of Zarephath," And his sickness was so sore, that there was no breath left in him" (I Kings xvii. 17). The simple expression va-yamoth would have given the idea that he was very ill, near death, like Nabal when he heard what had taken place.
Some of the Andalusian authors say that his breath was suspended, so that no breathing could be perceived at all, as sometimes an invalid is seized with a fainting fit or an attack of asphyxia, and it cannot be discovered whether he is alive or dead: in this condition the patient may remain a day or two.
The term hai has also been employed in reference to the acquisition of wisdom. Comp." So shall they be life (hayyim) unto thy soul" (Prov. iii. 22):" For whoso findeth me findeth life" (ib. viii. 35):" For they are life (hayyim) to those that find them" (ib. iv. 22). Such instances are numerous. In accordance with this metaphor, true principles are called life, and corrupt principles death. Thus the Almighty says," See, I have set before thee this day life and good and death and evil" (Deut. xxx. 15), showing that" life" and" good,"" death" and" evil," are identical, and then He explains these terms. In the same way I understand His words," That ye may live" (ib. v. 33), in accordance with the traditional interpretation of" That it may be well with thee" [scil. in the life to come] (ib. xxii. 7). In consequence of the frequent use of this figure in our language our Sages said," The righteous even in death are called living, while the wicked even in life are called dead." (Talm. B. Berakhoth, P. 78). Note this well.
CHAPTER XLIII
THE Hebrew kanaf is a homonym; most of its meanings are metaphorical. Its primary signification is" wing of a flying creature," e.g.," Any winged (kanaf) fowl that flieth in the air" (Deut. iv. 17).
The term was next applied figuratively to the wings or comers of garments comp." upon the four corners (kanfoth) of thy vesture" (ib. xxii. 12).
It was also used to denote the ends of the inhabited part of the earth, and the corners that are most distant from our habitation. Comp." That it might take hold of the ends (kanfoth) of the earth" (job xxxviii. 13):" From the uttermost part (kenaf) of the earth have we heard songs" (Isa. xxiv. 16).
Ibn Ganab (in his Book of Hebrew Roots) says that kenaf is used in the sense of" concealing," in analogy with the Arabic kanaftu alshaian," I have hidden something," and accordingly explains, Isaiah xxx. 20," And thy teacher will no longer be hidden or concealed." It is a good explanation, and I think that kenaf has the same meaning in Deuteronomy xxiii. 1," He shall not take away the cover (kenaf) of his father": also in," Spread, therefore, thy cover (kenafeka) over thine handmaid" (Ruth iii. 9). In this sense, I think, the word is figuratively applied to God and to angels (for angels are not corporeal, according to my opinion, as I shall explain). Ruth ii. 12 must therefore be translated" Under whose protection (kenafav) thou art come to trust": and wherever the word occurs in reference to angels, it means concealment. You have surely noticed the words of Isaiah (Isa. Vi. 2)," With twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet." Their meaning is this: The cause of his (the angel's) existence is hidden and concealed; this is meant by the covering
