Cf. the use of derivations from this root in Num. 15: 28, and Lev. 5: 18, et. al. The employment of the plural pronoun, referring to the collective noun, is in accordance with an idiom common in almost all languages. For the form of the infinitive see Grammar § 66, note 3; Ewald § 571, and Jer. 5: 26,; Ps. 119: 22, b, etc. The consequence of the transgression of man is, that he shall become, as it is indicated in the first clause by a withdrawing of the vivifying influences of the spirit of God, flesh, i. e. frail, weak, perishing, and his life shall be circumscribed to 120 years. Onkelos, Calvin and others refer the 120 years not to individual life, but to the time of repentance to be granted to the whole world. But when we compare chap. 5: 32, with 7: 11, it is difficult to make out the 120 years before the flood, unless we suppose that the designation, 500 years, is used indefinitely in 5: 32, and that Noah was towards 500 years old, that is, about 480.1 But when we take into account the reduction of the time of life that ensued in connection with the natural meaning of the words as they stand, we do not hesitate to give our assent to the explanation of most of the ancient interpreters, as well as to Josephus,2 and to Tuch, Baumgarten and others, among more recent expositors. And in doing this, it is not forgotten that subsequent to this time, the patriarchs exceeded the age of 120 years. For we do not suppose it necessary that this punishment of sin should, from the moment of the declaration, go into rigid execution upon every individual of the race. This is not according to the usual course which God pursues in reference to man. There is generally a gradual development of his purposes. So here we find that the life of man was materially shortened after the flood, and although the patriarchs, in consequence of "walking in the ways and keeping the statutes" of the Most High, were gathered to their fathers in a good old age, yet, they could well say when they looked back to former generations: few and evil have been the days of our pilgrimage, Gen. 47: 9.3 Besides, as we see, the age of man was soon reduced to this specified boundary. Joseph was 110 years old when he died, Gen. 50: 26; Moses attained to the prescribed 120 years, Deut. 34: 7; Joshua died when 110 years old, Josh. 24: 27; Eli was blind by reason of age when 98 years old, 1 Sam. 4: 15, 18. According to 1 Kings 1: 1, David was "old and stricken in years" although not yet seventy, as it appears from 2 Sam. 5: 4. In Ps. 90: 10, four 1 Compare Calvin's Comm. on Gen., translated by Rev. John Kenly, p. 243, 4. Antiquities, I. 3. 2, et al. Abraham died when 175, Gen. 25: 7; Isaac, 180, 35: 28; Jacob, 147, 47: 28. Cf. Tuch's Genesis, S. 130. Be score years is spoken of as an age not usually attained by man. sides it is often intimated in the Old Testament in accordance with the spirit of this passage, that “the fear of the Lord prolongeth days, but the years of the wicked shall be shortened." Cf. also 1 Kings 3: 13, Isa. 38: 17, and many other passages. It is also interesting to notice that there is among almost all nations a tradition of an early age when men, free from diseases, lived far longer than now. But another reason for referring this numerical designation to the duration of the life of man, is found in the succeeding narrations. The determination of God to destroy man from the face of the earth and the reason for it, is formally introduced in the following verses as something different from what has gone before: God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, . . . and it repented the Lord that he had made man... and he said, I will destroy him from the face of the earth, etc. v. 5-7. IV. GENESIS CH. IX. vs. 4—6. VERSE 4. "Only the flesh with its life, its blood, ye shall not eat, v. 5. But your blood, for your lives, I will require; at the hand of every beast I will require it; and at the hand of man, at the hand of man, his brother, I will require the life of man; v. 6. Whoso sheddeth man's blood, by man his blood shall be shed, for in the image of God, he made man." "In giving you permission to eat animal flesh, there is one restriction; ye may not eat of its blood. Nevertheless, your blood cannot be poured out on the ground, like that of beasts; "for your lives,” i. e. for the preservation of your lives, I will require your blood. Every beast that killeth a man shall make expiation for it; and at the hand of the brother of every man, I will require the life of man. Every murderer stands in the relation of brother to the murdered. Both have a common father, a common Creator. But I will require it at the hands of man; I delegate my power in the case to him; the punishment on the murderer shall be executed by man." Tuch's Genesis. S. 130. 2 Cf. Josephus I. 3. 9. where these traditions of a life of a thousand years among the Egyptians, Chaldeans, Phenicians, and others is mentioned; Hesiod Works and Days, line 125 sq.: "Whilom on earth the sons of men abode, How swift the days of manhood haste away, And also Tuch's Genesis, S. 131. v. 4. is in apposition with it and defines it more exactly; it is not necessary to repeat the preposition, Ewald § 605, ed. 1835. Not to partake of blood was one of the most stringent prohibitions among the precepts relating to food, comp. Lev. 3: 17. 7: 23. 1 Sam. 14:32. Acts 15: 20, 29. It was thought that the blood was the seat of life. Lev. 17: 11, "The life of the flesh is in its blood." v. 5. to require from, to punish bloodshed, to avenge murder, Ps. 9: 13. V. 5, “ for your lives,” Dative of advantage, in order to preserve life, for your safety; see the parallel passages Deut. 4: 15. Josh. 23: 11. and serves to bring ,מִיַּד אָדָם is coordinate with the preceding אִישׁ אָחִיו out and define the thought., every one, Ewald § 553, is placed first by emphasis. V. 6. is emphatic and therefore precedes. "Whoso sheddeth," Part. in the widest sense; the reason too is alike and to the same extent, applicable to all ages. Man is made in the image of God. In the commission of murder, that image is defaced; an insult is, as it were, offered to God's majesty. This injury can be repaired only by the death of the murderer. So the argument founded on the paternal relation of man to man is alike applicable to all ages. For a further exposition of this passage, see B. S. IV. 270. V. GENESIS CH. XLIX. v. 10. "The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, Nor the staff from between his feet, Until rest shall come, And unto it shall be the obedience of the nations." "Judah shall possess an eternal kingdom. In him shall be fulfilled the highest blessings of the Pentateuch; not merely kings and whole nations shall descend from Abraham's race; sorrowfully will Israel for a long time be deprived of kings, Gen. 36: 31; the related tribe of Edomites had kings earlier than Israel; the promises will not be thus limited. As the promises made to Abraham culminated in Jacob, so Jacob's blessings culminate in Judah, yet the crown of all lies in Judah's glorious, eternal kingdom. This is the root of the Messiannic idea, the germ of that which subsequently became a personal Messiah. Never shall the sceptre depart from Judah; the royal power for Judah shall never fail, nor the staff, the royal sceptre, from between his feet." PR means, first, a lawgiver, ruler, Deut. 33: 21, Judges 5: 14; second, the instrument which the ruler uses, Num. 21: 18. Ps. 60: 9, the staff of office, the sceptre. Those who interpret it lawgiver, ruler, understand it as a euphemism: from his posterity a ruler shall never fail. In support of it, appeal is made to Deut. 28: 57. But there the expression "between the feet," is used of a woman who brings forth, and is not pertinent here. The meaning staff, also, corresponds to sceptre in the other clause. With oriental monarchs the sceptre rests between the feet. They are represented sitting or standing with the emblem of authority resting between their feet. Thus king Agamemnon leans on his sceptre, when he utters his decisions, Il. II. 100. On the ruins of Persepolis, a Persian king appears sitting on the throne, and at his feet he holds a large royal sceptre, Niebuhr's Travels II. tab. 29. Till the time of rest, or rest comes." There are three principal explanations of rib. 1. Many MSS. read rib without the "; the word however is written defectively for rib; but some are thus induced to alter the vowels and read rib, i. e. ribs, fors, “until he comes to whom it belongs." But there is no necessity for altering the vowels. Ezek. 21: 32, without doubt refers to this passage, where 66 corresponds to rib in our passage, for peace will be established through righteousness. The abbreviated form of belongs, too, with few exceptions, to the later books, Ges. § 36, Ewald § 463. 2. Others take the word for a proper name Shiloh," until he (Judah, or they) comes to Shiloh. Tuch renders: "so long, or so often as, they come to Shiloh, i. e. forever," the author believing that the sanctuary would be permanent in Shiloh. But Shiloh as a place is not mentioned in Genesis; it occurs, indeed, in the later history, in the time of the Judges, but it has little historical importance; there is nothing decisive in the later Hebrew history which would lead one to suppose that here such stress was laid on the possession of Shiloh. Besides, the wholly general character of our prophecy does not accord with the mentioning of such a place as Shiloh and the abode of the sanctuary there; the sacred character of it was rather temporary than permanent. 3. The right explanation is probably that which makes it an appellative noun from by to be at rest; it is formed after the analogy of the abstract nouns and . It has been taken in a personal sense, referring to the Messiah, as pacificator, prince of peace; but the thought appears to be expressed more in general, abstractly; it thus agrees with the parallelism. We have accordingly the meaning, rest, condition of peace, until a peaceful time shall begin. until his dominion shall become one of peace, comp. Ps. 110: 1. p is an old verb to be obedient, from which comes, Const., Daghesh Forte Euphonic, comp. v. 17, Ges. § 20. 2. b. And to it all nations shall be obedient, Ps. 2: 1. The point is that all nations shall obey. not tribes, but nations in general. In v. 8, Judah is represented as having power over his enemies. See the Commentaries of Tuch 1838, Baumgarten 1843, and Hävernick's Lectures on Theology, etc. 1848, p. 214. means, ARTICLE IX. LIBRARIES IN BOSTON AND ITS VICINITY. We have taken some pains to ascertain the number and general character of the Public Libraries in Boston and in the towns within thirty or forty miles. Our general object is to know how far there are facilities in this part of the country for prosecuting studies of a literary, scientific, and theological character. For progress in investigation in any department of knowledge it is necessary to ascertain where the implements and materials may be found, whether there is more than one specimen or set of them, and whether they are accessible to the public or not. It is not enough to be acquainted with the existence or the number of volumes in our libraries. We need to know whether there are duplicates of important works, so that an exchange may be made, whether all our libraries may not be destitute of some works of great cost and of great utility, whether there may not be a mutual understanding in regard to the supply of deficiencies, whether all the libraries may not be safely used by a far greater number of people than are now admitted to them, etc. We cannot undertake to answer these questions, but we may perhaps make a beginning. If our Article shall suggest the importance of a common Catalogue of the most rare and valuable books to be found in all the public libraries of New England, as an instance of what a mutual good understanding and cooperation might effect, we shall be satisfied. LIBRARY OF HARVARD UNIVERSITY. The library of Harvard college was destroyed by fire in 1764. It was a valuable collection of more than 5000 volumes. A new library was immediately commenced, and, through the liberality of the General Courts of Massachusetts and New Hampshire, of Thomas Hollis of London, of the Society for Propagating the Gospel, and of other enlightened Societies and individuals, rapidly increased, so that in 1790, when a catalogue was printed, it consisted of about 12,000 volumes. To the noble munificence and fatherly care of Hollis, the library and the college owe a great debt of obligation. His deeds place him among the most honored benefactors of man. Among his benefactions was a splendid, large paper, loyal copy of Walton's Polyglott. In Giggeius' Thesaur. Ling. Arab., he mentions that he was particularly industrious in collecting grammars and lexicons, |