But the context, which in both cases speaks of Israel's gradual decay, demands rather the interpretation that Israel's material grandeur shows unmistakable signs of breaking down. For the ethical development of this interpretation, see below, pp. 337 f.
[511] Probably the ancient war-cry of the clan. Cf. Judg. v. 14.
[512] Yet ver. 9 goes with ver. 8 (so Wellhausen), and not with ver. 10 (so Ewald).
[513] For [Hebrew: tzv] read [Hebrew: shv].
[514] Wellhausen inserts _Judah_, with that desire to complete a parallel which seems to me to be overdone by so many critics. If Judah be inserted we should need to bring the date of these verses down to the reign of Ahaz in 734.
[516] See _Isaiah I.-XXXIX._ (Expositor's Bible), pp. 242 ff.
[517] Cheyne indeed (Introduction to Robertson Smith's _Prophets of Israel_) takes the prayer to be genuine, but an intrusion. His reasons do not persuade me. But at least it is clear that there is a want of connection between the prayer and what follows it, unless the prayer be understood in the sense explained above.
[520] _Saying_: so the LXX. adds and thereby connects chap. v. with chap. vi.
[522] Literally _hunt_, _pursue_. It is the same word as is used of the unfaithful Israel's pursuit of the Ba'alim, chap. ii. 9.
[523] So by a rearrangement of consonants ([Hebrew: nmtzhv chn chshchrnv]) and the help of the LXX. ([Greek: heurêsomen auton]) Giesebrecht (_Beiträge_, p. 208) proposes to read the clause, which in the traditional text runs, _like the morn His going forth shall be certain_.
[524] Read [Hebrew: yetze cha'or mishpati].
[525] Or _like Adam_, or (Guthe) _like the heathen_.
[526] The verb means to prove false to any contract, but especially marriage.
[528] In several passages of the Old Testament the word means unchastity.
[529] Here the LXX. close chap. vi., taking 11 _b_ along with chap. vii. Some think the whole of ver. 11 to be a Judæan gloss.
[530] Cf. Joel ii. 9, and the New Testament phrase _to come as a thief_.
[532] The text is unsound. Heb.: "like an oven kindled by the baker, the stirrer (stoker or kneader?) resteth from kneading the dough until it be leavened." LXX.: [Greek: hôs klibanos kaiomenos eis pepsin katakaumatos apo tês phlogos apo phyraseôs steatos heôs tou xymôthênai auto]--_i.e._ for [Hebrew: shvt] they read [Hebrew: lchvt sh]. Oort emends Heb. to [Hebrew: fhv hm vv'r], which gets rid of the difficulty of a feminine participle with [Hebrew: tnvr]. Wellhausen omits whole clause as a gloss on ver. 6. But if there be a gloss it properly commences with [Hebrew: shvt].