No. 981.-xxxvii. 22. Fair weather cometh out of" the north.] The Hebrew word for fair weather is rendered by the LXX. Ne xpurœvýzvтæ, gold-coloured clouds. An old Greek tragedian, quoted by Grotius, speaks of XpuowTos Aion, the gilded ether. Varro uses the phrase aurescit aer, the air is gilded. The poets abound with passages comparing the solar orb or light to gold. Thus Virgil, Georg. i. 232, calls the sun aureus, or golden and Milton, Par. Lost, b. iii. 572, mentions The golden sun in splendor likest heav'n : And Thomson, in his description of a summer's morning, introduces, -the mountain's brow, Illum'd with fluid gold. Summer, lin. 83. No. 982.-xli. 7. Or his head with fish-spears?] The Hebrews root of the word rendered fish-spears seems to have no connection in sense with spears. The Hebrew phrase may mean to insert, place, or set in; the Chaldee Targum on this verse runs literally thus: Is it possible that thou shouldst place his skin in the booth, and his head in the shed or hut for fish? Agreeably to this idea the whole verse may refer, as Gusset has observed, to the fishermen's custom of hanging up in their huts the skins or heads of the strange or monstrous fishes they had taken; as hunters did those of wild beasts, and as our fox-hunters still nail up against the stable door the heads of the foxes they have killed. PARKHURT'S Heb. Lex. p. 614. ed. 4. No. 983. xli. 20. Out of his nostrils goeth smoke as out of a seething-pot or caldron.] This last word is usually translated a rush or a bulrush, and may probably refer to an ancient custom in the East of placing dishes of food on mats. Pal. p. 29.) that a supper, which the inhabitants of a village in Palestine prepared for him, consisted of fried fish, eggs, rice, &c. placed upon a mat, or a round table made of straw stitched together. If the word rendered a caldron in this passage have this meaning, it gives a very natural sense to the text, and is much more intelligible than the idea which some have attached to it. HARMER, vol. i. p. 359. D'Arvieux says (Voy. dans la No. 984.-xlii. 14. And he called the name of the first femima.] To vary names by substituting a word similar in sound is very prevalent in the East. The following extract from Sir Thomas Roe (p. 425.) is a striking example of this circumstance. "They speak very much in honour of Moses, whom they call Moosa calim Alla, Moses the publisher of the mind of God: so of Abraham, whom they call Ibrahim carim Alla, Abraham the honoured, or the friend, of God:" so of Ishmael, whom they call Ismal, the sacrifice of God: so of Jacob, whom they call Acob, the blessing of God: so of Joseph, whom they call Eesoff, the betrayed for God: so of David, whom they call Dahood, the lover and praiser of God: so of Solomon, whom they call Selymon, the wisdom of God: all expressed in short Arabian words, which they sing in ditties, unto their particular remembrances. Many men are called by these names: others are called Mahmud, or Chaan, which signifies the moon; or Frista, which signifies a star. And they call their women by the names of spices or odours; or of pearls or precious stones; or else by other names of pretty or pleasing signification. So Job called his daughters.' 1 No. 935.-PSALM xviii. 33. He maketh my feet like hind's feet. THIS was reckoned a very honourable qualification amongst the ancient warriors, who, as they generally fought on foot, were enabled by their agility and swiftness speedily to run from place to place, to give orders, attack their enemies, defend their friends, or for any other purposes the service might require of them. Achilles was rodas axus, swift-footed. Virgil's Nisis is hyperbolically described, Et ventis et fulminis ocior alis. Æn. v. It was one of the warlike Camilla's excellences that she was able -Cursû pedum prævertere ventos. See also 2 Sam. i. 23. 1 Chron. xii. 8. En. vii. No. 986. xviii. 34. He teacheth my hands to war, so that a bow of steel is broken by mine arms.] This was an argument of great strength. Thus in the story of the bow of Ulysses, which none of the suitors were able to draw, it is said, So the great master drew the mighty-bow, Odyss. lib. xxi. 409. When Ulysses had thus bent his bow, and shot the arrows through the rings; he glories, and says to his son Telemachus, -Nor have I wrought thee shame; Nor err'd this hand unfaithful to its aim; POPE. Herodotus tells us that when Cambyses sent his spies into the country of Ethiopia, the king of that country, well understanding the intention of their coming, said to them, when the Persians can easily draw bows of this largeness, then let them invade the Ethiopians. He then unstrung the bow and gave it them to carry to their master. (Thalia, c. 21.) No. 987.-xix. 5. Which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber.] Marriages among the Hebrews were performed with great public rejoicings. Among other rites then in use Buxtorf (Synagoga Jud.) informs us, that it was usual for a tent or canopy to be pitched in the open air, in which the bride and bridegroom met; and the bride being delivered to the bridegroom, they came forth with great pomp and joy. No. 988.-xxiii. 5. Thou anointest my head with oil.] The Psalmist here alludes to the custom of eastern countries at feasts in anointing the heads of the guests with oil. Eccl. ix. 7, 8. Matt. vi. 17. On certain occasions the head was anointed, as well as other parts of the body. Hence Propertius, Terque lavet nostras spica Cilissa comas. Lib. iv. el. 6. v. 74. In the time of Homer it was usual both to wash and anoint before meals not the head only, but the feet also. (Iliad x. 577.) See Luke vii. 38, 46. It is spoken of as an ancient custom by Aristophanes (Vest. p. 473.) for daughters to anoint the feet of their parents after they had washed them. No. 989.-xxiii. 5. Thou anointest my head with oil: my cup runneth over.] In the East the people frequently anoint their visitors with some very fragrant perfume; and give them a cup or a glass of some choice wine, which they are careful to fill till it runs over. The first was designed to shew their love and respect; the latter to imply that while they remained there, they should have an abundance of every thing. To something of this kind the Psalmist probably alludes in this passage. No. 990.-xxvi. 6. I will wash my hands in innocence, so will I compass thine altar, O Lord.] It was usual for the priests to go round the altar, when they had laid the sacrifice upon it, and bound it to the horns of it at the four corners, and there sprinkled and poured out the blood, Ps. xliii. 4. in order to which they washed their hands. In the worship of the heathen, the same ceremony was performed before the commencement of the service; so Tibullus: -Purá cum veste venite, Et manibus puris sumite fontis aquam. Lib. ii. El. 1. 13., But come ye pure, in spotless garbs array'd, For you the solemn festival is made : Come, follow thrice the victim round the lands, GRAINGER. No. 991.-xxviii. 2. When I lift up my hands toward thy holy oracle.] Lifting up the hands was a gesture commonly used in prayer by the Jews. There are many instances to prove that it was practised by the heathens also. See Homer, Il..v. 174. So also Horace : Celo suspinas si tuleris manus B. iii. Od. 23. 1. Other instances may be found in Virgil, Æn. ii. and x.. |