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disciples put their master upon an ass's colt. Both in Zech. and Matt. we have decided examples of the mode of expression which we have been explaining. In Gen. xix. 24, 'brimstone and fire' signify ignited brimstone; 1 Chron. xxii. 5, of fame and of glory' mean of glorious fame; Jer. xxii. 3, 'judgment and righteousness signify righteous judgment. In Acts xiv. 14, oxen and garlands import garlanded oxen; and in Acts i. 25, 'ministry and apostleship' mean apostolic ministry. These are but a few of the examples that might be adduced to show the frequency of the occurrence both in the Old and New Testament writings of the idiomatic peculiarity under consideration.

I am satisfied it is on this principle of exposition, the language 'he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and fire' must be interpreted. The phrase ' and fire' must be understood simply as qualifying the baptism of the Holy Ghost-it is expressive of the appearance and effects of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost particularly. Accordingly we are informed in Acts ii. 1-3, that when the day of Pentecost was fully come, there appeared to the apostles cloven tongues, like as of fire; and it sat upon each of them, and they all began to speak with tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.'

The meaning of the term 'fire' used in connection with the baptism of the Holy Ghost appears to signify that the apostles would on the day of Pentecost be baptized with the Holy Ghost in the shape of fire, and that this fiery baptism would effect a grand revolution in their understandings and hearts and lives. As fire purifies gold and silver when submitted to its action, so the baptism of the Spirit and fire illuminated the minds and cleansed and purified the hearts of the apostles, and enabled them to speak with tongues and prophesy.

According to the same principle of interpretation, we must, I think, understand John iii. 5, ἐὰν μή τις γεννηθῇ ἐξ ὕδατος καὶ TVEÚμATOS, Except a man be born of water and Spirit. Born of water and of Spirit,' according to the form of hendiadys above explained, will signify born of the water of the Spirit, or of Spiritual water;' that is, 'born again or regenerated.' The words appear to me to be simply a description of the new birth, or of the regenerating and sanctifying influences of the Holy Spirit, without containing any allusion whatever to Christian baptism. Water is a usual symbol employed by the Sacred writers as an illustration of the free and refreshing effects of the Spirit of God which the Saviour has promised to them that love him. In John iv. 14, Christ says, 'whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him, shall never thirst, but the water which I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.' There

VOL. II.-NO. III.

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is no way, in my humble opinion, of understanding the expression ἐξ ὕδατος καὶ πνέυματος so agreeably to the analogy of the doctrines of the Bible as to regard it as a hendiadys, and signifying regeneration. It is a strong presumptive argument in favour of this mode of interpretation, that Christian baptism was not at this time instituted that faith in the apostolic age was required as a condition for baptism, and that the whole current of revelation goes to establish the fact that the word of God, and not baptism, is the grand medium through which the Holy Spirit translates sinners from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God. It is on the same principle that the phrase Titus iii. 5 is explained: the language to which I refer runs thus in the English translation, which is quite good for my purpose-the washing of regeneration and the renewing of the Holy Ghost.' The phrase, the renewing of the Holy Ghost' is employed as explanatory of the preceding one, namely, washing of regeneration. That the language under consideration does not signify baptism, but regeneration, is, I think, manifest from the use of the phrase washing of regeneration,' that is the washing or cleansing which regeneration effects. If the phrase had been the regeneration of washing,' then it might be argued with some degree of plausibility that it means baptism; but as it is, it must be regarded as denoting regeneration.

Donegall.

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TRANSLATIONS IN SOLOMON'S SONG.

BY GEORGE J. WALKER.

THE following re-translations of some words and passages in the Song of Solomon may not be new to many of your readers; but they may, perhaps, be of use to some who have paid less attention to the original, and are interested in anything that contributes to the elucidation of the sacred text: and they may, at any rate, serve to direct attention to one of its richest portions.

Chap. I.-4. The upright love thee,' they love thee sincerely (i. e., the virgins, ver. 3). 7. Turneth aside,' is veiled, marg.; comp. Gen. xxxviii. 14, 15. The bride desires to avoid all appearance of inconstancy. Gesenius follows Alb. Schultius in rendering as one who faints;' but there is no passage where the word has this sense, and it does not seem required here.

II.-1. 'Rose,' probably narcissus. See Kitto's Biblic. Cyclop., art. CHABAZZELETH.' 'Lily,' probably lotus or water-lily. Ibid., art. 'SHUSHAN.' 5. Flagons,' cakes; specially those made of grapes, dried and pressed together. 7. He please,' she please;

SO

so ch. iii. 5, and viii. 4, a correction important to the expositor of this book. 14. Of the stairs,' of the crag (or clift). 17. The day-break,' or, the day breathes (or blows); the evening is meant according to Gesenius, Rosenmüller, &c., but I prefer with others to understand the morning (the Los of the Persians). In Jerem. vi. 4, the shadows are stretched out' describes the evening here it is said, 'the shadows flee away,' which fitly designates the morning. Perhaps ch. iii. 1, favours this view, if the close connection of the two chapters be admitted. See also ch. iv. 6. Mountains of Bether: in the art. 'BETHER,' Kitto's Cyclop., this word is mentioned as occurring again, ch. viii. 14, which is a mistake. There seems little reason for rendering it as a proper name.

III.-6. This verse may afford an illustration of the importance to the interpreter of consulting the original languages of Scripture. The English reader might easily be led into the error of referring it to the same person as ver. 7. It can only refer to the bride. 9. Chariot,' litter, or palanquin. See Gesen. 10. 'The bottom;' the back part seems meant, on which the head reclines. Covering,' seat; i. e., cushions covered with purple. The last words of this verse are very obscure; I would render, paved with love from (or by) the daughters of Jerusalem. I apprehend it is a metaphor (like ch. ii. 4, 'his banner over me was love'), expressive of the affection of these daughters to the king, whom, in the next verse, they are called upon to behold crowned with his nuptial chaplet. To the rendering totum intus amabiliter exornatum a virginibus Hierosolomitanis,' which Rosenmüller, without being satisfied with it, adopts from Schelling, may be objected that such tesselated or paved work was not likely to have been executed by women.

IV.-1. 'Locks,' veil; so ver. 3, 'appear from,' lie down on; so vi. 5. ( 3. Speech,' mouth. 16. Some assign the whole verse to the bride; but I think the latter half only belongs to her, 'Let my beloved come,' &c., and the verse should properly have made two.

V.-1. O beloved,' O beloved ones. 8. The vehement tone of this address is much better preserved by Rosenmüller:-If ye find my beloved, what will ye tell him? That I am sick of love. Its abruptness well expresses the impatient eagerness of love. 11. 'Bushy, better rendered flowing. 13. 'Sweet flowers,' mounds of balsams, or, beds of perfumes. 14. 'Beryl,' topaz. 15. ‘Countenance,' aspect.

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VI.-13. Shulamite,' Shulamith.

It is probably the feminine of Shelomoh (Solomon). The latter part of this verse seems correctly assigned by Rosenmüller to the bride:-Why do ye look

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upon Shulamith as upon a dance of two hosts? It is the expression of modesty and bashfulness.

VII.-5. Galleries,' ringlets or tresses. 6. For delights,' or, among delights. 9. Rosenmüller supposes the first part of this verse to be an unfinished sentence of the bridegroom, whom sleep has surprised. And the roof of thy mouth like the best wine-(the bride finishes the sentence thus interrupted)—that goeth down sweetly to my beloved, flowing gently between the lips of those that are asleep; with allusion to sleep having overtaken him—not perceiving the change of person has made translators often miss the great beauty and elegant playfulness of this verse. No other version I have seen preserves it.

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VIII.-1. 'As my brother,' as a brother to me: un mio fratello, Diodati. 2. The verbs should be rendered in the future tenseI will lead thee; thou shalt instruct me; I will cause thee. That is, since public familiarity cannot be, 'I will lead thee, and bring thee into my mother's house,' &c. 3. We shall, probably, not be wrong in rendering this verse exactly as in ch. ii. 6; or, it may be, His left hand shall be,' &c.; His right hand shall embrace,' &c.; or thus, 'Let his left hand be,' &c. 5. 'I raised thee up,' I aroused thee. This ought to begin a fresh verse; the former part appears to be spoken by the daughters of Jerusalem. 6. Cruel as the grave,' hard, marg. (or inflexible), as hades. 'Which hath a most vehement flame,' (like) the flame of Jehovah; i. e., lightning. 7. For love,' for this love. 12. A thousand,'

the thousand.

Teignmouth.

THE DIVISION OF THE EARTH IN THE DAYS OF

PELEG.

By JOSEPH TOMPSON.

A BRIEF consideration of the text (Gen. x. 25), For in the days of Peleg was the earth divided,' may perhaps enable us to account for the apparent mystery of finding mankind in islands remote from continents, which fact I conceive to be but very ill accounted for by the supposition of men being driven adverse by winds or carried by currents.

In New South Wales, the islands of the Pacific, and most others, the European navigators found men-men in make, men in mind, men in instinct, men in spirituality; in fine, all evidently of one family, possessing language and that peculiar feature of man's nature-progression.

Now,

Now, men neither drop from above, nor spring from beneath, but are the offspring of the two sexes a fact I particularly note for the purpose of observing that, admitting the possibility of winds or currents bearing a frail uncompassed bark some hundreds of leagues without sails, there must have been both sexes in the boat, which, from known habits of aborigines, is highly improbable, and, taking all cases, impossible; for it would show a compact in attempting a desperate enterprise uncongenial with man in a state of nature, where ease is far before adventure.

But supposing the inhabitants of the continents had resolved to emigrate, there being no charts, they would have had to steer without a fixed destination, which is an absurdity, considering that known principle of selfish interest which is the more apparent as men are the more rude.

I would now come to a geological reason, which is, that fossil remains of the same species are found in the new and old worlds, especially of the elephantine specimens: now, from their being evidently and most unquestionably graminivorous, it becomes a matter of fact that the beasts when in existence could not have traversed from one continent to the other by the Arctic regions, where alone a communication exists, vegetation not there existing on which they could subsist during their migration.

The existence in remote islands or on continents of birds of the same species, and beasts, incapable of long flight in the first instance, and swimming in the second, and too numerous in their genera for mere importation, may be deduced as another evidence tending to the same conclusions, against which the existence of native species does not militate, inasmuch as the latitudes and longitudes to which specific species are native are defined by very fine lines, and on which lines the disruption in some cases may have taken place.

That man is of one common stock is proved, I think, by the fact of the uniformity of anatomical arrangement (whereas beasts, birds, &c., of the same genus differ in this particular in the most remarkable manner); by the principle of progression and power of voice, as before alluded to; by the fact of corresponding virtues and vices; by a religion and the particular of sacrifice, and by the hopes and fears of a future state.

The foregoing arguments appear to me conclusive that man did not emigrate to the remote islands from the continents, and that the islands were originally not disjoined from the main land, but that some great disruption at some remote period must have produced those effects and appearances which are now so obvious.

This disruption I conceive to have been in the form of our modern landslips, which carry the cattle, etc., with them, leaving

a chasm