Loading...
He paweth in the valley - יחפרו yachperu, "they dig in the valley," i.e., in his violent galloping, in every pitch of his body, he scoops up sods out of the earth. Virgil has seized this idea also, in his cavat tellurem; "he scoops out the ground." See before.
He paweth in the valley - Margin, “or, His feet dig.” The marginal reading is more in accordance with the Hebrew. The reference is to the well known fact of the “pawing” of the horse with his feet, as if he would dig up the ground. The same idea occurs in Virgil, as quoted above:
caavatque
Tellurem, et solido graviter solar ungula cornu.
Also in Apollonius, L. iii. “Argonauticon:”
Ὡς δ ̓ ἀρήΐος ἵππος, ἐελδόμενος πολεμοίο
Σκαρθμῷ ἐπιχρεμέθων κρούει πέδον.
Hōs d' arēios hippos eeldomenos polemoio class="translit">Skarthmō epichremethōn krouei pedon “As a war-horse, impatient for the battle,
Neighing beats the ground with bis hoofs”
He goeth on to meet the armed men - Margin, “armor.” The margin is in accordance with the Hebrew, but still the idea is substantially the same. The horse rushes on furiously against the weapons of war.