ἐστιν ὁ υἱός μου ὁ ἀγαπητὸς ἐν ᾧ εὐδόκησα. But a reference to the passage before us we meet most decidedly in John i. 32, 33: Τεθέαμαι τὸ πνεῦμα καταβαῖνον ὡσεὶ περιστερὰν ἐξ οὐρανοῦ, καὶ ἔμεινεν ἐπ' αὐτόν· Κᾀγὼ οὐκ ᾕδειν αὐτόν· ἀλλ' ὁ πέμψας με βαπτίζειν ἐν ὕδατι, ἐκεῖνος μοι εἶπεν• ἐφ' ὃν ἂν ἴδῃς τὸ πνεῦμα καταβαῖνον καὶ μένον ἐπ' αὐτόν, οὗτος ἐστιν ὁ βαπτίζων ἐν πνεύματι ἁγίῳ. The word נוח, which in Numb. xi. 25 also is used of the Spirit, combines in itself both the καταβαίνειν and the μένειν; it is _requiescere_. As the fulfilment of this prophecy, however, we must not look to that event only where it received a symbolical representation, but also to Acts ii. 3: καὶ ὤφθησαν αὐτοῖς διαμεριζόμεναι γλῶσσαι ὡσεὶ πυρός, ἐκάθισέ τε ἐφ' ἕνα ἕκαστον αὐτῶν; comp. 1 Pet. iv. 14: ὅτε τὸ τῆς δόξης καὶ τὸ τοῦ θεοῦ πνεῦμα ἐφ' ὑμᾶς ἀναπαύεται (this most exactly answers נוח). For it is not merely for himself that Christ here receives the Spirit; but He receives Him as the transforming principle for the human race; He is bestowed upon. Him as the Head of the Church.--In the enumeration of the forms in which the Spirit manifests himself, it was not the intention of the Prophet to set forth _all_ the perfections of the Messiah; he rather, by way of example, mentions some only after having comprehended all of them in the general: The Spirit of the Lord. Thus, _e.g._, _justice_, which is mentioned immediately afterwards in ver. 5, is omitted here.--The first pair are wisdom and understanding. _Wisdom_ is that excellency of knowledge which rests on moral perfection. It is opposed to נבלה, foolishness in a moral sense, which may easily be combined with the greatest ingenuity and cleverness. The excellence of knowledge resting [Pg 115] on a moral basis manifests itself in the first instance, and preeminently, in the בינה, understanding, the sharp and penetrating eye which beholds things as they are, and penetrates from the surface to their hidden essence, undisturbed by the dense fogs of false notions and illusions which, in the case of the fool, are formed by his lusts and passions. Neither of these attributes can, in its absolute perfection, be the possession of any mortal, because even in those who, morally, are most advanced, there ever remains sin, and, therefore, a darkening of the knowledge.--The second pair, counsel and might, are, just as in the passage before us, ascribed to the Messiah in chap. ix. 5 (6), by His receiving the names "Wonder-Counsellor," "God-Hero." From chap. xxxvi. 5 it is seen that, for the difficult circumstances of the struggle, _counsel_ is of no less consequence than _might_. The last pair, knowledge and fear of the Lord, form the fundamental effect of the Spirit of the Lord; all the great qualities of the soul, all the gifts which are beneficial for the Kingdom of God, rest on the intimacy of the connection with God which manifests itself in living knowledge and fear of the Lord; the latter not being the servile but the filial