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    individual of the human race , and the apostacy of an angelic being . We hoped that our translator would , in bis notes , have offered reasons for putting this construction upon the inquiry * He has produced none :

    and the comment , we believe , rests on no other authority than his own . We are entirely at a loss to understand why he should conceive of the word man as being emphatic in these verses . Was it not the natural and

    proper term by which to speak of the hero of the poem ? In Num . xxvii . 18 , God says unto Moses , " Take thee Joshua , the son of Nun , a man , " &c . Now , is this a marked description ? Does not the same mode

    of expression occur very frequently ?* The truth is , Mr . Good sat down to his labours with a fixed persuasion that the Satan of the book of Job is the prince of the fallen angels j an opinion altogether gratuitous ! He therefore readily perceives , even in the words a man , a confirmation of

    his hypothesis . In the process out of which such interpretations arise there is nothing uncommon : however , the gloss on which we are animadverting , is not a little singular . But , though the translator has in this case unconsciously deceived himself , we trust that his error will be seen

    and avoided by those of his readers with whom it is an object to study the Scriptures on the principles * of fair and solid criticism .

    There is a material difference between Ch . ii . 9 , as it stands in the Hebrew text , which most of the modern translators strictly follow , and as it appears in the Septuagint and some other ancient versions . Mr . G . has , in his notes , translated the addition : nor do we blame him for

    gwing it an English dress ; though « e seems as fully convinced as we are « its spuriousness . We shall take this opportunity of remarking , that some of the commentators on Job

    nave been disposed to aggravate , and others , with as little reason , to soften , « je offence of the patriarch ' s wife , in « je question , " Dost thou hold fast mine integrity ?^ Scotfs comment « P ° n it is truly curious , and alike plates taste and courtesy : « The rash ness , " he observes , " of this poor ii ^ i ? Geri - 33 > **>> Josh , iik i %

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    distressed lady , cannot be altogether excused , —but candour will make favourable allowances for the frailty of her sex aud the severity of her trial /' Whose good opinion could this

    ingenious man { for such he was ) hope to conciliate by so extraordinary a piece of criticism ? How unworthy is it of Hie correctness of judgment which , for the most part , pervades his version !"

    On chap . iii . 8 , ** Let the sorcerers of the day curse it ! " Mr . G . writes thus : u A belief in divination or enchantment , has , from some cause or other , been exhibited , from a very early period of time , over every quarter of the globe . To

    examine into the nature of such causes , would lead us too far from the object of our pursuit . It is enough to observe at present that various passages in the Bible indicate , that such a sort of supernatural power was , in the earlier ages of the world , committed to different persons of very different characters , and even religions .

    In support of this most extraordinary assertion , our annotator refers to Melchizedek and Balaam . But where shall we find any proof or presumption , of the former having been " thus miraculously endowed ? " All which can be learned from Gen . xiv . 19 , is that " this priest of the most high God ' blessed Abram . Jacob also

    " blessed Pharaoh / ' Gen . xlvii . 1 O . And is such an act of benediction independent evidence that Jacob had miraculous endowments ? Mr . G ., however , subjoins that Melchizedek " prophesied concerning the prosperity of Abram ' s family . Now from what passage of scripture is such a fact to be deduced ? We can discover

    none , and must therefore pronounce this instance irrelevant to the author ' s purpose . Nor is there even the apgearanCe of truth in the position that alaam possessed supernatural qualifications . That he pretended to some , may be conceded . His claims and his

    character are strongly reprobated in the sacred writings ^ . He was one of the jugglers of the east \ though , in a single instance , arid for the purpose of defeating his impious views , the

    Supreme Being inspired him with the gift of prophecy . Elymas ( Acts xiii . 8 , ) and the Jewish exorcists at Ephesus ( Acts xix . 13 ) , were of the same profession with Balaam : and their

    - 'f&vPet .-ii , 15 , Jude 11 , Rev . ii . 14 .

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    Jlwie \ V f--Goo& \ 6 Translation of the Booh of Job . 17 . 1

• Citation
  • Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), March 2, 1815, page 171, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1758/page/43/