more complete and universal than that of David. "He was to have dominion from sea to sea," but this dominion was to be accompanied with no personal pomp. His sovereignty was to be over the hearts of men. It was to be a spiritual empire, not a social or political tyranny. This was fully realized during the Saviour's sojourn upon earth. His empire formed an interesting contrast with the domination exercised by the sovereigns of the world, some among whom, at the period of his incarnation, enjoyed a supremacy which extended over almost every region of the then discovered globe. How feeble, nevertheless, to the supremacy of him "whose wisdom ruleth over all.” "Of all the prophecies," says Stackhouse,* "which God, at this time, delivered from the mouth of Balaam, there is one of a more eminent and peculiar nature. I shall see him, but not now; "All opinions agree in this, that Balaam here speaks of a king and conqueror; and, perhaps, in calling him a star, he accommodates himself to the long-established notion, that the appearance of comets denoted either the exaltation or destruction of kingdoms: but the great question is, of what king or conqueror it is that he speaks. * History of the Bible, folio edit. 1742, vol. i. p. 502. "Some have applied the prophecy entirely to David, the most illustrious of the Jewish monarchs, who extended his conquests far and wide. Others have applied it entirely to the Messiah, supposing that the metaphor of a star comports better with him and his celestial origin than with David, and that the main strokes of the prophecy resemble a heavenly more than an earthly conqueror. The matter, however, may be compromised, if we will but allow of a learned man's observation, namely, that the most remarkable prophecies in the Old Testament usually bear a two-fold sense; one relating to the times before the Messiah, and the other either fulfilled in the person of the Messiah, or in the members of his body, the church, of which kind we may justly esteem the preceding prophecy. For though its primary aspect may be towards David, yet, whoever considers it attentively shall perceive that its ideas are too full to extend no farther, and must, therefore, in a secondary and more exalted sense, refer us to Christ, whose kingdom ruleth over all,' and 'to whom all things are put in subjection under his feet.' 6 "In this sense, the generality of Jews, as well as Christians, have all along understood it, and it is no improbable conjecture, whatever some may think of it, that by the strength of this prophecy, kept upon record among the oriental archives, the magi of that country, at our See Le Clerc's Commentary on Numbers xxiv. + Patrick's Com. ibid. Grotius on Matt. i. 22. Saviour's nativity, were directed to Jerusalem, and inquired, 'Where is he that is born king of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him.'* And upon a further supposition, that these very magi were descended from Balaam in a direct line, he might then, with propriety enough, pronounce of the Messiah, I shall see him,' that is, see him in my posterity, but not now; I shall behold him, but not nigh.'' The supposition contained in the last paragraph of this quotation, was first broached by Origen in his exposition of the text; but his ingenious conjecture has been ably set aside by the learned Witsius.† If we receive the interpretation of this difficult passage suggested by Moses ben Maimon, with whose view of it I implicitly concur, the corresponding clauses will stand thus: I shall see him (David) but not now! I shall behold him (the Messiah) but not nigh! And a sceptre shall rise out of Israel, And destroy (overcome) all the children of Sheth. It should be clearly understood by the reader that similar dislocations of the sense by which its consecutive order is interrupted, is a thing of not unfrequent occurrence in the Hebrew scriptures. I might show many instances of this, but shall, however, content myself by producing one example from the great evangelical poet and prophet Isaiah, in which the sense is * Matt. ii. 2. Miscel. Sacra. lib. i. cap. 16. Chap. xxxiv. 6. intercepted for the sake of the metrical construction, which is that of alternate parallelism, as will be perceived by the extract, and presenting one of the most elegant specimens of artificial accommodation to the laws of versification to be found in the sacred writings, pregnant as they are with similar evidences of poetic expediency. The sword of the Lord is filled with blood, It is made fat with fatness, And with the blood of lambs and goats, The corresponding or parallel lines are here the first and third, the second and fourth, which are consecutive as to the sense, as the following reading, in which this remains unbroken, will show: The sword of the Lord is filled with blood, With the fat of the kidneys of rams. In the passage under discussion from Balaam's fourth prophecy there is a similar hyperbaton; the sense being, as I conceive, dislocated for the sake of maintaining the gradational parallelism, and what reader of taste will deny that as they now stand, the couplets are much more poetically disposed, than when reduced to two triplets, according to the direct succession of the corresponding parts. To the Hebrews, familiar of course with this mode of composition, the import was no less obvious than if the rela tive terms of the sentence had followed in their more natural order: we must not, therefore, impute obscurity to writers whose productions were, no doubt, perfectly intelligible to those for whose express information those productions were primarily designed. In that portion of Balaam's fourth prediction upon which I have felt myself compelled to occupy the reader's attention at considerable length, the attributes of each person there spoken of are beautifully defined. David shall crush the political power of the Moabites, Christ shall finally overcome the religious prejudices of all mankind. The one event has passed; the other is to come. The one has been completely, the other only partially realized. The spiritual ruler was beheld, “but not nigh," for the ultimate effects of his dominion remain to be accomplished, though they are hourly progressing towards their consummation. Herder's rendering is as follows: I see him, but he is not yet, I behold him, but he is yet afar off. A sceptre riseth out of Israel, The learned German observes* upon his own version of the last hemistich-" the fortresses are obviously in parallelism with the 'corners of Moab.' If the one signifies the fortified sum Spirit of Hebrew Poetry, vol. ii. p. 177. |