that the Lord,
who, when He gave the promise, had already in view its fulfilment which
He had Himself to accomplish, did not unintentionally choose an
expression which, besides the comprehensive meaning which would most
naturally suggest itself to the Patriarchs, admitted also of the more
restricted one which was confirmed by the fulfilment. In the
_Protevangelium_, and in the promise of the Prophet in Deut. xviii., we
have a case quite analogous to this; and in 2 Sam. vii. there is
likewise a case which is, to a certain extent, parallel.

In two passages out of the five--in chap. xxii. 18 and xxvi. 4--the
Hithpael of the verb [Hebrew: brK] instead of the Niphal is found. We
meet with it also again in the derived passage in Ps. lxxii. 17, where
it is said of the great King to come, "And they shall bless themselves
in Him, all nations shall bless Him." In xxii. 18 and xxvi. 4, we shall
be allowed to translate only thus: "They shall bless themselves in thy
seed." For the Hithpael of [Hebrew: brK] always signifies "to bless
oneself;" and the person from whom the blessing is derived (Isa. lxv.
16; Jer. iv. 2), or whose blessing is desired, is connected with it by
means of the preposition [Hebrew: b]. (Compare Gen. xlviii. 20: "In
thee shall Israel bless, saying, God make thee as Ephraim and as
Manasseh.") From the nature of the case, it is evident that only the
latter can be meant here. This is shown also by the derived passage [Pg
55] in Ps. lxxii. 17, where the words, "they shall bless themselves in
Him," are explained by the subsequent expression, "they shall bless
Him."

But it is certainly not accidental that the Hithpael is on both sides
inclosed by the Niphal, and that the latter stands not only twice at
the beginning, but also at the end. Hence we are not at liberty to
force upon the Hithpael the signification of the Niphal; but the
passages in which the Hithpael occurs must be supplemented from the
real fundamental passages. "To bless oneself _in_" is the preparatory
step to being "blessed _by_." The acknowledgment of the blessing calls
forth the wish to be a partaker of it. (Compare Isa. xlv. 14, where, in
consequence of the rich blessings poured out upon Israel, the nations
make the request to be received among them.) Oftentimes in the Psalms
utterance is given to the expectation that, through the blessing
resting on the people of God, the Gentiles will be allowed to seek
communion in it. (See my Commentary on