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"A son honoureth his father, and a servant His

66 MASTER: (18)

If then I be a father, where is mine honour?

" And if I be ▲ MASTER, where is my fear*?

"Saith THE LORD OF HOSTS, unto you priests that despise my name."

دو

66

Here ', or (as more correctly written in forty-eight MSS. of Kennicott's collection) ', is appropriated to the LORD OF Hosts, not to insinuate a plurality of per"sons in the Unity of the Divine Essence, by the anomalous construction of this plural appellative with the singular pronoun "N, imagined" by the B. C. Feb. p. 140-but, as used elliptically for D'JINT")78, "Master of the masters," in the splendid enumeration of the divine titles, Deut. x. 17, there rendered by the Septuagint Kupsos Twv Kupia, and applied primarily to THE FA THER, 1 Tim. vi. 15, and to THE SON, Rev. xix. 16, with some variation.

"I," as

In the other case, referred to by the B. C. Isa. xix. 4.

"And the Egyptians will I give over into the hand of ❝a erael master;"

"And a fierce king shall rule over them, saith THE "REGENT LORD OF HOSTS."

* (אדונים(

The

The syntax of this passage does not appear to be understood by the B. C. Supposing that the singular adjective P, "harsh,"

or "cruel," should be joined in the order of construction, not with the plural, D'78,

masters,” but with the singular, 7, “hand:” as thus, "The Egyptians I will give over “unto the harsh authority of masters." But all the ancient versions, without exception,

to have read plurally, Dp, by rendering “cruel masters,” all except the Chaldee Par.

and indeed seem ; אדנים with קשה Connect

קשים

רבין קשי which interprets the phrase by

a

"cruel master," or "cruel lord," according to our established translation, which is unquestionably the true rendering: for it is clear from the context, that a single master is meant, namely, that, "fierce king" that follows; who, we learn shortly after, ver. 19, was to be Nebuchadnezzar, king of Assyria, or Babylon; expressly predicted by name, in the subsequent and more circumstantial prophecy of Jeremiah, xlvi. 2, against Pharaoh-Hophra, king of Egypt, who was actually subdued by Nebuchadnezzar, and despoiled

P

spoiled of great part of his dominions, 2 Kings xxiv. 7.

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and ar

There may, perhaps, be a peculiar fitness in applying the plural, 78, to this" fierce king," and mighty conqueror, as containing a tacit reference to the pompous rogant titles of the great Egyptian conqueror, Sesostris ; thus recorded by Diodorus Siculus, 1. i.-" SESOOSIS, King of kings, "and Lord of lords, subdued this country

by his arms."--Indeed, many curious allusions in Holy Writ, pass unobserved for want of sufficiently attending to parallel passages of profane history.

That in the frequent application of the word to single persons, the final Jod is not characteristic of the plural number, but rather paragogic, or redundant, like other servile letters, may further appear from the indiscriminate use of 1, and, in regimen, as connected with ', the most sacred name of God.

17, the phrase is,

Thus in Exod. xxiii.

178, "THE RE

"GENT LORD," where the prefixed article

is emphatic; but usually, as in Gen. xv. 2,

and

and Deut. iii. 24, 717' '178, where surely the paragogic is connected with the singular

noun.

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And perhaps in every case, where seems to be taken absolutely, applied to a single person, it is in reality in regimen, involving the consideration of some epithet, understood. And such was the sense of all the ancient versions of Ps. ii. 4, which render, Adoni, absolutely, 66 THE LORD," or "REGENT," applied by the Chaldee paraphrast to " 'D, (mimrah da Iahoh,) 66 THE ORACLE OF THE "LORD;" where it is plainly contrasted (as denoting "THE MESSIAH") with M, IAHOH," THE LORD," ver. 2; and (as denoting, Bar, "THE SON [OF GOD"]) with," THE LORD SUPREME," ver. 10, 11. And in Joshua, v. 14, when "THE CAPTAIN OF THE LORD'S HOST,' appeared as a man [of war] (*) standing over against him, with a drawn sword in his hand-Joshua addressed him by the title of ", which the Septuagint well render (Aɛrποτα), TOTα)," MASTER, what dost thou enjoin to "thy servant?" And that this was the

P 2

same

same GOD who appeared unto Moses in the burning bush, appears from the sameness of the injunction," Loose thy shoe from off thy foot, for the place whereon thou standest is holy." Compare Exod. iii. 5.

<6

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In the New Testament, the FATHER ALMIGHTY seems to be peculiarly denoted by the absolute term 'O EOE, THE GOD, or THE DEITY; and the Son by Kugios, intimating THE REGENT LORD: thus, 1 Cor. viii. 6, To us there is but ONE GOD, "THE FATHER, of whom are all things, "and we in Him: and ONE LORD, JESUS CHRIST, by whom are all things, and we

66

by Him." And this title of CHRIST is plainly in apposition to another, ¿ Meσitys, THE MEDIATOR; as in 1 Tim. ii. 5. "There "is ONE GOD, and ONE MEDIATOR be"tween God and man, the man CHRIST "JESUS." This title, which is peculiar to Paul, shows how profoundly conversant he was in Rabbinical literature, and in the Hebrew Scriptures: for the ancient book of Ikkarim, as we have seen, entitled THE MESSIAH, (8 YП8,) “ A MEDIATORIAL "GOD," as he was described by Philo, in

the