THE ALMOND TREE. 263 



sion of Jeremiah (ch. i. 11, 12); 'The word of the Lord came unto 

 me, saying, Jeremiah, what seest thou ? And I said, I see a rod 

 of an almond tree. Then said the Lord unto me, Thou hast well 

 seen, for I am hastening or watching over my word to fulfil it.' 

 In this passage there is one of those paranomasias so frequent in 

 the Hebrew Scriptures, but whicli it is impossible to preserve in 

 any translation. 



It is probable, as Parkhurst has suggested, that the chiefs of the 

 tribes bore each an almond rod, as emblematical of their vigilance 

 (Numb. xvii. 68) ; the dead almond rod of Aaron, which after- 

 wards blossomed and bore fruit, was a very proper emblem of Him 

 who first rose from the dead. 



Solomon has beautifully described the approach and appearance 

 of old age, according to the generality of interpreters, in the ex- 

 pression, 4 The almond tree shall flourish' (Eccl. xii. 5) its white 

 blossoms appearing so soon, and presenting themselves on the bare 

 branches ; but it must be admitted that there is considerable force 

 in what Mr. Harmer has urged against this interpretation. Gray 

 hairs, he remarks, are quite consistent with vigorous and unailing 

 old age ; besides which, it is very untoward to suppose that the ap- 

 pearance of these blossoms, which marks out the finishing of the 

 winter, the approach of the spring, the pleasantest time of the year, 

 and exhibits the tree in all its beauty, should be used to represent 

 the approach of the winter of human life, followed by death, and a 

 disappearing from the land of the living. Surely the one, he con- 

 tinues, can hardly be intended to be descriptive of the other: and, 

 if not, some other explanation must be sought for; though this one 

 seems very early to have obtained, if we may judge from the trans- 

 lation of the Septuagint. 



We have already seen that the Hebrew word signifies, literally, 

 'a watcher,' and that it is used metaphorically of the almond tree. 

 Admitting this, Mr. Harmer suggests that the clause may naturally 

 be interpreted, by explaining it of the frequency of the attendance 

 of physicians, who appear oftenest at court, and flourish most there 

 when the prince is in a very declining state, drawing near to death. 

 See 2 Chronicles xvi. 21. The functions of a physician, with re- 

 gard to the body, and of a watchman with respect to a palace, are 

 not unlike: they appear from time to time at court; but much 

 more observable as well as frequently, in seasons of apprehension 

 and danger, than at other times. 



