Page:Guideforperplexed.djvu/127

 life: organs of sensation, indicating perception: organs of touch, indicating action: or organs of speech, indicating the divine inspiration of the Prophets, as will be explained.

The object of all these indications is to establish in our minds the notion of the existence of a living being, the Maker of everything, who also possesses a knowledge of the things which He has made. We shall explain, when we come to speak of the inadmissibility of Divine attributes, that all these various attributes convey but one notion, viz., that of the essence of God. The sole object of this chapter is to explain in what sense physical organs are ascribed to the Most Perfect Being, namely, that they are mere indications of the actions generally performed by means of these organs. Such actions being perfections respecting ourselves, are predicated of God, because we wish to express that He is most perfect in every respect, as we remarked above in explaining the Rabbinical phrase," The language of the Torah is like the language of man." Instances of organs of locomotion being applied to the Creator occur as follows :-" My footstool" (Isa. 1xvi. 1):" the place of the soles of my feet (Ezek. xliii. 7). For examples of organs of touch applied to God, comp. the hand of the Lord" (Exod. ix. 3):" with the finger of God" (ib. xxxi. 18):" the work of thy fingers" (Ps. viii. 4)," And thou hast laid thine hand upon me" (ib. cxxxix. 5):" The arm of the Lord" (Isa. liii. 1):" Thy right hand, 0 Lord" (Exod. xv. 6). In instances like the following, organs of speech are attributed to God:" The mouth of the Lord has spoken" (Isa. i. 20):" And He would open His lips against thee" (Job xi. 5):" The voice of the Lord is powerful" (Ps. xxix. 4):" And his tongue as a devouring fire" (Isa. XXX. 27). Organs of sensation are attributed to God in instances like the following:" His eyes behold, His eyelids try" (Ps. xi. 4):" The eyes of the Lord which run to and fro" (Zech. iv. 10):" Bow down thine car unto me, and hear" (2 Kings xix. 16):" You have kindled a fire in my nostril" (Jer. xvii. 5). Of the inner parts of the human body only the heart is figuratively applied to God, because" heart" is a homonym, and denotes also" intellect": it is besides the source of animal life. In phrases like" my bowels are troubled for him" (Jer. XXXi. 20):" The sounding of thy bowels" (Isa. Ixiii. 15), the term" bowels" is used in the sense of" heart": for the term" bowels" is used both in a general and in a specific meaning; it denotes specifically" bowels," but more generally it can be used as the name of any inner organ, including" heart." The correctness of this argument can be proved by the phrase" And thy law is within my bowels" (Ps. xl. g), which is identical with" And thy law is within my heart." For that reason the prophet employed in this verse the phrase 11 my bowels are troubled" (and 11 the sounding of thy bowels" ): the verb hamah is in fact used more frequently in connection with" heart," than with any other organ; comp." My heart maketh a noise (homeh) in me" (Jer. iv. 19). Similarly, the shoulder is never used as a figure in reference to God, because it is known as a mere instrument of transport, and also comes into close contact with the thing which it carries. With far greater reason the organs of nutrition are never attributed to God: they are at once recognized as signs of imperfection. In fact all organs, both the external and the internal, are employed in the various actions of the soul: some, as e.g., all inner organs, are the means of preserving the individual for a