25. Curst be their anger, for it knew no bound; JUDAH, thy name is Praise ! thy brethren join The necks of all thy foes thy hands shall press; 35. He that would steal her new-born whelps away, . The sceptre shall remain in Judah's hand, - Till SHILOH come: that prosp'rous, peaceful One. Thou, ZEBULUN, shalt reach from sea to sea, 50. Ships in thy friendly ports shall safely ride. While ISSACHAR, endued with strength of bone, DAN, tho' but small, a tribe distinct shall be ;--- Line 12. Mekerotheihem, their fraudulent contracts (see Venema's Dissertations, vol. i. 226). Macar, which in Hebrew denotes he sold, in Arabic signifies to beguile, and in Syriac to espouse. Line 20. Ikkeru shor. James Robertson's Translation seems much preferable to ours, and still more so to the Seventy; not they dug down a wall,' much less they houghed an ox,' but thus: For in their anger they slew a man, And in their self-will they extirpated a prince. Line 25. Achallekem bejaakob, I will divide them a portion in Jacob, So Venema renders it, and includes Reuben in the blessing, as otherwise no blessing at all would have been pronounced on these tribes, contrary to the assertion in ver. 28, that he blessed them, every one according to his blessing.'. Compare Moses's blessing on Reuben (Deut. xxxiii. 6.) and on Levi (v. 8~11.). Line 47. From the Mediterranean to the Sea of Galilee. Line 51. Issachar is a strong ass (chamor gerem, an ass of bone). Be ASHER blest indeed! with choicest bread Let NAPHTALI divine deliverance find, JOSEPH, the son of a most fruitful vine, Her branches flourish after her decease. Their venom'd shafts the archers thickly shot; His arms, his hands, his father's God sustains, 90. Iis aid thou hast experienc'd oft, and still Blessings from Heaven above to thee shall flow, Fierce as a wolf shall BENJAMIN prepare, The spoil dividing at the ev`ning hour! Line 22. Joseph is the son of a fruitful vine (ben porath). This seems to refer to Rachel, who, though she was long barren, and left but two sons, yet had two tribes, which sprang from her grandsons, and very large ones, especially that of Ephraim, as Jacób had already predicted (Gen. xlviii. 16. 19, and Deut. xxxiii. 17.). I wonder so natural an idea, which must affect the tenderest feelings of the Patriarch's heart, has not been noticed before. Psalm cxxviii. 3. Line 85. The Samaritan and Syriac both read' Mishem, from the name,' instead of Misham, from thence' (see Psalm xx. 1, 5, 7). This agrees also with the preceding and following clause. Fidei abir Jaakob, Fishem Roch eben Jisrael, ble-El abica vejazereca, &c. From the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob. Line 94. I have introduced a reference to his ancestors; but I suspect the true reading is, Al bircoth harei ad (or harrei ad) Ta-avath gibeoth olam ; and not Al bircoth horai, Ad ta avath gibeoth olam. Sce Deut. xxxiii. 15, and Habak. iii. 6. In the former, harrei kedem: and in the latter, harrei ad occurs in the first clause, to correspond with gibeoth olam, in the following line. Printed by G. AULD, Greville Street, London. TO THE EVANGELICAL MAGAZINE FOR THE YEAR 1809. MEMOIR OF MR. ROBERT PRINGLE. MR ROBERT PRINGLE, the subject of this Memoir, died September 20, 1806, in the 89th year of his age, having been upwards of 41 years an Elder of the Associate Congregation at Newcastle upon Tyne.. He was a native of North Britain; and was born May 31, 1712, at St. Andrew's, Fifeshire. At what age his acquaintance with the power of religion commenced I cannot say; but various circumstances concur to fix its date at an early period of his life. At the commencement of the Secession, being then 24 years old, he espoused its cause; and in him it experienced an intelligent, warm, and constant friend. With singular pleasure he often described the delightful seasons of gospel administration in the early period of the Secession. Instead of houses to worship in, the circumstances of the times now and then obliged them to repair to the fields. Here, with patience and delight, they sat, and heard the good tidings of great joy,' and not unfrequently on benches formed by the drifted snow. Often, especially in his later years, did he speak of the days of power which then were felt, of the rich effusions of the Holy Spirit which then were experienced, and the astonishing displays of grace which then were seen. In the year 1750, he removed with his family to South Shields and was an active instrument in forming a church at Newcastle, a few miles distant. As an elder in that church, he was truly exemplary. Faithful in visiting the sick (a work which many in the office he held do not consider as a branch of their duty) and skilled in the word of life, he knew how to declare the threatenings of the law to the secure, and to administer the consolations of the gospel to the broken-hearted. He possessed a noble mind, a mind that was scarcely ever moved by man; yet he was far from being stern or morose. Hi countenance was mild, serene, and engaging. The placid and virtuous disposition which held the empire of his bosom, XVIL. 4 E |