Horse–Leech occurs only in . The horse-leech is properly a species of leech, discarded for medical purposes on account of the coarseness of its bite.
Although the Hebrew word is translated 'leech'in all the versions, there has been much dispute whether that is its proper meaning. Against the received translation it has been urged that upon an examination of the context in which it occurs, the introduction of the leech seems strange; that it is impossible to understand what is meant by its 'two daughters;' and that instead of the incessant craving apparently attributed to it, the leech drops off when filled: hence it has been attempted to give a different sense to the Hebrew word, and to render it 'destiny.' But there seems no good reason for altering the received translation. In the preceding verse the writer speaks of 'a generation whose teeth are as swords, and their jaw-teeth as knives to devour the poor from off the earth, and the needy from among men;' and then, after the abrupt and picturesque style of the East, the leech is introduced as an illustration of the covetousness of such persons, and of the two distinguishing vices of which it is the parent, avarice and cruelty. May not also the 'two daughters' of the leech 'crying, Give, give be a figurative description of the two lips of the creature (for these it has, and perfectly formed) which are a part of its very complicated mouth?' It certainly is agreeable to the Hebrew style to call the offspring of inanimate things daughters, for so branches are called daughters of trees (, margin). A similar use of the word is given in —'All the daughters of musick shall be brought low,' meaning the lips, front teeth, and other parts of the mouth. It is well remarked by Professor Paxton that 'this figurative application of the entire genus is sufficient to justify the interpretation. The leech, as a symbol in use among rulers of every class and in all ages for avarice, rapine, plunder, rapacity, and even assiduity, is too well known to need illustration.
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John Kitto was an English biblical scholar of Cornish descent.Born in Plymouth, John Kitto was a sickly child, son of a Cornish stonemason. The drunkenness of his father and the poverty of his family meant that much of his childhood was spent in the workhouse. He had no more than three years of erratic and interrupted education. At the age of twelve John Kitto fell on his head from a rooftop, and became totally and permanently deaf. As a young man he suffered further tragedies, disappointments and much loneliness. His height was 4 ft 8 in, and his accident left him with an impaired sense of balance. He found consolation in browsing at bookstalls and reading any books that came his way.
From these hardships he was rescued by friends who became aware of his mental abilities and encouraged him to write topical articles for local newspapers, arranging eventually for him to work as an assistant in a local library. Here he continued to educate himself.
One of his benefactors was the Exeter dentist Anthony Norris Groves, who in 1824 offered him employment as a dental assistant. Living with the Groves family, Kitto was profoundly influenced by the practical Christian faith of his employer. In 1829 he accompanied Groves on his pioneering mission to Baghdad and served as tutor to Groves's two sons. In 1833 Kitto returned to England via Constantinople, accompanied by another member of the Groves mission, Francis William Newman. Shortly afterwards he married, and in due course had several children.
A London publisher asked Kitto to write up his travel journals for a series of articles in the Penny Magazine, a publication read at that time by a million people in Britain, reprinted in America and translated into French, German and Dutch. Other writing projects followed as readers enquired about his experiences in the East amidst people living in circumstances closely resembling those of Bible times.
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