rain signifies a body in the Syriac g language, as Kimchi
observes, and for which he produces Dan. iv. 33.
and so Aben Ezra says it signifies in the Arabic
language h; and the sense is, #tte body of the tree grew
up, and being grown up, was cut down, and used as
follows.
Ver. 15. Then shall it be for a man to burn, &c.]
And which indeed is the proper use of it, but notall
that this man puts it to; only the boughs, and what he
cuts off as useless to his purpose, and the chips he
makes, which he commits to the fire: for he will take
thereof, and warm himself; with some part of it be
makes a fire in his parlour, and warms himself when it
is cold weather: yea, he kindleth it, and baketh bread;
he heats his oven with another part of it, and bakes
the bread he has made for himself and family to
live on, and which is putting it to a good use: yea, he
maketh a god, and worshippeth it; he maketh a graven
image, andfalleth down thereto; the other part of the
tree, and which is the better part, he makes an image
of, and carves it, and calls it a god; and not only so,
but when he has done, falls down and worships it;
than Which there cannot be a greater instance of stu-
pidity and folly.
Vet. 16. He burneth part thereof in the. fire, &c.]
To warm himself with, as before: with part thereof he
eateth flesh; that is, with part of it he dresses flesh,
and makes it fit to eat; unless the meaning is, with
part of it he makes tables and trenchers to eat meat off
of; but the former sense seems most likely, and agrees
with what follows: he roasteth roast, and is satisfied;
he roasts his meat with it, and eats it when roasted,
and is highly pleased and delighted with it, and he eats
of it to his satisfaction: yea, he warmeth him, and
saith, Aha; an expression of joy and delight, being
before a good fire in winter time: I am warm, I have
seen the fire; have felt it, and enjoyed the comfort of it,
which has given a sensible pleasure.
Ver. 17. And the residue thereof he maketh a god,
even his graven image, &c.] What remains of the tree,
that is not consumed by making a fire to warm with,
by heating the oven to bake bread with, and by using
it in the kitchen to roast meat with, this is made an
image of, and being grayed and-carved, is called a
god, and worshipped; though it is of the same matter,
and of the same nature, with that which was used
for warming, baking, and roasting: hefalleth down unto
it, and worshippeth it, and prayeth unto it, and saith,
deliver me, for thou art my god; he bows unto it, falls
down on his knees, and spreads out his hands, and lifts
them up, and uses all the gestures of adoration; yea,
makes a formal address in prayer and supplication, and
particularly requests that he would deliver him from
present danger and distresses, of whatsoever kind he
was artended with; declaring at the same time he was
his god, in whom he trusted, and from whom he
expected relief and succour. Monstrous stupidity !
Vet. 18. They have not known nor understood, &c.]
Who the true God is, nor the worship that is due to
him alone; they don't know nor understand divine and
spiritual things; nay, they have not the knowledge
and understanding of men; they want common sense
that can do and say such things as before mentioned,
both idol-makers and idol-worshippers :for he hath shut
their eyes that they cannot see, and their heart that they
cannot understand; either the devil, as some think, the
god of this world, that blinds their eyes from seeing
the folly of such gross idolatry, which he, deceiving
them, leads them into; or rather God himself, who,
because they like not to retain him in their know-
ledge, gives them up to a reprobate and injudicious
mind, to believe a lie, and worship a false god; this
he permits, orders, and overrules to some good ends
and purposes: this is to be understood of the eyes
of the understanding, which, as the word {l} signifies, are
daubed and plastered over, that there is no opening of
them, and seeing with them; which is the judicial
blindness and hardness of-heart, which God sometimes
in righteous judgment gives up men unto; see Rom.
i. 28.
Ver. 19. And none considereth in his heart, &c.]
Or, and he does not return it to his heart {k}; he does not
come to himself again, or return to his right mind,
but lives and dies under the infatuation; never once
revolving it in his mind, pondering within himself
what he has done, or is doing, whether right or wrong:
neither is there knowledge nor understanding to say
within himself, and reason the matter in his own mind,
and thus express himself: 1 have burnt part of it in the
fire; to warm myself with: yea, also I have baked
bread upon the coals thereof; both heated the oven, and
baked bread with it; and also upon the live coals have
laid kneaded dough, and baked a cake on them: and
I have roasted flesh, and eaten it; made a fire with
another part of it, and roasted meat at it, and ate
it with great pleasure and satisfaction: and shall..I make
the residue thereof an abomination? an idol, which is
an abominable thing to God, and to all men of sense
and goodness: shall I fall down to the stock of a tree?
or the bud ofa tree {l} ? or that which is made out of
a tree of my own planting, cutting down, and hewing,
part of which has been used to the above purposes;
and the remaining lifeless log, shall I worship it as a
god ? and yet, though such reasoning might be justly
expected from a man that is a reasonable creature,
sottish are idolaters, that they seem to be quite deprived
of their rational powers, or at least these are disused
by them.
Vet. 20. He feedeth of ashes, &c.] That is, the
idolater delights in his idol, pleases himself with
seeks comfort and satisfaction from it, fills and feeds
himself with hopes and expectations of being helped
and delivered by it; but this is all vain hope, a mere
delusion; it is as if a man fed on ashes instead of

{g} corpus, Luke iii. 22. 2 Cor. x. 10. Castel. Lex. Poly-
glott. col. 627. So in the Chaldee language.
{k} So, according to Schindler,  signifies a body, Lex. Pentaglott.
col. 347, 348.
{i} \^Mhynye xt\^ oblevit oculos eorum, Montanus; obleverit, Cocceius;
quod sculptile oblinat, Piscator.
{k} \^wbl la byvy alw\^ et non reducet ad cor suum, Pagninus,
Montanus; reducit, Piscator.
{l} \^Ue lwbl\^ ante id quod provenit ex abore, Junius & Tremellius,
Piscator; germen ligni, Forerius.