writing the Hebrew words in Greek characters, an expedient often resorted to when they were at a loss about the meaning of the text. The following seems to come near to their import. "The wings of the ostrich vibrate and flutter, but are they like the pinions of the stork and the hawk ?" The ostrich is remarkable for the shortness of its wings, which, instead of fanning the air with that magnificent sweep observed in the pennons of the hawk and the stork, beat it in rapid flutter like the pulsations of a sounding-board. And yet reared upon its tall legs it will oar itself along with so much speed as to outstrip the fleetest greyhound. So easily can the Almighty compensate any real or apparent defects, which seem the ground of the challenge here given. A passage in Dr. Shaw's Travels' illus trates the propriety of thus connecting the terms 7, "ostrich," and Dy, "vibrating" like a musical instrument, or "fluttering or clapping," as the wings of a bird: "I had several opportunities of amusing myself," says Dr. Shaw, "with the actions and behaviour of the ostrich. It was very diverting to observe with what dexterity and equipoise of body, it would play and frisk about on all occasions. In the heat of the day, particularly, it would strut along the sunny side of the house with great majesty. It would be perpetually fanning and priding itself with its quivering wings;". -"even at other times it would continue these vibrating motions." We see then with what descriptive accuracy a vibrating wing is, in the present text, bestowed upon the ostrich. To point the comparison or contrast between the ostrich and the stork, we here introduce together representations of both birds, but reserve a note concerning the latter for Psalm civ. 17.

13. "Ostrich."-There are two names by which this bird is mentioned in Scripture,-, renonim, as in the present text, and frequently by the poetical designation of, bath-hayyanah, "the daughter of screeching," which has usually been rendered "owl" in our version. This designation doubtless arose from the doleful noises made by the female ostrich in her native deserts, and which have been particularly noticed by various travellers. The bird is called in the Greek orgovinaunos, "the camel-bird;" a name borrowed also by the Romans (Struthio camelus), and adopted by Linnæus. It is to this day called "the camel-bird" in the East, owing this name, it would seem, to the very considerable resemblance to the camel which its outline exhibits. The history of this bird in its native condition is not yet so fully known as might be desired; but what has been ascertained tends to illustrate the present description, which ought to be received as authority, deciding those points which other sources of information leave doubtful." The ostrich is polygamous, like the domestic fowls many females laying their eggs in the same nest, merely a hole

in the sand, which by its heat will preserve the vital warmth in the egg, so that the dam may safely leave them for two or three hours, when gone in quest of food. "She forgetteth that the foot may crush them." The bird is hunted to this day by one mounted on horseback; but such is her speed, that she easily "scorneth the horse and his rider," and is only overcome by her disposition to take a winding route, which gives the hunter an opportunity of crossing her track, and of thus getting a chance to hit her with his javelin or musket. The charge of neglect of her young, which the text brings against the ostrich, has been disputed by some travellers; in consequence of which, some expositors have endeavoured to prove that the terms of the original do not convey that meaning. We think it does, and that too more strongly than can appear in any version. As we have already intimated, the ostrich is opposed to the stork for the conformation and power of wing; but it must also be observed that the Hebrew name of the stork (TTON, chasidah) is the very word for kindness and affection; the stork having been noted in this respect in all ages. It is therefore an obvious conclusion that the opposition intimated in the first verse is extended throughout, and that the neglect or carelessness of the ostrich is contrasted with the care and sedulous affection of the stork. We need not believe, against evidence, all the stories which are told about the ostrich; but that she is, either from forgetfulness or indifference, less careful of her nest and young than other large birds known in the East, is attested by the full evidence of popular opinion in countries which the ostrich inhabits, and where its character is well known. The bird is frequent in the deserts of Arabia, and there is scarcely an Arabian poet who does not refer to the peculiar characteristic of the ostrich in some simile or other. One of these, as quoted by Schultens, from the poet Namabig, may be given:

"Est qui omittat pietatem in propinquos, alienis benefaciens

Ut struthio deserit ova sua, ut ova alienis incubat."

"There are, who, deaf to nature's cries,

On stranger-tribes bestow their food;
So her own eggs the ostrich flies,
And, senseless, rears another's brood."

This, as well as the text, probably alludes to the fact that the ostrich may be scared from her nest by the slightest alarm; and, when that is subsided, being unable, from imperfect recollection perhaps, to recover her nest, attaches herself, and bestows all the care she is accustomed to show, upon some other nest, similarly forsaken. We may perhaps touch on this subject again under Lam. iv. 3,-"The daughter of my people is become cruel, like the ostriches in the wilderness."

19. "Hast thou given the horse strength?" &c.-Here we arrive at one of the most glorious descriptions in the book of Job-a description which no translation has been able to disfigure, and which in all translations has been admired. It is unnecessary to explain the figures employed, the force and beauty of which will be felt by every reader. There is a well-known description of the horse in Virgil, which is unquestionably the finest in classical antiquity. It is exceedingly noble, but is not comparable to that which the sacred text offers. The following is Sotheby's translation:

"But at the clash of arms, his ear afar

To this we will add a few descriptive touches from Antar, which will be particularly appropriate, because the book of Job conducts to Arabia or its vicinity, and because the Arabians do so passionately admire this noble animal that they have exhausted all the wealth of their fine language and rich imaginations in descriptions of its beauty, spirit, and pride. The mare of Shedad, called Jirwet, is thus mentioned:-"Shedad's mare was called Jirwet, whose like was unknown. Kings negotiated with him for her, but he would not part with her, and would accept no offer or bribe for her; and thus he used to talk of her in his verses: Seek not to purchase my horse, for Jirwet is not to be bought or borrowed. I am a strong castle on her back; and in her bound are glory and greatness. I would not part with her were strings of camels to come to me, with their drivers following them. She flies with the wind without wings, and tears up the waste and the desert. I will keep her for the day of calamities, and she will rescue me when the battle dust rises." There are many touches, in a similar spirit, in the history of the horse Dahis, which was the occasion of a war among the Arab tribes. At a great feast, where the conversation turned upon celebrated horses, one said of Dahis, "He startles every one that looks at him; he is the antidote of grief to every one that beholds him; and he is a strong tower to every one that mounts him." Again, " He is a horse, when a night of dust sheds its obscurity, you may see his hoofs like a firebrand:" and, finally, in a race between this and another,-"They started forth like lightning, when it blasts the sight with its flash; or a gust of wind, when it becomes a hurricane in its course.... When they came to the mead, Dahis launched forth like a giant when he stretches himself out, and he left his dust behind. He appeared as if without legs or feet; and in the twinkling of an eye he was ahead of Ghabra."

21. "He goeth on to meet the armed men."-Michaelis is quite of opinion that none but a military man, who has observed the war-horse in battle, can fully appreciate the force of this part of the description. He says: "I have myself perhaps rode more than many who have become authors and illustrators of the Bible; but one part of the descrip tion, namely, the behaviour of the horse on the attack of a hostile army, I only understand rightly from what old officers have related to me: and as to the proper meaning of the two lines-Hast thou clothed his neck with ire?" [with thunder?' in our version, verse 19], and The grandeur of his neighing is terror' [The glory of his nostrils is terrible,' verse 20]; it had escaped me; indeed the latter I had not understood, until a person who had had an oppor tunity of seeing several stallions together instructed me; and then I recollected that, in my eighteenth year, I had seen their bristled-up necks, and heard their fierce cries when rushing to attack each other."

26. "Doth the hawk fly," &c.-This is the , netz, mentioned in the note to Lev. xi. 16, where we have taken the sparrow-hawk as its representative. It is probable, however, that it is used generally to denote various species of the falcon family. Of these, many are birds of passage, winging their way southward into warmer climates at the approach of winter, and returning northward in the spring. To this the present text distinctly alludes; and the

meaning of the question clearly is, "Is it by thy wisdom that the hawk knoweth the due season for migrating to the warm south?" There are more precise references to the migrations of birds in Jer. viii. 7, where the reader wil. find such observations as this interesting subject requires.

27. "The eagle."-See the note and the cut of an eagle's nest under Deut. xxxii. 11. See also Jer. xlix. 16. We shall now observe, with reference to the 29th verse, which states that "his eyes behold afar off" when "he seeketh his prey," that the eagle has in all ages been noted for its astonishing powers of vision, which is believed to exceed that possessed by any other creature. It has always been believed that, when mounted into the air at a height which rendered it perfectly invisible to human eye, it could discern the motions of very small animals upon the surface of the earth. The ideas entertained on this subject in the East may be estimated from some of the statements of the Arabian writers, one of whom (Damir, as quoted by Bochart) says that the eagle could discover its prey at the distance of 400 parasangsmore than a thousand miles! Homer is more moderate and more correct. Speaking of Menelaus, he describes

him as

"The field exploring, with an eye

Keen as the eagle's, keenest-eyed of all

That wing the air, whom, though he soar aloft,

The lev'ret 'scapes not hid in thickest shades,

But down he swoops, and at a stroke she dies."-Il. xvii. 674. CowPER.

Most poets in all nations have. in like manner. amplified upon or drawn images from the power of the eagle's vision.

8 Wilt thou also disannul my judgment? wilt thou condemn me, that thou mayest be

MOREOVER the LORD answered Job, and righteous? said.

2 Shall he that contendeth with the Almighty instruct him? he that reproveth God, let him answer it.

3 Then Job answered the LORD, and said,

4 Behold, I am vile; what shall I answer thee? I will lay mine hand upon my mouth. 5 Once have I spoken; but I will not answer: yea, twice; but I will proceed no further.

6 Then answered the LORD unto Job out of the whirlwind, and said,

9 Hast thou an arm like God? or canst thou thunder with a voice like him?

10 Deck thyself now with majesty and excellency; and array thyself with glory and beauty.

11 Cast abroad the rage of thy wrath: and behold every one that is proud, and abase him.

12 Look on every one that is proud, and bring him low; and tread down the wicked in their place.

13 Hide them in the dust together; and bind their faces in secret.

14 Then will I also confess unto thee that thine own right hand can save thee.

I

15 Behold now behemoth, which made with thee; he eateth grass as an ox. 16 Lo now, his strength is in his loins, and his force is in the navel of his belly.

17 He moveth his tail like a cedar: the sinews of his stones are wrapped together. 18 His bones are as strong pieces of brass; his bones are like bars of iron.

19 He is the chief of the ways of God: he that made him can make his sword to approach unto him.

20 Surely the mountains bring him forth food, where all the beasts of the field play.

21 He lieth under the shady trees, in the covert of the reed, and fens.

22 The shady trees cover him with their shadow; the willows of the brook compass him about.

23 Behold, he drinketh up a river, and hasteth not: he trusteth that he can draw up Jordan into his mouth.

24 'He taketh it with his eyes: his nose pierceth through snares.

5 Or, he setteth up.

Or, the elephant, as some think.
6 Heb. he oppresseth.
7 Or, will any take him in his fight, or bore his nose with a ginn?

Verse 15. "Behemoth.”—Not the least remarkable thing about the Behemoth is its name. The word is plural, and yet denotes one animal, whereas the singular of the same word ) is a noun of multitude, properly rendered by "cattle," or "beasts." The plural form is applied to one animal to express its pre-eminence. What animal this is has occasioned no small amount of discussion. All the alternatives which have been suggested are limited to the animals which Cuvier has put in one class which he calls pachydermata on account of the thickness of their skins. To this class equally belong the elephant, the hippopotamus (or river-horse), and some extinct species of enormous animals, as the mastodon or mammoth and others. Now in all these the Behemoth has been sought. The determination in favour of the elephant has found some distinguished advocates. But this we cannot admit, as, if that remarkable animal had been intended, we should scarcely have failed, in so precise a description, to recognise some reference to its more peculiar characteristics-its proboscis, its tusks, its docility and sagacity. For this reason the hippopotamus has been generally preferred. To this determination the principal objections are, that its tail is too inconsiderable to be com pared to a cedar, and that some notice would probably have been taken of its tremendous roar. On these grounds Dr. J. M. Good would rather consider that the Behemoth is now altogether extinct, like the mastodon and other genera of the same class and order. This is possible; but the objections to the hippopotamus do not appear to us of sufficient weight to disturb the conclusion in favour of that animal, and that stronger objections apply to every other alternative. The hippopotamus, or river-horse, was formerly known in the lower regions of the Nile; but at present it is seldom found in Egypt, although it continues to inhabit the rivers of Africa and the lakes of Abyssinia and Ethiopia. It is nearly of the same size as the rhinoceros, and has sometimes been found not less than seventeen feet long by fifteen in circumference and seven in height. It has an enormously large head, sometimes three feet and a half in length, the jaws extending upwards of two feet and being armed with four cutting teeth each of them twelve inches long. Although an inhabitant of the water, its quadrifid hoofs are unconnected by membranes. Its skin is dark and nearly destitute of hair: it is proverbial for its thickness and impenetrability; so that it was and is highly valued for the manufacture of shields. What is in remarkable conformity with the text ("His force is in the navel of his belly.") is, that this skin is not, as in the elephant, soft under the belly, but as thick as in other parts, and is indeed rendered in some degree callous from being dragged over the rough stones at the bottom of the river. The tail in this, as in other animals of the same class, is not considerable in proportion to its bulk; but it is thicker and firmer than that of the elephant, and admits of a better comparison to the cedar. He has also perfect command over it, moving and twisting it at pleasure, which seems to be mentioned in the text, as a proof of its strength. The animal swims dexterously and walks under water; but cannot remain long without coming to the surface to breathe. He comes often on shore, particularly at night, as he subsists on roots and vegetables; and does great damage to the cultivated fields, not less by the treading of his broad heavy feet, than by the extent of his appetite. He sleeps and reposes on shore in reedy places near the water. The motions of the hippopotamus upon the land are slow and heavy; and when wounded or alarmed he hastens to the water, in which only all his powers and resources can be manifested. His habits are in general quiet and inoffensive; but when provoked or injured there is something terrible in his anger. The voice of the hippopotamus, which has already been mentioned as something remarkable, is described by Burckhardt as "a harsh and heavy sound, like the creaking or groaning of a large wooden door: it is made when he raises his huge head out of the water, and when he retires into it again." (Travels in Nubia,' p. 250.) The same writer informs us that the animal is sometimes taken by means of snares and pitfalls, to which there is an allusion in the last verse of this chapter: the natives have no means of killing him, it being generally believed that even a musket-ball can make no impression upon him, except at one small vulnerable spot over the ear.

After this explanation it will probably seem that the hippopotamus is the behemoth; and this appears more clearly in the original than in our present translation. The Jews, however, have a different notion in this matter. They hold that behemoth is a huge animal which has subsisted since the creation without propagating its kind, and which is reserved to be fattened for the feast to be enjoyed by pious Jews in the days of the Messiah. Every day he eats up all the grass of a thousand hills, and at each draught he swallows as much water as the Jordan yields in the course of six months. Such is or has been their opinion.

"He eateth grass as an ox.”—This seems to be mentioned as a remarkable circumstance; and it is so with respect to the river-horse, that although living in the water it should eat grass on the land, like the ox. It was believed that it subsisted partly on fish; but this has been disproved.

17. "Moveth his tail like a cedar.”—This seems merely to refer to the strength of the tail, though, as being thick and smooth, yet seldom more than half a yard long, it might on this ground be compared to the trunk of a tree. When eager after any thing the river-horse extends his tail perfectly straight; which is regarded as an indication of strength.

19. "He that made him can make his sword," &c.—The sentence is of difficult construction; but is now generally understood to refer to the weapon or weapons with which behemoth is furnished. In the hippopotamus there are