.

^^^^^'^^^'^'^

/604-
 / '
<^ l\ UF-n
vSr^^

1 1;

^s^ P
M O S E ^.
TRANSLATED FROM THE HEBREW:
WITH

NOTES ^
EXPLANATORY AND CRITICAL: w
SECOND EDITION, CORRECTED, WITH ADDITIONAL NOTES.

AND

A SERMON,
NOW FIRST PUBLISHED,

CHRIST'S DESCENT INTO HELL.

^
BY SAMUEL, LATE LORD BISHOP OF ROCHESTER,
^ NOW OF ST. ASAPH.

LONDON:
punted for j. hatchard, piccadilly; j. robson, new bond
street; f. c. and j. rivington, st. paul's church tard;

and t. becket, pall mall ;

BY NICHOLS AND SON, RED LIOV PASSAGE, FLEET STREET.

1804.
.kfe "m

c:-'^rxvi'
 TO

THE KING.

SIR,

Your MAJESIY'S love and afFe6lion for

Letters in general, not the leaft confpicuous of the many Royal
Virtues which have endeared you to mankind ; the particular fa-

vour and protection YOUR MAJESTY, upon all occafions, has

vouchfafed to extend to Biblical Learning, have encouraged me to

crave permiffion to approach your Royal Perfon, with my humble
offering of an attempt to elucidate one of the moft antient, gene-

rally deemed the moft difficult, and for that reafon, of late years,

the moft negle6ted, but certainly not the leaft interefting of the
Hebrew Prophets. If the execution of the work might be fup-
pofed to be at all anfwerable to the dignity and moment of the
facred argument ; and, as far as may be attainable in a tranflation,
to the force and fublimity of the ftile in the original ; the prefent

A 2 might

WITHDRAWN
 ( iv )

might fcem not too mean, to be brought before a Monarch, who has
lived a bright example of Piety, in times when Piety has been ge-

nerally laughed to fcorn ; and will be recorded in the truth-telling

page of.Hiftory, as the Patron of the Sciences and the Arts, and,
under God, the powerfull prote6lor of the rights of Civil Govern-
ment and of the Chriftian Church (inflitutions in their origin equally

divine) in an age when a general fpirit of Anarchy and Atheifm

threatened to re-barbarize the life of fallen Man, by the fubverfion
of all Social Order, by obliterating the natural diftinctions of Right

and Wrong, by the fludied n^ifufe and perverfion of all Learning

and Philolbphy, and by the total extin6tion of all Religion. May
YOUR MAJESTY be long preferved, by the ALMIGHTY, to be

the refolute defender of the purity of our national Faith and Wor-
Ihip ;>
"while the fpirit of true Piety, even in the fhade of private

life, is cheriflied by the lultre of your greafexample ! That, after

a lengthened Reign of Profperity and Glory here, you may rife to

the brighter Gloties of that better Kingdom, which the God you
have fo faithfully ferved, as his Miniller for Good to all your
People, has prepared for them that love him.

YOUR MAJESTY'S

Molt dutifull Subjea,

and moft devoted Servant,

SAMUEL ROFFENS.
 [ V ]

Igt^OdOt^imw i

PREFACE.
of the great-grandfon or
aIoSEA began
11
to prophecy fo early as in the days
Jehu, Jeroboam, the fecond of that name
The duration of
Hofca'smiDiflf}'

king of and he continued in the prophetic office in the fuc-

Ifrael ;

ceflive reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, Kings of

Judah. Since he prophecied not before the days of Uzziah, King
of Judah, it muft have been in the latter part of Jeroboam's reign,
that the word of the Lord firft came to him. For Jeroboam reio-ned
in Ifrael 41 years in all and the acceffion of Uzziah, King of Ju-
;

dah, was in the 27th year of Jeroboam ^ We muft look, there-

fore, for the commencement of Hofea's miniftry within the laft 14
years of Jeroboam ; and it cannot reafonably be fuppofed to have
been than a year or two before that Monarch's death. For
earlier,
the interval from Jeroboam's death to the commencement of the
reign of Hezekiah in Judah, upon the moft probable fupputatioh
of the correfponding reigns in the two kingdoms of Judah and If-
rael, feems to have been no lefs than 68 years \ If we increafe the

" 2 Kings xiv. 23. " xv. t.

' Archbifliop Uflier makes no more than 57 or 58. But I am perfwaded the death of Jero-
it

boam was 7 years earlier, and the acceffion of Hezekiah 3 years later, than according to Archbi-
flioj) Uiher'e dates.

interval
vi PREFACE.
interval by the laft year only of Jeroboam's reign, and the firft of
Hezckiah's (in the days of both which Kings he prophecied), we
fliall make a fpace of no lefs than 70 years, for the whole duration
of Hofea's miniflry. And fince he was of age to chufe a wife for

himfelf and to marry, when he firft entered upon it, he muft have
lived to extreme old age. He muft have attained his looth year at
Icaft, if he faw the accomplifliment of the judgement, he had been
employed denounce againft the kingdom of Ifrael, But it is
to
probable that he was removed, before that event took place. For,
in all his prophecies, the kingdom of Samaria is mentioned, as fen-
tenced indeed to excifion ; but as yet fubfifting, at the time when
they were delivered.

nh princim! Inafmuch as he reckons the time of his miniftry, by the fucceflion

fahjeel, and his .
_ .

o of Jfudah,' the learned have been induced to believe, that

pecui.a, ctarac-
r as a Pi ojihet.
of the KinffS .

he himfelf belonged to that kingdom. However that may be, for

we have no direct information of hiftory upon the fubje6l, it ap-
pears, that whether from the mere impulfe of the Divine Spirit, or
from family connections and attachments, he took a particular in-
tereft in the fortunes of the fifter kingdom. For he defcribes, with
much more exa6lnefs than any other Prophet, the diftincl deftinies of
thetwo great branches of the chofen people, the different judgements
impending on them, and the different manner of their final reftora-
tion ; and he is particularly pathetic, in the exhortations he addrefTes
to the ten tribes. It is a great miftake, however, into which the
moft learned expofitors have fallen, and it has been the occafion of
much mifinterpretation, to fuppofe, that " his prophecies are al-
*' moft wholly againft the kingdom of Ifrael ;" or that the captivity
of the ten tribes is the immediate and principal fubje6t, the deftiny
of the two tribes being only occafionally introduced. Hofea's prin-
cipal fubjeft is that, which is the principal fubjec^ indeed of all the
Prophets ; the guilt of the Jewilli nation in general, their difobedi-
ent
 PREFACE. yii

ent refractory fpirit, the heavy judgements that awaited them, their
final converfion to God, their re-eftabhlliment in the land of pro-
mifc, and their reftoration God's favour, and to a condition of
to
the greateft national profperity, and of high pre-eminence among
the nations of the earth, under the immediate proteftion of the
McfTiah, in the latter ages of the world. He confines himfelf more
clofely to this fmgle fubje6t, than any orher Prophet. He fcems,
indeed, of all the Prophets, if I may fo exprefs my conception of
his peculiar character, to have been the moft of a Jew. Compara-
tively, he feems to care but little about other people. He wanders
not like Ifaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel, into the collateral hiftory
of the furrounding heathen nations. He meddles not, like Daniel,
with the revolutions of the great empires of the world. His own
country feems to engrofs his whole attention her privileges, her ;

crimes, her punilliment, her pardon. He predicSts, indeed, in the

Ctrongeft and the cleareft terms, the ingrafting of the Gentiles into
the Church of God. But he mentions it only generally he enters ;

not, like Ifaiah, into a minute detail of the progrefs of the bufmefs.
Nor does he dcfcribe, in any detail, the previous conteft with the
apoftate fa6tion in the latter ages. He makes no explicit mention
of the fhare, which the converted Gentiles are to have in the re-
eftablifhment of the Natural Ifrael in their antient feats ; fubje6ls
which make fo ftriking a part of the prophecies of Ifaiah, Daniel,
Zachariah, Haggai, and, occafionally, of the other Prophets. He
alludes to the calling of our Lord from Egypt ; to the refur-
re6lion on the third day he touches, but only in general terms,
;

upon the final overthrow of the Antichriftian army in Palefline, by

the immediate interpofition of Jehovah and he celebrates, in the
;

loftieft drains of triumph and exultation, the Saviour's final vi6lory

ver Death and Hell. But yet, of all the Prophets, he certainly
enters the leaft into the detail of the myfteries of Redemption. We
have nothing in him defcriptive of the events of the interval be-
a 2 tween
viii PREFACE.
tvreen the two advents of our Lord. Nothing diffufe and circunl-
flantial, upon the great and interefting myfteries of the Incarnation,

and the Atonement. His country, and his kindred, is the fubje6t next
his'heart. Their crimes excite his indignation their fufFerings intereft ;

his pity their future exaltation is the object, on which his imagi-
;

nation fixes with delight. It is a remarkable difpenfation of Provi-

dence, that clear notices, though in general terms, of the univerfal
redemption, fhould be found in a writer fo (Irongly pofleiTed with
national partialities. This Judaifm, if 1 may fo call it, feems to
make the particular charatSlcr of Hofea as a Prophet. Not that
the ten tribes are exclufively his fubje6l. His country is indeed his
particular and conftant fubjecl ; but his country generally, in both
its branches, not in either taken by itielf.

His Tnariiage a '-Thatthisis the truc vicw of his prophecies, appears from the
re il traiifaclLim. .

manner
ri or the openmg orC nis mmiltry.
'
rL1 '
a
As an

ex-
The woman a extraordmary
lypeofthewhole ^ , i t -i ii- t r rr
might deGiine any dilcullion orr ^
jewiih nation, pofitor of his prophecy, 1 the
queftion about his marriage ; whether it was a real tranfaclion, or

pafled in vifion only. I have indeed no doubt, that it was a real

occurrence in the Prophet's life, and the beginning of his prophe-
tical career. I have no doubt, that he was really commanded to

form the connection and that the commandment,

; in-the fenfe in
which it was given, was really obeyed. But this is, in truth, a
queftion of little importance to the interpretation of the Pro-
phecy. For the adt was equally emblematical, whether it was real
or vifionary only. And the fignification of the emblem, whether
the a6t were done in reality or in vifion, will be the fame. The
aft, if merely vifionary, will admit the fame variety of circum-
ftances in vifion, as the real a6t would admit in reality. The fame
queftions will arife, what thofe circumftances were. And the im-
port of each circumftance, attending the a6l, will be the fame,
chough not of the fame public notoriety. The readieft and fureft
way
 PREFACE.
way therefore of interpreting the prophecy will be to confider the
emblematical aft as really performed. The emblem was interpreted
by the Holy Spirit, when he gave the command. The incontinent
wife, by the declaration of the fpirit, and by the general analogy
of the prophetic imagery, was an emblem of the Jewilh nation,
polluted with fpiritual fornication, i. e. with idolatry but of the ;

nation generally, in both its branches, for in both its branches it

was equally polluted. If there was any difference between Judah
and Ephraim, it was not in the degree of the pollution. For in
different periods of her hiftory Judah had defiled herfelf with idol-
atry, in a degree that Ephraim could not eafily furpafs. But it

was, indeed, an aggravation of Ephraim's guilt, that it was the

very foundation of her polity. Her very exiftence, as a diftin(5l
kingdom, was founded on the idolatry of the calves, which was^
inftituted by Jeroboam for preventing the return of the ten tribes
to their allegiance to the houfe of David. Thefe calves of Jero-
boam's, by the way, feem to have been mutilated imitations of
the cherubic emblems. Thus
they were very fignificant fymbols of
a religion founded on mifbelief, and upon the felf-conceit of Natural
Reafon, difcarding Revelation, and, by its own boafted powers,
forming erroneous notions of the Godhead \ This corrupt woriliip^
as an eflential part of their civil conflitution, the ten tribes fu-
peradded to the guilt of a total defection from their allegiance to-
the houfe of David the type of the true David, from whom final.
;

The Chembim of the Temple, and the calves of Dan and Bethel, were both hieroglyphical
figures.The one, of God's iiiflitution the other, of Man's, in direcH: contravention of the fe-
;

cond commandment. The cherub was a compound figure the calf, fingle. Jeroboam therefore-
;

and his fubjedls were Unitarians. And when his defcendauts added to the idolatry of the calves,
the worlhip of Baal, they became Materialitls. For the moft antient Pagan idolatry was neither
more nor lefs, than an allegorlfed Materialifm. The deification of dead men was the corruption
of later periods of idolatry, when idolaters had forgotten tlie meaning of their original fymbols,
and their original rites. It was not therefore without reafon, that the antient fathers confideied
tJie nation of the ten tribes as a general type of licrefy,

apoftacy.
X PREFACE.
apoflacy \vill be evcrlafting dcflruftion. The two tribes, on the
contrary, remained loyally attached Lo David's family ; and the
idolatry into which, from time to time, they fell, was rather the
lapfe of individuals, than the premeditated policy of the nation.
Except in the reigns of one or two of their very v/orft Kings, the
public religion was the worlhip of the true God, according to the
rites of hisown appointment, by a priefthood of his own infritu-

tion. And this was the reafon that the kingdom of Judah,
tiiough feverely piimiflied, was however treated with longer for-
bearance ; and, when the dreadfuU judgement came, in fome re-
fpefts, with more lenity. But ai to tlie degree of idolatry prevail-
i-ng in either kingdom, elHmated by the inftances of it in the prac-
tice of individuals, it was equally grofs. Accordingly, fpiritual
fornication is perpetually laid to the charge of the whole people,
without diftinftion, by the Prophets and in the nature of the
;

thing, as well as by th declaration of the Spirit, the Prophet's in-

continent wife is the general emblem of the whole Jewifli nation.
Whatever is faid of this woman is whole na-
to be applied to the

tion, unlefs the application be limited, by the exprefs mention of

a part by name. And, upon this principle, we Ihall find that the
whole difcourfe is general, from the end of the firft chapter to the
14th verfe of the fourth inclufive. In the 13th verfe of the fourth
chapter, the two kingdoms are diftinguifhed. Thenceforward they
are fometim.es interchangeably, fometimes jointly, addrefled ; but
the part which is common which is peculiar to
to both, with that
Judah, makes at leafl as large a portion of the whole remainder of
the book, as what is peculiar to the kingdom of Ifrael.

f*ewoman's The woman being the emblem of the whole Jewifli race, the
feveral defcriptions, or parts of the nation, are reprefented by the
children, which (he bore in the Prophet's houfe. But here two other
^ueftions arifc, upon which expofitors have been much divided.
I ft. What
 Preface.
ift. What Is the character intended of the woman ? What are the
fornications by which llie is chara6lerifed ? Are they afts of incon-
tinence in the Hteral fenfe of the word, or fomething figuratively
fo called ? And, adly, this guilt of literal or figurative inconti-
nence, was it previous to the woman's marriage with the Prophet,
or contra6ted after it ?

The Hebrew a wife of fornications," taken literally,

phrafe, *'
^ proflitute.

certainly defcribes a proftitute, and " children of fornications" are

the offspring of a promifcuous commerce. Some, however, have
thought that a wife of fornications may fignify nothing worfe " than
*' a wife taken from among the Ifraelites,who were remarkable for
*' fpiritual fornication, or idolatry." And that " children of forni-
*' cations" may fignify children born of fuch a mother, in fuch a
country, and hkely to grow up in the habit of idolatry themfelves,
by the force of ill example. God, contemplating with indignation
the frequent difloyalty of that chofen nation, to which he was as it
were Hufband, which owed him the fidelity of a wife, fays to the
a
Prophet, " Go join thyfelf in marriage to one of thofe who have
" committed fornication againft me, and raife up children who will
* themfelves fwerve to idolatry'."But the words thus interpreted
contain a defcription only of public m^anners, without immediate
application to the charadler of any individual, and the command to
the Prophet will be nothing more than to take a wife.
But the words may be more literally taken, and yet the impro-
priety, as fhould feem, of a dillionourable alliance formed by
it

God's exprefs command, as lome have thought, avoided. Idolatrv,

by the principles on which itwas founded, and by the licence and
obfcenity.of its public rites, had a natural tendency to corrupt the
morals of the fex ; and itappears, by the Sacred Hiftory, that the
prevalence of it among the Ifraelites was actually followed with this
dreadfuil effe6l. It may be fuppofed that, in the depraved ftate of

* See Abp. Necome on Hofeaj I. 2.

3 4 pubhc
xii PREFACE.
public manners, Prophet was afraid to form the nuptial con-
tlie

neclion, and purpofed to devote himfelf to a fingle life and that :

he is commanded by God upon this principle ;

to take his chance :

that no dithonour, that might be put upon him by a lafciviouis wife,

uas to be compared with the affront daily put upon God by the
idolatries of the chofen people. " Go take thyfelf a wife among thefe
" wantons. Haply fhe may play thee falfe, and make thee father of a
" fpurious brood. Am not I the Hufband of a wife of fornications ?
" My people daily go a whoring after the idols of the Heathen. Shall
" I, the God of Ifrael, bear this indignity, and llialt thou, a mortal
" man, proudly defy the calls of nature; fearing the difgrace of
" thy family, and the contamination of its blood, by a woman's
" frailty r" But this interpretration differs from the former, only
in the fpecies of guilt imputed to the Ifraelites colle6lively ; and the
command to the Prophet is (till nothing more than to venture upon
a wife, ill-qualified as the women of his times in general were for
the duties of the married ftate. And the injun6lion feems to be
given for no other purpofe, than to introduce a fevere animadverfion
upon the Ifraelites, as infinitely more guilty with refpedl to God,
than any adultrefs among women with refpe6l to her hufband.
But it is evident, that " a wife of fornications" defcribes the fort
of woman, with whom the Prophet is required to form the matri-
monial connexion. It expreffes fome quality in the woman, com-
mon perhaps to many women, but a6lually belonging to the Pro-
phet's wife in her individual chara6ler. And was no
this quality

other than grofs incontinence in the literal meaning of the word:

carnal, not fpiritual fornication. The Prophet's wife was, by the
exprefs declaration of the Spirit, to be the type or. emblem of the
jewilh nation, confidered as the wife of God. The fin of the Jew-
ifli nation was idolatry, and the fcripturai type of idolatry is carnal
fornication ; the woman therefore to typify the nation, muft be
guilty of the typical crime ; and the only queftion that remains is,
whether
 PREFACE. xiii

whether this flain upon her charadler was previous to her connec-
tion with the Prophet, or contra6led afterwards ? -

I fhould much incline to the opinion of Diodati, that the exprcf- The or
orrnn m-

fion, " a wife of whoredoms," maybe underftood of a woman that ''B'- "-<"=

was innocent at the time of her marriage, and proved falfe to the
nuptial vow afterwards, could I agree to what is alleged in favour
of that interpretation, by Dr. Wells and by Lowth the father, that
it makes the parallel more exa6t between God and his backflidfng

people, the Prophet and his lafcivious wife, than the contrary fuppc-
fition of tiie woman's previous impurity eljpecially if, with Dr.Wells,
;

we make the further fuppofition, that the Prophet had previous

warning of his wife's irregularities. " Forafmuch as in like manner,"
fays Dr. Wells, *' God took Ifrael to be his peculiar people, though
*' he alfo knewaforehand, that they would often prove falfe to him,

*' and fall into fpiritual whoredom or idolatry." It feems to me,

on the coritrary, that the Prophet's marriage will be a more accu-

rate type of the peculiar connexion, which God vouchfafed to form
between himfelf and the Ifraelites, upon the admiffion of the wo-
man's previous incontinence. God's marriage with Ifrael was the
inftitution of the Mofaic covenant at the time of the Exodus * but ;

it is moft certain, that the Ifraelites were previoufly tainted, in a very

great degree, with the idolatry of Egypt
and they are repeatedly ^
;

taxed with this by the Prophets, under the image of the incontinence
of a young unmarried woman ". To make the parallel therefore exacSl
in every circumftance between the Prophet and his wife, God and If-
rael, the woman fhould have been addicted to pleafure before her mar-
riage. The Prophet, not ignorant of her numerous criminal intrigues,
and of the general levity of her chara6ter, fhould neverthelefs offer
her marriage, upon condition that fhe fhould renounce her follies, and

Jer. il. 2. * Levit.xvii. 7. xviii. 3. Jofli. xxiv. 14. See Ezek. xxiii.

b attach
xiv PREFACE.
attach herfelf with fidehty to him as her hufband (lie fliould accept :

the unexpe6led offer, and make the fairelt promifes\ The Prophet
fliould complete the marriage-contra6l % and take the reformed har-
lot, with a numerous baftard offspring, to his own houfe. There
file lliould bear children to the Prophet (as the antient Jewilh

church, amidft all her corruptions, bore many true fons of God) ;
but in a little flie fliould relapfe to her former courfes, and incurs
her hufband's difpleafure ; who yet Ihould neither put her to death,
according to the rigour of the law, nor finally and totally divorce
her. Accordingly I am perfwaded the phrafes n'Jlir T^\Vti and nV
nuiJrare to be taken literally, "a wife of proftitution," and "children.
" of promifcuous commerce :" fo taken, and only fo taken, they

produce the admirable parallel, we have defcribed. The Prophet

is commanded to take home a harlot for his wife, and receive her
baftard brood. After the marriage flie bears children in the Pro-
phet's houfe ; but fhe is not conftant to his bed. She, who at firft

was a fornicatrefs, becomes an adultrefs (chap, iii.) yet her huf- ;

band is not permitted to difcard her. He removes her for a time

from his bed ; debarrs her of all her intercourfe with her lovers,
but plainly bids her not defpair of being re-admitted, after many
days of mortification, upon her complete reformation, and the re-
turn of her affe(5lions to him, to the full rank and all the privileges
of a Prophet's lawful blamelefs wife.
'

If any one imagines, that the

marriage of a Prophet with a harlot is fomething fo contrary to moral
purity, as in no cafe whatever to be juftificd, let him recolle6t the cafe
of Salmon the Juft, as he is ftiled in the Targum upon Ruth, and
Rahab the harlot. If that inftance will not remove his fcruples, he
is at liberty to adopt the opinion,, which I indeed rejedl, but many
learned expofitors have approved, that the whole was a tranfaction.
in vifion only, or in trance. I rejciSt it, conceiving that whateyer,

f Exod. \is, 8. xxiv. ? ;., Jofli. xsiv. 24. ^ Deut. vii. 6. xxvi. 1719.

was
 ;

PREFACE, XV
wzs unfit to be really commanded, or really done, was not very fit (

to be prefented, as commanded or as done, to the imagination of a

Prophet in his holy trance. Since this therefore was fit to be ima-
gined, which is the leaft that can be granted, it was fit (in my
judgement), under all the circumftances of the cafe, to be done
The greatnefs of the occafion, the importance of the end, as I con-
ceive, juftified the command in this extraordinary inflaace. The
command, was given, furely fanclined the a6lion and, upon
if it :

thefe grounds, till I can meet with fome other expofitjon, which
may render this typical wedding equally fignificant of the thing to
be typified by it in all its circumftances, I am content to take the
fa6l plainly, as it is related, according to the natural import of the
words of the narration efpecially as this way of taking it will lead
;

to the true meaning of the emblematical a6l, even if it was com-

manded and done only in vifion. In taking it as a reality, I have
with me the authority, not certainly of the majority, but of fome
of the moft learned and cautious expofitors which I mention, not :

fo much to fuftain the truth of the opinion, as to protet myfelf, in

the avowal of from injurious imputations, " Hasc fententia,"
it,

fays the learned Mercer, " magis nobis placet, ut revera uxor^ni
*' fcortum duxerit, et ex ea liberos dubios procrearet.
Nam quod
' objicitur, honeftas efle oportere do6lorum
nuptias, fane non pc-
'^ terant non honeftae efle jubente Domino ; qui id ita volebat ad fg-
** nificandos Ifraelitarum mores. Denique aliorum interpretationes
*' tam improbabiles videntur, ut earum nulla fit,
cui majorem quam
*' huic aflenfum pra^bere queam. Hebrasi enim fcholiaft^e ha:c omnia
" vifione fa6la fuiflfe arbitrantur, cum nulla omnino vifionis mentio
*' -fiat." To the fame purpofe Mr. Lively " Quod objicitur con- :

*' tra legem Divinam et bonos mores

hoc fieri, fi do6for ecclefiae nie-
" retricem ducat, turn verum eft, fi libidine fua id fecerit injufiTu Dei
*'quorum neutrum in Ofea fuilfe omnes intelligebant." And the
learned Grotius " Maimonides haec vult contigifte In cV7cr/ tan-
:

b a turn.
 ;;

xVi PREFACE.
** turn. Sed et fenfus loci, et alia loca fimilia magis id credi exigunt,
**
figno aliquo, in hominum oculos occurrente, expreflas eas res quae
*' inter Deum et Hebrasum populum agebantur. Uxorem ducere,
" qu^ meretrix fuerit, iion erat illicitum nifi facerdotibus. Videri
* quidcm id poterat fiibturpe, fed quicquid jubet Deus, idem ju-
*' bendo honeftum facit." The learned Houbigant adopts the fame
opinion ; which, among the antients, was ftrenuoufly maintained by
St. Cyril of Alexandria, and by Theodoret, and entertained by St.

Bafil. And with thefe celebrated and judicious cxpofitors, I fcruple not

to declare, that 1 agree. Admitting, however, in my own private judge-

ment, the reality of the a6lion, 1 would not be underftood to admit,
I do moft explicitly and and impious, the
pofitively deny, as abfurd

extravagant conclufion, which fome have drawn from the mention of

*'
the children of promifcuous commerce," that the Prophet was,
either in vifion or reality, commanded, or permitted, to cohabit
with the w^oman, not as a wife in lawful! wedlock, but as a harlot
and himfelf to beget an illegitimate race. Such a converfation of
the Prophet with the harlot would have been no type of the fpiri-
tual marriage between God and the chofcn people: it would have
been highly fmfull ; what no occafion, or pretended end, could juftify

what God therefore never could command ; for, I admit the dif-

tinftion of the learned Drufius, " Scortum fmc

aliquis ducere poteft
" peccato ; fcortari non item." The children of promifcuous com-
merce are the offspring of the woman in her diffolute life, previous

to her connection with the Prophet.

Diftina parts of After the marriage the Prophet's wife bore three children. Thefe
I'o'n^Jp.lllVb; children reprefent, as I have obferved, certain diftina parts or de-
"."ewtl: fcriptions of the Jewilli nation, of the whole or which the Mother
"" youngeft
mXr."'' the emblem. Of thefe three children the eldtft and the
was
were fons the interrnediate child was a daughter. The
:
eldeft, I

think, was the Prophet's Ion but the two lall were both
;
baftards.

In this 1 have the concurrence of Dr. Wells ; acutely remarking,

" that
 PREFACE. xvii

" that whereas it is faid, v. 3, that the Prophet's wife ' conceived
" and bare a fon to Him,'' it is two children only,
faid of the other
'
that file conceived again and bare a daughter,' v. 6; and
' flie ' .

*'
conceived and bare a fon,' v. 8 implying that the children, fhe
;

" then bare, not being born, like the firft, to the Prophet, were
" not begotten by him." Thefe things being premifed, the names
impofed upon the children, by God's direction, fufficiently declare
what particular parts of the Jewifli nation were feverally reprelentcd
by them. The name of the eldeft fon was '^N^nt' Jezracl com- ;

pounded of the nouns and '^N (God) the initial

VIT (feed) being: '

merely formative of the proper name, as in innumerable inftances.

(Dp;; from 3pi?, VKTi^' from TTW and '7N* n'0% from in and n^

n>:?N' from JTN and n &c.) The import .therefore of the name
is " Seed of God ;" and the perfons reprefented by the Prophet's

proper fon, to whom thename is given, were all thofe J:rue fer-
vants of God, fcattered among all the twelve tribes of Ifrael, who, in
the times of the nation's greateft depravity, worftiiped the everlaft-
ing God, in the hope of the Redeemer to come. Thefe were a holy
feed the genuine fons of God ; begotten of him to a.lively hope,
;

and the early feed of that Church, which iliall at laft embrace all
the families of the earth.' Thefe are Jezrael, typified by the Pro-
phet's own fon and rightful! heir, as the children of God, and heirs
of the promifes.

This Jerome's interpretation of the word Jezracl as a myf-

is St. ipon of (he

tical proper name and, for the plain and obvious connexion of the
; "S "'"'

typical fignification with the etymology and literal meaning, it is

much to be preferred to another; which, however, has been re-
ceived with approbation by many, I believe indeed by the majority,
of later expofitors. Conceiving that the word p")T, as a verb, figni-_
fies " tofcatter," they render the word " Jezrael" "the difperfion,"
the " difperfed of God ;" and they expound it as predi6tive of

or,
b 3 th^
XVIU PREFACE.
the difperfion of the Jcwifli nation ; and this interpretation has

been in fo much credit, as to find its way into the marginal noles

of the Enghfli Geneva Bible. And perhaps it is not altogether ir-

reconcileable with etymology; for, the word ^nt is, indeed, both a
noun and a verb. The noun is the root and as the noun fignifies ;

" feed," the verb fignifies " to fow feed :" and, when applied to
fuch feeds as are fown by fcattering them, virtually indeed figni-
fies to fcatter them. Thus it acquires the fenfe of fcattering abroad,
as feed is fcattered, and figuratively may fignify the difperfion. But
in truth, this interpretation of the word, however conuftent it may
be with etymological principles, is clearly fet afide by the manifeft
application of it, in the 2 2d verfeof the 2d chapter, in St. Jerome's
fenfe of feed ; which in that pafTage is fo evident, and indeed fo ne-

ceflary, that it is admitted there, by the moft learned of thofe, who

would impofe the other fenfe upon it in the ifl chapter. They con-
ceive the word fufceptiblc of two contrary typical fenfes, correfpond-
ino- refpeclively to the two contrary fenfes, which they afcribe to the

root namely, that of fowing for a crop, and that of fcattering for
;

de{lru6lion \ The ncccflity of impofing contrary fenfes upon one

and the fame image, in a fyftem of prophetic images, in different
parts of the fame prophecy, feems a fufficient confutation of the
fcheme of interpretation, which creates it. The fenle, which forces
itfelf upon the underiianding of the reader, in one clear unequivocal

paflage, being equally appofite, though not of equal neceffity, in

every other pafiage where, the type is mentioned, ought in all reafon
to be taken every where as the fingle fignification of the type even ;

in preference to any other, which may not be irreconcilcable, and

may even be applicable, in fome texts where the type is introduced.

" Thus the learned Diodati, upon chap. li. v. 22, ad Ix.recl," c. al mio popolo, il quale,

Hos. 1. 4.
" era ftato norainato lareel m lenfo di miiiaccia e di makidittioae : ma qui e cangiato >I^
" fenfo di gratia e di promcffa : peicioche Izreel puo anche fignificare, coiui ch 'Iddio feniina, o
'
feminera." And to tlie fame effeS Rivetus. " Mutatur hie fignificalio nominis ut pro difper-
" fione n Deo faaa.ton amplias accipiatur, fed pro femiuatione Dei, pro legitime femine."
Apd
 PREFACE. xijt

And word,
for this reafon, a third interpretation of this myftical
which is adopted by two learned Commentators of our own, Mr.
Lowth and Dr. Wells, mnft be rejected. The noun y"iT has indeed
two fenles. It fignifics " an arm" as well as *' feed." Hence thefe
expofitors conceive, that Jczraelmay fignify either " a Seed of God"
or " the Arm of God." And they take it in the firft fenfe in chap.

ii. and in the fecond in chap. i. But fince the firft is the only
2 2,

fenfe. in which it can be tai<en, confiftentiy with the context, in chap.

ii. and is apt and applicable, wherever the word occurs it is better ;

to adhere to this one fenfe, than to introduce uncertainty and con-

fufion, by multiplying the fignifications of a fmgle image without
neceflity. Not
mention that the godly are often defcribed in
to
Scripture under the image of God's children, w^hereas they are not
" his arm," more than any other part of the creation being indeed :

the efpecial obje<?ks of his providence, but in common only with all

his creatures, an inftrumenf of his power. Rejecting therefore all

other interpretations of this word, we may fafely abide by St. Je-

rome's, as plain and fimple, agreeable to etymology,, conformable
to the ufual imagery of holy writ, applicable in all the pafTages
where thismyflical name is ufed, and indifputably confirmed by the
harmony and coherence of the prophetic text with itfeif. And, ac-
cording to this interpretation, the Prophet's eldeft fon, undcr^ the
name of Jezrael, typifies the true children of God among the natu-
ral IfraeL

All of the Tewifh people that were not Tezrael, thofe who were Lo-iuhamsh

not Ifrael^ though they were of Ifrael, are typified by the two bal-

tard children. The firft of thefe, the daughter, was called Lo-ru-
hamah.. The fex of the child is the emblem of weaknefsV Her

" Nequaquam jam Jeziiiel, id rft, " Semen Dei," nee mafculini iexus filius nafcitur, fed

" filja ; id eft fosmina, fiagilis fexus, et quae viftorum pate^ coutumelis." Hieroa. ad locum.

b 4 name,.
:^i-x , PR BVP^A C E.

nan':e, Lo ruhamah, is a compound of the negative particle nV,

uik! M::n"ithe participle Benoni feminine in Puhal of the verb Dm,
wliich fignifics either to be .tenderly affected with love or pity, or

to be the o!)je6l of fuch tender aife6fion, i. c. either actively to love,

or pity, or paflively to be beloved, or to be pitied. The name IvO-ru-

hama therefore is "unbeloved," or "unpitied,"or, as it is paraphrafed

in the margin of our Englilh Bible, in conformity with all the an-
tient vcrfions, " not-having-obtained-mercy." Or, as it is rendered
by the LXX and St. Peter, ' iXivn^Liv^. (i. Pet. II. lo.) By St. Paul,
^K %-yxirr:i/-r^v, Rom. IX. 25. It is remarkable that, of the two fenfes
which the word cm equally bears, of pity or love, St. Peter in this
place fliould take the one, St. Paul the othej; ; but this, as Dr. Po-

cock obfcrves, "makes no difference in the matter, inafmuch as
" God's mercy and love go infeparably together." However, the
fenfe of mercy or pity, in his judgement, feems more agreeable to
what follows. In which, however, I differ from him for, the ;

word, in its primary meaning, more fpecifically relates to the natural

affetion, the g-opy^ of a parent for a child : and, when it fignifies

pity or mercy, it is from pa-

fuch fort and degree of pity as arifes

rental tendernefs. So that, if a choice is to be made between the two

renderings, I prefer St, Paul's " not beloved." Which is tlie
;

more to be attended to, becaufe it feems to have been his own ; as

all the antient verfions give the other. And St. Paul's rendering is,

in this inftance, to be preferred to St. Peter's, becaufe St. Paul ex-

preflly cites ; St. Peter only alludes. This daughter, Lo-ruhaniah,
typifies the people of the ten tribes in the enfeebled flate of their de-

clining monarchy, torn by inteffine commotions and perpetual revo-

lutions, harraffed by powerful invaders, impoveriflied by their ty-
rannical exactions, and condemned by the jult fentence of God to
utter excifion as a diftincl kingdom, without hope of reftoration :

for lb the type is explained by the Holy Spirit himfelf.

The
 PREFACE. xxi

The laft child is a fon, and the name given him is Lo-ammi. Lo-ammi ex-

To determine what is reprefented by this child (fince in the appli-

cation of this type, the facred text is not fo explicit as in the for-
mer), we muft take into confideration the time of its birth. The
daughter Lo-ruhamah was weaned, before the woman conceived
this fon. " A child, weaned," fays St. Jerome, " leaves
when it is

" the mother is not nourifhed with the parent's milk ; is fuflained
;

" with extraneous aliments." This aptly reprefents the condition of

the ten tribes expelled from their own country, difperfed in foreign
lands, no longer nouriflied with the fpiritual food of divine truth
by the miniftry of the Prophets, and deilitute of any better guide
than Natural Reafon and Heathen Philofophy. The deportation
of the ten tribes, by which they were reduced to this miferablc con-
dition, and deprived of what remained to them, in their worft
ftate of willfuU corruption, of the fpiritual privileges of the chofen
race, was, in St. Jerome's notion of the prophecy, the weaning of Lo-
ruhamah- The child, conceived after Lo-ruhamah was thus weaned,
mull: typify the people of the kingdom of Judah, in the fubfequent pe-
riods of their hiftory. Orrathcr this child typifies the whole nation of
the children of Ifracl, reduced, in its external form, by the captivity
of the ten tribes, to that fingle kingdom. The fex reprefents a con-
fiderable degree of national ftrength and vigour, remaining in this
branch of the Jewilh people, very different from the exhaufted ftatc
of the other kingdom previous to its fall. Nor have the two tribes
ever fuffered fo total an cxcifion. The ten were abfolutely loft in the
world, foon after their captivity. They have been no where to be
found for many and know not where to find themfelves though
ages, :

we are affured they will be found again of God, in the day when
he fhall make up his jewels. But the people of Judah have never
ceafed totally to be. In captivity at Babylon they lived a feparate
race, refpefted by their conquerors. From that captivity they re-
turned. They became an opulent and powerfuU ftate ; formidable
c at
 xxii PREFACE.
at times to the rival powers of Syria and Egypt; and held in no
fmall confideration by the Roman people, and the firft Emperors
of Rome. And even in their prefent ftate of ruin and degradation,
and without a polity of their own, fuch is the
vi^ittiout territory,

mafculine (Irength of fufFering, with which they are endued, they

arc ftill extant in the world, as a feparate race, but not as God's
people, othcrwife than as they are refcrved for fignal mercy ; God
grant it may be in no very diftant period ! But a*- prefent they are
Lo-ammi. ah (Not) 'oy (My people). And fo they have aclually
been more than feventeen centuries and a half; and to this con-,
dition they were condemned, when this Prophecy was delivered.

Proofofthisex-
planation of the
That tlicfe are typified
^
by the child Lo-ammi appears,
-'
^
from '^
_ _
name Lo-ammi. thc application of that name, in the loth verfe, to the Chil-
dren of Ifrael generally. Whence it feems to follow, that
the degenerate people of Judah were implicated in the threaten-
ings contained in the former part of the chapter. But in thofe
threatenings they cannot be implicated, unlefs they are typified in
fome one or more of the typical children. But they are not typi-
fied in Jezrjiel ; for the Jezrael is no obje(5t of wrath or threat-
ening : not in Lo-ruhamah ; for Lo-ruhamah typifies the king-
dom of the ten tribes exclufively : of necelTity, therefore, in Lo-
ammi.

Anetiier proof. The fame conclufion may be drawn, from the ufe of the fecond
perfon plural in the explanation of the name Lo-ammi, in the 9th
verfe. " Call his name Lo-ammi for ye are not my people
;
."

It is that the pronoun of the fecond perfon plural, 7>, is

evident,
compellative of the perfons typified by the child, to which the name
is given. The command to name every one of the children is ad-
drefled to the Prophet, by the verb imperative in the fmgular num-
ber.
 PREFACE. xxiU

ber. " Call his name Jezrael \" " Call her name Lo-ruha-
*' mah \" "Call his name Lo-ammi '." But in ex-
plaining the name Lo-ruhamah, the perfons typified are mentioned
in the third perfon, ' for I will no more have mercy
" upon " not Tou, but " the houfe of Ifrael^" Whereas in
explaining the name Lo-ammi, the perfons typified are not men-
tioned in the third perfon, but addreffed in the fecond, " for
*' YE are not my people." The reafon of which I think muff be
this : fince the Prophet is the perfon, and the only perfon, to
whom, as actually prefent, God fpeaks ; the perfons of whom this is

declared, " ye are not my people," muft be that branch of the Jewifli
nation, to which the Prophet himfelf belonged.
Hence, if there be
any truth in the received opinion, that the Prophet Hofea was of
the kingdom of Judah, the men of that kingdom muft be the per-
fons typically reprefented by Lo-ammi. *' Call his name Lo-am-
*' mi ; for ye, O Men of Judah, are not my people."
This I con-
fider as a ftrong corroboration, though by itfelf it would not
amount to proof, of what I conceive to be indifputably proved
by the argumentfrom the lothverfe; that the child Lo-ammi repre-
fents the Jewifh nation, exifting in the fingle kingdom of Judah,
after the captivity of the ten Or, to put the argument in a
tribes.
flronger fliape, independent of any previous afTumption about the
Prophet's country ; fince God, fpeaking to the Prophet, fpeaks of
the perfons typified by Lo-ruhamah in the third perfon, and ad-
dreffes thofe typified by Lo-ammi in the fecond ; the Prophet did
not belong to any branch of the nation, collectively typified by
Lo-ruhamah Lo-ammi typified fome branch of the nation, to
:

which he did belong. Lo-ruhamah typified the Kingdom of ifrael.

To that kingdom therefore the Prophet did not belong. He be-

* V. 4. " V. 6. V, 9. "
V. 6,

c 2 longed
 ;

xxiv PREFACE.
longed therefore of ncccfTity to the kingdom of Judah. Lo-ammi
therefore typifies this kingdom.

ohjeflicnaii- The which has been brought againU: this intcrpretatiort

objclion,
Sv, eieJ.
of the woman's hifl: child, from St. Peter's apphcation of the latter
part of the loth verfe to the converted Jews of the Afiatic difper-
fion, has Httlc weight with me; though it appears, that it was deemed
infurmountable by fo great a man as Dr. Pocock. The deftruction
of Jerufalem, and the difperfion of the nation by the Romans, had
not taken place, it is when St. Peter made the apphca-
obferved,
tion of the terms of Lo-ammi, and Lo-ruhamah, Ammi and
Ruhamah, to thefe converts ; the former, in their ftate of unbehef
the latter, in their converted ftate. The Jews, therefore, of Judah
and Benjamin had not yet loft the chara6lcr of God's people. Yet
the prophecy, in the Apoftle's judgement, was already fulfilled ;

as appears by his citation of both in the comminatory and the pro-

it,

miflbry part. Tke-Jews therefore of Judah and Benjamin, whom

the threatened punilhment had not yet overtaken, were not the
Lo-ammi of the Prophet ; but this child was only another type
of the ten tribes, in their outcaft ftate. It would be difficult, I

apprehend, to prove, what argument tacitly alTumes ; that

this
*' the ftrangers fcattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia,
*' and Bithynia," to whom St. Peter writes, w^ere defcendants of
the captivity of the ten tribes, rather than of thofe families of Ju-
dah and Benjamin, which never returned from the Babylonian
captivity ; which w^ere very numerous. Befides, St. Peter's applica-
tion of the prophecy is no argument that he thought it any far-
ther then fulfilled, than in the individuals to whom he applies it j

er otherwife in them, than in a fpiritual fenfe. There have been in

one part or another of the Jewifti nation, thofe among
all times, in

them, who, in a fpiritual fenfe, were Ammi and Ruhamah the ;

fame who have, at different times, compofed the Jezrael, which

6 at
 PREFACE. XXV
at no time has Such were the converts of the Jews
totally failed.
in the Apoftolic age. And of this clafs is every Jew, in every pe-
riod of the world, when he is brought to look, with the eye of
faith, upon him whom they pierced. The Apoftle's application of
thefe terms to the converts of his own times, affords no argument
that he thought the prophecy had already received its accomplilli-
ment, as it i-efpects the national condition of the whole, or either
branch of the Natural Ifrael.

From this view of the wife of fornications and her three chil- General fu^je<ft

dren, the general fubje6t of the prophecy appears, by the manner the'fnmmeruf
**'
of its opening, to be the fortunes of the whole Jewifh nation in im nition.

its two great branches ; not the particular concerns (and leaft of
all the particular temporal concerns) of either branch exclufively.
And to this grand opening the whole fequel of the prophecy cor-
refponds. In fetting forth the vices of the people, the pi6lure is

might naturally be expe6ted, from the manners of

chiefly taken, as
the Prophet's own times in part of which the corruption, in ei-
:

ther kingdom, was at the greateft height after the death of Jero- :

boam, in the kingdom of Ifrael ; in the reign of Ahaz, in the

kingdom of Judah. And there is occafionally much allufion, fome-
times predidive allufion, to the principal events of the Prophet's
times. And much more to the events in the kingdom of Ifrael,
than to thole in Judah. Perhaps, becaufe the danger being more
immediately imminent in the former kingdom, the ftate of things
in that was more alarming, and the occurrences, for that reafon,
more interefting. Still the hiftory of his own times in detail, in
either kingdom, is not the Prophet's fubje6t. It furnifhes fimilies
and allufions, but it makes no confiderable part, indeed it makes
no part at all, of the a6tion (if I may fo call it) of the poem.
The a6lion lies in events beyond the Prophet's times the com- ;

mencement indeed within them but the termination, in times yet

;

future ;
^xvi PREFACE.
future ; and, although we may hope the contrary, for aught we
know with certainty, remote. The depofition of Jehu's family, by
the murther of Zedekiah, the fon and fucceflbr of Jeroboam, was the
commencement the termination will be the reftoration of the whole
;

Jewilh nation under one head, in the latter days, in the great day
of Jezrael and the intermediate parts of the adtion are the judge-
;

ments, which were to fall, and accordingly have fallen, upon the
two kingdoms of
diftindl Ifrael and Judah, typified by Lo-ruha-
mah and Lo-ammi.

Mf.iiteiineia- A prejudicc, which for a long time poffefled the minds of Chrif-
a"pre)udice'T. tlaus, agaiuft the literal fenfe of the prophecies relating to the fu-
ture cxaltation of the Jewifli nation, gave occafion to afalfe fcheme
tofeoflheVrn-
pheciej which
reiiieiotiic final
^.
of interpretation
, |..^^..
which, alluming it as a
''it- 1
principle, that prophecy,
leftoratioii
thejewf.
of
r
;

r
i t ^
under the old difpenlation, looked rorward to nothing beyond the
r I'l. JU
abrogation of the Mofaic ritual and the difperfion of the Jews by
the Romans, either wrefted every thing to the hiflory antecedent
to that epoch, and, generally, as near as pofTible to the Prophet's
times (as if it and bufinefs of a Prophet to
were not the gift

fee far before him), or, by figurative interpretations, for the moft
part forced and unnatural, applied, what could not be fo wrefted,
to the Chriftian Church and rarely to the Chriftian Church on
:

earth, but to the condition of the glorified Saints in Heaven. This

method of expofition, Avhile it prevailed generally, and it is not
yet fuificiently exploded,wrapt the writings of all the Prophets in
tenfold obfcurity, and thofe of Hofea more than the reft. Becaufe,
what with all the Prophets was the principal, with him is the fingle
fubjedt. It might have been expedled, that when once the princi-

ple was undcrftood to be falfe, a better fyftem of interpretation

would have been immediately adopted. But this has only partially
taken place. Expofitions of many pa/Tiigcs upon the erroneous
fcheme had obtained a general currency in the world, and were
fupported
 PREFACE. xxvii

ibpportcd by the authority of great names. Amongft ourfelves, it

has long been the perlwafion of our beft Bibhcal fcholars and ableft
Divines, tb.at the reftoration of the Jews is a principal article of
prophecy, being-indeed a principal branch of the great fcheme of
general Redemption. Notwithttanding this, we have followed ex-
pofitors, who had a contrary prejudice, witli too much deference to
their authority ; and, difcarding their principle, have, in too many
inftances, fitten down content with the interpretations they have
given lis. Dr. Wells, himielf an affertor of the literal fenfe of
many texts relating to the final reftoration of the Jewifh nation,
was neverthelefs lb wedded to the notion, that the particular ac-
complilhment of Hofea's prophecies was to be looked for in the
minute detail of the hiftory of the kingdom of Ifrael, in the Pro-
phet's own times, or the times next to them that he conceived it;

neceflary to the interpretation of them, to afcertain to what parti-

cular reigns the particular parts belong ; rightly confidering the
entire book, as a colle6lion of prophecies delivered at different pe-
riods of Hofea's long miniftry. Thefe periods he has endeavoured
to diftinguifh, with much learning and critical ability, though not
perhaps with entire fuccefs. But v, hen this is done, heunder is

the necelTity of fupplynig circumftances in the hiftory by mere con-

je6lure, in order to make the event and the predi6lion correfpond.
That is, in truth, he is forced to invent hiftory, before he can find
the completion of the Prophecy in the times, in which he feeks it.

As when bend a particular text, in itfelf not difficult of expofi-

to
tion as a general moral image, to his particular fyftem, he is obliged
to imagine, without a Ihadow of authority from facred hiftory,
that the father of Pekah, the laft King of Ifrael but one, was by
trade a baker !

He divides the whole book into five fedlions, each containing, as uncertainty of

he fuppofes, the prophecies of a particular period ; and all toge- chronological

ther
xxviii PREFACE.
ther giving the prophecies, in the order of time in which he con- ,

ceives they were delivered. His firft feftion comprehends the

three firft and contains the prophecies deli-
chapters of the book ;

vered in the rcio-n of Jeroboam II. Hisfecond fe6lion ends with the
third verfe of chapter VI and contains the prophecies dehvered in the
;

interval between the death of Jeroboam and the death of Pekahiah.

His third feclion ends with the tenth verfe of chapter VII and ;

contains the prophecies delivered during the reign of Pekah. His

fourth feftion ends with the eighth verfe of chapter XIII and ;

contains the prophecies delivered during the reign of Hofhea. His

of the book " contain-
fifth felion comprehends the remainder ;

'*
ing,"according to the title which he gives it, " a prophecy of
" the reftoration of Ifrael (together with thofe of Judah, under
'
the common name of Jews), after the Aflyrian and Babylonian
" captivity ; as alfo, and chiefly, the reftoration of all the faid tribes,
" or Jews, into their own country, after their captivity, and long
" difperfion by the Romans, viz. on the general converfion of all
" the Jews to Chriftianity, at the approach, or commencement, of
" the iiappy and triumphant ftate of the Church, which fhall yet
" be on earth."
Certainly this laft fe6tion is compofed of dread-

full comminations and glorious promifes wonderfully intermixed.

But the promifes have no clear reference to any reftoration, pre-
vious to the final reftoration of the whole race from their prcfent
difperfed ftate. In the preceding fe6tions, the prophecies correfpond

fo imperfe61:ly with the times, to which they are feverally referred,

that the truth feems to be, as it is ftated by Biftiop Lowth,

" mo-
" dicum habemus volumen, vaticinationes Hofeas, ut videtur praeci-
" puas continens, eafque omnes inter fe fine uUis temporum notis,
" aut aro-umenti diftin6tlone, connexas."
Infomuch, that it muft
be a vain attempt to diftinguilh, what the author has left without
mark of diftinaion. I agree not, however, in the confequencc
drawn by that illuftrious critic, that the want of thefe diftin6tions
iS

-
 :

PREFACE. xxIk

is wc find hi Hofea's writhigs " tta mi-

the caufe of the obfcurity :

" nime mirum eft, fi Hofeam perlegentes nonnunquam videamur la

" fparfa quxdam Sibyllae folia incidere." The argument or fubje6l
is one, from the beginning of the book to the end : and obfcurity
cannot arife from the want of diftin6lion, in that refpecV, in which
the thing is incapable of diflin6lion. And the fubjeft of thefe pro-
phecies being what it is, the chronology of the feveral diftincl ef-

fufions can be of no confequence to the interpretation : the obfcu-

rity therefore arifes from fome other caufes.

It arifes folely
'
from the ftUe. And the obfcurity
'
of the ftlle can- si,ie,bi.tm.(i--
chailin.tliecauie

not be imputed o-reat antiquity of the compofition ("in which

to the a "; nie
owcurity
y 1 V r \ of Holeas wri-

I again relu6lantly dlfagree with that learned writer, whofe abilities ""E'-

I revere, and whofe memory I cherllh with afFe6lion and regard),

nor to any thing peculiar to the language of the author's age. In
the Hebrew language, as in the Greek, the earlieft writers extant
are beyond comparilbn the mod perfpicuous ; Homer, Hefiod, and
Herodotus, among the Greeks Mofes and Samuel among the He-
;

brews, Nor, in all the poetical parts of holy writ, is there any
thing to furpafs, in fimplicity of language, thofe noble monuments
of the earlieft infpired which are preferved in the pentateuch
fong,
the laft words of Jacob, the Song of Mofes, his laft words, the
Song of Miriam, and the effufions of Balaam, Whatever obfcurity
we find in thefe moft anticnt compofitions, arifes not from any ar-
chaifms of the ftile, or from any thing of ftudied and affected fino-u-
larity in the texture of it, but from the fubjecSt matter and from the ;

profound myfticifm, which fometimcs prevails in the prophetic ima-

gery. If the book of Job be of an earlier age than any of thefe (except
perhaps the laft words of Jacob), ft HI its obfcurlties are not from archa-
ifms, but from dlaleclic idioms of the author's country. Then, for the
age of Hofea, it was the age of Ifaiah and Micah writers in a highly
;

adorned* but flowing eafy ftlle. Whatever obfcurity therefore we find

in the writings of Hofea, muft be confefled to be his own, not ari-
fing from- any peculiar idioms of antiquity, or of his own age.
d He
XXX PREFACE.
Thegenernicha- Hc der!"'hts 111 3 ftilc, wliich alwuys becomes obfcure, \vhen the
Jano-uac'C of the writer ceafes to be a living language. He is com-
matic, to ufe St. Jerome's word, more than any other of the Pro-
phets. He writes in lliort, detached, disjointed fentences ; not
wrought up into periods, in which the connection of one claufe
with anQther,'and the dialectic relations, are made manifefl to the
reader by an artificial collocation ; and by thofe connexive particles
which make one which otherwiie appear as a
difcourfe of parts,
firing of independent propofitions, which it is left to the reader's
difcernment to unite. His tranfitions from reproof to perfwafion,
from threatening to promife, from terror to hope, and the contrary,
are rapid and unexpefted. His fimiles are brief, accumulated, and
often introduced without the particle of fimilitude. Yet thefe are
not the vices, but the perfe6lions of the Holy Prophet's ftile for :

to thefe circumftances it owes that eagernefs and fiery animation,

which are the charac^eriftic excellence of his writings, and are fa
peculiarly fuited to his fubje6l.

Hi. peculiar Befidcs this general character of Hofea's ftile, I fhall mention
idiums.
in this place two particulars, which are almoft peculiar to this
Prophet ; which I think can create little difficulty, when the reader

is previoufly apprized of them, and taught to refer them, wherever

they occur, to the principle on which they really depend and ;

yet, for want of being well confidered, they have much perplexed
and have been the occafion of
interpreters, much unwarrantable
tampering with the text in the way of conje6lural emendation.
Frequen.change The firft is a Certain inconftancy, if I may fo call it, in the perfon
of i,fon.
^^ ^^^^ pronoun, or of the verb. A frequent fudden change from the
.
fecond perfon to the third, or the contrary, in fpeaking, when the
people colle6lively are the principal obje6t of fpeech. Unaccount-
able as this has feemed to many expofitors, it arifes naturally, I ap-

prehend, from the general plan of compofition in thefe prophecies :

which.
 ;

PREFACE, xxxi

which are all conceived in the fhape of a difcourfe, held in public

between Jehovah and the Prophet, upon the fubjecl of the guilt,
the punifliment, and the final pardon of the people. Even in thofe
prophecies, which open with a call upon the children of Ifrael, or
upon the priefts in particular and the houfe of the king, to give ear ;
ftill the Prophet is the perfon, with whom Jehovah principally talks.
To him he fets forth the crimes of the people ; to him he denounces
the impending judgements ; and to him he opens his merciful inten-
tion of reftoring the converted race of Ifrael to his favour in the lat-
ter days. But in thefe difcourfes Jehovah often turns, in the fire of
indignation, from the Prophet directly upon the people themfelves
addrefllng them in the fccond perfon, of whom he had been fpeak-
ing in the third (as in chap. iv. 4. 5). Sometimes the fame turn of the
difcourfe is made, in the tendernefs of love, or exuberance of pity
(chap. ii. 18. 19. &c. xi. 7. 8). Sometimes, on the contrary, Je-
hovah, fpeaking to the people, turns fuddenly away from them, in
contempt as it were of their unworthinefs, to his friend and confi-
dent, if we may fo venture to fpeak, the Prophet (chap. viii. 5).
The inftances of thefe changes of the fpeech are innumerable ; and
fometimes fame fentcnce, which begins in the
fo fudden, that the
third perfon, fhall end in the fecond or, beginning in the fecond,
;

it fhall end in the third. But this is fo far from an obfcurity, when
it is traced to its removing it, the whole ani-
true principle, that, by
mation of the difcourfe would be cxtinguilhed. I have in moft places
retained this peculiarity in my tranflation, and, I flatter myfelf,

without obfcurity. In fome few inftances indeed, but in very few,

I have been compelled, for the fake of perfpicuity, to abandon it.

The fecond circumftance in Hofea'sftile, which has much embar- Nominative ab-
fuiiice.
raded his interpreters, is his frequent ufe of the Nominative Abfolute.
By the nominative abfolute I mean a noun lubftantive, a proper name
or an appellative, in the nominative cafe, placed at the beginning
of a lentence, without any grammatical connedlion with any other
. d 2 word ;
XXXll PREFACE.
word ; and ferving only to announce,
name, the principal by its

fubjeft of the propofition, which is immediately to follow, and to

awaken attention to it. See cl:ap. ix. 8 and 1 1. The difficulty is
confidcrably increafed, when the nominative is not exprefily men-
tioned, in what immediately follows, as the fubject of the difcourfe,
though it is really what is uppermoft in the fpeaker's mind. See
chap. xiv. 8. This nominative abfolute occurs in the Pfalms, and
in moft of the Prophets. It is a figure of vehement impaf-
fioned fpcech ; and it is frequent in Holea, becaufe his (tile, above
all the other Prophets, is vehement and impaffioned. The noun fo

ufed is eafily diftinguiflied, in our language, by a note of admiration

placed after it. And it is the want of that mark, that has made this

figure a caufe of obfcurity in the original Hebrew text.

Anomalies of The from what is called an anomaly either of

obfcurities arifing
rumher and
gender.
the number, when a colle6live noun, fingular in form and plural in
fenfe or a noun, plural in form and fingular in fenle, is connected
;

indifferently with fingular or plural verbs, pronouns, and adje6lives ;

or, an anomaly of the gender, wdien a noun, rendering what has

naturally no fex, is conneded almofl indifferently with mafculine
and feminine, and with both in the fame fentence and that other ;

anomaly of the gender, when one and the fame w^ord, taken as the
name of a people, may be mafculine, and as the name of the coun-
try which the people inhabit, feminine and that too in the fame- ;

fentence thefe are not peculiar to Hofca, and are too inconfider-
:

able to deferve more, than the bare mention that they are frequent.

AmbipiUy of An obfcurity, arifing from an indiflinanefs in the reference of

llie pronouns.
the pronoun of the third perfon, will appear to the Englilh reader
to prevail remarkably in Hofea. But this is not to be imputed to the
Prophet, nor indeed to any of the facred waiters; in all of whom it
is found in the EngliOi Bible, but is introduced,
often indeed un-
avoidably
 ,

PREFACE. xxxiii'

avoidably, by tranflation; and from a circumftance, in \\'lTich

it arifes

the idiom of our language differs from the Hebrew, and from all the
antient languages. The Englifli language admits, in fome particular
cafes only, a fubintelle6lion of the pronoun as the nominative cafe to
the verb which, in the antient languages, is oftener underftood than
;

cxprefiTed. And this often lays the Englifh tranflator under an inevi-
table neceffity of introducing the pronoun of the third perfon as the
nominative cafe, when it is alfo the accufative after the verb ; and,
before and after the verb, neceffarily rehearfes different pcrfons.
and THEY bare children to them." Gen. vi. 4.
" They," the daughters of men, bear " to them ;" to them, the
fons of God Here, indeed, the ambiguity is introduced in the Englifli

by a mis-tranflation. The verb ib^ fignifies either " to bear" or

" to beget." And
the nominative cafe of the mafculine verb "nV,
in the original, is " the fons of God." And the proper rendering
would be thus ": the fons of God came in unto the daughters of
*' men, and begat to themfelves children." And this is the
rendering '

of the Alexandrine LXX, and the old verfion of Tyndal, and of the
Bifhop's Bible ; mriTropevovjo at :;et tb &sS wpog toU ^uyciji^Ki imv afdpu-

Xj lys'/vuTav savjoTi. LXX.

-TTuv,
"
the chyldren of God had lyen with
" the daughters of men, and had begotten them chyldren." Tyndal.
Again, " in tin; likenefs of God made he him." Gen.v. 1. He,
God, made him man. Here again the tranflation has introduced
the ambiguity which is not in the original, and was avoided in
;

the old tranflation of Tyndal, by a better arrangement of the words,

*'
when God created man, and made hym after the fimilitude
" of God;" The ambiguity, however, in the Englifh language is
often unavoidable as in Hofea, chap. xii. 4. 5
;
" He' had : :

" wept, and jnade iupplication unto him. At Bethel he found

*' HIM, and there he fpake with us ;" i. e. He [Jacob] had wept,
and made fupplication unto him [the Angel]. At Bethel he [Jacob]
found him [the Angel], and there he [the Angel] fpake with us.
The.,
xxxiv PREFACE.
The infertion of the nominative He, in the Englifli tranflation, is
unavoidable ; and pr-oduces the ambiguity, which is not in the ori-
ginal.
The caufes of Hofca's obfcurity, or reputed obfcurity, to fpeak with
more julfice of his writings, I take to be thofe, which I have enu-
merated. The general commatifm of his flile ; his frequent and
fudden tranfitions the brevity and accumulation of his fimiles, and
;

thofe two remarkable circumftances, his inconftancy in the perfon

of the verb, and the ufe of the nominative abfolute.

si.npofe<i oMcu- But Archbiihop Newcome maintains that the '* greateft: diffi"
inpt' reaiiMigs, cultics arifc from the corrupt readings, which deform the printed
not to be reiio- '

ved by conjee- tcxt." Much as I liavB been mdebted,

^
i
m

i r
the profecution of this

r i

'"'s-
work, to the previous labours of that learned Prelate, againlt this
opinion I mult openly and earneftly proteft. It is an erroneous opi-
nion, pregnant with the moil: mifchievous confequences and the ;

more dangerous, as having received the fan6lion of his great au-

thority. That the facred text has undergone corruptions, is indifpu-
table. The thing is evident from the varieties of the MSS, the an-
tientverfions, and the oldeffc printed editions : for, among different
readings, one only can be right ; and it is probable, I go farther,
I fay that it is almoft certain, that the worfe reading has fometimes
found its way into the printed text. That the corruptions are greater
in Hofea, than in other parts of the Old Teftament, 1 fee no reafon
to fuppofe. That the corruptions in any part arc fo numerous, or
in fuch degree, as to be a principal caufe of obfcurity, or, indeed, to
be a caufe of obfcurity at all, with the utmoft confidence I deny.
And, be the corruptions what they may, I muft proteft againfl the
ill-advifed meafure, as to me it feems, however countenanced by
great examples, of attempting to remove any obfcurity fuppofed to
arife from them, by what is called conje6tural emendation. Con-
fidering the matter only as a problem in the doctrine of chances,
the
 PREFACE. XXXV

the odds are always infinitely againft conjeclnre. For one inftance
in which conjedlure may reftore the original reading, in one thou-
fand, or more, it will only leave corruption worfe corrupted. It is

the infirmity of the human mind, from one extreme of folly

to revolt
to the contrary. It is therefore little to be wondered, that, when the
learned firfl emancipated their minds from an implicit belief, which
had fo long obtained, in the immaculate integrity of the printed
text, an unwarrantable licence of conjectural alteration fhould fuc-
ceed to that defpicable fuperllition. Upon this principle, great al-
lowance is to be made, firfl for Cappellus, after him for Hare and
Houbigant, and for others fmce, men of learning and piety, by
whofe labours the church of God has been greatly edified if, in ;

clearing away difficulties by altering the reading, they have fome-

times proceeded with lefs fcruple in the bufinefs, than the very fe-
rious nature of it have raifed in their minds. But their ex-
fliould
ample is to be followed with the greateft fear and caution. I muft
obferve, however, that, under the name of conjeiSlure, I condemn
not altogether alterations, which, without the authority of a fingle
MS, are fuggefted by the antient verfions, efpecially by the Vulgate,
Syriac, or Septuagint. The confent indeed of thofe verfions, in
one reading, wherever it is found, I efteem a confiderable, though
not always an indifputable authority for an emendation.

What authority may, confiftently with the rules of fober criticifm, Antiiorityofti.e

be allowed to the antient verfions in general, or to any one of them ubii'm%a"riJus

readings*
in particular, for the eftablilliment of various readings ; are queffions
of great moment, which well deferve a deep confideration. Per-
haps the error of late years has been to fet this fort of authority much
too high. " Le<Stiones verfionum, quas fuperftitum codicum habent
" praefidium (fays De RolTi with great judgement) multi faciend^
*' funt, cenlendaeque generatim ex exemplari depromptas, quod in-
*' terpres habebat ob oculos. Contra, quae MSS fide deftituuntur,
*' dubiae funt, infirmaeque per fe au6toritatis ; quum dubii fimus, num.
'^ex


xxxvi PREFACE.
"*'
ex archetypo codice eas hauferit interpres, an vero arbitrio indui-
" lerit ; ipfumque codicum filentium poftcrius videtur arguere, nifi

"gravis conjeclura critica aliter fuadeat, hiftoriaeque analogia ac

" Veritas. Caute itaque colligendae v-eterum interpretum lecliones
" cautius vero prseferendae." With refpeft to the Greek verfion of
the LXX in particular, it may reafonably be made a doubt, whe-
ther the MSS, from which it was made, were they now extant,
would be entitled to the fame degree of credit as our modern He-
brew text, notwilhftanding their comparatively high antiquity.
There is certainly much reafon to believe, that, after the deftrutStion
of the Temple by Nebuchadnezzar, perhaps from a fomewhat earlier
period, the Hebrew text was in a much worfe ftate of corruption,
"in the copies v.hich were in private hands, than it has ever been
fmce the revifion of the facred books by Ezra. Thefe inaccurate
copies would be multiplied during the whole period of the captivity,
and widely fcattercd in Allyria, Perfia, and Egypt; in lliort, through
all the regions of the difperfion. The text, as revifed by Ezra, was
certainly of much higher credit, than any of thefe copies, notwith-
ftanding their greater antiquity. His edition fucceeded, as it were,
to the prerogatives of an autograph (the autographs of the infpired
writers themfelves being totally loft)j and was henceforward to be
coiifidered as the only fource of authentic texts : infomuch, that the
comparative merit of any text now extant will depend upon the pro-
bable degree of its approximation to, or diftance from, the Efdrine edi-
tion. Now,if thetranflationof theLXX was made from fome of thofe
old MSS, which the difperfed Jews had carried into Egypt, or from
any other of thofe unauthenticated copies which is the prevailing;

tradition among the Jews, and is very probable ; at leaft it cannot

be confuted : it will be likely, that the faultieft MS, now extant,
differs lefs from the genuine Efdrme text, than thole more antient,
which the verfion of the LXX reprefents. But much as this con-
fjderation lowers the credit of the LXX, feparately, for any various
reading,
 ;

PREFACE. xsxvii

reading, adds great weight to the confent of the

it with later LXX
verfions, and greater ftill to the confent of the old verfions with
MSS of the Hebrew, which And as it is certainly pof-
ftill furvive.
fible, may have been preferved in one folitary MS
that a true reading
it will follow, that a true reading may be preferved in one verfion :

for the MS, which contained the true reading at the time when the
verfion was made, may have perifhed fmce fo that no evidence ;

of the reading Ihall. riow remain, but the verfion. I admit, there-
fore, that, in, for^e cafes, which however will be very rare, the au-
thority of any antient verfion (but more efpecially that of the Syriac)
may confirm a various reading, fupported by other circumftances,
even without the confent of any one Hebrew MS now extant. Pro-
vided only, that the emendation be not made without a reafonable
certainty, after due confideration, that the fcnfe of the verfion, which
fuggefts the alteration of the reading, is not to be derived from the text
as it ftands : the reverfe of which I take to be the cafe in many inftances
of various readings, which have been propofed upon the imagined
authority of fome one or more of the antient verfions. But a differ-
ence between any of the antient and our modern verfion, is no indi-
cation of different readings in the MSS ufed by the different tranfla-
tors ; unlefs the text, as it now ftands, be clearly incapable of the
fenfe given in the antient verfion : in which cafe the conclufion of a
variety in the reading of the original, or of a corruption in the ver-
fion, is inevitable. muft be obferved, however, that this author-
It

ity of the antient verfions is to be confidered both ways. The agree-

ment of any of them, in the fenfe of any paffigcwith the modern, being
a more certain evidence of the agreement of the MSS, from which
that antient tranflation was made, with the text as it now ftands ; than
the difagrecment in fenfe, when it is not to be reconciled with the
prefent text, is an evidence of a various reading of the text in the
older MSS. I fay, a more certain evidence ; becaufe, from the dif-
agreement of any antient verfion with the prefent text, the utmoft,
we can conclude, is the alternative. Either the author of that an-
c tient
xxxviii PREFACE.
tient verfon had a different reading of the Hebrew, or the text of
the verfion itfelf is corrupted ; or, perhaps, the antient interpreter
has miftaken the fenfe of the original. But the conjedlural emenda-
tion, which I chiefly dread and reprobate, is that which reftsfolely,on
what the critics call the " exigence of the place." For a fuppofed
exigence of the place, in the text of an infpired writer, when it cor>
merely in the difficulty of the paflTage as we read it, may be no-
lifts

thing more, than the imperfeiSl apprehenfion of the uninfpired critic.

With refpe6l to the divifion indeed of fentences and words, an en-
tire freedom of conjedlure may be allowed ; in taking words, or let-
ters, which, as the text is printed, terminate one lentence, or one

word, as the beginning of the next: or the contrary. Becaufe thefe

divifions, in the antient languages, are not from the author, but
have been fupplied by fcribis and editors of a late age and his :

critical judgement mud be weak indeed, who, in fuch matters, is

not qualified to revife and reverfe the decifions of the wife men of
Tiberias. Numerals may fometimes be corrected by conjedture ; to
make dates agree one with another, or a fum total agree with the
articles of which it is compofed. But this is not to be done without
the greateft circumfpedlion, and upon the evidence of calculations
formed upon hiftorical data, of which we are certain. A tranf-
pofition of words may fometimes be allowed and all liberties may-
;

be taken with the points. Beyond this conje6lure is not to be

trufted, left it make only a farther corruption of what it pretends
to corre6l. At the utmoft, a conjectural reading fhould be offered
only in a note (and that but rarely), and the textual tranflatioa
fliould never be made to conform to it. It is much lafer to fay,
** This palTage
it is beyond my ability to explain ;" than to fay,

*' The Holy Prophet never wrote what f cannot underftand I un- ;

" derftand not the words, as they are redde

underftand the words
I

" thus altered therefore, the words thus altered are what the Holy
;

' Prophet wrote.'*

I muH
 .

PREFACE. xxxU
i mufl obferve, that the great fimilarity
'
between fomc of the let- s-miii-rity ^r
^ Hebrew leiteri
,

ters of the Hebrew alphabet, in particular between t and 3

* *
; T and T :
nuinft.f.caiion
of coiijertural
n and n ; .1 andand3 1, T, and |
; \ which is often alleged in

; ;
emecjui^a.

defence of conjciStural emendation though it might be an argument ;

of fome weight, in juftification of the exercife of that fort of criti-

cifm, in the time of Capellus, Hare, or even Houbigant, who all
lived before any great number of Hebrew MSS had been collated ; is

now, by the immortal labours of Kcnnicott and De RoiTi, completely

turned the other way. For, if the text has been corrupted, by the
error of a fcribe confounding fimilar letters might be expected, ; it

that, in fome of the multitude of copies from the MS in which the

error was firft committed, the true reading would regain its place,
by the fame contingency of error, by which it loft it. If a tranfcriber
in the tenth century writes a 1 for a 1, and his MS is copied by va-
rious tranfcribers in the eleventh, twelfth, and thirteenth cen-
turies ; furely the odds are great, that fome of thcfe blunder back
again, and reftore the n. And if a conje^lurer of the prefent day,
propofing to change a n into a "r, cannot find a l, in the place of the
n, in any one of the numerous MSS that have been collated he ought ;

to give up his conjecture, whatever difficulty he may find in the text

asitftands: for the uniformity of the MSS, where the chance of
error is equal either way, is hard to be otherwife accounted for, than
by the truth of the reading. I have already admitted, that in fome
cafes, though but rarely, the antient verfions may cftablilh a reading
without a fingle MS. But a reading that has no fupport either from
verfion or MSS, now that MSS have been diligently collated, ought
to be rejcdled as indubitably falfe: unlefs the cafe falls within the li-

mits of allowable conje6lure, fpecified above. The work of Dr.

Kennicott is certainly one of the greateft, and moft important, that
have been undertaken, and accomplifhed, fince the revival of let-
ters. But its principal ufe and importance is this that it (huts the ;

door for ever againft conjedture, except under the reftridions which
have been mentioned.
e 2 I annex
xi PREFACE.
>!eicaej
rrnenUations.
I annex a lift of paiTliees in which, in my tranflation, I follow the
.

printedHebrew text in preference to Abp. Newcome's emendations;

whether his own, or thofe of others which he has adopted.
 PREFACE. x^
READING OP RKJECTED
PRINTED TEXT. EMENDATION.

CHAP. VII.
6 onsx

14

16,

CHAP. VIII.
5-6.

6.

CHAP.

II

12.

14.
khi PREFACE.
 PREFACE. xliii

HEADi;>G Ob' RKJECTED

AUTHOR.
PRINTED ThXT. EMENDATION

CHAP. XIII.
fbyorr. inferted Archbifliop Newcorne, upon the authority of twr
MSS. with the fuppoled authority of the ver- 1.

fions.

Hnubigant, mere cotjjefture, and to the greal

detriment of the meaning.

9 Houbigant, upon the fuppofed authority of the

/ Syr
Houbigant, upon fupppfed authority of Syr. and
LXX.
Hoi'bigant. Archbi(hop Newcorne cites the Syr
and Aid. LXX.
r4 Houbigant, upon the fuppofed authority of the
vt rfions, and the fuppoled authority of St. Paul
See chap. XIU. note (0)

CHAP. XIV.
2, )i^rs\ CIS) Le Clerc, mere conjefture.
or
Archbifliop Newcorne, upon authority of LXX
and Syr. See chap. XIV. note (C).

6 Archbifliop Newcorne, upon autliority of Chald

8. Archbifhop Seeker, upon authority of LXX.

In addition to thefe fifty-one inftances', in which I rejel Metrical ar-

rangement (if

the propoi'ed alteration of particular paflages, as. unneceOTary Ho(ea'i;coni|>o=

fition irreco-

in every one^ and, in many, much for the worfe ; the metrical verably loft.

airangement, attempted by the learned Primate, n ay be confi-

dered as one vaft conjectural emendation, affedting the whole
text of the Prophet, in the form, though not in the fubllance,

' It may ftrike the learned reader, if he takes the trouble to compare the foregoing table, with
an-jther which he will find in the i86th page of the enfuing volume, that in two, but in two
only, of the fifty-one paffages in which I Archbifliop Newcome's emendations, namely, in
rejedt

chap. vi. 3. and viii. $. I have ventured to make emendations of my own. But thefe emendations
f mine he will find to be confirmed by a great confent of the oldeft printed editions and beft MSS;
which
>*iy PREFACE.
which I have not ventured to adopt. The ftile of Hofea is uideed
poetical in the very higheft degree. In maxim folemn, fententious,
brief: in perfwafion, pathetic; in reproof, fevere ; in its allufions,
always beautiful! and ftriking, often fublime : rich in its images;
bold in hyperbole ; artificial, though perfpicuous, in its allegory :

polIefTing in Ihort, according to the variety of the matter, all the

characters by which poetry, in any language, is diftinguilhed from
prole. And there cannot be a doubt, that the compofition was ori-
ginally in the metrical form. Butas the divifion of the hemiltichs
is not preferved in the MSS, nor in any of the verfions ; I confider
the metrical form as loft. And as the greateft adepts, in the.myfle-
ries of the Maloretic pundluation, have never difcovered in this
book know, in any of the Prophets) thofe peculiari-
(or, as far as I

ties of accentuation, which are remarkable in the books confefledlv

retaining the metrical form I fuipe6l that it was loft early,

;

not only in Hofea, but in all the Prophets (Ifaiah perhaps excepted)
and the attempt to reftore it is too much, in my judgement, for
modern criticifm ; efpecially as the parallelifm (the only circum-
ftance the modern critic has to guide him in the conftru6lion of the

diftichs), is, in many parts of the book, if not indeed in the

greater part of it, exceedingly imperfect, interrupted and obfcure :

an effe6l perhaps of the commatifm of the ftile. If in certain paf-

fages the parallelifm is and ftriking (as in fome

entire, manifeft,

it certainly is, infomuch that fome of Billiop Lowth's choiceft ex-

amples, of this great principle of Hebrew verfe, are taken from this
Prophet), I truft that my tranflation is fo clofe, as in thofe parts to

difplay the ftrulure of the original, though the hemiftichal divi-

fion is not exhibited to the eye in the printed page : and that,
notwithftanding this defe6l, if a defeiSl it be, as much of the ver-
fification, if it may be fo called, is preferved, as is with certainty
difcernible to the Biblical fcholar in the Hebrew text, in its prefent

flate.

With
 ^

PREFACE. xlv

With refpe6l to my tranflation, I defire that it may be difl:in6tly ''^'j!"^"^ "'"

underftoocl, that I give it not, as onq^that ought to fuperfede the ufe

of the Pubhc Tranflation in the fervice of the Church. Had my
intention been to give an amended tranflation for pubhc ufe I ;
^^
fliould have conducted my work upon a very different plan, and ^\
oblerved rules in the execution of it, to v/hich I have not confined O"
myfelf. This work is intended for the edification of the Chrifl:ian ^

reader in his clofet. The tranflation is fuch as, with the notes, may |"

form a perpetual comment on the text of the Holy Prophet. For

a tranflation, accompanied with notes, I take to be the befl- per- rS,
petual comment upon any text in a dead language. My great '^
obje6l therefore in tranflating has been, to find fuch Avords and >J^
*
phrafes, as might convey neither more nor lefs than the exa6l fenfc
of the original fpeak here of the exa6l fenfe of the words, not of
(I

the application of the prophecy). For this purpofe T have been

obliged, in fome few But this has
inftances, to be paraphraftic.
only been, when a Angle word, in the Hebrew, exprefles more, than
can be rendered by any Angle word in the Englifli, according to
the eftabliihed ufage of the language. A tranflator, who, in fuch
cafes, will confine himfelf to give word for word, attempts in truth
what cannot be done ; and will give either a very obfcure, or a
very defe6live tranflation. That is, he will leave ibmething un-
tranflated. The necefhty of paraphraftic tranflation will particu-
larly occurr,whereever the fenfe of the original turns upon a pa-
ronomafia a figure frequent in all the Prophets, but in the ufe
:

of which Hofea, beyond any other of them, delights. With the

fame view of prefenting the fenfe of my author in language per-
fpicuous to the Englifli reader, for Hebrew phrafes I have fome-
times judged expedient to put equivalent phrafes of our own
it

tongue (where fuch could be found) rather than to render the He-
brew word for word. But thefe liberties I have never ufed, without
apprifmg the learned reader of it in my Critical Notes, and afllgn-
i"g
xlvi PREFACE.
ing the reafon. And fometimes, in the cafe of phrafes, I have
given the Englilli I'eader a literal tranflation of the Hebrew phrafe in
the explanatory notes. Jn fome inftances, but in very few, I have
changed words, and forms of expreffion, in f equentufe in our public
tranflation, for others, equivalent in fenfe, of a more modern phraie-
ology : ever keeping my great point in view, to be perfpicuous to
the generality of readers. The dignity, refulting from Archaifms,
is not to be too readily, given up. But perfpicuity is a confidera-
tion, towhich every thing muft be facrificed. And if the phrafe-
ology of the Bible were not changed, from time to time, to keep
pace, in fome degree, with the gradual changes of common
fpeech it would become unintelligible to
; the common people.
"With refpe6l to them at this day, the Holy Bible, tranflated into
the Englilli of Chaucer's age, would be a tranflation out of one
dead language into another. Not to fay that Archaifms, too long
retained, inftead of raifing the become in the end mean, and
ftile,

even ludicrous. The Book of Pfalms would be of little ufe to the

vulgar, if it were tranflated into the vulgar tongue, after the man-
ner of this fpecimen : "Why and the peple
gnafles the gens,
" thoughteydil thingis%" Though the text were accompanied with
this luminous comment " The Prophete, fnybband hem that
:

" tourmentid crifl:, faies, whit the gens thoo were the knyttes
" of rome that crucified crifl:. gnajled,'' " as beftes with oute
" refoun. and the peple, thoo were the Jews, tboughte vaynie
" thoiighies, &c." And the tragical ftory of John the Captifl, fo ad-
mirably related in all its circumftances by the Evangelift, would
not be heard with gravity in any congregation at this day, were the

narrative to proceed in this language: " When the doughtyr of that
" Herodias was in-comyn, and had tombylde and plefide to Ha-
'^'
rowde, and alfo to the fittande at mete, the kynge fays to the

' Pf. ii. I.

*' wench,
 PREFACE. xlvii

'* wench, &c." There is a limit therefore to the love of Archaifms,

beyond which it Ihould not be indulged. But there is a limit alfo

to innovation, which I Ijope 1 have not pafTed.

The Notes, which accompany my tranflation, are of two kinds ;

o(i\e^<,ut.

Explanatory and Critical. The firft are intended to open the fenfe
of the text, and point out the application of the prophecy, to the
Engliih reader. The latter are difquifitions upon various points of
antient learning, many of them purely philological, to afcertain
the true fenfe of the text,' tojuftify my tranflation of it, or the ap-
plication of it that I teach the unlearned reader to make, to the
fatisfaction of the learned reader. The Explanatory Notes accom-
pany the text, being given at the bottom of the page and the re-
;

ference to thefe is by the fmaller letters. The Critical Xotes are

placed at the end by themfelves ; and the reference to thefe isby
the capitals of the Roman alphabet. It often happens, that I have
occafion to give an explanatory and a critical note upon the fame
paffage. In this cafe, that the text might not be too much crowded
with letters of reference ; 1 have often made the reference to the
Critical Note, at the end of the Explanatory. It has fometimies
happened, that an Explanatory note has unavoidably run to too
great a length, to be placed with convenience at the bottom of the
page. In this cafe it is put at the end, among the Critical. And
the unlearned reader is referred to it in this manner. " For an ex-
*' planation of this, or, for a further explanation of this, fee note
*' (A)." Whereas in the cafe of reference at the end of an Ex-
planatory note, to one of the Critical, in which the mere Engliih
reader is lefs interefted, the reference is fimplv, *' fee note (A)." I
would obferve, however, that in the Critical Notes, with the ex-
ception of fuch as are purely Philological, the unlearned reader
will find much, that may afford him both amufement and inftruc-
tion. And many even of the Philological may be of ufe to thofe,
who
xlviii PREFACE.
who have a general acquaintance with antient literature, though but
a fuperficial knowledge of the Oriental languages.

Although no pains have been fpared to afcertain the true ^enfe

of the original in the obfcurelt pafiTages, by confulting the ablefl:

commentators and grammarians, and tranflations, antient and

modern, in all the languages I underiland and by an analyfis,
;

which to many may feem in fome inftances too ftri6t, of words and
phrafes of various and doubtfull meaning I cannot have the va-
;

nity to fuppofe, that the critical reader will not difcover many ble-

mifhes and imperfe6tions. Some which have occurred

corre6lions,

to myfelf, in the progrefs of the work through the prefs., I hav

given in a lliort Appendix \

H O S E A.
 ( xlix )

^^4*^5^'A'2-' ^'^ VB

vJpON repeated perufals of my tranjlation of Hofea, and of my notes ; I

find little in either, which I fee reafon to alter. Nolhitig indeed zoith re-

fpefi to the fe?fe of a Jingle text. In the tranflation, I have, in this

fecond Edition, in fame few places, changed exprejjions, which feemed to

fall rather fliort in Jirength or dignity, for others of more force, or more
elevated; fome, which feemed harjli, for others more elegant; and fome,
which, by too clofe an adheretice to the original, I feared might be obfcure
to the Englijh reader, for others more conformed to the idiom of our lan-
guage, but reprefenting the fenfe with equal fidelity. By this greater free-

dom of tranflation I have, in fome pajfages, removed the obfcurity arifing

from an aynbiguous reference of the pronoun of the third perfon ; when it
would-fehearfe both the fubjed and the objeSi of the fame verb. Injiead of
one of the pronoims T have fometimes put the noun itfelf, lohich it would re-

hearfe " ; or I have omitted the pronoun, either before or after the verb,
when the perfon or thing to be rehcarfed by it is evident, notwithjlanding the
omijfion ". Sometimes I have put a plural, injiead of a finguUir pronoun, to

rehearfe a colkdlive ". But thefc liberties have never been taken without the
greatejl caution ; arid in injiances, in tvhich the fenfe is too clear and certain
to be affe&ed by them. In two pajjuges I have rendered an aBive verb
governing the pronoun of the third perfon, as its objei, by the verb paffive
having the fame pronoun for its fubjeB^. And this may always be done,
zvithout a poffibility of offering the fenfe, when the J'ubje& of the aciivc verb
is the indefinite pronoun of the third perfon plural underfiood, correfponding to

Ch. YIII, 10. XII. 4. Ch. X. 6. XII. 4. '

XI. ' Ch. XI 27.
5.

g the
 PREFACE.
the French On. The indefinite plural underjlood I have fometimes er-
prcj/ed by the indefinite Jingular " One"^ Some additions are made to

the notes, both the Critical and the Explanatory. Thefe are given in a
third number, added to the Appendix ; where the learned Reader will find

the Reafons ajjigned of all material alterations, which have been made in
the tranjlation, beyond thofe now Jpecified as refpefling the pronoun, and
the few which were propofed in the Appendix of the former edition, which

are adopted. The grounds and reafons of thefe were ftated in Appe?idix,

N" I. which is given again xvithaut alteration.

With refpe& to emendatio7is of the priiited Hebrew Text, I have neither

revoked any, that I propofed in my former edition, nor added to^ the num^
ber ; except by an alteration of the flops in one paffage : adhering immove-
ably to the principle laid doton in my former Preface, that the flops and
voxvel-points, and little elfe, are fair ohje&s of conjectural Criticifm. They
arefairobjeisofconjeiure, becaufe they are no part of the facred text,

but a fupplement, added by Critics, of abilities as contemptible as their

induflry was great, and of fo late an age, that the Hebrew Language
was as much dead to them, as it is at this day to us. So far hotvever, and
no farther, entitled to atte7ition, as they may he fuppqfed to have preferved

in their Cypher fome relicks of expofitiojis handed down to them, by tra-

dition, from abler interpreters of earlier ages^ For this I take to be tlie

true notion of the poijited Hebrew Text ; that it is the facred text, accom-

panied with a perpetual philological comment, exhibited in Cypher or fhort-

hand, foujided upon ivhat the Inventors of the Cypher recolletied and!
underfood of a Traditional Expofition, corrupted and disfigured, in many
places, by their oxen badjudgemc?U and bad tafie.

XI. 4^

HOSEA. ^
 .

H O S E A.

CHAP. I X HK word of Jehovah which was [fpoken] unto

L
(A) Hofea, fon of Beeri, in the days of Uzziali, Jotham,
Ahaz, Hezekiah, kings of Judah, and in the days of Jero-

boam, fon of Joafli, king of Ifrael.

*S The beginning of the word of Jehovah by (A) Hofea

was in this manner (B). Jehovah faid unto (A) Hofea;
Go, Take to thee a wife of proftitution, and children of

promifcuous commerce : for the land is perpetually play-

ing the wanton (G), forfaking Jehovah.
3 So he went and took Gomer, daughter of Diblaim, and

4 fhe conceived and bare him a fon. And Jehovah faid

unto him, " Call his name Jezrael \_a feed of God^^ ; for
yet a little while, and I will vifit the blood of Jezrael "^

See Preface.
''
blood of Jezrael. Heb. bloods of Jezrael," i. e. {)loQd of the holy feed, the. faithful!
fervants of God, fhed by the idolatrous princes of Jehu's family in perfecution, and the blood of
children flicd in their horrible rites upon the altars of their idols. For further explanation of
this fee (D)
.

B upon
 .
H O S E A. CHAP. I.

upon Rie houfe of Jehu, and I will aboUfli the kingdom

5 of the houfe of Ifrael. And this Hiall be in that very day%
when I break the bow of Ifrael in the valley of Jezrael''."
6 And (he conceived again, and bare a daughter. And
[God] faid unto him, " Call her name Lo-ruhamah* [Not
^
Behvecf\ for I wall no more cherifli with tendernefs
:

the houfe of Ifrael, infomuch as to be perpetually forgiv-

7 ing them" (F). But the houfe of Judah with tendernefs

I will cheriQi ; and 1 will lave them by Jehovah their God,

and will not fave them by bow, nor by fword, nor by ar-

mour*, by horfes nor by horfemen^.

' And this fliall be in that very day,

when I break " This entire abolition of the kingdom of
the ten tribes llial! take efieft, at the time when I break, kc. See (E.)
d wlien I break the bow of Ifrael, &c." St. Jerome fays; the Ifraclites were overthrown
by the Aflyrians in a pitchedi battle in the plain of Jezriiel. But of any fuch battle we have no
mention in hiftoiy, facrcd or profane. But Tiglath-pilefer took fevera! of the principal cities in

that plain, in thereign of Pekah. And afterwards, in tlie reign of Hofliea, Samaria was taken by
Shalmanazer after a fiege of three years ; and this put an end to the kingdom of the ten tribes,

a Kings, xv. 29, and xvii. 5, 6. And the taking of thefe cities facceffivejy, and at laft, of the
capital itlelf, was " a breaking of the bow of Ifrael," a demolition of the whole military ftrenglh

of the kingdom, " in the valley of Jezrael," where all thofe cities were fituated. For the break-
ing of abow was a natural image for the overthrow of military ftrength in general, at a time

when the bow and arrow was one of the principal weapons.
Although the valley of Jezrael is here to be underftood literally of the tral of country fo
named, yet perhaps there is an indireft allufion to the myftical import of the name. This being the
iineft fpot of the whole land of promife ; the name, the vale of Jezrael, defcribes it as the property

of the holy feed, by whom it is at laft to be polfelVed. So that, in the very terms of the denun-
ciation againft the kingdom of Ifrael, an oblique promife is contained of the reftoration of the con-

vened Ifraclites. The Ifrael which poli'efied it, in the time of this prophecy, were not llie right-

ful! owners of the foil. It is p.ut of the domain of the Jezriiel, for whom it is referved.
' not beloved," a difowned, negleiSlcd child, having no part in the affcdions of the reputed
father.
' cheridi with tendernefs," or, " cherilh with a parent's tendernefs;" for this is the full
force of the original word.
* See Appendix, N III.

And
CHAP. I. H O S E A. 3

8 And flie weaned Lo-ruhamah ; and {he conceived, and

9 bare a fon. And [God] faid, *' Call his name Lo-ammi
^Noi a people of mij)e~\^, for ye are no people of mine, and
lo I will not be yours. Neverthelefs the number'' of the
children of Ifracl fliall be as the fand of the Sea, wHich
cannot be meafured, and cannot be counted ; and it /ball

be, that, in the place' where it was faid unto them, " No
people of mine are ye," [there] it fliall be faid unto them,

II" Children of the living God." And the children of Ju-

' Thefe expreffioJis are too magnificent to be underftood of any thing but the final refcue of the

Jews from the power of Antichrift in tlie latter ages, by the incarnate God deftroying the enemy
with the brightnefs of his coming; of which the deftruftlon of Sennacherib's army in the days
of ttezekiah, might be a type, but it was nothing more. It may feem perhaps, that the prophecy

points at fome deliverafce peculiar to the houfe of Judah, in which the ten tribes will have

no fliare ; fuch as the overthrow of Sennacherib aftually was ; whereas the dcflruftion of Anli-
chrift will be an imiverfal blclling. But, in the difl:erent treatment of the houfe of Judah and
the houfe of Ifrael, we fee the prophecy hitherto remarkably verified. After tiie excTfion of the

kingdom of the ten tribes, Judah, though occafionally vifited with fevere judgements, continued
however to be cherilhed with God's Love, till they rejected our Lord. Then Judah became Lo-
ammi ; but ftill continues to be vifibly an objed of God's Love, prefervcd as a diftin6t race for

gracious puipofes of Mercy. Perhaps in the laft ages the converts of the houfe of Judah will be'
the principal objciSts of Antichrift's malice. Their deliverance may be firft wrought, and through
them the blefling may be extended to their brethren of tlie ten tribes, and ultimately to the
whole world. This order of things the fubfequent prophecy feems to point out.
h
the number of tlie children of Ifrael." I think this is to be underftood of the myffical
Ifiael ; their numbers, confiding of myriads of converts, both of the natural Ifrael, and tlitir

adopted brethren of the Gentiles; fliall be immeafurably great.

'
And it fliall be that in the place, lVc." That is at Jerufalcm, or at Icaft in Judxa, where lliis

propliccy was delivered, and where the execution of tlie fentence took place. There, in that very

place, they, to whom it was faid. Ye are no people of mine, fhall be called children of the
Living God. This rautl relate to the natural IlVael of the houfe of Judah ; lor to them it was
faid, " Ye are no people of mine." And (ince lliey are to be acknowledged again as the children
of the Living God, in the fame place where this fentence was pronounced and execuled ; the pro-
phecy clearly promifes their reftoratiou to their o a land. Sec Note G.

B a dah
 4 H O S E A. CHAP. IV

dah fliall be colleded ^j and the children of Ifrael fliall be

united, and they fliall appoint themfelves one head, and
come up from the earth'. For great fliall be the day of
- JezraeL"\,

CHAR. I Speak to (A) your brethren, O Ammi [0 my Peop/ejj

and to your fillers, O Ruhamah [O darling daughier']''.
z Argue with your mother; Argue, that flie is no wife of
mine, and [that] I am not her hufband. But let her re-
move her paramours from her prefence, and her adul-

3 terers from her embraces ''. Left I ftrip her even of her
luider garments ; and fet her up to public view, naked as

the day when Ihe was born (B) ; and make her like the

wafte wildernefs % and reduce her to the condition of a

4 parched land, and kill her with thirft : and cherifli not

' And the children of Judah fhall be collefted, &c." When converts of the houfe of Judah
fhall have obtained a re-fettlemeni in the Holy Land, then a general converfion fhall take place

of die race of Judah, and the race of the ten tribes. They fliall unite in one confcllion, and
in one polity, under one king, Chrift llie Saviour.
'
and come up from the earth." i. e. from all parts of the earth to Jerufaleni. Jerufalem
being fituated upon an eminence, and in the heart of a mountainous region, which rofe greatly
above the general level of the country to a great diHance on all fides ; the facred writers alw ays

fpeak of perfons going to Jerulalem, as going up.

" great fliall be the day of Jezrael." Great and happy fliall be the day, when the holy
feed of both branches of the natm-al Ifrael (hall be publickly acknowledged of their God ; united

under one head, their king Mefliah ; and reftored to the pofleflion, of the promiled land, and to
a fituation of high pre-eminence among the kingdoms of the earth. See note (H.)
AJthough the ifraelites in the days of Hofea were in general conaipt, and addifted to idolatry,

her
CHAP-. 11. K O S E A. s

her children with kindnefs, for they are children of pro-

mifcuous commerce.
5 For their mother hath played the wanton; llie that
conceived them hath caufed fliame (C). For flie faith, I

will go after my lovers ; givers of my bread and my

water, of my wool and my flax, of my oil and my 11-

6 quors''. Therefore, behold I hedge* up her ways (D) with

thorns, and I fence her in with a ftone fence (E), that Ihe

7 Ihall not find her outlets (F). Though fhe run after her
lovers % flie fliall not overtake them ; though flie feek
them, flie fliall not find them^ Then fhe will fay, I will

go and return to my firft hufband ; for it was better vvith

8 me then, than now. But flie would not know that I gave
her the corn, and the wine and the oil; and filver I fup-

yet there were among them, in the worft times, fomewho had not bowed tlie knee to Baal. Thefe
were always Ammiand Ruhainah ; God's Own Teople, and a Darling Daughlrr. God commiffions
thefe faithfull few to admonifli the inhabitants of the land in genernl, of tlie dreadful! judgements
that would be brought upon them by the grofs idolatry of tlie Jewilli Qiurch and Nation.
>
Heb. from between her breafts." See Cant. I. 13.,.

' Heb. and lay her wafte like a wildernefs." It may feem harfh to fay of a woman, that (hr
iliall be laid wafte like a wildernefs, and reduced to the condition of a parched land. But it is

to be obferved, that the allegorical flyle makes an intercommunity of attributes between the t}'pe

and the thing So that when a woman is the image of a country, or of a church; that
typified.

may be woman, which, in unfigured fpeech, might be faid of the country, or the
faid of the

church, which ike reprefents, Tlic country might literally be made a wafte wildernefs, by un-
fniitfull feafons, by the devaftations of war, or of noxious vermin a church is made a wildernefs
:

and a parched land, when the living waters of the fpirit are withheld.
Milk, Honey, Wine, &c.

her lovers j" i.e. her idols, which, in her diftrefs, flie will fupplicate in vain,
* See Appendix, N III.

plied
5 H O S E A. CHAP. II.

plied to her in abundance, and gold, with which they

9 provided for Baal. Therefore I take away again my corn

in its jiroper time, and my wine in its feafon, and L carry

off my wool and my flax [which were] to cover her naked-

10 nefb'".

And this moment 1 will difcover her fliame (G) in

the fi'jht of her lovers, and none ihall deliver her out of

] 1 my hand. And I will caufe all her merriment to ceafe,

her fei^ivals, her new moon, and her fabbaths, and all her

1 2 public affemblies. And I will lay wafte her vineyards and

her fig-tree orchats (H), of which flie faith, thefe are

mv pay (I), with which my lovers requite me ; but I will

make them a foreft, and the beafts of the field fhall devour
I 3 them. Thus I will vifit upon her the days of the Baalim,

*
I ihink this gth verfe fpeaks of calamities already begun, and the loth defcribes the progrefs
and increafe of them. It appears from all the prophets, and particularly from Amos and Joel,

hat the beginning of judgement

upon the refraftory, rebellious people was in unfruitful! feafons,
and noxious vermin, producing a failure of the crops, dearth, murrain of the cattle, famine,
and peftilential difcafes.
I footh her and fpeak kindly to her." Speak what fh.;ll touch her heart, in her outcaft

ftatein the wildernefs of the Gentile world, by the proffers of mercy in the Gofpel.
" Fur the
" doctrine of the Gofpel," fays Luther upon this place, " is the true foothing fpeech, with which
" the minds of men are taken. For it terrifies not the foul, like the Law, with fevcre denunciations
" of punifliment; but although it reproves fm, it declares that God is ready to pardon finners
" for the fake .of his fon and holds forth the facrifice of the Son of God, that the fouls of finners
;

" may be affured, that fatisfaftion has been made by that to God."
h thence." The Englifli word " thence" renders either " from that place," or " from
" that time," or
" in confcquence of thofe tilings." And the original word is nfed in all thefe

various fenfes. No one of thefe fenfes would be inapplicable in this place : but the laft, or the

firll as figurative of the laft, feems the molt fignificant. God declares, that through the wildernefs

lies the road to a rich fruitfuU country ; i.e. that the calamities of the difpcrfion, togetlier with

the foothing intimations of the Gofpel, by bringing

the Jcwilh race to a riglit mind, will be the

when
CHAP. II. H O S E A. 7

when (lie burnt incenfe to them, and decked herfelf with

her nafal gem, and with her necklace, and went after her
lovers, but Me (lie forgat, faith Jehovah.

14 Neverthelefs, behold I will footh her ; and though I

make her travel the wildernefs, I will fpeak kindly to

her^. For thence'^ I have appointed her vineyards for

her, and the vale of tribulation' for a door of hope. And
15 there flie fliall ling as in the days of her youth, even
as in the day when flie came up out of the land of Egypt"^.

16 And it (liall be in that day, faith Jehovah, thou Qialt

call me Husband ', and no more (halt thou call me Lord.'
1 7 For I will take the names of thofe Lords out of her
mouth, that by their name they be no more remem-
means of re inftating them in that wealth and profperity, which God has ordained tor them iu
their own Innd.
' tribulation" or confternatlon, Heb. Achor, alluding to the vale near Jericho, where the
Ifraelites, firft It-Ming foot within the Holy Land, were thrown into trouble and confternation by
the daring theft of Achan. In memory of which, and of the tragical fceiie exhibited in that fpot
in the execution of (he facrilegious peculator and his whole family, the place was called the Vale
of Achor, Jolli. vii. And this Vale of Achor, though a fcene of trouble and difirefs, was a door
of hope io the Ifraelites under Jolliua ;
for there, immediately after the execution of Achan, God
faid to Joftiua. " Fear not, neither be thou difmayed" (chap. viii. 1.); and promifcd to fuppor
him againft Ai, her king and her people. And from this time Jofhua drove on his conqxiefls with'
uninterrupted fuccefs. In like manner the tribulations of the Jews, in their prefent difperfion,
fliall open to them the door of hope. and there
" i. e. in the wildernefs, and in the vale of
tribulation, under thole circumftances of prel'ent difficulty mixed with chearirig hope,
'^
See Exod. xv. This perpetual allufion to the Exodus, to the circumftances of the marclj,
through the wilderneti, ami the tirft ejitrance into the Holy "Land, plainly points the prophecy to a
fimilar deliverance, by the immediate power of God, under that Leader, of whom Mofcs was the
type.
' lilii, JMy Hu<band, is an appellation of love; -Baali, My Lord, of Subjection and Ftr.r.

God halh not given us the fpirit of Fear, but of Power and of Love, and of a lound mind.
a Tim. i. 7. See Jer. xxiii. 27. See note (K.) and Appendix N III.

bered.
 8 H O S E A. CHAP. Ti*

0.8 bered "'.

And I will make a covenant for them in that
day, with the beafts of the field, and with the fowls of
. the heavens, and with the creeping things of the ground 4

and bow, and fword, and armour, (L) will I break from
off the earth, and I will make them lie down in their

1 9 beds in fecurity. And I will betroth thee to myfelf

for ever. To myfelf, I fay, I will betroth thee with
juftice", and with righteoufnefs" and with exuberant
20 kindnefs", and with tender love". With faithfullnefs to

myfelf, I fay, I will betroth thee"; and thou flialt know

2 1 the Jehovah. And it Ihall be in that day, I will perform
my part (N), faith Jehovah
I will perform my part upon

the Heavens ; and they fliall perform their part upon the

" It is in vain to look for a purity of religious worfliip, anfwerable to this prophecy, among the
Jews returned from the Babylonian captivity. This part of the prophecy, with all the reft, will

receive its accomplinrment in the converted race in the latter days. It is faid, indeed, that, after
the return from Babylon, the Jews icrupuloully avoided Idolatry, and have continued untainted
with it to t!iis day. But generally as this is afferted by all commentators, one after another, it is

not ti'ue. Among tlie reflored Jews there was indeed no public Idolatr}', patronifed by thegovern-
njent, as there had been in times before the captivity, particularly in the reign of Ahaz. But from
the time of Antiochus Epiphanes to the laft moments of the JewiUi polity, there was a numerous
.and powerfull faction, which in cxfvy thing afFefted the Greek .manners; and this Hellenifing
party were Idolaters to a man. The Jews of the prefent times, as far as we are acquainted with

.them, feem indeed to be free from the charge of Idolatry, properly fo called.- But of the pre-
fent flate of the ten tribes we have no certain knowledge ; without which we cannot take upon us
cither to accufe, or to acquit them.

a covenant." This covenant with the. beafts of the field, the fowls of heaven, and the

reptiles of the eartli, is the final convcrfion of the qioft ignorant and vicious of the Heathen to

the true faith. The effeft of which muft be, that they will all live in peace and friendfliip with
the re-cftabliflied nation of the Jews.
D juftice, righteoufnefs, exuberant kindnefs, tender love, faithfullnefs." Thefe words
all have reference to what Chrift did and gave for ^he efpoufal of the Church, his Bride. See

.note^'^I.) and Appendi.x, N. III.

Earth ;
 CHAP. II. H O S E A. . 9

a a Earth; and the Earth fhall perform her part upon the
corn, and the wine, and the oil ; and they fliall perform

as their part for the Jezrael [^tbe feed of God\. And I will

fow her [as a feed], for my own felf, in the earth"; and
with tendcrnefs I will cherilh her, that had been Lo-ru-
HAMAH \the not-beloved'\\ and I will fay to Lo-ammi \to

the no-people-of'tnine] Ammi \my own people~\ art thou ; and

he fliall fay, My God ! .

CHAP. I And Jehovah faid unto me again, *' Go, love the

woman " addided to wickednefs (A), and an adultrefs ;

after the manner of Jehovah's love for the children of

Ifrael '', although they look to other Gods, and are addiiled
to goblets of wine."

" of the natural Ifrael, converted by the preaching of the Apoftles, were the firft
The myriads
feed of the Univcrfal Church. And there is reafon to believe, that the reftoration of the con-
verted Jews will be the occafion and means of a prodigious influx of new converts from the
Gentiles in the latter ages. Rom. xi. l^ and 15. Thus the Jezrael of the Natural Ifrael from

the firft have been, and to the laft will prove, a feed fown of God for himfelf in the Earth.

See note (O).

the woman;" i. e. Gomer the prophet's wife, difcarded for Iier incontinence after her

marriage. In Chap. i. 3, before her marriage, ftie was only a fornicatrefs ; but, for her irregularities

afterwards, the is now branded with the name of an adultrefs. See note (B), and Appendix, N^II.
* children of Ilrael." " Children of Ifrael," and " Houfe of IlVael," are two diftinft ex-
preffions to be differently underftood. " The houfe of Ifrael," and fdmetimes " Ifrael" 5y itfelf,
is a particular appellation of the ten tribes, as a diftinft kingdom from Judah. But " the chil-
dren of Ifrael," is a general appellation for the whole race of the Ifraelites, comprehending both
kingdoms. Indeedit was the only general appellation, before the captivity of the ten tribes
af- ;

- terwards, the kingdom of Judah only remaining, " Jews" came into common ufeas the name of the
whole race, which before had been the appropriate name of the kingdom of Judah. Il occurs lor
the time in the i6th chapter of the Second Book of Kings, in the hiftory of Ahaz. It is true, we
firft

read Holca of " the children of |udah and the children of Ilrael;" i. 11. But this 15 only an
in

honourable mcntLon of Judah as the principal tribe, rot as a diftinft kingdom. And the true

C So
 10 H O S E A, CHAP, iii^

a So I owned her (B) as my own by fifteen pieces of filver,

3 and a homer and a half of barley. And I faid unto her,

" Many days flialt thou tarry for me ; thou {halt not play

the wanton, and thou flialt not have to do with a hufband,

neither will 1 with thee^"

4 For many days fhall the children of Ifrael tarry, without

king, and without ruler'', and without facrifice% and
, without flatue, and without ephod and teraphim ^. After-
ward fhall the children of Ifrael return, and feck the Je-
hovah their God, and the David their King, and adore
(D) Jehovah, and his goodnefs, in the latter days.

cxpofition of the expreffion is, " the children of Judah, and all the reft of the children of Ifrael."

We find Judah thus particularly mentioned, as a principal part of the people, before the kingdoms

were feparated. See 2 Sam. xxiv. i. i Kings, iv. acand 25. And yet at that time Ifrael was the

general name, i Kings, iv. 1.

'
The condition of the woman reftrained from licentious courfes, owned as a wife, but without

reftitution of conjugal rites, admirably rcprefents the prefent ftate of the Jews, manifeftly owned
as a pecuHar people, withheld from idolatry, but as yet without accefs to God tliror.gh the

Saviour.
1
without king and without ruler;" without a monarch, and without any government of
tlieir own.
without facrlfice;" deprived of the means of offering the typical lacrifices of the law,

and having as yet no fliare in the true facrlfice of Chrill.

f without flatue, ephod/ and teraphim." After much confideration of the paffiige, and of

much that has been written upon it byexpofitors; I relt in the opinion ftrenuoufly maintained by

the learnrd Pocock, in which he agrees with many that went before him, and lias the concur-
rence of many that came after, Luther, Calvin, Vatablus, Drufius, Livelye, Ho\ibigant, and arch-
bifliop Newcome, with many others of inferior note; I reft, I fay, after much confideration, in
tlie opinion, that Statue, Ephod, and Teraphim, are mentioned as principal injpleraents of ido-

latrous rites. And the turn of this 4th verfe is this; that, for many ages, the Jews would not be
their own matters ; would be deprived of the exercife of their ov.'n religion, in its moll efiTential

carts- not embracing the Chriftian, they would have no

lliare in the true fervice ; and yet would

be reftrained from idolatry, to which their forefathers had jjeen fo prone.

Hear
 CHAP. IV. H O S E A. II

CHAP. I Hear rtie word of JJehovah, ve children of > Ifrael^ :

^
IV.
for Jehovah hath a controverfy with the inhabitants of
the land ; becanfe there is no truth, nor piety, nor know-
a ledge of God in the knd. Curfing -and falfehood, and
murfher and theft, and adultery, know no reftraint *,

3 and blood follows clofe upon blood Therefore the land ''.

fhall mourn, and every one dwelling therein fliall pine

away, even to the beads of the field, and the fowls of

the heavens ;
yea, the fifli of the fea alfo fliall be taken
away.
'4 By no means (B) let any one expoftulate, nor let any
one reprove "^
; for thy people"^ are exa<5lly like thofe who

It is to be obferved, that this fourth verfeis the expofition of the type of the prophet's dealinc;
tvith his wife. If the reftridtion of the Jews' from idolatry is not mentioned, we have nothino- in
the expofition anfwering to that article of the typical contrail with the woman, " Thou flialt not
play the wanton." And certainly the reftridion from idolatry is not mentioned, in this fourth
verfe at ail, if it be not reprefented by tarrying without ftatue, without ephod, and teraphim.
See note (C).
' See the foregoing chapter, note ^. The prophecy is ftill general, refpefting bodi branches of
the Jewifli people.
* Icnow no reftniint." Heb. are burft out." See note A.
>
Murther upon murther.
"^
Let no One expoftulate or reprove;" for all expoftulation and reproof will be loft upon
this people, fuch is their ftubbornnefs and obltinacy.
* thy people;" i. e. thy countrymen, O prophet.
' contend with the prieft." To contend with the prieft, the authorized interpreter of the
law, apd the typic.nl interceOor between God and the people, was the higheft fpecies of contu-
macy and difobedience, and by the law was a capital offence. See Deut. xvii. 13. God tells the
prophet, that contumacy and perverfrnefs, even in this degree, were become
the general charafter
Of the people. That the national obftinacy, and contempt of the remonftrances
and reproofs of the
prophets, were fuch, as might be compared witlr the ftubbornnefs of an
individual ; who, at the peril
of his life, would arraign and difobey the judicial decifions of
God's priefts. See note (C).
^
'C 3 will
 12 H O S E A. CHAP. IV.

5 will contend with the prieft^ Therefore thou*^ flialt fall

in the day", and the prophet alfo Hiall fall with thee in
the night ''j and I will ciit off thy mother'.

6 My people are hronght to nothing for lack of know-

ledge '\ Becaufe thou' haft fcorn fully rejecfted knowledge,
1 therefore will fcornfully rejetfl thee, that thou be no
priell to me. In as much as thou haft forgotten the law
7 of thy God, thy children alfo will I forget. In proportion

as they were magnified *", they have linned againft me.

S Their glory I will change into infamy. Every one of

them, while they eat the fin pfFerings of my people, fcts

9 his own heart opon the crime ". [Or, every one of them
lifts up his foul to the crime.] (G) Therefore it Ihall be

___ thou." The laft fentence was addrefled to the prophet " thy people, O prophet."

This is to the people thernfelves :

" Thou, O ftubboin people." This fudden converfion of the
fpeech of the principal fpeaker, from one to another of the different perfons of the fcene, is fo

frequent in the prophets, that it can create no difficulty. See Preface, p. xxx.,
t in the day ;" not for want of light to fee thy way ; but in the full day-light of divine

jnffrii61ion, thou flialt fall. Even at the rifing of that light, which is for the lighting of every man
that Cometh into the world." In this day-time, when our Lord himfelf vifited them, the Jews

made their laft falfe flep, and fell.

h in the night." In the night of ignorance, which fhall clofe thy day, the prophet Ihall
fall with thee ; that is, the order of prophets among thee fliall ceafe.

i
thy mother;" i. e. thy mother-city, the metropolis. So Capellus, Houbigaut, and
srchbilliop Newcome. But Jenifalem is intended, not Samaria. For Samaria was the metro-

polis of the kingdom of the ten tribes, not of the whole nation, the children of Ifrael in

general See (D).

k knowledge ;" i. e. confideration, attention. Becaufe they would not ufe the means of
knowledge which they had. But this lack of knowledge in tlie people was, in great meafure,

wing to the want of that conllant inftruiStion, which they ought to have received from the priefls.

hke
CHAP-I'^. H O S E A. 13

like people like prieft, and I will vifit upon each his ways,

I o and his own perverfe manners to either I will requite. And

they fliall eat, and not be fatisfied ; wanton, and not pro-
"
create : becaufe they have forfaken the Jehovah, to de-

I I vote themfelves (H) to dalliance and wine, and the intoxi-

cating juice, which take poiTeffion of the heart *.

I 2 My people confult their wood"! Let their ftafF therefore

give them anfwers (I). For a fpirit of lafcivioufnefs hath

driven them aftray, and they play the, wanton, [breaking
1 3 loofe] from fubje6lion to their God. Upon the tops of

the mountains they facrifice, and upon the hills they burn

incenle, under the oak p and the poplar, and the acorn-
tree, becaufe the fhade thereof is good. Since thus it is,

The lack of knowledge therefore is a general inattention of the people to their religious duty,

arifing from a want of the admonitions of their conftituted teachers. The mention, tlierefore,

of this lack of knowledge occafions a fudden tranfition from general threatenings to particular
denunciations againft the priefthood. See note (E).
'
becaufe thou," &c. thefe denunciations are addrefled to the High Prieft for the time
being, as the reprefentative of the whole order.
" magnified." The priefthood among the Jews was, by God's appointment, a (ituation

of the higheft rank and authority. The complaint is, that, in proportion as they were raifed in

dignity and power ^bove the reft of the people, they furpalTed the reft in impiety. See (F).
the fin offerings, &c." That is, while they exercife the facred function of the priefthood,
and claim its higheft privileges, their own hearts are fet upon the prevailing idolatry.
" confult their wood;" i.e. the images of their -idols, made of wood. "confult," as

oracles, to foretell what is to come to pafs, or to advife what meafures (liould be taken.
'
the oak;" i. e. the evergreen oakj or ilex; the acorn-tree," the common oak.
' feparate themfelves with harlots ;" i. e. they go afide, retire with the wome,n, who
proftituted their perfons in the precinfts of the idolatrous temples. themfelves;" with refpeft
to the change of perfon, fee note '.

* See Appendix, N. III.

let
 14 H O S E A. CHAP, tv,

(K.) let your daughters play the wanton, and your daugh-
14 ters-in-law commit advdtery. I will not vifit upon your
daughters, when they play the wanton nor upon your ;

daughters-in-law, when they commit adultery. Becaufe

themfelves feparate themfelves '^
v/ith harlots, and facrifice

with the women fet apart to proflitution ^ Therefore the

people, which will not underftand, fliall fall '.

15 'If thou play the wanton, O Ifrael, let not Jud.ih be-

come guilty. And come ye not unto Gilgal ", neither go

ye up to Bethaven, and fvvear not " Jehovah liveth"."

' fet apart to proftitiUion ;" or, confecrated to proftitution." The people are charged
with partaking in thoie riles of the idolatrous worlhip, in which proflltulion made a dated part of
the religious feftivit}-. The exprcflions clearly allude to the pradlice mentioned by Baruchj vi. 43.

and minutely defcribed by Herodotus, book i. ch. 199.

Here the chapter ought to end.

Here a tranfition is made, with great elegance r.nd animation, from the general fubjedt of the
whole people, in both ils branches, to the kingdom of the ten tribes iu particular. "Whatever
the obftinacy of the houfe of Ifrael may be. in her corruptions, at leaft let Judah keep hcrfelf
pure. Let her not join in the idolatrous worlliip at Gilgal or Bethaven, or mix idolatry with the
profeffion of the true religion. As for Ifrael, I give her up to a reprobate mind." Then the

difcourfe paffes naturally into the detail and amplification of Ifrael's guilt.
" Giloal, in this period of the Jewifli Hillory, appears from Hofea and Amos to have been a
fcene of the grolfell idolatry. " Come ye not" i. e. Ye, O Men of Judah. See note '.

" Swear not, &c." i.e. Swear not the folemn oath of the living God in an idolatrous
temple.
.
in a large place," i. e. in an uninclofed place, a wide common. They fhall no longer .

be fed with care in the rich inclofures of God's cultivated farm ; but be turned out to browfe the

fcanty herbage of the wafle. That is, they fliall be driven into exile among the Heathen, freed,

from what they thought the reftraints, and of confequencc deprived of all the bleffings and be-

nefits, qf religion. This dreadfull menace is delivered in" the form of fevere derifion a figure :

much ufed by the Prophets, cfpccially by Ilofca. Sheep love to feed at large. The tlieep of

Truly
 CHAP. v H O S E A. 15

16 Truly Ifrael is rebellious, like an unruly heifer (L).

17 Now will Jehovah feed them as a lamb in a large place".

18 A companion (n) of idols is Ephraim. Leave him to

himfelf. Their ftrong drink is vapid ^. Given up to

lafcivioufnefs, greedy of gifts', (O fliame!) (Q) are her
19 great men. The wind binds her up in its wings% and
they fhall be brought to fliame becaufe of their facrifices.

HAP, I Hear ye this, O ye Pricfts, and hearken ye, O Houfe of

Ifrael, and Houfe of the King give ear, for upon you [pro-
ceeds] the fentence ; becaufe ye have been a fnare upon

Ephraim fhall prefcntly have room enough. They ihall be fcattered over the whole furface of
the vail Affyriaa Empire, where they will be at liberty to turn very heathen. See (M.) It is
remarkable, however, that it is faid that, even in this ftate, Jehovah will feed them. They arc
ftill, in their utmoft humiliation, an objeft of his care.
' vapid."
'

Sour, turned. The allufion is to libations made with wine grown dead, or
turning four. The image reprefents the want of all fpirit of piety in their adts of worfhip, and
the unacccptablenefs of luch worfliip in the fight of God. Which is alledged as a reafon for the
determination, exprefled in the preceding claufe, to give Ephraim up to his own way^. " Leave
him to himfelf," fays God to his Prophet, " his pretended devotions are all falfe and hypocritical,
I defirenone of them." See (O).
" Heb. They love. Give ye. See Prov. xxx. 15. See (P).
== An
admirable image of the condition of a people torn by a conqueror from their native
land, fcattered-in exile to the four quarters of the world, and living thenceforward without any
fettled relidence of their own, liable (o be moved about at the will of arbitrary mafterSj like a
thing tied to thewings of the wind, obliged to go with the wind whichever way it fet, but never
fuffercd for a moment to lie ftill. The image is ftriking now ; but muft have been more flrildng,
when a bird with expanded wings, or a huge pair of wings without head or body, was the hie-
roglyphic of the element of the air, or rather of .the general mundane atmotphere,
one of the
mcft irrefiftible of phyfical .igents. binds/' or, " is binding," the prefent tenfe, to de-
jiotc inftant futurity.

Mizpah,
 6

1 H O S E A. CHAP. V.

3 Mizpah, a net fpread upon Tabor; and the prickers^ have

made a deep flaughter. Therefore will I bring chaftife-
ment ^ upon them all.

3 1 have known Ephraim, and Ifrael hath not been con-

cealed "^
from me. At this very moment ^ thou played

4 the wanton, O Ephraim ; Ifrael is polluted. Their per-

verfe habits (B) will not permit them to return unto their
God ; for a fpirit of wantonnefs is within them "^j and the

5 Jehovah they have not known. Therefore the excel-

lency of Ifrael ^ fliall anfwer ^
to his face, and Ifrael and

. prickers." fcouts on hoifeback, attendants on the chace, whofe bufinefs it was to fcour

the country all around, and drive the wild beafts into the toils. The Priefts and Rulers are ac-
cufed as the ieducers of the people to apoftacy and idolatry ; not merely by their own ill exam-
ple, but with premeditated defign ; under the image of hunters deliberately fpreading their nets
and fnares upon the mountains. And their agents and emiffaries, in this nefarious project, are

reprefenled under the image of the prickers in this deftruftive chace. The toils and nets are
whatever, in the external form of idolatry, was calculated to captivate the minds of men ; mag-
nificent temples, ftately altars, images richly adorned, the gaiety of feflivals, the pomp, and in

many inftances, even the horror of the public rites. All which was fupported by thegovernmeut
at a vaft expence. The deep flaughter, which the prickers made, is the killing of the fouls of

men. See (A).

>
will I bring chaftifement upon ." Heb. will I be chaftifement, or, a chaftifcr,
unto ."

have known hath not been concealed," i. e. have always known hath
at no time been concealed." In like manner, at the end of tlic next verfe, have not
known," is equivalent to have never knawn."
**
witliin them, deep in their minds."
' the excellency of Ifrael," i. e. God. The original word, which the public tranflation
renders " pride," is the fame which in Amos viii. 7. is rendered " excellency.' And there the
" excellency of Jacob" certainly fignifies the God of Jacob. See (C.)
' anfwer. '
God is confidered here, as in many parts of the Prophets, ss condefcending

to a liligation with his people; and the anfwer here is an anfuer in the caufc argued. The
anfwer on the part of God will be f<3 clear ind convincinf , that the ])eoplc of Ifrael will ftand
* See Appendix, N . III.

Ephraim


CHAP. V, H O S E A. 17

Ephraim {hall fall in their iniquity; with them alfo fliall

6 Judah fall. With their flocks and their herds they will

go to feek the Jehovah, hut they fhall not find him";

7 he hath difengaged himfelf *"

from them. To Jehovah
they have been faHe. Verily they have begotten a r;ice of
aliens '. Now fliall a month devour them with their

portions ".

8 Blow ye the cornet in Gibeah, the trumpet in Rama ;

found an alarm at Bethaven. [Look] behind thee, O

9 Benjamin ' ! Ephraim fliall be given up to defolation, in

the day of [working] convicSlion in the tribes of Ifrael ^'.

I have declared what fhall furely be.

condemned by their own judgement. The anfwer will prove the jbftice of God's dealing with
them, and their guilt, even to their own convidlion.
8 See 2 Chron. xxix. 31 s^. xxx. 13 ij. 22 24. xxxi. 3 10. a Kings xxiii. 21.22. and
26. 27. 2 Chron. xxxv. i. 7 9. 18. Alfo, 2 Chron. xxxiv. 20 28. The prophecy looks for-
ward to the times of Hezekiah and Jofiah ; declaring, that the attempts of thole pious Kings, to

reflore the true worfhip, will fail of any durable effeft, and will not avail to reverfe the doom
pronounced upon the guilty people.
^ difengaged himfelf." Heb. loofened himfelf."
' a race of aliens." Heb. children ftrangers," that is, children trained from their
earlieft infancy in the habits and principles of idolatry, and growing up aliens with refpeft to
God (for all are not Ifrael that are of Ifrael), alienated from Jehovah in their afFeftions ; and in

their way of thinking, in their fentiments and praftices, mere heathen.

* Now ftiall a month devour them with their portions." A very fhort time fliall compleat
their deftruftion. with their portions," i. e. their allotments. They fhall be totally difpoffefled
of their country ; and the boundaries of the feparate allotments of the feveral tribes fliall be con-
founded and obliterated, and new partitions of the land into diflrifts fliall be made, from time to
time, at the pleafure of its fucceffive mafiers'. The captivity of the ten tribes was completed
foon after Hezekiahs attempted reformation, and the kingdom of Judah not loncf furvived To-
fiah's. To thefe things I think " the month" alludes. See note D.
' Look behind thee, O Benjamin." This prefents the image of an enemy in clefe purfuit,
ready to fall upon the rear of Benjamin.
* See Appendix, N" IIL

D The
iS H O S E A. CHAP. V.

10 The rulers (E) of Judah have been as thofe, that re-

move the landmarks'". Upon them, like a flood, I will

pour (Hit my fury.

11 Ephraim is hard preflcd, ruined in judgement"; be-

caufe he is felf-willed, walking after a commandment ".

I 2 Therefore am I as a moth in the garment ''

to Ephraim,
and as a wormin the flefli ''
to the houfe of Judah (G).
I 3 When Ephraim perceives his holes '', and Judah his cor-
rupted fc^re (I) ; then Ephraim will betake him to the
AlTyrian, and ^
fend to the King, who takes up
all quarrels'. But he fliall not be able to repair the damage
14 for yo\i ', nor lliall he make a cure of (L) your corrupted

" Thnt is, tli'-y Iiave confounded the diflinftions of right and wrong. " They Jiave turned

upfiJc down all political order, and all manner of religion. " Englilh Geneva.
hard prelTcd, ruined in judgement." That is, he has no defence to fct up againtl the
accufation brought agalnft him; he has nothing to fay for hunfelf.
" ftlf-w illed, walking after a commandment." That is, although he has a commandment
to walk after, namely the divine law, yet he will take his own way j and this he does, nolwith-
ftanding that he pretends to acknowledge the authority of the commandment. The ten tribes
pretended to be worfi.ippers of Jciiovah ; but tliey worfliipwed him in the calves at Dan and
Bethel ; and they appointed a priefthood of their own^ in prejudice of the pierogative of the fons
of Levi. But fee note (F).
' a molh in the gar:nent a worm in the flefh." From fmall and unperccived begin-
nings, working a flow, but certain and complete deftni6lion.
' holes" eaten by the moth. See (H).
' I leave a fpace here, to ihew that fomething is wanting to be the nominative cafe of the
verb " ffnd." Perhaps " Judahj" which however is not fupplied either by MSS. or verfions.
But certainly foraeiliiiig muft have been faid about what Judah would do, when he perceived
bis lore.
the kinn; v. ho t-.ikes up all quarrels." This defcribes fomc powerfull monarch, who
took upon liim to i;iterfere in iiU quarrels between inferior powers; to arbitrate between them,
anl compell them to make up their differences, upon fuch terms as he thought proper to.

didtate : \\\v ii- a;iiance was of courfe anxioully courted by weaker flates. Such was the

fore.
 CHAP. V. H O S E A. 19

fore. For, I will be as a lion unto Ephraim ; and as a young

lion to the houfe of Judah, I. I will feize the prey, and
1 5 begone ; I will carry off, and none fhall refcue. I will

begone, I will return unto my place"; till what t me

they acknowledge -their guilt, and feek my face. When
diftrefs is upon them, they will rife early to feek me".

CHAP. I. Come % and let us return unto Jehovah. For he hath

VI.
torn, but he will make us whole ; he hath infliiled the

3 wound, but he will apply the bandage. He will bring us

to life after two days ; the third day he will raife us up,
and we Ihall live in his prefence*^, and attain to knowledge.

Aflyrian monarch, in the tiroes to which the prophecy relates. His friendfliip was purchafcd
by Menaliem, King of Ifratl. 2 Kings xv. 19. 20. and in a later period foUicited by Ahaz. xvi.

59. See (K).

See 2 Cliron. xxviii. 19 21.

unto my place." The image of the lion is purfued, making off to his Liire with the
prey. The fcnfe is, that Jehovah will withdraw the tokens of his prefence from the Jewilli tem-
ple. The three firft vcrfes of the next chapter fliould be joined to this.

' rife early to feek me." Dr. Wheeler. Coaiparc Jer. xxxv. 14, 1^.
" Come ." The Prophet fpeaks in his own pevfon to the end of the tliird ven'e. He
takes occafion, from the intimation of final pardon to the penitent, given in the conclulion of
God's aweful denunciation of judgement, to addrefs his countrymen in words of mild pathetic
perfuafion.
^
live in his prefence." Jehovah, who had departed, will return, and again exliibit \kc
Signs of his prefence amt)ng his chofen people. So the Jews, converted and reftored, will live in

his prefence, and attain to the true knowledge of God, which tl.ey never h;iJ bcfcre. Tlie t\''o

days and the third day feem to denote three dillin(5l periods of the jrwish people. Tlu; iii -t day is

tlie captivity of the ten tribes by the Assyrians, rnid of the two under the Babylonians, CGiilid i\d
as one judgement upoii the nation ; beginning with the captivity of tlic tn, and cor.pl;-lrd in thiU

of the two. The fccond day is tlie whole period of the prel'ent condition of .he Jtv.y,, beginning
with the difpsrfion of the nation by the Remans. Tlie thiid d;iy is the period )(-t ti, d'w.f, be-

ginning with their ie;iijrKiii>:; at tlie fecond advent. R. Tanchum, a^ he U n'loted in .Dr.' Poco.';,

D 2 Our
20 H O S - E A. CHAP. TI.

3 Our object of purfuit will be the knowledge of the Je-

hovah. His coming forth is fixed as the morning ''j and he

fhall come upon us as the pouring fliower (B), as the harveft

rain, [as] the rain of feed-time [upon] the earth ''.

4 What^ Ihall I do for thee, O Ephraim? What fhall I

do for thee, O Judah? Since your piety (D) is as the cloud

5 of the morning; as the dew, which goeth off early. It is,

for this that 1 have belaboured [them] by the pro-

phets (E), killed them by the words of my mouther and

the precepts given thee (F) were as the onward-going
6 lights. For I defired charity (G), not facrifice; and know-

was not from the true meaning of the place. " The Prophet," he fays, " points out
far, I think,

two times and thofe are the firft captivity, and a fecond. After which fhall follow a third
[time] Redemption after which fhall be no depreflion or fervitude." And this I take to be
;
:

the fenfe of the prophecy, in immediate application to the Jews. Neverthelefs, whoever is well
acquainted with the allegorical flyle of prophecy, when he recollefts, that our Lord's fufferings

were inftead of the fufferings and death of finners ; that we are baptized into his death ; and, by
baptifm into his death, are buried with him ; and that he, rifing on the third day, raited us to the

hope of life and immortality ; will eafily perceive no very obfcure, though but an oblique,

allufion to our Lord's refurreftion on the third day; fince every believer may fpeak of our
Lord's death and refuireaion, as a common death and refurreftiou of all believers. See Ap-
pendix, N':' III.
fixed, &c." His appearance is fixed and certain, at its proper feafon, as the return of
the morning. See (A).

The images here defcribe tlie Jehovah, who is to come forth, as coming in the office of an
univerfal bencfaftor; the giver of the mofl general and ufLfuU benefits, and as coming forth at a

fixed feafon, and at a feafon when his appearance will be expefted. See note (C).
' Here Jehovah takes up the difconrfe again in his own perfon.
f .
-
. killed them," frightened them to death with terrible threatenings.
E as the onward-going light." Heb. as light which goeth forth," i. e. as light, oi

which it is the n;iture and property to go forth to propagate itfelf infinitely, and in all direc-

tions. A moft expreffive image of the clearnefs of the praiHcal lelTons of the prophets.
* This is the general rule, comprehending the fum of the pradical precepts of the prophets.

ledge
 1

CHAP, VI. H O S E A. 2 1

7 ledge of God, more than burnt offerings *".

But they,
like Adam ', have tranlgrelfed the covenant ; even in thefe
circumftances ''
they have dealt treacheroufly againil me.
8 Gilead ' is a city of workers of iniquity, ma^-ked with foot-

9 fteps of blood. And, like banditti lying in wait for the

paflenger, a company of prieft?, upon the highway, mur-
ther unto Sichem'. Verily they have wrought lewdnefs
10 in the houfe of Ifrael (L). There have I feen a horrible
1 thing. Fornications in Ephraini ! Ifrael polluted ! More-
over, O Judah, harveft-work is appointed for thee, when
I bring back the captivity of my people.

'
like Adam." As Adam tranfgreffed a plain command; fo the Ifraelites tranforefled the

plaineft and the eafieft precepts. As Adam's crime was not to be exculed by any neceflily or
want; fo the Ifraelites, fecure under the proteaion of Jehovah had they continued faithful] to

him, had no excufe in feeking other aids. Adam revolted from God to Satan ; fo the Ifraelites
- forfook God to worfhip Devils. Adam broke that one command, oh which the juftification of
himfelf and his pofterity depended ; fo the Ifraelites broke the one precept of charity.
^ even in thefe circumftances." With all the advantages of the prophetic teaching; in
fpite of all admonition and all warning. See (H).
'
If Gilead be put here for Ramoth Gilead (and I know not what other city can be meant,
fee (I),) it was a city of refugf, Deut. iv. 43 ; and fuch alfo was Sicheni. Jofli. xx. 7. Both
therefore inhabited by priefts and Levites. By defcribing the firft of thefe two cities as polluted
with blood, and the high-road to the other as befet with knots of priefts, like robbers, intent on
blood, and murtherfng on the whole length of the way, up to the very walls of the town ; the
Prophet means to reprefent the priefts as feducers of the people to that idolatry, which proved the
ruin of the nation. Infomuch, that, like a man who fhouldbe murthered in a place of religious
retreat, or upon his way to it ; the people, under the influence of fuch guides, met their deflruftion
in tlie quarter where, by God's appointment, they were to feek their fafety. See (K.)
" harveft-work. Harveft-work is cut out for Judah at the feafon of bringing back the
captivity. The tribe of Judah is, in fome extraordinary way, to be an internment of the general
reftoration of the Jewifti people. Obferve that the vintage is always an image of the feafon of
judgement; but theliarveft, of the in-gathering of the objefts of God's final mtrcy. I am not
aware, that a fingle unexceptionable inftance is to be found, in which the harveft is a type of

When
 8

0,2 H O S E A. CHAP. VII.

CHAP. I When (A) I would have healed "^

Ifrael, then the ini-
VII
quity of Ephraim fhewed itfelf openly ^ and the wicked
doings of Samaria ; for they carried on (B) delufion ^
Therefore a thief is coming ; banditti fally forth in

2 the ftreets''. And let them not fay unto their heart, (D)
that I have remembered all their wicked doings
*"
; even
flill their perverfe habits cling around them, they are be-

3 fore my face. By their evil doings they pleafure the

4 king, and by their perfidies ^

the rulers. All of them

judgement. In Rev. xiv. 13, 16, " the fickle is thruft into the ripe harvefl, and the earth is

reaped "
i. e. the eleft are gathered from the four winds of heaven. The wheat of God is ga-

thered into his barn, (Matt. xiii. 30.) After this reaping of the earth, the fickle is apijlied to the

clufiers of the vine; and they are caft into the great wine-prefs of the wrath of
God. Rev. xiv.
J 20. This is judgement. In Joel, iii. 13. the ripe harvetl is the harveft of the vine, i. e. the

grapes fit for gathering, as appears by the contextj fee (M). In Jer. li. 33, the a& of threfli-

not the harveft, the image of judgement. It is true, the burning

ing the corn upon the floor, is

of the tares in our Saviour's parable. Matt. xiii. is a work of judgement, and of the time of har-
veft previous to the binding of the iheaves. But it is an accidental adjundl of the bufinefs, not
the harveft itfelf. I believe the harveft is nevei primarily, ajid in itfelf, an image of vengeance.
a healed," or " reftored." The particular time alluded to is, I think, the reign of the .

fecond Jeroboam, when the kingdom of Ifrael feemed to be recovering from the lofs of ftrength

and territory it had fuftained, in the preceding reigns, by the encroachments of the Syrians ;
for

Jeroboam " relbred the coaft of Ifrael, from the entering of Hamath unto the fca of the plain."

2 Kings, xiv. 25. The fuccefles^ vouchfafed to this warlike prince againft his enemies, were figns

of God's gracious inclination to pardon the people, and reftort: the kingdom to its former profpe-
rity. " For the Lord faw the affliftion of Ifrael that it was bitttr. And the Lord faid that he
would not blot out the name of Ifrael from under heaven; but he favcd them by the hand of
Jeroboam, the fon of Joafli." 2 Kings, xiv. 26, 27. But thefe mercifall purpofes of God were
" did that
put afide by the wickednefs of the king and die people. For this fame Jeroboam
which was evil in the fight of the Lord, he departed not from the fins of Jeroboam the fon of
Nebat, who made Ifrael to fin." Ver. 24.
b fhewed itfelf openly," literally " was uncovered/' or " was bare." i. e> was open,
avowed, and undifguifcd.

are
 CHAP. vir. H O S E A. 23

are adulterers ; like an oven over-heated for the baker ;

the itoker {) defifts, after the kneading of the dough,

5 untill the fermentation of it be complete (G)"c In the

day'^ of our king (I), the rulers were fevered with wine' ;

6 he llretched out his hand to (K) fcorners '\ Truly, in the

inmotl: part of it, their heart is like an oven (L), while
they lie in w-ait ; all the night their bak-er fleepeth ; in

7 the morning it ' burneth like a blazing fire *". They are

all hot as an oven, and have con fumed their judges ; all

'
delufion," literally " they wrought falfe'nood," or " a lie." The lie, falfehoodj or de-
lufion, was every thing that wan feduftive in the external rites of ti.e falfe religions.
''
The thief, Pul whofe peace Mcnahcm bought, with
; contiibutions levied upon the
people. The banditti, the armicj of I'iglatli-pilefer, over-running Gile.id, G;;lilee, aud Napthali.
2 Kings, XV. 19, 20, 29, and i Chron. v. 26.

Let them not confole themfelves with th" imagination, that in thefe judgements, to be e;:e-
cuted by Pul and Tiglath-pilefer, they have futfLrcd pi.nilhment in full proportion to their guilt,
and have nothing further They continue unreclaimed. Their evil habits furround
to dread.

them; they are obferved and noticed by me, and will bring down further vengeance. Obferve
that even the firll of ihefe judgements was yet to come, when this prophecy w.-is d-jKvered. But it
is ufual with all the prophets, lockiag forward to futurity with full allurance of faith, to fpeak of
it in the prefent, or even in the pall time. See (C).
'
tlieir perfidies" towards God, in cltferting his fervice for idolatry. See (E).
' For the expofition of this text fee (II).

* the day of our king," The king's birth-day, or perhaps the annivcrfary of his acceffion.
' f.-vered with wine," Ilcb. " were fick witli heat from wine."
^ he ftretched out his hand to fcorners " Thofe, who in their cups made a jeft of the true
religion, and derided the denunciations of God's prophets, he diilinguilhed, with the mofl. fa-
miliar marks of his royal favour ; in this way carrying on the plot of deluilon.
'
'
it," i. e. the oven.
" As an oven conceals the lighted fire, all the night, while the baker takes his reft, and in the
morning vomits forth its blazing flame ; fo all manner of concupiicence is brooding mifchief in
their hearts, while the ruling faculties of reafon and confcience are lulled afleep, and their wicked
defigns wait only for a fair occafiou to break forth.

their
24 H O S E A. CHAP. VII.

their kings are fallen" ; not one among them hath called

unto me.
8 Ephraim ! He hath mixed himfelf with the peoples " !

(J
Ephraim is a cake not turned '
! Foreigners have devoured
his llrength "^y and he perceiveth not ; grey hairs alio are

ID fprinkled upon him"", and he perceiveth not. And the

excellency of Ifrael anfwereth to his face^; but they return
not Jehovah their God, nor feek him for all this.
to

I I For Ephraim is like a filly dove without fenfe. They call

I 2 upon Egypt they betake them to Affyria ^
; Whither-
foever they betake them, I will fpread over them my net ;

as the fowls of the heaven I will bring them down ; I

will chaftife them, as they hear it declared in their con-

gregations '.

a all their kings are fallen." The prophecy looks forward to the fall of the fix laft
Kings in perpetual fucceflion, Zechariah, Shallum, Menahem, Pekahiah, Pekah, Hoiliea.
o mixed himfelf with the peoples.'' By his alliances with the heathen, and by imitation
of their manners, he is himfelf become one of them. He has thrown olF all the diftindtions,

and forfeited the privileges, of the chofen race. See Appendix, N III.

p a cake not turned." One thing on one fide, another on the other. Burnt to a coal at
bottom ; raw dough at the top. An apt image of a charafter that is all inconfiftencies. Such
were the ten tribes of the Prophet's day ; worftiippers of Jehovali in profeflion ; but adopting all

the idolatries of the neighbouring nations, in addition to their own femi-idolatry of the calves.
Foreigners, &c." His alliances with the Alfyrians at one time, willi tlie Syrians at another,

at laft with the Egyptians, have weakened his ftrength.

' grey-hairs." the fymptoms of decay.
* See v. 5.

betake them to Alfyria. Heb. they go to Aflyrla." This going to Affyria can-
not relate to the captivity of the ten tribes, of which Dr. Wells underftands it. It is feme vo-
luntary going to Alfyria, which is imputed to them as a crime. Indeed, from this paffage and
many odicrs, it appears that Dr. Wells's third and fourth fqilions were delivered before the

Woe
CHAP. VII. H O S E A. 25

1 3 Woe unto them, for they have wandered away from

me. Deftrinftion awaits them, for they have rebelled
againft me. And I would have redeemed them, but they
14 fpoke lies againft me. And they cried not unto me in

their heart, although they howled upon their beds, and

15 put themfelves in a ftir about corn and wine (M), They

turned againft me (N) ; then I chaftifed. I ftrength-

ened their arms ;

then they imagined mifchief " againft

16 me. They fall back into nothingnefs of condition"^.

They are become like a deceitful! bow. Their ru-
lers flVall fall by the fword, for the petulance of their
tongues. This fhall bring derifion upon them in the land
of Egypt.

time, to which Dr. Wells refers them. Thofe of the third, and part of the fourth, not later

than the reign of Menahem, and all of them before the reign of Hofhea : though the pre-
difiions contained In them extend to the very laft period of the kingdom of the ten tribes,
and even far beyond it.

' hear it declared in their congregations." They heard their punifliments declared in

the prophetical denunciations in the Books of Mofes, which were redde in their fynagogues
every Sabbath-day.
" imagined mifchief againft me." Formed their plots for the introdudlion -of idolatry,

proceeding even to perfecution of tlie prophets and the true worlLip.

" The fituation of tlie Ifraelites, as the chofen people of God, was a high degree ; a rank of
diftinftion and pre-eminence among the nations of the earth. By their voluntary defection to

idolatry, they debated themfelves from this cx.^ltation, and returned to the ordinary level of the
heathen ; fo far above wliich the mercy of God had raifed them. As if a man, ennobled by the
favour of his Sovereign, iliould renounce his honours, and of his own choice mix himfelf with
the lowed dregs of the people.Thus voluntarily delcending from their nobility of condition,
the Ifraelites returned to "Not-High." For fo the Hebrew literally founds. See (O).

E The
 26 H O S E A. CHAP. VIII.

CHAP. I The cornet at thy mouth, [be it] like the eagle over
^'^^^'
the houfe of Jehovah'''; in as much as they have tranf-

a greffed my covenant, and rebelled againft my law. [Yet]

they cry unto me, O my God, we acknowledge thee (B).

3 rfratl ! He hath caft off, hath Ifrael, what is good the

4 enemy lliall purfue him. They have fet up kings of

themfelves (C), but not from me. They have appointed

rulers, whom I knew not''. Their filver and their gold

they have wrought for themfelves into idols % that they

may be cut off.

5 Thy Calf, O Samaria, hath caft thee off". My anger

Let the found of the cornet in thy mouth be iliiill and terrifying, as the ominous fcream of
=

the ea'^le hovering over the roof of the temple. See (A) and Appendix, N* 111.

houfe of Jehovah." The houfe of Jehovah is the temple at Jerufalem. The firft four
verfes therefore of this chapter feem to concern the whole people, and to predift the iinal dif-

perfion of the people by the Romans. At the 5th verfe the prophecy returns to the kingdom of
the ten tribes.
>
The only kings of the Ifraelites, of God's appointment, were thofe of the line of David in

ludah, and of Jeroboam and Jehu in the kingdom of the ten tribes. But thefe kings and princes,

made without any divine dircftion, are, I think, rather to be underftood of thofe, who reigned in
Judaea after the death of John Hyrcanus, with the ufurped title
of king, being not of the royal

family of David ; and of the high priefts irregularly conltituted, in violation of the right of pri-

mogeniture in Aaron's famdy, tlian of the ufurpers after Zecl.ariMi in the kingdom of Ifrael. 'Se

Appendix, N" I.

Of lire idolatry of the Jews, after the return from the Babylonian captivity. See Chap.

II. note".

Here God himfelf, who is the fpeaker, turns fhort upon Samaria, or the ten tribes, and, in

a ^one of dreadfuU indignation,

upbraids their corrupt worlliip, by taking to himfelf the title of

Samaria's Calf. I, whom you have fo diflionoured, by fetting up that contemptible idol, as an

adequate fymbol of my glory ; I, who have fo long borne with this corrupt worfliip, now tx-

prelily difown you.

This thing, vile and abominable as it is, was his own invention; not a thing that he had learnt

Cir borrowed from any other n.ition.

_him." viz. Ifrael. The firft line of this 7. h v< rfe predias generally the difperfion of

burns
CHAP. VI n. H O S E A. 27

burns againft them. How long will they bear antipathy

6 (D) to pure religion (E) ? For from iriael came ^ even
this (F) : the workman made it, and it is no God. Verily,

7 the calf of Samaria Ihall be reduced to atoms (G). Verily,

a wind fhall fcatter him abroad, a whirlwind fliall cut

him down (H) : there fliall be no llem belonging to him :

the ear fliall yield no meal ; what perchance it may vield,

8 ftrangers fliall fwallow it up. llirael is fwallowed up ''

:

They are now among the Gentiles like a veffel in which

9 no man delighteth'. For they are gone up of their own
accord (I) to Afljria"'. A wild afs all alone for himfelf ^

the ten tribes, and the demoVition of their monarchy by the force of the Affyrian, reprefented
under the image of a fcattering wind and deftroying whirlwind. The following ciaufes defcribe iJie
progrellive tleps of the calamity, in an inverted order. " There lliall be no ftem belonging
to
him." Nothing ftanding ereit and vifible in the field ; that is, the nation Ihall be
ultimately fo
utterly extinguiflied, that it fliall not be to be found upon the furface of the earth.
But before
this utter ruin takes place, it fliall be impoverilhed, and reduced to great weaknefs. For " the "
ear
upon the ftem yet ftanding, fliall be an ear of empty hulks, " yielding no meal," The nation
fliall
not thrive in wealth or power. " And what perchance it may yield, ftrangers fliall confume."
Before the extreme dt-cay, reprefcnted by the barren ear, lakes place ; its occafional temporary
fuccefl'es, in its laft ftruggles, will all be for the enrichment and aggrandizement of foreio-n allies
at laft the conquerors of the country.
^
fwallowed up." Under this image the Hebrew langu/ige, the Greek, and our own,
defcribe any fudden deftrudion fo complete, as to leave no vifible veftige of the thing remaining.
'
A
utenfil for the loweft purpofes.
" to Aff)Tia." This is not yet the going Into captivity. The captivity, though near at
hand, is yet to come. This going up paft. a voluntary going up, and a crime.
is It is The
ca()tivity is the punifliment.
'
all alone for himfelf." The pronoun " for himfelf," after " alone," is highly emphati-
cal. It exprelles the felfilhnels, which belongs to an animal favage in fuch degree, as not only
not to be tamed for the fervice of man, but frequently not difpofed to herd with its
own kind :

without attachment to the female, except in the moment of defire governed entirely by the
;

teftnim of its own lufts. " Though wild afles be often found in the defert in whole herds, yet

E 2 is
 .

a8 H O S E A. CHAP. VIII.

10 is Ephraim.They have given bounties to lovers'". Not-

withftanding that they may give the bounties among the
gentiles, forthwith will I embody the men (K) and ere ;

long they fliall Ibrrow, on account of the burthen, the

king and (L) the rulers ".

11 In as mvich as Ephraim hath multiplied altars", altars

1 2 are (counted) fin unto him (M). I will write upon him
13 Sin's. The mafters (N) of my law are accounted as it

were an alien race''. The facrificers of my proper offer-

ings (O) facrifice fledi, and Jehovah
eat. accepteth

them not. Forthwith will he remember their iniquity,

14 and vifit their fins. They fliall return into Egypt 1. For

it is ufual forfome one of them to break away, and feparate himfelf from his company, and run
alone at random by himfelf and one fo doing is here fpoken of." Pocock upon the place.
:

m bounties to lovers." The prophecy alludes not exclufuely to the bargain with Pul, but

to the general profiifion of the government in forming foreign alliances; in which the latter kings

both of Ifrael and Judah were equally culpable ; as appears by the hiftory of the collateral reigns
of Ahaz and Pekah. to lovers." Every forbidden alliance with idolaters was a part of the fpiri-

tual incontinence of the nation. given bounties to." The Hebrew word might he more lite-

rally rendered " gifted," or " endowed." But to prefcrve any thing of the fpirit of the original,

it is neceifary to ufe a word here capable of being applied to military bounties in the ne.xt verfe.

In the next verfe God ftys, that whatever bounties the Ifraelites might offer, in order to raife

armies of foreign auxiliaries ; he would embody thofe armies ; he \^ould prefs the men, p;iid by

their money, into his own fervice againft them.

" Ere long the kint' and the rulers will lament the impolitic expence IncuiTed in gifts and pre-
and the burthen of taxes for that purpofe laid upon the people.
fents to their faithlefs allies,
n multiplied altars ;" in contempt of the one altar at Jerufalem.
I will write upon him Sin's." An allufioa to the cuiioro of marking a Have with the owners

name. See note (M)

p the mafters of my law." Thofe, who pretend to be expounders of my law, fliall be dif-

owned as aliens.
1 To rpturn into Egypt," or, " to go to AiTyria," feem to be ufed as proverbial expreflions,

two dillerent meanings. Either

capable^ according to the application, of the one or the other of

irrael
 ;

CHAP. VIII. HOSE A. 29

Ifrael hath forgotten his Maker, and buildeth temples

and Judah hath multiplied fenced cities : but I will fend

a fire upon his cities, which fliall devour the ftately build-

ings thereof.

CHAP. I Rejoice not, O Ifrael, like the peoples ^, with joyous ex-
IX.*
ultation (A) ; for thou haft played the wanton, not cleaving

to thy God : thou haft fet thy heart upon the fee of profti-
2 tution (B). Upon all floors is corn ". The floor and the
vat fhall not feed them'', and the muft (C) fliall deceive their

3 (D) expectations. They fliall not dwell in the land of

Jehovah, for Ephraim is returning into Egypt, and they

to be reduced to an abjedl: opprefled condition, like that of the Egyptian fervitude ; whicii is

the fenfe here : or to fall into the groffeft idolatries, fuch as were praCtifed in Egypt and Aflyria

which is the fenfe below, chap. ix. verfe 3. See Dr. Blaney on Zechariah, v. 11.
" The prophecy, delivered in this and the next following chapter, feems to regard the kingdom,
of Ifrael principally.
"
It fhould feem that this prophecy was delivered at a time, when the fituation of public affairs

was promifing; perhaps
like the peoples."

other people, are none to thee

after fome Cgnal fnccefs, which had given occafion
Thofe national
; for thou liefl
fuccefles, which might be
under the heavy fentence of God's
to public rejoicinn-s.

juft caufe of rejoicing to

wratli, for thy

diCoyalty to him ; and all thy bright profpels will vanifli, and terminate in thy deftruftion. The
Gentiles were not guilty in an equal degree with the Ifraelites; for, although they finned, it was
not againft the light of Revelation, in contempt of the warnings of infpired prophets, or in breach
of any exprefs covenant.
' What the fee of proftitution was, on which they had fet their hearts, appears by chap. ii. 13 j
namely abundance of the fruits of the earth ; which they afcribed to the heavenly bodies, and other
phyfical agents, which they worrtiipped. The prophet here tells tlieni, they might think they had
obtained their fee. P'or their crops were indeed abundant ; neverthelefs they would not be the
better fo^ the plenty of their land. This might be brought to pafs, by the jull judgement of
God, in variqys ways ; either the corn not yielding a nutritious meal ; nor the grape a generous
juice : or the ftomach failing in its office, to extraft nutriment from good bread, and wholefome
drink ; or the enemy driving, them from their land, which thenceforward (houjd produce its
abundance for firangers.

eat
no H O S E A. CHAP. IX.

4 eat unclean things in Aflyria''. Let them not make Hba-

tions of wine to Jehovah^, for their facrifices are not

pleafant to him (E) : they are to them as the meat of

mourners \ of which all that eat are polluted : their

food forfooth be it to themfelves (G) ; let ir not come into

the houfe of Jevovah.

5 What will ye do for the feafon of folemn alTembly, and

6 for the feftival of Jehovah? Behold all ^ are gone!
Total devaftation ! Egypt fliall gather them Memphis
fli all bury them "". Their valuables of fdver ! The nettle

fliall difpoflefs them, and the thiftle, in their dwellings (H).

7 The days of vifitation are come ! The days of retri-

j returning into Egypt, and they eat unclean things in Airyria," i. e. they are degene-

ratinn- in their manners into mere idolaters of the very worll Ibrt.

' Compare Jer. vi. 20. and If. i. 11. 13.

f meat of mourners," i. e. the viands fet out at funeral feafts ; which feafts were in ufe

among the Jews as well as the Gentiles ; and, for any thing that appears, were not forbidden by the

law, except to the priefls; who were to take no part in the ceremonies of interments, except of

their neareft relations. But fuch viands were unclean, and brought a temporary uncleannefs
upon all who partook of them. See note (F).
: All," i. e. all the people of the land. See Appendix, N III.

h Probably many of the inhabitants of the kingdom of Samaria fled into Egypt before the
Aflyrian captivity, and remained there to their death.
i
Stupid. gone mad." Stupid, if he himfelf difcerneth not the figns of the times. Gone
mad, if, aware of the impending judgement, he Hatters the people with delufive hopes ; and, by

that conduft, makes himfelf an inlbument in bringing on that public ruin, in \rhich he himfelf

mull be involved. For a fuller explanation of this pafiage fee note (I).
k his ways." either the ways which the prophet himfelf purfues, and then the propliet is

threatened with judicial deception; or the prophet's ways may be the ways he recommends to the

bution
CHAP. IX. H O S E A. 31

bution are come ! Ifrael fhall know it. Stupid is the

Prophet (I) ! The man of the fpirit is gone mad' ! In

proportion to (K) the greatnefs of thine iniquity, great alfo

8 is the vengeance ! The watchman of Ephraim is with his
God (L). The Prophet! the fnare of the fowler is over
i\\ his ways"'. Vengeance againll the houfehold' of my
9 God (M) They have gone deep in corruption, as in the
!

days of Gibeah "\ He will remember their iniquity, he

will vifit their lln?.

10 As grapes in the wildernefs" I found (O) Ifrael; as the

firft ripe upon the fig-tree, in the beginning of her feafon,
1 beheld your fathers. They of their own will (?) went
to Baal Peor, and confecrated themfelves to that obfce-

ppople ; and then they are warned agaiuft his prevarications. The former, I think, is the better
expoiition.
The watchman is here evidently a title, by which tome faithfull prophet is diftinguiflied from the
temporifcrs and feducers. But who in particular is this watchman, thus honourably diftinguifhed,

and how is he " with his God ?" I think the allufion is to Elijah and his miraculous tranflation.
" Elijah, that faithfull watchman, that refolute oppoler of idolatry in the reign of Ahab and
Jezabel, is now with his God, receiving the reward of his fidelity in the enjoyment of the beati-
fic vifion. But the prevaricating prophets, which now are, are the viflims of judicial delufion."
See (N).
'
the houfehold of my God," the priefts and prophets.
" See judges xix.
^ in the wildernefs." The wildernefs is righily connecied with grapes^ and is not to be
conne6ted with Ifrael. Here is no fort of allufion to the wildernefs, through which the Ifraelites
were ledde to the promifed land, as Ibme of the Jewifli expofitors have moft abfurdly imagined ;

in which God found not Ifrael, but led him into it. The " wafle howling wildernefs,'' in
which God is faid to have found Ifrael, in Deut. xxxii. 10. is the wildernefs of idolatry; and
the image there expreifes the weak ftate of the Ifraelites, when they lived intermixed with
idolaters, as (trangers in Canaan, and afterwards as flaves in Egypt.

nityj
 ;

32 H O S E A. CHAP. IX.

nity (Q) ; and as [my] love of them fo were their abo-

1 1 minations ". Ephraim (R) ! hke a bird fliall their glory

flie away ; there fliall be no birth, no geftation, no con-

13 caption P. If fo be they bring up their children, ftill will

I make them childlefs, till not a man is left. Verily woe

flill awaits them, even when I turn away (S) from them''.
1 3 Ephraim. to all appearance (T;, was .planted on a rock (V)
in a quiet habitation. But Ephraim is upon the point of
bringing out his children to the murtherer.
14 Give them, O Jehovah What wouldft thou give ?

Give them an abortive womb and dried-up breafts

all their wickednefs' in Gilgal (W).

15 Truly there I hated them". For the evil of their per-
verfe pra6lices (X), I will drive them out of my houfe,

The love, gratuitous ; the abominations without inducement, but from mere depravity. The
love, the tendercft ; the abominations, enormdus.
' Baal Peor was the power prefiding over procreation ; making the women fruitful), and
giving them quick and eafy labour. (See note Q.) Sterility therefore is threatened, with pecu-

liar propriety, as the judgement for the worfliip of that idol.

1 turn away from them," e. when I give them i. totally up; no longer attending to

their conduft, or vifiting their fins; when I have done with them.
' Requite them all their idolatries committed in Gilgal. At the beginning of the verfe the pro-
phet addrefles Jehovah. Jehovah interrupts him, " What wouldil thou give .'" i.e. what wouldft
thou alk me to give them. The prophet refumes, and goes on to the end of the verfe. Then
Jehovah fpeaks again to the end of the i6th verfe. The fpirit of the prophet's prnyer I take to
be, that God would, in rncrcy, rather vifit the finfuU people with judgements immediately from

himfelf, than give them up to the fword of the enemy. " Let us f.ill into the hands of the Lord,"
faid David. " for his mercy is great, and not into the hands of man."
' there I hated them." The firft great ofteiice of the Ifraelites, after their entrance into
the Holy Land, was committed while they were encamped in Gilgal. Namely, the facrilegious

peculation of Achan. (Jolh. yii.) And to this, I think with Dr. Vv'ellsj thefe words allude.

I will
 CHAP. IX. . H O S E A. ^^

I will love them no more ; all their rulers are revolters.

I 6 Ephraim is blighted (Y); their root is dried up: they fliall

produce no fruit': even if they bring forth, yet will I flay

the goodlieft of their offspring.

1 7 My God will caft them away, becaufe they have not

hearkened unto him ; and they Ihall become wanderers
among the heathen.

CHAP. I N Ifrael was a yielding (A) vine ; his fruit '^

was anfwer-
able to his vigour (B). According to the increafe of his
fruit, he increafed in altars ; like the beauty of his
a land, he made the beauty of his images ''. Their heart is

divided "^
: forthwith fliall they undergo their punifhment.
[God] himfelf (C) fhall break down their altars, and de-

There, fays God, of old was my quarrel with them.

Gilgal was the place where the armies of Ifrael, upon their entering Canaan, firft encamped ;

where Jofhua fet up the twelve rtones, taken by God's commands out of the midft of Jordan, in
memorial of the miraculous palfage through the river. There the firft paflbver was kept, and the
fruits of the promifed land firft enjoyed. There the captain of the hoft of Jehovah appeared to
Jofliua. There the rite of circumcifion, which had been omitted during the 40 years of the wan-
dering of the people in the wlldernefs, was renewed. And, in the days of the prophet Samuel,
Gilgal appears to have been an approved place of worfhip and burnt offering. But in later times,

it appears from Hofea and his contemporary Amos, that it became a place of great retort for
idolatrous purpofes. And thefe are the wickednefTes in Gilgal, of which the prophet here fpeaks.
' Or thus, " Ephraim is fmitten at the root; he is dried up, that he can bear no fruil." Sec
note (Y).
' The I'niit here meant is not tlie fruit of good works, but the fruit of national profperity ;

increafing population, abundant crops, numerous flocks and herds, public opulence, military
ftrength.
'' His idolatrous altars were as numerous, as his national profperity was great; and the e.\quifite
workmanlhip of his images was as remarkable, -as the natural beauty of his country.
' divided" between God and their idols.

F
face
34 ROSEA. CHAP. X.

3 face their images. This very moment fliall they fay, We

have no King, becanfe we feared not the Jehovah ; and
a King, what could he do for us !

4 Negotiate (D) Swear falfe oaths ratify a treaty

^

JSIeverthelefs judgement fliall fprout up, Hke hem-
5 lock (E) over the ridges of the field. The inhabitants (F)

of Samaria fhall be in confternation (G) for the great calf

(ll) of Bethaven. Verily there fliall be mourning over it,

of its people and of its priefts, who exulted (l) over its

6 o"lory ^; becaufe it is ih'ipped off from it, and with itfelf

(K) alfo*^ fliall be carried into AiTyria, a prefent to the

King (L) who takes up all quarrels ^. Ephraim fliall be

overtaken in found fleep'' (M), and Ifrael fball be difgraced

Negotiate alliances with one power and another make a tre;ity with the Affyrian hind
yourfelves to it with an oath. Break your oath^ and make a new alliance with the Egyptian,

In fpight cf all meafures of crooked policy, all acquifuions of foreign aid and fupport, judgement

is fpringing up.
its glory." The riches of its temple.
See V. 13.
'
in found flcep." In a dream offecurity ; when nothing will be lefsin his thoughts, than
danger.
'
The politics of treaties of alliance mentioned v. 4. An impolitic alliance with tlie King of
Egypt was the immediate occafion of Shalmanezer's rupture with Hothea, which ended in the
captivity of the ten tribes.
'^
hke a bubble, &c." which no fooner fwells, than it burfls.

'
The fin of Ifrael now exceeds the fins of thofe finfull times, when every one did what was
right in his owai eyes; and it feemed right in the eyes of the whole tribe of Benjamin, to proteft
the outrage of the Sodomites of Gibeah. See Judges xix.
" There :" i. e. upon tluit occal'ion, the quarrel with the tribe of Benjamin, on account of

by
 CHAP. X. H O S E A. 35

7 by his own politics '. Samaria is dellroyed. Her king is

8 like a bubble (N) upon the furface of the waters''. The

chapels alfo of Aven, that fin of Ifrael, Ihall be demo-
lilhed. The bramble and the thiftle fliall overgrow their
altars ; and they fliall fay to the mountains, Cover us ; and
to the hills, Fall upon us.

9 More than in the days of Gibeah is the fin of Ifrael '.

There they flood "". It overtook them not (o) at Gibeah,

TO the war againft the children of iniquity". It is in

my defire, and 1 will chafiife them " ; and the peoples

(hall be gathered together againft them, when they are
tethered down to their two furrows (P).

1 1 Yet Ephraim is a trained heifer I delighted in tread-

the outrage of the men of Gibeah. they flood." thej, the Ifi.ielites, " ftood," fet thcmfelves
in array for the attack.
God gave the Ifraeliles fuccefs in that righteous war. It may feem however ftrange, that it

ftiould be faid, that the " war overtook them not," as if they had not fufFered by it ; when they
were unfuccefsfuU in the two firft affaults, and were repulfed by the Benjaminites w'ith a (laugh-

ter amounting, in the two days, to 40000 men. Judges xx. 21 and 25. But befides that the
confederated tribes were ultimately fuccefsfull ; this lofs, in proportion to their whole embattled
force, which confiftcd of 400000 men (v. 2.), was nothing in comparifon with that of the tribe
of Benjamin, which was all but cut off. For of their force, which was 26700, no more than
1600 furvived the bufinefs of the third day, in which the town of Gibeah was taken and de-
ftroyed. And of this remnant all feem to have been cut off" afterv.'ards, except the 600 men tliat

fortified themfelves upon the rock Rimmon ; fo that of the whole tribe not one forty-fourth part
was left.

It is in my defire, &c. Then I protefted and gave them fuccefs. But now it is my defire,
that they fliould fufF(fr due punilhment, and I will bring punifhment upon them,
when they are tethered down to their two furrows." Or, when they are tied to
their two faults." That is, when they are reduced to a fituation of fuch difficulty and danger, as
to have no hope of deliverance by any meafures of human policy, in which alone they place their

F 2 ing
36 H O S E A. CHAP. X.

ing out [grain] (Q). Therefore I myfelf for good have

crofled her neck ''
I will make Ephraim carry me (R)

Judah fliall plow, Jacob fliall harrow * for himfelf ''.

1 3 Sow to yourfelves for righteoufnefs, [that ye may] reap

according to mercy '. Break up your fallows '; for it is time
to feekthe Jehovah, untill he come, and rain down righte-
13 oufnefs' upon you. Ye have plowed-in wickednefs, ye
have reaped iniquity : ye have eaten deceitfull fruit", becaufe

, thou haft trufted in thy own way"', in the multitude of thy

14 mighty men. Therefore a tumult fliall arife among thy

peoples, and all thy fortrelTes Qiall be demoliflied-j-, as Shal-

confidence, but by choofing one or other of two alliances, the Egyptian or the Aflyriun ; in the
which they are criminal, having been repeatedly warned againft all foreign
ibraiino-of either of
alliances.
f This and the following claufe give the image of a hulbandman mounting his bullock, to direft

it over the corn.

*
9 The three firft claufes of this verfe exprefs what had been done, for the inllruflion of Epliraim,

by the Mofaic inflitution. The two laft predift the final converlion of the Kphraimites, with the

reft of the people, and their reftoration to a condition of nalional fplcndor and profperity. . Not-
withftanding the judgemeiits that are to fall upon Ephraim, flie was long under the training of ray

holy law ; and the effeft of that early difcipline lliall not be ultimately loft. 1 will in the end bring

Ephraim to obedience Judah fliall be diligent, in the work.s 1 prepare for her; and the whole race

of Jacob tliall take part in the fame laboui's of the fpiritual held, with proiit and advantage to
therufelves,
' i. e. Sow fucli feed as may produce righteoufnefs, i. e. your juftification, in God's fight, that

foyc may reap according to his exuberant mercy. (See Appendix, N III.) The prophet fpcaks

Jn this i2th vc-rfe. In the following, Jehovah takes up the difcourfe again.
' CVirapare Jcr. iv. 3.

' The imputed righteoufnefs of Chrift.

" .. deceitfull fruit," fair to the eye, but v\ithot flavour, and affording no nonrlHiment.
thy own way," the meafures of thy own policy.
" Heb. The wickednefs of your wickednefs." The idolatries pra(?/ifed in Bethel fliall bring

down fimilar vengeance upon you.

* See Appendix, N. III. t See AppendLx, N^. III.

^ man
 CHAP. XI. H O S E A. 37

man demoliflied Betharbal (S) ; in the day of battle the mo-

15 ther was daflied in pieces lipon the children. Thus fliall

Bethel do to you, becaufe of your wickednefs, your paffing

wickednefs". As the morning (T) is brought, to nothing
(V), to nothing Ihall the King of Ifrael be brought''.

^^^{^^- I When Ifrael was a child, then I loved him, and out
a of Egypt called (A) my No fooner they were
Ton''.

called, than they were gone from my prefence, They! (C)

They facriliced to Baalim, and burnt incenfe to graven

3 images "
: although I was a go-nurfe (E) to Ephraim,
taking them (F) over the Ihoulders ''. But they would not

^ The fudden and total defiruftion of the monarchy of the ten tribes is compared to the fud-
den and total extinflion of the beaiitles of the dawn in the fky, by the mftantaneous ditFufion of
the folar light : by which the ruddy ftreaks in the Eaft, the glow of orange-coloured lisrht upon
the horizon, are at once obliterated, abforbed, and loft in the coTouik fs light of day. Ihe
change is fudden even in thefe climates. It mufi: be more fudden in the tropical; and in all, it

is one of the moft complete that Nature prefents.

^ The Ifrael of this eleventh chapter is the whole people, compofed of the two branches, Jadah
and the ten tribes. But " the houfeof Ifrael" is the kingdom of the ten tribes, as diliiiift from
the other branch.
i"
my fon." Although the fon, here immediately meant^ is the natural Ifrael, called out of
Egypt by Mofcs and Aaron there can be no doubt, that an alluiion was intended by the Holy Spirit
;

to tlie call of the infant Chrift out of the fame country. In reference to this event, the paffage mi?ht
be thus paraphrafed " God in fuch fort fet his affeftion upon the Ifraelites, in ihe infancy of their
:

" nation, that, fo early as from their fettlement in Egypt, the arrangement was declared
firft of
" the defcent of the Mdfliah from Judah, and of the. calling of that fon from Egypt." See Gen.
xlix. 10. Numbers, xxiii. 22. xxiv. 8. and Deut. xxxiii. 7. See note (B )
graven images." For an explanation of this comnxon exprellion
^ ago-nm-fe, &c." When a young child is firft
fee note (D.)
taught to go, the nurfe places hcrfelf
behind its back; and putting her bauds forward, over its ihoulders, brings tiiem under its arm-
pits : and, fupporting the child in this manner, paces, flowly after it, taking fti.-p for Itep \\ ah tlie
child. The allution in the text is to that fort of nurfe, who performs this ofigice.
knciw


38 II O S E A. CHAP. XI.

know, that I preferved their health (F') amid the grievous

4 plagues (G) of men ^. I drew them with the bands of

love, and I was unto them as one raifing the yoke '^

upon
their cheeks, and I fpread provender before him.

5 They fliall not return into the land of Egypt ^

; but the
Ailvrian, He fhall be their king : becaufe they have refufed to

6 return [to me] (H). And the fword fliall weary itfelf in his

cities, and confume his diviners ', and devour becaufe of their

7 counfels ; and my people fhall hang in anxious fufpenfe till

my returning*^. For they were called to a high degree'

All of- one mind (K), they would not (L) be exalted.

o-rievous plagues of men." The plagues of Egypt, which touched not the Ifraelifes.
'
the "oke ;" the heavy yoke of the Egyptian boncUige. The exprellion of raifing the yoke
refers, as is well obferved by archbifhop Newcome, and before him by biftiop Lowth on liaiah,

I. 3, to the cuftom of raifing tlieyoke forward, to cool the neck of the labouring beaft.

( provender." Theinanna in the vvildernefs. Caltalio, and the margin of the Bifliop's

Bible.
* not return into Egypt." They were defirous of making their efcape thither, and many
families perhaps cffeded it. See ix. 6. But here it is threatened, that the nation in a body Ihall

not be permitted fo to efcape.

'
diviners." The fiupid prophet, and the man of the fpirit gone mad, mentioned ix. 7.

See note (I).

'^
The Ifraelltes are not threatened with utter deflruftion, but a near approach toit. Till the

feafon fliall come for God's turning to them again, the}' ihall remain in a flate of doubttull anxious
expe5talicn of relief, or of worfe diflrefs.
* a high degree;" the oppofite of " nothingnefs of condition," mentioned chap. vii. 16.

See the notes on that place.

return." When I com^ a ficond time, it will not be to deftroy. An indireft promife

of coming again, not for judgement, but for mercy.

" the Holy One, &e." Dwelling with thee, but in a peculiar and extraordinary manner,
not after the manner of men. I am no frequenter of cities in general. See note (N).
" after Jehovah." Time will yet come, when they fliall be converted.
r children." It is remarkable, that the expreflion is neither " llielr children," nor " my
children," but fimply " children," The firft would limit the dUcourfe to the natural Ifr.-;el cx-

How

CHAP. XI. H O S E A. 39

8 How Ihall I give thee up, O Ephraim ? Abandon thee,

O Ifrael? How lliall I make thee as Admah, place thee in

the condition of Zeboim? My heart is turned upon me,
9 my bowels (M) yearn all together I will not execute
the fury of mine anger; 1 will not return" to make de-
ftru6tion of Ephraim. For God I am, and not man the ;

Holy One in the midft of thee, although I am no fre-

10 quenter of cities". After Jehovah they fliall walk"

Like a lion he lliall roar verily he himfelf (O) fliall

11 roar; and children'' fliall hurry (P) from the Well:. They
fhall hurry like the fparrow (Q) from Egypt, and like the

clufively; the fecond would be nearly of the fame effeft, as it would exprefs fuch as were already
children, at the time of the roaring. But the word " children," put nakedly, without either of thefe
epithets, exprelfeo thofe, who were neither of the natural Ifrael, nor children, that is worfliippers, of
the true God, at the time of the " roaring ;" but were roufed by that found, and then became chil-
dren j i. e. the adopted children, by natural extraftion Gentiles. This and the next verfe contain
indeed a wonderful! prophecy of the jiromulgation and progrefs of the Gofpel, and the reftoratioa
of the race of Ifniel. The firftclaufe of this icth verfe ftates generally, that they iliall be brought
to repentance. In what follows, the circumftances and progrefs of the bufinefs are defcribed. Firft,

Jehovah fliall roar the roaring is unqueftionably the found of the Gofpel. Jehovah himfelf fliall

roar the found fliall begin to be uttered by the voice of the incarnate God himfelf. The firft effe6i;

fhall be, that children fliall come fluttering from the Weft; a new race of children converts of
the Gentiles; chieliy from the Weftern quarters of the World, or what the Scriptures call tlie

Weft ; for no part I think of Afia Minor, Syria, or Paleftine, is reckoned a part of the Eaft in the

language of the Old Teftament. AfterwarJ.s the natural Ifrael fliall hurry from all the regions of
their difperfion, and be fettled in their own dwellings.
It is to be obferved, that the roaring is mentioned twice. It will be moft confiftent with the
fiyle of the prophets, to t:;ke this as two roarings ; and to refer the hurrying of the children from
the Weft, to the firft; the hurrying from Egypt and AlTyria, to the fecond. l"lie times of the
two roarings are the firft and fecond advent. The firft brought children from the Weft; the re-
newed preaching of the Gofpel, at the fecond, will bring home the Jews. And perhaps this
fecond founding of the Gofpel may be, more remarkably even than the firft, a roaring of Jehovah
in perfon. See Appendix, N III.

dove
 40 HO S E A. CHAP. XI.

dove from Aflyria; and I will fettle them in their own

12 houfes, faith Jehovah (R). Ephraim hath compaffed me
about with treacherj', and the houfe of Ifrael with deceit.

But Judali fliall yet obtain dominion "^

with God, and fliall

be eitabliflied '
with the Holy Ones.

CHAP. I Ephraim feedeth on wind , and followeth after the Eafl

'
XII
wind''. Every day he multiplieth falfehood and deftrut5lion ''.

For while they make a covenant with the Affyrian, at the

2 fiime time oil is carried into Egypt. Jehovah hath alfo

a controverfy with Judah ; and is about to vifit upon Jacob

according to his ways; according to his perverfe pracSlices,

3 he will recompenfe vinto him. In the womb he took his

brother by the heel, and in his adult vigour (A) he had

4 power with God. Even matched with the angel (B) he had

, obtain dominion." A proniiflory allufion to a final refloration of^ tlie Jewifli monarch)-.

r eftablUlied." The word may fignify either the conftancy of Judah's fidelity to the

" Holy Ones;" or the firmnefs of the lupport, which he fliall receive from ihcm. " The Holy

Ones," the Holy Trinity. By the ufe of this plural word the prophecy clearly points to the con-

vcrfion of the Jewifli people to the Chrillian faith. See note (S.)
" The prophet fpeaks to the end of the 6th verfe ;
then God.
b ,, teedeth on wind ;" purfues mcafures^ from which ht> reajSs no advantage : his forbidden

and impolitic alliances.

E;)(t wind." The females of fome animals, m.nrcs, in particular, are fuppofed to con-

ceive heat, by fnufling the dry Eaft wind. So the llVaclites, by their foreign alliances, were in-

flamed with the love of idolatry.

d deftruftion ;" i. e. mnltiplylng kis falfehood he multiplies the canfes of his own deflruc-

tion. See Appendix, N. HI.

' fpake with us ;" tliat is God, fpake with us in the Inins of JacnVi. The things fpoken
concerned Jacob's pofterity, as much, or more than himl'elf. See note (E). Oblerve
certainly
that the taking of his brother by the heel is not mentioned in difparag< ment of the Patriarch.

On the tunlrarv, the whole of ihefc two vtrfcs is a comraemoratiou of God's kindntfs far the

power,
 CHAP. XII. H O S E A. 41

power, and was endued with flrength (C). He had wept (D),
and made fuppUcaiion. At Bethel he found the angel,
5 who fpake with us there^; even Jehovah God of Hods,
6 Jehovah la his memorial^. Thou^ therefore turn unto
thy God ; keep to Charity and Jui\ice (G), and ever look
out for thy God.

7
^^
Canaan the Trafficker (H) ! The cheating balances in

his hand ! He has fet his heart upon over-reaching (I).

8 Neverthelefs Ephraim fliall fay ', Although J became rich,

1 acquired to myfelf [only] forrow ; all my labours pro-

9 cured not for me, what may expiate iniquity (K). But I,

Jehovah, am thy God from [thy firft deHverance from] the

land of Egypt. I will yet again make thee dwell in tents,
10 as in. the days of the folemn aflembly. I have fpoken
[coming] upon the prophets (L),I havealfo multiplied vilion;

anceftor of the Ifraelites, on which the prophet founds an animated exhortation to them, to turn
to that God, from whom they might expeft fo much favour. This favour of God for Jacob dif-

played itfelf, when he was lefs than an infant ; for, before he was born, he took his brother by the

heel ; and, in his adult vigour^ he was endued witli fuch ftrength, as to prevail agal-a(l the angel.
'
his memorial ; i. e. God's memorial. His appropriatej perpetual^ incommunicable
name, exprefling his effcnce. See note (F.)
' Thou therefore, O Ifrael, encouraged by the memory of God's love for thy progenitor, and
by the example, which thou haft in him, of the efficacy of weeping and lupplication, turn to thy
God in penitence ^and prayer, and in the works of righteoufnefs ; and ever, under all circnni-
ftances, and at all times, look out for his mercy and aid, and weavy not with expeSation of his

coming.
* God fays to the prophet, inftead of turning to me, and keeping to works of chaiKy and
juftice, he is a mere heathen huckfter. Thou halt mifcalled him " Jacob." He is Canaan. Not
Jacob, the godly, the heir of the promife. Canaan the cheat, the Son of the Curfe.
'
Neverthelefs, the time will come, when Ephraim will repent and fay, &c. What follows is

the penitent confeffion of the Ephrainiites, in the latter days, wrought upo'n at lalt by God's judge-
ment and mercies.

G and,
 3
2

^a H O S E A. CHAP. XIX,

and, by the miniftry of the prophets, I have Ihewn fimi-

htudes ^,

If Was there idolatry in Gilead ? Surely in Gilgal they

are become vanity. They facrifice bullocks ; their altars

1 alfo are as heaps upon the ridges of the field '. But Ja-
cob ""
fled into the field of Syria, and Ifrael became a fer-

1 vant for a wife, and for a wife he kept watch (M). There-
fore by a prophet Jehovah brought up Ifrael out of

1 4 Eo-ypt, and by a prophet was he tended (N). Ephraim

has f^iven bitterefl provocation. Therefore his mur-
thers fliall be upon him He fhall be forfaken And
his mailer " fhall requite unto him all his blafphemies.

perform fymbolical aftions as, in the cafe of Ifaiah, going naked

k Compelling the prophets to ; }

Ezekiel, lying on one fide; not mourning for his wife Hofea's mar*
Jeremiah, binding himfelf ; ;

and many other inftances.

viage ;

The about Gilead, beyond Jordan, were already captivated by Tiglath-pilefer.
tribes fettled
that the idolatry ftiU praftifed in Gilgal was equally abominable,
God, by the prophet, declares,
tribes, on the Weft of Jordan.
and would bring down fimilar judgements upon the remaining
Jacob, that he fled into Syria, to avoid an
>
So oppofite to thine was the condua of thy father
idolatrous families of Canaan and, in firm reliance on God's promifes,
alliance with any of the
;

And in reward of his failh, God did fuch great things for
fubmitted to the greateft hardfliips.
land of Egypt, and leading them through the wildernefs
pofierity, bringing them out of
the
his
by the hand of his fervant Mofes.
like fheep,
, j,-,5 mafter ;" that is, his conqueror, who ftiall hold him in fervitude, and be the inftru-

ment of God's juft vengeance.

a The former part of the verfe defcribes the confequcnce and pre-eminence of Ephraim, in
his own country, and among the neighbouring nations the latter part, his diminution and lofs of
;

i;onfequence by his idolatry.

> Spoken ironically.

This verfe briefly defcribes the progrefs of idolatry

among the ten tribes, from the time of

When
 ;

CHAP. XIII. H O S E A. 43

CHAP. I When Epbraim fpake, there was dread: he was ex-

3 alted in Ifrael. But he offended in Baal, and died \ And
now they repeat [their] iin : and, (A) in their great wif-

dom'', they have made to themfelves molten images (B) of

their filver ; idols, the workmanlhip of artificers. '1 heir

finilhing is (C), that they fay, " let the facrificers of men
3 kifs the calves"." Therefore they fliall be as the cloud of
the morning, and as the dew which paifeth away early **;

as chaff driven by the whirlwind from the threfliing floor,

4 and as fmoke from the chimney. Yet Jehovah am thy I

God from [thy firft deliverance from] the land of Egypt

and thou Ihalt know no God but me % for faviour there is
none befide me.

the introduftion of the worrtiip of the Tyrian Baal in the reign of Ahab, which may be reclioned
its commencement. Fiom this time they were daily multiplying their idols, and adopting all the
abominations of the heathen rites. The earlier worfliip of Jeroboam's calves was the lealt part of
their guilt ; for it was not properly idolatry ; it was a fchifmatical worfliip of the true God, under
iifallowed emblems, and by a ufurping priefthood. But at length fuperftition made fuch a pro-
grefs among them, that human facrifices were made an effential rite in the worfliip of the calves.
And this was the finiftiing ftroke, the laft ftage of their impiety ; that they faid, " Let the facri-

ficers of men kifs the calves," Let them conlider themfelves as the moft acceptable worfliipjiers,
who approach the image with human blood. " Kifs the calves ;''
i. e. worfliip tlie calves. Among
the antient idolaters, to kifs the idol was an aft of the moft folemn adoration. Thus we read in
Holy Writ of " all the knees which have not bowed to Baal, and every mouth which hath not
kiffedhim." Tully mention;; a brazen ftatue of Hercules at Agrigentum, in which the work-
manftilp of themouth was fenfibly worn by the frequent kiffes of the worfliippers. And in allu-
Holy Pfalmift, calling upon the apoftate faflion to avert the wratii of the in-
fion to this rite, the

carnate God, by full acknowledgemeat of his Divinity, bids tliem " kifs tlie fon ;" i. e. worfliip
him. See more about human facrifices note (D).

* Compare vi. 4.

- thou ftialt know no God but me ;" i. c. thou ftialt not cxperienc* the power and pro-

G a I fuf-
 44 H O S E A. CHAP. xiri.

5 I xltflained thee (E) in the wildernefs. In the land of

parching thirft (F), as in their own pulures : and they

6 were fed to the full (G). Fed to the full, and their heart
was lifted high ; for that very reafon ^
they forgat me.

7 Therefore I will be unto them as a lion ; as a leopard by

8 the way fide (H) I will lye upon the watch (1). I will

meet them as the bereaved bear, and I will rend the caul
of their heart : like a lionefs I will devour them upon the
fpot (K). The wild beaft fliall tear them limb from
limb (M),

9 It is thy deftrutSlion (N), O Ifrael, that upon me [alone

teftion of anr other. Thofe thou called thy Gods will be able to do nothing for thee.
I
for that very reafon." My kindnefs itfelf was the occafion of their ingratitude ; for, in

the pride of heart, which the miraculous fiipply of their wants for fo long a time produced in
them, they forgot their benefaftor.
8 God, in a paroxyfm as it were of indignation, calls himfelf the wild Beaft. See note (L).
* Powerfull as my protetion would have been, O Ifrael, hadftihou placed thy reliance and hope

upon me exclufivcly ; thou haft broken the covenant, thou haft fought to other fuccour, thou
haft formed alliances with the heathen, and even courted the protcftion of their Gods. 1 there-

fore, in my wrath, withdraw from thee my fpecial aid ; and, fince forfaken of me, thou haft no

other helper, thy rain muft enfuc. Thus thy great privilege, to have God alone for thy defence,

becomes the occafion of thy deftrudtion. What follows is angry expoftulation, in broken
fentences.
'
Where is thy king ? &c." This vehement redou'jled interrogation feems to fuppofe a
denial on the part of the Ifraelites of the helplefs ruined fiate, afTerte;, in the former verfe, as the
confequenceof God's withdrawing his protciStion. Do you deny this ? Do you pretend that you

have flil) means of defence, hope of deliverance .'

You rely upon the policy or prow efs of your
monarch. Where is he, this wife and mighty king ? Tell me in what quarter .> Your judges,
your provincial rulers, where are they ? Let fee what deliverance this king and Ihel'e rulers can

eFca.

it
 1 ;

CHA?. XIII. H O S E A. 45

10 it lies] to help thee ^. Where (O) is thy King? Where

'now is he? To fave thee forfooth (I') in all thy cities. And
1 thy Judges ? (Q) ^ InalVnuch as thou faidit, Give me a King
and Rulers, I gave thee a King in mine anger ^^ and I

take him away in my fury.

12 The iniquity of Ephraim is faggotted up'; his lin

13 is hoarded'. The pangs of a travailing woman are com-

ing upon him
He is of the thoughtlefs race (R), for it
is the critical moment, when he ought not to ftand ilill

the children are"" in the aperture (S).

^ T gave thee a king in mine anger." It is not to be concluded from this expreflion, that
God diflikes the monarchical form of government. If this were the place for the difciiffionj it

were eafy to (hew, that the monarchical is the form moft approved in
Holy Writ; as it was alfo
among the heathen the favourite government of the heroic ages. But the original form of go-
vernment in Ifrael was a monarchy; in which God himfelf was the monarch, and the priefts, pro-
phets, and judges, were his minifters. When the Ifraelites therefore defired to have a kino", they
forgot tliat they had a king already ; the Lord of all the Earth condefcending to be in a peculiar
manner their immediate fovereign. Their petition for a king was in contempt of that fovereifnty
of God; and this was the circumftance, by which they incurred God's difpleafure in that petition.

I would obferve that the feven verfes of this chapter, from the jth to the nth inclufively, form a
feftion which regards the whole race o? Ifrael in general. At the lath verfe the prophecy turns
again on Ephraim in particular.
'
fagotted up ho;iriIed" in God's remembrance.
" the aiierture," Heb. the breach." They are aftunlly paffing through the opening
of the parts diflended by the throes of labour. It is the very moment, when the pains mult ter-
minate in the delivery, or the death of the woman. A proverbial expreffion for a crifis of ex-
treme danger, and doubtt'ull cataftrophe. See If. xxxvii, 3. At fuch a moment as this, thought-
lefs Ephraim is fupine and unconcerned.

From


46 HOSE A. CHAP. XIII.

14 (T)Fronv the power of Hell" I will redeem them. From

Death I will reclaiai them". Death! I will be thy^ Pefti-
Icncc (V). Hell ! I will be thy"" Burning Plague (W).

15 (X) No repentance is difcoverable to my eye''! Nay in

truth he is run wild among lavage beafts (V). The Eaft
wind (Z) fliall come. Jehovah is railing up the blall: (Z)
fion^ the wildernefs; and he Qiall dry up his fountain, and

lay dry his fpring 'AA) fliall He'. He Qiall plunder the ftore

16 houfe of all goodly veffells'. Samaria is found guilty,

I.
Hell." Not the place where the damned are to fuffer their torment; but the invifiblc

ulace where the departed fouls of the deceafed remain, till the appointed time fhall come for the

union of foul and body. This is the only Hell of the Old Teftament ; though, by an abufc of
ri-

tlie word, the place of torment is the firll notion it prefents to the Englilh reader. But the

Englifli word Hell proptrly imports no mor6 than the invifible or hidden place, from the Saxon
" helan," to cover over.

In the New Telbment we find the word Hell in our Englirti Bibles in twenty-one paflages im

all. In nine of th( fc it lignities the place of torment ; namely, in thefe. Matt. v. 22. 29, 30.

X xviii. o. xxiii. 15. ,53. Mark ix. 47. Luke xii. 5. In the other twelve, (imply the region

of departed fpirits. And in this fame fenfe it is ufed in tlie Apolile's Creed. " He defcended

into hi-M." Of this place we know little, except that to thofe, who die in the Lord, it is a place

of comfort and reft. Not a Jacobinical paradife of eternal fleep and fenfeleffnefs ; but a place of

happy reft and tranquil hope. In the prophetic imagery it is often mentioned, as a dark cave deep

iu the bowels of the earth. Sometimes it is perfonihed as in this paffage.

As my property, by the right of an owner.
(.
pefiilcnee," the putrid plague-fever, Burning Plague." The folftitial inflamma-

tion, which (eizes and kills in an inftant. See note (W).

* The frequent and fudden tranfitions from threatening to proniifc, from indignation to pathe-

tic perfwafion, and the contrary, produce much obfcurity in the latter part of this prophet ; which
howe>er difnppears, when breaks are made in the proper places. In the 13th verfe, the peril of

Ephraim's fituation, arifing from his own hardened thoughtleffnefs, is defcribed in the moft llrik-

iiio- images. In the 14th, God tlie Saviour comforts him with the promife of the final deliverance

that
 CHAP. xiir. H O S E A. 47
that fhe hath rebelled againft her God. By the fvvord they

Ihall fall ; their infants fhall be dafhed in pieces, and their

pregnant women fhall be ripped up.
r

CHAP. I Return, O Ifrael'^, unto Jehovah thy God, for thou

'
2 haft fallen by thine iniquity. (A) Take with you words ''j

and return unto Jehovah. Say unto him, Take away all

iniquity, and accept the good''. So will we render thee

3 bullocks (C), our own lips''. The AlTyrian Ihall not fave
us ; we will mount no cavalry, and no more we will fay

and f:ilvation. In thefe words, " No repentance is difcorer&ble to my eye," the Saviour complains,
tliat thcfe terrors aud tliefe hopes are all inefteftual. That he perceives no ligns of repentance
wrought by them. The Hebrew founds literally, " Repentance is hidden from mine eyes."
The total defedt of the thing is moft ttrongly expretfed in the aflertion, that nothing of it is to
be difcerned by ih.e aU-fearLhing eye of ihe Divine Saviour. This complaint of univerfal impc-
Bitence introduces new threatening, with which tlie chapter ends. " run wild amon<^ lava<Te
beafts." Broken loofc from the reftraints of God's holy law, given up to his depraved appetites,
and turned mere heathen. For the heathen are the lavage beafts. This is an exaggeration of the
complaint of Epbraim's impenitence. He is become fuch perfedl heathen, in his prcfent manners,
that his cafe feems defperate. See Appendix, N III.
' He." Either Jehovah, or the conqueror reprefented under the image of the wind.
' all goodly veffels." Every article of ornamental furniture, of coftly materials and
exquifite workmanfhip.
" In this xivth chapter, the Prophet is the fpeaker to the end of verfe 3. Then to the end of
verfe 6, God, the Saviour. In verfe 7, the Prophet; verfe 8, the Saviour; verle 9, the
Prophet.
''
Ifrael." The whole family of Ifrael, in both Its branches, is addreffed.
'Take with you words, i. e. a fet form of fuppli cation.
* Take away all iniquity " i. e. Take intirely away the finfull
principle within us. Take
away the carnal heart of the old Adam. " Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a
right fpirit within me." And then, when we are thus begotten again unto holinefs by thy Spirit,
" accept the good :" accept, as good, what, fo regenerate, we fliall be enabled to perform. See
note (B).
e
bullocks, our own lips." Lips are here put for praifes and thankfglvlngs uttered by

<'
Our
 ;

48 H OS E A. CHAP. XIV.

" Our Gods are ye," to the work of our own hands : iu-

aJmuch as with Thee the fatherlefs obtaineth fond protec-

tion.

4 I will reftore their converfion ^ I will love them gra-

tuitoufly^; for mine anger is departed from me (D). I

5 will be as the dew unto Ifrael ; he fliall blofTora as the

lily, and ftrike his roots like [the forert-trees of] Leba-
6 non ^. His fuckers fliall fpread farther and farther (E)

and he Ihall be like the olive tree, for his beauty,

and a fmell [fliall be] in him like [the fmell of] Le-

banon'.

the lips. This kind of metonymy, which puts the caufe or infirumciit for the cffe&, is very fre-
quent with the facred writers. By calling vocal devotions bullocksj the phrafeology fliews, that

this form of fupplication is prepared for thofe times, when animal lacrifices will be aboliflicd, and
prayer and thankfgiving will be the only olTering.
'
their converfion." i. e. their converted race. I take converfion as a colledlive noun, for
converts ; like ciptivity, for the captives, and difperfion, for the dilperfcd. The converted na-
tion God proniifes to reftore to his favour, and to a fituation of profperity and fplendour.
E gratuitoufly.'' Are good works then nothing, you will fay. " Is there no place at all

" for them in the doftrine of Repentance .' I anfwer, that hitherto the difcourfe hath been about
" remiflion of fins, and the gift of the Holy Ghoft. Thefe are entirely gratuitous, and not of our
" merit, but fimply of the inexhauftible goodnefs and companion of God. Therefore, when we
" fpeak of the remiflion of fins, it is right to be filent about our own works; wliich, becaufe they
" are done without tiie Holy Spirit, although with regard to civil foriety they may not be bad, ytt
" cannot be called good, and ought not; becaufe of the unclean heart, from which they proceed,
" But when through faith we have received reiniffion of fins, and, together with that the gift of the
" Holy Gholl fortiuvith from the heart, ai from a pure fountain, come forth works alfogood, and
;

" well-plsafing to God. I'or, although by reafon of the remains of original lln, the obedience even

They
 CHAP. XIV. H O S E A. 49

7 They shall return (F). Sitting under his fhadow'',

they lliall abound in corn (G). They fliall germinate
hke the vine, [and] be famous (H) as the wine of Le-<

banon '.

8 Ephraim (1) ! What have I to do any more with

idols '"
? I have anfwered him. And I will make him
flourifli (K), like a green fir-tree. From me thy fruit is
fupplied.

9 Who is wife ? for he will confider thefe things; intelli-

gent ? for he fhall comprehend (L) them. For ftreight

and even (M) are the ways of Jehovah", and in them

" of the Saints is not perfeSly pure, yet on account of faith in Chrift it is pleafing and acceptable
" to God." Luther, in his Commentary upon this chapter.
* Lebanon is put by metonymy in the Hebrew for the forefls growing on it.

' the fmell of Lebanon." The mountain is celebrated by travellers for the frao^rance of
the greens, that cloth its tides. Maundrell found the great rupture, " which runs at leaft feven
hours travel direSly up from the fea, and is on both fides. exceeding fteep and high, clotlied
"with fragrant greens from top to bottom," Compare Cant. iv. ii.
^
his fhadow," i.e. the fliadow of Jehovah.
' as the wine of Lebanon." The Phcenician wines in general were efteemed by the
an-
tients; efpecially thofe of Tripolis, Tyre, and Berytus, places at the foot of Lebanon, or very
near it : and the wines of that country Itill are excellent. " Le vin du Mont Liban, dont !e Pro-
phcte Ofee a fait dtja rcloge, ell encore excellent." Niebuhr, Voyage, torn. II. p. 366.
" Ephraim idols." An exultation of Jehovah over idols. Ephraim ! Even he is
returned to me. I have no more conteft to carry on with idols. They are completely over-
thrown. My fole Godhead is confeffed.
The ways of Jehovah are the ways which Jehovah himfelf takes, in liis moral government
of the world and the ways of godlinels, which he prelcribes
; to man. Thefe taken together are
H fliall
50 H O S E A, CHAP. XIV.

fliall the juftified (N) (O) proceed", but revolters (F) Iliall

Itumble \

" the ways of Jeliovab." They are (Ireight, becaufe they go flreight forward, without devra-

tion, to the end ; the happinefs of man, and the glory of God,
e fhall the juftified proceed." In the ways of God, as they have been defcribed, " the
"' juftified," thofe who by faith in Chrift have obtained remiliion of their fins and the gift of the

Holy Ghoft, " Ihall proceed}" they will be making daily and hourly approaches to the Journey's
end. They fliall be enabled to advance continually in the underftanding of the ways of Provi-
dence, and of the way laid out by Jehovah for them.
f revolters ftiall flumble." To the incorrigible enemies of God, the very fcheme of mercy
confufion, and ruin. " As God's ways are plain to the Holy, fo are
itfelf will be a caufe of error,

they a Humbling block to the workers of iniquity." Ecclus. xxxix. 24.

CRITICAL
 [ SI ]

CRITICAL NOTES
UPON

H O S E A,

CHAP. I.

(A) Unto HOSEA" yil?n ^H by Hofea" yu>ini unto

Hofea" V"in !?i<

To fpeak to Hofea and by Hofea (^^K and l) are phrafes of different import.
To fpeak to
exprefles, that to him the difcourfe was immediately addreffed.

To fpeak by that through him it was addreffed to others. And that the
fpeech, fo addreffed to others, was not the prophet's own, but God's God ;

ufing the prophet as his organ of fpeech to the people. The different import
of thefe two conftruftions, fo manifeft in the Hebrew text, has been veryjudi-
cioufly preferved in the LXX, according to the Vatican, in the Vulgate, in ^he
Chaldee, in Luther's Latin tranflation, in Calvin's, in our public tranflation, and
in Archbifhop Newcome's, but neglected by Caftalio, Jun. and Trem. and by
HoubigaBt. It muff be confefled, that in fome inftances the prefix 2 feems ufed
as equivalent to ^x. But its moft proper meaning is indifputably a mean be-
tween the oppofite fenfes of p and !?K, frojn and towards, denoting " reft, re-
fidence, or continuance in." Hence it is the proper prepofition of the in-
ftrument, as that in which the adlive power of the firft efficient is placed.

H a And
y- CRITICAL NOTES chap. r.

And ia rucli riudied change from one mode of cxprefTion to another, as oc-
curs in th.io palTage, it is reafonable to fuppofe, that each is ufcd ia its diftin(^.k

and appropriate meaning. Some paffages indeed have been alleged, in which
3 after verb; of fpeaking to, might be rendered by the Latin " cum," or the

Englifn " with." As in Numbers xii. 8. " With Jiim [u] will I fpeak mouth,
to raoutli." But in this, and every inftance of the fame kind except one, the
parties in the difcourfe, God and the Prophet.
or the fuppofed difcourfe, are

And in every difcourfe of God much more is intended than

with a propliet,
the prophet's information the prophet; is always the vehicle of a Divine Mef-
fage to the people. Even in this text of Hofea, wliere what is faid by God
fcems immediately to concern the prophet individually, being a command of
fomething to be done by him in the oeconomy of his domcftic life ; yet the adl

commanded being of public intereft and importance, as it was typical of the

cafe between God and the people of Ifrael ; being commanded for that very

reafon, as a method of public admonition and denunciation ; even in tliis in-

ftance, which in the firft face of it has much the appearance of a private af-

fair of the prophet's, it was rather by than to Hofea that Jehovah fpake ; and
the change in the original from bVi to n, and back again, is not immaterial,

and ought to be preferved in the tranflation.

Some imagine, that a, in this andfimilar paflages, defcribes the mannerof the
divine communication with the holy prophets, not by an audible voice, but by-
internal fuggeftions. " Loqui in aliquo dicitur Deus, cum ea, quss agi vult,.
ejus cordi, ut agantur, infpirat." Eucher. de quseft. V. & N. T. If this be
the force of n, it renders neither " to" nor " by," but "within," " The
betrinning of the word of Jehovah within Hofea ." But I cannot but
think, that in all this extraordinary intercourfe wliich God vouchfafed to hold
with man, the internal fuggeftion muft always have been accompanied, not
perhaps with an audible voice, but with fome external fign, by which the
prophet might with certainty difhinguifh the revelations of the Holy Spirit
from thoughts arifmg in his own mind : and I very much doubt, whether in-
ternal fuggeftion alone was a method of communication. I have no doubt
therefore, that " by," rather than " within," is the proper rendering of '2 in

this paflage.
euAP. r. U P O N H O S E A. 53

(B^ was in this manner." This I take to be the force of

the copula T prefixed .to ^D^5*. And fo it is taken by Caftalio and Huubigant.
Thetis often to be taken as a particle of fpeciiication, equivalent to fciiket,
nempe, ox ?i:mirum, Avery remarkable inftance of this ufe of it we find in

Job's memorable confeffion. of his faith in the Redeemer to come. Jcb xix.

51327.

S3 Oh that my words were now written !"

Oh that they were infcribed in a regifter !

24 Thar, with a pen of iron or lead.

For e\'erlafting they were graven on a rock !

After this wifh, T prefixed to >J>* at the beginning of the next verfe, very
ill rendered " for" in our public tranflation, fpecifies the wordSj which Job
would have recorded ; the matter of the infcription.

45 *ryT ^3H^ Namely, [thefe words,] I know the Living one is my

Redeemer, ?>(.c. to the end of Vi ij.

Vide Nold. not. izcS..

(C) IS perpetually playing the wanton" T\'irT\ n3?. to whore

whores." This conftru(Siion, in which the finite verb is connecled with its

ewn infinitive, for the moft partexprefles the perpetual repetition of the adlion,
as a matter of daily practice and habit.
Buxtorf's difliincTtion, that when the infinitive is put firft, this conflrucSlion

expreflTes the greater certainty and evidence of the things; but when the infinitive

follows, the continuance and frequent pratlice, feems to me to have no founda-

tion. I think that, in either pofitlon of the infinitive, greater certainty, or
greater frequency may be exprefi^ed, as the fubjedl matter may require.

(D) I will vifit the blood of Jezrael upon the houfe of Jehu."
Jezrael, the rayftical name of the Prophet's fon, mufl: be familiar to all who
are converfant in the Holy Scriptures, as the name of a city in the tribe of
^Iflachar, and of a valley or plain, in which the city ftood : the city, famous
[or its vineyard,, which cofl: the rightfull owner, the unfortunate Naboth, liis

See Thef. Gramm. lib. II. cap. i5. Reg. 2.

life:-.
 5+ CRITICALNOTES chap. r.

life ; and, by the righteous judgement of God, gave occafion to the down-
fall of the Royal Houie of Ahab the plain, one
: of the lineft parts of the
whole land of Canaan; if we may judge from the partiality of the Kings of
Ifrael for the fpot, who all fixed their refidence in one or other of its nume-
rous cities. Modern expofitors, entirely forgetting the Prophet's fon, have

thought of nothing in this paflage but the place ; the city, or the plain. A
miflake into which perhaps they have the more eafdy by reafon of the fallen,

explicit mention of the place at the end of the fubfequent verfe. But if the
word Jezrael be taken here as the name of a place, the threat of " avenging,
or viliting, upon the houfe of Jehu the blood of Jezrael," will lignify, that
the family of Jehu was to be punifhed for blood fhed by Jehu, or by his de-
fcendants, in that place.
Jehu himfelf fhed the blood of Ahab's family, with unfparing hand, in Jez-
rael. But this was an execution of the judgement, which God had denounced
by his Prophet Elijah againft the houfe of Ahab, for the cruel murther of
Naboth. And it may juftly feem extraordinary, that this fhould be mentioned

as a crime of fo deep a dye, as to bring down vengeance upon Jehu's houfe.

It is true, that when the purpofes of God are accomplifhed by tlie hand of
Man (which is the cafe indeed in fome degree in every Iiuman aftion), the very
fame adl may be juft and good, as it proceeds from God, and makes a part of
the fcheme of Pro\ndence ; and criminal in the higheft degree, as it is per-

formed by the Man, who is the immediate agent. The Man may aft from fln-

fuU motives of his own, without any confideration, or knowledge, of the end
to which God direfts the aftion. In many cafes the Man may be incited by

enmity to God and the true religion to the very adl, in which he accomplifhes
God's fecret, or even liis revealed, purpofe. The Man, therefore, may juftly
incur ivrath and punifhment, for thofe very deeds, in which, with much evil
intention of his own, he is the inftrument of God's good providence. But
thefe diftinftions will not apply to the cafe of Jehu, in fuch manner as to

folve the difficulty arifing from this interpretation of the text. Jehu was fpe-
cially commifTioned by a Prophet *' to fmite the houfe of Ahab his mafter
to avenge the blood of the Prophets, and the blood of all the fervants of

Jehovah, at the hand of Jezabel \" And however the general corrup-

' 3 Kings i.\. 7.

tion
CHAP. 1.' U P O N HO S E A. 55

tion of human nature, and the recorded imperfetftions of Jeiiu's characTter,

niight give room to fufped, that in tlie excilion of Ahab's family, and of
the whole faction of Daal's worfliippers, he might be inlHgated by motives of
private ambition, and by a cruel fanguinary dilpofition ; the fa6t appears from
the hiftory to have been otherwile ; tliat he afted through the whole bufinef$
with a confcientioLls reg-'rd to God's commands, and a zeal for his fervic e : in-
fomuch, that when the work, v/as corrpleted, he recei\ed the exprefs approba-
tion of God ; and the continuance of the fceptre of Ilrael in his family, to the
fourth generation, was promiled as tiie reward of this good and accepted fer-

vice. " Jehovah faid unto Jehu, b?cau(e thou hafr done well, in executing
that which is light in mine eyes, and haft dune ui.to the houfe of Ahab ac-
cording to all, that was in my heart; thy children of the fourth generation
fhall fit on the throne of Ifrael '." And it cannot be conceived, that the very
fame deed, which was commanded, approved, and rewarded, in Jehu, who
performed it, fhould be punillied as a crime in Jehu's pofterity, who had no
fhare in the tranfaftion.
To avoid this difficulty, another interpretation is mentioned nith approba-
tion by the learned Focock, in which " the blood of Jez-:el" is fcill under-
ftood of the blood of Ahab s family, ihied by Jehu in Jezrael : but, by a parti-
cular acceptation of the verb "ipB,- this is underftood iiot as the obje6t, but as
the ftandard, or model, of the punifhment. And the words are brought to this
fenfe -, that God will execute vengeance upon the Hi,.ked houfe of Jehu, in
flaughter abundant as the flaughter of Ahab's family and kindred in Jezrael.
But in this way of taking the words, a piinilhmicnt is denounced for a crime
not fpecified ; which is not after the manner of the denunciations of Hnly Vv'rit,
Befides, although the Hebrew words in thcmfelves might not be incapable o
this conftru6lion, if this were the only palTage in which the phrafe occurred ;

the truth is, it is a very common manner .of exprefllon. And wherever the
phrafe is ufed of " vifiting anything upon a perfon," the thing, which is the
obje6l of the verb tranfitive (without any prepofition or prefix) is always to-

be underftood as fome crime, to be punifhed upon the perfon. And to take

the phrafe any other mrnt.er here would be a mode of interpretation, which,
in

would tend to bring upon the ftyle of the facred writers the very worfl: fpccies
of obfcurity that of uncertainty ; divefting the moft familiar expreffions of a
clear definite meaning.
' 2 Kings X. 30.

H4 -
For.
56 " CRITIC A LNOTES CHAP. I.

For thefe reafons, I am perfwaded, that Jezrael is to be taken in this pafTage

in its myftical meaning, ; and is to be underftood of the perfons typified by

the Prophet's fon the holy feed the true fervants and worfhippers of God.
It is threatened, that their blood is to be vifited upon the houfe of Jehu, by
which it had been fhed. The princes defcended from Jehu were all idolaters.

And idolaters have always been perfecutors of tlie true religion. In all ages,

and in all countries, they , have perfecuted the Jezrael unto death, whenever
thev have had the power of doing it. The blood of Jezrael, therefore, which
was to be vifited on the houfe of Jehu, was the blood of God's fervants, fhed
in perfecution, and of infants flied upon the altars of their idols, by the idola-
trous princes of the line of Jehu, And fo the expreffion was underflood by
St. Jerome and by Luther.

(E) And this fhall be in that very day, when I break, &c." I fuggeft it to

the learned to confider, whether the phrafe fo frequent in the Prophets,

NVnn DVU n^m is not to be differently taken, according as it is connedted, or

not conne6fed, with the fubfequent claufe by the copula V I am much in-

clined to think, that when it is not fo connedled, Kinn DV is to be underflood

of a time defcribed, or marked, by fome event already mentioned ; and the

force of the expreflion is to notify, that the event of the fubfequent claufe is to

take place at that time. But when thefe three words are conne6led with the
fubfequent claufe by the copula T; then I conceive, that the event of the fubfe-

quent claufe affords the marks of the time, and gives the date of the event
previouily mentioned. So that in both cafes a fynchronifm is defcribed, but
with this difference ; that in the firft cafe the event previoufly mentioned gives

the date of the other; in the fecond c d'e, the other event gives the date

of that previoufly mentioned. And the nominative underflood of the verb

fubftantive, fhould be rendered, in the firfl cafe by the pronoun " it;" in the

fecond, by the demonflrative " this." Thus in chapter ii. verfe i6. (i8 Heb.)

f^^a 'ik^pn n-n^ Di<3 ii^r]n am rfm " And it fhall be in that day (faith Jeho-

A-ah) thou ftialt call me Iflii." i. c. in the day when Jehovah fhall do the things
mentioned in the preceding verfe. Thefe things make the date of the time;

and the calling of Jehovah IflVi is the event referred to that date. But in this

paffage >m3"l Hinn DVliTm " And this fliall be in that very day and I break,

&c." i. e. And this fhall be [the thing laft mentioned, the " demolition of the
kingdom
CHAP. I. trPON HOS.EA. 57

kingdom of Unci, fliall take place] in that very dw when I break, Sec."

Here the breaking of the bow is and to that

the event that marks the date ;

date, fo marked, the thrcatenal excidon of the kingdom of ihe ten tribes is re-
ferred. 1 prcfume not to lay this down as a rule of interpretation, which will

invariably hold. But I think it will, and I propofe it to the learned, as a ,

matter that deferves an accurate invcftigation. Whether the rule hold inva-
riably or no, I cannot but think that the fuppofed diftin6\ion has ledde me to

the true fenfe of this text ; which, taken the contrary way, as I think it has

been^ generally taken, as a denunciation, that, when the Monarchy fhould be

iibolifhed, its military flrength fhould be broken, appears to be of lefs im-
portance. For how iliould the military ftrength furvive the Monarchy ? But
it was of moment to give the people warning, that the advantages, which the
enemy would gain over them in that part of the country, would end in the ut-
ter llibvcrfion of the kingdom. For had this timely warning produced re-

pentance and reformation ; the judgement, no doubt, would have beeu

vaverted.

(F) infomuch as to be perpetually forgiving them," So I render

with Jun. and Trem. Livelye, and Houbigant, and with tlic approbation of
Drufius. The words will not bear the fenfe, in which they are taken by Arias
Montanus ; althovigh it is adopted by Calvin, Caftalio, Diodati, in our public
tiftnflation, aad by Archbifhop Newcome. For the verb \y3, in the fenfe of

taking away, never governs its objeft by the prefix b.

(G) in the place where.'^' So I render the words "iu?K D"ipa3,

^nd for' thus rendering we have the authority of LXX. Jerome, Vulg. Syr.
and Chald. and, it muft be added, of St. Paul himfelf*. It feems,
therefore, to have been without due confideration, that a different rendering

has been adopted, upon the authority of fome of the later Jews, by Jun.
and Trem. Caflalio, Grotius, Wells, and Houbigant. As if *iu;K DipDl flight
be equivalent to'^^i* nnn
*' inflead of what," pro eo quod; a fenfe which
I believe cannot be fupported by a lingle inflance. Junius objedls to the
-other rendering, that to bear that fenfe the word DIpD ought to have had the
emphatic article prefixed. But Mr. Liveilye well remarks, tliat in other places

f Rom. ix. 26,

I this
 .,

58 CRITICALNOTES chap, r.

this felf fame expreflion, in the felf fame form, is taken by tliat learned in-
terpreter himfelf, in the very fenfe which in this place he rejects. Name!}-,
in Lev. iv. 24. Jer. xxii. 12. and Ezek. xxi. 35. Indeed, in thofe places it

can be taken in no other. I agree with Mr. lavelye, that this fenfe, confirmed
by all the antient verfions, and by St, Paul, is indeed the only true and cer-
tain fenfe of the phrafe.

(H) 10. II. By the expofition which I have given of the feveral parts of'
this pafTage, I hope I have fhewn that it is an exprefs prophecy of the final con-
verfion and reftoration of the Jews, not without manifeft allufion to tJie call of
the Gentiles. The word Jezrael, though applied in this paffage to ths devout
part of the natural Ifrael, by its etymology is capable of a larger meaning,,
comprehending all of every race and nation, who, by the preaching of the,

Gofpel, are made members of Chrifl and the children of God. All thefe arc
a feed of God, begotten of him, by the fpirit, to a holy life, and to the inhe-
ritance of immortality. The words Ammi and Ruhamah, and their oppofites;,
Lo-ammi and Lo-ruhamah, are capable of the fame extenfion the two for- ;

mer to comprehend the converted, the twa latter the unconverted' Gentiles.
In this extent they feem to be ufed in chap. ii. verfe 23, which Itake to be a
prophecy of the call of the Gentiles, with manifeft allufion to the reftoration
of the Jews. Accordingly, we find thefe prophecies of Hofea cited by St.

Paul to prove, not the call of the Gentiles folely, but the ihdifcriminate call'

to falvation both of Gentiles and Jews. He afiirms, that God " has called us,
[i. e, us Chriftians] veflels of mercy, afore-prepared unto Glory," ii ixovcv i^ 'la^aiccv

dxxtx, ^ ^ i^vtZv, " not of the Jews only, but moreover of the Gentiles too*."
And it is in proof of this propofition, that he cites the propli^cies of Hofca.

And the manner of his citation is thus. Firft, he alleges two claufes, but in
an inverted order, from the 23d verfe of chapter ii. which feera to relate,

more immediately to the call of the Gentiles. " I will call them my people,
&c. and her beloved, &c." And to thefe he fubjoins, as relating folely to

the reftoration of the Jews, that part of this prophecy of the firft chapter, which
affirms, that " in the place where it was faid unto them, ye are not my peo-
ple, there they ftiall be called the children of the. Living God." From thefe

' Rom. ix. 24,

detached
GHAP. r. U P ON HO S E A. 59

detached pafTKgcs, thus connedted, he derives the confirmation of his propofi-

tion, concerning the joint call of Jew and Gentile^ to the mercy of the
Gofpel *.

The allufion, which is made to thefe prophecies by St. Peter in his firft

Epiftle '', is not properly a citation of any part of them, but merely an acconi-
modation of the expreflions, " Not my People;" "My People;" " Not
having obtained mercy;" " Having obtained mercy;" to the cafe of the He-
brews of the Afiatic difperfion before and after tlieir converfion.

It is furprizing, that the return of Judah from the Babylonian captivity

fhould ever have been confidercd, by any Chriilian Divine, as the principal ob-
je6l of this prophecy, and an event in which it has received its full accom-
plifhment. It was indeed confidered as an inchoate accomplifliment, but not
more than inchoate, by St. Cyril of Alexandria. The expofitors of antiquity,

in fuch cafes, were too apt to take up with fome circumfirances of general re-
femblance, without any critical examination of the terms of a Prophecy, or of
the detail of the Hiftory to which they applied it; The fa6l is, that this pro-

phecy has no relation to the return from Babylon in a lingle circumftance.

And yet the abfurd interpretation, which confiders it as fulfilled and finiihed
in that event, has of late been adopted. " et erit numerus filiorum, &c."
V. 10. " Quando impleta eft hasc praedidlio ?" fays a learned expoiitor and ;

anfwers the quefi;ion, " But what was the number of

In reditu Babylonico."

the returned captives, tliat it fhould be compared to that of the fands upon
the fea lliore ? The number of the returned, in comparifon witli the whole
captivity, was nothing. " Then Judah and Ifrael fhall appoint thcmfelves one
head." Zorobabel, fays Grotius. But how was Zorobabel one head of the reft
of Ifrael, as well as of Judah ? A later critic anfwers, *' After the return from
Babylon, the diftindlion between the kingdoms of Ifrael and Judah ceafed."
But how was it, this diftinftion ceafed ? In this manner, I apprehend.
The kingdom of Ifrael had been abolifhed above 180 years before ; Judah alone
exifted as a body politic ; and the houfe of Judah returned under their leader

Zorobabel, with fome few ftraglers of the captivity of the ten tribes. And no
fooner were the returning captives re-fettled in Judaea, than thofe of the ten
oibes, joining with the mongrel race, which they found in Samaria, feparated

f
Rom. is., a,:. 26. ' Chap. ii. 10,

I a themfelves
6o C R T 1CAL NOTES
I CHAP. I.

themfelves frotri Judah, and fet up a leader, and a fchifniatical woifliip of

their own. Was this any fuch incorporation, as the prophecy defcribes, of
Judah and the reft of" Ilrael under one Sovereign ? To interpret the prophecy
in this manner is to make it little better, than a paltry quibble ; more worthy
of the Delphic tripod, than of the Scripture of Truth. Very judicious upon
this fubjedl are thtfe remarks of the learned Houbigant. " The Prophet," he
fays, " in the loth verfe, paffes from threatening? to promifes, which is the
' manner of the Prophets, that the Jews might not think, that after the ac-
" complifhment of the threatenings, God would concern himfelf no more
" about their nation. Thofe promifes feem to refpeil the final condition of
" the Jews, when they fhould colledl under one head, the Meffiah ; that ir

" might properly be faid of them, " Ye are children- of the Living
" God." It accommodate the words of this pafiage to the re-
is difficult to
*' turn from the Babylonian captivity. Thofe Jews, who returned from Baby-
" Ion, were not fo much as one hundredth part of the whole Jewifh race fc ;

" little were they to be compared with the fands of the fea ncr did they :

*' appoint themfelves one head. Zorobabel was indeed their leader, but not
" their fingle leader ; and their form of government henceforward was nor
" monarchical, but an ariftocracy. Nor had they kings till the very lafl, when:
" they were become unworthy to be called, " Children of. the Living God.'*

CHAP. II.

{A) 1 HE A^erb la?} is comparatively fo fcldom ufed otherwife, than as equi-

valent to the Englillr verb " to fay," with a declaration fubjoined of what was
faid ; that I hefitatedlong about the tranfiation, which I venture to give of this
paffage ; in which I take the verb as equivalent to the Englifli word " to fpeak,"

without immediate mention of the words fpoken. But, confulting the Con-
cordances, I find many unqueftionable inflances of this ufe of it. See Pf. iv.

5. Pf. Ixxi. 10. Gen. xliii. 27. 29. Ezek. xxxiii. 10. Ezra viii. 22. Pf. xxix. 9*
Efther
 3

CHAP. ri. UPON HOSE A. ' .61

Ffther iii. 4. iv. 10. vi. 4. Pf. Ixxxix. 19. cxlv. 6, Exod. xix. 2^. 2 Chron.
xxxii. 24. 2 Sam, xiv. 4-

(B) The verb a\y3 fignifies properly " to flay the fkin." Hence, when ap-
plied to garments, it fignifies, " to ftrip to the bare flcin," to diveft even of

the garments next the Ikin. my is a more general word, and exprefles a lefs
degree of denudation. And the two joined rogedier exprefs, " to ftrip per-
" fedlly one already half naked." HDiy n^a'trBK 13. Ne nudam earn plane de-
nudenu Tiiis is confirmed by a fimilar exprefhon in the Book of Job '
** thou haft ftripped. the naked of their clothing," i. e. thou haft even diyefted
the beggar, thinly clad, of that poor covering. The verb 3:*^ fometimes fignifies,
" to fix, or leave remaining in its place." But properly, I think, it denotes
" to prefent openly to view." Hence the full fenfe of the pafTage is, that the
difgraced difcarded wanton fhould be ftripped ftark-naked, and, in that fitua-
tion, expofed to public view. To exprefs this clearly in the Englifh languao-e^
I have found itnecefliiTy to tninfpofe the Hebrew words, which ftand in this
order. " Left I ftrip-her-to-the-lkin, naked, and-fet-her-up-to-view as the
" day when fhe was born." But it is evident that the circumftance, in which
the condition of the difgraced adultrefs refembles that of the day of her birth,
is perfect nakednefs.

(C) hath caufed fhame." I take the verb rrauin actively, as it is

taken by LXX, and archbifhop Newcome. It is evidently the third perfon

ling. fern, praeterit. Hiphil.

(D) her ways." For I2*n I read with Syr. rPDm, the noun plu-
ral inregimine, inftead of the Angular, and with the fuffix of the third perfon
feminine fingular, inftead of the fecond. The render the pronoun in LXX
the third perfon, inftead of the fecond : but the noun they give in the fingu-
lar: as if they redde nDTT; which reading is adopted by Houbigant and
Archbifhop Newcome.

(E) a ftone fence," mj is properly *' maceria." A low wail

of loofe ftones, laid one upon another, without any cement or mortar.

'
" Chap. xxii. 6, '

1 Such
 6i CRITICAL NOTES chai-. n.

Sucli enclofurcs are very common at this day in Gloucefterfliire, and orlicr

parts of this ifland, where quarries of" the ftone, fit for the purpofe, abound.

^F) -:-" her outlets." m^TiS are paths worn by the feet, often

paffing and repaffing upon the fame line. I think that here the word figni-
fies "gaps" in ahfamble hedge, or ftone-fence, made by clambering over re-

peatedly a^ the fame place. The text alludes to a double enclolure, an inner
fence of loofe ftone, a bramble hedge on "the outfide : both damaged and bro-
ken in many places. The hedge is to be made; the ftone fence repaired;
tl-.e gaps in both clofcd ; and all made fo firm and ftrong, that it will be im-
practicable to find any way out. This enclofure is an adn.irable image of na-
tional difficulty, and difrrefs, from which no human policy, or force, can ex-
tricate.

(G) Iier fhame." nn^^y Confidering the connexion of this

menace with tliat immediately preceding, of carrying off" the wool and the flax,

the materials of the woman's cloathing,- I haVe lome fufpicion, that this word
may fignify the parts of the perfon, which niodefty conceals. In Leviticus v.

2. and in other paffages, n'?13, in reg. /I^n3, is ufed for a putrid carcafe.

(H) her vineyards and her fig-tree orchats." I cannot but think
the words 133 and ^3^*n are ufed here, by a lynecdoche, for plantations of vines
and fig-trees. Certainly it cannot be faid of a fingle tree, that it is laid wafte,

or made a foreft.

(I) my pay." TOrK. The fee of proftitution. Compare ix. i.

her necklace." See Appendix:, N" IL

(K) Illii Eaali." The words ^it>^< and bV2 are both applicable
to a hufband ; and fometimes fimply as a huftjand. . But taken ftriftl}-,

the latter fignifies a fevere ; the former, a kind indulgent huft^and. " Vox
*'
bV2 proprie fonat o e'xonv habens quamcumque rem in fua poteftate quare ad ;

' maritum refertur per ellipfin, qui integre dicitur nti?K^y3, Exod. xxi. 3.
' Sed vox fumitur in facris hoc fenfu gemina fignificatione ; vel fim-
*' plice, pro marito abfque alterlus quahtatis refpedlu, ut Gen. xx. 3. Joel i.

*' 8. vel ejj-ifcijihMs pro viro imperiofo, qui uxorem fevere habet tanquam Do-
*' minus.
 ;

CHAP. ir. U P ON HO S E A. 63

" minus, & omni fuo in earn jure utilur; quomodo tu t^H, viro leni & be-
*' nigno, contradiftiiiguitur ; ut apucl Huf. cap. i'i. 15. & Jer. xxxi. 32."
Vitringa ad Jef. cap. liv. 5.

(L) arriiour," HDn^ia. I think the word is ufed here for every
accoutrement of battle, all ofFenfive weapons, and defenfive armour.

(M) betroth thee with juftice, &c." A noun fubflantive after

the verb ^y*^^*, with 2 prefixed, denotes the dowry, or that which the Man
gives to obtain his fpoufe of her parents ^ Chrift gave for the efpoufal of the
Church his bride, "jn^J, his own juftice; Mti'D, his perfedl obedience to the
law; TDn, exuberant kindnefs; D"'Drn, tender love ; riDIQS*, faithfullnefs, fteddy
adherence to his part in the covenant between the Holy Three.
" Ubi diligenter expendi loca fcripturac, in quibus ufus eft vocis
" njIDK, ubi Deo aut Regi tribuitur ; obfervavi convenientiflimam ei tfie fig-
" nificationem, Fidei, live Fidelitatis, Veracitatis, Conftantias in reprasfen-
" tandis promiffis : & eft vere propria haec & genuina vocis fignihcatio, ubi
" deDeo ufurpatur." Vitringa ad Jcf. xi. 5.
" To myfelf I fay, &c." The copula ^ in tlie original exprefles all this e'm-^

phafis of reiterated affeveration ''.

(N) I will
:^
perform my part, &c.'' HiVi*. The primary and nioll
proper meaning of the verb njy I take to be *' to re-adl ;" when B re-adls
upon A, in confequence of a prior action of A upon B. But more largely it

predicates reciprocal, correfpondent, or cor-relate adlion. Thus it fignifies

the proper a6lion of one thing upon another, according to eftablillied phy Il-
eal fympathies in the material world ; or, among intelligent beings, according
to the rule of moral order. It has always reference to a f) ftem of agency
and may be applied to any individual agent, in a fyftem of agents, whofe ac-
tion regularly excites, or is excited by, the actions of the reft. Thus it may
be applied to the adl of the firft mover, which fets all the reft a-going, as
well as to the afts of the fubordinate agents : as in vocal muiic, it is applica-
ble to the linging of the firft voice, as v/ell as to the inferior performers, who
'
Sec 2 Sam. iii. 14. * See Appendix, N* III.

T 4 follow
 64 CRITICAL NOTES chap, n.

follow him. And in this paffage it is applied, firft to the aftion of God hitn-

felf upon the powers of Nature ; then, to the fiibordinate adlion of the parts

of Nature upon one another and laft of all, to the fubfervience of the ele-
;

ments and their piiylical produdf ions, to the benefit of man, and ultimately by
the direction of God's over-ruling providence, to the exclufive bene-tit of the
, godly. In ihoit, it expreffes generally one agent performing its proper part
upon another. And to this general notion all the particular fenfes of the word,

are reducible.

(O) I will fow her Thus the learned Va-

as a feed for myfelf."
tablus ;
*' Et feminabo earn
Hebraifmus, pro fpargam cam inftar fementis-
" fuper terram." And Mr. Livelye " Ad ecclefise multiplicationem hoc,
:

" pertinet."

CHAP. Ill:

(A) addicted to wickednefs." I adopt the rendering of the.

LXX and Syr. which nothing oppofes but the Maforetic pointing.

(B) 1 own'd her," ^^D^*'), from the root ")D3. See Parkhurfl:

under "i^n. This was not a payment, in the fhape of a dowry ; for the woman
was his property, if he thought fit to claim her, by virtue of the marriage al-

ready had : but it was a prefent fupply of her neceffary wants, by which he
acknowledged her as his wife, and engaged to furnifh her with alimony, not
ample indeed, but fuitable to the reclufe life, which he prefcribed to her.

Calvin obferves, that the parhmonious gift, a fum of money which was but
half the price of a female flave, and a phtance of black barley bread, typified
the hard fare, which the Ifraelites were to expedl at the hand of God, in their

ftate of exile. See Appendix, N II.

(C) without Statue, and without Ephod and Teraphim."

An Ephod feems to have been a garment, like a cloak without fleeyes,. co-
vering the body as low as the pit of the ilomach before, and as low as the
Ihoulderr
CHAP, iir, UPON no SEA. 65

fhoulder- blades behind. It feems to have taken its name from the flraitnefs of

its collar, and the manner in which it was failened about the perfon. '
Tlie
Ephod of the Higli Prieft was of coflly materials, and the richeft embroidery;
and it made a very principal part of his robes of office. But fomething of a
iimilar fhape, and of the fame name, but made of plain linen, was worn by
the inferior priefts '', and occafionaily at leaf! by other perfons''. But it

appears alfo, that idolaters, at leaft the idolatrous Ifraelites, fometimcs

drefTed up the images of the deities they worfliipped, in a gorgeous Ephod,
vefembling that of the High Prieft, and made perhaps in imitation of it.

And this was lb principal, and fo ficred a part of the idol's robes, that the

word was fometimes ufed name for the idol itfelf. Thus certainly we muft
as a

underftand Gideon's Ephod; when it is faid, " that he fet it up (2S^) in his own
" city, in Ophrah, and that all Ifrael went a whoring after it; which thing
" became a fnare unto Gideon and his houfe^" This Ephod was made, ac-
cording to the facred Hiftorian, of the fpoils of the flaughtcred Midianites,
the purple robes of their kings, the gold of their ear-rings, and other orna-
ments. Infomuch that, in t!ie coftlinefs of the materials, itmuch refembled
the facred Ephod of the High Prieft. But when it is faid, that it " was fet up
" Ophrah, and that all Ifrael went a whoring after it," the robe is certainly
in

put for an image, which was adorned with it, and drew fo much admiration,
that, whatever the original intention of the maker of it might be, in procefs of

time it became an obje<St of idolatrous adoration. The Ephod, therefore, ap-

pears to have been a principal ornament both of the true and of the falfe wor-
fhip. And when the word is ufed, in the figurative language of Prophecy, as
it is in this paflage, to exprefs in general the external grandeur of public in-
ftitutions ; it is in itfelf of ambiguous import, and its connexions in the con-
text muft determine, whether it refers to the approved forms of a pure fervice,

or to idolatry. That it refers to the latter in the text, is evident from the
connedlion with Statues mentioned next before, and Teraphim next after the
Ephod. For both thefe will be found to be produced here, as principal ar-
ticles of the furniture of idolatry.

' I Sara. xxii. i8. ''

i Sam. ii. i8. =
Judges viii. 27. 28.

K We
66 CRITICAL NOTES chap. iii.

We find the Teuapiiim among the faithfull, in the patriarchal ages, and

among idolaters afterwards. For Laban, who was a worfliipper of Jehovah,

had his Teraphim ^, and Nebuchadnezzar had his''. They feem to have been
imao-es, made in feme general refemblancc of the perfon of a man'-. The Te-
raphim of the idolaters were probably corrupt imitations of thofe of the true
vvorfhippers ; for the antient idolatry was in every thing a mimickry and mif-
application of the patriarchal fymbols. The Teraphim of idolaters were rnagi-

cal images, ufed for the purpofes of Divination ; as appears in particular from
Ezekiel in the place quoted. But the patriarchal Teraphim w^ere probably
emblematical figures, like the Cherubim ; like thofe I mean of the fimpler fort,
which were feen in the ornaments of the more open parts of the tabernacle,
and of the temple. The Teraphim I take to have been figures of the like

myftic import; but of materials, lefs coftly, of coarfer work, and certainly upon
a fmaller fcale : though not of fo diminutive a fize, as to be carried about by tlie

Hioh Prieft, according to Dr. Spencer's wild notion, concealed in the folds of

the facred breaft-platc. For it appears, that one of thefe images was big
enough to perfonate a lick man in bed ''. I imagine they were ufed, as moft
facred ornaments of confecrated chapels, or oratories, in private lioufes. The
ufe of them was certainly allowed before the law ; and whether it might
not be tolerated occafionally for fome time afterward, when, by reafon of the
deprclTcd lituation of the Ifraelitcs, the tabernacle at Shilo might not be accef-
fible to the greater part of the people, is a queftion, that may deferve conli-

deration. For my own part, I would not take upon me to pronounce, that
JVlicah, the man of Mount Ephraim of whom we read in the Book of
Judges % was an apoilate, and an idolater. The circumftances of the firory

incline me indeed to the contrary opinion ; though his worfliip feems to have
been, in a confiderable degree, corrupt. But however that may be, however
innocent the ufe of thcfe images might have been in the patriarchal ages, and
however it might be tolerated (which however I alfert not) upon particular oc-
cafions in the earlieft periods of the Jewilli Hiflory, when the public worfliip

was interrupted by the tyranny of the heathen nations, who were permitted

from time to time to hold the Ifraelites in fubjeftion ; it is very certain, that

" Gen. xxxi. 19. >

Ezek. xxi, 21. ' i Sam. xix. ij and 16.

* 1 Sam. xix. ij and 16. ' Cbap. xvii. and xviii.

in
CHAP. in. UPON HO SEA. *7

in procefs of time they were fo much abufed, to fuperfthious purpofes, that

the ufe of them was abfolutely forbidden to God's people ; and, long before
the time of the Prophet Hofea, they were confidered as a part of the worft
Tubbifh of idolatry, which it became the duty of the faithfull to dcllroy. Juft as
the brazen ferpent, which Mofes had erected by God's exprefs command, a fa-

cred fymbol, as our.Lord himfelf expounds it, of the redemption, became fo much
an objecft of fuperftifious adoration, that it is recorded as one of the good ac^s
of Hezekiah, that he brake it in pieces, calling it in contempt Nehufhtan^
*' the brazen things" When the Prophet Samuel would reprefent to Saul
the enormity of his crime, in not having executed the command of God ; he
could find nothing worfe, vvith which he could compare it, than the fin of witch-
craft and Teraphim''. The Teraphim are numbered among the abominations irj

the land of Judah and in JerufaJem, which Jofiah put away ^ From all this I

connot but conclude, that the Teraphim, in the text of Hofea, are to be under-
ftood of nothmg but implements of idolatrous rites, images confecrated to the
purpofes of Magic and Divination. If the reader wifhes for fuller information
upon this fuhjedl, from which he may form an opinion for himfelf, let him
confult Dr. Spencer's DifTertation on Urim and Thummim. Information he may-
derive from the various and profound erudition of that work, which will make
him amends for the disgufl:, which the extravagance (not to give it a worfe
name) of the opinion which the author would ful^ain, if he has any reverence
for the myfteries of the true religion, mufl create. Let him alfo confult the

learned work of Francifcus Moncoeius, De Vitulo aureo, particularly the 4th,

5th, 6th, and 7th, the i6th, 17th, i8th, 19th, and 20th chapters of the ifl:
book; Mr. Hutchinfon, on " The Names and Attributes of the Trinity of the
"Gentiles," in the fedlion, intituled, D^SnD D^^'?^* the learned Julius :

Bate's " Enquiry into tlie occafional and Handing Similitudes of the Lord
*' God :" the fame learned writer's ' Critica Hebraea," under the roots HBT:
and ^D3, Vitringa, upon Ifaiah li. 8, and xl. 19. But above all, let him
confult the judicious Pocock upon this
In thefe writers he
place.
will find great variety, and contrariety indeed, of opinions; and none perhaps
that he will think proper, in every particular, to adopt. But he will colledl
much information from them all ; and upon the whole perhaps will fee reafon

* a Kings xviii. 4, <>

1 Sam. xv. 23. ^
^ Kings xxiii. 24^
68 CRITICAL NOTES, chap. in.

to acquiefce in the opinion, which I venture to uphold ; that the Teraphitn

were originally emblematical figures, of patriarchal inftitution ; afterwards
mimicked and misapplied by idolaters ; and at laflr, generally and fo grofllv
abuied to fuperftitious purpofes, that they became unfit for the ufe of God's
people, and were abfohitely prohibited and condemned. And this had taken
place before the days of Samuel ; confequently long before Hofea, in whofe
time they muft have been confidered as purely idolatrous and profane.
I come now to the Statue, the firft word of the three ; which will require

no long difcuflion. This, like the Teraphim, had been in ufe among the true
worfhippers in early ages ; but was fo much abu fed, before the giving of the
law, that it was abfolutely prohibited by Mofes. A ftatue, na^iO, iignifies any
thing, more efpecially of ftone, erected or up as a monument or memo- fet

rial but particularly as a religious monument. That confecrated pillars of

;

ftone were in ufe among the Patriarchs, we learn from the hiftory of Jacob.
Idolaters, inftead of limple pillars, fet up images carved in the human, or

other form, to reprefent the object of their worfhip. This abufe was certainly
antient, and gave occafion to the ftrict prohibition of the Mofaic Law, " Ye
" Ihall make you no idols, nor graven image ; neither rear you up n32iO, a
*' ftanding image [ftatue, or pillar'.]" " After this prohibition," fiys Dr.
Pocock, " we cannot look on any fuch ufed in religious worfhip, but as a
" part, and fo a fign, of the falfenefs of that worfhip. And fo here therefor*
*' [in this text of Hofea] to fay, the children of Ifrael rtiall be without fuch ;

" is as much as to fay, that they fhall not have free exercife of their former
*' ways of idolatry."
If I may offer a conjecTture, concerning the difference between thefe Idola-
trous Statues and the Teraphim ; I would fay, that the Statues were of large

dimenfions, fet up in public, as objedls of popular adoration : the Teraphim

were of a fmaller fize, and for different purpofes ; kept in the moft facred re-
ceffes of temples, or confecrated chapels, for magical rites, and rarely, if ever,

expo fed to public view.

Thus, fince it appears, that both the Statue and the Teraphim of Hofea were
implements of idolatry ; no doubt can remain, that the Ephod, which is men-
tioned between the two, is to be imderftood of the idolatrous Ephod, not of

* Lev. xxvi. I.

that
CHAP. III. UPON HOSE x\. 69

that which belonged to the holy veftments of the High Prieft. As it is put
between the Statue and the Teraphim, it may feem, that it may be connedled
with either : connected with the ftatiie, it will denote the robe, with which the
idol was cloathed : connefted with the Teraphim, the Ephod of the Prieft of
the Teraphim. And in this connexion (to which indeed the ftrudVure of the
fentence in the original feems to point in preference) I would choofe to take it.

For tlnis we lliall have idolatry defcribed, by the three principal features in its

external appearance : the Statue, the public objedt of popular adoration :

the Teraphim, the images of the more fecret rites of incantation : and the
Sorcerer, or Hicrophant, condudling the ceremonies and propounding to the
confulters of the oracle the anfwers he pretended to receive, reprefented by the
Ephod, the moft remarkable of his robes of office.

(D) and adore " bn nnSI. The conftrucflion of in3, go-

verning its object by the prepofition '?^*, I take to be lingular. I apprehend,
that when a verb, expreffing any afFedliion of the mind, governs its obje<5l by
this preposition, that conftrudlion exprefTes the motion or effort of the mind,
fo afFedled, towards that objedt. The force of this conftrudtion here is to de-
note, that the converted IlVaelites will make Jehovah, and his goodnefs, the ob-
jedl of religious awe and admiration. The phrafe is well paraphrafed by the
LXX, X, cKgy,c-0'jTcii iTTi Ti2 KVptM x; iTTi Toig ccya^oig cIvtS. The Englifll word adore
exprefles the motion of the mind towards Jehovah and his goodnefs. Aben
Ezra, Drufius, and Livelye, take the verb nnS' here as equivalent to mn*,
cap. xi. II. rendering " and haften to." " Nam verba pavendi & trepi-
" dandi feftinare & properare quandoque figniticant," fays Livelye. The ob-
fervation is true ; but as no inftancc occurs, in which the verb ln3 is adtually
fo ufed, after much hefitation between the two, I prefer the foi.Tier expo-
iition.

CHAP.
 70 CRITICAL NOTES chap, iv.

CHAP. IV.

(A) burft out." 1U19. A metaphor taken from rivers exun-

dating the banks, and bearing down every obftacle to the impetuofity of the
waters. The verfion of LXX, and the vulgate, retain the image of the wa-
ters, but fail in exprefliag the violence of the eruption. ;i';^T/ ItiI i~]g yr,;.

LXX. inundaverunt." Vulg.

(B) By no means." This is the force of .*7!i<, urging and prefiing the pro-
hibition.

(C) like thofe who will contend with the Prieft." This is the na-
tural rendering of the Hebrew words, and the fenfe agrees well with the con-
text. The objeAions raifed by Rivetus, and adopted by Houbigant, though
they feemed of fo much weight to Archbifliop Newcome, as to induce him to
alter the text upon the authority of a lingle MS. are entirely founded upon a
mifapprehenfion of the prophecy, and a mifconception of the paflage : upon a

mifapprehenfion of the prophecy, as if the ten tribes exclulively were the ob-
je6t of it : upon a mifconception of the paflage, according to the ufual accep-
tation of it, as if litigation with the Priefls were the crime charged : whereas
it is only a iimile.

(D) The word JDH fignifies a principal city *.

(E)
'
for lack of knowledge." The Hebrew verb yT, and the
nouns in and njH are applied not only to every endowment and acquifition of
the mind, which falls under the general notion of knowledge of any kind, but
to that fort of condudl alfo, which may be referred to knowledge and under-

^ 2 Sam. XX. 19.

ftanding
 CHAP. IV. UPON ROSEA. 71

{landing as its proximate caufe, or motive. And they more frequently anfwer
to the Greek words a-vviivxt and a-vvsng, than to s7ric(X(r9(yA and fV. <;/'//>? : lignify-

ing rather the voluntary application of the mind to the confideration of the
pradlical The
good, than the mere pofleflion of fpeculative knowledge.
Englilh words, " to know," and " knowledge," by the conftant ufe of them
in our public tranflation to render the Hebrew words in all their applications

to fpiritual fubjecfts, have acquired the fame extent of meaning, and the fame
pecu^ar force ; and have become familiar even to the EnglilTi reader, in what
may be called their Hebrew fcnfe. It has been thought fit therefore to retain

them in many inftances, as in this, where otiier words might be more conform-
able to the habits of modern fpeech.
But in this place, " lack of knowledge" fignifies a lack of tliis practical

knowledge, arifing-from lack of inftrudlion. The Prielh are taxed with negli-
gence of their duty, in not teaching the people, and in fuffering a general ig-i

norance to prevail ; and for this crime, they are threatened with the abolition of
their order.
^Tn this part of the d^fcourfe, fome obfcurity has arifen from the fudden turn-
ings of the fpeaker from the people in general to the priefts in particular, and'
back again from the priefts to the people ; and from the difficulty of catching the

exacfl places, where thefe tranfitions are made. In the 8th verfe, it is manifeft, -

the Priefts are in queftion : for of no other perfons it could be faid, that
" They ate the fin-ofterings of the people." And St. Cyril of Alexandria
thinks, the firft trnnfition to them is in this place. Calvin, with more judge-
ment, thinks they are firft accofted at the beginning of this 6th verfe. But
in the 7th verfe he thinks the difcourfe returns again to the people ; and
what follows he applies to the people generally, thouglrnot without particular
allufion, as he fuppofes, to tiie Priefts. But his expofttion is embarrafled, and
obfcure. I am perfwaded, that the difcourfe turns fliort upon the Priefts at the be-
ginning- of this 6th verfe, with the complaint of the people's lack of good
teaching; and turns away from the Priefts again to the people at the 12th,
and not before ; and I have the fatisfadlion to find, that in this I have the con
currence of that great critic Drufius ; who, upon " lack of knowledge," in

verfe 6, fays, " Hoc autem accidebat culpa fiicerdotum +- -Nam ordina-
" rium munus facerdotum erat enarrare legem, & populum\exea erudire. Mal.
" ii. 7. Deut. xxxi. 9. and xxxiii. 10." And at the end of verfe 11, he fays,
-
" Ha(5lenus
7 CRITICAL NOTES chap. iv.

" Ha^Venus faccidotum mores Prophetica libertate infeftatus eft." This divi-
fion of I he matter of the difcourfe makes the whole perfpicuous.
I will alfo rejetSl thee, ccc." Since the perfon threatened was to
be lejedled from being a Prieft ; he was a Prieft, at the time when he was
threatened : othcrwifc he had not been a fubjeft of rejecSlion. The perfon
threatened therefore muft have been the head, for the time being, of the true
I^evitical Priefthood, not of the intruded Priefthood of Jeroboam. This is a

proof, that the metropolis, threatened with excifion, is Jerufalem, not Sama-
ria ; and that the ten tribes exclufively are not the fubjedl of this part of the
Prophecy.

(F) magnified." D21D. The word is applicable to increafe in any

way, either in fize, numbers, power, or wealtli, &.c. See Drufius and Luther
on the place. But as the Priefts were greatly magnified in dignity and power,
and there is no realon to fuppofe, that they were multiplied by natural increafe,
in a greater proportion than the reft of the people ; I think the thing intended
here is the elevation of the order in civil rank and authority.

(G) every one of them lifts up his foul," l\rS3. All the antient
verfions give the pronoun plural. And eight of Dr. Kennicott's MSS, among
which are fome which he efteemed of high authority, with others of
De Rofli's, read DU>33. Archbifliop Newcome adopts this reading, which feems
indeed entitled to the preference. J( the -lingular fuffix be retained, it mufl
be taken in that diftributive fenfe, in which Jun. and Trem. underftand it.

(H) From Archbifliop Seeker's note upon this pafTage, it appears to have been
the opinion of that acute and wary critic, that tlie public tranilation, " becaufe
they have left off to take heed to the Lord," was not to be brought, by any
Hebrew words, nDfb ^2]V mrT" JIK O-
ufual and natural conftrucftion, out of the
He moves Whether the verb 2tV can govern its immediate
two queftions : ift,

object: by the prefix^? adly. Whether mn' can be the objedl of the verb
ID'i* ? Upon both he feems himfejf inclined to the negative. " Vix puto
''
3ty infinitivum cum b regere vel hominem dici Deum, fed Dei mandata,
;

" fervare." With refpe:5l to the fecond point, it is certain that nin' never

once occurs as tlie objedl of the verb no i^. Drulius refers to Zech. xi. ii,

where
C7JAP. IV. UPON no SEA. 73

where tiie perfonal pronoun iPiii is the objedl of the participle D>^l2'!'i3, as a

paflTage which may warrant this conftruflion. But in that paflage Jehovah is

not the fpeaker, to whom the perfonal pronoun belongs ; nor is the participle
vifed in the fenfe of obeying, or ferving, but of obferving^ or remarking.
" The poor of the flock which obfcrved me, or watched me ;''
i. e. watched
my actions. See Archbiiliop Newcome, and Dr. Blaney, on that place.
In the Book of Proverbs, however, we find a text, which affords an in-
ftance of a confi:rud:ion of this verb fo fimilar to that, which our public tranf-
htion fuppofes here, that if the conne6lion ef JelwA'ah, as the object, -with the
verb were the only difficulty, it might feem removed. In Proverbs xxvii. i8.
the noun Adonai, not indeed as a title of Jehovah, but in tlie fenfe of a
mafter, is the obje(Sl: of the participle Benoni of the verb ID".^ in the fenfe of
" waiting upon," in the capacity of a fervant. But the other difficulty feems
infuperable. After a nice examination, I fcruple not to alTert, that the verb

2\V never governs its immediate objedl, the perfon or thing forfaken, aban-
doned, or left off, with the prefix b. It follows of neceffity, that the order of
conftru(ftion cannot be thatwhich our public tranflation demands. Namelv,
this, nin'' nx nni^^ imy For in this order, the fentence, mn^ n n^^,^, is
'3.

the objccSf of the verb my, and conneAs with the verb by the prefix b.
The verb nw always governs its immediate objeft without any prefix. But
when a noun, following this verb, is conneded with it by b, the noun expreffes
i!ither the perfon to whom, e. to whofe poffeffion, ufe, and advantage, or
i.

the thing in return for which, as a more defired objedl, or the end and pur-
pofe for which (the -to yj;K t5) or, the time for which, the derelicflion is made.
Thus Pf xlix. II. D'?^n DnnK^ IHW and leave their wealth to others ;" i. e.
to the poffeffion and ufe of others. So If. xviii. 6. ynj^n nana"?! Dnn D-y"? Hn" ^2]V^
" they fhall be left together to the bird of prey of the mountains,
" and to the beafts of the earth." And Malachi iv. i. (Heb. iii. 19.)
)Dyi m^ anb 2]^ t^b fhall not leave them root or branch."
Joffiua xxiv. 1 6. God forbid Dnn>< D^-^^^< niyb n^T ^l^* nwQ that
wc
fhould forfake the Jehovah to ferve other Gods ;" i. e. to take up with the
fervice of other Gods as a preferable fcrvice.

2 Chron. xxxii. 31. irilD:"? a^nburt my God left him to try hirn
;"

u e. for the end or purpofe of trying him.

Pf.xvi. 10. ^w>^ ^:;m mvn Hb " thou wilt not abandon my foul to hell."
Tj Lam,
 74 CRITICAL NOTES chap. iv.

Lam. V. 20. " Wherefore D^^"' IINb Ijmyn doft thou forfake us fo long time."
Thefe I'evcn texts are the only inftances in the Bible, in which a noun, or what
ftands as a noun, following the verb 2VJ is conne6led with the verb by b ".

I have therefore adopted a divifion of the Hebrew, receircd by fome learned

Rabbin, and confirmed by a much higher authority, that of the Syriac verfion,
and not contradidled by the LXX. I make a flop equivalent to a comma at

my, and expunging the foph-pafuk at ID-'?, I take that word in immediate
connetflion with tlie following words ; fo that /n31, VS and WDTi are accufa-
lives after the infinitive ">D\y, and I fuppofe an ellipfis of the pronoun "^I'H
rehearfing the nouns ni31, f>, and tfllT) (than which ellipfis nothing is more
frequent in the prophetic ftyle), as the nominative of the verb np. Thus, ac-
cording to this divifion, " to give attention to chamberings, &c." is either
the end to which, or the object of preferable choice for which, they forfake
Jehovah; and, as fuch, connefted with the verb 2\V by b. Thus the con-
is

ftruftion is regular and natural, and the fenfe perfpicuous, and well fuited to
the context. The learned reader will perhaps be the more eafily reconciled to
this expofition, and rendering of the text, if he remarks the fimilitude of
phrafeology in this pafTage, and another in the Book of Jonah, chap. ii. lo.

anon XV3 ana iD. "^They who attend the vanities of deception

^
/
mi
.._,

I'
inir
*' (i. e.
''^an

the vain rites of the falfc religions), forfake their gracious benefa6lor."

(I) give them anfwers." "i^ T:^ 133 as a verb in Hiphll (for in thar
conjugation, and in Hophal alone, the verb is ufed,) is " to tell, relate,
*' make publickly or manifeflly known," by words, or other ligns and tokens,
of certain interpretation : alfo " to foretell." And in this fenfe it is almoft an
appropriate word of oracular predidlion : and fo it is ufed here.

(K) Since thus it is." This T take to be the force of p ^y. The plirafe

is more emphatical than " therefore," in the EngHfh language, or than the fim-
ple copula in the Hebrew. It refers diflindl:ly to what has gone before con-

cerning the manners of the people, as the ground of God's dealing with them
in the manner declared in what follows.

(L) Ifrael is rebellious like an unruly heifer." bik'^V'' "OD miD m3D.
I reflore the rendering of the Bifhop's Bible and the Englifh Geneva. It was

' See Appendix, N" II.

changed
CHAP. IV. UPON HO S E A. 75

changed into what we now read in the public tranflation,

' tfrael flideth back
** asa backfliding heifer," upon a fuppolltion, that the adt ions of the leftive

beaft, refufing the yoke, are literally exprcfled.in the original by the word
miD, and that the difobediencc of the Ifraelites is reprefentcd under the image

of the like a<ftion. A notion which the apparent affinity of the roots IID and
*flD might naturally fuggeft.
The yerfion of the LXX too is evidently founded upon a fimilar notion of

the original, as literally defcribing the anions of the animal ; but ations of
a very different kind, not thofe of refUvenefs, but the involuntary running
about of the heifer ftung by the gad-fly. Aioti -1; Ik^jmAi^ zxyxooig^iZa-K rs-c^oigpy,-

VBv 'la-^a^x. But there is certainly no ground at all for this particular inter-

pretation in any ufe of the verb "nD, or of TiD, among the facred writers :

and our public tranflation is much more, than this of die LXX, to the purpofc

cf the context.
The fa(Sl, however, is, that the verb --iD, or the participle, is in no one
pafTage in the Bible, except this, applied to a brute. It is true, in Lam. iii.

II. we find the word IIID applied to a brute. But not to a domeflic brute,
in a reftive or a frifky mood ; but to a wild beafl, fprung from his laire, and
croffing the way of the traveller : and not to the wild beafl immediately, but
to Jehovah, wrath and taking vengeance, reprefented under the image of the
in

Wifd beaft. And in the phrafe in this paflage, '^^O '?"n, I take "l"]iD to
be another word, not from the root niD, but the Poel form of the verb nW.
*' He turned afide my ways." That is, he fcares me out of the flrait path,
and compels me to take a new direction. In the fifteen other paflages (and
no more) in which the word TID occurs, it invariably fignifies the perverfe
difpofition, or diforderly conduct, of a moral agent ; without any exprefs al-

lufion to any brute. It feems, therefore, at leaft doubtfull, whether, in this

palTage of Hofea, the figure is not rather in the application of the partici-
ple to the heifer, than of the verb to Ifrael. And it feems fafer to give what
is indubitably the fenfe of the pafTage in. plain terms, after the example of
the author of the Syriac verfion, and the majority indeed of interpreters,

than to afFedl to retain metaphors of the original, which may be merely

imaginary.
It is worthy, of remark, that in many pafTages of Scripture befides this, we
read in our Englifli Bible of < backfliding Ifrael," and of *' Ifrael's back-
L 2 " flidings."
76 CRITICAL NOTES chap. it.

''
Hidings." But the Hebrew word, in all thefe other paflages, is very different,
and from quite another root. And that other word, in the fenfe of
" back-Hiding," is nev^er, any more than this word ITD, applied to a
brute.

(M) feed them in a large place," 3n~lDl. This word 2miD is

never u fed but in a good fenfe; and, for the moll part, figuratively, as an
image of a condition of liberty, eafe, and abundance. I agree, therefore,
with Grotius, that this is faid with bitter irony. " Efl hic xxevaa-juoi ; irrifio

acerba ; ex ambiguo. Late pafcere amant agni : Deus Ilraelem difperget per
totum AfTy riorum regnum.''

(N) -; a companion of idols," D*22{y ")Un. See Pfalm cxix. 63.

Ifaiah i. 2.3.

(O) their ftrong drink is vapid," DJ43D "TD. The verb ID, vvith
an accufative after it with a prepofition or prefix, will not bear the fenfe
of " going after," which fome have given it in this place. Nor can I think
with Houbigant, that the verb in the Kal form is to be taken in the Hiphill

fenfe, the noun K2D being its fubjedl, and the pronominal fufHx attached to
the noun its objetfl. I agree with thofe interpreters, who take the nou-n K3D
as the nominative of the neutral verb ;. which makes the conflru<5lion natural,

and the fenfe mofl appofite. It is well remarked by Drufius and Livelye, that
wine, in that ftate which the Hebrew words defcribe, is called in Latin, Vinum
fugiens. " Si quis vinum fugiens vendat fciens, debcatne dicere," Cic. de
Off. lib. 3.

(P) The conftrucffion is certainly uncommon. But I fee nothing in it fa

harfh and obfcure, as to make an alteration of the text necefTary. I give the
fenfe which the learned Pocock approves, which feems to me to arife eafily from
the Hebrew words. It mufl be obferved, however, in jufbice to Houbigant
and Archbifliop Newcome, that their omiflion of lin has the authority of
three manufcripts of Kennicott's, of the Syriac verfion, and the LXX, and
was fuggelled by Archbillio'j Seeker.
(Q)-CO)
CHAP. IV. U P ON HO S E x^r
^f

(Q) (O iTiame) For a long time I thought rayfelf origuial and fingle in this-

way of rendering. But I have the fatisfadlion to find, that the learned Dru-
fius was before me in it. He renders thus :
" Scortando fcortati funt, amant
" date (O Dedecus) protedlores ejus," And he makes this note upon O Dedecus-,
" Primus ita expofui ; an redVe, judicent periti harum reaim^ ^ a: kihi^oi jw/

CHAP. V.

(A) Prickers." D''02^, from the verb at!', circumire, difcurrere,

obambulare, luftrare, late per campos quaquaverfum difcurrere^ It is applied.
Num. xi. 8. to the people fcattered over the plain to gather up' the manna:.
Hence the noun D''a'2', in this place may naturally render thofe horfemen',
whofe office it was in the chace to fpread themfelves on all fides of the plain, to

drive the wild beafl:s, roufed from their laires or coverts, into the Such perfons,
toils.

in our old Englifh language, were called "prickers," as I conceive from the verb
" to prick," i. e. to fhew off on a mettlefome horfe'' ; becaufe their office required",
that they^ fhould be well mounted, and they were always galloping acrofs the coun-
try in all direftions.The noun is not yet become quite obfolete. For the yeomen
that attend the King, when his Majefty hunts the flag, whofe duty it is to
keep the animal within convenient bounds, are at this day called the " Yeo-
" men Prickers." I take D"'-!' here in this fenfe, as the nominative of the
verb p'>DVn, and the verb. *' Curfores profun-
ntantt^ as the accufative after
" dam ediderunt cacdem." In the Latin expreffion, " profunda cgedes,"
casdes is properly the blood fhed ; and the great number of murthers is re-
prefented under the image of a great depth of that blood. The imagery of
the Hebrew in this place is exadtly the fame. But it is a figurative chace,

I
See Appendix, N 11.
''
A gentle knight was pricking on tlie plain^
Yclad in mighty arms and filver Ibield,

His angry fteed did chide his foming bit.

As much difdaining to the curb to yield. Spenfer, Faiiy Queen.
The
 78 CRITICAL NOTES chap. v.

The' wild beaflsare Men, not influenced and reftrained by true principles of re-
ligion': the principle hunters, the Kings and the apoftate Priefts, who, from
motives of felf-intereft, and a wicked and miftaken policy, encouraged idola-
try, and fupported its infiritutions : the prickers, the fubordinate agents in tiie

bulinefs : the flaughter, fpiritual llaughter of the fouls of men.

(B) their perverfe habits." OTrbbv^- I take this as the nomina-

tive cafe to the verb IJnS as it is taken by the Syr.
There are few words in the Hebrew language lefs reduced to any one
preeife meaning, than this very common one Ci'bbVO. The true fenfe of which
we fliall therefore endeavour to afcertain. It is very ob%'ious, that it is imme-''
diately derived from bbv, which the Lexicons give as a root, fignifying, as a
verb, " to do, perform, efFecft," in any manner; and, as a noun, any fort. of
deed, work, performance, acflion, &c. good or bad. And under this imagi-
nary latitude of meaning, the lexicographers have contrived to cover their ig-
norance of the real definite meaning of the word.
The two words b)V and n^y are diflindl roots in the Hebrew language and ;

each has an ^"py defcending from it,, differing as mucli in fenfe, as in etymo-
logy, from the ^^y derived from the other.
The firft of thefe two roots b^V fignifies, " toopprefs, defraud, injiue, to be
unjuft." This feems to be the primary meaning of the root, though the verb
occurs but onc in Kal, namely, in Ifaiah xxvi. lo. noun rendering,But as a

injuftice, fraud, iniquity, unrighteous dealing, or an unjuft or wicked man,

it occurs frequently.
In the Poel form this verb fignifies, to treat very harflily, to treat injurioufly,
contumelioufly, and in this fenfe it is applied to inanimate things, to disfigure,

to "mar external beauty ^ Alfo, "to glean," becaufe the vineyard, that is

gleaned, is treated harfhly, divefted of its rich cloathing, and marred in its

external beauty. In this fenfe both the verb, and the nouns deriving from it,

are fometimes written defectively, without the 1 after the y ; as "inb^y^l ^ ; for

VT^'jiy*). But in all thefe paflliges w;e find the 1 number of the beft
in a great

MSS, and in our common printed text the abfence of the is marked by the
"i

Cholem point.

Job xvi. t^i ''

Jutlges xs. 4^.

As
 CHAP. ^f. tJ P N H O S E A. 79

As a noun fubftantive, the word b"))} fignifies " a little boy, a child :"
becaufe
the age of childhood is obnoxious to injury and ill ufage. Some of the lexico-
graphers would have it a fucking child. But for this there is not the leaft au-
thority. The place where the notion of fucking would be moft to the purpofe
is Ifaiah xlix. i^. But even here it is not neceffary, and it is not cxprefTed in
any one of the antient verfions.
With this noun fubfbantive ^y the feminine plural iy\bv, rendering, accord-
ing to fom.e, females of the herd or flock giving fuck ; according to others,
pregnant females, or females that have jult dropped their young, but more
properly, I think, females tliat are " bringing up" their young, has no fort of

connexion. We never find the word ryfxj with a "t between the y and the V,
or with the Cholenl point to mark the abfence of the 1 in that place. It has
no conne<5tion, therefore, with the root ^^y. Its conneiSlion, in the fenfe of
*' bringing up," with the other root nby, " to rife, or raife," is evident. There is

another very remarkable difference between the mafculine ^jr and the feminine
nbv. The former is never applied to the young of any other fpecies than man ;

the latter to brutes only, never to the human fpecies : notwithflandino- that
Calafio fays, that tlie plural ab^'if fignifies " la^lentes, parvuli hominum &
belUarum," and that b^V as a verb fometimes fignifies " ladlare." Both, which
afTertidns are erroneous.

To this fame root the noun fubfl:antive b)V or bv, in the fenfe of a yoke, is
to be referred.
From the Poel form of the verb, two nouns VdV and "p^ya are derived,
both fignifying, " a little child." The former is fometimes written bbV- But
the majority of the beft MSS. give it every where complete, with the i between
the y and the b, and in the printed text the abfence of the 1 is marked by the
Cholem point. The latter noun occurs only In one place, namely. If, iii, 12.
If this noun bb"\Vf2 had any plural
would be d'^'rwo, which might be
it

written defedively a'bbvt^. But with this word, our noun Obbvl3, the im-
mediate fubjeft of this difquifition, has no connedlion.
Our noun t3''bbVQ is found in 38 different pafTages or in 39, if in Zech^ ;

i. 4. DD^b'^yDDI, which fome MSS. give inftead of DD'^'^'^yai, be the true

reading. But It is not once found with a 1 between the y and b, nor with the
Cholem point to mark the abfence of a > in that place. There is nothing there-
fore
So CR 'I T I C*A L NOTES chap. v.

fore, in tlie form of the word, to indicate any connecfiion with the root b^y.
We muft therefore refer it to the '?'?;r of the other extraftion.
From the root nby, " to afcend, mount upwards, to go or come up," we
form tiie re-duplicate verb '?'7y, by dropping the final n of the primary root,
and doubling the middle radical. In which way, however it may difpleafe the
Maforetes and their difciples, many verbs doubling Ain are formed from verbs
quiefcent Lamed He. 'Of which Yi*3 from nS3, bhj from r\b'D, and bbp from
r\bp, 23*1 froiPi nai ,
are indubitable inftances. To this bbv, from r\by, tlie

learned Mr. Parkhurfl: would reduce the verb, which fignifies " to glean."

-bbv, he fays is, to " afcend repeatedly." . He adds, " it is ufed for a repeated,
" or fecond afcending of vines, in order to gather all the grapes, and may be
" rendered to glean." But in every one of the pailages, which he cites, the
verb is manifeftly the Poel form of !?i;?. And I cannot find, tliat the verb bby,
from r\bv, occurs in any other than the Hithpaei form. Ami in this form it

carries no marks, in its orthography, of a defcent from "piy, but in its fenfe ma-
nifells its extradlion from n'^y. For it iignifics, " to exalt or raife one's felf

up, to alTume and difplay fuperiority in a good or bad fenfe," with or without
juft grounds.

From this verb bbv, which as a verb is found only in Hithpaei, I derive our
verbal cbbyti. This noun is ufed only in the plural number. It denotes,
therefore, fomething which is in its nature plural. And if it denotes actions
of any fort, it muft fignify not any individual a.i, but a fet or fyftem of ac-
tions. And becaufe it muft conned with the fenfe of the primary root H^y
(with which the verb moil evidendy connects), it muft exprefs fome let, or
fyftem of things, which naturally afcend, mount, get uppermoft. Upon tliefe

grounds I am perfwaded, that the word 0''bbVQ denotes the moral or immoral
habits of a man, as things coming over him, growing up, and, in the vulgar
phrafe," getting the upper hand." The learned reader will judge for himfelf,
upon a critical examination of the 38 or 39 paflages in which this word occurs,
whether this fenfe be not well adapted to the context in every one of them ;
and whether every other fenfe, which expofitors have offered, be not pofitively
excluded by the vife of the word in fome one or other of them.
As the afcendancy of habit is the principal circumftance, which this noun
exp elfes, it is applicable to all habits poflefling that afcendancy, good or bad.
Thii indifference of the natural meaning of the word appears e\idenLly from
the
 -CHAP. V. UPON HO SEA. 8i

the life of it in Prov. xx. ii. That evil is not neceffarily implied in it, ap-
pears from the application of it, in two other places '',
to the works of God. Fur
the moft parr, however, it denotes evil habits.
It may feem, that the application of it to the works of God, in the two p:if-

fages in the Pfalms juft mentioned, excludes ths fenfe of habits entirely. For
in God, philcfophically fpeaking, there can be no habit. But the facred
Avriters, in fpeaking of God, confine themfelves not to a philofophical ftyle.

They are ftudious rather of a manner of fpeaking, which may convey what is to

'be underftoood of God to the minds of men in general, even of thofe the
leaft improved by fcience and philofophy. Hence it is that they fpeak, of the
works and actions of God, in figures taken from the actions, not only of men,
but even of wild beafls. The works of God, intended in the two texts
cited, are not indeed thofe, which are daily, and every where, feen in the

ordinary proceedings of his providence ; but thofe wonderful works of mercy,

which he was performing in favour of his chofen people for many, years, in-
-deed for ages, from the very beginning of the Hiftory of the Ifraelites to the
Pfalmift's own times ; which, proceeding from the unmerited goodnefs of
God, may be called, in the accommodating ftyle of Holy Writ, works of ha-
bit. And however unphilofophical the manner of fpeaking may be, as it cer-
tainly is, the philofophical Greeks could find no terms, in their diftind: and co-
pious language, by which they could fo well defcribe the immutability of
God's perfedlions, as by words literally rendering " habit," or " character
*' fixed by habit," ^'ivuv iv Ju7 jj^tv.

This interpretation of the word &V7VJ2 as rendering " habits," is much con-
firmed by the antient verfions. In one paflage, indeed ^, the LXX render it

l)y exioy.ioi. In three others^ by ^laSiikioi, In fix ^ others', by i'py. In another^,

by -ucrficzyijicxltx. In the remaining 28 of the 39 paflages in which the word is
found, they render it 'smTrihvfjiCijci ; which is the word of the Greek language

exacflly rendering " habits." And by the fame word iTrirrjhvixKJci it is rendered
by Aquila, in four of the eleven paflages in which the LXX give anotlicr
word s ; and in a fifth of thofe eleven by Tlieodotion''.

Pf. Ixxvii. 12. and Ixxviii. 7. ^ If. iii. 8. ' Hof. h'. 9, v. 4. vii. 2.
''
See Appendix, N' II. ' Pf. Ixxvii. 12. Ixxviii. 7. If. iii. 10. Jer. xxi. 1214. '^'^^i- i.v
' Jer. xliv. 22. ' K. iii. 8. Hof. v. 4. vii. 2. Je;. xxi. 14.

Jer. xxi. n.
M " Habits,"
 ;

8a CRITICAL NOTES chap. v.

" Habits," therefore, is the true Englifh rendering of the word. For
which, in fome inftanccs, " manners," or " pradtices," may be ufed. But
feme epithet will generally be wanted, in Englifh, to cxprefs the afcendancy,
and, in tiie cafe of evil habits, the malignant afcendancy, implied in the no-
tion of the original word.

(C) the excellency of Ifrael." "pHT'^.'' ^1N3.

From the verb nN'3, " to rife, fwell, grow higher and higher, to be exalted

in power, honour, glory," come three nouns; two mafculine, ni<3 and ^1K3

and one femiifiae, niK3 , in regimine nW2 The firft n>3 fometimes drops the final

n, and makes its plural D'Xa. It remlers the adjeftive " proud," or " arro-
" gant," and in one palfage" the noun fublhmtive " pride," or " arrogance,"
and is ufed in no other fenfe, or for no other fort of fwelling, than that of
pride. The feminine noun fubftantive mN3 (which fometimes drops the l< and
becomes n"i3) and the mafculine pj*2 exprefs the adfion of fwelling. In all the
various ways in which the verb naay fignify to fwell. And they are ufed with
fo little difcrirainalion, that two very able critics in the Hebrew language have

laid, that thev knew not what the difference is between them. Both are ufed

for
'
' fwelling," in the literal fenfe ; for an increafe in bulk or quantity. They are

both applied to the fwelling of the fea. The feminine mK3, in Pf Ixxxix. lo.

The mafculine pK3, in Job xxxviii. ii. And either of them is ufed to ren-
d r figurative iwellings ; excellence in general, in power, rank, wealth, &c.
But with ihisdiftinftion, that the feminine niK3 often fignifies " pride," properly

fo call-d, as an internal quality and a vice. The mafculine px: is never ufed for

pride, in a bad fenfe, and as an internal quality ; though it has been taken in-

that fenfe in this paffage, and In many others, by our own translators and other
interpreters. But pN3 exprefles rather condition, or external appearance, than
charadcr: o;rcat elevation in rank and power; brilliant profperity fplendor ;

and gaiety of ornamental drefs majefly, pomp, ftal:ellnefs

, any thing in con- ,

dition, \\liich, in the degenerate mind, may engender pride; any thing in ex-

ternal deportment, which may be a fymptoni ci it ; and any thing grand and
majeftic in outward appearance, withovit any imputation of pride to the perfon

to whom it belongs. The feminine n"lX3, befides every thing to which ]'l^}: is

'
Prov. viii. 13.

applied,
HA. . UPON HOSEA. 83

applied, extends alfo to the moral internal fvvelHngs of the heart, and renders
the vice of " pride," which ^WJ never expreffes. In Pror. viii. 13. pw is ren-
dered, in our public tranflation, " arrogancy." In If. xvi. 6. the word occurs
twice, and is repeatedly rendered "pride." But in a parallel pafTage^, where
the word occurs again twice, our translators firft render it by " pride," and tlie
fecond time by " arrogancy." But in every one of thefe palfages i"ij<3 is joined witli
the feminine ^1^*3 which is the proper word for pride. It may lignify there-

fore fomething, in fome way connected with pride, but not pride itlelf. I

would render it " ftatelinefs ;" preferving the reference to external deportment
or appearance, wliich I take to be efTential to the word. " pride and ftate-
' linefs, and the evil way, and the mouth of inconftancy, I hate V " We have
" heard of the ftatelinefs of Moab (he is very proud), of his pride, and his ftardi-
'^."
*' nefs, and his fury, not in juft proportion to his ability Or, as the paliage

might be rendered, " We have heard of the ftatelinefs of Moab extravagantly

*' proud is his pride. And his ftatelinefs and his fury not in juft proportion to his
" ability." In this rendering, the adjective ii2, in the fecond claufe of the fen-
tence, is taken as the predicate of iriisa. and the verb fubftantive is underftood.
Again, "We have heard of the ftatelinefs of Moab his haughtinefs is ex-
*' ceedingly fupereminent. His ftatelinefs alfo and his pride, and the tower-
" ing ambition of his heart ''." The rendering of the middle claufe of this
fentence is from Dr. Blaney's tranflation ; which firft fuggefted to me the
tranflation, which I propofe, of the correfponding claufe in the parallell pafTage
of Ifaiah. ni*3 is taken as a verb, of which 1,12:1 is tlie fubjedf. The word
X\)A^ occurs in Scripture above forty times. But thefe three are the only paf-
fages, which elevation of rank or power, grandeur and majeily externally
in

difplayed, are not more to the purpofe of the context, than pride, or any in-
ternal affection of the heart. And in thefe three pafl'ages the internal affec"^!on

is mentioned by its proper name ; and ftatelinefs of deportment, as the cffcit

or fymptom of the affe61ion, connciSls well with it.

The words " Pride," in the Englilh language, and " Superbia," in the La-
tin, are fometimes uled abufively, to exprefs an aftecftion of the mind not cri-
minal. As " fume fuperbiam quseiitam meritis." That fatisfadlion and coni-

' Jer. xlviii. ig, ''

Prov. viii. 13.
' If. xvi. 6. ' Jer. xlviii. 29.

Ma pkceney.
84 CRITICAL NOTES chap. v.

plicency, whkli we naturally feel in confcious fuperiority, either in mental en-

dowments, bodily ftrength, or in rank and condition, is in itfelf not criminal.
It is natural to the mind oF man ; and, when it is accompanied with a due fenle
of tliankfullnefs to God, as to him by whofe only gift one man differeth
froin another, and is not mixed with an arrogant affumption of merit to our-
felves, or with contempt of others, it is indeed a virtuous feeling. The
word llK-t however is never ufed to exprefs even this honourable inofFenfive
pride. But, like the words pride and fupcrbia, it is often applied to the ex-
ternal thing, which produces this internal afFecftion. In our Englifh Bible,
we read in three paflages* of the " fwelling of Jordan." In the original

"PTTI 'pt^i- But the fwelling of the waters of the Jordan cannot be the thing
intended. For, it appears, from a fourth paflage "
where the fame expref-
fion occurs in the original, that this pTH pK:) was fomething that might be the
fubjedl of devaflation ; for, it is faid of it, that it " is fpoiled.'' It could be no-
thing but the thicket of trees and bufnes, which adorned the banks of the river.
It is very properly rendered in this place, " the pride of Jordan," in our public
tranflation, and " fuperbia Jordanis," in the Vulgate. It is properly called the
pride of Jordan, as an ornament of which the river, could we afcribe to it fenfe

and intelligence, might juflly be proud. Superbui Jordanis is the rendering of

the Vulgate in the three other paflages ; and " the pride," inftead of " the
" fwelling of Jordan," would be the true rendering in Englifh. See Dr. Blaney,
upon Zechi xi. 3.

It is now evident, in what fenfe, and with what propriety, the Temple at
Jerufalem, in two paflliges% and God himfelf, in a third"*, as refident in

that Temple, is called, "the excellency of Jacob;" and God himfelf

again, in this pafHxge, " the excellency of Ifrael." The Temple, by the
magnificence of the ilructure, the coftlinefs and fplendor of its furniture

and ornaments, and the pomp and awefullnefs of the rites performed in it,

but, above all, by the tokens of the Divine pretence in the fanduary, was

the great ornament of the city of Jerufalem, and the bonfl and pride of the
whole nation. A temple, in which the Glory of Jehovah was vilibly difjrfayed,
and the immediate communication of God with the Ifraelifes thus manifefted,

was the circumftance, in their external condition, which raifed them above all

the nations of the earth ; and this Temple, and this God, ought to have been
their priae. But pride being too commom and ambiguous a word to be ap-

=
Jer. xli. 5. xlix. 19. 1. 44. > Zech. xi. 3. Pf. xlvii. 4. Amos vi. 8. * Amos viii. 7.

plied
 CHAP. V. UPON HOSE A. 85

plied to fuch holy fubjec^s, I adopt the well chofen word of our public tranf-
Jation in another place, " excellency."

(D) a month." )Vir\- The change of mn ^DHn propofcd by

into

Iloubigant, ftands upon the lingle authority of the LXX (if indeed upon
that), unfupported by any MS, and contradidted by Chald. Aquila, Symina-
chus, Theodotion, St. Jerome, and the Vulgate, who all reprefcnt the re-
ceived reading )lhn.

(E) rulers. n4?. I prefer the word " rulers" to " princes," by
which our public tranflation here, and in moft other places, renders the He-
brew word ; becaufe, in the modern acceptation of the word princes, royalty,
or, at leaft, royal blood, is included in the notion of it. But thefe Clif of
the Old Teftament, were not perfons of royal extradtion, or connefted by
blood or marriage with the royal family ; but the chief priefts and elders, wIjo
compofed the fecular, as well as the ecclefiafucal, magiftracy of the country.

(F) felf-willed, walking after a commandment." According to

the antient verfions, " going after idols." Inftead of the word is a command-
ment, it fhould feem that thefe antient interpreters red fome word fignify-
ing idols, and defcribing them either as vanities, or as objects of contempt
and difguft. The verfions of the LXX, and the Syr. fuggeft i<*', " vanity :"
St. Jerome and the Vulg. NX, " filthy ordure." Which might alfo be the read-
ing of Jonathan, who has a rendering of his own, " their judges have
" turned themfelves to go a-whoring after the mammon of iniquity," But as
no trace of either of thefe readings, or of any other variety, appears in any
one of the numerous MSS. collated by Kennicott and De Roffi, and the pre-
fent text gives a ftriking and appofite meaning ; I have thought it my duty to
adhere to it. Declaring, however, that I confider i<l?y', KS, and is, as three

various readings, each of high authority, among which the learned reader is

at full liberty to make his own choice.

(G) a moth in the garment a worm in the flefh." 3pn t'y.

Rabbi Tanchum, as he is quoted by Dr. Pocock upon this place, fays, that
^t'V is a worm breeding in clothes, and eating them ; 3pi, a worm breeding in
M 3 old
86 CRITICAL NOTES chap. v.

old rotten wood. But the learned Drulius fays of the latter word, that it may be
iinderftood of a worm that breeds either In wood, or in the bones. That it figni-

fes lonie kind of worm, or maggot, I have no doubt. Becaufe the rule of the
parallelifm demands fome gnawing infedl:, that may correfpond with ^y, the
moth. But from the cfFedt afcribed to it in the following verfe, which is a
fore running with corruption, I think it mufl be underftood of a worm, bred
indeed within the human body, but eating through the ffefh. I have taken
the liberty to add the words, " in the garment," " in the fiefh," to mark the
sliflindlion of the fpecies exprefled by the two words, and to prefent tlie

image of the original more adequately to the Englilh reader.

(H) his holes." vbn, made by the fretting of the moth. I take
the word as a noun, from ^bn, to perforate, or make a hole of any fort.

(I) liis corrupted fore," ITD. Or according to many of the heft

MSS, "niD- I lee no neceffity for making ma the root, and going to the

Arabic for the fenfe of it. The noun 1110 comes regularly from the Hebrew
root Tir, to comprefs or fqueeze, and fignifies fomething that wants fqueezing
or comprefling ; and thus a purulent fore, which wants to have the matter
fqueezed out, or perhaps to be comprefled with a bandage ; but the firft notion

I prefer. See Bifhop Lowth, upon Ifaiah i. 6.

(K) the king who takes up all quarrels," ai*. No proper name
cither of man or place, but clearly a noun, from the verb 3n, put here in ap-
pohtion with -j'pD, and charafteriftic of the King, in the manner exprefled in
my tranilation. So Aquila, hxa^oijuvov. Synimachus, St. Jerome, and Vulg,
". ukorem." Theodotion Ko^lnv. Vl^nub \-yn ^2bab. "
pn"? ad regem
*'
ut adventaret ultum eos." Jonathan. See Appendix, No. II.

(L) repair tlie damage make a cure of." The words, K91
and nn:, refer rcfpeflively to the moth-eaten holes in the garment, and the
iore in the i\c(h. HD") is property to reftore, whatever is damaged, to a found
and whole condition to repair a decayed or ruined building, to mend a
:

damaged clotlu

CHAP.
CHA.P. VX. UPON HO SEA, $7

CHAP. VI.

(^i\) His coming forth is fixed as the morning." *' Coming

*' forth," for ^m.^0. 37 MSS. and fome of the oldeft printed texts give WSia;
fixed as the morning," wV opSpoj (2s<^txix '/i.iTrildvuoi avrS. Sym.

(B) pouring fliower," The word D^3 is not fimply a fiiower,

but a hard pouring fhower,

(C) harveft rain rain of feed time," mv trp'jaD- Our pub-

lic tranflation gives " latter rain former rain." But the Hebrew nouns have
nothing of " latter" or " former," implied in their meaning. And the Eng-
lifh exprefllons convey a notion, juft the reverfe of the truth, to the Englilh-

reader. For what it calls the latter rain, fell in the fpring, which we conlider
as the former part of the year ; and what it calls the former rain, fell about the
end of our year, namely, in the autumn, mpbti is literally the " crop-rain."

That which fell jufl: before the feafon of the harveft, to plump the grain before

if was I'tvered. And the beginning of the feafon of the harveft in Judboa
being the m'ddle of March, according to the old ftyle; this rain about fell

the beginning of that month, and may properly be called the " Harveft-ram."
The nthei niV, is literally the " fpringing-rain," or rather, " the rain which
" m.iis.ej to Spring :" that which fell upon the feed, newly fown, and caufcd
the greer. blade to fhoot up out of the ground. This fell about the end or
middle of 0<^'tober. I call it the " rain of feed time;" for the fpringing rain might
turn the thoughts of the Englifli reader to the fpring. Thefe rajns of feed

time and harveft are tlie vfjos 7:^0^1^.0; tc. o^jtuog of St. James \ But the Apof-
tle's epithets have reference to the order of the hufbandman's expedtations, not
to the civil divifion of the year.

V. 7.
(D)
 m CRIT I CA L NOTE S chap. vt.

()) piety." IDn. The various fenfes of tliis word are well enu-
merated by Vitringa upon Ilniah xl. 6. But tlie general radical meaning of the

v.'ord is by none fo well developed, as by Mr. Parkhurft. Exuberance is in-

cluded in the notion of it, in all its applications. The exuberant krndnefs of
God to man ; overflowing piety of man towards God exuberant ; kindnefs of
man to man; exuberant pruriency of inordinate luft" ; exuberance of wrath,
.and of reproadifuU language. In its good fenfe, the word " mercy" is inade-

quate, in the application of it either to God, or man. As from God to man,

exuberant or abundant -kindnefs is in general the bcft Engllfh word. As be-
tween man and man, " exceeding kindnefs." In many pafTages in which it is

rendered " mercy," it properly iignifies " philanthropy," difplaying itfelf in a

general mildnefs and gentlenefs of manners. This is clearly the fenfe in Prov.

xj. 17. and, I think, many in other paflfages, in which It is not applied to any
individual adt. As from man to God, "piety," fwelllng in the heart, and dif-

, -playing itfelf in adlis of devotion. In this place, I think, it fignifies that fudden
flow of piety, which occafionally comes upon men of very loofe lives, if they
are not whally loft to all fenfe of religion particularly under afRidlions, which
;

produce a momentary penitence.

Munfler pertinently remarks, that the Jewifh nation had its tranfient fits of
Teforniation, cutting down the groves, killing the priefts of Baal ; but they
foon returned to_their abominations.

(E) belaboured by the prophets," n'^i*"'a33 Tiaiin. The LXX,

and Syr. certainly take the Prophets for the objedl of the verb ^nniJn. And
the prophetical .order was indeed deeply implicated in the national guilt in- :

fomuch that many of them were promoters of it and as fuch are frequently ;

-reproved and threatened by Hofea, and by all the faithfuU Prophets that were
true to their commiflion. But I cannot find, that this verb, in any inftance, go-
verns its objecSl by the prefix :i. I take the prefix therefore for the prepofition

of the infl:rument ; and I take Ephraim and Judah, rehearfed by the fufiix 3,

in the verb D\'T3in, for the objedl of both verbs. And to this Jonathan, St.

Jerome, and the Vulgate agree.

= Lev. XX. 17.

 ;;

CHAP. VI. UPON HO SEA. 89

belaboured;" the image is that of a hewer of^ wood, laying on

heavy ftrokes, with the axe, upon a piece of hard timber.

(F) the precepts given thee." So I underftand the word ]"'t33ffiO.

The learned reader will find the various fenfes, or applications rather, of this

word diiliniilly exhibited by Vitringa, upon Ifaiah, vol. 11. p. 422. It figni-

fies a fixed principle, or rule, in any thing, to which principle and rule can be
applied. Here I take it for the pradlical rules of a moral and godly life, as

delivered by the Prophets; and fo Calvin expounds it: " Significat hie
'
Deus fe regulam pie et fandle vivendi monftrafiTe Ifraelitls. 'judicia tua,

*' raHo pie vivendi *." certain indeed that the Syr. and Jo-
hoc eft It is

nathan redde K^i-i liKD iDBUfDI. But none of the MSS give this reading, or

any variety ; except that one, of no great authority, has ^tOBtca in the lin-
gular ; which feems to have been the reading given in St. Jerome's Septuagint
though ^he Septuagint, as we now have it, agrees with the Syr. and Jonathan. But
St. Jerome and the Vulgate are with the printed text, though they render it but ill.

(G) Charity.'' I think, with Calvin, that the word non is ufed here in
a comprehenfive fenfe ; fignifying both piety towards God, and philanthropy.
I can find no fingle word to anfwer to it, but Charity. For Charity, in the

Evangelical fenfe, is the love of man founded upon the love of God, and
arifing out of it.

(H) even in thefe circumftances." This I take to be the force of the

adverb Diy, as it is ufed here, referring neither to place nor time, but to a
ftate of things. The Latin " Ibi" might in fome degree exprefs it, but wc
have no one word for it in our language.

(I) The very learned Drufius fays, in his notes upon this place, that he
once conjedlurcd, that Gilead was put here by a fort of abbreviation for Ramoth
Gilead, as Aven is fometimes put for Beth-aven but that he abandoned this ;

conjediure, when he found mention, as he thought, in Eufebius of a city called

limply Gilead, in the mountainous region of the fame name. Then he pro-
duces a paffage from Eufebius, " De Locis Hebraicis," as tranflated and altered
by St. Jerome, m which, after a general defcription of the mountain Galaad, or
Gilead, it is faid, " from which mountain a city alfo, built in it, took its

^ Calvin, ad locum.

N ' name
90 .
' C R I T CAL NOTE
r S CHAP. VI.

"name; which city Gilead tlie fon of Machir, tlie fon of Manaflch, took
" flora tlie Anioritcs'." It is evident, that, in thefe words, the author, whether
Eufebius himfelf or St. Jerome, refers to the faft recorded Num. xxxii. 39. 40 V
and underfbands the Gilead, which the children of Macliir, the {'or, of Manafleh,
are there faid to have taken from the Amorites, of a city of that name; in
which I have no doubt that he is right. But I fee no reufon to fuppofe, tliat

this was any other than Ramoth-gilead itfelf. It is to be obferved, that, al-

tiiouph it is faid, that " Mofes gave Gilead unto Machir, the fon of Manaffeh,
" and he dwelt therein;" yet the conqueror of the Amorites in this quarter

could not be Machir himfelf, the fon of ManafTeh; nor could he dwell in

Gilead, or any of his fons ; for they muft have been dead long before the
Exodus. If I might offer a conjedture upon a point, which, from the imper-
fecftion of hiftory, is of fo much uncertainty; I fhould lay, that Gilead, a
grandfon probably of the fon of Machir of that name, having taken a principal
city of the Amorites, in the mountainous country, fortified it for himfelf, and
gave it his own name. That from the city the name paflTed to the difiridf, which
was allotted to that conqueror; and from that diftridf, to the whole of a large
trail of mountainous country, which made part of the fettlement, not only of
tire half tribe of Manafleh, but moreover of the tribes of Reuben and Gad. But
the name Gilead, having thus been transferred from the city to a country
comprehending many cities the city, for diftinftion, took the name of
;

Ramoth-Gilead the word Ramoth probably alluding to the lofty turrets, raifed
;

by Gilead for defence againfl beficgers''.

(K) to Sichem." In taking nODtt? for the name 'of the city with the
local paragogic n, I am fuppbrted by the Syr. LXX, and Symmachus ; and by
the Vulgate, in taking DDl^ for the name of the place, though not in the con-
ftrudf ion of the paragogic n.

(L) In the original I remove the Soph-pafuk at "ity to ^KHiy*, fo connecting

the two words bn-^V JT"!! with the 9th verfe, and making the icth verfe begin
with the word ''J^"^<^. Tliis is the only alteration of the printed text, which I make
or admit, in this paflage; and this is fupported by the vcrfion of the LXX'.
' " A (nio monte et civitas, in eo condita, fortita eft vocabuluiH quam et cepit de AtnoiTfleorum
j

" manu Galaad filius Machir, filii Manafle."

' Vide Appendix, No. III. "=
Vide Appendix, No. II.

(M) That
CHAP. vr. UPON HO SEA. 9F>

(M) That the harveft in Joel, iii. 13. is the fruit of the vine is confirmed
by the verfions of Syr. and LXX. and by the ufe of the word ')'^':ip in If. xvii.

1 1, where it is ufed for the ripe fruits of a grafted plantation (fee bilhop Lowth's
tranflatlon) ; whence it fhould feem that, although by its etymology, it moft
properly lignifies corn reaped, mowed, or cut down ; yet it is ufed, as a general
word, for the fevered fruits of the earth, of whatever kind. And the word
VUp by itfelf being capable of this general meaning, nop Ti^jp is a fpecific name
for the corn-harveft (If. xvii. 5.) ; and D''tDn T'^ip a flill more fpecific name for

the wlieat-harveft.

CHAP. VII.

(A) When wouM have I healed." liOnD. At the very time when I was
about to heal. Dum eo effem ia ut fanarem. This is the force of the prefix
3, which would be very ill changed into 2 ; an alteration for which there is no
authority, but that of a fingle printed edition, not of any MS.

(B) carried on
" ibVB. The verbs nw and ^ys are not perfedlly equi-
valent. The verb nW is limply " to do," or " make," facere, in any manner,
without reference to the length of time, degree of labour or thought, neceffary
to the performance. But the verb "pys is applied to thofe operations only, which
require fome continued labour of the hand, or long application of the mind,
or both. The thing meant here feems to be the carrying on of a premeditated
plot or fcheme for the fubverfion of the true religion, and the eftablifhment
of idolatry.

(C) let them not fay unto their heart, that I have remembered all their

domgs." To the fame efte6l Aquila ; n, ^{fTrojs iiTruocrt rctlg Kx^^icag ocvJmv, -ziyoca-ocv

TiXKiuv di\Mv sixr/ja-Qijv, St. Jerome alfo, the Vulgate, and Abarbanel take the
negative b2. as a prohibitory particle ; though neither he, nor St. Jerome, ex-
pound the prohibition exadlly in the fenfe exprefled in my tranflation. See
Pocock, p. 289.

N a (D)
 93^ eRITICALNOTES chap. vir.

(D) unto their heart." a2>b. The change of the prefix b into 2,
though fupported by t]ie reading of the Complutenfian edition, and feven or
eight MSS of Kennicott's, and feven or eight more of De Rofli's, would be
much for the worfe. When a man thinks within himfelf what he is afraid, or
afhamed, or unwilling, to utter aloud, or declare openly ; then he fpeaks in

his heart : and this is expreffed by i But when a man purfues his own
thoughts without utterance, but without any dcfire of concealment ; more efpe-
eially when he foothes and confoles himfelf with hopes and expe6fations well or
ill founded, when he encourages and incites himfelf to aftion then he fpeaks; ;

to his heart. vrpog ov jj-syctKyiTopoi ^vyJrn : and this is expreffed by b.

(E) their perfidies." I think the word Ufr\y, as a noun-fubfi-antive,

renders not fo properly " a lie," in the fenfe of a falfe affertion, as a " failure"
in the truth of a promife or engagement ; a failure in any point of duty, or
natural obligation ; in particular, in loyalty to the rightful! fovereign, and
above all to the Sovereign of fovereigns.

(F) the ftoker." *vyO', a noun-fubfirantive, regularly formed from the

Hiphil of the verb 1iy. Excitator. The man vvhofe bufinefs it is to ftir up the
fire in the oven. This I take as the nominative cafe, of the verb rOH'"*.

(G) untill the fermentation of it be complete. All this I take to be

expreffed in the words inson IV. And St. Jerome's rendering, which is alfo

that of the Vulgate, is to the fame amount donee fermentaretur totum."

The noun nsdn properly renders the aft, or paffion rather, of fermentation;
the being fermented.

(H) An oven, in which the fire is raifed to fuch a pitch, as to continue

burning fiercely for a long time, by its own internal fury, when no further
means are ufed to ftir it up ; in which the heat is fo intenfe, as to be too ftrong

for the baker's purpofe, infomuch that it muft be fuffered to abate, before the

bread can be fet in ; is certainly a moft apt and ftriking image of the heart of
the fenfualifi:, inflamed with appetite, by repeated and exceflive indulgence fo
wrought into the ordinary habit and conftitution of the man, that it rages by
the mere luft of the corrupted imagination, even in the abfence of the external
objedls
 eHAy. VII. UPONHOSEA. 93

objects of defire, that might naturally excite it; and works itfelf up to an ex-
cefs, which is even contrary to the purpofe, for which the animal appetites arc
implanted ; in fuch fort difordering the corporeal frame, that till the paffion
has fpent itfelf in a great degree, it is incapable of enjoying its proper objedl.
To apply the images feverally, I take the Oven to be the heart: the burn-
ing fire, the animal appetites in ai5l : the floker, or fire-ftirrer, the external
objedls of defire, confidered as prefent to the fenfes, and exciting the appetites.
The dough, the fenlitive animal frame, or nervous fyftem, confidered as the
proper objeft of the imm.ediate acfbion of appetite : the baker, who ought to '

manage the oven, regulate the heat, fupeiintend the ftoker, and condudl every
thing aright for the baking of the bread, is reafon or intellect ; which ought
to be the governing faculty in the human foul. The fire always gets a-head,
when this baker takes too long a fleep. As in the 6th verfe.
The fenfuality however here is that, of which fenfuality is the conflant
fcriptural type, the abfurd and wicked paflion for idolatry.

(I) our king." i:3bD. I think there- is irrifion in the fuffix.

" This rare king of ours."

And
(K)
to
to fcorners."

the fame effecfh Calvin.

So the Bifhop's Bible, and the Englifh Geneva.
extendit ?nanum fuani ad illufores."
" Dicit regem manum fuam protraxifTe illuforibus ; nempe in fignum focietatis."

Inflances of the ufe of the particle rSii in the fenfe of the Latin ad, or, which
would come- to the fame thing here, as a fign of the dative cafe, are to be found

in Noldius. Perhaps the parages cited by him are not all to tlie purpofe; but
fomc among them feem decifive.

(L) Truly, in the inmoft part of it, their heart is like an oven." I take [the
order of conflrudion thus : ii^nD [n^n] Ulp Dl^ O. I take the fufRx 1 in the
wordlinp, as rehearfmg the noun n*?; which I underfland as the nominative cafe
of the verb fubftantive underflood : and thus I bring out the fenfe, which I have
given in my tranflation.

(M) put themfclves in a flir about corn and wine." In the He-
brew I place the Soph pafuk at the word 'nil.lJT', in the 14th verfe ; and I make
the
9A-
CRITICAL NOTES chap. vir.

the 15th begin witii the word rw. Then at the word ^2 (the fecond word of
the ii5th verle, according to this divifion), I place Rebhia ; and at ijTiD',

Athnach ; Rebhia again at Dnym ; and the Soph pafuk at ]n I leave undif-

turbed. Theie correftions of the Hops are the only alterations I make in

the printed text.

put tlicmfclves in a ftir." 'I'^'^'i^r'!- This can be nothing but tlic

third perfon plural of tlie future in Hithpael of the verb ni3. There are four

diftin6l roots, n2\ It), m3, T1.1, each of which has its proper fignification.
ly, " to fear, to be in confternarion." Ti:, to " fojourn," as a foreigner, mj,
" to excite or ftir up," particularly war or ftrife ; or, neutrally, " to be in a ftir."

IIJ, " to faw." 13'' is evidently the leading word ; but all the four, efpecially
the three firft, have an intercommunity of fecondary fenfes. -"n3, in a fecondary
fcnfe, takes the fenfe of "IDS " to fear ;" and, in another fecondary fenfe, agrees
with -m^, " to be in a ftir." Even the fourth -^3, " to faw," feems not entirely

unconne6led with n"ta, " to excite " for the firft efFeft of fawing is the exci-

tation of fmall light duft, that flies about in the air, and is in perpetual ftir.

The Lexicons, amongthe fenfes of-)13, give "to affemble," or " colleft." But
I agree with the learned Mr. Parkhurft, that this fenfe belongs not to this root,

nor to any one of the four roots ; and where the Hithpael is rendered in our
public tranflation, as in this place, of " perfons aflembling themfelves," it is

to be underftood of ' putting themfelves in a vehement ftir, or commotion."

"ni^nO "IVD, in Jcr. xxx. 23. is " a whirlwind ftirring itfelf up."

(N) turned againft me:" 1"nD\ From the root TiD, not from

IID, which forms the third perf. pi. fut. 1"lb\

(O) They fall back into nothingnefs of condition." bv ikb "CIW. For the elu-
cidation of thefe difficult words, I obferve, firft, that the verb yw fignifies either

" to return," or " to turn away from," or " to turn towards." But properly
and moft frequently " to return," in reference to a former place, or condition.

a. In the fenfe of returning, or of turning towards, it ufually governs the

place to which, by the detached prepofition bn, or the prefix b. But either

o.f thefe may be omitted ; and the verb will appear as a verb tranfitive, go-
verning
 CHAP. vn. UPON HOSE A. 9,1

verning the place, or condition, " to wliich," as its objeft, without a prepofition;

like fome verbs of motion, in particular conneilions, in the Latin language.

Urbem adii. Domum redii. Romam profetflus fum. This conllruc^ion, in

the Hebrew language, is very rare ; but this paffage is one clear inftance of
it. For bv ab (whatever it may mean) fVands as the place '*
to which," and as
the accufative after the verb tranfitive niU? ; and it is by no mc:ins neceflary to
correft the text by conjedlure, with the learned Houbigant, to lupply the fup-
pofed omiffion of the prefix. Although, if any emendation vsfcre necefiarv,
his conjecflure, i^bb for nb, might feem very plaufible.
II. The word "^y has been very diiferently taken by different interpreters;
whofe various opinions are ftated at length, by the learned Pococ-k upon the
place. I them as deferving of attention, but ihofe which at-
confider none of
tempt to afcertain the meaning of the word as it ftands, witiiout the aid of
conje6lural emendation. And tliefe all tak the word in one or other of three
different ways: i. As a noun adjecStive. a. As a noun fubftantive. 3. As an
adverb. But, whichever way it is to be taken, bk Hb is fomething defcribed Jl
by privation of the thing fignihed by '?y, whatever that may be.
I. As a noun adjed^ive, the word bv is fuppofed to be an epithet of God,

defcribing him as the High one, or tlie Highefl. The learned Drufius, who
adopts this fenfe, thinks the word an abridgement of ^v^y by apocope. And
for this he may have the authority of fome learned Rabbin. Neverthelefs, I
fcruple not to deny, that a lingle inflance of a fimilar apocope is to be found
in the Hebrew language. The word bn is no fuch infiance, by apocope from
nTlbs ba and ^'?^*
; for are two diftindl roots. The word n* is no fuch in-

ftance, by apocope fi oni rTliT : for the latter is a compound of the former,
with the Benoni of another root. Nor is any unexceptionable inflance to be
found, in which the word bv is ufed as .an adjedlive rendering " High." This
interpretation, therefore, though it Is adopted by our Englifh tranflators, being
rejecfted, as founded on an irregular formation of the noun, and an unexam-
pled fenfe of the noun fo formed ; it remains, that the word b]f maft be either
a noun fubftantive, or an adverb. As a noun fubflantive it may render either
" a yoke," or " height;" as an adverb, " on high," furfum. The Vulgate
takes it in the fenfe of " a yoke," underflanding, figuratively, " the yoke of
" the Mofaic law." For the rendering of the Vulgate is, " Reverfi funt, ut
" effent

 ^

96 CRITICAL NOTES chap, vii,

" eflcnt abl'que jngo." expounded by Grotius, " Denuo vo-

Which is well
" luerunt elle abique jugo. Per jugum intelligenda lex." Symmachus, and
the 6th Greek, render to the fame eiFec9:. oiv'^gps^^xv ek to iyj:v ^vyov. Sym. fj.yi

(XTTigyiira-v hoi ^tcxyooa-iv o-.v-v ^vyS. E. This fenfe the Hebrew words will certainly

bear; and of all that have been propofed it feems the befi: fenfe, next after

that which I have given in my tranflation; which is R. Tanchum's, and, in my

judgement, the beft of all.

According to this interpretation, bl) is taken either as a noun fub-

ftantive, rendering "height;" or, as an adverb, rendering "on high;"
and it is not material, which way it be taken. For if it be an adverb,
iTiill bv vh (lands as a noun, after the verb 2'W, and expreffes that which
is the privation of height. But the height, whether exprefled by tlie

noun, or by the adverb, is to be underftood figuratively, of height of

rank or condition. In which fenfe the adverb is ufed, a Sam. xxiii. i.

b]! Dpn 13;3n. " The man who was fettled in a high degree ;" i. e. eftablifhed

on the throne of Judah, which was made the inheritance of his family in
perpetuity, and raifed, in his own perfon, to be the type of his great de-

Icendant. The Ifraelites alio were placed in a high degree, to be worlhip-

pers of the true God ; which high degree they relinquiflied by their defedlion

to idolatry, and returned to the low level of the heatlien '. The verfions of

tlie LXX, and the Syriac, rigluly underftood, convey the .fame meaning, and
give it in words exactly equivalent to thofe which I have ufed. avscpoifn ^k s^^'"*

LXX. jCiJ^yO jy ^^ cauSc?)!? Syr. " Obliqu'irunt fead nihilum;" not, as

the Polyglott tranflation gives it, '* nullA de causa." We fay, in common fpeech,
of a man, who, by mifconducft, has loft all efteem and credit in the workL
^' He has brought himfelf to notliing."

^ See R. Tanchiim ap. Pocock.

HAP,
 HAT. rirr. U P O N H O S E A; 97

CHAP. VIII,

(A) The cornet at thy mouth, &c." To this efFeA the Vulgate ; with
Aquila, Symmachus, and Theodotion according to St. Jerome.
Iti gutture tuo fit tuba, quafi aquila, &i-." Quae tam late audiatur, quam
aquila tempi um fupervolitans, & e fublimi crocitans. Grolius.

(B) I place the Soph-pafuk "IWT. " O my God"

at Ifrael, fpeaking
colledlively, ufes the lingular pronoun and the plural verb.

(C) : of themfelves." Sponte. This I take to be the force of the

pronoun DH. See v. 9.

(D) have antipathy." This is the true fenfe of the phrafe b'2^ ^<!?.

See Pf. ci. 5. If. i. 13. and compare Amos vii. 10.

(E) pure religion." For ^>p3, the Complutenlian, and four other
printed texts, with 44 MSS, among them fome of the very oldeft and befl:,

give ivp3 ; which is certainly the true form of the word. It Signifies purity, or
cleannefs, generally. Hence moral purity, innocence. But here, I think, it

particularly denotes " pure religion," or the purity of worfhip. " Pure reli-
** gion, and undefiled," in oppofition both to the fuperftitious practices f
idolaters, and the falfe Ihew of hypocrites.

(F) even this." U'V!). The 1 is highly emphatical, aggravating

the accufation. Even a thing fo abominable, as this, was his own invention.
Archbifhop Newcome -fays, " The Ifraelites may have originally borrowed this
*' fuperftition from the Egyptians ;" for, in Egypt, he obferves, " this fpecies
** of animals were worfhipped ; the Apis at Memphis, and the Mnevis at He-
** liopolis." But the Prophet fays expreflly, not indeed in the learned Pri-

O mate's
 - .

8 CR I T I C A L N O T E chap. vni^.

mate's amended text, and mis-tranflation ; but, in his own words, he fays ex
preffly, that the Il'raelites borrowed this fuperftition from nobody. It was all

their own. Indeed, what they had feen in Egypt was the worfliip of a living
calf; not of tlie lifelefs image of a calf, or of any other animal,

(G)^ reduced to atoms." r\'<n D'M'Z?. Sebab eft minimum quidque

in re quavis ; ut fcintilla, fragmenta, fegmcnta. Grotius ad locum.

(H) " To fow the wind, and reap the whirlwind," may certainly be a prover-
bial expreffion for meafures of bad policy, ending in ruin, and difappointing
the ftatefman's expedlationSi But inftead of taking the verbs lyTt^ and p^T as
plurals, of which the plural pronoun of the third perfon underftood, rehearling
Ifrael colledlively, is the fubjedl ; I take the verbs in the lingular number, and
the final Tas the affixed pronoun of the third perfon lingular, rehearling Ifrael :-

and the nouns nil and nDDID I take as the fubjedts of thofe verbs refpedllvely.
And thus I bring out the fenfe expreffed in my tranflation. The only objec-
tion I am aware of is, that the feminine nouns, ni") and nnSID, are taken as the

fubje6tsof verbs mafculine. But of thefe two nouns, the former is often maf-

culine. And the anomaly of gender between verbs and nouns, efpecrally
when the noun is the name of a thing, which hath not naturally the one fex or
the other, is fo frequent, that ni") is fometimes both mafculine and feminine
in the fame fentence. It is fomewhat in favour of my interpretation, that for'

nsp^ five MSS give )T2p"' in which form the verb muft be lingular, and the
;

final muft be the affixed pronoun. For the third perfon pi. prast. admits not
)

the epenthetic T. It is true, that in Exodus xviii. 26. we read, in the printed
t^xts, "lID'tBtt?^. But upon this Buxtorf obferves, " Unum reperitur cum Schu-
*'
rek praeter morem." And 15 MSS, and the Samaritan text, give laattf' in

the regular form, without the epenthetic 1.

(I) of their own accord." This Itake to be the force of the pro-
noun riDn. And this is generojly its force, where it appears, as in this place,

plconaftic. See v. 4. and chap. ix. 10,

(K)
 ;

CHAP. nil. UPON HOSE A. 99

(K) will I fembody them." ouapjij. The verb \1p fignifies to
colle6l, into one mafs, things naturally feparate and difperfed. Hence more
particularly, to form or aflemble armies. The ufe of the verb in this fenfe, in
the hiftorical books of Scripture, is very frequent. In If. Ivii. 13. the noun
I^Sinp renders " thy companies," i. e. " companies of foldiers." I take the
verb here therefore as a military terni ; and, confidering how it flands con-
nedled with the verb liiT', I think that verb is to be taken as a military term
too ; the former rendering the embodying of armies, the latter the granting
of bounties to the perfons enlifting, or of tribute to foreign princes furnifliing
auxiliaries. Thus God threatens, that he will prefs, into his own armies againft

the Ifraelites, thofe very bands of foreign mercenaries, whom the Ifraelites
themfelves, to the great mortification of the King and the rulers, when tlic

error of the meafuie appeared by the event, had paid at a dear rate.
I find, I have the concurrence of the learned Noldius in this interpretation-

of the paffage as far at leaft as the general meaning is concerned.

;
*'
Sen-
' fus quamvis
eft, mercede conducant gentes in auxilium, ego tamen mox
*' contra eos illas ipfas coUigam. Scil. brevi futuras ex amicis hoftes." Nold.
Concordant. Partic. Annot, 103 1.

(L) and the rulers." The reading of xy^v) for O'lV is fup-
ported by fuch a weight of authority, that I cannot but adopt it. Eight MSS
of Kennicott's ; nine of De Roffi's ; two more of Kennicott's originally; fix
more of De Roffi's originally ; the notes of the printed Bible Minchath Shai "

the Babylonian Talmud ; LXX ; Syr. Chald. Aq. Theod. St. Jerome, Vulg.
And yet there is no difficulty in the conftrudlion of the common text. For it

might be thus rendered, " And ere long the rulers fhall forrow for the burthen
*' of the King," i. e. for the burthen impofed by the King in taxes,

(M) I punctuate the original thus. Over the mnStD,

firft in verfe 11, I
place Rebhia, or the femicolon ; and at the fecond mn^ta, in the fame verfe,
I place the "Soph-pafuk : that the fecond NDn'? may be thruft forward into the
fubfequent verfe, where it ftands as the obje<5l of the verb tranfidve ain3K ; ex-

For an account of tliis Elble, fee De Roffi, Prolegotn. part I. . 37, 38.

O a preffing
 ;

loo CRITICAL NOTES chap. vm.

preflfing what God will write, or infcribe, upon Ifrael ; namely, tliat he is the
property cf Sin. Inuvam ei notas, " Peccati maftigia."

A fimilar allufion, though with a different application, to an owner's, or com-

mander's mark imprefled upon the perfon, occurs If. xliv. 5. in nearly the

hme phrafes.

" One fliall-fay, I am Jehovah's

" And another fhall be called by the name of Jacob ;

" And another fliall infcribe his hand, JEHOVAH'S,,

*' And furname himfelf by the name of Ifrael.

Jehovah's, this is what he will write upon his hand as " Sin's,'* :

IS what God in Hofea threatens to write upon Ephraim's perfon. The only
difference in the phrafeology of the two Prophets is this the verb inD go- :

verns the thing written upon, in Ifaiah in the accufative; in Hofea, by the pre-
fix b. The prefix b in the word written, ni.T^ in Ifaiah, Kan"? in Hofea, is
the lign of the genitive of the poffelfor.
" an allufion," fays Bifhop Lowth, upon Ifaiah, *' to the marks
" which were made by pundlures rendered indelible by fire, or by flaining,
*' upon the hand, or fome other part of the body, fignifying the flate or cha-
*' rafter of the perfon, and to whom he belonged. The flave was marked with
" name of his mafter the foldier,
the , of his commander; and the idolater,
*' name or enfign of his God."
with the Dean Spencer obferves, that, among
the heathen, flaves were ufually marked in the forehead; foldiers, in the hand.
And he thinks, that flaves were ufually marked in the hand among the Jews.
The mark of the idol was impreffed on different parts of the body\ We
have allufion to this cuflom, in Rev. iii. 12. xiii. 16. xiv. i. In the primitive,

ages, wasufual for Chriflians to mark themfelves, upon the wrifl or arm, with:
it

the name of Chrlft, or with the fign of the crofs as Spencer and Lowth Ihew :

from Procopius upon this paffage of Ifaiah. To S= t>) xsip} Xtyn, hx to gi^sn
'ta-ug "z^oT^K^i, ivrt y.oi^Trbov ^ /SoosX'oVwv, rj t5 gav^S to (rni^fiCv, v t-ji' Xpig^ 'sr^o<rriyofiKV,.

See Spencer De Leg. Hebr, lib. II. c 14. . i. and 4.

 CHAP. vrir. UPON HO SEA. lai

(N) The mafters ." For in I read with the marginal varieties of the
Venice Bible of 151 8, with the marginal Keri of Vander Hooght, and with
13 MS3, U-l.

(O) my proper offerings." One can only guefs at the precifc.

fenfe of the unufual word ^irori, which, with the majority of interpreters, I
take to be the plural of anoun fubftantive in^n, from the root iin*, with the
pronoun of the firft perfon Angular affixed, but blended by crafis with the iod
plural. I think it renders thofe offerings, which were fo appropriate to God,

fo demanded, as it were, by God as his exclufive property, that the whole

was to be burnt upon the altar, and even the priefts were not to tafte it. And
thus the word feems to have been taken by Livelye and Drufius. The accu-
fation is, that the priefts, the facrificers of thefe offerings, facrificed, and ate ;

an aA of the higheft facrilege. " The facrificers of my proper offerings ;;"

T\2U I take for the particle Benoni plural, in regimine, fignifying perfons of-
fering facrifices. It is fo ufed in 18 places belides this.

CHAP. IX.

(A) with joyous exultation," ^>3 ^K, exultat'ionem ufque. ^^3 is a

noun fubftantive, fignifying, " leaping and dancing for joy," after the pre-
poftticju b^ ; not, as fome have taken the word, the imperative Hiphil of the

Terb Vi:i conftrudled with the prohibitory particle bvi. For it is contrary to
the invariable rule of the Hebrew language, that the imperative mood fhould
prohibit. Or, in other words, the prohibitory particle muft be conftrudled
with a future tenfe, never with an imperative mood. Compare Job iii. 22.

(B) :

fee of proftitution," pm. At this word I place the Soph-

pafuk.
(C>
 toz CRITICAL NOTES chap. ix.

(C) mull," K''"n''J1- The word often fignifies " new wine ;" but
its primary and proper meaning feems to be " muft in tiie vat," under the pro-'
cefs of fermentation. When this procefs mifcarries, the muft never turns ta
a found wine. And this feems to be threatened here.

(D) their." For the lingular Ti2, the marginal varieties of the
Venice Bible of 15 1 Hale 17^0, the notes of the Bible Min-
8, the Bible of

chath Shai, the Bible of Pefaro 1517, feventeen MSS of Kennicott's (among
them the oldeft and the befl), and three more originall}', eight of De Rofli's,

and nine more originally, give the plural D3.

(E) their facrifices are not pleafant to him." I take away the
^akeph-katon from l*?, and inftead of it place Rebbia Drrn^S, taking that
at

noun as the nominative of the verb ^a~iyv Dr. Wheeler adopted the fame
pundluation-
Our public tranflation, with many others, makes this 4th verfe predi6i:ive
of the condition of the Ifraelites in captivity ; when they fhould be deprived of
the means and opportunity of making offerings to Jehovah, according to tiie

prefcribed rules of the Mofaic ritual. According to the conftrudtion which I

adopt, it is a defcription of the enormity of their idolatrous praftices, in their

own land, previous to their captivity, which brought down upon them that
judgement. And with this interpretation ftands the authority of Kinclii, the
LXX, Capito and CEcolampadius as quoted by Pocock, Calvin, Zanchius,
and the learned Drulius. In the general fenfe of the paflage all thefe inter-
preters agree with fome difference however among them in the gramma-
;

:tical conftruftion of the words. That, which I adopt, is approved by Kimchi,

and the critical Drulius.

(F) as the meat of mourners," D''31 Dn'?3. The noun Tij}, and
the verb n3K, are diftindl roots in the Hebrew language. And from the
verb defcends another noun, differing in fenfe as well as in etymolc^y, but ex-
preffed by the fame letters, as the former. The Maforetes have endeavoured
to diftinguifh the two nouns by giving them different points, which would
make the radical noun found " awven ;" the derivative from the verb,
*' owp..''
 CHAF. m UPON ROSEA. 103

*' own." Newrthelefs, they have perpetually confourrded the two, applying
to the one the points, which, in their fyftem, belong to the other.
The radical noun TiH, in the Maforetic pronunciation " Awven," fignifies
" aftivity," or ftrength and vigour, in adtual exertion ; and fpecifically the gene-

rative flrength and vigour of the male. And this fenfe of adtiviry afting, I

take to be the proper and primary meaning of the word. In one place I think
it is ufed to denote " adult vigour," in oppofition to the weaknefs of
infancy^. In the plural number, it is fometimes ufed to exprefs intenfity,.
or abundance of adlive vigour; and once, I think, for the rapid motions
and efficacious influences of the heavenly bodies ''. " Lift up your eyes
" on high, and behold ! Who hath created thefe ? [namely, the heavenly-
"bodies.] He that leadeth forth their hoft by number, calleth every one of
" them by name. Made abundant in acStive powers [a"'J1M 2"!D], and firm in
" llrength, not one faileth." It occurs in the plural once as a noun-adje6tive,

fignifying perfons endowed witli firength, power, and aflivity, for great ehter-
prizes. "When a wicked man dieth, his expedlation fhall perifh,.and the
" hope of the adlive [D^ilf* nbmrTj] perifheth^" The noun here renders the
Latin " impigri ad labores;" and defcribes thofe, who have been the moft
active, and with the beft fuccefs, in arduous enterprifes ; never backward to
encounter toil or difficulty.
From this primary fenfe of active ftrength, and fpecifically the generative
vigour of the male, this noun became a name or title of the Sun -, inceiTantly
active in the conflancy and rapidity of the apparent diurnal and annual motions
(rejoicing as a Giant to run his courfe),, in the perpetual propagation of light
and heat to the utmoft limits of the univerfe, and in his genial influences on
all nature, as the firfl phyfical principle of fecundity in the animal, vegetable,
and mineral kingdoms. Thefe phyfical powers, which properlv Indeed belong
tt) the Sun, as an inflrument in the hand of God ; the antient idolaters

afcribed to that luminary, as inherent in itfelf, independent of the Creator;

for made it felf-exiftent.
they Avro(purig By its influences on nature,
''.

they made it the author of all good to the good, and of all evil to the bad.
At iaft they afcribed to it intelligence and will at leaft they fpoke of it as in-
;

telligent, and made it the fovereign of the moral, as well as of the material world,

' Hof.xii. 4. >

If.^xl. 26. ! Prov. xl. 7. *_ Orpli. H. V. lin. 3.

Thefe
JS4. CRITICAL NOTES chap. ly.

Thefe various powers are diftindlly exprefled in the epithets, afcribed to the Sua
in the Orphic invocation :

AvTO'pvrjg, KKajxct,

Eu^pOfM;, poi^uijrip dip^svjix

YLoa-ixoK^aTUjp,

(p-pio-l^is, Kiy.pTriiu,;, nroctcxv.

'ni^o(pvXa^ '

"O^^a, ^ixcuDiTVitig, ^corig (foi^. Orph. H. V.

The noun pi*, as generally denoting aftivity, but more particularly the a(9:i-

vity of the fecundating principle, comprehends almoft every thing that is ex-
prefledby thefe feparate epithets, except intelligence and felf-exiftence, and
was perhaps the oldeft name of the fun as an objeft of worfhip. Being once
ufed as a title of the fun, it became the name perhaps of any image or emblem
of the fun, placed in the idolatrous temples and was afterwards more largely ;

ufed among the Ifraelites as the name of any idol-image. Thus it is vmderftood
in If. Ixvi. 3 ; at leaft fo it is taken by Jer. and Vulg. ; though nothing hinders
but that it may be ufed, even in that place, as an appropriate name of fome
idol-image of the fun : for the worfhip of the fun was a very principal part
of the idolatry of the Ifraelites, both long before, and long after, the times of
tlie prophet Ifaiah '.

From this ufe of the word, as a name for idol-images of the fun, it naturally

acquired the fenfe of fun worfhip in particular; and thence, of idolatrous wor-

f See 2 Chron. xiv. 5. 2 Kings, xxiii jj. and 2 Chion. xxxiv. 4.

ihip
CHAP.^ix. UPON HO SEA. 105

fhip in general. And then its meaning was extended to f.gnify any thing in
thought, word, or deed, contrary to true religion and the pofitive commap.ds
of God. And this accounts for the various fenies of iniquity, unrighteoufnefs,

d^r/Ja, d'/Ojjiia, Kaxfx, 10 utottov, {juxtuicx, -uroyri/ia, in which it is rendered by in-

terpreters in various places-; in tlie far greater part of which, however, the ori-
ginal word feems ufed with reference, more or lefs obvious, to idolatry, as the
cardinal vice.
It once, and I think only once, lignifies " Vanity," in the fenfc of " Falfe-
hood%" and that in the fpecific inftance of the falfe refponfes of the oracles of
the idols ^, In fome other paffages, in which it is rendered " vanity," it is

either confounded with the other word, rendering afBi(5liori, or may be taken
in its common meaning of iniquity.
Falfeliood is fo nearly allied to "non-entity," that it is not furprizing, that
the word fhould be found in this fenfe in Amos v. 5. y\vh n^rf' b}* ^\''2^
and Bethel fhall come to nought." x, Bai^K 'igxi wf s;^ v7rx;i%iiiT0'.. LXX.
i^Db"? pn^ bxriun ^mya"? rnVsiV Jonathan.
tjO)OJ&>^^ jy? *^] ^OOUJ Vl*^ isuiiao. Syr. et Bethel erit inutilis.

Vulg. This is certainly the only pafTage, in which the word ] fignifies non-
entity, or, nothing. And Avere it not for the confent of all thefe antient ver-
lions with the Maforetic punctuation ; another fenfe, with an alteration of the
points, might be admitted here, which will be mentioned in the fequel.

Whether this v/ord ever renders " wealth," or " worldly fubftance," may
deferve confideration. From its primary fenfe of " activity," it might natu-
rally be applied to the acquifitions of activity. But unexceptionable examples
of this application feem to be wanting.
As the noun y\'A, in the fenfe of idolatry, or iniquity, in the lingular number
never fignifies a lingle individual a6t, a lin, or a crime, but denotes the gene-
ral linfullnefs, iniquity, or idolatry of the character; it is never ufed in the
plural number to denote a multitude of fuch lingle a6ls :
" Idolatries, fins,

* Zech. X. a.
' " As my or ^1j?, by being a word for what made man fall, becarac a root for " Iniquity
;"'

" io by tliis the principal objeft in the fyftem [i. e. the fyfiem of the vifible uiiivcrfe] beiiij
" worfliippedj^jf-rhnps it [the name of that principal objeft] became a root for " fallity."

Mr. Hiitchinfonj On the Names of the Trinity nf the Guli/ts. Tit. ]1K ri^^J.

P " iniquities."
 ro6 CRITICALNOTES CHAP. IX.

cc
iniquities." It occurs, indeed, in the plural only in four places *. And, in
ever)' one of thefe places, it is confounded by the Maforetes with the other
noun (own). But, in the lafi: of the four ^, it is ufed in its proper fenfe of
animal ftrength and vigour. " He giveth ftrength to the faint, D01N ynbl, and
" to him that is nothing in vigour he increafeth force." In the fecond", it

iignifies vigour of procreation : and in both places the plural is ufed, only to
give intensity to the fenfe. In the third ^, it denotes the inceifant activity of
tlie heavenly bodies, in their rapid motions and phyfical influences, as hath been
already declared: and in the firft'^, it is a noun adjedlive, in appofition with

^12i* undei-ftood, and is rendered, in our public tranflation, " unjuft men ;"

but rather Iignifies, as hath been fhewn, " aftive men," " buftlers." This
text is rendered in a fmgular manner by the learned Mr. Parkhurfb, in his
Lexicon (after Schultens, I believe), " And his lingering hope Ihall miferably
" perifli. He takes the plural D^31}4 adverbially, " dolorificis modis." But
"there feems to be no reafon to refort, in this text, to an unexampled ufe of the
word.
Upon the wliole it appears, that C'SIK, in the paiTage of Hofea under confi-
deration, cannot be taken as the plural of the radical noun px (awven) ; fince

no fenfe of that word, authorized by the ufige of the fac red writers, is appli-
cable in this place.
The verb n3l* has two fenfcs, remotel}'-, if at all, connected with each other*
I. To occur, happen, to befall, betide. II. To mourn, lament, grieve.
Some, inftead of giving the root ri'iii thefe two fenfes, make two different

roots ; n3K, to occur ; and pK, to grieve, or mourn. But from nJK, which
Calafio makes the fingle root, the verb p^*, which occurs only in the Hithpael'

tonjugation, may be formed ; as bbv from n^y.

From this root, n3K, therefore, in its fecond fenfe, or from p}<, if that be
a diftinA root, comes the noun fubflrantive ]Mi (own, in the Maforetic pro-
nunciation), rendering what occafions mourning, lamentation, or grief;

namely, " pain of body;" or " a condition of calamity and affliAion." It is

ufed for " bodily pain," in Gen. xxxv. i8. where it denotes the excruciating
pains of laborious parturition. It is ufed for grief, or mourning for the dead,

Prov. xi. 7. Pf. IxxvJii. 51. If. xl. 26. If. xl. 29.
K. xl. 29.
Pf. Ixxviii. j[. ;' If, xl. 26. J Prov. xi. 7.

in
CHAP. IX. UPON HOSE A. 107

in Deut. xxvi. 14. It is ufed for a ftate of mifery or affii6lion, in Prov.

xxii. 8. " He, that foweth evil, fhallreap mifery." And it fignifies calamity,

mifery, or tribulation, wherever it is connedled, by the copula, with the noun

^ay. In the phrafe "joyi p^l, l'l^t is always to be taken as this derivative noun,
not as the radical. For tliough in many parages either might fuit the con-
text ; yet in feme, the radical noun Vvfill give no good meaning : whereas there
is not one, in which this derivative, in the fcnfe of mifery or affliilion, is not
applicable. In Amos v. 5. p>< might be taken as this derivative noun in the

fenfe of tribulation. So Calvin takes it. " Bethel erit in moleftiam," i. e.

Bethel is doomed to tribulation; or Bethel fliall be a caufe of tribulation. But

the confent of the antient verlions with one another, and with the Maforetic
pimftuation, in the fenfe of " nought," or " non-entity," feems decifive, that
the 1"iK of this place of Amos is the radical noun. Were it not for the deference
due to antient authority, Calvin's expohtion of the word, which takes it for the

derivative, would be greatly to be preferred.

It may feem perhaps an objeftion to this analylis of the meaning of the two
nouns, -the radical and the derivative, that the name of the Sun has been ge-
nerally fuppofed to have been Own, not Awven. That it is to be referred, there-

fore, to the derivative, not to the radical word ; and cannot have been, as T

fuppofe, the origin of that fenfe of the latter, by which it renders idolatry,
and iniquity. I know not, that this opinion has been taken up, on any better
authority, that that of the Maforetic pundluation. We read twice in Gcnefis%
of a " Prieft of Own," according to the points. But the verfions of the LXX
and the Vulg. in thefe places are fo paraphraftic, that no conclulion can be
drawn from them, concerning the pronunciation of the name. From the Sy-
riac it fliould feem, that it was Awvan or Ovan ; much nearer to Awven, than
to Own. But however that may be, I contend only, that the two words, the
fame in the letters, are dillincft in their etymology, and In their meaning.
That the Maforetes meant to mark this diftindlion by their points. But I

maintain, that if the two words were differently founded, according to their
different meanings, the Maforetes have perpetually confounded them ; and in

many places have given Awven, when they fhould have given Own, and Own
when they fhould have given Awven ; and thus have brought obfcurity upon

' xli. 45. and 50. and xlvi. jo. '

F a ilie
 ;

io8 CRITICAL NOTES chap, ix.

the meaning of the words, and have perplexed the texts, in which thej' occur.
And the name of the Sun is one inftance, in which they have mis-pointed. But
this is immaterial to my argument ; which refts not on any fuppofed accuracy
of the Maforetic points, or the truth of the pronunciation they reprefent. On
tlie contrary, I impeacli both* The name
may of the Sun, rightly founded,
have been Own, or it may have been Awven. The found of the two words may
have been, in all cafes, the fame always Awven, or always Own, or always
;

fomething elfe ; and yet the words might be different in etymology and fenfe.

As in Greek, ^pavog, " the flvy," and ypxvos, " the palate." In Latin, malum,
" evil," and malum, " an apple." In Englifh, " a hop," a certain motion of
the body, and " hop," the flower of a certain plant. "Born," carried, and
" born," parfu editus. "Without deciding whether the pronunciation of the two
Hebrew nouns were the fame or different, or what was the true found of ti-
ther ; I maintain only the diftln6fion between the two, in fenfe and etymology
and I ufe the different founds, " Awven," and " Own," only, as received
marks of that diftinftion, often confounded.
In two pafTages the word p> has been taken in the fenfe of " goods," or
" fubflance." " His children fhall feek to pleafe the poor, 131K 7T3nK7n m^l >

and his hands fliall reflore their goods'." And, " I have found me out fub-
'* fiance'." But it mufl be the radical noun, if either, not this derivative,
that can render " goods," or " fubftance." And if thefe paffages are thus
rightly rendered, the word in both texts is mis-pointed by, the Maforetes. In
the text of Job, it is at any rate mis-pointed ; for no fenfe of the derivative

noun is applicable there ; and the radical Is capable of its ufual meaning : for

the paflage may be rendered, " His children fhall make their court to the
*' poor, and his own hands fhall recompenfe his iniquity." See Scot's verfion
of the Book of Job, and the notes. The text of Hofea will be confidered ia

its place.

The derivative word pn never occurs in the plural, in the fenfe of griefs,
afflii'^ions, calamities, mournings, or indeed in any fenfe at all. For the plur
ral D^ili* is found only in the four pafTages quoted above; and, in every one
of thofe, it is the plural of the radical noun, though otherwife pointed by tha
Maforetes.

*
Job XX. lo, ."^ Hafea xli. 8.

Hence
CHAP. IX. UPON HOSEA. 109

Hence it follows, that the word O'lTii, in this text of Hofea, is not the plu-
ral of the derivative noun XtH, rendering " mournings." And it has been fhewn,
that it cannot be the plural of the radical noun which would ; give no mean-
ing here. It remains, therefore, that it is the participle Benoni in Kal of the

verb n31<, regularly formed, according to the rule of conjugation of the verbs
quiefcent Lamed ri; rendering ^'- lugenies, perfons who are mourning,, or
''
mourners."
This being fettled, it is not difficult to underftand, what is meant by the
" meat of mourners." The external expreflions of grief for the dead, the

rites of mourning, and the ceremonies of interment, feem to have been much
the fame among the Jews, as were pradlifed by the Heathen ; even in fome par-
ticulars which were exprefsly forbidden by the Mofaic law infomucli, that :

pracHiices, in many things, contrary to the law, feem to have obtained even

among thofe, who cannot be fufpefted of giving in to any thing, that was un-
derftood, in their own times, to be idolatrous. How it came to pafs, that the
Di\ ineLaw, in thefe inftances, gave way tofafhion.and cuftom ; it is difficult to

explain. fa6l feems indlfputably proved by Jer. xvi. 5

But the 8. For the
expreffions of grief and mourning for his countrymen, dying of grievous deaths^
and confumed by the fword and by famine ^, forbidden to the Prophet, feem
to be fuch, as it is fuppofed the Holy Prophet would have ufed, had he not
been fo forbidden. And they feem to be forbidden, not as things generally
finfull, but improper upon that particular occafion. And yet many of them were
certainly contrary to the provilions of the law. It is very remarkable, that
fome of the fame things were prohibited by the Decemviral Law, and yet con-
tinued in practice among the Remans. " Mulieres genas ne radunto, neve leffiim
" funeris ergo habento." Was it that the prohibition among the Jews, as well
as the Romans, was founded on political, rather than religious, conliderations ; fo
that though the Civil Law was difobcyed, in the continuation of the pradlice,.
no religion was violated ? Among the ceremonies of interment in ufe among
the heathen, the moft eflential and indifpenlible were banquets among the rela-
tions of the deceafed. Thefe, indeed, were not forbidden by the Mofaic Law,
except to the Priefts ; and to them only by virtue of the general prohibition of
tlieir interference in the obfequies of the dead with permiffion, however, in ;

' V, 4.

the
no CRITICAL NOTES Chap. ix.

the cafe of father, mother, fon, daughter, brother, or virgin fifter\ Thefe
banquets were of two kinds. Banquets around the body of the deceafed, be-
fore it was carried out; and a feaft f the family and relations, after the ob-
fequic^ were finiflied, and the body, or the aflies of it, entombed. Both are to

be traced among the Gentiles up to the heroic ages. Of the firft fort was the
fumptuous feaft, which Achilles made for his myrmidons around the body of
Patroclus, while it lay unburied''. Of the fecond, the banquet in Piiam's pa-
lace, after the interment of HedlorS The latter was the conclufion of the
mourning. The relations of the deceafed afTumed the garb of feftivity ; for

they were crowned with garlands, and celebrated the praifes of the deceafed''.
To this feaft " cup of confolation," mentioned Jer. xvi. 7. is probably to
the
be referred, anfwering to the " circumpotatio ;" which was interdidfed among
the Romans by the Decemviral Law, on account of the excefs to wiiich it was,
carried. The former feaft, before the interment, was the Parentalia of tlie
Romans, and the -zs-ipi'^^iTrvx. of the Greeks. It is faid, that the viands for
this feaft were contributed by the relations and friends of the deceafed and ;

thence it is fuppofed to have acquired its Greek name. In the manner of

the celebration among the Greeks, this banquet, in itfelf innocent, feems to
have been connefted with fomething of an idolatrous worfliip of the manes of
the deceafed. For in the parentalia of Patroclus, the company feem to have
formed a ring around the dead body, placed in the center, which, in that fi-

tuation, was plentifully wetted with the blood ftreaming from the flaughtered
animals "; which gives the banquet the appearance of a feaft upon the vidfims

' Levit. xxi. I

3.

yvt>^ Totfr\ Tc.^ov ^svojixeat tia*vtf.

* XstJxvjfS ^S TO (T^ua. VTxXtv KlOt' aVTCi^ iTWCC

Eu cyyayfi^'afAivo:, iccUvxy l^i<.vhx, dcciTOCy

Av^a<ri ii' n;ia,uoio Ji'.ljEliiOi ^iO-iXiio;. II. O. 8oi.

* Sequebantur epulae, quas inibiint parentes coronati ; apud quas de moitui laudc, cum quid
veri erat, pncdicatum. Cic. De Leg. Lib. IL c. 25.

lacrific-ed
 . . :.

CHAP. IX. UPON HOSE A. Ill

facrificed to the fliade of the hero. The however, not abufed by this
fcaft,

fuperftltion in the manner of tlie celebration of it, was fo much efteemed

among the Jews an indifpenfible duty to the memory of the dead, that it was
a part of Tobit's excellent exhortation to his fon, to " pour out his bread
" upon the burial of the jult^ ;" that is, to be liberal in contribution of viands

to the wtp/Sc/TTva. Thefe contributary viands were probably " the bread of
" men" of the Prophet Ezekiel'^. Among the Athenians it is faid to have been
the duty of a particular magiflrate, to fupply the provifions for this feaft for the
poorer citizens.
In the fimplicity of the primitive ages, this feaft was probably celebrated
only a fingle day. It appears not, at leaft, that the parentalia of Patroclus
were repeated. But in later times the feafls were continued every day, as long
as the body lay above ground. Whence they acquired, among
Romans, the
tiie name of " Novendiales Epulae." For on the ninth day, the body, ac-
cording to their praftice, was carried out. The Jews proceeded to fuch pro-
fulion in thefe banquets, that Jofephus fays, many perfons of condition re-
duced themfelves to beggary by this expence viands ferved up at thefe '^.
The
fvmeral feafts, whether the parentalia, or the concluding feaft after the fune-
ral, were all unclean, by the ufe to whicli they were applied,, and defiled all

who ate of them ; and all come properly under the denomination of the
*' meat of mourners."
But there were other offerings confecrated to the dead, in rites of the
grofleft fuperftition which may be included under the fame denomination.
;

Such were the libations of wine and oil poured upon the funeral pile, and the
meats burned with the dead body.

Congefta cremantur
Thurea-dona, dapes, fufo crateres olivo. ^n. VI, 224.

Such alfo were the provifions laid from time to time upon the tomb, or placed

near the grave, for a repaft for the fhade of the deceafed, which was fuppofed
to feed upon them. Thefe were properly the xnpta-ij.ofla. of the Greeks, and the
Silicernmm of the Romans. They were fometimes offered for the purpofe of

f Tobit. IV. i-ji \ xxiv. 17, De Bello Judaico, lib. JI. c i.

magical
ii; cniTICAL NOTES chat. ix.

magical evocation, as in the OdyiTey. Sometime?, to appeafe the ghoft of a

murthertd man; as the ofierings of Clytemneftra, at tlie tomb of Agamemnon,
in theChoephorss of ^fchykis, and the EledVra of Sophocles. But more fre-

quently they were merely otierings of the relations in honour of the dead. It

may feem almoft incredible, that the chofen people of God i"hould ever give
into a pra6lice of fuch horrible idolatry. But what may we not believe of
thofe,who could " fet their abominations in the houfe called by the name of
"Jehovah," and make their children " pafs through the fire to Moloch?"
y\nd there is a text which brings them under ftrong fufpicion, and feems plainly
to infmuate, that they brought this praifice with them out of Egypt, and
continued it afterwards. In the 25th chapter of Deuteronomy there is a law,

which requires of every one, who fliould prefent himfelf before God to offer

his firfl fruits, to make a folemn profefllou, that he had bond fide applied the

whole of his tithes to the religious and charitable ufes prefcribed by the laws
of tithing ; without fubtradlion of the fmalleil particle, upon any pretence, for
any other purpofe. " I have not eaten thereof in my mouknitnG [that is, I
"have confumed no part of them in fcafts at the funerals of my relations,]
" neither have I taken away ought tb.ereof for any unclean ufe, nor given ought
*' thereof for the dead." Or, more literally, " nor given of it to a dead
" man '." Now what fhould this giving of the fruits of the ground, or of the
flock, to a dead man be, but fomething analogous to the filicernium of the
.heathen ? And why fhould this folemn profeflion be exadled, if the Ifraelites
were not in fa6t addifted to this abominable pra(ftit:e 1 All thefe viands

-ferved.up at the funeral feafis, and all the fepulchral cates laid about the graves
of the dead, as offerings to the departed fpirit, were " meats of mourners,"
and all in the higheft degree, but cfpecially the lafi:, unclean.
It would be unpardonable not to apprife the reader, that in the interpretation
I have given of the text in Deuteronomy, I differ widely from the learned Dr.
Spencer ; whofe fecond chapter, of the fecond book of his work, upon the
Hebrew ritual, entitled " Lex, de profefTionc triplici, pcfl: oblatas decimas Sc
*' primitias, facicnda," is well worth the reader's perufal, if he delights in the

refinements of deep erudition fancifully mifapplied.

' V. 14.

Upon
 CHAP. IX. UPON HO SEA. 113

Upon the general fubje^l of funeral feafts, and the rites of mourning, many
interefting and judicious remarks are to be found in the notes of the learned

Dr. Blayney, upon Jer. xvi. 5 8.

(G) to themfelves." So Abarbinel expounds the word Q'rBj"?,

and after him Grotius. " Cibus eorum ipfls crit " ipforum tantum ufibus
fervire poterit ; quali dicat, ovxiiio.

(H) Their valuables of filver, Sec." There is certainly much ambiguity in

the grammatical conftru6lion of this pafTage, though the general fenfe is very
clear. It defcrlbes the extreme devaftation of the country, by the Affyrian
conqueft, under the image of weeds growing up in the dwellings, deferted by
the owners, and ftripped of their coftly and elegant furniture of filver.

To afcertain the conftru6lion, I obferve, in the firft place, that lano is a

noun fubftantive, fignifying generally whatever, for its value or beauty, is moft
defired. This is its frequent fenfe. The fenfe, in which fome take it, and
which the learned Pocock feems to prefer, of the places, in which fuch valua-
bles were ftored for fafe keeping, or fet out for ufe or ornament ; though not
inconfiftent with the frequent import of the verbals formed with the heeman-
tic O prefixed, and with the peculiar force of that formative, is, I believe, in
this word unexampled.
2. In the word D3D3^, the prefix b denotes that SOD is the material, in which
thefe valuables were wrought*. And when two words are conne>led, as thefe
two are here; a pronoun, fuffixed to the latter of the two, very often belongs
properly to the former ; which I take to be the cafe here. So that OBDD"? nana
may " Their valuables of, or in, filver."
properly be rendered,
3. The two words DSDD^ tariD fl:and as a nominative abfolute, exprefilng
the principal fubje<ft of the fentence following ; a figure of fpeech frequent
in all the prophets, and in which Hofea particularly deliglits.
4. The verb D^"1
is the third perfon fingular future of the verb tOT in the

Hiphil conjugation, with the pronoun plural of the third perfon fuffixed. I
fay in the Hiphil conjugation to which interpreters have not attended.
; P'or I
cannot find, that the verbs quiefcent Phe Jod ever form the third ptrfon fingu-

' See Noldlus, ^. . 15.

Q lar
11+ CRITICAL NOTES chap. ix.

lar of the future in Kal, or Pihel, with the double . Buxtorf, indeed, cites
twoinftances^ ; the latter with fome helitation. But in the firft, the Samaritan
text, and the Complurenfian Bible, give in the regular form. And in n3{V)

the iecond, the verb VT' feems to be in Hiphil, as Buxtorf himfelf allows

it may be taken. For the true rendering of the verfe I take to be, " For Je-
" hovah is high, yet hath he refpedl unto the lowly ; but the lofty one from
" afar he maketh to feeW Compare Judges viii. i6, where many MSS. give

ynvi. And yiT* is a Hiphil form of the future, though lefs regular than the

double . Now the verb li'T*, in the Hiphil conjugation, fignifies " to dif-
*'
poflefs," to drive out the former owner or occupier, and take poffeffion in-

his room.

5. The nominatives of this Hiphil verb are the nouns ti'lDV and nTl. And
Dn'^'^nsa is to be taken as connefted with both thefe nouns. Thus the

exa<5l rendering will be, " Their valuables in filver the nettle, the thiftle in
" their dwellings fhall difpofiefs them."
6. The pronoun D, fuffixed to the verb \yT, may rehearfe either the people,

the Ifraelites ; or their valuables, IDnD being taken as a colledive. In the firft

way the fenfe will be, that the nettle and the thiftle, growing up in the de-

ferted manlions of the Ifraelites, ihall difpoflefs them of their valuables ; in the

fecond, that thefe weeds fo growing up fhall difpoflefs the valuables, i. e. occupy
the place, which thofe coftly things once filled. The latter, I think, the

more eafy and natural expofition.

If the learned reader is not fatisfied with this expofition of the grammar of
the text, he may find in Pocock all the conftrudlions (except this) which the

words can be brought to bear. And in the variet)^ he may make his own
choice.

(I) the Prophet." The title of " Prophet** feems to have been given to

all of the prophetical order ; that is, to all who had been educated in the
fchools of the Prophets, and profefled a life of retirement and religion : be-
caufe thefe were ufually the pcrfons, to whom the gift of prophecy was im-
parted ; though it was by no means given to all, or even to the greater jfcrt of
them. Some, perhaps, among them pretended to it, who had never received

= Gen. ii. 7. and Ff. cxxxviii. 6.

it
 ;

CHAP. IX. UPON HO SEA. 115

it at all. And others, to wliom it was in fome degree given, ternporifed in the

ufe of it, by profane accommodations to the humour of the people,^ the reli-

gious opinions, or the political meafures of the court. Of the latter in parti-

cular we have a remarkable inftance in thofe Prophets of Ifrael, who encouraged

Ahab to the expedition againft the Syrian, for the recovery of Ramotli Gilead,
which proved fo fatal to himfelf. That the grofs impofture of pretences to

infpiration, by perfons that had it not at all, was adlually pradlifed, feems to
be implied in Micah ii. 11. and Jer. xxiii. 31, 3a. That thofe, who had the
extraordinary gift, pretended, upon fome occafions, to vifions which they had
never feen, and to commands which thej' had never received, is certain, from
the very memorable ftory of the impofition pra6tifed by the old Prophet, who
dwelt in Bethel at the time of the fchifm of the ten tribes, upon the man of
God of Judah, who had prophecied againft Jeroboam's altar *. The old Pro-
phet, whatever his crime might be in this deceit, and it certainly was great,

appears to have been, in his general charadler, a true fervant of God. But
the more frequent crime was certainly that of temporifing. In the manner of
delivering meflages of warning, which had been really received. The perfons
guilty of this conduit were deeply implicated in the guilt of the nation, and
were promoters of the idolatry, to which the Kings and the people were fo

much addicted '" ; and they are reproved and threatened in every page of the
prophetical writings. Thefe are the perfons, who, in this text of Hofea,
under the title of Prophets, are taxed with flupidity and madnefs.
The communication of the gift of prophecy, to perfons fo falfe to the duties

of their office, feems fomewhat analogous to the communication of the mira-

culous gifts, in the primitive church, to many who made, if not a wicked,
certainly an improper and injudicious ufe of them. And analogous to the
threatened punifhment of falfe teachers, in the latter ages of Chriftianity,
was the punifhment of thefe prevaricating Prophets. " God fent them
" ftrong delulion that they fhould believe a lie"'." " If the Prophet be de-
" ceived when he hath fpoken a thing, I the Lord have deceived that Prophet
" and I will ftretch out my hand upon him, and will deflroy him from the
** midft of my people Ifrael ''." How it was, that God deceived the Prophet,
Is an awefuU queftion, to be cautioufly touched. It is evident, from the text
of Ezekiel, that the Prophet himfelf was highly criminal in the deception

I Kings xiij. *"jer. xxiii. 15. 2 Tiiefl". ii. 11. ' Ezek xiv. 9.

Q 2 That
n6 CRI TIC AL NO TES chap, is,

that he fufFtred. It may be, that, for his unworthinefs, the fpirit of wifdom and
underftanding was withheld from him, which might have enabled him to dif-
cern the true meaning of the allegorical vilions prefented to his imagination.
Or it may be, that, for the guilt of the nation, the prophetic fpirit was
imparted to tliofe, who wilfully mifinterpreted their vilions. Thus the vifion

was true, and the whole fallity was in the error, or the difhonefty, of the
Prophet. It is hardly to be conceived, that falfified fcenes of futurity could
be obtruded by the Holy Spirit on the Prophet's mind. 1 would obferve, that
in the cafe of Ahab, the lying fpirit in the mouth of the Prophets, was not a.

fpirit that lied to them, but a fpirit that incited them to lie to the King.

(K) In proportion to." This is the force of bV- according to."

(L) his God." I Soncinum Bible of i486,

read VH^K, with the

the notes of the Bible Minchath Shai,''four MSS. of Dr. Kennicott's, two
more originally, three of De Roffi's, and one more originally.

(M) my God." I read ^"^'?K, with two MSS. of Dr. Kennicott's,

and one originally of De Rofli's. The words rrb^ and >rh)k, in this verfe, feem
to have changed places, to the great detriment of the emphalis.

(N) Luther's notion of this paflage was not very different from mine.
Exifl-imo Antithefi uti Prophetam. Sententia enim eft, quod priora tem-

j-ora habucrint veros prophetas qui magno animo reprehenderunt idolatriam,.

;

& docuerunt verum Dei cultum. Scd qui nunc funt, inquit, occafio funt er-
rorum & impietatis. Ponunt enim laqueos populo, &c. Diodati too agrees In.

this interpretation.

(O) I found." The verb KJJD here figniiies not to find fomething-
in a place unexpeded, but it is equivalent to the verb, " to find," or ' trou-
" ver," in fuch exprcflions as thefe. " I find it very good." " Je le trouve
" tres bon." And the fenfc is, as grapes in the parched barren defert are-
found delightful! by the thirfty traveller, fo was Ifrael antiently delighted in by
God. See Pocock on the place. Calvin's remark is very judicious " Porro :

<'
non intelligit Propheta dignura fuifTe populum, quern tantopere amaret : fed
" Hebraei
 ;

CHAP. IX, ' U P O N H O S E A. 117

*' Hebraei dicunt " Invenire," quemadmoclum etiam Gallice dicimus, " Je
*' trouve cela a mon gout." Reputavi igitur Ifrael tanquam uvas in de-
^ ferto."

(P) See chap. VIII. note (I).

(Q) to that obfcenity." n'l'2b. Luther takes the word rW2. for
the name of the idol. For rendering the pafTage, " Et fandlificaverunt fe
*' turpi Idolo," he adds this note :
" Bofhet autem fine dubio appellat idolum
" Peor, turpem & foedam ftatuam." He certainly is not far from the truth,
though the word n'QJH is not altogether a proper name.
The word "lyD, " open." It occurs in this fenfe in
as a verb, fignifies to

four places only, in all of which " a mouth" is the objecft in three, the hu- :

man mouth in the fourth*, the mouth of Hades perfonified. It is never ufed
:

as a noun, but in the name of the idol, Baal-Peor; and once, as the name of a

hill''. In the name of the idol it feems to be the infinitive ufed, as a noun;
or as the Latin gerund in -di, after the preceding noun Baal. So that the name
of the idol renders in Englifh, " The Lord of opening." I take Baal-Peor,.
therefore, to have been worfhipped as the power prefiding over procreation
opening the womb, both for conception and for parturition ; to have been in
iliort the U^oSv^aia of the Orphic fyftem*-'.
This power was worfhipped by the Greeks, under the name of Artemis.
Her ofiice extended far beyond the affliirs of mere midwifery. She had not only
propagation univerfally, not merely that of the human fpecies, in her care. But
as generation and corruption reciprocate in material things, fhe fuperintended
both. And, being fuppofed tohave in her power tlie ifilies of life and death,
file was the general arbitrefs of the fortunes of men. She had a variety of
titles, according to her various offices ; and her family connedlions, her pe-
digree,, and her confanguinity, are difi^erently ftated, according as fhe is con-
templated in the exercife of one, or another,, of her variouspowers. And from
thefe different names and different ftories, the poets, and their commentators,,
have made as many different goddefi:es. But "Aflijj.15, EIK-mvic, U^ojCmw,.

^ If. V. 14. - ^ Num. xxxiii. 28.

' Compare Hutchinfon, " On the Names of the Triniry of the Gentiles." Tit. "1V3 '7J'2.
iig CRITICAL NOTES chap. ix.

AYii^rnp, Ttx-J. 'E-Kcliii, Jana, Diana, Partuna, Luna, Juno Lucina, were all

the fame power, confidered in various a6ts, and worfhipped with various rites,
and under different fymbols. But the paramount charafter of this divinity
was that of the patronefs of procreation ; and, in this charadler, fhe was the

Baal-Peor of the Moabites,

The learned reader will make it no objeftion, that all the titles, I have enu-

merated, of the Greek and Latin idol, are feminine ; whereas Baal is a mafculine.

It was a firft principle among the Myftagogucs, that every God was of either
fex. And this very perfonage, in the charadler of Selene, is faluted, in the

Orphic invocations, as male and female, Sn>^vs rs x, izpa-r,v', and was botli

Lunus and Luna among the Latins ; and the word rvti2 will lead to feminine

appellations of Baal-Peor.
We are told, by Herodotus, that the Artemis of the Greeks was worfhipped
by the Egyptians, under the feminine appellation of Bubaftis, in the city of
the fame name '. And in a Greek epigram, cited by H. Stephens, in his The-
faurus, Bubaftis is faid to be a title of Ifis, as the guardian goddefs of women
very remarkable, that Buibatos was a title of Diana, as Hefy-
in labour. It is

chius affirms, among the Thracians. The Egyptian rites of Bubaftis, as they

are defcribed by Herodotus % were in the higheft degree obfcene. But this
is not all. The city Bubaftis (commonly written Bubaftos, but Herodotus
writes it with an i) certainly took its name from the
goddefs. Now the name
of the city, in the Prophet Ezekiel ^ is nV2 'S
which feems only a dialectic ;

variation, as is obferved by the learned Parkhurft % for rVD^ *3. And the li-

teral rendering of rW2 ^3 is " foramen turpitudinis." Hence it is eafy to

guefs, under what emblematical figure the goddefs

was worfhipped, in the city

that bore her name and the conjeaure is much confirmed by the attitudes, by
;

devotions ^, in the an-

which the Egyptian ladies are faid to have exprefTed their
nual feftival of this objed of their worfhip.
Hence I have no doubt, that in the word ma, as it is ufed here, and in

texts of Scripture, there is a paronomalia a favourite figure with

fome other j

the Prophets, which cannot be adequately

exprefTed in a tranflation. To pre-
tranflators have judicioufly added
ferve what they could of it, our Englifh

''
Euterpe, 156 and ^9. and 138. * Euterpe, 60.
> Orph. H. 8.

i ' Lexicon, under the word {^2- ' Herodot. Euterpe, 60.
^xx. 17. ,

the
 CHAP. IX. UPON HOSE A. 119

the demonftratlve "that" to the word " fhame," by which

they render the
noun fubftantive and ; I have followed their example, prefixing " that" to
my word " obfcenity." By giving the appellative " fliame," or " obfcenity,"
without " that," the appropriation of the word to the idol would be loft : and
the fenfe of the name would be loft, if the Hebrew word " Bofhet" were re-
tained in the tranflation as a proper name.
The learned Vitringa has a notion of his own about this " confecrating of
" themfelves to that obfcenity." He thinks fome rite muft be fignified, by
which fome of the Ifraelites devoted themfelves to the worfliip of that idol
*' ut placerent amafiis." And fo far he is probably in the right. But he con-
ceives, that the particular rite was the circular tonfure of the hair, bv which the
Moabites and Arabs, according to Herodotus, marked themfelves as worlliip-
pers of Dionyfus. This opinion Vitringa fuftains, with much learnino- and
ability ; but, as often happens to him, with too much refinement.
cannot It
be true, unlefs Baal-Peor was Dionyfus. And of this he offers not a fhadovv
of a proofs.
The opinion, that Baal-Peor was Priapus, feems to have taken from a
its rife
random guefs of St. Jerome's, who underftood that Baal Peor was fomething
obfcene ; and looked no farther, than to fomething obfcene in the Greek idola-
try, to anfwer to the idol of the Moabites.

(R) Ephraim!" A nominative abfolute.

(S) when I turn away," for>'r)^n. I read, with the Bible of Hale
(1 720), three MSS of Kennicott's, one originally of De Roffi's, Aquila, Vul-
gate, Houbigant, and Archbifliop Nevvcome, mM,
(T) to all appearance." This I take to be the force of ^n^ST "iti'XO,
And {o the LXX, ov t^otiov sl^ov ; and to the fame efFetH: the Bilhop's Bible
" as methinks."
Diodati's rendering deferves attention. " mentre io Tho reguardato ."
' So long as I looked upon him." If this might be adopted, it would produca

' See Vitringa, in If, xv. Not. Moab. . 3.

an
 IftO CRITICAL NOTES CHAP. IX.

an elegant antithefis between the happy efFedVs of God's providential care,

and the deplorable confequences of his turning away, mentioned in the
preceding fentence. But I think, the Hebrew words will hardly bear this
fenfe.

(V) planted on a rock." ei; '!:^sraoiv Ts-iP'jjiViJ.'voi. Th. And to the

fame fenfe, as it ihould feem, Aquila and Symmachus wg uKpojo^ov uripvjiviJ.iVYiv

iv Kocloiv.ia.

(W) I remove the Soph-pafuk from D^DS, where I place only Rebbiah, to

b:b'i2. : that onVT may be an accufative after ^n, in appofition with Dm and
on.

(X) perverfc pracSlices." See chap. V. note (B).

(Y) blighted." The allufion is evidently to a tree, killed by what

is called a blight. The verb TO'i is often ufed in this particular fenfe of blighting\

Dr. Pocock thinks that the word, though ufed in a much larger fignification,

is " in proper language fpoken of tr^es and plants, when by any chance
*'marred." See his note upon this place. I have fometimes been inclined to
adopt the conftru6lion and rendering of the Syriac. " Ephraim is fmitten at
*' the root; he is dried up, fo that he ihall bear no fruit." The verfion of
the LXX, when it is rightly pointed, is to the fame efFe(ft. 'E7rova-v E-ffj^l/^

' Pf. cii. _5. Amos iv. 9. and Jonah iv. 7.

CHJP.
 GHAP. X. U P O N H O S E A. 121

CHAP. X.

(/\) yielding." -p^p^^,- The root pin, or pi, fignifies properly, to

empty a veffel of its contents. Hence " vaftare." But a vine " emptying
" itfelf," qiuft be a vine pouring forth its internal ftrength in abundance of
fruit All the antient verfions, except the Chiddee, agree in rendering the
'.

participle as expreffive of luxuriance. Symmachus, indeed, renders it by a

word that denotes " running to wood," uAo/xoii-acra, and Aquila, by Jn/S'pcf,, "a
" watery vine," which St. Jerome explains
to be a vine bearing grapes, which

gave but a thin and watery juice, fuch would not make good wine. But
as

the context fhews, that fertility of fruit is meant, and this idea is conveyed
in all the other verfions. svyJ-yiy^lSa-oi, LXX. " abounding in goodly branches,"
But goodly branches are branches which bear fruit; and accordingly this ver-
lion adds, xa^Trog ivSrivuiv uvty,;. The Vulgate renders the participle of leaves,
" Vitis frondofa Ifrael ;" but then he adds, ''
frud^us ad.Tquatus eft ei." The
Syriac
Jj|3 it-=^-^? ^/mj^ |oQ-aJuj ^i^S.^;;,^. "A branchy vine is

" Ifrael, which beareth fruit." The fruit, however, is not to be underftood
of the fruit of good works, as I liave explained in note ".

'
(B) his fruit was anfwerable to his vigour," and
literally, "
his fruit was equalled' to. himfelf." So the Vulgate^ " frudus adcgquatus
" eft ei."

(C) God himfelf." This I take to the force of JMn. And fo it

is underftood. by St. Jerome.

(D) Negotiate ," literally, if raT be taken as an imperative, " Talk

" words." I take mVii as another accufative, in appofitionr with D-^Kn, after

; See Parkhurft, under the word p^J,

R the
 122 CRITICAL NOTES ciiAr. x.

the verb'"DT; and ./1"1D, as the infinitive iifcd for the imperative, which is

very coninron. " Talk words," i. e. " negotiate." Among the Indian tribes

of America, a pubUc conference to fettle differences is called " a talk."

(E) Hemlock" ti'HI may be a general name for the vegetable poifons, hem-
lock, aconite, &c. from their common property of affedling the head. Com-
pare Dr. Blaney, on Jer. viii. 14.

(T) '

the inhabitants." I take pu? here as a collective, with a'U

the antient verfions. As I think, the fame word (though differendy pointed by
Maforetes) is ufed in Pf cxxxv. 21. For I would render that verfe thus:
the
*' BlefTed be Jehovah in Sion. O inhabitants of Jerufalem, praife ye Jah."

To be rendered with the verfions, that dwelleth in Jerufalem," i. e. Je-

hovah that dwelleth, the word fhould be pt'H.

(Q) fliall be in conilernation." Of the four verbs, ')T, "l"t2, mj,

-V13, fee chap. VII. note (M).
The word ^"^IJ', here, can be nothing but the third perfon plural future

in.Kal of the verb "iia, regularly formed, according to the rule of conjugation

of the verbs quiefcent Ain 1, and the verb muft be taken in its fecondary fenfe

of being in confternation.

(H) for the great calf." nibjy^. It is not to be concluded from

the feminine form of the noun, that the idol was a heifer. " Imagines carent
*' fexu," fays Vatablus. I conceive that when the living animal is in queftion,

the mafculine, -^jy, renders a bull-calf, the feminine, nb'jy, a cow-calf. But
that fpeaking of the image of a calf, tlie feminine, n'?Dy, may be ufed of the

iigure either of the bull, or the cow. The plural number is ufed, becaufe the
calf of Beth-el (here called Bethaven, becaufe it was become the temple of an
idol), was in its fize, and the riches of the temple, the principal image.
'< quodVitulus, qui in Bethel colebatur, effet prsecipuus," fays Vatablus.
I render the word, therefore, " the great calf." This noun in the feminine
and plural form, is r^hearfcd in this text by a mafculine and itngular
ptonouH,
(I)
 CHAT. X. UPON HO SEA. 123

(I) exulted." ^V:iV The future, even without the converfrve ^, is

often ufed for the prasterite, according to Kimchi, as he is quoted by Buxtorf.

" Frequentiflima eft temporum enallage 'Praeteriti pro futuro, & futuri pro
" praeterito, turn per fe & fimplidter in prophetis, turn propter prasfixanx
" literam ")."'

(K) For 1m^*, I read with the Soncinenfian Bible of 1488, the Brefcian
of 1494, the Peitiro Prophets of 15 16, the Venice Bible of 15 18, the
Bafil of 1536, which is the fecond of Munfter' s^ and. twenty MSS of Keii-
nicott's, 1n^t

(L) See chap. V. note (I),.

(M) in found fleep." I take the word T^W^. for the fubftantive
T\m (heavy fleep), with the prefix. I know not how it can be regularly formed
from the root my, to fignify Ihame. The Vulgate, indeed, and the Chaldee,
feem to favour this derivation and this fenfe. For the Vulgate renders the word
by " confufio," and takes it as the nominative of the verb. The Chal-
dee word xnni is properly fhame. But perhaps it may iignify confu-
lion, or inacTtivity of the faculties, from any other caufe. The Syriac

JOjt'f^^ ^^^ ' ^Lloi-:^^ niight, I think, be rendered, " Gonfufion fhall
" darken Ephraim ^LLcL.^ may fignify "confufion," or
;" which, if the noun
torpidity of the mind generally, is exadlly my fenfe, though it deviates from
the conftrudlion. And this fenfe of the noun is, in fome meafure, confirmed
by chap. xi. i. according to the divifion which the Syriac tranflator follows;
where the verb ioi.3)i. is joined with the verb yoL, the claufe being to this
cfFedV, "In the morning, the King of Ifrael wondered, and was aftounded."
The text of the LXX is in fuch a ftate, that no conclufion can be drawn
from it of their reading or their fenfe. St. Jerome's LXX feems to have
fv }ojj.aJi Eippocifj. ^i'^ncni oila-'x^jvrp. But, taking the Greek text as it now ftands, I
would propofe to correal it thus : a5o^ S^ 'Ecp^a;^ Si|iTi. Taking eiSoju, in the
Henfe of " languor," from the verb fVS/Sw/^i.

R 2 (N)
 124 CRITICAL NOTES '

chap. x.

(N) like a bubble." e)p3. " Bullam interpreter. Dicitur

" autem bulla P(:ip a e)\jp, quod fervere & buUire fignificat, quia fervoris &
^' ebulHtionis efteilum ell."
.
Livelye.
Mr. Woide firft propofed the divifion of the claufes which I follow, putting
Rebbia or Athnach at ^naiy, and underltanding the verb fubftantive after

(O) It overtook them not iniquit3^" I have preferved

the exadt collocation of the words in the original, that the ambiguity arifing
from it (if any) might remain in the tranflation. The clear fenfo, and the only
fenfe, unlefs the particle "? be taken interrogatively, is that which I have given
and explained in note I"). Taking the ab interrogatively, the words muft be
thus rendered: " Overtook it not them in Gibeah, the children of iniquity?"
That is, " Did not the war againft the children of iniquity overtake them (i. e.
" thofc children of iniquity) in Gibeah?" The pertinence of the interroga-
tion to the fubjecQ; might be, " Did I not thus execute judgement on thole
" linners ? Much more will I execute judgement on you, who are worle fm-
" ners." But this rendering is not fo eafy and natural, as the former. Tije
pronoun fuffixed to the verb, in this way of taking the fenfe, muft refer to
the children of iniquity, which are placed after it in the fentence ; a con-
flrudlion by no means unexampled, but not to be admitted without ne-
ceffity.

(I*) when they are tethered down to their two furrows."

rOriD-y TVlib D"ID^a. For the laft word, the Keri gives .amilj;. The edition-s

and MSS ditler. The varieties of the Venetian Bible of 15 18, eleven MSS of
Kennicott's, and one more originally, agree with the Keri. Thirteen MSS of
Kennicott's, and three more originally, give nnsiy. The Complutenlian Bible,
and one MS of Kennicott's, give DmW. The text of the Venetian Bible of
15 18, and the Bible of Hale of 1536 (Munfter's 2d), the Drefcian of 1494,
the Soncinenfian latter Prophets of i486, and eight MSS of Kennicott's, give
laiTiTV- I l^DW, and Qm^y, to be in fadl the fame word, written de-
take DmSiy,
fe6Vively in fome MSS, and in its perfeft form in others. The authorities,
therefore, for the Keri feem to preponderate ; efpecially if we add tiiofe

o( the LXX, Syr. and Vulg. If DDIJiy be the true reading, it might fignify
.iniquities;
CHAP. X. UPON HOSE A. 125

iniquities; and in this fenfe it is taken by the LXX. Syr. and Vulg. and many
modem critics, who all reirder to this effecfl : when they Ihall be chaf-

"tifed for their two iniquities." And modern expofitors underftand by the two
iniquities the two calves of Dan and Bethel. This may feem at firft an eafy
and obvious fenfe. But, upon a narrower infpedtion of the Hebrew words, it-

will be found, that they will not bear it.

In the firft place, the word D"ID><n cannot otherwife be refolved, than into

nva, with the prefix 2, and the fuffixed pronoun a. The word idj*, under
the prefix n, cannot be derived from the root )D^ "to chaftife." And of
the two alterations of the text, offered by Archbiihop Newcome to his readers

choice, neither is juftified by any fufficient authority; unlefs that of the three
verfions of LXX. Syr. and Vulg. without a fmgle MS, and without any exi-
gence of the place, may be deemed fuch. Much authority is indeed due to
the concurrence of antient verfions, and efpecially of thefe three. But, in the
prefent inftance, it is by no means certain, that w-e have the confent of the
three, or the authority indeed of any one of them, for an alteration of the
text in this word. The more probable conclulion from their verfions feems to
be, that there is a great affinity of fenfe (as many men ef learning have ob-
ferved) between the two roots, "iDM and ~1D*; which is the cafe, in various other
inftances, between roots quiefcent Phe and others quiefcent Phe K; and that
they took "IDti in this place in the fenfe of "ID^.

a. But admitting that the word nSK might be fo taken ; or, if it cannot be
To taken, admitting, in deference to the verfions, one or other of Aichbifliop
Newcome's altered readings, ftill there will be great difficulty in the conftruc-
tion. I know of no inftance in which the prefix'^ is ufed, as what fome gram-
marians call Caujalis ret prxterii<z, or as the prepofition of the reafon, or mo-
tive of adlion, arifi.ng in the confideration of fomething paft. Which muft be
the ufe of it here, if DniJiy *nc'? is to be rendered " for their two iniquities.'*

It is true, that, among the enallages of the prepofitions, grammarians mention

"^ ufed for the detached ^"S. But then it is for "py in the fenfe of " againft," or
" upon," or " clofe to," not as fignifying " upon account of." The prefix
b indeed fometimes fignifies " according to the rule or meafure of," or, " in
" proportion to." Thus Jeremiah xxx. 11. dbu-'d'? "l^mDM, where DS'i>b!? is

equivalent to assibn- chap. x. i\. And the learned Dr. Blancy judicioufiy re-
marks, that the word oSiVJJ in thefe texts fignifies that " calm and difpaf-
" fionate
 J26 C RITICAL N OTES ciiAr. .

" fionate judgement, ivhicli ftands oppofed to the hafty fallies of anger and fa-
" rious revenge." And the fenfe of the former is, " But I will corre6l thee
" according to meafure of fuch judgement." Again, Ezekicl xxii. 6. 1J>l6 ty^K*
" each in proportion to his power." And in this place of Hofca the
prefix *? might render " in proportion to," if iniquities had been mentioned
without limitation to the number two. " When they are chaftifed in propor-
" tion to their iniquities." But to take the prefix in this fenfe, with refpedl to
" two iniquities," would produce a litofis, little confident with the vehe-
mence of the difcourfe. For to punifii in proportion to two iniquities, would
be to " punifli twice," and only twice.
Upon thefe confiderations, I am perfwaded, that in the word ")DK3, '^D^* is

the infinitive mood of the root 1DK in its own proper fenfe of " binding,"
"tying to," " faftening to, or upon," or, in fome refpecfl:, "confining, re-
" ftraining." The fuffixed pronoun Q expreffes the perfons which are the ob-
jeAs of fuch, binding, tying, faftening, confinement, or reftritftion ; and the
noun following, under the prefix b, muft denote that, to or upon vAich, thofe
perfons are bound, tyed, fattened, confined, or reftrained. Indeed the verb
IDi*, to bind, properly governs the thing to which, by the prefix ^ *. There
are two of thefe things ; and it remains to enquire, what they may be.
It is fuppofed that the word JTliiy, the plural of HDIV, may render " furrows^
" in a ploughed field." No other paflage is to be found in the whole Bible,,
in which the word is ufed in this fenfe. And the procefs of criticifm, by
which this fenfe is deduced from the etymology of the noun, as derived from the
root niy, may feem rather far-fetched. The noun nJVD, from the root n3y, cer-
tainly fignifies "a furrow V Hence it is concluded, thatthe verb njy may fignify
" to make a furrow." No example of this fenfe of the verb occurs; but it is

certainly very confiftent with its general fenfe, furrows being drawn to correfpond
in parallel lines. And if this fenfe of the verb be admittted, the noun nWi
or nTV, if that be the true orthography, may fignify " a furrow." The only
authority for this meaning of the word, among the antients, is Jonathan. But"
it is received with approbation by the moft learned of the Rabbin, and by the
majority, and the moft able, of the Chriftian expofitors. By Munfter in particu-
latj by Vatablus, Calvin, Tarnovius, and the learned Drufius. The latter, in his

Sec Gen, xljx. ji. J See i Sam. xiv. 14. and Pf. cxxix. 3.

annotations
CHAP. X. UPON HOSEA. 127

annotations upon the Vulgate, goes fo far as to fay, that it is the only fenfe
the word will bear. For propofing this corre6lion of the rendering of the
Vulgate, " Cum ligavero eos in duobus fulcis ipforum," he adds, " & ita ne-
'" cefiario videtur reddendum ex Codice Hebrseo." The necefiity, indeed,

which this great critic fuppofes, is founded entirely on the Maforetic rules

of punftuation ; and the fenfe, which he efleemed fo neceflary, is rejecfted, as

ill-fuited to the context, by two other critics of great learning and great pene-
tration, Luther, and Livelye.
Thofe, who adopt this fenfe of the word, all feem to agree, that the image,
which the claufe prefents, is that of a pair of heifers yoked to the plough;

which I take to be erroneous. For the furrows are two. bound to or

upon their Iwofurrozvs.''' But a plough, though dragged by a pair of heifers,
makes but one furrow at a time and this is the one furrow of both heifers.
;

Two of the Jewifh expofitors, Abn Walid, and R. Tanchum, avoid this dif-

cordance between the words and the fuppofed image, by impofing on the
word rs^W, the fenfe not of furrows, but of " plowing heifers." But how
this image of " plowing heifers," or '* heifers yoked to the plough to make
" furrows," reprefents the ten tribes, is but ill-agreed among thofe, who re-
ceive the one or the other of thefe fenfes of the word ; and no one among them,
either Jew or Chriftian, has given any tolerable elucidation of the matter.
If " furrows" be the true fenfe of the word rOW, I am inclined to think
the being bound, or confined, to their two furrows may be- a proverbial ex-

preflion, not much unlike the more homely proverb of our own language, of
*' an afs between two bundles of hay ;" defcribing the lituation of a perfon
fiuAuating in his choice between two things, of which he mufl: choofe one.
In like manner, the fituation of extreme difficulty to which the Ifraelites were
reduced under their latter Kings, without any human means of relief, but in
the choice of one of the two alliances, between which they were ever fluc-
tuating, tliat of Affyria, and that of Egypt, may be reprefented under the
image of an animal tethered by a fhort rope, in fuch a manner that its utmoft
liberty of feeding is but the breadth of afingle ridge between two furrows, one on
the one fide, one on the other. The only obje6lion, of which I am aware,
to this interpretation of the image is, that pafture-grounds are not ufually laid
down in ridge and furrow, and animals are not ufually tethered to feed in
,corn-land.

But
128 CRITIC A LNOTES. chap. x.

But if word JTiW be taken to flgnify " iniquities," or "faults," the paflage
the
may be brought to the fame general meaning, difmiffing tlie image of a te-
thered animal, and rendering, " when they are tied to theirtwo faults,"
or, with the Syr.
" their two follies." The two alliances, already men-
tioned, might be called the two faults of the people, as both were repeatedly
reprobated by the Prophets, and yet the people were always courting the one
or the other of them. Or they might be called their two " follies." For
they never formed the one or the other, but they experienced the folly of the
meafure. Their ally, whichever of the two they cliofe, always proved a
treacherous friend; and yet the name of an alliance with one always drew
down the refentment and vengeance of the rival power. They were tied to

thefe two faults, or two follies, when, by God's juft defertion of them, they
were cut off from all profpe<St of any better aid, than one or the other of
thefe alliances might ofter to their hopes, and felt themfelves obliged to make
a choice.
And after all, if it be afked for what reafon the word Dni3iy may not be
taken, as it is taken by all the antients except Jonathan, in particular by that
moft excellent interpreter, the author of the Syriac verfion, in the fenfe of
" iniquities," " faults," or " follies;" I fay, that the obje(5lion ftands upon
no other grounds, than that of the principles of the Maforetic pundluationi
From this arifes all the neceffity, which the learned Drufius holds out, of the
other fenfe. For the fmgle authority of Jonathan, though refpedtable, will-

hardly be allowed to conftitute a neceffity, efpecially when fet againft that of

the LXX, Syr. and Vulg. The textual word, or Cetib, is Dri^'jr. By the

decree of the Maforetes the Keri muft always take tlie vowel points applied to
the Cetib. The Keri, therefore, pointed in conformity to this rule, mufi: be
OniJIi?, jn which both the I's are quiefcent in Cholem. And this word can-
not be derived from the .root nW, to fignify "their iniquities," becaufe we
have nothing but Cholem to reprefent the omitted n of the root and, by an- ;

other decree of the Maforetes, one vowel point cannot fupply the abfence of
two letters or, in other words, the in nW cannot be quiefcent. But put the.
;
"1

point Cliateph-patach under the initial y, and give the Cholem to 1 confonant,

that the word may be DPiJIV, and then the fenfe of iniquities will be im-

t)ofed upon the word by the very fame neceffity, upon the principles of the
Maforetic
CHAP. X. U P O N H O S E A. laj

Maforetic fyftem, by which, according to the other pointing, it is excluded :

that is by no neceffity at all, but the arbitrary rules of uninfpired expofitors

of the facred text. It is true, that the more regular orthography of this fe-
minine noun would be nrrij "^y. But in the mafcuhne form the word is ufually

written without the fecond1. " In textu plerumque fcribitur," fays the learned
le^ ico rapher Roberrlun, " cum fimplice Vau ante Cholem abfque Vau fuften-
*' tar ^ " /nd for what reafon a like omiffion of the quiefcent Vau may not
take place in the feminine form of the noun, lince the only reafon of the
om'ffion is the quiefcence of the letter, let the believers in the Maforetes
explain.

(Q) I delighted in treading out grain." To this efFefl Caftallo.

(R) I will make Ephraim carry me." To this efFe61 LXX, Syr.
Vulg. Luther, Caftalio, Junius and Tremellius, and Grotius, who adds this
remark, *' folent interdum ruftici infidere bobus."

(S) *' If we read as Shalman deftroyed Beth-Arbel, reference is made to

*' a fadl, not elfewhere recorded," fays Archbifhop Newcome. And fo faid

Luther long before him :

" Hiftoria, cujus hoc in loco Propheta meminit, nuf-
** quam extat." And fo faid Diodati : " quefta ifloria non e difcritta al-
*' trove ." But it never occurred to Luther, or to Diodati, that this would
juflify violent alterations of the text, to obtrude upon the Prophet an alhifion to
ahiftory, which is indeed extant, but to which no man, without the gift of in-
fpiration, can know, that the Prophet meant to allude. The fenfe of the paf-
fage is as clear, as it could be if the hiftory were known. The allufion is to a*

military exploit, well known we may be fure in Hofea's time, in which the
conqueror fpared neither fex nor age. And the Ifraelites are threatened with
an equal calamity. Upon the fubjeA of fuch emendations, as they are called,
as have been propjfed in this place, I prefent the reader with the judge-
ment of the Having mentioned a remark of Drufius, that the
great Pocock.
LXX appear to have found"im in their copies in (lead of ntl7D (but Drulias
never fet up this as a true reading), and Capeilus's crotchet of changing "W^
into IK^a upon no authority at all, to make the text agree with fon^e imjgi-
nations in hiilory of his own; Pocock fays, " By the fame realon, every one,

& " for

130 CRITICAL NOTES chap. x.

" for introducing any where fuch a meaning, as pleafed him beft, might alter
" tl:e words, as he pleafed, of which there would be no end ; and it would be a
" matter of very ill Gonfequence : we muft fit our meaning to the words, and
" not the words to our meaning." And afterwards, having mentioned the altera-

tions of the proper nameo propofed by Grotius, which Houbigant adopts, and
Archbifhop Newcome from Houbigant, he fays, " But it will be too bold for
*' us to follow his conjecture, as before we faid concerning that of Cappelkis ;

" if we fhould give ourfelves that liberty, we fhould have in this verfe three

"different readings: one from the Greek, in reading iffi'D for ntt'3 ; another
" from Capellus, reading for it lf'2, and another from Grotius in reading T3
" for JV2- And why may not fome others, by the fame authority, make
" others both here or any where elfe fo that we fhidl not know where to fix ?
;

" It will be the only fafe way to keep our reading as we have it, and to lay
*' any fault or incongruity, which we meet with, on the expolicions, not on the
" words read in the text." Thus this fober critic.

It is worthy of remark, however, that the Vulg. St. Jerome, and the LXX fup-
pofe that the hillory alluded to is Gideon's defVrudtion of Zalmunna. I join the

LXX, with the two others, becaufe the reading of the Alexandrian MS,
IjpoA for IcfoSca/x, is confirmed by St. Jerome's verfion of the LXX. St. Je-
rome fays, that Arbel and Jerubbaal are names of the fame fignification.
I muft obferve further, that St. Jerome, the Vulg. and the LXX, all ex-
prelFing the word JV2 in their verfions, clearly reprobate . the change of it

into Ta.

(T) As the morning For nnu;a, I read vnth the latter Prophets
."

of Soncinum of i486, the varieties of the Venice Bible of 1518, the Bible of
Hale of 1720, ten MSS. of Dr. Kennicott's, three more originally, five of De
Rofli's, and three more originally, and with St. Jerome, and St. Cyril of Alex-
andria, and the Vulg nntt;3i
The iimile is expornded by St. Jerome, in his Commentary ; and by St.

Cyril of 'Alexandria, and by Theodorct, in the fenfe which I have given in (J')

of the explanatory notes. This expofition the prefix 2 would not admit. It is

ftrange, that Archbifhop Newcome fhould have thought the two readings
equivalent.
(V)
 CHAP. X. UPON HOSE A. 1.^1

(V) brought to nothing." The force of the word nfJT, when it

is ufed, as here, to fignify a total deflru6lion, is very often what cannot he ad-
equately exprefied in any word, hardly in any two or three put together, of
the Englifh language. From its leading fenfe of aflimilation, it may naturally
fignify the making of a thing all alike, infidc and out, from top to bottom :

hence the obliterating of all features and diftinclions ; the refolution of any
organifed fubftance into the promtfcuous mafs of unformed, undirtinguifhed
atoms, of which it is compofed ; the not leaving of a veftige of a form behind-
The reducing of a thing to its liajj zrfwxJ?. We exprefs much the fame fort of
deftruftion, but with lefs force, and much lefs propriety, by the verb " to
*' annihilate."
I would obferve by the way, tliat of the four words, en DH, DQT, and nO"l,
the middle pair are certainly diftinft from the extreme pair. Of the two on
and DDl, I take the noun on, " lilence," to be the primary root, and tlic

verb DD"t, " to be filent," or to make fllent, to be derived from that noun.
Of the other pair, if they are not two diftin<Sl roots, I take nDT, " to be
*' like," or "to affimilate," to be the root, and the noun m, " blood," to .

be derived from that root ; the blood taking its Hebrew name, as Mr. Park-
hurft, with great probability, conje(51:ures, " from its property of being affimilated
* or confirmed, in the courfe of its circulation, to all the various conftituent
parts of the body, which want fupply or nourifhment." But with the root
on the root nDT feems to have no connection \ Mr. Parkhurft brings all thefe
words, and all their derivatives, under the fingle root nD"T, which, I think, is

injudicious.
To return to the text of Hofea, it is to be remarked, that St. Jerome,
Vulg. LXX, and the Syr. make the loth chapter end with the word D^ny^,
*' wickednefs," in the 15th verfe, and carry on the fubfequent claufe to the
beginning of the nth chapter. And the Syriac very ftrangely connedls it

with the aflertlon of God's love of when he was a child. For his ren-
Ifrael,

dering is to this efFecft, " In the morning, the King of Ifrael was aftoniflied
*' and aftounded,
becaufe, while Ifrael was a child, I loved him." As if the
love of Ifrael at the beginning was the caufe of the King of Ifrael's aftoniHi-
ment. It muft have been the falfe divifion of the chapter, that led that in-
terpreter into this error, and equally milled Jerome, Vulg. and LXX ; who all

feem to aflign God's love for the infant Ifrael, as the reafon of the King of
Ifrael's fudden defTrudlion.
f See Appendix, No III.

S 2 / CHJF,
 CRITICAL NOTES chap, xu

CHAP. XI.

(A) i
my {on." t rinvix amS' LXX. But this and the Chal-
dee only of the antient verfions give the noun in the plural, and the LXX only
give it with the pronoun of the third perfon. St. Matthew's citation is in con-
formity with the Hebrew text, nat widi LXX.

(B) In the explanatory note ('), have cited Deut. xxxiii. 7, as a pafTage
I

relating to the Meffiah. It will not be foreign therefore to my purpofe, to

endeavour to deliver this text, containing indeed a remarkable prophecy of

the Meffiah's connedlion with the tribe of Judah in particular, from the ob-
fcurity in which the Maforetic pointing has enveloped it. It runs thus in the

public tranflation :

" And this [is the blefling] of Judah and he faid, Hear, Lord, the voice :

" of Judah, and bring him unto his people let his hands be fufHcient for :

" him, and be thou an help [to him] from his enemies."
This is indeed a very faithfull rendering of the words, as they are pointed by
the Maforetes, and in the paflage, fo rendered, no mention of the Meffiah ap-
pears. For the elucidation of this disfigured text, I fhall begin with the latter
claufe ; which will be a key to the true meaning of the former.
The latter claufe may be thus rendered, without the alteration ev^n of a
point : " Great is his power for himfelf, and thoa fhalt be help from his ene-
" mies." IT* " his power," not his hands. The ufe of a''T in the plural,

as well as in the finguhr, for power,, is unqueftionable. And the conftruc-

tion of the plural, in the fenfe of power, with a fingular verb, is not unex-

ampled*, 'lliii claufe is fo evidently charadteriftic of the Meffiah, wiio,

with crreatnefs of power of his own, in his human nature depended upon God's

i'upport ; that fome commentators have fuppofed, that the proper name of Ju-

* See Jofli.viii. ao,

dah
CHAP. XI. UPON HO SEA. '
133

dah is here to be underftood of Chriil:\ " haec unice conveniunt," fays

Houbigant, " in eum Judam, de quo Jacob ;

'
Juda, adorabunt filii paaistui,'
*' quem Judam optat Mofes advenire ad populum fuum; i. e. in terras venire,
' et cum homine converfari."

But it is not true, that the MefTiah is defigned under tlie name of Judah, in

the laft words of Jacob. Tlie Mefliah and Judah are mentioned by the pa-
triarch under different appellations, as diilinft perfons ; and there is na
reafon to think they are confounded here.
Dr. Kennicott imagines an emphatic reference of the pronoun " Him" (bring
Him) to Chrifl-.
" Bring HIM unto his people ," i. e. bring unto his people, in thy
good time, Him, the King, the Shiloh of the tribe of Judah.
Paffages, I believe may be found, in which the mention of the Mefliah is

firll introduced, by a pronoun carrying an emphafis like that of the Greek

and Latin pronouns '!K.;i>os, and ij]e, when they demonftrate fome very remark-
able perfon not mentioned before. But then this emphatical reference of the
pronoun muft be made evident, by a conftruftion of the fentence, which fhall

exclude the reference of it to any perfon or thing expreffly named. In this

cafe, the pronominal fuffix of the verb ^3^<"'3i^ naturally rehearfes Judah men-
tioned in the preceding claufe ;
" hear tlie voice of Judah."
But there will be no neceffity for this unnatural reference of the pronominal
fuffix, or for any myftic expofition of the proper name of the tribe (by which the
tribe itfelf, as the declared objetfl of the bleffing, muft be intended here), when
this claufe, " Bring, &c." is refcued from the obfcurity, with which the points
have covered it. We fhall find the Mefliah mentioned, under an appellation that
moft properly belongs to him, the appellative ^i^ ; which the Maforetes by
their mis-pointing have turned into the prepofition *?K. But point the word
with Tzere inftead of Saegol, and the entire verfe muft be thus rendered ;

And this for Judah. And he faid,

Hear, O Jehovah, the voice of Judah

liK'isn lay Sni

See Poole's Synopfis, and Houbigant.

> And
134 CRITICAL NOTES chap. xi.

J And "iSK^nn bring thou unto him, WV b, the Mighty One of His
people.
Great for himfelf fliall be his power,
And thou fhah be an help from his enemies.

J^N^Iin "bring him," i. e. " bring to him." The verb " bring," and fome
others, which in Latin require a dative of the perfon, and an accufative of
the thing ; in Hebrew, as in Englifh, often admit two accufatives ; one of the
thing, and another of the perfon.

IDV ba " the mighty one of his people." So Ezek. xxxi. ii. Di")3 bii
" the mighty one of the heathen." bii, applied to man, feems to be fonie-
thing more than 1^3. See Ezek. xxxii. 21. The plural cb''ii is frequently
ufed for " leaders." And here perhaps, and in Ezek. xxxi. 11. the fingular
bik might be rendered the .leader, the captain, or the chief. But I prefer
*' mighty one;" becaufe the Hebrew word feems to involve the idea of pre-

eminence in valour, and power to help, or power in the a6l of helping, rather

than in rank.

(C) from my prefence, they !" I divide nrT'iSD into two words,
thus, an ^3313. For which I have the authority of LXX, and Syr. and the
approbation of Houbigant and Archbifhop Newcome. But I agree not to the
removal of the flop, made by thofe two learned writers, in order to thruft the

feparated word DH into the fubfequent claufe. On the contrary, I would alter

the flops in the Greek of LXX. d-Trdxc^o ly. rpocrw'7r _//. cxvic]' loi^, he.
A fimilar inftance of a pleonafm of a pronoun nominative at the end of a fen-

tcnce, has occurred, chap. v. 14. The Dcinofis produced by it is ve-

hement.

(D) We read frequently, in our Englifh Bibles, of graven images, and of

molten images. And the words are become fo familiar, as names of idolatrous
images, that although they are not well chofen to exprefs the Hebrew names,
it feems not advifable to change them for others, that might more exaftly cor-
refpond with the original.
The graven image was not a thing wrought in metal by the tool of tJie

workman we Ihould now call an engraver; nor was the molten image, an
image
 ;

CHAP. xr. U P ON II O S E A. 35

image made of metal, or any other fubftance melted, and flaaped in a mould.
In flicl, the graven image and the molten im.age are the fame thing, under
different names. The images of the antient idolaters were firft cut out of wood,
by the carpenter, as is very evident from the Prophet Ifaiah. This figure of
wood was overlaid with plates either of gold or lilver, or, fometimes perhaps,
of an inferior metal. And in this finifhed ftate it was called a graven image
(i. e. a carved image), in reference to the inner folid figure of wood, and a
molten (i. e. an overlaid, or covered) image, in reference to the outer metal-
line cafe or covering". And fometimes both epithets are applied to it at once.
" I will cut off the graven and molten image''." Again, " What proffitetli
" the graven and molten image The Englifh word " molten" conveys a
^ ?"

notion of melting, or fufion. But this is not the cafe with the Hebrew word,
for which it is given. The Hebrew "[D3 iignifies, generally, to overfpread, or
cover all over, in whatever manner, according to the different fubjeA, the
overfpreading or covering be effefted ; whether by pouring forth a fubflance
in fufion, or by fpreading a cloth over or before, or by hammering on me-
talline plates. It is on account of this metalline cafe, that we find a founder
employed to make a graven image **.
And that we read in Ifaiah ^ of a work-
man " melteth a graven image ;" and In
that another place f
we find the quef-
tion, " who hath molten a graven image ?" In thefe two paffages the words
fliould be " overlayeth," and " overlaid."

(E) a go-nurfe," 'ri75"iri. It Is Impoffible to make this word a

verb of any form, unlefs we would coin a conjugation on purpofe, as fome
of the Jewifh grammarians have done, calling It the conjugation Tiphel
though no other verb is to be found in this conjugation of theirs, nor this
fuppofed verb, In this conjugation. In any other place. But the word is a noun
fubftantive ; either the feminine nV^^n, with a paragogic i, or the feminine
n'?a"in, with a final n, turned into n before the fufiixed pronoun of the firfl

perfon.
If the > be fimply paragogic, the noun fignllies that fort of nurfe, who is

employed in the olBee of teaching a young cliild to go, in the manner de-
fcribed, in the explanatory note
C).

See the learned Mr. Parkhurft, in his Hebrew Lexicon, under the word ]D J-
!?Nah. i. 14, ! Hab. ii. 18. ^ Judges xvii. 1- ! xl. 19. .' If. xliv. 10.

4 If
 136 CRITICAL NOTES chap. xi.

If thebe the fuffixed pronoun, the noun r\by^n exprefles the ftepping or

pacino- of the nurfe after the child'. The former feems to me the eafier, and
the better expofition, though both come to the fame fenfe. The Vulgate feems

to have adopted the former ; the LXX, the latter. " Et ego quafi nutritius
*' Ephraim." Vulg. Kai eyc-j o-vvsTro^ia-a lov E^-^aiy.. i. e. " And I ftepped along
" with Ephraim." For I cannot think that a-weTrc^tToi is to be taken here, as St.

Jerome takes it, in its common fenfe of tying the two feet together. Or, as

St. Cyril of Alexandria'underftands it, of bringing the legs and tliighs toge-
ther, by the bending of the knees, in the fitting pofture. I confefs, I cannot
produce another infbance, in which the word o-vij-tioHqiv fignifies " to ftep
" along with." But there are many peculiarities in the phrafeology of the LXX.
The limple verb -u^ornQLv often renders " incedere," and the compounds oivx-

vol'c^iiv and -jjiypoTfoVi^HV, " referre pedem," and " proferre pedem."
It is to be obferved, tliat fome even of the Jewifh grammarians take the word
'n^J"in as a noun. But the great oracle Elias would not allow it, for thii

weighty reafon ; that, if it were a noun, it ought to have the accent on the
lafl fyllable, the annexed * requiring tliat collocation of the accent. Place the

accent therefore upon the lafl fyllable, and there is an end of Elias's ob-
jecSlion.

(F) taking them." Dnp. " Infinitivum anomalum," fays

Livelye. Buxtorf and Archbifhop Seeker thought np might be the practerit of

the verb npb but De Rolli would admit an apha^refis of the b in Benoni,
;

whofe opinion I adopt.

Tliis verb npb is found in the praeterite, without the firft radical, in Ezek.
xvli. 5. Buxtorf' produces two inftances (but both are doubtfull) of verbs
quiefcent Phe Jod, "IT and p^'% dropping the firfi: radical in the prEterite. If a

verb drops the firft radical in the pr<terite, there feems no reafon why the
like apha^refis fhould not take place in the Infinitive or BenonL And the verb

npV feems to have had peculiar anomalies. In Jer. v. 3. and in 2, Kings xii. 8.
it forms the infinitive like the verbs defedlive Phe
Nun, dropping the firft ra-
dical, but afluming a final r\- The anomalies feemcd fo extraordinary to

Avenarius, that he had recourfe to his ufual expedient, of coining another

root np.
See Parkhurll ^T\. II. ''
Thef. Gramm. lib. I. c. 13.

over
CHAP. XI. UPON HOSE A. ^37

over the fhoulders," over his fhoulders ; but I omit the pronoun,
to avoid the difcordance of the numbers in the two pronouns, the one fingular,
the other plural, rehearfing the fame colkdlive ; which would appear harfh in

Englifli, though this anomaly is fo frequent in the Prophets, that it may be

deemed a " licentia poetica" of the Hebrew language.

(F) , prefen-ed their health." D^JiNSl. The verb SB" is rendered

in the Lexicons " to heal," and fo it ufually fignifies. But it alfo fignifies,
" to prcferve health ;" or, when God is the agent, " to give health," as well
as to reftore it. The Benoni in Kal
Exodus xv. 26.
is remarkably fo ufed, in

If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of Jehovah thy God, " and wilt
*' do that which is right in his fight, and wilt give ear to his commandments,

** and keep all his ftatutes, I will put none of thefe difeafes upon thee, which

*' I have brought upon the Egyptians, 1NB") mn^ ^3X ^D, for I Jehovah give
thee
*' health," or " preferve thy health." The plural noun jniJOT in Proverbs',
fignifies, not reftored, but perfedl original health. The noun KSia occurs often

in the fame book, and is always rendered in our Englifh Bible as a noun
fubfiiantive, " health," and as a noun adjedlive, "found." And I believe it
will bear the fame renderings, in moft other places where it is found.

(G) amidft the grievous plagues." So I render ^"^an^. I place

the Soph-pafuk at n*TK. The verfion of the LXX, rightly pointed, gives the
iame fenfe, x^ ax. iyvuicrctv, 011 'la^at aCras Iv ltxp9opix cIv9^m7tmv : and fo it is under-
ilood by St. Cyril of Alexandria.

(H) to me." I add thefe words, with Archbidiop Newcome, to

preferve, with perfpicuity, the elegant paronomalia of the original.

(I) the fword fhall weary Itfelf." It has been objedled to this way
of rendering, that, to give this fenfe, the verb fliould be r\rbr\, not rhn, which
is mafculine ; inafmuch as mn, the nominative cafe of the verb, is a feminine
noun ; and two other verbs, with which it is connefted, in this fame fentence
are in the feminine form. Not to infift upon the frequent anomaly of the gen-

" i. 3.

T ders,
 138 CRITI CA L N OTES chap. xr.

ders, in things not naturally of either fax, the roots ^in " to be in pain," and
n^n " to be lick, or faint, or weary," are fo nearly allied, that an intercom-
munity of fignifications may eafily be allowed. And ri7n from the root "jin is
the third perfon practerite lingular feminine. I muft add, that the verfion of
the LXX, and Syr. confirm this fenfe of n^n in this place. And the Syriac

indifputably, and the LXX too according to the Alexandrine text, takes nilT
as the nominative of the verb *.

his diviners." Via. Diviners are called Dn2, from the root T?3,
becaufe they affe6led a folitary afcetic life *>.

Tliis fenfe of the word DHS feems of all the moft appofite to the context.
The word is certainly capable of other fenfes, and has been differently taken, in

this place, by different interpreters ; among thofe, 1 mean, who adhere to the

Hebrew text, as we now read it.

Some render it " branches." The word certainly fignifies, among other
things, the arms, or principal branches, of a great tree. But if this be the
true rendering here, it mufl be taken figuratively. And what the figure may
be, is not agreed among thofe, who adopt this rendering. Abarbanel expounds
it, of the ftrong or valiant merv; faying, that the chief branches of the peo-
ple in a kingdom are the valiant men. Rabbi Tanchum explains it, of their
children, which he fays, are as the branches fpringing from their fathers.
" Branches" is the rendering of the Bifhop's Bible. But in a marginal note
the word is expounded of " the villages adjoining to the cities." This was
Kimchi's interpretation. But, in my judgement, it is fet alide by his own re-

mark upon the word ; that, in the fenfe of branches, it is to be undei-ftood only

of the great limbs of a tree, which ifTue immediately from the trunk. If

branches therefore were the proper rendering, I lliould think Abarbanel's, or

R. Tanchum's, the better expofition. Some expound the branches of the tur-
rets and l^aflions upon the wall qua prominent ex muris, lit rami ex trunco.
;

But in this interpretation the fimilitude is fo far fetched, that it deferves no

attention.

Some render tlve word " membra," or " artus," Indeed, it is ufed for the
principal limbs of an animal, as well as of a tree. And this fenfe is adopted by

" See Appendix, N""" 11.

* See Vitringa, upon If. xvi. 6. and xliv. 2j. and Livelye, upon this place.

4 AriaSj
 ;

CHAP. xr. UPON HO SEA. 139

Arias Montanus, Calvin, Jun. and Trem. and Cocceius. I fuppofe by the
members of Ephraim, thefe interpreters underftood the different orders of the
ftate ; the royal family, the army, the magiftrates, the priefts, the prophets,
the commonalty, for thefe are the limbs of the body politic.
In the Englifh Geneva the word is " bars." Luther has an equivalent Latin
word, " vedles ;" and Diodati, " (barre." The word may certainly fignify

flout wooden bars. In Exodus xxv. 13. 14. 15. and in other places, it is ufed
for the long wooden poles on which the ark, and other articles of the furniture
of the fandluarj', were carried upon the fhoulders of the Levites. Thefe bars
are underftood by fome literally, of the bars of the gates of the fortified towns
but by the moft learned of thofe who adopt that rendering, figuratively ; of
great men, either in the ftate or in the army. " Magnates, qui vedlium in-
" ilar rempublicam fuflinent," fays Calafio. But Grotius, " Ve6les refte vo-
** cantur, qui armis rempublicam fuftentant." And with him I think Jona-
than and Rabbi Solomon agree. For D^li: is properly a military word. It

is fomewhat in favour of this intei-pretation, that the Greek language has a fi-

milar figure in the word h^aroi : which, among its other fenfes, fignifies lite-

rally the great wooden rollers, which were placed under vefTels drawn up upon
the beach, to preferve the keels from the effetSt of the damp ; which would have
rotted them, had they refted upon the bare ground. But, figuratively, the fame
word is ufed to denote great chieftains ; who, by their valour and fkill in the
art of war, were the defence and f^ay of the kingdom. Thus in the Iliad,

Sarpedon is called t'pjua zs-cKyiog. And he is fo called, as the poet tells us, on
account of the great force that he led to the defence of Troy, and his perfonal
military prowefs'. And in the OdyfTey, after the flaughter of the fuitors,
Ulyffes fays to Telemachus, that they two had flain ^iJ-a. zcroXriog, giving that
name to the whole corps of the flaughtered princes as the braveft of the youth
of Ithaca*.

Aaoi ivot'l, > ^E avTo; a^iftvtaKi juap^taSat. II. IT.

J48.

K.ej-a)> ; 19i!r), Od. f 121,

.

T 2 Diodati
 H^ CRITICALNOTES chap. xi.

DiodatI vinderftands the word of the whole miUtary ftrength of the kingdom,
confifting both in the works of the fortifications, and the valour of the people,
" Jbarre. c. tutte le fue forze e difefe, cosi nella fortezza delle citta, come ncl
^' valor degli huomini,"
The LXX, and the Syriac, certainly reprefent a different reading : "jn^l,

inftead ofV13. Ka; r'o-$e>)j(rfi' po]x<pi iv rcug TfroKuxtv ecvrS, x, Kc^iTruvasv sv TocJg

Xr^rh aviS. " The fvvord is weakened in his cities^ and is become inadfive in
his hands." Thus the LXX and the ; Syriac is to the fame efFedl. In both
thefe verfions the fword is taken, not for the fword of the enemy, but for
Ephraim's own fword. The fenfe is certainly very good, but not better I
think, hardly fo good as moft of the fenfes brought of the various interpreta-
tions of Vll. And as none of the collated MSS, or printed editions, confirm
the other reading, I am not inclined to adopt it.

Every one of the interpretations of 1^2, as rendering branches, limbs, bars,

or diviners, is admlffible, and may very well fuit the context. I therefore
fubmit them all to the learned reader; but, in my own judgement, that of
*' diviners" is far the beft.

(K) all of one mind." So I render in^ unanimitcr. Sea

Noldius.

(L) called them they would not." I give th? pronoun after
the firft verb, and the nominative before the fecond, in the plural, for perfpi-
euity ; though they are fingular in the original, as belonging to a colledtive,

with which the participle D-J^l"?/! agrees in the plural. The verb inNIp*- is

plural ^.

(M)
my bowels." As the word a^m literally rendering bowels,,
is ufed, figuratively, for the feelings of compaflion, with which, when vehe-
ment, the vifcera are fenfiby afFecfted ; I am perfwaded,. the word ^0in3 here
pays back what it borrows, and fignifies " my bowels." Diodati, as it fliould

feem from the reference which he makes, in his note upon this place, to

Gen. xliii. 30. was in the fame opinion.

See Appendix, N II,

(N)
 CHAP. XI. UPON HO SEA. i^jt

(N) of cities." Eft niniirum, in pofteriore membrn, ro

T>y2 i<13M >>:'? parallelum &

fynonymum tm r''^ nb, in priore. Fatututn KUK
habet vim fnqnentativam. " Non folco urbem intrare; non fum urbicola."
Eft etiam in fingnlis membris pulchra inter fe oppofitio paitium. " Sum
*' Deus & non Homo;" eft aurcefis in fequenti, & pauium variatiir oppofitio

partium. " Sum Deus tuus, tecum habitans, fed peculiari modo, extra ordi-
nem, non more hominum. I.owtii, Prjeleil. XIX. To this expolition of that
admirable critic, I fcruple not to apply, what he himfclf fays of this paflage of
the Prophet, " Nihil, opinor, ciarius, niliil clegantius."

(O) himfclf." a^n is evidendy emphatical here. But the Emphalis

yvould not appear in the tranflation, without the infertion of " himfeif."

(P) hurry." It is impoftible to render, in Engliili, the full force

of the word mn^. It expreiTes the rapid motion of birds in the air upon flut-

tering pinion. The Latin word, " trepidabunt," would exa<fHy render it,

(Q) as the fparrow." "iiBliD. As a particular fpecies of bird (the

dove) is connedled with Affyria, a particular fpecies alfo muft be connedled
with Egypt. Therefore I take "nsu in its fpecific, not in its general fenfe.
I render " the fparrow," and " the dove ;" becaufe the Hebrew nouns,
though in the fingular number, certainly are to be taken here for the fpecies, not

for a lingle bird of each kind ; a flight of fparrows, and a flight of doves.

The fparrow and the dove are both birds of very quick motion.

(R) faith Jehovah." Here the chapter is clofed in the Hebrevsr

text, and the Syriac verfion ; and the following verfe is given to the next chap-
ter. But the divifioo of the LXX, Vulg. and Chald, which our public tranf-
lation follows, feems preferable.

(S) the Holy ones." D''tynp. Even the Jewifti expofltors, R. Tati-
chum and Kimchi, underftand this plural word in this place as fignifying God :

although the former difapproves not altogether the opinion of thofe, who would
underftand it of " Angels." Among Chriftian expofitors, Lyra, QScolampa-
dius, Munfter, Mercer, Vatablus, underftand it, as I do, of the Perfons of
T 3 the
9

I4Z CRITICAL NOTES chap. xi.

the Godhead. Lyra goes farther ; for he takes ]Di*3 alfo for an epithet of God.
And the appofition of this in the fingular, with " Holy Ones" in the plural,

he underftands as an intimation of the myfl-ery of the unity of the eflence in

the plurality of the perfons. But in tins I cannot follow him. For although
I tliink not lightly of the like argument for the doctrine, drawn from other
texts of Scripture, I cannot find it here ; being perfuaded that ^0X1 is not to
be applied to God, but to Judah. It is remarkable, however, that a learned
Jew, Kimchi's father, underllood pj^i here as au attribute of God.

CHAP. XII.

(A) See chap. IX. note (F):

(B) matched with the angel." This I take to be tlie exatfl force

of the Hebrew ^i^^D bi*. -zsj^h ilv oirytKov.

and was endued with ftrength ;" for

(C) by\, the later prophets
of Soncinum (i486), forty-one MSS of Kennicott's, and one more originally,
read byt^. It makes no difference in the fenfe, but the orthography is certainly

more regular.

{D) he had wept." Of weeping, Archbifhop Newcome fays, *' we

" read nothing in Gen. xxxii." Certainly we read nothing of Jacob's weep-
ing, upon the occafion of the coUudlation at Penuel. But as the weeping and fup-
plicating ftand connefted here, with the finding of God at Bethel ; it is evident,

that this weeping and fupplicating were previous to any meeting with God at

Bethel : confequendy, previous to Jacob's firft meeting with God at Bethel.

Now, previous to the firft meeting, there certainly was weeping and fupplica-
ting. For we read, that previous to that meeting Jacob was " in diftrefs."
And
 CHAP. xir. UPON HOSE A. H3
And that God " anfwered him in that diflrefs\'" I agree with Cah-m, that

the weeping and entreaty, which procured the very extraordinarv favour of
God's appearance to Jacob, in a dream at Bethel t, are mentioned here, as the
means by whicli he obtained that ftrength, which enabled him to prevail over
the angel.
The remark of Luther, upon this extraordinary conflidl between Jacob and
the perfon called the angel, is fo excellent, that I cannot but fubjoin it here.
" Difputari autem varie folet, qualis ea fuerit ludla. Sed hiftoria oftendit,
" Jacob venifTe in certum vita? difcrimen, & totis viribus efle ab antagoniilA
** ignoto invafum. Itaque viribus corporis ipfe quoque contra antagonift-am
" eft ufus, ut defenderet vitam. Non tamen pugnavit corporis viribus tan-
" turn; etiam fides ejus ludlata eft; ac primum in tam praefenti periculo cort-
" fclatus fe eft, quod divinitus eftet juffus redire in terram Canaan. Deinde
" toto pedtore arripuit promifiionem in Bethel a domino fadlam, ubi clar^
*' promilfaeft defenfio. Cum igltur angeretur, ac ab ignoto hofte totis viribus
" oppugnaretur, etfi viribus fuis contra eft ufus, tamen fortius pugnavit fide ;

" intuens promiffionem, & certo ftatuens Deum, fecundum verbum fuum, af-
" futurum in tanto periculo, & fervaturum. Atque hac fide vicit Deum : etfi
*' enim Chriftus Jacob hac lu6la, tamen
tcntaret praeter vel contra verbum
*' fuum, quo Jacob nixus eft, nihil potuit facere."

(E) with us." IJl^y. It is perhaps a queftion that has never been
accurately difcufled^ in what cafes the fuffix may be
13 taken as the pronoun of
the third perfon fingular mafculine ; whether, when attached to any other
words, than the infinitives and third perfons fingular future of verbs. If to any
other words, whether to indeclinables.

(F) his memorial." llDt. Houbigant refers the fuffixed pronoun

not to Jehovah but to Jacob, conceiving that the pafTage alludes to the name
of Ifrael, given by the angel to Jacob. It muft be confelfed, that the ver-'
fions of the LXX, and the Syr. are in favour of this interpretation, which
was adopted alfo in the Bifhop's Bible, 'O Si Kvpiog o Ssog o uray]oxpcxTup e^ai pj;-
jj-Dj-vm aJrS. LXX. 0)^0!^^? pibObsvu ^OlI^ p'^O Syr, If the pro-

! Gen. xsxv. 3. > Gen, xxviii.

T4 noun
i

J44 CRITICAL NOTES chap. xn.

noun may be luppofed to reliearfe Jacob, as thefe interpreters muft have taken
it, Houbigant's propored emendations, would however be unneceffary. For his

lenfe, with this reference only of the pronoun, would be more emphatically
exprefled in the text as it ftands, than as altered, without any authority, by
that learned and acute, but too adventurous critic. But to the fenfe I have
thefe objedtions:
ift. The name of Ifrael has no reference to mn but to ^. And taking
the initial * in ^S"HC^ as merely formative of the proper name, as I conceive it

to be, the exadl fignificance of the name is, " a prince of God."
ad. God himfelf lays this name Jehovali is his memorial ; that is his appro-

priate, perpetual name^. "And God fiid moreover unto Mof^s, thus fhalt
?' thou fay unto the children of Ifrael: Jehovah, the God of your fathers, the
*' God of Abraham, the God of Ifaac, and the God of Jacob, hath fent me
*' unto you. This is my name for ever, and this my memorial (HDt) unto
*' all generations." Where " this" rehearfes " Jehovah" by itfelf for the ;

addition, *' the God of Abraham," &c. is no part of the name or memorial,
but a moft gracious declaration of Jehovah's peculiar connexion with the fa-
thers of the Ifraelites. Accordingly, the Pfalmift fays, " Jehovah is thy
*' name for ever ; Jehovah is thy memorial for all generations \" Then, after a

defcription of the impotence and nothingnefs work of men's of idols, the

tands, the Pfalm concludes with animated folemn worfhip of Jehovah, by the
reiteration of this name.
" Houfe of Ifrael, blefs ye the Jehovah. Houfe of Aaron, blefs ye the Je-
*' hovah.
" Houfe of Levi, blefs ye the Jehovah. Ye that fear Jehovah, blefs ye the
** Jehovah.
" Bleffed be Jehovah in Sion. Inhabitants of Jerufalem praife Jah"^."
Where I obferve by the way, that wherever n^* is prefixed to Jehovah as
the accufative cafe after a verb, it points to the name " Jehovah," as the me-
morial. " him who is the Jehovah."
Blefs I have therefore always exprefled
it in my tranflation by " ibeS''

3d. I obferve, that the proper name of a man, or of any created being, is ne-
ver called its " memorial." This is applied folely and exclulively to the eilen-
tial name of the felf-exiflent God.

Exedusiii. 15. ' Pf. cjixxv. 13, 19. ao. 21.

(G)
CHAP. xir. U P O N H O S E A. 145

(G) charity and juftice." Sec chapter VI. notes (D), (F),
and (G).

(H) A trafficker of Canaan."

A>j TOTS <I'o('vi^ Vj'A^iV, aiijj a-TTc^viXiu s'^oo^,

*' Ludit oratio in ambiguo, "fays Houbigant j with whom I agree. For the
Hebrew word ^yiD is botli a proper name and an appellative, rendering a mer-
chant. And to preferve the ambiguity in my tranflation, I join the appellative
^nd the proper name together. By giving the proper name without the ap-
pellative, or the appellative without the proper name, the whole fpirit of the
original would be loft to the Englifh reader. All the antient verfions, except
the Chaldee, give the proper name.

(I) upon over-reaching." pt'yV The word exprefles oppreffion,

either by violence, or fraudulent extortion. nAsoi'-'x/t/fa in any way. " Cu-
" pide infert injurias." Luther. " amat fraudare." Caftalio.

(K) Although iniquity." To this effect the Syriac. And fee chap,
IX. note (F).

(L) coming upon." This I take to be the force of V? expref-

iing the controul of the infpiring Spirit over the Prophets.

" ille fatigat

*' Os rabidum, fera corda domans, fingitque premendo." ^n. VI. 79.

Upon many occafions there feems to have been much relu<5lance and reni-
tence upon the part of the Prophet.

(M) - he kept watch." ID' excubias egit. In the office of a

flieplierd.

(N) tended." -|D\y3. Allufion to a fliepherd tending a flock.

U CHAF.
 146 CRITICAL NOTES CHAP. XIII.

CHAP. XIII.

(A) in their great wifdom." So I render DiUnD- pro fui

Icilicet fapientia." Obferve, that the reading D3innD, inrtead of DJI^nn, is con-
firmed by a great number of the old editions, among them by the text of iVIin-
cliath Shai, by 31 MSS. of Kennicott's collation, and by 85 in all of De
Roffi's.

(B) molten images." I am perfwaded the noun fubftantive,

though in the fingular, is ufed as a colledlive, and renders a plural fenfe.

(C) their finilliing is, that they fay." we In the printed text
find Athnach under the word n^D which neceflarily makes that the final word
;

of the claufe, and a new fentence begins with DTlb. Moll interpreters, taking
up with this divifion, render with our public tranflation, " all of it the work
" of the craftfmen ; they fay of them ." Where " all of it" is given
to anfwer to n!?D. Expolitors find great emphafis in " all of it," exprefling, as

they conceive, that there was nothing in the idol beyond the form, which the
image received from the hand of the artificer ; no mind, will, underftanding,
or power. And this {cnie, it mull be confefled, would be very appofite to
the general fubjecfl, if it could be brought, without violence, out of the He-
brew words. But for this purpofe the word, inllead of n^D, fhould have been
b'b'2, from the root ^^D, " to bring to perfection, to complete," finifh, in a
good fenfe. For this noun b'b'2 is the word which fignifies totality, if we may
fo fpeak, in the concrete. Put in appofition with any noun fubftantive, it

fignifies, that the thing, named by that noun fubftantive, is, in its ftate of
totality, nothing wanting, the whole of It. As n^DD V^^D 1:Q\ From the
fame root ^^D comes indeed another noun ^D, which lignifies totality in the

' Num. iv. 6.

2 abftracSl.
CHAP. XIII. UPON HOSE A. 147

abftradl. And this noun prefixed to fubftantives, or with affixed pronouns,

"
may feem nearly equivalent to the former ; for it often renders " all of
the thing named by the fubfequent noun fubflantive, or rehearfed by the af-
lixed pronoun, as TiWV ty'T TtN "^D- " All the brethren of the poor man hate
" him\" I'pj 'i:rT. this nation all of it''." It is to be obferved, however,
that the two nouns, thus ufed, are mateiially different, b'2 renders the aggre-
gate of many : the coHe6ted total of what naturally exifts in detached parts.
Whereas ^'^3 renders the complete entire ftate of an individual thing. And
this is the meaning wanted here, according
to this expofition. The word n"?D
noun ^D with the feminine affix n, re-
therefore cannot be taken here as the
hearling the feminine noun fubftantive nDDD The Maforetes indeed have
pointed the word, as they have done in other places, where the affix n is
ufed, as they pretend, by an enallage for the mafculine 1 ; viz. 7)^0. In
three of the texts, where they pretend to find this enallage *=, the affix f ems to
be really feminine. For it rehearfes Moab, i.e. the land of Moab ; which is

feminine as a land, mafculine as a people, and is rehearfed by other mafculine

and feminine pronouns indifcriminately, in the fame texts. In the other paf-
fages the MSS vary ; fo that the exiflence of the anomaly in the genuine He-
brew text is doubtful]. But this by the way. The Maforetes introduce it here,
conceiving that the word rehearfed is the mafculine r\VVO, not tlie feminine
TODD. But this will make no difference ; for niuya and nDDO here are the fame
thing under different names. Bat the objection to this expofition of the word
n'?D is, that "pS cannot render the aii of an individual : and the individual idol,
brought to its perfection by the hand of the artifl, is the thing in queftion
here, according to this expofition of the word, and of the context.
Hence I am perfwaded that the final n is no affix, but belongs to the word
itfelf ; which I take to be a verbal from the root n'PD ; which fignifies, to finifh in

a good, bad, or middle fenl'e. The verbal I would point i^'P?) ^nd take in its

common and moff obvious fenfe of the " a<51: of finifliing." Then Athnach
being carried back, and pluced under the preceding word D^^nn (inftead of
Tiphcha, which, with its attendant Merca, I expunge), that the claufe may

end with that word, the following words make a claufe by themfelves namely, ;

pp'' abyi) Dn.^ ^nat OnaN an arb h'pD. In this claufe the noun fubltan-

Prov. xix. 7. * :,Ial. iii. 9. <:

If. xv. j. xvl. ;. and Jcr, xlviii. j8.

U a tiv
 148 C RITICAL NOTES chap. xiii.

tive n'jD is the nominative of the verb fubftantive underftood ; DD^ is a dativs
after the veib fiibftantive underftood ; and D''"lQh{ DH is a nominative abfohite,
exadlly anlVvering to the ablative ablohite in Latin, when the ablative abfolnte
exprelfes at once, as it often does, both the means by which, and the time
when, of the a6tion -, and the claufe following onaN ftands as the accufative
after ;hat tranfitive participle. " Finis [eft] illis, dicentibus, Vitulos ofculan-
" lor,. qui vi6limas humanas immolant."

(D)' It may feem extraordinary, that we find it no where mentioned in the

facred hifi-ory, by whom the praftice was introduced of facrificing men to the
calves, the pretended emblems of the true God, if fo gFeat an abomination
ever prevailed. But this would appear an objection of no great weight to the

interpretation I have given of the Prophet's words, which, however hitherto

overlooked, is the only one they will naturally bear ; if the prevalence of the
pra6lice were of neceflity implied in the words of the Prophet fo interpreted.
But it is poflible, that the calves themfelves were never fo worfhipped. But
that the zeal for idolatry was fo great with fomc of the latter kings, that they
made it a condition, upon which alone they would tolerate the worfhip of Je-
hovah in the calves, that the worfhipper fhould join in the olTering of human
facrifices to Moloch^, or fome other idol. For if any of the Kings of Ifracl

ifllied an edi6t of toleration, under fuch a condition; he faid,. in effedl, " let

" the facrificers of men kifs the calves." It is true, no fuch meafure men-
is

tioned in the facred Hiftory. But the filence of the Hiltory is certainly no

confutation of any thing, to which the Prophets clearly allude as a fa6l. For
the hiftory of the kingdom of Ifrael, under the different ufurpers, after the

fall of Zedekiah, the fon of the fecond Jeroboam, is fo concife and general ;

that we know little of the detail of it, but what is to be gathered from allufions.

We have the names of the Kings in fucceffion, the length of their reigns, and
their principal exploits. But we know nothing of the particulars, but what.

we gather from the Prophets, or from the more circumftantial hiflory of the
collateral reigns in the kingdom of Judah. Infomuch that human vidims may
liave been- offered to the calves, or the worfhippers of the calves may have
been compelled to dip their hands in the blood of Moloch's vidlims; though-
r.o evidence of either practice remains, but this allulion of the Prophet Hofea ;

which
 .

CHAP. xur. UPON HOSE A. 149

which leaves fome degree of doubt between the two. Sacrifices to the calves
themfelves feem to me
more probable objedl of the allufion.
the
When it is recollected, that Solomon himfelf builc a temple to Moloch, and
that Ahab introduced the worfhip of theTyrian Baal, in the kingdom of Samaria^
and that both thefe idols were appealed with infant blood there is too much ;

reafon to believe, that the practice muft have begun early in both king-
doms ; although it probably was late, before it came to a height in either.
And yet the firlt mention of it, in the Hifirory of the kingdom of Samaria,
is when the facred writer clofes that hiflory, with an enumeration of tlie

crimes which provoked the judgement of God, and brought on its ruin^ Ne-
verthelefs, it is certain, that this abominable cuftom was of older date, and
perhaps of not much kingdom of Samaria, than in that of
older date, in the
Judah'\ For, in the kingdom of Judah, Ahaz is the firil King, of whom we
read, that he adopted the practice. And it is mentioned, as one of the thinos in
which he followed the example of the Kings of Ifrael. " Ahaz did
" not that which was right in the fight of Jehovah, like David liis father.
" But he walked in the way of the Kings of Ifrael, infomuch that lie pafTed
"-his fon through the fire, according to the abominations of the hea-
" then ^"
I am aware, that Dr. Wells endeavours to draw the contrary conclufion from
this very paflage of the Book of Kings namely, that the pradlice of human
;

facrifices began in the kingdom of Judah firft, and was introduced in the
kingdom of Ifrael by Hofhea, the laft king. The Hebreyv particle QTi, which
Irender " infomuch that ;" Dr. Welh, following our public tranflation,
" yea, and ," underftands as introducing a particular, in which Ahaz fol-
lowed not, but went beyond, the Kings of Ifrael. And I admit, that he went
beyond them, but fliil following their example. He went beyond tliem in
their own way. And the circumftance, in which he went beyond them, was
this; that he facriliced his own fon, which is not recorded of any of the Kings
of Ifrael.The amoimt of the paffage therefore giving the particle DJVits
full force is this: " But he walked in the ways of the Kings of Ifrael, in

" fuch degree, [or to fuch a length,] that he paffed his own fon, &c."

= 2 Kings xvii. 17. '^ See Apptudix, N" II. l 2 Kings xvi. 2. z

The
<j^-o C RI TIC A L N OTES chap. xiir.

The notion, that human facrifices were introduced in the kingdom of Sama-
ria bv Hofliea, is a conceit of Dr. Wells, founded upon nothing more certain,

than his own arbitnry divifion of the Book of Hofea, mentioned in my Pre-

face. According to that divifion, the firft eight verfes of this thirteenth

chapter belong to a prophecy, beginning with the nth verfe of chapter VII.

the whole of which was delivered in the reign of Mofl-iei. And fmce the

edift, that the facrificers of men iliould kifs the calves, mull be underftood ot

fome injunftion of human facrifices, which took place about the time of the
utterance of this prophecy it muft be underftood of an
; injundlion taking

place in the reign of Hofliea. And upon thcfe grounds, the infamy of the
introduftion of thofe fanguinary rites is thrown, by Dr. Wells, upon that
reign.
But the charatT:er of Hofhea, though none of the beft-, is vindicated, how-
ever, from this alperfion, by the exprefs teftimony of the facred Hiftorian;
who writes, that " Ho.Qiea, the fon of Elah, began to reign over Ifraef in Sa-
" maria nine years. And he did that which was evil in the eyes of Jehovah,
" but not as the Kings of Ifrael that were before him ^"
Mofhea's doings, therefore, were not good, yet they were lefs bad
than thofe of his predeceffbrs. Whereas, if the abomination of human
facrifices had not been introduced by them, and he introduced it ; he, it is

evident, was worfe than they. Dr. Wells eludes this argument by a great
Iboke of verbal criticifm. For he fays, that in the disjunctive propofition
" Hofea did evil but not as the former Kings," the particle " but" is to

be underftood, not by way of extenuation, but of aggravation ; that Hofea

was worfe than they; and, by being worfe, was not like them. And thus
having turned the meaning of this plain text of the facred Hiftorian upfidc
down, he triumphs, as " having fet a matter in a clear light, not atore duly
*'
taken notice of by any writer, and yet of importance to be rightly under-
" ftood." The matter is, indeed, of importance to be rightly underftood.
And it is of great importance to vindicate the facred text from tliele puerile

fubtleties of criticifm, which leave plain readers at a lofs, which way to take

the moft familiar expreflions, which, by the ufage of mankind, have but one
When two things arc thus contrafted by the disjunctive " but,"

" 2 Kings xvii. 1.2.

tiiat.
 CHAP. xiir. UPON HOSE A, 151

that, of which the likenefs is denied, is always fet forth as the inferior, whether
for good or for bad, in that with refpec^ to which the comparifon is made.
Thus if it be faid, that Livia is beautifull, but not hke Julia; the meaning is,

that Livia though beautifull is inferior in beauty to Julia. Hippia is lafcivious,

but not like MefTalina. The fenfe is, that Hippia is the lefs lafcivious of the
two. So when it is faid, that " Hofhea did evil, but not like the former Kings;"
the certain and lingle meaning is, that he was lefs evil in his doings than they.

It is true, if we reverfe the meaning, and fay, Livia is more beautifull than

Julia ; Hippia more lafcivious than Meflalina ; HolTiea worfe than his prede-
ceflbrs ; a difparity, though of the contrary kind, will ftill fubfift, and d'lfCi-

militude miglit be predicated in the fame terms, if the expreffion were ufed
for the firfl: time. But the cuftom of fpeech, in all languages, is the other
way. Dr. Wells was a man of great piety, and of found learning. But his cri-

ticifms are fometimes more fubtle than judicious.

Upon the whole, it may be concluded with certainty, from this text of
Hofea ; that, in the latter period of the monarchy of the ten tribes, the pratftice
of human facrifices came to fuch a height, and was fo much countenanced by
the kings and rulers, that it was either enjoined as an efTential in the worfhip
even of the calves ; or required of their worfhipers, with regard to other idols,
as the only condition upon which even that fhadow of the true worfliip would
be tolerated. The time, when this took place, cannot be determined with cer-
tainty ; I think it muft have been as early as the reign of Menahem j for, from
the expreffions in 2 Kings xvi. 3, we may gather, that Ahaz had the example of
more kings of Ifrael than one or two, for the deteftable rites, which he intro-
duced among his own fubjeils.

(E) I fuftained thee." yr^rw i. e. literally, " I knew thee," i. e.

I acknowledged thee, as my peculiar people, by my watchful! care of thee. I

was attentive to thee, protedling thee in all dangers, and fupplying all thy
wants. I know no word in our language, that fo well exprelTes the fenfe of the
original in this place, as that I have chofen, " I fuifained." c-Trol^cctvov <rs, with
equal exadtnefs, expreffes the fenfe in Greek ; and thefe are the words of the
LXX. The Syriac has .. V. v ^
Whence it has been conjedured, that
Jj?
yrfV^ was the reading of the copies, from which thofe two verfions were
made.
 ;

i5i CRITICAL NOTES chaf. xnr.

made. The concUifion, however, is rather precarious; for, with regard to

the LXX, their verfion cxprefTes what muft be allowed to be the fenfe, which-

ever way they red. And it is hardly a fufficient ground to alter the Hebrew
text, that, if we were tranflating back again from the Greek, into Hebrew,
without a previous knowledge of the actual ftate of the text, we fhould ren-
der h-ct[.'Mi'Ay (Tf by "JTl^y"), as the word literally anfwering to it. As for the
Syriac, I fee indeed no reafon why he fhould ufe the word c,is.j-iwj if lie

found "j-nVT, in liis Hebrew text; lince the word VT has the fame lati-
tude of meaning in the Syriac dialetSl, as in the' Hebrew itfelf. But the
letters T and " rcfcmble each other in the Syriac alphabet almoft as

nearly, as in the Hebrew. And if a corruption, by error of the

tranfcriber, is to be fuppofed in either ; it is much more likely to have

taken place in the Syriac, than in the Hebrew. It is more probable, that

the error of a fcribe has changed i|.frs-i^^j into tj,JS,,jiwj in the Syriac, than

TJT'yi into "[TiyT in the Hebrew. For this may be laid down as a general
maxim, deferving the attention of modern critics, who are often over hafty

to correal the text upon the authority, or fuppofed authority, of the verfions

that where the fenfe of both readings is the fame, as is the cafe here, and the

text and the verfion may be made to agree, by a flight alteration in either
the fufpicion of corruption ought rather to fall upon the \'ferfion, than the He-
brew text ; confidering the fcrupulous care, carried even the length of fuper-
itition, with which the latter was watched and guarded by the Jews. The
argument for a facility of emendation, taken from the refcmblance of certain
letters in the Hebrew alphabet, goes evidently the contrary way ; when the va-

rious reading, deduced from the authority of the verfions, is not confirmed

by a fingle MS. or old edition, as is the cafe again here. The more the T and

"J of the Hebrew alphabet are alike, the more incredible it is, that all the MSS.
now extant fliould give ynv\\ as they do, if l^n^yi were the true reading ; or,

if indeed it had been a reading at all, when the Syriac verlion, or that of tlie

LXX was made.

Jonathan, in this place, is fo paraphraflic, that he may feem to be no au-'
thority for either reading. For, like the LXX, he gives what is the plain

fenfe of the pallivge, whichever way it be redde. But I think the comparifon

of this text, and Jonathan's Targum with another text, and Onkelos's Targum
affixed
CHAP. xiiT. UPON HOSE A. 153

afford a very ftrong argument for the text as it ftands "jTiin*. In Deut. ii. 7.
Mofes fays, " For Jehovah thy God hath bleffed thee in all the works
" of thy hands ; he knoweth thy walking through this great wildernefs."
mn biyn imon m^ "^rob yiV This paflage, and the paffage we are upon of
Hofea, are much The fubjedl is the fame the wandering of the If-
alike. ;

raelites in the wildernefs. The expreffions are very nearly the fame. In Hofea,
*' God knew thee ." In Deuteronomy, " God knoweth thy walking."

The expreflion of Hofea, " God knoweth thee," is thus paraphrafed by Jona-
than KimDn TirTDII^i nVSIO K:. " I fupplied their neceffaries in the wil-
:

'" dernefs." The expreflion, " God knoweth thy walking ," in Deuter-

onomy, is thus paraphrafed by Onkelos 73*1:4 "j"^ p3D. " He fupplied thy
:

" neceflaries." It will hardly bear a doubt, that it muft have been the f:imc
Hebrew word in both places, which thefe learned paraphrafts have expounded
by the fame Chaldee words. But, in Deuteronomy ii. 7. the word is VT, with-
out any variety of the Samaritan text, or of a Angle MS, and confirmed by
all the verfions. We muft conclude, therefore, that the true reading, in this

text of Hofea, is the word "jTljn^, from the fame root. And yet, as was ob-
ferved with.refpedl to the words of the LXX, iTvol^tvov as, if we were to
tranflate thefe Chaldee words, which render " the fupply of neceflaries," back
again into Hebrew, in either place, we fhould be apt to refort to the root ^y^,
rather than yp.
I have dwelt the longer upon this paflage, becaufe I know of no inftance in
which an emendation, upon the bare authority of verfions, without a fiiigle
MS, and without any imperious exigence of the place, may feem more plau-
lible -than this. And yet in this, even the apparent confent of verfions fails.

It is otherwife indeed when the textual reading, and the reading inferred from
antient verfions, differ materially in fenfe ; and where a ftrong exigentia loci ap-
pears to be on the fide of the verfions. In fuch cafes, I would fubmit to tlie

verfions, eve^n without MSB.

(F) parching thirft." rQIX^D. The root ai6 occurrs no where in

the Bible, nor any of its derivatives except this noun ; nor this noun except in
this place. I take the noun to be plural ; and the correft orthography to be
r>U1^<^n. For the latter prophets of Soncinum of i486, with twenty-two
MSS. of Kcnnicott's, and three more originally, give the perfe<5t word mniN^n.
X The
 ,^4 CRITICAL NOTES chap. xiir..

The Bible of Sonciniim of 1488, and of Brefcia 1494, the latter prophets of Pe-
faro 15 16, the Bafil Bible (Munfter's 2d) 1586, the Bible of Hale 1720, with
thirty-nine MSS. of Kennieott's, give ni3'7n, without the firft Five MSS. >.

Qjtily of Kennieott's, and no edition, give /I^kSh, without either 1. It is pretty-

certain, therefore, that niniNSl is the true form of the word. If the root 2Hb
fignify to be thirfty, this noun, with the initial hecmantic n, muft be from
the hiphil of the verb, and muft lignify " caufes of thirft." And a land of

fuch caufes muft be a land which, from the nature of the foil, and other
circumftances, affording no water, produces excruciating thirft in animals^
The plural number is ufed only to give intensity to the iignilication ; which I
have endeavoured to exprefs by the epithet " parching."

(G) and they were fed to the full." I fuftalned thee, and irt

confequence of my fuftaining, they were fed to the fulL I remove the foph-
pafuk from the word mniN^n to ^V2.^^'i

It may perhaps fomewhat illuftrate thefe two verfes, the 5th and 6th^
if I exliibic them, in what I conjedlure to have been the metrical arrange-
ment.,

on"? Din Vj?nJi^ 6.

The conftruc^lion of the parallels Is fomewhat fingular. In the fecond he-

"rniftich the verb DHTiyTi vvith the fuffix of the third perfon plural, is under-
ftood ; to anfwer "pnyn^, with the fuffix of the fecond perfon lingular, in the
former. And the fecond hemiftich, of which the three firft words (with.
DIT'iTyi* underftood) conftitute a complete parallel to the firft, takes an addi-

tional word, the verb ly^u;^'), as a clofe, antagonifed to the verb "iTiyT, in the
iirft hemiftich. And this verb is taken up again, with much animation, at
the beginning of the next hemiftich, carrying on the lenfe, and connedling
the fecond diftich with the firft, and forming a quarternion of the two. The
peculiar charader of Hofea ftill prevails, the commata ; and yet the commata,
with ftngular art, are thrown into a period.
-. for that very reafoii." This I take to be the force of p^y.
(H)
 HAP. xiK. U P O N H O S E A. ts5

(H) by the way fide." ^^^ ^y. " clofe by the way," not " in,"
or " upon it."

(I) I will lye upon the watch." m?ii. the firft perfon fingular fu-
ture kal of the verb "mi. " Inlidiabor ;" and to this efFedl the Chaldec and
Arias Montanus.

(K) upon the fpot." This I take to be in this place the force of
aitT; " there," viz. upon the fpot where I meet them.

(L) wild bcafi:." The margin of our Englifh. Bible gives

*' beaft of the iield," as a more literal tranflation of the Hebrew TMiDTf JTri.

But I think "

wild beaft" renders the idea of the original more adequately.
For the " beaft of the field," i. e. of the open country, is fo called, as diftin-
guiflied from the tame domefticated beaft, that lives in inclofures and flails,

and affociates, in towns and houfes, with man. The diftindlion of the favage
charafler is better ejiprclTed by the epithet " wild" than by the fubftantive " of
' the field."

(M) fhall tear them limb from limb." oyp^n. " Cleave them,"
or " rip them." The verb expreffes a violent diftradtion and fevering of
united parts in any manner ; and is to be differently rendered, with regard to

the particular agent and patient. When the agent is a wild beaft, and the pa-
tient the beaft's prey, it muft be tearing " limb from limb." " Tearing," by
Itfelf, is inadequate.

(N) It is thy deftrudtion thee." "jltyn 12 >3 '?><nto> innu?. In the

grammatical conftrudlion of niefe words, I differ not greatly from the learned
Jews, R. Tanchum and R. The proper name, " Ifrael," is evidently
Niffim.
a vocative, and is to be taken apart by itfelf. The four other words form a
fentcnce, with the verb fubftantive underftood. The three words, "jmya 2 'D,
with an ellipfis which muft be fupplied, make a claufe, which ftands as the
nominative cafe before the verb fubftantive underftood ; and "^riniy is a noun
fubftantive with an affix, which ftands as a fecond nominative after the verb
fubftantive underftood. The fupply of the ellipfis in the nominative claufe is

X a obvious
156 CRITICAL NOTES chap. xm.
obvious and eafy, and the order of conftruftion of the complete fen-
tence will be this : "jx-ii?' ]nnu?[n>n] TlWl [yH "PD ^^^] 'n "-D. " That
*'
in me is [everjr thing which is] for thy help [is] thy defi:ru6lion, O
" Ifrael." Rabbi Tanchum and Rabbi Niffim (as he is cited by Abarbanel)
take nn'iJ, and the claufe "jmyn ''^ ""D, as the nominative cafes. But they fupply
the ellipfis in the nominative claufe very differently. R. Niflim, as I gather

from his paraphrafe, as it is ftated by Abarbanel, in this manner j

T11V2 [-^i? TDD] '2 'O ''n^n nntynan] "inniy. And R. Tanchum to the
lame etfedl. Both underftand the fentiment to be, that the caufe of the
deftrucflion of Ifrael was his prefuming upon God's readinefs to help him. They
hardened thernfelves in their corrupt practices, in the confidence that God would
never give them vip ; that, notwithftanding the feverity of his threatenings, he

would interpofe, as upon fo many occafions he before had done, to refcue them
from their enemies, when things came to an extremity. The paflage, thus uiT-

derftood, is a cool refleftion upon the fatal efFedl of God's kindnefs upon the
perverfe minds of the Ifraelites. But I rather take it as an awefull threatening

of derelidlion, delivered in terms pathetically expreffive of commiferation, ac-

cording to the explanation which I have given in note (''). I have much lefs to

fupply, to bring out this fenfe, than is neceflary for the purpofe of thejewifh expo-

litors ; and the ellipfis- feems eafier, and more natural in my way, than in theirs.

(O) Where ." ^nj*; All the antient verfions give the interrogative
* where ?" And yet we find the authority only of a fingle MS, and that none of
the beft, for the tranfpofition of the letters to make the interrogative n^X in

its ufual form ; which could hardly be, if that were the true form of the word
in this place. But it is remarkable, that the LXX, the Syr. Aquila, give z^S

again, in the 14th verfe, where *n>* can be noticing but the firft perfon fingular
future of the verb fubfi:antive and is fo rendered by Symmachus, Vulg. and
:

St. Jerome, and in eflreft by Jonathan who, infl:ead of "I fliall be," in the ;

firft perfon, puts as ufual, " My word fhall be," in the third. Hence I think
it may with certainty be concluded, that 'HH', as well as rVH, may alk the

queftion about place ; and that where the former occurrs, it may be either the

interrogative adverb, or the verb fubftantivc future, as may beft fuit the con-
text. The true orthography of the fecond interrogative I' take to be 13^hi.

And the force of it is, " where is he tiow '("

in this critical moment of danger.
This
 ;

CHAT.xni. UPON HO SEA. 157

This force of N")3*X is exprefled, though not adequately, by the Syr. Vulg. and
Jonathan. I conceive, the word alks the queftion about time ; but involving
a repetition of the interrogation about place.
The emphafis of the interrogation, as a reply, in .ingry argument, to the ef-
frontery of the Ifraelites not admitting their defencelefs flate, as explained in

note ('), is very ftrongly exprefled in the Syriac, .. '^Si V' ^*\fcO0> Q-A*?
Ubinam igiiur rex tuus ?.

(P) forfooth." This I take to be the force of T prefixed in ^y^^irpl.'

(Q) Here at "['taBfl I place the foph-pafuk, and connecSl the fix followlnot
words with the next verfe.

(R^ he is of the thoughtlefs race." DSn n!? P' Kin. Literally,

he is a fon not wife." My rendering may feem, at firft fight, paraphraf-

fic ; but, upon examination, I think it will be found to give neither more nor
lefs, than the juft fenfe of the original. D3rr, as a noun', is properly cilyxjv\ig,

one that has about him, ever heedfull of his fituations, vigilant, and
all'his wits

provident againft dangers, even remote. DUn lib defcribes the fterefis of
uyxnoix : one of a contrary turn of mind ; regardlefs, not only of remote
confequences, but even of his prefent fituation ; thoughtlefs, and fecure, in
imminent dangers. This character, as it may be beft expreifed in our lan-
guage, is " thoughtlelTnefs," The word " fon," as it is ufed here, always de-
fcribes an individual as belonging to a clafs, diftinguifhed by a certain oc-
cupation or characSler, and conlidered as a particular race or family. And con-
verfely, the principal or head of that clafs is called, in the Bible, " the Fa-
*' ther." I cannot find words, in the Englifh languag'e, more exaftly ren--
dering the ideas correfponding to the Hebrew words, than thofe T have ufed.

(S) the aperture, or breach." "yy^viz. The paflage between the

bones of the pelvis burll open by the throes of labour. CoUum Uteri. Vitringa;
ad If. xxxvii. 3.

(T) From the power of Hell ' ." The Hebrew, b^m ; the Greek, "Ahi
the Latin, Orcus ; and the Englifh, Hell; are words of one and the fame import,
fignifying
t^S CRITICAL NOTES chat. xiir.

fignifying the place appointed for the habitation of departed fouls, i^ the in-
terval between death and the general refurrecftion. The word "piKU?" defcribes
this place as the object of univerfal enquiry, the unknown manfion, about
which all are anxioufly inquifitive. The Latin, " Orcus," names it as a place

enclofed within an impafllible fence (i'p^cc?) ; the Greek, "A>;r, and the F^nglifh,

Hell, defcribe itby the property of invifibility; for nothing more is included
in the natural meaning of thofe words. In the New Teftament, two words are
indifcriminately rendered, in our Englifh Bible, by the word " Hell;" " Ah^g
and r'icvm : the latter, a word of Hebrew origin, tranfplanted into the Greek
language, as tiie appropriate name of the place of the damned ; which was
generally fo called by the Jews of the Apoftolic age. This ufe of the word
Hell, in the Englifh New Teftament, has impofed a fenfe upon it, quite fo^

reign to its etymology, and abhorrent from its more general application.

The blK^' of the Old Teftament, and the Hades of the New, is indeed the
Hell to which our Lord Jefus Chrift, according to the Apoftle's Creed, de-
fcended. It is the Paradife, to which lie conveyed the foul of the repentant

thief. It is the place whither his foul went and. preached, to the fouls, not

in prifon, as we read in our Englifh Bible, but iv (pvKx^ " i" ^^^^ keeping,"

(if that text of St. Peter i. iii. 19. is to be underftood literally, and I know
not how it can be underftood otherv.ife,) which one while bad been difobedient
("c;^'<;'cratr/ -cro?;) but, as the expreflion " one while had been" implies, were
;

at length recovered from that dlfobedience, probably by the preaching of

Noah, and before their death had been brought to repentance and faith in the ,

Redeemer to come. To thefe fouls our Lord Jefus Chrift went in his foul and

preached. But what could he preach to them ? Not repentance. They had
repented of their difobedience, before they were feparated from the body by
death, or they had not been found in the bundle of life. But, if he went

and proclaimed to them {kri^v^sv) the great tidings that he had actually offered

the facrifice of their redemption, and was now about to enter into glory ; this

was a preaching, that would give new animation and aflurance to their hope of the
confummation, in due feafon, of their blifs. And this, by the way, I take to
be the true fenfe of this text of St. Peter.

Another inaccuracy obtains in our Englifh Bible ; the Hebrew b^H^ (Sheol)

being perpetually Old Teftament, and the Greek "Ahs (Hades) fome-
in the

tiraes in the New, rendered improperly by the word "Grave," which neither lig-
nifies.
 CHAP, xrriv UPON HOSE A. 159,

fies. The Hebrew word for the Grave is nap, and the Greek Tci(poc. The He-
brew names of Hell and the Grave never are confounded, nor the Greek, by
the facred writers. IS'o two things, indeed, can be more diftindl. Hell is the
manfion of the departed fpirit ; the Grave is the receptacle of the dead body.
Hell is often perfonified, as it is here, by the facred writers ; the Grave, ne-
ver. The boldeft perfonlfications of Hell, which occurr to my memor}"-, are in
two paflagesof the Apocalypfe.
*'
I looked, and behold a pale horfe ; and his rider was feated upon
*' him . his name was Death, and Hell followed with him'."
And again,
" And Death and Hell gave up the deceafed that were in them ; and
*' they were judged, every one according to his works, and Death and Hell
" were caft into the lake of fire '."

I am inclined to think, but I fuggeft it only to the examination of the

learned, without venturing to aflert, that Death and Hell are always conjointly
perfonified by the facred writers, never one without the other.
But it is is to be obfcrved, that when either is perfonified, it is always in
the charadter of an enemy of man, and an antagonift of the Saviour which ;

is eafily underftood of Death, but may feem extraordinary of the other; if

what has been maintained be true, that Hell, in the true import of the word,
as equivalent to Sheol, Hades, or Orcus, is a place of reft and comfort to the
departed fouls of the Saints ; which is moft certainly the cafe, infomuch, that
to be in this place is mentioned by St. Paul, as " a being with the Lord'."
Neverthelefs, the happinefs of this place is certainly full afliirance of hope,
rather than fruition. It is a place perhaps of feclulion from the external world;
and the ftate of the departed Saints, while they continue there, is a condition
of unfinifhed blifs, in which the fouls of the juftified would not have remained
for any time (if indeed they had ever entered it), had not Sin introduced Death.
It is a ftate, therefore, confequent upon Death ; confequent, therefore, upon
Sin, though no part of the punifhment of it. And the refurredion of the
Saints is them by our Lord's power, from
often defcribed, as an enlargement of
confinement a place, not of punifhment, but of inchoate enjoyment only.
in
*' Our Lord will break the gates of brafs, and cut the bars of iron in funder,"

= Rev. vj. 8. k
XX, 1.3. 14, f a Cor. v. 8. and Phi], i. 23.

and
i6o CRITICAL NOTES chap. xiit.

and fet at liberty " his piifoners of hope." And when this place of fafe keep-
ing is perfonified, it is, confiftently with thefe notions of it, reprefented as'

one of the enemies which Chrift is to fubdue.

In this paffage Death and Hell are perfonified very remarkably. And
the two perfons are threatened each with an incurable difeafe, caufing fpeedy
death, to be inflidled by God the Saviour.

(TJ) thy peftilence." For *]''"l2n, the latter Prophets of Soncinum

(i486); the Bible of Soncinum (1488) ; the Bible of Brefcia (1494); ninety-

feven MSS. of Kennicott's, among them the oldeft and the befl:, one more
originally ; twenty-five MSS. of De Roffi's, and four more originally, give

TJ12T in the fingular. This I adopt as unqueftionably the taie reading. The
verfions (although all mis-tranflate, except Symmachus, St. Jerome, and
the Vulgate) all give the noun in the fingular, except Aquila, and the fifth

Greek, nm, in the fenfe of the plague, peftilence, or deftrudlion, is never

ufed in the plural number.

^W) thy burning plague." "JlIOp. The word iDp occurrs only in

four places ; of which this is one. The other three are, Deut. xxxii. 24. Pf.

xci. 6. and If. xxviii. 2. In Ifaiah, the connections of the word are not fuch
as to point out any fpecific meaning. It is put in appofition with lyty ; but
whether as an adJ6<ftive agreeing with -^w as a fubftantive ; or as a fubftantive

in the genitive cafe after nyu? ; or a noun fubftantive, with which -)y agrees

as an adjedlive ; appears not from any thing in the context. All that can

be colkdted from tliis paflage is, that ntop is fomethiaig which may be con-

nedled, either as caufe, effc6]:_, or concomitant, with tempeft. But in Pf. xci.

it is conneiVed, as it is here, with -'^m ; and pi^operties are afcribed to each,

which fiiew the difference between the two ; and, fince it is certain that "lai

is fome kind of mortal difeafe, lead to the precife meaning of each. Tlie

Holy Pfalmift, fpeaking of Jehovah's protection of Mefliah, lays to Mefliah,

" Thou ftialt not be afraid for the terror by night, for the arrow that flietli
" by day DnnJJ : IW ^DpD "fbn"' btiii2 imD. For the Del^er that goeth on in
darknefs, for the Chetel? which wafteth (or depopulates) at noon day." No
one, in the leaft converfant with tlie ftile of facred poetry, can for a moment
,^oubt, that Deber and CJjelel? are things of the fame kind. But Del>er is a
difeafe i
 cKA?.xiTi. UPON HO SEA. 10 r

difeafe; C^(?/d'^ therefore is a difeafe too. And, by the defcription here given

of each, Deber is the putrid plague fever, which ufually makes its fatal pro-
grefs in the dead of night, while the patient is in fleep. Cheteb is the dreadfull
folftitial difeafe, which in the tropical climates, and, in fonie rare inftances,

in our own, in the extreme heat of harveft fmites fuddenly in the open air and
at noon-da}', and kills cither at once, or in a few minutes, by a putrefcence of

the juices, of the living body, almoft inftantaneous. The difeafe is fo rare in

thefe high latitudes, that we have no name for it in our language nor had ;

the Greeks in theirs. Our public tranflation, therefore, is content with the
very general word " deftrudtlon," and all the Greek interpreters give ftrange

paraphrafes.
The fenfe of the word, which we deduce from the ninety-firft Pfalni, is con-
firmed by the ufe of it in Deuteronomy xxxii. 24. where it is mentioned along
with ]5yi, another malignant inflammatory difeafe.
And now it will be eafy to expound the DQp "ly of Ifaiah ; though, for want
ef a word to render a^p, it is impoflible to tranflate it. ^]2ip "lyif is the tem-
pefl, which often happens in the feafon of thofe extreme heats, in v.'hich the
Itap takes place ; and is therefore a concomitant of the Cheteb.
" Solftitial tempefl" would perhaps be the befl Englifli for the phrafe ; not
that 3tap lignifies folftice ; but it might be put in this place to mark the fea-

fon, when fuch tempefls ufually take place ; which is, in fadl, the folf1:ice.

Of the four paffages in which the word occurrs, this text of Hofea now
remains. And fince the words Deber and Cheteb are connefled here, jufl as

they are in the gifl Pfalm ; it cannot reafonably be doubted, that they are to
be taken here, each in the fame fenfe as in the Pfalm ; efpecially as no fenfe

of cither can be found, which better fuits this place. I give therefore " burn-
" ing plague," for 2!3p, not as an adequate expreffion, but the befl I can
devife.

The LXX render nap by kcvJ^ov ; and the Syriac by a word of the fame
meaning. Others would have "]~)ai render nifjoov. And, if this were admitted,
it would follow that 2'iDp mufl be fomething of the fame kind, and would not
be ill rendered by the fame word. And the learned Rivetus, in fupport of the
LXX, goes fo far as to fay, " Quicquid pertundendo & perfodiendo repents
*' penetrat impetu vehementiflimo, ut cufpis acuta folet, id Ebrseis nomine illo

" fnomine 2Qp] defignatur." Of what Hebrews does he fpeak .'' Of the

Y facred
 i^a. CRITICALNOTES CHAP. XIII.

facred writers ? I demand the place, where any one of them applies the word
in that fenfe, or in any fenle but as the name of a difeafe ? No fuch place is

to be found. Are the Rabbinical writers the Hebrews, of whom Rivetus fpeaks ?

Wliat he fa3'S, can be faid of no otlier Hebrews. But to interpret the He-
brew or the Holy Bible, by the ufe of words in the Rabbinical writings, is

juft what it would be, to attempt to explain Homer's words by the lenles of
'words in modern Greek.
As to the word in, I deny that in the Bible-Hebrew it ever figniiies " a
" fling." '
The noun r\T21 indeed fignifies a bee ; and bees have flings. But
neither min, nor any other word derived from the root I^T, iignifiies the
fting of a bee in any one pafTage in the Bible. But we are told, that in the
Arabic language, Daborah fignifies " the fpur of a fighting cock," a fenfe
which the Greek xl-vjoov alfo bears. Granted : but why mull we refort to the

Arabic for new fenfes of Hebrew words, when the well known genuine Hebrew
fenfe fuits the purpofe of the facred writer full as well, if not better? Who-
ever takes the trouble to examine the antient verfions, in the four pafTages
where the word 2iOp occurrs, will find that the tranflators were put to their
fhifts for a fpecific meaning; they had no difcernment of the true meaning of
the word, and their renderings are of no authority.
But the anxiety to fuflain Kivjpov, as the true rendering of one or other of
the two words, 3tOp or ^2^, has arifen, I believe, from an opinion which has
long prevailed in the Chriilian Church, that the animated exultation of the
Apoftle St. Paul over Death and Hell, at the latter end of the 15th chapter of
the Firft to the Corinthians, is a citation of this paffage of Hofea and; this opinion
is, for the mofl part, connedted with a perfwaiion, that the Apoftle citing muft
reprefent the Prophet's words with the greateft exadlnefs. But we are not 10
affume, that the Apoftle cites a particular paffage; and then to conclude, that the
Apoftle's fuppofed citation gives the only true fenfe of the Hebrew words,
which it is our bounden duty, by all contrivances and exploits of criticifm,
to bring out of them. We fhould firfl enquire, whether he cites or no ; and if

it fhould appear that he cites, it might flill be reafonable to enquire, whether

the general meaning of the Prophecy might not be fufficient for his purpofe ;

or with what degree of accuracy it was neceffary to his argument, that he fhould
reprefent the Prophet's words.
Now,
 ;

CHAP. xiii. U P ON HO S E A. 163

Now, upon the moft mature confideration of the matter, I am perfwaded

that the Apoftle's triumphant exclamation, " O Death, where is thy fting ? O
" Hell, where is thy viftory ?" is an allufion, indeed, to this text of Hofea;
an indire6l allufion, but no citation of it. The prophecy which the Apoftle
cites, as one which would receive its completion in the general refurredlion at

the laft day, as a faying " that is written," which fliall then be brought to pafs;
this prophecy is written in If. xxv. 8. and no where elfe. And this prophecy,
which he cites, he cites with precilion. And it may be ufefull to obferve,
that he cites it not according to the verfion of the LXX. He tranflates the
Hebrew text verbatim, in contradidlion to the verfion of the LXX. For the
verfion of the LXX, in this place, is fo wretchedly and abominably erroneous,
that the fenfe it gives is exadlly the reverfe of the fenfe of the Hebrew text.
The Apoftle having cited this prophecy of " tlie fvvallowing up of Death
*' in vi6tory," and, looking forward to the great event, which he mentions as
the yet future completion of it, breaks out in thofe words of triumph, which
allude to this text of Hofea. Death and Hell are perfonified and apofirophized,
both by the Prophet and by the Apoflile. The purport of the apoftrophe, both
with the Prophet and with the Apoftle, is to fet forth God's dominion over
Death and Hell, and his mercifull purpofe of defi^roying both the one and the
other. This is categorically alTerted by the Prophet ; it is indlredlly aflerted,

by the Apoftle, in the fhape of an interrogation. But in the Prophet we have

no mention of the fting, with which Death is armed in the Apoftle's imagery
none of victory, by the name of victory. On the other hand, in the Apoftle,
we have no mention of the peftilence, and the burning plague, to be inflidled,
according to the Prophet, upon Death and Hell by God the Saviour.
It may feem, that the refemblance between the words of the Apoftle and the
text of the Prophet, upon this comparifon, turns out to be fo very general,
as to leave room to doubt, whether fo much as an allufion was intended.
But I am perfwaded, that an allufion was intended : and my perfwafion refts
principally upon thefe two reafons.
I. It is hardly to be conceived, that when the Apoftle's difcourfe led him to
refer to prophecies of the final abolition of Death and Hell, this pafTage of the
Prophet Hofea fhould not come to his mind ; which, for the boldnefs of its

imagery, is far more ftriking than the pafia^e of Ifaiah which lie cites; which
Y 2 for
 :

i64 C Pv I T I C A L N O TE S CHAP. Xllt

for that very reafon perhaps he cites in preference, as being more explicit and
perfpicuous, becaufe lefs figured and adorned.
1. Notwithftanding that a general refemblance only Is to be found between
the Apofirle's v/ords and the Hebrew text, thefe words of the Apoftle are an
exadl- literal rendering in Greek of the Syriac verlion of that Hebrew text
except that the v/ords " fting" and " viftory," in the Apoille have changed
places^

It would be mucJi in the tafte of modern criticifm, to lay hold of this cir-

eumftance as an argument for the antiquity of the Syriac verfion of the Old
Tcllament. To hold- up that verfion, as fancftioned in this paflage, by the
Apoftle's citation, as a true rendering of the original ; and then to go to work
with the Hebrew text, and, covering our own bold facrilege under an arraign-
ment of the carelefinefs of fcribes in general, and the bad faith of fome (a
heavy charge, even againft our adverfaries the Jews, to wlii^ch the candid will
lilten with great caution), to alter the text, till it lliould become a mere tranfia^

tion of tlie Syriac, and give it out, in that altered flate, as the text of tiie

Holy Prophet reftored !

But, on the contrary, readily fubfcribing to the high antiquity, and general
excellence of the Syriac verfion, I fcruple not to maintain, that in thispailkge
it is inaccurate. I deny, that the Apoftle's citation of it is any argument that
lie entertained a different opinion of it, or gives it the leaft fanftion as an ac-
curate tranflation of the Hebrew words. For the ftate of the cafe is plainly

this; that the general meaning of the prophetic text was all that was requifite
for the purpofe of the Apoftle's difcourfe. Nothing depended upon a clofe in-

terpretation of the words. And the general meaning the Syriac verfion- gives ;

the full meaning, with lefs force, in my judgement, than the original; ftill

with force, ai d with the greateft perfpicuity. And there is this particular cir-

cumftance in it, wliicli migjit incline the Apoftle to, prefer it, upon this occa-
fion, to a more precife traniLation of the original, which he certainly could

liave given. The form of the fentence in the Syriac is fuch as would readily
admit of being interwoven into the Apoftle's difcourfe, fo as to make a part
of it ; not in tlie ftift" form of a quotation, but as the Apoftle's own expreifton
of his own fentiments. With- his mind full of the general refurrecfUon, and of
the prophecies relating to if, he gives utterance to his own feelings of joy and
exultation in words taken from the Syriac verfion of Hofca's text ; which are
better
eHAP. xiu. UPON HOSE A. 16^5

better fuited to that purpofe, the purpofe of being ufed as the Apoftle's words-,
than Hofea's own words. In this manner of adopting the words of the Syriac
verllon, certainly no approbation is involved of its verbal accuracy.
St. Jerome, who knew nothing, I believe, of the Syriac verlion, feems to

have entertained a notion of the Apoftle's allufion to the Prophet not very dif-

ferent from mine. In Iiis Comment upon Hofea, having affirmed that the
Apoftle St. Paul underftand's this text of the refurrecftion of our Lord (he
fhould rather have faid, of the general refurrei^ion, as the eftedl and confe-
quence of our Lord's) he adds, " Itaque quod ille [fcil. Apoftolus] in refur-
" redlionem interpretatus eft Domini, nos aliter interpretari nee poifumus nee
" audemus." Where obferve, he is not fpeaking of the verbal accuracy of
the tranftation ufed by the Apoftle, as if that were not to be meddled with ;

but of the application of the Prophecy in its general meaning. The Apoftfe
having made the applicapon, the Holy Father faya he fubmits implicitly and ;

would not venture to apply it otherwife, if he could. But of the verbal accu-
racy of the tranftation, in this place, he fays nothing. In another place, in his
comment upon the 14th chapter of Ilaiah, he difcovers his opinion upon that
point. For he fpeaks of the Apoftk-'s triumphant exclamation, as the Apoftle's

expreflion of his own fentiments, arifing in his mind upon his meditating
within himfelf upon Hofea's words. " Unde & Apoftolus PauluSj interfe(fl:ii

" morte, ad quam per Ofee fermo propheticus loquebatur, ' Ero mors tua,
" o mors, ero morfus tuns inferne,' loquitur ad eam, ' Ubi eft mors contentio
" tiia, ubi eft mors ftimulus tiuis ?' " It is not to my prefent purpofe, to re-
mark on the variations from the Greek text of the New Teftament, as it now
ftands, with which St. Jerome cites the Apoftle's words. But what I would obferve,
is this. That he evidently reprefents the Divine Speaker in Hofea, as addrefting
Death in certain words ; and the Apoftle, as addrefting Death in other wor<is.
He repreients the Divine Speaker in Hofea, as addrefting Death yet alive ; the
Apoftle, us fpeaking to Death lying dead before him. He confiders the Apoftle
therefore as uttering fentiments of his own, in words of his own. He was not
aware, I believe, that the Apc/itle borrowed his words from the Syriac verfion
of the words in Hofea. Bat this makes no difference. He muft have confi-
dered the Apoftle's exclamation as an allufion only to the Prophet,, not as a ci-
tation of any thing more than the general fenfe ; much lefs as an accurate
tranflationi ..
 ;

1 66 CRITICAL NOTES chap. xiir.

tranflation, which it were impious not to receive, as giving the fenfe of the
Hebrew words with more certainty than the Hebrew words themfelves.

I cannot dole tliis long note, without briefly animadverting on the plaufible,
but fallacious, dodrine of fandtion, fuppofed to be given to the antient verfions

of the Old Teftament, by the citation of particular palfages from them in the New.
And, with refpeil to the Septuagint in particular, in behalf of which this

fancftion is moft frequently pleaded ; I obferve, that what is generally afTumed

upon this fubjedt is not true. Namely, that the citations of texts of the Old
Teftament in the New are always from this verfion. This aflumption, I fay,

is not invariably true. The inftances, in which it fails, are many. I have men-
tioned one very remarkable inftance ; and I could produce many more.
I fay, fecondly, that upon the fame principle, that a citation of the Old Tefta-
ment by the infpired writers of the New, according to that particular verfion, is to

be taken as a fan61ion of the verfion ; the citation of a text, not in the words of

the LXX, more particularly in words that give a fenfe direftly oppofite to
their fenfe, is a reprobation of the verfion. And fince the infpired writers of

the New Teftament cite fome paffages according to the LXX, and fome not
according to the LXX ; it follows, that they fandlion the verfion in fome paf-

faoes, and reprobate the verfion in others. And neither the fandlion nor the

reprobation muft be extended farther, than to the particular texts cited. In the

texts not cited, we have no judgement of the inspired writers of the New Tef-

tament upon the merits of the verfion. And as tl.efe uncited texts make cer-

tainly the far greater part of the whole book ; I fhall contradict no Apoftle,
or infpired writer, if I aflert, as I do, of the Septuagint generally, that an-

tient, refpecflable, ufefull, and valuable, as it is, and in many parts excellent;

it is not, upon the whole, to be put in compethion, for verbal accuracy, either

with our own public tranflation, or with the Vulgate.

But, thirdly, I go further. I contend, that even with rcfpedl to the par-
ticular paflages cited in the New Teftament, according to the verfion of LXX
we are not always to conclude, that the citation implies the citer's appro-

bation of the verbal accuracy of the tranflation, even in the inftance of the paf-
fage cited. This will be indeed a juft conclufion, if a faithfull reprefentation
of the phrafeology of the original be rcquifite for the purpofe of the citer.
But if the general meaning of the paftage cited is fufficient, which, for the
moft part, is tlie cafe ; no fanction of any thing more than the general meanmg,
which
cuAr. xiir. UPON ROSEA. 167

which is often very adequately given in a very loofe, and with refpe^^t to

words, even an erroneous tranflation, can be inferred from the citation. For
it certainly became the Vv-ifdom of the Apoltles to cite the Old Teftament, ac-
cording to the veriions moft in ufe aad credit in their time, however defective
in verbal accuracy ;
provided they found inthem the general meaning except :

indeed in thofe few cafes, in which their argument turned upon the wording of
the original. It was no part of the duty of the holy Apoflles and infpired
preachers, to edit a corredl Greek tranflation of the Old Teftament, or to give
critical notes upon the extant verfions.

(X) I place the foph-pafuk at bww", and make the three words that follow
the beginning of the 13th verfe.
" No repentance is difcernible to my eyes !" literally, *' Repentance is

" hidden from mine eyes." I cannot be perfwaded, that this can poffibly fig-
nify, that God's mind would never change, with refpecSl to his declared

purpofe of abolilliing Death and Hell, notwithftanding the immutability

of that declared purpofe. It is pertinently remarked by Hoiibigant, that

the internal purpofes or affe6lions of the mind of any perfon cannot be re-
prefented as an objedl of vifion, to that perfon. It cannot be faid of them,
that, to the perfon himfelf, they are either vifible or inviiible. The repentance,
or change of mind, faid to be feen, or not feen, muft be the external figns of
repentance feen, or not feen, by one perfon in another. I cannot, however,
agree with the learned Houbigant, that the fenfe of the pafTage is a dreadful!
denunciation on the part of God, that he will fhut his eyes againfl repentance,
and pay no regard to it. The fentiment is horrible. No fuch declaration 'n

to be found in the whole Bible ; but repeated declarations of the contrary pur-
port. It is aftonifhing, that fuch a notion could drop from the pen, or in-
deed enter the mind of a writer of Houbigant's piety, and fo converfant in the

Holy Scriptures. The words are evidently words of complaint on the part of
God, as I have explained in note (''), that no figns of repentance were to be
found, by his all-fearching eye, in Ephraim. This fenfe arifes fo clearly from
the Hebrew words, when the fentences are properly divided, and is fo much
more to the purpofe than any other, that nothing but an erroneous divifion
could have kept it out of fight.
(Y)
i6S
"*

CRITIC AL NOTES chap, xui,

(Y) favage beafts." Cn N. So I would point the word (not

Q'nK) ; and take it as in If. xiii. 21.

(Z) Eaft-wind blaft." D^p r\\l, or Dnpn nTt, is the Eaft-

>wind. But DHp by itfelf, without nil, is often put for the Eall-wind ; almofl
as often, as in appofition with nil. And in Ifaiah xxvii. 8. the two nouns are
put feparately, as they are here, as different appellatives of the fame thing,
Dnp Dva nit^pn innn.

(AA)
fhall He." Xin. An emphatic pleonafm of the pronoun at
the end of the fentence. See chap. v. 14. and xi. 2.

CHAP. XIV.

(A) X AKE with you words." The phrafe fcems very fmiilar to that
*' he took up his parable'," i. e. he afTumed his prophetic ftyle. And it

leems, in both cafes, to refer to a fet form of words. For it is remarkable,

that the exordium of every one of Balaam's effufions is a form ; defcribing, in
a highly-adorned flyle of amplification, the privileges of the prophetical of-
fice; or delivering certain folemn y;w/y./, which might fuit almofl: any occafion
of prophecy : and the reforting to thefe fet forms is " taking words" or " taking
" up the parable ;" a phrafe, however, that might be ufed, to exprefs only
the affumption of the peculiar fl:ile of the prophetic fong. The formal proem
o^f the lafl of Balaam's effufions is by far the mofl flriking.

' Num. xxiii. 7.18. xxiv. 3. 15.

" Then
 CHAP. XIV. UPON HOSE A. 169

" Then he took up his parable, and faid% y

" Balaam, the fon of Beor, hath fald,

" Even he hath faid the man of the fecret eye''.
" He hath faid who hearcth tlie fpeech of God,
" And knoweth the knowledge of the MoflHigh.
" He feeth the fcene of the Almighty,
" He is laid at his length % and his eyes are fet open."

The exordium of the preceding fong (the third) is the fame, with very
little diiFerence ; an amplification of the prophetic gift.

Iiat of the fecond is different; but flill it is much of a fet form, compofed
of general yviZy-cxi.

" Then he took up his parable, and faid ^,

" Rife up, Balak, and hear,

" Give ear to me, O Son of Zippor.
" God is no man, that he fliould lie,

" Nor fon of man, that he fliould repent him.

" Hath he faid, and lliall he not perform ?
" Or fpoken, and fhall he not eflablilli ?" >

= Num. xxiv. 15, &.-C.

*
^'iTl DDJi' "I^jH- 1 take DHE', which, occurrs only in this place, to be an unufual
orthography of the word DJID) abditiis, intus abfconditus. The Holy Pfalmift fays (li. 8.),
" Behold, thou delighteft in truth in the inward parts, and fhalt teach me wifdom
" DDD^.' " ^^ ='o''" a9jTi', as Mr. Parkhnrft well explains it. So the prophetic gift, fore-

feeing things to come, is here defcribed, under the image of a fecret internal eye. And in
the fame language, yEfchylus makes Oreftes, in the Choephorae, defcribe the oracular prefcience

of Apollo.

'0(ul]x Xa/xtTfov y Line 283.

( (Txoriji V4iftl o?ft/'.

<^ laid at his length." This intimates, that when the ecftacy feized him, he ufually
fell down in a trance ; and the emblematical fcene was forced upon him, while he lay in tliat

ftate.

* Num. xxiii, 18, Sec.

Z The
 17 CRITICAL NOTES chap. xiv.

The exordium of the firft fong is far more fimple, being nothing more than
a diftich ; but ftill it lias the air of fet form, and, mutatis mutandis, might
ferve any fuch occafion.

^' Then he took up his parable, and faid%

" Me hath Balak brought from Aram,

" Tile King of Moab from the mountains of the Eaft."

That fet forms were in ufe in the earliefl- ages, upon all folemn occafions, is

evident, with refpect to the Jews, from Holy Writ ; and with refpeft to the
Heathen, from the poets. Miriam's Song of Thankfgiving is evidently a ftudied
compofiti'jn, fet to miilic, and performed in parts, according to a pre-con-
certed plan, by her and the chorus of attending virgins. In the Book of
Numbers, a form of words is prefcribed, in which the priefi"s were to blefs the
people ''.
In the Book of Deuteronomy% a form of prayer and confeflion is pre-
fcribed, to be ufed by every Ifraelite that prefented his firfc fruits, and at the end
of his tithing. Part of the 105th Pfalm, with the'96th, is a form of thankfgiving,
which *' David delivered into the hands of Afaph and his brethren" upon the occa-
lion of bringing up the ark from the houfe of Obed-Edom, and placing it in
the tent that David had pitched for it. Solomon's prayer, at the dedication
of the Temple ''j is moft evidently ftudied compofition, Jehofhaphat's %
when he proclaimed a fafl-, under the terror of the powerfull confederacy of the
Moabites and Ammonites. And the Priefts and Levites, which upon this oc-

cafion attended the army, praifed Jehovah in a fet form of words. The fervice
of the temple, reftored by Hezekiah ^, was certainly according to the fettled
form of an antlent ritual ; in particular, the Levites were commanded by the
King " to fing praife unto Jehovah with the words of David the King, and
" of Afaph the Seer." Upon the return from the captivity, when the founda-
tions of the Temple were laid, the Priefts and Levites attended in their facred
veftmenis, the Priefts with their trumpets, and the Levites with their cymbals,
to " praife Jehovah after the ordinance of David King of Ifrael." And their

' Num. xxiii. 7. ^ Num. vi. 23 26. ' Chnp. xxvi. ^ 10. and 13 15.
* I King*, viii. 23 53. 2 Chron. vi. 12 43. = 2 Chroii. x.\. ' 2 Chron. xxix. 30.
praife
 CHAP. XIV. UPON HOSE A. 171

praife was in David's fet form of words, " Give thanks unto Jehovah, be-
** caufe he is good; becaufe his mercy toward Ifrael endureth for ever*."
Such proof we find of the ufe of forms of worfhip among the Jews from the
earlieft times.

Among the Heathen, the thing is unqueftionably proved by the Orphic

Hymns, as they are very improperly called. They are, indeed, fet forms of
invocation of the feveral Deities, whicli were the obje6l of worfhip to the
Greeks. In Homer it is very remarkable, that in the two praj^ers of Chryfes,
the one imploring the vengeance of Apollo on the Greeks, after Agamemnon's
refufal of the proffered ranfom of his daughter ; the other, folliciting the
God's blefling on the Greeks, when his daughter was reftored ; the prefatory
invocation is nearly in the fame words in both, and much in the ftile of the
Orpluc fervices, addreffing the God by his various titles.

X^jiivkv. II. A, 36. and 451.

But, what is more remarkable, in the body of the prayers the expreffions
feem to be as much the fame, as the difference in the matter of the petitions
would allow.

(B) So Jerome underftood this petition.

St. " * Omnem aufer iniquitatem &
*' accipe bonum.' Nihil languoris in nobis 8e ruinae priftin^e derelinquas, ne
*' rurfum mali feminis pullulent rediviva plantaria, Et accipe, inquit, bo- *

** num. Nifi enim tuleris mala noftra, bonum tibi quod ofFeramus, habere
*' non pofTumus.'" Diodati's expofition is to the fame purpofe.

(C) bullocks our own lips." No figure is more familiar in the

Hebrew language, than that fort of metonymy, which puts the caufe, or
inflrument, for the efFedl ; lips for words uttered by the lips. For the lips arc

a principal inflrument in the articulation of words* It is very remarkable,

however, that the word nsiy, " lip," when put for words uttered with the lip,

feems peculiarly applied to fet forms of words in public worfhip. The Prophet
Ifaiah, fpeaking of the introduction of the true worfhip into Egypt, fays,
;''
' In that day fhall five cities in the land of Egypt /peak ibe Up of Canaan *"

* Ezra ilL jo. 11. * If. jdj. 18.

Z 2 that
 i:z CRITICAL NOTES chap. xiv.

thai: is, as sj-pears by tlie context, adopt the forms of public worfhip ufed
by God's The Frnphtt Zephaniah, fpeaking of the
true church in Faleftine.
final ccri\c:f:on of all the nations of the earth, fays, " In that day I will turn
*' to the peoples a pure lip (miin n34;), that they may all of them call upon
" the nrane cf Jehovah ' ;" where a pure lip evidently fignifies a form of
wor/hip purged of all corruptions. It is ufed very remarkably in tliis fenfe in
Pfalm xii. 5, " Our lips are our ovi'n." The fubjeft of that Pfalm is

Free-thinkers; their learning, audacity, and final excifion. The Pfalmift,

drawing thefe gentlemen to the life, makes them fay, what they are heard to fay

daily '
' our lips are our own ;" i. e. we have a right to choofe our own way of
worihip ; to worfliip what we pleafe, as we pleafe, or not to worfhip at all,
if that fhould beft pleafe us. In Pfalm Ixxxi. 6. it is fald of the land of
Egypt, as we read in our Englifh Bible, " I heard a language that I under-
" flood not." But, Jehovah being the fpeaker, this, as has been obferved by
the learned Julius Bate, mufl: be an erroneous tranflation. Indeed, the literal

rendering is, "A lip which I acknowledged not (i. e. a worfhip which I difap-
" proved) I heard." The fenfe feems to be, that even Ifrael, in his ftate of
fervitude in Egypt, was compelled to take part in corrupt and idolatrous rites.

Upon a review of all thefe paflages, had I rendered the words of Hofea,
" bullocks, our devout confeflions," I think I ihould have been juftified
by the peculiar ufe of tlie word nBit? in fo many places. But I choofe to ad-
here to the literal rendering of the Hebrew words ; as the metonymy, though
in this inftance fomewhat harfh in our language, is abundantly perfpicuous.
With what view, the worfhip of the Father In Spirit and in Truth is repre-
fented, under the image of bullocks facrificed, I have Ihewn in note {").

A flight inaccuracy in our public tranflation, which, departing not a tltde

from the fenfe, but in a minute circuraflance from the conftru(^,^ion of the He-

brew, renders, " calves of out lips," as if " lips" were the latter of two
noun fubftantives, which ought to be expreffed in the genitive cafe in our lan-
guage, and ought in the Hebrew to induce the conftrudt form upon the preceding
fubftantive; this flight inaccuracy has occalioned this remark of Archbifhop New-
come, tojuitify an alteration of the text, which he adopts. " The phrafe as it

ftands is NOT Hebrew J becaufe a^ns, the calves, fliould be in Jlatu conjirudlo.

* Zeph. iii. 9.

" Jof.
 ,;

CHAP. XIV. UPON HO SEA. 173

" Jof. Mede, p. 28a. and Le Clerc, on Hebr. xiii. 15. read, 'lJ^J^S^ya fruit

''
from our lips 6 Ar. read, the fruit of eur lips
; ; and Syr. the fruu of your lips

" as if they omitted a. See Hebr. xiii. 15."

Had the lear-ned Primate forgotten all the inftances, that are produced by the
Jewifh grammarians, of an enallage of the fla/us abfclutus and Jfatus confliu^us,
and the oppofite ? And is not this an anfwer to the formidable objedlion of
the NOT Hebrew of the phrafe ? Perhaps indeed, when the inftances of
fuppofed enallage come to be examined, it will be found that many of them
are to be folved by an ellipfis (which was Kimchi's opinion of them all), and
that others are reducible to a cafe of fimple appofition, in which the flatus
conJlriiSlus would be improper. Not to enumerate fpecific inftances, this will
be the where the two fubftantives are only different appellatives of the
cafe,

fame thing, in different refpe6ts. Thus D^abo D^nm^ are two appellatives of
the fame thing ; the one a generic, and the other a fpecific name, in perfe(ft
appofition. And this I take to be the very cafe here : D**"!!) and irjlBto are
two .appellatives of the fame thing, in different refpetfts : of prayers as arti-
culated ; and of prayers under the image of animals facrificed, becaufe offered
to God. And thefe two appellatives of the fame thing are properly put in
perfedl appofition. This I take to be the truth of the conftruilion in this
place.
But if an enallage of the two ftates of nouns, the abfolute and the conftru6f
is ever to be admitted (and perhaps it would be difficult to reduce every in- >

ftance of it to ellipiis, or to appofition), I allc, in what inftance it may with

more reafon be admitted, than in D^IS, the plural of ")3, a bullock? which, if
according to the rule of conffrudtion it were to drop the final Q, would not
be diftinguifhable by the letters from the noun fubftantive fingular i-i3, fruit.

And in fadl, upon a diligent invefl:igation, I cannot find "IB, the plural of
19, in the conflrucSt flate in the whole Bible, except in one infl:ance ; in which
it is conflruiled with a pronoun fuffixed, and the context renders it impoflible
to miftake the meaning of the word. This inflance occurrs in Jeremiah L. 27.
The fubje6f is the defl:rudfion of Babylon, Jehovah himfelf leading up the ar-
mies to the attack ; "for this was the work of Jehovah of hofts in the land of
" the Chaldseans. Come againfl her from the utmofi border open her fattening

' Exod. xxiv. 5.

"ftalls-^
 174 CRITICAL NOTES chap. xiv.

'^
Jlalh rfns "^D Uin. Slay all her bullocks let them go down to the
" daughter."
No emendation therefore is neceffary in this text of Hofea, to wipe off the
imputation of " Not Hebrew." And if no emendation is necelTIvry, Lc Clerc's
propofed alteration hardly deferves further notice. I muft juft however re-

mark, that although the prefix a is often ufed as the prepofition of the efficient

or the procreant, no infl:ance is to be found of the word """iS) in this conftruc-

tion. In juflice to the memory of Jofeph Mede, it muft be remarked, that

it is by fome inadvertency, that his authority is cited in fupport of Le Clerc's

reading. Jofeph Mede fays but little about this text; but what he fays is to

the contrary efFecft. In Book I. Difcourfe XLIX. upon the Nature of Offer-

ings, 8cc, Mede fays, that " the EucStical, or Euchariftical offering mufl
" confift of three degrees, or parts ; the oflering of the heart, of the mouth,
*' of the hand. The offering of the heart is a " Surlum Corda," the lifting
'
up of our God, hearts to either to praife The him, or to pray unto him.
" mouth is to exprefs the liitne with our tongues, and is called
offering of our
' THE CALVES OP OUR LIPS." And he refers in the margin to this text of
Hofea. But how is the mouth-offering called in this text of Hofea " the
*' calves of our lips," if Le Clerc's alteration be admitted? It is true, that

Mede, in his margin, refers to Heb. xiii. 13. together with Hofea xiv. 2. as a
parallel place but without the leall intimation that he thought " calves or
;

" bullocks of the lips" was not the Prophet's genuine expreifion. To Le
Clerc therefore alone be afcribed, for to hiir. alone belongs, the entire unri-

valled glory of this unlearned paltry criticifm.

But by the reference to Heb. xiii. 15. at the end of the learned Primate's
note, I perceive that he thought a greater authority, than that of Jofeph Mede,
was to be produced, in fupport of the alteration he would adopt. And in that

opinion he certainly was not alone. Without repeating what I have written at
great length in the latter part of note (V) of the former chapter, concerning
the inference to be drawn from citations in the New Teftamcnt of paifages of
the Old, according to the verfions, when the verfions differ in words, though
not in fenfe, from the Hebrew text ; the whole of which v/ould apply

in this cafe, were it certain that the Apoftle cites the Propliet Hofea
in that text of his Epiftle to the Hebrews : but without repeating this,

I fay that it is not certain, from any thing in the Apoftle's own words,
that he either cites, or fo much as alludes to Hofea. Without the mention of
any
CHAP. XIV. UPON HO SEA. 175

any writer of the Old Teftament, he explains a phrafe, which probably was
current as a Scripture phrafe, in his time. And he gives the plain fenfe
of it, without faying where it was found in the Bible, and without any
difcuflion of it as the proper rendering of any Hebrew text. That he alludes
to it as a phrafe of the Old Teftament, I believe. But that this text of Hofea
was the particular paflage in his mind, would never have been furmifed, had
not the LXX unfortunately given x37rov -^.s/Afw./ r'//wv, inftead of any Greek
words rendering " calves or bullocks of lips ;" while the near refemblance of
the words C^")3 and >"iSl, which was the occafion of their miftake, favoured the

hafty conjedlure of a miftake of the Hebrew fcribe ; which could nor have been
lefs, than a double miftake; firft, nS), in the fenfe of fruit, muft have been miftaken
for ns, the plural of -)9, in Jlatu conjhudo ; and then, by a fecond blunder,
D^"13, in the abfolute ftate, muft have been written inftead of nS, fo mifun-
derftood. St. Jerome, without the leaft hefttation, taxes the LXX with the
error of confounding the two words ; fo little did he conceive any allufion in
St. Paul to this paftTage of Hofea, which might fandlion their mis-tranflation.
In truth, thefe interpreters were in the habit of confounding thefe two words.
They have confounded them in the paflage already cited from Jeremiah ', where
the miftake might feem impoflible. Hut, for " flay all her bullocks," they give

txvu'^rjpixvcxje dvT^jg 'moc?\uc, ths xacTrxV- Some, indeed, have attempted to defend
their verfion in this place, without impeaching the integrity of the Hebrew text.
Obferying that they often ufe the derivatives jojjpTrwjua, Koii^Tructric, and a7^ov.ceq-

7rw/x, o'Koiiafiiruicrtg , for burnt-offering, and whole burnt-ofFering, thefe critics

infer, that the primitive xa^TroV, in the phrafeology of the LXX, might fignify
a bullock, an animal for burnt-offering. This defence however is an ad-
miflion, that the Hebrew text is correct as it ftands. For the principle of the
defence is this ; that v.ap7rog may perchance be Greek for a bullock !

All this anxiety to fuftain the verflon of the LXX in this place, the follici-
tude of lome to defend the Hebrew text againft the fufpicion of corruption
brought upon it by that verfion, and the readinefs in others^ to give it up as
incapable of defence, ariies from a fuppofition common to them all, that tiie

verfion of the LXX has received the fandlion of St. Paul. And the fuppofi-
tion, that their verfion has received that fandlion, refts on an afl"uniptionj that

'
1.27.

Z 4 .
this
 :

1-6 CRITICAL NOTES chap. xir.

this text of Ilofea is the paflage which St. Paul cites, or to which he alludes

in Heb. xiii. 15. But that the Apoftle cites it not, is moft evident upon the
flightcft infpeition of his text ; for he certainly cites no paflage. But what
reafon have we to believe, that he alludes to this text of Hofea, rather than to
fome other text of fome other writer of the Old Teftament ? The Apofile, as

I have already faid, explains the phrafe, " fruit of the lips," as a Scripture
phrafe ; without faying in what part of the Old Teftament he found it. And
will it not be a phrafe of the Old Teftament, although it fliould not be
found in this text of Hofea, according to the true reading and a true tranfla-
tion ? Is not the phrafe to be found, not introduced by any of the verfions,
but is it not to be found, in the very fenfe in which the Apoftle takes it, in

the Hebrew text of the Prophet Ifaiah ?

In the 19th verfe of the 57th chapter of that Prophet, Jehovah fays, " I
" create the fruit of the lips;" where the context ftiews, that " the fruit of
*' the lips" can be nothing elfe than the facrifice of praife, as it is explained
by Grotius, by Lowth the father, and by Bifhop Lowth. And this lenfe is

fo evident, fo much more obvious than others to which the words have been
wrefted, that not only thofe able critics, but that dulleft of all commentators,
Samuel White, could perceive, that this is probably the paflage to which the
Apoftle alludes. And this dc-ferves a deeper confideration.
The entire paflage of the Prophet Ifaiah ftands thus

vnxsT) mrp id aiipbi pimb d")"?^ a-b^ wns^ y^ KT12

The true conftrutflion of the fentence is pointed out in the Vulgate, as the
Latin is pointed in the London Polyglott. " Creavi fru61um labiorum
' pacem, pacem &c." This interpreter took the fubftantives n^3 and tD'tbti

as accufatives, in appofition, after S")13 ; the one rendering the caufe, either
material, or efficient, or final, of the thing, denoted by the other as

formed. It muft be confefTed, that this conftiudtion of the verb M*)3 with two
accufatives is rare ; but it is by no means iinex;>mpled. We find it, Pfalm
Ixxxix: 48. cna '33 b'D riKIl ii\V HD '?y. Wherefore haft thou made all men
*'

' (not in vain but) vanity." Again, If. xlv. 18. nsnainnK*?. " He created
" it (i. e. the earth, not not in vain,'" but) not emptinefs ^for] he formed it
"to be inhabited." Again, If. Ixv, 18. V\tO HDVI n^^3 D^cn* JIK Nlin.
*'
I create Jerufalem a rejoicing, and her people a joy." And tlusl take to
be
CHAP. XIV. UPON HOSE A. i77

the true grammatical conftrucTlion of this 19th verfe of the 57th chapter ; and^
in this, if I miftake not, I have the concurrence of the learned Forerius.
If this be admitted, the word OV^tf, " peace," may be taken as the material

caufc, and D"i/130 l'>3,

" fruit of the lips," as the thing made. And the fenfe
will be, " I make (or am making) peace the fubjedl or matter of praife and
** thankfgiving." And this is the expolition of Forerius, and of Grotius.
Forerius, indeed, applies the prophecy primarily to the peace and quier,
which the Jews enjoyed under the Perfian Kings ; but he acknowledges, that
ultimately it relates to the univerfal peace made by Jefus Chrift, of which he
conliders the other as typical. But if this be the true grammatical expolition
and rendering of the words ; the " peace" muft be the " peace" made by our
Lord Jefus Chrift, exclufively of any other; for it is a peace " to him that is

" far off, as well as to him that is near; to Gentile, as well as Jew." Biiliop
Lowth brings the paflage to the fame fenfe, though by a different grammatical
conftru6\ion.
The fenfe is certainly good, and very pertinent to the fubje^l of the dif-
courfe. But yet I doubt, whether it be the exadl fenfe. From the root D^tl5,
* to be at peace," corTie, as tlie Maforetes will have it, two different noun fub-
ftantives, Dl'^ti' and ^^^^ ; the firft fignifying "peace;" the fecond, "a
*' peace-offering." The firft is often written with the Cholem point, without
the fuftaining V And, fo written, it is not diftinguifliable, otherwife than by
the points, from the fecond ; which the iVIaforetes have been pleafed to point
with a double Segol. But they, who, with me, have abjured the worfhip of
the Maforetic points, will fay, that thefe two are in truth one and the fame
word, carrying two different fenfes, and written fometimes at full length, but
much oftener defedlively, without the 1.

Before I proceed, it will be much to my purpofe to premife, that among all

the offerings of the Jews, the peace-offering was that, which was particularly
typical of the worfliip of the Chriftian Church. It was offered either as a
thankfgiving for fome particular mercy ; or upon the completion of a vow ; or
as an acSt ot general voluntary worfhip, not required by any law, or called for
by any particular obligation ; in which laft cafe it was called the " free-will
*' offering." Now, the fm-offering, the trefpafs-offering, and the perpetual
burnt offering, were all expiatory of particular or general guilt : and were
all typical of the facrilice upon the crofs. But in the peace offering, the wor-
Aa fhipper
178 CRITICAL NOTES chap. iv.

fhipper was taken as already at peace with God, and entitled to partake of the
feafl upon t!ie facrifice he offered. Thefe offerings therefore were peculiaiy
typical of the worflii-p in the Chriftian church.
Now fince ChlS and C^" are the fame word differently written ; why may
not Clbttf, in this paffage of Ifaiah, render " a peace-offering ?" It is true,

the noun in this fenfe is for the moft part in the plural. But it is ufcd in this
fenfe in the lingular \ And if it be taken in this fenfe here, then iZTiS'i? 2''3,

' fruit of the lips," will be the material, and ClVu;, " the peace-oifering,"
the tiling made of that material. " I create the fruit of the lips, peace of-
" feriiig (i. c. I make it to be, or, I make of it the peace offering) peace- ; ;

" offering for him tliat is far off, and for him that is near, faith Jehovah,"
Thus the paffage will be a predidtion of the inftitution of that worfhip, of
which the peace-offering was particularly a type, as the univerfal worfhip for
all that are brought to Chrifl, whether of the Jews, or of the Gentiles.
The participle X"13, in this view of the paffage, is ufed here with particular
propriety and emphnfis. The infl'itution of a new mode of worfhip is called

a Creation, as a thing to which no authority, but that of God himfelf, is coni-

petent.
If the learned reader will confider this text critically, and confider alfo cri-

tically the text of St. Paul, in Heb. xiii. ; if he obferves, how St. Paul conned^s
" fruit of the lips" {kc^^ttov yjiXMv CJTiy 1^3) with " facrifice of praife" {Sva-fom
eihiosMg, ClVy), he will perhaps be inclined to think favourably of the inter-
pretation I offer of Ifaiah's text ; at any rate he will conclude, that the paffage
of Ifaiah is that to which the Prophet alludes.

made an obje6>ion, that this phrafe of *' the fruit of the

It will hardly be
*' lips," though it be found in the Hebrew of Ifaiah, is not in the Greek of

the LXX in that paffage. The Greek of the LXX in that paffage is indeed
fo unlike either the Hebrew text, or any of the other verfions (except its echo
the Arabic), that it may well be fufpecHied of great corruption. And what is

not found in it now, might be in it in the time of the Apoftle ; when its text

was in a better flate. Rut, fuppofe this was not the cafe. Was the Apoflle un-

der any obligation, not to cite the Old Teflament but according to the Sep-
tuagint, even when the Septuagint was wrong? Did he not underfl^and the

Hebrew language, as well, or better, than any or all of thefe 72 interpreters ?

See Amos v. 3j,

Was
CHAP. XIV. UPON no SEA. 179

Was he not at liberty to tranflate for himfelf, when he thought proper ; as lie,

and the otlier writers of the New Tellanient, have done, in many inftanccs,

when tlie LXX had grofsly miftaken (as they often have) the fenfe of tlie He-
brew ? But witli thofe idoHzprs of the Septuagint, who would bind the in-
fpired Apoftles (or even others who are not infpired) to its authority, and

tamper with the Plebrew text without the leaft neceffity, rather than confefs

the authors of that verfion to have been in error, I hold no argument.

(D) from me." I follow the reading of the Oriental Synagogue,

3D0, inftead of IMD, which makes a more regular conftru6lion, without al-

tering the fenfe.

(E) His fuckers fhall fpread farther and farther." ^i?\ " fliall go on."
I think the image is the increafing vegetation of the foreft, by the branches of

the parent tree reaching quite down to the ground, where, refting upon the
moift foil, each ftrikes a new root, or more than one, and each root fends up
a new tree.

(F) They fhall return." For inU7% tlie latter Prophets of Soncinum (1486),
thirtj'-one MSS. of Dr. Kennicott's, and three more originally, give ^2W''
And the latter Prophets of Soncinum, the latter Prophets of Pefaro (15 16},
and feven MSS. of Dr. Kennicott's, give the next word >aOT.

(G) they fhall abound in corn," literally "they fliall viviiV

" corn," they fliall grow abundant thriving crops*. ^

(H) and be famous as the wine of Lebanon," literally, " TiZi], his com-
*' memoration, i. e. his praife like the wine of Lebanon." Thus Houbi^ant : " me
'* raoria ejus ut vini, &c. five fermone celebrabitur ut vinagenerofa celebrantur &
" laudantur ; verbum pro verbo, commemoratio ejus ut vini." And to the fame
effect Coverdale, the Bifliop's Bible, and Livelye. Great difficulty has been made
about the fingular number of the fuffixed pronoun; which it has been thought,
for that reafon, could not relate to the fubjecSt of the plural verbs, which pre-

" See Pocock, vol. II. p. 705.

Aa 2 cede.
 100 CRITIC AL N OTES CHAP. XI'

cede, and to the noun, iinderftood, in appofition with the plural participle. This
difficulty to nie appears nothing. If bH")^ be the antecedent of the i fuifixed
to "IDT, liVael is a colle6i:ive; and, as fuch, may be joined with verbs in the lin-
gular or plural indifFcreiitly, and mav be rehearfed eidrer by fingulur or plural
pronouns. In the 4th verfe, lirael : rehearfed by plural pronouns. In the
5th, the fame word, or a pronoun underftood rehearfmg it, is conftru6led with
verbs in the lingular, and rehearfed by a fingular fuiRx. In this 7th verfe,.
the pronoun underftood, rehearling Ifrael as the fubjeft of the verbs ^2Tii^ and
TniB?, and in appolition with the participle ''aV muft be plural : whereas the
pronoun fuflixed to IZI, rehearling^ Ifrael, according to the conilrudtion-
and fenfe which I adopt, is fingular. But in this there is no difficulty at

all. For nothing is more frequent, than for colle6live nouns, in form lingu-
lar, to be rehearfed by plural and lingular pronouns indifferently, and con-
ftru6f:ed with lingular and plural verbs, not only in the fame fentence, but in.

tlie fame claufe ''.

(I) Ephraim ! 8cc." The very learned Drulius thinks there is fomerhing,
wanting after Ephraim. He therefore fupplies, '" dicet," underllanding what
follows as the fpeech of Ephraim. The conjecture feems to have been fuggefted
to his mind by the Itate of the accents ; Vi'hich are not what they ought to be,
according to the Maforetic rules, if nothing be wanting after the word Ephraim.
The Syriac verlion, and the Chaldee paraphrafe, certainly infert " fhall fay."

Neverthelefs, I am perfwaded the infertion is improper. For the fl-ate of tlie

accents, let the Maforetes look to that. The whole verfe is a.n ,ht:tKiov, in the

tperfon of Jehovah, over fallen idols, and a gratulation of the return even of
Ephraim (whofe cafe feemed the moft defperate) to his God : according to the
explanation which Ihave given in note {"'').

(K) and I will make him flourilTi." IJITO'KI. I take tlie word as the

firft perfon fut. ling. Kal of the verb "itt'K, " to profper," or " to make pi'pf-
" perous," as it is taken in all the antient verlions. Houbigant obferves, that
this verb in Arabic is fpecifically applied to the profpcrous growth of trees.
The Vulgate feems to have taken the verb in this fenfe here " & dirigam
" eum ego ut abietem virentem" dirigam I will lead him up llrait and
tall.

=>
See Appendix^ N" II.

from
ciiAP. xrv. UPON HOSE A. iSi

from me thy fruit is fuptplied." " Thii," fays Diodati, " tnay
" be underftood of the good works of the faithfull, produced by the fole
'^ power of gracCj and of the Spirit of God wirhin them."

(LI wife intelligent fiiall comprehend." The three

words DDn, V^, and y"}">, are fo nearly allied in iignification, that they are

ften ufed promifcuoufly one for the other, efpeciaily the two firft. Each,,
however, has its own ftri6l fenfe different from the &n& fenfe of either of the

otiier. An-d it is often of importance to attend to the difference, as it is in the

prcfent inftance ; for the liril and fecond claufes of tJiis verle are by no means
turologies.. " Who is wife ?" and " who is intelligent?" are dlficrent inter-

rogations. And the apodolis to this, and that, is different.

Thefe three DDn, 1*1, and VT', differ as ^vioi[xic,- zi-oii7v, and B-JjiKix^itx.
roots,

TJie root D3n fpeaks of wifdom, merely as a power in the mind. To be en-
dowed with the power, or powers, of wifdom. ^^2 fpeaks of that power in
a61ion, actually exercifed in obferving and noticing the differences of things,
and pnfling a judgement of diflindfion between them. This wifdom energizing,,
we call, in our language, underftanding, or intelligence ; in the popular, not in
the n^ttaphyfical fenfe of the word intelligence. Laftly, )rv>, although it fpeaks
of knowledge of any fort, and by whatever means acquired ; and has many
lenfes, which belong not to the Englifh word " to know," for it renders the
Latin tw/cere and all its compounds; yet flri6tly it is " to know that know-
" ledge," which is acquired by y^. ; and thus it properly fpeaks of the ivjiX'iyj.x

of wifdom energifing.
" I want a man endowed with the powers of wifdom," fays the Prophet.
*-'
For he will employ thofe powers of his mind upon thefe predictions and re-
.''
velations of mine. I want a man that will foemploy the powers of his mind ;

" for he, and he only, will attain a knowledge of them."

(M) flreight and even." I ufe both thefe words to exprefs the
full force of Dn^v For lu?'', applied to a road, expreffes both that it is

drawn in a ftreignt direcftion, without turnings or windings, and that is fmooth.

and level, without ineqjaalities.

(N)
..A'
iSa CRITICAL NOTES cha.p. xiv.

(N) the juftified." For D'piit"!, the latter Proplists of Soncinuin

(.i486),, the varieties of the Venice Bible (1518), forty-five MSS. of Kenni-
cott's, and one more originally, give DV^'l^''- Two MSS. of Kennicott's give

.pnui. And three or four give D"'pn:f. It fecms therefore a fafe conclu-

iion, that ""pn^') is the true reading, which is the plural of pnJJ with 1 prefixed.

pnij is properly a foreniic word, and fignifies a perfon found not guilty, ac-
quitted, and juftified upon a trial. Hence, in a theological fenfe, it is a per-

fon found innocent in the fight of God, In the Book of Pililms, and occa-
lionally eirewherc in Scripture, it is a title of Chrift, in his human nature, anc}

fliould be rendered " the Jull One." He who fl:ands juftified by the perfeft-

nefs of his own obedience. The only one of the Human race who ever was

Juft, or juftified, ty his own juftice. The plural D''pn!{, except where the
matter of the difcourfe is relative to mere fecular tranfa6fions, fignifics " the

"juftified," thofe that arc juftified by faith in the Redeemer coming, or to

come, and cloathed with his righteoufnefs.

With refpecfi: to this plural word, it has been remarked by fome of tlie ableft

critics among the Jews, that in all places where it occurrs in the Pentateuch,
except one, it is written without the plural > : cpniJ. Now the places in the

Pentateuch, in which it occurrs, are fix ; namely, Gen. x\ iii. 24. 26. 28. ; Exod.
xxiii. 8. ; Deut. iv. 8.; xvi. 19. The one place in which it appears in its

perfedl form, DV'^iJ^ in all the printed Bibles, and in all the MSS. but three,

isExodus xxiii. 8. In the other five pafiages alfo, the Samaritan text, and
fome of the beft printed texts, and a great number of the very beft MSS,
give it full.

The text of Exodus % where it is, by admifilon, in its perfect form, "pniiJ,

is very decifive for the proper meaning of the word. " And thou ihalt take
"no gift: for the gift blindelh the clear-fighted, and overturneth (not per-
" vertcth) DV^">i'* ^21, the caufe of thofe who ought to be acquitted,"
caufam juftificandorum. Thus Kimchi expounds the palfage.
With refpedl to the fingular pniJ, Hutchinfon, though he confiders It as a

title of Chrift, renders it " the Juftifier''." But he is miftaken. The Hebrew
"word for "
Juftifier" fhould be pHilD, from the Hiphil of the verb. But this
word, pn^T, is never ufed as a title of Chrift. It occurrs indeed but onoe ia

' xxiii. 8. ^ See his Works, vol. VIII. p. 97.

tht
CHAP. XIV. UPON HO SEA. * i3

the whole Bible; namely, in Daniel xii. 3. where it is the nominative plu-

ral, in the conftrudl ftate, and defcribes the preachers of the word of God,,
under the charadler of the Juflifiers of many.
Mr. Hutchinfon cites Jer. xxiii. 5. as confirming his interpretation of ,T1a.-

But this text affords no example of the ufe of the word in his fenfe, " the
" Juftifier." The hteral rendering of the 5th and 6lh verfes of the 23d of

Jeremiah is to this effedl.

5. " Behold, the days [are] coming, 'faith Jehovah, when I will raife up
" to David a branch % the Juft One >
; and King fhall be King % and prof-
" per, and fhall execute judgement and juftice in the earth."

6. " In his days Judah fhall be fafe, and Ifrael Hiall dwell fafely. And this
'^ is
his name whereby he fhall be called, Jeho-vah-ouk-righteousness."

King fliall be King." i. e. He who is King of right fliall be King

in fad:, "j^o, King, according to the Jew Dodlors themfelves, is one of the
titles of Melliah.
judgement and juftice." npn^t") tOSU?D. When thefe two words are;

connedled, as they are here, they exprefs the whole office of a judge. " Judge-
" ment," the condemnation of the guilty; "juftice," the abfolution of the
innocent. This is a very juft remark of Mercerus, with refpedl to the two
words, as jointly applied to a Judge, Magiftrate, or Sovereign, in the exercife

of his public character. When applied jointly to defcribe the principles of

judgement, npT^, is properly "equity;" DS^D, "law" of pofttive inflitu-

tion. Again, as qualities in the m.oral 01 religious characfter of the individual,,

np'Ti, is "juftice," with regard to the univerfal natural diftin^lions of right
and wrong; a3D, is " righteoufnefs," i. e. redlitude of condu6l with refpedl
to the injunctions of inftituted law.
The two forenfic diftindtions of thefe words are remarkably exemplified in:<

the beginning of the 7 2d Pfalm.

I. " Commit I'aSiya, thy judgements, O God, unto the King, *]mpT2V
" and thy juftifications to the King's Son."
King, and King's Son, are the fame perfon ; defcribed firft, fimply King ; as -

then, as King by hereditary right. The Pfalmift prays, that God would com-
 1-84 C R I TICAL NOTE S ckap. xtv-.

mit to this King the exercife of h.is whole judicial authority, both in judging,
i. e. coademning the wicked, and abfolving the godly.
2 " He will judge thy people, pi22, according to equity, and thy pooi
" asffi'03 according to law."
The firll verfe is an inftance of '"^Vs, ufed as a title of MeiTiah. It is very
Grange, that Chriirian expofitors, perceiving that " King" and " King's
" Son," in the firrh verfe, is one and the fame perfon, fhould not perceive
that this royal perfon is the King MelTiah, not King Solomon, The Targum
might have taught them better. " O God," fays the Chaklee expofitor,
''
commit the promulgation of thy judgements to the King Mefiiah, and thy
" jufiifications to the fon of David the King."

(O) proceed." This is the force of "laV^, as is explained at large

in note ("). The Engl ifh word " fliall walk" is very inadequate: as it ex-
preffes not the going ftreight forward, without obftacle or turning, to a

deftined end.

(P) revolters." LD''ytf'S. This word exprefles a degree and enor-

mity of difobedience far beyond any thing contained in the notion of " tranf-
" greflbrs, prevaricators," or any other denomination of guilt, by which the
word is rendered in our Englifh Bible. It denotes Rebels, in the higheft
fenfe of the word. Such as rife in oppofition to the authority of a Sovereign
by right, becaufe he is by right a Sovereign. And, in a religious fenfe, fuch as

wilfully, with premeditation, difobey God from hatred of his authority, .am
is a fault committed through inadvertence. Tlj; is iniquity rcfulting from a

perverfe wayward difpofition. mtt, or niD, generally rendered rebellion, is

rather " provocation," wilfull difobedience, in particular inftances, either of

t*^ doing fomething forbidding-, or negleding fomething commanded; and this

often repeated ; but, proceeding rather from a reluAance of obedience, with

refpett to fome particular command, than a general fettled averfion to wdiat is
good. But y^y'S) is bej'ond all thefe. It is bold avowed rebellion, or revolt, dif-
owning the authority of the Sovereign, and having for its end the overthrow of his
Sovereignty. But it will be laid ; Who ever was fo mad, as to avow or entertain

a defign or hope of overthrowing the Sovereignty of God ? I fay, numbers in all

ages of the world. Atheifts, Deifts, Idolaters, and fecular powers that per-
fecute
 ;

CHAP. XIV. UPON HO SEA. 185

fecute revealed Religion. Many of thefe, indeed, retain the name of a God, or
Gods, as lignifying, in their conceptions, an Animus Mundi, or phyilcal powers in
different parts of the material world. But they all difown and oppofe the God
of the Old Teftament, and the New ; the God of Jews, and of Chriftians. And
they endeavour what they can to overthrow his authority, by uniting their ef-
forts (in vain, but much in earneft) for the extirpation of the Chriflian Re-
ligion. If thofe, who, in the prefent day, are the moft forward, and mod
powerful!, in this work of impiety, afFeft a partiality for the Jews; it is be-
caufe they hope to draw them in, to take part in the demolition of Chriftianity ;

and, when that is etfedled, they expedl to find in Judaifm an eafy conquell.
Whether any part, or what part, of the Jews may be drawn into this fnare of
Hell, we prefume not to predidl. We hope, that the great majority of that
race will have too much difcretion to be duped. This at leaft we know, that
ultimately the whole race of Ifrael, of the natural Ifrael, " will return and
" feek the Jehovah their God, and the David their King. Tliey fhall re-
" turn, and, fitting under his fhadow, they will flourilTi." The head of the
fadlion leagued againfi: us and them, againfl: our God and theirs, is the Devil.
If I am not much mifi:aken, he is more than once named in Scripture yti'3

the participle Benoni Kal being ufed as an appellative in the fingular number,
to denote " The Rebel:" " The Apoftate." And the fame participle in the
plural, which is the word here, denotes the followers of that chief, " Rebels,"
" Revolters.''

(Q) This ninth verfe, the clofe of Hofea's written prophecies, much refem-
bles thofe grave moral yvtZ^ott, with which the Greek tragedies are ufually
clofed by the chorus. But for the weightinefs of the matter, and the limpli-
city, brevity, and folemnityof eafy unaffedled di(5lion, it is not to be equalled
by any thing the Attic Mufe, in her fobereft mood, produced.

Having given in my Preface, an enumeration of alterations, in the text of

this Prophet, which, though adopted by Archbifhop Newcome, I have thought
proper to rejedl ; I here fubjoin a lift of emendations I have myfelf made ; not
by mere conjecture, in any fingle inftance, but upon the authority of the moft
celebrated editions, manufcripts, and antient verfions.

B b PRINTED-
 [ i6 ]

PRINTED TEXT, EMENDATION AUTHORITIES.

CHAP. II.

6. rr-irn Syr. See (D).

CHAP. VI,

iN:iio Old Printed Texts, and MSS.

See note (A).
CHAP. VIII.

5- Complutens. otlier edit, and MSS.

See note (E).
10. ant; Editt. MSS. and verfions. See(L).
12. Keri, and MSS. See (N).

CHAP. IX
2 Beft editt. andMSS. See (D).
8 Editt. and MSS. See (L) and (M).
12, Editt. MSS. Verfions, Houbigant,
Newcome. See (S).
CHAP. X.

6. Editt. and MSS. See (K),

lO. Keri, and MSS. See (P).

15- Editt. and MSS. See (T).

CHAP. XI.
a.'DrT'iSa in i wordcn ^J3a in two LXX.Syr.Houbig.Ncwc. See(C)
CHAP. XII.
5- by) Editt. MSS. See (C).

CHAP. XIII.
2. D213nD MSS. See (A).
Beft editt. and

5- r)y\nbn Editt. MSS. See (F).

14- y-\2-t Editt. MSS.and Verfions. See (V).

CHAP. XIV.
5- The Oriental Synagogue.

7- Editt. and MSS. See (F).

'I. Editt. and MSS. See (N).

Thefc
 [ iS7 ]

Thefe nineteen are the only emendations of the printed text of Vander
Hooght (according to the edition in Svo, at Amfterdam, 1705, which has for
many years been the ftandard), which I have adopted. They are all, except
the ift and the 12th, fupported by a great confent of MSS, and old editions
of great authority, and fometimes by the antient verfions befides. The ift

indeed refts chiefly upon the Syriac verfion, and the prefling^exi^ence of the
place, but not without countenance from the LXX in the moft material part.
The 12th is merely a divifion, of what appears in the printed text as one word,
into two, as it was redde by the LXX and Syriac, without the change or
tranfpolition of a fingle letter.

The learned reader will obferve, that I feldom take notice of any fuch va-
rious readings (and fuch make the far greater part ofothofe which the manu-
fcripts prefent) as give only a varied orthography of a word, without altering,
or in any way afFedling, either the fenfe, or the grammatical conftrudlion. Such
rarieties might deferve the attention of an editor, but to a tranflator they are
of little confequence.- *

I fubjoin a lift of the paflages, in which I have altered the flops.

B b 2 Altera-
 [ i88 ]

Alterations of Stops.

Chapter. Verfe.
APPENDIX.
 [ T9I ]

APPENDIX.

N I.

CORRECTIONS OF THE TRANSLATION,

WITH

ADDITIONAL EXPLANATOIiY NOTES,

Chap. II. lo.

vilenefs ." Perhaps " fhame" might be a better word.

See the reafon, note (G). Shame is, indeed, the word in the Bifhops' Bible.
The impoverifhment and devaftation of a rich country, by invalion and the

depredations of the conqueror, feem to be reprefented under the image of a

total denudation of the female perfon. Compare Ezek. xvi. 36. 37.

Chap. IV. 12.

Perhaps this whole verfe might be better rendered thus :
" My people confult
" their wood, and their ftafF is their monitor. For a fpirit of lafcivioufnefs hath
" driven them aftray, and they play the wanton, [withdrawing] from under their
" God." To " under God," is to be both under
be his government, and un-
der his care. And " to withdraw from under him," is at the fame time to re-
volt from obedience, and to renounce his prote(5lion. See note (I), and Ap-
pendix, N" II.

Chap.
19a A P P E N D I X, N I.

Chap. V. 10.
bounds," rather " land-marks."
Chap. VI. 8.

lying in wait for a man." Perhaps " lying '" wait for the
" paflenger" might be a rendering, which, though lefs hteral, might more
elearly convey the meaning to the Englifh reader. For the image is that of

a banditti, not lying in wait for a particular man ; but generally lying ia
wait, to take their chance of making booty of any traveller, whofe ill hap
might throw him in their way^

Verfe g.

committed lewdnefs," rather " wrought lewdnefs," which

was fome of the old verfions. For the priefts
the expreffion in are taxed,

not barely with fpiritual lewdnefs, as committed by themfelves,. but as the pro-
moters and abettors of it among the people.

Chap. VIII. 4.

When I fay, in the explanatory note ("), that " the only Kings of the If-
" raelites, of God's appointment, were thofe of the line of David in Judah,
" and of Jeroboam and Jehu in the ten tribes ;" I forget not, that Baallia in-

deed is fpoken of, in the Firft Book of Kings, as an inftrument in the hand of

God, to execute his judgements upon the houfe of Jeroboam; and Zimri like-
wife upon the houfe of Baaflia ; and Omri upon that of Zimri. But no one of
thefe feems to have received an exprefs commiffion for what he did, or an ap-
pointment to the kingdom, from any Prophet ; fuch as Jeroboam received from
the Prophet Ahijab, and Jehu from Elifha.,

Chap. XI. 6..

See N II.

N IL
 APPENDIX, N" ir. 193;

N II.

ADDITIONAL CRITICAL NOTES.

* Chap. II. 13.

her necklace," or, perhaps, her ear-rings. The word JT^ may-
be from the root ^^n, to perforate, of the form of from 183, r>''tt;}<T
n''")3Il

from U?K", and nm from ^^l ; and it may lignify an ornament of gold or fil-
ver, in open work, like what is now called filigramme, which feems to have been
in ufe in the higheft antiquity; for fuch, I think, were the ear-rings of Juno.

TpiyTwivcx, [/.opbivjoi' _ II. H. 182.

In the pierc'd auricle, on either fide.

She fix'd the trembling pendant, triple drop.
Of tender filigramme.

Filigramme ^j-oposvla. from i^dpo^i, like r\^n from V7n~

Chap. III. a.

Add to note (B).

St.- Jerome, and St. Cyril, of Alexandria, conceiving perhaps that the
Prophet, if he had once divorced his wife, could not legally take her
home again, imagine, that the adulterous woman of this chapter is a new
connexion formed after the difmiffion of Gomer. And in this opinion they

are followed by Eftius, Menochius, and Tirinus. Some other expofitors

of inferior note, taking up with this notion, interpret this fecond connexion
of the Chrifiian Church, confidered as a fecond wife, married after the divorce-
ment of the Jewilli. To this it may be objected; ift, that all that pafled be-
tween the Prophet and his wife (or wives, if in fact he took more than one),
muft be expounded by the analogy of God's dealings with tlie Church, con-
C c fidercd;
T94 APPENDIX, N" II.

fidered as the wife, in every period ; both when it was compofed of the natu-
ral Ifrael only, and lince the grafting in of the Gentiles. adly, It muft
indeed be admitted, that a woman,, feparated by bill of divorce, according
to the law, Deut. xxiv. i 4. after marriage had thereupon with a new huf-
band, if that fecond marriage came to be diffolvcd, either by the death of tlie

new hufband, or by a formal divorce from him; could not be taken again
to wife by the firlt hufband. But nothing hindered her re-marriage to her former

hufband, if new efpoufals with another had not taken place. And further,

if no divorce had taken place bv bill, the jiglit of the hufband over her
perfon, notwithftanding any feparation (as we would now Ipeak of bed and
board) continued in full force. Now the flate of the jewifli nation in the
aggregate, even in their outcafl forlorn condition, is never reprefented in the
Prophets, as a divorce by bill. The queflion, in Ifuiah li. i. " Where is this

" bill of your mother's divorcement?" amounts to a negation of the exiflence

of any fuch inftrument. In Jer. iii. 8. Jehovah fays, indeed, of " back-
Aiding Ifrael," that is, of Samaria, that " he had put her away, and given
" her a bill of divorce." But nothing of tlie kind is faid of Judah, clearly dif-

tinguifhed in this prophecy from Samaria, and mentioned as her " lifter ;" that

is, Jier fifter, not only in confanguinity, but in the myflical wedlock. And,
notwithftanding the bill of divorce, " backfliding Ifrael," no new efpoufals

having taken place after the divorce, is afFedionately invited to return to her
former Jiulband,, who revokes her divorcement*. Further, it is to^ be ob-
lerved, that the Chriftian Church is never mentioned in prophecy as a fe-

cond wife. But the converts of the Gentiles are reprefented under the image
of a brood of children acquired to the original wife, pardoned, after a long
feparation, by the injured hufband, taken home again, and into favour. From
all this it appears, that, to reprefent the cafe between Jehovah and his Church,
the adultrefs, whom the Prophet is in this chapter commanded to love, muft
be Gomer lierfelf, the offending wife of the firft chapter ; not any other wo-

man. And in this opinion I am confirmed by the authority of Drnfius, Lowth

the father, and Wells, among ourfelves ; ofTarnovius, among the Proteftant
Divines of the Continent; and of Ribera and Ri^^tus^,^_of the^Churcl^
Rome. I muft obferve farther, that Hofea's marriage was an extraordinary

See Jer. iii. 614.

tianfadlion.
 APPENDIX, N IT. 195

tran{li6lion, under the fpecial direftion of an abfolute Sovereign, who had full
authority to difpenfe with the forms of any written law; and many things in
the treatment of the incontinent wife feem to have been more conformable to

the praftices and cuftom of mankind in general, in the earlieft ages, than, to

the particular pr-ovifions of the Law of Mofes.

Chap. iir. 3.

neither will I with thee." The negative ab is carried over tO'

this from the preceding claufe, by the force of the copula. Nothing
more common. So that the fcnfe is the fame, as if it had been written'

Chap. IV. ir.

When I faid that the feven texts, produced in pages 73, 74, " are the only
" inftances in tlie Bible, in which a noun, or what ftands as a noun, follov/-
*' ing the verb 2^V, is conneAed with the verb by b ;" I had overlooked an
eighth, in i Cliron. xvi. 37. in which,, taking the paflage as it is rendered
in our public tranflation, the immediate obje6t of the verb may feem to be
connerted with it by ^ " So he left there [o^y iiyi^ before the ark of the
' covenant of the Lord Afaph and his brethren [vns'71 =)DN'?]." But, upon a.

critical confideration of the paflage, it will appear, that the immediate objeA
of the verb is not " Afaph and his brethren," but the proper names, in. v, 38,
39, 40, 41, 42. And the fenfe is, that he left thofe perfons to Afaph and his
brethren ; that is, under their direction and fuperintendance. And the whole
fliould be thus rendered. " So he left there, before the ark of rhe covenant
*' of Jehovah, under command of Afaph and of his brethren (lo minifter be,-
" fore the ark continually, as every day's work required (38) Obed-edom and
" their brethren threefcore and eight : Obed-edom alfo the fon of Jeduthun,
" &C." Obferve, that the prefixed to CHJ^ l3y at the beginning of verfe 38,.
1

fhould not be rendered " and," for it is the particle of fpecification. " He
^ left under command of Afaph and his brethren, &c. viz. " Obed-edomj.
" &c." Of this ule of 1, fee p. 53-^

Verfe 13.

Add to note (I).

Ifind I am quite alOne in taking this claufe, " let their flafF cherefcre
" give them anfwers," as I Itill think however it may be taken, asafevere
^ c a.
menace
^p6 AT P E N D I X, N 11.

menace of dereliflion. I have offered therefore, in N I, another tranf-

latlon of this whole verfe ; in which this claufe is given as a repetition only,
in other words, of the aflertion contained in the former ; or, at moft, as al-

leging againft the Ifraelites a fpecific inftance of the crime of idolatry, charged
generally in the former claufe. In this mention of the flafF, as giving oracular
advice, fome have imagined an allufion to a very antient fuperftition, men-
tionedby the grammarian Feftus. w-hich confifled in the adoration of a peeled
Itick, the.fymbol of fome Deity. And I cannot but think, there is fome
as

ground for the conjedlure. The Hebrew word bpD, thougli given as a root by
Buxtorf and moft lexicographers, is, by fome grammarians, deemed a verbal

from the root ^"^p, " to polifh," or, " make fmooth." If this be the true de-

rivation of the word, and it is certainly very plaulible, its proper fenfe muft
be that of a peeled ftick, or wand, trimmed by the knife of all the lateral twigs
and buds, and di^-efted of the outer bark or rind ; and fo made perfedlly fmooth
and bare.

TO iJLsv iSTToli (PmXKk ^ o^ng

Ov^' d'jcxOtjXricnr vS'spi yap p J yjxXy.oq s'xs^/e

il'vAXa Ti ^ (pioiov.

Certainly the word is vifed but once for a growing twig, viz. Jer. i. ii. And
it is remarkable, that, in the old Latin language, the name of the deified wand
was, according to Feftus, a word of ftmilar etymon and import. " Delu-
" BRUM dicebant fuftem delibratum, i. e. decorticatum, quern veneraban-
*' tur pro Deo."

Verfe 18.
her great men." rT-J^a her, i. e. Ephraim's. Of tliis anomaly of
gender, fee the Preface.

Chap. V. 2.

I read, i2''O0, not C^'^.

Verfe 4.

Of the fix paflages, in which the LXX are faid (p. 81) to have rendered

word D^^VVD by i^yct, I find, upon a re-examination of them all, that two
the
are
 APPENDIX, No II. i9f

are doubtfull : namely, Jer. xxi. 12. and 14. For the different editions of the

LXX vary very much. Trommius feems to have had no better authority, for
giving J'pyoj as the rendering in thefe two texts, than the Scholia of the
Frankfort Septuagint. In the Vatican and the Alexandrine jMSS, we have no-
thing at all in the Greek word DTVbbvo: the claufes, in which
to render the
it occurs in thefe two verfes, being entirely omitted. Grabe fupplies the de-
fe<5l, under an afterillc, as from the Hexaplar text and he gives the word ;

i7rtTijhviJ.cloc. Under this uncertainty, thefe two texts of the LXX fhould be
taken as neutral, with refpeft to any interpretation of the word. But this in

no degree afFedts the refult of the difquifition.

Verfe 13.
the King who takes up all quarrels."

Add to note (K).

Theodoret underftands this King, of the King of Egypt. But I rather

think the AfTyrian, named in the preceding claufe, is infroduced again here,
not by name, but by charadler. For in the next claufe, it is evidently
faid of one and the fame perfon, that " he will not be able to repair the da-
" mage," made in Ephraim by the moth ; or, " to make a cure of the cor-
" rupted fore," created in Judah by the worm in the fleili.

Verfe 15.
they will rife early to feek me." The verb iianrTO^ is plural.

IVIany MSS. give *3Dl"in2^*. It is not unufual, however, for the cremcntum %
of the third perfon plural of verbs, to be dropped before the para-
gogic 3, followed by a pronominal fuffix : the abfence of the 1 being
marked, as in this place, by the point Kibbutz under the lail radical ;

'JJNV::' N*?! 'JJ-^HK'' nJVK N^l 'JJNnp' Ti '. In which place, however, the

three verbs are all written full in many MSS. Sometimes the 1 is omitted be-
fore the fuffix not preceded by the paragogic 3. Indeed, this omiflion is univer-
fally incident to the perfonal increment ">, whenever that increment fhould
regularly take place. The fecond perfons plural praet. both mafcidine and
feminine, change their proper termination Q and ] into 1 before the fuffixes.
But this 1 is often omitted. The 2d and 3d perfons plural feminine in the fu-
ture change their termination Hi into "j before the fuffixes. And this 1 again is

' Prov. 1. 2,8.

frequently
 198 APPENDIX, No n.

frequently omitted. And the omiffion of the ^, in all thefe cafes, is invariably
marked by the point Kibbutz under the third radical of the verb.
take this omiffion to be a change in the letters of the verbs by the fuffixes,
I

originally belonging to the language, independant of the points ; and as

fuch
it confidered by the great antagonift of the Maforetic punauation.
is
the
learned Mafclef.

Chap. VI. 10.

a horrible thing." ^n'1yt^^ The fomi of the noun is certainly
very fmgular. Two MSS give mnW, in which form, as Archbilhop New-
come obferves, the word occurrs twice in Jeremiah ^. But this feems not a
fufficient reafon for altering the text. The Keri, and many MSS, as the fame
learned Prelate has remarked, give nnny ; which confirms the form in the
printed text in the moll extraordinary part of it ; the termination n* . As
for the infertion of the t between the two relVs, this is not uncommon ia
nouns formed by the re-duplication of the third radical.

Chap. VII. 10.

f^ek him." in^'pn. Vide fupra, V. 15.

Chap. VIII. 7.
fhall fwallow it up." inj?Vn;. Vide fupra, V. 15.

Chap. X. 14.
and all thy fortrcfles fhall be demoliflied." Obferve, that :a
the original, the fmgular ^21, not the plural "in:i2D, is the nominative cafe
to the verb niv. There is therefore no anomaly of the number.

Chap. XI. 6.

weary itfelf." Or, be weary." Or, fall furioufly

" upon." Or, play havoc in."
The verb nbn may be either (ill) the third perfon fing. prgeterit. in the maf-
culine form of the root n'^n ; or (sdly) the third perfon fing. prseterite in the fe-
minine form of the verb ^in ; or (adly) the third perfon fing. prsct. fern, of the
rerb 'ybn. As the iiril it will render, " weary itfelf," or "be wearied," if m
' V. 30. and xjuii. 14.

anomaly
 A P P E N D I X, NMI. .
199

anomaly of the gender, of which the inflances are frequent, be admitted ; the
noun 3"in, whicli is the nominative cafe, being feminine.
2. n"?rr, being taken in the fecond manner, will give the fame fenfe, if an
intercommunity of fenfe be allowed between r\bn and ^"in in the fecondary

fenfe of the former, of being exhaufted with continued toil.

3. rhn taken in the third manner will render, " fall furioufly upon ;"

or, " play havoc in ;" which two lafr renderings come to the fame thing.
As for the fenfe of " reftlng upon," or " abiding on," given in our public

tranilation, and by the majority of interpreters, it is altogether inadmiffible.

For neither of the roots bin nor "p"?!! fignifies " to remain, abide, or continue in."

The words, which, in the fenfe of continuance, or abiding, are placed in the
Lexicons under the root b^^, are fome to be referred to the root bfl* ; others
are mifinterpreted, and belong to the root b'?n in another fenfe: none of them
to the root b^r\^ But to the root bw, the word rdn of the text cannot be
reduced. The exprefiion in the Bifhop's Bible, and the Englifh Geneva, in-
ftead of " abide on," was " fall on," which was much better.

Of the two renderings, i. " weary itfelf ;" or, " be weary." 2. " fall
'' furioudy upon;" or " play havoc in;" either is admiffible, and well fuited
to the context. But, in my own judgement, I abide by the former, as the
better of tlie two.

Verfe 7.
they called them." li^'^i?!. See V. 15. and viii. 7.

Chap. Xlir. note (D).

When I fay (p. 149), that the abominable cufirom of infant facrifice was
more antient in the kingdom of Samaria, than of Judah ; I fpeak ftridly of
the comparative antiquity of the cuftom, as among the Ifraclites themfelves.
The temple, built by Solomon, to Moloch, was for the gratification of his
Ammonite concubines. And they, thofe foreign women, " burnt incenfe,
" and facrificed in it." But it appears not, that the King himfelf, or any of the
race of Ifrael in his time, nor till long after, were partakers in thofe impious
rites. The ereftion therefore, of this temple, fhcwed a propenfity to this fpecies
of idolatry ; but was not the beginning of a permanent cuftom. On the con-
trary, the worfhip of the Tyrian Baal, introduced by Ahab, was the be-
ginning of a pra(Stice, wlvch, though checked for a fhort time by Jehu, was
daily
 30O A P P E N D I X, N ir.

diil}^ gaining ground, in both kingdoms ; rofe to its height in that of Samaria^,
about the time of Menahem ; and afterwards, in the reign of Ahaz, in the
kingdom of Judah.

Chap. XIII. 14.

I have faid in note (T) (p. 159), that the Hebrew names of Hell and the Grave,

Sheol and Keber, never are confounded, by the facred writers. But although
Keber is never ufed for Sheol, to fignify Hell j there are five texts, in which the
contrary may feem to have taken place ; namely, the ufe of Sheol for Keber, to
fignify the repolitory of the body, rather than the manfion of the departed fpirit.

Thefe five texts are. Gen. xlii. 38.; xliv. 29. and 31.; i Kings ii. 6. and 9. But,
iipon conlideration, it will appear, that in every one of thefe, the thing to be
be exprefled is neither " Hell," nor "the Grave," particularly, and as diftinft

the one from the other, but the Hate of Death : and this ftate is exprefTed un-
der the image of a place of refidence of the dead colledlively. And for this

place, taken in the grofs, not as divided into the tv/o feparate lodgements of
the fpirit and the carcafe, the word by^V is ufed. It is therefore very ill ren-

dered by the word " Grave," even in thefe texts ; and " Hell" would be a bet-
ter rendering. Becaufe the onlv general place of refidence of the deadxollec-
tively is that of the departed fpirit. The Grave is no general place, lince
every dead body has its own appropriate Grave. Perhaps in thefe inftances the

word Sheol \\on\d be beft exprelFed, in Englilh, by a periphrafis, " region of

" the dead," or " dwelling of the dead," or " the nether regions."

There is yet a fixth text, Pf. cxli. 7. in which we read, in the Englifli Bi-

ble, of" bones fcattered at the Grave's mouth;" but, in the Hebrew,
" at the mouth oi Sheol." This pafllige is often alleged, as an evident inftance

of the ufe of b"lNt> for tlie Grave. But the fa6l is, that here we have no mention
of the Grave at all. For the Pfalmifl: is clearly fpeaking of the bones of per-
Ibns maflacred, whole bodies never were in any Grave, but had been left to

rot, unburied, upon the furface of the earth. And the mouth oi Sheol is this

furface, confidered as the entrance of Sheol; which, in the imagery of the

facred writers, as well as of the oldeft Greek Poets, is always conlidered as ia

tlie central parts of the earth's hollow fphere.

T',)7.s uuhl, ',]yj (2cl^ig.ci' 17:0 y^or.g sf/ [2:yi9^ov

'Ev9oi


APPENDIX, N II. of

Ti(r<ycv iv:-f,6' dihi^ oo-ov }ipoiVos I5' aVo yosiyjC. II. 0. i^. &c.

it is very curious to remark, by the way, that the Tartarus of Flotner, or-

his dungeon of the damned,

*

^ I'v 'loTT^og T Kaovog t;

TiiTTOvf, ^1' K'Ajxonri, l2/x.9Ci ^'i TS TCifjupoi ji-tJV,

II. 0. 479. &c.

the craja cal'go inferiun of the old Latin poet, is a pit below Hades : to'

which in pofition it bears the fame relation, as Earth, the low manfion of Man,
to Heaven, the bright and blifsfuU feat of the Immortal Gods. Whence it is evi-

dent, that Homer's Hades was the dwelling of fpi^its not in punillimenr. The
Ihell, or cruft, of the terraqueous globe, on which we live, is the outer wall
of this nether region, conMing, according to this imagery, of' two parts ;

Hades, the uppermofi:, and Tartarus, below, in the very center. The whole,
without diftindlion of its p.irts, is denoted by Sheol^ in the Hebrew language.
And the furface of the earth is the outlide, or entrance, of this SJkoI in the
Pialmifi:. The foul, expelled from its cafe of clay by the weapon of the mur-
thercr, flees to Sheol, and leaves its exuviae at the entrance. Obferve, that
in the compound word "iS^, the noun ^9 does not always retain its proper and
literal fignification of " a mouth." It is ufed, -with great latitude, to fignify
the edge, properly the outfide edge, or beginning, of any thing. In this paf-
fage, neither LXX, or Vulg. exprefs any allufion to a mouth. n^p nh k^j. LXX.
Secus infernum. Vulg.
I have the fatisfadlion to find, that, with refpetfl to the diftindl proper
fenfes of the words Sheol and Keber, and in the interpretation of the myfterious
text in St. Peter's firft Epiftle, as far, at leaft, as the general principle is con-
cerned, I have the concurrence of a very learned writer, the Rev. George
Bennet, Minifter of the Gofpel at Carlifle : in a book, entitled, " Olam
*' Hanafhemoth or, a View of the Intermediate State," which was publifhed
;

about the very time thefe fheets were committed to the prefs. It is a work of
various erudition, and deep refearch. And a reader muft be very learned, who
Dd -
finds
2oa, APPENDIX, N** H.

finds not much in it to inftruft him; very dull, if he is not delighted with
the ingenuity that is difplayed even in thofe parts, in which he may fee reafon

to doubt the folidity of the author's argument, and the truth of his interpre-
tations ; and very captious, if in a variety of novel expofitions, many of which
he may think inadmiflible, he finds any thing to give him offence. I take a
particular pleafure in bearing this teftimony to the merits of an autlior, whom

I fufpeA to be of a different branch of the Chriftian family from my own,

and who fcems to have a different notion from mine of the prophecies, re-

lating, as I conceive, to the final reftoration of the Jewilh nation.

Chap. XIV. 7.
Add to note (H.)

Diodati refers this mafculine fuffix to God. For having rendered, " la ri-

** cordanza d'eflb fara come il vino del Libano," he gives this note :
" Vuol
" dire, la fua conofcenza e dottrina far^ fempre dolciffima al fuo popolo, a gui-
*'-fa di vino eccellente." He offers, indeed, another expofition, which refers
the pronominal fuffix to the people. " Iddio terra cariffimalamemoria del fuo-
" popolo." According to the former expofition "1131 is the people's conftant re-
membrance of God according to the latter it is God's
: gracious remembrance-
of his people. Both feem to me forced and unnatural.

No HI.
 APPENDIX, N m. ao3*

N' III.

Chap. I.. 7.

armour." The original word non^D feems to be ufed here as.

in Chap. II. 18. See the note L upon that place..

Chap. II. 6.

hedge up." Upon the fuggeftion of a very learned critic (as he

appears to be) in a periodical publication *, I have reftored the word " hedge
of our public txanflation, ill changed into " flop" in my former edition.

Verfe 16.
.. , . .
thou fhalt call me hufband, &c." Upon mature confideration, I
have thought it better to give the fenfe of the words Jshi, Baali, and
Baalim, in this place in our own language, than to retain the Hebrew words
themfelves : which, in deference to the example of' our public tranflation, I

had done in my former edition. Thefe words are mere appellatives, expreffive
of certain relations, between thofe, who are fuppofed to ufe them, and thofe to
whom they are applied. The relations, it is true, are allegorical. But the
words are ufed in their plain literal meaning, and as appellatives. Not as ap-
pellatives turned, by compounding, into proper names, like the words Jez-
rael, Lo-ruhama, Lo-ammi, impofed upon certain allegorical perfonages ;

thatis, upon perfons, which if real, are put however to reprefent other perfons,

the circumflances of limilitude between the type and antitype being pointed
out, by innuendo as it were, in the Hgnification of the proper name refolved
into component parts. But thefe are ufed only as appellations of certain,
its

well-known relations in fociety, by which other relations, real, or imaginary,

are adunibrated : a real relation between God and his people ; an imaginary

* See Monthly Review, March^ 1804,

*D d 2 relation
*204
'

A P P E ND I X, N' III.

relation between the people and their idols. And without the common
meaning of tlie words as appellatives, not as proper names, the paffagc is

unintelligible. In a tranflation, which adequately renders that common

meaning, the fenie of the paffage will be clear ; and not made more clear
by the introdu61ion of the original words ; which can throw no light upon tlie

ienfe to him, to whom the original laiiguage is unknown. In any tranflation,

therefore, all fuch words as thefe fhould be rendered in the correfponding ap-

pellatives of the tranflator's language. T muft obferve however, that, in this

inflance, either all three fliould be tranflated, or all three retained. The
middle way, taken by Caftalio, who tranflates the firft tvvo, and retains the

tliird, is the worft of all. For in this W'ay it appears not, how the difufe of

the lecond puts the third entirely out of the mouth of the fpoufe.

Verfes 19, 20.

to myfelf, I fay, &c." It feems high time, that the antient parti-
cle of afleveration, " Yea,'' fhould be laid afide. As the ufe of it is one of
the peculiarities of colloquial phrafeology, by which a certain feft is frequently
ridiculed vipon the ftage. Archaifms, once become ludicrous, ceafe to raife the
dignity of ftil6, and fnould be banifhed from Holy writ. And yet the parti-

cle, "yes," which I had ufed in my former edition, feems too familiar. I there-

fore exprefs the affeveration more folemnly by " I fay."

Chap. IV. II.

,
to devote themfelves to dalliance, Sec." The more literal ren-

dering of the Hebrew words, is certainly what I gave in my former edition

. " to give attention to." But the phrafe ' to give attention to," in

our language, feems to imply a ferious application of the mind to fome weighty
bufinefs, or grave purfuit. And it is not without fome impropriety applied to
a perpetual engagement in thofe riotous fcenes, which deflroy all attention.

The tranflation, which I now give, exprefl^es the full fenfe of the Hebrew
words, but without diftindlly conveying that particular notion of the volup-
tuary, which the original contains, as a perfon making loofe pleafures the
whole bufinefs of and having no employment for the powers of his
his life,

mind, but in the gratification of his appetites. But as the mere liter;'; render-
ing would hardly convey that notion to the Engliflr reader, who \vould only
 A P PE N D I :^, N- III. 205*

he ftruck with the feeming inconfiftency of the expreffion, of " giving atten-
tion" to that, by which the very power of attention is taken away ; I prefer the
trandation I, now give. Declaring, however, that neither this, nor tlie former,
nor any other, verlion I have been able to form of the Hebrew words, fatisfics

myfelf, 'as anfwering in every' particular to thb original.

Chap. V. 3.

At this very moment" Heb. " Surely now" D in this place is rather the
particle of affeveration, Revsrd, Prw/i?(f7o, than the caufal conjuncStion "For."

'' '
' -'
Verfe 4. '
i -'.. .ij.r

Tn my upoh tmspaflage, p. 78-^82,

note I have' faid -(p. 79.) that from th?
Po^l form of the verb ^W, two nouns are derived, botii hgnifying, " a little

child." I ihould rather have faid, both underftood to iignify " a little child."

But with refpeA.to the latter of the two bb^VQ, the LXX appear to have followed
a very different reading, in_ the' only paflTage in which the word is fuppofed to
be ufed in this fenfe, namely, If. iii. 12. The word, which the LXX found in

that place, muft have been T'b^iya, which they take as the participle Poel plural,

with the fuifix of the 2d perfon, and they render it, " are gleaning thee."
Now if this of the LXX be the true reading, then the word bb'WO no where
occi^rs in the Tenfe of" little child."

Verfe 9.
working conviftion." The grammatical conftruftion 1 take to
be this that
: noun fubftantive nnDI/l, governs the noun fubftantive, which
tiie

immediately follows it, "^^i^, by the prepofition 3 as the verb, from whichnt ,

is derived, would govern its objeft. This verb riD', from.itS'*nrim-".ry fenfe of
" making manifeft, fhewing," comes to fignify, " to prove," by argument.
And thence " to difprove" by argument, " to fhew to be in error," or, " in
fault," " to refute," " to convince." And from the fenfe of " convincingj"
in argument, it acquires the fenfe of " convincing" by other means. In par-
ticular by " punifhment," which brings a delinquent to a fenfe of his folly or

his crime. Hence the noun nriDin fignifies punifliment, which produces that
.. eftedl, or is applied for that purpoie. The day of " working convidtion in
the tribes of Ifrael," is the day appointed in God's counfels, for executing
*D d 3 thofe
'^?.o6 A P P E N D I X, N"' III.

thole judgements, which fliould bring the hardened Jews to a fenfe of Goi'i
power, his veracity in his threatnings, and their own fin and folly in difre-

garding the warnings of his prophets. The verb is rendered " work, con-
vi6lion," by Bifhop Lowth, If. ii. 4. From him I borrow the expreffion.
Tlie word " rebuke" of our public tranflation, which I retained in my
former edition, is much too weak for this, place, though in fome it might be
properly ufed.

Cliap. VI. 2, 3.
we fhall live in liis prefence, and attain, &c." I place Rebhia
only at ViS)"?, and remove thetSoph-Pafuk, to the end of the following word
?1J?13"I, with which I make thcfecond verfe end; and I begin a new verfe, and a
new fentence with n3T)2. Thus, underftanding the verb njnJ neutrally, I con-
ne6l the attaining of knowledge witli the living in the prefence, as the efterH; with
thecaufe. To live in God's prefence, is to live in the communion of his church,
receiving the inftrudlion of the Divine word, and the comfort of the facraments.
The attainment of knowledge, tliat is the true knowledge of God and a right

underftanding of his word, is the effect of thus living in his prefence. And a

further effedl of the attainment is, a tafte and liking for the knowledge fo

attained, a dcfire of perpetual proficiency in it, and a voluntary purfuit of it.

" Ira nobis veritatis fuavitas allubefcet, ut perpetuo fequi cuo/amiis." CEco- ^
lampad.

Chap. VI. 8.

Gilead " In my note upon this pafiiige In my former edition, I faid

that Gilead, the fon of Machir, might be the leader of the expedition againft
a city of the Amorites, which is mentioned Num. xxxii. 39, 40. But it is

more probable, that a grandfon of that Gilead, bearing the fame name, might
be that fuccefsfull leader. Gilead indeed, the fon of Machir, was the great-
grandfon of the Patriarch Jofeph. Mofes and Aaron were great grandfons of

the Patriarch Levi. But Jofeph was lo much younger than Levi, that his
great grandfons may well be fuppofed to have lived with the great great grand-
fons of Levi ; that is, with the generation next below Mofes and Aaron, and
to have had a confiderable part in Jofhua's wars. And upon this general view
of the fubjedl it was, that I thought it not improbable that Gilead, the fon of
Machir,
 APPENDIX, N^ III. 407*

"Machir, might be the captor of that city of the Amorites, which afterwards
bore his name. But when it is recolletfled, that Machir had children born
before the death of his grandfather, Jofeph *; and that Jofepli died not lefs
than 359 years before the Exodus ; it is quite incredible, that any fon of
Machir's, and hardly credible that any one higher in the pedigree of the
family, than one of his great grandfons, fhould be alive to ferve in Jofhua's
wars.
The latitude in which the Hebrew word for fons is ufed, and the inaccuracy
of the Hebrews in the enumeration of genealogical defcents, is in no inftance
more evident, than in that of the family of ManalTeh. In Jofhua xvii. 2. the
fame perfons are mentioned as ManafTeh's fons, which are mentioned in Num.
xxvi. 30, 31, 33, as the fons of Gilead ; i. e. great grandfons are called fons.

Chap. VII. 8.
mixed himfelf with tlie peoples." Tlie word a^oy in the plural,
always fignifies the various nations of the earth, the unenlightened nations, in
oppofition .to God's peculiar people, the Ifraelites. There is indeed a familiar
ufe of the word in common fpeech, as promifcuoufly compellative of the
individuals of a company; in which it renders the Englifh phrafe "good
folks," or " good people." But as applied to bodies politic, it is never ufed
otherwife, than to denote the many nations of the Gentiles, in oppofition to
the one nation of the Jews. I have therefore thought it neceffary to give it in
the plural in Englifh, " peoples," though not without fome violation of the
propriety of the Englifh language, which difowns the word in the plural form.
Bifhop Lowth in his Ifaiah, ftudious as he was of the purity of his Englifli
ftile, has taken the fame liberty for the fame reafon.

Chap. VIII. I.

The cornet at thy mouth be it like the Eagle, &c." To my tranflation and
exposition of this pafTage, it has been objedled by a learned friend, that Eagles
never fcream. And this I fuppofe is the opinion of modern naturalifts. But
of the fix fpecies of Eagles, enumerated by Ariftotle, the little Black Eagle i&

the only one, of which he fays it neither cries nor croaks. Of the next fpecies,

* Gen. 1. 23.

*D d 4 tli
*2oS APPENDIX, N" III.

Pelargus Monr.:na, he fays, that when it carries off dead carrion, it labours
tlie

muchjfqualls and cries. Hift. An. Lib. IX. c. 33. Pliny's teftimony is. more
explicit. He fays, of the little Black Eagle, that it is the only fpecies,, which
never fcreams or cries Sola line clangore, fine murmuratione Lib X. c. 3.

Bochart fays, that f/a?;^^rf is the true Latin verb to exprefs the ^oice of the

Eagle. In this he is fupported by the grammarians. Homer's Eagles fcreamed.

II. M. 207. ^fchylus's fcreamed. Tufc. Quaeft. Lib. 11. c. 30. If Eagles

have left off fcreaming, it muft have been fince the time of our firft F.dward.

For when the fhores of Caernarvonfhire were ftrewed with the dead bodies of
the bards, flaughtered by him, the Welch Eagles made a piteous fcreaming.

On drearj"^ Arvon's fhores they lie,

Smear'd with gore, and ghaftly pale ;

Far, far aloof th' affrighted Ravens fail,

The famifh'd Eagle screams and pafTes by.

From antient authorities it fhould feem, that three different notes were to be

found in different fpecies of the Eagle, i. A dolefuU whining cry, [/.ivv^l^av,

murmuratio. 2. A hoarfe croaking found, XsX-^x.iv. 3. A fhrill fquall, or

fcream, of furious favage joy. (Boav, Clangere, x>My^(xg. Horn.

It is not clear to me, that Ariflotle fays even of the Black Eagle, what he
certainly fays of no other, that it is abfolutely mute : only that its voice is not

ominous, being neither doleful! nor hoarfe. Certainly they were Black Eagles,

which fcreamed with horror at the fight of the murthered Bards; for Snowdon
is inhabited by no other.

However modern natiiralifls may decide, I think the prophet Hofea is likely

to have been in the opinion of Homer, ^fchylus, Ariil:otle, Pliny, Bochart,

Gray.

Chap. IX. 5.

All are gone ! Total devaluation ! The Hebrew founds literally.

as it was given in the former edition. " For lo they are gone becaufe of de-
vaftation." That is, they, the people of the land, harrafled with the ravages
and exadlions of the foreign invader, are fled from their homes to diftant re-

gions, and have left the country fo thinned of its inhabitants, that the few
remaining
 ,

APPENDIX, N III. 209*-

remaining in it are not enow to make an attendance at the flated feftivals. This
fame fenfe, and neither more nor lefs than this fame fenfe, the words now
given exprefsj as I conceive, with more force and perfpicuity, to the Englifh
reader.
Chap. X. II.
fhall harrow ^." It is matter of doubt, whether the Harrow
was in ancient times, more thain in the prefent, among the implements of
hufbandry in Paleftine. Be that as it may, the two verbs ty^n and yvD un-
queftionably fpeak of two different effeclions, however the fame inflrument
might be employed for botli : the one, that which is the proper operation of
the plough ; the other, that which with us is the proper operation of the har-
row. The verb therefore, " to harrow," may very well be ufed to render the
Hebrew mv as predicating the work done, by whatever inflrument. Indeed
*' to harrow" is the only verb in our language, to render the Greek ^MKoKo-nilv,
or the Latin offringere.
Verfe 12.
Sow to yourfelves for righteoufnefs, " that ye may reap." SoPifcator, " Ut
ttietatis ;" and to the fame efFed Rivetus. Imperativus pro futuro. Sic alio
loco " Accedite ad eum et illuminamini et comeditc bonum," i. e. comedetis.
according to mercy," pro ratione Divinae benignitatis, quas fupra
modum compenfat. Rivetus.
Verfe 13.
Ye have plowcd-in wickednefs. I think the verb vyin here is ufed in the
fenfe of plowing- in, the feed plowed- in being the objeft. And fo Rivetus
underftood it. Arando feminSflis : nam impietas fuit femen mandatum terrae,

boBorum fterili, malorum feraci.

Verfe 14,
- ;ind all thy fortreffes fliall be demolifhed." Obferve, that in the
original the lingular noun fubflantive ^3, not the plural "I^TliaD is the nomina-
tive cafe to the verb "WV. In this cafe therefore there is no anomaly of the
number.
Verfe 15.
brought to nothing." In afferting that the roots HOT and DH
have no connection, I have the misfortune to differ from my late very learned
friend Mr. Parkhurft.
*Dd 5 ^ Mr.
 '2IOi APPENDIX, N' m.

'
Mr. Parkhnrft cites Exod. xv. i6. Job. xxx. 37. Pfalms xxxv. 15. Jer.
xiv. 17. Lam. ii. iS. iii. 49. as paflages, in which the verb HDl is ufed to
fio^nify, " to be quiet, flill, compofed," obferving that in the laft of thefe

paflages, " the final n is clearly radical." Now in the firft of thefe paflages,

Exodas XV. 17. the word 10T may be deduced either from ni3T or aoi. The
Maforetes indeed have pointed it, as if they referred it to riDT. But not to n^i
in the fenfe of DD^, " to be quiet or ftill," but in its own fenfe, " to be like

to;" for the paflage might very well be rendered " by the greatnefs of thy

arm they fhall become like a ftone," i. e. petrified with difmay. In the

fecond and third paflliges, Job xxx. 27. Pf. xxxv. 15. the word is 1!2T, and
nothing, either in the letters or the points, makes it necefl'ary to refer it to nai
rather than to DH. In the 4th paflTage, Jer. xiv. 17. the word is ,-^''01^;

which might be the third perfon plural feminine of the future tenfe in kal

either of HOT or DDT ; for, in this perfon, the verbs quiefcent Lamed He,
and the verbs doubling Ain differ in form in the points only. Tlie Maforetes

indeed have applied the points, which, in their fyftem, belong to the verbs
quiefcent Lamed He. For thus they write it njOiri. But this is only one

infirance among many of their want of judgement. Alter only one of their
points, place Kibbuts inftead of Scheva under n, thus nyD"iri, and the word

will be the third perfon plural feminine future in Kal, regularly formed from
DDT- In the fifth piflage, Lamentations word is air\ which by ii. 18. the ;

no exploit of criticifm whatever can be reduced to nm, a root quiefcent

Lamed He. It muft be the third perfon future feminine Niphal of the verb
bOT, and nothing elfe. Of the fix paflTages, therefore, produced by Mr.
I'arkhurfl-, tliere remains only the fixth, Lam. iii. 49, in which any necefl^ty,

or propriety indeed, appears, of introducing the root nOT in the fenfe of DH, or

DDT. In the firft indeed the root may be riDl, but in its own fenfe.

In Lamentations iii. 49, the word is r^Qlty- In which Mr. Parkhurft fays
the n is clearly radical. But I cannot agree with him. The word, difregard-
ing the points, may be the third perfon fing. fem. future of the root DDT in

Kal, with the paragogic n. The verbs, doubling Ain, in the pcrfons both of
the future and the praeterirc, frequently aflume the paragogic n. And of this
w*c liave an inftance in this very verb, in another paflage of the prophet Jere-

miah. See Jer. viii. 14. It is certain, that many roots quiefcent Lamed He,
doubling
 A P P E ND I X, N^ Iir. 2n*
douljling Aiii, and quiefcent y\in Vau, have an intercommunity of fignification.
But tliis is not to be extended to all fuch verbs at pleafure, but confined to thofc,

of the promifciious -ule -of which we have unexeptionable inftances in the facred

text.

Chap. Xr. lo.

Like a Lion he fliall roar, &c." The moft learned Commentators

agree, tliat this roiring of the Lion is the found of the Gofpel ; and that the
fubjeft of this, and the following verfe, is its promulgation and progrefs, the
converfion of the Gentiles, and the final reftoration of the Jews, " ^a/i Leo
riigiet Clara et maxima voce prsedicabit Evangeliam, fays Pifcator. And to
the fame effect Rivetus and Bochart. " Ut Leo riigitu fuo advocat animalia
fill generis ad participationem pra;da3, tefte Plutarcho in Libro de Induftriil
Animalium ; fie Chriftus, potenti Evangelil voce, vocabit Gentes omnes ad
aeternse vitcc focictatem." Livelye. The preaching of the Gofpel, reaching
the remotcft corners of the earth, is frequently reprefcnted under the imaoe of
the loudeft founds. And this loudnefs of the found alone might juftify the
figure of the roaring of the Lion. But a greater propriety of the figure will
appear, if we recolle6l, that the firft demonftrations of mercy to the faitlifull

will be the judgements executed upon the anti-chriftian perfecntors : to whom

the found of the Gofpel will be a found of terror. This feems to have been
the notion of Drufius who fays, " Ut rugitus Leonis terret reliqua animalia,
;

fie Deus omnibus metum incutiet, cum fupplicium fumet de hoftibus Ec-

clefiae." And this receives much confirmation from a pafiTage in the prophet
Joel (in. i6.) in which, as Rivetus obferves, the preaching of the Gofpel is

defcribed as Jehovah's roaring from Sion. And although the Lion is not
mentioned by name in that place, yet the word for roaring is that, which
properly denotes the voice of the Lion. This, therefore, is another paffao-e,
in which the roaring of the Lion reprefents the preaching of the Gofpel. And
as fuch it is mentioned by the great Bochart. " Non immerito rugitus hlc
(nempe Joel IIL i6.) ut et Of. XL lo. appellatur Evangelii pra3dicatio ; cum
tam fit clara et fonora, ut per totum orbem audita fuerit, nee folum aures,
fed auditorum animos, vi fua perculerit."

* Dd 6 Verfe
*2ia APPENDIX, N lU.

Verfe ii.
fhall hurry," pav^ebunt, vel properabunt celeri.ter fe recipere ad

cum, nempe Chriftum. Vatablus. Such is the confent of the moft learned

interpreters in the general fenfe of this paffage, as a prophecy of the fuccefsfull

propagation of the Gofpel. And in this general fenfe of it even they agree,
as appears by St. Jerome upon the place, who look not for a final reftoration of
the natural Ifrael : although in the detail they muft differ from thofe, who
maintain, as I maintain, the literal fenfe of the prophecies relating to that
great* confummation of the fcheme of Providence.
Chap. Xlt. I-

Every day he multiplieth falfehood and deftrudlion," i. e. in multiplying

^his falfehoods, he multiplies the caufes of his own delkuftion. The propo-
fition is true, whether the falfehood be underftood of their hypocrify and in-
"fidelity tov/ards God, or of their treachery and bad faith in political treaties and

alliances. Multiplying their falfehoods in either way, they were daily multi-
plying the caufes of their own deftruclion. But from what immediately fol-
lows, their falfehood in their alliances feems more particularly intended. They
ate charged with making their court to the Egyptian ; at the very time when
4hey were entering into treaty with his enemy and rival the Affyrian.

For while at the fame time " This I take to be the force

aof the two 'vaus, prefixed the one to the noun Jina, the other to the noun p.

Verfe 7.

Canaan the Trafficker !" In my former edition I had given it more tamely.
" A Trafficker of Canaan !" For the improvement in the fpirit of the ex-
prefiion, which is very great, my reader, with myfelf, is indebted to the
learned critic already mentioned *.

Chap. XIII.
Verfe 15.
Nay in truth." This I take to be the true force of 'O in this
place. Equivalent to Imo or ^tdiiimo. " Nay truly, ' or " nay rarher," or
' nay and what is more." Inilead of (hewing fi^ns of peuitence, he is become
a total and pro felled apoflate.
* Monthly Reyeiw, March, 1S04,
INDEX
 [ 203 ]

INDEX OF AUTHORS and other PERSONS.

A. Bifhop's Bible, xxxiil. 74. 93. 119,

13s- 143- 179- I9I- 199-
AbARBANEL, page 91. 113. 138. Blaney (Dr.), 73. 83. 84. 12a. 125.
156. Biixtorf, 53. 98. 114. 123. 136. 196.
Aben Ezra, 69.
Aben Walid, 12,7.
Achan, 7. 32.
Achilles, no. Calafio, 79. 139.
TEfchylus, 1 12. 169. Calvin, 10. 51. 57. 64. 71. 89. 93.
Agamemnon, 112. 171. 102. 107. 116. ia6. 139. 143.
Ahab, 31. 43. 54. 115. 116. 149. 199. Capellus, 12. 129.
Ahaz, 9. 19. 28. 149. 151. 200. Capito, 102.
Aliijah, 192. Caftalio, 51. 53. 57. 129. 145.
Antichrill, 3. Chaldee. See Jonathan, Onkelos,
Aquila, 81.85. 86.91. 97. 99. 119. Targum.
120. 121. 156. 160. Chryfes, 171.
Arias Montanus, 57. 139. 155. Cicero, 43. 76. no.
Avenarius, 136. Clytemneftra, 112.
Cocceius, 139.
Coverdale, 1 79.
B.
Cyril (St.) of Alexandria, xvi. 59. 71,
Baal, 149. 199. 30- '37' '93-
Baafha, 192.
Balaam, ib<^.
D.
Bafil (St.), xvi.

Bate (Julius), 67. 172. De Roffi, 72. 8-, 92. 99. 102. 116.
Bennet (^George), 201. 119. 130, 136. 146. i6o.
D d 2 Diodati.
204. INDEX OF AUTHORS and other PERSONS.
Diodati, xiii. xviii. 57. 116. 119.129. Hofhca, 24. 25. 34. 149. 150.
Houbigant, xvi. 10. 12. 51. 53. 57.
139. 140. 171. 181. 202.
Drulius, 10. 57. 69. 71. 72.76.77. 60. 61. 73. 76. 85. 95. 119. 133.

86. 89. 95. loi. 102. 126. 128. 134- H3- '45- 167. 179. i8o.

129. 180. 194. Hutchinfon (John), 67. 105. 182. 183.

E.

Ellas, 136. Jehofhaphat, 17c.

Elijah, 31. 54- Jehu, 54. 192. 199.
Eliilia, 192. Jeroboam, 22. 43. 192.
EnglilTi Geneva Bible, xviii. 74. 93. Jerome (St.),- xvii. xix. xxi. xxx. 2.

139. 199. 56. 57. 85. 86. 88. 89. 91.92.

Eftius, 193. 97. 99. 104. 119. 121. 123. 130.

Eucherius, 52. 131. 156. 160. 165. 171. 193.

Eufebius, 89. Jezabel, 31. 54.

Jonathan, 51. 57. 85. 86. 88. 89. 99.
105. 123. 126. 128. 132. 139,

Feftus, 196. MI- 152- 153- 155- 136- 157- 180,

Jofephus, III.
Forerius, 177.
Jofiah, 67.
G. Junius and Tremellius, 51. 57. 72.

129. 139.
Gideon, 65. 130.
Gilead, 90. K.
Grabe, 197.
Kennicott (Dr.), 72. 85. 92. 99. 102.
Grotius, XV. 57. 59. 76. 96, 97. 98.
116. 119. 124. 130. 133. I4Z.
113. 129. 139. 176. 177.
146. 153. 154. 160. 179. 182.
H. Kimchi, 102. 123. 138. 141. 173.

He<ftor, 10.
L.
Herodotus, 14. 118. 119.
Hcfychius, 118. Laban, 66.
Hezekiah, 67. 170. Le Clerc, 174.
H)mer, no. 139. 145. 171. 193- 196 Livelye, xv. 10. 57. 58. 64. 69. 76.

200. 201. loi. 124. 127. 136. 179.

Lowth
 INDEX OP AUTHORS and other PERSONS. 205

Lowth (the Father), xiii. xix. 76. 194. O.

Lowth (Bifiiop), xxviii. xxix. 38. 86.
CEcoIampadius, 102. 141.
91. 100. 141. 176. 177.
Omrij 192.
Luther, 6. 10. 49. 51. 56. 72. 116.
Onkelos, 152. 153.
117. 127. 129. 139. 143. 145.
Oriental Synagogue, 179.
Lyra, 141.
Orphic Hymns, 103. 104. 117. 118.
171.
M.

Machir, 90.
Mafclef, 198. Parkhurft, 64. 80. 88. 94. 106. 118.
Maforetes, 80. loi. 107. 108. 128. 121. 131. 135. 136. 169.
132. 147. 177. 180. Patroclus, iio.
Maundrell, 49. Pekah, 2. 24. 28.
Mede (Jofeph), 174. Pekahiah, 34.
Menahem, 19. 23. 24. 25. 200. Pocock (Dr. Edward), xxiv. 10. 19.
Menochius, 193. 28. 55. 67. 6a. 76. 85. 91. 95. 96.
Mercer, xv. 141. 183. 102. 113. 114. 116. 120. 129. 179.
Micah, 68. Poole, 133.
Miriam, 170. Procopius, loO-.

Moncoeius, 67. Pul, 23. 28.

Moloch, 149, 199,
Munfter, 88. 126. 141. R.

Rahab, xiv.
N. Ribera, 194.
Rivetus, 70. 161. 194,
Naboth, 54.
Robertfon, 129.
Nebuchadnezzar, 66.
Newcome (Abp.), xxxiv. 10. 12. 38.
51.57.61.70. 72.73.76.97.119.
125. 129. 130. 134. 137. 142. Salmon the Juft, xiv.
172. 173. Sarpedon, 139.
Niebuhr, 49. Scott, 108.
Niffim (Rabbi), 155. 156. Seeker (Abp.), 72. 136.
Noldius, 53. 93. 99. 113, 140. Sennacherib, 3.
Septuagint,
2o5 INDEX OF AUTHORS Ai<rD other PERSONS.
Septuagint, xxxiii. .^i. 57- ^^- ^4- 69.
70. 7j. S8. 90. 91

99. 102 10 D'

 [ 207 3

INDEX OF TEXTS
ciT'ED, and occafionally illustrated, in the Notes upon Hosea.

N.B. The Texts which are particularly explained, or illuftrated, arc diftinguiflied by an afteriflt.

Genesis.
20 S INDEX OF TEXTS, Sec,

Judges.
 INDEX OF TEXTS, kc. 2.09

Chap, iij. 10.

2IO INDEX OF TEXTS, &c.

Chap. *xi. 3.
 i 211

INDEX OF HEBREW WORDS and PHRASES

EXPLAINED IN"

THE NOTES UPON HOSEA.

PU 121
Page 156 rn
103 105. 106.
108
103. 106. 108
6a

70
51.69
70
63
not* 60
loa. 106 ,11X3

106
: 2,5. 126
63
Ilex 180 nn3
T)3
93
62 1S>

I ma
51. 52. 9a m3
138 iD\"i
212
 INDEX
>1S)

in?
Dnp
np
aiop
 9

[ ai4 3

INDEX OF THINGS.

A. tribe, vi^hlch furvived the war

of GIbeah 35
Beth-x\rbel.
Hades equivalent to the Hebrew
Sheol P- 157
Shalman's deftrudtion of Beth-
Arbel a fadl not recorded in
But not
damned
the

place of the
201
hiftory 129

Antichrist. Bread op Men.

The deftrudlion of him pre-
What III

didled 3
BUBASTIS.

Ass.
Name both of an Egyptian city,
and the Divinity worfhipped
Wild-Afs. Selfifhnefs of the
animal there 118
27
Obfcenlty of the rites ibid.

B. Obfcene emblematical figure,

Baal-Peor. whence the idol had its name
The Artemis, or Prothyraea, of the ibid,

Greeks. The Juno Lucina of A title of Ills ibid.

the Latins 117 BUSBATOS.

The Divinity worfhipped at Bu- Thracian name of Diana 118
baftis ibid. BUXTORP.
Not Dionyfus, nor Priapus 1
1
His diftin(^on, in the conftruc-

Benjamin. tion of a finite verb with its

Small proportion of the whole infinitive, unfounded 53

C. Calf.
 .

INDEX OF THINGS. )
215

Cup op Consolation'.
Calf. What 1 10
Jeroboam's Calves, mutilated imi-
tations of the Cherubic em- D.
blems ix Delubrum.
Idolatry of the Calves an original In the old Latin a name for a

invention of the Ifraelites deified flick 195

16. 97 Dionysus.
The Calf at Bethel the principal Not Baal Peor 119
idol 122 Divorce.
See Human. Divorce by bill hindered not a
Captivity, re-marriage, if efpoufals to

Babylonian, return from; not another huAand had not taken

the reftoration predifted by place 194
Hofea, chap. i. 10, 11, 59 The rejeftion of the Jews never
Small numbers of the returned reprefented under the image of
captives 59. 60 divorce by bill - ibid*

Christians
Marked their perfons with the E.

name of Chrift, or the fign of Egypt.

the crofs 100 Living animals worfhipped in

Church. Egypt, not images of them 98

The Chriftian, never reprefented Emendations.
under the image of a fecond Lift of reje(5led emendations
wife J 94 xl xlili

GONJECTURAI, EmkNDATIONS Lift of emendations received 186

Nc* tO' be admitted xxxiv Enallage.
Except with reflridlion to certain Of the abfolute and conftrucH:'

cafes fpecified xxxviii ftates, how folved 173

Pocock's judgement of them 129 in fome cafes admitted ilfid,

CoKRUPTioisrs Esdrine
Of the facred text erroneoufly Edition. Since the captivity the
fuppofed to- be a caufe af ob- only fource of authentic texts
fcurity xxxiv xxxvi
Ephod,
2 l6 INDEX OF THINGS.
Ephod. 64. 68. in that war, comparatively
Principal part of the High Priefl's fmall 35
robes 65 Gilead.
Principal paK of the drefs of A city built by Machir's fon
fome idolatrous images ibiii. Gilead 90
The word ufed by Metonymy for The fame afterwards called Ra-
the image itfclf ibid. motli Gilead ibid.

"EpMA. The name of a large tra(5l of

"Ef/xa us-oKy,o:, a great warrior, country ibid.

why fo called 139 Gilgal.

The place of the firft offence of
F.
the Ifraelitcs in the Holy Land
FiLIGRAWME.
Ornaments in filigrammc of the
A place of worfhip in the days of
higheft antiquity 193 Samuel 33

Forms of Prayer Afterward a place of refort for
In ufe in the earlieft ages both
idolatrous purpofes ibid.
among the Jews and tlie Hea-
God.
then 270. 271
The excellency of Jacob, or of
Fruit of the Lips,
Ifrael 84
A Scripture phrafe expounded by
St. Paul, without allufion to H.
Hofea 1 75
Habit.
In what paffage of tlie Old Tef-
How afcribed to God 81
tament the phrafe is really to
Harvest.
be found 176
Not a type of judgement ai
Funeral Rites 109, &c.
Ufed for the ripe fruit of the
Furrows.
vine 91
Tethered down to two furrows,
Hebrew Text.
a proverbial expreflion 127
Corrupt ftate of it before Ezra's

G. revifion xxxvi
Gender. See Number.. Hell.
Gibeah. The proper fenfe of the word
Lofs of the 1 1 confederate tribes, 46. 158
Mifap-


INDEX OF THINGS. 217

Mlfapplication of it in the Eng- Human.

lilTi Bible ibid. Human facriflce, the cuftom
The Hell which our
into Lord more antient in the kingdom
defcended 138 of Samaria, than of Judah
Hell and Death jointly perfoni- 149. 199
fied 159. 163 Human victims facrificed to the
HiPHIL. Calves 148 150
Hiphil future of verbs quiefcent The practice not introduced by
Phe Jod 113 Hofhea 150. 151
HoSEA.
Probable duration of his miniftry

and life v
I and J.
He belonged to the kingdom of
Judah vi. xxiii

Principal fubje6l of his Prophe- Jacob.

cies vi. XXV Excellency of. The temple fo
His particular charadler as a Pro- called 84
phet vii God fo called ibid.

His ftile XXX Jareb.

Caufes of its obfcurity The King of AfTyria fo called
xxix XXX iv 18. 86. 197
Metrical divifion of his compoli- Idolaters
tion loft xliii Always perfecutors 56
His marriage a real tranfailion Marked themfelveswith the name
viii. XV of their God 100
The incontinent wife a type of Idolatry.
the whole Jcwifh people ibid. Originally what ix
Her incontinence commenced Progrefe of in the ten tribes
before her marriage xiii 43. 148 131
The Prophet"'s treatment of her Jews not untainted with it, after

not ftriftly conformable to the the return from the Babylonian

rules of the Mofaic law 1
95 captivity 8
Her three children types of three Jehu,
feveral divifions of the people Not criminal in the deftrudlion
xvi of Ahab's family 54
F f Jews.


ai8 INDEX OF THINGS.

Jkvvs. Just Onk,
Tiieir final reftoration a princi- A title of Chrift 181
pal article of Prophecy Kennicott (Dr.).

xx\ i xxvii Ufe of his collations xxxix

Jezrakl. King,
Of the city and the plain 53 A title of MefTiah 183
Etymology and import of tlie King and King's Son, one and
myftical name of Hofea's fan tlie fame perfon //;'</.

xvii xix L.
Signification of the type xvii.
Lebanon.
9-58
Fragrance of its greens 49
Blood of Jezracl i. 54 ^6
Excellence of its vines ibid.
Imagks,
Letters.
Graven and mclten the fame
tiling 1^4
Similarity of in the
phabet, mifapplied as an argu-
Hebrew al-

Infimtive.
ment for conjeAural emenda-
Conflru6fion of the with
the finite verb
infinite
dation xxxix. 153
53
Lip.
Job,
Peculiar fenfe of the word when
Book of. True caufc of its ob-
fcurity xxix
nymy
ufed in Scripture

by meto-
171. I jz
Isis
Lo-AMMI.
AVorfliipped imder the title of
Myftical name of Hofea's younger
Bubaftis 118
fon, his third child. Its ety-
Israel.
mology, and import xxi
Prcdift ion of union of Ifrael and
Lo-RUHAMAH.
Judah not fulfilled in the re-
Myflical name of Hofea's daugh-
turn from tJie Babylonian cap-
tivity 59
ter, his fccond child.
mology, and import
Its ety-
xx
Children of and Houfe of, ex-
preffions of different import 9 M.
Excellency of Ifrael. God lb Manuscripts (Hebrew).
called 16. 84 Probable comparative credit of
Juno. thofe ufed by LXX, and thofe
Her car-rings 193 now extant xxxvi
Memorial.
 - 1

INDEX OF THINGS. 219

Memoriai.. Parentalia 110

The name of any created thing Peace-offerings,
never fo called 144 Particularly typical of the worfhip

Metrical. of the Chriftian Church 177

Form of compolitlon in Hofea riEPi'AEinNA no
loft xliii Person.
Monarchy. Inconftancy in the perfon of the
A form of government approved pronoun or verb, a principal
in Holy Writ, and in the He- caufe of the obfcurity imputed
roic ages 45 to Hofea's ftile xxx
Mourners, PRIAPUS.
Meat of 30. 102. 109 Not Baal Peor iig
Mourning. Prickers 16. 77
Rites of among the Jews and Pride,
Heathen 109 Ufed to denote an affedlon of
the mind not criminal 83
N. Priest.
Nominative Absolute To difobey his judicial decifions
xxxi. xxxii. Li3^ 119 a capital crime 1

NOVENDIALES EPULffi III

Priefts taxed with negligence of
Number and Gender,. their duty
Anomalies of xxxii Priesthood.
71

Nurse. Levltlcal, abolition of it pre-

A go-nurfe 37. 135. 137 difted 85
Princes.
O.
Princes in the Old Teftament
Orcus,
not perfons of the Royal
Equivalerrt: to the Hefirew Sheol
Blood 85
Pronouns.
P. Ambiguity of. Frequent in the

Parallels, Englifh Bible, not in the ori-

Singular conftru(ftion of 154 ginal xxxili

Parallelism, Prophet.
In Hofea, imperfedl and obfcure Manner of Divine communica-
xliv tion with _52

F f 2 The
220 INDEX OF THINGS.
Tb.e name common to the whole SlLICERNIUM HI
order 114 Pradlifed among the Jews 1 1 a
Falfe pretences, to the gift 1
15 Slaves.
Prevarication in the exercife of SlaveSj foldiers, and idolaters,

the office ibid. marked with the name of the

Prevaricating Prophets taxed with owner, commander, or God
ftupidity and madnefs ibid. ICO
AboJition of the order preditfted Solomon.
12 King Solomon not himfelf a
worfliipper of Moloch 199
Q. Speak.
Quiescent To fpeak to and fpeak by 51
Verbs quiefcent Phe Jod how Spirit.
tJiey form the future Hiphil Lying fpirit in the mouth of
Ahab's prophets 1 16
Statue 68
R. Statue, Ephod, and Teraphim,
Rain. as mentioned by Hofea, prin-^
Former and latter 87 cipal implements of idolatrous
Ramoth Gilead. rites II. 64 69
A name diftinguifhing the city of Stick.
Gilead from the region of Gi- A peeled ftick an objeA of idola-
lead 90 trous worfhip 196
Sun.
S. A principal object: of idolatry
Selene. among the- Ifraelites 104
Both male and female i r8 The Supreme God of the Heathen-
Sennacherib. 103
The deftrudlion of his army not Its attributes in the Orphic fyftem
the deliverance of Judah prin- 103. 104.
cipally intended Hof, i. 7. a Syriac Version.
Septuagint. Why ufed by St. Paul in his al-
The verlion probably made from lulion to Hofea xiii. 14. in pre-
incorretfl copies of the lie- ference to the Hebrew text
brew teyt xxxvi 164. 165
T. Talk.
 INDEX OF THINGS. 221

T. Versions.
Talk Words 121 Authority of, for introducing va-
Take with you Words. rious readings xxxv. 152. 153
Senfe of the phral'e 168 Generally orer-rated xxxvi
Ta<I>02. How far fan6lioned by citations
Differs from Hades, as Keber in in the New Teftament 1 66
Hebrew from Sheol 159 Confent of in one reading, an.

Tartarus. authority of great weight xxxv

Homer's dungeon of the damned, Vintage.
diftindl from liades, and be- A type of judgement 2t
low it 201
Temple.
W.
In what fenfe the excellency of
Jacob 84 Weaning.
Teraphim. Weaning of Lo-ruhamah, what xxi
What 6668

V.
Veres. ZOROEABEL. (

Plural terminations of, changed Not the one head of- Juc^ah and
by fuffixes 197. 198 Ifrael 59,

eon-
 C a3 )

ERRATA.
VX HEBREW WORDK

Page.
 ;

[ "5 ]

ADVERTISEMENT.

-L HE Author finds, that he owes apology to the orthodox reader, for an omiflion, not of any-

thing effential to the elucidation of the Prophet; but in itfelf of greater moment, than any of the
Errata, enumerated in the foreg-jing lift, of the prefs or of the pen. It is, that he has omitted to
add this remark, at the end of the long note on the word " memorial," in chap. xii. 5. [See not
(F). p. 143]. Namely ; That the perfon, of whom it is faid, that the name Jehovah is his me-
morial, is no other, than he whom the Patriarch found at Bethel, who there fpake with the If-
raelites in the loins of their progenitor. He, whom the Patriarch found at Bethel, who there, in
that manner, fpake with the Ifraelites, was, by the tenor of the context, the antagonift with whom
Jacob was afterwards matched at Peniel. The antagonift, with whom he was matched at Peniel,
wreftled with the Patriarch, as we read in the book of Genefis', in the human form. The con-
flift was no fooner ended, than the Patriarch acknowledged his antagonift as God The Holy *>.

Prophet firft calls him Angel' ("]K'7S)j and after mention of the colluftation, and of the meet-
ing and conference at Bethel, fays', that he, whom he had called angel, was " Jehovah God of
" Hofts." And to make the aflTefrtion of this perfon's Godhead, if poffible, ftill more unequivocal
he adds, that to him belonged, as his appropriate memorial, that name, which is declarative ot
the very eflence of the Godhead. This Man therefore of the book of Genefis, this Angel of Ho-
fe.a, who wreftled with Jacob, could be no other than the Jehovah-angel, of whom we fo often
read in the Englifli Bible, under the name of the " Angel of the Lord." A phrafe of an unfortu-
nate ftrufture, and fo ill-conformed to the original, that it is to be feared, it has ledde many into
the error of conceiving of the Lord as one perfon, and of the Angel as another. The word of the
Hebrew, ill-rendered " the Lord," is not, like the Englifli word, an appellative^ exprelfing rank,
or condition ; but name Jehovah. And this proper name Jehovah is not, in th
it is the proper
Hebrew, a genitive after the noun fubftantive "Angel," as the Englifli reprefents it; but the
words mn' and *]{<^0, " Jehovah" and " Angel," are two nouns fubftantive in appofition,
both fpeaking of the fame perfon the one, by the appropriate name of the eflence (rendering, by
;

Its very etymology, the Xoyos t?5 o-ia;, if it may be permitted to apply logical terms to that which

is beyond all the categories) the otlier, by a title of office.

; " Jehovah-Angel" would be a better
rendering. The Jehovah-angel of the Old Teftament is no other than He, who, in the fullnefs
of time, " was incarnate by tlic Holy Ghoft of tlie Virgin Mary.".
Certain tilings have lately appeared in print, in a periodical publication % for the foundnefs of its
principles, and the abihty witli which it is conduded, of the higiuft merit, by which the author

" Gen. xxxii. 24. *

30. ' xii. 4. "
5.
' Aiiti-j.icoljin Review.
2 G 2 thinks
J26 ADVERTISEMENT.
thinks himfelf called upon, in this manner, to fupply his great omiffion. It is very extraordinar)',
that a writer, not unacquainted with the Hebrew Scriptures, and profefling a juft abhorrence of
tlie Socinian blafphemy, fliould inlinuate, that not more than one paffage of the Old Teftament is

to be produced, in which Chrift is denominated Jehovah. It is more extraordinary, tliat the at-
tempt to juftify the application of that one paflage to Chrift, -fliould be reprefented as the attempt
of a very modern writer, in which great pains have been ivajled. When the truth is, that the whole
work, in which all thefe pains have been wajled, is comprifed in not quite five o6tavo pages, not
clofely printed' : and the objeft of that Ihort traiEt is not to make any new application of the paf-

fage ; but to fhew, that the rendering of our Englith Bible, which expreffly makes the application
to Chrift, is fo ftrongly confirmed by the verfion of the LXX, in concurrence with all the old vcr-

fions, that it is for that reafon to be preferred to another offered by the learned Dr. Blaney, of which
the defender of the old verfion, too eafily perhaps, admits the Hebrew words to be equally fuf-
ceptible. It is very extraordinary, that this fame writer fliould fpeak of Dr. Eveleigh's pains, as
all employed to prove, that Chrift is once denominated Jehovah when the very fliort trat, in ;

which Dr. Eveleigh defends the old rendering of this one text, is nothing more than an Appendix
to his " Difcourfes on the Doftrineof the HolyTrinity," the 9th and loth of his Bampton lettures,
in which he produces innumerable inftances, from the Old Teftament, of the application of the di-

vine name Jehovah to the fecond perfon in the Godhead. Indeed, the word Jehovah, being defcrip-

tlve of the Divine Elfence, is equally the name of every one of the three perfons in that effence. It

is applied, in the Old Teftament, to every one of them, and to no one more frequently than the
fecond. This matter has been fo ably, thongh briefl)', touched by a Preftjyter of the Epifcopal
Church in Scotland in the Anti-jacobin review for May, that it is unnecelfary to fay more upon

it here ; except briefly to remark, tliat thename Jehovah, belonging to the three perlbns indilcri-
minately, as Amply defcriptive of the Eflence the compound Jehovah-Sab oth belongs pro-
;

perly to the fecond perfon, being his appropriate Demiurgic title; defcribingnot merely the Lord
of fuck armies as viilitarii leaders bring into the field, but the unmade felf-exiftent Maker and
Suftainer of the whole array and order of the univerfe,

,
See the learned Dr. Eveleigh's Appemlix to his loth Bamptou leflure.

_.

S'rinif.i b\ Nichols 0/1./ Sow,

RU I Jin l'.>llige, Flret.fl'cil.
 ON

CHRIST'S DESCENT INTO HELL,

AJfD

TMM IJWTJERMEJBI^TE ST^TE,

SERMON
OH

1 Peter III. 18, \g, 20.

BY SAISIUEL LORD BISHOP OF ST. ASAPH.

:lo^:: *
 ADVERTISEMENT.

It feeraed particularly proper, that this Sermon iliould accompany

this Second edition of IIosea, on account of the clofe connedlion of

th.c lubje^V, Mith the Notes upon the Thirteenth Chapter of the

Propliet. If it Ihould be faid, tliat, for the fame reafon, it might

have acconipauied the lirft edition ; the Author s anfwer is, that the

fnii edition of ITofea was publillied many months before the Sermon

'as coinpofcd.
 :

( 3 )

^ 1 Pf.TEB, iiu 18, 19, 20.

Be'mg put to death in thefleJJi', but quickened by the Spirit

By which alj'o he ivent and preached unto lite Spirits in Prifon,

Which fomclime were difuhedicnt, when once the long-fuffering of God

waited, in the days of Noah.

In the firfl: rudiments of our Chriftian Faith, comprifed in the Apoftles' Creed,
which we are made to get by heart in our earliest infancy, we are taught to believe
that " our Lord Jefus Chrift descended into Hell :" and this belief is folemnly
profefTed, by every member of the congregation, when that creed is repeated in
the daily fervice of the church. And it feemed of fo much importance, that
it fhould be diftinctly acknowledged by the Church of England, when we fepa-
rated from the Roman communion ; that our Reformers thought proper to
make it by itfelf the fubjedl of one of the Articles of Religion. They were
aware, that upon the fadl of our Lord's defcent into hell, the church-of Rome
pretended to build her dodlrine of purgatory; which theyjufHy efleemed one
of her worft corruptions. But, apprehenlive that the zeal of reformation might,
in this as in fome other inftances, carry men too far, and induce them to re-
ject a moft important truth, on which a dangerous error had been once
ingrafted ; to prevent this intemperance of reform, they afTert in the 3d article

of the 39, " That as Chrift died for us and was buried, fo it is to be believed,
" that he went down into Hell." The terms, in which they ftate the propo-
rtion, imply, that Chrift's going down into Hell is a matter of no lefs impor-
tance to be believed, than that he died upon the crofs for men; is no lefs a
plain matter of fadl, in the hiftory of our Lord's life and death, than the
burial of his dead body. It fliould feem, that what is thus taught, among the
firft things which children learn, fhould be among the plaineft. That what
. B h
 ;

4 ON CHRIST'S
is thus laid down, as a matter of the fame neceffity to be believed as our Lord's
paffion and atonement, Ihould be among the leaft difputed. That what every
chriftian is requited to acknowledge, as his own belief, in the daily afTemblies

of the faithful, fhould little need either explanation or proof, to any that have
been inftrucTted in the very firft principles only of the dodtrine of Chrift. But
fo it Is,what the fagacity of our reformers forelaw, the precaution, which
that

tliey ufed, has not prevented. The truth itfelf has been brought into difcredit
by the errors, with which it has been adulterated. And fuch has been the inr
duftry of modern refinement, and unfortunately fo great has been its fuccefs

that doubts have been raifed about the fenfe of this plain article of our creed
by fome, and by others about the truth and authenticity of it. It will there-

fore be no unprofitable undertaking, to fhew, that the afTertion in the Apoftles'

creed, that " our Lord defcended into Hell," is to be taken as a plain matter of
faft in the literal meaning of the words
to fhew, what proof of this fadl we

have in holy writ and laftly to fhew, the great ufe and importance of the fail,
as a point of chriftian dodlrine.

Firft, then, for the fenfe of the propofition, " He defcended into Hell," if

we coniider the words as they ftand in the creed itfelf, and in connexion with
what immediately precedes and follows them they appear evidently to contain
;

a declaration of fomething, which our Lord performed, fome going of our

I,ord to a'place called " Hell," in the interval of time between the burial of his

dead body, and his rifing to life again on the third day after that interment. For
thus fpeaks the creed of Jefus Chrift. " Was crucified, dead, and buried. He
" defcended into Hell, the third day he rofe again from the Dead." It is

evident, that the defcending into hell is fpoken of as an action of our Lord ;

but as an aftlon performed by him, after he was dead and buried, and
before he rofe again. In the body our dead Lord, more than any other dead
man, could perform no acftion ; for the very notion. of death is, that all fenfa-

tion, and acSlivity, and power of motion of the body, is, in that ftate of the
man, extinguifhed. This therefore was an ai^ of that part of the man, which
continues active after death; that is of the foul feparated by death from the
body ; as the interment muft be underftood of the body apart from the foul.
The dead body could no more go into hell, than the living foul could be laid

in
 DESCENT INTO HELL. $

in the grave. Confidering the words therefore, as they ftand in the creed as
the church now receives it, they feem as little capable of any variety of mean-
ing, and almoft as little to require explanation, as the word " buried." That
word defcribes no|taore plainly, to the apprehenfions of all men, what was done
with the inanimate Dody of our crucified Lord ; than thefe words declare what
was done by his rational foul, in its intermediate ftate. The only queftion, that
can poiTibly arife to a plain man's underftanding, is, Where or What the place

may be, which is here called Hell, to which, it is faid, our Lord, in the liate of
death, defcendcd ?

It is evident, that this muft be fome place below the furface of the earth. For
it is faid that he " dcfcended," that is, he went down to it. Our Lord's death
took place upon the furface of the earth, where the human
race inhabit. That

therefore, and none higher, is the place from which he defcended of confe- :

quence the place, to which he went by defcent, was below it. And it is with
relation to thefe parts below the furface, that his rifing to life, on the third day,

muft be underftood. This was only a return from the nether regions to the

realms of life and day, from which he had defcended : not his afcenfion into
Heaven, which was a fubfequent event, and makes a diftindl article in the

Creed.

But although the Hell, to which our Lord defcended, was indeed below, as
the word defcent implies it is by no means to be underftood of the place of
;

Torment. This is a point which requires elucidation, to prevent a miftake into

which the unlearned eafily might fall. The word " Hell" is lb often applied in
common fpeech, and in the Englifh tranflation of the New Teftament, to the
place of torment, tliat the genuine meaning of the word, in which however it

is ufed in many paflages of the Englifti Bible, is almoft forgotten ; and the
common people never hear 'of Hell, but their thoughts are carried to that dif-
mal place, " where the fallen angels are kept in everlafting chains under dark-
" iiefs unto the judgment of the great day." But the word, in its natural im-
port, fignifies only that invifible place, which is the appointed habitation of de-
parted fouls, in the interval between death and the general refurreftion \ That

" Sec Hosea p. 46, note n.

'

B z . fuch
 ;

6 ONCHRIST'S
fuch a place muH: be, is indifputable. P'or when man dieth, his foul dieth not
but returneth unto Iiim that gave it, to be difpoied of at his will and pleafure ;

wliich is clearly implied in that admonition of our Savitnir, " Fear not them
" which kill the body, but cannot kill the foul." But th^Dul, exifting after

death an4 feparated from the body, though of a nature imimterial, muft be in
fome place. For hoAxver mctaphyficians may talk of place, as one of the adjundls
of body, as if nothing but grofs fcnfible body could be limited to a place ; to exifl:
without relation to place, leems to be one of the incommunicable perfe(51:ions
'

of the Divine Being ; and it is hardly to be conceived, that any. created fpirit,

of however high an order, can be without locality : or without fuch determination

of its exiftence at any giveh tinieto fome certain place, that it fliall be true to
fay of it, " Here it is, and not elfewhere." That fuch at leaft is the condition
of the human foul, were it feafonable to go into fo abftrufe a difquifition, might
be proved, I think, indifputablyfrOnX' Holy. Writ. Affuming therefore that
,

every departed foul has its place of refidence, it would be reafonable to fup-
pofe, if revelation were filent on the fubjedt, that a common manhon is pro-
vided for them allj their nature being fimilar ; hnce we fee, throughout all na-
ture, creatures of the fame fort placed together in the fame element. ' But
revelation is not filent. The facrpd writers of the Old Teftament fpeak of fuch a
common mairlion in the inner parts of the earth : and we find the fame opinion
fo general among the heathen writers of antiquity ; that it is more probable, that
it had its rife in the earlieft patriarchal revelations, than in the imaginations of
man, or in poetical fidlion. The notion is confirmed by the language of the
writers of the New Teftament ; with this additional circumftance, that they

divide this central manfion of the dead into two diftinft regions, for the
feparate lodging of the fouls of the righteous and the reprobate. In this too

they have the ct)ncurrence of the earlieft heathen poets ; good

wiio placed the

and the bad in feparate divifions of the. central region \ The name which the
Hebrew writers gave to this manfion of departed fouls (without regard to any
fuch divifion) exprefles only that it is a place unknown, about which all are

curious and inquifitive. The writers of the New Teftament adopted the name,
which the earlieft Greek writers had given it, which defcribci it by the finglc

''
See Appeiuiix to Critical Notes upon Hofca, N" II. p; 201.

property
 DESCENT INTO HELL. 7

property of invifibilit}'. But for the place of torment by itfelf tliey had quite
another appellation The Englilh word " hell," in its primary and natural
meaning, fignifies notliing more than " the unfeen and covered place ;"'
and is pro-
perly ufed, hot 1^1 tliCOld and the New Teflrament, to render the Hebrew word
in the one, antPflie Greek word in the other, which denote th,e invitible man-
fion of difembodied fouls, without any reference to fuffering ". But being ufed
alfo in the tranflation of the New Teftament for that other word, which properly
denotes the place of torment ; the good fenfe of the word, if we may fo call it,

is unfortunately forgotten, and the common people know of no other hell but
that of tlie burning lake.
This certainly was not the hell to which the foul of Chrift defcended. He
defcended to hell properly fo called, to the invifible manfion of departed
fpirits, and to that part of it, where the fouls of the faithful, when they are de-
livered from the burthen of the flefh, are in joy and felicity.

That he fliould go to this place was a neceffary branch of the general fcheme
and projedl of redemption ; which required, that the Divine Word fhoukl take
our nature upon him, and fulfil the entire condition of humanity, in every period
and ftage of man's exiftence ; from the commencement of life, in the mother's
womb, ro the extindlion and the renovation of it. The fame wonderful fcheme
of humiliation, which required that the Son fhould be conceived, and born, and
put to death ; made it equally neceflary, that his foul, in its intermediate ftate,
fhould be gathered to the fouls of the departed faints.

That the invifible place of their refidence is the Hell, to which our Lord
defcended, is evident from the terms of his own promife to the repentant thief
upon the crofs :
" Verily I fay unto thee, to day fhalt thou be with me in
" paradile." Paradife was certainly fome place, where our Lord was to be on
the very day, on which he fufFered ; and where the companion of his fuff^erings
was to be with him. It was not Heaven for to ^leayei; our Lord after his
death afcended not, till after his refurredlion ; as appears from his own words
to Mary Magdalen ''. He was not therefore in heaven on the day of the cru-

^ See Critical Notes on Hoseaj chap. xiii. note Tj and Appendix N" II. p. 2so 202.
^ Jobnj XX. 17.

cifixion
 ON CHRIST'S
cifixion ; ir.d vA\tte Ic was not, the thief could not be with him. It was no
place of torment ; for to any fuch place the name of paradife never was applied,

it could he no other, than that region of repofe and reft, where the fouls of the
righteous abide in joyful hope of the confumraation of theirMifs. And upon
this fingle text we n^ight fafely reft the proof of this articles our Creed, in
t!ie fenfe in wlncli we'ie>'plain it; a fenfe fo plain and prominent in the bare
words, to every ona who is not milledde by the popular mifapplication of the
V
word Hel! : that it never would have been fet afide, to make room for expofuions
of more refinement, much lefs would the authenticity of the article ever even
have been queftioned, but for tlie countenance which it was fuppofed to give to
the dodtrine of purgatory, as taught in the Church of Rome; with which how-
ever it has not even a remote conne61ion. Time will not permit me to enter into
a particular examination of the difierent interpretations of tliis article, whiclu
have been attempted by thofe, who have not gone the length of propofing to
expunge it from the Creed ; becaufe they were well aware, that although it is

not to be found in any copy of the Creed, now extant, of an earlier date than the
latter end of the fourth century ; yet that Chrifr, in fome fenfe or other, def-
cended into Hell, was the unanimous belief of the Chriftian Church from the
cirlieft ages. I will offer only this general obfervation : that the interpretation,
which I have given, is the only literal interpretation, which the words will bear ;

iinlefs we would admit the extravagant me it feems, of the A'enera-

aflertion, as to
ble Calvin, that our blefled Lord adlually went down to the place of torment,
and there fuftained, horrible to think or mention, the pains of a reprobate foid in
punifhment. A notion evidently confuted by our Lord's own defcription of the
place, where the companion of his fufferings on the crofs was to be with him, on
the very day of the crucifixion. This fenfe being thus confuted, I fay the
perfonal defcent of our F-ord to that region, where the fouls of the righteous reft
in hope, is the only literal interpretation, which the words of the article will
bear; and that any figurative interpretation of the words of a Creed, or for-
mulary of faith, are inadmiffible. For in fuch a rompofition, intended to con-
vey the knowledge of the moft important truths to the moft ordinary under-
ftandirgs, the ornamental figures of rhetoric, or poetry, would be no lefs out
of place, than in the opinion of a judge upon a queftion of law, or in a mathe-
matical demonftration. They could have no other fffcft, than to introduce
doubt,
 DESCENT INTO HELL. 9
doubt, where every thing ouf.ht to be precife and unequivocal. Without enter-
ing therefore into a partici;Iar con filiation of the figurative interpretations, that
have been offered, of this article- of the creed ; I Ihall proceed at once to fhevv
what proof, we find in fcriptiTL-, of the fadl averred, according to the literal

meaning of the fJHrds, that " Chrift defcended into Hell."

This proof refts, I t'.ir.k, principally upon three texts of fcripture, in

addition to that which I have already mentioned, as affording bv itfelf

ample confirmation of the truth of the propofition ; namely, our Lord's

promife to the penitent thief upon the crofs. But there are three other
texts, which confpire with this to put the matter out of doubt. The
firfi: is that text of the Pfalmift, which was alledged by St. Peter in
his firfl: fermon on the day of Pentecoft, as a prophecy concerning Chrifir,
verified in his refurredlion from the dead, " Thou wilt not leave my foul
" in hell, neither wilt thou fufifer thy Holy One to fee corruption =." The
apoftle having recited thele words of the Pfalmift, fays, they were not fpoken
by David of himfelf, but that David, being a prophet, fpake of the refurredlion
of Chrifl-, tRat his foul was not left in hell, neither did bis flefh fee corruption''.
From this texf , if there were no other, the article, in the fenfe in which we have
explained it, is clearly and infallibly deduced. For if the foul of Chrift were
not left in hell at his refunetftion ; then, it was in hell before his refurre61:ion.
But it was not there either before his death, or after his refurredlion ; for that
never was imagined. Therefore it defcended into hell after his death, and before
his rcfurreftion For as his fle(h, by virtue of the Divine promife, faw no cor-
ruption, although it was in the grave, the place of corruption, where it re-
mained until his refurrc(:;tion; lo his which, by virtue of the like pro-
ioui,
mife, was not left in hel), was in that hell, where it was not left, until tlie

time came for its re-union to the body for the accomplifhment of the refurrec-
tion. Hence it is fo clearly e\inced, that the foul of Chrift was in the
place called hell, " that none but an infidel," faith St. Auguftine, " can
** deny it."

Pfalmxvi. lo.
Afts, II. 29-31.

Another
 ;

,o . ON CHRIST'S
Another text, which carries us to the fame conclufion, is in the fourth chapter
of St. Paul's epiftls to the Ephefians ; in the apoftle's reafoning upon a paffage

of the fixty-eighth pfalm, which he applies as prophetic of the various gifts,

which Chrift, after his afcenlion, conferred upon the members of his church.
The Pfalniift fpeaks to this effedf as he is cited by the apoftlg|| " When he af-
,

" ccndcd up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men."
" Now that he afcended," fays the apoftle, arguing upon the Pfalmift's words,
" what is it, but that he defcended tirft into the lower parts of the earth s." In-
timating, that the afcending up on high, of which the pfah-nift fpeaks, is to be

underftood in reference to a previous defcent into the lowefi: regions, as its op-
pofite.

Some however have imagined, that the defcent into hell is not to be

deduced from this text, with the fame certainty as from the former. They ima-
gine fomething of ambiguity in the phrafe of " the lower parts of the earth."

Righdy referring the afcending up on high to oar Lord's afcenfion into heaven;

they think, that " the lower parts of the earth" may fignify the earth generally,

as lower than the heavens ; and even nothing lower, than the very furface of it.

And muft be confefTed, that our Lord fpeaks of himfelf before his death,
it

while he was living upon the furface of the earth, as having come down to it
from heaven. Ncverthelefs " the lower parts of the earth" in the Greek lan-
guage, in which the apoftle writes, is a periphrafis for " hell" in the proper

fenfe of that word, as the invifible manfion of departed fpirits. The phrafe is

fo perfectly equivalent to the word " hell," that we find itufed, inftead of that

word, fome of the Greek copies of the Creed, in this very article; where the
in

mention of our Lord's coming down from heaven, to dwell upon the earth,
would be quite out of place, after the mention of the feveral events of his

birth, crucifixion, death, and burial, in their natural order and fuccedion.

But indeed this phrafe of the " lower parts of the earth" is, in the Greek
language, fo much a name for the central parts, of the globe, as diftinguilhed

from the furface, or the outfide, on which we live; tliat iiad die apoftle intended

by this phrafe to denote the inhabited furface of the earth, as lower than the

- e Ephefians, IV. 7-10.

heavens
 1

DESCENT I NTO H 1. ^ L. - 1

heavens; we may confidently fay, his Greek conver ; at Ephefas would not
eafily have guenbd liis meaning. This text thereftre, when the Greek words
are taken in the only fenfe, in which any writer in tli.it lanp-uap-e would have
ufed, or any one, who fpoke the language, would have underilood them, ex-^
prefsly affirms a defcent of Chrift's fpirit into Hell.

A third fcripture, whicli goes to the proof of the fame facfl:, isj that very re-
markable paflage in the third chapter of St. Peter's firft epiftle, whicli I have
chofen for my text. I might mention as a fourth ", another paiTiige in the fol-
lowing chapter of the fome epifile, which alludes to the fame event ; but not, I
think, with equal certainty : for the fenle of that following paflage is indeed
dependant upon this; infomuch that any figurative interpretation, which would
invalidate the argument we fliall deduce from this firft palfage, would in
equal degree afl'ecft the fecond : and no proof can be drawn from that of
Chrift's defceat into Kell, if none can be previoufly found in the words of my
text.

But in them, taken in their moft literal and obvious meaning, we find not
only a diftindl afTertion of the fa6l, that " Chrift defcended into Htll" in his
difembodied fpirit, but moreover a declaration of the bufmefs, upon wliich he
went thither ; or in which, at leaft, his foul was employed v.'hile it v.^-'.s there :

** being put to death in the flefh, but quickened by the Spirit." ''
By wliich
" alfo he went and preached unto the fpirlts in prifon, which fometime were-
" difobedient." The interpretation of this whole paffage turns upon theexprcf-
fion " Spirits In prifon;" the fenfe of which I fhall firil, therefore, endeavour
to afcertain, as the key to the meaning of the whole. Ir is hardly necefl^rv
to mention, that " Spirits" here can fignify no other fpirits than the fouls of
men. For we read not of any preaching of Chrift to any other race of beings
than mankind. The anoftle's affertion, therefore, is this ; that Chrift "went
" and preached to fouls of men in prifon." The inviliblc manfion of departed
fpirlts, though certainly not a place of peiial confinement to the good, i

neverthelefs, in fome refpec^s, a prifon. It is a place of feclufion from the ex-

ternal world ; a place of unfiniftied happlnefs, confifting in reft^ fecurity^ and

* Peter, iv. 6.

C iope
la ON CHRIST'S
Fope, more than enjoyment. It is a place, which tlie fouls of men never would
have entered, had not fin introduced death ; and from which there is no exit

by any natural means, for thofe who once have entered. The deliverance of
the Saints from it ii to be efFedled by our Lord's power. It is dcfcribed in the
old Latin language, as a place inclofed within an impaflable fence ; and, in the
poetical parts of fcripture, it is reprefented as fccured by gates of brafs, which
our Lord is to batter down ; and barricadoed with huge maffive iron bars,
which he is to cut in funder. As a place of confinement, therefore, though
not of punifhment, it may well be called a prifon '. The original word, how-
ever, in this text of the apoftle, imports not of neceflity fo much as this; but
merely a place of fife- keeping : for fo this paffage might he rendered with great
exadtnefs. " He went and preached to the fpiritfe in fafe-keeping." And the
invifible manfion of departed fouls is to the righteous a place of fafe-keeping,
where they are preferved under the fhadow of God's right hand, as their con-
dition fometimes is defcribed in fcripture, till the feafon fhall arrive for their
advancement to their future gloiy ; as the fouls of the wicked, on tlie other
hand, are referved, in the other dlvifion of the fame place, unto the judgement
of the great day. Now if Chriil went and preached to fouls of men thus in
prifon, or in fafe-keeping ; furely he went to the prifon of thofe fouls, or to

the place of their cuftody. And what place that fhould be, but the Hell of the
Apoftles' Creed to which our Lord defcended, 1 have not yet inet with the
critic that could explain. So clearly does this text affirm the facl of Chrifi's
defcent into Hell.
But this is not all : it agrees with the Apoftle's Creed in the time of this
event ; that it was in the interval between our Lord's death and refurredlion.
For the apoftle affirms, that it was in his fpirit, i.e. in his difembodied foul,
that Chrift went and preached to thofe fouls in fafe cuftody. " Being put to
*' death in the flefh, but quickened by the fpirit." " Quickened by the
*' fpirit." The fpirit, in thefe Englifh words, feems to be put, not for tlie foul
of Chrift, but for the Divine Spirit.. And the fenfe feems to be, that Chrift,
after he was put to death, was raifed to life again by the Holy Spirit. But this,

though it be the fenfe of the Englifh tranflation, and a true propofition, is

? See Critical Notes upon Hosea, chap. >uij. note T.

certainly
 ;

DESCENT INTO HELL. 13

certainly not the fenfe of tlie apoftle's words. It, is of great importance to re-
mark, though it may feem a grammatical nicet)-, that the prepofitions, in either
branch of this claufe, have been fupplied by the tranflators, and are not in
the original. The words " fiefh" and " ipirit," in the original, ftand, without
any prepofirion, in that cafe, which, Greek language, without a pre-
in the

pofition, h tlie cafe either of the caufe or inftrument, by which of the time ;

when ; of the place where ; of the part in which of the manner how or of the
;
;

refpedt in which ; according to the exigence of the context. And, to any one
who will coniider the original with critical accuracy, it will be obvious from
the perfeft antithefis of thefe two claufes, concerning flefh and fpirit; that if
the word fpirit denote the a6llve caufe, by which Chrift was reftored to life,

which muft be fuppofed by them who underhand the word of the Holy Ghofl
the word " flefh" muft equally denote the aftive caufe, by which he was
put to death : which therefore muft have been the flefh of his own body.
An interpretation too manifeftly abfurd to be admitted. But if the word
*' flefh" denote, as itmoft evidently does, the part in which death took efFedl
upon him ;
" fpirit" muft denote the part in which life was prelerved in him.,
i. e. his own foul. And the word " quickened" is often applied to fignify,
not the refufcitation of life extinguifhed, but the prefervation and continuance
of life fubfifting. The exaft rendering, therefore, of the apoftle's words would
"be, " being put to death in the fiefh, but quick in the fpirit ;" /. e. furviving in
his foul the ftroke of death, which his body had fuftained, " by which," ra-
ther in "which," that is, in which furviving foul, he went and preached to the
fouls of men in prifon, or in fafe -keeping.

It is not to be wondered, that this text fhould have been long confldered in
the church as one of the principal foundations of the catholic belief of Chrift's
defcent into Hell. It is rather to be wondered, that fo clear a proof fliould ever

have been abandoned. In the articles of religion agreed upon in convocation in

the year 1552, the 6th of Edward VI. and publifhed by the king's authority the
jrear following; the Third Article is in thefe words :
" As Chrift died and was
" buried for us, fo alfo it is to be believed that he went down into hell; for
" the body lay in the fepulchre until the refurreftion, but his ghoft, departing
** from him, was with the ghofts that were in prifon, or in hell, as the place of
C 2 St,
 14 ON CHRIST'S
" St. Peter doth teAify." But in the fliort interval often years, between this con-
vocation in the reign of Edward and the fetting forth of tlie Thirty-nine Arti-
cles in their prefent form in the j^th of queen Elizabeth, a change feems to have
takerf place in the opinions of the Divines of our church, with refpeft to this
text of St. Peter. For in the articles, as they were then drawn, and we now
have them, Chrift's defcent into hell is ftill aflerted ; but the proof of it from
the text of St. Peter is withdrawn. As if the literal fenfe of the text, which
affords the proof, had fallen under fufpicion, and fome other expofition of it

had been adopted. This change of opinion, 1 fear, is to be afcribed to an

undue reliance of the Divines of that time, on the authority..of St. i^uftin.

For St. Auftin was, I think, the firfl: who doubted of the literal fenfe of this
paflage of St. Peter. He perplexes himfelf with fome queflions, which feemed
to him of too great fubtlety perhaps to be folved by man,
to arife out of it,

and then he had recourfe to the ufual but dangerous expedient of abandoning
the plain meaning of the paflage for fome loofe figurative interpretation, which
prefents a propofition of no fort of difficulty to the underflanding of the critic,

becaufe in truth it is a proportion of his own making. I mean not to depre-

ciate the charadler of St. Auflin. He was, indeed, in his day, a burning and
a fhining light ; and he has been ever fince, by his writings, one of the
brightefl luminaries of the Latin church. A man of warm unafFecfted piety,
of the greatell natural talents, and the highefl attainments ; exercifed in the afli-
duous fludy of the Holy Scriptures, replete with facred learning, and with.al

deeply verfed in that Pagan lore, in which, however it may have been of late

liamefully calumniated, the foundeft Divines have always been great proficients.
In polite literature he was the rival, in fcience and philofophy, the fuperior, by
many degrees, of his great contemporary St. Jerome. But it was a culpable
deference to the authority even of fo great and good a man, if his doubts were
in any cafe turned into objections, and the interpretation of fcripture adjufled
to opinions, which he himfelf propounds with doubt and hefitation. Thofe, in

later times, who have improved upon St. Auftin's hint of figurating this paf-
fage, have fucceeded no better tlian they, who have made the like attempt upon
the article of our Lord's defcent in the Creed. They tell us, that, by the fouls in
prifon, are to be underflood the gentile world in bondage and captivity to fin

and fatan, and held in the chains of their own lufts. And for confirmation of
this.
 DESCENT INTO HELl^. 15

this, they refer to ihofe paflages of the prophet Ifaiah in which it is predlfted of
Chrift, " that he is to bring the prifoners out of prifon, and them that lit
*' in darknefs out of tlie prifon houfeJ That he is to fay to the prifoners, go
" forth'' That he is to proclaini hberty to the captives, and the opening of
*' the prifon to thofe that are bound ^"
Now we deny not, that the ftate of the unregenerate carnal man is indeed re-
prefented in Scripture under the images of captivity and bondage ; and his fin-

ful lufls, under the images of chains and fetters. But with refpeAto the alleged
paffages from tlie prophet Ifaiah, in the lafi: of them moft indubitably, and
I believe in all, but in the laft without doubt, the prilbn is no other than that
fclf-lame place, which is the prifon or place of fafe -keeping in this text of
St. Peter according to our notion of it. The enlargement of the faints, from
the confinement of that place, is the liberation predidled. Their fouls in that

place are the captives, to whom the Redeemer, at the feafon of his final triumph
over death and hell, fhall fay, " Go Forth." Thcfe texts of the prophet,
therefore, rather afford a confirmation of fhe literal acceptation of the apoflle's
words ; than of thofe jejune figurative interpretations, which modern criticifm,
feared at the bug-bear of purgatory, would fubflitute for the plain and obvious,
fenfe.

It cannot, however, be difTembled, that difficulties arife ost of the particu-

lar character of the fouls in cuflody, to which I fhall give fuch confideration as
the time will permit.
The fouls in cuftody, to whom our Saviour went, in his difenibodied foul,
and preached, were thofe " which fometime were difobedient." The expref-
fion "fometime were," or "one while had been" difobedient, implies that they
were recovered however from that difobedience, and before their death had been
brought to repentance and faith in the Redeemer to com.e. To fuch fouls he
went and preached. But what did he preach to departed
and what could fouls,
be the end of his preaching? Certainly he preached neither repentance nor faith;
for the preaching of either comes too late to tlie departed foul. Thefe fouls
had believed and repented, or they had not been in that part of tlie nether re-.

Isaiah, sili. " Isaiah xlix. 9.

j 7, '
Isniah, 1x1. t

gionsj,
i6 ois christ;s
gions, whldnue fuu! of the Redeemer vifited. Kor was the crvd of his preacli-
ingany liberation of tl.em from we know not what purgatorial pains, of which
the Scriptures give not the flighted intimation. But if he went to proclaim to
them (and to proclaim or pubUlh is the true fenfe of the word, to preacli)
the glad tidings, that he had actually offered the facriiice of their redemption,
and was about to appear before the Father as their interceflbr, in the merit of

hisown blood this was a preaching fit

; to be addrelTed to departed fouls, and
would give new animation and afTurance to their hope of the, confummation, in

due feafon, of their blifs; and this, it may be prefumed, was the end of his
preaching. But the great difficulty in the defcription of the fouls, to whom
this preaching for this purpofe was addreffed, is this; that they were fouls of

fome of the antediluvian race. Not that it at all flardes me, to iind antediluvian

fouls in fafe-keeping for final falvation. On the contrary, I fliould find it very
difficult to believe (unlefs I were to read it fomewhere in the Bible), that of

the millions that perifhed in the general deluge, all died hardened in impeni-
tence and unbelief; infcmuch that not one of that race could be an objedl of
future mercy, befide the eight perfons who were miraculoufly faved in the ark,
for the purpofe of repeopling the depopulated earth. Nothing in the general

plan of God's dealings with mankind, as revealed in Scripture, makes it ne-

cefiary to fuppofe, that, of the antediluvian race, who might repent upon Noah's
preaching, more would be faved from the temporal judgement, than the purpofe
of a gradual repopulation of the world demanded; or to fuppofe, on the other
hand, that all, who perifhed in the flood, are to perifh everlaflingly in the lake
of fire. But the great difficulty, of which, perhaps, I may be unable to give
any adequate folution, is this: For what reafon fliould the proclamation of the
finifhing of the great work of redemption, be addrcfTed exclulively to the fouls

of thefe antediluvian penitents ? Were not the fouls of the penitents of later

ages equally interefted in the joyful tidings ? To this I can only anfwer, that I

think I have obferved, in fome parts of Scripture, an anxiety, if the expreffion

may be allowed, of the facred writers to convey diflintTt intimations, that the
antediluvian race is not uninterefted in the redemption, and the final retribution.

It is for this purpofe, as I conceive, that, in the defcription of the general re-

furredlion, in the vifions of the Apocalypfe, it is mentioned, with a particular

emphafis, that tlie " sea gave up the dead that were in it ;" which I cannot be
content
 DESCENT INTO HELL. t;

content to underhand of the few perfons, few in comparifon of the total of

mankind, loft at dift'erent times by fhipwreck ; a poor circumftance to find a
place in the midft of the magnificent images, which furround it ; but of the
myriads whoperifhed in the general deluge, and found their tomb in th,e waters

of that raging ocean. It may be conceived, that the fouls of thof^ who died
in that dreadful vifitation, might, from that circumftance, have peculiar appre-
henfions of themfelves, as tlie marked victims of divine vengeance, and might
peculiarly need the confolation, which the preaching of our Lord in the fub-
terranean regions afforded to thefe prifoners of hope. However that may be,
thither the apoftle fays, Iv'' went and preached. Is any difficulty, that may pre-
fent itfelf to the human mind, upon the circumftances of thtft preaching, of
fufficient weight, to make the thing unfit to be believed upon the word of the
apoftle ? Or are we juftified, if, forfuch difficulties, we abandon the plain fcnfe
of the apoftle's words, and impofe upon them another meaning, not eaflly
adapted to the words, though more proportioned to the capacity of our under-
flanding ? Efpecially when it is confirmed by other Scriptures, that he went
to that place. In that place he could not but find the fouls, which are in it in
fafe-keeping ; and, in fome way or other, it cannot but be fuppofed, that he
would hold conference with them ; and a particular conference with one clafs,

might be the means, and certainly could be no obftruftion, to a general com-

munication with all. If the clear afTertions of Holy Writ are to be difcredited,
on account of difficulties which may feem, to the human mind; to arife out
of them ; little will remain to be believed in revealed, or even in what is called
natural religion. We mufl immediately part with the do6lrines of atonement j
of gratuitous redemption ; of juftificatlon by faith, without the works of the
law; of fandtification by the influence of the Holy Spirit; and we muft part
at once with the hope of the refurredlion. How are the dead raifed up, and
with what body do they come ? are queftions more eafily afked than anfwered,
unlefs it may be an anfwer, to refer the propofer of them to the promifes of
Holy Writ, and the power of God, to make good thofe promifes.

Having now, I trufl, fliewn that the article of Chrifl's defcent into hell, is

to be taken as a plain matter of fa<?b, in the literal meaning of the words ; having
exhibited the pofitive proof that we find of this fa<5l in Holy Writ ; having
afTcrted
is ON CHRIST'S DESCENT INTO HELL.
aflbrfed the literal meaning of my text, and difplayed, in its full force, the con-
vincing proof to be deduced from this paflage in particular ; I fhrdl now, with
great brevity, demonftrate the great ufe and importance of the fadl itfclf, as
a point of thfiitian doctrine.
Its great ufe is this: I'liat it is a clear confutation of the difmal notion of
death, as a temporary extindlion of the life of the whole man ; or, what is no
lefs gloomy and difcouraging, the notion of the fleep of the foul in the inter-
val between dcaili and the refurrecftion. Chrift was made fo truly man, that
whatever took place in the human nature of Chrift, may be confidered as a
model and example of what muft take place, in a certain due proportion and
degree, in every man united to him. Chrift's foul furvived the death of his
body. Therefore fliall the foul of every Believer furvive the body's death.
ChrilVs difembodied foul dcfcendcd into Hell. Thither, therefore, Ihall the
foul of every Believer in Chrift defcend. In that place, the foul of Chrift, in
its fcparate ftatc, pofTefled and exercifed' active powers. In the fame place,
therefore, fliall the Believer's foul poflefs and exercife a(5livity. Chrift's foul
was not left in Hcl!. Neither fhall the fouls of his fervants there be left, but for
a feafon. The appointed time will come, when the Redeemer fhall fet open the
doors of their prifon-houfe, and fay to his redeemed, " go forth."

Nichols and Sok, Printers,

Red Lion Passage, Fleet Streets
BS1565.H8181804
Hosea : translated from the Hebrew, with
Pnnf.eton TheologiCtil Seminary-Speer Library

1 1012 00078 6527