96. Token of Triumph

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This expression is intended to denote superiority and triumph. Job makes use of a similar figure where he represents God as taking him by the neck and shaking him to pieces (Job 16:1212I was at ease, but he hath broken me asunder: he hath also taken me by my neck, and shaken me to pieces, and set me up for his mark. (Job 16:12)). David says, “Thou hast also given me the necks of mine enemies” (2 Sam. 22:4141Thou hast also given me the necks of mine enemies, that I might destroy them that hate me. (2 Samuel 22:41); Psa. 18:4040Thou hast also given me the necks of mine enemies; that I might destroy them that hate me. (Psalm 18:40)). Jeremiah, lamenting the desolations of his people, says, “Our necks are under persecution” (Lam. 5:55Our necks are under persecution: we labor, and have no rest. (Lamentations 5:5)). The ancient Franks had a custom of putting the arm around the neck as a mark of superiority. An insolvent debtor gave himself up to his creditor as a slave, and as a token of submission he took the arm of his new master and put it around his neck.