Isa. xuvi. 12 (Keri)-not a likely explana- adheres to the tre.nsiti ve sense of the verb, tion. Havemiok describes it simply as an and translates," when I had turned myself," instance of bold emphasis. Schroder breaks and Hitzig takes the suffi:x '? as a genitivs it up into two clauses, thus: " waters, to the of possession, and renders," when he came knees they reach." Smend cl.ianges c:J;! into back with me." In any case, on the return '!?• journey the prophet observed that at ( or, 011) Ver. 5.-After o. fourth distance of a the bank (or, lip) of the river were very thousand cubits, the waters had risen, or, many trees on the one side and on tha other. lifted themselves up (comp. Job viii. 11, in H.itzig supposes the trees had not been there which the verb is used of a plant growing when the prophet me.de the down jomncy, up), and become waters to swim in-lite- but sprang up when he had turned to hi:1 rally, waters of swimming (in~ occurs only guidu (ver. 6), and stood with his back to the river. Kliefoth'e conclusion is better, here; the noun ;,~; only in eh. :xx.xii. 6)- that the trees had been there all the while, e. river that could not be pa.seed over, on but tliat the prophet's attention had not nccount of its depth. The word ',r:,~ was been directed to them. The luxuri,int applied either to a river that conetantly foliage of this vision reappears in that of the flowed from a fountain, as the Araon, or to Apocalyptic river (Rev. :xxii. 2). o. winter torrent tliat springs up from rain Ver. 8.-Towe.rd the east country (,17'?4'"}..r,~ or snow upon the mountains, and disappears ;'l}i07P-iJ); literally, the east cirde, in this in snmmer like the Kedron, which hacl seldom case probably "tl.ie region about Jordan" any water in it (see Robinson's 'Bibi. Ree.,' (Josh. x:xii. 10, 11), above the Dead i 402). That Ezekiel'e river broadened Sen, where the valley or ghor widens out and deepened so suddenly, and apparently into e. broad basin, equivalent to ]'I;c2 i:i~ without receiving into it any tributaries, clearly pointed to miraculous action. (Gen. xiii. 10). Tile LXX. render, ,is Ver. 6.-Then he . , . o&UBed me to re- ..-¾,v ra.A<A...lcu,, designing by this, however turn to the brink of the river. The (presumably), only to Grieci.ze the Hebrew difficulty lying in the word "return " has word ;,7•7~. as they do with tho term given rise to o. variety of conjectures. ;inJ!v, desert, or, plain, wliicli tliey Hengstenberg supposes the prophet had translate by ..-¾}v 'Apa.fJ(a.v. The Arabah made trial of the river's deptli by we.ding signified the low, sterile valley into which in (perhaps up to the neck), and that the the Jordan runs near Jericho, in which angel ea.used him to return from the stream a.re the Dood Sea. (hence called " the to the bank. According to Hitzig, the mea- see. of the Arabah," Dent. iii. 17; iv. 49), suring had to.ken place at some distance and the brook Kedron, or "river of the from the stream, and the prophet, having Are.bah" (Amos vi. 14), and which extends come up to his gnide from the bank after as far south as the head of the Elanitio making trio.I of the water's depth, woe once gulf. The wliole region is described by more conducted ho.ck to the river's brink. Robinson (' Bibi. Res.,' ii. 506) as one of ex- Haverniok conceives the sense to be that tremecleeolation-aohe.ro.oter whioll belonged the prophet, hLLving accompanied the angel to it in ancient times (Josephus,' Wun,' iii. to the point where the stream debouolled 10. 7; iv. 8. 2). The part of this Arabah into tile Dead See.,was led back to the river- iuto which the waters flowed was sittrnted bank. All difficulty, however, vanishes if, north of the sea, clearly not tile Mediter- either with Schroder we refer •i:i1ih to a ranean, but the Dead Seo, " the see. of the 0
mental returning, as if the i.mp 0°rf were Aro.bah," as above stated, ancl the "eastern that the angel, having ascertained that the sea" as afterwards named (ver. 18), into prophet had "seen" the river's course, now which tlley ultimately flowed. The clnuse, told him to direct hie attention to the ba.nk, which being brought forth into the see., or, with Keil and Kliefotb, translate 'll by may eitller be conneckd witl1 the pre- " along" or " ou " rather thau II to." As ceding words or formed into an independent the prophet had been led along or on the sentence. Among those who adopt the river's bank to see the increasing breadth former construction a variety of renderings and depth of the we.tar, so was he now prevails. The LXX. reads," (And tile wa.ter) " caused to return " along or on the same comes to the sea ( /,rl ..-b /JB01p -rijs Bmc/JoAij< ), bank to note the abundance of the foliage to the seo of the pouring out," i.11. the Dead witll which it we.a adorned. Sea, into which the river debouches. With this Haverniok ngrees, rendering, " to the Ver. 7.-Now when I had returned. sea of that outflow." Ewald reads," into the 't;i11:if is by the best interpreters, after sea. of muddy waters," meaning the Dead Geeeniue (' Hebrew Grammar,' § 132. 2), re- Sea. Kimohi, "into the eel\ where the garded as an incorrect form for ';11£1~ waters are brought forth," i.e. the ooeau (literally, in 111~ returning), though Schrodei (the Meditenanee.n), whoee waters i:;o forth 448 THE BOOK OF THE PROPHET EZEKIEL. [cH. nvn. 1-23,