is said to throw itself from the tops of rocks or tovvers, and Kght upon its horns, without t^ceiving ahy damage. It. goes five months with young.;.
When the' hinds db calve'?] • The hlrid is the- female of the stag, OT'Cetvus elaphus, and.goea eight months with youngi They live to thirty-five or forty years. Incredible longevity hsa been attributed to some sta^. One was taken by Charles VI„ in the forest of Senlip, aboilt whose neck Vas a collar with this Inscription, C<esar hoc miht donavit,. which, led some to believe, that this animal had lived from the days of some ona of the twelve. Ci^sars, emperofs of Rome.
I have seen' the following form of.this inscription:
Tempore quo, Caesar Roma dominatus in alta, 'Aureolo jussit collum sigttare'monili;
Ne depascentem qoisqius me graminaledat.. ^. Cesaris heu! caussa periturte parcere vit«!
" When Julius Ctesar reigncfd king, About my neck Ke put this ring;;. That whosoever should me take •Would "save my life for Caesar's sake.'*
The speech of the Ainiighty.
Ante u. c. c^. CESt out their sorrows.
liking, they grow up with com; they go fprtb, and return not unto thenr. ', '
6 Who hath sent out the wild as^ free? or who hath loosed the fcands of the wild ass? '
T Ho scometh the naultitude of the city,
Aristotilt mentkuw the loBgeyitjr.pf the stiagi bul thinks it fuhulous, ^.
Verse 3. "They iolv themselves] In order to bring forth theit young ones.
They cast out their sarroios.] UTi^hyn chehleyhem '; the ptacentUr afterbirth^ or umbilical cord. So this word iia^ been.understooi}.
Verse 4 • i^ good liking] After the fawns have sucked, ibr some thne, the dam leads them to the pastures, where they ieed o^ di&erenX kinds of iierbage; but not on com, for they are not bom before hsirvesttime in Ai^ia tud Palestine, and the stag does not feed Qn corn, but on.grass, moss,^ and the shoots of the Jir, beech, and othet tre^: therefore the word *13 bar, here translated com, sKquM be translated the open field cor country, ' See Par\hurst, Their nurslings bound away.^-^Mr. fjhffd. In a. short time they become independent of the raotlier, leave he/, and return no more. The spirit of, the questions in these verses ai^pears to be the following: — Understandest thou the cause of breeding qf the.Bdountain goats, &c.?.^ti thou acquainted witli the course and progress ef the parturition, and the manner in which the bones grow, and acquire solidity in. the womb? See Mr; Good's observations. '
HoubiganCs version appears very correct.: (Knowest thou) *^ how their young, ones grow up, increase in the fields, and once departing,, return tp them no more V^
Verse 6. Who hfith sent '^ut the wild (iss free?] K*^ pere, Which we translate wild ass, is the same as the ovog aypio^ of the Gi^eks, and the onagirof the •Latins; which must' not, says Buff on, be confo&nded with the zebra, for this is an animal of a different 'species from the ass. The wild ass is not striped like the zebra, nor so elegantly shaped. There are many. of those animals in the deserts of Libya abd Numidia: they are of a gray colour; and run so swifUy that no horses but the Arab barbs can overtake them. Wild asses are found in considerable numbers in East and South Tartary, in Persia, Syria, the islands t>f the Archipelago,, and throughout Mauritania. They differ from tame asses only in their independence and liberty, and in their being stronger and more nimble^: Imt in their shape they are the same. See on chap..vi. 5. '
The bands of the wild ass f] 11"^ arqd, the hraytr, Ae same animal, but called thus because of, the (recent and peculiar noise he xnakes.^ But Mr. Good supposes, this to be » different aiiumal frooi the wild ass^ 176.
9 Will the ^unicorn be willing to seiV^ tbee, or abide by thy crib?. \. /
10 Canst' thou bind the unicorn with, his ban4.in the furrow? or will he. harrow.the valleys after ihee?:
(the jichta or equus hemionus,) which is distinguished by having solid hoofs, a uniform, colour, no cross en the' ba<^k, and the tail hairy only at the. tip.. 1*he ean and tail resemble those of the zebra; the hoofs '^d body, those of the ass; and the Kmbs, those of the horse. It iohabiC^ Arabia, China, Siberia, and Tartary, in grassy saline plains or salt wastes^ as men* tioned in the following verse. * ■ •
The barren land] TXrh^O-melechah, the salt l^mdi or salt places, as in the margin. See above. -.Verse 7. He scometh the muftituJey He is so swift that he caunot be run or hunted down." See the description in ter. 5..
Verse 8. The range, of the- rnountains] The mountains and desert places are his peculiar places of |>^ ture; and he lives on any thing that is green, or any kind of vegetable production.
Verse 9. Will the unicorn be willing to serve thee] The " fine elegant aniinal like a liorse, wiib 'one loiog rich curled horn growing out of his forehead,^ commonly dalled the unieorn, must be given up as fabulous. The heralds must claim ]iim as their own; place him in' their armorial bearings as they please, to indicate the unreal aciions, fictitious virtues, and imfonght mar*, tial exploits of mispraised men. It. is not- to the honour of the royal arms of Great Britain that this fabulous animal should be one of their Jupporter^,.
The animal in question, called D**> reim^ is undoubt- ^edly the rhinoceros, who has the latter name ftqxa the horn that grows on his nose. The rhino^roa ir known by the' name of reim in Arabia to the present day. He is allowed to be a savage animal,.showing nothing of the intellect of tiie elephaftt. SBs horn enables hiu^ to combat the latter with grei^ suocess; for, by putting his nose under the elephant's, belly, lie pan rip him up. His skin is like armour, and a<f very hard as to resist sabres, javelids, lances, and even musket-balls; the only peneti^bFe parts being the bel^i the eyes, and about the ears.
Or abide by thy crib f] These and several of the following expressions are intended to point out his savage, untameable nature^
Verse 10. Canst thou bind. the unicom-^n ihefw^ row t\ He will not plough, nor draw in.the yoke %B%ik another f nor canst thou. use hiu^ singly f to harrow the' ground.
\ibtf»tj.c.'eir. l^ Wilt thou believe him, that ^^' he lyiir bring home thy eeed, and
13 OaVest thou the goodly.wings unto the, peacocks? or ^ wings and feathers vmto the Oitrich.?,.. ^14 Which leaveth her eggs in -the earth,
Yene 12. That he teill bring home'thy seed] Thou eaiMt make no domestic nor aghcnltural use of him. ■ Verse 13. The goodly wings unto the peacocks t] i lielieTe peacocks are; iiot intended here; and th6 Hafarew word VlT^Yy renaaim should be translated miriehes; and the term rn^On dhdsidah^ which we tnnaUte ostrich, should be, as it is elsewhere translated, stork; and perhaps the word nV3 notsah, rendered here feathers t ^W3\A be translated hawk] or peUcan^ - -.
The VMlgale has, Penna struihumis similis^est peivids herodii et acci^ris; * ^ the feather of the ostrich is like to thai of the stoik and theliawk!" The Chal^ dee has, " The wing of the wild cock, wlio crows and dsps his wings, is like to the wing of the^stork and the hawk.'^ The Septt^agint^ not knowing what to mdke of these different terms, hare left them all un*' trsnslated, so. as to make a sentence without sense. Mr. Good has come nearest both to the original and to the meaning, by translating thua: —
" The wing of the ostrich tribe is for ilappingi But of the stork and falcon for flight."
Though the wings of the ostrich, says he, cannot raise it from the ground; 3ret by the motion here alluded to, by a perpetual vibralion, or flapping — by perpetually catching or' drinking in the wind, (as the teYra noV^ meeiasak implies, which we jender goodly,) they give it a rapidity of running beyond that possessed by any other animal in the world. • Adanson informs us, that when he was at the factory in Padore, he was io possession of two tame ostriches*; and to try their ttrength, says he, " I made a full-grown negro mount the smallest, and two others the largest. This burden did not seem at all disproportioned to their -strength. At first they, went a pretty high trot; and, wfeen they were heated a liule, they expanded their w;ng8, as if it wjere to catch the wind, and they moved with such ileetness as to seem to be off the ground. And I am ftfi^AH that those ostriches would have distanced the Heetest race-horses that were ever bred in England."
As to nyj notsahj here translated falcon^ Mr. Good sbserresi that the term jb naz is used generally by the Arabian writers to signify both falcon dnd hawk; and there can be little ^loubt that such is the real meaning of the Hebrew word; and that it imports va^ lions species of the falcon family, SLB.jer-falcon, goshawk,'wiA sparrow-hawk.
"The argument drawn from natural history adyances from puidrup§d^ to Urds;. and of birds, those only are selected for description which are most com-
1 5 And forgetteth that the foot Ante u.^a cir. noiay crush them, or that the y^ild '^^' beast may break them.
1 6 She is. ^ hardened against her young ones, as though they were not. hers: her •* labour i's ixi vain without fear;
17 Because Goi bath deprived her of wis-
mon to the country- in which the scene lids, and at thd same time are roost eingnlar in their propeities. Thus * the ostrich is aclmirably contrasted with the stork and * the eagle", jiB affording us an instance of a winged animal totally Incapable of ftight^ but endued with art. unrivalled rapidity of 'ronutng, compared with birds* whose flight is proverbially ^eet, powerful, and persevering: Let man, in the pride ofliis wisdom, explain or arraign this differebce of construction.
•"Again, the ostrich is peculiarly* opposed tp the stork and to some species of the eagle in another sense, and a sense adv'erted to in the verses immediately ensuing; ifor the ostrich is well known to take little ot no care of its eggs, or of it9 young; while the stork ever has been, and ever deserves to be^ held iu proverbial repute for its parental tenderness. Th^ Hebrew word m'Dn chasidah, imports kindness or affection; and oar own tern^ stork, if derived from the Greek.oropyij, storge, as spme protend, has the same original meaning."— Good's Job.,<
Verse 14. Which leave th h'er eggs in the earthy This want of parental affection in the dstrich is almost universally acknowledged. Mr. Jacksvn, in his Account of Morocco, observes:. " The ostrich, liaving laid her eggs, goes away, forgetting or forsaking them: and if some other ostrich discover thera, she hatches. them as if they were her owji, forgetting probably 'Whether they are or aro not; so deficient is the recoil lection of this bird." This, illustrates verse 15: "And forgetteth.that the foot may crush them, or that the wild beast may break them." The poet seems well ^ acquainted with every part of the subject on whidi he writes; aijd facts incontestable confirin all he says. For farther illustration, see the account from Dr. Shaw at the end of the chapter.
Verse 16. She is hardened against her young] See before, and the extracts, from Dr. Shaw at the end of the chapter. She neglects her little ones, which are often found half starved, straggling, and meaning about, like so many deserted orphans, for their mother.
Verse 17. God hath deprived her of wisdom] Ofthis foolishness we have an account from the ancients; and here follow two instances: "-1. It covers its heed
ip the reeds, and thinks itself all out of sight becajise itself cannot see. So Claudian: —
t: — * Stat lumine chiiiso
Ridendum revoluta caput: creditque latere Qu« non ipsa videt.', '
" 2. They who -hunt them draw the skin of an os» trich's neck on on^ hand, which proves* a suMcient
18 What time sh^ lifteth up herself on "high, she scornCthtHe
lure tp take them with ih6 other.' '"They have so little brain that Heliogabalos had six hundred heads' for his 8up][>er.^ Here we may observe, that, our judicious as,w^ tA sublime author just touches the great points^ of distitiction in each cjeature) and then hastens to another. A description is exact yf hen you cannot add ^ but what is conunon to another tiling; nor withdraw, but something peculiarly belonging to the thing described. A likeness is. lose in iiio much description) «s a meatiing ist)ften in tbo much illustration." — Dn
Verse 18. 'She liftclh up herself] When she raise th up herself to run. away.^ Prdofs of the ilceiness of ibis bird have all«adybeen given. Itn'eithej flies nor runs distinctly, but has a motion- composed of. both; and, using its wings as sails, makes gi^at speed.' So Claudian: — "..
Vasta velut Libye venantiim vocibus ales* Cum prcmitur, calidas •cursu transmittit'arcnaS/ ■ Inque modum veli'sinuatis flaminc pennis. Pulverulfenta volat.
" X^nopfiofi'9^jZf Cyrus had horses that could' over-* take the goat and the wild ass; but none that could reach this creature. A- thousand golden ducats, or a hundred camels,, was the stated 'price qf a horse that could ijqual their speed.'* — Dr. Young.
Boldly he ad vancetb against the clashing host: Ver. 83. He mocketh at fear, and trembleth not:
The glittering spear, and the shield: Ver. 24. With rage and fury he devoureth the ground;
And is impatient when the trumpet soundeth. "Ver. 26.- He exclaimeth among the trumpets, Alia!
* In the year 1713, a letter was sent to the Guardian, which msJces No. 86* of that work, containing a critique on this description^ compared v^th similar descriptions of Homer and Virgil, I shall give the •abstance of it here: —
The gresEt Creator, who accoDvnodated himself to
20 Canst thou make him afraid as a grasshopper? the glory of his.nostrils- ^ is terrible. • ' *, %\ "*He paweth in the Valley, and rejoiceth
those to whom he vouchsafed to speak, hath pat into the mouths ef his- prophets sucb sublime sentiments and exalted language as must abash the pride and wisdom of man. In thig book of Job,' the xbost ancifsnt poem in- the world, we have such paintings add de^ scriptioiis as I have spoken of in.■ great Variety. I shall at present make some remarks on the celebnited description of the horse^ in th^t holy book; and compare it with those drawn by tiomer and Vjirgii.
Homer hath the following similiiud^ of a horse twice over in tha. Iliad^ which • YirgU hath copied froiA him; at least he hath deviated less from Homer thail }A.T.'Dryden hath from him:^ * • '. *
Freed from his keepers, thus with broken refns The wanton courser prances o'er the plains^ Or in the pride of youth overleaps the mound. And snuffs the female in' forbidden ground; Or seeks his wlitermg in the well-known flopd, To quench- his thirst, and cool his jflery blood: He swims luxuriant In the liquid plain, And o'er his shoulders flows his waging mane; He neighs, he snorts, he bears his head on higl\; Before hisMiple chest the frothy waters fly.
VirgiTs description is much fuUer than the fore^ going, which, as I said, is only a simile; whereas Virgil professes to treat of the nafure of the horse."^—
Tum, si qua sonum procul arma dedere,
Stare loco nescit'i micat auribus, et tretiut artiu^ Collectumque pVemcris volvit sub naribus ignem; Densp, juba, et dextro jactata recumbit in armo. At duplex agitur per 1 umbos spina, cavatque Tellurcm, et solido graviter sonat ungda comn. - ViRo. Geo'rg. lib. iii., ver. 83..
Which is tbus admirably translated; —
The fiery courser, when ho Hears from ht ■ The sprightly, trumpets, and the shouts of war, Pricks up bis ears; and, trembling with delight,.- Shids pace^ and paws, and hopes the promised fight: On his right shoulder his thick mane reclined, Ruffles at speed, and dances in the wind. His homy hoofs are jetty black and round; ^
- His chin is double: starting with a bound. He turns the turf, and shakes the solid grounds. Fire from his eyes, clouds f^m his nostrils flow; He bears his rider headlong on the foe.
Now follows that in the Book of Job, which, onder
all the diaadvaDtages of ^having beeirwzitten in. a langoge little itfiderstood, of b^ing expressed io. phrases paevliar to a part of the wodd whose manner of tfpalriag and speaking seems te ua very uncouth; and^ ahof is all, of ^)peAring in a prose translation; is ajvertheless so - tninscendently abeve the h^then deauiptiona, that hereby we may perceiVe how iaint aad lanffoid the images are which 4ffe, formed by hn- ■an aqjlunB, when compared with tho^ which* are igored, as it were, just as.thdy appear- in;*the-eye of tbe Creator. God, speaking to Jpb, asks him: —
P*o do oar translators as much justice as possible, add to help the critic, I shSll throw', it in tK0 hemistich-form, in which it appe^s in the Hebrew, and io which all Hebrew poetry is written.]
Hast thou clothed his neck with tKunder? Ver. 20. Canst thou makehlm afraid as a grasshopper? The glory of his^nostrils is terrible! Ter. 21. He paweth in the valley, and rcjoiceth in strength': He goeth on to meet the armed men. Ver. 22. He mbcketh at fear, and is not afiriglited:
. Neither turnelh he back from the sword. Ver. 23. Again^ him fattleth the quiver, '
The glittering spear and the shield. Ver. 24. He svvallovveth the ground with rage and fierceness':. - • *
Ver. 25. He saith among the trumpets, Heach! - And from aikr he scenteth the battle. The thunder of the captains, and- the shouting.
Here are all the great and -sprightly images that thooght can form of this genejrous beast, expressed in wath. force aiid vigour of style as would have given tke^ great wi^ of antiquity nbw laws for the sublime, had titey been acquainted with t^ese writings.
I' cannot but particularly observe that whereas the rlaaaical poets chiefly endeavour to paint the. outxoard JigurejUneamenis, and motions f the sacred poet makes aH the beauties to flow from an inward prmcipte in the creature he describes; and thereby gives great spirit and vivacity to his description* The following phrases and circumstances are singularly • remarkiWe:—
Ver. 10. Hast thou clothed his tfeck with thunder t — Homer and Virgil mention nothing about the neck of the horse but his mane. The sacred author, by the bold figure of thunder, not only expresses the shaking of that remarkable beauty in the horse, and the flakes 0/ hair, which natural^ sdggest th(9 idea of lightning; but likewise th^ violent agitation and force of the
as The quiver rattlelh against ^- M- ^j- 2^- him, the gUttering spear and the- AnteLOiymp.'.
24 He swalloweth the.ground '^^' ■ with fierceness and rage: neither believeth
neck', Much in the oriental tongues' had been flatly expressed by a metaphor less bold ihaii this.
Vei. 20. Canst thou mpke him afraid as a grass*^ hopper /—There is a. twofold i)cauty in this expression,.which not only m:^ks the courage of this beast, b^- Diking if he'can he. scared.; but likewisd raises a noble ima^e of his swiftness, by insinuatipg that, if he could be frightened, he would hound aujay with the ntrtdileness of a grasshopper.
The glory of his hostrils is terrible.] This is more strong and concise than that of Virgil, which yet is ihe nobleet. line that was ever written without inspiralion: — ^ ' • * •
Collect umque premeAs volvlt sub naribus ignem,
AM hi his nostrils rolls collected.fire. *
Yer. 91. He rejoiceth in his strength.
Ver* 24. Neither. believeth hq that it is thiB sound of the trumpet. *. -
These are signs of courage, as I^saidliefore, flowing from on hiward principle. There is a peculiar beauty in fiia not believing it is the sound of the trumpet: thai isi he cannot ^eUev^ it for joy; but when he is suic of it, and is- amon^ Me trumpets, he saijh, Hai ha \ He neighs, he rejoices. •
His doqility is elegantly painted" in liis being vnmoved at tfb rattling quiver, the glittering spear, ^nd the skidd J ver. 23, and is well imitated by Oppian,—^ wlio undoubtedly read Job, as Virgil did, — ^m his P&em OQ Hunting:— •
Hi-ff ^€if yap re ftaxataiv aptjtpc eK^vev Ittitoc
Kai /ia0ev.evTe fuveiy' xP^f-^-^i "i^ots d* avnc opdveiv, OpJ»ian Cyneoet. lib. i., ver. 206, Now firm the managed war-horse keeps his groilnd, Nor breads his order though the trumpet sound! With feEuless eye the glittering host surveys. And glares directly at the helmet's blaze. The roaster's word, the laws of war, he knows; And when to stopr, and when to charge the foes.
He siBoUoweth the groimd, ver. 2 4,. is an expression for prodigious swiftness in use among the Arabians,* Job's countrymen; to the present day. The JLatins have something like it: —
Latumque fuga consumere campum, Nemesian;
In flight the extended champaign to. consume..,
In flight td crop the meads.
25 He saith among the trumpets. Ha, ha; and he smeUeth
- Cam|>)imqae tolatu
Description tfthe toar^iotBe.
the battle afar off, the thunder ^-^ ^; ^gj of the captains, and the ^ shout- Ante I. Olyaiift.
When, in their fliglit, the chjunpaign they, have Bnatcb'd,
It is indeed the boldest and noblest of images for Mri(\ne8S; nor have I met with any thing. tli]^t comes BO near it as Mr. Pope's, in Windsor Forest;-^
Th' impatient courser pants in ever^ veiQ«
And pawing, seems to beat the distant plain; '
And ere he starts, a thousand steps are. lost.
He smelleth the battle nfar off, and what follows about the shouting, is a circumstance expressed M'ith great spirit by Lucan:— ^ ■^
So when the ring with joyful shouts resounds, ». With rage and prule th' imprison'd courser bounds; lie frets, he foams, he r^nds his idle rein, - Springs o*ef the fence, and headlbng seeks. the plain.
This judicious and excellent critique h^ left mc iittie to say on this, sublime dedcript^on of the horse: I shall -add.some cui;jBory notes only. In verse 19 we have the -singular image, clothed his neck ioith thunder. How thunder and ]\ie Aorse^s neck can be well ' assimilated to each other,' I ponfess I cannot sec. The autlior of the preceding critique seems to think that the principal part of the allusion i>elongs id the shaking of this remarkable hcauty ^th^ 4nane) in a horse; and the flakes of hair, which naturally suggest the idear of lightnings I am satisfied (hat the floating manc^ is here meant! The original is nDJ,n ramah, which Boeh^rt and other learned men translate as sdiove. How much the mane of a horse shaking and waving in the wind adds to liis beauty and statcliness, every one is sensible; and the Greek and Latin poets, in their description of the^ horse, take notice of it. Thus Homer: —
" His mane dishevelled o'er his shoulders Jfjcj."
The verb DJ^*l raam signifies to toss, to agitate; und may very properly be applied to the mttne, fur feasons obvious to all. Virgil has seised this characteristic in Jiis fine line, Georg. iii. ver. 86 i-^
Densa juba,'ct dextro j aetata recumbit in arjqno. " His tossed thick mane on his right shoulder fills.'*
' Naturally, the horse is one of the most timid of iiiiimais; and this may bo at once accounted for from his small quantity of^ brain. Perhaps there' is noanhnal pf his sixe that has so little. He acquires couragM only from discipline; for naturally he starts with terror and affright at an^ sudden noisb. It requires much discipline to hring him to bear the netut of drums and trumpets, and especially to bear a pftir of kettle drums pished on each. side his neck, and* beaten there, with the mert alanning variety of Bofrndi, Quety^ Does the*sacred text aHude to ahy^ihing of this^kind t J have been led to form thift th6aght fir6iii the following ch-cumstanoe. In oon^e^anciept MSS. - of the Shah Nqmeh, e most eminent heroic' poem, hf the poet Ferdoosy, the' Homer of India, in mf own collection, adorned with paintingft, rejSresenting jegil interviews, animals, battles, &c., there appear in 9apo placee representations of elephants^ horses, and dattteUf with a pair of drums, something like oar kettle dmne, hanging on each side of the animal's neck, and beaUni» by a person on the. saddle, with two plectrnras or drumsticks; the. neck itself being Uter^y clothed with the drums and the housings on which they tie fixed. Who is it then that hzs framed the disposUwtt of such a timid animal, that by proper discipline: \% can bear those thundering sounds, which at fint wo^l(f have scared it to the uttermost of distractioflf The capacity to receive discipline and instruction is as great a display of the wisdom of God as the foT' motion of the bodies of the largest, small^t^or mott.complex animals is of his power. I leave this obier-> vation without laying any stress up8n. it. On sadi difficult subjeots conjecture hvia a lawful range/
VcT^o^l. He pttweth in the valley] 1')l)n^y«e}^Mrtf, " they dig in the valley," i. e.,.in his violent galtof^, ill every pitc^ of his body, he scoops up sods out of the earth. Virgil has seized this idea also, in his vavat tellurem; " he scoops put the ground.V SeS before. *
Verse 2.5. He saith among the trumpetSf Ha, Atf] The original is peculiarly emphatical: HKn Heach! a strong, partly nasal, plartly guttural soUnd, exactly re-, semblin^ the first note which the horse emits in nei^' ing. The strong, guttural' sounds in this hemisuBti are exceedingly expressive: non^D H'T pirnai flllh* Heach! umerachok yuriach mUchamdh; " Heaeh, for from afar he scenteth the battle." - •
• The reader will perceive that Mr. Good has- given a very different meaning to ver. 20 from ih€L in the present text. Canst thou make him afraid as a gras$» hopper f by tianslating the Hebrew thus; —
The word n31« arbeh, which we translate loaust Sr grasshopper, and which he derive* from ny> rabakt the K aleph bemg merely formative, he says, " may.'as well mean an arroto as it does in chap, xvi." Il3, VT^ rabbttiv, " His arrows fly around me." The verb 0jn raash in the- word ywy-M^n hathanshennu, " Canst thon make dim afraidJ" he eontends, *< signifies to tremUe, quiver,- rush, launch, dart forth'! and, taken ui
27 Doth the eagle mount up 'at xiy command,- and *make her Best oii high? * -. •
28 She dwelleth and abideth on die rock,
Ihii 8611(86, it seem* to unite the two ideas of rapidity aad earmsefOwn,^. This is the principal altex&tion witch tfaiB l^srnied man has made in the text.,
I shad ccvaclude.on this subject by giving Cover'" Ue*s 'translation; ^ast ttiou gcben tte ^ocse ^fs stmiflti, or Ietiu> |ifm to ho^ Hoton |)Cs ncdt toftb |isnre«- t^tlic lettctl l^mselt bei^roben fort^ l(«e a ■rtsMvp^f bi^re a« tfie stoutmeienge t^at jbe mattetf) fitarfall? Ac bctafcet^ tffe fltounn'e bft|» t^e ffetltv •f |to l^tt tt^cavriills fii lifa strr nfltt/ aitH niniiet!) to ■etc t|e. Ernest men. %e la^ictt asOie all fcacc, fifs cttmiclt Cs not abateH, nettter atartclfi ^e abactt tor cm sistrtc. 0]ioug^ tjbe q^ibers rattle upon ^Im, tloBfl tt^ atpcarc anH stUxre gUstre: ^et rusal^etti l^e tnUKCsU^fjLrCn beatett upon tbe grountre. IHe fearetb lot t|e noTsc of tbe trompettes, but ao aoone aa be beared t|e sb^amnea blotoe, Susb (aa^etb be) for be nulUtI tbe batell afarrc of, tbe nonse, tbe c^ptaonea, aab tbe sbotttlnge. This is wonderfully nervous, and at the same time accurate.
Yene 26. Do^h the hawk fly by thy wisdom] The haipk is called f1 nets, from its swiftness in darting down upon its prey-; hence its Latin, name, ^nisiuit which i» almost the same as the Hebr^w^ It may very probably mean the /a/con,, observes Dr. Shaw. The flight of a iStrong falcon is wonderfully ftwif^. A falcon helonging to the Duke of Cleves flew out of Westphalia into Prussia in^ne-day; and in tbe County of Norfolk, a hawk has nuide a flight at a woodcock of near thirty miles in an hour.. Thuanus says, " A batHc flew from London to Paris in one night.'' It was owing to its siciftness that the Egyptians in tbei/ Ueioglyphics made it 'the emblem of the wind.
Stretch her wings toward the south?] Most of the falcen tribe pass their spring and summer in colii climates; and wing their way toward warmer regions on the approach of winter. This is what is here meant by stretching her wings -toward the south. Is it through thy peaching that this or any other bird -of passage knows the precise time for taking flight, and the direction in which she is to go in order to comef to a Wannet climate? There is much of the wisdom ud providence of God to be seen in the migration of birds of jMSsage. This has been remarked before. There is a beautiful passage in Jeremiah, chap. viii. 7, OB the same subject: " The stork in the hoayens knowetfa her appointed times; and the turtle, and the crane, and Uie swallow, observe the time of their eoming': hut my people know not tbe judgment oif the Lord.**
Verse 27. Doth the eagle mount up] The eagle is said to be of so acute a sight,- that when she is so high in the air that men cannot see her, she can discern a flhiall fish in the 'water. I See on ver. 29..
30 Her young ones also suck up blood; arid '^ wlicre the flFaih are, there* w she.
Verse 28. ' Vpon the crag of the rock] }^D jBT sTiei^ sehy the tooth of the rock, i. e., some projecting part, whither adventurous man himself dares not follow her.
And the strong placeT] mi^Dl umetsudfih,, Mr, Good "translates this word ravine^ 'and joins it to ver. "29, t^Qs: ^And thence espieth the- ravine: her eyeo twice the "prey afar off."
. Verse 29. Her eyes behold afar off.] The eagle was j>roverbial for her strong and clear sight* Sp Horace,. lib. i., sat. iii., vet 25: — "^
Cum tua» pervideas oculis mala lippus ihunctisy Cur in amlcorum vitiis tain cernis acutum, C^uam a^t aquila, aat serpens Epidaurius! ** For wherefore, while -you carelessly pass l^ Your, own worst vices with unheeding eye, Why so 3harp-sighted in another^s fame> Strong as aa eaglets keh, or dragon's beam!"
So JElian, lib. i., cap. 42.' And JJomer, Iliad xvii., calls ■ the eagle o^vrarov. (frrovpaviov vereiivoVf " The most quick-.sighted of all fowls under heaven."
•Verse 30. -^Her young ones also suck up Mood] The eagle does not feed her yotmg with carrion', but with prey newly.tlain, so that they may suck up blood.
Where the-flain are, there \ajhe.\ These Words are quoted by our Lord. ** Wheresoever the carcass is, there wilj the -eagles be gathered together," Matt. xxiv. 28. It is likely, hoSvever, that this was a proverbial mode of expressioti; and our Lord* adapts it to the circumstances of the Jewish people, who were about to fall a prey to the Romans. See the potes there..
I» the preceding notes I have referred to Dr. Shawns 'accQunt of the ostrich* 2a the most accurate and authentic yet published. With the following de^riptjou I am sure every intelligent reader will be pleased.
*' In commenting therefore upon thesp texts it may be observed, that when thtf ostrich is fulf grown, the ^ neck, particularly of the male, which before was almost naked, is now very beautifully covered with red feathers: The plumage likewise* upon the shoulders, the back, and some parts of the wings, from being hitherto of a dark grayish colour, becomes- now as black as jet, whilst -the rest of the feathers retain an exquisite whiteness. They are, as described ver. 1 2h the very feathers and plumage of the stork, \. e., they consist of such blark and white feathers as the stork, called from thence nT'DTI chasidah, is known to have. But the belly," the thiglis, and the breast, do hot partake of this covering, being usually naked, and whentouched are of the same warmth as the flesh of quad' ' ruped^.
under the less, thereys a strong ^pointed excreseepoe like a cockV spur, with wliich it is siid to prick.a^d stimulate itself, and thereBy acquire fresh strength and vigour wheh&rer it is pursued. But nature seems rather to have intended that, in ordef to prevent the suffocating effects of too great a plethafn^ a loss of blood should be consequent thereupon, especially as the ■ostrich appears to be of a hot constitution^ ^ith lungs always confined, and consequently liable to be praternaturally inflamed upon these occasions.
" When these birds aye surprised.1^ coming' suddenly upon them whilst tliey are feeding in*some valley, or behind some rocky or safidy eminence in tbe^ deserts, they will not si^ly to be curiously viewed and elxanUned. Nci&er are the Arabs eWr delEterous Bnough to oyertake them, even when th^y.jire itiounted upon their jinse, or horses, as (hey are caUed,*of «family. They, when they raise themselves up for flighty (ver. l^t) laugh at the horse and'hi^ rider.. They afford him an opportunity only of admiring at a dista.n6e the extraordinary agility and the statelinessof their n>otions, xYih richness of their plumage,' |ind the- great propriety there, was of iracribing to them (ver.' 13) an expande'd quivering wing. Nothing, certainly, can be more beautiful and entertaining ihan such a^ sight! The wings, by their repeated though unwearied' vibrations, equally serving Ihe'm for sails and oars; whilst their feet; no less assistin^f in conveying them'QBt of sight, are in jio degree sensible of fatigue.
*^ By the repeated accounts which 1 often had from my conductorsi as well as from Arabs of different places, I have been informed that the ostrich lays frona thirty to fifly eggs. JElian mentions mqre than eighty, but I neve^heard of so large a number. The fir^t ^^ IS deposited in the centre; the rest are placed as conveniently as possible round, about it. Jn this irianner it is said to /ay^-d6posit or truj3t (vef. 1 4)^ — her eggs in THE EARTH, and 'to Warm them,m the "sand, and forgettelhf as they are not placed, likQ^ those of some other birds, upon trees* pr ip the.clefts* of rock^, &c., that the foot o{ the traveller ma)f crush ther/i,'or thai the wild beasts may break them.
*>Yet notwithstanding the ample provijioh which is hereby made for a.numerous offspring, scarce one quar-^ ter of these eggs are ever supposed to be hatched r and of those that are, no small share of the young ones inay perish with hunger, from being lefi too odrly by their dams to shift for thenlselves. For in thes^' themost barren and desolate recesses of the Sahara, where * the ostrich chooses to make her ncfst, it would not be enough to lay eggs and hatch tlipm, unless some proper food was near at hand, and already prepared for their nourishment. And accordingly we are not to consider this large collection qf eggs as if they were all intended for a brood; they are, the greatest part of. 4hcm, reserved for food, which tfie dam brealoi and disposes of according to the number and the cravings of "hef young ones. -
"But yet, for all this, a very little share of that aropyri, 'or natural affection, Which so sttongly «xeirts itself in most other creatures, is observable in the ostrich. For, upon the* least distant noise or trivial occasion, she fbrsake§ her. eggs, or her young Ones, to which: perhaps she never returns; Or if she do,.it may •t89 be too late either to restore life to the one, or to pre« eerve the lives of the other. Agreeably to this accounty the Ar^s meet sometimes with whole nests of these eggs undisturbed; some of which are sweet and goad^ ethers are addle and corrupted, others again have their young' ones of different groVths, aecqfiing to the time it may be presumed they have been forsaken by the dam. They oftener meet a few of the little ones, no bigger than well-grrown pullets^ half starved, siraggliiigy and moaning^ abojut; 4ike so many distressed orpham^ fpr their tnother. 'And.in this manner the ostrich may be said (ver. 16) to be hardened against her young ortegf as though they were not hers; her Mour in hatchmg and attending them 96 far b^ng vain without fealty vit the least concern qf what becomes of them aft^warde. This want of affectioi^^is also recorded. Lam. iv. ^: The daughter of my people, says the ftrophety ir etitei^ like the ostriches' in the ybUdernessi, ';•
. •" Neither is this the^only reproaieh that may iM'diie to ihe ostrich; she is likewise inconsiderate and foolish in her private capacity; particularly in tlia choice of food, which is frequently highly detrimpntal aild perniciouiB to her<; for. she swallows every thin^ greedy and indiscriminately, whether it be pieces -of' raga^ leather, wood, stone, or iron. When I was at Oram^ I saw one of these, birds* swallow, without any seeming * uneasiness or inconveniency, several leaden bullets, ne they were -thrown upon the floor, scorching hot from the mould; the inner coats of the (esophagus and ^tomach being probably better stocked with glands and juices than in other animals with shorter necks. They are particularly fond of. their own excremeht, which they greedily eat up as soon as it is voided. No' leis fond are they of the dung of hens and other *ponltiy. It seems as if their optic as well as olfactory nerves were less adequate and conducive to their «dety and preservation than in other creatures. - Thd Divine providence in this, no less than in ^other respeelSy (ver. 17,) having deprived them of wisdorff, neither hnth it imparted to them understanding.
^* Those parts of the Sahara which these birds chiefly frequent are destitute of all manner of food and herbage, except it be some few tufls of coarse gnissy or else a few other solitary plants of the laureola, apo^ c^num, and some other kinds; each of which is equally destitute of, nourishment; and, in' the psalms isVs phrase, (Psa. cxxix. 6,^ even withereth afeH U growcth up. Yet these herbs, notwithstanding their dr3mess, and want of moisture in their teinperatare, will sometimes have both their leaves and their -stelks studded all over with a greatVariety. of land snaSs^ which may afford them some little refreshment. life. very probable, likewise, that they may sometimes aeite upon lizards f serpents, together with insects Old rep^ tiles of various kinds. Yet still, considerilig the;^gnNit voracity and size of this camel-bird, it is wonderfbl, not only how the little ones, after they are weaned from the provisions I have mentioned, should be brought np and nourished/ but even how those of fuller growth and much better qualified to look out for themselvee,' ate able to subsist.
. " Their organs of digestion, and particularly the gizzards, which, by their strong friction, will wear away iron itself, shpw them indeed to "be grtmhorours hat yet tbey have scarce ^Ttr an ODportuoity to exer-^ eise thiem in this way, uiilee| when they chance to sliay,. which is very seldom,, towards those parts of die eountiy which are sown and coHiyated. For these, as they are jnach frequented by the Arahs at the sereial seasons of gn^ing, ploughing, and gitther-' i&g in the hance8t;^8o they are* little visited by, as Indeed ihcy Would "be an improper sbode %, this iky, tii&Oi^ bird; ^iX^nifoc, a loven of the desert^. TUs las* elicuiDstattCe in the behaviour of the ostrich is frequently alluded to in the Holy Scriptures;-.par-' tienlarly Isa. xiii. 21, and xxxiv. 1^, aiid xliii. 20; Jer.X 39;. where the word, ru;?' yaanah^ instead of being rendered th^.oj^ricA, as it is vigbtly put in the Mikgin, is called the otol; a word used likewise insuaid of yaamak or the ostrieh\ Lev. ±i. l'6, and Deut. xii^- 15.. • •
** Whi]^ I was abroad, T had several opportunities ef amnsiDg myself with ^e actions and behaviour of •Ihe astribh. It was very diverting to observe- with.irtAt delterity^ and equipoise of body it would play and frisk about ob all occasionst In the heat of the day, particularly, it would -strut along, the sunny side ef the house with great majesty. It would be perpetnsHy fanning and priding itself with its quivering expanded tbtngs; and seetn at every, turn to admire and be in love with itashadow. Even at other times, whether WiOdng about, or resting itself upon the ground, the wings would continue these fanning vibrating motions, Si if they were designed to mitigate. and assuage that' eitnordioary heat whiercwith their bodies seem to be naturally affected.
''Notwithstanding these birds appear taine and tractable to such persons of the family as were more. known and familiar to them, yet they were oflen very rode and fierce to strangers, especially the poorer sort, whom they would •not only endeavour to posh down by running furiously upon them; btit would not cease to peck at them violently with their bills, and to strike them with their feet; whereby * they were frequently very mischievous. For the inwiird claw, or hoof rather as we may call it, of this 'avis Msulccy being exceedingly strong-pointed and angular, I once, saw an unfortunate person who had his belly ripped c^n by one of these strokes. Whilst they are engaged in Iheito combats and assaults, they sonietimes make a fierce, angry, and hissing noise, with iheir throats inflated,. and their mouths open; at other tioaes,' when less resistance is made, they hm a chuckling or oaclding voice, 'as in the poultry kind; and thereby seem to rejoice and laugh as it were at - the tim«nra«ness of their adversary. But during- the lonesopne.part of the night, as if their organs of voice had then •attained a quite different tone, they often made a very doleful and hideous noise; which. would be sometimes like the -roaring of a /tdn; at other times it would bear a neat resemblance to thp hoarser voices of other quadrupeds^ particularly of the bull and the ox. I have oflen heard them groan, as if they w^re in the greatest agonies *,' an action beaaliAilly alluded to by the Prophet Micah, i. 8, where it^li said, / will make a mourning like the yaqnah or ostrich, Yaanah, ^erefore, aud'D'aJ^ renamm^ the names by. which the ostrich is known in the Holy. Scriptures, may very properly be deduced from TM^anah^ and /{SI ranm^ words which the lexicographi explain by excla^ mare or clamare 'fortiter; for the noise ma^ by tHe ostrich being loud- and sonorous, ^xc/amars or clamare for titer TDSLYf with propriety enough, be 4Lttributed to it; espiBcially as these words do not seem* to denote any certain or determined mode of voice' or sound peculiar to any one particular species of animals, bitt such as may be applicable to them all, to Inrds as well as to quadrup^d^ and other creatures,''
Shaw's Travels, |>. 451, edit. 4to., 1757. The subjects in this chapter have heen so Tariona and important, that I have been obliged to extend the gotes and observations ^o an unusual length; and yet nMioh is lefl unnoticed which I wished to have inserted. J. have made the best selection I could, and must request tho^e readers who^wish for inore infbrma^ioq to consult zoological write rsj;
Job^ humbles himself before ihe Lord, 1-5. 4nd God again challenges him by a display of his power and ' judgments, Q-li» A desbripiion of behemoth, 15^24.
Verse 1. Moreover the Lord answered] Tl^at is, the Lord continued his discourse with Job. Answered does not refer to an^ thing said by Job, or any question aaked.
I think it very likely that this whoje piece, from the begliming of this Jirst verse to the end of the fourteenth, was originally the ending of the poem. Mr. Heath has noticed this, and I shall lay his words before the reader: "The former part of this chapter is evidently the conclusion of the poem; the latter 'part whereof seems to be in great disorder; whether it has happened from 'the carelessness of the transcriber,. or» which appears most probable, hfm Um^^
will not answer; yea, twice; bitt I will proceed no farther.;' 6. ^ Then answered the Lord unto Job out of the whirlwind, and said, '
7 * Gurd up thy loins how like a man*: f^ Iwill demand of thee, and declare thou unto me.
8 » Wilt thou also disannul my juSgment?' wilt thou condemn me, that thou tnayest berighteous?
d Hast thou an arm like God? or canst
skins of parchment. composing the roll having. by some. accident changed their places.^ It is plain from thtf seventh -vcTrse of tlio forty-second chapter, that Jeho- Tab is the last speaker in the poem. If, then,. immediately after the end pf the thirty-ninth chapter,, we sabjoin the fifteenth verse of the foriy-second chapter, and place i\ie^ fourteen first verses of the fortieth chapter immediately after the sixth yerse ef the foi'tysecond chaptej, and by that means make them. the conclusion of the poem, alU will be right; and this seventh verse of the forty-second chapter will be in its natural order. The action will be complete by the judgment of the Almighty; and the.catastroplie of t|ie poem will be grand and solemn." To these reasons of lyi 114 Heath, Dr. Kennifiott has added others,* which the reader may find at the end of the chapter. Without taking any farther notice of the transposition ia this place, Twill continue the notes in the present order of the verses....
Verse 2. He that r^oneth Godj let him answer it.] Let the man who has made so' free with God atni his go'vernment, answer to what he has jiow heard.
/ will lay mine hand upon my mouth!] I cannet excuse myself, and I ^nlst be dumb before ihe^.
I will proceed no farther.] I shall attempt to justify myself no longer; I have spoken i^epeatedly; and am confounded at my -want of respect for my Maker, and at the high thoughts which I liave entertained 6f my own righteousness. All is impdr^ty in.thiB presence of thy Majesty.
Veree 7. Gird up thy loins] See chap, xxxviii. 1-3. Some think that this and (he preceding ver^ have been jepeated here from chap, xxxviii.- 1-3, and that severalof the words there, here, and chap. xln. 3, have been repeated, in after times, to connect some false gatherings of the sheets of parchment, on which the end.of this poem was originally written. /6ee on ver. 1, and at the end of the chapter.
Vertfe 8. Wilt thou condemn me] Rather than oit to be thought in the wrong, wilt thbu condemn 184'
1 1 *CaiJt abroad the rage of thy.wrath: aiid behold every one that is proud, and ^^se him« '
12 "Look on every ona thdX M-^proudy and bring him low; and tread down the wicked in their place.
13 Hide.them in the dust tog^lHer; and bind" their faces in secret.
14 Thdn will I also confess unto thee that thine, own right hand can save thee.
MY conduct, in ordpr to justify thyself t Sokne will never acknowledge themselves in the wv>og. V God may err, hut we cannot]" seems to - be their, impious.maxim. Unwi41ingness to acknowledge ft fauft frequently leads men, directly or indirectly, to this sort of blasphemy. Tliere are three words mqnl difficult to be pronounced in all languages,-— I am. WRONG. • •'
Verse 9. Hast thofi an arm like God f\ Ereiy word, from this to the end of. verse 14, has a wooller— ful. tendency to humble the soul; apd it is no' wonder. that at tlio oonclusioii of these ^yin?s Job fell in 1|ie dust CQnfounded, and ascribed righteousness* to hift> Maker. -, ' '. ' -
Verse 1 0. Deck thyself how with pyxjesly] ■ Aei like God, seeing thou bast been assuming to thyself, perfections that belong to him alone.-
Verse 13. Hide them in the dust together] Blend' the high and the low, the rich and the poor, in one common ruin. Show them, that thou art supreme, and canst do whatsioever thou pleasest. > Bind their faces in secret.] This seems to nefer to the custom Of preserving mummies: the whole body is wrapped round with strong swathings of linen or cotton cloth. Not^only the limbs, but the very head, face, and all, are rolled round with strong filleting, sa that pot one feature can be seen, not even the protuberance of the nose. On the outside of these' involutions a human face is ordinariiy painted; but as to the real face itself, it is emphatically ftounrf ift secret," for those rollers are never intended to be renfoved.
Verse 14i Thine own right hand can ^av6 thee."]' It i» the prerogative of God alone to save the human soul. Nothing less than unlimited power, txerted under the direction and impulse of unbounded mercy, 'can save a sinner. This is most clearly assertecl in this speech of Jehovah: When thou canst extend an aiQiliko God, i. e., an uncontrollable power — ^when thoa canst arm thyself with the lightning of heaven, and thunder with a voice like.God— when thou canst deck thyself with the ineffable glory, beauty, and splendour of the supreme majesty of Jehovah — ^yhen thou cgmst^ dispense thy judgments over all the earth, to abase the proud, and tread down the wicked — ^when thou as IttTing thd keys of hell and deatlr,' (dend the high fod th6 lo^ in thd dust together; then 1 wiH aeknoiw. le<ge to thte that thy own right hand cab tove thte. Id other 'words: Salvation helongellr onto the tx>rd; no voMit can save his oj^A spnl))y worka of righteousness which he has done, ts doing, or ran possibly, ^o^ le all eternity. ^ Without Jesus every huinan spirit ' Dinst have.4>eridhed everlastingly.. Gloiy be to God for his unspeakable gift! • • • •.
Versig 15. Behold^^nbw behemoth] The word mnn3 •hktmoth >s th^ plural of. TMyr\2 hehemahy which signifies. eoUle in general, ox graminivorous animals, 'as distinpiifthecL from ir\*n chayetho, all wild or carniborous aoin^als. See Gen. i.* ^4. The formdr seemis to mean kioe, horses, asses, ^ sfieep, &c., and aU employed in domestic or. agri<;id'tural matters'; the latter, all -wild and sarage beasts, such as lions, hears, tigers, &c.: hot the words are npt^ always tak9n in these senses.
In this placer it has been sQpposed to mean some animal of the b'eece kind. The Vulgatei retains the Hebrew name; so do the Syriac and Arabic,. The Chaldee is indeAoite, translating creature ox, dnimat. And th^ S^ptuagiot is not more explicit, translating by dup,ia, beast^ oxicUd beasts;■ and old Coverdalcy ^c cruell licnstc, peifaaps as near to the.truth as any of them^ From the hame^ therefore, or the understanding had of it by the ancient versions, we can derive no assistance relative to the individuality of the animal in question; and can only liope to find what it is by the characteristics it bears in the description here given of it.
These, having bc^n carefully considered and deeply investigated both by critics and. naturalists, have^led tq the conclusion that either the elephant, or the hippo^- potamus or river-horsey is the animal in question^ and on comparing the characteristics between these two, the balance is considerably in (9.^-our of the hippopotamus, 'But even here ilierc are still some difficulties, as there are some parts of the description which do. not well suit even the hippopotamus; and therefore I have my doubts whether ei/&«r. of the- animals above is that in question, or whether any aiumal.now in. existence, be that described by thd AJmighty.
Mr. Good supposes, and I am of the Same opinion, that the animal here described is now extinct. The skeletons of three lost genera have Actually been found oui: these have been tehned palaotherium, anoplg- Ikerhim, and mastodon or mammoth.. From an actualexamination* of a part of the skeleton of what is termed the mammoth, I have described it in my note on Gen. i. 24.
* As I do not believe dial either the elepliant or the rn/er*horse is intended here, I shall not take up the reader's time with any detailed description. The elephant is well known; and, though not an inhabitant of these countries, has been so often imported in a.tatne it^, and so frequently occurs in exhibitions of wild beastSy that moltitudea, even of tlie conimon people, have sfeen this tremendous, docile, and sagacious juoimal. Of the hippopotamus or river-horse, little is generally- known but by description, as the habits of this animal* will liot permit l^m to be tamed., His i^knphibious nature ^re^ents his -becqming a conAtaot resident ofn dry land,.,
. The 'hippopotamus inltabfts the rivers of- Africa and the lakes of Ethiopia:■ (beds generally by night; wanders only a few unites from waiter; ifeeds on vegetaibles and 'roots Of trees, but never on fish'; la^s waste whojte' plantations of tlfe^ suga^-cane, rice, and other' grain. \Vlien irritated or jivounded, it will attapK bos^ |uid men wjth much fury. It ^noves slowly and iKlilrily: swims dexterously; walks deliberately and leisurely over h§adantothe water 'i iuidi pursues his way, even on all -fours, on the, bottom; but cannqt remain 'long under.' the water without rising to take/ in air; It sleeps in reedy places;. las a' t2«mendous vo^ce^ be* tween the loipCng of an on and the soaring of the elephant,. Its. head is Jarge; ^its mouth, very yvide; its skin, thick and almost devoid of hair; and its 'tail, naked and about a foot long. It is tiearly as large as the elpphant,And some hav6 been found seventeen feel ' long. Mr. Goo4 observes: ^* Both. the ehphant and hippopotarnus are naturally quiet ^nimals^; apd never interfere with the grazing* of others of different kinds, unless they be irritated. The behemoth, on the con* trary,- is represented as a (quadruped of a -ferocious nature, and formed foir tyranny," if'not rapacity; equally lord of the foods andsjof the mountains; rushiitg with rapidity of foot,.instead of sloWness or stateligess; and possessing a rfgid and enormous ^ail, like a cedar tree, instead of a< short nak^d tail of about afoot long, as ^the hippopotamus; or a weak, slender, hog-shaped.tail; as the elephant;",..
The mammoth, for size, will answer the description in 'this, place, especially ver. 19: He is the chief of the ways of God..That to which th^ part of a skeleton belonged which I examined, must have been, by coniputation, ifot less than: twenty-five feet high, and sixty feet in length! The l^oqes of othe toe I measured, 'and found them, three feet in length! One of the very smallest grinders of an animal of this extinct species^ full of processes on the surface more than an inch in depth, which 'shows that the animal had lived on flesh, I have just now weighed, -and found it, in its very dry statp, four pounds eight ounces, avoirdupois: the same grinder of an elej^hant I have weighed also, and fouiid it just two pounds. The mammoth, therefore, from this proportion,- must have been as large aCS two elephants and a quarter. We may judge by this of its size J elepJiants ^e frequently ten and elevefi feet high; this will niake the mammoth at least twSnty-fivt or twenty-sis feet high; and as il appears to have been a many-toed animal, the *pnn^j which such a creature, could make must have been-almost incredible: nothing' by swiftness could have escaped its-pursnit. Crod
AAteU.c'eir. 18 His bones are" as strong ^^' pieces of bmss; his bones are like bars df *-iron..
19 He is the chief of the. ways o[ God; he that made him oan make his swoixl to approach tmto him. * •
\ to h%Ye made it as thd proof oJT hi* p<iwer.; aii4 had it been, prolific, and not. become e^Ltinet, it would have depopulated the earth. * Crealates of.this kmd must have been living in \he d&ys of Job; the beliemoth ir referred to here, as if perfectly and-commonly knoMm.
& eateth grass as an oj?.] This seems to be mentioned as sofnething t^markmhle in- this animal: that though from the ibnn of Bis {eeih he musthave been ~ carnivorous, yet he ate gfofs as<niQX; he lived both on animal and vegetable food. *.
Verse 16. His strength va in his loins\ This refers ~ to his ^eat agility r notwithstanding his -bulk; by the strength of his loins he was "able, to ti^e yjpt springs, and make astonishing bounds. >
Verse 17- He moveth his tail like a e^dar] - Therefore it was neither the. eiephant,. who, has a tail like that of the iiog, oor'^ihe hippopotamus, whose tail i^ only about a/oorlong. ".
The sinews af. his stonesY'-l inxiABXe wiA Mr.. Good,^9jA for the sdme' rea9onG(^ thiB sinews xf Ms AotmcA^^, which is still "more characteristic; as the animal mti^ have excelled in leaping, ' Vetse 18. His bones are as sVrong pieces of; brass — bars of iron'.] The tusk T have mentioned abov'^ isuncommonly hard, splidf and weighty for its size.
Verse 19. He ib the chief of the ways of God] The largest, strongest, ai^d siciftesl guauiruped* that God has formed. "•» '
He. that made him] No power of man or beast can overcome him. *God alone can overcome him, and God alone could make his sw^rd (of extincUon) dp^ proach to him.
Verse 20. The mountains bring him forth food] It cannot therefore be th^ hippopotamus, as he is sel-. ' dom found far from tho rivers where he has his chief lesidenciie.
"Wkere oil the beasts of the field play -]. He frequents those places where he can have most prey. He miJces a mock of all the beasts of the field. * They can neither resist his power, nor escape from his agility^ All this, answers to what we ^now of the mammoth, but not. vit dHio the hippopotamus.
22 The shady treej8 cover him ^^' tbithXtieii shadaw, the willows of the brook pompas* him ^bout.
Verse *2i: He lieth under the shady trees] - This
Verse 23. ^ Behold, he drinfieih Mp a rtDer] A similar mode of expression, and of j>recisely the s^ine meaning, as that in chap, xxxix. 24: -'^He swallowetir the ground with fierceness." No rirer can stop- Ms (bourse: lie wades throit^ all.; stems every tide' fad torrent; and hurries not as though he were in dangeiu
He. trusteth that he can draw up Jordan] Eren when the river overflows its. banks, it is no. stoppage to -him: though the whole impetuosity of its streim rush against his mouth,«he is not sifraid. Mr. ^bood' has seized the- true idpa in his translation of.this verse':-r—
From this mention of Jordan it^is probable tfiat tke behemoth was once an inhabitant of the monnlunt, marshes, and woods,* of the land of Palestine.
Versed 4. He taketh it with his eyes] fie looks af the sweeping tide, and defies it.
.His nose pierceth through snares.] If fences irf". strong stakes be made ip order to restrain him, or prevent him from passing cert&in boundaries, he tean them in pieces wfth his teeth; or, by pressing Ins nose against them, breaks them off. - If other parts 'of the desbription would •answer, this might wel\;^pply to the elephant, the nose hefe meaning the prebaseiSf with which he cfin split trees, or even tear them tq^ from the roots! *' * "
Thus ends, the description of the behemoth; what I suppose to be the' mastodon or mammoth, or some creature of* this kind, that Clod made as the chief ^^f his ioorksy exhibited in various countries for a. time',. cut. them off- from the earth, but by his providenoe preserved many of their skeletons, that succeeding ages might behold the mighty powfir which ' produced this chief of the ways of God, and admire the prp-' vidence that rendered that race extinct which woold otherwise, in lill- probability, have extinguished evory Other race of animals!
I am not unapprized of the strong arguments produced by learned men to prove, on the one hand, that behemoth is the elephant; and,'on the other, that ho is die kippopotantuB or river-horse; and I haye earefullj read- all that Bachart, that chief of learned men, has aaki on the subject. But I am convinced that an animal now extinct^ probably ^of the kind already, mencidiied, is the creature pointed oat and described by the ia^tralion of God in this i^lu^iterk
Oh ver. 30 of Che preceding chapter we have seen^ from Mr. Heath's remarks, that. \hQ fourteen^ first tiers^ were probably 'transposed' In. the following observations Dr. Kennicott appears to prove the point.
^ It will b« here objected, thaft the poeni could not possibly end with this 4uesUon from Job;.and, among other reasons, for this in particular; because we read iff the »Bry next verse, That after, the. Lord hdd spoken these words unto Joby di^c. If, therefore, t)ie last ^aker was not Job, but the Lord^ Job could not-orig^najly hav^/c&ncloded thiir'poemt as he does, a^ present.
" This objection I bold to be exceedingly important^ sind, indeed, '*to prove 'decisively that the poem. BHWt'bave edded at first with oOme speech, from- GoH. '" And this Remark leads directly to a very interestipg UKiairy: Whiat tiras at first the conclusion of this.poeni? 'This may, '{ presiim'e, be pointed out. and determined, noi by the alteration of any one word, but oilly by allowing a dislosatipn of the fourteen verses which now' begin the fortieth chapter. Chapters xtzviii.,lExxix.) xl., and ili., contain a magnificent display of the Divine power and Wisdom in the works ' of the Creator-; specifying the /wm, raveh^ wild goat^ mid ass, unicorn, peacock, ostrich^ horse. Hawk, eagle, iehenwtHf and Icviatftan,.
'^ Now, it inust have surprised most readers to find that the description of these creatures is strangely interrupted- at ehap. xl. I, and as strangely, resumed afterwards at chap. xl. 15; and therefore, if these fourteen verses will connect with and regularly follow what now ends the poem, we cannot much doubt that these fourteen verses have again found their true station, and should be restored to it. • "The greatness of the supposed transposition is- no objection: because 90 many vetses as would fill one piece of vellum in an ancient roUj might be easily sewed in before or after its proper place. In the case before us, the twenty-Jive lines in the first fourteen verses of chapter xl. seem to have been sewed^ in improperly after chap, xxxix. 30,, instead of after eh^». xlii. '6. Thkt such large parts have been transposed in rolls, to make w^ich the parts.are sewed together, is aibsdlutely certain) and that this* has been the case here,- is still more probable for the ibilowing reason:-^
" The lines fiere ^supposed fo be out of place ai^ twenty-flve, aild contain mnety-two words; whieh might be written on one piece.,ct page of vellu0. But' the MS. in^ which these twenty-five lines made one page, must be inpposed to have the same, or nearly the sanie, nnmber of lines in mcA of the pages adjoining. And it would greatly stiv^gthen this pre- ■samption if tb^se ttoehty'.five Hoes w.ould fall in regitlarly at the end of any other set of lines, nearly of the same number; if they would fall ' in after 'tbe next set of twehty-five,^ or the second set, or the ''third, tit ihefoitrth,.fLcr ii6vf,^lMs is gctually the case here; for the lines zpxit these twenty-five, being one hundred 01 one hundred and one, make just /<nir times twenty - five. And, Ihefefore,' if we consider. these one hundred, and twenty^five lines as Written on five equal pieces of "velhini, it follows that the fifth^ piece might be carelessly dewed up-, before the ol^er fourf...*...^ •
' >'' Let us alsb x>hseFve that present disorder of the speeches', which is-.thi6. In chapters * xxxviiL and xx^Lix., God first '^eaks to Job. ' The end of chap. xxxix. is followed by; * And the Lord answered Job and said,' whilst yet Job had f^t replied. At chap, xl. 3-5, Job answers; but he 'says, he had then spoken twice, and he would add- no.more; whereas, this was his first replyV and -he speaks afterwards. From cb^. xl. l5 to xli. ^4 are now the descriptions of* behemoth.and leviathan*, whictr^ would regularly follovF the dedcripiions of the horse, hati^k, &nd eagle. Atid from chap. xlii. 1 to xlii. 6 is now Job^s speech, after which we read in ver. 7; * A^r the Lord had spoken these >vords unto ' Job!'•.':
" Now, all these confusions are removed at onee if we only allow (hat a piece. of vellum containing the v. twenty-five Unes, (chap. xl. 1-14,) originally followed chap. xlii. 6., For then, after God's /r*/ speech, ending with leviathan, Jbh replies: then God,#to whom Job replies ihe' second lime; when he added no more; and then tjrod.address^s him the thirds when Job is §ilent, and the poem concludes: upon whfch the narrative.opens, regularly, with saying, * After the Lord had 'spoken tliese words unto Job,' drc.; chap, xlii* *l. " — KenhicoH'j Hcmarks, pi' 1 6 1.
The reader Nvill find much more satisfaction if he read the places as abgve directed. Having ended chap, xxxix., procieed immediately to v«r. 15 of chap, xl.; go* on regularly to the end of ver. 6 of 4!hap. xlii., ^nd immediately after that, add the fiTBi fourteen verses of chap. xl. AVe shall find then that the poem has a consistent and proper ending, and that the concluding ispeech was spoken by JEHOVAH,
Ood^s great power in the leviathan, of which creature he gives a very circifnslantial description, l-Si.
come now to a. subject hot less peirpl^xing than, that over which we have passed; and a subject on which
3 Will He inake many supplications unto thee? will he speak soft wofds
Aale I. Oljnnp.
4 Will he make a ceYenant with thee?.wilt thou ts^e* him for • a servant for ever"?
learned men Kt€ less -agreed than 'on. the preceding,. What is leviathan t The Hpbrew word jn^V livt/Q-*
^ than is retainect by the'VuIgaCie and the Chaldee. The Septuagint have, Afeic 6e dpaxovra; " Canst thou draw out the^ DiiAdoN 1".The Sjriae and Arabic haj^e
• the same'. A speeies pt whale has been supposed to be the creatare in question; but the description suits no animal but the crocodile or alHgator; and* it is not necessary to seek elsewhere. The crbcodile is a natural inhabitant of the. Ni]e> and other Asiatic and African rivers. It is a ciieature of enormous vbracity and strength, M wbU as fleetness.in swimtning^ He will attack the largest animals, and even men; with the most daring impetuositi^r In proportion lo his size fie has the l^irgest modth of all n^onstjBrs. TJbe. upper jaw is ajrmea with /tw/y sharp strong teeth, and the dnder jaw with thirty-eight. He is ckjthed ^ith such a coat of m^l as cannot be pierced, and can in eyery direction resist ' a. musket-ball. THe Hebrew ^iS levi \T\ ten signifletr the coupled- dragon; but what this is we know net;, unless the crocod^e be meant. With a hook] That crocodiles \jrere caught with a hailed hook^ at least one. species of crocodile, w'e have.
y«rcrv avo^ Se^eaaif Trcpt ayKiaTftov, fierui cf fieaov tov irorafiov, k, t. X. ** They take. the back ot chine of a swine, and bait a hook w^ith it, and throw it into' the midst of the river; and the fisherman stands at some distance on the shore holding a young {)ig, \^hioh he irritates, in order to make it squeak.. When the crocodile hears this he immediately makes 'towards the sound; and, finding- the baited hook in hi^ way, swallows it, and is.then drawn to.land, when they daah mud into, his eyes, and blind -dim; afler which he is soon despatched.^' In this way it seerti's lafia-, than vi^jA. drawn out by a-h'odk.-r but it was undoubtedly both a difficult and dangerous, work, and but barely ^ practicable in the way in which Herodotus relates the matter. ' •.
Or his tongue with a cort[\ It is probable that, when the animal was taken, they had some inethod of casting a noose round his /on^gtte, when opening his mouth; or piercing it with some barbed instrument. Thevenot 'says that in order to take the -crocodile thcydig holes on the banks of the river, and cover them with sticks. ' The crocodiles fall into these, and cannot get out. ' They leave them there ibr several days without fobd, and then let down nooses which, they pitch on their jaws, and thus draw them out. This is probably what is meant here.
or wilt thou bind him for thy maidens? *
6 Shall thy companions make a banquet of him?. shaH they part him among the m^rchantff?
7 Canst thou fill his skin with barbed ironfs? or hi« head- with fish^ spears?
8. Lfty diine hand upon him, remember the •battle, do no more.. -, * •
Verse 3. Canst thou put a hook into his noset\ Canst thou put a' ring in his nose,.and lead hiitt aboat as thou dost thine ox 1 In the East the^ freqnedtly lead the oxen aiid buflral($es with \ring in U^e^ noses. So they do biills and oxen in this Country..., ' ' Bore his jaw through^ withfa thorn /].. Some haT6 thought that this means. Canst, thou dea| with him as with one of those little- fish which thou stringest on a ru^h 'by means of the. thorn ki its end t Or perhaps it' may refer to thos^ ornaments with which tb^- sometimes adorned their horses/ mules^ camels, dus. -.*
Verse 3. Will he maki many suppHcations] Thqpe. are several allusions in these rerses to matters of whicl^ we kQow nothing. ■ ^..»! •.
• Verse 4. WUl^ he make a covenant] * i^dJMt-thoa hire him a^ thou wouldst a servant, \vho is to be 89 attached to-thyTamily as to have his ear boredtiiuX he may abide ih thy house for ever! Is not- this an aUasion to the law, Exod. xxi. 1-6? '
Verse 6. Wilt thou play with hja^].- Is' he such ^ creature as thou canst tame; and t)f which thoa* canst; make a pet^ and give as a plaything tdthylittlio girhil ynnj^^J naarotheyoha; probably alluding to the < giving theoQ to childreu to play with; a custom e^er crable.as ancient, and disgraceful as modem.
• Verse, 6. Shall thy companions make a hanque{\ Canst tfiou and thy friends feast on him 1^ ye "were wont to do on a.camel sacrificed for this purpose 1 Or, canst thou dispose of his fesh to the merchanU—r - tp buyers, aa tliou wouldst do' that of a camel or aa ox 1 It is certain, according to Herodotus^ lib. iL c. 70,* -^ that they killed and* ate crocodiles at ApoUonople and Elephdntis, in Egypt...
Verse 7. Canst thoyijill his skin with barbed irons f\ This refers to some kind of harpoon work, sinoilar tothat omployed in taking whatesj and which thejr n^fat use for some other kinds of animals; for the fkin of the crocodile could not be pierced. Herrera says* that he saw a crocodile defend itself.against thirty mea; - and that they fired six balls at it without being able to wound it. It can only be wounded under the belly.
Verse 8. Lay thine hand uponhipi t] • Mr. Heafh translates, " Be sure thou strike home. Mind th^ blow: Vely not upon a second stroke." Mr. Good traos- • lates:■:—.
He is a dangerous ani^ial; when thou sttackost him, be sure of thy advantage.; if thou miss, tbon art b! c ^' 1^: '^ Behold, the bope of him is in ine I. bfymp. vain: shaU not one be cast down* Aate u. c* cir. even at the sight of him? \
Btir him up: who then is able to stand be- £»re mei
lie Who hath prevented me, that T[ iihould fepay Aim? ^tohatsoever is under thfe whole heaven is mine* '.
)2 I will net conceal his parts, nor his power, nor his comely proikwrtion> ' *
13 Who cart discover the facie of his garment? OF who can comp to hint » with' his double bridle?. '• - •. * 14- Who cfm open the doors of hii? fao^? his teeth are teitibl^ round about. •
nuned. -Depend not on other advan^^s, if thoa misa^ the AitiL Kill him at once, or he will kill theei - '
Vcnfe 9v Behold, the hope] U thou miss thy first •drantagey there is no hope afterwards: the very sight.ef this tenlble donster would dissipate thy spirit, if thiMi hadst not a positive advantage against his life, jot a place of sure retreat to save IhifU own^ yrko then is able] If thou canst' not stand against the crocodile, one of irhe creaturesjo^ niy hand, how eabst thou resist me, who* am his Maker % Thi^.is the oae which God ma^es of the formidable description Which he has thus far given qf this terrible animal.
Verse 11. Who jiath prevented me] Who is it that lialli laid me under obligatioii to him t, Do<I need my creatures! All undpr the heavens is my property.
^ I cannot be confounded at his limbs and violende; "Ttie strength. and structure of his frame.'*'
The Creator cannot be Intin^idated at the most formidable of his own works: man may and should tremble; God eiuuiot.'
.Verse 13. Who can discover the face of his garment /] ^ Who can rip up the hide of this terrible nonster! Who can take away his covering, in order to pierce his vitals 1 ^ *
Verse 15. His scales are his pride] They are impenetrable, as- we have already seen.
Verse 16. One is so near to another] It has already been stated, that a* musket-ball fired at hi^ in any direction cannot make a passage through his scales, c '
i7 They are joined- one to another/ they slick together, that they cannot be sundered.
20 Out of his Aostrijs goeth smoke, as oUt of a seething pot or caldron.
Ve^se IB, JBy his neesings h light doth shine] It is yerjr likely that this may be taken literally* wfcen 'he spurts up the water out of his nostrils, the drops form a sort of iris or raiiiiow. We have seen thi9 effedt prodqced when, in* certain situations and state of the atmosphere, water was thrown Q'p forcibly, so OS tol)e broken 4hto small drops, which has occasioned an appeara^iC'e like the rainboui.
The eyelids of the mar?iing.] It ib said that, under.the water, the eyes 9f^the crdoodi^^re exceedingly dull; but when he. lifts his Bead above water they jparJUe with the greatest -vivafcitj. Hence the Egyptians, in. their hieroglyphics; nuide the eyes of the crocodile thp emblem of the morning, KvaroXiiv T^ovre^ ^vo. oi^a^fiov^ ifpoKodeiXoi) J^uo^'po^bver^. ——Horapp. Egypt. leroglyph., lib. i*, t, 65. This is a most remarkable circumstance,.casts liglil pn ancient history, aqd shows the. rigid 'correctness of the picture drawn above. •.• ' '
Verso 19. Out 'of his mouth go burning lamps] Dr. Youngf in his paraphrase, has a sensible note on this passage: — -^^ This is nearer the truth than at first view may be imagined. The crocodile, according to naturalists, 'lying Jong nnd^r water, and being there forced to hpU its breath, when it emerges, the biaeath long repressed is hot, an3.4)urst8 3ut so violently, that it resembles fire and smoke.. The horse dpes not repress^ his.breath by any means so long,. neither is he 80 fierce and animated; yet the most correct of poets' venture to use the same ijnetap.hor concciming him, volvit sub naribus tgnem. By this I would caution against a false opinion of the boldness -of Eastern metaphoi?) from passages ill understood/' ', •189
22 In his neck remaineth strength, and ' sorrow is turned into joy before him.
23 " The flakes of bis flesh
are joined together: they are firm in themselves: they cannot be moved.
24 Hi9 heart is as firm as a 5tone; yea, as hard, as a piece of the nether millstone.
25 When he raiseth up himself, the -mighty are afraid; by reason of breakings they purify themselves..
26 The -sword of him that* layelh at lurii cannot hold: the spear j the • dairt, 'lior the » habergeon.;
29 Darts are counted as stubble: ^^' he.laugheth at the shaking of a spear. •
30 ^ Sharp stones are under him: he spreadeth sharp-pointed things upon the mire.
32' He maketh a p^th to ^hine after hi^*-; one would think the deep to be hoary,.
33 Upon earth tlierc is not his hke, »who *is made without* fear^ -:
34 He beholdeth all, high things: he- if a king over all the chiWren of ^liride.. >
Verse 22. In hU netk remaineth strength] \ lAierally, '* streDgth has its dwelling ib.his neck." The neck is the seat of strength of most animals; biU the' head and shoulders must-^e here m'eaAi, as- the crocodile has no neck, being shaped veiry nearly like a lizard,^
And. sorrow is turned^ into joy -before him.'] 1 US S > n3Nn ynn uUphanaiv iodutsdenbak; '* And destruction exolteth before him.".This is as fine an image as can well be. coqceived. It is in the true ^spirit of poetry, the legitimate offspring of ttie. genie createur. Oar.translation is -simply insignificant.
Verse 24. Hard as apiece ofihejnether millstone. *) Which is required to be hatdef than that which- runs aboTe., ^. ^.
Verse 26. By reason, of hf Hikings they purify themselves.y No 'veiaion, either atibient or modern,, appears to have understood this verse; nor is its true sense known. The Septuagini bfitve, 1* When he turns himself, he terrifies all the quadrupeds oh' the earth." The original is short and obscure:! lK£9nn' D'TSJi^O mishshebarim yithqhattau, Mr. Goo(/ take&the plura) termination p' tm, from the first word, of jvhich {le makes the noun D^-yom, the sea, and thus translatea it, <* T^®y *'® confounded at the. tumult of the sea.^' In this I can find, no more light than in -our own. Mr. Heath has, " For very tetrbr th6y fall to the ground." Th6 tranedations of it ara as unsatisfaiitory as they /are various. I shall give both* the vierses from Cooerdale:, —