= Wisdom-thus the connection-will keep thee, so that thou shalt not fall under the seductions of man or of woman; keep, in order that thou...? (from 1yny, tendency, purpose) refers to the intention and object of the protecting wisdom. To the two negative designations of design there follows, as the third and last, a positive one. D'ai (contrast to D'y, xiv. 19) is here used in a general ethical sense: the good (Guten, not Gütigen, the kind). py, with the object of the way, may in another connection also mean to keep oneself from, cavere ab (Ps. xvii. 4); here it means: carefully to keep in it. The promise of ver. 21 is the same as in the Mashal Ps. xxxvii. 9, 11, 22; cf. Prov. x. 30. is Canaan, or the land which God promised to the patriarchs, and in which He planted Israel, whom He had brought out of Egypt; not the earth, as Matt. v. 5, according to the extended, unlimited N. T. circle of vision. (Milel) is erroneously explained by Schultens: funiculis bene firmis irroborabunt in terra. The verb n, Arab. watar, signifies to yoke (whence n, a cord, rope), then intrans. to be stretched out in length, to be hanging over (vid. Fleischer on Job xxx. 11); whence, residue, Zeph. ii. 9, and after which the LXX. here renders iπoλeplýσovral, and Jerome permanebunt. In 226 the old translators render p as the fut. of the pass. П, Deut. xxviii. 63; but in this case it would be an. The form anp, pointed anp, might be the Niph. of пn, but nп can neither be taken as one with D, of the same meaning, nor with Hitzig is it to be vocalized an (Hoph. of MD); nor, with Böttcher (§ 1100, p. 453), is np to be regarded as a veritable fut. Niph. p is, as at xv. 25, Ps. lii. 7, active: evellant; and this, with the subj. remaining indefinite (for which J. H. Michaelis refers to Hos. xii. 9), is equivalent to evellentur. This indefinite "they" or "one" ("man"); Fleischer remarks, can even be used of God, as here and Job vii. 3,-a thing which is common in Persian, where e.g. the expression rendered hominem ex pulvere fecerunt is used instead of the fuller form, which would be rendered homo a Deo ex pulvere factus est. Di bears (as proves) the primary meaning of concealed, i.e. malicious (treacherous and rapacious, Isa. xxxiii. 1), and then faithless men.1 1 Similar is the relation in Arab. of labbasa to libâs (v); it means to make a thing unknown by covering it; whence telbis, deceit, mulebbis, a falsifier. FOURTH INTRODUCTORY MASHAL DISCOURSE, III. 1-18. EXHORTATION TO LOVE AND FAITHFULNESS, AND SELF-SACRIFICING DEVOTION TO GOD, AS THE TRUE WISDOM. The foregoing Mashal discourse seeks to guard youth against ruinous companionship; this points out to them more particularly the relation toward God and man, which alone can make them truly happy, vers. 1-4. 1 My son, forget not my doctrine, And let thine heart keep my commandments; 2 For length of days, and years of life, And peace, will they add to thee. 8 Let not kindness and truth forsake thee: Write them on the tablet of thy heart, The admonition takes a new departure. in and ni? refer to the following new discourse and laws of conduct. Here, in the midst of the discourse, we have and not; the non-assimilated form is found only in the conclusion, e.g. ii. 11, v. 2. The plur. pi (ver. 2) for pin (they will bring, add) refers to the doctrine and the precepts; the synallage has its ground in this, that the fem. construction in Hebrew is not applicable in such a case; the vulgar Arab. also has set aside the forms jaktubna, taktubna. "Extension of days" is continuance of duration, stretching itself out according to the promise, Ex. xx. 12; and " years of life" (ix. 11) are years—namely, many of them-of a life which is life in the full sense of the word. D has here the pregnant signification vita vitalis, Bíos Birós (Fl.). Dib (R. ) is pure well-being, free from all that disturbs peace or satisfaction, internal and external contentment. (not ) shows Ver. 3. With this verse the doctrine begins; that 3a does not continue the promise of ver. 2. ¬ (R. Dл, stringere, afficere) is, according to the prevailing usage of the language, well-affectedness, it may be of God toward men, or of men toward God, or of men toward one another-a loving disposition, of the same meaning as the N. T. ȧyáπn (vid. e.g. Hos. vi. 6). (from ), continuance, a standing to one's promises, and not falsifying just expectations; thus fidelity, πloris, in the interrelated sense of fides and fidelitas. These two states of mind and of conduct are here contemplated as moral powers (Ps. lxi. 8, xliii. 3), which are of excellent service, and bring precious gain; and 46 shows that their ramification on the side of God and of men, the religious and the moral, remains radically inseparable. The suffix does not refer to the doctrine and the precepts, but to these two cardinal virtues. If the disciple is admonished to bind them about his neck (vid. i. 9, cf. iii. 22), so here reference is made, not to ornament, nor yet to protection against evil influences by means of them, as by an amulet1 (for which proofs are wanting), but to the signet which was wont to be constantly carried (Gen. xxxviii. 18, cf. Cant. viii. 6) on a string around the neck. The parallel member 3c confirms this; 36 and 3c together put us in mind of the Tephillim (phylacteries), Ex. xiii. 16, Deut. vi. 8, xi. 18, in which what is here a figure is presented in external form, but as the real figure of that which is required in the inward parts. (from 5, Arab. l'ah, to begin to shine, e.g. of a shooting star, gleaming sword; vid. Wetzstein, Deutsch. morgenl. Zeitzschr. xxii. 151 f.) signifies the tablet prepared for writing by means of polish; to write love and fidelity on the tablet of the heart, is to impress deeply on the heart the duty of both virtues, so that one will be impelled to them from within outward (Jer. xxxi. 33). Ver. 4. To the admonitory imper. there follows here a second, as iv. 4, xx. 13, Amos v. 4, 2 Chron. xx. 20, instead of which also the perf. consec. might stand; the counsellor wishes, with the good to which he advises, at the same time to present its good results. bis (1 Sam. xxv. 3) the appearance, for the Arab. shakl means forma, as uniting or binding the lineaments or contours into one figure, oxua, according to which it may be interpreted of the pleasing and advantageous impression which the well-built external appearance of a man makes, as an image of that which his internal excellence produces; thus, favourable view, friendly judgment, good reputation (Ewald, Hitzig, Zöckler). But everywhere else (xiii. 15; Ps. cxi. 10; 2 Chron. xxx. 22) this phrase means good, i.e. fine, well-becoming insight, or prudence; and 1 Fleischer is here reminded of the giraffe in the Jardin des Plantes, the head of which was adorned by its Arabic keeper with strings and jewels, the object of which was to turn aside the 'ain (the bad, mischievous look) from the precious beast. has in the language of the Mishle no other meaning than intellectus, which proceeds from the inwardly forming activity of the mind. He obtains favour in the eyes of God and man, to whom favour on both sides is shown; he obtains refined prudence, to whom it is on both sides adjudicated. It is unnecessary, with Ewald and Hitzig, to assign the two objects to God and men. In the eyes of both at the same time, he who carries love and faithfulness in his heart appears as one to whom must be adjudicated. and Vers. 5-8. Were "kindness and truth" (ver. 3) understood only in relation to men, then the following admonition would not be interposed, since it proceeds from that going before, if there the quality of kindness and truth, not only towards man, but also towards God, is commended: 5 Trust in Jahve with thy whole heart, 7 Be not wise in thine own eyes; From God alone comes true prosperity, true help. He knows the right way to the right ends. He knows what benefits us. He is able to free us from that which does us harm: therefore it is our duty and our safety to place our confidence wholly in Him, and to trust not to our own judgment. The verb na, Arab. bath, has the root-meaning expandere, whence perhaps, by a more direct way than that noted under Ps. iv. 6, it acquires the meaning confidere, to lean with the whole body on something, in order to rest upon it, strengthened by by, if one lean wholly-Fr. se reposer sur quelqu'un; Ital. riposarsi sopra alcuno,-like with , to lean on anything, so as to be supported by it; with by, to support oneself on anything (Fl.). (the same in form as N, Num. xi. 12) is not fully represented by acknowledge Him;" as in 1 Chron. xxviii. 9 it is not a mere theoretic acknowledgment that is meant, but earnest penetrating cognizance, engaging the whole man. The practicomystical, in and of itself full of significance, according to O. and N. T. usage, is yet strengthened by toto corde. The heart is the central seat of all spiritual soul-strength; to love God with the whole heart is to concentrate the whole inner life on the active contemplation of God, and the ready observance of His will. God requites such as show regard to Him, by making plain their path before them, i.e. by leading them directly to the right end, removing all hindrances out of their way. T has Cholem in the first syllable (vid. Kimchi's Lex.). "Be not wise in thine own eyes' is equivalent to ne tibi sapiens videare; for, as J. H. Michaelis remarks, confidere Deo est sapere, sibi vero ac suæ sapientiæ, desipere. "Fear God and depart from evil" is the twofold representation of the evoéßeia, or practical piety, in the Chokma writings: Prov. xvi. 6, the Mashal psalm xxxiv. 10, 15, and Job xxviii. 28 cf. i. 2. יְרֵא חֵטְא the post-biblical expression is סָר מֵרָע For = IT : Ver. 8. The subject to (it shall be) is just this religiousmoral conduct. The conjectural reading ? (Clericus), (Ewald, Hitzig), to thy flesh or body, is unnecessary; the LXX. and Syr. so translating, generalize the expression, which is not according to their taste., from, Arab. sarr, to be fast, to bind fast, properly, the umbilical cord (which the Arabs call surr, whence the denom. sarra, to cut off the umbilical cord of the newborn); thus the navel, the origin of which coincides with the independent individual existence of the new-born, and is as the firm centre (cf. Arab. saryr, foundation, basis, Job, p. 487) of the existence of the body. The system of punctuation does not, as a rule, permit the doubling of, probably on account of the prevailing half guttural, i.e. the uvular utterance of this sound by the men of Tiberias. here, and at Ezek. xvi. 4, belong to the exceptions; cf. the expanded duplication in 777, Cant. vii. 3, to which a chief form is as little to be assumed as is a 77 to 777. The aπ. yeyp. Np, healing, has here, as N72, iv. 22, xvi. 24, and л, Ezek. xlvii. 12, not the meaning of restoration from sickness, but the raising up of enfeebled strength, or the confirm ing of that which exists; the navel comes into view as the middle point of the vis vitalis. p is a Piel formation, corresponding to 1 In the st. constr. ii. 19, and with the grave suff. ii. 15, ŏ instead of ō is in order; but Ben-Asher's ', Job xiii. 27, cf. xxxiii. 11, is an inconsistency. 2 See my work, Physiologie u. Musik in ihrer Bedeutung für Grammatik besonders die hebräische, pp. 11-13. |