1. Wo to the land shadowing with wings,Whichisbeyond the rivers of Ethiopia:2. That sendeth ambassadors by the sea,Even in vessels of bulrushes upon the waters,Saying, Go, ye swift messengers, to a nation scattered and peeled;To a people terrible from the beginning hitherto;A nation meted out and trodden down,3. Whose land the rivers have spoiled!All ye inhabitants of the world, and dwellers on the earth,See ye, when he lifteth up an ensign on the mountains,And when he bloweth a trumpet, hear ye!4. For so the Lord said unto me, I will take my rest,And I will consider in my dwelling-place,Like a clear heat upon herbs,And like a cloud of dew in the heat of harvest.5. For afore the harvest, when the bud is perfect,And the sour grape is ripening in the flower,He shall both cut off the sprigs with pruning-hooks,And take away and cut down the branches.6. They shall be left together unto the fowls of the mountains,And to the beasts of the earth;And the fowls shall summer upon them,And the beasts of the earth shall winter upon them.7. In that time shall a present be brought unto the Lord of hosts,Of a people scattered and peeled,And from a people terrible from the beginning hitherto;A nation meted out and trodden under foot,Whose land the rivers have spoiled,To the place of the name of the Lord of hosts, the Mount Zion.Isa.18.
1. Wo to the land shadowing with wings,Whichisbeyond the rivers of Ethiopia:2. That sendeth ambassadors by the sea,Even in vessels of bulrushes upon the waters,Saying, Go, ye swift messengers, to a nation scattered and peeled;To a people terrible from the beginning hitherto;A nation meted out and trodden down,3. Whose land the rivers have spoiled!All ye inhabitants of the world, and dwellers on the earth,See ye, when he lifteth up an ensign on the mountains,And when he bloweth a trumpet, hear ye!4. For so the Lord said unto me, I will take my rest,And I will consider in my dwelling-place,Like a clear heat upon herbs,And like a cloud of dew in the heat of harvest.5. For afore the harvest, when the bud is perfect,And the sour grape is ripening in the flower,He shall both cut off the sprigs with pruning-hooks,And take away and cut down the branches.6. They shall be left together unto the fowls of the mountains,And to the beasts of the earth;And the fowls shall summer upon them,And the beasts of the earth shall winter upon them.7. In that time shall a present be brought unto the Lord of hosts,Of a people scattered and peeled,And from a people terrible from the beginning hitherto;A nation meted out and trodden under foot,Whose land the rivers have spoiled,To the place of the name of the Lord of hosts, the Mount Zion.Isa.18.
1. Wo to the land shadowing with wings,Whichisbeyond the rivers of Ethiopia:
1. Wo to the land shadowing with wings,
Whichisbeyond the rivers of Ethiopia:
2. That sendeth ambassadors by the sea,Even in vessels of bulrushes upon the waters,Saying, Go, ye swift messengers, to a nation scattered and peeled;To a people terrible from the beginning hitherto;A nation meted out and trodden down,
2. That sendeth ambassadors by the sea,
Even in vessels of bulrushes upon the waters,
Saying, Go, ye swift messengers, to a nation scattered and peeled;
To a people terrible from the beginning hitherto;
A nation meted out and trodden down,
3. Whose land the rivers have spoiled!All ye inhabitants of the world, and dwellers on the earth,See ye, when he lifteth up an ensign on the mountains,And when he bloweth a trumpet, hear ye!
3. Whose land the rivers have spoiled!
All ye inhabitants of the world, and dwellers on the earth,
See ye, when he lifteth up an ensign on the mountains,
And when he bloweth a trumpet, hear ye!
4. For so the Lord said unto me, I will take my rest,And I will consider in my dwelling-place,Like a clear heat upon herbs,And like a cloud of dew in the heat of harvest.
4. For so the Lord said unto me, I will take my rest,
And I will consider in my dwelling-place,
Like a clear heat upon herbs,
And like a cloud of dew in the heat of harvest.
5. For afore the harvest, when the bud is perfect,And the sour grape is ripening in the flower,He shall both cut off the sprigs with pruning-hooks,And take away and cut down the branches.
5. For afore the harvest, when the bud is perfect,
And the sour grape is ripening in the flower,
He shall both cut off the sprigs with pruning-hooks,
And take away and cut down the branches.
6. They shall be left together unto the fowls of the mountains,And to the beasts of the earth;And the fowls shall summer upon them,And the beasts of the earth shall winter upon them.
6. They shall be left together unto the fowls of the mountains,
And to the beasts of the earth;
And the fowls shall summer upon them,
And the beasts of the earth shall winter upon them.
7. In that time shall a present be brought unto the Lord of hosts,Of a people scattered and peeled,And from a people terrible from the beginning hitherto;A nation meted out and trodden under foot,Whose land the rivers have spoiled,To the place of the name of the Lord of hosts, the Mount Zion.Isa.18.
7. In that time shall a present be brought unto the Lord of hosts,
Of a people scattered and peeled,
And from a people terrible from the beginning hitherto;
A nation meted out and trodden under foot,
Whose land the rivers have spoiled,
To the place of the name of the Lord of hosts, the Mount Zion.
Isa.18.
The denouncements of Jehovah against the children of Ham are more plainly expressed in the promises of God to these of the true worship, his peculiar people:
Thus saith the Lord,The labour of Egypt, and merchandise of Ethiopia,And of the Sabeans, men of stature,Shall come over unto thee, and they shall be thine:They shall come after thee;In chains they shall come over;And they shall fall down unto thee.They shall make supplication unto thee,Saying, Surely Godisin thee;And there is none else,There is no God (beside),—(or, there is no other God.)Isa.xlv. 14.
Thus saith the Lord,The labour of Egypt, and merchandise of Ethiopia,And of the Sabeans, men of stature,Shall come over unto thee, and they shall be thine:They shall come after thee;In chains they shall come over;And they shall fall down unto thee.They shall make supplication unto thee,Saying, Surely Godisin thee;And there is none else,There is no God (beside),—(or, there is no other God.)Isa.xlv. 14.
Thus saith the Lord,The labour of Egypt, and merchandise of Ethiopia,And of the Sabeans, men of stature,Shall come over unto thee, and they shall be thine:They shall come after thee;In chains they shall come over;And they shall fall down unto thee.They shall make supplication unto thee,Saying, Surely Godisin thee;And there is none else,There is no God (beside),—(or, there is no other God.)Isa.xlv. 14.
Thus saith the Lord,
The labour of Egypt, and merchandise of Ethiopia,
And of the Sabeans, men of stature,
Shall come over unto thee, and they shall be thine:
They shall come after thee;
In chains they shall come over;
And they shall fall down unto thee.
They shall make supplication unto thee,
Saying, Surely Godisin thee;
And there is none else,
There is no God (beside),—(or, there is no other God.)
Isa.xlv. 14.
SoJeremiah: “Declare ye in Egypt, and publish it in Migdol, and publish in Noph and in Taphanhes; say ye, Stand fast, and prepare thee; for the sword shall devour round about thee.
“O thou daughter dwelling in Egypt, furnish thyself to go into captivity: for Noph shall be waste and desolate, without an inhabitant.
“The daughter of Egypt shall be confounded; she shall be delivered into the hands of the people of the north.”Jer.xlvi. 1, 19, 24.
“And the sword shall come upon Egypt, and great pain shall be in Ethiopia, when the slain shall fall in Egypt, and they shall take away her multitudes, and her foundations shall be broken down.
“Ethiopia, and Lybia, and Lydia, and all the mingled (mixed-blooded) people,Chuband the men of the land that is in league, shall fall with them by the sword.
“In that day shall messengers go forth from me in ships to make the careless Ethiopians afraid, and great pain shall come upon them, as in the day of Egypt: for, lo, it cometh.
“The young men of Aven and of Pibeseth shall fall by the sword: and these cities shall go into captivity.
“At Taphanhes also the day shall be darkened, when I shall break there the yokes of Egypt: and the pomp of her strength shall cease in her: as for her, a cloud shall cover her; and her daughters shall go into captivity.
“And I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations and disperse them among the countries, and they shall know that I am the Lord.”Ezek.xxx. 4, 5, 9, 17, 18, 26.
“And I will sell your sons and your daughters into the hands of the children of Judah, and they shall sell them to the Sabeans, to a people afar off: for the Lord hath spoken it.”Joeliii. 8.
It may be we have occupied too much time, in remarks too obscure and indistinct for biblical criticism, upon this passage ofZephaniah; and it may be that, in the judgment of some, we have thus made ourselves obnoxious to the satire of the reverend and witty commentator upon the words:
“Strange such difference there should be'Twist tweedle-dum and tweedle-dee.”
“Strange such difference there should be'Twist tweedle-dum and tweedle-dee.”
“Strange such difference there should be'Twist tweedle-dum and tweedle-dee.”
“Strange such difference there should be
'Twist tweedle-dum and tweedle-dee.”
But we were sure the passage had been greatly misunderstood, and were, perhaps, too much emboldened by the hope, that the providence of the All-wise might yet again issue forth the truth from the tongue of the feeble.
From the rootהמּהhmhhas also been derived the Arabic wordحَمَّانٌhamanhaman, and the Syriacܚܳܡܳܢ'haman, and adopted by the Hebrews in the wordחַמָןḥamānhaman, which Castell translates “images,” dedicated to the worship of the sun, the worship of fire, heat, &c.
The Hebrew use of this word will be found in a plural form inLev.xxvi. 30, thus: “And I will destroy your high places, and cut down yourimages,”hammanekem. 2Chron.xiv. 3 (the fourth of the Hebrew text:) “And brake down theimages,”חַמָנִ֑יםḥamānîmhammanim; also xxxiv. 4, 7: “And theimages, (חַמָּנִיםḥammānîmhammanim) that were on high above them, he cut down,” “and had beaten the graven images (חַמָנִ֖יםḥamānîmhammanim) into powder.”Isa.xvii. 8: “Either the groves or theimages,”חַמָנִֽיםḥamānîmhammanim; also xxvii. 9: “The groves and images (חַמָנִֽיםḥamānîmhammanim) shall not stand up.”Ezek.vi. 4, 6: “Your altars shall be desolate, and yourimages(חַמָּ֣נֵיכֶ֔םḥammānêkemhammanekem) shall be broken,” “and yourimages(חַמָּ֣נֵיכֶ֔םḥammānêkemhammanekem) may be cut down.” We have no possible word to express literally this term, but thehammanekens, or littleHAMS, or fire-houses, the objects of religious adoration, were conical towers, from fifty to one hundred feet high, and fifteen to twenty feet in diameter at the base, andgradually decreasing upward, with a small door or opening fifteen or twenty feet above the base, and four smaller ones near the apex, looking towards the cardinal points.
The moderns have no certain knowledge of their particular use, yet all believe that in them was attempted to be kept the perpetual or holy fire, and perhaps into them was thrust the infant sacrificed to the god. May we not suppose that Daniel and his brethren would have informed us, had it been necessary for us to know more? Spencer, Heb. Laws, lib. ii. cap. 25, § 3, says of these edifices: “They were of a conical form and of a black colour.” It seems to us this identifies these edifices with the round towers of Persia and elsewhere, remains of many of which were anciently found in Ireland. The curious about this matter are referred to Gesenius’s Thesaurus, p. 489; also Lee’s Lex. p. 297, where he quotes Henrici Arentii Hamaker Miscellanea Phœnicia, pp. 49, 54; alsoDiatribe Philologico-Critica aliquot monumentorum Punicorum; Selden, de Diis Syris, ii. cap. 8, and the authors severally cited by them. Upon a full consideration of the subject, Dr. Lee says—“Upon the whole, I am disposed to believe that the termהָםhām(haman) is rather derived fromהָםhāmHam, the father of Canaan, of Mitsraim, &c.,Gen.x. 6–20; and hence by the latter worshipped as presiding angel of the sun, under the title ofἌμουν,GreekἌμμων(Ammon), which is probably our very word.” If so, then his very name became significant of the worship of fire, and even expressive of the fire-temples themselves.
By some fanciful relation, not relevant to our subject, between the fire or sun worshippers and astronomy, when the sun was in aries (the ram), the god Ham,Ammon,Hammon, orJupiter Hammon, was represented with a ram’s head for his crest; with this crest became associated the idea of the god, and hence chonchologists, even to this day, call certain shells, that are fancied to resemble the ram’s horn,Ammonites, giving further evidence, even now, of how deeply seated was the association between the earlier descendants of Ham and the fire worship of their day.
The long and fanciful story ofIo, changed by Jupiter into a white cow; of her flight from the fifty sons of Egyptus; of her becoming the progenitor of theIonians; the Egyptians claiming her under the name ofIsis; of her marriage withOsiris, who became at lengthApisandSerapis, worshipped in the image of a black bull with a white spot in his forehead, and many such tales, are all legitimately descended from his family peculiarities, theirrelative condition in the world, and the fact that Ham became the imaginarydeityof his descendants.
Much evidence may be had proving that Ham became inseparably associated with, and in fact the very father of, idolatry, and of all those enormities growing out of it; enormities with which idolatry has ever been attended, and which time and the history of man for ever give proof to be a total preventive of all physical and moral elevation and improvement; and which, like other breaches against the laws of God, have, at all times, among all men, for ever been accompanied by both physical and moral degradation. But the descendants of Ham gave his name to their country.ⲬⲏⲙⲓChemiwas the Coptic name for Egypt, which the Septuagint translates intoΧαμCham. Plutarch styles EgyptΧημίαChemia, from the CopticⲬⲏⲙⲓChemi, and, as if he wished to give some account of its origin, adds,θερμή γὰρ ἐστὶν καὶ ὕγρα, “for it ishot and humid;” showing that theⲬⲏⲙⲓChemiof the Copts signified the same as the Ham of the Hebrews. But the Coptic wordⲬⲏⲙⲓChemi,ΧημιandΧημεof Plutarch, also signified the adjectiveblack. See Gibbs’s Hebrew Lexicon, under the wordחָםḥāmHam; and with this signification the wordHamis used inPs.lxxviii. 51: “The chief of their strength in the tabernacles ofHam:” Septuagint,Χαμ,Cham, from the CopticⲬⲏⲙⲓchemi, black. cv. 23: “And Jacob sojourned in the land ofHam,”חָםḥāmHam: Septuagint,Χαμ,Cham, from the CopticⲬⲏⲙⲓchemi, black. 27: “And wonders in the land of Ham:” Septuagint,ΧαμCham, from the CopticⲬⲏⲙⲓchemi, black. cvi. 22: “Wondrous works in the land ofHam:” Septuagint,ΧαμCham, from the CopticⲬⲏⲙⲓchemi, black. The idea is, the land of the black people.
In this sense also the word is used inGen.xiv. 5: “And smote the Rephaims in Ashteroth Karnaim, and the Zuzims inHam.” The Septuagint translates this passage intoΚαὶ ἔθνη ἰσχυρά ἅμα αὐτοῖς, as though theבְּהָ֑םbĕhāmbe Hamwas a pronoun, and which seems to have been the view of several ancient translators. But such certainly was not the view of the translators of the received version; nor of Martindale, and others from whom he compiled. He says of this passage—“2.Ham, crafty, or heat; the country of the Zuzims, the situation of which is not known:” p. 326. We certainly agree with the Septuagint thatזוּזִיםzûzîmZuzimwas a significant term, and perhaps well enough explained byἔθνη ἰσχυρὰ, for which a suitable translation would seem to bewicked,perverse,strong,numerous, orstubborn heathen. They were probably theזַמְזֻמֲיםzamzumăymZamzummims ofDeut.ii. 20.
The wordבְּהָ֑םbĕhāmbe Ham, unless a pronoun as above, against which much can be said, is evidently used as in thePsalmsquoted. In all these casesHamis used somewhat as a synonyme ofכּוּשׁkûšCush; and when applied to a country generally, meant whatever country was occupied by the descendants ofHam. The sense of the sentence,and Zuzims in Ham, will then be,and the stubborn heathen in Ethiopia, or,the perverse tribes of Cush, orthe wicked nations of Ham; all meaning the black tribes, descendants of Ham, or some one of them, when particularity is intended, as probably in this case; and let it be noticed, that Martindale, p. 241, gives “blackness” as his first definition ofCush. The descendants of Ham applying his name to themselves and country, they being black, it necessarily became significant of that colour. We have Germans, Swedes, English; but if we say “Negroes,” or if we say Africans, we mean black men, because those words, as now used, mean men of colour; and in a sense analogous, the wordHamseems to have been used in the passages quoted.
This view of the wordHamwe think elucidates the history of Esther and that of Hamanהָמָ֥ןhāmānthe son of Hamadatha—Agagite,ha Agagi. The word is a patronymic ofאַגָגʾagāgAgag,—hence he was an Amalekite: “Agag, the king of Amalek”—“Agag, the king of the Amalekites.” 1Sam.xv. 20, 32. “Now there was one Haman, the son of Amadatha, by birth an Amalekite.”Josephus, book ii. cap. vi. 5. This shows the cause of the extraordinary hatred that existed between her people and his. His very name shows that he was a descendant ofHam, and we think also proves that the Amalekites were black; and which fact is confirmed by 1Sam.xv. 6: “And Saul said unto the Kenites, Go, depart; get ye down from among the Amalekites, lest I destroy you with them,”—evincing the fact that by mere inspection he could not distinguish the one from the other. We have before shown that the Kenites were black. The argument follows, that the Amalekites were also.
The wordHamis also used in 1Chron.iv. 40, in the same manner as it is inPsalmsandGenesis, thus: “For they ofHamחָ֔םḥāmhad dwelt there of old.” This is said of Gedar, “even unto the eastside of the valley.” Now Gedar was in the mountains of Judea, (seeJosh.xv. 48–60,) or in the valley, (seeJosh.xv. 36;) and as that account of the country of Judea closes (seeidem, 63) by informing us whom the inhabitants of Judah could not drive out, and as the inhabitants of Gedar are not included in such list, it is to be presumed that the inhabitants of Gedar were so driven out at the time of Joshua; and leaves us nothing else to conclude than that, whoever they were, they who are spoken of in this passage, as having dwelt there of old, were the people driven out by him. ButJosh.xii. 7, 8 informs us who the people were on the west side of Jordan, both in the mountains and valleys, and names them as Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, and Hivites, and Jebusites; and from the 9th to the 24th gives us an account of their kings, among whom is named the king of Gedar, who was smitten and driven out. It is immaterial which of the tribes they were. They were inhabitants of Palestine, (see 2Chron.xxviii. 18 and 1Chron.xxvii. 28,) of the land of Canaan, not of south, east, nor of northern Arabia, nor of Egypt or any part of Africa; yet they are emphatically spoken of as ofHam, clearly having reference to their descent and colour. Here we have an additional key whereby to unlock the meaning of this word as used inPsalmsandGenesis. There can be no doubt these primitive inhabitants of Gedar were the descendants of Canaan. Yet they are described by the same term which in other places is used to describe the descendants of Cush and Mitsraim; a term which most unquestionably determines them to have been black.
But the Coptic wordchemi, which we have seen had the same significancy asחָםḥāmhamin Hebrew, opens to the view the real meaning of a few Hebrio-Coptic words that grew into common use among the Hebrews subsequent to their bondage in Egypt. We allude solely to the derivatives ofⲬⲏⲙⲓChemi.כֹּמֶרkōmerChemaris thus derived, and occasionally used by the holy writers to signify black; thus,Lam.v. 10: “Our skin wasblack”נִכְמָ֔רוּnikmārûni chemaru. True, some have disputed the accuracy of this translation. They take a cognate meaning, and sayour skin was hot, &c. We hope to be excused for adopting the received version. But either meaning proves the origin of the word from the CopticⲬⲏⲙⲓchemi, the same as thehamof the Hebrews. The fact is, the cognate meaning, sometimes, necessarily forces itself into an English translation, as inGen.xliii. 30: “For his bowels did yearn,”נִכְמְרוּnikmĕrûgrew hot,warmed, became agitated, &c. 1Kingsiii. 26: “Her bowelsyearned,”נִכְמְרוּnikmĕrûgrew hot,troubled, &c.; and alsoHoseaxi. 8: “My repentings are kindled,”נְכְמְרוּnĕkmĕrûbecame hot, &c.
But in all these instances the figure of speech is more particularly Asiatic, and more obscure than is well suited to our modern dialect, as we think will be seen by comparing them withJobiii. 5, “Let the blackness of the day terrify it.”
From this Coptic name ofHamhasalsobeen derived the appellative term of the Moabitish and Ammonitish godכְּמֹוּשׁkĕmōûšChemosh. The Syrians applied this term to the fancied being who oppresses mankind during the dark hours of their sleeping, and hencedistressing dreams,incubus, &c.Chemoshis ranked with the god of destruction among the Hindoos,Muha Dēvā. The worshippers of this god are in Scripture calledעַם־כְּמוֹשׁʿam-kĕmôšam Chemosh, the people of Chemosh, particularly the Moabites and Ammonites. The image of this god was ablack stone.
The term applied to the priesthood in this worship among the black tribes is also derivative from the same Coptic word to which we have often added in translation the word “idolatrous.” Thus, 2Kingsxxiii. 5, “and he put down theidolatrouspriestsהַכְּמָרִיםhakkĕmārîmha chemarim.”Hoseax. 5, “And theprieststhereof”כְּמָרָיוkĕmārāyw.Zeph.i. 4, “And the name of theChemarims,”הַכְּמָרִיםhakkĕmārîmha Chemarim, i. e. thepriestsof the Hamitic fire-worshippers, &c. Some commentators, not connecting these words with the Coptic, and thepriest, as the term applies, with the black families of Ham, have conceived that the ideablackness, as associated with these idolatrous priests, had reference to their apparel. Hence they conceive that these priests always wore black apparel; whereas the fact is they wereblack men, and, as such, are described by a term indicating that fact, as well as that of their idolatry and descent; and here we find the foundation of that modern and common prejudice, that the appropriate dress of the clergy isblack.
But we find another derivative from the wordHam,Gen.xxxviii. 13: “And it was told Tamar, saying, Behold thyfather-in-lawחָמִיךְḥāmîkgoeth up.” 25: “She sent to herfather-in-law,”heחָמִיהָḥāmîhā So also 1Sam.iv. 19: “And that herfather-in-law was dead.” 21. “And because of her father-in-law,”חָמִֽיהָḥāmîhā. This word is used in the feminine inMicah, vii. 6, thus: “Against hermother-in-law,”בַּֽחֲמֲֹתָ֑הּbaḥămōătāhla hamtha. We notice the word is preceded bythe wordכַּלָּהkallâ, which word, inGen.xxxviii. 11, is applied toTamar, and inJer.ii. 32, evidently to a “bride” taken from the heathen, which was forbid; and is also used inCant.iv. 8, for the “spouse,” who is made to declare herself ablack woman, giving evidence that the word inMicahis used in character.
This word is also used in the feminine inRuthi. 14: “And Orpah kissed hermother-in-law,”לַּֽחֲמוֹתָ֔הּlaḥămôtāhla hamotha. ii. 11: “All that thou hast done unto thymother-in-law,”חֲמוֹתֵךְḥămôtēkhamothek. 18: “And hermother-in-lawsaw what she had done,”hamotha. 19: “And hermother in-law(hamotha) said unto her;” “and she showed hermother-in-law,”la hamotha. 23: “And dwelt with hermother-in-law,”hamotha. iii. 1: “Then Naomi hermother-in-law,”hamotha. 6: “All hermother-in-lawbade her,”hamotha. 16: “And when she came to hermother-in-law,”hamotha. This is certainly not the most usual word in Hebrew to express the idea ofparent-in-law.
But these instances of its use are too frequent, its declination too varied, and in both genders, to admit the idea that they are the result of error or casualty, although some lexicographers seem to reject it. It may be noticed that the individual holding the junior position was a female—that in each case theparent-in-lawwas most unquestionably of pure Shemitic race.
But suspicion may at least be allowed to such purity in these young females. Tamar’s husbands were half of Canaanitish blood. It would be expected that she was of that race, but if not, her intermarriage with those sons of Judah placed her in that rank. The sons of Eli were notoriously wicked and licentious, and although the widow of Phinehas appears to have been of a devout cast, yet God had determined to destroy the house of Eli on their account, and to wrest the priesthood from the family. The suspicion as to her race grows out of these facts and the character of her husband. Ruth was declaredly a Moabitess, and Orpah was of that country.
Much might be said in favour of the position that in these cases the parents-in-law on the husband’s side were of pure Shemitic blood, and the reverse as to the daughters-in-law. Now as this peculiar term is nowhere else used in the holy books, are we not to suppose that this peculiar state of facts is nowhere else thus described? InGen.xviii., when thefather-in-lawof Moses is named, this term is not used, but the more usual one; and the reason is because the position of the parties is changed. Had the father ormother of Moses been spoken of as theparent-in-lawof Zippora, then we may presume this peculiar term would have been used and expressed the fact as to the distinction of races; that he would have been calledחֲמִ֖יהָḥămîhā, and she herחֲמוֹתָהḥămôtâ. And we now present the inquiry, how came the name of Ham to be thus compounded and used to express this particular position of relationship and distinction of race, unless from the fact that he had placed his parents in a similar position, liable to have been called by these peculiar terms?
Having thus, at some length, passed these subjects in review, we present our reflections to the impartial mind.
But there are grown up upon this earth some men who would seem to be so holy and pure that even the providences of God are defective in their sight, and by their conduct seem to evince their opinion to be that Jehovah could not well manage the government of the world without their especial counsel and aid. And do such really mean to condemn God, unless his government shall comport with their views? In kindness of heart, and for the benefit of such poor fallen ones, we propose to close this our present Study by reading to them the thirty-third chapter of Ecclesiasticus, omitting the five verses irrelevant to the subject.
“There shall no evil happen unto him that feareth the Lord, but in temptation even again he will deliver him. A wise man hateth not the law; but he that is a hypocrite therein is as a ship in the storm. A man of understanding trusteth in the law; and the law is faithful unto him as an oracle. Prepare what to say, and so thou shalt be heard; and bind up instruction, and then make answer.” “Why doth one day excel another, where as all the light of every day in the year is of the sun? By the knowledge of the Lord they were distinguished: and he altered seasons and feasts. Some of them hath he made high days, and hallowed them, and some of them hath he made ordinary days. And all men are from the ground, and Adam was created of earth. In much knowledge the Lord hath divided them, and made their ways diverse. Some of them hath he blessed and exalted, and some of them hathhe sanctified, and set near himself: but some of them hath he cursed and brought low, and turned them out of their places. As the clay is in the potter’s hand, to fashion it at his pleasure, so is man in the hand of him that made him, to render to them as liketh him best. Good is set against evil, and life against death: so is the godly against the sinner, and the sinner against the godly. So look upon all the works of the Most High; and there are two and two, one against another. I awaked up last of all, as one that gathereth after the grape-gatherers; by the blessing of God I profited, and filled my wine-press, like a gatherer of grapes. Consider that I laboured not for myself only, but for all them that seek learning. Hear me, O ye great men of the people, and hearken with your ears, ye rulers of the congregation.” “In all thy works keep to thyself the pre-eminence; leave not a stain on thy honour. At the time when thou shalt end thy days, and finish thy life, distribute thine inheritance. Fodder, a wand and burdens, are for the ass; and bread, correction, and work, for a servant. If thou set thy servant to labour, thou shalt find rest, but if thou let him go idle, he shall seek liberty. A yoke and a collar to bow the neck, so are tortures and torments for an evil servant. Send him to labour, that he be not idle; for idleness teacheth much evil. Set him to work, as is fit for him; if he be not obedient, put on more fetters. But be not excessive toward any, and without discretion do nothing. If thou have a servant, let him be unto thee as thyself, because thou hast bought him with a price. If thou have a servant, entreat him as a brother: for thou hast need of him as thine own soul: if thou entreat him evil, and he run from thee, which way wilt thou go to seek him.”
The doctrine is, that man is not exempt from the general law, that governs the animal world; that among all the animated races upon this earth, certain causes produce deterioration; and that it may take a longer course of time for the restoration of a degenerate race, under the controlling influences of opposite causes, than even that occupied in a downward direction. “Quickly is the descent made to hell; but to recover from the fall, and regain our former standing, is a labour, a task indeed.”Virgil.In short, that sin has a tendency forcing downward to moral and physical ruin; to deteriorate the mental powers, to rot, to blast, as with a mildew, all animal perfections; to fill life with disease and pain, and its hours with misery and wo, and that it never willingly ceases its iron hold until it can shake hands with death.That God, in mercy, by the wisdom of his providence, has contrived as it were a shield, sheltering poor fallen man from the action of such portion of this deadly poison as would have destroyed every hope of intercession, and for ever excluded from our view, perhaps, even the advent of aSaviour. When the patient is dead, the physician is not called. The law which produced the deluge and destruction of the antediluvian world was a law established from all eternity, meet for just such a case as the moral and physical condition of man then was. For the sake of ten, Sodom would not have been destroyed; but it was less than ten for whom the Ark was provided; and we are to remember that quick upon the promise that all flesh were not again to be cast off, the lowest grade of slavery was promulgated, and its subjects ordered into the protection of the master; and may we not hence infer that slavery is intended, to some extent, as a preventive, as a shield against sin? And do we not notice that this shield is more or less weighty, more or less heavy to be borne, as the safety of the individual bearing it may require; and that it is so cunningly contrived, that its weight and burden are diminished in proportion as the danger abates?
“He poureth contempt upon princes, and causeth them to wander in the wilderness where there is no way; yet setteth he the poor on high from affliction, and maketh him families like a flock. The righteous shall see it and rejoice, and all iniquity shall stop her mouth. Whoso is wise, and will observe these things, even they shall understand the loving-kindness of the Lord.”Ps.cvii. 40–43.
In close, we may everywhere notice that some among the family of man have become so poisoned with sin, so destroyed, that they are no longer safe guardians to themselves, even under the general interdict, that animal wants enslave us all. That for such God provides, as the general safety may seem to require. That, in the history of man, some races have become so deteriorated by a continued action in opposition to the laws of God, that he has seen fit to care for them, by placing them under the control of others; or by placing them, in mercy, under the guidance of a less deteriorated race, whom, no doubt, he holds responsible for the good he intends them. And may we be permitted of the humble Christian to inquire, if this position presents any thing contrary to the general law of benevolence of the Deity,—contrary to the welfare of man on earth, or his hopes of heaven?Will you reject the doctrine, saying the biblical proofs are too scattered, too deeply buried under the dust of time? or, because a prophet has not appeared, or one arisen from the dead? The geologist, from a few fragments of bone, now dug from the deep bowels of the earth, is able to set up the osseous frame, to clothe with muscle and sinew, and give character to the animals of ancient time. And shall it not be recollected by you, who are striving to make your descendants the very princes of intellect and talent, that similar researches may be made in the moral history of man?
We submit the foregoing, confident, although there may be obscurity and darkness yet surrounding the subject, which we have not the ability to dispel, that the time will come, when it will be made plain to the understanding of all. We therefore resign the subject, touching the colour of the descendants of Ham, of their relationship with the family of Cain, and the ordinances of God influencing their condition in the world, to those more learned, more critical, and of more mental power, and into the hands of those whose lips have been touched by a more living coal from the altar of the prophet.