Dear Barb and others, The matter of the shorthand is explained in _TheBible Acc. to..._, p. 372, note to 208.5-6. The passage is the 1st 4 lines of one of MT's favorite poems "The Destruction of Sennacherib. " Why he put that in- and why in shorthand--is anybody's guess. Lin Salamo and Michael Frank provided the translation for us in 1994 or 95. Barb I'm sure that the other Forum members appreciate as much as I do your many contributions to the Forum. Thank you! Best, Howard Baetzhold