See notes on Lev. vI. 13, and ix. 24. The expression "licked up" is used metaphorically, in allusion to the pyramidal forms of the flames, which resemble tongues. Isaiah speaks of the tongue of fire (Is. v. c. 24) and St. Luke describes the "cloven tongues, like as of fire," which sat upon each of the disciples on the day of Pentecost. A similar metaphor occurs in Virgil. "A flame arose from young Iulus' head, licking his hair, and feeding upon his temples."-VIR. Æn. 1. II. v. 682. "Mount Etna then we spy, Known by the smoky flames that lick the sky." IBID. 1. III. v. 574. 44. And it came to pass at the seventh time, that he said, Behold, there ariseth a little cloud out of the sea, like a man's hand. And he said, Go up, say unto Ahab, Prepare thy chariot, and get thee down, that the rain stop thee not. "Forth from a little cloud, Soon as the storm shall burst, it will o'erwhelm thee, Aratus, speaking of the indications of rain at the rising of the sun, says :— Veiling his rising beams in murky shroud, ARAT. Diosem. v. 845. An isolated cloud, however small, though seen in a clear sky, announces wind and storm."-PLIN. Hist. nat. 1. XVIII. c. 82. "The Indian Philosophers, at the beginning of every year, foretell droughts, rains, and diseases, and such other things as are to happen."-DIOD. SIC. 1. II. c. 40. 46. And the hand of the Lord was on Elijah; and he girded up his loins, and ran before Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel. "No well-girt runner goes before us."-MART. I. XII. epig. 24. "Sergius Sulpicius Galba (afterwards emperor) distinguished himself by leading an escort, with a shield in his hand, and running by the side of the emperor Caligula's chariot twenty miles together."-SUETON. Galba, c. 6. 1 KINGS XIX. 13. And it was so, when Elijah heard it, that he wrapped his face in his mantle, and went out, and stood in the entering in of the cave. In token of humble reverence and awe. This was the custom at the Grecian sacrifices: "Each with a Phrygian mantle veil'd his head, And all commands of Helenus obeyed; And pious rites to Grecian Juno paid."-VIRG. Æn. 1. 111. v. 345. 1 KINGS XX. 11. And the King of Israel answered and said, Tell him, Let not him that girdeth on his harness boast himself as he that putteth it off. The girdle (or harness) was the last part of a soldier's accoutrement to be put on, so that to be girded, meant to be ready for the battle. In 2 Kings III. 21, the words "As many as were able to put on armour," are rendered in the Septuagint, many as were able to be girt with a girdle (#epiečwoμévoi (úvnv).” แ "Atrides called aloud to the Greeks, and commanded them to gird themselves." HOм. Il. 1. XI. v. 15. 23. Gods of the hills. "Gods of every kind."-VIRG. Æn. 1. vIII. v. 698. "What a multitude of gods there is."-Cic. de nat. Deor. 1. III. c. 16. 1 KINGS XXI. as 3. And Naboth said to Ahab, The Lord forbid it me, that I should give the inheritance of my fathers unto thee. "Like the first mortals blest is he, From debts, and usury, and business free, With his own team who ploughs the soil, HOR. 1. v. carm. 2. 4. And Ahab came into his house heavy and displeased because of the word which Naboth the Jezreelite had spoken to him: for he had said, I will not give thee the inheritance of my fathers. And he laid him down upon his bed, and turned away his face, and would eat no bread. Juvenal thus describes the covetous man :— "Now swell his wants: one manor is too small, To the rich produce of their happier soil. And this I'll purchase, with the grove,' he cries, Whole droves of oxen starved to this intent, Among his springing corn, by night, are sent, To revel there, till not a blade be seen, And all appear like a close-shaven green. 'Monstrous!' you say-And yet 'twere hard to tell Juv. Sat. XIV. v. 140. 23. And of Jezebel also spake the Lord, saying, The dogs shall eat Jezebel by the wall of Jezreel. 24. Him that dieth of Ahab in the city the dogs shall eat; and him that dieth in the field shall the fowls of the air eat. "Who dares inglorious in his ships to stay, HOм. 17. 1. II. v. 391. "The mighty Trojan then on yonder shore Shall feast the fowls and glut the dogs with gore." IBID. 1. VIII. v. 379. Though this was a fate generally abhorred, yet this feeling was not universal, as the following will show : "Those of the Bactrians who are disabled by disease or old age are thrown alive to be devoured by dogs kept expressly for this purpose, and which, in the language of the country are called entombers."-STRAB. 1. XI. c. 11. 1 KINGS XXII. 8. And the king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat, There is yet one man, "None ever loved the messenger of ill."-SOPH. Antig. v. 277. 11. And Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah made him horns of iron and he said, Thus saith the Lord, With these shalt thou push the Syrians, until thou have consumed them. "Those who are unacquainted with wisdom kick and push at one another as with iron horns and hoofs, and perish through their own insatiety." -PLAT. de rep. 1. IX. c. 10. "Calanus laid a dried and shrivelled hide before Alexander, and first trod on the edges of it. This he did all round, and as he trod on one side it started up on the other. At last he fixed his feet on the middle, and then it lay still. By this emblem he showed him that he should fix his residence and plant his principal force in the heart of his empire, and not wander to the extremities."-PLUT. Alexander. c. 66. 21. And there came forth a spirit, and stood before the Lord, and said, I will persuade him. 22. And the Lord said unto him, Wherewith? And he said, I will go forth, and I will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets. And he said, Thou shalt persuade him, and prevail also go forth, and do so. 23. Now therefore, behold, the Lord hath put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these thy prophets, and the Lord hath spoken evil concerning thee. In like manner the Phantoms are represented in Homer waiting at the ivory gate, to go forth and deceive those to whom they shall be sent, with delusive dreams. "Hard is the task, and rare (the queen rejoin'd), Of winged lies a light fantastic train: And columns fair incased with polish'd horn; Where images of truth for passage wait, With visions manifest of future fate."-Hoм. Odyss. 1. xIx. v. 559. From the gate of ivory went forth the delusive dream sent by Jove to mislead Agamemnon, and to persuade him to lead his army to battle, by the promise that Troy should be delivered into his hands, the real design being to bring such reverses upon him as to make him sensible of the want of Achilles, who had withdrawn himself from the army of the Greeks. This incident is singularly like the history of Ahab and the lying spirit, by which he was betrayed to go up and fall at Ramoth Gilead. "To honour Thetis' son Jove bends his care, "Fly hence, deluding dream! and light as air, Bid him in arms draw forth the embattled train, Declare e'en now 'tis given him to destroy The lofty towers of wide-extended Troy."-Hoм. 17. 1. II. v. 2. Thus too, Croesus was lured by a deceiving oracle to his own destruction. "The oracle consulted by Croesus assured him that if he prosecuted a war against the Persians he should overthrow a mighty empire. Depending upon this answer he commenced the war and was overthrown by Cyrus. In answer to the complaints of Croesus; the oracle declared that he ought to have enquired whether his own empire were intended or that of the Persians."-HDT. 1. 1. c. 53, 91. 39. The ivory house. The palace of Atrides is thus described; "Above, beneath, around the palace, shines And studded amber darts a golden ray."-HOм. Odyss. 1. IV. v. 73. "The ivory decked palaces."-EURIP. Iphig. in Aul. v. 582. 48. Ships of Tharshish. Ships of Tarshish are, in Scripture, often used for ships in general, especially for those trading to distant countries. The ships were to start from Ezion-Geber on the Red Sea, and to sail round Africa, as Solomon's fleet probably had done before. This voyage was made by the Egyptians about 200 years later. "Necho, king of Egypt, despatched some vessels under the conduct of Phoenicians, with directions to pass by the columns of Hercules, and after penetrating the northern ocean, to return to Egypt. These Phoenicians, taking their course from the Red Sea, entered into the southern ocean. On the approach of autumn, they landed in Libya, and planted some corn in the place where they happened to find themselves; when this was ripe, and they had cut it down, they again departed. Having thus consumed two years, they, in the third, doubled the columns of Hercules and returned to Egypt. Their relation may obtain attention from others, but to me it seems incredible; for they affirmed that having sailed round Lybia, they had the sun at their right hand."-HDT. 1. iv. c. 42. The sun must necessarily have been in this position after the Phoenicians had passed the line, and as this circumstance could never have been imagined or invented it is an evidence of the truth of the story. “Hanno published an account of a voyage which he made from Gades (Cadiz) to the extremity of Arabia. We learn also from Cornelius Nepos that one Eudoxus, his contemporary, set out from the Arabian gulf and was carried as far as Gades; and long before him Cœlius Antipater informs us that he had seen a person who had sailed from Spain to Ethiopia for the purposes of trade."-PLIN. Hist. nat. 1. II. c. 67. 2 KINGS I. 2. And Ahaziah fell down through a lattice in his upper chamber that was in Samaria, and was sick and he sent messengers, and said unto them, Go, enquire of Baal-zebub the god of Ekron whether I shall recover of this disease. The heathens thought that plagues and diseases were inflicted by some evil deities. These they endeavoured to propitiate by sacrifices which were generally offered by night and accompanied by dark and often cruel ceremonies. See Exod. vIII. 24, and ix. 10. 8. And they answered him, He was an hairy man, and girt with a girdle of leather about his loins. And he said, It is Elijah the Tishbite. "The Nabatæans wear no tunics, but have a girdle about the loins and walk abroad in sandals. The dress of the kings is the same, but the colour is purple." STRAB. 1. XVI. c. 4. "He assumes the form of the aged prophet Tiresias, and the voice, and the wellknown fleecy garment.”—STAT. Theb. 1. II. v. 96. 11. 2. KINGS II. And it came to pass, as they still went on, and talked, that, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire, and horses of fire, and parted them both asunder; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven. Numerous instances of apotheosis or the deification of mortals are to be found in ancient history. Those who believed that their heroes were of divine descent, would naturally attribute to them a return to the company of the gods either by translation or after death. The Greeks deified many of their heroes; but with the exception of Romulus none of the Roman kings received this honour. During the republic no apotheosis took place; but Julius Caesar was deified after his death, and the example thus set was followed in the case of other emperors. The history of Enoch or that of Elijah, or both together, may have given rise to the first traditions on this subject. See Gen. v. 24. "The people of Egestus distinguished Philip of Crotona by very unusual honours. They erected a monument over the place of his interment, where they offered sacrifices to him as to a divinity."-HDT. 1. v. c. 47. The Amphipolitans performed sacrifice to Brasidas at his tomb, as a hero. They also enacted solemn games in his honour, and annual sacrifices."-THUCYD. 1. v. c. 11. Theocritus says of Ptolemy, "Him Jove received with honours as a god, And of Berenice, "The lovely queen, O Venus, scap'd the grave, And with with a share of all thy glory grac'd."-THEOCR. Idyl. 17. "The Patricians commanded the people to honour and worship Romulus, who was caught up to heaven, and who, as he had been a gracious king, would be to the Romans a propitious deity."-PLUT. Rom. c. 27. |