these are presented to their deities in acknowledgment of their favour in bestowal of victory, and thus are designated by the prophet as harlot's hire.

Str. V reveals the prophet's anguish as he contemplates the fate of the city.*-8. For this] Not for the immediately preceding destruction of idols certainly, but for the destruction pictured in v. o, and because this destruction carries with it injury of the most serious character to the southern kingdom in which, of course, the prophet was especially interested. Calamity to Samaria means panic in Jerusalem.-Let me lament and wail] This dirge-like utterance, with its many terms for lamentation, is characteristically oriental in its vigorous and concrete expression of emotion; the repetitions secure emphasis and variety. The form in which the vbs. are used (with) makes the lament even more tender and plaintive. This is one of several instances in which the man as patriot bewails most grievously the event which as prophet he is bound to announce. Cf. Je. 91..-Barefoot and stripped] Not naked, but in the dress of one in sorrow (2 S. 1530); here and elsewhere (Is. 202-4) the reference is to a symbolic act in which the person thus garbed represents a captive.† The garment discarded was the outer cloak or tunic. Cf. Jb. 22° Ex. 2226 Am. 28.—Like the jackals] The wail of these animals is a long, piteous cry (cf. Is. 1322), and may be heard almost any night in Palestine, where the jackal is now the most common beast of prey.—And mourning like the daughters of the desert] The comparison is to the noisy, hideous screech of the ostrich.

Str. VI gives the justification for the prophet's grief which lies in the hopelessness of Samaria's outlook and in the fact that the calamity will include his own city, Jerusalem.-9. For her stroke is incurable] The reference is probably to the fall of Samaria in 721 B.C., together with the subsequent calamities which had befallen the city prior to the prophet's time (v. i.), and not to any one specific event. Yea, it comes even to Judah] This is the burden of the

The change of speaker (from Yahweh to the prophet) is not sufficient reason for suspecting that v. is foreign to this context (contra Gu.). The vivid style of the prophets frequently leaps from one speaker to another without warning.

† Yet on Assyrian reliefs male captives are frequently represented as totally devoid of clothing. See, e. g., the scenes on the bronze ornaments of the gates of Balawat.

patriot's soul, his all-consuming grief.-It reaches unto the gate of my people] Jerusalem is so designated as the seat of the central market-place of Judah and of the highest judicial tribunal, the natural gathering-point of Judah.-Even unto Jerusalem] The situation in the mind of the prophet is evidently that arising out of the campaign of Sennacherib* (v. i.), not that in connection with Sargon's expedition against Egypt ending in the battle of Raphia (719 B.C.).†

The historical conditions amid which this oracle (12-9) was spoken are in dispute: Most interpreters have assigned it to the days immediately preceding the fall of Samaria in 722-721 B.C.; so, e. g., Ew., Hi., Or., Dr.Intr., GASM. (725-718 B.C.), Hal., Now. (who thinks that the denunciation of Samaria was originally uttered prior to 722 B.C., but was later in its present form incorporated for greater effect in an oracle against Judah spoken in connection with Sennacherib's campaign). Others place it in the period of Sennacherib's invasion, 705-701 B.C.; so, e. g., We., Sm. (Rel., 237 f.), Cor., Marti. The narrative certainly looks upon the chastisement of Israel and Judah as something yet to come; there is no hint that Samaria has already been destroyed; the vbs. in v. are indisputably future (contra GASm.). The two lands are indissolubly linked together in the coming destruction; their fate constitutes two acts of the same drama (Now.). The prophet may be standing on the verge of Samaria's fall in 721 B.C., and with keen insight into the meaning of the situation pointing out its ultimate significance for Judah, the fate of which he deems imminent. But the vividness of the description in 1. is more easily accounted for on the basis of calamities actually in progress in Judah than of events only anticipated in imagination. It seems better, therefore, to locate the prophecy in connection with the campaign of 705-701 B.C., and to suppose that the final destruction of Samaria occurred in connection with that event (so Cor., Marti). The desolation here described is not the result of a siege and deportation such as occurred in 721 B.C., but stops short of nothing less than total destruction such as did not take place till some later time. For further discussion, v. Introd., pp. 18–19.

2. ' yo] These words have been borrowed by the editor of 1 K. 2223 as appears from (1) their omission in G's rendering of 1 K. 2228, (2) their utter lack of connection there.-] For other cases of abs with 2d pers., v. 1 K. 2228 Jb. 1710 2 Ch. 1827; for very common lack of congruence of persons after a vocative, v. Kö. § 244 1. 333 §; cf. Nö., Syr. Gram.2, § 360°. Ges. 185 cites, and as parallel cases of the loss of force in the sf.; but Brockelmann, ZA., XIV, 344 f. explains n by reference to the old adverbial ending û; while and did not wholly lose * So We., Now., Marti; contra Hal., Stk.. † GASm..

The possibility remains that the and its transition to almost ad

the force of the sf. in classical Heb.. process was hastened in the case of a verbial usage was facilitated by the similarity to the common adverbial

-Juss. in [וִיהִי-.. 255 .C. K. II חִנָּם, יימָס אוּלָם, רֵיקָם, אָמְנָס ending in

...

= גרך gests

=

=

stead of impf. for rhythmical reasons (Ges. § 109 k); here also to avoid unpleasant assonance with the immediately foll. -3. ] Here parall. with bɔ (v. 2). In early Semitic and Heb. literature' shrine, e. g., Gn. 2811 Je. 712 Is. 187 2 K. 51. 19; it came to be identified with the deity himself in the Mishna, Tosefta, Gemara, and Midrashic literature. Its application to Yahweh's heavenly temple is common in OT., e. g., Ho. 515 Is. 2621 Hb. 220 (so J. A. Montgomery, JBL., XXIV, 17–26).—4. an] Use of generic art. in comparison in ', but omitted in'; note recurrence of in d.] år.. Hoph. of ¬; We. sugAssy. garâru, run, flow (so Hal.), while Hpt. connects it with , to fall, as Pu. prtc. with initial ▷ om..—The omission of c, d (v. s.) obviates the difficulty which leads Siev. to posit the omission of two lines from the original text of v. 3.—5. ] Used for only when the underlying thought refers to persons as here, Ges. § 137. Cf. 1 S. 1818 2 S. 718.-6. 'nawi] Of future action, Ges. 112.- yor] Cf. the Assyrian phrase ana tili u karmi utir into a mound and a ruin I turned it.7. ] So-called Aram. Hoph. (Ges. 678); rather than impf. Qal. pass. (Böttcher, Ges. § 53 ).—7] A ↳ɩod (Dt. 73), or an ¬¬ (Dt. 123), or even a л (2 K. 2315) may be burned, but not a harlot's hire; hence the suspicions against the text (v. s.). The best solution of the difficulty is to assign it to a new root, n having the meaning resemble, be equal, whence come for n the signif. image, and hire (so Halper, AJSL., XXIV, 366 f.). Satisfactory evidence for such a root is furnished by Arabic tânna (III. conj. of tanna), he measured, made comparison, and the noun tinnun, an equal, a like. Support for the ascription to n of these two conceptions, resemblance and compensation, is found in the usage of the parallel roots and ; Heb. image, likeness; Syr., dmayā = value, price; in Syr., Aram., and Arab., n = was equal, like, worth. n is thus closely related to = repeat, rather than ton. From this point of view the use of pans here is seen to be paronomasia, very characteristic of Micah.-] On for V. Ges. 521. Cf. Ew. 1311d (= Pŭ. with ĭ for ŭ); but the Vrss. and the syntax require the Pu'al plural.-8. ] Fully written vowel only here, Ez. 35' and Ps. 7214; v. Ges. § 69 b, note.—41] Kt. g is år.; elsewhere with Qr. (Jb. 1217. 19); cf. analogous formations, finds no certain analogies in Heb., though they are numerous in Arab. Cf. Barth, NB, p. 54. The here is probably due to the influence

ད

=

and ; the Kt.

..] On pl. in comparisons,

Kö. § 264 b.-9. ] On pl. here, cf. Kö. 80-y] On sg. masc. with fem. pl. subject as in , cf. Kö. § 345 d.

83. Lamentation Over Israel's Doom (110-16).

In four strs. of four lines each, the prophet pictures desolation as it sweeps across the countryside with the march of an invading army. Wherever the blow falls, the piercing note of the dirge arises. (1) A call to some of the more northern towns to give themselves to mourning. (2) Disaster sent by Yahweh will smite the cities of Judah. (3) Let the inhabitants of Lachish and its environs flee in hot haste before the impending judgment. (4) Israel's territory will be in the hands of the foe, and her inhabitants will be carried into exile.

TELL it not in Gath;

In Baca, weep bitterly;

In Beth-ophrah, roll yourselves in the dust;

Pass ye over from Shaphir in nakedness.

THE inhabitant of Zaanan comes not forth from her fortress;

Beth-ezel is taken from its site.

How has the inhabitant of Maroth hoped for good!

For calamity has come down from Yahweh to the gates of Jerusalem.
BIND the chariot to the steed, O inhabitant of Lachish;
For in thee are found the transgressions of Israel.
Therefore thou givest a parting gift to Moresheth-Gath.
Beth Achzib has become a snare to the kings of Israel.

I WILL yet bring the conqueror to thee, O inhabitant of Mareshah.
Forever is Israel's glory to perish.

Make thyself bald and shave thee for thy darlings;

Enlarge thy baldness like the vulture's, for they will go into exile from thee.

This piece is the most remarkable, as well as most difficult and obscure of Micah's oracles. It is a dirge, the characteristic measure of which does not appear until Str. II, nor is it then perfectly sustained. On account of the uncertain state of the text, any attempt at reconstruction is extremely hazardous; hence this arrangement is presented with much hesitation. The only material excluded is v. 13b, a gloss which interrupts the connection between 13 and 13, in both of which direct address is employed. The arrangement by Siev. in seven strs. of two lines each, in perfect Qîna measure, is attractive, but it omits material arbitrarily and handles the text too roughly. The poem as a whole is denied to Micah by Marti (whom Siev. follows) on three grounds: (1) that it shows reflection upon the events it describes such as is inconsistent with stirring and painful times like the days of Micah; (2) that the use of the name Israel as including Judah is late; (3) that v. 13 contradicts v. b. But the

us.

puns of the passage furnish no occasion for questioning the deep feeling of the author, since such usage was not inconsistent with great grief and was the furthest possible remove from any suggestion of humor. Its aim was rather to strike forcibly the attention of the listener. Similar usage in Am. 5o and Is. 1027-32 bears witness to this, for Marti's rejection of these two passages as late rests solely upon the fact that they contain paronomasia, an insufficient basis. Cf. Is. 57 611 79 Gn. 493 f. 8. 16. 19 Westphal well says (Jahve's Wohnstätten, 1908, p. 174): "For the ancients the word, the name, had a wholly different significance than for Puns were not for them mere plays upon words; but just as the name had a connection with the thing named so intimate as to transcend our perception, in like manner there was in the similarity of sound between two words a mystical connection of the things themselves; nomen et omen is a conception that developed upon the soil of antiquity." The name Israel as applied to Judah is characteristic of Micah (v. 31. 8. 9). The supposed contradiction between v. 13 and v. ' is only such as is due to the free impetuous utterance of the poet-prophet, which is not to be restrained within geometrically defined limits. In any case the exact significance of v. 13 eludes us.

=

-un) תָּגִילוּ

Aldine ed., èv Bakelμ) Comp. ἐν βακεῖν. But in Acim, and A. G's

10. mun ba naa] 6, μù μeyaλúveobe – iburan. B, 02 less is to be corrected with Seb. to 2). Elh., van bæ babaa (so Wkl.Unt., 185 f.). Che. (JQR., X, 573) and Hal., van be ribaş. But seems established by the duplicate in 2 S. 120, 192] Rd., 27, dropping x as dittog. from prec. line. 6, ol èv 'Akelμ (SH, codd. Q marg., 87, 91, 310, μὴ ἀνοικοδομεῖτε. Some codd. ἐν ̓Ακκαρειμ. èv 'Akelμ, as 6's reading, is supported by L, evakeμ recalls its rendering of pay in Dt. 210. 11. 21 Jos. 1412. 15 21. 23 as Che., EB., 1646, suggests. In support of the emendation ??? may be urged (a) the reading év Bakelu, the last letter of which is a dittograph; (b) the pun thereby recovered; (c) the location of Baca in the region with which Micah is dealing; (d) the ease with which it might have disappeared from the Hebrew text. Reland, Pal., ' ? (so Zunz, Ew., Hi., Kl., Ro., Che., Taylor, Gu., GASm., van H.). In support of this

בִּי ;88 .Am נשקעה = נשקה,are urged the analogies

=

בלה ;בְּעִי ,בעלה

Jos. 193 1529; 10 by, Ps. 28; and the probability that the last letter of GŒ, èv’Akelμ, is a dittog. from following uh. Against this Ry. well argues (1) that in the analogies cited the essential portion of the word has not been lost as here, except in '2, a much-used particle whose position at the beginning of its clause assures its proper recognition; (2) the remaining puns involve not merely the sounds of the words played upon, but also their sense; (3) the location of Acco, north of Carmel, is outside of the region with which Micah is immediately concerned, viz., the western slope of Judah. Mich., pp: (cf. Ju. 21. ; so Vol., Elh., Wkl. Unt.,