The natural history of the Bible ; or, A description of all the quadrupeds, birds, fishes, reptiles, and insects, trees, plants, flowers, gums, and precious stones, mentioned in the sacred scriptures: Collected from the best authorities, and alphabetically arranged / by Thaddeus Mason Harris.

  • Thaddeus Mason Harris
Date:
1824
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Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: The natural history of the Bible ; or, A description of all the quadrupeds, birds, fishes, reptiles, and insects, trees, plants, flowers, gums, and precious stones, mentioned in the sacred scriptures: Collected from the best authorities, and alphabetically arranged / by Thaddeus Mason Harris. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    ture, that the word yD) NISMAN in this verse of Isai. xxviii. 25, translated “ the appointed, is an error of the transcription, for JQDD SESAMON, which varies one letter only, and that by the mere omission of a stroke to complete its form ;. the sesamum,.so well known in the East. If we suppose the letter D to:have been omitted here, then we may make the 3 into 4, and read sesamem ; otherwise we may read, according to the Egyptian name sEMsE- MUM, }QDND, supposing the first syllable omitted. The passage would then be—“ He casts abroad the wheat, barley, and sesa- mum in their places.” The other word rendered ^ fitches in our translation of Ezek; iv. 9, is MMOD CUSMETH; but in Exod. ix. 32, and Isai. xxviii. 25, “rye.” In the latter place the Septuagint has Fett, and in the two former oduge; and the Vulgate in Exodus, “ far,” and in Isaiah and Ezekiel ^ vicia. Saapras likewise took it to be something of the leguminous kind, jN353, cicercula (misprinted circula in the Polyglott version) or a chickling. Aquila has Zez, and Theod. cAuge. Onkelos and Targum have s'y». and Syr. nm) which are supposed to be the millet, or a species of it called panicum. Pers. 07299)9, the spelt ; and this seems to be the most probable meaning of the Hebrew. word; at least it has the greatest number of interpreters from Jerom to Celsius. The following are the words of the former in his Comment. on Ezek. tom. iii. | p.799. * Quam nos vitiam [viciam] interpretati sumus, pro quo in Hebreo dicitur chasamin; Septuaginta 'heodotioque posuerunt oAugzy, quam alii avenam, alii sigalam putant... Aquilae autem prima editio et Symmachus eas, sive Cere, interpretati sunt; quas nos vel far, vel gentili Italie Pannonizque sermone spicam speltamque dicimus. ‘There are not, however, wanting, who think it was rye; among whom R. D. Kimchi, followed by Luther, and our English translators; Dr. Geddes, too, has retained it, though he says that he is inclined to think that the spelt is preferable. Singular is the version of Gr. Ven. aijidod, (probably a misprint for sapien) oats: yet the Arabic translator of Isaiah and Ezekiel uses a word ppyw, which some are of opinion denotes avena, oats, while others think it means secale, ie Be Dr. Shaw thinks that this word may signify rice. — Hasselquist, on the contrary, affirms that rice was brought into cultivation in Egypt under the Caliphs. This, however, may be doubted. One would think from the intercourse of ancient Egypt with Babylon and with India, that this country could not be ignorant of a grain so well suited to its climate. FLAG. nw ACHU. : Occ. Gen. xli. 2, 18, and Job, vii. 11, bod MID SUPH, Exod. jiu 5; Isai. xix. 6; and Jon. ii. TEM weeds, 15 Geddes, Crit, Rem. on Exod. ix. 32.
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