[more] than milk”—Desmeuōn pros ampelon ton pōlon autou, kai tee heliki ton polon tees onou autou, plunei en oinō teen stoleen autou, kai en haimati staphulees teen periboleen autou. Charopoioi oi ophthalmoi autou huper oinon, kai leukoi oi odontes autou ee gala. The Vulgate renders, "Binding to a vine his foal, and to a vine-branch, oh! my son, his ass, he shall wash in wine his robe, and in the blood of grapes his cloak. More beautiful are his eyes than wine, and whiter are his teeth than milk”. Ligans ad vineam pullum suum, et ad vitem, ô fili mi, asinam suam, lavabit in vino stolam suam et in sanguine uva pallium suum. Pulchriores sunt oculi ejus vino, et dentes ejus lacte candidiores. The Syriac gives, "He will bind his colt to a vine, and the foal of his ass to a vine-branch. He will cleanse his vestment in wine, and his garment in the blood of grapes. His eyes are of a darker red than wine, and whiter are his teeth than milk." So in substance read the Arabic and Persian versions. The Targums, subsequently quoted, are too periphrastic to be cited here as translations. V. II. THE CHOICE VINE] The Hebrew is la-soraqah—the feminine form of soraq, 'a shoot' or 'tendril,' or 'a collection of branches,' from soraq, 'to interweave.' Bishop Patrick understands a reference to the vine of the valley of Sorek, adjoining Eshcol; and Bishop Lowth (Isa. v. 2), regarding 'Sorek' as a proper name, proposes to read 'to his own Sorek.' The Sorek vine might possibly retain that name when transplanted. One conjecture identifies it with a species known in Morocco as the serki, which yields a small but very sweet grape, highly prized. In Fuerst's Hebrew and Chaldee Concordance, SORAQ is defined to be a vine laden with grapes "filled with a red and superior wine"-vino rubro ac præstanti impletis. As to Sorek, comp. Judg. xvi. 4; Isa. v. 2; xvi. 8; Jer. ii. 21. HE WASHED HIS GARMENTS IN WINE, AND HIS CLOTHES IN THE BLOOD OF GRAPES] This is a striking example of the parallelism which formed one of the features and beauties of Hebrew poetry-the two clauses differing in language but corresponding in sense-‘garments' answering to 'clothes,' and 'wine' (yayin) to the blood of grapes' (dam anahvim). 'Blood' is a poetical name for 'juice,' and is evidence of the ancient signification of yayin as the juice of the grape,' prior to fermentation. This juice, squeezed out, is yayin, and hence the juice in the grape, and even the grape itself, might, by a natural figure, bear the same name. [Compare Anacreon's poetical reference to oinos as 'confined in fruit upon the branches'—pepedeemenon oporais epi kleematōn (Ode 49), and the description of the vintage-treaders 'letting loose the wine'-luontes oinon.] Whether dam anahvim (blood of grapes) involves a reference to the colour of blood is uncertain. It it does, and if soraq yielded a red juice, the allusion to that kind of vine heightens the poetical force of the passage. Grapes, purple as well as white, generally yield a colourless juice; but the skins of the purple sort dye the juice when trodden in the vat; and in this way, if in no other, the similitude would be sustained. [But as to 'blood of grapes,' see note on Isa. lxiii. 2, 3.] V. 12. HIS EYES SHALL BE RED WITH WINE] This short clause has given rise to much diversity of interpretation; and it will be necessary, for proper consideration, to divide it into two parts:— 1. His eyes shall be red.' The Hebrew is khaklili ainaim, 'red (as to his) eyes.' But what is the meaning of khaklili? The Targums use it descriptively of the appearance of wine. The LXX. (Codices A and B) has charopoioi, 'cheering' or 'gladdening'; but Origen, in his 'Hexapla,' notices that copies of that version were extant in his day (third century) with other meanings, viz., katharoi, 'pure'; thermoi, 'glowing'; diapuroi, 'flaming'; and phoberoi, 'terrible.' Aquila's version gives katakoroi, 'satiated,' i. e. with colour: 'deep-coloured.' In the parallel passage (Prov. xxiii. 29) the Lxx. rendering of khakliloth is pelidnoi, ‘dark blue.' Symmachus there reads charopoi, 'gladsome'; and Aquila, katharoi, 'pure'; unless (which is not impossible) the transcriber substituted for an unusual word, such as katakoroi, one which he thought analogous and better understood. The Vulgate has pulchriores, more beautiful.' Gesenius has an elaborate but undecided note upon the word, which he inclines to render being dim,' without, however, rejecting the idea of something bright and flashing. One scholar finds in it the origin of al-cahal, the powder used by Eastern women to darken their eyebrows and deepen their beauty, this name of 'alcahal' being supposed to be the same which the Arabian alchemists gave to the spirit they distilled from wine, the 'alcohol' of modern science. To the same root are traced the Greek achluo, 'to darken,' and achlus, ‘darkness.' Professor Lee prefers 'refreshed.' Unless some colour is indicated no parallelism with the 'white' of the next clause is presented; it is also clear that the colour has some relation to 'wine'; but to determine this relation requires an examination or the last two words. 2. 'With wine'-Hebrew, miy-yayin. The Hebrew min is a preposition, with a very comprehensive range of use. Radically it implies separation, as in the text before explained, 'Noah drank of the wine'-min hay-yayin; i. e. he drank some of the yayin, which, by the act of drinking, was separated from the rest. Thus arises the sense of out of,' 'from,' and causatively, 'by means of.' This is the sense assigned to min in this passage by the English translators, who consider that the "eyes of Judah were to be red with wine," i. e. by means of wine. In the Targums on this passage, as will be seen below, min is several times employed with this signi fication. On the other hand, min may be used as a term of comparison, in the sense of 'out of,' 'beyond,' 'more than'; and so construed the clause would read, "His eyes are red (or bright) above wine," i. e. are of deeper colour and glow. It is curious to mark that Codex A, Lxx., reads, apo oinou, from wine,' which partakes of the ambiguity of the Hebrew min; while Codex B (quoted above) has huper oinon, 'above wine,' and the versions generally exhibit this reading. The renderings of Aquila, Theodotion, and Symmachus are lost. The external evidence, so far as it has come down to us in ancient translations, is rather in favour of giving a comparative power to min, "red [or dark] above wine, white above milk;" but the internal evidence preponderates in favour of the causative sense, "red [dark] with wine, white with milk." The 11th verse predicts an abundance of grape-juice, in which (speaking figuratively) the children of Judah should wash their clothes, and we are naturally prepared for an allusion in the 12th verse to some effect of that abundance, such as is indicated by the words, "His eyes shall be red with wine." The other rendering introduces a contrast not in harmony with the context, and which raises the question, Why should his eyes be described as redder (or darker) than wine, and his teeth as whiter than milk? It may be answered, indeed, that joy from the profusion of Divine mercies would cause the eyes to sparkle; but this answer eliminates from khaklili the idea of colour (for the eye is neither red nor dark because it sparkles), and it fails to explain why the teeth are said to be whiter than milk. Accepting, then, the English version as correctly rendering min by 'with,' we have to inquire, What is intended by this redness or darkness of eyes from an abundance of yayin? Some critics have sanctioned the interpretation which connects this prophecy with the inflammatory redness or darkness of eye produced by excessive drinking; ‘red,' as indicating the fierce flashing glances excited by alcoholic wine, or 'dark,' as denoting the dull, lack-lustre expression of the inebriate's eye. It is true that 'redness of eyes' is one feature in Solomon's portraiture of the drunkard; but this fact illustrates the proposition that 'the letter,' even of Scripture, may kill, if the spirit be overlooked. Piety revolts at the suggestion that Jacob promised as a blessing that which Solomon portrays as a curse. Professor Lee justly denounces this immoral exegesis; but when he substitutes for it the brightness of the eye ‘refreshed' by moderate draughts of wine, he lays himself open to a triad of objections: First, that he excludes from khaklili the idea of colour; secondly, that he makes this khaklili to depend on a limitation of wine, and not, as the passage itself implies, on its profusion; and thirdly, that the 'refreshing' effect he associates with the moderate use of wine is, physiologically, different in degree only from that which he condemns. When the eyes are lighted up with wine, can the brain be said to be perfectly sober? Has not the drinker then reached a stage of vinosity when he may regard himself as 'elevated,' but when calmer observers must look upon him as perceptibly lowered in his rational and moral standing? These expositions may all be considered faulty, as based on the assumption that the phrase 'red as to his eyes' has regard to an appearance of the organ of vision itself; whereas nothing more may be intended than a dark red or deep-coloured appearance round about the eyes, such as would be produced by contact with ‘the blood of the grape.' Those who washed their very clothes in the flowing juice might be appropriately described as carrying the marks of it on their faces; or if allusion is made to the crowded wine-press and the 'crushing swains,' what is more natural than to suppose the juice dashing and colouring with its spray the eyes of the gleeful treaders? The same usus loquendi is seen in 2 Kings ix. 30, ‘And she [Jezebel] painted her face'—vattasem bap-puk ainiha; literally, ‘And she put into painting [or pigment] her eyes.' So Ezek. xxiii. 40, ‘Thou paintedst thy eyes'— kakhalt ainaik. Pliny says of the Roman ladies, that they were given to selfdecoration, 'that their eyes must be painted' (or dyed)—ut tinguantur oculi quoque. In these and other instances the reference is not to the organ of sight itself, but to the eyelid, eyebrow, or other parts of the face. The English idiom furnishes parallel examples. In the familiar phrase, 'eyes red with weeping,' it is the border of the eyes, the cheek contiguous, which is meant; and in the 'blackened eye' some adjacent part. We conclude that khaklili indicates the colour of the expressed juice of the grape, which (unless the juice were itself red) would take a purple hue from the colouring matter of the skin; and this purple, being a rich deep colour, forms the best possible contrast to the whiteness of milk. The 12th verse may, therefore, be rendered, “Empurpled are his eyes with grape-juice, and white are his teeth with milk." Schumann explains the last clause, "as if milk distilled from his teeth.” The description is redolent of the field and the fold, at once poetical and prefigurative, but yielding no approval, direct or indirect, to the use of intoxicating drinks. In these verses what is said of Judah is, in reality, predicted of his descendants, whose future territory in the Promised Land was to be so prolific in vines, strong and of the finest quality, that young animals could be everywhere tied to them; while the vines should be so fruitful that, besides the quantities of grapes consumed as solid fruit, the clusters should yield enough juice to form streams like water, in which, if needful, the garments of the people could be bathed. The grape treaders would be stained with wine up to their eyes; and being blessed with pastoral as well as agricultural wealth, their teeth would seem as if made white by the milk they should consume. This promised abundance of vine-fruit and milk may be understood as indicating the fertility of Judah's soil, and the fecundity of his flocks and herds. Whether a typical allusion to Messianic times is included under this description the reader must judge for himself. 'Judah' has been regarded as representative of the Redeemer, and also as collectively symbolizing the Christian church. The Targumists connect these verses with the 18th verse, and construe them exclusively of the Messiah and His warlike achievements. Even Onkelos, who is generally concise, and keeps close to the Hebrew, here becomes diffuse, though he is outdone both by Jonathan and the Jerusalem interpreter. Their three paraphrases are translated in a foot-note, and prove how little the cultivated Jewish mind could, of itself, and even with the aid of the prophets, have developed that ideal of suffering yet triumphant Goodness, which the Gospels supply in the life of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. * *The Targum of ONKELOS reads:-"Israel shall dwell in his city; the people shall build his temple, and they shall be righteous in his city, and doers of the law according to his doctrine. The finest crimson shall be his clothing, and his apparel shall be of silk dyed with scarlet and diverse colours. His mountains shall be red with vineyards, and his hills shall flow with wine (ba-khamar); his fields shall be white with corn and flocks of sheep." The Targum of JONATHAN runs :-"How beautiful is king Messiah, about to spring forth from the house of Judah! He shall gird His loins and descend to make ready the battle array against His enemies, slaying kings with their nobles; nor is there a king or noble who shall stand before Him who reddens the mountains with the blood of the slain, and whose blood-stained clothes resemble the skin of grapes. Beautiful as wine (k'khamrah) are the eyes of king Messiah, nor is He able to look upon impure connections and the effusion of innocent blood; His teeth are pure from milk, so that they shall not eat the spoil of rapine and violence; and therefore His mountains and winepresses shall be red with wine (min khamrah), and His hills shall be white with (min) corn and the wool of sheep." The Jerusalem Targum is pitched in the same allegorical strain :-"How beautiful is king Messiah, about to spring forth from the house of Judah! He binds up his loins, and goes forth in battle array against those who hate Him, slaughtering kings with their nobles; He dyes the vines red with the blood of their slain, and turns the hills white with the fat of their mighty men. His garments are stained with blood, and He resembles one employed in treading grapes. How beautiful in their appearance are the eyes of king Messiah from wine! (min khamrah), so that He cannot behold impure connections and the shedding of innocent blood. His teeth are rather employed in sacred rites than in eating the prey of robbery and violence; His mountains are red with (min) vines, and His winepresses with His wine (min khamrah); His hills are white with min) the abundance of corn and flocks of sheep." THE BOOK OF EXODUS. CHAPTER III. VERSE 8. And I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land unto a good land and a large, unto a land flowing with milk and honey. FLOWING WITH MILK AND HONEY] Hebrew, zahvath khahlav u-d'vash. 'Milk and honey' are used for the general produce of the land, and 'flowing with' is a striking figure of abundance. Concerning debash, see note on Gen. xliii. 11. The phrase 'flowing with milk and honey' has a proverbial iteration in the Pentateuch. Besides the above passage, it occurs in Exod. iii. 17; xiii. 5; xxxiii. 3; Lev. xx. 24; Numb. xiii. 27; xiv. 8; xvi. 13, 14; Deut. vi. 3; xi. 9; xxvi. 9, 15; xxvii. 3; xxxi. 20. Also in Josh. v. 6; Jer. xi. 5; xxxii. 22; Ezek. xx. 6, 15. CHAPTER VII. VERSE 24. And all the Egyptians digged round about the river for water to drink; for they could not drink of the water of the river. The Nile was emphatically the river of Egypt-its only river,—and, as rain seldom fell, the main source of its water supply for irrigation and potable use. The deliciousness of the Nile water passed into a proverb, and it was considered so fattening that (according to a tradition preserved by Plutarch) the sacred bull Apis was not allowed to drink of it. The modern Turks are said to excite their thirst for it by the use of salt. That the water of their beloved river, to which they paid divine honours, should have been made loathsome to them, was one of the severest trials possible to the Egyptians, and one of the most forcible evidences which the God of Israel could exhibit of His supremacy over the deities in which they trusted. CHAPTER XII. VERSES 8, 15, 17-20, 34, 39. 8 And they shall eat the flesh in that night, roasted with fire, and unleavened bread; and with bitter herbs they shall eat it. 15 Seven days shall ye eat unleavened bread; even the first day ye shall put away leaven out of your houses: for whosoever eateth leavened bread from the first day until the seventh day, that soul shall be cut off from Israel. 17 And shall observe the feast of unleavened bread. ye 18 In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at |