to the place of his retreat; he could not mistake or disregard the secret influence under which they acted.

The brook Cherith, on whose border the miracle was wrought, is supposed to be the same as the river Kana, mentioned in the sixteenth and seventeenth chapters of Joshua, which watered the confines of Ephraim and Benjamin. This brook derived its name Kana, from the reeds, which, in great abundance, clothed its banks; among which the prophet found a secure retreat from the persecution of his enemies. Its other name Cherith, may be traced to the verb Charah, which the Greek interpreters render to feed, because on its margin the prophet was fed by the ravens. Were this conjecture true, the name must have been given by anticipation; for which no satisfactory reason can be assigned. It is more natural to suppose, that, as the verb commonly signifies to dig, and sometimes to rush on with violence, the name Cherith alludes to the violent rapidity of the stream at certain seasons of the year, or to the deep pits, which, like many other torrents in those regions, it excavates in its furious course. The particular situation of this brook is more distinctly marked by the sacred historian, who says, it "is before Jordan." This phrase seems to mean, that it flowed into the Jor dan; and from the second clause of the verse we may infer, that its course lay on the west side of the river, be cause it is said by God to Elijah, "Get thee hence, and turn thee eastward, and hide thyself by the brook Cherith, that is before Jordan :" for Elijah must have been on the west side of Jordan, when he was commanded to go eastward to a stream that flowed into the Jordan on that side.

The Hawk.

This bird is distinguished by the swiftness of her flight, and the rapid motion of her wings in flying. But as it is the first of these which naturally fixes the attention of an observer, the Hebrews, according to their invariable custom, selected it as the reason of the name by which she is known in their language; they call her (p) nets, from the verb natsa, to fly. She was reckoned, by many of the ancients, the swiftest of the feathered race. In Homer, the descent of Apollo from heaven, is compared to her flight:

"From the mountains of Ida he descended like a swift hawk, the destroyer of pigeons, that is the swiftest of birds."

In the thirteenth book, Ajax tells Hector, the day should come when he would wish to have horses swifter than hawks, to carry him back to the city.

Θάσσονας ιρηκών εμεναι καλλίτριχας ιππ8ς.

X

1. 819.

Among the Egyptians, the hawk was the symbol of the winds; a sure proof that they comtemplated with great admiration, the rapidity of her motions. For the same reason, according to some writers, she was consecrated to the sun, which she resembles in the surprising swiftness of her career, and the facility with which she moves through the bouudless regions of the sky. This custom of consecrating the hawk to Apollo, the Greeks borrowed from the Egyptians, among whom no animal was so sacred as the ibis and the hawk. So great was their veneration for these animals, that if any person killed one of them, with or without design, he was punished with death; while for * Buffon's Nat. Hist. vol. i, P. 182.

the destruction of any other animal, he was only subjected to an arbitrary fine."

This bird, so highly venerated among the heathen, was pronounced unclean by the Jewish lawgiver; it was to be an abomination to the people of Israel; its flesh was not to be eaten, nor its carcase touched with impunity. The reason of this law may probably be found in her dispositions and qualities; she is a bird of prey, and, by consequence, cruel in her temper, and gross in her manners. Her mode of living too, may probably impart a disagreeable taste and flavour to the flesh, and render it, particu larly in a warm climate, improper for the table. Nor do we know that it was ever relished by any people, although the pressure of necessitous circumstances may have occasionally reconciled individuals to use it for food. Her daring spirit, her thirst of blood, the surprising rapidity of her flight, and her perseverance in the chase, soon pointed her out to the hunter as a valuable assistant; but even he willingly resigns her carcase to be meat to the beasts of the field.

Of this bird Jehovah demands, "Doth the hawk fly by thy wisdom, and stretch her wings toward the south ?" Jerome and several other interpreters render the words, By thy prudence doth the hawk renew her plumage, having expanded her wings towards the south; because the verb (28) abar, in the future of the Hiphil, seems to be formed from the noun (128) Æber, or (728) Æbrah, which signifies a feather. This law, by which the eagle, the hawk,

9, and lib. x, cap. 14 and 24. Herod. lib. i.

Ælian de Nat. Animal. lib. ii, cap. 42, and lib. x, cap. 14. Plin. Nat.

Hist. lib. x, cap. 10.

and other birds, annually shed their feathers, was not contrived by the wisdom of man; although it appears he is able, by certain managements, to accelerate the moulting season, as well as the renovation of the plumage. But, as means and remedies derive all their efficacy from God, and depend for success only upon his co-operation, it may still be demanded, Doth the hawk renew her plumage by thy wisdom, expanding her wings towards the south? It is said, by an ancient writer on this passage, that humid and warm places are favourable to this change, and are therefore diligently sought for by hawkers, with the view of promoting the moulting of their falcons. When the south wind blows, the wild hawks, instructed by their instinctive sagacity, expand their wings till their limbs become heated; and by this means, the old plumage is relaxed, and the moulting facilitated. But when the south wind refuses its aid, they expand their wings to the rays of the sun, and, shaking them violently, produce a tepid gale for themselves; and thus their bodies being heated, and their pores opened, the old feathers more easily fall off, and new ones grow up in their place.

But it is more probable that these words refer, not to the annual renovation of the plumage, but to the long and persevering flight of the hawk towards the south, on the approach of winter. Her migration is not conducted by the wisdom and prudence of man; but by the superintending and upholding providence of the only wise God. The words of Jehovah cannot be understood as referring to the falconer's art; for we have no evidence that the hawk was employed in hunting, till many ages after the times in which the patriarchs flourished. Besides, if the divine challenge referred to that amusement, the direction

of her flight could not be confined to the south; for she pursues the game to every quarter of heaven.

The renowned Chrysostom on this passage inquires, why Jehovah has made no mention of sheep and oxen, and other animals of the same kind, but only of useless creatures, which seem to have been formed for no beneficial or important purpose. But is it to be supposed, that God, who is wonderful in counsel and excellent in working, has made any part of his works in vain? We may not be able to discover, after the most careful investigation, the end which the Almighty had in view, when he created some of his works; but shall we presume on this account to pronounce them useless or insignificant? So far from being a useless bird, the hawk in some cases, brings the most important and effectual assistance to the hunter. It has already been observed, that the antelope, which seems rather to fly than to run, leaves the swiftest dog far behind; and could never be overtaken without the help of the falcon. The hawk then, is not the useless and insignificant creature which the Greek father represents her; on the contrary, she has conferred benefits on mankind of no inconsiderable value."

t

Plin. Hist. Natur. lib. x, cap. 8 and 43.