And we may well bring to mind the fact that there are two distinctly
marked eras in the Hebrew language. The first ends at the Babylonish
captivity. The Pentateuch and older prophets, Ruth, Samuel, Kings,
Psalms, and Proverbs, come within this era. The second commences with
the return of the Israelites from that captivity, and extends to the
introduction of Greek into Palestine, subsequent to the conquests of
Alexander. The first period may be emphatically called ancient Hebrew;
and the latter, more modern. The Hebrew of this period is strongly
marked by an approximation to the Chaldee and Persian. To this period of
the language belong the books of Nehemiah, Ezra, Daniel, Esther, Jonah,
Haggai, Malachi, Ecclesiastes, and a part of the Psalms; and these works
will ever be regarded by the oriental scholar as inferior in classical
literature to those of earlier date, notwithstanding their other merits
of high excellence. But some of the peculiarities of the writings of the
second period are not to be regarded as recent alterations, but as the
phonetic, unwritten Hebrew of the more remote districts of Palestine
itself. The variations of this more modern from the ancient Hebrew are
extremely numerous, both as to the substitution of one word for another,
but also as to a change of meaning of the same word; as, for instance,
the more ancient would have used the word מָלַךְ _malak_ to signify a
king, to rule, &c.; but the more modern have used a word, which, from
its strong phonetic relation, has evidently been derived from it, שָלַט
_shalat_, to mean _to rule_, &c., and so used _Ps._ cxix. 133, _Eccl._
ii. 19, _Esther_ ix. 1, _Neh._ v. 15, _Dan._ ii. 39, and in many other
places. So also the ancient would use the word אָמַר _amar_, to signify
_to speak_, _to say_; but the more modern uses the same word to signify
_to command_. What we say is, that we cannot always learn the original
meaning of a word from the more modern use of it. We will now notice the
use of the ancient word _ebed_ in this more modern dialect of the
Hebrews. In _Ezra_ iv. 19, we find, “And that rebellion and sedition
_have been made_ therein” is translated from מִהְעֲבֶד _mithabed_. Let
us examine the circumstances under which this sentence was written.
Rehum had written to the monarch Artaxerxes in opposition to the
building of the walls of Jerusalem, informing him that it had ever been
a rebellious city, hurtful to kings, &c.; in answer to which, the king
writes, “that the records have been examined, and it is found that this
city of old time hath made insurrection against kings, and that
rebellion and sedition _hath been made therein_.” The Persian monarchs
were all absolute; they regarded those whom they conquered as slaves;
and when they rebelled, they used this word to signify that it was
slaves who rebelled. Our word _servile_ is somewhat analogous, and might
very properly be substituted for it in the foregoing text, thus: “And it
is found, this city of old time hath made insurrection against kings,
and that there hath been servile rebellion and sedition therein.” When
we speak of insurrection, sedition, rebellion, or war with slaves, we
call it _servile_, as Artaxerxes did in this case, to show the fact that
the war was with slaves. _Ezra_ iv. 24, this word עֲבִידַ֣ת is
translated _work_. So in v. 8, עֲבִ֥ידְתָּא _work_, vi. 7, עֲבוׄדַ֭ת
_work_, to show that the labour was done by _slaves_, or, figuratively,
that the _labour_ was intense, devoted, and obedient, as of slaves. vi.
8: תַעַׄבדֹוּן “_Ye shall do._” 12: יִתְעֲבֵ֖ד “Let it be done with
speed.” 13: עֲבַֽדוּ “_So they did speedily._”
vii. 18: תַֽעַבְדוּן } “_That do_ after the will of your God.”
and לְמֶעְבַּ֑ד } “_To do_ with the rest of the silver and
gold.”
21: יִתְעֲבֵ֖ד “It be done speedily.” 23: יִתְעֲבֵד “Let it be
diligently _done_.” 26: עָבֵד “Will not _do_.” מִתְעֲבֵ֖ד “Let judgment
_be executed_ speedily.” These instances of the use of monarch of Persia
is speaking, who regarded not only the Jews, but all his subjects, as
slaves. It was the court manner of the eastern monarchs in such decrees
to throw in occasionally an exclamation of the nature of an imperative
interjection, such as, _Slave, attend!_ _Pay attention, slaves!_
_Listen, slaves!_ &c., all in substance meaning that those to whom the
decree is issued should perform it quickly and without further notice.
And we find the same custom existing among them even at this day, and
such is the true sense in which the term is here used. Let us exemplify
it. _Ezra_ vi. 12: “I, Darius, have made a decree;” then follows the
Persian adverb אָסְפַּ֖רְנָא _asepporna_, which means quickly, speedily,
diligently, &c.; then the word in question, as before noticed:
“_quickly, slaves_,” is therefore the literal meaning, _i. e._ what he
had decreed they should instantly perform. We do not pretend to say that
translating it _to do_, &c. gives a substantially wrong sense; but it
seems it may have led lexicographers to an erroneous conception of the
meaning of the word. _Jer._ x. 11: “The gods that have not made the
heavens and the earth:” _made_ is translated from עֲבַ֑֗דוּ. If this
word is the correct reading, the idea of the prophet had regard to the
_power_, not to the _act_ of a creator,—the gods that have not
_subjected_, have not placed in _subjection_, as if in slavery to, whose
laws do not govern the heavens and the earth. The gods who could not do
these things are _not_ gods, and they shall perish. This was the idea of
the prophet. But this word is marked in all the best copies with a keri,
showing that this reading was suspected by the Jewish scholars to be
bad; and they supply in the margin the words פתח כאתנח, which is at
least some proof that they thought its use in this instance unusual; and
Kennecott and De Rossi found these words used instead of עבדוֹ in some
copies.
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