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THE REV. CHANCELLOR J. J. LIAS, M.A., ON 



Kings, often varied individual words, substituting for the older one 

 the word current in his own time. It was often extremely difficult 

 to tell the date when a word originated ; when, for instance, did the 

 words " slump " and "meticulous," which are now current, first come 

 into use ? But sometimes a word marked a date distinctly; if, for 

 instance, we found in a book purporting to have been written a 

 hundred and fifty years ago, the word " boycott," we should feel 

 suspicious. So the use of the " talent " as meaning a man's gifts, 

 could not well be earlier than our Lord's parable. The omission of 

 a word proved nothing, unless the context had required it to be 

 used; there must have been something suitable to introduce it. 

 Sometimes, however, there were two words for one thing, as, for 

 instance, there were two words in the Hebrew for a " sickle," the 

 one used in the earlier documents, the other in the later. So with 

 the " shewbread " ; the first name for it, described its use ; the 

 second word, which might be more fitly rendered " rowbread," 

 referred to the arrangement of the loaves in rows. Again the name 

 of David is differently written in Samuel and Kings from that in 

 Chronicles ; in the first there are but three letters, in the last there 

 are four. There are also dialectic differences ; here in London 

 there is a very distinctive dialect, one that he was thankful he 

 had never been able to acquire — the Cockney dialect. Arabs at the 

 present day have no p in their alphabet, and the Ephraimites were 

 unable to say " shibboleth." Leviticus is a book of Eitual, not of 

 History, and abounds in technical words which need accurate 

 translation. They run through the Old Testament. Whence came 

 the word Ej/hah if not from Egypt 1 What has happened to 

 the familiar Tabernacle of meeting between Leviticus and Ezekiel, 

 so that whilst it is found dozens of times in the one book it is only 

 in what may be called an antiquarian note in the other (chap, xli, 1) ? 

 How is it that the " sheep " of Leviticus are conspicuous by their 

 absence in EzekieH Similar questions may be asked— and will be 

 asked about other words. They need patient study and will repay 

 it. So will the terms of the great prophetic chapter (xxvi) if they 

 are traced through the other books. 



Mr. E. Walter Maunder drew attention to the statement in the 

 first chapter of Genesis that the sun and moon were for " seasons," 

 as well as for signs, and for days and years ; " seasons " meaning 

 times for solemn assembly for the worship of God. In the 



