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The House That Jack Built

The House That Jack Built image
Parent Issue
Day
10
Month
September
Year
1880
Copyright
Public Domain
OCR Text

As tho occupation and ploasuros of i-hildhood produce a powerful impression on the meiuory, t is probable almoat evcry roadci who has passed liis infantíle da in an Knglish nurscry rccollccts tho delight witii wbicb he repeated that puerile jinglins legend, "The Houso that Jack built." Vury f'ow, however, are at all a ware of thc original form of itscoruposition, orthe particular subject it was designed tu ilústrate. And f'cwer atill would suspect that it is only an accommodateJ and akerad transíanos oí' an ancient paral) lie liymn, sung by the Jüws at the feaat oí' the l'assover, and commemorutivc of the principal eveatí in the history of that pcople. Yct such ii actually tho í'aet. The original, in the Chaldec language, is now lying before me, and us it uiay not be uninteresting to the reail 6rl of the Congregatioual Magazine, I will here furnish them with a literal translation ul' it, and then add the interpretation, as givcn by 1'. JS'. Lebrecht, Loipsic, 1731. Tho hymn itself is found in Sephcr riagadah, vol. 23. 1. A kid, a kid, my father bought for two pieccs of money : a kid, a kid. '2. Thon carne the cat, aud ate the kid, that my father bought, for two pií money ; a kid, a kid. 3. Then carne the dog, tïiat bit thc eat, that ate the kid, that my fatlur bought, for two pieccs oí monuy : a kid, a kid. 4. Then carne the staff, aud beat thc dog, that bit the cat, that ate tho kid, that my father bought, for two pieces of money : a kid, a kid. 5. Theu carne tho fire, aud burned tho staff, that beat the dog, that bit thc cat, that ate the kid, that my father bought, for two pieces of money : a kid, a kid. 0. Then carne the water, and quenched the fire, that burned the staff, that beat the do, that bit the cat, that ate the kid, that my father bought, i'or two pieces of money : a kid, a kid. 7. Then carne the ox, and drank the water, that quenched the tire, that burned the staff, that beat the dog, that bit the cat, that ate the kid, that my father bought, fortwo pieces of money : a kid, a kid. 8. Theu carne tho hiitchor and slew thc ox, that drank the water, that quenched thc fire, that burned thc staff, that beat the dog, that bit the cat, that ate the kid, that my father bought, fur two pieces of money ; a kid, a kid. 'J. Then carne the angel of death, und killed thc butcher, that slew the ox, that drank the water, that quenched the fire, that burned tho staff, that beat thc dog that bit cat, that ate the kid, that my fa ther bought, for two pieces of money : a kid, a kid. 10. Then eauie the Holy One, blessed be He, and killed the angel of death, that killed the butcher, that slew the ox, that drank the water, that quenched the fire, that burned the staff, that beat the dog, that bit the cat, that ate the kid, that my father bought for two pieces of money : a kid, a kid. The foüowing is the interpretation : 1. The kid, which is one of the pure auimals, denotes the Hebrews. The father by whoin it waspurchased is Jchovan, who represents himself as sustaining this relation to the Hcbrew nation. The pieces of money signifying Moses and Aaron, through whose mediation the Hebrews were brought out of Egypt. 2. Tho oat denotes the AmyAtfoS, by whom thc Ten Tribes were carried into captivity. 3. The dog iu symbolical of thc Babylonians. 4. Thc staff signified the Perswni. 5. The fire indioates the (irecian empire undor Aloxander the Oreat. 6. The water betokens the Roman or the fourth of the great monarchies to whom the Jewá wero subjected. 7. The ox is a symbol of the Saracens, who subdued Palestine, and brought it undcr the caliphatc. 8. The butcher that killed tho ox denotes the Crusaders by whom the Holy Land was wrested out of the hands of the Saracens. 9. The angel of death signifies the Turkish power, by which the land of Palestino was taken from the Franks, to whom it is still subject. 10. The oommencement of the tenth stanza is designed to show that God will take sigoal vengeance on the Turks, irnmodiately after whose overthrow the Jcws are to be restored to their own land, and live under the government of their long expected Messiah.

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Subjects
Ann Arbor Courier
Old News