father, my father, the chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof. And he saw him no more: and he took hold of his own clothes, and rent them in two pieces.

13 He took up also the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and went back, and stood by the 'bank of Jordan;

14 And he took the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and smote the waters, and said, Where is the LORD God of Elijah? and when he also had smitten the waters, they parted hither and thither: and Elisha went

over.

15 And when the sons of the prophets which were to view at Jericho saw him, they said, The spirit of Elijah doth rest on Elisha. And they came to meet him, and bowed themselves to the ground before him.

16 And they said unto him, Behold now, there be with thy servants fifty strong men; let them go, we pray thee, and seek thy master: lest peradventure the Spirit of the LORD hath taken him up, and cast him upon "some mountain, or into some valley. And he said,

Verse 3. The Lord will take away thy master from thy head. This is probably to be explained by reference to the custom in the schools of the prophets for the scholars to sit at the feet of their master, so that the master was above their heads. Thus Paul describes his pupilage in the celebrated school of Gamaliel, by saying that he sat at the feet' of that master.

9. Let a double portion of thy spirit be upon me."This has often been supposed to mean that Elisha desired to be twice as eminent in prophetic gifts as his master. This seems to us a serious misconception. Whatever his request was, Elijah granted it; and that it was not this, is evinced by the fact, that Elisha was not twice as great as his predecessor. So far from it, we can scarcely venture to say that Elisha was at all a greater prophet than Elijah, or that he was even as great. The double portion must then mean something else. Now when we find that the firstborn or heir among the Jews inherited a double portion' of his father's goods, and that the double portion' was a well-understood phrase designating the portion of the heir, the request of Elisha can easily be understood to mean that he sought the heirship-the succession to the rich heritage of his master's gifts: and that, in fact, was what he obtained.

22. The waters were healed unto this day.'-Near Jericho there is a fountain which to this day bears the reputation of being the one whose waters Elisha healed. There is no better description of it than that which Maundrell gives: Turning down into the plain, we passed by a ruined aqueduct, and a convent in the same condition, and in about a mile's riding came to the fountain of Elisha, so called because miraculously purged from its brackishness by that prophet, at the request of the men of Jericho.

he tarried at Jericho,) he said unto them, Did I not say unto you, Go not?

19 And the men of the city said unto Elisha, Behold, I pray thee, the situation of this city is pleasant, as my lord seeth: but the water is naught, and the ground barren.

20 And he said, Bring me a new cruse, and put salt therein. and put salt therein. And they brought it to him.

21 And he went forth unto the spring of the waters, and cast the salt in there, and said, Thus saith the LORD, I have healed these waters; there shall not be from thence any more death or barren land.

22 So the waters were healed unto this day, according to the saying of Elisha which he spake.

:

23 And he went up from thence unto Beth-el and as he was going up by the way, there came forth little children out of the city, and mocked him, and said unto him, Go up, thou bald head; go up, thou bald head.

24 And he turned back, and looked on them, and cursed them in the name of the LORD. And there came forth two she bears out of the wood, and tare forty and two children of them.

25 And he went from thence to mount Carmel, and from thence he returned to Samaria.

Its waters are at present received in a basin about nine or ten paces long, and five or six broad: and from thence issuing out in good plenty, divide themselves into several small streams, dispersing their refreshment between this and Jericho, and rendering it exceeding fruitful. Close by the fountain grows a large tree, spreading into boughs over the water.' Journey, p. 80, 2nd edit.

23. Little children.The term is the same which Solomon applies to himself when not much, if anything, less than twenty years of age (1 Kings iii. 7), and which is elsewhere applied to young but full-grown men. The translation little children' is therefore calculated to give a wrong impression, of which ignorant infidelity has not failed to take advantage. They were doubtless profane young men of the city where the golden calf was wor shipped, well enough able to know what they were about; but who, nevertheless, poured forth not merely, or principally, expressions of personal contempt to Elisha, but of derision at the translation of Elijah, when they thus abusively told him to go up' after his master. Their act therefore did not incur the fearful punishment which followed, merely as an act of disrespect to the prophet, but also as a grievous insult to the power and majesty of God.

'Bald head.'-See the note on Levit. xiii. 29. The word here is a kereach, which, as explained in that note, expresses that sort of baldness on the hind part of the head which the Orientals consider ignominious, which baldness in front is not. It is not from this certain that the prophet was really bald-headed, the term being often in the East, at this day, as one of established indignity and contempt, applied to one who has abundant hair.

[1-3. APPENDIX, No. 42.]

CHAPTER III.

1 Jehoram's reign. 4 Mesha rebelleth. 6 Jehoram,

with Jehoshaphat, and the king of Edom, being dis

tressed for want of water, by Elisha obtaineth water, and promise of victory. 21 The Moabites, deceived by the colour of the water, coming to spoil, are overcome. 27 The king of Moab, by sacrificing the king of Edom's son, raiseth the siege.

Now Jehoram the son of Ahab began to reign over Israel in Samaria the eighteenth year of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, and reigned twelve years.

2 And he wrought evil in the sight of the LORD; but not like his father, and like his mother: for he put away the 'image of Baal that his father had made.

3 Nevertheless he cleaved unto the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, which made Israel to sin; he departed not therefrom.

4¶ And Mesha king of Moab was a sheepmaster, and rendered unto the king of Israel an hundred thousand lambs, and an hundred thousand rams, with the wool.

5 But it came to pass, when 'Ahab was dead, that the king of Moab rebelled against the king of Israel.

6¶ And king Jehoram went out of Samaria the same time, and numbered all Israel.

7 And he went and sent to Jehoshaphat the king of Judah, saying, The king of Moab hath rebelled against me: wilt thou go with me against Moab to battle? And he said, I will go up: I am as thou art, my people as thy people, and my horses as thy horses.

8 And he said, Which way shall we go up? And he answered, The way through the wilderness of Edom.

9 So the king of Israel went, and the king of Judah, and the king of Edom: and they fetched a compass of seven days' journey and there was no water for the host, and for the cattle that followed them.

10 And the king of Israel said, Alas! that the LORD hath called these three kings together, to deliver them into the hand of Moab!

11 But Jehoshaphat said, Is there not here a prophet of the LORD, that we may enquire of the LORD by him? And one of the king of Israel's servants answered and said, Here is Elisha the son of Shaphat, which poured water on the hands of Elijah.

12 And Jehoshaphat said, The word of the LORD is with him. So the king of Israel and So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat and the king of Edom went down to him.

And it

15 But now bring me a minstrel. came to pass, when the minstrel played, that the hand of the LORD came upon him.

16 And he said, Thus saith the LORD, Make this valley full of ditches.

17 For thus saith the LORD, Ye shall not see wind, neither shall ye see rain; yet that valley shall be filled with water, that ye may drink, both ye, and your cattle, and your beasts.

18 And this is but a light thing in the sight of the LORD: he will deliver the Moabites also into your hand.

19 And ye shall smite every fenced city, and every choice city, and shall fell every good tree, and stop all wells of water, and mar every good piece of land with stones.

20 And it came to pass in the morning, when the meat offering was offered, that, behold, there came water by the way of Edom, and the country was filled with water.

21 And when all the Moabites heard that the kings were come up to fight against them, they 'gathered all that were able to put on armour, and upward, and stood in the border.

22 And they rose up early in the morning, and the sun shone upon the water, and the Moabites saw the water on the other side as red as blood:

23 And they said, This is blood: the kings are surely 'slain, and they have smitten one another now therefore, Moab, to the spoil.

24 And when they came to the camp of Israel, the Israelites rose up and smote the Moabites, so that they fled before them but 'they went forward smiting the Moabites, even in their country.

25 And they beat down the cities, and on every good piece of land cast every man his stone, and filled it; and they stopped all the wells of water, and felled all the good trees: only in Kir-haraseth left they the stones thereof; howbeit the slingers went, about it, and smote it.

10

5 Heb. grieve.

6 Heb. were cried together. 10 Heb. until he left the stones thereof in Kir-haraseth.

26 And when the king of Moab saw that the battle was too sore for him, he took with him seven hundred men that drew swords, to break through even unto the king of Edom: but they could not.

Verse 4. An hundred thousand lambs, and an hundred thousand rams, with the wool.'-It was and is a custom in the East for tributes and taxes to be paid in that kind of produce or property with which the tributary country, or taxed district, is most abundantly supplied. Indeed, this may be set down as a universal practice in all times and countries, however remote from each other, until those relations are formed which afford such facilities for turning goods into money as render it more convenient, even to the tribute-payer, to discharge his obligations in coin. The period is not exceedingly remote when the grants from Parliament to our own kings were paid in wool. The progress seems to be-First, live stock and raw produce; then, manufactured goods; and lastly, money. At this day the king of Persia receives the tribute of his provinces in all three modes, according to their respective circumstances. Those whose wealth consisted in cattle, like the king of Moab, could only, when unfavourably circumstanced for commerce, satisfy with the produce of their flocks and herds the demands made upon them. We could quote many illustrations of this usage, but must content ourselves with one or two. The first is that given by Strabo, who states that the Cappadocians paid a yearly tribute to the Persians of 1500 horses, 2000 mules, and 50,000 sheep. We find another in the account given by Alvarez, of the tribute paid by the kingdom of Goiame to the emperor of Abyssinia: and as it strikes us as very illustrative on the general subject, including the mode of collection and presentation, we shall be more particular with it. The description is quite in conformity with Oriental customs in general; and probably with those of Israel in particular, for the strong analogy between the usages of the Abyssinians and those which the Bible describes has been remarked by most travellers, particularly by Bruce and Salt. The emperor (Prester-John') sent a proper officer (the grand Betudete) to the capital of Goiame to receive the annual tribute, which consisted of 3500 mules, 3000 horses, 3000 bassuti (a very valuable sort of rug or carpet), and above 300 pieces of a kind of cotton cloth. We copy the rest in the words of Alvarez (as in Purchas, p. 1103): I myself was at the presenting of this tribute and saw it all; and it was after this manner. The Betudete came on foot, naked from the girdle upward, with a cord tied about his head,' (Does this illustrate the 'ropes upon their heads' of 1 Kings xx. 32?) and coming within audience of the tent of the Prete (emperor), he said three times this word in short space, Abeto, abeto, abeto!" which signifieth "Lord:" and answer was made him but twice in his language, "Who art thou? Who art thou?" and he said, "I which call, am the least of thy house, which saddles thy mule, and tieth up thy cattle, and do other business which thou hast commanded me; and I bring thee that which thou hast enjoined me." And this was spoken three times: which being ended, a voice was heard, saying, "Come, come forward." And he, coming near, did reverence before the tent, and passed by. After him came the horses, one after another, all led by the head by servants. The first thirty were saddled, and in very good order, and the rest which followed were dear of (i. e. would have been dear at) two drachmes of gold, and many were not worth one drachm apiece, and I saw them afterward sold for less. After these hackneys came the mules in like order, to wit, thirty were saddled, fair, and in good order; the rest were little young mulets like those hackneys... and they passed by as the Betudete and horses had done. After these came the cloths called tassuti, and one man could carry but one of them, they were so weighty. After the bassuti, passed the cloths

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27 Then he took his eldest son that should have reigned in his stead, and offered him for a burnt offering upon the wall. And there was great indignation against Israel: and they departed from him, and returned to their own land.

made up in fardels, and one man carried ten of them: and there were about 3000 men that carried bassuti, and 3000 men that carried those other cloths; and all these are of the kingdom of Goiame, which are bound to bring this tribute. After these cloths came ten men, each of them bearing a charger upon his head, made like unto those wherein they do eat, and were covered with green and red sindall. After these had passed, came all the men of the Betudete, which passed by, one after another, as he himself had passed. In these platters was the gold put, which was commanded to be borne unto his lodging, with the rest of the tribute. In this procession were spent about ten hours, that is to say, from morning until evening.' This very instructive passage illustrates many allusions in Scripture; and so exactly are the details in unison with usages which are, and always have been, prevalent throughout the East, that we are quite satisfied that the tributes, taxes, and gifts, were presented to the Hebrew kings very much in the manner here described.

11. Which poured water on the hands of Elijah.'This was the act of an attendant or disciple; and it was so much his established duty, that the mere mention of it sufficed to indicate the relation in which Elisha had stood to Elijah. It is also an indication that the Hebrews were

accustomed to wash their hands in the manner which is now universal in the East, and which, whatever may be thought of its convenience, is unquestionably more refreshing and cleanly than washing in the water as it stands in a basin-which is a process regarded by the Orientals with great disgust. The hands are therefore held over a basin, the use of which is only to receive the water which has been poured upon the hands from the jug or ewer which is held above them. This cannot very conveniently be managed without the aid of a servant or some other person, who approaches with the ewer in his right hand and the basin in his left; and when the hands have been placed in a proper position over the basin, which he continues to hold, lets fall a stream of water upon them from the ewer, suspending it occasionally to allow the hands to be soaped or rubbed together. No towel is offered, as every one dries his hands in his handkerchief, or however else he pleases. The water is usually tepid, and always

so after a meal, in order to clear the grease contracted by eating with the hands. In the East, the basin, which, as well as the ewer, is usually of tinned copper, has commonly a sort of cover, rising in the middle and sunk into the basin at the margin, which being pierced with holes allows the water to pass through, thus concealing it after it has been defiled by use. The ewer has a long spout,

ORIENTAL EWER AND BASIN.

and a long narrow neck, with a cover, and is altogether not unlike our coffee-pots in general appearance: it is the same which the Orientals use in all their ablutions. It is evident that a person cannot conveniently thus wash his own hands without assistance. If he does, he is obliged to fix the basin, and to take up and lay down the ewer several times, changing it from one hand to the other. Therefore

CHAPTER IV.

1 Elisha multiplieth the widow's oil. 8 He giveth a son to the good Shunammite. 18 He raiseth again her dead son. 38 At Gilgal he healeth the deadly pottage. 42 He satisfieth an hundred men with twenty loaves.

Now there cried a certain woman of the wives of the sons of the prophets unto Elisha, saying, Thy servant my husband is dead; and thou knowest that thy servant did fear the LORD: and the creditor is come to take unto him my two sons to be bondmen.

2 And Elisha said unto her, What shall I do for thee? tell me, what hast thou in the house? And she said, Thine handmaid hath not any thing in the house, save a pot of oil.

3 Then he said, Go, borrow thee vessels abroad of all thy neighbours, even empty vessels; 'borrow not a few.

4 And when thou art come in, thou shalt shut the door upon thee and upon thy sons, and shalt pour out into all those vessels, and thou shalt set aside that which is full.

5 So she went from him, and shut the door upon her and upon her sons, who brought the vessels to her; and she poured out.

6 And it came to pass, when the vessels were full, that she said unto her son, Bring me yet a vessel. And he said unto her, There is not a vessel more. And the oil stayed.

7 Then she came and told the man of God. And he said, Go, sell the oil, and pay thy 'debt, and live thou and thy children of the rest. And it fell on a day, that Elisha

8

1 Or, scant not. 2 Or, creditor.

a Heb. there was a day.

17. Ye shall not see wind.'-This may strike us as an odd expression; but it is easily understood by a reference to the fact, that in the East the presence of wind is strongly and painfully manifested even to the eye, during a dry season, by the vast quantities of dust and stubble which are whirled into the air, which they greatly darken. This usually precedes rain after drought.

6

19. Mar every good piece of land with stones.'-How so, seeing that stones put there by men other men could remove? There must have been some conventional signification. What so likely as that ancient Arabian custom, known by the name of σкокeλioμos, or fixing of stones,' under which the Arabs were wont to place stones on the grounds of those with whom they were at variance, by way of formal warning that any person who ventured to cultivate that land should infallibly be slain by the contrivance of those who placed the stones there? From the hint which this custom supplies, we may sup pose that this act of the Israelites interdicted the ground from cultivation under the severest penalties, which they had the power of enforcing so long as they could hold the Moabites in subjection. Is there an allusion to such a

custom in Eccles. iii. 5?

passed to Shunem, where was a great woman; and she 'constrained him to eat bread. And so it was, that as oft as he passed by, he turned in thither to eat bread.

9 And she said unto her husband, Behold now, I perceive that this is an holy man of God, which passeth by us continually.

10 Let us make a little chamber, I pray thee, on the wall; and let us set for him there a bed, and a table, and a stool, and a candlestick and it shall be, when he cometh to us, that he shall turn in thither.

11 And it fell on a day, that he came thither, and he turned into the chamber, and lay there.

12 And he said to Gehazi his servant, Call this Shunammite. And when he had called her, she stood before him.

13 And he said unto him, Say now unto her, Behold, thou hast been careful for us with all this care; what is to be done for thee? wouldest thou be spoken for to the king, or to the captain of the host? And she answered, I dwell among mine own people.

14 And he said, What then is to be done for her? And Gehazi answered, Verily she hath no child, and her husband is old.

15 And he said, Call her. And when he had called her, she stood in the door.

16 And he said, 'About this season, according to the time of life, thou shalt embrace And she said, Nay, my lord, thou man of God, do not lie unto thine handmaid. 17 And the woman conceived, and bare a

a son.

the reapers.

19 And he said unto his father, My head, my head. And he said to a lad, Carry him to his mother.

20 And when he had taken him, and brought him to his mother, he sat on her knees till noon, and then died.

21 And she went up, and laid him on the bed of the man of God, and shut the door upon him, and went out.

22 And she called unto her husband, and said, Send me, I pray thee, one of the young men, and one of the asses, that I may run to the man of God, and come again.

23 And he said, Wherefore wilt thou go to him to day? it is neither new moon, nor sabbath. And she said, It shall be well.

24 Then she saddled an ass, and said to her servant, Drive, and go forward; slack not thy riding for me, except I bid thee.

25 So she went and came unto the man of God to mount Carmel. And it came to pass, when the man of God saw her afar off, that he said to Gehazi his servant, Behold, yonder is that Shunammite:

26 Run now, I pray thee, to meet her, and say unto her, Is it well with thee? is it well with thy husband? is it well with the child? And she answered, It is well.

27 And when she came to the man of God to the hill, she caught him by the feet: but Gehazi came near to thrust her away. And the man of God said, Let her alone; for her soul is "vexed within her: and the LORD hath hid it from me, and hath not told me.

28 Then she said, Did I desire a son of my lord? did I not say, Do not deceive me?

29 Then he said to Gehazi, Gird up thy loins, and take my staff in thine hand, and go thy way if thou meet any man, salute him not; and if any salute thee, answer him not again: and lay my staff upon the face of the child.

30 And the mother of the child said, As the LORD liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. And he arose, and followed her.

31 And Gehazi passed on before them, and laid the staff upon the face of the child; but there was neither voice, nor hearing. Wherefore he went again to meet him, and told him, saying, The child is not awaked.

7 Heb. peace.

32 And when Elisha was come into the house, behold, the child was dead, and laid upon his bed.

33 He went in therefore, and shut the door upon them twain, and prayed unto the LORD. 34 And he went up, and lay upon the child, and put his mouth upon his mouth, and his eyes upon his eyes, and his hands upon his hands: and he stretched himself upon the child; and the flesh of the child waxed warm.

35 Then he returned, and walked in the house to and fro; and went up, and stretched himself upon him and the child sneezed seven times, and the child opened his eyes.

:

36 And he called Gehazi, and said, Call this Shunammite. So he called her. And when she was come in unto him, he said, Take up thy son.

37 Then she went in, and fell at his feet, and bowed herself to the ground, and took up her son, and went out.

38 And Elisha came again to Gilgal: and there was a dearth in the land; and the sons of the prophets were sitting before him and he said unto his servant, Set on the great pot, and seethe pottage for the sons of the prophets.

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.

40 So they poured out for the men to eat. And it came to pass, as they were eating of the pottage, that they cried out, and said, O thou man of God, there is death in the pot. And they could not eat thereof.

41 But he said, Then bring meal. And he cast it into the pot; and he said, Pour out for the people, that they may eat. And there was no harm in the pot.

42 And there came a man from Baalshalisha, and brought the man of God bread of the firstfruits, twenty loaves of barley, and full ears of corn in the husk thereof. And he said, Give unto the people, that they may eat.

1

43 And his servitor said, What, should I set this before an hundred men? He said again, Give the people, that they may eat: for thus saith the LORD, "They shall eat, and shall leave thereof.

44 So he set it before them, and they did eat, and left thereof, according to the word of the LORD.

8 Heb. restrain not for me to ride. 12 Heb, once hither, and once thither,