The same word 'akkabish occurs twice, and certainly does signify some kind of Spider. The Prophet Isaiah writes of the wicked that they "weave the spider's web" (lix. 5), and there is a similar image in Job viii. 14: "So are the paths of all that forget God; and the hypocrite's hope shall perish. Whose hope shall be cut off, and whose hope shall be a spider's web (or house). In both instances reference is made to the fragility of the Spider's web as a metaphor to express the futility of evil devices. وو The reader will see that in neither of these passages is there anything that indicates the species of Spider. There are very many species of Spider in Palestine; some which spin webs, like the common Garden Spider, some which dig subterranean cells and make doors in them, like the well-known Trap-door Spider of Southern Europe, and some which have no webs, but chase their prey upon the ground, like the Wolf and Hunting Spiders. Notice is, however, only taken of those which spin webs. ANNELIDA. THE WORM. Various words translated as "Worm "-Probable confusion of the words-The Rimmah and the Tole'ah-The Worm which destroyed Jonah's gourd―The Earthworm. THE word "worm occurs many times in the Authorized Version, and is a rendering of three Hebrew words. One is sás, which has been already explained under the article Moth; the second is rimmah; and the third tole'ah. There is very great difficulty in ascertaining the real signification of these words, unless we assume that the Hebrews were not aware of the distinction between actual Annelida and the larvæ of various insects. Even at the present day we commit a similar error. We speak of the wire-worm, which is the larva of one kind of beetle. We say that wood is worm-eaten, signifying that it has been Then we use attacked by the larva of another kind of beetle. the word "palmer-worm" to signify the larva of a moth, "glowworm" to signify a beetle, "tape-worm " to signify an entozoon, and-strangest of all—“blindworm" to signify a lizard which can see perfectly well. We therefore need not wonder that the Hebrew language produces similar confusion of nomenclature. The other words are frequently used in connexion with each other. The Rimmah is the "worm" that was bred in the manna when it had been kept beyond the specified time, and it is evident that the larva of some insect, such as the blow-fly, is signified. The word is evidently used in the same sense by Job. The "worm shall feed sweetly on him" (xxiv. 20). "They shall lie down alike in the dust, and the worms shall cover them" (xxi. 26). The same word is employed in his lamentation over his evil case: "My flesh is clothed with worms and clods of dust; my skin is broken, and become loathsome" (vii. 5). In xxv. 6 he uses both words: "Man that is a worm, and the son of This passage is more correctly rendered in the Hebrew Bible: " Man that is a worm (rimmah), and the son of man which is a maggot" (tole'ah). Both words are also used in connexion with each other by Isaiah: The worm (rimmah) is spread under thee, and the worms (tola'im) cover thee" (xiv. 11). man that is a worm." The well-known passage in Job xix. 26 is altogether wrongly rendered in the text, the marginal translation being much more correct. The Worm is not mentioned at all in that passage, which the Jewish Bible renders as follows: "Even after my skin shall have been stripped off this [body] and flesh, I shall see God." The Worm which destroyed the gourd of Jonah was a Tolaeth (another form of tole'ah). See Jonah iv. 7. The passage in Micah probably refers to the earthworm : "They shall lick the dust like a serpent, they shall move out of their holes like worms of the earth" (vii. 17). In this case, however, the expression is a general one, and, as may be seen by reference to the marginal translation, is more correctly rendered not as "worms," but as "creeping things." THE HORSE LEECH. Signification of the word Alukah—The Arabic word-Leeches in Palestine-The horse and the Leech-Leeches in England. IN Prov. xxx. 15 there is a word which only occurs once in the Scriptures. This is alukah, which is translated as horse-leech. "The horseleech hath two daughters, crying, Give, give." The Hebrew Bible does not translate the word at all. There is, however, no doubt that the translation is a correct one. Buxtorf renders the word as sanguisuga hirudo, and it is worthy of remark that the Arabic name for the Leech, Aluk, is identical with the Hebrew Alukah. The Leeches are very common in Palestine, and infest the rivers to such an extent that they enter the nostrils of animals who come to drink, and cause great annoyance and even danger. The following anecdote, related by Mr. H. Dixon in his "Holy Land," gives us a good idea of the prevalence of the Leeches, and the tenacity with which they retain their hold :— “At Beit-Dejan, on a slight twist in the road, we find the wheel and well, and hear a delicious plash and rustle in the troughs. To slip from my seat to dip Sabeah's nose into the fluid is the work of a second; but no sooner has she lapped up a mouthful of water, than one sees that the refuse falling back from her lips into the tank is dabbled and red. Opening her mouth, I find a gorged leech dangling from her gum. But the reptile being swept off, and the mare's nose dipt into the cooling stream, the blood still flows from between her teeth, and, forcing them open, I find two other leeches lodged in the roof of her mouth. "Poor little beast! how grateful and relieved she seems, how gay, how gentle, when I have torn these suckers from her flesh, ne-The and soused the water about her wounds; and how my huntingwhip yearns to descend upon the shoulders of that laughing and careless Nubian slave!" Persons passing through the river are also attacked by them, and, if they have a delicate skin, suffer greatly. Even in England this will happen. While bathing in a Kentish stream, I have found, when coming out of the water, that numbers of Leeches were adhering to me, and have had considerable trouble in removing them. PROTOZOA AND RADIATA. SPONGE AND CORAL. Use of the Sponge in Scripture-Probability that the ancient Jews were acquainted with it-Sponges of the Mediterranean-The Coral, and its value-Signification of the word Ramoth. THERE is little to be said on either of these subjects. Sponge is only mentioned with reference to the events of the Crucifixion, where it is related that a soldier placed a sponge upon hyssop, dipped it in vinegar (i.e. the acid wine issued to the Roman soldiers), and held it to the Lord's lips. There is little doubt that the ancient Hebrews were fully aware of the value of the Sponge, which they could obtain from the Mediterranean which skirted all their western coasts. THE Coral is mentioned in two passages of Scripture: "No mention shall be made of coral, or of pearls" (Job xxviii. 18). The second occurrence of the word is in Ezek. xxvii. 16: “They occupied in thy fairs with emeralds, purple, and broidered work, and fine linen, and coral, and agate." This Coral, which is described as being brought from Syria, was probably that of the Red Sea, where the Coral abounds, and |