So ' infidelity ' was once no more than ' un- belief,' as the marg. note to Lv 7° in Matthew's Bible, 'Trespace after the order of the scrypture signifyeth somtyme all the lyffe past which we have lyved in infidelyte, being ignoraunt of the veritie, not only in doyng open synnes, but also when we have walked in oure awne rightwe.snes ' ; and still more clearly in Fuller, Holy State, iv. 18, p. 335, 'After his [GustavusAdolphus'] death, how did men struggle to keep him alive in their reports ! partly out of good will, which made them kindle new hopes of his life at every spark of probability, partly out of infidelity that his death could be true. This is all that 'infidelity ' means in 2 Es 7« ( ' incrednlitas '). J . Hastings.
INGATHERING, FEAST OF.— See Tabernacles (Feast of).
INHABIT.— We do not now use 'inhabit' in- transitively. Hence RV changes 1 Ch b" ' And ea.stward he inhabited unto the entering in of the wilderness' into 'he dwelt.' Cf. Pr. Bk. 1552, Act of Unifonnity (Keeling, p. vii), 'all and every per.son, and persons, inhabiting within this realm ' and Defoe, Crusoe, p. 510, ' There are many Travellers, who have wrote the History of their Voyages and Travels this way, that it would be very little Diversion to any Body, to give a long Account of the Places we went to, and the People who inhabit there.' Nor do we now speak ot a single person inhabiting a place, as Jer 48" ' Thou daughter that dost inhabit Dibon,' though the construction may be defended on the ground that ' daughter ' stands for the whole people (RV ' O thou daughter that dwellest in Dibon ').
Figurative examples of the word are : (1) Ps 223 « o thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel' (niVrr? 3P'i', RVm 'art en- throned upon'), a bold adaptation, says Kirltpatrick, of the phrase ' that sittest enthroned upon the" cherubim ' (2 S 02, 2 K 1015, ps SQi 991), the praise-songs of Israel being regarded a^ clouds of incense which form J"'s throne. Cheyne (in toe.) sees in the phraae a poetic glorifying of the 'old mythic phrase.' The chenibim were the forces of nature ; but J" is' not merely a (!od of force, He is a God of praise-producing lovin^i-ltindncss. See also Cheyne in Expos. 3rd ser. vii. 20 ff. (2) Is 57^^ 'the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy ' (ly jrb'). This trn is after LXX xecToixS:* to* aiajtx and Vulg. habitant wtemitatem, and is first used in Geneva Bible ' that inhabiteth the eternitie ' (Wye. ' wonende the everelost- ingte,' 1388 'that dwellith in everlastyngnesse '). Modern expositors translate more directly, as Del. ' the eternally-dwell- ing One ' ; Cheyne and Orelli, * who dwelleth for ever * ; Skinner, * that sitteth (enthroned) for ever.'
The old and rare form inhabitance is found in Wis 12""- 'new inhabitance' for text 'a worthy colony ' (d|(a atroiKLa). So Beaumont and Fletcher, Sea Voyage, iv. 1 —
* Here's nothing, sir, but povert.v and hungar ; No promise of inhabitance ; neither track of beast.'
Inhabiter is used for ' inhabitant ' in Rev 8'' 1'2'^ It occursinCoverdale, asls26^ ' For . . . theinhabi- tours of the earth lerne rightuousnesse ' ; and 40^'' ' .all the inhabitours of the worlde are in conip.arison of him but as greshoppers' ; cf. Pr. Bk. Ps 75^ ' The earth is «eak and all the inhabiters thereof.' The fern, form inhabitress occurs in Jer 10""°, an attempt to show the gender of the Heb. word used in the passage. Cf. Chapman, Hymne to Venus —
' An inhabitresse On this thy wood-crowned hill.'
INHERITANCE. — The English word 'inherit- ance' represents, in the OT, the terms pSn, n^n;, n^'niD, and nSnj. Of these, however, the ' first is more frequently (and properly) rendered ' portion ' (LXX /j-epls), and the second and third are rare. The last mentioned occurs nearly two hundred times. Although the common term for the ex- pression of the idea of ' inheritance ' proper, or estate which descends to the heir of the last holder, nSrrj need not imply this, and, in ordinary biblical usage, signifies possession generally. The same remark applies to the NT (and LXX) term KX-qpo- voixla (cf. the use of ' inherit ' and derivatives, e.g. in Shaks. . . . ' the great globe itself, yea, all which it inherit ' — Tempest, iv. \,a.\s,o Hamlet, i. 1, etc.). At the same time this idea remains, tliough latent, in both terms, and may in certain con- nexions of thought become explicit.
i. Old Testament. — For the Hebrew law and practice regulating succession see art. Heie. from these it is evident how true is the remark of Keil, that Israel was ' essentially a land-holding people.' In her case, however, social institutions and usages appear as charged throughout ^^'ith a religious significance, arising in this instance from the fact
l^HEHITA^sCK
INHLKITA^CE
that tlie possession of a national territory, on wliicli tlie theocracy slioulJ be maintained, was aiiionj,' tlie most elementary and indispensable con- ditions for the fuJlilment of her destiny. Tlie 'land of promise' (He 11*), accordingly, holds a prominent jilaee among the blessings represented as assured to her from the first. It is the burden of the jiatriarchal covenants ((Jn 15"*'-' 26^ 28'^) ; a renewed pledge of its acquisition lies behind the e.xdclus from Egypt (E.\ li") ; the entrance of the people upon possession, although not eli'ected witliout tierce and protracted warfare, is due rather to the inteqiosition of their God on their behalf (Jos 21"-« Ps U'-') ; and the subsequent division of the land among the several tribes, clans, and families is provided for by detailed regulations bearing divine sanction (Nu 32. 34, Jos 18^-»), and is finally accomplished by lot (Jos 14-), the ' whole distiosing' whereof is 'of the Lord.' Obtained thus by divine infeftment, the land is regarded as held thereafter conditionally upon fidelity on the part of the people to the covenant under which it has accrued to them, and as bound up in the closest way with their moral history. It is 'defiled' by their crimes and im- pieties (Lv 18-", Jer lU") ; may even, by a qua.si- personification, be said to 'sin' with its sinful inhabitants (Dt 24''); and divine punishment takes the form, now of blight and famine over- taking the devoted land for the people's sake (Dt 11"-), now of their forfeiture of it outright (Dt 4-'"'-). On the other hand, reinstatement in the divine favour is signified by restoration to the land and to its peaceful enjoyment. Also, inas- much as the election of God is ' without repent- ance,' it appears as His purpose that His people should hold it 'for ever' (Gn 13" etc.). The portion allotted to each several tribe even is to be that tribe's inalienable pos.session (Nu 30'''-) — an idea which underlies the remarkable provisions connected with the Jubilee Year, and which may have dictated the severe condemnation pronounced (Dt 19", Hos 5'") upon the removing of a neigh- bour's landmark (cf. Driver, Dciit. in loc, however, and Knobel quoted there). Yet withal J " remains ultimate owner or inheritor here. The land is ' the inheritance of J"' (E.\ 15", 1 S 2U'»). 'The inherit- ance is mine, and ye are strangers and sojourners with me' (Lv 25^).