in the valley of Ajalon." It is easy to see how it might be said, "Joshua spake to the Lord," although this is immediately followed by the address to the sun and the moon. The demand of Joshua is only apparently directed to them; it was the LORD OF HOSTS who was strictly addressed. Here the question first of all arises, at what time and place Joshua uttered this wish, or rather, at what time the poet makes him utter it. The word then cannot guide us in fixing the time; for it is manifest that it does not refer to what immediately precedes, i. e. the flight of the enemies to Azekah, so as to imply that Joshua first uttered the words after arriving at that place; but it refers to the whole course of events during the day, the whole victory over the enemy. This is obvious from the words which are added to mark more definitely the meaning of then: "In the day when the LORD delivered up the Amorites before the children of Israel." We must therefore look around for other marks of time. In v. 13 it is said, that the sun stood still in the midst of heaven. It was therefore about noon, when Joshua uttered the command. With this time coincides also the place, as specified in v. 12. The words, "Sun, stand thou still on Gibeon, and thou moon, in the valley of Ajalon," can be explained only on the supposition that they were spoken at Gibeon. There, in the tumult of battle, Joshua commands the sun to stand still. At the time of moonshine, he hopes to be at Ajalon in pursuit of the flying foe; there, the moon shall not withdraw her light, until he shall no longer need it. Ajalon, according to Josh. 19: 42. 21: 24, was a city in the territory which afterwards fell to the tribe of Dan, lying southwest of Gibeon, and consequently in the region towards which the flying kings must first turn, and afterwards did actually turn their course, and not far from Azekah.-The poet, therefore, makes Joshua, in the midst of the battle near Gibeon, utter the wish, that the sun and moon may stand still; that is, in plain prose, that the sun may not go down, the day not come to an end, before the defeat of the enemy shall be completed. This wish is fulfilled; and the poet, in v. 13, narrates this, by continuing the same figure which he had begun: Joshua routed completely the foe, so that the day seemed to have been prolonged, and to have been equal to two.' In v. 14, the poet goes on to extol in general terms the glory of the day. When he says, "there was no day like that before or after it," it would surely be doing violence to the language even of an historian, to de

rive from these words a proof of the miraculous prolongation of the day; but if the words belong to the poet, it will be the less necessary to search for some event in history, which, compared with the standing still of the sun and moon, would be equal to it in importance. We need only compare the language in Joel 2:2. The poet then closes with the return of Joshua and his host to Gilgal. The details respecting the pursuit of the kings, the capture of their cities, etc. are no longer adapted to poetry, but belong to the history; the thread of which the author of the book of Joshua again takes up in v. 16, at the point where he had broken off in v. 11.

Our wish is, that this essay may lead others to a deeper investigation of the subject in question; and we shall rejoice, if in this way an opportunity may be afforded us, either to correct our views, or to confirm and develope them further.

ART. VI. INTERPRETATION OF EXODUS VI. 2, 3.

By E. Ballantine, Assistant Instructor in Union Theol. Sem. Prince Edward, Va.

2 And God spake unto Moses, and said unto him, I am JEHO3 VAH: And I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto

Jacob by the name of God Almighty, but by my name JEHOVAH was I not known to them.

The difficulties and obscurities of the word of God, are justly considered as worthy of all the time and labour which may be bestowed in relieving and illustrating them. Still these difficulties and obscurities are doubtless of different degrees of importance; and the importance of each one is to be determined

by its intimate or remote, its little or extensive connexion with the system of revealed truth. The real meaning, whatever it is, of the passage just cited, has plainly a strong bearing on the subject of the divine nature and names, the gradual revelation of divine truth, and the different modes of the administration of divine government in different periods of the world.

It is equally plain, that however unimportant the signification of proper names may generally be, the true interpretation and - force of this passage is involved in the true signification of the sacred name JEHOVAH, to which God so solemnly and formally calls the attention of Moses. The signification of this name is then the first thing which demands our attention.*

The bare history of this term would occupy a larger space than can well be allowed for this whole article. I shall, therefore, introduce nothing more than may be necessary for the elucidation of the subject. Superstition seems to have exhausted upon this name of Deity all its strength. From an age as early as that preceding the Septuagint translation, none but priests dared to pronounce it, and they only on particular occasions. The "ineffable name" was supposed to have a reference the most sacred and mysterious to the nature of the Deity, and to carry with it a power of which mortals might well fear to occasion the exercise. But to let these absurdities pass, the following are the principal significations of the term which have been proposed.

1. It has been supposed to express, not any divine attribute, as the other names of God, but the divine nature itself. Thus the Jews call it by, the name of his essence or substance. This may not be far from the next following supposition.

2. It is said to imply simply real existence, that which is, as distinguished from that which is not. In the words of Leigh, it signifies, "O av, ens, qui est, et revera subsistit vel existit. Nomen Dei proprium, quo distinguitur ab idolis, quae non sunt, non existunt, sed finguntur."

...

3. To the idea of existence others add that of necessity—' the necessary existence.'

4. Others subjoin that of eternity-'eternally existing.' Augustine calls it 'nomen aeternitatis."

*See, in connexion with the following remarks, the Essay of Prof. Stuart on the meaning of xúgios in Vol. I. p. 733 of this work; particularly p. 738 sq.-ED.

5. It has been explained as signifying, Essentia necessario existens, omni potestati per se praedita, an essence necessarily existent and omnipotent.' The idea of power is derived from the root, to which that signification is assigned, upon what testimony I am ignorant.

6. Others make it signify an immutable essence.

7. The idea of immutability is extended also to the will and volitions, so as to make the name express a being, or essence, of unchanging purpose, i. e. faithful, constant in performing his word and especially his promises.

8. Rosenmüller combines the last two ideas, An eternal Being, immutable in essence and purpose.

9. Others add to the idea of independent existence, that of the source of existence to all other things. This is Leigh's full definition: "O v, ens, qui est et revera subsistit vel existit, et per quem facta sunt omnia quae sunt et existunt." Another bas it, "Essentia existens per se, ex quo, in quo, per quem et propter quem sunt quaecunque sunt.' Le Clerc, with this idea, derives the term from the future Piel or Hiphil of, to cause to be; and he appeals to Is. 42: 5 and 48: 2, as instances of a reference to this signification of the name.

10. The word, Jehovah, has been derived from a, destruction, calamity, signifying therefore the destroying one,— destroying all the enemies of his people.

11. Dr A. Clarke is entirely singular and also inconsistent with himself in other places, when he considers the signification of the name to be declared in Ex. 34: 5, 6, “And Jehovah descended in the cloud . . . and proclaimed the name of Jehovah... Jehovah, Jehovah God, merciful and gracious, long-suffering, abundant in mercy and truth," etc. Comp. 33: 18.

The proper vowels and true pronunciation of this word have also been matters of great dispute. Some maintain that its present pointing is correct, , Jehovah. But many other modes are adopted by different learned men. The principal of

Yăhăvéh, Yehvéh, Yehăvvéh. These forms have been derived from the supposed significations of the word, or from information as to its sound, occurring in ancient writers. It has been represented in Greek, variously: 'law', 'levo, 'Iaße, and other forms are met with. But, very little can be learned from the mode of writing a name in a foreign language, especially the

Greek; and the difficulty is made much greater in this name, by the nature of its letters, which are all quiescent. Neither can we argue with any certainty from the signification to the form of the word; for proper names, in Hebrew, frequently vary greatly from the grammatical form of the significant words which compose them. In proof of this remark, I need only refer to the names of Jacob's sons and their significations as declared, Gen. 29: 31-30:24. The quiescent letters especially are subject to great change in the manner of enunciation, as is well known to every one even slightly acquainted with the Hebrew.

A knowledge of the true pronunciation of the term is, however, not at all necessary to the point in hand, which is its true signification. The sources of information on this point are, (1) The etymology; (2) References made to its signification in the Bible; (3) The meaning of other words and phrases and even institutions, which we may have evidence to believe have a significancy synonymous with it. And the probability or the proof will consist, not in the bearing of all or part of the evidence derived from one of these sources; but in the coincident and uncontradicted testimony afforded by all.

All the evidence which we have on the subject concurs, I think, in supporting the second of the interpretations which have been enumerated, viz. that the name Jehovah expresses the real existence of the Deity; and that its particular use is to express the contrast in this respect between the true God and idols. O av, ENS, QUI EST, ET REVERA SUBSISTIT VEL EXISTIT. NOMEN DEI PROPRIUM, QUO DISTINGUITUR AB IDOLIS QUAE NON SUNT, NON EXIstent, sed finguntur.

It will be readily seen that the name, according to this interpretation, though it does not in itself express, yet supposes the existence of divine attributes. In the word Jehovah, existence is affirmed; and that of which it is affirmed is God, whose character and attributes are supposed to be already known or elsewhere declared. Other things were clothed with the attributes of Deity by the vain imaginations of men; but of these, as thus endued, real existence could never be affirmed. HOVAH expresses the real existence of a Being who possesses all the attributes of Deity, and is used to contrast that Being with all false deities.

JE

This meaning of the name is supported by its etymology. All, I believe, except the supporters of the tenth opinion alone, VOL. III. No. 12.

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