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purpose, as naturalists, though very fit subjects for the reader's consideration.

Not less wonderful than the cure of Naaman is the punishment of Gehazi. We formerly observed, on Lev. xiii. that Miriam was struck with a leprosy of this same kind, tjaroth, immediately from heaven; but she was soon relieved. Gehazi is equally struck, but struck with this disease in perpetuity. For the descent of this disease in families, see the passage already referred to, page 55.

Abana and Parphar, rivers of Damascus, are not now to be distinguished. Maundrell supposes they were branches of the Barrady, which waters Da

mascus.

CHAPTER VI. VERSE 25.

And there was a great famine in Samaria, until an ass's head was sold for eighty pieces of silver, and the fourth part of a cab of dove's dung for five pieces of silver.

Here are two perplexing subjects, the first is the head of the ass. It is true, there is no perplexity in this as read in our version; but we have already hinted that the ass was a measure perhaps, or perhaps a kind of pack, or other quantity, well known. We have seen that Jesse sent to Saul an ass of bread, 1 Sam. xvi. 20. that three asses of bread were eaten by one person, in one day: and we may hint a doubt, whether Abigail, 1 Sam. xxv. 18. really loaded asses, quadrupeds, with her presents to David; for the original literally is, "she took 200 of bread, &c. and placed them on THE asses," which seems to hint at something distinct from asses, animals: for then it would be as it is in our version," she placed them on asses." There is also a passage, Exod. viii. 14. where our translators themselves have rendered heaps, what in the original is asses asses, "they gathered the frogs together, asses asses," i.e. many of that quantity called an ass: and so Samson says of his defeated enemies, a heap, heaps; ass asses. Now, if we take our English word pile, to signify this quantity, not meaning to attempt to determine accurately, even were it possible, it will lead us to the idea, that Jesse sent to Saul a pile of bread; that a person ate three piles of bread in one day; that Abigail placed her bread, wine, corn, raisins and figs in piles; that the Egyptians gathered the stinking frogs in piles; that Samson's enemies laid in piles: is there any thing strained, or unnatural in these renderings? Let this vindicate those "Jews who translate, not the head of an ass, chamor, but the head of a measure, chomer:" for the letters are precisely the same in the original. Kimchi, indeed, refutes this sentiment, however Kimchi is not infallible. But what must we do with the head? Observe, that this word rash, signifies the total, entirety, the whole, as Psalm cxxxix. 17. "How precious also are thy thoughts to

me, O God! How great is the head [sum] of them, the total, the entirety. Exod. xxx. 12. When thou takest the head, sum total, the whole enumeration of Israel. Numb. i. 2. Take the head [sum total] of Israel. See also chap. iv. 2, 22; xxvi. 2 ; xxxi. 26. These ideas combined, will render the passage to this effect," the famine was so severe that the whole of a pile, i.e. of bread, or a complete pile of bread, sold for 80 pieces of silver." sold for 80 pieces of silver." How excessive was this price when one glutton, as we have seen, could eat three asses, piles, of bread in a day!

I must not, however, conceal that there is no mention of bread in the original; and therefore, as the quantity, which I have used the word pile to signify, is, so far as I know, indeterminate; and perhaps differs with its subject; it may possibly read onward here to the dove's dung, in the following clause. "The whole of the quantity called an ass, vis. of dove's dung, was sold for 80 pieces of silver, and the fourth part of a cab of dove's dung for 5 pieces of silver." The reader will consider the above so far as it seems to be reasonable.

The second difficulty is the dove's dung. The general opinion of writers, since Bochart, takes this to signify a kind of chichpea, or tare, which has very much the appearance of dove's dung, and from thence might be named. The reasons against the admission of the dung of doves in this instance are, its entire unfitness for nutriment; in fact, it could yield no nourishment; also, the great improbability that there should be doves enough to supply any quantity of this food, disgusting as it is, for then why not kill the doves themselves for food? We shall not repeat the different opinions which we decline to follow, but refer to 2 Sam. xvii. Nos. 7, 10. to which we shall add a few remarks. "In the Arab writers the words kali, and ugnen, signify equally the dung of pigeons, and chichpeas. Great quantities of chichpeas are sold in Cairo, to the pilgrims going to Mecca: and at Damascus, says Belon, "there are many shops where nothing else is done but preparing chichpeas. These peas, parched in a copper pan, and dried, are of great service to those who take long journies." This accounts for the stock of them stored up in the city of Samaria. In short the cab is a fit measure for this kind of pulse, which was the fare of the poorer class of people. Scheuzer inclines, instead of pigeon's dung, to render pigeon's food, which consists in pulse, peas, &c. Farragine columbina, pacis, a mixture of grain, pulse, &c.

Inde demum me

Ad porri et cieeris refero lachanique catinum.
HOR. lib. i. sat. 6.

Et fervens cicer, et tepens lupinus, Parva est cœnula, quis potest negare?

MARTIAL, lib. v. ep. 79.

CHAPTER IX. VERSE 30.

Jezebel painted her face, and tired her head, and looked out at a window: literally, she put her eyes in paint, i.e. she drew between their lids, with a silver bodkin, the powder of rich lead ore, stibium, or antimony in Hebrew, phuk. Vide EYE and EYELIDS, in Dictionary. In Ezek. xxiii. 40. instead of phuk, we read cochal. In Morocco, says Stuart, the Jews call this substance elcol. The effect of this substance, thus employed, is ThаTobaλμov, to cause the eyes to appear as if separated, Pliny, lib. xxiii. cap. 9. To enlarge the apparent magnitude of the eye, the face was deprived of part of its natural prowhereportions, and these were bestowed on the eye; fore the ancients said such persons had masks, not faces: prosopeia, not prosopa.

That antimony was what Jezebel used, appears from the LXX, who read estimmisato, esteibisato, which the Vulgate renders correctly, depinxit oculus suos stibio: and the stibium of the ancients is our antimony. Ion, a Greek poet, in his Omphale, enumerates among the foreign ornaments of the queen of Lydia, την μελαινον σιμμιν, called ommatographon; and Hesychius explains the ypogrammata of the women by stimmismata, antimonial preparations, i.e. powders for the eyes; i.e. powders for the eyelids.

Pollux, Onomast. lib. v. cap. 16. describes a woman as tinging the interior part of the eyelids, blackening the eyebrows, and forming them into a semicircle. Tertullian calls this manner of painting the eyes, enlarging the eyes with soot; augmenting the eyes with black powder. The manner of doing this is mentioned by many travellers into the East: as Dr. Shaw, Travels, p. 229; Russell's Aleppo, p. 102. who well describes the manner of it. Xenophon, Cyroped. lib. i. speaks of Astyages, king of Media, as painting his eyes: and Juvenal, sat. ii. line 93, mentions the same of certain men of his time. See also Joseph. de Bello, lib. iv. cap. 9; Herodian, lib. v. cap. 16.

N.B. The smoke of certain kinds of fragrant gums, &c. was sometimes employed for this purpose, which is what Tertullian means by soot.

CHAPTER XIV. VERSE 9.

The thistle that was in Lebanon sent to the cedar that was in Lebanon.

The word for thistle in the original is coach. It is rendered thorn, Prov. xxvi. 9; Cant. ii. 2; 1 Sam. xiii. 6. thickets; Job xxxi. 40. implies that it was in some respects comparable to wheat, in size perhaps; or perhaps it infests the wheat fields in Arabia.

we find a variety of opinions detailed, but none satisfactory. Referring therefore to FRAGMENT, No. 2, for principles which seem to be the best illustration of this subject, we shall merely extract a hint or two from Scheuzer. It was not the body of the sun, which retrograded, but its rays; or rather the shadow they occasioned, as the text expresses; for, when it is said, Jonah iv. 8. that "the sun smote the head of Jonah," we do not suppose that he was smitten by the body of the sun. If hours be understood by the word degrees, this day must have been 32 hours in length: 10 which the sun had already proceeded; 10 which he returned; 10 which he regained; and 2 hours over if half hours be understood, the day was 22 hours long. There are several modes of constructing dials, so that the shadow cast by the gnomon shall go backward at certain times of the day for instance, under the torrid zone, when the sun is in the arc of the ecliptic, comprised between the nearest tropic and the parallel of the place, the shadow will trace back some part of what it had advanced, once in the morning, and once in the afternoon. Vide Costard's Astronomy, p. 105.

"To finish this commentary, I shall relate a phenomenon singular enough, remarked by a person named Romuald, prior of a convent at Metz. This prior with two of his monks, Lucian and Alexis, remarked on June 7, 1703, that in a sun-dial facing the east, the shadow at noon exactly retrograded from the meridian line, to that line which marked 104 hours, and that afterward, by little and little, it returned to the line of noon. This fact is reported by Parent, in his Recherches Math. et Physiq. p. 256. and by Thummig, de Phenomena singulari solis cœlo sereno pallescentes, p. 19. who attributes this phenomenon to a refraction of the solar rays, augmented insensibly by a condensation of the atmosphere, whose interstices were filled by heterogeneous and thickening particles." [Perhaps, a layer of incrassated, or condensed air occupying the atmosphere in the direction of the sun's rays, which at noon is from the equator directly north, the usual course of the heated air, flowing from the equator, might produce this effect.

Whoever is used to astronomical observations, knows, that what Hooke calls veins of air, i.e. layers of air of differing densities, and of dissimilar compositions, often interpose between the observer and his object. As the air at different elevations is of different degrees of heat, and pursues different courses, it is very credible, that a quantity of air loaded with transparent vapours, brought from a distance, either by its own properties, or by affecting the air below, it, should vary the refractive powers of the atmosphere the sun's rays passing through this varied portion, would take a new direction, and move the dial shadow accordingly. This refraction occurs every morning and evening in the instance of the twiThis is in Scheuzer a very long article; in which light, and may occur at noonday, in some degree:

CHAPTER XX. VERSES 9, 10.

THE DIAL OF AHAZ.

but not to any thing like the quantity observed on the dial of Ahaz. In fact, this observation of Romuald, to the amount of an hour and a half, is a very extraordinary incident.

We must, however, acknowledge, that as the lighter evaporations from the earth rise to great heights in the atmosphere, and the current of air heated under the line by the sun's direct beams, also rises to great height, and the various gasses which are brought

from different parts of the globe, are of different densities, and rise to great heights; an assemblage of these vapours above the lower strata of the atmosphere, of different densities at different times, when lying in the course of the solar rays, may refract them in manners of which we have little conception : nor indeed could we suspect such causes, before the doctrine and nature of gasseous airs was understood as it now is.]

I. CHRONICLES.

CHAPTER XXI. VERSE 26.

FIRE FROM HEAVEN IN ANSWER TO WORSHIP.

THERE are in Hebrew several words which imply fire, burning, &c. but that most commonly used is ash. Nevertheless, there are sundry occasions, on which the supposition of a distinction in the nature of fire, would be very acceptable. It is the property of fire to burn; yet we read, Exod. iii. 2. that "the bush burned in the fire, ash, but was not consumed:" might this fire resemble some of our milder electrical appearances? We read, Numb. xi. 1, 2, 3. of "a fire of the Lord, which consumed in the extremity of the camp;" might this be the samiel, or fiery wind? or might it be [vehement electrical meteors] lightning? These three kinds [or degrees] of fire are distinct from the fire kept burning on the altar, by means of fuel. We seem to have also different properties ascribed to fire: besides the "bush burning in the fire, but not consumed:" we read, 2 Kings, vi. 17. of "chariots of fire, and horses of fire," filling a mountain; certainly these did not burn, for then they must have been sensible by their effects; or, if they continued unknown, they must be of a nature different from either lightning, the samiel, or common fire; or is the descriptive appellation metaphorical? or were they seen in vision only?

Lightning is evidently called the fire of God, Job i. 16. and it is said to have eaten what it consumed. The same, I suppose, elsewhere. Vide Exod. ix. 23. This leads to the inquiry: what might be the natures of those fires, of which we read in several passages in Scripture? The fire of the burning bush could not be lightning, from its duration, as it lasted some time; and from its non-destructive effects. But the fire which devoured Nadab and Abihu, Levit. x. 1. may be taken for that meteor; and we observe, that the same word, devoured, or eaten, is used in this place, as in Job i. 16. Now, if in these places the "fire of the Lord" was lightning, then it should seem that lightning was also the "fire of Lord," in chap.

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ix. 24. for we should naturally expect the same thing to be described by the same terms in the last verse of Levit. ix. and in the immediately succeeding verses of chap. x. The consequence of this suggestion is, that God consumed the gifts which were laid on his altar, by lightning, in the instance recorded, Levit. ix. 24. Moreover, it becomes a question, whether in other instances lightning was the fire of the Lord, which consumed the sacrifices on his altar? as that of Elijah, 1 Kings, xviii. 38. and that of David, in the present passage.

These are instances of the direction of lightning to a favourable, or beneficent effect. It is probable, the same meteor is directed to a contrary effect in the deaths of Nadab and Abihu; in the destruction of the companies of fifty men, 2 Kings, i. 10, 12. in the loss of Job's property, Job i. 16. and in the destruction of Egypt, Exod. ix. 23.

I would ask, also, whether we may reckon among the beneficent effects of lightning, under the description of "fire from heaven," the instant translation of Elijah from this world to a better? or, whether this fire was of the nature of the chariots of fire, and horses of fire, mentioned a little after that history? 2 Kings, vi. 17. If the chariot of fire, and horses of fire, of Elijah, were of the same nature as the chariots of fire, and horses of fire, which surrounded Elisha, then lightning was not the meteor employed to translate Elijah, but one of a much milder nature, probably, approaching toward that which was manifested in the shechinah; and this left him at full liberty of action, and in the entire possession of his faculties, so that his communication with Elisha was uninterrupted by those alarms, or dangers, which would have naturally accompanied lightning.

We have repeatedly observed, that miraculous appearances derive much of their miraculous character from time, place, and circumstances. An earthquake is not miraculous in itself; a storm of thunder and lightning, or lightning alone, is not miraculous in itself; but, if it appear to be in answer to the entreaties of a feeble man, it demonstrates that those entreaties

receive attention from a power which is superior to the ordinary course of nature.

When Moses foretells the swallowing up of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, the miracle is enhanced by his prophetic prediction: when Elijah, after solemn prayers to Jehovah, obtains the witness of lightning, in answer to his prayers, exactly at the time when propriety would determine its appearance; when David," offered burnt offerings, &c. and called on the Lord, and he answered him from heaven, by fire:" though that fire be lightning, it is surely a miracle, since time, place, and circumstances, contribute to justify that character of it; if when Samuel prayed for rain in harvest, a storm of rain had happened the week before, or the week after; if when Elijah prayed for lightning, a vast display of lightning has taken place, ten or twenty miles distance; if when David called on the Lord, fire from heaven had struck any other place in the neighbourhood, as mount Zion, for instance, without approaching his altar: these might have passed for ordinary storms; there would have been no witness in them, no testifying on the offered gifts: but, the correspondence of the answer to the request made, the precision of the effect produced, its perfect coincidence to what was desirable, and what was desired, these divest it of its ordinary nature, and entitle it to the superior character of an agent specially commissioned, specially directed by a Power, which overrules both nature and providence.

The apostle says, concerning Abel, Heb. xi. 4. "The Lord testified on his gifts;" which is understood to mean, that fire from heaven consumed the offerings he had brought, as in after ages, the same kind of testimony was graciously granted to Elijah, and to David. Might not man, by this mean, originally receive the use of fire directly from heaven? Indeed, we might ask from what quarter could man more probably receive it? How should Adam even suspect the existence of the element, or rather of the property of fuel to maintain material fire? Heathen testimonies also seem to speak the same language. Prometheus received fire from heaven to animate his man, to render him religious. Sanchoniatho tells us, the first fires were those kindled by lightning, and these discovered the first melted minerals. Nor let it be forgotten, that lightning was esteemed by the heathen as a token from heaven: to say nothing of this idea in Homer, I shall only call to recollection, that when Nero was at one of his banquets, a flash of lightning entered the hall, on which he exclaimed, "Jupiter himself is come to make one at our festival." It was, therefore, with the utmost propriety Elijah offered this as the test of divinity; "the god who answereth by fire, let him be God; since this was a principle admitted and received by his opponents equally with himself, and since it was capable of the utmost publicity, decision, and testimony.

CHAPTER XXVIII. VERSE 12.

MODEL OF A BUILDING.

Then David gave to Solomon his son the pattern of the porch, and the pattern of all that he had by the spirit.

A question arises here, whether this pattern was a drawing, or a model of the building and its parts, on a small scale? We have formerly, on Josh. xviii. seen reason to suppose, that delineations of countries were in use more early than has been admitted: on the present instance, we rather incline to the idea, that a model, or lesser construction of the temple intended, was prepared by David. The original word signifies, to put together, part by part; in fact, to build: and this expresses much more correctly the composition of a model, which is a building, though a small one, than a delineation, or drawing. A model is a very frequent preparation for a building of magnitude, in modern art; and we have, in St. Paul's cathedral, at London, a model of a design for that church composed by sir Christopher Wren, at the expense of 800l. It may well be imagined, therefore, that the temple of Solomon, which, during seven years, employed 400,000 men, was constructed after a model, by which its form and proportions had been fixed at previous leisure and consideration. We observe the parts of this edifice.

1st, The portico, □ aulam; LXX, vαoc naos ; or rather, perhaps, πpovaos pronaos; a covered entry, or approach, to the temple.

2dly, The HOUSES thereof, 'n beti. Say some, the houses, or sacred apartments; 1st, the holy; 2d, the most holy; these are properly the temple. We may conclude that when the word house is used, it means the most sacred part of the temple; when the word is plural, as here, it includes both apartments. But, if this expression be referred to the portico, "the houses thereof," then it must mean apartments attached to it. attached to it. And I would submit whether the word rendered portico, does not comprehend the whole of the external or adjunct building, within which stood the temple, correctly so called. this portico was the proper place for the guard of the temple, those priests who had the custody of the temple, it is very likely that they were accommodated with apartments which answered the purpose of guard rooms, &c. and this word immediately following the portico, seems to belong to it; beside which, the house of the mercy seat comes with propriety, last of all, as it was the chamber furthest removed: whereas, if it be mentioned here also, it would be inserted twice.

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3dly, The TREASURIES thereof, gansaci, chambers which surrounded the temple, with an interval between them; which were in number, thirty; 25 cubits wide, 20 cubits high. Their use was to contain various kinds of stores for the temple service.

4thly, The UPPER CHAMBERS, 'ny olit, oleeat. We have heretofore found reason to conclude, that the oleahs of houses and palaces in the East, were apartments separated from the main buildings, and raised, say at the corners usually, somewhat above them. I suspect, therefore, that the oleits of this passage are staircases, at the ends of the portico, whereby an ascent was made to the upper parts of the building. This gives a different meaning from "upper chambers," taken as a range of apartments, though such is the customary rendering of the word; for in that case there would be three stories of apartments; whereas, I believe, that is not usually understood to have been the fact.

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5thly, The INNER PARLOURS thereof, chadariu hapenimim, these I take to have been those chambers on the upper story, to which the staircases of the oleits conducted; they were inner chambers, inasmuch as the doors whereby they were en tered, were not, like those of the chambers below, entered at once from the level of the court; nor indeed did they admit that easy ingress and egress, which the chambers below did; but being entered from the top of the stair, at the corner of the portico, formed, as I conjecture, chamber beyond chamber, to the further end of the building.

6thly, The PLACE OF THE MERCY SEAT, n' bit hecaphoreth, literally, "the house of the cofferet," or coffer, but meaning the apartment wherein stood the ark. As we find this apartment is called a house, we need not hesitate in admitting the word houses, in No. 2, in the sense of apartments of the portico.

This passage, therefore, would read thus: David gave Solomon the model of the whole edifice: the porch, or exterior buildings; its apartments: its store chambers, level with the court and opening into it; its staircases; and its private chambers, in the upper story: also, the apartment of the mercy seat and the model of all that he had in spirit; even to the courts of the house of Jehovah, and to all their galleries, or divisions, round about; and to the treasuries of the house of God, and to the treasuries of the sacred things.

The reader will judge from this enumeration, whether a model is not better adapted to adjust the parts, and to convey ideas of their combinations, than any delineation could be.

CHAPTER XXIX. VERSE 2.

David prepared gold, silver, brass, iron, wood, onyx stones, and stones to be set, glittering stones, and of divers colours, and all manner of precious stones, and marble stones in abundance.

This passage would afford matter for a long inquiry: we shall endeavour to treat it concisely. 15*

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3dly, Brass. Copper is the native mineral: brass is a mixed metal. 4thly, Iron.

5thly, Wood: especially cedar wood, and other timber; not, perhaps, in the rough state of trees, but squared, sawed, and otherwise prepared for use.

6thly, Onyx stones: abeni shoham. The LXX render "stones of Soam," or Soom. Theodoret renders the Soam of the Lxx by onyx, and is followed by interpreters. The word onyx is equivocal, signifying, 1st, a precious stone, or gem, called onyx, in Greek onychion; 2d, a marble very distinct from -the nature of the former, called in Greek onychites. Pliny mentions it, as a stone of Caramania, lib. xxxvii. 6. Antiquity gave both these stones this name, because of their resemblance to the nail of the fingers. The onyx of the high priest's pectoral was, no doubt, the gem onyx; the stone prepared by David was the marble onyx, or rather onychus.

"As the eye is gratified by variety of colours and decorations, I have thought that all the marble employed in the temple was not of the same kind, nor the same colour, principally that employed in the columns, whose parts might be different, as sometimes brass was joined to marble." Instead of supposing that the columns were of different marbles, as Scheuzer does, I would rather suppose, that various parts were ornamented after the nature of the mustaby, and its fountains, Esth. chap. i. plate; and, perhaps, the foundations, or that part of the wall along the ground, was embellished with different stones; much like the foundation, close above the ground, of the new Jerusalem, described Rev. xxi. 9.

"With regard to the following words, says Scheuzer, I acknowledge that I am perfectly ignorant of their meaning.” We may, however, guess, that they refer to such a pattern as we have hinted at, then their meaning will be "stones for the filling up, i.e. of intervals of a pattern; stones of phuc, i.e. having the general appearance of black lead, dark marble, and veined marble, with all manner of costly or valuable stones, and white marble in abundance:" rather, possibly, in great size or blocks.

Some have supposed that as the pectoral was ornamented with precious stones, so was the temple; one should hardly, however, think that the gems of any kind were used externally to such a building, but variegated marble may readily be admitted.

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