אמְרוּ עִבֵּר וּפְסֵחַ לֹא יָבוֹא אֶל־ Au. Ver.-3 So all the elders of Israel

6 וַיֵּלֶךְ הַמֶּלֶךְ וַאֲנָשָׁיו יְרוּשָׁלַם אֶל־ Jebusites, a people hated and accursed by הַיְבָסִי יוֹשֵׁב הָאָרֶץ וַיֹּאמֶר לְדָוִד לֵאמֹר לֹא־תָבוֹא הֵנָּה כִּי אִם־הֶסִירְךְ הָעִוְרִים nation ; partly because they possessed this וְהַפַּסְחִים לֵאמֹר לֹא־יָבוֹא דָוִד הֵנָּה :

Or

place, which David knew was designed for David and others upon this occasion. the one and only place of God's solemn otherwise, The blind and the lame Jebusites worship; and partly because they did so were set to keep the house, i. e., the fort of wickedly and insolently defy the armies of Zion; and to keep others from coming into Israel, and consequently, the God of Israel. it; but now they are shut out of it, and Or, 2. Their gods or images; which, after none of them, to wit, either, 1. Of the Jethe manner of the heathens, they wor- busites; or, 2. Of blind and lame persons, shipped as their tutelary gods, and placed in shall be admitted to come into it again; their gates and walls. These they call blind which David might resolve, and ordain, to and lame sarcastically, and with respect to keep up the memory of this great exploit, David's opinion; as if they said, These gods and of the insolent carriage of the Jebusites, of ours, whom you Israelites reproach, as and their unhappy success. Or, the blind blind and lame, Psal. cxv. 5, 6, and so and the lame shall not come into my house, unable to direct and protect us, they will to wit, into the king's palace. And although defend us against you; and you will find this might be a general rule and decree of they are neither blind nor lame, but have David's, yet he might dispense with it in eyes to watch for us, and hands to some special cases, as in that of Mephifight against you; and you must conquer bosheth. But it is not necessary that this them before you can take our city. And should be a proverb; for the words may be these may well be called the hated of David's soul. But I prefer the former sense, as being most easy, and natural, and proper; whereas the latter is metaphorical, and seems doubtful and forced. David cannot come in hither; concluding their fort to be impregnable.

7 The stronghold of Zion; either, 1. A very strong fort which they had built upon Mount Zion; which being taken, the city quickly yielded. Or, 2. The city of Zion, which was very strongly fortified.

8 Whosoever getteth up to the gutter, i. e., whosoever scaleth the fort, or getteth up to the top of it, where the gutter was. And the lame and the blind, or even, or especially (for the Hebrew particle vau signifies both ways) the lame and the blind; i. e., those of them who are set to defend that place; who, as they pretend, should be only the lame and the blind. Others understand it of their idols or images. But they could not properly be said to be smitten, i.e., killed; as that word is used here, and elsewhere. That are hated of David's soul: this belongs to the Jebusite, and the lame and the blind; and it is explained in ver. 6. He shall be chief and captain: these words are fitly supplied out of 1 Chron. xi. 6, where they are expressed; and they must needs be understood to make the sense complete. And such ellipses or defects of a part of the sentence are usual in promises, and oaths, and conditional offers, such as this was. Wherefore they said, The blind and the lame shall not come into the house, i. e., whence it became a proverb, or a common saying, used by

thus rendered, as it is in the margin of our Bible, Because they had said, Even the blind and the lame, He (i. e., David) shall not come into the house; or, Because they (i.e., the Jebusites) had said, The blind and the lame shall hinder him; (which words are easily supplied out of ver. 6, where having spoken of this more largely, it was sufficient here to mention the most emphatical words, as is usual in such cases); he shall not come into the house, or hither, as they say, ver. 6, i. e., into the fort; for the word house is used very largely and generally in the Hebrew language, for any place, as Judg. xvi. 21.

Bp. Patrick.-6 The inhabitants of the land:] That is, of that part of the land (Josh. xv. 63), Judg. 1. 21, xix. 10, 11).

Except thou take away the blind and the lame, thou shalt not come in hither :] They imagined their fortress to be so impregnable, that by way of contempt and scorn they told him, the blind and the lame were able to defend it against him and all his forces. So Bochartus translates these words, non huc accedes, &c. “thou shalt not come up hither, but the blind and the lame will drive thee away; i. e. the most feeble and cowardly among us. Which he thinks is so plain a sense, that he wonders men of great learning should seek for any other (lib. iv. Phaleg. cap. 36). But so it is, a great many, by "the blind and the lame," understand the images of their gods (particularly our learned Gregory hath a whole dissertation about it). As if they had said, Our gods, whom ye call blind and lame, that have eyes and see not, feet and walk not (as it is

Psalm cxv.), they shall defend us and you

. Chron

.Sam דוד הנה וילכד דוד את מצדת must overcome them before you overcome .Chron ציון היא עיר דויד : ויאמר דויד Luther himself thus explains the Sam ציון היא עיר דוד : ויאמר דוד (These blind and lame (saith he » כל מכה יבוסי

Chron.

.Sam ביום ההוא כל מכה יבוסי their patrons and defenders; and they did

.Chron בראשונה . .

us.

sense:

were the idols of the Jebusites; which, to irritate David, they set upon their walls as

as good as say, Thou dost not fight with

us, but with our gods, who will easily repel DDA ANI 13 ya Sam. thee."

8 Whosoever getteth up to the gutter, and smiteth the Jebusites, &c.] i.e., “Cuts off their pipes of water," or their cisterns into

Chron.

.Sam ואת העורים שנאו נפש דוד על

Chron.

.Sam כן יאמרו עור ופסח לא יבוא אל | which the waters fell; for the Hebrew word

Chron.

.Sam הבית . . .

tzinnor, which we translate gutter, is no-bi wanb mımı where found but in this place, and in Ps. xlii. 7, and by St. Jerome is translated fis-7 12 281 71 Chron.

LXX.

Sam.

.Chron לראש :

Sam.

τω

Aavid, our ecoedevon wde.
Δαυιδ' ουκ εισελευση ωδε, οτι αντεστ

τησαν οι τυφλοι και οι χωλοι, λεγοντες,

tulæ. But I know not how we come to transpose the words, "he that smiteth the Jebusites," behind the other, which in the Hebrew are first. "He that smiteth the Jebusites, let him throw down into the ditch (which was by the wall) both the blind and the lame, which David extremely hates." Thus Bochart translates the words Chron. Enav de ol κατοικούντες Ιεβους τω in the place above named, which, if it be Sam. Και ερρέθη admitted, there is no need to add those Chron. words (out of 1 Chron. xi. 6) to make out Sam. the sense, "he shall be chief and captain ;" | Chron. for the sense is complete without them. Sam. Wherefore they said, The blind and the Chron. lame shall not come into the house.] Or, as it Sam. οτι ουκ εισελεύσεται Δαυιδ ωδε. is in the margin, "Because they had said, Chron. Kai рокаTEλABETO even the blind and the lame, He shall not Sam. Και κατελάβετο Δαυιδ come into the house." That is, because Chron. πерoxηv Σιων αυτη η πολις they had taunted him with the blind and Sam. περιοχήν Σιων αυτη η πολις του lame, as if they could defend the fort, and Chron. ▲avið. Kai eiñe Aavið. hinder him from coming into it; therefore Sam. he was highly provoked to wish they might Chron. be thrown down headlong from their walls Sam. into the ditch. And then by the house is Chron. meant, neither the house of David, nor the Sam. house of the Lord (as many take it), but Chron. that very fort wherein the Jebusites had Sam. dwelt; from which hereafter they were excluded. And indeed it is a very large word in the Hebrew, signifying any place.

Sam. cannot come in hither. Nevertheless,

there seems to be very sufficient room for offering another interpretation, in some material points differing from them all. The words in Samuel, so far as the text in Chro

nicles coincides, are clear and determinate in their meaning, "And the inhabitants of Jebus said to David, Thou shalt not come hither." But the succeeding words in Samuel are very difficult; or, at least, have been variously interpreted. The present English translation is, "Except thou take the blind and the lame, thinking David

away

Chron. David took the castle . of
Sam. David took the strong hold of cannot come in hither."
Chron. Zion, which is the city of David.
Sam. Zion: the same is the city of David.

Chron. And David said,

Sam. And David said on that day, Who

Chron. soever

Sam. soever getteth up to the gutter, and
Chron. smiteth the Jebusites first,
Sam. smiteth the Jebusites,
Chron.

and the

Sam. lame, and the blind, that are hated of

Chron.

David's soul—wherefore they said,

.

Sam.
Chron.
Sam. The blind and the lame shall not
Chron.
shall be chief

Sam. come into the house.
Chron. and captain. So Joab the son of

Sam.

The chief difficulty here lies in determining who are these blind and lame; whether Who- Jebusites, or the Jebusite Deities called blind and lame by way of derision. The latter opinion has been maintained by some considerable writers; but yet seems indefensible. For however David and the Israelites might be disposed to treat such idols with scorn and contempt, 'tis not at all likely the Jebusites should revile their own Deities; and we must remember, that these Deities are supposed to be here called blind and lame by the Jebusites themselves. But, admitting them to be idol Deities, what meaning can there be in the Jebusites telling David, "he should not come into the citadel, unless he took away the Deities upon the walls?" If he could scale the walls, so as to reach these guardian Deities, he need not ask leave of the Jebusites to enter the citadel. But (which is much more difficult to be answered) what can possibly be the meaning of the last line, "Wherefore they said, The blind and the lame shall not come into the house?" For, who said? Did the Jebusites say, their own Deities (before expressed by the blind and lame) should not come into the house, should not (according to some) come where they were, or, should not (according to others) come into the house of the Lord? Or, could these Deities say, David and his men should not come into the house? The absurdity of attributing such a speech, or any speech to these Idols, is too clear to need illustration.

Chron. Zeruiah went first up and was

Sam.

Chron. chief.
Sam.

The reason of placing this whole sentence together being obvious, let us proceed to consider the several parts of it in the two chapters. The words '', which are not in the original of Samuel, are not in the Vat. copy of the LXX in Chronicles; but the Alex. translates regularly according to the present Hebrew text. In Samuel there is a clause or two in the speech of the Jebusites, which is omitted in Chronicles for brevity; as the history in Chronicles is regular, and the sense complete without it. But though the history be regular and very But, though these Deities could not deintelligible in Chronicles, yet the additional nounce these words, yet the Jebusites might; clauses in Samuel make the history there and 'tis possible (it has been said) that the remarkably perplexed; and (as Dr. Delany blind and the lame in this latter part of the observes) encumber it with more difficulties sentence may signify the Jebusites; not any than are ordinarily to be met with. In full particular Jebusites so maimed; but the proportion to the difficulties has been the Jebusites in general, called blind and lame, number of different interpretations; and yet for putting their trust in blind and lame

idols. This seems too refined an interpre- David took the strong hold of Sion, which tation; and we may safely conclude that the is the city of David. And David said on same expression of the blind and lame that day, Whosoever (first) smiteth the means the same beings in the two different Jebusites, and through the subterraneous parts of the same sentence. It has been passage reacheth the lame and the blind, farther observed, that these blind and lame that are hated of David's soul, because the are here spoken of as different from the blind and the lame continued to say, He Jebusites, "Whosoever smiteth the Jebu- shall not come into this house sites, and the lame and the blind; and if shall be chief captain." they were different, it requires no great skill at deduction to determine they were not the

same.

הסירך That the verb

That the connected particles signify for in this place is evident, because the words following are rather causal than obPerhaps then these blind and lame were, jective, and we have several instances of in fact, a few particular wretches, who this sense of the two particles given us by laboured under these infirmities of blindness Noldius: thus Prov. xxiii. 18, they are renand lameness; and therefore were different dered for in the English translation; and so from the general body of the Jebusites. in the English, Greek, Syriac and Arabic But here it will be demanded at once, how versions of Lam. v. 22. we can then account rationally for that bit- is not here the infinitive, but the preter of terness, with which David expresses himself Hiphil, is apparent from the sense; that it here against these blind and lame; and how has been so considered is certain, from the it was possible for a man of David's hu- Masoret pointing, as De Dieu and other manity to detest men for mere unblameable, critics have observed; and we see it is and indeed pitiable, infirmities? And lastly, translated as such by the LXX, in the plural the authors of the "Universal History," in number, avreσrησav. From this version their note on this transaction, mention the then, and from the plurality of the two following as the first plausible argument nouns, which are necessarily the nomiagainst the literal acceptation; how could natives to this verb, we may infer, that it David distinguish the halt, or the lame, or was originally on, the vau having been the blind, from able men, when posted upon dropped here as in many other places. lofty walls; since those infirmities are not Thus Gen. i. 28, we have discernible but near at hand? This, it must jicite eam) instead of be allowed, would be a difficulty indeed, if verb David's information here had been only eum) in the 3d and 4th verses of the

(regularly

(et subtwice in the reputavimus

from his eye-sight. But this objection im- 53d of Isaiah; in this very 7th verse, in the mediately vanishes, when we reflect that the word 'D, which should be, as it is Jebusites are said in the text to have told in the 9th and other adjoining verses, and David, "the blind and the lame should this vau is also omitted in the 9th verse in keep him off;" for certainly David could, which we are told in the margin should easily conceive the men who were placed be, where the yod has also been upon the walls to insult him were "blind corrupted into a vau. Enough having and lame," when he was told so by the been said of the number, let us now consider Jebusites themselves, and told so, to render the tense of this verb; which being preter, this insult of theirs the greater. some have translated it by a word expressive Having thus mentioned some of the pre- of time past. But the sense necessarily sent interpretations, it may be now proper requires it to be translated as future in other to submit another to the judgment of the languages, though it be more expressive in learned reader. And here, for the sake of the original in the preter tense: it being clearness, I shall first give what seems to be agreeable to the genius of the Hebrew lanthe true interpretation of this passage; and then subjoin the several arguments in defence of it.

"And the inhabitants of Jebus said to David, Thou shalt not come hither: for the blind and the lame shall keep thee off, by saying, David shall not come hither. But

guage frequently to speak of events yet future, as having actually happened, when the speaker would strongly express the certainty of such event. This observation is peculiarly applicable to the case here. For this castle of Mount Sion had never yet been taken by the Israelites, though they