Another question remains to be answered. For what purpose does the Apostle quote verses 3-5 also, inasmuch as, apparently, verses 1 and 2 alone properly served his purpose; and what sense did he put upon them? The answer Is given In ver. 40: Ἑτέροις τε λόγοις πλείοσι διεμαρτύρετο, καὶ παρεκάλει, λέγων· Σώθητε ἀπὸ τῆς γενεᾶς τῆς σκολιᾶς ταύτης. Even in the few words In which Luke communicates to us the brief summary of what Peter spoke In this respect, a reference to the passage under consideration has been preserved to us. Peter made use of the threatening which was, in the first Instance, to be fulfilled upon the dark refuse of the Covenant-people, In order to Induce them, by terror, to seek a participation in the promise which alone could deliver them from the threatened judgment. That he succeeded in this, is shown by the words, Ἐγένετο δὲ πάσῃ φόβος, in ver. 43. Several interpreters have, by ver. 22, been led into a total misconception of the sense in which Peter quotes vers. 3-5. It is true, certainly, that the words τέρασι καὶ σημείοις are not used without reference to the passage in Joel. Peter directs attention to the circumstance, that they who, from their hardness of heart, do not acknowledge the τέρατα and σημεῖα with which God accompanied the manifestation of His grace, shall be visited by τέρατα and σημεῖα of a totally different nature, from the fearful impression of which they shall not be able to escape.

But let us now in addition consider some of the particulars. In substance, the quotation by Peter agrees with the LXX.; but deviations occur on particular points. At the very beginning, the LXX., adhering more closely to the Hebrew text, have: καὶ ἔσται μετὰ ταῦτα; whereas Peter says: καὶ ἔσται ἐν ταῖς ἐσχάταις ἡμέραις. The reason of this deviation is, that the Apostle intends to determine, by this deviation, the expression, which in itself is wider and more indefinite, in such a manner that the period to which the prophecy specially refers, and hence also its application to the case in question, should be rendered more obvious. In a case entirely similar, Jeremiah, in chap. xlix. 6, employs the wider term אחרי־כן, while in xlviii. 47 he makes use of the more definite באחרית הימים. By the latter term, Kimchi also explains the אחרי־כן in the passage before us; while Jarchi (compare Schöttgen, S. 210) explains it by the equivalent term לעתיד לבא. The words λέγει ὁ Θεός are wanting in the LXX., as well as in the original Hebrew text. They have been taken from ver. 5, and, contrasted with τὸ εἰρημένον διὰ τοῦ προφήτου Ἰωήλ, they direct attention to the divine source of prophecy, and hence to the necessity of its fulfilment. The two members, καὶ οἱ πρεσβύτεροι ὑμῶν ἐνύπνια ἐνυπνιασθήσονται, καὶ οἱ νεανίσκοι ὑμῶν ὀράσεις ὄψονται, Peter has reversed; probably in order to place the young men together with the sons and daughters, and to assign the place of honour to the old men. In the δούλους μου and δούλας μου, Peter follows the LXX., and that in a sense which only expressly makes prominent a point really contained in the prophecy, whether such was intended by the translators, or not; for the circumstance that the servants of men were, at the same time, servants of God, formed the ground of their participation in the promise. The same contrast is found, e.g., in 1 Cor. vii. 22, 23: Ὁ γὰρ ἐν Κυρίῳ κληθεὶς δοῦλος ἀπελεύθερος Κυρίου ἐστίν· ὁμοίως καὶ ὁ ἐλεύθερος κληθεὶς, δοῦλός ἐστι Χριστοῦ. Τιμῆς ἠγοράσθητε· μὴ γίνεσθε δοῦλοι ἀνθρώπων; compare Gal. iii. 28; Philem. 10. Hence it is equivalent to: Upon servants and handmaids of men who are, at the same time, my servants and handmaids, and, therefore, in spiritual things of equal rank with those who are free. To give prominence to this perfect equality, is also the design of the additional clause: καὶ προφητεύσουσι, subjoined after ἐκχεῶ ἀπὸ τοῦ πνεύματός μου. The circumstance that Peter thought it necessary to add this clause, which, as we have proved, quite harmonizes with the design of the prophet, seems to prove that, even at his time, interpretations were current, in which an attempt was made to diminish, or altogether to take away, in the case of servants and handmaids, their participation in those blessings;—interpretations similar to those of Abarbanel, and even of Grotius, who thus paraphrases the verse: "Even to those who seem to be lowest, I will certainly impart, although not prophesying and dreaming dreams, yet certain extraordinary and heavenly motions." The antiquity of this false interpretation is attested by Jerome also, who probably was, in this respect, altogether dependent upon his Jewish teachers. He interprets, indeed, the servants and handmaids spiritually, and of such as have not the spirit of freedom he says: "They shall neither have prophecies, nor dreams nor visions, but, satisfied with the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, they shall possess only the grace of faith and salvation."—In ver. 3, Peter adds ἄνω to ἐν τῷ οὐρανῷ, and κάτω to ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς, in order to make the contrast more obvious and striking. All the deviations from the LXX., and the original text, are thus of the same kind, and intended to bring out more distinctly what is implied in the passage itself. Not one of them need to be accounted for by the circumstance, that the Apostle quoted from memory.

THE PROPHET AMOS.

GENERAL PRELIMINARY REMARKS.

It will not be necessary to extend our preliminary remarks on the prophet Amos, since on the main point—viz., the circumstances under which he appeared as a prophet—the introduction to the prophecies of Hosea may be regarded as having been written for those of Amos also. For, according to the inscription, they belong to the same period at which Hosea's prophetic ministry began, viz., the latter part of the reign of Jeroboam II., and after Uzziah had ascended the throne in Judah.

The circumstances of the prophet we learn, generally, from the words in chap. i. 1: "Who was among the herdmen of Tekoah." If there existed no other statement than this, there might be truth in the remark made by many interpreters, that we cannot, from his having been a herdman, infer that he was poor and low. It is shown, however, by a statement in chap. vii. 14, that, by the "herdman," we are not to understand one who was also possessed of flocks, or, like David, the son of such, but a poor servant herdman. For, in that passage, the prophet replies to the command of the priest Amaziah to get himself out of the country, to which he did not belong, and to return to his native land: "I am no prophet, nor the son of a prophet, but I am a herdman; and such an one as plucketh sycamores. And the Lord took me from behind the flock, and the Lord said unto me. Go prophesy unto My people Israel." The fruit of the sycamores, called ἄτροφος and κακοστόμαχος by Dioscorides, served as food for only the poorest and meanest. Bochart (Hieroz. t. i. p. 407 [385] Rosenmüller) remarks: "It is the same as if he had said, that he was a man of the humblest condition, and born in poor circumstances, so that he scarcely maintained his life by scanty and frugal fare; that he had never thought of obtaining the prophetical office in Israel, until a higher power, viz., divine inspiration, impelled him to undertake it."^[1] But this passage merits our attention in another point of view. In what sense is it that Amos here denies that he is a prophet? It is evidently in a very special sense that he does so. He obviously does not mean thereby to deny that he possessed the gift of prophecy, or held the prophetical office; for, otherwise, he would himself have furnished weapons to his enemy, to whom he wishes to prove his right. The following remarks will be found to contain the true answer.

It cannot be proved in any way, that the schools of the prophets, established by Samuel at a time when the circumstances of Judah and Israel were altogether similar, were continued in the kingdom of Judah. Every prophet there stands in an isolated position. The entire prophetic order and institute bears rather a sporadic character. But in the kingdom of Israel, where the prophetic order occupied a position altogether different from that which it held in the kingdom of Judah, inasmuch as, after the expulsion of the tribe of Levi, they had to watch over all the interests of religion, the schools of the prophets had a very important mission assigned to them. We must not by any means imagine that their constitution was such, that after a few years' training, the sons of the prophets attained to perfect independence. The greater number of them remained during all their lifetime in the position of sons. The schools of the prophets were a kind of monasteries. Even those who, in consequence of their peculiar circumstances, no longer remained there, but were scattered throughout the country, continued always under their authority. One needs only to read attentively the histories of Elijah and of Elisha, which afford us the fullest information regarding these institutions, to be speedily convinced of the soundness of the view which we have here presented. On the subject of the organization of the schools of the prophets in the kingdom of Israel, compare Dissertations on the Genuineness of the Pentateuch, i. p. 185. f.

But how can Amos adduce it as a proof of his divine mission, that he is neither a prophet, nor, in the sense explained, a prophet's son, i.e., that he was neither a superior nor an inferior member of the prophetic order? The answer is,—It was the result of that organization of the prophetic order, that the relation to the Lord was one which was more or less mediate. To those who would not acknowledge the immediate divine influence, some ground was thereby afforded for doing so. Their training, their principles, the form of their prophecies, all admitted of a natural explanation. It is true that the spirit which animated them baffled any such attempt; but that spirit was not so easily perceived. In the case of any one, then, who appeared as a prophet, without standing in that connection, and yet in the full possession of all prophetic gifts,—in demonstration of the spirit and of power, a natural explanation was far more difficult; especially if, like Amos, he was, by his outward situation, cut off from all human resources for education. But was Amos, for that reason, an uneducated man? This is a question which one may answer either in the affirmative or negative, according to what he understands by education. So much is certain, that he was in possession of the essential part of a true Israelitish education—viz., the knowledge of the law. The most intimate acquaintance with the Pentateuch everywhere manifests itself; compare in proof of this the Dissertations on the Genuineness of the Pentateuch, i. p. 136 ff. There are too many instances, down to most recent times, of living piety breaking, in this respect, through almost impenetrable barriers, to allow us to consider this as a strange thing, and to make it necessary for us to excogitate the various ways and means by which Amos may have received this education. It is only on the lower ground of the mere forms of language, that the rank of Amos not unfrequently appears. In all the higher relations he shows himself a type of the Apostles, who, although they were uneducated fishermen of Galilee, exhibit the most distinguishing proofs of true education.

Amos belonged to that circle of prophets who received a commission to prophesy the ruin which was impending over the Covenant-people, before any human probability existed for it. Baur, on Amos, S. 60, is of opinion that "the definiteness with which he prophesies the destruction of the kingdom of Jeroboam, although its power was at that time still flourishing, leads us to expect that he must have had distinct indications of its speedy decay." In a certain sense we may assent to this opinion. The prophet himself continually points to such indications. These indications are the sins of the people. But if Baur endeavours to put political indications in the stead of these moral ones; if he be of opinion that the Assyrians must, at that time, have stood in a threatening attitude in the background, we must give to his opinion a decided opposition. We can, in such an assertion, see only an effect of that naturalistic mode of viewing things, which would limit the horizon of the prophets to that of their own times.^[2] Not the slightest allusion to the Assyrians occurs. The supposition that Calneh or Ktesiphon, in chap. vi. 2, appears as having already fallen (through the Assyrians), rests upon an incorrect interpretation, just as does the assertion that Hamath, in the same passage, is supposed to be conquered; concerning the latter point, compare Thenius on 2 Kings xiv. 28. In the announcement of the carrying away into captivity beyond Damascus, made in chap. v. 27, there appears nothing more than the knowledge, that the catastrophe will not be brought about by that heathen power which had hitherto brought ruin upon the kingdom of Israel But, everywhere, we may see that the prophet—whom we have no reason to think an especially ingenious politician—appeared at a time when no one expected any danger. Amos prophesied at a time when the morning-dawn had risen upon Israel, iv. 13, v. 8; "in the beginning of the shooting up of the grass, and behold the grass was standing, after the King (Jehovah) had caused to be mown," vii. 1; at a time when the prosperity of the kingdom of the ten tribes was again budding forth. In chap. viii. 9, the Lord threatens that He will cause the sun to go down at noon, and bring darkness over the land in the day of light. In chap. vi. 4-6, the prevailing careless luxury and joy are graphically described. Chap. v. 18 implies that the people mocked at the threatening of the coming of the day of the Lord, the coming of which could, therefore, not have been indicated by any human probability. In chap. vi. 1, the prophet gives utterance to an exclamation of woe over them that are secure in Zion, and that trust in the mountain of Samaria. In chap. vi. 13, he opposes the delusion of those "who rejoice in a thing of nought, who say, Have we not taken to us horns by our own strength?" The people in the kingdom of the ten tribes must accordingly have imagined that they were living in the golden age of the fulfilment of Deut. xxx. 17, and must not have thought for a moment that the axe was already laid to the root of the tree.

But we are not at liberty to seek the fulfilment of the prophecy of Amos, only in the visitation by the Assyrians. That which happens to the people of the ten tribes is, to the prophet, only a part of a general visitation, which comes, not only upon all the neighbouring nations, but upon Judah also, and which brings utter ruin upon the latter, chap. ii. 4, 5, destroying the temple at Jerusalem, and driving the house of David from the throne, ix. 1, 11. According to prophecy and history, however, this catastrophe came upon Judah, not by Asshur, but, in the first instance, by Babylon.

The prophecy possesses a comprehensive character, such as we should be led to expect from the close connection of Amos with Joel. It comprehends everything which Judah and Israel, along with the neighbouring people, had to suffer from the rising heathen powers; compare vi. 14, v. 24, according to which, judgment shall roll down as waters, and righteousness as a continual stream.^[3]

In the case of Amos, also, interpreters have been at considerable pains in fixing the time and the occasion of the single portions, but with as little success as in the cases of Hosea and Micah. The very inscription proves that we have before us a whole, composed at one time, and containing the substance of what the prophet had uttered previously, and in a detached form. According to this inscription, the book was composed only two years after the prophet's personal ministry in the kingdom of Israel. But if there were such an interval betwixt the oral preaching of the prophet and its having been committed to writing, it is, a priori, not likely that the latter should have followed the former, step by step.

The words, "Two years before the earthquake," cannot be regarded as a chronological date, intended to fix more definitely the exact time within the more extended period previously stated, viz., "the days of Uzziah and Jeroboam." For such a purpose they are ill suited, inasmuch as the time of the earthquake is not fixed; and, moreover, any such more definite determination would have been without either significance or interest. This only was of importance, that the word of the Lord should have been uttered in the days of Jeroboam, and that the prophecy of the destruction should have been delivered at a time when the Israelites enjoyed an amount of prosperity, such as they had not known for a long time. It can scarcely be doubted that the earthquake under Uzziah, the fearfulness of which is testified by Zech. xiv. 5, comes under consideration only as the reason for the composition of the book,—for committing to writing what had formerly been delivered orally. The earthquake denotes, in the symbolical language of Scripture, great revolutions, by which the form of the earth is changed, and that which is uppermost, overturned; compare my remarks on Rev. vi. 12. To point to such an earthquake had been the fundamental thought of Amos' oral predictions. By the natural earthquake, he was induced to commit them to writing, that they might go side by side with the symbol, and serve as its interpreter.

There is a plan in the arrangement of the book, which indicates that the book is not a collection of separate discourses, but that it bears an independent character. It is distinctly divided into two parts,—the first, made up of naked prophecies, from chap. i. to chap. vi.; the second, of such prophecies as are connected with a symbol, which is always very simple, and very briefly described,—from chap. vii. to chap. ix.

In the first part, the prophet begins with the announcement of the wrath of the Lord, ver. 2. He then reviews, in their order, those kingdoms upon which it shall be poured out, viz., Damascus, Philistia, Tyrus, Edom, Ammon, Moab, and Judah: until at last the storm reaches to Israel, and, according to Rückert's striking remarks, remains suspended over it.

In addition to Israel, there are seven nations, and the seven are divided into three, and four; three not related to the people of the ten tribes, and four related to them; the brotherly people of Judah being introduced after three nations have been mentioned which are more distantly related to Israel.

According to Rückert, it is only in chap. ii. 6-16 that the storm which remained suspended over Israel is described; then in chap. iii.-vi. there follow four threatening discourses, which are not connected either with the preceding ones, or with each other. But the correct view rather is, that this stationary suspension is described in the whole of the first half,—in the main, indeed, even to the end of the book.

This is evident from the consideration that, if such were not the case, the treatment of the main subject would be, as regards the extent of the description, greatly disproportioned to the introduction; for chap. i. to ii. 5 must be considered to be, throughout, merely introductory. But as the ground on which we advance this assertion is made in opposition to an unsound view, it requires a more particular determination. It is assumed by many interpreters, that in the nations besides Israel, the prophet reproves "some haughty excesses, but, evidently, only as instances of the immorality prevailing" (Jahn, Einl. 2, p. 404). But this view, according to which the prophet might, instead of the various crimes mentioned, have noticed any other crime, e.g., fornication, idolatry, etc., is certainly erroneous. It is rather a theocratic judgment of which he speaks throughout; they are crimes against the theocracy, the punishment of which he announces. These he considers as being more heinous than all others; for the guilt of the latter is diminished by the circumstance of their having been committed against the hidden God only, while the former have been committed against the God who has manifested Himself, and who is living among His people. For so much is evident, that the main cause of the hatred of all the neighbouring nations against Israel was, that Israel was the people of God. For where can an instance be found of a hatred betwixt any two of them, so inextinguishable, and continuing through centuries? How entirely different is, e.g., the position of Edom against Moab, from that of Edom against Israel? Three reasons confirm the correctness of our assertion as to the purely theocratic nature of the judgment. 1. The general announcement of the judgment. "Jehovah roareth from Zion, and from Jerusalem He giveth His voice." The very use of the name Jehovah here deserves attention. A judgment of a general kind upon the heathen would belong to God as Elohim. It is Elohim who is the God of the heathen,—the Creator, Preserver, and Governor of the world, from whom blessings, as well as judgments upon it, proceed. Now it might be said that Jehovah is used in the case of the heathen also, for the sake of uniformity, because to Him belongeth the judgment upon Judah and Israel. But that this is not the case, is seen from the addition: "From Zion,—from Jerusalem." Every general judgment proceeds from heaven; it is only as a theocratic God, that God reigns in Zion and Jerusalem. This argument admits of no exception; all that God does from Zion is theocratic deliverance, or theocratic judgment.—2. The nature of the crimes themselves, which are cited by way of example. It can certainly not be merely accidental, that they are all such as were committed against the Covenant-people. There is one only which forms an apparent exception, viz., that of the Moabites, who are, in chap. ii. 1, charged with having burned into lime the bones of the king of Edom. But, with the consent of the greater number of interpreters, Jerome remarks on this: "In order that God might show that He is the Lord of all, and that every soul is subject to Him who formed it. He punishes the iniquity committed against the king of Edom." But in this remark of Jerome, the relation in which Idumea stood to the Covenant-people is altogether lost sight of. It is only as a vassal of their kings that the king of Edom here comes into view. This is sufficiently manifest from 2 Kings iii., although the event narrated there is different from that which is here alluded to, of which no record has been preserved in history.^[4] The hatred against the Covenant-people, which the Moabites were too weak openly to exhibit, impelled them to this wicked deed against the king tributary to them.—3. It must be carefully observed how the prophet, when coming to Judah, introduces us, at once, into the centre of theocratic transgression, the forsaking of the living God, and the serving of vain, dead idols.

It will now be easily seen in what way the portion, chap. i.-ii. 5, serves as an introduction to what follows. The prophecies against foreign nations do not, as elsewhere, serve as a consolation, or as a proof of the love of God towards His people, and of His omnipotence, or as a means for destroying confidence in man's power, in man's help; they are, on the contrary, intended, from the very outset, to give rise in Israel to the question: If such be done in the green tree, what shall be done in the dry? That question the prophet answers at large. If severe punishment be inflicted, even upon those who have trespassed against the living God, with whom they came into contact only distantly, what will become of those to whom He manifested Himself so plainly and distinctly,—among whom He had, as it were, gained a form,—before whose eyes He had been so evidently set forth? The declaration, "You only do I know of all the families of the earth; therefore I shall visit upon you all your iniquities" (iii. 2), forms the centre of the whole threatening announcement to Israel. And could it indeed be introduced in any better way than by pointing out, how even the lowest degree of knowledge was followed by such a visitation? But now, that which under the Old Testament was the highest degree, becomes, under the New Testament, only a preparatory step. The revelation of God in Christ stands in the same relation to that made to Israel under the Old Testament, as the latter stands to the manifestation of His character and nature to the heathen, who came into connection with the Covenant-people. Thus the fulfilment becomes to us a new prophecy. If the rejection of God, in His inferior revelation, was followed by such awful consequences to the temporal welfare of the people of the Old Covenant, what must be the consequences of the rejection of the highest and fullest revelation of God to the temporal and spiritual welfare of the people of the New Covenant? This is a thought which is further expanded in Heb. xii. 17 ff., and it forms the essential feature of the description of the judgment of the world in the New Testament. This judgment has been but too often thus misunderstood, as if it concerned the world as the world,—a misunderstanding similar to that of the section before us. The Gospel shall first be preached to every creature, and according as every one has conducted himself towards the living God, so he shall be judged.—But it is not to the heathen nations only, but to Judah also that, by way of introduction, destruction is announced. The circumstance that not even the possession of so many precious privileges, as the temple and the Davidic throne, could ward off the well-merited punishment of sin, could not but powerfully affect the hearts of the ten tribes. If God's justice be so energetic, what have they to expect?

If we continue the examination of Rückert's view, it will soon appear that the phrase, "Hear this word," in iii. 1, iv. 1, and v. 1, can alone be considered as the foundation on which it rests. But these words do not at all prove a new commencement, but only a new starting-point. This appears sufficiently from the absence of these words at the alleged fourth threatening discourse in chap. vi.; and likewise from a comparison of Hosea iv. 1 and v. 1: "Hear the word of the Lord, ye children of Israel," and "Hear this, ye priests, and hearken, ye house of Israel, and give ear, house of the king;" while nothing similar occurs in the following chapters. That such an exhortation was appropriate, even in the middle, is clearly seen from Amos iii. 13. It cannot then, per se, prove anything in favour of a new beginning. If it is to be regarded as such, the discourse must be proved, by other reasons, to have been completed. But no such reasons here exist. We might as reasonably assume the existence of ten threatening discourses, as of four. The circumstance that we can nowhere discover a sure commencement and a clearly defined termination, shows that we are fully justified in considering the whole first part, chap. i. to vi., as a connected discourse.

The second part, which contains the visions of the destruction, is composed, indeed, of various portions,—as might have been expected from the nature of the subject. Each new vision, with the discourse connected with it, must form a new section. Chap. vii., viii., and ix., form each a whole. From the account which is added to the first vision; and which relates to the transactions between Amos and the high priest Amaziah, which were caused by the public announcement of this vision (chap. vii. 12-14), we are led to suppose that these visions were formerly delivered singly, in the form in which we now possess them. But that, even here, we have not before us pieces loosely connected with each other in a chronological arrangement, is evident from the fact, that the promises stand just at the end of the whole collection. The prophet had rather to reprove and to threaten than to comfort; but yet he cannot refrain, at least at the close, from causing the sun to break through the clouds. Without this close there would be wanting in Amos a main element of the prophetic discourse, which is wanting in no other prophet, and by which alone the other elements are placed in a proper light.

It also militates against the supposition of a mere collection, that in the last vision the prevailing regard to the kingdom of the ten tribes disappears almost entirely, and that, like the third chapter of Hosea, it relates to the whole of the Covenant-people,—in agreement with the reference to the earthquake mentioned in the inscription, which the prophet had experienced in Judah, and which brought into view, not a particular, but a general, judgment.

The symbolical clothing, however, forms the sole difference betwixt the second part and the first. As the "real centre and essence of the book" the second part cannot be regarded; the threatening is as clear and impressive in the first part.

That which is common to Amos with the contemporary prophets, is the absolute clearness with which he foresees that, before salvation comes, all that is glorious, not only in Israel, but in Judah also, must be given over to destruction. Judah and Israel shall be overflowed by the heathen world, the Temple at Jerusalem destroyed, the Davidic dynasty dethroned, and the inhabitants of both kingdoms carried away into captivity. But afterwards, the restoration of David's tabernacle (ix. 11), and the extension of the kingdom of God far beyond the borders of the heathen world (ver. 12), take place. The most characteristic point is the emanation of salvation from the family of David, at the time of its deepest abasement.

CHAPTER IX.

The chapter opens with a vision. The temple, shaken by the Angel of the Lord in its very foundations, falls down, and buries Judah and Israel under its ruins. Without a figure,—the breach of the Covenant by the Covenant-people brings destruction upon them. The prophet endeavours to strengthen the impression of this threatening upon their mind, by breaking down the supports of false security by which they sought to evade it. There is no deliverance, no escape, vers. 2-4, for the Almighty God is the enemy and pursuer, vers. 5, 6. There is no mercy on account of the Covenant, for Israel is no more the Covenant-people. They shall not, however, be altogether destroyed; but the destruction of the sinful mass shall be accompanied by the preservation of a small number of the godly, vers. 7-10. This great sifting is followed, however, by the restoration; the tabernacle of David which is fallen, the kingdom of God among Israel, connected with the family of David, shall be raised up again, ver. 11; rendered glorious by its extension over the heathen, ver. 12; and blessed with the abundance of the divine gifts, vers. 12-15.

Ver. 1. "I saw the Lord standing over the altar; and He said, Smite the chapiter, and make the thresholds tremble, and break them upon the heads of all; and I will kill their remnant by the sword: he that fleeth away of them shall not flee away, and he that escapeth of them shall not be delivered."

The principal question which here arises is:—Who is here addressed,—to whom is the commission of destruction given by the Lord? As, in accordance with the dramatic character of the prophetical discourse, the person is not more definitely marked out, we can think of Him only who, throughout, executes God's judgments upon the enemies of His kingdom. But He is the same to whom the preservation and protection of the true members of His kingdom are committed, viz., the Angel of the Lord. It was He, who, as המשחית, the destroying Angel, smote the first-born of Egypt, Exod. xii. 2, 3, compared with 12, 13. It was from Him that the destruction of the Assyrians proceeded, 2 Kings xix. 34, 35; Is. xxxvii. 35, 36. After the numbering of Israel, when the anger of the Lord was kindled against them, it was He who inflicted the punishment, 2 Sam. xxiv. 1, 15, 16. As He encampeth round about them who fear the Lord, so He is, in regard to the ungodly, like the wind which carries away the chaff, Ps. xxxiv. 8, xxxv. 5, 6.—In opposition to the objection raised by Baur,—That, with the exception of the passage in Is. vi., nowhere, in the books composed before the Chaldee period, do angels appear to act as mediators in the execution of the divine commands,"—it is sufficient to refer to Joel iv. (iii.) 9-11, and, as regards the Angel of the Lord, to Hosea xii. 5 (4). But we have, in addition, a special reason for thinking here of the Angel of the Lord. This is afforded to us by the ninth chapter of Ezekiel, which must be considered, throughout, as a further expansion of the verse under consideration, and as the oldest and most trustworthy commentary upon it. In that chapter, there appear (at the command of the Lord who is about to avenge the apostasy of His people) the servants of His justice—six in number—and in the midst of them, "a man clothed with linen;"—the former, with instruments of destruction; the latter, with writing materials. They step (the scene is in the temple) by the side of the brazen altar. Thither there comes to them out of the holy of holies, to the threshold of the temple, the glory of the Lord, and gives to Him who is clothed with linen the commission to preserve the faithful, while the others receive a commission to destroy the ungodly, without mercy. But now, Who is the man clothed in linen? None other than the Angel of the Lord. This appears from Daniel x. 5, xii. 6, 7, where Michael = the Angel of the Lord (compare Dissertations on the Genuineness of Daniel, p. 135 ff.) is designated in the same way,—a remarkable coincidence in these two contemporary prophets, to which we omitted to direct attention in our work on Daniel. It is further evident from the subject itself. The dress is that of the earthly high priest (Theodoret remarks: "The dress of the seventh is that of the high priest, for he was not one of the destroyers, but the redeemer of those who were worthy of salvation"); compare Lev. xvi. 4, 23. It is especially from the former of these passages that the plural בדים is to be accounted for. According to it, the various parts of the high priest's dress are of linen. But the heavenly Mediator, High Priest, and Intercessor, is the Angel of the Lord; compare, e.g., Zech. i. 12, where He makes intercession for the Covenant-people, and the Lord answers Him with good and comfortable words. Concerning the earthly high priest as a type of Christ, and hence a type of the Angel of the Lord, compare the remarks on Zech. iii. But we must not imagine that He who is clothed with linen is commissioned solely for the work of delivering the godly, and hence stands contrasted with the six ministers of justice. On the contrary, these are rather to be considered as being subordinate to Him, as carrying out the work of destruction only by His command and authority. From Him, punishment no less than salvation proceeds. This is sufficiently evident for general reasons. The punishment and deliverance have both the same root, the same aim, viz., the advancement of the kingdom of God. We cannot by any means think of evil angels in the case of the six; such could be assumed only in opposition to the whole doctrine of Scripture on the point, which is always consistent in ascribing the punishment of the wicked to the good angels, and the temptation of the godly, with the permission of God, to the evil angels. In proof of this, we have only to think of Job's trial, of Christ's temptation, and of the angel of Satan by whom Paul was buffeted. This subject has already been very well treated by Ode, who, in his work De Angelis, p. 741 ff., says: "God sends good angels to punish wicked men, and He employs evil angels to chasten the godly."^[1] But if this be established, it is then established at the same time, that the judgment here belongs to the Angel of the Lord. For to Him, as the Prince of the heavenly host, all inferior angels are subordinate, so that everything which they do belongs to Him.—To these general reasons, we may, however, add special reasons which are altogether decisive. That He who is clothed with linen is closely connected with the six, is indicated by the number seven. He also appears at the side of the altar, and comes in the midst of the others, who follow after Him, ver. 2. But of conclusive significance are the words in chap. x. 2 and 7: "And the Lord spake unto the man clothed with linen, and said, Go in between the wheels under the cherubim, and fill Thine hand with coals of fire from between the cherubim, and scatter them over the city. And He went in, in my sight. And a cherub stretched forth his hand from between the cherubim, unto the fire that was between the cherubim, and took, and put it into the hands of Him who was clothed with linen. And He took it and went out." The fire here is not the symbolical designation of wrath, but natural fire; for it is the setting on fire and burning of the city which is here to be prefigured. The wheels denote the natural powers,—in the first instance, the wind, chap. x. 13, but the fire also; while the cherubim denote the living creation. The Angel of the Lord is here expressly designated as He who executeth the judgments of divine justice.

The importance of the preceding investigation extends beyond the mere clearing up of the passage under consideration. We have here obtained the Old Testament foundation for the New Testament doctrine, that all judgment has been committed to the Son, while the harmony of the two Testaments is exhibited in a remarkable instance. Compare with the already cited Old Testament declarations, such passages as Matt. xiii. 41: Ἀποστελεῖ ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου τοὺς ἀγγέλους αὑτοῦ, καὶ συλλέξουσιν ἐκ τῆς βασιλείας αὐτοῦ πάντα τὰ σκάνδαλα, καὶ τοὺς ποιοῦντας τὴν ἀνομίαν· and xxv. 31: Ὅταν δὲ ἔλθῃ ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου ἐν τῇ δόξῃ αὑτοῦ, καὶ πάντες οἱ ἄγγελοί μετ' αὐτοῦ, τότε καθίσει ἐπὶ θρόνου δόξης αὑτοῦ. In order to be convinced of the identity of the Angel of the Lord and Christ (compare above, p. 107 sqq. and Commentary on Rev. i. p. 466), we may further direct attention to the fact that the Angel of the Lord, who meets us throughout the whole of the Old Testament, suddenly disappears in the New Testament, and that to Christ all is ascribed which was in the Old Testament attributed to the Angel of the Lord.

A second important question is:—What is to be understood by the altar, המזבח? Several interpreters adopt the opinion of Cyril, and think of the altar at Bethel, or some other idolatrous altar in the kingdom of Israel. Others (e.g., Marckius) are of opinion that the article stands here without meaning, and that it is the intention of the prophet only to represent God as appearing on some altar, leaving it undetermined on which, in order thereby to indicate that He required the blood of many men. But against such expositions the article is conclusive. The altar can be that altar only, of which every one would think, if an altar κατ᾽ ἐξοχήν, and without a more definite designation, were spoken of. Such was the brazen altar, or altar of burnt-offering in the outer court of the temple at Jerusalem. That it was this altar, and not the altar of incense before the holy of holies, which received, in the common language of the people, the name of the altar, is easily explained from the circumstance that it stood in a much closer relation to the people than did the other which was withdrawn from their view. On this altar all the sacrifices were offered, and it must, throughout, be understood, when the altar of the Lord is spoken of; compare remarks on Rev. vi. 9. But that which removes all doubt is the comparison with the parallel passage in Ezekiel. There, the scene is the temple at Jerusalem. The ministers of justice step beside the brazen altar. At the threshold of the temple-building proper, the glory of the Lord moves toward them. This parallel passage, moreover, does not leave any doubt as to the reason why the Lord appears here beside the altar. Jerome remarks on this: "They are introduced standing beside the altar, ready for the order of their commander; so that they know every one whose sins are not forgiven, and who is liable, therefore, to the sentence of the Lord, and to destruction." The Lord's appearing beside the altar is a visible representation of the truth, that wheresoever the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered together. The altar is the place of transgression; it is there that there lies accumulated the unexpiated guilt of the whole nation, instead of the rich treasure of love and faith, which alone should be there, embodied in the sacrifice. The Lord appears at the place of transgression, in order that He may be glorified in the destruction of those who would not glorify Him in their lives.—Now several interpreters (e.g., Michaelis), who have correctly defined the meaning of the altar, would infer from the mention of the temple at Jerusalem, that the whole prophecy refers to the kingdom of Judah. But such an assumption is altogether inadmissible. Even the general reason, that a prophecy which refers exclusively to Judah cannot be at all expected from a prophet who had received his special mission to Israel, militates against it. Further,—The close of this prophecy, the proclamation of salvation, belongs, as we have already proved, to the whole collection. If this be referred to Judah alone, there is then an essential element awanting in that portion which is addressed to Israel; we should then have judgment without mercy, threatening without consolation,—a thing which could not well be conceived of, and would be without analogy in any of the prophets. To this we must further add the express references, or co-references to Israel throughout the whole chapter,—such as the mention of Carmel in ver. 3; of the children of Israel, in ver. 7; of the house of Jacob, in ver. 8; of the house of Israel, in ver. 9; of פרציהן, in ver. 11; of My people Israel, in ver. 14. The whole assumption of an exclusive reference to Judah owes its origin to the circumstance, that features which are only symbolical have been erroneously interpreted as actual. But if they be viewed and explained as symbols, every reason for denying the reference to Israel is then at once removed. The temple symbolizes the kingdom of God; its falling down upon the people is symbolical of the punishment which is inflicted upon them, in consequence of this kingdom. The destruction of the temple in the literal sense is not, primarily, spoken of; although the latter, it is true, be inseparable from the former. If the Covenant-people in general were outwardly desecrated, because they had desecrated themselves inwardly, then also the outward sanctuary which they had, by their wickedness, converted into a den of thieves, was taken from them; compare the remarks on Dan. ix. 27. If Israel then, at that time, still belonged to the kingdom of God (and this can certainly not be doubted, and is sufficiently proved by the very mission of our prophet to Israel), there exists no reason at all for excluding it. For Israel also, the temple at Jerusalem formed the seat and centre from which it was governed,—the place from which blessings and punishments proceeded. The prophet indeed, at the very opening of his prophecies, describes the Lord as roaring from Zion, and uttering His voice from Jerusalem. On the altar at Jerusalem the crimes of Israel were deposited, no less than those of Judah; for there was the place where the people of both kingdoms were to deposit the embodied expression of their godly disposition. It was there, then, that, in reality, the fruits of the opposite were lying, although, as regards the place, they were offered elsewhere.—So much indeed is certain, that the co-reference to Judah is necessarily required by the symbolical representation. The rejection of Israel alone could not be symbolized by the destruction of the temple. And no less does this appear from the announcement of salvation. For this does not by any means promise the re-establishment of the Davidic dominion among the people of Israel, but the restoration of the entire fallen Davidic government. The tabernacle of David that is fallen refers to the destroyed temple. Both signify, substantially, the same thing. With the destruction of the temple, the Davidic tabernacle also fell; and its fall included the overthrow of the kingdom of Israel; for, in this also, the Davidic race had still the dominion de jure, although it was suspended de facto.

The passage under consideration is remarkable also, inasmuch as it furnishes a proof for the custom of designating the kingdom of God from its existing seat and centre, and thus furnishes us, for other passages also, with the right of freeing the thought from the figurative clothing.

A further reason against referring the altar to the altar at Bethel, is, that the latter enjoyed no such pre-eminence in the kingdom of Israel. The temple at Bethel was, to the ten tribes, by no means what the temple at Jerusalem was to Judah. The law regarding the unity of the place of worship was, among the ten tribes, regarded as non-existing. Even in the verse immediately preceding, in viii. 14, Dan and Beersheba had been mentioned as the chief seats of the Israelitish worship; and in chap. iv. 4, Gilgal appears beside Bethel as possessing the same importance. In chap. v. 5, Bethel, Gilgal, and Beersheba are mentioned together. Hosea, in chap. viii. 11, reproves Israel for having made many altars to sin. Hence, there did not exist in Israel an altar κατ᾽ ἐξοχήν. Such an altar existed only in Judah. Nor had the sanctuary at Bethel such importance, as that it could be considered as the spiritual abode of the whole people.—Hofmann (Weissagung u. Erfüllung, S. 203) raises the following objection against the reference to the altar at Jerusalem:—The prophet, it is true, reproves the sins in Judah as well as those in Israel; but it is only to the kingdom of Jeroboam that he announces destruction, while to the house of David he promises that Jehovah would raise it up from its fallen condition." But in opposition to this objection, we need only refer to ii. 5: "And I send fire in Judah, and it devours the palaces of Jerusalem." Passages such as i. 14, 15, ii. 3, absolutely forbid us to make an exception of the palace of the king; and, by chap. vii. 9, where destruction is announced to all the sanctuaries of Isaac, we have as little warrant for excepting the temple. To assume any such exceptions, would be contrary to the analogy of all other threatenings. Hofmann further objects (l. c. S. 204), "As the threatening announcement of the prophet had last remained suspended over Israel, we are at liberty to think of the altar at Bethel only." But already, in the third chapter, all Israel is addressed, according to ver. 1; and we may further refer to v. 25, where likewise Israel can mean only the whole people,^[2] while in vi. 1, Judah is expressly mentioned beside Israel. The prophet employs, throughout, the name of Israel with a certain ambiguity; so that it would be vain to attempt to determine whether it be used in the wider, or in the more limited sense. Wherever he wishes to be distinctly understood as speaking of the ten tribes, he speaks of Joseph and Samaria. Still less would the prophet have employed the names of Jacob (iii. 13, vi. 8, vii. 2, 6) and of Isaac (vii. 9, 16), which were quite uncommon as a designation of the ten tribes,^[3] if it had been of importance, and intentional on his part strictly to separate the boundaries of Judah from those of Israel, and, if there were not everywhere here, only a special application to the ten tribes of that which concerned the whole who were connected by a common fate. But it is especially suitable, that just the close of the whole should, in a remarkably distinct manner, bring into view the two kingdoms, the destinies of which were so intimately connected.—Hitzig, further, with a view to favour the reference to the temple in Bethel, adduces the consideration that this vision is connected with the close of viii. 14, and forms a kind of explanation of it. But we have here an entirely new beginning, just as in chap. viii. in its relation to chap. vii. The three visions are altogether independent of, and co-ordinate with each other.—נצב with על is commonly used of a prominent position at the side of: Gen. xviii. 2; 1 Sam. iv. 20; compare עמד with על 1 Kings xiii. 1. In Ezek. ix. 1 also, the angels stand at the side of the brazen altar, נצב can, of course, never signify "to be suspended."—הכפתור is a species of ornament at the top of the pillars; and הספים, "the thresholds," are contrasted with each other, in order to give expression to the thought that the building was to be shaken, and destroyed from the highest part of it to the lowest,—from the top to the bottom. The shaking of the thresholds occurs also in Is. vi. to denote that the shaking extended to the deepest foundations. The greater number of interpreters translate: "Strike the knop so that ... tremble," etc.; but the וירעשו must be viewed rather as co-ordinate with הך: "And they may tremble," equivalent to "Make to tremble."—The suffix in בצעם refers to the knops and threshold, or to the entire building, which is marked out by the contrast of the highest and lowest portions. According to Ewald and Umbreit, it is intended to refer to the dashed pieces of the altar; but nothing has been said about the destruction of the altar. In Ezek. ix. 2 likewise, the altar is mentioned, not because it was to be destroyed, but only because there the guilt is heaped up. The casting down does not, in itself, imply the breaking, dashing into pieces; it does so only by its being connected with the following בראש. The passage in Jer. xlix. 20 is analogous: "He shall make their habitation desolate over them;" instead of: "He shall thus make it desolate that they are buried beneath its ruins;" compare Jer. l. 45. בראש, properly understood, does not mean "upon the head;" the head is rather represented as the receptacle of the tumbling ruins; they fall into their heads and crush them; compare Ps. vii. 17. In what precedes, there is no definite noun to which כלם refers. This is to be explained by the dramatic character of the whole representation which arises necessarily from the opening phrase: "I saw." The same reason accounts for the peculiarity of הך being employed without any designation of person. In his inward vision, the prophet sees the whole people assembled before the Lord at the threshold of the temple. The Lord appears before him as the judge, at the place of the transgressions, at the side of the altar. At His command, the whole assembled multitude are buried under the ruins of the temple. From this also it is evident that a destruction of the temple in a literal sense cannot be entertained; for how could a whole people be buried under its ruins? The same appears also from ראיתי at the commencement. This, then, shows that we have here before us a symbolical representation, corresponding altogether to that which we have in vii. 1, 4, 7, viii. 1. Hitherto, the Lord speaking to some one, had given him the commission of destruction. He now continues with: "I will kill." This also shows that the one who is addressed is the Angel of the Lord. The same occurrence takes place in the greater number of the passages in which the Angel of the Lord is spoken of. In the action there is constant alternation; it is ascribed, at one time to Him, at another, to Jehovah.—Several interpreters (Marckius, De Wette, Rückert, and others) explain אחרית by "posterity;" others, after the example of the Chaldee (שארהון), by "remnant;" and others, by "lowest of the people." We must here enter into a closer examination of the significations of this word. It is commonly supposed (compare Gesenius and Winer) that, primarily and properly, it signifies "the last and extreme part," and then "the end." But that which is supposed to be the derived signification is rather the original and proper one. The form of the word cannot furnish any reason why this should not be the case, as is evident from what has been remarked by Ewald: "As the feminine termination, in general, forms abstract nouns, so also, not unfrequently, abstract nouns are derived from other nouns, by means of the termination ־־ית; very frequently there is no masculine in ־ִי at all at the foundation, but ־ִית serves, in general, only as the sign of derivation." The following reasons prove that the signification "end" is the primary and proper one. 1. If the contrary were the case, the masculine ־ִי would also occur, and the feminine would be met with as an adjective also. 2. ראשית forms the constant antithesis to אחרית; but it is universally admitted that the former is, originally and properly, an abstract noun, and signifies "beginning." The signification "end" must then be retained here also. The word never has another signification (compare my work on Balaam, p. 465 ff.); it means only "end" in Its various relations. But the posterity cannot here be thought of as the end; for the whole action is concentrated in one point of time. Nor is the word ever used in the sense of "posterity." With as little propriety can "end" mean "the lowest of the people;" for one cannot see why just these should be given up to the sword. "End," here, rather denotes "remnant,"—all those who, at the overthrow of the temple, might escape. These, the Lord will pursue with the sword. They who were buried under the temple are the beginning, ראשית; the latter are the אחרית, end. Corresponding to the shaking of the temple from the knops to the thresholds, the thought is expressed in this manner, that from the first to the last, כלם מקצה they should be subjected to the divine punishment. An implied antithesis of quite the same kind, of אחרית to ראשית occurs also In iv. 2 (where De Wette and Rückert have likewise mistaken the sense), and in viii. 10.—On the last words of the verse, which are to be considered as a further explanation of, "Their end, or remnant, I will kill by the sword," Cocceius remarks: "This slaughter becomes the more thorough, inasmuch as even they who flee, or seemed to have fled, are not excluded from it." The second member seems to contradict the first; for if none be allowed to flee away, how can any have escaped? Several Interpreters have been thereby induced to give to the verb נוס the first time, the signification "to escape,"—the second time, "to flee." But the contradiction is quite similar to that which occurs in the preceding context also, when all are dashed to pieces by the ruins, and yet a remnant is spoken of. It soon disappears when we consider that it Is the intention of the prophet to cut off every possible way of escape, by which carnal security endeavoured to save and preserve itself against the impression of his discourse—that it is equivalent to: "All shall be buried under the ruins, and although some should succeed in escaping from this kind of destruction, yet the sword of divine vengeance would be behind them, and slay them; flight shall not be possible to any man; and even although it might be to some, it would be of no avail to them, for God would be their persecutor." But another apparent contradiction must not be overlooked. Even here, the destruction is most emphatically described as being quite general; as such, it is minutely represented ins vers. 2-4. One cannot fail to see how anxious the prophet is to cut off, from every individual, the idea of the possibility of an escape. On the other hand, it is announced in ver. 8, that the house of Jacob shall not be utterly destroyed; according to ver. 9, all the godly shall be preserved; according to ver. 10, the judgment is to be limited to the sinners from among the people,—a limitation which is also presupposed by the description in the 11th and subsequent verses. In iii. 12, the preservation of a small remnant amidst the general destruction had been promised. The greater number of interpreters, in order to reconcile this apparent contradiction, assume an hyperbole in vers. 1-4. But this assumption is certainly erroneous. The ground of this great copiousness,—the reason why the prophet represents the same thought in aspects so various,—is evidently to prevent every idea of an hyperbole,—to show that the words are to be taken in all their strictness of meaning. But the limitation may be arrived at, and effected in a different, and legitimate way. There is, in the nature of ungodliness, a levity which flatters every individual with the hope of escape, even although a threatened general calamity should take place. All the possibilities of deliverance are sought after in such a disposition of mind, and are, by imagination, easily changed into probabilities and realities, because just that is wanting which proves them to be improbable and unreal, viz., the consciousness of a living, omnipotent God. Thus men free themselves from fear, and with it, from the troublesome obligation of escaping from it in another and a legitimate way, viz., by true conversion. Now, it is this levity which the prophet opposes. He shows that whatever possibility of deliverance such levity may dream of, it never would become a reality, and this for the simple reason, that they had not to deal with human antagonists; from them an escape by human means would be possible, how powerful and wise soever they might be. But they have to deal with an omnipotent God, who, being also omnipresent, can arm all His creatures against His despisers, so that they cannot retreat to any place where He, who reigneth absolutely in heaven and on earth, has not ministers of His vengeance. Every thought, then, of an escape by human means is here cut off. But with this, every thought of deliverance in any way is taken from the ungodly, who are told by their own consciences that God will not deliver them. But, on the other hand, the same consideration could not but administer consolation to the godly. If no one, should he even hide himself in heaven, can escape from God the Avenger, then no one, were he even in the midst of his enemies, and were the sword even already lifted up against him, can be lost from God the Deliverer.—Another question has been asked, which relates to the historical reference of the threatened punishment. It goes just as far as the thought which lies at its foundation: "You only have I known of all the families of the earth; therefore I shall visit upon you all your transgressions." Those interpreters who think exclusively of either the Assyrian, or the Chaldean, or the Roman destruction, are, in the same way, partly right and partly wrong, at the same time. All these events, and others besides, belong essentially to one whole. The difference as to time and circumstances is that which is unessential. That a prophet had exclusively in view any single one from among those divine manifestations of punishment, can be asserted, only where he himself has given express declarations to such an effect; and even then, the prophecy is limited to that single event, as to its form only: its idea is not lost by the single fulfilment.

Ver. 2. "If they break through into hell, from thence My hand shall take them; if they ascend up into heaven, from thence I will take them down."

The Future must not, either here, or in what follows, be understood as potentialis: "Though they should conceal themselves;" but as the real Future: "If they are to conceal themselves." That אם with the Future is used only de re dubia, as Winer asserts, is as erroneous as to assert that, with the Preterite, it supposes the condition as existing. The correct view has been already given by Gesenius in the Thesaurus. By supposing the possibility of a condition, impossible in reality, the denial of the consequence becomes so much the more emphatic and expressive. That such a supposition is made here, is evident from ver. 4, where the prophet passes over to the territory of actual possibility, and where, therefore, we cannot translate: "Though they should go." Such a supposition is, in general, very frequent. It occurs, e.g., Matt. v. 29, where Tholuch (Comment. on the Sermon on the Mount) has been led very far astray from the right understanding of εἰ δὲ ὁ ὀφθαλμός σου ὁ δεξιὸς σκανδαλίζει σε, κ.τ.λ., by overlooking this usus loquendi. We are not indeed at liberty to translate, "Though thy right eye should offend thee;" but it must be decided by other arguments, whether the condition here supposed be one really possible; and these arguments show that it is only for the sake of greater emphasis that there has here been supposed as possible, what is impossible.—Heaven and Sheol form a constant contrast between the highest height and the lowest depth. From a merely imagined possibility, the prophet descends to the real one. If, then, even the former be not able to afford protection, because God's hand reaches even where one has escaped far from any human power, how much less the latter!—חתר with the Accus. signifies "to break through," Job xxiv. 16; with ב, "to make a hole in anything;" thus Ezek. viii. 8, xii. 7, 12 (חתר בקיר, "to make a hole in the wall"). These parallel passages show that the Sheol must be conceived of as being surrounded with strong walls,—by which is expressed its inaccessibility to all that is living. The fundamental passage is in Ps. cxxxix. 7, 8: "Whither shall I go from Thy Spirit, and whither shall I flee from Thy presence? If I ascend up into heaven. Thou art there; if I make my bed in hell, behold, Thou art there." David does not here speak in his own person, but in that of his whole race. The Psalm is an indirect exhortation to his successors on the throne, and at the same time to the people. "If you are wicked," so he here addresses them, "you can never hope to escape from the punishing hand of the Almighty." And since they have become wicked, the words of David have acquired new emphasis.

Ver. 3. "And if they hide themselves on the top of Carmel, from thence I will search and take them out; and if they hide themselves from My sight in the bottom, of the sea, from thence I will command the serpent, and he bites them."

The question here is:—Why is Carmel specially mentioned? Interpreters remind us of the numerous caves of this mountain, which make it peculiarly suitable for concealment. O. F. von Richter, in the Wallfahrten im Morgenlande, S. 65, remarks on this point: "The caves are extremely numerous in Carmel, especially on the west side. It is said that there are more than a thousand, and that they were inhabited in ancient times by monks, to whom, however, their origin cannot be ascribed. In one part of the mountain, called 'the caves of the members of the orders,' 400 are found beside each other. Farther down in the hard limestone mountain, there is one which is distinguished by its size, about 20 paces long, and more than 15 broad and high." Details still more accurate are given by Schulz in the Leitungen des Höchsten, Th. 5, S. 186, 303. According to him, the road is pure rock, and very smooth, and so crooked, that those going before cannot see those who follow them. "When we were only ten paces distant from each other, we heard each other's voices, indeed, but were invisible to each other, on account of the winding ways made in consequence of the intervening by-hills.... Everywhere there are caves, and their mouths are often so small that only one man can creep through at a time; the approaches to them are so serpentine, that he who is pursued may escape from his pursuer, and step into such a small opening, of which there are frequently three or four beside each other, before his pursuer is aware of it. Hence, if any one should hide himself there, it is exceedingly difficult, yea, even impossible for the eyes of man to discover him who is pursued." But this circumstance alone does not exhaust the case, even if we still further add that the mountain was then, as it is now (Richter, S. 66), covered with trees and shrubberies up to the summit. The expression, "In the top," must not be overlooked, and the less so, since it stands in evident antithesis to the "bottom of the sea,"—like the contrast of height and depth in the preceding verse. Heaven and hell are represented on earth by the top of Carmel, and the bottom of the sea. The height of Carmel must, therefore, come also into consideration. This, it is true, is not very great; Buckingham estimated it at 1500 feet (v. Raumer, S. 40); but the prophet chose Carmel in preference to other higher mountains, partly on account of the peculiarity already stated; partly, and especially, on account of its position in the immediate neighbourhood of the sea, over which its summit hangs, and which can be seen to a great distance from it; compare 1 Kings xviii. 43, 44. Of corporeal things it holds true, as it does of spiritual things, that opposites, placed beside each other, become thereby more distinct. A lower elevation, placed by the side of a depth, appears to the unscientific eye to be much higher than another which is really so. Moreover, the position of Carmel at the extreme western border of the kingdom of Israel must also be considered. He who hides himself there, must certainly be ignorant of any safer place in the whole country; and if even then there be no more security, the sea alone is left.—צוה occurs frequently with the signification "to bid," to "command." The word is chosen on purpose to show, how even the irrational creatures stand in the service of the omnipotent God; so that it requires only a word from Him to make them the instruments of His vengeance. That the prophet had a knowledge of a very dangerous kind of sea-serpents (of which Pliny xix. 4 speaks), need not be supposed on account of the משם. That was not of the slightest consequence here. In v. 19 the serpent occurs in a particularizing representation of the thought that God is able to arm all nature against His enemies: "As if a man flees from the lion, and a bear meets him; and he comes home, and leans his hand on the wall, and a serpent bites him"—just the opposite of the assurance that "to those who love God, all things shall work together for good." So early as in Deut. xxxii. 24, apostates are threatened with the poison of the serpents of the dust, besides the teeth of wild beasts; and what this threatening implied, might have been well known to Israel from their former history; compare Num. xxi. 6: "And the Lord sent against the people serpents, and they bit the people, and much people of Israel died,"—a passage to which Jeremiah alludes in chap. viii. 17, where he says; "For behold I send against you serpents, basilisks, against which there is no charm, and they bite you, saith the Lord." It is very probable that to this the prophet also alludes in the passage before us.