our version was rendered into
English,

He su])poses that the term Mosheh, Moses, was
inserted by the transcriber in the fourth verse of
the text as now divided, in mistake for mor-
ashah, inheritance ; that he, perceiving his
mistake, introduced the proper term but did not
erase the other which thus became an interpo-
lation. Kennicott therefore suo;o;ests that the
word which he conceives to be thus thrust into
the text should be omitted, because, as he
contends, it is improbable that Moses would have
here introduced his own name, thus not only
interrupting the natural connexion of the con-
text, but likewise creating a difficulty in the
sense ; for, he observes, if the word, as it now
stands be admitted as the true reading, then the
term king in the third line following must
apply to Moses and not to God, which cannot be.*

" Aware of the difficulty which the common
reading involves, Jonathan and the author of
the Jerusalem Targum put these words into the
mouth of the children of Israel." ' The children
of Israel said, Moses commanded,' &c. Indeed
the word Moses cannot be retained in the text
with any propriety, but on the supposition that
Moses taught the Israelites this song, with a
view that they might sing or repeat it in their

* See Dr. Kennicott's first Dissertation, p. 422.

415

own person. But I think still that it would be
better if omitted, because the sense is much
clearer without it. The Lord mentioned in the
second verse will then be the lcadin(>; subject
throughout this ode. The law will appear to
have more authority when said to have been
commanded by God, It will be more agreeable
both to the character and manner of Moses, to
attribute the command of the law to God, and
Moses cannot, with equal propriety as God,
be made the subject of the fifth verse."*

Herder differs little from our translators. He
reads —

Moses enjoined on us the law,

A heritage of the congregation of Jacob,

For he was king of Israel.

All the heads of the people assembled,

And the tribes of Israel.

and observes — " thus was Israel to learn re-
spect and reverence for the law as a divine
economy, freely adopted as the w tructive lore
of divine wisdom and truth. Moses was their
king, but only among the assembled chiefs of
the nation, and therefore in a free state. In
this character also, he uttered his last words,
and at the same time connected with them the
reverence which he gave to the Divine Being,
the dignity and love."f

I confess the arguments of Dr. Kennicott
appear to me quite conclusive against the pro-
priety of the name of the great Hebrew legislator
being introduced where it now stands in the in-
troduction to the benedictions which follow. These

* See Dodd's note. t Spirit of Heb. Poet. p. l."»C.

416

were evidently intended to celebrate the mercies
of Jehovah tothe children of Israel, and to point
at those glorions manifestations of his power in
favour of that perpetually erring and ungrate-
ful people. They may be said to have been his
valedictory blessing ; they were, as Bishop Lowth
has elegantly termed them, "• the song of the dy-
ing swan ;" for immediately after Moses had re-
cited this poem to his assembled countrymen, he
ascended to the top of Pisgah, where, having
cast his eyes over the fertile plains of the future
Palestine, which layout stretched before him,
and which were to be the theatre of Israel's
glory and of her shame, he rendered up his
soul to the God who gave it, in sight of the pro-
mised inheritance destined to be the sacred
locality, where was eventually to be consum-
mated that merciful covenant of grace which
has rescued man from the bondage of corrup-
tion, and restored him to the freedom of sanc-
tification, and its consequent issue — salvation
through Christ. Not only does it appear impro-
bable that Moses, at a time of such affecting so-
lemnity, would have referred to his own temporal
distinction, engrossed as his mind no doubt then
was by the glory and manifold mercies of the
Deity ; but it cannot be truly said of him that
he was king in Jeshurun. Saul was the first
legal king of Israel, elected by the people, which
election was confirmed by God; and though
Moses was their lawgiver and ruler, under the
same sanction as Saul was their king, he, never-
theless, had not the supreme sway, for he asso-
ciated Aaron with him in the government, and

417

by the advice of his father-in-law Jethro, prince
and priest of Midian, appointed an oUgarchy of
elders, or superior judges, to carry on the affairs
of state established under his direction. He
and Aaron were the directive, thev the executive,
machine of government. It is a fact placed
beyond controversy that the Israelites had no
national sovereign until Saul. Their first form
of constitution was the patriarchal, in which
every father acted as chief in his own family.
In Egypt they were governed by elders. After
being delivered from their oppressive captivity
in that country, they were subject to rulers
as Moses and Joshua; they then fell under
the dominion of judges or magistrates who
exercised authority over them, from the death of
Joshua to the accession of Saul inclusive, for a
period of three hundred and thirty-nine years.
This office was not hereditary but elective.
Saul was the first king, and from his time the
form of government among the Israelites was
monarchical, until their polity was finally sub-
verted by the Roman armies. Thus it will
appear that Moses was not king in Jeshurun,
though invested with supreme power. The au-
thority too which he enjoyed, though supreme,
was, nevertheless, extremely limited, as will
appear from the turbulent conduct of the Israel-
ites, during the whole period of their sojourn
in the wilderness, where, but for the divine in-
terference, it is evident that he would have been
quite unable to control their mutinous spirit.

And he was kinp; in Jeshunin.
VOL. n. 2 E

418

Bishop Patrick vindicates the reference here to
Moses thus — " Or, for he ivas A:mg-, that is, under
God, the supreme ruler and governor of Israel ;
and therefore, in his name, and by his authority,
required them to observe these laws." But to
this it may be replied that the observation can-
not be restricted to Moses, since it applies
equally to all sovereigns, for every king rules
under the authority of God the supreme director
and governor. Mr. Thorndike, in his review
of the rights of the church, observes,* "that
the Israelites being made a free people, by the
act of God bringing them out of Egypt, and
entitling them to the land of Canaan upon the
covenant of the law, had Moses not only for
their prophet and their priest, (for by him Aaron
and his successors were put into the priesthood,
the tabernacle and all belonging to it conse-
crated), but also for their king, their lawgiver,
their judge, and commander-in-chief of their
forces under God, if not rather God by Moses.
For we find that after Moses' decease, either
God, by some extraordinary signification of his
will and pleasure, stirred up some man in his
stead for the time, or, if there was none such,
ruled their proceedings himself, by Urim and
Thummim, answering their demands, and direct-
ing what to do, and what course to follow, in all
the public affairs that concerned the state of
that people. Whereupon, when they required
Samuel to make them a king, he declared it
was not Samuel but himself whom they had

* Pase68.

419

rejected, because they had rejected him whom
God had immediately set over them in his own
stead, by whose death the power returned to
God as at the beginning."

By the expression of Mr. Thorndike, that
Moses was the commander of their forces under
God, if not Godhy Moses, he clearly implies that
he was supreme, as he calls him king in the pas-
sage immediately preceding, though only in a se-
condary sense, God being their king in a primary
sense; and in the clause under notice, the word
king can only apply to God, he being the subject
of the whole exordium of the poem : upon any
other understanding of it, its unity is completely
broken, and its concinnity marred. The whole
difficulty is at once removed by adopting Dr.
Kennicott's suo-crestion.* Dr. Durell has a

DO

good note on this much-contested passage. "It
is not agreed among critics to whom these words
are to be referred. Selden and Grotius make
them relate to Moses, the last antecedent, as
it stands in our text; but although this may
be more agreeable to grammar, allowing that
the word Moses is not an interpolation, it is
not so agreeable to scripture. We do not find
that Moses was ever crowned, that he ever had
the title of king, or ever enjoyed, properly speak-
ing, any one royal prerogative : the contrary
is rather strongly intimated (chap. xvii. 14,
1 Samuel viii. 5 — 7, &c. xii. 19,) and as to those
who consider the passage as a prophecy of the
kingdom of Judah, or of that of the Messiah,

• See vol. ii. p. 4J f.

2 E 2

420

they seem not to have sufficiently attended to
the scope of this song. It cannot, I think, he
doubted, from the context, that this alludes to
the institution of the theocracy, which hap-
pened about the time of the delivery of the
law; whence, as it is most probable that God,
who is frequently called king, should have the
title given him on this occasion ; so, likewise,
it is impossible that Moses should now take it
to himself for the first time, for the reasons
above given."

In the Arabic version a very clear interpreta-
tion is given to the disputed clause,

Moses commanded us a law.

Instead of omitting the word Moses, as Dr.
Kennicott recommends, by shifting it to the
end the natural sequence of the sense is not
only preserved, but additional perspicuity is
imparted to it. The reading in that version,
and I think an extremely judicious one, is —

He enjoined us a law by Moses.

This entirely gets rid of the difficulty, and agrees
perfectly with the context, besides imparting
greater clearness to the line itself. The words

When the heads of the people

And the tribes of Israel were gathered together,

seem to refer to the solemn assembly of the
elders, who were convened to deliberate on
God's message, when he proposed to be their
king, and to the answer given by them and the

421

rest of the people. (See Deut. xviii. IG, and
Exodus xix. 7, 8.)*

With reference to the poetical merits of the
proem of this ode, it may be remarked that
there is an entire absence of the usual resources
of art employed by Moses so largely in other
parts of his writings of a similar kind. Paral-
lelisms and other ornamental artifices of con-
struction are abandoned. He restricts himself to
simple but picturesque expressions, to plain but
vigorous metaphors, and to a severe condensation
of style. He hurries from object to object, with
rapidity and vehemence. His extreme earnest-
ness elevates his song to the highest point of
sublimity. Every word makes its own individual
impression, and often, even where we do not
actually see the beauty, we feel it strongly.
There is no aim at greatness, but this is attained
by the mere force of the author's genius, which
predominates, I had almost said, undetected, for
we are made sensible of it rather through our
impressions than by its perception under critical
scrutiny. The testimony of Bishop Lowth will
be sufficient to establish the claim of this exor-
dium to the highest poetical merit. " But,"
says he, at the end of his eighteenth prailection,
" if we proceed to other parts of the sacred
history, examples of the highest characteristics
of poetry will not be wanting ; and among the
first of these is that cygnean song of Moses, as
it may properly be called. I do not sj)eak of
the prophetic ode, which has frequently been

* See Dodd's note. ,

422

distinguished by that title, but of the last bless-
ing of that divine prophet, in which are pre-
dicted the future fortunes of the Israelites : —

Jehovah came from Sinai,

And rose up unto them from Seir.

*' The prophecy is evidently of the same nature
with that of Jacob : both in the exordium and
conclusion it is exquisitely sublime."

chaptp:r XXIV.

The benedictions on Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah,

The poet now enters upon the benediction of
the twelve tribes, commencino^, as Jacob had
previously done, with the first-born Reuben, he
being the lineal representative of the patriarch
by whom he was begotten ; thus blessing the
tribes through their several original heads.

Let Reuben live, and not die ;
And let not his men be few.

The first clause in this distich agrees well
with Jacob's prophecy, that Reuben should not
excel. It strongly supports the inference of
former undeserving, promising to his descend-
ants life indeed, but only this, in consequence of
the atrocity of that patriarch, and the forfeiture
of his birthright by his unnatural incest. His
posterity were to live, but not to be distinguished,
except for their rebellions, of which disposition
they had already given sullicient evidence, Da-
than, Abiram, and On, being of this tribe.

The words of this prophetic blessing appear
to me, as Houbigant supposes, merely to pro-
mise that the Reubcnites shall continue to exist
as a distinct community, notwithstanding the
disgrace and crimes of their ancestor ; beyond
this no expectations arc raised, for I think

424

there can ^e little doubt that the second clause
refers to Simeon, for reasons which I shall pre-
sently give, merely observing by the way that
both these tribes being comparatively unimpor-
tant, they are each dismissed in a single line.

The phrase " live, and not die," applied to
Reuben, is a Hebrew form of expression, not
uncommon in scripture, the union of the nega-
tive and affirmative greatly strengthening the
latter, and was probably, moreover, made use
of by Moses for the purpose of adding grace
to the clause, imparting to it rhythm as well
as symmetry. We find the same thing, only
the order inverted, in the first verse of the
thirty-eighth chapter of Isaiah : *' Set thine
house :'/i order, for thou shalt die and not live;"
likewise in the seventeenth verse of the hundred
and eighteenth Psalm : — ■

I shall not die,

But live, and declare the works of the Lord.

Although these expressions are decidedly pleo-
nastic, they unquestionably add both beauty
and force to the idea which they are made the
vehicles of communicating. They are not mere
vain repetitions, but positive poetical adorn-
ments.

The brevity of this benediction on Reuben's
descendants may be sufficiently accounted for
from the fact that their great progenitor, Jacob,
had degraded his eldest son on account of his
licentiousness, and involved his posterity in his
disgrace, by transferring the privileges of pri-
mogeniture to Judah ; Moses therefore merely

425

assures them, in confirmation of Jacob's pro-
phecy, that they shall not be exterminated from
among the tribes of Israel ; thus implying their
insignificancy as a political body, by the narrow
limitations of his blessing.

And let not his men be few.

Houbigant, whom Durell follows, renders this
hemistich thus : —

And let Simeon be few in number.

The negative participle is not found in the
Hebrew : it is an interpolation by our trans-
lators; the prophecy, therefore, as it stands,
will particularly apply to Simeon, whose pos-
terity were so diminished after their departure
from Egypt, when they amounted to upwards
of fifty-nine thousand men, that within forty
years from that period they were reduced to little
more than twenty-two thousand, in consequence
of their repeated impieties. This finally became
the most inconsiderable of all the tribes, in
point of numbers, though not in distinction,
for most of the scribes are supposed to have
been from the posterity of Simeon, so that his
descendants were distinguished for their learn-
ing, and that influence which learning commu-
nicates, though not for their numerical strength.
It will lie observed, that the line in which the
Simeonites are presumed to be referred to, does
not imply any absence of civil or political emi-
nence, but only of a numerous race; it therefore
more strictly applies to the descendants of
Simeon than to those of Ueuben.

426

Why Moses sliould have omitted Simeon in
a series of prophecies, rehiting separately and
distinctly to the twelve tribes, it is difficult to
conceive ; for surely the cruelty practised by that
patriarch upon the Shechemites, under extreme
provocation, would scarcely, in a rude age
when similar methods of retaliation were deemed
laudable acts of revenge, be considered more
criminal than the incest of Reuben. Besides,
he was not more culpable than Levi, who
participated in the same crime; and Levi is
distinguished by Moses above many other sons
of Jacob who had not been participators in any
such enormity, for upon him he pours out the
longest blessing of all, save that afterwards
pronounced upon Joseph. It is moreover ex-
pressly stated, both by Josephus* and Philo,f
that Moses blessed all the tribes. The name of
Simeon is retained in the Alexandrian manu-
script, the most ancient and valuable extant,
likewise in the Complutensian and Aldine
editions of the Septuagint ; and seeming, as it
does, to belong to the true sense of the passage,
we are, I think, fully justified in believing that
it should have a place in the text. As the words
now stand, they have far less coherency than
when the name of Simeon is added, as Durell
proposes, thus : —

Let Reuben live, and not die ;
And let Simeon be few in number.

After the settlement of the Israelites in the

'* Ant. book iv, cliap. 8. t Vit. Mos. lib, iii.

427

land of promise, the tribe of Simeon received
for its portion only a district dismembered from
the tribe of Judah, and some lands of which
they took forcible possession in the desert of
Gedor, and in the mountains of Seir.*

Herder supposes that Moses omitted Simeon
in these benedictions, because he had no land
which he could apportion to that tribe ; but this
does not appear a sufficient reason for so invidious
an omission, since an act of this kind on the part
of their venerated lawgiver, must have been
one of superlative degradation, it being a mark
of exclusive disgrace. Besides, it cannot be
probable that Moses intended to degrade the
Simeonites at a moment especially when he
was pouring out his last valedictory blessings
upon the assembled Israelites, separately and
collectively. Why he should have selected
Simeon in particular for so signal a mark of im-
plicative odium, can be accounted for on no
reasonable grounds of probability. It is far
more consistent with the whole spirit and bear-
ing of the context to believe that Simeon was in-
cluded in the last solemn address of the inspired
bard to his countrymen. " The Taro-um of Jeru-
salem and the Rabbins, followed by some anci-
ent fathers, believe that the greater part of the
scribes and men learned in the law were of
the tribe of Simeon : and these being dispersed
throughout Israel, produced the accom})lishment
of Jacob's prophecy.

" It is likely that Jacob meant the dispersion

• 1 Chmii. iv. :{y— 42.

428

of Simeon and Levi as an evil and a degradation,
but Providence overruled it to be an honour :
so Levi had the priesthood, and Simeon had the
learning or writing-authority of Israel, whereby
both these tribes were honourably dispersed
among the nations."*

Hear, Lord, the voice of Judah,

And bring him unto his people :

Let his hands be sufficient for him ;

And be thou an help to him from his enemies.

" This benediction," observes Bishop Sherlock,
in his dissertation on the blessing of Judah,
*' cannot relate to the time when it was given,
for then Judah's ' hands' were very ' sufficient
for him,' this being by far the greatest of the
twelve tribes (see Numbers i. and xxvi.); and
there was inorej reason to put up this petition
for several other tribes than for Judah. It is
to be referred, therefore, to the prophecy of
Jacob, and to the continuance of the sceptre of
Judah, after the destruction of the other tribes.
Judah, in the time of Moses, consisted of
seventy-four thousand, reckoning only those of
twenty years old and upwards (Numbers ii. 4.)
But on the return from Babylon, Judah, with
Benjamin, the Levites, and the remnant of
Israel, made only forty-two thousand, three
hundred and sixty (Ezra ii. 64) ; and they were
in so weak a state that Sanballat, in great
scorn, said, ' What do these feeble Jews V
(Nehemiah iv. 2.) Now Moses, in the spirit
of prophecy, seeing the desolation of all the

*■ Calmet's Dictionary, art, Simeon.

429

tribes ; seeiiio' the tribes of the children of Is-
rael carried away by the Assyrians, the people
of Judah by the Babylonians; seeing- that
Judah should return weak, harassed, and
scarcely able to maintain himself in his own
country, conceives for him this prophetic
prayer, —

Hear, Lora, the voice of Judah,

And bring him unto his people :

Let his hands be sufficient for him ;

And be thou an help to him from his enemies."

The race of Judah was the most powerful of
the twelve tribes. On the degradation of Reuben
the first-born, who had forfeited the privileges
of primogeniture, Simeon and Levi were passed
by, on account of their cruelty in destroying
the Shechemites, and the alienated claims
of the heirship were transferred to the fourth
son, so that this patriarch became, through his
descendants, the most distinguished of the
heads of the twelve races. The blessing pro-
nounced by Jacob upon Judah declared that the
sovereign dominion should not pass from his
descendants ; and not only so, but that the
Peace-maker, or Messiah, should proceed from
them. The crown consequently passed from the
tribe of Benjamin (Saul, the first king, being of
this tribe,) into that of Judah, from which David
sprang, and continued in the posterity of that
monarch until the Babylonish captivity. And
althouirh after the release of the Israelites from
their odious thraldom, this tribe did not reign,
it gave the sceptre to those who had the chief

430

authority, and may, in fact, be said to have
united in itself the whole Hebrew nation, thence-
forth known under the designation of Jews, or
descendants of Judah.

This tribe maintained its religious integrity,
notwithstanding the defection of the ten tribes
who gave themselves up to idolatry, and even-
tually received the sad punishment of their ini-
quities. The posterity of Judah were certainly
signalized above those of his brethren, first
in giving birth to David, the greatest prince
of his time, besides being an eminent type of
Christ, and finally to the august antitype, God
in the flesh, who quitted the throne of his glory,
and both in the form and nature of a descendant
of Judah, expiated upon the cross the sins of
the whole human race.

After the revolt of the ten tribes under the
wicked son of Nebat, Judah was distinguished
from Israel as the kingdom governed by the imme-
diate descendants of David, in opposition to the
latter, which was the kingdom of Samaria, esta-
blished by the defection of Jeroboam. In the
tribe of Judah the religion of the Hebrews was
preserved ; the offices of the priests were per-
formed at Jerusalem, together with the various
le2"al rites and ceremonies of the temple wor-
ship prescribed by their formularies, without
any admixture of pagan abominations ; while,
on the contrary, the creed of their forefathers
was abandoned by the other kindred races, who
gave themselves up to idolatry, and to the most
licentious excesses.

431

Hear, Lord, the voice of Judah,
And bring Iiini unto his people ;

that is, as the Targum of Onkelos paraphrases
it, " hear his prayer when he goes forth to
battle, and permit him to return in safety to his
own people." They are, perhaps, here called
God's people especially, because the entire He-
brew nation was ultimately to derive its name
from this patriarch. Such a conjecture is, at
least, reasonable.

Let his hands be sufficient for him.

In other words, may he have always a military
force sufficiently numerous and efficient to be
prepared against surprise, to repel the aggres-
sions of his foes, and maintain his supremacy.

And be thou an help to him from his enemies.

May those enemies never prevail against him
under thy divine protection ! And how com-
pletely this was eventually fulfilled may be seen
in the stand made by this tribe, united with that
of Benjamin, against the combined force of the
ten others, after the revolt of Jeroboam.

Houbigant supposes that this prophecy refers
immediately to the Messiah. He contends that
it cannot properly be applied to Judah as a
tribe ; " these words, therefore," he concludes,
" entirely belong to that Judah concerning whom
Jacob says,

Judah, thou art he whom thy brethren shall praise ;

which Judah, Moses desires to come to his

432

people, that is, to come into the world and hold
communion with men."

Dr. Adam Clarke seems to concur with this
view of the learned priest of the oratory. " This
blessing," he observes,* *' has a striking affinity
with that which this tribe received from Jacob
(Genesis xlix. 9) ; and both may refer to our
blessed Lord, who has conquered our deadly
foes by his death, and whose prayi7ig posterity
ever prevail through his might." Of the
poetry of this passage, I may say at once, that
though it is not characterized by the sublimity
of certain parts of the exordium already consi-
dered, and of some passages which follow, it is,
nevertheless, extremely elegant. The picture
which it lays before the imagination is that of
an affectionate father leading a beloved son
through difficulties and dangers, and bringing
him home to his family unharmed. It paints in
simple, but affecting colours, the divine pater-
nity, while it signalizes, at the same time, that
filial reverence which has awakened the pater-
nal love. And the preservation of the temple
worship in this tribe, uncontaminated by the
innovations of idolatry and other heathen rites,
sufficiently justifies this representation of the
dying prophet.

The beauty of the first couplet is exhibited,
not by resorting to the more artificial appli-
ances of poetry, — not by a skilful com.bination
of images, the bold appropriation of strong and
striking metaphors, the employment of nicely-

* See his note on Deut. xxxiii. 7.

433

selected phrases ; but it consists merely in its
simple and unpretending pathos, and the easy
grace with which the figurative is blended with
the literal. The general effect is, moreover,
greatly heightened by the extreme plainness of
the expressions, except in the third clause,
where a very significant metaphor is introduced,
which, however, does not disturb the bland im-
pression of divine love so affectingly produced,
by intruding unexpected and startling thoughts.
The whole is sweetly appropriate to the sub-
ject ; though eminently simple, it is powerfully
expressive. It brings a tangible combination of
pleasing images before the mind, most agree-
ably realizing to the contemplations the tender
alliances of father and offspring, while it refers
to those higher relations betwixt Creator and
creature so exquisitely exemplified in various
parts of the sacred writings.

Let his hands be sufficient for him,

is a happy illustrative image, as if the poet
had said, ' may his power be sufficient, through
thee, O Jehovah, to protect him from violence;'
the hand is an expressive emblem of power, it
being the instrument by which its most obvious
effiects are produced ; it is the effective agent
in all manner of operations, the executive mem-
ber, in short, by which the vast designs of
men are accomplished. The plain fact sug-
gested in this clause is, that the hands of
Judah should be rendered of sufficient strength
to protect his l)odv iVom assault or aggres*

VOL. II. 2 F

434

sioii of* any kind ; — the simple image unfold-
ing the chain of ideas which it is employed
to represent of the valour and pre-eminency of
this patriarch's descendants. It is a short, but
beautiful representative allegory, bearing the
key to its own interpretation. The concluding
line happily depicts God's merciful interven-
tion, where it is properly sought, and its ef-
fectual protection against all external agencies.
Herder's version of this benediction is ex-
tremely elegant, scarcely differing in sense
from that of our translators, which cannot well
be surpassed.

Hear, O Jehovah, the voice of Judali^
And bring him unto his people,
His arm will contend bravely,
And, when his enemies oppress him,
Thou wilt be his salvation.*

* Spirit of Hebrew Poetry, vol. ii, p. 15(k

CHAPTER XXV.

The benediction upon Levi.

Here follows the benediction upon Levi, which
is far more extensive and important than that
pronounced by Jacob upon this patriarch ; that
was general, while this is particular, referring
to matters connected with this tribe of which
their more distinguished ancestor appears to
have had no foresight. It is full of the finest
poetry. Moses seems to have thrown into it the
highest energy of his muse, being himself a
descendant of Levi. " And of Levi he said,"

Let thy Thummim and thy Urim be with thy holy one,

Whom thou didst prove at Massah,

And with whom thou didst strive at the waters of Meribah ;

Who said unto his father and to his mother,

I have not seen him ;

Neither did he acknowledge his brethren,

Nor knew his own children :

For they have observed thy word,

And kept thy covenant.

They shall teach Jacob thy judgments,

And Israel thy law :

They shall put incense before thee,

And whole burnt-sacrifice upon thine altar.

Bless, Lord, his substance,

And accept the work of his hands :

Smite tlirough the loins of them that rise against him.

And of them that hate him, that they rise not again.

It had been predicted by the venerable Jacob
on the eve of his death that this tribe should
be scattered in Israel, which they accordingly

2f2

436

were, having no separate share m the division
of the promised inheritance, but a certain
number of cities with lands attached in the
portions of other tribes. Of these cities the
number was forty-eight ; thirteen were bestowed
upon the priests, and six set apart as cities of
refuge.* Notwithstanding that the posterity of
Levi had no distinct allotment, ample amends
was made to them by the dignities to which they
were advanced. They were selected expressly
for the service of the sanctuary. From them
the priesthood were chosen. No ecclesiastical
office was held out of their community. They
were thus elevated above all the other tribes in
civil distinction. They received all the tithes,
first-fruits, offerings ; and certain portions of
the animal sacrifices were theirs by official
right. While actually employed in the temple,
they were supported by the daily oblations or
from the stock-provisions, of which there was a
constant supply. The general occupation of
the Levites was to wait upon the priests during
their daily ministrations in the sanctuary,
furnishing them with wood and water, and the
various matters required for the sacrifices.
They formed the temple quires, chanted the
services to the accompaniment of musical instru-
ments, studied and expounded the law, and
from them, secondary or inferior magistrates
were generally elected. They were at all times
subordinate to the priests, to whom they gave
the tenth of their tithes, these being looked

* Numbers xxxt.

437

upon as the first-fruits, which they were to
offer unto the Lord.*

Let thy Thummim and thy Urim be with thy holy one,

Whom thou didst prove at Massah,

And with whom thou didst strive at the waters of Meribali.

What the Thummim and the Urim were, is
still a matter to he settled by the learned.
They are said, however, by Josephus, (and his
opinion is, I believe, now almost universally
received,) to have been the precious stones upon
the breastplate of the high priest, through
which the divine communications were received.
Whatever they might have been, they un-
(juestionably w^ere the medium through which
revelations from on high were made to the ac-
credited ministers of Jehovah. In the first clause
of this couplet, the terms Thummim and Urim
are put by way of metonymy for the whole priest-
hood, which are called God's, because especially
appointed by him out of, and to be continued in,
this tribe. He says, ' let the priesthood be with
Aaron, thy holy one, and let the power of re-
ceiving and proclaiming thy revelations be not
only with him, but with all the high priests after
him, of whom he is the general representative. 'f
The " holy one" is likewise used as a synec-
doche for all such as are made holy, or con-
secrated to the priesthood, or to the sacred offices
of the sanctuary, so that in this one short clause

* Numbers xviii. 21 — 24.
t Those who wish to see the subject of Urim and Thummim treated
at large, are referred to Dr. Spencer's dissertation on this very pei-jjlexed
and diliicult question, and to liis celebrated work De legibus Hcbr?eorum
ritualibus, likewise to Josephus, Antiq. book iii, chap. 8.

438

there are two strong rhetorical figures very
happily applied.

Whom thou didst prove at Massah,

And with whom thou didst strive at the waters of Meribah.

In this pair of lines the gradational parallelism
is exhibited with its usual grace and effect. The
meaning of " Massah," as appears from the
margin* of our Bible, is temptation ; of " Meri-
bah," chiding or strife. The first I apprehend
to refer to the tribe of Levi, in common with
the Israelites generally, tempting God to chas-
tise them ; the second, to their chiding or striv-
ing with Moses, and thus provoking the divine
punishment by rebelling against God through
his minister. Nevertheless, although the anger
of the Lord had been kindled at Massah and
Meribah, the Almighty did not withdraw his
favour from the tribe ofLevi to which Moses and
Aaron belonged, but continued the priesthood
in it, probably at the supplication of the former
now made, it may be said, with his dying breath.
The gradation of sense in the two clauses is
evident, " prove," having a strength of import
below, " strive," the former referring to the
simple provocation of the Israelites, the latter to
its more active aggravation ; while the corres-
ponding proper names Massah and Meribah
maintain a precisely similar distinction. It is
worthy of notice that the last clause has a per-
fect rhythm, and may be divided into regular
feet forming a complete pentameter verse,

* See Exodus xvii. 7-

439

And — with — whom [ tliou — didst — strive | at — the — wa ] tors — of |
Me — ri — bah.

The feet here presented are four anapests
and a pyrrhic, the first three, as in the divi-
sions above made and likewise in the last divi-
sion, containing two short syllables and a long-
one, the fourth division being composed of two
short syllables. The melody of this line cannot
escape the most unmusical ear, and this is no
doubt the consequence of its metrical conforma-
tion, evidently not intended by our translators,
who were carried unconsciously into the rhyth-
mical arrangement by the agreeable flow and
exact prosodical construction of the original
Hebrew. The accidental division of this line
into feet decidedly, as I conceive, shows the
effect of metre in advancing the poetical interest
of any passage in which the elements of poetry
are positively present. A perfect eurythmy is
necessary to complete the enjoyment of all
poetry, consequently much of the exquisite
beauty of the Hebrew depending upon this must
be lost in our translation, although much is un-
questionably retained.

Who said unto his father and to his mother,

I have not seen him ;

Neither did he acknowledge his brethren,

Nor knew his own children :

For they have observed thy word,

And kept thy covenant.

The first four hemistichs of this quotation are
supposed to refer to the impartial execution of
judgment by the Lcvites upon the worshippers of

440

the golden calf, as related in Exodus.* " Then
Moses stood in the gate of the camp, and said,
who is on the Lord's side? let him come unto
me'. And all the sons of Levi gathered them-
selves together unto him. And he said unto
them, thus saith the Lord God of Israel, put
every man his sword by his side, and go in
and out from gate to gate throughout the camp,
and slay every man his brother, and every man
his companion, and every man his neighbour.
And the children of Levi did according: to the
word of Moses : and there fell of the people that
day about three thousand men." Here the
Levites became the instruments of divine retri-
bution upon those who had desecrated their wor-
ship, and violated the ordinances of Jehovah;
this they executed without respect to persons,
disregarding all social and kindred ties, ex-
cept those of father and mother, having only
the vindication of God's insulted majesty in
view.

Who said unto his father and to his mother,
I have not seen him.

The sense is by no means evident in this latter
line, nor do the commentators generally remove
the perplexity in which it is involved. The
meaning appears to be, ' I have not regarded
him,' that is, them, the feminine being merged
in the more important gender. He did not
regard even the expostulations of father or
mother in the execution of a sacred duty ; no-

* Chap, xxiii. 26 — 28.

441

thino- swayed him from his holy purpose. The
Levites were acting* in God's cause, and no
earthly obhgations could cancel those which are
paramount to all sublunary interests, the services
which are demanded from us towards him
who has brought us to life, and rescued us
from death.

Herder's rendering is very intelligible, and I
think he has hit upon the right sense.

And he said to his father and to his mother,

I know ye not,

And remembered not his brethren,

Nor acknowledged his children.*

According to this interpretation, Aaron is
made the representative of the Levites, and they
therefore, in his person, are exhibited as being
the instruments of God, and as inflicting punish-
ment so equitably as to be deaf to the appeals
of either paternal or maternal solicitude, and to
disregard all other kindred claims, as appears
from the passage in Numbers just quoted. This
is, I have no doubt, the meaning of the clause,
which is not to be taken in a strictly literal
sense, the whole being a poetical hyperbole to
strengthen the impression of the severe im})ar-
tiality exercised by the Levites in performing
the divine commission to punish, communicated
throuiih Moses. The enalla<>;e of number, the
singular being put for the plural in the second
line, which creates the difliculty in our transla-
tion, is dexterously avoided by Herder in the
above passage, and that which immediately
succeeds ; this latter he renders —

♦ Spirit of Hebrew Toetry, vol. ii. p. 157.

442

So shall they also keep thy word,

And observe thy covenant,

Shall teach Jacob thy Judgments,

And Israel thy law.

They shall burn incense before thee,

And sacrifices upon thine altar.

'' The construction," he observes, " which I have
given to this verse in the translation, imparts
to it, as I think, dignity and clearness. The
word in the singular refers to Aaron, the fol-
lowing plural to the Levites, who were bound
to imitate his noble example of impartiality in
giving judgment of faithful adherence to God
their rightful Lord."* Moses in this benediction
appears to me to take more than ordinary
care to justify God's favour towards his own
tribe, upon whom their great progenitor Jacob
had pronounced a very limited, and not a very
encouraging, blessing ; and this he does by
showing their activity in vindicating God's
insulted dignity upon the occasion alluded to.
It is clear, to my apprehension, that throughout
the whole of this prophetic blessing upon Levi,
the descendants of that vindictive patriarch are
spoken of both indirectly, through their repre-
sentative Aaron, and directly in their own per-
sons collectively ; the introduction of Aaron
being intended to give greater effect to the
benediction, by thus making an implied refer-
ence to the first establishment of the priesthood
in that tribe, it being instituted in his family, the
most eminent among them ; — and comprehend-
ing in this reference, by a covert inference, dis-
guised indeed, but sufficiently prominent, all the

* Spirit of Hebrew Poetry, vol. ii. p. 157.

443

privilcg'es which should accrue to the Levites —
who were really, according to Jacoh's predic-
tion, to be " divided in Jacob, and scattered in
Israel," — as the persons trusted with the minis-
trations of the temple. The inspired bard
brings before the mind, at one view, a number
of most interesting and important particulars ;
the lapses and recovery of Aaron, the ingrati-
tude of the Israelites generally, in which the
Levites bore an equal share at Massah and at
Kadesh, where the water was called Meribah,
because the children of Israel strove with the
Lord.* The transition from the praise of
Aaron to the duties of the tribe of which he was
so distinguished a member, is, as Herder justly
remarks, extremely beautiful. It was natural
that Moses should make some allusion to a
worthy and affectionate brother, — both worthy
and affectionate, notwithstanding his occasional
displays of infirmity, — who had quitted the world
before him, and left him alone to struggle with
the difficulties of government, aggravated by
the incessant disorders and tumultuous spirit of
those over whom God had appointed him to
rule.

That Moses entertained great affection for
his elder brother seems to be implied in the
whole course of his history. The manner in
which he introduces him in this benediction is
extremely delicate and affecting. He exhibits
his stern and uncompromising dignity in per-
forming the divine will in one remarkable instance

* Numbers XX. 12, 13,

444

at least, though he had erred in many, describ-
ing hiin as disregarding all kindred affinities,
applying personally to Aaron what referred
literally to the tribe of which he had been so
eminent an individual.

As this prophecy was intended to refer exclu-
sively to the Levites, Moses, as it would seem,
took the opportunity of introducing, incidentally
as it were, his brother Aaron, by way, it may be
presumed, of offering an affectionate tribute to
the memory of one still dear to his heart, using
hisnameas a symbol, or adumbration of the whole
tribe, of which he was the spiritual head, and
therefore its most proper representative. The
terms used in the passage under examination,
to characterise the conduct of the Levites in
revenging upon the Israelites generally the
indignity offered to God, by the worship of the
golden calf, are among the strongest that could
have been found. These ministers of divine wrath
are represented, by a strong poetical figure, as
disregarding even the entreaties of their own
parents, or the still more affecting appeals of
their own children, in their zeal to vindicate the
insulted majesty of Jehovah. Although Aaron
had grievously sinned in permitting the worship
of the golden calf, the offence, though great, was
no doubt less heinous on this account, that he
had been compelled by his riotous countrymen to
do what, probably in his heart, he disapproved ;
but, urged by the apprehension of violence from
that seditious people, he found it expedient to
acquiesce in a breach of covenant, which he had
not the courage to resist. When, however, the

445

hour of retribution came, he showed that he
was not at all backward to sanction and assist
in the severe punishment which followed at the
hands of the Levites.

For they have observed thy word,
And kept thy covenant.

The Levites do not appear to have been
involved in the (i;uilt of idolatry equally with the
other tribes, by comparison w ith whom they were
strictly observant of the word and covenant of
God, though some among- them, as Korah, and
even Aaron's own sons, had been distinguished
exceptions, — distinguished in the worst sense;
the former having been swallowed by an earth-
quake for sedition, and the latter struck dead
by lightning, for offering incense in the taber-
nacle with strange or ordinary fire, instead of
that which had been miraculously lighted upon
the altar of burnt-oiferings.

In the two hemistichs above quoted the gra-
dational parallelism is manifest, both lines giving
nearly the same sense, the latter, however, clearly
rising with an advance of force above the
former, " Word" in the first clause implies
precept or command generally ; but "covenant"
is a compact of mutual ol)ligation, the violation
of which is one of the nK)st signal of moral
offences.

They shall teach Jacob thy judgments,

And Israel thy law :

They shall put incense before* thee,

And whole burnt-sacrifice upon thine altar.

446

The office of instructino- the people was coni-
mitted to the Levites. They were to uufokl to
them the divine judgments and to dispense jus-
tice. As I have said before, the judges and
inferior magistrates were generally elected out
of this tribe. The Levites, moreover, were
interpreters of the civil, as well as expounders
of the sacred and of the ecclesiastical law, hav-
ing received their commission from God him-
self to unfold the " mystery of godliness." As
to them the administration of justice was gene-
rally committed, they not only taught the sons
of Jacob the divine judgments, as Moses ex-
presses it, but likewise awarded human punish-
ments for civil and social delinquencies, and
these punishments having been administered un-
der the sanction of Jehovah, might, literally and
in a primary sense, be called his judgments.
Whenever, therefore, any misunderstanding of
the law, whether ecclesiastical, moral, or civil,
gave rise to dispute, these were settled by the
Levites, who were the referees in all such
cases, and their decisions final. They were in
fact the legal oracles. The exposition of the
Mosaic or Levitical canon, as it was afterwards
called, because it contains principally the laws
and regulations relating to the priests, the Le-
vites, and the sacrifices, was likewise entrusted to
them, though this was more especially confided
to the priests, the prophets, and their disciples ;
these latter, however, with few exceptions, were
either priests or Levites; it might, therefore,
be truly said of this tribe —

447

They shall teach Jacob thy judgments,
And Israel thy law.

This distich evidently refers to the Levitcs
generally ; that which follows, to the priests in
particular, who, it will be remembered, were
invariably from the tribe of Levi, thus the dis-
tinction betwixt priest and Levite is clearly kept
in view.

They shall put incense before thee,

And whole burnt-sacrifice upon thine altar.

"The ordinary priests served immediately at the
altar, offered the sacrifices, killed and skinned
them, and poured their blood at the foot of the
altar. They kept up a perpetual fire on the
altar of burnt-sacrifices, and in the lamps of the
golden candlestick in the sanctuary. They
kneaded the loaves of shew-bread, baked them,
offered them on the golden altar in the sanc-
tuary, and changed them every sabbath-day.
Every day, night and morning, a priest, ap-
pointed by casting of lots at the beginning of
the week, brought into the sanctuary a smoking
censer of incense, and set it on the golden table,
otherwise called the altar of perfumes,

" The priests were not suffered to offer incense
to the Lord with strange fire ; that is, with any
fire but what was taken from the altar of burnt-
sacrifices ; (Leviticus x. 1,2), God chastised
Nadab and Abihu with severity ibr having failed
herein. The priests and Levites waited by the
week, and by the quarter, in the temple. They
began their week on the sabbath, and ended it
on the next sabl)ath (2 Kings xi. 5 — 7-) Moses

448

had fixed the age at which they were to enter
on the sacred mhiistry, at twenty-five or thirty
years, and they were to end it at fifty." *

The distinctions here declared by Moses were
continued in the tribe of Levi, without any dimi-
nution, for several centuries ; and although, in
process of time, they were abated in some re-
spects, yet even up to the period of the dissolu-
tion of their national constitution, this tribe
retained the chief influence in spiritual matters,
and even in the civil administration.

In the distich last quoted, as well as in that
which immediately precedes it, we shall detect
the parallelism of gradation.

They shall teach Jacob thy judgments,

And Israel thy law :

They shall put incense before thee,

And whole burnt-sacrifice upon thine altar.

In the first two clauses the artifice spoken of
is so apparent that the most heedless reader
can hardly fail to observe it. It will be per-
ceived that Jacob is put first, as is almost in-
variably the case in the corresponding passages,
where these names occur; and the exceptions
are, where an anticlimax is intended. The
name of dignity, that is Israel, except in the
instances just stated, is always used last, as in
the present example ; thus giving its due gra-
dation of force to the parallelism. There will
be noticed a marked distinction betwixt the
words " judgments" and " law." The second
pair of parallel terms in this verse, the tenth

* Calmet's Dictionary, art. Priests.

449

of the chapter in which they occur, the one
referring- to judicial judgments, that is, to God's
punitive dispensations, the consequences of
sin ; the other, to the law delivered from Mount
Sinai — that is, to the civil and moral govern-
ment of the Deity, from which the issues of
righteousness are to be educed. The two thus
combine the entire method of Providence — the
distribution of punishment to sin and of reward
to righteousness ; being the great cardinal divi-
sions of providential agency. The latter, the
distribution of reward, naturally takes the pre-
cedence in order of importance, though named
last by the poet.

Thus the Levites were not only civil, but
spiritual teachers — not only ministers of justice,
but the depositaries and dispensers of spiritual
wisdom ; so that the phrases, although parallel,
are by no means synonymous, those in the latter
hemistich having a marked advance of signifi-
cation. The same will be observed in the
couplet which follows —

They shall put incense before thee,

And whole burnt-sacrifice upon thine altar.

Both these lines refer to the ceremonials of the
temple worship; the first to bloodless oblations,
the second to animal sacrifices. The two thino-a
here specified are, doul)tless, meant to include
the numerous rites prescribed l)y the Jewish
formularies, and performed in the sanctuary ;
the least and the greatest only are men-
tioned— all the rest being embraced within

VOL. II. 2 G

450

these two extremes. The expressions are beau-
tifully varied and extremely significant.

They shall put incense before thee,

that is, in thy presence. The act of offering
incence was inferior to that of offering the holo-
caust, or sacrifice of burnt-offering ; the first is
said to be placed befo7'e God, the other to be
burnt upon his altar. Here is a broad distinc-
tion, afid such as gives great force to the paral-
lelism. In the first clause the lesser oblation
is offered, in the second the greater : the first
only in the presence of God, that is, in the
sanctuary ; the second upon his altar. The one
is a preliminary oblation, —

They shall put incense before thee ;

the other a plenary sacrifice, —

And whole burnt-sacrifice upon thine altar.

Every day the priests burnt incense in the
temple, morning and evening. So soon as the
ministering priest entered the sanctuary, he
threw the sacred perfume on the fire in his
censer, which had been miraculously kindled,
in order that the vapour thus exhaled should
rise before him and exclude fi'om his view the
ark and propitiatory ; — those hallowed objects
upon which the eyes of the multitude were not
permitted to gaze.

In the Jewish temple two lambs were daily
sacrificed as burnt-offerings upon the brazen
altar, one in the morning, the other in the eve-

451

ning; the first before all other sacrifices, the
second after all. The offering representative
of that great expiatory sacrifice of " the lamb
without spot," subsequently slain for the sins of
the whole world, was undoubtedly alluded to
by Moses, in recording the temple services of
the Levitical priesthood. In conclusion, then,
it may be remarked that the couplet last quoted,
by means of the parallelism which it is made to
exhibit, comprehends the whole ceremonial duties
of the priesthood, as the one preceding it does
the civil duties of the Levites; the one refer-
ring to the judicial, the other to the sacerdotal
office.

Bless, Lord, his substance,

And accept the work of his hands :

Smite through the loins of them that rise against him,

And of them that hate him, that they rise not again.

Dr. Adam Clarke's note on the first clause
of this verse is excellent. " The blessing of God
to the tribe of Levi was peculiarly necessary,
because they had no inheritance among the
children of Israel, and lived more immediately
than others upon the providence of God. Yet,
as they lived by the offerings of the people and
the tithes, the increase of their substance ne-
cessarily implied the increase of the people at
large; the more fruitful the land was, the more
abundant would the tithes of the Levites be ;
and thus, in the increased fertility of the land,
the substance of Levi would be blessed."

And accept the work of his hands.

2 G 2

452

This is simply, 'may the ministrations of the
j)riests and Levites be performed at all times in
such a manner as shall be acceptable in thy
sio-ht ; — may they never fail in their spiritual
duties towards thee.'

Smite through the loins of tliem that rise against him.

' Execute thy judgments upon them who op-
pose thy ministers in their sacred vocation, and
thus sin against thee. Such are the enemies,
not only of religion, but of all virtue ; they hate
thy ministers because they hate thee, and are
enemies to the strict but salutary morality which
thou enjoinest ; smite thou them, therefore,
that they rise not again.' DufcU renders the
latter part of the benediction thus : —

Bless, Lord, his forces,

And accept the work of his hands,

Smite through the loins of them that rise against him.

And let not his enemies rise up again.

And the following is his summary of the whole
prophecy : — " Moses having finished that part
of his prayer which related to Judah, enters
rapidly on a new subject, and offers his petitions
in behalf of his own tribe. He begins by in-
treating the Almighty that the sacerdotal office
mio-ht continue in this tribe, in which he had
been pleased to appoint it ; notwithstanding
that they, together with the rest of Israel, had
twice very remarkably displeased him through
their disobedience and want of faith. But, as
they had manifested great zeal for the service

453

of the Lord on another remarkable occasion,
and had duly punished all offenders without the
least respect of persons, he prays that it mitjjht
still be their province for the future, both to
administer justice and to offer sacrifices ; and
though they were exempted from war, yet, as
the time would come when this tribe would pro-
duce some of the greatest champions whom
Israel ever saw, he implores God would grant
them success equal to their valour, and assist
them in making an entire conquest of those
enemies who would endeavour to reduce the
Jewish nation to their yoke."

Herder does not differ essentially from Durell;
he reads, —

Bless, O Jehovah, their power;

Accept the work of their hands.

Strike down him that riseth against them,

And him that hateth them, that he rise not again.

I have already taken occasion to speak of
the poetical beauties of this benediction ; they
are great and paramount. I will now endea-
vour to point out the most prominent. I must,
therefore, recapitulate. In the first clause —

Let thy Thunimini and thy Urim be with thy holy one,

two rhetorical figures, as I have already re-
marked, are employed with considerable effect,
the metonymy and synecdoche, the one in the
words " Thunnnim and Urim," which are em-
ployed to express the entire Levitical priest-
hood, and the other embraced in the term '' holy

454

one," referring to Aaron, who is made to repre-
sent the tribe, of which he was so distinguished
a member, a part being used for the whole,
a common artifice in poetical writing ; as if
the poet had said — ' may the sacerdotal office
continue in the tribe of Levi, of which Aaron,
the high-priest by divine appointment, was so
bright an ornament both in his general piety and
virtue.' It is astonishing what a prodigious
quantity of meaning is contained in this one
line. It is like a seed in the vegetable economy,
from which a number of leaves, blossoms, and
fruits, are generated, in that mysterious me-
chanism producing germination, betwixt the
first bursting of the pellicle in the earth to the
attainment of its maturity of formation as a
prolific plant. Every word in the line is the
nucleus of a train of thoua;hts which rise out
of it, as incense from the sacred censer.
Like the sybil leaves, they are capable of being
expanded, by the process of logical solution,
into rich and copious truths. When the film
is removed, the chrysalis exhibits all the ex-
quisite symmetry of animal organization, with
the inexplicable beauty of life, motion, and voli-
tion ; so when the wand of interpretation has
lifted the veil of obscurity cast over the words
of the inspired bard, truth appears in all the
luxuriance of her perfection, as a star from its
shroud of vapour which the wind has dispersed.
The opening line of the blessing upon Levi has
wonderful force of signification; then follows an
elegant parallelism of gradation, which is fol-
lowed by a climax in the four subsequent clauses

455

of extreme beauty, the subject of the ninth verse
being- represented as disrega7-di7ig his parents,
refusing to acknowledge his brethren, and dis-
owning or casting off his children ; each action
expressed in the several hemistichs progressively
rising in strength. Next follow three consecutive
couplets, in each of which the gradational paral-
lelism is shown to be present with equal clear-
ness, though it is most skilfully varied in each
pair of lines. In these the obedience of the Levites
to the divine ordinances is declared, and the
civil and sacerdotal duties which they shall be
ultimately called upon to fulfil proclaimed as to
continue in that tribe, until they shall be super-
seded by the spiritual obligations of a higher
dispensation, in which the Levitical shall finally
merge.

I may observe here how delicate a symmetry,
though there be not an exact harmony of pro-
portion, is observed in the four pair of lines
quoted at the bottom of the page ; they being
severally composed of a long and short line, so
nearly equalized in length and quantity in each
couplet, as to convey to the ear, if read aloud,
all but a perfectly metrical euphony. This I
think will be immediately perceived by repeat-
ing the clauses with a proper attention to the
pauses and emphatic terms.

Who said unto his father and to his mother,

I have not seen him :

Neither did he acknowledge his brethren,

Nor knew his own children :

For they have observed thy word,

And kept thy covenant.

They shall teach Jacob thy judgments.

And Israel Ihv law.

456

A very little contrivance, with scarcely any
change, might convert these hemistichs into
regular verses. Even as they now stand, it is
surprising how nearly the same cadence is pro-
duced in the long and short lines of this passage.
I have no doubt, in the original, if the quan-
tities of syllables could be ascertained, that the
conformity and rhythm would be found pei'fect.
The enallage of number in the fifth line, is a
usage consistent with the condensed form of
Hebrew writing, and though it seems harsh in
our language, and often throws a veil of ob-
scurity over the sense, the reason of its use may
nevertheless be perceived. It imparts energy
to the description, by the rapidity of the tran-
sition from one object to another. In the pre-
sent example, much greater force of impression
is given to the objects represented, by the abrupt
change of the personal pronoun; " he" and

'they" being thus placed, as it were, in verbal
opposition, the former under a figure, the latter
literally ; he referring to Aaron, as the repre-
sentative of the tribe of Levi, the individual
standing personally for the whole race, and
they to the posterity of Levi collectively.

The blessing concludes with an earnest appeal
to heaven that the temporal prosperity of this
tribe may be maintained by him from whom
cometh every good and perfect gift, and that
their ministrations, whether in the sanctuary or
in the civil courts, may be acceptable to him ;
the poet in concluding the couplet evoking
judgment upon the enemies of God and of his
religion. " Smite through the loins," is a phrase

457

of wonderful extent of signification ; the loins
being those parts of the body in which the
chief strength lies, the least injury received in
them at once depriving the person so injured
of all physical capability. " Smite him through
the loins," is equivalent to saying, deprive
him of all capacity of exertion, for any serious
. mischief sustained there disables the sufferer
from using his nether limbs, thus rendering
him comparatively helpless. The giant becomes
a dwarf in strength, and the mighty man an
object of compassion even to the feeble. The
expression is extremely comprehensive, filling
the mind, at the same time exciting the
admiration, with a clear and vigorous image.

CHAPTER XXVI.

The benediction on Benjamin.

We now come to the benediction upon Ben-
jamin, the youngest son of Jacob, which has a
more extensive application than that pronounced
by his venerable ancestor, and gives a much
more favourable view of the descendants of
this patriarch who, after Joseph, was the
favourite son of his father, though both the
prophecies were alike realized in the issue.
They refer to different periods ; there is Conse-
quently no discrepancy between them. " And
of Benjamin he said —

The beloved of the Lord shall dwell in safety by him ;
And the Lord shall cover him all the day long,
And he shall dvrell betvreen his shoulders.

The words " beloved of the Lord," have
caused much perplexity to the commentators.
It appears to me that they have both a primary
and secondary application. They are here, as
I conceive, first applied to Benjamin personally,
the favourite child of his father, " beloved of the
Lord" no less than of his parent because he was
a good and dutiful son. Thus the phrase might
have its primary reference to Benjamin per-
sonallv on account of his filial and other virtues,

459

and its secondary reference to the tribe o-enc-
rally for reasons immediately to be explained.
We shall observe, all the way through these
benedictions as well as throuo-h those of Jacob,
that the patriarchs themselves who were the
heads of the twelve tribes, are personally dis-
tinguished, though the main subjects of the
blessings were their several posterities. These
heads are brought directly before us at the very
moment the future condition of their descen-
dants is being predicted. We are made to look
at the one through the other. The one is in fact
the type of the many, the other the many so
adumbrated. We thus appear to see the former
on the bright speculum placed before us by the
magic wand of the prophetic bard, through the
long vista of the past, at the moment we
are looking through the still longer and dimmer
vista of the future at their vastly multiplied
posterity.

The expression which has thus perplexed the
commentators will, as I conceive, exhibit its
own interpretation, if applied to Benjamin, as I
have ventured to suggest, then to the tribe of
which he was the head ; for not only was he
extremely beloved by his natural as well as by
his heavenly father, but likewise by Joseph,
that good brother, who would hardly have
signalized him so greatly above his kindred
had he not been at once a son and brother of
rare merit. We shall remember that when
Joseph entertained his brethren, "Benjamin's
mess was five times as much as any of theirs;"*

* Genesis xliii. 34.

460

•and afterwards when he distributed gifts among
them, before their departure from Egypt to ])ring
their families down to that country, " to all of
them he gave each man changes of raiment :
but to Benjamin he gave three hundred pieces
of silver (a large sum in those days) and five
changes of raiment."*

There is, in my judgment, a most affecting
interest excited in identifying the patriarchs
individually with their descendants collectively ;
thus specifically characterizing each by a refer-
ence to its original head, that head stamping
on each tribe, by a sort of reflex agency, its own
peculiar and cognate identity. Great venera-
tion was always entertained by the Jews for
those distinguished forefathers who gave names
to their several races, and this was certainly as
strong in the days of Moses as it has been at
any subsequent period.

The beloved of the Lord shall dwell in safety by him.

The latter words of this clause, " shall dwell
in safety by him," are supposed to refer parti-
cularly to the circumstance of the temple, the
habitation of divine holiness, being situated in
this tribe, Mount Moriah, upon which that
sacred edifice was built, forming part of the
portion of their inheritance. The words may
likewise refer to the extraordinary valour of
this tribe as the prophecy of Jacob had previ-
ously done, thus producing a close correspon-
dency between them ; inferring that they would

* Genesis xlv. 22.

461

protect from desecration the temple, placed in
that part of the Holy Land to which they had a
prescriptive right of possession, and thus " the
beloved of the Lord would dwell in safety by
him," that is, by the sanctuary in which the
divine presence should rest, being immediately
under divine protection; so that Benjamin
would defend the sanctuary from violation, and
the sanctuary, being the habitation of God's
presence, would protect hirn. It is certain that
the Benjamites were the most warlike of the
whole community of Israel, as may be suffi-
ciently seen in the twentieth chapter of Judges.
The clause is generally interpreted as declaring
the protection which God would extend to this
tribe in future generations. After the schism
of Jeroboam in which the Benjamites did not
partake, they were associated with Judah and
may be said to have merged in that tribe, for
politically the two races became one, forming
the kingdom of Judah, in contradistinction to
that of Israel, united under the ten revolted
tribes. The valour of Benjamin's posterity was
mainly instrumental in preserving the indepen-
dence of the former government against the
united force of the large majority of their
alienated kindred. That unnatural disassocia-
tion, caused by the revolt of the son of Nebat,
was the proximate cause of all the disasters
which afterwards bolel the Hebrew nation, so
clearly pointed at in that fine prophetic ode, form-
ing the thirty-second chapter of Deuteronomy.
It was a separation fatal to the future prosperity
of Israel.

462

And the Lord shall cover him all the day long.

' The temple, being in the portion of Benjamin,
he shall have the benefit of the visible presence
of God continually near him, the Shechinah or
divine glory being perpetually over the pro-
pitiatory in the Holy of Holies. Thus shall he
be peculiarly favoured in being under the im-
mediate influence of that visible manifestation
of Deity which God has condescended to dis-
play in the edifice dedicated to his honour and
worship. This propinquity to the celestial
dwelling-place upon earth, and the consequent
protection afforded by it to Benjamin, shall
continue all the day long, or so long as the
Mosaic dispensation shall last, that is, until it
shall be superseded by the christian.' Mount
Moriah, in which the temple was afterwards
built, formed part of the portion of Benjamin.

And he shall dwell between his shoulders ;

or in his country, as the Targum of Onkelos
expounds the words. " It being in the temple
and the temple in the tribe of Benjamin, where
it stood upon Mount Moriah, as the head of a
man doth upon his shoulders, as Dr. Lightfoot
glosses in his Temple Service, p. 245, edit. 1."
(See Patrick's note.)

*' It cannot be doubted," observes Durell, "but
that Jerusalem belonged originally to this tribe,
as maybe seen, Joshua xviii. 28 ; Judges i. 21.
And though in process of time it came to be
generally considered as one of the cities of Ju-
dah, yet it is not improbable that when the

463

temple was built, the spot on which it was
erected and the environs were still regarded as
a part of Benjamin's portion. However, this is
certain, that God intended these two tribes to
share in the same fortune, and to continue the
enjoyment of their property and privileges
longer than any of the other tribes, as the pro-
phecies plainly intimate ; and this may be the
reason why we cannot easily trace what be-
longs to each separate." Houbigant, after the
Seventy, whose interpretation he much approves,
reads as follows : —

The beloved of the Lord shall have a secure dwelling-place —

The Most High shall overshadow him ;

He shall hang all the day long over his shoulders.

"In which words," he observes, "God is com-
pared to an eagle descending from on high, hov-
ering over the shoulders of Benjamin, and pro-
tecting him with his wings." I am disposed to
concur in this exposition, it is so exquisitely
poetical, yet so clear and natural. It is a magni-
cent image, representing with no less beauty
than truth the " tender mercy" of God towards
those whom he determines to succour. There
is, moreover, no perplexity in this rendering.
The same image too had been before employed,
though with greater amplitude of detail, in
chapter xxxii. 11 ; and if the two passages arc
compared, it will be at once obvious how dex-
terously the poet uses the same symbol of divine
sustentation without servilely copying himself,
both passages exhibiting the most perfect ori-
ginality from the varied manner in which the

464

like image is introduced. In the first instance
it is positively expressed and extended into the
most minute detail ; in the second it is only
intimated and confined to one general action.

Herder has caug-ht the spirit of this interpre-
tation, and given it with great felicity ; his
remarks upon this blessing deserve notice.

The beloved of Jehovah shall dwell safely,
The Most High hovereth over him daily.
And giveth him rest between his wings.

"This blessing," writes the eloquent German,
" is tender in sentiment, and entirely changed from
the character of Jacob's. The ravening wolf is
here again the same Benjamin, whom his father
restrained from the hazards of a journey, and
carefully commended to the guardianship of his
brethren. So Moses commends him to the pro-
tecting care of Jehovah, under the frequent and
favourite image of an eagle. This bird hovers
over its young, supports them when about to
fall, and permits them to rest upon its back be-
tween its wings. All this the lawgiver applies
to Benjamin." He says, further — " It is not
shown that ' shoulders,' either of God or Benja-
min, mean mountains, and the discourse here
is not of the mountains of Benjamin between
which God should dwell. Between the mountains,
Moriah and Zion, even had they belonged to
Benjamin, Jehovah never dwelt. There was a
cleft between them, but the temple stood upon
the mountain. The Hebrew text must be read
here as the Seventy read it."*

* Spirit of Hebrew Poetry, vol. ii. p. 158.

465

According to the interpretation of the Seven-
ty, as adapted by Houbigant and Herder, there
is not the slightest obscnrity in the animated
and eloquent blessing pronounced by Moses
upon the posterity of Benjamin, and of the
poetical beauty present in it there can be no
question. This is too prominent to lie be-
yond the perception of the most heedless reader.
Our version, undoubtedly, gives a good sense,
though it is more perplexed than that proposed
by the French and German commentators, which
likewise differ; still, whichever interpretation is
embraced, — for after all they each represent the
divine protection and favour towards Benjamin
in equally strong terms, though under somewhat
varied aspects, — the blessing will not be essen-
tially different. The triplet in which it is
conveyed expresses three stages of the divine
mercy ; first, Benjamin dwelling in safety ;
secondly, the Lord's protecting providence, re-
presented by his hovering over, or overshadowing
him, as an eagle over its young; and thirdly,
the crowning dispensation of love is consum-
mated by giving the offspring of Jacob's be-
loved son rest between his shoulders or wings.
This, according to Herder's rendering, is one of
the most magnificent examples of climax to be
found among the divine treasures of Hebrew
poetry, the wealth of which is so abundant and
of so rare a quality.

VOL. H. 2 H

CHAPTER XXVII.

The benediction on Joseph.

The ])lessing upon Joseph next follows, which
is characterized by extraordinary sublimity.
Joseph was a man eminent in his generation,
highly favoured of God, and not without reason,
for he was a person of distinguished integrity,
morally pure almost beyond example, gifted
with the rarest endowments of intellect, as good
as he was wiSe, and entrusted with power in
a measure proportioned to his wisdom and
goodness. Here then was a noble subject for
prophetic song, and it was evident that Moses
felt this, for he has embellished it with the
richest graces of the poetic art, although, as will
be seen, many of the images are borrowed from
Jacob's prophecy. " And of Joseph he said,"

Blessed of the Lord be his land,
For the precious things of heaven, for the dew,
And for the deep that coucheth beneath,
And for the precious fruits brought forth by the sun,
And for the precious things put forth by the moon,
And for the chief things of the ancient mountains.
And for the precious things of the lasting hills.
And for the precious things of the earth and fulness thereof,
And for the good-will of him that dwelt in the bush :
Let the blessing come upon the head of Joseph,
And upon the lop of the head of him that was separated from his
brethren.

467

His glory is like the firstling of his bullock,
And his horns are like the horns of unicorns :
With them he shall push the people together
To the ends of the earth :
And they are the ten thousands of Ephraim,
And they are the thousands of Manasseh.

This prophecy corresponds very nearly with
that of Jacob, and almost exactly in many of
the main particulars. In several instances
the same terms are employed, though some-
what differently distributed, according to the
more refined taste and peculiar genius of the
poet. In the first hemistich a blessing is invoked
upon the " land" or portion of Joseph ; that is,
upon the portions inherited by his sons Ephraim
and Manasseh. The division of Palestine sub-
sequently possessed by the posterity of these
patriarchs, was prodigiously fertile, yielding a
greater general abundance than any other
district of that fertile region.

For the precious things of heaven, for the dew,
And for the deep that couchctli beneath.

Durcll reads these two clauses, and I have no
doubt rightly, —

With the precious things of heaven above,
And with the deep lying beneath ;

for in this version the correspondency ol the
two verses is exactly preserved, which is not
the case in our translation, and the sense is
maintained in Durell's reading with equal, if not

2 H 2

468

with closer fidelity. " The precious things of
heaven" include both rain and dew, as well as
all other atmospheric contingencies, which form
the local peculiarities of climate and often
essentially contribute to the productiveness of
the soil, by favouring germination and conse-
quently promoting its fecundity. The meaning
of the passage appears to be, that the portion of
Joseph's descendants shall be plentifully wa-
tered with rains and genial dews, besides being
fructified by numerous springs gushing from the
depths of the earth. An example of antithe-
tical parallelism will be here detected, " heaven
above" and " the deep lying beneath," being
the phrases in which the antithesis lies. Jacob
had promised similar blessings in almost pre-
cisely the same terms —

With blessings of heaven above,
Blessings of the deep that lieth under.*

It will be seen that Moses here quotes, as
nearly as possible, the words of Jacob, and
that he intended to present the same paral-
lelism. Nothing can more strongly show the
fertility of that portion of Judaea, inherited by
the descendants of Joseph, than the expressions
here employed. It was one of the most pio-
ductive parts of an extremely fruitful region,
and how just the representation made by Moses
was, the following extract from Maundrell's
Travelsf will suffice to confirm. Speaking of
the rocky districts of Palestine, that traveller

* Genesis xlix, 25. t Page 65.

469

says — " For it is obvious for any one to observe
that these rocks and hills must have been an-
ciently covered with earth and cultivated, and
made to contribute to the maintenance of the
inhabitants, no less than if the country had been
all plain, nay, perhaps much more ; forasmuch
as such a mountainous and uneven surface
affords a larger space of ground for cultivation
than this country would amount to, if it were
all reduced to a perfect level.

'* For the husbanding of these mountains, their
manner was to gather up the stones, and place
them in several lines along the sides of the hills
in the form of a wall. By such borders they
supported the mould from tumbling, or being
washed down, and formed many beds of excel-
lent soil, rising gradually one above another
from the bottom to the top of the mountains.

"Of this form of culture you see evident
footsteps wherever you go, in all the mountains
of Palestine. Thus the very rocks are made
fruitful. And perhaps there is no spot of
ground in this whole land that was not formerly
improved to the production of something or
other, ministering to the sustenance of human
life. For than the plain countries nothing can
be more fruitful, whether for the production of
corn or cattle, and consequently of milk. The
hills, although improper for all cattle, except
goats, yet, being disposed into such beds as are
before described, served very well to bear corn,
melons, gourds, cucumbers, and such like garden
stuff, which makes the food of these for several
months in the year. The most rocky parts of all.

470

which couIcL' not well he adjusted in that man-
ner for the production of corn, niii>ht yet serve
for the production of vines and olive-trees,
which deUght to extract, the one its fatness, the
other its spris;htly juice, chiefly out of such dry
and flinty places. And the great plain joining to
the Dead Sea, which, by reason of its saltness,
might be thought unserviceable both for cattle,
corn, olives, and vines, had yet its proper use-
fulness for the nourishment of bees, and for the
fabrick of honey, of which Josephus gives us
his testimony (De Bell. Jud. lib. v. cap. 4.) And
I have reason to believe it, because when I was
there, I perceived in many places a smell of
honey and wax as strong as if one had been in
an apiary. Why then might not this country
very well maintain the vast number of its in-
habitants, being, in every part, so productive
of cither milk, corn, wine, oil, or honey, which
are the principal food of these eastern nations?
the constitution of their bodies, and the nature
of their climate inclining: them to a more abste-
mious diet than we use in England and other
colder regions." Dr. Shaw bears similar testi-
mony.* After speaking of the vast quantities
of wild honey and olive-oil produced in this fruit-
ful region, he says, — " The mountainous parts
therefore of the Holy Land were so far from
being inhospitable, unfruitful, or the refuse of
the land of Canaan, that in the division of this
country, the mountain of Hebron was granted
to Caleb as a particular favour (Joshua xiv. 12.)

* Travels, p. 33(i, et seq.

471

We read likewise, that in the time of Asa, this
hill-country of Judah (2 Chronicles xiv. 8,)
mustered five hundred and ei^^hty thousand men
of valour; an argument beyond dispute that
the land was able to maintain them. Even at
present, notwithstanding the want there has
been, for many ages, of a proper culture and
improvement, yet the plains and valleys, though
as fruitful as ever, lie almost entirely neglected,
whilst every little hill is crowded with inhabi-
tants. If this part, therefore, of the Holy Land
was made up only, as some object, of rocks and
precipices, how comes it to pass that it should
be more frequented than the plains of Esdrael-
on, Ramah, Zebulon or Acre, which are all of
them very delightful and fertile beyond imagi-
nation *? It cannot be urged that the inhabi-
tants live with more safety here than in the
plain country; inasmuch as there are neither
walls nor fortifications to secure their villages or
encampments; there are likewise few or no
places of difficult access, so that both of them
lie equally exposed to the insults and outrages
of an enemy. But the reason is plain and ob-
vious; inasmuch as they find here sufficient
conveniences for themselves, and much greater
for their cattle. For they themselves have here
bread to the lull, whilst their cattle browse upon
richer herbage, and both of them are refreshed
by springs of excellent water, too much wanted,
especially in the summer season, not only in
the plains of this, but of other countries in the
same climate. This fertility of the Holy Land,
which I have been describing, is confirmed from

472

authors of great repute,* whose partiality can-
tiot in the least be suspected on this account."

These accounts refer to Palestine generally,
and the portion of Joseph's posterity was in
the most fertile part of that eminently fruitful
country. In Jacob's blessing upon this good
and wise son, we find that he dwells upon his
virtues with paternal pride and fondness; and
the benediction of Moses is no less abundant in
promises of future greatness, as if he felt a satis-
faction in reflecting upon the eminent qualities of
this patriarch, who certainly was the greatest
man of his time, and has, from that period to
the present, been justly the pride of all the He-
brew races. There is a glow and fervour
throughout this prophetic blessing, which shows
the inspired bard was animated with a lofty
sense of his deserving, respecting whose descen-
dants he was now delivering a solemn predic-
tion, before he should be withdrawn from them
to a world of everlasting peace —

Where the prisoners rest together ;

They hear not the voice of the oppressor.f

There is an earnestness in every thought and in
every expression of this prophecy, which shows
that the venerable bard was strongly moved by
his impressions of the eminence of him whose
seed were the subjects of it.

And for the precious fruits brought forth by the sun,
And for the precious things put forth by the moon.

Moses is supposed to allude here to the annual

* See Justin Hist. lib. xxxvi. cap, 3. f Jobiii. 18.

473

and monthly productions of the veo-ctablc khig-
dom ; the first being grain, pulse, and such things
as require nearly the full year to mature ; the
second, those flowers, vegetables, and escu-
lents, which may be obtained monthly : but I
apprehend that this distinction between solar
and lunar plants was chiefly employed by the
inspired lawgiver for the sake of poetical adorn-
ment, and of producing the parallelism; for,
strictly speaking, there are no vegetables of
any consequence that are brought forth monthly ;
the two phrases, however, may be said to in-
clude every variety and description of vegetable
produce. The picture of fruitfulness which they
combine to complete, is extremely vivid, and it
was, beyond question, the poet's design to con-
vey the strongest impression possible of the
fertility of that inheritance upon which the pos-
terity of Joseph were shortly to enter ; he has,
therefore, employed those terms, and resorted
to that mode of poetical conformation, the best
calculated to fix such an impression.

There will be observed in the couplet now
under notice an inverse gradation of the terms,
the parallelism, instead of being constructed ac-
cording to the usual gradational form, declining
into an anticlimax. It is an inversion of the
ordinary arrangement, and occasionally, though
by no means frequently, occurs in the poetical
scriptures. In this passage the first clause has
the strongest terms, which are modified instead of
being advanced in the second, and our translators
have marked this distinction very strongly. In the
former, the phrase '' precious /r/^/Ys." is opposed

474

to " precious things" in the latter, " brought
forth" to ''put forth," and " sun" to " moon."
Here it will be admitted is a refined, and
artful, but nevertheless most effective varying
of the phrases. These, though apparently
equivalent, will not be found so upon a nearer
examination; although similar, they vary con-
siderably in force of signification, and were
no doubt designed by Moses to bear just such a
difference of sense as should at once preserve
the parallelism, sustain the anticlimax, and im-
part an elegant variety to the couplet. " Vrc-
ciou^ fruits " which include all sorts oi grain, as
well as every kind oi fruit, are the most active
productions of the soil in an eastern climate,
where they constitute the chief refection of the
people whose religious prejudices prohibit the
use, almost exclusively, of animal food. Those
words, I apprehend, relate especially to the
products of the land more immediately designed
for the use of man: " the precious things'" refer
to those of inferior growth, assigned generally
for the use of cattle, both productions being
precious, though of superior and inferior esti-
mation.

The influence of the moon upon vegetation,
which may be confined chiefly to the night
dews that fall upon the land, — for it distributes
no heat with this salutary moisture — is far
inferior to that of the sun, the genial warmth
of which literally quickens the fruits of the
earth, as chickens are hatched under the myste-
rious process of incubation ; hence the two pa-
rallel expressions, " brought forth" and " put

475

forth" bear not the same degree of force in their
signification, and were employed to signify two
orders of production in nature, kindred indeed,
but different both in kind and in deoree.

I think our translators have been particularly
successful in rendering- this couplet. Durell
does not vary much from them ; still his trans-
lation is not so good as theirs : it is smoother
indeed and more gracefully turned, but lacks
the Hebraic character and identification of the
common reading. His version is —

And with the precious fruits of the sun,
And with the precious produce of the moon.

Here the expressions are less varied and the
parallel terms less distinctively marked. Herder
is still less fortunate. He translates the
passage —

With precious things produced by the sun,
And precious things brought forth by the moon.

In this version the two clauses are mere re-
[)etitions the one of the other, the agents oi'
production alone breaking the exact uniformity
in the sense. All the terms, save the last word
in either line, are synonymous, and thus tame to
the last degree. I confess I much prefer the
distich as rendered by our venerable translators
to either of these improved readings. They show
in the strongest manner, by their own internal
evidence, that alterations are not always im-
provements.

And for the chief tilings of tlic aiiciciil niounluius,
And for the precious things of the lusting hills.

476

Again we have the gradational parallelism,
which would have heen better brought outhadjthe
word "lasting" been rendered everlasting, for
this term, though strictly signifying unceasing
duration, is frequently applied to finite objects
when a great lapse of time is to be expressed ;
it is moreover an expression of vast force and
effect. The parallel terms "chief things" and
" precious things," " ancient mountains" and
"lasting hills," show an evident advance of em-
phasis in the last clause, the two latter phrases
embracing a wider extent of meaning than the
two former.

The " chief things" may allude to the super-
ficial productions of the mountains, their stately
forests, their majestic cedars, and other vege-
table treasures which appear upon the surface,
such as olives, esculents, fruits, grain and honey ;
the " precious things" may refer as well to va-
rious metals and gems dug from the bosom of
the hills, as to springs, the great sources of fe-
cundity. Under this view the distinction will
be palpable. There can be no question as to the
gradation of force from " ancient mountains"
to " everlasting hills;" and few will deny that
gold, silver, and gems rise above the " chief
things" before enumerated as the superficial
produce of the mountains, in the estimation of
men.

The more elevated regions of Judaea were not
only, as it would appear, fruitful in olives, vines
and pasturage, but likewise yielded iron and
brass; as it is stated in the eighth chapter of Deu-

477

teronomy,* " For the Lord thy God bringeth
thee into a good land, a land of brooks of
water, of fountains and depths that spring out
of valleys and hills ; a land of wheat, and bar-
ley, and vines, and fig-trees, and pomegranates ;
a land of oil olive, and honey ; a land wherein
thou shalt eat bread without scarceness, thou
shalt not lack anything in it ; a land whose
stones are iron, and out of whose hills thou
mayest dig brass." There is, I think, suffi-
cient warranty for the interpretation I have
proposed, and as this distinction projects the
parallelism so distinctly to view, I have no doubt
it was thus intended by the inspired author
of this valedictory but prophetic song. That
there were mines in Palestine and Mount Li-
banus we are assured by ancient authors ;
and Aristaeus, in his History of the Seventy In-
terpreters, states, that these mines continued
down to the time of the Persian dominion, when
the rulers of the district, acquainting the king
that the expense of working the mines exceeded
the profits, they were abandoned. It is pro-
bable that these aliens were unacquainted with
the methods of working them with advantage,
and, therefore, in their ignorance, relincjuished
a considerable source of wealth, only because
they did not know how to possess themselves
of it.

I think the beauty of those prophetic pro-
mises contained in the first three verses of
this blessing, can hardly escape attention from

• Verse 7—9.

478

any reader of taste. The whole passas^e is
similar to the parallel clauses in Jacob's pro-
phecy,* but surpasses them in beautiful pro-
priety of adaptation and symmetrical corres-
pondency of parts. Herder has given a very
poetical turn to the couplet we are now exa-
mining, varying the terms with excellent judg-
ment, and accurate discrimination.

The good that grows from eastern mountains,
The beautiful that springs from ancient hills.

This is extremely happy ; and the gradational
parallelism is placed before us in a form of
exquisite proportion and beauty, even more,
strongly than in our version, in which it is im-
possible not to trace it. The distinction be-
tween the good and the beautiful — that is, be-
tween the vegetable and metallic produce of the
mountains — is most judiciously preserved, and
can hardly fail to arrest the reader's admiration ;
that between ''growing" and "springing from"
is equally well sustained — growing upon the sur-
face of the earth, and springing from beneath
it ; the one referring to vegetable produce, the
other primarily to springs, which are the parents
of rivers, and secondarily, to precious metals
and gems hidden in its bosom, but exposed to
view by the labours of the miner. The last
pair of parallel terms are much more positively
varied than in any other translation which I
have seen, and speak strongly for Herder's
poetical discernment.

* Gen. xlix. 25, 26.

479

And for the precious things of tlie earth and fulness thereof,
And for the good-will of him that dwelt in the bush.

" And for the precious things of the earth," is "
here contrasted with the produce of the " an-
cient mountains," and of the "everlasting hills."
It refers to the rich productions of the level
country, and " the fulness thereof" imports the
richest harvests, finest pasturage, and most
plentiful vintages which a level and well
watered region, with a soil of uncommon fer-
tility, is capable of affording. Every descrip-
tion of fruitful land is referred to in these lines,
signifying the amazing fecundity of that por-
tion to be thenceforward possessed by the seed
of Joseph.

" That a champaign country is here referred
to," observes Durell,* " will appear more proba-
ble from the event ; for, besides the great
plain near Jordan, which Joseph had in com-
mon with some other tribes, and the plain of
Sharon, near the Mediterranean Sea, there
seems to have been another great plain near
Samaria, which Josephus calls " the great plain
of Samaria," and near Mount Ephraim was the
"valley of fatness y

And for the good-will of him that dwelt in the bush ;

that is, for the special favour, manifested in
the distribution of all those temporal blessings
before enumerated, of the Lord Jehovah, the
great I AM, who revealed himself to Moses on

* See his note on the place.

480

Mount Horeb in a flaming bush, and gave him
his commission to be the future leader of the
Israelites ; — who, as Dr. Adam Clarke truly and
eloquently says, "has preserved and will pre-
serve, in tribulation and distress, all who trust
in Him, so that they shall as surely escape
unhurt, as the bush, though enveloped with fire,
was unburnt."

This is a very delicate, and at the same time
impressive allusion, on the part of Moses, to the
singular providential agency of the all-merciful
Jehovah, the inconceivable and incommunicable
Godhead, who had appointed to the Israelites a
temporal ruler to release them, aided by the
miraculous intervention of him who raised
the son of Amram to that responsible office,
from the hard servitude which the tyranny of
Pharaoh had imposed upon them. It must at
once have carried the minds of his hearers back
into the comparatively recent past, in which the
divine mercy had been so wonderfully displayed
to the unhappy bondmen of Egypt, from the
appointment of Moses at Horeb to the moment
of anticipated triumph, when the vastly multi-
plied race of Abraham were about to enter upon
their long-promised possession. It was a happy
stroke of art to recal to their recollections thus
incidentally, as it were, this extraordinary reve-
lation, so inseparably connected as it was with
all those marvellous circumstances which fol-
lowed in the land of Egypt, and subsequently in
the wilderness during a term of forty years. It
brouo*ht vividly to their thoughts the paternal
dealing with them of that almighty Providence

481

whose presence had been with them throughout
all their difficulties and trials. The assurance
of territorial prosperity to be enjoyed by the
descendants of Joseph was very properly fol-
lowed by a promise of divine favour. No
temporal blessings without this would be of any
avail in securing the happiness of those to
whom they were assured by prophecy. God's
spiritual requital to man is after all the only
substantial blessing in this life, and such as can
alone bring him peace at the last.

Let the blessing come upon the head of Joseph,
And upon the top of the head of him that was separated from his
brethren.

The blessing here referred to is primarily
that mentioned in the preceding clause,

The good-will of him that dwelt in the bush ;

and secondarily the heavenly benefactions be-
fore enumerated, which may be said to be all
included in it. Moses, in fact, says, — ' may the
fullest manifestation of divine favour distin-
guish the descendants of this patriarch, and
render them eminent among the tribes.' " Upon
the top of the head" is clearly a metaphorical
phrase signifying supreme eminence of distinc-
tion, as if the poet had said, ' may these bles-
sings appear like a glory upon his head, rcnder-
inghim conspicuous among his brethren.' Here
reference is made to Joseph personally — to the
political supremacy which he attained in the
court of Pharaoh, and the rays of legislative
wisdom which he threw round that monarch's

VOL. II. 2 I

482

crown. Throufl^h the father, who was so luminous
an example of political and moral ascendancy,
great temporal prosperity, as well as personal
distinction, was to accrue to the descendants of
his sons; this eventually came to pass, for
Joshua, Gideon, and Jepthah were among the
distinguished descendants of that illustrious
patriarch, the former being of the tribe of
Ephraim, the two latter of that of Manasseh.

The words of the last clause suggest an idea
of the most splendid of all earthly distinctions ;
a crown placed upon the top of the head, being
emblematical of supremacy, is here a represen-
tative image, not only of that great celebrity as
a ruler, which had been enjoyed by the best and
wisest son of Jacob, but likewise of the temporal
power to accrue to the future race of this great
and good man " that

Was separated from his brethren.

This I understand to refer, first, to Joseph's
separation from his brethren, in consequence of
their conspiracy against him, which terminated
in his being sold as a slave ; and secondly, in
that remote issue of their unnatural barbarity,
his becoming lord over the entire dominions of
Pharaoh, which he governed with a capacity
and statistical prudence inferior to no lawgiver
whom history has recorded. He was separated
from his brethren as well as from his father, for
a considerable term of his life, and restored to
them after an interval of great but glorious vi-
cissitude. This separation, conceived in turpi-

483

tude and beo-uii in sorroAv, eventually proved the
salvation of his whole family, and was one of
those mysterious agencies by which providence
works in advancing the destinies of nations.
Moses here incidentally alludes to that remark-
able event in the history of this singular people
whom he had been divinely appointed to go-
vern, as if to remind them of that act of
ferocious hostility which abandoned an innocent
brother to the cruelty of a tribe of slave-
dealers ; — those unnatural brethren having add-
ing the sin of falsehood to their previous crime,
by stating to their disconsolate parent that his
favourite son had been devoured by wild beasts.
It is surprising how aptly the more prominent
points in the history of the Hebrews is intro-
duced by the poet into these benedictions, in
the most natural and easy manner too ; and yet
they are so admirably timed, as no doubt to have
produced the happiest effect. He merely refers to
the disgraceful event above alluded to, without
offensively dwelling upon it, or entering into any
painful detail, but, by immediately passing to
the honours which were to signalize Joseph's
posterity, the more pointedly shows the heinous-
ness of their cruelty Avho had acted so severely
towards a brother in such favour with God, and
deservedly beloved of his father.

Herder translates this last couplet,—

Let them come upon the head of Joseph,

Of liim ^vho was crowned among Iiis bretliren ;

alluding simply to the temporal supremacy of
this patriarch over all the other sons of his

2 I 2

484

father ; but I think this too great a restriction
of the sense. Houbiecant enlarges as much as
Herder restricts it, observing upon the concluding
words of the couplet last quoted, as he inter-
prets them,

He shall be king, or the most excellent of his brethren ;

" these things are spoken, as truly as magnifi-
cently, of that Joseph concerning whom St.
Matthew informs us it was foretold, ' he shall
be called a Nazarene ;' thus referring christians
to the blessings of Jacob and Moses, in both of
which Joseph is called nezir, a Nazarene; and
understandins: not that Nazareate which was
afterwards celebrated among the Jews, but that
of which Jacob and Moses had spoken."

I believe both Jacob and Moses, in the pa-
rallel prophecies referring to the separation of
Joseph from his brethren, to have really had no
other object in view than a reference to that
event which placed him into the hands of the
Ishmaelite slave-dealers, and which, by a divine
determination, and under a wisely directing
providence, was the ultimate cause, not only of
Joseph's own personal distinction at the court
of Pharaoh, but likewise of the future extraor-
dinary aggrandizement of his family.

Before I proceed to what follows, I cannot
refrain from pointing out how skilfully the
gradational parallelism is brought out and sus-
tained in this beautiful — this most expressive
passage. In the first clause it will be perceived
that the terms are extremely simple, though figur-
ative ; in the second they are strongly pleonas-

485

tic, and most effectively amplified. The bles-
sing is to " come upon the head ;" in the parallel
clause, "upon the top of the head;" Joseph
is simply named in the first hemistich, in the
second he is declared to be he "that was
separated from his brethren ;" thus, not only is
this patriarch recalled personally to remem-
brance, but also that extraordinary event of
his life from which such stupendous results in
course of time accrued. It may be noticed
in this noble benediction, that after the
opening line —

Blessed of the Lord be his land,

there follow five couplets consecutively, enume-
rating the territorial blessings which should be
ultimately enjoyed by the posterity of Joseph.
In these couplets collectively, two forms of pa-
rallelism may be traced ; the first, second, and
fourth, exhibiting the antithetical form already
described,* the third and fifth the grada-
tional.f In the fourth couplet the parallelism
is not quite so obvious as in the other four, but
although not strongly marked in the words, it is
decidedly so in the sense, which is perfectly an-
tithetical in the two lines composing this very
emphatic passage.

And for the precious things of the earth and fulness thereof,
And for the good-will of him that dwelt in the bush :

or in other words, for thus I think the lines may
be fairly interpreted —

* Vol. i. page CO. t Ibid, 59.

486

Toy the best productions of the earth where it is most fruitful,
And for the merciful favour of heaven where it is most beneficial.

These earthly and heavenly dispensations arc
obviously constrasted, both, nevertheless, being
obtested upon the head of Joseph : I appre-
hend it will be admitted that the sense is dis-
tinctly antithetical, and that the parallelism,
though delicately, is positively manifested.

His glory is like the firstling of his bullock.
And his horns are like the horns of unicorns :
With them he shall push the people together
To the ends of the earth :
And they are the ten thousands of Ephraim,
And they are the thousands of Manasseh.

The bullock, in ancient times, was held to be
an emblem of magnificence, being considered
by the Israelites superior to all other domestic
animals in beauty as well as in usefulness. Bo-
chart has shown* that among the ancients a
young bullock was made the symbol of sove-
reign dominion. Taking up the supposition
that it was so applied by Moses, "the firstling of
his bullock" may refer to the bullocks of Bashan,
this district, — remarkable for producing the
finest breeds of cattle, especially oxen, and
ultimately forming part of the inheritance of
Joseph's descendants, — being in the half tribe of
Manasseh,

And his horns are like the horns of unicorns.

Joseph's two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, are

* Hieroz, lib. ii. cap. 29.

487

here compared to the horns of the reem. A
horn is emblematical of strength, and the
reem, as has been already shown,* is not only
a prodigiously strong, but likewise an extremely
fierce creature. Ephraim and Manasseh arc
compared to the horns of this animal, because
the descendants of both were very powerful
and populous races. They produced some of
the most eminent Jewish heroes and princes,
among whom may be reckoned Joshua, Gideon,
and Jepthah.

The tribe of Manasseh was divided in the
Holy Land, one half settling east of Jordan,
occupying the country of Bashan, from the
river Jabbok to Mount Libanus ; the other
half settled west of Jordan, possessing the coun-
try lying betwixt the portions of Ephraim and
Issachar. The Ephraimites had their inherit-
ance between the Mediterranean sea west,
and the river Jordan east.f The ark and the
tabernacle remained, for a considerable time, at
Shiloh, which was in the portion of Ephraim.
After the separation of the ten tribes, the scat of
the government of Israel was in the inheritance
of Joseph's younger son, and is frequently called
by his name.

The comparisons in the first pair of lines
last quoted, are extremely vivid ; — the whole
passage is one of great energy and spirit.
The picture which it realizes to the imagination
is animated in the highest degree. Every word

* Vol. i. pp. 540— 551. t Joshua xvi. 5.

488

is an intelligible accessory, communicating a per-
ceptible influence to the combined spirit andpower
of the whole. There is an evident advance of
sense in the second clause. In the first, the
glory of Joseph's descendants is compared to
the beauty, activity, and courage of a bullock ;
in the second, their power to the strength and
fierceness of the reem ; the former being symbo-
lical of kingly splendour, the latter of sovereign
domination. Magnificence is adumbrated by
the one, power by the other.

In the original Hebrew the word translated
unicorns, is in the singular number, which
has been declared to be decisive against
the reem being the rhinoceros, that animal
having but one horn ; and it was probably to
meet this anticipated objection that the pious
men who contributed their labours to form our
present authorized version of the Bible, put the
term, in their translation, in the plural number*;
it is, however, well known to all modern natural-
ists, and was, undoubtedly, equally well known
to Moses, that the rhinoceros, — the animal I
suppose the reem to be, — of Africa, has two
horns, one longer than the other. Moses hav-
ing dwelt so long in Egypt, and being mas-
ter of all the various learning of that ancient
nation, could not have been ignorant of its
existence; he may, consequently, in the pas-
sage just referred to, allude to the two-horned
rhinoceros, an animal sufficiently common in
the vast swamps and forests of Africa. Thus,
then, it will appear that the clause in which our

489

translators have inserted the plural noun, uni-
corns, might have hoen rendered with very just
propriety,

And his horns are like the horns of the reem,

which undoubtedly would have given a truer
sense than that existing in the passage as it now
stands.

Dr. W. C. Taylor, the author of a very inte-
resting little volume, entitled " Illustrations of
the Bible from the Monuments of Egypt," has
endeavoured to show — but, as I think, unsatis-
factorily, that the reem of scripture is the giraffe
or cameleopard. His proof here follows : —
*' The Egyptian monuments of the chase enable
us to explain a passage in the book of Job which
has perplexed the commentators. Amongst the
animals mentioned as illustrative of the wisdom
and power of Providence, is one called, in He-
brew, a reem — a word which literally signifies
" the tall animal." It is thus described in
scripture : —

Will the reem be willing to serve thee,

Or abide by thy crib ?

Canst thou bind the reem with his band in the furrow ?

Or will he harrow the valleys after thee 7

Wilt thou trust him, because his strength is great?

Or wilt thou leave thy labour to him ?

Wilt thou believe him, that he will bring home thy seed,

And gather it into tliy barn 7*

" Our translators have rendered the word reem
— unicorn; which is absurd. Some commenta-

* Jobxxxix.9— 12,

49U

tors assert that it is the rhinoceros, or the buf-
falo, because the cognate Arabic word is some-
times applied to a species of gazelle ; and the
Arabs frequently speak of oxen and stags
as one species. But neither the rhinoceros nor
the buffalo can be called a tall animal ; and the
analogy between either of them and any spe-
cies of gazelle with which we are acquainted,
would be very difficult to demonstrate. But
we find, upon the monuments, an animal fulfil-
ling all the conditions of the description, and
that is the giraffe, which occurs several times
among the articles of tribute brought to the
Pharaohs from the interior of Africa."*

Seldom has there, in my opinion, been a
greater failure of proof than is here exhibited.
How can the giraffe be said to " fulfil all the
conditions" of a description which characterizes
his strength as great ? and not only so, but
implies that he is indomitable, which naturally
presupposes fierceness; for these are qualities
always allied in brutes of an intractable, nature
— nay they are positively indicated by the poet,
as it is asked if the reem can be yoked to the
plough or attached to the harrow. The very
questions and manner of them point to an indo-
cile and savage animal ; since the obvious reply
to them would be, no ; and why ? because the
reem could not be subdued to such rustic ser-
vitude as is performed by the servile and disci-
plined steer, but would not become the mighty

* The Bible illustrated by Egyptian Monuments, pp. 17, 18.

491

giant of the forest, whose neck had never been
j^alled by the yoke of husbandry. — How does
Dr. Taylor show that the giraffe " fulfils all the
conditions of the description" in the passage
from Job, which he has selected for the settle-
ment of this long disputed and still agitated
question '? Strength is assuredly not an attribute
of the animal declared so confidently by the
learned critic to be the reem ; on the contrary,
it is physically weak, and constitutionally deli-
cate, timid in the extreme by natural tempera-
ment, and yet it is said by the author of " Illus-
trations of the Bible from the Monuments of
Egypt," to " fulfil all the conditions of a descrip-
tion," which manifestly refers to a creature not
only of great power, but likewise of great
ferocity, the former being broadly asserted and
the latter to be fairly deduced from the whole
scope of the context ; for here is the gist of the
divine interrogation ; 'Wilt thou force the reem,
possessed of such uncommon strength, and dis-
playing on all occasions the most indomitable
ferocity, to perform the duties of the domestic
ox *? Wilt thou bind such an animal in the fur-
row *? Wilt thou persuade him to submit his
proud neck to thy yoke all day ? Canst thou
make him go to plough, or will he draw the
harrow over thy lands '?' The assumption, irom
the manner in which these questions are pro-
posed in the text is, that it would be impossible ;
but where would be the difficulty in reducing a
timid tractable creature like the girafle to such
a state of agricultural discii)lineV Wt)uld he
be likely to oftcr any ellcclual resistance, if he

492

were harnessed to the plough or to the harrow *?
The fair inference from this obvious induction
of particulars indisputably is, that the animal re-
ferred to in the thirty-ninth chapter of Job, under
the designation of reem, was a creature of prodi-
gious might and unsubduable ferocity. Let us
only apply to other passages in scripture in which
this animal is mentioned, and the same attri-
butes must be inferred. We find nothing like
timidity, or acquiescence to the dominancy of a
superior agent ; the permanent features are
strength and fierceness. In Balaam's third pro-
phecy* the reem is mentioned in the following
emphatic terms : —

God brought him forth out of Egypt;

He hath as it were the strength of an unicorn (reem) :

He shall eat up the nations his enemies,

And shall break their bones,

And pierce them through with his arrows.

Can this quotation possibly apply to the giraffe ^
unquestionably not. The dullest apprehension
cannot be blind to a fact so broadly manifest.
Is not the reem in Balaam's prophecy, clearly
and beyond all possibility of question or of cavil,
a creature of exceeding strength, and ungovern-
able temperament, as well as of great voracity,
having a fierce pleasure in destruction? else
why are the images of " eating up his enemies,"
of " breaking their bones," and "piercing them
through with his arrows" employed*? Do not
these expressions denote voracity, power, a sa-
vage delight in destruction •? and, as I have else-

* Numbers xxiv. 8.

493

where shown,* the rhinoceros is not only the
most voracious of quadrupeds, but likcwise'the
strongest, excepting only the elephant, and
most ferocious.

How does Isaiah introduce the reem ? as a
creature of superior power and fierceness ; for it
is placed before bullock and bulls, as exceeding
either in both.

And the reems shall come down with them,

And the bullocks with the bulls ;

And their land shall be soaked with blood,

And their dust made fat with fatness.

For it is the day of the Lord's vengeance.

And the yearof recompences for the controversy of Zion.t

In this extract the prophet contrasts the
fierce and powerful animals wath the weaker
and more gentle, that is, the wild with the
domestic ; rams and goats being mentioned in
the preceding verse, representing all ranks and
sorts of people, as Bishop Lowth observes,
who shall be brought down like tame beasts
to the sacrifice and like wild beasts to the
slaughter, " and their land shall be soaked with
blood." I think it must be admitted by every
candid reasoner, from what is said of the reem
in the two passages quoted from the prophecies
of Balaam and of Isaiah, and even in that
extract out of Jol), that it is not possible this
animal should be the giraffe. The Avhole
stress of Dr. Taylor's argument in favour of
his reading is laid upon the bare fact, that
the Hebrew word signifies a tall animal.
But what does this prove ? Surely not that
the giraffe is the only tall animal of the brute

• Vol. i. chap. 93. t Isaiah xxxiv. 7, 8.

494

creation. It would be just as c^ood proof that
a dray horse must be an elephant because it
might chance to be described as a la7'ge animal,
and no one, I apprehend, will deny that it is the
latter, though it certainly is not the former.
Will Dr. Taylor say that the elephant is not a
tall animal, or that the rhinoceros is not a tall
animal, because the giraffe happens to be taller
than either ? Although height is not the dis-
tinguishing quality of the rhinoceros, yet it will
hardly be disputed that he is tall as well as
huge, by comparison with the vast majority of
the animal races ? Can any one truly affirm that
a stork is not a tall bird, because it is not so tall
as the ostrich ? But waving this argument al-
together, might not the term " tall animal," in
the Hebrew, be meant to include both height
and bulk ? Might it not be intended to express
general dimensions rather than particular ^ It
might be used as a synecdoche to embrace the
entire notion of size as well as of stature, for
these things are extremely common in the He-
brew writings, which are very fertile in such and
similar expedients. Besides, do we not frequently
apply the epithet "noble" to brute creatures, not
to express nobility, but bulk *? Shakspeare em-
ploys the word to// in the sense of sturdy. "I
swear thou art a tall fellow of thy hands ;"* and it
has been the practice of all times before and since
Shakspeare's, to warp words from their literal
meaning when any rhetorical advantage was to be
gained by such transmutation. Can an argument

* Wiuter's Tale, act v. scene 2.

495

then be reasonably p^rounded upon any single term
that may be used in more than one sense, and
a question that has perplexed the greatest He-
brew scholars for the last ten centuries be thus
easily and categorically decided '? Neither Ben
Maimon, who settled in Egypt, and who must
therefore have been well acquainted with the
existence and character of the giraffe, nor any
other learned rabbin, has pointed out this gentle
creature as the reem of the Hebrew bards.
So far from Dr. Taylor bringing proof to sub-
stantiate his decision, he merely rests it upon his
own grave avouchment. I do not hesitate to
arraign his determination of a widely admitted
difficulty, upon the simple ground that the gi-
raffe bears no resemblance whatever to the
reem of scripture. Now the rhinoceros, on
the contrary, positively does " fulfil all the
conditions of the description" in Job and else-
where, of that unknown creature, being not only
a tall, but likewise a very huge, — a very power-
ful,— a very ferocious, and excessively vo-
racious animal; while the giraffe only fulfils orie
condition, that of being tall, and is, in every
other respect altogether oppugnant to the reem
of Holy Writ, Even Dr. Taylor's own quotation
from Job decides at once against him, showing
as plainly as words can do that the giraffe could
not possibly be the reem.

Wilt thou trust him because his strength is great?

How can this question apply to a weak,
timid animal, and one of the most delicate in

496

constitution amont^ the numerous races of dumb
creatures ?

I have only just seen Dr. Taylor's volume, or
should have added these strictures to what I
have already said upon the twenty-fourth chapter
of Numbers,

Althouo-h I have ventured to dissent in a
matter of considerable importance from the able,
learned, and instructive author of " Illustrations
of the Bible from the Monuments of Egypt," I
must, nevertheless, do him the justice to say,
that his volume is full of valuable information,
and is a book which ought to be in every one's
hands. It exhibits considerable erudition, a
well regulated acquaintance with the subjects
treated of, laborious investigation, and accurate
information; at the same time that it furnishes
many new and important evidences of the unim-
peachable integrity of scripture history. I
should not have stopped to notice his little
hallucination respecting the reem, had I not
felt myself called upon to show that the absur-
dity of our version may be exceeded by rash and
injudicious guesses.

I return now, after a somewhat long, but, I
trust, not altogether useless digression, to the
benediction of Moses upon Joseph.

With them he shall push the people together
To the ends of the earth.

This clause is supposed to refer to the victo-
ries subsequently obtained by Joshua, who was
of the tribe of Ephraim, over the Canaanites,
He drove them with great slaughter to the ex-

497

tremity of their land, for "the ends of the
earth" simply signify the borders of Canaan.
The Jerusalem Tar<!;uni <;;ives the following ex-
cellent gloss. " For these are the great men
of the Amorites whom Joshua, the son of Nun,
slew, who was of the tribe of Ephraim; and
the captains which Gideon, the son of Joash,
slew, who was of the tribe of Manasseh." The
image of conquest is exceedingly fine; it isthat
of a powerful and ferocious creature pushing
with his horns every opposing object ; destroy-
ing or dispersing all before him, and pursuing
the inhabitants to the extreme limits of their
land.

And they are the ten thousands of Ephraim,
And they are the tliousands of Manasseh.

The two horns undoubtedly represent the tribes
descended from Josepli's two sons, verifying the
prophecy of Jacob, signified by the imposition
of hands upon their heads, that the younger
should be more powerful than the elder ; which
is confirmed in the benediction of Moses, who
mentions the ten thousands of Ephraim, and the
iJiousands of Manasseh. And how completely
docs this justify the presumption that the reem
in this blessing is the African rhinoceros, which,
as I have before stated, has two horns, the one
being many times larger than the other; thus
at once substantiating the comparison of the text,
and presenting a just image of the stronger
and weaker, in the " ten thousands of Ephraim"
and the "thousands of Manasseh."

VOL. II. 2 K

CHAPTER XXVIII.

The benedictions npon Zehulun, Issachar, and Gad.

In the next benediction, Zebulun and Issachar,
the two younger sons of Leah, are classed to-
gether, because, says Dodd, they were uterine
brothers : but this is no good reason, since Leah
having had six sons, there were consequently
four other brothers by the same mother; it is
therefore more likely to have been because their
portions were near each other : they were terri-
torial neighbours, as well as uterine brothers, and
the former I apprehend to have been the main
reason why they were united by Moses in his
blessing. Although Issachar was the senior, he
is placed last, as Jacob had before done, pro-
bably because he held an agricultural people in
less esteem than a commercial, which the de-
scendants of Zebulun and of Issachar respec-
tively were. The one stands higher in the
scale of national distinction than the other, com-
merce opening wide that unbounded field of in-
ternational communication, which places at the
disposal of all the resources severally enjoyed
by each ; thus ultimately producing a vast
aggregate of civilization and political wisdom.
" And of Zebulun he said," —

499

Kejoice, Zebulun, in thy going out ;

And, Issachar, in thy tents.

They shall call the people unto the mountain ;

There they sliall ofler sacrifices of righteousness :

For they shall suck of the abundance of the seas,

And of treasures hid in the sand.

We shall find upon comparison that these two
lilessing's correspond precisely with those de-
livered by Jacob upon the same patriarchs.
Their immediate progenitor says of Zebulini,*

Zebulun shall dwell at the haven of the sea ;
And he shall be for an haven of ships ;

and Moses says, with the same spirit of" pro-
phecy, though at a less remote time, —

Rejoice, Zebulun, in thy going out ;

that is, from those havens alluded to by Jacob,
on commercial speculations, calculated to in-
crease the prosperity of a people dwelling near
the Mediterranean sea; the portion of this tribe
extending from thence on the west to the lake
of Gennesaret on the east.

And, Issachar, in thy tents.

This refers to their agricultural habits, living
in tents, which were easily removed from
[)lace to place, like the primitive nomads, for
the more convenient feeding of their flocks
and herds. Tents were in those early times in
the east the usual, as they are even at this day
the fre([uent, habitation of those who till the
soil. In the days of Moses, and long subse-

• Genesis xlix. 13.

2 K 2

500

quently, they were especially distinguished as
an agricultural people.

They shall call the people unto the mountain ;

that is, as Dr. Adam Clarke* supposes, with
great probability, though the passage will bear
a different interpretation, " there, by their traffic
with the gentiles, they shall be the instruments
in God's hands of converting many to the true
faith, so that instead of sacrificing to idols, they
should offer sacrifices of righteousness." The
couplet is thus paraphrased in the Jerusalem
Targum : " Behold the people of the house of Ze-
bulun shall be ready to go to the mount of the holy
house of the Lord." " Or by the people," says
Bishop Fatrick, in his note on the place, " per-
haps he means the gentiles, their neighbours,
whom they should endeavour to bring to the
service of the true God, which was especially
fulfilled when Christ came. (Matt. iv. 15, 16.)

For they shall suck of the abundance of the seas,
And of treasures hid in the sand.

This couplet applies to Zebulun only, who shall
become prosperous from successful commerce.

And of treasures hid in the sand.

" By which," observes Dr. Durell, " some un-
derstand the art of making glass from sand.
Jonathan paraphrases the words thus : " They
shall dwell near the great sea, and feast on the
tunny fish, and catch the chalson or murew^

* See his Note.

501

with whose blood they will die of a purple
colour the threads of their cloths ; and from the
sand they will make looking-glasses, and other
utensils of glass." " Several ancient writers,"
says Dr. Adam Clarke, " inform us, that there
were havens in the coasts of the Zebulunites in
which the vitreous sand, or sand proper for
making glass, was found." — (See Strabo, lib.
xvi. See also Pliny Hist. Nat. lib. xxxvi. cap,
26. Tacitus Hist. lib. v. cap. 7.) The words
of Tacitus are remarkable. " The river Belus
falls into the Jewish sea, about whose mouth
those sands, mixed with nitre, are collected,
out of which glass is formed, or which is
melted into glass. Some think that the cele-
brated shell-fish called jnur&x, out of which the
precious purple dye was extracted, is here in-
tended by the ' treasure hid in the sand ': this also
Jonathan introduces in this verse. And others
think that it is a general term for the advantages
derived from navigation and commerce."

The exposition of Calmet of this prophecy is
clear and judicious: "It means," he says,
" that these two tribes, being at the greatest dis-
tance north, should come together to the temple
at Jerusalem, to the holy mountain, and should
bring with them such of the other tribes as dwelt
in their way ; and that occupying part of the
coast of the Mediterranean, they should apply
themselves to trade and navigation, and to the
melting of metals and glass, denoted, by those
words, treasures hid in the sand. The river
Belus, whose sand was very fit for making glass,
was in this tribe." Of Belus, the same writer

502

says, this is " a little river of Judffia, which
falls into the Mediterranean, about two furlongs
from Ptolemais. Pliny says, lib, xxxvi. cap.
26, it rises from a lake, and does not run
above four miles. Its waters are not good to
drink ; its bottom is marshy ; but the water of
the sea, flowincr into its channel, washes the
sand, and of this they make glass. The bank
from whence the sand is taken for this use is
not above five hundred paces in extent ; and
though, for many ages so much has been car-
ried away, yet it remains inexhaustible. Josephus
and Tacitus, lib. v., speak of it as well as Pliny ;
but the authors who treat of the holy wars take
no other notice of the sands of Belus than of
something then out of use, and known only by the
writings of the ancients. It is said the making
glass originated from this river."*

Houbigant remarks on this prophecy, that
" Moses preserves the same order with Jacob,
naming the youngest first, and for the same rea-
son. The youngest was to rejoice in his goirig
out, or departure ; but the elder in his tents ;
that is, the Jews, who were the elder, were not
to leave their tents when becoming Christians,
because Christ came to fulfil the law, not to
dissolve it ; but the church of the gentiles, the
younger, could not rejoice unless she forsook
her tents, rejecting the worship of false gods,
and turning herself to the true religion, in
which religion both of them call to the moun-
tains, and offer the sacrifices of righteous7iess

* Calnicl's Die. art. Belus.

503

That the legal sacrifices are not meant, appears
from hence, that it was not the office of the
tribes of Zebulun and Issachar to call men to the
mountain of Jerusalem to ofter sacrifices ; much
less the people^ which word is never applied to
the Jewish nation alone ; for that it is plain this
mountain can mean no other than the Christian
church."

The poetic beauty of this prophecy is
eminently great. It is figurative in the very
extreme, and yet so condensed that numerous
thoughts are made to rise out of a single ex-
pressed idea, which seems to fructify into many
from its own exuberant and communicative
vitality; so that much more is conveyed to the
mind than is really declared. How extremely
elegant and comprehensive is the first short
couplet '?

Rejoice, Zebulun, in thy going out;
And, Issachar, in thy tents.

Here a vivid perception is first conveyed to
the mind of the maritime character of the Zebu-
lunites, their activity in commercial enterprise,
their daring spirit ; signified by their quitting
those havens of the Mediterranean sea which
belonged to their lot in the division of Canaan,
on expeditions of prosperous traffic, and the
prosperity naturally accruing from such energy
of adventurous speculation. Next we seem to
behold the tribe of Issachar in their moveable
dwellings tending their flocks and herds in all
the quietude of pastoral contentment, or culti-
vating the prolific soil for the ripening of those

504

harvests which shall return them "some sxty
and some a hundred fold," at their appointed
season. The opposition of character, too is
extremely striking, between the activity of
pursuit manifested by the descendants of Ze-
bulun and the quiet, unvaried but sustained
industry of those of Issachar. Mercantile
speculation and agricultural management are
the two dominant ideas brought into immediate
approximation, each suggesting its own appro-
priate and kindred reflections. Both the pos-
terities of the patriarchs named are bid rejoice
in their respective callings, prosperity being
promised to each.

They shall call the people unto the mountain ;
There they shall offer sacrifices of righteousness.

In the first clause of this couplet, by an
elegant metonymy, " mountain" is put for the
temple at Jerusalem, that sacred edifice being
erected upon Mount Moriah, which formed a
part of Mount Sion, being in fact one of the
cones of the same hill ; thus the mountain upon
which the sanctuary was built is used in the
prophecy for the sanctuary itself. Both Ze-
bulun and Issachar were to offer " sacrifices of
righteousness" upon the mountain. The one
should bring the offerings of sucessful enter-
prise, the other those oblations of clean beasts
enjoined by the Hebrew formularies. In the
last two clauses quoted of this combined bene-
diction, there is so near a relation between them
as to suggest the idea of a parallelism although
it is not very perfectly developed. It is said

505

that they shall call pco})le, or brinp; worshippers
to the temple, and that they shall there " oH'cr
the sacrifices of righteousness ;" that is, they
shall effect the one by performing the other.
Here the coo-nation in sense of the two clauses
cannot escape notice, there being an immediate
though latent connexion between them ; they
are united by a strong and inseparable link of
association.

For they shall suck of the abundance of the sens,
And of treasures hid in the sand.

The term " suck" is a strong and emphatic
metaphor, representing with extreme relevancy
of illustration, the perseverance of the tribe of
Zebulun, in availing themselves of those nume-
rous advantages which their maritime situation
laid open to them. The poet in fact declares that
they shall derive all the benefit offered by their
position near the sea, and turn even the sands
of their coasts to a profitable account. The
whole passage is highly figurative, but strongly
gives out the character of the Zebulunites, who
were bold speculators as well as hardy mariners
and courageous warriors; for of their bravery
and military conduct an account is given in the
ode composed by Deborah the prophetess, upon
the victory obtained by her general, Barak, over
Siscra, commander of the forces of Jabin, king
off Canaan.

Zebulun and Naphtali were a people
That jeoparded their lives unto the death
In the high places of the field.*

* JiidiTCS V. 18.

506

We see strongly the enterprising spirit of
this tribe in the brief but characteristic sketch
given by the Hebrew lawgiver, who with sin-
gular felicity of description brings them to the
reader's imagination with a vivid energy of truth
no less eloquent than impressive. The couplet
upon which I have been enlarging shoWs that
the posterity of Zebulun were not only suc-
cessful merchants but prosperous artizans, the
manufacture of glass being in those days ex-
ceedingly lucrative.

Next follows the benediction upon Gad : —

Blessed be he that enlargeth Gad :

He dwelleth as a lion,

And teareth the arm with the crown of the head.

And he provided the first part for himself.

Because there, in a portion of the lawgiver, was he seated;

And he came with the heads of the people,

He executed the justice of the Lord,

And his judgments with Israel.

The first five lines of this ])enediction relate
to a past transaction, the last three are pro-
phetical. This warlike tribe having applied
to Moses for the territory of Sihon, king of
the Amorites, whom they had been mainly in-
strumental in subduing, and obtained it, is
not unaptly compared to a lion resting after
being satiated with its prey. The Hebrew
bard seems indirectly to commend their pru-
dence in having chosen so extensive and so
productive a tract of land for themselves,
although it was a border country, and therefore
open to continual incursions from neighbouring
foes. He concludes with reminding them of the
condition upon which their grant of territory

507

was based, namely, that after they had l>uilt
cities for their fainihcs, erected folds for their
flocks, and stalls for their^ herds, they should
join the armies of Israel in their approaching
conquests, and not return to their homes until
they had completed the subjugation of Canaan —
that idolatrous and devoted land. Conformable
to the ideas given in this general summary of
the sense of the passage, Durell renders it as
follows : —

Blessed is Gad with a large country :

He hath rested as a lion,

And hath torn the shoulder with the head :

For he provided the first for himself.

When there, in the decreed portion, he was secured ;

Then he went with tlie heads of the people ;

He executed the righteousness of the Lord,

And his judgments with Israel.

That the portion of Gad was a large country,
will appear to any one who examines it by the
map. How perfectly this tribe answered to the
comparison of a lion resting after being satiated
with its prey, will appear from 1 Chronicles v.
18, and xii. 8. " Tearing the arm," or the
shoulder, " with the crown of the head," implies
the destruction of the princes of Canaan with
their power ; for princes are the ar^jns or 7)iem-
bers of the state, and kings are the head. What
"the righteousness of the Lord" and "his judg-
ments" were, the context plainly points out;
namely, the extirpation of the seven nations of
Canaan, whose sins being grown to maturity,
called aloud lor the hand of justice to root them

508

out before they spread their baleful influence
further.*

Blessed be He that enlargeth Gad :

that is, Jehovah, who alone can enlarge or re-
duce, exalted and enlarged this tribe under the
judicial legislation of Jepthah, who, after a des-
perate conflict with the Amorites, defeated them
and ravaged their country. The words may like-
wise refer to the defeat mentioned by Jacob in
his benediction upon this patriarch : —

Gad, a troop shall overcome him.

This tribe, however, was always distinguished
for its courage and military conduct.

He dwelleth as a lion.

This confirms the last observation. Secure from
the molestation of enemies by whom they
were surrounded, the courage and warlike capa-
city of the Gadites became so notorious and so
dreaded, that those enemies were afraid to dis-
turb them. They consequently suffered com-
paratively little molestation.

He teareth the arm with the crown of the head.

Such is his desperate valour and superior
conduct, that he destroys nobles and even
princes, these being respectively signified by the
symbolical terms, "arm," and "crown of the

* See Dodd's note.

509

head ;" he spares neither rank nor condition.
The expressions here employed forcibly depict
the military prowess of the Gadites, which was
great, as we learn from the first of Chronicles
xii. 8. " And of the Gadites there separated them-
selves unto David, into the hold to the wilder-
ness, men of might, and men of war fit for the
battle, that could handle shield and buckler,
whose faces were like the faces of lions, and
were as swift as roes upon the mountains." This
description of the inspired chronicler beautifully
confirms the propriety of the strong compari-
sons employed ])y Moses to represent the emi-
nent bravery and indomitable determination of
this tribe.

And he provided the first part for himself.

After the defeat of Sihon, king of the Amo-
rites, and Og, the king of Bashan, Gad and
Reuben, two of the most warlike among the
races of Israel, desired to have their portion
first, on the east of Jordan, on account of its
being favourable for pasturing their cattle.
This request was granted by their lawgiver on
condition that they would accompany the other
tribes, and assist in concpiering the country on
the other side of the river. Thus Gad

Provided the first part for himself.

He received with Reuben a division of territory
before any of the other families. He settled
himself in the conquered lands of Sihon, which
were well adapted to the grazing of his ex-

510

tensive flocks and herds ; the soil producing'
abundance of rich grass and otlier aUment for
cattle, of which the Gadites had a great quan-
tity.

Because there, in a portion of the lawgiver, was he seated.

The distribution of territory to Gad, Reuben,
and Manasseh, was made by Moses, but to all
the other tribes by Joshua, after the conquest
of Canaan: so that Gad having received his por-
tion from the great lawgiver personally, " a por-
tion of the lawgiver" will signify that part of
the country beyond Jordan, upon which Moses
entered, and having conquered it with the assist-
ance of these tribes, divided it between Gad,
Reuben, and Manasseh; in contradistinction to
the territory on this or the Canaanitish side of
the river distributed by Joshua to the remaining
tribes.

And he came with the heads of the people.

This is spoken prophetically, while the preced-
ing clauses clearly refer to a past transaction,
pointing to Gad's fulfilment of his promise to
assist his brethren in the conquest of that terri-
tory promised to them for an inheritance, which
the Gadites afterwards performed with scrupu-
lous regard to their pledge made to Moses, as
may be assumed from Joshua i. 12, adjin.

The Gadites having made proper arrange-
ments for the security of their families, and
their " much cattle," in the newly acquired pos-
sessions granted to them by Moses, accom-
panied the other tribes, and assisted in the

511

coii(|iiest of that land to be divided among them
for an inheritance for ever.

He executed the justice of the Lord,
And his judgments with Israel;

that is, in conjunction with the other families,
the descendants of Gad expelled the idolatrous
Canaanites from their land, executing upon
them the divine justice by conquering' them,
and the divine judgments by slaying them.
It will be observed that only the last three
hemistichs of this benediction are prophetical.
Moses bore testimony to what he knew of this
tribe, that they were eminently brave, having
furnished troops on whom he could rely, for
they had already performed many signal mili
tary achievements. They had, no doubt, as
well as the Reubenites, particularly distinguished
themselves in the conquest of the territories of
Sihon and of Og, and in consequence, the van-
quished land was, at their request, assigned to
them. The prophetic portion of this blessing,
as has been shown, was strictly fulfilled under
Joshua.

The poetical embellishment in this benedic-
tion will be found not inferior to that in any of
the foregoing in magnificence and beautiful
propriety of adaptation. Almost every phrase
is figurative, each forming a grand accessary to
the whole picture, which comes out before us in
the most glowing hues that words can produce.
Some of the metaphors, though as strong as
language can convey, are nevertheless uncom-
monly appropriate and original ; neither does

512

their extreme vigour in the slightest degree abate
the high qualities exhil)ited in this exquisite
composition. Observe in the second hemistich
how admirably the image of the lion is varied
from the same comparison employed by Jacob
and Balaam, by the action under which it is
represented, " tearing the arm with the crown of
the head." The lordly beast does not conde-
scend to touch the nether extremities, but first
fixes its claws in the shoulders of its vanquished
prey, and then tears the crown of the head. Here
are symbolized the most dignified among the
enemies of Gad with whom the warlike descen-
dants of that patriarch had contended, their
nobles, their chiefs, and sovereign princes. In
the fourth clause —

And he provided the first part for himself,

the image of the lion is still carried on with
singular distinctness of allusion. The noble
brute, sovereign even in his appetites, reserves
the superior part of his victim for himself, the
shoulders and head, leaving the inferior portion
to the vultures, jackals, and carniverous creatures
of a baser kind which follow the lion at a dis-
tance as he prowls for prey, satisfied to devour
what he leaves. Thus it will be found, that
when the Hebrew poets repeat the same image,
they diversify it by the new and striking posi-
tions into which it is placed — by the evolution of
some specific attribute by which the thing re-
presented is thrown out into the strongest point
of view.

513

Because Ihere, in a portion of the lawgiver, was lie seated.

Here the image is dropped, and the figurative
succeeded l)y the literal ; this and the subse-
({uent portion of the benediction, which is pro-
phetical, bearing a marked contrast with that
relating to matters of already known and estab-
lished fact. The change of style from the
metaphorical to the literal, thus distinguishing
between ascertained and prophetical truths, is as
judicious as it is beautiful. It is in this place,
however, an inversion of the general order;
language highly figurative being usually em-
ployed to shadow out prophetic events, and literal
terms to exhibit matters of authenticated fact ;
but the change is justified here by the prior
description re([uiring strong terms to convey
a full impression of the character of Gad's
posterity, and of their deeds of prowess. The
reference is to great and startling incidents, —
the acquisition of territory, the overthrow of
princes, and the routing of armies. In the last
three hemistichs, as if by way of repose from
the extreme vigour of the five preceding, the
aid of metaphoric and other poetical adorn-
ments is abandoned, thus showing a strongly
contrasted distinction between the predictive
and narrative portions. The clauses, em-
bracing the former though unembellished by
poetical imagery, are nevertheless marked by
an earnest and graceful simplicity, which sub-
sides into the sweet relief of repose, after the
stirring energy and emphatic power of delinea-
tion displayed in the part immediately preced-
ing. The "justice" and "judgments" are with
VOL. II. 2 L

514

most judicious propriety not detailed ; so that
the active desire of the Gadites to perform their
duty to God by executing their covenant with
Moses, and their unanimous character as men
of unflinching bravery and determined enter-
prise, are depicted without a numerical intro-
duction of those terrible acts of extermination
in which they were engaged with the other
tribes, when they subsequently executed God's
judgments upon the devoted Canaanites.

Herder's version of this blessing is, I think,
admirable. The sense is not only clearly brought
out, but vigorously sustained, without marring
the exquisite imagery introduced by the inspired
poet with such delightful effect. With the
following extract from Herder's work* I shall
conclude this chapter.

Blessed be God who liath enlarged Gad :

He dwelleth as a lion, the arm and the head are his prey.

The first spoil of conquest he chose for himself,

Because the portion of his princes was safe.

Yet will he march onward with the host,

To finish the wars of Jehovah,

And to execute the judgments of God

With Israel.

* Spirit of Hebrew Poetry, vol. ii. p. IGl.

CHAPTER XXIX.

The benedictions upoji Dan and Naphtali.

In Jacob's prophetic blessing upon Dan, he re-
presents the descendants of that patriarch under
the figure of a serpent, whose dominant charac-
teristic appears to be cunning. This is the
horned serpent, or cerastes, which is described
by the great Roman naturahst Pliny, as hiding
its whole body in the sand, showing only its
horns, as a decoy, to entrap small birds and
other prey. These venomous reptiles coil them-
selves in the traveller's path, biting the heels
of his horse, causing it to rear and throw its
rider. This prefigures the warlike stratagems
that would be resorted to by the tribe of Dan in
their future military enterprises. Moses, how-
ever, in his benediction upon the descendants of
this patriarch, completes the picture of the true
Avarrior by uniting the idea of courage with
that of prudence. Dan, he infers, shall not
only be skilled in stratagemical contrivance,
but shall be likewise eminent for bravery. " And
of Dan he said" —

Dan is a lion's whelp :

He shall leap from Baslian.

The portion assigned to the descendants of Dan

2 L 2

516

was a very fertile district, situated between the
sovereign tribe of Judab, on the east, and the
country possessed by the PbiUstines on the
west. Their inheritance being only a part of the
original portion of Judah, was necessarily narrow ;
they consequently made themselves masters of
Laish, a district in the tribe of Asher, near the
source of the Jordan, and built the city of Dan.
Hence the expression '' from Dan to Beershe-
ba," which were the two extremities of Pales-
tine, north and south. In this brief blessing
Moses evidently looks, with a prophetic eye, to
the future territorial position of the Danites ;
and intimates that they would not be content
with the limited territory assigned to them, but
issue, like young lions, from their confined bor-
ders, and make excursions beyond Bashan, " The
land of Bashan, otherwise the Batantea, in the
Persea, that is, beyond Jordan, north of the
tribes of Gad and Reuben and in the half tribe
of Manasseh, is bounded east by the mountains
of Gilead, the land of Ammon, and east
Edom ; north by mount Hermon ; south by the
brook Jabok; west by the Jordan. Og, king of
the Amorites, possessed Bashan when Moses
conquered it. Bashan was esteemed one of the
most fruitful countries in the world ; its rich
pastures, oaks, and fine cattle, are exceedingly
commended."*

The greatest hero among the Israelites was
of the race of Dan, the strong and indomita-
ble Samson ; to whom, probably, the prophet

* Reland. Palnest. lib. 1.

517

covertly alludod in this blessing, which forcibly
pictures the strength and heroic courage of
the Danites.

He shall leap from Baslian.

This tribe had no inheritance near Bashan,
but Moses compares them to the young lions
of that place ; for lions haunted mountains, as
we find in the Canticles, chap. iv. 8,

Look from the top of Amana —
From the top of Shenir and Hermon —
From the lion's dens,
From the mountains of the leopards.

And the mountain of Bashan, in particular, was
famous for them, and bred very fierce ones,
which, as every one knows, leap upon their
prey when they assault it, and fasten their nails
and teeth in it. And thus did the Danites,
on a sudden, leap from one end of Judaea to
the other, and seized on the city of Laish, near
to the source of the river Jordan, calling it by
the name of Dan.* (Judges xviii, 29.)

In the brief distich containing the prophetic
blessing upon this tribe, we can scarcely
fail to perceive how much is expressed in a few^
words. We sec strength, enterprise, activity,
courage, displayed with w^onderful variety and
force of colouring. As the race of Gad had
been compared to a lion in the full vigour of
its strength, tearing the head of its prey, thus
giving the fullest proof, not only of its power

• See Patrick's note.

518

but of its fierceness ; — so Moses compares the
descendants of Dan, with equal felicity of delinea-
tion, to a lion's whelp full of reckless activity
and daring impetuosity, combined with that
caution which rendered them sao-acious in strata-
gems as well as fearless in open warfare. The
lion's whelp has, of course, all the physical pro-
perties of the lion, only less perfectly manifested ;
so Dan, with the impetuous courage and buoy-
ant vehemence of the former, was ultimately to
display his superior prowess, and gradually rise
to his full strength among the tribes of Israel.
This it did during the life of Samson, whose
strength and courage were not only the admira-
tion of his countrymen, but the terror of all the
heathen nations. The Danites, says the prophet,
' shall increase their territories by force of arms,
and finally produce a champion, who will excel
in strength and valour all the heroes of antiquity.'
This the actions of the illustrious son of Ma-
noah, who was of the tribe of Dan, fully real-
ized, as may be seen from his slaughter of a
thousand Philistines.*

He shall leap from Baahan.

It is said " he shall leap from Bashan," be-
cause the lions of that district were extremely
active and fierce, as were likewise the bulls.
Here then it will be perceived that Moses does
not simply compare the Danites to a lion's
whelp generally, but rather intimates their qua-

* Judges XV. 15

519

lities of courage and enterprise by describin<r
them as issuing from a part of the country
where the lions were of amazing strength and
bulk. This couplet is a fine and animated re-
presentation of certain physical and moral at-
tributes, conveying to the imagination far more
than the bare words express to the eye or ear ;
yet, withal, the intimations are so clear, and the
typical illustrations so tangible, that it is next
to impossible to miss what the poet intended to
convey. We have the whole character of the
tribe at once before us. This benediction is
one of the most remarkable examples of uncom-
mon condensation, united with extreme graphic
force of development, to be found in the sacred
volume. The number of ideas evolved is
amazing ; these arising out of words that
do not positively express, but merely suggest
them; and while the former appear to be only
the accidents, they are, in fact, the imme-
diate consequences of the one prolific image
by which this singular prophecy is rendered so
extensively intelligible. The posterity of Dan
did, in process of time, " leap" from their bor-
ders, and conquered a portion of rich territory,*
of which they took j)OSsession.
" And of Naphtali he said "—

O Naphtali, satisfled with favour,
And full with the blessing of the Lord :
Possess thou the west and the south.

There is a remarkable correspondency be-

* Sec Judges xviii.

520

tween this and Jacob's benediction upon the
same patriarch. That prophet says of them —

Naphtali is a hind let loose :
He giveth goodly words, —

clearly implying the prosperity of Naphtaii's
descendants. To that son it is possible he was
much attached, in consequence of his being the
offspring- of Bilhah, his favourite Rachel's hand-
maiden. Moses speaks to the same purpose
as Jacob, though prophesying at so long an
interval after him, —

O Naphtali, satisfied with favour;

that is, with the favour of Jehovah, which the
posterity of this patriarch obtained ; for their
portion was not only very fruitful in corn and
oil, but its limits extended into upper and lower
Galilee, so frequently, in subsequent times, the
field of our Saviour's preaching, that he was in
consequence called, though by way of contempt,
a Galilean. Capernaum, in which Christ so
often resided, and where he performed so many
of his miracles, was in this tribe. In that
city he called the apostle Matthew.* Most
of the apostles are supposed to have been of
this family ; and thus Naphtali might be well
represented by the inspired bard as eminently
signalized by divine favour. He was

Full with the blessing of the Lord,

in the most extensive sense of the term. He

* Mutlhow ix. 0.

521

possessed a productive territory, which, in pro-
cess of time, became exceedingly populous ; so
that he not only enjoyed a o-oodly heritage, hut
was distinguished for a comely and numerous
race.

Possess thou the west and the south.

This line has somewhat perplexed the com-
mentators. The inheritance of Naphtali lay
really north and east ; " yet it was so situated,
that by Zebulun, which lay next to him, and
close upon the coast of the great sea, he could
easily be possessed of the commodities of the
sea, which we here translate ' west;' and lying
on the river Jordan (Josh. xix. 33), he had the
advantage of enjoying those commodities which
came by that river from the ' southern ' parts of
the land."*

The vulgate reads mare et meridiem possi-
debit — he will jjossess the sea and the south,
which the Hebrew plainly admits.

Dr. Durell's observations upon this passage
are the following, — " Jacob appears to have
promised the Naphtalites, a delightful country,
under the image of a spreading tree. And
here Moses predicts in clear terms that their
portion would answer to that figurative descrip-
tion, and withal points out where it would be
situated in the land of promise ; namely, in the
country afterwards called Galilee, a part of
which fell to the lot of this tribe, and which is
allowed on all hands to have been extremely

* See note to D'Oyly ami Mant's liihlc.

522

fertile, (see Genesis xlix. 15 — 21.) Le Clerc
supposes that the original reading of what we
render the west and the south, was im merum,
the sea or lake of Merom, which we find men-
tioned in Joshua xi. 5 ; but his conjecture is not
supported by any external evidence, and our
reading may be justified : for, the town Laish or
Dan, having been just before hinted at, and the
country of Bashan mentioned, it is with refer-
ence to these two places, I apprehend, that
south and ivest are to be understood ; for the
Naphtalites were situated to the south of Dan
and to the west of Bashan. The word im or ime
cannot simply, I think, be understood of the lake
Semechon or Gennesaret, but must signify the
Mediterranean sea, which was to the westward,
as well as all the country of Naphtali, from Ba-
shan. Le Clerc objects that it is harsh to say
the Naphtalites would possess the south, be-
cause the Danites had a town to the north ; but
surely if not only Moses but Jacob thought that
the circumstance of the emigration of the
Danites deserved to be predicted so long before
the time, the objection must vanish. Besides it
is not improbable that many other Danites,
oppressed on the one hand by the Amorites,
and invited on the other by the success of their
brethren and the goodness of the country, might
come soon after to settle in that neighbour-
hood ; insomuch, that the colony may be sup-
posed to have become in a short time a rival to
the mother country. And the reason of Moses
mentioning this tribe after the other, seems to
be on accoimt of their respective situation."

523
Herder adopts the reading of the vulgatc :—

O Naphtali, satisfied with favours,

And filled with the blessiiifjs of Jehovah :

Possess thou the sea and the land of the south.

With reference to the poetical character
of this benediction, though it is not highly
embellished, yet is the artificial construction
strongly apparent. The first two clauses con-
tain a parallelism of the gradational form,
*' satisfied with favours" and " filled with bless-
ings" being the corresponding phrases, the latter
rising both in strength and importance above
the former, though both express the bene-
ficent dispensations of heaven upon this fa-
voured tribe. In the first hemistich, *'()f
heaven," or something equivalent must be
understood in order to maintain the perfect
correspondency of the two parallel clauses, for
this the sense evidently demands. It is clear
beyond dispute that the parallelism would
be more obviously presented, if the couplet
were rendered, as it must of necessity be under-
stood in order to make a complete sense, —

O Naphtali, satisfied with the fa\ours of heaven,
And filled with the blessings of Jehovah.

This would undoubtedly throw more impressive
solemnity into the passage, and at the same time
develop with greater distinctness that obvious
artifice of construction which it was so decidedly
the poet's intention to exhibit.

CHAPTER XXX.

The benediction upon Asher. Conclusion.

The last blessing pronounced by Moses is upon
Asher, and terminates with a general benedic-
tion upon the tribes collectively. This is one
of the finest passages to be found among the
poetical \A^ealth of the sacred volume. I proceed
without further remark to consider it. " And
of Asher he said : " —

Let Asher be blessed with children ;

Let him be acceptable to his brethren,

And let him dip his foot in oil.

Thy shoes shall be iron and brass ;

And as thy days, so shall thy strength be.

There is none like unto the God of Jeshurun,

Who rideth upon the heaven in thy help,

And in his excellency on the sky.

The eternal God is thy refuge,

And underneath are the everlasting arms :

And he shall thrust out the enemy from before thee ;

And shall say, destroy them.

Israel then shall dwell in safety alone :

The fountain of Jacob shall be upon a land

Of corn and wine ;

Also his heavens shall drop down dew.

Happy art thou, O Israel :

Who is like unto thee,

O people saved by the Lord,

The shield of thy help.

And who is the sword of thy excellency !

And thine enemies shall be found liars unto thee ;

And thou shall tread upon their high places.

525

The inheritance of this tribe lay in a very
fertile country, with Phoenicia west, Mount
Lebanus north, Mount Carmel and the tribe of
Issachar south, Zebulun and the tribe of Naph-
tali east.

The word Asher signifying blessed or happy,
Moses has made the name of this patriarch
illustrative of that territorial abundance and
great political influence, by which his posterity
should be distinguished ; and both so signally
came to pass, that not only was the lot of Asher,
in Canaan, fruitful in corn, wine, oil, and in the
productions of rich mines, but his posterity,
which at the exodus amounted only to forty-one
thousand five hundred men, when numbered in
the plains of Moab, had increased to fifty-three
thousand four hundred ; and a little before the
reign of David, it is said by Josephus,* that
among the descendants of Asher were twenty-
six thousand princes.

Let Asher be blessed with children ;

that is, let him be blessed with a numerous
posterity, which, as I have just shown, was abun-
dantly fulfilled at a subsequent period.

Let him be acceptable to his brethren.

' May he live in perfect concord with the other
tribes, who will esteem him for his social and
placable qualities and respect him for his numer-
ous issue. May his political interests ever be
united with theirs.'

* Jewish War, book iii. chap. 3.

526

And let him dip his foot in oil.

'And may oil, tlic abundant produce of his
divison of Canaan, be obtained in such plenty
that he may be al)le to use it like water for
the most ordinary purposes.' The finest oil
in Judaea was produced in the portion of Asher,
which abounded with olive-trees of the best
quality. This eloquent prediction confirms
that of Jacob, who had previously said of this
tribe, —

Out of Asher his bread shall be fat,
And he shall yield royal dainties.

Oil was much used in the east for household
purposes, as it is even at this day ; and many
commentators suppose that the luxuries pre-
pared for the table of king Solomon were ob-
tained from the lot of Asher. Both the bless-
ings of Jacob and of Moses agree in showing
the plentiful production of oil which the land as-
signed to Asher 's posterity was to yield.

In the first three hemistichs of this prophecy
there is a strong anticlimax. The poet com-
mences by proclaiming that the descendants of
Zilpah's son should multiply exceedingly, which
it has been shown they did ; he next declares
that they should live in peace and good fellow-
ship with their brethren ; and thirdly, that their
inheritance shall be fruitful. These three bless-
ings it will be perceived gradually diminish in
force, descending in a gradual but marked de-
clination, the first being more important than the
second, and the second than the third ; but all
having a reciprocal relation so strong as that

527

neither can be disassociated without injury to
each. In the estimation of a Hebrew no tem-
poral boon could be so great as a numerous
offspring, and, indeed, at this day in the east,
the same feeling prevails. A barren wo-
man is a degraded and despised being; un-
fruitfulness therefore, is the saddest curse that
can fall upon a Hindoo mother. The third
blessing of plenty could not be enjoyed unless
the second had been obtained ; the former was
dependant upon the latter, for what could the
greatest temporal prosperity really avail with-
out peace and good fellowship among kindred ?
These, next to that " peace of God which keep-
eth the heart and mind through Jesus Christ,"
are the chief props of sublunary happiness;
but in the estimation of a true " son of the cir-
cumcision," would be held only secondary to
the gift of a numerous issue ; and surely terri-
torial abundance would be an inferior blessing
to social concord and community of peace.
Thus the anticlimax is made out in the opening-
triplet of this benediction. The third hemistich
contains an elegant image, placing before the
mind, in three or four monosyllables, a more
complete idea of plenty, as in Jacob's prophecy
upon Judah, than the most elaborate periphrasis
could have realized. The image employed is
so pregnant with meaning that it lifts up the
imagination to the fullest height of the reality
as by a magical process, multiplying the ele-
ments of thought until the sensorium seems
absolutely to teem with the one vast and lucid
impression.

528

It may be remarked that the opening triplet
of this lieautifnl prediction contains a supplica-
tion for the blessings therein enumerated ; be-
cause such blessings must be, to a certain extent,
adventitious, depending upon circumstances,
and regulated by the casualties of time. Boun-
tiful harvests and a fruitful produce generally
must be determined very much by the industry
of the husbandman, the vine-dresser, the gar-
dener. Moses, however, gives sufficient assur-
ance that the soil of Asher's portion shall be
capable, if properly cultivated, of yielding
great abundance ; — an assurance sufficiently en-
courao-ino;. I have observed that this abun-
dance, depending, under God, upon the casual-
ties of time and circumstance, is besought by the
prophet ; but that which had no dependence upon
any such casualties is promised, in direct terms,
without any reservation or qualification.

Thy shoes shall be iron and brass ;

And as thy days, so shall thy strength be.

The iron and brass contained in the bowels of
the earth belonged to, and were coeval with, the
original conformation of the globe. Moses
knowing, either by divine intuition, or by
direct revelation from God, that those valuable
metals were in that portion of the land of pro-
mise destined to be the inheritance of Asher,
declares that they shall constitute part of the
wealth of this tribe.

Durell renders the first clause of this distich,
after the marginal reading of our Bible, —

Under thy shoes let there be iron and brass.

529

That is, ' the country to be apportioned to thee
shall yield its treasures of iron and brass.' The
language is here tropical, the term shoes being
employed merely as a strong figure. In D'Oyly
and Mant's Bible is the following note, —

Thy shoes shall be iron and brass.

" This verse informs us, that shoes clouted, as the
old English expression is, were used as early as
the days of Moses. We know that the Roman
soldiers used brazen or copper soles to their
shoes; and clouted shoes, that is, shoes well
coated with iron, were anciently part of a
soldier's dress in this country ; from which shoes
well filled with nails, &c. for strength, are
now called clouted. (Script, illust.) In the
east, at this day, all the people, both rich and
poor, wear iron plates at the heels and toes
of their shoes." (Calmet.)

I cannot see how the first paragraph of this
note explains the passage of which it is (j noted as
an interpretation. The editors of the commen-
tary above named read the clause literally ; but
what Moses could mean by telling his couu'
trymen that Asher should wear clouted shoes.,
I am at a loss to comprehend ; for I cannot per-
suade myself that he could have thought of
stating such a bald fact — a fact of no con-
ceivable consequence, literally taken, contain-
ing not even the shadow of a blessing, and
leadinji; to no intelljo-ible conclusion. The clause,

on '

as it stands, if interpreted literally, has no sig-
nificance,— it is jejune and unmeaning; consi-
VOL. II. 2 M

530

dered figuratively it is eminently expressive,
proclaiming that district of the future Palestine
to be inherited by the descendants of Asher, as
being so rich in valuable ores that the possessors
of the soil should not be able to stir abroad
without walking over them, — that is, over the
ground beneath which they are deposited.

Calmet's statement, as quoted by D'Oyly and
Mant, is an egregious error. The vast majority
of people in the east go bare-footed, and those
who wear shoes certainly do not wear them
clouted. During a residence of several years
in India, I never saw a clouted shoe. But Cal-
met alludes more especially to the Turks, for his
words (the passage is curtailed in D'Oyly and
Mant's Bible) are, " We are assured that in the
east, at this day, all the people, both rich and
poor, &ven the wives of the great Turk hi7nself
and of his bashaws, wear iron plates at the
heels and toes of their shoes." But the Turks
are, comparatively, a modern people, and com-
pose but a small integral portion of the " peo-
ple of the east," They are, numerically, a mere
unit, opposed to the many populous communi-
ties of the eastern world, Turkish habitudes,
therefore, can be no true illustration of primitive
oriental customs; for many hundred years after
the age of Moses, and even at a period long
subsequent to the subversion of the Jewish
polity, this people had no political existence.
They formed but a small segment of the mighty
circle of almost universal barbarism which
enveloped the moral world, when Christianity
ruptured the iron chain that ignorance and

531

superstition had forged around it, and poured
her light into the dark void within, bringing
the prisoners out of captivity to the blessed
liberty of redemption through the atonement
which has reconciled an incensed Divinity to his
lapsed creatures, but for that merciful act of
expiation, doomed, for a breach of covenant, to
the penalties of a stern and inflexible law.
If the verse under examination —

Thy shoes shall be iron and brass,

be read literally, not only is it incongruous,
but entirely void of poetical beauty; on the
other hand, interpreted figuratively, it is ex-
tremely elegant, and gracefully descriptive.
The marginal reading clearly favours the figur-
ative interpretation —

Under thy shoes shall be iron and brass.

This surely can have nothing to do with the
supposed iron or brass clamped shoes of the
sons of Asher: for can any one gravely suppose
that Moses would have resorted to the highest
artifices of poetry to have told so insignificant
a fact? The line simply signifies that Asher's
posterity should tread upon a soil productive of
the metals there specified. Thisviewoftheclause
isconfirmedby Bochart, who states that Sarepta,
called by the Hebrews Zarephath, a city of
Sidon, derived its name from the smelting of iron
and brass carried on there, those metals l)eing
abundant in the neighbourhood of that city,

2 M 2

532

which was in the tribe of Asher ; or they might
have been brought from Libanus and Antili-
banus, where they are supposed to have been
found in great plenty.

The Arabic version reads —

Thy bolts shall be iron and brass ;

signifying that their territory should be as well
defended as if it were encompassed with iron
and brazen walls. Either interpretation takes
the passage quite out of the literal sphere of
prose and throws it into the prismatic atmo-
sphere of poetry.

And as thy days, so shall thy strength be.

That is, the descendants of Asher should not
only be blessed with great temporal prosperity,
but continue long to enjoy it; and that their
power of enjoyment should be great, in propor-
tion to its continuance. These words have
been tortured by commentators into various
meanings, but the most obvious appears to be
— ' Thy prosperity and peace shall be continu-
ous, and thy strength shall be in proportion to
both ;' or as Waterland reads very clearly —

Thy bolts shall be iron and brass,
And thou shalt have peace all thy days.

Both the Arabic which is here followed, and
our marginal reading, lead precisely to the same
conclusion. They do not alter the character of
the blessing, for if iron and brass were under

533

the feci of Asher in such plenty that it was
obtained with the utmost facility, and in any
quantity required, it is at once obvious that
they w^ere furnished with the amplest means of
defence in their own territories : and to pre-
cisely the same inference does the Arabic ver-
sion lead us, for the "bolts" there mentioned
merely symbolize or represent by an expressive
metonymy, the strong defences of the country.
Either reading characterizes the highly figura-
tive form of the original Hebrew.

There is none like unto the God of Jeshurun,
Who rideth upon the heaven in thy help,
And in his excellency on the sky.

With the preceding couplet the series of
predictions concludes, and the magnificent trip-
let just quoted commences the sublime termi-
nation of this varied song — the last production
of the great lawgiver of Israel.

There is none like unto the God of Jeshurun.

It was the Almighty Jehovah, the God of
Jeshurun, or of Israel, who had communicated
to Moses that knowledge, which enabled him
to predict the future condition of the twelve
tribes. The Deity had manifested himself to this
wise delegate, and given him proofs of his power
such as none other of the seed of Abraham had
received. The inspired bard having finished
his blessing, proclaims, in terms no less solemn
than emphatic, the omnipotence of that God who
had hitherto so uniformly befriended his country-
men, and would still continue his guardianship

534

of them, comforting- them with the assurance
that there was none like unto him ; and thus, by
the simplest but most persuasive induction, in-
ferring the folly of offering worship to " them
that were no gods," and therefore unable to
save those who weakly put their trust in them.
Here is implied the greatest blessing which the
inspired lawgiver had yet pronounced, and which
is not confined to any one tribe exclusively, but
applied to the whole posterity of Jacob collec-
tively; namely, that they were under the espe-
cial protection of the God of Jeshurun, single
and alone in all his attributes, and to whom
'* there is none like."

Who rideth upon the heaven in thy help ;—

'who acts not only on the earth, but likewise
in heaven, where he is ever mindful of thy
welfare, and of his covenant with thy righteous
forefather Abraham, to whom the promise of a
numerous seed was made. Even the elements,
under his benign behoof, are made to subserve
thy requirements, and above, as well as below,
the ministers of his almighty will are ready to
assist thee whenever he shall deem it fitting.
He encompasses the universe, " riding upon
the heavens,"

And in his excellency on the sky ;'

that is, upon the clouds, signifying that the
inscrutable Jehovah renders the elements obse-
quious to his will. The same idea is expressed
with uncommon sublimity and greater amplifi-

535

cation by the Psalmist,* in one of his highest
moods of poetic inspiration : —

Who stretchestoutthe heavens like a curtain :
Who layeth the beams of his chambers in the waters:
Who maketh the clouds his chariot :
Who walketh upon the wings of the wind.

How frequently had he turned the powers of
nature out of their ordinary course to benefit
the Israelites ! The Red Sea had been divided
to afford them a passage, that should secure
them from the future tyranny of Pharaoh.
Water had been caused to gush from the flinty
bosom of a rock in the wilderness. The sun
had been made to stand still, and the moon in
the valley of Ajalon. The very ground had
been miraculously strewed with food ; and of all
these stupendous dispensations of mercy to an
ungrateful people Moses reminds his country-
men, in his eloquent conclusion of that prophetic
address which was to be his last, and made just
before his departure from a world of trial to a
world of glory.

Ben Maimon, in his commentary on this
passage,f very admirably displays its poetical
beauty : " and as he that rides upon a horse
turns him on this side and on that, as he pleases,
so does Jehovah by his power command the
heavens, and is not fixed to them, as the soul to
the body, but as the horseman is tar more dis-
tinguished and excellent than the beast upon
which he rides, being quite of a diflerent species
and infinitely more honourable ; so is the Divine

* Psalm civ. 2, 3. t More Novechini, p. i. cap. 70.

536

Being represented by this metaphor, although
in a very feeble manner, as separate from the
heavens, of a far more excellent nature, infinitely
transcendino- them and all thino;s which are but
the obedient instrument of his will."

The picture embodied in this beautiful triplet
is of the most elevated description. We behold
the august and eternal prototype of power, of
infinite wisdom, of infinite goodness, in sum, of
all perfection, in the vast might and unlimited
extension of his ubiquity, pervading the heavens,
subjecting the elements to his control, direct-
ing the mighty springs of the universe, opening
the pregnant clouds, and scattering their con-
tents upon the earth. We see him as an armed
warrior mounted upon the whirlwind, grasping
the thunderbolt and ejecting the lightnings
from their aerial prison. We behold him in
all the glory and in all the terror of his omnipo-
tent majesty. He curbs, and thus assuages, the
terrific energy of the hurricane, as a practised
rider does the steed which he has broucrht into
complete subserviency to his control; or he
urges it onward in its career of impetuous de-
struction, as may best suit the purposes of his
ineffable wisdom. Every thing yields to his sole
and matchless supremacy. The impression com-
municated by this sublime representation of the
divine attributes is too strong to be easily
effaced ; it fills the soul with sacred awe, and
the heart with reverential adoration.

Durell's version of the two concludins: lines of
the triplet contains an imperfect, though never-

537

theless extremely elegant, parallelism. The pas-
sage is exceedingly grand: —

Riding on the heavens to thy help,
And on the clouds in his excellency.

It will be seen, that in one pair of the corres-
ponding terms the order is inverted, " heavens "
and " clouds," occurring in the first and second
lines ; that is, the least emphatic word being in
the second line, which interrupts the gradation
of progression causing a descent towards an anti-
climax. This inverse order of force, however,
is countervailed by the display which it exhi-
bits of divine love and condescension. " The
God of Jeshurun" not only exercises his power
in heaven for the benefit of Asher's posterity,
but he likewise condescends to come down from
the throne of his glory into this perishable
world, and "in his excellency " rides upon the
clouds ; or, as the tropical language of the poet
may be interpreted, manifests himself by his
visible dispensations. Here the two cognate
ideas of mercy and condescension are evolved,
and in order to project these ideas into distinct
and strong relief, the most emphatic term,
" heavens" is coupled with human infirmity, re-
quiring such help as only the Sovereign of
heaven can bestow; while the least emphatic
word "• clouds" is united with omnipotent power,
excellent and perfect in all its incomprehensible
attributes : thus are the two paramount ideas,
by the mere force of contrast, thrown into the
greatest possible prominency.

538

The eternal God is thy refuge,

And underneath are the everlasting arms :

And he shall thrust out the enemy from before thee ;

And shall say, destroy them.

The subject is here continued. " The eternal
God," so called in opposition to those divinities
of the heathen, which, being the fabrication of
human art, must have a mere duration, and that
a very brief one ; — He who is always existing,
always acting, who ever is, ever has been, and
ever shall be ; — He is thy refuge. He "whom
the heaven of heavens cannot contain," who com-
passes infinite duration and fills infinite space;
— He is thy " dwelling-place" (this the Hebrew
word imports). With him shall the weary and
heavy laden " find rest unto their souls," when
life's vicissitudes and trials shall be overpast.

Durell's reading of this and the subsequent
clause is appropriate, and free from anything
like obscurity : —

Thou art the habitation of the eternal God,
And under his everlasting arms ;

that is, under his everlasting protection, which
is infinite and all-powerful to sustain, in every
danger and difficulty, those who put their
trust in him. Such are under the guardianship
of his inscrutable but merciful providence — a
providence that neither slumbers nor sleeps.
Dr. Adam Clarke's note on this passage is
much to the purpose: — " As the arm is the
emblem of power, and of power in a state of
exertion, the words here state that an unlimited

539

and unconquerable power shall be eternally
exerted in defence of God's church, and in
behalf of all those who trust in him."

And he shall thrust out the enemy from before thee ; —

' He shall enable you to expel the enemy from
the land which he has given to the tribes collec-
tively for a possession —

And shall say, destroy them.

By this may be meant, that the Israelites, hav-
in<r received God's command to destroy the
Canaanites, acted under divine authority. Moses
in this place seems to infer the justification of
his countrymen entering upon a land already
in possession of a numerous and flourishing
people, slaughtering the inhabitants, and seiz-
, ing their territory. The one was to be the
Lord's doing, that is the expulsion of the
Canaanites ; and the other, their destruction, was
to be the work of Abraham's seed under the
divine sanction.

There is great sublimity in the passage,
though it is not entirely free from obscurity.

The eternal God is thy refuge,

And underneath are the everlasting arms.

In both these clauses it is evident that the su-
preme and eternal Majesty of the Godhead, as
well as his never-ceasing omnipotence, for eter-
nity and infinitude are inseparable from all
his attributes, is declared as a comforting assur-

■540

ance to the Israelites, who, under his almicrhty
protection, were about to enter the " land
of promise."' Both lines imply the protect-
ing providence of Jehovah, and are, therefore,
parallel, although the corresponding members
have a separate and specific signification. ' God
is thy refuge, thy dwelling-place, thy security.'
The paternal guardianship of the Deity is here
not only recognized but avowed, and this by a
beautiful image — that of a habitation, of a place
where men dwell under security from such
powerful external agencies as they must fall a
prey to, if constantly exposed to their destruc-
tive influences. As a well-secured dwelling pro-
tects its inmates from the extremes of cold and
heat, from the effects of storms and other ele-
mental contingencies, from beasts of prey, from
venomous reptiles, and many other natural
evils — often, too, from human treachery, from
the assassin's knife and the bandit's dagger ; so
God casts the buckler of his almighty protec-
tion over those who flee unto him for refuge,
who dwell with him and in him, and defends
them from all evils that can have a tendency
to render intolerable their mortal condition.
They are

Underneath the everlasting arms

of his providence, and he " defends them as
with a shield." The parallelism is sufficiently
distinct, as Durell gives the passage ; the first
clause signifying the divine guardianship, the
second his direct agency and visible benefac-

541

tions in favour of his people. The one implies
passive protection, the other active defence ;
so that both lines of the couplet really refer to the
same subject: though they exhibit it variously,
still both conjointly fulfil the divine dispen-
sation of mercy consummated in the permissive,
preventive, and operative grace of God. The
parallelism is, nevertheless, distinctly traceable.
Herder brings it out very obviously ; he has
given the passage with great clearness, though
not so literally as Durell. The sense, however,
does not materially differ from the version of
that able though often fanciful commentator.
Herder reads : —

Thy protector is the eternal God,
Thou art beneath his everlasting arm.

I am disposed to think this is the (rue inter-
pretation; it moreover clears the text of all
obscurity, from which our translation certainly
is not entirely free.

And he shall thrust out the enemy from before thee ;
And shall say, destroy them.

The literal here follows the figurative, which
it commonly does in the writings of Moses, as
a relief to the loftier flights of his muse. These
occasional declensions from his higher aspira-
tions are agreeable ofl-sets to the sustained d'ur-
nity and uncommon elevation of his thou<>'hts,
and generally of his language, though this is fre-
quently cast into the most simple mould of
expression, in order, no doubt, to enhance the
surpassing splendour which it is sometimes made

542

to throw around the thought it is employed to
embellish. The terms used in the passage last
quoted, though severely simple, are neverthe-
less extremely vigorous and expressive, the first
clause conveying a vivid idea of the earnestness
of the divine determination to have the Canaan-
ites finally expelled from their land. He shall
" thrust them out," that is, he shall cause them
to be forcibly ejected. They shall be violently
expelled by his express command.

In the first line of this distich God's determi-
nation respecting the Canaanites is solemnly but
explicitly declared, and in a manner not to be
misunderstood ; that which follows, expresses
the instrumentality of the Israelites in executing
the almighty purpose. The distinction here
is finely conceived and most emphatically con-
veyed. God is not represented as the active but
determining agent in slaughtering the Canaan-
ites, — not as the executive but as the judicial
power; it is his chosen people, destined to inherit
the land of the heathen, who are made the
instruments of their destruction. Jehovah is
declared in his own person to " thrust them
out," in order that the full manifestation of his
power may be displayed ; in order too that it
may be shown that he is the chastiser of na-
tions as well as of individuals, who provoke his
righteous indignation. On the other hand the
Israelites are exhibited as the destroyers of the
idolaters of Canaan, because the image of
actual slaughter better suits with the vio-
lent and impetuous passions of men, than with
the ineffable dignity, the calm, august and

543

imperturbable majesty of Jehovah. The seed
of Abraham, therefore, to whom the promised
inheritance was about to fall, are made the im-
mediate ministers of judicial inflictions upon
the worshippers of images: thus is the picture,
placed before the reader's imagination, ren-
dered much more striknig, by keeping apart
the two prominent objects and assigning to
them their separate agencies. By preserv-
ing distinctly the dominant ideas of supreme
power, the poet finely distinguishes the abso-
lute supremacy of God from the derivative
supremacy of man.

Israel then shall dwell in safety alone :
The fountain of Jacob shall be upon a land
Of corn and wine ;
Also his heavens shall drop down dew.

The first clause of this passage declares the
entire separation of Israel from the nations by
whom they shall be surrounded, after their settle-
ment in the conquered country. They were to
enter into no alliances, either civil, political,
or domestic, with idolaters. The theocracy estab-
lished among them was essentially opposed to,
and would never harmonize with, the polytheism
of those gentiles whom they were to expel from
Canaan; in fact it was essentially adverse to
that of all other nations. How singularly and
extensively has this part of the ])rophecy been
fulfilled ! The seed of Jacob dwell alone at this
very hour. They are a distinct community,
separated by national barriers, by inflexible
prejudices and certain moral influences, from

544

every other people. They bear about them at
this moment the brand of a degenerate and
outcast race, marked by the anger of an out-
raged God and rejected Messiah ; tolerated only
as despised aliens in those countries where they
have obtained settlements ; denied the privileges
of citizens ; expelled from all other communities ;
their name at once a scoff and a reproach; con-
tent, under their social debasement, to bear
their contumely for the sake of enjoying un-
disturbed their primitive worship and service.
From the days of Moses to the present they
have been kept distinct from every other nation
by their civil and religious institutions ; and
although, after their possession of Canaan, vast
numbers amon": them united in the idolatries
practised by the people by whom they were
surrounded, they were, nevertheless, nationally
separate from other races; they "dwelt alone"
no less in their political pre-eminence than
in their moral degeneracy, as they do now in
their degradation. All attempts to incorporate
them with christian societies have signally failed.
They still seem to glory in their shame, and
continue blind to the judgments of heaven.

The fountain of Jacob shall be upon a land
Of corn and wine.

That is, the posterity of Jacob shall inherit a
very fruitful country, in which corn, Avine, and
oil, as Durell adds, shall abound; these being
the chief sources of animal support. Thus
shall be realized to them the promise made to
their righteous forefather Abraham, that they
should be "as the sand on the sea shore for

545

multitude," and possess that promised inherit-
ance which should be "the glory of all lands,"
from its singular productiveness; described after-
wards by Joshua as " a land flowing with milk
and honey." *

Also his heavens shall drop down dew.

The climate of the country about to be pos-
sessed by the Israelites was to be as salubrious
as the earth was productive; the latter being
watered by genial showers and fostering dews,
which should cause it to bring forth exceed-
ingly. In short, Moses here states that the region
in which his countrymen were shortly to settle
would fully verify his description given of it in
another place. '' For the Lord thy God bring-
eth thee into a good land, a land of brooks of
water, of fountains and depths that spring out
of valleys and hills ; a land of wheat, and bar-
ley, and vines, and fig-trees, and pomegranates;
a land of oil-olive, and honey ; a land wherein
thou shalt eat bread without scarceness, thou
shalt not lack any thing in it ; a land whose
stones are iron, and out of wdiose hills thou
mayest dig brass. "f

Israel then shall dwell in safety alone.

Observe here how beautifully, by mere impli-
cation, the special dispensations of Jehovah to
Jacob's seed are signified. Though surrounded
by many powerful and warlike adversaries, Is-

* Joshua V. fi. t Deut. viii. 7 — 9,

VOL. II. 2 N

546

rael was to " dwell alone ;" that is, separated
from them, for God was the refuge for his
people — he was "their helper and defender."
There could have been no security for them
" alone," encompassed by such a host of active
foes, unless they had been under the effectual
defence of God's " everlasting arms." How
much is signified in this brief clause, and how
admirably expressed ! The association, by in-
ference, so covertly, but still so evidently made, —
of the benefactor with the beneficiaries — of God
with Israel, — is singularly expressive. We can-
not fail to perceive the divine agency exhibited
in every line of the prophecy, even where no
special allusion is made to it. We feel its in-
fluence as by a sacred spell, and it is never for
a moment lost sight of.

The fountain of Jacob shall be upon a land
Of corn, and wine, mid oil.

The two latter words are added by Durell, and,
as I think, justly. The passages appear incom-
plete without them. "The fountain of Jacob"
is a figure of uncommon beauty, representing
by one of the most vivid images which language
can furnish, the prodigious increase of Jacob's
posterity. It may be worth while a moment to
consider into what a small fountain is often
magnified. It rises perhaps in some distant and
inaccessible hill, beyond the prying eye of man,
and here bubbling amid the sterile earth, where
no eyes behold it but those which are im-
mortal, gushes from its remote bed, increasing
as it flows, shortly forming for itself a channel,

547

and rushing between opposing rocks or other
interjected impediments ; then, dashing over pre-
cipices in its impetuous course, and thundering
through the valleys beneath, it swells to a mighty
torrent, augmenting its volume as it proceeds,
until it reaches the plain, a vast body of accu-
mulated waters, rolling silently and majestically
towards the sea; until at length, increased to
a stupendous river, it disembogues itself into the
unfathomable ocean, where it is finally absorbed
and lost for ever. Such was the rapid increase
and accumulation of Jacob's posterity. The
exquisite beauty of this image requires no fur-
ther comment; it is comprehensive in the ex-
treme.

Also his heavens shall drop down dew.

The word dew is employed in this line as a
synecdoche, to imply every description of ele-
mental nourishment which the land was capable
of receiving. Dew alone could not have the
effect of rendering a country productive ; so that
the word in this place implies rain, as well as
dew, embracing likewise within the scope of its
application the necessary concomitants of bland
sunshine and genial climature.

Happy art thou, O Israel :

Who is like unto thee,

O people saved by the Lord,

The shield of thy help,

And who is the sword of thy excellency !

And thine enemies shall be found liars unto thee;

And thou shalt tread upon their high places.

This last passage depicts the superior tem-

2 N 2

548

{joral condition of Israel above that of all
nations of the earth then, and subsequently,
existing. They were eminently favoured by
being the especial, though not the exclusive, ob-
jects of almighty protection, and might have so
continued throughout all time had they not
abandoned their God, "the God of Jeshurun,"
and delivered themselves, not only to the idols of
the heathen, but, what was even worse, to those
likewise of the world.

Who is like unto thee,

O people saved by the Lord.

They were superior to every other people for
this very reason, that they were " saved by the
Lord;" — saved from the tyranny of Pharaoh —
saved from the perils of the wilderness — saved
to enter upon the land of their covenanted in-
heritance— saved to exterminate the Canaanites.
As Jehovah was the only wise God, so were
they the only righteous people — that is, though
not perfectly righteous, they were relatively so
by comparison with their idolatrous neigh-
bours. No other people had Jehovah for their
help, for they trusted in other protection, and
were consequently not " like unto " the children
of Israel. " The rock" of the pagan was not
their rock.

The shield of thy help,

And who is the sword of thy excellency !

It will be noticed that the promise of divine
protection is repeated at the close of this mag-
nificent song. God v/ould be a shield to de-

549

fend his chosen and " peculiar people " from the
assaults of their o-entile foes. He shall " whet his
sword," and suhdue their enemies before them,
thus exaltinsc them to the hio-hest elevation of
temporal distinction above those communities
who " knew not God." This defence of Jacob's
seed, "as the sand of the sea-shore for multi-
tude," should issue in their "excellency," that
is, should render them pre-eminent among the
kingdoms of the earth.

Thine enemies shall be found liars unto thee.

The Canaanites had probably boasted that they
would drive back the strangers, so that they
should never obtain possession of their country.
Thus would the enemies of Israel be found liars
by having made a vain boast. Their expecta-
tion of maintaining their territories should be
frustrated, for they would be expelled before
" the sword of Israel's excellency."

And thou shalt tread upon their high places.

That is, thou shalt obtain possession of the whole
country, uplands as well as plains, their fortified
cities as well as their meanest hamlets, and even
those elevated sites consecrated to their divi-
nities. " This commonly signifies," says Patrick,
referring to their high places, " either strong-
holds or places of idolatrous worship, which
neither their great men nor their gods them-
selves should be able to preserve from ruin."
The whole conclusion of this divine song sub-

550

limely points to the complete subjugation of
Canaan, and the hnal triumph of Israel. Its
poetical beauty, from the twenty-sixth verse
to the end, is so manifest that it can be
scarcely necessary to point it out. The grada-
tional parallelism is present in the following
distich, and is a favourable example of that
artifice so common in Hebrew poetry : —

The shield of thy help,

And who is the sword of thy excellency.

The first clause represents passive protec-
tion, the second active interference. They both
exhibit the same dispensation under diflercnt
aspects. In the one, God is represented, with
relation to Israel, as the shield of their help ; in
the other, as the sword of their ea^celleiicy . The
latter terms evidently rise above the former in
energy of delineament, yet both are obviously
parallel. The admirable propriety of the images
must be seen at a glance, the shield being
emblematical of abstract power; the sword of
that power exercised. The distinction is finely
considered and skilfully brought out.

I shall now close these volumes with Herder's
version, which upon the whole is excellent, of
the conclusion of this sublime composition,
and his remarks upon it.

" And to Asher he said" —

Blessed shall Asher be among the tribes,

He shall be acceptable to his brethren,

And shall dip his feet in oil.

Brass and iron sliall be thy bolts,

And as thy days so shall thy strength increase.

There is none, O Israel, like God,

551

Who rideth on the heavens for thy help,
And in his majesty on tlie lofty clouds.

Thy protector is the eternal God,
Thou art beneath his everlasting arm,
He thrusteth out the enemy
From before thine eyes,
And saith, " destroy them !"
, Yet Israel shall dwell ^

Securely and alone.
The eye of Jacob looketh upon a land
That is full of corn and wine,
On which the heaven droppeth dew.
Happy art thou, O Israel !
Where is a people like thee.
Whom Jehovah protecteth ?
He is the shield of thy help.
And the sword of thine excellency.
Let thy foes seek thee with guile,
Yet shalt thou in triumph
Tread upon their high places.

"With such words of golden richness does Moses
take leave of his people. He builds their hopes
on God, represents their land as the object of
his love, — that land on which they looked down
from the heights of Bashan and Gilead. Here,
shut out from the nations, secure and alone,
should Israel dwell, nourished, not as Egypt by
the river, but immediately by the dew of heaven,
and the hand of Jehovah. A bold mountain
race should Jeshurun become, and thouirh the
wiles of their enemies were unceasing, should
proceed until they trod as conquerors on all
their high places.

"The country lies apart, surrounded and limited
by mountains, seas, rivers, and deserts; a small
but divinely chosen spot, which, cultivated with
diligence and guarded by the united force of
the tribes, might have flourished. It lies, as it
were, between the three divisions of the eastern

552

continent, in the boundless Asia, at the foot of
those rich mountains of the primitive earth, and
is their outlet and haven. Above and below
Judaea were the routes of the trade of the ancient
world. So far as its situation is concerned, it
might have been the happiest people under
heaven, had they used their advantages, and
remained true to the spirit of their ancient law.
Poor, and now barren and naked land ! in which,
partly through sacred poetry and song, but more
through the consequences of misfortune and
folly, we know almost every glen and hill, every
valley and village, which ages ago in the history
of mankind was famed for superstition, blood,
and war, — wilt thou ever enjoy a better renown *?
or are the mountains on which thy prophets
trod, once so fruitful, doomed henceforth to
perpetual desolation'?"*

* Spirit of Hebrew Poetry, vol. ii. pp. 162, 163.

THE END.

i BARFLELD, I'RINTER, 91, WARDOUU STKlitT.

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