II. KINGS.

CHAP. I, 17. " and Jehoram reigned in his stead." Read, with Vulgate, " 1978 0719 7504", "and Jehoram his brother reigned in his stead."

-"in the second year of Joram the son of Jehoshaphat." The commencement of Joram's reign in Israel could not be later than the twenty-second (I rather think it was in the twenty-first) of Jehoshaphat himself. See Houbigant.

CHAP. ii, 14. "Et pallio Eliæ, quod ceciderat ei, percussit aquas, et non sunt divisæ: et dixit, Ubi est Deus Eliæ etiam nunc? Percussitque aquas, et divisæ sunt huc atque illuc, et transiit Elisæus." Vulg.

CHAP. iii, 1. —" the eighteenth year." See note, chap. i, 17.

Verse 9.-"the king of Edom." See 1 Kings, xxii, 47.

Verse 13.

"Nay; for the Lord"

The Vul,

by, in

gate makes it a question: "Quare congregavit Do

minus?" Their reading must have been

stead of

unless", which would be nearer

to the modern text, may interrogate.

Verse 16. -"ditches;" rather, "banks."

Verse 23," this is blood; the kings are surely slain”— rather, with the Vulgate, "this is blood of the sword; the kings have fought"

Verse 24." but they went forward smiting the Moabites, even in their country." Read, with Hou

and they went * ; ויבאו באים והכים את מואב,bigant

on, going on and smiting the Moabites."

CHAP. iv, 38. "were sitting before him;" rather, with Vulgate and Queen Elizabeth's Bible, "dwelt with him." Compare chap. vi, 1.

CHAP. vi, 22. -"wouldst thou smite?" rather, "Art thou about to smite?" The force of the ques. tion is this, Are they whom thou art about to smite captives made by thy own sword and thy own bow? The prophet would insinuate that the king of Israel had no right over these persons, and so the Vulgate takes it. "Non percuties; neque enim cepisti eos gladio et arcu tuo, ut percutias."

Verse 23. "So the bands of Syria came no more

into" rather, "So the Syrians came no more in pillaging parties into❞—

Verses 31, 32. "Then he said, God do so and more also to me, if the head of Elisha the son of Shaphat shall stand on him this day. And he sent a man from before him. 32. But Elisha was sitting in his house, and the elders were sitting with him. Then ere the messenger came to him, he said," &c. See Houbigant.

Verse 33.-" and he said"- Who said? certainly the king; for that the king himself came after his messenger, appears from what Elisha says in the preceding verse, and from chap. vii, 17.

CHAP. vii, 2. For, several good MSS. have

.המלך

Verse 13. It is difficult to make sense of this verse as it stands. Many of Kennicott's best Codd., after the words, omit these seven,

-With this omis נשארו בה הנס ככל המון ישראל אשר

sion, the text may render the sense expressed by Josephus, προσαριθμησεις δε φησι τοις ύπο του λιμου τεθνη κοσι τους ἱππεις, καν ὑπο των έχθρων ληφθέντες ἀπολωνται. Lib. ix, cap. iv, § 8.

Verse 17." who spake"

cott's Codd. omit the two words

Three of Kenni

78. Another,

of the כאשר דבר repeats the expression אשר דבר for

preceding clause. And this I take to be the true reading," as the man of God had said, as he said when," &c.

Verses 18, 19. "For it was so, that when the man of God spake to the king, saying, Two measuresSamaria:

"Then that lord answered the man of God," &c.

CHAP. viii, 10. "Go, say unto him, Thou mayest certainly recover." According to the Cetib, the sense is just the reverse: "Go, say, Certainly thou shalt not recover." Dr Kennicott prefers the Cetib, and I agree, notwithstanding the consent of the antient versions in the sense given by the Keri. Houbigant's observation, that the repetition of the verb in the phrase is a form never used but in affirmation, is erroneous. See Gen. iii, 3.

Verse 16.66 Jehoshaphat being then king of Judah." Expunge these words, with two Codd. of Kennicott's.

Verse 20. "In his days Edom revolted-and made a king over themselves." The king of Edom therefore, mentioned in chap. iii, must have been a yassal of the kings of Judah, perhaps of their appoint

ment; the same who, in 1 Kings xxii, 47, is called

a deputy.

Verse 21. --" which compassed him about," i. e. the Edomites adjacent to his border.

Verse 25. Compare ix, 29.

CHAP. ix, 21. —" and they went out against Jehu;" rather, " to meet Jehu ;" for as yet they had no suspicion of his hostile intentions.

Verse 22. "Is it peace, Jehu?”

—¿TuvbaveTo ei ἐπυνθανετο

παντα έχοι καλως τα κατα το στρατοπεδον. Joseph. lib. ix, cap. vi, § 3. In the same manner he takes this expression in verses 17 and 18. And that this is the true sense of it, appears from verse 23, which seems to intimate, that Jehu's reply, to this salutation, gave the king of Israel the first suspicion of treachery. Instead of "Is it peace?" therefore, the English should be "Is all well?"

"What peace?" rather, "How well?"

Verse 24. " between his arms, i. e. between the shoulders.

Verse 27. Compare 2 Chron. xxii, 9.

"smite him also in the chariot; and they did

smite * ; גם אתו הכו ויכההו אל המרכבה Read .80

66

him also; and they smote him in the chariot."

Verse 29. See chap. viii, 25,