2. Our translation states that "the hollow of Jacob's thigh was out of joint by the touch of the angel who wrestled with him" ((ien. xxxii, 25). Some, however, prefer to render ^Jprll, was sprained or wrenched, and adduce Jer. vi, 8; Ezek. xxiii, 17, 18. The Sept. ren- ders it Kcii tvapKijcre to TrXdrog tov fiiipov ; the Vulg. tetiyit neronm femoris ejus, et statim emarcuit. Some such sense better suits ver. 31, where we find Jacob limpitifj on his thigh ; see Gesenius on S'PIU. The cus- tom of Jacob's descendants, founded upon this incident, is recorded in ver. 32, which has been thus translated : "Therefore the children of Israel eat not of the nerve Nashe, which is upon the hollow of the thigh, unto this day; because he struck the hollow of Jacob's thigh, on the nerve Nashe (Sept. to v(Vfioi',Yu]g. nercus'). The true derivation of the word niTi is considered by Dr. Ftlrst, in his Concordance, to be still a secret ; but, along with Gesenius, he understands the nerve itself to be the ischiatic neri^e, which proceeds from the hip to the an- cle. This nerve is still extracted from the hinder litiibs by the Jews in England, and in other countries where properly qualified persons are appointed to remove it {New Translation, etc., by the Kev. D. A. De Sola, p. 333).
3. (pViiJ, shok.) The phrase "hip and thigh" occurs in Judg. XV, 8, in the account of Samson's slaughter of the Philistines. Gesenius translates P? in this passage toitk, and understands it as a proverbial expression for " he smote them all." The Chaldee paraphrast inter- prets it, "He smote both footmen and horsemen, the one resting on their legs (as the word pV2j should be rendered), the other on their thighs, as they sat on their horses." Others understand that he smote them both on the legs and thighs. Some give another interpreta- tion : smiting on the thigh denotes penitence (Jer. xxxi, 19), grief, and mourning (Ezek. xxi, 12).
A few mistranslations occur. The word "thitch" should have been translated "leg" in Isa. xlvii, 2, pVi", Kin'o-iag, crura. In Cant, vii, 1, " The joints of tliy thighs," etc., the true meaning is "the cimiure (f thy loiiui (i. e. the drawers, trousers) is like jewelry." Lady Wortley Montagu describes this article of female attire as ■' composed of thin rose-colored damask, brocaded with silver Jlowers" {Letters, ii, 12 ; see Ilarnicr, On Solomon's
Song, p. 110). Cocceins, Buxtorf, Mercerns, and Junius all adopt tliis explanation. In Kev. xix, 16 it is said •• the Word of God (ver. 13) hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords.'' Schleiisner thinks the name was not written upon the thigh, but upon tlie swortl. Montfaucon gives an account of several images of warriors having inscrip- tions on the thighs {Antiquite Expliquee, III, ii, 268, 2G9; tirupter, iii, 1489; and Zornii Opuscula S.S. ii, 759). — Kitto.
Thilo, Johann Karl, a theologian of Halle, was born at Langensalza, in Thuringia, Nov. 28, 1794. While a student he began to distinginsh himself by superior philological attainments. He completed his studies at Leipsic and Halle, and in 1817 obtained the post of col- laborator in the Latin school of the Orphanage at Halle,' and subsequently that of teacher in the IJoyal Pedago- gium. He remained in the latter station five j'ears, but joined to its duties those of theological tutor in the uni- versity, where he began to deliver lectures on exegeti- cal and patristical subjects in 1819. In 1820 he visited Paris and Oxford in the company of Gesenius, and on his return assisted Knapp, who afterwards became his fa- ther-in-law, in the conduct of the Theological Seminary. In 1822 he was made extraordinary, and in 1825 ordina- ry, professor of theology. In 1833 he received the title of consistorial councillor, and in 1840 the badge of the Order of the Red Eagle. He was a member of the Or- der of Freemasons, and temporarily of the direction of Francke's institutes. The lectures of Thilo extended into the fields of the history of doctrines and of the Church, and into symbolics and patristics. They were characterized by thoroughness of treatment and fulness of detail as well as simplicity of style; and they came in time to be recognised and valued by the entire uni- versity. The ])nigref.s of his researclies led him from the study of classical antiijuity and the Greek philoso- phers to the antiquity of the Church, the Neo-Platon- ists, and the Greek fathers. He was also led to give at- tention to the almost nncidtivated field of the New- Test. Apocrypha. In 1823 he pulilished A eta St. Thomw Apostoli, etc. The fruit of sulisequent labors was ac- cidentally lost in 1828, so that the appearance of the first volume of his Codex A pocryphus N. T.,etc., was delayeil until 1832. This volume, containing the Apocryphal gospels, proved the greatest literary production of his life. His plans for the completion of the series were only partially executed. In 1838 appeared .4 ctu Apostol. Petri et Pauli, etc. :— in 1846, Acta Apostol. Andrece et }fatthi(e, etc. :— and in 1847, Fragm. A ctuum S. Jocmnis, etc. Thilo also furnislied a contribution to the literature of the Old-Test. Apocrypha in the memorial written for Knapp's jubilee in 1825, Specimen Exercit. Criticarum in Sap. Salomonis (Hallre, 1825). Various dissertations display his acquaintance with the Neo-Platonists and the Church writers who followed in their steps; e. g. De Ccelo Empyreo Commentationes III (1839 sq.): — Enseb. Alexandr. Oratio tteo'i cKTTpoi'ojiwv prcemissa de Magis et Stella Qucestione (1834): — Comment, in Synesii Hyinnnm II (1842 sq.). He was long employed on a com- plete edition of the hymns of Syncsius, but did not finish the undertaking. This was also the case with his last important work, the Bibliotheca Pati-um Grrec. Dogmati- ca, a single volume, containing S. Athanusii Opera L>og- m.atica Selecta, after the text of Montfaucon, being the extent to which it was published. Thilo was simply a student and an inqidrer. He connected himself with none of the theological parties in the Church, because he saw much to approve and something to condemn in them all. Nor did he found any school, because he was unable to regard his own mind as fully formed. He gave himself simply to the work of intiuiry, and became, in consequence, one of the most widely and accurately learned men of the modern Church within the field of his own chosen labors. He was, withal, a devout lover of the Bible, a most genial associate in the friendly cir- cle, and a profoundly interested observer of all impor-