Page:Palestine Exploration Fund - Quarterly Statement for 1894.djvu/318

Rh

1. [This is the excavation, and this was the manner of the excavation, while they lifted up 2. the pick each to his neighbour, and while three cubits [of rock remained] the voice of one cal 3. led to his fellow-workman, for there was excess of rock to the right and to the west 4. of the excavation they struck through the cutting, each meeting his fellow, pick upon pick, and flowed 5. the waters from the spring to the pool through the space of a thousand cubits, and. . . . . . . cubit was the height of the rock over the head of the excavation. . . ].

Line 1.—I suppose the inscription to begin with the demonstrative pronoun this Major Conder supplies the article, Professor Sayce suggests the exclamation  behold!

excavation, tunnel. Of rare occurrence in the Old Testament in this sense. Ezek. viii, 13, means a musical pipe.

The root perforare, and the noun  fœmina, are common.

and this, the pronoun with prefixed.

was, a verbal root of common occurrence.

-This phrase appears to mean manner or method of the excavation, i.e., the way in which the work was carried out. occurs Deut. XV, 2, in the sense of manner, method. "At the end of seven years thou shalt make a release, and this is the manner of the release,"

According to Gesenius the primary idea of the root is, to arrange, set in order. Hence speech as an orderly arrangement of words, and in the later Hebrew chronicles, i.e., facts set forth in order of time—Psalm cx, 4, Thou art a priest for ever after the order, manner of Melchizedek, —LXX, προσταγμα, ταξις.

while they lifted up. Between and  we must supply a word meaning "excavators" or "workmen." The text is broken at this place, from  to be raised high, lifted up in the hand. Common in Old Testament.

Line 2.— ''the pick. See'' Deut. xix, 5; Isa. x, 15.—LXX, ὰξἰνη— each, each one, a shortened form of.

to. his fellow-workman.  with the pronoun. So English workmen speak of their "mates," their companions in labour. and while, three,  cubit. The text being here imperfect we