164 HAUPT— JONAH'S WHALE. [April 20, 



even when Israel seemed to be annihilated for ever at the time of 



Nebuchadnezzar. 



11 3 Thou plungedst me into the sea, 



The ocean engulfs me ; 

 Thine every surge and billow 

 Over me they pass. 



This refers to the Syrian persecution at the time of Antiochus 



Epiphanes. 



B iii 4 I thought, lo ! I am banished 



From thy presence for ay ; 

 How again shall I see 

 Thy Holy Temple ! 



It seemed as though the religion of the Jews was to be exterminated 



for ever ; even the Temple on Mount Zion was in the hands of the 



heathen for three years, until it was reconsecrated by Judas Mac- 



cabaeus in Dec. 165.^ 



iv 6 To the depths of the sea, I descended, 



To perdition ^ for ay; 

 Tangle enveloped my head, 

 Sheol's^ bolts barred me. 



Israel was almost submerged and drowned ; Hellenic culture 

 threatened to engulf and bury Judaism for ever. 



C V 7 When in me my soul fainted, 



I thought on Jhvh ; 

 To Thee my prayer arose. 

 To Thy Holy Temple. 



When Judaism was in extremis, the Maccabees began their holy 

 war, and their faith was gloriously rewarded by Jhvh. 



vi 8 Who worships false follies,* 



Forsakes his boon;' 

 9 But I with songs of praise 



Sacrifice to Thee. 



Johns Hopkins University. 

 Baltimore, Md. 



^ See my explanation of Ps. xxiii in the American Journal of Semitic 

 Languages, Vol. XXL, p. 152. 



^ Lit. to the earth, i. e., the netherworld. Hades. 



3 Lit. her bolts, referring to the netherworld. 



*That is, the Greek gods. ^ God's love and grace. 



