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English reader, who is inattentive to the subject, may put upon the phrase, it is impossible for any who have the least acquaintance with the original, or are capable of comparing scripture with scripture, to hesitate one moment in determining the true meaning.

The word acha, which is used in the plural achot, and with the possessive pronoun her, achotah, in its literal meaning, denotes a natural sister: So Gen. xii. 13. - 2 Sam. iii. 1. - and so Levit. xviii. 9. 11, 12, 13. Achotah is however frequently used, by Syneedoche, as referring to any near and endearing relative, so Gen. xxiv. 49. 60. - Jerem. xxii. 18. But when the word isha a woman or wife, is joined to achotah, her sister, it becomes a phrase, and is employed metaphorically to express, either any thing which is like another, as Jerem. iii. 7. - Ezek. xvi.

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45. or most frequently any thing that is added to or joined with another of the same kind. There are many instances of this singular phraseology, which expressly illustrate the passage before us, see Exod. xxvi. 3. Five curtains shall be coupled together, ONE TO ANOTHER; Isha el achotah, a wife to her sister, and other five curtains shall be coupled one to another; Isha el achotah, a wife to her sister, so also verse 5. and 6. of that chapter. The same words are found, Ezek. i. 9. Their wings were joined one to another; Isha el achotah, a wife to her sister, so verse 23. their wings straight the one towards the other; Isha el achotah, a wife to her sister. And again, Ezek. iii. 13. The wings, of the living creatures that touched one another; Isha el achotah, a wife to her sister. It is remarkable that this is not only the construction where the phrase has Isha, in the feminine, but, by the same idiom, it is found of Ish in the masculine, a man or husband, when in opposition to ach a brother, so Gen. xxvi. 31. They sware; Ish le achiev, a husband to his brother, that is, one to another, so Exod. xxv. 20. Their faces shall look; Ish le achiev, the husband to his brother, that is, one to another: and Joel