y be explained from the circumstance, that he who is not
invited to go with us is left to sit. Thus, _e.g._, Gen. xxxviii. 11:
"Sit as a widow in thy fathers house, until Shelah [Pg 279] my son be
grown;" Is. xlvii. 8, where Babylon says, "I shall not _sit_ as a
widow," etc. The Fut. in this and the following verses must not be
taken in an imperative sense, as meaning, thou shalt sit for me, thou
shalt not whore; the explanation given in ver. 4, and in the parallel
passage in chap. ii. 8, 9, are alike opposed to it. The husband will
not subject his wife to a moral probation, but he will lock her up, so
that she must _sit_ solitary, and _cannot_ whore. With reference to
this. _Manger_ strikingly remarks: "There is, in that very severity,
the beginning of leniency; 'sit for me,' _i.e._, I who have been so
unworthily treated by thee, and who yet am thy most affectionate
husband, and who, though now at a distance from thee, will not
altogether forget thee." The [Hebrew: li] indicates that the sitting of
the wife must have reference to the prophet. Quite similar is Exod.
xxiv. 14: "And he said unto the elders, [Hebrew: wbv lnv], Sit ye here
for us until we return to you." The phrase itself, which must not be
explained by "to sit in expectation of some one," does not indicate in
what way the sitting has reference to him. The issue of the whole
proceeding, described in ver. 5, clearly shows, however, that it is not
inflicted by him as a merited punishment, as an effect of his just
indignation, but rather that we must think chiefly of his compassionate
love, which makes use of these means in order to render the reunion
possible.--The distinction between "to whore," and "to belong to a
man," is obvious: the former denotes _vagos et promiscuus amores_; the
other, connubial connection with a single individual; compare, _e.g._,
Ezek. xvi. 8; Lev. xxi. 3. But the question is,--Who is to be
understood by the "_man?_" Several refer it to the prophet exclusively.
Thus _Jerome_ says, "Thou shalt not shamefully prostitute thyself with
other lovers, nor be legally connected with me, the man to whom thou
art married." Others admit, at least, a co-reference to the prophet =
the Lord. By the words, "Thou art not to whore," they say that the
intercourse with the lovers is excluded; but, by, "Thou art not to
belong to a man," the intercourse with the husband also; so that the
sense would be, "Thou shalt not have connubial intercourse either with