Exceed

The transitive use is now rare and almost confined to the sense of ' preponderate,' as Jowett, Plato', V. 76, ' Men always choose the life which exceeds in pleasure.' But in AV we find the sense of 'go too far,' witliout introducing a comparison, 1 S 2(>" ' They . . wept one with anotlier, until David exceeded ' (Snjri) ; Job 36* ' Then he showeth tliem their work, and their transCTessions that they have exceeded ' ("?

;ii', RV 'nave behaved themselves proudly '); 2 Es 4** 'Do not thou hasten above the most Highest: for thy liaste is in vain to be above him, for thou hast much exceeded ' {exces.fus tuus mttUiis, UV ' for he that is above [hasteneth] on behalf of manj',' reading Excclsus autcm propter multus, after Syr.) : so Coverdale's tr.

of Is 31' ' Therfore (O ye children of Israel) turne agayne, like as ye have exceaded in your goinge bacK ' (AV and KV ' have deeply revolted '), and Bacon, Ad- vancement of Learning, II. ix. 3 (Selby's ed. p. 53) ' the scruples and superstitions of diet ... in the law of Malioniet, do exceed.' Exceeding is rare as an adj., only eight times,* wliile as adv. it is used 60 times at least, when it always qualifies an adj.

Thus Mt 8'- ' There met him two possessed with devils, coming out of the tombs, exceeding fierce' (xaXeiroi Xlav ; so Kheims ; but Tind. Cov. Cran. and Gen. 1.557, ' out of measure fearce'; Gen. 1560 and Bishops', ' very fierce ' ; Wye. ' ful wood '). Two cases of ' exceeding ' as adv. demand attention : JoQ 88 ' Nineveh waa an exceeding great city, and Ac 72f * Moses . . was exceeding fair.' The Heb. of Jon 33 is Cl^K? n^ni-TV, lit. • a cit>' great unto Ood,' hb RVm ; and the Gr.

of Ac 7^ is ttrruot rat Hi, lit. ' fair unto God, as RVm again. AV and KV af ree in taking both puwages as a form of the superlative ; and this is supported by 1 Ch 12^ * a great host, like ttie host of Ood.' Kut in the only other place where the identical expres- ■ion occurs, On 10» (.Tl.T -JC^ TS"li!

;), AV and RV give 'a mighty hunter before the Lord' ; and it is probable that in the three passages the intention is to express, not merely the super- lative, but the ideal of might, greatness, beauty, such as could be admitted into the presence of the All-perfect. There are •iniilar expressions in the I'salter. Ps 3ffi AV ' the great moun- tains,' RV as Heb. ' the mountains of Ood ' ; 66» ' the river of Ood,' AV and UV ; SO'O AV ' the goodiv cedare,' KV as Heb.

' cedars of Ood ' ; 104'8 AVand RV 'the trees of the Lord'; but Perowne (Jonah, Lc.) is right in |K)inting out that in these passages the thought Is dllTerent, being thai of Ood's proprietor- ship, as Indeed uia last passage Indicates, ' which he hath planted-' Exceedingly also occurs some 50 times, being the form used with verlis (except Ac 26", Gal l'\ pa-ssages in which AV first of Eng. versions uses this word). ' More exceedingly ' is found Mk 15'* (TK Ttfuatraripurt, edd. TtpiairuJ!

, RV ' exceedingly '), • The eight occurrences of 'exceeding a.s an adj. are 2 Mac 8^7 ' yielding e. pruise and thanks to the l^rd ' {tptrrit ii/XoyaZtTtt W4 il6t±>-^oufutot r£ Kufiiat, RV ' blesjiing and thanking the Lord exceedingly ');' 158 in e. pride and haughtiness' ^it« wtir^i x>.aZ4riiae u-i-xi^-^iiS,, RV 'bearing himself haughtily m all vaingloriousness, RVm 'carrying his neck high'); 2 Co 417 'a far more e. and eternal weight of glory ' (xaI/ t/wifil3»\r» i'; vti/>- ^«/r,w a!

^,in fictpat io^rf, RV 'more and more exceedingly an eternal weight ') ; 9' ' for the e. grace of Ood ' {itk t>i» itvtpSctK- Km/fa, x^f^'w ', ^ph 1' ' the e. greatness of his power' (ri i^ip- fictyxt u,iyiSof)l 27 'the e. ricnes of his grace (ri iir\pilay\n rXdvTo;) ; 1 P ii8 ' that ye may be glad also with e. joy ' (»'»• ■«f . . Ya^-rt i>«XJu«i/xi»«) f Jude * ' with e. joy {it ij-aX- Kjani. RV m e. joy ).

Thus in everj* insUmce the meaning is 'aurpa&singly great ' ; the word never has the sense of excessive or immoderate, which we find, e.p., in Sand^vs, (158.^) Sermoni, 816, ' Why was Anna so exceedmg in craving children at the hands of Ood ? Gal 1" (jrfpi<r<rori?pu!) ; and ' exceedingly the more,' 2 Co 7" ' e. tlie more joyed we ' (irepio-croT^pui /idWoK ixifnt^^')- Notice al.so ' very exceedingly,' Gn 27" 'And Isaac trembled very e.' (pns: Tin;) iNS-iV r['^-[: .T;-;n, lit.

, as AV^m, 'trembled with a great trembling greatly'; LXX, i^iaT-q Si 'I<ro4a (KffTacLv /leydX-Qv <T<p65pa ; Geneva, ' Then Izhtik was stricken with a meruelous great feare ' ; Bishops', ' And Isahac was greatly astonied out of measure' ; Dillniann, ' Daerschrak Isaakgrossen Erschreckens liber die Massen ' ; other translations are less forcible). J. Hastinos.