accordingly, then the prophetic author employs the term 11 to descend": for man is so low and insignificant that his actions would not be visited and would not bring punishment on him, were it not for the divine will: as is clearly stated in the Bible, with regard to this idea," What is man that thou shouldst remember him, and the son of man that thou shouldst visit him" (PS. viii. 5).
The design of the Deity to punish man is, therefore, introduced by the verb" to descend": comp. Go to, let us go down and there confound their language" (Gen. xi. 7)" And the Lord came down to see" (Gen. xi. 5):" I will go down now and see" (Gen. xviii. 21). All these instances convey the idea that man here below is going to be punished.
More numerous, however, are the instances of the first case, viz., in which these verbs are used in connection with the revelation of the word and of the glory of God, e.g.," And I will come down and talk with thee there" (Num. xi. 17):" And the Lord came down upon Mount Sinai (Exod. xix. 20):" The Lord will come down in the sight of all the people (Exod. xix. 11):" And God went up from him" (Gen. xxxv. 13):" And God went up from Abraham" (Gen. XVii. 22). When, on the other hand, it says," And Moses went up unto God" (Exod. xix. 3), it must be taken in the third signification of these verbs, in addition to its literal meaning that Moses also ascended to the top of the mount, upon which a certain material light (the manifestation of God's glory) was visible; but we must not imagine that the Supreme Being occupies a place to which we can ascend, or from which we can descend. He is far from what the ignorant imagine.
CHAPTER XI
THE primary meaning of the Hebrew yashab is" he was seated," as" Now Eli the priest sat (yashab) upon a seat" (I Sam. i. 9): but, since a person can best remain motionless and at rest when sitting, the term was applied to everything that is permanent and unchanging; thus, in the promise that Jerusalem should remain constantly and permanently in an exalted condition, it is stated," She will rise and sit in her place" (Zech. xiv.10): further," He maketh the woman who was childless to sit as a joyful mother of children" (Ps. cxiii. 9): i.e., He makes her happy condition to be permanent and enduring.
When applied to God, the verb is to be taken in that latter sense:" Thou 0 Lord, remainest (tesheb) for ever" (Lam. v. 19):" 0 thou who sittest (ba-yoshebt) in the heavens" (Ps. cxxiii. 1):" He who sitteth in the heavens" (ii. 4), i.e., He who is everlasting, constant, and in no way subject to change; immutable in His Essence, and as He consists of nought but His Essence, He is mutable in no way whatever; not mutable in His relation to other things: for there is no relation whatever existing between Him and any other being, as will be explained below, and therefore no change as regard; such relations can take place in Him. Hence He is immutable in every respect, as He expressly declares," I, the Lord, do not change" (Mal. iii. 6): i.e., in Me there is not any change whatever. This idea is expressed by the term yashab when referring to God.
