ABSTRACT
In Ecclesiastics ii. 8, ,,'e read, "I gat U18 luen singers and ,vornen singers, the delights of the sons of Ineu, as 1n1lS1:cal instruntents, and that o.f all so'rts.)) These last seven ,vords represent only t\VO in the original I-Iebre\\",
rn,~, il'~, Shiddah-vesh'iddoth. These t,vo ,,"ol'ds in the original I-Iebre,v translated by the last 88ven in this verse, have been a source of great perplexity to the critics, and their exact meaning is Inatter of debate to this hour. They in the West sar they Dlenn severally carriages for lords and carriages for ladies, ,vhile ,ve, says the Babylonish Talmud, interpret thelll to signify male demons and female detllons. vVhereupoll, if this last is the correct rendering, the question al'iseg, fol' ,vhat purpose Solomon required them 1 The ans,ver is to be found in I I(ings vi. 7, ,vhcre it is ,vritten, "l\nd the house, ,vhen it ,vas in building, ,,'as built of stone made ready before it ,vas brought thither," (.~c.
