Page:A critical and exegetical commentary on Genesis (1910).djvu/634

26a. The blessings, arranged in three parallel couplets,—the first referring to the fertility of the soil.—Blessings of heaven above] Rain and dew, the cause of fertility (so Dt. 33¹³ em.).—Tĕhôm . . . beneath] The subterranean flood, whence springs and rivers are fed: see on 1².—Blessings of breasts and womb] Contr. the terrible imprecation, Hos. 9¹⁴.—26a. Passing over the first four words as absolutely unintelligible (v.i.), we come to the third pair of blessings: . . . of the eternal mountains . . . of the everlasting hills (Dt. 33¹⁵, Hab. 3⁶)] In what sense the mountains were conceived as a source of blessing is not clear,—perhaps as abodes of deity; cf. the 'dew of Hermon' (Ps. 133³).—The word rendered produce is uncertain; we should expect 'blessings,' as G actually reads (v.i.).—26b. Be on the head] as in benediction the hand is laid on the head (48¹⁴): cf. Pr. 10⁶ 11²⁶.—(Hebrew characters)] So Dt. 33¹⁶. The (Hebrew characters) is either the Nazirite—one 'consecrated' to God by a vow involving unshorn hair (Ju. 13^{5. 7} etc.)—or the prince (so only La. 4⁷). For the rendering 'crowned one' there are no examples. The second interpretation is that usually adopted by recent scholars; some explaining it of the Northern monarchy, of

one remediable, the other not. The last line is to be restored with G (Hebrew characters), 'blessings of the eternal mountains' (Dt. 33¹⁵, Hab. 3⁶). But the first three words, though represented by all Vns., must be wrong; for to put (Hebrew characters) under the regimen of (Hebrew characters) destroys the parallelism, and the vb. (Hebrew characters) cuts off (Hebrew characters) from its subj. What is obviously required is a line parallel to (Hebrew characters). Gu.'s suggested emendation, though far from satisfying, is the best that can be proposed: (Hebrew characters) = 'Blessings of father, yea, man and child.'—(Hebrew characters)] [E]G + (Hebrew characters), suggested no doubt by the previous line.—(Hebrew characters)] VST^OJ render 'my progenitors,' by an impossible derivation from [root] (Hebrew characters), 'be pregnant.'—(Hebrew characters)] EV 'utmost bound' (so De., fr. [root] (Hebrew characters) or (Hebrew characters); see BDB), has no real philological or traditional justification. If the text were reliable, it might be the common word 'desire,' from [root] (Hebrew characters) (G ^curs. [E]VT^OJ), in the sense of 'desirable things.' With some hesitation I follow above Ols. Gu. al., reading (Hebrew characters) after Dt. 33¹⁴. But G^B (Hebrew characters) has great weight (all the greater that the translator has lost the thread of the thought), and ought perhaps to be preferred.—(Hebrew characters)] is not necessarily a derivative from the noun (Hebrew characters), 'diadem,' = 'the crowned one'; more probably it comes from the vb. directly,—(Hebrew characters) = 'dedicate' (cf. (Hebrew characters))—which admits various shades of meaning. Of the Vns. GT^J represent the idea of 'prince' or 'ruler, T^O 'the separated one,' V Saad. 'the Nazirite,' S 'the crown' ((Hebrew characters)).