157. But men, while rude, ftudy to exprefs themfelves with force; and many Hebrew idioms take their rife from this propenfity. "Always" for "frequently." "Eternity" for "a long duration." A negation for a comparative. "Mercy and not facrifice," for "mercy rather than facrifice, " Hof. vi. 6. "Receive my inftruction, and not (rather than) filver;" for it follows," and knowledge rather than choice gold. " Prov. viii. 10. (N° 931.) The nominative abfolute, fetting the principal word ftrongly in view; Pfal. xi. 4. "Jehovah! in heaven is his throne. " Horfley's Hofea, Pref. Affirmative verbs for the negation or extenuation of their contraries; "To hate," for "not to love," or "to love lefs. " Gen. xxix. 31. "Leah was hated, " loved lefs than Rachel. ver. 30. (N° 884.) Glaff. 1. 3. t. 3. can. 19. So, things are faid to act, or to be done, when it is only meant, that they are known, discovered, thought to be, or acknow. ledged. Gen. xxx. 13. "Leah faid, the daughters" W literally, "fhall make me blessed," reckon me bleffed, or call me bleffed, happy. Eng. (No 883.) Glaff. ib. c. 17, 18. Hence alfo, the fuperlative formed by adding any of the names of God. Gen. xxiii. 6. " A prince of God." Ch. xxx. 8. "Wrestlings of God." Ruth ii. 20. "Bleffed to the Lord, " very bleffed. Jon. iii. 3. "Great to the Lord, " very great. 158. Sometimes, these two propenfities, to speak with force, but without precision, operate in conjunction; and there are fome Hebrew idioms which bear plain marks of that conjunction. Things are faid to be done, when it is only meant that they are notified, notified, declared, or foretold. Gen. xxvii. 37. "now "I have made him thy lord," declared, foretold that he shall be. (N° 883.) Glafs. 1. 3. t. 3. can. 15. Verbs of acting, fignify a number of related conceptions, none of which come fully up to action; as only, the faculty or power “It shall not be numbered,” can of acting. Gen. xvi. 10. not be. Pfal. xxii. 17. "I will tell (may tell) all my The duty of acting. Mal. i. 6. "A fon 72 honoureth his father," not," always honours," but ought, is obliged to honour him. (N° 878.) Glafs. ib. The will to act. Exod. xii. 48. « If a ftranger w will keep the paffover," defire, incline to keep it; for he muft first be circumcifed. (N° 879-) Glafs. ib. can. 7. The endeavour or tendency to act. Gen. xxxvii. 21. "Reuben heard, and he delivered him out of their hands," en deavoured to deliver, ver. 22, &c. (N° 879.) Glafs. ib. can. 8. A command to act. Gen. xl. 22. "Pharaoh hanged the chief baker," commanded him to be hanged. (N° 881.) SECT. V. Of the Language of the New Testament. 159. THE Greek language, in which the New Teftament is written, is, in many particulars of its ftructure and genius, very different from the Hebrew; but it has been so often and fo fully explained, that it will not be necessary for us to examine it minutely. 160. On account of its being, at that time, the language most univerfally known, it was the fittest in which the New Testament could have been written. Marth's Michael. ch. 4. § 1. 161. The language of the New Testament is not pure Greek, but Hellenistical, formed by a mixture of oriental idioms and expreffions with those which are properly Greek. Simon, Hift. Crit. N. T. p. 1. c. 27. Michael. ib. §. 6. 162. Moft of the words, however, and many of the phrases of the New Teftament, are pure Greek; and fo far as they are, they must be explained according to the ufage of the claffical writers, and, confequently, cannot be understood without having recourse to their works; for which reafon, collections of correfpondent terms terms and phrafes from them, with the fenfe in which they use them, have very properly and fuccessfully been made by several learned men, and applied to the illuftration of the New Teftamént. Raphel. Elfner, Palairet. Grotius in Comment. paffim. Raphel. Wolfii cura Philolog. in N. T. Bos. Acts xxvij. 13. "Loofing, they failed arros (found only here) TM KgnTM, nearer, close to, Crete. " Elfner. Palair. Bos. Rom. 1. 31. 2 Tim. iii. 3. Raphel. in loc. without na sogya, qoдovdol, amμegol, occur not elsewhere, but frequent in Greek writers, tural affection, covenant-breakers, fierce. Mark xiv. 72. Kα exißaλwv ixλais, frequent in the N. T. but in no sense suitable here-very differently explained. (Critic. in loc.) Eng. "When he thought thereon; " but rather, "having gone out," (Polyb.) which agrees with Matthew and Luke. Raphel. Acts xvii. 31. Пs agarxar. Moft obviously, "Giving faith," but not true. is," a proof or argument," (Ariftot, Rhetor, 1. i. c. 1.) 5 magixar, "to confirm, prove, give proof, render credible," (Polyb. Plutarch.) So Eng." given affurance." Raphel. 163. In the language of the New Teftament, all the dialects occur; but the attic is predominant, and runs through all the books of it. Wyfii Dialect. Sacra. 164. But, the writers of the New Teftament being Jews, would, in writing Greek, naturally run into the idioms of their own language, or introduce hebraisms or fyriafms; which have, however, been, without reafon, denied by fome, and reckoned much more numerous than they really are, by others. Pfochenii Diatrib. de Linguæ N. T. Puritate. 165. Such idioms can be illustrated only from the oriental languages, the ftudy of which is thus ftrongly recommended, as being neceffary even for understanding the New Teftament; and from the verfion of the 70, which is written in the fame idiom. (No. 251.) 166. There are in the New Teftament, fome Hebrew and Syriac words. Michael. ib. § 6. (Heb.) Any," truly, fo be it." Glafs. Philol. 1. 3. t. 5. can. 16. Heylin. Theolog. Lect. p. 131. Αλληλεία, "Praise the Lord. " Ζιζανια, "Tares. " Glass, ib. (Syr.) Mauμavas, "riches, " Erasm. Druf. Grot. Magav ada. Some, "The Lord is come;" others, " In Critici in Cor. xvi. 22. Tremell, Vorftius. Locke. 167. There are likewife Greek words ufed in a Hebrew or Syriac sense. |