(5) Symbolical actions with a negative purpose included, in the first place, the oft-mentioned wash- ings (Ex 19” etc.). Washing oneself is spoken of elsewhere as an act of self-consecration (Jos 3° 738, 1S 165; ef. Odyss. iv. 759), and least doubtful of all is this symbolical sense in the case of Jesus’ washing of His disciples’ feet (Jn 13”*-).—Again, the circumcision of male children, when eight days old, as this rite was practised among the Israelites, had a symbolical meaning, being intended to indi- cate that the child in question belonged to the religious community of Abraham.—Within this community smaller circles receive a higher degree of consecration, and this, too, was effected by means of symbolical transactions. In the case of priests we read of washing, anointing (see above), etc., Ex 29! 40%, Lv 8%. Again, the symbolical actions whereby the separation of NAZIRITES was proclaimed, are described in Nu 61! (cf. Jg 137 ¥*, Am 2”, and Ed. Vilmar, ‘ Die symbolische Bedeu- tung des Nasiriiatsgeliibdes’ in SK, 1864). Once more, there are symbolical actions, although their number is very small, connected with prophets. The one action of which we read in this case is anointing, and the mention even of this is doubt- ful. In 1K 19% it is merely in parallelism with ‘Jehu shalt thou anoint to be king’ that it is said ‘and Elisha shalt thou anoint to be prophet’; and in Is 617 it is from the possession of the spirit that the inference is drawn ‘therefore hath Jahweh anointed me.’ Consequently we hear much in the prophetical writings of symbolical actions, and these demand a more detailed examination.
(6) Unusual actions in the sphere of religion.— This category does not yet include the writing up in public of Divine oracles in the way we find the prophets sometimes enjoined to do (Is 81 308, Hab 22; cf. Jer 362, Ezk 24°), For this was not intended to give publicity to an oracle itself so much as to emphasize one quality of it, namely, its importance. With more reason may this class be held to include those instances in which prophets gave a symbolical name to a person or a thing: e.g. ‘A remnant shall return’ (SAé’Ar-jashib), etc., Is 7 88; 714? 88-10» ; 30; Zec 117, For Isaiah, in bestowing upon one of his sons the name Shé’dr-jashvb (Is 7°), gave an embodiment to the hope that at least a minority of Israel would return to their God ; and as often as the bearer of this name walked the streets, he per- formed a symbolical action by the bearing of this name. Although silent, he preached a sermon whose text was Is 6%. But, in the most proper sense, the category with which we are dealing has to do with the following passages:—
The prophet Ahijah tore his garment into twelve pieces, to illustrate the Divine determina- tion to divide the kingdom of Israel (1 K 11°*).
174 SYMBOL, SYMBOLICAL ACTIONS
A parallel to this passage was found by ‘some,’ as Abulwalid (Rigma, ed. Goldberg, p. 215, lines 28-30) says, in 1S 1577», They presupposed the reading 1y7p, and took Samuel to be the subject of the statement ‘and he rent it’ (namely, his upper garment). But the subject of the preceding clause ‘n pint is Saul, as the second of two persons that have been mentioned is frequently in the OT taken for granted as the subject of an action (Gn 3! Ua ete. ; cf. Konig, Stidistik, Rhetorik, Poetik, p. 180, lines 29 ff.). But a symbolical action is really re- corded in 1 K 20**-, where we read that one ot the ‘sons of the prophets’ got one of his comrades to smite him, in order that he might exhibit by his wounds the punishment that king Ahab had de- served. A symbolical character belonged also to the iron horns which the false prophet Zedekiah put on, in order to express the notion that Ahab was to push the Syrians as with horns of iron (1 K 2211), Something analogous is seen in the conduct of Tarquinius, who struck off poppy heads (Livy, i. 54) to indicate that his son should deal in like manner with the nobles of the city. While the im- perative 99 ‘strike’ in Am 9! is not certainly addressed to the prophet, chs. 2 and 3 of the Book of Hosea belong to the present category. Again, according to Is 2074, the prophet Isaiah announced the defeat of Egypt and Ethiopia beforehand, by going about half-clothed (cf. 58’>) and barefooted, like a captive. We may notice, in passing, the con- trast to this presented by the words of Rev 11° zpo- gnrevoovor mepiBeBnuévo. cdkkovs. Jeremiah, too, speaks of similar actions in 13!” (the journey to the Kuphrates), 18'-§ (the work of the potter), 19! (the bottle cast out into the Vale of Hinnom), 25-31 (the handing of the cup, which is full of Jahweh’s fury), 27° (putting on of fetters), 281-15 (wearing and breaking a yoke), 327-4 (purchase of the field in Anathoth); cf. also the offering of wine to the Rechabites (35°8:), and the building in of great stones (43°). In the Book of Ezekiel the following passages come into account: ch. 4 (the lying upon the left and upon the right side), ch. 5 (the cutting off, etc., of the hair), 12° (the procuring of bag- gage appropriate to a captive), v.1"" (eating bread with trembling), 211 (sighing), v.19 (4) (smiting the hands together), vv.?48 (23) (the appointing of two ways), 24° (the setting on of the seething caldron), 37% (the two sticks which represent the two separated portions of Israel). Finally, the prophet to whom we owe Zec 9-11 tells how he was appointed to be shepherd of the sheep for slaughter (11**-), and received instructions to take to himself the instruments of a foolish shepherd (v.»).