CHAPTER XVI. VERSES 8, 9.

8 In the twenty and sixth year of Asa king of Judah began Elah the son of Baasha to reign over Israel in Tirzah, two years.

9 And

his servant Zimri, captain of half his chariots, conspired against him, as he was in Tirzah, drinking himself drunk in the house of Arza, steward of his house in Tirzah.

V. 9. DRINKING HIMSELF DRUNK] Hebrew, shotheh shikhor, 'drinking (and) being surcharged,' or shakarized. The Lxx. reads, peinōn methuōn, ‘drinking, being drunk'; the V., bibens et temulentus, ‘drinking and drunk.’

CHAPTER XVII. VERSE 6.

And the ravens brought him bread and flesh in the morning, and bread and flesh in the evening; and he drank of the brook.

The great prophet of Israel was supplied with food in his seclusion by the special providence of Israel's God, but for his daily drink he was indebted to the running stream, of which he partook gratefully, without envying 'the drunkards of Ephraim.' Bread and flesh were more than hermit's fare; u-min han-nahkal yishteh, 'and from the brook he drank,' that which truly was to him what brandy has been falsely designated, the water of life.' Some eminent commentators believe that Elijah was a Nazarite, and it is exceedingly probable that this point of resemblance between him and the forerunner of Christ was not absent.

CHAPTER XIX. VERSE 6.

And he looked, and, behold, there was a cake baken on the coals, and a cruse of water at his head. And he did eat and drink, and laid him down again.

The prophet's 'bread and water' were insured. Twice was the cake and the cruse ready to his hand when needed, and in the strength of what he had eaten and drunk (verse 8) 'he went forty days unto Horeb the mount of God.'

CHAPTER XX. VERSE 16.

And they went out at noon. But Ben-hadad was drinking himself drunk in the pavilions, he and the kings, the thirty and two kings that helped him.

DRINKING HIMSELF drunk] Hebrew, shotheh shikkor. The Lxx. has peinō methuōn; the V. bibebat temulentus. [See Note on xvi. 8, 9.] The Syriac has 'drank old wine.'

It is said (ver. 12) that Benhadad was 'drinking' with his thirty-two confederate petty kings or chiefs, and the drinking bout continued till the whole of them were filled to the full. The liquor probably being in some degree intoxicating, he not only neglects the duties of a general, but gives a boastful and ridiculous command to take all the Israelites alive, whether they had sallied out for peace or war; and hence the besieged and lately despairing soldiers of Ahab obtained an easy victory.

CHAPTER XXI. VERSE I.

And it came to pass after these things, that Naboth the Jezreelite had a vineyard, which was in Jezreel, hard by the palace of Ahab king of Samaria.

A VINEYARD] Hebrew, kerem, an enclosure of land cultivated and set with vines and other plants. Roberts says, “People in England will scarcely be able to appreciate the value which the Orientals place on a garden. The food of most of them consists of vegetables, roots, and fruits; their medicines, also, being indigenous, are mostly produced in their gardens. Here they have their fine fruittrees, and their constant shade; and here they have their wells and places for bathing."

Kerem also occurs, and is translated 'vineyard,' in verses 2, 3, 6, 7, 15, 16, 18.

THE SECOND
SECOND BOOK OF KINGS.

CHAPTER IV. VERSE 39.

And one went out into the field to gather herbs, and found a wild vine, and gathered thereof wild gourds his lap full, and came and shred them into the pot of pottage: for they knew them not.

A WILD VINE] Hebrew, gephen sahdeh, ‘a vine of the field.' The Lxx. has ampelon en tō agrò, ‘a vine in the field.' The V. reads, vitem sylvestrem, ‘a vine growing-in-the-woods.' Probably this was a plant resembling a vine, but entirely different in nature.

WILD GOURDS] Hebrew, paqquoth sahdeh, 'wild cucumbers, cucumeres asinini,' says Gesenius. The Lxx. has tolupeen agrian, 'wild gourds'; the V., colocynthides.

The fruit of the colocynth is of an attractive appearance, but the taste is nauseous, and the effect very hurtful. Others suggest 'fox-grapes.'

1. The paqquoth, plucked from the 'wild vine,' were put into the pot in ignorance of their nature. Many foolish things are done through ignorance, but as believing ignorance does not alter the quality, neither will it avert the physical consequences, of noxious things.

2. The bitter taste of this pottage excited suspicion, and induced those who had tasted to cry, 'Death is in the pot.' The taste of many poisons, but not of all, is unpleasant. Anhydrous alcohol (alcohol so highly rectified as to be almost free from water) is so acrid and pungent as not to be drinkable; and articles of any perceptible alcoholic strength are disagreeable to the unvitiated palate. Intoxicating liquors, however, are often so elaborated as to be suggestive of no danger even while exceedingly injurious. An eminent writer says of some highly prized French wines, 'They fall like snow on the palate, but burn like fire in the veins.' When the sentinels of nature are deceived the danger is all the greater. Happy would it be if, warned by the voice of science and the facts of every-day life, our countrymen would exclaim, 'There is death in the pot of strong drink'; and happier still will be the day when it can be added, 'And they would not drink thereof.'

CHAPTER V. VERSE 26.

And he said unto him, Went not mine heart with thee, when the man turned again from his chariot to meet thee? Is it a time to receive money, and to receive garments, and oliveyards, and vineyards, and sheep, and oxen, and menservants, and maidservants?

AND VINEYARDS] Hebrew, uk’rahmim, 'vineyards.'

CHAPTER XVI. VERSE 13.

And he burnt his burnt offering and his meat offering, and poured his drink offering, and sprinkled the blood of his peace offerings, upon the altar.

AND POURED HIS DRINK OFFERING] Hebrew, vay-yasāk eth-nisko, 'and he poured his pouring' (libation).

So verse 15, 'their drink offerings' is in the Hebrew niskaihim, 'their libations.'

He removed the high places, and brake the images, and cut down the groves, and brake in pieces the brazen serpent that Moses had made for unto those days the children of Israel did burn incense to it: and he called it Nehushtan.

:

Hezekiah removed the external associations and incentives to idolatry, leaving the spirit of idolatry to be acted upon by the force of tuition and example. He broke in pieces even the brazen serpent, so memorable in the history of the Jews, because it had been made an object of worship. Hence we perceive, I, that even things intrinsically harmless should be abandoned when this is necessary to a work of moral reformation; 2, that such an abandonment will always be attended with the blessing of God; 3, that the common objection to abstinence from intoxicating liquors that the abuse of a thing is no reason against its use-can only be sustained when it is shown (1) that their use is more useful than their abuse is hurtful; and (2) that the use can be disconnected from the abuse. If not-if the abuse be a thousandfold more hurtful than the use is beneficial, and if no means of separating the social use from the social abuse have been discovered,—if, indeed (as is the case with alcohol), use is physiological abuse in itself, and tends to engender abuses of the gravest character,then wisdom has but one counsel to give, and prudence and philanthropy have but one practice to pursue.

CHAPTER XVIII. VERSE 31.

Hearken not to Hezekiah: for thus saith the king of Assyria, Make an agreement with me by a present, and come out to me, and then eat ye every man of his own vine, and every one of his fig tree, and drink ye every one the waters of his cistern.

AND EAT YE EVERY MAN OF HIS OWN VINE] Hebrew, vè-iklu ish gaphno, ‘and eat ye (each) man_his vine,'=i. e. the produce of the vine. The Lxx. has pietai aneer teen ampelon autou, (each) man shall drink his vine'; the V., et comedet unusquisque de vinea sua, ‘and every one shall consume of his own vineyard.'

THE WATER OF HIS OWN CISTERN] Hebrew, mai voro, 'waters of his cistern' or 'pit.' Cisterns are sometimes cut out of stone.

The speaker, Rabshakeh (whose name signifies 'chief cup-bearer,' perhaps given to him on account of his office), appeals to the apparent and materialistic interests of the people; and when he represents his master, the king of Assyria, as

permitting the Jews, if they paid him tribute, to eat of their vines, we may be sure that he adapted his appeal to their recognized mode of life. It is, in truth, a fact now, as it was in the time of Hezekiah (B.C. 712), that the fruit of the vine is much more used and valued as an article of diet than for the manufacture of wine of any sort. The Rev. Smylie Robson, a missionary to the Jews in Syria, says in a letter from Damascus, February, 1845 (published in the Irish Presbyterian Missionary Herald of April and May, 1845), "It is well known that many parts of the mountains of Lebanon are among the most thickly peopled and best cultivated districts of the land. This is the part of the country in which I have traveled most. The food of the inhabitants consists principally of fruit, milk, vegetables, bread made of the flour of wheat and Indian corn. Wheat is everywhere cultivated, and the bread made of it constitutes a large portion of the food of all classes. The most important kinds of fruit are olives and grapes. Olives are eaten either raw or dressed in various ways; but they are chiefly valuable for the oil extracted from them. At some seasons of the year a great part of the food of the people consists of vegetables cooked in this oil, eaten sometimes with and sometimes without bread. This oil is almost the only substance burnt for light. Olive trees are abundantly cultivated throughout the whole country. The fruit of the vine is the only other kind which can be said to form 'a substantial part of the food of the people.' Grapes come into season in August, and continue in season about four months. During this period they are used constantly, not as an agreeable dessert to stimulate and gratify the appetite after it has been satisfied by a substantial meal, but as a substantial part of the meal itself; so much so, that from August to December, bread and grapes are substantially the food of the people. Very thin cakes of bread made of flour, or of barley meal and flour mixed, and eaten with plenty of grapes, form the meals of the inhabitants of Lebanon morning, noon, and night. I may add that it is perfectly safe to eat grapes constantly to satiety. Here, too, as in Europe, grapes are dried in large quantities, to preserve them as raisins; and in this form they supply an article of food to be used after the grape season. By pickling and beating a substance called dibs is made out of the grapes. It is purified by means of lime, and is about the consistence of honey, and resembles it in appearance. Bread and dibs is a very common meal in winter and spring. There are two kinds,—one made from grapes, and the other from raisins. During the greater part of the grape season the regular price of the most plentiful kind, purple grapes, was about one farthing per pound, or fourpence per stone of fourteen pounds. This is the kind that I liked best to eat. Another very plentiful kind, the green grape, cost about sixpence per stone. A kind of very large red grapes sold still higher, but they were not common. To a dense population, in a dry and warm climate, the fruit of the vine must have been invaluable."

CHAPTER XVIII. VERSE 32.

Until I come and take you away to a land like your own land, a land of corn and wine, a land of bread and vineyards, a land of oil olive and of honey, that ye may live, and not die: and hearken not unto Hezekiah, when he persuaded you, saying, The LORD will deliver

us.

A LAND OF CORN AND WINE] Hebrew, èretz dahgan vě-tirosh, 'a land of corn and vine-fruit.' The Lxx. reads, gee sitou kai oinou, 'a land of corn and wine'; the V., terram fructiferam et fertilem vini, ‘a fruitful land and prolific of wine.'