of the parallel, to be taken as the object, "I visit on the world the wickedness." VERSE 12. Most of the Babylonians shall perish, v. 9; so few shall remain, that living men will be as rare as the finest gold. Ophir was probably a district in .אוֹפִיר paranoimnasia with כוֹקִיר Southern Arabia. Though gold is not found there now, yet we are assured, by many competent authorities, that it was anciently. It is objected, indeed, that Solomon's ships, 1 K. 10: 22, were gone three years; but the voyages of the ancients were very tedious, mostly along the coasts; the ships that now sail between Suez and Djidda, make only one voyage yearly, as the winds in the north part of the Red Sea blow nine months uniformly downwards; in the south part, nine months upwards; while in the central part they are changeable (Rüppell, Abyss. I. 107). It is conceivable also that the ships of Solomon were compelled to wait a considerable time for the arrival of goods from various parts of India, with which the Arabians early carried on commerce. Winer, art. Ophir. VERSE 13. "Therefore," on account of this punishment so tremendous, the Divine glory will be fully revealed. in the anger, but on account of which follows, in the time of it, when Jehovah manifests it. Comp. Job 37: 1, My heart quakes and trembles from its place. VERSE 14. The numerous foreigners in Babylon, (collected there for purposes of commerce,) are the subject. In the impending invasion, they flee to their own homes. The strangers in Babylon are mentioned, and their flight, Jer. 50: 37. neuter, it is, it so happens. "Chased gazelle," flees with the utmost haste, 2 Sam. 2: 18. Prov. 6: 5. The Vav often stands in connections where it may be resolved by the relative. After 1, may be supplied.1 VERSE 15. Whoever remains in Babylon shall perish. e, lit. all who are scraped together, i. e. collected, taken in the onset, shall be slain by the sword. Xenophon, Cyrop. vii. 5. B. 31, says: "Cyrus sent off the cohorts of horsemen along the roads; and gave orders that they should slay those whom they found without; but those in the houses should be directed, by such as were acquainted with the Syrian language, to stay within; but if any were taken without, they should be put to death." 1 Aeschylus (Pers. 51) says of Babylon : Βαβυλὼν δ' Ε πολύχρυσος πάμμικτον ὄχλον Χαὶ τοξουλκῷ λήματι πιστούς. 1849.] Notes. 775 VERSE 16. The horrid barbarities of ancient warfare are depicted Hos. 10: 14. Nah. 3: 10. 2 K. 8: 12. VERSE 17. The Medes are here first named. The Persians are not mentioned, since the Medians were the leading power, being far more numerous. They appear as an uncultivated people, like the modern Koords. The invaders esteeming gold and silver of no account, the Babylonians would not be able to ransom themselves. Homer, Il. vi. 48: Χαλχός τε χρυσός τε, πολύκμητός τε σίδηρος. "Medes, and all present! I know you well, that neither needing money do you go with me," etc.-Xen. Cyr. 5. 1. 20. VERSE 18. The cruelty of the invaders is still further depicted. , bows, then bowmen. Comp. Germ. Degen, English shots. The Median and Persian armies were distinguished for the number and excellence of the archers, Jer. 50: 42. Cyrop. ii. 1. 7. spare, to be grieved for. Pity is ascribed to the eye; it expresses itself in the looks. to, תָּחוּס The beautiful capital of the Chaldeans, vs. 19-22, becomes a perpetual heap of ruins, where only solitary wild beasts lodge. VERSE 19., beauty, splendor; then roe, gazelle, from its extreme beauty and gracefulness. Thus in relation to Jonathan: “The gazelle, O Israel, on thy mountains slain," 2 Sam. 1: 19. "Beauty of the pride," beautiful place; and, as such, the object of the pride and boast of the Chaldeans. The epithets, says Knobel, stand in fine contrast with the miserable ruins into which Babylon shall fall. , verbal nominative with the Gen. of the subject and Acc. of the object, Ges. Lehrgb. p. 688. VERSE 20. Description of the most perfect destruction: Babylon shall be an eternal desolation. for a fut. Piel from by, to tent, to pitch tent, § 67. R. 2. The Arabians wandered as far as Assyria, Gen. 25: 18, and Babylonia, Strabo, 16. The Nomade tribes of Northern and Central Arabia pitch their tents, at the present time, in the vicinity of Baghdad and of the ruins of Babylon. Ker Porter II. 286. p. אחים VERSE 21. Only beasts which delight in desolate and ruinous places, shall be found there. "Wild beasts," inhabitants of a wild, waste; used of beasts, except in Isa. 23: 13. Ps. 72: 9. found only here; derived, by Ges., from, a root not in use; comp. Latin ulula. "Ostrich," lit. daughter of greediness, used here inixoivos of both sexes; they inhabit the desert and utter a wailing cry. "Wild goats;" lit. hairy; then, he-goat; then, as many suppose, wood-demons, satyrs; a fabulous animal, half human, with which superstition is wont to people a wild region; but here it is, perhaps, unnecessary to go beyond the common meaning of the term he-goat. VERSE 22. As a waste, Babylon is an abode of jackals, Jer. 9: 10. 10:22. Instead of, lit. howler,, the common expression, is used. Sing. with a Plur. § 144. a. as is very ,י for ל אַלְמָנוֹת In The Suffix probably refers to the often the case; see the lexicons. Chaldean king, who lived in the palace. The jackal is noted for its melancholy scream at night, resembling the crying of a child. for CHAP. XV., VERSE 1. This destruction shall take place God" shall choose Israel again." In exile, the Jews had served foreign masters, to whom Jehovah had given them up; but now he chose them once more as his own, as he did anciently in Egypt. with, to be pleased with, to delight in. from ŋ, § 71. R. 9. "Strangers," such as the Canaanites who remained in the land, a part of whom were carried into exile, Ez. 14: 7, a part were left in the land, Ezra 9: 1. Many had become proselytes and zealously kept the law, Num. 15: 14. Isa. 56: 6. VERSE 2. But it shall fare hardly with those nations that had carried the Jews into exile. As their own land is wasted, they must seek a new home; they shall accompany the Jews to Palestine and become their slaves. The Jews shall then hold captive their captors. Isa. 6: 10, bm to appropriate to one's self, used actively. See Lehrgb. 248. VERSE 3. This shall take place when Jehovah gives his people rest from all their troubles. 2 for 7, "which service one has made thee serve." is Acc. and refers to , § 139. 3. a, b). The exiles may have been used as serfs. VERSE 4. The first joyful exclamation of the freed exiles! How has come to an end the oppressor, i. e. the Chaldean king. b satirical poem, song of derision. ah! how! ironical. = , exactress of gold; azuğ key., denominative from Aram. 277 or, if the participle is used abstractly, exaction of gold. But all the ancient versions seem to have read it , oppression; so, also, ed. Thessalon. 1600, which corresponds better with the parallelism. VERSE 5. Jehovah has broken the heavy yoke of the rulers, i. e. oppressors. VERSE 6. The subject is, i. e. the Babylonian power, represented by the king. The common reading is a verbal from Hophal; hence persecution, oppression, in the Acc., with a persecution that knows no intermission. Döderlein, however, suggests 1849.] Notes. 777 , lit. dominion, domination, as the parallelism demands a derivative from This reading is acquiesced in by Maurer, Gesenius, Knobel, and others. in the preceding member, corresponds to striking a strike. For the construct form, see § 114. 3. which he did not restrain. She VERSE 7. After Babylon is destroyed, the whole earth is at rest, no longer exposed to the assaults of that cruel and ambitious Power. "the inhabitants break out into singing," § 135. R. 2. VERSE 8. Even inanimate nature rejoices at thy downfall. has been maltreated by thee. Rosenmüller and others understand by fir-trees and cedars, nobles, great men; but this is rendered improbable by the particle also. The passage may be understood as a lively personification, i. e. the joy at thy downfall is so great, that the objects of nature seem to exult over thee; or, it may refer to actual facts, i. e. the trees on Lebanon had been cut down by the invaders; which appears to be the most natural interpretation. In the invasion of Judah by Sennacherib, Isa. 37: 24, the king of Assyria is represented as saying: "By the multitude of my chariots am I come up to the heights of the mountains, to the sides of Lebanon, and I will cut down the tall cedars thereof." So Hab. 2: 17 is to be taken literally," for the violence of Lebanon shall cover thee," i. e. the violence inflicted by thee on Lebanon (Gen."of object), shall return upon thee by the law of retaliation; and "the destruction of the beasts," i. e. inflicted upon them. See the arguments in favor of the literal interpretation of this passage, in Delitzsch's Habakkuk, p. 95. VERSE 9. Even Hades, the world of the dead, where else unbroken silence reigns, betrays commotion at thy coming. She is filled with astonishment and joy at an event so unlooked for. This passage, one of the sublimest in the Hebrew Scriptures, has been compared to the celebrated lines in the Iliad, xx. 56—65 : And fearfully thundered the Father of men and of gods From on high; but from beneath, Poseidon shook The boundless earth, and of mountains the lofty tops, And all the roots of many-fountained Ida quaked, And the peaks, and the city of the Trojans, and the ships of the Greeks; And trembled from below, the king of the shades, Hades, And fearing, leaped from his throne, and cried aloud, lest from above, And the dwellings to mortals and immortals appear, See, also, the Aeneid viii. 241. Ovid. Met. v. 256. Longinus, on the Sublime, 8. 9. either on thy account, or to thee. x is of com mon gender, and is construed with and i, § 144. R. 1. Lehrgb. 705. Exp, lit. the weak, εἴδωλα καμόντων, 11. 23. 72. From under, contrast with the Chaldee king's coming from above. VERSE 10. Expression of astonishment at the fate of the mighty monarch: "Art thou made like to us, and brought down to us?" Const. Praeg. 138. VERSE 11. The song, commenced v. 4, is here resumed. A few words from the pale shades would be much more in keeping, than a protracted address. A very brief address only would be expected. Brought down to the grave is thy royal majesty and thy luxurious life. Instead of costly furniture for thy couch, worms are thy coverlet. is substantive and Sing. Lehrgb. 433. for $144. a). VERSE 12. Expression of wonder that the man who was exalted to the highest glory is brought down to Hades. Cicero says of Pompey deciderat ex astris; and of Antony: collegam de coelo de⚫ traxisti. considered by some Imp. Hiph. from, howl! but it is descriptive here, and not an address. It is a participial noun from to shine shining one. "Son of the dawn," i. e. morningstar. The planet Venus, rising before the sun, is called by Homer xáhloros άnzio. To it the noblest of earth's kings is likened. Christ is called, Rev. 22: 16, the bright, the morning star. "Cast down," praeg. const. "cast down and destroyed." The false Messiah, at the time of Hadrian, called himself son of the star. = VERSE 13. But this destruction is deserved. In thy pride and impiety, thou didst assume divine honors. Comp. 2 Thess. 2: 4. "Stars of God," stars of heaven, where God dwells. "Mount of the congregation," etc. There seems to be no good reason for deviating from the common view, advocated by Gesenius and others. It is the mons sacer, the Oriental Olympus, the Indian Meru, the Persian el-burj, situated in the farthest regions of the North, under the pole itself, and the seat of the blessed gods. Ges. Thes. in voc. extremities, recesses, penetralia, of a house, Am. 6: 10; of a ship, Jon. 1: 5; of a cave, of the sepulchre, Isa. 14: 15. VERSE 14. Many of the Oriental nations were accustomed to call their kings gods. "Thou saidst, I am a God, I sit in the seat of God," Ez. 38: 2. Virg. Ec. i. 6. deus nobis haec, etc. referring to Augustus. nes for nars§ 53. 2. VERSE 15. Instead of entering the adytum of the gods, thou art brought down to that of the pit, to the deepest recess of the tomb. Gesenius quotes the verses from Vit. Tim. ii. 494: Oft stands above the heaven a man; and stands he there? |
