Chapter DXCV

[The original of 'The house that Jack built' is presumed to be
a hymn in _Sepher Haggadah_, fol. 23, a translation of which
is here given. The historical interpretation was first given
by P. N. Leberecht, at Leipsic, in 1731, and is printed in the
'Christian Reformer,' vol. xvii, p. 28. The original is in
the Chaldee language, and it may be mentioned that a very fine
Hebrew manuscript of the fable, with illuminations, is in the
possession of George Offer, Esq. of Hackney.]

1. A _kid_, _a kid_, my father bought,
For two pieces of money:
A kid, a kid.

2. Then came _the cat_, and ate the kid,
That my father bought
For two pieces of money:
A kid, a kid.

3. Then came _the dog_, and bit the cat,
That ate the kid,
That my father bought
For two pieces of money:
A kid, a kid.

4. Then came _the staff_, and beat the dog,
That bit the cat,
That ate the kid,
That my father bought
For two pieces of money:
A kid, a kid.

5. Then came _the fire_, and burned the staff,
That beat the dog,
That bit the cat,
That ate the kid,
That my father bought
For two pieces of money:
A kid, a kid.

6. Then came _the water_, and quenched the fire,
That burned the staff,
That beat the dog,
That bit the cat,
That ate the kid,
That my father bought
For two pieces of money:
A kid, a kid.

7. Then came _the ox_, and drank the water,
That quenched the fire,
That burned the staff,
That beat the dog,
That bit the cat,
That ate the kid,
That my father bought
For two pieces of money:
A kid, a kid.

8. Then came _the butcher_, and slew the ox,
That drank the water,
That quenched the fire,
That burned the staff,
That beat the dog,
That bit the cat,
That ate the kid,
That my father bought
For two pieces of money:
A kid, a kid.

9. Then came _the angel of death_, and killed the butcher,
That slew the ox,
That drank the water,
That quenched the fire,
That burned the staff,
That beat the dog,
That bit the cat,
That ate the kid,
That my father bought
For two pieces of money:
A kid, a kid.

10. Then came _the Holy One_, blessed be He!
And killed the angel of death,
That killed the butcher,
That slew the ox,
That drank the water,
That quenched the fire,
That burned the staff,
That beat the dog,
That bit the cat,
That ate the kid,
That my father bought
For two pieces of money:
A kid, a kid.

The following is the interpretation:

1. The kid, which was one of the pure animals, denotes the
Hebrews.

The father, by whom it was purchased, is Jehovah, who
represents himself as sustaining this relation to the Hebrew
nation. The two pieces of money signify Moses and Aaron,
through whose mediation the Hebrews were brought out of Egypt.

2. The cat denotes the Assyrians, by whom the ten tribes were
carried into captivity.

3. The dog is symbolical of the Babylonians.

4. The staff signifies the Persians.

5. The fire indicates the Grecian empire under Alexander the
Great.

6. The water betokens the Roman, or the fourth of the great
monarchies to whose dominions the Jews were subjected.

7. The ox is a symbol of the Saracens, who subdued Palestine,
and brought it under the caliphate.

8. The butcher that killed the ox denotes the crusaders,
by whom the Holy Land was wrested out of the hands of the
Saracens.

9. The angel of death signifies the Turkish power, by which
the land of Palestine was taken from the Franks, and to which
it is still subject.

10. The commencement of the tenth stanza is designed to show
that God will take signal vengeance on the Turks, immediately
after whose overthrow the Jews are to be restored to their
own land, and live under the government of their long-expected
Messiah.