SUPPLEMENTARY NOTE ΤΟ SECT. XXI. Note [A] p. 284. wo strictly denotes the government of a sovereign, or absolute prince.- most exactly, God the valiant. Considerable pains have been taken to dilute the strength of this epithet. Grotius, understanding the passage primarily of Hezekiah, forces it into a construction in regimine with the preceding word, and would render them, The consulter of the mighty God. But signifies a giver of counsel, not a solicitor of it. Enjedin, acute and diligent as he was, observes deep silence on this whole passage. Rosenmüller, jun. says, " hic est fortis, potens, heros, ut Job xli. 17. 2 Reg. xxiv. 15." He overlooks the tautology which he would incur; and in his two pretended instances the word actually does not exist.—Mr. Dodson makes up a reading partially and arbitrarily from the Vatican copy of the Lxx. and the Heb. ex hypothesi :-" his name shall be called, The Messenger of the great design, the Father of the age," &c. But he overlooks the great variations of reading and the palpable errors in the Greek version of this prophet, which render it of little value in criticism; and he rejects the clear reading of the Heb. without reason.-Dr. Priestley, in his Notes on SS. follows Mr. Dodson.-The reading of the Heb. is most clearly supported by the Targum, the Arabic, and the Vulgate; that is by all the ancient versions except the Lxx. The Syriac has not 2, but reads thus,-" his name shall be called [Object of] Admiration, Counsellor, the Mighty Everlasting God, the Prince of Peace." With respect to the Lxx. the perplexed state of its text will appear from the following view of its three families of descent. "For a child is born to us, a son also is given to us, on whose shoulder is the dominion, and his name is called, Messenger of the great counsel. For I will bring peace to the rulers, and health to him. Great is his dominion, and of his peace there is no limit, upon the throne of David and his kingdom, to regulate it, and to establish it, in judgment and in righteousness, from this time and for ever." Vatican. "For [&c. as the Vat.]-Messenger of the great counsel, Wonderful, Counsellor, Mighty One, Potentate, [or, Mighty . Potentate,] Prince of peace, Father of the future age. For I will bring"-[&c. nearly as the Vat.] Alexandrine. "For [&c. as the Vat.]-Messenger of the great counsel, Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Potentate, Prince of peace, Father of the future age. For I will bring-"[&c. slightly varying from Vat. and Alex.] Aldine. So likewise the passage is cited by Eusebius, in Dem. Ev. lib. vii. cap. 5. Leclerc explains the phrase, "Divine Counsellor, one whose counsels, that is to say, his precepts, should be divine, as they really are." Annot. in loc. Dr. Lant Carpenter has also assumed this interpretation in his Discourse on this text, Exeter, 1817. He renders the whole thus, "And his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor of God, Mighty, Father of the age, Prince of Peace." The particular phrase under consideration Dr. Carpenter regards as having this import ;-“ Counsellor of God,-fully and intimately acquainted with the gracious designs,—the mind and will of God with respect to the duty and expectations of mankind;—and sent to communicate them to his fellow men." P. 7, 13. Against this translation the follow ing objections appear to lie. -66 1. The prefix before might have been expected, to mark its dependence on the preceding word. It does not seem likely that an exception from this usage would take place in an enumeration of appellatives, where it was otherwise impossible to determine whether a word was independent or in regimen. In the last epithet ww Prince of peace, this is determined by the sense. In the other Father of the age, it is as certainly determined by the resumption of the third radical Jod. See Schultens Inst. ad Fund. Ling. Hebr. p. 235. Schrader Inst. p. 142. Ulma, 1792. 2. All the ancient versions, so far as they can be applied, are against the construction. No argument can be built upon the Septuagint. The remains of the Greek versions of Aquila, Symmachus, and Theodotion consent in making independent of the preceding word, and in separating it from the following: they render it 'xvpòs strong; and the next they make also independent, duvaròs and duváorns mighty. Eusebius, by whom the fragments are preserved, adds: "The Hebrew instead of 'Loxupos has EL, which signifies God." See Drusius, in the Critici ισχυρος Sacri. 3. Wherever the two words occur together they invariably are connected as substantive and adjective, in the same order, 1. See the very phrase in Isaiah x. 21. and with other adjectives in Deut. x. 16. Jer. xxxii. 18. Dan. ix. 4. Nehem. ix. 32. In these and all other instances, comes before the adjective. See Buxtorf's or Taylor's Hebr. Concord.-This single consideration convinces me that the usual rendering, God the Mighty, cannot be justly rejected. 7 Dathé regards this as an instance of the well known oriental idiom by which names of affinity, as father, mother, brother, sister, are used to designate the author or eminent possessor, of a quality or object; and therefore renders it simply The Eternal. See his Paraph. also Schultens in Job. xvii. 14. Goli Lex. Arab. p. 10. Dindorf. Lex. Hebr. Lipsia, 1801, p. 1. On this principle, Dr. Priestley himself says, "So here the MESSIAH is called The Father of eternity, his authority being designed to be of long continuance." Notes on SS. But does this comment represent the text?-Rosenmüller jun. acquiesces, and translates, Immortal. With apparent reluctance, he admits that the passage can refer only to the Messiah. Cocceius, Vogel, and Hensler, adopt Father of perpetuity. Mr. Dodson has, Father of the age; perhaps not being aware that 7 does not signify a limited portion of time, but absolute and indefinite duration. Bishop Lowth escapes this objection by adopting Father of the everlasting age. The Chaldee Paraphrase is very observable. "The prophet speaketh to the house of David, Because a child is born to us, a son is given to us, and he taketh the law upon himself to observe it; therefore his name is called from of old, Wonderful in counsel, God the mighty, He who abideth for ever, the Messiah, whose peace shall be abundant upon us in his days." Since the three verses preceding the passage are very unhappily translated in the authorized version, so that the connection of sentiment is quite obscured, this note may not be uselessly closed with a translation and paraphrase of them. VERSION. V. 3. Thou hast enlarged the nation; its joy thou hast increased. They rejoice in thy presence as the joy in harvest, as [warriors] rejoice in the division of spoil. 4. For the yoke which they had borne, the log [chained] on their shoulders, the sceptre of their oppressor, thou hast broken, as in the battle of Midian. 5. For all the greaves of the warriors greaved for the tumultuous fight, and the war-cloak rolled in gore, shall even be for the burning and consumption of fire. PARAPHRASE. By the coming of the Messiah, thou, O God, increasest the number and the happiness of thy faithful people, so that their exultation and triumph are raised to the highest. Thou hast thus delivered them from the usurped dominion of sin, in a way as superior to human agency, and as clearly shewn to be by divine interposition, as when the Israelites under Gideon were delivered from the tyranny of the Midianites. All the horrid apparatus of war shall be abolished, by the ultimate triumphs of the Messiah's benignant empire; as if utterly burned up. SECT. XXII. THE OFFSPRING OF JESSE. Is. xi. 1-5, 10. 1. From the stock of Jesse though cut down, a branch shall grow; And from his roots a shoot shall become fruitful. Upon him the Spirit of Jehovah shall rest: The Spirit of wisdom and understanding, 5. The Spirit of counsel and strength, The Spirit of knowledge and piety towards Jehovah ; And it shall richly inspire him with piety towards Jehovah. Not according to the appearance to the eyes, will he judge; Nor according to the report to the ears, will he 10. But with justice he will judge for the oppressed; And with uprightness he will reprove, for the afflicted of the earth. reprove. For he will smite the earth with the sceptre of his mouth; And truth the girdle of his loins. * In that day shall be a root of Jesse, 15. Which shall stand for an ensign to the peoples: * To him the nations shall seek ; And his resting-place shall be illustrious.* THE reference of this passage to the Messiah L. 1. denotes the stump, or bottom part of a tree, after the trunk has been hewn down, Job xiv. 8.-L. 6. 7. mm fear of Jehovah, is the ordinary Hebrew expression for piety or |