Here our conductor, Yousouf, who had been persuaded to accompany us from Salt, by an additional bribe of two hundred piastres, was accused of having stolen cattle from these people four years ago. There was much disputing among them, and the Sheikh had recourse to every subterfuge to evade the accusation; but, at length, unable to deny the fact, he concluded by saying, "he was one of those men who never returned any thing after it was once in his power."

June 18. After accompanying us two hours on our road, Yousouf took his leave to return to Karrac. We had travelled so long in his company, and witnessed such extraordinary scenes together, that it was not possible to see him depart without some little regret, though he had latterly behaved very indifferently, and convinced us, on many occasions, that honesty has no place whatever among the virtues of an Arab. As soon as he left us we crossed the Zerka (the Jabbok of Scripture), the northern boundary of the country of the Amorites; and, two hours after mid-day, arrived at the ruins of Jerrasch.

These ruins lie E. S. E. from Bisan, (Bethsan,) at the distance of eighteen hours, and are of a beauty and magnificence that greatly exceed those of Palmyra: a grand colonnade runs from the eastern gate to the west, formed on both sides by marble pillars with Corinthian capitals, and terminating in a semicircle of sixty columns of the Ionic order. At the western extremity stands a theatre, of which the proscenium is preserved. The first colonnade is crossed by another, running from north to south. Two superb amphitheatres of marble, three other temples, and the ruins of some palaces, together with many Greek inscriptions, are also to be observed. All the edifices of the city are of the period of the most beautiful architecture, and conjectured to be of the date of the Emperor Marcus Aurelius Antoninus.

From Jerrasch we took the road to the valley of the Jordan, through a very picturesque country, most beautifully wooded with the Asiatic oak (vallonia), the arbutus, the cedar, etc. Some spots were cultivated with corn, but the long grass, through which we had to make our way, abounded in venomous serpents.

On the following day we arrived at the village of Rajeb, situated without and below the woodland scenery, and reached the valley of the Jordan at two o'clock in the afternoon. The dis

tance hence to the ford of Bisan is four hours, and we entered the town of that name as it became dark.

On the 21st we reached Tiberias, a small walled city with only one gate of entrance, containing a great number of Christians, and distant about sixty miles from Acre. From Mount Tabor, where we were on the 23d, the distance to Nazareth is four hours, and the padre superiore of the convent at the latter place received us with great hospitality.

On the 25th, we entered Acre. Here our party was to separate, Captains Irby and Mangles intending to sail in a Venetian brig to Constantinople, and Mr Bankes proposing to return to Egypt.

[From this place Mr Legh made a very rapid journey to Damascus and Palmyra; of which he gives a hasty sketch in the few pages which remain of his narration. The account of the journey from Kerek to Acre, although not relating to Idumea, has been given here, both for the sake of its intrinsic interest, and also because it would hardly bear to be separated from the body of the narrative. We hope to refer to it again hereafter.-ED.]

ART. II. THE GODHEAD OF THE MESSIAH AS TAUGht in the OLD TESTAMENT.

Translated from Hengstenberg's "Christologie." By George Howe, Prof. of Bib. Lit. in the Theol. Sem. Columbia, S. C.

THAT the Messiah, according to the predictions of the prophets, would possess a perfect human nature, will be doubted by no one. He was not to make himself known by a transcendant appear1 ance, like Jehovah and the angels under the Old Testament ; but he would be born, Is. 7: 14. Mic. 5: 3, and grow up by degree, Is. 11 and 53. In consequence of his human nature and descent he is called a Branch of David, Jer. 23: 5. 33: 15; the Root-sprout* of Jesse, Is. 11: 1; the Fruit of the Land, Is. 4: 2.

* Wurzelschössling, a sprout from the root.

t

gel of Jehovah face to face; and because Jehovah reassures him. on this point, he builds an altar to which he gives the name "Jehovah Peace."-Judges 13: 3, the angel of Jehovah appears to the wife of Manoah. She does not indeed fully recognise him in this character, but she supposes him divine from the majesty of his appearance. At his second appearance also, v. 6, he is not known by Manoah and his wife at first; for this is expressly mentioned v. 16. Yet he afterwards makes himself known, partly by refusing to give his name, because the same was wonderful; partly by the miraculous consumption of the offering;2 partly by his vanishing in the sacrificial flame. "Then knew Manoah that it was the Angel of Jehovah," v. 21. Manoah now says to his wife, "We must die, for we have seen God," v. 22. In 2 K. 19: 35, the Angel of Jehovah annihilates the Assyrian host, which threatened the destruction of the theocracy.

In Is. 63: 9 it is said, "Jehovah was their helper.-Out of every difficulty were they set free,3 and the Angel of his countenance delivered them. Because he loved and pitied them he redeemed them; and he bare them and carried them continually." Here the Angel of Jehovah is called the Angel of his countenance, i. e. the Angel by which Jehovah makes himself known, as the human soul does by the expression of the countenance. Comp. the corresponding expressions concerning Christ in Heb. 1: 3, απαύγασμα τῆς δόξης καὶ χαρακτήρ τῆς ὑποστάσεως τοῦ Θεοῦ. Col. 1: 15, εἰκὼν τοῦ θεοῦ τοῦ ἀοράτου. « Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of the person of God;" "the image of the invisible God." 2 Cor. 4: 4. Ex. 23: 20. To this Angel is ascribed all that is elsewhere ascribed to Jehovah. He has redeemed Israel, and has nursed and cherished them as a loving mother does her child.

Very often do we meet with the Angel of Jehovah,

, in Zechariah. From him the prophet received all his revelations. He distinguishes himself, 1: 12-15, from Jehoval Sabaoth; and says that he was sent from Jehovah for the purpose of punishing the heathen nations for what they had done to the covenant people of God; and yet the prophet attributes to

1 Or, as the English has it, was secret.

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lie * וּמַפְלִיא לַעֲשׂוֹת This is intimated only in brief by the words 2

did wondrously," v. 19, because the author supposed that the reader would gather the rest from the similar narrative in chap. 6.

3 "In omni angustia eorum non angustum fuit." Kocher.

him the name Jehovah Sabaoth; comp. 6: 15. In c. 3: 2 he is called Jehovah,, who in v. 1 was called Angel of Jehovah, 2. In c. 12: 8 the N is placed by the side of Elohim, as equal with him in honour and majesty. In Ps. 34: 8 and 35: 5, there are attributed to the Angel of Jehovah the same things as are elsewhere attributed to Jehovah himself, the protection of the pious and the punishment of the ungodly.

We have now given a simple exhibition of the facts in the case. Let us next consider the different explanations of the same.

1

I. The most common is this, viz. that where the Old Testament writers spoke of the Angel of Jehovah, they did not mean a person united with God by a oneness of essence, but an inferior angel, by whom God executes his commands, speaks, and acts. That to these inferior angels were attributed divine names, acts, and predicates, and that divine honour was shown them, some explain from this circumstance, that the angels themselves allowed their own personality to be entirely kept in the back ground; and because they held a commission from God, they spoke and acted also in his person; so that they to whom they were sent, and the sacred writers too, raised themselves from the mediate, to the Great First Cause. Origen, in all probability, was of this opinion. He says, on Ex. 3, qv dè oʻ θεὸς ἐκεῖ ἐν τῷ ἀγγέλῳ θεωρούμενος, " God was there seen in the angel." It was defended with great zeal and dexterity by Augustine. The principal passage in which he speaks of it is in his treatise on the Trinity: "It is therefore manifest, that all those things which were seen by the fathers, when God was presented to them in accordance with a dispensation adapted to their times, were transacted by the agency of creatures. And if we are unable to say in what way he did these things by the agency of angels, still we say these things were done by the angels, though not in a way that we can understand. For we would not seem to any to be more than wise, but would have sobriety in our wisdom, according as God has dealt to us the measure of faith. We believe and therefore speak. For we have the authority of the divine Scriptures" etc. (He here appeals to Heb. 2: 2, where the law given by angels, is opposed to the gospel published by the Lord himself.) "But says some one, Why is it then written, The Lord spake to Moses? Why not rather, the an1 Opp. T. III. f. 229. ed. Ruaci.

gel spake to Moses? For the same reason as when a herald pronounces the words of the judge, it is not written in the records of the court, The herald said, but, The judge said. So also when the holy prophet speaks, although we say, The prophet said, we mean nothing else than, The Lord said. And if we say, The Lord said, we do not exclude the agency of the prophet, but we intimate who it is that has spoken by him.-I suppose it now to be sufficiently demonstrated, that when God is said to appear to our ancient fathers before the incarnation of the Saviour, those words or corporeal forms were exhibited by angels; either by their speaking or doing something in the character of God, as we have shewn that the prophets also were wont to do; or by their assuming something in the character of the creature which did not belong to them as such, whenever God was revealed to men in visible shape; which kind of representations the prophets have not omitted, as the Scripture. teaches by many examples." In a similar way Jerome expresses himself on Gal. 3: 19. "When he says that the law was ordained by angels, it is meant, that in all the Old Testament, where an angel is first represented as seen, and is then introduced speaking as God, the angel seems really to be one

est.

1 Augustinus de Trinitate III. 11.-"Proinde illa omnia, quæ patribus visa sunt, cum deus illis secundum suam dispensationem temporibus congruam præsentaretur, per creatura facta esse, manifestum Et si nos latet, quomodo ea ministris angelis fecerit, per angelos tamen esse facta non a nostro sensu dicimus, ne cuiquam videamus plus sapere, sed sapimus ad temperantiam, sicut deus nobis partitus est mensuram fidei, et credimus, propter quod et loquimur. Extat enim auctoritas divinarum scripturarum, etc.-Sed ait aliquis: cur ergo scriptum est: dixit dominus ad Moysen, et non potius: dixit angelus ad Moysen? Quia cum verba judicis præco pronuntiat; non scribitur in gestis: ille præco dixit, sed ille judex, sic etiam loquente propheta sancto, etsi dicamus propheta dixit, nihil aliud quam dominm dixisse intelligi volumus. Et si dicamus: Dominus dixit, prophetam non subtrahimus, sed quis per eum dixerit admonemus. - Sed jam satis quantum existimo demonstratum est, quod antiquis patribus nostris ante incarnationem Salvatoris, cum deus apparere dicebatur, voces illae ac species corporales per angelos factae sunt, sive ipsis loquentibus vel agentibus aliquid ex persona dei, sicut etiam prophetas solere ostendimus; sive assumentibus ex creatura, quod ipsi non essent, ubi deus figurate demonstraretur hominibus, quod genus significationum, nec prophetas omisisse, multis exemplis docet Scriptura."-Comp. Tract. 3 in Jo. 17: 18. De Civ. Dei 16, 29.