ADDENDA.
Page 9, Notes. At end of Note on verse 17, after ‘spirit,’ add: It may be observed that רעיון occurs in the Chaldee of Daniel——see Daniel ii. 29, 30; iv. 19 (16); v. 6, etc., always in the sense of a ‘painful reflection,’ but in later Chaldee and Syriac as ‘a reflection’ of any kind. As the sense in which Koheleth uses the word is the nearest to the root-meaning, is it not an evidence, so far, of earlier composition of his book?
Page 12, Notes. At end of Note on verse 5 add: It should have been mentioned that פרדס is also considered to afford an indication of late composition. It is said to be a Persian word; it occurs, however, Nehemiah ii. 8; Canticles iv. 10. The word admits of Semitic derivation, from פרד, ‘to divide,’ ‘cut off in portions,’ ‘lay out.’ If it be really an exotic, no date of introduction is more probable than that of Solomon. It is also to be noted that in the context it follows the word ‘gardens,’ which is quite natural if it were intended to denote a foreign luxury recently introduced.
Page 15, Notes. At end of Note on verse 12 add: This most obscure passage may perhaps receive some light from a further discussion of the word כבר and other forms derived from the same root. The feminine or abstract occurs Genesis xxxv. 16, xlviii. 7, and 2 Kings v. 19, joined with ארץ, rendered in the Authorized Version a ‘little’ way. The verb occurs in hiphil, Job xxxv. 16, xxxvi. 31, translated ‘multiplied,’ ‘in abundance;’ and in the hiphil form, with the characteristic jud̄ inserted——Job viii. 2, xv. 10, etc.; Isaiah x. 13, xvii. 12, etc.——in the sense of ‘full of years,’ ‘overflowing,’ and the like. A diligent comparison of these meanings shows that ‘fulness,’ in the sense of ‘completeness,’ must be the root-meaning; and hence, when applied to time, the LXX. render ἤδη, ‘already.’ With this meaning agree also the Arabic and Syriac, see Fuerst, Lexicon, s. voc. The meaning then of the word is, the ‘complete present.’ With regard to the use of the root מלך in the sense of counsel, it occurs once in Hebrew, viz. Nehemiah v. 7, and once in biblical Chaldee, Daniel iv. 27 (24). This meaning is common, as remarked in the note, in Aramaic. The fair inference from this is, that the root-meaning of the Hebrew word is ‘to counsel,’ just as the root-meaning of the word Apostle is ‘one sent.’ These senses are just what the context requires. Koheleth turns round to see wisdom in comparison with, or contradistinction to, false hopes and false prudence, and asks how the man, that is, humanity, can tell the one from the other. His words are ‘what is,’ not ‘who is the man,’ etc., equivalent to——‘in what way can humanity enter upon the results of the counsel,’ ‘or the king,’——the equivoke being, we believe, intentional, and the contracted relative giving a conditional turn to the sentence——‘with respect to that which at present he performs it.’ It would have been better if the word with had been printed in the notes with a small letter, as the division hardly amounts to a period, though the connexion is not close. The suffix of the verb refers back through the relative pronoun to counsel, and might be well rendered into English thus——‘In respect of which he at present takes that counsel.’ The LXX., contrary to their custom, omit ἤδη, because it is perhaps sufficiently included in ἐπελεύσεται, or because τὰ ὅσα ἤδη ἐποίησαν αὐτήν would not have been intelligible. It is evident this all squares with the context. Koheleth, as Solomon, discovered that with all his wisdom he could not practically discern the difference between this true wisdom and that false prudence which led him to accumulate only to be disappointed in his successor.
Page 19, Notes. At end of Note on verse 25 add: The phrase ומי יחוש חוץ ממני requires further elucidation. The reading ממנו, supported by the LXX., is also confirmed by Hebrew MSS. The literal rendering is——‘and who hastens outside him.’ This the LXX. translate καὶ τίς πιέται πάρεξ αὐτοῦ, ‘who drinks,’ etc. There is a reading of A², φείσεται, ‘spares.’ The former is supported by Peshito, Arabic, and Theodotion——the latter by Aquila, Symmachus, and Jerome. If the Greek text alone had to be considered, φείσεται would, as the harder reading, be entitled to the preference. It is readily seen, however, that it arose from a conjectural alteration of the Hebrew text into חוס, for which there is no authority; neither will the meaning to ‘spare’ make any sense in the context. As the root occurs frequently, we are driven to the conclusion that the rendering of the LXX. was by design. Schleusner’s conjecture that πίεται is used in the signification of ‘sensibus frui,’ is no doubt correct——compare Habakkuk i. 8, as also Isaiah xxviii. 16. Considered as ad sensum, this rendering gives the idea of the Hebrew text correctly.
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