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ples, both from classic authors, as well as from two or three of the fathers of the Christian church, in which Mr. Sharp's rule is completely exemplified. They are selected from Mr. Boyd's supplementary researches, cited in the preceding page.

Όπα τας Τηρείας

Μήτιδος οικτρας αλόχου

Κιρκηλάτου τ' αηδόνος.

Eschyli Supplices, v. 62-64.

The voice of the wretched wife of Tereus, the nightingale, pursued by the falcon

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What things we suffer from this execrable lioness, and slayer of children!

Tov pakapiov kai evčokov Navλov. — Of the blessed and illustrious Paul. (Polycarp, Epist. ad Philipp.)

Αγαπην του Χριςου, του Θεού ἡμων. The love of Christ our God. (Ignatius, Epist. ad Romanos.)

Τον Κτίσην, και Δημιουργον. - The Creator and Maker. (Irenæus adv. Hæres. lib. iv. p. 48. edit. Oxon. 1702.)

Του κορυφαιότατου παρ' ΰμων και πρώτου των ποιητών, tinguished among you, and first of the poets. Græcos.)

Όμηρου. — Homer the most dis. (Justin Martyr. Cohortatio ad

Ο Αρχιςράτηγος και Ποιμήν των κατ' ουρανον, ὦ παντα παντα πείθονται. - The great Ruler and Shepherd of them in heaven, whom all things obey. (Methodius) Αμφι τον αναρχον και ανωλεθρον Βασιλέα. - Around the King, without beginning and immortal. (Ibid.)

Ίνα του Βασιλέα γεραιρη παντων και Ποιητην. — That he may venerate the King and Maker of all. (Ibid.)

Ο ςράτηγος ἡμων και ποιμην Ιησους, και αρχών, και νύμφιος. - Jesus, our leader, and shepherd, and governor, and bridegroom. (Ibid.)

Τον Θεον μόνον αρνείσθε, τον δεσποτην και δημιουργον του παντος. - Ye deny the only God, the lord and creator of all. (Chrysostom. Orat. de non anathem. vivis aut defunctis.)

Εν ήμερα επιφανειας και αποκαλύψεως του μεγάλου Θεοτα και Αρχιποιμένος ήμων, Ιησου Xpisov. In the day of the appearing and revelation of Jesus Christ, the Great God and Chief Shepherd of us. (Gregor. Nazianzen. Orat. 4. adv. Julian. in fine.)

(2.) Emphases of other words.

John i. 14. The word was made flesh, and dwelt umong us, cornywaev ev hper, literally, tabernacled among us. The verb oknow (from ønn) signifies to erect a booth, tabernacle, or temporary residence, and not a permanent habitation or dwelling place it was therefore fitly applied to the human nature of Christ; which, like the antient Jewish tabernacle, was to be only for a temporary residence of the Eternal Divinity.

Matt. ix. 36. When Jesus saw the multitudes, he had compassion on them,— Eondayxvioen (from Exaλayxvov, a bowel); the antients generally, and the Jews in particular, accounting the bowels to be the seat of sympathy and the tender pas sions, applied the organ to the sense. The proper meaning therefore of this phrase is, that our Lord was moved with the deepest sympathy and commiseration for the neglected Jews.

Heb. iv. 13. All things are naked and opened, retpaɣndiopeva, to the eyes of him with whom we have to account. The emphasis is here derived from the manner in which sacrifices were antiently performed.

(3.) Emphatic Adverbs.

[i] Sometimes ADVERBS OF TIME are emphatic; and a careful notation of the time indicated by them will materially illustrate the force and meaning of the sacred writings.

1 Kuinöel in loc. who has given illustrations from classical writers, and also from the Apocrypha.

Thus, in Mal. iii. 16. we read, THEN they that feared the Lord, spake often one to another, &c. The word THEN is here peculiarly emphatic, and refers to the time when the last of the prophets wrote, and when many bold infidels and impious persons were found among the Jews, who spake "stout words" against God, and vindicated them. They considered all the time spent by them in his service as lost; they attended his "ordinances" with many expressions of self-denial and humiliation, but they derived no benefit from them; and they concluded that those haughty rebels who cast off all religion, and tempted God by their presumptuous wickedness, were the most prosperous and happy persons (v. 13-15.) THEN, viz. at this season of open wickedness, there was a remnant of pious Jews, who "spake often one to another," met together from time to time that they might confer on religious subjects, animate each other to their duty, and consult how to check the progress of impiety. Of these persons, and their pious designs and discourses, we are told that Jehovah took especial notice; and that "a book of remembrance was written before him for them that feared the Lord, and that thought upon his name."

[.] A knowledge of historical circumstances, however, is requisite, less we ascribe the emphasis to a wrong source; as in Acts ix. 31.

THEN had the churches rest (eipnvny, literally, peace or prosperity). The cause of this peace has by some commentators been ascribed to the conversion of Saul, who had previously "made havoc of the church :" but this is not likely, as he could not be a cause of universal persecution and distress, whatever activity and virulence he might have shown during the time of his enmity to the Christian church. Besides, his own persecution (as the context shows) proves that the opposition to the Gospel continued with considerable virulence three years after his conversion. If we advert to the political circumstances of the Jewish nation at that time, we shall find the true cause of this rest. The emperor Caligula had ordered his statue to be erected in the temple at Jerusalem; and, in pursuance of his mandate, Petronius, the president of Syria, was on his march with an army for that purpose. Filled with consternation, the Jews met him in vast multitudes in the vicinity of Ptolemais or Acre, and ultimately prevailed on him to abandon his design. It was this persecution of the Jews by the Romans, that the sacred writer had in view, which diverted the Jews from persecuting the Christians: and "THEN had the churches rest throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria;” the terror occasioned by the imperial decree having spread itself throughout those regions.1

Real Emphases.

The knowledge of these can only be derived from an acquaintance with the manners, customs, &c. of antient nations, which are noticed by writers on biblical antiquities and by commentators, so far as they are necessary to illustrate the sacred writings. Two or three instances of these also will suffice to explain their nature.

Rom. xi. 17. In this verse we have a very beautiful illustration taken from the ingrafting of trees; an art with which we find St. Paul was well acquainted. The point to be explained was, the union of the Gentiles with the Jews under the Gospel dispensation. The Jews were the olive tree; the grafts were both Gentiles and Jews; and the act of ingrafting was, the initiation of both into the Christian religion. The Jews are informed that olive branches may with greater ease be ingrafted into their own original stock, which is more natural and congenial to them. The Gentiles are again reminded, that, if the natural branches were not spared because of their unfruitfulness, much less would they be spared who were aliens to the Jewish stock, if they should prove unfruitful.

The prize ẞpabcov, mentioned in 1 Cor. ix. 24. is the crown awarded to the victor in the olympic games; whence caraßpabeveiv, rendered beguile you of your reward (Col. ii. 18.), means to deprive any one of a reward or prize, either by partial judgment or in any way impeding him in his Christian course. In 1 Cor. ix. 24. the apostle illustrates the necessity of being in earnest in the Christian race, by a beautiful allusion to the games of the heathen. As the racers and wrestlers in those games fitted themselves for their different exercises, and each

1 Dr. Lardner has collected and given at length various passages from Josephus (De Bell. Jud. lib. ii. c. 10. and Ant. Jud. lib. xviii. c. 9.) and Philo (De Legat. ad Caium, p. 1024.), which confirm the above statement. See his Credibility, book i. ch. ii. § 12.

strove zealously for the victory, so should the Christian prepare himself for his religious course, and strive for the victory in his great contest with the world.

1 Cor. iv. 13. We are made the filth of the earth, mcpikappara, literally, a purga tion or lustrative sacrifice: the allusion is to a custom common among heathen nations in times of public calamity, who selected some unhappy men of the most abject and despicable character. These, after being maintained a whole year at the public expense, were then led out crowned with flowers, as was usual in sacrifices, and were devoted to appease or avert the anger of their deities, being either precipitated into the sea, or burnt alive, after which their ashes were thrown into the sea.

Eph. v. 27. That it (the church of Christ) should be holy and WITHOUT BLEISH, aμwpos, i. e. so pure and spotless, so free from all censure, that even Momus himself (the fictitious deity of mirth and ridicule) could find nothing to carp at or ridicule.

III. A consideration of the affections by which the sacred authors were animated, when they committed their inspired communications to writing, as well as the scope and context of the passage under consideration, together with the nature of its subject, will always enable us to ascertain the true emphasis of words: but, as ingenious and fanciful minds are apt to discover them where they do not actually exist, it may not be irrelevant to offer a few leading hints respecting the particular investigation of emphases, selected from the great mass of observations, which have been collected by eminent biblical critics.

1. No emphases are to be sought in refined explanations of passages, or from etymology, both of them uncertain guides at the best; and which are too often carried to extremes by men of lively imaginations. Neither will prepositions always enlarge or give additional force to the meaning of a word, particularly in the Greek language.

We may instance in 1 Cor. xiii. 6., where we read that true charity rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth (ovyxaipu) in the truth. Some commentators have conceived that this word is emphatic, and have rendered the passage rejoiceth jointly (with true believers) in the truth. But in this instance, as Schleusner has remarked from Hesychius, the Greek compound verb means no more than the simple verb xaipo implies, viz. to be delighted or to rejoice in a thing. Our authorised version therefore fully expresses the apostle's meaning. But in Heb. xii. 2. the proposition is highly emphatic, and demands particular attention, in order to apprehend the full force and beauty of the passage, which is wholly agonistical, i. e. allusive to the antient foot races. Having in the first verse exhorted Christians to divest themselves of every incumbrance, and to run with patience their Christian course, St. Paul adds, (v. 2.) Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith. The original word here rendered looking (apopwvres), literally means to look off FROM every other object to some particular object placed full in view; as the reward destined to the victor in the olympic foot race was placed immediately in view of the candidates. It is impossible to express the full import of this passage without the aid of a paraphrase. The whole clause may be thus rendered Wherefore, seeing we are also compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, who (like the spectators at the antient olympic race) surround us on every side in a vast innumerable assembly, the spectators of our trial, let us lay aside every incumbering weight, and especially the sin, which in present circum

1 This word occurs in Josephus precisely in the very same meaning as it is used by the apostle. The Jewish historian, relating the aggressions of the Jews which led to the war with the Romans, says, among other things, that those who officiated in the temple service, rejected the sacrifice for Cæsar and the Roman people. "And when many of the high priests and principal men besought them not to omit the sacrifice, which it was customary for them to offer for their princes, they would not be prevailed upon. These relied much upon their number, for the most flourishing part of the innovators assisted them," AOPANTEΣ eis rov Excačapov “ hat ing the chief regard to Eleazar, the governor of the temple;" looking To HIM EXCLUSIVELY, by whom they had been instigated to those offensive measures. De Bell. Jud. lib. ii. c, xvii. § 2.

stances has the greatest advantage [against us], or the well circumstanced sin, that which has every thing in its favour, time, place, and opportunity, more particularly, a disposition to relinquish or dissemble our profession of the Gospel for fear of sufferings; and let us run with patience and perseverance the race which is set before us, resolutely persisting in it, however long and painful it may be : Looking off from every object that would interrupt us in our career, and fixing our oyes upon (or to) Jesus, the author (or leader) and finisher of our faith; who called us out to this strenuous yet glorious enterprise; who animates us by his example, and supports us by his grace, until the season arrive, when he will bestow upon us the promised crown.I

2. Further: Emphases are not to be sought in versions; which, however excellent they may in general be, are yet liable to error; consequently the derivation of emphases from them may lead us not merely to extravagant, but even to false expositions of Scripture.

One instance will suffice to illustrate this remark. In Col. ii. 6. according to the authorised English version, we read thus, As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him. From this rendering of the Greek text many persons have laid much stress on the words as and so, (which last is not to be found in the original), and have deduced a variety of inferences from them, viz. as ye received Jesus Christ in a spirit of faith, so walk ye in him; as ye received him in a spirit of humility, so walk ye in him, &c. Now all these inferences, though proper enough in themselves, are derived from false emphases, and are contrary to the apostle's meaning, who intended to say no such thing. His meaning, as Dr. Macknight has well translated the passage, is simply this-" Since ye hace received Christ Jesus the Lord, walk ye in him" in other words, as the context plainly shows, "Since ye have embraced the doctrine of Christ, continue to hold it fast, and permit not yourselves to be turned aside by sophistical or Juda. ising teachers."2

3. No emphases are to be sought in the plural number of words.

Thus ουρανος and ovpavo simply mean heaven; yet Origen, following the trifling distinctions of some Jewish writers, has attempted to distinguish between them, and has announced the existence of several heavens each above the other.

4. No emphasis is to be sought in words where the abstract is put for the concrete, as is very frequent in the Hebrew Scriptures,3 in which substantives are necessarily put in the place of adjectives, on account of the simplicity of the language which has few or no adjectives.

5. Lastly, As every language abounds with idioms, or expressions peculiar to itself, which cannot be rendered verbatim into another lan guage without violating its native purity, we should be careful not to look for emphases in such expressions.5

1 See Braunius, Krebsius, Kypke, Ernesti, and also Drs. Doddridge, Macknight, and A. Clarke on Heb. xii. 1, 2. by whom every emphatic word in these two verses is particularly illustrated.

2 See Drs. Macknight and A. Clarke on Col. ii. 6.

3 See numerous examples in which the abstract is put for the concrete, infra, Chap. V. Sect. II. § 4.

4 On the Hebraisms, or Hebrew idioms peculiar to the Sacred Writings, see pp. 21-23. supra, of the present volume.

5 Bauer, Herm. Sacr. pp. 231-240. Ernesti Instit. Interp. Nov. Test. pp. 40 45. Mori Acroases in Ernesti, tom. i. pp. 321-336. Aug. Pfeiffer, Herm. Sacr. c. vi. § 16—23. (Op. tom. pp. 649-651) Wetstein, Libelli ad Crisin et Interp. Nov. Test. pp. 120-139. Viser, Herm. Sacr. Nov. Test. pars iii. pp. 263-277. Bishop Marsh's Lectures, lect. xv. pp. 43-49. where the three first rules (pp. 499, 500. supra,) are admirably illustrated. Prof. Gerard has collected numerous valuable observations on the topics discussed in this chapter in his Institutes of Biblical Criticism, pp. 293-369. particularly in sect. iii. (pp. 300-314.) on the signification of words. J. B. Carpzovii Prima Linea Herm. Sacræ, pp. 23. 40-45. The subject of emphases is copiously treated by Langius, in his Hermeneutica Sacra, pp. 64-96.; by Rambach, in his Institutiones Hermeneutice Sacre, lib. ii. cap. 8. pp. 317-362.; by Jahn, in his Enchiridion Herm. Generalis, pp. 127-135.; by Chladenius, in his Institutiones Exegetica, pp. 310-322; and by J. E. Pfeiffer, in his Institutiones Herm. Sacr. pp 534-569,

VOL II.

65

CHAPTER III.

ON THE SUBSIDIARY MEANS FOR ASCERTAINING THE SENSE OF SCRIPTURE.

SECTION I.

ON THE COGNATE LANGUAGES.

BESIDES the critical use to which the Cognate Languages1 may be applied, they afford very considerable assistance, (as well as the antient versions,)2 in illustrating the sacred writings. They confirm by their own authority a Hebrew form of speech, already known to us from some other source: they supply the deficiencies of the Hebrew language, and make us fully acquainted with the force and meaning of obscure words and phrases, of which we must otherwise remain ignorant, by restoring the lost roots of words, as well as the primary and secondary meaning of such roots; by illustrating words the meaning of which has hitherto been uncertain, and by unfolding the meanings of other words that are of less frequent occurrence, or are only once found in the Scriptures. Further, the cognate languages are the most successful, if not the only means of leading us to understand the meaning of phrases, or idiomatical combinations of words found in the Bible, and the meaning of which cannot be determined by it, but which, being agreeable to the genius of the original languages, are preserved in books written in them. Schultens, in his Origines Hebrææ,3 has illustrated a great number of passages from the Arabic, from whose work Bauer and Dr. Gerards have given many examples which do not admit of abridgment. Schleusner has also availed himself of the cognate dialects to illustrate many important passages of the New Testament. Of the various modern commentators on the Bible, no one perhaps has more successfully applied the kindred languages to its interpretation than Dr. Adam Clarke.

In consulting the cognate languages, however, much care and attention are requisite, lest we should be led away by any verbal or literal resemblance that may strike the mind, and above all by mere etymologies, which, though in some instances they may be advantageously referred to, are often uncertain guides. The resemblance or analogy must be a real one. We must there compare not only similar words and phrases, but also similar modes of speech, which, though perhaps differing as to the etymology of the words, are yet evidently spoken of a similar thing. The following examples will illustrate this remark :

1 See a notice of the cognate languages in pp. 31, 32. of the present volume. 2 On the benefit to be derived from the use and application of antient versions, see pp. 212-215. of this volume.

3 Alberti Schultens Origines Hebrææ, sive Hebrææ Linguæ antiquissima Natora et Indoles, ex Arabia penetralibus revocata. Lugduni Batavorum, 1761, 4to. In two parts or volumes. The first edition was printed at Franeker, in 1724–1738. 4 Bauer's Hermeneutica.Sacra, pp. 90-144.

5 Gerard's Institutes of Biblical Criticism, pp. 58-70.

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