AND GROW AS THE VINE] Hebrew, vě-yiphrěkhu kag-gahphen, ‘and they shall bud forth like the vine.'

THE SCENT THEREOF SHALL BE AS THE WINE OF LEBANON] Hebrew, zikro ki-yāyn Levahnon, 'his memorial [remembrance] like wine of Lebanon.' Lxx., mneemosunon autou hōs oinos Libanou tō Ephraim, 'his memory (shall be) as wine of Libanus to Ephraim'; V., memoriale ejus sicut vinum Libani, ‘his memorial as wine of Libanus'; Henderson, 'Their fame shall be as the wine of Lebanon.'

Comparing Cant. ii. 13 with ver. 6 of this chapter, we may infer that as the grapes of Lebanon emitted a pleasant odor, this scent was preserved in the wine made therefrom. Sir John Bowring praises, as of 'excellent quality,' a wine consumed in some of the convents of Lebanon, 'known by the name of the vino d'or [golden wine]. The custom of boiling wine he found to be almost universal.' The Rev. J. A. Wylie, in his 'Modern Judea compared with Ancient Prophecy,' states that "the wines of Lebanon are of three kinds—the white, the yellow, and the red. The white is rather bitter, the yellow and red are too sweet; but if the red is not boiled, it is equal almost to that of Bordeaux."

THE

BOOK OF THE PROPHET JOEL.

[JOEL, WHO WROTE ABOUT 860 YEARS BEFORE CHRIST, PROPHESIED THE

INVASION OF THE LAND BY ARMIES OF LOCUSTS, THAT SHOULD LAY WASTE EVERY GREEN THING.]

CHAPTER I. VERSE 5.

Awake, ye drunkards, and weep; and howl, all ye drinkers of wine, because of the new wine; for it is cut off from your mouth.

DRUNKARDS] Hebrew, shikorim, ‘drunken ones’ those who fill themselves; perhaps with an allusion to shakar, so as to include all the tipplers of the time,— lovers of shakar (palm-juice, etc.) and lovers of yayin (grape-juice).

ALL YE DRINKERS OF WINE] Hebrew, kahl-shothai yayin, 'all drinkers of wine.'

BECAUSE OF THE NEW WINE] Hebrew, al ahsis, 'for the fresh juice,'—the juice as it flows from under the treader's feet. 'By ahsis,' says Henderson, 'is meant the fresh wine or juice of the grape or other fruit, which has just been pressed out, and is remarkable for its sweet flavor and its freedom from intoxicating qualities.' The A. V., therefore, correctly renders ahsis by ‘new wine,’ and it is much to be regretted that the same rendering is given in eleven places to tirosh, with so different a signification. The Lxx., ekneepsate oi methuontes ex oinou autōn, kai klausate; threeneesate pantes oi pinontes oinon eis metheen, hoti exeerthee ex stomatos humōn euphrosunee kai chara, 'awake [become as abstainers; see Notes on Gen. ix. 24, and 1 Kings xxv. 37], ye drunkards, from your wine, and weep; mourn ye, all ye (who are) drinking wine to drunkenness, for joy and gladness are removed from your mouth.' V. has ebrii—' drunkards '—qui bibitis vinum in dulcedine, who drink wine with sweetness'; the T. has al khamar marath, 'because of the pure wine.'

CHAPTER I. VERSE 7.

He hath laid my vine waste, and barked my fig tree: he hath made it clean bare, and cast it away; the branches thereof are made white.

MY VINE] Hebrew, gaphni, 'my vine.' The clause literally stands, he hath given my vine to wasting.'

CHAPTER I. VERSE 9.

The meat offering and the drink offering is cut off from the house of the LORD; the priests, the LORD's ministers, mourn.

AND THE DRINK OFFERING] Hebrew, vah-něsěk, and the libation.'

The field is wasted, the land mourneth; for the corn is wasted: the new wine is dried up, the oil languisheth.

THE NEW WINE IS DRIED UP] Hebrew, hobish tirosh, 'dried up [= perished] (is) the vine-fruit.' Hobish is the Hiphil form of yah-bāsh, “to be dried up, to be or become dry, used of plants, trees, grass, fruits, the harvest-Joel i. 10" (Gesenius). Lxx. is exeranthee oinos, 'dried up (is) wine'; the V., less happily, confusum est vinum, 'confounded has been the wine'-yahbash, 'to be dry,' being misread as yah-bash, 'to put to shame'; T., 'the vines have dried up.'

THE OIL LANGUISHETH] Hebrew, umlal yitzhar, 'the orchard-fruit droops.' Lxx., õligōthee elaion, oil becomes scarce'; V., elanguit oleum, 'the oil has languished.' Proof so direct and decisive that tirosh and yitzhar describe two classes of fruits,' and not artificial liquid preparations, ought to satisfy even incredulity itself.

CHAPTER I. VERSE II.

Be ye ashamed, O ye husbandmen; howl, O ye vinedressers, for the wheat and for the barley; because the harvest of the field is perished.

O YE VINEDRESSERS] Hebrew, kormim, vineyard-men' (laborers); V., vintores, 'vine-dressers '; but Lxx. has kteemata, 'possessions'—not the farmer or possessor.

CHAPTER I. VERSE 12.

The vine is dried up, and the fig tree languisheth; the pomegranate tree, the palm tree also, and the apple tree, even all the trees of the field, are withered: because joy is withered away from the sons of

men.

THE VINE IS DRIED UP] Hebrew, hag-gephen hobishah, 'the vine is dried up.' Not only the fruit borne, but the fruit-bearer, yields to the withering influence. Lxx., hee ampelos exeeranthee, 'the vine is dried up'; V., vinea confusa est, ‘the vineyard has been confounded.'

CHAPTER I. VERSE 13.

Gird yourselves, and lament, ye priests: howl, ye ministers of the altar: come, lie all night in sackcloth, ye ministers of my God: for the meat offering and the drink offering is withholden from the house of your God.

AND THE DRINK OFFERING] Hebrew, vah-nahsek, and the libation.'

CHAPTER II. VERSE 14.

Who knoweth if he will return and repent, and leave a blessing behind him; even a meat offering and a drink offering unto the LORD your God?

AND A DRINK OFFERING] Hebrew, vah-nèsèk, and a libation.'

CHAPTER II. VERSE 19.

Yea, the LORD will answer and say unto his people, Behold, I will send you corn, and wine, and oil, and ye shall be satisfied therewith: and I will no more make you a reproach among the heathen.

CORN, AND WINE, AND OIL] Hebrew, eth-had-dahgan, vě-hat-tirosh, vě-hayyitzhar, 'the corn and the vine-fruit, and the orchard-fruit.' Lxx., siton oinon, elaion, V., frumentum, et vinum, et oleum, 'corn, and wine, and oil.'

CHAPTER II. VERSE 22.

Be not afraid, ye beasts of the field: for the pastures of the wilderness do spring, for the tree beareth her fruit, the fig tree and the vine do yield their strength.

AND THE VINE] Hebrew, vah-gèphèn, 'and the vine'; Lxx., ampelos; V., vinea.

CHAPTER II. VERSE 24.

And the floors shall be full of wheat, and the fats shall overflow with wine and oil.

WHEAT] Hebrew, bar; used, perhaps, to indicate the finest quality of corn (dahgan).

AND THE FATS SHALL OVERFLOW WITH WINE AND OIL] Hebrew, vè-hashiqu hāyeqahvim tirosh vě-yitzhar, and the presses shall abound with vine-fruit and orchard-fruit.' Lxx., kai huperchutheesontai ai leenoi oinou kai elaiou, 'and the presses shall be overflowed with wine and oil'; V., et redundabunt torcularia vino et oleo, and the presses shall be redundant with wine and oil.' The Hebrew word shuq, translated 'overflow,' signifies 'to run' or 'abound'; hence, 'to desire eagerly.' It is here in the Hiphil conjugation; and if the figure is not too strong, we may consider that the prophet represents the presses as causing the tirosh and yitzhar to run into them, so as to fill them to the brim; not with the expressed juice, but with the substances whose subsequent pressure should yield the desired drink.

CHAPTER III. VERSE 3.

And they have cast lots for my people; and have given a boy for an harlot, and sold a girl for wine, that they might drink.

WINE, THAT THEY MIGHT DRINK] Hebrew, vay-yayin vay-yishtu, "for wine, and they shall drink.' Lxx., anti tou oinou kai epeinon, for the sake of the wine, and have drunk'; V., pro vino ut biberent, for wine, that they might drink.'

So insatiable is the unnatural appetite for strong drink, and so hardening is its effect on the moral nature, that the strongest natural instincts-love of offspring and love of life-yield to it like flax before the fire.

ye

CHAPTER III. VERSE 13.

Put in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe: come, get you down; for the press is full, the fats overflow; for their wickedness is great.

=

This verse tersely describes the vintage harvest. "Put forth the knife [maggal -that which cuts], for the vintage [qahtzir-cutting that which is cut] is ripe: come, descend (or tread), for the press [gath] is full; the presses (hayyeqahvim) abound (hashiqu); for their wickedness is great." The prophet is here describing, not the result of the treading, but the preparations for it; and he invites the avengers (the foreign foe) to come and tread, because the wickedness (= vintage) of the idolatrous nations was ripe, and its fruits (the grapes collectively, tirosh) were brought together in a 'great' heap, ready to be trodden (punished) by the instruments of the Divine justice. This text tends to illustrate the sense of the one other passage where (in A. V.) the presses are said to 'overflow' with tirosh, the real idea being, that the vintage has been so fruitful that the grapes have to be piled up in the presses.

CHAPTER III. VERSE 18.

And it shall come to pass in that day, that the mountains shall drop down new wine, and the hills shall flow with milk, and all the rivers of Judah shall flow with waters, and a fountain shall come forth of the house of the LORD, and shall water the valley of Shittim.

THE MOUNTAINS SHALL DROP DOWN NEW WINE] Hebrew, yitphu ha-hahrim ahsis, the mountains shall drop down fresh juice.' Lxx., apostalaxei ta oree glukasmon, 'the mountains shall drop sweetness'; V., stillabunt montes dulcedinem, 'the mountains shall drop sweetness'; T., 'pure wine.'

As vines were often cultivated on the hill-sides, the prophet represents the fertility of the vines and the richness of their produce by a very expressive image— that of the hills sending forth streams of the luscious juice contained within the purple clusters. It is, however, a fact that, in a fertile season, the ripe luscious grapes burst with 'their juice,' which literally distills upon the rocks.