Sir,—I have examined Parkhurst's Hebrew Lexicon with reference to O. S.—your correspondent's query, (see "Current Notes" for November, p. 85), concerning Shem, Ham, and Japhet, and cannot discover the names to have any such primary meaning as was there ascribed to them; though perhaps by a little straining, and a few far-fetched ideas, such an interpretation might be given—but it is so wholly unworthy of any one to torture his imagination to suppose that the original signification of words should have been framed to suit a climate, that nothing more need be said.
I remain, Sir,
Your obedient servant,
C. M. J.
Mr. Willis.
Turkish Coin.
Southwick, near Oundle,
Jan. 1st. 1852.
Sir,—In Kitto's Cyclopædia of Biblical Literature, vol. 2. p. 379, there is a coin illustrated thus: "5. supposed ancient Jewish coin, representing drums." Kitto gives his authorities at the end of the article on Musical Instruments.
Allow me to give the figure of the coin, and its interpretation:
Read from left to right, the letters, or rather words, are: S F T R Ch N: in Turkish it reads, The Boundary of the Turks; and the two drum sticks ! are the pillars of Hercules, or the Calpe columna, and the Abyla columna.—N.B. The S (for sh) is a Cuneiform letter.