Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Micah 1:15
Yet will I bring an heir unto thee, O inhabitant of Mareshah: he shall come unto Adullam the glory of Israel.
15. Yet will I bring, &c.] Rather, Moreover unto thee will I bring him that shall possess thee (viz. Sargon and his Assyrians). ‘Mareshah’ was near Achzib (Jos 15:44). There is an allusion to its possible meaning of ‘possession.’
he shall come unto Adullam, &c.] Rather, the glory of Israel shall come even unto Adullam. The nobility of Israel are to take refuge in the cave which once harboured David and his band (1Sa 22:1-2). These limestone caverns are of great extent; some of them, says Dr Pusey, will hold thousands of men. A second meaning may be implied by a paronomasia, ‘The glory of Israel shall set for ever’ (as if Adullam meant ‘for ever,’ Hebr. ad olam). Adullam was a fortified town in the Shephlah, Jos 15:35.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Yet will I bring an heir – (the heir, him whom God had appointed to be the heir, Sennacherib) unto thee, O inhabitant of Mareshah Mareshah, (as the original form of its name denotes, lay on the summit of a hill. Its ruins only were still seen, in the time of Eusebius and Jerome, in the second mile from Eleutheropolis (Onomasticon). : Foundations still remain on the south-eastern part of the remarkable Tell, south of Beth-Jibrin. Rehoboam fortified it also 2Ch 11:8. Zerah the Aethiopian had come to (2Ch 14:9 ff) it, probably to besiege it, when Asa met him, and God smote the AEthiopians before him, in the valley of Zephathah thereat. In the wars of the Maccabees, it was in the hands of the Edomites . Its capture and that of Adora are mentioned as the last act of the war, before the Edomites submitted to John Hyrcanus, and were incorporated in Israel. It was a powerful city , when the Parthians took it. As Micah writes the name, it looked nearer to the word inheritance. Mareshah (inheritance) shall yet have the heir of Gods appointment, the enemy. It shall not inherit the land, as promised to the faithful, but shall itself be inherited, its people dispossessed. While it, (and so also the soul now) held fast to God, they were the heritage of the Lord, by His gifts and grace; when, of their own free-will, those, once Gods heritage, become slaves of sin, they passed and still pass, against their will, into the possession of another master, the Assyrian or Satan.
He (that is, the heir, the enemy) shall come unto Adullam, the glory of Israel – . that is, he who shall dispossess Mareshah, shall come quite unto Adullam, where, as in a place of safety, the glory of Israel, all in which she gloried, should be laid up. Adullum was a very ancient city, being mentioned in the history of the patriarch Judah Gen 38:1, Gen 38:12, Gen 38:20, a royal city Jos 12:15. It too lay in the Shephelah Jos 15:35; it was said to be 10 (Eusebius) or 12 (Jerome) miles East of Eleutheropolis; but for this, there seems to be scarcely place in the Shephelah. It was one of the 15 cities fortified by Rehoboam 2Ch 11:7; one of the 16 towns, in which (with their dependent villages) Judah settled after the captivity Neh 11:30. It contained the whole army of Judas Maccabaeus (1 Macc. 12:38).
Like Lachish, it had probably the double advantages of the neighborhood of the hills and of the plain, seated perhaps at the roots of the hills, since near it doubtless was the large cave of Adullam named from it. The line of caves, fit for human habitation, which extended from Eleutheropolis to Petra , began westward of it. : The valley which runs up from Eleutheropolis Eastward, is full of large caves; some would hold thousands of men. They are very extensive, and some of them had evidently been inhabited. : The outer chamber of one cavern was 270 feet long by 126 wide; and behind this were recesses and galleries, probably leading to other chambers which we could not explore. The massive roof was supported by misshaped pieces of the native limestone left for that purpose, and at some places was domed quite through to the surface, admitting both light and air by the roof. The name of Adullam suggested the memory of that cave, the refuge of the Patriarch David, the first of their line of kings, in extreme isolation and peril of his life. There, the refuge now of the remaining glory of Israel, its wealth, its trust, its boast – the foe should come. And so there only remained one common dirge for all.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 15. Yet will I bring an heir unto thee, O – Mareshah] Here is another instance, haigeresh, to bring an heir, and mareshah, the city, the name of which signifies heirship. And so of the above proper names.
Adullam the glory of Israel.] This was a fenced city in the south of Judah (see 2Ch 11:7) towards the Dead Sea.
There is much obscurity in the concluding verses of this chapter. They undoubtedly refer to the captivity of Israel, and to circumstances of distress, &c., which are not mentioned in any of the historical books, and therefore their reference and meaning can only be conjectured.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Yet will I bring; the Lord will cause the Assyrian to rise up and prosper in his wars, to the subduing and possessing of the cities of Israel and the Philistines.
An heir; the Assyrian, who in the right of conquest shall possess, and account himself heir of what he possesseth.
Mareshah; most think the prophet speaks of Mareshah in his own country, but I think the Assyrian did not inherit that, though he might inherit that of the Philistines.
Adullam; famous for its strength, say some; but I rather think it better known for the cave where David lay hid, 1Sa 22:1. It was made a town of defence by Rehoboam, 2Ch 11:7. It was once a royal city, and had several villages belonging to it, Jos 12:15.
The glory of Israel; ironically (say some) called thus, minatorily threatening that the glory of Israel should be brought as low, into as mean condition, as Adullam. Others think it should be read, and to the glory of Israel, that is, Jerusalem; so there should be an ellipsis of () the particle conjunctive. Others think it is the prophets deep sigh at the thoughts how the glory of Israel is laid in the dust. Others think it was then considerable enough at that time to be called the glory of Israel, though we know not how.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
15. Yet will I bring an heir untotheerather, “the heir.” As thou art nowoccupied by possessors who expelled the former inhabitants, so will Ibring “yet” again the new possessor, namely,the Assyrian foe. Other heirs will supplant us in every inheritancebut that of heaven. There is a play upon the meaning of Mareshah, “aninheritance”: there shall come the new heir of theinheritance.
Adullam the glory ofIsraelso called as being superior in situation; when it andthe neighboring cities fell, Israel’s glory was gone. MAURER,as the Margin, translates, “the glory of Israel”(her chief citizens: answering to “thy delicate children,”Mic 1:1; Mic 1:16)”shall come in flight to Adullam.” English Versionbetter preserves the parallelism, “the heir” in the firstclause answering to “he” in the second.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Yet will I bring an heir unto thee, O inhabitant of Mareshah,…. Another city in the tribe of Judah, mentioned with Achzib in
Jos 15:44; and by many thought to be the birth place of this prophet; and, if so, his faithfulness may be observed in declaring the whole counsel of God, though against his own fire place; and this must be an aggravation of the sin of the inhabitants of it, that they had such a prophet that arose from them, and they regarded him not. There is a beautiful allusion in the word “heir” to Mareshah s, which signifies an “inheritance”; and here were an “heir” or heirs for it, as the Targum; not the Persians, as some in Aben Ezra, and in an Agadah mentioned by Jarchi, who descended from Elam the firstborn of Shem; and so had a right of inheritance, as those interpreters suppose; but the king of Assyria, who should invade the land, and seize upon this place among others, and possess it, as if it was his by right of inheritance, having obtained it by conquest: and this being by the permission and according to the will of God, he is said to be brought by him to it. Capellus thinks, on the contrary, that Hezekiah and his posterity are meant:
he shall come unto Adullam the glory of Israel; another city in the tribe of Judah, a royal one, Jos 15:35; said by Jerom to be in his time no small village, and to be about ten miles from Eleutheropolis; called the “glory of Israel”, having been a royal city in Joshua’s time, Jos 12:15; and a fenced city in the times of Rehoboam,
2Ch 11:7; and Eusebius says it was a large town; and Jerom says it was not a small one in his time; though some think Jerusalem is meant, the metropolis of the nation, Israel being put for Judah, as in Mic 1:14; and to be read, “he [that is the enemy and heir] shall come to Adullam, yea, to the glory of Israel” t; even to Jerusalem, the most glorious city in all the tribes; though others are of opinion that this is the character of the enemy or heir that should come thither, called so by way of contradiction, as coming to the reproach and disgrace of Israel; or, ironically, whom Israel before gloried in, when they had recourse to him for help. The margin of our Bible reads, “the glory of Israel shall come to Adullam”; that is, the great men, the princes and heads of the people, shall flee to the cave of Adullam u, to hide them from the enemy, where David was hid from Saul; see
1Sa 22:1. Burkius w, a very late commentator, takes Adullam for an appellative, and with Hillerus x renders it, “the perpetuity of the yoke”; and the whole thus, “at the perpetuity of the yoke, the glory of Israel shall come”; that is, when all things shall seem to tend to this, that the yoke once laid on Israel by the Gentiles shall become perpetual, without any hope of deliverance, then shall come the Deliverer, that is, Jesus, the Glory of Israel; and, adds he, God forbid we should think of any other subject here; and so he interprets the “heir” in the preceding clause of the Messiah; and which is a sense far from being despicable.
s & . t So Piscator, Juuius, Drusius. u “Ad Adullam veniet gloria Israelis”, Cocceius. w He published Annotations on the twelve minor Prophets at Heilbronn, 1753, which he calls a Gnomon, written in imitation of Bengelius’s Gnomon of the New Testament, whose son-in-law it seems he is, and by whom his work is prefaced. x Onomast. Sacr. p. 739.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
The Prophet here threatens his own birth place, as he had done other cities; for, as we have stated, he sprung from this city. He does not now spare his own kindred: for as God is no respecter of persons, so also God’s servants ought, as with closed eyes, to deal impartially with all, so as not to be turned here and there either by favor or by hatred, but to follows without any change, whatever the Lord commands them. We see that Micah was endued with this spirit, for he reproved his own kindred, as he had hitherto reproved others.
There is a peculiar meaning in the word, Mareshah, for it is derived from ירש, iresh, and it means possession. The Prophet now says, I will send to thee הורש , euresh, a possessor; the word is from the same root. (75) ] But he means that the Morasthites would come into the power of their enemies no less than their neighbors, of whom he had spoken before. He says, to Adullam This was also a city in the tribe of Judah, as it is well known. But some would have “enemy” to be here understood and they put כבוד, cabud, in the genitive case: The enemy of the glory of Israel shall come to Adullam; but this is strained. Others understand the passage thus that the glory of Israel would come to disgrace; for Adullam, we know, was a cave. Since then it an obscure place, the Prophet here, as they think, declares that the whole glory of Israel would be covered with dishonor, because the dignity and wealth, in which they gloried would lose their pristine fixate, so that they would differ nothing from an ignoble cave. If any approve of this meaning, I will not oppose them. Yet others think that the Prophet speaks ironically and that the Assyrian is thus called because the whole glory and dignity of Israel would by him be taken away. But there is no need of confining this to enemies; we may then take a simpler view, and yet regard the expression as ironical, — that the glory, that is, the disgrace or the devastation of Israel, would come to Adullam. But what if we read it, in apposition, He shall come to Adullam, the glory of Israel? For Adullam was not obscure, as those interpreters imagine, whom I have mentioned, but it is named among the most celebrated cities after the return and restoration of the people. When, therefore, the whole country was laid waste, this city, with a few others, remained, as we read in the Neh 11:0. It might then be, that the Prophet called Adullam the glory of Israel; for it was situated in a safe place, and the inhabitants thought that they were fortified by a strong defense, and thus were not open to the violence of enemies. This meaning also may be probable; but still, as the glory of Israel may be taken ironically for calamity or reproach if any one approves more of this interpretation, it may be followed. I am, however, inclined to another, — that the Prophet say, that the enemy would come to Adullam, which was the glory of Israel, (76) because that city was as it were in the recesses of Judea, so that an access to it by enemies was difficult. It may be also that some may think, that the recollection of its ancient history is here revived; for David concealed himself in its cave, and had it as his fortress. The place no doubt had, from that time, attained some fame; then this celebrity, as I have said, may be alluded to, when Adullam is said to be the glory of Israel. It follows —
(75) The instances of paranomasia or alliteration in this passage, including this line and the five preceding verses, are unparalleled in any other parts of the Prophets; and when there is no coincidence of sound in the words, there is sometimes a direct contrast in the ideas, as good and evil in verse12. — Ed.
(76) Of all the various renderings of this clause, this is the most satisfactory, which is that of our own version. The substitution of “honor” for “glory,” on the mere authority of the Targum, as is done by Newcome, is wholly indefensible.
Εως Οδαλαμ ἤξει την δοξην Ισραηλ, Symmachus. At the same time, the most obvious and natural construction of the clause is the following, though its meaning is obscure; To Adullam shall come the glory of Israel. — Ed.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(15) Yet will I bring an heir.Rather, the possessor, one who shall take it by forcei.e., Sennacherib.
Mareshah was a city in the plain of Judah, near the prophets native place, Moresheth-gath. It was fortified by Rehoboam, and became the scene of Asas victory over the immense host of Zerah the Ethiopian. Dr. Robinson is of opinion that after its destruction the town of Eleutheropolis was built out of its materials.
Adullam the glory of Israel.Adullam, in the neighbourhood of Mareshah, was situated at the base of the hills, and gave its name to the famous cave in which David took refuge. Joshua mentions a king of Adullam in the list of those conquered by the Israelites. This, now the last refuge of the glory of Israel, shall be seized by the invader.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
Mic 1:15 contains the last play upon words, Mareshah and Yoresh, “the possessor,” translated in A.V. “heir,” in R.V. “him that shall possess.”
Mareshah Jos 15:44, implies that this place is located near Achzib; it is generally identified with a ruin Merash, one mile south of Beit-Jibrin. The Israelites took the city from the Canaanites, but they will be displaced by a new possessor sent by Jehovah.
Adullam The reference is to the “cave of Adullam,” where David hid himself (1Sa 22:1 ff.). In that out-of-the-way place the “glory,” that is, the nobility (Isa 5:13-14), will be compelled to seek refuge, or, the wealth and possessions must be hidden, because the rest of the land is overrun by the enemy. Adullam was in the lowland of Judah (Jos 15:35), but its exact location is uncertain, though it has been identified with several modern ruins. Clermont-Ganneau identified it with the modern Aid-el-ma, a steep hill covered with ruins, about three miles southeast of Soco and about eight miles northeast of Mareshah. The suggestion has been made to separate the original for Adullam into two words and, with changed vocalization, to translate “forever”; the whole sentence, “the glory of Israel shall set forever.” Elhorst thinks that in the text of 15b, which he considers corrupt, another play upon words is hidden; he restores it and translates, “The inhabitants of Adullam shall go under the yoke,” that is, into exile.
The above interpretation of 8-15 is based, with few exceptions, upon the present Hebrew text. It must be admitted, however, that in several instances the uncertainty is very great, and many modern scholars treat the Hebrew text with much greater freedom.
With Mic 1:16 the prophet’s lament closes. Judah, conceived as a mother, is urged to mourn for her children, because they are doomed to exile.
Delicate R.V., “of thy delight”; they are very dear to Judah.
Baldness Artificial baldness was a symbol of mourning (Amo 8:10; Isa 3:24); in Lev 19:27-28; Deu 14:1, it is prohibited, probably on account of its heathen associations. The appeal is repeated, in slightly different language, three times for the sake of emphasis.
Eagle Better, R.V. margin, “vulture.” Baldness is not a mark of the eagle, but it is of the vulture. The prophet probably has in mind the carrion vulture, common in Egypt and in Palestine, the front part of whose head is entirely bald, while the back part has only a thin covering.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Mic 1:15. Yet will I bring an heir unto thee Till I shall send unto thee that heir, who inhabiteth Mareshah; till the glory of Israel shall come even to Adullam: that is to say, “Till I shall send those citizens of Mareshah, whom thou “wouldst sell to the people of Gath, to possess thy walls, “after the army of the Assyrians shall be dispersed, and “after the glory of Israel shall come even to Adullam; “or, shall extend its boundaries to Adullam;” a city in the southern part of the tribe of Judah towards the Dead Sea. This interpretation is favoured by what follows; in which it is foretold, that the inhabitants of Lachish shall be carried into captivity. See Houbigant. It must be acknowledged that there is great difficulty in the conclusion of this chapter.
REFLECTIONS.1st, Micah, or Micaiah, the author of this prophesy, was a Morasthite, so named from the place of his nativity. He lived under the best and worst of Judah’s princes, and in all times of prosperity or adversity faithfully declared the word which God gave him concerning Samaria and Jerusalem, the capitals of the two kingdoms, the judgments which were ready to light upon them being the great burden of this prophesy.
1. A solemn call is given to pay deep attention to the word about to be delivered. Hear, all ye people of Judah and Israel; hearken, O earth, and all that therein is; if the former refuse to listen, the very inanimate earth, trembling before the Lord, shall condemn their insensibility and hardness of heart: and let the Lord God be witness against you, if ye disregard or despise these warnings, that I have faithfully delivered my message, and that your blood is on your own heads; even the Lord from his holy temple in heaven, whence he beholds the inhabitants of the world, and sends down thence his judgments on those who are disobedient to his word. Note; They who turn a deaf ear to the admonitions of God’s ministers, shall shortly be terribly convinced by experience of the threatenings which they would not believe.
2. The desolating judgments of God are foretold, which were ready to overtake them. The Lord clothed with vengeance descends to destroy them: under his feet their strongest fortresses are trod into the dust, and the high places of their idols demolished. Their princes and great men, with all their lofty looks, are brought low, and the valleys cleft, the lowest of the people sharing in the general calamity; and all unable to resist his arm, as wax melts before the fire, or to bear up against his judgments, which as a torrent spread desolation on every side. Samaria, the capital, shall then be laid in ruins, and be made as the furrows of the field, razed from the foundations, and scarcely one stone left upon another; which, as Josephus relates, was fully accomplished by Hircanus. Note; When God arises to judgment, no place can protect the guilty.
3. The cause of all their miseries is their sin; and if it be asked, What is the transgression of Jacob? the crime peculiarly provoking; Is it not Samaria? the calf, and the idolatry there committed? See Hos 8:5. And what are the high places of Judah? are they not Jerusalem? set up there with most impious effrontery against God’s temple; yea, in the very courts of the sanctuary an altar is reared to idols, 2Ki 16:10-18. Note; (1.) Sin is at the bottom of all suffering. (2.) Great cities and persons, whose bad conduct and example spread the contagion of iniquity, shall be first and deepest in punishment.
4. The demolition of their idols, as well as themselves, is threatened. They shall be broken in pieces by the Assyrians, and made utterly desolate. Such as were not worth carrying away for a spoil, shall be stripped of their ornaments, and left as naked logs; and all the hires thereof shall be burnt with the fire; their palaces and substance, which they esteemed the gifts of their idols, and the hire of their idolatry: thus what they gathered of the hire of an harlot, shall return to the hire of an harlot; be given to their idolatrous enemies, who would regard the spoil as the reward sent by their gods, and spend it in their service. Or the sense may be, that their wealth, which was as ill-gotten as the money earned by prostitution, would be, like it, under the curse of God, and quickly consumed. Note; The wages got by sin will be ever earned with a curse, and such gain cannot prosper.
2nd, We have,
1. The prophet deeply lamenting the desolations that he beheld approaching; wailing as a dragon, and mourning as an owl, because the wound is incurable, the decree being gone forth against Israel, and their impenitence determinately obstinate; and now the Assyrian army is at the very gate of Jerusalem. Note; The holy prophets are themselves deeply afflicted at the view of the threatenings which they are obliged to declare; and, so far from taking a delight in these sad messages of woe, they weep over sinners, while they warn them.
2. Other cities are called upon to join the prophet’s mourning, but withal are admonished not to declare it at Gath, nor weep so as to let the Philistines see their grief, who would triumph with malicious pleasure in their calamities. In silent grief they are commanded to roll themselves in the dust, in the house of Aphrah, the house of dust, all their cities being reduced to ruinous heaps. The inhabitant of Saphir, once, as the name imports, fair and beautiful, must now go naked into captivity, stripped of all their wealth and riches. The inhabitant of Zaanan, once numerous as a flock, came not forth in the mourning of Beth-ezel, to condole with her, or to help her, being too much engaged with their own miseries; for he shall receive of you his standing; the enemy encamping near them, and making them pay dear for the resistance that their city made against him. The inhabitant of Maroth waited carefully for good, hoping at last to see some stop put to the ravages of the Assyrians; but were quite in despair, when the evil came down from the Lord unto the gate of Jerusalem, and they beheld the enemy preparing to besiege it. Lachish is now bid to flee, or rather ironically her attempts to do so are derided, she being doomed with the rest to captivity. She is the beginning of the sin to the daughter of Zion: lying contiguous to Israel, this city became first infected; and the idolatry which the inhabitants had learned spread through the land of Judah; and therefore, as ringleaders in sin, they justly deserve severest judgment, the iniquities of the land lying chiefly at their door. In vain by presents would they court the Philistines of Moresheth-gath to assist them; though they promised them fair, they would fail them in the day of trial. The houses of Achzib shall be a lie to the kings of Israel, as the name Achzib signifies. Mareshah also shall be a prey; God will bring an heir to her, one who should seize the country, as if it were his by inheritance. He shall come unto Adullam the glory of Israel; shall seize this fortress on which they trusted; or even to the glory of Israel, to Jerusalem itself. Make thee bald, and poll thee for thy delicate children; which seems addressed to the land in general: enlarge thy baldness as the eagle; shew every expressive sign of woe; for they are gone into captivity from thee; the prophet speaks of it as already done, because God had determined it.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Mic 1:15 Yet will I bring an heir unto thee, O inhabitant of Mareshah: he shall come unto Adullam the glory of Israel.
Ver. 15. Yet will I bring an heir unto thee ] Or, a possessor, who shall lay claim to thee, as by right of inheritance. This heir was the Assyrian, and those colonies brought by him into the cities of Israel, 2Ki 17:34 . These took upon them as heirs and owners of the country, till turned out afterwards by Josiah, King of Judah, 2Ki 23:4 ; 2Ki 23:8 . Here is another elegant allusion, as this chapter is full of them, for Mareshah signifieth an inheritance or possession. And if it were Micah’s own country, as many think, we may see the prophet’s integrity in not bearing with his best friends; but taking the same liberty to tell them of their sins and dangers that they did to commit the one and to incur the other. “Physician, heal thyself,” said they to our Saviour, Luk 4:23 , that is, thine own country, as it is there explained.
He shall come unto Adullam, the glory of Israel
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
an heir . . . Mareshah. Hebrew the possessor (hayyoresh) . . . O Possession (Mareshah). The possessor whom Jehovah would bring was Assyria.
he shall come, &c. The glory: i.e. the nobility (Isa 5:13) of Israel shall go (or flee) unto [the cave] Adullam; as David had done (1Sa 22:1).
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
will: Isa 7:17-25, Isa 10:5, Isa 10:6, Jer 49:1
Mareshah: Jos 15:44
he: etc. or, the glory of Israel shall come to, etc. 1Sa 22:1, Isa 10:3
Adullam: Jos 15:35, 2Ch 11:7
Reciprocal: Gen 38:1 – Adullamite 2Sa 23:13 – the cave 1Ch 11:15 – the cave 2Ch 14:9 – Mareshah Neh 11:30 – Adullam Mic 1:1 – Micah Mic 2:4 – he hath changed
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Mic 1:15. An heir means one who will become the possessor of the place and that was to he the Assyrians, They were destined soon to invade this territory and take possession of the cities and put the inhabitants under subjection.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
1:15 Yet will I bring an {q} heir unto thee, O inhabitant of Mareshah: he shall come unto Adullam {r} the glory of Israel.
(q) He prophesies against his own city: and because it signified a heritage, he says that God would send an heir to possess it.
(r) For so they thought themselves because of the strength of their cities.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
The Lord would bring on the inhabitants of Mareshah ("possessor") one who would take possession of them. The glory of Israel, probably her leaders, would flee ashamedly for safety to Adullam, as David had done earlier (1Sa 22:1). [Note: Charles H. Dyer, in The Old Testament Explorer, pp. 784-85, charted these place names, their meanings, and their significances helpfully.]