(a) Phaleg. 1. 4. c. 2.

Chapter the waters, faying, Go ye Swift meffengers to a nation scattered XVIII. and peeled, to a people terrible from their beginning hitherto, a nation meted out and trodden down, whose land the rivers have Spoiled.] Thofe who understand this of Egypt give this Senfe to the Words, Wo to Egypt, which in the shadowing of her Wings, that is, by her Ships with fpreading Sails refembling Wings promifes Affiftance to my People the Jews, or Wo to the Land fhadowing her Inhabitants with Mountains as it were with Wings, lying beyond the Rivers of Ethiopia; but Bochart (a) gives a different Turn to the Words, Wo to the Land of the Timbrel, a hollow fonorous Inftrument, peculiar to the Egyptians in their Sacrifices, according to which they are elegantly paraphras'd by Carpentius, Va tibi que reducem fiftris crepitantibus Apim concelebras, crotalos & inania Tympana pulfans Amne fuperba facro Tellus. Another Character of this Land is, That it lay beyond the Rivers of Cush, which the fame learned Geographer proves to hit exactly the Situation of Egypt, overagainst Arabia Cufaa, with the Red Sea between them; and here we must place Tirhaka, because otherwife he would have been at too great a Distance to make any Diverfion in favour of the Jews, who must have been overrun by fo powerful an Invader long before any Succours could be fent from the other Ethiopia. To avoid Obfcurity and that Confufion which different Interpretations are apt to raife, I fhall fuppofe the Prophet to denounce this Wo against Ethiopia, and leaving Geographers to determine the Situation of the Place here meant, give the Words the following Senfe: Wo to the Land which makes a proud Boasting of protecting her Neighbours, as it were under the Shadow of her Wings, the Land which lyes among the Rivers of Ethiopia, which fendeth Ambaffadors by Sea in light Veffels to declare War against the Affyrian, faying, Go ye fwift Messengers to that Nation diftracted with foreign Wars and exhaufted of Soldiers; Go to the People of Affyria, terrible from their beginning hitherto, and prefcribing Laws to all other Nations, and treading them under foot, and tell them, That the Ethiopians defpife their Land, are not afraid of their Power, and will oppose it with equal Force; thus Bazen fignifies, fays (b) Kimchi, who derives it from Bazah, to despise, not Bazaz, to spoil,

(b) Urfin.

it being very ufual in the Hebrew Language to change He into Aleph.

Ver. 3. All ye inhabitants of the world, and dwellers on the earth, fee ye, when he lifteth up an enfign on the mountains and when he bloweth a trumpet, hear ye.] He turns his Difcourfe to the Inhabitants of the neighbouring Nations, and bids them confider and obferve the manner of God's proceedings, intimating that he was about to do fomething fo very furprising and great, that the whole World fhould be aftonifh'd at it.

Chapter
XVIII.

Ver. 4. For fo the Lord faid unto me, I will take my reft, and I will confider in my dwelling-place, like a clear heat upon herbs, and like a cloud of dew in the heat of harvest.] As if he had faid, Tirhaka may go on and try his Fortune against Sennacherib, but as for me, faith the Lord of Hofts, I will not go out with his Army, I will take my Reft, that is, fit quietly by, like an unconcern'd Spectator, and confider in Jerufalem; my Dwelling-Place, what the Affyrians are doing there; I will be to the fews as refreshing as the Sun's Warmth to Plants, which droop with too much moisture; or like a Cloud, which kindly interpofes between the panting Reaper and the Sun: Thus elegantly does the Prophet defcribe God's Protetion, which fhould not only fecure them from Violence, but be accommodated to the various Circumftances of their Neceffities: The Similitude is differently explain'd by others (a). Ero tanquam ferenitas poft pluviam Populo (a). Idems meo, & tanquam Pluvia in aftu Hoftibus ejus. I will be to my People like the refreshing Sun-fhine after a drenching Shower, but to their Enemies like a Shower in extremity of heat, which ferves only to burn up the Corn, and fpoil the Harvest.

Ver. 5. For afore the harvest when the bud is perfect, and. the fower grape is ripening in the flower, he shall both cut off the Sprigs with pruning hooks, and take away and cut down the branches.] He gives a reafon of the Overthrow of the Ethiopians, as fome think, as if he he had faid, They were too forward and confident of Succefs, and thought to make an eafy Prey of Affyria, while Sennacherib was taken up with the Siege of Jerufalem: (b) Sed hic omnis (b) A Lapide,

eorum.

Chapter eorum flos fuit intempeftivus & pracox nec maturuit fed periit XVIII. in herba; like forward Fruit they fhall be nipp'd, as it

were in the Bud, and the Event of this bold Undertaking no way answer their Expectation; for their Sprigs -fhall be cut off with pruning Hooks, that is, the best of their Soldiers fhall fall by the Sword of the Affyrians, and they fhall cut down and take away the Branches, carry a great many of their Officers and Generals into Captivity. But the words may be thus render'd, Before the time of Vintage, when the Vine was in bloffom, it gave hopes of a generous Fruit, but the Bloffom prov'd at laft a fower Grape; therefore the Sprigs fhall be cut off with pruning Hooks, and the degenerate Branches cut (a) Grotius. ́down and cast away. (a) He fimilitudines oftendunt ante tempus praeii egregias fuiffe fpes Ethiopum fed cas ante (b) Urfinus, eventum concidiffe. (6) But the Prophet feems to speak of the Overthrow of the Affyrian Army, as appears by the 7th Verfe, and then the Similitude must take a dif ferent turn. It fhall be juft as if one fhould cut down the Corn just before it is ripe, or root up a Vine when the time of Vintage was near at hand; fo fhall it be with the Affyrians, who fhall be cut off when they wanted very little of making a compleat Conqueft of Judea. · Ver. 6. They fhall be left together unto the fowls of the mountains, and to the beasts of the earth: and the fowls fhall fummer upon them, and all the beafts of the earth fhall winter upon them.] The Prophet in this Verfe carries on the Similitude of a Vine cut up, the Branches of which, he fays, fhall be Food for the Birds all the Summer; and in the Winter, when Grafs is wanting, the Beasts of the Field fhall broufe on them: Not that it can be fup-. pos'd that Vine-Branches, feparated from the Vine, fhould 'Jaft fo long, as to feed the Beafts of the Field in the Winter, fince if the Weather prov'd dry they would be wither'd to duft before Winter; if wet, they would as foon rot and moulder away. But this the Prophet adds to fet forth the great Slaughter which fhould be either of the Ethiopians or Affyrians; (for it is very difficult to determine which he speaks of) fo great, that the Birds of the Air fhould not be able to devour the dead Carcafes;

Carcafes; of which, after they had fed on them a whole Chapter Summer, there fhould ftill remain enough to subsist the XVIII. ravenous Beasts of Prey all Winter.

Ver. 7. In that time fhall the prefent be brought unto the Lord of hosts, of a people fcattered and peeled, and from a people terrible from their beginning hitherto, a nation meted out and troden under foot; whofe land the rivers have spoiled, to the place of the name of the Lord of hofts, the mount Zion.] When the Affyrians are triumphing over the Ethiopians, they themselves fhall be defeated in Judea, and the Spoil of their vanquish'd Army be brought to the Temple of Jerufalem by the Jews, as a grateful Acknowledgment that they ow'd their Deliverance to the Power of God. He repeats the fame Epithets, which in the Perfon of an Ethiopian, he had before given to the Affyrians, A People distracted and impoverish'd by a long courfe of an expenfive War; A People terrible to all the petty Kingdoms round about them, prefcribing what Laws to them they pleas'd, and treading them under foot upon every flight occafion, whofe Land the Ethiopians defpis'd, to their cost.

The ARGUMENT of Chapter XIX.

21.

That the Jews had a great Opinion of the Egyptians, and were apt to think themselves in no manner of danger, if they were but fecure of Affiftance from Egypt, appears from feveral Paffages of their Hiftory; but more particularly from that (a) Taunt of the Affyrian General, Lo thou trufteft 2 Kings 18. on the Staff of this broken Reed, on Egypt: And yet the Egyptians were from the beginning inveterate Enemies of the Jewish Nation, tho' at this time probably they might pretend great Friendship to Hezekia, and promife to make a Diverfion, or raife the Siege, which was for their own Intereft; for if Judea, which was a Barrier to them, mere once fubdu'd, they could not pretend to make Oppofition against fo powerful an Invader. This Prophecy therefore is justly referr'd by Grotius to the Time of Sennacherib, Commune flagellum omnium vicinarum Gentium, as a learned

Τ

learned (a) Interpreter calls him: For we learn from (b) He-
rodotus, that Sethon, King of Egypt, made War with
Sennacherib, after whofe deceafe it was govern'd by twelve
Independent Monarchs, of whom Pfammiticus was one, who
was first depos'd by the Egyptians, and afterward by the
affiftance of the Ionians and Carians not only recover'd
his own fhare of the Government, but grafp'd it all, having
first conquer'd and flain the other eleven Sharers in it.
Necho fucceeded Pfammiticus, and wag'd War with
Jofiah King of Judah: This Prophecy confifts of fix Par-
ticulars which were to befall the
to befall the Egyptians, Inteftine
Difcord, Inconftancy in their Council, fcarcity of Provi-
fions, decay of Trade, weak Princes, and last of all, that
they should degenerate into rank Cowardice; which the Pro-
phet infifts on to draw off their Minds from Man to God,
to teach them to rely on him only who was able to fave them
in the utmost Extremity.

Verfe 1.

CHA P. XIX.

HE burthen of Egypt: Behold, the Lord ri

1.T deth upon a swift cloud, and shall come into

Egypt, and the idols of Egypt fhall be moved at his prefence, and the heart of Egypt shall melt in the midst of it.] By the Expreffion of riding on a Swift Cloud, the Prophet means no more, but that the Lord will speedily visit the Egyptians with his Judgments, an Expreffion of the fame. import with that of the Pfalmift, He came flying on the wings of the wind. Tho' this be the plain meaning of the words, 'tis pretty to obferve the Feux d'efprits, as the French (c) Critic calls the extravagant Fancies of fome Interpreters; In Nube levi, that is, the Bleffed Virgin (d), in whofe Arms the Child Jefus was with great Expedition conveigh'd to Egypt. In Craffitudine levi, according to the Tranflation of Aquila, that is, (e) Chrift fhall come with a Body conceiv'd of the Virgin Mary, Sicut enim nubes ex fpiritu & vapore terra generatur, fic Chrifti corpus. formatum eft ex fpiritu fanéto & terrena fubftantia Deitatis. folem temperante.