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the manner of the perfectly alphabetical; that these four poems, being the four first lamentations of Jeremiah, fall into verses about one third longer, taking them one with another, than those of the other eight alphabetical poems. The first example of these long verses shall be given from a poem perfectly alphabetical, in which therefore the limits of the verses are unerringly defined.

I am the man who hath seen affliction, by the rod of his anger :
He hath led me, and made me walk, in darkness, and not in light:
Even again turneth he his hand against me all the day long.

He hath wasted away my flesh and my skin, he hath broken my bones:
He hath built against me, and hath encompassed me, with gall and

travail :

He hath made me dwell in dark places, as the dead of old. Lam. iii. 1—6 The following is from the first Lamentation; in which the stanzas are defined by initial letters, and are, like the former, of three lines:

How doth the city sit solitary, she who was full of people!

How is she become a widow, who was great among the nations!
Princess among the provinces, how has she become tributary!
She weepeth sore in the night, and her tear is upon her cheek:
There is none to comfort her, of all her lovers :

All her friends have dealt treacherously with her, they have become her

enemies.

Lam. i. 1, 2.

Some examples of the same sort of verse shall now be given, where the limits of the verses are to be collected only from the poetical construction of the sentences: and first from the book's acknowledged by all to be poetical; and of these recourse must be had to the Psalms only; the book of Job not affording a single instance; and the Proverbs of Solomon scarcely any.

The law of Jehovah is perfect, restoring the soul;

The testimony of Jehovah is sure, making wise the simple:
The precepts of Jehovah are right, rejoicing the heart;

The commandment of Jehovah is clear, enlightening the eyes:

The fear of Jehovah is pure, enduring for ever ;

The judgments of Jehovah are truth, they are righteous altogether:
More desirable than gold, or than much fine gold;

And sweeter than honey, or the dropping of honey-combs. Psal.xix 7.10.

O how great is thy goodness which thou hast treasured up, for them who

fear thee;

Which thou hast wrought for them who trust in thee, before the sons of

men!

Thou wilt hide them in the secret place of thy presence, from the
vexations of man;

Thou wilt conceal them safely in the tabernacle, from the strife of
Psal. xxxi. 19, 20.

tongues.

That our sons may be as plants, growing up in their youth;
Our daughters like corner-pillars, carved for the structure of a palace:
Our store-houses full, producing all kinds of provision;

Our flocks bringing forth thousands, ten thousands in our fields;

Our oxen strong to labour; no irruption, no captivity;
And no outcry in our streets.

Psal. cxliv. 12.-14.

The sound of a multitude in the mountains, as of many people;
A sound of the tumult of kingdoms, of nations gathered together:
Jehovah God of hosts mustereth the hosts for the battle.
They come from a distant land, from the end of heaven;
Jehovah and the instruments of his wrath, to destroy the whole land.
Isa. xiii. 4, 5.

They are turned backward, they are utterly confounded, who trust in
the graven image;

Who say unto the molten image, ye are our Gods! Isa. xlii. 17.

They are ashamed, they are even confounded, his adversaries, all of

them;

Together they retire in confusion, the fabricators of images;

But Israel shall be saved in Jehovah, with eternal salvation;

Ye shall not be ashamed, neither shall ye be confounded to the ages of
Isa. xlv. 16, 17.

eternity.

These examples, all except the first and the third, are of long verses thrown in irregularly, but with design, between verses of another sort; among which they stand out, as it were, somewhat distinguished in regard to their matter as well as their form.

In these examples some peculiarities in the cast and structure of the verses may be perceived, which mark and distinguish them from those of the other sort. The closing pause of each line is generally very full and strong; and in each line commonly, towards the end, at least beyond the middle of it, there is a

*" This line, to the great diminution of the beauty of the distich, is imperfect in the present text; the subject of the proposition is not particularly expressed, as it is in the line following. The version of the LXX. happily supplies the word that is lost; di avlevo auto: the original word was ." Bp. Lowth in loco,

small rest, or interval, depending on the sense and grammatical construction, which may be called a half-pause.

The conjunction 1, the common particle of connection, which abounds in the Hebrew language, and is very often used without any necessity at all, seems to be frequently and studiously omitted at the half-pause: the remaining clause being added, to use a grammatical term, by apposition to some word preceding; or coming in as an adjunct, or circumstance, depending upon the former part, and completing the sentence. This gives a certain air to these verses, which may be esteemed in some sort as characteristics of the kind.

The first four Lamentations are four distinct poems consisting uniformly and entirely of the long verse, which may therefore be properly called the elegiac verse; from the elegies, which give the plainest and most undoubted examples of it.

From the nature of this species of parallelism, the lines being in a great measure independent of each other, it obviously can afford but few of the varieties which have been enumerated as belonging to the two preceding kinds; in fact, we believe that the lines being sometimes bi-membral, that is, consisting each of double members, or two propositions, as in the following examples, is the only instance:*

Wash ye, make ye clean; remove ye far away
The evil of your doings from before mine eyes :
Cease to do evil; learn to do well;

Seek judgment; amend that which is corrupted;

Do justice to the fatherless; defend the cause of the widow. Isa. i. 16, 17.

Woe unto them who call evil good, and good evil;
Who put darkness for light, and light for darkness;
Who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter.

[To be continued.]

Isa. v. 20.

* See Bp. Lowth's Preliminary Dissertation, pp. 27.-41.; and Poetry of the Hebrews, Lect. xix. vol. ii. pp. 48-53.

Critical and Historical Notices,

INTRODUCTORY TO THE STUDY OF THE SCRIPTURES.

OF THE BOOK OF DEUTERONOMY.

THE title of this book, as of the former ones, has been borrowed from the Latin Vulgate, where it is called Deuteronomium, which again was borrowed from the Septuagint aevтegovoμov, a compound term, signifying the second law, because it contains a repetition of the law of God, given by Moses to the Israelites. From the same circumstance it has been termed by the Rabbins D MISHNEH, the iteration, or doubling.

Both these names appear to have been borrowed from chap. xvii. 18. Where the king is commanded to write him a copy of this law, the original is П MISHNEH HA-TORAH, a repetition, or doubling of the law; which is rendered by the Septuagint To devтegovoμiov, this second law; and which we translate a copy of the law. In the Hebrew, however, this book, like the preceding ones, takes its name from the initial word O ELEH-HA-DEBAREEM, these are the words, and in the best Rabbinical Bibles, its running title is, '77 7 SEPHER DEBAREEM, the book of the words.

The Book of Deuteronomy contains an account of the transactions of five lunar weeks, viz. from the first day of the eleventh month of the fortieth year after the departure from Egypt, to the seventh day of the twelfth month of the same; and brings down the sacred history to A. M. 2553. B. C. 1451. That Moses was the author of this book is proved by the same arguments as those which establish the genuineness of the former books. It is cited as his in many parts of Scripture ;* and

Josh. i. 5. 7;

1 Kings, ii. 3; 2 Chron. xxv. 4; Dan. ix. 13, &c.

numberless passages are produced from it in testimony by Christ and his apostles.*

The objections urged against this opinion, founded upon the introduction of some explanatory words to be found in various parts of the book, and especially from the account of Moses' death and burial, recorded in the xxxiv. chapter, are satisfactorily met in the following remarks by an intelligent Jew. "Most commentators are of opinion, that Ezra was the author of the last chapter of Deuteronomy: some think it was Joshua, and others the seventy elders, immediately after the death of Moses; adding, that the book of Deuteronomy originally ended with the prophetic blessing upon the twelve tribes; "Happy art thou, O Israel, who is like unto thee; O people, saved of the Lord," &c. and, that what now makes the last chapter of Deuteronomy, was formerly the first of Joshua, but was removed from thence, and joined to the former by way of supplement. This opinion will not appear unnatural, if it be considered that sections and other divisions, as well as points and pauses, were invented long since these books were written; for in those early ages, several books were connected together, and followed each other on the same roll.† The beginning of one book might therefore be easily transferred to the end of another, and, in process of time, be considered as its real conclusion."+

The book of Deuteronomy contains a compendious recapitulation of the laws given by Moses, enlarged with many expla

* Matt. iv. 4; xv. 4; John, i. 45; Acts, iii. 22; Gal. iii. 13, &c. "In some parts of the Pentateuch, transpositions appear to have taken place, by which the chronological order is interrupted; these have occasioned a discussion respecting the materials upon which the Autograph of Moses, and the early transcripts of the law were written. Father Simon and Dr. A. Clarke suppose, that by being inscribed upon leaves, or portions of bark or papyrus, the facts or transactions which were entered upon them, were very liable to be deranged, especially as the separate pieces of Oriental writing, are not paged like our printed books, nor have any catch-words or signatures to connect the series. But Dr. Kennicott conjectures, that many of the first MSS. were upon skins sewed together; and that these transpositions were occasioned by the skins being separated from each other, and afterwards misplaced; and adduces a singular instance of the kind, in a roll preserved in the Bodleian Library, at Oxford."-Townley's Illust. Bib. Lit. voi. i. p. 19.

‡ Alexander's Heb. and Eng. Pent. cited by Dr. A. Clarke on Deut. xxxiv. 1.