21. Ramiel (7, Exaltation of God) is apparently one of the names coined by the poet, for it does not occur in Scripture.-Par. Lost. vi. 372. 22. Dagon (, little fish) was the celebrated god of the Philistines. The Rabbin said he had a human head and arms, but was otherwise shaped as a fish. He may however have been merely a sea-god, corresponding with Poseidon. 23. Asmadai (7), or Asmodæus. Milton uses both of these names (iv. 168, vi. 365), but evidently means the same being. The former is his name in the Rabbinic writings, where he is said to be the king of the Shedeem, or demons (see Buxtorf, s. v.); the latter is his appellation in the book of Tobit, where he appears as a 'fleshly incubus.' 24. Belial, Worthlessness, wickedness) is merely a compound substantive, and in the usual oriental manner, profligate bad men are termed sons of wickedness. In the New Testament however we meet with Belial, or Beliar, used as synonymous with Satan. 25. Mammon (in?, Reliance) is merely a personification of riches as a ground of trust; see Buxtorf, s. v. We meet with it in the New Testament, Matt. vi. 24. 26. Azazel (NY). In Leviticus (xvi. 8, 10, 26) we find that on the day of atonement the high priest took two buckgoats and cast lots on them; the one to be for Jehovah, and to be offered in sacrifice, the other for Azazel, and to be let go in the wilderness. The question then is, who or what was Azazel? a name which occurs nowhere else. The most current opinion, that which Milton follows, is, that it was the name of an evil demon, supposed to dwell in deserts and to be appeased by victims. Others think it was the goat itself, as signifying the averter or remover, deriving the name from the Arabic verb 'azala, to remove. It is one of those points on which certainty is hardly to be attained. Milton's motive for making Azazel the infernal standard-bearer, and styling him a cherub (i. 534), was perhaps an erroneous derivation of the name from 'azaz (y), to be strong. CHERUBIC CAR OF JEHOVAH. WHEN Milton resolved to describe the war in heaven as a necessary part of the economy of his poem, he felt himself obliged to employ for that purpose terms taken from the usages of war on earth, and he had the less scruple at doing so, as Scripture speaks of the arms of God himself. Accordingly we find the angels on both sides using the spear and shield, and other arms of offence and defence, and mounted in brazen chariots drawn by "fiery steeds" (vi. 16, 391). The chariots in the "armoury of God" seem to have been of a different kind; for they were endowed with spontaneous motion. them Raphael says,- Chariots winged From the armoury of God, where stand of old Of God's own chariot it is said . . . Forth rushed with whirlwind sound The chariot of paternal Deity, Flashing thick flames, wheel within wheel, undrawn, By four cherubic shapes. Four faces each Had wondrous, as with stars their bodies all And wings were set with eyes, with eyes the wheels Over their head a crystal firmament, Whereon a sapphire throne, inlaid with pure Amber and colours of the watery arch.-vi. 750. Of This is evidently what we may term the Cherubic Car, or Portatile Throne of Jehovah, which forms a more conspicuous part of the religious and prophetic imagery of Scripture than critics and readers seem generally to be aware. It is evident that it was the will of the Deity that the mind of the people of Israel should be only raised to a proportionate point of elevation above that of the surrounding nations. Hence the material character of a great portion of their religion, as exhibited in the sacrifices, etc.; hence too their erroneous ideas of cosmogony and cosmology. We have elsewhere hinted at the probability of their having conceived a material mode of communication between Heaven and Earth, and in the present instance we find a vehicle for Jehovah himself, or his representative angel, corresponding with the chariots of the gods of Hellas and the various vehicles of those of India. Whether our explanation be the right one or not, the fact is undeniable. We will now proceed to examine the places in Scripture where it appears. As the fullest, though not the earliest, account of it occurs in Ezekiel, and as it is from that place that Milton took his idea of the chariot, we will commence with it. I looked, and behold, a whirlwind came out of the north, a great cloud and a continuous fire with brightness around it, and from amidst it as the gleam of polished brass, from amidst the fire, and from amidst it the likeness of four living beings; and this was their appearance, they had the likeness of a man, and each had four faces and each had four wings, and their feet were straight feet, and the sole of their feet was like the sole of a calf's foot, and they glittered as the gleaming of shining brass, and man's hands under their wings on their four sides, and the faces and the wings of the four-their wings were joined together-did not turn when they went, they went each straight forwards : and the likeness of their faces-the four had the face of a man, and the face of a lion on the right side, and the face of an ox on the left side, and the face of an eagle. Their faces and their wings were stretched upwards; they had each two joining each other, and two covering their bodies; and they went each straight forwards, whither the spirit was to go they went, they did not turn as they went. And the likeness of the living beings-their appearance was as burning coals of fire, as the appearance of torches; fire went among the living beings and it was bright, and lightnings went forth out of the fire; and the living beings ran and returned like the appearance of the flash of lightning. And I looked at the living beings, and behold, a wheel on the earth beside (each of) the living beings, with its four faces; the appearance of the wheels and their workmanship was as the gleam of the Tharshishstone, and the four had the one likeness, and their appearance and their workmanship as if there was one wheel within another. When they went they went on their four sides; they turned not when they went. And their felloes were high and were fearful, and they were all four round, full of eyes. And when the living beings went the wheels went beside them, and when the living beings rose from the earth the wheels rose; whithersoever the spirit was to go they went, whithersoever the spirit was to go, and the wheels rose along with them, for the spirit of the living being was in the wheels. When those went these went, and when those stood these stood, and when those rose the wheels rose along with them, for the spirit of the living being was in the wheels. And the appearance above the heads of the living beings was a firmament, as the gleam of the splendid crystal, stretched out above over their heads; and under the firmament their wings extended the one to the other; and each had two which covered their faces, and each had two which covered their bodies. And I heard the sound of their wings when they went, like the sound of many waters, like the sound of the Almighty; a loud sound, as the sound of a camp, when they stood with their wings down. And there was a sound from above, from the firmament that was over their heads, when they stood with their wings down. And above on the firmament which was over their heads, like the appearance of a sapphire stone was the likeness of a throne, and upon the likeness of the throne was a likeness as the appearance of a man above it. And I saw as the gleam of burnished brass, as the appearance of fire, a brightness around it: from the appearance of his loins upwards, and from the appearance of his loins downwards, I saw as the appearance of fire and brightness around it. As the appearance of the bow that is in the clouds in the day of rain, so was the appearance of the brightness around. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of Jehovah. In this description it will be observed that the word Cherubim does not occur; but in the tenth chapter, where the prophet again decribes the chariot of Jehovah, he employs the term Cherubim, and no other. He there adds, that "their whole flesh, and their backs, and their hands, and their wings, and the wheels, were full of eyes." When we attempt to form a conception of this chariot, we must suppose that brilliant ground-plane which the prophet terms a firmament, to be very large and of an oblong form. Under each angle was placed a Cherub, and further back under it, but not advancing so far as to interfere with the free action of the wings of the Cherubim, were the wheels, each opposite the centre of the side of the firmament. These wheels resembled an open ring-dial, each consisting of two rings cutting each other at right angles. We may regard the Cherubim as having four-sided bodies, with a face and a wing at each side; and when they were in motion, the two wings which were at right angles with the line in which they went were employed, while the other two were folded, and so COvered their bodies;" their feet were "straight," i. e. nearly square, so they needed not to turn. The Cherubim must have been conceived of a great height, to correspond with the altitude of the wheels. There is only one place more in Scripture where we find the Cherubic Car in motion, namely, the eighteenth Psalm. It is there said, "And he rode upon a cherub and did fly; yea, he did fly upon the wings of the wind." Most persons, we fear, get erroneous ideas in reading this verse, conceiving Jehovah as mounted on a single Cherub; but Cherub is here what is termed a collective term, and is equivalent to Cherubim, as it is in the Septuagint and the Vulgate, and with which it is used interchangeably in the tenth chapter of Ezekiel. We thus see, that it is the Cherubic Car that is meant here, and possibly by "the wings of the wind" (ruach, ) is meant the wings of the Cherubim, in whom there was Spirit (ruach, , Ezek. i. 20). It would also seem, that this Cherubic vehicle was indicated by the two Cherubim in the Holy-of-holies of the temple and tabernacle. There were only two, either for the sake of convenience, or because there was only that number in the original conception of the vehicle. The phrase, "Thou that dwellest between the Cherubim" would, in this case, more properly be rendered, "Thou that sittest upon the Cherubim." By comparing the following place of Daniel (vii. 9) with the passage of Ezekiel given above, it will appear that both prophets mean the same thing. |