The Pulpit Commentary — Habakkuk — Section 27

but generally ended in drunkenness" dot1ble or ambiguous meanings (comp. Pro\". (Rawlinson,• Ano. Mon.,' iii. 450, edit. 1Su5). i. 6). Septuagint, np&.87''11'" ,l, S,fi;,'1u11• Neither the Reptungint, nor the Syriao, nor ail.-ov. Woe (Nah. iii. 1). 'l'hi~ is the first the Coptic Yersion l1ae any mention of of the five "woes," which consist ot' three wine in this passage. The Septuagint verses ench, arranged in strophico.l form. gives, d ~~ 1<aT01&µ,vos r<al 1<a.-a<1>eo_"'IT-/is, Iocreaseth that which is not his. He oo~.- "the arrogant and the scorner." He is a tinues to add to his oonq uests and posses- proud m&n, neither keepeth he at home ; sions, which are not his, becnnse they are a liaughty man, he re8teth not. His pride acquired by injustice and violence. This is is &lways impelling him to new raids and the first denunciation of the Chaldel\ns for oonque,,ts. This is quite the character of their insatiable rapacity. Row long l The the later Chaldee.ns, and is consistent with questionoomes in interjectionally-How long the latt.er part of the verse. The comparison, is this state of things to continue un- thPn, is this: As wine raises the spirits and punished (oomp. Ps. vi. 3; xc. 18)? That excit('S men to great efforts which in the end ladeth himself with thick olay; Septuagint, deoeive them, so pride rouses these men to .Ba.pvvow 7'~V llAOl~V 11in-oi, 11'7'1.Bap&s, u who go on their insatiat.e oourse of conquest, loe.deth his yoke heavily;" Vulgate, aggra- which shall one day prove their ruin. The tJat contra se densum lutum. The renderings verb translated "keepeth at home" has the of the Anglican and Latin Versions ·signify eeoondary sense of "being decorous ; " hence that the riches and spoils with which the the Vulgate gives, Sic erit t1ir euperbus, et conquerors load themselves are no more "°" decorabitur; i.e. as wine first exhilarates than burdens of clay, which are in them- and then makes a man contemptible, so selves worthless, and only harass the pride, which begins by exalting a man, bearers. The Greek Version seems to point ends by bringing him to ignominy. Others to the weight of the yoke imposed by the take the verb in the sense of "con tinueth Chaldeans on them; but Jerome explains it not," explaining that the destruction of differently," Ad hoe tan tum smvit ut devoret Babvlon is here intimated. Bnt what et iniq uitatis et prmdarum onere quasi follows makes against this interpretation. gravissima torque se depl'imat." The diffi- The LXX. gives, 'All?lp liAa(C:,v, ovB~v µ.~ culty lies in the &1rat l\e;,6µ.evov abtit, ,r,privri, which Jerome, combining with it which forms an enigma, or dar·k saying, his own version, paraphrases, "Sic vir because, to.ken as two words, it might pass soperbns non decore.bitur, nee volontatem current for "thick clay," or "a mass of llO&m perducet e,d finem; et juxta Symma- dirt," while regarded as one word it means ohum, o~" ,/,,rop-1,u.., hoe est, in rerum "a mass of pledges," "many pledges." omnium erit penuria." Who enlargeth his That the latter is the signification primarily desire as hell; Hebrew, Sheol. Hell is intended is the view of mauy modern com- called insatiable (Prov. :nvii. 20; xxx.. 16; mentators, who explain the clause thus: Isa. v. 14). ls as death, which seizes all The quantity of treasure and booty amassed creatures and spares none. People ; people,. by the Chaldeans is regarded as a mass of pledges taken from the conquered nations Vers. 6-8.-§ 8. The destruction of the a burden of debt to be discharged one day Babyloniam iB amiot£nced by tlte mouth, of with heavy retribution. Pusey, ... He does the t1anqui•hed natwn11, who utter fi1Je woe, in truth increase against himself a strong against their oppressor. The first woe : for pwdge, whereby not others are debtors to their rapa,ci,ty. him, but he is e. debtor to Almighty God, who careth for the oppressed (Jer. xvii. 11)." Ver. 6.-All then. .All the nations and Ver. 7.-That shall bite thee. As thou peoples who have been subjugated and bast cruelly treated others, so shall they, barbarously treated by the Babylonians like fierce vipers (Jer. viii. 17), bite thee. (comp. Isa. xiv. 4). A parable. A senten- Henderson, Delitzsch, Keil, and others see tioDB song (see not.e on Micah ii. 4). A in the word 11 double entendre connected taunting proverb. The Anglican Version with the meaning of "lending on interest," combines the two Hebrew words, which so the "biting" would signify "exacting e. stand unconnected, into one notion. So the debt with usury." Such o. term for usury Vulgate, wquelam amigmatum. The latter is not unknown to classical antiquity; thus of the two generally mee.ns "riddle," (quoted by Henderson) Al'ietoph., • Nub.,' "enigma;" the other word (melitzah) is by 12- some trausle.t.ed, " a derisive satirical song," 1!.a.,cv&µ.,vos or "an obscure, dark saying;" but, as Keil ''l',rb -r¾s 5a'11'4/J11S 1Cal T,js </>d.TV!)S ,cal -r&v XP•&v. and Delitzsch have shown, is better under- "By the expenditure deep bitten, stood of e. bright, clear, brilliant speech. And by the manger and the debts." Bo the two terms signify "a speech con- taining enigmas," or a song which has Lucan., 'Phare.,' i. 181," Hine usura vore.s, Oit, II, 1-20.] THE BOOK OF HABAR'.KUK. 25