Aij'eleth Sha'har (Hebrew Aye'leth, hash-Shach'ar, איֶּלֶת השּׁחר, hind of the dawn, in which signification the terms often occur separately; Sept. ἡ ἀντίληψις ἡ ἑωθινή, Vulg. susceptio matutina) occurs in the title of Psalm 22, and is apparently the name of some other poem os song, to the measure of which this ode was to be performed or chanted (Aben Ezra, in loc.; Bochart, Hieroz. 1, 888; Eichhorn, Proef. ad Jonesium, De Poesi Asiat. p. 323; Rosenmuller, De Wette, in loc.); like the similar terms, e.g. AL- TASCHITH SEE AL-TASCHITH (q.v.), which occur in the inscriptions of other Psalms (57, 58, 59, 75), after the manner of Syriac poets (Assemani, Bibl. Orient. 1, 80). The phrase, however, is not necessarily taken from the initial words of a song (as Aben Ezra maintains, comp. Pr 5:19), much less an amatory effusion (comp. the opening of a poem of Ibn Doreid, "O gazelle!"); but the title may be borrowed, according to Oriental custom, from some prominent expression or theme in it, like David's "Song of the Bow" (2 Samuel 1; comp. Gesenius, Comment. in Isa 22:1). It may in this case allude either to the hunting of the deer by the early daylight, as the most favorable time for the chase; or, as more agreeable to the Arabic similes (Schultens, ad Meidan. Proverbs p. 39), as well as rabbinical usage (Talmud. Hieros. Berakoth, 2, 30, 1. 30, 35, ed. Cracon.), it may refer to the rays of the rising sun under the metaphor of a stag's horns (comp. Schultens and De Sacy, ap. Haririum Cons. 32). The interpretation of Faber (in Harmar's Observ. 2, 172) as signifying the beginning of dawn, is less agreeable to the etymology. Some (as Hare in the Bibl. Brem. Class. 1, pt. 2) understand some instrument of music; and others (e.g. Kimchi and the Talmudists) the morning star. — Gesenius, Thes. Heb. p. 45. SEE PSALMS.
The Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological, and Ecclesiastical Literature was edited by John McClintock and James Strong. It contains nearly 50,000 articles pertaining to Biblical and other religious literature, people, creeds, etc. It is a fantastic research tool for broad Christian study.
John McClintock was born October 27, 1814 in Philadelphia to Irish immigrants, John and Martha McClintock. He began as a clerk in his father's store, and then became a bookkeeper in the Methodist Book Concern in New York. Here he converted to Methodism and considered joining the ministry. McClintock entered the University of Pennsylvania in 1832 and graduated with high honors three years later. Subsequently, he was awarded a doctorate of divinity degree from the same institution in 1848.WikipediaRead More