,transcriber's notes ,this e-text includes ,greek characters1 ,hebrew characters1 uncommon diacritics1 and punctuation that will only display in ,,utf-#h 7,unicode7 text readers3 e4g4 1 1 8mal'akhi04 ,if any of these characters do not display properly1 make sure that your text reader's 8character set0 or 8file encoding0 is set to ,unicode 7,,utf-#h74 ,you may also need to change the default font4 ,a small number of obvious typos have been corrected4 ,the spelling and punctuation of the book have not been changed4 ,the footnotes have been renumbered from #a to #a1efj4 ,each footnote can be found at the end of the chapter in which it is flagged4 ,it is clear from the context that some ,hebrew letters are missing from ,section #b of ,chapter ,,vi of the book4 ,these letters1 enclosed in square brackets1 have been restored4 ,an expression such as ,a,b is used in this text to represent ,a followed by ,b as a superscript4 ,for example1 ,x could be represented by ,xn4 7,the only letters that can be used as superscripts in ,,utf-#h are lower-case i and n47 ---------------------------------------- -------------------------------- ,,the ,,expositor',s ,,bible ,,edited ,,by ,,the ,,rev4 ,w4 ,,robertson ,,nicoll1 ,m4,a41 ,,ll4,d4 ,editor of 8,the ,expositor0 ,,the ,,book ,,of ,,the ,,twelve ,,prophets ,,vol4 ,,ii4--,,zephaniah1 ,,nahum1 ,,habakkuk1 ,,obadiah1 ,,haggai1 ,,zechariah ,i4--,,viii41 8,,malachi10 ,,joel1 8,,zechariah0 ,,ix4--,,xiv4 ,,and ,,jonah ,,by ,,george ,,adam ,,smith1 ,d4,d41 ,,ll4,d4 ,,new ,,york ,a4 ,c4 ,,armstrong ,,and ,,son #ea ,,east ,,tenth ,,street #ahih ,,the ,,expositor',s ,,bible4 ,crown #hvo1 cloth1 price #a4ej each vol4 ,,first ,,series1 #ahhg-h4 ,colossians4 ,by ,a4 ,,maclaren1 ,d4,d4 ,st4 ,mark4 ,by ,very ,rev4 the ,bishop of ,derry4 ,genesis4 ,by ,prof4 ,,marcus ,,dods1 ,d4,d4 #a ,samuel4 ,by ,prof4 ,w4 ,g4 ,,blaikie1 ,d4,d4 #b ,samuel4 ,by the same ,author4 ,hebrews4 ,by ,principal ,t4 ,c4 ,,edwards1 ,d4,d4 ,,second ,,series1 #ahhh-i4 ,galatians4 ,by ,prof4 ,g4 ,g4 ,,findlay1 ,b4,a4 ,the ,pastoral ,epistles4 ,by ,rev ,a4 ,,plummer1 ,d4,d4 ,isaiah ,i4--,,xxxix4 ,by ,prof4 ,g4 ,a4 ,,smith1 ,d4,d4 ,vol4 ,i4 ,the ,book of ,revelation4 ,by ,prof4 ,w4 ,,milligan1 ,d4,d4 #a ,corinthians ,by ,prof4 ,,marcus ,,dods1 ,d4,d4 ,the ,epistles of ,st4 ,john4 ,by ,most ,rev4 the ,archbishop of ,armagh4 ,,third ,,series1 #ahhi-ij4 ,judges and ,ruth4 ,by ,r4 ,a4 ,,watson1 ,m4,a41 ,d4,d4 ,jeremiah4 ,by ,rev4 ,c4 ,j4 ,,ball1 ,m4,a4 ,isaiah ,,xl4--,,lxvi4 ,by ,prof4 ,g4 ,a4 ,,smith1 ,d4,d4 ,vol4 ,,ii4 ,st4 ,matthew4 ,by ,rev4 ,j4 ,,monro ,,gibson1 ,d4,d4 ,exodus4 ,by ,right ,rev4 the ,bishop of ,derry4 ,st4 ,luke4 ,by ,rev4 ,h4 ,,burton1 ,m4,a4 ,,fourth ,,series1 #ahij-ia4 ,ecclesiastes4 ,by ,rev4 ,,samuel ,,cox1 ,d4,d4 ,st4 ,james and ,st4 ,jude4 ,by ,rev4 ,a4 ,,plummer1 ,d4,d4 ,proverbs4 ,by ,rev4 ,r4 ,f4 ,,horton1 ,d4,d4 ,leviticus4 ,by ,rev4 ,s4 ,h4 ,,kellogg1 ,d4,d4 ,the ,gospel of ,st4 ,john4 ,by ,prof4 ,m4 ,,dods1 ,d4,d4 ,vol4 ,i4 ,the ,acts of the ,apostles4 ,by ,prof4 ,,stokes1 ,d4,d4 ,vol4 ,i4 ,,fifth ,,series1 #ahia-b4 ,the ,psalms4 ,by ,a4 ,,maclaren1 ,d4,d4 ,vol4 ,i4 #a and #b ,thessalonians4 ,by ,,james ,,denney1 ,d4,d4 ,the ,book of ,job4 ,by ,r4 ,a4 ,,watson1 ,m4,a41 ,d4,d4 ,ephesians4 ,by ,prof4 ,g4 ,g4 ,,findlay1 ,b4,a4 ,the ,gospel of ,st4 ,john4 ,by ,prof4 ,m4 ,,dods1 ,d4,d4 ,vol4 ,,ii4 ,the ,acts of the ,apostles4 ,by ,prof4 ,,stokes1 ,d4,d4 ,vol4 ,,ii4 ,,sixth ,,series1 #ahib-c4 #a ,kings4 ,by ,very ,rev4 the ,dean of ,canterbury4 ,philippians4 ,by ,principal ,,rainy1 ,d4,d4 ,ezra1 ,nehemiah1 ,esther4 ,by ,prof4 ,w4 ,f4 ,,adeney1 ,m4,a4 ,joshua4 ,by ,prof4 ,w4 ,g4 ,,blaikie1 ,d4,d4 ,the ,psalms4 ,by ,a4 ,,maclaren1 ,d4,d4 ,vol4 ,,ii4 ,the ,epistles of ,st4 ,peter4 ,by ,prof4 ,,rawson ,,lumby1 ,d4,d4 ,,seventh ,,series1 #ahic-d4 #b ,kings4 ,by ,very ,rev4 the ,dean of ,canterbury4 ,romans4 ,by ,h4 ,c4 ,g4 ,,moule1 ,m4,a41 ,d4,d4 ,the ,books of ,chronicles4 ,by ,prof4 ,w4 ,h4 ,,bennett1 ,m4,a4 #b ,corinthians4 ,by ,,james ,,denney1 ,d4,d4 ,numbers4 ,by ,r4 ,a4 ,,watson1 ,m4,a41 ,d4,d4 ,the ,psalms4 ,by ,a4 ,,maclaren1 ,d4,d4 ,vol4 ,,iii4 ,,eighth ,,series1 #ahie-f4 ,daniel4 ,by ,very ,rev4 the ,dean of ,canterbury4 ,the ,book of ,jeremiah4 ,by ,prof4 ,w4 ,h4 ,,bennett1 ,m4,a4 ,deuteronomy4 ,by ,prof4 ,,andrew ,,harper1 ,b4,d4 ,the ,song of ,solomon and ,lamentations4 ,by ,prof4 ,w4 ,f4 ,,adeney1 ,m4,a4 ,ezekiel4 ,by ,prof4 ,,john ,,skinner1 ,m4,a4 ,the ,book of the ,twelve ,prophets4 ,by ,prof4 ,g4 ,a4 ,,smith1 ,d4,d4 ,two ,vols ,,the ,,book ,,of ,,the ,,twelve ,,prophets ,,commonly ,,called ,,the ,,minor ,,by ,,george ,,adam ,,smith1 ,d4,d41 ,,ll4,d4 ,,professor ,,of ,,hebrew ,,and ,,old ,,testament ,,exegesis ,,free ,,church ,,college1 ,,glasgow ,,in ,,two ,,volumes ,,vol4 ,,ii4--,,zephaniah1 ,,nahum1 ,,habakkuk1 ,,obadiah1 ,,haggai1 ,,zechariah ,i4--,,viii41 8,,malachi10 ,,joel1 8,,zechariah0 ,,ix4--,,xiv4 ,,and ,,jonah ,,with ,,historical ,,and ,,critical ,,introductions ,,new ,,york ,a4 ,c4 ,,armstrong ,,and ,,son #ea ,,east ,,tenth ,,street #ahih ,,preface ,the first volume on the ,twelve ,prophets dealt with the three who belonged to the ,eighth ,century3 ,amos1 ,hosea and ,micah4 ,this second volume includes the other nine books arranged in chronological order3 ,zephaniah1 ,nahum and ,habakkuk1 of the ,seventh ,century2 ,obadiah1 of the ,exile2 ,haggai1 ,zechariah i4--viii41 8,malachi0 and ,joel1 of the ,persian ,period1 #ech--cca2 8,zechariah0 ix4--xiv4 and the ,book of ,jonah1 of the ,greek ,period1 which began in #ccb1 the date of ,alexander's ,syrian campaign4 ,the same plan has been followed as in ,volume ,i4 ,a historical introduction is offered to each period4 ,to each prophet are given1 first a chapter of critical introduction1 and then one or more chapters of exposition4 ,a complete translation has been furnished1 with critical and explanatory notes4 ,all questions of date and of text1 and nearly all of interpretation1 have been confined to the introductions and the notes1 so that those who consult the volume only for expository purposes will find the exposition unencumbered by the discussion of technical points4 ,the necessity of including within one volume so many prophets1 scattered over more than three centuries1 and each of them requiring a separate introduction1 has reduced the space available for the practical application of their teaching to modern life4 ,but this is the less to be regretted1 that the contents of the nine books before us are not so applicable to our own day1 as we have found their greater predecessors to be4 ,on the other hand1 however1 they form a more varied introduction to ,old ,testament ,criticism1 while1 by the long range of time which they cover1 and the many stages of religion to which they belong1 they afford a wider view of the development of prophecy4 ,let us look for a little at these two points4 #a4 ,to ,old ,testament ,criticism these books furnish valuable introduction--some of them1 like ,obadiah1 ,joel and 8,zechariah0 ix4--xiv41 by the great variety of opinion that has prevailed as to their dates or their relation to other prophets with whom they have passages in common2 some1 like ,zechariah and 8,malachi10 by their relation to the ,law1 in the light of modern theories of the origin of the latter2 and some1 like ,joel and ,jonah1 by the question whether we are to read them as history1 or as allegories of history1 or as apocalypse4 ,that is to say1 these nine books raise1 besides the usual questions of genuineness and integrity1 every other possible problem of ,old ,testament ,criticism4 ,it has1 therefore1 been necessary to make the critical introductions full and detailed4 ,the enormous differences of opinion as to the dates of some must start the suspicion of arbitrariness1 unless there be included in each case a history of the development of criticism1 so as to exhibit to the ,english reader the principles and the evidence of fact upon which that criticism is based4 ,i am convinced that what is chiefly required just now by the devout student of the ,bible is the opportunity to judge for himself how far ,old ,testament ,criticism is an adult science2 with what amount of reasonableness it has been prosecuted2 how gradually its conclusions have been reached1 how jealously they have been contested2 and how far1 amid the many varieties of opinion which must always exist with reference to facts so ancient and questions so obscure1 there has been progress towards agreement upon the leading problems4 ,but1 besides the accounts of past criticism given in this volume1 the reader will find in each case an independent attempt to arrive at a conclusion4 ,this has not always been successful4 ,a number of points have been left in doubt2 and even where results have been stated with some degree of positiveness1 the reader need scarcely be warned 7after what was said in the ,preface to ,vol4 ,i47 that many of these must necessarily be provisional4 ,but1 in looking back from the close of this work upon the discussions which it contains1 ,i am more than ever convinced of the extreme probability of most of the conclusions4 ,among these are the following3 that the correct interpretation of ,habakkuk is to be found in the direction of the position to which ,budde's ingenious proposal has been carried on pages #abc ff4 with reference to ,egypt2 that the most of ,obadiah is to be dated from the sixth century2 that 8,malachi0 is an anonymous work from the eve of ,ezra's reforms2 that ,joel follows 8,malachi02 and that 8,zechariah0 ix4--xiv4 has been rightly assigned by ,stade to the early years of the ,greek ,period4 ,i have ventured to contest ,kosters' theory that there was no return of ,jewish exiles under ,cyrus1 and am the more disposed to believe his strong argument inconclusive1 not only upon a review of the reasons ,i have stated in ,chap4 ,,xvi41 but on this ground also1 that many of its chief adherents in this country and ,germany have so modified it as virtually to give up its main contention4 ,i think1 too1 there can be little doubt as to the substantial authenticity of ,zephaniah ii4 7except the verses on ,moab and ,ammon7 and iii4 #a-ac1 of ,habakkuk ii4 #e ff41 and of the whole of ,haggai2 or as to the ungenuine character of the lyric piece in ,zechariah ii4 and the intrusion of 8,malachi0 ii4 #aa-ac;a4 ,on these and smaller points the reader will find full discussion at the proper places4 ,i may here add a word or two upon some of the critical conclusions reached in ,vol4 ,i41 which have been recently contested4 ,the student will find strong grounds offered by ,canon ,driver in his ,joel and ,amos#a for the authenticity of those passages in ,amos which1 following other critics1 ,i regarded or suspected as not authentic4 ,it makes one diffident in one's opinions when ,canon ,driver supports ,professors ,kuenen and ,robertson ,smith on the other side4 ,but on a survey of the case ,i am unable to feel that even they have removed what they admit to be 8forcible0 objections to the authorship by ,amos of the passages in question4 ,they seem to me to have established not more than a possibility that the passages are authentic2 and on the whole ,i still feel that the probability is in the other direction4 ,if ,i am right1 then ,i think that the date of the apostrophes to ,jehovah's creative power which occur in the ,book of ,amos1 and the reference to astral deities in chap4 v4 #bg1 may be that which ,i have suggested on pages #h and #i of this volume4 ,some critics have charged me with inconsistency in denying the authenticity of the epilogue to ,amos while defending that of the epilogue to ,hosea4 ,the two cases1 as my arguments proved1 are entirely different4 ,nor do ,i see any reason to change the conclusions of ,vol4 ,i4 upon the questions of the authenticity of various parts of ,micah4 ,the text of the nine prophets treated in this volume has presented even more difficulties than that of the three treated in ,vol4 ,i4 ,and these difficulties must be my apology for the delay of this volume4 #b4 ,but the critical and textual value of our nine books is far exceeded by the historical4 ,each exhibits a development of ,hebrew prophecy of the greatest interest4 ,from this point of view1 indeed1 the volume might be entitled 8,the ,passing of the ,prophet40 ,for throughout our nine books we see the spirit and the style of the classic prophecy of ,israel gradually dissolving into other forms of religious thought and feeling4 ,the clear start from the facts of the prophet's day1 the ancient truths about ,jehovah and ,israel1 and the direct appeal to the conscience of the prophet's contemporaries1 are not always given1 or when given are mingled1 coloured and warped by other religious interests1 both present and future1 which are even powerful enough to shake the ethical absolutism of the older prophets4 ,with ,nahum and ,obadiah the ethical is entirely missed in the presence of the claims--and we cannot deny that they were natural claims--of the long-suffering nation's hour of revenge upon her heathen tyrants4 ,with ,zephaniah prophecy1 still austerely ethical1 passes under the shadow of apocalypse2 and the future is solved1 not upon purely historical lines1 but by the intervention of 8supernatural0 elements4 ,with ,habakkuk the ideals of the older prophets encounter the shock of the facts of experience3 we have the prophet as sceptic4 ,upon the other margin of the ,exile1 ,haggai and ,zechariah 7i4--viii471 although they are as practical as any of their predecessors1 exhibit the influence of the exilic developments of ritual1 angelology and apocalypse4 ,god appears further off from ,zechariah than from the prophets of the eighth century1 and in need of mediators1 human and superhuman4 ,with ,zechariah the priest has displaced the prophet1 and it is very remarkable that no place is found for the latter beside the two sons of oil1 the political and priestly heads of the community1 who1 according to the ,fifth ,vision1 stand in the presence of ,god and between them feed the religious life of ,israel4 ,nearly sixty years later 8,malachi0 exhibits the working of ,prophecy within the ,law1 and begins to employ the didactic style of the later ,rabbinism4 ,joel starts1 like any older prophet1 from the facts of his own day1 but these hurry him at once into apocalypse2 he calls1 as thoroughly as any of his predecessors1 to repentance1 but under the imminence of the ,day of the ,lord1 with its 8supernatural0 terrors1 he mentions no special sin and enforces no single virtue4 ,the civic and personal ethics of the earlier prophets are absent4 ,in the ,greek ,period1 the oracles now numbered from the ninth to the fourteenth chapters of the ,book of ,zechariah repeat to aggravation the exulting revenge of ,nahum and ,obadiah1 without the strong style or the hold upon history which the former exhibits1 and show us prophecy still further enwrapped in apocalypse4 ,but in the ,book of ,jonah1 though it is parable and not history1 we see a great recovery and expansion of the best elements of prophecy4 ,god's character and ,israel's true mission to the world are revealed in the spirit of ,hosea and of the ,seer of the ,exile1 with much of the tenderness1 the insight1 the analysis of character and even the humour of classic prophecy4 ,these qualities raise the ,book of ,jonah1 though it is probably the latest of our ,twelve1 to the highest rank among them4 ,no book is more worthy to stand by the side of ,isaiah xl4--lv42 none is nearer in spirit to the ,new ,testament4 ,all this gives unity to the study of prophets so far separate in time1 and so very distinct in character1 from each other4 ,from ,zephaniah to ,jonah1 or over a period of three centuries1 they illustrate the dissolution of ,prophecy and its passage into other forms of religion4 ,the scholars1 to whom every worker in this field is indebted1 are named throughout the volume4 ,i regret that ,nowack's recent commentary on the ,minor ,prophets 7,gttingen3 ,vandenhoeck ,ruprecht7 reached me too late for use 7except in footnotes7 upon the earlier of the nine prophets4 ,,george ,,adam ,,smith4 ,,footnotes3 #a ,cambridge ,bible for ,schools1 #ahig ,,contents ,,of ,,vol4 ,,ii4 ,,page ,,preface v ,,chronological ,,tables ,facing p4 #a in ,volume ,i ,,introduction ,,to ,,the ,,prophets ,,of ,,the ,,seventh ,,century ,,chap4 ,i4 ,,the ,,seventh ,,century ,,before ,,christ #c #a4 ,,reaction ,,under ,,manasseh ,,and ,,amon 7#fie8--fci74 #b4 ,,the ,,early ,,years ,,of ,,josiah 7#fci--fbe73 ,,jeremiah ,,and ,,zephaniah4 #c4 ,,the ,,rest ,,of ,,the ,,century 7#fbe--ehf73 ,,the ,,fall ,,of ,,niniveh2 ,,nahum ,,and ,,habakkuk4 ,,zephaniah ,,ii4 ,,the ,,book ,,of ,,zephaniah #ce ,,iii4 ,,the ,,prophet ,,and ,,the ,,reformers #df ,,zephaniah i4--ii4 #c4 ,,iv4 ,,ninive ,,delenda #fa ,,zephaniah ii4 #d-ae4 ,v4 ,,so ,,as ,,by ,,fire #fg ,,zephaniah iii4 ,,nahum ,,vi4 ,,the ,,book ,,of ,,nahum #gg #a4 ,,the ,,position ,,of ,,el,,sh4 #b4 ,,the ,,authenticity ,,of ,,chap4 i4 #c4 ,,the ,,date ,,of ,,chaps4 ii4 ,,and iii4 ,,vii4 ,,the ,,vengeance ,,of ,,the ,,lord #ij ,,nahum i4 ,,viii4 ,,the ,,siege ,,and ,,fall ,,of ,,niniveh #if ,,nahum ii4 ,,and iii4 ,,haba,u ,,ix4 ,,the ,,book ,,of ,,habakkuk #aae #a4 ,,chap4 i4 #b--;ii4 #d 7,,or #h74 #b4 ,,chap4 ii4 #e-bj4 #c4 ,,chap4 iii4 ,x4 ,,the ,,prophet ,,as ,,sceptic #abi ,,habakkuk i4--ii4 #d4 ,,xi4 ,,tyranny ,,is ,,suicide #adc ,,habakkuk ii4 #e-bj4 ,,xii4 8,,in ,,the ,,midst ,,of ,,the ,,years0 #adi ,,habakkuk iii4 ,,obadiah ,,xiii4 ,,the ,,book ,,of ,,obadiah #afc ,,xiv4 ,,edom ,,and ,,israel #agg ,,obadiah #a-ba4 ,,introduction ,,to ,,the ,,prophets ,,of ,,the ,,persian ,,period 7#eci--cca ,b4,c47 ,,xv4 ,,israel ,,under ,,the ,,persians #ahg ,,xvi4 ,,from ,,the ,,return ,,from ,,babylon ,,to ,,the ,,building ,,of ,,the ,,temple 7#ecf--eaf ,b4,c47 #aih ,,with ,a ,,discussion ,,of ,,professor ,,kosters' ,,theory4 ,,haggai ,,xvii4 ,,the ,,book ,,of ,,haggai #bbe ,,xviii4 ,,haggai ,,and ,,the ,,building ,,of ,,the ,,temple #bcd ,haggai i41 ii4 #a4 ,,the ,,call ,,to ,,build 7,,chap4 i474 #b4 ,,courage1 ,,zerubbabel6 ,,courage1 ,,jehoshua ,,and ,,all ,,the ,,people6 7,,chap4 ii4 #a-i74 #c4 ,,the ,,power ,,of ,,the ,,unclean 7,,chap4 ii4 #aj-ai74 #d4 ,,the ,,reinvestment ,,of ,,israel',s ,,hope 7,,chap4 ii4 #bj-bc74 ,,zechariah 7,i4--,,viii47 ,,xix4 ,,the ,,book ,,of ,,zechariah 7,i4--,,viii47 #bee ,,xx4 ,,zechariah ,,the ,,prophet #bfd ,,zechariah i4 #a-f1 ,,etc42 ,,ezra v4 #a1 vi4 #ad4 ,,xxi4 ,,the ,,visions ,,of ,,zechariah #bgc ,,zechariah i4 #g--vi4 #a4 ,,the ,,influences ,,which ,,moulded ,,the ,,visions4 #b4 ,,general ,,features ,,of ,,the ,,visions4 #c4 ,,exposition ,,of ,,the ,,several ,,visions3 ,,the ,,first3 ,,the ,,angel-,,horsemen 7i4 #g-ag74 ,,the ,,second3 ,,the ,,four ,,horns ,,and ,,the ,,four ,,smiths 7i4 #ah-ba ,,eng474 ,,the ,,third3 ,,the ,,city ,,of ,,peace 7ii4 #a-e ,,eng474 ,,the ,,fourth3 ,,the ,,high ,,priest ,,and ,,the ,,satan 7iii474 ,,the ,,fifth3 ,,the ,,temple ,,candlestick ,,and ,,the ,,two ,,olive-,,trees 7iv474 ,,the ,,sixth3 ,,the ,,winged ,,volume 7v4 #a-d74 ,,the ,,seventh3 ,,the ,,woman ,,in ,,the ,,barrel 7v4 #e-aa74 ,,the ,,eighth3 ,,the ,,chariots ,,of ,,the ,,four ,,winds 7vi4 #a-h74 ,,the ,,result ,,of ,,the ,,visions 7vi4 #i-ae74 ,,xxii4 ,,the ,,angels ,,of ,,the ,,visions #caj ,,zechariah i4 #g--vi4 #h4 ,,xxiii4 8,,the ,,seed ,,of ,,peace0 #cbj ,,zechariah vii41 viii4 8,,malachi0 ,,xxiv4 ,,the ,,book ,,of 8,,malachi0 #cca ,,xxv4 ,,from ,,zechariah ,,to 8,,malachi0 #cda ,,xxvi4 ,,prophecy ,,within ,,the ,,law #cdh 8,,malachi0 i4--iv4 7,,eng474 #a4 ,,god',s ,,love ,,for ,,israel ,,and ,,hatred ,,of ,,edom 7i4 #b-e74 #b4 8,,honour ,,thy ,,father0 7i4 #f-ad74 #c4 ,,the ,,priesthood ,,of ,,knowledge 7ii4 #a-i74 #d4 ,,the ,,cruelty ,,of ,,divorce 7ii4 #aj-af74 #e4 8,,where ,,is ,,the ,,god ,,of ,,judgment80 7ii4 #ag--;iii4 #e74 #f4 ,,repentance ,,by ,,tithes 7iii4 #f-ab74 #g4 ,,the ,,judgment ,,to ,,come 7iii4 #ac--;iv4 #b ,,eng474 #h4 ,,the ,,return ,,of ,,elijah 7iv4 #c-e ,,eng474 ,,joel ,,xxvii4 ,,the ,,book ,,of ,,joel #cge #a4 ,,the ,,date ,,of ,,the ,,book4 #b4 ,,the ,,interpretation ,,of ,,the ,,book4 #c4 ,,state ,,of ,,the ,,text ,,and ,,the ,,style ,,of ,,the ,,book4 ,,xxviii4 ,,the ,,locusts ,,and ,,the ,,day ,,of ,,the ,,lord #cih ,,joel i4--ii4 #ag4 ,,xxix4 ,,prosperity ,,and ,,the ,,spirit #dah ,,joel ii4 #ah-cb 7,,eng474 #a4 ,,the ,,return ,,of ,,prosperity 7ii4 #ai-bg74 #b4 ,,the ,,outpouring ,,of ,,the ,,spirit 7ii4 #bh-cb74 ,,xxx4 ,,the ,,judgment ,,of ,,the ,,heathen #dca ,,joel iii4 7,,eng474 ,,introduction ,,to ,,the ,,prophets ,,of ,,the ,,grecian ,,period 7,,from #cca ,,onwards7 ,,xxxi4 ,,israel ,,and ,,the ,,greeks #dci 8,,zechariah0 7,,ix4--,,xiv47 ,,xxxii4 8,,zechariah0 ,,ix4--,,xiv4 #ddi ,,xxxiii4 ,,the ,,contents ,,of 8,,zechariah0 ,,ix4--,,xiv4 #dfc #a4 ,,the ,,coming ,,of ,,the ,,greeks 7ix4 #a-h74 #b4 ,,the ,,prince ,,of ,,peace 7ix4 #i-ab74 #c4 ,,the ,,slaughter ,,of ,,the ,,greeks 7ix4 #ac-ag74 #d4 ,,against ,,the ,,teraphim ,,and ,,sorcerers 7x4 #a1 #b74 #e4 ,,against ,,evil ,,shepherds 7x4 #c-ab74 #f4 ,,war ,,upon ,,the ,,syrian ,,tyrants 7xi4 #a-c74 #g4 ,,the ,,rejection ,,and ,,murder ,,of ,,the ,,good ,,shepherd 7xi4 #d-ag1 xiii4 #g-i74 #h4 ,,judah versus ,,jerusalem 7xii4 #a-g74 #i4 ,,four ,,results ,,of ,,jerusalem',s ,,deliverance 7xii4 #h--xiii4 #f74 #aj4 ,,judgment ,,of ,,the ,,heathen ,,and ,,sanctification ,,of ,,jerusalem 7xiv474 ,,jonah ,,xxxiv4 ,,the ,,book ,,of ,,jonah #dic #a4 ,,the ,,date ,,of ,,the ,,book4 #b4 ,,the ,,character ,,of ,,the ,,book4 #c4 ,,the ,,purpose ,,of ,,the ,,book4 #d4 ,,our ,,lord',s ,,use ,,of ,,the ,,book4 #e4 ,,the ,,unity ,,of ,,the ,,book4 ,,xxxv4 ,,the ,,great ,,refusal #ead ,,jonah i4 ,,xxxvi4 ,,the ,,great ,,fish ,,and ,,what ,,it ,,means--,,the ,,psalm #ebc ,,jonah ii4 ,,xxxvii4 ,,the ,,repentance ,,of ,,the ,,city #ebi ,,jonah iii4 ,,xxxviii4 ,,israel',s ,,jealousy ,,of ,,jehovah #ecf ,,jonah iv4 ,,index ,,of ,,prophets #edc ,,introduction ,,to ,,the ,,prophets ,,of ,,the ,,seventh ,,century ,,chapter ,i ,,the ,,seventh ,,century ,,before ,,christ ,the three prophets who were treated in the first volume of this work belonged to the eighth century before ,christ3 if ,micah lived into the seventh his labours were over by #fge4 ,the next group of our twelve1 also three in number1 ,zephaniah1 ,nahum and ,habakkuk1 did not appear till after #fcj4 ,to make our study continuous#b we must now sketch the course of ,israel's history between4 ,in another volume of this series1#c some account was given of the religious progress of ,israel from ,isaiah and the ,deliverance of ,jerusalem in #gja to ,jeremiah and the ,fall of ,jerusalem in #ehg4 ,isaiah's strength was bent upon establishing the inviolableness of ,zion4 ,zion1 he said1 should not be taken1 and the people1 though cut to their roots1 should remain planted in their own land1 the stock of a noble nation in the latter days4 ,but ,jeremiah predicted the ruin both of ,city and ,temple1 summoned ,jerusalem's enemies against her in the name of ,jehovah1 and counselled his people to submit to them4 ,this reversal of the prophetic ideal had a twofold reason4 ,in the first place the moral condition of ,israel was worse in #fjj ,b4,c4 than it had been in #gjj2 another century had shown how much the nation needed the penalty and purgation of exile4 ,but secondly1 however the inviolableness of ,jerusalem had been required in the interests of pure religion in #gja1 religion had now to show that it was independent even of ,zion and of ,israel's political survival4 ,our three prophets of the eighth century 7as well as ,isaiah himself7 had indeed preached a gospel which implied this1 but it was reserved to ,jeremiah to prove that the existence of state and temple was not indispensable to faith in ,god1 and to explain the ruin of ,jerusalem1 not merely as a well-merited penance1 but as the condition of a more spiritual intercourse between ,jehovah and ,his people4 ,it is our duty to trace the course of events through the seventh century1 which led to this change of the standpoint of prophecy1 and which moulded the messages especially of ,jeremiah's contemporaries1 ,zephaniah1 ,nahum and ,habakkuk4 ,we may divide the century into three periods3 ,first1 that of the ,reaction and ,persecution under ,manasseh and ,amon1 from #fie or #fij to #fci1 during which prophecy was silent or anonymous2 ,second1 that of the ,early ,years of ,josiah1 #fci to #fbe1 near the end of which we meet with the young ,jeremiah and ,zephaniah2 ,third1 the ,rest of the ,century1 #fbe to #fjj1 covering the ,decline and ,fall of ,niniveh1 and the prophets ,nahum and ,habakkuk1 with an addition carrying on the history to the ,fall of ,jerusalem in #ehg--f4 #a4 ,,reaction ,,under ,,manasseh ,,and ,,amon 7#fie8--fci74 ,jerusalem was delivered in #gja1 and the ,assyrians kept away from ,palestine for twenty-three years4#d ,judah had peace1 and ,hezekiah was free to devote his latter days to the work of purifying the worship of his people4 ,what he exactly achieved is uncertain4 ,the historian imputes to him the removal of the high places1 the destruction of all ,maeboth and ,asheras1 and of the brazen serpent4#e ,that his measures were drastic is probable from the opinions of ,isaiah1 who was their inspiration1 and proved by the reaction which they provoked when ,hezekiah died4 ,the removal of the high places and the concentration of the national worship within the ,temple would be the more easy that the provincial sanctuaries had been devastated by the ,assyrian invasion1 and that the shrine of ,jehovah was glorified by the raising of the siege of #gja4 ,while the first of ,isaiah's great postulates for the future1 the inviolableness of ,zion1 had been fulfilled1 the second1 the reign of a righteous prince in ,israel1 seemed doomed to disappointment4 ,hezekiah died early in the seventh century1#f and was succeeded by his son ,manasseh1 a boy of twelve1 who appears to have been captured by the party whom his father had opposed4 ,the few years' peace--peace in ,israel was always dangerous to the health of the higher religion--the interests of those who had suffered from the reforms1 the inevitable reaction which a rigorous puritanism provokes--these swiftly reversed the religious fortunes of ,israel4 ,isaiah's and ,micah's predictions of the final overthrow of ,assyria seemed falsified1 when in #fha the more vigorous ,asarhaddon succeeded ,sennacherib1 and in #fgh swept the long absent armies back upon ,syria4 ,sidon was destroyed1 and twenty-two princes of ,palestine immediately yielded their tribute to the conqueror4 ,manasseh was one of them1 and his political homage may have brought him1 as it brought ,ahaz1 within the infection of foreign idolatries4#g ,everything1 in short1 worked for the revival of that eclectic paganism which ,hezekiah had striven to stamp out4 ,the high places were rebuilt2 altars were erected to ,baal1 with the sacred pole of ,asherah1 as in the time of ,ahab2#h shrines to the host of heaven defiled the courts of ,jehovah's house2 there was a recrudescence of soothsaying1 divination and traffic with the dead4 ,but it was all very different from the secure and sunny temper which ,amos had encountered in ,northern ,israel4#i ,the terrible ,assyrian invasions had come between4 ,life could never again feel so stable4 ,still more destructive had been the social poisons which our prophets described as sapping the constitution of ,israel for nearly three generations4 ,the rural simplicity was corrupted by those economic changes which ,micah bewails4 ,with the ousting of the old families from the soil1 a thousand traditions1 memories and habits must have been broken1 which had preserved the people's presence of mind in days of sudden disaster1 and had carried them1 for instance1 through so long a trial as the ,syrian wars4 ,nor could the blood of ,israel have run so pure after the luxury and licentiousness described by ,hosea and ,isaiah4 ,the novel obligations of commerce1 the greed to be rich1 the increasing distress among the poor1 had strained the joyous temper of that nation of peasants' sons1 whom we met with ,amos1 and shattered the nerves of their rulers4 ,there is no word of fighting in ,manasseh's days1 no word of revolt against the tyrant4 ,perhaps also the intervening puritanism1 which had failed to give the people a permanent faith1 had at least awakened within them a new conscience4 ,at all events there is now no more ease in ,zion1 but a restless fear1 driving the people to excesses of religious zeal4 ,we do not read of the happy country festivals of the previous century1 nor of the careless pride of that sudden wealth which built vast palaces and loaded the altar of ,jehovah with hecatombs4 ,the full-blooded patriotism1 which at least kept ritual in touch with clean national issues1 has vanished4 ,the popular religion is sullen and exasperated4 ,it takes the form of sacrifices of frenzied cruelty and lust4 ,children are passed through the fire to ,moloch1 and the ,temple is defiled by the orgies of those who abuse their bodies to propitiate a foreign and a brutal god4#aj ,but the most certain consequence of a religion whose nerves are on edge is persecution1 and this raged all the earlier years of ,manasseh4 ,the adherents of the purer faith were slaughtered1 and ,jerusalem drenched#aa with innocent blood4 ,her own sword1 says ,jeremiah1 devoured the prophets like a destroying lion4#ab ,it is significant that all that has come down to us from this 8killing time0 is anonymous2#ac we do not meet with our next group of public prophets till ,manasseh and his like-minded son have passed away4 ,yet prophecy was not wholly stifled4 ,voices were raised to predict the exile and destruction of the nation4 ,jehovah spake by ,his servants2#ad while others wove into the prophecies of an ,amos1 a ,hosea or an ,isaiah some application of the old principles to the new circumstances4 ,it is probable1 for instance1 that the extremely doubtful passage in the ,book of ,amos1 v4 #bf f41 which imputes to ,israel as a whole the worship of astral deities from ,assyria1 is to be assigned to the reign of ,manasseh4 ,in its present position it looks very like an intrusion3 nowhere else does ,amos charge his generation with serving foreign gods2 and certainly in all the history of ,israel we could not find a more suitable period for so specific a charge than the days when into the central sanctuary of the national worship images were introduced of the host of heaven1 and the nation was1 in consequence1 threatened with exile4#ae ,in times of persecution the documents of the suffering faith have ever been reverenced and guarded with especial zeal4 ,it is not improbable that the prophets1 driven from public life1 gave themselves to the arrangement of the national scriptures2 and some critics date from ,manasseh's reign the weaving of the two earliest documents of the ,pentateuch into one continuous book of history4#af ,the ,book of ,deuteronomy forms a problem by itself4 ,the legislation which composes the bulk of it#ag appears to have been found among the ,temple archives at the end of our period1 and presented to ,josiah as an old and forgotten work4#ah ,there is no reason to charge with fraud those who made the presentation by affirming that they really invented the book4 ,they were priests of ,jerusalem1 but the book is written by members of the prophetic party1 and ostensibly in the interests of the priests of the country4 ,it betrays no tremor of the awful persecutions of ,manasseh's reign2 it does not hint at the distinction1 then for the first time apparent1 between a false and a true ,israel4 ,but it does draw another distinction1 familiar to the eighth century1 between the true and the false prophets4 ,the political and spiritual premisses of the doctrine of the book were all present by the end of the reign of ,hezekiah1 and it is extremely improbable that his reforms1 which were in the main those of ,deuteronomy1 were not accompanied by some code1 or by some appeal to the fountain of all law in ,israel4 ,but whether the ,book of ,deuteronomy now existed or not1 there were those in the nation who through all the dark days between ,hezekiah and ,josiah laid up its truth in their hearts and were ready to assist the latter monarch in his public enforcement of it4 ,while these things happened within ,judah1 very great events were taking place beyond her borders4 ,asarhaddon of ,assyria 7#fha--ffh7 was a monarch of long purposes and thorough plans4 ,before he invaded ,egypt1 he spent a year 7#fge7 in subduing the restless tribes of ,northern ,arabia1 and another 7#fgd7 in conquering the peninsula of ,sinai1 an ancient appanage of ,egypt4 ,tyre upon her island baffled his assaults1 but the rest of ,palestine remained subject to him4 ,he received his reward in carrying the ,assyrian arms farther into ,egypt than any of his predecessors1 and about #fgj took ,memphis from the ,ethiopian ,pharaoh ,taharka4 ,then he died4 ,assurbanipal1 who succeeded1 lost ,egypt for a few years1 but about #ffe1 with the help of his tributaries in ,palestine1 he overthrew ,taharka1 took ,thebes1 and established along the ,nile a series of vassal states4 ,he quelled a revolt there in #ffc and overthrew ,memphis for a second time4 ,the fall of the ,egyptian capital resounds through the rest of the century2 we shall hear its echoes in ,nahum4 ,tyre fell at last with ,arvad in #ffb4 ,but the ,assyrian empire had grown too vast for human hands to grasp1 and in #feb a general revolt took place in ,egypt1 ,arabia1 ,palestine1 ,elam1 ,babylon and ,asia ,minor4 ,in #fdi ,assurbanipal reduced ,elam and ,babylon2 and by two further campaigns 7#fdg and #fde7 ,hauran1 ,edom1 ,ammon1 ,moab1 ,nabatea and all the northern ,arabs4 ,on his return from these he crossed ,western ,palestine to the sea and punished ,usu and ,akko4 ,it is very remarkable that1 while ,assurbanipal1 who thus fought the neighbours of ,judah1 makes no mention of her1 nor numbers ,manasseh among the rebels whom he chastised1 the ,book of ,chronicles should contain the statement that ,jehovah sent upon ,manasseh the captains of the host of the king of ,assyria1 who bound him with fetters and carried him to ,babylon4#ai ,what grounds the ,chronicler had for such a statement are quite unknown to us4 ,he introduces ,manasseh's captivity as the consequence of idolatry1 and asserts that on his restoration ,manasseh abolished in ,judah all worship save that of ,jehovah1 but if this happened 7and the ,book of ,kings has no trace of it7 it was without result4 ,amon1 son of ,manasseh1 continued to sacrifice to all the images which his father had introduced4 #b4 ,,the ,,early ,,years ,,of ,,josiah 7#fci--fbe73 ,,jeremiah ,,and ,,zephaniah4 ,amon had not reigned for two years when his servants conspired against him1 and he was slain in his own house4#bj ,but the people of the land rose against the court1 slew the conspirators1 and secured the throne for ,amon's son1 ,josiah1 a child of eight4 ,it is difficult to know what we ought to understand by these movements4 ,amon1 who was slain1 was an idolater2 the popular party1 who slew his slayers1 put his son on the throne1 and that son1 unlike both his father and grandfather1 bore a name compounded with the name of ,jehovah4 ,was ,amon then slain for personal reasons8 ,did the people1 in their rising1 have a zeal for ,jehovah8 ,was the crisis purely political1 but usurped by some school or party of ,jehovah who had been gathering strength through the later years of ,manasseh1 and waiting for some such unsettlement of affairs as now occurred8 ,the meagre records of the ,bible give us no help1 and for suggestions towards an answer we must turn to the wider politics of the time4 ,assurbanipal's campaigns of #fdg and #fde were the last appearances of ,assyria in ,palestine4 ,he had not attempted to reconquer ,egypt1#ba and her king1 ,psamtik ,i41 began to push his arms northward4 ,progress must have been slow1 for the siege of ,ashdod1 which ,psamtik probably began after #fde1 is said to have occupied him twenty-nine years4 ,still1 he must have made his influence to be felt in ,palestine1 and in all probability there was once more1 as in the days of ,isaiah1 an ,egyptian party in ,jerusalem4 ,as the power of ,assyria receded over the northern horizon1 the fascination of her idolatries1 which ,manasseh had established in ,judah1 must have waned4 ,the priests of ,jehovah's house1 jostled by their pagan rivals1 would be inclined to make common cause with the prophets under a persecution which both had suffered4 ,with the loosening of the ,assyrian yoke the national spirit would revive1 and it is easy to imagine prophets1 priests and people working together in the movement which placed the child ,josiah on the throne4 ,at his tender age1 he must have been wholly in the care of the women of the royal house2 and among these the influence of the prophets may have found adherents more readily than among the counsellors of an adult prince4 ,not only did the new monarch carry the name of ,jehovah in his own2 this was the case also with his mother's father4#bb ,in the revolt1 therefore1 which raised this unconscious child to the throne and in the circumstances which moulded his character1 we may infer that there already existed the germs of the great work of reform which his manhood achieved4 ,for some time little change would be possible1 but from the first facts were working for great issues4 ,the ,book of ,kings1 which places the destruction of the idols after the discovery of the law-book in the eighteenth year of ,josiah's reign1 records a previous cleansing and restoration of the house of ,jehovah4#bc ,this points to the growing ascendency of the prophetic party during the first fifteen years of ,josiah's reign4 ,of the first ten years we know nothing1 except that the prestige of ,assyria was waning2 but this fact1 along with the preaching of the prophets1 who had neither a native tyrant nor the exigencies of a foreign alliance to silence them1 must have weaned the people from the worship of the ,assyrian idols4 ,unless these had been discredited1 the repair of ,jehovah's house could hardly have been attempted2 and that this progressed means that part of ,josiah's destruction of the heathen images took place before the discovery of the ,book of the ,law1 which happened in consequence of the cleansing of the ,temple4 ,but just as under the good ,hezekiah the social condition of the people1 and especially the behaviour of the upper classes1 continued to be bad1 so it was again in the early years of ,josiah4 ,there was a remnant of ,baal#bd in the land4 ,the shrines of the host of heaven might have been swept from the ,temple1 but they were still worshipped from the housetops4#be ,men swore by the ,queen of ,heaven1 and by ,moloch1 the ,king4 ,some turned back from ,jehovah2 some1 grown up in idolatry1 had not yet sought ,him4 ,idolatry may have been disestablished from the national sanctuary3 its practices still lingered 7how intelligibly to us67 in social and commercial life4 ,foreign fashions were affected by the court and nobility2 trade1 as always1 was combined with the acknowledgment of foreign gods4#bf ,moreover1 the rich were fraudulent and cruel4 ,the ministers of justice1 and the great in the land1 ravened among the poor4 ,jerusalem was full of oppression4 ,these were the same disorders as ,amos and ,hosea exposed in ,northern ,israel1 and as ,micah exposed in ,jerusalem4 ,but one new trait of evil was added4 ,in the eighth century1 with all their ignorance of ,jehovah's true character1 men had yet believed in ,him1 gloried in ,his energy1 and expected ,him to act--were it only in accordance with their low ideals4 ,they had been alive and bubbling with religion4 ,but now they had thickened on their lees4 ,they had grown sceptical1 dull1 indifferent2 they said in their hearts1 ,jehovah will not do good1 neither will ,he do evil6 ,now1 just as in the eighth century there had risen1 contemporaneous with ,israel's social corruption1 a cloud in the north1 black and pregnant with destruction1 so was it once more4 ,but the cloud was not ,assyria4 ,from the hidden world beyond her1 from the regions over ,caucasus1 vast1 nameless hordes of men arose1 and1 sweeping past her unchecked1 poured upon ,palestine4 ,this was the great ,scythian invasion recorded by ,herodotus4#bg ,we have almost no other report than his few paragraphs1 but we can realise the event from our knowledge of the ,mongol and ,tartar invasions which in later centuries pursued the same path southwards4 ,living in the saddle1 and 7it would seem7 with no infantry nor chariots to delay them1 these ,centaurs swept on with a speed of invasion hitherto unknown4 ,in #fcj they had crossed the ,caucasus1 by #fbf they were on the borders of ,egypt4 ,psamtik ,i4 succeeded in purchasing their retreat1#bh and they swept back again as swiftly as they came4 ,they must have followed the old ,assyrian war-paths of the eighth century1 and1 without foot-soldiers1 had probably kept even more closely to the plains4 ,in ,palestine their way would lie1 like ,assyria's1 across ,hauran1 through the plain of ,esdraelon1 and down the ,philistine coast1 and in fact it is only on this line that there exists any possible trace of them4#bi ,but they shook the whole of ,palestine into consternation4 ,though ,judah among her hills escaped them1 as she escaped the earlier campaigns of ,assyria1 they showed her the penal resources of her offended ,god4 ,once again the dark1 sacred ,north was seen to be full of the possibilities of doom4 ,behold1 therefore1 exactly the two conditions1 ethical and political1 which1 as we saw1 called forth the sudden prophets of the eighth century1 and made them so sure of their message of judgment3 on the one side ,judah1 her sins calling aloud for punishment2 on the other side the forces of punishment swiftly drawing on4 ,it was precisely at this juncture that prophecy again arose1 and as ,amos1 ,hosea1 ,micah and ,isaiah appeared in the end of the eighth century1 ,zephaniah1 ,habakkuk1 ,nahum and ,jeremiah appeared in the end of the seventh4 ,the coincidence is exact1 and a remarkable confirmation of the truth which we deduced from the experience of ,amos1 that the assurance of the prophet in ,israel arose from the coincidence of his conscience with his political observation4 ,the justice of ,jehovah demands ,his people's chastisement1 but see--the forces of chastisement are already upon the horizon4 ,zephaniah uses the same phrase as ,amos3 the ,day of ,jehovah1 he says1 is drawing near4 ,we are now in touch with ,zephaniah1 the first of our prophets1 but1 before listening to him1 it will be well to complete our survey of those remaining years of the century in which he and his immediate successors laboured4 #c4 ,,the ,,rest ,,of ,,the ,,century 7#fbe--ehf73 ,,the ,,fall ,,of ,,niniveh2 ,,nahum ,,and ,,habakkuk4 ,although the ,scythians had vanished from the horizon of ,palestine and the ,assyrians came over it no more1 the fateful ,north still lowered dark and turbulent4 ,yet the keen eyes of the watchmen in ,palestine perceived that1 for a time at least1 the storm must break where it had gathered4 ,it is upon ,niniveh1 not upon ,jerusalem1 that the prophetic passion of ,nahum and ,habakkuk is concentrated2 the new day of the ,lord is filled with the fate1 not of ,israel1 but of ,assyria4 ,for nearly two centuries ,niniveh had been the capital and cynosure of ,western ,asia2 for more than one she had set the fashions1 the art1 and even1 to some extent1 the religion of all the ,semitic nations4 ,of late years1 too1 she had drawn to herself the world's trade4 ,great roads from ,egypt1 from ,persia and from the gean converged upon her1 till like ,imperial ,rome she was filled with a vast motley of peoples1 and men went forth from her to the ends of the earth4 ,under ,assurbanipal travel and research had increased1 and the city acquired renown as the centre of the world's wisdom4 ,thus her size and glory1 with all her details of rampart and tower1 street1 palace and temple1 grew everywhere familiar4 ,but the peoples gazed at her as those who had been bled to build her4 ,the most remote of them had seen face to face on their own fields1 trampling1 stripping1 burning1 the warriors who manned her walls4 ,she had dashed their little ones against the rocks4 ,their kings had been dragged from them and hung in cages about her gates4 ,their gods had lined the temples of her gods4 ,year by year they sent her their heavy tribute1 and the bearers came back with fresh tales of her rapacious insolence4 ,so she stood1 bitterly clear to all men1 in her glory and her cruelty6 ,their hate haunted her every pinnacle2 and at last1 when about #fbe the news came that her frontier fortresses had fallen and the great city herself was being besieged1 we can understand how her victims gloated on each possible stage of her fall1 and saw her yield to one after another of the cruelties of battle1 siege and storm1 which for two hundred years she had inflicted on themselves4 ,to such a vision the prophet ,nahum gives voice1 not on behalf of ,israel alone1 but of all the nations whom ,niniveh had crushed4 ,it was obvious that the vengeance which ,western ,asia thus hailed upon ,assyria must come from one or other of two groups of peoples1 standing respectively to the north and to the south of her4 ,to the north1 or north-east1 between ,mesopotamia and the ,caspian1 there were gathered a congeries of restless tribes known to the ,assyrians as the ,madai or ,matai1 the ,medes4 ,they are mentioned first by ,shalmaneser ,,ii4 in #hdj1 and few of his successors do not record campaigns against them4 ,the earliest notice of them in the ,old ,testament is in connection with the captives of ,samaria1 some of whom in #gbj were settled among them4#cj ,these ,medes were probably of ,turanian stock1 but by the end of the eighth century1 if we are to judge from the names of some of their chiefs1#ca their most easterly tribes had already fallen under ,aryan influence1 spreading westward from ,persia4#cb ,so led1 they became united and formidable to ,assyria4 ,herodotus relates that their ,king ,phraortes1 or ,fravartis1 actually attempted the siege of ,niniveh1 probably on the death of ,assurbanipal in #fbe1 but was slain4#cc ,his son ,kyaxares1 ,kastarit or ,uvakshathra1 was forced by a ,scythian invasion of his own country to withdraw his troops from ,assyria2 but having either bought off or assimilated the ,scythian invaders1 he returned in #fjh1 with forces sufficient to overthrow the northern ,assyrian fortresses and to invest ,niniveh herself4 ,the other and southern group of peoples which threatened ,assyria were ,semitic4 ,at their head were the ,kasdim or ,chaldeans4#cd ,this name appears for the first time in the ,assyrian annals a little earlier than that of the ,medes1#ce and from the middle of the ninth century onwards the people designated by it frequently engage the ,assyrian arms4 ,they were1 to begin with1 a few half-savage tribes to the south of ,babylon1 in the neighbourhood of the ,persian ,gulf2 but they proved their vigour by the repeated lordship of all ,babylonia and by inveterate rebellion against the monarchs of ,niniveh4 ,before the end of the seventh century we find their names used by the prophets for the ,babylonians as a whole4 ,assurbanipal1 who was a patron of ,babylonian culture1 kept the country quiet during the last years of his reign1 but his son ,asshur-itil-ilani1 upon his accession in #fbe1 had to grant the viceroyalty to ,nabopolassar the ,chaldean with a considerable degree of independence4 ,asshur-itil-ilani was succeeded in a few years#cf by ,sinsuriskin1 the ,sarakos of the ,greeks1 who preserved at least a nominal sovereignty over ,babylon1#cg but ,nabopolassar must already have cherished ambitions of succeeding the ,assyrian in the empire of the world4 ,he enjoyed sufficient freedom to organise his forces to that end4 ,these were the two powers which from north and south watched with impatience the decay of ,assyria4 ,that they made no attempt upon her between #fbe and #fjh was probably due to several causes3 their jealousy of each other1 the ,medes' trouble with the ,scythians1 ,nabopolassar's genius for waiting till his forces were ready1 and above all the still considerable vigour of the ,assyrian himself4 ,the ,lion1 though old1#ch was not broken4 ,his power may have relaxed in the distant provinces of his empire1 though1 if ,budde be right about the date of ,habakkuk1#ci the peoples of ,syria still groaned under the thought of it2 but his own land--his lair1 as the prophets call it--was still terrible4 ,it is true that1 as ,nahum perceives1 the capital was no longer native and patriotic as it had been2 the trade fostered by ,assurbanipal had filled ,niniveh with a vast and mercenary population1 ready to break and disperse at the first breach in her walls4 ,yet ,assyria proper was covered with fortresses1 and the tradition had long fastened upon the peoples that ,niniveh was impregnable4 ,hence the tension of those years4 ,the peoples of ,western ,asia looked eagerly for their revenge2 but the two powers which alone could accomplish this stood waiting--afraid of each other perhaps1 but more afraid of the object of their common ambition4 ,it is said that ,kyaxares and ,nabopolassar at last came to an agreement2#dj but more probably the crisis was hastened by the appearance of another claimant for the coveted spoil4 ,in #fjh ,pharaoh ,necho went up against the king of ,assyria towards the river ,euphrates4#da ,this ,egyptian advance may have forced the hand of ,kyaxares1 who appears to have begun his investment of ,niniveh a little after ,necho defeated ,josiah at ,megiddo4#db ,the siege is said to have lasted two years4 ,whether this included the delays necessary for the reduction of fortresses upon the great roads of approach to the ,assyrian capital we do not know2 but ,niniveh's own position1 fortifications and resources may well account for the whole of the time4 ,colonel ,billerbeck1 a military expert1 has suggested#dc that the ,medes found it possible to invest the city only upon the northern and eastern sides4 ,down the west flows the ,tigris1 and across this the besieged may have been able to bring in supplies and reinforcements from the fertile country beyond4 ,herodotus affirms that the ,medes effected the capture of ,niniveh by themselves1#dd and for this some recent evidence has been found1#de so that another tradition that the ,chaldeans were also actively engaged1#df which has nothing to support it1 may be regarded as false4 ,nabopolassar may still have been in name an ,assyrian viceroy2 yet1 as ,colonel ,billerbeck points out1 he had it in his power to make ,kyaxares' victory possible by holding the southern roads to ,niniveh1 detaching other viceroys of her provinces and so shutting her up to her own resources4 ,but among other reasons which kept him away from the siege may have been the necessity of guarding against ,egyptian designs on the moribund empire4 ,pharaoh ,necho1 as we know1 was making for the ,euphrates as early as #fjh4 ,now if ,nabopolassar and ,kyaxares had arranged to divide ,assyria between them1 then it is likely that they agreed also to share the work of making their inheritance sure1 so that while ,kyaxares overthrew ,niniveh1 ,nabopolassar1 or rather his son ,nebuchadrezzar1#dg waited for and overthrew ,pharaoh by ,carchemish on the ,euphrates4 ,consequently ,assyria was divided between the ,medes and the ,chaldeans2 the latter as her heirs in the south took over her title to ,syria and ,palestine4 ,the two prophets with whom we have to deal at this time are almost entirely engrossed with the fall of ,assyria4 ,nahum exults in the destruction of ,niniveh2 ,habakkuk sees in the ,chaldeans nothing but the avengers of the peoples whom ,assyria#dh had oppressed4 ,for both these events are the close of an epoch3 neither prophet looks beyond this4 ,nahum 7not on behalf of ,israel alone7 gives expression to the epoch's long thirst for vengeance on the tyrant2 ,habakkuk 7if ,budde's reading of him be right#di7 states the problems with which its victorious cruelties had filled the pious mind--states the problem and beholds the solution in the ,chaldeans4 ,and1 surely1 the vengeance was so just and so ample1 the solution so drastic and for the time complete1 that we can well understand how two prophets should exhaust their office in describing such things1 and feel no motive to look either deep into the moral condition of ,israel1 or far out into the future which ,god was preparing for ,his people4 ,it might1 of course1 be said that the prophets' silence on the latter subjects was due to their positions immediately after the great ,reform of #fba1 when the nation1 having been roused to an honest striving after righteousness1 did not require prophetic rebuke1 and when the success of so godly a prince as ,josiah left no spiritual ambitions unsatisfied4 ,but this 7even if the dates of the two prophets were certain7 is hardly probable2 and the other explanation is sufficient4 ,who can doubt this who has realised the long epoch which then reached a crisis1 or has been thrilled by the crash of the crisis itself8 ,the fall of ,niniveh was deafening enough to drown for the moment1 as it does in ,nahum1 even a ,hebrew's clamant conscience of his country's sin4 ,the problems1 which the long success of ,assyrian cruelty had started1 were old and formidable enough to demand statement and answer before either the hopes or the responsibilities of the future could find voice4 ,the past also requires its prophets4 ,feeling has to be satisfied1 and experience balanced1 before the heart is willing to turn the leaf and read the page of the future4 ,yet1 through all this time of ,assyria's decline1 ,israel had her own sins1 fears and convictions of judgment to come4 ,the disappearance of the ,scythians did not leave ,zephaniah's predictions of doom without means of fulfilment2 nor did the great ,reform of #fba remove the necessity of that doom4 ,in the deepest hearts the assurance that ,israel must be punished was by these things only confirmed4 ,the prophetess ,huldah1 the first to speak in the name of the ,lord after the ,book of the ,law was discovered1 emphasised not the reforms which it enjoined but the judgments which it predicted4 ,josiah's righteousness could at most ensure for himself a peaceful death3 his people were incorrigible and doomed4#ej ,the reforms indeed proceeded1 there was public and widespread penitence1 idolatry was abolished4 ,but those were only shallow pedants who put their trust in the possession of a revealed ,law and purged ,temple1#ea and who boasted that therefore ,israel was secure4 ,jeremiah repeated the gloomy forecasts of ,zephaniah and ,huldah1 and even before the wickedness of ,jehoiakim's reign proved the obduracy of ,israel's heart1 he affirmed the imminence of the evil out of the north and the great destruction4#eb ,of our three prophets in this period ,zephaniah1 though the earliest1 had therefore the last word4 ,while ,nahum and ,habakkuk were almost wholly absorbed with the epoch that is closing1 he had a vision of the future4 ,is this why his book has been ranged among our ,twelve after those of his slightly later contemporaries8 ,the precise course of events in ,israel was this--and we must follow them1 for among them we have to seek exact dates for ,nahum and ,habakkuk4 ,in #fba the ,book of the ,law was discovered1 and ,josiah applied himself with thoroughness to the reforms which he had already begun4 ,for thirteen years he seems to have had peace to carry them through4 ,the heathen altars were thrown down1 with all the high places in ,judah and even some in ,samaria4 ,images were abolished4 ,the heathen priests were exterminated1 with the wizards and soothsayers4 ,the ,levites1 except the sons of ,zadok1 who alone were allowed to minister in the ,temple1 henceforth the only place of sacrifice1 were debarred from priestly duties4 ,a great passover was celebrated4#ec ,the king did justice and was the friend of the poor2#ed it went well with him and the people4#ee ,he extended his influence into ,samaria2 it is probable that he ventured to carry out the injunctions of ,deuteronomy with regard to the neighbouring heathen4#ef ,literature flourished3 though critics have not combined upon the works to be assigned to this reign1 they agree that a great many were produced in it4 ,wealth must have accumulated3 certainly the nation entered the troubles of the next reign with an arrogant confidence that argues under ,josiah the rapid growth of prosperity in every direction4 ,then of a sudden came the fatal year of #fjh4 ,pharaoh ,necho appeared in ,palestine#eg with an army destined for the ,euphrates1 and ,josiah went up to meet him at ,megiddo4 ,his tactics are plain--it is the first strait on the land-road from ,egypt to the ,euphrates--but his motives are obscure4 ,assyria can hardly have been strong enough at this time to fling him as her vassal across the path of her ancient foe4 ,he must have gone of himself4 8,his dream was probably to bring back the scattered remains of the northern kingdom to a pure worship1 and to unite the whole people of ,israel under the sceptre of the house of ,david2 and he was not inclined to allow ,egypt to cross his aspirations1 and rob him of the inheritance which was falling to him from the dead hand of ,assyria40#eh ,josiah fell1 and with him not only the liberty of his people1 but the chief support of their faith4 ,that the righteous king was cut down in the midst of his days and in defence of the ,holy ,land--what could this mean8 ,was it1 then1 vain to serve the ,lord8 ,could ,he not defend ,his own8 ,with some the disaster was a cause of sore complaint1 and with others1 perhaps1 of open desertion from ,jehovah4 ,but the extraordinary thing is1 how little effect ,josiah's death seems to have had upon the people's self-confidence at large1 or upon their adherence to ,jehovah4 ,they immediately placed ,josiah's second son on the throne2 but ,necho1 having got him by some means to his camp at ,riblah between the ,lebanons1 sent him in fetters to ,egypt1 where he died1 and established in his place ,eliakim1 his elder brother4 ,on his accession ,eliakim changed his name to ,jehoiakim1 a proof that ,jehovah was still regarded as the sufficient patron of ,israel2 and the same blind belief that1 for the sake of ,his ,temple and of ,his ,law1 ,jehovah would keep ,his people in security1 continued to persevere in spite of ,megiddo4 ,it was a most immoral ease1 and filled with injustice4 ,necho subjected the land to a fine4 ,this was not heavy1 but ,jehoiakim1 instead of paying it out of the royal treasures1 exacted it from the people of the land1#ei and then employed the peace which it purchased in erecting a costly palace for himself by the forced labour of his subjects4#fj ,he was covetous1 unjust and violently cruel4 ,like prince like people3 social oppression prevailed1 and there was a recrudescence of the idolatries of ,manasseh's time1#fa especially 7it may be inferred7 after ,necho's defeat at ,carchemish in #fje4 ,that all this should exist along with a fanatic trust in ,jehovah need not surprise us who remember the very similar state of the public mind in ,north ,israel under ,amos and ,hosea4 ,jeremiah attacked it as they had done4 ,though ,assyria was fallen1 and ,egypt was promising protection1 ,jeremiah predicted destruction from the north on ,egypt and ,israel alike4 ,when at last the ,egyptian defeat at ,carchemish stirred some vague fears in the people's hearts1 ,jeremiah's conviction broke out into clear flame4 ,for three-and-twenty years he had brought ,god's word in vain to his countrymen4 ,now ,god ,himself would act3 ,nebuchadrezzar was but ,his servant to lead ,israel into captivity4#fb ,the same year1 #fje or #fjd1 ,jeremiah wrote all these things in a volume2#fc and a few months later1 at a national fast1 occasioned perhaps by the fear of the ,chaldeans1 ,baruch1 his secretary1 read them in the house of the ,lord1 in the ears of all the people4 ,the king was informed1 the roll was brought to him1 and as it was read1 with his own hands he cut it up and burned it1 three or four columns at a time4 ,jeremiah answered by calling down on ,jehoiakim an ignominious death1 and repeated the doom already uttered on the land4 ,another prophet1 ,urijah1 had recently been executed for the same truth2 but ,jeremiah and ,baruch escaped into hiding4 ,this was probably in #fjc1 and for a little time ,jehoiakim and the populace were restored to their false security by the delay of the ,chaldeans to come south4 ,nebuchadrezzar was occupied in ,babylon1 securing his succession to his father4 ,at last1 either in #fjb or more probably in #fjj1 he marched into ,syria1 and ,jehoiakim became his servant for three years4#fd ,in such a condition the ,jewish state might have survived for at least another generation1#fe but in #eii or #eig ,jehoiakim1 with the madness of the doomed1 held back his tribute4 ,the revolt was probably instigated by ,egypt1 which1 however1 did not dare to support it4 ,as in ,isaiah's time against ,assyria1 so now against ,babylon1 ,egypt was a blusterer who blustered and sat still4 ,she still helped in vain and to no purpose4#ff ,nor could ,judah count on the help of the other states of ,palestine4 ,they had joined ,hezekiah against ,sennacherib1 but remembering perhaps how ,manasseh had failed to help them against ,assurbanipal1 and that ,josiah had carried things with a high hand towards them1#fg they obeyed ,nebuchadrezzar's command and raided ,judah till he himself should have time to arrive4#fh ,amid these raids the senseless ,jehoiakim seems to have perished1#fi for when ,nebuchadrezzar appeared before ,jerusalem in #eig1 his son ,jehoiachin1 a youth of eighteen1 had succeeded to the throne4 ,the innocent reaped the harvest sown by the guilty4 ,in the attempt 7it would appear7 to save his people from destruction1#gj ,jehoiachin capitulated4 ,but ,nebuchadrezzar was not content with the person of the king3 he deported to ,babylon the court1 a large number of influential persons1 the mighty men of the land or what must have been nearly all the fighting men1 with the necessary military artificers and swordsmiths4 ,priests also went1 ,ezekiel among them1 and probably representatives of other classes not mentioned by the annalist4 ,all these were the flower of the nation4 ,over what was left ,nebuchadrezzar placed a son of ,josiah on the throne who took the name of ,zedekiah4 ,again with a little common-sense1 the state might have survived2 but it was a short respite4 ,the new court began intrigues with ,egypt1 and ,zedekiah1 with the ,ammonites and ,tyre1 ventured a revolt in #ehi4 ,jeremiah and ,ezekiel knew it was in vain4 ,nebuchadrezzar marched on ,jerusalem1 and though for a time he had to raise the siege in order to defeat a force sent by ,pharaoh ,hophra1 the ,chaldean armies closed in again upon the doomed city4 ,her defence was stubborn2 but famine and pestilence sapped it1 and numbers fell away to the enemy4 ,about the eighteenth month1 the besiegers took the northern suburb and stormed the middle gate4 ,zedekiah and the army broke their lines only to be captured at ,jericho4 ,in a few weeks more the city was taken and given over to fire4 ,zedekiah was blinded1 and with a large number of his people carried to ,babylon4 ,it was the end1 for although a small community of ,jews was left at ,mizpeh under a ,jewish viceroy and with ,jeremiah to guide them1 they were soon broken up and fled to ,egypt4 ,judah had perished4 ,her savage neighbours1 who had gathered with glee to the day of ,jerusalem's calamity1 assisted the ,chaldeans in capturing the fugitives1 and ,edomites came up from the south on the desolate land4 99 99 99 99 99 ,it has been necessary to follow so far the course of events1 because of our prophets ,zephaniah is placed in each of the three sections of ,josiah's reign1 and by some even in ,jehoiakim's2 ,nahum has been assigned to different points between the eve of the first and the eve of the second siege of ,niniveh2 and ,habakkuk has been placed by different critics in almost every year from #fba to the reign of ,jehoiachin2 while ,obadiah1 whom we shall find reasons for dating during the ,exile1 describes the behaviour of ,edom at the final siege of ,jerusalem4 ,the next of the ,twelve1 ,haggai1 may have been born before the ,exile1 but did not prophesy till #ebj4 ,zechariah appeared the same year1 ,malachi not for half a century after4 ,these three are prophets of the ,persian period4 ,with the approach of the ,greeks ,joel appears1 then comes the prophecy which we find in the end of ,zechariah's book1 and last of all the ,book of ,jonah4 ,to all these post-exilic prophets we shall provide later on the necessary historical introductions4 ,,footnotes3 #b ,see ,vol4 ,i41 p4 viii4 #c ,expositor's ,bible1 ,isaiah xl4--lxvi41 ,chap4 ,,ii4 #d ,it is uncertain whether ,hezekiah was an ,assyrian vassal during these years1 as his successor ,manasseh is recorded to have been in #fgf4 #e #b ,kings xviii4 #d4 #f ,the exact date is quite uncertain2 #fie is suggested on the chronological table prefixed to this volume1 but it may have been #fij or #fhe4 #g ,cf4 ,mc,curdy1 ,history1 ,prophecy and the ,monuments1 #gii4 #h ,stade 7,gesch4 des ,volkes ,israel1 ,i41 pp4 #fbg f47 denies to ,manasseh the reconstruction of the high places1 the ,baal altars and the ,asheras1 for he does not believe that ,hezekiah had succeeded in destroying these4 ,he takes #b ,kings xxi4 #c1 which describes these reconstructions1 as a late interpolation rendered necessary to reconcile the tradition that ,hezekiah's reforms had been quite in the spirit of ,deuteronomy1 with the fact that there were still high places in the land when ,josiah began his reforms4 ,further1 ,stade takes the rest of #b ,kings xxi4 #b;b-#g as also an interpolation1 but unlike verse #c an accurate account of ,manasseh's idolatrous institutions1 because it is corroborated by the account of ,josiah's reforms1 #b ,kings xxiii4 ,stade also discusses this passage in ,z4,a4,t4,w41 #ahhf1 pp4 #ahf ff4 #i ,see ,vol4 ,i41 p4 #da4 ,in addition to the reasons of the change given above1 we must remember that we are now treating1 not of ,northern ,israel1 but of the more stern and sullen ,judans4 #aj #b ,kings xxi41 xxiii4 #aa ,filled from mouth to mouth 7#b ,kings xxi4 #af74 #ab ,jer4 ii4 #cj4 #ac ,we have already seen that there is no reason for that theory of so many critics which assigns to this period ,micah4 ,see ,vol4 ,i41 p4 #cgj4 #ad #b ,kings xxi4 #aj ff4 #ae ,whether the parenthetical apostrophes to ,jehovah as ,maker of the heavens1 their hosts and all the powers of nature 7,amos iv4 #ac1 v4 #h1 #i1 ix4 #e1 #f71 are also to be attributed to ,manasseh's reign is more doubtful4 ,yet the following facts are to be observed3 that these passages are also 7though to a less degree than v4 #bf f47 parenthetic2 that their language seems of a later cast than that of the time of ,amos 7see ,vol4 ,i41 pp4 #bjd1 #bje3 though here evidence is adduced to show that the late features are probably post-exilic72 and that ,jehovah is expressly named as the ,maker of certain of the stars4 ,similarly when ,mohammed seeks to condemn the worship of the heavenly bodies1 he insists that ,god is their ,maker4 ,koran1 ,sur4 #da1 #cg3 8,to the signs of ,his ,omnipotence belong night and day1 sun and moon2 but do not pray to sun or moon1 for ,god hath created them40 ,sur4 #ec1 #ej3 8,because ,he is the ,lord of ,sirius40 ,on the other side see ,driver's ,joel and ,amos 7,cambridge ,bible for ,schools ,series71 #ahig1 pp4 #aah f41 #ahi4 ,how deeply ,manasseh had planted in ,israel the worship of the heavenly host may be seen from the survival of the latter through all the reforms of ,josiah and the destruction of ,jerusalem 7,jer4 vii4 #ah1 viii41 xliv42 ,ezek4 viii4 ,cf4 ,stade1 ,gesch4 des ,v4 ,israel1 ,i41 pp4 #fbi ff474 #af ,the ,jehovist and ,elohist into the closely mortised ,,je4 ,stade indeed assigns to the period of ,manasseh ,israel's first acquaintance with the ,babylonian cosmogonies and myths which led to that reconstruction of them in the spirit of her own religion which we find in the ,jehovistic portions of the beginning of ,genesis 7,gesch4 des ,v4 ,isr41 ,i41 pp4 #fcj ff474 ,but it may well be doubted 7#a7 whether the reign of ,manasseh affords time for this assimilation1 and 7#b7 whether it was likely that ,assyrian and ,babylonian theology could make so deep and lasting impression upon the purer faith of ,israel at a time when the latter stood in such sharp hostility to all foreign influences and was so bitterly persecuted by the parties in ,israel who had succumbed to these influences4 #ag ,chaps4 v4--xxvi41 xxviii4 #ah #fba ,b4,c4 #ai #b ,chron4 xxxiii4 #aa ff4 #bj #b ,kings xxi4 #bc4 #ba ,but in his conquests of ,hauran1 ,northern ,arabia and the eastern neighbours of ,judah1 he had evidently sought to imitate the policy of ,asarhaddon in #fge f41 and secure firm ground in ,palestine and ,arabia for a subsequent attack upon ,egypt4 ,that this never came shows more than anything else could ,assyria's consciousness of growing weakness4 #bb ,the name of ,josiah's 77 mother was ,jedidah 771 daughter of ,adaiah 77 of ,boath in the ,shephelah of ,judah4 #bc #b ,kings xxii41 xxiii4 #bd ,zeph4 i4 #d3 the ,,lxx4 reads names of ,baal4 ,see below1 p4 #dj1 n4 #hg4 #be ,ibid41 #e4 #bf ,ibid41 #h-ab4 #bg ,i4 #ajb ff4 #bh ,herod41 ,i4 #aje4 #bi ,the new name of ,bethshan in the mouth of ,esdraelon1 viz4 ,scythopolis1 is said to be derived from them 7but see ,hist4 ,geog4 of the ,holy ,land1 pp4 #cfc f472 they conquered ,askalon 7,herod41 ,i4 #aje74 #cj #b ,kings xvii4 #f3 and in the cities 7,,lxx4 mountains7 of the ,medes4 ,the ,heb4 is 1 ,madai4 #ca ,mentioned by ,sargon4 #cb ,sayce1 ,empires of the ,east1 #bci3 cf4 ,mc,curdy1 #hbc f4 #cc ,herod41 ,i4 #ajc4 #cd ,heb4 ,kasdim1 2 ,,lxx4 2 ,assyr4 ,kalda1 ,kaldu4 ,the ,hebrew form with s is regarded by many authorities as the original1 from the ,assyrian root kashadu1 to conquer1 and the ,assyrian form with l to have arisen by the common change of sh through r into l4 ,the form with s does not occur1 however1 in ,assyrian1 which also possesses the root kaladu1 with the same meaning as kashadu4 ,see ,mr4 ,pinches' articles on ,chaldea and the ,chaldeans in the new edition of ,vol4 ,i4 of ,smith's ,bible ,dictionary4 #ce ,about #hhj ,b4,c4 in the annals of ,assurnatsirpal4 ,see ,chronological ,table to ,vol4 ,i4 #cf ,no inscriptions of ,asshur-itil-ilani have been found later than the first two years of his reign4 #cg ,billerbeck-,jeremias1 8,der ,untergang ,niniveh's10 in ,delitzsch and ,haupt's ,beitrge zur ,assyriologie1 ,,iii41 p4 #aac4 #ch ,nahum ii4 #ci ,see below1 p4 #abj4 #dj ,abydenus 7apud ,euseb41 ,chron41 ,i4 #i7 reports a marriage between ,nebuchadrezzar1 ,nabopolassar's son1 and the daughter of the ,median king4 #da #b ,kings xxiii4 #bi4 ,the history is here very obscure4 ,necho1 met at ,megiddo by ,josiah1 and having slain him1 appears to have spent a year or two in subjugating1 and arranging for the government of1 ,syria 7ibid41 verses #cc-ce71 and only reached the ,euphrates in #fje1 when ,nebuchadrezzar defeated him4 #db ,the reverse view is taken by ,wellhausen1 who says 7,israel u4 ,jd4 ,gesch41 pp4 #ig f473 8,der ,pharaoh scheint ausgezogen zu sein um sich seinen ,teil an der ,erbschaft ,ninives vorwegzunehmen1 whrend die ,meder und ,chalder die ,stadt belagerten40 #dc ,see above1 p4 #bj1 n4 #cg4 #dd ,i4 #ajf4 #de ,a stele of ,nabonidus discovered at ,hilleh and now in the museum at ,constantinople relates that in his third year1 #eec1 the king restored at ,harran the temple of ,sin1 the moon-god1 which the ,medes had destroyed fifty-four years before1 i4e4 #fjg4 ,whether the ,medes did this before1 during or after the siege of ,niniveh is uncertain1 but the approximate date of the siege1 #fjh--fjf1 is thus marvellously confirmed4 ,the stele affirms that the ,medes alone took ,niniveh1 but that they were called in by ,marduk1 the ,babylonian god1 to assist ,nabopolassar and avenge the deportation of his image by ,sennacherib to ,niniveh4 ,messerschmidt 7,mittheilungen der ,vorderasiatischen ,gesellschaft1 ,i4 #ahif7 argues that the ,medes were summoned by the ,babylonians while the latter were being sore pressed by the ,assyrians4 ,winckler had already 7,untersuch41 pp4 #abd ff41 #ahhi7 urged that the ,babylonians would refrain from taking an active part in the overthrow of ,niniveh1 in fear of incurring the guilt of sacrilege4 ,neither ,messerschmidt's paper1 nor ,scheil's 7who describes the stele in the ,recueil des ,travaux1 ,,xviii4 #ahif71 being accessible to me1 ,i have written this note on the information supplied by ,rev4 ,c4 ,h4 ,w4 ,johns1 of ,cambridge1 in the ,expository ,times1 #ahif1 and by ,prof4 ,a4 ,b4 ,davidson in ,app4 ,i4 to ,nah41 ,hab4 and ,zeph4 #df ,berosus and ,abydenus in ,eusebius4 #dg ,this spelling 7,jer4 xlix4 #bh7 is nearer the original than the alternative ,hebrew ,nebuchadnezzar4 ,but the ,,lxx4 1 and the of ,abydenus and ,megasthenes and of ,strabo1 have preserved the more correct vocalisation2 for the original is ,nabu-kudurri-uur ,nebo1 defend the crown6 #dh ,but see below1 pp4 #abc f4 #di ,below1 pp4 #aba ff4 #ej #b ,kings xxii4 #aa-bj4 ,the genuineness of this passage is proved 7as against ,stade1 ,gesch4 des ,volkes ,israel1 ,i47 by the promise which it gives to ,josiah of a peaceful death4 ,had it been written after the battle of ,megiddo1 in which ,josiah was slain1 it could not have contained such a promise4 #ea ,jer4 vii4 #d1 viii4 #h4 #eb vi4 #a4 #ec ,all these reforms in #b ,kings xxiii4 #ed ,jer4 xxii4 #ae f4 #ee ,ibid41 ver4 #af4 #ef ,we have no record of this1 but a prince who so rashly flung himself in the way of ,egypt would not hesitate to claim authority over ,moab and ,ammon4 #eg #b ,kings xxiii4 #bd4 ,the question whether ,necho came by land from ,egypt or brought his troops in his fleet to ,acre is hardly answered by the fact that ,josiah went to ,megiddo to meet him4 ,but ,megiddo on the whole tells more for the land than the sea4 ,it is not on the path from ,acre to the ,euphrates2 it is the key of the land-road from ,egypt to the ,euphrates4 ,josiah could have no hope of stopping ,pharaoh on the broad levels of ,philistia2 but at ,megiddo there was a narrow pass1 and the only chance of arresting so large an army as it moved in detachments4 ,josiah's tactics were therefore analogous to those of ,saul1 who also left his own territory and marched north to ,esdraelon1 to meet his foe--and death4 #eh ,a4 ,b4 ,davidson1 ,the ,exile and the ,restoration1 p4 #h 7,bible ,class ,primers1 ed4 by ,salmond2 ,edin41 ,t4 ,t4 ,clark1 #ahig74 #ei #b ,kings xxiii4 #cc-ce4 #fj ,jer4 xxii4 #ac-ae4 #fa ,jer4 xi4 #fb xxv4 #a ff4 #fc xxxvi4 #fd #b ,kings xxiv4 #a4 ,in the chronological table appended to ,kautzsch's ,bibel this verse and ,jehoiakim's submission are assigned to #fjb4 ,but this allows too little time for ,nebuchadrezzar to confirm his throne in ,babylon and march to ,palestine1 and it is not corroborated by the record in the ,book of ,jeremiah of events in ,judah in #fjd--fjb4 #fe ,nebuchadrezzar did not die till #efb4 #ff ,see ,isaiah i4--xxxix4 7,expositor's ,bible71 pp4 #bbc f4 #fg ,see above1 p4 #bf1 n4 #ef4 #fh #b ,kings xxiv4 #b4 #fi ,jer4 xxxvii4 #cj1 but see #b ,kings xxiv4 #f4 #gj ,so ,josephus puts it 7,x4 ,antiq41 vii4 #a74 ,jehoiachin was unusually bewailed 7,lam4 iv4 #bj2 ,ezek4 xvii4 #bb ff474 ,he survived in captivity till the death of ,nebuchadrezzar1 whose successor ,evil-,merodach in #efa took him from prison and gave him a place in his palace 7#b ,kings xxv4 #bg ff474 ,,zephaniah ,dies ,ir1 ,dies ,illa6--,,zeph4 i4 #ae4 8,his book is the first tinging of prophecy with apocalypse3 that is the moment which it supplies in the history of ,israel's religion40 ,,chapter ,,ii ,,the ,,book ,,of ,,zephaniah ,the ,book of ,zephaniah is one of the most difficult in the prophetic canon4 ,the title is very generally accepted2 the period from which chap4 i4 dates is recognised by practically all critics to be the reign of ,josiah1 or at least the last third of the seventh century4 ,but after that doubts start1 and we find present nearly every other problem of introduction4 ,to begin with1 the text is very damaged4 ,in some passages we may be quite sure that we have not the true text2#ga in others we cannot be sure that we have it1#gb and there are several glosses4#gc ,the bulk of the second chapter was written in the ,qinah1 or elegiac measure1 but as it now stands the rhythm is very much broken4 ,it is difficult to say whether this is due to the dilapidation of the original text or to wilful insertion of glosses and other later passages4 ,the ,greek version of ,zephaniah possesses the same general features as that of other difficult prophets4 ,occasionally it enables us to correct the text2 but by the time it was made the text must already have contained the same corruptions which we encounter1 and the translators were ignorant besides of the meaning of some phrases which to us are plain4#gd ,the difficulties of textual criticism as well as of translation are aggravated by the large number of words1 grammatical forms and phrases which either happen very seldom in the ,old ,testament1#ge or nowhere else in it at all4#gf ,of the rare words and phrases1 a very few 7as will be seen from the appended notes7 are found in earlier writings4 ,indeed all that are found are from the authentic prophecies of ,isaiah1 with whose style and doctrine ,zephaniah's own exhibit most affinity4 ,all the other rarities of vocabulary and grammar are shared only by later writers2 and as a whole the language of ,zephaniah exhibits symptoms which separate it by many years from the language of the prophets of the eighth century1 and range it with that of ,jeremiah1 ,ezekiel1 the ,second ,isaiah and still later literature4 ,it may be useful to the student to collect in a note the most striking of these symptoms of the comparative lateness of ,zephaniah's dialect4#gg ,we now come to the question of date1 and we take1 to begin with1 the ,first ,chapter4 ,it was said above that critics agree as to the general period--between #fci1 when ,josiah began to reign1 and #fjj4 ,but this period was divided into three very different sections1 and each of these has received considerable support from modern criticism4 ,the great majority of critics place the chapter in the early years of ,josiah1 before the enforcement of ,deuteronomy and the great ,reform in #fba4gh ,others have argued for the later years of ,josiah1 #fba--fjh1 on the ground that the chapter implies that the great ,reform has already taken place1 and otherwise shows knowledge of ,deuteronomy2#gi while some prefer the days of reaction under ,jehoiakim1 #fjh ff41#hj and assume that the phrase in the title1 in the days of ,josiah1 is a late and erroneous inference from i4 #d4 ,the evidence for the argument consists of the title and the condition of ,judah reflected in the body of the chapter4 ,the latter is a definite piece of oratory4 ,under the alarm of an immediate and general war1 ,zephaniah proclaims a vast destruction upon the earth4 ,judah must fall beneath it3 the worshippers of ,baal1 of the host of heaven and of ,milcom1 the apostates from ,jehovah1 the princes and house of the king1 the imitators of foreign fashions1 and the forceful and fraudulent1 shall be cut off in a great slaughter4 ,those who have grown sceptical and indifferent to ,jehovah shall be unsettled by invasion and war4 ,this shall be the ,day of ,jehovah1 near and immediate1 a day of battle and disaster on the whole land4 ,the conditions reflected are thus twofold--the idolatrous and sceptical state of the people1 and an impending invasion4 ,but these suit1 more or less exactly1 each of the three sections of our period4 ,for ,jeremiah distinctly states that he had to attack idolatry in ,judah for twenty-three years1 #fbg to #fjd2ha he inveighs against the falseness and impurity of the people alike before the great ,reform1 and after it while ,josiah was still alive1 and still more fiercely under ,jehoiakim4 ,and1 while before #fba the great ,scythian invasion was sweeping upon ,palestine from the north1 after #fba1 and especially after #fjd1 the ,babylonians from the same quarter were visibly threatening the land4 ,but when looked at more closely1 the chapter shows several features which suit the second section of our period less than they do the other two4 ,the worship of the host of heaven1 probably introduced under ,manasseh1 was put down by ,josiah in #fba2 it revived under ,jehoiakim1#hb but during the latter years of ,josiah it cannot possibly have been so public as ,zephaniah describes4#hc ,other reasons which have been given for those years are inconclusive#hd--the chapter1 for instance1 makes no indubitable reference to ,deuteronomy or the ,covenant of #fba--;and on the whole we may leave the end of ,josiah's reign out of account4 ,turning to the third section1 ,jehoiakim's reign1 we find one feature of the prophecy which suits it admirably4 ,the temper described in ver4 #ab--men who are settled on their lees1 who say in their heart1 ,jehovah doeth neither good nor evil--is the kind of temper likely to have been produced among the less earnest adherents of ,jehovah by the failure of the great ,reform in #fba to effect either the purity or the prosperity of the nation4 ,but this is more than counterbalanced by the significant exception of the king from the condemnation which ver4 #h passes on the princes and the sons of the king4 ,such an exception could not have been made when ,jehoiakim was on the throne2 it points almost conclusively to the reign of the good ,josiah4 ,and with this agrees the title of the chapter--in the days of ,josiah4#he ,we are1 therefore1 driven back to the years of ,josiah before #fba4 ,in these we find no discrepancy either with the chapter itself1 or with its title4 ,the southward march of the ,scythians1#hf between #fcj and #fbe1 accounts for ,zephaniah's alarm of a general war1 including the invasion of ,judah2 the idolatrous practices which he describes may well have been those surviving from the days of ,manasseh1#hg and not yet reached by the drastic measures of #fba2 the temper of scepticism and hopelessness condemned by ver4 #ab was possible among those adherents of ,jehovah who had hoped greater things from the overthrow of ,amon than the slow and small reforms of the first fifteen years of ,josiah's reign4 ,nor is a date before #fba made at all difficult by the genealogy of ,zephaniah in the title4 ,if1 as is probable1#hh the ,hezekiah given as his great-great-grandfather be ,hezekiah the king1 and if he died about #fie1 and ,manasseh1 his successor1 who was then twelve1 was his eldest son1 then by #fcj ,zephaniah cannot have been much more than twenty years of age1 and not more than twenty-five by the time the ,scythian invasion had passed away4#hi ,it is therefore by no means impossible to suppose that he prophesied before #fbe2 and besides1 the data of the genealogy in the title are too precarious to make them valid1 as against an inference from the contents of the chapter itself4 ,the date1 therefore1 of the first chapter of ,zephaniah may be given as about #fbe ,b4,c41 and probably rather before than after that year1 as the tide of ,scythian invasion has apparently not yet ebbed4 ,the other two chapters have within recent years been almost wholly denied to ,zephaniah4 ,kuenen doubted chap4 iii4 #i-bj4 ,stade makes all chap4 iii4 post-exilic1 and suspects ii4 #a-c1 #aa4 ,a very thorough examination of them has led ,schwally#ij to assign to exilic or post-exilic times the whole of the little sections comprising them1 with the possible exception of chap4 iii4 #a-g1 which 8may be0 ,zephaniah's4 ,his essay has been subjected to a searching and generally hostile criticism by a number of leading scholars2#ia and he has admitted the inconclusiveness of some of his reasons4#ib ,chap4 ii4 #a-d is assigned by ,schwally to a date later than ,zephaniah's1 principally because of the term meekness 7ver4 #c71 which is a favourite one with post-exilic writers4 ,he has been sufficiently answered2#ic and the close connection of vv4 #a-c with chap4 i4 has been clearly proved4#id ,chap4 ii4 #d-ae is the passage in elegiac measure but broken1 an argument for the theory that insertions have been made in it4 ,the subject is a series of foreign nations--,philistia 7#e-g71 ,moab and ,ammon 7#h-aj71 ,egypt 7#aa7 and ,assyria 7#ac-ae74 ,the passage has given rise to many doubts2 every one must admit the difficulty of coming to a conclusion as to its authenticity4 ,on the one hand1 the destruction just predicted is so universal that1 as ,professor ,davidson says1 we should expect ,zephaniah to mention other nations than ,judah4#ie ,the concluding oracle on ,niniveh must have been published before #fjh1 and even ,schwally admits that it may be ,zephaniah's own4 ,but if this be so1 then we may infer that the first of the oracles on ,philistia is also ,zephaniah's1 for both it and the oracle on ,assyria are in the elegiac measure1 a fact which makes it probable that the whole passage1 however broken and intruded upon1 was originally a unity4 ,nor is there anything in the oracle on ,philistia incompatible with ,zephaniah's date4 ,philistia lay on the path of the ,scythian invasion2 the phrase in ver4 #g1 shall turn their captivity1 is not necessarily exilic4 ,as ,cornill1 too1 points out1 the expression in ver4 #ac1 ,he will stretch out ,his hand to the north1 implies that the prophecy has already looked in other directions4 ,there remains the passage between the oracles on ,philistia and ,assyria4 ,this is not in the elegiac measure4 ,its subject is ,moab and ,ammon1 who were not on the line of the ,scythian invasion1 and ,wellhausen further objects to it1 because the attitude to ,israel of the two peoples whom it describes is that which is attributed to them only just before the ,exile and surprises us in ,josiah's reign4 ,dr4 ,davidson meets this objection by pointing out that1 just as in ,deuteronomy1 so here1 ,moab and ,ammon are denounced1 while ,edom1 which in ,deuteronomy is spoken of with kindness1 is here not denounced at all4 ,a stronger objection to the passage is that ver4 #aa predicts the conversion of the nations1 while ver4 #ab makes them the prey of ,jehovah's sword1 and in this ver4 #ab follows on naturally to ver4 #g4 ,on this ground as well as on the absence of the elegiac measure the oracle on ,moab and ,ammon is strongly to be suspected4 ,on the whole1 then1 the most probable conclusion is that chap4 ii4 #d-ae was originally an authentic oracle of ,zephaniah's in the elegiac metre1 uttered at the same date as chap4 i4--ii4 #c1 the period of the ,scythian invasion1 though from a different standpoint2 and that it has suffered considerable dilapidation 7witness especially vv4 #f and #ad71 and probably one great intrusion1 vv4 #h-aj4 ,there remains the ,third ,chapter4 ,the authenticity has been denied by ,schwally1 who transfers the whole till after the ,exile4 ,but the chapter is not a unity4#if ,in the first place1 it falls into two sections1 vv4 #a-ac and #ad-bj4 ,there is no reason to take away the bulk of the first section from ,zephaniah4 ,as ,schwally admits1 the argument here is parallel to that of chap4 i4--ii4 #c4 ,it could hardly have been applied to ,jerusalem during or after the ,exile1 but suits her conditions before her fall4 ,schwally's linguistic objections to a pre-exilic date have been answered by ,budde4#ig ,he holds ver4 #f to be out of place and puts it after ver4 #h1 and this may be4 ,but as it stands it appeals to the impenitent ,jews of ver4 #e with the picture of the judgment ,god has already completed upon the nations1 and contrasts with ver4 #g1 in which ,god says that ,he trusts ,israel will repent4 ,vv4 #i and #aj are1 we shall see1 obviously an intrusion1 as ,budde maintains and ,davidson admits to be possible4#ih ,we reach more certainty when we come to the second section of the chapter1 vv4 #ad-bj4 ,since ,kuenen it has been recognised by the majority of critics that we have here a prophecy from the end of the ,exile or after the ,return4 ,the temper has changed4 ,instead of the austere and sombre outlook of chap4 i4--ii4 #c and chap4 iii4 #a-ac1 in which the sinful ,israel is to be saved indeed1 but only as by fire1 we have a triumphant prophecy of her recovery from all affliction 7nothing is said of her sin7 and of her glory among the nations of the world4 ,to put it otherwise1 while the genuine prophecies of ,zephaniah almost grudgingly allow a door of escape to a few righteous and humble ,israelites from a judgment which is to fall alike on ,israel and the ,gentiles1 chap4 iii4 #ad-bj predicts ,israel's deliverance from her ,gentile oppressors1 her return from captivity and the establishment of her renown over the earth4 ,the language1 too1 has many resemblances to that of ,second ,isaiah4#ii ,obviously therefore we have here1 added to the severe prophecies of ,zephaniah1 such a more hopeful1 peaceful epilogue as we saw was added1 during the ,exile or immediately after it1 to the despairing prophecies of ,amos4 ,,footnotes3 #ga i4 #c;b1 #e;b2 ii4 #b1 #e1 #f1 #g1 #h last word1 #ad;b2 iii4 #ah1 #ai;a1 #bj4 #gb i4 #ad;b2 ii4 #a1 #c2 iii4 #a1 #e1 #f1 #g1 #h1 #aj1 #ae1 #ag4 #gc i4 #c;b1 #e;b2 ii4 #b1 #f2 iii4 #e 7874 #gd ,for details see translation below4 #ge i4 #c1 1 only in ,isa4 iii4 #f2 #ae1 1 only in ,job xxx4 #c1 xxxviii4 #bg--;cf4 ,psalms lxxiii4 #ah1 lxxiv4 #c2 ii4 #h1 1 ,isa4 xliii4 #bh--;cf4 li4 #g2 #i1 1 ,prov4 xxiv4 #ca1 ,job xxx4 #g2 #ae1 1 ,isa4 xxii4 #b1 xxiii4 #g1 xxxii4 #ac--;cf4 xiii4 #c1 xxiv4 #h2 iii4 #a1 1 see next note but one2 #c1 1 ,hab4 i4 #h2 #aa1 1 ,isa4 xiii4 #c2 #ah1 1 ,lam4 i4 #d1 4 #gf i4 #aa1 as the name of a part of ,jerusalem1 otherwise only ,jer4 xv4 #ai2 2 #ab1 in pt4 ,qal1 and otherwise only ,exod4 xv4 #h1 ,zech4 xiv4 #f1 ,job x4 #aj2 #ad1 7adj471 but the pointing may be wrong--cf4 ,maher-shalal-hash-baz1 ,isa4 viii4 #a1 #c2 in ,qal1 elsewhere only once in ,hi4 ,isa4 xlii4 #ac2 #ag1 in sense of flesh1 cf4 ,job xx4 #bc2 #ah1 if a noun 7872 ii4 #a1 in ,qal and ,hithpo1 elsewhere only in ,polel2 #i1 12 #aa1 1 to make lean1 otherwise only in ,isa4 xvii4 #d1 to be lean2 #ad1 7872 iii4 #a1 1 pt4 of 21 pt4 ,qal1 in ,jer4 xlvi4 #af1 l4 #af1 it may be a noun2 #d1 2 #f1 2 #i1 2 #aj1 7872 #ae1 in sense to turn away2 #ah1 7874 #gg i4 #h1 etc41 1 followed by person1 but not by thing--cf4 ,jer4 ix4 #bd1 xxiii4 #cd1 etc41 ,job xxxvi4 #bc1 #b ,chron4 xxxvi4 #bc1 ,ezek4 i4 #b2 #ac1 1 only in ,hab4 ii4 #g1 ,isa4 xlii41 ,jer4 xxx4 #af1 #b ,kings xxi4 #ad2 #ag1 1 ,hi4 of 1 only in #a ,kings viii4 #cg1 and ,deut41 #b ,chron41 ,jer41 ,neh42 ii4 #c1 2 #h1 1 ,isa4 xliii4 #bh1 li4 #g 7fem4 pl472 #i1 1 ,prov4 xxiv4 #ca1 ,job xxx4 #g2 iii4 #a1 1 ,ni1 pt4 impure1 ,isa4 lix4 #c1 ,lam4 iv4 #ad2 1 a pt4 in ,jer4 xlvi4 #af1 l4 #af2 #c1 1 ,hab4 i4 #h--;cf4 ,jer4 v4 #f1 2 #i1 1 ,isa4 xlix4 #b1 1 ,ezek4 xx4 #ch1 #a ,chron4 vii4 #dj1 ix4 #bb1 xvi4 #da1 ,neh4 v4 #ah1 ,job xxxiii4 #c1 ,eccles4 iii4 #ah1 ix4 #a2 #aa1 1 ,isa4 xiii4 #c2 #ah1 1 ,lam4 i4 #d has 4 #gh ,so ,hitzig1 ,ewald1 ,pusey1 ,kuenen1 ,robertson ,smith 7,encyc4 ,brit471 ,driver1 ,wellhausen1 ,kirkpatrick1 ,budde1 von ,orelli1 ,cornill1 ,schwally1 ,davidson4 #gi ,so ,delitzsch1 ,kleinert1 and ,schulz 7,commentar ber den ,proph4 ,zeph41 #ahib1 p4 #g1 quoted by ,knig74 #hj ,so ,knig4 #ha ,jer4 xxv4 #hb ,jer4 vii4 #ah4 #hc i4 #c4 #hd ,kleinert in his ,commentary in ,lange's ,bibelwerk1 and ,delitzsch in his article in ,herzog's ,real-,encyclopdie1 both offer a number of inconclusive arguments4 ,these are drawn from the position of ,zephaniah after ,habakkuk1 but1 as we have seen1 the order of the ,twelve is not always chronological2 from the supposition that ,zephaniah i4 #g1 ,silence before the ,lord ,jehovah1 quotes ,habakkuk ii4 #bj1 ,keep silence before ,him1 all the earth1 but the phrase common to both is too general to be decisive1 and if borrowed by one or other may just as well have been ,zephaniah's originally as ,habakkuk's2 from the phrase remnant of ,baal 7i4 #d71 as if this were appropriate only after the ,reform of #fba1 but it was quite as appropriate after the beginnings of reform six years earlier2 from the condemnation of the sons of the king 7i4 #h71 whom ,delitzsch takes as ,josiah's sons1 who before the great ,reform were too young to be condemned1 while later their characters did develop badly and judgment fell upon all of them1 but sons of the king1 even if that be the correct reading 7,,lxx4 house of the king71 does not necessarily mean the reigning monarch's children2 and from the assertion that ,deuteronomy is quoted in the first chapter of ,zephaniah1 and 8so quoted as to show that the prophet needs only to put the people in mind of it as something supposed to be known10 but the verses cited in support of this 7viz4 #ac1 #ae1 #ag3 cf4 ,deut4 xxviii4 #cj and #bi7 are too general in their character to prove the assertion4 ,see translation below4 #he ,knig has to deny the authenticity of this in order to make his case for the reign of ,jehoiakim4 ,but nearly all critics take the phrase as genuine4 #hf ,see above1 p4 #ae4 ,for inconclusive reasons ,schwally1 ,z4,a4,t4,w41 #ahij1 pp4 #bae--bag1 prefers the ,egyptians under ,psamtik4 ,see in answer ,davidson1 p4 #ih4 #hg ,not much stress can be laid upon the phrase ,i will cut off the remnant of ,baal1 ver4 #d1 for1 if the reading be correct1 it may only mean the destruction of ,baal-worship1 and not the uprooting of what has been left over4 #hh ,see below1 p4 #dg1 n4 #aje4 #hi ,if #fie be the date of the accession of ,manasseh1 being then twelve1 ,amariah1 ,zephaniah's great-grandfather1 cannot have been more than ten1 that is1 born in #gje4 ,his son ,gedaliah was probably not born before #fhi1 his son ,kushi probably not before #fgb1 and his son ,zephaniah probably not before #fej4 #ij ,z4,a4,t4,w41 #ahij1 ,heft #a4 #ia ,bacher1 ,z4,a4,t4,w41 #ahia1 #ahf2 ,cornill1 ,einleitung1 #ahia2 ,budde1 ,theol4 ,stud4 u4 ,krit41 #ahic1 #cic ff42 ,davidson1 ,nah41 ,hab4 and ,zeph41 #ajj ff4 #ib ,z4,a4,t4,w41 #ahia1 ,heft #b4 #ic ,by especially ,bacher1 ,cornill and ,budde as above4 #id ,see ,budde and ,davidson4 #ie ,the ideal of chap4 i4--ii4 #c1 of the final security of a poor and lowly remnant of ,israel1 8necessarily implies that they shall no longer be threatened by hostility from without1 and this condition is satisfied by the prophet's view of the impending judgment on the ancient enemies of his nation10 i4e4 those mentioned in ii4 #d-ae 7,robertson ,smith1 ,encyc4 ,brit41 art4 8,zephaniah074 #if ,see1 however1 ,davidson for some linguistic reasons for taking the two sections as one4 ,robertson ,smith1 also in #ahhh 7,encyc4 ,brit41 art4 8,zephaniah071 assumed 7though not without pointing out the possibility of the addition of other pieces to the genuine prophecies of ,zephaniah7 that 8a single leading motive runs through the whole0 book1 and 8the first two chapters would be incomplete without the third1 which moreover is certainly pre-exilic 7vv4 #a-d7 and presents specific points of contact with what precedes1 as well as a general agreement in style and idea40 #ig ,schwally 7#bcd7 thinks that the epithet 7ver4 #e7 was first applied to ,jehovah by the ,second ,isaiah 7xlv4 #ba1 lxiv4 #b1 xlii4 #ba71 and became frequent from his time on4 ,in disproof ,budde 7#ccih7 quotes ,exod4 ix4 #bg1 ,jer4 xii4 #a1 ,lam4 i4 #ah4 ,schwally also points to as borrowed from ,aramaic4 #ih ,budde1 p4 #cie2 ,davidson1 #ajc4 ,schwally 7#bcj ff47 seeks to prove the unity of #i and #aj with the context1 but he has apparently mistaken the meaning of ver4 #h 7#bca74 ,that surely does not mean that the nations are gathered in order to punish the godlessness of the ,jews1 but that they may themselves be punished4 #ii ,see ,davidson1 #ajc4 ,,chapter ,,iii ,,the ,,prophet ,,and ,,the ,,reformers ,,zephaniah i4--ii4 #c ,towards the year #fbe1 when ,king ,josiah had passed out of his minority1#ajj and was making his first efforts at religious reform1 prophecy1 long slumbering1 awoke again in ,israel4 ,like the king himself1 its first heralds were men in their early youth4 ,in #fbg ,jeremiah calls himself but a boy1 and ,zephaniah can hardly have been out of his teens4#aja ,for the sudden outbreak of these young lives there must have been a large reservoir of patience and hope gathered in the generation behind them4 ,so ,scripture itself testifies4 ,to ,jeremiah it was said3 ,before ,i formed thee in the belly ,i knew thee1 and before thou camest forth out of the womb ,i consecrated thee4#ajb ,in an age when names were bestowed only because of their significance1#ajc both prophets bore that of ,jehovah in their own4 ,so did ,jeremiah's father1 who was of the priests of ,anathoth4 ,zephaniah's 8forbears0 are given for four generations1 and with one exception they also are called after ,jehovah3 ,the ,word of ,jehovah which came to ephanyah1 son of ,kushi1 son of ,gedhalyah1 son of ,amaryah1 son of ,hiziyah1 in the days of ,joshiyahu1#ajd ,amon's son1 king of ,judah4 ,zephaniah's great-great-grandfather ,hezekiah was in all probability the king4#aje ,his father's name ,kushi1 or ,ethiop1 is curious4 ,if we are right1 that ,zephaniah was a young man towards #fbe1 then ,kushi must have been born towards #ffc1 about the time of the conflicts between ,assyria and ,egypt1 and it is possible that1 as ,manasseh and the predominant party in ,judah so closely hung upon and imitated ,assyria1 the adherents of ,jehovah put their hope in ,egypt1 whereof1 it may be1 this name ,kushi is a token4#ajf ,the name ,zephaniah itself1 meaning ,jehovah hath hidden1 suggests the prophet's birth in the 8killing-time0 of ,manasseh4 ,there was at least one other contemporary of the same name--a priest executed by ,nebuchadrezzar4#ajg ,of the adherents of ,jehovah1 then1 and probably of royal descent1 ,zephaniah lived in ,jerusalem4 ,we descry him against her1 almost as clearly as we descry ,isaiah4 ,in the glare and smoke of the conflagration which his vision sweeps across the world1 only her features stand out definite and particular3 the flat roofs with men and women bowing in the twilight to the host of heaven1 the crowds of priests1 the nobles and their foreign fashions2 the ,fishgate1 the ,new or ,second ,town1 where the rich lived1 the ,heights to which building had at last spread1 and between them the hollow ,mortar1 with its markets1 ,phnician merchants and money-dealers4 ,in the first few verses of ,zephaniah we see almost as much of ,jerusalem as in the whole book either of ,isaiah or ,jeremiah4 ,for so young a man the vision of ,zephaniah may seem strangely dark and final4 ,yet not otherwise was ,isaiah's inaugural vision1 and as a rule it is the young and not the old whose indignation is ardent and unsparing4 ,zephaniah carries this temper to the extreme4 ,there is no great hope in his book1 hardly any tenderness and never a glimpse of beauty4 ,a townsman1 ,zephaniah has no eye for nature2 not only is no fair prospect described by him1 he has not even a single metaphor drawn from nature's loveliness or peace4 ,he is pitilessly true to his great keynotes3 ,i will sweep1 sweep from the face of the ground2 ,he will burn1 burn up everything4 ,no hotter book lies in all the ,old ,testament4 ,neither dew nor grass nor tree nor any blossom lives in it1 but it is everywhere fire1 smoke and darkness1 drifting chaff1 ruins1 nettles1 saltpits1 and owls and ravens looking from the windows of desolate palaces4 ,nor does ,zephaniah foretell the restoration of nature in the end of the days4 ,there is no prospect of a redeemed and fruitful land1 but only of a group of battered and hardly saved characters3 a few meek and righteous are hidden from the fire and creep forth when it is over4 ,israel is left a poor and humble folk4 ,no prophet is more true to the doctrine of the remnant1 or more resolutely refuses to modify it4 ,perhaps he died young4 ,the full truth1 however1 is that ,zephaniah1 though he found his material in the events of his own day1 tears himself loose from history altogether4 ,to the earlier prophets the ,day of the ,lord1 the crisis of the world1 is a definite point in history3 full of terrible1 divine events1 yet 8natural0 ones--battle1 siege1 famine1 massacre and captivity4 ,after it history is still to flow on1 common days come back and ,israel pursue their way as a nation4 ,but to ,zephaniah the ,day of the ,lord begins to assume what we call the 8supernatural40 ,the grim colours are still woven of war and siege1 but mixed with vague and solemn terrors from another sphere1 by which history appears to be swallowed up1 and it is only with an effort that the prophet thinks of a rally of ,israel beyond4 ,in short1 with ,zephaniah the ,day of the ,lord tends to become the ,last ,day4 ,his book is the first tinging of prophecy with apocalypse3 that is the moment which it supplies in the history of ,israel's religion4 ,and1 therefore1 it was with a true instinct that the great ,christian singer of the ,last ,day took from ,zephaniah his keynote4 ,the 8,dies ,ir1 ,dies ,illa0 of ,thomas of ,celano is but the ,vulgate translation of ,zephaniah's ,a day of wrath is that day4#ajh ,nevertheless1 though the first of apocalyptic writers1 ,zephaniah does not allow himself the license of apocalypse4 ,as he refuses to imagine great glory for the righteous1 so he does not dwell on the terrors of the wicked4 ,he is sober and restrained1 a matter-of-fact man1 yet with power of imagination1 who1 amidst the vague horrors he summons1 delights in giving a sharp realistic impression4 ,the ,day of the ,lord1 he says1 what is it8 ,a strong man--there6--crying bitterly4#aji ,it is to the fierce ardour1 and to the elemental interests of the book1 that we owe the absence of two features of prophecy which are so constant in the prophets of the eighth century4 ,firstly1 ,zephaniah betrays no interest in the practical reforms which 7if we are right about the date7 the young king1 his contemporary1 had already started4#aaj ,there was a party of reform1 the party had a programme1 the programme was drawn from the main principles of prophecy and was designed to put these into practice4 ,and ,zephaniah was a prophet--and ignored them4 ,this forms the dramatic interest of his book4 ,here was a man of the same faith which kings1 priests and statesmen were striving to realise in public life1 in the assured hope--as is plain from the temper of ,deuteronomy--that the nation as a whole would be reformed and become a very great nation1 righteous and victorious4 ,all this he ignored1 and gave his own vision of the future3 ,israel is a brand plucked from the burning2 a very few meek and righteous are saved from the conflagration of a whole world4 ,why8 ,because for ,zephaniah the elements were loose1 and when the elements were loose what was the use of talking about reforms8 ,the ,scythians were sweeping down upon ,palestine1 with enough of ,god's wrath in them to destroy a people still so full of idolatry as ,israel was2 and if not the ,scythians1 then some other power in that dark1 rumbling ,north which had ever been so full of doom4 ,let ,josiah try to reform ,israel1 but it was neither ,josiah's nor ,israel's day that was falling4 ,it was the ,day of the ,lord1 and when ,he came it was neither to reform nor to build up ,israel1 but to make visitation and to punish in ,his wrath for the unbelief and wickedness of which the nation was still full4 ,an analogy to this dramatic opposition between prophet and reformer may be found in our own century4 ,at its crisis1 in #ahdh1 there were many righteous men rich in hope and energy4 ,the political institutions of ,europe were being rebuilt4 ,in our own land there were great measures for the relief of labouring children and women1 the organisation of labour and the just distribution of wealth4 ,but ,carlyle that year held apart from them all1 and1 though a personal friend of many of the reformers1 counted their work hopeless3 society was too corrupt1 the rudest forces were loose1 8,niagara0 was near4 ,carlyle was proved wrong and the reformers right1 but in the analogous situation of ,israel the reformers were wrong and the prophet right4 ,josiah's hope and daring were overthrown at ,megiddo1 and1 though the ,scythians passed away1 ,zephaniah's conviction of the sin and doom of ,israel was fulfilled1 not forty years later1 in the fall of ,jerusalem and the great ,exile4 ,again1 to the same elemental interests1 as we may call them1 is due the absence from ,zephaniah's pages of all the social and individual studies which form the charm of other prophets4 ,with one exception1 there is no analysis of character1 no portrait1 no satire4 ,but the exception is worth dwelling upon3 it describes the temper equally abhorred by both prophet and reformer--that of the indifferent and stagnant man4 ,here we have a subtle and memorable picture of character1 which is not without its warnings for our own time4 ,zephaniah heard ,god say3 ,and it shall be at that time that ,i will search out ,jerusalem with lights1 and ,i will make visitation upon the men who are become stagnant upon their lees1 who say in their hearts1 ,jehovah doeth no good and doeth no evil4#aaa ,the metaphor is clear4 ,new wine was left upon its lees only long enough to fix its colour and body4#aab ,if not then drawn off it grew thick and syrupy--sweeter indeed than the strained wine1 and to the taste of some more pleasant1 but feeble and ready to decay4 8,to settle upon one's lees0 became a proverb for sloth1 indifference and the muddy mind4 ,moab hath been at ease from his youth and hath settled upon his lees1 and hath not been emptied from vessel to vessel2 therefore his taste stands in him and his scent is not changed4#aac ,the characters stigmatised by ,zephaniah are also obvious4 ,they were a precipitate from the ferment of fifteen years back4 ,through the cruel days of ,manasseh and ,amon hope had been stirred and strained1 emptied from vessel to vessel1 and so had sprung sparkling and keen into the new days of ,josiah4 ,but no miracle came1 only ten years of waiting for the king's majority and five more of small1 tentative reforms4 ,nothing divine happened4 ,there were but the ambiguous successes of a small party who had secured the king for their principles4 ,the court was still full of foreign fashions1 and idolatry was rank upon the housetops4 ,of course disappointment ensued--disappointment and listlessness4 ,the new security of life became a temptation2 persecution ceased1 and religious men lived again at ease4 ,so numbers of eager and sparkling souls1 who had been in the front of the movement1 fell away into a selfish and idle obscurity4 ,the prophet hears ,god say1 ,i must search ,jerusalem with lights in order to find them4 ,they had 8fallen from the van and the freemen02 they had 8sunk to the rear and the slaves10 where they wallowed in the excuse that ,jehovah ,himself would do nothing--neither good1 therefore it is useless to attempt reform like ,josiah and his party1 nor evil1 therefore ,zephaniah's prophecy of destruction is also vain4 ,exactly the same temper was encountered by ,mazzini in the second stage of his career4 ,many of those1 who with him had eagerly dreamt of a free ,italy1 fell away when the first revolt failed--fell away not merely into weariness and fear1 but1 as he emphasises1 into the very two tempers which are described by ,zephaniah1 scepticism and self-indulgence4 ,all this starts questions for ourselves4 ,here is evidently the same public temper1 which at all periods provokes alike the despair of the reformer and the indignation of the prophet3 the criminal apathy of the well-to-do classes sunk in ease and religious indifference4 ,we have to-day the same mass of obscure1 nameless persons1 who oppose their almost unconquerable inertia to every movement of reform1 and are the drag upon all vital and progressive religion4 ,the great causes of ,god and ,humanity are not defeated by the hot assaults of the ,devil1 but by the slow1 crushing1 glacier-like mass of thousands and thousands of indifferent nobodies4 ,god's causes are never destroyed by being blown up1 but by being sat upon4 ,it is not the violent and anarchical whom we have to fear in the war for human progress1 but the slow1 the staid1 the respectable4 ,and the danger of these does not lie in their stupidity4 ,notwithstanding all their religious profession1 it lies in their real scepticism4 ,respectability may be the precipitate of unbelief4 ,nay1 it is that1 however religious its mask1 wherever it is mere comfort1 decorousness and conventionality2 where1 though it would abhor articulately confessing that ,god does nothing1 it virtually means so--says so 7as ,zephaniah puts it7 in its heart1 by refusing to share manifest opportunities of serving ,him1 and covers its sloth and its fear by sneering that ,god is not with the great crusades for freedom and purity to which it is summoned4 ,in these ways1 ,respectability is the precipitate which unbelief naturally forms in the selfish ease and stillness of so much of our middle-class life4 ,and that is what makes mere respectability so dangerous4 ,like the unshaken1 unstrained wine to which the prophet compares its obscure and muddy comfort1 it tends to decay4 ,to some extent our respectable classes are just the dregs and lees of our national life2 like all dregs1 they are subject to corruption4 ,a great sermon could be preached on the putrescence of respectability--how the ignoble comfort of our respectable classes and their indifference to holy causes lead to sensuality1 and poison the very institutions of the ,home and the ,family1 on which they pride themselves4 ,a large amount of the licentiousness of the present day is not that of outlaw and disordered lives1 but is bred from the settled ease and indifference of many of our middle-class families4 ,it is perhaps the chief part of the sin of the obscure units1 which form these great masses of indifference1 that they think they escape notice and cover their individual responsibility4 ,at all times many have sought obscurity1 not because they are humble1 but because they are slothful1 cowardly or indifferent4 ,obviously it is this temper which is met by the words1 ,i will search out ,jerusalem with lights4 ,none of us shall escape because we have said1 8,i will go with the crowd10 or 8,i am a common man and have no right to thrust myself forward40 ,we shall be followed and judged1 each of us for his and her personal attitude to the great movements of our time4 ,these things are not too high for us3 they are our duty2 and we cannot escape our duty by slinking into the shadow4 ,for all this wickedness and indifference ,zephaniah sees prepared the ,day of the ,lord--near1 hastening and very terrible4 ,it sweeps at first in vague desolation and ruin of all things1 but then takes the outlines of a solemn slaughter-feast for which ,jehovah has consecrated the guests1 the dim unnamed armies from the north4 ,judah shall be invaded1 and they that are at ease1 who say ,jehovah does nothing1 shall be unsettled and routed4 ,one vivid trait comes in like a screech upon the hearts of a people unaccustomed for years to war4 ,hark1 ,jehovah's ,day6 cries the prophet4 ,a strong man--there6--crying bitterly4 ,from this flash upon the concrete1 he returns to a great vague terror1 in which earthly armies merge in heavenly2 battle1 siege1 storm and darkness are mingled1 and destruction is spread abroad upon the whole earth4 ,the first shades of ,apocalypse are upon us4 ,we may now take the full text of this strong and significant prophecy4 ,we have already given the title4 ,textual emendations and other points are explained in footnotes4 99 99 99 99 99 ,i will sweep1 sweep away everything from the face of the ground--oracle of ,jehovah--sweep man and beast1 sweep the fowl of the heaven and the fish of the sea1 and ,i will bring to ruin#aad the wicked and cut off the men of wickedness from the ground--oracle of ,jehovah4 ,and ,i will stretch forth ,my hand upon ,judah1 and upon all the inhabitants of ,jerusalem2 and ,i will cut off from this place the remnant#aae of the ,baal1#aaf the names#aag of the priestlings with the priests1 and them who upon the housetops bow themselves to the host of heaven1 and them who444#aah swear by their ,melech1#aai and them who have turned from following ,jehovah1 and who do not seek ,jehovah nor have inquired of ,him4 ,silence for the ,lord ,jehovah6 ,for near is ,jehovah's ,day4 ,jehovah has prepared a#abj slaughter1 ,he has consecrated ,his guests4 ,and it shall be in ,jehovah's day of slaughter that ,i will make visitation upon the princes and the house#aba of the king1 and upon all who array themselves in foreign raiment2 and ,i will make visitation upon all who leap over the threshold#abb on that day1 who fill their lord's house full of violence and fraud4 ,and on that day--oracle of ,jehovah--there shall be a noise of crying from the ,fishgate1 and wailing from the ,mishneh1#abc and great havoc on the ,heights4 ,howl1 ,o dwellers in the ,mortar1#abd for undone are all the merchant folk1#abe cut off are all the money-dealers4#abf ,and in that time it shall be1 that ,i will search ,jerusalem with lanterns1 and make visitation upon the men who are become stagnant upon their lees1 who in their hearts say1 ,jehovah doeth no good and doeth no evil4#abg ,their substance shall be for spoil1 and their houses for wasting4444#abh ,near is the great ,day of ,jehovah1 near and very speedy4#abi ,hark1 the ,day of ,jehovah6 ,a strong man--there6--crying bitterly6 ,a day of wrath is that ,day6#acj ,day of siege and blockade1 day of stress and distress1#aca day of darkness and murk1 day of cloud and heavy mist1 day of the war-horn and battle-roar1 up against the fenced cities and against the highest turrets6 ,and ,i will beleaguer men1 and they shall walk like the blind1 for they have sinned against ,jehovah2 and poured out shall their blood be like dust1 and the flesh of them like dung4 ,even their silver1 even their gold shall not avail to save them in the day of ,jehovah's wrath1#acb and in the fire of ,his zeal shall all the earth be devoured1 for destruction1 yea1#acc sudden collapse shall ,he make of all the inhabitants of the earth4 ,upon this vision of absolute doom there follows#acd a qualification for the few meek and righteous4 ,they may be hidden on the day of the ,lord's anger2 but even for them escape is only a possibility4 ,note the absence of all mention of the ,divine mercy as the cause of deliverance4 ,zephaniah has no gospel of that kind4 ,the conditions of escape are sternly ethical--meekness1 the doing of justice and righteousness4 ,so austere is our prophet4 4441#ace ,o people unabashed6#acf before that ye become as the drifting chaff1 before the anger of ,jehovah come upon you1#acg before there come upon you the day of ,jehovah's wrath2#ach seek ,jehovah1 all ye meek of the land who do ,his ordinance1#aci seek righteousness1 seek meekness1 peradventure ye may hide yourselves in the day of ,jehovah's wrath4 ,,footnotes3 #ajj ,josiah1 born c4 #fdh1 succeeded c4 #fci1 was about eighteen in #fcj1 and then appears to have begun his reforms4 #aja ,see above1 pp4 #dj f41 n4 #he4 #ajb ,jer4 i4 #e4 #ajc ,see ,g4 ,b4 ,gray1 ,hebrew ,proper ,names4 #ajd ,josiah4 #aje ,it is not usual in the ,o4,t4 to carry a man's genealogy beyond his grandfather1 except for some special purpose1 or in order to include some ancestor of note4 ,also the name ,hezekiah is very rare apart from the king4 ,the number of names compounded with ,jah or ,jehovah is another proof that the line is a royal one4 ,the omission of the phrase king of ,judah after ,hezekiah's name proves nothing2 it may have been of purpose because the phrase has to occur immediately again4 #ajf ,it was not till #feb that a league was made between the ,palestine princes and ,psamtik ,i4 against ,assyria4 ,this certainly would have been the most natural year for a child to be named ,kushi4 ,but that would set the birth of ,zephaniah as late as #fcb1 and his prophecy towards the end of ,josiah's reign1 which we have seen to be improbable on other grounds4 #ajg ,jer4 xxi4 #a1 xxix4 #be1 #bi1 xxxvii4 #c1 lii4 #bd ff42 #b ,kings xxv4 #ah4 ,the analogous ,phnician name 1 ,saphan-ba'al 8,baal protects or hides10 is found in ,no4 #bjg of the ,phnician inscriptions in the ,corpus ,inscr4 ,semiticarum4 #ajh ,chap4 i4 #ae4 ,with the above paragraph cf4 ,robertson ,smith1 ,encyc4 ,brit41 art4 8,zephaniah40 #aji ,chap4 i4 #ad;b4 #aaj ,in fact this forms one difficulty about the conclusion which we have reached as to the date4 ,we saw that one reason against putting the ,book of ,zephaniah after the great ,reforms of #fba was that it betrayed no sign of their effects4 ,but it might justly be answered that1 if ,zephaniah prophesied before #fba1 his book ought to betray some sign of the approach of reform4 ,still the explanation given above is satisfactory4 #aaa ,chap4 i4 #ab4 #aab ,so wine upon the lees is a generous wine according to ,isa4 xxv4 #f4 #aac ,jer4 xlviii4 #aa4 #aad ,the text reads the ruins 71 unless we prefer with ,wellhausen 1 the stumbling-blocks1 i4e4 idols7 with the wicked1 and ,i will cut off man 7,,lxx4 the lawless7 from off the face of the ground4 ,some think the clause partly too redundant1 partly too specific1 to be original4 ,but suppose we read 7cf4 ,mal4 ii4 #h1 ,lam4 i4 #ad and passim3 this is more probable than ,schwally's 1 op4 cit41 p4 #afi71 and for the reading which probably the ,,lxx4 had before them1 7,job xx4 #bi1 xxvii4 #ac1 ,prov4 xi4 #g3 cf4 ,prov4 vi4 #ab7 or 7cf4 iii4 #e71 we get the rendering adopted in the translation above4 ,some think the whole passage an intrusion1 yet it is surely probable that the earnest moral spirit of ,zephaniah would aim at the wicked from the very outset of his prophecy4 #aae ,,lxx4 names1 held by some to be the original reading 7,schwally1 etc474 ,in that case the phrase might have some allusion to the well-known promise in ,deut41 the place where ,i shall set ,my name4 ,this is more natural than a reference to ,hosea ii4 #ai1 which is quoted by some4 #aaf ,some ,greek codd4 take ,baal as fem41 others as plur44 #aag ,so ,,lxx4 #aah ,heb4 reads and them who bow themselves1 who swear1 by ,jehovah4 ,so ,,lxx4 ,b with and before who swear4 ,but ,,lxx4 ,a omits and4 ,,lxx4 ,q omits them who bow themselves4 ,wellhausen keeps the clause with the exception of who swear1 and so reads 7to the end of verse7 them who bow themselves to ,jehovah and swear by ,milcom4 #aai ,or ,molech king4 ,,lxx4 by their king4 ,other ,greek versions3 ,moloch and ,melchom4 ,vulg4 ,melchom4 #abj ,,lxx4 ,his4 #aba ,so ,,lxx4 ,heb4 sons4 #abb ,is this some superstitious rite of the idol-worshippers as described in the case of ,dagon1 #a ,sam4 v4 #e8 ,or is it a phrase for breaking into a house1 and so parallel to the second clause of the verse8 ,most interpreters prefer the latter4 ,the idolatrous rites have been left behind4 ,schwally suggests the original order may have been3 princes and sons of the king1 who fill their lord's house full of violence and deceit2 and ,i will visit upon every one that leapeth over the threshold on that day1 and upon all that wear foreign raiment4 #abc ,the ,second or ,new ,town3 cf4 #b ,kings xxii4 #ad1 #b ,chron4 xxxiv4 #bb1 which state that the prophetess ,huldah lived there4 ,cf4 ,neh4 iii4 #i1 #ab1 xi4 #i4 #abd ,the hollow probably between the western and eastern hills1 or the upper part of the ,tyropan 7,orelli74 #abe ,heb4 people of ,canaan4 #abf 1 found only here1 from 1 to lift up1 and in ,isa4 xl4 #ae to weigh4 ,still it may have a wider meaning1 all they that carry money 7,davidson74 #abg ,see above1 p4 #eb4 #abh ,the ,hebrew text and versions here add3 ,and they shall build houses and not inhabit 7,greek in them71 and plant vineyards and not drink the wine thereof4 ,but the phrase is a common one 7,deut4 xxviii4 #cj2 ,amos v4 #aa3 cf4 ,micah vi4 #ae71 and while likely to have been inserted by a later hand1 is here superfluous1 and mars the firmness and edge of ,zephaniah's threat4 #abi ,for ,wellhausen reads 1 pt4 ,pi2 but may be a verbal adj42 compare the phrase 1 ,isa4 viii4 #a4 #acj ,dies ,ir1 ,dies ,illa6 #aca ,heb4 sho'ah u-mesho'ah4 ,lit4 ruin 7or devastation7 and destruction4 #acb ,some take this first clause of ver4 #ah as a gloss4 ,see ,schwally in loco4 #acc ,read for 4 ,so ,,lxx41 ,syr41 ,wellhausen1 ,schwally4 #acd ,in vv4 #a-c of chap4 ii41 wrongly separated from chap4 i43 see ,davidson4 #ace ,heb4 4 ,a4,v4 ,gather yourselves together1 yea1 gather together 7 is to gather straw or sticks--cf4 ,arab4 ash1 to sweep up--and ,nithp4 of the ,aram4 is to assemble74 ,orelli3 ,crowd and crouch down4 ,ewald compares ,aram4 ash1 late ,heb4 1 to grow old1 which he believes originally meant to be withered1 grey4 ,budde suggests 1 but1 as ,davidson remarks1 it is not easy to see how this1 if once extant1 was altered to the present reading4 #acf is usually thought to have as its root meaning to be pale or colourless1 i4e4 either white or black 7,journal of ,phil41 #ad1 #abe71 whence 1 silver or the pale metal3 hence in the ,qal to long for1 ,job xiv4 #ae1 ,ps4 xvii4 #ab2 so ,ni1 ,gen4 xxxi4 #cj1 ,ps4 lxxxiv4 #c2 and here to be ashamed4 ,but the derivation of the name for silver is quite imaginary1 and the colour of shame is red rather than white3 cf4 the mod4 ,arab4 saying1 8,they are a people that cannot blush2 they have no blood in their faces10 i4e4 shameless4 ,indeed ,schwally says 7in loco71 8,die ,bedeutung fahl1 blass ist unerweislich40 ,hence 7in spite of the meanings of the ,aram4 both to lose colour and to be ashamed7 a derivation for the ,hebrew is more probably to be found in the root kasaf1 to cut off4 ,the ,arab4 1 which in the classic tongue means to cut a thread or eclipse the sun1 is in colloquial ,arabic to give a rebuff1 refuse a favour1 disappoint1 shame4 ,in the forms inkasaf and itkasaf it means to receive a rebuff1 be disappointed1 then shy or timid1 and kasf means shame1 shyness 7as well as eclipse of the sun74 ,see ,spiro's ,arabic-,english ,vocabulary4 ,in ,ps4 lxxxiv4 is evidently used of unsatisfied longing 7but see ,cheyne71 which is also the proper meaning of the parallel 7cf4 other passages where is used of still unfulfilled or rebuffed hopes3 ,job xix4 #bg1 ,ps4 lxix4 #d1 cxix4 #ha1 cxliii4 #g74 ,so in ,ps4 xvii4 #d is used of a lion who is longing for1 i4e4 still disappointed in1 his prey1 and so in ,job xiv4 #ae4 #acg ,,lxx4 7here in error reading for 7 1 ' 7last clause omitted by c4b74 ,according to this the ,hebrew text1 which is obviously disarranged1 may be restored to 4 #ach ,this clause ,wellhausen deletes4 ,cf4 ,hexaplar ,syriac translation4 #aci ,,lxx4 take this also as imperative1 do judgment1 and so co-ordinate to the other clauses4 ,,chapter ,,iv ,,ninive ,,delenda ,,zephaniah ii4 #d-ae ,there now come a series of oracles on foreign nations1 connected with the previous prophecy by the conjunction for1 and detailing the worldwide judgment which it had proclaimed4 ,but though dated from the same period as that prophecy1 circa #fbf1 these oracles are best treated by themselves4#adj ,these oracles originally formed one passage in the well-known ,qinah or elegiac measure2 but this has suffered sadly both by dilapidation and rebuilding4 ,how mangled the text is may be seen especially from vv4 #f and #ad1 where the ,greek gives us some help in restoring it4 ,the verses 7#h-aa7 upon ,moab and ,ammon cannot be reduced to the metre which both precedes and follows them4 ,probably1 therefore1 they are a later addition3 nor did ,moab and ,ammon lie upon the way of the ,scythians1 who are presumably the invaders pictured by the prophet4#ada ,the poem begins with ,philistia and the sea-coast1 the very path of the ,scythian raid4#adb ,evidently the latter is imminent1 the ,philistine cities are shortly to be taken and the whole land reduced to grass4 ,across the emptied strip the long hope of ,israel springs sea-ward2 but--mark6--not yet with a vision of the isles beyond4 ,the prophet is satisfied with reaching the edge of the ,promised ,land3 by the sea shall they feed#adc their flocks4 ,for ,gaza forsaken shall be1 ,ash'ln a desert4 ,ashdod--by noon shall they rout her1 ,and ,eron be torn up6#add ,ah6 woe1 dwellers of the sea-shore1 ,folk of ,kerthim4 ,the word of ,jehovah against thee1 ,kna#8an1#ade ,land of the ,philistines6 ,and ,i destroy thee to the last inhabitant1#adf ,and ,kereth shall become shepherds' cots1#adg ,and folds for flocks4 ,and the coast#adh for the remnant of ,judah's house2 ,by the sea#adi shall they feed4 ,in ,ashelon's houses at even shall they couch2 4 4 4 4 4 4#aej ,for ,jehovah their ,god shall visit them1 ,and turn their captivity4#aea ,there comes now an oracle upon ,moab and ,ammon 7vv4 #h-aa74 ,as already said1 it is not in the elegiac measure which precedes and follows it1 while other features cast a doubt upon its authenticity4 ,like other oracles on the same peoples1 this denounces the loud-mouthed arrogance of the sons of ,moab and ,ammon4 ,i have heard#aeb the reviling of ,moab and the insults of the sons of ,ammon1 who have reviled ,my people and vaunted themselves upon their#aec border4 ,wherefore as ,i live1 saith ,jehovah of ,hosts1 ,god of ,israel1 ,moab shall become as ,sodom1 and ,ammon's sons as ,gomorrah--the possession#aed of nettles1 and saltpits1#aee and a desolation for ever2 the remnant of ,my people shall spoil them1 and the rest of ,my nation possess them4 ,this to them for their arrogance1 because they reviled1 and vaunted themselves against1 the people of#aef ,jehovah of ,hosts4 ,jehovah showeth ,himself terrible#aeg against them1 for ,he hath made lean#aeh all gods of earth1 that all the coasts of the nations may worship ,him1 every man from his own place4#aei 99 99 99 99 99 ,the next oracle is a very short one 7ver4 #ab7 upon ,egypt1 which after its long subjection to ,ethiopic dynasties is called1 not ,miraim1 but ,kush1 or ,ethiopia4 ,the verse follows on naturally to ver4 #g1 but is not reducible to the elegiac measure4 ,also ye1 ,o ,kushites1 are the slain of ,my sword4#afj ,the elegiac measure is now renewed#afa in an oracle against ,assyria1 the climax and front of heathendom 7vv4 #ac-ae74 ,it must have been written before #fjh3 there is no reason to doubt that it is ,zephaniah's4 ,and may ,he stretch out ,his hand against the ,north1 ,and destroy ,asshur2 ,and may ,he turn ,niniveh to desolation1 ,dry as the desert4 ,and herds shall couch in her midst4 ,every beast of4444#afb ,yea1 pelican and bittern#afc shall roost on the capitals2 ,the owl shall hoot in the window1 ,the raven on the doorstep4 4 4 4 4 4#afd ,such is the ,city1 the ,jubilant1 ,she that sitteth at ease1 ,she that saith in her heart1 ,i am ,and there is none else6 ,how hath she become desolation6 ,a lair of beasts4 ,every one passing by her hisses1 ,shakes his hand4 ,the essence of these oracles is their clear confidence in the fall of ,niniveh4 ,from #feb1 when ,egypt revolted from ,assyria1 and1 ,assurbanipal notwithstanding1 began to push northward1 men must have felt1 throughout all ,western ,asia1 that the great empire upon the ,tigris was beginning to totter4 ,this feeling was strengthened by the ,scythian invasion1 and after #fbe it became a moral certainty that ,niniveh would fall#afe--which happened in #fjg--f4 ,these are the feelings1 #fbe to #fjh1 which ,zephaniah's oracles reflect4 ,we can hardly over-estimate what they meant4 ,not a man was then alive who had ever known anything else than the greatness and the glory of ,assyria4 ,it was two hundred and thirty years since ,israel first felt the weight of her arms4#aff ,it was more than a hundred since her hosts had swept through ,palestine1#afg and for at least fifty her supremacy had been accepted by ,judah4 ,now the colossus began to totter4 ,as she had menaced1 so she was menaced4 ,the ruins with which for nigh three centuries she had strewn ,western ,asia--to these were to be reduced her own impregnable and ancient glory4 ,it was the close of an epoch4 ,,footnotes3 #adj ,see above1 pp4 #da ff4 #ada ,some1 however1 think the prophet is speaking in prospect of the ,chaldean invasion of a few years later4 ,this is not so likely1 because he pictures the overthrow of ,niniveh as subsequent to the invasion of ,philistia1 while the ,chaldeans accomplished the latter only after ,niniveh had fallen4 #adb ,according to ,herodotus4 #adc ,ver4 #g1 ,,lxx4 #add ,the measure1 as said above1 is elegiac3 alternate lines long with a rising1 and short with a falling1 cadence4 ,there is a play upon the names1 at least on the first and last--8,gazzah0 or 8#8,azzah #8,azubah0--which in ,english we might reproduce by the use of ,spenser's word for 8dreary03 ,for ,gaza ghastful shall be4 8#8,eron te'aer40 ,,lxx4 7,b71 7,a74 ,in the second line we have a slighter assonance1 #8,ashkln lishmamah4 ,in the third the verb is 2 ,bacher 7,z4,a4,t4,w41 #ahia1 #ahe ff47 points out that is not used of cities1 but of their populations or of individual men1 and suggests 7from ,abulwalid7 1 shall possess her1 as 8a plausible emendation40 ,schwally 7ibid41 #bfj7 prefers to alter to 1 with the remark that this is not only a good parallel to 1 but suits the ,,lxx4 4--,on the expression by noon see ,davidson1 ,n4 ,h4 and ,z41 ,appendix1 ,note #b1 where he quotes a parallel expression1 in the ,senjerli inscription1 of ,asarhaddon3 that he took ,memphis by midday or in half a day 7,schrader74 ,this suits the use of the phrase in ,jer4 xv4 #h1 where it is parallel to suddenly4 #ade ,canaan omitted by ,wellhausen1 who reads for 4 ,but as the metre requires a larger number of syllables in the first line of each couplet than in the second1 ,kna'an should probably remain4 ,the difficulty is the use of ,canaan as synonymous with ,land of the ,philistines4 ,nowhere else in the ,old ,testament is it expressly applied to the coast south of ,carmel1 though it is so used in the ,egyptian inscriptions1 and even in the ,old ,testament in a sense which covers this as well as other lowlying parts of ,palestine4 #adf ,an odd long line1 either the remains of two1 or perhaps we should take the two previous lines as one1 omitting ,canaan4 #adg ,so ,,lxx43 ,hebrew text and the sea-coast shall become dwellings1 cots 77 of shepherds4 ,but the pointing and meaning of are both conjectural1 and the sea-coast has probably fallen by mistake into this verse from the next4 ,on ,kereth and ,kerethim as names for ,philistia and the ,philistines see ,hist4 ,geog41 p4 #aga4 #adh ,,lxx4 adds of the sea4 ,so ,wellhausen1 but unnecessarily and improbably for phonetic reasons1 as sea has to be read in the next line4 #adi ,so ,wellhausen1 reading for 4 #aej ,some words must have fallen out1 for first a short line is required here by the metre1 and second the ,,lxx4 have some additional words1 which1 however1 give us no help to what the lost line was3 4 #aea ,as stated above1 there is no conclusive reason against the pre-exilic date of this expression4 #aeb ,cf4 ,isa4 xvi4 #f4 #aec ,,lxx4 ,my4 #aed ,doubtful word1 not occurring elsewhere4 #aee ,heb4 singular4 #aef ,,lxx4 omits the people of4 #aeg ,,lxx4 maketh ,himself manifest1 for 4 #aeh 4 ,the passive of the verb means to grow lean 7,isa4 xvii4 #d74 #aei has probably here the sense which it has in a few other passages of the ,old ,testament1 and in ,arabic1 of sacred place4 ,many will share ,schwally's doubts 7p4 #aib7 about the authenticity of ver4 #aa2 nor1 as ,wellhausen points out1 does its prediction of the conversion of the heathen agree with ver4 #ab1 which devotes them to destruction4 ,ver4 #ab follows naturally on to ver4 #g4 #afj ,wellhausen reads ,his sword1 to agree with the next verse4 ,perhaps is an abbreviation for 4 #afa ,see ,budde1 ,z4,a4,t4,w41 #ahhb1 #be4 #afb ,heb4 reads a nation1 and ,wellhausen translates ein buntes ,gemisch von ,volk4 ,,lxx4 beasts of the earth4 #afc 1 a water-bird according to ,deut4 xiv4 #ag1 ,lev4 xi4 #ah1 mostly taken as pelican2 so ,r4,v4 ,a4,v4 cormorant4 has usually been taken from 1 to draw together1 therefore hedgehog or porcupine4 ,but the other animals mentioned here are birds1 and it is birds which would naturally roost on capitals4 ,therefore bittern is the better rendering 7,hitzig1 ,cheyne74 ,the name is onomatopic4 ,cf4 ,eng4 butter-dump4 ,,lxx4 translates chameleons and hedgehogs4 #afd ,heb43 a voice shall sing in the window1 desolation on the threshold1 for ,he shall uncover the cedar-work4 ,,lxx4 1 1 3 ,wild beasts shall sound in her excavations1 ravens in her porches1 because 7the7 cedar is her height4 ,for 1 voice1 ,wellhausen reads 1 owl1 and with the ,,lxx4 1 raven1 for 1 desolation4 ,the last two words are left untranslated above4 occurs only here and is usually taken to mean cedar-work2 but it might be pointed her cedar4 1 he1 or one1 has stripped the cedar-work4 #afe ,see above1 pp4 #ag1 #ah4 #aff ,at the battle of ,karkar1 #hed4 #afg ,under ,tiglath-,pileser in #gcd4 ,,chapter ,v ,,so ,,as ,,by ,,fire ,zephaniah iii4 ,the third chapter of the ,book of ,zephaniah consists#afh of two sections1 of which only the first1 vv4 #a-ac1 is a genuine work of the prophet2 while the second1 vv4 #ad-bj1 is a later epilogue such as we found added to the genuine prophecies of ,amos4 ,it is written in the large hope and brilliant temper of the ,second ,isaiah1 saying no word of ,judah's sin or judgment1 but predicting her triumphant deliverance out of all her afflictions4 ,in a second address to his ,city 7vv4 #a-ac7 ,zephaniah strikes the same notes as he did in his first4 ,he spares the king1 but denounces the ruling and teaching classes4 ,jerusalem's princes are lions1 her judges wolves1 her prophets braggarts1 her priests pervert the law1 her wicked have no shame4 ,he repeats the proclamation of a universal doom4 ,but the time is perhaps later4 ,judah has disregarded the many threats4 ,she will not accept the ,lord's discipline2 and while in chap4 i4--ii4 #c ,zephaniah had said that the meek and righteous might escape the doom1 he now emphatically affirms that all proud and impenitent men shall be removed from ,jerusalem1 and a humble people be left to her1 righteous and secure4 ,there is the same moral earnestness as before1 the same absence of all other elements of prophecy than the ethical4 ,before we ask the reason and emphasise the beauty of this austere gospel1 let us see the exact words of the address4 ,there are the usual marks of poetic diction in it--elliptic phrases1 the frequent absence of the definite article1 archaic forms and an order of the syntax different from that which obtains in prose4 ,but the measure is difficult to determine1 and must be printed as prose4 ,the echo of the elegiac rhythm in the opening is more apparent than real3 it is not sustained beyond the first verse4 ,verses #i and #aj are relegated to a footnote1 as very probably an intrusion1 and disturbance of the argument4 ,woe1 rebel and unclean1 city of oppression6#afi ,she listens to no voice1 she accepts no discipline1 in ,jehovah she trusts not1 nor has drawn near to her ,god4 ,her princes in her midst are roaring lions2 her judges evening wolves1#agj they 444#aga not till morning2 her prophets are braggarts and traitors2 her priests have profaned what is holy and done violence to the ,law4#agb ,jehovah is righteous in the midst of her1 ,he does no wrong4 ,morning by morning ,he brings ,his judgment to light3 ,he does not let ,himself fail#agc--;but the wicked man knows no shame4 ,i have cut off nations1 their turrets are ruined2 ,i have laid waste their broad streets1 till no one passes upon them2 destroyed are their cities1 without a man1 without a dweller4#agd ,i said1 ,surely she will fear ,me1 she will accept punishment1#age and all that ,i have visited upon her#agf shall never vanish from her eyes4#agg ,but only the more zealously have they corrupted all their doings4#agh ,wherefore wait ye for ,me--oracle of ,jehovah--wait for the day of ,my rising to testify1 for 'tis ,my fixed purpose#agi to sweep nations together1 to collect kingdoms1 to pour upon them 444#ahj all the heat of ,my wrath--yea1 with the fire of ,my jealousy shall the whole earth be consumed4#aha ,in that day thou shalt not be ashamed#ahb of all thy deeds1 by which thou hast rebelled against ,me3 for then will ,i turn out of the midst of thee all who exult with that arrogance of thine1#ahc and thou wilt not again vaunt thyself upon the ,mount of ,my ,holiness4 ,but ,i will leave in thy midst a people humble and poor1 and they shall trust in the name of ,jehovah4 ,the ,remnant of ,israel shall do no evil1 and shall not speak falsehood1 and no fraud shall be found in their mouth1 but they shall pasture and they shall couch1 with none to make them afraid4 ,such is the simple and austere gospel of ,zephaniah4 ,it is not to be overlooked amid the lavish and gorgeous promises which other prophets have poured around it1 and by ourselves1 too1 it is needed in our often unscrupulous enjoyment of the riches of grace that are in ,christ ,jesus4 ,a thorough purgation1 the removal of the wicked1 the sparing of the honest and the meek2 insistence only upon the rudiments of morality and religion2 faith in its simplest form of trust in a righteous ,god1 and character in its basal elements of meekness and truth1--these and these alone survive the judgment4 ,why does ,zephaniah never talk of the ,love of ,god1 of the ,divine ,patience1 of the ,grace that has spared and will spare wicked hearts if only it can touch them to penitence8 ,why has he no call to repent1 no appeal to the wicked to turn from the evil of their ways8 ,we have already seen part of the answer4 ,zephaniah stands too near to judgment and the last things4 ,character is fixed1 the time for pleading is past2 there remains only the separation of bad men from good4 ,it is the same standpoint 7at least ethically7 as that of ,christ's visions of the ,judgment4 ,perhaps also an austere gospel was required by the fashionable temper of the day4 ,the generation was loud and arrogant2 it gilded the future to excess1 and knew no shame4#ahd ,the true prophet was forced to reticence2 he must make his age feel the desperate earnestness of life1 and that salvation is by fire4 ,for the gorgeous future of its unsanctified hopes he must give it this severe1 almost mean1 picture of a poor and humble folk1 hardly saved but at last at peace4 ,the permanent value of such a message is proved by the thirst which we feel even to-day for the clear1 cold water of its simple promises4 ,where a glaring optimism prevails1 and the future is preached with a loud assurance1 where many find their only religious enthusiasm in the resurrection of medival ritual or the singing of stirring and gorgeous hymns of second-hand imagery1 how needful to be recalled to the earnestness and severity of life1 to the simplicity of the conditions of salvation1 and to their ethical1 not emotional1 character6 ,where sensationalism has so invaded religion1 how good to hear the sober insistence upon ,god's daily commonplaces--morning by morning ,he bringeth forth ,his judgment to light--and to know that the acceptance of discipline is what prevails with ,him4 ,where national reform is vaunted and the progress of education1 how well to go back to a prophet who ignored all the great reforms of his day that he might impress his people with the indispensableness of humility and faith4 ,where ,churches have such large ambitions for themselves1 how necessary to hear that the future is destined for a poor folk1 the meek and the honest4 ,where men boast that their religion--,bible1 ,creed or ,church--has undertaken to save them1 vaunting themselves on the ,mount of ,my ,holiness1 how needful to hear salvation placed upon character and a very simple trust in ,god4 ,but1 on the other hand1 is any one in despair at the darkness and cruelty of this life1 let him hear how ,zephaniah proclaims that1 though all else be fraud1 the ,lord is righteous in the midst of us1 ,he doth not let ,himself fail1 that the resigned heart and the humble1 the just and the pure heart1 is imperishable1 and in the end there is at least peace4 ,,epilogue4 ,,verses #ad-bj4 ,zephaniah's prophecy was fulfilled4 ,the ,day of the ,lord came1 and the people met their judgment4 ,the ,remnant survived--a folk poor and humble4 ,to them1 in the new estate and temper of their life1 came a new song from ,god--perhaps it was nearly a hundred years after ,zephaniah had spoken--and they added it to his prophecies4 ,it came in with wonderful fitness1 for it was the song of the redeemed1 whom he had foreseen1 and it tuned his book1 severe and simple1 to the full harmony of prophecy1 so that his book might take a place in the great choir of ,israel--the diapason of that full salvation which no one man1 but only the experience of centuries1 could achieve4 ,sing out1 ,o daughter of ,zion6 shout aloud1 ,o ,israel6 ,rejoice and be jubilant with all thy#ahe heart1 daughter of ,jerusalem6 ,jehovah hath set aside thy judgments1#ahf ,he hath turned thy foes4 ,king of ,israel1 ,jehovah is in thy midst2 thou shalt not see#ahg evil any more4 ,in that day it shall be said to ,jerusalem1 ,fear not4 ,o ,zion1 let not thy hands droop6 ,jehovah1 thy ,god1 in the midst of thee is mighty2#ahh ,he will save1 ,he will rejoice over thee with joy1 ,he will make new#ahi ,his love1 ,he will exult over thee with singing4 ,the scattered of thy congregation#aij have ,i gathered--thine#aia are they1 444#aib reproach upon her4 ,behold1 ,i am about to do all for thy sake at that time1#aic and ,i will rescue the lame and the outcast will ,i bring in1#aid and ,i will make them for renown and fame whose shame is in the whole earth4#aie ,in that time ,i will bring you in1#aif even in the time that ,i gather you4#aig ,for ,i will set you for fame and renown among all the peoples of the earth1 when ,i turn again your captivity before your eyes1 saith ,jehovah4#aih ,,footnotes3 #afh ,see above1 pp4 #dc-de4 #afi ,heb4 the city the oppressor4 ,the two participles in the first clause are not predicates to the noun and adjective of the second 7,schwally71 but vocatives1 though without the article1 after 4 #agj ,,lxx4 wolves of ,arabia4 #aga ,the verb left untranslated1 1 is quite uncertain in meaning4 is a root common to the ,semitic languages and seems to mean originally to cut off1 while the noun is a bone4 ,in ,num4 xxiv4 #h the ,piel of the verb used with another word for bone means to gnaw1 munch4 7,the only other passage where it is used1 ,ezek4 xxiii4 #cd1 is corrupt47 ,so some take it here3 they do not gnaw bones till morning1 i4e4 devour all at once2 but this is awkward1 and ,schwally 7#aih7 has proposed to omit the negative1 they do gnaw bones till morning1 yet in that case surely the impf4 and not the perf4 tense would have been used4 ,the ,,lxx4 render they do not leave over1 and it has been attempted1 though inconclusively1 to derive this meaning from that of cutting off1 i4e4 laying aside 7the ,arabic ,form ,,ii4 means1 however1 to leave behind74 ,another line of meaning perhaps promises more4 ,in ,aram4 the verb means to be the cause of anything1 to bring about1 and perhaps contains the idea of deciding 7,levy sub voce compares 1 cerno72 in ,arab4 it means1 among other things1 to commit a crime1 be guilty1 but in mod4 ,arabic to fine4 ,now it is to be noticed that here the expression is used of judges1 and it may be there is an intentional play upon the double possibility of meaning in the root4 #agb ,ezek4 xxii4 #bf3 ,her priests have done violence to ,my ,law and have profaned ,my holy things2 they have put no difference between the holy and profane1 between the clean and the unclean4 ,cf4 ,jer4 ii4 #h4 #agc ,schwally by altering the accents3 morning by morning ,he giveth forth ,his judgment3 no day does ,he fail4 #agd ,on this ver4 #f see above1 p4 #dd4 ,it is doubtful4 #age ,or discipline4 #agf ,wellhausen3 that which ,i have commanded her4 ,cf4 ,job xxxvi4 #bc2 #b ,chron4 xxxvi4 #bc2 ,ezra i4 #b4 #agg ,so ,,lxx41 reading for the ,heb4 1 her dwelling4 #agh ,a frequent phrase of ,jeremiah's4 #agi 1 decree1 ordinance1 decision4 #ahj ,heb4 ,my anger4 ,,lxx4 omits4 #aha ,that is to say1 the prophet returns to that general judgment of the whole earth1 with which in his first discourse he had already threatened ,judah4 ,he threatens her with it again in this eighth verse1 because1 as he has said in the preceding ones1 all other warnings have failed4 ,the eighth verse therefore follows naturally upon the seventh1 just as naturally as in ,amos iv4 ver4 #ab1 introduced by the same as here1 follows its predecessors4 ,the next two verses of the text1 however1 describe an opposite result3 instead of the destruction of the heathen1 they picture their conversion1 and it is only in the eleventh verse that we return to the main subject of the passage1 ,judah herself1 who is represented 7in harmony with the close of ,zephaniah's first discourse7 as reduced to a righteous and pious remnant4 ,vv4 #i and #aj are therefore obviously a later insertion1 and we pass to the eleventh verse4 ,vv4 #i and #aj3 ,for then 7this has no meaning after ver4 #h7 will ,i give to the peoples a pure lip 7elliptic phrase3 turn to the peoples a pure lip--i4e4 turn their evil lip into a pure lip3 pure picked out1 select1 excellent1 cf4 ,isa4 xlix4 #b71 that they may all of them call upon the name of the ,lord1 that they may serve ,him with one consent 7,heb4 shoulder1 ,,lxx4 yoke74 ,from beyond the rivers of ,ethiopia--there follows a very obscure phrase1 1 suppliants 787 of the daughter of ,my dispersed1 but ,ewald of the daughter of ,phut--they shall bring ,mine offering4 #ahb ,wellhausen despair4 #ahc ,heb4 the jubilant ones of thine arrogance4 #ahd ,see vv4 #d1 #e1 #aa4 #ahe ,heb4 the4 #ahf 4 ,but ,wellhausen reads 1 thine adversaries3 cf4 ,job ix4 #ae4 #ahg ,reading 7with ,,lxx41 ,wellhausen and ,schwally7 for of the ,hebrew text1 fear4 #ahh ,lit4 hero1 mighty man4 #ahi ,heb4 will be silent in1 1 but not in harmony with the next clause4 ,,lxx4 and ,syr4 render will make new1 which translates 1 a form that does not elsewhere occur1 though that is no objection to finding it in ,zephaniah1 or 4 ,hitzig3 ,he makes new things in ,his love4 ,buhl3 ,he renews ,his love4 ,schwally suggests 1 ,he rejoices in ,his love4 #aij ,,lxx4 ,in the days of thy festival1 which it takes with the previous verse4 ,the ,heb4 construction is ungrammatical1 though not unprecedented--the construct state before a preposition4 ,besides is obscure in meaning4 ,it is a ,ni4 pt4 for from 1 to be sad3 cf4 the ,pi4 in ,lam4 iii4 #cc4 ,but the ,hiphil in #b ,sam4 xx4 #ac1 followed 7as here7 by 1 means to thrust away from1 and that is probably the sense here4 #aia ,,lxx4 thine oppressed in acc4 governed by the preceding verb1 which in ,,lxx4 begins the verse4 #aib ,the ,heb41 1 burden of1 is unintelligible4 ,wellhausen proposes 4 #aic ,this rendering is only a venture in the almost impossible task of restoring the text of the clause4 ,as it stands the ,heb4 runs1 ,behold1 ,i am about to do1 or deal1 with thine oppressors 7which ,hitzig and ,ewald accept74 ,schwally points 7active7 as a passive1 1 thine oppressed4 ,,lxx4 has 1 i4e4 it read 4 ,following its suggestion we might read 1 and so get the above translation4 #aid ,micah iv4 #f4 #aie ,this rendering 7,ewald's7 is doubtful4 ,the verse concludes with in the whole earth their shame4 ,but may be a gloss4 ,,lxx4 take it as a verb with the next verse4 #aif ,,lxx4 do good to you2 perhaps for 4 #aig ,so ,heb4 literally1 but the construction is very awkward4 ,perhaps we should read in that time ,i will gather you4 #aih ,before your eyes1 i4e4 in your lifetime4 ,it is doubtful whether ver4 #bj is original to the passage4 ,for it is simply a variation on ver4 #ai1 and it has more than one impossible reading3 see previous note1 and for read 4 ,,nahum ,woe to the ,city of ,blood1 ,all of her guile1 robbery-full1 ceaseless rapine6 ,hark the whip1 ,and the rumbling of wheels6 ,horses at the gallop1 ,and the rattling dance of the chariot6 ,cavalry at the charge1 ,flash of sabres1 and lightning of lances6 ,,chapter ,,vi ,,the ,,book ,,of ,,nahum ,the ,book of ,nahum consists of a double title and three odes4 ,the title runs ,oracle of ,niniveh3 ,book of the ,vision of ,nahum the ,elshite4 ,the three odes1 eager and passionate pieces1 are all of them apparently vibrant to the impending fall of ,assyria4 ,the first1 chap4 i4 with the possible inclusion of chap4 ii4 #b1aii is general and theological1 affirming ,god's power of vengeance and the certainty of the overthrow of ,his enemies4 ,the second1 chap4 ii4 with the omission of ver4 #b1bjj and the third1 chap1 iii41 can hardly be disjoined2 they both present a vivid picture of the siege1 the storm and the spoiling of ,niniveh4 ,the introductory questions1 which title and contents start1 are in the main three3 #a4 ,the position of ,elsh1 to which the title assigns the prophet2 #b4 ,the authenticity of chap4 i42 #c4 ,the date of chaps1 ii41 iii43 to which siege of ,niniveh do they refer8 #a4 ,,the ,,position ,,of ,,el,,sh4 ,the title calls ,nahum the ,elshite--that is1 native or citizen of ,elsh4#bja ,three positions have been claimed for this place1 which is not mentioned elsewhere in the ,bible4 ,the first we take is the modern ,al-sh1 a town still flourishing about twenty-four miles to the north of the site of ,niniveh1#bjb with 8no fragments of antiquity0 about it1 but possessing a 8simple plaster box10 which ,jews1 ,christians and ,mohammedans alike reverence as the tomb of ,nahum4#bjc ,there is no evidence that ,al-sh1 a name of ,arabic form1 is older than the ,arab period1 while the tradition which locates the tomb there is not found before the sixteenth century of our era1 but on the contrary ,nahum's grave was pointed out to ,benjamin of ,tudela in #aafe at #8,ain ,japhata1 on the south of ,babylon4#bjd ,the tradition that the prophet lived and died at ,al-sh is therefore due to the similarity of the name to that of ,nahum's ,elsh1 as well as to the fact that ,niniveh was the subject of his prophesying4#bje ,in his book there is no trace of proof for the assertion that ,nahum was a descendant of the ten tribes exiled in #gba to the region to the north of ,al-sh4 ,he prophesies for ,judah alone4 ,nor does he show any more knowledge of ,niniveh than her ancient fame must have scattered to the limits of the world4#bjf ,we might as well argue from chap4 iii4 #h-aj that ,nahum had visited ,thebes of ,egypt4 ,the second tradition of the position of ,elsh is older4 ,in his commentary on ,nahum ,jerome says that in his day it still existed1 a petty village of ,galilee1 under the name of ,helkesei1#bjg or ,elkese1 and apparently with an established reputation as the town of ,nahum4#bjh ,but the book itself bears no symptom of its author's connection with ,galilee1 and although it was quite possible for a prophet of that period to have lived there1 it is not very probable4#bji ,a third tradition places ,elsh in the south of ,judah4 ,a ,syriac version of the accounts of the prophets1 which are ascribed to ,epiphanius1#baj describes ,nahum as 8of ,elsh beyond ,bt ,gabr1 of the tribe of ,simeon02#baa and it may be noted that ,cyril of ,alexandria says#bab that ,elkese was a village in the country of the ,jews4 ,this tradition is superior to the first in that there is no apparent motive for its fabrication1 and to the second in so far as ,judah was at the time of ,nahum a much more probable home for a prophet than ,galilee2 nor does the book give any references except such as might be made by a ,judan4#bac ,no modern place-name1 however1 can be suggested with any certainty as the echo of ,elsh4 ,umm ,lis1 which has been proved not to be ,lachish1 contains the same radicals1 and some six and a quarter miles east from ,beit-,jibrin at the upper end of the ,wady es ,sur there is an ancient well with the name ,bir el s4#bad #b4 ,,the ,,authenticity ,,of ,,chap4 ,i4 ,till recently no one doubted that the three chapters formed a unity4 8,nahum's prophecy10 said ,kuenen in #ahhi1 8is a whole40 ,in #ahiabae ,cornill affirmed that no questions of authenticity arose in regard to the book2 and in #ahib ,wellhausen saw in chap4 i4 an introduction leading 8in no awkward way to the proper subject of the prophecy40 ,meantime1 however1 ,bickell1#baf discovering what he thought to be the remains of an alphabetic ,psalm in chap4 i4 #a-g1 attempted to reconstruct throughout chap4 i4--ii4 #c twenty-two verses1 each beginning with a successive letter of the alphabet4 ,and1 following this1 ,gunkel in #ahic produced a more full and plausible reconstruction of the same scheme4#bag ,by radical emendations of the text1 by excision of what he believes to be glosses and by altering the order of many of the verses1 ,gunkel seeks to produce twenty-three distichs1 twenty of which begin with the successive letters of the alphabet1 two are wanting1 while in the first three letters of the twenty-third1 1 he finds very probable the name of the author1 ,shobai or ,shobi4#bah ,he takes this ode1 therefore1 to be an eschatological ,psalm of the later ,judaism1 which from its theological bearing has been thought suitable as an introduction to ,nahum's genuine prophecies4 ,the text of chap4 i4--ii4 #d has been badly mauled and is clamant for reconstruction of some kind4 ,as it lies1 there are traces of an alphabetical arrangement as far as the beginning of ver4 #i1bai and so far ,gunkel's changes are comparatively simple4 ,many of his emendations are in themselves and apart from the alphabetic scheme desirable4 ,they get rid of difficulties and improve the poetry of the passage4#bbj ,his reconstruction is always clever and as a whole forms a wonderfully spirited poem4 ,but to have produced good or poetical ,hebrew is not conclusive proof of having recovered the original1 and there are obvious objections to the process4 ,several of the proposed changes are unnatural in themselves and unsupported by anything except the exigencies of the scheme2 for example1 #b;b and #c;a are dismissed as a gloss only because1 if they be retained1 the ,aleph verse is two bars too long4 ,the gloss1 ,gunkel thinks1 was introduced to mitigate the absoluteness of the declaration that ,jehovah is a ,god of wrath and vengeance2 but this is not obvious and would hardly have been alleged apart from the needs of the alphabetic scheme4 ,in order to find a ,daleth1 it is quite arbitrary to say that the first in #d;b is redundant in face of the second1 and that a word beginning with ,daleth originally filled its place1 but was removed because it was a rare or difficult word6 ,the re-arrangement of #g and #h;a is very clever1 and reads as if it were right2 but the next effort1 to get a verse beginning with ,lamed1 is of the kind by which anything might be proved4 ,these1 however1 are nothing to the difficulties which vv4 #i-ad and chap4 ii4 #a1 #c1 present to an alphabetic scheme1 or to the means which ,gunkel takes to surmount them4 ,he has to re-arrange the order of the verses1#bba and of the words within the verses4 ,the distichs beginning with ,nun and oph are wanting1 or at least undecipherable4 ,to provide one with initial ,resh the interjection has to be removed from the opening of chap4 ii4 #a1 and the verse made to begin with and to run thus3 the feet of him that bringeth good news on the mountains2 behold him that publisheth peace4 ,other unlikely changes will be noticed when we come to the translation4 ,here we may ask the question3 if the passage was originally alphabetic1 that is1 furnished with so fixed and easily recognised a frame1 why has it so fallen to pieces8 ,and again1 if it has so fallen to pieces1 is it possible that it can be restored8 ,the many arbitrarinesses of ,gunkel's able essay would seem to imply that it is not4 ,dr4 ,davidson says3 8,even if it should be assumed that an alphabetical poem lurks under chap4 i41 the attempt to restore it1 just as in ,psalm x41 can never be more than an academic exercise40 ,little is to be learned from the language4 ,wellhausen1 who makes no objection to the genuineness of the passage1 thinks that about ver4 #g we begin to catch the familiar dialect of the ,psalms4 ,gunkel finds a want of originality in the language1 with many touches that betray connection not only with the ,psalms but with late eschatological literature4 ,but when we take one by one the clauses of chap1 i41 we discover very few parallels with the ,psalms1 which are not at the same time parallels with ,jeremiah's or some earlier writings4 ,that the prophecy is vague1 and with much of the air of the later eschatology about it1 is no reason for removing it from an age in which we have already seen prophecy beginning to show the same apocalyptic temper4#bbb ,gunkel denies any reference in ver4 #i;b to the approaching fall of ,niniveh1 although that is seen by ,kuenen1 ,wellhausen1 ,knig and others1 and he omits ver4 #aa;a1 in which most read an allusion to ,sennacherib4 ,therefore1 while it is possible that a later poem has been prefixed to the genuine prophecies of ,nahum1 and the first chapter supplies many provocations to belief in such a theory1 this has not been proved1 and the able essays of proof have much against them4 ,the question is open4#bbc #c4 ,,the ,,date ,,of ,,chaps4 ,,ii4 ,,and ,,iii4 ,we turn now to the date of the ,book apart from this prologue4 ,it was written after a great overthrow of the ,egyptian ,thebes#bbd and when the overthrow of ,niniveh was imminent4 ,now ,thebes had been devastated by ,assurbanipal about #ffd 7we know of no later overthrow71 and ,niniveh fell finally about #fjg4 ,nahum flourished1 then1 somewhere between #ffd and #fjg4bbe ,some critics1 feeling in his description of the fall of ,thebes the force of a recent impression1 have placed his prophesying immediately after that1 or about #ffj4bbf ,but this is too far away from the fall of ,niniveh4 ,in #ffj the power of ,assyria was unthreatened4 ,nor is #feb1 the year of the revolt of ,babylon1 ,egypt and the princes of ,palestine1 a more likely date4#bbg ,for although in that year ,assyrian supremacy ebbed from ,egypt never to return1 ,assurbanipal quickly reduced ,elam1 ,babylon and all ,syria4 ,nahum1 on the other hand1 represents the very centre of the empire as threatened4 ,the land of ,assyria is apparently already invaded 7iii4 #ac1 etc474 ,niniveh1 if not invested1 must immediately be so1 and that by forces too great for resistance4 ,her mixed populace already show signs of breaking up4 ,within1 as without1 her doom is sealed4 ,all this implies not only the advance of an enormous force upon ,niniveh1 but the reduction of her people to the last stage of hopelessness4 ,now1 as we have seen1#bbh ,assyria proper was thrice overrun4 ,the ,scythians poured across her about #fbf1 but there is no proof that they threatened ,niniveh4#bbi ,a little after ,assurbanipal's death in #fbe1 the ,medes under ,king ,phraortes invaded ,assyria1 but ,phraortes was slain and his son ,kyaxares called away by an invasion of his own country4 ,herodotus says that this was after he had defeated the ,assyrians in a battle and had begun the siege of ,niniveh1#bcj but before he had succeeded in reducing the city4 ,after a time he subdued or assimilated the ,medes1 and then investing ,niniveh once more1 about #fjg1 in two years he took and destroyed her4 ,to which of these two sieges by ,kyaxares are we to assign the ,book of ,nahum8 ,hitzig1 ,kuenen1 ,cornill and others incline to the first on the ground that ,nahum speaks of the yoke of ,assyria as still heavy on ,judah1 though about to be lifted4 ,they argue that by #fjh1 when ,king ,josiah had already felt himself free enough to extend his reforms into ,northern ,israel1 and dared to dispute ,necho's passage across ,esdraelon1 the ,jews must have been conscious that they had nothing more to fear from ,assyria1 and ,nahum could hardly have written as he does in i4 #ac1 ,i will break his yoke from off thee and burst thy bonds in sunder4#bca ,but this is not conclusive1 for first1 as we have seen1 it is not certain that i4 #ac is from ,nahum himself1 and second1 if it be from himself1 he might as well have written it about #fjh as about #fbe1 for he speaks not from the feelings of any single year1 but with the impression upon him of the whole epoch of ,assyrian servitude then drawing to a close4 ,the eve of the later siege as a date for the book is1 as ,davidson remarks1#bcb 8well within the verge of possibility10 and some critics prefer it because in their opinion ,nahum's descriptions thereby acquire greater reality and naturalness4 ,but this is not convincing1 for if ,kyaxares actually began the siege of ,niniveh about #fbe1 ,nahum's sense of the imminence of her fall is perfectly natural4 ,wellhausen indeed denies that earlier siege4 8,apart from ,herodotus10 he says1 8it would never have occurred to anybody to doubt that ,nahum's prophecy coincided with the fall of ,niniveh40#bcc ,this is true1 for it is to ,herodotus alone that we owe the tradition of the earlier siege4 ,but what if we believe ,herodotus8 ,in that case1 it is impossible to come to a decision as between the two sieges4 ,with our present scanty knowledge of both1 the prophecy of ,nahum suits either equally well4#bcd ,fortunately it is not necessary to come to a decision4 ,nahum1 we cannot too often insist1 expresses the feelings neither of this nor of that decade in the reign of ,josiah1 but the whole volume of hope1 wrath and just passion of vengeance which had been gathering for more than a century and which at last broke into exultation when it became certain that ,niniveh was falling4 ,that suits the eve of either siege by ,kyaxares4 ,till we learn a little more about the first siege and how far it proceeded towards a successful result1 perhaps we ought to prefer the second4 ,and of course those who feel that ,nahum writes not in the future but the present tense of the details of ,niniveh's overthrow1 must prefer the second4 99 99 99 99 99 ,that the form as well as the spirit of the ,book of ,nahum is poetical is proved by the familiar marks of poetic measure--the unusual syntax1 the frequent absence of the article and particles1 the presence of elliptic forms and archaic and sonorous ones4 ,in the two chapters on the siege of ,niniveh the lines are short and quick1 in harmony with the dashing action they echo4 ,as we have seen1 the text of chap4 i4 is very uncertain4 ,the subject of the other two chapters involves the use of a number of technical and some foreign terms1 of the meaning of most of which we are ignorant4#bce ,there are apparently some glosses2 here and there the text is obviously disordered4 ,we get the usual help1 and find the usual faults1 in the ,septuagint2 they will be noticed in the course of the translation4 ,,footnotes3 #aii ,in the ,english version1 but in the ,hebrew chap4 ii4 vv4 #a and #c2 for the ,hebrew text divides chap4 i4 from chap4 ii4 differently from the ,english1 which follows the ,greek4 ,the ,hebrew begins chap4 ii4 with what in the ,english and ,greek is the fifteenth verse of chap4 i43 ,behold1 upon the mountains1 etc4 #bjj ,in the ,english text1 but in the ,hebrew with the omission of vv4 #a and #c3 see previous note4 #bja ,other meanings have been suggested1 but are impossible4 #bjb ,so it lies on ,billerbeck's map in ,delitzsch and ,haupt's ,beitrge zur ,assyr41 ,,iii4 ,smith's ,bible ,dictionary puts it at only #b m4 ,n4 of ,mosul4 #bjc ,layard1 ,niniveh and its ,remains1 ,i4 #bcc1 #crd ed41 #ahdi4 #bjd ,bohn's ,early ,travels in ,palestine1 p4 #ajb4 #bje ,just as they show ,jonah's tomb at ,niniveh itself4 #bjf ,see above1 p4 #ah4 #bjg ,just as in ,micah's case ,jerome calls his birthplace ,moresheth by the adjective ,morasthi1 so with equal carelessness he calls ,elosh by the adjective with the article ,ha-eloshi1 the ,eloshite4 ,jerome's words are3 8,quum ,elcese usque hodie in ,galilea viculus sit1 parvus quidem et vix ruinis veterum dificiorum indicans vestigia1 sed tamen notus ,judis et mihi quoque a circumducente monstratus0 7in ,prol4 ad ,prophetiam ,nachumi74 ,in the ,onomasticon ,jerome gives the name as ,elcese1 ,eusebius as 1 but without defining the position4 #bjh ,this ,elkese has been identified1 though not conclusively1 with the modern ,el ,kauze near ,ramieh1 some seven miles ,w4 of ,tibnin4 #bji ,cf4 ,kuenen1 #ge1 n4 #e2 ,davidson1 p4 #ab 7#b74 ,capernaum1 which the ,textus ,receptus gives as 1 but most authorities as and the ,peshitto as ,kaphar ,nahum1 obviously means ,village of ,nahum1 and both ,hitzig and ,knobel looked for ,elsh in it4 ,see ,hist4 ,geog41 p4 #def4 ,against the ,galilean origin of ,nahum it is usual to appeal to ,john vii4 #eb3 ,search and see that out of ,galilee ariseth no prophet2 but this is not decisive1 for ,jonah came out of ,galilee4 #baj ,though perhaps falsely4 #baa ,this occurs in the ,syriac translation of the ,old ,testament by ,paul of ,tella1 #fag ,a4,d41 in which the notices of ,epiphanius 7,bishop of ,constantia in ,cyprus ,a4,d4 #cfg7 or ,pseudepiphanius are attached to their respective prophets4 ,it was first communicated to the ,z4,d4,p4,v41 ,i4 #abb ff41 by ,dr4 ,nestle3 cf4 ,hist4 ,geog41 p4 #bca1 n4 #a4 ,the previously known readings of the passage were either geographically impossible1 as 8,he came from ,elkesei beyond ,jordan1 towards ,begabar of the tribe of ,simeon0 7so in ,paris edition1 #afbb1 of the works of ,st4 ,epiphanius1 ,vol4 ,,ii41 p4 #adg3 cf4 ,migne1 ,patr4 ,gr41 ,,xliii4 #dji72 or based on a misreading of the title of the book3 8,nahum son of ,elkesaios was of ,jesbe of the tribe of ,simeon02 or indefinable3 8,nahum was of ,elkesem beyond ,betabarem of the tribe of ,simeon02 these last two from recensions of ,epiphanius published in #ahee by ,tischendorf 7quoted by ,davidson1 p4 #ac74 ,in the 1 attributed to ,hesychius1 ,presbyter of ,jerusalem1 who died #dbh of #dcc 7,migne1 ,patrologia ,gr41 ,,xciii4 #aceg71 it is said that ,nahum was 7,helcesin7 2 to which has been added a note from ,theophylact1 4 #bab ,ad ,nahum i4 ,i 7,migne1 ,patr4 ,gr41 ,,lxxi4 #ghj73 4 #bac ,the selection ,bashan1 ,carmel and ,lebanon 7i4 #d71 does not prove northern authorship4 #bad may be 7#a7 a theophoric name osh is ,god2 and osh might then be the ,edomite deity whose name is spelt with a ,shin on the ,assyrian monuments 7,baethgen1 ,beitrge z4 ,semit4 ,religionsgeschichte1 p4 #aa2 ,schrader1 ,k4,a4,t41 pp4 #aej1 #fac71 and who is probably the same as the ,arab deity ais 7,baethgen1 id41 p4 #ajh72 and this would suit a position in the south of ,judah1 in which region we find the majority of place-names compounded with 4 ,or else 7#b7 the is prosthetic1 as in the place-names on the ,phnician coast1 in ,southern ,canaan1 1 etc4 ,in this case we might find its equivalent in the form 7cf4 72 but no such form is now extant or recorded at any previous period4 ,the form ,lis would not suit4 ,on ,bir el s see ,robinson1 ,b4,r41 ,,iii41 p4 #ad1 and ,gurin1 ,jude1 ,,iii41 p4 #cda4 ,bir el s means ,well of the ,bow1 or1 according to ,gurin1 of the ,arch1 from ruins that stand by it4 ,the position1 east of ,beit-,jibrin1 is unsuitable2 for the early ,christian texts quoted in the previous note fix it beyond1 presumably south or south-west of ,beit-,jibrin1 and in the tribe of ,simeon4 ,the error 8tribe of ,simeon0 does not matter1 for the same fathers place ,bethzecharias1 the alleged birthplace of ,habakkuk1 there4 #bae ,einleitung1 #ast ed4 #baf ,who seems to have owed the hint to a quotation by ,delitzsch on ,psalm ix4 from ,g4 ,frohnmeyer to the effect that there were traces of 8alphabetic0 verses in chap1 i41 at least in vv4 #c-g4 ,see ,bickell's ,beitrge zur ,semit4 ,metrik1 ,separatabdruck1 ,wien1 #ahid4 #bag ,z4,a4,t4,w41 #ahic1 pp4 #bbc ff4 #bah ,cf4 ,ezra ii4 #db2 ,neh4 vii4 #de2 #b ,sam4 xvii4 #bg4 #bai ,ver4 #a is title2 #b begins with 2 then is found in 1 #c;b2 in 1 ver4 #d2 is wanting--,bickell proposes to substitute a ,new-,hebrew word 1 ,gunkel 1 for 1 ver4 #d;b2 in 1 #e;a2 in 1 #e;b2 by removing of ver4 #f;a to the end of the clause 7and reading it there 71 and so leaving as the first word2 in in #f;b2 in 1 #g;a2 by eliding from 1 #g;b2 in 1 #h2 is wanting1 though ,gunkel seeks to supply it by taking #i;c1 beginning 1 with #i;b1 before #i;a2 begins #i;a4 #bbj ,see below in the translation4 #bba ,as thus3 #i;a1 #aa;b1 #ab 7but unintelligible71 #aj1 #ac1 #ad1 ii4 #a1 #c4 #bbb ,see above on ,zephaniah1 pp4 #di ff4 #bbc ,cornill1 in the #bnd ed4 of his ,einleitung1 has accepted ,gunkel's and ,bickell's main contentions4 #bbd iii4 #h-aj4 #bbe ,the description of the fall of ,no-,amon precludes the older view almost universally held before the discovery of ,assurbanipal's destruction of ,thebes1 viz4 that ,nahum prophesied in the days of ,hezekiah or in the earlier years of ,manasseh 7,lightfoot1 ,pusey1 ,ngelsbach1 etc474 #bbf ,so ,schrader1 ,volck in ,herz4 ,real4 ,enc41 and others4 #bbg ,it is favoured by ,winckler1 ,a4,t4 ,untersuch41 pp4 #abg f4 #bbh ,above1 pp4 #ae f42 #ai1 #bb ff4 #bbi ,this in answer to ,jeremias in ,delitzsch's and ,haupt's ,beitrge zur ,assyriologie1 ,,iii4 #if4 #bcj ,i4 #ajc4 #bca ,hitzig's other reason1 that the besiegers of ,niniveh are described by ,nahum in ii4 #c ff4 as single1 which was true of the siege in #fbe c41 but not of that of #fjg--f1 when the ,chaldeans joined the ,medes1 is disposed of by the proof on p4 #bb above1 that even in #fjg--f the ,medes carried on the siege alone4 #bcb ,page #ag4 #bcc ,in commenting on chap4 i4 #i2 p4 #aef of ,kleine ,propheten4 #bcd ,the phrase which is so often appealed to by both sides1 i4 #i1 ,jehovah maketh a complete end1 not twice shall trouble arise1 is really inconclusive4 ,hitzig maintains that if ,nahum had written this after the first and before the second siege of ,niniveh he would have had to say1 8not thrice shall trouble arise40 ,this is not conclusive3 the prophet is looking only at the future and thinking of it--not twice again shall trouble arise2 and if there were really two sieges of ,niniveh1 would the words not twice have been suffered to remain1 if they had been a confident prediction before the first siege8 ,besides1 the meaning of the phrase is not certain2 it may be only a general statement corresponding to what seems a general statement in the first clause of the verse4 ,kuenen and others refer the trouble not to that which is about to afflict ,assyria1 but to the long slavery and slaughter which ,judah has suffered at ,assyria's hands4 ,davidson leaves it ambiguous4 #bce ,technical military terms3 ii4 #b1 2 #d1 7872 #d1 2 #f1 2 iii4 #c1 7874 ,probably foreign terms3 ii4 #h1 2 iii4 #ag1 4 ,certainly foreign3 iii4 #ag1 4 ,,chapter ,,vii ,,the ,,vengeance ,,of ,,the ,,lord ,,nahum i ,the prophet ,nahum1 as we have seen1#bcf arose probably in ,judah1 if not about the same time as ,zephaniah and ,jeremiah1 then a few years later4 ,whether he prophesied before or after the great ,reform of #fba we have no means of deciding4 ,his book does not reflect the inner history1 character or merits of his generation4 ,his sole interest is the fate of ,niniveh4 ,zephaniah had also doomed the ,assyrian capital1 yet he was much more concerned with ,israel's unworthiness of the opportunity presented to them4 ,the yoke of ,asshur1 he saw1 was to be broken1 but the same cloud which was bursting from the north upon ,niniveh must overwhelm the incorrigible people of ,jehovah4 ,for this ,nahum has no thought4 ,his heart1 for all its bigness1 holds room only for the bitter memories1 the baffled hopes1 the unappeased hatreds of a hundred years4 ,and that is why we need not be anxious to fix his date upon one or other of the shifting phases of ,israel's history during that last quarter of the seventh century4 ,for he represents no single movement of his fickle people's progress1 but the passion of the whole epoch then drawing to a close4 ,nahum's book is one great ,at ,last6 ,and1 therefore1 while ,nahum is a worse prophet than ,zephaniah1 with less conscience and less insight1 he is a greater poet1 pouring forth the exultation of a people long enslaved1 who see their tyrant ready for destruction4 ,his language is strong and brilliant2 his rhythm rumbles and rolls1 leaps and flashes1 like the horsemen and chariots he describes4 ,it is a great pity the text is so corrupt4 ,if the original lay before us1 and that full knowledge of the times which the excavation of ancient ,assyria may still yield to us1 we might judge ,nahum to be an even greater poet than we do4 ,we have seen that there are some reasons for doubting whether he wrote the first chapter of the book1#bcg but no one questions its fitness as an introduction to the exultation over ,niniveh's fall in chapters ii4 and iii4 ,the chapter is theological1 affirming those general principles of ,divine ,providence1 by which the overthrow of the tyrant is certain and ,god's own people are assured of deliverance4 ,let us place ourselves among the people1 who for so long a time had been thwarted1 crushed and demoralised by the most brutal empire which was ever suffered to roll its force across the world1 and we shall sympathise with the author1 who for the moment will feel nothing about his ,god1 save that ,he is a ,god of vengeance4 ,like the grief of a bereaved man1 the vengeance of an enslaved people has hours sacred to itself4 ,and this people had such a ,god6 ,jehovah must punish the tyrant1 else were ,he untrue4 ,he had been patient1 and patient1 as a verse seems to hint1#bch just because ,he was omnipotent1 but in the end ,he must rise to judgment4 ,he was ,god of heaven and earth1 and it is the old physical proofs of ,his power1 so often appealed to by the peoples of the ,east1 for they feel them as we cannot1 which this hymn calls up as ,jehovah sweeps to the overthrow of the oppressor4 ,before such power of wrath who may stand8 ,what think ye of ,jehovah8 ,the ,god who works with such ruthless1 absolute force in nature will not relax in the fate ,he is preparing for ,niniveh4 ,he is one who maketh utter destruction1 not needing to raise up ,his forces a second time1 and as stubble before fire so ,his foes go down before ,him4 ,no half-measures are ,his1 ,whose are the storm1 the drought and the earthquake4 ,such is the sheer religion of the ,proem to the ,book of ,nahum--thoroughly ,oriental in its sense of ,god's method and resources of destruction2 very ,jewish1 and very natural to that age of ,jewish history1 in the bursting of its long pent hopes of revenge4 ,we of the ,west might express these hopes differently4 ,we should not attribute so much personal passion to the ,avenger4 ,with our keener sense of law1 we should emphasise the slowness of the process1 and select for its illustration the forces of decay rather than those of sudden ruin4 ,but we must remember the crashing times in which the ,jews lived4 ,the world was breaking up4 ,the elements were loose1 and all that ,god's own people could hope for was the bursting of their yoke1 with a little shelter in the day of trouble4 ,the elements were loose1 but amidst the blind crash the little people knew that ,jehovah knew them4 ,a ,god jealous and avenging is ,jehovah2 ,jehovah is avenger and lord of wrath2 ,vengeful is ,jehovah towards ,his enemies1 ,and implacable ,he to ,his foes4 ,jehovah is long-suffering and great in might1#bci ,yet ,he will not absolve4 ,jehovah6 ,his way is in storm and in hurricane1 ,and clouds are the dust of ,his feet4#bdj ,he curbeth the sea1 and drieth it up2 ,all the streams hath ,he parched4 ,withered#bda be ,bashan and ,carmel2 ,the bloom of ,lebnon is withered4 ,mountains have quaked before ,him1 ,and the hills have rolled down4 ,earth heaved at ,his presence1 ,the world and all its inhabitants4 ,before ,his rage who may stand1 ,or who abide in the glow of ,his anger8 ,his wrath pours forth like fire1 ,and rocks are rent before ,him4 ,good is ,jehovah to them that wait upon ,him in the day of trouble1#bdb ,and ,he knoweth them that trust ,him4 ,with an overwhelming flood ,he makes an end of ,his rebels1 ,and ,his foes ,he comes down on#bdc with darkness4 ,what think ye of ,jehovah8 ,he is one that makes utter destruction2 ,not twice need trouble arise4 ,for though they be like plaited thorns1 ,and sodden as 4441#bdd ,they shall be consumed like dry stubble4 ,came there not#bde out of thee one to plan evil against ,jehovah1 ,a counsellor of mischief8#bdf ,thus saith ,jehovah1 444 many waters1#bdg yet shall they be cut off and pass away1 and ,i will so humble thee that ,i need humble thee#bdh no more2#bdi and ,jehovah hath ordered concerning thee1 that no more of thy seed be sown3 from the house of thy ,god1 ,i will cut off graven and molten image4 ,i will make thy sepulchre 444#bej ,disentangled from the above verses are three which plainly refer not to ,assyria but to ,judah4 ,how they came to be woven among the others we cannot tell4 ,some of them appear applicable to the days of ,josiah after the great ,reform4 ,and now will ,i break his yoke from upon thee1 ,and burst thy bonds asunder4 ,lo1 upon the mountains the feet of ,him that bringeth good tidings1 ,that publisheth peace6 ,keep thy feasts1 ,o ,judah1 ,fulfil thy vows3 ,for no more shall the wicked attempt to pass through thee2 ,cut off is the whole of him4#bea ,for ,jehovah hath turned the pride of ,jacob1 ,like to the pride of ,isrel3#beb ,for the plunderers plundered them1 ,and destroyed their vine branches4 ,,footnotes3 #bcf ,above1 pp4 #gh ff41 #he ff4 #bcg ,see above1 pp4 #ha ff4 #bch ,ver4 #c1 if the reading be correct4 #bci ,gunkel amends to in mercy to make the parallel exact4 ,but see above1 p4 #hb4 #bdj ,gunkel's emendation is quite unnecessary here4 #bda ,see above1 p4 #hc4 #bdb ,so ,,lxx4 ,heb4 for a stronghold in the day of trouble4 #bdc ,thrusts into1 ,wellhausen1 reading or for 4 ,,lxx4 darkness shall pursue4 #bdd ,heb4 and ,r4,v4 drenched as with their drink4 ,,lxx4 like a tangled yew4 ,the text is corrupt4 #bde ,the superfluous word at the end of ver4 #aj ,wellhausen reads as at the beginning of ver4 #aa4 #bdf ,usually taken as ,sennacherib4 #bdg ,the ,hebrew is given by the ,r4,v4 though they be in full strength and likewise many4 ,,lxx4 ,thus saith ,jehovah ruling over many waters1 reading and omitting the first 4 ,similarly ,syr4 ,thus saith ,jehovah of the heads of many waters1 4 ,wellhausen1 substituting for the first 1 translates1 ,let the great waters be ever so full1 they will yet all 4448 7misprint here7 and vanish4 ,for read with ,,lxx41 borrowing from next word4 #bdh ,lit4 and ,i will afflict thee1 ,i will not afflict thee again4 ,this rendering implies that ,niniveh is the object4 ,the ,a4,v41 though ,i have afflicted thee ,i will afflict thee no more1 refers to ,israel4 #bdi ,omit ver4 #ac and run #ad on to #ab4 ,for the curious alternation now occurs3 ,assyria in one verse1 ,judah in the other4 ,assyria3 i4 #ab1 #ad1 ii4 #b 7,heb42 ,eng4 ii4 #a71 #d ff4 ,judah3 i4 #ac1 ii4 #a 7,heb42 ,eng4 i4 #ae71 #c 7,heb42 ,eng4 #b74 ,remove these latter1 as ,wellhausen does1 and the verses on ,assyria remain a connected and orderly whole4 ,so in the text above4 #bej ,syr4 make it thy sepulchre4 ,the ,hebrew left untranslated above might be rendered for thou art vile4 ,bickell amends into dunghills4 ,lightfoot1 ,chron4 ,temp4 et ,ord4 ,text ,v4,t4 in ,collected ,works1 ,i4 #aji1 takes this as a prediction of ,sennacherib's murder in the temple1 an interpretation which demands a date for ,nahum under either ,hezekiah or ,manasseh4 ,so ,pusey also1 p4 #ceg4 #bea ,,lxx4 destruction 1 for 4 #beb ,davidson3 restoreth the excellency of ,jacob1 as the excellency of ,israel1 but when was the latter restored8 ,,chapter ,,viii ,,the ,,siege ,,and ,,fall ,,of ,,niniveh ,,nahum ii41 iii ,the scene now changes from the presence and awful arsenal of the ,almighty to the historical consummation of ,his vengeance4 ,nahum foresees the siege of ,niniveh4 ,probably the ,medes have already overrun ,assyria4#bec ,the ,old ,lion has withdrawn to his inner den1 and is making his last stand4 ,the suburbs are full of the enemy1 and the great walls which made the inner city one vast fortress are invested4 ,nahum describes the details of the assault4 ,let us try1 before we follow him through them1 to form some picture of ,assyria and her capital at this time4#bed ,as we have seen1#bee the ,assyrian ,empire began about #fbe to shrink to the limits of ,assyria proper1 or ,upper ,mesopotamia1 within the ,euphrates on the south-west1 the mountain-range of ,kurdistan on the north-east1 the river ,chabor on the north-west and the ,lesser ,zab on the south-east4#bef ,this is a territory of nearly a hundred and fifty miles from north to south1 and rather more than two hundred and fifty from east to west4 ,to the south of it the ,viceroy of ,babylon1 ,nabopolassar1 held practically independent sway over ,lower ,mesopotamia1 if he did not command as well a large part of the ,upper ,euphrates ,valley4 ,on the north the ,medes were urgent1 holding at least the farther ends of the passes through the ,kurdish mountains1 if they had not already penetrated these to their southern issues4 ,the kernel of the ,assyrian territory was the triangle1 two of whose sides are represented by the ,tigris and the ,greater ,zab1 the third by the foot of the ,kurdistan mountains4 ,it is a fertile plain1 with some low hills4 ,to-day the level parts of it are covered by a large number of villages and well-cultivated fields4 ,the more frequent mounds of ruin attest in ancient times a still greater population4 ,at the period of which we are treating1 the plains must have been covered by an almost continuous series of towns4 ,at either end lay a group of fortresses4 ,the southern was the ancient capital of ,assyria1 ,kalchu1 now ,nimrud1 about six miles to the north of the confluence of the ,greater ,zab and the ,tigris4 ,the northern1 close by the present town of ,khorsabad1 was the great fortress and palace of ,sargon1 ,dur-,sargina3#beg it covered the roads upon ,niniveh from the north1 and standing upon the upper reaches of the ,choser protected ,niniveh's water supply4 ,but besides these there were scattered upon all the main roads and round the frontiers of the territory a number of other forts1 towers and posts1 the ruins of many of which are still considerable1 but others have perished without leaving any visible traces4 ,the roads thus protected drew in upon ,niniveh from all directions4 ,the chief of those1 along which the ,medes and their allies would advance from the east and north1 crossed the ,greater ,zab1 or came down through the ,kurdistan mountains upon the citadel of ,sargon4 ,two of them were distant enough from the latter to relieve the invaders from the necessity of taking it1 and ,kalchu lay far to the south of all of them4 ,the brunt of the first defence of the land would therefore fall upon the smaller fortresses4 ,niniveh itself lay upon the ,tigris between ,kalchu and ,sargon's city1 just where the ,tigris is met by the ,choser4 ,low hills descend from the north upon the very site of the fortress1 and then curve east and south1 bow-shaped1 to draw west again upon the ,tigris at the south end of the city4 ,to the east of the latter they leave a level plain1 some two and a half miles by one and a half4 ,these hills appear to have been covered by several forts4 ,the city itself was four-sided1 lying lengthwise to the ,tigris and cut across its breadth by the ,choser4 ,the circumference was about seven and a half miles1 enclosing the largest fortified space in ,western ,asia1 and capable of holding a population of three hundred thousand4 ,the western wall1 rather over two and a half miles long1 touched the ,tigris at either end1 but between there lay a broad1 bow-shaped stretch of land1 probably in ancient times1 as now1 free of buildings4 ,the north-western wall ran up from the ,tigris for a mile and a quarter to the low ridge which entered the city at its northern corner4 ,from this the eastern wall1 with a curve upon it1 ran down in face of the eastern plain for a little more than three miles1 and was joined to the western by the short southern wall of not quite half a mile4 ,the ruins of the western wall stand from ten to twenty1 those of the others from twenty-five to sixty1 feet above the natural surface1 with here and there the still higher remains of towers4 ,there were several gates1 of which the chief were one in the northern and two in the eastern wall4 ,round all the walls except the western ran moats about a hundred and fifty feet broad--not close up to the foot of the walls1 but at a distance of some sixty feet4 ,water was supplied by the ,choser to all the moats south of it2 those to the north were fed from a canal which entered the city near its northern corner4 ,at these and other points one can still trace the remains of huge dams1 batardeaux and sluices2 and the moats might be emptied by opening at either end of the western wall other dams1 which kept back the waters from the bed of the ,tigris4 ,beyond its moat1 the eastern wall was protected north of the ,choser by a large outwork covering its gate1 and south of the ,choser by another outwork1 in shape the segment of a circle1 and consisting of a double line of fortification more than five hundred yards long1 of which the inner wall was almost as high as the great wall itself1 but the outer considerably lower4 ,again1 in front of this and in face of the eastern plain was a third line of fortification1 consisting of a low inner wall and a colossal outer wall still rising to a height of fifty feet1 with a moat one hundred and fifty feet broad between them4 ,on the south this third line was closed by a large fortress4 ,upon the trebly fortified city the ,medes drew in from east and north1 far away from ,kalchu and able to avoid even ,dur-,sargina4 ,the other fortresses on the frontier and the approaches fell into their hands1 says ,nahum1 like ripe fruit4#beh ,he cries to ,niniveh to prepare for the siege4#bei ,military authorities#bfj suppose that the ,medes directed their main attack upon the northern corner of the city4 ,here they would be upon a level with its highest point1 and would command the waterworks by which most of the moats were fed4 ,their flank1 too1 would be protected by the ravines of the ,choser4 ,nahum describes fighting in the suburbs before the assault of the walls1 and it was just here1 according to some authorities1#bfa that the famous suburbs of ,niniveh lay1 out upon the canal and the road to ,khorsabad4 ,all the open fighting which ,nahum foresees would take place in these outplaces and broad streets#bfb--the mustering of the red ranks1#bfc the prancing horses#bfd and rattling chariots#bfe and cavalry at the charge4#bff ,beaten there the ,assyrians would retire to the great walls1 and the waterworks would fall into the hands of the besiegers4 ,they would not immediately destroy these1 but in order to bring their engines and battering-rams against the walls they would have to lay strong dams across the moats2 the eastern moat has actually been found filled with rubbish in face of a great breach at the north end of its wall4 ,this breach may have been effected not only by the rams but by directing upon the wall the waters of the canal2 or farther south the ,choser itself1 in its spring floods1 may have been confined by the besiegers and swept in upon the sluices which regulate its passage through the eastern wall into the city4 ,to this means tradition has assigned the capture of ,niniveh1#bfg and ,nahum perhaps foresees the possibility of it3 the gates of the rivers are opened1 the palace is dissolved4#bfh ,now of all this probable progress of the siege ,nahum1 of course1 does not give us a narrative1 for he is writing upon the eve of it1 and probably1 as we have seen1 in ,judah1 with only such knowledge of the position and strength of ,niniveh as her fame had scattered across the world4 ,the military details1 the muster1 the fighting in the open1 the investment1 the assault1 he did not need to go to ,assyria or to wait for the fall of ,niniveh to describe as he has done4 ,assyria herself 7and herein lies much of the pathos of the poem7 had made all ,western ,asia familiar with their horrors for the last two centuries4 ,as we learn from the prophets and now still more from herself1 ,assyria was the great ,besieger of ,men4 ,it is siege1 siege1 siege1 which ,amos1 ,hosea and ,isaiah tell their people they shall feel3 siege and blockade1 and that right round the land6 ,it is siege1 irresistible and full of cruelty1 which ,assyria records as her own glory4 ,miles of sculpture are covered with masses of troops marching upon some ,syrian or ,median fortress4 ,scaling ladders and enormous engines are pushed forward to the walls under cover of a shower of arrows4 ,there are assaults and breaches1 panic-stricken and suppliant defenders4 ,streets and places are strewn with corpses1 men are impaled1 women led away weeping1 children dashed against the stones4 ,the ,jews had seen1 had felt these horrors for a hundred years1 and it is out of their experience of them that ,nahum weaves his exultant predictions4 ,the ,besieger of the world is at last besieged2 every cruelty he has inflicted upon men is now to be turned upon himself4 ,again and again does ,nahum return to the vivid details1--he hears the very whips crack beneath the walls1 and the rattle of the leaping chariots2 the end is slaughter1 dispersion and a dead waste4#bfi ,two other points remain to be emphasised4 ,there is a striking absence from both chapters of any reference to ,israel4#bgj ,jehovah of ,hosts is mentioned twice in the same formula1#bga but otherwise the author does not obtrude his nationality4 ,it is not in ,judah's name he exults1 but in that of all the peoples of ,western ,asia4 ,niniveh has sold peoples by her harlotries and races by her witchcraft2 it is peoples that shall gaze upon her nakedness and kingdoms upon her shame4 ,nahum gives voice to no national passions1 but to the outraged conscience of mankind4 ,we see here another proof1 not only of the large1 human heart of prophecy1 but of that which in the introduction to these ,twelve ,prophets we ventured to assign as one of its causes4 ,by crushing all peoples to a common level of despair1 by the universal pity which her cruelties excited1 ,assyria contributed to the development in ,israel of the idea of a common humanity4#bgb ,the other thing to be noticed is ,nahum's feeling of the incoherence and mercenariness of the vast population of ,niniveh4 ,niniveh's command of the world had turned her into a great trading power4 ,under ,assurbanipal the lines of ancient commerce had been diverted so as to pass through her4 ,the immediate result was an enormous increase of population1 such as the world had never before seen within the limits of one city4 ,but this had come out of all races and was held together only by the greed of gain4 ,what had once been a firm and vigorous nation of warriors1 irresistible in their united impact upon the world1 was now a loose aggregate of many peoples1 without patriotism1 discipline or sense of honour4 ,nahum likens it to a reservoir of waters1#bgc which as soon as it is breached must scatter1 and leave the city bare4 ,the ,second ,isaiah said the same of ,babylon1 to which the bulk of ,niniveh's mercenary populace must have fled3-- ,thus are they grown to thee1 they who did weary thee1 ,traders of thine from thy youth up2 ,each as he could escape have they fled2 ,none is thy helper4#bgd ,the prophets saw the truth about both cities4 ,their vastness and their splendour were artificial4 ,neither of them1 and ,niniveh still less than ,babylon1 was a natural centre for the world's commerce4 ,when their political power fell1 the great lines of trade1 which had been twisted to their feet1 drew back to more natural courses1 and ,niniveh in especial became deserted4 ,this is the explanation of the absolute collapse of that mighty city4 ,nahum's foresight1 and the very metaphor in which he expressed it1 were thoroughly sound4 ,the population vanished like water4 ,the site bears little trace of any disturbance since the ruin by the ,medes1 except such as has been inflicted by the weather and the wandering tribes around4 ,mosul1 ,niniveh's representative to-day1 is not built upon it1 and is but a provincial town4 ,the district was never meant for anything else4 ,the swift decay of these ancient empires from the climax of their commercial glory is often employed as a warning to ourselves4 ,but the parallel1 as the previous paragraphs suggest1 is very far from exact4 ,if we can lay aside for the moment the greatest difference of all1 in religion and morals1 there remain others almost of cardinal importance4 ,assyria and ,babylonia were not filled1 like ,great ,britain1 with reproductive races1 able to colonise distant lands1 and carry everywhere the spirit which had made them strong at home4 ,still more1 they did not continue at home to be homogeneous4 ,their native forces were exhausted by long and unceasing wars4 ,their populations1 especially in their capitals1 were very largely alien and distraught1 with nothing to hold them together save their commercial interests4 ,they were bound to break up at the first disaster4 ,it is true that we are not without some risks of their peril4 ,no patriot among us can observe without misgiving the large and growing proportion of foreigners in that department of our life from which the strength of our defence is largely drawn--our merchant navy4 ,but such a fact is very far from bringing our empire and its chief cities into the fatal condition of ,niniveh and ,babylon4 ,our capitals1 our commerce1 our life as a whole are still ,british to the core4 ,if we only be true to our ideals of righteousness and religion1 if our patriotism continue moral and sincere1 we shall have the power to absorb the foreign elements that throng to us in commerce1 and stamp them with our own spirit4 ,we are now ready to follow ,nahum's two great poems delivered on the eve of the ,fall of ,niniveh4 ,probably1 as we have said1 the first of them has lost its original opening4 ,it wants some notice at the outset of the object to which it is addressed3 this is indicated only by the second personal pronoun4 ,other needful comments will be given in footnotes4 #a4 ,the ,hammer#bge is come up to thy face6 ,hold the rampart6#bgf,keep watch on the way6 ,brace the loins6#bgg ,pull thyself firmly together6#bgh ,the shields#bgi of his heroes are red1 ,the warriors are in scarlet2#bhj ,like#bha fire are the 444#bhbof the chariots in the day of his muster1 ,and the horsemen#bhc are prancing4 ,through the markets rage chariots1 ,they tear across the squares2#bhd ,the look of them is like torches1 ,like lightnings they dart to and fro4#bhe ,he musters his nobles4444#bhf ,they rush to the wall and the mantlet#bhg is fixed6 ,the river-gates#bhh burst open1 the palace dissolves4#bhi ,and ,huab#bij is stripped1 is brought forth1 ,with her maids sobbing like doves1 ,beating their breasts4 ,and ,niniveh6 she was like a reservoir of waters1 ,her waters 444#bia ,and now they flee4 8,stand1 stand60 but there is none to rally4 ,plunder silver1 plunder gold6 ,infinite treasures1 mass of all precious things6 ,void and devoid and desolate#bib is she4 ,melting hearts and shaking knees1 ,and anguish in all loins1 ,and nothing but faces full of black fear4#bic ,where is the ,lion's den1 ,and the young lions' feeding ground#bid8 ,whither the ,lion retreated1#bie ,the whelps of the ,lion1 with none to affray3 ,the ,lion1 who tore enough for his whelps1 ,and strangled for his lionesses4 ,and he filled his pits with prey1 ,and his dens with rapine4 ,lo1 ,i am at thee 7oracle of ,jehovah of ,hosts73 ,i will put up thy 444#bif in flames1 ,the sword shall devour thy young lions2 ,i will cut off from the earth thy rapine1 ,and the noise of thine envoys shall no more be heard4 #b4 ,woe to the ,city of ,blood1 ,all of her guile1 robbery-full1 ceaseless rapine6 ,hark the whip1 ,and the rumbling of the wheel1 ,and horses galloping1 ,and the rattling dance of the chariot6#big ,cavalry at the charge1#bih and flash of sabres1 ,and lightning of lances1 ,mass of slain and weight of corpses1 ,endless dead bodies-- ,they stumble on their dead6 --,for the manifold harlotries of the ,harlot1 ,the well-favoured1 mistress of charms1 ,she who sold nations with her harlotries ,and races by her witchcrafts6 ,lo1 ,i am at thee 7oracle of ,jehovah of ,hosts73 ,i will uncover thy skirts to thy face2#bii ,give nations to look on thy nakedness1 ,and kingdoms upon thy shame2 ,will have thee pelted with filth1 and disgrace thee1 ,and set thee for a gazingstock2 ,so that every one seeing thee shall shrink from thee and say1 8,shattered is ,niniveh--who will pity her8 ,whence shall ,i seek for comforters to thee80 ,shalt thou be better than ,no-,amon1#cjj ,which sat upon the ,nile streams#cja--waters were round her-- ,whose rampart was the sea1#cjb and waters her wall8#cjc ,kush was her strength and ,miraim without end2 ,phut and the ,lybians were there to assist her4#cjd ,even she was for exile1 she went to captivity3 ,even her children were dashed on every street corner2 ,for her nobles they cast lots1 ,and all her great men were fastened with fetters4 ,thou too shalt stagger1#cje shalt grow faint2 ,thou too shalt seek help from#cjf the foe6 ,all thy fortresses are fig-trees with figs early-ripe3 ,be they shaken they fall on the mouth of the eater4 ,lo1 thy folk are but women in thy midst3#cjg ,to thy foes the gates of thy land fly open2 ,fire has devoured thy bars4 ,draw thee water for siege1 strengthen thy forts6 ,get thee down to the mud1 and tramp in the clay6 ,grip fast the brick-mould6 ,there fire consumes thee1 the sword cuts thee off4#cjh ,make thyself many as a locust swarm1 ,many as grasshoppers1 ,multiply thy traders more than heaven's stars1 --,the locusts break off#cji and fly away4 ,thy 444#caj are as locusts and thy 444 as grasshoppers1 ,that hive in the hedges in the cold of the day3#caa ,the sun is risen1 they are fled1 ,and one knows not the place where they be4 ,asleep are thy shepherds1 ,o king of ,assyria1 ,thy nobles do slumber2#cab ,thy people are strewn on the mountains1 ,without any to gather4 ,there is no healing of thy wreck1 ,fatal thy wound6 ,all who hear the bruit of thee shall clap the hand at thee1 ,for upon whom hath not thy cruelty passed without ceasing8 ,,footnotes3 #bec ,see above1 pp4 #bb ff4 #bed ,the authorities are very full4 ,first there is ,m4 ,botta's huge work ,monument de ,ninive1 ,paris1 #e vols41 #ahde4 ,then must be mentioned the work of which we availed ourselves in describing ,babylon in ,isaiah xl4--lxvi41 ,expositor's ,bible1 pp4 #eb ff43 8,memoirs by ,commander ,james ,felix ,jones1 ,i4,n410 in ,selections from the ,records of the ,bombay ,government1 ,no4 ,,xliii41 ,new ,series1 #aheg4 ,it is good to find that the careful and able observations of ,commander ,jones1 too much neglected in his own country1 have had justice done them by the ,german ,colonel ,billerbeck in the work about to be cited4 ,then there is the invaluable ,niniveh and its ,remains1 by ,layard4 ,there are also the works of ,rawlinson and ,george ,smith4 ,and recently ,colonel ,billerbeck1 founding on these and other works1 has published an admirable monograph 7lavishly illustrated by maps and pictures71 not only upon the military state of ,assyria proper and of ,niniveh at this period1 but upon the whole subject of ,assyrian fortification and art of besieging1 as well as upon the course of the ,median invasions4 ,it forms the larger part of an article to which ,dr4 ,alfred ,jeremias contributes an introduction1 and reconstruction with notes of chaps4 ii4 and iii4 of the ,book of ,nahum3 8,der ,untergang ,niniveh's und die ,weissagungschrift des ,nahum von ,elosh10 in ,vol4 ,,iii4 of ,beitrge zur ,assyriologie und ,semitischen ,sprachwissenschaft1 edited by ,friedrich ,delitzsch and ,paul ,haupt1 with the support of ,johns ,hopkins ,university at ,baltimore1 ,u4,s4,a43 ,leipzig1 #ahie4 #bee ,pages #bj f4 #bef ,colonel ,billerbeck 7p4 #aae7 thinks that the south-east frontier at this time lay more to the north1 near the ,greater ,zab4 #beg ,first excavated by ,m4 ,botta1 #ahdb-ahde4 ,see also ,george ,smith1 ,assyr4 ,disc41 pp4 #ih f4 #beh iii4 #ab4 #bei iii4 #ad4 #bfj ,see ,jones and ,billerbeck4 #bfa ,delitzsch places the of ,gen4 x4 #aa1 the 8ribit ,nina0 of the inscriptions1 on the north-east of ,niniveh4 #bfb ii4 #d ,eng41 #e ,heb4 #bfc ii4 #c ,eng41 #d ,heb4 #bfd ,ibid4 ,,lxx4 #bfe iii4 #b4 #bff iii4 #c4 #bfg ,it is the waters of the ,tigris that the tradition avers to have broken the wall2 but the ,tigris itself runs in a bed too low for this3 it can only have been the ,choser4 ,see both ,jones and ,billerbeck4 #bfh ii4 #f4 #bfi ,if the above conception of chaps4 ii4 and iii4 be correct1 then there is no need for such a re-arrangement of these verses as has been proposed by ,jeremias and ,billerbeck4 ,in order to produce a continuous narrative of the progress of the siege1 they bring forward iii4 #ab-ae 7describing the fall of the fortresses and gates of the land and the call to the defence of the city71 and place it immediately after ii4 #b1 #d 7the description of the invader7 and ii4 #e-aa 7the appearance of chariots in the suburbs of the city1 the opening of the floodgates1 the flight and the spoiling of the city74 ,but if they believe that the original gave an orderly account of the progress of the siege1 why do they not bring forward also iii4 #b f41 which describe the arrival of the foe under the city walls8 ,the truth appears to be as stated above4 ,we have really two poems against ,niniveh1 chap4 ii4 and chap4 iii4 ,they do not give an orderly description of the siege1 but exult over ,niniveh's imminent downfall1 with gleams scattered here and there of how this is to happen4 ,of these 8impressions0 of the coming siege there are three1 and in the order in which we now have them they occur very naturally3 ii4 #e ff41 iii4 #b f41 and iii4 #ab ff4 #bgj ii4 #b goes with the previous chapter4 ,see above1 pp4 #id f4 #bga ii4 #ac1 iii4 #e4 #bgb ,see above1 ,vol4 ,i41 ,chap4 ,,iv41 especially pp4 #ed ff4 #bgc ii4 #h4 #bgd ,isaiah xl4--lxvi4 7,expositor's ,bible71 pp4 #aig ff4 #bge ,read with ,wellhausen 7cf4 ,siegfried-,stade's ,wrterbuch1 sub 7 for 1 ,breaker in pieces4 ,in ,jer4 li4 #bj ,babylon is also called by ,jehovah ,his 1 ,hammer or ,maul4 #bgf ,keep watch1 ,wellhausen4 #bgg ,this may be a military call to attention1 the converse of 8,stand at ease60 #bgh ,heb4 literally3 brace up thy power exceedingly4 #bgi ,heb4 singular4 #bhj ,rev4 ix4 #ag4 ,purple or red was the favourite colour of the ,medes4 ,the ,assyrians also loved red4 #bha ,read for 4 #bhb 1 the word omitted1 is doubtful2 it does not occur elsewhere4 ,,lxx4 2 ,vulg4 haben4 ,some have thought that it means scythes--cf4 the ,arabic falad1 8to cut0--but the earliest notice of chariots armed with scythes is at the battle of ,cunaxa1 and in ,jewish literature they do not appear before #b ,macc4 xiii4 #b4 ,cf4 ,jeremias1 op4 cit41 p4 #ig1 where ,billerbeck suggests that the words of ,nahum are applicable to the covered siege-engines1 pictured on the ,assyrian monuments1 from which the besiegers flung torches on the walls3 cf4 ibid41 p4 #afg1 n4 9999994 ,but from the parallelism of the verse it is more probable that ordinary chariots are meant4 ,the leading chariots were covered with plates of metal 7,billerbeck1 p4 #afg74 #bhc ,so ,,lxx41 reading for of ,heb4 text1 that means fir-trees4 ,if the latter be correct1 then we should need to suppose with ,billerbeck that either the long lances of the ,aryan ,medes were meant1 or the great1 heavy spears which were thrust against the walls by engines4 ,we are not1 however1 among these yet2 it appears to be the cavalry and chariots in the open that are here described4 #bhd ,or broad places or suburbs4 ,see above1 pp4 #ajj f4 #bhe ,see above1 p4 #ajf1 end of n4 #bhb4 #bhf ,heb4 ,they stumble in their goings4 ,davidson holds this is more probably of the defenders4 ,wellhausen takes the verse as of the besiegers4 ,see next note4 #bhg 4 ,partic4 of the verb to cover1 hence covering thing3 whether mantlet 7on the side of the besiegers7 or bulwark 7on the side of the besieged3 cf4 1 ,isa4 xxii4 #h7 is uncertain4 ,billerbeck says1 if it be an article of defence1 we can read ver4 #e as illustrating the vanity of the hurried defence1 when the elements themselves break in vv4 #f and #g 7p4 #aja3 cf4 p4 #agf1 n4 9974 #bhh ,sluices 7,jeremias7 or bridge-gates 7,wellhausen78 #bhi ,or breaks into motion1 i4e4 flight4 #bij 1 if a ,hebrew word1 might be ,hophal of and has been taken to mean it is determined1 she 7,niniveh7 is taken captive4 ,volck 7in ,herzog71 ,kleinert1 ,orelli3 it is settled4 ,,lxx4 4 ,vulg4 miles 7as if some form of 874 ,hitzig points it 1 the lizard1 ,wellhausen the toad4 ,but this noun is masculine 7,lev4 xi4 #bi7 and the verbs feminine4 ,davidson suggests the other 1 fem41 the litter or palanquin 7,isa4 lxvi4 #bj73 8in lieu of anything better one might be tempted to think that the litter might mean the woman or lady1 just as in ,arab4 a'inah means a woman's litter and then a woman40 ,one is also tempted to think of 1 the beauty4 ,the ,targ4 has 1 the queen4 ,from as early as at least #aebg 7,latina ,interpretatio ,xantis ,pagnini ,lucensis revised and edited for the ,plantin ,bible1 #afae7 the word has been taken by a series of scholars as a proper name1 ,huab4 ,so ,ewald and others4 ,it may be an ,assyrian word1 like some others in ,nahum4 ,perhaps1 again1 the text is corrupt4 ,mr4 ,paul ,ruben 7,academy1 ,march #gth1 #ahif7 has proposed instead of 1 is brought forth1 to read 1 and to translate it by analogy of the ,assyrian 8etellu10 fem4 8etellitu0 great or exalted1 ,the ,lady4 ,the line would then run ,huab1 the lady1 is stripped4 7,with ,cheyne1 ,academy1 ,june #bast1 #ahif1 compares 1 which1 he suggests1 is 8,yahwe is great0 or 8is lord407 #bia ,heb4 for 1 from days she was4 ,a4,v4 is of old4 ,r4,v4 hath been of old1 and ,marg4 from the days that she hath been4 ,,lxx4 her waters1 4 ,on waters fleeing1 cf4 ,ps4 civ4 #g4 #bib ,buah1 umebuah1 umebullah4 ,ewald3 desert and desolation and devastation4 ,the adj4 are feminine4 #bic ,literally3 and the faces of all them gather lividness4 #bid ,for ,wellhausen reads 1 cave or hold4 #bie ,,lxx41 reading for 4 #bif ,heb4 her chariots4 ,,lxx4 and ,syr4 suggest thy mass or multitude1 4 ,davidson suggests thy lair1 4 #big ,literally and the chariot dancing1 but the word1 merakedah1 has a rattle in it4 #bih ,doubtful1 4 ,,lxx4 4 #bii ,jeremias 7#ajd7 shows how the ,assyrians did this to female captives4 #cjj ,jer4 xlvi4 #be3 ,i will punish ,amon at ,no4 ,ezek4 xxx4 #ad-af3 444 judgments in ,no4444 ,i will cut off ,no-,amon 7,heb4 and ,a4,v4 multitude of ,no1 reading 2 so also ,,lxx4 for 7 444 and ,no shall be broken up4 ,it is ,thebes1 the ,egyptian name of which was ,nu-,amen4 ,the god ,amen had his temple there3 ,herod4 ,i4 #ahb1 ,,ii4 #db4 ,nahum refers to ,assurbanipal's account of the fall of ,thebes4 ,see above1 p4 #aa4 #cja 4 ,pl4 of the word for ,nile4 #cjb ,arabs still call the ,nile the sea4 #cjc ,so ,,lxx41 reading for ,heb4 4 #cjd ,so ,,lxx42 ,heb4 thee4 #cje ,heb4 be drunken4 #cjf ,i4e4 against1 because of4 #cjg ,jer4 l4 #cg1 li4 #cj4 #cjh ,heb4 and ,,lxx4 add devour thee like the locust1 probably a gloss4 #cji ,cf4 ,jer4 ix4 #cc4 ,some take it of the locusts stripping the skin which confines their wings3 ,davidson4 #caj 4 ,a4,v4 thy crowned ones2 but perhaps like its neighbour an ,assyrian word1 meaning we know not what4 ,wellhausen reads 1 ,,lxx4 7applied in ,deut4 xxiii4 #c and ,zech4 ix4 #f to the offspring of a mixed marriage between an ,israelite and a ,gentile71 deine ,mischlinge3 a term of contempt for the floating foreign or semi-foreign population which filled ,niniveh and was ready to fly at sight of danger4 ,similarly ,wellhausen takes the second term1 4 ,this1 which occurs also in ,jer4 li4 #bg1 appears to be some kind of official4 ,in ,assyrian dupsar is scribe1 which may1 like ,heb4 1 have been applied to any high official4 ,see ,schrader1 ,k4,a4,t41 ,eng4 ,tr41 ,i4 #ada1 ,,ii4 #aah4 ,see also ,fried4 ,delitzsch1 ,wo lag ,parad41 p4 #adb4 ,the name and office were ancient4 ,such ,babylonian officials are mentioned in the ,tell el ,amarna letters as present at the ,egyptian court4 #caa ,heb4 day of cold4 #cab 1 dwell1 is the ,heb4 reading4 ,but ,,lxx4 1 4 ,sleep must be taken in the sense of death3 cf4 ,jer4 li4 #ci1 #eg2 ,isa4 xiv4 #ah4 ,,habakkuk ,upon my watch-tower will ,i stand1 ,and take up my post on the rampart4 ,i will watch to see what ,he will say to me1 ,and what answer ,i get back to my plea4 99 99 99 99 99 ,the righteous shall live by his faithfulness4 8,the beginning of speculation in ,israel40 ,,chapter ,,ix ,,the ,,book ,,of ,,habakkuk ,as it has reached us1 the ,book of ,habakkuk1 under the title ,the ,oracle which ,habakkuk the prophet received by vision1 consists of three chapters1 which fall into three sections4 ,first3 chap4 i4 #b--;ii4 #d 7or #h71 a piece in dramatic form2 the prophet lifts his voice to ,god against the wrong and violence of which his whole horizon is full1 and ,god sends him answer4 ,second3 chap4 ii4 #e 7or #i7-bj1 a taunt-song in a series of ,woes upon the wrong-doer4 ,third3 chap4 iii41 part psalm1 part prayer1 descriptive of a ,theophany and expressive of ,israel's faith in their ,god4 ,of these three sections no one doubts the authenticity of the first2 opinion is divided about the second2 about the third there is a growing agreement that it is not a genuine work of ,habakkuk1 but a poem from a period after the ,exile4 #a4 ,,chap4 ,i4 #b--;,,ii4 #d 7,,or #h74 ,yet it is the first piece which raises the most difficult questions4 ,all#cac admit that it is to be dated somewhere along the line of ,jeremiah's long career1 c4 #fbg--ehf4 ,there is no doubt about the general trend of the argument3 it is a plaint to ,god on the sufferings of the righteous under tyranny1 with ,god's answer4 ,but the order and connection of the paragraphs of the argument are not clear4 ,there is also difference of opinion as to who the tyrant is--native1 ,assyrian or ,chaldee2 and this leads to a difference1 of course1 about the date1 which ranges from the early years of ,josiah to the end of ,jehoiakim's reign1 or from about #fcj to #eig4 ,as the verses lie1 their argument is this4 ,in chap4 i4 #b-d ,habakkuk asks the ,lord how long the wicked are to oppress the righteous1 to the paralysing of the ,torah1 or ,revelation of ,his ,law1 and the making futile of judgment4 ,for answer the ,lord tells him1 vv4 #e-aa1 to look round among the heathen3 ,he is about to raise up the ,chaldees to do ,his work1 a people swift1 self-reliant1 irresistible4 ,upon which ,habakkuk resumes his question1 vv4 #ab-ag1 how long will ,god suffer a tyrant who sweeps up the peoples into his net like fish8 ,is he to go on with this for ever8 ,in ii4 #a ,habakkuk prepares for an answer1 which comes in ii4 #b1 #c1 #d3 let the prophet wait for the vision though it tarries2 the proud oppressor cannot last1 but the righteous shall live by his constancy1 or faithfulness4 ,the difficulties are these4 ,who are the wicked oppressors in chap4 i4 #b-d8 ,are they ,jews1 or some heathen nation8 ,and what is the connection between vv4 #a-d and vv4 #e-aa8 ,are the ,chaldees1 who are described in the latter1 raised up to punish the tyrant complained against in the former8 ,to these questions three different sets of answers have been given4 ,first3 the great majority of critics take the wrong complained of in vv4 #b-d to be wrong done by unjust and cruel ,jews to their countrymen1 that is1 civic disorder and violence1 and believe that in vv4 #e-aa ,jehovah is represented as raising up the ,chaldees to punish the sin of ,judah--a message which is pretty much the same as ,jeremiah's4 ,but ,habakkuk goes further3 the ,chaldees themselves with their cruelties aggravate his problem1 how ,god can suffer wrong1 and he appeals again to ,god1 vv4 #ab-ag4 ,are the ,chaldees to be allowed to devastate for ever8 ,the answer is given1 as above1 in chap4 ii4 #a-d4 ,such is practically the view of ,pusey1 ,delitzsch1 ,kleinert1 ,kuenen1 ,sinker1#cad ,driver1 ,orelli1 ,kirkpatrick1 ,wildeboer and ,davidson1 a formidable league1 and ,davidson says 8this is the most natural sense of the verses and of the words used in them40 ,but these scholars differ as to the date4 ,pusey1 ,delitzsch and ,volck take the whole passage from i4 #e as prediction1 and date it from before the rise of the ,chaldee power in #fbe1 attributing the internal wrongs of ,judah described in vv4 #b-d to ,manasseh's reign or the early years of ,josiah4#cae ,but the rest1 on the grounds that the prophet shows some experience of the ,chaldean methods of warfare1 and that the account of the internal disorder in ,judah does not suit ,josiah's reign1 bring the passage down to the reign of ,jehoiakim1 #fjh--eih1 or of ,jehoiachin1 #eig4 ,kleinert and ,von ,orelli date it before the battle of ,carchemish1 #ejf1 in which the ,chaldean ,nebuchadrezzar wrested from ,egypt the ,empire of the ,western ,asia1 on the ground that after that ,habakkuk could not have called a ,chaldean invasion of ,judah incredible 7i4 #e74 ,but ,kuenen1 ,driver1 ,kirkpatrick1 ,wildeboer and ,davidson date it after ,carchemish4 ,to ,driver it must be immediately after1 and before ,judah became alarmed at the consequences to herself4 ,to ,davidson the description of the ,chaldeans 8is scarcely conceivable before the battle10 8hardly one would think before the deportation of the people under ,jehoiachin40#caf ,this also is ,kuenen's view1 who thinks that ,judah must have suffered at least the first ,chaldean raids1 and he explains the use of an undoubted future in chap4 i4 #e1 ,lo1 ,i am about to raise up the ,chaldeans1 as due to the prophet's predilection for a dramatic style4 8,he sets himself in the past1 and represents the already experienced chastisement of ,judah as having been then announced by ,jehovah4 ,his contemporaries could not have mistaken his meaning40 ,second3 others1 however1 deny that chap4 i4 #b-d refers to the internal disorder of ,judah1 except as the effect of foreign tyranny4 ,the righteous mentioned there are ,israel as a whole1 the wicked their heathen oppressors4 ,so ,hitzig1 ,ewald1 ,knig and practically ,smend4 ,ewald is so clear that ,habakkuk ascribes no sin to ,judah1 that he says we might be led by this to assign the prophecy to the reign of the righteous ,josiah2 but he prefers1 because of the vivid sense which the prophet betrays of actual experience of the ,chaldees1 to date the passage from the reign of ,jehoiakim1 and to explain ,habakkuk's silence about his people's sinfulness as due to his overwhelming impression of ,chaldean cruelty4 ,knig#cag takes vv4 #b-d as a general complaint of the violence that fills the prophet's day1 and vv4 #e-aa as a detailed description of the ,chaldeans1 the instruments of this violence4 ,vv4 #e-aa1 therefore1 give not the judgment upon the wrongs described in vv4 #b-d1 but the explanation of them4 ,lebanon is already wasted by the ,chaldeans 7ii4 #ag72 therefore the whole prophecy must be assigned to the days of ,jehoiakim4 ,giesebrecht#cah and ,wellhausen adhere to the view that no sins of ,judah are mentioned1 but that the righteous and wicked of chap4 i4 #d are the same as in ver4 #ac1 viz4 ,israel and a heathen tyrant4 ,but this leads them to dispute that the present order of the paragraphs of the prophecy is the right one4 ,in chap4 i4 #e the ,chaldeans are represented as about to be raised up for the first time1 although their violence has already been described in vv4 #a-d1 and in vv4 #ab-ag these are already in full career4 ,moreover ver4 #ab follows on naturally to ver4 #d4 ,accordingly these critics would remove the section vv4 #e-aa4 ,giesebrecht prefixes it to ver4 #a1 and dates the whole passage from the ,exile4 ,wellhausen calls #e-aa an older passage than the rest of the prophecy1 and removes it altogether as not ,habakkuk's4 ,to the latter he assigns what remains1 i4 #a-d1 #ab-ag1 ii4 #a-e1 and dates it from the reign of ,jehoiakim4#cai ,third3 from each of these groups of critics ,budde of ,strasburg borrows something1 but so as to construct an arrangement of the verses1 and to reach a date1 for the whole1 from which both differ4#cbj ,with ,hitzig1 ,ewald1 ,knig1 ,smend1 ,giesebrecht and ,wellhausen he agrees that the violence complained of in i4 #b-d is that inflicted by a heathen oppressor1 the wicked1 on the ,jewish nation1 the righteous4 ,but with ,kuenen and others he holds that the ,chaldeans are raised up1 according to i4 #e-aa1 to punish the violence complained of in i4 #b-d and again in i4 #ab-ag4 ,in these verses it is the ravages of another heathen power than the ,chaldeans which ,budde descries4 ,the ,chaldeans are still to come1 and cannot be the same as the devastator whose long continued tyranny is described in i4 #ab-ag4 ,they are rather the power which is to punish him4 ,he can only be the ,assyrian4 ,but if that be so1 the proper place for the passage1 i4 #e-aa1 which describes the rise of the ,chaldeans must be after the description of the ,assyrian ravages in i4 #ab-ag1 and in the body of ,god's answer to the prophet which we find in ii4 #b ff4 ,budde1 therefore1 places i4 #e-aa after ii4 #b-d4 ,but if the ,chaldeans are still to come1 and ,budde thinks that they are described vaguely and with a good deal of imagination1 the prophecy thus arranged must fall somewhere between #fbe1 when ,nabopolassar the ,chaldean made himself independent of ,assyria and ,king of ,babylon1 and #fjg1 when ,assyria fell4 ,that the prophet calls ,judah righteous is proof that he wrote after the great ,reform of #fba2 hence1 too1 his reference to ,torah and ,mishpat 7i4 #d71 and his complaint of the obstacles which ,assyrian supremacy presented to their free course4 ,as the ,assyrian yoke appears not to have been felt anywhere in ,judah by #fjh1 ,budde would fix the exact date of ,habakkuk's prophecy about #fae4 ,to these conclusions of ,budde ,cornill1 who in #ahia had very confidently assigned the prophecy of ,habakkuk to the reign of ,jehoiakim1 gave his adherence in #ahif4cba ,budde's very able and ingenious argument has been subjected to a searching criticism by ,professor ,davidson1 who emphasises first the difficulty of accounting for the transposition of chap4 i4 #e-aa from what ,budde alleges to have been its original place after ii4 #d to its present position in chap4 i4#cbb ,he points out that if chap4 i4 #b-d and #ab-ag and ii4 #e ff4 refer to the ,assyrian1 it is strange the latter is not once mentioned4 ,again1 by #fae we may infer 7though we know little of ,assyrian history at this time7 that the ,assyrian's hold on ,judah was already too relaxed for the prophet to impute to him power to hinder the ,law1 especially as ,josiah had begun to carry his reforms into the northern kingdom2 and the knowledge of the ,chaldeans displayed in i4 #e-aa is too fresh and detailed#cbc to suit so early a date3 it was possible only after the battle of ,carchemish4 ,and again1 it is improbable that we have two different nations1 as ,budde thinks1 described by the very similar phrases in i4 #aa1 his own power becomes his god1 and in i4 #af1 he sacrifices to his net4 ,again1 chap4 i4 #e-aa would not read quite naturally after chap4 ii4 #d4 ,and in the woes pronounced on the oppressor it is not one nation1 the ,chaldeans1 which are to spoil him1 but all the remnant of the peoples 7ii4 #g1 #h74 ,these objections are not inconsiderable4 ,but are they conclusive8 ,and if not1 is any of the other theories of the prophecy less beset with difficulties8 ,the objections are scarcely conclusive4 ,we have no proof that the power of ,assyria was altogether removed from ,judah by #fae2 on the contrary1 even in #fjh ,assyria was still the power with which ,egypt went forth to contend for the empire of the world4 ,seven years earlier her hand may well have been strong upon ,palestine4 ,again1 by #fae the ,chaldeans1 a people famous in ,western ,asia for a long time1 had been ten years independent3 men in ,palestine may have been familiar with their methods of warfare2 at least it is impossible to say they were not4#cbd ,there is more weight in the objection drawn from the absence of the name of ,assyria from all of the passages which ,budde alleges describe it2 nor do we get over all difficulties of text by inserting i4 #e-aa between ii4 #d and #e4 ,besides1 how does ,budde explain i4 #ab;b on the theory that it means ,assyria8 ,is the clause not premature at that point8 ,does he propose to elide it1 like ,wellhausen8 ,and in any case an erroneous transposition of the original is impossible to prove and difficult to account for4#cbe ,but have not the other theories of the ,book of ,habakkuk equally great difficulties8 ,surely1 we cannot say that the righteous and the wicked in i4 #d mean something different from what they do in i4 #ac8 ,but if this is impossible the construction of the book supported by the great majority of critics#cbf falls to the ground4 ,professor ,davidson justly says that it has 8something artificial in it0 and 8puts a strain on the natural sense40#cbg ,how can the ,chaldeans be described in i4 #e as just about to be raised up1 and in #ad-ag as already for a long time the devastators of earth8 ,ewald's1 ,hitzig's and ,knig's views#cbh are equally beset by these difficulties2 ,knig's exposition also 8strains the natural sense40 ,everything1 in fact1 points to i4 #e-aa being out of its proper place2 it is no wonder that ,giesebrecht1 ,wellhausen and ,budde independently arrived at this conclusion4#cbi ,whether ,budde be right in inserting i4 #e-aa after ii4 #d1 there can be little doubt of the correctness of his views that i4 #ab-ag describe a heathen oppressor who is not the ,chaldeans4 ,budde says this oppressor is ,assyria4 ,can he be any one else8 ,from #fjh to #fje ,judah was sorely beset by ,egypt1 who had overrun all ,syria up to the ,euphrates4 ,the ,egyptians killed ,josiah1 deposed his successor1 and put their own vassal under a very heavy tribute2 gold and silver were exacted of the people of the land3 the picture of distress in i4 #a-d might easily be that of ,judah in these three terrible years4 ,and if we assigned the prophecy to them1 we should certainly give it a date at which the knowledge of the ,chaldeans expressed in i4 #e-aa was more probable than at ,budde's date of #fae4 ,but then does the description in chap1 i4 #ad-ag suit ,egypt so well as it does ,assyria8 ,we can hardly affirm this1 until we know more of what ,egypt did in those days1 but it is very probable4 ,therefore1 the theory supported by the majority of critics being unnatural1 we are1 with our present meagre knowledge of the time1 flung back upon ,budde's interpretation that the prophet in i4 #b--;ii4 #d appeals from oppression by a heathen power1 which is not the ,chaldean1 but upon which the ,chaldean shall bring the just vengeance of ,god4 ,the tyrant is either ,assyria up to about #fae or ,egypt from #fjh to #fje1 and there is not a little to be said for the latter date4 ,in arriving at so uncertain a conclusion about i4--ii4 #d1 we have but these consolations1 that no other is possible in our present knowledge1 and that the uncertainty will not hamper us much in our appreciation of ,habakkuk's spiritual attitude and poetic gifts4#ccj #b4 ,,chap4 ,,ii4 #e-bj4 ,the dramatic piece i4 #b--;ii4 #d is succeeded by a series of fine taunt-songs1 starting after an introduction from #f;b1 then #i1 #aa1 #ae and 7#ah7 #ai1 and each opening with ,woe6 ,their subject is1 if we take ,budde's interpretation of the dramatic piece1 the ,assyrian and not the ,chaldean#cca tyrant4 ,the text1 as we shall see when we come to it1 is corrupt4 ,some words are manifestly wrong1 and the rhythm must have suffered beyond restoration4 ,in all probability these fine lyric ,woes1 or at least as many of them as are authentic--for there is doubt about one or two--were of equal length4 ,whether they all originally had the refrain now attached to two is more doubtful4 ,hitzig suspected the authenticity of some parts of this series of songs4 ,stade#ccb and ,kuenen have gone further and denied the genuineness of vv4 #i-bj4 ,but this is with little reason4 ,as ,budde says1 a series of ,woes was to be expected here by a prophet who follows so much the example of ,isaiah4#ccc ,in spite of ,kuenen's objection1 vv4 #i-aa would not be strange of the ,chaldean1 but they suit the ,assyrian better4 ,vv4 #ab-ad are doubtful3 #ab recalls ,micah iii4 #aj2 #ac is a repetition of ,jer4 li4 #eh2 #ad is a variant of ,isa4 xi4 #i4 ,very likely ,jer4 li4 #eh1 a late passage1 is borrowed from this passage2 yet the addition used here1 ,are not these things#ccd from the ,lord of ,hosts8 looks as if it noted a citation4 ,vv4 #ae-ag are very suitable to the ,assyrian2 there is no reason to take them from ,habakkuk4#cce ,the final song1 vv4 #ah and #ai1 has its ,woe at the beginning of its second verse1 and closely resembles the language of later prophets4#ccf ,moreover the refrain forms a suitable close at the end of ver4 #ag4 ,ver4 #bj is a quotation from ,zephaniah1#ccg perhaps another sign of the composite character of the end of this chapter4 ,some take it to have been inserted as an introduction to the theophany in chap4 iii4 ,smend has drawn up a defence#cch of the whole passage1 ii4 #i-bj1 which he deems not only to stand in a natural relation to vv4 #d-h1 but to be indispensable to them4 ,that the passage quotes from other prophets1 he holds to be no proof against its authenticity4 ,if we break off with ver4 #h1 he thinks that we must impute to ,habakkuk the opinion that the wrongs of the world are chiefly avenged by human means--a conclusion which is not to be expected after chap4 i4--ii4 #a ff4 #c4 ,,chap4 ,,iii4 ,the third chapter1 an ,ode or ,rhapsody1 is ascribed to ,habakkuk by its title4 ,this1 however1 does not prove its authenticity3 the title is too like those assigned to the ,psalms in the period of the ,second ,temple4#cci ,on the contrary1 the title itself1 the occurrence of the musical sign ,selah in the contents1 and the colophon suggest for the chapter a liturgical origin after the ,exile4#cdj ,that this is more probable than the alternative opinion1 that1 being a genuine work of ,habakkuk1 the chapter was afterwards arranged as a ,psalm for public worship1 is confirmed by the fact that no other work of the prophets has been treated in the same way4 ,nor do the contents support the authorship by ,habakkuk4 ,they reflect no definite historical situation like the preceding chapters4 ,the style and temper are different4 ,while in them the prophet speaks for himself1 here it is the nation or congregation of ,israel that addresses ,god4 ,the language is not1 as some have maintained1 late2#cda but the designation of the people as ,thine anointed1 a term which before the ,exile was applied to the king1 undoubtedly points to a post-exilic date4 ,the figures1 the theophany itself1 are not necessarily archaic1 but are more probably moulded on archaic models4 ,there are many affinities with ,psalms of a late date4 ,at the same time a number of critics#cdb maintain the genuineness of the chapter1 and they have some grounds for this4 ,habakkuk was1 as we can see from chaps4 i4 and ii41 a real poet4 ,there was no need why a man of his temper should be bound down to reflecting only his own day4 ,if so practical a prophet as ,hosea1 and one who has so closely identified himself with his times1 was wont to escape from them to a retrospect of the dealings of ,god with ,israel from of old1 why should not the same be natural for a prophet who was much less practical and more literary and artistic8 ,there are also many phrases in the ,psalm which may be interpreted as reflecting the same situation as chaps4 i41 ii4 ,all this1 however1 only proves possibility4 ,the ,psalm has been adapted in ,psalm lxxvii4 #ag-bj4 ,,further ,,note ,,on ,,chap4 ,i4--,,ii4 #d4 ,since this chapter was in print ,nowack's ,die ,kleinen ,propheten in the 8,handkommentar z4 ,a4 ,t40 has been published4 ,he recognises emphatically that the disputed passage about the ,chaldeans1 chap4 i4 #e-aa1 is out of place where it lies 7this against ,kuenen and the other authorities cited above1 p4 #aag71 and admits that it follows on1 with a natural connection1 to chap4 ii4 #d1 to which ,budde proposes to attach it4 ,nevertheless1 for other reasons1 which he does not state1 he regards ,budde's proposal as untenable2 and reckons the disputed passage to be by another hand than ,habakkuk's1 and intruded into the latter's argument4 ,habakkuk's argument he assigns to after #fje2 perhaps #eij4 ,the tyrant complained against would therefore be the ,chaldean4--,driver in the #fth ed4 of his ,introduction 7#ahig7 deems ,budde's argument 8too ingenious10 and holds by the older and most numerously supported argument 7above1 pp4 #aaf ff474--,on a review of the case in the light of these two discussions1 the present writer holds to his opinion that ,budde's rearrangement1 which he has adopted1 offers the fewest difficulties4 ,,footnotes3 #cac ,except one or two critics who place it in ,manasseh's reign4 ,see below4 #cad ,see next note4 #cae ,so ,pusey4 ,delitzsch in his commentary on ,habakkuk1 #ahdc1 preferred ,josiah's reign1 but in his ,o4 ,t4 ,hist4 of ,redemption1 #ahha1 p4 #bbf1 ,manasseh's4 ,volck 7in ,herzog1 ,real ,encyc41 art4 8,habakkuk10 #ahgi71 assuming that ,habakkuk is quoted both by ,zephaniah 7see above1 p4 #ci1 n47 and ,jeremiah1 places him before these4 ,sinker 7,the ,psalm of ,habakkuk3 see below1 p4 #abg1 n4 #b7 deems 8the prophecy1 taken as a whole10 to bring 8before us the threat of the ,chaldean invasion1 the horrors that follow in its train10 etc41 with a vision of the day 8when the ,chaldean host itself1 its work done1 falls beneath a mightier foe40 ,he fixes the date either in the concluding years of ,manasseh's reign1 or the opening years of that of ,josiah 7,preface1 #a-d74 #caf ,pages #ec1 #di4 ,kirkpatrick 7,smith's ,dict4 of the ,bible1 art4 8,habakkuk10 #ahic7 puts it not later than the sixth year of ,jehoiakim4 #cag ,einl4 in das ,a4 ,t4 #cah ,beitrge zur ,jesaiakritik1 #ahij1 pp4 #aig f4 #cai ,see ,further ,note on p4 #abh4 #cbj ,studien u4 ,kritiken for #ahic4 #cba ,cf4 the opening of #cj in the first edition of his ,einleitung with that of #cd in the third and fourth editions4 #cbb ,budde's explanation of this is1 that to the later editors of the book1 long after the ,babylonian destruction of ,jews1 it was incredible that the ,chaldean should be represented as the deliverer of ,israel1 and so the account of him was placed where1 while his call to punish ,israel for her sins was not emphasised1 he should be pictured as destined to doom2 and so the prophecy originally referring to the ,assyrian was read of him4 8,this is possible10 says ,davidson1 8if it be true criticism is not without its romance40 #cbc ,this in opposition to ,budde's statement that the description of the ,chaldeans in i4 #e-aa 8ist eine phantastische ,schilderung0 7p4 #chg74 #cbd ,it is1 however1 a serious question whether it would be possible in #fae to describe the ,chaldeans as a nation that traversed the breadth of the earth to occupy dwelling-places that were not his own 7i4 #f74 ,this suits better after the battle of ,carchemish4 #cbe ,see above1 p4 #aba1 n4 #cbb4 #cbf ,see above1 pp4 #aad ff4 #cbg ,pages #di and #ej4 #cbh ,see above1 pp4 #aah f4 #cbi ,wellhausen in #ahgc 7see p4 #ffa72 ,giesebrecht in #ahij2 ,budde in #ahib1 before he had seen the opinions of either of the others 7see ,stud4 und ,krit41 #ahic1 p4 #chf1 n4 #b74 #ccj ,cornill quotes a rearrangement of chaps1 i41 ii41 by ,rothstein1 who takes i4 #b-d1 #ab a1 #ac1 ii4 #a-c1 #d1 #e a1 i4 #f-aj1 #ad1 #ae a1 ii4 #f b1 #g1 #i1 #aj a b 1 #aa1 #ae1 #af1 #ai1 #ah1 as an oracle against ,jehoiakim and the godless in ,israel about #fje1 which during the ,exile was worked up into the present oracle against ,babylon4 ,cornill esteems it 8too complicated40 ,budde 7,expositor1 #ahie1 pp4 #cgb ff47 and ,nowack hold it untenable4 #cca ,as of course was universally supposed according to either of the other two interpretations given above4 #ccb ,z4,a4,t4,w41 #ahhd1 p4 #aed4 #ccc ,cf4 ,isa4 v4 #h ff4 7x4 #a-d71 etc4 #ccd ,so ,,lxx4 #cce ,cf4 ,davidson1 p4 #ef1 and ,budde1 p4 #cia1 who allows #i-aa and #ae-ag4 #ccf ,e4g4 ,isa4 xl4 #ah ff41 xliv4 #i ff41 xlvi4 #e ff41 etc4 ,on this ground it is condemned by ,stade1 ,kuenen and ,budde4 ,davidson finds this not a serious difficulty1 for1 he points out1 ,habakkuk anticipates several later lines of thought4 #ccg ,see above1 p4 #ci1 n4 #cch ,a4 ,t4 ,religionsgeschichte1 p4 #bbi1 n4 #b4 #cci ,cf4 the ascription by the ,,lxx4 of ,psalms cxlvi4-cl4 to the prophets ,haggai and ,zechariah4 #cdj ,cf4 ,kuenen1 who conceives it to have been taken from a post-exilic collection of ,psalms4 ,see also ,cheyne1 ,the ,origin of the ,psalter3 8exilic or more probably post-exilic0 7p4 #abe74 8,the most natural position for it is in the ,persian period4 ,it was doubtless appended to ,habakkuk1 for the same reason for which ,isa4 lxiii4 #g--lxiv4 was attached to the great prophecy of ,restoration1 viz4 that the earlier national troubles seemed to the ,jewish ,church to be typical of its own sore troubles after the ,return4444 ,the lovely closing verses of ,hab4 iii4 are also in a tone congenial to the later religion0 7p4 #aef74 ,much less certain is the assertion that the language is imitative and artificial 7ibid472 while the statement that in ver4 #c--;cf4 with ,deut4 xxxiii4 #b--we have an instance of the effort to avoid the personal name of the ,deity 7p4 #bhg7 is disproved by the use of the latter in ver4 #b and other verses4 #cda 1 ver4 #ac1 cannot be taken as a proof of lateness2 read probably 4 #cdb ,pusey1 ,ewald1 ,knig1 ,sinker 7,the ,psalm of ,habakkuk1 ,cambridge1 #ahij71 ,kirkpatrick 7,smith's ,bible ,dict41 art4 8,habakkuk071 ,von ,orelli4 ,,chapter ,x ,,the ,,prophet ,,as ,,sceptic ,,habakkuk i4--ii4 #d ,of the prophet ,habakkuk we know nothing that is personal save his name--to our ears his somewhat odd name4 ,it is the intensive form of a root which means to caress or embrace4 ,more probably it was given to him as a child1 than afterwards assumed as a symbol of his clinging to ,god4#cdc ,tradition says that ,habakkuk was a priest1 the son of ,joshua1 of the tribe of ,levi1 but this is only an inference from the late liturgical notes to the ,psalm which has been appended to his prophecy4#cdd ,all that we know for certain is that he was a contemporary of ,jeremiah1 with a sensitiveness under wrong and impulses to question ,god which remind us of ,jeremiah2 but with a literary power which is quite his own4 ,we may emphasise the latter1 even though we recognise upon his writing the influence of ,isaiah's4 ,habakkuk's originality1 however1 is deeper than style4 ,he is the earliest who is known to us of a new school of religion in ,israel4 ,he is called prophet1 but at first he does not adopt the attitude which is characteristic of the prophets4 ,his face is set in an opposite direction to theirs4 ,they address the nation ,israel1 on behalf of ,god3 he rather speaks to ,god on behalf of ,israel4 ,their task was ,israel's sin1 the proclamation of ,god's doom and the offer of ,his grace to their penitence4 ,habakkuk's task is ,god ,himself1 the effort to find out what ,he means by permitting tyranny and wrong4 ,they attack the sins1 he is the first to state the problems1 of life4 ,to him the prophetic revelation1 the ,torah1 is complete3 it has been codified in ,deuteronomy and enforced by ,josiah4 ,habakkuk's business is not to add to it but to ask why it does not work4 ,why does ,god suffer wrong to triumph1 so that the ,torah is paralysed1 and ,mishpat1 the prophetic justice or judgment1 comes to nought8 ,the prophets travailed for ,israel's character--to get the people to love justice till justice prevailed among them3 ,habakkuk feels justice cannot prevail in ,israel1 because of the great disorder which ,god permits to fill the world4 ,it is true that he arrives at a prophetic attitude1 and before the end authoritatively declares ,god's will2 but he begins by searching for the latter1 with an appreciation of the great obscurity cast over it by the facts of life4 ,he complains to ,god1 asks questions and expostulates4 ,this is the beginning of speculation in ,israel4 ,it does not go far3 it is satisfied with stating questions to ,god2 it does not1 directly at least1 state questions against ,him4 ,but ,habakkuk at least feels that revelation is baffled by experience1 that the facts of life bewilder a man who believes in the ,god whom the prophets have declared to ,israel4 ,as in ,zephaniah prophecy begins to exhibit traces of apocalypse1 so in ,habakkuk we find it developing the first impulses of speculation4 ,we have seen that the course of events which troubles ,habakkuk and renders the ,torah ineffectual is somewhat obscure4 ,on one interpretation of these two chapters1 that which takes the present order of their verses as the original1 ,habakkuk asks why ,god is silent in face of the injustice which fills the whole horizon 7chap4 i4 #a-d71 is told to look round among the heathen and see how ,god is raising up the ,chaldeans 7i4 #e-aa71 presumably to punish this injustice 7if it be ,israel's own7 or to overthrow it 7if vv4 #a-d mean that it is inflicted on ,israel by a foreign power74 ,but the ,chaldeans only aggravate the prophet's problem2 they themselves are a wicked and oppressive people3 how can ,god suffer them8 7i4 #ab-ag74 ,then come the prophet's waiting for an answer 7ii4 #a7 and the answer itself 7ii4 #b ff474 ,another interpretation takes the passage about the ,chaldeans 7i4 #e-aa7 to be out of place where it now lies1 removes it to after chap4 ii4 #d as a part of ,god's answer to the prophet's problem1 and leaves the remainder of chap4 i4 as the description of the ,assyrian oppression of ,israel1 baffling the ,torah and perplexing the prophet's faith in a ,holy and ,just ,god4#cde ,of these two views the former is1 we have seen1 somewhat artificial1 and though the latter is by no means proved1 the arguments for it are sufficient to justify us in re-arranging the verses chap4 i4--ii4 #d in accordance with its proposals4 ,the ,oracle which ,habakkuk the ,prophet ,received by ,vision4#cdf ,how long1 ,o ,jehovah1 have ,i called and ,thou hearest not8 ,i cry to ,thee1 ,wrong6 and ,thou sendest no help4 ,why make me look upon sorrow1 ,and fill mine eyes with trouble8 ,violence and wrong are before me1 ,strife comes and quarrel arises4#cdg ,so the ,law is benumbed1 and judgment never gets forth3#cdh ,for the wicked beleaguers the righteous1 ,so judgment comes forth perverted4#cdi 99 99 99 99 99 ,art not ,thou of old1 ,jehovah1 my ,god1 my ,holy ,one8444#cej ,purer of eyes than to behold evil1 ,and that canst not gaze upon trouble6 ,why gazest ,thou upon traitors1#cea ,art dumb when the wicked swallows him that is more righteous than he8#ceb ,thou hast let men be made#cec like fish of the sea1 ,like worms that have no ruler6#ced ,he lifts the whole of it with his angle2 ,draws it in with his net1 sweeps it in his drag-net3 ,so rejoices and exults4 ,so he sacrifices to his net1 and offers incense to his drag-net2 ,for by them is his portion fat1 and his food rich4 ,shall he for ever draw his sword1#cee ,and ceaselessly1 ruthlessly massacre nations8#cef ,upon my watch-tower ,i will stand1 ,and take my post on the rampart4#ceg ,i will watch to see what ,he will say to me1 ,and what answer ,i#ceh get back to my plea4 ,and ,jehovah answered me and said3 ,write the vision1 and make it plain upon tablets1 ,that he may run who reads it4 ,for#cei the vision is for a time yet to be fixed1 ,yet it hurries#cfj to the end1 and shall not fail3 ,though it linger1 wait thou for it2 ,coming it shall come1 and shall not be behind4#cfa ,lo6 swollen1#cfb not level is his#cfc soul within him2 ,but the righteous shall live by his faithfulness4#cfd 99 99 99 99 99 ,look#cfe round among the heathen1 and look well1 ,shudder and be shocked2#cff ,for ,i am#cfg about to do a work in your days1 ,ye shall not believe it when told4 ,for1 lo1 ,i am about to raise up the ,kasdim1#cfh ,a people the most bitter and the most hasty1 ,that traverse the breadths of the earth1 ,to possess dwelling-places not their own4 ,awful and terrible are they2 ,from themselves#cfi start their purpose and rising4 ,fleeter than leopards their steeds1 ,swifter than night-wolves4 ,their horsemen leap#cgj from afar2 ,they swoop like the eagle a-haste to devour4 ,all for wrong do they#cga come2 ,the set of their faces is forward1#cgb ,and they sweep up captives like sand4 ,they--at kings do they scoff1 ,and princes are sport to them4 ,they--they laugh at each fortress1 ,heap dust up and take it6 ,then the wind shifts1#cgc and they pass6 ,but doomed are those whose own strength is their god6#cgd ,the difficulty of deciding between the various arrangements of the two chapters of ,habakkuk does not1 fortunately1 prevent us from appreciating his argument4 ,what he feels throughout 7this is obvious1 however you arrange his verses7 is the tyranny of a great heathen power1#cge be it ,assyrian1 ,egyptian or ,chaldean4 ,the prophet's horizon is filled with wrong3#cgf ,israel thrown into disorder1 revelation paralysed1 justice perverted4#cgg ,but1 like ,nahum1 ,habakkuk feels not for ,israel alone4 ,the ,tyrant has outraged humanity4#cgh ,he sweeps peoples into his net1 and as soon as he empties this1 he fills it again ceaselessly1 as if there were no just ,god above4 ,he exults in his vast cruelty1 and has success so unbroken that he worships the very means of it4 ,in itself such impiety is gross enough1 but to a heart that believes in ,god it is a problem of exquisite pain4 ,habakkuk's is the burden of the finest faith4 ,he illustrates the great commonplace of religious doubt1 that problems arise and become rigorous in proportion to the purity and tenderness of a man's conception of ,god4 ,it is not the coarsest but the finest temperaments which are exposed to scepticism4 ,every advance in assurance of ,god or in appreciation of ,his character develops new perplexities in face of the facts of experience1 and faith becomes her own most cruel troubler4 ,habakkuk's questions are not due to any cooling of the religious temper in ,israel1 but are begotten of the very heat and ardour of prophecy in its encounter with experience4 ,his tremulousness1 for instance1 is impossible without the high knowledge of ,god's purity and faithfulness1 which older prophets had achieved in ,israel3-- ,art not ,thou of old1 ,o ,,lord1 my ,god1 my ,holy ,one1 ,purer of eyes than to behold evil1 ,and incapable of looking upon wrong8 ,his despair is that which comes only from eager and persevering habits of prayer3-- ,how long1 ,o ,,lord1 have ,i called and ,thou hearest not6 ,i cry to ,thee of wrong and ,thou givest no help6 ,his questions1 too1 are bold with that sense of ,god's absolute power1 which flashed so bright in ,israel as to blind men's eyes to all secondary and intermediate causes4 ,thou1 he says1-- ,thou hast made men like fishes of the sea1 ,like worms that have no ruler1 boldly charging the ,almighty1 in almost the temper of ,job himself1 with being the cause of the cruelty inflicted by the unchecked tyrant upon the nations2 for shall evil happen1 and ,jehovah not have done it8#cgi ,thus all through we perceive that ,habakkuk's trouble springs from the central founts of prophecy4 ,this scepticism--if we may venture to give the name to the first motions in ,israel's mind of that temper which undoubtedly became scepticism--this scepticism was the inevitable heritage of prophecy3 the stress and pain to which prophecy was forced by its own strong convictions in face of the facts of experience4 ,habakkuk1 the prophet1 as he is called1 stood in the direct line of his order1 but just because of that he was the father also of ,israel's religious doubt4 ,but a discontent springing from sources so pure was surely the preparation of its own healing4 ,in a verse of exquisite beauty the prophet describes the temper in which he trusted for an answer to all his doubts3-- ,on my watch-tower will ,i stand1 ,and take up my post on the rampart2 ,i will watch to see what ,he says to me1 ,and what answer ,i get back to my plea4 ,this verse is not to be passed over1 as if its metaphors were merely of literary effect4 ,they express rather the moral temper in which the prophet carries his doubt1 or1 to use ,new ,testament language1 the good conscience1 which some having put away1 concerning faith have made shipwreck4 ,nor is this temper patience only and a certain elevation of mind1 nor only a fixed attention and sincere willingness to be answered4 ,through the chosen words there breathes a noble sense of responsibility4 ,the prophet feels he has a post to hold1 a rampart to guard4 ,he knows the heritage of truth1 won by the great minds of the past2 and in a world seething with disorder1 he will take his stand upon that and see what more his ,god will send him4 ,at the very least1 he will not indolently drift1 but feel that he has a standpoint1 however narrow1 and bravely hold it4 ,such has ever been the attitude of the greatest sceptics--not only1 let us repeat1 earnestness and sincerity1 but the recognition of duty towards the truth3 the conviction that even the most tossed and troubled minds have somewhere a appointed of ,god1 and upon it interests human and divine to defend4 ,without such a conscience1 scepticism1 however intellectually gifted1 will avail nothing4 ,men who drift never discover1 never grasp aught4 ,they are only dazzled by shifting gleams of the truth1 only fretted and broken by experience4 ,taking then his stand within the patient temper1 but especially upon the conscience of his great order1 the prophet waits for his answer and the healing of his trouble4 ,the answer comes to him in the promise of a ,vision1 which1 though it seem to linger1 will not be later than the time fixed by ,god4 ,a ,vision is something realised1 experienced--something that will be as actual and present to the waiting prophet as the cruelty which now fills his sight4 ,obviously some series of historical events is meant1 by which1 in the course of time1 the unjust oppressor of the nations shall be overthrown and the righteous vindicated4 ,upon the re-arrangement of the text proposed by ,budde1#chj this series of events is the rise of the ,chaldeans1 and it is an argument in favour of his proposal that the promise of a ,vision requires some such historical picture to follow it as we find in the description of the ,chaldeans--chap4 i4 #e-aa4 ,this1 too1 is explicitly introduced by terms of vision3 ,see among the nations and look round4444 ,yea1 behold ,i am about to raise up the ,kasdim4 ,but before this ,vision is given1#cha and for the uncertain interval of waiting ere the facts come to pass1 the ,lord enforces upon ,his watching servant the great moral principle that arrogance and tyranny cannot1 from the nature of them1 last1 and that if the righteous be only patient he will survive them3-- ,lo1 swollen1 not level1 is his soul within him2 ,but the righteous shall live by his faithfulness4 ,we have already seen#chb that the text of the first line of this couplet is uncertain4 ,yet the meaning is obvious1 partly in the words themselves1 and partly by their implied contrast with the second line4 ,the soul of the wicked is a radically morbid thing3 inflated1 swollen 7unless we should read perverted1 which more plainly means the same thing#chc71 not level1 not natural and normal4 ,in the nature of things it cannot endure4 ,but the righteous shall live by his faithfulness4 ,this word1 wrongly translated faith by the ,greek and other versions1 is concentrated by ,paul in his repeated quotation from the ,greek#chd upon that single act of faith by which the sinner secures forgiveness and justification4 ,with ,habakkuk it is a wider term4 ',emunah1#che from a verb meaning originally to be firm1 is used in the ,old ,testament in the physical sense of steadfastness4 ,so it is applied to the arms of ,moses held up by ,aaron and ,hur over the battle with ,amalek3 they were steadiness till the going down of the sun4#chf ,it is also used of the faithful discharge of public office1#chg and of fidelity as between man and wife4#chh ,it is also faithful testimony1#chi equity in judgment1#cij truth in speech1#cia and sincerity or honest dealing4#cib ,of course it has faith in ,god as its secret--the verb from which it is derived is the regular ,hebrew term to believe--but it is rather the temper which faith produces of endurance1 steadfastness1 integrity4 ,let the righteous1 however baffled his faith be by experience1 hold on in loyalty to ,god and duty1 and he shall live4 ,though ,st4 ,paul1 as we have said1 used the ,greek rendering of faith for the enforcement of trust in ,god's mercy through ,jesus ,christ as the secret of forgiveness and life1 it is rather to ,habakkuk's wider intention of patience and fidelity that the author of the ,epistle to the ,hebrews returns in his fuller quotation of the verse3 ,for yet a little while and ,he that shall come will come and will not tarry2 now the just shall live by faith1 but if he draw back ,my soul shall have no pleasure in him4#cic ,such then is the tenor of the passage4 ,in face of experience that baffles faith1 the duty of ,israel is patience in loyalty to ,god4 ,in this the nascent scepticism of ,israel received its first great commandment1 and this it never forsook4 ,intellectual questions arose1 of which ,habakkuk's were but the faintest foreboding--questions concerning not only the mission and destiny of the nation1 but the very foundation of justice and the character of ,god ,himself4 ,yet did no sceptic1 however bold and however provoked1 forsake his faithfulness4 ,even ,job1 when most audaciously arraigning the ,god of his experience1 turned from ,him to ,god as in his heart of hearts he believed ,he must be1 experience notwithstanding4 ,even the ,preacher1 amid the aimless flux and drift which he finds in the universe1 holds to the conclusion of the whole matter in a command1 which better than any other defines the contents of the faithfulness enforced by ,habakkuk3 ,fear ,god and keep ,his commandments1 for this is the whole of man4 ,it has been the same with the great mass of the race4 ,repeatedly disappointed of their hopes1 and crushed for ages beneath an intolerable tyranny1 have they not exhibited the same heroic temper with which their first great questioner was endowed8 ,endurance--this above all others has been the quality of ,israel3 though ,he slay me1 yet will ,i trust ,him4 ,and1 therefore1 as ,paul's adaptation1 ,the just shall live by faith1 has become the motto of evangelical ,christianity1 so we may say that ,habakkuk's original of it has been the motto and the fame of ,judaism3 ,the righteous shall live by his faithfulness4 ,,footnotes3 #cdc 7the ,greek 1 ,,lxx4 version of the title of this book1 and again the inscription to ,bel and the ,dragon1 suggests the pointing 2 ,epiph41 ,de ,vitis ,proph4--see next note--spells it 71 from 1 to embrace4 ,jerome3 8,he is called #8embrace' either because of his love to the ,lord1 or because he wrestles with ,god40 ,luther3 8,habakkuk means one who comforts and holds up his people as one embraces a weeping person40 #cdd ,see above1 pp4 #abf ff4 ,the title to the ,greek version of ,bel and the ,dragon bears that the latter was taken from the prophecy of ,hambakoum1 son of ,jesus1 of the tribe of ,levi4 ,further details are offered in the ,de ,vitis ,prophetarum of 7,pseud-7 ,epiphanius1 ,epiph4 ,opera1 ed4 ,paris1 #afbb1 ,vol4 ,,ii41 p4 #adg1 according to which ,habakkuk belonged to 1 which is probably of #a ,macc4 vi4 #cb1 the modern ,beit-,zakaryeh1 a little to the north of ,hebron1 and placed by this notice1 as ,nahum's ,elkosh is placed1 in the tribe of ,simeon4 ,his grave was shown in the neighbouring ,keilah4 ,the notice further alleges that when ,nebuchadrezzar came up to ,jerusalem ,habakkuk fled to ,ostracine1 where he travelled in the country of the ,ishmaelites2 but he returned after the fall of ,jerusalem1 and died in #ech1 two years before the return of the exiles4 ,bel and the ,dragon tells an extraordinary story of his miraculous carriage of food to ,daniel in the lions' den soon after ,cyrus had taken ,babylon4 #cde ,see above1 pp4 #aai ff4 #cdf ,heb4 saw4 #cdg ,text uncertain4 ,perhaps we should read1 ,why make me look upon sorrow and trouble8 why fill mine eyes with violence and wrong8 ,strife is come before me1 and quarrel arises4 #cdh ,never gets away1 to use a colloquial expression4 #cdi ,here vv4 #e-aa come in the original4 #cej ,ver4 #ab;b3 ,we shall not die 7many ,jewish authorities read ,thou shalt not die74 ,o ,jehovah1 for judgment hast ,thou set him1 and1 ,o my ,rock1 for punishment hast ,thou appointed him4 #cea ,wellhausen3 on the robbery of robbers4 #ceb ,,lxx4 devoureth the righteous4 #cec ,literally ,thou hast made men4 #ced ,wellhausen3 cf4 ,jer4 xviii4 #a1 xix4 #a4 #cee ,so ,giesebrecht 7see above1 p4 #aai1 n4 #cah71 reading for 1 shall he therefore empty his net8 #cef ,wellhausen1 reading for 3 should he therefore be emptying his net continually1 and slaughtering the nations without pity8 #ceg 4 ,but ,wellhausen takes it as from and ward or watch-tower4 ,so ,nowack4 #ceh ,so ,heb4 and ,,lxx42 but ,syr4 he3 so ,wellhausen1 what answer ,he returns to my plea4 #cei ,bredenkamp 7,stud4 u4 ,krit41 #ahhi1 pp4 #afa ff47 suggests that the writing on the tablets begins here and goes on to ver4 #e;a4 ,budde 7,z4,a4,t4,w41 #ahhi1 pp4 #aee f47 takes the which opens it as simply equivalent to the ,greek 1 introducing1 like our marks of quotation1 the writing itself4 #cfj 3 cf4 ,psalm xxvii4 #ab4 ,bredenkamp emends to 4 #cfa ,not be late1 or past its fixed time4 #cfb ,so literally the ,heb4 1 i4e4 arrogant1 false3 cf4 the colloquial expression swollen-head conceit1 as opposed to level-headed4 ,bredenkamp1 ,stud4 u4 ,krit41 #ahhi1 #aba1 reads for 4 ,wellhausen suggests 1 ,lo1 the sinner1 in contrast to of next clause4 ,nowack prefers this4 #cfc ,,lxx4 wrongly my4 #cfd ,,lxx4 1 faith1 and so in ,n4 ,t4 #cfe ,chap4 i4 #e-aa4 #cff ,so to bring out the assonance1 reading 4 #cfg ,so ,,lxx4 #cfh ,or ,chaldeans2 on the name and people see above1 p4 #ai4 #cfi ,heb4 singular4 #cgj ,omit 7evidently a dittography7 and the lame which is omitted by ,,lxx4 and was probably inserted to afford a verb for the second 4 #cga ,heb4 sing41 and so in all the clauses here except the next4 #cgb ,a problematical rendering4 is found only here1 and probably means direction4 ,hitzig translates desire1 effort1 striving4 1 towards the front or forward2 but elsewhere it means only eastward3 1 the east wind4 ,cf4 ,judg4 v4 #ba1 1 a river of spates or rushes is the river ,kishon 7,hist4 ,geog41 p4 #cie74 ,perhaps we should change to a singular suffix1 as in the clauses before and after1 and this would leave to form with a participle from 7cf4 ,amos ix4 #aj74 #cgc ,or their spirit changes1 or they change like the wind 7,wellhausen suggests 74 ,grtz reads and 1 he renews his strength4 #cgd ,von ,orelli4 ,for ,wellhausen proposes 1 and sets4 #cge ,the wicked of chap4 i4 #d must1 as we have seen1 be the same as the wicked of chap4 i4 #ac--;a heathen oppressor of the righteous1 i4e4 the people of ,god4 #cgf i4 #c4 #cgg i4 #d4 #cgh i4 #ac-ag4 #cgi ,amos iii4 #f4 ,see ,vol4 ,i41 p4 #ij4 #chj ,see above1 pp4 #aai ff4 #cha ,its proper place in ,budde's re-arrangement is after chap4 ii4 #d4 #chb ,above1 p4 #acd1 n4 #cfb4 #chc instead of 4 #chd ,rom4 i4 #ag2 ,gal4 iii4 #aa4 #che 4 #chf ,exod4 xvii4 #ab4 #chg #b ,chron4 xix4 #i4 #chh ,hosea ii4 #bb 7,heb474 #chi ,prov4 xiv4 #e4 #cij ,isa4 xi4 #e4 #cia ,prov4 xii4 #ag3 cf4 ,jer4 ix4 #b4 #cib ,prov4 xii4 #bb1 xxviii4 #cj4 #cic ,heb4 x4 #cg1 #ch4 ,,chapter ,,xi ,,tyranny ,,is ,,suicide ,,habakkuk ii4 #e-bj ,in the style of his master ,isaiah1 ,habakkuk follows up his ,vision with a series of lyrics on the same subject3 chap4 ii4 #e-bj4 ,they are taunt-songs1 the most of them beginning with ,woe unto1 addressed to the heathen oppressor4 ,perhaps they were all at first of equal length1 and it has been suggested that the striking refrain in which two of them close-- ,for men's blood1 and earth's waste1 ,cities and their inhabitants-- was once attached to each of the others as well4 ,but the text has been too much altered1 besides suffering several interpolations1#cid to permit of its restoration1 and we can only reproduce these taunts as they now run in the ,hebrew text4 ,there are several quotations 7not necessarily an argument against ,habakkuk's authorship72 but1 as a whole1 the expression is original1 and there are some lines of especial force and freshness4 ,verses #e-f;a are properly an introduction1 the first ,woe commencing with #f;b4 ,the belief which inspires these songs is very simple4 ,tyranny is intolerable4 ,in the nature of things it cannot endure1 but works out its own penalties4 ,by oppressing so many nations1 the tyrant is preparing the instruments of his own destruction4 ,as he treats them1 so in time shall they treat him4 ,he is like a debtor who increases the number of his creditors4 ,some day they shall rise up and exact from him the last penny4 ,so that in cutting off others he is but forfeiting his own life4 ,the very violence done to nature1 the deforesting of ,lebanon for instance1 and the vast hunting of wild beasts1 shall recoil on him4 ,this line of thought is exceedingly interesting4 ,we have already seen in prophecy1 and especially in ,isaiah1 the beginnings of ,hebrew ,wisdom--the attempt to uncover the moral processes of life and express a philosophy of history4 ,but hardly anywhere have we found so complete an absence of all reference to the direct interference of ,god ,himself in the punishment of the tyrant2 for the cup of ,jehovah's right hand in ver4 #af is simply the survival of an ancient metaphor4 ,these proverbs or taunt-songs1 in conformity with the proverbs of the later ,wisdom1 dwell only upon the inherent tendency to decay of all injustice4 ,tyranny1 they assert1 and history ever since has affirmed their truthfulness--tyranny is suicide4 ,the last of the taunt-songs1 which treats of the different subject of idolatry1 is probably1 as we have seen1 not from ,habakkuk's hand1 but of a later date4#cie ,,introduction ,,to ,,the ,,taunt-,,songs 7ii4 #e-f;a74 ,for 444#cif treacherous1 ,an arrogant fellow1 and is not 444#cig ,who opens his desire wide as ,sheol2 ,he is like death1 unsatisfied2 ,and hath swept to himself all the nations1 ,and gathered to him all peoples4 ,shall not these1 all of them1 take up a proverb upon him1 ,and a taunt-song against him8 and say3-- ,,first ,,taunt-,,song 7ii4 #f;b-#h74 ,woe unto him who multiplies what is not his own1 --,how long8-- ,and loads him with debts6#cih ,shall not thy creditors#cii rise up1 ,and thy troublers awake1 ,and thou be for spoil#djj to them8 ,because thou hast spoiled many nations1 ,all the rest of the peoples shall spoil thee4 ,for men's blood1 and earth's waste1 ,cities and all their inhabitants4#dja ,,second ,,taunt-,,song 7ii4 #i-aa74 ,woe unto him that gains evil gain for his house1#djb ,to set high his nest1 to save him from the grasp of calamity6 ,thou hast planned shame for thy house2 ,thou hast cut off#djc many people1 ,while forfeiting thine own life4#djd ,for the stone shall cry out from the wall1 ,and the lath#dje from the timber answer it4 ,,third ,,taunt-,,song 7ii4 #ab-ad74 ,woe unto him that builds a city in blood1#djf ,and stablishes a town in iniquity6#djg ,lo1 is it not from ,jehovah of hosts1 ,that the nations shall toil for smoke1#djh ,and the peoples wear themselves out for nought8 ,but earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of ,jehovah1#dji ,like the waters that cover the sea4 ,,fourth ,,taunt-,,song 7ii4 #ae-ag74 ,woe unto him that gives his neighbour to drink1 ,from the cup of his wrath#daj till he be drunken1 ,that he may gloat on his#daa nakedness6 ,thou art sated with shame--not with glory2 ,drink also thou1 and stagger4#dab ,comes round to thee the cup of ,jehovah's right hand1 ,and foul shame#dac on thy glory4 ,for the violence to ,lebnon shall cover thee1 ,the destruction of the beasts shall affray thee4#dad ,for men's blood1 and earth's waste1 ,cities and all their inhabitants4#dae ,,fifth ,,taunt-,,song 7ii4 #ah-bj74 ,what boots an image1 when its artist has graven it1 ,a cast-image and lie-oracle1 that its moulder has trusted upon it1 ,making dumb idols8 ,woe to him that saith to a block1 ,awake6 ,to a dumb stone1 ,arise6 ,can it teach8 ,lo1 it 444#daf with gold and silver2 ,there is no breath at all in the heart of it4 ,but ,jehovah is in ,his ,holy ,temple3 ,silence before ,him1 all the earth6 ,,footnotes3 #cid ,see above1 pp4 #abe f4 #cie ,see above1 pp4 #abe f4 ,nowack 7#ahig7 agrees that ,cornill's and others' conclusion that vv4 #i-bj are not ,habakkuk's is too sweeping4 ,he takes the first1 second and fourth of the taunt-songs as authentic1 but assigns the third 7vv4 #ab-ad7 and the fifth 7#ah-bj7 to another hand4 ,he deems the refrain1 #h;b and #ag;b1 to be a gloss1 and puts #ai before #ah4 ,driver1 ,introd41 #fth ed41 holds to the authenticity of all the verses4 #cif ,the text reads1 ,for also wine is treacherous1 under which we might be tempted to suspect some such original as1 ,as wine is treacherous1 so 7next line7 the proud fellow1 etc4 7or1 as ,davidson suggests1 ,like wine is the treacherous dealer71 were it not that the word wine appears neither in the ,greek nor in the ,syrian version4 ,wellhausen suggests that 1 wine1 is a corruption of 1 with which the verse1 like vv4 #f;b1 #i1 #ab1 #ae1 #ai1 may have originally begun1 but according to #f;a the taunt-songs1 opening with 1 start first in #f;b4 ,bredenkamp proposes 4 #cig ,the text is 1 a verb not elsewhere found in the ,old ,testament1 and conjectured by our translators to mean keepeth at home1 because the noun allied to it means homestead or resting-place4 ,the ,syriac gives is not satisfied1 and ,wellhausen proposes to read with that sense4 ,see ,davidson's note on the verse4 #cih ,a4,v4 thick clay1 which is reached by breaking up the word 1 pledge or debt1 into 1 thick cloud1 and 1 clay4 #cii ,literally thy biters1 1 but 1 biting1 is interest or usury1 and the ,hiphil of is to exact interest4 #djj ,,lxx4 sing41 ,heb4 pl4 #dja ,these words occur again in ver4 #ag4 ,wellhausen thinks they suit neither here nor there4 ,but they suit all the taunt-songs1 and some suppose that they formed the refrain to each of these4 #djb ,dynasty or people8 #djc ,so ,,lxx42 ,heb4 cutting off4 #djd ,the grammatical construction is obscure1 if the text be correct4 ,there is no mistaking the meaning4 #dje;,heb4 1 not elsewhere found in the ,o4,t41 is in ,rabbinic ,hebrew both cross-beam and lath4 #djf ,micah iii4 #aj4 #djg ,jer4 xxii4 #ac4 #djh ,literally fire4 #dji ,jer4 li4 #eh3 which original8 #daj ,after ,wellhausen's suggestion to read instead of the text 1 adding1 or mixing1 thy wrath4 #daa ,so ,,lxx4 ,q42 ,heb4 their4 #dab ,read 7cf4 ,nahum ii4 #d2 ,zech4 xii4 #b74 ,the text is 1 not found elsewhere1 which has been conjectured to mean uncover the foreskin4 ,and there is some ground for this1 as parallel to his nakedness in the previous clause4 ,wellhausen also removes the first clause to the end of the verse3 ,drink also thou and reel2 there comes to thee the cup in ,jehovah's right hand1 and thou wilt glut thyself with shame instead of honour4 #dac ,so ,r4,v4 for 1 which ,a4,v4 has taken as two words-- for which cf4 ,jer4 xxv4 #bg1 where however the text is probably corrupt1 and 4 ,with this confusion cf4 above1 ver4 #f1 4 #dad ,read with ,,lxx4 for of the text4 #dae ,see above1 ver4 #h4 #daf 8 ,,chapter ,,xii 8,,in ,,the ,,midst ,,of ,,the ,,years0 ,,habakkuk iii4 ,we have seen the impossibility of deciding the age of the ode which is attributed to ,habakkuk in the third chapter of his book4#dag ,but this is only one of the many problems raised by that brilliant poem4 ,much of its text is corrupt1 and the meaning of many single words is uncertain4 ,as in most ,hebrew poems of description1 the tenses of the verbs puzzle us2 we cannot always determine whether the poet is singing of that which is past or present or future1 and this difficulty is increased by his subject1 a revelation of ,god in nature for the deliverance of ,israel4 ,is this the deliverance from ,egypt1 with the terrible tempests which accompanied it8 ,or have the features of the ,exodus been borrowed to describe some other deliverance1 or to sum up the constant manifestation of ,jehovah for ,his people's help8 ,the introduction1 in ver4 #b1 is clear4 ,the singer has heard what is to be heard of ,jehovah1 and ,his great deeds in the past4 ,he prays for a revival of these in the midst of the years4 ,the times are full of trouble and turmoil4 ,would that ,god1 in the present confusion of baffled hopes and broken issues1 made ,himself manifest by power and brilliance1 as of old6 ,in turmoil remember mercy6 ,to render turmoil by wrath1 as if it were ,god's anger against which the singer's heart appealed1 is not true to the original word itself1#dah affords no parallel to the midst of the years1 and misses the situation4 ,israel cries from a state of life in which the obscure years are huddled together and full of turmoil4 ,we need not wish to fix the date more precisely than the writer himself does1 but may leave it with him in the midst of the years4 ,there follows the description of the ,great ,theophany1 of which1 in his own poor times1 the singer has heard4 ,it is probable that he has in his memory the events of the ,exodus and ,sinai4 ,on this point his few geographical allusions agree with his descriptions of nature4 ,he draws all the latter from the desert1 or ,arabian1 side of ,israel's history4 ,he introduces none of the sea-monsters1 or imputations of arrogance and rebellion to the sea itself1 which the influence of ,babylonian mythology so thickly scattered through the later sea-poetry of the ,hebrews4 ,the ,theophany takes place in a violent tempest of thunder and rain1 the only process of nature upon which the desert poets of ,arabia dwell with any detail4 ,in harmony with this1 ,god appears from the southern desert1 from ,teman and ,paran1 as in the theophanies in ,deuteronomy xxxiii4 and in the ,song of ,deborah2#dai a few lines recall the ,song of the ,exodus1#dbj and there are many resemblances to the phraseology of the ,sixty-,eighth ,psalm4 ,the poet sees under trouble the tents of ,kushan and of ,midian1 tribes of ,sinai4 ,and though the ,theophany is with floods of rain and lightning1 and foaming of great waters1 it is not with hills1 rivers or sea that ,god is angry1 but with the nations1 the oppressors of ,his poor people1 and in order that ,he may deliver the latter4 ,all this1 taken with the fact that no mention is made of ,egypt1 proves that1 while the singer draws chiefly upon the marvellous events of the ,exodus and ,sinai for his description1 he celebrates not them alone but all the ancient triumphs of ,god over the heathen oppressors of ,israel4 ,compare the obscure line--these be ,his goings of old4 ,the report of it all fills the poet with trembling 7ver4 #af returns upon ver4 #bf71 and although his language is too obscure to permit us to follow with certainty the course of his feeling1 he appears to await in confidence the issue of ,israel's present troubles4 ,his argument seems to be1 that such a ,god may be trusted still1 in face of approaching invasion 7ver4 #af74 ,the next verse1 however1 does not express the experience of trouble from human foes2 but figuring the extreme affliction of drought1 barrenness and poverty1 the poet speaking in the name of ,israel declares that1 in spite of them1 he will still rejoice in the ,god of their salvation 7ver4 #ag74 ,so sudden is this change from human foes to natural plagues1 that some scholars have here felt a passage to another poem describing a different situation4 ,but the last lines with their confidence in the ,god of salvation1 a term always used of deliverance from enemies1 and the boast1 borrowed from the ,eighteenth ,psalm1 ,he maketh my feet like to hinds' feet1 and gives me to march on my heights1 reflect the same circumstances as the bulk of the ,psalm1 and offer no grounds to doubt the unity of the whole4#dba ,,psalm#dbb ,,of ,,habakkuk ,,the ,,prophet4 ,,lord1 ,i have heard the report of ,thee2 ,i stand in awe6#dbc ,,lord1 revive ,thy work in the midst of the years1 ,in the midst of the years make ,thee known2#dbd ,in turmoil#dbe remember mercy6 ,god comes from ,teman1#dbf ,the ,holy from ,mount ,paran4#dbg ,he covers the heavens with ,his glory1 ,and filled with ,his praise is the earth4 ,the flash is like lightning2 ,he has rays from each hand of ,him1 ,therein#dbh is the ambush of ,his might4 ,pestilence travels before ,him1 ,the plague-fire breaks forth at ,his feet4 ,he stands and earth shakes1#dbi ,he looks and drives nations asunder2 ,and the ancient mountains are cloven1 ,the hills everlasting sink down4 ,these be ,his ways from of old4#dcj ,under trouble ,i see the tents of ,kshn1#dca ,the curtains of ,midian's land are quivering4 ,is it with hills#dcb ,jehovah is wroth8 ,is ,thine anger with rivers8 ,or against the sea is ,thy wrath1 ,that ,thou ridest it with horses1 ,thy chariots of victory8 ,thy bow is stripped bare2#dcc ,thou gluttest 787 ,thy shafts4#dcd ,into rivers ,thou cleavest the earth2#dce ,mountains see ,thee and writhe2 ,the rainstorm sweeps on3#dcf ,the ,deep utters his voice1 ,he lifts up his roar upon high4#dcg ,sun and moon stand still in their dwelling1 ,at the flash of ,thy shafts as they speed1 ,at the sheen of the lightning1 ,thy lance4 ,in wrath ,thou stridest the earth1 ,in anger ,thou threshest the nations6 ,thou art forth to the help of ,thy people1 ,to save ,thine anointed4#dch ,thou hast shattered the head from the house of the wicked1 ,laying bare from 444#dci to the neck4 ,thou hast pierced with ,thy spears the head of his princes4#ddj ,they stormed forth to crush me2 ,their triumph was as to devour the poor in secret4#dda ,thou hast marched on the sea with ,thy horses2 ,foamed#ddb the great waters4 ,i have heard1 and my heart#ddc shakes2 ,at the sound my lips tremble1#ddd ,rottenness enters my bones1#dde ,my steps shake under me4#ddf ,i will 444#ddg for the day of trouble ,that pours in on the people4#ddh ,though the fig-tree do not blossom1#ddi ,and no fruit be on the vines1 ,fail the produce of the olive1 ,and the fields yield no meat1 ,cut off#dej be the flock from the fold1 ,and no cattle in the stalls1 ,yet in the ,,lord will ,i exult1 ,i will rejoice in the ,god of my salvation4 ,jehovah1 the ,lord1 is my might2 ,he hath made my feet like the hinds'1 ,and on my heights ,he gives me to march4 ,this ,psalm1 whose musical signs prove it to have been employed in the liturgy of the ,jewish ,temple1 has also largely entered into the use of the ,christian ,church4 ,the vivid style1 the sweep of vision1 the exultation in the extreme of adversity with which it closes1 have made it a frequent theme of preachers and of poets4 ,st4 ,augustine's exposition of the ,septuagint version spiritualises almost every clause into a description of the first and second advents of ,christ4#dea ,calvin's more sober and accurate learning interpreted it of ,god's guidance of ,israel from the time of the ,egyptian plagues to the days of ,joshua and ,gideon1 and made it enforce the lesson that ,he who so wonderfully delivered ,his people in their youth will not forsake them in the midway of their career4#deb ,the closing verses have been torn from the rest to form the essence of a large number of hymns in many languages4 ,for ourselves it is perhaps most useful to fasten upon the poet's description of his own position in the midst of the years1 and like him to take heart1 amid our very similar circumstances1 from the glorious story of ,god's ancient revelation1 in the faith that ,he is still the same in might and in purpose of grace to ,his people4 ,we1 too1 live among the nameless years4 ,we feel them about us1 undistinguished by the manifest workings of ,god1 slow and petty1 or1 at the most1 full of inarticulate turmoil4 ,at this very moment we suffer from the frustration of a great cause1 on which believing men had set their hearts as ,god's cause2 ,christendom has received from the infidel no greater reverse since the days of the ,crusades4 ,or1 lifting our eyes to a larger horizon1 we are tempted to see about us a wide1 flat waste of years4 ,it is nearly nineteen centuries since the great revelation of ,god in ,christ1 the redemption of mankind1 and all the wonders of the ,early ,church4 ,we are far1 far away from that1 and unstirred by the expectation of any crisis in the near future4 ,we stand in the midst of the years1 equally distant from beginning and from end4 ,it is the situation which ,jesus ,himself likened to the long double watch in the middle of the night--if he come in the second watch or in the third watch--against whose dulness ,he warned ,his disciples4 ,how much need is there at such a time to recall1 like this poet1 what ,god has done--how often ,he has shaken the world and overturned the nations1 for the sake of ,his people and the ,divine causes they represent4 ,his ways are everlasting4 ,as ,he then worked1 so ,he will work now for the same ends of redemption4 ,our prayer for a revival of ,his work will be answered before it is spoken4 ,it is probable that much of our sense of the staleness of the years comes from their prosperity4 ,the dull feeling that time is mere routine is fastened upon our hearts by nothing more firmly than by the constant round of fruitful seasons--that fortification of comfort1 that regularity of material supplies1 which modern life assures to so many4 ,adversity would brace us to a new expectation of the near and strong action of our ,god4 ,this is perhaps the meaning of the sudden mention of natural plagues in the seventeenth verse of our ,psalm4 ,not in spite of the extremes of misfortune1 but just because of them1 should we exult in the ,god of our salvation2 and realise that it is by discipline ,he makes ,his ,church to feel that she is not marching over the dreary levels of nameless years1 but on our high places ,he makes us to march4 8,grant1 ,almighty ,god1 as the dulness and hardness of our flesh is so great that it is needful for us to be in various ways afflicted--oh grant that we patiently bear ,thy chastisement1 and under a deep feeling of sorrow flee to ,thy mercy displayed to us in ,christ1 so that we depend not on the earthly blessings of this perishable life1 but relying on ,thy word go forward in the course of our calling1 until at length we be gathered to that blessed rest which is laid up for us in heaven1 through ,christ our ,lord4 ,amen40#dec ,,footnotes3 #dag ,above1 pp4 #abf ff4 #dah nowhere in the ,old ,testament means wrath1 but either roar and noise of thunder 7,job xxxvii4 #b7 and of horsehoofs 7xxxix4 #bd71 or the raging of the wicked 7iii4 #ag7 or the commotion of fear 7iii4 #bf2 ,isa4 xiv4 #c74 #dai ,jehovah from ,sinai hath come1 ,and risen from ,se#8ir upon them2 ,he shone from ,mount ,paran1 ,and broke from ,meribah of adesh3 ,from the ,south fire 444 to them4 ,deut4 xxxiii4 #b1 slightly altered after the ,,lxx4 ,south3 some form of must be read to bring the line into parallel with the others2 1 ,teman1 is from the same root4 ,jehovah1 in ,thy going forth from ,se'ir1 ,in ,thy marching from ,edom's field1 ,earth shook1 yea1 heaven dropped1 ,yea1 the clouds dropped water4 ,mountains flowed down before ,jehovah1 ,yon ,sinai at the face of the ,god of ,israel4 ,judges v4 #d1 #e4 #dbj ,exod4 xv4 #dba ,in this case ver4 #ag would be the only one that offered any reason for suspicion that it was an intrusion4 #dbb 1 lit4 ,prayer1 but used for ,psalm3 cf4 ,psalm cii4 #a4 #dbc ,sinker takes with this the first two words of next line3 ,i have trembled1 ,o ,,lord1 at ,thy work4 #dbd 1 ,imp4 ,niph41 after ,,lxx4 4 ,the ,hebrew has 1 ,hi41 make known4 ,the ,,lxx4 had a text of these verses which reduplicated them1 and it has translated them very badly4 #dbe 1 turmoil1 noise1 as in ,job3 a meaning that offers a better parallel to in the midst of the years than wrath1 which the word also means4 ,davidson1 however1 thinks it more natural to understand the wrath manifest at the coming of ,jehovah to judgment4 ,so ,sinker4 #dbf ,vulg4 ab ,austro1 from the ,south4 #dbg ,,lxx4 adds 1 which seems the translation of a clause1 perhaps a gloss1 containing the name of ,mount ,se#8ir1 as in the parallel descriptions of a theophany1 ,deut4 xxiii4 #b1 ,judg4 v4 #d4 ,see ,sinker1 p4 #de4 #dbh ,wellhausen1 reading for 1 translates ,he made them1 etc4 #dbi ,so ,,lxx4 ,heb4 and measures the earth4 #dcj ,this is the only way of rendering the verse so as not to make it seem superfluous3 so rendered it sums up and clenches the theophany from ver4 #c onwards2 and a new strophe now begins4 ,there is therefore no need to omit the verse1 as ,wellhausen does4 #dca ,,lxx4 2 but these are ,kush1 and the parallelism requires a tribe in ,arabia4 ,calvin rejects the meaning ,ethiopian on the same ground1 but takes the reference as to ,king ,kushan in ,judg4 iii4 #h1 #aj1 on account of the parallelism with ,midian4 ,the ,midianite wife whom ,moses married is called the ,kushite 7,num4 xii4 #a74 ,hommel 7,anc4 ,hebrew ,tradition as illustrated by the ,monuments1 p4 #cae and n4 #a7 appears to take ,zerah the ,kushite of #b ,chron4 xiv4 #i ff4 as a prince of ,kush in ,central ,arabia4 ,but the narrative which makes him deliver his invasion of ,judah at ,mareshah surely confirms the usual opinion that he and his host were ,ethiopians coming up from ,egypt4 #dcb ,for 1 is it with streams1 read 1 is it with hills3 because hills have already been mentioned1 and rivers occur in the next clause1 and are separated by the same disjunctive particle1 1 which separates the sea in the third clause from them4 ,the whole phrase might be rendered1 ,is it with hills ,thou art angry1 ,o ,jehovah8 #dcc ,questionable3 the verb 1 ,ni4 of a supposed 1 does not elsewhere occur1 and is only conjectured from the noun 1 nakedness1 and 1 stripping4 ,,lxx4 has 1 and ,wellhausen reads1 after #b ,sam4 xxiii4 #ah1 1 ,thou bringest into action ,thy bow4 #dcd 1 literally sworn are staves or rods of speech4 ,a4,v43 according to the oaths of the tribes1 even ,thy word4 ,,lxx4 7omitting and adding 7 1 4 ,these words 8form a riddle which all the ingenuity of scholars has not been able to solve4 ,delitzsch calculates that a hundred translations of them have been offered0 7,davidson74 ,in parallel to previous clause about a bow1 we ought to expect 1 staves1 though it is not elsewhere used for shafts or arrows4 may have been 1 ,thou satest4 ,the ,cod4 ,barb4 reads3 1 ,thou hast satiated the shafts of his quiver4 ,sinker3 sworn are the punishments of the solemn decree1 and relevantly compares ,isa4 xi4 #d1 the rod of ,his mouth2 xxx4 #cb1 rod of doom4 ,ewald3 sevenfold shafts of war4 ,but cf4 ,psalm cxviii4 #ab4 #dce ,uncertain1 but a more natural result of cleaving than the rivers ,thou cleavest into dry land 7,davidson and ,wellhausen74 #dcf ,but ,ewald takes this as of the ,red ,sea floods sweeping on the ,egyptians4 #dcg he lifts up his hands on high4 ,but the ,,lxx4 read 1 1 and took with the next verse4 ,the reading 7for 7 is indeed nonsense1 but suggests an emendation to 1 his shout or wail3 cf4 ,amos vi4 #g1 ,jer4 xvi4 #e4 #dch ,reading for 1 required by the acc4 following4 ,thine anointed1 lit4 ,thy ,messiah1 according to ,isa4 xl4 ff4 the whole people4 #dci ,heb4 1 foundation4 ,,lxx4 bonds4 ,some suggest laying bare from the foundation to the neck1 but this is mixed unless neck happened to be a technical name for a part of a building3 cf4 ,isa4 viii4 #h1 xxx4 #bh4 #ddj ,heb4 his spears or staves2 his own 7,von ,orelli74 ,,lxx4 3 see ,sinker1 pp4 #ef ff4 ,princes3 only here4 ,hitzig3 his brave ones4 ,ewald1 ,wellhausen1 ,davidson3 his princes4 ,delitzsch3 his hosts4 ,,lxx4 4 #dda ,so ,heb4 literally4 ,a very difficult line4 ,on ,,lxx4 see ,sinker1 pp4 #fj f4 #ddb ,for 1 heap 7so ,a4,v471 read some part of 1 to foam4 ,,lxx4 3 cf4 ,psalm xlvi4 #d4 #ddc ,so ,,lxx4 7some codd471 softening the original belly4 #ddd ,or my lips quiver aloud--1 vocally 7,von ,orelli74 #dde ,by the ,hebrew the bones were felt1 as a modern man feels his nerves3 ,psalms xxxii41 li42 ,job4 #ddf ,for 1 for which ,,lxx4 gives 1 read 1 my steps2 and for 1 ,,lxx4 1 4 #ddg 4 ,,lxx4 1 ,i will rest4 ,a4,v43 that ,i might rest in the day of trouble4 ,others3 ,i will wait for4 ,wellhausen suggests 7,isa4 l4 #bd71 ,i will take comfort4 ,sinker takes as the simple relative3 ,i who will wait patiently for the day of doom4 ,von ,orelli takes it as the conjunction because4 #ddh 1 it invades1 brings up troops on them1 only in ,gen4 xlix4 #ai and here4 ,wellhausen3 which invades us4 ,sinker3 for the coming up against the people of him who shall assail it4 #ddi 2 but ,,lxx4 1 1 bear no fruit4 #dej ,for ,wellhausen reads 4 ,,lxx4 4 #dea ,de ,civitate ,dei1 ,,xviii4 #cb4 #deb ,so he paraphrases in the midst of the years4 #dec ,from the prayer with which ,calvin concludes his exposition of ,habakkuk4 ,,obadiah ,and ,saviours shall come up on ,mount ,zion to judge ,mount ,esau1 and the kingdom shall be ,jehovah's4 ,,chapter ,,xiii ,,the ,,book ,,of ,,obadiah ,the ,book of ,obadiah is the smallest among the prophets1 and the smallest in all the ,old ,testament4 ,yet there is none which better illustrates many of the main problems of ,old ,testament criticism4 ,it raises1 indeed1 no doctrinal issue nor any question of historical accuracy4 ,all that it claims to be is ,the ,vision of ,obadiah2#ded and this vague name1 with no date or dwelling-place to challenge comparison with the contents of the book1 introduces us without prejudice to the criticism of the latter4 ,nor is the book involved in the central controversy of ,old ,testament scholarship1 the date of the ,law4 ,it has no reference to the ,law4 ,nor is it made use of in the ,new ,testament4 ,the more freely1 therefore1 may we study the literary and historical questions started by the twenty-one verses which compose the book4 ,their brief course is broken by differences of style1 and by sudden changes of outlook from the past to the future4 ,some of them present a close parallel to another passage of prophecy1 a feature which when present offers a difficult problem to the critic4 ,hardly any of the historical allusions are free from ambiguity1 for although the book refers throughout to a single nation--and so vividly that even if ,edom were not named we might still discern the character and crimes of that bitter brother of ,israel--yet the conflict of ,israel and ,edom was so prolonged and so monotonous in its cruelties1 that there are few of its many centuries to which some scholar has not felt himself able to assign1 in part or whole1 ,obadiah's indignant oration4 ,the little book has been tossed out of one century into another by successive critics1 till there exists in their estimates of its date a difference of nearly six hundred years4#dee ,such a fact seems1 at first sight1 to convict criticism either of arbitrariness or helplessness2#def yet a little consideration of details is enough to lead us to an appreciation of the reasonable methods of ,old ,testament criticism1 and of its indubitable progress towards certainty1 in spite of our ignorance of large stretches of the history of ,israel4 ,to the student of the ,old ,testament nothing could be more profitable than to master the historical and literary questions raised by the ,book of ,obadiah1 before following them out among the more complicated problems which are started by other prophetical books in their relation to the ,law of ,israel1 or to their own titles1 or to claims made for them in the ,new ,testament4 99 99 99 99 99 ,the ,book of ,obadiah contains a number of verbal parallels to another prophecy against ,edom which appears in ,jeremiah xlix4 #g-bb4 ,most critics have regarded this prophecy of ,jeremiah as genuine1 and have assigned it to the year #fjd ,b4,c4 ,the question is whether ,obadiah or ,jeremiah is the earlier4 ,hitzig and ,vatke#deg answered in favour of ,jeremiah2 and as the ,book of ,obadiah also contains a description of ,edom's conduct in the day of ,jerusalem's overthrow by ,nebuchadrezzar1 in #ehf1 they brought the whole book down to post-exilic times4 ,very forcible arguments1 however1 have been offered for ,obadiah's priority4#deh ,upon this priority1 as well as on the facts that ,joel1 whom they take to be early1 quotes from ,obadiah1 and that ,obadiah's book occurs among the first six--presumably the pre-exilic members--of the ,twelve1 a number of scholars have assigned all of it to an early period in ,israel's history4 ,some fix upon the reign of ,jehoshaphat1 when ,judah was invaded by ,edom and his allies ,moab and ,ammon1 but saved from disaster through ,moab and ,ammon turning upon the ,edomites and slaughtering them4#dei ,to this they refer the phrase in ,obadiah #i1 the men of thy covenant have betrayed thee4 ,others place the whole book in the reign of ,joram of ,judah 7#hdi--hdb ,b4,c471 when1 according to the ,chronicles1#dfj ,judah was invaded and ,jerusalem partly sacked by ,philistines and ,arabs4#dfa ,but in the story of this invasion1 there is no mention of ,edomites1 and the argument which is drawn from ,joel's quotation of ,obadiah fails if ,joel1 as we shall see1 be of late date4 ,with greater prudence ,pusey declines to fix a period4 ,the supporters of a pre-exilic origin for the whole ,book of ,obadiah have to explain vv4 #aa-ad1 which appear to reflect ,edom's conduct at the sack of ,jerusalem by ,nebuchadrezzar in #ehf1 and they do so in two ways4 ,pusey takes the verses as predictive of ,nebuchadrezzar's siege4 ,orelli and others believe that they suit better the conquest and plunder of the city in the time of ,jehoram4 ,but1 as ,calvin has said1 8they seem to be mistaken who think that ,obadiah lived before the time of ,isaiah40 ,the question1 however1 very early arose1 whether it was possible to take ,obadiah as a unity4 ,vv4 #a-i are more vigorous and firm than vv4 #aj-ba4 ,in vv4 #a-i ,edom is destroyed by nations who are its allies2 in vv4 #aj-ba it is still to fall along with other ,gentiles in the general judgment of the ,lord4#dfb ,vv4 #aj-ba admittedly describe the conduct of the ,edomites at the overthrow of ,jerusalem in #ehf2 but vv4 #a-i probably reflect earlier events2 and it is significant that in them alone occur the parallels to ,jeremiah's prophecy against ,edom in #fjd4 ,on some of these grounds ,ewald regarded the little book as consisting of two pieces1 both of which refer to ,edom1 but the first of which was written before ,jeremiah1 and the second is post-exilic4 ,as ,jeremiah's prophecy has some features more original than ,obadiah's1#dfc he traced both prophecies to an original oracle against ,edom1 of which ,obadiah on the whole renders an exact version4 ,he fixed the date of this oracle in the earlier days of ,isaiah1 when ,rezin of ,syria enabled ,edom to assert again its independence of ,judah1 and ,edom won back ,elath1 which ,uzziah had taken4#dfd ,driver1 ,wildeboer and ,cornill#dfe adopt this theory1 with the exception of the period to which ,ewald refers the original oracle4 ,according to them1 the ,book of ,obadiah consists of two pieces1 vv4 #a-i pre-exilic1 and vv4 #aj-ba post-exilic and descriptive in #aa-ad of ,nebuchadrezzar's sack of ,jerusalem4 ,this latter point need not be contested4#dff ,but is it clear that #a-i are so different from #aj-ba that they must be assigned to another period8 ,are they necessarily pre-exilic8 ,wellhausen thinks not1 and has constructed still another theory of the origin of the book1 which1 like ,vatke's1 brings it all down to the period after the ,exile4 ,there is no mention in the book either of ,assyria or of ,babylonia4#dfg ,the allies who have betrayed ,edom 7ver4 #g7 are therefore probably those ,arabian tribes who surrounded it and were its frequent confederates4#dfh ,they are described as sending ,edom to the border 7ib474 ,wellhausen thinks that this can only refer to the great northward movement of ,arabs which began to press upon the fertile lands to the south-east of ,israel during the time of the ,captivity4 ,ezekiel#dfi prophesies that ,ammon and ,moab will disappear before the ,arabs1 and we know that by the year #cab the latter were firmly settled in the territories of ,edom4#dgj ,shortly before this the ,hagarenes appear in ,chronicles1 and ,se'ir is called by the ,arabic name ,gebal1#dga while as early as the fifth century 8,malachi0#dgb records the desolation of ,edom's territory by the jackals of the wilderness1 and the expulsion of the ,edomites1 who will not return4 ,the ,edomites were pushed up into the ,negeb of ,israel1 and occupied the territory round1 and to the south of1 ,hebron till their conquest by ,john ,hyrcanus about #acj2 even after that it was called ,iduma4#dgc ,wellhausen would assign ,obadiah #a-g to the same stage of this movement as is reflected in 8,malachi0 i4 #a-e2 and1 apart from certain parentheses1 would therefore take the whole of ,obadiah as a unity from the end of the fifth century before ,christ4 ,in that case ,giesebrecht argues that the parallel prophecy1 ,jeremiah xlix4 #g-bb1 must be reckoned as one of the passages of the ,book of ,jeremiah in which post-exilic additions have been inserted4#dgd ,our criticism of this theory may start from the seventh verse of ,obadiah3 ,to the border they have sent thee1 all the men of thy covenant have betrayed thee1 they have overpowered thee1 the men of thy peace4 ,on our present knowledge of the history of ,edom it is impossible to assign the first of these clauses to any period before the ,exile4 ,no doubt in earlier days ,edom was more than once subjected to ,arab razzias4 ,but up to the ,jewish ,exile the ,edomites were still in possession of their own land4 ,so the ,deuteronomist#dge implies1 and so ,ezekiel#dgf and perhaps the author of ,lamentations4#dgg ,wellhausen's claim1 therefore1 that the seventh verse of ,obadiah refers to the expulsion of ,edomites by ,arabs in the sixth or fifth century ,b4,c4 may be granted4#dgh ,but does this mean that verses #a-f belong1 as he maintains1 to the same period8 ,a negative answer seems required by the following facts4 ,to begin with1 the seventh verse is not found in the parallel prophecy in ,jeremiah4 ,there is no reason why it should not have been used there1 if that prophecy had been compiled at a time when the expulsion of the ,edomites was already an accomplished fact4 ,but both by this omission and by all its other features1 that prophecy suits the time of ,jeremiah1 and we may leave it1 therefore1 where it was left till the appearance of ,wellhausen's theory--namely1 with ,jeremiah himself4#dgi ,moreover ,jeremiah xlix4 #i seems to have been adapted in ,obadiah #e in order to suit verse #f4 ,but again1 ,obadiah #a-f1 which contains so many parallels to ,jeremiah's prophecy1 also seems to imply that the ,edomites are still in possession of their land4 ,the nations 7we may understand by this the ,arab tribes7 are risen against ,edom1 and ,edom is already despicable in face of them 7vv4 #a1 #b72 but he has not yet fallen1 any more than1 to the writer of ,isaiah xlv4--xlvii41 who uses analogous language1 ,babylon is already fallen4 ,edom is weak and cannot resist the ,arab razzias4 ,but he still makes his eyrie on high and says3 ,who will bring me down8 ,to which challenge ,jehovah replies1 not #8,i have brought thee down1' but ,i will bring thee down4 ,the post-exilic portion of ,obadiah1 then1 ,i take to begin with verse #g2 and the author of this prophecy has begun by incorporating in vv4 #a-f a pre-exilic prophecy against ,edom1 which had been already1 and with more freedom1 used by ,jeremiah4 ,verses #h-i form a difficulty4 ,they return to the future tense1 as if the ,edomites were still to be cut off from ,mount ,esau4 ,but verse #aj1 as ,wellhausen points out1 follows on naturally to verse #g1 and1 with its successors1 clearly points to a period subsequent to ,nebuchadrezzar's overthrow of ,jerusalem4 ,the change from the past tense in vv4 #aj-aa to the imperatives of #ab-ad need cause1 in spite of what ,pusey says1 no difficulty1 but may be accounted for by the excited feelings of the prophet4 ,the suggestion has been made1 and it is plausible1 that ,obadiah speaks as an eye-witness of that awful time4 ,certainly there is nothing in the rest of the prophecy 7vv4 #ae-ba7 to lead us to bring it further down than the years following the destruction of ,jerusalem4 ,everything points to the ,jews being still in exile4 ,the verbs which describe the inviolateness of ,jerusalem 7#ag71 and the reinstatement of ,israel in their heritage 7#ag1 #ai71 and their conquest of ,edom 7#ah71 are all in the future4 ,the prophet himself appears to write in exile 7#bj74 ,the captivity of ,jerusalem is in ,sepharad 7ib47 and the saviours have to come up to ,mount ,zion2 that is to say1 they are still beyond the ,holy ,land 7#ba74dhj ,the one difficulty in assigning this date to the prophecy is that nothing is said in the ,hebrew of ver4 #ai about the re-occupation of the hill-country of ,juda itself1 but here the ,greek may help us4#dha ,certainly every other feature suits the early days of the ,exile4 ,the result of our inquiry is that the ,book of ,obadiah was written at that time by a prophet in exile1 who was filled by the same hatred of ,edom as filled another exile1 who in ,babylon wrote ,psalm cxxxvii42 and that1 like so many of the exilic writers1 he started from an earlier prophecy against ,edom1 already used by ,jeremiah4#dhb ,nowack 7,comm41 #ahig7 takes vv4 #a-ad 7with additions in vv4 #a1 #e1 #f1 #h;f4 and #ab7 to be from a date not long after the ,fall of ,jerusalem1 alluded to in vv4 #aa-ad2 and vv4 #ae-ba to belong to a later period1 which it is impossible to fix exactly4 ,there is nothing in the language of the book to disturb this conclusion4 ,the ,hebrew of ,obadiah is pure2 unlike its neighbour1 the ,book of ,jonah1 it contains neither ,aramaisms nor other symptoms of decadence4 ,the text is very sound4 ,the ,septuagint ,version enables us to correct vv4 #g and #ag1 offers the true division between vv4 #i and #aj1 but makes an omission which leaves no sense in ver4 #ag4dhc ,it will be best to give all the twenty-one verses together before commenting on their spirit4 ,,the ,,vision ,,of ,,obadiah4 ,thus hath the ,lord ,jehovah spoken concerning ,edom4#dhd 8,a report have we heard from ,jehovah1 and a messenger has been sent through the nations1 #8,up and let us rise against her to battle4' ,lo1 ,i have made thee small among the nations1 thou art very despised6 ,the arrogance of thy heart hath misled thee1 dweller in clefts of the ,rock#dhe2 the height is his dwelling1 that saith in his heart #8,who shall bring me down to earth6' ,though thou build high as the eagle1 though between the stars thou set thy nest1 thence will ,i bring thee down--oracle of ,jehovah4 ,if thieves had come into thee by night 7how art thou humbled671#dhf would they not steal just what they wanted8 ,if vine-croppers had come into thee1 would they not leave some gleanings8 7,how searched out is ,esau1 how rifled his treasures670 ,but now to thy very border have they sent thee1 all the men of thy covenant#dhg have betrayed thee1 the men of thy peace have overpowered thee#dhh2 they kept setting traps for thee--there is no understanding in him6 8#dhi,shall it not be in that day--oracle of ,jehovah--that ,i will cause the wise men to perish from ,edom1 and understanding from ,mount ,esau8 ,and thy heroes1 ,o ,teman1 shall be dismayed1 till#dij every man be cut off from ,mount ,esau40 ,for the slaughter1#dia for the outraging of thy brother ,jacob1 shame doth cover thee1 and thou art cut off for ever4 ,in the day of thy standing aloof1#dib in the day when strangers took captive his substance1 and aliens came into his gates1#dic and they cast lots on ,jerusalem1 even thou wert as one of them6 ,ah1 gloat not#did upon the day of thy brother1#die the day of his misfortune#dif2 exult not over the sons of ,judah in the day of their destruction1 and make not thy mouth large#dig in the day of distress4 ,come not up into the gate of ,my people in the day of their disaster4 ,gloat not thou1 yea thou1 upon his ills1 in the day of his disaster1 nor put forth thy hand to his substance in the day of his disaster1 nor stand at the parting#dih of the ways 787 to cut off his fugitives2 nor arrest his escaped ones in the day of distress4 ,for near is the day of ,jehovah1 upon all the nation as thou hast done1 so shall it be done to thee3 thy deed shall come back on thine own head4#dii ,for as ye#ejj have drunk on my holy mount1 all the nations shall drink continuously1 drink and reel1 and be as though they had not been4#eja ,but on ,mount ,zion shall be refuge1 and it shall be inviolate1 and the house of ,jacob shall inherit those who have disinherited them4#ejb ,for the house of ,jacob shall be fire1 and the house of ,joseph a flame1 but the house of ,esau shall become stubble1 and they shall kindle upon them and devour them1 and there shall not one escape of the house of ,esau--for ,jehovah hath spoken4 ,and the ,negeb shall possess ,mount ,esau1 and the ,shephelah the ,philistines1#ejc and the ,mountain#ejd shall possess ,ephraim and the field of ,samaria1#eje and ,benjamin shall possess ,gilead4 ,and the exiles of this host#ejf of the children of ,israel shall possess787 the land#ejg of the ,canaanites unto ,sarephath1 and the exiles of ,jerusalem who are in ,sepharad#ejh shall inherit the cities of the ,negeb4 ,and saviours shall come up on ,mount ,zion to judge ,mount ,esau1 and the kingdom shall be ,jehovah's4 ,,footnotes3 #ded 1 #8,obadyah1 the later form of 1 #8,obadyahu 7a name occurring thrice before the ,exile3 ,ahab's steward who hid the prophets of the ,lord1 #a ,kings xviii4 #c-g1 #af2 of a man in ,david's house1 #a ,chron4 xxvii4 #ai2 a ,levite in ,josiah's reign1 #b ,chron4 xxxiv4 #ab71 is the name of several of the ,jews who returned from exile3 ,ezra viii4 #i1 the son of ,jehi'el 7in #a ,esdras viii4 72 ,neh4 x4 #f1 a priest1 probably the same as the ,obadiah in xii4 #be1 a porter1 and the 1 the singer1 in xi4 #ag1 who is called in #a ,chron4 ix4 #af4 ,another #8,obadyah is given in the eleventh generation from ,saul1 #a ,chron4 viii4 #ch1 ix4 #dd2 another in the royal line in the time of the ,exile1 iii4 #ba2 a man of ,issachar1 vii4 #c2 a ,gadite under ,david1 xii4 #i2 a prince under ,jehoshaphat sent to teach in the cities of ,judah1 #b ,chron4 xvii4 #g4 ,with the ,massoretic points means worshipper of ,jehovah3 cf4 ,obed-,edom1 and so in the ,greek form1 1 of ,cod4 ,b4 ,but other ,codd41 ,a1 and 1 give or 1 and this1 with the alternative ,hebrew form of ,neh4 xi4 #ag1 suggests rather 1 servant of ,jehovah4 ,the name as given in the title is probably intended to be that of an historical individual1 as in the titles of all the other books2 but which1 or if any1 of the above mentioned it is impossible to say4 ,note1 however1 that it is the later post-exilic form of the name that is used1 in spite of the book occurring among the pre-exilic prophets4 ,some1 less probably1 take the name ,obadyah to be symbolic of the prophetic character of the writer4 #dee #hhi ,b4,c4 ,hofmann1 ,keil1 etc42 and soon after #cab1 ,hitzig4 #def ,cf4 the extraordinary tirade of ,pusey in his ,introd4 to ,obadiah4 #deg ,the first in his ,commentary on ,die ,zwlf ,kleine ,propheten2 the other in his ,einleitung4 #deh ,caspari 7,der ,proph4 ,ob4 ausgelegt #ahdb71 ,ewald1 ,graf1 ,pusey1 ,driver1 ,giesebrecht1 ,wildeboer and ,knig4 ,cf4 ,jer4 xlix4 #i with ,ob4 #e2 ,jer4 xlix4 #ad ff4 with ,ob4 #a-d4 ,the opening of ,ob4 #a ff4 is held to be more in its place than where it occurs in the middle of ,jeremiah's passage4 ,the language of ,obadiah is 8terser and more forcible4 ,jeremiah seems to expand ,obadiah1 and parts of ,jeremiah which have no parallel in ,obadiah are like ,obadiah's own style0 7,driver74 ,this strong argument is enforced in detail by ,pusey3 8,out of the sixteen verses of which the prophecy of ,jeremiah against ,edom consists1 four are identical with those of ,obadiah2 a fifth embodies a verse of ,obadiah's2 of the eleven which remain ten have some turns of expression or idioms1 more or fewer1 which occur in ,jeremiah1 either in these prophecies against foreign nations1 or in his prophecies generally4 ,now it would be wholly improbable that a prophet1 selecting verses out of the prophecy of ,jeremiah1 should have selected precisely those which contain none of ,jeremiah's characteristic expressions2 whereas it perfectly fits in with the supposition that ,jeremiah interwove verses of ,obadiah with his own prophecy1 that in verses so interwoven there is not one expression which occurs elsewhere in ,jeremiah40 ,similarly ,nowack1 ,comm41 #ahig4 #dei #b ,chron4 xx4 #dfj #b ,chron4 xxi4 #ad-ag4 #dfa ,so ,delitzsch1 ,keil1 ,volck in ,herzog's ,real4 ,ency4 ,,ii41 ,orelli and ,kirkpatrick4 ,delitzsch indeed suggests that the prophet may have been ,obadiah the prince appointed by ,jehoshaphat to teach in the cities of ,judah4 ,see above1 p4 #afc1 n4 #ded4 #dfb ,driver1 ,introd4 #dfc ,jer4 xlix4 #i and #af appear to be more original than ,ob4 #c and #b;b4 ,notice the presence in ,jer4 xlix4 #af of which ,obadiah omits4 #dfd #b ,kings xiv4 #bb2 xvi4 #f1 ,revised ,version margin4 #dfe ,einl4 pp4 #ahe f43 8,in any case ,obadiah #a-i are older than the fourth year of ,jehoiakim40 #dff 8,that the verses ,obadiah #aj ff4 refer to this event the sack of ,jerusalem will always remain the most natural supposition1 for the description which they give so completely suits that time that it is not possible to take any other explanation into consideration40 #dfg ,edom paid tribute to ,sennacherib in #gja1 and to ,asarhaddon 7#fha--ffi74 ,according to #b ,kings xxiv4 #b ,nebuchadrezzar sent ,ammonites1 ,moabites and ,edomites for read against ,jehoiakim1 who had broken his oath to ,babylonia4 #dfh ,for ,edom's alliances with ,arab tribes cf4 ,gen4 xxv4 #ac with xxxvi4 #c1 #ab1 etc4 #dfi ,ezek4 xxv4 #d1 #e1 #aj4 #dgj ,diod4 ,sic4 ,,xix4 #id4 ,a little earlier they are described as in possession of ,iturea1 on the south-east slopes of ,anti-,lebanon 7,arrian ,,ii4 #bj1 #d74 #dga ,psalm lxxxiii4 #h4 #dgb i4 #a-e4 #dgc ,e4g4 in the ,new ,testament3 ,mark iii4 #h4 #dgd ,so too ,nowack1 #ahig4 #dge ,deut4 ii4 #e1 #h1 #ab4 #dgf ,ezek4 xxxv41 esp4 #b and #ae4 #dgg iv4 #ba3 yet ,uz fails in ,,lxx41 and some take to refer to the ,holy ,land itself4 ,buhl1 ,gesch4 der ,edomiter1 #gc4 #dgh ,it can hardly be supposed that ,edom's treacherous allies were ,assyrians or ,babylonians1 for even if the phrase 8men of thy covenant0 could be applied to those to whom ,edom was tributary1 the ,assyrian or ,babylonian method of dealing with conquered peoples is described by saying that they took them off into captivity1 not that they sent them to the border4 #dgi ,so even ,cornill1 ,einl4 #dhj ,this in answer to ,wellhausen on the verse4 #dha ,see below1 p4 #age1 n4 #f4 #dhb ,calvin1 while refusing in his introduction to ,obadiah to fix a date 7except in so far as he thinks it impossible for the book to be earlier than ,isaiah71 implies throughout his commentary on the book that it was addressed to ,edom while the ,jews were in exile4 ,see his remarks on vv4 #ah-bj4 #dhc ,there is a mistranslation in ver4 #ah3 is rendered by 4 #dhd ,this is no doubt from the later writer1 who before he gives the new word of ,jehovah with regard to ,edom1 quotes the earlier prophecy1 marked above by quotation marks4 ,in no other way can we explain the immediate following of the words 8,thus hath the ,lord spoken0 with 8,we have heard a report10 etc4 #dhe #8,sela1' the name of the ,edomite capital1 ,petra4 #dhf ,the parenthesis is not in ,jer4 xlix4 #i2 ,nowack omits it4 ,if spoilers occurs in ,heb4 before by night3 delete4 #dhg ,antithetic to thieves and spoilers by night1 as the sending of the people to their border is antithetic to the thieves taking only what they wanted4 #dhh 1 thy bread1 which here follows1 is not found in the ,,lxx41 and is probably an error due to a mechanical repetition of the letters of the previous word4 #dhi ,again perhaps a quotation from an earlier prophecy3 ,nowack counts it from another hand4 ,mark the sudden change to the future4 #dij ,heb4 so that4 #dia ,with ,,lxx4 transfer this expression from the end of the ninth to the beginning of the tenth verse4 #dib 8,when thou didst stand on the opposite side40--,calvin4 #dic ,plural2 ,,lxx4 and ,qeri4 #did ,sudden change to imperative4 ,the ,english versions render1 ,thou shouldest not have looked on1 etc4 #die ,cf4 ,ps4 cxxxvii4 #g1 the day of ,jerusalem4 #dif ,the day of his strangeness aliena fortuna4 #dig ,with laughter4 ,wellhausen and ,nowack suspect ver4 #ac as an intrusion4 #dih does not elsewhere occur4 ,it means cleaving1 and the ,,lxx4 render it by 1 i4e4 pass between mountains4 ,the ,arabic forms from the same root suggest the sense of a band of men standing apart from the main body on the watch for stragglers 7cf4 1 in ver4 #aa74 ,calvin1 8the going forth02 ,grtz 1 breach1 but see ,nowack4 #dii ,wellhausen proposes to put the last two clauses immediately after ver4 #ad4 #ejj ,the prophet seems here to turn to address his own countrymen3 the drinking will therefore take the meaning of suffering ,god's chastising wrath4 ,others1 like ,calvin1 take it in the opposite sense1 and apply it to ,edom3 8as ye have exulted10 etc4 #eja ,reel--for we ought 7with ,wellhausen7 probably to read 3 cf4 ,lam4 iv4 #b4 ,some codd4 of ,,lxx4 omit all the nations 444 continuously1 drink and reel4 ,but ,ca ,a and ,q have all the nations shall drink wine4 #ejb ,so ,,lxx4 ,heb4 their heritages4 #ejc ,that is the reverse of the conditions after the ,jews went into exile1 for then the ,edomites came up on the ,negeb and the ,philistines on the ,shephelah4 #ejd ,i4e4 of ,judah1 the rest of the country outside the ,negeb and ,shephelah4 ,the reading is after the ,,lxx4 #eje ,whereas the pagan inhabitants of these places came upon the hill-country of ,juda during the ,exile4 #ejf ,an unusual form of the word4 ,ewald would read coast4 ,the verse is obscure4 #ejg ,so ,,lxx4 #ejh ,the ,jews themselves thought this to be ,spain3 so ,onkelos1 who translates by ,hispania4 ,hence the origin of the name ,sephardim ,jews4 ,the supposition that it is ,sparta need hardly be noticed4 ,our decision must lie between two other regions--the one in ,asia ,minor1 the other in ,s4,w4 ,media4 ,first1 in the ancient ,persian inscriptions there thrice occurs 7great ,behistun inscription1 ,i4 #ae2 inscription of ,darius1 ,,ii4 #ab1 #ac2 and inscription of ,darius from ,nash-i-,rustam7 parda4 ,it is connected with ,janua or ,ionia and ,katapatuka or ,cappadocia 7,schrader1 ,cun4 ,inscr4 and ,o4 ,t41 ,germ4 ed41 p4 #ddf2 ,eng41 ,vol4 ,,ii41 p4 #ade72 and ,sayce shows that1 called ,shaparda on a late cuneiform inscription of #bge ,b4,c41 it must have lain in ,bithynia or ,galatia 7,higher ,criticism and ,monuments1 p4 #dhc74 ,darius made it a satrapy4 ,it is clear1 as ,cheyne says 7,founders of ,o4 ,t4 ,criticism1 p4 #cab71 that those who on other grounds are convinced of the post-exilic origin of this part of ,obadiah1 of its origin in the ,persian period1 will identify ,sepharad with this parda1 which both he and ,sayce do4 ,but to those of us who hold that this part of ,obadiah is from the time of the ,babylonian exile1 as we have sought to prove above on pp4 #aga f41 then ,sepharad cannot be parda1 for ,nebuchadrezzar did not subdue ,asia ,minor and cannot have transported ,jews there4 ,are we then forced to give up our theory of the date of ,obadiah #aj-ba in the ,babylonian exile8 ,by no means4 ,for1 second1 the inscriptions of ,sargon1 king of ,assyria 7#gba--gje ,b4,c471 mention a ,shaparda1 in ,s4,w4 ,media towards ,babylonia1 a name phonetically correspondent to 7,schrader1 l4c471 and the identification of the two is regarded as 8exceedingly probable0 by ,fried4 ,delitzsch 7,wo lag das ,paradies8 p4 #bdi74 ,but even if this should be shown to be impossible1 and if the identification ,sepharad parda be proved1 that would not oblige us to alter our opinion as to the date of the whole of ,obadiah #aj-ba1 for it is possible that later additions1 including ,sepharad1 have been made to the passage4 ,,chapter ,,xiv ,,edom ,,and ,,israel ,,obadiah #a-ba ,if the ,book of ,obadiah presents us with some of the most difficult questions of criticism1 it raises besides one of the hardest ethical problems in all the vexed history of ,israel4 ,israel's fate has been to work out their calling in the world through antipathies rather than by sympathies1 but of all the antipathies which the nation experienced none was more bitter and more constant than that towards ,edom4 ,the rest of ,israel's enemies rose and fell like waves3 ,canaanites were succeeded by ,philistines1 ,philistines by ,syrians1 ,syrians by ,greeks4 ,tyrant relinquished his grasp of ,god's people to tyrant3 ,egyptian1 ,assyrian1 ,babylonian1 ,persian2 the ,seleucids1 the ,ptolemies4 ,but ,edom was always there1 and fretted his anger for ever4#eji ,from that far back day when their ancestors wrestled in the womb of ,rebekah to the very eve of the ,christian era1 when a ,jewish king#eaj dragged the ,idumeans beneath the yoke of the ,law1 the two peoples scorned1 hated and scourged each other1 with a relentlessness that finds no analogy1 between kindred and neighbour nations1 anywhere else in history4 ,about #ajcj ,david1 about #acj the ,hasmoneans1 were equally at war with ,edom2 and few are the prophets between those distant dates who do not cry for vengeance against him or exult in his overthrow4 ,the ,book of ,obadiah is singular in this1 that it contains nothing else than such feelings and such cries4 ,it brings no spiritual message4 ,it speaks no word of sin1 or of righteousness1 or of mercy1 but only doom upon ,edom in bitter resentment at his cruelties1 and in exultation that1 as he has helped to disinherit ,israel1 ,israel shall disinherit him4 ,such a book among the prophets surprises us4 ,it seems but a dark surge staining the stream of revelation1 as if to exhibit through what a muddy channel these sacred waters have been poured upon the world4 ,is the book only an outbreak of ,israel's selfish patriotism8 ,this is the question we have to discuss in the present chapter4 ,reasons for the hostility of ,edom and ,israel are not far to seek4 ,the two nations were neighbours with bitter memories and rival interests4 ,each of them was possessed by a strong sense of distinction from the rest of mankind1 which goes far to justify the story of their common descent4 ,but while in ,israel this pride was chiefly due to the consciousness of a peculiar destiny not yet realised--a pride painful and hungry--in ,edom it took the complacent form of satisfaction in a territory of remarkable isolation and self-sufficiency1 in large stores of wealth1 and in a reputation for worldly wisdom--a fulness that recked little of the future1 and felt no need of the ,divine4 ,the purple mountains1 into which the wild sons of ,esau clambered1 run out from ,syria upon the desert1 some hundred miles by twenty of porphyry and red sandstone4 ,they are said to be the finest rock scenery in the world4 8,salvator ,rosa never conceived so savage and so suitable a haunt for banditti40#eaa ,from ,mount ,hor1 which is their summit1 you look down upon a maze of mountains1 cliffs1 chasms1 rocky shelves and strips of valley4 ,on the east the range is but the crested edge of a high1 cold plateau1 covered for the most part by stones1 but with stretches of corn land and scattered woods4 ,the western walls1 on the contrary1 spring steep and bare1 black and red1 from the yellow of the desert #8,arabah4 ,the interior is reached by defiles1 so narrow that two horsemen may scarcely ride abreast1 and the sun is shut out by the overhanging rocks4 ,eagles1 hawks and other mountain birds fly screaming round the traveller4 ,little else than wild-fowls' nests are the villages2 human eyries perched on high shelves or hidden away in caves at the ends of the deep gorges4 ,there is abundance of water4 ,the gorges are filled with tamarisks1 oleanders and wild figs4 ,besides the wheat lands on the eastern plateau1 the wider defiles hold fertile fields and terraces for the vine4 ,mount ,esau is1 therefore1 no mere citadel with supplies for a limited siege1 but a well-stocked1 well-watered country1 full of food and lusty men1 yet lifted so high1 and locked so fast by precipice and slippery mountain1 that it calls for little trouble of defence4 ,dweller in the clefts of the rock1 the height is his habitation1 that saith in his heart3 ,who shall bring me down to earth8#eab ,on this rich fortress-land the ,edomites enjoyed a civilisation far above that of the tribes who swarmed upon the surrounding deserts2 and at the same time they were cut off from the lands of those ,syrian nations who were their equals in culture and descent4 ,when ,edom looked out of himself1 he looked down and across--down upon the ,arabs1 whom his position enabled him to rule with a loose1 rough hand1 and across at his brothers in ,palestine1 forced by their more open territories to make alliances with and against each other1 from all of which he could afford to hold himself free4 ,that alone was bound to exasperate them4 ,in ,edom himself it appears to have bred a want of sympathy1 a habit of keeping to himself and ignoring the claims both of pity and of kinship--with which he is charged by all the prophets4 ,he corrupted his natural feelings1 and watched his passion for ever4#eac ,thou stoodest aloof6#ead ,this self-sufficiency was aggravated by the position of the country among several of the main routes of ancient trade4 ,the masters of ,mount ,se'ir held the harbours of #8,akaba1 into which the gold ships came from ,ophir4 ,they intercepted the ,arabian caravans and cut the roads to ,gaza and ,damascus4 ,petra1 in the very heart of ,edom1 was in later times the capital of the ,nabatean kingdom1 whose commerce rivalled that of ,phnicia1 scattering its inscriptions from ,teyma in ,central ,arabia up to the very gates of ,rome4#eae ,the earlier ,edomites were also traders1 middlemen between ,arabia and the ,phnicians2 and they filled their caverns with the wealth both of ,east and ,west4#eaf ,there can be little doubt that it was this which first drew the envious hand of ,israel upon a land so cut off from their own and so difficult of invasion4 ,hear the exultation of the ancient prophet whose words ,obadiah has borrowed3 ,how searched out is ,esau1 and his hidden treasures rifled6#eag ,but the same is clear from the history4 ,solomon1 ,jehoshaphat1 ,amaziah1 ,uzziah and other ,jewish invaders of ,edom were all ambitious to command the ,eastern trade through ,elath and ,ezion-geber4 ,for this it was necessary to subdue ,edom2 and the frequent reduction of the country to a vassal state1 with the revolts in which it broke free1 were accompanied by terrible cruelties upon both sides4#eah ,every century increased the tale of bitter memories between the brothers1 and added the horrors of a war of revenge to those of a war for gold4 ,the deepest springs of their hate1 however1 bubbled in their blood4 ,in genius1 temper and ambition1 the two peoples were of opposite extremes4 ,it is very singular that we never hear in the ,old ,testament of the ,edomite gods4 ,israel fell under the fascination of every neighbouring idolatry1 but does not even mention that ,edom had a religion4 ,such a silence cannot be accidental1 and the inference which it suggests is confirmed by the picture drawn of ,esau himself4 ,esau is a profane person#eai2 with no conscience of a birthright1 no faith in the future1 no capacity for visions2 dead to the unseen1 and clamouring only for the satisfaction of his appetites4 ,the same was probably the character of his descendants2 who had1 of course1 their own gods1 like every other people in that ,semitic world1#ebj but were essentially irreligious1 living for food1 spoil and vengeance1 with no national conscience or ideals--a kind of people who deserved even more than the ,philistines to have their name descend to our times as a symbol of hardness and obscurantism4 ,it is no contradiction to all this that the one intellectual quality imputed to the ,edomites should be that of shrewdness and a wisdom which was obviously worldly4 ,the wise men of ,edom1 the cleverness of ,mount ,esau#eba were notorious4 ,it is the race which has given to history only the ,herods--clever1 scheming1 ruthless statesmen1 as able as they were false and bitter1 as shrewd in policy as they were destitute of ideals4 ,that fox1 cried ,christ1 and crying stamped the race4 ,but of such a national character ,israel was in all points1 save that of cunning1 essentially the reverse4 ,who had such a passion for the ideal8 ,who such a hunger for the future1 such hopes or such visions8 ,never more than in the day of their prostration1 when ,jerusalem and the sanctuary fell in ruins1 did they feel and hate the hardness of the brother1 who stood aloof and made large his mouth4#ebb ,it is1 therefore1 no mere passion for revenge1 which inspires these few1 hot verses of ,obadiah4 ,no doubt1 bitter memories rankle in his heart4 ,he eagerly repeats#ebc the voices of a day when ,israel matched ,edom in cruelty and was cruel for the sake of gold1 when ,judah's kings coveted ,esau's treasures and were foiled4 ,no doubt there is exultation in the news he hears1 that these treasures have been rifled by others2 that all the cleverness of this proud people has not availed against its treacherous allies2 and that it has been sent packing to its borders4#ebd ,but beneath such savage tempers1 there beats the heart which has fought and suffered for the highest things1 and now in its martyrdom sees them baffled and mocked by a people without vision and without feeling4 ,justice1 mercy and truth2 the education of humanity in the law of ,god1 the establishment of ,his will upon earth--these things1 it is true1 are not mentioned in the ,book of ,obadiah1 but it is for the sake of some dim instinct of them that its wrath is poured upon foes whose treachery and malice seek to make them impossible by destroying the one people on earth who then believed and lived for them4 ,consider the situation4 ,it was the darkest hour of ,israel's history4 ,city and ,temple had fallen1 the people had been carried away4 ,up over the empty land the waves of mocking heathen had flowed1 there was none to beat them back4 ,a ,jew who had lived through these things1 who had seen#ebe the day of ,jerusalem's fall and passed from her ruins under the mocking of her foes1 dared to cry back into the large mouths they made3 ,our day is not spent2 we shall return with the things we live for2 the land shall yet be ours1 and the kingdom our ,god's4 ,brave1 hot heart6 ,it shall be as thou sayest2 it shall be for a brief season4 ,but in exile thy people and thou have first to learn many more things about the heathen than you can now feel4 ,mix with them on that far-off coast1 from which thou criest4 ,learn what the world is1 and that more beautiful and more possible than the narrow rule which thou hast promised to ,israel over her neighbours shall be that worldwide service of man1 of which1 in fifty years1 all the best of thy people shall be dreaming4 ,the ,book of ,obadiah at the beginning of the ,exile1 and the great prophecy of the ,servant at the end of it--how true was his word who said3 ,he that goeth forth and weepeth1 bearing precious seed1 shall doubtless come again with rejoicing1 bringing his sheaves with him4 99 99 99 99 99 ,the subsequent history of ,israel and ,edom may be quickly traced4 ,when the ,jews returned from exile they found the ,edomites in possession of all the ,negeb1 and of the ,mountain of ,judah far north of ,hebron4 ,the old warfare was resumed1 and not till #acj ,b4,c4 7as has been already said7 did a ,jewish king bring the old enemies of his people beneath the ,law of ,jehovah4 ,the ,jewish scribes transferred the name of ,edom to ,rome1 as if it were the perpetual symbol of that hostility of the heathen world1 against which ,israel had to work out her calling as the peculiar people of ,god4 ,yet ,israel had not done with the ,edomites themselves4 ,never did she encounter foes more dangerous to her higher interests than in her ,idumean dynasty of the ,herods2 while the savage relentlessness of certain ,edomites in the last struggles against ,rome proved that the fire which had scorched her borders for a thousand years1 now burned a still more fatal flame within her4 ,more than anything else1 this ,edomite fanaticism provoked the splendid suicide of ,israel1 which beginning in ,galilee was consummated upon the rocks of ,masada1 half-way between ,jerusalem and ,mount ,esau4 ,,footnotes3 #eji ,amos i4 #aa4 ,see ,vol4 ,i41 p4 #abi4 #eaj ,john ,hyrcanus1 about #acj ,b4,c4 #eaa ,irby and ,mangles' ,travels3 cf4 ,burckhardt's ,travels in ,syria1 and ,doughty1 ,arabia ,deserta1 ,i4 #eab ,obadiah #c4 #eac ,amos i43 cf4 ,ezek4 xxxv4 #e4 #ead ,obadiah #aj4 #eae ,c4 ,i4 ,s41 ,,ii4 i4 #ahc ff4 #eaf ,obadiah #f4 #eag ,verse #f4 #eah ,see the details in ,vol4 ,i41 pp4 #abi f4 #eai ,heb4 xii4 #af4 #ebj ,we even know the names of some of these deities from the theophorous names of ,edomites3 e4g4 ,baal-chanan 7,gen4 xxxvi4 #ch71 ,hadad 7ib4 #ce2 #a ,kings xi4 #ad ff472 ,malikram1 ausmalaka1 ausgabri 7on ,assyrian inscriptions3 ,schrader1 ,k4,a4,t4 #aej1 #fac72 1 1 1 7,rev4 archol4 #ahgj1 ,i4 pp4 #aji ff41 #agj ff471 7,jos41 ,,xv4 ,ant4 vii4 #i74 ,see ,baethgen1 ,beitrge zur ,semit4 ,rel4 ,gesch41 pp4 #aj ff4 #eba ,obadiah #h3 cf4 ,jer4 xlix4 #g4 #ebb ,obadiah #aa1 #ab3 cf4 ,ezek4 xxxv4 #ab f4 #ebc #a-e or #f4 ,see above1 pp4 #afg1 #aga f4 #ebd ,verse #g4 #ebe ,see above1 p4 #aga4 ,,introduction ,,to ,,the ,,prophets ,,of ,,the ,,persian ,,period 7#eci--cca ,b4,c47 8,the exiles returned from ,babylon to found not a kingdom but a church40 ,,kirkpatrick4 8,israel is no longer a kingdom1 but a colony0 7p4 #ahi74 ,,chapter ,,xv ,,israel ,,under ,,the ,,persians 7#eci--cca ,b4,c47 ,the next group of the ,twelve ,prophets--,haggai1 ,zechariah1 ,malachi and perhaps ,joel--fall within the period of the ,persian ,empire4 ,the ,persian ,empire was founded on the conquest of ,babylon by ,cyrus in #eci ,b4,c41 and it fell in the defeat of ,darius ,,iii4 by ,alexander the ,great at the battle of ,gaugamela1 or ,arbela1 in #cca4 ,the period is thus one of a little more than two centuries4 ,during all this time ,israel were the subjects of the ,persian monarchs1 and bound to them and their civilisation by the closest of ties4 ,they owed them their liberty and revival as a separate community upon its own land4 ,the ,jewish ,state--if we may give that title to what is perhaps more truly described as a ,congregation or ,commune--was part of an empire which stretched from the gean to the ,indus1 and the provinces of which were held in close intercourse by the first system of roads and posts that ever brought different races together4 ,jews were scattered almost everywhere across this empire4 ,a vast number still remained in ,babylon1 and there were many at ,susa and ,ecbatana1 two of the royal capitals4 ,most of these were subject to the full influence of ,aryan manners and religion2 some were even members of the ,persian ,court and had access to the ,royal ,presence4 ,in the ,delta of ,egypt there were ,jewish settlements1 and ,jews were found also throughout ,syria and along the coasts1 at least1 of ,asia ,minor4 ,here they touched another civilisation1 destined to impress them in the future even more deeply than the ,persian4 ,it is the period of the struggle between ,asia and ,europe1 between ,persia and ,greece3 the period of ,marathon and ,thermopyl1 of ,salamis and ,plata1 of ,xenophon and the ,ten ,thousand4 ,greek fleets occupied ,cyprus and visited the ,delta4 ,greek armies--in the pay of ,persia--trod for the first time the soil of ,syria4#ebf ,in such a world1 dominated for the first time by the ,aryan1 ,jews returned from exile1 rebuilt their ,temple and resumed its ritual1 revived ,prophecy and codified the ,law3 in short1 restored and organised ,israel as the people of ,god1 and developed their religion to those ultimate forms in which it has accomplished its supreme service to the world4 ,in this period ,prophecy does not maintain that lofty position which it has hitherto held in the life of ,israel1 and the reasons for its decline are obvious4 ,to begin with1 the national life1 from which it springs1 is of a far poorer quality4 ,israel is no longer a kingdom1 but a colony4 ,the state is not independent3 there is virtually no state4 ,the community is poor and feeble1 cut off from all the habit and prestige of their past1 and beginning the rudiments of life again in hard struggle with nature and hostile tribes4 ,to this level ,prophecy has to descend1 and occupy itself with these rudiments4 ,we miss the civic atmosphere1 the great spaces of public life1 the large ethical issues4 ,instead we have tearful questions1 raised by a grudging soil and bad seasons1 with all the petty selfishness of hunger-bitten peasants4 ,the religious duties of the colony are mainly ecclesiastical3 the building of a temple1 the arrangement of ritual1 and the ceremonial discipline of the people in separation from their heathen neighbours4 ,we miss1 too1 the clear outlook of the earlier prophets upon the history of the world1 and their calm1 rational grasp of its forces4 ,the world is still seen1 and even to further distances than before4 ,the people abate no whit of their ideal to be the teachers of mankind4 ,but it is all through another medium4 ,the lurid air of ,apocalypse envelops the future1 and in their weakness to grapple either politically or philosophically with the problems which history offers1 the prophets resort to the expectation of physical catastrophes and of the intervention of supernatural armies4 ,such an atmosphere is not the native air of ,prophecy1 and ,prophecy yields its supreme office in ,israel to other forms of religious development4 ,on one side the ecclesiastic comes to the front--the legalist1 the organiser of ritual1 the priest2 on another1 the teacher1 the moralist1 the thinker and the speculator4 ,at the same time personal religion is perhaps more deeply cultivated than at any other stage of the people's history4 ,a large number of lyrical pieces bear proof to the existence of a very genuine and beautiful piety throughout the period4 99 99 99 99 99 ,unfortunately the ,jewish records for this time are both fragmentary and confused2 they touch the general history of the world only at intervals1 and give rise to a number of difficult questions1 some of which are insoluble4 ,the clearest and only consecutive line of data through the period is the list of the ,persian monarchs4 ,the ,persian ,empire1 #eci--cca1 was sustained through eleven reigns and two usurpations1 of which the following is a chronological table3-- ,cyrus 7,kurush7 the ,great #eci--ebi ,cambyses 7,kambujiya7 #ebi--ebb ,pseudo-,smerdis1 or ,baradis #ebb ,darius 7,darayahush7 ,i41 ,hystaspis #eba--dhe ,xerxes 7,kshayarsha7 ,i4 #dhe--dfd ,artaxerxes 7,artakshathra7 ,i41 ,longimanus #dfd--dbd ,xerxes ,,ii4 #dbd--dbc ,sogdianus #dbc ,darius ,,ii41 ,nothus #dbc--djd ,artaxerxes ,,ii41 ,mnemon #djd--ceh ,artaxerxes ,,iii41 ,ochus #ceh--cch ,arses #cch--cce ,darius ,,iii41 ,codomanus #cce--cca ,of these royal names1 ,cyrus1 ,darius1 ,xerxes 7,ahasuerus7 and ,artaxerxes are given among the ,biblical data2 but the fact that there are three ,darius'1 two ,xerxes' and three ,artaxerxes' makes possible more than one set of identifications1 and has suggested different chronological schemes of ,jewish history during this period4 ,the simplest and most generally accepted identification of the ,darius1 ,xerxes 7,ahasuerus7 and ,artaxerxes of the ,biblical history1#ebg is that they were the first ,persian monarchs of these names2 and after needful rearrangement of the somewhat confused order of events in the narrative of the ,book of ,ezra1 it was held as settled that1 while the exiles returned under ,cyrus about #ecg1 ,haggai and ,zechariah prophesied and the ,temple was built under ,darius ,i4 between the second and the sixth year of his reign1 or from #ebj to #eaf2 that attempts were made to build the walls of ,jerusalem under ,xerxes ,i4 7#dhe--dfd71 but especially under ,artaxerxes ,i4 7#dfd--dbd71 under whom first ,ezra in #deh and then ,nehemiah in #dde arrived at ,jerusalem1 promulgated the ,law and reorganised ,israel4 ,but this has by no means satisfied all modern critics4 ,some in the interests of the authenticity and correct order of the ,book of ,ezra1 and some for other reasons1 argue that the ,darius under whom the ,temple was built was ,darius ,,ii41 or ,nothus1 #dbc--djd1 and thus bring down the building of the ,temple and the prophets ,haggai and ,zechariah a whole century later than the accepted theory2#ebh and that therefore the ,artaxerxes1 under whom ,ezra and ,nehemiah laboured1 was not the first ,artaxerxes1 or ,longimanus 7#dfd--dbd71 but the second1 or ,mnemon 7#djd--ceh74ebi ,this arrangement of the history finds some support in the data1 and especially in the order of the data1 furnished by the ,book of ,ezra1 which describes the building of the ,temple under ,darius after its record of events under ,xerxes ,i4 7,ahasuerus7 and ,artaxerxes ,i4#ecj ,but1 as we shall see in the next chapter1 the ,compiler of the ,book of ,ezra has seen fit1 for some reason1 to violate the chronological order of the data at his disposal1 and nothing reliable can be built upon his arrangement4 ,unravel his somewhat confused history1 take the contemporary data supplied in ,haggai and ,zechariah1 add to them the historical probabilities of the time1 and you will find1 as the three ,dutch scholars ,kuenen1 ,van ,hoonacker and ,kosters have done1#eca that the rebuilding of the ,temple cannot possibly be dated so late as the reign of the second ,darius 7#dbc--djd71 but must be left1 according to the usual acceptation1 under ,darius ,i4 7#eba--dhe74 ,haggai1 for instance1 plainly implies that among those who saw the ,temple rising were men who had seen its predecessor destroyed in #ehf1ecb and ,zechariah declares that ,god's wrath on ,jerusalem has just lasted seventy years4#ecc ,nor 7however much his confusion may give grounds to the contrary7 can the ,compiler of the ,book of ,ezra have meant any other reign for the building of the ,temple than that of ,darius ,i4 ,he mentions that nothing was done to the ,temple all the days of ,cyrus and up to the reign of ,darius3#ecd by this he cannot intend to pass over the first ,darius and leap on three more reigns1 or a century1 to ,darius ,,ii4 ,he mentions ,zerubbabel and ,jeshua both as at the head of the exiles who returned under ,cyrus1 and as presiding at the building of the ,temple under ,darius4#ece ,if alive in #ecf1 they may well have been alive in #eba1 but cannot have survived till #dbc4ecf ,these data are fully supported by the historical probabilities4 ,it is inconceivable that the ,jews should have delayed the building of the ,temple for more than a century from the time of ,cyrus4 ,that the ,temple was built by ,zerubbabel and ,jeshua in the beginning of the reign of ,darius ,i4 may be considered as one of the unquestionable data of our period4 ,but if this be so1 then there falls away a great part of the argument for placing the building of the walls of ,jerusalem and the labours of ,ezra and ,nehemiah under ,artaxerxes ,,ii4 7#djd--ceh7 instead of ,artaxerxes ,i4 ,it is true that some who accept the building of the ,temple under ,darius ,i4 nevertheless put ,ezra and ,nehemiah under ,artaxerxes ,,ii4 ,the weakness of their case1 however1 has been clearly exposed by ,kuenen1#ecg who proves that ,nehemiah's mission to ,jerusalem must have fallen in the twentieth year of ,artaxerxes ,i41 or #dde4ech 8,on this fact there can be no further difference of opinion40#eci ,these two dates then are fixed3 the beginning of the ,temple in #ebj by ,zerubbabel and ,jeshua1 and the arrival of ,nehemiah at ,jerusalem in #dde4 ,other points are more difficult to establish1 and in particular there rests a great obscurity on the date of the two visits of ,ezra to ,jerusalem4 ,according to the ,book of ,ezra1#edj he went there first in the seventh year of ,artaxerxes ,i41 or #deh ,b4,c41 thirteen years before the arrival of ,nehemiah4 ,he found many ,jews married to heathen wives1 laid it to heart1 and called a general assembly of the people to drive the latter out of the community4 ,then we hear no more of him3 neither in the negotiations with ,artaxerxes about the building of the walls1 nor upon the arrival of ,nehemiah1 nor in ,nehemiah's treatment of the mixed marriages4 ,he is absent from everything1 till suddenly he appears again at the dedication of the walls by ,nehemiah and at the reading of the ,law4#eda ,this 8eclipse of ,ezra10 as ,kuenen well calls it1 taken with the mixed character of all the records left of him1 has moved some to deny to him and his reforms and his promulgation of the ,law any historical reality whatever2#edb while others1 with a more sober and rational criticism1 have sought to solve the difficulties by another arrangement of the events than that usually accepted4 ,van ,hoonacker makes ,ezra's first appearance in ,jerusalem to be at the dedication of the walls and promulgation of the ,law in #dde1 and refers his arrival described in ,ezra vii4 and his attempts to abolish the mixed marriages to a second visit to ,jerusalem in the twentieth year1 not of ,artaxerxes ,i41 but of ,artaxerxes ,,ii41 or #cih ,b4,c4 ,kuenen has exposed the extreme unlikelihood1 if not impossibility1 of so late a date for ,ezra1 and in this ,kosters holds with him4#edc ,but ,kosters agrees with ,van ,hoonacker in placing ,ezra's activity subsequent to ,nehemiah's and to the dedication of the walls4 ,these questions about ,ezra have little bearing on our present study of the prophets1 and it is not our duty to discuss them4 ,but ,kuenen1 in answer to ,van ,hoonacker1 has shown very strong reasons#edd for holding in the main to the generally accepted theory of ,ezra's arrival in ,jerusalem in #deh1 the seventh year of ,artaxerxes ,i42 and though there are great difficulties about the narrative which follows1 and especially about ,ezra's sudden disappearance from the scene till after ,nehemiah's arrival1 reasons may be found for this4#ede ,we are therefore justified in holding1 in the meantime1 to the traditional arrangement of the great events in ,israel in the fifth century before ,christ4 ,we may divide the whole ,persian period by the two points we have found to be certain1 the beginning of the ,temple under ,darius ,i4 in #ebj and the mission of ,nehemiah to ,jerusalem in #dde1 and by the other that we have found to be probable1 ,ezra's arrival in #deh4 ,on these data the ,persian period may be arranged under the following four sections1 among which we place those prophets who respectively belong to them3-- #a4 ,from the ,taking of ,babylon by ,cyrus to the ,completion of the ,temple in the sixth year of ,darius ,i41 #ech--eaf3 ,haggai and ,zechariah in #ebj ff4 #b4 ,from the ,completion of the ,temple under ,darius ,i4 to the arrival of ,ezra in the seventh year of ,artaxerxes ,i41 #eaf--deh3 sometimes called the period of silence1 but probably yielding the ,book of 8,malachi40 #c4 ,the ,work of ,ezra and ,nehemiah under ,artaxerxes ,i41 ,longimanus1 #deh--dbe4 #d4 ,the ,rest of the ,period1 ,xerxes ,,ii4 to ,darius ,,iii41 #dbe--cca3 the prophet ,joel and perhaps several other anonymous fragments of prophecy4 99 99 99 99 99 ,of these four sections we must now examine the first1 for it forms the necessary introduction to our study of ,haggai and ,zechariah1 and above all it raises a question almost greater than any of those we have just been discussing4 ,the fact recorded by the ,book of ,ezra1 and till a few years ago accepted without doubt by tradition and modern criticism1 the first ,return of ,exiles from ,babylon under ,cyrus1 has lately been altogether denied2 and the builders of the ,temple in #ebj have been asserted to be1 not returned exiles1 but the remnant of ,jews left in ,judah by ,nebuchadrezzar in #ehf4 ,the importance of this for our interpretation of ,haggai and ,zechariah1 who instigated the building of the ,temple1 is obvious3 we must discuss the question in detail4 ,,footnotes3 #ebf ,the chief authorities for this period are as follows3--,a4 ,ancient3 the inscriptions of ,nabonidus1 last native ,king of ,babylon1 ,cyrus and ,darius ,i42 the ,hebrew writings which were composed in1 or record the history of1 the period2 the ,greek historians ,herodotus1 fragments of ,ctesias in ,diodorus ,sic4 etc41 of ,abydenus in ,eusebius1 ,berosus4 ,b4 ,modern3 ,meyer's and ,duncker's ,histories of ,antiquity2 art4 8,ancient ,persia0 in ,encycl4 ,brit41 by ,nldeke and ,gutschmid2 ,sayce1 ,anc4 ,empires2 the works of ,kuenen1 ,van ,hoonacker and ,kosters given on p4 #aib2 recent histories of ,israel1 e4g4 ,stade's1 ,wellhausen's and ,klostermann's2 ,p4 ,hay ,hunter1 ,after the ,exile1 a ,hundred ,years of ,jewish ,history and ,literature1 #b ,vols41 ,edin4 #ahij2 ,w4 ,fairweather1 ,from the ,exile to the ,advent1 ,edin4 #ahie4 ,on ,ezra and ,nehemiah see especially ,ryle's ,commentary in the ,cambridge ,bible for ,schools1 and ,bertheau-,ryssel's in ,kurzgefasstes ,exegetisches ,handbuch3 cf4 also ,charles ,c4 ,torrey1 ,the ,composition and ,historical ,value of ,ezra-,nehemiah1 in the ,beihefte zur ,z4,a4,t4,w41 ,,ii41 #ahif4 #ebg ,ezra iv4 #e-g1 etc41 vi4 #a-ad1 etc4 #ebh ,havet1 ,revue des ,deux ,mondes1 ,,xciv4 #gii ff4 7art4 ,la ,modernit des ,prophtes72 ,imbert 7in defence of the historical character of the ,book of ,ezra71 ,le ,temple ,reconstruit par ,zorobabel1 extrait du ,muson1 #ahhh-i 7this ,i have not seen72 ,sir ,henry ,howorth in the ,academy for #ahic--see especially pp4 #cbj ff4 #ebi ,another ,french writer1 ,bellang1 in the ,muson for #ahij1 quoted by ,kuenen 7,ges4 ,abhandl41 p4 #bac71 goes further1 and places ,ezra and ,nehemiah under the third ,artaxerxes1 ,ochus 7#ceh--cch74 #ecj ,ezra iv4 #f--v4 #eca ,kuenen1 ,de ,chronologie van het ,perzische ,tijdvak der ,joodsche ,geschiedenis1 #ahij1 translated by ,budde in ,kuenen's ,gesammelte ,abhandlungen1 pp4 #bab ff42 ,van ,hoonacker1 ,zorobabel et le ,second ,temple 7#ahib72 ,kosters1 ,het ,herstel van ,israel1 in ,het ,perzische ,tijdvak1 #ahid1 translated by ,basedow1 ,die ,wiederherstellung ,israels im ,persischen ,zeitalter1 #ahif4 #ecb ,hag4 ii4 #c4 #ecc ,zech4 i4 #ab4 #ecd ,ezra iv4 #e4 #ece ,ezra ii4 #b1 iv4 #a ff41 v4 #b4 #ecf ,as ,kuenen shows1 p4 #bbf1 nothing can be deduced from ,ezra vi4 #ad4 #ecg ,p4 #bbg2 in answer to ,de ,saulcy1 tude ,chronologique des ,livres d',esdras et de ,nhmie 7#ahfh71 ,sept ,sicles de l',histoire ,judaque 7#ahgd74 ,de ,saulcy's case rests on the account of ,josephus 7,,xi4 ,ant4 vii4 #b-h3 cf4 ix4 #a71 the untrustworthy character of which and its confusion of two distant eras ,kuenen has no difficulty in showing4 #ech ,when ,nehemiah came to ,jerusalem ,eliyashib was high priest1 and he was grandson of ,jeshua1 who was high priest in #ebj1 or seventy-five years before2 but between #ebj and the twentieth year of ,artaxerxes ,,ii4 lie one hundred and thirty-six years4 ,and again1 the ,artaxerxes of ,ezra iv4 #h-bc1 under whom the walls of ,jerusalem were begun1 was the immediate follower of ,xerxes 7,ahasuerus71 and therefore ,artaxerxes ,i41 and ,van ,hoonacker has shown that he must be the same as the ,artaxerxes of ,nehemiah4 #eci ,kosters1 p4 #dc4 #edj vii4 #a-h4 #eda ,neh4 xii4 #cf1 viii41 x4 #edb ,vernes1 ,prcis d',histoire ,juive depuis les ,origines jusqu' l'poque ,persane 7#ahhi71 pp4 #egi ff4 7not seen72 more recently also ,charles ,c4 ,torrey of ,andover1 ,the ,composition and ,historical ,value of ,ezra-,nehemiah1 in the ,beihefte zur ,z4,a4,t4,w41 ,,ii41 #ahif4 #edc ,pages #aac ff4 #edd ,page #bcg4 #ede ,the failure of his too hasty and impetuous attempts at so wholesale a measure as the banishment of the heathen wives2 or his return to ,babylon1 having accomplished his end4 ,see ,ryle1 ,ezra and ,nehemiah1 in the ,cambridge ,bible for ,schools1 ,introd41 pp4 xl4 f4 ,,chapter ,,xvi ,,from ,,the ,,return ,,from ,,babylon ,,to ,,the ,,building ,,of ,,the ,,temple 7#ecf--eaf ,b4 ,c47 ,cyrus the ,great took ,babylon and the ,babylonian ,empire in #eci4 ,upon the eve of his conquest the ,second ,isaiah had hailed him as the ,liberator of the people of ,god and the builder of their ,temple4 ,the ,return of the ,exiles and the ,restoration both of ,temple and ,city were predicted by the ,second ,isaiah for the immediate future2 and a ,jewish historian1 the ,compiler of the ,books of ,ezra and ,nehemiah1 who lived about #cjj ,b4,c41 has taken up the story of how these events came to pass from the very first year of ,cyrus onward4 ,before discussing the dates and proper order of these events1 it will be well to have this ,chronicler's narrative before us4 ,it lies in the first and following chapters of our ,book of ,ezra4 ,according to this1 ,cyrus1 soon after his conquest of ,babylon1 gave permission to the ,jewish exiles to return to ,palestine1 and between forty and fifty thousand#edf did so return1 bearing the vessels of ,jehovah's house which the ,chaldeans had taken away in #ehf4 ,these ,cyrus delivered to ,sheshbazzar1 prince of ,judah#edg 7who is further described in an ,aramaic document incorporated by the ,compiler of the ,book of ,ezra as 8,peah10 or provincial governor1#edh and as laying the foundation of the ,temple#edi71 and there is also mentioned in command of the people a ,tirshatha1 probably the ,persian ,tarsta1#eej which also means provincial governor4 ,upon their arrival at ,jerusalem1 the date of which will be immediately discussed1 the people are said to be under ,jeshu'a ben ,jadak#eea and ,zerubbabel ben ,she'alt'el1#eeb who had already been mentioned as the head of the returning exiles1#eec and who is called by his contemporary ,haggai ,peah1 or governor1 of ,judah4#eed ,are we to understand by ,sheshbazzar and ,zerubbabel one and the same person8 ,most critics have answered in the affirmative1 believing that ,sheshbazzar is but the ,babylonian or ,persian name by which the ,jew ,zerubbabel was known at court2#eee and this view is supported by the facts that ,zerubbabel was of the house of ,david and is called ,peah by ,haggai1 and by the argument that the command given by the ,tirshatha to the ,jews to abstain from eating the most holy things#eef could only have been given by a native ,jew4#eeg ,but others1 arguing that ,ezra v4 #a1 compared with vv4 #ad and #af1 implies that ,zerubbabel and ,sheshbazzar were two different persons1 take the former to have been the most prominent of the ,jews themselves1 but the latter an official1 ,persian or ,babylonian1 appointed by ,cyrus to carry out such business in connection with the ,return as could only be discharged by an imperial officer4#eeh ,this is1 on the whole1 the more probable theory4 ,if it is right1 ,sheshbazzar1 who superintended the ,return1 had disappeared from ,jerusalem by #eba1 when ,haggai commenced to prophesy1 and had been succeeded as ,peah1 or governor1 by ,zerubbabel4 ,but in that case the ,compiler has been in error in calling ,sheshbazzar a prince of ,judah4#eei ,the next point to fix is what the ,compiler considers to have been the date of the ,return4 ,he names no year1 but he recounts that the same people1 whom he has just described as receiving the command of ,cyrus to return1 did immediately leave ,babylon1#efj and he says that they arrived at ,jerusalem in the seventh month1 but again without stating a year4#efa ,in any case1 he obviously intends to imply that the ,return followed immediately on reception of the permission to return1 and that this was given by ,cyrus very soon after his occupation of ,babylon in #eci--h4 ,we may take it that the ,compiler understood the year to be that we know as #ecg ,b4,c4 ,he adds that1 on the arrival of the caravans from ,babylon1 the ,jews set up the altar on its old site and restored the morning and evening sacrifices2 that they kept also the ,feast of ,tabernacles1 and thereafter all the rest of the feasts of ,jehovah2 and further1 that they engaged masons and carpenters for building the ,temple1 and ,phnicians to bring them cedar-wood from ,lebanon4#efb ,another section from the ,compiler's hand states that the returned ,jews set to work upon the ,temple in the second month of the second year of their ,return1 presumably #ecf ,b4,c41 laying the foundation-stone with due pomp1 and amid the excitement of the whole people4#efc ,whereupon certain adversaries1 by whom the ,compiler means ,samaritans1 demanded a share in the building of the ,temple1 and when ,jeshua and ,zerubbabel refused this1 the people of the land frustrated the building of the ,temple even until the reign of ,darius1 #eba ff4 ,this--the second year of ,darius--is the point to which contemporary documents1 the prophecies of ,haggai and ,zechariah1 assign the beginning of new measures to build the ,temple4 ,of these the ,compiler of the ,book of ,ezra says in the meantime nothing1 but after barely mentioning the reign of ,darius leaps at once#efd to further ,samaritan obstructions--though not of the building of the ,temple 7be it noted71 but of the building of the city walls--in the reigns of ,ahasuerus1 that is ,xerxes1 presumably ,xerxes ,i41 the successor of ,darius1 #dhe--dfd1 and of his successor ,artaxerxes ,i41 #dfd--dbd2efe the account of the latter of which he gives not in his own language but in that of an ,aramaic document1 ,ezra iv4 #h ff4 ,and this document1 after recounting how ,artaxerxes empowered the ,samaritans to stop the building of the walls of ,jerusalem1 records#eff that the building ceased till the second year of the reign of ,darius1 when the prophets ,haggai and ,zechariah stirred up ,zerubbabel and ,jeshua to rebuild1 not the city walls1 be it observed1 but the ,temple1 and with the permission of ,darius this building was at last completed in his sixth year4#efg ,that is to say1 this ,aramaic document brings us back1 with the frustrated building of the walls under ,xerxes ,i4 and ,artaxerxes ,i4 7#dhe--dbd71 to the same date under their predecessor ,darius ,i41 viz4 #ebj1 to which the ,compiler had brought down the frustrated building of the ,temple6 ,the most reasonable explanation of this confusion1 not only of chronology1 but of two distinct processes--the erection of the ,temple and the fortification of the city--is that the ,compiler was misled by his desire to give as strong an impression as possible of the ,samaritan obstructions by placing them all together4 ,attempts to harmonise the order of his narrative with the ascertained sequence of the ,persian reigns have failed4#efh ,such then is the character of the compilation known to us as the ,book of ,ezra4 ,if we add that in its present form it cannot be of earlier date than #cjj ,b4,c41 or two hundred and thirty-six years after the ,return1 and that the ,aramaic document which it incorporates is probably not earlier than #dcj1 or one hundred years after the ,return1 while the ,list of ,exiles which it gives 7in chap4 ii47 also contains elements that cannot be earlier than #dcj1 we shall not wonder that grave doubts should have been raised concerning its trustworthiness as a narrative4 ,these doubts affect1 with one exception1 all the great facts which it professes to record4 ,the exception is the building of the ,temple between the second and sixth years of ,darius ,i41 #ebj--eaf1 which we have already seen to be past doubt4#efi ,but all that the ,book of ,ezra relates before this has been called in question1 and it has been successively alleged3 7#a7 that there was no such attempt as the book describes to build the ,temple before #ebj1 7#b7 that there was no ,return of ,exiles at all under ,cyrus1 and that the ,temple was not built by ,jews who had come from ,babylon1 but by ,jews who had never left ,judah4 ,these conclusions1 if justified1 would have the most important bearing upon our interpretation of ,haggai and ,zechariah4 ,it is therefore necessary to examine them with care4 ,they were reached by critics in the order just stated1 but as the second is the more sweeping and to some extent involves the other1 we may take it first4 #a4 ,is the ,book of ,ezra1 then1 right or wrong in asserting that there was a great return of ,jews1 headed by ,zerubbabel and ,jeshua1 about the year #ecf1 and that it was they who in #ebj--eaf rebuilt the ,temple8 ,the argument that in recounting these events the ,book of ,ezra is unhistorical has been fully stated by ,professor ,kosters of ,leiden4#egj ,he reaches his conclusion along three lines of evidence3 the ,books of ,haggai and ,zechariah1 the sources from which he believes the ,aramaic narrative ,ezra v4 #a--vi4 #ah to have been compiled1 and the list of names in ,ezra ii4 ,in the ,books of ,haggai and ,zechariah1 he points out that the inhabitants of ,jerusalem whom the prophets summon to build the ,temple are not called by any name which implies that they are returned exiles2 that nothing in the description of them would lead us to suppose this2 that ,god's anger against ,israel is represented as still unbroken2 that neither prophet speaks of a ,return as past1 but that ,zechariah seems to look for it as still to come4#ega ,the second line of evidence is an analysis of the ,aramaic document1 ,ezra v4 #f ff41 into two sources1 neither of which implies a ,return under ,cyrus4 ,but these two lines of proof cannot avail against the ,list of ,returned ,exiles offered us in ,ezra ii4 and ,nehemiah vii41 if the latter be genuine4 ,on his third line of evidence1 ,dr4 ,kosters1 therefore1 disputes the genuineness of this ,list1 and further denies that it even gives itself out as a ,list of ,exiles returned under ,cyrus4 ,so he arrives at the conclusion that there was no ,return from ,babylon under ,cyrus1 nor any before the ,temple was built in #ebj ff41 but that the builders were people of the land1 ,jews who had never gone into exile4 ,the evidence which ,dr4 ,kosters draws from the ,book of ,ezra least concerns us4 ,both because of this and because it is the weakest part of his case1 we may take it first4 ,dr4 ,kosters analyses the bulk of the ,aramaic document1 ,ezra v4--vi4 #ah1 into two constituents4 ,his arguments for this are very precarious4#egb ,the first document1 which he takes to consist of chap4 v4 #a-e and #aj1 with perhaps vi4 #f-ae 7except a few phrases71 relates that ,thathnai1 ,satrap of the ,west of the ,euphrates1 asked ,darius whether he might allow the ,jews to proceed with the building of the ,temple1 and received command not only to allow but to help them1 on the ground that ,cyrus had already given them permission4 ,the second1 chap4 v4 #aa-ag1 vi4 #a-c1 affirms that the building had actually begun under ,cyrus1 who had sent ,sheshbazzar1 the ,satrap1 to see it carried out4 ,neither of these documents says a word about any order from ,cyrus to the ,jews to return2 and the implication of the second1 that the building had gone on uninterruptedly from the time of ,cyrus' order to the second year of ,darius1#egc is not in harmony with the evidence of the ,compiler of the ,book of ,ezra1 who1 as we have seen1#egd states that ,samaritan obstruction stayed the building till the second year of ,darius4 ,but suppose we accept ,kosters' premisses and agree that these two documents really exist within ,ezra v4--vi4 #ah4 ,their evidence is not irreconcilable4 ,both imply that ,cyrus gave command to rebuild the ,temple3 if they were originally independent that would but strengthen the tradition of such a command1 and render a little weaker ,dr4 ,kosters' contention that the tradition arose merely from a desire to find a fulfilment of the ,second ,isaiah's predictions#ege that ,cyrus would be the ,temple's builder4 ,that neither of the supposed documents mentions the ,return itself is very natural1 because both are concerned with the building of the ,temple4 ,for the ,compiler of the ,book of ,ezra1 who on ,kosters' argument put them together1 the interest of the ,return is over2 he has already sufficiently dealt with it4 ,but more--,kosters' second document1 which ascribes the building of the ,temple to ,cyrus1 surely by that very statement implies a ,return of ,exiles during his reign4 ,for is it at all probable that ,cyrus would have committed the rebuilding of the ,temple to a ,persian magnate like ,sheshbazzar1 without sending with him a large number of those ,babylonian ,jews who must have instigated the king to give his order for rebuilding8 ,we may conclude then that ,ezra v4--vi4 #ah1 whatever be its value and its date1 contains no evidence1 positive or negative1 against a ,return of the ,jews under ,cyrus1 but1 on the contrary1 takes this for granted4 ,we turn now to ,dr4 ,kosters' treatment of the so-called ,list of the ,returned ,exiles4 ,he holds this ,list to have been1 not only borrowed for its place in ,ezra ii4 from ,nehemiah vii41#egf but even interpolated in the latter4 ,his reasons for this latter conclusion are very improbable1 as will be seen from the appended note1 and really weaken his otherwise strong case4#egg ,as to the contents of the ,list1 there are1 it is true1 many elements which date from ,nehemiah's own time and even later4 ,but these are not sufficient to prove that the ,list was not originally a ,list of ,exiles returned under ,cyrus4 ,the verses in which this is asserted--,ezra ii4 #a1 #b2 ,nehemiah vii4 #f1 #g--plainly intimate that those ,jews who came up out of the ,exile were the same who built the ,temple under ,darius4 ,dr4 ,kosters endeavours to destroy the force of this statement 7if true so destructive of his theory7 by pointing to the number of the leaders which the ,list assigns to the returning exiles4 ,in fixing this number as twelve1 the author1 ,kosters maintains1 intended to make the leaders representative of the twelve tribes and the body of returned exiles as equivalent to ,all-,israel4 ,but1 he argues1 neither ,haggai nor ,zechariah considers the builders of the ,temple to be equivalent to ,all-,israel1 nor was this conception realised in ,judah till after the arrival of ,ezra with his bands4 ,the force of this argument is greatly weakened by remembering how natural it would have been for men1 who felt the ,return under ,cyrus1 however small1 to be the fulfilment of the ,second ,isaiah's glorious predictions of a restoration of ,all-,israel1 to appoint twelve leaders1 and so make them representative of the nation as a whole4 ,kosters' argument against the naturalness of such an appointment in #ecg1 and therefore against the truth of the statement of the ,list about it1 falls to the ground4 ,but in the ,books of ,haggai and ,zechariah ,dr4 ,kosters finds much more formidable witnesses for his thesis that there was no ,return of exiles from ,babylon before the building of the ,temple under ,darius4 ,these books nowhere speak of a ,return under ,cyrus1 nor do they call the community who built the ,temple by the names of ,glah or ,b'ne ha-,glah1 ,captivity or ,sons of the ,captivity1 which are given after the ,return of ,ezra's bands2 but they simply name them this people#egh or remnant of the people1#egi people of the land1#ehj ,judah or ,house of ,judah1#eha names perfectly suitable to ,jews who had never left the neighbourhood of ,jerusalem4 ,even if we except from this list the phrase the remnant of the people1 as intended by ,haggai and ,zechariah in the numerical sense of the rest or all the others1#ehb we have still to deal with the other titles1 with the absence from them of any symptom descriptive of return from exile1 and with the whole silence of our two prophets concerning such a return4 ,these are very striking phenomena1 and they undoubtedly afford considerable evidence for ,dr4 ,kosters' thesis4#ehc ,but it cannot escape notice that the evidence they afford is mainly negative1 and this raises two questions3 7#a7 ,can the phenomena in ,haggai and ,zechariah be accounted for8 and 7#b7 whether accounted for or not1 can they be held to prevail against the mass of positive evidence in favour of a ,return under ,cyrus8 ,an explanation of the absence of all allusion in ,haggai and ,zechariah to the ,return is certainly possible4 ,no one can fail to be struck with the spirituality of the teaching of ,haggai and ,zechariah4 ,their one ambition is to put courage from ,god into the poor hearts before them1 that these out of their own resources may rebuild their ,temple4 ,as ,zechariah puts it1 ,not by might1 nor by power1 but by ,my ,spirit1 saith ,jehovah of ,hosts4#ehd ,it is obvious why men of this temper should refrain from appealing to the ,return1 or to the royal power of ,persia by which it had been achieved4 ,we can understand why1 while the annals employed in the ,book of ,ezra record the appeal of the political leaders of the ,jews to ,darius upon the strength of the edict of ,cyrus1 the prophets1 in their effort to encourage the people to make the most of what they themselves were and to enforce the omnipotence of ,god's ,spirit apart from all human aids1 should be silent about the latter4 ,we must also remember that ,haggai and ,zechariah were addressing a people to whom 7whatever view we take of the transactions under ,cyrus7 the favour of ,cyrus had been one vast disillusion in the light of the predictions of ,second ,isaiah4#ehe ,the ,persian magnate ,sheshbazzar himself1 invested with full power1 had been unable to build the ,temple for them1 and had apparently disappeared from ,judah1 leaving his powers as ,peah1 or governor1 to ,zerubbabel4 ,was it not1 then1 as suitable to these circumstances1 as it was essential to the prophets' own religious temper1 that ,haggai and ,zechariah should refrain from alluding to any of the political advantages1 to which their countrymen had hitherto trusted in vain8#ehf ,another fact should be marked4 ,if ,haggai is silent about any return from exile in the past1 he is equally silent about any in the future4 ,if for him no return had yet taken place1 would he not have been likely to predict it as certain to happen8#ehg ,at least his silence on the subject proves how absolutely he confined his thoughts to the circumstances before him1 and to the needs of his people at the moment he addressed them4 ,kosters1 indeed1 alleges that ,zechariah describes the ,return from ,exile as still future--viz4 in the lyric piece appended to his ,third ,vision4#ehh ,but1 as we shall see when we come to it1 this lyric piece is most probably an intrusion among the ,visions1 and is not to be assigned to ,zechariah himself4 ,even1 however1 if it were from the same date and author as the ,visions1 it would not prove that no return from ,babylon had taken place1 but only that numbers of ,jews still remained in ,babylon4 ,but we may now take a further step4 ,if there were these natural reasons for the silence of ,haggai and ,zechariah about a return of exiles under ,cyrus1 can that silence be allowed to prevail against the mass of testimony which we have that such a return took place8 ,it is true that1 while the ,books of ,haggai and ,zechariah are contemporary with the period in question1 some of the evidence for the ,return1 ,ezra i4 and iii4--iv4 #g1 is at least two centuries later1 and upon the date of the rest1 the ,list in ,ezra ii4 and the ,aramaic document in ,ezra iv4 #h ff41 we have no certain information4 ,but that the ,list is from a date very soon after ,cyrus is allowed by a large number of the most advanced critics1#ehi and even if we ignore it1 we still have the ,aramaic document1 which agrees with ,haggai and ,zechariah in assigning the real1 effectual beginning of the ,temple-building to the second year of ,darius and to the leadership of ,zerubbabel and ,jeshua at the instigation of the two prophets4 ,may we not trust the same document in its relation of the main facts concerning ,cyrus8 ,again1 in his memoirs ,ezra#eij speaks of the transgressions of the ,glah or ,b'ne ha-,glah in effecting marriages with the mixed people of the land1 in a way which shows that he means by the name1 not the ,jews who had just come up with himself from ,babylon1 but the older community whom he found in ,judah1 and who had had time1 as his own bands had not1 to scatter over the land and enter into social relations with the heathen4 ,but1 as ,kuenen points out1#eia we have yet further evidence for the probability of a ,return under ,cyrus1 in the explicit predictions of the ,second ,isaiah that ,cyrus would be the builder of ,jerusalem and the ,temple4 8,if they express the expectation1 nourished by the prophet and his contemporaries1 then it is clear from their preservation for future generations that ,cyrus did not disappoint the hope of the exiles1 from whose midst this voice pealed forth to him40 ,and this leads to other considerations4 ,whether was it more probable for the poverty-stricken people of the land1 the dregs which ,nebuchadrezzar had left behind1 or for the body and flower of ,israel in ,babylon1 to rebuild the ,temple8 ,surely for the latter4#eib ,among them had risen1 as ,cyrus drew near to ,babylon1 the hopes and the motives1 nay1 the glorious assurance of the ,return and the ,rebuilding2 and with them was all the material for the latter4 ,is it credible that they took no advantage of their opportunity under ,cyrus8 ,is it credible that they waited nearly a century before seeking to return to ,jerusalem1 and that the building of the ,temple was left to people who were half-heathen1 and1 in the eyes of the exiles1 despicable and unholy8 ,this would be credible only upon one condition1 that ,cyrus and his immediate successors disappointed the predictions of the ,second ,isaiah and refused to allow the exiles to leave ,babylon4 ,but the little we know of these ,persian monarchs points all the other way3 nothing is more probable1 for nothing is more in harmony with ,persian policy1 than that ,cyrus should permit the captives of the ,babylon which he conquered to return to their own lands4#eic ,moreover1 we have another1 and to the mind of the present writer an almost conclusive argument1 that the ,jews addressed by ,haggai and ,zechariah were ,jews returned from ,babylon4 ,neither prophet ever charges his people with idolatry2 neither prophet so much as mentions idols4 ,this is natural if the congregation addressed was composed of such pious and ardent adherents of ,jehovah1 as ,his word had brought back to ,judah1 when ,his servant ,cyrus opened the way4 ,but had ,haggai and ,zechariah been addressing the people of the land1 who had never left the land1 they could not have helped speaking of idolatry4 ,such considerations may very justly be used against an argument which seeks to prove that the narratives of a ,return under ,cyrus were due to the pious invention of a ,jewish writer who wished to record that the predictions of the ,second ,isaiah were fulfilled by ,cyrus1 their designated trustee4#eid ,they certainly possess a far higher degree of probability than that argument does4 ,finally there is this consideration4 ,if there was no return from ,babylon under ,cyrus1 and the ,temple1 as ,dr4 ,kosters alleges1 was built by the poor people of the land1 is it likely that the latter should have been regarded with such contempt as they were by the exiles who returned under ,ezra and ,nehemiah8 ,theirs would then have been the glory of reconstituting ,israel1 and their position very different from what we find it4 ,on all these grounds1 therefore1 we must hold that the attempt to discredit the tradition of an important return of exiles under ,cyrus has not been successful2 that such a return remains the more probable solution of an obscure and difficult problem2 and that therefore the ,jews who with ,zerubbabel and ,jeshua are represented in ,haggai and ,zechariah as building the ,temple in the second year of ,darius1 #ebj1 had come up from ,babylon about #ecg4eie ,such a conclusion1 of course1 need not commit us to the various data offered by the ,chronicler in his story of the ,return1 such as the ,edict of ,cyrus1 nor to all of his details4 #b4 ,many1 however1 who grant the correctness of the tradition that a large number of ,jewish exiles returned under ,cyrus to ,jerusalem1 deny the statement of the ,compiler of the ,book of ,ezra that the returned exiles immediately prepared to build the ,temple and laid the foundation-stone with solemn festival1 but were hindered from proceeding with the building till the second year of ,darius4#eif ,they maintain that this late narrative is contradicted by the contemporary statements of ,haggai and ,zechariah1 who1 according to them1 imply that no foundation-stone was laid till #ebj ,b4,c4#eig ,for the interpretation of our prophets this is not a question of cardinal importance4 ,but for clearness' sake we do well to lay it open4 ,we may at once concede that in ,haggai and ,zechariah there is nothing which necessarily implies that the ,jews had made any beginning to build the ,temple before the start recorded by ,haggai in the year #ebj4 ,the one passage1 ,haggai ii4 #ah1 which is cited to prove this#eih is at the best ambiguous1 and many scholars claim it as a fixture of that date for the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month of #ebj4eii ,at the same time1 and even granting that the latter interpretation of ,haggai ii4 #ah is correct1 there is nothing in either ,haggai or ,zechariah to make it impossible that a foundation-stone had been laid some years before1 but abandoned in consequence of the ,samaritan obstruction1 as alleged in ,ezra iii4 #h-aa4 ,if we keep in mind ,haggai's and ,zechariah's silence about the ,return from ,babylon1 and their very natural concentration upon their own circumstances1#fjj we shall not be able to reckon their silence about previous attempts to build the ,temple as a conclusive proof that these attempts never took place4 ,moreover the ,aramaic document1 which agrees with our two prophets in assigning the only effective start of the work on the ,temple to #ebj1fja does not deem it inconsistent with this to record that the ,persian ,satrap of the ,west of the ,euphrates#fjb reported to ,darius that1 when he asked the ,jews why they were rebuilding the ,temple1 they replied not only that a decree of ,cyrus had granted them permission1#fjc but that his legate ,sheshbazzar had actually laid the foundation-stone upon his arrival at ,jerusalem1 and that the building had gone on without interruption from that time to #ebj4fjd ,this last assertion1 which of course was false1 may have been due either to a misunderstanding of the ,jewish elders by the reporting ,satrap1 or else to the ,jews themselves1 anxious to make their case as strong as possible4 ,the latter is the more probable alternative4 ,as even ,stade admits1 it was a very natural assertion for the ,jews to make1 and so conceal that their effort of #ebj was due to the instigation of their own prophets4 ,but in any case the ,aramaic document corroborates the statement of the ,compiler that there was a foundation-stone laid in the early years of ,cyrus1 and does not conceive this to be inconsistent with its own narrative of a stone being laid in #ebj1 and an effective start at last made upon the ,temple works4 ,so much does ,stade feel the force of this1 that he concedes not only that ,sheshbazzar may have started some preparation for building the ,temple1 but that he may even have laid the stone with ceremony4#fje ,and indeed1 is it not in itself very probable that some early attempt was made by the exiles returned under ,cyrus to rebuild the house of ,jehovah8 ,cyrus had been predicted by the ,second ,isaiah not only as the redeemer of ,god's people1 but with equal explicitness as the builder of the ,temple2 and all the argument which ,kuenen draws from the ,second ,isaiah for the fact of the ,return from ,babylon#fjf tells with almost equal force for the fact of some efforts to raise the fallen sanctuary of ,israel immediately after the ,return4 ,among the returned were many priests1 and many no doubt of the most sanguine spirits in ,israel4 ,they came straight from the heart of ,jewry1 though that heart was in ,babylon2 they came with the impetus and obligation of the great ,deliverance upon them2 they were the representatives of a community which we know to have been comparatively wealthy4 ,is it credible that they should not have begun the ,temple at the earliest possible moment8 ,nor is the story of their frustration by the ,samaritans any less natural4#fjg ,it is true that there were not any adversaries likely to dispute with the colonists the land in the immediate neighbourhood of ,jerusalem4 ,the ,edomites had overrun the fruitful country about ,hebron1 and part of the ,shephelah4 ,the ,samaritans held the rich valleys of ,ephraim1 and probably the plain of ,ajalon4 ,but if any peasants struggled with the stony plateaus of ,benjamin and ,northern ,judah1 such must have been of the remnants of the ,jewish population who were left behind by ,nebuchadrezzar1 and who clung to the sacred soil from habit or from motives of religion4 ,jerusalem was never a site to attract men1 either for agriculture1 or1 now that its shrine was desolate and its population scattered1 for the command of trade4#fjh ,the returned exiles must have been at first undisturbed by the envy of their neighbours4 ,the tale is1 therefore1 probable which attributes the hostility of the latter to purely religious causes--the refusal of the ,jews to allow the half-heathen ,samaritans to share in the construction of the ,temple4#fji ,now the ,samaritans could prevent the building4 ,while stones were to be had by the builders in profusion from the ruins of the city and the great quarry to the north of it1 ordinary timber did not grow in their neighbourhood1 and though the story be true that a contract was already made with ,phnicians to bring cedar to ,joppa1 it had to be carried thence for thirty-six miles4 ,here1 then1 was the opportunity of the ,samaritans4 ,they could obstruct the carriage both of the ordinary timber and of the cedar4 ,to this state of affairs the present writer found an analogy in #ahia among the ,circassian colonies settled by the ,turkish ,government a few years earlier in the vicinity of ,gerasa and ,rabbath-,ammon4 ,the colonists had built their houses from the numerous ruins of these cities1 but at ,rabbath-,ammon they said their great difficulty had been about timber4 ,and we could well understand how the ,beduin1 who resented the settlement of ,circassians on lands they had used for ages1 and with whom the ,circassians were nearly always at variance1#faj did what they could to make the carriage of timber impossible4 ,similarly with the ,jews and their ,samaritan adversaries4 ,the site might be cleared and the stone of the ,temple laid1 but if the timber was stopped there was little use in raising the walls1 and the ,jews1 further discouraged by the failure of their impetuous hopes of what the ,return would bring them1 found cause for desisting from their efforts4 ,bad seasons followed1 the labours for their own sustenance exhausted their strength1 and in the sordid toil their hearts grew hard to higher interests4 ,cyrus died in #ebi1 and his legate ,sheshbazzar1 having done nothing but lay the stone1 appears to have left ,juda4#faa ,cambyses marched more than once through ,palestine1 and his army garrisoned ,gaza1 but he was not a monarch to have any consideration for ,jewish ambitions4 ,therefore--although ,samaritan opposition ceased on the stoppage of the ,temple works and the ,jews procured timber enough for their private dwellings#fab--;is it wonderful that the site of the ,temple should be neglected and the stone laid by ,sheshbazzar forgotten1 or that the disappointed ,jews should seek to explain the disillusions of the ,return1 by arguing that ,god's time for the restoration of ,his house had not yet come8 ,the death of a cruel monarch is always in the ,east an occasion for the revival of shattered hopes1 and the events which accompanied the suicide of ,cambyses in #ebb were particularly fraught with the possibilities of political change4 ,cambyses' throne had been usurped by one ,gaumata1 who pretended to be ,smerdis or ,barada1 a son of ,cyrus4 ,in a few months ,gaumata was slain by a conspiracy of seven ,persian nobles1 of whom ,darius1 the son of ,hystaspes1 both by virtue of his royal descent and by his own great ability1 was raised to the throne in #eba4 ,the empire had been too profoundly shocked by the revolt of ,gaumata to settle at once under the new king1 and ,darius found himself engaged by insurrections in all his provinces except ,syria and ,asia ,minor4#fac ,the colonists in ,jerusalem1 like all their ,syrian neighbours1 remained loyal to the new king2 so loyal that their ,peah or ,satrap was allowed to be one of themselves--,zerubbabel1 son of ,she'alt'el1#fad a son of their royal house4 ,yet though they were quiet1 the nations were rising against each other and the world was shaken4 ,it was just such a crisis as had often before in ,israel rewakened prophecy4 ,nor did it fail now2 and when prophecy was roused what duty lay more clamant for its inspiration than the duty of building the ,temple8 ,we are in touch with the first of our post-exilic prophets1 ,haggai and ,zechariah4 ,,footnotes3 #edf #db1cfj1 besides their servants1 is the total sum given in ,ezra ii4 #fd2 but the detailed figures in ,ezra amount only to #bi1hah1 those in ,nehemiah to #ca1jhi1 and those in #a ,esdras to #cj1adc 7other ,,mss4 #cj1fgh74 ,see ,ryle on ,ezra ii4 #fd4 #edg ,ezra i4 #h4 #edh ,ezra v4 #ad4 #edi ,ib4 #af4 #eej ,ezra ii4 #fc4 #eea 3 ,ezra iii4 #b1 like ,ezra i4 #a-h1 from the ,compiler of ,ezra-,nehemiah4 #eeb 4 #eec ,ezra ii4 #b4 #eed ,hag4 i4 #ad1 ii4 #b1 #ba1 and perhaps by ,nehemiah 7vii4 #fe-gj74 ,nehemiah himself is styled both ,peah 7xiv4 #bj7 and ,tirshatha 7viii4 #i1 x4 #a74 #eee ,as ,daniel and his three friends had also ,babylonian names4 #eef ,ezra ii4 #fc4 #eeg ,cf4 ,ryle1 xxxi ff42 and on ,ezra i4 #h1 ii4 #fc4 #eeh ,stade1 ,gesch4 des ,volkes ,israel1 ,,ii4 #ih ff43 cf4 ,kuenen1 ,gesammelte ,abhandl41 #bbj4 #eei ,ezra i4 #h4 #efj ,ezra i4 compared with ii4 #a4 #efa ,some think to find this in #a ,esdras v4 #a-f1 where it is said that ,darius1 a name they take to be an error for that of ,cyrus1 brought up the exiles with an escort of a thousand cavalry1 starting in the first month of the second year of the king's reign4 ,this passage1 however1 is not beyond suspicion as a gloss 7see ,ryle on ,ezra i4 #aa71 and even if genuine may be intended to describe a second contingent of exiles despatched by ,darius ,i4 in his second year1 #ebj4 ,the names given include that of ,jesua1 son of ,josedec1 and instead of ,zerubbabel's1 that of his son ,joacim4 #efb ,ezra iii4 #c-g4 #efc ,ib4 #h-ac4 #efd ,ezra iv4 #g4 #efe ,see above1 p4 #aic4 #eff iv4 #bd4 #efg ,ezra iv4 #bd--vi4 #ae4 #efh ,there are in the main two classes of such attempts4 7a7 ,some have suggested that the ,ahasuerus 7,xerxes7 and ,artaxerxes mentioned in ,ezra iv4 #f and #g ff4 are not the successors of ,darius ,i4 who bore these names1 but titles of his predecessors ,cambyses and the ,pseudo-,smerdis 7see above1 p4 #aij74 ,this view has been disposed of by ,kuenen1 ,ges4 ,abhandl41 pp4 #bbd ff41 and by ,ryle1 pp4 #fe ff4 7b7 ,the attempt to prove that the ,darius under whom the ,temple was built was not ,darius ,i4 7#eba--dhe71 the predecessor of ,xerxes ,i4 and ,artaxerxes ,i4 7#dhe--dbd71 but their successor once removed1 ,darius ,,ii41 ,nothus 7#dbc--djd74 ,so1 in defence of the ,book of ,ezra1 ,imbert4 ,for his theory and the answer to it see above1 pp4 #aia f4 #efi ,see above1 pp4 #aib ff4 #egj ,for his work see above1 p4 #aib1 n4 #eca4 ,i regret that neither ,wellhausen's answer to it1 nor ,kosters' reply to ,wellhausen1 was accessible to me in preparing this chapter4 ,nor did ,i read ,mr4 ,torrey's resume of ,wellhausen's answer1 or ,wellhausen's notes to the second edition of his ,isr4 u4 ,jd4 ,geschichte1 till the chapter was written4 ,previous to ,kosters1 the ,return under ,cyrus had been called in question only by the very arbitrary ,french scholar ,m4 ,vernes in #ahhi-ij4 #ega ii4 #f ff4 ,eng41 #aj ff4 ,heb4 #egb ,his chief grounds for this analysis are 7#a7 that in v4 #a-e the ,jews are said to have begun to build the ,temple in the second year of ,darius1 while in v4 #af the foundation-stone is said to have been laid under ,cyrus2 7#b7 the frequent want of connection throughout the passage2 7#c7 an alleged doublet3 in v4 #ag--vi4 #a search is said to have been made for the edict of ,cyrus in ,babylon1 while in vi4 #b the edict is said to have been found in ,ecbatana4 ,but 7#a7 and 7#c7 are capable of very obvious explanations1 and 7#b7 is far from conclusive4--,the remainder of the ,aramaic text1 iv4 #h-bd1 ,kosters seeks to prove is by the ,chronicler or ,compiler himself4 ,as ,torrey 7op4 cit41 p4 #aa7 has shown1 this 8is as unlikely as possible40 ,at the most he may have made additions to the ,aramaic document4 #egc ,ezra v4 #af4 #egd ,above1 pp4 #bja f4 #ege ,isa4 xliv4 #bh1 xlv4 #a4 ,according to ,kosters1 the statement of the ,aramaic document about the rebuilding of the ,temple is therefore a pious invention of a literal fulfilment of prophecy4 ,to this opinion ,cheyne adheres 7,introd4 to the ,book of ,isaiah1 #ahie1 p4 xxxviii71 and adds the further assumption that the ,chronicler1 being 8shocked at the ascription to ,cyrus 7for the ,judan builders have no credit given them7 of what must1 he thought1 have been at least equally due to the zeal of the exiles10 invented his story in the earlier chapters of ,ezra as to the part the exiles themselves took in the rebuilding4 ,it will be noticed that these assumptions have precisely the value of such4 ,they are merely the imputation of motives1 more or less probable to the writers of certain statements1 and may therefore be fairly met by probabilities from the other side4 ,but of this more later on4 #egf ,this is the usual opinion of critics1 who yet hold it to be genuine--e4g4 ,ryle4 #egg ,he seeks to argue that a ,list of ,exiles returned under ,cyrus in #ecf could be of no use for ,nehemiah's purpose to obtain in #dde a census of the inhabitants of ,jerusalem2 but surely1 if in his efforts to make a census ,nehemiah discovered the existence of such a ,list1 it was natural for him to give it as the basis of his inquiry1 or 7because the ,list--see above1 p4 #bjc--;contains elements from ,nehemiah's own time7 to enlarge it and bring it down to date4 ,but ,dr4 ,kosters thinks also that1 as ,nehemiah would never have broken the connection of his memoirs with such a ,list1 the latter must have been inserted by the ,compiler1 who at this point grew weary of the discursiveness of the memoirs1 broke from them1 and then--inserted this lengthy ,list6 ,this is simply incredible--that he should seek to atone for the diffuseness of ,nehemiah's memoirs by the intrusion of a very long catalogue which had no relevance to the point at which he broke them off4 #egh ,hag4 i4 #b1 #ab2 ii4 #ad4 #egi ,hag4 i4 #ab1 #ad2 ii4 #b2 ,zech4 viii4 #f1 #aa1 #ab4 #ehj ,hag4 ii4 #d2 ,zech4 vii4 #e4 #eha ,zech4 ii4 #af2 viii4 #ac1 #ae4 #ehb ,it is used in ,hag4 i4 #ab1 #ad1 ii4 #b1 only after the mention of the leaders2 see1 however1 ,pusey's note #i to ,hag4 i4 #ab2 while in ,zech4 viii4 #f1 #aa1 #ah1 it might be argued that it was employed in such a way as to cover not only ,jews who had never left their land1 but all ,jews as well who were left of ancient ,israel4 #ehc ,compare ,cheyne1 ,introduction to the ,book of ,isaiah1 #ahie1 xxxv4 ff41 who says that in the main points ,kosters' conclusions 8appear so inevitable0 that he has 8constantly presupposed them0 in dealing with chaps4 lvi4--lxvi4 of ,isaiah2 and ,torrey1 op4 cit41 #ahif1 p4 #ec3 8,kosters has demonstrated1 from the testimony of ,haggai and ,zechariah1 that ,zerubbabel and ,jeshua were not returned exiles2 and furthermore1 that the prophets ,haggai and ,zechariah knew nothing of an important return of exiles from ,babylonia40 ,cf4 also ,wildeboer1 ,litteratur des ,a4 ,t41 pp4 #bia ff4 #ehd iv4 #d4 #ehe ,of course it is always possible that1 if there had been no great ,return from ,babylon under ,cyrus1 the community at ,jerusalem in #ebj had not heard of the prophecies of the ,second ,isaiah4 #ehf ,this argument1 it is true1 does not fully account for the curious fact that ,haggai and ,zechariah never call the ,jewish community at ,jerusalem by a name significant of their return from exile4 ,but in reference to this it ought to be noted that even the ,aramaic document in the ,book of ,ezra which records the ,return under ,cyrus does not call the builders of the ,temple by any name which implies that they have come up from exile1 but styles them simply the ,jews who were in ,judah and ,jerusalem 7,ezra v4 #a71 in contrast to the ,jews who were in foreign lands4 #ehg ,indeed1 why does he ignore the whole ,exile itself if no return from it has taken place8 #ehh ,zech4 ii4 #aj-ag ,heb41 #f-ac ,eng4 #ehi ,e4g4 ,stade1 ,kuenen 7op4 cit41 p4 #baf74 ,so1 too1 ,klostermann1 ,gesch4 des ,volkes ,israel1 ,mnchen1 #ahif4 ,wellhausen1 in the second edition of his ,gesch41 does not admit that the ,list is one of exiles returned under ,cyrus 7p4 #aee1 n474 #eij ix4 #d2 x4 #f1 #g4 #eia ,op4 cit41 p4 #baf1 where he also quotes the testimony of the ,book of ,daniel 7ix4 #be74 #eib ,since writing the above ,i have seen the relevant notes to the second edition of ,wellhausen's ,gesch41 pp4 #aee and #afj4 8,the refounding of ,jerusalem and the ,temple cannot have started from the ,jews left behind in ,palestine40 8,the remnant left in the land would have restored the old popular cultus of the high places4 ,instead of that we find even before ,ezra the legitimate cultus and the hierocracy in ,jerusalem3 in the ,temple-service proper ,ezra discovers nothing to reform4 ,without the leaven of the ,glah the ,judaism of ,palestine is in its origin incomprehensible40 #eic ,the inscription of ,cyrus is sometimes quoted to this effect3 cf4 ,p4 ,hay ,hunter1 op4 cit41 ,i4 #ce4 ,but it would seem that the statement of ,cyrus is limited to the restoration of ,assyrian idols and their worshippers to ,assur and ,akkad4 ,still1 what he did in this case furnishes a strong argument for the probability of his having done the same in the case of the ,jews4 #eid ,see above1 p4 #bjf1 and especially n4 #ege4 #eie ,even ,cheyne1 after accepting ,kosters' conclusions as in the main points inevitable 7op4 cit41 p4 xxxv71 considers 7p4 xxxviii7 that 8the earnestness of ,haggai and ,zechariah 7who cannot have stood alone7 implies the existence of a higher religious element at ,jerusalem long before #dcb ,b4,c4 ,whence came this higher element but from its natural home among the more cultured ,jews in ,babylonia80 #eif ,ezra iii4 #h-ac4 #eig ,schrader1 8,ueber die ,dauer des ,tempelbaues10 in ,stud4 u4 ,krit41 #ahgi1 #dfj ff42 ,stade1 ,gesch4 des ,volkes ,israel1 ,,ii4 #aae ff42 ,kuenen1 op4 cit41 p4 #bbb2 ,kosters1 op4 cit41 ,chap4 ,i41 #a4 ,to this opinion others have adhered3 ,knig 7,einleit4 in das ,a4 ,t471 ,ryssel 7op4 cit47 and ,marti 7#bnd edition of ,kayser's ,theol4 des ,a4 ,t41 p4 #bjj74 ,schrader 7p4 #efc7 argues that ,ezra iii4 #h-ac was not founded on a historical document1 but is an imitation of ,neh4 vii4 #gc--viii42 and ,stade that the ,aramaic document in ,ezra which ascribes the laying of the foundation-stone to ,sheshbazzar1 the legate of ,cyrus1 was not earlier than #dcj4 #eih ,ryle1 op4 cit41 p4 xxx4 #eii ,stade1 ,wellhausen1 etc4 ,see below1 ,chap4 ,,xviii4 on ,hag4 ii4 #ah4 #fjj ,see above1 pp4 #baj f4 #fja ,ezra iv4 #bd1 v4 #a4 #fjb ,ezra v4 #f4 #fjc ,ib4 #ac4 #fjd ,ib4 #af4 #fje ,gesch41 ,,ii41 p4 #abc4 #fjf ,see above1 p4 #bac4 #fjg ,ezra iv4 #a-d4 8,that the relation of ,ezra iv4 #a-d is historical seems to be established against objections which have been taken to it by the reference to ,esarhaddon1 which ,a4 v4 ,gutschmid has vindicated by an ingenious historical combination with the aid of the ,assyrian monuments 7,neue ,beitrge1 p4 #ade740--,robertson ,smith1 art4 8,haggai10 ,encyc4 ,brit4 #fjh ,cf4 ,hist4 ,geog41 pp4 #cag ff4 #fji ,ezra iv4 #faj ,there was a sharp skirmish at ,rabbath-,ammon the night we spent there1 and at least one ,circassian was shot4 #faa 8,sheshbazzar presumably having taken up his task with the usual conscientiousness of an ,oriental governor1 that is having done nothing though the work was nominally in hand all along 7,ezra v4 #af740--,robertson ,smith1 art4 8,haggai10 ,encyc4 ,brit4 #fab ,see below1 ,chap4 ,,xviii4 #fac ,herod41 ,i4 #acj1 ,,iii4 #abg4 #fad #a ,chron4 iii4 #ai makes him a son of ,pedaiah1 brother of ,she'alt'el1 son of ,jehoiachin1 the king who was carried away by ,nebuchadrezzar in #eig and remained captive till #efa1 when ,king ,evil-,merodach set him in honour4 ,it has been supposed that1 ,she'alt'el dying childless1 ,pedaiah by levirate marriage with his widow became father of ,zerubbabel4 ,,haggai ,go up into the mountain1 and fetch wood1 and build the ,house4 ,,chapter ,,xvii ,,the ,,book ,,of ,,haggai ,the ,book of ,haggai contains thirty-eight verses1 which have been divided between two chapters4#fae ,the text is1 for the prophets1 a comparatively sound one4 ,the ,greek version affords a number of corrections1 but has also the usual amount of misunderstandings1 and1 as in the case of other prophets1 a few additions to the ,hebrew text4#faf ,these and the variations in the other ancient versions will be noted in the translation below4#fag ,the book consists of four sections1 each recounting a message from ,jehovah to the ,jews in ,jerusalem in #ebj ,b4,c41 the second year of ,darius 7,hystaspis71 by the hand of the prophet ,haggai4 ,the first1 chap4 i41 dated the first day of the sixth month1 during our ,september1 reproves the ,jews for building their own cieled houses1 while they say that the time for building ,jehovah's house has not yet come2 affirms that this is the reason of their poverty and of a great drought which has afflicted them4 ,a piece of narrative is added recounting how ,zerubbabel and ,jeshua1 the heads of the community1 were stirred by this word to lead the people to begin work on the ,temple1 on the twenty-fourth day of the same month4 ,the second section1 chap4 ii4 #a-i1 contains a message1 dated the twenty-first day of the seventh month1 during our ,october1 in which the builders are encouraged for their work4 ,jehovah is about to shake all nations1 these shall contribute of their wealth1 and the latter glory of the ,temple be greater than the former4 ,the third section1 chap4 ii4 #aj-ai1 contains a word of ,jehovah which came to ,haggai on the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month1 during our ,december4 ,it is in the form of a parable based on certain ceremonial laws1 according to which the touch of a holy thing does not sanctify so much as the touch of an unholy pollutes4 ,thus is the people polluted1 and thus every work of their hands4 ,their sacrifices avail nought1 and adversity has persisted3 small increase of fruits1 blasting1 mildew and hail4 ,but from this day ,god will bless4 ,the fourth section1 chap4 ii4 #bj-bc1 is a second word from the ,lord to ,haggai on the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month4 ,it is for ,zerubbabel1 and declares that ,god will overthrow the thrones of kingdoms and destroy the forces of many of the ,gentiles by war4 ,in that day ,zerubbabel1 the ,lord's elect servant1 shall be as a signet to the ,lord4 ,the authenticity of all these four sections was doubted by no one1#fah till ten years ago ,w4 ,bhme1 besides pointing out some useless repetitions of single words and phrases1 cast suspicion on chap4 i4 #ac1 and questioned the whole of the fourth section1 chap4 ii4 #bj-bc4fai ,with regard to chap4 i4 #ac1 it is indeed curious that ,haggai should be described as the messenger of ,jehovah2 while the message itself1 ,i am with you1 seems superfluous here1 and if the verse be omitted1 ver4 #ad runs on naturally to ver4 #ab4fbj ,bhme's reasons for disputing the authenticity of chap4 ii4 #bj-bc are much less sufficient4 ,he thinks he sees the hand of an editor in the phrase for a second time in ver4 #bj2 notes the omission of the title 8prophet0#fba after ,haggai's name1 and the difference of the formula the word came to ,haggai from that employed in the previous sections1 by the hand of ,haggai1 and the repetition of ver4 #f;b in ver4 #ba2 and otherwise concludes that the section is an insertion from a later hand4 ,but the formula the word came to ,haggai occurs also in ii4 #aj3fbb the other points are trivial1 and while it was most natural for ,haggai the contemporary of ,zerubbabel to entertain of the latter such hopes as the passage expresses1 it is inconceivable that a later writer1 who knew how they had not been fulfilled in ,zerubbabel1 should have invented them4#fbc ,recently ,m4 ,tony ,andre1 privat-docent in the ,university of ,geneva1 has issued a large work on ,haggai1#fbd in which he has sought to prove that the third section of the book1 chap4 ii4 7#aj7 #aa-ai1 is from the hand of another writer than the rest4 ,he admits#fbe that in neither form1 nor style1 nor language is there anything to prove this distinction1 and that the ideas of all the sections suit perfectly the condition of the ,jews in the time soon after the ,return4 ,but he considers that chap4 ii4 7#aj7 #aa-ai interrupts the connection between the sections upon either side of it2 that the author is a legalist or casuist1 while the author of the other sections is a man whose only ecclesiastical interest is the rebuilding of the ,temple2 that there are obvious contradictions between chap4 ii4 7#aj7 #aa-ai and the rest of the book2 and that there is a difference of vocabulary4 ,let us consider each of these reasons4 ,the first1 that chap4 ii4 7#aj7 #aa-ai interrupts the connection between the sections on either side of it1 is true only in so far as it has a different subject from that which the latter have more or less in common4 ,but the second of the latter1 chap4 ii4 #bj-bc1 treats only of a corollary of the first1 chap4 ii4 #a-i1 and that corollary may well have formed the subject of a separate oracle4 ,besides1 as we shall see1 chap4 ii4 #aj-ai is a natural development of chap4 i4#fbf ,the contradictions alleged by ,m4 ,andre are two4 ,he points out that while chap4 i4 speaks only of a drought1#fbg chap4 ii4 7#aj7 #aa-ai mentions#fbh as the plagues on the crops shiddphn and yrkn1 generally rendered blasting and mildew in our ,english ,bible1 and brd1 or hail2 and these he reckons to be plagues due not to drought but to excessive moisture4 ,but shiddphn and yrkn1 which are always connected in the ,old ,testament and are words of doubtful meaning1 are not referred to damp in any of the passages in which they occur1 but1 on the contrary1 appear to be the consequences of drought4#fbi ,the other contradiction alleged refers to the ambiguous verse ii4 #ah1 on which we have already seen it difficult to base any conclusion1 and which will be treated when we come to it in the course of translation4#fcj ,finally1 the differences in language which ,m4 ,andre cites are largely imaginary1 and it is hard to understand how a responsible critic has come to cite1 far more to emphasise them1 as he has done4 ,we may relegate the discussion of them to a note1#fca and need here only remark that there is among them but one of any significance3 while the rest of the book calls the ,temple the ,house or the ,house of ,jehovah 7or of ,jehovah of ,hosts71 chap4 ii4 7#aj7 #aa-ai styles it palace1 or temple1 of ,jehovah4#fcb ,on such a difference between two comparatively brief passages it would be unreasonable to decide for a distinction of authorship4 ,there is1 therefore1 no reason to disagree with the consensus of all other critics in the integrity of the ,book of ,haggai4 ,the four sections are either from himself or from a contemporary of his4 ,they probably represent1#fcc not the full addresses given by him on the occasions stated1 but abstracts or summaries of these4 8,it is never an easy task to persuade a whole population to make pecuniary sacrifices1 or to postpone private to public interests2 and the probability is1 that in these brief remains of the prophet ,haggai we have but one or two specimens of a ceaseless diligence and persistent determination1 which upheld and animated the whole people till the work was accomplished40#fcd ,at the same time it must be noticed that the style of the book is not wholly of the bare1 jejune prose which it is sometimes described to be4 ,the passages of ,haggai's own exhortation are in the well-known parallel rhythm of prophetic discourse3 see especially chap4 i41 ver4 #f4 ,the only other matter of ,introduction to the prophet ,haggai is his name4 ,the precise form#fce is not elsewhere found in the ,old ,testament2 but one of the clans of the tribe of ,gad is called ,haggi1#fcf and the letters ,h ,g ,i occur as the consonants of a name on a ,phnician inscription4#fcg ,some#fch have taken ,haggai to be a contraction of ,haggiyah1 the name of a ,levitical family1#fci but although the final yod of some proper names stands for ,jehovah1 we cannot certainly conclude that it is so in this case4 ,others#fdj see in ,haggai a probable contraction for ,hagariah1#fda as ,zaccai1 the original of ,zacchus1 is a contraction of ,zechariah4#fdb ,a more general opinion#fdc takes the termination as adjectival1#fdd and the root to be 8hag10 feast or festival4#fde ,in that case ,haggai would mean festal1 and it has been supposed that the name would be given to him from his birth on the day of some feast4 ,it is impossible to decide with certainty among these alternatives4 ,m4 ,andre1#fdf who accepts the meaning festal1 ventures the hypothesis that1 like 8,malachi10 ,haggai is a symbolic title given by a later hand to the anonymous writer of the book1 because of the coincidence of his various prophecies with solemn festivals4#fdg ,but the name is too often and too naturally introduced into the book to present any analogy to that of 8,malachi02 and the hypothesis may be dismissed as improbable and unnatural4 ,nothing more is known of ,haggai than his name and the facts given in his book4 ,but as with the other prophets whom we have treated1 so with this one1 ,jewish and ,christian legends have been very busy4 ,other functions have been ascribed to him2 a sketch of his biography has been invented4 ,according to the ,rabbis he was one of the men of the ,great ,synagogue1 and with ,zechariah and 8,malachi0 transmitted to that mythical body the tradition of the older prophets4#fdh ,he was the author of several ceremonial regulations1 and with ,zechariah and 8,malachi0 introduced into the alphabet the terminal forms of the five elongated letters4#fdi ,the ,christian ,fathers narrate that he was of the tribe of ,levi1#fej that with ,zechariah he prophesied in exile of the ,return1#fea and was still young when he arrived in ,jerusalem1#feb where he died and was buried4 ,a strange legend1 founded on the doubtful verse which styles him the messenger of ,jehovah1 gave out that ,haggai1 as well as for similar reasons 8,malachi0 and ,john the ,baptist1 were not men1 but angels in human shape4#fec ,with ,zechariah ,haggai appears on the titles of ,psalms cxxxvii41 cxlv4-cxlviii4 in the ,septuagint2 cxi41 cxlv41 cxlvi4 in the ,vulgate2 and cxxv41 cxxvi4 and cxlv4-cxlviii4 in the ,peshitto4#fed 8,in the ,temple at ,jerusalem he was the first who chanted the ,hallelujah1 444 wherefore we say3 ,hallelujah1 which is the hymn of ,haggai and ,zechariah40#fee ,all these testimonies are1 of course1 devoid of value4 ,finally1 the modern inference from chap4 ii4 #c1 that ,haggai in his youth had seen the former ,temple1 had gone into exile1 and was now returned a very old man1#fef may be probable1 but is not certain4 ,we are quite ignorant of his age at the time the word of ,jehovah came to him4 ,,footnotes3 #fae ,in the ,english ,bible the division corresponds to that of the ,hebrew1 which gives fifteen verses to chap4 i4 ,the ,,lxx4 takes the fifteenth verse along with ver4 #a of chap4 ii4 #faf ii4 #i1 #ad3 see on these passages1 pp4 #bdc1 n4 #fhe1 #bdf1 n4 #gjj4 #fag ,besides the general works on the text of the ,twelve ,prophets1 already cited1 ,m4 ,tony ,andre has published tat ,critique du ,texte d',agge3 ,quatre ,tableaux ,comparatifs 7,paris1 #ahic71 which is also included in his general introduction and commentary on the prophet1 quoted below4 #fah ,robertson ,smith 7,encyc4 ,brit41 art4 8,haggai10 #ahhj7 does not even mention authenticity4 8,without doubt from ,haggai himself0 7,kuenen74 8,the ,book of ,haggai is without doubt to be dated1 according to its whole extant contents1 from the prophet ,haggai1 whose work fell in the year #ebj0 7,knig74 ,so ,driver1 ,kirkpatrick1 ,cornill1 etc4 #fai ,z4,a4,t4,w41 #ahhg1 #bae f4 #fbj ,so also ,wellhausen4 #fba ,which occurs only in the ,,lxx4 #fbb ,see note on that verse1 n4 #fid #fbc ,cf4 ,wildeboer1 ,litter4 des ,a4 ,t41 #bid4 #fbd ,le ,prophte ,agge1 ,introduction ,critique et ,commentaire4 ,paris1 ,fischbacher1 #ahic4 #fbe ,page #aea4 #fbf ,below1 p4 #bdi4 #fbg i4 #aj1 #aa4 #fbh ii4 #ag4 #fbi ,they follow drought in ,amos iv4 #i2 and in the other passages where they occur--,deut4 xxviii4 #bb2 #a ,kings viii4 #cg2 #b ,chron4 vi4 #bh--they are mentioned in a list of possible plagues after famine1 or pestilence1 or fevers1 all of which1 with the doubtful exception of fevers1 followed drought4 #fcj ,above1 p4 #baf2 below1 p4 #bdh1 n4 #gjh4 #fca ,some of ,m4 ,andre's alleged differences need not be discussed at all1 e4g4 that between and 4 ,but here are the others4 ,he asserts that while chap4 i4 calls oil and wine 8yihar and trsh10 chap4 ii4 7#aj7 #aa-ai calls them 8yayin and shemen40 ,but he overlooks the fact that the former pair of names1 meaning the newly pressed oil and wine1 suit their connection1 in which the fruits of the earth are being catalogued1 i4 #aa1 while the latter pair1 meaning the finished wine and oil1 equally suit their connection1 in which articles of food are being catalogued1 ii4 #ab4 ,equally futile is the distinction drawn between i4 #i1 which speaks of bringing the crops to the house1 or as we should say home1 and ii4 #ai1 which speaks of seed being in the barn4 ,again1 what is to be said of a critic who adduces in evidence of distinction of authorship the fact that i4 #f employs the verb labhash1 to clothe1 while ii4 #ab uses beged for garment1 and who actually puts in brackets the root bagad1 as if it anywhere in the ,old ,testament meant to clothe6 ,again1 ,andre remarks that while ii4 7#aj7 #aa-ai does not employ the epithet ,jehovah of ,hosts1 but only ,jehovah1 the rest of the book frequently uses the former2 but he omits to observe that the rest of the book1 besides using ,jehovah of ,hosts1 often uses the name ,jehovah alone the phrase in ii4 7#aj7 #aa-ai is 1 and occurs twice ii4 #ad1 #ag2 but the rest of the book has also 1 ii4 #d2 and besides 1 i4 #a1 ii4 #a1 ii4 #bj2 1 i4 #h2 and and 1 i4 #ab4 ,again1 ,andre observes that while the rest of the book designates ,israel always by and the heathen by 1 chap4 ii4 7#aj7 #aa-ai1 in ver4 #ad1 uses both terms of ,israel4 ,yet in this latter case is used only in parallel to 1 as frequently in other parts of the ,old ,testament4 ,again1 that while in the rest of the book ,haggai is called the prophet 7the doubtful i4 #ac may be omitted71 he is simply named in ii4 7#aj7 #aa-ai1 means nothing1 for the name here occurs only in introducing his contribution to a conversation1 in recording which it was natural to omit titles4 ,similarly insignificant is the fact that while the rest of the book mentions only the ,high ,priest1 chap4 ii4 7#aj7 #aa-ai talks only of the priests3 because here again each is suitable to the connection4--,two or three of ,andre's alleged grounds 7such as that from the names for wine and oil and that from labhash and beged7 are enough to discredit his whole case4 #fcb ii4 #ae1 #ah4 #fcc ,in this opinion1 stated first by ,eichhorn1 most critics agree4 #fcd ,marcus ,dods1 ,haggai1 ,zechariah and ,malachi1 #ahgi1 in ,handbooks for ,bible ,classes3 ,edin41 ,t4 ,t4 ,clark4 #fce ,greek 4 #fcf 1 ,gen4 xlvi4 #af1 ,num4 xxvi4 #ae2 ,greek 1 4 ,the feminine 1 ,haggith1 was the name of one of ,david's wives3 #b ,sam4 iii4 #d4 #fcg ,no4 #fg of the ,phnician inscriptions in ,c4 ,i4 ,s4 #fch ,hiller1 ,onom4 ,sacrum1 ,tb41 #agjf 7quoted by ,andre71 and ,pusey4 #fci 1 see #a ,chron4 vi4 #ae2 ,greek 1 ,lu4 4 #fdj ,khler1 ,nachexil4 ,proph41 ,i4 #b2 ,wellhausen in fourth edition of ,bleek's ,einleitung2 ,robertson ,smith1 ,encyc4 ,brit41 art4 8,haggai40 #fda ,jehovah hath girded4 #fdb ,derenbourg1 ,hist4 de la ,palestine1 pp4 #ie1 #aej4 #fdc ,jerome1 ,gesenius1 and most moderns4 #fdd ,as in the names 1 11 etc4 #fde ,the radical double g of which appears in composition4 #fdf ,op4 cit41 p4 #h4 #fdg i4 #a1 the new moon2 ii4 #a1 the seventh day of the ,feast of ,tabernacles2 ii4 #ah1 the foundation of the ,temple 7874 #fdh ,baba-bathra1 #ae;a1 etc4 #fdi ,megilla1 #b;b4 #fej ,hesychius3 see above1 p4 #hj1 n4 #fea ,augustine1 ,enarratio in ,psalm cxlvii4 #feb ,pseud-,epiphanius1 ,de ,vitis ,prophetarum4 #fec ,jerome on ,hag4 i4 #ac4 #fed ,eusebius did not find these titles in the ,hexaplar ,septuagint4 ,see ,field's ,hexaplar on ,psalm cxlv4 #a4 ,the titles are of course wholly without authority4 #fee ,pseud-,epiphanius1 as above4 #fef ,so ,ewald1 ,wildeboer 7p4 #bie7 and others4 ,,chapter ,,xviii ,,haggai ,,and ,,the ,,building ,,of ,,the ,,temple ,,haggai i41 ii4 ,we have seen that the most probable solution of the problems presented to us by the inadequate and confused records of the time is that a considerable number of ,jewish exiles returned from ,jerusalem to ,babylon about #ecg1 upon the permission of ,cyrus1 and that the ,satrap whom he sent with them not only allowed them to raise the altar on its ancient site1 but himself laid for them the foundation-stone of the ,temple4#feg ,we have seen1 too1 why this attempt led to nothing1 and we have followed the ,samaritan obstructions1 the failure of the ,persian patronage1 the drought and bad harvests1 and all the disillusion of the fifteen years which succeeded the ,return4#feh ,the hostility of the ,samaritans was entirely due to the refusal of the ,jews to give them a share in the construction of the ,temple1 and its virulence1 probably shown by preventing the ,jews from procuring timber1 seems to have ceased when the ,temple works were stopped4 ,at least we find no mention of it in our prophets2 and the ,jews are furnished with enough of timber to panel and ciel their own houses4#fei ,but the ,jews must have feared a renewal of ,samaritan attacks if they resumed work on the ,temple1 and for the rest they were too sodden with adversity1 and too weighted with the care of their own sustenance1 to spring at higher interests4 ,what immediately precedes our prophets is a miserable story of barren seasons and little income1 money leaking fast away1 and every man's sordid heart engrossed with his own household4 ,little wonder that critics have been led to deny the great ,return of sixteen years back1 with its grand ambitions for the ,temple and glorious future of ,israel4 ,but the like collapse has often been experienced in history when bands of religious men1 going forth1 as they thought1 to freedom and the immediate erection of a holy commonwealth1 have found their unity wrecked and their enthusiasm dissipated by a few inclement seasons on a barren and a hostile shore4 ,nature and their barbarous fellow-men have frustrated what ,god had promised4 ,themselves1 accustomed from a high stage of civilisation to plan still higher social structures1 are suddenly reduced to the primitive necessities of tillage and defence against a savage foe4 ,statesmen1 poets and idealists of sorts have to hoe the ground1 quarry stones and stay up of nights to watch as sentinels4 ,destitute of the comforts and resources with which they have grown up1 they live in constant battle with their bare and unsympathetic environs4 ,it is a familiar tale in history1 and we read it with ease in the case of ,israel4 ,the ,jews enjoyed this advantage1 that they came not to a strange land1 but to one crowded with inspiring memories1 and they had behind them the most glorious impetus of prophecy which ever sent a people forward to the future4 ,yet the very ardours of this hurried them past a due appreciation of the difficulties they would have to encounter1 and when they found themselves on the stony soil of ,judah1 which they had been idealising for fifty years1 and were further afflicted by barren seasons1 their hearts must have suffered an even more bitter disillusion than has so frequently fallen to the lot of religious emigrants to an absolutely new coast4 #a4 ,,the ,,call ,,to ,,build 7,chap4 i474 ,it was to this situation1 upon an autumn day1 when the colonists felt another year of beggarly effort behind them and their wretched harvest had been brought home1 that the prophet ,haggai addressed himself4 ,with rare sense he confined his efforts to the practical needs of the moment4 ,the sneers of modern writers have not been spared upon a style that is crabbed and jejune1 and they have esteemed this to be a collapse of the prophetic spirit1 in which ,haggai ignored all the achievements of prophecy and interpreted the word of ,god as only a call to hew wood and lay stone upon stone4 ,but the man felt what the moment needed1 and that is the supreme mark of the prophet4 ,set a prophet there1 and what else could a prophet have done8 ,it would have been futile to rewaken those most splendid voices of the past1 which had in part been the reason of the people's disappointment1 and equally futile to interpret the mission of the great world powers towards ,god's people4 ,what ,god's people themselves could do for themselves--that was what needed telling at the moment2 and if ,haggai told it with a meagre and starved style1 this also was in harmony with the occasion4 ,one does not expect it otherwise when hungry men speak to each other of their duty4 ,nor does ,haggai deserve blame that he interpreted the duty as the material building of the ,temple4 ,this was no mere ecclesiastical function4 ,without the ,temple the continuity of ,israel's religion could not be maintained4 ,an independent state1 with the full courses of civic life1 was then impossible4 ,the ethical spirit1 the regard for each other and ,god1 could prevail over their material interests in no other way than by common devotion to the worship of the ,god of their fathers4 ,in urging them to build the ,temple from their own unaided resources1 in abstaining from all hopes of imperial patronage1 in making the business one1 not of sentiment nor of comfortable assurance derived from the past promises of ,god1 but of plain and hard duty--,haggai illustrated at once the sanity and the spiritual essence of prophecy in ,israel4 ,professor ,robertson ,smith has contrasted the central importance which ,haggai attached to the ,temple with the attitude of ,isaiah and ,jeremiah1 to whom 8the religion of ,israel and the holiness of ,jerusalem have little to do with the edifice of the ,temple4 ,the city is holy because it is the seat of ,jehovah's sovereignty on earth1 exerted in ,his dealings with and for the state of ,judah and the kingdom of ,david40#ffj ,at the same time it ought to be pointed out that even to ,isaiah the ,temple was the dwelling-place of ,jehovah1 and if it had been lying in ruins at his feet1 as it was at ,haggai's1 there is little doubt he would have been as earnest as ,haggai in urging its reconstruction4 ,nor did the ,second ,isaiah1 who has as lofty an idea of the spiritual destiny of the people as any other prophet1 lay less emphasis upon the cardinal importance of the ,temple to their life1 and upon the certainty of its future glory4 ,in the second year of ,darius#ffa the king1 in the sixth month and the first day of the month--that is1 on the feast of the new moon--the word of ,jehovah came by#ffb ,haggai the prophet to ,zerubbabel1 son of ,she'alt'el1#ffc ,satrap of ,judah1 and to ,jehoshua#81 son of ,jehoada1#ffd the high priest--the civil and religious heads of the community--as follows#ffe3-- ,thus hath ,jehovah of ,hosts spoken1 saying3 ,this people have said1 ,not yet#fff is come the time for the building of ,jehovah's ,house4 ,therefore ,jehovah's word is come by ,haggai the prophet1 saying3 ,is it a time for you--you#ffg--to be dwelling in houses cieled with planks1#ffh while this ,house is waste8 ,and now thus saith ,jehovah of ,hosts3 ,lay to heart how things have gone with you4#ffi ,ye sowed much but had little income1 ate and were not satisfied1 drank and were not full1 put on clothing and there was no warmth1 while he that earned wages has earned them into a bag with holes4 ,thus saith ,jehovah of ,hosts3#fgj ,go up into the mountain--the hill-country of ,judah--and bring in timber1 and build the ,house1 that ,i may take pleasure in it1 and show ,my glory1 saith ,jehovah4 ,ye looked for much and it has turned out little1#fga and what ye brought home ,i puffed at4 ,on account of what8--oracle of ,jehovah of ,hosts--on account of ,my ,house which is waste1 while ye are hurrying every man after his own house4 ,therefore#fgb hath heaven shut off the dew1#fgc and earth shut off her increase4 ,and ,i have called drought upon the earth1 both upon the mountains1#fgd and upon the corn1 and upon the wine1 and upon the oil1 and upon what the ground brings forth1 and upon man1 and upon beast1 and upon all the labour of the hands4 ,for ourselves1 ,haggai's appeal to the barren seasons and poverty of the people as proof of ,god's anger with their selfishness must raise questions4 ,but we have already seen1 not only that natural calamities were by the ancient world interpreted as the penal instruments of the ,deity1 but that all through history they have had a wonderful influence on the spirits of men1 forcing them to search their own hearts and to believe that ,providence is conducted for other ends than those of our physical prosperity4 8,have not those who have believed as ,amos believed ever been the strong spirits of our race1 making the very disasters which crushed them to the earth the tokens that ,god has great views about them80#fge ,haggai1 therefore1 takes no sordid view of ,providence when he interprets the seasons1 from which his countrymen had suffered1 as ,god's anger upon their selfishness and delay in building ,his ,house4 ,the straight appeal to the conscience of the ,jews had an immediate effect4 ,within three weeks they began work on the ,temple4 ,and ,zerubbabel1 son of ,she'alt'el1 and ,jehoshua#81 son of ,jehoada1 the high priest1 and all the rest of the people1 hearkened to the voice of ,jehovah their ,god1 and to the words of ,haggai the prophet1 as ,jehovah their ,god had sent him2 and the people feared before the face of ,jehovah4 ,and ,haggai1 the messenger of ,jehovah1 in ,jehovah's mission to the people1 spake1 saying1 ,i am with you--oracle of ,jehovah4#fgf ,and ,jehovah stirred the spirit of ,zerubbabel1 son of ,she'alt'el1 ,satrap of ,judah1 and the spirit of ,jehoshua#81 son of ,jehoada1 the high priest1 and the spirit of all the rest of the people2 and they went and did work in the ,house of ,jehovah of ,hosts1 their ,god1 on the twenty-fourth day of the sixth month1 in the second year of ,darius the king4#fgg ,note how the narrative emphasises that the new energy was1 as it could not but be from ,haggai's unflattering words1 a purely spiritual result4 ,it was the spirit of ,zerubbabel1 and the spirit of ,jehoshua1 and the spirit of all the rest of the people1 which was stirred--their conscience and radical force of character4 ,not in vain had the people suffered their great disillusion under ,cyrus1 if now their history was to start again from sources so inward and so pure4 #b4 ,,courage1 ,,zerubbabel6 ,,courage1 ,,jehoshua ,,and ,,all ,,the ,,people6 7,chap4 ii4 #a-i74 ,the second occasion on which ,haggai spoke to the people was another feast the same autumn1 the seventh day of the ,feast of ,tabernacles1#fgh the twenty-first of the seventh month4 ,for nearly four weeks the work on the ,temple had proceeded4 ,some progress must have been made1 for comparisons became possible between the old ,temple and the state of this one4 ,probably the outline and size of the building were visible4 ,in any case it was enough to discourage the builders with their efforts and the means at their disposal4 ,haggai's new word is a very simple one of encouragement4 ,the people's conscience had been stirred by his first2 they needed now some hope4 ,consequently he appeals to what he had ignored before1 the political possibilities which the present state of the world afforded--always a source of prophetic promise4 ,but again he makes his former call upon their own courage and resources4 ,the ,hebrew text contains a reference to the ,exodus which would be appropriate to a discourse delivered during the ,feast of ,tabernacles1 but it is not found in the ,septuagint1 and is so impossible to construe that it has been justly suspected as a gloss1 inserted by some later hand1 only because the passage had to do with the ,feast of ,tabernacles4 ,in the seventh month1 on the twenty-first day of the month1 the word of ,jehovah came by#fgi ,haggai the prophet1 saying3-- ,speak now to ,zerubbabel1 son of ,she'alt'el1 ,satrap of ,judah1 and to ,jehoshua#81 son of ,jehoada1 the high priest1 and to the rest of the people1 saying3 ,who among you is left that saw this ,house in its former glory1 and how do ye see it now8 ,is it not as nothing in your eyes8#fhj ,and now courage1#fha ,o ,zerubbabel--oracle of ,jehovah--and courage1 ,jehoshua#81 son of ,jehoada1 ,o high priest2#fhb and courage1 all people of the land6--oracle of ,jehovah2 and get to work1 for ,i am with you--oracle of ,jehovah of ,hosts#fhc--;and ,my ,spirit is standing in your midst4 ,fear not6 ,for thus saith ,jehovah of ,hosts3 ,it is but a little while1 and ,i will shake the heavens1 and the earth and the sea and the dry land2 and ,i will shake all nations1 and the costly things#fhd of all nations shall come in1 and ,i will fill this ,house with glory1 saith ,jehovah of ,hosts4 ,mine is the silver and ,mine the gold--oracle of ,jehovah of ,hosts4 ,greater shall the latter glory of this ,house be than the former1 saith ,jehovah of ,hosts1 and in this place will ,i give peace#fhe--oracle of ,jehovah of ,hosts4 ,from the earliest times this passage1 by the majority of the ,christian ,church1 has been interpreted of the coming of ,christ4 ,the ,vulgate renders ver4 #g;b1 ,et veniet ,desideratus cunctis gentibus1 and so a large number of the ,latin ,fathers1 who are followed by ,luther1 ,der ,trost aller ,heiden1 and by our own ,authorised ,version1 ,and the ,desire of all nations shall come4 ,this was not contrary to ,jewish tradition1 for ,rabbi ,akiba had defined the clause of the ,messiah1 and ,jerome received the interpretation from his ,jewish instructors4 ,in itself the noun1 as pointed in the ,massoretic text1 means longing or object of longing4#fhf ,but the verb which goes with it is in the plural1 and by a change of points the noun itself may be read as a plural4#fhg ,that this was the original reading is made extremely probable by the fact that it lay before the translators of the ,septuagint1 who render3 the picked1 or chosen1 things of the nations4#fhh ,so the old ,italic version3 ,et venient omnia electa gentium4#fhi ,moreover this meaning suits the context1 as the other does not4 ,the next verse mentions silver and gold4 8,we may understand what he says10 writes ,calvin1 8of ,christ2 we indeed know that ,christ was the expectation of the whole world2 444 but as it immediately follows1 ,mine is the silver and ,mine is the gold1 the more simple meaning is that which ,i first stated3 that the nations would come1 bringing with them all their riches1 that they might offer themselves and all their possessions a sacrifice to ,god40#fij #c4 ,,the ,,power ,,of ,,the ,,unclean 7,chap4 ii4 #aj-ai74 ,haggai's third address to the people is based on a deliverance which he seeks from the priests4 ,the ,book of ,deuteronomy had provided that1 in all difficult cases not settled by its own code1 the people shall seek a deliverance or ,torah from the priests1 and shall observe to do according to the deliverance which the priests deliver to thee4#fia ,both noun and verb1 which may be thus literally translated1 are also used for the completed and canonical ,law in ,israel1 and they signify that in the time of the composition of the ,book of ,deuteronomy that ,law was still regarded as in process of growth4 ,so it is also in the time of ,haggai3 he does not consult a code of laws1 nor asks the priests what the canon says1 as1 for instance1 our ,lord does with the question1 how readest thou8 ,but he begs them to give him a ,torah or deliverance1#fib based of course upon existing custom1 but not yet committed to writing4#fic ,for the history of the ,law in ,israel this is1 therefore1 a passage of great interest4 ,on the twenty-fourth of the ninth month1 in the second year of ,darius1 the word of ,jehovah came to#fid ,haggai the prophet1 saying3 ,thus saith ,jehovah of ,hosts1 ,ask1 ,i pray1 of the priests a deliverance1#fie saying3-- ,if a man be carrying flesh that is holy in the skirt of his robe1 and with his skirt touch bread or pottage or wine or oil or any food1 shall the latter become holy8 ,and the priests gave answer and said1 ,no6 ,and ,haggai said1 ,if one unclean by a corpse#fif touch any of these1 shall the latter become unclean8 ,and the priests gave answer and said1 ,it shall4 ,that is to say1 holiness which passed from the source to an object immediately in touch with the latter did not spread further2 but pollution infected not only the person who came into contact with it1 but whatever he touched4#fig 8,the flesh of the sacrifice hallowed whatever it should touch1 but not further2#fih but the human being who was defiled by touching a dead body1 defiled all he might touch40#fii ,and ,haggai answered and said3 ,so is this people1 and so is this nation before ,me--oracle of ,jehovah--and so is all the work of their hands1 and what they offer there--at the altar erected on its old site--is unclean4#gjj ,that is to say1 while the ,jews had expected their restored ritual to make them holy to the ,lord1 this had not been effective1 while1 on the contrary1 their contact with sources of pollution had thoroughly polluted both themselves and their labour and their sacrifices4 ,what these sources of pollution are is not explicitly stated1 but ,haggai1 from his other messages1 can only mean1 either the people's want of energy in building the ,temple1 or the unbuilt ,temple itself4 ,andre goes so far as to compare the latter with the corpse1 whose touch1 according to the priests1 spreads infection through more than one degree4 ,in any case ,haggai means to illustrate and enforce the building of the ,temple without delay2 and meantime he takes one instance of the effect he has already spoken of1 the work of their hands1 and shows how it has been spoilt by their neglect and delay4 ,and now1 ,i pray1 set your hearts backward from to-day1#gja before stone was laid upon stone in the ,temple of ,jehovah3 444#gjb when one came to a heap of grain of twenty measures1 and it had become ten1 or went to the winevat to draw fifty measures1#gjc and it had become twenty4 ,i smote you with blasting and with withering1#gjd and with hail all the work of your hands1 and 444#gje--oracle of ,jehovah4 ,lay now your hearts on the time before to-day#gjf 7the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month#gjg71 before the day of the foundation of the ,temple of ,jehovah#gjh--lay your hearts to that time6 ,is there yet any seed in the barn#gji8 ,and as yet#gaj the vine1 the fig-tree1 the pomegranate and the olive have not borne fruit4 ,from this day ,i will bless thee4 ,this then is the substance of the whole message4 ,on the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month1 somewhere in our ,december1 the ,jews had been discouraged that their attempts to build the ,temple1 begun three months before1#gaa had not turned the tide of their misfortunes and produced prosperity in their agriculture4 ,haggai tells them1 there is not yet time for the change to work4 ,if contact with a holy thing has only a slight effect1 but contact with an unclean thing has a much greater effect 7verses #aa-ac71 then their attempts to build the ,temple must have less good influence upon their condition than the bad influence of all their past devotion to themselves and their secular labours4 ,that is why adversity still continues1 but courage6 from this day on ,god will bless4 ,the whole message is1 therefore1 opportune to the date at which it was delivered1 and comes naturally on the back of ,haggai's previous oracles4 ,andre's reason for assigning it to another writer1 on the ground of its breaking the connection1 does not exist4#gab ,these poor colonists1 in their hope deferred1 were learning the old lesson1 which humanity finds so hard to understand1 that repentance and new-born zeal do not immediately work a change upon our material condition2 but the natural consequences of sin often outweigh the influence of conversion1 and though devoted to ,god and very industrious we may still be punished for a sinful past4 ,evil has an infectious power greater than that of holiness4 ,its effects are more extensive and lasting4#gac ,it was no bit of casuistry which ,haggai sought to illustrate by his appeal to the priests on the ceremonial law1 but an ethical truth deeply embedded in human experience4 #d4 ,,the ,,reinvestment ,,of ,,israel',s ,,hope 7,chap4 ii4 #bj-bc74 ,on the same day ,haggai published another oracle1 in which he put the climax to his own message by re-investing in ,zerubbabel the ancient hopes of his people4 ,when the monarchy fell the ,messianic hopes were naturally no longer concentrated in the person of a king2 and the great evangelist of the ,exile found the elect and anointed ,servant of ,jehovah in the people as a whole1 or in at least the pious part of them1 with functions not of political government but of moral influence and instruction towards all the peoples of the earth4 ,yet in the ,exile ,ezekiel still predicted an individual ,messiah1 a son of the house of ,david2 only it is significant that1 in his latest prophecies delivered after the overthrow of ,jerusalem1 ,ezekiel calls him not king#gad any more1 but prince4#gae ,after the return of ,sheshbazzar to ,babylon this position was virtually filled by ,zerubbabel1 a grandson of ,jehoiakin1 the second last king of ,judah1 and appointed by the ,persian king ,peah or ,satrap of ,judah4 ,him ,haggai now formally names the elect servant of ,jehovah4 ,in that overturning of the kingdoms of the world which ,haggai had predicted two months before1 and which he now explains as their mutual destruction by war1 ,jehovah of ,hosts will make ,zerubbabel ,his signet-ring1 inseparable from ,himself and the symbol of ,his authority4 ,and the word of ,jehovah came a second time to#gaf ,haggai on the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month1 saying3 ,speak to ,zerubbabel1 ,satrap of ,judah1 saying3 ,i am about to shake the heavens and the earth1#gag and ,i will overturn the thrones#gah of kingdoms1 and will shatter the power of the kingdoms of the ,gentiles1 and will overturn chariots#gai and their riders1 and horses and their riders will come down1 every man by the sword of his brother4 ,in that day--oracle of ,jehovah of ,hosts--,i will take ,zerubbabel1 son of ,she'alt'el1 ,my servant--oracle of ,jehovah--and will make him like a signet-ring2 for thee have ,i chosen--oracle of ,jehovah of ,hosts4 ,the wars and mutual destruction of the ,gentiles1 of which ,haggai speaks1 are doubtless those revolts of races and provinces1 which threatened to disrupt the ,persian ,empire upon the accession of ,darius in #eba4 ,persians1 ,babylonians1 ,medes1 ,armenians1 the ,sac and others rose together or in succession4 ,in four years ,darius quelled them all1 and reorganised his empire before the ,jews finished their ,temple4 ,like all the ,syrian governors1 ,zerubbabel remained his poor lieutenant and submissive tributary4 ,history rolled westward into ,europe4 ,greek and ,persian began their struggle for the control of its future1 and the ,jews fell into an obscurity and oblivion unbroken for centuries4 ,the signet-ring of ,jehovah was not acknowledged by the world--does not seem even to have challenged its briefest attention4 ,but ,haggai had at least succeeded in asserting the ,messianic hope of ,israel1 always baffled1 never quenched1 in this re-opening of her life4 ,he had delivered the ancient heritage of ,israel to the care of the new ,judaism4 99 99 99 99 99 ,haggai's place in the succession of prophecy ought now to be clear to us4 ,the meagreness of his words and their crabbed style1 his occupation with the construction of the ,temple1 his unfulfilled hope in ,zerubbabel1 his silence on the great inheritance of truth delivered by his predecessors1 and the absence from his prophesying of all visions of ,god's character and all emphasis upon the ethical elements of religion--these have moved some to depress his value as a prophet almost to the vanishing point4 ,nothing could be more unjust4 ,in his opening message ,haggai evinced the first indispensable power of the prophet3 to speak to the situation of the moment1 and to succeed in getting men to take up the duty at their feet2 in another message he announced a great ethical principle2 in his last he conserved the ,messianic traditions of his religion1 and though not less disappointed than ,isaiah in the personality to whom he looked for their fulfilment1 he succeeded in passing on their hope undiminished to future ages4 ,,footnotes3 #feg ,see above1 pp4 #baj-ah1 and emphasise specially the facts that the most pronounced adherents of ,kosters' theory seek to qualify his absolute negation of a ,return under ,cyrus1 by the admission that some ,jews did return2 and that even ,stade1 who agrees in the main with ,schrader that no attempt was made by the ,jews to begin building the ,temple till #ebj1 admits the probability of a stone being laid by ,sheshbazzar about #ecf4 #feh ,see above1 pp4 #bah ff4 #fei ,hag4 i4 #d4 #ffj ,art4 8,haggai10 ,encyc4 ,brit4 #ffa ,heb4 ,daryavesh4 #ffb ,heb4 by the hand of4 #ffc ,see above1 pp4 #aii f4 and #bba4 #ffd ,see below1 pp4 #beh1 #bgi1 #bib ff4 #ffe ,heb4 saying4 #fff ,for not the time of coming read with ,hitzig and ,wellhausen 1 not now is come2 for cf4 ,ezek4 xxiii4 #d1 ,psalm lxxiv4 #f4 #ffg ,the emphasis may be due only to the awkward grammatical construction4 #ffh 1 from 1 to cover with planks of cedar1 #b ,kings vi4 #i3 cf4 iii4 #g4 #ffi ,heb4 set your hearts 7see ,vol4 ,i41 pp4 #beh1 #bge1 #cba1 #cbc7 upon your ways2 but your ways cannot mean here1 as elsewhere1 your conduct1 but obviously from what follows the ways you have been led1 the way things have gone with you--the barren seasons and little income4 #fgj ,the ,hebrew and ,versions here insert set your hearts upon your ways1 obviously a mere clerical repetition from ver4 #e4 #fga ,for read with the ,,lxx4 or 4 #fgb ,the here inserted in the ,hebrew text is unparsable1 not found in the ,,lxx4 and probably a clerical error by dittography from the preceding 4 #fgc ,heb4 heavens are shut from dew4 ,but perhaps the of should be deleted4 ,so ,wellhausen4 ,there is no instance of an intransitive ,qal of 4 #fgd ,query8 #fge ,vol4 ,i41 pp4 #afb ff4 #fgf ,see above1 p4 #bbg4 #fgg ,the ,,lxx4 wrongly takes this last verse of chap4 i4 as the first half of the first verse of chap4 ii4 #fgh ,lev4 xxiii4 #cd1 #cf1 #dj-db4 #fgi ,by the hand of4 #fhj 4 ,literally1 is not the like of it as nothing in your eyes8 ,but that can hardly be the meaning4 ,it might be equivalent to is it not1 as it stands1 as nothing in your eyes8 ,but the fact is that in ,hebrew construction of a simple1 unemphasised comparison1 the comparing particle stands before both objects compared3 as1 for instance1 in the phrase 7,gen4 xliv4 #ah7 1 thou art as ,pharaoh4 #fha ,literally3 be strong4 #fhb ,it is difficult to say whether high priest belongs to the text or not4 #fhc ,here occurs the anacolouthic clause1 introduced by an acc4 without a verb1 which is not found in the ,,lxx4 and is probably a gloss 7see above1 p4 #bda73 ,the promise which ,i made with you in your going forth from ,egypt4 #fhd ,hebrew has singular1 costly thing or desirableness1 7fem1 for neut471 but the verb shall come is in the plural1 and the ,,lxx4 has 1 the choice things4 ,see below1 next page4 #fhe ,the ,,lxx4 add a parallel clause 1 which would read in ,hebrew 4 ,on ,wellhausen cites #a ,chron4 xi4 #h1 restore or revive4 #fhf longing1 #b ,chron4 xxi4 #b1 and object of longing1 ,dan4 xi4 #cg4 ,it is the feminine or neuter1 and might be rendered as a collective1 desirable things4 ,pusey cites ,cicero's address to his wife3 ,valete1 mea desideria1 valete 7,ep4 ad ,famil41 xiv4 #b fin474 #fhg plural feminine of pass4 part41 as in ,gen4 xxvii4 #ae1 where it is an adjective1 but used as a noun precious things1 ,dan4 xi4 #ch1 #dc1 which use meets the objection of ,pusey1 in loco1 where he wrongly maintains that precious things1 if intended1 must have been expressed by 4 #fhh 4 ,theodore of ,mopsuestia takes it as elect persons of all nations1 to which a few moderns adhere4 #fhi ,augustini ,contra ,donatistas post ,collationem1 cap4 xx4 #cj 7,migne1 ,latin ,patrology1 ,,xliii41 p4 #fga74 #fij ,calvin1 ,comm4 in ,haggai1 ii4 #f-i4 #fia ,deut4 xvii4 #h ff43 4 ,compare the expression 1 in #b ,chron4 xv4 #c1 and the duties of the teaching priests assigned by the ,chronicler 7#b ,chron4 xvii4 #g-i7 to the days of ,jehoshaphat4 #fib ,note that it is not the ,torah1 but a ,torah4 #fic ,the nearest passage to the deliverance of the priests to ,haggai is ,lev4 vi4 #bj1 #ba 7,heb471 #bg1 #bh 7,eng474 ,this is part of the ,priestly ,code not promulgated till #dde ,b4,c41 but based1 of course1 on long extant custom1 some of it very ancient4 ,everything that touches the flesh 7of the sin-offering1 which is holy7 shall be holy--1 the verb used by the priests in their answer to ,haggai--and when any of its blood has been sprinkled on a garment1 that whereon it was sprinkled shall be washed in a holy place4 ,the earthen vessel wherein it has been boiled shall be broken1 and if it has been boiled in a brazen vessel1 this shall be scoured and rinsed with water4 #fid ,so several old edd4 and many codd41 and adopted by ,baer 7see his note in loco7 in his text4 ,but most of the edd4 of the ,massoretic text read after ,cod4 ,hill4 ,for the importance of the question see above1 p4 #bbg4 #fie ,torah4 #fif 4 #fig ,there does not appear to be the contrast between indirect contact with a holy thing and direct contact with a polluted which ,wellhausen says there is4 ,in either case the articles whose character is in question stand second from the source of holiness and pollution--the holy flesh and the corpse4 #fih ,see above1 p4 #bde1 n4 #fic4 #fii ,pusey1 in loco4 #gjj ,the ,,lxx4 have here found inserted three other clauses3 1 1 4 ,the first clause is a misreading 7,wellhausen71 for 1 because ye take a bribe1 and goes well with the third clause1 modified from ,amos v4 #aj3 1 they hate him who reproves in the gate4 ,these may have been inserted into the ,hebrew text by some one puzzled to know what the source of the people's pollution was1 and who absurdly found it in sins which in ,haggai's time it was impossible to impute to them4 ,the middle clause1 1 they vex themselves with their labours1 is suitable to the sense of the ,hebrew text of the verse1 as ,wellhausen points out1 but besides gives a connection with what follows4 #gja ,from this day and onward4 #gjb ,heb4 literally since they were4 ,a4,v4 since those days were4 #gjc ,winevat1 1 is distinguished from winepress1 1 in ,josh4 ix4 #ac1 and is translated by the ,greek ,mark xii4 ,i1 ,matt4 xxi4 #cc1 dug a pit for the winepress2 but the name is applied sometimes to the whole winepress--,hosea ix4 #b etc41 ,job xxiv4 #aa1 to tread the winepress4 ,the word translated measures1 as in ,,lxx4 1 is 1 and that is properly the vat in which the grapes were trodden 7,isa4 lxiii4 #c71 but here it can scarcely mean fifty vatfuls1 but must refer to some smaller measure--cask8 #gjd ,see above1 pp4 #bbh f41 n4 #fbe4 #gje ,the words omitted cannot be construed in the ,hebrew1 1 literally and not you 7acc47 to ,me4 ,hitzig1 etc41 propose to read and render there was none with you who turned to ,me4 ,others propose 1 as if none of you turned to ,me4 ,others retain and render as for you4 ,the versions ,,lxx4 ,syr41 ,vulg4 ye will not return or did not return to ,me1 reading perhaps for 1 1 which is found in ,amos iv4 #i1 of which the rest of the verse is an echo4 ,wellhausen deletes the whole verse as a gloss4 ,it is certainly suspicious1 and remarkable in that the ,,lxx4 text has already introduced two citations from ,amos4 ,see above on ver4 #ad4 #gjf ,heb4 from this day backwards4 #gjg ,the date ,wellhausen thinks was added by a later hand4 #gjh ,this is the ambiguous clause on different interpretations of which so much has been founded3 4 ,does this clause1 in simple parallel to the previous one1 describe the day on which the prophet was speaking1 the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month1 the terminus a quo of the people's retrospect8 ,in that case ,haggai regards the foundation-stone of the ,temple as laid on the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month #ebj ,b4,c41 and does not know1 or at least ignores1 any previous laying of a foundation-stone4 ,so ,kuenen1 ,kosters1 ,andre1 etc4 ,or does signify up to the time the foundation-stone was laid1 and state a terminus ad quem for the people's retrospect8 ,so ,ewald and others1 who therefore find in the verse a proof that ,haggai knew of an earlier laying of the foundation-stone4 ,but that is ever used for cannot be proved1 and indeed is disproved by ,jer4 vii4 #g1 where it occurs in contrast to 4 ,van ,hoonacker finds the same1 but in a more subtle translation of 41 he says1 is never used except of a date distant from the speaker or writer of it2 7if ,i understand him aright7 refers therefore to a date previous to ,haggai to which the people's thoughts are directed by the and then brought back from it to the date at which he was speaking by means of the 3 8la prposition signifie la direction de l'esprit vers une poque du pass d'o il est ramen par la prposition 40 ,but surely can be used 7as indeed ,haggai has just used it7 to signify extension backwards from the standpoint of the speaker2 and although in the passages cited by ,van ,hoonacker of the use of it always refers to a past date--,deut4 ix4 #g1 ,judg4 xix4 #cj1 #b ,sam4 vi4 #aa1 ,jer4 vii4 #g and #be--still1 as it is there nothing but a pleonastic form for 1 it surely might be employed as is sometimes employed for departure from the present backwards4 ,nor in any case is it used to express what ,van ,hoonacker seeks to draw from it here1 the idea of direction of the mind to a past event and then an immediate return from that4 ,had ,haggai wished to express that idea he would have phrased it thus3 7as ,kosters remarks74 ,besides1 as ,kosters has pointed out 7pp4 #g ff4 of the ,germ4 trans4 of ,het ,herstel1 etc471 even if ,van ,hoonacker's translation of were correct1 the context would show that it might refer only to a laying of the foundation-stone since ,haggai's first address to the people1 and therefore the question of an earlier foundation-stone under ,cyrus would remain unsolved4 ,consequently ,haggai ii4 #ah cannot be quoted as a proof of the latter4 ,see above1 p4 #baf4 #gji ,meaning there is none4 #gaj or for 1 after ,,lxx4 4 #gaa ,the twenty-fourth day of the sixth month1 according to chap4 i4 #ae4 #gab ,see above1 p4 #bbh4 #gac 8,for ,i believe the devil's voice ,sinks deeper in our ear1 ,than any whisper sent from heaven1 ,however sweet and clear40 #gad ,only in xxxiv4 #bd1 xxxvii4 #bb1 #bd4 #gae 3 cf4 ,skinner1 ,ezekiel 7,expositor's ,bible ,series71 pp4 #ddg ff41 who1 however1 attributes the diminution of the importance of the civil head in ,israel1 not to the feeling that he would henceforth always be subject to a foreign emperor1 but to the conviction that in the future he will be 8overshadowed by the personal presence of ,jehovah in the midst of ,his people40 #gaf ,see above1 p4 #bbg4 #gag ,,lxx4 enlarges3 and the sea and the dry land4 #gah ,heb4 sing4 collect4 ,,lxx4 plural4 #gai ,again a sing4 coll4 ,,zechariah 7,i4-,,viii47 ,not by might1 and not by force1 but by ,my ,spirit1 saith ,jehovah of ,hosts4 ,be not afraid1 strengthen your hands6 ,speak truth1 every man to his neighbour2 truth and wholesome judgment judge ye in your gates1 and in your hearts plan no evil for each other1 nor take pleasure in false swearing1 for all these things do ,i hate--oracle of ,jehovah4 ,,chapter ,,xix ,,the ,,book ,,of ,,zechariah 7,i4-,,viii47 ,the ,book of ,zechariah1 consisting of fourteen chapters1 falls clearly into two divisions3 ,first1 chaps4 i4--viii41 ascribed to ,zechariah himself and full of evidence for their authenticity2 ,second1 chaps4 ix4--xiv41 which are not ascribed to ,zechariah1 and deal with conditions different from those upon which he worked4 ,the full discussion of the date and character of this second section we shall reserve till we reach the period at which we believe it to have been written4 ,here an introduction is necessary only to chaps4 i4--viii4 ,these chapters may be divided into five sections4 ,i4 ,chap4 i4 #a-f4--;,a ,word of ,jehovah which came to ,zechariah in the eighth month of the second year of ,darius1 that is in ,november #ebj ,b4,c41 or between the second and the third oracles of ,haggai4#gbj ,in this the prophet's place is affirmed in the succession of the prophets of ,israel4 ,the ancient prophets are gone1 but their predictions have been fulfilled in the calamities of the ,exile1 and ,god's ,word abides for ever4 ,,ii4 ,chap4 i4 #g--vi4 #i4--;,a ,word of ,jehovah which came to ,zechariah on the twenty-fourth of the eleventh month of the same year1 that is ,january or ,february #eai1 and which he reproduces in the form of eight ,visions by night4 7#a7 ,the ,vision of the ,four ,horsemen3 ,god's new mercies to ,jerusalem 7chap4 i4 #g-ag74 7#b7 ,the ,vision of the ,four ,horns1 or ,powers of the ,world1 and the ,four ,smiths1 who smite them down 7ii4 #a-d ,heb41 but in the ,septuagint and in the ,english ,version i4 #ah-ba74 7#c7 ,the ,vision of the ,man with the ,measuring ,rope3 ,jerusalem shall be rebuilt1 no longer as a narrow fortress1 but spread abroad for the multitude of her population 7chap4 ii4 #e-i ,heb41 ii4 #a-e ,,lxx4 and ,eng474 ,to this ,vision is appended a lyric piece of probably older date calling upon the ,jews in ,babylon to return1 and celebrating the joining of many peoples to ,jehovah1 now that ,he takes up again ,his habitation in ,jerusalem 7chap4 ii4 #aj-ag ,heb41 ii4 #f-ac ,,lxx4 and ,eng474 7#d7 ,the ,vision of ,joshua1 the ,high ,priest1 and the ,satan or ,accuser3 the ,satan is rebuked1 and ,joshua is cleansed from his foul garments and clothed with a new turban and festal apparel2 the land is purged and secure 7chap4 iii474 7#e7 ,the ,vision of the ,seven-,branched ,lamp and the ,two ,olive-,trees 7chap4 iv4 #a-f;a1 #aj;b-#ad73 into the centre of this has been inserted a ,word of ,jehovah to ,zerubbabel 7vv4 #f;b-#aj;a71 which interrupts the ,vision and ought probably to come at the close of it4 7#f7 ,the ,vision of the ,flying ,book3 it is the curse of the land1 which is being removed1 but after destroying the houses of the wicked 7chap4 v4 #a-d74 7#g7 ,the ,vision of the ,bushel and the ,woman3 that is the guilt of the land and its wickedness2 they are carried off and planted in the land of ,shin#8ar 7v4 #e-aa74 7#h7 ,the ,vision of the ,four ,chariots3 they go forth from the ,lord of all the earth1 to traverse the earth and bring ,his ,spirit1 or anger1 to bear on the ,north country 7chap4 vi4 #a-h74 ,,iii4 ,chap4 vi4 #i-ae4--;,a ,word of ,jehovah1 undated 7unless it is to be taken as of the same date as the ,visions to which it is attached71 giving directions as to the gifts sent to the community at ,jerusalem from the ,babylonian ,jews4 ,a crown is to be made from the silver and gold1 and1 according to the text1 placed upon the head of ,joshua4 ,but1 as we shall see1#gba the text gives evident signs of having been altered in the interest of the ,high ,priest2 and probably the crown was meant for ,zerubbabel1 at whose right hand the priest is to stand1 and there shall be a counsel of peace between the two of them4 ,the far-away shall come and assist at the building of the ,temple4 ,this section breaks off in the middle of a sentence4 ,,iv4 ,chap4 vii4--,the ,word of ,jehovah which came to ,zechariah on the fourth of the ninth month of the fourth year of ,darius1 that is nearly two years after the date of the ,visions4 ,the ,temple was approaching completion2 and an inquiry was addressed to the priests who were in it and to the prophets concerning the ,fasts1 which had been maintained during the ,exile1 while the ,temple lay desolate 7chap4 vii4 #a-c74 ,this inquiry drew from ,zechariah a historical explanation of how the ,fasts arose 7chap4 vii4 #d-ad74 ,v4 ,chap4 viii4--,ten short undated oracles1 each introduced by the same formula1 ,thus saith ,jehovah of ,hosts1 and summarising all ,zechariah's teaching since before the ,temple began up to the question of the cessation of the ,fasts upon its completion--with promises for the future4 7#a7 ,a ,word affirming ,jehovah's new zeal for ,jerusalem and ,his ,return to her 7vv4 #a1 #b74 7#b7 ,another of the same 7ver4 #c74 7#c7 ,a ,word promising fulness of old folk and children in her streets 7vv4 #d1 #e74 7#d7 ,a ,word affirming that nothing is too wonderful for ,jehovah 7ver4 #f74 7#e7 ,a ,word promising the return of the people from east and west 7vv4 #g1 #h74 7#f and #g7 ,two ,words contrasting1 in terms similar to ,haggai i41 the poverty of the people before the foundation of the ,temple with their new prosperity3 from a curse ,israel shall become a blessing4 ,this is due to ,god's anger having changed into a purpose of grace to ,jerusalem4 ,but the people themselves must do truth and justice1 ceasing from perjury and thoughts of evil against each other 7vv4 #i-ag74 7#h7 ,a ,word which recurs to the question of ,fasting1 and commands that the four great ,fasts1 instituted to commemorate the siege and overthrow of ,jerusalem1 and the murder of ,gedaliah1 be changed to joy and gladness 7vv4 #ah1 #ai74 7#i7 ,a ,word predicting the coming of the ,gentiles to the worship of ,jehovah at ,jerusalem 7vv4 #bj-bb74 7#aj7 ,another of the same 7ver4 #bc74 ,there can be little doubt that1 apart from the few interpolations noted1 these eight chapters are genuine prophecies of ,zechariah1 who is mentioned in the ,book of ,ezra as the colleague of ,haggai1 and contemporary of ,zerubbabel and ,joshua at the time of the rebuilding of the ,temple4#gbb ,like the oracles of ,haggai1 these prophecies are dated according to the years of ,darius the king1 from his second year to his fourth4 ,although they may contain some of the exhortations to build the ,temple1 which the ,book of ,ezra informs us that ,zechariah made along with ,haggai1 the most of them presuppose progress in the work1 and seek to assist it by historical retrospect and by glowing hopes of the ,messianic effects of its completion4 ,their allusions suit exactly the years to which they are assigned4 ,darius is king4 ,the ,exile has lasted about seventy years4#gbc ,numbers of ,jews remain in ,babylon1#gbd and are scattered over the rest of the world4#gbe ,the community at ,jerusalem is small and weak3 it is the mere colony of young men and men in middle life who came to it from ,babylon2 there are few children and old folk4#gbf ,joshua and ,zerubbabel are the heads of the community1 and the pledges for its future4#gbg ,the exact conditions are recalled as recent which ,haggai spoke of a few years before4#gbh ,moreover1 there is a steady and orderly progress throughout the prophecies1 in harmony with the successive dates at which they were delivered4 ,in ,november #ebj they begin with a cry to repentance and lessons drawn from the past of prophecy4#gbi ,in ,january #eai ,temple and ,city are still to be built4#gcj ,zerubbabel has laid the foundation2 the completion is yet future4#gca ,the prophet's duty is to quiet the people's apprehensions about the state of the world1#gcb to provoke their zeal1#gcc give them confidence in their great men1#gcd and1 above all1 assure them that ,god is returned to them#gce and their sin pardoned4#gcf ,but in ,december #eah the ,temple is so far built that the priests are said to belong to it2#gcg there is no occasion for continuing the fasts of the ,exile1#gch the future has opened and the horizon is bright with the ,messianic hopes4#gci ,most of all1 it is felt that the hard struggle with the forces of nature is over1 and the people are exhorted to the virtues of the civic life4#gdj ,they have time to lift their eyes from their work and see the nations coming from afar to ,jerusalem4#gda ,these features leave no room for doubt that the great bulk of the first eight chapters of the ,book of ,zechariah are by the prophet himself1 and from the years to which he assigns them1 ,november #ebj to ,december #eah4 ,the point requires no argument4 ,there are1 however1 three passages which provoke further examination--two of them because of the signs they bear of an earlier date1 and one because of the alteration it has suffered in the interests of a later day in ,israel's history4 ,the lyric passage which is appended to the ,second ,vision 7chap4 ii #aj-ag ,heb41 #f-ac ,,lxx4 and ,eng47 suggests questions by its singularity3 there is no other such among the ,visions4 ,but in addition to this it speaks not only of the ,return from ,babylon as still future#gdb--this might still be said after the ,first ,return of the exiles in #ecfgdc--;but it differs from the language of all the ,visions proper in describing the return of ,jehovah ,himself to ,zion as still future4 ,the whole1 too1 has the ring of the great odes in ,isaiah xl4--lv41 and seems to reflect the same situation1 upon the eve of ,cyrus' conquest of ,babylon4 ,there can be little doubt that we have here inserted in ,zechariah's ,visions a song of twenty years earlier1 but we must confess inability to decide whether it was adopted by ,zechariah himself or added by a later hand4#gdd ,again1 there are the two passages called the ,word of ,jehovah to ,zerubbabel1 chap4 iv4 #f;b-#aj;a2 and the ,word of ,jehovah concerning the gifts which came to ,jerusalem from the ,jews in ,babylon1 chap4 vi4 #i-ae4 ,the first1 as ,wellhausen has shown1#gde is clearly out of place2 it disturbs the narrative of the ,vision1 and is to be put at the end of the latter4 ,the second is undated1 and separate from the ,visions4 ,the second plainly affirms that the building of the ,temple is still future4 ,the man whose name is ,branch or ,shoot is designated3 and he shall build the ,temple of ,jehovah4 ,the first is in the same temper as the first two oracles of ,haggai4 ,it is possible then that these two passages are not1 like the ,visions with which they are taken1 to be dated from #eai1 but represent that still earlier prophesying of ,zechariah with which we are told he assisted ,haggai in instigating the people to begin to build the ,temple4 99 99 99 99 99 ,the style of the prophet ,zechariah betrays special features almost only in the narrative of the ,visions4 ,outside these his language is simple1 direct and pure1 as it could not but be1 considering how much of it is drawn from1 or modelled upon1 the older prophets1#gdf and chiefly ,hosea and ,jeremiah4 ,only one or two lapses into a careless and degenerate dialect show us how the prophet might have written1 had he not been sustained by the music of the classical periods of the language4#gdg ,this directness and pith is not shared by the language in which the ,visions are narrated4#gdh ,here the style is involved and redundant4 ,the syntax is loose2 there is a frequent omission of the copula1 and of other means by which1 in better ,hebrew1 connection and conciseness are sustained4 ,the formulas1 thus saith and saying1 are repeated to weariness4 ,at the same time it is fair to ask1 how much of this redundancy was due to ,zechariah himself8 ,take the ,septuagint version4 ,the ,hebrew text1 which it followed1 not only included a number of repetitions of the formulas1 and of the designations of the personages introduced into the ,visions1 which do not occur in the ,massoretic text1#gdi but omitted some which are found in the ,massoretic text4#gej ,these two sets of phenomena prove that from an early date the copiers of the original text of ,zechariah must have been busy in increasing its redundancies4 ,further1 there are still earlier intrusions and expansions1 for these are shared by both the ,hebrew and the ,greek texts3 some of them very natural efforts to clear up the personages and conversations recorded in the dreams1#gea some of them stupid mistakes in understanding the drift of the argument4#geb ,there must of course have been a certain amount of redundancy in the original to provoke such aggravations of it1 and of obscurity or tortuousness of style to cause them to be deemed necessary4 ,but it would be very unjust to charge all the faults of our present text to ,zechariah himself1 especially when we find such force and simplicity in the passages outside the ,visions4 ,of course the involved and misty subjects of the latter naturally forced upon the description of them a laboriousness of art1 to which there was no provocation in directly exhorting the people to a pure life1 or in straightforward predictions of the ,messianic era4 ,beyond the corruptions due to these causes1 the text of ,zechariah i4--viii4 has not suffered more than that of our other prophets4 ,there are one or two clerical errors2#gec an occasional preposition or person of a verb needs to be amended4 ,here and there the text has been disarranged2#ged and as already noticed1 there has been one serious alteration of the original4#gee ,from the foregoing paragraphs it must be apparent what help and hindrance in the reconstruction of the text is furnished by the ,septuagint4 ,a list of its variant readings and of its mistranslations is appended4#gef ,,footnotes3 #gbj ,see above1 pp4 #bbe ff4 #gba ,below1 p4 #cjh4 #gbb ,ezra v4 #a1 vi4 #ad4 #gbc i4 #ab1 vii4 #e3 reckoning in round numbers from #eij1 midway between the two ,exiles of #eig and #ehf1 that brings us to about #ebj1 the second year of ,darius4 #gbd ii4 #f 7,eng41 ,heb4 #aj74 ,on the question whether the ,book of ,zechariah gives no evidence of a previous ,return from ,babylon see above1 pp4 #bjh ff4 #gbe viii4 #g1 etc4 #gbf viii4 #d1 #e4 #gbg iii4 #a-aj1 iv4 #f-aj1 vi4 #aa ff4 #gbh viii4 #i1 #aj4 #gbi i4 #a-f4 #gcj i4 #g-ag4 #gca iv4 #f-aj4 #gcb i4 #g-ba 7,eng41 ,heb4 i4 #g--;ii4 #d74 #gcc iv4 #f ff4 #gcd iii41 iv4 #gce i4 #af4 #gcf v4 #gcg vii4 #c4 #gch vii4 #a-g1 viii4 #ah1 #ai4 #gci viii4 #bj-bc4 #gdj viii4 #af1 #ag4 #gda viii4 #bj-bc4 #gdb ii4 #aj f4 ,heb41 #f f4 ,,lxx4 and ,eng4 #gdc ,though the expression ,i have scattered you to the four winds of heaven seems to imply the ,exile before any return4 #gdd ,for the bearing of this on ,kosters' theory of the ,return see pp4 #baa f4 #gde ,see below1 p4 #cjj4 #gdf ,outside the ,visions the prophecies contain these echoes or repetitions of earlier writers3 chap4 i4 #a-f quotes the constant refrain of prophetic preaching before the ,exile1 and in chap4 vii4 #g-ad 7ver4 #h must be deleted7 is given a summary of that preaching2 in chap4 viii4 ver4 #c echoes ,isa4 i4 #ba1 #bf1 city of troth1 and ,jer4 xxxi4 #bc1 mountain of holiness 7there is really no connection1 as ,kuenen holds1 between ver4 #d and ,isa4 lxv4 #bj2 it would create more interesting questions as to the date of the latter if there were72 ver4 #h is based on ,hosea ii4 #ae ,heb41 #ai ,eng41 and ,jer4 xxxi4 #cc2 ver4 #ab is based on ,hosea ii4 #ba f4 7,heb4 #bc f472 with ver4 #ac compare ,jer4 xlii4 #ah1 a curse2 vv4 #ba ff4 with ,isa4 ii4 #c and ,micah iv4 #b4 #gdg ,e4g4 vii4 #e1 for 3 cf4 ,ewald1 ,syntax1 #cae;b4 ,the curious use of the acc4 in the following verse is perhaps only apparent2 part of the text may have fallen out4 #gdh ,though there are not wanting1 of course1 echoes here as in the other prophecies of older writings1 e4g4 i4 #ab1 #ag4 #gdi 1 saying1 ii4 #h 7,gr4 ii4 #d72 iv4 #e1 ,and the angel who spoke with me said2 i4 #ag1 cf4 vi4 #e4 ,all is inserted in i4 #aa1 iii4 #i2 lord in ii4 #b2 of hosts 7after ,jehovah7 viii4 #ag2 and there are other instances of palpable expansion1 e4g4 i4 #f1 #h1 ii4 #d bis1 #f1 viii4 #ai4 #gej ,e4g4 ii4 #b1 iv4 #b1 #ac1 v4 #i1 vi4 #ab bis1 vii4 #h3 cf4 also vi4 #ac4 #gea i4 #h ff41 iii4 #d ff43 cf4 also vi4 #c with vv4 #f f4 #geb ,e4g4 7but this is outside the ,visions7 the very flagrant misunderstanding to which the insertion of vii4 #h is due4 #gec v4 #f1 for as in ,,lxx41 and the last words of v4 #aa2 perhaps vi4 #aj2 and almost certainly vii4 #b;a4 #ged ,chap4 iv4 ,on #f;a1 #aj;b-#ad should immediately follow1 and #f;b-#aj;a come after #ad4 #gee vi4 #aa ff4 ,see below1 pp4 #cjh f4 #gef ,chief variants3 i4 #h1 #aj2 ii4 #ae2 iii4 #d2 iv4 #g1 #ab2 v4 #a1 #c1 #d1 #i2 vi4 #aj1 #ac2 vii4 #c2 viii4 #h1 #i1 #ab1 #bj4 ,obvious mistranslations or misreadings3 ii4 #i1 #aj1 #ae1 #ag2 iii4 #d2 iv4 #g1 #aj2 v4 #a1 #d1 #i2 vi4 #aj1 cf4 #ad2 vii4 #c4 ,,chapter ,,xx ,,zechariah ,,the ,,prophet ,,zechariah i4 #a-f1 etc42 ,,ezra v4 #a1 vi4 #ad ,zechariah is one of the prophets whose personality as distinguished from their message exerts some degree of fascination on the student4 ,this is not due1 however1 as in the case of ,hosea or ,jeremiah1 to the facts of his life1 for of these we know extremely little2 but to certain conflicting symptoms of character which appear through his prophecies4 ,his name was a very common one in ,israel1 ,zekher-,yah1 ,jehovah remembers4#geg ,in his own book he is described as the son of ,berekh-,yah1 the son of ,iddo1#geh and in the ,aramaic document of the ,book of ,ezra as the son of ,iddo4#gei ,some have explained this difference by supposing that ,berekhyah was the actual father of the prophet1 but that either he died early1 leaving ,zechariah to the care of the grandfather1 or else that he was a man of no note1 and ,iddo was more naturally mentioned as the head of the family4 ,there are several instances in the ,old ,testament of men being called the sons of their grandfathers3#gfj as in these cases the grandfather was the reputed founder of the house1 so in that of ,zechariah ,iddo was the head of his family when it came out of ,babylon and was anew planted in ,jerusalem4 ,others1 however1 have contested the genuineness of the words son of ,berekh-,yah1 and have traced their insertion to a confusion of the prophet with ,zechariah son of ,ybherekh-,yahu1 the contemporary of ,isaiah4#gfa ,this is precarious1 while the other hypothesis is a very natural one4#gfb ,whichever be correct1 the prophet ,zechariah was a member of the priestly family of ,iddo1 that came up to ,jerusalem from ,babylon under ,cyrus4#gfc ,the ,book of ,nehemiah adds that in the high-priesthood of ,yoyakim1 the son of ,joshua1 the head of the house of ,iddo was a ,zechariah4#gfd ,if this be our prophet1 then he was probably a young man in #ebj1gfe and had come up as a child in the caravans from ,babylon4 ,the ,aramaic document of the ,book of ,ezra#gff assigns to ,zechariah a share with ,haggai in the work of instigating ,zerubbabel and ,jeshua to begin the ,temple4 ,none of his oracles is dated previous to the beginning of the work in ,august #ebj1 but we have seen#gfg that among those undated there are one or two which by referring to the building of the ,temple as still future may contain some relics of that first stage of his ministry4 ,from ,november #ebj we have the first of his dated oracles2 his ,visions followed in ,january #eai1 and his last recorded prophesying in ,december #eah4gfh ,these are all the certain events of ,zechariah's history4 ,but in the well-attested prophecies he has left we discover1 besides some obvious traits of character1 certain problems of style and expression which suggest a personality of more than usual interest4 ,loyalty to the great voices of old1 the temper which appeals to the experience1 rather than to the dogmas1 of the past1 the gift of plain speech to his own times1 a wistful anxiety about his reception as a prophet#gfi combined with the absence of all ambition to be original or anything but the clear voice of the lessons of the past and of the conscience of to-day--these are the qualities which characterise ,zechariah's orations to the people4 ,but how to reconcile them with the strained art and obscure truths of the ,visions--it is this which invests with interest the study of his personality4 ,we have proved that the obscurity and redundancy of the ,visions cannot all have been due to himself4 ,later hands have exaggerated the repetitions and ravelled the processes of the original4 ,but these gradual blemishes have not grown from nothing3 the original style must have been sufficiently involved to provoke the interpolations of the scribes1 and it certainly contained all the weird and shifting apparitions which we find so hard to make clear to ourselves4 ,the problem1 therefore1 remains--how one who had gift of speech1 so straight and clear1 came to torture and tangle his style2 how one who presented with all plainness the main issues of his people's history found it laid upon him to invent1 for the further expression of these1 symbols so laboured and intricate4 ,we begin with the oracle1 which opens his book and illustrates those simple characteristics of the man that contrast so sharply with the temper of his ,visions4 ,in the eighth month1 in the second year of ,darius1 the word of ,jehovah came to the prophet ,zechariah1 son of ,berekhyah1 son of ,iddo1#ggj saying3 ,jehovah was very wroth#gga with your fathers4 ,and thou shalt say unto them3 ,thus saith ,jehovah of ,hosts3 ,turn ye to ,me--oracle of ,jehovah of ,hosts--that ,i may turn to you1 saith ,jehovah of ,hosts6 ,be not like your fathers1 to whom the former prophets preached1 saying3 8,thus saith ,jehovah of ,hosts1 ,turn now from your evil ways and from#ggb your evil deeds10 but they hearkened not1 and paid no attention to ,me--oracle of ,jehovah4 ,your fathers1 where are they8 ,and the prophets1 do they live for ever8 ,but#ggc ,my words and ,my statutes1 with which ,i charged ,my servants the prophets1 did they not overtake your fathers8 till these turned and said1 ,as ,jehovah of ,hosts did purpose to do unto us1 according to our deeds and according to our ways1 so hath ,he dealt with us4 ,it is a sign of the new age which we have reached1 that its prophet should appeal to the older prophets with as much solemnity as they did to ,moses himself4 ,the history which led to the ,exile has become to ,israel as classic and sacred as her great days of deliverance from ,egypt and of conquest in ,canaan4 ,but still more significant is what ,zechariah seeks from that past2 this we must carefully discover1 if we would appreciate with exactness his rank as a prophet4 ,the development of religion may be said to consist of a struggle between two tempers1 both of which indeed appeal to the past1 but from very opposite motives4 ,the one proves its devotion to the older prophets by adopting the exact formulas of their doctrine1 counts these sacred to the letter1 and would enforce them in detail upon the minds and circumstances of the new generation4 ,it conceives that truth has been promulgated once for all in forms as enduring as the principles they contain4 ,it fences ancient rites1 cherishes old customs and institutions1 and when these are questioned it becomes alarmed and even savage4 ,the other temper is no whit behind this one in its devotion to the past1 but it seeks the ancient prophets not so much for what they have said as for what they have been1 not for what they enforced but for what they encountered1 suffered and confessed4 ,it asks not for dogmas but for experience and testimony4 ,he who can thus read the past and interpret it to his own day--he is the prophet4 ,in his reading he finds nothing so clear1 nothing so tragic1 nothing so convincing as the working of the ,word of ,god4 ,he beholds how this came to men1 haunted them and was entreated by them4 ,he sees that it was their great opportunity1 which being rejected became their judgment4 ,he finds abused justice vindicated1 proud wrong punished1 and all ,god's neglected commonplaces achieving in time their triumph4 ,he reads how men came to see this1 and to confess their guilt4 ,he is haunted by the remorse of generations who know how they might have obeyed the ,divine call1 but wilfully did not4 ,and though they have perished1 and the prophets have died and their formulas are no more applicable1 the victorious ,word itself still lives and cries to men with the terrible emphasis of their fathers' experience4 ,all this is the vision of the true prophet1 and it was the vision of ,zechariah4 ,his generation was one whose chief temptation was to adopt towards the past the other attitude we have described4 ,in their feebleness what could the poor remnant of ,israel do but cling servilely to the former greatness8 ,the vindication of the ,exile had stamped the ,divine authority of the earlier prophets4 ,the habits1 which the life in ,babylon had perfected1 of arranging and codifying the literature of the past1 and of employing it1 in place of altar and ritual1 in the stated service of ,god1 had canonised ,scripture and provoked men to the worship of its very letter4 ,had the real prophet not again been raised1 these habits might have too early produced the belief that the ,word of ,god was exhausted1 and must have fastened upon the feeble life of ,israel that mass of stiff and stark dogmas1 the literal application of which ,christ afterwards found crushing the liberty and the force of religion4 ,zechariah prevented this--for a time4 ,he himself was mighty in the ,scriptures of the past3 no man in ,israel makes larger use of them4 ,but he employs them as witnesses1 not as dogmas2 he finds in them not authority1 but experience4#ggd ,he reads their testimony to the ever-living presence of ,god's ,word with men4 ,and seeing that1 though the old forms and figures have perished with the hearts which shaped them1 the ,word itself in its bare truth has vindicated its life by fulfilment in history1 he knows that it lives still1 and hurls it upon his people1 not in the forms published by this or that prophet of long ago1 but in its essence and direct from ,god ,himself1 as ,his ,word for to-day and now4 ,the fathers1 where are they8 ,and the prophets1 do they live for ever8 ,but ,my words and ,my statutes1 with which ,i charged ,my servants the prophets1 have they not overtaken your fathers8 ,thus saith ,jehovah of ,hosts1 ,be ye not like your fathers1 but turn ye to ,me that ,i may turn to you4 ,the argument of this oracle might very naturally have been narrowed into a credential for the prophet himself as sent from ,god4 ,about his reception as ,jehovah's messenger ,zechariah shows a repeated anxiety4 ,four times he concludes a prediction with the words1 ,and ye shall know that ,jehovah hath sent me1#gge as if after his first utterances he had encountered that suspicion and unbelief which a prophet never failed to suffer from his contemporaries4 ,but in this oracle there is no trace of such personal anxiety4 ,the oracle is pervaded only with the desire to prove the ancient ,word of ,god as still alive1 and to drive it home in its own sheer force4 ,like the greatest of his order1 ,zechariah appears with the call to repent3 ,turn ye to ,me--oracle of ,jehovah of ,hosts--that ,i may turn to you4 ,this is the pivot on which history has turned1 the one condition on which ,god has been able to help men4 ,wherever it is read as the conclusion of all the past1 wherever it is proclaimed as the conscience of the present1 there the true prophet is found and the ,word of ,god has been spoken4 ,the same possession by the ethical spirit reappears1 as we shall see1 in ,zechariah's orations to the people after the anxieties of building are over and the completion of the ,temple is in sight4 ,in these he affirms again that the whole essence of ,god's ,word by the older prophets has been moral--to judge true judgment1 to practise mercy1 to defend the widow and orphan1 the stranger and poor1 and to think no evil of one another4 ,for the sad fasts of the ,exile ,zechariah enjoins gladness1 with the duty of truth and the hope of peace4 ,again and again he enforces sincerity and the love without dissimulation4 ,his ideals for ,jerusalem are very high1 including the conversion of the nations to her ,god4 ,but warlike ambitions have vanished from them1 and his pictures of her future condition are homely and practical4 ,jerusalem shall be no more a fortress1 but spread village-wise without walls4#ggf ,full families1 unlike the present colony with its few children and its men worn out in middle life by harassing warfare with enemies and a sullen nature2 streets rife with children playing and old folk sitting in the sun2 the return of the exiles2 happy harvests and springtimes of peace2 solid gain of labour for every man1 with no raiding neighbours to harass1 nor the mutual envies of peasants in their selfish struggle with famine4 ,it is a simple1 hearty1 practical man whom such prophesying reveals1 the spirit of him bent on justice and love1 and yearning for the unharassed labour of the field and for happy homes4 ,no prophet has more beautiful sympathies1 a more direct word of righteousness1 or a braver heart4 ,fast not1 but love truth and peace4 ,truth and wholesome justice set ye up in your gates4 ,be not afraid2 strengthen your hands6 ,old men and women shall yet sit in the streets of ,jerusalem1 each with staff in hand for the fulness of their years2 the city's streets shall be rife with boys and girls at play4 ,,footnotes3 #geg 2 ,,lxx4 4 #geh i4 #a3 4 ,in i4 #g3 4 #gei ,ezra v4 #a1 vi4 #ad3 4 #gfj ,gen4 xxiv4 #dg1 cf4 xxix4 #e2 #a ,kings xix4 #af1 cf4 #b ,kings ix4 #ad1 #bj4 #gfa ,isa4 viii4 #b3 4 ,this confusion1 which existed in early ,jewish and ,christian times1 ,knobel1 ,von ,ortenberg1 ,bleek1 ,wellhausen and others take to be due to the effort to find a second ,zechariah for the authorship of chaps4 ix4 ff4 #gfb ,so ,vatke1 ,knig and many others4 ,marti prefers it 7,der ,prophet ,sacharja1 p4 #eh74 ,see also ,ryle on ,ezra v4 #a4 #gfc ,neh4 xii4 #d4 #gfd ,ib4 #af4 #gfe ,this is not proved1 as ,pusey1 ,knig 7,einl41 p4 #cfd7 and others think1 by 1 or young man1 of the ,third ,vision 7ii4 #h ,heb41 ii4 #d ,,lxx4 and ,eng474 ,cf4 ,wright1 ,zechariah and his ,prophecies1 p4 xvi4 #gff v4 #a1 vi4 #ad4 #gfg ,above1 p4 #bfj4 #gfh ,more than this we do not know of ,zechariah4 ,the ,jewish and ,christian traditions of him are as unfounded as those of other prophets4 ,according to the ,jews he was1 of course1 a member of the mythical ,great ,synagogue4 ,see above on ,haggai1 pp4 #bcb f4 ,as in the case of the prophets we have already treated1 the ,christian traditions of ,zechariah are found in 7,pseud-7,epiphanius1 ,de ,vitis ,prophetarum1 ,dorotheus1 and ,hesychius1 as quoted above1 p4 #hj4 ,they amount to this1 that ,zechariah1 after predicting in ,babylon the birth of ,zerubbabel1 and to ,cyrus his victory over ,crsus and his treatment of the ,jews1 came in his old age to ,jerusalem1 prophesied1 died and was buried near ,beit-,jibrin--another instance of the curious relegation by ,christian tradition of the birth and burial places of so many of the prophets to that neighbourhood4 ,compare ,beit-,zakharya1 #ab miles from ,beit-,jibrin4 ,hesychius says he was born in ,gilead4 ,dorotheus confuses him1 as the ,jews did1 with ,zechariah of ,isa4 viii4 #a4 ,see above1 p4 #bfe1 n4 #a4 ,zechariah was certainly not the ,zechariah whom our ,lord describes as slain between the ,temple and the ,altar 7,matt4 xxiii4 #ce2 ,luke xi4 #ea74 ,in the former passage alone is this ,zechariah called the son of ,barachiah4 ,in the ,evang4 ,nazar4 ,jerome read the son of ,yehoyada4 ,both readings may be insertions4 ,according to #b ,chron4 xxiv4 #ba1 in the reign of ,joash1 ,zechariah1 the son of ,yehoyada the priest1 was stoned in the court of the ,temple1 and according to ,josephus 7,,iv4 ,wars1 v4 #d71 in the year #fh ,a4,d4 ,zechariah son of ,baruch was assassinated in the ,temple by two zealots4 ,the latter murder may1 as ,marti remarks 7pp4 #eh f471 have led to the insertion of ,barachiah into ,matt4 xxiii4 #ce4 #gfi ii4 #ac1 #ae2 iv4 #i2 vi4 #ae4 #ggj ,,lxx4 4 ,see above1 p4 #bfd4 #gga ,heb4 angered with anger2 ,gr4 with great anger4 #ggb ,as in ,,lxx4 #ggc ,,lxx4 has misunderstood and expanded this verse4 #ggd ,it is to be noticed that ,zechariah appeals to the ,torah of the prophets1 and does not mention any ,torah of the priests4 ,cf4 ,smend1 ,a4 ,t4 ,rel4 ,gesch41 pp4 #agf f4 #gge ,page #bfg1 n4 #gfi4 #ggf ,this picture is given in one of the ,visions3 the ,third4 ,,chapter ,,xxi ,,the ,,visions ,,of ,,zechariah ,,zechariah i4 #g--vi4 ,the ,visions of ,zechariah do not lack those large and simple views of religion which we have just seen to be the charm of his other prophecies4 ,indeed it is among the ,visions that we find the most spiritual of all his utterances3#ggg ,not by might1 and not by force1 but by ,my ,spirit1 saith ,jehovah of ,hosts4 ,the ,visions express the need of the ,divine forgiveness1 emphasise the reality of sin1 as a principle deeper than the civic crimes in which it is manifested1 and declare the power of ,god to banish it from ,his people4 ,the ,visions also contain the remarkable prospect of ,jerusalem as the ,city of ,peace1 her only wall the ,lord ,himself4#ggh ,the overthrow of the heathen empires is predicted by the ,lord's own hand1 and from all the ,visions there are absent both the turmoil and the glory of war4 ,we must also be struck by the absence of another element1 which is a cause of complexity in the writings of many prophets--the polemic against idolatry4 ,zechariah nowhere mentions the idols4 ,we have already seen what proof this silence bears for the fact that the community to which he spoke was not that half-heathen remnant of ,israel which had remained in the land1 but was composed of worshippers of ,jehovah who at ,his word had returned from ,babylon4#ggi ,here we have only to do with the bearing of the fact upon ,zechariah's style4 ,that bewildering confusion of the heathen pantheon and its rites1 which forms so much of our difficulty in interpreting some of the prophecies of ,ezekiel and the closing chapters of the ,book of ,isaiah1 is not to blame for any of the complexity of ,zechariah's ,visions4 ,nor can we attribute the latter to the fact that the ,visions are dreams1 and therefore bound to be more involved and obscure than the words of ,jehovah which came to ,zechariah in the open daylight of his people's public life4 ,in chaps4 i4 #g--vi4 we have not the narrative of actual dreams1 but a series of conscious and artistic allegories--the deliberate translation into a carefully constructed symbolism of the ,divine truths with which the prophet was entrusted by his ,god4 ,yet this only increases our problem--why a man with such gifts of direct speech1 and such clear views of his people's character and history1 should choose to express the latter by an imagery so artificial and involved8 ,in his orations ,zechariah is very like the prophets whom we have known before the ,exile1 thoroughly ethical and intent upon the public conscience of his time4 ,he appreciates what they were1 feels himself standing in their succession1 and is endowed both with their spirit and their style4 ,but none of them constructs the elaborate allegories which he does1 or insists upon the religious symbolism which he enforces as indispensable to the standing of ,israel with ,god4 ,not only are their visions few and simple1 but they look down upon the visionary temper as a rude stage of prophecy and inferior to their own1 in which the ,word of ,god is received by personal communion with ,himself1 and conveyed to ,his people by straight and plain words4 ,some of the earlier prophets even condemn all priesthood and ritual2 none of them regards these as indispensable to ,israel's right relations with ,jehovah2 and none employs those superhuman mediators of the ,divine truth1 by whom ,zechariah is instructed in his ,visions4 #a4 ,,the ,,influences ,,which ,,moulded ,,the ,,visions4 ,the explanation of this change that has come over prophecy must be sought for in certain habits which the people formed in exile4 ,during the ,exile several causes conspired to develop among ,hebrew writers the tempers both of symbolism and apocalypse4 ,the chief of these was their separation from the realities of civic life1 with the opportunity their political leisure afforded them of brooding and dreaming4 ,facts and ,divine promises1 which had previously to be dealt with by the conscience of the moment1 were left to be worked out by the imagination4 ,the exiles were not responsible citizens or statesmen1 but dreamers4 ,they were inspired by mighty hopes for the future1 and not fettered by the practical necessities of a definite historical situation upon which these hopes had to be immediately realised4 ,they had a far-off horizon to build upon1 and they occupied the whole breadth of it4 ,they had a long time to build1 and they elaborated the minutest details of their architecture4 ,consequently their construction of the future of ,israel1 and their description of the processes by which it was to be reached1 became colossal1 ornate and lavishly symbolic4 ,nor could the exiles fail to receive stimulus for all this from the rich imagery of ,babylonian art by which they were surrounded4 ,under these influences there were three strong developments in ,israel4 ,one was that development of ,apocalypse the first beginnings of which we traced in ,zephaniah--the representation of ,god's providence of the world and of ,his people1 not by the ordinary political and military processes of history1 but by awful convulsions and catastrophes1 both in nature and in politics1 in which ,god ,himself appeared1 either alone in sudden glory or by the mediation of heavenly armies4 ,the second--and it was but a part of the first--was the development of a belief in ,angels3 superhuman beings who had not only a part to play in the apocalyptic wars and revolutions2 but1 in the growing sense1 which characterises the period1 of ,god's distance and awfulness1 were believed to act as ,his agents in the communication of ,his ,word to men4 ,and1 thirdly1 there was the development of the ,ritual4 ,to some minds this may appear the strangest of all the effects of the ,exile4 ,the fall of the ,temple1 its hierarchy and sacrifices1 might be supposed to enforce more spiritual conceptions of ,god and of ,his communion with ,his people4 ,and no doubt it did4 ,the impossibility of the legal sacrifices in exile opened the mind of ,israel to the belief that ,god was satisfied with the sacrifices of the broken heart1 and drew near1 without mediation1 to all who were humble and pure of heart4 ,but no one in ,israel therefore understood that these sacrifices were for ever abolished4 ,their interruption was regarded as merely temporary even by the most spiritual of ,jewish writers4 ,the ,fifty-,first ,psalm1 for instance1 which declares that the sacrifices of ,god are a broken spirit2 a broken and a contrite heart1 ,o ,lord1 ,thou wilt not despise1 immediately follows this declaration by the assurance that when ,god builds again the walls of ,jerusalem1 ,he will once more take delight in the legal sacrifices3 burnt offering and whole burnt offering1 the oblation of bullocks upon ,thine altar4#ghj ,for men of such views the ruin of the ,temple was not its abolition with the whole dispensation which it represented1 but rather the occasion for its reconstruction upon wider lines and a more detailed system1 for the planning of which the nation's exile afforded the leisure and the carefulness of art described above4 ,the ancient liturgy1 too1 was insufficient for the stronger convictions of guilt and need of purgation1 which sore punishment had impressed upon the people4 ,then1 scattered among the heathen as they were1 they learned to require stricter laws and more drastic ceremonies to restore and preserve their holiness4 ,their ritual1 therefore1 had to be expanded and detailed to a degree far beyond what we find in ,israel's earlier systems of worship4 ,with the fall of the monarchy and the absence of civic life the importance of the priesthood was proportionately enhanced2 and the growing sense of ,god's aloofness from the world1 already alluded to1 made the more indispensable human1 as well as superhuman1 mediators between ,himself and ,his people4 ,consider these things1 and it will be clear why prophecy1 which with ,amos had begun a war against all ritual1 and with ,jeremiah had achieved a religion absolutely independent of priesthood and ,temple1 should reappear after the ,exile1 insistent upon the building of the ,temple1 enforcing the need both of priesthood and sacrifice1 and while it proclaimed the ,messianic ,king and the ,high ,priest as the great feeders of the national life and worship1 finding no place beside them for the ,prophet himself4#gha ,the force of these developments of ,apocalypse1 ,angelology and the ,ritual appears both in ,ezekiel and in the exilic codification of the ritual which forms so large a part of the ,pentateuch4 ,ezekiel carries ,apocalypse far beyond the beginnings started by ,zephaniah4 ,he introduces1 though not under the name of angels1 superhuman mediators between himself and ,god4 ,the ,priestly ,code does not mention angels1 and has no ,apocalypse2 but like ,ezekiel it develops1 to an extraordinary degree1 the ritual of ,israel4 ,both its author and ,ezekiel base on the older forms1 but build as men who are not confined by the lines of an actually existing system4 ,the changes they make1 the innovations they introduce1 are too numerous to mention here4 ,to illustrate their influence upon ,zechariah1 it is enough to emphasise the large place they give in the ritual to the processes of propitiation and cleansing from sin1 and the increased authority with which they invest the priesthood4 ,in ,ezekiel ,israel has still a ,prince1 though he is not called ,king4 ,he arranges the cultus1#ghb and sacrifices are offered for him and the people1#ghc but the priests teach and judge the people4#ghd ,in the ,priestly ,code#ghe the priesthood is more rigorously fenced than by ,ezekiel from the laity1 and more regularly graded4 ,at its head appears a ,high ,priest 7as he does not in ,ezekiel71 and by his side the civil rulers are portrayed in lesser dignity and power4 ,sacrifices are made1 no longer as with ,ezekiel for ,prince and ,people1 but for ,aaron and the ,congregation2 and throughout the narrative of ancient history1 into the form of which this ,code projects its legislation1 the ,high ,priest stands above the captain of the host1 even when the latter is ,joshua himself4 ,god's enemies are defeated not so much by the wisdom and valour of the secular powers1 as by the miracles of ,jehovah ,himself1 mediated through the priesthood4 ,ezekiel and the ,priestly ,code both elaborate the sacrifices of atonement and sanctification beyond all the earlier uses4 #b4 ,,general ,,features ,,of ,,the ,,visions4 ,it was beneath these influences that ,zechariah grew up1 and to them we may trace1 not only numerous details of his ,visions1 but the whole of their involved symbolism4 ,he was himself a priest and the son of a priest1 born and bred in the very order to which we owe the codification of the ritual1 and the development of those ideas of guilt and uncleanness that led to its expansion and specialisation4 ,the ,visions in which he deals with these are the ,third to the ,seventh4 ,as with ,haggai there is a ,high ,priest1 in advance upon ,ezekiel and in agreement with the ,priestly ,code4 ,as in the latter the ,high ,priest represents the people1 and carries their guilt before ,god4#ghf ,he and his colleagues are pledges and portents of the coming ,messiah4 ,but the civil power is not yet diminished before the sacerdotal1 as in the ,priestly ,code4 ,we shall find indeed that a remarkable attempt has been made to alter the original text of a prophecy appended to the ,visions1#ghg in order to divert to the ,high ,priest the coronation and ,messianic rank there described4 ,but any one who reads the passage carefully can see for himself that the crown 7a single crown1 as the verb which it governs proves#ghh7 which ,zechariah was ordered to make was designed for ,another than the priest1 that the priest was but to stand at this ,other's right hand1 and that there was to be concord between the two of them4 ,this ,other can only have been the ,messianic ,king1 ,zerubbabel1 as was already proclaimed by ,haggai4#ghi ,the altered text is due to a later period1 when the ,high ,priest became the civil as well as the religious head of the community4 ,to ,zechariah he was still only the right hand of the monarch in government2 but1 as we have seen1 the religious life of the people was already gathered up and concentrated in him4 ,it is the priests1 too1 who by their perpetual service and holy life bring on the ,messianic era4#gij ,men come to the ,temple to propitiate ,jehovah1 for which ,zechariah uses the anthropomorphic expression to make smooth or placid ,his face4#gia ,no more than this is made of the sacrificial system1 which was not in full course when the ,visions were announced4 ,but the symbolism of the ,fourth ,vision is drawn from the furniture of the ,temple4 ,it is interesting that the great candelabrum seen by the prophet should be like1 not the ten lights of the old ,temple of ,solomon1 but the seven-branched candlestick described in the ,priestly ,code4 ,in the ,sixth and ,seventh ,visions1 the strong convictions of guilt and uncleanness1 which were engendered in ,israel by the ,exile1 are not removed by the sacrificial means enforced in the ,priestly ,code1 but by symbolic processes in the style of the visions of ,ezekiel4 ,the ,visions in which ,zechariah treats of the outer history of the world are the first two and the last1 and in these we notice the influence of the ,apocalypse developed during the ,exile4 ,in ,zechariah's day ,israel had no stage for their history save the site of ,jerusalem and its immediate neighbourhood4 ,so long as he keeps to this ,zechariah is as practical and matter-of-fact as any of the prophets1 but when he has to go beyond it to describe the general overthrow of the heathen1 he is unable to project that1 as ,amos or ,isaiah did1 in terms of historic battle1 and has to call in the apocalyptic4 ,a people such as that poor colony of exiles1 with no issue upon history1 is forced to take refuge in ,apocalypse1 and carries with it even those of its prophets whose conscience1 like ,zechariah's1 is most strongly bent upon the practical present4 ,consequently these three historical ,visions are the most vague of the eight4 ,they reveal the whole earth under the care of ,jehovah and the patrol of ,his angels4 ,they definitely predict the overthrow of the heathen empires4 ,but1 unlike ,amos or ,isaiah1 the prophet does not see by what political movements this is to be effected4 ,the world is still quiet and at peace4#gib ,the time is hidden in the ,divine counsels2 the means1 though clearly symbolised in four smiths who come forward to smite the horns of the heathen1#gic and in a chariot which carries ,god's wrath to the ,north1#gid are obscure4 ,the prophet appears to have intended1 not any definite individuals or political movements of the immediate future1 but ,god's own supernatural forces4 ,in other words1 the ,smiths and ,chariots are not an allegory of history1 but powers apocalyptic4 ,the forms of the symbols were derived by ,zechariah from different sources4 ,perhaps that of the smiths who destroy the horns in the ,second ,vision was suggested by the smiths of destruction threatened upon ,ammon by ,ezekiel4#gie ,in the horsemen of the ,first ,vision and the chariots of the ,eighth1 ,ewald sees a reflection of the couriers and posts which ,darius organised throughout the empire2 they are more probably1 as we shall see1 a reflection of the military bands and patrols of the ,persians4 ,but from whatever quarter ,zechariah derived the exact aspect of these ,divine messengers1 he found many precedents for them in the native beliefs of ,israel4 ,they are1 in short1 angels1 incarnate as ,hebrew angels always were1 and in fashion like men4 ,but this brings up the whole subject of the angels1 whom he also sees employed as the mediators of ,god's ,word to him2 and that is large enough to be left to a chapter by itself4#gif ,we have now before us all the influences which led ,zechariah to the main form and chief features of his ,visions4 #c4 ,,exposition ,,of ,,the ,,several ,,visions4 ,for all the ,visions there is one date1 in the twenty-fourth day of the eleventh month1 the month ,shebat1 in the second year of ,darius1 that is ,january or ,february #eai2 and one ,divine impulse1 the ,word of ,jehovah came to the prophet ,zekharyah1 son of ,berekhyahu1 son of ,iddo1 as follows4 ,,the ,,first ,,vision3 ,,the ,,angel-,,horsemen 7i4 #g-ag74 ,the seventy years which ,jeremiah had fixed for the duration of the ,babylonian servitude were drawing to a close4 ,four months had elapsed since ,haggai promised that in a little while ,god would shake all nations4#gig ,but the world was not shaken3 there was no political movement which promised to restore her glory to ,jerusalem4 ,a very natural disappointment must have been the result among the ,jews4 ,in this situation of affairs the ,word came to ,zechariah1 and both situation and ,word he expressed by his ,first ,vision4 ,it was one of the myrtle-covered glens in the neighbourhood of ,jerusalem3#gih ,zechariah calls it the ,glen or ,valley-,bottom1 either because it was known under that name to the ,jews1 or because he was himself wont to frequent it for prayer4 ,he discovers in it what seems to be a rendezvous of ,persian cavalry-scouts1#gii the leader of the troop in front1 and the rest behind him1 having just come in with their reports4 ,soon1 however1 he is made aware that they are angels1 and with that quick1 dissolving change both of function and figure1 which marks all angelic apparitions1#hjj they explain to him their mission4 ,now it is an angel-interpreter at his side who speaks1 and now the angel on the front horse4 ,they are scouts of ,god come in from their survey of the whole earth4 ,the world lies quiet4 ,whereupon the angel of ,jehovah asks ,him how long ,his anger must rest on ,jerusalem and nothing be done to restore her2 and the prophet hears a kind and comforting answer4 ,the nations have done more evil to ,israel than ,god empowered them to do4 ,their aggravations have changed ,his wrath against her to pity1 and in pity ,he is come back to her4 ,she shall soon be rebuilt and overflow with prosperity4 ,the only perplexity in all this is the angels' report that the whole earth lies quiet4 ,how this could have been in #eai is difficult to understand4 ,the great revolts against ,darius were then in active progress1 the result was uncertain and he took at least three more years to put them all down4 ,they were confined1 it is true1 to the east and north-east of the empire1 but some of them threatened ,babylon1 and we can hardly ascribe the report of the angels to such a limitation of the ,jews' horizon at this time as shut out ,mesopotamia or the lands to the north of her4 ,there remain two alternatives4 ,either these far-away revolts made only more impressive the stagnancy of the tribes of the rest of the empire1 and the helplessness of the ,jews and their ,syrian neighbours was convincingly shown by their inability to take advantage even of the desperate straits to which ,darius was reduced2 or else in that month of vision ,darius had quelled one of the rebellions against him1 and for the moment there was quiet in the world4 ,by night ,i had a vision1 and behold6 a man riding a brown horse1#hja and he was standing between the myrtles that are in the ,glen2#hjb and behind him horses brown1 bay#hjc and white4 ,and ,i said1 ,what are these1 my lord8 ,and the angel who talked with me said1 ,i will show you what these are4 ,and the man who was standing among the myrtles answered and said1 ,these are they whom ,jehovah hath sent to go to and fro through the earth4 ,and they answered the angel of ,jehovah who stood among the myrtles1#hjd and said1 ,we have gone up and down through the earth1 and lo6 the whole earth is still and at peace4#hje ,and the angel of ,jehovah answered and said1 ,jehovah of ,hosts1 how long hast ,thou no pity for ,jerusalem and the cities of ,judah1 with which#hjf ,thou hast been wroth these seventy years8 ,and ,jehovah answered the angel who talked with me1#hjg kind words and comforting4 ,and the angel who talked with me said to me1 ,proclaim now as follows3 ,thus saith ,jehovah of ,hosts1 ,i am zealous for ,jerusalem and for ,zion1 with a great zeal2 but with great wrath am ,i wroth against the arrogant ,gentiles4 ,for ,i was but a little angry with ,israel1 but they aggravated the evil4#hjh ,therefore thus saith ,jehovah1 ,i am returned to ,jerusalem with mercies4 ,my house shall be built in her--oracle of ,jehovah of ,hosts--and the measuring line shall be drawn over ,jerusalem4 ,proclaim yet again1 saying3 ,thus saith ,jehovah of ,hosts1 ,my cities shall yet overflow with prosperity1 and ,jehovah shall again comfort ,zion1 and again make choice of ,jerusalem44 ,two things are to be noted in this oracle4 ,no political movement is indicated as the means of ,jerusalem's restoration3 this is to be the effect of ,god's free grace in returning to dwell in ,jerusalem1 which is the reward of the building of the ,temple4 ,and there is an interesting explanation of the motive for ,god's new grace3 in executing ,his sentence upon ,israel1 the heathen had far exceeded their commission1 and now themselves deserved punishment4 ,that is to say1 the restoration of ,jerusalem and the resumption of the worship are not enough for the future of ,israel4 ,the heathen must be chastised4 ,but ,zechariah does not predict any overthrow of the world's power1 either by earthly or by heavenly forces4 ,this is entirely in harmony with the insistence upon peace which distinguishes him from other prophets4 ,,the ,,second ,,vision3 ,,the ,,four ,,horns ,,and ,,the ,,four ,,smiths 7ii4 #a-d ,heb41 i4 #ah-ba ,eng474 ,the ,second ,vision supplies what is lacking in the ,first1 the destruction of the tyrants who have oppressed ,israel4 ,the prophet sees four horns1 which1 he is told by his interpreting angel1 are the powers that have scattered ,judah4 ,the many attempts to identify these with four heathen nations are ingenious but futile4 8,four horns were seen as representing the totality of ,israel's enemies--her enemies from all quarters40#hji ,and to destroy these horns four smiths appear4 ,because in the ,vision the horns are of iron1 in ,israel an old symbol of power1 the first verb used of the action can hardly be1 as in the ,hebrew text1 to terrify4 ,the ,greek reads sharpen1 and probably some verb meaning to cut or chisel stood in the original4#haj ,and ,i lifted mine eyes and looked1 and lo6 four horns4 ,and ,i said to the angel who spoke with me1 ,what are these8 ,and he said to me1 ,these are the horns which have scattered ,judah1 ,israel and ,jerusalem4#haa ,and ,jehovah showed me four smiths4 ,and ,i said1 ,what are these coming to do8 ,and ,he spake1 saying1 ,these are the horns which scattered ,judah1 so that none lifted up his head2#hab and these are come to 444#hac them1 to strike down the horns of the nations1 that lifted the horn against the land of ,judah to scatter it4 ,,the ,,third ,,vision3 ,,the ,,city ,,of ,,peace 7ii4 #e-i ,heb41 ii4 #a-e ,eng474 ,like the ,second ,vision1 the ,third follows from the ,first1 another1 but a still more significant1 supplement4 ,the ,first had promised the rebuilding of ,jerusalem1 and now the prophet beholds a young man--by this term he probably means a servant or apprentice--who is attempting to define the limits of the new city4 ,in the light of what this attempt encounters1 there can be little doubt that the prophet means to symbolise by it the intention of building the walls upon the old lines1 so as to make ,jerusalem again the mountain fortress she had previously been4 ,some have considered that the young man goes forth only to see1 or to show1 the extent of the city in the approaching future4 ,but if this had been his motive1 there would have been no reason in interrupting him with other orders4 ,the point is1 that he has narrow ideas of what the city should be1 and is prepared to define it upon its old lines of a fortress4 ,for the interpreting angel who comes forward#had is told by another angel to run and tell the young man that in the future ,jerusalem shall be a large unwalled town1 and this1 not only because of the multitude of its population1 for even then it might still have been fortified like ,niniveh1 but because ,jehovah ,himself shall be its wall4 ,the young man is prevented1 not merely from making it small1 but from making it a citadel4 ,and this is in conformity with all the singular absence of war from ,zechariah's ,visions1 both of the future deliverance of ,jehovah's people and of their future duties before ,him4 ,it is indeed remarkable how ,zechariah not only develops none of the warlike elements of earlier ,messianic prophecies1 but tells us here of how ,god ,himself actually prevented their repetition1 and insists again and again only on those elements of ancient prediction which had filled the future of ,israel with peace4 ,and ,i lifted mine eyes and looked1 and lo6 a man with a measuring rope in his hand4 ,so ,i said1 ,whither art thou going8 ,and he said to me1 ,to measure ,jerusalem3 to see how much its breadth and how much its length should be4 ,and lo6 the angel who talked with me came forward1#hae and another angel came forward to meet him4 ,and he said to him1 ,run and speak to yonder young man thus3 ,like a number of open villages shall ,jerusalem remain1 because of the multitude of men and cattle in the midst of her4 ,and ,i ,myself will be to her--oracle of ,jehovah--a wall of fire round about1 and for glory will ,i be in her midst4 ,in this ,vision ,zechariah gives us1 with his prophecy1 a lesson in the interpretation of prophecy4 ,his contemporaries believed ,god's promise to rebuild ,jerusalem1 but they defined its limits by the conditions of an older and a narrower day4 ,they brought forth their measuring rods1 to measure the future by the sacred attainments of the past4 ,such literal fulfilment of ,his ,word ,god prevented by that ministry of angels which ,zechariah beheld4 ,he would not be bound by those forms which ,his ,word had assumed in suitableness to the needs of ruder generations4 ,the ideal of many of the returned exiles must have been that frowning citadel1 those gates of everlastingness1#haf which some of them celebrated in ,psalms1 and from which the hosts of ,sennacherib had been broken and swept back as the angry sea is swept from the fixed line of ,canaan's coast4#hag ,what had been enough for ,david and ,isaiah was enough for them1 especially as so many prophets of the ,lord had foretold a ,messianic ,jerusalem that should be a counterpart of the historical4 ,but ,god breaks the letter of ,his ,word to give its spirit a more glorious fulfilment4 ,jerusalem shall not be builded as a city that is compact together1#hah but open and spread abroad village-wise upon her high mountains1 and ,god ,himself her only wall4 ,the interest of this ,vision is therefore not only historical4 ,for ourselves it has an abiding doctrinal value4 ,it is a lesson in the method of applying prophecy to the future4 ,how much it is needed we must feel as we remember the readiness of men among ourselves to construct the ,church of ,god upon the lines ,his own hand drew for our fathers1 and to raise again the bulwarks behind which they sufficiently sheltered ,his shrine4 ,whether these ancient and sacred defences be dogmas or institutions1 we have no right1 ,god tells us1 to cramp behind them ,his powers for the future4 ,and the great men whom ,he raises to remind us of this1 and to prevent by their ministry the timid measurements of the zealous but servile spirits who would confine everything to the exact letter of ancient ,scripture--are they any less ,his angels to us than those ministering spirits whom ,zechariah beheld preventing the narrow measures of the poor apprentice of his dream8 ,to the ,third ,vision there has been appended the only lyrical piece which breaks the prose narrative of the ,visions4 ,we have already seen that it is a piece of earlier date4 ,israel is addressed as still scattered to the four winds of heaven1 and still inhabiting ,babylon4 ,while in ,zechariah's own oracles and visions ,jehovah has returned to ,jerusalem1 ,his return according to this piece is still future4 ,there is nothing about the ,temple3 ,god's holy dwelling from which ,he has roused ,himself is ,heaven4 ,the piece was probably inserted by ,zechariah himself3 its lines are broken by what seems to be a piece of prose1 in which the prophet asserts his mission1 in words he twice uses elsewhere4 ,but this is uncertain4 ,ho1 ho6 ,flee from the ,land of the ,north 7oracle of ,jehovah72 ,for as the four winds have ,i spread you abroad#hai 7oracle of ,jehovah74 ,ho6 to ,zion escape1 thou inhabitress of ,babel4#hbj ,for thus saith ,jehovah of ,hosts#hba to the nations that plunder you 7for he that toucheth you toucheth the apple of ,his eye71 that1 lo6 ,i am about to wave ,my hand over them1 and they shall be plunder to their own servants1 and ye shall know that ,jehovah of ,hosts hath sent me4 ,sing out and rejoice1 ,o daughter of ,zion2 ,for1 lo6 ,i come1 and will dwell in thy midst 7oracle of ,jehovah74 ,and many nations shall join themselves to ,jehovah in that day1 ,and shall be to ,him#hbb a people4 ,and ,i will dwell in thy midst 7,and thou shalt know that ,jehovah of ,hosts hath sent me to thee74 ,and ,jehovah will make ,judah ,his heritage1 ,his portion shall be upon holy soil1 ,and make choice once more of ,jerusalem4 ,silence1 all flesh1 before ,jehovah2#hbc ,for ,he hath roused ,himself up from ,his holy dwelling4 ,,the ,,fourth ,,vision3 ,,the ,,high ,,priest ,,and ,,the ,,satan 7,chap4 iii474 ,the next ,visions deal with the moral condition of ,israel and their standing before ,god4 ,the ,fourth is a judgment scene4 ,the ,angel of ,jehovah1 who is not to be distinguished from ,jehovah ,himself1#hbd stands for judgment1 and there appear before him ,joshua the ,high ,priest and the ,satan or ,adversary who has come to accuse him4 ,now those who are accused by the ,satan--see next chapter of this volume upon the ,angels of the ,visions--are1 according to ,jewish belief1 those who have been overtaken by misfortune4 ,the people who are standing at ,god's bar in the person of their ,high ,priest still suffer from the adversity in which ,haggai found them1 and the continuance of which so disheartened them after the ,temple had begun4 ,the evil seasons and poor harvests tormented their hearts with the thought that the ,satan still slandered them in the court of ,god4 ,but ,zechariah comforts them with the vision of the ,satan rebuked4 ,israel has indeed been sorely beset by calamity1 a brand much burned1 but now of ,god's grace plucked from the fire4 ,the ,satan's role is closed1 and he disappears from the ,vision4#hbe ,yet something remains3 ,israel is rescued1 but not sanctified4 ,the nation's troubles are over3 their uncleanness has still to be removed4 ,zechariah sees that the ,high ,priest is clothed in filthy garments1 while he stands before the ,angel of ,judgment4 ,the ,angel orders his servants1 those that stand before him1#hbf to give him clean festal robes4 ,and the prophet1 breaking out in sympathy with what he sees1 for the first time takes part in the ,visions4 ,then ,i said1 ,let them also put a clean turban on his head--the turban being the headdress1 in ,ezekiel of the ,prince of ,israel1 and in the ,priestly ,code of the ,high ,priest4#hbg ,this is done1 and the national effect of his cleansing is explained to the ,high ,priest4 ,if he remains loyal to the law of ,jehovah1 he1 the representative of ,israel1 shall have right of entry to ,jehovah's presence among the angels who stand there4 ,but more1 he and his colleagues the priests are a portent of the coming of the ,messiah--the ,servant of ,jehovah1 the ,branch1 as he has been called by many prophets4#hbh ,a stone has already been set before ,joshua1 with seven eyes upon it4 ,god will engrave it with inscriptions1 and on the same day take away the guilt of the land4 ,then shall be the peace upon which ,zechariah loves to dwell4 ,and he showed me ,joshua1 the high priest1 standing before the ,angel of ,jehovah1 and the ,satan#hbi standing at his right hand to accuse him4#hcj ,and ,jehovah#hca said to the ,satan3 ,jehovah rebuke thee1 ,o ,satan6 ,jehovah who makes choice of ,jerusalem rebuke thee6 ,is not this a brand saved from the fire8 ,but ,joshua was clothed in foul garments while he stood before the ,angel4 ,and he--the ,angel--answered and said to those who stood in his presence1 ,take the foul garments from off him 7and he said to him1 ,see1 ,i have made thy guilt to pass away from thee71#hcb and clothe him#hcc in fresh clothing4 ,and ,i said1#hcd ,let them put a clean turban#hce on his head4 ,and they put the clean turban upon his head1 and clothed him with garments1 the ,angel of ,jehovah standing up the while4#hcf ,and the ,angel of ,jehovah certified unto ,joshua1 saying3 ,thus saith ,jehovah of ,hosts1 ,if in ,my ways thou walkest1 and if ,my charges thou keepest in charge1 then thou also shall judge ,my house1 and have charge of ,my courts1 and ,i will give thee entry#hcg among these who stand in ,my presence4 ,hearken now1 ,o ,joshua1 high priest1 thou and thy fellows who sit before thee are men of omen1 that1 lo6 ,i am about to bring ,my servant1 ,branch4 ,for see the stone which ,i have set before ,joshua1 one stone with seven eyes4#hch ,lo1 ,i will etch the engraving upon it 7oracle of ,jehovah71 and ,i will wash away the guilt of that land in one day4 ,in that day 7oracle of ,jehovah of ,hosts7 ye will invite one another in under vine and under fig-tree4 ,the theological significance of the ,vision is as clear as its consequences in the subsequent theology and symbolism of ,judaism4 ,the uncleanness of ,israel which infests their representative before ,god is not defined4 ,some#hci hold that it includes the guilt of ,israel's idolatry4 ,but they have to go back to ,ezekiel for this1 and we have seen that ,zechariah nowhere mentions or feels the presence of idols among his people4 ,the ,vision itself supplies a better explanation4 ,joshua's filthy garments are replaced by festal and official robes4 ,he is warned to walk in the whole law of the ,lord1 ruling the ,temple and guarding ,jehovah's court4 ,the uncleanness was the opposite of all this4 ,it was not ethical failure3 covetousness1 greed1 immorality4 ,it was1 as ,haggai protested1 the neglect of the ,temple1 and of the whole worship of ,jehovah4 ,if this be now removed1 in all fidelity to the law1 the ,high ,priest shall have access to ,god1 and the ,messiah will come4 ,the ,high ,priest himself shall not be the ,messiah--this dogma is left to a later age to frame4 ,but before ,god he will be as one of the angels1 and himself and his faithful priesthood omens of the ,messiah4 ,we need not linger on the significance of this for the place of the priesthood in later ,judaism4 ,note how the ,high ,priest is already the religious representative of his people3 their uncleanness is his2 when he is pardoned and cleansed1 the uncleanness of the land is purged away4 ,in such a ,high ,priest ,christian theology has seen the prototype of ,christ4 ,the stone is very difficult to explain4 ,some have thought of it as the foundation-stone of the ,temple1 which had already been employed as a symbol of the ,messiah and which played so important a part in later ,jewish symbolism4#hdj ,others prefer the top-stone of the ,temple1 mentioned in chap4 iv4 #g1hda and others an altar or substitute for the ark4#hdb ,again1 some take it to be a jewel1 either on the breastplate of the ,high ,priest1#hdc or upon the crown afterwards prepared for ,zerubbabel4#hdd ,to all of these there are objections4 ,it is difficult to connect with the foundation-stone an engraving still to be made2 neither the top-stone of the ,temple1 nor a jewel on the breastplate of the priest1 nor a jewel on the king's crown1 could properly be said to be set before the ,high ,priest4 ,we must rather suppose that the stone is symbolic of the finished ,temple4#hde ,the ,temple is the full expression of ,god's providence and care--,his seven eyes4 ,upon it shall ,his will be engraved1 and by its sacrifices the uncleanness of the land shall be taken away4 ,,the ,,fifth ,,vision3 ,,the ,,temple ,,candlestick ,,and ,,the ,,two ,,olive-,,trees 7,chap4 iv474 ,as the ,fourth ,vision unfolded the dignity and significance of the ,high ,priest1 so in the ,fifth we find discovered the joint glory of himself and ,zerubbabel1 the civil head of ,israel4 ,and to this is appended a ,word for ,zerubbabel himself4 ,in our present text this ,word has become inserted in the middle of the ,vision1 vv4 #f;b-#aj;a2 in the translation which follows it has been removed to the end of the ,vision1 and the reasons for this will be found in the notes4 ,the ,vision is of the great golden lamp which stood in the ,temple4 ,in the former ,temple1 light was supplied by ten several candlesticks4#hdf ,but the ,levitical ,code ordained one seven-branched lamp1 and such appears to have stood in the ,temple built while ,zechariah was prophesying4#hdg ,the lamp ,zechariah sees has also seven branches1 but differs in other respects1 and especially in some curious fantastic details only possible in dream and symbol4 ,its seven lights were fed by seven pipes from a bowl or reservoir of oil which stood higher than themselves1 and this was fed1 either directly from two olive-trees which stood to the right and left of it1 or1 if ver4 #ab be genuine1 by two tubes which brought the oil from the trees4 ,the seven lights are the seven eyes of ,jehovah--if1 as we ought1 we run the second half of ver4 #aj on to the first half of ver4 #f4 ,the pipes and reservoir are given no symbolic force2 but the olive-trees which feed them are called the two sons of oil which stand before the ,lord of all the earth4 ,these can only be the two anointed heads of the community--,zerubbabel1 the civil head1 and ,joshua1 the religious head4 ,theirs was the equal and co-ordinate duty of sustaining the ,temple1 figured by the whole candelabrum1 and ensuring the brightness of the sevenfold revelation4 ,the ,temple1 that is to say1 is nothing without the monarchy and the priesthood behind it2 and these stand in the immediate presence of ,god4 ,therefore this ,vision1 which to the superficial eye might seem to be a glorification of the mere machinery of the ,temple and its ritual1 is rather to prove that the latter derive all their power from the national institutions which are behind them1 from the two representatives of the people who in their turn stand before ,god ,himself4 ,the ,temple so near completion will not of itself reveal ,god3 let not the ,jews put their trust in it1 but in the life behind it4 ,and for ourselves the lesson of the ,vision is that which ,christian theology has been so slow to learn1 that ,god's revelation under the old covenant shone not directly through the material framework1 but was mediated by the national life1 whose chief men stood and grew fruitful in ,his presence4 ,one thing is very remarkable4 ,the two sources of revelation are the ,king and the ,priest4 ,the ,prophet is not mentioned beside them4 ,nothing could prove more emphatically the sense in ,israel that prophecy was exhausted4 ,the appointment of so responsible a position for ,zerubbabel demanded for him a special promise of grace4 ,and therefore1 as ,joshua had his promise in the ,fourth ,vision1 we find ,zerubbabel's appended to the ,fifth4 ,it is one of the great sayings of the ,old ,testament3 there is none more spiritual and more comforting4 ,zerubbabel shall complete the ,temple1 and those who scoffed at its small beginnings in the day of small things shall frankly rejoice when they see him set the top-stone by plummet in its place4 ,as the moral obstacles to the future were removed in the ,fourth ,vision by the vindication of ,joshua and by his cleansing1 so the political obstacles1 all the hindrances described by the ,book of ,ezra in the building of the ,temple1 shall disappear4 ,before ,zerubbabel the great mountain shall become a plain4 ,and this1 because he shall not work by his own strength1 but the ,spirit of ,jehovah of ,hosts shall do everything4 ,again we find that absence of expectation in human means1 and that full trust in ,god's own direct action1 which characterise all the prophesying of ,zechariah4 ,then the angel who talked with me returned and roused me like a man roused out of his sleep4 ,and he said to me1 ,what seest thou8 ,and ,i said1 ,i see1 and lo6 a candlestick all of gold1 and its bowl upon the top of it1 and its seven lamps on it1 and seven#hdh pipes to the lamps which are upon it4 ,and two olive-trees stood over against it1 one on the right of the bowl1#hdi and one on the left4 ,and ,i began#hej and said to the angel who talked with me1#hea ,what be these1 my lord8 ,and the angel who talked with me answered and said1 ,knowest thou not what these be8 ,and ,i said1 ,no1 my lord6 ,and he answered and said to me1#heb ,these seven are the eyes of ,jehovah1 which sweep through the whole earth4 ,and ,i asked and said to him1 ,what are these two olive-trees on the right of the candlestick and on its left8 ,and again ,i asked and said to him1 ,what are the two olive-branches which are beside the two golden tubes that pour forth the oil#hec from them8#hed ,and he said to me1 ,knowest thou not what these be8 ,and ,i said1 ,no1 my lord6 ,and he said1 ,these are the two sons of oil which stand before the ,lord of all the earth4 ,this is ,jehovah's ,word to ,zerubbabel1 and it says3#hee ,not by might1 and not by force1 but by ,my ,spirit1 saith ,jehovah of ,hosts4 ,what art thou1 ,o great mountain8 ,before ,zerubbabel be thou level6 ,and he#hef shall bring forth the top-stone with shoutings1 ,grace1 grace to it6#heg ,and the ,word of ,jehovah came to me1 saying1 ,the hands of ,zerubbabel have founded this house1 and his hands shall complete it1 and thou shall know that ,jehovah of ,hosts hath sent me to you4 ,for whoever hath despised the day of small things1 they shall rejoice when they see the plummet#heh in the hand of ,zerubbabel4 ,,the ,,sixth ,,vision3 ,,the ,,winged ,,volume 7,chap4 v4 #a-d74 ,the religious and political obstacles being now removed from the future of ,israel1 ,zechariah in the next two ,visions beholds the land purged of its crime and wickedness4 ,these ,visions are very simple1 if somewhat after the ponderous fashion of ,ezekiel4 ,the first of them is the ,vision of the removal of the curse brought upon the land by its civic criminals1 especially thieves and perjurers--the two forms which crime takes in a poor and rude community like the colony of the returned exiles4 ,the prophet tells us he beheld a roll flying4 ,he uses the ordinary ,hebrew name for the rolls of skin or parchment upon which writing was set down4 ,but the proportions of its colossal size--twenty cubits by ten--prove that it was not a cylindrical but an oblong shape which he saw4 ,it consisted1 therefore1 of sheets laid on each other like our books1 and as our word 8volume10 which originally meant1 like his own term1 a roll1 means now an oblong article1 we may use this in our translation4 ,the volume is the record of the crime of the land1 and ,zechariah sees it flying from the land4 ,but it is also the curse upon this crime1 and so again he beholds it entering every thief's and perjurer's house and destroying it4 ,smend gives a possible explanation of this3 8,it appears that in ancient times curses were written on pieces of paper and sent down the wind into the houses0#hei of those against whom they were directed4 ,but the figure seems rather to be of birds of prey4 ,and ,i turned and lifted my eyes and looked1 and lo6 a volume#hfj flying4 ,and he said unto me1 ,what dost thou see8 ,and ,i said1 ,i see a volume flying1 its length twenty cubits and its breadth ten4 ,and he said unto me1 ,this is the curse that is going out upon the face of all the land4 ,for every thief is hereby purged away from hence1#hfa and every perjurer is hereby purged away from hence4 ,i have sent it forth--oracle of ,jehovah of ,hosts--and it shall enter the thief's house1 and the house of him that hath sworn falsely by ,my name1 and it shall roost#hfb in the midst of his house and consume it1 with its beams and its stones4#hfc ,,the ,,seventh ,,vision3 ,,the ,,woman ,,in ,,the ,,barrel 7,chap4 v4 #e-aa74 ,it is not enough that the curse fly from the land after destroying every criminal4 ,the living principle of sin1 the power of temptation1 must be covered up and removed4 ,this is the subject of the ,seventh ,vision4 ,the prophet sees an ephah1 the largest vessel in use among the ,jews1 of more than seven gallons capacity1 and round#hfd like a barrel4 ,presently the leaden top is lifted1 and the prophet sees a woman inside4 ,this is ,wickedness1 feminine because she figures the power of temptation4 ,she is thrust back into the barrel1 the leaden lid is pushed down1 and the whole carried off by two other female figures1 winged like the strong1 far-flying stork1 into the land of ,shin#8ar1 8which at that time had the general significance of the counterpart of the ,holy ,land10#hfe and was the proper home of all that was evil4 ,and the angel of ,jehovah who spake with me came forward#hff and said to me1 ,lift now thine eyes and see what this is that comes forth4 ,and ,i said1 ,what is it8 ,and he said1 ,this is a bushel coming forth4 ,and he said1 ,this is their transgression#hfg in all the land4#hfh ,and behold6 the round leaden top was lifted up1 and lo6#hfi a woman sitting inside the bushel4 ,and he said1 ,this is the ,wickedness1 and he thrust her back into the bushel1 and thrust the leaden disc upon the mouth of it4 ,and ,i lifted mine eyes and looked1 and lo6 two women came forth with the wind in their wings1 for they had wings like storks' wings1 and they bore the bushel betwixt earth and heaven4 ,and ,i said to the angel that talked with me1 ,whither do they carry the bushel8 ,and he said to me1 ,to build it a house in the land of ,shin#8ar1 that it may be fixed and brought to rest there on a place of its own4#hgj ,we must not allow this curious imagery to hide from us its very spiritual teaching4 ,if ,zechariah is weighted in these ,visions by the ponderous fashion of ,ezekiel1 he has also that prophet's truly moral spirit4 ,he is not contented with the ritual atonement for sin1 nor with the legal punishment of crime4 ,the living power of sin must be banished from ,israel2 and this cannot be done by any efforts of men themselves1 but by ,god's action only1 which is thorough and effectual4 ,if the figures by which this is illustrated appear to us grotesque and heavy1 let us remember how they would suit the imagination of the prophet's own day4 ,let us lay to heart their eternally valid doctrine1 that sin is not a formal curse1 nor only expressed in certain social crimes1 nor exhausted by the punishment of these1 but1 as a power of attraction and temptation to all men1 it must be banished from the heart1 and can be banished only by ,god4 ,,the ,,eighth ,,vision3 ,,the ,,chariots ,,of ,,the ,,four ,,winds 7,chap4 vi4 #a-h74 ,as the series of ,visions opened with one of the universal providence of ,god1 so they close with another of the same4 ,the ,first ,vision had postponed ,god's overthrow of the nations till ,his own time1 and this the ,last ,vision now describes as begun1 the religious and moral needs of ,israel having meanwhile been met by the ,visions which come between1 and every obstacle to ,god's action for the deliverance of ,his people being removed4 ,the prophet sees four chariots1 with horses of different colour in each1 coming out from between two mountains of brass4 ,the horsemen of the ,first ,vision were bringing in reports3 these chariots are coming forth with their commissions from the presence of the ,lord of all the earth4 ,they are the four winds of heaven1 servants of ,him who maketh the winds ,his angels4 ,they are destined for different quarters of the world4 ,the prophet has not been admitted to the ,presence1 and does not know what exactly they have been commissioned to do2 that is to say1 ,zechariah is ignorant of the actual political processes by which the nations are to be overthrown and ,israel glorified before them4 ,but his ,angel-interpreter tells him that the black horses go north1 the white west1 and the dappled south1 while the horses of the fourth chariot1 impatient because no direction is assigned to them1 are ordered to roam up and down through the earth4 ,it is striking that none are sent eastward4#hga ,this appears to mean that1 in ,zechariah's day1 no power oppressed or threatened ,israel from that direction2 but in the north there was the centre of the ,persian ,empire1 to the south ,egypt1 still a possible master of the world1 and to the west the new forces of ,europe that in less than a generation were to prove themselves a match for ,persia4 ,the horses of the fourth chariot are therefore given the charge to exercise supervision upon the whole earth--unless in ver4 #g we should translate1 not earth1 but land1 and understand a commission to patrol the land of ,israel4 ,the centre of the world's power is in the north1 and therefore the black horses1 which are dispatched in that direction1 are explicitly described as charged to bring ,god's spirit1 that is ,his anger or ,his power1 to bear on that quarter of the world4 ,and once more#hgb ,i lifted mine eyes and looked1 and lo6 four chariots coming forward from between two mountains1 and the mountains were mountains of brass4 ,in the first chariot were brown horses1 and in the second chariot black horses1 and in the third chariot white horses1 and in the fourth chariot dappled 444#hgc horses4 ,and ,i broke in and said to the angel who talked with me1 ,what are these1 my lord8 ,and the angel answered and said to me1 ,these be the four winds of heaven that come forth from presenting themselves before the ,lord of all the earth4#hgd ,that with the black horses goes forth to the land of the north1 while the white go out west#hge 7871 and the dappled go to the land of the south4 ,and the 444#hgf go forth and seek to go1 to march up and down on the earth4 ,and he said1 ,go1 march up and down on the earth2 and they marched up and down on the earth4 ,and he called me and spake to me1 saying1 ,see they that go forth to the land of the north have brought my spirit to bear#hgg on the land of the north4 ,,the ,,result ,,of ,,the ,,visions3 ,,the ,,crowning ,,of ,,the ,,king ,,of ,,israel 7,chap4 vi4 #i-ae74 ,the heathen being overthrown1 ,israel is free1 and may have her king again4 ,therefore ,zechariah is ordered--it would appear on the same day as that on which he received the ,visions--to visit a certain deputation from the captivity in ,babylon1 ,heldai1 ,tobiyah and ,yedayah1 at the house of ,josiah the son of ,zephaniah1 where they have just arrived2 and to select from the gifts they have brought enough silver and gold to make circlets for a crown4 ,the present text assigns this crown to ,joshua1 the high priest1 but as we have already remarked1 and will presently prove in the notes to the translation1 the original text assigned it to ,zerubbabel1 the civil head of the community1 and gave ,joshua1 the priest1 a place at his right hand--the two to act in perfect concord with each other4 ,the text has suffered some other injuries1 which it is easy to amend2 and the end of it has been broken off in the middle of a sentence4 ,and the ,word of ,jehovah came to me1 saying3 ,take from the ,glah1#hgh from ,heldai#hgi and from ,tobiyah and from ,yedayah2 and do thou go on the same day1 yea1 go thou to the house of ,yosiyahu1 son of ephanyah1 whither they have arrived from ,babylon4#hhj ,and thou shall take silver and gold1 and make a crown1 and set it on the head of4444#hha ,and say to him3 ,thus saith ,jehovah of ,hosts1 ,lo6 a man called ,branch2 from his roots shall a branch come1 and he shall build the ,temple of ,jehovah4 ,yea1 he shall build ,jehovah's ,temple1#hhb and he shall wear the royal majesty and sit and rule upon his throne1 and ,joshua#hhc shall be priest on his right hand1#hhd and there will be a counsel of peace between the two of them4#hhe ,and the crown shall be for ,heldai#hhf and ,tobiyah and ,yedayah1 and for the courtesy#hhg of the son of ephanyah1 for a memorial in the ,temple of ,jehovah4 ,and the far-away shall come and build at the ,temple of ,jehovah1 and ye shall know that ,jehovah of ,hosts hath sent me to you2 and it shall be if ye hearken lo the voice of ,jehovah your ,god4444#hhh ,,footnotes3 #ggg iv4 #f4 ,unless this be taken as an earlier prophecy4 ,see above1 p4 #bfj4 #ggh ii4 #i1 #aj ,heb41 #e1 #f ,,lxx4 and ,eng4 #ggi ,see above1 p4 #bad1 where this is stated as an argument against ,kosters' theory that there was no ,return from ,babylon in the reign of ,cyrus4 #ghj ,vv4 #ag and #ai4 #gha ,see ,zechariah's ,fifth ,vision4 #ghb xliv4 #a ff4 #ghc xlv4 #bb4 #ghd xliv4 #bc1 #bd4 #ghe ,its origin was the ,exile1 whether its date be before or after the ,first ,return under ,cyrus in #ecg ,b4,c4 #ghf ,fourth ,vision1 chap4 iii4 #ghg vi4 #i-ae4 #ghh ,see ver4 #aa4 #ghi ii4 #bj-bc4 #gij iii4 #h4 #gia 4 ,the verb 7,piel7 originally means to make weak or flaccid 7the ,kal means to be sick71 and so to soften or weaken by flattery4 #a ,sam4 xiii4 #ab2 #a ,kings xiii4 #f1 etc4 #gib ,first ,vision1 chap4 i4 #aa4 #gic ,second ,vision1 ii4 #a-d ,heb41 i4 #ah-ba ,,lxx4 and ,eng4 #gid ,eighth ,vision1 chap4 vi4 #a-h4 #gie xxi4 #cf ,heb41 #ca ,eng43 skilful to destroy4 #gif ,see next chapter4 #gig ,jer4 xxv4 #ab2 ,hag4 ii4 #g4 #gih ,myrtles were once common in the ,holy ,land1 and have been recently found 7,hasselquist1 ,travels74 ,for their prevalence near ,jerusalem see ,neh4 viii4 #ae4 ,they do not appear to have any symbolic value in the ,vision4 #gii ,for a less probable explanation see above1 p4 #bhb4 #hjj ,see pp4 #caa1 #cac1 etc4 #hja ,ewald omits riding a brown horse1 as 8marring the lucidity of the description1 and added from a misconception by an early hand40 ,but we must not expect lucidity in a phantasmagoria like this4 #hjb 1 ,meullah1 either shadow from 1 or for 1 ravine1 or else a proper name4 ,the ,,lxx41 which uniformly for 1 myrtles1 reads 1 mountains1 renders by 4 ,ewald and ,hitzig read 1 ,arab1 mizhallah1 shadowing or tent4 #hjc ,heb4 1 only here4 ,for this ,,lxx4 gives two kinds1 1 and dappled and piebald4 ,wright gives a full treatment of the question1 pp4 #eca ff4 ,he points out that the cognate word in ,arabic means sorrel1 or yellowish red4 #hjd ,who stood among the myrtles omitted by ,nowack4 #hje ,isa4 xxxvii4 #bi2 ,jer4 xlviii4 #aa2 ,psalm cxxiii4 #d2 ,zeph4 i4 #ab4 #hjf ,or for4 #hjg ,who talked with me omitted by ,nowack4 #hjh ,heb4 helped for evil1 or till it became a calamity4 #hji ,marcus ,dods1 ,hag41 ,zech4 and ,mal41 p4 #ga4 ,orelli3 8,in distinction from ,daniel1 ,zechariah is fond of a simultaneous survey1 not the presenting of a succession40 #haj ,for the symbolism of iron horns see ,micah iv4 #ac1 and compare ,orelli's note1 in which it is pointed out that the destroyers must be smiths as in ,isa4 xliv4 #ab1 workmen of iron1 and not as in ,,lxx4 carpenters4 #haa ,wellhausen and ,nowack delete ,israel and ,jerusalem2 the latter does not occur in ,codd4 ,a1 ,q1 of ,septuagint4 #hab ,wellhausen reads1 after ,mal4 ii4 #i1 1 so that it lifted not its head2 but in that case we should not find 1 but 4 #hac 1 but ,,lxx4 read 1 and either that or some verb of cutting must be read4 #had ,the ,hebrew1 literally comes forth1 is the technical term throughout the ,visions for the entrance of the figures upon the stage of vision4 #hae ,,lxx4 1 stood up3 adopted by ,nowack4 #haf ,psalm xxiv4 #hag ,isa4 xvii4 #ab-ad4 #hah ,psalm cxxii4 #c4 #hai ,some codd4 read with the four winds4 ,,lxx4 from the four winds will ,i gather you 7 71 and this is adopted by ,wellhausen and ,nowack4 ,but it is probably a later change intended to adapt the poem to its new context4 #hbj ,dweller of the daughter of ,babel4 ,but 1 daughter1 is mere dittography of the termination of the preceding word4 #hba ,a curious phrase here occurs in the ,heb4 and versions1 ,after glory hath ,he sent me1 which we are probably right in omitting4 ,in any case it is a parenthesis1 and ought to go not with sent me but with saith ,jehovah of ,hosts4 #hbb ,so ,,lxx4 ,heb4 to me4 #hbc ,cf4 ,zeph4 i4 #g2 ,hab4 ii4 #bj4 8,among the ,arabians1 after the slaughter of the sacrificial victim1 the participants stood for some time in silence about the altar4 ,that was the moment in which the ,deity approached in order to take ,his share in the sacrifice40 7,smend1 ,a4 ,t4 ,rel4 ,gesch41 p4 #abd74 #hbd ,cf4 vv4 #a and #b4 #hbe ,see below1 p4 #cah4 #hbf ,in this ,vision the verb to stand before is used in two technical senses3 7a7 of the appearance of plaintiff and defendant before their judge 7vv4 #a and #c72 7b7 of servants before their masters 7vv4 #d and #g74 #hbg ,see below1 p4 #bid1 n4 #hce4 #hbh ,isa4 iv4 #b1 xi4 #a2 ,jer4 xxiii4 #e1 xxxiii4 #ae2 ,isa4 liii4 #b4 ,stade 7,gesch4 des ,volkes ,isr41 ,,ii4 #abe71 followed by ,marti 7,der ,proph4 ,sach41 #he n471 suspects the clause ,i will bring in ,my ,servant the ,branch as a later interpolation1 entangling the construction and finding in this section no further justification4 #hbi ,or ,adversary2 see p4 #cag4 #hcj ,to ,satan him3 slander1 or accuse1 him4 #hca ,that is the ,angel of ,jehovah1 which ,wellhausen and ,nowack read2 but see below1 p4 #cad4 #hcb ,this clause interrupts the ,angel's speech to the servants4 ,wellh4 and ,nowack omit it4 cf4 #b ,sam4 xii4 #ac2 ,job vii4 #ba4 #hcc ,so ,,lxx4 ,heb4 has a degraded grammatical form1 clothe thyself which has obviously been made to suit the intrusion of the previous clause1 and is therefore an argument against the authenticity of the latter4 #hcd ,,lxx4 omits ,i said and reads ,let them put as another imperative1 ,do ye put1 following on the two of the previous verse4 ,wellhausen adopts this 7reading for 74 ,though it is difficult to see how dropped out of the text if once there1 it is equally so to understand why if not original it was inserted4 ,the whole passage has been tampered with4 ,if we accept the ,massoretic text1 then we have a sympathetic interference in the vision of the dreamer himself which is very natural2 and he speaks1 as is proper1 not in the direct1 but indirect1 imperative1 ,let them put4 #hce 1 the headdress of rich women 7,isa4 iii4 #bc71 as of eminent men 7,job xxix4 #ad71 means something wound round and round the head 7cf4 the use of to form like a ball in ,isa4 xxii4 #ah1 and the use of 7to wind7 to express the putting on of the headdress 7,ezek4 xvi4 #aj1 etc4774 ,hence turban seems to be the proper rendering4 ,another form from the same root1 1 is the name of the headdress of the ,prince of ,israel 7,ezek4 xxi4 #ca72 and in the ,priestly ,codex of the ,pentateuch the headdress of the high priest 7,exod4 xxviii4 #cg1 etc474 #hcf ,wellhausen takes the last words of ver4 #e with ver4 #f1 reads and renders ,and the ,angel of ,jehovah stood up or stepped forward4 ,but even if be read1 the order of the words would require translation in the pluperfect1 which would come to the same as the original text4 ,and if ,wellhausen's proposal were correct the words ,angel of ,jehovah in ver4 #f would be superfluous4 #hcg ,read 7,smend1 ,a4 ,t4 ,rel4 ,gesch41 p4 #cbd1 n4 #b74 #hch ,or facets4 #hci ,e4g4 ,marti1 ,der ,prophet ,sacharja1 p4 #hc4 #hdj ,hitzig1 ,wright and many others4 ,on the place of this stone in the legends of ,judaism see ,wright1 pp4 #ge f4 #hda ,ewald1 ,marcus ,dods4 #hdb ,von ,orelli1 ,volck4 #hdc ,bredenkamp4 #hdd ,wellhausen1 in loco1 and ,smend1 ,a4 ,t4 ,rel4 ,gesch41 #cde4 #hde ,so ,marti1 p4 #hh4 #hdf #a ,kings vii4 #di4 #hdg #a ,macc4 i4 #ba2 iv4 #di1 #ej4 ,josephus1 ,,xiv4 ,ant4 iv4 #d4 #hdh ,,lxx4 ,heb4 has seven sevens of pipes4 #hdi ,wellhausen reads its right and deletes the bowl4 #hej 4 is not only to answer1 but to take part in a conversation1 whether by starting or continuing it4 ,,lxx4 rightly 4 #hea ,heb4 saying4 #heb ,in the ,hebrew text1 followed by the ancient and modern versions1 including the ,english ,bible1 there here follows #f;b-#aj;a1 the ,word to ,zerubbabel4 ,they obviously disturb the narrative of the ,vision1 and ,wellhausen has rightly transferred them to the end of it1 where they come in as naturally as the word of hope to ,joshua comes in at the end of the preceding ,vision4 ,take them away1 and1 as can be seen above1 ver4 #aj;b follows quite naturally upon #f;a4 #hec ,heb4 gold4 ,so ,,lxx4 #hed ,wellhausen omits the whole of this second question 7ver4 #ab7 as intruded and unnecessary4 ,so also ,smend as a doublet on ver4 #aa 7,a4 ,t4 ,rel4 ,gesch41 #cdc n474 ,so also ,nowack4 #hee ,heb4 saying4 #hef ,,lxx4 ,i4 #heg ,or ,fair1 fair is it6 ,nowack4 #heh ,the stone1 the leaden4 ,marti1 ,st4 u4 ,kr41 #ahib1 p4 #bac n41 takes the leaden for a gloss1 and reads simply the stone1 i4e4 the top-stone2 but the plummet is the last thing laid to the building to test the straightness of the top-stone4 #hei ,a4 ,t4 ,rel4 ,gesch41 #cab n4 #hfj roll or volume4 ,,lxx4 1 sickle1 4 #hfa ,a group of difficult expressions4 ,the verb is ,ni4 of a root which originally had the physical meaning to clean out of a place1 and this ,ni4 is so used of a plundered town in ,isa4 iii4 #bf4 ,but its more usual meaning is to be spoken free from guilt 7,psalm xix4 #ad1 etc474 ,most commentators take it here in the physical sense1 ,hitzig quoting the use of in ,mark vii4 #ai4 are variously rendered4 is mostly understood as locative1 hence1 i4e4 from the land just mentioned1 but some take it with steal 7,hitzig71 some with cleaned out 7,ewald1 ,orelli1 etc474 is rendered like it--the flying roll 7,ewald1 ,orelli71 which cannot be1 since the roll flies upon the face of the land1 and the sinner is to be purged out of it2 or in accordance with the roll or its curse 7,jerome1 ,khler74 ,but ,wellhausen reads 1 and takes in its usual meaning and in the past tense1 and renders ,every thief has for long remained unpunished2 and so in the next clause4 ,so1 too1 ,nowack4 ,,lxx4 ,every thief shall be condemned to death1 4 #hfb ,heb4 lodge1 pass the night3 cf4 ,zeph4 ii4 #ad 7above1 p4 #fe71 pelican and bittern shall roost upon the capitals4 #hfc ,smend sees a continuation of ,ezekiel's idea of the guilt of man overtaking him 7iii4 #bj1 xxxiv474 ,here ,god's curse does all4 #hfd ,this follows from the shape of the disc that fits into it4 ,seven gallons are seven-eighths of the ,english bushel3 that in use in ,canada and the ,united ,states is somewhat smaller4 #hfe ,ewald4 #hff ,upon the stage of vision4 #hfg ,for ,heb4 read with ,,lxx4 #hfh ,by inserting after in ver4 #e1 and deleting 444 in ver4 #f1 ,wellhausen secures the more concise text3 ,and see what this bushel is that comes forth4 ,and ,i said1 ,what is it8 ,and he said1 ,that is the evil of the people in the whole land4 ,but to reduce the redundancies of the ,visions is to delete the most characteristic feature of their style4 ,besides1 ,wellhausen's result gives no sense4 ,the prophet would not be asked to see what a bushel is3 the angel is there to tell him this4 ,so ,wellhausen in his translation has to omit the of ver4 #e1 while telling us in his note to replace after it4 ,his emendation is1 therefore1 to be rejected4 ,nowack1 however1 accepts it4 #hfi ,,lxx4 ,heb4 this4 #hgj ,in the last clause the verbal forms are obscure if not corrupt4 ,,lxx4 2 but see ,ewald1 ,syntax1 #aca d4 #hga ,wellhausen suggests that in the direction assigned to the white horses1 7ver4 #f71 which we have rendered westward1 we might read 1 land of the east2 and that from ver4 #g the west has probably fallen out after they go forth4 #hgb ,heb4 ,i turned again and4 #hgc ,hebrew reads 1 strong2 ,,lxx4 1 dappled1 and for the previous 1 spotted or dappled1 it reads 1 piebald4 ,perhaps we should read 7cf4 ,isa4 lxiii4 #a71 dark red or sorrel1 with grey spots4 ,so ,ewald and ,orelli4 ,wright keeps strong4 #hgd ,wellhausen1 supplying before 1 renders ,these go forth to the four winds of heaven after they have presented themselves1 etc4 #hge ,heb4 behind them4 #hgf 1 the second epithet of the horses of the fourth chariot1 ver4 #c4 ,see note there4 #hgg ,or anger to bear1 ,heb4 rest4 #hgh ,the collective name for the ,jews in exile4 #hgi ,,lxx4 1 2 but since an accusative is wanted to express the articles taken1 ,hitzig proposes to read 1 ,my precious things4 ,the ,,lxx4 reads the other two names 4 #hhj ,the construction of ver4 #aj is very clumsy2 above it is rendered literally4 ,wellhausen proposes to delete and do thou go 444 to the house of1 and take ,yosiyahu's name as simply a fourth with the others1 reading the last clause who have come from ,babylon4 ,this is to cut1 not disentangle1 the knot4 #hha ,the ,hebrew text here has ,joshua son of ,jehosadak1 the high priest1 but there is good reason to suppose that the crown was meant for ,zerubbabel1 but that the name of ,joshua was inserted instead in a later age1 when the high priest was also the king--see below1 note4 ,for these reasons ,ewald had previously supposed that the whole verse was genuine1 but that there had fallen out of it the words and on the head of ,zerubbabel4 ,ewald found a proof of this in the plural form 1 which he rendered crowns4 7,so also ,wildeboer1 ,a4 ,t4 ,litteratur1 p4 #big47 ,but is to be rendered crown2 see ver4 #aa1 where it is followed by a singular verb4 ,the plural form refers to the several circlets of which it was woven4 #hhb ,some critics omit the repetition4 #hhc ,so ,wellhausen proposes to insert4 ,the name was at least understood in the original text4 #hhd ,so ,,lxx4 ,heb4 on his throne4 #hhe ,with this phrase1 vouched for by both the ,heb4 and the ,sept41 the rest of the received text cannot be harmonised4 ,there were two3 one is the priest just mentioned who is to be at the right hand of the crowned4 ,the received text makes this crowned one to be the high priest ,joshua4 ,but if there are two and the priest is only secondary1 the crowned one must be ,zerubbabel1 whom ,haggai has already designated as ,messiah4 ,nor is it difficult to see why1 in a later age1 when the high priest was sovereign in ,israel1 ,joshua's name should have been inserted in place of ,zerubbabel's1 and at the same time the phrase priest at his right hand1 to which the ,,lxx4 testifies in harmony with the two of them1 should have been altered to the reading of the received text1 priest upon his throne4 ,with the above agree ,smend1 ,a4 ,t4 ,rel4 ,gesch41 #cdc n41 and ,nowack4 #hhf ,heb4 1 ,hlem1 but the reading ,heldai1 1 is proved by the previous occurrence of the name and by the ,,lxx4 reading here1 1 i4e4 from root 1 to last4 #hhg 1 but ,wellhausen and others take it as abbreviation or misreading for the name of ,yosiyahu 7see ver4 #aj74 #hhh ,here the verse and paragraph break suddenly off in the middle of a sentence4 ,on the passage see ,smend1 #cdc and #cde4 ,,chapter ,,xxii ,,the ,,angels ,,of ,,the ,,visions ,,zechariah i4 #g--vi4 #h ,among the influences of the ,exile which contributed the material of ,zechariah's ,visions we included a considerable development of ,israel's belief in ,angels4 ,the general subject is in itself so large1 and the ,angels play so many parts in the ,visions1 that it is necessary to devote to them a separate chapter4 ,from the earliest times the ,hebrews had conceived their ,divine ,king to be surrounded by a court of ministers1 who besides celebrating ,his glory went forth from ,his presence to execute ,his will upon earth4 ,in this latter capacity they were called ,messengers1 ,male'akim1 which the ,greeks translated ,angeloi1 and so gave us our ,angels4 ,the origin of this conception is wrapt in obscurity4 ,it may have been partly due to a belief1 shared by all early peoples1 in the existence of superhuman beings inferior to the gods1#hhi but even without this it must have sprung up in the natural tendency to provide the royal deity of a people with a court1 an army and servants4 ,in the pious minds of early ,israel there must have been a kind of necessity to believe and develop this--a necessity imposed firstly by the belief in ,jehovah's residence as confined to one spot1 ,sinai or ,jerusalem1 from which ,he ,himself went forth only upon great occasions to the deliverance of ,his people as a whole2 and secondly by the unwillingness to conceive of ,his personal appearance in missions of a menial nature1 or to represent ,him in the human form in which1 according to primitive ideas1 ,he could alone hold converse with men4 ,it can easily be understood how a religion1 which was above all a religion of revelation1 should accept such popular conceptions in its constant record of the appearance of ,god and ,his ,word in human life4 ,accordingly1 in the earliest documents of the ,hebrews1 we find angels who bring to ,israel the blessings1 curses and commands of ,jehovah4#hij ,apart from this duty and their human appearance1 these beings are not conceived to be endowed either with character or1 if we may judge by their namelessness1#hia with individuality4 ,they are the ,word of ,god personified4 ,acting as ,god's mouthpiece1 they are merged in ,him1 and so completely that they often speak of themselves by the ,divine ,i4#hib 8,the function of an ,angel so overshadows his personality that the ,old ,testament does not ask who or what this ,angel is1 but what he does4 ,and the answer to the last question is1 that he represents ,god to man so directly and fully that when he speaks or acts ,god ,himself is felt to speak or act40#hic ,besides the carriage of the ,divine ,word1 angels bring back to their ,lord report of all that happens3 kings are said1 in popular language1 to be as wise as the wisdom of an angel of ,god1 to know all the things that are in the earth4#hid ,they are also employed in the deliverance and discipline of ,his people4#hie ,by them come the pestilence1#hif and the restraint of those who set themselves against ,god's will4#hig ,now the prophets before the ,exile had so spiritual a conception of ,god1 worked so immediately from ,his presence1 and above all were so convinced of ,his personal and practical interest in the affairs of ,his people1 that they felt no room for ,angels between ,him and their hearts1 and they do not employ ,angels1 except when ,isaiah in his inaugural vision penetrates to the heavenly palace and court of the ,most ,high4#hih ,even when ,amos sees a plummet laid to the walls of ,jerusalem1 it is by the hands of ,jehovah ,himself1#hii and we have not encountered an ,angel in the mediation of the ,word to any of the prophets whom we have already studied4 ,but ,angels reappear1 though not under the name1 in the visions of ,ezekiel1 the first prophet of the ,exile4 ,they are in human form1 and he calls them ,men4 ,some execute ,god's wrath upon ,jerusalem1#ijj and one1 whose appearance is as the appearance of brass1 acts as the interpreter of ,god's will to the prophet1 and instructs him in the details of the building of ,city and ,temple4#ija ,when the glory of ,jehovah appears and ,jehovah ,himself speaks to the prophet out of the ,temple1 this ,man stands by the prophet1#ijb distinct from the ,deity1 and afterwards continues his work of explanation4 8,therefore10 as ,dr4 ,davidson remarks1 8it is not the sense of distance to which ,god is removed that causes ,ezekiel to create these intermediaries40 ,the necessity for them rather arises from the same natural feeling1 which we have suggested as giving rise to the earliest conceptions of ,angels3 the unwillingness1 namely1 to engage the ,person of ,god ,himself in the subordinate task of explaining the details of the ,temple4 ,note1 too1 how the ,divine ,voice1 which speaks to ,ezekiel out of the ,temple1 blends and becomes one with the ,man standing at his side4 ,ezekiel's ,angel-interpreter is simply one function of the ,word of ,god4 ,many of the features of ,ezekiel's ,angels appear in those of ,zechariah4 ,the four smiths or smiters of the four horns recall the six executioners of the wicked in ,jerusalem4#ijc ,like ,ezekiel's ,interpreter1 they are called ,men1#ijd and like him one appears as ,zechariah's instructor and guide3 he who talked with me4#ije ,but while ,zechariah calls these beings ,men1 he also gives them the ancient name1 which ,ezekiel had not used1 of ,male'akim1 messengers1 angels4 ,the ,instructor is the ,angel who talked with me4 ,in the ,first ,vision1 the ,man riding the brown horse1 the ,man that stood among the myrtles1 is the ,angel of ,jehovah that stood among the myrtles4#ijf ,the ,interpreter is also called the ,angel of ,jehovah1 and if our text of the ,first ,vision be correct1 the two of them are curiously mingled1 as if both were functions of the same ,word of ,god1 and in personality not to be distinguished from each other4 ,the ,reporting ,angel among the myrtles takes up the duty of the ,interpreting ,angel and explains the ,vision to the prophet4 ,in the ,fourth ,vision this dissolving view is carried further1 and the ,angel of ,jehovah is interchangeable with ,jehovah ,himself2#ijg just as in the ,vision of ,ezekiel the ,divine ,voice from the ,glory and the ,man standing beside the prophet are curiously mingled4 ,again in the ,fourth ,vision we hear of those who stand in the presence of ,jehovah1#ijh and in the ,eighth of executant angels coming out from ,his presence with commissions upon the whole earth4#iji ,in the ,visions of ,zechariah1 then1 as in the earlier books1 we see the ,lord of all the earth1 surrounded by a court of angels1 whom ,he sends forth in human form to interpret ,his ,word and execute ,his will1 and in their doing of this there is the same indistinctness of individuality1 the same predominance of function over personality4 ,as with ,ezekiel1 one stands out more clearly than the rest1 to be the prophet's interpreter1 whom1 as in the earlier visions of angels1 ,zechariah calls my lord1#iaj but even he melts into the figures of the rest4 ,these are the old and borrowed elements in ,zechariah's doctrine of ,angels4 ,but he has added to them in several important particulars1 which make his ,visions an intermediate stage between the ,book of ,ezekiel and the very intricate angelology of later ,judaism4 ,in the first place1 ,zechariah is the earliest prophet who introduces orders and ranks among the angels4 ,in his ,fourth ,vision the ,angel of ,jehovah is the ,divine ,judge before whom#iaa ,joshua appears with the ,adversary4 ,he also has others standing before him#iab to execute his sentences4 ,in the ,third ,vision1 again1 the ,interpreting ,angel does not communicate directly with ,jehovah1 but receives his words from another ,angel who has come forth4#iac ,all these are symptoms1 that even with a prophet1 who so keenly felt as ,zechariah did the ethical directness of ,god's word and its pervasiveness through public life1 there had yet begun to increase those feelings of ,god's sublimity and awfulness1 which in the later thought of ,israel lifted ,him to so far a distance from men1 and created so complex a host of intermediaries1 human and superhuman1 between the worshipping heart and the ,throne of ,grace4 ,we can best estimate the difference in this respect between ,zechariah and the earlier prophets whom we have studied by remarking that his characteristic phrase talked with me1 literally spake in or by me1 which he uses of the ,interpreting ,angel1 is used by ,habakkuk of ,god ,himself4#iad ,to the same awful impressions of the ,godhead is perhaps due the first appearance of the ,angel as intercessor4 ,amos1 ,isaiah and ,jeremiah themselves directly interceded with ,god for the people2 but with ,zechariah it is the ,interpreting ,angel who intercedes1 and who in return receives the ,divine comfort4#iae ,in this angelic function1 the first of its kind in ,scripture1 we see the small and explicable beginnings of a belief destined to assume enormous dimensions in the development of the ,church's worship4 ,the supplication of ,angels1 the faith in their intercession and in the prevailing prayers of the righteous dead1 which has been so egregiously multiplied in certain sections of ,christendom1 may be traced to the same increasing sense of the distance and awfulness of ,god1 but is to be corrected by the faith ,christ has taught us of the nearness of our ,father in ,heaven1 and of ,his immediate care of ,his every human child4 ,the intercession of the ,angel in the ,first ,vision is also a step towards that identification of special ,angels with different peoples which we find in the ,book of ,daniel4 ,this tells us of heavenly princes not only for ,israel--,michael1 your prince1 the great prince which standeth up for the children of thy people#iaf--;but for the heathen nations1 a conception the first beginnings of which we see in a prophecy that was perhaps not far from being contemporaneous with ,zechariah4#iag ,zechariah's ,vision of a hierarchy among the angels was also destined to further development4 ,the head of the patrol among the myrtles1 and the ,judge-,angel before whom ,joshua appears1 are the first ,archangels4 ,we know how these were further specialised1 and had even personalities and names given them by both ,jewish and ,christian writers4#iah ,among the ,angels described in the ,old ,testament1 we have seen some charged with powers of hindrance and destruction--a troop of angels of evil4#iai ,they too are the servants of ,god1 who is the author of all evil as well as good1#ibj and the instruments of ,his wrath4 ,but the temptation of men is also part of ,his ,providence4 ,where wilful souls have to be misled1 the spirit who does so1 as in ,ahab's case1 comes from ,jehovah's presence4#iba ,all these spirits are just as devoid of character and personality as the rest of the angelic host4 ,they work evil as mere instruments3 neither malice nor falseness is attributed to themselves4 ,they are not rebel nor fallen angels1 but obedient to ,jehovah4 ,nay1 like ,ezekiel's and ,zechariah's ,angels of the ,word1 the ,angel who tempts ,david to number the people is interchangeable with ,god ,himself4#ibb ,kindred to the duty of tempting men is that of discipline1 in its forms both of restraining or accusing the guilty1 and of vexing the righteous in order to test them4 ,for both of these the same verb is used1 8to satan10#ibc in the general sense of withstanding1 or antagonising4 ,the ,angel of ,jehovah stood in ,balaam's way to satan him4#ibd ,the noun1 the ,satan1 is used repeatedly of a human foe4#ibe ,but in two passages1 of which ,zechariah's ,fourth ,vision is one1 and the other the ,prologue to ,job1#ibf the name is given to an ,angel1 one of the sons of ,elohim1 or ,divine powers who receive their commission from ,jehovah4 ,the noun is not yet1 what it afterwards became1#ibg a proper name2 but has the definite article1 the ,adversary or ,accuser--that is1 the ,angel to whom that function was assigned4 ,with ,zechariah his business is the official one of prosecutor in the supreme court of ,jehovah1 and when his work is done he disappears4 ,yet1 before he does so1 we see for the first time in connection with any angel a gleam of character4 ,this is revealed by the ,lord's rebuke of him4 ,there is something blameworthy in the accusation of ,joshua3 not indeed false witness1 for ,israel's guilt is patent in the foul garments of their ,high ,priest1 but hardness or malice1 that would seek to prevent the ,divine grace4 ,in the ,book of ,job the ,satan is also a function1 even here not a fallen or rebel angel1 but one of ,god's court1#ibh the instrument of discipline or chastisement4 ,yet1 in that he himself suggests his cruelties and is represented as forward and officious in their infliction1 a character is imputed to him even more clearly than in ,zechariah's ,vision4 ,but the ,satan still shares that identification with his function which we have seen to characterise all the angels of the ,old ,testament1 and therefore he disappears from the drama so soon as his place in its high argument is over4#ibi ,in this description of the development of ,israel's doctrine of ,angels1 and of ,zechariah's contributions to it1 we have not touched upon the question whether the development was assisted by ,israel's contact with the ,persian religion and with the system of ,angels which the latter contains4 ,for several reasons the question is a difficult one4 ,but so far as present evidence goes1 it makes for a negative answer4 ,scholars1 who are in no way prejudiced against the theory of a large ,persian influence upon ,israel1 declare that the religion of ,persia affected the ,jewish doctrine of ,angels 8only in secondary points10 such as their 8number and personality1 and the existence of demons and evil spirits40#icj ,our own discussion has shown us that ,zechariah's ,angels1 in spite of the new features they introduce1 are in substance one with the ,angels of pre-exilic ,israel4 ,even the ,satan is primarily a function1 and one of the servants of ,god4 ,if he has developed an immoral character1 this cannot be attributed to the influence of ,persian belief in a ,spirit of evil opposed to the ,spirit of good in the universe1 but may be explained by the native1 or selfish1 resentment of ,israel against their prosecutor before the bar of ,jehovah4 ,nor can we fail to remark that this character of evil appears in the ,satan1 not1 as in the ,persian religion1 in general opposition to goodness1 but as thwarting that saving grace which was so peculiarly ,jehovah's own4 ,and ,jehovah said to the ,satan1 ,jehovah rebuke thee1 ,o ,satan1 yea1 ,jehovah who hath chosen ,jerusalem rebuke thee6 ,is not this a brand plucked from the burning8 ,,footnotes3 #hhi ,so ,robertson ,smith1 art4 8,angels0 in the ,encyc4 ,brit41 #ith ed4 #hij ,so already in ,deborah's ,song1 ,judg4 v4 #bc1 and throughout both ,j and ,e4 #hia ,cf4 especially ,gen4 xxxii4 #bi4 #hib ,judg4 vi4 #ab ff4 #hic ,robertson ,smith1 as above4 #hid #b ,sam4 xiv4 #bj4 #hie ,exod4 xiv4 #ai 7871 xxiii4 #bj1 etc42 ,josh4 v4 #ac4 #hif #b ,sam4 xxiv4 #af1 #ag2 #b ,kings xix4 #ce2 ,exod4 xii4 #bc4 ,in ,eccles4 v4 #f this destroying angel is the minister of ,god3 cf4 ,psalm lxxviii4 #di;b1 hurtful angels--,cheyne1 ,origin of ,psalter1 p4 #aeg4 #hig ,balaam3 ,num4 xxii4 #bc1 #ca4 #hih vi4 #b-f4 #hii ,vol4 ,i41 p4 #aad4 #ijj ix4 #ija xl4 #c ff4 #ijb xliii4 #f4 #ijc ,zech4 i4 #ah ff42 ,ezek4 ix4 #a ff4 #ijd ,zech4 i4 #h3 so even in the ,book of ,daniel we have the man ,gabriel--ix4 #ba4 #ije i4 #i1 #ai2 ii4 #c2 iv4 #a1 #d1 #e2 v4 #e1 #aj2 vi4 #d4 ,but see above1 pp4 #bfa f4 #ijf i4 #h1 #aj1 #aa4 #ijg iii4 #a compared with #b4 #ijh iii4 #f1 #g4 #iji vi4 #e4 #iaj i4 #i1 etc4 #iaa iii4 #a4 ,stand before is here used forensically3 cf4 the ,n4,t4 phrases to stand before ,god1 ,rev4 xx4 #ab2 before the judgment-seat of ,christ1 ,rom4 xiv4 #aj2 and be acquitted1 ,luke xxi4 #cf4 #iab iii4 #d4 ,here the phrase is used domestically of servants in the presence of their master4 ,see above1 p4 #bic1 n4 #hbf4 #iac ii4 #c1 #d4 #iad ,hab4 ii4 #a3 cf4 also ,num4 xii4 #f-i4 #iae ,first ,vision1 i4 #ab4 #iaf x4 #ba1 xii4 #a4 #iag ,isa4 xxiv4 #ba4 #iah ,book of ,daniel x41 xii42 ,tobit xii4 #ae2 ,book of ,enoch passim2 ,jude #i2 ,rev4 viii4 #b1 etc4 #iai ,psalm lxxviii4 #di4 ,see above1 p4 #cab1 n4 #hif4 #ibj ,amos iii4 #f4 #iba #a ,kings xxii4 #bj ff4 #ibb #b ,sam4 xxiv4 #a2 #a ,chron4 xxi4 #a4 ,though here difference of age between the two documents may have caused the difference of view4 #ibc ,there are two forms of the verb1 1 satan1 and 1 satam1 the latter apparently the older4 #ibd ,num4 xxii4 #bb1 #cb4 #ibe #a ,sam4 xxix4 #d2 #b ,sam4 xix4 #bc ,heb41 #bb ,eng42 #a ,kings v4 #ah1 xi4 #ad1 etc4 #ibf ,zech4 iii4 #a ff42 ,job i4 #f ff4 #ibg #a ,chron4 xxi4 #a4 #ibh i4 #f;b4 #ibi ,see ,davidson in ,cambridge ,bible for ,schools on ,job i4 #f-ab1 especially on ver4 #i3 8,the ,satan of this book may show the beginnings of a personal malevolence against man1 but he is still rigidly subordinated to ,heaven1 and in all he does subserves its interests4 ,his function is as the minister of ,god to try the sincerity of man2 hence when his work of trial is over he is no more found1 and no place is given him among the dramatis person of the poem40 #icj ,cheyne1 ,the ,origin of the ,psalter1 p4 #bgb4 ,read carefully on this point the very important remarks on pp4 #bgj ff4 and #bha f4 ,,chapter ,,xxiii 8,,the ,,seed ,,of ,,peace0 ,,zechariah vii41 viii4 ,the ,visions have revealed the removal of the guilt of the land1 the restoration of ,israel to their standing before ,god1 the revival of the great national institutions1 and ,god's will to destroy the heathen forces of the world4 ,with the ,temple built1 ,israel should be again in the position which she enjoyed before the ,exile4 ,zechariah1 therefore1 proceeds to exhort his people to put away the fasts which the ,exile had made necessary1 and address themselves1 as of old1 to the virtues and duties of the civic life4 ,and he introduces his orations to this end by a natural appeal to the experience of the former days4 ,the occasion came to him when the ,temple had been building for two years1 and when some of its services were probably resumed4#ica ,a deputation of ,jews appeared in ,jerusalem and raised the question of the continuance of the great ,fasts of the ,exile4 ,who the deputation were is not certain3 probably we ought to delete ,bethel from the second verse1 and read either ,el-sar'eser sent ,regem-,melekh and his men to the house of ,jehovah to propitiate ,jehovah1 or else the house of ,el-sar'eser sent ,regem-,melekh and his men to propitiate ,jehovah4 ,it has been thought that they came from the ,jews in ,babylon3 this would agree with their arrival in the ninth month to inquire about a fast in the fifth month4 ,but ,zechariah's answer is addressed to ,jews in ,juda4 ,the deputation limited their inquiry to the fast of the fifth month1 which commemorated the burning of the ,temple and the ,city1 now practically restored4 ,but with a breadth of view which reveals the prophet rather than the priest1 ,zechariah replies1 in the following chapter1 upon all the fasts by which ,israel for seventy years had bewailed her ruin and exile4 ,he instances two1 that of the fifth month1 and that of the seventh month1 the date of the murder of ,gedaliah1 when the last poor remnant of a ,jewish state was swept away4#icb ,with a boldness which recalls ,amos to the very letter1 ,zechariah asks his people whether in those fasts they fasted at all to their ,god4 ,jehovah had not charged them1 and in fasting they had fasted for themselves1 just as in eating and drinking they had eaten and drunken to themselves4 ,they should rather hearken to the words ,he really sent them4 ,in a passage1 the meaning of which has been perverted by the intrusion of the eighth verse1 that therefore ought to be deleted1 ,zechariah recalls what those words of ,jehovah had been in the former times when the land was inhabited and the national life in full course4 ,they were not ceremonial2 they were ethical3 they commanded justice1 kindness1 and the care of the helpless and the poor4 ,and it was in consequence of the people's disobedience to those words that all the ruin came upon them for which they now annually mourned4 ,the moral is obvious if unexpressed4 ,let them drop their fasts1 and practise the virtues the neglect of which had made their fasts a necessity4 ,it is a sane and practical word1 and makes us feel how much ,zechariah has inherited of the temper of ,amos and ,isaiah4 ,he rests1 as before1 upon the letter of the ancient oracles1 but only so as to bring out their spirit4 ,with such an example of the use of ancient ,scripture1 it is deplorable that so many men1 both among the ,jews and the ,christians1 should have devoted themselves to the letter at the expense of the spirit4 ,and it came to pass in the fourth year of ,darius the king1 that the ,word of ,jehovah came to ,zechariah on the fourth of the ninth month1 ,kislev4 ,for there sent to the house of ,jehovah1 ,el-sar'eser and ,regem-,melekh and his men1#icc to propitiate#icd ,jehovah1 to ask of the priests which were in the house of ,jehovah of ,hosts and of the prophets as follows3 ,shall ,i weep in the fifth month with fasting as ,i have now done so many years8 ,and the ,word of ,jehovah of ,hosts came to me3 ,speak now to all the people of the land1 and to the priests1 saying3 ,when ye fasted and mourned in the fifth and in the seventh month1#ice and this for seventy years1 did ye fast at all to ,me8 ,and when ye eat and when ye drink1 are not ye the eaters and ye the drinkers8 ,are not these#icf the words which ,jehovah proclaimed by the hand of the former prophets1 when ,jerusalem was inhabited and at peace1 with her cities round about her1 and the ,negeb and the ,shephelah were inhabited8 #icg,thus spake ,jehovah of ,hosts3 ,judge true judgment1 and practise towards each other kindness and mercy2 oppress neither widow nor orphan1 stranger nor poor1 and think not evil in your hearts towards one another4 ,but they refused to hearken1 and turned a rebellious shoulder1#ich and their ears they dulled from listening4 ,and their heart they made adamant1 so as not to hear the ,torah and the words which ,jehovah of ,hosts sent through ,his ,spirit by the hand of the former prophets2 and there was great wrath from ,jehovah of ,hosts4 ,and it came to pass that1 as ,he had called and they heard not1 so they shall call and ,i will not hear1 said ,jehovah of ,hosts1 but ,i will whirl#ici them away among nations whom they know not4 ,and the land was laid waste behind them1 without any to pass to and fro1 and they made the pleasant land desolate4 ,there follow upon this deliverance ten other short oracles3 chap4 viii4 ,whether all of this decalogue are to be dated from the same time as the answer to the deputation about the fasts is uncertain4 ,some of them appear rather to belong to an earlier date1 for they reflect the situation1 and even the words1 of ,haggai's oracles1 and represent the advent of ,jehovah to ,jerusalem as still future4 ,but they return to the question of the fasts1 treating it still more comprehensively than before1 and they close with a promise1 fitly spoken as the ,temple grew to completion1 of the coming of the heathen to worship at ,jerusalem4 ,we have already noticed the tender charm and strong simplicity of these prophecies1#idj and there is little now to add except the translation of them4 ,as with the older prophets1 and especially the great ,evangelist of the ,exile1 they start from the glowing love of ,jehovah for ,his people1 to which nothing is impossible2#ida they promise a complete return of the scattered ,jews to their land1 and are not content except with the assurance of a world converted to the faith of their ,god4 ,with ,haggai ,zechariah promises the speedy end of the poverty of the little colony2 and he adds his own characteristic notes of a reign of peace to be used for hearty labour1 bringing forth a great prosperity4 ,only let men be true and just and kind1 thinking no evil of each other1 as in those hard days when hunger and the fierce rivalry for sustenance made every one's neighbour his enemy1 and the petty life1 devoid of large interests for the commonweal1 filled their hearts with envy and malice4 ,for ourselves the chief profit of these beautiful oracles is their lesson that the remedy for the sordid tempers and cruel hatreds1 engendered by the fierce struggle for existence1 is found in civic and religious hopes1 in a noble ideal for the national life1 and in the assurance that ,god's ,love is at the back of all1 with nothing impossible to it4 ,amid these glories1 however1 the heart will probably thank ,zechariah most for his immortal picture of the streets of the new ,jerusalem3 old men and women sitting in the sun1 boys and girls playing in all the open places4 ,the motive of it1 as we have seen1 was found in the circumstances of his own day4 ,like many another emigration1 for religion's sake1 from the heart of civilisation to a barren coast1 the poor colony of ,jerusalem consisted chiefly of men1 young and in middle life4 ,the barren years gave no encouragement to marriage4 ,the constant warfare with neighbouring tribes allowed few to reach grey hairs4 ,it was a rough and a hard society1 unblessed by the two great benedictions of life1 childhood and old age4 ,but this should all be changed1 and ,jerusalem filled with placid old men and women1 and with joyous boys and girls4 ,the oracle1 we say1 had its motive in ,zechariah's day4 ,but what an oracle for these times of ours6 ,whether in the large cities of the old world1 where so few of the workers may hope for a quiet old age1 sitting in the sun1 and the children's days of play are shortened by premature toil and knowledge of evil2 or in the newest fringes of the new world1 where men's hardness and coarseness are1 in the struggle for gold1 unawed by reverence for age and unsoftened by the fellowship of childhood1--,zechariah's great promise is equally needed4 ,even there shall it be fulfilled if men will remember his conditions--that the first regard of a community1 however straitened in means1 be the provision of religion1 that truth and whole-hearted justice abound in the gates1 with love and loyalty in every heart towards every other4 ,and the ,word of ,jehovah of ,hosts came1 saying3-- #a4 ,thus saith ,jehovah of ,hosts3 ,i am jealous for ,zion with a great jealousy1 and with great anger am ,i jealous for her4 #b4 ,thus saith ,jehovah3 ,i am returned to ,zion1 and ,i dwell in the midst of ,jerusalem1 and ,jerusalem shall be called the ,city of ,troth1#idb and the mountain of ,jehovah of ,hosts the ,holy ,mountain4 #c4 ,thus saith ,jehovah of ,hosts3 ,old men and old women shall yet sit in the streets of ,jerusalem1 each with staff in hand1 for fulness of days2 and the streets of the city shall be full of boys and girls playing in her streets4 #d4 ,thus saith ,jehovah of ,hosts3 ,because it seems too wonderful to the remnant of this people in those days1 shall it also seem too wonderful to ,me8--oracle of ,jehovah of ,hosts4 #e4 ,thus saith ,jehovah of ,hosts3 ,lo6 ,i am about to save ,my people out of the land of the rising and out of the land of the setting of the sun2 and ,i will bring them home1 and they shall dwell in the midst of ,jerusalem1 and they shall be to ,me for a people1#idc and ,i will be to them for ,god1 in troth and in righteousness4 #f4 ,thus saith ,jehovah of ,hosts3 ,strengthen your hands1 ,o ye who have heard in such days such words from the mouth of the prophets1 since#idd the day when the ,house of ,jehovah of ,hosts was founded3 the sanctuary was to be built6 ,for before those days there was no gain for man1#ide and none to be made by cattle2 and neither for him that went out nor for him that came in was there any peace from the adversary1 and ,i set every man's hand against his neighbour4 ,but not now as in the past days am ,i towards the remnant of this people--oracle of ,jehovah of ,hosts4 ,for ,i am sowing the seed of peace4#idf ,the vine shall yield her fruit1 and the land yield her increase1 and the heavens yield their dew1 and ,i will give them all for a heritage to the remnant of this people4 ,and it shall come to pass1 that as ye have been a curse among the nations1 ,o house of ,judah and house of ,israel1 so will ,i save you and ye shall be a blessing6 ,be not afraid1 strengthen your hands6 #g4 ,for thus saith ,jehovah of ,hosts3 ,as ,i have planned to do evil to you1 for the provocation your fathers gave ,me1 saith ,jehovah of ,hosts1 and did not relent1 so have ,i turned and planned in these days to do good to ,jerusalem and the house of ,judah4 ,be not afraid6 ,these are the things which ye shall do3 ,speak truth to one another2 truth and wholesome judgment decree ye in your gates2 and plan no evil to each other in your hearts1 nor take pleasure in false swearing3 for it is all these that ,i hate--oracle of ,jehovah4 ,and the ,word of ,jehovah of ,hosts came to me1 saying3-- #h4 ,thus saith ,jehovah of ,hosts3 ,the fast of the fourth month1 and the fast of the fifth1 and the fast of the seventh1 and the fast of the tenth1 shall become to the house of ,judah joy and gladness and happy feasts4#idg ,but love ye truth and peace4 #i4 ,thus saith ,jehovah of ,hosts3 ,there shall yet come peoples and citizens of great cities2 and the citizens of one city#idh will go to another city1 saying3 8,let us go to propitiate ,jehovah1 and to seek ,jehovah of ,hosts60 8,i will go too60 ,and many peoples and strong nations shall come to seek ,jehovah of ,hosts in ,jerusalem and to propitiate ,jehovah4 #aj4 ,thus saith ,jehovah of ,hosts3 ,in those days ten men1 of all languages of the nations1 shall take hold of the skirt of a ,jew and say1 ,we will go with you1 for we have heard that ,god is with you4 ,,footnotes3 #ica ,cf4 chap4 vii4 #c3 the priests which were of the house of ,jehovah4 #icb ,jer4 xli4 #b2 #b ,kings xxv4 #be4 #icc ,the ,hebrew text is difficult if not impossible to construe3 ,for ,bethel sent ,sar'eser 7without sign of accusative7 and ,regem-,melekh and his men4 ,wellhausen points out that ,sar'eser is a defective name1 requiring the name or title of deity in front of it1 and ,marti proposes to find this in the last syllable of ,bethel1 and to read ',el-sar'eser4 ,it is tempting to find in the first syllable of ,bethel the remnant of the phrase to the house of ,jehovah4 #icd ,to stroke the face of4 #ice ,the fifth month ,jerusalem fell1 the seventh month ,gedaliah was murdered3 ,jer4 lii4 #ab f42 #b ,kings xxv4 #h f41 #be4 #icf ,so ,,lxx4 ,heb4 has acc4 sign before words1 perhaps implying ,is it not rather necessary to do the words8 etc4 #icg ,omit here ver4 #h1 ,and the ,word of ,jehovah came to ,zechariah1 saying4 ,it is obviously a gloss by a scribe who did not notice that the of ver4 #i is ,god's statement by the former prophets4 #ich ,cf4 the phrase with one shoulder1 i4e4 unanimously4 #ici ,so ,heb4 and ,,lxx42 but perhaps we ought to point and ,i whirled them away1 taking the clause with the next4 #idj ,see above1 pp4 #bga f4 #ida ,cf4 especially ,isa4 xl4 ff4 #idb ,isa4 i4 #bf4 #idc ,not merely ,my people 7,wellhausen71 but their return shall constitute them a people once more4 ,the quotation is from ,hosea ii4 #be4 #idd ,so ,,lxx4 #ide ,but he that made wages made them to put them into a bag with holes1 ,haggai i4 #f4 #idf ,read for of the text1 for the seed of peace4 ,the ,,lxx4 makes a verb4 ,cf4 ,hosea ii4 #bc ff41 which the next clauses show to be in the mind of our prophet4 ,klostermann and ,nowack prefer 1 her 7the remnant's7 seed shall be peace4 #idg ,in the tenth month the siege of ,jerusalem had begun 7#b ,kings xxv4 #a72 on the ninth of the fourth month ,jerusalem was taken 7,jer4 xxxix4 #b72 on the seventh of the fifth ,city and ,temple were burnt down 7#b ,kings xxv4 #h72 in the seventh month ,gedaliah was assassinated and the poor relics of a ,jewish state swept from the land 7,jer4 xli474 ,see above1 pp4 #cj ff4 #idh ,,lxx4 the citizens of five cities will go to one4 8,,malachi0 ,have we not all ,one ,father8 ,why then are we unfaithful to each other8 ,the lips of a ,priest guard knowledge1 and men seek instruction from his mouth1 for he is the ,angel of ,jehovah of ,hosts4 ,,chapter ,,xxiv ,,the ,,book ,,of 8,,malachi0 ,this book1 the last in the arrangement of the prophetic canon1 bears the title3 ,burden or ,oracle of the ,word of ,jehovah to ,israel by the hand of mal'akhi4 ,since at least the second century of our era the word has been understood as a proper name1 ,malachi or ,malachias4 ,but there are strong objections to this1 as well as to the genuineness of the whole title1 and critics now almost universally agree that the book was originally anonymous4 ,it is true that neither in form nor in meaning is there any insuperable obstacle to our understanding 8mal'akhi0 as the name of a person4 ,if so1 however1 it cannot have been1 as some have suggested1 an abbreviation of ,mal'akhiyah1 for1 according to the analogy of other names of such formation1 this could only express the impossible meaning ,jehovah is ,angel4#idi ,but1 as it stands1 it might have meant ,my ,angel or ,messenger1 or it may be taken as an adjective1 ,angelicus4#iej ,either of these meanings would form a natural name for a ,jewish child1 and a very suitable one for a prophet4 ,there is evidence1 however1 that some of the earliest ,jewish interpreters did not think of the title as containing the name of a person4 ,the ,septuagint read by the hand of ,his messenger1#iea 8mal'akho02 and the ,targum of ,jonathan1 while retaining 8mal'akhi10 rendered it ,my messenger1 adding that it was ,ezra the ,scribe who was thus designated4#ieb ,this opinion was adopted by ,calvin4 ,recent criticism has shown that1 whether the word was originally intended as a personal name or not1 it was a purely artificial one borrowed from chap4 iii4 #a1 ,behold1 ,i send ,my messenger1 8mal'akhi10 for the title1 which itself has been added by the editor of the ,twelve ,prophets in the form in which we now have them4 ,the peculiar words of the title1 ,burden or ,oracle of the ,word of ,jehovah1 occur nowhere else than in the titles of the two prophecies which have been appended to the ,book of ,zechariah1 chap4 ix4 #a and chap4 xii4 #a1 and immediately precede this ,book of 8,malachi40 ,in chap4 ix4 #a the ,word of ,jehovah belongs to the text2 ,burden or ,oracle has been inserted before it as a title2 then the whole phrase has been inserted as a title in chap4 xii4 #a4 ,these two pieces are anonymous1 and nothing is more likely than that another anonymous prophecy should have received1 when attached to them1 the same heading4#iec ,the argument is not final1 but it is the most probable explanation of the data1 and agrees with the other facts4 ,the cumulative force of all that we have stated--the improbability of mal'akhi being a personal name1 the fact that the earliest versions do not treat it as such1 the obvious suggestion for its invention in the mal'akhi of chap4 iii4 #a1 the absence of a father's name and place of residence1 and the character of the whole title--is enough for the opinion rapidly spreading among critics that our book was1 like so much more in the ,old ,testament1 originally anonymous4#ied ,the author attacks the religious authorities of his day2 he belongs to a pious remnant of his people1 who are overborne and perhaps oppressed by the majority4#iee ,in these facts1 which are all we know of his personality1 he found sufficient reason for not attaching his name to his prophecy4 ,the book is also undated1 but it reflects its period almost as clearly as do the dated ,books of ,haggai and ,zechariah4 ,the conquest of ,edom by the ,nabateans1 which took place during the ,exile1#ief is already past4#ieg ,the ,jews are under a ,persian viceroy4#ieh ,they are in touch with a heathen power1 which does not tyrannise over them1 for this book is the first to predict no judgment upon the heathen1 and the first1 moreover1 to acknowledge that among the heathen the true ,god is worshipped from the rising to the setting of the sun4#iei ,the only judgment predicted is one upon the false and disobedient portion of ,israel1 whose arrogance and success have cast true ,israelites into despair4#ifj ,all this reveals a time when the ,jews were favourably treated by their ,persian lords4 ,the reign must be that of ,artaxerxes ,longhand1 #dfd--dbd4 ,the ,temple has been finished1#ifa and years enough have elapsed to disappoint those fervid hopes with which about #eah ,zechariah expected its completion4 ,the congregation has grown worldly and careless4 ,in particular the priests are corrupt and partial in the administration of the ,law4#ifb ,there have been many marriages with the heathen women of the land2#ifc and the laity have failed to pay the tithes and other dues to the ,temple4#ifd ,these are the evils against which we find strenuous measures directed by ,ezra1 who returned from ,babylon in #deh1ife and by ,nehemiah1 who visited ,jerusalem as its governor for the first time in #dde and for the second time in #dcc4 ,besides1 8the religious spirit of the book is that of the prayers of ,ezra and ,nehemiah4 ,a strong sense of the unique privileges of the children of ,jacob1 the objects of electing love1#iff the children of the ,divine ,father1#ifg is combined with an equally strong assurance of ,jehovah's righteousness amidst the many miseries that pressed on the unhappy inhabitants of ,juda4444 ,obedience to the ,law is the sure path to blessedness40#ifh ,but the question still remains whether the ,book of 8,malachi0 prepared for1 assisted or followed up the reforms of ,ezra and ,nehemiah4 ,an ancient tradition already alluded to#ifi assigned the authorship to ,ezra himself4 ,recent criticism has been divided among the years immediately before ,ezra's arrival in #deh1 those immediately before ,nehemiah's first visit in #dde1 those between his first government and his second1 and those after ,nehemiah's disappearance from ,jerusalem4 ,but the years in which ,nehemiah held office may be excluded1 because the ,jews are represented as bringing gifts to the governor1 which ,nehemiah tells us he did not allow to be brought to him4#igj ,the whole question depends upon what ,law was in practice in ,israel when the book was written4 ,in #dde ,ezra and ,nehemiah1 by solemn covenant between the people and ,jehovah1 instituted the code which we now know as the ,priestly ,code of the ,pentateuch4 ,before that year the ritual and social life of the ,jews appear to have been directed by the ,deuteronomic ,code4 ,now the ,book of 8,malachi0 enforces a practice with regard to the tithes1 which agrees more closely with the ,priestly ,code than it does with ,deuteronomy4 ,deuteronomy commands that every third year the whole tithe is to be given to the ,levites and the poor who reside within the gates of the giver1 and is there to be eaten by them4 8,malachi0 commands that the whole tithe be brought into the storehouse of the ,temple for the ,levites in service there2 and so does the ,priestly ,code4#iga ,on this ground many date the ,book of 8,malachi0 after #dde4igb ,but 8,malachi's0 divergence from ,deuteronomy on this point may be explained by the fact that in his time there were practically no ,levites outside ,jerusalem2 and it is to be noticed that he joins the tithe with the trmah or heave-offering exactly as ,deuteronomy does4#igc ,on other points of the ,law he agrees rather with ,deuteronomy than with the ,priestly ,code4 ,he follows ,deuteronomy in calling the priests sons of ,levi1#igd while the ,priestly ,code limits the priesthood to the sons of ,aaron4 ,he seems to quote ,deuteronomy when forbidding the oblation of blind1 lame and sick beasts2#ige appears to differ from the ,priestly ,code which allows the sacrificial beast to be male or female1 when he assumes that it is a male2#igf follows the expressions of ,deuteronomy and not those of the ,priestly ,code in detailing the sins of the people2#igg and uses the ,deuteronomic phrases the ,law of ,moses1 ,my servant ,moses1 statutes and judgments1 and ,horeb for the ,mount of the ,law4#igh ,for the rest1 he echoes or implies only ,ezekiel and that part of the ,priestly ,code#igi which is regarded as earlier than the rest1 and probably from the first years of exile4 ,moreover he describes the ,torah as not yet fully codified4#ihj ,the priests still deliver it in a way improbable after #dde4 ,the trouble of the heathen marriages with which he deals 7if indeed the verses on this subject be authentic and not a later intrusion#iha7 was that which engaged ,ezra's attention on his arrival in #deh1 but ,ezra found that it had already for some time been vexing the heads of the community4 ,while1 therefore1 we are obliged to date the ,book of 8,malachi0 before #dde ,b4,c41 it is uncertain whether it preceded or followed ,ezra's attempts at reform in #deh4 ,most critics now think that it preceded them4#ihb ,the ,book of 8,malachi0 is an argument with the prophet's contemporaries1 not only with the wicked among them1 who in forgetfulness of what ,jehovah is corrupt the ritual1 fail to give the ,temple its dues1 abuse justice1 marry foreign wives1#ihc divorce their own1 and commit various other sins2 but also with the pious1 who1 equally forgetful of ,god's character1 are driven by the arrogance of the wicked to ask1 whether ,he loves ,israel1 whether ,he is a ,god of justice1 and to murmur that it is vain to serve ,him4 ,to these two classes of his contemporaries the prophet has the following answers4 ,god does love ,israel4 ,he is worshipped everywhere among the heathen4 ,he is the ,father of all ,israel4 ,he will bless ,his people when they put away all abuses from their midst and pay their religious dues2 and ,his ,day of ,judgment is coming1 when the good shall be separated from the wicked4 ,but before it come1 ,elijah the prophet will be sent to attempt the conversion of the wicked1 or at least to call the nation to decide for ,jehovah4 ,this argument is pursued in seven or perhaps eight paragraphs1 which do not show much consecutiveness1 but are addressed1 some to the wicked1 and some to the despairing adherents of ,jehovah4 #a4 ,chap4 i4 #b-e4--,to those who ask how ,god loves ,israel1 the proof of ,jehovah's election of ,israel is shown in the fall of the ,edomites4 #b4 ,chap4 i4 #f-ad4--;,charge against the people of dishonouring their ,god1 whom even the heathen reverence4 #c4 ,chap4 ii4 #a-i4--;,charge against the priests1 who have broken the covenant ,god made of old with ,levi1 and debased their high office by not reverencing ,jehovah1 by misleading the people and by perverting justice4 ,a curse is therefore fallen on them--they are contemptible in the people's eyes4 #d4 ,chap4 ii4 #aj-af4--;,a charge against the people for their treachery to each other2 instanced in the heathen marriages1 if the two verses1 #aa and #ab1 upon this be authentic1 and in their divorce of their wives4 #e4 ,chap4 ii4 #ag--;iii4 #e or #f4--;,against those who in the midst of such evils grow sceptical about ,jehovah4 ,his ,angel1 or ,himself1 will come first to purge the priesthood and ritual that there may be pure sacrifices1 and second to rid the land of its criminals and sinners4 #f4 ,chap4 iii4 #f or #g-ab4--;,a charge against the people of neglecting tithes4 ,let these be paid1 disasters shall cease and the land be blessed4 #g4 ,chap4 iii4 #ac-ba ,heb41 ,chap4 iii4 #ac--;iv4 #b ,,lxx4 and ,eng4--,another charge against the pious for saying it is vain to serve ,god4 ,god will rise to action and separate between the good and bad in the terrible ,day of ,his coming4 #h4 ,to this1 ,chap4 iii4 #bb-bd ,heb41 ,chap4 iv4 #c-e ,eng41 adds a call to keep the ,law1 and a promise that ,elijah will be sent to see whether he may not convert the people before the ,day of the ,lord comes upon them with its curse4 ,the authenticity of no part of the book has been till now in serious question4 ,bhme1#ihd indeed1 took the last three verses for a later addition1 on account of their ,deuteronomic character1 but1 as ,kuenen points out1 this is in agreement with other parts of the book4 ,sufficient attention has not yet been paid to the question of the integrity of the text4 ,the ,septuagint offers a few emendations4#ihe ,there are other passages obviously or probably corrupt4#ihf ,the text of the title1 as we have seen1 is uncertain1 and probably a later addition4 ,professor ,robertson ,smith has called attention to chap4 ii4 #af1 where the ,massoretic punctuation seems to have been determined with the desire to support the rendering of the ,targum 8if thou hatest her put her away10 and so pervert into a permission to divorce a passage which forbids divorce almost as clearly as ,christ ,himself did4 ,but in truth the whole of this passage1 chap4 ii4 #aj-af1 is in such a curious state that we can hardly believe in its integrity4 ,it opens with the statement that ,god is the ,father of all us ,israelites1 and with the challenge1 why then are we faithless to each other8--ver4 #aj4 ,but vv4 #aa and #ab do not give an instance of this3 they describe the marriages with the heathen women of the land1 which is not a proof of faithlessness between ,israelites4 ,such a proof is furnished only by vv4 #ac-af1 with their condemnation of those who divorce the wives of their youth4 ,the verses1 therefore1 cannot lie in their proper order1 and vv4 #ac-af ought to follow immediately upon ver4 #aj4 ,this raises the question of the authenticity of vv4 #aa and #ab1 against the heathen marriages4 ,if they bear such plain marks of having been intruded into their position1 we can understand the possibility of such an intrusion in subsequent days1 when the question of the heathen marriages came to the front with ,ezra and ,nehemiah4 ,besides1 these verses #aa and #ab lack the characteristic mark of all the other oracles of the book3 they do not state a general charge against the people1 and then introduce the people's question as to the particulars of the charge4 ,on the whole1 therefore1 these verses are suspicious4 ,if not a later intrusion1 they are at least out of place where they now lie4 ,the peculiar remark in ver4 #ac1 and this secondly ye do1 must have been added by the editor to whom we owe the present arrangement4 ,,footnotes3 #idi or 4 ,to judge from the analogy of other cases of the same formation 7e4g4 ,abiyah ,jehovah is ,father1 and not ,father of ,jehovah71 this name1 if ever extant1 could not have borne the meaning1 which ,robertson ,smith1 ,cornill1 ,kirkpatrick1 etc41 suppose it must have done1 of ,angel of ,jehovah4 ,these scholars1 it should be added1 oppose1 for various reasons1 the theory that it is a proper name4 #iej ,cf4 the suggested meaning of ,haggai1 ,festus4 ,above1 p4 #bca4 #iea ,and added the words1 lay it to your hearts3 4 ,bachmann 7,a4 ,t4 ,untersuch41 ,berlin1 #ahid1 pp4 #aji ff47 takes this added clause as a translation of 1 and suggests that it may be a corruption of an original 1 and his name was ,kaleb4 ,but the reading is not the exact equivalent of the ,greek phrase4 #ieb 4 #iec ,see ,stade1 ,z4,a4,t4,w41 #ahha1 p4 #ad2 #ahhb1 p4 #cjh2 ,cornill1 ,einleitung1 #dth ed41 pp4 #bjg f4 #ied ,so 7besides ,calvin1 who takes it as a title7 even ,hengstenberg in his ,christology of the ,o4 ,t41 ,ewald1 ,kuenen1 ,reuss1 ,stade1 ,rob4 ,smith1 ,cornill1 ,wellhausen1 ,kirkpatrick 7probably71 ,wildeboer1 ,nowack4 ,on the other side ,hitzig1 ,vatke1 ,ngelsbach and ,volck 7in ,herzog71 ,von ,orelli1 ,pusey and ,robertson hold it to be a personal name--,pusey with this qualification1 8that the prophet may have framed it for himself10 similarly ,orelli4 ,they support their opinion by the fact that even the ,,lxx4 entitle the book 2 that the word was regarded as a proper name in the early ,church1 and that it is a possible name for a ,hebrew4 ,in opposition to the hypothesis that it was borrowed from chap4 iii4 #a1 ,hitzig suggests the converse that in the latter the prophet plays upon his own name4 ,none of these critics1 however1 meets the objections to the name drawn from the peculiar character of the title and its relations to ,zech4 ix4 #a1 xii4 #a4 ,the supposed name of the prophet gave rise to the legend supported by many of the ,fathers that ,malachi1 like ,haggai and ,john the ,baptist1 was an incarnate angel4 ,this is stated and condemned by ,jerome1 ,comm4 ad ,hag4 i4 #ac1 but held by ,origen1 ,tertullian and others4 ,the existence of such an opinion is itself proof for the impersonal character of the name4 ,as in the case of the rest of the prophets1 ,christian tradition furnishes the prophet with the outline of a biography4 ,see 7,pseud-7,epiphanius and other writers quoted above1 p4 #bcb4 #iee iii4 #af ff4 #ief ,see above on ,obadiah1 p4 #afi1 and below on the passage itself4 #ieg i4 #b-e4 #ieh i4 #h4 #iei i4 #aa3 the verbs here are to be taken in the present1 not as in ,a4,v4 in the future1 tense4 #ifj ,passim3 especially iii4 #ac ff41 #bd4 #ifa i4 #aj2 iii4 #a1 #aj4 #ifb ii4 #a-i4 #ifc ii4 #aj-af4 #ifd iii4 #g-ab4 #ife ,see above1 pp4 #aie f4 #iff i4 #b4 #ifg ii4 #aj4 #ifh ii4 #ag--;iii4 #ab2 iii4 #bb f41 ,eng4 iv4 ,the above sentences are from ,robertson ,smith1 art4 8,malachi10 ,encyc4 ,brit41 #ith ed4 #ifi ,above1 p4 #ccb1 n4 #ieb4 #igj 8,mal40 i4 #h2 ,neh4 v4 #iga ,deut4 xii4 #aa1 xxvi4 #ab2 8,mal40 iii4 #h1 #aj2 ,num4 xviii4 #ba ff4 7,p74 #igb ,vatke 7contemporaneous with ,nehemiah71 ,schrader1 ,keil1 ,kuenen 7perhaps in second governorship of ,nehemiah1 but see above1 p4 #cce1 for a decisive reason against this71 ,khler1 ,driver1 ,von ,orelli 7between ,nehemiah's first and second visit71 ,kirkpatrick1 ,robertson4 #igc ,deut4 xii4 #aa4 ,in ,p trmah is a due paid to priests as distinct from ,levites4 #igd ii4 #d-h3 cf4 ,deut4 xxxiii4 #h4 #ige i4 #h2 ,deut4 xv4 #ba4 #igf i4 #ad2 ,lev4 iii4 #a1 #f4 #igg iii4 #e2 ,deut4 v4 #aa ff41 xviii4 #aj1 xxiv4 #ag ff42 ,lev4 xix4 #ca1 #cc f41 xx4 #f4 #igh iii4 #bb ,heb41 iv4 #d ,eng4 ,law of ,moses and ,moses ,my servant are found only in the ,deuteronomistic portions of the ,hexateuch and historical books and here4 ,in ,p ,sinai is the ,mount of the ,law4 ,to the above may be added segullah1 iii4 #ag1 which is found in the ,pentateuch only outside ,p and in ,psalm cxxxv4 #d4 ,all these resemblances between 8,malachi0 and ,deuteronomy and 8,malachi's0 divergences from ,p are given in ,robertson ,smith's ,old ,test4 in the ,jewish ,church1 #bnd ed41 #dbe ff43 cf4 #ddd ff4 #igi ,lev4 xvii4--xxvi4 ,from this and ,ezekiel he received the conception of the profanation of the sanctuary by the sins of the people--ii4 #aa3 cf4 also ii4 #b1 iii4 #c1 #d1 for traces of ,ezekiel's influence4 #ihj ii4 #f ff4 #iha ,see below1 pp4 #cdj1 #cfc1 #cfe4 #ihb ,herzfeld1 ,bleek1 ,stade1 ,kautzsch 7probably71 ,wellhausen 7,gesch41 p4 #abe71 ,nowack before the arrival of ,ezra1 ,cornill either soon before or soon after #deh1 ,robertson ,smith either before or soon after #dde4 ,hitzig at first put it before #deh1 but was afterwards moved to date it after #ceh1 as he took the overthrow of the ,edomites described in chap4 i4 #b-e to be due to a campaign in that year by ,artaxerxes ,ochus 7cf4 ,euseb41 ,chron41 ,,ii4 #bba74 #ihc ,but see below1 pp4 #cdj1 #cfe4 #ihd ,z4,a4,t4,w41 #ahhg1 #baj ff4 #ihe i4 #aa1 for 2 perhaps ii4 #ab1 for 2 perhaps iii4 #h ff41 for 2 #af1 for 4 #ihf i4 #aa ff42 ii4 #c1 and perhaps #ab1 #ae4 ,,chapter ,,xxv ,,from ,,zechariah ,,to 8,,malachi0 ,between the completion of the ,temple in #eaf and the arrival of ,ezra in #deh1 we have almost no record of the little colony round ,mount ,zion4 ,the ,jewish chronicles devote to the period but a few verses of unsupported tradition4#ihg ,after #eag we have nothing from ,zechariah himself2 and if any other prophet appeared during the next half-century1 his words have not survived4 ,we are left to infer what was the true condition of affairs1 not less from this ominous silence than from the hints which are given to us in the writings of 8,malachi10 ,ezra and ,nehemiah after the period was over4 ,beyond a partial attempt to rebuild the walls of the city in the reign of ,artaxerxes ,i41#ihh there seems to have been nothing to record4 ,it was a period of disillusion1 disheartening and decay4 ,the completion of the ,temple did not bring in the ,messianic era4 ,zerubbabel1 whom ,haggai and ,zechariah had crowned as the promised ,king of ,israel1 died without reaching higher rank than a minor satrapy in the ,persian ,empire1 and even in that he appears to have been succeeded by a ,persian official4#ihi ,the re-migrations from ,babylon and elsewhere1 which ,zechariah predicted1 did not take place4 ,the small population of ,jerusalem were still harassed by the hostility1 and their morale sapped by the insidiousness1 of their ,samaritan neighbours3 they were denied the stimulus1 the purgation1 the glory of a great persecution4 ,their ,persian tyrants for the most part left them alone4 ,the world left them alone4 ,nothing stirred in ,palestine except the ,samaritan intrigues4 ,history rolled away westward1 and destiny seemed to be settling on the ,greeks4 ,in #dij ,miltiades defeated the ,persians at ,marathon4 ,in #dhj ,thermopyl was fought and the ,persian fleet broken at ,salamis4 ,in #dgi a ,persian army was destroyed at ,plata1 and ,xerxes lost ,europe and most of the ,ionian coast4 ,in #dfj ,athens sent an expedition to ,egypt to assist the ,egyptian revolt against ,persia1 and in #deg 8her slain fell in ,cyprus1 in ,egypt1 in ,phnicia1 at ,hali1 in gina1 and in ,megara in the same year40 ,thus severely left to themselves and to the petty hostilities of their neighbours1 the ,jews appear to have sunk into a careless and sordid manner of life4 ,they entered the period1 it is true1 with some sense of their distinction4#iij ,in exile they had suffered ,god's anger1#iia and had been purged by it4 ,but out of discipline often springs pride1 and there is no subtler temptation of the human heart4 ,the returned ,israel felt this to the quick1 and it sorely unfitted them for encountering the disappointment and hardship which followed upon the completion of the ,temple4 ,the tide of hope1 which rose to flood with that consummation1 ebbed rapidly away1 and left ,god's people struggling1 like any ordinary tribe of peasants1 with bad seasons and the cruelty of their envious neighbours4 ,their pride was set on edge1 and they fell1 not as at other periods of disappointment into despair1 but into a bitter carelessness and a contempt of their duty to ,god4 ,this was a curious temper1 and1 so far as we know1 new in ,israel4 ,it led them to despise both ,his love and ,his holiness4#iib ,they neglected their ,temple dues1 and impudently presented to their ,god polluted bread and blemished beasts which they would not have dared to offer to their ,persian governor4#iic ,like people like priest3 the priesthood lost not reverence only1 but decency and all conscience of their office4#iid ,they despised the ,table of the ,lord1 ceased to instruct the people and grew partial in judgment4 ,as a consequence they became contemptible in the eyes of the community4 ,immorality prevailed among all classes3 every man dealt treacherously with his brother4#iie ,adultery1 perjury1 fraud and the oppression of the poor were very rife4 ,one particular fashion1 in which the people's wounded pride spited itself1 was the custom of marriage which even the best families contracted with the half-heathen people of the land4 ,across ,judah there were scattered the descendants of those ,jews whom ,nebuchadrezzar had not deemed worth removing to ,babylon4 ,whether regarded from a social or a religious point of view1 their fathers had been the dregs of the old community4 ,their own religion1 cut off as they were from the main body of ,israel and scattered among the old heathen shrines of the land1 must have deteriorated still further2 but in all probability they had secured for themselves the best portions of the vacant soil1 and now enjoyed a comfort and a stability of welfare far beyond that which was yet attainable by the majority of the returned exiles4 ,more numerous than these dregs of ancient ,jewry were the very mixed race of the ,samaritans4 ,they possessed a rich land1 which they had cultivated long enough for many of their families to be settled in comparative wealth4 ,with all these half-pagan ,jews and ,samaritans1 the families of the true ,israel1 as they regarded themselves1 did not hesitate to form alliances1 for in the precarious position of the colony1 such alliances were the surest way both to wealth and to political influence4 ,how much the ,jews were mastered by their desire for them is seen from the fact that1 when the relatives of their half-heathen brides made it a condition of the marriages that they should first put away their old wives1 they readily did so4 ,divorce became very frequent1 and great suffering was inflicted on the native ,jewish women4#iif ,so the religious condition of ,israel declined for nearly two generations1 and then about #dfj the ,word of ,god1 after long silence1 broke once more through a prophet's lips4 ,we call this prophet 8,malachi10 following the error of an editor of his book1 who1 finding it nameless1 inferred or invented that name from its description of the priest as the 8,mal'ach10 or messenger1 of the ,lord of ,hosts4#iig ,but the prophet gave himself no name4 ,writing from the midst of a poor and persecuted group of the people1 and attacking the authorities both of church and state1 he preferred to publish his charge anonymously4 ,his name was in the ,lord's own book of remembrance4#iih ,the unknown prophet addressed himself both to the sinners of his people1 and to those querulous adherents of ,jehovah whom the success of the sinners had tempted to despair in their service of ,god4 ,his style shares the practical directness of his predecessors among the returned exiles4 ,he takes up one point after another1 and drives them home in a series of strong1 plain paragraphs of prose4 ,but it is sixty years since ,haggai and ,zechariah1 and in the circumstances we have described1 a prophet could no longer come forward as a public inspirer of his nation4 ,prophecy seems to have been driven from public life1 from the sudden enforcement of truth in the face of the people to the more deliberate and ordered argument which marks the teacher who works in private4 ,in the ,book of 8,malachi0 there are many of the principles and much of the enthusiasm of the ancient ,hebrew seer4 ,but the discourse is broken up into formal paragraphs1 each upon the same academic model4 ,first a truth is pronounced1 or a charge made against the people2 then with the words but ye will say the prophet states some possible objection of his hearers1 proceeds to answer it by detailed evidence1 and only then drives home his truth1 or his charge1 in genuine prophetic fashion4 ,to the student of prophecy this peculiarity of the book is of the greatest interest1 for it is no merely personal idiosyncrasy4 ,we rather feel that prophecy is now assuming the temper of the teacher4 ,the method is the commencement of that which later on becomes the prevailing habit in ,jewish literature4 ,just as with ,zephaniah we saw prophecy passing into ,apocalypse1 and with ,habakkuk into the speculation of the schools of ,wisdom1 so now in 8,malachi0 we perceive its transformation into the scholasticism of the ,rabbis4 ,but the interest of this change of style must not prevent us from appreciating the genuine prophetic spirit of our book4 ,far more fully than1 for instance1 that of ,haggai1 to the style of which its practical simplicity is so akin1 it enumerates the prophetic principles3 the everlasting ,love of ,jehovah for ,israel1 the ,fatherhood of ,jehovah and ,his ,holiness1 ,his ancient ,ideals for ,priesthood and ,people1 the need of a ,repentance proved by deeds1 the consequent ,promise of ,prosperity1 the ,day of the ,lord1 and ,judgment between the evil and the righteous4 ,upon the last of these the book affords a striking proof of the delinquency of the people during the last half-century1 and in connection with it the prophet introduces certain novel features4 ,to ,haggai and ,zechariah the great ,tribulation had closed with the ,exile and the rebuilding of the ,temple3 ,israel stood on the margin of the ,messianic age4 ,but the ,book of 8,malachi0 proclaims the need of another judgment as emphatically as the older prophets had predicted the ,babylonian doom4 8,malachi0 repeats their name for it1 the great and terrible ,day of ,jehovah4 ,but he does not foresee it1 as they did1 in the shape of a historical process4 ,his description of it is pure ,apocalypse--the fire of the smelter and the fuller's acid3 the day that burns like a furnace1 when all wickedness is as stubble1 and all evil men are devoured1 but to the righteous the ,sun of ,righteousness shall arise with healing in ,his wings1 and they shall tread the wicked under foot4#iii ,to this the prophet adds a novel promise4 ,god is so much the ,god of love1#ajjj that before the ,day comes ,he will give ,his people an opportunity of conversion4 ,he will send them ,elijah the prophet to change their hearts1 that ,he may be prevented from striking the land with ,his ,ban4 ,in one other point the book is original1 and that is in its attitude towards the heathen4 ,among the heathen1 it boldly says1 ,jehovah is held in higher reverence than among ,his own people4#ajja ,in such a statement we can hardly fail to feel the influence upon ,israel of their contact1 often close and personal1 with their wise and mild tyrants the ,persians4 ,we may emphasise the verse as the first note of that recognition of the real religiousness of the heathen1 which we shall find swelling to such fulness and tenderness in the ,book of ,jonah4 ,such are in brief the style and the principles of the ,book of 8,malachi10 whose separate prophecies we may now proceed to take up in detail4 ,,footnotes3 #ihg ,ezra iv4 #f-bc4 #ihh ,this is recorded in the ,aramean document which has been incorporated in our ,book of ,ezra1 and there is no reason to doubt its reality4 ,in that document we have already found1 in spite of its comparatively late date1 much that is accurate history4 ,see above1 p4 #bab4 ,and it is clear that1 the ,temple being finished1 the ,jews must have drawn upon themselves the same religious envy of the ,samaritans which had previously delayed the construction of the ,temple4 ,to meet it1 what more natural than that the ,jews should have attempted to raise the walls of their city8 ,it is almost impossible to believe that they who had achieved the construction of the ,temple in #eaf should not1 in the next fifty years1 make some effort to raise their fallen walls4 ,and indeed ,nehemiah's account of his own work almost necessarily implies that they had done so1 for what he did after #dde was not to build new walls1 but rather to repair shattered ones4 #ihi ,see above1 p4 #cce1 n4 #igj1 and below1 p4 #ced1 on 8,mal40 i4 #h4 #iij ,cf4 ,stade1 ,gesch4 des ,volkes ,israel1 ,,ii41 pp4 #abh-ach1 the best account of this period4 #iia 8,mal40 iii4 #ad4 #iib 8,mal40 i4 #b1 #f2 iii4 #h f4 #iic ,id4 i4 #g f41 #ab-ad4 #iid ,id4 i4 #f f41 ii4 #iie ,id4 ii1 #aj4 #iif 8,mal40 ii4 #aj-af4 #iig ,for proof of this see above1 pp4 #cca f4 #iih 8,mal40 iii4 #af4 #iii iii4 #b1 #ai ff4 ,heb41 iv4 #a ff4 ,eng4 #ajjj iii4 #f4 #ajja i4 #aa4 ,,chapter ,,xxvi ,,prophecy ,,within ,,the ,,law 8,,malachi0 i4--iv4 ,beneath this title we may gather all the eight sections of the ,book of 8,malachi40 ,they contain many things of perennial interest and validity3 their truth is applicable1 their music is still musical1 to ourselves4 ,but their chief significance is historical4 ,they illustrate the development of prophecy within the ,law4 ,not under the ,law1 be it observed4 ,for if one thing be more clear than another about 8,malachi's0 teaching1 it is that the spirit of prophecy is not yet crushed by the legalism which finally killed it within ,israel4 8,malachi0 observes and enforces the demands of the ,deuteronomic law under which his people had lived since the ,return from ,exile4 ,but he traces each of these to some spiritual principle1 to some essential of religion in the character of ,israel's ,god1 which is either doubted or neglected by his contemporaries in their lax performance of the ,law4 ,that is why we may entitle his book ,prophecy within the ,law4 99 99 99 99 99 ,the essential principles of the religion of ,israel which had been shaken or obscured by the delinquency of the people during the half-century after the rebuilding of the ,temple were three--the distinctive ,love of ,jehovah for ,his people1 ,his ,holiness1 and ,his ,righteousness4 ,the ,book of 8,malachi0 takes up each of these in turn1 and proves or enforces it according as the people have formally doubted it or in their carelessness done it despite4 #a4 ,,god',s ,,love ,,for ,,israel ,,and ,,hatred ,,of ,,edom 7,chap4 i4 #b-e74 ,he begins with ,god's ,love1 and in answer to the disappointed#ajjb people's cry1 ,wherein hast ,thou loved us8 he does not1 as the older prophets did1 sweep the whole history of ,israel1 and gather proofs of ,jehovah's grace and unfailing guidance in all the great events from the deliverance from ,egypt to the deliverance from ,babylon4 ,but he confines himself to a comparison of ,israel with the ,gentile nation1 which was most akin to ,israel according to the flesh1 their own brother ,edom4 ,it is possible1 of course1 to see in this a proof of our prophet's narrowness1 as contrasted with ,amos or ,hosea or the great ,evangelist of the ,exile4 ,but we must remember that out of all the history of ,israel 8,malachi0 could not have chosen an instance which would more strongly appeal to the heart of his contemporaries4 ,we have seen from the ,book of ,obadiah how ever since the beginning of the ,exile ,edom had come to be regarded by ,israel as their great antithesis4#ajjc ,if we needed further proof of this we should find it in many ,psalms of the ,exile1 which like the ,book of ,obadiah remember with bitterness the hostile part that ,edom played in the day of ,israel's calamity4 ,the two nations were utterly opposed in genius and character4 ,edom was a people of as unspiritual and self-sufficient a temper as ever cursed any of ,god's human creatures4 ,like their ancestor they were profane1#ajjd without repentance1 humility or ideals1 and almost without religion4 ,apart1 therefore1 from the long history of war between the two peoples1 it was a true instinct which led ,israel to regard their brother as representative of that heathendom against which they had to realise their destiny in the world as ,god's own nation4 ,in choosing the contrast of ,edom's fate to illustrate ,jehovah's love for ,israel1 8,malachi0 was not only choosing what would appeal to the passions of his contemporaries1 but what is the most striking and constant antithesis in the whole history of ,israel3 the absolutely diverse genius and destiny of these two ,semitic nations who were nearest neighbours and1 according to their traditions1 twin-brethren after the flesh4 ,if we keep this in mind we shall understand ,paul's use of the antithesis in the passage in which he clenches it by a quotation from 8,malachi03 as it is written1 ,jacob have ,i loved1 but ,esau have ,i hated4#ajje ,in these words the doctrine of the ,divine election of individuals appears to be expressed as absolutely as possible4 ,but it would be unfair to read the passage except in the light of ,israel's history4 ,in the ,old ,testament it is a matter of fact that the doctrine of the ,divine preference of ,israel to ,esau appeared only after the respective characters of the nations were manifested in history1 and that it grew more defined and absolute only as history discovered more of the fundamental contrast between the two in genius and destiny4#ajjf ,in the ,old ,testament1 therefore1 the doctrine is the result1 not of an arbitrary belief in ,god's bare fiat1 but of historical experience2 although1 of course1 the distinction which experience proves is traced back1 with everything else of good or evil that happens1 to the sovereign will and purpose of ,god4 ,nor let us forget that the ,old ,testament doctrine of election is of election to service only4 ,that is to say1 the ,divine intention in electing covers not the elect individual or nation only1 but the whole world and its needs of ,god and ,his truth4 ,the event to which 8,malachi0 appeals as evidence for ,god's rejection of ,edom is the desolation of the latter's ancient heritage1 and the abandonment of it to the jackals of the desert4 ,scholars used to think that these vague phrases referred to some act of the ,persian kings3 some removal of the ,edomites from the lands of the ,jews in order to make room for the returned exiles4#ajjg ,but 8,malachi0 says expressly that it was ,edom's own heritage which was laid desolate4 ,this can only be ,mount ,esau or ,se'ir1 and the statement that it was delivered to the jackals of the desert proves that the reference is to that same expulsion of ,edom from their territory by the ,nabatean ,arabs which we have already seen the ,book of ,obadiah relate about the beginning of the ,exile4#ajjh ,but it is now time to give in full the opening passage of 8,malachi10 in which he appeals to this important event as proof of ,god's distinctive love for ,israel1 and1 8,malachi0 adds1 of ,his power beyond ,israel's border 78,mal40 chap4 i4 #b-e74 ,i have loved you1 saith ,jehovah4 ,but ye say1 8,wherein hast ,thou loved us80 ,is not ,esau brother to ,jacob8--oracle of ,jehovah--and ,i have loved ,jacob and ,esau have ,i hated4 ,i have made his mountains desolate1 and given his heritage to the jackals of the desert4 ,should the people of ,edom say1#ajji 8,we are destroyed1 but we will rebuild the waste places10 thus saith ,jehovah of ,hosts1 ,they may build1 but ,i will pull down3 men shall call them 8,the ,border of ,wickedness0 and 8,the ,people with whom ,jehovah is wroth for ever40 ,and your eyes shall see it1 and yourselves shall say1 8,great is ,jehovah beyond ,israel's border40 #b4 8,,honour ,,thy ,,father0 7,chap4 i4 #f-ad74 ,from ,god's ,love1 which ,israel have doubted1 the prophet passes to ,his ,majesty or ,holiness1 which they have wronged4 ,now it is very remarkable that the relation of ,god to the ,jews in which the prophet should see ,his ,majesty illustrated is not only ,his lordship over them but ,his ,fatherhood3 ,a son honours a father1 and a servant his lord2 but if ,i be ,father1 where is ,my honour8 and if ,i be ,lord1 where is there reverence for ,me8 saith ,jehovah of ,hosts4#ajaj ,we are so accustomed to associate with the ,divine ,fatherhood only ideas of love and pity that the use of the relation to illustrate not love but ,majesty1 and the setting of it in parallel to the ,divine ,kingship1 may seem to us strange4 ,yet this was very natural to ,israel4 ,in the old ,semitic world1 even to the human parent1 honour was due before love4 ,honour thy father and thy mother1 said the ,fifth ,commandment2 and when1 after long shyness to do so1 ,israel at last ventured to claim ,jehovah as the ,father of ,his people1 it was at first rather with the view of increasing their sense of ,his authority and their duty of reverencing ,him1 than with the view of bringing ,him near to their hearts and assuring them of ,his tenderness4 ,the latter elements1 it is true1 were not absent from the conception4 ,but even in the ,psalter1 in which we find the most intimate and tender fellowship of the believer with ,god1 there is only one passage in which ,his love for ,his own is compared to the love of a human father4#ajaa ,and in the other very few passages of the ,old ,testament where ,he is revealed or appealed to as the ,father of the nation1 it is1 with two exceptions1#ajab in order either to emphasise ,his creation of ,israel or ,his discipline4 ,so in ,jeremiah1#ajac and in an anonymous prophet of the same period perhaps as 8,malachi40#ajad ,this hesitation to ascribe to ,god the name of ,father1 and this severe conception of what ,fatherhood meant1 was perhaps needful for ,israel in face of the sensuous ideas of the ,divine ,fatherhood cherished by their heathen neighbours4#ajae ,but1 however this may be1 the infrequency and austerity of ,israel's conception of ,god's ,fatherhood1 in contrast with that of ,christianity1 enables us to understand why 8,malachi0 should employ the relation as proof1 not of the ,love1 but of the ,majesty and ,holiness of ,jehovah4 ,this ,majesty and this ,holiness have been wronged1 he says1 by low thoughts of ,god's altar1 and by offering upon it1 with untroubled conscience1 cheap and blemished sacrifices4 ,the people would have been ashamed to present such to their ,persian governor3 how can ,god be pleased with them8 ,better that sacrifice should cease than that such offerings should be presented in such a spirit6 ,is there no one1 cries the prophet1 to close the doors of the ,temple altogether1 so that the altar smoke not in vain8 ,the passage shows us what a change has passed over the spirit of ,israel since prophecy first attacked the sacrificial ritual4 ,we remember how ,amos would have swept it all away as an abomination to ,god4#ajaf ,so1 too1 ,isaiah and ,jeremiah4 ,but their reason for this was very different from 8,malachi's40 ,their contemporaries were assiduous and lavish in sacrificing1 and were devoted to the ,temple and the ritual with a fanaticism which made them forget that ,jehovah's demands upon ,his people were righteousness and the service of the weak4 ,but 8,malachi0 condemns his generation for depreciating the ,temple1 and for being stingy and fraudulent in their offerings4 ,certainly the post-exilic prophet assumes a different attitude to the ritual from that of his predecessors in ancient ,israel4 ,they wished it all abolished1 and placed the chief duties of ,israel towards ,god in civic justice and mercy4 ,but he emphasises it as the first duty of the people towards ,god1 and sees in their neglect the reason of their misfortunes and the cause of their coming doom4 ,in this change which has come over prophecy we must admit the growing influence of the ,law4 ,from ,ezekiel onwards the prophets become more ecclesiastical and legal4 ,and though at first they do not become less ethical1 yet the influence which was at work upon them was of such a character as was bound in time to engross their interest1 and lead them to remit the ethical elements of their religion to a place secondary to the ceremonial4 ,we see symptoms of this even in 8,malachi10 we shall find more in ,joel1 and we know how aggravated these symptoms afterwards became in all the leaders of ,jewish religion4 ,at the same time we ought to remember that this change of emphasis1 which many will think to be for the worse1 was largely rendered necessary by the change of temper in the people to whom the prophets ministered4 8,malachi0 found among his contemporaries a habit of religious performance which was not only slovenly and indecent1 but mean and fraudulent1 and it became his first practical duty to attack this4 ,moreover the neglect of the ,temple was not due to those spiritual conceptions of ,jehovah and those moral duties ,he demanded1 in the interests of which the older prophets had condemned the ritual4 ,at bottom the neglect of the ,temple was due to the very same reasons as the superstitious zeal and fanaticism in sacrificing which the older prophets had attacked--false ideas1 namely1 of ,god ,himself1 and of what was due to ,him from ,his people4 ,and on these grounds1 therefore1 we may say that 8,malachi0 was performing for his generation as needful and as ,divine a work as ,amos and ,isaiah had performed for theirs4 ,only1 be it admitted1 the direction of 8,malachi's0 emphasis was more dangerous for religion than that of the emphasis of ,amos or ,isaiah4 ,how liable the practice he inculcated was to exaggeration and abuse is sadly proved in the later history of his people3 it was against that exaggeration1 grown great and obdurate through three centuries1 that ,jesus delivered ,his most unsparing words4 ,a son honours a father1 and a servant his lord4 ,but if ,i am ,father1 where is ,my honour8 and if ,i am ,lord1 where is reverence for ,me8 saith ,jehovah of ,hosts to you1 ,o priests1 who despise ,my ,name4 ,ye say1 8,how then have we despised ,thy ,name80 ,ye are bringing polluted food to ,mine ,altar4 ,ye say1 8,how have we polluted ,thee80#ajag ,by saying1#ajah 8,the ,table of ,jehovah may be despised02 and when ye bring a blind beast to sacrifice1 8,no harm60 or when ye bring a lame or sick one1 8,no harm60#ajai ,pray1 take it to thy ,satrap3 will he be pleased with thee1 or accept thy person8 saith ,jehovah of ,hosts4 ,but now1 propitiate#ajbj ,god1 that ,he may be gracious to us4 ,when things like this come from your hands1 can ,he accept your persons8 saith ,jehovah of ,hosts4 ,who is there among you to close the doors of the ,temple altogether1 that ye kindle not ,mine ,altar in vain8 ,i have no pleasure in you1 saith ,jehovah of ,hosts1 and ,i will not accept an offering from your hands4 ,for from the rising of the sun and to its setting ,my ,name is glorified#ajba among the nations2 and in every sacred place#ajbb incense is offered to ,my ,name1 and a pure offering3#ajbc for great is ,my ,name among the nations1 saith ,jehovah of ,hosts4 ,but ye are profaning it1 in that ye think#ajbd that the ,table of the ,lord is polluted1 and#ajbe its food contemptible4 ,and ye say1 ,what a weariness6 and ye sniff at it1#ajbf saith ,jehovah of ,hosts4 ,when ye bring what has been plundered1#ajbg and the lame and the diseased1 yea1 when ye so bring an offering1 can ,i accept it with grace from your hands8 saith ,jehovah4 ,cursed be the cheat in whose flock is a male beast and he vows it1#ajbh and slays for the ,lord a miserable beast4#ajbi ,for a great ,king am ,i1 saith ,jehovah of ,hosts1 and ,my ,name is reverenced among the nations4 ,before we pass from this passage we must notice in it one very remarkable feature--perhaps the most original contribution which the ,book of 8,malachi0 makes to the development of prophecy4 ,in contrast to the irreverence of ,israel and the wrong they do to ,jehovah's ,holiness1 ,he ,himself asserts that not only is ,his ,name great and glorified among the heathen1 from the rising to the setting of the sun1 but that in every sacred place incense and a pure offering are offered to ,his ,name4 ,this is so novel a statement1 and1 we may truly say1 so startling1 that it is not wonderful that the attempt should have been made to interpret it1 not of the prophet's own day1 but of the ,messianic age and the kingdom of ,christ4 ,so1 many of the ,christian ,fathers1 from ,justin and ,irenus to ,theodoret and ,augustine2#ajcj so1 our own ,authorised ,version1 which boldly throws the verbs into the future2 and so1 many modern interpreters like ,pusey1 who declares that the style is 8a vivid present such as is often used to describe the future2 but the things spoken of show it to be future40 ,all these take the passage to be an anticipation of ,christ's parables declaring the rejection of the ,jews and ingathering of the ,gentiles to the kingdom of heaven1 and of the argument of the ,epistle to the ,hebrews1 that the bleeding and defective offerings of the ,jews were abrogated by the sacrifice of the ,cross4 ,but such an exegesis is only possible by perverting the text and misreading the whole argument of the prophet4 ,not only are the verbs of the original in the present tense--so also in the early versions--but the prophet is obviously contrasting the contempt of ,god's own people for ,himself and ,his institutions with the reverence paid to ,his ,name among the heathen4 ,it is not the mere question of there being righteous people in every nation1 well-pleasing to ,jehovah because of their lives4 ,the very sacrifices of the heathen are pure and acceptable to ,him4 ,never have we had in prophecy1 even the most far-seeing and evangelical1 a statement so generous and so catholic as this4 ,why it should appear only now in the history of prophecy is a question we are unable to answer with certainty4 ,many have seen in it the result of ,israel's intercourse with their tolerant and religious masters the ,persians4 ,none of the ,persian kings had up to this time persecuted the ,jews1 and numbers of pious and large-minded ,israelites must have had opportunity of acquaintance with the very pure doctrines of the ,persian religion1 among which it is said that there was already numbered the recognition of true piety in men of all religions4#ajca ,if ,paul derived from his ,hellenic culture the knowledge which made it possible for him to speak as he did in ,athens of the religiousness of the ,gentiles1 it was just as probable that ,jews who had come within the experience of a still purer ,aryan faith should utter an even more emphatic acknowledgment that the ,one ,true ,god had those who served ,him in spirit and in truth all over the world4 ,but1 whatever foreign influences may have ripened such a faith in ,israel1 we must not forget that its roots were struck deep in the native soil of their religion4 ,from the first they had known their ,god as a ,god of a grace so infinite that it was impossible it should be exhausted on themselves4 ,if ,his righteousness1 as ,amos showed1 was over all the ,syrian states1 and ,his pity and ,his power to convert1 as ,isaiah showed1 covered even the cities of ,phnicia1 the great ,evangelist of the ,exile could declare that ,he quenched not the smoking wicks of the dim heathen faiths4 ,as interesting1 however1 as the origin of 8,malachi's0 attitude to the heathen1 are two other points about it4 ,in the first place1 it is remarkable that it should occur1 especially in the form of emphasising the purity of heathen sacrifices1 in a book which lays such heavy stress upon the ,jewish ,temple and ritual4 ,this is a warning to us not to judge harshly the so-called legal age of ,jewish religion1 nor to despise the prophets who have come under the influence of the ,law4 ,and in the second place1 we perceive in this statement a step towards the fuller acknowledgment of ,gentile religiousness which we find in the ,book of ,jonah4 ,it is strange that none of the post-exilic ,psalms strike the same note4 ,they often predict the conversion of the heathen2 but they do not recognise their native reverence and piety4 ,perhaps the reason is that in a body of song1 collected for the national service1 such a feature would be out of place4 #c4 ,,the ,,priesthood ,,of ,,knowledge 7,chap4 ii4 #a-i74 ,in the third section of his book 8,malachi0 addresses himself to the priests4 ,he charges them not only with irreverence and slovenliness in their discharge of the ,temple service--for this he appears to intend by the phrase filth of your feasts--but with the neglect of their intellectual duties to the people4 ,the lips of a priest guard knowledge1 and men seek instruction from his mouth1 for he is the ,angel--the revealing ,angel--of ,jehovah of ,hosts4 ,once more1 what a remarkable saying to come from the legal age of ,israel's religion1 and from a writer who so emphasises the ceremonial law6 ,in all the range of prophecy there is not any more in harmony with the prophetic ideal4 ,how needed it is in our own age6--needed against those two extremes of religion from which we suffer1 the limitation of the ideal of priesthood to the communication of a magic grace1 and its evaporation in a vague religiosity from which the intellect is excluded as if it were perilous1 worldly and devilish4#ajcb 8,surrender of the intellect0 indeed6 ,this is the burial of the talent in the napkin1 and1 as in the parable of ,christ1 it is still in our day preached and practised by the men of one talent4 ,religion needs all the brains we poor mortals can put into it4 ,there is a priesthood of knowledge1 a priesthood of the intellect1 says 8,malachi10 and he makes this a large part of ,god's covenant with ,levi4 ,every priest of ,god is a priest of truth2 and it is very largely by the ,christian ministry's neglect of their intellectual duties that so much irreligion prevails4 ,as in 8,malachi's0 day1 so now1 8the laity take hurt and hindrance by our negligence40#ajcc ,and just as he points out1 so with ourselves1 the consequence is the growing indifference with which large bodies of the ,christian ministry are regarded by the thoughtful portions both of our labouring and professional classes4 ,were the ministers of all the ,churches to awake to their ideal in this matter1 there would surely come a very great revival of religion among us4 ,and now this ,charge for you1 ,o priests3 ,if ye hear not1 and lay not to heart to give glory to ,my ,name1 saith ,jehovah of ,hosts1 ,i will send upon you the curse1 and will curse your blessings--yea1 ,i have cursed them#ajcd--;for none of you layeth it to heart4 ,behold1 ,i 444 you 444#ajce and ,i will scatter filth in your faces1 the filth of your feasts4444#ajcf ,and ye shall know that ,i have sent to you this ,charge1 to be ,my covenant with ,levi1#ajcg saith ,jehovah of ,hosts4 ,my covenant was with him life and peace1#ajch and ,i gave them to him1 fear and he feared ,me1 and humbled himself before ,my ,name4#ajci ,the revelation of truth was in his mouth1 and wickedness was not found upon his lips4 ,in whole-heartedness#ajdj and integrity he walked with ,me1 and turned many from iniquity4 ,for the lips of a priest guard knowledge1 and men seek instruction#ajda from his mouth1 for he is the ,angel of ,jehovah of ,hosts4 ,but ye have turned from the way1 ye have tripped up many by the ,torah1 ye have spoiled the covenant of ,levi1 saith ,jehovah of ,hosts4 ,and ,i on ,my part#ajdb have made you contemptible to all the people1 and abased in proportion as ye kept not ,my ways and had respect of persons in delivering your ,torah4 #d4 ,,the ,,cruelty ,,of ,,divorce 7,chap4 ii4 #aj-ag74 ,in his fourth section1 upon his countrymen's frequent divorce of their native wives in order to marry into the influential families of their half-heathen neighbours1#ajdc 8,malachi0 makes another of those wide and spiritual utterances which so distinguish his prophecy and redeem his age from the charge of legalism that is so often brought against it4 ,to him the ,fatherhood of ,god is not merely a relation of power and authority1 requiring reverence from the nation4 ,it constitutes the members of the nation one close brotherhood1 and against this divorce is a crime and unnatural cruelty4 ,jehovah makes the wife of a man's youth his mate for life and his wife by covenant4 ,he hates divorce1 and ,his altar is so wetted by the tears of the wronged women of ,israel that the gifts upon it are no more acceptable in ,his sight4 ,no higher word on marriage was spoken except by ,christ ,himself4 ,it breathes the spirit of our ,lord's utterance3 if we were sure of the text of ver4 #ae1 we might almost say that it anticipated the letter4 ,certain verses1 #aa-ac;a1 which disturb the argument by bringing in the marriages with heathen wives are omitted in the following translation1 and will be given separately4 ,have we not all ,one ,father8 ,hath not ,one ,god created us8 ,why then are we unfaithful to one another1 profaning the covenant of our fathers8444#ajdd ,ye cover with tears the altar of ,jehovah1 with weeping and with groaning1 because respect is no longer had to the offering1 and acceptable gifts are not taken from your hands4 ,and ye say1 8,why80 ,because ,jehovah has been witness between thee and the wife of thy youth1 with whom thou hast broken faith1 though she is thy mate#ajde and thy wife by covenant4 ,and 444#ajdf ,and what is the one seeking8 ,a ,divine ,seed4 ,take heed1 then1 to your spirit1 and be not unfaithful to the wife of thy youth4#ajdg ,for ,i hate divorce1 saith ,jehovah1 ,god of ,israel1 and that a man cover his clothing#ajdh with cruelty1 saith ,jehovah of ,hosts4 ,so take heed to your spirit1 and deal not faithlessly4 ,the verses omitted in the above translation treat of the foreign marriages1 which led to this frequent divorce by the ,jews of their native wives4 ,so far1 of course1 they are relevant to the subject of the passage4 ,but they obviously disturb its argument1 as already pointed out4#ajdi ,they have nothing to do with the principle from which it starts that ,jehovah is the ,father of the whole of ,israel4 ,remove them and the awkward clause in ver4 #ac;a1 by which some editor has tried to connect them with the rest of the paragraph1 and the latter runs smoothly4 ,the motive of their later addition is apparent1 if not justifiable4 ,here they are by themselves3-- ,judah was faithless1 and abomination was practised in ,israel#ajej1 and in ,jerusalem1 for ,judah hath defiled the sanctuary of ,jehovah1 which was dear to ,him1 and hath married the daughter of a strange god4 ,may ,jehovah cut off from the man1 who doeth this1 witness and champion#ajea from the tents of ,jacob1 and offerer of sacrifices to ,jehovah of ,hosts4#ajeb #e4 8,,where ,,is ,,the ,,god ,,of ,,judgment80 7,chap4 ii4 #ag--;iii4 #e74 ,in this section 8,malachi0 turns from the sinners of his people to those who weary ,jehovah with the complaint that sin is successful1 or1 as they put it1 ,every one that does evil is good in the eyes of ,jehovah1 and ,he delighteth in them2 and again1 ,where is the ,god of ,judgment8 ,the answer is1 ,the ,lord ,himself shall come4 ,his ,angel shall prepare ,his way before ,him1 and suddenly shall the ,lord come to ,his ,temple4 ,his coming shall be for judgment1 terrible and searching4 ,its first object 7note the order7 shall be the cleansing of the priesthood1 that proper sacrifices may be established1 and its second the purging of the immorality of the people4 ,mark that although the coming of the ,angel is said to precede that of ,jehovah ,himself1 there is the same blending of the two as we have seen in previous accounts of angels4#ajec ,it is uncertain whether this section closes with ver4 #e or #f3 the latter goes equally well with it and with the following section4 ,ye have wearied ,jehovah with your words2 and ye say1 8,in what have we wearied ,him 80 ,in that ye say1 8,every one that does evil is good in the eyes of ,jehovah1 and ,he delighteth in them02 or else1 8,where is the ,god of ,judgment80 ,behold1 ,i will send ,my ,angel1 to prepare the way before ,me1 and suddenly shall come to ,his ,temple the ,lord whom ye seek and the ,angel of the ,covenant whom ye desire4 ,behold1 ,he comes6 saith ,jehovah of ,hosts4 ,but who may bear the day of ,his coming1 and who stand when ,he appears8 ,for ,he is like the fire of the smelter and the acid of the fullers4 ,he takes ,his seat to smelt and to purge2#ajed and ,he will purge the sons of ,levi1 and wash them out like gold or silver1 and they shall be to ,jehovah bringers of an offering in righteousness4 ,and the offering of ,judah and ,jerusalem shall be pleasing to ,jehovah1 as in the days of old and as in long past years4 ,and ,i will come near you to judgment1 and ,i will be a swift witness against the sorcerers and the adulterers and the perjurers1 and against those who wrong the hireling in his wage1 and the widow and the orphan1 and oppress the stranger1 and fear not ,me1 saith ,jehovah of ,hosts4 #f4 ,,repentance ,,by ,,tithes 7,chap4 iii4 #f-ab74 ,this section ought perhaps to follow on to the preceding4 ,those whom it blames for not paying the ,temple tithes may be the sceptics addressed in the previous section1 who have stopped their dues to ,jehovah out of sheer disappointment that ,he does nothing4 ,and ver4 #f1 which goes well with either section1 may be the joint between the two4 ,however this be1 the new section enforces the need of the people's repentance and return to ,god1 if ,he is to return to them4 ,and when they ask1 how are they to return1 8,malachi0 plainly answers1 ,by the payment of the tithes they have not paid4 ,in withholding these they robbed ,god1 and to this1 their crime1 are due the locusts and bad seasons which have afflicted them4 ,in our temptation to see in this a purely legal spirit1 let us remember that the neglect to pay the tithes was due to a religious cause1 unbelief in ,jehovah1 and that the return to belief in ,him could not therefore be shown in a more practical way than by the payment of tithes4 ,this is not prophecy subject to the ,law1 but prophecy employing the means and vehicles of grace with which the ,law at that time provided the people4 ,for ,i ,jehovah have not changed1 but ye sons of ,jacob have not done with 7874#ajee ,in the days of your fathers ye turned from ,my statutes and did not keep them4 ,return to ,me1 and ,i will return to you1 saith ,jehovah of ,hosts4 ,but you say1 8,how then shall we return80 ,can a man rob#ajef ,god8 yet ye are robbing ,me4 ,but ye say1 8,in what have we robbed ,thee80 ,in the tithe and the tribute4#ajeg ,with the curse are ye cursed1 and yet ,me ye are robbing1 the whole people of you4 ,bring in the whole tithe to the storehouse1 that there may be provision#ajeh in ,my ,house1 and pray1 prove ,me in this1 saith ,jehovah of ,hosts--whether ,i will not open to you the windows of heaven1 and pour blessing upon you till there is no more need4 ,and ,i will check for you the devourer1#ajei and he shall not destroy for you the fruit of the ground1 nor the vine in the field miscarry1 saith ,jehovah of ,hosts4 ,and all nations shall call you happy1 for ye shall be a land of delight1 saith ,jehovah of ,hosts4 #g4 ,,the ,,judgment ,,to ,,come 7,chap4 iii4 #ac-ba ,heb41 iii4 #ac--;iv4 #b ,eng474 ,this is another charge to the doubters among the pious remnant of ,israel1 who1 seeing the success of the wicked1 said it is vain to serve ,god4 ,deuteronomy was their ,canon1 and ,deuteronomy said that if men sinned they decayed1 if they were righteous they prospered4 ,how different were the facts of experience6 ,the evil men succeeded3 the good won no gain by their goodness1 nor did their mourning for the sins of their people work any effect4 ,bitterest of all1 they had to congratulate wickedness in high places1 and ,jehovah ,himself suffered it to go unpunished4 ,such things1 says 8,malachi10 spake they that feared ,god to each other--tempted thereto by the dogmatic form of their religion1 and forgetful of all that ,jeremiah and the ,evangelist of the ,exile had taught them of the value of righteous sufferings4 ,nor does 8,malachi0 remind them of this4 ,his message is that the ,lord remembers them1 has their names written before ,him1 and when the day of ,his action comes they shall be separated from the wicked and spared4 ,this is simply to transfer the fulfilment of the promise of ,deuteronomy to the future and to another dispensation4 ,prophecy still works within the ,law4 ,the ,apocalypse of this last judgment is one of the grandest in all ,scripture4 ,to the wicked it shall be a terrible fire1 root and branch shall they be burned out1 but to the righteous a fair morning of ,god1 as when dawn comes to those who have been sick and sleepless through the black night1 and its beams bring healing1 even as to the popular belief of ,israel it was the rays of the morning sun which distilled the dew4#ajfj ,they break into life and energy1 like young calves leaping from the dark pen into the early sunshine4 ,to this morning landscape a grim figure is added4 ,they shall tread down the wicked and the arrogant like ashes beneath their feet4 ,your words are hard upon ,me1 saith ,jehovah4 ,ye say1 8,what have we said against ,thee80 ,ye have said1 8,it is vain to serve ,god10 and 8,what gain is it to us to have kept ,his charge1 or to have walked in funeral garb before ,jehovah of ,hosts8 ,even now we have got to congratulate the arrogant2 yea1 the workers of wickedness are fortified2 yea1 they tempt ,god and escape60 ,such things#ajfa spake they that fear ,jehovah to each other4 ,but ,jehovah gave ear and heard1 and a book of remembrance#ajfb was written before ,him about those who fear ,jehovah1 and those who keep in mind#ajfc ,his ,name4 ,and they shall be ,mine own property1 saith ,jehovah of ,hosts1 in the day when ,i rise to action1#ajfd and ,i will spare them even as a man spares his son that serves him4 ,and ye shall once more see the difference between righteous and wicked1 between him that serves ,god and him that does not serve ,him4 ,for1 lo6 the day is coming that shall burn like a furnace1 and all the overweening and every one that works wickedness shall be as stubble1 and the day that is coming shall devour them1 saith ,jehovah of ,hosts1 so that there be left them neither root nor branch4 ,but to you that fear ,my ,name the ,sun of ,righteousness shall rise with healing in ,his wings1 and ye shall go forth and leap#ajfe like calves of the stall4#ajff ,and ye shall tread down the wicked1 for they shall be as ashes#ajfg beneath the soles of your feet1 in the day that ,i begin to do1 saith ,jehovah of ,hosts4 #h4 ,,the ,,return ,,of ,,elijah 7,chap4 iii4 #bb-bd ,heb41 iv4 #c-e ,eng474 ,with his last word the prophet significantly calls upon the people to remember the ,law4 ,this is their one hope before the coming of the great and terrible day of the ,lord4 ,but1 in order that the ,law may have full effect1 ,prophecy will be sent to bring it home to the hearts of the people--,prophecy in the person of her founder and most drastic representative4 ,nothing could better gather up than this conjunction does that mingling of ,law and of ,prophecy which we have seen to be so characteristic of the work of 8,malachi40 ,only we must not overlook the fact that 8,malachi0 expects this prophecy1 which with the ,law is to work the conversion of the people1 not in the continuance of the prophetic succession by the appearance of original personalities1 developing further the great principles of their order1 but in the return of the first prophet ,elijah4 ,this is surely the confession of ,prophecy that the number of her servants is exhausted and her message to ,israel fulfilled4 ,she can now do no more for the people than she has done4 ,but she will summon up her old energy and fire in the return of her most powerful personality1 and make one grand effort to convert the nation before the ,lord come and strike it with judgment4 ,remember the ,torah of ,moses1 ,my servant1 with which ,i charged him in ,horeb for all ,israel3 statutes and judgments4 ,lo6 ,i am sending to you ,elijah the prophet1 before the coming of the great and terrible day of ,jehovah4 ,and he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the sons1 and the heart of the sons to their fathers1 ere ,i come and strike the land with the ,ban4 99 99 99 99 99 8,malachi0 makes this promise of the ,law in the dialect of ,deuteronomy3 statutes and judgments with which ,jehovah charged ,moses for ,israel4 ,but the ,law he enforces is not that which ,god delivered to ,moses on the plains of ,shittim1 but that which ,he gave him in ,mount ,horeb4 ,and so it came to pass4 ,in a very few years after 8,malachi0 prophesied ,ezra the ,scribe brought from ,babylon the great ,levitical ,code1 which appears to have been arranged there1 while the colony in ,jerusalem were still organising their life under the ,deuteronomic legislation4 ,in #ddd ,b4,c4 this ,levitical ,code1 along with ,deuteronomy1 became by covenant between the people and their ,god their ,canon and ,law4 ,and in the next of our prophets1 ,joel1 we shall find its full influence at work4 ,,footnotes3 #ajjb ,see above1 p4 #cdc4 #ajjc ,see above1 ,chapter ,,xiv4 on 8,edom and ,israel40 #ajjd ,heb4 xii4 #af4 #ajje ,romans ix4 #ac4 ,the citation is from the ,,lxx43 1 4 #ajjf ,this was mainly after the beginning of exile4 ,shortly before that ,deut4 xxiii4 #g says3 ,thou shalt not abhor an ,edomite1 for he is thy brother4 #ajjg ,so even so recently as #ahhh1 ,stade1 ,gesch4 des ,volkes ,israel1 ,,ii41 p4 #aab4 #ajjh ,see above1 p4 #afi4 ,this interpretation is there said to be ,wellhausen's2 but ,cheyne1 in a note contributed to the ,z4,a4,t4,w41 #ahid1 p4 #adb1 points out that ,grtz1 in an article 8,die ,anfnge der ,nabater-,herrschaft0 in the ,monatschrift fr ,wissenschaft u4 ,geschichte des ,judenthums1 #ahge1 pp4 #fj-ff1 had already explained 8,mal40 i4 #a-e as describing the conquest of ,edom by the ,nabateans4 ,this is adopted by ,buhl in his ,gesch4 der ,edomiter1 p4 #gi4 #ajji ,the verb in the feminine indicates that the population of ,edom is meant4 #ajaj i4 #f4 #ajaa ,psalm ciii4 #i4 ,in ,psalm lxxiii4 #ae believers are called ,his children2 but elsewhere sonship is claimed only for the king--ii4 #g1 lxxxix4 #bg f4 #ajab ,hosea xi4 #a ff4 7though even here the idea of discipline is present7 and ,isa4 lxiii4 #af4 #ajac iii4 #d4 #ajad ,isa4 lxiv4 #h1 cf4 ,deut4 xxxii4 #aa where the discipline of ,israel by ,jehovah1 shaking them out of their desert circumstance and tempting them to their great career in ,palestine1 is likened to the father-eagle's training of his new-fledged brood to fly3 ,a4,v4 mother-eagle4 #ajae ,cf4 ,cheyne1 ,origin of the ,psalter1 p4 #cje1 n4 ,o4 #ajaf ,vol4 ,i41 ,chap4 ,,ix4 #ajag ,or used polluted things with respect to ,thee4 ,for similar construction see ,zech4 vii4 #e3 4 ,this in answer to ,wellhausen1 who1 on the ground that the phrase gives a wrong object and destroys the connection1 deletes it4 ,further he takes 1 not in the sense of pollution1 but as equivalent to 1 despised4 #ajah ,obviously in their hearts thinking4 #ajai ,,lxx4 is there no harm8 #ajbj ,pacify the face of1 as in ,zechariah4 #ajba ,so ,,lxx4 ,heb4 is great1 but the phrase is probably written by mistake from the instance further on3 is glorified could scarcely have been used in the very literal version of the ,,lxx4 unless it had been found in the original4 #ajbb 1 here to be taken in the sense it bears in ,arabic of sacred place4 ,see on ,zeph4 ii4 #aa3 above1 p4 #fd1 n4 #aei4 #ajbc ,wellhausen deletes as a gloss on 1 and the vau before 4 #ajbd ,heb4 say4 #ajbe ,heb4 also has 1 found besides only in ,keri of ,isa4 lvii4 #ai4 ,but ,robertson ,smith 7,o4,t4,j4,c41 #b1 p4 #ddd7 is probably right in considering this an error for 1 which has kept its place after the correction was inserted4 #ajbf ,this clause is obscure1 and comes in awkwardly before that which follows it4 ,wellhausen omits4 #ajbg 4 ,wellhausen emends borrowing the first three letters from the previous word4 ,,lxx4 4 #ajbh ,,lxx4 #ajbi ,cf4 ,lev4 iii4 #a1 #f4 #ajcj ,quoted by ,pusey1 in loco4 #ajca ,see ,cheyne1 ,origin of the ,psalter1 #bib and #cje f4 #ajcb ,isaiah i4--xxxix4 7,expositor's ,bible71 p4 #ahh4 #ajcc ,see most admirable remarks on this subject in ,archdeacon ,wilson's ,essays and ,addresses1 ,no4 ,,iii4 8,the ,need of giving ,higher ,biblical ,teaching1 and ,instruction on the ,fundamental ,questions of ,religion and ,christianity40 ,london3 ,macmillan1 #ahhg4 #ajcd ,doubtful4 ,,lxx4 adds 3 obvious redundancy1 if not mere dittography4 #ajce ,an obscure phrase1 1 ,behold1 ,i rebuke you the seed4 ,,lxx4 ,behold1 ,i separate from you the arm or shoulder1 reading for and perhaps for 1 both of which readings ,wellhausen adopts1 and ,ewald the former4 ,the reference may be to the arm of the priest raised in blessing4 ,orelli reads seed posterity4 ,it may mean the whole seed or class or kind of the priests4 ,the next clause tempts one to suppose that contains the verb of this one1 as if scattering something4 #ajcf ,heb4 1 and one shall bear you to it4 ,hitzig3 filth shall be cast on them1 and they on the filth4 #ajcg ,others would render ,my covenant being with ,levi4 ,wellhausen3 for ,my covenant was with ,levi4 ,but this new ,charge or covenant seems contrasted with a former covenant in the next verse4 #ajch ,num4 xxv4 #ab4 #ajci ,this sentence is a literal translation of the ,hebrew4 ,with other punctuation ,wellhausen renders ,my covenant was with him1 life and peace ,i gave them to him1 fear444 #ajdj ,or peace1 4 #ajda ,or revelation1 ,torah4 #ajdb 3 cf4 ,amos iv4 #ajdc ,see above1 p4 #cdd4 #ajdd ,here occur the two verses and a clause1 #aa-ac;a1 upon the foreign marriages1 which seem to be an intrusion4 #ajde ,see ,vol4 ,i41 p4 #bei4 #ajdf ,heb4 literally3 ,and not one did1 and a remnant of spirit was his2 which 7#a7 ,a4,v4 renders3 ,and did not he make one8 ,yet he had the residue of the spirit1 which ,pusey accepts and applies to ,adam and ,eve1 interpreting the second clause as the breath of life1 by which ,adam became a living soul 7,gen4 ii4 #g74 ,in ,gen4 i4 #bg ,adam and ,eve are called one4 ,in that case the meaning would be that the law of marriage was prior to that of divorce1 as in the words of our ,lord1 ,matt4 xix4 #d-f4 7#b7 ,the ,hebrew might be rendered1 ,not one has done this who had any spirit left in him4 ,so ,hitzig and ,orelli4 ,in that case the following clauses of the verse are referred to ,abraham4 8,but what about the ,one80 7,,lxx4 insert ye say after ,but7--the one who did put away his wife4 ,answer3 ,he was seeking a ,divine seed4 ,the objection to this interpretation is that ,abraham did not cast off the wife of his youth1 ,sarah1 but the foreigner ,hagar4 7#c7 ,ewald made a very different proposal3 ,and has not ,one created them1 and all the ,spirit 7cf4 ,zeph4 i4 #d7 is ,his8 ,and what doth the ,one seek8 ,a ,divine seed4 ,so ,reinke4 ,similarly ,kirkpatrick 7,doct4 of the ,proph41 p4 #ejb73 ,and did not ,one makeyou both8 ,and why didthe ,one do so8 ,seeking a goodly seed4 7#d7 ,wellhausen goes further along the same line4 ,reading for 1 and for 1 and for 1 he translates3 ,hath not the same ,god created and sustained your 78 our7 breath8 ,and what does ,he desire8 ,a seed of ,god4 #ajdg ,literally3 let none be unfaithful to the wife of thy youth1 a curious instance of the ,hebrew habit of mixing the pronominal references4 ,wellhausen's emendation is unnecessary4 #ajdh ,see ,gesenius and ,ewald for ,arabic analogies for the use of clothing wife4 #ajdi ,see above1 p4 #cdj4 #ajej ,wellhausen omits4 #ajea ,heb4 1 caller and answerer4 ,but ,,lxx4 read 1 witness 7see iii4 #e71 though it pointed it differently4 #ajeb #ac;a1 ,but secondly ye do this1 is the obvious addition of the editor in order to connect his intrusion with what follows4 #ajec ,see above1 pp4 #caa1 #cac f4 #ajed ,delete silver3 the longer ,,lxx4 text shows how easily it was added4 #ajee ,made an end of1 reading the verb as ,piel 7,orelli74 ,,lxx4 refrain from4 ,your sins are understood1 the sins which have always characterised the people4 ,,lxx4 connects the opening of the next verse with this1 and with a different reading of the first word translates from the sins of your fathers4 #ajef ,heb4 1 only here and ,prov4 xxii4 #cb4 ,,lxx4 read 1 supplant1 cheat1 which ,wellhausen adopts4 #ajeg 1 the heave offering1 the tax or tribute given to the sanctuary or priests and associates with the tithes1 as here in ,deut4 xii4 #aa1 to be eaten by the offerer 7ib4 #ag71 but in ,ezekiel by the priests 7xliv4 #cj72 taken by the people and the ,levites to the ,temple treasury for the priests 7,neh4 x4 #ch1 xii4 #dd73 corn1 wine and oil4 ,in the ,priestly ,writing it signifies the part of each sacrifice which was the priests' due4 ,ezekiel also uses it of the part of the ,holy ,land that fell to the prince and priests4 #ajeh in its later meaning3 cf4 ,job xxiv4 #e2 ,prov4 xxxi4 #ae4 #ajei ,i4e4 locust4 #ajfj ,a dew of lights4 ,see ,isaiah i4--xxxix4 7,expositor's ,bible71 pp4 #ddh f4 #ajfa ,so ,,lxx42 ,heb4 then4 #ajfb ,ezek4 xiii4 #i4 #ajfc 1 to think1 plan1 has much the same meaning as here in ,isa4 xiii4 #ag1 xxxiii4 #h1 liii4 #c4 #ajfd ,heb4 when ,i am doing2 but in the sense in which the word is used of ,jehovah's decisive and final doing1 ,psalms xx41 xxxii41 etc4 #ajfe ,hab4 i4 #h4 #ajff ,see note to ,amos vi4 #d3 ,vol4 ,i41 p4 #agd1 n4 #c4 #ajfg ,or dust4 ,,joel ,the ,day of ,jehovah is great and very awful1 and who may abide it8 ,but now the oracle of ,jehovah--,turn ye to ,me with all your heart1 and with fasting and with weeping and with mourning4 ,and rend your hearts and not your garments1 and turn to ,jehovah your ,god1 for gracious and merciful is ,he1 long-suffering and abounding in love4 ,,chapter ,,xxvii ,,the ,,book ,,of ,,joel ,in the criticism of the ,book of ,joel there exist differences of opinion--upon its date1 the exact reference of its statements and its relation to parallel passages in other prophets--as wide as even those by which the ,book of ,obadiah has been assigned to every century between the tenth and the fourth before ,christ4#ajfh ,as in the case of ,obadiah1 the problem is not entangled with any doctrinal issue or question of accuracy2 but while we saw that ,obadiah was not involved in the central controversy of the ,old ,testament1 the date of the ,law1 not a little in ,joel turns upon the latter4 ,and1 besides1 certain descriptions raise the large question between a literal and an allegorical interpretation4 ,thus the ,book of ,joel carries the student further into the problems of ,old ,testament ,criticism1 and forms an even more excellent introduction to the latter1 than does the ,book of ,obadiah4 #a4 ,,the ,,date ,,of ,,the ,,book4 ,in the history of prophecy the ,book of ,joel must be either very early or very late1 and with few exceptions the leading critics place it either before #hjj ,b4,c4 or after #ejj4 ,so great a difference is due to most substantial reasons4 ,unlike every other prophet1 except ,haggai1 8,malachi0 and 8,zechariah0 ix4--xiv41 ,joel mentions neither ,assyria1 which emerged upon the prophetic horizon about #gfj1ajfi nor the ,babylonian ,empire1 which had fallen by #ecg4 ,the presumption is that he wrote before #gfj or after #ecg4 ,unlike all the prophets1 too1#ajgj ,joel does not charge his people with civic or national sins2 nor does his book bear any trace of the struggle between the righteous and unrighteous in ,israel1 nor of that between the spiritual worshippers of ,jehovah and the idolaters4 ,the book addresses an undivided nation1 who know no ,god but ,jehovah2 and again the presumption is that ,joel wrote before ,amos and his successors had started the spiritual antagonisms which rent ,israel in twain1 or after the ,law had been accepted by the whole people under ,nehemiah4#ajga ,the same wide alternative is suggested by the style and phraseology4 ,joel's ,hebrew is simple and direct4 ,either he is an early writer1 or imitates early writers4 ,his book contains a number of phrases and verses identical1 or nearly identical1 with those of prophets from ,amos to 8,malachi40 ,either they all borrowed from ,joel1 or he borrowed from them4#ajgb ,of this alternative modern criticism at first preferred the earlier solution1 and dated ,joel before ,amos4 ,so ,credner in his ,commentary in #ahca1 and following him ,hitzig1 ,bleek1 ,ewald1 ,delitzsch1 ,keil1 ,kuenen 7up to #ahfd71ajgc ,pusey and others4 ,so1 too1 at first some living critics of the first rank1 who1 like ,kuenen1 have since changed their opinion4 ,and so1 even still1 ,kirkpatrick 7on the whole71 ,von ,orelli1 ,robertson1#ajgd ,stanley ,leathes and ,sinker4#ajge ,the reasons which these scholars have given for the early date of ,joel are roughly as follows4#ajgf ,his book occurs among the earliest of the ,twelve3 while it is recognised that the order of these is not strictly chronological1 it is alleged that there is a division between the pre-exilic and post-exilic prophets1 and that ,joel is found among the former4 ,the vagueness of his representations in general1 and of his pictures of the ,day of ,jehovah in particular1 is attributed to the simplicity of the earlier religion of ,israel1 and to the want of that analysis of its leading conceptions which was the work of later prophets4#ajgg ,his horror of the interruption of the daily offerings in the ,temple1 caused by the plague of locusts1#ajgh is ascribed to a fear which pervaded the primitive ages of all peoples4#ajgi ,in ,joel's attitude towards other nations1 whom he condemns to judgment1 ,ewald saw 8the old unsubdued warlike spirit of the times of ,deborah and ,david40 ,the prophet's absorption in the ravages of the locusts is held to reflect the feeling of a purely agricultural community1 such as ,israel was before the eighth century4 ,the absence of the name of ,assyria from the book is assigned to the same unwillingness to give the name as we see in ,amos and the earlier prophecies of ,isaiah1 and it is thought by some that1 though not named1 the ,assyrians are symbolised by the locusts4 ,the absence of all mention of the ,law is also held by some to prove an early date3 though other critics1 who believe that the ,levitical legislation was extant in ,israel from the earliest times1 find proof of this in ,joel's insistence upon the daily offering4 ,the absence of all mention of a king and the prominence given to the priests are explained by assigning the prophecy to the minority of ,king ,joash of ,judah1 when ,jehoyada the priest was regent2#ajhj the charge against ,egypt and ,edom of spilling innocent blood by ,shishak's invasion of ,judah1#ajha and by the revolt of the ,edomites under ,jehoram2#ajhb the charge against the ,philistines and ,phnicians by the ,chronicler's account of ,philistine raids#ajhc in the reign of ,jehoram of ,judah1 and by the oracles of ,amos against both nations2#ajhd and the mention of the ,vale of ,jehoshaphat by that king's defeat of ,moab1 ,ammon and ,edom in the ,vale of ,berakhah4#ajhe ,these allusions being recognised1 it was deduced from them that the parallels between ,joel and ,amos were due to ,amos having quoted from ,joel4#ajhf ,these reasons are not all equally cogent1#ajhg and even the strongest of them do not prove more than the possibility of an early date for ,joel4#ajhh ,nor do they meet every historical difficulty4 ,the minority of ,joash1 upon which they converge1 fell at a time when ,aram was not only prominent to the thoughts of ,israel1 but had already been felt to be an enemy as powerful as the ,philistines or ,edomites4 ,but the ,book of ,joel does not mention ,aram4 ,it mentions the ,greeks1#ajhi and1 although we have no right to say that such a notice was impossible in ,israel in the ninth century1 it was not only improbable1 but no other ,hebrew document from before the ,exile speaks of ,greece1 and in particular ,amos does not when describing the ,phnicians as slave-traders4#ajij ,the argument that the ,book of ,joel must be early because it was placed among the first six of the ,twelve ,prophets by the arrangers of the ,prophetic ,canon1 who could not have forgotten ,joel's date had he lived after #dej1 loses all force from the fact that in the same group of pre-exilic prophets we find the exilic ,obadiah and the post-exilic ,jonah1 both of them in precedence to ,micah4 ,the argument for the early date of ,joel is1 therefore1 not conclusive4 ,but there are besides serious objections to it1 which make for the other solution of the alternative we started from1 and lead us to place ,joel after the establishment of the ,law by ,ezra and ,nehemiah in #ddd ,b4,c4 ,a post-exilic date was first proposed by ,vatke1#ajia and then defended by ,hilgenfeld1#ajib and by ,duhm in #ahge4ajic ,from this time the theory made rapid way1 winning over many who had previously held the early date of ,joel1 like ,oort1#ajid ,kuenen1#ajie ,a4 ,b4 ,davidson1#ajif ,driver and ,cheyne1#ajig perhaps also ,wellhausen1#ajih and finding acceptance and new proofs from a gradually increasing majority of younger critics1 ,merx1#ajii ,robertson ,smith1#aajj ,stade1#aaja ,matthes and ,scholz1#aajb ,holzinger1#aajc ,farrar1#aajd ,kautzsch1#aaje ,cornill1#aajf ,wildeboer1#aajg ,g4 ,b4 ,gray#aajh and ,nowack4#aaji ,the reasons which have led to this formidable change of opinion in favour of the late date of the ,book of ,joel are as follows4 ,in the first place1 the ,exile of ,judah appears in it as already past4 ,this is proved1 not by the ambiguous phrase1 when ,i shall bring again the captivity of ,judah and ,jerusalem1#aaaj but by the plain statement that the heathen have scattered ,israel among the nations and divided their land4#aaaa ,the plunder of the ,temple seems also to be implied4#aaab ,moreover1 no great world-power is pictured as either threatening or actually persecuting ,god's people2 but ,israel's active enemies and enslavers are represented as her own neighbours1 ,edomites1 ,philistines and ,phnicians1 and the last are represented as selling ,jewish captives to the ,greeks4 ,all this suits1 if it does not absolutely prove1 the ,persian age1 before the reign of ,artaxerxes ,ochus1 who was the first ,persian king to treat the ,jews with cruelty4#aaac ,the ,greeks1 ,javan1 do not appear in any ,hebrew writer before the ,exile2#aaad the form in which their name is given by ,joel1 ,b'ne ha-,jevanim1 has admittedly a late sound about it1#aaae and we know from other sources that it was in the fifth and fourth centuries that ,syrian slaves were in demand in ,greece4#aaaf ,similarly with the internal condition of the ,jews as reflected in ,joel4 ,no king is mentioned2 but the priests are prominent1 and the elders are introduced at least once4#aaag ,it is an agricultural calamity1 and that alone1 unmixed with any political alarm1 which is the omen of the coming ,day of the ,lord4 ,all this suits the state of ,jerusalem under the ,persians4 ,take again the religious temper and emphasis of the book4 ,the latter is laid1 as we have seen1 very remarkably upon the horror of the interruption by the plague of locusts of the daily meal and drink offerings1 and in the later history of ,israel the proofs are many of the exceeding importance with which the regularity of this was regarded4#aaah ,this1 says ,professor ,a4 ,b4 ,davidson1 8is very unlike the way in which all other prophets down to ,jeremiah speak of the sacrificial service40 ,the priests1 too1 are called to take the initiative2 and the summons to a solemn and formal fast1 without any notice of the particular sins of the people or exhortations to distinct virtues1 contrasts with the attitude to fasts of the earlier prophets1 and with their insistence upon a change of life as the only acceptable form of penitence4#aaai ,and another contrast with the earliest prophets is seen in the general apocalyptic atmosphere and colouring of the ,book of ,joel1 as well as in some of the particular figures in which this is expressed1 and which are derived from later prophets like ,zephaniah and ,ezekiel4#aabj ,these evidences for a late date are supported1 on the whole1 by the language of the book4 ,of this ,merx furnishes many details1 and by a careful examination1 which makes due allowance for the poetic form of the book and for possible glosses1 ,holzinger has shown that there are symptoms in vocabulary1 grammar and syntax which at least are more reconcilable with a late than with an early date4#aaba ,there are a number of ,aramaic words1 of ,hebrew words used in the sense in which they are used by ,aramaic1 but by no other ,hebrew1 writers1 and several terms and constructions which appear only in the later books of the ,old ,testament or very seldom in the early ones4#aabb ,it is true that these do not stand in a large proportion to the rest of ,joel's vocabulary and grammar1 which is classic and suitable to an early period of the literature2 but this may be accounted for by the large use which the prophet makes of the very words of earlier writers4 ,take this large use into account1 and the unmistakable ,aramaisms of the book become even more emphatic in their proof of a late date4 ,the literary parallels between ,joel and other writers are unusually many for so small a book4 ,they number at least twenty in seventy-two verses4 ,the other books of the ,old ,testament in which they occur are about twelve4 ,where one writer has parallels with many1 we do not necessarily conclude that he is the borrower1 unless we find that some of the phrases common to both are characteristic of the other writers1 or that1 in his text of them1 there are differences from theirs which may reasonably be reckoned to be of a later origin4 ,but that both of these conditions are found in the parallels between ,joel and other prophets has been shown by ,prof4 ,driver and ,mr4 ,g4 ,b4 ,gray4 8,several of the parallels--either in their entirety or by virtue of certain words which they contain--have their affinities solely or chiefly in the later writings4 ,but the significance of this is increased when the very difference between a passage in ,joel and its parallel in another book consists in a word or phrase characteristic of the later centuries4 ,that a passage in a writer of the ninth century should differ from its parallel in a subsequent writer by the presence of a word elsewhere confined to the later literature would be strange2 a single instance would not1 indeed1 be inexplicable in view of the scantiness of extant writings2 but every additional instance--though itself not very convincing--renders the strangeness greater40 ,and again1 8the variations in some of the parallels as found in ,joel have other common peculiarities4 ,this also finds its natural explanation in the fact that ,joel quotes3 for that the same author even when quoting from different sources should quote with variations of the same character is natural1 but that different authors quoting from a common source should follow the same method of quotation is improbable40#aabc 8,while in some of the parallels a comparison discloses indications that the phrase in ,joel is probably the later1 in other cases1 even though the expression may in itself be met with earlier1 it becomes frequent only in a later age1 and the use of it by ,joel increases the presumption that he stands by the side of the later writers40#aabd ,in face of so many converging lines of evidence1 we shall not wonder that there should have come about so great a change in the opinion of the majority of critics on the date of ,joel1 and that it should now be assigned by them to a post-exilic date4 ,some place it in the sixth century before ,christ1#aabe some in the first half of the fifth before 8,malachi0 and ,nehemiah1#aabf but the most after the full establishment of the ,law by ,ezra and ,nehemiah in #ddd ,b4,c4#aabg ,it is difficult1 perhaps impossible1 to decide4 ,nothing certain can be deduced from the mention of the city wall in chap4 ii4 #i1 from which ,robertson ,smith and ,cornill infer that ,nehemiah's walls were already built4 ,nor can we be sure that ,joel quotes the phrase1 before the great and terrible day of ,jehovah come1 from 8,malachi10#aabh although this is rendered probable by the character of ,joel's other parallels4 ,but the absence of all reference to the prophets as a class1 the promise of the rigorous exclusion of foreigners from ,jerusalem1#aabi the condemnation to judgment of all the heathen1 and the strong apocalyptic character of the book1 would incline us to place it after ,ezra rather than before4 ,how far after1 it is impossible to say1 but the absence of feeling against ,persia requires a date before the cruelties inflicted by ,artaxerxes about #cfj4aacj ,one solution1 which has lately been offered for the problems of date presented by the ,book of ,joel1 deserves some notice4 ,in his ,german translation of ,driver's ,introduction to the ,old ,testament1#aaca ,rothstein questions the integrity of the prophecy1 and alleges reasons for dividing it into two sections4 ,chaps4 i4 and ii4 7,heb42 i4--ii4 #bg ,eng47 he assigns to an early author1 writing in the minority of ,king ,joash1 but chaps4 iii4 and iv4 7,heb42 ii4 #bh--;iii4 ,eng47 to a date after the ,exile1 while ii4 #bj1 which1 it will be remembered1 ,robertson ,smith takes as a gloss1 he attributes to the editor who has joined the two sections together4 ,his reasons are that chaps4 i4 and ii4 are entirely taken up with the physical plague of locusts1 and no troubles from heathen are mentioned2 while chaps4 iii4 and iv4 say nothing of a physical plague1 but the evils they deplore for ,israel are entirely political1 the assaults of enemies4 ,now it is quite within the bounds of possibility that chaps4 iii4 and iv4 are from another hand than chaps4 i4 and ii43 we have nothing to disprove that4 ,but1 on the other hand1 there is nothing to prove it4 ,on the contrary1 the possibility of all four chapters being from the same hand is very obvious4 ,joel mentions no heathen in the first chapter1 because he is engrossed with the plague of locusts4 ,but when this has passed1 it is quite natural that he should take up the standing problem of ,israel's history--their relation to heathen peoples4 ,there is no discrepancy between the two different subjects1 nor between the styles in which they are respectively treated4 ,rothstein's arguments for an early date for chaps4 i4 and ii4 have been already answered1 and when we come to the exposition of them we shall find still stronger reasons for assigning them to the end of the fifth century before ,christ4 ,the assault on the integrity of the prophecy may therefore be said to have failed1 though no one who remembers the composite character of the prophetical books can deny that the question is still open4#aacb #b4 ,,the ,,interpretation ,,of ,,the ,,book3 ,,is ,,it ,,description1 ,,allegory ,,or ,,apocalypse8 ,another question to which we must address ourselves before we can pass to the exposition of ,joel's prophecies is of the attitude and intention of the prophet4 ,does he describe or predict8 ,does he give history or allegory8 ,joel starts from a great plague of locusts1 which he describes not only in the ravages they commit upon the land1 but in their ominous foreshadowing of the ,day of the ,lord4 ,they are the heralds of ,god's near judgment upon the nation4 ,let the latter repent instantly with a day of fasting and prayer4 ,peradventure ,jehovah will relent1 and spare ,his people4 ,so far chap4 i4 #b--;ii4 #ag4 ,then comes a break4 ,an uncertain interval appears to elapse2 and in chap4 ii4 #ah we are told that ,jehovah's zeal for ,israel has been stirred1 and ,he has had pity on ,his folk4 ,promises follow1 first1 of deliverance from the plague and of restoration of the harvests it has consumed1 and second1 of the outpouring of the ,spirit on all classes of the community3 chap4 ii4 #ag-cb 7,eng42 ii4 #ag--;iii4 ,heb474 ,chap4 iii4 7,eng42 iv4 ,heb47 gives another picture of the ,day of ,jehovah1 this time described as a judgment upon the heathen enemies of ,israel4 ,they shall be brought together1 condemned judicially by ,him1 and slain by ,his hosts1 ,his 8supernatural0 hosts4 ,jerusalem shall be freed from the feet of strangers1 and the fertility of the land restored4 ,these are the contents of the book4 ,do they describe an actual plague of locusts1 already experienced by the people8 ,or do they predict this as still to come8 ,and again1 are the locusts which they describe real locusts1 or a symbol and allegory of the human foes of ,israel8 ,to these two questions1 which in a measure cross and involve each other1 three kinds of answer have been given4 ,a large and growing majority of critics of all schools#aacc hold that ,joel starts1 like other prophets1 from the facts of experience4 ,his locusts1 though described with poetic hyperbole--for are they not the vanguard of the awful ,day of ,god's judgment8--are real locusts2 their plague has just been felt by his contemporaries1 whom he summons to repent1 and to whom1 when they have repented1 he brings promises of the restoration of their ruined harvests1 the outpouring of the ,spirit1 and judgment upon their foes4 ,prediction is therefore found only in the second half of the book 7ii4 #ah onwards73 it rests upon a basis of narrative and exhortation which fills the first half4 ,but a number of other critics have argued 7and with great force7 that the prophet's language about the locusts is too aggravated and too ominous to be limited to the natural plague which these insects periodically inflicted upon ,palestine4 ,joel 7they reason7 would hardly have connected so common an adversity with so singular and ultimate a crisis as the ,day of the ,lord4 ,under the figure of locusts he must be describing some more fateful agency of ,god's wrath upon ,israel4 ,more than one trait of his description appears to imply a human army4 ,it can only be one or other1 or all1 of those heathen powers whom at different periods ,god raised up to chastise ,his delinquent people2 and this opinion is held to be supported by the facts that chap4 ii4 #bj speaks of them as the ,northern and chap4 iii4 7,eng42 iv4 ,heb47 deals with the heathen4 ,the locusts of chaps4 i4 and ii4 are the same as the heathen of chap4 iii4 ,in chaps4 i4 and ii4 they are described as threatening ,israel1 but on condition of ,israel repenting 7chap4 ii4 #ah ff47 the ,day of the ,lord which they herald shall be their destruction and not ,israel's 7chap4 iii474#aacd ,the supporters of this allegorical interpretation of ,joel are1 however1 divided among themselves as to whether the heathen powers symbolised by the locusts are described as having already afflicted ,israel or are predicted as still to come4 ,hilgenfeld1#aace for instance1 says that the prophet in chaps4 i4 and ii4 speaks of their ravages as already past4 ,to him their fourfold plague described in chap4 i4 #d symbolises four ,persian assaults upon ,palestine1 after the last of which in #ceh the prophecy must therefore have been written4#aacf ,others read them as still to come4 ,in our own country ,pusey has been the strongest supporter of this theory4#aacg ,to him the whole book1 written before ,amos1 is prediction4 8,it extends from the prophet's own day to the end of time40 ,joel calls the scourge the ,northern3 he directs the priests to pray for its removal1 that the heathen may not rule over ,god's heritage2#aach he describes the agent as a responsible one2#aaci his imagery goes far beyond the effects of locusts1 and threatens drought1 fire and plague1#aadj the assault of cities and the terrifying of peoples4#aada ,the scourge is to be destroyed in a way physically inapplicable to locusts2#aadb and the promises of its removal include the remedy of ravages which mere locusts could not inflict3 the captivity of ,judah is to be turned1 and the land recovered from foreigners who are to be banished from it4#aadc ,pusey thus reckons as future the relenting of ,god1 consequent upon the people's penitence3 chap4 ii4 #ah ff4 ,the past tenses in which it is related1 he takes as instances of the well-known prophetic perfect1 according to which the prophets express their assurance of things to come by describing them as if they had already happened4 ,this is undoubtedly a strong case for the predictive and allegorical character of the ,book of ,joel2 but a little consideration will show us that the facts on which it is grounded are capable of a different explanation than that which it assumes1 and that ,pusey has overlooked a number of other facts which force us to a literal interpretation of the locusts as a plague already past1 even though we feel they are described in the language of poetical hyperbole4 ,for1 in the first place1 ,pusey's theory implies that the prophecy is addressed to a future generation1 who shall be alive when the predicted invasions of heathen come upon the land4 ,whereas ,joel obviously addresses his own contemporaries4 ,the prophet and his hearers are one4 ,before our eyes1 he says1 the food has been cut off4#aadd ,as obviously1 he speaks of the plague of locusts as of something that has just happened4 ,his hearers can compare its effects with past disasters1 which it has far exceeded2#aade and it is their duty to hand down the story of it to future generations4#aadf ,again1 his description is that of a physical1 not of a political1 plague4 ,fields and gardens1 vines and figs1 are devastated by being stripped and gnawed4 ,drought accompanies the locusts1 the seed shrivels beneath the clods1 the trees languish1 the cattle pant for want of water4#aadg ,these are not the trail which an invading army leave behind them4 ,in support of his theory that human hosts are meant1 ,pusey points to the verses which bid the people pray that the heathen rule not over them1 and which describe the invaders as attacking cities4#aadh ,but the former phrase may be rendered with equal propriety1 that the heathen make not satirical songs about them2#aadi and as to the latter1 not only do locusts invade towns exactly as ,joel describes1 but his words that the invader steals into houses like a thief are far more applicable to the insidious entrance of locusts than to the bold and noisy assault of a storming party4 ,moreover ,pusey and the other allegorical interpreters of the book overlook the fact that ,joel never so much as hints at the invariable effects of a human invasion1 massacre and plunder4 ,he describes no slaying and no looting2 but when he comes to the promise that ,jehovah will restore the losses which have been sustained by ,his people1 he defines them as the years which ,his army has eaten4#aaej ,but all this proof is clenched by the fact that ,joel compares the locusts to actual soldiers4#aaea ,they are like horsemen1 the sound of them is like chariots1 they run like horses1 and like men of war they leap upon the wall4 ,joel could never have compared a real army to itself6 ,the allegorical interpretation is therefore untenable4 ,but some critics1 while admitting this1 are yet not disposed to take the first part of the book for narrative4 ,they admit that the prophet means a plague of locusts1 but they deny that he is speaking of a plague already past1 and hold that his locusts are still to come1 that they are as much a part of the future as the pouring out of the ,spirit#aaeb and the judgment of the heathen in the ,valley of ,jehoshaphat4#aaec ,all alike1 they are signs or accompaniments of the ,day of ,jehovah1 and that ,day has still to break4 ,the prophet's scenery is apocalyptic2 the locusts are 8eschatological locusts10 not historical ones4 ,this interpretation of ,joel has been elaborated by ,dr4 ,adalbert ,merx1 and the following is a summary of his opinions4#aaed ,after examining the book along all the lines of exposition which have been proposed1 ,merx finds himself unable to trace any plan or even sign of a plan2 and his only escape from perplexity is the belief that no plan can ever have been meant by the author4 ,joel weaves in one past1 present and future1 paints situations only to blot them out and put others in their place1 starts many processes but develops none4 ,his book shows no insight into ,god's plan with ,israel1 but is purely external2 the bearing and the end of it is the material prosperity of the little land of ,judah4 ,from this ,merx concludes that the book is not an original work1 but a mere summary of passages from previous prophets1 that with a few reflections of the life of the ,jews after the ,return lead us to assign it to that period of literary culture which ,nehemiah inaugurated by the collection of national writings and which was favoured by the cessation of all political disturbance4 ,joel gathered up the pictures of the ,messianic age in the older prophets1 and welded them together in one long prayer by the fervid belief that that age was near4 ,but while the older prophets spoke upon the ground of actual fact and rose from this to a majestic picture of the last punishment1 the still life of ,joel's time had nothing such to offer him and he had to seek another basis for his prophetic flight4 ,it is probable that he sought this in the relation of ,type and ,antitype4 ,the ,antitype he found in the liberation from ,egypt1 the darkness and the locusts of which he transferred to his canvas from ,exodus x4 #d-f4 ,the locusts1 therefore1 are neither real nor symbolic1 but ideal4 ,this is the method of the ,midrash and ,haggada in ,jewish literature1 which constantly placed over against each other the deliverance from ,egypt and the last judgment4 ,it is a method that is already found in such portions of the ,old ,testament as ,ezekiel xxxvii4 and ,psalm lxxviii4 ,joel's locusts are borrowed from the ,egyptian plagues1 but are presented as the signs of the ,last ,day4 ,they will bring it near to ,israel by famine1 drought and the interruption of worship described in chap4 i4 ,chap4 ii41 which ,merx keeps distinct from chap4 i41 is based on a study of ,ezekiel1 from whom ,joel has borrowed1 among other things1 the expressions the garden of ,eden and the ,northerner4 ,the two verses generally held to be historic1 #ah and #ai1 ,merx takes to be the continuation of the prayer of the priests1 pointing the verbs so as to turn them from perfects into futures4#aaee ,the rest of the book1 ,merx strives to show1 is pieced together from many prophets1 chiefly ,isaiah and ,ezekiel1 but without the tender spiritual feeling of the one1 or the colossal magnificence of the other4 ,special nations are mentioned1 but in this portion of the work we have to do not with events already past1 but with general views1 and these not original1 but conditioned by the expressions of earlier writers4 ,there is no history in the book3 it is all ideal1 mystical1 apocalyptic4 ,that is to say1 according to ,merx1 there is no real prophet or prophetic fire1 only an old man warming his feeble hands over a few embers that he has scraped together from the ashes of ancient fires1 now nearly wholly dead4 ,merx has traced ,joel's relations to other prophets1 and reflection of a late date in ,israel's history1 with care and ingenuity2 but his treatment of the text and exegesis of the prophet's meaning are alike forced and fanciful4 ,in face of the support which the ,massoretic reading of the hinge of the book1 chap4 ii4 #ah ff41 receives from the ancient versions1 and of its inherent probability and harmony with the context1 ,merx's textual emendation is unnecessary1 besides being in itself unnatural4#aaef ,while the very same objections which we have already found valid against the allegorical interpretation equally dispose of this mystical one4 ,merx outrages the evident features of the book almost as much as ,hengstenberg and ,pusey have done4 ,he has lifted out of time altogether that which plainly purports to be historical4 ,his literary criticism is as unsound as his textual4 ,it is only by ignoring the beautiful poetry of chap4 i4 that he transplants it to the future4 ,joel's figures are too vivid1 too actual1 to be predictive or mystical4 ,and the whole interpretation wrecks itself in the same verse as the allegorical1 the verse1 viz41 in which ,joel plainly speaks of himself as having suffered with his hearers the plague he describes4#aaeg ,we may1 therefore1 with confidence conclude that the allegorical and mystical interpretations of ,joel are impossible2 and that the only reasonable view of our prophet is that which regards him as calling1 in chap4 i4 #b--;ii4 #ag1 upon his contemporaries to repent in face of a plague of locusts1 so unusually severe that he has felt it to be ominous of even the ,day of the ,lord2 and in the rest of his book1 as promising material1 political and spiritual triumphs to ,israel in consequence of their repentance1 either already consummated1 or anticipated by the prophet as certain4 ,it is true that the account of the locusts appears to bear features which conflict with the literal interpretation4 ,some of these1 however1 vanish upon a fuller knowledge of the awful degree which such a plague has been testified to reach by competent observers within our own era4#aaeh ,those that remain may be attributed partly to the poetic hyperbole of ,joel's style1 and partly to the fact that he sees in the plague far more than itself4 ,the locusts are signs of the ,day of ,jehovah4 ,joel treats them as we found ,zephaniah treating the ,scythian hordes of his day4 ,they are as real as the latter1 but on them as on the latter the lurid glare of ,apocalypse has fallen1 magnifying them and investing them with that air of ominousness which is the sole justification of the allegorical and mystic interpretation of their appearance4 ,to the same sense of their office as heralds of the last day1 we owe the description of the locusts as the ,northerner4#aaei ,the ,north is not the quarter from which locusts usually reach ,palestine1 nor is there any reason to suppose that by naming the ,north ,joel meant only to emphasise the unusual character of these swarms4 ,rather he takes a name employed in ,israel since ,jeremiah's time to express the instruments of ,jehovah's wrath in the day of ,his judgment of ,israel4 ,the name is typical of ,doom1 and therefore ,joel applies it to his fateful locusts4 #c4 ,,state ,,of ,,the ,,text ,,and ,,the ,,style ,,of ,,the ,,book4 ,joel's style is fluent and clear1 both when he is describing the locusts1 in which part of his book he is most original1 and when he is predicting1 in apocalyptic language largely borrowed from earlier prophets1 the ,day of ,jehovah4 ,to the ease of understanding him we may attribute the sound state of the text and its freedom from glosses4 ,in this1 like most of the books of the post-exilic prophets1 especially the ,books of ,haggai1 8,malachi0 and ,jonah1 ,joel's book contrasts very favourably with those of the older prophets2 and that also1 to some degree1 is proof of the lateness of his date4 ,the ,greek translators have1 on the whole1 understood ,joel easily and with little error4 ,in their version there are the usual differences of grammatical construction1 especially in the pronominal suffixes and verbs1 and of punctuation2 but very few bits of expansion and no real additions4 ,these are all noted in the translation below4 ,,footnotes3 #ajfh ,see above1 ,chap4 ,,xiii4 #ajfi ,see ,vol4 ,i4 ,the ,assyria of 8,zech40 x4 #aa is ,syria4 ,see below4 #ajgj ,the two exceptions1 ,nahum and ,habakkuk1 are not relevant to this question4 ,their dates are fixed by their references to ,assyria and ,babylon4 #ajga ,see ,rob4 ,smith1 art4 8,joel10 ,encyc4 ,brit4 #ajgb ,so obvious is this alternative that all critics may be said to grant it1 except ,knig 7,einl471 on whose reasons for placing ,joel in the end of the seventh century see below1 p4 #chf1 n4 #aacj4 ,kessner 7,das ,zeitalter der ,proph4 ,joel1 #ahhh7 deems the date unprovable4 #ajgc ,see ,the ,religion of ,israel1 ,vol4 ,i41 pp4 #hf f4 #ajgd ,the ,o4,t4 and its ,contents1 p4 #aje4 #ajge ,lex ,mosaica1 pp4 #dbb1 #dej4 #ajgf ,see especially ,ewald on ,joel in his ,prophets of the ,o4,t41 and ,kirkpatrick's very fair argument in ,doctrine of the ,prophets1 pp4 #eg ff4 #ajgg ,on ,joel's picture of the ,day of ,jehovah ,ewald says3 8,we have it here in its first simple and clear form1 nor has it become a subject of ridicule as in ,amos40 #ajgh i4 #i1 #ac1 #af1 ii4 #ad4 #ajgi ,so ,ewald4 #ajhj #b ,kings xi4 #d-ba4 #ajha #a ,kings xiv4 #be f43 cf4 ,joel iii4 #ag;b1 #ai4 #ajhb #b ,kings viii4 #bj-bb3 cf4 ,joel iii4 #ai4 #ajhc #b ,chron4 xxi4 #af1 #ag1 xxii4 #a3 cf4 ,joel iii4 #d-f4 #ajhd ,amos i43 cf4 ,joel iii4 #d-f4 #ajhe #b ,chron4 xx41 especially #bf3 cf4 ,joel iii4 #b4 #ajhf ,joel iii4 7,eng42 iv4 ,heb47 #af2 ,amos i4 #b4 ,for a list of the various periods to which ,joel has been assigned by supporters of this early date see ,kuenen1 #fh4 #ajhg ,the reference of ,egypt in iii4 #ai to ,shishak's invasion appears particularly weak4 #ajhh ,cf4 ,robertson1 ,o4 ,t4 and its ,contents1 #aje1 and ,kirkpatrick's cautious1 though convinced1 statement of the reasons for an early date4 #ajhi iii4 #f 7,heb4 iv4 #f74 #ajij ,amos i4 #i4 #ajia ,bibl4 ,theol41 ,i41 p4 #dfb2 ,einl41 pp4 #fge ff4 #ajib ,ztschr4 f4 wissensch4 ,theol41 ,x41 ,heft #d4 #ajic ,theol4 der ,proph41 pp4 #bge ff4 #ajid ,theol4 ,tijd41 #ahgf1 pp4 #cfb ff4 7not seen74 #ajie ,onderz41 #fh4 #ajif ,expositor1 #ahhh1 ,jan4--,june1 pp4 #aih ff4 #ajig ,see ,cheyne1 ,origin of ,psalter1 xx42 ,driver1 ,introd41 in the sixth edition of which1 #ahig1 he supports the late date of ,joel more strongly than in the first edition1 #ahib4 #ajih ,wellhausen allowed the theory of the early date of ,joel to stand in his edition of ,bleek's ,einleitung1 but adopts the late date in his own ,kleine ,propheten4 #ajii ,die ,prophetie des ,joels u4 ihre ,ausleger1 #ahgi4 #aajj ,encyc4 ,brit41 art4 8,joel10 #ahha4 #aaja ,gesch41 ,,ii4 #bjg4 #aajb ,theol4 ,tijdschr41 #ahhe1 p4 #aea2 ,comm41 #ahhe 7neither seen74 #aajc 8,sprachcharakter u4 ,abfassungszeit des ,b4 ,joels0 in ,z4,a4,t4,w41 #ahhi1 pp4 #hi ff4 #aajd ,minor ,prophets4 #aaje ,bibel4 #aajf ,einleit4 #aajg ,litteratur des ,a4 ,t4 #aajh ,expositor1 ,september #ahic4 #aaji ,comm41 #ahig4 #aaaj iv4 7,heb42 iii4 ,eng47 #a4 ,for this may only mean turn again the fortunes of ,judah and ,jerusalem4 #aaaa iv4 7,heb42 iii4 ,eng47 #b4 ,the supporters of a pre-exilic date either passed this over or understood it of incursions by the heathen into ,israel's territories in the ninth century4 ,it is1 however1 too universal to suit these4 #aaab iv4 7,heb42 iii4 ,eng47 #e4 #aaac ,kautzsch dates after ,artaxerxes ,ochus1 and c4 #cej4 #aaad ,ezekiel 7xxvii4 #ac1 #ai7 is the first to give the name ,javan1 i4e4 1 or ,ionian 7earlier writers name ,egypt1 ,edom1 ,arabia and ,phnicia as the great slave-markets3 ,amos i42 ,isa4 xi4 #aa2 ,deut4 xxviii4 #fh72 and ,greeks are also mentioned in ,isa4 lxvi4 #ai 7a post-exilic passage72 ,zech4 ix4 #ac2 ,dan4 viii4 #ba1 x4 #bj1 xi4 #b2 #a ,chron4 i4 #e1 #g1 and ,gen4 x4 #b4 ,see below1 ,chap4 ,,xxxi4 #aaae instead of 1 just as the ,chronicler gives for 3 see ,wildeboer1 p4 #cdh1 and ,matthes1 quoted by ,holzinger1 p4 #id4 #aaaf ,movers1 ,phn4 ,alterthum41 ,,ii4 #a1 pp4 #gj sqq43 which reference ,i owe to ,r4 ,smith's art4 in the ,encyc4 ,brit4 #aaag ,with these might be taken the use of 7ii4 #af7 in its sense of a gathering for public worship4 ,the word itself was old in ,hebrew1 but as time went on it came more and more to mean the convocation of the nation for worship or deliberation4 ,holzinger1 pp4 #aje f4 #aaah ,cf4 ,neh4 x4 #cc2 ,dan4 viii4 #aa1 xi4 #ca1 xii4 #aa4 ,also ,acts xxvi4 #g3 4 ,also the passages in ,jos41 ,,xiv4 ,ant4 iv4 #c1 xvi4 #b1 in which ,josephus mentions the horror caused by the interruption of the daily sacrifice by famine in the last siege of ,jerusalem1 and adds that it had happened in no previous siege of the city4 #aaai ,cf4 ,jer4 xiv4 #ab2 ,isa4 lviii4 #f2 ,zech4 vii4 #e1 vi4 #aa1 #ai1 with ,neh4 i4 #d1 ix4 #a2 ,ezra viii4 #ba2 ,jonah iii4 #e1 #g2 ,esther iv4 #c1 #af1 ix4 #ca2 ,dan4 ix4 #c4 #aabj ,the gathering of the ,gentiles to judgment1 ,zeph4 iii4 #h 7see above1 p4 #fi7 and ,ezek4 xxxviii4 #bb2 the stream issuing from the ,temple to fill the ,wady ha-,shittim1 ,ezek4 xlvii4 #a ff41 cf4 ,zech4 xiv4 #h2 the outpouring of the ,spirit1 ,ezek4 xxxix4 #bi4 #aaba ,z4,a4,t4,w41 #ahhi1 pp4 #hi-acf4 ,holzinger's own conclusion is stated more emphatically than above4 #aabb ,for an exhaustive list the reader must be referred to ,holzinger's article 7cf4 ,driver1 ,introd41 sixth edition2 ,joel and ,amos1 p4 #bd2 ,g4 ,b4 ,gray1 ,expositor1 ,september #ahic1 p4 #bab74 ,but the following 7a few of which are not given by ,holzinger7 are sufficient to prove the conclusion come to above3 i4 #b1 iv4 #d1 444 -- this is the form of the disjunctive interrogative in later ,o4 ,t4 writings1 replacing the earlier 444 2 i4 #h1 only here in ,o4 ,t41 but frequent in ,aram42 #ac1 in ,ni4 only from ,jeremiah onwards1 ,qal only in two passages before ,jeremiah and in a number after him2 #ah1 1 if the correct reading1 occurs only in the latest ,o4 ,t4 writings1 the ,qal only in these and ,aram42 ii4 #b1 iv4 7,heb42 iii4 ,eng47 #bj1 first in ,deut4 xxxii4 #g1 and then exilic and post-exilic frequently2 #h1 1 a late word1 only in ,job xxxiii4 #ah1 xxxvi4 #ab1 #b ,chron4 xxiii4 #aj1 xxxii4 #e1 ,neh4 iii4 #ae1 iv4 #aa1 #ag2 #bj1 1 end1 only in #b ,chron4 xx4 #af and ,eccles41 ,aram4 of ,daniel1 and post ,bibl4 ,aram4 and ,heb42 iv4 7,heb42 iii4 ,eng47 #d1 1 cf4 #b ,chron4 xx4 #aa2 #aj1 1 see below on this verse2 #aa1 1 ,aram42 #ac1 1 in ,hebrew to cook 7cf4 ,ezek4 xxiv4 #e71 and in other forms always with that meaning down to the ,priestly ,writing and 8,zech40 ix4--xiv41 is used here in the sense of ripen1 which is frequent in ,aram41 but does not occur elsewhere in ,o4 ,t4 ,besides1 ,joel uses for the first personal pronoun --ii4 #bg 7bis71 iv4 #aj1 #ag--which is by far the most usual form with later writers1 and not 1 preferred by pre-exilic writers4 7,see below on the language of ,jonah47 #aabc ,g4 ,b4 ,gray1 ,expositor1 ,september #ahic1 pp4 #bac f4 ,for the above conclusions ample proof is given in ,mr4 ,gray's detailed examination of the parallels3 pp4 #bad ff4 #aabd ,driver1 ,joel and ,amos1 p4 #bg4 #aabe ,scholz and ,rosenzweig 7not seen74 #aabf ,hilgenfeld1 ,duhm1 ,oort4 ,driver puts it 8most safely shortly after ,haggai and ,zechariah i4--viii41 c4 #ejj ,b4,c40 #aabg ,vernes1 ,robertson ,smith1 ,kuenen1 ,matthes1 ,cornill1 ,nowack1 etc4 #aabh ,joel iii4 #d 7,heb42 ,eng4 ii4 #ca72 8,mal40 iv4 #e4 #aabi iii4 7,eng42 iv4 ,heb47 #ag4 #aacj ,perhaps this is the most convenient place to refer to ,knig's proposal to place ,joel in the last years of ,josiah4 ,some of his arguments 7e4g4 that ,joel is placed among the first of the ,twelve7 we have already answered4 ,he thinks that i4 #ag-bj suit the great drought in ,josiah's reign 7,jer4 xiv4 #b-f71 that the name given to the locusts1 1 ii4 #bj1 is due to ,jeremiah's enemy from the north1 and that the phrases return with all your heart1 ii4 #ab1 and return to ,jehovah your ,god1 #ac1 imply a period of apostasy4 ,none of these conclusions is necessary4 ,the absence of reference to the high places finds an analogy in ,isa4 i4 #ac2 the is mentioned in ,isa4 i4 #ac3 if ,amos viii4 #e testifies to observance of the ,sabbath1 and ,nahum ii4 #a to other festivals1 who can say a pre-exilic prophet would not be interested in the meal and drink offerings8 ,but surely no pre-exilic prophet would have so emphasised these as ,joel has done4 ,nor is ,knig's explanation of iv4 #b as of the ,assyrian and ,egyptian invasion of ,judah so probable as that which refers the verse to the ,babylonian exile4 ,nor are ,knig's objections to a date after 8,malachi0 convincing4 ,they are that a prophet near 8,malachi's0 time must have specified as 8,malachi0 did the reasons for the repentance to which he summoned the people1 while ,joel gives none1 but is quite general 7ii4 #ac;a74 ,but the change of attitude may be accounted for by the covenant and ,law of #ddd4 8,malachi0 i4 #aa speaks of the ,gentiles worshipping ,jehovah1 but not even in ,jonah iii4 #e is any relation of the ,gentiles to ,jehovah predicated4 ,again1 the greater exclusiveness of ,ezra and his ,law may be the cause4 ,joel1 it is true1 as ,knig says1 does not mention the ,law1 while 8,malachi0 does 7ii4 #h1 etc472 but this was not necessary if the people had accepted it in #ddd4 ,professor ,ryle 7,canon of ,o4,t41 #ajf n47 leaves the question of ,joel's date open4 #aaca ,pages #ccc f4 n4 #aacb ,vernes1 ,histoire des ,ides ,messianiques depuis ,alexandre1 pp4 #ac ff41 had already asserted that chaps4 i4 and ii4 must be by a different author from chaps4 iii4 and iv41 because the former has to do wholly with the writer's present1 with which the latter has no connection whatever1 but it is entirely eschatological4 ,but in his ,mlanges de ,crit4 ,relig41 pp4 #bah ff41 ,vernes allows that his arguments are not conclusive1 and that all four chapters may have come from the same hand4 #aacc ,i4e4 ,hitzig1 ,vatke1 ,ewald1 ,robertson ,smith1 ,kuenen1 ,kirkpatrick1 ,driver1 ,davidson1 ,nowack1 etc4 #aacd ,this allegorical interpretation was a favourite one with the early ,christian ,fathers3 cf4 ,jerome4 #aace ,zeitschr4 fr wissensch4 ,theologie1 #ahfj1 pp4 #dab ff4 #aacf ,cambyses #ebe1 ,xerxes #dhd1 ,artaxerxes ,ochus #dfj and #deh4 #aacg ,in ,germany1 among other representatives of this opinion1 are ,bertholdt 7,einl47 and ,hengstenberg 7,christol41 ,,iii4 #ceb ff471 the latter of whom saw in the four kinds of locusts the ,assyrian-,babylonian1 the ,persian1 the ,greek and the ,roman tyrants of ,israel4 #aach ii4 #ag4 #aaci ii4 #bj4 #aadj i4 #ai1 #bj4 #aada ,plur4 ii4 #f4 #aadb ii4 #bj4 #aadc iii4 7,heb4 iv47 #a f41 #ag4 #aadd i4 #af4 #aade i4 #b f4 #aadf i4 #c4 #aadg i4 #ag ff4 #aadh ii4 #ag1 ii4 #i ff4 #aadi #aaej ,a4 ,b4 ,davidson1 ,expos41 #ahhh1 pp4 #bjj f4 #aaea ii4 #d ff4 #aaeb ,eng4 ii4 #bh ff41 ,heb4 iii4 #aaec ,eng4 iii41 ,heb4 iv4 #aaed ,die ,prophetie des ,joel u4 ihre ,ausleger1 #ahgi4 ,the following summary and criticism of ,merx's views ,i take from an 7unpublished7 review of his work which ,i wrote in #ahha4 #aaee ,for etc4 he reads etc4 #aaef 8,the proposal of ,merx1 to change the pointing so as to transform the perfects into futures1 444 is an exegetical monstrosity40--,robertson ,smith1 art4 8,joel10 ,encyc4 ,brit4 #aaeg i4 #af4 #aaeh ,even the comparison of the ravages of the locusts to burning by fire4 ,but probably also ,joel means that they were accompanied by drought and forest fires4 ,see below4 #aaei ii4 #bj4 ,,chapter ,,xxviii ,,the ,,locusts ,,and ,,the ,,day ,,of ,,the ,,lord ,,joel i4--ii4 #ag ,joel1 as we have seen1 found the motive of his prophecy in a recent plague of locusts1 the appearance of which and the havoc they worked are described by him in full detail4 ,writing not only as a poet but as a seer1 who reads in the locusts signs of the great ,day of the ,lord1 ,joel has necessarily put into his picture several features which carry the imagination beyond the limits of experience4 ,and yet1 if we ourselves had lived through such a plague1 we should be able to recognise how little license the poet has taken1 and that the seer1 so far from unduly mixing with his facts the colours of ,apocalypse1 must have experienced in the terrible plague itself enough to provoke all the religious and monitory use which he makes of it4 ,the present writer has seen but one swarm of locusts1 in which1 though it was small and soon swept away by the wind1 he felt not only many of the features that ,joel describes1 but even some degree of that singular helplessness before a calamity of portent far beyond itself1 something of that supernatural edge and accent1 which1 by the confession of so many observers1 characterise the locust-plague and the earthquake above all other physical disasters4 ,one summer afternoon1 upon the plain of ,hauran1 a long bank of mist grew rapidly from the western horizon4 ,the day was dull1 and as the mist rose athwart the sunbeams1 struggling through clouds1 it gleamed cold and white1 like the front of a distant snow-storm4 ,when it came near1 it seemed to be more than a mile broad1 and was dense enough to turn the atmosphere raw and dirty1 with a chill as of a summer sea-fog1 only that this was not due to any fall in the temperature4 ,nor was there the silence of a mist4 ,we were enveloped by a noise1 less like the whirring of wings than the rattle of hail or the crackling of bush on fire4 ,myriads upon myriads of locusts were about us1 covering the ground1 and shutting out the view in all directions4 ,though they drifted before the wind1 there was no confusion in their ranks4 ,they sailed in unbroken lines1 sometimes straight1 sometimes wavy2 and when they passed pushing through our caravan1 they left almost no stragglers1 except from the last battalion1 and only the few dead which we had caught in our hands4 ,after several minutes they were again but a lustre on the air1 and so melted away into some heavy clouds in the east4 ,modern travellers furnish us with terrible impressions of the innumerable multitudes of a locust-plague1 the succession of their swarms through days and weeks1 and the utter desolation they leave behind them4 ,mr4 ,doughty writes3#aafj 8,there hopped before our feet a minute brood of second locusts1 of a leaden colour1 with budding wings like the spring leaves1 and born of those gay swarms which a few weeks before had passed over and despoiled the desert4 ,after forty days these also would fly as a pestilence1 yet more hungry than the former1 and fill the atmosphere40 ,and later3 8,the clouds of the second locust brood which the ,arabs call #8,am'dan1 pillars1 flew over us for some days1 invaded the booths and for blind hunger even bit our shins40#aafa ,it was 8a storm of rustling wings40#aafb 8,this year was remembered for the locust swarms and great summer heat40#aafc ,a traveller in ,south ,africa#aafd says3 8,for the space of ten miles on each side of the ,sea-,cow river and eighty or ninety miles in length1 an area of sixteen or eighteen hundred square miles1 the whole surface might literally be said to be covered with them40 ,in his recently published book on ,south ,africa1 ,mr4 ,bryce writes3--#aafe 8,it is a strange sight1 beautiful if you can forget the destruction it brings with it4 ,the whole air1 to twelve or even eighteen feet above the ground1 is filled with the insects1 reddish brown in body1 with bright1 gauzy wings4 ,when the sun's rays catch them it is like the sea sparkling with light4 ,when you see them against a cloud they are like the dense flakes of a driving snow-storm4 ,you feel as if you had never before realised immensity in number4 ,vast crowds of men gathered at a festival1 countless tree-tops rising along the slope of a forest ridge1 the chimneys of ,london houses from the top of ,st4 ,paul's--all are as nothing to the myriads of insects that blot out the sun above and cover the ground beneath and fill the air whichever way one looks4 ,the breeze carries them swiftly past1 but they come on in fresh clouds1 a host of which there is no end1 each of them a harmless creature which you can catch and crush in your hand1 but appalling in their power of collective devastation40 ,and take three testimonies from ,syria3 8,the quantity of these insects is a thing incredible to any one who has not seen it himself2 the ground is covered by them for several leagues40#aaff 8,the whole face of the mountain#aafg was black with them4 ,on they came like a living deluge4 ,we dug trenches and kindled fires1 and beat and burnt to death heaps upon heaps1 but the effort was utterly useless4 ,they rolled up the mountain-side1 and poured over rocks1 walls1 ditches and hedges1 those behind covering up and passing over the masses already killed4 ,for some days they continued to pass4 ,the noise made by them in marching and foraging was like that of a heavy shower falling upon a distant forest40#aafh 8,the roads were covered with them1 all marching and in regular lines1 like armies of soldiers1 with their leaders in front2 and all the opposition of man to resist their progress was in vain40 ,having consumed the plantations in the country1 they entered the towns and villages4 8,when they approached our garden all the farm servants were employed to keep them off1 but to no avail2 though our men broke their ranks for a moment1 no sooner had they passed the men1 than they closed again1 and marched forward through hedges and ditches as before4 ,our garden finished1 they continued their march toward the town1 devastating one garden after another4 ,they have also penetrated into most of our rooms3 whatever one is doing one hears their noise from without1 like the noise of armed hosts1 or the running of many waters4 ,when in an erect position their appearance at a little distance is like that of a well-armed horseman40#aafi ,locusts are notoriously adapted for a plague1 8since to strength incredible for so small a creature1 they add saw-like teeth1 admirably calculated to eat up all the herbs in the land40#aagj ,they are the incarnation of hunger4 ,no voracity is like theirs1 the voracity of little creatures1 whose million separate appetites nothing is too minute to escape4 ,they devour first grass and leaves1 fruit and foliage1 everything that is green and juicy4 ,then they attack the young branches of trees1 and then the hard bark of the trunks4#aaga 8,after eating up the corn1 they fell upon the vines1 the pulse1 the willows1 and even the hemp1 notwithstanding its great bitterness40#aagb 8,the bark of figs1 pomegranates and oranges1 bitter1 hard and corrosive1 escaped not their voracity40#aagc 8,they are particularly injurious to the palm-trees2 these they strip of every leaf and green particle1 the trees remaining like skeletons with bare branches40#aagd 8,for eighty or ninety miles they devoured every green herb and every blade of grass40#aage 8,the gardens outside ,jaffa are now completely stripped1 even the bark of the young trees having been devoured1 and look like a birch-tree forest in winter40#aagf 8,the bushes were eaten quite bare1 though the animals could not have been long on the spot4 ,they sat by hundreds on a bush gnawing the rind and the woody fibres40#aagg 8,bamboo groves have been stripped of their leaves and left standing like saplings after a rapid bush fire1 and grass has been devoured so that the bare ground appeared as if burned40#aagh 8,the country did not seem to be burnt1 but to be much covered with snow through the whiteness of the trees and the dryness of the herbs40#aagi ,the fields finished1 they invade towns and houses1 in search of stores4 ,victual of all kinds1 hay1 straw1 and even linen and woollen clothes and leather bottles1 they consume or tear in pieces4#aahj ,they flood through the open1 unglazed windows and lattices3 nothing can keep them out4 ,these extracts prove to us what little need ,joel had of hyperbole in order to read his locusts as signs of the ,day of ,jehovah2 especially if we keep in mind that locusts are worst in very hot summers1 and often accompany an absolute drought along with its consequence of prairie and forest fires4 ,some have thought that1 in introducing the effects of fire1 ,joel only means to paint the burnt look of a land after locusts have ravaged it4 ,but locusts do not drink up the streams1 nor cause the seed to shrivel in the earth4#aaha ,by these the prophet must mean drought1 and by the flame that has burned all the trees of the field1#aahb the forest fire1 finding an easy prey in the trees which have been reduced to firewood by the locusts' teeth4 ,even in the great passage in which he passes from history to ,apocalypse1 from the gloom and terror of the locusts to the lurid dawn of ,jehovah's ,day1 ,joel keeps within the actual facts of experience3-- ,day of darkness and murk1 ,day of cloud and heavy mist1 ,like dawn scattered on the mountains1 ,a people many and powerful4 ,no one who has seen a cloud of locusts can question the realism even of this picture3 the heavy gloom of the immeasurable mass of them1 shot by gleams of light where a few of the sun's imprisoned beams have broken through or across the storm of lustrous wings4 ,this is like dawn beaten down upon the hilltops1 and crushed by rolling masses of cloud1 in conspiracy to prolong the night4 ,no3 the only point at which ,joel leaves absolute fact for the wilder combinations of ,apocalypse is at the very close of his description1 chap4 ii4 #aj and #aa1 and just before his call to repentance4 ,here we find1 mixed with the locusts1 earthquake and thunderstorm2 and ,joel has borrowed these from the classic pictures of the ,day of the ,lord1 using some of the very phrases of the latter3-- ,earth trembles before them1 ,heaven quakes1 ,sun and moon become black1 ,the stars withdraw their shining1 ,and ,jehovah utters ,his voice before ,his army4 ,joel1 then1 describes1 and does not unduly enhance1 the terrors of an actual plague4 ,at first his whole strength is so bent to make his people feel these1 that1 though about to call to repentance1 he does not detail the national sins which require it4 ,in his opening verses he summons the drunkards1#aahc but that is merely to lend vividness to his picture of facts1 because men of such habits will be the first to feel a plague of this kind4 ,nor does ,joel yet ask his hearers what the calamity portends4 ,at first he only demands that they shall feel it1 in its uniqueness and its own sheer force4 ,hence the peculiar style of the passage4 ,letter for letter1 this is one of the heaviest passages in prophecy4 ,the proportion in ,hebrew of liquids to the other letters is not large2 but here it is smaller than ever4 ,the explosives and dentals are very numerous4 ,there are several keywords1 with hard consonants and long vowels1 used again and again3 ,shuddadh1 #8bhlah1 #8umlal1 hbhsh4 ,the longer lines into which ,hebrew parallelism tends to run are replaced by a rapid series of short1 heavy phrases1 falling like blows4 ,critics have called it rhetoric4 ,but it is rhetoric of a very high order and perfectly suited to the prophet's purpose4 ,look at chap4 i4 #aj3 ,shuddadh sadheh1 #8bhlah #8adhamah1 shuddadh daghan1 hbhsh trsh1 #8umlal yiar4#aahd ,joel loads his clauses with the most leaden letters he can find1 and drops them in quick succession1 repeating the same heavy word again and again1 as if he would stun the careless people into some sense of the bare1 brutal weight of the calamity which has befallen them4 ,now ,joel does this because he believes that1 if his people feel the plague in its proper violence1 they must be convinced that it comes from ,jehovah4 ,the keynote of this part of the prophecy is found in chap4 i4 #ae3 8,keshdh mishshaddhai10 like violence from the ,all-violent doth it come4 8,if you feel this as it is1 you will feel ,jehovah ,himself in it4 ,by these very blows1 ,he and ,his ,day are near4 ,we had been forgetting how near40 ,joel mentions no crime1 nor enforces any virtue3 how could he have done so in so strong a sense that 8the ,judge was at the door08 ,to make men feel that they had forgotten they were in reach of that ,almighty ,hand1 which could strike so suddenly and so hard--,joel had time only to make men feel that1 and to call them to repentance4 ,in this we probably see some reflection of the age3 an age when men's thoughts were thrusting the ,deity further and further from their life2 when they put ,his ,law and ,temple between ,him and themselves2 and when their religion1 devoid of the sense of ,his ,presence1 had become a set of formal observances1 the rending of garments and not of hearts4 ,but ,he1 whom ,his own ordinances had hidden from ,his people1 has burst forth through nature and in sheer force of calamity4 ,he has revealed ,himself1 ,el-,shaddhai1 ,god ,all-violent1 as ,he was known to their fathers1 who had no elaborate law or ritual to put between their fearful hearts and ,his terrible strength1 but cowered before ,him1 helpless on the stripped soil1 and naked beneath ,his thunder4 ,by just these means did ,elijah and ,amos bring ,god home to the hearts of ancient ,israel4 ,in ,joel we see the revival of the old nature-religion1 and the revenge that it was bound to take upon the elaborate systems which had displaced it1 but which by their formalism and their artificial completeness had made men forget that near presence and direct action of the ,almighty which it is nature's own office to enforce upon the heart4 ,the thing is true1 and permanently valid4 ,only the great natural processes can break up the systems of dogma and ritual in which we make ourselves comfortable and formal1 and drive us out into ,god's open air of reality4 ,in the crash of nature's forces even our particular sins are forgotten1 and we feel1 as in the immediate presence of ,god1 our whole1 deep need of repentance4 ,so far from blaming the absence of special ethics in ,joel's sermon1 we accept it as natural and proper to the occasion4 ,such1 then1 appears to be the explanation of the first part of the prophecy1 and its development towards the call to repentance1 which follows it4 ,if we are correct1 the assertion#aahe is false that no plan was meant by the prophet4 ,for not only is there a plan1 but the plan is most suitable to the requirements of ,israel1 after their adoption of the whole ,law in #dde1 and forms one of the most necessary and interesting developments of all religion3 the revival1 in an artificial period1 of those primitive forces of religion which nature alone supplies1 and which are needed to correct formalism and the forgetfulness of the near presence of the ,almighty4 ,we see in this1 too1 the reason of ,joel's archaic style1 both of conception and expression3 that likeness of his to early prophets which has led so many to place him between ,elijah and ,amos4#aahf ,they are wrong4 ,joel's simplicity is that not of early prophecy1 but of the austere forces of this revived and applied to the artificiality of a later age4 ,one other proof of ,joel's conviction of the religious meaning of the plague might also have been pled by the earlier prophets1 but certainly not in the terms in which ,joel expresses it4 ,amos and ,hosea had both described the destruction of the country's fertility in their day as ,god's displeasure on ,his people and 7as ,hosea puts it7 ,his divorce of ,his ,bride from ,himself4#aahg ,but by them the physical calamities were not threatened alone3 banishment from the land and from enjoyment of its fruits was to follow upon drought1 locusts and famine4 ,in threatening no captivity ,joel differs entirely from the early prophets4 ,it is a mark of his late date4 ,and he also describes the divorce between ,jehovah and ,israel1 through the interruption of the ritual by the plague1 in terms and with an accent which could hardly have been employed in ,israel before the ,exile4 ,after the rebuilding of the ,temple and restoration of the daily sacrifices morning and evening1 the regular performance of the latter was regarded by the ,jews with a most superstitious sense of its indispensableness to the national life4 ,before the ,exile1 ,jeremiah1 for instance1 attaches no importance to it1 in circumstances in which it would have been not unnatural for him1 priest as he was1 to do so4#aahh ,but after the ,exile1 the greater scrupulousness of the religious life1 and its absorption in ritual1 laid extraordinary emphasis upon the daily offering1 which increased to a most painful degree of anxiety as the centuries went on4#aahi ,the ,new ,testament speaks of the ,twelve ,tribes constantly serving ,god day and night2#aaij and ,josephus1 while declaring that in no siege of ,jerusalem before the last did the interruption ever take place in spite of the stress of famine and war combined1 records the awful impression made alike on ,jew and heathen by the giving up of the daily sacrifice on the #agth of ,july1 ,a4,d4 #gj1 during the investment of the city by ,titus4#aaia ,this disaster1 which ,judaism so painfully feared at every crisis in its history1 actually happened1 ,joel tells us1 during the famine caused by the locusts4 ,cut off are the meal and the drink offerings from the house of ,jehovah4#aaib ,is not food cut off from our eyes1 joy and gladness from the house of our ,god8#aaic ,perhaps ,he will turn and relent1 and leave a blessing behind ,him1 meal and drink offering for ,jehovah our ,god4#aaid ,the break 8of the continual symbol of gracious intercourse between ,jehovah and ,his people1 and the main office of religion10 means divorce between ,jehovah and ,israel4 ,wail like a bride girt in sackcloth for the husband of her youth6 ,wail1 ,o ministers of the altar1 ,o ministers of ,god6#aaie ,this then was another reason for reading in the plague of locusts more than a physical meaning4 ,this was another proof1 only too intelligible to scrupulous ,jews1 that the great and terrible ,day of the ,lord was at hand4 ,thus ,joel reaches the climax of his argument4 ,jehovah is near1 ,his ,day is about to break4 ,from this it is impossible to escape on the narrow path of disaster by which the prophet has led up to it4 ,but beneath that path the prophet passes the ground of a broad truth1 and on that truth1 while judgment remains still as real1 there is room for the people to turn from it4 ,if experience has shown that ,god is in the present1 near and inevitable1 faith remembers that ,he is there not willingly for judgment1 but with all ,his ancient feeling for ,israel and ,his zeal to save her4 ,if the people choose to turn1 ,jehovah1 as their ,god and as one who works for their sake1 will save them4 ,of this ,god assures them by ,his own word4 ,for the first time in the prophecy ,he speaks for ,himself4 ,hitherto the prophet has been describing the plague and summoning to penitence4 ,but now oracle of ,jehovah of ,hosts4#aaif ,the great covenant name1 ,jehovah your ,god1 is solemnly repeated as if symbolic of the historic origin and age-long endurance of ,jehovah's relation to ,israel2 and the very words of blessing are repeated which were given when ,israel was called at ,sinai and the covenant ratified3-- ,for ,he is gracious and merciful1 ,long-suffering and plenteous in leal love1 ,and relents ,him of the evil ,he has threatened upon you4 ,once more the nation is summoned to try ,him by prayer3 the solemn prayer of all ,israel1 pleading that ,he should not give ,his people to reproach4 ,the ,word of ,jehovah which came to ,jo'el the son of ,peth'el4#aaig ,hear this1 ye old men1 ,and give ear1 all inhabitants of the land6 ,has the like been in your days1 ,or in the days of your fathers8 ,tell it to your children1 ,and your children to their children1 ,and their children to the generation that follows4 ,that which the ,shearer left the ,swarmer hath eaten1 ,and that which the ,swarmer left the ,lapper hath eaten4 ,and that which the ,lapper left the ,devourer hath eaten4 ,these are four different names for locusts1 which it is best to translate by their literal meaning4 ,some think that they represent one swarm of locusts in four stages of development1 but this cannot be1 because the same swarm never returns upon its path1 to complete the work of destruction which it had begun in an earlier stage of its growth4 ,nor can the first-named be the adult brood from whose eggs the others spring1 as ,doughty has described1#aaih for that would account only for two of the four names4 ,joel rather describes successive swarms of the insect1 without reference to the stages of its growth1 and he does so as a poet1 using1 in order to bring out the full force of its devastation1 several of the ,hebrew names1 that were given to the locust as epithets of various aspects of its destructive power4 ,the names1 it is true1 cannot be said to rise in climax1 but at least the most sinister is reserved to the last4#aaii ,rouse ye1 drunkards1 and weep1 ,and wail1 all ye bibbers of wine6 ,the new wine is cut off from your mouth6 ,for a nation is come up on ,my land1 ,powerful and numberless2 ,his teeth are the teeth of the lion1 ,and the fangs#abjj of the lioness his4 ,my vine he has turned to waste1 ,and ,my fig-tree to splinters2 ,he hath peeled it and strawed it1 ,bleached are its branches6 ,wail as a bride girt in sackcloth for the spouse of her youth4 ,cut off are the meal and drink offerings from the house of ,jehovah6 ,in grief are the priests1 the ministers of ,jehovah4 ,the fields are blasted1 the ground is in grief1 ,blasted is the corn1 abashed is the new wine1 the oil pines away4 ,be ye abashed1 ,o ploughmen6 ,wail1 ,o vine-dressers1 ,for the wheat and the barley2 ,the harvest is lost from the field6 ,the vine is abashed1 and the fig-tree is drooping2 ,pomegranate1 palm too and apple1 ,all trees of the field are dried up3 ,yea1 joy is abashed and away from the children of men4 ,in this passage the same feeling is attributed to men and to the fruits of the land3 ,in grief are the priests1 the ground is in grief4 ,and it is repeatedly said that all alike are abashed4 ,by this heavy word we have sought to render the effect of the similarly sounding 8hbhsha10 that our ,english version renders ashamed4 ,it signifies to be frustrated1 and so disheartened1 put out3 soured would be an equivalent1 applicable to the vine and to joy and to men's hearts4 ,put on mourning 1 ,o priests1 beat the breast2 ,wail1 ye ministers of the altar2 ,come1 lie down in sackcloth1 ,o ministers of my ,god3 ,for meal-offering and drink-offering are cut off from the house of your ,god4 ,hallow a fast1 summon an assembly1 ,gather#abja all the inhabitants of the land to the house of your ,god2 ,and cry to ,jehovah3 8,alas for the ,day6 ,at hand is the ,day of ,jehovah6 ,and as vehemence from the ,vehement#abjb doth it come40 ,is not food cut off from before us1 ,gladness and joy from the house of our ,god8 ,the grains shrivel under their hoes1#abjc ,the garners are desolate1 the barns broken down1 ,for the corn is withered--what shall we put in them8#abjd ,the herds of cattle huddle together1#abje for they have no pasture2 ,yea1 the flocks of sheep are forlorn4#abjf ,to ,thee1 ,jehovah1 do ,i cry3 ,for fire has devoured the pastures of the steppes1#abjg ,and the flame hath scorched all the trees of the field4 ,the wild beasts pant up to ,thee3 ,for the watercourses are dry1 ,and fire has devoured the pastures of the steppes4 ,here1 with the close of chap4 i41 ,joel's discourse takes pause1 and in chap4 ii4 he begins a second with another call to repentance in face of the same plague4 ,but the plague has progressed4 ,the locusts are described now in their invasion not of the country but of the towns1 to which they pass after the country is stripped4 ,for illustration of the latter see above1 p4 #dja4 ,the horn which is to be blown1 ver4 #a1 is an alarm horn1#abjh to warn the people of the approach of the ,day of the ,lord1 and not the ,shophar which called the people to a general assembly1 as in ver4 #ae4 ,blow a horn in ,zion1 ,sound the alarm in ,my holy mountain6 ,let all inhabitants of the land tremble1 ,for the ,day of ,jehovah comes--it is near6 ,day of darkness and murk1 day of cloud and heavy mist4#abji ,like dawn scattered#abaj on the mountains1 ,a people many and powerful2 ,its like has not been from of old1 ,and shall not again be for years of generation upon generation4 ,before it the fire devours1#abaa ,and behind the flame consumes4 ,like the garden of ,eden#abab is the land in front1 ,and behind it a desolate desert2 ,yea1 it lets nothing escape4 ,their visage is the visage of horses1 ,and like horsemen they run4 ,they rattle like chariots over the tops of the hills1 ,like the crackle of flames devouring stubble1 ,like a powerful people prepared for battle4 ,peoples are writhing before them1 ,every face gathers blackness4 ,like warriors they run1 ,like fighting-men they come up the wall2 ,they march every man by himself1#abac ,and they ravel#abad not their paths4 ,none jostles his comrade1 ,they march every man on his track1#abae ,and plunge through the missiles unbroken4#abaf ,they scour the city1 run upon the walls1 ,climb into the houses1 and enter the windows like a thief4 ,earth trembles before them1 ,heaven quakes1 ,sun and moon become black1 ,the stars withdraw their shining4 ,and ,jehovah utters ,his voice before ,his army3 ,for very great is ,his host2 ,yea1 powerful is ,he that performeth ,his word4 ,great is the ,day of ,jehovah1 and very awful3 ,who may abide it8#abag ,but now hear the oracle of ,jehovah3 ,turn ye to ,me with all your heart1 ,and with fasting and weeping and mourning4 ,rend ye your hearts and not your garments1 ,and turn to ,jehovah your ,god3 ,for ,he is gracious and merciful1 ,long-suffering and plenteous in love1 ,and relents of the evil4 ,who knows but ,he will turn and relent1 ,and leave behind ,him a blessing1 ,meal-offering and drink-offering to ,jehovah your ,god8 ,blow a horn in ,zion1 ,hallow a fast1 summon the assembly6 ,gather the people1 hallow the congregation1 ,assemble the old men1#abah gather the children1 and infants at the breast2 ,let the bridegroom come forth from his chamber1 ,and the bride from her bower4#abai ,let the priests1 the ministers of ,jehovah1 weep between porch and altar2 ,let them say1 ,spare1 ,o ,jehovah1 ,thy people1 ,and give not ,thine heritage to dishonour1 for the heathen to mock them3#abbj ,why should it be said among the nations1 ,where is their ,god8 ,,footnotes3 #aafj ,arabia ,deserta1 p4 #cjg4 #aafa ,arabia ,deserta1 p4 #cce4 #aafb ,id41 #cif4 #aafc ,id41 #cce4 #aafd ,barrow1 ,south ,africa1 p4 #beg1 quoted by ,pusey4 #aafe ,impressions of ,south ,africa1 by ,james ,bryce3 ,macmillans1 #ahig4 #aaff ,volney1 ,voyage en ,syrie1 ,i4 #bgg1 quoted by ,pusey4 #aafg ,lebanon4 #aafh ,abridged from ,thomson's ,the ,land and the ,book1 ed4 #ahgg1 ,northern ,palestine1 pp4 #daf ff4 #aafi ,from ,driver's abridgment 7,joel and ,amos1 p4 #ij7 of an account in the ,journ4 of ,sacred ,lit41 ,october #ahfe1 pp4 #bce f4 #aagj ,morier1 ,a ,second ,journey through ,persia1 p4 #ii1 quoted by ,pusey1 from whose notes and ,driver's excursus upon locusts in ,joel and ,amos the following quotations have been borrowed4 #aaga ,shaw's ,travels in ,barbary1 #agch1 pp4 #bcf-h2 ,jackson's ,travels to ,morocco4 #aagb ,adansson1 ,voyage au ,snegal1 p4 #hh4 #aagc ,chnier1 ,recherches ,historiques sur les ,maures1 ,,iii41 p4 #dif4 #aagd ,burckhardt1 ,notes1 ,,ii4 #ij4 #aage ,barrow1 ,south ,africa1 p4 #beg4 #aagf ,journ4 of ,sac4 ,lit41 ,october #ahfe4 #aagg ,lichtenstein1 ,travels in ,south ,africa4 #aagh ,standard1 ,december #beth1 #ahif4 #aagi ,fr4 ,alvarez4 #aahj ,barheb41 ,chron4 ,syr41 p4 #ghd2 ,burckhardt1 ,notes1 ,,ii4 #ij4 #aaha i4 #bj1 #ag4 #aahb i4 #ai4 #aahc i4 #e4 #aahd ,cf4 i4 #ab1 #ac1 and many verses in chap4 ii4 #aahe ,of ,merx and others3 see above1 p4 #cid4 #aahf ,see above1 p4 #cgg4 #aahg ,see ,vol4 ,i41 pp4 #bdb1 #bde f4 #aahh ,jer4 xiv4 #aahi ,cf4 ,ezek4 xlvi4 #ae on the ,thamid1 and ,neh4 x4 #cc2 ,dan4 viii4 #aa1 xi4 #ca1 xii4 #aa3 cf4 p4 #chb4 #aaij ,acts xxvi4 #g4 #aaia ,,xiv4 ,antt4 iv4 #c1 xvi4 #b2 ,,vi4 ,wars ii4 #a4 #aaib i4 #i1 #ac4 #aaic i4 #af4 #aaid ii4 #ad4 #aaie i4 #h1 #ac4 #aaif ii4 #ab4 #aaig ,,lxx4 #aaih ,see above1 pp4 #cii f4 #aaii from 1 used in the ,o4,t4 only in ,deut4 xxviii4 #ch1 to devour2 but in post-biblical ,hebrew to utterly destroy1 bring to an end4 ,talmud ,jerus43 ,taanith ,,iii4 #ff;d1 8,why is the locust called 8 ,because it brings everything to an end40 #abjj ,a4,v4 cheek-teeth1 ,r4,v4 jaw-teeth1 or eye-teeth4 8,possibly 7from the ,arabic7 projectors03 ,driver4 #abja ,heb4 text inserts elders1 which may be taken as vocative1 or with the ,,lxx4 as accusative1 but after the latter we should expect and4 ,wellhausen suggests its deletion1 and ,nowack regards it as an intrusion4 ,for ,wellhausen reads 1 be ye gathered4 #abjb ,keshdh mishshaddhai 7,isa4 xiii4 #f72 ,driver1 as overpowering from the ,overpowerer4 #abjc ,a4,v4 clods4 3 the meaning is doubtful1 but the corresponding ,arabic word means besom or shovel or 7,p4,e4,f4,q41 #ahia1 p4 #aaa1 with plate7 hoe1 and the ,aram4 shovel4 ,see ,driver's note4 #abjd ,reading1 after the ,,lxx4 7probably an error for 71 for the ,massoretic ,how the beasts sob6 to which ,a4,v4 and ,driver adhere4 #abje ,lit4 press themselves in perplexity4 #abjf ,reading1 with ,wellhausen and ,nowack 78perhaps rightly10 ,driver7 for 1 are guilty or punished4 #abjg 1 usually rendered wilderness or desert1 but literally place where the sheep are driven1 land not cultivated4 ,see ,hist4 ,geog41 p4 #fef4 #abjh ,see on ,amos iii4 #f3 ,vol4 ,i41 p4 #hb4 #abji ,zeph4 i4 #ae4 ,see above1 p4 #eh4 #abaj in ,qal to spread abroad1 but the passive is here to be taken in the same sense as the ,ni4 in ,ezek4 xvii4 #ba1 dispersed4 ,the figure is of dawn crushed by and struggling with a mass of cloud and mist1 and expresses the gleams of white which so often break through a locust cloud4 ,see above1 p4 #djd4 #abaa ,so travellers have described the effect of locusts4 ,see above1 p4 #djc4 #abab ,ezek4 xxxvi4 #ce4 #abac ,heb4 in his own ways4 #abad 1 an impossible metaphor1 so that most read 1 a root found only in ,micah vii4 #c 7see ,vol4 ,i41 p4 #dbh71 to twist or tangle2 but ,wellhausen reads 1 twist1 ,eccles4 vii4 #ac4 #abae ,heb4 highroad1 as if defined and heaped up for him alone4 #abaf ,see above1 p4 #dja4 #abag ,zeph4 i4 #ad2 8,mal40 iii4 #b4 #abah ,so 7and not elders7 in contrast to children4 #abai ,canopy or pavilion1 bridal tent4 #abbj 1 which may mean either rule over them or mock them1 but the parallelism decides for the latter4 ,,chapter ,,xxix ,,prosperity ,,and ,,the ,,spirit ,,joel ii4 #ah-cb 7,eng42 ii4 #ah--;iii4 ,heb47 ,then did ,jehovah become jealous for ,his land1 and took pity upon ,his people--with these words ,joel opens the second half of his book4 ,our ,authorised ,version renders them in the future tense1 as the continuation of the prophet's discourse1 which had threatened the ,day of the ,lord1 urged the people to penitence1 and now promises that their penitence shall be followed by the ,lord's mercy4 ,but such a rendering forces the grammar2#abba and the ,revised ,english ,version is right in taking the verbs1 as the vast majority of critics do1 in the past4 ,joel's call to repentance has closed1 and has been successful4 ,the fast has been hallowed1 the prayers are heard4 ,probably an interval has elapsed between vv4 #ag and #ah1 but in any case1 the people having repented1 nothing more is said of their need of doing so1 and instead we have from ,god ,himself a series of promises1 vv4 #ai-bg1 in answer to their cry for mercy4 ,these promises relate to the physical calamity which has been suffered4 ,god will destroy the locusts1 still impending on the land1 and restore the years which ,his great army has eaten4 ,there follows in vv4 #bh-cb 7,eng42 ,heb4 chap1 iii47 the promise of a great outpouring of the ,spirit on all ,israel1 amid terrible manifestations in heaven and earth4 #a4 ,,the ,,return ,,of ,,prosperity 7ii4 #ai-bg74 ,and ,jehovah answered and said to ,his people3 ,lo1 ,i will send you corn and wine and oil1 ,and your fill shall ye have of them2 ,and ,i will not again make you a reproach among the heathen4 ,and the ,northern ,foe#abbb will ,i remove far from you2 ,and ,i will push him into a land barren and waste1 ,his van to the eastern sea and his rear to the western1#abbc ,till the stench of him rises1#abbd ,because he hath done greatly4 ,locusts disappear with the same suddenness as they arrive4 ,a wind springs up and they are gone4#abbe ,dead ,sea and ,mediterranean are at the extremes of the compass1 but there is no reason to suppose that the prophet has abandoned the realism which has hitherto distinguished his treatment of the locusts4 ,the plague covered the whole land1 on whose high watershed the winds suddenly veer and change4 ,the dispersion of the locusts upon the deserts and the opposite seas was therefore possible at one and the same time4 ,jerome vouches for an instance in his own day4 ,the other detail is also true to life4 ,jerome says that the beaches of the two seas were strewn with putrifying locusts1 and ,augustine#abbf quotes heathen writers in evidence of large masses of locusts1 driven from ,africa upon the sea1 and then cast up on the shore1 which gave rise to a pestilence4 8,the south and east winds10 says ,volney of ,syria1 8drive the clouds of locusts with violence into the ,mediterranean1 and drown them in such quantities1 that when their dead are cast on the shore they infect the air to a great distance40#abbg ,the prophet continues1 celebrating this destruction of the locusts as if it were already realised--the ,lord hath done greatly1 ver4 #ba4 ,that among the blessings he mentions a full supply of rain proves that we were right in interpreting him to have spoken of drought as accompanying the locusts4#abbh ,fear not1 ,o ,land6 ,rejoice and be glad1 ,for ,jehovah hath done greatly4#abbi ,fear not1 ,o beasts of the field6 ,for the pastures of the steppes are springing with new grass1 ,the trees bear their fruit1 ,fig-tree and vine yield their substance4 ,o sons of ,zion1 be glad1 ,and rejoice in ,jehovah your ,god3 ,for ,he hath given you the early rain in normal measure1#abcj ,and poured#abca on you winter rain#abcb and latter rain as before4#abcc ,and the threshing-floors shall be full of wheat1 ,and the vats stream over with new wine and oil4 ,and ,i will restore to you the years which the ,swarmer has eaten1 ,the ,lapper1 the ,devourer and the ,shearer1 ,my great army whom ,i sent among you4 ,and ye shall eat your food and be full1 ,and praise the ,name of ,jehovah your ,god1 ,who hath dealt so wondrously with you2 ,and ,my people shall be abashed nevermore4 ,ye shall know ,i am in the midst of ,israel1 ,that ,i am ,jehovah your ,god and none else2 ,and nevermore shall ,my people be abashed4 #b4 ,,the ,,outpouring ,,of ,,the ,,spirit 7ii4 #bh-cb ,eng42 iii4 ,heb474 ,upon these promises of physical blessing there follows another of the pouring forth of the ,spirit3 the prophecy by which ,joel became the ,prophet of ,pentecost1 and through which his book is best known among ,christians4 ,when fertility has been restored to the land1 the seasons again run their normal courses1 and the people eat their food and be full--,it shall come to pass after these things1 ,i will pour out ,my ,spirit upon all flesh4 ,the order of events makes us pause to question3 does ,joel mean to imply that physical prosperity must precede spiritual fulness8 ,it would be unfair to assert that he does1 without remembering what he understands by the physical blessings4 ,to ,joel these are the token that ,god has returned to ,his people4 ,the drought and the famine produced by the locusts were signs of ,his anger and of ,his divorce of the land4 ,the proofs that ,he has relented1 and taken ,israel back into a spiritual relation to ,himself1 can1 therefore1 from ,joel's point of view1 only be given by the healing of the people's wounds4 ,in plenteous rains and full harvests ,god sets ,his seal to man's penitence4 ,rain and harvest are not merely physical benefits1 but religious sacraments3 signs that ,god has returned to ,his people1 and that ,his zeal is again stirred on their behalf4#abcd ,this has to be made clear before there can be talk of any higher blessing4 ,god has to return to ,his people and to show ,his love for them before ,he pours forth ,his ,spirit upon them4 ,that is what ,joel intends by the order he pursues1 and not that a certain stage of physical comfort is indispensable to a high degree of spiritual feeling and experience4 ,the early and latter rains1 the fulness of corn1 wine and oil1 are as purely religious to ,joel1 though not so highly religious1 as the phenomena of the ,spirit in men4 ,but though that be an adequate answer to our question so far as ,joel himself is concerned1 it does not exhaust the question with regard to history in general4 ,from ,joel's own standpoint physical blessings may have been as religious as spiritual2 but we must go further1 and assert that for ,joel's anticipation of the baptism of the ,spirit by a return of prosperity there is an ethical reason and one which is permanently valid in history4 ,a certain degree of prosperity1 and even of comfort1 is an indispensable condition of that universal and lavish exercise of the religious faculties1 which ,joel pictures under the pouring forth of ,god's ,spirit4 ,the history of prophecy itself furnishes us with proofs of this4 ,when did prophecy most flourish in ,israel8 ,when had the ,spirit of ,god most freedom in developing the intellectual and moral nature of ,israel8 ,not when the nation was struggling with the conquest and settlement of the land1 not when it was engaged with the embarrassments and privations of the ,syrian wars2 but an ,amos1 a ,hosea1 an ,isaiah came forth at the end of the long1 peaceful and prosperous reigns of ,jeroboam ,,ii4 and ,uzziah4 ,the intellectual strength and liberty of the great ,prophet of the ,exile1 his deep insight into ,god's purposes and his large view of the future1 had not been possible without the security and comparative prosperity of the ,jews in ,babylon1 from among whom he wrote4 ,in ,haggai and ,zechariah1 on the other hand1 who worked in the hunger-bitten colony of returned exiles1 there was no such fulness of the ,spirit4 ,prophecy1 we saw1#abce was then starved by the poverty and meanness of the national life from which it rose4 ,all this is very explicable4 ,when men are stunned by such a calamity as ,joel describes1 or when they are engrossed by the daily struggle with bitter enemies and a succession of bad seasons1 they may feel the need of penitence and be able to speak with decision upon the practical duty of the moment1 to a degree not attainable in better days1 but they lack the leisure1 the freedom and the resources amid which their various faculties of mind and soul can alone respond to the ,spirit's influence4 ,has it been otherwise in the history of ,christianity8 ,our ,lord ,himself found ,his first disciples1 not in a hungry and ragged community1 but amid the prosperity and opulence of ,galilee4 ,they left all to follow ,him and achieved their ministry in poverty and persecution1 but they brought to that ministry the force of minds and bodies trained in a very fertile land and by a prosperous commerce4#abcf ,paul1 in his apostolate1 sustained himself by the labour of his hands1 but he was the child of a rich civilisation and the citizen of a great empire4 ,the ,reformation was preceded by the ,renaissance1 and on the ,continent of ,europe drew its forces1 not from the enslaved and impoverished populations of ,italy and ,southern ,austria1 but from the large civic and commercial centres of ,germany4 ,an acute historian1 in his recent lectures on the ,economic ,interpretation of ,history1#abcg observes that every religious revival in ,england has happened upon a basis of comparative prosperity4 ,he has proved 8the opulence of ,norfolk during the epoch of ,lollardy10 and pointed out that 8the ,puritan movement was essentially and originally one of the middle classes1 of the traders in towns and of the farmers in the country02 that the religious state of the ,church of ,england was never so low as among the servile and beggarly clergy of the seventeenth and part of the eighteenth centuries2 that the ,nonconformist bodies who kept religion alive during this period were closely identified with the leading movements of trade and finance2#abch and that even ,wesley's great revival of religion among the labouring classes of ,england took place at a time when prices were far lower than in the previous century1 wages had slightly risen and 8most labourers were small occupiers2 there was therefore in the comparative plenty of the time an opening for a religious movement among the poor1 and ,wesley was equal to the occasion40 ,he might have added that the great missionary movement of the nineteenth century is contemporaneous with the enormous advance of our commerce and our empire4 ,on the whole1 then1 the witness of history is uniform4 ,poverty and persecution1 famine1 nakedness1 peril and sword1 put a keenness upon the spirit of religion1 while luxury rots its very fibres2 but a stable basis of prosperity is indispensable to every social and religious reform1 and ,god's ,spirit finds fullest course in communities of a certain degree of civilisation and of freedom from sordidness4 ,we may draw from this an impressive lesson for our own day4 ,joel predicts that1 upon the new prosperity of his land1 the lowest classes of society shall be permeated by the spirit of prophecy4 ,is it not part of the secret of the failure of ,christianity to enlist large portions of our population1 that the basis of their life is so sordid and insecure8 ,have we not yet to learn from the ,hebrew prophets1 that some amount of freedom in a people and some amount of health are indispensable to a revival of religion8 ,lives which are strained and starved1 lives which are passed in rank discomfort and under grinding poverty1 without the possibility of the independence of the individual or of the sacredness of the home1 cannot be religious except in the most rudimentary sense of the word4 ,for the revival of energetic religion among such lives we must wait for a better distribution1 not of wealth1 but of the bare means of comfort1 leisure and security4 ,when1 to our penitence and our striving1 ,god restores the years which the locust has eaten1 when the social plagues of rich men's selfishness and the poverty of the very poor are lifted from us1 then may we look for the fulfilment of ,joel's prediction--even upon all the slaves and upon the handmaidens will ,i pour out ,my ,spirit in those days4 ,the economic problem1 therefore1 has also its place in the warfare for the kingdom of ,god4 ,and it shall be that after such things1 ,i will pour out ,my ,spirit on all flesh2 ,and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy1 ,your old men shall dream dreams1 ,your young men shall see visions3 ,and even upon all the slaves and the handmaidens in those days will ,i pour out ,my ,spirit4 ,and ,i will set signs in heaven and on earth1 ,blood and fire and pillars of smoke4 ,the sun shall be turned to darkness1 ,and the moon to blood1 ,before the coming of the ,day of ,jehovah1 the great and the awful4 ,and it shall be that every one who calls on the name of ,jehovah shall be saved3 ,for in ,mount ,zion and in ,jerusalem shall be a remnant1 as ,jehovah hath spoken1 ,and among the fugitives those whom ,jehovah calleth4 ,this prophecy divides into two parts--the outpouring of the ,spirit1 and the appearance of the terrible ,day of the ,lord4 ,the ,spirit of ,god is to be poured on all flesh1 says the prophet4 ,by this term1 which is sometimes applied to all things that breathe1 and sometimes to mankind as a whole1#abci ,joel means ,israel only3 the heathen are to be destroyed4#abdj ,nor did ,peter1 when he quoted the passage at the ,day of ,pentecost1 mean anything more4 ,he spoke to ,jews and proselytes3 for the promise is to you and your children1 and to them that are afar off3 it was not till afterwards that he discovered that the ,holy ,ghost was granted to the ,gentiles1 and then he was unready for the revelation and surprised by it4#abda ,but within ,joel's ,israel the operation of the ,spirit was to be at once thorough and universal4 ,all classes would be affected1 and affected so that the simplest and rudest would become prophets4 ,the limitation was therefore not without its advantages4 ,in the earlier stages of all religions1 it is impossible to be both extensive and intensive4 ,with a few exceptions1 the ,israel of ,joel's time was a narrow and exclusive body1 hating and hated by other peoples4 ,behind the ,law it kept itself strictly aloof4 ,but without doing so1 ,israel could hardly have survived or prepared itself at that time for its influence on the world4 ,heathenism threatened it from all sides with the most insidious of infections2 and there awaited it in the near future a still more subtle and powerful means of disintegration4 ,in the wake of ,alexander's expeditions1 ,hellenism poured across all the ,east4 ,there was not a community nor a religion1 save ,israel's1 which was not ,hellenised4 ,that ,israel remained ,israel1 in spite of ,greek arms and the ,greek mind1 was due to the legalism of ,ezra and ,nehemiah1 and to what we call the narrow enthusiasm of ,joel4 ,the hearts which kept their passion so confined felt all the deeper for its limits4 ,they would be satisfied with nothing less than the inspiration of every ,israelite1 the fulfilment of the prayer of ,moses3 ,would to ,god that all ,jehovah's people were prophets6 ,and of itself this carries ,joel's prediction to a wider fulfilment4 ,a nation of prophets is meant for the world4 ,but even the best of men do not see the full force of the truth ,god gives to them1 nor follow it even to its immediate consequences4 ,few of the prophets did so1 and at first none of the apostles4 ,joel does not hesitate to say that the heathen shall be destroyed4 ,he does not think of ,israel's mission as foretold by the ,second ,isaiah2 nor of 8,malachi's0 vision of the heathen waiting upon ,jehovah4 ,but in the near future of ,israel there was waiting another prophet to carry ,joel's doctrine to its full effect upon the world1 to rescue the gospel of ,god's grace from the narrowness of legalism and the awful pressure of ,apocalypse1 and by the parable of ,jonah1 the type of the prophet nation1 to show to ,israel that ,god had granted to the ,gentiles also repentance unto life4 ,that it was the lurid clouds of ,apocalypse1 which thus hemmed in our prophet's view1 is clear from the next verses4 ,they bring the terrible manifestations of ,god's wrath in nature very closely upon the lavish outpouring of the ,spirit3 the sun turned to darkness and the moon to blood1 the great and terrible ,day of the ,lord4 ,apocalypse must always paralyse the missionary energies of religion4 ,who can think of converting the world1 when the world is about to be convulsed8 ,there is only time for a remnant to be saved4 ,but when we get rid of ,apocalypse1 as the ,book of ,jonah does1 then we have time and space opened up again1 and the essential forces of such a prophecy of the ,spirit as ,joel has given us burst their national and temporary confines1 and are seen to be applicable to all mankind4 ,,footnotes3 #abba ,a4,v41 adhering to the ,massoretic text1 in which the verbs are pointed for the past1 has evidently understood them as instances of the prophetic perfect4 ,but 8this is grammatically indefensible03 ,driver1 in loco2 see his ,heb4 ,tenses1 #hb1 ,obs4 ,calvin and others1 who take the verbs of ver4 #ah as future1 accept those of the next verse as past and with it begin the narrative4 ,but if ,god's answer to ,his people's prayer be in the past1 so must ,his jealousy and pity4 ,all these verbs are in the same sequence of time4 ,merx proposes to change the vowel-points of the verbs and turn them into futures4 ,but see above1 p4 #cie4 ,ver4 #ba shows that ,jehovah's action is past1 and ,nowack points out the very unusual character of the construction that would follow from ,merx's emendation4 ,ewald1 ,hitzig1 ,kuenen1 ,robertson ,smith1 ,davidson1 ,robertson1 ,steiner1 ,wellhausen1 ,driver1 ,nowack1 etc41 all take the verbs in the past4 #abbb ,this is scarcely a name for the locusts1 who1 though they might reach ,palestine from the ,n4,e4 under certain circumstances1 came generally from ,e4 and ,s4,e4 ,but see above1 p4 #cig3 so ,kuenen1 ,wellhausen1 ,nowack4 ,w4 ,r4 ,smith suggests the whole verse as an allegorising gloss4 ,hitzig thought of the locusts only1 and rendered 1 ,acts xxvii4 #ad2 but this is not proved4 #abbc ,i4e4 the ,dead ,sea 7,ezek4 xlvii4 #ah2 ,zech4 xiv4 #h7 and the ,mediterranean4 #abbd ,the construction shows that the clause preceding this1 1 is a gloss4 ,so ,driver4 ,but ,nowack gives the other clause as the gloss4 #abbe ,nah4 iii4 #ag2 ,exod4 x4 #ai4 #abbf ,de ,civitate ,dei1 ,,iii4 #ca4 #abbg ,i4 #bgh1 quoted by ,pusey4 #abbh i4 #ag-bj3 see above1 p4 #djc4 #abbi ,prophetic past3 ,driver4 #abcj ,opinion is divided as to the meaning of this phrase3 for righteousness4 ,a4 ,there are those who take it as having a moral reference2 and 7#a7 this is so emphatic to some that they render the word for early rain1 1 which also means teacher or revealer1 in the latter significance4 ,so 7some of them applying it to the ,messiah7 ,targum1 ,symmachus1 the ,vulgate1 doctorem justiti1 some ,jews1 e4g4 ,rashi and ,abarbanel1 and some moderns1 e4g4 7at opposite extremes7 ,pusey and ,merx4 ,but1 as ,calvin points out 7this is another instance of his sanity as an exegete1 and refusal to be led by theological presuppositions3 he says1 8,i do not love strained expositions071 this does not agree with the context1 which speaks not of spiritual but wholly of physical blessings4 7#b7 ,some1 who take as early rain1 give the meaning for righteousness1 ad justitiam1 either in the sense that ,god will give the rain as a token of ,his own righteousness1 or in order to restore or vindicate the people's righteousness 7so ,davidson1 ,expositor1 #ahhh1 ,i41 p4 #bjc n471 in the frequent sense in which is employed in ,isa4 xl4 ff4 7see ,isaiah xl4--lxvi41 ,expositor's ,bible1 pp4 #bai ff474 ,cf4 ,hosea x4 #ac1 2 above1 ,vol4 ,i41 p4 #bhi1 n4 #b4 ,this of course is possible1 especially in view of ,israel having been made by their plagues a reproach among the heathen4 ,still1 if ,joel had intended this meaning1 he would have applied the phrase1 not to the early rain only1 but to the whole series of blessings by which the people were restored to their standing before ,god4 ,b4 ,it seems1 therefore1 right to take in a purely physical sense1 of the measure or quality of the early rain4 ,so even ,calvin1 rain according to what is just or fit2 ,a4,v4 moderately 7inexact72 ,r4,v4 in just measure2 ,siegfried-,stade sufficient4 ,the root-meaning of is probably according to norm 7cf4 ,isaiah xl4--lxvi41 p4 #bae71 and in that case the meaning would be rain of normal quantity4 ,this too suits the parallel in the next clause3 as formerly4 ,in ,himyaritic the word is applied to good harvests4 ,a man prays to ,god for 1 full or good harvests and fruits3 ,corp4 ,inscr4 ,sem41 ,pars ,quarta1 ,tomus ,i41 ,no4 #b1 lin4 #a-e2 cf4 the note4 #abca ,driver1 in loco4 #abcb ,heb4 also repeats here early rain1 but redundantly4 #abcc 1 in the first4 ,a4,v4 adds month4 ,but ,,lxx4 and ,syr4 read 1 which is probably the correct reading1 as before or formerly4 #abcd i4 #ah4 #abce ,above1 p4 #ahi4 #abcf ,cf4 ,hist4 ,geog41 ,chap4 ,,xxi41 especially p4 #dfc4 #abcg ,by ,thorold ,rogers1 pp4 #hj ff4 #abch ,e4g4 the ,quakers and the ,independents4 ,the ,independents of the seventeenth century 8were the founders of the ,bank of ,england40 #abci ,all living things1 ,gen4 vi4 #ag1 #ai1 etc42 mankind1 ,isa4 xl4 #e1 xlix4 #bf4 ,see ,driver's note4 #abdj ,next chapter4 #abda ,acts x4 #de4 ,,chapter ,,xxx ,,the ,,judgment ,,of ,,the ,,heathen ,,joel iii4 7,eng42 iv4 ,heb47 ,hitherto ,joel has spoken no syllable of the heathen1 except to pray that ,god by ,his plagues will not give ,israel to be mocked by them4 ,but in the last chapter of the ,book we have ,israel's captivity to the heathen taken for granted1 a promise made that it will be removed and their land set free from the foreigner4 ,certain nations are singled out for judgment1 which is described in the terms of ,apocalypse2 and the ,book closes with the vision1 already familiar in prophecy1 of a supernatural fertility for the land4 ,it is quite another horizon and far different interests from those of the preceding chapter4 ,here for the first time we may suspect the unity of the ,book1 and listen to suggestions of another authorship than ,joel's4 ,but these can scarcely be regarded as conclusive4 ,every prophet1 however national his interests1 feels it his duty to express himself upon the subject of foreign peoples1 and ,joel may well have done so4 ,only1 in that case1 his last chapter was delivered by him at another time and in different circumstances from the rest of his prophecies4 ,chaps4 i4--ii4 7,eng42 i4--iii4 ,heb47 are complete in themselves4 ,chap4 iii4 7,eng42 iv4 ,heb47 opens without any connection of time or subject with those that precede it4#abdb ,the time of the prophecy is a time when ,israel's fortunes are at low ebb1#abdc her sons scattered among the heathen1 her land1 in part at least1 held by foreigners4 ,but it would appear 7though this is not expressly said1 and must rather be inferred from the general proofs of a post-exilic date7 that ,jerusalem is inhabited4 ,nothing is said to imply that the city needs to be restored4#abdd ,all the heathen nations are to be brought together for judgment into a certain valley1 which the prophet calls first the ,vale of ,jehoshaphat and then the ,vale of ,decision4 ,the second name leads us to infer that the first1 which means ,jehovah-judges1 is also symbolic4 ,that is to say1 the prophet does not single out a definite valley already called ,jehoshaphat4 ,in all probability1 however1 he has in his mind's eye some vale in the neighbourhood of ,jerusalem1 for since ,ezekiel#abde the judgment of the heathen in face of ,jerusalem has been a standing feature in ,israel's vision of the last things2 and as no valley about that city lends itself to the picture of judgment so well as the valley of the ,kedron with the slopes of ,olivet1 the name ,jehoshaphat has naturally been applied to it4#abdf ,certain nations are singled out by name4 ,these are not ,assyria and ,babylon1 which had long ago perished1 nor the ,samaritans1 ,moab and ,ammon1 which harassed the ,jews in the early days of the ,return from ,babylon1 but ,tyre1 ,sidon1 ,philistia1 ,edom and ,egypt4 ,the crime of the first three is the robbery of ,jewish treasures1 not necessarily those of the ,temple1 and the selling into slavery of many ,jews4 ,the crime of ,edom and ,egypt is that they have shed the innocent blood of ,jews4 ,to what precise events these charges refer we have no means of knowing in our present ignorance of ,syrian history after ,nehemiah4 ,that the chapter has no explicit reference to the cruelties of ,artaxerxes ,ochus in #cfj would seem to imply for it a date earlier than that year4 ,but it is possible that ver4 #ag refers to that1 the prophet refraining from accusing the ,persians for the very good reason that ,israel was still under their rule4 ,another feature worthy of notice is that the ,phnicians are accused of selling ,jews to the sons of the ,jevanm1 ,ionians or ,greeks4#abdg ,the latter lie on the far horizon of the prophet1#abdh and we know from classical writers that from the fifth century onwards numbers of ,syrian slaves were brought to ,greece4 ,the other features of the chapter are borrowed from earlier prophets4 ,for1 behold1 in those days and in that time1 ,when ,i bring again the captivity#abdi of ,judah and ,jerusalem1 ,i will also gather all the nations1 ,and bring them down to the ,vale of ,jehoshaphat2#abej ,and ,i will enter into judgment with them there1 ,for ,my people and for ,my heritage ,israel1 ,whom they have scattered among the heathen1 ,and ,my land have they divided4 ,and they have cast lots for ,my people3#abea ,they have given a boy for a harlot1#abeb ,and a girl have they sold for wine and drunk it4 ,and again1 what are ye to ,me1 ,tyre and ,sidon and all circuits of ,philistia8#abec ,is it any deed of ,mine ye are repaying8 ,or are ye doing anything to ,me8#abed ,swiftly1 speedily will ,i return your deed on your head1 ,who have taken ,my silver and ,my gold1 ,and ,my goodly jewels ye have brought into your palaces4 ,the sons of ,judah and the sons of ,jerusalem have ye sold to the sons of the ,greeks1 ,in order that ye might set them as far as possible from their own border4 ,lo6 ,i will stir them up from the place to which ye have sold them1 ,and ,i will return your deed upon your head4 ,i will sell your sons and your daughters into the hands of the sons of ,judah1 ,and they shall sell them to the ,shebans1#abee ,to a nation far off2 for ,jehovah hath spoken4 ,proclaim this among the heathen1 hallow a war4 ,wake up the warriors1 let all the fighting-men muster and go up4#abef ,beat your ploughshares into swords1 ,and your pruning-hooks into lances4 ,let the weakling say1 ,i am strong4 444#abeg and come1 all ye nations round about1 ,and gather yourselves together4 ,thither bring down ,thy warriors1 ,jehovah4 ,let the heathen be roused1 ,and come up to the ,vale of ,jehoshaphat1 ,for there will ,i sit to judge all the nations round about4 ,put in the sickle1#abeh for ripe is the harvest4 ,come1 get you down2 for the press is full1 ,the vats overflow1 great is their wickedness4 ,multitudes1 multitudes in the ,vale of ,decision6 ,for near is ,jehovah's day in the ,vale of ,decision4 ,sun and moon have turned black1 ,and the stars withdrawn their shining4 ,jehovah thunders from ,zion1 ,and from ,jerusalem gives#abei forth ,his voice3 ,heaven and earth do quake4 ,but ,jehovah is a refuge to ,his people1 ,and for a fortress to the sons of ,israel4 ,and ye shall know that ,i am ,jehovah your ,god1 ,who dwell in ,zion1 the mount of ,my holiness2 ,and ,jerusalem shall be holy1 ,strangers shall not pass through her again4 ,and it shall be on that day ,the mountains shall drop sweet wine1 ,and the hills be liquid with milk1 ,and all the channels of ,judah flow with water2 ,a fountain shall spring from the house of ,jehovah1 ,and shall water the ,wady of ,shittim4#abfj ,egypt shall be desolation1 ,and ,edom desert-land1 ,for the outrage done to the children of ,judah1 ,because they shed innocent blood in their land4 ,judah shall abide peopled for ever1 ,and ,jerusalem for generation upon generation4 ,and ,i will declare innocent their blood1#abfa which ,i have not declared innocent1 ,by#abfb ,jehovah who dwelleth in ,zion4 ,,footnotes3 #abdb ,i am unable to feel ,driver's and ,nowack's arguments for a connection conclusive4 ,the only reason ,davidson gives is 7p4 #bjd7 that the judgment of the heathen is an essential element in the ,day of ,jehovah1 a reason which does not make ,joel's authorship of the last chapter certain1 but only possible4 #abdc ,the phrase of ver4 #a1 when ,i turn again the captivity of ,judah and ,jerusalem1 may be rendered when ,i restore the fortunes of ,israel4 #abdd ,see above1 p4 #chf1 especially n4 #aacj4 #abde xxxviii4 #abdf ,some have unnecessarily thought of the ,vale of ,berakhah1 in which ,jehoshaphat defeated ,moab1 ,ammon and ,edom 7#b ,chron4 xx474 #abdg ,see above1 p4 #cha1 nn4 #aaad1 #aaae4 #abdh ,ver4 #f;b4 #abdi ,or turn again the fortunes4 #abej ,jehovah-judges4 ,see above1 p4 #dcb4 #abea ,see above1 ,obadiah #aa and ,nahum iii4 #aj4 #abeb 4 ,oort suggests 1 for food4 #abec ,gelilth1 the plural feminine of ,galilee--the circuit 7of the ,gentiles74 ,hist4 ,geog41 p4 #dac4 #abed ,scil4 that ,i must repay4 #abee ,,lxx4 they shall give them into captivity4 #abef ,technical use of 1 to go up to war4 #abeg 1 not found elsewhere1 but supposed to mean gather4 ,cf4 ,zeph4 ii4 #a4 ,others read 1 hasten 7,driver72 ,wellhausen 4 #abeh 1 only here and in ,jer4 l4 #af3 other ,heb4 word for sickle ermesh 7,deut4 xvi4 #i1 xxiii4 #bf74 #abei ,driver1 future4 #abfj ,not the well-known scene of early ,israel's camp across ,jordan1 but it must be some dry and desert valley near ,jerusalem 7so most comm474 ,nowack thinks of the ,wadi el ,sant on the way to ,askalon1 but this did not need watering and is called the ,vale of ,elah4 #abfa ,merx applies this to the ,jews of the ,messianic era4 ,,lxx4 read 4 ,so ,syr4 ,cf4 #b ,kings ix4 #g4 ,steiner3 ,shall ,i leave their blood unpunished8 ,i will not leave it unpunished4 ,nowack deems this to be unlikely1 and suggests1 ,i will avenge their blood2 ,i will not leave unpunished the shedders of it4 #abfb ,heb4 construction is found also in ,hosea xii4 #e4 ,,introduction ,,to ,,the ,,prophets ,,of ,,the ,,grecian ,,period 7#cca---- ,b4,c47 ,,chapter ,,xxxi ,,israel ,,and ,,the ,,greeks ,apart from the author of the tenth chapter of ,genesis1 who defines ,javan or ,greece as the father of ,elishah and ,tarshish1 of ,kittim or ,cyprus and ,rodanim or ,rhodes1#abfc the first ,hebrew writer who mentions the ,greeks is ,ezekiel1#abfd c4 #ehj ,b4,c4 ,he describes them as engaged in commerce with the ,phnicians1 who bought slaves from them4 ,even while ,ezekiel wrote in ,babylonia1 the ,babylonians were in touch with the ,ionian ,greeks through the ,lydians4#abfe ,the latter were overthrown by ,cyrus about #ede1 and by the beginning of the next century the ,persian lords of ,israel were in close struggle with the ,greeks for the supremacy of the world1 and had virtually been defeated so far as concerned ,europe1 the west of ,asia ,minor1 and the sovereignty of the ,mediterranean and ,black ,seas4 ,in #dfj ,athens sent an expedition to ,egypt to assist a revolt against ,persia1 and even before that ,greek fleets had scoured the ,levant and ,greek soldiers1 though in the pay of ,persia1 had trodden the soil of ,syria4 ,still ,joel1 writing towards #djj ,b4,c41 mentions ,greece#abff only as a market to which the ,phnicians carried ,jewish slaves2 and in a prophecy which some take to be contemporary with ,joel1 ,isaiah lxvi41 the coasts of ,greece are among the most distant of ,gentile lands4#abfg ,in #dja the younger ,cyrus brought to the ,euphrates to fight against ,artaxerxes ,mnemon the ten thousand ,greeks whom1 after the battle of ,cunaxa1 ,xenophon led north to the ,black ,sea4 ,for nearly seventy years thereafter ,athenian trade slowly spread eastward1 but nothing was yet done by ,greece to advertise her to the peoples of ,asia as a claimant for the world's throne4 ,then suddenly in #ccd ,alexander of ,macedon crossed the ,hellespont1 spent a year in the conquest of ,asia ,minor1 defeated ,darius at ,issus in #ccb1 took ,damascus1 ,tyre and ,gaza1 overran the ,delta and founded ,alexandria4 ,in #cca he marched back over ,syria1 crossed the ,euphrates1 overthrew the ,persian ,empire on the field of ,arbela1 and for the next seven years till his death in #cbd extended his conquests to the ,oxus and the ,indus4 ,the story1 that on his second passage of ,syria ,alexander visited ,jerusalem1#abfh is probably false4 ,but he must have encamped repeatedly within forty miles of it1 and he visited ,samaria4#abfi ,it is impossible that he received no embassy from a people who had not known political independence for centuries and must have been only too ready to come to terms with the new lord of the world4 ,alexander left behind him colonies of his veterans1 both to the east and west of the ,jordan1 and in his wake there poured into all the cities of the ,syrian seaboard a considerable volume of ,greek immigration4#abgj ,it is from this time onward that we find in ,greek writers the earliest mention of the ,jews by name4 ,theophrastus and ,clearchus of ,soli1 disciples of ,aristotle1 both speak of them2 but while the former gives evidence of some knowledge of their habits1 the latter reports that in the perspective of his great master they had been so distant and vague as to be confounded with the ,brahmins of ,india1 a confusion which long survived among the ,greeks4#abga ,alexander's death delivered his empire to the ambitions of his generals1 of whom four contested for the mastery of ,asia and ,egypt--,antigonus1 ,ptolemy1 ,lysimachus and ,seleucus4 ,of these ,ptolemy and ,seleucus emerged victorious1 the one in possession of ,egypt1 the other of ,northern ,syria and the rest of ,asia4 ,palestine lay between them1 and both in the wars which led to the establishment of the two kingdoms and in those which for centuries followed1 ,palestine became the battle-field of the ,greeks4 ,ptolemy gained ,egypt within two years of ,alexander's death1 and from its definite and strongly entrenched territory he had by #cbj conquered ,syria and ,cyprus4 ,in #cae or #cad ,syria was taken from him by ,antigonus1 who also expelled ,seleucus from ,babylon4 ,seleucus fled to ,egypt and stirred up ,ptolemy to the reconquest of ,syria4 ,in #cab ,ptolemy defeated ,demetrius1 the general of ,antigonus1 at ,gaza1 but the next year was driven back into ,egypt by ,antigonus himself4 ,meanwhile ,seleucus regained ,babylon4#abgb ,in #caa the three made peace with each other1 but ,antigonus retained ,syria4 ,in #cjf they assumed the title of kings1 and in the same year renewed their quarrel4 ,after a naval battle ,antigonus wrested ,cyprus from ,ptolemy1 but in #cja he was defeated and slain by ,seleucus and ,lysimachus at the battle of ,ipsus in ,phrygia4 ,his son ,demetrius retained ,cyprus and part of the ,phnician coast till #bhg1 when he was forced to yield them to ,seleucus1 who had moved the centre of his power from ,babylon to the new ,antioch on the ,orontes1 with a seaport at ,seleucia4 ,meanwhile in #cja ,ptolemy had regained what the ,greeks then knew as ,cle-,syria1 that is all ,syria to the south of ,lebanon except the ,phnician coast4#abgc ,damascus belonged to ,seleucus4 ,but ,ptolemy was not allowed to retain ,palestine in peace1 for in #big ,demetrius appears to have invaded it1 and ,seleucus1 especially after his marriage with ,stratonike1 the daughter of ,demetrius1 never wholly resigned his claims to it4#abgd ,ptolemy1 however1 established a hold upon the land1 which continued practically unbroken for a century1 and yet during all that time had to be maintained by frequent wars1 in the course of which the land itself must have severely suffered 7#bfd--bdh74 ,therefore1 as in the days of their earliest prophets1 the people of ,israel once more lay between two rival empires4 ,and as ,hosea and ,isaiah pictured them in the eighth century1 the possible prey either of ,egypt or ,assyria1 so now in these last years of the fourth they were tossed between ,ptolemy and ,antigonus1 and in the opening years of the third were equally wooed by ,ptolemy and ,seleucus4 ,upon this new alternative of tyranny the ,jews appear to have bestowed the actual names of their old oppressors4 ,ptolemy was ,egypt to them2 ,seleucus1 with one of his capitals at ,babylon1 was still ,assyria1 from which came in time the abbreviated ,greek form of ,syria4#abge ,but1 unlike the ancient empires1 these new rival lords were of one race4 ,whether the tyranny came from ,asia or ,africa1 its quality was ,greek2 and in the sons of ,javan the ,jews saw the successors of those world-powers of ,egypt1 ,assyria and ,babylonia1 in which had been concentrated against themselves the whole force of the heathen world4 ,our records of the times are fragmentary1 but though ,alexander spared the ,jews it appears that they had not long to wait before feeling the force of ,greek arms4 ,josephus quotes#abgf from ,agatharchides of ,cnidos 7#ahj--ade ,b4,c47 to the effect that ,ptolemy ,i4 surprised ,jerusalem on a ,sabbath day and easily took it2 and he adds that at the same time he took a great many captives from the hill-country of ,juda1 from ,jerusalem and from ,samaria1 and led them into ,egypt4 ,whether this was in #cbj or #cab or #cjaabgg we cannot tell4 ,it is possible that the ,jews suffered in each of these ,egyptian invasions of ,syria1 as well as during the southward marches of ,demetrius and ,antigonus4 ,the later policy1 both of the ,ptolemies1 who were their lords1 and of the ,seleucids1 was for a long time exceedingly friendly to ,israel4 ,their sufferings from the ,greeks were therefore probably over by #bhj1 although they cannot have remained unscathed by the wars between #bfd and #bdh4 ,the ,greek invasion1 however1 was not like the ,assyrian and ,babylonian1 of arms alone2 but of a force of intellect and culture far surpassing even the influences which the ,persians had impressed upon the religion and mental attitude of ,israel4 ,the ancient empires had transplanted the nations of ,palestine to ,assyria and ,babylonia4 ,the ,greeks did not need to remove them to ,greece2 for they brought ,greece to ,palestine4 8,the ,orient10 says ,wellhausen1 8became their ,america40 ,they poured into ,syria1 infecting1 exploiting1 assimilating its peoples4 ,with dismay the ,jews must have seen themselves surrounded by new ,greek colonies1 and still more by the old ,palestinian cities ,hellenised in polity and religion4 ,the ,greek translator of ,isaiah ix4 #ab renders ,philistines by ,hellenes4 ,israel were compassed and penetrated by influences as subtle as the atmosphere3 not as of old uprooted from their fatherland1 but with their fatherland itself infected and altered beyond all powers of resistance4 ,the full alarm of this1 however1 was not felt for many years to come4 ,it was at first the policy both of the ,seleucids and the ,ptolemies to flatter and foster the ,jews4 ,they encouraged them to feel that their religion had its own place beside the forces of ,greece1 and was worth interpreting to the world4 ,seleucus ,i4 gave to ,jews the rights of citizenship in ,asia ,minor and ,northern ,syria2 and ,ptolemy ,i4 atoned for his previous violence by granting them the same in ,alexandria4 ,in the matter of the consequent tribute ,seleucus respected their religious scruples2 and it was under ,ptolemy ,philadelphus 7#bhc--bdg71 if not at his instigation1 that the ,law was first translated into ,greek4 99 99 99 99 99 ,to prophecy1 before it finally expired1 there was granted the opportunity to assert itself1 upon at least the threshold of this new era of ,israel's history4 ,we have from the first half-century of the era perhaps three or four1 but certainly two1 prophetic pieces4 ,by many critics ,isaiah xxiv4--xxvii4 are assigned to the years immediately following ,alexander's campaigns4 ,others assign ,isaiah xix4 #af-be to the last years of ,ptolemy ,i4#abgh ,and of our ,book of the ,twelve ,prophets1 the chapters attached to the genuine prophecies of ,zechariah1 or chaps1 ix4--xiv4 of his book1 most probably fall to be dated from the contests of ,syria and ,egypt for the possession of ,palestine2 while somewhere about #cjj is the most likely date for the ,book of ,jonah4 ,in 8,zech40 ix4--xiv4 we see prophecy perhaps at its lowest ebb4 ,the clash with the new foes produces a really terrible thirst for the blood of the heathen3 there are schisms and intrigues within ,israel which in our ignorance of her history during this time it is not possible for us to follow3 the brighter gleams1 which contrast so forcibly with the rest1 may be more ancient oracles that the writer has incorporated with his own stern and dark ,apocalypse4 ,in the ,book of ,jonah1 on the other hand1 we find a spirit and a style in which prophecy may not unjustly be said to have given its highest utterance4 ,and this alone suffices1 in our uncertainty as to the exact date of the book1 to take it last of all our ,twelve4 ,for 8in this book10 as ,cornill has finely said1 8the prophecy of ,israel quits the scene of battle as victor1 and as victor in its severest struggle--that against self40 ,,footnotes3 #abfc ,gen4 x4 #b1 #d4 ,javan1 is 1 or 1 the older form of the name of the ,ionians1 the first of the ,greek race with whom ,eastern peoples came into contact4 ,they are perhaps named on the ,tell-el-,amarna tablets as 8,yivana10 serving 8in the country of ,tyre0 7c4 #adjj ,b4,c472 and on an inscription of ,sargon 7c4 #gji7 ,cyprus is called ,yvanu4 #abfd xxvii4 #ac4 #abfe ,isaiah xl4--lxvi4 7,expositor's ,bible71 #ajh f4 #abff iii4 #f 7,eng42 iv4 #f ,heb474 #abfg ,the sense of distance between the two peoples was mutual4 ,writing in the middle of the fifth century ,b4,c41 ,herodotus has heard of the ,jews only as a people that practise circumcision and were defeated by ,pharaoh ,necho at ,megiddo 7,,ii4 #ajd1 #aei2 on the latter passage see ,hist4 ,geog41 p4 #dje n474 ,he does not even know them by name4 ,the fragment of ,chrilos of ,samos1 from the end of the fifth century1 which ,josephus cites 7,contra ,apionem1 ,i4 #bb7 as a reference to the ,jews1 is probably of a people in ,asia ,minor4 ,even in the last half of the fourth century and before ,alexander's campaigns1 ,aristotle knows of the ,dead ,sea only by a vague report 7,meteor41 ,,ii4 iii4 #ci74 ,his pupil ,theophrastus 7d4 #bhg7 names and describes the ,jews 7,porphyr4 de ,abstinentia1 ,,ii4 #bf2 ,eusebius1 ,prepar4 ,evang41 ,,ix4 #b3 cf4 ,josephus1 ,c4 ,apion41 ,i4 #bb72 and another pupil1 ,clearchus of ,soli1 records the mention by ,aristotle of a travelled ,jew of ,cle-,syria1 but 8,greek in soul as in tongue10 whom the great philosopher had met1 and learned from him that the ,jews were descended from the philosophers of ,india 7quoted by ,josephus1 ,c4 ,apion41 ,i4 #bb74 #abfh ,jos41 ,,xi4 ,antt4 iv4 #e4 #abfi ,hist4 ,geog41 p4 #cdg4 #abgj ,hist4 ,geog41 pp4 #eic f4 #abga ,see above1 p4 #ddj1 n4 #abfg4 #abgb ,hence the ,seleucid era dates from #cab4 #abgc ,hist4 ,geog41 #ech4 #abgd ,cf4 ,ewald1 ,hist4 7,eng4 ,ed471 ,v4 #bbf f4 #abge ,asshur or ,assyria fell in #fjg 7as we have seen71 but her name was transferred to her successor ,babylon 7#b ,kings xxiii4 #bi2 ,jer4 ii4 #ah2 ,lam4 v4 #f71 and even to ,babylon's successor ,persia 7,ezra vi4 #bb74 ,when ,seleucus secured what was virtually the old ,assyrian ,empire with large extensions to ,phrygia on the west and the ,punjaub on the east1 the name would naturally be continued to his dominion1 especially as his first capital was ,babylon1 from his capture of which in #cab the ,seleucid era took its start4 ,there is actual record of this4 ,brugsch 7,gesch4 ,aeg41 p4 #bah7 states that in the hieroglyphic inscriptions of the ,ptoleman period the kingdom of the ,seleucids is called ,asharu 7cf4 ,stade1 ,z4,a4,t4,w41 #ahhb1 p4 #bib1 and ,cheyne1 ,book of ,psalms1 p4 #bec1 and ,introd4 to ,book of ,isaiah1 p4 #ajg1 n4 #c74 ,as the ,seleucid kingdom shrank to this side of the ,euphrates1 it drew the name ,assyria with it4 ,but in ,greek mouths this had long ago 7cf4 ,herod47 been shortened to ,syria3 ,herodotus also appears to have applied it only to the west of the ,euphrates4 ,cf4 ,hist4 ,geog41 pp4 #c f4 #abgf ,,xii4 ,antt4 i43 cf4 ,con4 ,apion41 ,i4 #bb4 #abgg ,see above1 p4 #ddb4 ,eusebius1 ,chron4 ,arm41 ,,ii4 #bbe1 assigns it to #cbj4 #abgh ,cheyne1 ,introd4 to ,book of ,isaiah1 p4 #aje4 8,,zechariah0 7,,ix4--,,xiv47 ,lo1 thy ,king cometh to thee1 vindicated and victorious1 meek and riding on an ass1 and on a colt1 the foal of an ass4 ,up1 ,sword1 against ,my ,shepherd6444 ,smite the ,shepherd1 that the sheep may be scattered6 ,and ,i will pour upon the house of ,david and upon all the inhabitants of ,jerusalem the spirit of grace and of supplication1 and they shall look to ,him whom they have pierced2 and they shall lament for ,him1 as with lamentation for an only son1 and bitterly grieve for ,him1 as with grief for a first-born4 ,,chapter ,,xxxii ,,chapters ,,ix4--,,xiv4 ,,of 8,,zechariah0 ,we saw that the first eight chapters of the ,book of ,zechariah were1 with the exception of a few verses1 from the prophet himself4 ,no one has ever doubted this4 ,no one could doubt it3 they are obviously from the years of the building of the ,temple1 #ebj--eaf ,b4,c4 ,they hang together with a consistency exhibited by few other groups of chapters in the ,old ,testament4 ,but when we pass into chap4 ix4 we find ourselves in circumstances and an atmosphere altogether different4 ,israel is upon a new situation of history1 and the words addressed to her breathe another spirit4 ,there is not the faintest allusion to the building of the ,temple--the subject from which all the first eight chapters depend4 ,there is not a single certain reflection of the ,persian period1 under the shadow of which the first eight chapters were all evidently written4 ,we have names of heathen powers mentioned1 which not only do not occur in the first eight chapters1 but of which it is not possible to think that they had any interest whatever for ,israel between #ebj and #eaf3 ,damascus1 ,hadrach1 ,hamath1 ,assyria1 ,egypt and ,greece4 ,the peace1 and the love of peace1 in which ,zechariah wrote1 has disappeared4#abgi ,nearly everything breathes of war actual or imminent4 ,the heathen are spoken of with a ferocity which finds few parallels in the ,old ,testament4 ,there is a revelling in their blood1 of which the student of the authentic prophecies of ,zechariah will at once perceive that gentle lover of peace could not have been capable4 ,and one passage figures the imminence of a thorough judgment upon ,jerusalem1 very different from ,zechariah's outlook upon his people's future from the eve of the completion of the ,temple4 ,it is not surprising1 therefore1 that one of the earliest efforts of ,old ,testament criticism should have been to prove another author than ,zechariah for chaps4 ix4--xiv4 of the book called by his name4 ,the very first attempt of this kind was made so far back as #afcb by the ,cambridge theologian ,joseph ,mede1#abhj who was moved thereto by the desire to vindicate the correctness of ,st4 ,matthew's ascription#abha of 8,zech40 xi4 #ac to the prophet ,jeremiah4 ,mede's effort was developed by other ,english exegetes4 ,hammond assigned chaps4 x4--xii41 ,bishop ,kidder#abhb and ,william ,whiston1 the translator of ,josephus1 chaps4 ix4--xiv41 to ,jeremiah4 ,archbishop ,newcome#abhc divided them1 and sought to prove that while chaps4 ix4--xi4 must have been written before #gba1 or a century earlier than ,jeremiah1 because of the heathen powers they name1 and the divisions between ,judah and ,israel1 chaps4 xii4--xiv4 reflect the imminence of the ,fall of ,jerusalem4 ,in #aghd ,flgge#abhd offered independent proof that chaps4 ix4--xiv4 were by ,jeremiah2 and in #ahad ,bertholdt#abhe suggested that chaps4 ix4--xi4 might be by ,zechariah the contemporary of ,isaiah1#abhf and on that account attached to the prophecies of his younger namesake4 ,these opinions gave the trend to the main volume of criticism1 which1 till fifteen years ago1 deemed 8,zech40 ix4--xiv4 to be pre-exilic4 ,so ,hitzig1 who at first took the whole to be from one hand1 but afterwards placed xii4--xiv4 by a different author under ,manasseh4 ,so ,ewald1 ,bleek1 ,kuenen 7at first71 ,samuel ,davidson1 ,schrader1 ,duhm 7in #ahge71 and more recently ,knig and ,orelli1 who assign chaps4 ix4--xi4 to the reign of ,ahaz1 but xii4--xiv4 to the eve of the ,fall of ,jerusalem1 or even a little later4 ,some critics1 however1 remained unmoved by the evidence offered for a pre-exilic date4 ,they pointed out in particular that the geographical references were equally suitable to the centuries after the ,exile4 ,damascus1 ,hadrach and ,hamath1#abhg though politically obsolete by #gbj1 entered history again with the campaigns of ,alexander the ,great in #ccb--cca1 and the establishment of the ,seleucid kingdom in ,northern ,syria4#abhh ,egypt and ,assyria#abhi were names used after the ,exile for the kingdom of the ,ptolemies1 and for those powers which still threatened ,israel from the north1 or ,assyrian quarter4 ,judah and ,joseph or ,ephraim#abij were names still used after the ,exile to express the whole of ,god's ,israel2 and in chaps4 ix4--xiv4 they are presented1 not divided as before #gba1 but united4 ,none of the chapters give a hint of any king in ,jerusalem2 and all of them1 while representing the great ,exile of ,judah as already begun1 show a certain dependence in style and even in language upon ,jeremiah1 ,ezekiel and ,isaiah xl4--lxvi4 ,moreover the language is post-exilic1 sprinkled with ,aramaisms and with other words and phrases used only1 or mainly1 by ,hebrew writers from ,jeremiah onwards4 ,but though many critics judged these grounds to be sufficient to prove the post-exilic origin of 8,zech40 ix4--xiv41 they differed as to the author and exact date of these chapters4 ,conservatives like ,hengstenberg1#abia ,delitzsch1 ,keil1 ,khler and ,pusey used the evidence to prove the authorship of ,zechariah himself after #eaf1 and interpreted the references to the ,greek period as pure prediction4 ,pusey says#abib that chaps4 ix4--xi4 extend from the completion of the ,temple and its deliverance during the invasion of ,alexander1 and from the victories of the ,maccabees1 to the rejection of the true shepherd and the curse upon the false2 and chaps4 xi4--xii4 8from a future repentance for the death of ,christ to the final conversion of the ,jews and ,gentiles40#abic ,but on the same grounds ,eichhorn#abid saw in the chapters not a prediction but a reflection of the ,greek period4 ,he assigned chaps4 ix4 and x4 to an author in the time of ,alexander the ,great2 xi4--xiii4 #f he placed a little later1 and brought down xiii4 #g--xiv4 to the ,maccabean period4 ,bttcher#abie placed the whole in the wars of ,ptolemy and ,seleucus after ,alexander's death2 and ,vatke1 who had at first selected a date in the reign of ,artaxerxes ,longhand1 #dfd--dbe1 finally decided for the ,maccabean period1 #agj ff4#abif ,in recent times the most thorough examination of the chapters has been that by ,stade1#abig and the conclusion he comes to is that chaps4 ix4--xiv4 are all from one author1 who must have written during the early wars between the ,ptolemies and ,seleucids about #bhj ,b4,c41 but employed1 especially in chaps4 ix41 x41 an earlier prophecy4 ,a criticism and modification of ,stade's theory is given by ,kuenen4 ,he allows that the present form of chaps4 ix4--xiv4 must be of post-exilic origin3 this is obvious from the mention of the ,greeks as a world-power2 the description of a siege of ,jerusalem by all the heathen2 the way in which 7chaps4 ix4 #aa f41 but especially x4 #f-i7 the captivity is presupposed1 if not of all ,israel1 yet of ,ephraim2 the fact that the ,house of ,david are not represented as governing2 and the thoroughly priestly character of all the chapters4 ,but ,kuenen holds that an ancient prophecy of the eighth century underlies chaps4 ix4--xi41 xiii4 #g-i1 in which several actual phrases of it survive2#abih and that in their present form xii4--xiv4 are older than ix4--xi41 and probably by a contemporary of ,joel1 about #djj ,b4,c4 ,in the main ,cheyne1#abii ,cornill1#acjj ,wildeboer#acja and ,staerk#acjb adhere to ,stade's conclusions4 ,cheyne proves the unity of the six chapters and their date before the ,maccabean period4 ,staerk brings down xi4 #d-ag and xiii4 #g-i to #aga ,b4,c4 ,wellhausen argues for the unity1 and assigns it to the ,maccabean times4 ,driver judges ix4--xi41 with its natural continuation xiii4 #g-i1 as not earlier than #ccc2 and the rest of xii4--xiv4 as certainly post-exilic1 and probably from #dcb--cjj4 ,rubinkam#acjc places ix4 #a-aj in ,alexander's time1 the rest in that of the ,maccabees1 but ,zeydner#acjd all of it to the latter4 ,kirkpatrick1#acje after showing the post-exilic character of all the chapters1 favours assigning ix4--xi4 to a different author from xii4--xiv4 ,asserting that to the question of the exact date it is impossible to give a definite answer1 he thinks that the whole may be with considerable probability assigned to the first sixty or seventy years of the ,exile1 and is therefore in its proper place between ,zechariah and 8,malachi40 ,the reference to the sons of ,javan he takes to be a gloss1 probably added in ,maccabean times4#acjf ,it will be seen from this catalogue of conclusions that the prevailing trend of recent criticism has been to assign 8,zech40 ix4--xiv4 to post-exilic times1 and to a different author from chaps4 i4--viii42 and that while a few critics maintain a date soon after the ,return1 the bulk are divided between the years following ,alexander's campaigns and the time of the ,maccabean struggles4#acjg ,there are1 in fact1 in recent years only two attempts to support the conservative position of ,pusey and ,hengstenberg that the whole book is a genuine work of ,zechariah the son of ,iddo4 ,one of these is by ,c4 ,h4 ,h4 ,wright in his ,bampton ,lectures4 ,the other is by ,george ,l4 ,robinson1 now ,professor at ,toronto1 in a reprint 7#ahif7 from the ,american ,journal of ,semitic ,languages and ,literatures1 which offers a valuable history of the discussion of the whole question from the days of ,mede1 with a careful argument of all the evidence on both sides4 ,the very original conclusion is reached that the chapters reflect the history of the years #eah--eaf ,b4,c4 ,in discussing the question1 for which our treatment of other prophets has left us too little space1 we need not open that part of it which lies between a pre-exilic and a post-exilic date4 ,recent criticism of all schools and at both extremes has tended to establish the latter upon reasons which we have already stated1#acjh and for further details of which the student may be referred to ,stade's and ,eckardt's investigations in the ,zeitschrift fr ,a4 ,t4 ,wissenschaft and to ,kirkpatrick's impartial summary4 ,there remain the questions of the unity of chaps4 ix4--xiv42 their exact date or dates after the ,exile1 and as a consequence of this their relation to the authentic prophecies of ,zechariah in chaps4 i4--viii4 ,on the question of unity we take first chaps4 ix4--xi41 to which must be added 7as by most critics since ,ewald7 xiii4 #g-i1 which has got out of its place as the natural continuation and conclusion of chap4 xi4 ,chap4 ix4 #a-h predicts the overthrow of heathen neighbours of ,israel1 their possession by ,jehovah and ,his safeguard of ,jerusalem4 ,vv4 #i-ab follow with a prediction of the ,messianic ,king as the ,prince of ,peace2 but then come vv4 #ac-ag1 with no mention of the ,king1 but ,jehovah appears alone as the hero of ,his people against the ,greeks1 and there is indeed sufficiency of war and blood4 ,chap4 x4 makes a new start3 the people are warned to seek their blessings from ,jehovah1 and not from ,teraphim and diviners1 whom their false shepherds follow4 ,jehovah1 visiting ,his flock1 shall punish these1 give proper rulers1 make the people strong and gather in their exiles to fill ,gilead and ,lebanon4 ,chap4 xi4 opens with a burst of war on ,lebanon and ,bashan and the overthrow of the heathen 7vv4 #a-c71 and follows with an allegory1 in which the prophet first takes charge from ,jehovah of the people as their shepherd1 but is contemptuously treated by them 7#d-ad71 and then taking the guise of an evil shepherd represents what they must suffer from their next ruler 7#ae-ag74 ,this tyrant1 however1 shall receive punishment1 two-thirds of the nation shall be scattered1 but the rest1 further purified1 shall be ,god's own people 7xiii4 #g-i74 ,in the course of this prophesying there is no conclusive proof of a double authorship4 ,the only passage which offers strong evidence for this is chap4 ix4 ,the verses predicting the peaceful coming of ,messiah 7#i-ab7 do not accord in spirit with those which follow predicting the appearance of ,jehovah with war and great shedding of blood4 ,nor is the difference altogether explained1 as ,stade thinks1 by the similar order of events in chap4 x41 where ,judah and ,joseph are first represented as saved and brought back in ver4 #f1 and then we have the process of their redemption and return described in vv4 #g ff4 ,why did the same writer give statements of such very different temper as chap4 ix4 #i-ab and #ac-ag8 ,or1 if these be from different hands1 why were they ever put together8 ,otherwise there is no reason for breaking up chaps4 ix4--xi41 xiii4 #g-i4 ,rubinkam1 who separates ix4 #a-aj by a hundred and fifty years from the rest2 ,bleek1 who divides ix4 from x42 and ,staerk1 who separates ix4--xi4 #c from the rest1 have been answered by ,robinson and others4#acji ,on the ground of language1 grammar and syntax1 ,eckardt has fully proved that ix4--xi4 are from the same author of a late date1 who1 however1 may have occasionally followed earlier models and even introduced their very phrases4#acaj ,more supporters have been found for a division of authorship between chaps4 ix4--xi41 xiii4 #g-i1 and chaps4 xii4--xiv4 7less xiii4 #g-i74 ,chap4 xii4 opens with a title of its own4 ,a strange element is introduced into the historical relation4 ,jerusalem is assaulted not by the heathen only1 but by ,judah1 who1 however1 turns on finding that ,jehovah fights for ,jerusalem1 and is saved by ,jehovah before ,jerusalem in order that the latter may not boast over it 7xii4 #a-i74 ,a spirit of grace and supplication is poured upon the guilty city1 a fountain opened for uncleanness1 idols abolished1 and the prophets1 who are put on a level with them1 abolished too1 where they do not disown their profession 7xii4 #aj--xiii4 #f74 ,another assault of the heathen on ,jerusalem is described1 half of the people being taken captive4 ,jehovah appears1 and by a great earthquake saves the rest4 ,the land is transformed4 ,and then the prophet goes back to the defeat of the heathen assault on the city1 in which ,judah is again described as taking part2 and the surviving heathen are converted1 or1 if they refuse to be1 punished by the withholding of rain4 ,jerusalem is holy to the ,lord 7xiv474 ,in all this there is more that differs from chaps4 ix4--xi41 xiii4 #g-i1 than the strange opposition of ,judah and ,jerusalem4 ,ephraim1 or ,joseph1 is not mentioned1 nor any return of exiles1 nor punishment of the shepherds1 nor coming of the ,messiah1#acaa the latter's place being taken by ,jehovah4 ,but in answer to this we may remember that the ,messiah1 after being described in ix4 #i-ab1 is immediately lost behind the warlike coming of ,jehovah4 ,both sections speak of idolatry1 and of the heathen1 their punishment and conversion1 and do so in the same apocalyptic style4 ,nor does the language of the two differ in any decisive fashion4 ,on the contrary1 as ,eckardt#acab and ,kuiper have shown1 the language is on the whole an argument for unity of authorship4#acac ,there is1 then1 nothing conclusive against the position1 which ,stade so clearly laid down and strongly fortified1 that chaps4 ix4--xiv4 are from the same hand1 although1 as he admits1 this cannot be proved with absolute certainty4 ,so also ,cheyne3 8,with perhaps one or two exceptions1 chaps4 ix4--xi4 and xii4--xiv4 are so closely welded together that even analysis is impossible40#acad ,the next questions we have to decide are whether chaps4 ix4--xiv4 offer any evidence of being by ,zechariah1 the author of chaps4 i4--viii41 and if not to what other post-exilic date they may be assigned4 ,it must be admitted that in language and in style the two parts of the ,book of ,zechariah have features in common4 ,but that these have been exaggerated by defenders of the unity there can be no doubt4 ,we cannot infer anything from the fact#acae that both parts contain specimens of clumsy diction1 of the repetition of the same word1 of phrases 7not the same phrases7 unused by other writers2#acaf or that each is lavish in vocatives2 or that each is variable in his spelling4 ,resemblances of that kind they share with other books3 some of them are due to the fact that both sections are post-exilic4 ,on the other hand1 as ,eckardt has clearly shown1 there exists a still greater number of differences between the two sections1 both in language and in style4#acag ,not only do characteristic words occur in each which are not found in the other1 not only do chaps4 ix4--xiv4 contain many more ,aramaisms than chaps4 i4--viii41 and therefore symptoms of a later date2 but both parts use the same words with more or less different meanings1 and apply different terms to the same objects4 ,there are also differences of grammar1 of favourite formulas1 and of other features of the phraseology1 which1 if there be any need1 complete the proof of a distinction of dialect so great as to require to account for it distinction of authorship4 ,the same impression is sustained by the contrast of the historical circumstances reflected in each of the two sections4 ,zech4 i4--viii4 were written during the building of the ,temple4 ,there is no echo of the latter in 8,zech40 ix4--xiv4 ,zech4 i4--viii4 picture the whole earth as at peace1 which was true at least of all ,syria3 they portend no danger to ,jerusalem from the heathen1 but describe her peace and fruitful expansion in terms most suitable to the circumstances imposed upon her by the solid and clement policy of the earlier ,persian kings4 ,this is all changed in 8,zech40 ix4--xiv4 ,the nations are restless2 a siege of ,jerusalem is imminent1 and her salvation is to be assured only by much war and a terrible shedding of blood4 ,we know exactly how ,israel fared and felt in the early sections of the ,persian period3 her interests in the politics of the world1 her feelings towards her governors and her whole attitude to the heathen were not at that time those which are reflected in 8,zech40 ix4--xiv4 ,nor is there any such resemblance between the religious principles of the two sections of the ,book of ,zechariah as could prove identity of origin4 ,that both are spiritual1 or that they have a similar expectation of the ultimate position of ,israel in the history of the world1 proves only that both were late offshoots from the same religious development1 and worked upon the same ancient models4 ,within these outlines1 there are not a few divergences4 ,zech4 i4--viii4 were written before ,ezra and ,nehemiah had imposed the ,levitical legislation upon ,israel2 but ,eckardt has shown the dependence on the latter of 8,zech40 ix4--xiv4 ,we may1 therefore1 adhere to ,canon ,driver's assertion1 that ,zechariah in chaps4 i4--viii4 8uses a different phraseology1 evinces different interests and moves in a different circle of ideas from those which prevail in chaps4 ix4--xiv40#acah ,criticism has indeed been justified in separating1 by the vast and growing majority of its opinions1 the two sections from each other4 ,this was one of the earliest results which modern criticism achieved1 and the latest researches have but established it on a firmer basis4 ,if1 then1 chaps4 ix4--xiv4 be not ,zechariah's1 to what date may we assign them8 ,we have already seen that they bear evidence of being upon the whole later than ,zechariah1 though they appear to contain fragments from an earlier period4 ,perhaps this is all we can with certainty affirm4 ,yet something more definite is at least probable4 ,the mention of the ,greeks1 not as ,joel mentions them about #djj1 the most distant nation to which ,jewish slaves could be carried1 but as the chief of the heathen powers1 and a foe with whom the ,jews are in touch and must soon cross swords1#acai appears to imply that the ,syrian campaign of ,alexander is happening or has happened1 or even that the ,greek kingdoms of ,syria and ,egypt are already contending for the possession of ,palestine4 ,with this agrees the mention of ,damascus1 ,hadrach and ,hamath1 the localities where the ,seleucids had their chief seats4#acbj ,in that case ,asshur would signify the ,seleucids and ,egypt the ,ptolemies3#acba it is these1 and not ,greece itself1 from whom the ,jewish exiles have still to be redeemed4 ,all this makes probable the date which ,stade has proposed for the chapters1 between #cjj and #bhj ,b4,c4 ,to bring them further down1 to the time of the ,maccabees1 as some have tried to do1 would not be impossible so far as the historical allusions are concerned2 but had they been of so late a date as that1 viz4 #agj or #afj1 we may assert that they could not have found a place in the prophetic canon1 which was closed by #bjj1 but must have fallen along with ,daniel into the ,hagiographa4 ,the appearance of these prophecies at the close of the ,book of ,zechariah has been explained1 not quite satisfactorily1 as follows4 ,with the ,book of 8,malachi0 they formed originally three anonymous pieces1#acbb which because of their anonymity were set at the end of the ,book of the ,twelve4 ,the first of them begins with the very peculiar construction 8,massa' ,dbar ,jehovah10 oracle of the word of ,jehovah1 which1 though partly belonging to the text1 the editor read as a title1 and attached as a title to each of the others4 ,it occurs nowhere else4 ,the ,book of 8,malachi0 was too distinct in character to be attached to another book1 and soon came to have the supposed name of its author added to its title4#acbc ,but the other two pieces fell1 like all anonymous works1 to the nearest writing with an author's name4 ,perhaps the attachment was hastened by the desire to make the round number of ,twelve ,prophets4 ,,addenda4 ,whiston's work 7p4 #dej7 is ,an ,essay towards restoring the ,true ,text of the ,o4 ,t4 and for vindicating the ,citations made thence in the ,n4 ,t41 #agbb1 pp4 #ic ff4 7not seen74 ,besides those mentioned on p4 #deb 7see n4 #abic7 as supporting the unity of ,zechariah there ought to be named ,de ,wette1 ,umbreit1 von ,hoffmann1 ,ebrard1 etc4 ,kuiper's work 7p4 #deh7 is ,zacharia #i-ad1 ,utrecht1 #ahid 7not seen74 ,nowack's conclusions are3 ix4--xi4 #c date from the ,greek period 7we cannot date them more exactly1 unless ix4 #h refers to ,ptolemy's capture of ,jerusalem in #cbj72 xi41 xiii4 #g-i1 are post-exilic2 xii4--xiii4 #f long after ,exile2 xiv4 long after ,exile1 later than 8,malachi40 ,,footnotes3 #abgi ,except in the passage ix4 #aj-ab1 which seems strangely out of place in the rest of ix4--xiv4 #abhj ,works1 #dth ed4 #afgg1 pp4 #ghf ff4 7#afcb71 #hcd4 ,mede died #afch4 #abha ,matt4 xxvii4 #i4 #abhb ,demonstration of the ,messias1 #agjj4 #abhc ,an ,attempt towards an ,improved ,version of the ,twelve ,minor ,prophets1 #aghe 7not seen74 ,see also ,wright on ,archbishop ,seeker4 #abhd ,die ,weissagungen1 welche bei den ,schriften des ,proph4 ,sacharja beygebogen sind1 bersetzt1 etc41 ,hamburg 7not seen74 #abhe ,einleitung in ,a4 u4 ,n4 ,t4 7not seen74 #abhf ,isa4 viii4 #b4 ,see above1 p4 #bfe4 #abhg ix4 #a4 #abhh ,see above1 ,chap4 ,,xxxi4 #abhi x4 #aj4 #abij ix4 #aj1 #ac1 etc4 #abia ,dan4 u4 ,sacharja4 #abib ,page #ejc4 #abic ,see ,addenda1 p4 #dfb4 #abid ,einl4 in the beginning of the century4 #abie ,neue ,exeg4 krit4 ,aehrenlese z4 ,a4 ,t41 #ahfd4 #abif ,einl41 #ahhb1 p4 #gji4 #abig ,z4,a4,t4,w41 #ahha1 #ahhb4 ,see further proof of the late character of language and style1 and of the unity1 by ,eckardt1 ,z4,a4,t4,w41 #ahic1 pp4 #gf ff4 #abih #ha1 n4 #c1 #aj4 ,see p4 #deg1 end of note #acaj4 #abii ,jewish ,quart4 ,review1 #ahhi4 #acjj ,einl4 #acja ,a4 ,t4 ,litt4 #acjb ,untersuchung ber die ,komposition u4 ,abfassungszeit von ,zach4 #i-ad1 etc4 ,halle1 #ahia 7not seen74 #acjc #ahib3 quoted by ,wildeboer4 #acjd #ahic3 quoted by ,wildeboer4 #acje ,doctrine of the ,prophets1 #dch ff41 in which the ,english reader will find a singularly lucid and fair treatment of the question4 ,see1 too1 ,wright4 #acjf ,page #dgb1 ,note ,a4 #acjg ,kautzsch--the ,greek period4 #acjh ,above1 pp4 #dea f4 #acji ,robinson1 pp4 #gf ff4 #acaj ,z4,a4,t4,w41 #ahic1 #gf ff4 ,see also the summaries of linguistic evidence given by ,robinson4 ,kuenen finds in ix4--xi4 the following pre-exilic elements3 ix4 #a-e1 #h-aj1 #ac;a 7872 x4 #a f41 #aj f42 xi4 #d-ad or #ag4 #acaa ,kuenen4 #acab ,see above1 p4 #dec1 n4 #abig4 #acac ,see also ,robinson4 #acad ,jewish ,quarterly ,review1 #ahhi1 p4 #ha4 #acae ,as ,robinson1 e4g41 does4 #acaf ,e4g4 holy land1 ii4 #af1 and ,mount of ,olives1 xiv4 #d4 #acag ,op4 cit41 #ajc-aji3 cf4 ,driver1 ,introd41 #ced4 #acah ,introd41 p4 #ced4 #acai ix4 #ac4 #acbj ix4 #a f4 #acba x4 #aa4 ,see above1 p4 #dea4 #acbb ,see above1 pp4 #cca ff41 for proof of the original anonymity of the ,book of 8,malachi40 #acbc ,above1 p4 #cca4 ,,chapter ,,xxxiii ,,the ,,contents ,,of 8,,zechariah0 ,,ix4--,,xiv4 ,from the number of conflicting opinions which prevail upon the subject1 we have seen how impossible it is to decide upon a scheme of division for 8,zech40 ix4--xiv4 ,these chapters consist of a number of separate oracles1 which their language and general conceptions lead us on the whole to believe were put together by one hand1 and which1 with the possible exception of some older fragments1 reflect the troubled times in ,palestine that followed on the invasion of ,alexander the ,great4 ,but though the most of them are probably due to one date and possibly come from the same author1 these oracles do not always exhibit a connection1 and indeed sometimes show no relevance to each other4 ,it will therefore be simplest to take them piece by piece1 and1 before giving the translation of each1 to explain the difficulties in it and indicate the ruling ideas4 #a4 ,,the ,,coming ,,of ,,the ,,greeks 7ix4 #a-h74 ,this passage runs exactly in the style of the early prophets4 ,it figures the progress of war from the north of ,syria southwards by the valley of the ,orontes to ,damascus1 and then along the coasts of ,phnicia and the ,philistines4 ,all these shall be devastated1 but ,jehovah will camp about ,his own ,house and it shall be inviolate4 ,this is exactly how ,amos or ,isaiah might have pictured an ,assyrian campaign1 or ,zephaniah a ,scythian4 ,it is not surprising1 therefore1 that even some of those who take the bulk of 8,zech40 ix4--xiv4 as post-exilic should regard ix4 #a-e as earlier even than ,amos1 with post-exilic additions only in vv4 #f-h4acbd ,this is possible4 ,vv4 #f-h are certainly post-exilic1 because of their mention of the half-breeds1 and their intimation that ,jehovah will take unclean food out of the mouth of the heathen2 but the allusions in vv4 #a-e suit an early date4 ,they equally suit1 however1 a date in the ,greek period4 ,the progress of war from the ,orontes valley by ,damascus and thence down the coast of ,palestine follows the line of ,alexander's campaign in #ccb1 which must also have been the line of ,demetrius in #cae and of ,antigonus in #caa4 ,the evidence of language is mostly in favour of a late date4#acbe ,if ,ptolemy ,i4 took ,jerusalem in #cbj1acbf then the promise1 no assailant shall return 7ver4 #h71 is probably later than that4 ,in face then of ,alexander's invasion of ,palestine1 or of another campaign on the same line1 this oracle repeats the ancient confidence of ,isaiah4 ,god rules3 ,his providence is awake alike for the heathen and for ,israel4 ,jehovah hath an eye for mankind1 and all the tribes of ,israel4#acbg ,the heathen shall be destroyed1 but ,jerusalem rest secure2 and the remnant of the heathen be converted1 according to the ,levitical notion1 by having unclean foods taken out of their mouths4 ,oracle4 ,the ,word of ,jehovah is on the land of ,hadrach1 and ,damascus is its goal#acbh--;for ,jehovah hath an eye upon the heathen1#acbi and all the tribes of ,israel--and on#accj ,hamath1 which borders upon it1 ,tyre and ,sidon1 for they were very wise4#acca ,and ,tyre built her a fortress1 and heaped up silver like dust1 and gold like the dirt of the streets4 ,lo1 the ,lord will dispossess her1 and strike her rampart#accb into the sea1 and she shall be consumed in fire4 ,ashlon shall see and shall fear1 and ,gaza writhe in anguish1 and ,ekron1 for her confidence#accc is abashed1 and the king shall perish from ,gaza and ,ashlon lie uninhabited4 ,half-breeds#accd shall dwell in ,ashdod1 and ,i will cut down the pride of the ,philistines4 ,and ,i will take their blood from their mouth and their abominations from between their teeth1#acce and even they shall be left for our ,god1 and shall become like a clan in ,judah1 and ,ekron shall be as the ,jebusite4 ,and ,i shall encamp for a guard#accf to ,my ,house1 so that none pass by or return1 and no assailant again pass upon them1 for now do ,i regard it with ,mine eyes4 #b4 ,,the ,,prince ,,of ,,peace 7ix4 #i-ab74 ,this beautiful picture1 applied by the ,evangelist with such fitness to our ,lord upon ,his entry to ,jerusalem1 must also be of post-exilic date4 ,it contrasts with the warlike portraits of the ,messiah drawn in pre-exilic times1 for it clothes ,him with humility and with peace4 ,the coming ,king of ,israel has the attributes already imputed to the ,servant of ,jehovah by the prophet of the ,babylonian captivity4 ,the next verses also imply the ,exile as already a fact4 ,on the whole1 too1 the language is of a late rather than of an early date4#accg ,nothing in the passage betrays the exact point of its origin after the ,exile4 ,the epithets applied to the ,messiah are of very great interest4 ,he does not bring victory or salvation1 but is the passive recipient of it4#acch ,this determines the meaning of the preceding adjective1 righteous1 which has not the moral sense of justice1 but rather that of vindication1 in which righteousness and righteous are so frequently used in ,isa4 xl4--lv4#acci ,he is lowly1 like the ,servant of ,jehovah2 and comes riding not the horse1 an animal for war1 because the next verse says that horses and chariots are to be removed from ,israel1#acdj but the ass1 the animal not of lowliness1 as some have interpreted1 but of peace4 ,to this day in the ,east asses are used1 as they are represented in the ,song of ,deborah1 by great officials1 but only when these are upon civil1 and not upon military1 duty4 ,it is possible that this oracle closes with ver4 #aj1 and that we should take vv4 #aa and #ab1 on the deliverance from exile1 with the next4 ,rejoice mightily1 daughter of ,zion6 shout aloud1 daughter of ,jerusalem6 ,lo1 thy ,king cometh to thee1 vindicated and victorious1#acda meek and riding on an ass1#acdb and on a colt the she-ass' foal4#acdc ,and ,i#acdd will cut off the chariot from ,ephraim and the horse from ,jerusalem1 and the war-bow shall be cut off1 and ,he shall speak peace to the nations1 and ,his rule shall be from sea to sea and from the river even to the ends of the earth4 ,thou1 too1--by thy covenant-blood1 #acde ,i have set free thy prisoners from the pit4#acdf ,return to the fortress1 ye prisoners of hope2 even to-day do ,i proclaim3 ,double will ,i return to thee4#acdg #c4 ,,the ,,slaughter ,,of ,,the ,,greeks 7ix4 #ac-ag74 ,the next oracle seems singularly out of keeping with the spirit of the last1 which declared the arrival of the ,messianic peace1 while this represents ,jehovah as using ,israel for ,his weapons in the slaughter of the ,greeks and heathens1 in whose blood they shall revel4 ,but ,stade has pointed out how often in chaps4 ix4--xiv4 a result is first stated and then the oracle goes on to describe the process by which it is achieved4 ,accordingly we have no ground for affirming ix4 #ac-ag to be by another hand than ix4 #i-ab4 ,the apocalyptic character of the means by which the heathen are to be overthrown1 and the exultation displayed in their slaughter1 as in a great sacrifice 7ver4 #ae71 betray ,israel in a state of absolute political weakness1 and therefore suit a date after ,alexander's campaigns1 which is also made sure by the reference to the sons of ,javan1 as if ,israel were now in immediate contact with them4 ,kirkpatrick's note should be read1 in which he seeks to prove the sons of ,javan a late gloss2#acdh but his reasons do not appear conclusive4 ,the language bears several traces of lateness4#acdi ,for ,i have drawn ,judah for ,my bow1 ,i have charged it with ,ephraim2 and ,i will urge thy sons1 ,o ,zion1 against the sons of#acej ,javan1 and make thee like the sword of a hero4 ,then will ,jehovah appear above them1 and ,his shaft shall go forth like lightning2 and the ,lord ,jehovah shall blow a blast on the trumpet1 and travel in the storms of the south4#acea ,jehovah will protect them1 and they shall devour 787#aceb and trample 4442#acec and they shall drink their blood#aced like wine1 and be drenched with it1 like a bowl and like the corners of the altar4 ,and ,jehovah their ,god will give them victory in that day4444#acee ,how good it#acef is1 and how beautiful6 ,corn shall make the young men flourish and new wine the maidens4 #d4 ,,against ,,the ,,teraphim ,,and ,,sorcerers 7x4 #a1 #b74 ,this little piece is connected with the previous one only through the latter's conclusion upon the fertility of the land1 while this opens with rain1 the requisite of fertility4 ,it is connected with the piece that follows only by its mention of the shepherdless state of the people1 the piece that follows being against the false shepherds4 ,these connections are extremely slight4 ,perhaps the piece is an independent one4 ,the subject of it gives no clue to the date4 ,sorcerers are condemned both by the earlier prophets1 and by the later4#aceg ,stade points out that this is the only passage of the ,old ,testament in which the ,teraphim are said to speak4#aceh ,the language has one symptom of a late period4#acei ,after emphasising the futility of images1 enchantments and dreams1 this little oracle says1 therefore the people wander like sheep3 they have no shepherd4 ,shepherd in this connection cannot mean civil ruler1 but must be religious director4 ,ask from ,jehovah rain in the time of the latter rain4#acfj ,jehovah is the maker of the lightning-flashes1 and the winter rain ,he gives to them--to every man herbage in the field4 ,but the ,teraphim speak nothingness1 and the sorcerers see lies1 and dreams discourse vanity1 and they comfort in vain4 ,wherefore they wander 787#acfa like a flock of sheep1 and flee about1#acfb for there is no shepherd4 #e4 ,,against ,,evil ,,shepherds 7x4 #c-ab74 ,the unity of this section is more apparent than its connection with the preceding1 which had spoken of the want of a shepherd1 or religious director1 of ,israel1 while this is directed against their shepherds and leaders1 meaning their foreign tyrants4#acfc ,the figure is taken from ,jeremiah xxiii4 #a ff41 where1 besides1 to visit upon#acfd is used in a sense of punishment1 but the simple visit#acfe in the sense of to look after1 just as within ver4 #c of this tenth chapter4 ,who these foreign tyrants are is not explicitly stated1 but the reference to ,egypt and ,assyria as lands whence the ,jewish captives shall be brought home1 while at the same time there is a ,jewish nation in ,judah1 suits only the ,greek period1 after ,ptolemy had taken so many ,jews to ,egypt1#acff and there were numbers still scattered throughout the other great empire in the north1 to which1 as we have already seen1 the ,jews applied the name of ,assyria4 ,the reference can hardly suit the years after ,seleucus and ,ptolemy granted to the ,jews in their territories the rights of citizens4 ,the captive ,jews are to be brought back to ,gilead and ,lebanon4 ,why exactly these are mentioned1 and neither ,samaria nor ,galilee1 forms a difficulty1 to whatever age we assign the chapter4 ,the language of x4 #c-ab has several late features4#acfg ,joseph or ,ephraim1 here and elsewhere in these chapters1 is used of the portion of ,israel still in captivity1 in contrast to ,judah1 the returned community4 ,the passage predicts that ,jehovah will change ,his poor leaderless sheep1 the ,jews1 into war-horses1 and give them strong chiefs and weapons of war4 ,they shall overthrow the heathen1 and ,jehovah will bring back ,his exiles4 ,the passage is therefore one with chap4 ix4 ,my wrath is hot against the shepherds1 and ,i will make visitation on the he-goats3#acfh yea1 ,jehovah of ,hosts will#acfi visit ,his flock1 the house of ,judah1 and will make them like ,his splendid war-horses4 ,from ,him the corner-stone1 from ,him the stay1#acgj from ,him the war-bow1 from ,him the oppressor--shall go forth together4 ,and in battle shall they trample on heroes as on the dirt of the streets1#acga and fight1 for ,jehovah is with them1 and the riders on horses shall be abashed4 ,and the house of ,judah will ,i make strong and work salvation for the house of ,joseph1 and bring them back1#acgb for ,i have pity for them1#acgc and they shall be as though ,i had not put them away1#acgc for ,i am ,jehovah their ,god#acgc and ,i will hold converse with them4#acgc ,and ,ephraim shall be as heroes1#acgd and their heart shall be glad as with wine1 and their children shall behold and be glad3 their heart shall rejoice in ,jehovah4 ,i will whistle for them and gather them in1 for ,i have redeemed them1 and they shall be as many as they once were4 ,i scattered them#acge among the nations1 but among the far-away they think of ,me1 and they will bring up#acgf their children1 and come back4 ,and ,i will fetch them home from the land of ,miraim1 and from ,asshur#acgg will ,i gather them1 and to the land of ,gilead and ,lebnon will ,i bring them in1 though these be not found sufficient for them4 ,and they#acgh shall pass through the sea of ,egypt1#acgi and ,he shall smite the sea of breakers1 and all the deeps of the ,nile shall be dried1 and the pride of ,assyria brought down1 and the sceptre of ,egypt swept aside4 ,and their strength#achj shall be in ,jehovah1 and in ,his ,name shall they boast themselves#acha--oracle of ,jehovah4 #f4 ,,war ,,upon ,,the ,,syrian ,,tyrants 7xi4 #a-c74 ,this is taken by some with the previous chapter1 by others with the passage following4 ,either connection seems precarious4 ,no conclusion as to date can be drawn from the language4 ,but the localities threatened were on the southward front of the ,seleucid kingdom4 ,open1 ,lebnon1 thy doors suits the ,egyptian invasions of that kingdom4 ,to which of these the passage refers cannot of course be determined4 ,the shepherds are the rulers4 ,open1 ,lebnon1 thy doors1 that the fire may devour in thy cedars4 ,wail1 ,o pine-tree1 for the cedar is fallen2#achb wail1 ,o oaks of ,bashan1 for fallen is the impenetrable#achc wood4 ,hark to the wailing of the shepherds6 for their glory is destroyed4 ,hark how the lions roar6 for blasted is the pride#achd of ,jordan4 #g4 ,,the ,,rejection ,,and ,,murder ,,of ,,the ,,good ,,shepherd 7xi4 #d-ag1 xiii4 #g-i74 ,there follows now1 in the rest of chap4 xi41 a longer oracle1 to which ,ewald and most critics after him have suitably attached chap4 xiii4 #g-i4 ,this passage appears to rise from circumstances similar to those of the preceding and from the same circle of ideas4 ,jehovah's people are ,his flock and have suffered4 ,their rulers are their shepherds2 and the rulers of other peoples are their shepherds4 ,a true shepherd is sought for ,israel in place of the evil ones which have distressed them4 ,the language shows traces of a late date4#ache ,no historical allusion is obvious in the passage4 ,the buyers and sellers of ,god's sheep might reflect the ,seleucids and ,ptolemies between whom ,israel were exchanged for many years1 but probably mean their native leaders4 ,the three shepherds cut off in a month were interpreted by the supporters of the pre-exilic date of the chapters as ,zechariah and ,shallum 7#b ,kings xv4 #h-ac71 and another whom these critics assume to have followed them to death1 but of him the history has no trace4 ,the supporters of a ,maccabean date for the prophecy recall the quick succession of high priests before the ,maccabean rising4 ,the one month probably means nothing more than a very short time4 ,the allegory which our passage unfolds is given1 like so many more in ,hebrew prophecy1 to the prophet himself to enact4 ,it recalls the pictures in ,jeremiah and ,ezekiel of the overthrow of the false shepherds of ,israel1 and the appointment of a true shepherd4#achf ,jehovah commissions the prophet to become shepherd to ,his sheep that have been so cruelly abused by their guides and rulers4 ,like the shepherds of ,palestine1 the prophet took two staves to herd his flock4 ,he called one ,grace1 the other ,union4 ,in a month he cut off three shepherds--both month and three are probably formal terms4 ,but he did not get on well with his charge4 ,they were wilful and quarrelsome4 ,so he broke his staff ,grace1 in token that his engagement was dissolved4 ,the dealers of the sheep saw that he acted for ,god4 ,he asked for his wage1 if they cared to give it4 ,they gave him thirty pieces of silver1 the price of an injured slave1#achg which by ,god's command he cast into the treasury of the ,temple1 as if in token that it was ,god ,himself whom they paid with so wretched a sum4 ,and then he broke his other staff1 to signify that the brotherhood between ,judah and ,israel was broken4 ,then1 to show the people that by their rejection of the good shepherd they must fall a prey to an evil one1 the prophet assumed the character of the latter4 ,but another judgment follows4 ,in chap4 xiii4 #g-i the good shepherd is smitten and the flock dispersed4 ,the spiritual principles which underlie this allegory are obvious4 ,god's own sheep1 persecuted and helpless though they be1 are yet obstinate1 and their obstinacy not only renders ,god's good-will to them futile1 but causes the death of the one man who could have done them good4 ,the guilty sacrifice the innocent1 but in this execute their own doom4 ,that is a summary of the history of ,israel4 ,but had the writer of this allegory any special part of that history in view8 ,who were the dealers of the flock8 ,thus saith ,jehovah my ,god3#achh ,shepherd the flock of slaughter1 whose purchasers slaughter them impenitently1 and whose sellers say1#achi ,blessed be ,jehovah1 for ,i am rich6--and their shepherds do not spare them4 ,for ,i will no more spare the inhabitants of the land--oracle of ,jehovah2 but lo6 ,i am about to give mankind#acij over1 each into the hand of his shepherd1#acia and into the hand of his king2 and they shall destroy the land1 and ,i will not secure it from their hands4#acib ,and ,i shepherded the flock of slaughter for the sheep merchants1#acic and ,i took to me two staves--the one ,i called ,grace1 and the other ,i called ,union#acid--;and so ,i shepherded the sheep4 ,and ,i destroyed the three shepherds in one month4 ,then was my soul vexed with them1 and they on their part were displeased with me4 ,and ,i said3 ,i will not shepherd you3 what is dead1 let it die2 and what is destroyed1 let it be destroyed2 and those that survive1 let them devour one another's flesh6 ,and ,i took my staff ,grace1 and ,i brake it so as to annul my covenant which ,i made with all the peoples4#acie ,and in that day it was annulled1 and the dealers of the sheep1#acif who watched me1 knew that it was ,jehovah's word4 ,and ,i said to them1 ,if it be good in your sight1 give me my wage1 and if it be not good1 let it go6 ,and they weighed out my wage1 thirty pieces of silver4 ,then said ,jehovah to me1 ,throw it into the treasury#acig 7the precious wage at which ,i#acih had been valued of them74 ,so ,i took the thirty pieces of silver1 and cast them to the ,house of ,jehovah1 to the treasury4#acii ,and ,i brake my second staff1 ,union1 so as to dissolve the brotherhood between ,judah and ,israel4#adjj ,and ,jehovah said to me3 ,take again to thee the implements of a worthless shepherd3 for lo6 ,i am about to appoint a shepherd over the land2 the destroyed he will not visit1 the 444#adja he will not seek out1 the wounded he will not heal1 the 4442#adjb he will not cherish1 but he will devour the flesh of the fat and4444#adjc ,woe to ,my worthless#adjd shepherd1 that deserts the flock6 ,the sword be upon his arm and his right eye6 ,may his arm wither1 and his right eye be blinded4 ,upon this follows the section xiii4 #g-i1 which develops the tragedy of the nation to its climax in the murder of the good shepherd4 ,up1 ,sword1 against ,my shepherd and the man ,my compatriot#adje--oracle of ,jehovah of ,hosts4 ,smite#adjf the shepherd1 that the sheep may be scattered2 and ,i will turn ,my hand against the little ones4#adjg ,and it shall come to pass in all the land--oracle of ,jehovah--that two-thirds shall be cut off in it1 and perish1 but a third shall be left in it4 ,and ,i shall bring the third into the fire1 and smelt it as men smelt silver and try it as men try gold4 ,it shall call upon ,my ,name1 and ,i will answer it4 ,and ,i will#adjh say1 ,it is ,my people1 and it will say1 ,jehovah my ,god6 #h4 ,,judah versus ,,jerusalem 7xii4 #a-g74 ,a title1 though probably of later date than the text1#adji introduces with the beginning of chap4 xii4 an oracle plainly from circumstances different from those of the preceding chapters4 ,the nations1 not particularised as they have been1 gather to the siege of ,jerusalem1 and1 very singularly1 ,judah is gathered with them against her own capital4 ,but ,god makes the city like one of those great boulders1 deeply embedded1 which husbandmen try to pull up from their fields1 but it tears and wounds the hands of those who would remove it4 ,moreover ,god strikes with panic all the besiegers1 save only ,judah1 who1 her eyes being opened1 perceives that ,god is with ,jerusalem and turns to her help4 ,jerusalem remains in her place2 but the glory of the victory is first ,judah's1 so that the house of ,david may not have too much fame nor boast over the country districts4 ,the writer doubtless alludes to some temporary schism between the capital and country caused by the arrogance of the former4 ,but we have no means of knowing when this took place4 ,it must often have been imminent in the days both before and especially after the ,exile1 when ,jerusalem had absorbed all the religious privilege and influence of the nation4 ,the language is undoubtedly late4#adaj ,the figure of ,jerusalem as a boulder1 deeply bedded in the soil1 which tears the hands that seek to remove it1 is a most true and expressive summary of the history of heathen assaults upon her4 ,till she herself was rent by internal dissensions1 and the ,romans at last succeeded in tearing her loose1 she remained planted on her own site4#adaa ,this was very true of all the ,greek period4 ,seleucids and ,ptolemies alike wounded themselves upon her4 ,but at what period did either of them induce ,judah to take part against her8 ,not in the ,maccabean4 ,oracle of the ,word of ,jehovah upon ,israel4 ,oracle of ,jehovah1 who stretched out the heavens and founded the earth1 and formed the spirit of man within him3 ,lo1 ,i am about to make ,jerusalem a cup of reeling for all the surrounding peoples1 and even ,judah#adab shall be at the siege of ,jerusalem4 ,and it shall come to pass in that day that ,i will make ,jerusalem a stone to be lifted#adac by all the peoples--all who lift it do indeed wound#adad themselves--and there are gathered against it all nations of the earth4 ,in that day--oracle of ,jehovah--,i will smite every horse with panic1 and their riders with madness2 but as for the house of ,judah1 ,i will open its#adae eyes1 though every horse of the peoples ,i smite with blindness4 ,then shall the chiefs#adaf of ,judah say in their hearts1 444#adag the inhabitants of ,jerusalem through ,jehovah of ,hosts their ,god4 ,in that day will ,i make the districts of ,judah like a pan of fire among timber and like a torch among sheaves1 so that they devour right and left all the peoples round about1 but ,jerusalem shall still abide on its own site4#adah ,and ,jehovah shall first give victory to the tents#adai of ,judah1 so that the fame of the house of ,david and the fame of the inhabitants of ,jerusalem be not too great in contrast to ,judah4 #i4 ,,four ,,results ,,of ,,jerusalem',s ,,deliverance 7xii4 #h--xiii4 #f74 ,upon the deliverance of ,jerusalem1 by the help of the converted ,judah1 there follow four results1 each introduced by the words that it happened in that day 7xii4 #h1 #i1 xiii4 #a1 #b74 ,first1 the people of ,jerusalem shall themselves be strengthened4 ,second1 the hostile heathen shall be destroyed1 but on the house of ,david and all ,jerusalem the spirit of penitence shall be poured1 and they will lament for the good shepherd whom they slew4 ,third1 a fountain for sin and uncleanness shall be opened4 ,fourth1 the idols1 the unclean spirit1 and prophecy1 now so degraded1 shall all be abolished4 ,the connection of these oracles with the preceding is obvious1 as well as with the oracle describing the murder of the good shepherd 7xiii4 #g-i74 ,when we see how this is presupposed by xii4 #i ff41 we feel more than ever that its right place is between chaps4 xi4 and xii4 ,there are no historical allusions4 ,but again the language gives evidence of a late date4#adbj ,and throughout the passage there is a repetition of formal phrases which recalls the ,priestly ,code and the general style of the post-exilic age4#adba ,notice that no king is mentioned1 although there are several points at which1 had he existed1 he must have been introduced4 #a4 ,the first of the four effects of ,jerusalem's deliverance from the heathen is the promotion of her weaklings to the strength of her heroes1 and of her heroes to divine rank 7xii4 #h74 ,in that day ,jehovah will protect the inhabitants of ,jerusalem1 and the lame among them shall in that day be like ,david himself 1 and the house of ,david like ,god1 like the ,angel of ,jehovah before them4 #b4 ,the second paragraph of this series very remarkably emphasises that upon her deliverance ,jerusalem shall not give way to rejoicing1 but to penitent lamentation for the murder of him whom she has pierced--the good shepherd whom her people have rejected and slain4 ,this is one of the few ethical strains which run through these apocalyptic chapters4 ,it forms their highest interest for us4 ,jerusalem's mourning is compared to that for ,hadad-,rimmon in the valley or plain of ,megiddo4 ,this is the classic battle-field of the land1 and the theatre upon which ,apocalypse has placed the last contest between the hosts of ,god and the hosts of evil4#adbb ,in ,israel's history it had been the ground not only of triumph but of tears4 ,the greatest tragedy of that history1 the defeat and death of the righteous ,josiah1 took place there2#adbc and since the earliest ,jewish interpreters the mourning of ,hadad-,rimmon in the valley of ,megiddo has been referred to the mourning for ,josiah4#adbd ,jerome identifies ,hadad-,rimmon with ,rummni1#adbe a village on the plain still extant1 close to ,megiddo4 ,but the lamentation for ,josiah was at ,jerusalem2 and it cannot be proved that ,hadad-,rimmon is a place-name4 ,it may rather be the name of the object of the mourning1 and as ,hadad was a divine name among ,phnicians and ,arameans1 and ,rimmn the pomegranate was a sacred tree1 a number of critics have supposed this to be a title of ,adonis1 and the mourning like that excessive grief which ,ezekiel tells us was yearly celebrated for ,tammuz4#adbf ,this1 however1 is not fully proved4#adbg ,observe1 further1 that while the reading ,hadad-,rimmon is by no means past doubt1 the sanguine blossoms and fruit of the pomegranate1 8red-ripe at the heart10 would naturally lead to its association with the slaughtered ,adonis4 ,and it shall come to pass in that day that ,i will seek to destroy all the nations who have come in upon ,jerusalem4 ,and ,i will pour upon the house of ,david and upon all the inhabitants of ,jerusalem the spirit of grace and of supplication1 and they shall look to him#adbh whom they have pierced2 and they shall lament for him1 as with lamentation for an only son1 and bitterly grieve for him1 as with grief for a first-born4 ,in that day lamentation shall be as great in ,jerusalem as the lamentation for ,hadad-,rimmon#adbi in the valley of ,megiddo4 ,and the land shall mourn1 every family by itself3 the family of the house of ,david by itself1 and their wives by themselves2 the family of the house of ,nathan by itself1 and their wives by themselves2 the family of the house of ,levi by itself1 and their wives by themselves2 the family of ,shime'i#adcj by itself1 and their wives by themselves2 all the families who are left1 every family by itself1 and their wives by themselves4 #c4 ,the third result of ,jerusalem's deliverance from the heathen shall be the opening of a fountain of cleansing4 ,this purging of her sin follows fitly upon her penitence just described4 ,in that day a fountain shall be opened for the house of ,david1 and for the inhabitants of ,jerusalem1 for sin and for uncleanness4#adca #d4 ,the fourth consequence is the removal of idolatry1 of the unclean spirit and of the degraded prophets from her midst4 ,the last is especially remarkable3 for it is not merely false prophets1 as distinguished from true1 who shall be removed2 but prophecy in general4 ,it is singular that in almost its latest passage the prophecy of ,israel should return to the line of its earliest representative1 ,amos1 who refused to call himself prophet4 ,as in his day1 the prophets had become mere professional and mercenary oracle-mongers1 abjured to the point of death by their own ashamed and wearied relatives4 ,and it shall be in that day--oracle of ,jehovah of ,hosts--,i will cut off the names of the idols from the land1 and they shall not be remembered any more4 ,and also the prophets and the unclean spirit will ,i expel from the land4 ,and it shall come to pass1 if any man prophesy again1 then shall his father and mother who begat him say to him1 ,thou shall not live1 for thou speakest falsehood in the name of ,jehovah2 and his father and mother who begat him shall stab him for his prophesying4 ,and it shall be in that day that the prophets shall be ashamed of their visions when they prophesy1 and shall not wear the leather cloak in order to lie4 ,and he will say1 ,no prophet am ,i6 ,a tiller of the ground ,i am1 for the ground is my possession#adcb from my youth up4 ,and they shall say to him1 ,what are these wounds in#adcc thy hands8 and he shall say1 ,what ,i was wounded with in the house of my lovers6 #aj4 ,,judgment ,,of ,,the ,,heathen ,,and ,,sanctification ,,of ,,jerusalem 7xiv474 ,in another apocalyptic vision the prophet beholds ,jerusalem again beset by the heathen4 ,but ,jehovah ,himself intervenes1 appearing in person1 and an earthquake breaks out at ,his feet4 ,the heathen are smitten1 as they stand1 into mouldering corpses4 ,the remnant of them shall be converted to ,jehovah and take part in the annual ,feast of ,booths4 ,if any refuse they shall be punished with drought4 ,but ,jerusalem shall abide in security and holiness3 every detail of her equipment shall be consecrate4 ,the passage has many resemblances to the preceding oracles4#adcd ,the language is undoubtedly late1 and the figures are borrowed from other prophets1 chiefly ,ezekiel4 ,it is a characteristic specimen of the ,jewish ,apocalypse4 ,the destruction of the heathen is described in verses of terrible grimness3 there is no tenderness nor hope exhibited for them4 ,and even in the picture of ,jerusalem's holiness we have no really ethical elements1 but the details are purely ceremonial4 ,lo6 a day is coming for ,jehovah1#adce when thy spoil will be divided in thy midst4 ,and ,i will gather all the nations to besiege ,jerusalem1 and the city will be taken and the houses plundered and the women ravished1 and the half of the city shall go into captivity1 but the rest of the people shall not be cut off from the city4 ,and ,jehovah shall go forth and do battle with those nations1 as in the day when ,he fought in the day of contest4 ,and ,his feet shall stand in that day on the ,mount of ,olives which is over against ,jerusalem on the east1 and the ,mount of ,olives shall be split into halves from east to west by a very great ravine1 and half of the ,mount will slide northwards and half southwards4 4441#adcf for the ravine of mountains#adcg shall extend to #8,aal1#adch and ye shall flee as ye fled from before the earthquake in the days of ,uzziah king of ,judah1#adci and ,jehovah my ,god will come and#addj all the holy ones with ,him4#adda ,and in that day there shall not be light1 444 congeal4#addb ,and it shall be one#addc day--it is known to ,jehovah#addd--neither day nor night2 and it shall come to pass that at evening time there shall be light4 ,and it shall be in that day that living waters shall flow forth from ,jerusalem1 half of them to the eastern sea and half of them to the western sea3 both in summer and in winter shall it be4 ,and ,jehovah shall be ,king over all the earth3 in that day ,jehovah will be ,one and ,his ,name ,one4 ,all the land shall be changed to plain1#adde from ,geba to ,rimmon1#addf south of ,jerusalem2 but she shall be high and abide in her place#addg from the ,gate of ,benjamin up to the place of the ,first ,gate1 up to the ,corner ,gate1 and from the ,tower of ,hanan'el as far as the ,king's ,winepresses4 ,and they shall dwell in it1 and there shall be no more ,ban1#addh and ,jerusalem shall abide in security4 ,and this shall be the stroke with which ,jehovah will smite all the peoples who have warred against ,jerusalem3 ,he will make their flesh moulder while they still stand upon their feet1 and their eyes shall moulder in their sockets1 and their tongue shall moulder in their mouth4 ,and it shall come to pass in that day1 there shall be a great confusion from ,jehovah among them1 and they shall grasp every man the hand of his neighbour1 and his hand shall be lifted against the hand of his neighbour4#addi ,and even ,judah shall fight against ,jerusalem1 and the wealth of all the nations round about shall be swept up1 gold and silver and garments1 in a very great mass4 ,these two verses1 #ac and #ad1 obviously disturb the connection1 which ver4 #ae as obviously resumes with ver4 #ab4 ,they are1 therefore1 generally regarded as an intrusion4#adej ,but why they have been inserted is not clear4 ,ver4 #ad is a curious echo of the strife between ,judah and ,jerusalem described in chap4 xii4 ,they may be not a mere intrusion1 but simply out of their proper place3 yet1 if so1 where this proper place lies in these oracles is impossible to determine4 ,and even so shall be the plague upon the horses1 mules1 camels and asses1 and all the beasts which are in those camps--just like this plague4 ,and it shall come to pass that all that survive of all the nations who have come up against ,jerusalem1 shall come up from year to year to do obeisance to ,king ,jehovah of ,hosts1 and to keep the ,feast of ,booths4 ,and it shall come to pass that whosoever of all the races of the earth will not come up to ,jerusalem to do obeisance to ,king ,jehovah of ,hosts1 upon them there shall be no rain4 ,and if the race of ,egypt go not up nor come in1 upon them also shall#adea come the plague1 with which ,jehovah shall strike the nations that go not up to keep the ,feast of ,booths4 ,such shall be the punishment#a of ,egypt1 and the punishment#adeb of all nations who do not come up to keep the ,feast of ,booths4 ,the ,feast of ,booths was specially one of thanksgiving for the harvest2 that is why the neglect of it is punished by the withholding of the rain which brings the harvest4 ,but such a punishment for such a neglect shows how completely prophecy has become subject to the ,law4 ,one is tempted to think what ,amos or ,jeremiah or even 8,malachi0 would have thought of this4 ,verily all the writers of the prophetical books do not stand upon the same level of religion4 ,the writer remembers that the curse of no rain cannot affect the ,egyptians1 the fertility of whose rainless land is secured by the annual floods of her river4 ,so he has to insert a special verse for ,egypt4 ,she also will be plagued by ,jehovah1 yet he does not tell us in what fashion her plague will come4 ,the book closes with a little oracle of the most ceremonial description1 connected not only in temper but even by subject with what has gone before4 ,the very horses1 which hitherto have been regarded as too foreign1#adec or--as even in this group of oracles#aded--;as too warlike1 to exist in ,jerusalem1 shall be consecrated to ,jehovah4 ,and so vast shall be the multitudes who throng from all the earth to the annual feasts and sacrifices at the ,temple1 that the pots of the latter shall be as large as the great altar-bowls1#adee and every pot in ,jerusalem and ,judah shall be consecrated for use in the ritual4 ,this hallowing of the horses raises the question1 whether the passage can be from the same hand as wrote the prediction of the disappearance of all horses from ,jerusalem4#adef ,in that day there shall be upon the bells of the horses1 ,holiness unto ,jehovah4 ,and the very pots in the ,house of ,jehovah shall be as the bowls before the altar4 ,yea1 every pot in ,jerusalem and in ,judah shall be holy to ,jehovah of ,hosts1 and all who sacrifice shall come and take of them and cook in them4 ,and there shall be no more any pedlar#adeg in the ,house of ,jehovah of ,hosts in that day4 ,,footnotes3 #acbd ,so ,staerk1 who thinks ,amos ,i4 made use of vv4 #a-e4 #acbe ix4 #a1 1 mankind1 in contrast to the tribes of ,israel2 #c1 1 gold2 #e1 as passive1 cf4 xii4 #f2 1 ,hi4 of 1 in passive sense only after ,jeremiah 7cf4 above1 p4 #dab1 on ,joel72 in #b ,sam4 xix4 #f1 ,hosea ii4 #g1 it is active4 #acbf ,see p4 #ddb4 #acbg ix4 #a4 #acbh ,heb4 resting-place3 cf4 ,zech4 vi4 #h1 bring ,mine anger to rest4 ,this meets the objection of ,bredenkamp and others1 that is otherwise used of ,jehovah alone1 in consequence of which they refer the suffix to ,him4 #acbi ,the expression hath an eye is so unusual that ,klostermann1 ,theo4 ,litt4 ,zeit41 #ahgi1 #eff 7quoted by ,nowack71 proposes to read for 1 ,jehovah's are the cities of the heathen4 ,for 1 mankind1 as heathen cf4 ,jer4 xxxii4 #bj4 #accj ,so ,,lxx43 ,heb4 also4 #acca ,so ,,lxx43 ,heb4 has verb in sing4 #accb ,cf4 ,nahum iii4 #h2 ,isa4 xxvi4 #a4 #accc ,read 4 #accd ,deut4 xxiii4 #c 7,heb41 #b ,eng474 #acce ,the prepositions refer to the half-breeds4 ,ezekiel uses the term to eat upon the blood1 i4e4 meat eaten without being ritually slain and consecrated1 for illegal sacrifices 7xxxiii4 #ce3 cf4 #a ,sam4 xiv4 #cb f42 ,lev4 xix4 #bf1 xvii4 #aa-ad74 #accf for 2 but to be amended to 1 #a ,sam4 xiv4 #ab1 a military post4 ,ewald reads 1 rampart4 ,,lxx4 4 #accg ix4 #aj1 1 cf4 ,dan4 xi4 #d2 only in late writings 7unless ,deut4 xxxiii4 #ag be early7--see ,eckardt1 p4 #hj2 #ab1 is 2 the last clause of #ab is based on ,isa4 lxi4 #g4 ,if our interpretation of and be right1 they are also symptoms of a late date4 #acch 7ver4 #i73 the passive participle4 #acci ,cf4 ,isaiah xl4--lxvi4 7,expositor's ,bible71 p4 #bai4 #acdj ,why chariot from ,ephraim and horse from ,jerusalem is explained in ,hist4 ,geog41 pp4 #cbi-cca4 #acda ,see above4 #acdb ,symbol of peace as the horse was of war4 #acdc ,son of she-asses4 #acdd ,mass43 ,,lxx4 ,he4 #acde ,heb4 blood of thy covenant1 but the suffix refers to the whole phrase 7,duhm1 ,theol4 der ,proph41 p4 #adc74 ,the covenant is ,jehovah's2 the blood1 that which the people shed in sacrifice to ratify the covenant4 #acdf ,heb4 adds there is no water in it1 but this is either a gloss1 or perhaps an attempt to make sense out of a dittography of 1 or a corruption of none shall be ashamed4 #acdg ,isa4 lxi4 #g4 #acdh ,doctrine of the ,prophets1 ,note ,a1 p4 #dgb4 #acdi #ad1 on see ,eckardt2 #ae1 1 ,aramaism2 is late2 #ag1 1 only here and ,psalm lx4 #f2 1 probably late4 #acej ,so ,,lxx43 ,heb4 reads1 thy sons1 ,o ,javan4 #acea ,,lxx4 1 in the tossing of ,his threat1 787 or 4 ,it is natural to see here a reference to the ,theophanies of ,hab4 iii4 #c1 ,deut4 xxxiii4 7see above1 pp4 #aej f474 #aceb ,perhaps 1 overcome them4 ,,lxx4 4 #acec ,heb4 stones of a sling1 4 ,wellhausen and ,nowack read sons1 1 but what then is 8 #aced ,reading for ,heb4 1 and roar4 #acee ,heb4 like a flock of sheep ,his people1 7but how is one to construe this with the context87 for 78 like7 stones of a diadem lifting themselves up 78 shimmering7 over ,his land4 ,wellhausen and ,nowack delete for stones 444 shimmering as a gloss4 ,this would leave like a flock of sheep ,his people in ,his land1 to which it is proposed to add ,he will feed4 ,this gives good sense4 #acef ,wellhausen1 reading 1 fem4 suffix for neuter4 ,ewald and others ,he4 ,hitzig and others they1 the people4 #aceg ,of these cf4 8,mal40 iii4 #e2 the late ,jer4 xliv4 #h ff42 ,isa4 lxv4 #c-e2 and1 in the ,priestly ,law1 ,lev4 xix4 #ca1 xx4 #f4 #aceh ,z4,a4,t4,w41 ,i4 #fj4 ,he compares this verse with #a ,sam4 xv4 #bc4 ,in ,ezek4 xxi4 #bf they give oracles4 #acei 1 lightning-flash1 only here and in ,job xxviii4 #bf1 xxxviii4 #be4 #acfj ,,lxx4 read3 in season early rain and latter rain4 #acfa 1 used of a nomadic life in ,jer4 xxxi4 #bd 7#bc71 and so it is possible that in a later stage of the language it had come to mean to wander or stray4 ,but this is doubtful1 and there may be a false reading1 as appears from ,,lxx4 4 #acfb ,for read 4 ,the ,,lxx4 read 4 #acfc ,there can therefore be none of that connection between the two pieces which ,kirkpatrick assumes 7p4 #ded and note #b74 #acfd #acfe #acff ,see above1 p4 #ddd4 #acfg x4 #e1 1 ,eckardt1 p4 #hb2 #f1 #ab1 1 ,pi41 cf4 ,eccles4 x4 #aj1 where it alone occurs besides here2 #e1 #aa1 in passive sense4 #acfh ,as we should say1 bell-wethers3 cf4 ,isa4 xiv4 #i1 also a late meaning4 #acfi ,so ,,lxx41 reading for 4 #acgj ,corner-stone as name for a chief3 cf4 ,judg4 xx4 #b2 #a ,sam4 xiv4 #ch2 ,isa4 xix4 #ac4 ,stay or tent-pin1 ,isa4 xxii4 #bc4 ,from ,him1 others from them4 #acga ,read and 7,wellhausen74 #acgb ,read for the ,mass4 1 and ,i will make them to dwell4 #acgc and 1 and 1 keywords of ,hosea i4--iii4 #acgd ,,lxx42 sing4 ,heb4 #acge ,changing the ,heb4 points which make the verb future4 ,see ,nowack's note4 #acgf ,with ,,lxx4 read for ,mass4 4 #acgg ,see above1 pp4 #dea1 #dga4 #acgh ,so ,,lxx42 ,mass4 sing4 #acgi ,heb4 1 narrow sea3 so ,,lxx41 but ,wellhausen suggests 1 which ,nowack adopts4 #achj for 4 #acha ,for read 1 with ,,lxx4 and ,syr4 #achb ,heb4 adds here a difficult clause1 for nobles are wasted4 ,probably a gloss4 #achc ,after the er4 #achd ,i4e4 rankness2 applied to the thick vegetation in the larger bed of the stream3 see ,hist4 ,geog41 p4 #dhd4 #ache xi4 #e1 1 ,hiph41 but intransitive1 grow rich2 #f1 2 #g1 #aj1 7872 #h1 1 ,aram42 #ac1 1 ,aram41 ,jer4 xx4 #e1 ,ezek4 xxii4 #be1 ,job xxviii4 #aj2 in ,esther ten1 in ,daniel four times 7,eckardt72 xiii4 #g1 1 one of the marks of the affinity of the language of 8,zech40 ix4--xiv4 to that of the ,priestly ,code 7cf4 ,lev4 v4 #ba1 xviii4 #bj1 etc471 but in ,p it is concrete1 here abstract2 2 #h1 1 see ,eckardt1 p4 #he4 #achf ,jer4 xxiii4 #a-h2 ,ezek4 xxxiv41 xxxvii4 #bd ff43 cf4 ,kirkpatrick ,p4 #dfb4 #achg ,exod4 xxi4 #cb4 #achh ,,lxx4 ,god of ,hosts4 #achi ,read plural with ,,lxx4 #acij ,that is the late ,hebrew name for the heathen3 cf4 ix4 #a4 #acia ,heb4 1 neighbour2 read 4 #acib ,many take this verse as an intrusion4 ,it certainly seems to add nothing to the sense and to interrupt the connection1 which is clear when it is removed4 #acic ,heb4 1 wherefore the miserable of the flock1 which makes no sense4 ,but ,,lxx4 read 1 and this suggests the ,heb4 1 to the ,canaanites1 i4e4 merchants1 of the sheep3 so in ver4 #aa4 #acid ,lit4 ,bands4 #acie ,the sense is here obscure4 ,is the text sound8 ,in harmony with the context ought to mean tribes of ,israel4 ,but every passage in the ,o4,t4 in which might mean tribes has been shown to have a doubtful text3 ,deut4 xxxii4 #h1 xxxiii4 #c2 ,hosea x4 #ad2 ,micah i4 #b4 #acif ,see above1 note #acic1 on the same mis-read phrase in ver4 #g4 #acig ,heb4 1 the potter4 ,,lxx4 smelting furnace4 ,read by change of for 3 the two are often confounded2 see n4 #acii4 #acih ,wellhausen and ,nowack read thou hast been valued of them4 ,but there is no need of this4 ,the clause is a sarcastic parenthesis spoken by the prophet himself4 #acii ,again ,heb4 the potter1 ,,lxx4 the smelting furnace1 as above in ver4 #ac4 ,the additional clause ,house of ,god proves how right it is to read the treasury1 and disposes of the idea that to throw to the potter was a proverb for throwing away4 #adjj ,two codd4 read ,jerusalem1 which ,wellhausen and ,nowack adopt4 #adja ,heb4 1 the scattered4 ,,lxx4 4 #adjb 1 obscure3 some translate the sound or stable4 #adjc ,heb4 and their hoofs he will tear 7874 #adjd ,for ,heb4 read as in ver4 #ae 4 #adje 3 only in ,lev4 and here4 #adjf 4 ,perhaps we should read 1 ,i smite1 with ,matt4 xxvi4 #ca4 #adjg ,some take this as a promise3 turn ,my hand towards the little ones4 #adjh ,,lxx4 ,heb4 1 but the has fallen from the front of it4 #adji ,see above1 p4 #dfb4 #adaj xii4 #b1 1 a noun not found elsewhere in ,o4 ,t4 ,we found the verb in ,nahum ii4 #d 7see above1 p4 #ajf71 and probably in ,hab4 ii4 #af for 7see above1 p4 #adg1 n4 #dab73 it is common in ,aramean2 other forms belong to later ,hebrew 7cf4 ,eckardt1 p4 #he74 #c1 is used in classic ,heb4 only of intentional cutting and tattooing of oneself2 in the sense of wounding which it has here it is frequent in ,aramean4 #c has besides 1 not found elsewhere4 #d has three nouns terminating in 1 two of them--1 panic1 and 1 judicial blindness--in ,o4 ,t4 only found here and in ,deut4 xxviii4 #bh1 the former also in ,aramean4 #g is also cited by ,eckardt as used only in ,ezek4 xix4 #f1 xxvi4 #bj1 and four times in ,psalms4 #adaa xii4 #f1 4 #adab ,the text reads against ,judah1 as if it with ,jerusalem suffered the siege of the heathen4 ,but 7#a7 this makes an unconstruable clause1 and 7#b7 the context shows that ,judah was against ,jerusalem4 ,therefore ,geiger 7,urschrift1 p4 #eh7 is right in deleting 1 and restoring to the clause both sense in itself and harmony with the context4 ,it is easy to see why was afterwards introduced4 ,,lxx4 4 #adac ,since ,jerome1 commentators have thought of a stone by throwing or lifting which men try their strength1 what we call a 8putting stone40 ,but is not the idea rather of one of the large stones half-buried in the earth which it is the effort of the husbandman to tear from its bed and carry out of his field before he ploughs it8 ,keil and ,wright think of a heavy stone for building4 ,this is not so likely4 #adad 1 elsewhere only in ,lev4 xxi4 #e1 is there used of intentional cutting of oneself as a sign of mourning4 ,nowack takes the clause as a later intrusion2 but there is no real reason for this4 #adae ,heb4 upon ,judah will ,i keep ,my eyes open to protect him1 and this has analogies1 ,job xiv4 #c1 ,jer4 xxxii4 #ai4 ,but the reading its eyes1 which is made by inserting a that might easily have dropped out through confusion with the initial of the next word1 has also analogies 7,isa4 xlii4 #g1 etc471 and stands in better parallel to the next clause1 as well as to the clauses describing the panic of the heathen4 #adaf ,others read 1 thousands1 i4e4 districts4 #adag ,heb4 ,i will find me2 ,,lxx4 4 #adah ,hebrew adds a gloss3 in ,jerusalem4 #adai ,the population in time of war4 #adbj xii4 #aj1 1 not earlier than ,ezek4 xxxix4 #bi1 ,joel iii4 #a1 #b 7,heb472 1 only in ,job1 ,proverbs1 ,psalms and ,daniel2 1 an intrans4 ,hiph42 xiii4 #a1 1 fountain1 before ,jeremiah only in ,hosea xiii4 #ae 7perhaps a late intrusion71 but several times in post-exilic writings instead of pre-exilic 7,eckardt72 only after ,ezekiel2 #c1 cf4 xii4 #aj1 1 chiefly1 but not only1 in post-exilic writings4 #adba ,see especially xii4 #ab ff41 which is very suggestive of the ,priestly ,code4 #adbb ,hist4 ,geog41 ,chap4 ,,xix4 ,on the name plain of ,megiddo see especially notes1 p4 #chf4 #adbc #b ,chron4 xxxv4 #bb ff4 #adbd ,another explanation offered by the ,targum is the mourning for 8,ahab son of ,omri1 slain by ,hadad-,rimmon son of ,tab-,rimmon40 #adbe ,,lxx4 gives for ,hadad-,rimmon only the second part1 4 #adbf ,ezek4 viii4 #ad4 #adbg ,baudissin1 ,studien z4 ,sem4 ,rel4 ,gesch41 ,i4 #bie ff4 #adbh ,heb4 ,me2 several codd4 him3 some read to 7him7 whom they have pierced2 but this would require the elision of the sign of the acc4 before who4 ,wellhausen and others think something has fallen from the text4 #adbi ,see above1 p4 #dhb4 #adcj ,,lxx4 4 #adca ,cf4 ,ezek4 xxxvi4 #be1 xlvii4 #a4 #adcb ,read for the ,mass4 3 so ,wellhausen4 #adcc ,heb4 between4 #adcd ,but see below1 p4 #dij4 #adce 3 or belonging to ,jehovah2 or like the ,lamed auctoris or ,lamed when construed with passive verbs 7see ,oxford ,heb4-,eng4 ,dictionary1 pp4 #eac and #ead1 col4 #a71 from1 by means of1 ,jehovah4 #adcf ,heb43 and ye shall flee1 the ravine of ,my mountains4 ,the text is obviously corrupt1 but it is difficult to see how it should be repaired4 ,,lxx41 ,targ4 ,symmachus and the ,babylonian codd4 7,baer1 p4 #hd7 read 1 shall be closed1 for 1 ye shall flee1 and this is adopted by a number of critics 7,bredenkamp1 ,wellhausen1 ,nowack74 ,but it is hardly possible before the next clause1 which says the valley extends to ',aal4 #adcg ,wellhausen suggests the ravine 77 of ,hinnom4 #adch 1 place-name3 cf4 1 name of a family of ,benjamin1 viii4 #cg f41 ix4 #dc f42 and 1 ,micah i4 #aa4 ,some would read 1 the adverb near by4 #adci ,amos i4 #a4 #addj ,,lxx4 #adda ,,lxx42 ,heb4 thee4 #addb ,heb4 ,kethibh1 1 jewels 78 hardly stars as some have sought to prove from ,job xxxi4 #bf7 grow dead or congealed4 ,heb4 er1 jewels and frost1 4 ,,lxx4 1 1 and cold and frost4 ,founding on this ,wellhausen proposes to read for 1 and renders1 there shall be neither heat nor cold nor frost4 ,so ,nowack4 ,but it is not easy to see how ever got changed to 4 #addc ,unique or the same8 #addd ,taken as a gloss by ,wellhausen and ,nowack4 #adde 1 the name for the ,jordan ,valley1 the ,ghr 7,hist4 ,geog41 pp4 #dhb-dhd74 ,it is employed1 not because of its fertility1 but because of its level character4 ,cf4 ,josephus' name for it1 8the ,great ,plain0 7,,iv4 ,wars viii4 #b2 ,,iv4 ,antt4 vi4 #a73 also #a ,macc4 v4 #eb1 xvi4 #aa4 #addf ,geba 8long the limit of ,judah to the north1 #b ,kings xxiii4 #h0 7,hist4 ,geog41 pp4 #beb1 #bia74 ,rimmon was on the southern border of ,palestine 7,josh4 xv4 #cb1 xix4 #g71 the present ,umm er ,rummamin ,n4 of ,beersheba 7,rob41 ,b4 ,r474 #addg ,or be inhabited as it stands4 #addh ,cf4 8,mal40 iii4 #bd 7,heb474 #addi ,ezek4 xxxviii4 #ba4 #adej ,so ,wellhausen and ,nowack4 #adea ,so ,,lxx4 and ,syr4 ,the ,heb4 text inserts a not4 #adeb 1 in classic ,heb4 sin2 but as in ,num4 xxxii4 #bc and ,isa4 v4 #ah1 the punishment that sin brings down4 #adec ,hosea xiv4 #c4 #aded ix4 #aj4 #adee ,so ,wellhausen4 #adef ix4 #aj4 #adeg ,heb4 ,canaanite4 ,cf4 ,christ's action in cleansing the ,temple of all dealers 7,matt4 xxi4 #ab-ad74 ,,jonah 8,and this is the tragedy of the ,book of ,jonah1 that a ,book which is made the means of one of the most sublime revelations of truth in the ,old ,testament should be known to most only for its connection with a whale40 ,,chapter ,,xxxiv ,,the ,,book ,,of ,,jonah ,the book of ,jonah is cast throughout in the form of narrative--the only one of our ,twelve which is so4 ,this fact1 combined with the extraordinary events which the narrative relates1 starts questions not raised by any of the rest4 ,besides treating1 therefore1 of the book's origin1 unity1 division and other commonplaces of introduction1 we must further seek in this chapter reasons for the appearance of such a narrative among a collection of prophetic discourses4 ,we have to ask whether the narrative be intended as one of fact2 and if not1 why the author was directed to the choice of such a form to enforce the truth committed to him4 ,the appearance of a narrative among the ,twelve ,prophets is not1 in itself1 so exceptional as it seems to be4 ,parts of the ,books of ,amos and ,hosea treat of the personal experience of their authors4 ,the same is true of the ,books of ,isaiah1 ,jeremiah and ,ezekiel1 in which the prophet's call and his attitude to it are regarded as elements of his message to men4 ,no3 the peculiarity of the ,book of ,jonah is not the presence of narrative1 but the apparent absence of all prophetic discourse4#adeh ,yet even this might be explained by reference to the first part of the prophetic canon--,joshua to ,second ,kings4#adei ,these ,former ,prophets1 as they are called1 are wholly narrative--narrative in the prophetic spirit and written to enforce a moral4 ,many of them begin as the ,book of ,jonah does3#adfj they contain stories1 for instance1 of ,elijah and ,elisha1 who flourished immediately before ,jonah and like him were sent with commissions to foreign lands4 ,it might therefore be argued that the ,book of ,jonah1 though narrative1 is as much a prophetic book as they are1 and that the only reason why it has found a place1 not with these histories1 but among the ,later ,prophets1 is the exceedingly late date of its composition4#adfa ,this is a plausible1 but not the real1 answer to our question4 ,suppose we were to find the latter by discovering that the ,book of ,jonah1 though in narrative form1 is not real history at all1 nor pretends to be2 but1 from beginning to end1 is as much a prophetic sermon as any of the other ,twelve ,books1 yet cast in the form of parable or allegory8 ,this would certainly explain the adoption of the book among the ,twelve2 nor would its allegorical character appear without precedent to those 7and they are among the most conservative of critics7 who maintain 7as the present writer does not7 the allegorical character of the story of ,hosea's wife4#adfb ,it is1 however1 when we pass from the form to the substance of the book that we perceive the full justification of its reception among the prophets4 ,the truth which we find in the ,book of ,jonah is as full and fresh a revelation of ,god's will as prophecy anywhere achieves4 ,that ,god has granted to the ,gentiles also repentance unto life#adfc is nowhere else in the ,old ,testament so vividly illustrated4 ,it lifts the teaching of the ,book of ,jonah to equal rank with the second part of ,isaiah1 and nearest of all our ,twelve to the ,new ,testament4 ,the very form in which this truth is insinuated into the prophet's reluctant mind1 by contrasting ,god's pity for the dim population of ,niniveh with ,jonah's own pity for his perished gourd1 suggests the methods of our ,lord's teaching1 and invests the book with the morning air of that high day which shines upon the most evangelic of ,his parables4 ,one other remark is necessary4 ,in our effort to appreciate this lofty gospel we labour under a disadvantage4 ,that is our sense of humour--our modern sense of humour4 ,some of the figures in which our author conveys his truth cannot but appear to us grotesque4 ,how many have missed the sublime spirit of the book in amusement or offence at its curious details6 ,even in circles in which the acceptance of its literal interpretation has been demanded as a condition of belief in its inspiration1 the story has too often served as a subject for humorous remarks4 ,this is almost inevitable if we take it as history4 ,but we shall find that one advantage of the theory1 which treats the book as parable1 is that the features1 which appear so grotesque to many1 are traced to the popular poetry of the writer's own time and shown to be natural4 ,when we prove this1 we shall be able to treat the scenery of the book as we do that of some early ,christian fresco1 in which1 however rude it be or untrue to nature1 we discover an earnestness and a success in expressing the moral essence of a situation that are not always present in works of art more skilful or more correct4 #a4 ,,the ,,date ,,of ,,the ,,book4 ,jonah ben-,amittai1 from ,gath-hepher#adfd in ,galilee1 came forward in the beginning of the reign of ,jeroboam ,,ii4 to announce that the king would regain the lost territories of ,israel from the ,pass of ,hamath to the ,dead ,sea4#adfe ,he flourished1 therefore1 about #ghj1 and had this book been by himself we should have had to place it first of all the ,twelve1 and nearly a generation before that of ,amos4 ,but the book neither claims to be by ,jonah1 nor gives any proof of coming from an eye-witness of the adventures which it describes1#adff nor even from a contemporary of the prophet4 ,on the contrary1 one verse implies that when it was written ,niniveh had ceased to be a great city4#adfg ,now ,niniveh fell1 and was practically destroyed1 in #fjf ,b4,c4#adfh ,in all ancient history there was no collapse of an imperial city more sudden or so complete4#adfi ,we must therefore date the ,book of ,jonah some time after #fjf1 when ,niniveh's greatness had become what it was to the ,greek writers1 a matter of tradition4 ,a late date is also proved by the language of the book4 ,this not only contains ,aramaic elements which have been cited to support the argument for a northern origin in the time of ,jonah himself1#adgj but a number of words and grammatical constructions which we find in the ,old ,testament1 some of them in the later and some only in the very latest writings4#adga ,scarcely less decisive are a number of apparent quotations and echoes of passages in the ,old ,testament1 mostly later than the date of the historical ,jonah1 and some of them even later than the ,exile4#adgb ,if it could be proved that the ,book of ,jonah quotes from ,joel1 that would indeed set it down to a very late date--probably about #cjj ,b4,c41 the period of the composition of ,ezra-,nehemiah1 with the language of which its own shows most affinity4#adgc ,this would leave time for its reception into the ,canon of the ,prophets1 which was closed by #bjj ,b4,c4#adgd ,had the book been later it would undoubtedly have fallen1 like ,daniel1 within the ,hagiographa4 #b4 ,,the ,,character ,,of ,,the ,,book4 ,nor does this book1 written so many centuries after ,jonah had passed away1 claim to be real history4 ,on the contrary1 it offers to us all the marks of the parable or allegory4 ,we have1 first of all1 the residence of ,jonah for the conventional period of three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish1 a story not only very extraordinary in itself and sufficient to provoke the suspicion of allegory 7we need not stop to argue this71 but apparently woven1 as we shall see1#adge from the materials of a myth well known to the ,hebrews4 ,we have also the very general account of ,niniveh's conversion1 in which there is not even the attempt to describe any precise event4 ,the absence of precise data is indeed conspicuous throughout the book4 8,the author neglects a multitude of things1 which he would have been obliged to mention had history been his principal aim4 ,he says nothing of the sins of which ,niniveh was guilty1#adgf nor of the journey of the prophet to ,niniveh1 nor does he mention the place where he was cast out upon the land1 nor the name of the ,assyrian king4 ,in any case1 if the narrative were intended to be historical1 it would be incomplete by the frequent fact1 that circumstances which are necessary for the connection of events are mentioned later than they happened1 and only where attention has to be directed to them as having already happened40#adgg ,we find1 too1 a number of trifling discrepancies1 from which some critics#adgh have attempted to prove the presence of more than one story in the composition of the book1 but which are simply due to the license a writer allows himself when he is telling a tale and not writing a history4 ,above all1 there is the abrupt close to the story at the very moment at which its moral is obvious4#adgi ,all these things are symptoms of the parable--so obvious and so natural1 that we really sin against the intention of the author1 and the purpose of the ,spirit which inspired him1 when we wilfully interpret the book as real history4#adhj #c4 ,,the ,,purpose ,,of ,,the ,,book4 ,the general purpose of this parable is very clear4 ,it is not1 as some have maintained1#adha to explain why the judgments of ,god and the predictions of ,his prophets were not always fulfilled--though this also becomes clear by the way4 ,the purpose of the parable1 and it is patent from first to last1 is to illustrate the mission of prophecy to the ,gentiles1 ,god's care for them1 and their susceptibility to ,his word4 ,more correctly1 it is to enforce all this truth upon a prejudiced and thrice-reluctant mind4#adhb ,whose was this reluctant mind8 ,in ,israel after the ,exile there were many different feelings with regard to the future and the great obstacle which heathendom interposed between ,israel and the future4 ,there was the feeling of outraged justice1 with the intense conviction that ,jehovah's kingdom could not be established save by the overthrow of the cruel kingdoms of this world4 ,we have seen that conviction expressed in the ,book of ,obadiah4 ,but the nation1 which read and cherished the visions of the ,great ,seer of the ,exile1#adhc could not help producing among her sons men with hopes about the heathen of a very different kind--men who felt that ,israel's mission to the world was not one of war1 but of service in those high truths of ,god and of ,his ,grace which had been committed to herself4 ,between the two parties it is certain there was much polemic1 and we find this still bitter in the time of our ,lord4 ,and some critics think that while ,esther1 ,obadiah and other writings of the centuries after the ,return represent the one side of this polemic1 which demanded the overthrow of the heathen1 the ,book of ,jonah represents the other side1 and in the vexed and reluctant prophet pictures such ,jews as were willing to proclaim the destruction of the enemies of ,israel1 and yet like ,jonah were not without the lurking fear that ,god would disappoint their predictions and in ,his patience leave the heathen room for repentance4#adhd ,their dogmatism could not resist the impression of how long ,god had actually spared the oppressors of ,his people1 and the author of the ,book of ,jonah cunningly sought these joints in their armour to insinuate the points of his doctrine of ,god's real will for nations beyond the covenant4 ,this is ingenious and plausible4 ,but in spite of the cleverness with which it has been argued that the details of the story of ,jonah are adapted to the temper of the ,jewish party who desired only vengeance on the heathen1 it is not at all necessary to suppose that the book was the produce of mere polemic4 ,the book is too simple and too grand for that4 ,and therefore those appear more right who conceive that the writer had in view1 not a ,jewish party1 but ,israel as a whole in their national reluctance to fulfil their ,divine mission to the world4#adhe ,of them ,god had already said3 ,who is blind but ,my servant1 or deaf as ,my messenger whom ,i have sent8444 ,who gave ,jacob for a spoil and ,israel to the robbers8 ,did not ,jehovah1 ,he against whom we have sinned8--for they would not walk in ,his ways1 neither were they obedient to ,his law4#adhf ,of such a people ,jonah is the type4 ,like them he flees from the duty ,god has laid upon him4 ,like them he is1 beyond his own land1 cast for a set period into a living death1 and like them rescued again only to exhibit once more upon his return an ill-will to believe that ,god had any fate for the heathen except destruction4 ,according to this theory1 then1 ,jonah's disappearance in the sea and the great fish1 and his subsequent ejection upon dry land1 symbolise the ,exile of ,israel and their restoration to ,palestine4 ,in proof of this view it has been pointed out that1 while the prophets frequently represent the heathen tyrants of ,israel as the sea or the sea-monster1 one of them has actually described the nation's exile as its swallowing by a monster1 whom ,god forces at last to disgorge his living prey4#adhg ,the full illustration of this will be given in ,chapter ,,xxxvi4 on 8,the ,great ,fish and ,what it ,means40 ,here it is only necessary to mention that the metaphor was borrowed1 not1 as has been alleged by many1 from some ,greek1 or other foreign1 myth1 which1 like that of ,perseus and ,andromeda1 had its scene in the neighbourhood of ,joppa1 but from a ,semitic mythology which was well known to the ,hebrews1 and the materials of which were employed very frequently by other prophets and poets of the ,old ,testament4#adhh ,why1 of all prophets1 ,jonah should have been selected as the type of ,israel1 is a question hard but perhaps not impossible to answer4 ,in history ,jonah appears only as concerned with ,israel's reconquest of her lands from the heathen4 ,did the author of the book say3 ,i will take such a man1 one to whom tradition attributes no outlook beyond ,israel's own territories1 for none could be so typical of ,israel1 narrow1 selfish and with no love for the world beyond herself8 ,or did the author know some story about a journey of ,jonah to ,niniveh1 or at least some discourse by ,jonah against the great city8 ,elijah went to ,sarepta1 ,elisha took ,god's word to ,damascus3 may there not have been1 though we are ignorant of it1 some connection between ,niniveh and the labours of ,elisha's successor8 ,thirty years after ,jonah appeared1 ,amos proclaimed the judgment of ,jehovah upon foreign nations1 with the destruction of their capitals2 about the year #gee he clearly enforced1 as equal with ,israel's own1 the moral responsibility of the heathen to the ,god of righteousness4 ,may not ,jonah1 almost the contemporary of ,amos1 have denounced ,niniveh in the same way8 ,would not some tradition of this serve as the nucleus of history1 round which our author built his allegory8 ,it is possible that ,jonah proclaimed doom upon ,niniveh2 yet those who are familiar with the prophesying of ,amos1 ,hosea1 and1 in his younger days1 ,isaiah1 will deem it hardly probable4 ,for why do all these prophets exhibit such reserve in even naming ,assyria1 if ,israel had already through ,jonah entered into such articulate relations with ,niniveh8 ,we must1 therefore1 admit our ignorance of the reasons which led our author to choose ,jonah as a type of ,israel4 ,we can only conjecture that it may have been because ,jonah was a prophet1 whom history identified only with ,israel's narrower interests4 ,if1 during subsequent centuries1 a tradition had risen of ,jonah's journey to ,niniveh or of his discourse against her1 such a tradition has probability against it4 99 99 99 99 99 ,a more definite origin for the book than any yet given has been suggested by ,professor ,budde4#adhi ,the ,second ,book of ,chronicles refers to a ,midrash of the ,book of the ,kings#adij for further particulars concerning ,king ,joash4 ,a ,midrash#adia was the expansion1 for doctrinal or homiletic purposes1 of a passage of ,scripture1 and very frequently took the form1 so dear to ,orientals1 of parable or invented story about the subject of the text4 ,we have examples of ,midrashim among the ,apocrypha1 in the ,books of ,tobit and ,susannah and in the ,prayer of ,manasseh1 the same as is probably referred to by the ,chronicler4#adib ,that the ,chronicler himself used the ,midrash of the ,book of the ,kings as material for his own book is obvious from the form of the latter and its adaptation of the historical narratives of the ,book of ,kings4#adic ,the ,book of ,daniel may also be reckoned among the ,midrashim1 and ,budde now proposes to add to their number the ,book of ,jonah4 ,it may be doubted whether this distinguished critic is right in supposing that the book formed the ,midrash to #b ,kings xiv4 #be ff4 7the author being desirous to add to the expression there of ,jehovah's pity upon ,israel some expression of ,his pity upon the heathen71 or that it was extracted just as it stands1 in proof of which ,budde points to its abrupt beginning and end4 ,we have seen another reason for the latter2#adid and it is very improbable that the ,midrashim1 so largely the basis of the ,books of ,chronicles1 shared that spirit of universalism which inspires the ,book of ,jonah4#adie ,but we may well believe that it was in some ,midrash of the ,book of ,kings that the author of the ,book of ,jonah found the basis of the latter part of his immortal work1 which too clearly reflects the fortunes and conduct of all ,israel to have been wholly drawn from a ,midrash upon the story of the individual prophet ,jonah4 #d4 ,,our ,,lord',s ,,use ,,of ,,the ,,book4 ,we have seen1 then1 that the ,book of ,jonah is not actual history1 but the enforcement of a profound religious truth nearer to the level of the ,new ,testament than anything else in the ,old1 and cast in the form of ,christ's own parables4 ,the full proof of this can be made clear only by the detailed exposition of the book4 ,there is1 however1 one other question1 which is relevant to the argument4 ,christ ,himself has employed the story of ,jonah4 ,does ,his use of it involve ,his authority for the opinion that it is a story of real facts8 ,two passages of the ,gospels contain the words of our ,lord upon ,jonah3 ,matt4 xii4 #ci1 #da1 and ,luke xi4 #bi1 #cj4adif ,a generation1 wicked and adulterous1 seeketh a sign1 and sign shall not be given it1 save the sign of the prophet ,jonah4444 ,the men of ,niniveh shall stand up in the ,judgment with this generation1 and condemn it1 for they repented at the preaching of ,jonah1 and behold1 a greater than ,jonah is here4 ,this generation is an evil generation3 it seeketh a sign2 and sign shall not be given it1 except the sign of ,jonah4 ,for as ,jonah was a sign to the ,ninivites1 so also shall the ,son of ,man be to this generation4 ,these words1 of course1 are compatible with the opinion that the ,book of ,jonah is a record of real fact4 ,the only question is1 are they also compatible with the opinion that the ,book of ,jonah is a parable8 ,many say ,no2 and they allege that those of us who hold this opinion are denying1 or at least ignoring1 the testimony of our ,lord2 or that we are taking away the whole force of the parallel which ,he drew4 ,this is a question of interpretation1 not of faith4 ,we do not believe that our ,lord had any thought of confirming or not confirming the historic character of the story4 ,his purpose was purely one of exhortation1 and we feel the grounds of that exhortation to be just as strong1 when we have proven the ,book of ,jonah to be a parable4 ,christ is using an illustration3 it surely matters not whether that illustration be drawn from the realms of fact or of poetry4 ,again and again in their discourses to the people do men use illustrations and enforcements drawn from traditions of the past4 ,do we1 even when the historical value of these traditions is very ambiguous1 give a single thought to the question of their historical character8 ,we never think of it4 ,it is enough for us that the tradition is popularly accepted and familiar4 ,and we cannot deny to our ,lord that which we claim for ourselves4#adig ,even conservative writers admit this4 ,in his recent ,introduction to ,jonah ,orelli says expressly3 8,it is not1 indeed1 proved with conclusive necessity that1 if the resurrection of ,jesus was a physical fact1 ,jonah's abode in the fish's belly must also be just as historical40#adih ,upon the general question of our ,lord's authority in matters of criticism1 ,his own words with regard to personal questions may be appositely quoted3 ,man1 who made ,me a judge or divider over you8 ,i am come not to judge 444 but to save4 ,such matters our ,lord surely leaves to ourselves1 and we have to decide them by our reason1 our common-sense and our loyalty to truth--of all of which ,he ,himself is the creator1 and of which we shall have to render to ,him an account at the last4 ,let us remember this1 and we shall use them with equal liberty and reverence4 ,bringing every thought into subjection to ,christ is surely just using our knowledge1 our reason1 and every other intellectual gift which ,he has given us1 with the accuracy and the courage of ,his own ,spirit4 #e4 ,,the ,,unity ,,of ,,the ,,book4 ,the next question is that of the ,unity of the ,book4 ,several attempts have been made to prove from discrepancies1 some real and some alleged1 that the book is a compilation of stories from several different hands4 ,but these essays are too artificial to have obtained any adherence from critics2 and the few real discrepancies of narrative from which they start are due1 as we have seen1 rather to the license of a writer of parable than to any difference of authorship4#adii ,in the question of the ,unity of the ,book1 the ,prayer or ,psalm in chap4 ii4 offers a problem of its own1 consisting as it does almost entirely of passages parallel to others in the ,psalter4 ,besides a number of religious phrases1 which are too general for us to say that one prayer has borrowed them from another1#aejj there are several unmistakeable repetitions of the ,psalms4#aeja ,and yet the ,psalm of ,jonah has strong features1 which1 so far as we know1 are original to it4 ,the horror of the great deep has nowhere in the ,old ,testament been described with such power or with such conciseness4 ,so far1 then1 the ,psalm is not a mere string of quotations1 but a living unity4 ,did the author of the book himself insert it where it stands8 ,against this it has been urged that the ,psalm is not the prayer of a man inside a fish1 but of one who on dry land celebrates a deliverance from drowning1 and that if the author of the narrative himself had inserted it1 he would rather have done so after ver4 #aa1 which records the prophet's escape from the fish4#aejb ,and a usual theory of the origin of the ,psalm is that a later editor1 having found the ,psalm ready-made and in a collection where it was perhaps attributed to ,jonah1#aejc inserted it after ver4 #b1 which records that ,jonah did pray from the belly of the fish1 and inserted it there the more readily1 because it seemed right for a book which had found its place among the ,twelve ,prophets to contribute1 as all the others did1 some actual discourse of the prophet whose name it bore4#aejd ,this1 however1 is not probable4 ,whether the original author found the ,psalm ready to his hand or made it1 there is a great deal to be said for the opinion of the earlier critics1#aeje that he himself inserted it1 and just where it now stands4 ,for1 from the standpoint of the writer1 ,jonah was already saved1 when he was taken up by the fish--saved from the deep into which he had been cast by the sailors1 and the dangers of which the ,psalm so vividly describes4 ,however impossible it be for us to conceive of the compilation of a ,psalm 7even though full of quotations7 by a man in ,jonah's position1#aejf it was consistent with the standpoint of a writer who had just affirmed that the fish was expressly appointed by ,jehovah1 in order to save his penitent servant from the sea4 ,to argue that the ,psalm is an intrusion is therefore not only unnecessary1 but it betrays failure to appreciate the standpoint of the writer4 ,given the fish and the ,divine purpose of the fish1 the ,psalm is intelligible and appears at its proper place4 ,it were more reasonable indeed to argue that the fish itself is an insertion4 ,besides1 as we shall see1 the spirit of the ,psalm is national2 in conformity with the truth underlying the book1 it is a ,psalm of ,israel as a whole4 ,if this be correct1 we have the ,book of ,jonah as it came from the hands of its author4 ,the text is in wonderfully good condition1 due to the ease of the narrative and its late date4 ,the ,greek version exhibits the usual proportion of clerical errors and mistranslations1#aejg omissions#aejh and amplifications1#aeji with some variant readings#aeaj and other changes that will be noted in the verses themselves4 ,,footnotes3 #adeh ,unless the ,psalm were counted as such4 ,see below1 p4 #eaa4 #adei ,minus ,ruth of course4 #adfj ,cf4 with ,jonah i4 #a1 1 ,josh4 i4 #a1 #a ,sam4 i4 #a1 #b ,sam4 i4 #a4 ,the corrupt state of the text of ,ezek4 i4 #a does not permit us to adduce it also as a parallel4 #adfa ,see below1 p4 #dif4 #adfb ,see above1 ,vol4 ,i41 p4 #bcf4 #adfc ,acts xi4 #h4 #adfd ,cf4 ,gittah-hepher1 ,josh4 xix4 #ac1 by some held to be ,el ,meshhed1 three miles north-east of ,nazareth4 ,the tomb of ,jonah is pointed out there4 #adfe #b ,kings xiv4 #be4 #adff ,cf4 ,kuenen1 ,einl41 ,,ii4 #dag1 #dah4 #adfg iii4 #c3 1 was4 #adfh ,see above1 pp4 #ba ff41 #if ff4 #adfi ,cf4 ,george ,smith1 ,assyrian ,discoveries1 p4 #id2 ,sayce1 ,ancient ,empires of the ,east1 p4 #ada4 ,cf4 previous note4 #adgj ,as1 e4g41 by ,volck1 article 8,jona0 in ,herzog's ,real4 ,encycl43 the use of for 1 as1 e4g41 in the very early ,song of ,deborah4 ,but the same occurs in many late passages3 ,eccles4 i4 #g1 #aa1 ii4 #ba1 #bb1 etc42 ,psalms cxxii41 cxxiv41 cxxxv4 #b1 #h1 cxxxvii4 #h1 cxlvi4 #c4 #adga ,a4 ,grammatical constructions3--i4 #g1 2 #ab1 3 that has not altogether displaced ,knig 7,einl41 #cgh7 thinks a proof of the date of ,jonah in the early ,aramaic period4 iv4 #f1 the use of for the accusative1 cf4 ,jer4 xl4 #b1 ,ezra viii4 #bd3 seldom in earlier ,hebrew1 #a ,sam4 xxiii4 #aj1 #b ,sam4 iii4 #cj1 especially when the object stands before the verb1 ,isa4 xi4 #i 7this may be late71 #a ,sam4 xxii4 #g1 ,job v4 #b2 but continually in ,aramaic1 ,dan4 ii4 #aj1 #ab1 #ad1 #bd1 etc4 ,the first personal pronoun 7five times7 occurs oftener than 7twice71 just as in all exilic and post-exilic writings4 ,the numerals ii4 #a1 iii4 #c1 precede the noun1 as in earlier ,hebrew4 ,b4 ,words3-- in ,pi4 is a favourite term of our author1 ii4 #a1 iv4 #f1 #h2 is elsewhere in ,o4,t4 ,hebrew found only in ,dan4 i4 #e1 #aj1 #ah1 #a ,chron4 ix4 #bi1 ,psalm lxi4 #h2 but in ,o4,t4 ,aramaic ,pi4 occurs in ,ezra vii4 #be1 ,dan4 ii4 #bd1 #di1 iii4 #ab1 etc4 1 i4 #e1 is not elsewhere found in ,o4,t41 but is common in later ,hebrew and in ,aramaic4 1 i4 #f1 to think1 for the ,heb4 1 cf4 ,psalm cxlvi4 #d1 but ,aram4 cf4 ,dan4 vi4 #d and ,targums4 in the sense to order or command1 iii4 #g1 is found elsewhere in the ,o4,t4 only in the ,aramaic passages ,dan4 iii4 #aj1 ,ezra vi4 #a1 etc4 1 iv4 #aa1 for the earlier occurs only in later ,hebrew1 ,ezra ii4 #fd1 ,neh4 vii4 #ff1 #gb1 #a ,chron4 xxix4 #g 7,hosea viii4 #ab1 ,kethibh is suspected74 1 i4 #aa1 #ab1 occurs only in ,psalm cvii4 #cj1 ,prov4 xxvi4 #bj4 1 iv4 #aj1 instead of the usual 4 ,the expression ,god of ,heaven1 i4 #i1 occurs only in #b ,chron4 xxxvi4 #bc1 ,psalm cxxxvi4 #bf1 ,dan4 ii4 #ah1 #ai1 #dd1 and frequently in ,ezra and ,nehemiah4 #adgb ,in chap4 iv4 there are undoubted echoes of the story of ,elijah's depression in #a ,kings xix41 though the alleged parallel between ,jonah's tree 7iv4 #h7 and ,elijah's broom-bush seems to me forced1 iv4 #i has been thought1 though not conclusively1 to depend on ,gen4 iv4 #f1 and the appearance of has been referred to its frequent use in ,gen4 ii4 f4 ,more important are the parallels with ,joel3 iii4 #i with ,joel ii4 #ad;a1 and the attributes of ,god in iv4 #b with ,joel ii4 #ac4 ,but which of the two is the original8 #adgc ,kleinert assigns the book to the ,exile2 ,ewald to the fifth or sixth century2 ,driver to the fifth century 7,introd4#f1 #cja72 ,orelli to the last ,chaldean or first ,persian age2 ,vatke to the third century4 ,these assign generally to after the ,exile3 ,cheyne 7,theol4 ,rev41 ,,xiv41 p4 #bah3 cf4 art4 8,jonah0 in the ,encycl4 ,brit471 ,knig 7,einl471 ,rob4 ,smith1 ,kuenen1 ,wildeboer1 ,budde1 ,cornill1 ,farrar1 etc4 ,hitzig brings it down as far as the ,maccabean age1 which is impossible if the prophetic canon closed in #bjj ,b4,c41 and seeks for its origin in ,egypt1 8that land of wonders10 on account of its fabulous character1 and because of the description of the east wind as 7iv4 #h71 and the name of the gourd1 1 ,egyptian kiki4 ,but such a wind and such a plant were found outside ,egypt as well4 ,nowack dates the book after ,joel4 #adgd ,see above1 ,vol4 ,i41 p4 #e4 #adge ,below1 pp4 #ebc ff4 #adgf ,contrast the treatment of foreign states by ,elisha1 ,amos and ,isaiah1 etc4 #adgg ,abridged from pp4 #c and #d of ,kleinert's ,introduction to the ,book of ,jonah in ,lange's ,series of ,commentaries4 ,eng4 ed41 ,vol4 ,,xvi4 #adgh ,khler1 ,theol4 ,rev41 ,vol4 ,,xvi42 ,bhme1 ,z4,a4,t4,w41 #ahhg1 pp4 #bbd ff4 #adgi ,indeed throughout the book the truths it enforces are always more pushed to the front than the facts4 #adhj ,nearly all the critics who accept the late date of the book interpret it as parabolic4 ,see also a powerful article by the late ,dr4 ,dale in the ,expositor1 ,fourth ,series1 ,vol4 ,,vi41 ,july #ahib1 pp4 #a ff4 ,cf41 too1 ,c4 ,h4 ,h4 ,wright1 ,biblical ,essays 7#ahhf71 pp4 #cd-ih4 #adha ,marck 7quoted by ,kleinert7 said3 8,scriptum est magna parte historicum sed ita ut in historia ipsa lateat maximi vaticinii mysterium1 atque ipse fatis suis1 non minus quam effatis vatem se verum demonstret40 ,hitzig curiously thinks that this is the reason why it has been placed in the ,canon of the ,prophets next to the unfulfilled prophecy of ,god against ,edom4 ,but by the date which ,hitzig assigns to the book the prophecy against ,edom was at least in a fair way to fulfilment4 ,riehm 7,theol4 ,stud4 u4 ,krit41 #ahfb1 pp4 #dac f473 8,the practical intention of the book is to afford instruction concerning the proper attitude to prophetic warnings02 these1 though genuine words of ,god1 may be averted by repentance4 ,volck 7art4 8,jona0 in ,herzog's ,real4 ,encycl47 gives the following4 ,jonah's experience is characteristic of the whole prophetic profession4 8,we learn from it 7#a7 that the prophet must perform what ,god commands him1 however unusual it appears2 7#b7 that even death cannot nullify his calling2 7#c7 that the prophet has no right to the fulfilment of his prediction1 but must place it in ,god's hand40 ,vatke 7,einl41 #fhh7 maintains that the book was written in an apologetic interest1 when ,jews expounded the prophets and found this difficulty1 that all their predictions had not been fulfilled4 8,the author obviously teaches3 7#a7 since the prophet cannot withdraw from the ,divine commission1 he is also not responsible for the contents of his predictions2 7#b7 the prophet often announces ,divine purposes1 which are not fulfilled1 because ,god in ,his mercy takes back the threat1 when repentance follows2 7#c7 the honour of a prophet is not hurt when a threat is not fulfilled1 and the inspiration remains unquestioned1 although many predictions are not carried out40 ,to all of which there is a conclusive answer1 in the fact that1 had the book been meant to explain or justify unfulfilled prophecy1 the author would certainly not have chosen as an instance a judgment against ,niniveh1 because1 by the time he wrote1 all the early predictions of ,niniveh's fall had been fulfilled1 we might say1 to the very letter4 #adhb ,so even ,kimchi2 and in modern times ,de ,wette1 ,delitzsch1 ,bleek1 ,reuss1 ,cheyne1 ,wright1 ,knig1 ,farrar1 ,orelli1 etc4 ,so virtually also ,nowack4 ,ewald's view is a little different4 ,he thinks that the fundamental truth of the book is that 8true fear and repentance bring salvation from ,jehovah40 #adhc ,isa4 xl4 ff4 #adhd ,so virtually ,kuenen1 ,einl41 ,,ii41 p4 #dbc2 ,smend1 ,lehrbuch der ,a4 ,t4 ,religionsgeschichte1 pp4 #djh f41 and ,nowack4 #adhe ,that the book is a historical allegory is a very old theory4 ,hermann v4 d4 ,hardt 7nigmata ,prisci ,orbis1 #agbc3 cf4 ,jonas in ,carcharia1 ,israel in ,carcathio1 #agah1 quoted by ,vatke1 ,einl41 p4 #fhf7 found in the book a political allegory of the history of ,manasseh led into exile1 and converted1 while the last two chapters represent the history of ,josiah4 ,that the book was symbolic in some way of the conduct and fortunes of ,israel was a view familiar in ,great ,britain during the first half of this century3 see the ,preface to the ,english translation of ,calvin on ,jonah 7#ahdg74 ,kleinert 7in his commentary on ,jonah in ,lange's ,series1 ,vol4 ,,xvi4 ,english translation1 #ahgd7 was one of the first to expound with details the symbolising of ,israel in the prophet ,jonah4 ,then came the article in the ,theol4 ,review 7,,xiv4 #ahgg1 pp4 #bad ff47 by ,cheyne1 following ,bloch's ,studien z4 ,gesch4 der ,sammlung der althebrischen ,litteratur 7,breslau1 #ahgf72 but adding the explanation of the great fish from ,hebrew mythology 7see below74 ,von ,orelli quotes ,kleinert with approval in the main4 #adhf ,isa4 xlii4 #ai-bd4 #adhg ,jer4 li4 #cd1 #dd f4 #adhh ,that the ,book of ,jonah employs mythical elements is an opinion that has prevailed since the beginning of this century4 ,but before ,semitic mythology was so well known as it is now1 these mythical elements were thought to have been derived from the ,greek mythology4 ,so ,gesenius1 ,de ,wette1 and even ,knobel1 but see especially ,f4 ,c4 ,baur in ,ilgen's ,zeitschrift for #ahcg1 p4 #bja4 ,kuenen 7,einl41 #dbd7 and ,cheyne 7,theol4 ,rev41 ,,xiv47 rightly deny traces of any ,greek influence on ,jonah1 and their denial is generally agreed in4 ,kleinert 7op4 cit41 p4 #aj7 points to the proper source in the native mythology of the ,hebrews3 8,the sea-monster is by no means an unusual phenomenon in prophetic typology4 ,it is the secular power appointed by ,god for the scourge of ,israel and of the earth 7,isa4 xxvii4 #a702 and ,cheyne 7,theol4 ,rev41 ,,xiv41 8,jonah3 a ,study in ,jewish ,folk-lore and ,religion07 points out how ,jer4 li4 #cd1 #dd f41 forms the connecting link between the story of ,jonah and the popular mythology4 #adhi ,z4,a4,t4,w41 #ahib1 pp4 #dj ff4 #adij #b ,chron4 xxiv4 #bg4 #adia ,cf4 ,driver1 ,introduction1 ,i41 p4 #dig4 #adib #b ,chron4 xxxiii4 #ah4 #adic ,see ,robertson ,smith1 ,old ,test4 in the ,jewish ,church1 pp4 #adj1 #aed4 #adid ,see above1 pp4 #dii f4 #adie ,cf4 ,smend1 ,a4 ,t4 ,religionsgeschichte1 p4 #dji1 n4 #a4 #adif ,matt4 xii4 #dj--;,for as ,jonah was in the belly of the whale three days and three nights1 so shall the ,son of ,man be in the heart of the earth three days and three nights--is not repeated in ,luke xi4 #bi1 #cj1 which confines the sign to the preaching of repentance1 and is suspected as an intrusion both for this and other reasons1 e4g4 that ver4 #dj is superfluous and does not fit in with ver4 #da1 which gives the proper explanation of the sign2 that ,jonah1 who came by his burial in the fish through neglect of his duty and not by martyrdom1 could not therefore in this respect be a type of our ,lord4 ,on the other hand1 ver4 #dj is not unlike another reference of our ,lord to ,his resurrection1 ,john ii4 #ai ff4 ,yet1 even if ver4 #dj be genuine1 the vagueness of the parallel drawn in it between ,jonah and our ,lord surely makes for the opinion that in quoting ,jonah our ,lord was not concerned about quoting facts1 but simply gave an illustration from a well-known tale4 ,matt4 xvi4 #d1 where the sign of ,jonah is again mentioned1 does not explain the sign4 #adig ,take a case4 ,suppose we tell slothful people that theirs will be the fate of the man who buried his talent1 is this to commit us to the belief that the personages of ,christ's parables actually existed8 ,or take the homiletic use of ,shakespeare's dramas--8as ,macbeth did10 or 8as ,hamlet said40 ,does it commit us to the historical reality of ,macbeth or ,hamlet8 ,any preacher among us would resent being bound by such an inference4 ,and if we resent this for ourselves1 how chary we should be about seeking to bind our ,lord by it4 #adih ,eng4 trans4 of ,the ,twelve ,minor ,prophets1 p4 #agb4 ,consult also ,farrar's judicious paragraphs on the subject3 ,minor ,prophets1 #bcd f4 #adii ,the two attempts which have been made to divide the ,book of ,jonah are those by ,khler in the ,theol4 ,rev41 ,,xvi4 #aci ff41 and by ,bhme in the ,z4,a4,t4,w41 ,,vii4 #bbd ff4 ,khler first insists on traits of an earlier age 7rude conception of ,god1 no sharp boundary drawn between heathens and the ,hebrews1 etc471 and then finds traces of a late revision3 lacuna in i4 #b2 hesitation in iii4 #a1 in the giving of the prophet's commission1 which is not pure ,hebrew2 change of three days to forty 7cf4 ,,lxx472 mention of unnamed king and his edict1 which is superfluous after the popular movement2 beasts sharing in mourning2 also in i4 #e1 #h1 #i1 #ad1 ii4 #b1 1 iii4 #i1 iv4 #a-d1 as disturbing context2 also the building of a booth is superfluous1 and only invented to account for ,jonah remaining forty days instead of the original three2 iv4 #f1 for an original to offer him shade2 #g1 the worm1 1 due to a copyist's change of the following 4 ,withdrawing these1 ,khler gets an account of the sparing of ,niniveh on repentance following a sentence of doom1 which1 he says1 reflects the position of the city of ,god in ,jeremiah's time1 and was due to ,jeremiah's opponents1 who said in answer to his sentence of doom3 ,if ,niniveh could avert her fate1 why not ,jerusalem8 ,bhme's conclusion1 starting from the alleged contradictions in the story1 is that no fewer than four hands have had to deal with it4 ,a sufficient answer is given by ,kuenen 7,einl41 #dbf ff471 who1 after analysing the dissection1 says that its 8improbability is immediately evident40 ,with regard to the inconsistencies which ,bhme alleges to exist in chap4 iii4 between ver4 #e and vv4 #f-i1 ,kuenen remarks that 8all that is needed for their explanation is a little good-will0--a phrase applicable to many other difficulties raised with regard to other ,old ,testament books by critical attempts even more rational than those of ,bhme4 ,cornill characterises ,bhme's hypothesis as absurd4 #aejj ,to ,thy holy temple1 vv4 #e and #h3 cf4 ,psalm v4 #h1 etc4 ,the waters have come round me to my very soul1 ver4 #f3 cf4 ,psalm lxix4 #b4 ,and ,thou broughtest up my life1 ver4 #g3 cf4 ,psalm xxx4 #d4 ,when my soul fainted upon me1 ver4 #h3 cf4 ,psalm cxlii4 #d1 etc4 ,with the voice of thanksgiving1 ver4 #aj3 cf4 ,psalm xlii4 #e4 ,the reff4 are to the ,heb4 text4 #aeja ,cf4 ver4 #c with ,psalm xviii4 #g2 ver4 #d with ,psalm xlii4 #h2 ver4 #e with ,psalm xxxi4 #bc2 ver4 #i with ,psalm xxxi4 #g1 and ver4 #aj with ,psalm l4 #ad4 #aejb ,budde1 as above1 p4 #db4 #aejc ,de ,wette1 ,knobel1 ,kuenen4 #aejd ,budde4 #aeje ,e4g4 ,hitzig4 #aejf ,luther says of ,jonah's prayer1 that 8he did not speak with these exact words in the belly of the fish1 nor placed them so orderly1 but he shows how he took courage1 and what sort of thoughts his heart had1 when he stood in such a battle with death40 ,we recognise in this ,psalm 8the recollection of the confidence with which ,jonah hoped towards ,god1 that since he had been rescued in so wonderful a way from death in the waves1 ,he would also bring him out of the night of his grave into the light of day40 #aejg ii4 #e1 ,b has for 2 i4 #i1 for it reads 1 and takes the to be abbreviation for 2 ii4 #g1 for it reads and translates 2 iv4 #aa1 for it reads 1 and translates 4 #aejh i4 #d1 1 perhaps rightly omitted before following 2 i4 #h1 ,b omits the clause to 1 probably rightly1 for it is needless1 though supplied by ,codd4 ,a1 ,q2 iii4 #i1 one verb1 1 for 1 probably correctly1 see below4 #aeji i4 #b1 for 2 ii4 #c1 after 2 ii4 #aj1 in obedience to another reading2 iii4 #b1 after 2 iii4 #h1 4 #aeaj iii4 #d1 #h4 ,,chapter ,,xxxv ,,the ,,great ,,refusal ,,jonah i ,we have now laid clear the lines upon which the ,book of ,jonah was composed4 ,its purpose is to illustrate ,god's grace to the heathen in face of ,his people's refusal to fulfil their mission to them4 ,the author was led to achieve this purpose by a parable1 through which the prophet ,jonah moves as the symbol of his recusant1 exiled1 redeemed and still hardened people4 ,it is the ,drama of ,israel's career1 as the ,servant of ,god1 in the most pathetic moments of that career4 ,a nation is stumbling on the highest road nation was ever called to tread4 ,who is blind but ,my servant1 ,or deaf as ,my messenger whom ,i have sent8 ,he that would read this ,drama aright must remember what lies behind the ,great ,refusal which forms its tragedy4 ,the cause of ,israel's recusancy was not only wilfulness or cowardly sloth1 but the horror of a whole world given over to idolatry1 the paralysing sense of its irresistible force1 of its cruel persecutions endured for centuries1 and of the long famine of ,heaven's justice4 ,these it was which had filled ,israel's eyes too full of fever to see her duty4 ,only when we feel1 as the writer himself felt1 all this tragic background to his story are we able to appreciate the exquisite gleams which he flashes across it3 the generous magnanimity of the heathen sailors1 the repentance of the heathen city1 and1 lighting from above1 ,god's pity upon the dumb heathen multitudes4 ,the parable or drama divides itself into three parts3 ,the ,prophet's ,flight and ,turning 7chap4 i472 ,the ,great ,fish and ,what it ,means 7chap4 ii472 and ,the ,repentance of the ,city 7chaps4 iii4 and iv474 99 99 99 99 99 ,the chief figure of the story is ,jonah1 son of ,amittai1 from ,gath-hepher in ,galilee1 a prophet identified with that turn in ,israel's fortunes1 by which she began to defeat her ,syrian oppressors1 and win back from them her own territories--a prophet1 therefore1 of revenge1 and from the most bitter of the heathen wars4 ,and the word of ,jehovah came to ,jonah1 the son of ,amittai1 saying1 ,up1 go to ,niniveh1 the ,great ,city1 and cry out against her1 for her evil is come up before ,me4 ,but he arose to flee4 ,it was not the length of the road1 nor the danger of declaring ,niniveh's sin to her face1 which turned him1 but the instinct that ,god intended by him something else than ,niniveh's destruction2 and this instinct sprang from his knowledge of ,god ,himself4 ,ah now1 ,jehovah1 was not my word1 while ,i was yet upon mine own soil1 at the time ,i made ready to flee to ,tarshish1 this--that ,i knew that ,thou art a ,god gracious and tender and long-suffering1 plenteous in love and relenting of evil8#aeaa ,jonah interpreted the ,word which came to him by the ,character which he knew to be behind the ,word4 ,this is a significant hint upon the method of revelation4 ,it would be rash to say that1 in imputing even to the historical ,jonah the fear of ,god's grace upon the heathen1 our author were guilty of an anachronism4#aeab ,we have to do1 however1 with a greater than ,jonah--the nation herself4 ,though perhaps ,israel little reflected upon it1 the instinct can never have been far away that some day the grace of ,jehovah might reach the heathen too4 ,such an instinct1 of course1 must have been almost stifled by hatred born of heathen oppression1 as well as by the intellectual scorn which ,israel came to feel for heathen idolatries4 ,but we may believe that it haunted even those dark periods in which revenge upon the ,gentiles seemed most just1 and their destruction the only means of establishing ,god's kingdom in the world4 ,we know that it moved uneasily even beneath the rigour of ,jewish legalism4 ,for its secret was that faith in the essential grace of ,god1 which ,israel gained very early and never lost1 and which was the spring of every new conviction and every reform in her wonderful development4 ,with a subtle appreciation of all this1 our author imputes the instinct to ,jonah from the outset4 ,jonah's fear1 that after all the heathen may be spared1 reflects the restless apprehension even of the most exclusive of his people--an apprehension which by the time our book was written seemed to be still more justified by ,god's long delay of doom upon the tyrants whom ,he had promised to overthrow4 ,but to the natural man in ,israel the possibility of the heathen's repentance was still so abhorrent1 that he turned his back upon it4 ,jonah rose to flee to ,tarshish from the face of ,jehovah4 ,in spite of recent arguments to the contrary1 the most probable location of ,tarshish is the generally accepted one1 that it was a ,phnician colony at the other end of the ,mediterranean4 ,in any case it was far from the ,holy ,land2 and by going there the prophet would put the sea between himself and his ,god4 ,to the ,hebrew imagination there could not be a flight more remote4 ,israel was essentially an inland people4 ,they had come up out of the desert1 and they had practically never yet touched the ,mediterranean4 ,they lived within sight of it1 but from ten to twenty miles of foreign soil intervened between their mountains and its stormy coast4 ,the ,jews had no traffic upon the sea1 nor 7but for one sublime instance#aeac to the contrary7 had their poets ever employed it except as a symbol of arrogance and restless rebellion against the will of ,god4#aead ,it was all this popular feeling of the distance and strangeness of the sea which made our author choose it as the scene of the prophet's flight from the face of ,israel's ,god4 ,jonah had to pass1 too1 through a foreign land to get to the coast3 upon the sea he would only be among heathen4 ,this was to be part of his conversion4 ,he went down to ,yapho1 and found a ship going to ,tarshish1 and paid the fare thereof1 and embarked on her to get away with her crew#aeae to ,tarshish--away from the face of ,jehovah4 ,the scenes which follow are very vivid3 the sudden wind sweeping down from the very hills on which ,jonah believed he had left his ,god2 the tempest2 the behaviour of the ship1 so alive with effort that the story attributes to her the feelings of a living thing--she thought she must be broken2 the despair of the mariners1 driven from the unity of their common task to the hopeless diversity of their idolatry--they cried every man unto his own god2 the jettisoning of the tackle of the ship to lighten her 7as we should say1 they let the masts go by the board72 the worn-out prophet in the hull of the ship1 sleeping like a stowaway2 the group gathered on the heaving deck to cast the lot2 the passenger's confession1 and the new fear which fell upon the sailors from it2 the reverence with which these rude men ask the advice of him1 in whose guilt they feel not the offence to themselves1 but the sacredness to ,god2 the awakening of the prophet's better self by their generous deference to him2 how he counsels to them his own sacrifice2 their reluctance to yield to this1 and their return to the oars with increased perseverance for his sake4 ,but neither their generosity nor their efforts avail4 ,the prophet again offers himself1 and as their sacrifice he is thrown into the sea4 ,and ,jehovah cast a wind#aeaf on the sea1 and there was a great tempest1#aeag and the ship threatened#aeah to break up4 ,and the sailors were afraid1 and cried every man unto his own god2 and they cast the tackle of the ship into the sea1 to lighten it from upon them4 ,but ,jonah had gone down to the bottom of the ship and lay fast asleep4 ,and the captain of the ship#aeai came to him1 and said to him1 ,what art thou doing asleep8 ,up1 call on thy ,god2 peradventure the ,god will be gracious to us1 that we perish not4 ,and they said every man to his neighbour1 ,come1 and let us cast lots1 that we may know for whose sake is this evil come upon us4 ,so they cast lots1 and the lot fell on ,jonah4 ,and they said to him1 ,tell us now1#aebj what is thy business1 and whence comest thou8 what is thy land1 and from what people art thou8 ,and he said to them1 ,a ,hebrew am ,i1 and a worshipper of the ,god of ,heaven1#aeba who made the sea and the dry land4 ,and the men feared greatly1 and said to him1 ,what is this thou hast done8 7for they knew he was fleeing from the face of ,jehovah1 because he had told them74 ,and they said to him1 ,what are we to do to thee that the sea cease raging against us8 ,for the sea was surging higher and higher4 ,and he said1 ,take me and throw me into the sea2 so shall the sea cease raging against you3 for ,i am sure that it is on my account that this great tempest is risen upon you4 ,and the men laboured#aebb with the oars to bring the ship to land1 and they could not1 for the sea grew more and more stormy against them4 ,so they called on ,jehovah and said1 ,jehovah1 let us not perish1 we pray ,thee1 for the life of this man1 neither bring innocent blood upon us3 for ,thou art ,jehovah1 ,thou doest as ,thou pleasest4 ,then they took up ,jonah and cast him into the sea1 and the sea stilled from its raging4 ,but the men were in great awe of ,jehovah1 and sacrificed to ,him and vowed vows4 ,how very real it is and how very noble6 ,we see the storm1 and then we forget the storm in the joy of that generous contest between heathen and ,hebrew4 ,but the glory of the passage is the change in ,jonah himself4 ,it has been called his punishment and the conversion of the heathen4 ,rather it is his own conversion4 ,he meets again not only ,god1 but the truth from which he fled4 ,he not only meets that truth1 but he offers his life for it4 ,the art is consummate4 ,the writer will first reduce the prophet and the heathen whom he abhors to the elements of their common humanity4 ,as men have sometimes seen upon a mass of wreckage or on an ice-floe a number of wild animals1 by nature foes to each other1 reduced to peace through their common danger1 so we descry the prophet and his natural enemies upon the strained and breaking ship4 ,in the midst of the storm they are equally helpless1 and they cast for all the lot which has no respect of persons4 ,but from this the story passes quickly1 to show how ,jonah feels not only the human kinship of these heathen with himself1 but their susceptibility to the knowledge of his ,god4 ,they pray to ,jehovah as the ,god of the sea and the dry land2 while we may be sure that the prophet's confession1 and the story of his own relation to that ,god1 forms as powerful an exhortation to repentance as any he could have preached in ,niniveh4 ,at least it produces the effects which he has dreaded4 ,in these sailors he sees heathen turned to the fear of the ,lord4 ,all that he has fled to avoid happens there before his eyes and through his own mediation4 ,the climax is reached1 however1 neither when ,jonah feels his common humanity with the heathen nor when he discovers their awe of his ,god1 but when in order to secure for them ,god's sparing mercies he offers his own life instead4 ,take me up and cast me into the sea2 so shall the sea cease from raging against you4 ,after their pity for him has wrestled for a time with his honest entreaties1 he becomes their sacrifice4 99 99 99 99 99 ,in all this story perhaps the most instructive passages are those which lay bare to us the method of ,god's revelation4 ,when we were children this was shown to us in pictures of angels bending from heaven to guide ,isaiah's pen1 or to cry ,jonah's commission to him through a trumpet4 ,and when we grew older1 although we learned to dispense with that machinery1 yet its infection remained1 and our conception of the whole process was mechanical still4 ,we thought of the prophets as of another order of things2 we released them from our own laws of life and thought1 and we paid the penalty by losing all interest in them4 ,but the prophets were human1 and their inspiration came through experience4 ,the source of it1 as this story shows1 was ,god4 ,partly from ,his guidance of their nation1 partly through close communion with ,himself1 they received new convictions of ,his character4 ,yet they did not receive these mechanically4 ,they spake neither at the bidding of angels1 nor like heathen prophets in trance or ecstasy1 but as they were moved by the ,holy ,ghost4 ,and the ,spirit worked upon them first as the influence of ,god's character1#aebc and second through the experience of life4 ,god and life--these are all the postulates for revelation4 ,at first ,jonah fled from the truth1 at last he laid down his life for it4 ,so ,god still forces us to the acceptance of new light and the performance of strange duties4 ,men turn from these1 because of sloth or prejudice1 but in the end they have to face them1 and then at what a cost6 ,in youth they shirk a self-denial to which in some storm of later life they have to bend with heavier1 and often hopeless1 hearts4 ,for their narrow prejudices and refusals1 ,god punishes them by bringing them into pain that stings1 or into responsibility for others that shames1 these out of them4 ,the drama of life is thus intensified in interest and beauty2 characters emerge heroic and sublime4 8,but1 oh the labour1 ,o prince1 the pain60 ,sometimes the neglected duty is at last achieved only at the cost of a man's breath2 and the truth1 which might have been the bride of his youth and his comrade through a long life1 is recognised by him only in the features of ,death4 ,,footnotes3 #aeaa iv4 #b4 #aeab ,for the grace of ,god had been the most formative influence in the early religion of ,israel 7see ,vol4 ,i41 p4 #ai71 and ,amos1 only thirty years after ,jonah1 emphasised the moral equality of ,israel and the ,gentiles before the one ,god of righteousness4 ,given these two premisses of ,god's essential grace and the moral responsibility of the heathen to ,him1 and the conclusion could never have been far away that in the end ,his essential grace must reach the heathen too4 ,indeed in sayings not later than the eighth century it is foretold that ,israel shall become a blessing to the whole world4 ,our author1 then1 may have been guilty of no anachronism in imputing such a foreboding to ,jonah4 #aeac ,second ,isaiah4 ,see chap4 lx4 #aead ,see the author's ,hist4 ,geog4 of the ,holy ,land1 pp4 #aca-acd4 #aeae ,heb4 them4 #aeaf ,so ,,lxx43 ,heb4 a great wind4 #aeag ,heb4 on the sea4 #aeah ,lit4 reckoned or thought4 #aeai ,heb4 ropes4 #aebj ,the words for whose sake is this evil come upon us do not occur in ,,lxx4 and are unnecessary4 #aeba ,wellhausen suspects this form of the ,divine title4 #aebb ,heb4 dug4 #aebc ,i knew how ,thou art a ,god gracious4 ,,chapter ,,xxxvi ,,the ,,great ,,fish ,,and ,,what ,,it ,,means--,,the ,,psalm ,,jonah ii ,at this point in the tale appears the ,great ,fish4 ,and ,jehovah prepared a great fish to swallow ,jonah1 and ,jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights4 ,after the very natural story which we have followed1 this verse obtrudes itself with a shock of unreality and grotesqueness4 ,what an anticlimax6 say some2 what a clumsy intrusion6 ,so it is if ,jonah be taken as an individual4 ,but if we keep in mind that he stands here1 not for himself1 but for his nation1 the difficulty and the grotesqueness disappear4 ,it is ,israel's ill-will to the heathen1 ,israel's refusal of her mission1 ,israel's embarkation on the stormy sea of the world's politics1 which we have had described as ,jonah's4 ,upon her flight from ,god's will there followed her ,exile1 and from her ,exile1 which was for a set period1 she came back to her own land1 a people still1 and still ,god's servant to the heathen4 ,how was the author to express this national death and resurrection8 ,in conformity with the popular language of his time1 he had described ,israel's turning from ,god's will by her embarkation on a stormy sea1 always the symbol of the prophets for the tossing heathen world that was ready to engulf her2 and now to express her exile and return he sought metaphors in the same rich poetry of the popular imagination4 ,to the ,israelite who watched from his hills that stormy coast on which the waves hardly ever cease to break in their impotent restlessness1 the sea was a symbol of arrogance and futile defiance to the will of ,god4 ,the popular mythology of the ,semites had filled it with turbulent monsters1 snakes and dragons who wallowed like its own waves1 helpless against the bounds set to them1 or rose to wage war against the gods in heaven and the great lights which they had created2 but a god slays them and casts their carcases for meat and drink to the thirsty people of the desert4#aebd ,it is a symbol of the perpetual war between light and darkness2 the dragons are the clouds1 the slayer the sun4 ,a variant form1 which approaches closely to that of ,jonah's great fish1 is still found in ,palestine4 ,in ,may #ahia ,i witnessed at ,hasbeya1 on the western skirts of ,hermon1 an eclipse of the moon4 ,when the shadow began to creep across her disc1 there rose from the village a hideous din of drums1 metal pots and planks of wood beaten together2 guns were fired1 and there was much shouting4 ,i was told that this was done to terrify the great fish which was swallowing the moon1 and to make him disgorge her4 ,now these purely natural myths were applied by the prophets and poets of the ,old ,testament to the illustration1 not only of ,jehovah's sovereignty over the storm and the night1 but of ,his conquest of the heathen powers who had enslaved ,his people4#aebe ,isaiah had heard in the sea the confusion and rage of the peoples against the bulwark which ,jehovah set around ,israel2#aebf but it is chiefly from the time of the ,exile onward that the myths themselves1 with their cruel monsters and the prey of these1 are applied to the great heathen powers and their captive1 ,israel4 ,one prophet explicitly describes the ,exile of ,israel as the swallowing of the nation by the monster1 the ,babylonian tyrant1 whom ,god forces at last to disgorge its prey4 ,israel says3#aebg ,nebuchadrezzar the king of ,babylon hath devoured me#aebh and crushed me1#aebh 444 he hath swallowed me up like the ,dragon1 filling his belly1 from my delights he hath cast me out4 ,but ,jehovah replies3#aebi ,i will punish ,bel in ,babylon1 and ,i will bring out of his mouth that which he hath swallowed4444 ,my people1 go ye out of the midst of her4 ,it has been justly remarked by ,canon ,cheyne that this passage may be considered as the intervening link between the original form of the myth and the application of it made in the story of ,jonah4#aecj ,to this the objection might be offered that in the story of ,jonah the great fish is not actually represented as the means of the prophet's temporary destruction1 like the monster in ,jeremiah li41 but rather as the vessel of his deliverance4#aeca ,this is true1 yet it only means that our author has still further adapted the very plastic material offered him by this much transformed myth4 ,but we do not depend for our proof upon the comparison of a single passage4 ,let the student of the ,book of ,jonah read carefully the many passages of the ,old ,testament1 in which the sea or its monsters rage in vain against ,jehovah1 or are harnessed and led about by ,him2 or still more those passages in which ,his conquest of these monsters is made to figure ,his conquest of the heathen powers1#aecb--;and the conclusion will appear irresistible that the story of the great fish and of ,jonah the type of ,israel is drawn from the same source4 ,such a solution of the problem has one great advantage4 ,it relieves us of the grotesqueness which attaches to the literal conception of the story1 and of the necessity of those painful efforts for accounting for a miracle which have distorted the common-sense and even the orthodoxy of so many commentators of the book4#aecc ,we are dealing1 let us remember1 with poetry--a poetry inspired by one of the most sublime truths of the ,old ,testament1 but whose figures are drawn from the legends and myths of the people to whom it is addressed4 ,to treat this as prose is not only to sin against the common-sense which ,god has given us1 but against the simple and obvious intention of the author4 ,it is blindness both to reason and to ,scripture4 ,these views are confirmed by an examination of the ,psalm or ,prayer which is put into ,jonah's mouth while he is yet in the fish4 ,we have already seen what grounds there are for believing that the ,psalm belongs to the author's own plan1 and from the beginning appeared just where it does now4#aecd ,but we may also point out how1 in consistence with its context1 this is a ,psalm1 not of an individual ,israelite1 but of the nation as a whole4 ,it is largely drawn from the national liturgy4#aece ,it is full of cries which we know1 though they are expressed in the singular number1 to have been used of the whole people1 or at least of that pious portion of them1 who were ,israel indeed4 ,true that in the original portion of the ,psalm1 and by far its most beautiful verses1 we seem to have the description of a drowning man swept to the bottom of the sea4 ,but even here1 the colossal scenery and the magnificent hyperbole of the language suit not the experience of an individual1 but the extremities of that vast gulf of exile into which a whole nation was plunged4 ,it is a nation's carcase which rolls upon those infernal tides that swirl among the roots of mountains and behind the barred gates of earth4 ,finally1 vv4 #i and #aj are obviously a contrast1 not between the individual prophet and the heathen1 but between the true ,israel1 who in exile preserve their loyalty to ,jehovah1 and those ,jews who1 forsaking their covenant-love1 lapse to idolatry4 ,we find many parallels to this in exilic and post-exilic literature4 ,and ,jonah prayed to ,jehovah his ,god from the belly of the fish1 and said3-- ,i cried out of my anguish to ,jehovah1 and ,he answered me2 ,from the belly of ,inferno ,i sought help--,thou heardest my voice4 ,for ,thou hadst#aecf cast me into the depth1 to the heart of the seas1 and the flood rolled around me2 ,all ,thy breakers and billows went over me4 ,then ,i said1 ,i am hurled from ,thy sight3 ,how#aecg shall ,i ever again look towards ,thy holy temple8 ,waters enwrapped me to the soul2 the ,deep rolled around me2 ,the tangle was bound about my head4 ,i was gone down to the roots of the hills2 ,earth and her bars were behind me for ever4 ,but ,thou broughtest my life up from destruction1 ,jehovah my ,god6 ,when my soul fainted upon me1 ,i remembered ,jehovah1 ,and my prayer came in unto ,thee1 to ,thy holy temple4 ,they that observe the idols of vanity1 ,they forsake their covenant-love4 ,but to the sound of praise ,i will sacrifice to ,thee2 ,what ,i have vowed ,i will perform4 ,salvation is ,jehovah's4 ,and ,jehovah spake to the fish1 and it threw up ,jonah on the dry land4 ,,footnotes3 #aebd ,for the ,babylonian myths see ,sayce's ,hibbert ,lectures2 ,george ,smith's ,assyrian ,discoveries2 and ,gunkel1 ,schpfung u4 ,chaos4 #aebe ,passages in which this class of myths are taken in a physical sense are ,job iii4 #h1 vii4 #ab1 xxvi4 #ab1 #ac1 etc41 etc42 and passages in which it is applied politically are ,isa4 xxvii4 #a1 li4 #i2 ,jer4 li4 #cd1 #dd2 ,psalm lxxiv41 etc4 ,see ,gunkel1 ,schpfung u4 ,chaos4 #aebf ,chap4 xvii4 #ab-ad4 #aebg ,jer4 li4 #cd4 #aebh ,heb4 margin1 ,,lxx4 and ,syr42 ,heb4 text us4 #aebi ,jer4 li4 #dd1 #de4 #aecj ,cheyne1 ,theol4 ,rev41 ,,xiv4 ,see above1 p4 #ejc4 #aeca ,see above1 p4 #eaa1 on the ,psalm of ,jonah4 #aecb ,above1 p4 #ebe1 n4 #aebe4 #aecc ,it is very interesting to notice how many commentators 7e4g4 ,pusey1 and the ,english edition of ,lange7 who take the story in its individual meaning1 and therefore as miraculous1 immediately try to minimise the miracle by quoting stories of great fishes who have swallowed men1 and even men in armour1 whole1 and in one case at least have vomited them up alive6 #aecd ,see above1 pp4 #eaa f4 #aece ,see above1 p4 #eaa1 nn4 #aejj1 #aeja4 #aecf ,the grammar1 which usually expresses result1 more literally runs1 ,and ,thou didst cast me2 but after the preceding verse it must be taken not as expressing consequence but cause4 #aecg ,read for 1 and with the ,,lxx4 take the sentence interrogatively4 ,,chapter ,,xxxvii ,,the ,,repentance ,,of ,,the ,,city ,,jonah iii ,having learned1 through suffering1 his moral kinship with the heathen1 and having offered his life for some of them1 ,jonah receives a second command to go to ,niniveh4 ,he obeys1 but with his prejudice as strong as though it had never been humbled1 nor met by ,gentile nobleness4 ,the first part of his story appears to have no consequences in the second4#aech ,but this is consistent with the writer's purpose to treat ,jonah as if he were ,israel4 ,for1 upon their return from ,exile1 and in spite of all their new knowledge of themselves and the world1 ,israel continued to cherish their old grudge against the ,gentiles4 ,and the word of ,jehovah came to ,jonah the second time1 saying1 ,up1 go to ,niniveh1 the great city1 and call unto her with the call which ,i shall tell thee4 ,and ,jonah arose and went to ,niniveh1 as ,jehovah said4 ,now ,niniveh was a city great before ,god1 three days' journey through and through4#aeci ,and ,jonah began by going through the city one day's journey1 and he cried and said1 ,forty#aedj days more and ,niniveh shall be overturned4 ,opposite to ,mosul1 the well-known emporium of trade on the right bank of the ,upper ,tigris1 two high artificial mounds now lift themselves from the otherwise level plain4 ,the more northerly takes the name of ,kujundschik1 or 8little lamb10 after the ,turkish village which couches pleasantly upon its north-eastern slope4 ,the other is called in the popular dialect ,nebi ,yunus1 8,prophet ,jonah10 after a mosque dedicated to him1 which used to be a ,christian church2 but the official name is ,niniveh4 ,these two mounds are bound to each other on the west by a broad brick wall1 which extends beyond them both1 and is connected north and south by other walls1 with a circumference in all of about nine ,english miles4 ,the interval1 including the mounds1 was covered with buildings1 whose ruins still enable us to form some idea of what was for centuries the wonder of the world4 ,upon terraces and substructions of enormous breadth rose storied palaces1 arsenals1 barracks1 libraries and temples4 ,a lavish water system spread in all directions from canals with massive embankments and sluices4 ,gardens were lifted into mid-air1 filled with rich plants and rare and beautiful animals4 ,alabaster1 silver1 gold and precious stones relieved the dull masses of brick and flashed sunlight from every frieze and battlement4 ,the surrounding walls were so broad that chariots could roll abreast on them4 ,the gates1 and especially the river gates1 were very massive4#aeda ,all this was ,niniveh proper1 whose glory the ,hebrews envied and over whose fall more than one of their prophets exult4 ,but this was not the ,niniveh to which our author saw ,jonah come4 ,beyond the walls were great suburbs1#aedb and beyond the suburbs other towns1 league upon league of dwellings1 so closely set upon the plain as to form one vast complex of population1 which is known to ,scripture as ,the ,great ,city4#aedc ,to judge from the ruins which still cover the ground1#aedd the circumference must have been about sixty miles1 or three days' journey4 ,it is these nameless leagues of common dwellings which roll before us in the story4 ,none of those glories of ,niniveh are mentioned1 of which other prophets speak1 but the only proofs offered to us of the city's greatness are its extent and its population4#aede ,jonah is sent to three days1 not of mighty buildings1 but of homes and families1 to the ,niniveh1 not of kings and their glories1 but of men1 women and children1 besides much cattle4 ,the palaces and temples he may pass in an hour or two1 but from sunrise to sunset he treads the dim drab mazes where the people dwell4 ,when we open our hearts for heroic witness to the truth there rush upon them glowing memories of ,moses before ,pharaoh1 of ,elijah before ,ahab1 of ,stephen before the ,sanhedrim1 of ,paul upon ,areopagus1 of ,galileo before the ,inquisition1 of ,luther at the ,diet4 ,but it takes a greater heroism to face the people than a king1 to convert a nation than to persuade a senate4 ,princes and assemblies of the wise stimulate the imagination2 they drive to bay all the nobler passions of a solitary man4 ,but there is nothing to help the heart1 and therefore its courage is all the greater1 which bears witness before those endless masses1 in monotone of life and colour1 that now paralyse the imagination like long stretches of sand when the sea is out1 and again terrify it like the resistless rush of the flood beneath a hopeless evening sky4 ,it is1 then1 with an art most fitted to his high purpose that our author--unlike all other prophets1 whose aim was different--presents to us1 not the description of a great military power3 king1 nobles and armed battalions3 but the vision of those monotonous millions4 ,he strips his country's foes of everything foreign1 everything provocative of envy and hatred1 and unfolds them to ,israel only in their teeming humanity4#aedf ,his next step is still more grand4 ,for this teeming humanity he claims the universal human possibility of repentance--that and nothing more4 ,under every form and character of human life1 beneath all needs and all habits1 deeper than despair and more native to man than sin itself1 lies the power of the heart to turn4 ,it was this and not hope that remained at the bottom of ,pandora's ,box when every other gift had fled4 ,for this is the indispensable secret of hope4 ,it lies in every heart1 needing indeed some dream of ,divine mercy1 however far and vague1 to rouse it2 but when roused1 neither ignorance of ,god1 nor pride1 nor long obduracy of evil may withstand it4 ,it takes command of the whole nature of a man1 and speeds from heart to heart with a violence1 that like pain and death spares neither age nor rank nor degree of culture4 ,this primal human right is all our author claims for the men of ,niniveh4 ,he has been blamed for telling us an impossible thing1 that a whole city should be converted at the call of a single stranger2 and others have started up in his defence and quoted cases in which large ,oriental populations have actually been stirred by the preaching of an alien in race and religion2 and then it has been replied1 8,granted the possibility1 granted the fact in other cases1 yet where in history have we any trace of this alleged conversion of all ,niniveh80 and some scoff1 8,how could a ,hebrew have made himself articulate in one day to those ,assyrian multitudes80 ,how long1 ,o ,lord1 must ,thy poetry suffer from those who can only treat it as prose8 ,on whatever side they stand1 sceptical or orthodox1 they are equally pedants1 quenchers of the spiritual1 creators of unbelief4 ,our author1 let us once for all understand1 makes no attempt to record an historical conversion of this vast heathen city4 ,for its men he claims only the primary human possibility of repentance2 expressing himself not in this general abstract way1 but as ,orientals1 to whom an illustration is ever a proof1 love to have it done--by story or parable4 ,with magnificent reserve he has not gone further2 but only told into the prejudiced faces of his people1 that out there1 beyond the ,covenant1 in the great world lying in darkness1 there live1 not beings created for ignorance and hostility to ,god1 elect for destruction1 but men with consciences and hearts1 able to turn at ,his ,word and to hope in ,his ,mercy--that to the farthest ends of the world1 and even on the high places of unrighteousness1 ,word and ,mercy work just as they do within the ,covenant4 ,the fashion in which the repentance of ,niniveh is described is natural to the time of the writer4 ,it is a national repentance1 of course1 and though swelling upwards from the people1 it is confirmed and organised by the authorities3 for we are still in the ,old ,dispensation1 when the picture of a complete and thorough repentance could hardly be otherwise conceived4 ,and the beasts are made to share its observance1 as in the ,orient they always shared and still share in funeral pomp and trappings4#aedg ,it may have been1 in addition1 a personal pleasure to our writer to record the part of the animals in the movement4 ,see how1 later on1 he tells us that for their sake also ,god had pity upon ,niniveh4 ,and the men of ,niniveh believed upon ,god1 and cried a fast1 and from the greatest of them to the least of them they put on sackcloth4 ,and word came to the king of ,niniveh1 and he rose off his throne1 and cast his mantle from upon him1 and dressed in sackcloth and sat in the dust4 ,and he sent criers to say in ,niniveh3-- ,by ,order of the ,king and his ,nobles1 thus3--,man and ,beast1 ,oxen and ,sheep1 shall not taste anything1 neither eat nor drink water4 ,but let them clothe themselves#aedh in sackcloth1 both man and beast1 and call upon ,god with power1 and turn every man from his evil way and from every wrong which they have in hand4 ,who knoweth but that ,god may#aedi relent and turn from the fierceness of ,his wrath1 that we perish not8#aeej ,and ,god saw their doings1 how they turned from their evil way2 and ,god relented of the evil which ,he said ,he would do to them1 and did it not4 ,,footnotes3 #aech ,only in iii4 #a1 second time1 and in iv4 #b are there any references from the second to the first part of the book4 #aeci ,the diameter rather than the circumference seems intended by the writer1 if we can judge by his sending the prophet one day's journey through the city4 ,some1 however1 take the circumference as meant1 and this agrees with the computation of sixty ,english miles as the girth of the greater ,niniveh described below4 #aedj ,,lxx4 ,codd4 ,b1 etc41 read three days2 other ,codd4 have the forty of the ,heb4 text4 #aeda ,for a more detailed description of ,niniveh see above on the ,book of ,nahum1 pp4 #ih ff4 #aedb 1 ,gen4 x4 #aa4 #aedc ,gen4 x4 #ab1 according to which the ,great ,city included1 besides ,niniveh1 at least ,resen and ,kelach4 #aedd ,and taking the present ,kujundschik1 ,nimrud1 ,khorsabad and ,balawat as the four corners of the district4 #aede iii4 #b1 iv4 #aa4 #aedf ,compare the ,book of ,jonah1 for instance1 with the ,book of ,nahum4 #aedg ,cf4 ,herod4 ,,ix4 #bd2 ,joel i4 #ah2 ,virgil1 ,eclogue ,v41 neid ,,xi4 #hi ff42 ,plutarch1 ,alex4 #gb4 #aedh ,,lxx43 and they did clothe themselves in sackcloth1 and so on4 #aedi ,so ,,lxx4 ,heb4 text3 may turn and relent1 and turn4 #aeej ,the alleged discrepancies in this account have been already noticed4 ,as the text stands the fast and mourning are proclaimed and actually begun before word reaches the king and his proclamation of fast and mourning goes forth4 ,the discrepancies might be removed by transferring the words in ver4 #f1 and they cried a fast1 and from the greatest of them1 to the least they clothed themselves in sackcloth1 to the end of ver4 #h1 with a or to introduce ver4 #i4 ,but1 as said above 7pp4 #dii1 #eaj1 n4 #adii71 it is more probable that the text as it stands was original1 and that the inconsistencies in the order of the narrative are due to its being a tale or parable4 ,,chapter ,,xxxviii ,,israel',s ,,jealousy ,,of ,,jehovah ,,jonah iv ,having illustrated the truth1 that the ,gentiles are capable of repentance unto life1 the ,book now describes the effect of their escape upon ,jonah1 and closes by revealing ,god's full heart upon the matter4 ,jonah is very angry that ,niniveh has been spared4 ,is this 7as some say7 because his own word has not been fulfilled8 ,in ,israel there was an accepted rule that a prophet should be judged by the issue of his predictions3 ,if thou say in thine heart1 ,how shall we know the word which ,jehovah hath not spoken8--when a prophet speaketh in the name of ,jehovah1 if the thing follow not nor come to pass1 that is the thing which ,jehovah hath not spoken1 but the prophet hath spoken presumptuously1 thou shalt have no reverence for him4#aeea ,was it this that stung ,jonah8 ,did he ask for death because men would say of him that when he predicted ,niniveh's overthrow he was false and had not ,god's word8 ,of such fears there is no trace in the story4 ,jonah never doubts that his word came from ,jehovah1 nor dreads that other men will doubt4 ,there is absolutely no hint of anxiety as to his professional reputation4 ,but1 on the contrary1 ,jonah says that from the first he had the foreboding1 grounded upon his knowledge of ,god's character1 that ,niniveh would be spared1 and that it was from this issue he shrank and fled to go to ,tarshish4 ,in short he could not1 either then or now1 master his conviction that the heathen should be destroyed4 ,his grief1 though foolish1 is not selfish4 ,he is angry1 not at the baffling of his word1 but at ,god's forbearance with the foes and tyrants of ,israel4 ,now1 as in all else1 so in this1 ,jonah is the type of his people4 ,if we can judge from their literature after the ,exile1 they were not troubled by the nonfulfilment of prophecy1 except as one item of what was the problem of their faith--the continued prosperity of the ,gentiles4 ,and this was not1 what it appears to be in some ,psalms1 only an intellectual problem or an offence to their sense of justice4 ,nor could they meet it always1 as some of their prophets did1 with a supreme intellectual scorn of the heathen1 and in the proud confidence that they themselves were the favourites of ,god4 ,for the knowledge that ,god was infinitely gracious haunted their pride2 and from the very heart of their faith arose a jealous fear that ,he would show ,his grace to others than themselves4 ,to us it may be difficult to understand this temper4 ,we have not been trained to believe ourselves an elect people2 nor have we suffered at the hands of the heathen4 ,yet1 at least1 we have contemporaries and fellow-,christians among whom we may find still alive many of the feelings against which the ,book of ,jonah was written4 ,take the ,oriental ,churches of to-day4 ,centuries of oppression have created in them an awful hatred of the infidel1 beneath whose power they are hardly suffered to live4 ,the barest justice calls for the overthrow of their oppressors4 ,that these share a common humanity with themselves is a sense they have nearly lost4 ,for centuries they have had no spiritual intercourse with them2 to try to convert a ,mohammedan has been for twelve hundred years a capital crime4 ,it is not wonderful that ,eastern ,christians should have long lost power to believe in the conversion of infidels1 and to feel that anything is due but their destruction4 ,the present writer once asked a cultured and devout layman of the ,greek ,church1 ,why then did ,god create so many ,mohammedans8 ,the answer came hot and fast3 ,to fill up ,hell6 ,analogous to this were the feelings of the ,jews towards the peoples who had conquered and oppressed them4 ,but the jealousy already alluded to aggravated these feelings to a rigour no ,christian can ever share4 ,what right had ,god to extend to their oppressors ,his love for a people who alone had witnessed and suffered for ,him1 to whom ,he had bound ,himself by so many exclusive promises1 whom ,he had called ,his ,bride1 ,his ,darling1 ,his ,only ,one8 ,and yet the more ,israel dwelt upon that ,love the more they were afraid of it4 ,god had been so gracious and so long-suffering to themselves that they could not trust ,him not to show these mercies to others4 ,in which case1 what was the use of their uniqueness and privilege8 ,what worth was their living any more8 ,israel might as well perish4 ,it is this subtle story of ,israel's jealousy of ,jehovah1 and ,jehovah's gentle treatment of it1 which we follow in the last chapter of the book4 ,the chapter starts from ,jonah's confession of a fear of the results of ,god's lovingkindness and from his persuasion that1 as this spread to the heathen1 the life of ,his servant spent in opposition to the heathen was a worthless life2 and the chapter closes with ,god's own vindication of ,his ,love to ,his jealous prophet4 ,it was a great grief to ,jonah1 and he was angered2 and he prayed to ,jehovah and said3 ,ah now1 ,jehovah1 while ,i was still upon mine own ground1 at the time that ,i prepared to flee to ,tarshish1 was not this my word1 that ,i knew ,thee to be a ,god gracious and tender1 long-suffering and plenteous in love1 relenting of evil8 ,and now1 ,jehovah1 take1 ,i pray ,thee1 my life from me1 for for me death is better than life4 ,in this impatience of life as well as in some subsequent traits1 the story of ,jonah reflects that of ,elijah4 ,but the difference between the two prophets was this1 that while ,elijah was very jealous for ,jehovah1 ,jonah was very jealous of ,him4 ,jonah could not bear to see the love promised to ,israel alone1 and cherished by her1 bestowed equally upon her heathen oppressors4 ,and he behaved after the manner of jealousy and of the heart that thinks itself insulted4 ,he withdrew1 and sulked in solitude1 and would take no responsibility nor further interest in his work4 ,such men are best treated by a caustic gentleness1 a little humour1 a little rallying1 a leaving to nature1 and a taking unawares in their own confessed prejudices4 ,all these--,i dare to think even the humour--are present in ,god's treatment of ,jonah4 ,this is very natural and very beautiful4 ,twice the ,divine ,voice speaks with a soft sarcasm3 ,art thou very angry8#aeeb ,then ,jonah's affections1 turned from man and ,god1 are allowed their course with a bit of nature1 the fresh and green companion of his solitude2 and then when all his pity for this has been roused by its destruction1 that very pity is employed to awaken his sympathy with ,god's compassion for the great city1 and he is shown how he has denied to ,god the same natural affection which he confesses to be so strong in himself4 ,but why try further to expound so clear and obvious an argument8 ,but ,jehovah said1 ,art thou so very angry8 ,jonah would not answer--how lifelike is his silence at this point6--but went out from the city and sat down before it1#aeec and made him there a booth and dwelt beneath it in the shade1 till he should see what happened in the city4 ,and ,jehovah ,god prepared a gourd1#aeed and it grew up above ,jonah to be a shadow over his head4444#aeee ,and ,jonah rejoiced in the gourd with a great joy4 ,but as dawn came up the next day ,god prepared a worm1 and this#aeef wounded the gourd1 that it perished4 ,and it came to pass1 when the sun rose1 that ,god prepared a dry east-wind1#aeeg and the sun smote on ,jonah's head1 so that he was faint1 and begged for himself that he might die1#aeeh saying1 ,better my dying than my living6 ,and ,god said unto ,jonah1 ,art thou so very angry about the gourd8 ,and he said1 ,i am very angry--even unto death6 ,and ,jehovah said3 ,thou carest for a gourd for which thou hast not travailed1 nor hast thou brought it up1 a thing that came in a night and in a night has perished4#aeei ,and shall ,i not care for ,niniveh1 the ,great ,city1#aefj in which there are more than twelve times ten thousand human beings who know not their right hand from their left1 besides much cattle8 ,god has vindicated ,his love to the jealousy of those who thought that it was theirs alone4 ,and we are left with this grand vague vision of the immeasurable city1 with its multitude of innocent children and cattle1 and ,god's compassion brooding over all4 ,,footnotes3 #aeea ,deut4 xviii4 #ba1 #bb4 #aeeb ,the ,hebrew may be translated either1 first1 ,doest thou well to be angry8 or second1 ,art thou very angry8 ,our versions both prefer the first1 though they put the second in the margin4 ,the ,,lxx4 take the second4 ,that the second is the right one is not only proved by its greater suitableness1 but by ,jonah's answer to the question1 ,i am very angry1 yea1 even unto death4 #aeec ,heb4 the city4 #aeed 1 the ,egyptian kiki1 the ,ricinus or ,palma ,christi4 ,see above1 p4 #dih1 n4 #adgc4 #aeee ,heb4 adds to save him from his evil1 perhaps a gloss4 #aeef ,heb4 it4 #aeeg 4 ,the ,targum implies a quiet1 i4e4 sweltering1 east wind4 ,hitzig thinks that the name is derived from the season of ploughing and some modern proverbs appear to bear this out3 an autumn east wind4 ,,lxx4 ,siegfried-,stade3 a cutting east wind1 as if from 4 ,steiner emends to 1 as if from the piercing1 a poetic name of the sun2 and ,bhme1 ,z4,a4,t4,w41 ,,vii4 #bef1 to 1 from 1 to glow4 ,khler 7,theol4 ,rev41 ,,xvi41 p4 #adc7 compares 1 dried clay4 #aeeh ,heb43 begged his life1 that he might die4 #aeei ,heb43 which was the son of a night1 and son of a night has perished4 #aefj ,gen4 x4 #ab4 ,,index ,,of ,,prophets ,,habakkuk1 ,introduction1 #aae2 ,chaps4 i4--ii4 #d1 #abi2 ii4 #e-bj1 #adc2 iii41 #adi4 ,,haggai1 ,introduction1 #bbe2 ,chap4 i41 #bcf2 ii4 #a-i1 #bda2 ii4 #aj-ai1 #bdd2 ii4 #bj-bc1 #bej4 ,,joel1 ,introduction1 #cge2 ,chaps4 i4--ii4 #ag1 #cih2 ii4 #ah-cb1 #dah2 iii41 #dca4 ,,jonah1 ,introduction1 #dic2 ,chap4 i41 #ead2 ii41 #ebc2 iii41 #ebi2 iv41 #ecf4 8,,malachi10 ,introduction1 #cca2 ,chap4 i4 #b-e1 #cdi2 i4 #f-ad1 #ceb2 ii4 #a-i1 #cfj2 ii4 #aj-af1 #cfc2 ii4 #ag--;iii4 #e1 #cfe2 iii4 #f-ab1 #cfg2 iii4 #ac--;iv4 #b 7,eng42 iii4 #ac-ba ,heb471 #cfi2 iv4 #c-e 7,eng42 iii4 #bb-bd ,heb471 #cga4 ,,nahum1 ,introduction1 #gg2 ,chap4 i41 #ij2 ii41 iii41 #if4 ,,obadiah1 ,introduction1 #afc2 vv4 #a-ba1 #agc1 #agg4 ,,zechariah 7i4--viii471 ,introduction1 #bee2 ,chap4 i4 #a-f1 #bfg2 i4 #g-ag1 #bhc2 i4 #ah-ba 7,eng42 ii4 #a-d ,heb471 #bhf2 ii4 #a-e 7,eng42 ii4 #e-i ,heb471 #bhg2 iii41 #bib2 iv41 #big2 v4 #a-d1 #cja2 v4 #e-aa1 #cjc2 vi4 #a-h1 #cje2 vi4 #i-ae1 #cjg2 vii41 #cbj2 viii41 #cbc4 8,,zechariah0 7ix4--xiv471 ,introduction1 #ddi2 ,chap4 ix4 #a-h1 #dfc2 ix4 #i-ab1 #dff2 ix4 #ac-ag1 #dfg2 x4 #a1 #b1 #dfi2 x4 #c-ab1 #dgj2 xi4 #a-c1 #dgc2 xi4 #d-ag1 #dgc2 xii4 #a-g1 #dgh2 xii4 #h--xiii4 #f1 #dha2 xiii4 #g-i1 #dgc1 #dgg2 xiv41 #dhe4 ,,zephaniah1 ,introduction1 #ce2 ,chaps4 i4--ii4 #c1 #df2 ii4 #d-ae1 #fa2 iii4 #a-ac1 #fg2 iii4 #ad-bj1 #fg1 #gc4 ,,printed ,,by ,,hazell1 ,,watson1 ,,and ,,viney1 ,,ld41 ,,london ,,and ,,aylesbury4