The Pulpit Commentary — Proverbs — Section 551

dogs for hunting purposes, though nowa.- article, and kum, " people," and consider the dllye the Are.be keep e. kind of Persian grey- meaning to l,e "a. king with whom is the hound for sporting, e.nd Assyrian monuments people," i.e. surrounded by hie people or he.ve familiarized us with the appearance of army. This is certainly e. stately eight, and hounds employed in the chase of the lion may well stand parallel to the hero-lion and the wild ox. Agur may be refel'ring among beasts, and the bold be-goat at the to what he hae seen elsewhere, but what head of the flock, Other Arabic expres- was well known to those for whom he wrote. sions may probably be found elsewhere in Gesenius suggests (253), "a warrior girt in this chapter; e.g. vers. 15, 16, 17, aluka, etc. the loins," which is adopted by Wordsworth. Septuagint, "e. king haranguing before e. and gives e. suitnble idea.. This would nation (671µ.71yopo,v iv (9vE<)." '.rhis passage, correspond with the king in the last line; again, has been takea in e. spirit ue.l sense but the interpretation is quite arbitrary, e.nd a.s referring to Christ, the Lion of the lri bo supported by no ancient authority, resting of Judah, the Warrior girt with the sword, on the fact that girding the loins is a.I we.ye the Leader of the flock, the King of kings. spoken of hnme.n beings. The cook strut- Vere. 32, 33.-Agur's Inst proverb, exhort- ting e.mong his hens is, as we have hinted, the idea which approves itself to many ing to discreet demeanour. ancient tre.nsla.tors. Thus. the Septuagint, Ver. 32.-If thou hast done foolishly in ull.e1C-rr,,p ,µ.1repnra.-ro,11 67171.ela.is ei•/wxos. We lifting up thyself (Numb, xvi. 3). If thou o.re not disposed to adopt this identification, hast had the folly to be arrogant, proud, more especie.lly e.s common poultry were o.nd overbearing in conduct. Or if thou unlmown in Palestine till long after Solo• hllBt thought evil, lay thine hand upon thy mon's time, Certainly wbe.t we oall cocks mouth. The verb zamam, though possibly and hens, or bam-door fowls, are never used in e. bad sense, " to devise evil," is mentioned in the Old Testo.ment, and seem more suito.bly rendered " to meditate,'' to have been introduced from Persia. o.fter the "purpose ; " so here it is the thought of lift- rise of the Persian empire. The latest edi- ing up one's self that is censured, the aot tord decide for the war-horse; but the con- and the thought being contrasted. Hast flicting claims co.nnot be reconciled, and the thou acted nrrogantly, or even only medi- matter must be left undetermined. An he-goat tated doing so, restro.iu yourself, keep also, This is a very nature.I comparison, IIS silence (Job xxi. 5; xl. 4). St. Jerome gives the stately manner in which the he-goat (tay• e. different rendering, enforcing another isli, "the butter") heads the flock has been lesson, "'l'here is one who shows himself e. nlwe.ys observed. The LXX. expresses this, fool nfter he is raised to high position; if he pare.phrasing, "and the he-goo.t leading the had had understanding, ho would have la.id herd." " Flocks of goats are very numerous his ho.nd ou his mouth.'' Septuagint, "If in Pa.Jestine at this day, as they wore in thou give thyself up to mirth, and stretch formor ages. We see them everywhere on forth thy hnnd in e. quarrel, thou wilt bo the mountains, in smaller or larger numbers; dishonoured." Insensate mirth and n quar- at times also a.long with sheep, o.s one flock, relsome disposition nlike lend to disgrace. in whioh oase it is usually a he-goat that is St. Gregory (' Moro.I.,' xxx. 10) applies the the apeoinl leader of the whole, walking Vulgo.te rendering to antichrist, "For he in beforo it o.e grnvely o.s a sexton before the truth will be lifted up on high, when he whito flock of II church choir" (Geikie, will feign that he is God. But he will • Holy Land,' i. 232). A king, age.inst whom appear a fool when lifted up on high, be- there is no rising up; Vulge.te, neo est rez qui cause he will foil in his very loftiness throu~h resistat ei, which ought to,mea.n "and o, king the coming of the true Judge. llut ii' ho whom aothing resists," bat oe.n scarcely be had understood this, he would have luid hi~ oompelled to produce this meaning without hand ou hie mouth; that is, if ho had fore- violence. The difficulty in the sentence seen hie punishment, when he began to be arises from the word cip',t:t, which in the proud, having been 011co fosltioned a.right, he would not have been raised up to tha above rendering is regarded as composed of boe.stfulnese of such great pride" (Oxford the negative al, and kum, the infinitive, "to trnnsl.). rise age.inst, oppose." But this is contrary Ver. 83.-Surely the ohurning of milk to grammatical usage, and would be e. bringeth forth butter. The same word, mils, solecism. To some it has seemed that a is used for "churning," "wringing," e.ud proper no.me was intended, e.nd they have " forcing ; " it means " pressure" in e.11 invented e. King Alkum or Alkimos, whom the oases, though with e. different applica- they suppose to have been celebrated iu or tion. At the present de.y milk is churned after Solomon's time. Many modem cum- in the Ee.et by enclosing it in n lc11thern mente.tore take the word to be an Arabic bottle, whioh is then suspoudo,l in the o.ir .,xpression, con~isting of al, tho defiuito and jerked to ant.I fro till the butter is ps<>-  580 THE PROVERBS. [oH. XXX. 1-33