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thresholds: for he shall uncover the cedar work.

15 This is the rejoicing city that dwelt carelessly, that said in her heart, 3I am, and

there is none beside me: how is she become a desolation, a place for beasts to lie down in! every one that passeth by her shall hiss, and wag his hand.

7 Or, when he hath uncovered.

8 Isa. 47. 8.

Verse 4. Gaza shall be forsaken.'-Accordingly, the Gaza which existed in the time of the prophet did become forsaken, ruined, and desolate. But, in due time, another town arose on or near its site, which still remains a place of some consideration. But of all this we have written

fully under Judges xvi.

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-Ashkelon. This place has been noticed under Judges xiv. 18. There is a particular propriety in thus introducing Gaza and Askelon together, as the two places are much associated in the Scriptures. The Mohammedan writers also distinguish these two cities as the Two Brides.' Mohammed is reported to have said, 'Happy is he who takes up his dwelling-place with one of the Two Brides, Askelon and Gaza. Another tradition reports him to have said, 'Askelon is one of the two Brides, whom God will raise up, sanctify, and glorify, in the day of judgment. Here will be seventy thousand martyrs, who will come forward together as ambassadors unto God.' Jalal-Addin, the Arabian author of The History of the Temple,' translated by the Rev. James Reynolds, mentions a collection of a Portion of the Wondrous Virtues of Askelon, by the historian Ibn Asákir, in which the various traditions concerning it are discriminated according to the degree of credit to which they are supposed to be entitled. Jalal-Addin, who wrote about the middle of the fifteenth century, makes a statement rather adverse to the laudatory traditions which he cites:-'Askelon is said to be given to excess in eating, drinking, and adultery. The intelligent say that the cause of this is to be found in the fact that Askelon is a dépôt for sacred cavalry, a frontier town, ever guarding against the attacks of the enemy. Even now, in these days, although many sacred cavalry quota contributions are to be found in other places, yet it is far from being no longer a point of attack by the enemy.'

6. The sea coast,' etc.-See the note on Askelon, under Judges xiv. A more striking corroboration of the Divine prediction could not be given than is supplied in the ac count which Volney gives of the modern state of the coasts of Philistia. In the plain between Ramla and Gaza, we meet with a number of villages, badly built, of dried mud, and which, like their inhabitants, exhibit every mark of poverty and wretchedness. The houses, on a nearer view, are only so many huts, sometimes detached and sometimes arranged in the form of cells around a court-yard enclosed by a mud wall. In winter they and their cattle may be said to live together, the part of the dwelling allotted to them being only raised two feet above that in which they lodge their beasts. The peasants are by this means kept warm without burning wood; an economy indispensable in a country absolutely destitute of fuel. The fires needed for culinary purposes are made of dung, kneaded into cakes and dried in the sun. In summer their lodging is more airy; but all their furniture consists of a single mat, and a pitcher for drinking. The environs of these villages are sown, at the proper season, with grain and water melons; all the rest is a desert, and abandoned to the Bedouin Arabs, who feed their flocks on it.' Voyage, ii. 281, 282.

13. Will make Nineveh a desolation, etc.-In what manner Nineveh was made a desolation has been shewn in the notes on Nahum.

We have already mentioned that the earliest of the Greek writers who mention Nineveh, wrote a good while after that city was destroyed; and from the manner in which they indicate its situation, and the discrepancies between them, it almost appears uncertain whether they

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were acquainted with its position. Indeed, Lucian, who lived in the second century after Christ, distinctly avows, that so utterly had Nineveh been destroyed that no vestige of it remained, nor could it be easily ascertained where it had once stood. There is indeed no ground on which to feel positively certain as to the site of Nineveh ; and this uncertainty is itself a most striking corroboration of Scripture prophecy. But there is considerable probability in the now generally received opinion which finds the site of Nineveh on the eastern bank of the Tigris, opposite Mosul, where the site of an extensive ancient city may be traced by such earth-covered hills and ridges of ruin as now mark the place of Babylon and other ancient towns of Assyria and Chaldæa. The long-continued state of desolation in which Nineveh has remained for ages might be illustrated from the successive notices of various travellers and historians. Thus we are told of an occasion (in A.D. 627) when the emperor Heraclius defeated the Persians in a great action fought on the convenient battle-field offered by the vacant site of Nineveh (Gibbon, ch. xlvi.). Benjamin of Tudela says that al-Mutsal (Musal) was separated only by a bridge from the ancient Nineveh; but Nineveh was utterly destroyed, although there were some streets and many castles within the ancient circuit-meaning, of course, modern erections within the limits of the ancient city. Haitho, the Armenian (about 1300 A.D.), also mentions Nineveh as lying in total ruin. Our own Master John Cartwright,' who was there in the latter part of the sixteenth century, after giving the substance of the ancient accounts of the great Nineveh, adds, 'Now it is destroyed (as GOD foretold it should be by the Chaldæans), being nothing else than a sepulchre of herself. In a later age Thevenot mentioned the great extent of its ruins; and Tavernier described the remains as a heap of rubbish only.' Such still is the site of Nineveh. Kinneir says, I examined these remains in November, 1810, and found them to consist of a rampart and fosse, forming an oblong square, not exceeding four miles in compass, if so much. I saw neither stones nor rubbish of any kind. The wall is, on an average, twenty feet high; and as it is covered with grass, the whole has a striking resemblance to some of the Roman entrenchments which are extant in England.' (Geographical Memoir of the Persian Empire, p. 250.) More complete accounts have more recently been furnished by Buckingham and Rich.

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If the prolonged mounds, mentioned by Kinneir, and disposed in the form of a square, were walls, as he supposes, it is clear that they could not have been the city walls; but must have belonged to the citadel or the palace and its enclosures. The dimensions of the square as given by Kinneir appear to be much too small; however, these mounds do not by any means form the only indications of ancient ruin, for there are appearances of mounds and ruins extending for several miles to the southward, and still more distinctly seen to the northward of this, though both are less marked than the mounds of the centre. The alleged tomb of Jonah is on the southernmost of these central mounds, which extend nearly east and west from the neighbourhood of the river. A Mohammedan village has been formed around the tomb. It appears that, where openings are made in the soil-covered mounds, sections of sun-dried brickwork are exposed; and some important conclusions might perhaps be deduced from more extended researches. The space between and about the central mounds is a level plain, over every part of which broken pottery, and the other usual débris of ruined cities in this 689

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region, are seen scattered about. Buckingham thus speaks of the view over the site obtained from the most northern of the central mounds: As far as I could perceive, from our elevated point of view on the highest summit of Tel Ninoa, there were mounds of ruins similar to those near us, but less distinctly marked, as far as the eye could reach to the northward; and the plain to the eastward of us, or between the river and the mountains, had a mixture of large brown patches, like heaps of rubbish seen at intervals, scattered over a cultivated soil.' The low grounds near the river, where not cultivated, are covered to a considerable extent with tamarisk bushes. Mr. Rich holds that it is impossible to determine what part of the site was occupied by the ancient Nineveh, observing that, 'In such a country it is not easy to say what are ruins and what are not; what is art, converted by the lapse of ages into a semblance of nature, and what is merely nature broken by the hand of time into ruins approaching in their appearance those of art.' This matter has, however, been partly set at rest by the recent and very interesting discoveries of M. Botta, the French consul at Mosul. This gentleman left Paris in 1843 with a resolution to devote his leisure to the exploration of such remains as might be discoverable of the ancient Nineveh. After excavating for some time, and with little success, on the Nebi Junas, or supposed site of the ancient Nineveh, M. Botta was induced to commence at the village of Khorsabad, five hours (caravan distance) to the north-east of Mosul, on the left bank of the Khosar, built on a little elongated hill, lying east and west, and having on the western extremity a cave said to be modern and artificial. Here his researches not only proved most successful, but have led to discoveries of the highest importance, which, if the numerous cuneiform inscriptions can be deciphered, will doubtless throw much light on the ancient history of Asia. Commencing his excavations in the mound which has been just mentioned, the workmen soon came to a monument

remarkable for the number of the sculptures and monuments with which it is adorned-but whether to be regarded as a palace, a temple, or a tomb, has not yet been determined. It was found to consist of a structure built upon a foundation of inscribed and baked bricks, laid upon a layer of sand about ten inches thick, brought from the Tigris, upon which was placed another layer of bricks, several rows deep. The body of the building consisted of several rather thick walls, with various passages leading into halls. The substance of the walls was formed of clayey earth and chalk, which was revetted with large slabs of gray marmoriform gypsum, known as the Mosul marble, very soft and friable, varying from ten to twelve feet square. These slabs were surmounted by rows of glazed bricks, principally white and yellow, and disposed so as to represent an architectural ornament, with others enamelled with cuneiform characters in white upon a green ground. Above these was a terra cotta cornice in striated oves, which is conjectured from the quantity of carbon found in the floor to have formed part of a wooden ceiling, destroyed by a supposed conflagration of the edifice. The walls of the passages and halls were found to be covered with sculptures, executed in bas-relief of a very bold character, which may be expected to throw much and greatly desired light upon the customs, attire, and personal appearance of the ancient Assyrians. The general scope of these sculptures seems to be the capture of a city, and other triumphal exploits of an Assyrian monarch, and abounding in interesting details and circumstances, described by M. Botta in his letters published in the Journal Asiatique for 1843, 1844, an able and connected survey of the results exhibited in which may be seen in the Revue Archæologique for 1846, and in a paper by Mr. Birch of the British Museum read before the Society of Antiquaries on the 19th March and 2nd April, 1846, and published in the Archæologia for 1847. See also, the article Nineveh in the recent Supplement to the Penny Cyclopadia, where

it is stated that drawings of 130 bas-reliefs have been made by an experienced draughtsman, and that the greater part of the sculptures (weighing, it is said, above 300 tons) have been sent to Baghdad, to be embarked on board a vessel to be conveyed to France, where they are to form an Assyrian Museum.' Of the drawings, it is stated by a person who examined them: 'M. Flandin's drawings will greatly interest the public in general as well as antiquarians the manners and customs, the religion, the art of war, the costumes and instruments of the people who built Khorsabad, are here delineated in faithful copies of the bas-reliefs. The principal figure in most of them is a sovereign king, or hero; on his head he wears the tiara, his forehead is low and prominent, his eyebrows thick; his hair and beard fall straight on the shoulders and breast, terminating in large ringlets. The dress, which appears to have been extremely magnificent, consists of a richly embordered tunic, and an upper garment, resembling the surplice of a Roman Catholic priest. This figure appears sometimes engaged in combat, driving his enemies before him: sometimes seated at an entertainment; and sometimes in a solemn procession, guiding a chariot with four horses abreast. Among the many figures of combatants there is frequently a shieldbearer, under whose protection another warrior draws his bow or poises his lance.-There are no female figures, except one, which is not very distinct. M. Botta at first

took several figures for females, but afterwards changed his opinion, and thought they might perhaps be meant for eunuchs.' The sculptures themselves have now arrived at Paris, and have been arranged in one of the galleries of the Louvre, so as to form an Assyrian Museum, which has just been opened to the public, too recently (at the time of writing this note) to allow us to furnish all the particulars we might desire to introduce. Two fine heads in bas-relief, forming part of M. Botta's discoveries, are on view at the British Museum. They were sent by Mr. Rassam, the British Consul at Mosul, to Sir Stratford Canning, who presented them to Sir Robert Peel, by whom they were forwarded to the Museum for inspection and examination. The heads are lithographed in the above cited paper in the Archæologia. One of the heads is that of a warrior wearing a closely fitting cap, with elaborately curled hair and beard. The other is that of a stout beardless eunuch, with long curled hair and massive cruciform carrings. [APPENDIX, No. 79.]

14. The cormorant and the bittern shall lodge in the upper lintels of it.'-The word rendered upper lintels' is

caphtor, that is 'chapiter' or 'capital.' The manner in which birds, particularly large birds, such as storks, etc. build their nests upon the capitals of columns, often engages the attention of the traveller in the ruined cities of the East. An instance of this is exhibited in the cut given under Psalm civ.

CHAPTER III.

1 A sharp reproof of Jerusalem for divers sins. 8 An exhortation to wait for the restoration of Israel, 14 and to rejoice for their salvation by God.

1

WOE to her that is filthy and polluted, to the oppressing city!

2 She obeyed not the voice; she received not correction; she trusted not in the LORD; she drew not near to her God.

3 Her princes within her are roaring lions; her judges are evening wolves; they gnaw not the bones till the morrow.

4 Her prophets are light and treacherous persons: her priests have polluted the sanctuary, they have done violence to the law.

5 The just LORD is in the midst thereof; he will not do iniquity: 'every morning doth he bring his judgment to light, he faileth not; but the unjust knoweth no shame.

6 I have cut off the nations: their towers are desolate; I made their streets waste, that none passeth by their cities are destroyed, so that there is no man, that there is none inhabitant.

7 I said, Surely thou wilt fear me, thou wilt receive instruction; so their dwelling should not be cut off, howsoever I punished them but they rose early, and corrupted all their doings.

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8 Or, corners.

12 I will also leave in the midst of thee an afflicted and poor people, and they shall trust in the name of the LORD.

13 The remnant of Israel shall not do iniquity, nor speak lies; neither shall a deceitful tongue be found in their mouth for they shall feed and lie down, and none shall make them afraid.

13

14 Sing, O daughter of Zion; shout, O Israel; be glad and rejoice with all the heart, O daughter of Jerusalem.

15 The LORD hath taken away thy judg

4 Ezek. 22. 27. Micah 3. 9, 10.
Chap. 1. 18.
10 Heb. lip.
13 Isa. 12. 6, and 54. 1.

5 Jer. 23. 11. Hos. 9. 7. 11 Heb. shoulder.

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for the solemn assembly, who are of thee, to whom the reproach of it was a burden.

16

19 Behold, at that time I will undo all that afflict thee: and I will save her that "halteth, and gather her that was driven out; and I will get them praise and fame in every land "'where they have been put to shame.

19

20 At that time will I bring you again, even in the time that I gather you: for I will make you a name and a praise among all people of the earth, when I turn back your captivity before your eyes, saith the LORD.

16 Heb. the burden upon it was reproach.

19 Heb. of their shame.

17 Micah 4. 7.

and the marginal note explains- they are so greedie that they eate up bones and all:' that is to say, that not so much as a bone of the prey is left by the morning.

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HAGGA I.
I..

THERE is no doubt concerning the date of this prophecy, which is given with much precision in the first verse; and from which, as well as from the book of Ezra (iv. 24), we learn that it was delivered after the Jews had returned to Jerusalem from their captivity, to stimulate and encourage them in the rebuilding of the temple. Haggai was probably born at Babylon, or in one of the towns in which the Hebrew captives were placed by the Babylonians. We know not when or where he died : the pseudo-Epiphanius says at Jerusalem, which is probable; and he adds, that he was buried among the priests: but the Cippi Hebraici place his sepulchre in a cave on the declivity of the mount of Olives. But whatever, in this and other instances, we state on these authorities, we regard as very uncertain. There has never been any doubt respecting the authenticity and canonicity of Haggai. His prophecy is not indeed given by name in the ancient catalogues of canonical Scripture, but it must be included, as it is necessary to make out the number of the twelve minor prophets.' The testimony already referred to from Ezra is alone conclusive. There is a distinct quotation of Haggai ii. 7 as a divine oracle in Heb. xii. 16. The seal of the divine authority is further impressed upon the book by the fulfilment of the prophecies which it contains. There is the famous oracle in ii. 7-9, declaring the advent of the Messiah in the time of the second temple; and there is the prediction to the Jews that after the rebuilding of the temple, which had been so long neglected, the land should be blessed with abundance. The fulfilment of this prophecy is not indeed recorded, but we know that it took place, as the Jews would not otherwise have regarded him as a true prophet, and placed his book in their sacred canon, but would have treated him as an impostor, as the law directs, Deut. xviii. 20-22.

Lowth considers that the style of Haggai's prophecy is altogether prosaic. Jahn and Eichhorn nearly coincide in their estimation of his manner. It is, says the latter, 'suited to the subjects of which the prophet treats. It is pathetic when he exhorts; it is vehement when he reproves; and it is not without poetic elevation in describing future events.' He thinks that the language of the prophet labours under a poverty of terms, as evinced in the constant repetition of the same expressions; but this, as well as an unusual tendency to ornament, he regards as naturally marking the style of a writer in a dead language, for such he considers was the Hebrew language at the time that Haggai wrote, when Chaldee had become the vernacular language of the people. These characteristics of style are of course less visible in a translation than in the original.

The following are the separate Commentaries on Haggai :-Eckii Commentarius super Haggæum, Salingiaci, 1538; Wicelii Enarratio in Haggaum, Mogunt., 1541; Draconitis Haggaus propheta, e lingua sancta, Latine versus et explicatus, Lubecæ, 1549; Merceri Scholia et Versio ad prophetam Haggai, Parisiis, 1551; Neli Breves Observationes in Comm. Rab. Davidis Kimchi in Aggeum, Zachariam et Malachiam, Paris, 1557; Pilkington, An Exposition of the Prophet Aggeus, Lond., 1560; the second edition (1562) has also an Exposition of Obadiah; Grynæi Comm. in Haggaum, Geneva, 1581, of which an English translation appeared a few years after, with the title, Haggeus the Prophet; whereunto is added a most plentiful Commentary, gathered out of the Publique Lectures of Dr. J. J. Gryneus, faithfully translated by Christopher Featherstone, Lond., 1586; Balduini Comm. in Haggæum, Zachariam et Malachiam, Vitemb., 1610; Willii Prophetæ Haggeus, Zacharias, Malachias Comment. illustrati, Bremæ, 1638; Varenii Trifolium propheticum, seu tres posteriores prophetæ, scilicet Haggæus, Zacharias et Malachias, explicati, Rostoch., 1662; Reinbeckii Exercitationes in prophetam Haggæum, Brunsv., 1692; Pfeffingeri Nota in Prophetam Haggai, Argentor., 1703; Wokenii Adnotationes exegetica in prophetiam Haggai, Lips. 1719; Sheibel, Observationes criticæ et exegetice ad vaticinia Haggai, Vratislav., 1822.

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