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WOODWARD'S FIRST AMERICAN EDITION. 
 
 ORIENTAL CUSTOMS. 
 
 •PHILADELPHIA, APRIL, 1804. 
 
-i:» 
 
-ORIENTAL CUSTOMS: 
 
 OR AN 
 
 ILLUSTRATION 
 
 OF THE 
 
 SACRED SCRIPTURES, 
 
 BY AN 
 
 EXPLANATORY APPLICATION ~ 
 
 OF THE 
 
 CUSTOMS AND MANNERS OF THE EASTERN NATIONS, 
 
 AND ESPECIALLY 
 
 THE JEWS, THEPEIN ALLUDED TO. 
 
 TOGETHER WITH 
 
 OBSERVATIONS 
 
 ON MANY 
 
 ' DIFFICULT AND OBSCURE TEXTS, 
 
 COLLECTED FROM THE MOST 
 CELEBRATED TRAVELLERS, AND THE MOST EMINENT CRITICS. . 
 
 SAMUEL ''BURDLR. 
 I 
 
 An obsolete cus^om, or some forgotten circumstance, opportunely adverted to, \% ill some- 
 times restore its true- perspicuity and credit to a very incric.ite passive. 
 
 . BISHOP LOWTH. 
 
 PiiiiaDcIpljia 
 
 rnlNTEU AND PUBLISHED BY WILLIAM W. WOODWARD, No. 52, 
 CORNEii OF SECO^ID AND CHESNUT STREETS, 
 
 ISO-i. 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 OUR estimation of the holy scriptures should 
 be proportionable to their importance and 
 excellence. That ignorance of spiritual things, 
 which is so natural to all men, demonstrates their 
 necessity ; and the happy influence which they 
 have upon the mind in seasons of adversity and 
 distress, proves their value and utility. They are 
 admirably adapted to our circumstances, as they 
 present us with a complete system of truth and 
 a perfe6l rule of condu6l, and thus make those 
 who properly understand them nvise unto sal- 
 'V at ion. 
 
 But whatever relates either to faith or to prac- 
 tice, was delivered in ages very distant from the 
 present, in places very remote from the spot which 
 we inhabit, and by persons of habits and manners 
 materially different from those with which we are 
 familiar. General and permanently established 
 usages, to which persons conformed themselves 
 from earlv infancv, must have had a strons: hold 
 of the mind, and would greatly influence the turn 
 
VI PREFACE. 
 
 of thought and the mode of expression. By these 
 circumstances we must suppose the penman of 
 the scriptures to have been affecled ; nor can we 
 expe6l that a revelation comingfrom God, through 
 themediumofmenoflikepassions with ourselves, 
 should be divested of such peculiarities. This 
 consideration, so far from disparaging divine re- 
 velation, on the principle that it is more local than 
 universal, in somemeasure serves to authenticate 
 it; for though upon a superficial view of the sub- 
 je6l, this circumstance may appear to give it such 
 an aspe61, yet upon mature examination it will 
 be found that if it contain those branches and ar- 
 ticles of truth, which are of general application, 
 and which are produ6l:ive of similar effecSls in 
 distant ages and places, whatever local peculi- 
 arities it may possess, remainconvincingand per- 
 petual evidences of its credibility, while those cir- 
 cumstances are known to have existed, or are in 
 any measure retained by the eastern nations. 
 
 If the credibility of the Bible be in any degree 
 connedted with the customs which are therein 
 recorded or alluded to, it is certainly very mate- 
 rial to observe, that in the East the usages and 
 habits of the people are invariable; many of those 
 which are particularly observable in the scrip- 
 tures continue to this day unaltered ; and doubt- 
 less, manv things which are noticed as singu- 
 larities of more recent establishment, may be 
 traced back into ages now almost forgotten, the 
 
PREFACE. Vll 
 
 distance of time and the remoteness of situation, 
 being the only circumstances which obscure the 
 connexion between the past and the present state 
 of things. Thus many things shall revive which 
 have fallen into decay ; multa renascentiu- qu(S 
 jam cecidere. Horace. That the eastern customs 
 remain unchanged is a fa6t that admits of no 
 dojibt ; it is so incontestable, that the Baron de 
 Montesquieu, in his Spirit of Laws, (b.xiv.c. 4.) 
 has endeavoured to assign a natural cause for it. 
 Sir John Chardin, from whose travels and manu- 
 script papers many articles have been sele6led 
 for the following work, adverting to his col- 
 lections for the' illustration of the Bible, says, 
 *' the language of that divine book (especially of 
 the Old Testament) being oriental, and very often 
 figurative and hyperbolical, those parts of scrip- 
 ture which are written in verse, and in the pro- 
 phecies, are full of figures and hyperboles, which, 
 as it is manifest, cannot be well understood with- 
 out a knowledge of the things from whence such 
 figures are taken, which are natural properties 
 smd particular manners of the countries to which 
 they refer : I discerned this in my first voyage to, 
 the Indies ; for I gradually found a greater sense 
 and beauty in divers passages of scripture than I 
 had before, by having in my view the things, 
 either natural or moral, w hich explained them to 
 me : and in perusing the different translations, 
 which the greatest part of the translators of the 
 Bible had made, I observed that every one of 
 
VUl PREFACE. 
 
 them, (to render the expositions as they thought 
 more intelligible) used such expressions aswould 
 accommodate the phrase to the places where 
 they wrote, which did not only many times per- 
 vert the text, but often rendered the sense ob- 
 scure, and sometimes absurd also. In fine, con- 
 sulting the commentators upon such kind of pas- 
 sages, I found very strange mistakes inthem; and 
 that they had all along guessed at the sense, and 
 did but grope (as in the dark) in the search of it; 
 and from these refieelions I took a resolution to 
 make my remarks upon many passages of the 
 scripture, persuading myself that they would be 
 equally agreeable and profitable for use. And the 
 learned, to whom I communicated my design, en- 
 couraged me very much (by their commendations) 
 to proceed in it ; and more especially when I 
 informed them, that it is not in Asia as in our 
 Europe, where there are frequent changes, more 
 or less in the form of things, as the habits, build- 
 ings, gardens, and the like. In the East they are 
 constant in all things : the habits are at this day 
 in the same manner as in the precedent ages, so 
 that one may reasonably believe, that in that part 
 of the w^orld the exterior forms of things, (as 
 their manners and customs) are the same now as 
 they were two thousand years since, except in 
 such changes as wlBj have been introduced by 
 religion, which are nevertheless very inconsider- 
 able." f Preface to Travels in Persia^ p. vi.) 
 
PREFACE. IX 
 
 The language of the scriptures is highly figu- 
 rative. It abounds with allusions and metaphors, 
 and from this source obtains many of its beauties. 
 The objefls of nature, and the manners of na- 
 tions, are introduced to diversify and adorn the 
 sacred page ; and many of the boldest and finest 
 images, which are there to be found, are formed 
 upon established customs. Such passages, when 
 first delivered, were easily understood and fully 
 comprehended, and came to the mind with an 
 energy which gave them certain efFe6\. If a simi- 
 lar influence do not accompany them to persons 
 whose residence is in distant climes and ages, it 
 is because they are unacquainted with such cir- 
 cumstances as are therein alluded to, or because 
 they suffer their own habits and manners to pre- 
 possess the mind with disaffetSlion, to every thing 
 discordant from its own particular and favourite 
 modes. If we desire to understand the w^ord of 
 God as it was originally revealed, we must not 
 fail to advert to its peculiarities, and especially 
 those of the description in question. It will be 
 found absolutely impossible to develope the 
 meaning of many passages, without recurring to 
 the customs with which they are conne6led ; and 
 these, when brought forward, will remove the ab- 
 struseness which was supposed to attendthe sub- 
 je6l, and give it a just and clear representation. 
 
 The accumulated labours of biblical critics 
 have succeeded in clearing up many difficulties ; 
 
 B 
 
X PREFACE. 
 
 but in some instances they have failed, and have 
 left the inquirer bewildered and perplexed. The 
 reason why they have not done better has been 
 the want of a proper attention to oriental cus- 
 toms. Commentators in general have not suf- 
 ficiently availed themselves of the assistance of 
 travellers into the East. It is but rarely that any 
 materials are drawn from their journals to eluci- 
 date the scriptures. The few instances which 
 occur of this sort, discover how happily they may 
 be explained by this method, and excite our sur- 
 prise and regret at the negle6l of it. 
 
 A spirit of inquiry and research seems to have 
 animated those persons, who, during the two last 
 centuries, exploredthe regions of the East. Many 
 of them were men of considerable natural talents, 
 acquired learning, and true religion. While they 
 indulged a laudable curiosity in colle6ling infor- 
 mation on general subje6ls, they did not negle6l 
 sacred literature. By their industry the geogra- 
 phy, natural history, religious ceremonies, and 
 miscellaneous customs of the Bible and the 
 eastern nations have been compared and ex- 
 plained, and that essentially to the advantage of 
 the former. 
 
 But with regard to these writers it must be 
 observed, that many excellent things of the kind 
 here adverted to are only incidentally mentioned. 
 Some observations which they have made are 
 
PREFACE. XI 
 
 capable of an application which did not present 
 itself to their minds; so that in addition to a num- 
 ber of passages which they have professedly ex- 
 plained, sele6l portions of their works may be 
 brought into the same service. To colle6l these 
 scattered fragments, and make a proper use of 
 them, is certainly a laborious work : it has how- 
 ever, been ably executed by the late Mr. Har- 
 mer ; his Observations on divers Passages of 
 Scripture are well known and highly esteemed. 
 It must be acknowledged to his praise, that he led 
 the way in this department of literature, and has 
 contributed as much as any one man to dissemi- 
 nate the true knowledge of many parts of holy 
 writ. But his work is too copious for general uti- 
 lity : it will never fail to be read by the scholar ; 
 but it cannot be expelled that the generality of 
 christians can derive much benefit from that, 
 which from its extent is almost inaccessible to 
 many persons, it must also be admitted that 
 some of the subjects which are there discussed 
 may be dispensed with, as not being of much 
 interest or importance. The style is sometimes 
 prolix, and difficult of conception, and the ar- 
 rangement is certainly capable of improvement. 
 On the whole, the book would be more valuable 
 if it were more sele6l in its subje6ls and com- 
 pressed in its language. This obje<Sl long appear- 
 ed so important, that I determined to execute 
 an abridgment of these observations for my own 
 private use ; but upon further refieclion and ad- 
 
XU PREFACE. 
 
 vice, I was induced to undertake the compila- 
 tion of a volume to include the substance of the 
 best writers of this class. The produdlion now 
 offered to the public is the fruit of the resolution 
 just mentioned. 
 
 I have endeavoured to selecl from Mr. Har- 
 mer's Observations whatever appeared important 
 and interesting. This has not indeed been done 
 in the form of a regular abridgment ; but after 
 extrafling such materials as appeared suitabl, I 
 have inserted them in those places, where, ac- 
 cording to the passages prefixed to each of the 
 articles, they ought to stand. This method I 
 apprehend to be new, and not before attempted, 
 but I hope will prove both agreeable and useful. 
 As it is the avowed intention of each article to ex- 
 plain some passage, it is proper that it should be 
 inserted at length, and in amanner so conspicuous 
 as at once to attract the attention of the reader. 
 
 To the materials colle61:ed from Mr. Harmer, 
 have been added some very important remarks 
 from Shaw, Pococke, Russell, Bruce, and other 
 eminent writers. It is admitted that many of 
 these things have repeatedly passed through the 
 press ; but as the valuable observations which 
 have been made by travellers and critics lie in- 
 terspersed in separate and expensive publica-r 
 tions, a compendious selection of them appeared 
 very desirable, and is here accomplished, 
 
PREFACE. Xlll 
 
 But many of the following observations are 
 original : they are not however particularly dis- 
 tinguished from the rest. I must here avail my- 
 self of an opportunity to acknowledge my obli- 
 gations to Mr. Gillingvvater, of Harleston in 
 Norfolk, for the very liberal manner in which 
 he favoured me with the use of his manuscript 
 papers. They consist of additions to, and cor- 
 rections of Mr. Harmer's observations, and were 
 communicated to that gentleman with a view to 
 assist him in the farther prosecution of his work; 
 but it was too late, as the fourth and last volume 
 was then nearly completed at the press, and in a 
 single instance only towards the close of it was 
 any use made of these materials. From this col- 
 lection I have made many extrafts, and have en- 
 riched this volume with several new articles on 
 subjeCls which had not before been discussed. 
 In the progress of my work I have also derived 
 very considerable assistance from many valuable 
 books furnished by James Brown, Esq. of St, 
 Albans, for which I acknowledge myself greatly 
 obliged, and especially for his very careful cor- 
 rection of the manuscript before it went to the 
 press. 
 
 That this work might be rendered acceptable 
 to the scholar, and those who have inclination to 
 consult the sources from whence the information 
 it contains is drawn, the authorities in most in- 
 stances have been very particularly inserted. It 
 
XIV PREFACE. 
 
 must however be observed, that one principal 
 objedt in view was the advantage of christians in 
 general. I have aimed to furnish the plain rea- 
 der with a book to which he may refer for informa- 
 tion, on such passages of scripture as appear ob- 
 scure and difficult, at least those which are to be 
 explained by the method here adopted. Two 
 indexes, one of scriptures incidentally illustrated, 
 and the other of subjc6ls discussed, are subjoin- 
 ed: an appendage this, Avhich I conceive no book 
 ought to be destitute of that is designed to be 
 useful. 
 
 A very considerable claim to candour may be 
 advanced in favour of this work. The number 
 and difficulty of the subjects treated of — the com- 
 pass of reading necessary to obtain materials to 
 elucidate them — the singular felicity of avoiding 
 undue prolixity or unsatisfactory conciseness — 
 and the perplexity arising from the jarring opi- 
 nions of learned men on many of these subje6ls, 
 render it an arduous task for an individual to ac- 
 complish. Without presuming to suppose that I 
 have always succeeded in ascertaining the true 
 meaning of those difficult texts which are brought 
 forward, I have done the best v.hich I could to 
 remove their obscurity, and to give them a con- 
 sistent and intelligible meaning. Nee semper 
 f evict quodcunque minahitur arciis : TJie arrow 
 will not always hit the obje61; which it threatens. 
 Many of the observations here advanced are 
 
PREFACE. XV 
 
 indeed rather proposed to consideration, than 
 offered to decide positively the meaning of 
 those passages to which they are attached. The 
 same diversity of sentiment AV'idch has influenced 
 commentators and prevented a unanimity of 
 judgment, may justly be supposed to induce 
 some readers to form their opinion as variously. 
 Should this fruit of my labours be flivourably re- 
 ceived, I shall be encouraged to pursue these 
 studies, and may hereafter produce a volume of 
 a similar nature, though perfe6lly distin6l from 
 the present, whatever resemblance may be found 
 in its obje6l. In the mean time I dismiss the 
 following pages, reminding my reader of the ad- 
 monition of Horace : 
 
 Si quid novisti re6lius istis, 
 Candidus imperii ; si non, his utere mecum. 
 
 If you know of any thing more proper than these, 
 be so candid as to communicate your knowledge; 
 if not, make use of what I have furnished. 
 
 SAMUEL BURDER. 
 
 ST. ALBANS, 
 JANUARY, 8, 1802. 
 
ORIENTAL CUSTOMS: 
 
 ILLUSTRATIVE 
 
 OF THE 
 
 SACRED SCRIPTURES. 
 
 ■■■ T ■ 
 ' No. 1.— GENESIS iii. 15. 
 
 It shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel, 
 
 ^ I "'HE following traditions of the promised Messiah 
 -*- are remarkable for their coincidence with the first 
 promise, and must have had an higher origin than unas- 
 sisted human invention. In the Gothick mythology, 
 Thor is represented as the first born of the supreme God, 
 and is styled in the Edda, the eldest of sons; he was es- 
 teemed a *' middle divinity, a mediator between God and 
 man." With regard to his adlions, he is said to have 
 wrestled with death, and, in the struggle, to have been 
 brought upon one knee ; to have bruised the head of the 
 great serpent with his mace ; and in his final engagement 
 with that monster, to have beat him to the earth, and 
 slain him. This vi6lory, however, is not obtained but at 
 the expence of his own life : " Recoiling back nine steps, 
 he falls dead upon the spot, suffocated with the floods of 
 venom, which the serpent vomits forth upon him." 
 (Edda, Fab. 11, 25, 27, 32), Much the same notion, 
 we are informed, is prevalent in the mythology of the 
 Hindoos. 'J "wo sculptured figures are yet extant in one 
 ©f their oldest pagodas, the former of which represents 
 
 C 
 
48 GENESIS. 
 
 Chresshna, an incarnation of their mediatorial God 
 Vishnu, tr^vmpVinQ on the crushed head of the serpent; 
 while in the latter it is seen encircling the deity in its 
 folds, and biting his heeL (Maurice's Hist, of Hin- 
 dostan^ vol. ii. p. 290.) It is said that Zeradusht, or 
 Zoroaster, predi6led in the Zendavesta, that in the lat- 
 ter days would appear a man called Oshanderbegha, 
 who was destined to bless the earth by the introdu6lion 
 of justice and religion; that, in his time, would like- 
 wise appear a malignant demon, who would oppose his 
 plans, and trouble his empire, for the space of twenty 
 years ; that afterwards, Osiderbegha would revive the 
 pra6lice of justice, put an end to injuries, and re-esta- 
 blish such customs a^ are immutable in their nature ; 
 that king's should be obedient to him, and advance his 
 affairs ; that the cause of true religion should flourish ; 
 that peace and tranquility should prevail, and discord 
 and trouble cease. (Hyde, de Relig. vet. Pers. c. 31.) 
 According to Abulpharagius, the Persian legislator 
 wrote of the advent of the Messiah in terms even more 
 express than those contained in the foregoing predic- 
 tion. *' Zeradusht," says he, *' the preceptor of the 
 magi, taught the Persians concerning the manifesta- 
 tion of Christ, and ordered them to bring gifts to him, 
 in token of their reverence and submission. He de- 
 clared, that in the latter days a pure virgin would con- 
 ceive ; and that as soon as the child was born, a star 
 would appear, blazing even at noon day with undi- 
 minished lustre. " You, my sons," exclaims the venera- 
 ble seer, " v;ill perceive its rising, before any other na- 
 tion. As soon, therefore, as you shall behold the star, 
 follow it whithersoever it shall lead you, and adore that 
 mysterious child, offering your gifts to him with the 
 profoundest humility. He is the almighty word, which 
 created the heavens," (Cited by Hyde, de Relig. vet, 
 Pers. c, 31.) 
 
GENESIS. 19 
 
 No. 2. — iv. 4. Abel brought of the firstlings ofhtsfiock.'\ 
 The universality of sacrificial rites will naturally pro- 
 duce an enquiry into the source, from which such a cus- 
 tom, so inexplicable upon any principles of mere natu- 
 ral reason, could have been derived. And here we are 
 involuntarily led to the first institution of this ordi- 
 nance, which is so particularly recorded in Scripture. 
 When it pleased God to reveal his gracious purpose of 
 redeeming lost mankind by the blood of the Messiah, it 
 would doubtless be highly expedient to institute some 
 visible sign, some exteraal representation, by which the 
 mysterious sacrifice of Mount Calvary might be pro- 
 phetically exhibited to all the posterity of Adam. With 
 this view, a pure and immaculate vi6lim, the firstling of 
 the flock, was carefully seledled ; and, after its blood 
 had been shed, was solemnly appointed to blaze upon 
 the altar of Jehovah. When the first typical sacrifice 
 was offered up, fire miraculoualy descended from hea- 
 ven, and consumed it ; and when this primitive ordi- 
 nance was renewed under the levitical priesthood, two 
 circumstances are particularly worthy of observation — 
 that the viSiim should be a firstling — and that the oblation 
 shoiddbe made by the instriimentalitif of fire. It is remark- 
 able that both these primitive customs have been faith- 
 fully preserved in the heathen world : — The Canaanites 
 caused their first born to pass through the fire, with a 
 view of appeasing the anger of their false deities ; and 
 one of the kings of Moab is said to have offered up his 
 eldest son as a burnt offering, when in danger from the 
 superior prowess of the Edomites. 2 KingSy iii. 27» 
 Nor was the belief, that the gods were rendered propi- 
 tious by this particular mode of sacrifice, confined to 
 the nations which were more immediately contiguous 
 to the territories of Israel. We learn from Homer ^ that 
 a whole hecatomb of firstling lambs was no uncommoa 
 
^0 GENESIS. 
 
 offering among his countrymen. (Tl'iad Iv. ver. 202.) 
 And the ancient Goths, having "laid it down as a prin- 
 ciple, that the effusion of the blood of animals appeased 
 the anger of the gods, and that their justice turned 
 aside upon the vi6lims those strokes which were des- 
 tined for men,'* (Mallet's North. Antiq. vol. i. chap. 
 7.) soon proceeded to greater lengths, and adopted 
 the horrid pra6lice of devoting human vi6lims, la 
 honour of the mystical number three, a number deemed 
 particularly dear to Heaven, every ninth month wit- 
 nessed the groans and dying struggles of nine unfor- 
 tunate vidlims. The fatal blow being struck^ the lifeless 
 bodies were consumed in the sacred fire, which was kept 
 perpetually burning ; while the blood, in singular con- 
 formity with the levitical ordinances, was sprinkled, 
 partly upon the surrounding multitude, partly upon the 
 trees of the hallowed grove, and partly upon the images 
 of their idols. (Malllt's North. Antiq. vol. i. chap. 
 7.) Even the remote inhabitants of America hav£ re- 
 tained similar customs, and for similar reasons. It is 
 somewhere observed by AcostOy that in cases of sickness, 
 it is usual for a Peruvian to sacrifice his son to Vira- 
 choca, beseeching him to spare his life, and to be satis- 
 fied with the blood of his child. 
 
 Faber's Horce. Mosaicee, vol. i. p. 88. 
 
 If 
 
 No. 3. — V. 2-^.' Cod took him."] The following singu- 
 lar tradition may possibly have some. reference to the 
 translation of Enoch : " The Kalmucks, among other 
 idols, worship in a peculiar manner one, which they call 
 Xacamuni. They say, that four thousand years ago, he 
 was only a sovereign prince in India ; but, on account 
 of his unparalleled san6lity, God had taken him up to 
 heaven alive.*' 
 
 VoN Strahleneerg's Siberia^ p. 409. 
 
GENESIS. 21 
 
 I^To. 4.— ix. 4. But flesh with the life thereof y which is 
 the blood thereof shall ye not eat.'] Mr. Bnice has given 
 a very extraordinary account of the pradlice of eating 
 blood in Abyssinia. This custom, so prevalent in seve- 
 ral places, is forbidden in the Scriptures. A recital of the 
 narrative will probably suggest to the reader the reasons 
 of the prohibition. Mr. Bruce tells us, that, " not long 
 after our loosing sight of the ruins of this ancient capital 
 of Abyssinia, we overtook three travellers driving a cow 
 before them : they had black goat skins upon their 
 shoulders, and lances and shields in their hands ; ia 
 other respe61;s they were but thinly clothed ; they ap- 
 peared to be soldiers. The cow did not seem to be fat- 
 ted for killing, and it occurred to us all, that it had been 
 stolen. This, however, was not our business, nor was 
 such an occurrence at all remarkable in a country so 
 long engaged in war. We saw that our attendants at- 
 tached themselves, in a particular manner, to the three 
 soldiers that were driving the cow, and held a short con- 
 versation with them. Soon after, we arrived at the 
 hithermost bank of the river, where I thought we were 
 to pitch our tent : the drivers suddenly tript up the cow, 
 and gave the poor animal a very rude fail upon the 
 ground, which was but the beginning of her sufferings. 
 One of them sat across her neck, holding down her head 
 by the horns, the other twisted the halter about her fore 
 feet, while the third, who had a knife in his hand, to vay 
 very great surprise, in place of taking her by the throat, 
 got astride upon her belly, before her hind legs, and 
 gave her a very deep wound in the- upper part of the 
 buttock. From the time I had seen them throw the 
 beast upon the ground, I had rejoiced, thinking that 
 when three people were killing a cow, they must have 
 agreed to sell part of her to us ; and I was much disap- 
 pointed upon hearing the Abyssinians say, that we were 
 to pass the river to the other side, and not encamp where 
 
SS GENESIS. 
 
 I intended. Upon my proposing they should bargain 
 for part of the cow, my men answered, what they had 
 already learned in conversation, that they were not then 
 to kill her ; that she was not wholl)^ theirs, and they 
 -could not sell her. This awakened my curiosity ; I let 
 my people go forward, and staid myself, till I saw, with 
 the utmost astonishment, two pieces, thicker and longer 
 than our ordinary beef steaks, cut out of the higher 
 part of the buttock of the beast : how it was done I can- 
 not positively say, because, judging the cow was to be 
 killed from the moment I saw the knife drawn, I was 
 not anxious to view that catastrophe, which was by no 
 means an obje6l of curiosity : whatever way it was done, 
 it surely was adroitly, and the two pieces were spread 
 upon the outside of one of their shields. One of them 
 still continued holding the head, while the other two 
 were busy in curing the wound. This, too, was done 
 not in an ordinary manner. The skin which had co- 
 vered the flesh that was taken away, was left entire, and 
 flapped over the wound, and was fastened to the cor- 
 responding part by two or more small skewers or pins. 
 Whether they had put any thing under the skin, between 
 that and the wounded flesh, I know not ; but, at the ri- 
 ver side where they were, they had prepared a cata- 
 plasm of clay, with which they covered the wound ; 
 they then forced the animal to rise, and drove it on 
 before them, to furnish them with a fuller meal when 
 they should meet their companions in the evening.** 
 {Travels^ vol. iii. p. 142.) " We have an instance, in 
 the life of Saul, that shews the propensity of the 
 Israelites to this crime: Saul's army, after a battle, ^ew, 
 that is, fell voraciously upon the cattle they had taken, 
 and threw them upon the ground to cut off their flesh, 
 and eat them raw ; so that the army was defiled by eat- 
 ing blood, or living animals. 1 Sam. xiv. 33. To prevent 
 this, Saul caused to be rolled to him a great stone, and 
 
GENESIS. 3S 
 
 ttl-dered those that killed their oxen, to cut their throats 
 upon that stone. This was the only lawful way of killing 
 animals for food ; the tying of the ox, and throwing it 
 upon the ground was not pern^itted as equivalent. The 
 Israelites did, probably, in that case, as the Abyssinians 
 do at this day ; they cut a part of its throat, so that 
 blood might be seen on the ground, but nothing mortal 
 to the animal followed from that wound : but, after lay- 
 ing his head upon a large stone, and cutting his throat, 
 the blood fell from on high, or was poured on the 
 ground like water, and sufficient evidence appeared that 
 the creature was dead, before it was attempted to eat it. 
 We have seen that the Abyssinians came from Pales- 
 tine a very few years after this, and we are not to doubt, 
 that they then carried with them this, with many other 
 Jewish customs, which they have continued to this day." 
 {Bruce's Travels^ vol. iii. p. 299.) To corroborate the 
 account given by Mr. Bruce, in these extra6ls, it may 
 be satisfa6lory to affix what Mr. Antes has said upon the 
 subje6l, in his Observations on the Manners and Cus- 
 toms of the Egyptians, p. 17. " When Mr. ^rwc^ returned 
 from Abyssinia, I was at Grand Cairo. I had the plea- 
 sure of his company for three months almost every day, 
 and having, at that time, myself an idea of penetrating 
 into Abyssinia, I was very inquisitive about that coun- 
 try, on hearing many things from him which seemed 
 almost incredible to me ; I used to ask his Greek servant 
 Michael, (a simple fellow, incapable of any invention) 
 about the same circumstance, and must say, that he 
 commonly agreed with his master, as to the chief points. 
 The description. Mr. Bruce makes concerning the bloody 
 banquet of live oxen among the natives, he happeiied 
 never to mention to me, else I could have made the 
 same enquiry ; but I heard not only this servant, but 
 many eye witnesses, oftca speak of the Abyssinians eat- 
 ing raw meat." 
 
24. GENESIS. 
 
 No. S. — Ix. 21 . And he drank of the wine and was drunk* 
 e-;?.] Numerous pas':ages might be sele6led from the 
 sacred books of the Hindus^ in which there appears an 
 extraordinary coincidence with some parts of the sacred 
 scriptures. It is admitted by those who are best ac- 
 quainted with the heathen records, that the similarity 
 is not merely casual, but that the fa6ls and circumstances 
 thus detailed had been in some way, however remote or 
 traditional, derived from the divine original. The fol- 
 lowing extra6l from the Padma-puran, of which the trans- 
 lation is minutely exa6l, may afford a specimen of these 
 conformities, which are strongly corroborative of the 
 truth of the Mosaic history. It is evidently the history 
 of Noah and his sons just after the flood. 
 
 1. " To Satyavarman, that sovereign of the whole 
 earth, were born three sons ; the eldest, Sherma ; then 
 Charm A; and thirdly , Jya'peti by name, 
 
 2. " They xvere all men of good morals, excellent in 
 virtue and virtuous deeds, skilled in the use of v/eapons 
 to strike with or to be thrown ; brave men, eager for 
 vi6lory in battle. 
 
 3. " But Satyavarman, being continually delighted 
 with devout meditation, and seeing his sons fit for do* 
 7ninion, laid upon them the burden of government, 
 
 4. " Whilst he remained honouring and satisfying 
 the gods, and priests, and kine. One day, by the adl 
 of destiny, the king, having drunk mead, 
 
 5. " Became sensless, and lay asleep naked ; then 
 was he seen by C'harma, and by him were his two 
 brothers called^; 
 
 6. " To xvhom he said, what now has befallen ? in what 
 state is this our sire ? By those two was he hidden with 
 clothes, and called to his senses again and again. 
 
 7. " Having recovered his intelle6l, and perfedlly 
 knowing what had passed, he cursed C'harma, saying, 
 thou shall be the servant of servants. 
 
GENESIS. 2^ 
 
 8. " And^ since thou wast a laughter In their presehce^ 
 from laughter shalt thou acquire a name. Then he gave 
 to Sherma the wide domain on the south of the snowy 
 mountain, 
 
 9. " And to JyaVeti he gave all on the north of the 
 snowy mountain; but he, by th epowcr of religious con- 
 templation, attained supreme bliss." 
 
 Aslatick Researches, vol. iii. p. 465. 
 
 N"o. 6. — ^xvi. 12. His hand will be against every 
 man, and every man''s hand against him.'\ " The one 
 is the natural, and almost necessary consequence of 
 the other. Ishmael lived by prey and rapine in the 
 wilderness : and his posterity have all along infest- 
 ed Arabia and the neighbouring countries with their 
 robberies and incursions. They live in a state of con- 
 tinual war with the rest of the world, and are both rob- 
 bers by land, and pirates by sea. As they have been 
 such enemies to mankind, it is no wonder that man- 
 kind have been enemies to them again ; that several at- 
 tempts have been made to extirpate them ; and even, 
 now as well as formerly travellers are forced to go with 
 arms, and in caravans or large companies, and to march 
 and keep watch like a little army, to defend themselves 
 from the assaults of these free-booters, who run about 
 in troops, and rob and plunder all whom they can by 
 any means subdue. These robberies they also justify 
 by alledging the hard usage of their father Ishmael, who 
 being turned out of doors by Abraham, had the open 
 plains and deserts given him by God for his patrimony, 
 vyith permission to take whatever he could find there ; 
 and on tiiis account they think they may, with a safe 
 conscience, indemnify themselves, as well as they can, 
 not only on the posterity of Isaac, but also on every 
 feody else ; always supposing a kind of kindred betweea 
 
 D 
 
56 GENESIS. 
 
 themselves and those they plunder ; and in relating their 
 adventures ofthiskhid, they think it sufficient to change 
 the expression, and instead of, / robbed a man of such 
 and such a things to say, I gained it?'* 
 Sale's Prelim. Discourse^ oO, 
 Newton ow the Prophecies^ vol, i. p. 42. 
 
 No. 7. — xviii. 1 — 8.] When a party belonging to 
 Capt. Cooke ''in his last voyage) went ashore on an island 
 near that of Mangeea in the South Seas, they v/ere for- 
 cibly detained by the natives a considerable time, which 
 much alarmed them, but this detention proceeded, as 
 they afterwards found, from pure motives of hospitality j 
 Slid continued only till such time as they had roasted a 
 hog, and providt^d other necessaries for their refresh- 
 ment. In reviewing this most curious transaction, says 
 the writer of that voyage, Ave cannot help calling to our 
 memory the manners of the patriarchal times. It does 
 not appear to us, that these people had any intention ia 
 detaining ours, different from those which adluated the 
 patriarch in a similar transaction. 
 
 No. 8. — xviii. 6. And Abraham hastened into the tent 
 unto Sarah^ and said^ make ready quickhj three measures 
 of fine mealy knead it, and jnake cakes upon the hearth.'] 
 These instru6lions are quite similar to the manners of 
 the place, which even at present are little if any thing 
 altered from what they anciently were. Thus Dr. 
 Shaw relates fTrav. P. 296. J " that in cities and vil- 
 lages, where there are public ovens, the bread is usually 
 leavened ; but among the Bedoweens, as soon as the 
 dough is kneaded, it is made into thin cakes, which are 
 either immediately baked upon the coals, or else in a 
 
 ta~jen, a shallow earthen vessel like a frying pan." 
 
 2 Sam. xiii. 8. 
 1 CJiron. xxiii. 29. 
 
GENESIS. ^f 
 
 No. "9. — ^xvili. 7. Abrahmn ran unto the herd, and 
 fetched a calf tender and good.] Abraliiim appears to 
 have taken a very a6live part in preparing to entertaia 
 the angels. But when it is said that he ran to the herd^ 
 and fetched a caf we must not understand him as de- 
 scending to an office either menial or unbecoming his 
 rank, since we are informed, that *' the greatest prince 
 of these countries is not ashamed to fetch a lamb 
 from his herd, and kill it, whilst the princess is im- 
 patient till she hath prepared her fire and ketde to 
 dress it." Shaw's Travels, p. 301. 
 
 No. lO.-^xix. 24. The Lord rained upon Sodom 
 and upon Gomorrah, brimstone and fire. ] These cities 
 are said by Moses, on account of their abominable 
 impurities, to have been overwhelmed with a torrent 
 of liquid fire, rained down upon them from heaven. 
 His narrative is equally confirmed by profane historians 
 and by modern travellers. Diodorus Siculus mentions 
 the peculiar nature of the lake, which covered the. 
 country, where these towns were formerly situated. 
 *' The water of it is bitter and fetid to the last degree, 
 insomuch that neither fish, nor any other aquatic ani- 
 mals are able to live in it." (Bib. Hist, lib. xix. p. 
 734.) Tacitus relates that a tradition still prevailed ia 
 his days, of certain powerful cities having been destroy- 
 ed by thunder and lightning, and of the plain, in which 
 they were situated, having been burnt up. He adds, 
 that evident traces of such a catastrophe remained. The 
 earth was parched, and had lost all its natural powers of 
 vegetation t and whatever sprung up, either spontane- 
 ously, or in consequence of being planted, gradually 
 withered away, and crumbled into dust. (Tacit. Hist. 
 lib. V. c. 7.) Straho^ after describing the nature of the 
 lake Asphaltis, adds, that the whole of its appearance 
 gives an air of probability to the prevailing tradition, 
 
2» GENESIS. 
 
 that thirteen cities, tlie chief of which was Sodom, were 
 once destroyed and swallowed up by earthquakes, fire, 
 £jnd an inundation of boiling sulphureous water. (^Strab. 
 Geog. lib. xvj.) Maundrdl visited the lake Asphaltis in 
 ;he year 1697, and makes the following observations! 
 ypon it. " Being desirous to see the remains, (if there 
 "were any) of those cities anciently situate in this place, 
 and made so dreadful an example of the divine ven- 
 geance, I diligently surveyed the waters, as far as my 
 eye could reach ; but neither could I discern any heaps 
 of ruins, nor any smoke ascending above the surface of 
 the water, as is usually described in the writings and 
 maps of geographers. But yet I must not omit, what 
 V?as confidently attested to me by the father guardian, 
 and procurator of Jerusalem, both men in years, and 
 seemingly not destitute either of sense or probity, that 
 they had once a6lually seen one of these ruins ; that it 
 was so near the shore, and the waters so shallow at that 
 lime, that they went to it, and found there several pil- 
 lars, and other fragments of buildings. The cause of 
 our being deprived of this sight was, I suppose, the 
 height of the water." (Travelny p. 85.J The account 
 which Thevenot gives is much to the same purpose. 
 *' There is no sort of fish in this sea, by reason of the 
 extraordinary saltness of it; which burns like fire when 
 one tastes of it. And when the fish of the water Jordan 
 come down so low, they return back again against the 
 stream ; and such as are carried into it by the current oC 
 the water immediately die. The land within three 
 leagues round it is not cultivated, but is white, and min- 
 gled with salt and ashes. In short we must think that 
 there is a heavy curse of God upon that place, seeing it 
 was heretofore so pleasant a country." f Travels, voL 
 i. p. im.J 
 
 No. 11.— xxi. 23. Sxvear unto me here by God."^ 
 This kind of oath appears not only to have been gene^ 
 
GENESIS. 29 
 
 rally In use in the time of AbraliaiYi, but also to have 
 descended through many generations and ages in the 
 East. When Mr. Bruce was at Shekh Ammer, he en- 
 treated the protedlion of the governor in prosecuting 
 his journev. Speaking of the people who were assem- 
 bled together at this time in the house, he says, (Travels^ 
 vol. i. p. 148. J " the great people among them came, 
 and after joining hands, repeated a kind of prayer, of 
 about two minutes long, by which they declared them- 
 selves and their children accursed, if ever they lifted up 
 their hands against me in the tell, or field in the desert ; 
 or in case that I, or mine, should fly to them for refuge, 
 if they did not protesSl us at the risk of their lives, their 
 families and their fortunes, or, as they emphatically ex- 
 pressed it, to the death of the last male child among 
 them." See also Gen. xxvi. 28, 29. 
 
 No. 12. — xxii. 3. Saddled his ass.^ There is no 
 ground for supposing that the ancient eastern saddles 
 were like our modern ones. Such were not known 
 to the Greeks and Romans till many ages after the , 
 Hebrew judges. " No nation of antiquity knew the use 
 of either saddles or stirrups;" (Goguet, Origin of 
 Larvc, vol. iii. p, 172. English edit.) and even in our 
 own times, Hasselquist^ when at Alexandria, says, " I 
 procured an equipage which I had never used before ; 
 it was an ass with an Arabian saddle, which consisted 
 only of a cushion, on which I could sit, and a handsome 
 bridle.' (Travels, p. 52. J But even the cushion seems 
 an improvement upon the ancient eastern saddles, 
 which were probably nothing more than a kind of rug 
 girded to the beast. Parkhurst's Heb, Lex. p. 213. 
 
 No. 13. — xxiv. 2, 3. And Abraham said unto his eld- 
 est servant of his house, that ruled over all that he had, puty 
 ^ pray thee, tlnj hand under viy thigh, and Ixmllmake 
 
so GENESIS. 
 
 thee swear by the Lord.'] The present mode of swearing 
 among the Mohammedan Arabs, that live in tents as the 
 patriarchs did, according to de la Roqiie (Voy. dans la 
 Pal. p. 152. J is, by laying their hands on the Koran. 
 They cause those who swear to wash their hands before 
 they give them the book; they put their left hand under- 
 neath, and the right over it. Whether, among the pa- 
 triarchs one hand was under, and the other upon the 
 thigh, is not certain, possibly Abraham's servant might 
 swear with one hand under his master's thigh, and the 
 other stretched out to Heaven. As the posterity of the 
 patriarchs are described as coming out of the thigh, it 
 has been supposed, this ceremony had some relation to 
 their believing the promise of God, to bless all the na- 
 tions of the earth, by means of one that v/as to descend 
 from Abraham. 
 
 Harmer, vol. iv. p. 477. 
 
 No. 14. — xxvii. 39. Dexv of Heaven."] Egypt, says 
 "31. Savary^ would be uninhabitable, did not the noctur- 
 nal dews restore life to vegetables. These dews are so 
 copious, especially in summer, that the earth is deeply 
 soaked with them, so that in the morning one would 
 imagine that rain had fallen during tlie night. This is 
 the reason why the scripture promises the Israelites, who 
 inhabited a climate pretty similar to that of Egypt, the 
 de'iV of heaven as a signal favour. 
 
 No. 15. — xxviii. 17. The gate of Heaven.] After 
 having described in what manner caverns w^ere used as 
 sacred temples, and the allegorical design of some 
 parts of their furniture, Mr. Maurice says, " In these 
 caverns they ere6led a high ladder, which had seven 
 GATES, answering to the number of the planets, through 
 which, according to their theology, the soul gradu- 
 ally ascends to the supreme mansion of felicity. I 
 must here observe that the word gate which is a 
 
GENESIS. 31 
 
 part of Asiatic prJaces by far the most conspicuous and 
 magnificent, and upon adorning of which immense 
 sums are often expended, is an expression, that, 
 throughout the East, is figuratively used for the man- 
 sion itself. Indeed it seems to be thus denominated 
 with singular propriety, since it is under those gates 
 that conversations are holden, that hospitality to the 
 passing traveller is dispensed, and the most important 
 transa6lions in commerce are frequently carried on. 
 Captain Hamilton (Voijage^ vol. i. p. 368) giving an ac- 
 count of Fort St. George, observes, " that the gate of 
 that town, called the sea-gate, being very spacious, 
 was formerly the common exchange, where merchants 
 of all nations resorted about eleven o'clock, to treat of 
 business or merchandize." Astronomy, deriving its 
 birth in Asia, and exploring nature and language for 
 new symbols, soon seized upon this allegorical expres- 
 sion as highly descriptive of her romantic ideas ; and 
 the title was transferred from terrestrial houses to the 
 spheres. It may here be remarked, that the expression 
 occurs frequently in holy writ, often in the former 
 sense, and sometimes even in the astronomical allu- 
 sion of the word. In the former acceptation we read, 
 {Esther ii. 19.) of the Jexv, 3Iordecai^ sitting in the 
 kmg^s gate; In Lmnentatlons v. 14. that the elders have 
 ceased from the gate; and, \viRuth\\\.\\. it is used 
 in a sense remarkably figurative, all the gate, (that is 
 house) of my people know thou art virtuous. In the se- 
 cond acceptation, the word as well as the attendant 
 symbol itself,^ to our astonishment occur in the account 
 of Jacob's vision of the ladder, whose top reached 
 TO HEAVEN, and in the exclamation, this is the gate 
 OF heaven. It is hence manifested to have been an 
 original patriarchal symbol. A similar idea gccurs m 
 Isaiah xxxviii. 10. I shall go to the gates cf the grave / 
 and mMatt. xvi. 18. the gates of hell shall not prevail 
 
32 GENESIS. 
 
 against it. Nor is it impossible but our bleSsed Lorcl 
 himself might speak in allusion to the popular notion of 
 the two astronomical gates, celestial and terrestrial^ 
 when in 3Iatt. vii. 13. he said, Enter ye in at the strait 
 GATE ; for xvide is the gate, and broad is the rvay that 
 Jeadeth to destrudlion^ and many there are which go in 
 thereat; because strait is the gate, and narrow is the 
 way that leadeth to life, and few there are that find it.''"' 
 Indian Antiquities, vol. ii. p. 241. 
 
 No. 16 — Mxviii. 18. And facob rose up early in the 
 morning, and took the stone that he had put for his piU 
 low, and set it up for a pillar, and poured oil upon the 
 top of it."] One of the idols in the pagoda of Jagger- 
 naut is described by Captain Hamilton, as a huge black- 
 stone, of a pyramidal form, and the sommona codom 
 among th(^ Siamese is of the same complexion. The 
 mjeen Akbery mentions an octagonal pillar of black 
 stone, firty cubits high. Taveriiier observed an idol of 
 black stone in the pagoda of Benares, and that the statue 
 of Cieeshna, in his celebrated temple of Mathura, is of 
 black marble. It is very remarkable, that one of the 
 principal ceremonies incumbent upon the priests of 
 these stone deities, according to Tavernier, is to anoint 
 them daily with odoriferous oils: a circumstance which 
 immediately brings to our remembrance the similar 
 pra6lice of Jacob, who, after the famous vision of the 
 celestial ladder, took the stone which he had put for his 
 pillozv, and set it up for a pillar, and poured oil upon the. 
 top of it. It is added, that he called the name of that 
 place Beth-el, that is, the house of God. This passage 
 evinces of how great antiquity is the custom of consi- 
 dering stones in a sacred light, as well as the anointing 
 them with consecrated oil. From this condu6l of Jacob, 
 and this Hebrew appellative, the learned Bochart, with 
 great ingenuity and reason, insists that the name acd 
 
GENESIS. 3^ 
 
 Veneration of the sacred stones, 'called baetyli, so cele- 
 brated in all- pagan antiquity, were derived. These 
 baetyli were stones of a round form ; they were sup* 
 posed to be animated, by means of magical incantations, 
 with a portion of the deity : they were consulted on 
 occasions of great and pressing emergency, as a kind of 
 divine oracles, and were suspended, either round the 
 neck or some other part of the body. Thus the setting 
 up of a stone by this holy person, in grateful memory 
 of the celestial vision, probably became the occasion 
 of the idolatry in succeeding ages, to these shapeless 
 masses of unhewn stone, of which so many astonishing 
 remains are scattered up and down the Asiatic and the 
 European world. 
 
 Maurice's Indian Antiquities^ vol. ii. p. 355. 
 
 No. 17. — xxix, 2. A great stone was upon the welPs 
 mouth.'] In Arabia, and other places, they cover up 
 their wells of water, lest the sand, which is put into mo- 
 tion by the winds, should fill, and quite stop them up. 
 CChardin.J So great was their care not to leave the well 
 open any length of time, that they waited till the flocks 
 were all gathered together, before they began to draw 
 water : and when they had finished, the well was imme- 
 diately closed again. Harmer, vol. i, p. 113. 
 
 No. 18. — xxix. 24. And Laban gave unto his daughter 
 Leahj Zilpah his maidy for an handmaid.] Chardin ob- 
 serves that none but very poor people marry a daughter 
 in the East, without giving her a female slave for an 
 handmaid, there being no hired servants there as in 
 Europe. So Solomon supposes they were extremely 
 poor that had not a servant. Prov. xii. 9. 
 
 Harmer, vol. ii, p. 36© 
 
 E 
 
S4 GENESIS, 
 
 No. 19. — XXX. 32. I will pass through all thy flocks 
 to day, removing from thence all the speckled and spotted 
 cattle, and all the brown cattle among the sheep, and the 
 spotted and speckled among the goats; and of such shall be 
 my hire.] The following extra6l from the Gentoo laws, 
 p. 150, is remarkable for its coincidence with the situ- 
 ation and condu6l of Jacob ; and demonstrates that he 
 a6led with propriety, if the regulations here mentioned 
 existed in his time ; and of their very great antiquity 
 there is no doubt. " If a person without receiving 
 wages, or subsistence, or clothes, attends ten milch 
 cows, he shall sele6l, for his own use, the milk of that 
 cow which ever produces most ; if he attends more 
 cows, he shall take milk after the same rate, in lieu of 
 wages. If a person attends one hundred cows for the 
 space of one year, without any appointment of wages, 
 he shall take to himself one heifer of three years old ; 
 and also, of all those cows that produce milk, whatever 
 the quantity may be, after every eight days, he shall 
 take to himself the milk, the intire produ6l of one day* 
 Cattle shall be delivered over to the cowherd in the 
 morning : the cowherd shall tend them the whole day 
 with grass and water, and in the evening shall re-deliver 
 them to the master, in the same manner as they were 
 intrusted to him : if, by the fault of the cowherd, any 
 of the cattle be lost, or stolen, that cowherd shall make 
 it good. When a cowherd hath led cattle to any dis- 
 tant place to feed, if any die of some distemper, not- 
 withstanding the cowherd applied the proper remedy, 
 the cowherd shall carry the head, the tail, the forefoot, 
 er some such convincing proof, taken from that ani- 
 mal's body, to the owner of the cattle ; having done 
 this he shall be no farther answerable ; if he negledls to 
 a6l thus, he shall make good the loss." Probably this 
 last circumstance is alluded to in Amos iii. 12. 
 
GENESIS. S5 
 
 No. 20. — ^xxxi. 27. Wherefore dldstjhoufeeawaif 
 secretly i) and steal away from me, and didst not tell me, 
 that I might have sent thee away with mirth and xvith 
 songs, with tabret and xvith harp .?] The Easterns used 
 to set out, at least on their longer journeys, with music. 
 When the prefetto of Egypt was preparing for his jour- 
 ney, he complains of his being incommoded by the 
 songs of his friends, who in this manner took leave of 
 their relations and acquaintance. These valedidlory 
 songs were often extemporary. If we consider them, 
 as they probably were used not on common but more 
 solemn occasions, there appears a peculiar propriety in 
 the complaint of Laban, Harmer, vol. i. p. 435. 
 
 No. 21. — xxxi. 34. The camePs furniture.'] Pocockt: 
 informs us, that '* one method of conveyance, still used 
 in the East, is by means of a sort of round basket, 
 slung on each side of a camel, (with a cover,) which 
 holds all their necessaries, and on it (the camel) a per- 
 son sits crossed-legged" Mr. 3Ioryson, whose travels 
 were printed in the year 1596, mentions (p. 24r.) in his 
 journey from Aleppo to Constantinople, " two long 
 chairs like cradles, covered with red cloth, to hang on 
 the two sides of our camel, which chairs the Turks used 
 to ride in, and sleep upon camels backs." Mr. Han- 
 xvay likewise mentions {Travels, vol. i. p. 190.) kedga- 
 vays, " which are a kind of covered chairs, which the 
 Persians hang over camels in the manner of panniers, 
 and are big enough for one person to sit in." 
 
 No. 22. — xxxi. 40. In the day the drought conswned 
 me, and the frost by night.] " In Europe the days 
 and nights resemble each other with respe6l to the 
 qualities of heat and cold ; but it is quite otherwise 
 in the East. In the lower Asia in particular, the 
 d.ay is always hot j and as soon as the sun is fifteen 
 
36 GENESIS. 
 
 degrees above the horizon, no cold is felt in the 
 depth of winter itself. On the contrary, in the height 
 of summer the nights are as cold as at Paris in the month 
 of March. It is for this reason that in Persia and Tur- 
 key they always make use of furred habits in the coun- 
 try, such only being sufficient to resist the "cold of the 
 nights." (Chard'm in Harmer, vol. i. p. 74.J Cambpell 
 CTravels, part ii. p. 100. J says, " sometimes we lay at 
 night out in the open air, rather than enter a town ; on 
 which occasions I found the weather as piercing cold 
 as it was distressfully hot in the day time." Hence we 
 may clearly see the force and propriety of Jacob's com- 
 plaint. 
 
 No. 23. — xxxi. 46. And Jacob said ujito his bre- 
 thren^ gather stones^ and they took stones and made an 
 heap., and they did eat there upon the heap.'\ Niebuhr, 
 relating his audience with the Imam of Yemen, ^ays, 
 *' I had gone from my lodgings indisposed, and by- 
 standing so long found myself so faint, that I was 
 obliged to ask permission to quit the room. I found 
 jiear the door some of the principal officers of the court, 
 who were sitting, in a scattered manner, in the shade, 
 upon stones J by the side of the wall. Among them was. 
 the nakib (the general, or rather master of the horse,) 
 Cheir Allah, with whom I had some acquaintance before. 
 He immediately resigned his place to me, and applied 
 himself to draw together stones into an heap, in order 
 to build himself a new seat.'' This management might 
 be owing to various causes. The extreme heat of the 
 ground might render sitting there disagreeable. The 
 same inconvenience might arise also from its wetness,' 
 It was certainly a very common pra6lice ; and as it ap- 
 pears from the instance of Jacob, a very ancient one. 
 
 Harmer, vol. iii. p. 215.. 
 
GENESIS. ^ ^y 
 
 No. 24. — xxxiil. 13. And he said unto him, my lord 
 knoweth that the children are tender, and the Jlocks and 
 herds with young are with me : and if men should over' 
 drive them one day, all the Jlocks will die. '\ Prepared 
 as the Arabs are for speedy flight, a quick motion is 
 very destru6live to the young of their flocks. " Their 
 flocks," says Chardin, " feed down the places of their 
 encampment so quick, by the great numbers which they 
 have, that they are obliged to remove them too often, 
 which is very destru6live to their flock, on account of 
 the young ones, which have not strength enough to fol- 
 low." This circumstance shews the energy of Jacob's 
 
 ?ipology to Esau for not attending him. 
 
 Hakmer, vol, i. p. 126. 
 
 No. 25.— xxxiii. 19. An hundred pieces of money.'\ 
 There is very great reason to believe that the earliest 
 coins struck were used both as weights and money : 
 and indeed, this circumstance is in part proved by the 
 very names of certain of the Greek and Roman coins. 
 Thus the Attic mina and the Roman libra equally sig- 
 nify a pound ; and the (jroi.rng (stater ) of the Greeks, sa 
 called fi'om weighing, is decisive as to this point. The 
 Jewish sheckel was also a weight as well as a coin ; three 
 thousand sheckels, according to Arbuthnot, being equal 
 in weight and value to one talent. This is the oldest 
 coin of which we any where read, for it occurs. Gen, 
 xxiii. 16. and exhibits dire6l evidence against those wha 
 date the first coinage of money so low as the time of 
 Crcesus or Darius, it being there expressly said, that 
 Abraham weighed to Ephron four hundred sheckels of 
 silver, current money with the merchant. 
 
 Having considered the origin and high antiquity of 
 coined money, we proceed to consider the stamp or iyn~. 
 pression which the first money bore. The primitive 
 ?ace of men being shepherds, and their vrealth consisting 
 
S8 GENESIS. 
 
 ifl their cattle, in which Abraham is said to have been 
 rich, for greater convenience metals were substituted 
 for the commodity itself. It was natui'al for the repre^ 
 sentative sign to bear impressed the obje6l which it 
 represented ; and thus accordingly the earliest coins 
 were stamped with the figure of an ox or a sheep : for 
 proof that they adlually did thus impress them, we can 
 again appeal to the high authority of scripture ; for there 
 we are informed that Jacob bought a parcel of a field for 
 en hundred pieces of money. The original Hebrew, 
 translated pieces of money, is kesitoth^ which signifies 
 lambs^ with the figure of which the metal was doubtless 
 stamped. 
 
 Maurice's Indian Antiquities^ vol. vii. p. 470. 
 
 No. 26. — xxsvii. 34. "Jacob rent his clothes.'] This 
 ceremony is veiy ancient, and is frequently mentioned 
 in scripture. Levi (Rites and Ceremonies of the JewSf 
 p. 174. J says, it was performed in the following man- 
 ner : " they take a knife, and holding the blade down- 
 wards, do give the upper garment a cut on the right 
 side, and then rend it an hand's breadth. This is done 
 for the five following relations, brother, sister, son, or 
 daughter, or lufe ; but iox father or mother, the rent 
 is on the left side, and in all the garments, as coat^ 
 waistcoat, Sfc.'* 
 
 No. 27. — xl. 13. Within three days shall Pharoah 
 lift up thine head.] " The ancients, in keeping their 
 reckonings or accounts of time, or their list of domestic 
 officers or servants, made use of tables with holes bored 
 in them, in which they put a sort of pegs, or nails with 
 broad heads, exhibiting the particulars, either number 
 or name, or whatever it was. These nails or pegs the 
 Jews call heads, and the sockets of the heads they call 
 bases. The meaning therefore of Pharoah's lifting up. 
 
GENESIS. Mi 
 
 his head'is^ that Pharoah would take out the peg, which 
 had the cup-bearer's name on the top of it, to read it, 
 /. e. would sit in judgment, and make examination into 
 his accounts ; for it seems very probable that both he 
 and the baker had been either suspe6led or accused of 
 having cheated the king, and that, when their accounts 
 were examined and cast up, the one was acquitted, while 
 the other was found guilty. And though Joseph uses 
 the same expression in both cases, yet we may observe 
 that, speaking to the baker, he adds, thai Pharoah shall 
 lift up thine head from off thee, i, e. shall order thy name 
 to be struck out of the list of his servants, by taking thy 
 peg out of the socket." Bibliotheca BibL in locum, 
 cited in Stackhouse's Hist, of the Bible, vol, i. p. 331, 
 
 No. 28 — xli. 40. Thou shall he over my house, and 
 according to thy word shall all my people be ruled.'] The 
 Easterns kiss what comes from the hand of a superior. 
 The editor of the Ruins of Balbec observed that the 
 Arab governor of that city respe6lfully applied the fir- 
 man of the grand seignior (which was presented to him) 
 to his forehead when he and his fellow travellers first 
 waited on him, and then kissed it, declaring himself the 
 sultan's slave's slave (p. 4.) Is not this v/hat Pharoah 
 refers to in these words : Thou shalt be over my house, 
 and according unto thy xvord, or on account of thy wordy 
 shall all my people KISS, (for so it is in the original) 
 onh/ in the throne tvill I be greater than thou ; that is, I 
 imagine, the orders of Joseph were to be received with 
 the greatest respecl by all, and kissed by the most illustri- 
 ous of the princes of Egypt. Harmer, vol. ii. p. 48. 
 
 No. 29. — xlii. 15. By the life of Pharoah.] Extraor- 
 dinary as the kind of oath which Joseph made use of 
 may appear to us, it still cotinues in the East. Mr. 
 Hanway says, the most sacred oath among the Per- 
 
40 GENESIS. 
 
 sians is " by the king's head ;" (^Trav. vol. I. p, 3iS.) 
 
 and among other instances of it we read in the Travels 
 
 of the Ambassadors, p. 204. " there was but sixty 
 
 horses for ninety four persons. The meheniander (or 
 
 condu6lor) swore by the head of the king (which is the 
 
 greatest oath amongst the Persians) that he could not 
 
 possibly find anv more." And Thevenot says, (^Frav, 
 
 p. 9r, part 2.) " his subjects never look upon him but 
 
 with fear and trembling ; and they have such respe6l 
 
 for him, and pay so blind an obedience to all his orders, 
 
 that how unjust soever his commands might be, they 
 
 perform them, though against the law both of God and 
 
 nature. Nay, if they swear by the king^s head^ their oath 
 
 is more authentic, and of greater credit, than if they 
 
 swore by all that is most sacred in heaven and upon 
 earth." 
 
 No. 30. — xliii. 29. God be gracious to thee my son.'\ 
 *' This would have been called through all Europe, and 
 in the living languages of this part of the world, the 
 giving a person one's benediclion j but it is a simple 
 salutation in Asia, and it is there used instead of those 
 offers and assurances of service v/hich it is the custorat 
 to make use of in the West, in first addressing or taking 
 leave of an acquaintance." (Chardin.J This account ex- 
 plains the ground of the scripture's so often calling the 
 salutations and farewells of the East by the term blessing* 
 
 Harmer, vol. ii. p. 40. 
 
 No 51. — xliii. 34. And he took and sent messes unto 
 themfro7n before him, but Benjamin's 7ness wasfve times 
 as much as any qj their s."] The manner of eating amongst 
 the ancients was not for all the company to eat out of 
 one and the same dish, but for every one to have one 
 or more dishes to himself. The whole of these dishes 
 were set before the master of the feast^ and he distri- 
 
GENESIS. 41 
 
 buted to every one his portion. As Joseph, however, is 
 here said to have had a table to himself, we may sup- 
 pose that he had a great variety of litde dishes or plates 
 set before him ; and as it was a custom for great men to 
 honour those, who were in their favour, by sertdingsuch 
 dishes to them as were first served up to themselves, 
 Joseph shewed that token of respe6l to his brethren ; 
 but to express a particular value for Benjamin, he sent 
 hiiri five dishes to their one, which disproportion could 
 not but be marvellous and astonishing to them, if what 
 Herodotus tells us, be true, that the distin6lion in this 
 case, even to Egyptian kings themselves^ in all public 
 feasts and banquets, was no more than a double mess, 
 lib. vi. chap. 27." (Blhiiotheca Bibl.) 
 
 Stackhouse's Hist, of the Bible., vol. i. p. 338. 
 
 No. 32.— xliv. 1; Sacks.'\ There are two sorts of 
 sacks taken notice of in the history of Joseph, which 
 ought not to be confounded ; one for the corn, the other 
 for the baggage. There are no waggons almost through 
 all Asia, as far as to the Indies, every thing is carried 
 upon beasts of burthen, in sacks of wool, covered in the 
 middle with leather, the better to make resistance to 
 water. Sacks of this sort are called tambellit; they in- 
 close in them their things done up in large parcels. It 
 is of this kind of sacks we are to understand what is said 
 here, and all through this history, and not of their sacks 
 in which they carried their corn. (Chardin.) 
 
 Harmer, vol. i. p. 429. 
 
 No. 3 3. —xliv. 5. Cup -whereby he divineth f\ Jidius 
 Serenus tells us, that the method o£ divininfr by the cv.p^ 
 among the Abyssinians, Chaldees, and Egyptians, was 
 to fill it first with water, then to throw into it their plates 
 of gold and silver, together with some precious stones, 
 
*« GENESIS. 
 
 \vhereon were engraven certain charadlers : and, afterr 
 that, the persons who came to consult the oracle used 
 certain forms of incantation, and so calling upon the 
 devil, received their answers several ways ; sometimes 
 by articulate sounds, sometimes by the chara6lers, 
 which were in the cup, rising upon the surface of the 
 water, and by this arrangement forming the answer; 
 and many times by the visible appearing of the per- 
 sons themselves about whom the oracle was consulted. 
 Cornelius Agrippa (de occult. Philos. 1. i. cap. 5T^ tells 
 us likewise, that the manner of some was to pour 
 melted wax into the cup, Avherein was water, which wax 
 Vi^ould range itself into order, and so form answers, 
 according to the questions proposed. 
 
 Saurin's Diss. 38. 
 
 No. 34. — xlvii. 19. Buy us and our land Jo r bread, 
 and xve and our land will be servants unto Pharaoh.'] From 
 thf Gentoo Icixvs it appears that such a purchase as that 
 made by Jostph was not an unusual thing. Particular 
 provision is made in these institutes for the release of 
 those who were thus brought into bondage. " Who- 
 ever, having received his vidluals from a person during 
 the time of a famine, hath become his slave, upon giving 
 to his provider whatever he received from him during 
 the time of the famine, and also two head of cattle, may 
 become free from his servitude, according to the ordina- 
 tion of Pacheshputtee Misr. — Approved." " Whoever 
 having been given up as a pledge for money lent, per- 
 forms service to the creditor, recovers his liberty when- 
 ever the debtor discharges the debt ; if the debtor ne- 
 gledls to pay the creditor his monej', and takes no thought 
 -of the person whom he left as a pledge, that person be- 
 comes the purchased slave of the creditor." 
 
 Gentqo Laws, p. 140. 
 
GENESIS. 4» 
 
 No. 35. — ^1. 10. They mourned with a great and very 
 iore lamentation.'] Thisisexa6lly the genius of the people 
 of Asia, especially of the women. Their sentiments of 
 joy or grief are properly transports, and their transports 
 areungoverned, excessive, and outrageous. When any 
 one returns from a long journey, or dies, his family 
 burst into cries that may be heard twenty doors off ; 
 and this is renewed at different times, and continues 
 many days, according to the vigour of the passion. 
 Especially are these cries long in the case of death, and 
 frightful, for their mourning is right down despair, and 
 an image of hell. I was lodged, in the year 1676, at 
 Ispahan, near the royal square j the mistress of the next 
 house to mine died at that time ; the moment she ex- 
 pired, all the family, to the number of twenty-five or 
 thirty people, set up such a furious cry, that I was quite 
 startled, and was above two hours before I could recover 
 myself. These cries continue a long time, then cease 
 all at once ; thev bt gin again as suddenly, at day-break, 
 and in concert. It is this suddenness which is so ter- 
 rifying, together with a greater shrillness and loudness 
 than one would easily imagine. This enraged kind of 
 mourning continued forty days, not equally violent, 
 but with diminution from day to day. The longest and 
 most violent a6ls were when they washed the body, when 
 they perfumed it, when they carried it out to be inter- 
 red, at making the inventory, and when they divided 
 theeffedls. You are not to suppose that those, who were 
 ready to split their throats with crying out, wept as 
 much ; the greatest part of them did not shed a single 
 tear through the whole tragedy. 
 
 CiiARDiN in JIarmery vol. ii. p. 136. 
 
 No. 36. — 1. 26. So Joseph died, being an hundred and 
 ten years old, and they embalmed him, and he was put in a 
 topn in Egypt.] When Joseph died he was not onl^f 
 
44 GENESIS. 
 
 embalmed, hut put into a cofin. This was an honour 
 appropriated to persons of distin6lion, coffins not being 
 universally used in Egypt. Maillet^ speaking of the 
 Egyptian repositories of the dead, having given an ac- 
 count of several niches that are found there, says, ** it 
 must not be imagined, that the bodies deposited in these 
 gloomy apartments vrere all inclosed in chests, and 
 placed in niches ; the greatest part were simply em- 
 balmed and swathed after that manner that every one 
 hath some notion of ; after which they laid them one by 
 the side of another without any ceremony :.some were 
 even put into these tombs without any embalming at 
 all, or such a slight one, that there remains nothing of 
 them in the linen in which they were wrapped but the 
 bones, and those half rotten." (Letter vii. p. 281.) 
 Antique coffins of stone, and sycamore wood, are still 
 to be seen in Egypt. It is said that some were formerly 
 made of a kind of pasteboard, formed by folding anri 
 glewing cloth together a great number of times ; these 
 were curiously plaistered and painted with hierogly« 
 phics. Thevenot, part i. p. 137, 
 
[ 45 ] 
 
 No. 37.— EXODUS vli. 19. 
 
 Vessels of stone. 
 
 The water of the Nile is very thick and muddy, and 
 it is purified either by a paste made of almonds, or by 
 filtrating it through pots of white earth ; the possession 
 of one of these pots is thought a great happiness. The- 
 ve7ioty (part i. p. 245.) May not the meaning of this pas- 
 sage be, that the water of the Nile should not only look 
 red and nauseous like blood in the river, but in their 
 vessels too when taken up in small quantities, and that 
 no method whatever of purifying it should be effedlual. 
 
 Harmer, vol, ii. p. 29 8. 
 
 No. 58.— ix. 8. And the Lord said unto Moses and 
 unto Aaron, take to you handjuls of ashes of thefurnacey 
 and let Moses sprinkle thein towards the heaven in the sight 
 of Pharaoh. 1 " It is said, that when this evil was to be 
 brought upon the Egyptians, Aaron and Moses were 
 ordered to take ashes of the furnace, and Moses was to 
 scatter them up towards heaven, that they might be 
 wafted over the face of the country. This mandate was 
 very determinate, and to the last degree significants 
 The ashes were to be taken from that fiery furnace,^ 
 which in the scriptures was used as a type of the Israel-, 
 ites' slavery, and of all the cruelty which they experi-* 
 cnced in Egypt. The process has still a farther allusion 
 to an idolatrous and cruel rite, which was common 
 among the Egyptians, and to which it is opposed as a 
 contrast. They had several cities stiled Typhonian, 
 such as Heliopolis, Idithya, Abarei, and Busiris ; in 
 these, at particular seasons, they sacrificed men. The 
 objedls thus destined were persons of bright hair and a 
 particular complexion, such as weije seldom to be found 
 
46 EXODUS. 
 
 amongst the native Egyptians. Hence we may infer that 
 they wei'e foreigners ; and it is probable, that while the 
 Israelites resided in Egypt, they were chosen from their 
 body. They were burnt alive upon an high altar, and 
 thus sacrificed for the good of the people. At the close 
 of the sacrifice the priests gathered together the ashes 
 of these vi6lims, and scattered them upwards in the air j 
 I presume with this view, that where any atom of this 
 dust was wafted, a blessing might be entailed. The like 
 was done by Moses with the asties of the fiery furnace, 
 but with a different intention ; they were scattered 
 abroad, that where any the smallest portion alighted, it 
 might prove a plague and a curse to this ungrateful^ 
 cruel, nnd infatuated people. Thus there was a de- 
 signed contrast in these workings of providence, an ap- 
 parent opposition to the superstition of the times." 
 
 Bryant on the Plagues of Egypt, p. 116. 
 
 No. 39. — xiv. 29. The waters were a wall unto the)% 
 on their right hand and on their left."] Diodorus Siculus 
 relates, that the Ichthyophagi, who lived near the Red 
 Sea, had a tradition handed down to them through along 
 line of ancestors, that the whole bay was once laid bare to 
 the very bottom, the waters retiringto the opposite shore, 
 and that they afterwards returned to their accustomed 
 channel with a most tremendous revulsion. CBib. Hist. 
 lib. iii. p. 174.) Even to this day the inhabitants of the 
 neighbourhood of Corondel preserve the remembrance 
 of a mighty army having been once drowned in the bay, 
 which Ptolemy calls Clysma. (Shaw's Travels., p. 349.) 
 The very country where the event is said to have hap-, 
 pened, in some degree bears testimony to the accuracy 
 of the mosaical narrative. The scriptural Etham is still 
 called Etti ; the wilderness of Shur^ the mountain of 
 Sinai^ and the country of Paran, are still known by the 
 tame names. (Niesuhr's Travels, vol. i. p. 189, 191.}. 
 
Exoi3us. 4r 
 
 Marahj Elath, and M'ldian are still familiar to the ears 
 of the Arabs. The grove of £//?» yet remains, and its 
 twelve fountains have neither increased nor diminished 
 in number since the days of Moses. 
 
 Bryant on the Plagues of Egypt, p. 404, 410, 
 
 No. 40. — XV. 20. And 3Iiriam the prophetess, the 
 sister oj Aaron, took a timbrel in her hand^ and all the 
 women went out after her xuith timbrels and zuith dances.'\ 
 Lady M. W, Montague, speaking of the eastern dances, 
 says, *' Their manner is certainly the same that Diana is 
 sung to have danced on the banks of Eurotas. The great 
 lady still leads the dance, and is followed by a troop of 
 young girls, who imitate her steps, and, if she sings, 
 make up the chorus. The tunes are extremely gay and 
 lively, yet with something in them wonderfully soft. 
 Their steps are varied according to the pleasure of her 
 that leads the dance, but always in exa6l time, and in- 
 finitely more agreeable than any of our dances." (Li-t' 
 ters, vol. ii. p. 45.) This gives us a different apprehen- 
 sion of the meaning of these words than we should 
 otherwise form. Miriam the prophetess, the sister of 
 Aaron, took a timbrel in her hand, and all the women 
 xvent out after her, with timbrels and dances. She led 
 the dance, and they imitated her steps, which were not 
 conduvSled by a set well known form, but extemporane- 
 ous. Probably David did not dance alone before the 
 Lord, when the ark was removed, but led the dance in 
 the same authoritative kind of way. (^2 Sam. vi. 14. 
 Judges xi. 54. 1 Sam. xviii. 6.) 
 
 Harmer, vol. ii. p. 114. 
 
 No. 41. — xvii. 1, Rephidim.'] " After we had de- 
 scended, with no small difficulty, the western side of 
 Mount Sinai, we come into the other plain that is formed 
 by it, which is Rephidim, Here we still see that extra- 
 
4S EXODUS. 
 
 ordinary antiquity, the rock of Meribah, which hatil 
 continued down to this day, without the least injury 
 from time or accident. It is a block of granite marble^ 
 about six yards square, laying tottering as it were, and 
 loose in the middle of the valley, and seems to have 
 formerly belonged to Mount Sinai, which hangs in a 
 variety of precipices all over this plain. The xuaters 
 •which gushed out ^ and the stream which Jlowed, (Psalm 
 Ixxviii. 20.) have hollowed, across one corner of this 
 rock, a channel about two inches deep and twenty 
 wide, appearing to be incrustated all over, like the in- 
 side of a tea kettle that hath been long in use. Besides 
 several massy produdlions that are still preserved by the 
 dew, we see all over this channel a great number of 
 holes, some of them four or five inches deep, and one 
 or two in diameter, the lively and demonstrative tokens 
 of their having been formerly so many fountains. It 
 likewise may be further observed, that art or chance 
 could by no ineans be concerned in tlie contrivance, for 
 every circumstance points out to us a miracle, and, in 
 the same manner with the rent in the rock of Mount 
 Calvary, at Jerusalem, never fails to produce a religious 
 surprise in all who see it." 
 
 Shaw's Travels, p. 352, 35Z. 
 
 No. 42. — xlx. 13. He shall surely be stoned.'] " To 
 be stoned to death was a most grievous and terrible 
 infliction. When the offender came within four cubits 
 of the place of execution, he was stript naked, only 
 leaving a covering before, and his hands being bound, 
 he was led up to the fatal place, which was an eminence 
 twice a man's height. The first executioners of the 
 sentence were the witnesses, who generally pulled off 
 their clothes for the purpose : one of them threw him 
 down with great violence upon his loins; if he rolled 
 upon his breast, he was turned upon his loins again, and 
 
EXODUS. 49 
 
 if he died by the fall there was an end ; but if not, the 
 other witness took a great stone, and dashed upon his 
 breast, as he lay upon his back ; and then, if he was not 
 dispatched, all the people that stood by threw stones at 
 him till he died." 
 
 'Lewises Origines Htbrcccc, vol. i. p. 74, 
 
 No. 4S. — xxii. 5. If a man shall cause a field or vine" 
 yard to be eaten.] Chandler observed, (^Travels in Asia 
 Minor, p. 142.) that the tame cattle were very fond of 
 vine leaves, and were permitted to eat them in the 
 autumn. " We remarked," he says, " about Smyrna, 
 the leaves were decayed, or stripped by the camels and 
 herds of goats, which are admitted to browze after 
 the vintage." If those animals are so fond of vine 
 leaves, it is no wonder that Moses, by an express law, 
 forbad a Irian's causing another marCs vineyard to he eaten 
 by putting in his beast. The turning any of them in be- 
 fore the fruit was gathered, must have occasioned much 
 mischief; and even after it must have been an injury, as 
 it would have been eating up another's feed. 
 
 Harmer, vol. iv. p. 130. 
 
 - No. 44. — xxii. 6. If fire break out, and catch in thornsy 
 so that the stacks of corn, or the standing corn, or the f eld, 
 be consumed therewith, he that kindled the f re shall surely 
 make restitution.] It is a common management in the 
 East, to set the dry herbage on fire before the autumnal 
 rains, which fires, for want of care, often do great da- 
 mage. Moses has taken notice of fires of this kind, and 
 by an express law has provided, that reparation shall be 
 made for the damage done by those who either malici- 
 ously or negligently occasioned it. Chandler, speaking of 
 the neighbourhood of Smyrna, says, (p, 276.) " In the lat- 
 ter end of July, clouds began to appear from the south ; 
 the air was repeatedly cooled by showers which had fallcH 
 
 G 
 
m' EXODUS. 
 
 elsewhere, and it was easy to foretel the approachlngr 
 rain. This was the season for consuming the dry herbags 
 and, under groTvth on the mountains ; and we often saw the 
 fire blazing in the wind, and spreading a thick smoke 
 along their sides." He also relates an incident to which 
 he was an eye witness. Having been en>ployed the lat- 
 ter end of August, in taking a plan at Troas, one day af- 
 ter dinner, says he, a Turk coming to us " emptied the 
 ashes from his pipe, and a spark of fire fell unobserved in 
 the grass, which was long, parched by the sun, and in- 
 flammable like tinder. A brisk wind soon kindled ablaze, 
 which withered in an instant the leaves of the bushes 
 and trees in its way, seized the branches and roots, and 
 devoured all before it with prodigious crackling and 
 noise. We were much alarmed, as a general conflagra- 
 tion of the country seemed likely to ensue." After exert- 
 ing themselves for an hour, they at length extinguished 
 it. (p. SO.) It is an impropriety worth corre6ling in this 
 passage, where the word stacks of corn is used rather 
 than shocks, which is more conformable tocustom, as the 
 heaps of the East are only the disposing the corn into a 
 proper form to be immediately trodden out. . 
 
 Harmer, vol. iv. p. 145. 
 
 No. 45. — xxili. 19. Thou shalt not seeth a kid in his: 
 mother'' s milk'^ CuDWORTHfo/z the Lord''s supper^ p. 14.^ 
 gives a very curious account of the superstition, on ac- 
 count of which he conceives the seething of a kid in its 
 dam's milk to have been prohibited. " It was a custom 
 of the ancient heathens, v/hen they had gathered in all 
 their fruits, to take a kid, and boil it in the dam's milk, 
 and then, in a magical way, to go about and besprinkle 
 with it all their trees, and fields, and gardens, amd 
 orchards, thinking by this means they should make 
 them frufliiy, and bring forth fruit again more abun- 
 dantly the following year. Whcrefbre God forbad his 
 
EICODUS. m 
 
 jpeople, the Jews, at the time of their in-gathering, to 
 iuse any such superstitious or idolatrous rite." 
 
 No. 4-6— xxviii. 33. Bells.] " The bell seems to 
 ^have been a sacred utensil of very ancient use in Asia» 
 Golden bells formed a part of the ornaments of the pon- 
 tifical robe of the Jewish high priest, with which he 
 invested himself upon those grand and peculiar festi- 
 vals, when he entered into the san6luary. That robe was 
 very magnificent, it was ordained to be of sky-blue, and 
 the border of it, at the bottom, was adorned with pome- 
 granates and gold bells intermixed equally, and at equal 
 distances. The use and intent of these bells is evident 
 from 'these 'words: And it shall beiipon Aaron to minister, 
 <ind his sound shallbe heard xvhen he goeth iniinto the holy 
 place before the Lord^ and xvhen he ccnieth ojit, that he die 
 not. The sound of the numerous bells that covered the 
 liem of his garment, gave notice to the assembled people 
 that the most awful ccremonj'^ of their religion had com- 
 menced. When arrayed in this garb, he bore into the 
 san6tuary the vessel of incense ; it was the signal to pro- 
 strate themselves before the deitj', and to commence 
 'those fervent ejaculations which were to ascend with 
 the column of that incense to the throne of heaven." 
 •' One indispensable ceremony in the Indian Pooja is 
 the ringing of a small bell by the officiating brahmin. 
 The women of the idol, or dancing girls of the pagoda, 
 have little golden bells fastened to their feet, the soft 
 harmonious tinkling of which vibrates in unison with 
 the exquisite melody of their voices, "(Maurice's Indian 
 Antiquities, vol. v. p. 137.) " The ancient kings of Persia, 
 who, in fa61:, united in their own persons the regal and 
 sacerdotal office, were accustomed to have the fringes of 
 their robes adorned with pomegranates and golden bells. 
 The Arabian courtesans, like the Indian women, have 
 iitJtle golden bells fastened rpund their legs, neck, and 
 
S^ EXODUS. 
 
 elbows, to the sound of which they dance before th c 
 king. The Arabian princesses wear golden rings on 
 their fingtrs, to which little bells are suspended, as well 
 as in the flowing tresses of their hair, that their superior 
 rank may be known, and they themselves, in passing, re- 
 ceive the homage due to their exalted station." 
 
 Calmet's DiSlionary, article Bell. 
 
 '' No. 47. — xxix. 22. The rump ,•] Or the large tail 
 of one species of the eastern sheep. Russell (^^i^^. of 
 Aleppo, p. 51.) after observing that they are in that 
 country much more numerous than those with smaller 
 tails, adds, " this tail is very broad and large, terminat- 
 ing in a small appendix that turns back upon it. It is of 
 a substance between fat and marrow, and is not eaten se- 
 parately, but mixed with the lean meat in many of their 
 dishes, and also often used instead of butter. A com- 
 mon sheep of this sort, without the head, feet, skin, and 
 entrails, weighs about twelve or fourteen Aleppo roto- 
 loes, of which the tail is usually three rotoloes or 
 upwards; but such as are of the largest breed, and have 
 been fattened, will sometimes weigh above thirty roto- 
 loes, and the tail of these ten. These very large sheep 
 being about Aleppo kept up in yards, are in no danger 
 of injuring their tails : but in some other places, where 
 they feed in the fields, the shepherds are obliged to fix 
 a piece of thin board to the under part of their tail, to 
 prevent its being torn by bushes and thistles, as it is not 
 covered underneath with thick wool like the upper part. 
 Sonve have small wheels to facilitate the dragging of this 
 board after them." A rotoloe of Aleppo is five pounds. 
 See also Herodotus, lib. iii. cap. 115. With this agrees 
 the account given by the Abbe Mariti, f travels through 
 Cyprus, vol. i. p. 36.) " The mutton isjuicy and ten^ 
 der. The tails of some of the sheep, which are remark -* 
 ^bly fine, weigh upwards of fifty pounds." This shews 
 
EXODUS. ^3 
 
 us the reason why, in the levitical sacrifices, thetail was 
 always ordered to be consumed by fire. 
 
 No. 48. — xxxviii. 8. Lookmg glasses.'] The eastern 
 mirrors were made oi polished sitti^ and for the most 
 part convex. If they were thus made in the country of 
 Ehhu, the image made use of by him will appear very 
 lively. Hast thou with him spread out the oky^ which is 
 strongs and as a 7nohen looking glass? {Job xxxvii. 18.) 
 Shaw informs us, (Travels^ p. 241. J that " in the Le- 
 vant looking glasses are a part of a female dress. The 
 Moorish women in Barbary are so fond of their orna- 
 ments, and particularly of their looking glasses, which 
 they hang upon their breasts, that they will not lay them 
 aside, even when, after the drudgery of the day, they 
 are obliged to go two or three miles with a pitcher, or a 
 goat's skin, to fetch water." The Israelitish women 
 used to carry their mirrors with them, even to the most 
 solemn place of worship. (Harmer, vol. ii. p. 411.) 
 The word mirror should be used in the passages here 
 referred to, rather than those which are inserted in the 
 present translation of the Bible. To speak of looking 
 glasses made of steel, and glasses jnolten, is palpablv ab- 
 surd, whereas the term mirror obviates every difficulty, 
 and expresses the true meaning of the original. 
 
i: 5i 2 
 
 No. 49.— LEVITICUS 11, 4. 
 
 Unleavened cakes oj jine flour •. 
 
 D'Arvieux relates, that the Arabs about Mount Car- 
 mel make a fire in a great stone pitcher, and when it 
 is heated, mix meal and water, which they apply with 
 the hollow of their hands to the outside of the pitcher, 
 and this soft paste, spreading itself upon it, is baked in 
 an instant, and the bread comes off thin as our wafers. 
 (VoTj. dans la pal. p. 192.) Stones or copperplates were 
 also used for the purposes of baking. (Pococke, vol. ii. 
 p. 96.) Upon these oven-pitchers probably the wafers 
 here mentioned were prepared. 
 
 Harmer, vol. i. p. 235. 
 
 No. 50. — ii. 13. With all thine offerings thoxt shalt 
 tffer salt.] Salt amongst the ancients was the emblem 
 of friendship and fidelity, and therefore was used in all 
 their sacrifices and covenants. Bruce mentions a kind 
 of salt so hard, that it is used as money, and passes from 
 hand to hand no more injured than a stone would be. 
 A covenant of salt seems to refer to the making of an 
 agreement wherein salt was used as a token of confir- 
 mation. Baron Du Tott, speaking of one who was de- 
 sirous of his acquaintance, says, upon his departure, 
 *- he promised in a short time to return. I had already 
 attended him half way down the stair-case, when stop- 
 ping, and turning briskly to one of my domestics, bring 
 me diredlly^ said he, some bread and salt. What he re- 
 quested was brought ; when taking a little salt between 
 his fingers, and putting it widi a mysterious air on a bit 
 of bread, he eat it with a devout gravity, assuring me 
 that I might now rely on him." (part i. p. 214.) Among 
 other exploits which are recorded oi Jacoub Ben Laithy 
 
LEVITICUS. S3 
 
 he is said to have broken into a palace, and having col- 
 le6led a very large booty, Which he was on the point of 
 carrying away, he found his foot kicked something 
 which made him stumble ; putting it to his mouth, the 
 better to distinguish it, his tongue soon informed him it 
 was a lump of salt; upon this, according to the morality, 
 or rather superstition of the country, where the people 
 considered salt as a symbol and pledge of hospitality, 
 he was so touched that he left all his booty, retiring 
 without taking away any thing with him. (D'herbe- 
 LOT, Bibl. Orient, p. 466.) This use of salt is also evi- 
 dent from Homer ; 
 
 Then near the altar of the darting king, 
 Dispos'd in rank, their hecatomb thsy bring; 
 With water purify their hands, and take 
 The sacred off 'ring of the salted cake. 
 
 II. i. 1. 584 
 And again: 
 
 Above the coals the smoking fragment turns. 
 And sprinkles sacred salt from lifted urns. 
 
 II. ix. I. 281. 
 
 No. 51. — vi. 13. The fire shall ever be burning upon 
 the altar ; it shall never go out.l A ceremony remarkably 
 similar to this institution is mentioned by Sir W. fones^ 
 in his discourse on the Persians. *' The Sagnicas, when 
 they enter on their sacerdotal office, kindle, with two 
 pieces of the hard wood semi, a fire, which they keep 
 lighted through their lives, for their nuptial ceremony, 
 the performance of solemn sacrifces, the obsequies of 
 departed Ancestors, and their own funeral pile." 
 Asiatic Researches y vol. ii. p. 60. 
 
 No. 52. — xi. 35. Ranges for pots. "] The scarcity of 
 fuel in the East induces the people to be very frirgal in 
 using it, Rauxvoljf (j^. 192.) gives the following account 
 ©f their management : " They make in their tents or 
 
56 LEVITICUS. 
 
 houses an hole about a foot and a half deep, wherein 
 they put their earthen pipkins or pots, with the meat in 
 them, closed up, so that they are in the half above the 
 middle. Three-fourth parts thereof they lay about with 
 stones, and the fourth part is left open, through which 
 they fling in their dried dung, which burns immediately, 
 and gives so great an heat that the pot groweth so hot as 
 if it had stood in the middle of a lighted coal heap, so 
 that they boil their meat with a little fire, quicker than 
 we do ours with a great one on our hearths." As the 
 Israelites must have had as much occasion to be sparing 
 of their fuel as any people, and especially when journey- 
 ing in the wilderness, Mr. Hanner (vol. i. p. 268.) 
 considers this quotation as a more satisfa(5lory commen- 
 tary ^n this passage than any which has been given. 
 
 No. 5^. — xvi. 22. Arid the goat shall bear upon hiin 
 all their iniqiiities unto a land not inhabited; and he shall 
 let go the goat in the luilderness.'] The Aswamedha 
 JUG is an ancient Indian custom, in which a horse was 
 brought and sacrificed, with some rites similar to those 
 prescribed in the Mosiac law. " The horse so sacri- 
 ficed is in place of the sacrificer, bears his sins with him 
 into the wilderness, into which he is turned adrift, (for, 
 from this particular instance it seems that the sacrificing 
 knife was not always employed) and becomes the expia- 
 tory vi6lim of those sins." Mr. Ilalhead observes^ (Pre- 
 face to the Code of Gentoo Laws, p. 9.) that this ceremony 
 reminds us of the scape goat of the Israelites ; and in- 
 deed it is not the only one in which a particular coinci- 
 dence between the Hindoo and Mosiac systems of the- 
 ology may be traced. To this account may be sub- 
 joined a narrative in some measure similar from Mr. 
 Bruce. " We found, that upon some dissension, the 
 garrison and townsmen had been fighting for several 
 days, in which disorders the greatest part of the ammu- 
 
LEVITICUS. ^t 
 
 hition in the town had been expended, but it had since 
 been agreed on by the old men of poth parties, that 
 nobody had been to blame on either side, but the whole 
 wrong was the work of a camel. A camel, therefore, 
 was seized, and brought -without the tozvn^ and there a 
 number on both sides having met, they upbraided the 
 camel with every thing that had been either said or 
 done. The ca?nel had killed men ; he had threatened 
 to set the town on fire ; the camel had threatened to 
 burn the aga's house and the castle ; he had cursed the 
 grand signior and the sheriffe of Mecca, the sovereigns 
 of the two parties ; and, the only thing the poor animal 
 was interested in, he had threatened to destroy the 
 wheat that was going to Mecca. After having spent 
 great part of the afternoon in upbraiding the carnel, 
 whose measure of iniquity, it seems, was near full, each 
 man thrust him through with a lance, devoting him, 
 diis manibus et diris, by a kind of prayer, and with a 
 thousand curses upon his head, after which every man 
 retired, fully satisfied as to the wrongs he had received 
 from the camel .'" 
 
 No. 54. — xviii. 21. Thou shatt not let any of thy seed 
 pass through the fire to Moloch, "[ Horrid as is the prac- 
 tice prohibited in these words, we have irresistible evi- 
 dence of its prevalence. The manner in which it was 
 performed has been variously described, especially by 
 the rabbins. Sonnerat (Trav. vol. i. p. 154) gives 
 the following account of this custom : " A still more 
 astonishing instance of the superstition of the ancient 
 Indians, in respecl to this venerated fire, remains at this 
 day, in the grand annual festival holden in honour of 
 Darma Rajah, and called the feast or fire, in which, 
 as in the ancient rites of Moloch, the devotees walk 
 barefoot over a glowing Jire, extending forty feet. It is 
 called the feast of fire, because they then walk on that 
 
 H 
 
W LEVITICUS. 
 
 element. It lasts eighteen days, during which tiitte, 
 those who make avow to keep it, must fast, abstain from 
 womtr, lie on the bare ground, and walk on a brisk 
 fire. The eighteenth day they assemble, on the sound 
 of instruments^ their heads crowned with Jlowers, the body 
 bedaubed zvith saffron^ andfolloxv in cadence the figures oj 
 JDarma Rajah ^ and of Drobede, his wife, who are carried 
 there in procession. "When they come to the fire they 
 stir it, to animate its a6livity, and take a little of the 
 ashes, with which they rub their foreheads, and when 
 the gods have been three times round it, they walk 
 either fast or slow, according to their zeal, over a very 
 hot fire, extended to about forty feet in length. Some 
 carry their children in their arms ; and others lances, 
 sabres, and standards. The most fervent devotees, 
 walk several times over the fire. After the ceremony, 
 the people press to colledl some of the ashes to rub 
 their foreheads with, and obtain from the devotees some 
 of the flowers with which they were adorned, and which 
 they carefully preserve." 
 
 No. 55. — xxvi. 26. Ten xvomen shall bake your bread 
 in one oven.'] An oven was designed only to serve a 
 single family, and to bake for them no more than the 
 bread for one day. This usage still continues in some 
 places, and gives peculiar force to these words. 
 
 Harmer, vol. i. p. 269. 
 
[ 59 ] 
 
 No. 56.— NUMBERS v. 17. 
 
 The priest shall take holy water in an earthen vessel. 
 
 Ik the Asiatic Researches^ (vol. i, p. 389.) is a curious 
 account of the trials by ordeal, praclised amongst the 
 Hindoos. They have no less than nine different me- 
 thods of conducting this test, one of which is strikingly 
 conformable to the tri.l by the water of jealousy. 
 " Trial by the cosha is as follows : the accused is made 
 to drink three draughts of the water in which the images 
 of the Sun, of Devi, and other deities, have been washed 
 for that purpose ; and if; within fourteen days, he has 
 any sickness, or indisposition, his crime is considered 
 as proved." 
 
 No. 57. — ^x. 31. Thou may est be to us instead of 
 eyes.] The importance of a guide in traversing the 
 deserts must be evident, when we peruse the following 
 extradl from Bruce's Travels, (vol. iv. p. 586.) " A 
 hybeer is a guide, from the Arabic word hubbar, to in- 
 form, instrucl, or direct, because they are used to do 
 this office to the caravan travelling through the desert 
 in all its directions, whether to Egypt and back again, 
 the coast of the Red Sea, or the countries of Sudan, 
 and the western extremities of Africa. They are men 
 of great consideration, knowing perfectly the situation, 
 and properties of all kinds of water to be met on the 
 route, the distances of wells, whether, occupied by ene- 
 mies or not, and if so, the way to avoid them with the 
 least inconvenience. It is also necessary to them to 
 know the places occupied by the simoom, and the 
 seasons of their blowing in these parts of the desert ; 
 likewise those occupied by moving sands. He gene- 
 rally belongs to some powerful tribe of Arabs inhabiting 
 
60 NUMBERS. 
 
 these deserts, whose prote6lion he makes use of ta 
 assist his caravans, or prote\5l them in time of danger, 
 and handsome rewards are always in his power to dis- 
 tribute on such occasions : but now that the Arabs in 
 these desarts are every where without government, the 
 trade between Abyssinia and Cairo given over, that 
 between Sudan and the metropolis much diminished, 
 the importance of the office of hybeer, and its consi- 
 deration, is fallen in proportion, and with these the safe 
 conduct. 
 
 No. 58. — si. 1. The Jire of the Lord burnt among 
 them.'] Commentators have understood this to mean 
 lightning, or the breaking forth of fire from the cloud, 
 which marked the presence of God ; but it may be as 
 natural to explain it of the deadly fiery xvlnd which some- 
 times appears in those eastern deserts. Maillet men- 
 tions its being felt in the desert between Egypt and 
 IMecca, in part of which Israel wandered forty years. 
 " If the north wind happens to fail, and that from the 
 south comes in its place, then the whole caravan is so 
 sickly and exhausted that three or four hundred persons 
 are v»-ont, in common, to lose their lives ; even greater 
 numbers, as far as fifteen hundred, of whom the great- 
 est part are stifled on the spot, by xhtfre and dust of 
 which this fatal wind seems to be composed." (p. 228.) 
 
 No. 59. — xi. 5. Onions.'] " Whoever has tasted 
 onions in Egypt must allow that none can be had better 
 in any part of the universe. Here they are sweet, ia 
 other countries they are nauseous and strong; here they 
 are soft, whereas in the north, and other parts, they 
 are hard of digestion. Hence they cannot in any place 
 be eaten with less prejudice and more satisfaftion than 
 in Egypt. They eat them roasted, cut into four pieces, 
 with some bits of roasted meat, which the Turks iu 
 
NUMBERS. 6f 
 
 Egypt call kohab^ and with this dish they are so de- 
 lighted, that I have heard them wish they might enjoy 
 it in paradise. They likewise make soup of them in 
 Egypt, cutting the onions in small pieces : this I think 
 one of" the best dishes I ever eat." 
 
 Hasselquist's Voyages, p. 290. 
 
 No. 60. — xi. 5. Idelons.l By this we are probably 
 to understand the xoater-melon, which, according to Has- 
 selquist (Voyage, p. 255.) "the Arabians cslW bafech. 
 It is cultivated on the banks of the Nile, in the rich 
 clayey earth which subsides during the inundation. 
 This serves the Egyptians for meat, drink, and physic, 
 It is eaten in abundance during the season, even by the 
 richer sort of people ; but the common people, on 
 whom Providence has bestowed nothing but poverty 
 and patience, scarcely eat any thing but these, and ac- 
 court this the best time of the year, as they are obliged 
 to put up with worse fare at other seasons. This fruit 
 likewise serves them for drink, the juice refreshing these 
 poor creatures, and they have less occasion for water 
 than if they were to live on more substantial food in this 
 burning climate." This well explains the Israelites' 
 regretting the want of this fruit in the parched thirsty 
 v/ilderness. 
 
 No. 61. — xii. 14. If her father hadbiit sjjit in her face."] 
 Chardin observes, that " spitting before any one, or spit- 
 ting upon the ground in speaking of any one's aclions, 
 is, through the East, an expression of extreme detesta- 
 tion." Hence we find it prescribed by the law, {Deut. 
 XXV. 9.) as a mark of disgrace. 
 
 Harmer, vol. ii. p. 510. 
 
 No. 62. — XX. 19. If I and my cattle drink of thy 
 tvatery then xvill I pay for it."] The value of water in the 
 
€2 NUMBERS. 
 
 East is much greater than is commonly understood. Its 
 scarcity in many instances renders a well an important 
 possession : it is not then to be wondered at that con- 
 tention should arise on the probability of losing it, Gen. 
 xxvi. 20. Major Rooxe relates a circumstance of 
 this kind, which cost several their lives, to such an ex- 
 tremity was the matter carried. He says, " one morning 
 when we had been driven by stress of weather into a 
 small bay, called Birk Bay, the country around it being 
 inhabited by the Budoos, (Bedoweens) the noqueduh 
 sent his people on shore to get water, for which it is 
 always customary to pay j the Budoos were, as the peo- 
 ple thought, rather too exorbitant in their demands, 
 and not choosing to comply witn them, returned to 
 make their report to their masters ; on hearing it, rage 
 immediately seized him, and, determined to have the 
 water on his own terms or perish in the attempt, he 
 buckled on his armour, and, attended by his myrmi- 
 dons, carrying their match-lock guns and lances, being 
 twenty in number, they rowed to the land. My Ara- 
 bian servant, who went on shore with the first party, 
 and saw that the Budoos were disposed for fighting, 
 told me that I should certainly see a battle. After a par- 
 ley of about a "Quarter of an hour, with which the Bu- 
 doos amused them till near an hundred were assembled, 
 they proceeded to the attack, and routed the sailors, 
 who made a precipitate retreat, the noquedah and two 
 others having fallen in the a6lion, and several being 
 wounded.'^ {Travels^ p. SZ.) Hence we discover the 
 conformity of the ancient and modern custom of buying 
 ■ the water, and the serious consequences that have en- 
 sued from disputes respe6ling it. This narration also 
 gives energy to the complaint in Lam. v. 4. We have 
 drank our own water for money. 
 
 No. 63. — xxiv. \7. There shall come a star out of 
 
NUMBERS. «J 
 
 yacob.] This prophecy may possibly in some sense 
 relate to Diivid, but without doubt it belongs principally 
 to Christ. Here the metaphor o( a sceptre was common 
 and popular, to denote a ruler, like David : but the stary 
 though, like the other, it signified in the prophetic wri- 
 tings a temporal prince or ruler, yet had a secret and 
 hidden meaning likewise. A star in the Egyptian hie- 
 roglyphics denoted God. Thus God in the prophet 
 Amos, reproving the Israelites for their idolatry on their 
 first coming out of Egypt, says, have ye offered unto me 
 sacrifices and offerings in the wilderness forty years, O 
 house of Israel 7 hut ye have borne the tabernacle of your 
 Moloch and Chiun, your images^ the star of your God which 
 ye made to yourselves. {Amos v. 25, 26.) The star oj 
 your God is a noble figurative expression to signify the 
 image of your God ; for a star hem^ employed in the 
 hieroglyphics to signify God, it is used here with great 
 elegance to signify the material image of a God : the 
 words, the star §f your God, being only a repetition of 
 the preceding, Chiun, your image; and not (as some cri- 
 tics suppose) the same with your God-star. Hence we 
 conclude that the metaphor here used by Balaam of a 
 star was of that abstruse mysterious kind, and so to be 
 understood, and consequently that it related only to 
 Christ, the eternal son of God." ( Warburton's Divine 
 Legation, b. iv. sec. 4.) Bishop Newton however is 
 of opinion that the literal meaning of the prophecy re- 
 spedls the person and a6lions of David. (^Dissertations 
 on the prophecies, vol. i. p. 139.) 
 
 No. 64. — XXXV. 31. Te shall take no satisfaSlionfor 
 the life of a murderer."] Moses absolutely forbids the 
 acceptance of any compensation for the life of a mur- 
 derer. Through the influence of money it appears that 
 punishment was often evaded in some countries, and 
 probably till this time among the Jews. The Babo:* 
 
U NUMBERS. 
 
 Bu ToTT tells us, that in case of a duel, if one of thd 
 parties is killed, the other is tried for the offence, and 
 if condemned, "the criminal is condu6led to the place of 
 punishment ; he who performs the office of executioner 
 takes on him likewise that of mediator, and negociates 
 till the last moment with the next of kin to the de- 
 ceased, or his wife, who commonly follows, to be pre- 
 sent at the execution. If the proposals are refused, the 
 executioner performs the sentence; if they are accepted, 
 he re-condu6ls the criminal to the tribunal to receive his 
 pardon." p. 198. It may be proposed to consideration, 
 whether or not there is any reference to this pradFtice 
 in the words of Christ, agree xvith thine adversary qiiicklijy 
 xvhile tJiou art in the tvay with him, (3Iatt. v, 25. J 
 
^^ 
 
 
 No. 65 DEUTERONOMY i. 28. 
 
 H'he cities are great ^ and •walled up to heaven. 
 
 The great monastery at Mount Ssinai, Thevenot says, 
 (part i. p. 169.) " is well built of good free-stone, with 
 very high smooth walls ; on the east side there is a 
 window by which those that were within drew up the 
 pilgrims into the monastery, with a basket which they 
 let down by a rope that runs in a pulley." These walls, 
 he observes in the next chapter, are so high that they 
 cannot be scaled, and without cannon that place cannot 
 be taken. Thus it was anciently, and by this represen- 
 tation did the spies discourage the hearts of the people. 
 
 No. 66. — iv. 20. Ironfurnaee.'\ It has been observed 
 by chemical writers, not only that Iron melts slowly 
 even in the most violent fire, but also that it ignites, or 
 becomes red-hot, long before it fuses ; and any one may 
 observe the excessive brightness of iron when red or 
 rather zvhite-hot. Since therefore it requires the strong- 
 est fire of all metals to fuse it, there is a peculiar pro- 
 priety in the expression, a jurnace jor iron, or an iron 
 furnace, for violent and sharp u^i^ions. 
 
 No. 67". — xi. 10. And xvateredst it with thy foot.'] 
 The custom of watering with the foot. Dr. Shaw, 
 (Travels, p. 408.) thus explains fro;n the present prac- 
 tice of the Egyptians. " When their various sorts of 
 pulse, safranon, musca, melons, sugar-canes. See. (all 
 which are commonly planted in rills) require to be re- 
 freshed, they strike out the plugs that are fixed in the 
 bottoms of the cisterns, [vrherein they preserve the water 
 of the Nile] and then the water gushing out is con- 
 du6lcd from one rill to another, by the gardener, who ii 
 
«6 DEUTERONOMY. 
 
 alwaj's ready, as occasion requires, to stop and divert 
 the torrent, by turning the earth against it 7vith hisfoot^ 
 and opening, at the same time with his mattock, a new 
 trench to receive it. This method of conveying mois- 
 ture and nourishment to aland rarely or never refreshed 
 with rain, is often alluded to in the holy scriptures ; 
 where also it is made the distinguishing quality betwixt 
 Egypt QXiA the 'land oi Canaan.'''* Deut. xi. 10, 11. Mr. 
 Parkhurst (Heh. Lex. p. 756, 3d edit.) is inclined to 
 adopt another interpretation of the expression, xuaterlng 
 xvith the foot. He says " it seems more probable that 
 Moses alluded to drawing up water with a machine 
 which v/as worked hij the foot. Such an one, Grotius 
 long ago observed, that PJiilo^ who lived in Egypt, 'has 
 described as used by the peasants of that country in his 
 time, and the ingenious and accurate Niebuhr, in his 
 Voyage en Arable^ torn. i. p. 121, has lately given us a 
 representation of a machine which the Egyptians make 
 use of for watering the lands, and probably the same, 
 says he, that Moses speaks of. They call it sakki tdir 
 berichjel, or an hydraulic machine worked by the feet.''* 
 
 No. 68. — xxi. 19. Gate.'] The gates of cities, in 
 these days, and for many ages after, were the places of 
 judicature and common resort. Here the governors 
 and elders of the city went to hear complaints, admi- 
 nister justice, make conveyances of titles and estates, 
 and, in short, to transacl all the public affairs of the 
 place. And from hence is that passage in the Psalmist, 
 They shall not be ashamed xvhen they speak to their 
 enemies in the gate. (Ps. cxxvii. 5.) It is probable that 
 the room, or hall, where the magistrates sat, was over 
 the gate, because Boaz is said to go up to the gate ; and 
 the reason of having it built there, seems to have been 
 for the conveniency of the inhabitants, who, being all 
 husbandmen, and forced to pass and repass every morn- 
 
DEUTERONOMY. 6/ 
 
 rng and evening as they went and came from their la- 
 bour, might be more easily called, as they went by, 
 whenever they were wanjied to appear in any business. 
 Universal Hist- 1. i. c. 7. 
 
 No. 69. — xxviii. 5. Blessed shall be thy basket and thy 
 store.'] Hasselqiiist informs us, that baskets made of 
 the leaves of the palm-tree are used by the people of the 
 East on journies, and in their houses, (p. 261.) Mr. 
 Harvier^f (vol. i. p. 418, note) conje6lures that such bas- 
 kets are referred to in these words, and that the store 
 signifies their leathern bags, in both which they used to 
 carry things in travelling. 
 
 No. 70. — xxviii. 24. The Lord shall make the rain of 
 thy land powder and dust.'] An extra6l from Sir T. Roe^s 
 Embassy, p. 373, will greatly illustrate this. "Some- 
 times there {in India) the wind blows very high in hot 
 and dry seasons, raising up into the air a very great 
 height, thick clouds of dust and sand. These dry show- 
 ers most grievously annoy all those among whom they 
 fall; enough to smite them all with a present blindness; 
 filling their eyes, ears, nostrils, and mouths too, if they 
 be not well guai'ded ; searching every place, as well 
 within as without, so that there is not a little key-hole 
 of any trunk or cabinet, if it be not covered, but re- 
 ceives some of the dust into it." If this was the judg- 
 ment threatened, it must have been a calamity much to 
 be deprecated. 
 
 No. 71. — xxix. 23. The -whole land thereof is brim^ 
 stone and salt and burning .] The effedl of salt, v^here 
 it abounds, on vegetation, is described by burning. Thus 
 Volney^ speaking of the borders of the Asphaltic Lake,. 
 or Dead Sea, says, " the true cause of the absence of 
 vegetables and animals, is the acridsaltness of it's waters,. 
 
ea ,. DEUTERONOMY. 
 
 which is infinitely greater than that of the sea. The land 
 surrounding the lake being equally impregnated with 
 that saltness, refuses to produce plants ; the air itself, 
 whichi is by evaporation loaded with it, and which more- 
 over receives vapoursof sulphur and bitumen, cannot suit 
 vegetation ; whence the dead appearance which reigns 
 around the lake." C Voyage en Syrie^ torn. i. p. 282.) 
 Thus also Virgil, Georg. ii. lib. 238. Hence the an • 
 cient custom of sowing an enemy's city, wrien taken, 
 with salt, in token of perpetual desolation. jficdge.f, ix. 
 45. And thus in after times, (An. 1162.) the city of 
 Milan was burnt, razed, sown with salt, and ploughed 
 by the exasperated emperor Frederick Barbarossa. 
 
 Cojnplete Syst. of Geog. vol. i. p. 822. 
 
 No. 72.— xxxii. 13. And oil out of the Jlinty rock.'] 
 'This must mean the procuring of it from the olive^. 
 tr^es growing there.' Maundrell, CJourney at March 
 25.) speaking of the ancient fertility and cultivation of 
 Judea, says, *' the most rocky parts of all, Avhich could 
 not well be adjusted for the produ6lion of corn, might 
 yet serve for the plantation of vines and olive-trees, 
 which delight to extra6l, the one its fatness, the other 
 its sprightly juice, chiefly out of such dry and flinty 
 places." Comp. Virgily Georg. ii. lib. 179. 
 
[ 69 ] 
 
 No. rs.— JOSHUA V. 15. 
 
 Loose thy shoe from off" thy foot. 
 
 The custom which is here referred to, not only 
 constantly prevailed all over the East, from the earliest 
 ages, but continues to this day. To pull off the sandals, 
 or slippers, is used as a mark of respe6l, on entering a 
 mosque or a temple, or the room of any person of 
 distinclion ; in which case they were either laid aside, 
 or given to a servant to bear. Ives (Travels, p. 75.) 
 says, that " at the doors of an Indian pagoda, are seen 
 as many slippers and sandals as there are bats hanging 
 up in our churches." The same customprevails auiongst 
 the turks. Maundrell, p. 29, describes exaclly the 
 ceremonials of a Turkish visit, on which, (though an 
 "European and a Stranger,) he was obliged to comply 
 with this custom. 
 
 No. 74. — ix. 4. Wine bottles. 1 Chardin informs us that 
 the Arabs, and all those tliat lead a wandering life, 
 keep their water, milk, and other liquors, in leathern 
 bottles. " They keep in them more fresh than other- 
 wise they would do. These leatnern bottles are made 
 of goat-skins. When the animal is killed, they cut off 
 its feet and its head, and they draw it in this manner 
 out of the skin, without opening its belly. They after- 
 wards sew up the places where the legs were cut off, and 
 the tail, and when it is filled, they tie it about the neck. 
 These nations, and the country people of Persia, never 
 go a journey v/ithout a small leathern bottle of water 
 hanging by their side like a scrip. The great leathern 
 bottles are made of the skin of an he goat, and the 
 small ones, that serve instead of a bottle of water on 
 the road, are made of a kid's skin." These bottles are 
 
ro JOSHUA. 
 
 frequently rent, when old and much used, and are ca- 
 pable of being repaired by being bound up. This they 
 do, Chard'in says, *' sometimes by setting in a piece ; 
 sometimes by gathering up the wounded place in man- 
 ner of a purse; sometimes they put in a round flat piece 
 of wood, and by diat means stop the hole.'' Mauri' 
 drell gives an account exa6lly similar to the above. 
 Speaking of the Greek convent at Bellmount, near 
 Tripoli, in Syria, he says, " the same person whom we 
 saw officiating at the altar in his embroidered sacerdotal 
 robe brought us the next day, on his own back, a kid 
 and a goats skin of wine, as a present from the convent.'* 
 {journey^ March 12.) These bottles are still used in 
 Spain, and called borrachas. Mr. Bruce gives a descrip- 
 tion of the girba, which seems to be a vessel of the 
 same kind as those now mentioned, only of dimensions 
 considerable larger. " A girba is an ox's skin, squared, 
 and the edges sewed together very artificially, by a 
 double seam, which does not let out water, much re- 
 sembling that upon the best English cricket balls. An 
 opening is left at the top of the girba, in the same man- 
 ner as the bung-hole of a cask, around this the skin is 
 gathered to the size of a large handful, which, when the 
 girba is full of water, is tied round with whip-cord. 
 These girvas generally contain about sixty gallons each, 
 and two of them are the load of a camel. They are 
 then all besmeared on the outside with grease, as well 
 to hinder the water frofn oozing through, as to prevent 
 its being evaporated by the heat of the sun upon the 
 girba, which, in fa6l happened to us twice, so as to 
 put us in imminent danger of perishing with thirst." 
 Travels^ vol. iv. p. 334.) Vide Harmer, vol. i. p. 132. 
 
 No. (TS.— X. 11. The Lord cast down great stones from 
 heaven.^ Some writers are of opinion that this was hail,, 
 larger and more violent than usual ; others maintaia 
 
JOSHUA. n 
 
 that Joshua Is to be understood literally of a sliowerof 
 stones. Such a circumstance, so far from being impos- 
 sible, has several times occurred. The Romans, who 
 looked upon showers of stones as very disastrous, have 
 noticed many instances of them. Under the reign of 
 Tullus HostU'ms, when it was known to the people of 
 Rome that a shower of stones had fallen on the mountain 
 of Alba, at first it seemed incredible. They sent out 
 proper persons to inquire into this prodigy, and it was 
 found that stones had failed after the same manner as a 
 storm of hail driven by the wind. (Tit. Liv. Lib. 1- 
 decad. 1. p. 12. Ide77i lib. 25, 30, 34, 35. et Alibi pas- 
 sim. J Some time after the battle at Camice there was 
 seen upon the same mountain of Alba a shower of 
 stones, which continued for two days together. In 1538, 
 .near a village in Italy called Tripergola, after some 
 shocks of an earthquake, there was seen a shower of 
 stones and dust, which darkened the air for two days, 
 after which they observed that a mountain had risen up 
 in the midst of the Lucrine Lake. (MoNTf aucon, 
 Diar. Italic, cap. 21.) 
 
 No. 76. — xxiv. 30.] There is a remarkable addition 
 in the Septuagint to the Sacred History concerning 
 Joshua, which deserves attention, and naturally en- 
 gages the mind to enquire, whether it was made by the 
 Eyptian translators of the Jewish scriptures, in confor- 
 mity to what they knew was practised in the burials of 
 Egypt, or whether it was on that account expunged 
 by the Jewish critics from the Hebrew original. The 
 Vatican copy of the Septuagint has given us this addi- 
 tion to the account that appears in the Hebrew copies 
 of the interment of Joshua. (Ch. xxiv. v. 30.) " These 
 *' they put with him, into the sepulchre in which they 
 " buried him, the knives of fint with which he circum- 
 " cised the children of Israel in Gilgal, when he brought 
 
n JOSHUA; 
 
 *' them out of Egypt, as the Lord commanded them, 
 " and there they are unto this d^y." On the con- 
 trary, the famous Alexandrine copy of the Septuagint, 
 and some others, have not these clauses. Whether 
 this superadded account is spurious or not, there seems 
 to be a manifest allusion to the manner in which the an- 
 cient Egyptians were accustomed to bury their dead. 
 Jllaiilet informs us, *' that sometime before he wrote, 
 the principal person of Sacara, a village near the plain 
 where the mummies lie buried, caused some of these 
 subterraneous vaults to be opened, and as he was very 
 much my friend, he conimunicated to me various curio- 
 sities, a great number of mummies, of wooden figures, 
 and inscriptions in hieroglyphical and unknown charac- 
 ters, which were found there. In one of these vaults 
 they found, for instance, the coffin and embalmed body 
 of a woman, before which was placed a figure of wood, 
 representing a youth on his knees, laying a finger on 
 his mouth, and holding with his other hand a sort of 
 chafing-dish, which was placed on his head, and in 
 which without doubt, had been some perfumes. This 
 youth had divers hieroglyphical chara6lers on his 
 stomach. They broke this figure in pieces, to see if 
 there was any gold inclosed in it. There was found in 
 the mummy, which was opened in like manner for the 
 same reason, a small vessel, about a foot long, filled 
 with the same kind of balsam with that made use of to 
 preserve bodies from corruption ; perhaps this might 
 be a mark by which they distinguished those persons 
 who had been employed in embalming the dead." (p. 
 277.) He goes on ; "I caused another mummy to be 
 opened, which was the body of a female, and which had 
 been given me by the Sieur Baggary, it was opened in 
 the house of the Capuchin fathers of this city (Grand 
 Cairo. (This mummy had its right hand placed upon its 
 stomach, and under this hand v/ers found the strings of 
 
J'OSHUA. 73 
 
 a musical instrument, perfedlly well preserved. From 
 hence I should conclude, that this was the body of a 
 person that used to play on this instrument, or at least 
 of one that had a great taste for music. I am persuaded 
 that if every mummy were examined with the like care, 
 we should find some sign or other by which the charac- 
 ter of the party would be known." The burying of those 
 knives ofjiint with Joshua, must have been done, or sup- 
 posed to have been done, as a mark of an event the 
 most remarkable of his life, in conformity to the Egyp- 
 tian modes of distinguishing the dead, by tokens of a 
 similar nature. Harmek, vol. 4. p. 398* 
 
i: 7* 1 
 
 No. rr.--JUDGES iii. 18» 
 
 TFhen he had made an end to offer the present. 
 
 There is often in the east a great deal of pomp ancf 
 parade in presenting their gifts. " Through ostenta- 
 tion," says Maillet, (Lett. x. p. 86.) "they never 
 fail to load upon four or five horses what might easily 
 be carried by one. In like manner as to jewels, trinkets, 
 and other things of value, they place in fifteen dishes, 
 what a single plate would very well hold." Something 
 of this pomp seems to be referred to in this passage, 
 where v/e read of making an end of offering the present y 
 and of a number of people who conveyed it. This re- 
 mark also illustrates 2 Kings, viii. 9. So Hazael roent 
 to meet him^ and took a present -with him,, eveJi of ever ij 
 good thing of Bama&cus, forty camePs burden. 
 
 Harmer,vo1. ii. p. 18. 
 
 No. 78. — iii. 19. All that stood by him xvent out from 
 him.'\ From a circumstance mentioned by Mr. Bruce, 
 it appears that Ehud a6led in stri6l conformity to the 
 customs of the time and place, so that neither the sus- 
 picion of the king nor his attendants should be excited 
 by his condu6l. It was usual for the attendants to retire 
 when secret messages were to be delivered. " I drank. 
 a dish of coffee, and told him, that I was a bearer of a 
 confidential message from Ali Bey of Cairo, and wished 
 fo deliver it to him without witness, whenever he plea- 
 sed. The room was accordingly cleared without delay, 
 excepting his secretary, who was also going away, when 
 I pulled him back by the clothes, saying, stay, if you 
 please : we shall need you to write the answer." (Tra- 
 vels. vol. i. p. 153,) 
 
JUDGES. n 
 
 No. 79. — iii. 31. And after him was Shamgar-, the 
 son of Anath, which slew of the Philistines six hundred 
 men with an ox-goad,] Mr. Maundrell, ^Journey at 
 April 15. J has an observation which at once explains 
 this transadlion, and removes every difficulty from the 
 passage. He says, " the country people were now 
 every where at plough in the fields, in order to sow 
 cotton. It was observable, that in ploughing they used 
 goads of an extraordinary size ; upon measuring of se- 
 veral, I found them about eight feet long, and at the 
 bigger end six inches in circumference. They were 
 armed at tlie lesser end with a sharp prickle for driving 
 the oxen, and at the other end with a small spade, or 
 paddle of iron, strong and massy, for cleansing the 
 plough from the clay that encumbers it in working. 
 May we not from hence conje6lure, that it w^as with 
 such a goad as one of these, that Shamgar made that 
 prodigious slaughter related of him, Judges iii. 51. I. 
 am confident that whoever should see one of these in- 
 struments, would judge it to be a weapon not less fit, 
 perhaps fitter, than a sword for such an execution. 
 Goads of this sort I saw always used hereabouts, and 
 also in Syria; and the reason is, because the same single 
 person both drives the oxen, and also holds and mana-- 
 ges the plough ; which makes it necessary to use such 
 a goad as is above described, to avoid the imcumbrancc 
 of two instruments.'* 
 
 No. 80. — iv. 17 — 20.] Pococke, giving an account 
 of the manner in which he was treated in an Arab tent, 
 in his journey to Jerusalem, says his condu6lor led hira 
 two or three miles to his tent, and that there he sat 
 with his wife and others round a fire. *' The Arabs 
 are not so scrupulous as the Turks about their women, 
 and though they have their harem, or women's part of 
 
T6 JUDGES. 
 
 the tent, yet such as they are acquainted with come into 
 it. I was kept in the harem for greater security; the 
 wife being always with me, no stranger ever daring to 
 come into the women's apartment, unless introduced.'" 
 Vol. ii. p. 5. Nothing can be a better comment on this 
 passage than this story. 
 
 No. 81. — iv. 21. A nail of the tent.'] Shaw, describ- 
 ing the tents of the Bedoween Arabs, (p. 221.) says, 
 *' these tents are kept firm and steudy, by bracing or 
 stretching down their eves with cords tied down to 
 hooked wooden pins well pointed, which they drive into 
 the ground with a mallet ; one of these pins answering 
 to the nail, as the mallet does to the Hammer, which 
 Jael used in fastening to the ground the temples of 
 Sisera." 
 
 No. 82. V. 6. In the days of Shamgar, the son of 
 Anath, the highways were wioccupied, and the travellers 
 xualked through by-xvays.'] Though there are roads in 
 the eastern countries, it is very easy to turn out of them, 
 and to go to a place by winding about over the lands 
 when that is thought safer. Shaw took notice of this 
 circumstance in Barbary, where he says they found no 
 hedges, or mounds, or inclosures, to retard or molest 
 them- CTravels,\)reL p. 14.) To this Deborah doubtless 
 refers, when she says. In the days of Shamgar, the son of 
 Anath ^ 171 the days offael^ the highways wereunoccupiedy 
 and the travellers -walked through by-ways. The account 
 Pococke gives of the manner in which the Arab, under 
 whose care he had put himself, condu6led him to Jeru- 
 salem, greatly illustrates this circumstance ; he says, 
 V It was by night, and not by the high road, but through 
 the fields ; and I observed that he avoided as much as he 
 could going near any village or encampment, and some» 
 
JUDGES. ff 
 
 times stood still, as I thought, to hearken." Just in that 
 manner people were obliged to travel in Judea in the 
 days of Shamgar and Jael. Harmer, vol. i. p. 452. 
 
 No. 83. — V. 25. Butter.'] D'Arvieux informs us 
 (Voy, dans la pal. p. 200.) that the Arabs make butter 
 by churning in a leathern bottle. Hence Jael is said to 
 have opened a bottle of 7nilk for Sisera, Judges iv. 1^. 
 Mr. Harmer (vol. i. p. 281.) supposes that she had just 
 been churning, and pouring out the contents of her 
 bottle into one of the best bowls or dishes she had, pre- 
 sented this butter-milk to him to quench his thirst. 
 
 No, 84. — vi. 38. And it xvas so; for he rose up early 
 on the morroxv. and thrust the Jleece together^ and wrung 
 the dew out of the fleece., a bowl full oj water.] It may 
 seem a little improbable to us who inhabit these northern 
 climates, where the dews are inconsiderable, how Gi- 
 deon's fleece, in one night, should contradlsuch a quan- 
 tity, that when he came to wring it, a borvlfull of zvater 
 was produced. Irwin^ in his voyage up the Red Sea, 
 when on the Arabian shores, says, " difficult as we find 
 it to keep ourselves cool in the day time, it is no easy 
 matter to defend our bodies from the damps of the night, 
 when the wind is loaded with the heaviest dews that ever 
 fell ; we lie exposed to the whole weight of the dews, 
 and the cloaks in which we v/rap ourselves, are as wet \n, 
 the morning as if they had been immersed in the sea.'* 
 
 p. sr. 
 
 No. 85. — ix. 27. Trod the grapes,] In the east they 
 still tread their grapes after the ancient manner. " Au- 
 gust 20, 1765, the vintage (near Smyrna) was now be- 
 gun, the juice (of the grapes) was expressed for winej a 
 man^ with his feet and legs bare, was treading the fruit 
 
r» JUDGES. 
 
 in. a kind of cistern, with a hole or vent near the bottom, 
 and a vessel beneath to receive the liquor." 
 
 Chandler's Travels in Greece, p. 2. 
 
 No. 86. — XV i. 27. There were vpon the roof about 
 three thousand men and women.'] "The Eastern method 
 of building may assist us in accounting for the particular 
 stru6lure of the temple or house of Dagon C Judges 16,^ 
 and the great number of people that were buried in the 
 ruins of it, by pulling down the two principal pillars. 
 We read (v. 27,) that about three thousand persons zvere 
 upon the roof to behold xvhi/e Samso's made aport, Sam- 
 son must therefore have been in a court or area below 
 them, and consequently the temple will be of the same 
 kind with the ancient Ts^iiuj, or sacred inclosures, sur- 
 rounded only in part or altogether with some plain or 
 cloistered buildings. Several palaces and dau-wanas, as 
 they call the courts of justice in these countries, ar©-' 
 built in this fashion ; where upon their festivals and 
 rejoicings a great quantity of sand is strewed upon the 
 area for the wrestlers to fall upon, whilst the roof of 
 the cloisters round about is crouded with spe6lators 
 of their strength and agility. I have often seen several 
 hundreds of people diverted in this manner upon the 
 rOof of the dey's palace at Algiers; which, like many 
 more of the same quality and denomination, hath an 
 advanced cloister over against the gate of the palace, 
 Esther V. 1. made in the fashion of a large pent-house, 
 supported only by one or two contiguous pillars in the 
 front, or else in the centre. In such open strudlures as 
 these, in the midst of their guards and counsellors, are 
 the bashas J kadees J and other great officers, assembled 
 to distribute justice and transa6l the public affairs of 
 their provinces. Here likewise they have their public 
 ^tertainments, as the lords and others of the Philis» 
 
JUDGES. r9 
 
 tines had in the house of Dagon. Upon a supposition 
 therefore that in the house of Dagon there was a clois- 
 tered stru6lure of this kind, the pulling down of the front 
 or centre pillars only, which supported it, would be at- 
 tended with the like catastrophe that happened to the 
 Philistines." Shaw's Travels, p. 283. 
 
 No. 87. — xxi. 18. Cursed be he.'] The ancient man- 
 ner of adjuring subje6ls or inferiors to any conditions, 
 was by their superiors deJiounchig a curse on thew, in 
 case they violated those conditions. To this manner 
 of swearing our blessed Lord himself submitted, Matt. 
 xxvi. 63. It may be further remarked, that when the 
 curse was expressed in general terms, as cwr^e^/ ^e /i^, 
 i. e. whosoever doth so or so, the superior who pro- 
 nounced it was as much bound by it as the inferior who 
 heard it ; thus there can be no doubt but the curses pro- 
 nounced, Deut. xxvii. 14, obliged the Levites who pror 
 nounced them ; and those also, Joshua vi. 26, and 
 1 Sam. xiv. 24, obliged Joshua and Saul^ who pronoun- 
 ced them, as much as ihe other people. They therefore 
 by pronouncingthose curses, sware or took an ©a?A them- 
 selves. Parkhurst's Heb. Lex. p. 20, 3d. Ed. 
 
[ 80 ] 
 
 No. 88.— 1 SAMUEL, iil. 21. 
 
 The xvord oj the Lord, 
 
 Without recurring to the learned explanations which 
 have been given of this expression, it may possibly re- 
 ceive an agreeable illustration from the following ex- 
 tra6l3. " In Abyssinia there is an officer named Kal 
 Hatze, who stands always upon steps at the side of 
 the lattice window, where there is a hole covered in the 
 inside with a curtain of green taffeta ; behind this cur- 
 tain the king sits." (Bruce's T/7/i'. vol. iv. p. 76.) The 
 king is described in another place as very much con- 
 cealed from public view. He even " covers his face 
 on audiences, or public occasions, and when in judg- 
 ment. On cases of treason he sits within his balcony, 
 and speaks through a hole in the side of it, to an officer 
 called Kal Hatze, the voice or xvord of the king^ by 
 whom he sends his questions, or any thing else that 
 occurs to the judges, who are seated at the council 
 table." (Bruce's Trav. vol. iii. p. 265.) If such a cus- 
 tom ever obtained among the Jews, the propriety of the; 
 expression the xvord of the Lord^ is obvious, as the idea 
 must have been very familiar to them. This clearly 
 appears to have been the case as to Joseph and his bre- 
 thren, Ge7i. xlii. 23. Joseph spake by an interpretery 
 not of languages, but of dignity and state. Other in- 
 stances of the same nature may probably be traced in 
 2 Kings V. 10 ; Job. xxxiii. 23. 
 
 No. S9. — ix. 7. A present.'] Presenting gifts is one 
 of the most universal methods of doing persons honour 
 in the East. Maunbrell fyourneyy p. 26. J says, 
 " Thursday, IMarch 11, this day we all dined at Con- 
 sul Hastings's house, and after dinner went to wait upon 
 
1 SAMUEL. 61 
 
 Ostan, the bassa of Tripoli, having Erst sent our present, 
 as the manner is among the Turks, to procure a pro- 
 pitious reception. It is counted uncivil to visit in this 
 country without an offering in hand. All great men 
 expe6l it as a kind of tribute due to their character and 
 authorit}'^, and look upon themselves as affronted, and 
 indeed defrauded, when this compliment is omitted- 
 Even in familiar visits amongst inferior people, you shall 
 seldom have them come without bringing a flower, or 
 an orange, or some other such token of their respedl 
 to the person visited ; the Turks in this point keeping 
 up the ancient oriental custom hinted 1 Sam- ix. 7. If 
 •we go (says Saul,) xvhat shall xvs bring the man of God ? 
 there is not a present, occ. which words are questionless 
 to be understood in conformity to this eastern custom, 
 as relating to a token of respedl, and not a price of divi- 
 nation." To this account it may be added, that when 
 Lord Macartney had his interview with the Emperor of 
 China, in his embassy to that prince, in 1793, the re- 
 ceiving and returning of presents made a considerable 
 part of the ceremony^ 
 
 No. 90 — xiv. 9- This shall he asignimious,'] Arch- 
 bishop Potter (in his Archceologia Grccca., vol. i. p. 344.) 
 has some curious refleclions on the custom of caichinq- 
 omens, which was common amongst the Greeks, and 
 which he conceives to be of great antiquity, and also of 
 eastern origin. " That it was practised by the Jews, 
 is by some inferred from the story of Jonathan, the son 
 of king Saul, who going to encounter a Philistine garri- 
 son, thus spoke to his armour-bearer. If they say unto 
 lis, tarry until xvc come unto you ; then -we will standstill 
 in our place, and will not go up unto them. But ij they 
 say thus, come up unto us, then zve xvill go up ; for th& 
 Lord hath delivered them into our hand, and this shall be 
 a sign unto ii5." A remarkable instance of this super- 
 
 L 
 
«2 1 SAMUEL. 
 
 stition is found in the following passage of Virgil : " he 
 introduces iEneas catching Ascanius's words from his 
 mouth ; for the Harpies, and Anchises also, having fore- 
 told that the Trojans should be forced to gnaw their very 
 tables for want of other provisions, when they landed in 
 Italy ; hMppening to dine upon the grass, instead of 
 tables or trenchers, which their present circumstances 
 did not afford, they laid their meat upon pieces of bread, 
 which afterwards they eat up ; whereupon, 
 
 Heus ! etiam mens as consumimus ? inquit lulus. 
 See, says lulus, we our tables eat. 
 iEneas presently caught the omen, as the poet sU:bjoin^^ 
 
 Ea vox audita laborum 
 
 Pr'ma tulit finein : primumque loquentis ab ore 
 Eripuit pater, ac stupefactus numine pressitt. 
 
 I 
 The lucky sound no sooner reach'd their ears, 
 
 But strait they quite dismiss'd their former cares i- 
 His good old sire with admiration struck, 
 The boding sentence, when yet falling, took, 
 And often roU'd it in his silent breast." 
 
 ^neid 7. 1. 1 Iff. 
 
 No. 91. — xvii. 6. Greaves of brass.'] These were 
 necessary to defend the legs and feet from the iron 
 stakes placed in the way by the enemy, to gall and 
 wound their opponents. They were a part of ancient 
 military harness, and the artifices made use of by con- 
 tending parties rendered the precaution important. 
 
 No. 92. — xviii. 4. Stripped himself of the robe.] Differ- 
 belot (vol. ii. p. 20.) says, that when Sultan Selim had 
 defeated Causou Gouri, he assisted at prayers in a 
 mosque at Aleppo, upon his triumphant return to Con- 
 stantinople, and that the imam of the mosque, having 
 added at the close of the prayer these words : " May 
 God preserve Selim Khan, the servant and minister of 
 
i SAMUEL. 8S 
 
 she two sacred cities of Mecca and Medinah," the 
 title was so very agreeable to the sultan that he gave 
 the robe that he had on to the imam. Just thus Jona^ 
 than stripped himself of the robe that was upon him, and 
 gave it to David. Harmer, vol. ii. p 94. 
 
 No. 93. — XX. 5. New moon.l " As soon as the new 
 snoon was either consecrated or appointed to be ob- 
 served, notice was given by the sanhedrim to the rest 
 of the nation, what day had been fixed for the nezo moon^ 
 or first day of the m^onth, because that was to be the 
 rule and measure, according to which they were obliged 
 to keep their feasts and fasts in every month respec- 
 tively. This notice was given to them in time of peace, 
 by firing beacons set up for that purpose, (which was 
 looked upon as the readiest way of communication.) but 
 in time of war, when all places were full of enemies, 
 who made use of beacons to amuse our nation with, it 
 wa§ thought fit to discontinue it, and to delegate some 
 men on purpose to go and signify it to as many as they 
 possibly could reach, before the time commanded for 
 the observation of the feast or fast was expired." 
 
 Levi's Rites and Ceremonies of the fews^ p. 25. 
 
 No. 94. — XX. 30. Thou son of the perverse rebellious 
 ivojnan.] In the East, when they are angry with a 
 person, they abuse and vilify his parents. Saul thought 
 of nothing but venting his anger against Jonathan, nor 
 had any design to reproach his wife personally ; the 
 mentipn of her v/as only a vehicle by v/hich, according 
 to oriental modes, he was to convey his resentment 
 against Jonathan into the minds of those about him, 
 
 Harmer, vol. ii. p. 492. 
 
 No. 95. — xxii. 6. Under a tree. 1 However common 
 it might be for the generality of persons, when travel- 
 
U 1 SAMUEL: 
 
 ling, to take up with a temporary residence under a 
 tree, it seems extraordinary that kings and princes 
 should not be better accommodated ; yet according to 
 easterns customs it is perfedlly natural. Thus when 
 Pococke was travelling in the company of the Governor 
 of Faiume, who was treated with great respe6l as he 
 passed along, they spent one night in a grove of palm- 
 trees. Harmer, vol. ii. p. 127. 
 
 No. 96. — xxii. 17. The king said unto the footmen?^ 
 " In ancient times it was as much a custom for great 
 men to do execution upon offenders, as it is now an usual 
 thing for them to pronounce sentence. They had not 
 then (as we have now) such persons as the Romans 
 called carnificeSy or public executioners ; and therefore 
 Saul bade such as waited on him to kill the priests, and 
 JDseg^ one of his chief officers, did it." 
 
 Patrick's Commentary. 
 
 No. 97. — xxiv. 12. The Lard Judge betxvecn me and 
 thee.'l Full of reverence as the eastern addresses are, 
 and especially those to the great, in some points they 
 are not so scrupulous as we are in the West. An infe- 
 rior's mentioningof himself before he names his superior 
 is an instance of this kind. Chardin assures us, that it is 
 customary among the Persians for the speaker to name 
 himself first. Thus David spoke to Saul, even when he 
 so reverenced him, that he stooped zaith his face to the 
 earth, and bozved himself. fGen. xx. ni. 15. compared 
 withver. 6. is a similar instance.) 
 
 Harmer, vol. ii. p. 41. 
 
 No. 98. — xxvi. 20. Hunt a partridge.^ The account, 
 given by Dr. Shaw, (Travels, p. 236. J of the manner 
 of hunting partridges and other birds by the Arabs, 
 affords an excellent comment on these words : " The 
 
1 SAMUEL. 85 
 
 Arabs have another, though a more laborious method of 
 catching these birds ; for observing that they become 
 languid and fatigued after they have been hastily pvit 
 up tzoice or thrice, they immediately run in upon them, 
 and knock them down with their zerwattys, or blud- 
 geons, as we should call them," It was precisely in this 
 manner that Saul hunted David, coming hastily upon 
 him, and putting him up from time to time, in hopets 
 that he should at length, by frequent repetitions of it, 
 be able to destroy him. Hakmer, vol. i. p. 318. 
 
 No. 99. — xxxi. 10. They fastened his body to thevoall 
 of Beth-shan.^ After the death of Saul, we are inform- 
 ed that they fastened his body to the wall of Beth-shan" 
 Capital offences were sometimes punished by throwing 
 the criminal upon hooks that were fixed in the wall be- 
 low, where frequently they hung in the most exquisite 
 agonies thirty or forty hours, before they expired- 
 The exposure of the body of Saul might be nothing 
 more than the fixing of it to such hooks as were placed 
 there for the execution of their criminals. 
 
C S5 1 
 
 No. 100.— 2 SAMUEL i. 2. 
 
 And earth upoti his head. 
 
 Ik several passages of scripture mention is made of 
 duat^ Gtrewed on the head as a token of mourning. 
 yoshua v'l'i. 6. yob W. 12. or earth, 2 Sam. i. 2. or ropes 
 carried on the head, as a token of submission, 1 Kings 
 XX. 31. The following instance is remarkably analogous 
 to these a6ls of humiliation : " He then descended the 
 mountain, carrying, as is the custom of the country for 
 vanquished rebels, a stone upon his head, as confessing 
 himself guilty of a capital crime." 
 
 Bruce's Travels, vol. ii. p. 650. 
 
 No. 101. — iv. 12, Ajid David commanded his young 
 vtcn, and they slexo them, and cut off their hands and their 
 feet, and hung ihera vp over the pool in Hebron.'] In 
 times of tumult and disorder they frequently cut off the 
 hands and feet of people, and afterwards exposed them, 
 as well as the head. Lady 31. W. 3Iontague speaking 
 of the Turkish ministers of state (Let. ii. 19.) says, "if 
 a minister displease the people, in three hours time he 
 is dragged even from his master's arms ; they cut off 
 bis hands, head, and feet, and throw them before the 
 palace gate, with all the respecl in the world, while the 
 sultan (to whom they all profess an unlimited adoration) 
 sits trembling in his apartment." Thus were the sons 
 of Rimmon served for slaying Ishbosheth. 
 
 Harmer, vol. ii. p. 272. 
 
 No. 102. — vii. 18. Sat before the Lord.] Pococke 
 (vol. i. p. 213) has given the figure of a person half sit- 
 ting and half kneeling, that is, kneeling so as to rest 
 the most muscular part of his body on his heels. This, 
 
2 SAMUEL. 87 
 
 he observes, is the manner in which inferior persons sit 
 at this day before great men, and is considered as a 
 a Very humble posture. In this manner probably, David 
 sat before the Lord, when he went into the san6laary 
 to bless him for his promise respedling his family. 
 
 Harmer, vol. ii. p. 53. 
 
 No. 103. — viii, 2. Measured them with a line.'] 
 these words seem to allude to a custom among the 
 kings of the east, when they were thoroughly incensed 
 against any nation — to make all the captives come to- 
 gether in one place, and prostrate themselves upon the 
 ground, that being divided into two parts, as it were 
 with a line, their conqutror might appoint which part 
 he pleased, either for life or for death, which was some- 
 times determined by casting lots. 
 
 Stackhouse's Hist, of Bible^ vol. i. p. 689. iiote. 
 
 No. 104. — X. 4. Shaved off one half of their beards.^ 
 It is a great mark of infamy amongst the Arabs to cut 
 off the beard. Many people would prefer death to this 
 kind of treatment. As they v/ould think it a grievous 
 punishment to lose it, they carry things so far as to beg 
 for the sake of it: By ijonr beard, by the life of your beard^ 
 do. God preserve your blessed beard. When they would 
 express their value for a thing, they say, it isruorth more 
 than his beard. These things shew the energy of that 
 thought of Ezekiel, (ch. v. ver. 1. 5.) v.rhere the inhabi- 
 tants of Jerusalem are compared to the hairof his headand 
 beard. It intimates that though they had been as dear to 
 God as the beard was to the Jews, yet they should be con- 
 sumed and destroyed. (Harmer, vol. ii. p. 55-') When. 
 Peter the Great attempted to civilize the Russians, and 
 introduced the manners and fashions of the more refined 
 parts of Europe, nothing met with more opposition than 
 the cutting off of their beards, and many of those, who 
 
88 2 SAMUEL. ' 
 
 were obliged to comply with this command, testified i 
 such great veneration for their beards, as to order them 
 to be buried with them. Irwin also, in his voyage up 
 the Red Sea (p. 40.) says, that at signing a treaty of 
 peace with the vizier of Yambo, they swore by their 
 beards, the most solemn oath they can take. D' Arvleux 
 gives a remarkable instance of an Arab, who, having 
 received a wound in his jaw, chose to hazard his life | 
 rather than to suffer his surgeon to take off his beard* | 
 From all these representations it may easily be collected 
 how great the insult was which Hanun put upon David's ! 
 
 servants. j 
 
 I 
 
 No. 105. — xli. 20. David arose from the eartJiJ^ i 
 Chardin informs us, that " it is usual in the east to leave i 
 a relation of a person deceased to weep and mourn, till , 
 on the third or fourth day at farthest, the relations and j 
 friends go to see him, cause him to eat, lead him to a i 
 bath, and cause him to put on new vestments, he having \ 
 before thrown himself upon the ground." The surprise 
 of David's servants, who had seen hisbitter anguishwhile 
 the child was sick, was excited at his doing that himself, 
 which it was customary for the friends of mourners to 
 do for them. Harmer, vol. ii. p. 495. 
 
 No. 106 — xiii. 8. She took Jlour, and kneaded itj] 
 Mr. PaPvKhurst (Hebrexv Lexicon, p. 413. 5d. edit.) 
 supposes this passage is to be understood of the frequent 
 turning of the cakes while baking. This appears to 
 have been the common method of preparing them, for 
 Rauxvoijf, speaking of his entertainment in a tent on the 
 other side of the Euphrates, says, '* the xvoiuan was not 
 idle neither, but brought us milk and eggs to eat, so that 
 we wanted for nothing. She made also some dough for 
 cakes, and laid them on hot stones, and kept them turn- i 
 ing, and at length she flung the ashes and embers over i 
 
2 SAMUEL. 89 
 
 diem, and so baked them thoroughly. They were very 
 good to eat and very savoury." 
 
 No. 107. — xiii. 18. Gartnoit of divers colours.'] 
 Party-coloured vestments were esteemed honourable. 
 To make them, many pieces of different coloured rib- 
 bands were sewed together. ('Shaxv''s Trav. p. 228.^ Kings 
 daughters were thus arrayed. Harmer, vol. ii. p. 91. 
 
 No. 108. — xvi. IS. And cast dust.'] When the con- 
 sul, whom Pococke attended, entered Cairo, " according 
 to an ancient custom of state, a man went before, and 
 sprinkled water on the ground to lay the dust." (vol. i. 
 p, l/.) In hot and dry countries this pra6lice must have 
 been very convenient. It was used in Judea before the 
 time of David, it will explain Shimei's behaviour, and 
 give it great energy. He threw stones and dust at him, 
 who probably had been honoured by having the ground 
 moistened, that the dust might not rise, when he walked 
 out. So also A5ls xxii. 23. Chardin has made an ob- 
 servation, which places this matter in a difFei'ent point of 
 view : he says, " that in almost all the East, those who 
 accuse a criminal, or demand justice against him, throw 
 dust upon him; as much as to say, he deserves to be put 
 under ground : and it is a common imprecation of the 
 Turksand Persians — Be covered withearth." The Jews 
 certainly thought Paul deserved to die ; and Shimei 
 might design to declare by what he did, that David was 
 unworthy to live. Harmer, vol. ii. p. 109. 
 
 No. 109. — XX. 9. Joab took Amasa by the beard to 
 kiss htm'] Mr. Harmer, (vol. ii. p. 54.) supposes we are 
 to understand this expression as referring to the prac- 
 tice of kissing the beard itself, which was a customary 
 thing. D' Arvieux (Voy. dans la Pal. p. 71.) describing 
 the assembling together of several petty Arab princes 
 
 M 
 
$dF 3 SAMUEL. 
 
 at an entertainment, says, that " all the emirs came 
 just together a little time after, accompanied by theif 
 friends and attendants, and after the usual civilities, 
 ?aresses» kissi77gs of the heard and of the hand, which 
 every one gave and received according to his rank and 
 dignity, they sat down upon mats. 
 
 No. 110. — xxii. 6. Snares of death. \ This is an al- 
 lusion to the ancient manner of hunting, which is still 
 pra6lised in some countries, and was performedby " sur-* 
 rounding a considerable tra6l of ground by a circle of 
 nets, and afterwards contra6ling the circle by degrees, 
 till they had forced all the beasts of that quarter together 
 into a narrow compass, and then it was that the slaughter 
 began. This manner of hunting was used in Italy of 
 old, as well as all over the eastern parts of the world, 
 (Virgil jEh. Iv. 1. 121 — 131. Shaw's Travels, p. 235.) 
 and it was from this custom that the poets sometimes re- 
 present death as surrounding persons with her nets, and 
 as encompassing them on every side. Thus Statins^ 
 lib. V. Sylv. i. 1. 156. 
 
 •Fur<o£ miserum circum undique lethi 
 Valavere plagae." 
 
 Spence's Polymeth, Diah^vx. p. 262. Horace, lib. iri* 
 Ode xxiv. 1. 8. See also Psalm xviii. 5. et aU 
 
 No. 111. — xxiv. 18. Threshing jlo or ''\ These among 
 the ancient Jews, were only, as they are to this day in 
 the East, round level plats of ground in the open an", 
 where the corn was trodden out by oxen, the Liibyca^ 
 arece of Horace, ode i. 1. 10. Thus Gideon's floor 
 C Judges vi. 37.) appears to have been in the operf air ; 
 as was likev/ise that of Araunah the Jebusite; else it 
 would not have been a proper place for cre6ling an 
 
2 SAMUEL. 91 
 
 altar, and offering sacrifice. In Hosea xiii. 3. we read 
 of the chaff xvhlch is driven by the whirhviiid horn, the 
 floor. This circumstance of the threshing floor's being 
 exposed to the agitation of the wind, seems to be the 
 principal reason of its Hebrew name ; which may be 
 further illustrated by the dire6lion wlijch Hesiod (opera 
 et Dies, 1. 597.^ gives his husbandman to thresh his cor7i 
 in a place well exposed to the xvind. From the above ac- 
 count it appears that a threshing-floor (rendered in our 
 textual translation a void place J might well be near the 
 entrance of the gate of Samaria, and that it might afford 
 no improper place for the kings of Israel and Judah to 
 hear the prophets in. 
 
 See 1 Kings^ xxii. 10 j 2 Chron. xvlii. 9. 
 
[ 92 3 
 
 No. 112—1 KINGS li. r. 
 
 But ihoxv kindness unto the Sons of Barzilla ithe Gileadite, 
 and let them be of those that eat at thy table. 
 
 The privilege of eating at court was both private 
 and public. Those passages which speak of a right 
 to eat at a royal table may be understood as referring 
 to public and solemn feasts. Chardin thus understood 
 the dying advice of David to Solomon, which he says, 
 may be referred to the megelez, not the daily and or- 
 dinary repasts ; at these megelez many persons have 
 a right to a seat ; others are present only from special 
 grace. We are therefore to consider it, of their receiv- 
 in a right to a constant attendance there. 
 
 Harmer, vol. i. p. 351. 
 
 No. 113. — ii. 9. Now therefore hold him not guilt' 
 less ; jor thou art a xvise man^ and knowest xvhat thou 
 Qughtest to do unto him ; but his hoary head bring thou 
 down to the grave xvith blood."] David is here represented 
 in our English version, as finishing his life with giving a 
 command to Solomon to kill Shimei ; and to kill him on 
 account of that very crime, for which he had sworn to 
 him by the Lord, he would not put him to death. The 
 behaviour thus imputed to the king and prophet, should 
 be examined very carefully, as to the ground it stands 
 upon. When the passage is duly considered, it will ap- 
 pear highly probable that an injury has been done to 
 this illustrious chara6ler. It is not uncommon in the 
 Hebrew language to omit the negative in a second part 
 of a sentence, and to consider it as repeated, when it 
 has been once expressed, and is followed by the con- 
 ne6ling particle. The necessity of so very considerable 
 
1 KINGS. 93 
 
 an alteration, as inserting the particle not, may be here 
 confirmed by some other instances. Thus Psalm i. 5. 
 The ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, ' nor the 
 Heb. is and, signifying «n^n(??J sinners in the congrega- 
 tion of the righteous. Psalm ix. 18. (Psalm xxxviii. 1. 
 Psalm Ixxv. 5. Prov. xxiv. 12.) If then there are in fa6l 
 many such instances, the question is, whether the ne- 
 gative, here expressed in the former part of David's 
 command, may not be understood as to be repeated in 
 the latter part ; and if this may be, a strong reason will 
 be added why it should ht so interpreted. The passage 
 will run thus : Behold, thou hast xuith thee Shimei, rvho 
 cursed me, but Isxvear to him by the Lord, saying, 1 zvill 
 not put thee to death by the sword. Noxv therefore Hold 
 him NOT guiltless, (for thou art a xvise man, and knowest 
 xvhat thou oughtest to do unto himj but bring not doxvn 
 his hoary head to the grave xvlth blood. Now, if the lan- 
 guage itself will admit this construction, the sense thus 
 given to the sentence derives a very strong support 
 from the context. For, how did Solomon understand 
 this charge ? did he kill Shimei in consequence of it ? 
 certainly he did not. For, after he had immediately 
 commanded Joab to be slain, in obedience to his father, 
 he sends for Shimei, and knowing that Sliimei ought to 
 be well watched, confines him to a particular spot in 
 Jerusalem for the remainder of his life. 1 Kings ii. 
 36 — 42. Kennicott's Remarks, p. 131. 
 
 No. 114- — X. 22. Peacocks.'] Ellis, in Cook^sX^st 
 voyage, speaking of the people of Otaheite, says, they 
 expressed great surprise at the Spaniards (who had 
 lately made them a visit (because they had not red 
 feathers as well as the English, (which they had brought 
 with them in great plenty from the Friendly Isles) for 
 they are with these people the summum bonum and ex- 
 tent of all their wishes, (vol. i. p. 129* ) As these islands 
 
94 1 KINGS*' 
 
 border so closely upon Asia, and have among their man- 
 ners and customs many which bear a resemblance to 
 those of the Asiatics, may not these people's high 
 esteem for red feathers throw some light upon this pas- 
 sage, where we find peacocks ranked amongst the va- 
 luable commodities imported by Solomon? 
 
 No. 115. — xiv. 10. Shut up and lfft-'\ Sometimes, 
 when a successful prince has endeavoured to extirpate 
 the preceding royal family., some of them have escaped 
 the slaughter, and secured themselves in a fortress or 
 place of secrecy, while others have sought an asylum 
 in foreign countries, from v/hence they have occasioned 
 great anxiety to the usurper. The word shut up^ stri6l- 
 ly speaking, refers to the first of these cases ; as in the 
 preservation of Joash from Athaliah in a private apart- 
 ment of the temple, 2 Kings xi. Such appears also 
 to have been the case in more modern times. *' Though 
 more than thirty years had elapsed since the death of 
 Sultan Achmet, father of the new emperor, he had not, 
 in that interval, acquired any great information or im- 
 provement. Shut up^ daring this long interval, in the 
 apartments assigned him, with some eunuchs to wait on 
 him, and women to amuse him, the equality of his age 
 with that of the princes who had a right to precede 
 him, allowed him but little hope of reigning in his turn ; 
 and he had, besides, well-grounded reasons for a more 
 serious uneasiness.-" Baron Du Tott, vol. i. p. 115. 
 But when David was in danger, he kept himself close 
 (1 ChrcH' xii. 1.) in Ziklag, but not so as to prevent 
 him from making frequent excursions. In latter times, 
 in the East persons of royal descent have been leftj when 
 the rest of a family have been cut off, if no danger was 
 apprehended from them, on account of some mental or 
 bodily disq^ualification. Blindness saved the life of Ma- 
 Juaijimed Khodabendeh, a Persian prince of the sixteenth 
 
1 KINGS. $5 
 
 Century when his brother Ishmael put all the rest of his 
 brethren to death. D^ Herbelot^ ^. Q\Z. This explana- 
 tion will enable us more clearly to understand 2 Kings* 
 xiv. 26. Dent, xxxii. 36. 
 
 Harmer, vol. iv. p. 211. 
 
 No. 116. — xvii. 12. Barrel.] As corn is subje6l to 
 be eaten by worms, the Easterns keep what ihey are 
 spending in long vessels of clay. (Sandy's Trav. p. 
 117.) So it appears the woman of Zarephath did. The 
 word translated ^arrc-/ properly signifies a.jar ; and is 
 the same with that used for the vessels in which Gideon'sf 
 soldiers concealed their torches, and which they brake 
 when they blew with their trumpets. 
 
 Harmer, vol. i. p. 277. 
 
 No. lir. — 'Xviii. 28. Cut thonsehes.'] If we took 
 into antiquity, we shall find that nothing was more 
 common in the religious rites of several nations, than 
 this barbarous custom. To this purpose yve may ob- 
 serve, that (as Plutarch de Superstitione tells us) the 
 priests oi. Bellona-, when they sacrificed to that goddess, 
 besmeared the vi6lim with their own blood. The Persian 
 magi (Herodotus^ lib. vii. c. 191.) used to appease tem- 
 pests, and allay the winds, by making incisions in their 
 flesh. They who carried about the Syrian goddess, 
 (Apuleius^ lib. viii.) cut and slashed themselves with 
 knives, till the blood gushed out. This praclice remains 
 in many places at the present time, and frequent in- 
 stances of it may be met with in modern voyages and 
 travels. 
 
 No. 118. — xviii. 42. Elijah went up to the top of Car- 
 tnel; and he cast himself down upon the earth, and put 
 his face between his hiees.] The devout posture of some 
 people of the Levant greatly resembles that of Elijah. 
 
96 • 1 KINGS. 
 
 Just before the descent of the ram, he cast himself down 
 upon the earthy and put hisjace betxveen his kness. Chaf 
 din relates that the dervices, especially those of the In- 
 dies put themselves into this posture, in order to medi- 
 tate, and also to repose themselves. They tie their 
 knees against their belly with their girdle, and lay their 
 heads on the top of them, and this, according to them, 
 is the best posture for recolle6lion. 
 
 Harmer, vol. ii. p. 506. 
 
 No. 119. — xviit44. A little cloud.] When Elijah's 
 servant reported to his master, that ho saw a little cloud 
 arising out of the sea like a man's hand, he commanded 
 him to go up and say unto Ahab, prepare thy chariot, and 
 get thee doxvn, that the rain stop thee not. This circum- 
 stance was justly considered as the sure indication of an 
 approaching s\\owtv,for it came to pass in the mean while 
 that the heaven -was black with clouds and wind, and there 
 was a great rain. Mr. Bruce (Travels, vol. iii. p. 669.) 
 has an observation which greatly coroborates this rela- 
 tion. He says, " there are three remarkable appear- 
 ances attending the inundation of the Nile : every 
 morning in Abyssinia is clear, and the sun shines; about 
 nine, a small cloud, not above four feet broad, appears 
 in the East, whirling violently round as if upon an axis; 
 but, arrived near the Zenith, it firstabates its motion, then 
 loses its form, and extends itself greatly, and seems to 
 call up vapours from all opposite quarters. These clouds 
 having attained nearly the same height, rush against 
 each other with great violence, and put me always in 
 mindof Elijah's foretelling rain on mount Carmel. The 
 air, impelled before the heaviest mass, or swiftest mover, 
 makes an impression of its own form in the colle6lion of 
 clouds opposite, and the moment it has taken possession 
 of the space made to receive it, the most violent thunder 
 
1 KINGS; ^ 9r 
 
 jpossible to be conceived instantly follows, with rain ; 
 and after some hours the sky again clears." 
 
 No. 120. — XX. 32. Theif girded sackcloth oiz their 
 loi?is, and put ropes on their heads.'] Approaching per- 
 sons with a sword hanging to the neck is in the East a 
 very humble and submissive a6l. Thevenot has men- 
 tioned this circumstance part i. p. 28-9. in the account 
 he has given in the taking of Bagdat by the Turks, iu 
 165S. When the besieged intreated quarter, the prin- 
 cipal officer went to the grand vizier, with a scarf about 
 his neck, and his sword wreathed in it, and begged 
 mercy. The ropes mentioned in this passage were pro- 
 bably what they suspended their swovds v/ith. 
 
 Harmexi,vo1. ii. p. 258. 
 
 No. 121. — -xx. 34. Thou shah make streets for thee 
 in Damascus.] The circumstances connedled with this 
 passage, and those contained in the following extra6l, 
 so much resemble erch other, that it must be apparent 
 with what propriety our translators have chosen the 
 v/ord streets f rather than any other, v/hich commentators 
 have proposed instead of it. " Biazet hauing worthily 
 relieued his beseiged citie, returned againe to the seige 
 of Constantinople ; laying more hardly vnto it than be- 
 fore, building forts and bulwarks against it on the one 
 side towards the land ; and passing over the strait of 
 Bosphorus, built a strong castle vpon that strait ouer 
 against Constantinople, to impeach so much as was pos- 
 sible all passage thereunto by sea. This strait seige 
 (as most urite) continued also two yeres, which I sup- 
 pose by the circumstance of the historie, to haue been 
 part of the aforesaid eight yeres. Emanuel, the beseip-eJ 
 emperor f wearied iiith these long 7uars, sctit an embassador 
 to Biazet, to intreat xuith him a peace, which Biazet was 
 the morfc willingto hearken vnto, for that he heard newes, 
 
 N 
 
98 1 KINGS. 
 
 that Tamerlane, the great Tartarian prince, intended 
 shortly to warre upon him. Tet could not this peace be ob- 
 tained.^ but upon condition that the emperor should grant 
 free libertie for the Turks to dwell together in one street 
 of Constantinople ..-with J ree exercise of their oxvne religion 
 a)idlaxoes^vndtra judge oj their owne nation; and fur- 
 ther, to pay vnto the I'urkish king a yerely tribute often 
 thousand duckats, which dishonourable conditions the 
 distressed emperor was glad to accept of. So was this 
 long seige broken vp, and presently a great sort of Turks 
 xuith their families were sent out of Bythi?iia, to dxvell in 
 Constantinople^ and a church there built for them; which 
 not long after was bv the Emperor pulled downe to the 
 ground, and the Turks againe driuen out of the citie, at 
 such time as Biazet was by the mightie Tamerlane ovcr- 
 throwne and taken prisoner." 
 
 Knolles's History of the Turks, p. 206. 
 
 No. 122. — xxi. 8. So she wrote letters in Ahab^s namcy 
 and sealed them with his seal.'] The very ancient custom 
 of sealing dispatches with a seal or signet, set in a ring, 
 is siiil retained in the East. Pccocke says, fTravels, 
 vol. i. p. 186. notes J *' in Egypt they make the im- 
 pression of their name with their seal, generally of cor- 
 nelian, which they wear on their finger, and which is 
 blacked when they have occasion to seal with it." Han- 
 way remarks (Irav.'u 317.) that "the Persian ink 
 serves net only for writing, but for subscribing with their 
 seal ; indeed many of the Persians in high office could 
 not write. In their rings they wear agates, which serve 
 for a seal, on v/hich is frequently engraved their name, 
 and some verse from the Koran. ^' Shaw also has a re- 
 mark exaiSlly to the same purpose. Travels., p. 247. 
 
 No. 123. — xxi. 23. The dogs shall eat Jezebel.] Mr. 
 Bkuce, when at GoPidar, was witness to a scene in a 
 
1 KINGS. ' 99 
 
 great measure similar to the devouring of Jezebel by 
 dogs. He says, " the bodies of those kilU-d by the 
 sword were hewn to pieces, and scattered about the 
 streets, being denied burial. I was miserable, and al- 
 most driven to despair, at seeing my hunting-dogs, twice 
 let loose by the carelessness of my servants, bringing into 
 the court-yard the heads and arms of slaughtered men^ 
 and which I could no way prevent, but by the destru6lion 
 of the dogs themselves." He also adds, that upon being 
 asked by the king the reason of his dejedled and sickly 
 appeai-ance, among other reasons, he informed him, " it 
 was occasioned by an execution of three men, whitli he 
 had lately seen ; because the hysenas allured into the 
 streets by the quantity of carrion, would not let him pass 
 by night in safety from the palace, and because the dogs 
 fled into his house, to eat pieces of human carcases at 
 their leisure." Travels^ vol. \v. p. 81. This account 
 illustrates also the readiness of the dogs to lick the blood 
 of Ahab, 1 Kings, x:iii. 38, in perfe6l conformity to 
 which is the expression of the prophet yeremiah^ xv. 3. 
 / will appoint over them the sxvord to slaij, and the dogs 
 to tear' 
 
I 100 ] 
 
 No. 124 — 2 KINGS i. 4. 
 
 Doxvnfrom that bed. 
 
 This expression may be illustrated by what Shaw 
 says of the Moorish houses inBarbary (Travels, p. 209.) 
 where, after having observed that their chambers are 
 spacious, of the same lei-sgth with the square court on 
 the sides of which they are built, he adds, " at one end 
 of each chamber there is a little gallery raised \.\\ree., four, 
 or five feet above ihcjioor, with a balustrade in the front 
 of it, xvith afe~v steps likewise leading upio it. Here they 
 place their beds; a situation frequently alluded to in the 
 holy scriptures, which may likev/ise illustrate the cir- 
 cumstance of Hezekiah's turning his face xvhen he prayed, 
 towards theivall, i. e. from his attendants) 2 Kings xx. 2. 
 that the fervency of his devotion might be the less taken 
 notice of and observed. The like is related of Ahab, 
 1 Kings XX!. 4. ihc;ugh probably he d'd thus, not upon 
 a religious account, but in order to conceal from his at- 
 tendants the anguish he was in for his late disappoint- 
 ment." 
 
 No., 125. — iii. 11. Who poured water on the hands cf 
 Eiijah.l This was a part of the service which Elisha 
 performed to his master. Vv'e read of it in other in- 
 stances. FiTTs tells us, (p. 24.) " the table Jbeing re- 
 moved, beioie they rise ;^from the ground v/hereon they 
 sit) a st-rvant, who stands attending on them with a cup 
 of water to gjve them drink, steps into the middle, with 
 a bason or copper pot of water, somewhat like a coffee- 
 pot, a; d a little soap, and lets the water run upon their 
 hands one after another, in order as they sit." Mr. 
 Hakway, speaking of a Persian supper, says, fTrav 
 
2 KINGS. lot 
 
 vol. i. p. 223.) " supper being now brought in, a servant 
 presented a bason of water, and a napkin hung over his 
 shoulders; he went to every one in the company, and 
 poured water on their hands to wash." See also Homers 
 Odyns. iv. 2i6. Virgil^ jEiu i. line 705. 
 
 No .126. — iii. 17- 7'es/udlnot see xvind. neither shall ye 
 sec rain.'] Rain is often iu the East preceded by a squall 
 of v/ind. The editor of the Ruins of Palmyra tells us, 
 that they seldom have i;ai.n except at the equinoxes, 
 and that nothing could be more serene than the sky all 
 the time he was there, except one afternoon, when 
 there was a small shower, preceded by a whirlwind, 
 which took up such quantities of sand from the desert 
 as quite darkened the sky. (p. 2,7.) Thus Elisha told 
 the king of Israel, ye shall not see wmd nor rain., yet that 
 valley shall be filled rvith xvater. The circumstance of 
 the wind taking up such a quantity of sand as to darken 
 the sky may serve to explain 1 Kings xviii. 45. The 
 heaven xvas black xuith clouds and wind. The v-i'ind's 
 prognosticating of rain is also referred to Prov. xxv. 14, 
 ■whoso boasteth himself of a fake gift .y pretending to give 
 something valuable, and disappomting the expectation, 
 is like clouds and xviiid xvithout rain. 
 
 Harmer, vol. i. p. 54. 
 
 No. 127. — iii. 25. Felled the good trees.'] In times 
 of war it was formerly very common for one party tp 
 injure the other by destroying their valuable trees. Thus 
 the Moabites were punished, and thus the Arabs of the 
 Holy land still make war upon each other, burning the 
 corn, cutting dov/n the olive trees, Sec. 
 
 Hasselquist, Trav.^. 143. 
 
 No. 128. — iii. 27. He took his eldest son and offered 
 him for a burnt offering.] Sir John StiorCy (now Lor4 
 
103 2 KINGS. 
 
 Teignmouth) in a paper concerning some extraordinary 
 custom of the Hindoos, mentions a pradlice called 
 dherna^ formerly very common at Benares. " it is 
 used b}' the brahmens in that city to gain a point which 
 cannot be accomplished by any other means. The pro- 
 gress is as follows: the brahmen who adopts this expe- 
 dient for the purpose mentioned, proceeds to the door 
 or house of the person against whom it is diredled, or 
 wherever he may most conveniently intercept him: 
 he there sits down in dherna, with poison, or a poig- 
 nard, or some other instrument of suicide in his hand, 
 and threatening to use it if his adversary should attempt 
 to molest or pass him, he thus completely arrests him. 
 In this situation the brahmen fasts, and by the rigour 
 of the etiquette, which is rarely infringed, the unfor- 
 tunate obje6l of his arrest ought to fast also ; and thus 
 they both remain until the institutor of the dherna ob- 
 tains satisfaction. In this, as he seldom makes the at- 
 tempt without resolution to persevere, he rarely fails j 
 for if the party thus arrested were to suffer the hrah'- 
 me7i sitting in dherna. to perish by hunger, the sin 
 would for ever lie upon his head." (" Asiatic Researches^ 
 vol. iv, p. 344.) This custom is there exemplified by 
 a remarkable instance in which it was pradlised. The 
 reason why the king of Moab offered his son on the 
 •wall was to represent to the attacking armies to what 
 straits they had reduced him. If any pradice of a nature 
 similar to that of the dherna formerly prevailed, we 
 may suppose that the king of Moab did not in this case 
 merely implore assistance from his gods by the sacrifice 
 of his son, but took this method of terrifying his adver- 
 saries, after his own personal valour had proved inef- 
 fevSlual to deliver himself and his country. 
 
 No. 139.— iv. 10. A little chamber.'] " To most of 
 these houses there is a smaller one annexed, which. 
 
2 KINGS. lOi 
 
 sometimes rises one story higher than the house ; at 
 other times it consists of one or two rooms only and a 
 terrace, whilst others, that arc built (as they frequently 
 arc^ over the porch or gateway, have (if we except the 
 ground-floor, which they have not ^ all the conveniences 
 that belong to the house, properly so called. There is 
 a door of communication from them into the gallery of 
 the house, kept open or shut at the discretion of the 
 master of the family, besides another door, which 
 opens immediately from a private stair-case, down into 
 the porch or street, without giving the least distur- 
 bance to the house. These back-houses are known by 
 the name of olee or olcaa (for the house properly so 
 called is dar, or beet J and in them strangers are usually 
 lodged and entertained ; in them the sons of the family 
 are permittd to keep their concubines ; whither likewise 
 tlie men are wont to retire from the hurry and noise of 
 the lamilies, to be more ai leisure for meditation or di- 
 versions, besides the use they are at other times put to 
 in serving lor wardrobes and magazines. 
 
 The ol-jah of holy scripture, being literally the same 
 appellaiion, is accordingly so rendered in the Arabic 
 version. We may suppose it then to have been a struc- 
 ture of the like contrivance. The little chamber, conse- 
 quently, that -.vjis built by the Shimamite for EHsha (whi- 
 ther, as the text insirLdrs us, he retired at his pleasure^ 
 without breaking in u^jon the private affairs of the fa- 
 mily, or being in his turn interrupted by them in his 
 devotions ;; the summer chamber of Eglon, (which, ia 
 the same: maiy.ier with these, seems to have had privy 
 stairs belongmg to it, through Avhlch Ehud escaped, af- 
 ter he hiid revenged Israel upon that king of Mcab ;) 
 the chamber over the gate, whither, (for the greater 
 privacy, kmg David withdrew himself to weep for Ab- 
 saionij: audthat upon whose terrace Ahaz, for the same 
 
104 2 KINGS. 
 
 reason^ ereded his altars; seem to have been stru^lures 
 of the like nature and contrivance with these oleesJ''' 
 Shaw's Travels, p. 280. 
 
 No. 130. — iv. 24. Then she saddled an ass, and said 
 to her servant, drive andgojortrard.] Asses were much 
 used for riding, and Pgcocxe tells us, (vol. i. p. 191.) 
 that " the man, (ihe husband, I suppose, he means) 
 always leads the lady's ass, and if she has a servant he 
 goes on one side ; but the ass-driver follows the man^ 
 goads on the beast, and when he is to turn, diredls his 
 head with a pole." The Shunamite, when she went to 
 the prophet, did not desire so much attendance, but 
 only requested her husband to send her an ass and its 
 driver to whom she said, Drive and go forward. 
 
 HarmePv, vol. i. p. 449. 
 
 No. 131. — vii. 10. Norses tied and asses tied-'] From 
 the circumstances recorded concerning the flight of the 
 Syrians, it appears to have been remarkably precipitate^ 
 That they were not altogether unprepared for a hasty- 
 departure may be inferred from comparing this pas- 
 sage with the following extract (from MeiJioirs rela- 
 tive to Egypt, p. SCO.): *' As soon as the Arabs are ap- 
 prehensive of an attack, they separate into several small 
 camps, at a great distance Ircm each other, and tie their 
 camels to the tents, so as to be able to move off at a mo- 
 ment's notice." Such a precaution is not probably pe- 
 culiar 10 the modern Arabs, but might be adopted by the 
 Syrian army. If this was the case, it shev.'s with what 
 great fear God iilled their minds, that though prepared 
 as usual for a quick march, they were not able to avail 
 themselves of the advantage, but were constrained to 
 leave every thing behind them as a prey to their ene- 
 mies. 
 
2 KINGS. 105 
 
 No. 132. — xi. 2. Bed chamber.'\ A bed chamber does 
 not, according to the usage of the East, mean a lodging 
 room, but a repository lor beds. Chardln says, " in the 
 East, beds are not raised from the ground with posts, 
 a canopy, and curtains ; people lie on the ground. In 
 the evening they spread out a mattress or two of cotton, 
 very light, of which they have several in great houses, 
 against they should have occasion, and a room on pur- 
 pose for them." From hence it appears that it was in 
 a chamber of beds that Joash was concealed. 
 
 Harmer, vol. ii. p. 489. 
 
 No. 133. — 'xi. 12. Clapped their hands.'] The way 
 by which females in the East express their joy, is b}'' 
 gently applying one of their hands to their moudis. 
 This custom appears to be very ancient, and seems to 
 be referred to in several places of scripture. Pitts 
 (Religion and Ma)incrs of the Mahometans^ p. 85. J de- 
 scribing the joy with ^v^hich the leaders of their sacred 
 caravans are received in the several towns ot Barbary 
 through which they pass, says, " This Emir Hagge, into 
 whatever town he comes, is received v ith a great deal 
 of joy, because he is going about so religious a work. 
 The women get upon the tops of the liouses to view the 
 parade, where they keep striking their four fingers on 
 their lips softly, as fast as they can, making a joyful 
 noise all the while." The sacred writers' suppose two 
 different methods of expressing joy by a quick motion 
 of the hand : the clapping of the hands^ and that of one 
 hand only, though these are confounded in our transla- 
 tion. The former of these methods obtained anciently, 
 as an expression of malignant joy ; (Lam. ii. 15. Job 
 xxvii. 23. J but other words, which our version translates 
 clapping the hands, signify, the applying of »nly one 
 hand somewhere with softness, \\\ testimony of a joy of 
 
 O 
 
106 2 KINGS. 
 
 a more agreeable kind. Thus in 2 Kings xi. 12. and 
 Psalm xlvii. 1. It should be rendered in the singular, 
 Clap your hand, and as the word implies gentleness, it 
 may allude to such an application of the hand to the 
 mouth as has now been recited. 
 
 Haemzr, vol. iii. p. 277". 
 
 No. 134. — xii. 10. They put ?//;, (hound up) in bogs, 
 and told the 7noney.'] It appears to have been usual in 
 the East for money to be put into bags, which, being 
 ascertained as to the exa6l sum deposited in each, were 
 sealed, and probably labelled, and thus passed currently. 
 Instances of this kind may be traced in the scriptures, 
 at least so far as that money was thus conveyed, (2 Kings 
 V. 23.J and also thus delivered from superior to inferior 
 officers for distribution : as in the passage referred to 
 in this article. Major Rennel (on the Geography of 
 Herodottis, se61:. 15.; in giving an abstra6cof the History 
 of Tohit, says, " we find him again at Nineveh (Tobit 
 xi. 16. J from whence he dispatches his son Tobias to 
 Rages by way of Ecbatana, for the money. At the lat- 
 ter place, he marries his kinswoman Sara, and sends a 
 messenger on to Rages. The mode cf keeping and de- 
 livering the money was exadlly as at present in the East. 
 Gabael, who kept the money in trust, " brought forth 
 bags, which were sealed up, and gavethem tohim," (To- 
 bit ix. 5. J and received in return the hand-writing or ac- 
 knowledgment, which Tobias had taken care to require 
 of his father before he left Nineveh. The money we 
 learn (Tobit i. 14. J was left in trust, or as a deposit, and 
 not on UKurij^ and at it may be concluded, with Tobit's 
 seal on the bags. In the East, in the present times, a 
 bag of money passes (for some time at least; currently 
 from hand to hand, under the authority of a banker's 
 seal, without any examination of its contents," 
 
1 CHRONICLES. 107 
 
 No. 135. — XX. 13. Shewed them all the house of hi<i 
 precious things.^ The display which Hezekiah itiade of 
 his treasure was to gratify the ambassadors of the king 
 of Babylon. It appears to have been an extraordinary 
 thing, and not done but upon this and occasions of a 
 similar nature; such probably was the general pra6lice. 
 Lord 3Iacartney informs us, that " the splendor of the 
 emperor of China and his court, and the riches of the 
 mandarins, surpass all that can be said of them. Their 
 silks, porcelain, cabinets, and other furniture, make' a 
 most glittering appearance. These, however, are only 
 exposed when they make or receive visits : for they 
 commonly negle6l themselves at home, the laws against 
 private pomp and luxury being very severe." 
 
 No. 136.— 1 CHRONICLES xxvli. 28. 
 
 Cellars of oil. 
 
 Dh. Chandler (Trav. in Greece, p. 126.) says, the 
 modern Greeks keep their oil in large earthen jars, sunk in 
 the ground, in the areas before their houses. The custom 
 might obtain among the Jews ; it is certain thev some- 
 times buried their oil in the earth, to secrete it in times 
 of danger, in which case they fixed upon the most 
 likely place for concealment — the fields. (Ji'r. xli. 8.) 
 Joash may therefore be properly considered ris set over 
 the treasures of oil, whatever was the place in which it 
 was stored. H armer, vol. iv. p. 108. 
 
[ lOS ] 
 
 No. isr.— 2 CHRONICLES xxviii. 27. 
 
 And Ahaz slept zvith his fathers, and they burled him in 
 the city, even in Jernaalem; hut they brought him not 
 into the sepulchres of the kings of Israel. 
 
 The Israelit&s were ^iccustomed to honour in a pecu- 
 liar mcinner the memory of those kings who had reign- 
 ed over them uprightly. On the contrary, some marks 
 of posthumous disgrace followed those monarchs who 
 left the world under the disapprobation of their people. 
 The proper place of interment was in Jerusalem, 
 There in some appointed receptacle, the remains of 
 their princes were deposited : and, from the circum- 
 stance of this being the cemetery for successive rulers, 
 it was said, when one died and was so buried, that he 
 \va.s gathered io his fathers. Several instances occur in 
 the history of the kings of Israel, v/herein, on certain 
 accounts/ they were not thus interred with their prede- 
 cessors, but in some other plaoe in Jerusalem. So it 
 was vlith Ahaz, who though brouglrt into the city, was 
 not buried in the sepulchres of the kings of Israel. In 
 some other cases, perhaps to mark out a greater degree 
 of censure, they were taken to a small distance from 
 Jerusalem. It is said that Uzziah xoas buried tvith his 
 father sinthe field of the burial xvhich belonged to the kings; 
 for they said, he is a leper. (2 Chron. xxvi. 23.) It was 
 doub'Jess with a desigii to make a suitable impressioa 
 on the minds of their kings while living, that such dis- 
 tin6licns were made after their decease. They might 
 thus restrain them from evil or excite them to good, 
 according as they were fearful of being execrated, or 
 (Jesirous of beinghonoured, when they were dead. The 
 Egyptians had a custom in some measure similar to this j 
 it >Yas however general as to all persons, though it rsg 
 
2 CHRONICLES. 109 
 
 eel ved very particular attention, as far as It concerned 
 their kings. It is tlius described in Franklin's Kis- 
 tori/ of Ancient a72d Modern Egypt, vol. i. p. 374. " As 
 soon as a man was dead, he was brought to his trial. 
 Tlie publick accuser was heard. If he proved that the 
 deceased had led a bad life, his memory was condemned, 
 and he was deprived of tlia honours of sepulture. Thus, 
 that sage people vrere axfedled with laws which extended 
 even beyond the grave, and every one, struck with the 
 disgrace iailicled on the dead person, was afraid to 
 refle6l dishonour on his own memory, and that of his 
 family. 
 
 " But whatwassingular, the sovereign hi naself was not 
 exempted from this public inquest upon his death. The 
 public peace was interested in the lives of their sove- 
 reigns in their administration, and as death terminated 
 all their actions, it was then deemed for the public wel- 
 fare, that they should suffer TvU impartial scrutiny by a 
 public trial, as v/ell as the most common subje6l. Even 
 some of them were not ranked among the honoured 
 dead, and consequently were deprived of public burial. 
 The Israelites would not suffer the bodies of some of 
 their flagitious princes to be carried into the sepulchres 
 appropriated to their virtuous sovereigns. The custom 
 was singular : the effe(Sb must have been powerful and 
 influential. The most haughty despot, who might tram- 
 ple on laws human and divine in his life, saw, by this 
 solemn investigation of human conduct, that at death 
 he also would be doomed to infamy and execration." 
 Wliat degree of conformitj^ there was between the prac- 
 tice of the Israelites and the Egyptians, and with whom 
 tKe custom first originated, may be difticult to ascertain 
 and decide, but the conduct of the latter appears to 
 be founded on the same principle as that of the former, 
 and as it is more circumstantially detailed, affords us an 
 -jigreeable eKplanatlon of a rite but slightly uienlioned 
 in the scriptures. 
 
[ 110 ] 
 
 No. 138.— EZRA iv. 14. 
 
 Maintenance from the king'' s palace. 
 Marg. Salted ruith the salt of the palace. Some have 
 supposed these words refer to their receiving of a sti- 
 pend from the king in salt; others, that it expresses 
 an acknowledgment that they were protedled by the 
 king as flesh is preserved by salt. It is sufficient, how- 
 ever, to put an end to all these conje6lares, to recite the 
 words of a modern Persian monarch, whose court Char- 
 din attended some time. " Rising in wrath against an 
 officer, who had attempted to deceive him, he drew his 
 sabre, fell upon him, and hewed him in pieces at the 
 feet of the grand vizier, who was standing (and whose 
 favour the poor wretch courted by this deception) and 
 looking fixedly upon him, and the other great lords that 
 stood on each side of him, he said with a tone of indig- 
 nation, I have then such ungrateful servants and trai- 
 tors as these to cat yny salt.''' (torn. iii. p. 149.) I 
 am well informed, says Mr. Parkhurst ( Heb. Lex. p. 
 448. 3d. edit.) that it is a common expression of the 
 natives in the East Indies, " I eat such an one's salt," 
 meaning, I am fed by him. Salt among the eastern 
 natives formerly was, as it still is, a symbol of hospita- 
 lity and friendship. The learned fos. Mede observes, 
 i^Vorks^\.Z70. fol.)thatin his time, " vrhen the em- 
 peror of Russia would shew extraordinary grace and fa- 
 vour to any, he sent him bread and salt from his table. 
 And when he invited bdvo a Sigismund, the emperor Fer- 
 dinand's embassador, he did it in this form, "Sigismund, 
 you shall eat our bread and salt with us." So Tamerlane 
 in his institutes, mentioning one Share Behraiim, who 
 had quitted his service, joined the enemy, and fought 
 against him, says "atlength my salt^ xvhich he had eaten, 
 overwhelmedhim with remorse, he again threw him.self 
 pn my mercy, and bumbltd himself before me." 
 
 Hak?jek, vol. iv. p. 458« 
 
[ 111 ] 
 
 No. 139.— NEHEMIAH vi. 5. 
 
 An open letter. 
 
 A LETTEii has its Hebrew name froni its being rolled 
 or folded together. " The modern Arabs roll up their 
 letters, and then flatten them to the breadth of an inch, 
 and paste up the end of them instead of scaling thera." 
 fNievuhr, p. 90.) The Persians make up their letters 
 in "a roll about six inches long, and a bit of paper is 
 fastened round it with gum, and sealed v/ith an impres- 
 sion of ink, which resembles our printer's ink, but (is) 
 not so thick." Hanway's 7>ct;^/.y, vol. i. p. Slf.) Let- 
 ters were generally sent to persons of distinclion in a bag 
 •or purse, and to equals they v/ere also inclosed, but to 
 inferiors, orthose who were held in contempt, they were 
 sent open, /. e. uninclosed. Ladij M. W. Montague 
 says (Letters^ vol. i. p. 136.) the bassa of Belgrade's 
 answer to ihe English embassador going to Constanti- 
 nople was brought to him in a purse of scarlet satin. But 
 in the case of Nehemiah an insult was designed to be 
 offered to him by Sanballat, in refusing him the mark of 
 respe6l usually paid to persons of his station, and treat- 
 ing him contemptuously, by sending the letter without 
 the customary appendages when presented to persons of 
 respe6lability. Harmep, vol. ii. p. 129. 
 
 No. 14-0. — vii. 64. Genealogy.'] Among the Chinese 
 a tablet of ancestry is in every house j and references in 
 conversation are often made to their a6lions. (Macart- 
 ney's Emiassij^ p. 295.) This pra6lice seems to cor- 
 respond with the genealogical tables of the Jev»'s, which 
 they were so careful in preserving. 
 
112 NEHEMIAII. 
 
 No. 141.— xiii.2j. Plucked off their hair.] To cut o& 
 the hair of guilty persons seems to be a punishment 
 rather shameful than painful : yet it is thought that pain 
 was added to the disgrace, and that they tore off the hair 
 with violence, as if they were plucking a bird alive. 
 This is the genuine signilication of the Hebrew v,/ord 
 used in this passage. Sometimes they put hot ashes on 
 the skin, after they had torn off the hair, to make the 
 pain the more exquisite. Thus they served adulterers 
 at Athens; as is observed by the Scholiast on Aristo~ 
 phancs in Nubibus- This kind of punishment was com.- 
 mon in Persia. King Ariaxerxes, instead of plucking 
 off the hair of such of his generals as had been guilty of 
 a fault, obliged them to lay aside the tiara^ says Plu- 
 tarch. (Apophthegm.) The emperor Domitian caused 
 the hair and beard of the philosopher Apollonius to 
 be shaved. (Phihstrat. lib. iii. cap. 24.) 
 
 Calmet's DiFt. art. Punislunent, 
 
[ 113 ] 
 
 No. 142.— ESTHER i. ixi 
 
 Feast for the -women' 
 
 Chardin says, " it is the custom of Persia, and of all 
 the East, for the women to have their feasts at the same 
 time (with), but apart from the men.'' 
 
 Harmer, vol. i. p. 354. 
 
 No. 143. — V. 6. Banquet of xvine.'] Olearius(p.709.^ 
 thus describes an entertainment at the Persian court. 
 *' The floor of thfe hall was covered with a cotton cloth, 
 which was covered with all sorts of fruits and sweetmeats 
 in basons of gold. With them was served up excellent 
 Schiras wine. After an hoar's time the sweetmeats were 
 removed, to make way for the more substantial part 
 of the entertainment, such as rice, boiled and roasted 
 mutton, &c. After having been at table an hour and 
 an half, warm water was brought, in an ewer of gold, for 
 washing, and grace being said, they begun to retire with" 
 out speaking u word, according to the custom of the 
 country." The time for drinking wine was at the be- 
 ginning, not at the close of the entertainment. 
 
 Harmer, vol. i. p. 389. 
 
 No. 144. — vi. 1, The book of records,'] In these 
 diaries (which we now call journals) wherein was 
 set down what passed every clay, the manner of the 
 Persians was, to record the names of those who had done 
 the king any signal service. Accordingly, fosephus in- 
 forms us, " that, upon the secretary's reading of these 
 journals, he took notice of such a person, who had great 
 honours and possessions given him, as a reward for a 
 glorious and remarkable a6lion ; and of such another, 
 Avho made his fortune by the bounties of his prince for 
 his fidelity : but that when he came to the particular 
 
 P 
 
114 ESTHER. 
 
 story of the conspiracy of the two eunuchs against the 
 person of the king, and of the discovery of this treason 
 by Mordecai^ the secretary read it over, and was passing 
 forvt^ard to the next, when the king stopped him, and 
 asked if that person had any reward given him for his 
 service. This shews a singular providence of God, 
 that the secretary should read in that very part of the 
 boak, wherein the service of Mordccai was recorded, 
 vide Jtxvish Antiq. lib. xi. cap. 6. 
 
 No. 145 — vi. 7 — 9.] Pitts gives an account (p. 198.) 
 of a cavalcade at Algiers upon a person's turning Mo- 
 hammedan, which is designed to do him, as well as their 
 law, honour. " The Apostate is to get on horseback on 
 a stately steed, with a rich saddle and fine trappings ; 
 he is also richly habited, and hath a turban on his head, 
 but nothing of this is to be called his own; only there are 
 given him about two or three yards of broad cloth, which 
 Is laid before him on the saddle. The horse, with him 
 on his back, is led all round the city, which he is several 
 hours in doing. The apostate is attended with drums 
 and other music, and twenty or thirty serjeants. These 
 inarch in order on each side of the horse, with naked 
 ' swords in their hands. The cryer goes before, with a 
 loud voice giving thanks to God for the proselyte that 
 is made." The conformity of custom in the instance 
 now cited, and the passage alluded to in Esther, must 
 appear remarkable. Harmer, vol. ii. p. 102. 
 
 No, 146. — vii. 8. They covered Hainan's face. '\ The 
 majesty of the kings of Persia did not allow malefa6lors 
 to look at them. As soon a§ Haman was so considered his 
 face v/as covered. Some curious correspondent exam- 
 ples are colle6led together in PooPs Synopsis, in loc^ 
 From Pococke we find the custom still continues, speak- 
 ing of the artifice by which an Egyptian bey vvas takea' 
 
ESTHER, ' 115 
 
 ofF, he says, (Travels^ vol. i. p. 179.) " A man being 
 brought before him like a malefadlor just taken, with his 
 hands behind him as if tied, and a napkin put over his 
 head, as malefadlors commonly have, when he came into 
 his presence, suddenly shot him dead." 
 
 Harmer, vol. ii. p. 96. 
 
 No. 147. — ix, 19' Sending portions.'] The eastern 
 princes and people not only invite their friends to feasts, 
 but " it is their custom to send a portion of the banquet 
 to those that cannot well come to it, especially their re- 
 lations, and those in a state of mourning." (MS. Char- 
 din.) Thus when the grand emir found it incommoded 
 M. D''Arvieux to eat with him, he desired him to take 
 his own time for eating, and sent him from his kitchen, 
 ivhat he liked, and at the time he chose. C^^V' dans la 
 pal. 20. CNehem.y'nu 10, 2 .Sa;n. xi. 8 — 10.) 
 
 Harmer, vol. j. p. 353. 
 
r 116 3 
 
 No. 148.— JOB vi. 4. 
 
 TVjtf arrows of the Almighty are within me, the poison 
 -whereof drinketh up niy spirit. 
 
 It appears that the art of poisoning arroxus was very 
 ancient in Arabia. The vcnenatcs sagittce, poisoned 
 arrows, of the ancient Mauri or Moors in Africa, are 
 mentioned by Horace, (lib. i. ode 22. line 3.) and we are 
 informed that " the Africans were obliged to poison their 
 arrows, in order to defend themselves from the wild 
 beasts with which their country was infested. This 
 poison, Fllny tells us, was incurable." (^Z)ac/fr'5 and 
 Francises note.) And ih^t poisoned arroxus were anciently 
 used by other nations, besides the Mauri, may be seen 
 mGrotius, de Jure Belli et Pads, (lib. iii. cap. 4. ^ 16.); 
 in Freinshemius^s note on Curtius, lib. ix. cap. 8. {\ 20.) ; 
 in fustin-y (lib. xii- cap. 10. \ 2.); and Berneccerus''s note 
 there ; and in Virgil (iEn. xii. lin. 857.) 
 
 But perhaps no passage in any heathen author so 
 cleai'ly shews the antiquity and make oi poisoned arrows, 
 as what we read in Homer concerning Ulysses, that he 
 went to Ephyra, a city of Thessaly, in order to proci^re 
 deadly poisonf or smearing his brazen pointed arrows, from 
 Ilus, the son oi Mermerus^ who is said to have been de- 
 scended from Medea and jason, (Odyss. i. line 260.) 
 
 No. 149. — vi. 6. Can that which is unsavoury be eaten 
 without salt P^ The eastern people often make use of 
 bread, with nothing more than salt, or some such trifling 
 addition, such as summer-savoury dried and pov/dered. 
 This, Russell says fHist. of Aleppo, p. 27.) is done by 
 many at Aleppo. The Septuagint translation of this 
 passage seems to refer to the same pra6lice, when it: 
 renders the first part of the verse, xvill bread be eaten with' 
 out salt ^_ Harmer, vol. i. p. 238. 
 
JOB. iir 
 
 ■No. 150. — vll. 12. Amiasea, or aw/iale, that thou 
 settest axvaich over vie ?] Crocodiles are very terrible to 
 the inhabitants of Egypt; when therefore they appear, 
 they watch them with great attention, and take proper 
 precautions to secure them, so that they should not be 
 able to avoid the deadly weapons afterwards used to kill 
 them. To these watchings, and those deadly after-as- 
 saults, I apprehend y^/^ refers, when he says, am J a 
 tvhale^ (but a crocodile no doubt is what is meant there) 
 that thou settest a xvatch over me ? " Different methods," 
 says Maillet, *' are used to take crocodiles, and some of 
 them very singular ; the most common is to dig deep 
 ditches along the Nile, which are covered with straw, 
 and into which the crocodile may probably tumble. 
 Sometimes they take them with hooks, which are bated 
 with a quarter of a pig, or with bacon, of which they 
 are very fond. Some hide themselves in the places 
 which they know to be frequented by this creature, 
 and lay fenares for him.'* Lett, ix. p. 32. 
 
 Harmer, vol, iv. p. 286. 
 
 No. 151. — ix. 25. My days are swifter than a post."] 
 The common pace of travelling in the East is very slow. 
 Camels go little more than two miles an hour. Those 
 who carried messages in haste moved very differently. 
 Dromedaries, a sortof camel which is exceedingly swift, 
 are used for this purpose ; and Lady M. JV. Montague- 
 asserts, that they far outrun the swiftest horses. (Lett. 
 ii. 65.) There are also messengers who run on foot, and 
 who sometimes go an hundred and fifty miles in less than 
 twenty-four hours ; with what energy then might Job 
 say, Mtj days are swifter than a post. Instead of passing 
 away v,'ith a slowness of motion like that of a caravan, 
 my days of prosperity have disappeared with a swiftness 
 like that of a messenger carrying dispatches. 
 
 Harmer, vol. i. p. 438. 
 
118 JOB. 
 
 No. 152. — xiv. 17. Sealed up in a bag,'] The mo- 
 ney that is colle6led together in the treasuries of eastern 
 princes is told up in certain equal sums, put into bngSj 
 and sealed. fChardin.J These are what in some parts of 
 the Levant are called purses, where they reckon great 
 expences by so many purses. The money colIe6led in 
 the temple in the time of Joash, foi- its reparation, seems 
 in like manner to have been told up in bags of equal 
 value to each other, and probably delivered sealed to 
 those who paid the workmen. (2 Kiiigs xii. 10.) If Job 
 alludes to this custom, it should seem that he considered 
 his offences as reckoned by God to be very numerous, as 
 well as not suffered to be lost in inattention, since they 
 are only considerable sums which are thus kept. 
 
 Harmer, vol. ii. p. 285. 
 
 No. 153. — xix. 23. Othatmytvordsxverenoxvxvrittenl^ 
 *' The most ancient way of writing was upon the leaves 
 of the palm-tree. (^P//;zj/, lib. xiii. cap. 11.) Afterwards 
 they made use of the inner bark of a tree for this pur- 
 pose;- which inner bark being in Latin called liber ^ and 
 in Greek ^il3>^oSy from hence a book hath ever since in 
 the Latin language been called liber, and in the Greek 
 QSkos, because their books anciently consisted of leaves 
 made of such inner barks. The Chinese still make use 
 of such inner barks or rinds of trees to write upon, as 
 some of their books brought into Europe plainly shew. 
 Another way made use of amongthe Greeks and Romans, 
 and which was as ancient as Homer, (for he makes men- 
 lion of it in his poems) was, to write on tables of wood 
 covered over with wax. On these they wrote with a 
 bodkin or style of iron, with which they engraved their 
 letters on the wax ; and hence it is that the different 
 ways of men's writings or compositions are called dif- 
 ferent styles. This way was mostly made use of in the 
 writing of letters or epistles ; hence such epistles are in 
 
JOB. 11^ 
 
 Latin called fabellce, and the carriers of them tabeUariL 
 When their epistles were thus written, they tied the 
 tables together with a thread or string, setting their seal 
 upon the knot, and so sent them to the party to whom 
 they were diredled, Avho cutting the string opened and 
 read them. But on the invention of the Egyptian papy- 
 rus for this use, all the other ways of writing were soon 
 superseded, no material till then invented being more 
 convenient to write upon than this. And therefore when 
 Ptolemy Philadelphus king of Egypt set up to make a 
 great library, and to gather all sorts of books into it, he 
 caused them to be all copied out on this sort of paper ; 
 and it was exported also for the use of other countries, 
 till Eumenes kingof Pergamus, endeavouring to eredla 
 library at Pergamus, which should outdo that at Alex- 
 andria, occasioned a prohibition to be put upon the ex- 
 portation of that commodity. This put Eumenes upon 
 the invention of making books of parchment, and on 
 them he henceforth copied out such of the works of 
 learned men as he afterwards put into his library, and 
 hence it is that parchment is called in Latin pergamenCf 
 that is, from the city Pergamus in Lesser Asia, where it 
 was first used for this purpose among the Greeks. For 
 that Eumenes on this occasion first invented the making 
 of parchment cannot be true; for in Isaiah, Jeremiah, 
 Ezekiel, and other parts of the holy scriptures, many 
 ages before the time of Eumenes, we find mention made 
 of rolls of writing; and who can doubt but that these 
 rolls were of parchment ? From the time that the noble 
 art of printing hath been invented, the paper which is 
 made of the paste of linen rags is that v/hich hath been 
 generally made use of both in writing and in printing, as 
 beingthe most convenient for both, and the use of parch- 
 ment hath been mostly appropriated to records, registers, 
 and instruments of law, for which, by reason of its du- 
 rableness, it is most fit." (PraDEAUx's Connexion^ vol. lu 
 
120 JOB. 
 
 p. 707. 9th edit.) It is observable also, that anciehtlj^ 
 they wrote their public records on volumes or rolls of 
 lead, and their private matters on fine linen and Avax. 
 The former of these customs we trace in Job's wish, O 
 that my xvordsxvere now written! Othatthey zvere printed 
 in a book ! that they were gravcnxvithaniron pen and lead 
 in the reck for ever ! There is a way of writing in the 
 East, which is designed to fix words on the memory, 
 but the writing is not designed to continue. The chil- 
 dren in Barbary that are sent to school make no use of 
 paper, Dr. ^Viflw; tells us, (Trav. p. 194.) but each boy 
 writes on a smooth thin board, slightly daubed over with 
 whiting, which may be wiped off or renewed at plea- 
 sure. There are few that retain what they have learned 
 in their youth ; doubtless things were often wiped out 
 of the memory of the Arabs in the days of Job, as well as 
 out of their writing-tables. Job therefore says, that 
 they were written in a book, from whence they should not 
 be blotted out ! But books are liable to injuries, and for 
 this reason he w'ishes his words might be cvqh graven in 
 a rock^ the most lasting way of all. Thus the distin6lion 
 between xvriting and writingin a book becomes perfe6lly 
 sensible, and the gradation appears in its beauty, which 
 is lost in our translation, where the word printed is in- 
 troduced, which, besides its impropriety, conveys no 
 idea of the meaning of Job, records that are designed to 
 lastlongnot being distinguished fromless durable papers 
 by being printed. (Harmek, vol. ii. p. 168. vide also 
 Jones's Vindication of the former part of St. MatthevSs 
 Gospel^ chap. 14 and 15. 
 
 Ko. \5^ — XX. 17. The brooks of honey and butter.'] In 
 these cool countries we have no idea of butter so liquid 
 as described in these words ; it appears among us in a 
 more solid form. But as the plentiful flower of honej', 
 when pressed from the comb, maybe compared to a little 
 
JOB. 121 
 
 river, as it runs into the vessels in which it is to be kept; 
 so as they manage matters, butter is equally fluid, and 
 may be described in the same way : " A great quantity 
 of butter is made inBarbary, which, after it is'boiledw'ith 
 salt, they put into jars, and preserve for use." (Shaxv^ 
 p. 169.) Streams of butter then, poured, when clarified, 
 into jars to be preserved, might as naturally be compared 
 to rivers, as streams of honey flowing upon pressure into 
 other jars in which it was kept. 
 
 Harmer, vol. iii. p. 176. 
 
 No. 155. — xxiv. 8. Theij are ivet xvith the shoxvers of 
 the mountains^ and embracethe rock for -want of a shelter. 1 
 This exa6lly agrees with what Nlebuhr says of the mo- 
 dern wandering Arabs near mount Sinai. (Voyage en 
 Arabie, torn. i. p. 187.) " Those who cannot afford a 
 tent, spread out a cloth upon four or six stakes ; and 
 others spread their cloth near a tree, or endeavour to 
 shelter themselves Jro7n the heat and the rain in the cavi- 
 ties of the rocks." 
 
 No. 156. — xxiv. 16. Dig through houses.] I'he 
 houses were built of mud, or at best with bricks formed 
 from it, of a very soft texture, which rendered them lia- 
 ble to such an assault ; the thickness of the walls, how- 
 ever, would require considerable labour to penetrate, 
 and consequently digging would be requisite to effe6l a 
 breach. 
 
 No. 157. — xxvii. 16. Prepare raiment as the clay.] 
 D^Herbelot tells us (p. 208.) that Bokhteri, an illustrious 
 poet of Cufah in the ninth century, had so many presents 
 made him in the course of his life, that at his death he 
 was found possessed of an hundred complete suits of 
 clothes, two hundred shirts, and five hundred turbans ; 
 an indisputable proof of the frequency with which pre- 
 
 Q 
 
122 JOB. 
 
 sents of this kind are made in the Levant to men of 
 study ; and at the same time a fine illustration of Job's 
 description of the treasures of the East in his days, 
 consisting of raiment as well as silver. 
 
 Harmer, vol. ii. p. 11. 
 
 No. 158. — xxvii. 19- He shall not be gathered.'] "The 
 heathens had a conceit that the souls of such persons as 
 had not had the due rites of burial paid them, were not 
 admitted into Hades, but were forced to wander a hun- 
 dred years, a parcel of vagabond ghosts, about the banks 
 of the Styx. Hence we find the ghost of Patroclus sup- 
 plicating Achilles to give him his funeral rites. ' Bury 
 me,' says he, 'that I may pass as soon as possible through 
 the gates of Hades.' So speaks Palinurus in Virgil ; 
 ' Throw upon me some earth, that at last I may obtain 
 rest in death, in quiet habitations.' Here the self-con- 
 ceited philosopher smiles at the rite of sprinkling the 
 body three times with dust; but this, although misunder- 
 stood and tinged with the fabulous, was borrowed from 
 the Hebrew nation. 
 
 " To gather denotes, as to the dead, the bringing of 
 their souls to Paradise. Although this cannot be efFe61:ed 
 by mortals, yet they expressed the benevolent wish that 
 the thing might be. On the other hand, Job says of the 
 rich man, he shall lie dorvny but he shall not be gathered. 
 In the ages which followed, the performance of this rite 
 was termed sealing. Of this we have a bright instance in 
 the second book of Esdras : " Wheresoever thou findest 
 the dead, seal them, and bury them ;" that is, express 
 the benevolent prayer which is in use amongst the Jews 
 to this day : ' May he be in the bundle of life, may his 
 portion be in Paradise, and also in that future world 
 which is reserved for the righteous 1' It would also ap- 
 pear that, inthisa6l of sealing a corpse, theyeitherwrote 
 upon the head with ink, or simply made the form with 
 
JOB. 123 
 
 the finger ("Le-hovah.J This at bottom could make no 
 difference in the state of the deceased, but it expressed 
 their desire that such a person might be among those 
 who are written unto life. From a passage in Isaiah it ap- 
 pears, that persons were in use to mark with indelible ink 
 on the hand, the words (Le-hovah) the contra6led form 
 of this sentence, / am the LorcTs. This agrees with 
 what Rabbi Simeon says, ' the perfe6lly just are sealed, 
 and in the moment of death are conveyed to paradise.* 
 This sealing St. Paul applies, as far as wishes can go, 
 to Onesiphorus. May the Lord grant to Onesiphorus, 
 that he may obtain mercy of the Lord in that day ! At 
 many says the same apostle, as -walk according to this 
 rule peace be on them, as upon the Israel of God i (GaL 
 vi. 16.J 
 
 " Such being marked in death with the expression be- 
 longing to the Lord^ explains this sentence, the foundation, 
 of the Lord standeth sure, having this Seal, the Lord 
 knoweth them that are his. Hurt not the earth., nor the 
 trees, says the angel in the book of Revelation, until we 
 have sealedthe servants of our God intheir foreheads. This 
 seal, we are told, is their father's name ; that is, Le- 
 hovah, the Lord\, alluding to the Old Testament form. 
 This name Christ says he himself writes, and by doing 
 so a6ls the part of the Kedosh-Israel, opening where 
 none can shut. This sealing, then, is taken them off 
 by death, and placing them in his father's house ; for 
 after they are so sealed, we find them before the throne, 
 hungering and thirsting no more, and the lamb in the 
 midst of them, and leading them forth into pastures. 
 
 " This ancient rite St. Paul improves upon. Men can, 
 in sealing, go no father than wishes, but the spirit of 
 God can do more ; ye are sealed by the spirit, until the 
 day of redemption ; that is, what others of old may have 
 done symbolically, he will do in reality — he will write 
 upon yo\x Le-hovah' This is a seal which no power caa 
 
124 JOB. 
 
 erase ; it will last until the day of redemption. So in 
 another place he says, ye are seeded -with the holy spirit of 
 promise' Now the seal Le-hovah^ the LorcPs^ not only 
 says they are his, but it is also their memorial through 
 the hidden period that he will appear, and receive them 
 unto himself, and in this way the seal itself has in it the 
 nature of a promise." Bennet's Viexv of the interme- 
 diate State, p. 853 — 356' 
 
 No. 159 — xxix. 3. When his candle shoneuponmy head."] 
 The tents of princes arefrequently illuminated as amark 
 of honour and dignity. Norden tells us (part ii. p. 45.) 
 that the tent of the bey of Girge was distinguished from 
 the other tents by forty lanterns suspended before it, in 
 form of chequer work. If this was the custom formerly, 
 it is possible that these words of Job might have a re- 
 ference to it. Ohf that it were -with 7ne as in months past^ 
 as in the days xvben God preserved me^ xuhen his candle 
 shone upon mine head, (when I returned prosperous from 
 expeditions against the enemies of my tribe, and had my 
 tent adorned with lamps,) and I passed through the night 
 by the light of it. Harmer, vol. ii. p. 133. 
 
 No. 160 — xxix. 6. Washed my steps with butter.'] 
 Chandler in his travels, particularly observed that it 
 was usual for men to tread on skins of cream, in order to 
 separate the butter from its more watery part. This 
 article was sometimes made in very large quantities, on 
 which account such a method might be preferred for 
 expedition. This cuxumstance Mr. Harmer considers 
 (vol. iii. p. 173.) as a very natural explanation of the 
 phrase, I washed ray steps voith butter. 
 
 No. 161. — xxix. 7. I prepared my seat in the street.] 
 Sitting upon a cushion is an expression of honour ; and 
 preparing a seatforaperson of distiniftion seemstomean^ 
 paying things of this kind on a place where such a one 
 
JOB. 125 
 
 is to set. Chardln says, " it is the custom of Asia for 
 persons in common not to go into the shops of that 
 country, which are mostly sniall, but there are woodt-n 
 scats on the outside, where people sit down ; and if it 
 happens to be a man of quality, they lay a cushion there. 
 The people of quality cause carpets and cushions to be 
 carried every where that they like, in order to repose 
 themselves upon them more agreeably." It is then ex- 
 tremely natural to suppose that Job sent his servants to 
 lay a cushion or a carpet upon one of the public seats, 
 or some such place. Eli's seat by the way side^ fl Sam. 
 iv. 130 was a seat adorned, we may believe, after the 
 same manner. Harmer, vol. iii. p. 59. 
 
 No. 162. — XXX. 22. Thou Uftest me up to the xvli^d^ 
 thou causestme to ride upon it, and dissohest ?ny substance.'\ 
 Among other interprt tations given of this passage, the 
 editor of Calmet's DiSiionari/ refers to a sand-storm, 
 and justifies the application of such an idea by the fol- 
 lowing extra(?l from Mr. Bruce. " On the 14th, at 
 seven in the morning, we left Assa Hagga, our course 
 being due north. At one o'clock we alighted among 
 some acacia trees at Waadi el Halboub, having gone 
 twenty-one miles. We were here at once surprised and 
 terrified by a sight surely one of the most magni&cent in 
 the world. In that vast expanse of desert, from W. and 
 to N. W. of us, we saw a number of prodigious y^///ar5 
 of sand at different distances, at times moving xviih great 
 celerity., as others stalking on with a majestic slowness ; 
 at intervals we thought they were coming in a very few 
 minutes to overwhelm us; and small quantities of sand 
 did adlually more than once reach us. Again they 
 would retreat so as to be almi-st out of sight, their tops 
 reaching to the very clouds; there the tops often separated 
 from the bodies; and these, once disjoined, dispersed in 
 the air, and did not appear more, Sometimes they were 
 
12« JOB. 
 
 broken near the middle, as if struck with a large cannott 
 shot. About noon they be;jan to advance with consider- 
 able swiftness upon us, the wind being very strong at 
 north. Eleven of them ranged along side of us about 
 the distance of three miles. The greatest diameter of 
 the largest appeared to me at that distance as if it would 
 measure ten feet. They i*etired from us with a wind at 
 S. E. leaving an impression upon my mind to which I 
 can give no name, though surely one ingredient in it 
 was fear, with a considerable d<;al of wonder and asto- 
 nishment. It was in vain to think of flying ; the sv/iftest 
 horse, or fastest sailing ship, could be of no use to carry 
 us out of this danger, and the full persuasion of this 
 rivetted me as if to the spot where I stood, and let the 
 camels gain on me so much in my state of lameness, 
 that it was wiui same difficulty I could overtake them." 
 CTtavels^ vol. iv. p. 553.) If this quotation is allowed to 
 explain the imagery used by Job, we see a magnificence 
 in it not before apparent. " We see how Job's dignity 
 might be exalted in the air, might rise to great grandeur, 
 importance, and even terror, in the sight of beholders; 
 might ride upon the wind, which bears it about, causing 
 it to advance or to recede ; and, after all, when the 
 wind diminishes, might disperse this pillar of sand into 
 the undistinguished levelof the desert. This comparison 
 seems to be precisely adapted to the mind of an Arab, 
 who must have seen, or have been informed of, similar 
 phenomena in the countries around him." 
 
 No. 163. — xxxi. 26, 27. Kissed mi/ hand.'] " If (says 
 Pitts,) an inferior comes to pay his respe61s to a superi- 
 or., he takes his superior's hand, and kisses it, afterwards 
 putting it to his foreheadl But if the superior be of aeon- 
 descending temper, he will snatch away his hand as soon 
 as the other has touched it; then the inferior putshisowa 
 fingers to his lips, and afterwards to his forehead, and 
 
JOB. 127 
 
 sometimes the superior will also in return put his hands 
 to his lips." p. 66.) Thus also Irwin (Voyage, p. 268.) 
 " When the shaik of Ghinnah held a court of justice, and 
 condemned his vizier, he was immediately surround- 
 ed by a croud of his courtiers, who kissed his hands, em- 
 braced his knees, and interceded with him for the pardon 
 of the vizier." If Job had done this in the case he refers 
 to, it would have been an idolatrous adlion, notwith- 
 standing it is exa6lly agreeable to the civil expressions 
 of respe6l which obtain in the East. 
 
 No. 164. — xxxi. 35, 36. That mine adversary had 
 xvritten a book ! surely Itvould take it upon my shoulder, 
 and bind it as a crown to 7?ze.] From the following ex- 
 tradls it appears what is the customar)' kind of homage, 
 which, in the East, is paid not only to sovereignty, but 
 to communications of the sovereign's will, whether by 
 word or by letter. " When the mogol, by letters, sends 
 his commands to any of his governors, these papers are 
 entertained with as much respedl as if himself were pre- 
 sent ; for the governor, having intelligence that such 
 letters are come near him, himself, with other inferior 
 officers, rides forth to meet the patamar, or messenger, 
 that brings them^ and as soon as he sees those letters, 
 he alights from his horse, falls down on the earth, and 
 takesthem from the messenger, and lays them on his head, 
 whereon he binds them fast: then retiring to his place 
 of public meeting, he reads, and answers them." (Sir 
 Thomas Roe's embassy, p. 453.) 
 
 *^ The letter which was to be presented to the new 
 monarch was delivered to the general of the slaves, it 
 was put up in a purse of cloth of gold, drawn togethei: 
 with strings of twisted gold and silk, with tassels of the 
 same, and the chief minister put his own seal upon it j 
 nor was any omitted of all those knacks and curiosities, 
 which the oriental people inj^ke use of in making up 
 their epistles.'* 
 
128 JOB. 
 
 " The general threw himself at his majesty's feet, 
 bowing to the very ground: then rising upon his knees, 
 he drewoutof the bosom of his garment thebag, wherein 
 was the letter which the assembly had sent to the new 
 monarch. Presently he opened the bag, took out the 
 letter, kissed it, laid it to his forehead, presented it to his 
 majesty, and then rose up." (Chardin's Coron. of So- 
 leiman, p. 44.) To such a custom as is here described 
 Job seems to allude in this passage. 
 
 No. 165. — xxxvii. 9. Out of the south Cometh the 
 Tohirlzvind.'] 31. Savartj speaking of the southern wind, 
 which blows in Egypt from February to May, says, it 
 fills the atmosphere with a subtle dust, which impedes 
 respiration,and brings v/ith it pernicious vapours. Some- 
 times it appears only in the shape of an impetuous whirl- 
 wind, which passes rapidly, and is fatal to (.he traveller, 
 gurprized in the middle of the deserts. Torrents of 
 burning sand roll before it, the firmament is enveloped 
 in a thick veil, and the sun appears of the colour of 
 blood. Sometimes whole caravansare buried in it. Does 
 not Job allude to this wind when he says, out of the 
 south Cometh the xvhirhvind f 
 
 No. 166. — xxxvlii. 14. It is turned as clay to the seaWl 
 The birds pillage the granary of Joseph extremely, 
 where the corn of Egypt is deposited, that is paid as a 
 tax to the grand signior ; for it is quite uncovei-ed at 
 the top, there being little or no rain in that country ; 
 its doors however are kept carefully sealed, but its in- 
 spe6\ors do not make use of Vv'axupon this occasion, but 
 put their Seal upon a handful of clay, with which they 
 cover the lock of the door. This doubtless is what is 
 referred to in these words, it is turned as clay to the seed. 
 
 Hakmer, vol. ii. p. 457. 
 
JOB 129 
 
 No. 167 — xll. 1. Cans^t thou draxv out leviathan with 
 an hook ?'] From this passage HAssELquisT (Travels^ p. 
 440.) observes, that the leviathan " means a crocodile 
 by that which happens daily, and without doubt hap- 
 pened in Job's time, in the river Nile; to wit, that this 
 voracious animal, far from being draxvn up by a hook, 
 bites off and destroys all fishing-tackle of this kind, 
 which is thrown out in the river. I found, in one that 
 I opened, two hooks^ which it had swallowed, one stick- 
 ing in the stomach, and the other in a part of the thick 
 membrane which covers the palate." 
 
 R 
 
[ 130 ] 
 
 No. 168 — PSALM xvi. Title. 
 
 Michtam. 
 
 D'Herbelot observes of the works of seven of the 
 most excellent Arabian poets, that they were called Al 
 Modhahebat, which signifies golden, because they were 
 written in letters of gold upon Egyptian paper, (p. 586.) 
 Might not the six psalms which are thus distinguished 
 be so called, on account of their having been on some oc- 
 casion or other written in letters of gold, and hung up 
 in the san6luary ? Ainsxvorth supposes that Michtam sig- 
 nifies ^golden jewel. Such a title would have been agree- 
 able to the eastern taste, as D' Herbelot has mentioned a 
 book intitled. Bracelets of Gold. Writing in letters of 
 gold still continues in the East* Maillet, speaking of 
 the royal Mohammedan library in Egypt, says, the 
 greatest part of these books were written in letters of 
 gold, such as the Turks and Arabs, even of our time, 
 make use of in the titles of their books." CLett. xiii. p. 
 189.) The Persians are fond of elegant manuscripts 
 gilt and adorned with garlands of flowers, (Jones's Fer- 
 sian Grammar^ p. 144.) 
 
 No. 169. — xlx. 10. Sweeter also than honey and the 
 honey-co7nb.'\ There is no difference made amongst us 
 between the delicacy of honey in the comb and that 
 which is separated from it. From the information of 
 Dr, Halley concerning the diet of the Moors of Barbary, 
 jve learn, that they esteem honey a very wholesome 
 breakfast, *' and the most delicious, that which is in the 
 comb, with the young bees in it, before they come out 
 of their cases, whilst they still look milk-white." (Mis' 
 cellanea Curiosa., vol. iii. p. 382.). The distin6lion made 
 by the Psalmist is then perfe6lly just, and conformable 
 
PSALMS. 131 
 
 to custom and pra»5lice, at least of more modern, and 
 probably, equally so of ancient times. 
 
 No iro. — XX. 5. In the name of our God rue xuuLset 
 lip our barmers'] The banners formerly so much used 
 were a part of military equipage, borne in times of war 
 to assemble, diredl, distinguish, and encourage the 
 troops. They might possibly be used for other purposes 
 also. Occasions of joy, splendid processions, and espe- 
 cially a royal habitation, might severally be distin- 
 guished in this way. The words of the Psalmist may 
 perhaps be wholly figurative : but if they should be lite- 
 rally understood, the allusion of eredling a banner in the 
 name of the Lord, acknowledging his glory, and implor- 
 ing his favour, might be justified from an existing prac- 
 tice. Certain it is that we find this custom prevalent on 
 this very principle in other places, into which it might 
 originally have been introduced from Judea. Thus Mr. 
 Turner (E7nbassy to Tibet, p. 31.) says, " I was told 
 that it was a custom with the Soobah to ascend the hill 
 every month, when he sets up a white flag, and performs 
 some religious ceremonies, to conciliate the favour of a 
 dewta, or invisible being, the genius of the place, who is 
 said to hover about the isummit, dispensing at his will 
 good and evil to every thing around him." 
 
 No. 171.— xlii. 3. My tears have been my vieat day 
 and night''] It seems odd to an English reader to re- 
 present tears as meat or food, but we should remember 
 that the sustenance of the ancient Hebrews consisted for 
 the most part of liquids, such as broth, pottage. Sec. 
 
 No. 172. — xiiv. 20. Stretched out our hands.] The 
 stretching out of the hand towards an obje6l of devotion, 
 or an holy place, v/as an ancient nsage among both 
 Jews and heathens, and it continues in the East to this 
 
132 PSALMS. 
 
 time. Pitts^ in his account of the religion and manners 
 of the Mahometans, speaking of the Algerines throwing 
 wax candles and pots of oil over-board, to some Marab- 
 bot (or Mohammedan saint) says, " when this was done, 
 they all together held up their hands^ begging the Ma- 
 rabbot's blessing, and a prosperous voyage." (p. 17.) 
 This custom he frequently observed in his journey. 
 
 No. 173. — xlv. 3. Gird thy sxuord upon thy thigh.'] 
 The Eastern swords, whose blades are very broad, are 
 worn by the inhabitants of these countries under their 
 thigh when they travel on horseback. Chardin takes 
 notice of these particulars. He says, the eastern people 
 have their swords hanging down at length, and the Turks 
 wear their svvords on horseback under their thigh. This 
 passage and Sol. Song iii. 8. shew they wore them after 
 the same manner anciently. Harmer, vol. i. p. 448. 
 
 No. 174. Ivi. 8. Put my tears into thy bottle.'} Doth 
 not this seem to intimate, that the custom of putting 
 tears '\w\o ihtampullce^ or urna; lachryniales, sowellknown 
 amongst the Romans, was more anciently in use amongst 
 the eastern nations, and particularly amongst the He- 
 brews? These urns were of different materials, some of 
 glass, some of earth; as may be seen in Montfau con's 
 Antiq. ExpUq. \o\. \. p. 116. where also may be seen 
 the various forms or shapes of them. These urns were 
 placed on the sepulchres of the deceased, as a memorial 
 of the distress and affeillon of their surviving relations 
 and friends. It will be diflicult to account for this ex- 
 pression of the Fsalmisi, but upon this supposition. If 
 this be allovv'ed, the meaning will be, let my distress, and 
 the tears I shed in consequence of it, be ever before thee, 
 excite thy kind rejnembrance of me, and plead with thee tQ 
 grant vie the reliej I stand in need of . 
 
 Chandler's Ufe of David, vol- i. p. 106. 
 
PSALMS. 133 
 
 No. 175. — Iviii. 6. Break their teeth.'] This clause 
 JO f the verse is understood as a continuation of the fore- 
 going verse, and to be interpreted of the method made 
 use of to tame serpents, which, Chardins'xys, is by break- 
 ing out their teeth. P/Lusic has a wonderful influence 
 upon them. Adders will swell at the sound of a flute, 
 raising themselves up on the one half of their body, 
 turning themselves about, and beating proper time. 
 (Ilarmer^ vol. ii. p. 223. J Teixeira^ a Spanish writer, in 
 the first book of his Peirian History, says, that in India 
 he had often seen the Gentiles leading about the en- 
 chanted serpents, making them dance to the sound of a 
 liute, twining them about their necks, and handling 
 them without any harm. (See also Pi cart's Ceremonies 
 and Religions Customs of all Natio7iSj vol. iii. p. 268. 
 note. Niebuhr^ vol. i. p. 152.) 
 
 No. 175. — lix. 14. Dog.] Though dogs are not sufr 
 fered in the houses in the East, and people are very 
 careful to avoid them, lest they should be polluted by- 
 touching them, there are great numbers of them in their 
 streets. They do not belong to particular persons, nor 
 are they fed regularly, but get their food as they can. 
 It is considered right however to take some care of 
 them : and charitable people frequently give money to 
 butchers and bakers to feed them, and some leave lega- 
 cies at their deaths for the same purpose. (Le Briiyny 
 torn. i. p. 361.) Dogs seem to have been looked upon 
 among the Jews in a disagreeable light, (1 Sam. xvii. 43. 
 2 Kings viii. 13.) )et they had them in considerable 
 numbers in their cities. They were not shut up in their 
 houses or courts, but seem to have been forced to seek 
 their food where they could fuid it (^Psalni lix, 6. 14, 15.) 
 Some care of them seems to be indire6lly enjoined upon, 
 the Jews, Exod. xxii. 31. Harmcr, vol. i. p. 229. 
 
134 PSALMS, 
 
 No. 177. — Ixix. 9. The zeal oj thine house hath eaten 
 me up.] Peysonnel, in his Remarks on Baron Dcj 
 ToTT (p. 45.) describes a custom which probably is al- 
 luded to by the Psalmist, '^ Those who are aggrieved 
 stand before the gate of the seraglio : each carries on 
 his head a kind of match, or wick, lighted and smok- 
 ing, which is considered as the allegorical emblem of 
 the fire that consumes his soul." The LXX. acquainted 
 with this pra(jtice, have given a version of the passage 
 more bold than our own, and more agreeable to the He- 
 brew. The zeal of thine house hath melted me — /. e. 
 consumed me by fire. 
 
 No. 178. — Ixxli. 10. The kings of Tarshish and of 
 the isles shall bring presents.] Presents were sometimes 
 inade as an acknowledgment of Inferiority and subjec- 
 tion. They were a kind of tribute from those v^ho made 
 to those who received them; in this light we are doubt- 
 less to understand those spoken of in this verse. 
 
 Harmer, vol. ii. p. 20. ■ 
 
 No. 179. — Ixxv. 4, 5. Lift not up your horn on highy 
 -'ipeak not xvith a st/^ neck.] This passage will receive 
 some illustration from i^r.vcf'^ remarks in his Travels to 
 discover the Source of the Nile^ where, speaking of the 
 head dress of the governorsof theprovinces of Abyssinia, 
 he represents it as consisting of a large broad fillet bound 
 upon their forehead^ and tied behind their head. In 
 the middle of this was a horn, or a conical piece of sil- 
 ver, gilt, about four inches long, much in the shape of 
 our common candle extinguishers. This is called kirn, 
 or horn, and is only Morn in reviews, or parades after 
 vi6lory. The crooked manner in which they hold the 
 neck, when this ornament is on their forehead, for fear 
 it should fall forward, seems to agree with what the 
 I'salraist calls, speaking with a slijfneck^ for it perfeiSlly 
 
PSALMS. 135 
 
 shews the meaning of speaking with a stiff neck, when 
 you hold the horn on high, or ere6l, like the horn of a 
 unicorn. See also Psalm xcii. 10. 
 
 No. 180. — Ixxxiv. 7. '^They go from strength to 
 strength.'] The scarcity of water in the East makes 
 travellers j)articularly careful to take up their lodgings 
 as much as possible near some river or fountain. L)'' Her' 
 belot informs us, that the Mohammedans have dug wells 
 in the desei'ts, for the accommodation of those v/ho go in 
 pilgrimage to Mecca, (p. 396.) To conveniences per- 
 haps of this kind, made, or renewed, by the devout Is- 
 raelites in the valley of Baca, to facilitate their going 
 up to Jerusalem, the Psalmist may refer in these words» 
 Hence also there appears less of accident than v/e com- 
 monly think of, in Jacob's lodging on the banks of Jab- 
 bok, (Gen. xxxii. 22.) and the men of David waiting 
 for him by the brookBesor, (1 Sam. xxx. 21.) when they 
 could not hold out with him in his march. 
 
 Harmer, vol. i. p. 241. 
 
 No. 181. — xc. 4. As a rvatcb in the night.] " As the 
 people of the East have no clocks, the several parts of 
 the day and of the night, which are eight in all, are 
 given notice of. In the Indies, the parts of the night 
 are made known, as well by instruments (of music) as 
 by the rounds of the watchmen, who with cries, and 
 small drums give them notice that a fourth part of the 
 night is passed. Now as these cries awakened those 
 that had slept all that quarter part of the night, it ap- 
 peared to them but as a moment.'' (Chardin.J It is ap- 
 parent the ancient Jews knew how the night passed away, 
 though we cannot determine by what means the infor- 
 mation was communicated to them. 
 
 ?L'\R?.iER, vol. i. p. 210. 
 
136 PSALMS. 
 
 No. 182. — xcii. 10. My horn sfialt thou exalt like thd 
 horn of an unicorn ; I shall be anointed -with fresh o//.] 
 Mr. Bruce, after having given it as his opinion, that 
 the rcem of scripture is the rhinoceros, says, " the 
 derivation of this word, both in the Hebrew and in the 
 Ethiopia, seemstobefromere6lncss, or standing straight. 
 This is certainly no particular quality in the animal it- 
 self, which is not nnore, or even so much ere6l as many 
 other quadrupeds, for in its knees it is rather crooked ; 
 but it is from the circumstance and manner in which his 
 horn is placed. The horns of other animals are inclined 
 to some degree of parallelism with the nose or os fron- 
 tis. The horn of the rhinoceros alone is eredl and per- 
 pendicular to this bone, on which it stands atright angles, 
 thereby possessing a greater purchase, or power, as a 
 lever, than any horn could possibly have in any other 
 position. 
 
 This situation of the horn is very happily alluded to 
 in the sacred writings : mij horn shall thou exalt like the 
 horn of an unicorn \ and the horn here alluded to is not 
 wholly figurative, as I have already taken noticeof in the 
 course of my history, but was really an ornament worn 
 by great men in the days of victory, preferment, or re- 
 joicing, when they were anointed with new, sweet, or 
 fresh oil, a circumstance which David joins with that of 
 ere6ling the horn." (Travels^ vol. v. p. 88«) 
 
 No. 183. — cii. 26. As a vesture shalt thou change them.'j 
 A frequent change of garments is very common in the 
 East ; and that, both to show respe(5l and to display mag- 
 nificence. Thevenot tells us part i. p. 86.) that when 
 he saw the grand seignior go to the new mosque, he 
 was clad in a satin doliraan of a flesh colour, and a vest 
 near])' similar ; but when he had said his prayers there, 
 he changed his vest, and put en one of a particular kmd 
 
PSALMS. isr 
 
 of green. To this frequent change of vestments amongst 
 the great, the Psalmist may allude in these words. 
 
 Harmer, vol. ii. p. 117. 
 
 No. 184. — civ. 2. Who stretcke&t out the heavens like 
 a curtain.] It is usual in the summer season, and upon 
 all occasions when a large company is to be received, 
 to have the court of the house (which is the middle of an 
 open square) sheltered from the heat of the weather by 
 an umbrella or veil, which, being expanded upon ropes 
 from one side of the parapet-wall to the odier, may be 
 folded or unfolded at pleasure. The Psalmist seems to 
 allude to some covering of this kind in that beautiful ex- 
 pression of stretching out the heavens like a curtain. 
 
 Shaw's Travels, p. 274. 
 
 No. 185.-^cxix. 83. / am become like a bottle in the 
 smoke.] Cups and drinking vessels of gold and silver 
 were doubtless used in the courts of princes. (1 Kings 
 X. 21.) But in the Arab tents leathern bottles as 
 well as pitchers were used. These of course v/ere 
 smoky habitations. To this latter circumstance, and 
 the contrast between the drinking utensils, the Psalmist 
 alludes : " My appearance in my present state is as 
 different from what it was when I dwelt at court, as the 
 furniture of a palace differs from that of a poor Arab's 
 tent." Harmer, vol. i. p. 131. 
 
 No. 186. — cxxiii. 2. As the eyes of servants look unto 
 the hands of their masters.] The servants or slaves in the 
 East attend their masters or Mistresses with the pro- 
 foundestrespe6l. Maundrell ffourney at7narch,ip. 13.) 
 observes, that the servants in Tui-key stand round their 
 master and his guests with the profoundest respe6l, si- 
 lence, and order imaginable. Pococke says, that at a 
 visit in Egypt, every thing is done with the greatest 
 
 S 
 
i38 PSALMS. 
 
 decency, and the most profound silence, the slaves of 
 servants standing at the bottom of the room, with their 
 bands joined before them, watching with the utmost 
 attention every motion of their master, who commands 
 them by signs. De la Motraye (Travels, vol. i. 
 p. 249,) says, that the eastern ladies are waited on 
 ** even at the least wink of the eye, or motion of the 
 fingers, and that in a manner not perceptible to stran- 
 gers." The Baron du Tott, (vol. i. p. 30.) relates a re- 
 markable instance of the authority attending this mode 
 of commanding, and of the use of significant motions, 
 *' The customary ceremonies on these occasions were 
 over, and Rucub (the new viser) continued to discourse 
 familiarly with the embassador, when the fnuzur-aga 
 (or high provost) coming into the hall, and approaching: 
 the pacha, whispered something in his ear, and we 
 -observed that all the answer he received from him wa& 
 a slight horizontal motion with his hand, after which 
 the viser, instantly resuming an agreeable smile, conti- 
 nued the conversation for some time longer : v/e then 
 left the hail of audience, and came to the foot of the 
 great stair case, where we remounted our horses: here, 
 nine heads, cut off, and placed in a row on the outside 
 cf the first gate, completely explained the sign, which 
 the viser had made use of in our presence."^ Hence we 
 discover the propriety of the «^/on^ performed by the 
 prophets. Ezekiel was a sign to the people in not 
 mourning for the dead, (chap, xxiv.) in his removing; 
 into captivity, and digging through the wall. (chap, xii.) 
 Such condu6l was perfe6lly well understood, and was 
 very significant, 
 
 , No. 187. — cxxvi. 4. Turn again our captivity, O 
 Lord, as the streams in the south'^ " This image is taken* 
 from the torrents in the deserts to the south of Judea y 
 ivb Idamea, Arabia Petraea, 8cc. a mountainous coua- 
 
PSALMS. 139 
 
 tiy. These torrents were constantly dried up in the 
 summer, (see Job vi- 17, 18.) and as constantly returned 
 after the rainy season, and filled again their deserted 
 channels. The point of the comparison seems to be 
 the return and renewal of these (not rivers^ but) tor- 
 rents^ which yearly leave their beds dry, but fill them 
 again ; as the Jews had left their country desolate, but 
 now flowed again into it." 
 
 Bishop Horne's Commentary^ vol. ii. p. 425, 
 
 No. 188. — cxxvi. 5, 6. He that goeth forth and xveep- 
 eth, bearing precious seed.'] The writer of the account 
 of the ruins of Balbec, speaking of the valley in which it 
 stood, observes that it has very little wood; and adds, 
 *' though shade be so essential an article of oriental lux- 
 ur}', yet few plantations of trees are seen in Turkey, 
 the inhabitants being discouraged from labours, which 
 produce such distant and precarious enjoyment, in a 
 country where even the annual fruits of their industry 
 are uncertain. In Palestine we have often seen the 
 husbandman sowing, accompanied by an armed friend, 
 to prevent his being robbed of the seed." The Israelites 
 that returned from Babylon upon the proclamation of 
 Cyrus, were in similar circumstances to husbandmen 
 sowing their corn amidst enemies and robbers. The 
 rebuilding of their towns and their temple resembled a 
 time of sowing ; but they had reason to fear that the 
 neighbouring nations would defeat these efforts. fNeh, 
 iv. 7.) In opposition to this apprehension the Psalmist 
 expresses his hope, perhaps predicts^ that there would 
 be an happy issue of these beginnings to-repeople their 
 country. Harmer, vol. i. p. 87. 
 
 No. 189. — cxxxiii. 2, 3. As the dew of Hermon, and 
 as the dew that descended upon the mountains of Zion.] 
 
140 PSALMS. 
 
 " A great difficulty occurs in the comparison which 
 the Psalmist makes to the dew of Hermon that fell on 
 the hill of Sion ; which might easily be interpreted, 
 if it had been observed, that the clouds which lay on 
 Hermon being brought by the north-winds to Jeru- 
 salem, caused the dews to fall plentifully on the hill of 
 Sion. But there is a Shihon mentioned in the tribe of 
 Issachar, fjoshua xix. 19. J which may be Sion spoken 
 of by Eusebius and Sauit Jerome as near mount Tabor : 
 and there might be a hill there of that name, on which 
 the dew of the other Hermon might fall, that was to 
 the eastof Esdraelon. However, as there is no certainty 
 that Mount Hermon in that part is even mentioned in 
 scripture, so I should rather think it to be spoken of this 
 famous mountain, and that Tabor and Hermon are 
 joined together, as rejoicing in the name of God, not 
 on account of their being near to one another, but be- 
 cause they are two of the highest hills in all Palestine. 
 So that if any one considers this beautiful piece of elo- 
 quence of the Psalmist, and that Hermon is elsewhere 
 a6lually called Sion, (Deut. iv. 48. J he will doubtless be 
 satisfied, that the most natural interpretation of the 
 Psalmist would be to suppose, though the whole might 
 be called both Hermon and Sion, j'et that the highest 
 summit of this mountain was in particular called Her-; 
 mon, and that a lower part of it had the name of Sion ; 
 on which supposition, the dew falling from the top of 
 it down to the lower parts, might well he compared in 
 every respe6l to the precious ointment upon the head that 
 ran doxvn unto the beard, even unto Aaron^s beard, and 
 went down to the skirts of his clothing, and that both of 
 them in this sense are very proper emblems of the bles^ 
 sings of unity and friendship, which diffuse themselves 
 throughout the whole society." 
 
 Pococke's Travels, vol. ii. p. 74. 
 
PSALMS. 141 
 
 No. 190. — cxxxv. 7. He makeih lightnings for the 
 rain.'] Russel (p. 154.) says that at Aleppo a night sel- 
 dom passes without lightning in the north-west quar- 
 ter, but not attended with thunder. When it appears in 
 the west or south-west points, it is a sure sign of the ap- 
 proaching rain ; this lightning is often followed by thun- 
 der. Thus God raakcth the lightnings for the rain; and 
 xohen he utter eth hisvoice^ there is a multitude of waters in 
 the heavens; and as these refreshing showers are prece- 
 ded by squalls of wind, he hringeth forth the -duind out of 
 his treasures. Jer. li. 16. Harmer, vol. i. p. 0)7- 
 
 No. 191. — cxli. 7. Our bones are scattered at ths 
 gravels mouth.] Whether this expression was designed 
 to be understood literally or figuratively, Mr. Bruce 
 relates a circumstance which shevv's that it might be 
 literally verified. " At five o'clock we left Garigana, 
 our Journey being still to the eastward of north, and at 
 a quarter past six in the evening arrived at the village 
 of that name, whose inhabitants had all perished with 
 hunger the jear before ; their wretched bones being all 
 unburied, and scattered upon the surface of the ground 
 where the village formerly stood. We encamped among 
 the bones of the dead ; no space could be found free 
 from them." ("Travels, vol. iv. p. 349. J To the Jews 
 such a spedlacle must have been very dreadful, as the 
 want of burial was esteemed one of the greatest calami^, 
 ties which could befal them. 
 
 No. 192. — cxlvii. IG, 17. Who can stand before his 
 cold?] The v/inters in the East are very cold and severe, 
 at least in some places, and in some particular years; Ja^ 
 cobus de Vitriaco (Gesta Dei per Francos, p. 11 30. J sav/ 
 the cold prove deadly to man and beast. How forcible the 
 exclamation of the Psalmist appears from this represen- 
 
14S PSALMS. 
 
 tation ! It Is said also, that he g'lveth sno-w like wool. To 
 illustrate this remark, Chardin sa3's, " that towards the 
 Black Sea, in Iberia and Armenia, the snow falls in 
 flakes as big as walnuts, but not being either hard or 
 very compa61:, it does no other hurt than presenilj^ co- 
 vering a person. Harmer, vol. i. p. 1G« 
 
t 143 ] 
 
 No. 193.— PROVERBS lii. 8. 
 
 It shall be health to thy navel. 
 
 Medicines in the East are chiefly applied externally^ 
 and in particular to the stomach and belly. This com- 
 parison, Chardin says, is drawn from the plaisters, oint- 
 ments, oils, and fri6lions, which are made use of in the 
 East upon the belly and stomach in most maladies : they 
 being ignorant in the villages, of the art of making 
 deco6lions and potions, and the proper doses of such 
 things. Harmer, vol. ii. p. 
 
 No. 194. — ix. 3. She hath sent forth her maidens.J 
 Hasselquist observed a custom in Egypt, which he ima- 
 gines to be very ancient. He sav/ a number of women, 
 who went about inviting people to a banquet. They 
 were about ten or twelve in number, covered with 
 black veils, as is usual in that country. They were 
 preceded by four eunuchs ; after them, and on the side, 
 were Moors with their usual walking-staves. As they 
 were walking, they all joined in making a noise, which 
 he was told signified their joy, but which he could not 
 find resembled a pleasing song. This passage of So- 
 lomon seems to allude to this pradlice : for wisdom is 
 said to have sent forth her maidens^ and to cry upon the 
 high places of the city. Harmer, vol. iii. p. 193. 
 
 No. 195. — xi. 21. Though hand join in hand.'] To 
 join hands was anciently, and still continues in the 
 East, a solemn method of taking an oath, and ma- 
 king an engagement. This circumstance is probably 
 alluded to in these words of solomon ; its present ex- 
 istence is clearly ascertained by what Mr. Bruce (Trav. 
 vol. i. p. 199.) relates ; " I was so enraged at the irai^ 
 
4 4 PROVERBS. 
 
 torous part which Hassan had adled, that, at parting, I 
 could not help saying to Ibrahim, now, sheikh, I have 
 •done every thing you have desired, v/itbout ever expect- 
 ing fee or reward : the only thing I now ask you, and 
 it is probably the last, is, that you avenge me upon this 
 Hassan, who is every day in your power. Upon this he 
 gave me his hand^ saying, he shall not die in his bed, or 
 I shall never see old age." (See alco 2 Kings 10 — 15.) 
 
 •JlTo. 196. — xi. 22. Ajcwelof gold in asxui7ie''s snoiit.l 
 This proverb is manifestly an allusion to the custom of 
 wearing nose jewels, or rings set with jewels, hanging 
 from the nostrils, as ear-rings from the ears, by holes 
 bored to receive them. This fashion, however strange 
 it may appear to us, was formerly, and is still, common 
 in many parts of the East, among women of all ranks. 
 Paul Lucas, speaking of a village, or clan of Avandering 
 people, a little on this side of the Euphrates, says, "The 
 women, almost all of them, travel on foot ; I saw none 
 handsome among them. They have almost all of them 
 the nose bored, and wear in it a great ring, which makes 
 them still more deformed." (2d Voyage du Levant, torn, 
 i. art. 24.) But in regard to this custom, better autho- 
 rity cannot be produced than that of Pietro della Valle, 
 in the account whichhc givesof Signora IMaani Gioerida, 
 his own wife. The description of her dress, as to the 
 ornamental parts of it, with which he introduces the 
 mention of this particular, will give us some notion of 
 the taste of the eastern ladies for finery. " The orna- 
 ments of gold, and of jewels, for the head, for the neck, 
 for the arms, for the legs, and for the feet, (for they 
 wear rings even on their toes) are indeed, unlike those 
 of the Turks, carried to great excess but not of great 
 value: as turquoises, small rubies, emeralds, carbuncles 
 garnets, pearls, and the like. My spouse dresses herself 
 M'ith all of them according to their fashion, with excep- 
 
PROVERBS. U$ 
 
 tlon however of certain ugly rings of very large size, 
 set with jewels, which, in truth very a'jsurdly, it is the 
 custom to wear fastened to one of their nostrils, like 
 buffaloes : an ancient custom however in the East, 
 which, as we find in the holy scriptures, prevailed 
 among the Hebrew ladies, even in the time of Solomon- 
 These nose rings in complaisance to me she has left oflf; 
 but I have not yet been able to prevail with her cousia 
 and her sisters to do the same. So fond are they of an 
 old custom, be it ever so absurd, who have been long 
 habituated to it." (Viaggi, Tom. i. Lalt. 17.) To this 
 account may be subjoined the observation made by 
 Cbardhiy as cited in Harmer (vol. ii. p. 390.) " It is 
 the custom in almost all the East for the women to wear 
 rings in their noses, in the left nostril, which is bored 
 low down in the middle. These rings are of gold, and 
 have commonly two pearls and one ruby between, placed 
 in the ring. I never saw a girl or young woman in 
 Arabia, or in all Persia, who did not wear a ring after 
 this manner in her nostril." 
 
 Vide Bp, Lowth's note on Isaiah iii. v. 20. 
 
 No. 197 — XV. 19. The way of the slothful man is an 
 hedge of thorns. '\ Hasselquist says, (p. 111.) that he saw 
 the plantain tree, the vine, the peach, and the mulberry 
 tree, all four made use of in Egypt to hedge about a gar- 
 den ; now these are all unarmed plants. This consi- 
 deration throws a great energy into the words of Solo- 
 mon. The way of the slothful man is an hedge of thorns. 
 It appears as difficult to him, not only as breaking 
 through an hedgc^ but even through a thorn fence : and 
 also into that'threateningof God to Israel, Behold^ Ixvili 
 hedge up thy xvay with thorns, Hosea ii. 6. 
 
 No. 198. — xvi. 11. Ajitst weight and balance are the 
 Lord's, all the xveights of the bag are his work'] The 
 
 T 
 
146 PROVERBS. 
 
 Jews were required to be ex.i6l in their weights and 
 measures, that the poor might not be defrauded. Hesy- 
 ch'us remarks upon this point, as a reason for such great 
 care, that what the possession of a field or a house is to 
 a wealthy man, that the measure of corn, or wine, or the 
 weight of fcread is to the poor, who have daily need of 
 such things for the support of life. " The Jewish do<5lors 
 assert, that it was a constitution of their wise men, for 
 the preventing of all frauds in these matters, that no 
 weights, balances, or measures, should be made of any 
 metal, as of iron, lead, tin, (which were liable to rust, 
 or might be bent or easily impaired,) bat of marble, 
 stone, or glass, which were less subje6l to be abused : 
 and therefore the scripture speaking of the justice of 
 God's judgments, observes, (according to the Vulgate) 
 that they are •weighed xvlth all the stones in the bag.'^ 
 Lew is's Origlncs Hebroeoe, vol. iii. p. 403. 
 
 No, 199. — xvi. 14. The wrath of a king is as ?nessen- 
 gers of death.'] When the enemies of a great man have 
 gained influence enough over the prince to procure a 
 •warrant for his death, a capidgi, or executioner, is sent 
 to him, and " shews him the order he has to carry back 
 his head. The other takes the grand signior's order, 
 kisses it, puts it upon his head in sign of respedl, and 
 then having performed his ablation, and said his prayers, 
 freely gives up his hea^. Thus they blindly obey the 
 grand signior's order, the servants never offering to 
 hinder the capidgi, though he often comes with few or 
 no attendants." (Thevenot, cap. 45.) Much the same 
 method was used by the Jewish princes. Benaiah was 
 the capidgi sent by Solomon to put Adonijah to death. 
 (1 Kings 2— *25.) A capidgi in like manner beheaded 
 John the Baptist in prison. CMatt. xiv. 10.) Great 
 energy will thv.n be allowed to the term messengers of 
 death., if we understand the words, of ihe capidgi of the 
 Jewish princ.s. Harmer, vol. iv. p. 207. 
 
PROVERBS. U7 
 
 No. 200. — xvii. 19. Jle that exalteth his gate seeketh 
 (JestruSlion.'] The Arabs are accustomed to ride into the 
 houses of those they design to harrass. To prevent this 
 Thevenot tells us (Travels^ part i. p. 181.) that the door 
 of the house in Vv'hich the French merchants lived at 
 Rama was not three feet high, and that all the doors of 
 that town are equally low. Agreeable to this account 
 the Abbe Mariti, speaking of his admission into a monas- 
 tery near Jerusalem, says, " the passage is so low that it 
 will scarcel)'^ admit a horse ; and It is shut by a gate of 
 iron, strongly secured in the inside. As soon as we 
 entered, it was again made fast with various bolts and 
 bars of iron : a precaution extremely necessary in a 
 desert place, exposed to the incursions and insolent 
 attacks of the Arabs." f Travels through Palestine^ vol. 
 iii. p. 37-.) To exalt the gate would consequently be to 
 court destru6lion. 
 
 No. 201. — xix. 24. A slothful man hideth his hand in 
 ills hosom^ and -will not so much as bring it to his mouth 
 again'] The Arabs in eating their milk use no spoons. 
 They dip their hands into the milk, which is place'd in 
 a wooden bowl before them, and sup it out of the palms 
 of their hands fLe Briiijn^ vol. i. p. 586.) Is it not rea- 
 sonable to suppose the same usage obtained among the 
 Jews, and that Solomon refers to it, when he savs, a 
 slothful man hidetb his hand in the di^h, and xvill not so 
 much as bring it to his 7nouth aga'-n. Our translators 
 render it the bosom, but the word every where signifies 
 2ipot or dish. Harmkr, vol. i. p. 289. 
 
 No. 202. — xxi. 8. The 7vay of man is froxvard and 
 strange.'\ This passage, according to the common in- 
 terpretation is very obscure. The original Hebrew 
 words are used to signify a man laden with guilt and 
 
148 PROVERBS. 
 
 crimes, and that his way is [pot froxvard 9.nd strange, as 
 in our translation,) but wisteadij or continually varying ; 
 in which expression there is a most beautiful aHusion to 
 a beast which is so overburthened thsii he cannot keep in 
 the straight road, but is continually tottering and stag- 
 gering, first to the right hand, and then to the left. 
 Parkhurst*s Ileb. Lex. p. 187, 3d. edit. 
 
 No. 203. — xxi. 9. It is better to dwell in a corner of 
 the house top, than with a brawling woman in a wide 
 house.~\ During the summer season it was usual to sleep 
 On the tops of the houses, which were flat, and properly 
 guarded by a parapet wall; for this purpose they were 
 accommodated with little arbours and wicker work clo- 
 sets, which, however agreeable in thedry partof the year, 
 Vi^ould prove much otherwise when it rained, as it would 
 expose them to a continual dropping. To be limited to 
 such a place, and to have no other apartment to live in, ^ 
 must be very inconvenient. To such circumstances it 
 is, probably, that Solomon alludes, when he says. It is 
 better to dwell in a corner of the house top, than with a 
 brawling woman In a wide house.. The illusion is ren- 
 dered more perfe6l and striking by conne6ling with this 
 passage the continual dropping nxentioned, Frov. xix« 
 13. andxxvii. 15. Harmer, vol. i. p. 172. 
 
 No. 204.— xxi. 1 7. He that lovcth wine and oil shall 
 not be rich.'] Pococke, in describing his journey to Jeru- 
 salem., atter his landing at Joppa, tells us, he was con- 
 veyed to an encampment of Arabs, who entertained him 
 as well as they could, making him cakes, and bringing 
 Jiim line oilof olives, in \\\i\chi hey usually dip their bread, 
 fTravels, vol. ii. p. 5.) This Mr. Harjner (vo i. p. 
 238-) considers not as their constant course, but as 
 pra^iised upon particular occasionSj as the generality 
 
PROVERBS. 149 
 
 were constrained to be more frugal. This of course dis- 
 covers the propriety of the words of Solomon, when he 
 says, he that loveth wine and oil. shall not be rich. 
 
 No. 205. — xxiii. 6. An evil eye.'] Whether the same 
 ideas are to be attached to this expression as used by 
 Solomon, and as understood by the Egyptians, may not 
 be easily ascertained, though perhaps worthy of consi- 
 deration. PococKE f Travels, vol. i. p. 181.) says of 
 the Egyptians, that " they have a great notion of the 
 magic art, have books about it, and think there is much 
 virtue in talismans and charms : but particularly are 
 strongly possessed with an opinion of the evil eye. 
 When a child is commended, except you give it some 
 blessing, if they are not very well assured of your good 
 will, they use charms against the evil eye ; and particu- 
 larly when they think any ill success attends them on 
 account of an evil eye, they throw salt into the fire." 
 
 No. 206. — xxiii. 20. Be not among wine-bibbers ^ 
 omojig riotous eaters ofjlesh.] The Arabs are described 
 by Shaw p. 169.) as very abstemious. They rarely di- 
 minish their flocks by using them for food, but live 
 chiefly upon bread, milk, butter, dates, or what they 
 receive in exchange for their wool. Their frugality is 
 in many instances the effedl or narrow circumstances ; 
 and shews with what propriety Solomon describes an ex- 
 pensive way of living by \}t\^\x fr eq^uent eating offesh* 
 
 4 
 No. 207. — ^xxiv. 26. Every man shall kiss his lips that 
 giveth a right answer.] The rescripts of authority used 
 to be kissed whether they were believed to be just or not ; 
 and the letters of people of figure were treated in this 
 manner; but it is possible these words may refer to an- 
 other custom, which W^Arvieiix gives an account of in 
 his description of the Arabsof mount Carmel, who, when 
 
150 PROVERBS. 
 
 they present any petition to tlieir emir for a favour, 
 offer their billets to him with their right hands, after 
 having first kissed the papers. (^Voy.dansla Pal. p. iS5^ 
 The Hebrew manner of expression is short ; every lip 
 shall kiss ^ one maketh to return a right ansiver, that is, 
 every one shall be ready to present the state of his case, 
 kissing it as he delivers it, when there is a judge whose 
 decisions are celtbrated for being equitable. 
 
 Hakmer, vol. ii. p. 52. 
 
 No. 203. — XXV. 1 3. As the cold of snoxv in the time of 
 harvest.^ As the mixing of snow with wine in the sultry 
 time of harvest is pleasing and refreshing, so a success- 
 ful messenger revives the spirit of his master who sent 
 him, and who was ready to faint from an apprehension 
 of his failure. The custom of cooling wines with snow 
 was usual among the eastern nations. It was derived 
 from the Asiatics jand Greeks to the Romans. Plutarch 
 describes the manner in which thev preserved it fSi/mpoS' 
 lib. vi. 2, 6.) oy covering it with straw, and coarse cloths 
 unshorn. Xc?iophon says, it was necessary to procure 
 snow to cool the wines in summer, which otherwise 
 could not be drank with any pleasure. The Orientals 
 more early used it for this purpose, and Aiheiiceiis 
 mentions it as an ancient custom, and that they used 
 oak branches for the same purpose. Various instances 
 among the eastern nations of this custom of cooling 
 their wints may be produced, and particularly among 
 the Jews, in some hot countries it was often difficult to 
 obtain it, and they w^ere obliged to search into the hol- 
 low cliffs to coiie(5l it. Mount Hebron, which was al- 
 ways covered with snow, plentifully supplied the inha- 
 bitants of that country, from whence ^t was often carried 
 to Tyre. (Bahry's Ob'.crvatisns on the Wines of the 
 Ancients,, p. 169.) 
 
PROVERBS. 151 
 
 No. 209. — xxvi. 8. As he that hindeth a stone m a 
 sling.] The custom, which prevailed ahnost universally 
 among the heathens, of eroding r. emorials of stone,, 
 both for a v/itness of covenants, and for an objtcl of 
 worship, to the idol Margemah^ Markolis, or Mercury^ 
 seems extremely ancient. R. Elias Ashcenaz (cited by 
 Kircher in his OeJipus sjnt. iv, c. 2.) says, that the re- 
 ligious honour which was paid to Markolis ;the same as 
 the Anuhis of the Egyptians^ as the Flermes of the Greeks, 
 andMercunj of the Romans J consisted in throwing stones 
 together into a heap; which pradlice originated from 
 an idle fable concerning the gods, not v/orth repeating. 
 To this idolatrous rite Solomon is supposed (by Selden 
 and others) to allude in this passage : where, instead 
 of rendering the text, as he that hindeth a stone in a sling, 
 which does not afford the comparison of folly intended, 
 it should hp.vebceH translated, as hethatthroxveth a stone 
 to Margemah^ or Mercury, which cannot profit the idol, 
 so is he that giveth honour to afoo, ofwhichheis 
 wholly insensible. (^Seld. de Mercuril Acervo.)^ There 
 were also Mercurii, or Hermceviales^ for the dire6lion of 
 travellers. Uv .Plot, (in his Natural History of Oxford- 
 shire) thinks, with Dr. Stillingfleet^ that the Britons, loug 
 before the arrival of the Romans, were acquainted with 
 the Greeks : and that they learned from them the prac- 
 tice of setting up unpolished stones, iastead of images, 
 to the honour of their gods: and he asserts from Pausa- 
 tiias, that, near the statue oi Mercury, there were thirty 
 square stones, Vv'hich the Pharii worshipped, and gave 
 to every one of them the name of a god. Stones were 
 universally set up for memorials, and were sacred to the 
 ele6\ion of kings, £cc. by the Danes and other northera 
 nations. The same author seems also of opinion, that 
 the ct\chr^lG.d Stonchenge^ in Wilts, was neither a Roman 
 temple nor Dani.:h monument, but rather somewhat- 
 belonging to the idol JfarkoliS' (Nat. Hist- Oxf. c. 10. 
 
152 PROVERBS. 
 
 § 81, 102.) Plutarch^ in his life of Cimon, mentions the 
 eredlion of stone Mercuries^ with inscriptions upon them, 
 in honour of taking the city Elone from the Persians 
 And Gyraldus asserts that tlie lieathens had their deus 
 lapideus or stone god to swear by, and relates from 
 Polybius the form of an oath, whibh was so taken, be- 
 tween the Romans and Carthaginians^ relative to a treaty 
 of peace. Many have thought that the whole of this 
 custom was a vile abuse of yacob''s consecration of the 
 stone at Bethel. ' 
 
 No. 210. — xxvii. 9. Ointment and perfume.'] At 
 the close of a visit in the East, it is common to sprinkle 
 rose or some other sweet scented water on the guests, 
 and to perfume them with aloes wood, which is brought 
 last and serves for a sign that it is time for a stranger to 
 take leave. Thus it is described by M. Savory: " To- 
 wards the conclusion of a visit amongst persons of dis- 
 tin6lion in Egypt, a slave, holding in his hand a silver 
 plate, on which are burning precious essences, ap- 
 proaches the faces of the visitors, each of whom in his 
 turn perfumes his beard. They then pour rose water on 
 the head and hands. This is the last ceremony, after 
 which it is usual to withdraw." As to the method of 
 using the aloes wood, 31aundrell says, (p. 30.) they 
 have for this purpose a small silver chafing-dish, co- 
 vered with a lid full of holes, and fixed upon a hand- 
 some plate. In this they put some fresh coals, and upon 
 them a piece of lignum aloes, and then shutting it up, 
 the smoke immediately ascends with a grateful odour 
 through the cover. Probably to such a custom, so cal- 
 culated to refresh and exhilarate, the words of Solomon 
 have an allusion. 
 
 No. 21 1 . — xxvii. 22. Though thou shouldest bray ajcol 
 in a mortar among wheat with a pestle., yet will not his fool- 
 
PROVERBS. 1^3 
 
 ishiiess depart from hii?i.] That such a punishment as 
 this was used iathe East will clearly appear from the fal- 
 lowing testimonies. " Fanaticismhasena6tedinTurkey» 
 in favour of the ulemats, (or body of lawyers) that 
 their goods shall never be confiscated, nor themselves 
 put to death, but by being bruised in a mortar." Baron 
 Du TOTT, vol. i. p. 28. *•' As for the guards of the 
 towers (who have let pnnce Coreskie, a prisoner, escape,) 
 some of them were empaled, and some were pounded qr 
 beaten to pieces in great mortars of yron, wherein they 
 do usually pound their rice, to reduce it to meal." 
 (Knolles's History of the Tttrks, p. IST-i. See also 
 Complete Systnn of Geography, vol. ii. p. 16. and Voi*- 
 ney's Travels., vol. ii. p. 250.) 
 
 No. 212. — XXX. 8. Food convenient for me.~\ This ex-' 
 pression properly signifies an allowance or proportion of 
 food ; it is an allusion to the custom which then pre- 
 vailed, of giving daily to servants and other dependants 
 a certain daily supply. 
 
 No. 213. — XXX. 33. The churning of milk bringeth 
 forth butter.l The ancient way of making butter in 
 Arabia and Palestine was probably nearly the same as 
 is still practised by the Bedoween Arabs and Moors ia 
 Barbary, and which is thus described by Dr. i^^w. 
 ** Their method of making butter i% by putting the milk 
 br cream into a goat's skin turned inside out, which they 
 .suspend from one side of the tent to the other, apd then 
 pressing it to and fro in one uniform diredlion, they 
 quickly occasion the separation of the unctupus and 
 wheyey parts." (Trav. p. 168') So " the butter of the 
 Moors in the empire of Morocco, which is bad, is naade 
 of all the. milk (conip> Prov. xxx. 33. above) as it come* 
 from the cow, by putting it into a skin and shaking it 
 
 U 
 
154 PROVERBS. 
 
 till the butter separates from it.") Stewj^rt's Journey 
 to Mequinez.J And, what is more to the purpose, asre« 
 lating to what is still pra6lised in Palestine, Hasselquist 
 speakingof anencampment of the Arabs, which he found 
 not far from Tiberias, at the foot of the mountain or hill 
 where Christ preached his sermon, says, " they make 
 butter in a leathern bag hung on three poles, ere6led for 
 the purpose, in the form of a cone, and drawn to and 
 fro by two women." (Trav- p. 159.) 
 
 No. 214. — xxxi. 18. Her candle goethnot out by 
 night,'] There is a passage in Virgil, which may serve 
 as an illustration of this text, and which bears so great 
 a resemblance to it, that it might almost pass for a poe- 
 tical imitation. 
 
 Prima quies medio jam noctis abactae 
 Curriculo expulerat somnum : cum foemina primuhi 
 Cui tolerare colo vitam, tenulque Minerva, 
 Impositum cinerum et sopitos suscitat ignes, 
 Noctem addens operi, famulasque ad lumina longo 
 Exercetpenso. ^n. viii. lia. 407^ 
 
 Night Hxas ncK'} sliding in her middle course : 
 The first repose wasfinis'd : when the dame. 
 Who by her distaff's slender art subsists, 
 Wakss the spread embers and the sleeping fire, 
 ■ Night adding to her luori .■ and calls her maidi 
 To their lor.gtaskc, by lighted tapers urg'd. 
 
 And to give a modern instance of a similar kind, Mori' 
 sieur Ue Guys, in his Sentimental Journey through Greece 
 (cited in Critical Reviezv, for June 1772, p. 459.) says,, 
 " embroidery is the constant employment of the Greek 
 women. Those who follow it for a living are employed 
 in it from morning to night, as are alsb their daughter*- 
 i»nd slaves. This is a picture of the industrious wife, 
 
PROVERBS. 14f 
 
 painted after nature by Virgil in the eighth book of hi* 
 jEneid. I have a living portrait of the same kind con- 
 stantly before my eyes. The lamp of a pretty neighbour 
 of mine, who follows that trade, is always lighted before 
 day, and her young assistants are all at work betimes m 
 the morning." 
 
r i56 } 
 
 No. 2i5.-.ECCLESIASTES iil. r. 
 J. time to sezv. 
 
 Putting on new clothes is thought by the people of 
 the East very requisite for the due solemnization of a 
 time of rejoicing. Hasselqiust says (p. 400.) " The 
 Turks, even the poorest of them, must absolutely have 
 new clothes at the bairam," or great festival, Ther<r/zfl?- 
 ing mentioned in this verse undoubtedly refers to the 
 oriental mode of expressing sorrow : the serving is de^- 
 signed as an opposi:e to it : it appears then from this 
 consideration, conne6led with the custom now men- 
 tioned, to intend a time of making up new vestments, 
 rather than, as has been commonly understood, the re- 
 paration of old onest Harmer, vol. ii. p. 119. 
 
 No. 916. — vii. 6. The crackling of thorns under a 
 ppt.'j Ccw-dung dried was the fuel commonly used for 
 firing, but this was refinarkably slow in burning. On 
 this account the Arabs would frequently threaten to burn 
 R person with cow-dung as a lingering death. When this 
 was used it was generall)' under their pots. This fuel 
 is a very strl!:ing contrast to thorns or furze, and things 
 of that kind, which would doubtless be speedily con- 
 sumed, with the crackling noise allude^ to in this pas- 
 jiage. Probably it is this contrast which gives us the 
 cpevgy of the coniparison. 
 
 Harmer, vol. i. p. 261. 
 
 No. 21f.— .-X. 7. / have seen servants riding upon 
 fiorscs^ and princes walking as servants upon the earthA 
 Jvidjng pn an hojse is a very honourable thing in th© 
 
ECCLESIASTES. 157 
 
 East, and what Europeans are not in common permitted 
 to do. They are ridden in a very stately manner. It is 
 contrary to the Turkish dignity to go on an horse faster 
 than a foot pace in the streets. When they appear thus 
 abroad they are attended with a number of servants. 
 Ideas of stateliness consequently attach themselves- to 
 riding on horseback. In other instances, ass«s were 
 very much used both by the men and by the women, but 
 the former pra6lice became so prevalent in the time of 
 Solomon, that speaking of state and pomp, he says, 
 J' have seen servants upon horses, and princes ivalking as 
 servants upon the earth. Harmer, vol. ii. p. 104. 
 
 No. 218* — rxli. 4. The Joors shall be shut in the streets, 
 xvhenthesound of tke^grinding is low.l The people iu 
 the East bake every day, and usually grind their corn 
 as they want it. The grinding is the first work in the 
 niorning. This grinding with their mills makes a consi- 
 derable noise, or rather, as Sir John Chardin says, " the 
 songs of those who work them." May not this help to 
 explain the meaning of this passage, in which the royal 
 preacher, describing the infirmities of old age, among 
 other weaknesses, says, the doors shall be shut in the 
 streets, when the sound oj the grinding is low: that is, the 
 feeble old man shall not be able to arise irom his bed 
 early in the morning to attend that necessary employ- 
 ment of grinding corn; consequently his doors shall be 
 shut ; neither will the noise of their songs, which are 
 usual at that employment, be heard, or when it is heard, 
 it will be only in a low feeble tone. 
 
No. 2I9.—SOLOMON'S SONG i. 9 
 
 I have compared thee, my love, to a company of horses- 
 
 This appears a very coarse compliment to a mere 
 English reader, arising from the difference of our man- 
 ners ; but the horse is an animal in very high estimation 
 in the East. The Arabians are extravagantly fond of 
 their horses, and caress them as if they were their chil- 
 dren. D''Arvieux gives a diverting account of the affec- 
 tionate caresses an Arab used to give a mare which be- 
 longed to him. He had sold it to a merchant at Rama, 
 and when he came to see it, (which he very frequently 
 did) he would weep over it, kiss its eyes, and when he 
 departed, go backwards, bidding it adieu in the most 
 tender manner. The horses of Egypt are so remarkable 
 for stateliness and beauty, as to be sent as presents of 
 great value to the sublime porte ; (Maillet, Lett. ix. 
 and xiii.) and it appears from sacred history, that they - 
 were in no less esteem formerly among the kings of 
 Syria, and of the Hittites, as well as Solomon himself, 
 who bought his horses at 150 shekels, which (at Dean 
 Prideaux^s calculation of three shillings the shekel) is 
 j^. 22. 10*. each, a very considerable price at which to 
 purchase twelve thousand horses together. The qua- 
 lities, which form the beauty of these horses, are tallness, 
 proportionable corpulency, and stateliness of ma»ner ; 
 the same qualities which they admire in their women, 
 particularly corpulency^ which is known to be one of the 
 most esteemed chara<5lers of beauty in the East. Niebuhr 
 says, *' as plumpness is thought a beauty in the East, 
 the women, in order to obtain this beauty, swallow, 
 every morning and every evening, three of these inse6ls, 
 (a species of tenebrionesj fried in butter.'* Upon this 
 j^iincjple is founded the compliiaent of Solomon ; and it 
 
SOLOMON'S SONG. I'S^ 
 
 IS remarkable that the elegant Theocritvis, in his Epitha- 
 lamium for the celebrated queen Helen^ whom he de- 
 scribed as plump and large, uses exa6lly the same image, 
 conjiparing her to the horse in the chariots of Thessaly, 
 (I^yi' xviii. ver. 29.) 
 
 Williams's New Translation, of SolomorCi 
 So-ng, p. 172. 
 
 No. 220, — i. 13. A bundle ofmt/rrh is my well beloved 
 itnto me^ he shall lie all night between my breasts.'] The 
 eastern women amongst other ornaments used little per- 
 fume boxes, or vessels filled with perfumes, to smell at. 
 These were worn suspended from the neck, and hanging 
 down on the breast. This circumstance is alluded to in 
 the bundle of myrrh: These olfactoriola or smelling 
 boxes, (as the Vulg. rightly denominates them) are still 
 in use among the Persian women, to whose " necklaces, 
 which fall below the -bosom, is fastened a large bojc of 
 sweets; some of these bo^es are as big as one's hand ; 
 the comnvon ones are of gold, the others are covered 
 with jewels. They are all bored through, and filled 
 with a black paste very light, made of musk and amber, 
 but of very strong smell." Complete System of Geogra-^ 
 phy. vol. ii. p. 175. 
 
 No. 221. — ii. 3. / sat doxun under his shadow with 
 great delight^ and his fruit xvas sweet to my taste.] 
 ^^ Shade, accordingto Mr. Wood, in his description of th« 
 ruins of Balbec (p. 5.) is an essential article in oriental 
 luxury. The greatest people seek these refreshment* 
 as well as th- meaner. So Dr. Pococke found the pa- 
 triarch of the Maronitcs (who was of one of their great- 
 est families) and a bishop sitting under a tree. C Travels, 
 vol, ii. p. 95.) Any tree that is thick and spreading doth 
 for them '; but it must certainly be an addition to their 
 CBJoying of tliemselvefr, wUe» the tree is of a fra^raui 
 
teo SOLOMON'S SONG. 
 
 nature, as well as shady, which the citron tree is. Tra- 
 vellers there, we find in their accounts, have made use 
 of plane trees, walnut trees, &c. and Egmont and Hey- 
 manwere entertained with coffee at Mount Sinai, ua|ier, 
 the orange trees of the garden of that place, (vol. ii. p. 
 
 ■irs.) 
 
 The people of those countries not only frequently sit 
 under shady trees, and take collations under them, but 
 sometimes the fruit of those trees, under which they sit, 
 is shaken down upon them, as an agreeableness. So 
 Dr. Pococke tells us, when he was at Sidon, he was en-- 
 tertained in a garden, in the shade of some apricot trees, 
 and the fruit of them was shaken upon him. (Travels, 
 vol. ii. p. SS.") He speaks of it indeed as if it was done 
 as a great proof of their abundance, but it seems rather 
 to have been designed as an agreeable addition to the 
 entertainment." Harmer on Solomon's Song, p. 247. 
 
 No. 222, — ii. 9. He standeth behind the wall.'] Mr. 
 tiarmer thinks this means the green wall, as it were, of 
 ii chiosk, or eastern arbour, which is thus described hj 
 Lady M. W. Montague, (Letters, vol. ii. p. 38.) " In 
 the midst of the garden is the chiosk, that is, a large room 
 commonly beautified with a fine fountain in the midst 
 of it. It is raised nine or ten steps, and inclosed with 
 gilded lattices, round which vines, jessamins, and honey- 
 suckels make a sort of green wall ; large trees are 
 planted round this place,' which is the scene of their 
 greatest pleasures." See Outlines of a new Commentary 
 on Solomoti's Song, p. 140. 
 
 No. S2:3 — ii. 17. Till the day break.'] Till the day 
 breathe. It is obvious to common observation, in almost 
 every country, that in settled weather there is generally, 
 at the time of the sun's approach to the horizon, and a 
 tittle after he is risen, a pretty brisk easterly gale which 
 
SOLOMON'S SONG. 161 
 
 seems to be the breathing of the day here mention- 
 en. Egmont and Heyman (vol. ii. p. 13.) inform us, 
 that " though the heat of the coast of the Holy Land, 
 and of some other places there, is very great, yet this 
 excessive heat is very much lessened by a sea-breeze, 
 which constantly blows every morning, and by its cool- 
 ness, renders the heats of the summer very supporta- 
 ble." (See Natiii-e Displaijedy vol. iii. p. 177. English ed. 
 12 mo.) 
 
 No. 224. — iii. 6. Who is this that cometh out of the 
 wilderness like pillars of smoke^ perfumed with myrrh and 
 frankincense P] The use of perfumes at eastern mar- 
 riages is common, and, upon great occasions, very pro- 
 fuse. Not only are the garments scented till, in the 
 Psalmist's language, they smell of myrrh, aloes^ and 
 cassia, but it is customary for virgins to meet and lead 
 the procession with silver-gilt pots of perfumes; and 
 sometimes even the air around is rendered fragrant, by 
 the burning of aromktics in the windows of all the 
 houses in the streets, through which the procession is to 
 pass. In the present instance, so liberally v/ere these 
 rich perfumes burnt, that, at a distance, a pillar, or pil- 
 lars of smoke arose from them; and the perfume was so 
 rich as to exceed in value and fragrancy ail the powders 
 of the merchant. Lady M. W. Montague confirms the 
 foregoing observations in the account which she gives of 
 the reception of a beautiful young Turkish bride at the 
 bagnio ; she says *' two virgins met her at the door, two 
 others filled silver-gilt pots with perfumes, and began the 
 procession, the rest follov/ing in pairs to the number of 
 thirty. In this order they marched round the three 
 large rooms of the bagnio." , And Maillet (Lett, v.) de- 
 scribing the entrance of the ambassadors of an eastern 
 monarch, sent to propose marriage to an Egyptian 
 queen, into the capital of that country, tells us, '* the 
 
 X 
 
162 SOLOMON'S SONG. 
 
 streets through which they passed were strewed with 
 flowers; and precious odours, burning in the windows 
 from very early in the morning, embalmed the air." 
 Harmer on Sol. Song, p. 123. 
 
 No. 225. — iv. 9. Thou hast ravished mi/ heart with 
 one of thine eyes.] " There is a singularity in this ima- 
 gery which has much perplexed the criticks ; and perhaps 
 it is not possible to ascertain the meaning of the poet 
 beyond a doubt. Supposing the royal bridegroom to 
 have had aprojile, or side view of his bride in the present 
 instance, only one eye, or one side of her necklace, 
 would be observable ; yet this charms and overpowers 
 him. Tertullian mentions a custom in the East, of 
 women unveiling only one eye in conversation, while 
 they keep the other covered; and Nifbuhr mentions 
 a like custom in some parts of Arabia. CTravels, vol. i. 
 p. 262.) This brings us to nearly the same interpretar 
 tion as the above." 
 
 Williams's Nexr Translation of Solomon^ s 
 So7ig, p. 275. 
 
 No. 226. — iv. 12. A garden inclosed is my sister, my 
 spouse ; a spring shut up, a Jountain se(ded.'\ " This 
 morning we went to see some remarkable places in the 
 neighbourhood of Bethlehem. The first place that we 
 directed our course to, was those famous fountains, 
 pools, and gardens, about an hour and a quarter distant 
 from Bethlehem southward, said to have been the con- 
 trivance and delight of king Solomon. To these works 
 and places of pleasure that great prince is supposed to 
 allude, (EccU ii. 5, 6. J where, amongst the other in.^ 
 stances of his magnificence, he reckons up his gardens, 
 and vineyards, and pools. 
 
 As for the pools, they are three in number, lying in a 
 jrpw above each other, being so disposed that the wa^er« 
 
SOLOMON'S SONG. 163 
 
 of the uppermost may descend into the second, and 
 those of the second into the third. Their figure is quad- 
 ranguhir ; the breadth is the same in all, amounting to 
 about ninety paces j in their length there is some dif- 
 ference between them, the first being about one hun- 
 dred and sixty paces long, the second two hundred, the 
 third two himdred and twenty. They are all lined with 
 wall, and plastered, and contain a great depth of water. 
 
 Close by the pools is a pleasant castle of a modern 
 structure ; and at about the distance of one hundred and 
 forty paces from them is a fountain, from which princi- 
 pally they derive their waters. This the friars will 
 have to be that sealed fountain to which the holy spouse 
 is compared (Cant. iv. 12. J ; and, in confirmation of 
 this opinion, they pretend a tradition, that king Solo- 
 mon shut up these springs, and kept the door of them 
 sealed with his signet, to the end that he might preserve 
 the waters for his own drinking, in their natural fresh- 
 ness and purity. Nor was it difficult thus to secure 
 them, they rising under ground, and having no avenue 
 to them but by a little hole like to the mouth of a nar- 
 row well. Through this hole you descend diredlly 
 down, but not without some difficulty, for about four 
 yards, and then arrive in a vaulted room, fifteen paces 
 long and eight broad. Joining to this is another room 
 of the same fashion, but somewhat less. Both these 
 rooms are covered with handsome stone arches, very 
 ancient, and perhaps the work of Solomon himself. 
 
 Below the pools here runs down a narrow rocky vaf^- 
 ley, inclosed on both sides with high mountains. This 
 the friars will have to be the inclosed garden alluded to 
 in the same place of the Canticles before cited. What 
 truth there may be in this conje6lure I cannot abso- 
 lutely pronounce. As to the pools, it is probable enough 
 they may be the same with Solomon's; there not being 
 
464, SOLOMON'S SONG. 
 
 the like store of excellent spring-water to be met with 
 any where else throughout all Palestine-" 
 
 Maundrell's Journcij^ April 1, p. 88, 7th edit. 
 
 No. 227. — viii. 2. Ixvould cause thee todrink of spiced 
 wine, of the juice of my pomegrajiate.'] The spiced wine 
 is thought to allude to a custom of the parties drinking 
 wine from the same cup in one part of the marriage 
 ceremony, and we know that spiced wine was a great de- 
 licacy in the East. Spiced wines were not peculiar to the 
 Jews. " Hafz speaks of wine richly bitter^ richly sweet. 
 The Romans lined their vessels fatnphorcej with odo- 
 rous gums, to give the wine a warm bitter flavour; and 
 it is said the Poles and Spaniards have a similar method 
 to give their wines a favourite relish." {I^ott^s odes 
 of Hafz ^ note, p. 30.) 
 
 The word rendered by our translators y?</ce, is pro- 
 perly new tvine, or must ; and the new wine of pomegra- 
 nates is " either new wine acidulated with the juice of 
 pomegranates, which the Turks about Aleppo still mix 
 with their dishes for this purpose, or rather wine made 
 of the juice of pomegranates, of which Sir y. Chardin 
 «aySj they still make considerable quantities in the East." 
 
 Harmeu, vol. i. p. ^77* 
 
[ 165 ] 
 
 No 228.— -ISAIAH i. 8. 
 
 A& a cottage in a VDieyard- 
 
 This was a little temporary hut, covered with boughs, 
 straw, turf, or the like materials, for a shelter from the 
 heat by day, and the cold and dews by night, for the 
 watchman that kept the garden, or vineyard, duringthe 
 short season while the fruitwasripening, (Jobyi^sW. 18.) 
 and presently removed when it had served that purpose. 
 The eastern people w^ere probably obliged to have such 
 a constant watch to defend the fruit from the jackals. 
 *' The jackal," says Hasselquist (Travels^ p. 277.) 
 " is a species of mustela, which is very common in Pa- 
 lestine, especially during the vintage, and often destroys 
 whole vineyards, and gardens of cucumbers." 
 
 Bp. LowTH in loc 
 
 No 229. — i. 22. Wine mixed xuith water.] This is an 
 image used for the adulteration of wine with more pro- 
 priety than may at first appear, if v/hat Thevenot says of 
 the people of the Levant of late times were true of them 
 formerly. " They never mingle water with their wine 
 to drink, but drink by itself what water they think pro- 
 per for abating the strength of the wine." It is remark- 
 able, that whereas the Greeks and Latins, by mixed wine, 
 always understood wine diluted and lowered with water, 
 the Hebrews on the contrary generally mean by it, wine 
 made stronger and more inebriating, by the addition of 
 higher and more powerful ingredients, such as honey, 
 spices., defrutum, (or wine inspissated by boiling it down 
 to two thirds, or one half of the quantity) myrrh, man- 
 dragora, opiates, and other strong drugs. Such were 
 the exhilarating, or rather stupifying ingredients, which 
 Helen mixed in tlie bowl, together with the wine, for 
 
165 ISAIAH. 
 
 her guests oppressed with grief, to raise their spirits^ 
 the composition of which she had learned in Egypt. 
 (Homer, Odyss- iv. 220.) Such was the spiced wine 
 mentioned, Solomoii's Song viii. 2. ; and how much the 
 eastern people to this day deal in artificial liquors of 
 prodigious strength, the use of wine being forbidden, 
 may be seen in a curious chapter of Kempfcr upon that 
 subjedl. 
 
 Thus the drunkard is properly described as one that 
 seeketh mixed xvine (Prov. xxiii. 30.J and is mighty 
 to mingle strong drink (Isaiah v. 22.^ ; and hence the 
 Psalmist took that highly poetical and sublime image of 
 the cup of God's wrath, called by Isaiah (li. 17.) the cup 
 of tremblings containing, as St John expresses it, CRev, 
 xiv. lO.J pure wine made yet stronger by a mixture of 
 powerful ingredients. In the hand of Jehovah there is 
 a cups ^^^ ^f^^ wine is turbid ; it is full of a mixed liquor ^ 
 and he pour eth out of it: (or rather, he poureth it out of 
 one vessel into another , to mix it perfe6lly) verily , the 
 dregs thereof (the thickest sediment of the strong ingre- 
 dients mingled with it,) all the ungodly of the earth shall 
 
 wring them out, and drink them. 
 
 Bp. LowTH, in loc. 
 
 Nb. 230. — ]. 30. A garden that hath no water ^"l In 
 the hotter parts of the eastern countries, a constant sup- 
 ply of water is so absolutely necessary for the cultiva- 
 tion, and even for the preservation and existence of a 
 garden, that should it want water but for a few days, 
 every thing in it would be burnt up with the heat, and 
 totally destroyed. There is therefore no garden what- 
 ever in those countries but what has such a certain sup- 
 ply, either from some neighbouring river, or from a re- 
 servoir of water colle6led from springs, or filled with 
 rain water in the proper season, in sufficient quantity to 
 afford ample provision for the rest of the year. 
 
ISAIAH. 167 
 
 Moses having described the habitation of man newly- 
 created, as a garden planted with every tree pleasant to 
 the sight, and good for food ; adds, as a circumstance 
 necessary to complete the idea of a garden, that it was 
 well supplied with water. (Gen. iii. 10. and xii. 10.) 
 And a river went out of Eckn to water the garden. 
 
 That the reader may have a clear notion of this mat- 
 ter, it will be necessary to give some account of the 
 management of the gardens in this respeiSl. " Damas- 
 cus," says Maundrell, " is encompassed with gardens, 
 extending no less, according to common estimation, 
 than thirty miles round, which makes it look like a city 
 in a vast wood. The gardens are thick set with fruit 
 trees of all kinds, kept fresh and verdant by the waters 
 of Barrady, (the Chrysorrhoas of the ancients) which 
 supply both the gardens and city in great abundance. 
 This river, as soon as it issues out from between the 
 cleft of the mountain before mentioned into the plains, 
 is immediately divided into three streams ; of which the 
 middlemost and biggest runs dire6lly to Damascus, and 
 is distributed to all the cisterns and fountains of the city. 
 The other two, (which I take to be the work of art) are. 
 drawn round, one to the right hand and the other to 
 the left, on the borders of the gardens, into which they 
 are let as they, pass, by little currents, and so dispersed 
 all over the vast wood, insomuch, that there is not a gar- 
 den but has a fine quick stream running through it. 
 Barrady is almost wholly drank up by the city and gar- 
 dens ; what small part of it escapes is united, as I was 
 informed, in one channel again, on the south-east side 
 of the city, and after about three or four hours course, 
 finally loses itself in a bay there, without ever arriving 
 at the sea." (Journey ^y^. 122. J This was likewise the 
 case in former times, as Strabo, lib. 16.) and Plhit/y 
 (v. 18.) testify, v/ho say, " that this river was expend- 
 ed in canals, and drank up by v/aterlng the place." 
 
16S ISAIAH. 
 
 " The best sight," srjs Maundrell, (Jmirncy^ p. 
 39.) " that the palace (of the emir of Beroot, anciently 
 Berytus) affords, and the worthiest to be remembered, 
 is. the orange gnrden. It contains a large quadrangular 
 plat of ground, divided into sixteen lesser squares, four 
 in a row, with walks between them. The walks are 
 shaded with orange trees of a large spreading size; every 
 one of these sixteen lesser squares in the garden was 
 bordered with stone, and in the stone work were 
 troughs, very anificially contrived, for conveying the 
 water all over the garden, there being little outlets cut 
 at every tree, for the stream as it passed by t'o flow out, 
 and water it." The royal gardens at Ispaham are 
 watered just in the same manner according to ^frw/j/eT'* 
 description. ( Amcen, Exot. p. 193. J See Psalm i. 3. 
 yer. xvii. 8. Prov. xxi. 1. Eccles. ii. 5, 6. 
 
 Bp. LowTH, 171 he. 
 
 No. 231. — ii. 19. The holes of the roch, and the caves 
 of the earth.'\ The country of Judea, being mountain- 
 ous and rocky, is full of caverns, as it appears from the 
 history of David's persecution under Saul. At Engedi 
 in particular there was a cave so large, that David with 
 six hundred men hid themselves in the sides of it, and 
 Saul entei'ed the mouth of the cave without perceiving 
 that any one was there- fl Sam. xxiv.J Josephus, 
 {Ajitiq, lib. xiv- cap. 15. and Bell. Jud. lib. i. cap. 16.) 
 tells us of a numerous gang of banditi, who having 
 infested the country, and being pursued by Herod with 
 his army, retired into certain caverns, almost inaccessi- 
 ble, near Arbela in Galilee, where they were vv^ith great 
 difficulty subdued. Some of these were natural, others 
 artificial. " Beyond Damascus," says Strabo, (lib. 16.) 
 ** are two mountains called Trachones, (from which the 
 country has the name of Trachonilis,) and from hence, 
 towards Arabia and Iturea, are certain rugged raoun- 
 
ISATAH. 169 
 
 tains, In which there are deep caverns, one of which 
 will hold four thousand men." Tavernier, fFoyagc 
 de Pcrsc, part ii. cap. 4.) speaks of a grot, between 
 Aleppo and Bir, that would hold near three thousand' 
 horse. *' Three hours distant from Sidon, about a mile 
 from the sea, there runs along a high rocky mountain, 
 in the sides of which are hewn a multitude of grots, all 
 very little differing from each other. They have en- 
 trances about two feet square ; on the inside you find in 
 most or all of them a room of about four yards square. 
 There are, of diese subterraneous caverns two hundred 
 in number. It may, with probability at least, be con- 
 cluded that these places were contrived for the use of 
 the living, and not of the dead. Slrabo describes the 
 habitations of the Troglodytse to have been somewhat 
 of this kind." C3Iaundre!l, -p. 118.) The Horites, who 
 dwelt on Mount Seir, were Troglodytes, as their name 
 imports ; but those mentioned by Strabo were on each 
 side of the Arabian gulf. Mohammed (Koran^ cap. 
 15 and 24.) speaks of a tribe of Arabians, the tribe of 
 Thamud, " who hewed houses out of the mountains to 
 secure themselves." Thus, because of the Midlanltes the 
 children of Israel made them the dens zvhich are in the 
 7nou7itai?is, andcaves^ and strong holds. (Judges vi. 2.) 
 To these they betook themselves in times of distress, and 
 hostile invasion. When the men of Israel sato that they 
 were in a strait, (for the people -were distressed) then the 
 people hid themselves in caves, and in thickets, and in rocks , 
 and in high places, and in pits. (1 Sam. xiii. 6. Jer. xli. 
 9.) Therefore to enter into the rock ; to go into the holes 
 of the rocks ; and into the caves of the earth ; was to them 
 a very proper and familiar image to express terror and 
 consternation. The prophetHosea hath carried the same 
 image further, and added great strength and spirit to it. 
 (cap. 10, 8.) They shall say to the mountains, Cover us ; 
 and to the hills. Fall on us ; which image, together with 
 
 Y 
 
170 ISAIAH. 
 
 these of Isaiah, is adopted by the sublime author of the 
 Revelation, (cap. vi. 15, 16.) who frequently borrows 
 his imagery from our prophet. 
 
 Bp' LowTH, in loc. 
 
 No. 232. — iii. 16. 31aklng a tinkling with the feet.] 
 RaiiwoIffitW^ us, that the Arab women, whom he saw in 
 going down the Euphrates, wore rings about their legs 
 and hands, and sometimes a good many together, 
 which, in their stepping, slipped up and down, and so 
 made a great noise. Sir John Chardin says, that " in 
 Persia and Arabia they wear rings about their ancles, 
 which are full of little bells. Children and young girls 
 take a particular pleasure in giving them motion; with 
 this view they walk quick." (Harmer, vol, ii. p. 385.) 
 Niebiihr speaks of the great rings which the common 
 and dancing women in Egypt, and an Arabian woman 
 of the desert, wore round their legs. Voyage en Ara- 
 bic^ torn. i. p. 133.) It appears from the Koran, that 
 the Arabian women in Mahomet's time were fond of 
 having the same kind of ornaments noticed. " Let 
 them not ("/. e- the women) make a noise with their feet, 
 that the ornaments which they hide may thereby be dis- 
 covered." (Sale's Koran, cap. xxlv. p. 291. note d.J 
 *' Let tbem not make a noise with their feet^ ^c. by shak- 
 ing the rings which the women in the East wear about 
 their ancles, and which are usually of gold or silver. 
 The pride which the Jewish ladies of old took in making 
 a tinkling with these ornaments of the feet, is (among 
 other things of that nature) severely reproved by the pro- 
 phet Isaiah." 
 
 No. 233. — iii. 17. The Lordvjill expose their naked- 
 ness.'] It was the barbarous custom of the conquerors of 
 these times to strip their captives naked, and to make 
 them travel in that condition, exposed to the inclemency 
 
ISAIAH. 171 
 
 of the weather, and the worst of all, to the intolerable 
 heat of the sun. But this to the women was the height 
 of cruelty and indignity, and especially to such as those 
 here described, who had indulged themselves in all man- 
 ner of delicacies of living, and all the superfiuities of 
 ornamental dress ; and even whose faces had hardly 
 ever been exposed to the sight of man. This is always 
 mentioned as the hardest part of th^lot of captives, 
 (Niihum iii. 5, 6. J Bp. LowtH, in loc. 
 
 No. 234. — iii. 22. Crisplng-pins.'] Mr. Bruce, de- 
 scribing the dress of the inhabitants of Abyssinia, says, 
 they wear " their own hair short and curled like that of 
 a negro's in the west part of Africa. But this is done 
 by art, not by nature, each man having a wooden stick, 
 with which he lays hold of the lock and twists it round a 
 screw, till it curls in the forra'he desires." To this Mr* 
 Bruce adds in a note, " I apprehend this is the same 
 instrument used by the ancients, and censured by the 
 prophets, which, in our translation, is rendered crisp- 
 ing-pins." (Travels, vol. iii. p. 82.) 
 
 No. 235. — v. 26. Hiss unto them.] '• The metaphor 
 is taken from the pra6lice of those that keep bees, who 
 draw them out of their hives into the fields, and lead 
 them back again, by a hiss or a whistle." 
 
 Bp. LowTH, 171 he.- 
 
 No. 236 v. 28. The hoofs of their horses.] "The 
 
 shoeing of horses with iron plates nailed to the hoof is 
 quite a modern pradlice, an was unknown to the an- 
 cients, as appears from the silence of the Greek and 
 Roman writers, especially those that treat of horse- 
 medicine, who could not have passed over a matter so 
 obvious, and of such importance, that now the whole 
 science takes its name from it, being called by us far- 
 
172 ISAIAH. 
 
 riery. The horse-shoes of leather and of iron, which 
 are mentioned ; the silver and the gold shoes, with 
 which Nero and Poppea shod their mules, used occa- 
 sionally to preserve the hoofs of delicate cattle, or for 
 vanity, were of a very different kind; they inclosed the 
 whole hoof, as in a case, or as a shoe does a man's foot, 
 and were bound or tied on. For this reason the strength, 
 firmness, and solidity of a horse's hoof was of much 
 greater importance with them than with us, and was 
 esteemed one of the first praises of a fine horse. For 
 want of this artificial defence to the foot, which our 
 horses have, Amos (vi. 12.) speaks of it as a thing as 
 much impra<5li cable to make horses run upon a hard 
 rock, as to plough up the same rock with oxen. These 
 circumstances must be taken into consideration, in order 
 to give us a full notion of the propriety and force of the 
 image by which the prophet sets forth the strength and 
 excellence of the Babylonish cavalry, which made a 
 great part of the strength of the Assyrian army." 
 
 Bp' LowTH, hi loc' 
 
 No. 237. — viii. 1. A great roll-] " The eastern 
 ^people roll their papers, and do not fold them, because 
 their paper is apt to fret. (Chardin.J The Egyptian pa- 
 pyrus was miuch used, and the brittle nature of it made 
 it proper to roll what they wrote." 
 
 Harmer, vol. ii. p. 170. 7iote, 
 
 No. 238. — ix. 6. The everlasting father. "] It is com- 
 mon in the East to describe any quality of a person by 
 calling him the father of the qualitij. D^ Herbelot speak- 
 ing of a very eminent physician, says (p. 440.) he did 
 such admirable cures that he was surnamed Aboul Ber- 
 ekiat, the father of benediSlions. The original words of 
 this title of Christ may be rendered, the father of that 
 ivhich is everlasting : Christ therefore as the head and 
 
ISAIAH. 173 
 
 introducer of an everlasting dispensation, never to give 
 place to another, was very naturally in the eastern style 
 called the father of eternity. 
 
 Harmer, vol. ii. p. 479. 
 
 No. 259. — X. 1. IVoe unto them that decree unrighte' 
 ous decrees,'] The manner of making eastern decrees 
 differs from ours ; they are first written, and then the 
 magistrate authenticates or annuls them. D'Arvieux 
 (Voy. daiis la Fal. p. 61. 154.) tells us, that when an 
 Arab wants a favour, he applies to the secretary, who 
 draws up a decree according to the request of the par- 
 ty. If the emir grants the favour, he prints his seal up- 
 on it ; if not he returns it torn to the petitioner. Hence 
 we learn wherein the wickedness of those persons con- 
 sisted v/ho wrote those decress to be thus authenticated 
 or annulled by great men. The latter only confirmed 
 or reje6led, whereas all the injustice and iniquity con- 
 tained in those decrees originated v/ith the petitioner 
 and the scribe, v/ho might so concert matters as to de- 
 ceive their superiors. Harmer, vol. ii- p. 289. 
 
 No. 240. — xiv. 4. The golden city.] To represent 
 obje6ls of a superior excellence and importance, com- 
 parisons of the highest order are very properly sele6led. 
 These are sometimes merely simple, and are designed 
 to convey to the mind some predominant quality ; but 
 in other cases they are complex, and the metaphor in- 
 cludes that variety of properties which peculiarly belong 
 to its subje6l. Many figures are taken from gold, both 
 as to its individual and collective attributes. It is made 
 the emblem of value, purity, and splendor. Thus God 
 is likened to gold. The Almighty shall be thy defence. 
 (marg. gold.) Job. xxii. 25. So is the word of God. 
 Psalm xix 10. The saints and their graces are thus 
 represented, Job xxiii. 10. 1 Pet. i. 7. The vials of 
 
ir4 ISAIAH. 
 
 God's wrath are golden., because they are pure and un- 
 mixed with partiality and passion. Rev. xv. 7. What- 
 ever is rich, pompous, and alkiring, is called golden. 
 So Babylon is called a golden city. This cannot un- 
 doubtedly be understood in a literal but figurative 
 sense ; for however great might be the profusion of that 
 metal ih the city of Babylon, it could not be sufficient 
 to give rise to such a description of its magnificence, 
 but by an allowed and perhaps common allusion. From 
 the frequent recurrence of thi^ figure, it must have been 
 in very general use anio:^gst the eastern people ; and 
 since its properties are probably better known than those 
 of most other metals, would readily express the meaning 
 of a writer, and be perfe6lly intelligible to the under- 
 standing of his readers. Pindar stiles gold the 
 
 Richest offspring of the mine ; 
 Gold, like fire, v/hose flashing rays 
 From afar conspicuous gleam 
 Through the night's involving cloud, 
 First in lustre and esteem. 
 Decks the treasures of the proud. 
 
 West's Translation, Ode 1. 
 
 But, in modern times, no Instance perhaps occurs 
 wherein this comparison is so universally made as by 
 the BirmanS' Whoever has read the recently published 
 travels oi Captain Symes, in the kingdom oi Ava, must 
 have had his attention forcibly arrested by this circum- 
 stance; for there almost every thing peculiarly great is 
 stiled golden, and without exception every thing be- 
 longing to the king is so denominated. The city where 
 he resides, the barge which he uses, are stiled golden. 
 The following extra6l will completely explain this cir- 
 cumstance, and form a pleasing addition to the fore- 
 going obsei'vations. " We passed a village," says 
 Captain Symes, " named Shoc-Le-Rua., or Golden- 
 boat-village, from its being inhabited by watermen ia^ 
 
ISAIAH. 175 
 
 the service of the king, whose boats, as well as every 
 thing else belonging to the sovereign.^ have always the 
 addition of shoe^ or golden^ annexed to them. Even 
 his majesty's person is never mentioned but in conjunc- 
 tion witii this precious metal. When a subjedl means 
 to affirm that the king has heard any thing, he says, 
 it has reached the golden ears. He who has obtained 
 admission to the royal presence has been at the golden 
 feet. The perfume of otta of roses, a nobleman observed 
 one day, was an odour grateful to the golden nose. 
 Gold, among the Birmans, is the type of excellence. 
 Although highly valued, however, it is not used for coin 
 in the country. It is employed sometimes in ornaments 
 for the women, and in utensils and ear-rings for the 
 men^ but the greatest quantity is expended in gilding 
 their temples, on which vast sums are continually la- 
 vished. The Birmans present the substance to their 
 gods, and ascribe its qualities to their king." (Emhassij 
 to Ava, vol, ii. p. 226.) These remarks illustrate the 
 comparison where it occurs in the scriptures, and de- 
 monstrate with what design and propriety it is used. 
 
 No. 241. — xiv. 9. The dead.] " The sepulchres 
 of the Hebrews, at least those of respectable persons, 
 and those which hereditarily belonged to the principal 
 families, wereextensive caves, or vaults, excavated from 
 the native rock by art and manual labour. The roofs 
 of them in general were arched : and some were so spa- 
 cious as to be supported by colonnades. All round the 
 sides were cells for the reception of the sarcophagi ; 
 these were properly ornamented with sculpture, and 
 each was placed in its proper cell. The cave or sepul- 
 chre admitted no light, being closed by a great stone, 
 which was rolled to the mouth of the narrow passage 
 or entrance. Many of these receptacles are still extant 
 in Judca ; two in particular are more magnificent thaa 
 
ir6 ISAIAH. 
 
 all the rest and are supposed to be the sepulchres of the 
 tings. One of these is in Jerusalem, and contains 
 twenty-four cells ; the other, containing twice that 
 number, is in a place without the city." Lowth's Lec- 
 tures on the Sacred Poetrij of tlie Hebrexvs^ vol. i. p. 159. 
 Gregory's Translation. 
 
 In the introdu6lory observations to Isaiah xlii. the 
 same learned writer, speaking of these sepulchres of the 
 kings, says, " you are to form to yourself an idea of 
 an immetise subterraneous vault, a vast gloomy cavern, 
 all round the sides of which there are cells to receive the 
 dead bodies : here the deceased nionarchs lie in a dis- 
 tinguished sort of state, suitable to their former rank, 
 each on his own couch, with his arms beside him, 
 his sword at his head, and the bodies of his chiefs and 
 companions round about him. Ezek. xxxii. 27." (See 
 LowTPi's Isaiah. J 
 
 The account which Maundrell gives of such se- 
 pulchres is too interesting to be omitted. " The next 
 place we came to was those famous grots, called sepul- 
 chres of the kings : but for what reason they go by that 
 name is hard to resolve : for it is certain none of the 
 kings, either of Israel or of Judah, were buried here, 
 the holy scriptures assigning other places for their se- 
 pultures: unless it may be thought, perhaps, thatHeze- 
 kiah v/as here interred, and that these were the sepul- 
 chres of the sons of David, mentioned 2 Chron. xxxii. 
 S3. Whoever was buried here, this is certain, that the 
 place itself discovers so great an expence both of labour 
 and of treasure, that we may well suppose it to have 
 been the work of kings. You approach to it at the east 
 side, through an entrance cut out of the natural lock, 
 which admits you into an open court of about forty 
 paces square, cut down into the rock, with which it is 
 encompassed instead of walls. On the south side of 
 the court is a portico, nine paces long and four broad, 
 
ISAIAH. irr 
 
 hewn likewise out of the rock. This has a kind of ar- 
 ciiitrave running along its front, adorned with sculpture 
 of fruits and flowers, still discernible, but by time much 
 defaced. At the end of the portico, on the left hand, 
 you descend to the passage into the sepulchres. The 
 door is now so obstrudled with stones and rubbish, that 
 it is a thing of some difficulty to creep through it ; but 
 within, you arrive in a large fair room, about seven or 
 eight yards square, cut out of the natural rock. Its 
 sides and ceiling are so exadlly square, and its angles so 
 just, that no archite^l with levels and plummets could 
 build a room more regular; and the whole is so firm 
 and intire, that it may be called a chamber hollowed out 
 of one piece of marble. From this room you pass into 
 (I think) six more, one within another, all of the same 
 fabric with the first. Of these, the two innermost are 
 deeper than the rest, having a second descent of about 
 six or seven steps into them. 
 
 In every one of these rooms, except the first, were 
 soffins of stone placed in niches in the sides of the cham- 
 bers. They had been at first covered with handsome 
 lids, and carved v/ith garlands ; but now most of them 
 were broke to pieces by sacrilegious hands. The sides 
 and ceiling of the rooms were always dropping, with 
 the moist damps condensing upon them ; to remedy 
 which nuisance, and to preserve these chambers of the 
 dead polite and clean, there was in each room a small- 
 channel cut in the floor, which served to drain the drops 
 that fall constantly into it." (Journeij from Aleppo to 
 jferitsakni, p. 76, 7th edit. J 
 
 No. 242. — xiv. 13. / tvill sit also upon the mou7it of 
 the congregatio7ij in the sides of the north.'] Captain 
 Wilfordy in a paper communicated to the Asiatic society 
 concerning Mount Caucasus, gives us the opinion of the 
 
 Z 
 
178 ISAIAH. 
 
 Hindus^ respe6lmg the garden of Eden» " They place 
 it," he says, *' on the elevated plains of Buckhara the 
 lesser, where there is a river which goes round Brab- 
 Tiiapiiri^ or the town of Brahma : then through a lake 
 called 3Iansarovara (the existence of which is very 
 doubtful,) and is erroneously supposed by travelling 
 fackeers to be the same with that, from which the Ga;z- 
 ges issues, which is called in Sanscrit, Bindu Sarovara. 
 From the Mansarovara lake come four rivers running 
 towax"d the four corners of the world, through four rocks 
 cut in the shape of the heads of four animals: thus taking 
 literally the corresponding passage of scripture. The 
 CQXv's head is toward the south, and from it issues the 
 Ganga. Towards the west is a horse's head, from which 
 springs the Chocshu or Chocshus ; it is the Oxus> The 
 Sith'ganga or Hoang-ho, issues from an elephant's head, 
 and lastly the Bhadra-ganga^ or Jenisea in Siberia, from 
 a tiger^s head, or a lion''s head, according to others. 
 
 The Hindus generally consider this spot as the abode 
 of the gods, but by no means as the place in which 
 the primogenitors of mankind were created : at least I 
 have not found any passage in the Puranas, that might 
 countenance any such idea^ but rather the contrary. As 
 it is written in ski^ Pur anas, that on mount Meru thti'Q is 
 an eternal day for the space of fourteen degrees round 
 Su-meru; and of course an eternal night for the same 
 space on the opposite side: the Hindus have been forced 
 to suppose that Su-meru is exadlly at the apex or sum' 
 init of the shadov/ of the earth; and that from the earth 
 to this summit, there is an immense conical hill, solid 
 like the rest of the globe, but invisible, impalpable, and 
 pervious to mankind : on the sides of this mountain are 
 various mansions, rising in eminence and prc-excel- 
 lence, as you ascend, and destined for the place of re- 
 sidence of the blessed, according to their merits. God 
 
ISAIAH. 170 
 
 and the principal deities are supposed to be seated in 
 the sides of the north^ on the summits of this mountain, 
 which is called also Sabha., or of the congregation. This 
 opinion is of the greatest antiquity, as it is alluded to by- 
 Isaiah, almost in the words of the Pauranies. This pro- 
 phet describing the fall of the chief of the Daityas^ in- 
 troduces him saying, that he would exalt his throne above 
 the stars of God, and -would sit on the mount of the congre- 
 gation^ in the sides oj the north. The mountain or hill 
 of God is often alluded to in scripture." (Asiatic Re- 
 searches, vol. vi. p. 438.) The circumstances here 
 narrated are too curious to be overlooked, especially as 
 they present us with a striking coincidence witli whcit 
 Moseshas recorded, andaffordus somelightinto the allu- 
 sion of the prophet Isaiah in the passage here referred to. 
 
 No. 243.' — xviii. 2. A 7iation whose land the rivers 
 have spoiled''\ Great injury has often been done to the 
 lands contiguous to large and rapid rivers, especially 
 when inundations have happened. Various occurrences 
 of this nature are mentioned by different travellers, 
 which clearly show the meaning of the prophet in these 
 words. Sonnini relates a circumstance of this kind, to 
 which he was a witness, in passing down the Nile. He 
 says " the reis and the sailors were asleep upon the 
 beach ; I had passed half of the night watching^ and I 
 composed myself to sleep, after giving the watch to two 
 of my companions, but they too had sunk into slumber. 
 The kanja, badly fastened against the shore, broke 
 loose, and the current carried it away with the utmost 
 rapidity. Vv'^e were all asleep; not one of us, not even 
 the boat-men, stretched upon the sand, percaived our 
 manner of sailing down at the mercy of the current. 
 After having floated with the stream for the space of a 
 good league, the boat, hurried along with violence, 
 struck with a .terrible qrjash against the shore, precisely 
 
180 ISAIAH. 
 
 a little below the place from whence the greatest part 
 of the loosened earth fell down. Awakened by this fu- 
 rious shock, we were not slow in perceiving the critical 
 situation into which we were thrown. Thekanja, repelled 
 by the land, which was cut perpendicularly, and driven 
 towards it again by the violence of the current, turned 
 round in every diredlion, and dashed against the shore 
 in such a manner as excited an apprehension that it 
 would be broke to pieces. The darkness of the night, 
 the frightful noise which the masses separated from the 
 shore spread far and wide as they fell into a deep water ; 
 the bubbling which they excited, the agitation of which 
 communicated itself to the boat, rendered our awaken- 
 ing a very melancholy one. There was no time to be 
 lost ; I made my companions take the oars, which the 
 darkness prevented us from finding so soon as we coidd 
 have wished : I sprung to the helm, and, encouraging 
 my new and very inexperienced sailors, we succeeded 
 in making our escape from a repetition of shocks, by 
 which we must all, at length, have inevitably perished ; 
 for scarcely had we gained, after several eitbrts, the 
 middle of the river, than a piece of hardened mud, of 
 an enormous size, tumbled down at the very spot we 
 had just quitted, and which must, had we been but a 
 few minutes later, have carried us to the bottom." Tret- 
 V els 171 Egypt^ vol. iii. p. 148. 
 
 Mr. Bruce has a passage which is much to the pur- 
 pose. He saj's '* the Chronicle of Axum, the most 
 ancient repository of the antiquities of that country, a 
 book esteemed, I shall not say how properly, as the first 
 in authority after the holy scriptures, says, that between 
 the creation of the world and the birth of our Saviour 
 there were 5500 years ; that Al:)yssinia had never been 
 inhabited till 1808 years before Christ, and 200 years 
 after that, which was in 1600, it was laid waste by a 
 flood, the face of the country much changed and de* 
 
ISAIAH. 181 
 
 foiTned, so that it was called at that time oure mldre^ or 
 the land laidwaste^ or as it is called in scripture itself, a 
 hmd which the waters or floods had spoiled-''^ 
 
 No. 244. — :cix. 1. Jehovah shall come into Egypt^ 
 and the idols of Egypt shall be moved at his presence.^ 
 Bolh Eiiaebius (Demonstrat. Evang. lib. vi. cap. 20.) 
 and Athanasius (de Incarnat. Verbis vol. i. p. 89.) have 
 recorded the following fa6l : that, when Joseph and 
 Mary arrived in Egypt, they took up their abode in Her- 
 niopolis, a city of the Thebais, in which was a superb 
 temple of Serapis. Condu6led by providence, or in- 
 duced by curiosity, to visit this temple with the infant 
 Saviour, what was their wonder and consternation, on 
 their very entrance, to find not only the great idol 
 i'jself, but all the dii minores of the temple, fall prostrate 
 before them ! The priests fled away with horror, and 
 •the whole city was in the utmost alarm. The spurious 
 gospel of the Evangeliura Infantiae also relates thisstor}'', 
 which is not, on that account, the less likely to be true, 
 since it is probable that the spurious gospels may con- 
 tain many relations of facls traditionally remembered, 
 however dishonoured by being mingled with the grossest 
 forgeries and puerilities. It is not probable that Euse- 
 bius or Athanasius derived their information from this 
 source. In this relation we have a remarkable comple- 
 tion of the above cited prophecy of Isaiah. 
 
 JvIauricl-'s Hist, of Hindostan, vol. ii. p. 288. 
 
 No. 245. — xxi. 5. Anoint theih:eld.'\ Asthe Israelites 
 were usually very careful of their armour, so particu- 
 larly of their shields. Upon these their names and war- 
 like deeds were generally engraved. These they scour- 
 ed, polished, and oiled. To render and preserve theni 
 bright was an obje6l to which they were exceedingly 
 attentive. This appears to have been done by a/zo/nf- 
 
182 ISAIAH. 
 
 zfig them with oil. Accordingly v/e find Isaiah dlreililing 
 to anoint the shield i and as this was done to give them 
 a lustre, so they were covered with a case when they 
 were not in use, to preserve them from becoming rusty. 
 Hence we read of the imcovering of the shield. C Isaiah 
 xxii. 6.) To this pra6lice may also be referred (^2 Sam. 
 i. 21.) the anointing mentioned, belonging to the shield, 
 and not to Saul, a version of the passage perfe6lly 
 agreeable to the original. 
 
 No. 246. — xxii. 1. Thou art ruholly gone up to the 
 house-tops.'] The houses in the East were in ancient 
 times, as they arc still generally, built in one and the 
 same uniform manner. The roof or top of the house Is 
 always flat, covei'ed with broad stones, or a strong 
 plaster of terrace, and guarded on every side with a low 
 parapet wall. (^Z)ez/f. xxii. 8.) The terrace Is frequented 
 as much as any pvirt of the house. On this, as the sea- 
 son favours, they walk, they eat, they sleep, they trans- 
 a6l business, Cl Sam. ix. 25.) they perform their devo- 
 tions. (ASis X. 9. J The house is built with a court 
 within, into which chiefly the windows open; those that 
 open to the street are so obstructed with lattice-work, 
 tiiat no one either without or within can see through 
 them. Whenever therefore any thing is to be seen or 
 heard in the streets, every one immediately goes up to 
 the house-top to satisfy his curiosity. In the same man- 
 ner, when any one had occasion to make any thing 
 public the readiest and most effectual way of doing it, 
 was to proclaim it from the house-tops to the people in 
 the streets. (Matt. x. 27.J Bp- Lowth, in loc. 
 
 No. 347. — xxii. 16. Hehewcthoutasepulchreonhighy 
 and graveth an habitation jor himself in a r9ck''[ Persons 
 of high rank in Judea and inmost parts of the East, v/ere 
 generally buried in large sepulchral vaults hewn out in 
 
ISAIAH. 183 
 
 the rock, far the use of themselves and their families. 
 The vanity of Shebna is set forth by his being so studi- 
 ous and careful to have his sepulchre on high, in a lofty 
 vault, and that probably in a high situation, that it 
 might be more conspicuous. Hezekiah was buried in 
 the chiefest, says our translation; rather, in the highest 
 part of the sepulchres of the sons of David, to do him 
 the more honour, f2 Cliron. xxxii. 33.) There are some 
 monuments still remaining in Persia of great antiquity, 
 called Naksi Rustam, which give one a clear idea of 
 Shebna's pompous design for his sepulchi'e. They con- 
 sist of several sepulchres, each of them hewn in a high 
 rock near the top ; the front of the rock to the valley 
 below is adorned with carved work in relievo, being the 
 outside of the sepulchre. Some of these sepulchres are 
 about thirty feet in the perpendicular from the valley, 
 which is itself raised perhaps above half as much by the 
 "accumulation of the eai'th since they were made. DiO' 
 dorus S'lcuhis, (lib. 17-) mentions these ancient monu- 
 ments, and calls them the sepulchres of the kings of 
 Persia. Bp. Lowth, in loc. 
 
 No. 248. — xxii. 22. The key of the house of David 
 xvill I lay upon his shoulder. 1 The difficulties which 
 commentators have found in this passage are judi- 
 ciously removed by the learned Bp, Lowth, whose 
 note is as follows : " As the robe and the baldrick, men- 
 tioned in the preceding verse, were the ensigns of 
 power and authority, so likewise was the key the mark 
 of office, either sacred or civil. The priestess of Juno 
 is said to be the key-bearer of the goddess. xAs/^yji^os- 
 \\{xs. jEschyl. SuppL 299. A female high in office un- 
 der a great queen has the same title : 
 
 K^tAXiSo'/j v.htMi>yrps Oy^vfATiix^os 'Bx(Ti?.sivs, 
 
 fAuclor Fhoronidis up, Clem, AUk. p. 418. ediU Poller.) 
 
184 ISAIAH. 
 
 This mark of office was likewise among the Greeks, as 
 here in Isaiah, borne on the shoulder : the priestess 
 of Ceres y-xruixcMixv z)(^s xXxi^x CCallim. Ceres^ ver. 45.) 
 To comprehend how the key could be borne upon the 
 shoulder, it will be necessary to say somewhat of the 
 form of it ; but without entering into a long disquisi- 
 tion, and a great deal of obscure learning concerning 
 the locks and keys of the antients, it will be sufficient 
 to observe, that one sort of keys, and that probably the 
 most ancient, was of considerable magnitude, and as 
 to the shape very much bent and crooked. Aratus, to 
 give his reader an idea of the form of the constellation 
 of Cassiopeia, compares it to a key. It must be owned 
 that the passage is very obscure ; the learned Huetius 
 has bestowed a great deal of pains in explainingit, fAni- 
 madvers. in Maniiii, lib. i. 355.) and I think has suc- 
 ceeded very well in it. Horaer (Odyss. xxi. 6.) de- 
 scribes the key of Ulysses's store house, as tvy.xfjivr.s, of 
 a large curvature, which Eustathius explains by saying 
 it was S/)«77«yo£iS?!s, in shape like a reap-hook. Huetius 
 says, the constellation Cassiopeia answers to this de- 
 scription : the stars to the north making the curve part, 
 that is, the principal part of the key; the southern stars 
 the handle. The curve part was introduced into the 
 key-hole ; and, b^^ing properly dire6ted by the handle, 
 took hold o-f the belts v/ithin, and moved them from 
 their places. We m ly easily collecl from this account, 
 that such a kev would lie very well upon the shoulder j 
 that it must be of some considerable size and weight, 
 and could hardly be commodiously carried otherwise. 
 Ulysses's key was of brass, and the handle of ivory; but 
 this was a royal key; the more common ones were pro- 
 bably of wood. In Egypt they have no other than 
 wooden locks and keys to this day ; even the gates of 
 Cairo, have no better. CBaumgarten, Feregr. i. 18. 
 T/icvenot, part li. th. 10.) 
 
ISAIAH. 185 
 
 In allusion to the Image of the key as the ensign of 
 jK)wer, the - unlimited extent of that power is expressed 
 with great clearness as well as force, by the sole and ex- 
 clusive authority to open and shut. Our Saviour there- 
 fore has upon a similar occasion made use of alike 
 manner of expression, Matt- xvi. 19. and in Rev. ill. 7. 
 has applied to himself the very words of the prophet." 
 
 No. 249. — xxli. 23. Nall.^ In ancient times, and 
 in the Eastern countries, as the way of life, so the houses 
 were much more simple than ours at present. They 
 had not that quantity and variety of furniture, nor those 
 accommodations of all sorts with which we abound. It 
 was convenient, and even necessary for them, and it 
 made an essential part in the building of an house, to 
 furnish the inside of the several apartments with set* 
 of spikes, nails, or large pegs, on which to dispose of 
 and hang up the several moveables and utensils in com- 
 mon use, and proper to the apartment. These spikes 
 they worked Into the walls at the first ere6lion of them, 
 the walls being of such materials, that they could not 
 bear their being driven in afterwards ; and they were 
 contrived so as to strengthen the walls by binding the 
 parts together, as well as to serve for convenience. 
 Chardii-Cs account of the matter is this : " They do not 
 drive with a hammer the nails that are put into the 
 eastern walls ; the walls are too hard, being of brick ; 
 or If they are of clay, too mouldering ; but they fix 
 them In the brick-work as they are building. They 
 are large nails, v.^itl\ square heads, like dice, well made; 
 the ends being bent so as to make them cramp-irons. 
 They commonly place them at the windows and doers, 
 in order to hang upon them, when they like, veils and 
 curtains." (itiARMEK, vol. I. p. 191.) They were put 
 in other places also, in order to hang up other things of 
 various kinds. Ezek. xv. 3. Zcch, x. 4. Ezra ix. 8. 
 
 2 A 
 
185 ISAIAH. 
 
 No. 250. — xxlv. 17' Fear^ and the pit ^ and the snare ^ 
 arc upon theeJl These images are taken from the dif- 
 ferent methods of hunting and taking wild beasts, which 
 were anciently in use. The terror (so Bishop Lowth 
 translates, instead of fear) was a line strung with fea- 
 thers of all colours, which fluttering in the air scared 
 and frightened the beasts into the toils, or into the pit, 
 which was prepared for them. This was digged deep 
 in the ground, and covered over with green boughs, or 
 turf, in order to deceive them, that they might fall into 
 it unawares. The snare or toils were a series of nets, 
 inclosing at first a great space of ground, in which the 
 wild beasts were known to be ; and drawn in by de- 
 grees into a narrower compass, till they were at last 
 closely shut up and entangled in them. 
 
 No. 251. — XXV. 6. Wine on the lees well-refined.'] In 
 the East they keep their wine in jugs, from \vhich they 
 have no method of drawing it off fine : it is therefore 
 commonly somewhat thick and turbid, by the lees with 
 which it is mixed : to remedy this inconvenience they 
 filtrate or strain it through a cloth, and to this custom, 
 as prevailing in his time, the prophet here plainly al- 
 ludes. 
 
 No. 252. — :xxvi. 19. Thy dead men shalllive, toge- 
 ther xUiih my dead body shall they arise.'] It was a 
 pra^lice of high antiquity to plant herbs and flowers 
 about the graves of the dead. Might not this custom 
 originate from the belief of the do6\rinc of the resurrec- 
 tion, or perhaps from this passage of Isaiah : Thy dead 
 men shall live; together xvith my dead body shall they arise : 
 aivakt and sing ^ ye that dxvell in dust ; for thy dcxv is as 
 the dew of herbsy and the earth shall cast out the dead P 
 If it were practised still earlier, might not this passage 
 have some reference to that custom f The women in 
 
IS AT AH. 1S7 
 
 Egypt, according to 3Mllet, (Lett. x. p. 91.) go, at 
 least two days in the \yeek, to pray and weep at the 
 sepulchres of the dead; and the custom then is, to throw 
 upon the tombs a sort of herb, which the Arabs call 
 rihan^ and v/hich is our sxucet basih They cover tliem 
 also with the leaves of the palm-tree. Blyrtle is also 
 made use of to adorn the tombs. Chandler found some 
 graves in Lesser Asia, which had each a bough of myrtle 
 stuck at the head and the feet, (p. 200.) Dallatuay,, on 
 ancient and modern Constantinople, describing the 
 tombs of the Turks, says, " as even the humblest graves 
 are marked by cypresses planted at the head and feet, 
 the groves of these trees are extensive, and in every state 
 of vegetation. The tombs of men are knov/n by tur- 
 bans, which, like coronets among us, denote the rank 
 of the deceased : those of women have a plain round 
 top. The inscriptions are delicately wrought, in raised 
 letters of gold, on a dark ground. Between some of 
 these tombs is placed a chest of ornamented stone, filled 
 with earth, in which are planted herbs and aromatic 
 flowers. These are regularly cultivated by females of 
 the family, who assemble in groupes for that duty." 
 
 No. 253. — xxxii. 20. Blessed are ye that sow beside 
 all waters ; that send forth thither the feet of the ox and 
 the ass.'\ Chardln says, " this exa6lly answers the 
 manner of planting rice, for they sow it upon the water ; 
 and before sowing, while the earth is covered with 
 water, they cause the ground to be trodden by oxen, 
 horses, and asses, which go mid-leg deep ; and this is 
 the way of preparing the ground for sowing. As they 
 sow the rice on the water, they transplant it in the 
 water." Hj^PwMER, vol. i. p. 280. 
 
 No. 254. — XXXV. 7 ' And the parched ground shall 
 become a poo!-'\ Instead o the parched ground^ Bp, 
 
188 ' ISAIAH. 
 
 LowTH translates it, the ghiv'mg sand shall become a pooK 
 and says in a note, that the word is Arabic as well as 
 Hebrew, expressing in both languages the same thing, 
 the glowing sandy plain, which in the hot countries at a 
 distance has the appearance of water. It occurs in the 
 Koran (cap. xxiv.) " But as to the unbelievers, their 
 works are like a vapour in a plain, which the thirsty- 
 traveller thinketh to be water, until, when he cometh 
 thereto, he fiudeth it to be nothing." Mr. Salens note 
 on this place is, the Arabic word serab signifies that 
 false appearance, which in the eastern countries is often 
 seen in sandy plains about noon, resembling a large lake 
 of water in motion, and is occasioned by the reverbera- 
 tion of the sun beams. [* By the quivering undulating 
 motion of that quick succession of vapours and exhala-t 
 tlpns, which are extra6ted by the powerful influence of 
 the sun.' Shaw's Travels^ p. 378-] It sometimes tempts 
 thirsty travellers out of their way, but deceives them 
 when they come near, either going forward, (for it al- 
 >vays appears at the same distance) or quite vanishes. 
 
 No. 255. — xxxvii. 29. / xvill put imj hook in thy 
 7\oseJ] It is usual in the East to fasten an iron ring in 
 the nose of their camels and buffaloes, to which they tie 
 a rope, by means of which they manage these beasts. 
 God is here speaking of Sennacherib, king of Assyria, 
 under the image of a furious refra6lory beast, and ac- 
 cordingly, in allusion to this circumstance, says, Iwicl 
 put mij hook in thy nose. (See Shavv^'s Travels, p. 167. 
 2d edit.) 
 
 No. 256. — xxxviii. 12. ^line age is departed and re- 
 ■moved, from me as a shepherd'' s tent,'\ Besides those who 
 live >thoUy in teuls, numbers of the eastern people spend 
 part of the year in, them. Pococke., tells us, he fell in 
 yr\i\i,2L summer village of country people, whose huts werf 
 
ISAIAH. 18§ 
 
 made of loose stones, covered with reeds and boughs, 
 •their winter village being on the side of an hill at some 
 distance. (^Trape/.^, vol. ii. p. 158.) He also mentions 
 another village, the inhabitants of which lived under 
 tents. It was done in a great measure for the accommo- 
 dation of their flocks. Probably in this passage Heze- 
 kiah alludes to these portable dwellings. 
 
 No. 257. — xl. 12. Measur ed the vjater in the hollow 
 of his haiid.'\ Having pointed out the hieroglyphic 
 meaning of the other signs of the zodiac, Jilr. Maurice 
 adds, " The Libra of the zodiac is perpetually seen upon 
 all ihe hieroglyphics of Egypt which is at once an ar- 
 gument of the great antiquity of that asterism, and of 
 the probability of its having been originally fabricated 
 by the astronomical sons of Mlsraim. By the balance 
 they are supposed by some to have denoted the equality 
 of days and nights, at the period of the sun's arriving 
 at this sign. And by others it is asserted, that this 
 asterism, at first only the beam, was exalted to its station 
 in the zodiac from its being the useful nilometer, by 
 which they measured the height of the inundating 
 waters, to which Egyptian custom there may ^555/7>i/y 
 be some remote allusion in this passage, where the pro- 
 phet describes the Almighty as measuring ihe -waters in 
 the holloxv of his hand. 
 
 Indian Antiquities^ vol. iii. p. 240. 
 
 No. 258. — sli. 15. Threshing.l The manner 'of 
 threshing corn in the East differs essentially from the 
 method practised in western countries. It has been fully 
 described by travellers;, from whose writings such ex- 
 tra6ls are here made, and conne6led together, as will 
 convey a tolerable idea of this subjefl. In Isaiah xxviii, 
 27, 28. four methods of threshing are mentioned, as 
 eife6led by different instruments; the flail, the drag, the 
 >vain, and the treading of the caUle. The staff, or flail, 
 
190 ISAIAH. 
 
 was used for ihtinjirmiora semina, saysHieron, the grain 
 that was too tender to be treated in the other methods. 
 The drag consisted of a sort of frame ox strong planks, 
 made rough at the bottom with hard stones or iron ; 
 it was drawn by horses or oxen over the corn-sheaves 
 spread on the floor, the driver sitting upon it. The 
 wain was much like the former, but had wheels with 
 iron teeth, or edges like a saw. The axle was armed 
 with iron teeth, or serrated v.'hcels throughout: it moves 
 upon three rollers, armed with iron teeth or wheels, to 
 cut the straw. In Syria they make use of the drag, 
 constru6led in the very same manner as above de- 
 scribed. This not only forced out the grain, but cut 
 the straw in pieces for fodder for the cattle, for in the 
 eastern countries they have no hay. The last method 
 is well known from the law of P/Ioses, which forbids 
 the ox to be muzzled when he treadeth oat the corn. 
 Dcift-xxv. 4: C^P' Lowth's note on Isaiah xxviii. 
 
 *' In threshing their corn, the Arabians lay the 
 sheaves down in a certain order, and then lead over 
 them two oxen, dragging a large stone. This mode 
 of separating the ears from the straw is not unlike that 
 of Egypt." (^NiEBUHR's 7"rrtU(?/s, p. 299.) 
 
 *' They use oxen, as the ancients did, to beat out their 
 corn, by trampling upon the sheaves, and dragging 
 after them a clumsy machine. This machine is not, as 
 iu^ Arabia, a stone cylinder, nor a plank ^v•ith sharp 
 stones, as in Syria, but a sort of sledge, consisting of 
 three rollers, fitted with Irons, which turn upon axles. A 
 farmer chooses out a level spot in his fields, and has his 
 corn carried thither in sheaves, upon asses, or drome- 
 daries. Two oxen are then yoked in a sledge, a driver 
 cets upon it, and drives them backv/ards and forwards 
 (rather in a circle) upon the sheaves, and fresh oxen suc^ 
 ceed in the yoke from time to time. By this operation 
 the chalF is very much cut dovrn : the Vvholc is then 
 
ISAIAH. 191 
 
 winnowed, and the pure grain thus separated. This 
 mode of threshing out the corn is tedious and inconve- 
 nient; it destroys the chaff, and injures the quality of 
 the grain," (Niebuhr's Travels, vol. i. p. 89.) 
 
 In another place Niebuhr tells us that '* two parcels 
 or lavers of corn are threshed out in a day; and they 
 move each of them as many as eight times, v/itha wooden 
 fork of five prongs, which they call meddre. After- 
 wards they throw the straw into the middle of the ring, 
 where it forms a heap, which grows b;gi:^er and bigger ; 
 v,'hen the first layer is threshed, they replace the straw 
 in the ring, and thresh it as before. Thus the straw 
 becomes every time smaller, till at last it resembles 
 chopt stravr. After this, with the fork just described, 
 they cast the vy-hole some yards from thence, and against 
 the wind, which driving back the stravv'', the corn and 
 the ears not threshed out fall apart from it, and make 
 another heap. A man colle£ls the clods of dirt, and 
 other im^puritles, to which any corn adheres, and throws 
 them into a sieve- They afterwards place in a ring the 
 heaps, in Vvhich a good many entire ears are still found, 
 and drive over them for four or five hours together 
 a dozen couple of oxen, joined two and two, till by 
 absolute trampling they have separated the grains, v;hich 
 they throw into the air with a shovel to cleanse them." 
 
 " The Bloors and Arabs continue to tread out their 
 corn after the primitive custom of the East. Instead 
 of beeves they frequently make use of mules and horses, 
 by tying in the like manner by the neck three or four 
 of them together, and whipping them afterwards round 
 about the nedders (as they call the threshing floors, the 
 Lybiciz area of Horace) where the sheaves lie open and 
 expanded in the same manner as they are placed and 
 prepared with us for threshing. This, indeed, is a 
 mucti quicker way than ours, but less cleanly ; for, as 
 it is performed in the open air, (Rosea xiii. 3.) upon 
 
192 ISAIAH. 
 
 any round level plat of ground daubed over with cow*s 
 dung, to prevent, as much as possible, the earth, sand, 
 or gravel from rising, a great quantity of them uU, 
 notwithstanding this precaution, must unavoidably be 
 taken up with the grain ; at the same time the straw, 
 which is their only fodder, is hereby shattered to pieces, 
 a circumstance vtry pertinently alluded to 2 Kings xiii. 
 7. where the king of Syria is said to have made the Is- 
 raelites like dust by threshing." (Shaw's Travels, p. 
 138, 139. 2d edit.) 
 
 Homer, has described the method of threshing corn 
 by the feet of oxen, as pra6lised in his time and 
 country ; 
 
 As with autumnal harvests cover'd o'er, 
 And thick bestrewn lies Ceres' sacred floor, 
 When round and round, with never-weary 'd pain, 
 The trampling steers beat out tli' unnumber'd grain. 
 
 Iliad XX. lin. 495. Pope. 
 
 No. 259. — xlii. 11. Wilderne.3s.~\ ^^ By desert, or xi'il- 
 derncss, the reader is not always to understand a coun- 
 try ahcgtther barren and unfruitful, but such onl)?- as is 
 rarely or never sown or cultivated ; which, though it 
 yields no crops of corn or fruit, yet affords herbage, 
 more or less, for the grazing of cattle, with fountains 
 or rills of water, though more sparingly interspersed 
 than in other places." Shaw's Travels, p. 9. note. 
 Agreeable to this account we find that Nabal, who was 
 possessedof three thousand bheep, and a thousand goats, 
 dwelt in the wilderness, 1 Sam. xxv. 2. This it would 
 have been impossible for him to have done, had there 
 not been sufficient pasturage for his flocks and herds. 
 
 No. 2S0. — xliii. 2. When thou walkest throiicrh the 
 fire thou shalt not be burnt.'] The setting of the grass 
 and undergrowth on fire in the East was practised to 
 
ISAIAH. 193 
 
 annoy their enemies, and sometimes occasioned great 
 terror and distress. So we find in Hcavkeswortli's ac- 
 count of the late voyages to the South Seas, the wild 
 inhabitants of new Souih Wales endeavoured to destroy 
 some tents and stores belonging to Captain Cook's ship, 
 when he was repairing it, by setting fire to the long 
 grass of that country. From the words of the prophet 
 it appears to have been a very ancient stratagem. 
 
 i Harmer, vol. iv. p. 151. 
 
 No. 261 — xliv. 5. Subscribe zv'ith his hand.'\ This 
 is an allusion to the marks which were made by punc- 
 tures, rendered indelible by fire or by staining, upon 
 the hand, or some other part of the body, signifying 
 the state or chara6ler of the person, and to whom he 
 belonged. The slave was marked with the name of his 
 master; the soldier of his commander; the idolater 
 with the name or ensign of his god ; and the Christians 
 seem to have imitated this pra6lice by what Procopius 
 says upon this place of Isaiah. " Many marked their 
 wrists or their arms with the sign of the cross, or with 
 the name of Christ." Bp. Lowth, in loc- 
 
 To this explanation I shall subjoin the following ex- 
 tra61; from Dr. Doddridge^ s Sermons to Toung People ^ 
 p. 79. both as it corroborates and still further elucidates 
 this transadlion. , " Some very celebrated translators 
 and criticks understand the words which we render, sub- 
 scribe with his hand unto the Lord^ in a sense a little 
 different from that which our English version has given 
 them. They would rather render them, another shall 
 •vurite upon his hand, I am the Lord^s ; and they sup- 
 pose it refers to a custom which formerly prevailed in 
 the East, of stamping the name of the general on the 
 soldier, or that of the master on the slave. As this name 
 was sometimes borne on the forehead, so at other times 
 on the hand ; and it is certain that several scriptures, 
 
 2 B 
 
194 ISAIAH. 
 
 which may easily be recolle6lecl, are to be explained as 
 alluding to this; Rev. xiii. 16, 17. Rev. vii. 2, 3. Rev. iii. 
 12. Now from hence it seems to have grown into a 
 custom amongst some idolatrous nations, when solemnly 
 devoting themselves to the service of any deity, to be 
 initiated into it by receiving some marks in their flesh, 
 which might never wear out. This interpretation the 
 original will certainly bear ; and it here makes a very 
 strong and beautiful sense, since every true christian 
 has a sacred, and indelible chara6ler'upon him, which 
 shall never be erased. But if we retain our own version 
 it will come to nearly the same, and evidently refers to 
 a pra6lice which was sometimes used among the Jews, 
 CNehem. ix. 38. x. 29.) and which is indeed exceeding- 
 natural, of obliging themselves to the service of God, 
 by setting their hands to some written articles, empha- 
 tically expressing such a resolution." 
 
 No, 262. — xliv. 18. Shut their eyes-l One of the solem- 
 nities at a Jewish wedding at Aleppo is, fastening the 
 eye-lids together xvithgum. The bridegroom is the per- 
 son who opens the bride's eyes at the appointed time. 
 Russell's Hist, of Aleppo, p. 132.) To this custom 
 there does not appear to be any reference in the scrip- 
 tures ; but it was used also as a punishment in these 
 countries. Sir T. Roe's chaplain, in his account of his 
 voyage to the East Indies, mentions a son of the great 
 mogul, whom he had seen, who had been cast into 
 prison by his father, where " his eyes were seiileduf:, (by 
 something put before them v/hich might not be taken 
 cS) for the space of three years, after which time that 
 seal was taken away, that he might with freedom enjoy 
 the light, though not his liberty.*' (p. 471 •) Other 
 princes have been treated after a different manner, 
 when it has been thought fit to keep them under : they 
 have hud dniii-s administered to them to render them 
 
ISAIAH. 19S 
 
 stupid. Thus Olearius tells us (p. 915.) that Schach 
 Abas, the celebrated Persian monarch, who died in 
 1629, ordered a certain quantity of opium to be given 
 every day to his grandson, who was to be his successor, 
 to render him stupid, that he might not have any reason 
 to fear him. Such are probably the circumstances al- 
 luded to in this passage, as also in Isaiah vi. 10. and in 
 this view how beautiful do these words appear I The 
 quality of the persons thus treated, the tenderness ex- 
 pressed in these sorts of punishments, the temporary 
 nature of them, and the after design of making them 
 partakers of the highest honours, all which circum- 
 stances appear in these quotations, serve to throw a soft- 
 ness over this dispensation of Providence towards those 
 who deserved great severity. 
 
 Harmer, vol. ii. p. 278. 
 
 No. 263. — xlv. S. Treasures of darkness-"] Treasures 
 were frequently hid in the East when they were appre- 
 hensive of any danger. Sorcery was considered as the 
 most efFedlual method of discovering them. But we 
 are not to imagine that persons of this description had 
 any other knowledge than what they derived from in- 
 quiry and examination, however for interested pur- 
 poses they might pretend the contrar)\ God opposed 
 his prophets to such pretenders as these, that by really 
 communicating to them the knowledge of hidden riches, 
 he might make it manifest that he was the Godqf Lrael, 
 
 Harmer, vol. ii. p. 282. 
 
 No. 264. — xlvi. 2. Themselves are gone into capti- 
 vity.] It was a custom among the heathens to carry in 
 triumph the images of the gods of such nations as they 
 had vanquished. Isaiah prophesies of Cyrus, that in 
 this manner he would treai the gods of Babylon : Bel 
 
196 ISAIAH. 
 
 boweth down, Neho stoopeth; their idols are laid upon the 
 beasts and upon the cattle.^ and themselves are gone into 
 captivity. Daniel foretels of Ptolemy Euergetes, that 
 he \fo\x\& carry captive into Egypt thegodsefthe Syrians, 
 with their princes, ch. xi. vcr. 8- and the like predi6lions 
 are to be met with in yer. xlviii. 7- and in Amos i. IS, 
 We need less wonder, therefore, that we find Plutarch, 
 in the life of Marcellus telling us, that he took away, 
 out of the temple of Syracuse, the most beautiful pic- 
 tures and statues of their gods ; and that afterwards it 
 became a reproach to Marcellus, and raised the indig- 
 nation of other nations against Rome, that he carried 
 along with him, not men only, but the very gods, cap- 
 tive and in triumph. Saurin, vol. iv. Dissert. 24. 
 
 No. 265. — xlix. 16. / have graven thee upon the 
 palms of my hands.'\ This is an allusion to the eastern 
 custom of tracing out on their hands, not the names, but 
 the sketches of certain eminent cities or places, and 
 then rubbing them with the powder of the hennah or 
 cypress, and thereby making the marks perpetual. 
 This custom Maundrell, thus describes : " The next 
 morning nothing extraordinary passed, which gave 
 many of the pilgrims leisure to have their arms marked 
 with the usual ensigns of Jerusalem. The artists, who 
 undertake the operation, do it in this manner : they 
 have stamps in wood of any figure that you desire, 
 which they first print off upon your arm, with powder 
 of charcoal; then taking two very fine needles tied close 
 together, and dipping them often, like a pen, in certain 
 ink, compounded, as I was informed, of gunpowder and 
 ox gall, they make with them small pundtures all along 
 the lines of the figure which they have printed, and 
 then washing the part in wine, conclude the work. 
 These pundlures they make with great quickness and 
 
ISAIAH. 197 
 
 dexterity, and with scarce any smart, seldom pierc- 
 ing so deep as to draw blood." Journey^ at diarchy 
 2/. 
 
 No. 266. — xlix. 23. They shall boxv down to theezuith 
 their face toxvard the earth."] It is well known, that ex- 
 pressions of submission, homage, and reverence, always 
 have been, and are still carried to a great degree of ex- 
 travagance in the eastern countries. When Joseph's 
 brethren were introduced to him, they bowed down them- 
 selves before him -with their faces to the earth. (Gen. xlii. 
 6.) The kings of Persia never admitted any one to 
 their presence without exa6ling this a6l of adoration, 
 for that was the proper term for it. The insolence of 
 eastern monarchs te conquei-ed princes, and the submis- 
 sion of the latter, is astonishing. Mr. Harmer {yo\. ii. 
 p. 43.) gives the following instance of it from D"* Herbe- 
 lot; This prince threw himself one day on the ground, 
 and kissed the prints that his vi6lorious enemy's horse 
 had made there, reciting some verses in Persian, which 
 he had composed, to this effedl : 
 
 The mark that the foot of your horse has left upon the dust 
 
 serves me now for a crown. 
 The ring, which I wear as the badge of my slavery, is become 
 
 my richest ornament. 
 While I shall hjive the happiness to kiss the dust of your feet, 
 
 I shall think that fortune favours me with its tenderest 
 
 caresses and its sweetest kisses. 
 
 These expressions, therefore, of the prophet are only 
 general poetical images taken from the manners of the 
 country, to denote great respe6l and reverence ; and 
 such splendid poetical images, which frequently occur 
 in the prophetical writings, were intended only as ge- 
 neral amplifications of the subj/(?l, not as predi6lions to 
 be understood and fulfilled precisely according to the 
 letter. Bp. Lowth, in loc. 
 
198 ISAIAH. 
 
 No. 267. — ^lii. 10. Made bare his arm.] Making bare 
 the arm alludes to the form of the eastern hykes, which, 
 having no sleeves, and their arms being frequently 
 wrapped up in them, it was necessary, when the people 
 proposed exerting themselves, to make their arms bare. 
 (Ezek. iv. 7.) 
 
 No. 268.^ — li*. 15. So shall he sprinkle many nations.] 
 " This passage has been embarrassing to commentators, 
 especially the expression of Sprinkling many nations. 
 The sense of astonishing many has been followed by the 
 LXX. our translators say sprinkle. Some have united the 
 ideas, * he shall sprinkle many nations with astonish- 
 ment.' By attending to the scope of the passage, 
 perhaps we shall see whence these ideas, seemingly so 
 different, took their rise, and that they are radically 
 the same. Imagine a great personage, a king, to be the 
 speaker : *' I, myself, consider a certain servant of mine, 
 my officer of state, as a very prudent and wise person; 
 but when strangers look at him, they see only a mean 
 and unpromising figure, so that when he introduces them 
 into my presence, they wonder at seeing such an one in 
 my court: but these strangers are from countries so very 
 distant, as to be entirely unacquainted with our customs 
 and manners ; for when, as a sign of their kind recep- 
 tion, my servant sprinkles them with fragrant waters, 
 they are absolutely astonished at this mode of shewing 
 kindness, and what they had never before heard of, that 
 they now see pra6lised ; and what they were intire 
 strangers to, that they now experience." 
 
 " Though I believe this representation of this passage 
 to be uncommon, perhaps new, I shall not stay to con- 
 sider who are these distant strangers, nor who is this 
 person whose external appearance so ill denotes his 
 internal excellencies, but shall merely subjoin the fol- 
 lowing extra<5ls, which seem to me satisfa(5\orily to ac- 
 
ISAIAH. 199 
 
 cdunt for the same Hebrew word being taken by some 
 translators to signify sprinklings by others to signify 
 astonishment. 
 
 *' He put it (the letter) accordingly in his bosom, and 
 our coffee being done, I rose to take my leave, and was 
 presently wet to the skin by deluges of orange-flower 
 water." (^Bruce's Traue/^, vol. iii. p. 14.) N. B. This 
 is the customary mode of doing respe(5lful and kind 
 honour to a guest throughout the East. 
 
 *' The first time we were received with all the eastern 
 ceremonies (it was at Rosetta, at a Greek merchant's 
 house) there was one of our company, who was exces- 
 sively surprised when a domestic placed himself before 
 him, and threxv water over him^ as well on his face as over 
 his clothes. By good fortune there was with us an 
 European acquainted with the customs of the country, 
 who explained the matter to us in few words, without 
 which we should have become laughing-stocks to the 
 eastern people who were present." (^Niebuhr, Descrip. 
 r Arable, French edit. p. 52.) 
 
 How naturally then, might the idea of sprinkling sug- 
 gest that of surprise, in relation to very distant strangers I 
 and how near to equivalent were these ideas in the es- 
 timation of the ancient translators, though to us widely 
 dissimilar ! (See Fragments supplementarxj to Cahnet*s 
 JDidl. No. 14. 
 
 No 269. — Iviii. 13. Pleasure on my holy day."] The 
 manner in which the modern christianized Greeks ob- 
 serve the sabbath was derived, probably, from the man- 
 ner in which their pagan ancestors observed their sacred 
 days. " In the evening," says Chandler, (Trav. p. 18.) 
 speaking of his visiting the island Tenedos, "this being 
 Sunday, and a festival, we were much amused with 
 Seeing the Greeks, who were singing and dancing, in 
 
200 ISAIAH. 
 
 several companies, to music, near the town, while their 
 women were sitting in groupes on the roofs of the hous- 
 es, which are flat, as spe6lators, at the same time enjoy- 
 ing the soft air and serene sky." The ancient Egyptian 
 festivals were observed with processions, music, and 
 other tokens of joy. The sabbaths of Jehovah were to 
 be regarded in a very different manner, as appears from 
 the prohibitions contained in these words of Isaiah. 
 
 Warmer, vol. iii. p. 346. 
 
 No. 2ro. — Iviii. 13. Call the sabhaih a delight.'] In 
 honour of the sabbath the Jews are accustomed to light 
 and burn a lamp, which they call the lamp of the sabbath. 
 *' The rest of the sabbath began on Friday in the even- 
 ing, half an hour before sun-set. They then light a 
 candle of four wicks, which burns part of the night, and 
 this is one of the ceremonies, which they observe with 
 the greatest exa6lness. The poor are obliged to beg to 
 get oil, or to deprive themselves of sustenance, rather 
 than fail to have a lamp burning in their houses, because 
 that is necessary for the delight of the sabbath^ mentioned 
 by the prophet Isaiah." (Basnage's His. of the Jews, 
 p. 440.) 
 
 The account which Levi gives of this custom in his 
 Rites and Ceremonies of the yews, (p. 8.) is rather dif- 
 ferent from the foregoing, but is on the whole more par- 
 ticular and satisfa6lory. He says, " as soon as the sab- 
 bath is begun, they are obliged to leave all manner of 
 work, and, after having cleaned themselves in honour 
 of the sabbath, go to the synagogue, to the evening ser- 
 vice of the sabbath; and the women are bound to light 
 a lamp with seven cotton wicks, in remembrance of the 
 days of the week, saying the following grace: ' Blessed 
 art thou, O Lord our God, king of the universe, who 
 hast san6lliied us with thy commandments, and com- 
 
ISAIAH. 201 
 
 manded us to light the lamp of the sabbath.' This ce- 
 remony of lighting the lamp of the sabbath is invaria- 
 blv assigned to the women, the reason of which is, that 
 as their original mother, by her crime in eating of the 
 forbidden fruit, first extinguished the lamp of righteous- 
 ness, they are to make an atonement for that crime, by 
 rekindling it, in lighting the lamp of the sabbath." 
 
 No. 271 . — Ix. 4. Thy daughters shall be 7iursed at 
 thy side."] Chardin says, " it is the general custom of the 
 East to carry their children astride upon the hip, with 
 the arm round the body," Pitts relates (p. 68.) that 
 when the Algerine slaves take the children out, the boys 
 ride upon their shoulders. So Symes^ describing a religi- 
 ous procession which he saw in Ava, says (v. ii. p. 23.) 
 " the first personages of rank who passed by were three 
 children of the maywoon, borne astride upon men's 
 shoulders." See also Harmer, vol. ii. p. 366. 
 
 No. 27'2. — Ix. 8. Doves.'] It appears from the sacred 
 as well as other writers, that doves have been held in 
 the highest estimation in the eastern nations. Modern 
 travellers assure us, that this veneration for them con- 
 tinues to this day. Thus the Baron du Tot, (in his Me- 
 moirs of the Turkish Empire) describing how the Turks 
 esteem these birds, says, "that whilst their government 
 enforces the most rigorous monopoly of the corn which 
 is consumed in the capital, by an exa6lion ruinous to 
 the cultivator, and a distribution less burthensome to the 
 baker than the consumer, it allows so much per cent, in 
 favour of turtle doves. A cloud of these birds constantly 
 alight on the vessels, which cross the port of Constanti- 
 nople, and carry their commodity^ uncovered, either to 
 the magazines or the mills. The boatmen never oppose 
 their greediness. This permission to feast on the grain 
 
 2C 
 
2oa ISAIAH. 
 
 brings them in great numbers, and familarizes them to 
 such a degree, that I have seen them standing on the 
 shoulders of the rowers, watching for a vacant place 
 where they might fill their crops in their turn." 
 
 No. 273. — Ix. 8. They shall Jly as a cloud, and as the 
 
 doves to their xvindoxos.l M. Savary, (in his Letters on 
 
 Egypt) speaking of a vi6lory, says, " on the morning of 
 
 that memorable day, a pigeon was sent off from Man- 
 
 seura, to carry to Grand Cairo the news of the death of 
 
 Facr Eddin, and of the flight of the Egyptians." This 
 
 custom of employing pigeons to carry messages with 
 
 expedition, which has so long subsisted in the East, is 
 
 at present abolished. Possibly this pra6lice of using the 
 
 rapid swiftness of these birds for purposes of the utmost 
 
 dispatch, and the vehemence with which they retui-ned 
 
 to their accustomed habitations, may be alluded to by 
 
 Isaiah, who, when describing the eagerness with which 
 
 the flocks of Gentiles should crowd into the church of 
 
 Christ, says, they shall jiy as a cloud, ajid as the doves to 
 
 their windows. 
 
 Dr. Russel tells us, when pigeons were employed as 
 posts, they not only placed the paper containing the 
 news under the wing, to prevent its being destroyed by 
 wet, but " used to bathe their feet in vinegar, with a 
 view to keep them cool, so that they might not settle to 
 drink or wash themselves, which would have destroyed 
 the paper." (Hist, of Aleppo, vol. ii. p. 203.) 
 
 No. 274. — Ixii. 5. As a young manmarrieth a virgin.'\ 
 In a note upon this passage Chardin observes, that it is 
 the custom in the East for youths that were never mar- 
 ried always to marry virgins ; and widowers, howev- 
 er young, to marry widows. If this practice prevailed 
 in the days of the prophet, his marrying a virgin must 
 
ISAIAH. 203 
 
 have appeared extraordinary ; since, on account of his 
 age, and the early period at which they generally mar- 
 ried, it is probable he was now a widower. If this was 
 the case, it must have appeared particular, and have 
 excited great attention. Harmer, vol. ii. p. 482. 
 
 No. 275. — Ixv. 4. Who remain mnongst the gravesJ^ 
 " The old Hebrews had an idolatrous custom among 
 them, of going among the tombs to receive dreams, by 
 which they judged of events, and how to manage their 
 affairs; for they are charged by the prophet Isaiah with 
 remaining among the graves^ and lodging in the raonu- 
 mentSy which is rendered by the LXX. xuith sleeping in 
 the tombs, upon the account of dreams ; and it is reason- 
 able to believe that the sepulchre of Moses was purpose- 
 ly concealed, lest in after times it should become an ob- 
 je6l of worship and adoration ; for, says R. Levi ben 
 GersoMf future generations perhaps might have made a 
 god of him, because of the fame of his miracles; for do 
 we not see some of the Israelites erred on account of 
 the brazen serpent which Moses made ?" 
 
 Lewis's Origines Hebraa, vol. iii. p. 381. 
 
[ 204 ] 
 
 No. 276.— JEREMIAH iii. 2. 
 
 In the xvays hast thou sat for them^ as the Arabian in the 
 xvilderness. 
 
 Chardin has given a veiy strong and lively descrip- 
 tion of the eagerness with which the Arabians look out 
 for prey. " The Arabs wait for caravans with the most 
 violent avidity, looking about them on all sides, raising 
 themselves up on their horses, running here and there 
 to see if they can perceive any smoke, or dust, or tracks 
 on the ground, or any other marks of people passing 
 along. Harmer, vol. i. p. 95. 
 
 No. 277. — iv. 17. As keepers of a field are they 
 flgainst her round about.'] Plantations of esculent vegeta- 
 bles are not unfrequently cultivated in the East without 
 enclosures ; they would of course require to be watched 
 as they improved in value, and became fit to use. So 
 Chardin says, that " as in the East, pulse, roots, &c. 
 grow in open and uninclosed fields, when they begin 
 to be fit to gather they place guards, if near a great 
 road more, if distant fewer, who place themselves in a 
 round about these grounds." 
 
 Harmer, vol. i. p. 455. 
 
 No. 278. — iv. 30. Thou rendest thy face xuith paint- 
 ing.'\ Several authors, and X,ady 3L W. Montague in 
 particular, C Letters, vol. ii. p. 32.) have taken notice of 
 the custom that has obtained from time immemorial 
 among the eastern women, of tinging the eyes with a 
 pov/der, which, at a distance, or by candle-light, adds 
 very much to the blackness of them. The ancients call 
 tlie mineral substance, with which this was done, stibium^ 
 
JEREMIAH. 205 
 
 ..that is, antimony ; but Dr. Sharv tells us, (Travels^ p. 
 229.) it is a rich /tW ore, which, according to the de- 
 scription of naturalists, looks very much like antimon)-. 
 Those that are unacquainted with that substance may 
 form a tolerable idea of it, by being told it is not very 
 unlike the black-lead of which pencils are made, that 
 are in every body's hands. 
 
 Pietro Delia Falle, giving a description of his wife, an 
 Assyrian Lady, born in Mesopotamia, and educated at 
 Bagdad, whom he married in that country, says, 
 CViaggi, torn. i. lettera 17-) "her eye-lashes, which are 
 long, and, according to the custom of the East, dressed 
 with stibium, as we often read in the holy scriptvires of 
 the Plebrew women of old, (Ezek. xxiii. 40.) and in 
 Xenophon^ of Astyages, the grandfather of Cyrus, and of 
 the Medes of that time, (Cyropad. lib. i.) give a dark, 
 and at the same time majestic shade to the eves." 
 *' Great eyes," says Sandys, (Trav. p. 67.) speaking 
 of the Turkish women, " they have in principal re- 
 pute ; and of those the blacker they be the more amiable; 
 insomuch that they put betv/een the eye-lids and the 
 eye a certain black powder, v/ith a fiqe long pencil, 
 made of a mineral, brought fi-om the kingdom of Fez, 
 and called alchole^ which by the not disagreeable stain- 
 ing of the lids doth better set forth the whiteness of the 
 eye ; and though it be troublesome for a time, yet it 
 comforteth the sight, and rcpelleih ill humours." 
 
 Dr. Shaw furnishes us with the following remarks on 
 this subjedl. " But none of these ladies take them- 
 selves to be completely dressed, till they have tinged 
 the hair and edges of their eye-lids with the powder of 
 lead ore. Now as this operation is performed by dip- 
 ping first into the powder a small wooden bodkin of the 
 thickness of a quill, and then drawing- it afterwards, 
 through the eye-lids, over the ball of the eye, we sh dl 
 have a lively image of what the pn\phet (Jer, iv. 30.) 
 
206 JEREMIAH. 
 
 may be supposed to mean by re7iding the eyes with 
 pa'mting. The sooty colour, which is in this manner 
 communicated to the eyes, is thought to add a wonder- 
 ful gracefulness to persons of all complexions. The 
 pra(5lice of it, no doubt, is of great antiquity; for besides 
 the instance already taken notice of, we find that when 
 Jezebel is said, (2 Kings ix. 30.) to have painted her 
 face., the original words are, she adjusted her eyes ivith 
 the powder of lead ore.'''' (Trav. p. 294. fol. edit.) 
 
 This pra6lice still maintains its influence in various 
 parts of the world. Numerous instances of it occur in 
 modern voj'ages and travels. A single extra6l will be 
 sufficient to demonstrate its present existence. Captain 
 Symes says, that " the Birmans, both men and women, 
 colour their teeth, their eye-lashes, and the edges of 
 their eye-lids, with black. This custom is not confined 
 to the Birmans, particularly the operation of colouring 
 the eye-lashes : the women of Hindostan and Persia 
 commonly pra6lise it. They deem it beneficial as well 
 as becoming. The coUyrium they use is called surma, 
 the Persian name of antimony." (Embassy to Ava^ 
 vol. ii. p. 235.) 
 
 Mr. Harmer (vol. ii. p. 406.) is of opinion that the 
 expression used by Jacob in blessing Judah — that his 
 eyes shall be redxuith wine, (Gen, xlix. 12,) is to be ex- 
 plained by this usage. He observes that " the original 
 word occurs but twice in the scriptures; in both places 
 it evidently expresses a consequence of drinking wine ; 
 but in one it signifies an agreeable, and in the other a 
 reproachful effedl of it. fGe7z. xlix. 12. Prou. xxiii. 29.) 
 I do not know that redness of the eyes, stri6lly speaking, 
 is occasioned by drinking; that arises from other causes. 
 If we change the expression a little, and, instead of 
 redness of the eyes, read redness of the countenance, as 
 some commentators are disposed to do, it is certain such 
 an eifcfl is produced by the drinking of wine ; but it is 
 
JEREMIAH. fO/ 
 
 however another word that expresses redness in gene- 
 ral, that expresses ruddiness of complexion in particu- 
 lar. (See 1 Sam. xvi. 12. and 1 Sam. xvii. 42.) Nor 
 did the LXX. understand the word to signify redness, 
 but a kind of blackness, for so they translate Prov. 
 xxiii. 29. whose eyes are ctsX/Vw, a word which express- 
 es the colour which arises from bruising the flesh, and 
 which is marked out in English by two words joined 
 together — black and blue. The Syriac and Arabic are 
 said to translate it in the same manner ; (Poli. Syn. in 
 he.) and is it not more natural to explain it in this 
 pi^ssage, which speaks of woe, of sorrow, of wounds, 
 after this manner, than of a red face ? If the word is 
 understood in this sense in this passage of the Proverbs^ 
 it cannot be agreeable to give it, unnecessarily, another 
 sense, when we read the prediiSlions of Jacob; and it is 
 certain there is no difficulty in vmderstanding it of black- 
 ness of the eyes there," The sense of the prediction 
 may therefore be, his eyes shall be blackened xvith -wine ; 
 enlivened, that is, by wine, as if blackened by lead ore. 
 Agreeably to this, though not with the same precision, 
 the LXX. make use of a term in translating the word 
 in this place, which signifies the joyousnessof the eyes, 
 as do also many of the fathers. (Vide Scolia in Sac. 
 Bib. Grac ex vcrS' 70. inter. Land. 1353.) 
 
 No. 279. — ix. 8. Their tongue is as an arraiv shot oiit.'\ 
 Arrov/s were formerly much used by diftcrent nationsfor 
 various purposes. In war, they were a very destructive 
 weapon, especially v/hen they were poisoned, according 
 to the custom of some people. In the chase also they 
 were efFe6lual in overcoming wild beasts, and killing 
 such animals as they were aimed at. Since the inven- 
 tion of other methods of assault they have been less used, 
 and certainly but little known, as they have been in a 
 measure laid aside ; but while it was so common to em- 
 
20g JEREMIAH. 
 
 ploy them in the field and the forest, it is not at all sur- 
 prizing that metaphors should be found, alluding'to 
 their nature and effe6T;s. We accordingly find the bitter 
 wcr<7'!sof the wicked are called their fi'rrotfi', CPs.\\\\. 3.) 
 and that their teeth are spears and arroxvs^ (Ps. Ivii. 4.); 
 and also, \\\?Xaman that beareth false witness against his 
 neighbour, is a sharp arrow, (Frov- xxv. 18.) But it ap- 
 pears also that there is a literal meaning in these com- 
 parisons, which suppose a connexion betv/een the mouth 
 and the arrow. The circumstance related by Mr. Mungo 
 Park, in the following extract, might possibly have its 
 parallel in the condu6l of the ancients ; and if it had, 
 clearly accounts for such figures as have been referred 
 to: " Each of the negroes took from his quiver a hand- 
 ful of arrovv's, and putting two between his teeth, and 
 one in his bow, waved to us with his hand to k<;ep at a 
 distance." (Travels in Africa^ p. 99.) 
 
 No. 280. — xiv. 4. Because the ground is chapt, for 
 there zvas no rain in the earth.^ Char din says, " the 
 lands of the East, which the great dryness there causes 
 to crack, are the ground of this figure, which is cer- 
 tainly extremely beautiful ; for these dry lands have 
 chinks too deep for a person to see to the bottom of. 
 7'hls may be observed in the Indies more than any 
 where, a little before the rains fall, and wherever the 
 lands are rich and hard." The prophet's speaking of 
 ploughmen, shews that he refers to the autumnal state 
 of those countries ; and if the cracks are so deep from 
 the common dryness of their summers, what must they 
 be when the rains are withheld beyond the usual time 
 which is the case here alluded to ? 
 
 Harmer, vol. ii. p. 208. 
 
 No. 281. XV. 18. Wilt thou be altogether unto me as a 
 liar, and as zuaters that fail?'] Mr. Narmer, (vol. i. 
 
JEREMIAH. 209 
 
 p. 483.) proposes it as a query, whether in these 
 words the prophet does not allude to , a phsenomenon 
 mentioned hy, Char din. " There is a splendour, or va- 
 pour," he says, " in the plains of the desert, formed by 
 the repercussion of the rays of the sun from the sand, 
 that appears like a vast lake. Travellers of the desert, 
 afflidled with thirst, are drawn on by such appearances, 
 but coming near, find themselves mistaken ; it seems 
 to draw back as they advance, or quite vanishes. ^. Cur- 
 tius takes notice of it in speaking of Alexander the 
 Great in Susiana." It must however be left to the de- 
 termination of the judicious reader, whether this obser- 
 vation is applicable to the passage now cited. 
 
 No. 282. — xvi. 6. Neither shall men lament for them, 
 nor cut themselves^ nor make themselves bald for them."] 
 Cutting the flesh was designed to express grief. The 
 pra6lice was very general. The Jews adopted it, 
 Jer' xlviii. 37". It has also been observed in modern 
 times, and at Otaheite, with circumstances remarkably 
 similar to those alluded to by Jeremiah in this passage. 
 There the women wound the crown of their head under 
 the hair, with a shark's tooth. Cutting off the hair is still 
 more general. This they throw on the bier of the 
 dead. 
 
 No. 283. — xvi. 8. Thou shall not also go into the 
 house of feasting^ to sit xvith them to eat and to drink-l 
 To make :\. funeral feast was anciently a method of ho- 
 nouring the dead, and is still continued in the East. 
 Chardin says, " the oriental christians still make ban- 
 quets of this kind, by a custom derived from the Jews ; 
 and I have been many times present at them among the 
 Armenians in Persia." The seventh verse speaks of 
 those provisions v/hich used to be sent to the house 
 of the deceased, and of those healths which were drank 
 
 2D 
 
210 JEREMIAH. 
 
 to the survivors of the family, wishing that the dead 
 may have been t\ t vi6lim for the sins of the famil\^. 
 The same, M'ith respe6l to eating, is pra6lised among 
 the Moors. Thus the bread oj fnefij CEzek. xxiv. 17.) 
 signifies the bread that the neighbours, relations, and 
 friends, sent to mourners. Harmek, vol. ii. p. 137. 
 
 No. 284.. — xvii. 13. They that depart from me shall 
 be written in the earth.'] Peter della VaV.e observed a 
 method of writing short-lived memorandums in India, 
 which he thus describes. " I beheld children writing 
 their lessons with their fingers on the ground, the pave- 
 ment being for that purpose strewed all over with very 
 fine sand. When the pavement was full, they put the 
 writing out, and, if need were, strewed new sand from 
 a little heap they had before them, wherewith to write 
 farther." p. 40. One would be tempted to think, says 
 Mr. Harmer^ (vol. ii. p. 168, note-,) the prophet Jere- 
 miah had this way of writing in view, when he says of 
 them that depart from God, they shall be written in the 
 earth' Certainly it means, in general, soon to be blotted 
 out and forgotten, as is apparent from Psalm Ixix. 28. 
 Ezek. xiii. 9. 
 
 No. 285. — xviii. 3. Then Ixvent down to the patterns 
 kcnse^ and behold hexvrotight a workon the xvheels.'] The 
 original word means stones rather than wheels- Dr. 
 Blayney, in a note on this passage, says, " the appel- 
 lation will appear very proper, if we consider this ma- 
 clVine as consisting of a pair of circular stones, placed 
 one upon anodier like mill-stones, of which the lower 
 was immoveable, but the upper one turned upon the 
 foot of a spindle, or axis, and had motion comranni- 
 cated to it by the feet of the potter sitting at his work, 
 as may be learned from Ecclus. xxxviii. 2». Upon the 
 lop of this upper sior.e, which was fltit, the clay was 
 
JEREMIAH. 211 
 
 placed, which the potter, having given the stone the 
 due velocity, formed into shape with his hands.'' 
 
 No. 286. — xxii. 14. I xvill build me a wide house ^ and 
 large chambers.'] Marg. thorough aired. Several ways 
 of cooling their rooms obtained in Egypt. In some 
 instances it is effe6led by openings at the top, which let 
 the fresh air in. They make their halls large and lofty, 
 with a dome at the top, which toward the north has 
 several open windows. These are so constru6led as to 
 throw the north wind down into the rooms, and effec- 
 tually to cool them. Other contrivances are adopted 
 to have a thorough circulation of air. Their rooms 
 were ceiled v/ith wood, and were sometimes painted 
 and gilt : to these circumstances the words of the pro- 
 phet refer. C Judges iii. 20.) Harmer, vol. i. p. 164. 
 
 No. 287. — XXV. 10. The sound of the mill-stones.'] 
 *' In the East they grind their corn at break of day. 
 When one goes out in a morning, he hears every where 
 the noise of the mill, and this noise often awakens peo- 
 ple-" CChardin.J He supposes also that songs are made 
 use of when they are grinding. It is very possible then, 
 that when the sacred writers speak of the noise of 
 mill-stones, they may mean the noise of the songs of 
 those who worked them. This earliness of grinding 
 makes the going of Rechab and Baanah to fetch wheat 
 the day before from the palace, to be distributed to the 
 soldiers under them, very natural. (2 Sam. iv. 2 — 7.) 
 They are female slaves who are generally employed at 
 these hand-mills. It is extremely laborious, and es- 
 teemed the lowest employment in the house. (Harmer^ 
 vol. i. p. 250.) Mr. Park observed this custom in the 
 interior parts of Africa, when he was invited into a hut 
 by some female natives, in order to shelter him from 
 the inclemency of a very rainy night. While thus em- 
 
212 JEREMIAH. 
 
 ployed, one of the females sung a song, the rest joining 
 in a sort of chorus. 
 
 No. 288 XXV. 10. The light of the candle.'] The 
 
 houses of Egypt are never v.'ithout light's. MaiUet o.s- 
 sures us, (Lett. ix. p. 10. i they burn lamps not only all 
 the night long, but in all the Inhabited apartments of 
 an house ; and that the custom is so well established, 
 that the poorest people would rather retrench part of 
 their food than negle6l it. This remark will elucidate 
 several passages of scripture. In the words above re- 
 ferred to, yeremiah inakes the taking away of the light 
 of the candle and total destru6lion the same thing. Job 
 desci ibes the destru6lion of affamily amongst the Arabs, 
 and the rendering one of their habitations desolate, af- 
 ter the same manner : Hoxv eft is the candle of the xvick- 
 edpiit cutf andhoiv oftcometh their destruElion npon them ! 
 Cjob xxi. 17. xviii. 5.) On the other hand, when 
 God promises to give David a lamp always in Jerusa- 
 lem, (\ Kings xi. 36.) considered in this point of view, 
 it is an assurance that his house should never become 
 desolate. 
 
 No. 289 — xxv. 16. And tlieij shall drink, and be 
 moved, and be 77iad.'\ This is au allusion to those intoxi- 
 cating draughts which used to be given to malcfadlors 
 just before their execution, to take away their senses. 
 Immediately before the execution began, says the Tal- 
 viud, they gave the condemned a quantity of frankin- 
 cense in a cup of wine, to stupify him, and render him 
 insensible of his pain. The compassionate ladies of Je- 
 rasfilem generally provided this draught at their own 
 cost. The foundation of this custom was the command 
 of Solomon, Give strong drink to him that is ready to 
 perish, andrvine to those that be of heavzj hearts. (Prov. 
 xxxi. 6.) Lewis's Origi)ies Heb. vol. i. p. 72. 
 
JEREMIAH. 213 
 
 No. 290. — ::xxi. 19. / smote upon viij thig/i.~\ In 
 deep mourning it appears to have been one method by 
 which the Jews expressed their sorrow, to smite upon 
 the thigh. This is mentioned as an accompanying cir- 
 cumstance of the repentance of Ephraim. In this man- 
 ner also was Ezekiel commanded to a6\, to express that 
 sorrow which should be produced by llie divine ihreat- 
 enings against Israel. fEzek. xrJi. 12.) The pra6lice 
 was adopted and retained by the Greeks. Horner de- 
 scribes his heroes as using this circumstance of gvief 
 among others. 
 
 y.(x.l M zyiTrX'nylo ^T,f,u. II. //.'. ver. 162. 
 
 So in Xenophon (Cyrcp^ 7. J the brave Cyrus smites 
 his thigh upon receiving the nev/s of the death of his 
 generous friend Abradatas. 
 
 No. 291. — xxxii. 11. So Itook the evidence of the pur- 
 chase^ both that -which tuns sealed, according to the law 
 and <:ustom, and that xuhich was open.] It has greatly 
 perplexed commentators to find out the utility of the 
 double exidsuccs of Jeremiah's puixhase ; possibly the 
 account given of modern pra6lice may illustrate the 
 affair. " After a contradl is made, it is kept by the 
 party himself, not the notary ; and they cause a copy 
 to be made, signed by the notary alone, which is shewn 
 upon proper occasions, and never exhibit the other." 
 According to this account, the two books were the 
 same, the one sealed up with solemnity, and not to be 
 used on common occasions, the other open, and to be 
 used at pleasure. Hak:^,ikk, vol. ii, p. 277. 
 
 No. 2G2. — xxxiii. to. The focks shall pass again 
 under the hands of him that telleth than.'] The revenues 
 of princes in the East are paid in the fruits and produc- 
 tions of the earth. There are no other taxes upon the 
 peasants. fChardin.J The twelve officers of Solomon, 
 
214 JEREMIAH. 
 
 mentioned I Kings iv. 7 — 19, are to be considered as his 
 general receivers. They furnished food for all that 
 belonged to the king ; and the having provisions for 
 themselves and attendants seems to have been, in those 
 times of simplicity, all the ordinary gratification his 
 ministers of state, as well as his meaner servants, re- 
 ceived. Silver, gold, horses, armour, precious vest- 
 ments, and other things of value, came to him from 
 other quarters ; partly a kind of tribute from the sur- 
 rounding princes, fl Kings X. 15 — 25.) partly from the 
 merchants, whom he suffered to pass through his coun- 
 try to and from Egypt and elsewhere, (ver. 15.) partly 
 from his own commerce by the Red Sea. (ver. 22.) The 
 horses and armour he seems to have distributed among 
 the most populous towns, which were to find horsemen, 
 and people to drive chariots, to such a number, when 
 called for ; and out of the silver and other precious 
 things that came to him, he made presents upon extra- 
 ordinary occasions to those that distinguished them- 
 selves in his service, fl Kings x. 26, 27.) 
 
 Sir y. Char din supposes the telling of the Jlocks was 
 for the purpose of paying tribute, it being the custom in 
 the East to count the flocks, in order to take the third 
 of the increase and young ones for the king, 
 
 Harmer, vol. ii. p. 284. 
 
 No. 293. — xxxiv. 5. So shall theij burn odours for 
 thee."] It was customary among the Jews, at the funeral 
 of their kings, especially of those whose memory they 
 honoured, to prepare a bed of spices, as it is called, 
 2 Chron. xvi. 14, which they made a perfume of by 
 burning them, and therein to deposit the body of the 
 deceased prince. 
 
 No. 294. — xxxiv. 18. Theij cut the calf in trvain and 
 passed betxveen the parts thereof] It v/as a customary 
 thing to cut the viclim (which was to be offered as a 
 
JEREMIAH. 215 
 
 sacrifice upon the occasion) into two parts, and so pla- 
 cing each half upon two different altars, to cause those 
 who contraded the covenant to pass between both. 
 (Gen. XV. 9, 10, 17.) This rite was pra6lised both by- 
 believers and heathens at their solemn leagues; at fa-st 
 doubtless with a view to the great Sacrifice, who was to 
 purge our sins in his own blood ; and the offering of 
 these sacrifices, and passing between the parts of the 
 divided vidlim, was symbolically staking their hopes of 
 purification and salvation on their performance of the 
 conditions on which it was offered. 
 
 This remarkable pra6lice maybe clearly traced in the 
 Greek and Latin wrtiers. Homer has the following 
 expression : 
 
 0(y(^ix TTii-eirxiM vrii. Iliad, ii. ver. 124. 
 
 Having cut faithful oaths ; Eustathius explains the pas- 
 sage by saying, they were oaths relating to important 
 matters, and were made by the division of the vi6lim. 
 See also Virgil^ Mn. viii. ver. 640. 
 
 The editor of the fragments supplementary to Calmet 
 (No. 129.) is of opinion that what is yet pra6lised of this 
 eeremony may elucidate that passage in Isaiah xxviii. 
 15. We have made a co'oenant xuith death, and with hell 
 are we at agreement; xvhen the overflowing scourge shall 
 pass through^ it shall not come unto lis, for we have made 
 lies our refuge, and under falsehood have we hid ourselves, 
 q. d. We have cut off a covenant sacrifice, a purifica- 
 tion offering with death, and with the grave we have 
 settled, so that the scourge shall not injure us. May 
 not such a custom have been the origin of the following 
 superstition related by Pitts ? " If they (the Algerine 
 corsairs) at any time happen to be in a very great 
 strait or distress, as being chased, or in a storm, they 
 will gather money, light up candles in remembrance 
 of some dead marrabot (saint) or other, calling upon 
 
216 JEREMIAH. 
 
 him with heavy sighs and groans. If they find no sur- 
 cour from their before-mentioned rites and supersti- 
 tions, but that the danger rather increases, then they 
 go to sacrificing a sheep, (or two or three upon occa- 
 sion, as they think needful) which is done after this 
 manner : having cut off the head with a knife, they 
 immediately take out the entrails,- and throw them and 
 the head over-board ; and then, with all the speed they 
 can (without skinning, they cut the body into two parts 
 by the middle, and throw one part over the right side 
 of the ship, and the other over the left, into the sea, 
 as a kind of propitiation. Thus those blind infidels 
 apply themselves to imaginary intercessors, instead of 
 the living and true God." CTravek, p. 18- J In the case 
 here referred to, the ship passes between the parts thus 
 thrown on each side of it. This behaviour of the Al- 
 gerines may be taken as a pretty accurate counterpart 
 to that of making a coverMiit zolth dcath^ and with immi- 
 nent danger of ucstrucllon, by appeasing the angry 
 gods. 
 
 Festivities alwajs accompanied the ceremonies at- 
 tending caths. Isaac and Abimelech feasted at making 
 their covenant, Gen. xxvi. 30. aud he made tliem afcast^ 
 andtheij d'uL 't and drink. Gen. xxxi. 54. Jacob offered 
 sacrifice upon the vicunt^ and called his brethren to eat 
 bread. This pra(Slice v/as altio usual amongst the hea- 
 then nations. 
 
 No. 295. — ^xxxvi. 22. Noxvthe king sat in the xvinter- 
 house., in the ninth months and there was a /ire Ofi the 
 hearth burning hejore him.'\ In all probiibility the word 
 translated hearth means a kind of brasier, or portable 
 machine, to keep fuel together for burning, such as 
 ai'e Hlill used in the East to keep their rooms warm in 
 winter. Such contrivances w^ere in use among the 
 ancient Greeks, and are called by Homer Ko'.^'mfifis-^ 
 
JEREMIAH. 2ir 
 
 Odyss. xix. lln. 63, 64. where he says that Penelope's 
 maids " threw the embers out of the brasiers upon the 
 floor, and then heaped fresh v/ood on them to afford 
 both light and warmth." (Comp. Odyss. xviii, Im. 305 — 
 310, 342.) The modern Greeks imitate their ancestors. 
 *' There are no chimneys," says Mons. de Guys, " in 
 the Greek houses. A brasier is placed in the middle of 
 the room, that those, who are not sufficiently warmed 
 at a distance may, more conveniently draw near it, 
 This is a very ancient custom all over the East. The 
 Romans had no other, and the Turks adhere to it. 
 This brasier, called Kaim-cft^^ says Hesychius, quoted 
 by Madame D' Acier, was placed in the middle of the 
 chamber, on which they burnt wood to heat the room, 
 and torches to light it. It stood on a tripod, as at pre- 
 sent. Lainps were not used till a long time after." 
 . (Parkhurst's Heh. Lex, p. 12. 3d edit.) 
 
 No. 296. — xxxvii. 15. Wherefore the princes wen 
 xoroth xvlth Jeremiah^ and smote hhn, and put him in 
 prison in the house of yonathan the scribe, for they had 
 made that the prison.'] " The eastern prisons are not 
 public buildings eredled for that purpose, but a part of 
 the house in which their criminal judges dvyelU As the 
 governor and provost of a town, or the captain of the 
 watch, imprison such as are accused, in their own 
 houses, they set apart a canton of them for that purpose, 
 when they are put into these offices, and choose for the 
 jailor the most proper person they can find of their do- 
 mestics." (Char din. J Here the prisoners were treated 
 according to the will of the jailor, with greater or less 
 severity, according as they were able by presents to 
 purchase his favour. When, through the vindi6live 
 spiritof their prosecutors, large gifts were made by them 
 to the keeper of the prison, to induce him to adopt 
 harsh measures '.viththe prisoners, their sufferings were 
 
 2 E 
 
218 JEREMIAH. 
 
 often extremely great. These circumstances place in 
 a strong light those passages which speak of the sighing 
 of the prisoner, and its coming before God. 
 
 Harmer, vol. ii. p. 2/3. 
 
 No. 297. — xliv. 17' To pour out drink offerings ta the 
 queen of heaven.'\ Char din says, that it is the custom in 
 Mingrelia and Georgia, and some other eastern coun- 
 tries, for people, before they begin a feast, to go out 
 abroad, and with eyes turned to heaven to pour out a 
 cup of wine on the ground. From the Ethiopic version 
 it is probable that the same custom prevailed in Ethi- 
 opia. This may be considered as a picture of what 
 the idolatrou* Israelites did when they poured out 
 drink offerings to the queen of heaven : what Jacob 
 did more purely in the patriarchal times, when he 
 poured out a drink offering on the pillar he set up, 
 (Gen. XXXV. 14.) but it does not follow that any thing 
 of this sort was done in their common feasts. The mo- 
 dern Jews, when they annually celebrate the deliverance 
 of their forefathers in Egypt, take a cup of salvation, 
 and call upon the name of the Lord, singing a portion 
 of the book of Psalms ; but they drink the wine, and 
 do not pour it upon the ground ; nor do they pra6lise 
 this effusion of wine in their more common feasts. 
 BuxToRFii Sijn. Jud' cap. 12. 
 
 Harmer, vol. i. p. 391. 
 
 No. 298. — xlviii. 11. Emptied from vessel to vessel.'\ 
 From a remark of the Abbe 3Iariti^ it appears to be an 
 usual pra6lice in Cyprus to change the vessels in which 
 their wine is kept. This is done to improve it. He 
 says, (Travels^ vol. i. p. 227.) " these v/ines are gene- 
 rally sold on the spot, at the rate of so much per load. 
 Each load contains sixteen jars, and each jar five bot- 
 tles Florence measure. When the wine is brought from 
 the country to town, it must be put into casks, in which 
 
JEREMIAH. 219 
 
 there are dregs, and it is to be remarked that nothing 
 tends more to bring it to perfe6lion, than to draw 
 it off into another vessel, provided this is not done until 
 a year after it has been put into the casks." 
 
 Char din says, *' they frequently pour wine from 
 vessel to vessel in the East ; for when they begin one, 
 they are obliged immediately to empty it into smaller 
 vessels, or into bottles, or it would grow sour." 
 
 HarmePv, vol. i. p. 392. 
 
 No. 299. — xlviii. 28. Like the dove that maketh her 
 nest in the sides of the holers mouth.] Where art inter- 
 venes not, pigeons build in those hollow places nature 
 provides for them. A certain city in Africa is called 
 Hamam-et, from the wild pigeons that copiously breed 
 in the adjoining cliffs ; and in a curious paper relating 
 to Mount ^tna (Phil. Trans, vol. Ix.) which mentions 
 a number of subterraneous caverns there, one is noticed 
 as being called by the peasants, la Spelonca della Pa- 
 lomba, from the wild pigeons building there nests therein, 
 (Sol. Song ii. 14.) Though iEtna is a burning moun- 
 tain, yet the cold in these caverns is excessive : this 
 shews that pigeons delight in cool retreats, and ex- 
 plains the reason v/hy they resort to mountains which 
 are knov/n to be very cold even in those hot countries. 
 The words of the Psalmist, flee as a bird to your mountain^ 
 without doubt refer to the flying of doves thither when 
 frightened by the fowler. Dove-houses, however, are 
 very common in the East. Of Kefteen, a large village, 
 Maundrell (p« 3.) says, there are more dove cots than 
 other houses. In the southern part of Egypt, the tops of 
 their habitations are always terminated by a pigeon- 
 house. Jsaiahlx. 8. Harmer, vol. i. p. 222. 
 
 No. 300. — xlix. 8. Dwell deep.] When the Arabs 
 have drawn upon themselves the resentment of the 
 
220 JEREMIAH. 
 
 more fixed inhabitants of those countries, and think 
 themselves unable to stand against them, they withdraw 
 into the depths of the great wilderness, where none can 
 follow them. (Dlodorus Slculus^ lib. xix. p. 7'22. Nie- 
 buhr, vol. ii. p. 199.) Thus also very expressly M. Sa- 
 vory ; (torn, ii. p .8.) " ahvays on their guard against 
 tyrannyj on the least discontent that is given them, they 
 pack up their tents, load their camels wiih them, ravage 
 the flat country, and, loaded with plunder, /j/i^/J^e into 
 the burning sands, whither none can pursue them, and 
 where they alone can dwell." Is it not then most pro- 
 bable that the dxvelling deep, mentioned in these words, 
 means their plunging far into the deserts, rather than 
 going into deep caves and dens, as has been most com- 
 monly supposed? This explanation is also strongly con- 
 firmed by verse 30, Flee., get you far off^ dwell deep. 
 
 HarmePv, vol. i. p. 101. 
 
 No. 301 — Ii. 44. The xvall of Babylon shall fall.] 
 *' We are astonished at the accounts which ancient 
 historians of the best credit give, of the immense ex- 
 tent, height, and thickness of the walls of Nineveh and 
 Babylop ; nor are we less astonished when we are 
 assured, by the concurrent testimony of modern tra- 
 vellers, that no remains, not the least traces, of these 
 prodigious works are now to be found. Our wonder 
 will, I think, be moderated in both respe6ls, if we con- 
 sider the fabric of these celebrated walls, and the nature 
 of the materials of which they consisted. Buildings in 
 the East have always been, and are to this day, made of 
 earth or clay mixed or beat up v/ith straw, to make the 
 parts cohere, and dried only in the sun. This is their 
 method of making bricks. The walls of the city were 
 built of the earth dug out on the spot, and dried upon 
 the place ; by which means both the ditch and the wall 
 were at once formed, the former furnishing materials 
 
JEREMIAH. 221 
 
 for the latter. That the walls of Babylon were of this 
 kind is well known ; and Berosus expressly says, fapud 
 Joseph. Antiq. 11.) that Nebuchadnezzar added three 
 new walls both to the old and new city, partly of brick 
 and bitumen and partly of brick alone. A wall of this 
 sort must have a great thickness in proportion to its 
 height, otherwise it cannot stand. The thickness of 
 the walls of Babylon is said to have been one fourth of 
 their height, which seems to have been no more than 
 was absolutely necessary. Maxindreil^ speaking of the 
 garden walls of Damascus, says, " they are of a very 
 singular stru6lure. They are built of great pieces of 
 earth, made in the fashion of brick, and hardened in 
 the sun. In their dimensions they are two yards long 
 each, and somewhat more than one broad, and half a 
 yard thick ;" and afterwards speaking of the walls of the 
 houses, says, " from this dirty way of building they 
 have this amongst other inconveniences, that upon any 
 violent rain the whole city becomes, by the v/ashing 
 of the houses, as it were a quagmire," (p. 124.) When 
 a wall of this sort comes to be out of repair, and Is neg- 
 lecled, it is easy to conceive the necessary consequences, 
 namely, that in no long course of ages it must be total- 
 ly destroyed b}' the heavy rains, and at length washed 
 away, and reduced to its original earth." Bp> Lowth's 
 note on Isaiah xiii. 19. 
 
[ 222 3 
 
 No S02.— LAMENTATIONS 1. S. 
 
 All her persecutors overtook her between the straits^ 
 
 It was the pra6lice with those who hunted wild beasts 
 to drive them, if possible, into some strait and narrow 
 passage, that they might more effedlually take them, as 
 in such a situation an escape could hardly be efFedled. 
 It is to this circumstance that the prophet alludes in 
 these words. The same metaphor is supposed also to 
 occur in Psalm cxvi. 3. The sorrows of death com- 
 passed me, and the pains of hell gat hold upon me: I found 
 trouble and sorrow. 
 
 No 303. — iv. 5: They that were brought up in scarlet 
 embrace dunghills.] On account of the scarcity of fuel, 
 ovens are commonly heahd with horse or cow-dung. 
 jyArvieux C^'^y- dans la Pal- p. 193.) says, that the peo- 
 ple are very careful to lay up a stock of it for consump- 
 tion, and that he saw the children gather, and clap it 
 against a wall to dry. As it could not remain so during 
 the rainy season, Mr. Harmer, (vol. i. p. 256.) conceives 
 that it might usually be colle6ted together in some out- 
 house when properly prepared, where the wretched 
 wanderer, spoken of by the prophet in these words, 
 might take refuge, and thus be said to embrace dung- 
 hills, (l Sam. ii. 8.) 
 
 No. 304. — V. 4. Our wood is sold unto us.] The 
 woods of the land of Israel being from very ancient 
 times common., the people of the villages, which had no 
 trees growing in them, supplied themselves with fuel 
 out of those wooded places, of which there were many 
 anciently, and several that still remain. This liberty 
 
LAMENTATIONS. 223 
 
 of taking wood in conDnon, the Jews suppose to have 
 been a constitution of Joshua, of which they give us ten. 
 The first, giving liberty to an Israelite to feed his flock 
 in the woods of any tribe. The second, that it should 
 be free to take wood in the fields any where. (Vide Re- 
 land Pal. p. 261.) But though this was the ancient 
 custom in Judea, it was not so in the country into 
 which they were carried captives ; or if this text of Jere- 
 miah respe6ls those that continued in their own country 
 for a while under Gedaliah, as the 9th verse insinuates, 
 it signifies that their conquerors possessed themselvesof 
 these woods, and would allow no fuel to be cut down 
 without leave, and that leave was not to be obtained 
 without money. It is certain that, presently after the 
 return from the captivity, timber was not to be cut 
 without leave. (Neh, ii. 8.) Harmer, vol. i. p. 460. 
 
[ 224 ] 
 
 No. 305.— EZEKIEL iv. 7. 
 Thine arm shall be uncovered. 
 
 Among other rites of mourning made use of by the 
 oriental Jews in the time of St. Jerome^ was the beating 
 of their arms with such vehemence as to render them 
 black and blue. It will not then be an vmnatural 
 supposition to consider Ezekiel'suncoveringof his arm, 
 when he was personating the Jewish people at the time 
 Jerusalem was besieged, as the exposing the bruises of 
 lamentation he had infli6led on that part. Jerome tells 
 \is, that on the return of the day on which Jerusalem 
 was taken by the Romans and demolished, the Jews 
 annually assembled in great numbers, many of them 
 decrepit old women and aged men in rags, bearing the 
 marks of God's displeasure both in their persons and 
 dress, and while the memorial of the death and resur- 
 rc6tion of the Lord appeared with great splendour, and 
 the figure of the cross shone on the top of Mount Olivf t, 
 these miserable people mourned over the ruins of their 
 temple ; and though their cheeks were covered with 
 tears, their arms black and blue, and their hair all in 
 disorder, the soldiers demanded money of them for the 
 liberty of protra6ling their lamentations a little longer. 
 
 Harmer, vol. iii. p. 413. 
 
 No. 306— iv. 9. Millet.'] This is a kind of plant, 
 which perhaps derives its name from iis thrusting forth 
 such a quantity of grains. Thus in Latin it is called 
 milium^ as if one stalk bore a thousand grains. ( Marfniii- 
 Lex.) It is doubtless the same kind of grain as that 
 which is culled in the East chirra^ which now according 
 to Niebuhr., is a kind of ??.'/7/e?, and when made into bad 
 
EZEKIEL. 225 
 
 bread with camels milk, oil, butter, or grease, is almost 
 the only food which is eaten by the common people in 
 Arabia Felix. He further says, " I found it so disagree- 
 able, that 1 should willingly have preferred to it plaia 
 barley bread." C Description de /' Arable^ p. 45. 135.) 
 This remark appears to illustrate the passage of Ezekiel 
 here referred to. 
 
 No. 307. — viii. 7. A hole in the tvall.'\ Caves, and 
 other similar subterraneous recesses, consecrated to the 
 worship of the sun, were very generally, if not univer- 
 sally, in request among nations where that superstition 
 was pra6lised. The mountains of Chusistan at this day 
 abound with stupendous excavations of this sort. Allu- 
 sive to this kind of cavern temple, and this species of 
 devotion, are these words of Ezekiel. The prophet in 
 a vision beholds, and in the most sublime manner stig- 
 matizes the horrible idolatrous abominations which the 
 Israelites had borrowed from their Asiatic neighbours of 
 Chaldsea, Egypt, and Persia. And he brought me^ says 
 the prophet, to the door of the court ; and when Ilookedy 
 behold^ A HOLE in the wall. Then said he unto me^ 
 S071 ofmanj dig noxv in the wall; and, when I had digged 
 in the wall, behold, a door. And he taid unto me, go in, 
 (that is, into this cavern temple) and behold the xvicked 
 abominations that they do there. So I went in, and saw^ 
 arid behold, every form of creeping things, and abominable 
 beasts, and all the idols of the house of Israel, were 
 
 PORTRAYED UPON THE WALL ROUND ABOUT. In this 
 
 subterraneous temple were seventy men of the ancients 
 of the house of Israel, and their employment was of a 
 nature very nearly similar to that of the priests in Sal- 
 sette. They stood with every man his censer in 
 
 HIS HAND, AND A THICK CLOUD OF INCENSE WENT UP. 
 
 Theti said he imto me. Son of man, hast thou seen what the 
 ancients of the house of Israel do in the dark, every_man 
 2 F 
 
226 EZEKIEL. 
 
 itl the CHAMBERS OF HIS IMAGERY ? Iti Egypt, to the 
 particular idolatry of which country, it is plain, from his 
 mentioning every form of creeping things and abominable 
 beasts^ the prophet in this place alludes, these dark se- 
 cluded recesses were called mystic cells, and in them 
 were celebrated the secret mysteries of Isls and Osiris, 
 represensed by the quadrupeds sacred to those deities. 
 Maurice's Indian Antiquities^ vol. ii. p. 212. 
 
 No. 308. — viii. 14. Then he brought me to the door 
 of the gate of the Lord''s house^ -which was toward the northy 
 and behold there sat xvojnen -weeping for Tammuz.'] The 
 ancient Greeks used to place their dead near the doors 
 of their houses, and to attend them there with mourning. 
 (Potter's Archaeol. Grac. b. iv. cap. 3.) Chandler ob- 
 served the continuance of this custom when travelling 
 in Greece. " A woman was sitting at Megara, with 
 the door of her cottage open, lamenting her dead hus- 
 band aloud." (p. 195.) The xueeping for Tammuz is 
 described as performed near a door of the temple, per- 
 haps with a view to such a custom. Possibly the mourn- 
 ing of Israel at the door of each of their tents, in the 
 wilderness, which so much displeased Moses, was a be- 
 wailing of their relations, as if adlually dead, which they 
 might apprehend would be the sure consequence of 
 their wandering there without any support but manna- 
 
 Harmer, vol. iii. p. 378. 
 
 No. 309. — viii. 17. They put the branch to their 
 nose."] This expression undoubtedly alludes to some 
 particular ceremony belonging to their idolatrous wor- 
 ship. Mr. Loxvth (on the prophets) says, the v/ords 
 may refer to a custom among the idolaters of dedicating 
 a branch of laurel, or some other tree, to the honour of 
 the sun, and carrying it in their hands at the time of 
 their worship. Lewis (Origines Hebra^v^ vol. iii. p. 4.; 
 
EZEKIEL. 227 
 
 observes, that the most reasonable exposition is, that the 
 worshipper, with a wand in his hand, would touch the 
 idol, and then apply the stick to his nose and mouth, in 
 token of worship and adoration. 
 
 No. 310. — ix. 4. Mark upon the foreheads.'] Mr. 
 Maurice^ speaking of the religious rites of the Hindoos, 
 says, before they can. enter the great pagoda, an " in- 
 dispensible ceremony takes place, which can only b& 
 performed by the hand of a brahmin ; and that is, the 
 impressing of their foreheads with the tilukj or mark of 
 different colours, as they may belong either to the se6l 
 of Veeshnu, or Seeva. If the temple be that of Veeshnu, 
 their foreheads are marked with a longitudinal line^ and 
 the colour used is vermilion. If it be the temple of Sceva, 
 they are marked with a parallel line, and the colour used 
 is turmeric, or saffron. But these two grand se(5ls being 
 again subdivided into numerous classes, both the size 
 and the shape of the tiluk are varied in proportion to 
 their superior or inferior rank. In regard to the t'lluky 
 I must observe, that it was a custom of very ancient 
 date in Asia, to mark their servants in the forehead. It 
 is alluded to in these words of Ezekiel, where the Al- 
 mighty commands his angels to go through the midst of 
 the city, and set a mark on the foreheads of the men who 
 sigh for the abominations committed in the midst thereof. 
 The same idea occurs also in Rev. vii. 3. 
 
 Indian^ Antiquities, vol. v. p. 82. 
 
 No. 311. — xiii. 18. That sexv pillows to arm-holes^l 
 In Barbary and tlie Levant they " always cover the 
 floors of their houses with carpets ; and along the sides 
 of the wall or floor, a range of narrow beds or mattrasses 
 is often placed upon these carpets ; and, for their 
 further ease and convenience, several velvet or damask 
 bolsters are placed upon these carpets or mattrasses— •. 
 
228 EZEKIEL. 
 
 indulgences that seem to be alluded to by the stretching 
 of themselves upon couches^ and by the sewing of pillows 
 to arm-holes." (Amos vi. 4. Shaw's Trav. p. 209. 2d 
 edit.) But Lady M. W. Montague's description of a 
 Turkish lady's apartment throws still more light on this 
 passage. She says, (Letter 32, vol. ii. p. 55.) " The 
 rooms are all spread with Persian carpets, and raised at 
 one end of them, about two feet. This is the sopha, 
 which is laid with a richer sort of carpet, and all round 
 it, a sort of couch, raised half a foot, covered with rich 
 silk according to the fancy or magnificence of the owner. 
 Round about this are placed, standing against the walls, 
 two rows of cushions, the first very large, and the rest 
 little ones. These seats are so convenient and easy, 
 that I believe I shall never endure chairs again as long as 
 I live." And in another place (Letter S3, vol. ii. p. 68.) 
 she thus describes the fair Fatima: " On a sopha raised 
 three steps, and covered with fine Persian carpets, sat 
 the kahya's lady, leaning on cushions of white satin 
 embroidered. She ordered cushions to be given me, 
 and took care to place me in the corner, which- is the 
 place of honour." 
 
 No. 312. — xiii. 19. Pieces of bread.'] At Algiers they 
 have public bakehouses for the people in common, so 
 that the women only prepare the dough at home, it 
 being the business of other persons '^^ bake it. Boys 
 are sent about the streets to give notice when they are 
 ready to bake bread ; " upon this the women within 
 come and knock at the inside of the door, which the 
 boy hearing makes toward the house. The women open 
 the door a very little way, and hiding their faces, deliver 
 the cakes to him, which, when baked, he brings to the 
 door again, and the women receive them in the same 
 manner as they gave them." This is done almost every 
 df»y, and they give the boy apiecey or little cake^ for the 
 
EZEKIEL. 229 
 
 baking, which the baker sells. (Pitt's Travels^ p. 65.) 
 This illustrates the account of the false prophetesses 
 receiving as gratuities j&/ecf5 of bread : they are com- 
 pensations still used in the East, bat are compensations 
 of the meanest kind, and for services of the lowest sort. 
 
 Harmer, vol. i. p. 270. 
 
 No. 313. — xxi. 21. For the king of Babylon stood at 
 the parting of the xvay.'\ Wch. mother of the xuay. It is 
 a common thing among the people of the East to deno- 
 minate a nciau the father of a thing for which he is re- 
 markable. It appears also that both people and places 
 may in like manner be called the tyiother of such things 
 for which they are particularly noticed. Thus Niebuhr 
 tells us, that the Arabs call a woman that sells outter 
 cmm es aiibbet^ the mother of butter. He also says, that 
 there is a place between Basra and Zobeir, where an ass 
 happened to fall down, and throw the wheat with which 
 the creature was loaded into some water, on which ac- 
 count that place is called to this day, the mother of wheats 
 CJ^oy. en Arabic^ torn. i. p. 2S3.) 
 
 In like manner, in the Bibliotheque Orientaieof D^ Her- 
 beloty (p. 685, 358.) omm alketab, or the mother of 
 books, signifies the book of the divine decrees : and at 
 other times the first chapter of the Koran. The mother 
 of the throat is the name of an imaginary being (a fairy) 
 who is supposed to bring on and cure that disorder in 
 the throat, which we call the quinsy. In the same col- 
 le6lion we are told, that the acacia, or Egyptian thorn, 
 is called by the Arabians the mother of satyrs, because 
 these imaginary inhabitants of the forests and deserts 
 were sup^iosed to haunt under them. After this we 
 shall not at all wonder when we read of Nebuchadnez- 
 zar's standing in the mother of the way, a remarkable 
 place in the ro^d, where he was to determine whether 
 
230 EZEKIEL. 
 
 he would go to Jerusalem, or to some other place, one 
 branch of the road pointing to Jerusalem, the other 
 leading to a different town. 
 
 Harmer, vol- iv. p. 442. 
 
 No. 314. — sxi. 21. He 7node lusarroxvs bright.'] This 
 was for the purpose of divination. Jerome on this pas- 
 sage sa}'s, " that the manner of divining by arrows was 
 thus. Thty wrote on several arrows the names of the 
 cities they intended to make war against, and then put- 
 ting them promiscuously all together into a quiver, they 
 caused them to be drawn out in the manner of lots, and 
 that city whose name v/as on the arrow first drawn out 
 was the first they assaulted." A method of this sort of 
 divination, different from the former, is worth noticing. 
 Delia Valle says, (p. 276.) "I saw at Aleppo a Maho- 
 metan, who caused two persons to sit upon the ground, 
 one opposite to the other, and gave them four arrows 
 into their hands, which both of them held with their 
 'points downward, and as it were in two right lines 
 united one to the other. Then, a question being put 
 to him about any business, he fell to murmur his en- 
 chantments, and thereby caused the said four arrows of. 
 their own accord to unite their points together in the 
 midst, (though he that held them stirred not his hand) 
 and, according to the future event of the matter, those 
 of tlie right side were placed over those of the left, or 
 on the contrary." This pra6lice the writer refers to 
 diabolical influence. 
 
 The method of divination practised by some of the 
 idolatrous Arabs, but v/hich is prohibited by the Koran, 
 is too singular to be unnoticed- " The arrows used by 
 them for this purpose were like those with which they 
 cast lots, being v.'ithout heads or feathers, and were kept 
 in the temple of some idol, in whose presence they were 
 
EZEKIEL. J5i 
 
 consulted. Seven such arrows were kept at the temple 
 of Mecca : but generally in divination they make use of 
 three only, en one of which was written, my Lord hath 
 commanded me ; on another, my Lord hath forbidden 
 me ; and the third was blank. If the first v/as drav/n, 
 they looked on it as an approbation of the enterprize in 
 question : if the second, they made a contrary conclu- 
 sion ; but, if the third happened to be drawn, they 
 mixed them, and drew over again, till a decisive answer 
 was given by one of the others. These divining arrows 
 were generally consulted before any thing of moment 
 was undertaken, as when a man was about to marry, 
 or about to go a journey, or the like." 
 
 Sale'c? Koran, Preliminary Discourse, p. 168. 
 
 No. 315. — xxiii. 15. Di/ed attire.'] "The high priest 
 of Mithra wore a linen tiara, or mitre, of great magni- 
 tude, and rolled round several times, in imitation of the 
 convolutions of the orbs. Possibly the name of m/^rc 
 might be primarily derived from this high conical cap 
 worn in the rites of Mithra, which was also covered with 
 rays, and painted with various devices- It is to these 
 caps that Ezekiel alludes when he ridicules the orna- 
 ments that decorated the gods of the Sabian idolaters, 
 which he calls, the images oftlieCbaldcansportraijcdupoii 
 the walls with vermilion, gided xuith girdles upon their 
 loins, and exceeding in dyeh attikk upon their head^: 
 The brahmins and their deities, to this day, wear the 
 mystic belt, or girdle ; and it has been observed, from 
 ancient travellers, that they formerly wore a cap or tur- 
 ban of white muslin, folded round the head in such a 
 manner as that the extremities of the folds exhibited 
 to the spectator the appearance of the two horns of a 
 eovv, that is, of the moon in her increase." 
 
 Mauri C£*5 Indian Antiquities, vol. v. p. 233. 
 
2Si EZEKIEL. 
 
 No. 316.— xxiii. 12—16.] "The Egyptians and 
 Ethiopians were the undoubted descendants of Ham ; so 
 possibly might be the Hindoos, and consequently all 
 must be supposed to have been infe6led with the origi- 
 nal idolatry of Chaldsea, that primeval country, where 
 their ancestors so long resided. This passage of Ezekiel 
 will elucidate the superstitious rites pra6lised in the 
 mj Stic cell of Egypt, and of the sculptures portrayed on 
 the walls, both of those cells, and the caves of India. 
 Whoever attentively considers what, from various au- 
 thors, and some of such unimpeachable veracity, as JVe/- 
 buhr, Hunter, and Perron^ lias been related concerning 
 the splendid regal ornaments that decorate the head and 
 neck ; the zones, jev/elled or serpentine, that girtl round 
 the waist cf the Indian statues ; wiioever, in India, has 
 seen the profusion of vermilion or saffron, with which, 
 according to his cast, the devout Hindoo marks both 
 his ov/n forehead and that of the deity he adores, must 
 agree v.-iih me, that no allusion to these ornaments can 
 be apparently more dire6l, and no description of the 
 images themselves more accurate, than this of Ezekiel. 
 Under the chara6ler of Aholibah, an abandoned pro- 
 stitute, does Jehovah thus parabolically stigmatize the 
 idolatrous devotion of the apostate Judah. She doated 
 upon the Assyrians, her neighbours ; captains and riders, 
 clothed most gorgeously — aJid.^ -ivhenshesaw menportrayed 
 vpon the xvcdls, the ijnages of the Chaldaeans portray edivith 
 vermilion, girded with girdles upon their loins, exceeding 
 in dyed attire upon their heads, all of them princes to look 
 to, after the vianner of the Babylonians of Chaldea, the 
 land of their nativity ; then, as soon as she saw them xvith 
 her eyes, she doated upon them, and sent messengers unto 
 them unto Chaldea. And again, towards the close of the 
 same chapter it is said, Moreover this they have done wito 
 
 me; WHEN THEY HAD SLAIN THEIR CHILDREN TO 
 
EZEKIEL. 233 
 
 THEIR IDOLS ; then they came, the same day, unto my 
 san6hiary to profane it> — Atid, furthermore, ye have sent 
 for men to covie from far, unto xvhom a messenger was 
 sent, and,lo ' they came, for whom thou didst wash 
 THYSELF, (that is, perform ablutions) paintedst thine 
 
 EYES, AND DECKEDST THYSELF WITH ORNAMENTS, 
 
 and sattest upon a stately bed, xuith a table (that is, an 
 altar) prepared before it, whereupon thou hast 
 SET mine incense AND MINE OIL. And a voice of a 
 multitude, being at ease, was xvith her, andtvith the men of 
 the co7njnon sort were brought Sabians (that is worship- 
 pers of the planets) from the wilderness, who put brace- 
 lets upon their hands, AND BEAUTIFUL CROWNS 
 UPON THEIR HEADS." 
 
 Maurice's Indian Antiquities, vol. ii. p. 375. 
 
 No. 317. — xxiii. 40. Thou didst wash thyself , paint' 
 edst thine eyes, and deckedst thyself xvith ornaments.'j^ 
 Chardin supposes that the decorations and attitude 
 which the prophet gives to Aholibah are those of a 
 bride. " It is precisely after this manner the bride re- 
 ceives her husband in Asia. They carry her to a bath, 
 they afterwards adorn her magnificently, they paint, 
 they perfume her, they carry her to the nuptial cham- 
 ber, and they place her lipon a bed." 
 
 HaPvMER, vol. ii. p. 123. 
 
 No. 318. — xxiv. 17. Put on thy shoes upon thy feet. "l 
 When Ezekiel was commanded to abstain from mourn- 
 ing, he was ordered among other things to put his shoes 
 en hisjeet. This was certainly contrary to the pra6lice 
 of the Jews, and was therefore the more remarkable. 
 Addison, in his account of the modern mourning of the 
 Jews in Barbary, says, " the relations of the deceased, 
 for seven days after the interment, stir not abroad, or if 
 
 2G 
 
234 EZEKIEL. 
 
 by some extraordinary occasion they are forced to go 
 out of doors, it is without shoes; which is a token with 
 them, that they have lost a dear friend." p. 218. 
 
 No. 319. — xxiv. 17. Cover not thy lips.] Dean 
 AddIso?i, in his account of the Jews of Barbary (p. 218.) 
 thus describes one of their mourning rites. " They re- 
 turn from the grave to the house of the deceased, where 
 one, who as chief mourner receives them, with his jaws 
 tied up with a linen cloth, after the same manner that 
 they bind up the dead. And by this the mourner is said 
 to testify that he was ready to die with his friend. And 
 thus muffled the mourner goes for seven days j during 
 which time the rest of his friends come twice every 
 twenty-four hours to pray with him." This certainly 
 explains what is meant by covering the lips, or the 
 mouth, from which Ezekiel was commanded to abstain. 
 The same rite was to be made use of by the leper when 
 pronounced such by the priest. {Levit, xiii. 45«^ 
 
 No. 320. — xxvi. 14. Tyre shall be as the top of a rocky 
 a place for fishers to dry their nets OU'] This city stand- 
 ing in the sea, upon a peninsula, promises at a distance 
 something very magnificent. But when you come to it, 
 you find no similitude of that glory, for which it was so 
 renowned in ancient times, and which the prophet Eze- 
 kiel describes, ch. xxvi, xxvii, xxviii. On the north side 
 it has an old Turkish ungarrisoned castle ; besides which 
 you see nothing here but a mere Babel of broken walls, 
 pillars, vaults, Sec. thete being not so much as one in- 
 tire house left. Its present inhabitants are only a few 
 wretches, harbouring themselves in the vaults, and sub- 
 sisting themselves chiefly upon fishing, who seem to be 
 preserved in this place by divine pi'ovidence, as a visible 
 argument how God has fulfilled his word concerning 
 Tyre. Maundrell, fourney, p. 48. 
 
EZEKIEL. 2-35 
 
 No 321. — xxvlil. 14. Thou art the anointed cherub 
 that cover eth."] This has been considered as a very ob- 
 scure epithet to apply to the prince of Tyre, and great 
 difficulties have occurred '»« explaining the meaning of 
 the expression. It has been apprehended by some critics 
 to be an allusion to the posture of the cherubic figures 
 that were over the ark, (Exod. xxv. 20.) and by others 
 to signify the protedlion which this prince afforded to 
 different neighbouring states. But the first of these in- 
 terpretations is set aside by considering that the prophet 
 evidently refers to a living cherub, not the posture of 
 the image of one made of gold, or of an olive tree. As 
 to the other constru6lion, it is inadmissible, because it 
 does not appear from the prophecies that Tyre was 
 remarkable for defending its neighbours, but rather the 
 contrary, (^^ze-^/e/xxvi. 2, 3.) Mr. ^ar??ze'r (vol. iii. p. 
 333.) proposes a new, and probably a just elucidation of 
 this passage. He observes that takhtdar is a Persian 
 word, which properly signifies a precious carpet, which 
 is made use of for covering the throne of the kings of 
 Persia : and that this word is also used as an epithet by 
 which the Persians describe their princes, on account of 
 their being possessed of this throne. The prophet 
 Ezekiel may with the same view give this appellation to 
 the prince of Tyre. Such an application of it is cer- 
 tainly no more than stri6lly reconcileable to the eastern 
 taste. This explanation also answers to the rest of the 
 imagery used in this passage. 
 
 No. 322. — xxxii. 27. They have laidtheir swords un- 
 der their heads-] " In Mingrelia they all sleep with their 
 swords under their heads, and their other arms by their 
 sides! and they bury them in the same manner, their 
 arms being placed in the same position." (Chardin.) 
 Bochart supposes that Meshech and Tubal mean Min- 
 grelia. This seems to liave been an ancient method of 
 
236 EZEKIEL. 
 
 honouring the dead. In the present Instance, the mean- 
 ing of the prophet is, that they shall be without the 
 usual martial solemnites, with which the people of that 
 country honoured their dead. 
 
 Harmer, vol. ii. p. 138. 
 
 No. 323. — xxxiii. 25. I'e eat xvith the blood.'\ This 
 was forbidden several times in the law, as being a rite 
 the heathens used in the sacrifices which they offered to 
 their idols, as Spencer (de Legib. Heb. lib. ii. cap. 11.) 
 proves at large. He also brings many arguments to 
 shew that the Hebrew phrase should be translated, near 
 the bloody in allusion to the idolatrous rite of pouring the 
 blood of the slain beast into a vessel or pit, and then 
 eating part of the sacrifice just by it. 
 
 No. 324. — xxxiii. 26. 7'e stand upon your sxuord.'] 
 You make your strength the law of justice, according 
 to the chara6ler given of ungodly men. ("fVisdom ii. 11.) 
 Spencer Cde Legib. Heb. lib. ii, cap. 11.) thinks that 
 the expression alludes to a custom of the heathens, who 
 put the blood of their sacrifices into a vessel or pit, in 
 order to call up and consult evil spirits, and then stood 
 with their swords drawn, to keep the demons off from 
 doing thein any harna. 
 
 No. 325.— xxxiii. 30. Thy people still are talking 
 against thee by the walls.'] Severe as sometimes the cold 
 weather is in the East, Russell observes, that even in the 
 depth of that season, when the sun is out, and there is 
 no wind, it is warm, nay sometimes almost hot, in the 
 open air ; and Pococke informs us, that the people 
 there enjoy it, for the Coptics spend their holidays in 
 sauntering about, and sitting under their walls in winter, 
 and under shady trees in summer. Trav. i. p. 176.) 
 XhJs doubtless is to be understood of the poorer sort, 
 
EZEKIEL. 237 
 
 who have no places more proper for conversation with 
 ■their friends; the better houses having porches with 
 benches on each side, where the master of the family re- 
 ceives visits, and dispatches business. These circum- 
 stances greatly illustrate the words of Ezekiel, Also thou 
 son of man^ the children of thy people are still talking 
 against thee, or rather, concerning thee-, by the wallsy and 
 in the doors of the houses, 8?c. Harmer, vol. i. p. 22. 
 
 No. 326 — xxxiv. 25. They shall dtvell safely in the 
 wilderness, and sleep in the woods.l The eastern shep- 
 herds frequently lie abroad in the fields with their flocks, 
 during the night, without a tent to shelter them. Char' 
 din, thus describes an occurrence in his first excursion 
 from Smyrna, (p. 157.) " About two in the morning, 
 our whole attention was fixed by the barking of dogs, 
 which, as we advanced, became exceedingly furious. 
 Deceived by the light of the moon, we now fancied we 
 could see a village, and were much mortified to find only 
 a station of poor goat-herds, without even a shed, and 
 nothing for our horses to eat. They were lying, wrap- 
 ped in their thick capots, or loose coats, by some glim- 
 mering embers among the bushes in a dale, under a 
 spreading tree by the fold. — The treee was hung with 
 rustic utensils ; the she-goats, in a pen, sneezed, and 
 bleated, and rustled to and fro. The shrubs by which 
 our horses stood were leafless, and the earth bare.'* 
 This account may stand as a comment on the words of 
 Ezekiel : Ixuill wake with them a covetiant of peace, and 
 xvill cause the evil beasts to cease out of the land; and 
 they shall dtvell safely in the wilderness, and sleep in the 
 
 xuocds- 
 
 • 
 
 No. 327.— xliii. 8. Thresholds.] The threshold of 
 the palace of a living prince, and that of a person de- 
 
238 EZEKIEL. 
 
 ceased, held in great esteem, are supposed to be the 
 places where those who proposed to do them honour 
 prostrated themselves, touching them with their fore- 
 heads in token of solemn reverence. Probably'-, for this 
 reason, Ezekiel calls the san6luary, the threshold of God, 
 and temples of idols, their thresholds. It is certain the 
 modern Persians make the threshold in particular the 
 place where their devotees pay their reverence to their 
 entombed saints. Thus immediately after the 6th dis- 
 tich, inscribed on the front of the famous tomb at Com, 
 follows this, " Happy and glorious is the believer, who 
 through reverence shall prostrate himself with his head 
 071 the threshold of this gate, in doing which he will 
 imitate the sun and the moon." (Chardin, torn. i. p. 
 205.) 
 
 No. 328. — xliv. 2. Tills gate sliall be shut.'] Amongst 
 other instances of the extreme distance and profound 
 awe with which eastern majesty is treated, Char din says, 
 (tom. iii. p. 69.) " It is a common custom in Persia, that 
 when a great man has built a palace, he treats the king 
 and his grandees in it for several days ; then the great 
 gate of it is open : but when these festivities are over, 
 they shut it up never more to be opened. This account 
 may serve as a comment on the words of Ezekiel: Then 
 said the Lord unto me^ this gate shall be shut, it shall not 
 be opened, and no man shall enter iii by it: because the Lord 
 God of Israel hath entered in by it, therefore it shall be 
 ihut. It is for the prince, 
 
 Harmer, vol. iii. p. 329. 
 
 No. 329. — xlv. 12. The shekel shall be twenty gerahs; 
 twenty shekels, txveniy-froe shekels, ffteen shekels shall be 
 If our inaneh.] This singular method of reckoning, adopt- 
 ed by Ezekiel, is perfedly conformable to the general 
 
EZEKIpL. 239 
 
 pra6lice; for Char din says, " it is the custom of the East, 
 in their accounts and reckonings of a sum of money, to 
 specify the different parts of which it is composed : 
 talking after this manner ; I owe twenty-five, of which 
 the half is twelve and one half, the quarter six and one 
 fourth, 3ic. Hakjier, vol. ii. p. 51 2» 
 
[ 240 ] 
 
 No. 330.— DANIEL i. 8. 
 
 But Daniel purposed in his heart , that he would not dejile 
 himself -with the portion of the king's meat. 
 
 It was the custom of most nations, before their meals, 
 to make an oblation of some part of what they ate and 
 drank to their gods, as a thankful acknowledgment that 
 every thing which they enjoyed was their gift. These 
 oblations were called libamina among the Romans, so 
 that every entertainment had something in it of the na- 
 ture of a sacrifice. This pra6lice generally prevailing, 
 made Daniel and his friends look upon the provisions 
 coming from the king's table as no better than meats 
 offered to idols, and, by being so offered, to be ac- 
 counted unclean or polluted. (Ezek, iv. 13. Hos. ix. 3. 
 compared with A5ls xv. 20.) 
 
 No. 331. — ii. 4. king live for ever.'\ This ancient 
 v.'ish and address to the throne seems most manifestly 
 to have taken its rise from an ancient and original appre- 
 hension, that those who could obtain favour and mercy 
 through the promised Messiah would really live for 
 ever, and have not only as great, but greater powers to 
 be useful hereafter, than they have had on earth. 
 
 King's Morsels of Criticism^ vol. i. p. 469. 
 
 No. 332. — v. 13. The7i was Daniel brought before the 
 king.] Chardin gives an account of a very singular kind 
 of honour paid the Persian princes after their deaths — 
 that it was usual to drive their physicians and astrologers 
 from court. This he supposes to be of great antiquity, 
 and to have been the cause of Daniel's absenc^^hen 
 
DANIEL. 241 
 
 Belshazzar saw the hand writing his doom On the 
 wall, which writing no body that was then with him 
 could explain. Daniel was not, it is certain, only occa- 
 sionally absent from this solemnity, which was conduced 
 in a manner affronting to the God of Israel ; for it 
 appears from verse 13. that he was not at all personally 
 known to Belshazzar. This has been supposed to have 
 been owing to his having been a vicious and a weak 
 prince. Char din supposes, on the other hand, that the 
 ceremonial of the Persian court required it. The first 
 reason hardlj' accounts for his absence, since weak and 
 vicious as he might be, Nicotris, his mother, who appears 
 to have been no stranger to the great abilities of Daniel, 
 who is said to have been a lady of great wisdom, and v/ho 
 is believed to have had the chief management of affair.s, 
 might have employed Daniel in matters of state, which, 
 in all probability, considering his eminence, would have 
 made him known to the king ; he did not however know 
 him ; she did not therefore employ Daniel. From the 
 queen mother's recommending Belshazzar to consult 
 Daniel, I colle6l, says Chardin, that Daniel had been 
 mazoiiled (displaced) at the death of the king ; for in the 
 East, when the king dies, the physicians and astrologers 
 are displaced ; the first, for not having driven away 
 death; and the other, for not having predicted it. 
 
 Harmeii, vol. ii. p. 165. 
 
 No. 333. — V. 27. Thou art weighed in the balayices.'] 
 
 From the following extrailH; it will appear that there is 
 
 an allusion in these words, which will justify a literal 
 
 interpretation of them. " The first of September, (which 
 
 was the iate mogul's birth-day) he, retaining an ancient 
 
 yearly custom, was in the presence of his chief grandees 
 
 weighed in a balance : the ceremony was performed 
 
 within his house, or tent, in a fair spacious room, where- 
 
 into none were admitted but by special leave. Th« 
 ^ 2H 
 
242 DANIEL. 
 
 scales in which he was thus weighed were plated with 
 gold ; and so was the beam, on which they hung by great 
 chains, made likewise of that most precious metal. The 
 king sitting in one of them, was weighed first against 
 silver coin, which immediately afterwards was distri- 
 huted among the poor; then was he weighed against 
 gold ; after that against jewels, (as they say) but, I ob- 
 served (being there present with my lord ambassador) 
 that he was weighed against three several things, laid in 
 silken bags on the contrary scale. When I saw him in 
 the balance, I thought on Belshazzar, who was found 
 too light. {Dan. v. 27.) By his weight, (of which his 
 physicians yearly keep an exa<5l account) they presume 
 to guess of the present estate of his body, of which they 
 speak flatteringly, however they think it to be.^' Sir 
 Thomas Rowe'* Voyage to India. 
 
 No. 334. — V. 29. They clothed Daniel with scarlet.'] 
 This was designed to honour Daniel, and certainly was, 
 according to the custom of the East, a ceremony highly 
 expressive of dignity. To come out from the presence 
 of a superior in a garment diiferent from that in which 
 the person went in, was significant of approbation and 
 promotion. Whether it was the precise intention of 
 this clothing to declare Daniel's investiture with the dig- 
 nity of the third ruler of the kingdom, or whether it was 
 an honorary distinction, ,unconne6led with his advance- 
 ment, cannot be absolutely decided, because caffetans, 
 or robes, are at this day put on people with both views. 
 Chardin has a passage, from which it appears how easy 
 it is immediately to put a garment on a person they in- 
 tend to honour, answerable to that degree of honour 
 they design to do him, let it be what it will. After 
 having observed, that in Persia and the Indies they not 
 only give a vestment, but a complete suit of clothes, 
 when they would do a person more honour t^an com- 
 
DANIEL. 243 
 
 mon, contrary to what is practised in Turky and China, 
 he goes on to observe, that these presents of vestments 
 are only from superiors to inferiors, not from equals to 
 equals, nor from the mean to the great. Kings constantly 
 give them to ambassadors, residents, and envoys, and 
 send them to princes who are their tributaries, and pay 
 them homage. They pay great attention to the quality 
 or merit of those to whom these vestments or habits are 
 given ; they are always answerable to their rank. Those 
 that are given to their great men have, in like manner, 
 as much difference as there is between the degrees of 
 honour they possess in the state. The kings of Persia 
 have great wardrobes, where there are always many 
 hundreds of habits ready, designed for presents, and 
 sorted. The intendant of the wardrobes (which they 
 call kalaat kone, that is, the house of kalaats, that being 
 the name given those vestments that are made presents 
 of) sends one of them to the person the great master 
 orders, and of that kind the order dire6ls. More than 
 forty taylors are always employed in this house. This 
 difference of vestments, as to the stuff they are made of, 
 is not observed in Turkey ; there they are pretty much 
 alike in point of richness, but they give more or fewer, 
 according to the dignity of the persons to whom they 
 are presented, or the degree in which they would caress 
 them. There are ambassadors who have received twenty- 
 five or thirty of them for themselves and attendants ; 
 and several are given to one person, respe6l being had 
 to the place he holds. In the year 1675, the king of 
 Persia having returned answer to the agents of the 
 grandson of Teimuras-can, the last king of Iberia, (who 
 solicited his return to court, and was then in Muscovy) 
 that he should be welcome, and this young prince having 
 come to the frontiers, his majesty sent one of his officers 
 to bring him to him, and to defray his expences, with 
 
244 DANIEL. 
 
 a very rich present, in which, among other things, were 
 five complete suits of clothes. 
 
 Harmer, vol. ii. p. 85. 
 
 No. 335. — viii. 5. An he-goat.'\ A goat is very pro- 
 perly made the type of the Grecian or Macedonian em- 
 pire, because the Macedonians at first, about 200 years 
 before Daniel, were denominated, JLgeadce,, or the 
 goal's people j and upon this occasion, as heathen 
 authors report : Caranus, the first king, going with a 
 great multitude of Greeks to seek new habitations in 
 Macedonia, was commanded by the oracle to take the 
 goats for his guides to empire ; and afterwards, seeing an 
 herd of guats flying from a violent storm, he followed 
 them to Edessa, and there fixed the seat of his empire, 
 made the goats his ensigns or standards, and called 
 the city JEgeae^ or the Goat's Town, and the people 
 Mgcad(£^ or the Cioat's People. The city iEgese was 
 likewise the usual bui'ying place of the Macedonian 
 kings. It is also very remarkable, that Alexander's son 
 by Roxana was named Alexander ^gus, or the son of 
 the goat ; and some of Alexander's successors are re- 
 presented in their coins with goat's horns. 
 
 Bl>. Newtok on the Prophecies^ vol. ii. p. 29. 
 
[ 245 ] 
 
 No. 336 HOSEA iii. 2, 
 
 An homer of barley. 
 
 Chardin observed in the East that in their contra6ls 
 for their temporary wives, (which are known to be fre- 
 quent there) there is always the formality of a measure 
 of corn mentioned, over and above the sum of money 
 which is stipulated. This -w'xW perhaps account for Ho- 
 sea's purchasing a woman of this sort for fifteen pieces 
 of silver and a certain quantity of barley. 
 
 Harmer, vol. ii. p. 57Z. 
 
 No. 337. — iv. 12. Their staff dedareth unto them.'] 
 The method of divination alluded to by the prophet in 
 these words, is supposed to have been thus performed. 
 The person consulting measured his staff by spans, or 
 by the length of his finger, saying, as he measured, " I 
 will go, or, I will not go; I will do such a thing, or, I 
 will not do it ;"' and as the last span fell out, so he de- 
 termined. Cyril and Theophyla6l, however, give a dif- 
 ferent account of the matter. They say that it was per- 
 formed by ere6ling two sticks, after which they mur- 
 mured forth a certain charm, and then according as the 
 sticks fell, backwards or forwards, towards the right or 
 left, they gave advice in any affair. 
 
 No. 338. — ix. 10. Tujjirst ripe in the jig-tree at her 
 first ti7ize.] " In Barbary, and no doubt in the hotter 
 climate of Judea, after mild winters-, some of the more 
 forward trees will now and then yield a fev/ ripe figs, six 
 weeks or more before the full season. Such is probably 
 the allusion in this place." Shaw's Travels, p. 142* 
 
246 HOSEA. 
 
 No. 339. — xi. 2. Graven images.'\ " We read fre- 
 quently of graven images, and of molten images, and the 
 words are become so familiar, as names of idolatrous 
 images, that although they are not well chosen to ex- 
 press the Hebrew names, it seemsnotadvisable to change 
 them for others, that might more exa6lly correspond 
 with the original. Tlie graven image was not a thing 
 wrought iu metal by the tool of the workman we should 
 how call an engraver : nor was the molten image an 
 image made of metal, or any other substance melted, and 
 shaped in a mould. In fa6b, the graven image and the 
 inolten image are the same thing, under different names. 
 The images of the ancient idolaters were first cut out of 
 wood by the carpenter, as is very evident from the pro- 
 phet Isaiah. This ligure of wood was overlaid with 
 plates either of gold or silver, or sometimes perhaps of 
 an inferior metal ; and in this finished state it was 
 called a graven image ^A e. a carved image,) in refer- 
 ence to the inner solid figure of wood, and a molten 
 (^/. e. an overlaid, or covered) image, in reference to the 
 outer metalline case or covering. Sometimes both epi- 
 thets are applied to it at once. I will cut off the graven 
 and molten image. (Nahumi. 14-.) A^-aiu, What prof t- 
 ieth the graven and molten image? (Hab. ii. 18.) The 
 English word molten conveys a notion of melting, or 
 fusion. But this is not the case with the Hebrew word 
 For which it is given. The Hebrew signifies, generally, 
 to overspread, or cover all over, in whatever manner, 
 according to the different subjefl, the overspreading or 
 covering be efFe6led ; whether by pouring forth a sub- 
 stance in fusion, or by spreading a cloth over or before, 
 or by hammering on matalline plates. It is on account 
 of this metalline case, that we find a founder employed 
 to make a graven image, (Judges xvii. 3. J ; and that we 
 read in Isaiah xl. 19. of a workman that melteth a graven 
 image ; and in another place (cap. xliv.) we find the 
 
HOSEA. 847 
 
 question, who hath molten a graven image ? In these two 
 passages the words should be overlai/eth, and overlaid'^^ 
 Bp' Horsley's Hosea^ p. 134. 
 
 No. 340. — x'lV. 5. / xvillbe as the dexv unto Israel.] 
 The earth, while it supplies the various plants which 
 grovr upon it, is supplied for that purpose very much by 
 the dew, which is full of oleaginous particles. *' The 
 dews seem to be the richest present the atmosphere 
 gives to the earth ; having, when putrefied in a vessel, 
 a black sediment like mud at the bottom; this seems to 
 cause the darkish colour to the upper part of the ground; 
 and the sulphur which is found in the dew may be the 
 chief ingredient of tlie cement of the earth, sulphur 
 being very glutinous, as nitre is dissolvent. Dew has 
 both these.'' (Tull's Husbandnj^ c. 6.) A lively com- 
 ment this upon the promise in this passage, Izvill be a.t 
 the devi unto Israel. 
 
L 248 ] 
 
 No. 341 JOEL i. V. 
 
 Howl all ye drinkers ofzvine, because of the new wine^ for 
 it is cut off from your mouth. 
 
 That old wine was most esteemedin the East is clear 
 from the words of our Lord. No man also having drank 
 old wi?ie, straighttvay desireth Jiexv, for he saith the old 
 is better. (Luke v. 39. J By a false translation in these 
 words of Joel, new is put instead of szueet wine. Wine 
 of this sort, as appears from the ancient eastern transla- 
 tors of the Septuagintj was chiefly esteemed formerly ; 
 for that which our version renders, royal xvine in abun- 
 daiice^ according to the state of the king, (Esth. i. 7. J 
 they translate much and sxveet wine, such as the king 
 himself drank. A remark that Russel makes on the 
 white wines of Aleppo may help to explain this. They 
 are palatable, but thin and poor, and seldom keep sound 
 above a year. (Hist, of Aleppo, p. 19.) Such, however, 
 as were capable of being kept till they \vere old, and 
 which those that loved drinking desired, were those of 
 the sweet sort, and consequently proper subje6ls for the 
 threatening of the prophet. But what completes and 
 finishes the illustration of this passage is a curious obser- 
 vation of Dr. Sir AW (Trav. p. 146.) concerning the wine' 
 of Algiers. " The wine of Algiers, before the locusts 
 destroyed the vineyards in the years 1723 and 1724, was 
 not inferior to the best hermitage, either in briskness of 
 taste or flavour; but since that time it is much degene- 
 rated, having not hitherto (1732) recovered its usual 
 qualities." It is a desolation of their vineyards by 
 locusts that Joel threatens, which, it seems, injures their 
 
JOEL. 249 
 
 produce for many years, and consequently nothing was 
 more natural than to call the drunkards of Israelto mourn 
 on that occasion. See A6ls ii. 13, which probably is to 
 be understood of sweet wine also. 
 
 Harmer, vol. i. p. 385. 
 
 No. 342. — i. 17. Gcirners.'\ Dr. Shazv informs us, 
 (Trav. p. 139.) that " in Barbary, after the grain is win- 
 nowed, they lodge it imnattamores^ or subterraneous tna- 
 gazinesy two or three hundred of which are sometimes 
 together, the smallest holding four hundred bushels." 
 And Dr. Russell says, (Hist, of Aleppo^ p. 18.) that 
 " about Aleppo in Syria their granaries are even at this 
 day subterraneous grottos, the entry to which is by a 
 small hole or opening like a well, often in the highway; 
 and as they are commonly left open when empty, they 
 make it not a little dangerous riding near the villages in 
 the night." 
 
 No. 343. — i. 19. The fame hath burnt all the trees of 
 thefeld.'] There are doubtless different methods for fell- 
 ing timber, pra6lised by various nations. In more rude 
 and uncivilized times, and even still among people of 
 that description, we may expe6l to find the most simple, 
 and perhaps, as they may appear to us, inconvenient 
 contrivances adopted. Prior to the invention of suitable 
 implements, such means as would any way eifedl this 
 purpose would certainly be resorted to. We must not be 
 surprised then to find that formerly, and in the present 
 day, trees were felled by the operation of fire. Thus 
 Niebuhr says, " we cannot help condemning the unskil- 
 ful expedient which these highlandcrs employ for fell- 
 ing trees: they set fire to the root, and keep it burning 
 till the tree falls of itself." (Travels, vol. i. p. 300.) Mr. 
 Bruce mentions whole forests, whose underwood and ve- 
 
 2 I 
 
250 JOEL. 
 
 getation is thus consumed. Possibly this custom may be 
 alluded to in Zech. xii. 6. I will make the governors of 
 Judah like a liearth of f.re among the roood^ andllke a 
 torch of fire in asheaf and theij shall devour all the people 
 round about. Such fires may be kindled either from 
 design or accident. In such instances, as obtaining the 
 timber is the obje6l, these fires are purposely lighted, 
 and would be so managed as to do as little damage as 
 possible, though some injury must certainly result from 
 this method of felling trees. Strange as it may seem, we 
 learn from Turner's Embassy to Tibet, (p. 13.) that 
 there " the only method of felling timber in pra6lice, 
 I was informed, is by fire. In the trees marked out for 
 this purpose, vegetation is destroyed by burning their 
 trunks half through ; being left in that state to drs^, in 
 the ensuing year the fire is again applied, and they are 
 burnt till they fall." An allusion to something of this 
 kind the prophet Joel certainly has in these words. 
 Perhaps it may be rather to a general undesigned de- 
 vastion by fire, than to any contrivance for procuring 
 the timber. 
 
 No. 344. — ill. 3. And sold a girl for xvine, that they 
 might drink.'} Considered as slaves ai'e in the East, 
 they are sometimes purchased at a very low price. Joel 
 complains of the contemptuous cheapness in which the 
 Israelites were held by those who made them captives. 
 Theij have cast lots for my people.^ and have given a boy for 
 an harlot, and sold a girl for wine, that they might drink. 
 On this passage Chardin remarks, that, " the Tartars, 
 Turks, and Cosaques, sell the children sometimes as 
 cheap, which they ty.ke. Not only has this been done 
 in Asia, v/here examples of it are frequent; our Europe 
 has seen such desolations. When the Tartars came 
 into Poland, they carried o'^ all they were able. I went 
 
JOEL. 251 
 
 thither some years after. Many persons of the court 
 assured me that the Tartars, perceiving that they would 
 no more redeem those that they had carried off, Sold 
 them for a crown, and that they had purchased them 
 for that sum. In Mingrelia, they sell them for pro- 
 visions, and for wine." 
 
 Harmer, vol. ii. p« 374. 
 
[ 252 ] 
 
 No. 545— AMOS li. 1. 
 
 He burnt the hones of the king of Edom into lime. 
 
 To plaster the walls of his house with it, as the Chaldee, 
 paraphrase explains the text, which was a cruel insult- 
 ing over the dead. A piece of barbarity resembling 
 this is told by Sir Paul Rycaut, C Present State of the 
 Greek Church, ch. ii.) that the wall of the city of Phi la- 
 delphia was made of the bones of the besieged, by the 
 prince who took it by storm. 
 
 No. 346. — iii. 12. The corner.] Sitting in the cor- 
 ner is a stately attitude, and is expressive of superiority. 
 Russell says, " the divans at Aleppo are formed in the 
 following manner. Across the upper end, and along the 
 sides of the room, is fixed a wooden platform, four feet 
 broad and six inches high ; upon this are laid cotton 
 mattrasses exa6lly of the same breadth, and over these 
 a cover of broad cloth, trimmed with gold lace and 
 fringes, hanging over to the ground. A number of 
 large oblong cushions stuffed hard with cotton, and 
 faced with flowered velvet, are then ranged in the plat- 
 form close to the wall. The two upper corners of the 
 divan are furnished also with softer cushions, half the 
 size of tlie others, which are laid upon a square fine mat- 
 trass, spread over these of cloth, both being faced with 
 brocade. The corners in this manner distinguished are 
 held to be the places of honour, and a great man never 
 offers to resign them to persons of inferior rank." Mr, 
 Antes, among other observations made on the manners 
 and customs of the Egyptians, from 1770 to 1782, says, 
 on his bein^ carried before one of the beys of Egypt, in 
 
AMOS. 253 
 
 about half an hour the bey arrived, with all his men, and 
 lighted flambeaus before him; he alighted, and went up 
 stairs into a room, sat doxun in a corner^ and all his peo- 
 ple placed themselves in a circle round him. 
 
 No. 347. — iii. 12. Apiece of an ear.'] It seems odd 
 to mention this as what a shepherd rescues from a lion, 
 but Russell (Hist of Aleppo, p. 53.) informs us, that 
 about that city they hav<"e one species of goat v/hose ears 
 are considerable things, being often a foot long, and 
 broad in proportion. 
 
 No- 348. — iii. 15. Irvill smite the winter house xvith 
 the summer house.] There is a distin6lion made in the 
 prophets betv/een winter and summer houses. The ac- 
 count Shaw gives (Trav. p. 34.) of the country seals 
 about Algiers, may explain this affair. " The hills and 
 valleys round about Algiers are all over beautified v/ith 
 gardens and country seats, whither the inhabitants of 
 better fashion retire during the heats of the summer. 
 They are little white houses, shaded with a variety of 
 fruit-trees and ever-greens. The gardens are all of 
 them v.'ell stocked with melons, fruit, and pot-herbs of 
 all kinds : and (what is chiefly regarded in these hot cli- 
 mates) each of them enjoys a great command of water." 
 These summer houses are built in the open country, and 
 are small, though belonging to people of fashion, and 
 as such explain in the most ample manner the words of 
 Amos, I will smite the xvinter house, the palaces of the 
 great in the fortified towns, rvith the suininer house, the 
 small houses of pleasure used in the summer, to which 
 any enemy can have access ; and the houses of ivory 
 5//a///'er/6/6, those remarkable for their magnificence; and 
 the great houses shall have an end, saith the Lord, those 
 which are distinguished by their amplitude as well as 
 
254 AMOS. 
 
 richness, built as they are ia the strongest places, yet 
 shall all perish like their country seats." (Jer. xxxvi. 
 22.) Harmer, vol. i. p. 22.5. 
 
 No. 349. — V. 19. As if he leaned his hand on thewall^ 
 and a serpent lit him.'] Serpents sometimes concealed 
 themselves in the holes and chinks of the walls of the 
 eastern houses. This is confirmed by a remarkable 
 story related by D^ Herbelot' — Amadeddulat, v/ho reigned 
 in Persia in the 10th century, found himself reduced to 
 great difficulties, arising from want-of attention to his 
 treasury. Walking one day in one of the rooms of his 
 palace, which had been before that time the residence of 
 Jacout, his antagonist, he perceived a serpent, which 
 put its head out of a chink of the wallj he immediately 
 ordei-ed that the place should be searched and the ser- 
 pent killed. In opening the wall there, they found a 
 secret place, in which they could not discover the ser- 
 pent, but a treasure, which Vv^as lodged in several cof- 
 fers, in which Jacout had deposited his most precious 
 effefls. Harmer, vol. iii. p. 91. 
 
 No. 350. — V. 26. Te have borne the taberyiacle of your 
 Moloch.'] It is thought with great probability, that Mo- 
 loch and those other pagan deities, which the Israelites 
 carried with them in the desert, were borne in niches 
 upon men's shoulders, or drawn about on covered car- 
 riages, as we know' the heathens carried their idols in 
 procession, or in public marches. There are some who 
 believe that those silver temples of the goddess Diana, 
 which v/ere made and sold at Epliesus, were also these 
 niches, or portable temples, for the devotion of pil- 
 grims. 
 
 The custom of carrying the images of the gods under 
 tents and in covered litters came originally from th^s 
 
AMOS. 255 
 
 Egyptians. Herodotus speaks of a feast of Lis, wherein 
 her statue was carried upon a chariot with four v/heels, 
 drawn by her priests. The same author, speaking of 
 one of their deities, says, they carried it from one tem- 
 ple to another, inclosed in a little chapel made of gilt 
 wood. Clemens of Alexandria speaks of an Egyptian 
 procession, wherein they carried two dogs of gold, an 
 hawk, and an ibis. The same father quotes the words 
 of Idenander^ who rallied those vagrant divinities that 
 could not continue in one place. Macrobius says, that 
 the Egyptian priests carried the statue of yupiler of 
 Heliopolis upon their shoulders, as the gods of the Ro- 
 mans v/ere carried in the pomp of the games of the cir- 
 cus. Philo oi Biblos relates, that they used to carry 
 Agrotes a PhcEnician deity, in a covered niche upon a 
 car drawn by beasts. (Euseb. Prcep. lib. i.) 
 
 The Egyptian priests placed Jupiter Amman upon a 
 little boat, from whence hung plates of silver, by the 
 motion of which they formed a judgment of the will of 
 the deity, and from whence thej' made their responses 
 to such as consulted them. The Egyptians and Cartha- 
 ginians, as ^ert;iz^5 reports, had little images, which were 
 carried upon chariots, and gave oracles by the motion 
 they communicated to these carriages. The Gauls, as 
 we are told by Su'picius Severusj carried their gods 
 abroad into the fields, covered with a white veil. Ta- 
 citus speaks of an unknown goddess, vvho resided in an 
 island of the ocean. They keep for her a covered cha- 
 riot, which none dares approach but her priest: and 
 v/hen he says that the goddess is entered therein, two 
 heifers are harnessed to it, v/ho draw the Chariot where 
 they think fit, and then bring it bad: into htr grove. 
 They wash the chariot, "and the veils that cover it, and 
 then they drov/n the slaves that were employed in the 
 service. 
 
256 AMOS. 
 
 Diodorous Slculus speaks of two small temples of gold. 
 There was one at Lacedcemon, which was all of brass, and 
 therefore was called chalcotoichos, or the house of brass. 
 Viclor, in his description of Borne, gives instances of 
 some of the same metal in that city j but I should rather 
 think that the little temples of Diana of Ephesus, which 
 were made and sold by Demetrius the silversmith, were 
 either models of the temple of their goddess, or niches 
 wherein the goddess herself was represented. 
 
 Calmet'5 Diclioiiary of the Bihle^ art. Niches. 
 
 No. 351. — vi. 4. And eat the lambs out of the Jlock,\ 
 Chardin observes that lambs are in many places of the 
 scripture spoken of as great delicacies. These and the 
 kids must be eaten of, to form a conception of the mois- 
 ture, taste, delicacy, and fat of this animal. As the 
 eastern people are no friends of game, fish, or fowls, 
 their most delicious food is the lamb and the kid ; 
 hence they were used for presents, ^Wi^^^e^ xv. 1. 1 Sam. 
 xvi. 20 ; hence also the energy of that expression, 
 mar row and fatness, P^alm Ixiii. 5. 
 
 HarmeR, vol. i. p. 322. 
 
 No. 352. — vi. 10. Then shall he say, hold thy tongue, 
 for zue maij not make mention of the name of the Lord.'\ 
 One of the ceremonies attending the funerals of the 
 Jews was thatof condu6ling the corpse to the grave with 
 singing. For this purpose m.ourning-women were re- 
 tained in the East. On these occasions, Maillet says, 
 *' the lower class of people are wont to call in certain 
 women who play on the tabor, and whose business it is 
 to sing mournful airs to the sound of this instrument, 
 which they accompany with a thousand distortions of 
 their limbs, as frightful as those of people possessed by 
 the devil. These Women attend the corpse to the 
 
AMOS. 25r 
 
 grave, intermixed with the female relations and friends 
 of the deceased, who commonlj^ have their liair in the 
 utmost disorder, like the frantic bacchanalian women 
 of the ancient heathens, their heads covered with dust, 
 their faces daubed with indigo, or at least rubbed with 
 mud, and howling like mad people." It was also custo- 
 many to accompany the body to its last home, with 
 devout siiighig of men. Russell s-xys^ C Hist, of Aleppo j 
 p. 116.) " when the corpse is carried out, a number of 
 sheiks, with their tattered banners, walk first ; next 
 tome the male friends, and after them the corpse,, car- 
 ried with the head foremost, upon men's shoulders. 
 The bearers are relieved very often, for every passen- 
 ger thinks it' meritorious to lend some little help on 
 such solemn occasions. The nearest male relations 
 immediately follow, and the women close the pi-oces- 
 sion with dreadful shrieks, while the men all the way 
 are w'.i^m^ j&rcfj/er* out of the Koran." Dean Addison 
 particularly mentions, that he found this custom prac- 
 tised by the Jews of Barbary, and that they commonly 
 made use of the 49th Psalm for this purpose. C Present 
 State of the Jexvs^ p. 218.) Mr. Harmer^ (vol. iii. p. 411.) 
 conceives that this latter custom of men reciting portions 
 of scripture gives us the true meaning of the prohibi- 
 tion in these words of Amos ; we may not make mention 
 of the nayne of the Lord: it is to be understood of the 
 more sedate singing of parcels of holy writ, according 
 to the modern pra6lice of these countries : and cer- 
 tainly this is confirmed from chap. viii. ver. 3. of the 
 same prophet, where he speaks of many dead bodies in 
 every place, and says, they shall cast them forth with 
 silence. 
 
 No. 35S. — vi. 11. He will smite the great house with 
 breaches^ and the little house with clefts.] Chardin, speak- 
 
 2K 
 
258 AMOS. 
 
 ing concerning ihe rains, says, " they are the rains, 
 which cause the walls to fall, which are built of clay, 
 the mortar plastering dissolving. This plastering hin- 
 ders the water from penetrating the bricks ; but when 
 the plastering has been soaked with wet, the wind 
 cracks it, and occasions the rain in some succeeding 
 showers to get between and dissolve every thing." This 
 account illustrates the words of the prophet in a very 
 happy manner, as the houses were mostly built of these 
 fragile materials. (Ezek. xiii. 11.) 
 
 Harmer, vol. i. p. 178. 
 
 No. 554. — vii. 14. Sijcaraor e fruit. ^ The sycamore 
 fruit, which grows sticking to the trunk of the tree, 
 does not ripen till it is rubbed with iron combs, after 
 which it ripens in four days. Jerome says, that with- 
 out this management the figs are excessively bitter. 
 Haaselqulst^ fTravels, -p. 261.) describing the Ecus sy- 
 comorus, or scripture sycamore, says, " it buds the 
 latter end of March, and the fruit ripens in the begin- 
 ning of June ; it is wounded or cut by the inhabitants 
 (of Lower Egypt) at the time it buds, for without this 
 precaution, they say, it will not bear fruit." 
 
 No. 255. — viii. 9. / xvill cause the sun to go down at 
 710071^ and I xvill darken the earth in the clear day."] One 
 of the Asiatic poets, describing a calamitous and miser- 
 able day, says, it was a time in which the sun arose in the 
 xvest. Amos threatened that God would make the sun 
 go dozvn at nooJi, and would darken the earth in a clear 
 day. Mr. Harmer observes (vol. ii. p. l8G.)that though 
 these expressions are difftrrent, they are of the same 
 import, and serve to illustrate one another. They both 
 signify how extremely short this time of prosperity 
 would be, and how unexpe6ledly it would terminate. 
 Mr. Lowth (Commentary on the Prophets, J says, that ihe 
 
AMOS. 259 
 
 prophet alluded to eclipses of the sun, for he says that 
 Archbishop Usher hath observed in his annals, that 
 about eleven years after the time that Amos prophesied, 
 there were two great eclipses of the sun, and it is well 
 known in what an ominous light the ancients regarded 
 them. 
 
 No. 356.. — ix. G. It is he that bidldeth his stories in 
 the heaven.'] The chief rooms of the houses of Aleppo 
 at this day are those above, the. ground-floor being 
 chiefly made use of for their horses and servants. Per- 
 haps the prophet referred to this circumstance, when 
 he spoke of the heavens as God's chambers, the most 
 noble and splendid apartments of the palace of God, 
 where his presence is chiefly manifested, and the col- 
 lection of its oflices, its numerous little mean divisions, 
 of this earth. Harmer, vol. i. p. 175. 
 
 No. 357. — ix. 13. The ploughman shall overtake the 
 reaper.] The Arabs commit depredations of ever}' de- 
 scription. They strip the trees of their fruit even in 
 its unripe state, as well as seize on the seed and corn 
 of the husbandman. MaiUet ascribes the alteration for 
 the worse, that is found in the wine of a province in 
 Egypt, to the precipitation v/ith v/hich they now gather 
 the grapes. This was done to save them from the 
 Arabs, " who frequently make excursions into it, espe- 
 cially in the season in which the fruits begin to ripen. 
 It is to save them from these depredations, that the 
 inhabitants of the country gather them before they 
 come to maturity.'' (I^ett. viii. p. 296.) It is this cir- 
 cumstance that must explain this passage of the pro- 
 phet : Behold^ the days comc^ saith the Lord, that the 
 ploughman shall overtake the reaper, and the treader of 
 grapes him, that soivsthseed, and ihe mountaina shall drop 
 
^60 AMOS. 
 
 sweet wine, and all the hills shall melt : that is, the days 
 shall come when the grapes shall not be gathered, as 
 they were before, in a state of immaturity, for fear of 
 Arabs or other destroying nations, but they shall be 
 suifered to hang till the time of ploughing ; so perfe6l 
 shall be the security oi these times. 
 
 Harmer, vol. i. p. 90. 
 
[ 261 ] 
 
 No. 358.— OBADIAH 15. 
 
 Thy rexuard shall turn upon thine oxvnhcad. 
 
 Some of the ancients were much given to observe 
 omens, and were greatly influenced by them. They 
 endeavoured, if possible, to avoid what they conceived 
 to be thus portended. " The way to avert an omen 
 was, either to throw a stone at the thing, or to kill it 
 out-right, if it was an ominous animal, and so the evil 
 portended by it might fall upon its own head. If it 
 was an unlucky speech, to retort it upon the speaker 
 with an £<;■ xs<paXr,» o-oi^ tibi in caput redeat ; i. c. let it fall 
 upon thine own head : which perhaps is an espressioa 
 borrowed from the ' Upoj-aoTroi-, who, when they espied 
 any thing in the victim that seemed to portend any 
 misfortune to themselves or their country, used to pray 
 that it might st xEtpicXiiv rxlr-hv '?rf)£7rs9xi, be turned upon 
 the victim's head. The like expressions are sometimes 
 made use of in holy scripture, as in Obad. 15. and se- 
 veral other places. Herodotus reports, that it was aa 
 Egyptian custom, from which it is probable the Grecian^ 
 derived theirs. They curse, says he, the head of the 
 victim in this manner, thut if any misfortune impended 
 over themselves, or the country of Egypt, it might be 
 turned upon that head." (Potter'^ Archccologia GrcecOy 
 vol. i. p. 345, edit. 1795.) 
 
[ 262 ] 
 
 No. 359— MICAH W. 4. 
 
 T/iei/ shall sit every man under his vine^ and under his 
 fg-tree. 
 
 This expression most probabl)'- alludes to the delight- 
 ful eastern arbours, which were partly composed of 
 vines ; and the agreeable retreat which was enjoyed un- 
 der them might also be found under their fig-trees. 
 Norden expressly speaks of vine arbours as common in 
 the Egyptian gardens, (vol. i. p. 71.) and the Prcsnestine 
 pavement, in Dr. Shaiv, gives us the figure of an ancient 
 one. 
 
 No- 360. — vii. 1. Jlfi/ soul desireth the first ripe fruit.'] 
 The expression here made use of by the prophet may 
 probably be understood by the assistance of a remark 
 which Sir John Chardin has made upon this passage. 
 He informs us, that the Persians and Turks are not 
 only fond of almonds, plumbs, and melons in a mature 
 state, but that thev are remarkable for eating them be- 
 fore they are ripe. As soon as ever they approach to 
 that state, they make use of them, the great dryness 
 and temperature of the air preventing flatulencies. 
 
 Harjier, vol. i. p. 455. 
 
[ 263 ] 
 
 No. 361 — NAHUM ii. r. 
 
 And Huzzah shall be led cnvay captive^ she shall be brought 
 up, and her maids shall lead her as xvith the voice of 
 
 When D^Arvieux was in the camp of the great emir 
 his princess was visited by other Arab princesses. The 
 last that came, whose visit alone he describes, was 
 mounted, he says, on a camel, covered with a carpet, 
 and decked with flowers ; a dozen woman marched in 
 a row before her, holding the camel's halter with one 
 hand; they sung the praises of their mistress, and songs 
 which expressed joy., and the happiness of being in the 
 service of such a beautiful and amiable lady. Those 
 which vent first, and were more distant from her per- 
 son, came in thc-ir turn to the head of the camel, and 
 took hold of the halter, which place, as being the post 
 of honoui-, they quitted to others, when the princess 
 had gone a few paces. The emir's wife sent her wo- 
 men to meet her, to whom the halter was entirely quit- 
 ted, out of respe6l, her own women putting themselves 
 behind the camel. In this order they marched to the 
 tent, v.'here they alighted. They then all sung toge- 
 ther the beauty, birth, and good qualities of this prin- 
 cess. CVotj. dans la Pal. p. 249.) 
 
 This account illustrates these words of the prophet, 
 wherein he speaks of the presenting of the queen of 
 Nineveh, or Nineveh itself under the figure of a queen, 
 to her conquerer. He describes her as led by the maids, 
 with the voice of doves, that is, with the voice of mourn- 
 ing; their usual songs of joy, with which they used to 
 lead her along, as the Arab women did their princess, 
 being turned into lamentations. 
 
 Karmer, vol. li. p. 110. 
 
264 NAHUM. 
 
 No. 362. — ii. 10. The faces of them all gather black- 
 ness.'] Prir. Harmer considers this blackness as the efFe6l 
 of hunger and thirst; ^nd Cahnet (DlSi. art. Obscure J 
 refers it to a pra6lice of bedaubing the face with soot. 
 This proceeding, however, is not very consistent with 
 the hurry of flight, or the terror of distress. A better 
 elucidation of it may perhaps be obtained from the fol- 
 lowing extra6l3 than from the preceding opinions. 
 " Kumeil, the son of Ziyad, was a man of fine wit. One 
 day Hejage made him come before him, and reproached 
 him, because in such a garden, and before such and 
 such persons, whom he named to him, he had made a 
 great many imprecations against him, saying, the Lord 
 blacken his face, that is f II him with shame and confusion^ 
 and wished that his neck was cut off and his blood 
 shed." (Ockley's Hist, of the Saracens, vol. ii. p. 319.) 
 A more recent occurrence of this nature is recorded 
 by Mr- Antes in his Observations on the 3fanners and 
 Citsto77is of the Egyptians, p. 125. After giving an ac- 
 count of the manner in which he had been used during 
 his residence in Egypt by Osman Bey, he says, *' I 
 have sometimes been asked whether it were not possible 
 to have such a villain chastised by the hand of justice ? 
 whoever knows any thing of the beys and mamelucks, 
 will readily conclude, that it cannot be done, and that 
 it would ev'en be dangerous to attempt it. At that 
 time Ibrahim and Murat Bey were the most powerful 
 among the beys. Had I complained to them, and ac- 
 companied my complaint with a present of from twenty 
 to fifty dollars (for a smaller sum would not have an- 
 swered) they might perhaps have gone so far as to have 
 banished Osman Bay from Cairo; but they would pro- 
 bably in a few months have recalled him, especially had 
 they found it necessary to strengthen their party against 
 others. Had this bey afterwards met me in the street, 
 Riy head might not have been safe. Both Ibrahim and 
 
NAHUM. 265 
 
 Murat Bey knew something of me ; but when they 
 heard the whole a-Tair, they only said of Osman Bey, 
 '•^ God blacken his face.'''' This explanation of the phrase 
 perfe<5lly agrees with the sense of the passage referred 
 to in this article ; as also with Joel ii. 6. To gather 
 blackness signifies, in these extracts as well as in the 
 scriptures, to suffer extreme confusion or terror. 
 
 % L 
 
[ 266 ] 
 
 No. 363.— HABAKKUK l 8. 
 
 * Their horsemen shall spread themselves. 
 
 The account which the Baron Du Tott has given of 
 the manner in which an army of modern Tartars con- 
 du6led themselves, greatly illustrates this passage. 
 " These particulars," says he, " informed the cham (or 
 prince) and the generals what their real position was ; 
 and it was decided that a third of the army, composed 
 of volunteers, commanded by a sultan and several 
 mirzas, should pass the river at midnight, divide into 
 several columns, subdivide successively, and thus over- 
 spread New Servia, burn the villages, corn, and fodder, 
 and carry off the inhabitants of the country. The rest 
 of the army, in order to follow the plan concerted, 
 marched till it came to the beaten track in the snow 
 made by the detachment. This we followed till we 
 arrived at the place where it divided into seven branches^ 
 to the left of which we constantly kept, observing never 
 to mingle, or confuse ourselves, with any of the subdi- 
 visionSy which we successively found, and some of which 
 were only small paths, traced by one or two horsemen, 
 8s:c. Flocks were found frozen to death, on the plain ; 
 and txveiity colujnns of smoke, already rising in the 
 horizon, completed the horrors of the scene, and an- 
 nounced the fires which had laid waste New Servia." 
 CMemoiis^ part ii. p. 170 — ITJ.) The difficulties which 
 have attended the explanation of these words are thus 
 happily removed, and the propriety of the expression 
 fully established. Harmi:r, vol. iv« p. 260. 
 
[ 267 ] 
 
 No. 364.— ZECHARIAH ix. 3. 
 
 Stiver as the dusty and jine gold as the mire of the streets^ 
 
 Houses are in some places built of mud on the out- 
 side, which is the occasion of great inconvenience. 
 The editor of the Ruins of Balbec gives us the follow- 
 ing account of Cara, (vol. ii. p. 32.) " This village is 
 pleasantly seated on a rising ground. The common 
 mud, formed into the shape of bricks, and dried in the 
 sun, of which its houses are built, has at some distance 
 the appearance of white stone. The short duration of 
 such materials is not the only obje6lion to them, for 
 they make the streets dusty when there is wind, and 
 dirty when there is rain." 3Iaimdrell says, that upon a 
 violent rain at Damascus the whole city becomes by the 
 washing of the houses as it were a quagmire, (p. 124-) 
 From this representation the image of the prophet ac- 
 quires peculiar energy. Harmer, vol. i. p. 176. 
 
 No. 365. — xii. 3. A burdensome stone.l Jerome upon 
 this place thinks that a burdensome stone is an ex- 
 pression taken from an exercise kept up in Judea to 
 his time, where young men used to make trial of their 
 strength by lifting great stones as high as they could. 
 In such an exercise, where men undertook to lift a 
 stone too heavy for their strength, they were in danger 
 of its falling upon them, and bruising or crushing 
 them to pieces. To the same purpose Christ saith, on 
 zuhomsoever this stone shall fallf it will grind him to 
 powder f Matt. xxi. 44. 
 
[ 268 ] 
 
 No. 366.— MALACHI i. 8. 
 
 Offer it noxv to thy governor. 
 
 This is designed as a reproof to Israel for offering 
 Such sacrifices for the service of God's altar as were 
 imperfe6l ; and such as, if offered to a superior, would 
 not be accepted. Presents in general are acceptable ; 
 but circumstances in the East make a considei'able dif- 
 ference on this head, as to the ideas which would be 
 attached by those people to gifts, and those which are 
 commonly entertained in this part of the world. Pre- 
 sents were indispensably necessary to obtain the favour 
 of the great. Frequently indeed the royal revenue 
 was paid in the necessary articles of subsistence ; so 
 also was that of individuals ; of course such persons 
 would be particularly careful to have what was good 
 and perfecl, and would disdain to receive what was 
 otherwise. 
 
 Agreeable to this statement, Mr. Bruce (TraV' vol. i. 
 p. 353.) tells us, that " the. present governor of Daha- 
 lac's name is Hagi Mahomet Abd el Cader. The re- 
 venue of this governor consists in a goat brought to 
 him monthly by each of the tv^elve villages. Each 
 vessel that puts in there pays him also a pound of coffee, 
 and every one from Arabia a dollar, or pataka." Char- 
 din observes t'lat " it is the custom of the East for poor 
 people, and especially those in the country, to make 
 presents to their lords of lambs and sheep, as an offering 
 or tribute. Presents to men, like offerings to God, 
 expiate offences. 
 
 See more in Harmer, vol. ii. p. 25. 
 
MALACHI. 269 
 
 No. 367. — iv. 2. The sun of righteousness shall arise 
 with healing in his wings.'] The late Mr. Robinson of 
 Cambridge called upon a friend just as he had z-eceived 
 a letter from his son, who was surgeon oh board a vessel 
 then lying off ^wj/rna. The son mentioned to his father, 
 that every mornuig about sun rise a fresh gale of air 
 blew from the sea across the land, and from its whole- 
 someness and utility in clearing the infedled air, this 
 wind is always called the Doctor. *' Now," says Mr. 
 Robinson, " it strikes me that the prophet 3Ialachif 
 who lived in that quarter of the world, might allude to 
 this circumstance, when he says, the sun of righteous- 
 ness shall arise with heaVmg in his wings. The psalmist 
 mentions the xvi7igs of the xvind, and it appears to me 
 that this salubrious breeze, which attends the rising of 
 the sun, may be propeily enough considered as the 
 wings of the sun, which contain such healing influen- 
 ces, rather than the beams of the sun, as the passage 
 has been commonly understood." 
 
 No. 368. — iv. 3. 7'e shall tread doxvn the wicked^ for 
 they shall he ashes under the soles of yourjeet.'] One 
 sort of mortar made in the East is composed of one part 
 of sand, two of wood-ashes, and three of lime, well 
 mixed together, and beaten for three days and nights 
 incessantly with wooden mallets. (Shaw's Travels., p. 
 206.) Chardin mentions this circumstance, and ap- 
 plies it to this passage of the prophet, supposing there 
 is an allusion in these words to the making of mortar 
 in the East, v/ith ashes colle6led from their baths. Some 
 learned men have supposed the wicked here are com- 
 pared to ashes, because the prophet had been speaking 
 of their destrudlion unde r the notion of burning, ver. 1 ; 
 but the sacred writers do not always keep close to those 
 figures which they first propose : the paragraph of 
 
sro MALACHI. 
 
 Malachi is a proof of this assertion, and if they had, he 
 would not have spoken of treading on the wicked like 
 ashes, if it had not been customary in these times to 
 tread ashes, which it seems was done to make mortar. 
 
 H^RMER, vol. i. p. 179. 
 
 END OF THE OLD TESTAMENT. 
 
No. 369.— St. MATTHEW i. 18, 
 
 Espoused' ^ 
 
 Espousing or betrothing was a solemn promise of 
 marriage made by two persons, each to the other, at 
 such a distance of time as they agreed upon. The 
 manner of performing this espousal was, either by a 
 writing, or by a piece of silver given to the bride, or 
 by cohabitation. The writing that was prepared on 
 these occasions ran in this form : " On such a day of 
 such a month, in such a year, A. the son of A. has said 
 to B. the daughter of B. be thou my spouse according 
 to the law of Moses and the Israelites, and I will give 
 thee, for the portion of thy virginity, the sum of two 
 hundred zuzim, as it is ordained by the law. And the 
 said B. has consented to become his spouse upon these 
 conditions, v/hich the said A. has promised to perform 
 upon the day of marriage. To this the said A. obliges 
 himself; and for this he engages all his goods, even as 
 far as the cloak which he wears upon his shoulder. 
 Moreover he promises to perform all that is intended 
 in contra6ls of marriage in favour of the Israelitish wo- 
 men. Witnesses A. B. C." The promise by a piece 
 of silver, and without writing, was made before wit- 
 nesses, when the young man said to his mistress, " Re- 
 ceive this piece of silver, as a pledge that you shall be- 
 come my spouse." The engagement by cohabitation, 
 atfcording to the rabbins, was allowed by the law, {Deut^ 
 xxiv. 1.) but it had been wisely forbidden by the ancients, 
 because of the abuses that might happen, and to prevent 
 the inconvenience of clandestine marriages. After such 
 espousal was made, (which was generally when the par- 
 
srs St. MATTHEW. 
 
 ties were young) the woman continued with her parents 
 
 several months, if not some years, before she was brought 
 
 home and her marriage consummated. CJndges xiv. 8.) 
 
 Calmet'^ Dlclionarij cfthe Biblcy art' Marriage. 
 
 No. Sro. — ii. 11. Gold^ frankincense., and myrrh.'] 
 Some of the ancients are of opinion, that in the pre- 
 sents which these eastern sages made, thev had a mvs- 
 tical meaning, and designed both to signifv their acknow- 
 ledgment both of the divinity, royalty, and humanity 
 of our Lord ; for the incense, they say, was proper to 
 be given him as a God ; the gold, as a king ; and the 
 myrrh, as a mortal man, whose body was to be em- 
 balmed therewith. It is certain that the eastern people 
 never came into the presence of their princes without 
 some presents, and that their presents were usually of 
 the most choice things that their country aSbrded. All 
 that they meant therefore, was to do homage to a new- 
 bom prince of a neighbouring nation, in the best man- 
 ner thcv could ; and if what naturalists tell us be true, 
 that mvrrh was only to be found in Arabia, and frank- 
 incense in Sabsea, which is a part of Arabia, and that 
 this country was not destitute of gold, (2 Chron. ix. 14.) 
 and at the same time was famous for men conversant in 
 astronomy, it makes a very probable argument that 
 the wise men came from theuce. 
 
 No. 371 — iii. 4. Wild honey.'] This is obtained from 
 wild bees, frequent in Palestine, in hollow trunks or 
 branches of trees, and the clefts of rocks. Thus it is 
 said, " honev out of the stony rock." (Psalm Ixxxi. 
 16. Deut. xxxii. 13.) Some have supposed this to be 
 the honev-dew, or liquid kind of manna exuding from 
 the leaves of trees, as of the palm or fig-tree, of which 
 the rabbins speak much. Josephns ('Bell.yud.\'iA.\v.p.27.) 
 speaks of honey pressed from the p?.lm trees near Je- 
 
St. MATTHEW. 273 
 
 richo, as little inferior to the real, and Pliny ^ of honey 
 flowing from the olive tree in Syria. (Nat. Hist, xxiii. 4.) 
 But neither the honey-dew nor expressed juice, if dif- 
 ferent, being somewhat unwholesome, is thought so 
 probable as the genuine honey. 
 
 No. 2,72. — iii. 12. He will burn vp the chaff -jjith 
 unquenchable f. re. 1 There is, in what the Baptist here 
 declares, an evident allusion to the custom of burning 
 the chaflf after winnowing, that it might not be blowa 
 back again, and so be mingled vvith the wheat. There 
 was danger, lest, after thev had been separated, the 
 chaff should be blown again amongst the wheat by 
 the changing of the wind. To prevent this they put 
 fire to it at the windward side, which crept on and never 
 gave over till it had consumed all the chaff. In this 
 sense it was an unquenchable ji re. See also Pialm Ixxxiii. 
 13, 14. Isaiah v. 24. (Vide Ha^imond and Doddridgb 
 in he.) 
 
 No. 373. — V. 1. And seeing the rMiltltudes ^ he went 
 vp into a mountain."] The first generation of men had 
 neither temples nor statues for their gods, but wor- 
 sh'pped tovv-ards heaven in the open air. The Persians, 
 even in ages when temples were common in all other 
 countries, not thinking the gods to be of human shape, 
 as did the Greeks, had no temples. They thought it 
 absurd to confine the gods within walls, whose house 
 and temple was the whole world. The Greeks, and 
 most other nations, worshipped their gcds upon the tops 
 of high mountains. Hence Jupiter in Homer com- 
 mends He61or for the manv sacrifices which he had 
 Oifered upon the top of Ida. C Iliad ^. ver. 170.) The 
 nations which lived near Judea sacr.ficed also upon the 
 tops of mountains. Balak, king of ]Moab, carried Ba- 
 laam to the top of a mountain to sacrifice to tiie gods, 
 ' 2 31 
 
274 St. MATTHEW. 
 
 and curse Israel from thence. (Nmn. xxiil. 1.) Abra- 
 ham was commanded by God to offer Isaac his son for 
 a burnt-oifering upon one of the mountains in the land 
 ofAIoriah. (Gen. \-^\\. 2.') In later ages, the temples 
 were often built upon the summits of mountains. Both 
 at Athens and Rome the most sacred temples stood in 
 the most eminent part of the city. It is further observ- 
 able, that very high mountains were commonly held 
 sacred to the gods, the reason of which custom was pro- 
 bably because the tops of mountains approached near- 
 est to the heavens, the seat of the gods. It certainly was 
 not with any design to san6lion the superstition of the 
 heathens, that our Lord chose to deliver his first dis- 
 course from a mountain ; it was a convenient and eli- 
 gible situation for that purpose ; but the conformity of 
 his condudl with the general pra6lice is singular and de- 
 serving attention. It miglit inculcate an useful lesson, 
 tb>ut as the heathens supposed themselves to be nearer 
 to their gods in such stations, so the do6lrines which he 
 delivered were really able to effe6l that approach to 
 Jehovah, to v/hich the superstitions of the surrounding 
 nations onl}' pretended. 
 
 No. 5/4 — v. 13. If the salt bos lost itt savour.'] Our 
 Lord's supposition of the salt losing its savour is illus- 
 trated by Mr. RIaundrell, fjcurneij^ p. 162.) who 
 tells us, that in the Valley of Salt ne^r Gebul, and about 
 four hours journey from Aleppo, there is a small preci- 
 pice occasioned by the continual taking away of ihesalt. 
 " In this," says he, " you may see hov/ the veins of it 
 lie. I broke a piece of it, of v/hich the part that was ex- 
 posed to the rain, sun, and air, though it had the sparks 
 and parLieles of salt, yet had perfe6lly lost its savour. 
 The innermost, which had been conneiSlcd to the rock, 
 retained its savour, us I found by proof." 
 
St. MATTHEW, 275 
 
 No. 375. — V. 24. Leave thy gift before the altar.'] This 
 delay was unusual in gifts offered at the altar in such 
 a cause. The oblation of a sacrifice presented even at 
 the altar has indeed been delayed, and the sacrifice re- 
 je6led, for at that time it niight be discovered that the 
 beast had a blemish, or was on some account an impro- 
 per sacrifice; or the person himself, who came to make 
 the offering, might through uncleanness or some other 
 cause be disqualified for the present. But among all 
 these things, we do not meet with this concerning which 
 Christ speaks in this passage, so that he seems to enjoin 
 a new matter: and, as the offended brother might per- 
 haps be absent in the farthest parts of the land of Israel, 
 and could not be spoken to for some time, it may ap- 
 pear an Impossible thing which is commanded. What 
 is to become of the beast, in the mean time, which is left 
 at the altar? To obviate this difHculty, it is answered, that 
 it was a custom and a law among the Jews, that the sa- 
 crifices of particular men should not immediately, as soon 
 as they were due, be brought to the altar, but that they 
 should be reserved to the feast next following, whatso- 
 ei'er that were, whether the passover, or pentecost, or 
 tabernacles, and be then offered. At those times all the 
 Israelites were present, and any brother, against whom 
 one had sinned, was not far off from the altar. To this 
 time and custom of the nation it is probable that Christ 
 might allude. Lightfoot's IVor/dj vol. ii. p. 143. 
 
 No. 376. — V. 41. Whosoever shall covipel thee.'\ Our 
 Lord in this passage refers to the angaria or Persian mes- 
 sengers who had the royal authority for pressing horses, 
 ships, and even men, to assist them in the business on 
 which they were employed. In the modern governmenc 
 of Persia there are officers not unlike the ancient angari, 
 called chappars^ who serve to carry dispatches between 
 the court and the provinces. When a chappar sets out, 
 
srs St. MATTHEW. 
 
 the master of the horse furnishes him with a single 
 horse, and when that is weary, he dismounts the first 
 man he meets, and takes his horse. There is no par- 
 don for a traveller that should refuse to let a chappar 
 have his horse, nor for any other who should deny him 
 the best horse in his stable. (See Hanway's Trav> vol. 
 i. p. 262.) 
 
 The Jews, and inhabitants of other provinces, were 
 compelled by the Roman governors or the tetrarchs to 
 furnish horses, and themselves to accompany their pub- 
 lic messengers, as those on public business might com- 
 pel the horses of them on the road to attend them. The 
 Persian couriers wore a dagger as a mark of authorit)-, 
 called Iia7ig-er, from which the nsme of angr.ri is sup- 
 posed by some to be derived. (Chardin's Trav- vol. 
 ii. p. 242.) 
 
 A very full and clear account of these messengers 
 is afforded us in Campbell's Travels^ part ii. p. 92. 
 *' As I became familiarized to my Tartar guide, I 
 found his chara6ler disclose much better traits than 
 his first appearance bespoke. I began insensibly to 
 think him a very entertaining fellow. Perceiving J 
 was very low spirited and thoughtful, he exhibited 
 manifest tokens of compassion, and taking it into his head 
 that I was aiSlually removed for ever from my friends 
 knd my family, he spoke in a style of regret and feeling 
 that did honour to his heart j and, to say the truth, he 
 did every thing in his power to alleviate my feelings, 
 conversing with me either by means of the interpreter, 
 or in broken lingua franca^ supplying all my wants 
 cheerfully and abundantly, changing horses with me as 
 often as I pleased, and going slov/ly or galloping for- 
 ward just as best suited rny inclination or humour. 
 
 The first obje<5l he seemed to have in view on our 
 journey, was to impress me with a notion of his conse- 
 quence and authority, as a messenger belonging to the 
 
St. MATTHEW. Z7r 
 
 sultan. As all these men are employed by the first ma- 
 gistrates in the country, and are as it were the links of 
 communication between them, they think themselves of 
 great importance to the state, while the great men, 
 whose business they are employed in, make them feel 
 the weight of their authority, and treat them with the 
 greatest contempt. Mence they become so habitually ser- 
 vile to their isuperiors, and by natural consequence inso- 
 lent and over-bearing to their inferiors, or those who, 
 being in their power, they conceive to be so. 
 
 As carriers of dispatches, their power and authority 
 wherever they go are in some points undisputed, and 
 they can compel a supply of provisions, horses, and at- 
 tendants, whenever it suits their occasion; nor dare any 
 man resist their right to take*the horse from under him, 
 to proceed on the emperor's business, be the Oivner's 
 occasion ever so pressing. 
 
 As soon as he stopp3d at a caravanserai, he immedi- 
 ately called lustily about him in the name of the sultan, 
 demanding, in a menacing tone of voice, fresh horses, 
 vi(5luals, &c. on the instant. The terror of this great 
 man operated like magic; nothing could exceed the ac- 
 tivity of the men, the briskness of the woitien, and the 
 terror of the children, (for the caravanserais are conti- 
 nually attended by numbers of the very lowest of the 
 people) but no quickness of preparation, no cUort could 
 satisfy my gentlemen, he would shew me his power in 
 a still more striking point of view, and fell to belabour- 
 ing them with his whip, and kicking them with all his 
 might." 
 
 No. 377. — V. 47. If ye sahUe tjour brethren.] The 
 eastern salutations differ considerably, according to the 
 rank of the person whom they salute. The common 
 salutation is laying the right hand on the bosom, and a 
 little declining their bodies ; but when they salute a 
 
278 St. MATTHEW. 
 
 person of great rank, they bow almost to the ground, 
 and kiss the hem of his garm:nt. (Sandys, Trav. p. 50.) 
 Inferiors, out of deference and respe6l, kiss the feet, the 
 knees, or the garments of their superiors. (Shaw, Trav. 
 p. 237.) A'ad the hand also. (D'Arvieux, Voy. dans 
 la Pal. p. S.) When Lord Macartney was introduced to 
 the emperor of China, in 1793, it was observed, that 
 every one of the Chinese prostrated themselves upon the 
 ground ; and iU the grand ceremony on the emperor's 
 birth"d.;y, the people kneeled, and bowed nine times, 
 with as much solemnity as if they had been worshipping 
 a deity. 
 
 No. crs. — vi. 1. To be seen by men.] In the distribu- 
 tion of aims it is absolutely necessary to avoid ostenta- 
 tion. Charity to men should, proceed from love to God; 
 such a principle alone can render it acceptable in his 
 sight. Our Lord found it necessary to deliver an expli- 
 cit precept upon this subjeit. This he introduces by an 
 admonition — tah' heed that ye do 7iot your alms before 
 vicn, to be ^ccn., Ss^Svi/j:/, of Lliem. This v/ord is very sig- 
 nificant, alluding to such a beholding or looking on as 
 there is at a theatre for men that act parts, or strive for 
 masteries, whose reward consists only in the approba- 
 tion and applause of the spe6latois. Li this sense the 
 word is evidently used by our Lord, who speaks of the 
 reward as consisting in being thus beheld and observed, 
 (ver. 3.) 
 
 No. 379. — vi. 2. Do not sound a trumpet before thee.] 
 This may be an allusion to the trumpet which was 
 sounded, before the stage-players and gladiators, when 
 they were brought into the tiieatre, and by which the 
 company were called together. Trumpets were also 
 used in very ancient times to assemble people together 
 in companies. The pharisees, it is possible, might carry 
 
St. MATTHEW. 279 
 
 matters to such an excess of pride and vain glorj'" as li- 
 terally thus to proclaim their liberality ; but probably we 
 are to understand it of the pompous and public manner 
 in which they spoke of and dispensed their benevo- 
 lence. Chardin relates, that in the East the dervises use 
 rams' horns, which there are remarkably long, for trum- 
 pets, and that theij blow them in honour of the donor ^ xvhen 
 amj thing is given them. It is not impossible but that 
 some of the poor Jews that begged alms might be fur- 
 nished like the Persian dervises, who are a sort of reli- 
 gious beggars, and that these hypocrites might be dis- 
 posed to confine their almsgiving wery much to such as 
 they knew would pay them this honour. 
 
 Harmer, vol. i. p. 474. note. 
 
 No. 380. — vi. 5. Pray in the corners cf the streets.'] 
 Such a praflice as is here intimated by our Lord was 
 probably common at that time with those who were fond 
 of ostentation in their devotions, and who wished to en- 
 gage the attention of others. It is evident that the prac- 
 tice was not conftned to one place, since it may be traced 
 in different nations. We have an instance of it related 
 by Aaron Hill, (in his Travels^ p. 52.) " Such Turks 
 as at the common hours of prayer are on the road, or 
 so employed as not to find convenience to attend the 
 mosques are still obliged to execute that duty : nor are 
 they everknov/n to fail, whatever business they are then 
 about, but pray immediately when the hour alarms 
 tliem, in that very place they chance to stand on : inso- 
 much that when a janissary, whom you have to guard 
 you up and down the city, hears the notice which is 
 given him from the steeples, he will turn about, stand 
 siill, and beckon Vv^ith his hand, to tell his charge he 
 must have pa'.ience for a while ; when taking out his 
 handkerchief, he spreads it on the ground, sits cross leg- 
 ged, thereupon, and says his prayers, though in the opiin 
 
280 St. MATTHEW 
 
 market^ which having ended, he leaps briskly up, salutes 
 the person whom he undertook to convey, and renews 
 his journey with the mild expression of ghelljohnnum 
 ghcUj or, come, dear, follow me." It may be proper to 
 add, that such a pra6lice as this is general throughout 
 the East. 
 
 No. 381. — vi. 7. Vain repetitions.'] As prayer is un- 
 questionably one of the principal means by which our 
 dependance upon God is expressed, and our homage is 
 avowed, it cannot be condu6led with too much serious- 
 ness and reverence. The Jews had very much lost the 
 spirit of this devout exercise, and had suffered them- 
 selves in some instances to be influenced by heathen 
 pra6lices : one of these our Lord in particular prohi- 
 bits, that of using vain repetitions. Mri ^xrloXoyiaytn. 
 This word is derived from 'Bxr%sy a stutterer, properly 
 one who cannot speak plain, but begins a syllable several 
 times before he can finish it, and Aoyoy, speech- From 
 hence is derived the name oi Batlus, a silly tautological 
 poet, mentioned by Suidas, to whom Ovid is thought 
 to allude in the answer of that babbling Battus to Mer- 
 cury : 
 
 ■ -sub illis 
 RIontibus, inquit, enmt, et erant sub montibus illis. 
 
 Metatn. lib. ii. I. 703. 
 
 they should 
 
 Be near those hills, and near those hills they were. 
 
 Hammond says, that though Christ spake not Greek 
 in this sermon, and therefore did not himself refer to the 
 name and style of Battus, the evangelist, or his transla- 
 tor, rendered his Syriac expression by the proverbial 
 Greek word. 
 
 The prad^ice of the heathen may be understood from 
 theiv writings. jEchylus has near an hundred verses at 
 
St. MATTHEW. 281 
 
 a time made of nothing but tautologies. The idolatrous 
 worshippers of Baal called on the name of Baal from 
 morning evenuntil noon, saying, Baal, hear us. (1 Kings 
 xviii. 26.) Thus also the devotees of Diana, alixvith one 
 voice about the space of tzvo hours cried out, Great is Diana 
 QJ the Ephesians. fASls xix. 34.) 
 
 In imitation of such examples the rabbins had laid, 
 down these maxims : — Every one that multiplies prayer 
 shall be heard* — The prayer which is long shall not re- 
 turn empty. Adiing therefore upon these principles, 
 there was certainly much danger to be apprehended of 
 unmeaning prolixity and insincere repetitions. Christ 
 saw that it was necessary both to condemn this conduct 
 in others, and to warn his disciples against pra6lices so 
 pernicious to true religion. 
 
 No. 382. — vi. 16. Whe7i ye fast.] Fasting has in all 
 ages and among all nations been used in time of mourn- 
 ing, sorrov/, or afHi^cion. It was common among the 
 Jews, though tlie fasts of their calendar are later than 
 the law. The heathens sometimes fasted. The king 
 of Nineveh, terrified by Jonah's preaching, ordered that 
 not only men, but beasts also, should continue without 
 eating or drinking, should be covered with sackcloth, 
 and each after their manner should cry to the Lord. 
 (Jonah iii. 5, 6.) 
 
 The Jews in their fasts begin the observance of them 
 in the evening after sun-set, and remain v/ithout eating 
 till the same hour the next day, or till the rising of the 
 stars. On the great day of expiation, when more stridlly 
 obliged to fast, they continue so for twenty-eight hours. 
 Men are obliged to fast from the age of full thirteen, and 
 v/omen from the age of full eleven years. Children from 
 the age of seven years fast in proportion to their strength. 
 During the fast, they not only abstain from food, bat 
 
 2 N 
 
282 St. MATTHEW. 
 
 from bathing, from perfumes, and anointing. This is 
 the idea which the eastern people have generally of fast- 
 ing, it is a total abstinence from pleasure of every kind. 
 Besides such fasts as are cominon to all the Jews, others 
 are pra6lised by the most zealous and pious. The Pha- 
 risee (Luke xviii. 12.) says, I fast txvice in a weeky i. e. 
 Monday and Thursday : on Thursday, in memory of 
 Moses's going up Mount Sinai on diat day; on Monday, 
 in memory of his coming down from thence. It is said, 
 that some Pharisees fasted four days in thee week. 
 On fast days in the morning, confessions are added to 
 the prayers, and the recital of such melancholy accidents 
 as happened on such a day, and occasioned the fast then 
 celebrating; the law is opened, and part oiEx. xxxii- 11. 
 is read ; and in the afternoon, in the prayer of Mincha, 
 or the- offering, the same is read again with Isaiah Iv. 6. 
 Besides the general fasts of the whole Jewish people, 
 others are peculiar to them in different nations. The 
 German Jews, after the feasts of passover and taberna- 
 cles, have a custom to fast three da) s, on the two follow- 
 ing Mondays and the Thursday between them. This is 
 founded on an apprehension, that as the preceding feasts 
 were of eight days continuance, they might have offend- 
 ed God during that time. For the same reason they 
 fast on the last day of the }ear, and some on the last day 
 in every month. 
 
 Calmet'5 DiSlionary of the Bible, art. Fasting. 
 
 No. 383 vi. 28 — 30. The grass of the f eld, which 
 
 is cast into the oven.'] Shaw fTrav. p. 85.) tells us, that 
 myrtle, rosemary, and other plants are made use of in 
 Barbary to heat their ovens. This circumstance gives 
 a clear comment on the words of our Lord : Consider 
 the lilies of the field horu they grow; they toil not, Jieither 
 do they spin-, and yet I say unto you., that even Solomon in 
 
St. MATTHEW. 283 
 
 all bis glory xvas not arrayed like one of these. Wherefore^ 
 if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is^ and 
 to-morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more 
 clothe you, ye of little faith ? 
 
 No. 384. — vii. 4. Let me pull out the mote out of thine 
 eyeJ] Lightfoot (Hor. Heb. inloc.J has shewn that 
 this expression was a proverb among the Jews. The 
 word which we render mote, signifies a little splinter, 
 (though others understand it of a small seed,) and thus 
 it is opposed to a large beam with great propriety. Bat 
 as it is impossible that such a thing as a beam of wood 
 should be lodged in the eye, possibly these words might 
 signify different kinds of distempers to which that ten- 
 der part is subje6l: the former of which might be no 
 more in comparison with the latter, than a grain or splin- 
 ter to a beam. Doddridge, in he. 
 
 No. 385. — vii. 13. Enter ye in at the strait gate. '\ At 
 the banquets of the ancients, the guests entered by a 
 gate designed to receive them. Hence Christ, by whom 
 we enter in to the marriage feast, compares himself to a 
 gate. John x. 1,2, 7, 9.j This gate on the coming of 
 the guests was made narrow, the wicket only being left 
 open, and the porter standing to prevent the unbidden 
 from rushing in. When the guests were arrived, the 
 door was shut, and not to be opened to those who stood 
 and knocked without. So the parable of the ten virgins. 
 (Matt. XXV. 11. J Whitby, in he. 
 
 No. 386.'^ — viii. 12. 'Vhe children of the kingdjm shall 
 be cast out into outer darkness."] This phrase, which is 
 often used after the kingdom of heaven had been com- 
 pared to a banquet, contains a beautiful allusion to the 
 lustre of those illuminated rooms, in which such feasts 
 were generally celebrated, as opposed to that darkness 
 
284 St. MATTHEW. 
 
 which surrounded those who by night were turned out. 
 But it also sometimes goes yet farther, when the per- 
 sons excluded ai'e supposed to be thrown into a dark dun- 
 geon. Compare Matt, xxiii. 13. xxv. SO. and Jucle 
 xiii. Doddridge, /;2 /oc. 
 
 No. 387. — ix. 15. Children of the bride-chamber.'] 
 Great mirth and cheerfulness accompanied the celebra- 
 tion of nuptials am.ongst the Jews. The children of the 
 bride-chamber were the friends and acquaintances of the 
 parties, and assisted in these rejoicings. But to set 
 some bounds to their exultations, a singular ceremony 
 was introduced, according to the rabbins : — a glass 
 vessel was brought in amongst the company, and broke 
 to pieces, that they might by this a6lion restrain their 
 joy and not run to excess. The Gemara produces some 
 instances of this sort. Mar, the son of Rabbena, made 
 wedding feasts for his son, and invited the rabbins; and 
 when he saw that their mirth exceeded its bounds, he 
 brought forth a glass cup, worth four hundred zuzees, 
 and broke it before them, whereupon they became sad. 
 The reason which they assign forthis a<Stion is, because 
 it is forbidden a man to fill his mouth with laughter in 
 this world. Ljghtioot's JVorks, vol. ii. p 172. 
 
 No. 388. — ix. 23. The viinstrels.l The custom of 
 having musical instruments in funerals came to the Jews 
 from the manners of the Gentiles. In the Old Testa- 
 ment there is no mention of any such custom. They 
 used indeed to mourn for the dead, and commended 
 them, thereby to excite the living to the imitation of 
 their virtues. The use of instruments on these occasions 
 was adopted not by the. ancient, but more modern Jews. 
 I'hey might receive it into their ceremonies from other^ 
 nations where it prevailed. It is frequently mentioned 
 .^mong the Romans under the style of sicinniuni; and 
 
St. MATTHEW. 285 
 
 in Apuleius, monumentarii choraulce; and among the Gre- 
 cians under that of rv(A.(3aivXo(. The custom in the time 
 of our Lord was, for the musicians to begin the dirge, 
 and for those who were present to follow, beating their 
 breasts, according to what was played by the instru- 
 ments. Hai.imond, in loc. 
 
 No. 389. — X. 9. Purses.~\ Clothed as the eastern 
 people were with long robes, girdles were indispensably 
 necessary to bind together their flowing vestments. 
 They were worn about the v/aist, and properly confined 
 their loose garments. These girdles, ^uvxt^ were so 
 contrived as to be used for purses; and they are still so 
 worn in the Eaat. Dr. Sharv^ speaking of the dress of 
 the Arabs in Barbary, savs, *' The girdles of these peo- 
 ple are usually of worsted, very artfully woven into a 
 variety of figures, and made to wrap several times about 
 their bodies. One end of them being doubled and 
 sewed along the edges, serves them for a purse, agree- 
 able to the acceptation of the word ^uvn in the Holy 
 Scriptures." {Travels^ p. 292. fol.) The Roman sol- 
 diers used in like manner to carry their money in their 
 girdles. Whence in Horace., qui "zonam perdidity means 
 one who has lost his purse, (Epist, ii. lib. 2. lin. 40.) 
 And in Aldus GeiliiiSy (lib. xv. cap. 12.) C.~ Gracchus 
 is introduced, saying, those girdles which I carried out 
 full of money, when I went from Rome, I have at my 
 return from the province brought home empty. 
 
 No. 390. — X. 17. They xvill scourge you.'] This pu- 
 nishment was very common amongst the Jews, with 
 whom there were two ways of imliSling it ; one with 
 thongs or whips made of ropes ends or straps of lea- 
 ther, the other with rods, twigs, or branches of some 
 tree. The rabbins think that ordinary faults com- 
 mitted against the law were punished by scourging", 
 
286 St. MATTHE^V. 
 
 not with blows from a rod, but from a whip. They 
 reckon up one hundred and sixty-eight faults liable to 
 this penalty ; and they hold that all punishable faults, to 
 which the law has not annexed the penalty of death, 
 must be punished by the scourge. The offender was 
 stripped from his shoulders to his middle, and tied by 
 his arms to a pretty low pillar, that he might lean for- 
 ward, and the executioner might more easily come at 
 his back. Some maintain that they never gave more 
 or less than thirtj'-nine strokes, but that in greater faults 
 they struck with proportionable violeUce. Others think, 
 that when the fault and circumstances require it, they 
 might increase the number of blows. 
 
 It is said, that alter the stripping of the criminal, the 
 executioner mounted upon a stone, to have more power 
 over him, and then scourged him both on the back and 
 breast with thcfngs made of an ox's hide, in open court, 
 before the face of the judges. The rule was, that the 
 criminal v/as scourged beiore the council of three, for 
 the violation of a negative precept ; but for the breach 
 of an affirmative, the execution was to be done before 
 the court of twenty-three. All the time the executioner 
 was scourging him, the principal judge proclaimed these 
 words with a loud voice, Iftliou observe not all the words 
 of this lazv, £i?c. (Dent, xxviii. 58.) adding, keep there- 
 fore the words of this covenant^ (Deitt. xxix. 9.) and con- 
 chuli»g at last with those of the Psalmist ; but he being 
 fid of compassion forgave their iniquities. (Ps. Ixxviii. 
 38. "! These words he was to repeat, if he had finished 
 before the full number of stripes was given. 
 
 No. 391. — X. 27. JVhat yc hear in the ear^ that preach 
 ye upon the house tops.'] This expression will be best 
 explained by referring to the custom of the Jews, men- 
 tioned by the rabbins, who affirm that the masters 
 among them used to have their interpreters, who re- 
 
St. MATTHEW. 387 
 
 ceived their dictates, rvhispered softly In the ear^ and 
 then publicly proposed to them all. Some conceive 
 that by this pra6lice we are to explain, (Exod. iv. 16. J 
 And he f;hall be thy spokesman unto the people^ and he shall 
 be^ even he shall be to thee instead of a mouthy and thou 
 shah be to hhn instead of God. 
 
 No. 392. — xi. 16. But xvhereunto shall I liken this 
 generation P it is like unto children sitting in the markets^ 
 and calling unto their fellows •'] It was the custom of chil- 
 dren among the Jews, in their sports, to imitate what 
 they saw done by others upon great occasions, and 
 particularly the customs in festivities, wherein the mu- 
 sician beginning a tune on his instrument, the company 
 danced to his pipe. So also in funerals, wherein the 
 women beginning the mournful song, (as the prceficce 
 of the Romans) the rest followed lamenting and beating 
 their breasts. These things the children acled and per- 
 sonated in the streets in play, and the rest not following 
 the leader as usual, gave occasion to this speech, xve 
 have piped unto you, and ye have not danced; xve have 
 mourned unto you, and ye have not lamented. 
 
 No. 393. — xii. 42. The queen of the South shall rise 
 up in the judgment with this generation, and shall coti" 
 demn it.'] This is spoken in allusion to a custom among 
 the Jews and Romans, which was, for the witness to 
 rise from their seats when they accused criminals, or 
 gave any evidence ag-ainst them. 
 
 No. 394. — xiv. 8. And she being before instruSled oj 
 her another.'] The word vpolSSu^u, according to Budwus^ 
 has an allusion to a client instru6ling an advocate in hia 
 cause, giving hin\ the heads of his defence, and furnish- 
 ing him with all necessary particulars. This gives pccu- 
 
288 St. MATTHEW. 
 
 ► liar energj'- to the part which we may suppose Herodias 
 to have a6lecl, in previously instruSling her daughter 
 what she should propose to the king by way of request ; 
 it manifests the connivance, earnestness, and aiTange- 
 ment of the plan, which was so fatally carried into 
 efFe6l. 
 
 No. 395 — xiv. 31. Wherefore didst thou doubt P^ 
 This is a figurative word, taken either from a person 
 standing where two ways meet, Kot knowing v/hich to 
 choose, but inclining sometimes to the one and some- 
 times to the other, or from the tremulous motion of a 
 balance, when the weights on both sides are nearly 
 equal, and consequently now the one and now the 
 other scale seems to preponderate and fix the beam. 
 The French word balancer very exa6lly ansv/ers to 
 ^isx^siv in this latter view. 
 
 No. 396. — XV. 5. It is a gift.'] There was a solemn 
 form of devoting amongst the Jews called ry;^^ ft;^£Af/acr, 
 and though very contrary to charity, yet frequent with 
 them, to bind themselves by vow or execration to do 
 nothing beneficial to a neighbour or parent, &c. This 
 was called corban, and is the same with ^u^ov. This 
 was used by them even against their own parents, and 
 though contrary to the precept of honouring and reliev- 
 ing them, yet was considered obligatory by them. Many 
 cases are to be found in Maimonidcs and the rabbins 
 of this kind, and this it is probably which Is charged on 
 the Pharisees by Christ. But that which is more ordi- 
 narily received by the ancients, and which Origen had 
 from an Hebrew, is, that corban and 5*p» are a gift con- 
 secrated to God ; and so saith TheophylaSl. The Pha- 
 risees persuading children to give nothing to their pa- 
 rents, but to consecrate all to the treasury of the teni- 
 
St. MATTHEWT- 289 
 
 j)le, taught them to say,- ' O Father, that wh.ereby thou 
 mightest be profited (relieved) by me, is a gilt,' (conse- 
 crated to the temple) and so they divided with the chil- 
 dren all they had, leaving the poor parents without any 
 relief in their old age. Hammond in loc. 
 
 No. 397. — xvi. 19. / xuiU g:ve imto thee the keys of 
 the kingdom of heaven.'] As stewards of a great family, 
 especially of the royal household, bore a key, probably 
 a golden one, in token of their cfTice, the phrase of 
 giving a person the key naturally grew into an expres- 
 sion of raising him to great power. (Comp. Isaiah xxVi. 
 22. with Rev. iii. 7.) This was with peculiar propriety 
 applicable to the stewards of the mysteries of God. 
 (1 Cor. iv. 1.) Peter's opening of the kingdomof heaven, 
 as being the first that preached it both to the Jews and 
 to the Gentiles, may be considered as an illustration of 
 this promise ; but it is more fully explained by the 
 power of binding and loosing afterwards mentioned. 
 
 No. 398. — 'Xviii. 6. But whoso shall o^end one of these 
 little ones who believe iti me, it were better for him that a 
 millstone xvere hung about his neck, and that he were 
 droxvned in the depth of the sea.'] Grotius observes that 
 the kind of punishment here alluded to was not used 
 among the Jews, but that it was pra6lised by the an- 
 cient Syrians. Casaubon (upon the 6rth chapter of 
 Suetonius's Augustus) relates, that the tutor and minis- 
 ters of Caius Csesar, for taking the opportunity of his 
 sickness and death, to infest and ruin the province by 
 their pride and covetousness, v/crc, v/ith a heavy weight 
 put about their necks, thrown headlong into a river. 
 It may be observed also, that when the punishment of 
 drowning was inflided, the persons condemned were 
 rolled up in sheets of lead, and so cast into the water. 
 '.Vide Eisner, Observ. vol. i. p. 85.) 
 
 2 O 
 
290 •'^T. MATTHEW. 
 
 No. 399.— xviii 34. And his Lord was nifoih, and 
 delivered him to the tormentors.'} Imprisonment is a 
 much greater punishment in the eastern parts of the 
 world than here ; state criminals, especially when con- 
 demned to it, are not only forced to submit to a very 
 mean and scanty allowance, but are frequently loaded 
 with clogs, or yokes of heavy wood, in which they 
 cannot either lie or sit at ease; and by frequent scourg- 
 ings, and sometimes by racking, are quickly brought to 
 an untimely end. (See Samedo'^s China, p. 225.) To 
 this there is probably a reference here. 
 
 Doddridge in he. 
 
 No. 400. — xix. 24. It is easier for a camel to g9 
 through the eye of a needle., than for a rich jnan to enter 
 the kingdom of God.} The plundering Arabs commonly 
 ri'de into houses, and commit a6l3 of violence, if mea- 
 sures are not taken to prevent them. On this account 
 the doors are often made very low, frequently not above 
 three feet in height. This must be very inconvenient 
 for those v.'ho keep camels, and must often want to in- 
 troduce them into their court-yards. They however 
 contrive to do this, by training them up not only to 
 kneel dov/n when they are loaded and unloaded, but to 
 make their way on their knees through such small door- 
 ways. This mast, widiout doubt, be attended with 
 great difficulty, and makes the comparison of our Lord 
 sufficiently natural; it xvoidd be as easij to force a caviel 
 through a door-way.^ as small as the eye of a needle., as for 
 a rich man to enter into the kingdora of God. 
 
 Hj^rmer, vol. iii. p. 89. 
 
 No. 401. — XX. 21. She saith unto him.. Grant that these 
 my txvo sons may sit, the one on thy right hand, and the 
 other on the left, i)i thy kingdom.} This request was 
 made in allusion to iac ab bethdin, or father of the 
 
St. MATTHEW. ^91 
 
 court, who sat on the right hand of the nasi or presi- 
 dent of the sanhedrim ; and to the hacam or sage, who 
 sat on the left. (Lajny^ -^PP' Blbh b. i. c. 12. p. 201. 
 4to.) 
 
 No. 402. — XX. 23. Te shall drink indeed of my cup''] 
 It was anciently the custom, at great entertainments, 
 for the governor of the feast to appoint to each of his 
 guests the kind and proportion of wine which they 
 were to drink, and what he had thus appointed them 
 it was thought a breach of good manners either to 
 refuse or not drink up ; hence a man's cup^ both in 
 sacred and profane authors, came to signify the portion, 
 whether of good or evil, which befals him in this world. 
 Thus Homer introduces Achilleis comforting Priam foi;' 
 the loss of his son. 
 
 tkvo urns by yoves high throne have ever stood. 
 The source of evil one, undone of good : 
 From thence the cup of mortal man he f lis, 
 £lessings to those, to these distributes ills ; 
 To most he mingles both ; the ivretch decree' d 
 To taste the bad unmix'd is curs'd indeed: 
 Pursued by nsrongs, by meagre famine driv'n 
 Henuaivders, outcast both of earth andhea'v'n. 
 The happiest taste not happiness sincere, 
 But find the cordial draught is dash'd with care. 
 
 Iliad xxir. 
 
 Similar to this is what we meet with m Psalm Ixxv. 8. 
 Jn the hand of the Lord there is a cup^ and the xvine is red; 
 it is full of mixture y and he poureth out of the same; but 
 for the dregs thereof all the xvickedofthe earth shall xonn^ 
 them out^ and drink them. What Christ means by the 
 expression, \^re cannot be at a loss to understand, since, 
 in two remarkable passages, (Luke xxii. 42. and John 
 xviii. 11.) he has been his own interpreter : for lethale 
 ■boculum bibere, or to taste of death, was a common 
 
292 St. MATTHEW. 
 
 phrase among the Jews, and from them ve have reason 
 to believe that our Lortl borrowed it. 
 
 No. 403. — xxi. 8. Oiliers cut doum branches from 
 the trees ^ andstreiued thera in the rvci'j.'] It v/as usual in 
 the East to strew flowers and branches of trees in the 
 way of conquerors and great princes. So we find that 
 those who esteemed. Christ to be the Messiah and their 
 king aiSled. towards him. A similar instance may be 
 found in Herodotus^ (vii. p. 404.) He informs us that 
 people went before Xerxes passing over the Helles- 
 pont, and burnt atl manner of perfumes on the bridges, 
 »nd. strewed the way v/ith myrtles. 
 
 No. 404. — xxi. 9. And the mull'itudes that xuentbefore, 
 and that folloived^ cried, sayings Hosannab to the son of 
 David/] This was a form of acclamation used in the 
 feast of tabernacles, when they carried boughs in their 
 hands, and sung psalms and hosannahs. The use of 
 boughs and hymns was common amongst the Greeks, in 
 any time of sacred festivity. Ac<;crding to Hesychius 
 they held a bough of laurel in their hands when they 
 praised their gods. As this ceremony v/as used at the 
 inauguration of a king, who v/as honoured with the 
 strewing of garments and boughs, so in the present in- 
 stance it was an acknowledgment of Christ as the Mes- 
 siah, whom they expc6led, and thus welcomed. 
 
 No. 405. — 'XxV. 12. And jesusxvent into the temple 
 of God, and cast out all that sold and bought in the temple, 
 and ovcrtlirciv the tables of the money-changers.] The 
 money-changers were such persons as supplied, the 
 Tews, who came from distant parts of Judea, and other 
 parts of the Roman empire, with money, to be received 
 back at their respe6live homes, or which they had paid 
 bwfove they began their journey. Perhaps also they ex» 
 
St. MATTHEW. 293 
 
 changed foreign coins for those current at Jerusalem. 
 The Talmud and Maimonides inform us that the half- 
 shekel paid yearly to the temple by all the Jews, (Ex. 
 XXX. 15.) was collected there with great exactness in 
 the month Adar, and that on changing the shekels and 
 other money into half-shekels for that purpose, the 
 money-changers exacted a small stated fee, or payment, 
 called kolbon. It was the tables on which they traf- 
 ficked for this unholy gain which Christ overturned. 
 
 Hammond in loc. 
 
 No. 40&. — xxi. 21. Te shall say to this mountain', he 
 thou removed.'] It was a common saying among the 
 Jews, when they intended to commend any one of their 
 do6lors for his great dexterity in solving difficult ques- 
 tions, that he xuas a rooter up of mountains. In allusion 
 to this adage, Christ tells his disciples, that, If they had 
 faith., they might say to a mountain, be thou removed:, 
 and be thou cast Into the sea, and It should be done ; that is, 
 in confirmation of the christian faith, they should be 
 able to do the most difficult things. As these words are 
 not to be taken in a literal sense, so they are likewise 
 to be restrained to the age of miracles, and to the apos- 
 tles, since experience convinces us, that this is no ordi- 
 nary and standing gift belonging to the church. 
 
 Whitby In loc. 
 
 No. 407. — xxii. 11. A wedding garment.] It was 
 usual for persons to appear at marriage-fea,sts in a sump- 
 tuous dress, generally adorned with florid embroidery, 
 as some writers tell us (See Rev. xix. 8. and Dr. Ham- 
 MOMD In loc. J ; but as it could not be expe6led that tra- 
 vellers thus pressed in should themselves be provided 
 with it, we must therefore conclude, not only from the 
 magnificence of the preparations, to which we must 
 
I 
 
 294 St. MATTHEW. 
 
 suppose the wardrobe of the prhice corresponded, but 
 likewise from the following circumstance of resentment 
 against this guest, that a robe was offered, but refused 
 by him : and this is a circumstance which (as Crt/um ob- 
 serves) is admirably suited to the method of God's deal- 
 ing with us, who indeed requires holiness in order to 
 our receiving the benefits of the gospel, but is graciously 
 pleased to work it in us by his holy spirit, and there- 
 fore may justly resent and punish our negle6l of so 
 great a favour. Doddridge in loc. 
 
 No. 408. — xxii. 24. Moses sald^ if a man die, having 
 no children, his brother shall marry his rvife, and raise up 
 seed unto his brother.'] The marriage of the widow with 
 her brother-in-law was performed without much cere- 
 mony; because the widow of the brother who died 
 without children passed at once for the brother-in- 
 law*s wife. Custom, however, required that it should 
 be acknowledged in the presence of two witnesses, and 
 that the brother should give a piece of money to the 
 widow. The nuptial blessing was added, and a writing 
 to S'ccure the wife's dov.'er. Some believe that this law 
 was not observed after the Babylonish captivity, because 
 since that time there has been no distincflion of the in- 
 heritances of the tribes. The present Jews do not prac- 
 tise this law, or at least very rarely. 
 
 Leo o{ 3Iodena describes this pra6lice in the following 
 manner : — " Three rabbins and two other witnesses, 
 the evening before, choose a place where the ceremony 
 may be performed. The rtext day, when they come 
 from morning prayers, they all follow the rabbins and 
 witnesses, who in the appointed place sit down, and order 
 the widow and her brother-in-law to appear before them, 
 who declare that they there present themselves in order 
 ta be free. The principal rabbin proposes several 
 
St. MATTHEW. 295 
 
 questions to the man, and exhorts him to marry the 
 widow ; then seeing him persist in his refusal, after 
 some other interrogatories the man puts on one of the 
 rab'.)in's shoes, which is fit for any foot, and the woman 
 in the mean time draws near to him, and assisted by 
 the rabbin, says to him in Hebrew, ' My husband's 
 brother will not (k)ntinue the posterity of his brother ii\ 
 Israel, and refuses to marry me, as being my broth-r- 
 in-law.' The brother-in-law answers, ' I have no mind 
 to take her.' Hereupon the woman stoops down, 
 loosens and pulls off the shoe, throws it upon the 
 ground, spits before him, and says in Hebrew to him, 
 with the help of the rabbin, * So shall it be done unto 
 that man who will not build up his brother's house ; 
 and his name shall be called in Israel, the house of him 
 that hath his shoe loosed.' These words she repeats 
 three times, and they who are present answer as often, 
 * He that hath his shoe loosed.' Hereupon the rabbin 
 immediately tells her, that she may marry again; and 
 if she requires any certificate of what is done, the rab- 
 bins shall deliver one to her." 
 
 No. 409. — xxii. 4-0. On these txvo co:nmandments 
 hang all the law and the proljliets.^ These words allude 
 to a custom mentioned by Tertullian, of writing the 
 laws, and hanging them up in a public place, that thcv' 
 might be seen by all the people. It imports that in 
 these two commandments is contained all that tire law 
 and the prophets require, in reference to our duty to 
 God and man ; for though there are some precepts 
 of temperance, which we owe to ourselves, yet the}* 
 are such as v/e may be inclined to perform from the 
 true love of God and of our neighbour ; for the love 
 of God will preserve us from impatience, discontent, 
 and evil lustings j it will make us watchful over our- 
 
29G St. MATTHEW. 
 
 selves to keep a good conscience, as being solicitous 
 for our eternal welfare : and the love of our neigh- 
 bour will restrain us from all angry passions, such as 
 envy and malice, which arise against him: so that these 
 two commandments may be very justly called an abridg- 
 ment or compendium of the whole scriptures. 
 
 Whitby in loc> 
 
 No. 410 — xxiii. 2. The scribes.'] The scribes were 
 persons some way employed about books, writings, or 
 accounts, either in ti-anscribing, reading, or explaining 
 them. According to these various employments there 
 were several sorts of them- Most authors, however, re- 
 duce them to two general classes, civil and ecclesiastical 
 scribes. Of the civil scribes there were doubtless various 
 ranks and degrees, from the common scrivener to the 
 principal secretary of state. It is probable the next scribe 
 in office was the secretary of war, called the principal 
 scribe of the host, who mustered the people of the land. 
 {2 Kings XXV. 19.) It is reasonably supposed this is the 
 officer referred to in Isaiah xxxiii. 18. Where is the 
 scribe? Where is the receiver? Where is he that counteth 
 the toxvcrs ? Besides the principal scribes or secretaries 
 we read of numbers of a lower order, as of the families of 
 the scribes which dwelt at Jabez^ (\ Chron. ii. 55.^ and 
 of the scribes, as well as the officers and porters that 
 were of the tribe of Levi. (1 Chron. xxxiv. 13. It is 
 probable some of these were und'er-secretaries and clerks 
 to the principal scribes ; others of them might be scri- 
 veners employed in drawing deeds and contrails, and in 
 writing letters, and any other business of penmanship. 
 Such scribes are referred to in Psalm xlv. 1. My tongue 
 is as the pen of a ready ivriter. Others of these inferior 
 scribes might be schoolmasters, vi'ho, as the Jewish doc- 
 tors tell us, were chiefly of the tribe of Simeon, and that 
 
St. MATTHEW. 2^7 
 
 Jacobus prophetic curse upon this tribe, that thcij shcidd 
 be divided 171 Jacob, and scattered in Lrael, (Gen. xlix. 7.) 
 was hereby accomplished. 
 
 The ecclesiastical scribes, who are frequently men- 
 tioned in the New Testament, were the learned of the 
 nation, who expounded the law, and taught it to the peo- 
 ple, and are therefore sometimes called })ni/.oli^xTKx\oi, 
 do6lors of the law. The vo^iy.oi so often mentioned in 
 the New Testament and rendered lawyers, were the 
 scribes. Compare Matt. xxii. 35. with 3lark xii. 28. 
 Scribe was a general name or title of all who studied, 
 and v/ere teachers of the law and of religion, C Isaiah 
 ix. 15.) They were the preaching clergy among the 
 Jews, and while the priests attended the sacrifices, they 
 instructed the people. It appears, however, that what 
 they taught chiefly related to the traditions of the fa- 
 thers; that it v/as about external, carnal, andtrivial rites; 
 and that it was very litigious and disputatious. 
 
 Jennings's Jewish Antiquities, vol. i. p. 390. 
 
 No. 411. — xxiii. 6. And love the uppennost rooms at 
 feasts.'] "" At their feasts matters were commonly order- 
 ed thus : three couches were set in the form of the 
 Greek letter n. The table was placed In the middle, the 
 lower end whereof was left open to give access to ser- 
 vants for setting and removing the dishes, and serving 
 the guests. The other three sides were inclosed by the 
 couches, whence it got the name of triclinium. The 
 middle couch, which lay along the upper end of tjie 
 table, and was therefore accounted the most honourable 
 place, and that which the pharisees are said particu- 
 larly to have affeCled, was distinguished by the name 
 ji^roiiKicrici.'''' Campbell, Prelim. Dissert, p. 3G5. 
 
 No. 412. — xxiii. 24. Te strain at a gnat and sxval- 
 loxv a camel''] This is'an allusion to a custom the Jews 
 
 2 P 
 
298 St. MATTHEW. 
 
 had of filtering their wine, for fear of swallowing any 
 inse6t forbidden by the law as unclean. Malmonides^ 
 in his treatise of forbidden meats, (cap. ii. art. :20.) af- 
 fords a remarkable illustration of our Saviour's prover- 
 bial expression. " He who strains wine, or vinegar, 
 or strong drhik, and eats the gnats, or flies, or worms 
 which he hath strained off, is whipped." 
 
 In these hot countries, as Serrariiis well observes, 
 (Trihceres^ p. 51.) gnats were apt to fall into wine, if 
 it were not carefully covered ; and passing the liquor 
 through a strainer, that no gnat or part of one might 
 remain, grew into a proverb for exactness about little 
 matters. 
 
 No. 41 3 — xxiii. 27. Tc are like unto whitcd sepul- 
 chres ., xvhich mdeedappear beautiful outxvard^ but arc xuith- 
 iufidl of dead men^s bones ^ and of all uncleanness. ] Of the 
 tombs of the ancients, accurate descriptions have been 
 given by eastern travellers. Shaw presents us with the 
 following account of these sepulchres. " If we except 
 a few persons who arc buried within the precin6ls of 
 some san61:uary, the rest are carried out at a small dis- 
 tance from their cities and villages, where a great ex- 
 tent of ground is allotted for that purpose. Each family 
 hath a particular portion of it walled in like a garden, 
 where the bones of their ancestors have remained undis- 
 turbed for many generations : for in these inclosures 
 the graves are all distindl and separate, having each of 
 them a stone placed upright, both at the head and feet, 
 inscribed with the name of the person who lieth there 
 interred, whilst the intermediate space is either planted 
 with flowers, bordered round with stone, or paved all 
 over with tiles. The graves of the principal citizens 
 are furtlier distinguished by some square chambers or 
 cupolas, that are built over them. (Mark v. 3.) Now 
 as all these diiTerent sorLs of tombs and sepulchres, with 
 
St. MATTHEW. 299 
 
 the very walls likewise of the inclosures, are constantly 
 kept clean white-washed and beautified, they continue 
 to this day to be an excellent comment upon that 
 expression of our Saviour, where he mentions the 
 garnishing of the sepulchres, (Matt, xxiii. 29.) and 
 again, ver. 27. where he compares the Scribes, Phari- 
 sees, and hypocrites to whited sepulchres." fTrav. p. 
 285. fol.) What is here narrated furnishes a comment 
 upon Matt. viii. 28. where mention is miide of the de- 
 moniacs who came out of the tombs. It is obvious that 
 they might dwell in places that were constru6led like 
 chambers or rooms. 
 
 It may be agreeable to add to the above citation, that 
 it was a customary thing to plant herbs and flowers 
 either upon or close to the grave. The women in 
 Egypt, according to Mai/let, go " at least two days in 
 the week to pray and weep at the sepulchres of the dead ; 
 and the custom then is, to throw upon the tombs a sort 
 of herb which the Arabs call rihan, and which is our 
 sweet basil. They cover them also with the leaves of 
 the palm-tree." fLett.x. p. 91.) Myrtle, which has 
 been frequently used on joyful occasions, is employed 
 by the people of the East to adorn the tombs of the 
 dead, for Dr. Chandler tells us, that in his travels in the 
 Lesser Asia (p. 200.) he found some Turkish graves 
 there, which had each a bough of myrtle stuck at the 
 head and the feet, i^awtyc/^mentions the same circum- 
 stance (p. 65.) At Aleppo, there grow many myrtles, 
 which they diligently propagate, because tliey are 
 beautiful, and remain long green, to put about their 
 graves. 
 
 No. 414. — xxiv. 41. Tzvoruo}nc?i shall be grinding 
 at the miil, the one shall be taken, and the other left-] 
 Amongst other circumstances v/hich should manifest the 
 security of the world at the coming of Chiisi, ii is par- 
 
500 St. MATTHEW. 
 
 ticularly mentioned, that tzvo womenshall be grinding at 
 the mill^ the one shall betaken^ and the other left, " ivlost 
 families grind their wheat and barley at home, having 
 two portable grindstones for that purpose. The upper- 
 most is turned round by a small handle of wood or iron, 
 placed in the edge of it. When this stone is large, or, 
 expedition is required, then a second person is called in 
 to assist. It is usual for the women alone to be concern- 
 ed in this employ, sitting themselves down over against 
 each other, with the raill-stones between them." (Shaw's 
 Travels^ p. 29^7.) Hence also we may learn the pro- 
 priety of that expression oi sitting behind the mill' CExod. 
 xi. S.) 
 
 ' No. 415. — xxiv. 51. And cut him asunder.'] If this 
 expression be understood in its primar)' and literal 
 sense, it must denote that most horrible punishment of 
 being cut in sunder whilst alive, which there is a tradi- 
 tion that the prophet Isaiah suffered. There are many 
 instances in ancient writers of this method of executing 
 criminals, and it is still pra6tised by some nations, par- 
 ticularly by the western Moors in Barbary, as we are 
 assured by Dr. Shaw. fTrav. p. 254. 2d. ed.) Calmet 
 says CDicl' cf the Bible art. saw.) this puuishment was 
 not unknown among the Hebrews. It came originally 
 from the Persians or the Chaldeans. It is still in use 
 fimong the Swltzers, and they pra6\;lsed it not many 
 vears ago on one of their countrymen, guilty of a great 
 crime, in the plain of Crenelles, near Paris. They put 
 him into a kind of cofEn, and sawed him at length, be- 
 ginning at the head, as a piece of wood is sawn. Pa- 
 risutes, king of Persia, caused Roxana to be sawn in 
 two alive. Valerius Maximus says, that the Tiiracians 
 sometimes made living men undergo this torture. The 
 Jaws of the twelve tables, which the Romans had 
 {sorrowed from the Grc^ksj condemned certain crimen 
 
St. MATTHEW. SOI 
 
 to the punlsHaient of the saw ; but the execution of it 
 was so rare, as Auhis Gellms says, (Noci. Att. lib. xii. 
 cap. 2.) that none remembered to have seen it practised. 
 Herodotus (lib. 6.) relates, that Sabacus, king of Egypt, 
 received an order in a drc^ana to cut in two all the priests 
 of Egypt. Caius Caligula, the emperor, often con- 
 demntd people of this condition to be sav/n iixtv/o 
 through the middle. Ant mecUosserra dissecuit. Sue- 
 ton.* In Caio. 
 
 No. 416. — xxiv. 51. A7id appoint him his portion 
 zvith the hypocrites, there shall he weeping and gnash- 
 of teeth.'] In ancient times the stewards of great fami- 
 lies were slaves, as well as the servants of a lower class, 
 being raised to that trust on account of their fidelity, 
 wisdom, sobriety, and other good qualities. If any 
 steward, therefore, in the absence of his lord, behaved 
 as is represented in the parable, it was a plain proof 
 that the virtues on account of which he was raised were 
 counterfeited, and by consequence that he was an hy- 
 pocrite. Slaves of this chara6ler, among other chas- 
 tisements, were sometimes condemned to work in the 
 mines ; and as this was one of the most grievous punish- 
 ments, when they first entered nothing was heard among 
 them but weeping and gnashing of teeth, on account of 
 the intolerable fatigue to which they were subjecSled iu 
 these hideous caves, without hope of release. 
 
 Macknight's Harm. vol. ii. p. 139. 
 
 No. 417. — XXV. 4. The zvise took oil in their vessels 
 ■with their lamps-'] Chardin observes, that in many parts 
 of the East, and in particular in the Indies, instead of 
 torches and flambeaux, they carry a pot of oil in one 
 hand, and a lamp full of oily rags in the other. They 
 seldom make use of candles, especially amongst the 
 
S02 St. MATTHEW, 
 
 great, candles casting bat little lights and they sitting at 
 a considerable distance from them. 
 
 Harmer, vol. ii. p. 431. notC' 
 
 No, 418. — XXV. 6. And at midnight there was a cnf 
 made^ behold^ the bridegroom cometh, go ye out to meet 
 him."] It M'as the custom among the ancient Greeksto 
 condu61; the new married couple home with torches or 
 lamps. Thus Homer describes a marriage proces- 
 sion- 
 
 The sacred pomp and genial feast delight. 
 And solemn dance, and hymeneal rite ; 
 Alo7ig the st> cet the new made brides are led. 
 With torches Jlaming, to the nvptial bed : 
 The youthful dancers in a circle bound 
 1o the softfiiUe and cithern's silver sound ; 
 Through the fair streets the matrons in a rcna 
 Stand in their porches and enjoy the shoia. 
 
 Iliad xviii. lin. 569. 
 
 A like custom is still observed among the pagan East 
 Indians, "for on the day of their marriage the husband 
 and wife, being both in the same palanquin, go out be- 
 tween seven and eight o'clock at night, accompanied with 
 all their kindred and friends : the trumpets and drums 
 go before them, and they are lighted by a multitude of 
 massals, which are a kind of flambeaux. The new mar- 
 ried couple go abroad in this equipage for the space of 
 some hours, after which they return to their own house, 
 v,b.ere the women and domestics wait for them. The 
 Vt hole house is enlightened with little lamps, and many 
 ot those massals already mentioned are kept ready for 
 tbeir arrival, besides those that accompany them, and 
 5^-o before the palanquin." (Agreement of Custotn^i be-^ 
 Vovccn East Indians and Jexvs^ art. xvii. p. 68.) ■ 
 
St. MATTHEW. ISOS 
 
 The Roman ladies were led home to theh' husbands 
 houses in tl:e evening by the light of torches. Ken- 
 nett's Roman Antiquities, part ii. b. v. c. 9.) These 
 circumstances strongly illustrate the parable of the ten 
 virgins, especially where it is said that thei/ xvent cut to 
 meet the bridegroom with their laraps. 
 
 No.- 419. — XXV. 33. He shall set the sheep on his right 
 hand, but the goats on the left.'] This seems to allude to 
 the custom in the sanhedrim, where the Jews placed 
 those to be acquitted on the right, and those to receive 
 sentence of condemnation on the left hand. 
 
 Whitby in loc. 
 
 ■■*■ 
 
 No. 420. — xxvii, 6. Tlie price of blood.'] It was a 
 custom among the Jews, imitated by the first christians, 
 -that it should not be lawful for executioners to offer any 
 thing, or for any alms to be received from them. This 
 was also the case with money that came out of the pub- 
 licans or quaestors exchequer. No money obtained by 
 the blood or life of another was fit to be received or put 
 into the treasury The field that was bought with it 
 was called the field of blood. 
 
 No. 42 1 . — xxvii. 26. To be crucified.] When a pe r- 
 son was crucified, he was nailed to the cross, as it lay 
 upon the ground, through each hand extended to its 
 utmost stretch, and through both the feet together; the 
 cross was then eredled, and the foot of it thrust with 
 violence into a hole prepared in the ground to receive 
 it. By this means the body, wliose whole weight hung 
 upon the nails, which went through the hands and feet, 
 was completely disjointed, and the sufferer at last ex- 
 pired by the force of pain. This kind of death, which 
 was the most cruel, shameful, and cursed death, that 
 
504 St. MATTHEW. 
 
 could be devised, was used only by the Romans for 
 slaves, and the basest of the people, who were capital 
 offenders. Sometimes a fire v/as kindled at the foot of 
 the cross, that so the sufferer might perish by the smoke 
 and flame. The emperor, Alexander Severus, com- 
 manded one to be executed in this manner, who was a 
 cheat, a quack, and a dealer in (as it were) smoke, that 
 hereby there might be some relaticu between his crime 
 and his penalty. It has been thought, that below the 
 crucified person's feet was a kind of footstool, or piece 
 of wood jutting out, on wiuch^his feet was laid and fas- 
 tened. Without this the criminal could not long con- 
 tinue nailed to the cress, the whole weight bearing upon 
 his hands. Some assert that there are no traces of tii^s 
 footstool in those descriptions of the cross, which the 
 most ancient Greek and Latin writers have left us ; but 
 the}' speak of a kind of wooden horse, upon which the 
 suffering person was as it were mounted, that so his 
 hands might not be torn asunder by the weight of his 
 body ; this was a large peg fixed about halfway up the 
 cross, as appears in jiiatm, Irenccus, and others. Some- 
 times they who were fastened upon the cross lived long 
 in that condition. Andrexu is believed to have lived 
 tliree days upon it, others nine days. Eusebius (lib. 
 vii. cap. 8.) speaks of certain martyrs in Egypt, who 
 were kept on the cross till they were starved to death. 
 Sometimes they were devoured by birds and beasts of 
 prey : 
 
 cnixillum tollat in auras, 
 
 Viventerque ocuios offerat aiitibus. prudent. 
 
 And generally they were devoured after death by 
 wolves, dogs, and birds. Guards were appointed to 
 observe that none should take them down and bury 
 them. 
 
St. MATTHEW. 305 
 
 No. 422. — xxvii. 29. And when they had plaited a 
 croxvn of thorns^ they put it iipon his head.^ Amongst 
 other circumstances of suffering and ignomony, which 
 accompanied the death of Christ, it is said that they 
 plaited a crown of thorns^ and piit it upon his head. Has- 
 SELQUisT (Travels, p. 288.) says, " The naba ornabka 
 of the Arabians is in all probability the tree which af- 
 forded the crown of thorns put on the head of Christ : 
 it grows very commonly in the East. This plant was 
 very fit for the purpose, for it has manv small and sharp 
 spines, which are well adapted to give pain ; the crown 
 might be easily made of these soft, round, and pliant 
 branches ; and what in my opinion seems to be the 
 greatest proof is, that the leaves much resemble those of 
 ivy, as they are of a very deep green. Pei-haps the 
 enemies of Christ would have a plant somewhat re- 
 sembling that with ^which emperors and generals were 
 used to be crowned, that there might be calumny even 
 in the punishment." Other writers have advanced 
 different opinions on this subje6l. Some have asserted 
 that it was the acacia or the xvhite thorn.^ or the jun- 
 cus marinus ; but after all, the matter must be left 
 indeterminate. (See Bartholin. Dissert, de spin,ed Co' 
 rond.) 
 
 No. 423. — xxvii. 34. They gave him vinegar to drink 
 mingled with gall.^ Medicated wine, to deaden the 
 sense of pain, was given to the Jewish criminals when 
 about to be put to death ; but they gave our Lord 
 vinegar, and that in mockery, as they did other things, 
 of his claim to royalty. But the force of this does not 
 appear, if we do not recollect the quality of the wines 
 drank anciently by princes, which, it seems, were of the 
 sxveet sort. 
 
 .2 Q 
 
305 St. MATTHEW. 
 
 No. 424. — xxviii. 1. The end of the sabbath.'] M. 
 Basnage thus describes the manner in which the Jews 
 conclude the sabbath. " In the evening they return to 
 the synagogue, to prayer again. The law is taken from 
 the ark a second time. Three persons sing the psalm 
 of the sabbath, and read the se6lion of the following 
 week. They repeat the hundred and nineteenth psalm, 
 and bring the perfume. According to Rabbam Simon, 
 the son of Gamaliel, this was only a gum that distilled 
 from a balsamic tree ; but others maintain it was com- 
 pounded of thi-ee hundred and sixty-eight pounds of 
 different aromatic drugs, which the high priest pounded 
 in a mortar. They find a mystery in this number, 
 which they divide into two, and refer one of them to the 
 days of the solar year. They think also, that this per- 
 fume is necessary to guard themselves from the ill odour 
 that is exhaled from hell, the fire whereof begins to burn 
 again when the sabbath ends. Lastly, the blessing ia 
 given as in the morning, and the sabbath concludes 
 when they see three stars appear in the firmament.'* 
 (History of the Jews^ p. 442. \ 16.'^ 
 
[ sor ] 
 
 No. 425.— St. mark i. 6. 
 
 He did eat locusts, 
 
 Much pains have been taken to prove that the locusts^ 
 which are said to have been a part of John the Baptist's 
 food, were the fruit of a certain tree, and not the 
 bodies of the inse6ls so called ; but a little enquiry after 
 fa6ls will fully clear up this matter, and shew that, how- 
 ever disgustful the idea of such kind of food appears to 
 us, the eastern nations have a very different opinion 
 about it. Dampier informs us, (vol. i. p. 430.) that 
 " the Indians of the Bashee islands eat the bodies of 
 locusts :" and that he himself once tasted of this dish, and 
 liked it very well. He also tells us (vol. ii. p. 27-) thatth© 
 "Tonquineze feed on locusts ; that they eat them fresh, 
 broiled on coals, or pickle them to keep ; and that they 
 are plump and fat, and are much esteemed by rich and 
 poor, as good wholesome food, either fresh, or pickled. 
 Shaw observes (Travels^ p. 188.) that the Jews were al- 
 lowed to eat them ; and that, when they are sprinkled 
 with salt, they are not unlike in taste to our fresh-water 
 cray-fish. Ives (Trav. p. 15.) informs us, that the in- 
 habitants of Madagascar eat locusts, of which they have 
 an innumerable quantity, and that they prefer them to 
 the finest fish. (See also Herodotus, b. iv. s. 172.) 
 
 No. 426. — ii. 4. They uncovered the roof where he 
 xvas.~\ The most satisfa6lory interpretation of this pas- 
 sage may be obtained from Dr. Shawy who acquaints 
 us, that " the houses throughout tlie East are low, ha- 
 
308 St. mark. 
 
 ving generally a ground floor only, or one upper story, 
 and flat roofed, the roof being covered with a strong 
 coat of plaster of terrace. They are built round a 
 paved court, into which the entrance from the street is 
 through a gateway or passage-room, furnished with 
 benches, and sufficiently large to be dsed for receivyig 
 visits, or transa(51ing business. The stairs which lead 
 to the roof are never placed on the outside of the house 
 in the street, but usually in the gateway, or passage- 
 room to the court, sometimes at the entrance within the 
 court. This court is now called in Arabic, el xvoosty or 
 the middle of the house ; literally answering to to /xeo-o* 
 of St. Luke V. 19. It is customary to fix cords from the 
 parapet walls CDeuU xxii. 8.) of the flat roofs across this 
 court, and upon them to expand a veil or covering, as 
 a shelter from the heat. In this area probably our Sa- 
 viour taught. I'he paralytic wasbi;ought on to the roof 
 by making a way through the crowd to the stairs in the 
 gateway, or by the terraces of the adjoining houses. 
 They rolled back the veil, and let the sick man down 
 over the parapet of the roof into the area or court of the 
 house, before Jesus." (Trav. p. 277.) 
 
 No. 427. — v. 38. JFui lee/ great It/. 1 The custom of 
 employing mourning women by profession still prevails 
 in the East. Shaw (Trav. p. 242.) speaking of the 
 Moorish funerals, says, *' there are several women hired 
 to act on these lugubrious occasions, who, like ihtpr^Jica 
 or mourning v/omen of old, are skilful in lamentation, 
 (Amos. V. lij.j and great mistresses of these melancho- 
 ly expressions, (that is, as he had before remarked, of 
 squalling out several times together, loo, loo, loo, in a 
 deep and hollow tone, with several ventriloquous sighs:) 
 and indeed they perform their part with such proper 
 sounds, gestures, and commotions, that they rarely fail 
 
St. mark. 309 
 
 to Work up the assembly into some exlraordlnary pitch 
 of thoughtlulness and sorro\v. The British fadlory has 
 often been very sensibly touched with ibcse lamenta- 
 ' tions, whenever they were made in the neighbouring 
 houses.'' So NiEKUiiR, Voyage en Arable, torn. i. p. 
 150.) says, " the relations of a dead Mahometan's wife, 
 not thinking themselves able to mourn for him suffici- 
 ently, or finding the task of continual lamentation too 
 painful, commonly hire for this purpose some women, 
 who understand this trade, and who utter woeful cries 
 from the moment of the death of the deceased until he 
 is interred. (See jfer- ix. 17, IS.) 
 
 No. 4528. — vii. 4. Except they xvash they eat notS\ 
 Washing and purifications were caiTied to a most cere- 
 monious excess by the pharisees, who thus abused what 
 within proper bounds was expedient and commendable. 
 Their condu6l, however ridiculous, is paralleled by that 
 of the Remmont, ase6l of Christians, of v^hom Mr. 
 Bruce (Ti-avels, vol iv. p. 275.) says, '■'• their women 
 pierce their ears, and apply weights to make them hang 
 dov/n, and to enlarge the holes, into which they put ear- 
 rings almost as big as shakles, in the same manner as 
 do the Bedowise in Syria and Palestine. Their language 
 is the same as that of the Falasha, with soixje small dif- 
 ference of idiom. They have great abhorrence of fish, 
 which they not only refrain from eating, but cannot 
 bear the sight of; and the reason they give for this is, 
 that Jonah the prophet (from w4iom they boast they 
 are descended) was swallowed by a whale, or some other 
 such great fish. They are hewers of wood and carriers of 
 water to Gondar? and are held in great detestation by 
 the Abyssinians. They hold, that having been once bap- 
 tized, and having once communicated, no sort of prayer 
 '<«• other attention to divine worship is necessary. They 
 
310 S-r. MARIt. 
 
 wash themselves from head to foot after coming front 
 market, or any public place where they may have 
 touched any one of a se6l different from their own, 
 esteeming all such unclean,'' 
 
 No. 429— —ix. 41. Whosoever shall give you a cup of 
 water to drink in my 7iame, shall, not lose his reward.'^ 
 To furnish travellers with water is at this time thought 
 a matter of such consideration, that many of the eastern 
 people have been at a considerable expense to procure 
 passengers that refreshment. " The reader, as we pro- 
 ceed," says Dr. Chandler (Trav. in Asia Minor, p.. 
 20.) *' will find frequent mention of fountains. Their 
 number is owing to the nature of the country and the cli- 
 mate. The soil, parched and thirsty, demands moisture 
 to aid vegetation ; and a cloudless sun, which inflames 
 the air, requires for the people the verdure, shade, and 
 coolness, its agreeable attendants ; hence they occur 
 not only in the towns and villages, but in the fields and 
 gardens, and by the sides of the roads, and by the 
 beaten tracks on the mountains. Many of them are the 
 useful donations of humane persons while living, or 
 have been bequeathed as the legacies on their decease. 
 The Turks esteem the eredllng of them as meritorious, 
 and seldom go away after performing their ablutions or 
 drinking, without gratefully blessing the name and me- 
 mory of the founder." Then, after observing that the 
 method used by the ancients of obtaining the necessary 
 supplies of water still prevails, which he describes as 
 done by pipes, or paved channels, he adds, " when 
 arrived at the destined spot, it is received by a cistei'n 
 with a vent, and the waste current passes below from 
 another cistern, often an ancient sarcophagus. It is 
 common to find a cup of tin or iron hanging near by a 
 chain, or a wooden scoop with an handle placed in a 
 
St. mark. 81t 
 
 niche in the wall. The front is of stone, or marble, and 
 in some, painted and decorated with gilding, and with 
 an inscription in Turkish charadlers in relievo." The 
 blessing of the name and memory of the builder of one 
 of these fountains shows that a cup of water is in these 
 countries by no means a despicable thing. 
 
 Niebuhr tells us, that among the public buildings of 
 Kahira, those houses ought to be reckoned where they 
 daily give water gratis to all passengers that desire it. 
 Some of these houses make a very handsome appearance ; 
 and those whose business it is to wait on passengers are 
 to have some vessels of copper curiously tinned, and 
 filled with water, always ready on the window next the 
 street. C^^V^^S^ ^'^ Arable^ torn. i. p. 97.) 
 
 No. 430. — ix. 44. Wher^ their worm dyeth noty and 
 thejire is not quenched.'] Dr. Rymer (Representation of 
 Revealed Religion, p, 155.) supposes that both the worn» 
 and the fire are meant of the body, and refer to the two 
 different ways oi funeral among the ancients, interment 
 and burning ; so that our Lord may seem here to pre- 
 vent an obje6lion against the permanent misery of the 
 wicked in hell, arising from the frail constitution of the 
 body ; as if he should have said, the body will not then 
 be as it is at present, but will be incapable of consump- 
 tion or dissolution. In its natural state, the worms may- 
 devour the whole, and die for want of nourishment; 
 the fire may consume it, and be extinguished for want 
 of fuel ; but there shall be perpetual food for the worm 
 that corrodes it, perpetual fuel for the fire that torments 
 it* The words of the apocryphal writer in Judith xvi. 
 17. greatly illustrate this interpretation. It is said, 
 ^'the Lord Almighty will take vengeance on the wick- 
 ed in the day of judgment, putting fire and worms into 
 their flesh, and they shall feel their, and weep for ever*** 
 
512 St. mark. 
 
 No. 431. — X. 4. And they saidj Jloses suffered to 
 xcrltca billofdi'i^rcement, and to put her axvay.'] Divorces 
 seem to have been permitted among the Jews, before 
 the law ; but we find no example of that kind in the 
 Old Testament written since Moses. Thty have been 
 less frequent with the Jews since their dispersion among 
 nations whicli do not permit the dissolution of mar- 
 riage upon light occasions. lo cases where it does 
 take place, the woman is at liberty to marry again as 
 she shall think proper, but not with the person who 
 gave occasion for the divorce. To prevent the abuse 
 which the Jewish m.en might make of the liberty of di- 
 vorcing, the rabbins appoint many formalities, which 
 consume much time, and give the married couple oppor- 
 tunity to be reconciled. Where there is no hope of ac- 
 commodation, a woman, a deaf man, or a notary, draws 
 the letter of divorce. He writes it in the presence of 
 one or more rabbins, on veUum ruled, 'containing only 
 twelve lines, in square letters; and abundance of little 
 trifling particulars are observed, as w^ell in the charac- - 
 ters as in the manner of writing, and in the names and 
 £urnames of the husband and wife. He who pens it, 
 the rabbins, -and witnesses, ought not; to be relatkms 
 either to the husband, or to the wife, or to one ano- 
 ther. 
 
 The substance of this letter, which they cdM gheth^ is 
 as follows : " On such a day, month, year, and place, 
 I, N. divorce you voluntarily, put you away, restore you 
 to your liberty, even you, N. who were heretofore my 
 wife, and I permit } ou to marry whom }0u please." 
 Tile letter being written, the rabbi examines the hus- 
 band closelv, in order to learn whether he is volunta- 
 rily' inclined lo do what he has done. They endeavour 
 to have at least ten persons present at this action, with- 
 liut reckoning the two witnesses who sign, and tw« 
 
St. mark, 313 
 
 other witnesses to the date. After which the rabbi 
 commands the wife to open her hands, in order td 
 receive this deed, lest it fall to the ground ; and after 
 having examined her over again, the husband^g'.ves her 
 the parchment, and says to her, here is thy divorce, I 
 put thee away from me, and ioave thee at liberty to 
 marry whom thou pleasest. The wife takes it, and 
 gives it to the Rabbi, who reads it once more, after 
 which she is free. 
 
 Calmet^ sDiclionary of the Bible, art. Divorce. 
 
 No. 432 — xiv. 3. And being in Bethany, in the house 
 of Simon the leper, as he sat at rneat, there came a xOoman, 
 having an alabaster box of ointment of spikenard, very pre- 
 cious, and she brake the box, and poured it on his headJ\ 
 Chardin describes the Persians as sometimes transport- 
 ing their wine in buck or goat-skins, which are pitched, 
 and when the skin is good the wine is not at all injured, 
 nor tastes of the pitch. At other times they send it in 
 bottles, whose mouths are stopped with cotton, upon 
 which melted wax is poured, so as quite to exclude the 
 air. They pack them up in chests, in straw, ten small 
 bottles in each, sending the celebrated wine of Schiras 
 thus through all the kingdom into the Indies, and even 
 to China and Japan. 
 
 The ancient Romans used pitch to secure their wine 
 vessels. (Horace. Carm. lib. iii. ode 8.) This is said to 
 have been done according to one of the precepts of 
 Cato. But though pitch and other grosser matters 
 might be used to close up their wine vessels, those 
 which held their perfumes were doubtless fastened with 
 wax, or some such cement, since they were small and 
 made of alabaster and other precious materials, which 
 would by no means have agreed with any thing so coarse 
 as pitch. To apply these remarks to the subje6l of this 
 article, it may be observed that Propertius calls the open- 
 
 2R 
 
^U St. mark. 
 
 ing of a wine vessel, by breaking the cement that secv»- 
 i"ed it, breaking the vessel : 
 
 Cur v.entos non ipse rogis, ingratc, petistl } 
 
 Cur nardo flammx non duere nie:e? 
 Hocetiam grave erat, nullJi merced^ Ji/acintl^os 
 
 Injicere, cXfracto bustapitr^ (^do. 
 
 Lib. iv. el. 7. vcr. 31. 
 
 It cannot be pjtpposed that Propcrtlus meant, that the 
 earthen vessel should have itself been shivered into 
 pieces, but only that its stopple should be taken out, to 
 do which it was necessary to break the cement. Agree- 
 able to this mode of expression, we are doubtless to 
 understand these words of Mark, that, as jfesjts sat at 
 meat, there came a woman having an alabaster box ofoint- 
 Tfient of spikenard (or liquid nard^ according to the mar- 
 gin) very precious, and she BiiAK]i the box, and poured 
 it on his head. 
 
 No. 433.-7— xiv. 35. He went forward a little, and fell 
 on the ground.'] Amongst other circumstances by which 
 ^he ancients expressed the greatness of their distress, 
 they frequently threw themselves down upon the ground, 
 and rolled in the dust. Thus Homer introduces Priara 
 lamenting the death of He6lor : 
 
 Permit vie now, belov'd cf^ove ! to steep 
 My careful temples in the devj of sleep .■ 
 For since the clay that numbered with the dead 
 jyiy hapless son, the dust has been my lied. 
 
 Iliad xxiv. lin. 80i. 
 
 Thus also Op/V represents Oeneus behaving himself 
 upon the death of his son Meleager : 
 
 Pulvere canitiem genitor, viiltusquc seniles, 
 Fcedat humi fusos, spatiosumque increpat sevun. 
 
 His hoary head andfiirroiv'd chceh besmears 
 With noiiome dirt, and chides the tedious years. 
 
 Metam, lib. A'iii. vcr. 52S. 
 
St. MAMK. 311 
 
 Thus wc fitid our I,(jrd, when cxcrrdhuf sfjrroivfult 
 leavinjf hi» (list iplcs, and cxijresHirijj his vigotjy in aw:»y 
 that vvtiH chitfly appropriated to Hccncs ol peculiar dia- 
 trcas. 
 
 No. ^?A. — xiv. .') 1 . And flit'tr followed hint a ccrUiin 
 young tnan, bavhijr <i inim clolli cast ahout his naked hodij ; 
 and (he ijonnj^ men laid hold on him : and he left, the Hum 
 tloth^ and Jled from them naked.] Porocke oIxkmvch, iu 
 describing the drcMca of the people of ICgypt, that " it 
 is almost a general cuatom among the Arabs and M(;- 
 hammedan natives of the country to wear a large i;lan- 
 ket either white or brown, and in Hummer a blue and 
 white cotton sheet, which the christians constantly use 
 in lilt: country: piiltinjrrMie corner bf fore, over the left 
 shoulder, tiicy Ijring it behind, and under the right arm, 
 and so over their bodies, throwing it behind over the 
 left shoulder, and so the right arm is left bare for adlion. 
 When it is hot, and they are on horseback, they let it 
 fall down on the saddle round them: and ai)Out Faiume, 
 I particularly observed, that young people especially, 
 and the poorer sort, liarl nothiui^ on whatever but this 
 blanket : and it Ih probiible the yoimg man was clothed 
 in this manner, who followed our Saviour when he wan 
 taken, having a linen cloih cast about his naked botly ; 
 and when the young men laid hold on him, he left the 
 linen cloth, and lied from them naked." ( TravcUy vol. 
 i. p. 190.) 
 
 No. 435. — XV. 20. The HUf)erNeripl.ion of hh accma~ 
 tion.] It wan a custom of the Komana to write the 
 crime for which any man suffered death on a tablet, 
 and carry it before him to his execution. Thu» ( EuhcO. 
 Eect. Hint. lib. v. cap. 1.) Attalus the martyr wa« 
 led round the amphitheatre with a tablet before him, 
 
316 St. mark. 
 
 inscribed, " This is Attalus, the christian." So Sueton. 
 Domitian. cap. 10. the man was cast to the dogs in the 
 arena to be devoured, with this inscription, " He spake 
 impiousl)-." The same custom prevailed in crucifix- 
 ions. Dio' (Vih. 54, 598.) mentions a servant or slave 
 who was carried to the cross with a writing declaring 
 fhe cause of his deatl). 
 
[ 3ir ] 
 
 No. 436 — St. LUKE ii. 7. 
 
 The inn. 
 
 It will be proper here to give a full and explicit ac'" 
 count of the inns or caravanserais of the East,, in which 
 travellers arc accommodated. They are not all alike, 
 some being simply places of rest, by the side of a foun- 
 tain if possible, and at a proper distance on the road. 
 Many of these places are nothing more than naked 
 walls ; others have an attendant, who subsists-either by- 
 some charitable donation, or the benevolence of passen- 
 gers ; others are more considerable establishments, 
 where families reside, and take care of them, and fur- 
 nish the necessary provisions. 
 
 *' Caravanserais were originally intended for, and are 
 now pretty generally applied to the accommodation of 
 strangers and travellers, though, like every other good 
 institution, sometimes perverted to the purposes of pri- 
 vate emolument, or public job. They are built at pro- 
 per distances through the roads of the Turkish domi- 
 nions, and afford to the indigent or weary traveller an 
 assylum from the inclemency of the weather; are in gene- 
 ral built of the most solid and durable materials, have 
 commonly one story above the ground floor, the lower 
 of which is arched, and serves for warehouses to store 
 goods, for lodgings, and for stables, while the upper is 
 used merely for lodgings ; besides which they are 
 always accommodated with a fountain, and have cooks 
 shops and other conveniences to supply the wants of 
 lodgers. In Aleppo, the caravanserais are almost ex- 
 clusively occupied by merchants, to whom they are, like 
 other houses, rented." (Campbell's T/y/u. part ii. p. 8.) 
 
 " In all other Turkish provinces, particularly those in 
 Asia, which are often thinly inhabited, travelling is sabs 
 
318 St. LUKE. 
 
 je6l to numberless inconveniences, since it is necessary 
 not only to carry all sorts of provisions along with one, 
 but even the very utensils to dress them in, besides a 
 tent for shelter at night and in bad weather, as there 
 are no inr;s, except here and there a caravanserai, v»'here 
 nothing but bare rooms, and those often very bad, a;id 
 infested with all sorts of vermin, can be procured." 
 (Antks's Ohaervations on Egypt^ p. 55.) 
 
 The poverty of the eastern inns appears also from the 
 following extracl. " There are no inns any v/here ; but 
 the cities, and commonly the villages, have a large build- 
 ing called a han^ or iervanserai, which serves as an 
 jissylum for all travellers. These houses of reception 
 pre always built without the precin6ls of towns, and 
 consist q/ four wings round a square court, which 
 serves by way of inclosure for the beasts of burthen. 
 The lodgings are cells, where you find nothing but bare 
 v/alls, dust, and sometimes scorpions. The keeper of 
 this ^aii gives the traveller the key and a mat, and he 
 provides himself the rest ; he must therefore carry 
 with him his bed, his kitchen utensils, and even his pro- 
 visions, for frequently not even bread is to be found in 
 the villages. On this account the orientals contrive their 
 equipage in the most simple and portable form. The 
 baggage of a man, who vv^ishes to be completely provi- 
 ded, consists in a carpet, a mattrass, a blanket, two sauce- 
 bans v.'ith lids contained within each other, two dishes, 
 tv;o plates and a coffee-pot, all of copper well tinned ; 
 a small wooden box for salt and pepper ; a round 
 kathtrn table, which he suspends from the saddle of his 
 horse ; small leathern bottles or bags for oil, melted but- 
 ter, water, and brandy, (if the traveller be a christian) 
 u pipe, a tinder-box, a cup of cocoa nut, some rice, 
 dried raisins, dates, cyprus cheese, and above all coffee 
 berries, with a roaster and wooden mortar to pound 
 them*" (Volney's Travch-^ vol. ii. p. 419.) 
 
St. LUKE. 619 
 
 " The caravanserais are the eastern inns, far different 
 from ours ; for they are neither so convenient nor hand- 
 Bonne : they are built square, much like cloisters, being 
 usually but one story high, for it is rare to see one of two 
 $tories. A wide gate brings you into the court, and ia 
 the midst of the building, in the front, and upon the 
 right and left hand, there is a hall for persons of the best 
 quality to keep together. On each side of the hall are 
 lodgings for every man by himself. These lodgings 
 are raised all along the court, two or three steps high, 
 just behind which are the stables, where inany times it 
 is as good lying as in the chambers. Right against the 
 head of every horse there is a niche with a window into 
 the lodging chamber, out of which every man may see 
 t,hathis horse is looked after. These niches are usually 
 so large that three men may lie in them, and here the 
 servants usually dress their vi6luais." (Tavernier's 
 Travels, p. 45.) 
 
 " The entrance is under a high and magnificent por- 
 tal, adorned v/ith Mosaic work, like all the rest of the 
 buildings, and upon the sides runs a portico, where you 
 may lie in the day time conveniently, and as pleasantly 
 as in the inn itself. The fountain in the middle of the 
 court is raised above five feet, and the brims of it are 
 four feet broad, for the convenience of those that will 
 say their prayers after they have performed their puri- 
 fication." (Chardin, p. 412.) 
 
 It appears from the preceding extracts, that there are 
 «inns or caravanserais of different kinds, some better than 
 others. The scriptures use two words to express a ca- 
 ravanserai, in both instances translated inn, (Luke ii. 
 7.) There xvas no room for them in the inn, •/xnxkhyi.ai.ri — - 
 the place of untying ; that is, of beasts for rest. (Luke 
 X. 34.) And brought him to the inn, Trxv^oy^uoy, whose 
 keeper is called in the next vefse itxv^o^ivt. This word 
 properly signifies a receptacle open to all comers. 
 
320 St. LUKE. 
 
 No. 437. — iv. 1. And Jesus being full of the Holy 
 Ghost f returned from Jordan, and was led by the spirit 
 into thexvilderTiess^ being forty days tempted of the deviL'\ 
 Mr. Maundrell in his travels in the Holy Land saw the 
 place which was the scene of Christ's temptations, and 
 thus describes it: " From this place (the Fountain of the 
 Apostles) you proceed in an intricate way amongst hills 
 and valleys interchangeably, all of a very barren aspecl 
 at present, but discovering evident signs of the labour 
 of the husbandman in ancient times. After some hours 
 travel in this sort of road, you arrive at the mountain- 
 ous desert into which our Blessed Saviour was led by 
 the Spirit to be tempted by the devil. A raost misera- 
 ble dry barren place it is, consisting of high rocky moun- 
 tains, so torn and disordered as if the earth had suffered 
 some great convulsion, in which its very bowels had 
 been turned outward." (Journey, p. 79.) 
 
 No. 438. — iv. 18. And recovering of sight to the blind, 
 to set at liberty them that arc bi-uised-'] It is beautifuUy 
 observed by Mr. Cradock (Harmony, p. 69.) that the 
 clause, recovering of sight to the blind, alludes to the 
 wretched state of those prisoners, who, according to the 
 inhuman custom still retained in the East, had their eyes 
 put out: and with regard to such as these, this great de- 
 liverer is represented as restoriiig them, a work far be- 
 yond all human power. Probably they are the same 
 with those who are spoken of in the next clause, as 
 bnused with the weight of their fetters ; for it is plain 
 that even blind captives were sometimes loaded with 
 them, as was the case with Samson, Judges xvi. 21. 
 and Zedekiah, 2 Ki?igs xxv. 7. 
 
 No. 439. — vi. 38. Good measure pressed down, and 
 shaken together, and running over, shall men give into 
 your bosom.'] The eastern garments being long, and 
 
St. LUKE. 321 
 
 folded, and girded with a girdle, admitted of carrj'ing 
 much corn or fruits of that kind in the bosom. 
 
 No. 440. — vi. 48. When the flood arose ^ the stream 
 beat vehemently upon that house.] " Though the returns 
 of rain in the winter are not extremely frequent, yet 
 when it does rain, the water pours down with great vi- 
 olence three or four days and nights together, enough 
 to drown the whole country." (Jacobus de VitriacOy 
 Cesta Dei J p. 1098.) Such violent rains, in so hilly a 
 country as Judea, must occasion inundations very dan- 
 gerous to buildings within their reach, by washing tho 
 soil from under them, and occasioning their fall. To 
 some such events our Lord must certainly be under- 
 stood to refer. Harmer, vol. i. p. 31. 
 
 No. 441 — vli. 36. Sat down to meat.'] In the most 
 early times the attitude at table was sitting. In Homer 
 when Ulysses arrives at the palace of Alcinous, the 
 king displaces his son Laodamas in order to seat LHysses 
 in a magnificent chair. Elsewhere Homer speaks of 
 seating the guests each in a chair. The Egyptians sat 
 at table anciently, as did the Romans till towards the 
 end of the second Punic war, when they began to re- 
 cline at table. Mercurialis reports, that the origin of 
 this mode was, the frequent use of the bath among the 
 Romans, who, after bathing, going immediately to bed, 
 and there eating, the custom insensibly became general, 
 not only in Rome but throughout the empire. 
 
 The tables were construtled of three distinfl parts, 
 or separate tables, making but one in the whole. One 
 was placed at the upper end crossways, and the two 
 others joined to ils ends, one on each side, so as to leave 
 an open space between, by which the attendants could 
 readily wait at all the three. Round these tables were 
 placed, not seats^ but beds^ one to each table j each of 
 
 2 S 
 
323 St. LUKE. 
 
 these beds was called clinium, and three of these being 
 united to surround the three tables made the triclinium. 
 At the end of each clinium was a footsool for the con- 
 venience of mounting up to it. These beds were formed 
 of mattrasses, and were supported on frames of wood, 
 often highly ornamented. Each guest reclined on his 
 left elbow, using principally his right hand, which was 
 therefore kept at liberty. The feet of the person re- 
 clining being towards the external edge of the bed, were 
 much more readily reached by any body passing than 
 any other part. 
 
 The Jews, before they sit down to table, carefully 
 wash their hands ; they consider this ceremony as essen- 
 tial. After meals, they wash them again. When they 
 sit down to table, the master of the house, or chief per- 
 son in the compnny, taking bread, breaks it, but does not 
 divide it ; then putting his hand to it, he recites this 
 blessing: Blessed be thou, O Lord our God, the king of 
 •the world, who producest the bread of the earth. Those 
 present, answer. Amen. Having distributed the bread 
 among the guests, he takes the vessel of the wine in his 
 right hand, saying. Blessed art thou, O Lord our God, 
 king of the world, who has produced the fruit of the 
 vine. They then repeat the 23d psalm. They take 
 care that after meals there shall be a piece of bread re- 
 maining on the table. The master of the house orders 
 a glass to be washed, fills it with wine, and elevating it, 
 says. Let us bless him of whose benefits we have been 
 partaking ; the rest answer. Blessed be he, who has 
 heaped his favours on us, and by his goodness has now 
 fed us. Then he recites a pretty long prayer, wherein 
 he thanks God for his many benefits vouchsafed to Is- 
 rael ; beseeches him to pity Jerusalem and his temple r 
 to restore the throne of David ; to send Elijah and the 
 Messiah, and to deliver them out of their long captivity. 
 They all answer, Amen. They recite Psalm xxiv. 9, 10. 
 
St. LUKE. 323 
 
 Then giving the glass with the little wine in it lo be 
 drank round, he takes what is left, and the table is 
 cleared. These are the ceremonies of the modern 
 Jews. (Calmet's DiSl. article eating; and Fragments 
 supplementary-, No. 104.) 
 
 No. 442. — vii. 44. Thou gavest jne no water for my 
 feet.'] It was a custom universal among the eastern 
 people to entertain their guests a.t their entrance into 
 their houses with clean water and sweet oil. Thus it 
 appears that Christ was not entertained by the master 
 of the house ; for he turned to the woman, and said unto 
 Simon, seest thou this woman P /entered into thine house; 
 thou gavest me no water for my feet, but she hath washed 
 my feet with tears, and wiped them with the hairs of her 
 head. (ver. 46.) Mine head with oil thou didst not anoint, 
 but this woman hath anointed my feet with ointinent. 
 
 Thus also Homer represents Telemachus and Pisis- 
 tratus as being entertained at the court of Menelaus. 
 After their introdu6\ion to the palace, he says, 
 
 From room to i-oom their eag«r view they bend ; 
 Thence to the bath, a beauteous pile, descend : 
 Where a bright damsel-train attend the guests. 
 With liquid odours and embroider'd vests. 
 
 Odyss. iv. ver. 48. 
 
 No. 443. — X. 4. Salute no man by the way.] The 
 mission upon which the disciples of Christ were sent 
 was so important that they were required to use the 
 greatest dispatch, and to avoid those things which might 
 retard them, especially if they were merely of a cere- 
 monious nature. The injun6lion contained ia this pas- 
 sage is thus to be understood ; for it is not to be sup- 
 posed that Christ would command his disciples to neg- 
 le6l:or violate any of those customs unnecessarily which 
 were in general use, and \yhich were innocent in them- 
 
324 St. LUKE. 
 
 selves. In the present instance, had they been allowed 
 to give and receive the common salutations, it is pro- 
 bable that their progress would have been inconsidera- 
 ble for the time employed in it. Of the truth of this 
 statement we may be satisfied from^what Niebuhr says. 
 (Travels^ vol. i. p. 302.) " The Arabs of Yemen, and 
 especially the Highlanders, often stop strangers, to ask 
 whence they came ? and whither they are going ? These 
 questions are suggested merely by curiosity, and it 
 would be indiscreet therefore to refuse an answer." 
 This representation of the matter certainly clears from 
 the appearance of incivility a precept which Christ de- 
 signed only to teach his servants a suitable deport- 
 ment- 
 No. 444. — X. IS. Sitting in sackcloth and ashes. 1 This 
 expression of mourning and sorrow was frequent in the 
 East. Thus Tamar signified her distress when disho- 
 noured by Amnon. (2 Sam. xiii. 19.) Thus also when 
 Mordecai perceived all that ivas done, Mordecai rent his 
 clothes, and put on sackcloth with ashes. (Esther iv. 1.) 
 Thus Job expressed his repentance. (Job. xlii. 6.) 
 Thus Daniel set his face unto the Lord God, to seek by 
 prayer and supplication, with fasting, and sackcloth, and 
 ashes, (Dan. ix. 3.) Other nations adopted the prac- 
 tice, and it became a very common method, whereby 
 to exhibit great grief and misery. That it prevailed 
 among the Greeks is clear and certain* Homer thus 
 represents Achilles adliqg Uj)on the news of the ^Quih, 
 pf Patroclus. 
 
 AiJ.'^oTipyiat Se X^P<^^ ^^^^ y.oviv aciOa.Xa^o'xy, 
 Xivxro xaxKE^aXns'. 
 
 A sudden horror shot through all the chief, 
 And wrapt his senses in a cloud of grief : 
 Cast on the ground, with furious hands he spread 
 1 be scorching ashes o'er his graceful hea,d : 
 
St. LUKE. 325 
 
 His purple garments, and his golden hairs, 
 Those he deforms with dust, and these he tears : 
 On the hard soil his groaning breast he threw, 
 And roU'd and grovell'd as to earth he grew. 
 
 liiad. xviii. ver. 23. 
 
 Agreeable to this pra6lice our Lord, in declaring the 
 miserable state of Chorazin and Bethsaida for disre- 
 garding his miracles and ministry, says, if the mighty 
 xvorks had been done in Tyre and Sidsn which have been 
 done in you^ they had a great while ago repented, sitting 
 in sackcloth and ashes. 
 
 No. 445. — X. 42. Mary hath chosen that good part 
 xvhich shall not be taken away from her."] The Jews had 
 commonly every one his table ;. and this custom was 
 not peculiar to them, for Tacitus says the same thing 
 of the Germans. Ulysses, in Homer, treating the de- 
 puties of the isle of Corfu, ordered as many tables to 
 be set as there were persons, and caused everyone to 
 be served with his portion of wine and meat. Elkanah 
 gave Hannah, whom he loved rather than Peninnah, a 
 worthy portion in the meal that followed the sacrifice. 
 (^1 Sam, i. 5.) David sacrificing after he had danced 
 before the ark, gave the people a feast, in which every 
 one had his bread and his fiagon of wine. (2 Sam. vi. 19.) 
 It is thought that David alludes to this custom when he 
 says, the Lord is the portion of mine inheritance, (marg. 
 of ray part J and of my cup ; thou maintainest my lot, 
 (Psalm xvi. 5.) and that Christ also referred to this 
 pra6lice in saying that Mary had chosen the good part. 
 This custom has however now ceased among the Jews, 
 and at present they eat at the same table, like other 
 nations. 
 
 Basnage's History of the Jexvs, chap. xvi. \ t. 
 
326 St. LUKE. 
 
 No. 446. — xi. 7. He from within shall answer and 
 saijy trouble me not^ the door is now shut^ and my children 
 are xvith me in bed.'\ Malllet informs us that it is com- 
 mon in Egypt for each person to sleep in a separate 
 bed. Even the husband and the wife lie in two distinct 
 beds in the same apartment. Their female slaves also, 
 though several lodge in the same chamber, yet have 
 each a separate mattrass. (Lett. xi. p. 124.) Sir yohn 
 Chardin also observes, that it is usual for a whole family 
 to sleep in the same room, especially those in lower 
 life, laying their beds on the ground. From these cir- 
 cumstances we learn the precise meaning of the reply- 
 now referred to : he from within shall ansruer and saij, 
 trouble me not^ the door is now shut, and my children are 
 ruith me in bed: I cannot rise and give thee : it signifies 
 that they were all in bed in the same apartment, not in 
 the same bed. 
 
 When Solomon speaks of two lying together in one bed 
 to get heat, we must suppose that he means it for me- 
 dicinal purposes, as it was sometimes done with that 
 view, but hardly ever else. CEccles. iv. 11. 1 Kings, i- 
 1, 2.) Hariier, vol. i. p. 164. 
 
 No. 447. — xi. 52. Key of knoxvledge.~\ It is said 
 that authorit}^ to explain the law and the prophets was 
 given among the Jews by the delivery of a key ; and of 
 one Rabbi Samuel we read, that after his death they put 
 his key and his tablets into his coffin, because he did 
 not deserve to have a son to whom he might leave the 
 ensigns of his office. If the Jews really had such a 
 custom in our Saviour's time, the expression, the key 
 of knowledge, may seem a beautiful reference to it. 
 
 No. 448 — xii. 35. Let your loins be girded aboiit'l 
 They who travel on foot are obliged to fasten their gar- 
 
St. LUKE. 327 
 
 ments at a greater height from their feet than they do 
 at other times. This is what is understood by gird- 
 ing up their loins. Chardin observes, that " all persons 
 tnat travel on foot always gather up their vest, by which 
 they walk more commodiously, having the leg and knee 
 unburthened and disembarrassed by the vest, which 
 they are not when that hangs over them." After this 
 manner he supposes the Israelites were prepared for 
 their going out of Egypt, when they eat the first passo» 
 ver. (Exod. xii. 11.) Harmer, vol. i. p. 450. 
 
 No. 449. — xiii. 8. And he answering^ said unto him, 
 Lord^ let it alone this ijear also, till I shall dig about it, 
 and dung it."] Dandini tells us, (ch. x. p. 43.) that in 
 Mount Libanus they never use spades to their vine- 
 yards, but they cultivate them with their oxen ; for 
 they are planted with strait rows of trees, far enough 
 from one another. As the usages of the East so seldom 
 change, it is very probable a spade was not commonly 
 used in the time of our Lord in their vineyards. We 
 find the prophet Isaiah, (ch. v. ver. 6.) using a term 
 which our translators indeed render by the English 
 word digging, but which differs from that which ex- 
 presses the digging of wells, graves, &c. in other places, 
 and is the same with that used to signify keeping 
 in rank, f 1 Chron. xii. o5.) When then Jesus repre- 
 sents the vine-dresser as saying to his lord, let it alone 
 this year also, till I shall dig about it and dung ity it 
 should seem that we are not to understand the digging 
 with a spade about the fig-tree, planted in a vineyard 
 according to their custom ; but the turning up of the 
 ground between the rows of trees with an instrument 
 proper for the purpose, drawn by oxen — in other 
 words, ploughing about them. 
 
 Harmer, vol. ii. p. 432. 
 
528 St. LUKE* 
 
 No. 450 — xiv. 13. When thou makest a feast, call 
 the poor.'] Notwithstanding there is so much distance 
 kept up between superiors and inferiors in the East, 
 and such solemnity and awfulness in their behaviour, 
 yet we find them in some cases very condescending. 
 As an instance of this, Dr. Pococke assures us that they 
 admit the poor to their tables. In his account of a great 
 entertainment made by the governor of an Egyptian 
 village for the cashif, with whom he travelled, he says, 
 the custom was for every one, when he had done eating, 
 to get up, wash his hands, and take a draught of water, 
 and so in a continual succession, till the poor came iiiy 
 and eat up all. The Arabs never set by any thing that 
 is brought to table, so that when they kill a sheep, 
 they dress it all, call in their neighbours and the poor, 
 and finish every thing. (" Travels^ vol. i. p. Z57.) The 
 same author also mentions what is still more surprising j 
 for in giving an account of the diet of the eastern peo- 
 ple, (p. 182.) he informs us that an Arab prince will 
 often dine in the street, before his door, and call to all 
 that pass, even begga-s, in the visual expression of Bis- 
 millah, that is, in the name of God, who come and sit 
 down, and when they have done, retire with the usual 
 form of returning thanks. 
 
 The pi6lure then, which our Lord draws, of a king's 
 making a great feast, and, when the guests refused 
 to come, sending for the poor, the maimed, and the 
 blind, is not so unlike life as we have perhaps been 
 ready to imagine. Harmer, vol. ii. p. 125. 
 
 No. 451. — XV. 12. He divided unto them his living.'] 
 The principles of inheritance differ in the East from 
 what are established among our.selves. There is no need 
 of the death of the parent before the children possess 
 their estates. The various circumstances connected 
 with this subje6l are clearly laid down in the following 
 
St. LUKE. 329 
 
 extradl from Mr. Halhed's Code of Gent co laxu^^ (p. 53 ) 
 ** The rights of inheritance, in the second chapter, are 
 laid down, with the utmost precision, and with the stri(5l- 
 est attention to the natural claim of the inheritor in the 
 several degrees of affinity. A man is herein considered 
 but as tenant for life in his own property ; and as all 
 opportunity of distributing his eff;jcls by will, afcer his 
 death, is precluded, hardly any mention is made of 
 such kind of bequest. By these ordinances also he is 
 hindered from dispossessing his children of his property 
 in favour of aliens, and from making a blind and partial 
 . allotment in behalf of a favourite child, to the prejudice 
 of the rest, by which the weakness of parental affe6lion, 
 or of a misguided mind in its dotage, is admirably reme- 
 died. These laws also strongly elucidate the story of 
 the prodigal son in the scriptures, since it appears from 
 hence to have been an immemorial custom in the East 
 for sons to demand their portion of inheritance during 
 their father's life-time, and that the parent, however 
 aware of the dissipated inclinations of his child, could 
 not legally refuse to comply with the application. 
 
 " If all the sons go at once in a body to their father, 
 jointly requesting their re3pe6live shares of his fortune ; 
 in that case the father shall give equal shares of the 
 property earned by himself, to the son incapable of 
 getting his own living, to the son who hath been par- 
 ticularly dutiful to him, and to the son who hath a very 
 large family, and also to the other sons who do not lie 
 under any of these three circumstances ; in this case, 
 he shall not have power to give to any one of them more 
 or less than to the others. 
 
 " If a father has occupied any glebe belonging to 
 his father, thr.t was not before occupied, he shall not 
 have power to divide it among his sons in unequal shares^ 
 as in the case of property earned by himself." 
 
 2 T 
 
330 St. LUKE. 
 
 No. 452. — XV. 25. Norv his elder son tvas in the field, 
 and as he came anddrexv nigh to the house, he heard music 
 and dancing.^ To express the joy which the return 
 of the prodigal afforded his father, music and dancing 
 was provided as a part of the entertainment. This ex- 
 pression does not however denote the dancing of the 
 family and guests, but that of a company of persons 
 hired on this occasion for that very purpose. Such a 
 pra6lice prevailed in some places to express peculiar 
 honour to a friend, or joy upon any special occasion. 
 Major Rooke, in his travels from India through Arabia 
 Felix, relates an occurrence which will illustrate this 
 part of the parable. " Hadje Cassim, who is a Turk, 
 and one of the richest merchants in Cairo, had interced- 
 ed on my behalf with Ibrahim Bey, at the instance of 
 his son, who had been on a pilgrimage to Mecca, and 
 came from Judda in the same ship with me. The fa- 
 ther, in celebration of his son's return, gave a most mag- 
 nificent fete on the evening of the day of my captivity, 
 and as soon as I was released, sent to invite me to par- 
 take of it, and I accordingly went. His company was 
 very numerous, consisting of three or four hundred 
 Turks, who were all sitting on sophas and benches, 
 smoking their long pipes. The room in which they were 
 iissembled was a spacious and lofty hall, in the centre of 
 which was a band of music, composed of five Turkish 
 instruments, and some vocal performers : as there were 
 no ladies in the assembly, you may suppose it was not 
 the most lively party in the world, but being new to 
 me, was for that reason entertaining." (p. 104.) 
 
 No. 453. — XV. 20. A kid.^ Kids are considered as 
 a di-^li cacy. Hariri, a celebrated writer of Mesopota- 
 mia, describing a person's breaking in upon a great pre- 
 tender to mortiiication, says, he found him with one of 
 his discipks, entertaining themselves with much satisfac- 
 
St. LUKE. 531 
 
 tion with bread made of the finest Jloiir ^ -with a roasted 
 KID, and a vessel of wine before tbem. This shews in 
 what light we are to consider the complaint made by 
 the elder brother of the prodigal son, and also the grati- 
 fication proposed to be sent to Tamar, (Gen. xxxviii. 
 16.) and the present made by Samson to his intended 
 bride, (Judges xv. 1.) Harmei., vol. iv. p. 164. 
 
 No. 454. — xvi. 22. Abrahani's bosom.'] This ex- 
 pression alludes to the posture used by the Jews at 
 table. This was reclining on couches after the man- 
 ner of the Romans, the upper part of the body resting 
 upon the left elbow, and the lower lying at length upon 
 the couch. When two or three reclined on the same 
 couch, some say the worthiest or most honourable per- 
 son lay first ; Lightfoot says, in the middle ; the next in 
 dignity lay with his head reclining on the breast or bo- 
 som of the first, as John is said to have done on the bo- 
 som of Jesus at supper; (John xiii. 23.) and hence is 
 borrowed the phrase of Abraham's bosom, as denoting 
 the state of celestial happiness. Abraham being esteem- 
 •ed the most honourable person, and the father of the 
 Jewish nation, to be in his bosom, signifies an allusion 
 to the order in which guests were placed at an enter- 
 tainment, the highest state of felicity next to that of 
 Abraham himself. 
 
 No. 455. — xviii. 5. Weary me.'] The word vTroiftuxlut 
 properly signifies to beat on the face y and particularly 
 under the eye, so as to make the parts black and blue. 
 Here it has a metaphorical meaning, and signifies to 
 give great pain, such as arises from severe beating. 
 I'he meaning therefore is, that the uneasy feelings which 
 this widow raised in the judge's breast, by the moving 
 representation which she gave of her distress, afFeflcd 
 him to such a degree that he could not bear it, but to 
 
3-32 St. LUKE. 
 
 get rid of them resolved to do her justice. The passage 
 understood in this sense has a peculiar advantage, as 
 it throws a beautiful light on our Lord's argument, 
 (ver. 6, 7«) and lays a proper foundation for the con- 
 clusion which it contains. (Macknight's Harmony^ 
 vol. ii. p. rs.) 
 
 No. 456. — XX. 18. Whosoever shall fall upon that 
 stone shall be broken^ but on whomsoever it shall fall, it 
 will grind him to powder.'] Here is an allusion to the 
 two different ways of stoning among the Jews, the for- 
 mer by throwing a person down upon a great stone, 
 and the other by letting a stone fall upon him. 
 
 Whitby in loc. 
 
 No. 45Y- — xxi. 5. And as some spake of the temple^ 
 how it was adorned with goodly stones and gifts,] Hang- 
 ing up such («vaS»!,aa;']i*, or constcratcd g/fts, was common 
 in most ofthe ancient temples. Tacitus speaks of the im- 
 mense opulence of the temple of Jerusalem. (Histor' 
 lib. 5. § 8.) Amongst others of its treasures, there was 
 a golden table given by Pompey, and several golden 
 vines of exquisite workmanship, as well as immense size: 
 for Josephus tells us that they had clusters, av^poptuKs/y, 
 as tall as a man, which some of them thought referred to 
 God's representing the Jewish nation under the emblem 
 of a vine, (Isaiah v. 1,7.) Josephus likewise asserts, 
 that the marble of the temple was so white, that it ap- 
 peared to one at a distance like a mountain of snow, and 
 the gilding of several of its external parts, which he 
 there mentions, must, especially when the sun shone 
 upon it, render it a most splendid and beautiful spe6la- 
 ele, Doddridge in he. 
 
 No. 458.— xxii. 64. Blindfolded him.] This usage 
 «f Christ refers to that sport so ordinary among children, 
 
St. LUKE. 33* 
 
 called ftviv^xj in which it is the manner first to blindfold, 
 then to strike, (ver. 63.) then to ask who gave the blow, 
 and not to let the person go till he named the right man 
 who had struck him. It was used on this occasion to 
 reproach our blessed Lord, and expose him to ridicule. 
 
 Hammond in loc. 
 
E 5S4 ] 
 
 No. 459 St. JOHN i. 12. 
 
 Sons of God. 
 
 Adoption was very generally pra6llsed in the East, 
 and is therefore frequently alluded to in the scriptures. 
 A son might be adopted for a special purpose, such as 
 the raising up of an heir by the daughter of the adopter, 
 &c. after which he could, if he pleased, return to his 
 original fan\ily. In this case, if he had a child in this 
 second relation to his own family, he would he the fa- 
 ther of two families, each totally distindl from the other 
 in name, property, rank, and conne6lions. A person 
 who was never married might adopt a son, and that son 
 being married, his children would become the children 
 of his adopter, bear his name, and inherit his estate. 
 
 The following are the laws of Athens on this subjedl, 
 stated by Sir Willim jfoiies, in his IndroduSlion to the 
 Pleadings oflsceus^ the famous Athenian barrister. 
 
 *' Adopted sons shall not devise the property acquired 
 by adoption, but if they leave legitimate sons, they may 
 return to their natural family ; if they do not return, 
 the estates shall go to the heirs of the persons who 
 adopted them." 
 
 *' The adopted son (if there be any) and the after 
 born sons to the person who adopted him, shall be 
 coheirs of the estate; but no adoption by a man who 
 has le'gitimate sons then born shall be valid." 
 
 An adopted son could not himself adopt another, he 
 must either leave a legitimate son, or the estate he re- 
 ceived from his adopting father must revert to his 
 adopting father's natural heirs. There cannot be tvra 
 adopted sons at the same time." 
 
St. JOHN. SSJT 
 
 No. 460. — i. 29. The lamb of God.'] There is a cir- 
 cumstance related by Martinhis, in his History of China, 
 which, if authentic, serve to shew that Confucius^ the 
 lawgiver of that immense empire, had preserved some 
 remains of the ancient belief in the do6\rine of a promi- 
 sed Saviour. Martinius asserts, that a Chinese philoso- 
 pher, who had embraced Christianity, pointed out to him 
 the last sentence of the book of Chuncieu, written by 
 ConfuciuSy from which it appeared that he had not only 
 foreseen the incarnation of the Messiah, but had men- 
 tioned even the very year in the Chinese cycle when that 
 event was to take place. In the thirty-ninth year of the 
 emperor Lu^ the huntsmen of that prince killed, without 
 the w«f*rn gate of the city, a very scarce animal, known 
 to the Chinese by the name of kilin. A constant report 
 had always prevailed, that as soon as that animal made 
 its appearance, a hero of great san6lity would succeed 
 it, who should bring glad tidings of great joy to all na- 
 tions. Confucius having learned these circumstances, 
 shed a profusion of tears, and with a deep sigh ex- 
 claimed, already does my do6lrine approach towards its 
 termination, and will soon be finally dissolved. After 
 this he wrote nothing more, and even left a work un- 
 finished, declaring that his rule of do6lrine was at an end, 
 and must speedily give place to that of a true legislator, 
 who would cause wars and tumults to cease, and to whom 
 all the different se6ls of philosophers must yield. It is 
 worthy of observation, that this animal is described by 
 the Chinese, as being of a remarkably mild and placid 
 disposition, insomuch that it hurts no person, not even 
 those who attempt to put it to death ; and it is yet more 
 remarkable, that the two words by which we express 
 the idea of the lamb of Gad are said to be equivalent to 
 the Chinese term kilin. With regard to the year in 
 Ivhich our Saviour was born, the converted philosopher, 
 from whom J1ibrf;V«"w* received this account, conje6tured 
 
36 St. JOHN. 
 
 that it was known to Confucius from the following cir- 
 cumstance. The Chinese charadlers and name of the 
 year in which the animal was slain exa6lly correspond 
 with their cyclical designation of that, in which the birth 
 of Christ took place. In other words, the Chinese 
 reckoning by cycles, and calling each year in a cycle by 
 a different name, the kilin was slain, and our Saviour 
 born, in the corresponding years of two successive cy- 
 cles. He added, that Confucious wept from an emotion 
 of excessive joy, because he conceived that the advent 
 of the most holy one was prefigured by this circum- 
 stance. From the death of that mysterious animal he 
 might perhaps have conje6lured the sufferings of the 
 Messiah, who was led like a lamb to the slaughter, 
 through the -western gate of Jerusalem. 
 
 Faber's HorcE Mosaicce, vol, i. p. 110. 
 
 No. 461. — i. 42. When Jesus beheld him^ he said^ thoi^ 
 art Simon the son of Jona, thou shalt be called Cephas,'] 
 The eastern people are often-times known by several 
 names ; this might arise from their having more names 
 than one given them at first; or it might arise from their 
 assuming a new and different name upon particular oc- 
 currences in life. This last is most probable, since such 
 a custom continues in the East to this day, and it 
 evidently was sometimes done anciently. (^2 Chron. 
 xxxvi. 4. 2 Kings xxiv. 17.) 
 
 The sixth volume of the MS. Chardin seems to com- 
 plain of expositors, for supposing that one person had 
 frequently different names; and says, that the custom of 
 the East still continues, for persons to have a new name 
 upon a change of circumstances. There seems to be 
 some want of precision here : commentators have sup- 
 posed, and the fa6l is apparent, that one and the same 
 person has had different names; but they have determi- 
 ned, in common at least, , nothing about the manner in 
 
St. JOHN. 337 
 
 which they came by them. Sir John Chardhi\ki\x^%^ very 
 justly, that they v/ere given upon some change in life ; 
 but then there might be a variation as to the consequen- 
 ces. Some might invariably be called by the new^ name 
 after its being given them. Thus Abraham was always 
 so called in the latter part of his life, and never Abram: 
 and his wife in like manner Sarah, and not Sarai ; others 
 might be called sometimes by the one, sometimes by the 
 other, and sometimes by both joined together. So St. 
 John tells us, that Jesus gave the new name of Peter to 
 the brother of Andrew ; yet he represents Jesus after- 
 wards calling him Simon ; and John himself sometimes 
 called him Peter, and sometimes Simon Peter. 
 
 But as the account that is given us of this variety of 
 names in the MS. Chardin is curious, it shall be sub- 
 joined. " Expositors suppose the Israelites, and other 
 eastern people, had several names j but this is an error. 
 The reason of their being called by different names is, 
 because they frequently change them, as they change 
 in point of age, condition, or religion. This custom has 
 continued to our times in the East, and is generally prac- 
 tised upon changing religions, (Acts xiii. 90 and it is 
 pretty common upon changing condition. The Per- " 
 sians have preserved this custom more than any other 
 nation. I have seen many governors of provinces 
 among them assume new names with their new dignity. 
 But the example of the reigning king of Persia (1Q>Q7) 
 is more remarkable. The first year of the reign of this 
 prince having been unhappy, on account of wars and 
 famine in many provinces, his counsellors persuaded 
 him that the name he had till then borne was fatal, and 
 that the fortune of the empire would not be changed till 
 he changed that name. This was done, the prince was 
 crowned again under the name of Soliman; all the 
 seals, all the coins that had the name of Sefi, v.'ere broken 
 the same as if the king had been dead, and another 
 
 2U 
 
338 St. JOHN. 
 
 had taken possession. The women more frequently 
 change their names than the men, whether owing to 
 a natural inconstancy, or that they do not agree to 
 the alterations they find in life, being put upon them on 
 account of their beauty, gaiety, their agility in dancing, 
 or fine voice ; and as these natural qualities are quickly 
 lost, either by accident, or by age, they assume other 
 names, which better agree to their changed state- Wo- 
 men that marry again, or let themselves out anew, and 
 slaves, commonly alter their names upon these changes." 
 
 Harmer, vol. ii. p. 501. 
 
 No. 462 — i. 49. Thou art the k'mg of Israel.] Those 
 v/ho entertained any expe6lations that Christ should 
 appear as a temporal prince, had embraced very false 
 ideas of his mission and chara6ter. They were, however, 
 in a great measure induced by this mistaken hope to 
 overlook the office which he was to discharge as a spi- 
 ritual ruler in Israel. In this way he was far more 
 honoured and exalted than he could have been by any 
 of those ceremonies which were practised upon the coro- 
 nation of kings in the East. It may be worth while to 
 relate the circumstances of so great an event, as it may 
 serve to evince on what obje6ls the minds of the Jews 
 were most intent. Mr. Bruce has given us a description 
 of this kind, which, on account of the conformity it ex- 
 hibits betv/een the manners of Abyssinia and Judea, shall 
 have the preference to any other. He says, that " it 
 was on the 18th of March (according to the Abyssinian 
 account, the day of our Saviour's first coming to Jeru- 
 salem) that this festival began. The king's army con- 
 sisted of 30-000 men. All the great ofiicers, all the 
 officers of state, and the court, then present, were every 
 one dressed in the richest and gayest manner ; nor was 
 the other sex behind hand in the splendour of their ap- 
 pearance. The king, dressed in crimson damask, with 
 
St. JOHN. . 539 
 
 a great chain of gold round his neck, his head bare, 
 mounted upon a horse richly caparisoned, advanced at 
 the head of his nobility, passed the outer court, and 
 came to the paved-way before the church. Here he 
 was met by a number of young girls, daughters of the 
 umbares, or supreme judges, together with many noble 
 virgins standing on the right and left of the court. 
 
 " Two of the noblest of these held in their hands a 
 crimson cord of silk, somewhat thicker than a common 
 whipcord, but of a looser texture, stretched across froni 
 one company to another, as if to shut up the road by 
 which the king was approaching the church. When this 
 cord was prepared, and drawn tight about breast high 
 by the girls, the king entered, advancing at a moderate 
 pace, curvetting, and shewing the management of his 
 horse. He was stopped bv the tension of this string, 
 while the damsels on each side, asking who he was, 
 were answered, I am your king, the king of Ethiopia. 
 To which they replied with one voice, You shall not 
 pass, you are not our king. 
 
 '* The king then retires some paces, and presents him- 
 self as to pass, and the cord is again drawn across his 
 waj'^ by the young women, so as to prevent him, and the 
 question repeated. Who are you ? The king answered, 
 I am your king, the king of Israel ; but the damsels re- 
 solved, even on this second attack, not to surrender, but 
 upon their own terms. They again answer, You shall 
 not pass, you are not our king: 
 
 *' The third time, after retiring, the king advances 
 with a face and air more determined, and the cruel vir- 
 gins, again presenting the cord, and asking who he is? 
 he answers, I am your king, the king of Sion, and draw- 
 ing his sword, cuts the silk cord asunder. Immediately 
 upon this, the young women say, it is a truth, you are 
 our king, you are the king of Sion. Upon which they 
 begin to sing Hallelujah, and in this they are joined by 
 
340 St. JOHN. 
 
 the court and army upon the plain ; fire arms are dis- 
 charged, drums and trumpets sound, and the king, 
 amidst these acclamations and rejoicings, advances to the 
 foot of the stairs of the church, where he dismounts, and 
 there sits down upon a stone, which, by its remains, ap- 
 parently was an altar of Annubis, or the dog-star. At his 
 feet there is a large slab of free-stone, on which is an 
 inscription. 
 
 " The king is first anointed, then crowned, and is ac- 
 companied halfway up the steps by the singing priests, 
 called dipteras, chaunting psalms and hymns : here he 
 stops at a hole made for the purpose in one of the steps, 
 and is thus fumigated with incense and myrrh, aloes and 
 cassia. Divine service is then celebrated, arid after re- 
 ceiving the sacrament, he returns to the camp, where 
 fourteen days should regularly be spent in feasting, and 
 all manner of rejoicing, and military exercise." (Tra- 
 vels ^ vol. ii. p. 278.) This extra6l affords some illus- 
 tration of Psalms xxiv. and xlv. 
 
 No. 463. — ii. 8. The governor of the feast.'] The 
 master or intendant of a marriage feast, ct^yjr^ivXiws^ 
 was the husband's friend, and charged with the order of 
 the feast. He gave diredlions to the servants, had an 
 eye over every thing, comnianded the tables to be co- 
 vered, or to be cleared of the dishes, as he thought pro- 
 per ; from hence he had his name as regulator of the 
 triclnuiim or festive board. He tasted the wine and 
 distributed it to the guests. The author of Ecclesias- 
 ticus (cap. xxxii. ver. 1.) thus describes the office of 
 master of the feast. " If thou be made the master of a 
 feast, lift not thyself up, but be among them as one of 
 the rest ; take diligent care of them, and so sit down. 
 And when thou hast done all thine office, take thy place, 
 that thou mayest "be merry with them, and receive a 
 crown for the well ordering of the feast." 
 
St. JOHN. 341 
 
 On this passage of St. John, TheophylaSl rexmirlis, 
 that no one might suspe6l that their taste was vitiated 
 by having drank to excess, so as not to know water from 
 wine, our Saviour orders it to be first carried to the go- 
 vernor of the feast, who certainly was sober ; for those 
 who on such occasions are intrusted with this office 
 observe the strictest sobriety, that they may be able 
 properly to regulate the whole. , - 
 
 No. 454 — ii. 10. Every man at the beginning doth 
 set forth good wine.'] The Abbe Mariti^ speaking of the 
 age of the wines of Cyprus, says, " the oldest wines 
 used in commerce do not exceed eight or ten years. It 
 is not true, as has been reported, that there is some of it 
 an hundred years old ; but it is certain that at the birth 
 of a son or a daughter, the father causes a jar filled with 
 wine to be buried in the earth, having first taken the 
 precaution to seal it hermetically ; in this manner it 
 may be kept till these children marry. It is then placed 
 on the tabic before the bride and bridegroom, and is 
 distributed among their relations, and the other guests 
 invited to the wedding." C Travels in Cyprus, vol. i. p. 
 229.) If such a custom prevailed formerly, it throws 
 great ."-ignificancy into the assertion of good wine being 
 first brought out upon such an occasion ; and if this sup- 
 position is admitted^ tends to increase the greatness of 
 the miracle, that notwithstanding what had been drank 
 at first v/as peculiarly excellent, yet that which Christ 
 by his divine power produced as an after supply, was 
 found to be of a superior quality. 
 
 No. 465. — iii. 3. Except a man be born again^ he can- 
 not see the kingdom of God.~\ The mode of expres- 
 sion adopted in these words is not unknown irt the East. 
 The author of the Institutes of Menu, who flourish^'d 
 1280 years before Christ, usefi the following remarkable 
 
342 St. JOHN. 
 
 language. *' Of him who gives natural birth, and him 
 who gives knowledge of the whole veda, the giver of 
 sacred knowledge is the more venerable father ; since 
 the aecond or div'ne birth insures life to the twice born, 
 both in this life and hereafter eternally. Let a man con- 
 sider that as a mere human birth, which his parents 
 gave him for their mutual gratification, and which he 
 receives after lying in the womb; but that birth, which 
 his principal acharya, who knows the whole veda, pro- 
 cures for him by his divine another, the gayatri, is a true 
 birth ; that birth is exempt from age and from death.'* 
 (cap. ii. 146.) The difference between the goodness of 
 the a6lions performed by the ordinary man, and by 
 him who has been twice born, is in another part of this 
 work ascribed very justly to the motive. A deep sense 
 of the corruption of human nature produced the same 
 doctrine among other ancient nations, as well as the In- 
 dians. " They had sacrifices denominated those of re- 
 generation^ and these sacrifices were always profusely 
 stained with blood. The taurobolium, a ceremony in 
 which the high priest of Cybele was consecrated, was a 
 ceremony of this kind, and might be called a baptism of 
 blood, which they conceived imparted a spiritual new 
 birth to the liberated spirit, nor were these baptisms con- 
 fined to the priests alone ; for persons not invested with- 
 a sacred fun6lion were sometimes initiated by the cere- 
 mony of the taurobolium ; and one invariable rule in 
 these initiations was to wear the stained garments as 
 long as possible, in token of their having been thus re- 
 generated." 
 
 IvIaurice's Indian Antiquities^ vol. v. p. 957. 
 
 No, 466. — iii. 29. The friend of the bridegroojn.] 
 Among the Jews, in their rites of espousals, there is fre- 
 quent mention of a place, where under a covering, it 
 was usual for the bride||room to discourse familiarly 
 
St. JOHN. US 
 
 but privately with his spouse, whereby their afFedlions 
 might be more knit to one another in order to marriage, 
 which however were not supposed to be so till the bride- 
 groom came cheerfully out of the chufpah, or covered 
 place. To this David refers (Psalm xix. 5.) when he 
 speaks of the sun, xvhicli is as a bridegroom coming out of 
 his chamber^ and rejoiceth as a strong man, to run a race. 
 It is affirmed that this custom is still observed among the 
 Jews in Germany, either before the synagogues in a 
 square place covei^ed over, or, where there is no syna- 
 gogue, they throw a garment over the bridegroom and - 
 the bride for that purpose. Whilst this intercourse is 
 carrying on, the friend of the bridegroom stands at the 
 door to hearken ; and when he hears the bridegroom 
 speak joyfully, (which is an intimation that all is well) 
 he rejoices himself, and communicates the intelligence 
 to the people assembled, for their satisfadlion. 
 
 Hammond in loc. 
 
 No. 457. — iv. 11. The well is deep-'] That it was 
 Jacob's well is not said in the Old Testament, unless 
 alluded to Gen. xlix.'22. Maundrell (Journey^^. 
 62.) describes the well shewn as such, and over which 
 the empress Helena built a church, now destroyed, at 
 about a mile from Sichem. It is covered by a stone 
 vault, and is thirty-five feet deep, five of them water. 
 He supposes that the walls of the ancient city might 
 have extended nearer the place. The fruitfulness, (if 
 not figurative) he rather thinks was caused by a stream 
 which waters the plain near Sichem. Rauwolffi^. 312.) 
 speaking of the well at Bethlehem, says, " the people 
 that go to dip water are provided with small leathern 
 buckets and a line, as is usual in these countries ; and 
 so the merchants that go in caravans through great 
 deserts into far countries, provide themselves also with 
 these, because in these countries you find more cisterns 
 
344 St. JOHN. 
 
 or wells than springs that lie high." In how easy a 
 light does this place the Samaritan women's talking of 
 the depth of Jacob's well, and her remarking that she 
 did not observe our Lord had any thing to draw with, 
 though he spoke of presenting her with water ! 
 
 No. 468. — V. 10. The Jexos therefore said unto him 
 that was cured, it is the sabbath-day, it is not lawful for 
 tJiee to carry tliij hcd.'\ Tiie sabbath was originally in- 
 stituted as a day of sacred rest, and was to be employed 
 in the service of God. Of this latter circumstance the 
 Jews had so far lost sight, that they substituted their own 
 superstitious rites in the place of divine ordinances, and 
 thus exchanged a spiritual for a merely ceremonious ob- 
 servance of the da)'. Concerning some of the supersti- 
 tions which prevailed amongst this people, M. Basnage 
 thus speaKs: " In the places where they had liberty, in 
 Maimonides's time, they sounded the trumpet six times, 
 to give notice that the sabbath wa? beginning. At the 
 first sound the countryman left his plough, at the second 
 they shut up their shops, at the third they covered the 
 pits. They lighted candles, and drew the bread out of 
 the oven ; but this last article deserves to be insisted 
 upon, because of the different cases of conscience," about 
 which the masters are divided. When the sound of the 
 sixth trumpet surprised those that had not as yet drawn 
 their bread, what was to be done ? To fast the next day 
 was disturbing the feast, to draw their bread at the be- 
 ginning of the sabcaih was to violate it. The perplexity 
 is great ; some have not ventured to decide it, others 
 have given leave to draw out what was necessary for 
 the three meals of the sabbath. But this permission has 
 caused abuses ; for a multitude of people meet, who 
 under pretence of drawing out the c[uantity of bread 
 they have need of for their three meals, take out all that 
 might be spoiled. The difficulty is in.i-eased if any one 
 
St. JOHN. US 
 
 suffers his bread to bake after the sabbath is begun. If 
 he has sinned knowingly, he must leave his bread there, 
 and fast to expiate his fauh. Nothing but ignorance is' 
 ground sufficient to permit them taking wherewith to 
 S'^bsist their family for twenty-four hours. But how is 
 this bread to be taken out ? They must not make use of 
 a peal but a knife, and do it so nicely as not to touch the 
 stones of the oyen, for that is a crime. Such are the 
 questions that arise upon the entrance of the sabbath.'* 
 CHistory of the jfezvs, p. 443.) Similar superstitions 
 are related by this author concerning other particulars 
 which affect the Jev/s. 
 
 No. 469. — V. 13. He conveyed himself away."] Dod- 
 dridge (in he.) translates the word t|£yet/<riit, slipped awaij^ 
 and observes from Casaiibon, that it is an elegant meta- 
 phor borrowed from sv/imming ; it well expresses the 
 easy unobserved manner in which Jesus as it were gU" 
 ^f<s^ through them, while, like a stream of water, they 
 opened before him, and immediately closed again, leav- 
 ing no trace of the way he had taken. 
 
 No. 470— V. 35. He was a burning and a shining 
 light.] This chara6ler of John the Baptist is perfedlly 
 conformable to the mode of expression adopted by the 
 Jews. It was usual with them to call any person who 
 was celebrated for knowledge, a candle. Thus they say 
 that Shuah, the father-in-law of Judah fGen. xxxviii. 
 2.) was*the candle or light of the place where he lived, 
 because he was one of the most famous men in the city, 
 enlightening their eyes ; hence they called a rabbin, 
 the candle of the law, and the lamp of light. 
 
 Lightfoot's Worh, vol. ii. p. 550. 
 
 No. 471. — vi. 27. Him hath God the Father sealed.] 
 Some have ingeniously conj.-6lured that this may allude 
 
 2X 
 
346 St. JOHN. 
 
 to. 2 custom which princes might have when making 
 ^va.uf* entertainments, to give a commission under their 
 hand and seal, or perhaps to deliver a signet to those 
 whom they appointed to preside in the management of 
 them. (See Eisner^ vol. i. p. 311.) Though it may 
 possibly be sufficient to say, that to seal is a general 
 phrase for authorizing by proper credentials, whatever 
 the purpose be for which they are given, or for mark- 
 ing a person out as wholly devoted to his service whose 
 seal he bears. Doddridge m ioc. 
 
 No. 472. — vii. 37". That great day of the feast.'] The 
 last day grew into high esteem with the nation, because 
 on the preceding seven days, they held that sacrifices 
 were oiTered, not so much for themselves, as for the 
 whole world. They offered, in the course of them, se- 
 venty bullocks for the seventy nations of the world; 
 but the eighth was wholly on their own behalf. They 
 had then this solemn offering of water, the reasoa of 
 which is this : — at the passover the Jews offered an omer 
 to obtain from God his blessing on their harvest ; at 
 Pentecost, their first fruits, to request his blessing on 
 the fruits of the trees ; and in the feast of tabernacles 
 they- offered water to God, partly referring to the water 
 from the rock in the wilderness (1 Cor. x. 4.) but chief- 
 ly to solicit the blessing of rain on the approaching seed- 
 time^ These waters they drew outof Siloah, and brought 
 them into the temple with the sound of the trumpet and 
 great rejoicing. " He who hath not seen the rejoicing 
 on the drawing of this water hath seen no rejoicing at 
 all." C-^uccah, fol. li. 1.) (Ughtfoot.) Christ, alluding 
 to these cust-oras, proclaims, if any man thirst, let him 
 come unto me. He takes, as very usual with him, the 
 present occasion of the water brought from Siloah, to 
 summon them to him as the true fountain. 
 
St JOHN. 547 
 
 No. 473. — vlii. 36. Jf the son make yoiifreeJ] This 
 alludes to a custom in some of the cities of Greece, and 
 elsewhere, wliereby the son and heir had a liberty to 
 adoptbrethren, and give themtheprivilegesof the famil)'. 
 
 No. 474. — viii. 59. Then took they up stones to cast 
 at him.'] After describing various punishments which 
 were infli6led by the Jews upon offenders and criminals, 
 Lewis (in his Origines Hebraay vol. i. p. 85.) says, 
 " there was another punishment, called the rebels beat- 
 ings which was often fatal, and infli6led by the mob with 
 their fists, or staves, or stones, without mercy, or the 
 sentence of the judges. Whoever transgressed against 
 a prohibition of the wise men, or of the scribes, that had 
 its foundation in the law, was delivered over to the peo- 
 ple to be used in this manner, and was called a son of 
 rebellion. The frequent taking up of stones by the peo- 
 ple to stone our Saviour, and the incursion upon him 
 and upon St. Stephen for blasphemy, as they would 
 have it, and upon St. Paul for defiling the temple, as 
 they supposed, were of this nature.'' 
 
 No. 475. — X. 11. I am the good shepherd."] That 
 this allusion was very pertinent with regard to the per- 
 sons to whom Christ addressed his discourse, the condi- 
 tion and custom of the country may convince us. The 
 greatest part of the wealth and improvement there con- 
 sisted in sheep, and the examples of Jacob and David 
 in particular are proofs, that the keeping of these was 
 not usually committed to servants and strangers, but to 
 men of the greatest quality and substance. The chil- 
 dren of the family, nay the masters and owners them- 
 selves, made it their business, and esteemed the looking 
 to their flocks an employment no v/ay unbecoming 
 them. Hence probably came the frequent metaphor of 
 
S48 St. JOHN. 
 
 styling kings the shepherds or their people ; hence al- 
 so the prophets describe the Messiah in the chara6ler 
 of a shepherd ; and Christ, to shew that he was the per- 
 son intended, applies the character to himself. The 
 art of the shepherd in managing his sheep in the East 
 was different from what it in among us. We read of his 
 going before, leading, calling his sheep, and of their fol- 
 lowing and knowing his voice. Such methods were 
 doubtless pra6lised by them, but have not obtained 
 amongst us in the management of our flocks. 
 
 No. 476. — XI. 16. Thomasy which is called Didymus.'] 
 It was customary with the Jews, when travelling into fo- 
 reign countries, or familiarly conversing Mnththe Greeks 
 and Romans, to assume to themselves a Greek or Latin 
 name of great affinity, and sometimes of the verj' same 
 signification with that of their own country, as those of 
 Thomas and Dydimus, one in the Syriac and the other 
 in the Greek, do both signify a twin. He no doubt was 
 a Jew, and, in all probability, a Galilean, as well as the 
 other apostles; but the place of his birth, and the nature 
 of his calling, (unless we should suppose that he was 
 brought up to the trade of fishing) are things unknown- 
 No. 477. — xl. 1 7« He had lain in the grave four days."] 
 It was custoRiary among the Jews to go to the sepul- 
 chres of their dsceased friends, and visit them for three 
 days, for so long they supposed that their spirits hovered 
 about them ; but when once they perceived that their 
 visage began to change, as it would in three days in 
 these countries, all hopes of a return to life were then 
 at an end. After a revolution of humours, which in 
 seventy-two hours is completed, the body tends natu- 
 rally to putrefa6lion ; and therefore Martha had reason 
 to sayj that her brother's body (which appears by the 
 
St. JOHN. ~ S4ft 
 
 context to have been laid in the sepulchre the same day 
 that he died) would now, in the fourth day, become 
 ofTensive. 
 
 Stackhouse's Hist, of the Biblcy vol. ii. p. 1386. 
 
 No. 478. — xi. 31. She goeth unto the grave to weep 
 there.] Authorc that speak of the eastern people's visi- 
 ting the tombs of their raations, almost always attribute 
 this to the women ; the men, however, sometimes visit 
 them too, though not so frequently as the other sex, 
 who are more susceptible of the tender emotions of 
 grief, and think that propriety requires it of them ; 
 whereas the men commonly think that such strong ex- 
 pressions of sorrow would misbecome them. We find 
 that some male friends came from Jerusalem to condole 
 with Mary and Martha on account of the death of their 
 brother Lazarus, v/ho, when they supposed that her 
 rising up and going out of the house was with a view 
 to repair to his grave to wee^^follozued her, saying, she 
 goeth unto the grave to weep there. 
 
 It is no wonder that they thought her rising up in 
 haste was to go to the grave to weep, for Chardin in- 
 forms us, that the mourning in the East does not consist 
 in wearing black clothes, which they call an infernal 
 dress, but in great outci-ies, in sitting motionless, in 
 being slightly dressed in a brown or pale habit, in re- 
 fusing to take any nourishment for eight days running, 
 as if they were determined to live no longer. Her 
 starting up then with a sudden motion, who, it was ex- 
 pelled, would have sat still without stiring at all, and 
 her going out of the house, made them conclude that it 
 must be to go to the grave to weep there, though, ac- 
 cording to the modern Persian ceremonia!, it wanted 
 five or six days of the usual time for going to wsiep at 
 the grave : but the Jews possibly might rtpair ihither 
 sooner than the Persians do. 
 
 Harmer, vol, iii. p. 459. 
 
350 St. JOHN. 
 
 No. 4^9. — XV. 16. That your fruit should remain.] 
 This possibly may allude to the custom of keepuig rich 
 and generous wines a great many years, so that in some 
 cases (which was especially applicable to the sweet 
 eastern wines) they might prove a cordial to those who 
 were unborn when the grapes were produced. ' 
 
 Doddridge iti loc. 
 
 No. 430, — xvi. 2. They shall put you out of the syna- 
 gogues.'] There were three degrees of excommunica- 
 tion among the Jews ; the first is what is called in the 
 New Testament, castiiig out of the synagogue, and signi- 
 fies a separation from all commerce or society : it was of 
 force thirty days, but might be shortened by repentance. 
 If the person persisted in his obstinacy after the thirty 
 days were exj/ired, they excommunicated him again, 
 with the addition of a solemn curse. This is supposed 
 Ly some to be the same with delivering over to satan. 
 The offence was published in the synagogue, and 
 at this time candles were lighted, and when the pro- 
 clamation Vi-as ended they were put out, as a sign that 
 the person excommunicated was deprived of the light of 
 heaven ; his goods were confiscated ; his male chil- 
 dren were not admitted to circumcision ; and if he died 
 without repentance, by the sentence of the judge a stone 
 was cast upon his coffin or bier, to shew that he deserv- 
 ed to be stoned. He was not mourned for with any 
 solemn lamentation. The last degree of excommuni- 
 cation was anathematizing, which was infli6led when 
 the offender had ol^ten refused to comply with the sen- 
 tence of the court, and was attended with corporal pu- 
 nishment, and sometimes with banishment and death. 
 
 No. 481 — xviii. 3. Lanterns.'] No r den 2Lva.ou^ oth.s.r 
 particulars has given some account of the lamps and 
 lanterns that they make use of commonly at Cairo. 
 *' The lamp is of the palm-tree wood, of the height of 
 
St. JOHN. 351 
 
 twenty-three inches, and made in a very gross manner. 
 The glass, that hangs in the middle, is lialf filled with 
 water, and has oil on the top, about three fingers in 
 depth. The wick is preserved dry at the bottom of the 
 glass, where they have contrived a place for it, and as- 
 cends through a pipe. These lamps do not give much 
 light, yet they are very commodious, because they are 
 transported easily from one place to another. 
 
 " With regard to the lanterns, they have pretty nearly 
 the figure of a cage, and are made of reeds. It is a col- 
 le6lion of five or six glasses, like to that of the lamp 
 which has been just described. They suspend them by- 
 cords in the middle of the streets, when there is any 
 great festival at Cairo, and tlicy put painted paper in 
 the place of the reeds." (part i. p. 83.) 
 
 Were these the lanterns that those who came to take 
 Jesus made use of? or were they such lamps as these 
 that Christ referred to in the parable of the virgins ? or 
 are we rather to suppose that these lanterns are appro- 
 priated to the Egyptian illuminations, and that Pococke's . 
 account of the lanterns of this country will give us a 
 better idea of those that were anciently made use of at 
 Jerusalem ? Speaking of the travelling of the people of 
 Egypt, he says, " by night they rarely make use of tents, 
 but lie in the open air, having large lanterns made like 
 a pocket paper lantern, the bottom and top being of 
 copper tiimed over, and instead of paper they are made 
 with linen, which is extended by hoops of wire, so that 
 when it is put together it serves as a candlestick, &c. 
 and they have a contrivance to hang it up abroad by 
 means of three staves. 
 
 Harmkr, vol. ii. p. 429. 
 
 No. 482. — ^xviii. 28. The hall of judgment.'] The 
 party accused, when he was upon his trial, stood in an 
 eminent place in the court, that the people might see 
 
353 St. JOHN. 
 
 him, and hear what was alledged agahist hiin, and the 
 defence made by the criminal. There were f.vo notaries 
 in court, one stood on the right hand of the judge to 
 write the sentence of absolution, the other stood on the 
 left to write the sentence of condemnation. These tri- 
 bunals were exceeding stri6l in the examination of wit- 
 nesses, and would not admit their testimony before 
 their behaviour and reputation were inquired into. Ge- 
 nerally it was a rule, that whoever gave a false testimony 
 was subjedl to the same penalty that the person should 
 have. suffered if he had been cast by his false accusation. 
 No man was to be found guilty but by tv/o witnesses 
 at least, and those of a competent age, of good fame, 
 and not convi6led of ever having given a false testi- 
 mony ; it was a law among the Jews, that no man was 
 to suffer his neighbour to perish in judgment when he 
 could free him by his testimony. After the cause had 
 been carefully examined, and all parties impartially 
 heard, sentence was pronounced in this manner : Thou 
 Simeon art just. Thou Reuben art guilty. When the 
 sentence was delivered, the witness, if the case was 
 capital, put their hands upon the head of the condemned 
 person, and said, thy blood be upon thy own head. 
 Then was the malefa6lor led to execution, and no one 
 was allowed openly to lament his misfortune. The dis- 
 tance between the court of judicature and the place of 
 execution contributed often to save the life of the cri- 
 minal ; for as he was led to be executed, a public crier 
 went before, saying, with an audible voice, such an one 
 is going to be punished with such a death, &c. if there 
 be any one who knows of any thing that may be offered 
 to his advantage let him come forth and give his evi- 
 dence. For this purpose a person was appointed to 
 stand at the door of the consistory, with an handker- 
 chief or linen cloth in his hand, and if any one offered 
 to speak in his defence, he who stood at tlie door waved 
 
St. JOHN. 353 
 
 the handkerchief in the air, upon which another, \Tho was 
 ready at a small distance, with a heet horse, rode with 
 all possible speed, and called back the condemned pri- 
 soner. So tender were they in cases of blood, that if 
 the malefactor could think of any thing to say for his 
 own purgation, he was indulged the liberty of return- 
 ing back four or five times. When the criminal came 
 within ten cubits of the place of execution, two of the 
 scholars of the wise men exhorted him to confess, and 
 after giving him a stupifying draught, the execution 
 
 todk place. 
 
 Lewis's Origines HehrcccCj vol. i. p. G9. 
 
 No. 483. — xix. 29. Vessel full of vinegar .^ It is well 
 known that vinegar and water (which mixture was 
 called pof^ca) was the constant drink of the Roman 
 soldiers ; perhaps therefore this vinegar was ^et here 
 for their use, or for that of the crucified persons, whose 
 torture would naturally make them thirsty. 
 
 No. 484. — xxi. 1. After these things Jesus shewed 
 himself again to the disciples at the sea of Tiberias.} Plu' 
 tarch in one of his books observes, that the Greeks fre- 
 quently, for pleasure, took a repast on the sea shore ; 
 and Doubdan has mentioned his finding sonie of the 
 inhabitants of the confines of the Holy Land enjoying 
 themselves in like manner, near the sea, eating and 
 smoking there. These accounts, especially when put 
 together, may give us the most exa6l; view of what 
 passed between our Lord and the disciples on the shore 
 of the sea of Galilee. 
 
 The" substance of what Plutarch (Symposiac. lib. iv. 
 probl. 4.) says, is as follows : " What do they mean, 
 who, inviting one another to form a party of pleasure, 
 say, let us eat to-day on the sea shore ? do they not 
 shew that they consider an entertainment on the sea 
 . 2 Y 
 
354 St. JOHN. 
 
 shore as the most delightful ? certainly not on account 
 of the waves and the pebbles there, but because they 
 have the best opportunity of furnishing the table with 
 plenty of fisn, perfc6lly fresh." To this may be sub- 
 joined the account which Doubdan gives of what hap- 
 pened to him in a short voyage from St. John d'Acre to 
 Sidon. They hired a fishing-boat for this voyage, and 
 through the indolence of the seamen, who would not row, 
 they got no further than Tyre that night. In the morn- 
 ing, not being in a boat whose proper business it was 
 to carry passengers, but at the mercy of four or five 
 fishermen, who did nothing but cast their nets into the 
 sea, most commonly without success, exposed to the 
 burning heat of the sun by day, and severe cold in the 
 night, they employed a poor Jew, who was with them in 
 the bark, and who could speak a little of the language 
 used by Franks in that country, to call upon them to 
 push forward, that they might arrive in good time at 
 Sidon ; but, contrary to their agreement, they immedi- 
 ately cast their nets into the sea, to procure themselves 
 a dinner ; then they landed to dress their fish and eat 
 it ; after which they slept for more than two hours, 
 while Doubdan and those with him were broiling with 
 the scorching sun over head, and the heated rocks un- 
 derneath. Being put out again to sea, upon the promise 
 of an augmentation of their pay they took up their oarS, 
 and rowed with briskness for four or five miles, in order 
 to reach Sidon that same day. They then grew tired, 
 and being inclined to return to their fishing, they put 
 Doubdan and his companions on shore, where there was 
 a very large and deep cavern, which had been hollowed 
 by the violence of the waves, which enter it with fury 
 up©n the least wind that blows, and immediately appli- 
 ed themselves to cook some small fishes with some rice; 
 and, without speaking one word to Doubdan^ carried all 
 an board the bark, and went away toward the place from 
 
St. JOHN. S5S 
 
 whence they came, so that they lost sight of them in a 
 few moments. This unexpefled accident extremely 
 astonished them ; and what was worse, there were many 
 Turks, Moors, and Arabs of a variety of colors, in this 
 cavern, of whom some were reclined on the sand, enjoy- 
 ing the fresh air, some were dressing provisions among 
 these rocks, others were smoking tobacco, notwith- 
 standing the apparent danger of the fall of great pieces 
 of the rocks, which frequently happened ; but it is com- 
 mon for them to retire hither, on account of a spring of 
 fine water which glides along here, and is always ex- 
 tremely cool. C^^U' ^^ ^^ Terre-Sainte^ ch. 61.) 
 
 Harmeu, vol. iii. p* 205. 
 
[ 356 ] 
 
 No. 4S5.— ACTS i. 26. 
 
 The Lot. 
 
 The account which Grotius gives of the manner in 
 which lots were cast, seems very probable and satisfac- 
 tory. He says, they put their lots into two urns, one of 
 which contained the names of Joseph and INIatthias, and 
 the other a blank, and the word apostle. In drawing 
 these out of the urns, the blank came up with the name 
 of Joseph, and the lot on which was written the word 
 apostle came up with the name of Matthias. This 
 being in answer to their prayers, they concluded that 
 Matthias was the man whom the Lord had chosen to the 
 apostleship. 
 
 No. 486. — vi. 9. The sijnagogxie of the libertines. '\ 
 Great numbers of the Jews, who were taken captive by 
 Pompey, and carried into Italy, were there set at liberty, 
 and obtained their freedom from their masters ; their 
 children therefore, would be Ubertini in the proper sense 
 of that word, and agreeably to this, the Jews banished 
 from Rome by Tiberius are spoken of by Tacitus 
 (Annal. lib. ii. cap. 85.) as of the libertine race. These 
 might easily constitute one of the 480 synagogues said 
 to have been at Jerusalem. 
 
 No. 48r. — ix. 34. Arise, and make thy bed.] Mat- 
 trasses, or something of that kind, were used for sleep- 
 ing upon. The Israelites formerly lay upon carpets. 
 (Amos ii. 8.) Russel (p. 90.) says, the " beds consist 
 of a mattrass laid on the floor, and over this a sheet (in 
 winter a carpet, or some such woollen covering,) the 
 
ACTS. 357 
 
 other sheet being sewed to the quilt. A divan cushion 
 often serves for a pillow and bolster." They do not 
 now keep their beds made ; the mattrasses are rolled up, 
 carried away, and placed in cupboards till they are 
 wanted at night. Hence we learn the propriety of our 
 Lord's address to the paralytic, arise, take up thy bed, 
 and walk. CMatt. ix. 6.) 
 
 Harmer, vol. ii. p. 66, note. 
 
 No. 488. — ix. "37. Whe7i they had xvashed.'\ It was 
 usual, immediately upon the decease of a person, to lay 
 out the corpse, and then to wash it. This office was 
 commonly performed by women related to the party 
 deceased ; only in cases of necessity others vrere em- 
 ployed therein. Among the Greeks this custom was 
 very particularly observed : there were vessels in some 
 of their ancient temples for this purpose ; these were 
 called in Latin lahra. The Greeks used warm water 
 on this occasion ; the modern Jews, v/arm water with 
 roses and camomile. It was designed to prevent preci- 
 pitate interment. (See Firgil, jEn. vi. ver. 218.) 
 
 No.4S9. — xii-lO. Irengate.'\ Among different ways 
 of securing their gates, one was by plating them over' 
 with thick iron. Pitts tells us (p. 10.) that Algiers has 
 five gates, and some of these have too, others three 
 gates within them, some of them plated over with thick 
 iron. After this manner the place where St. Peter was 
 imprisoned seems to have been secured. IVhen theu 
 were past the first and second xvard, they came unto the 
 iron gate, ^c. Harmer, vol. i. p. 207. 
 
 No. 490. — xiv. 11. The gods are coins down to ns in, 
 the likeness of men.] It appears from numberless pas^ 
 sages in the heathen writers, that they supposed the 
 gods often descended in the likeness of men. Thu^ 
 
358 ACTS. 
 
 Hamer represents one of his personages in the chara6ler 
 of a suitor, recommending hospitality to strangers by 
 saying, , 
 
 -If in this low diseuise 
 
 Wander perhaps some inmate of the skies : 
 
 They (curious oft of mortal a^ftions) deign 
 
 III forms like tli£se to round the earth and main. 
 
 Just and unjust recording in their mind. 
 
 And with sure eyes inspe(5ling all mankind. 
 
 Odyss. xvii. ver. 485. 
 This notion particularly prevailed with respecl to Jupi- 
 ter and Mercury. 
 
 No. 491. — xiv. 13. Then the priest of Jupiter^ whowas 
 before their city, brought oxen and gar lands unto the gates, 
 and xvQuld have done sacrifice with the peopls."] It was 
 customary to build temples to their tutelar deities in the 
 suburbs of the cities, and to set up their images before 
 the city, at the gates. According to this practice, the 
 priest of that Jupiter who was esteemed the tutelar deity 
 of the place, and whose image was placed in a temple 
 eredled to him before the city, brought oxen and gar- 
 lands to offer a sacrifice to Barnabas and Paul. They 
 used to crown both the images of their deities and the 
 victims they offered to them with chaplets of flowers. 
 The heathens considered their several images, of Jupiter 
 for instance, as so many distindl Jupitcrs, that is, as 
 having some spirit sent from the god, to whom their 
 worship M^as ultimately referred, to reside in them. 
 I'his circumstance, Bp* Warburt9n observes, may ac- 
 count for the dispute between two Jupiters, the Tpnans 
 and the Capitolinus, mentioned by Suetonius* 
 
 Doddridge in loc. 
 
 No. 492. — xvi. 13. On the sabbath we xvent out of the 
 city by a river^s side, where prayer rvas wont to be 7nade.'\ 
 The Jewish proseuchae were places of prayer, in some 
 
ACTS. 55^ 
 
 circumstances similar to, in others different from, their 
 synagtDgues : the latter were generally in cities, and 
 were covered places ; whereas for the most part the 
 proseuch^ were out of the cities, on the banks of rivers, 
 having no covering, except perhaps, the shade of some 
 trees, or covered galleries. Their vicinity to water 
 was for the convenience of those freqneut washings and 
 ablutions which were introduced among them. 
 
 No. 493. — xiv. 22. The magistrates rent off their 
 clothes.'] It was usual for the Roman magistrates to 
 command the li6lors to rend opep the clothes of the cri- 
 minal, that he might the more easily bo- beaten widt 
 rods. No care was taken of the garments on these 
 occasions ; but they were suddenly and with violence 
 rent open. Thus were Paul and Silas treated in this 
 instance. 
 
 No. 494 — XV i. 24. Made their feet fast in the stocks.'] 
 It is generally sivpposed that these were the cippi or large 
 pieces of wood used among the Romans, which notonly 
 loaded the legs of prisoners, but sometimes distended 
 them in a very painful manner ; so that it is highly 
 probable the situation of Paul and Silas here might be 
 made more painful than that of an offender sitting in the 
 stocks, as used among us, especially if (as is very pos- 
 sible) they lay with their bare backs, so lately scourged, 
 on the hard or dirty ground , which renders their joy- 
 ful frame, expressed by songs of praise, so much the 
 more remarkable. Beza explains it of the numellae, ia 
 which both the feet and the neck were fastened, in the 
 most uneasy posture that can well be imagined. 
 
 Doddridge in loc. 
 
 No. 495. — xvii. 18. Others said^ he seemeth to be a 
 setter forth of i>trange gods.^ The Romans were averse 
 
560 ACTS. 
 
 to strange gods, and admitted of their worship with 
 great diflicultv. Dion Cassius says, that one of the 
 blackest crimes of SardanapaUis, was introducing into 
 Rome the worship of Heliogabalus. By the law of 
 Athens no foreign god was to be admitted till approved 
 and licensed by the Areopagus, which had the sole power 
 in religious matters. The severest laws were ena6led 
 at Athens, and every citizen commanded, upon pain of 
 death, to worship the gods and heroes, as the laws of the 
 city required : they who observed not the appointed 
 ceremonies were immediately dragged to the court of 
 Areopagus. The cutting a twig out of a sacred grove 
 was a capital offence ; even a fool has been condemned 
 for killing one of ^Esculapius's sparrows ; and a child 
 accidentally taking up a plate of gold, fallen from Di- 
 ana's crown, was put to death for sacrilege. 
 
 No. 496. — xvii. 23. As J passed by^ and beheld your 
 devottcns, I found an altar vj'ith tbia inscription^ To the 
 unknown God."] From the express testimony oi Lucian, 
 we learn that there was such an inscription at Athens. 
 Whence it arose, or to what it particularly referred, is 
 difficult to say. Wixsius (Melet. p. 85.) with Heinsius 
 (in Ice.) understands it of Jehovah, whose name, not 
 being pronounced by the Jews themselves, might give 
 occasion to this appellation. Dr. JVehvood (Preface to 
 the Banquet of Xenophon^ p. IS.) supposes that So- 
 crates reared this altar to express his devotion to the 
 one living and true God, of whom the Athenians had no 
 notion, and whose incomprehensible being he insi- 
 nuated by this inscription, to be far beyond the reach 
 of their understanding, or his ov/n. IIam?nond g'lvts 
 another explanation of the circumstance, which has ap- 
 peared satisfa61ory to the learned. Diogenes Laertiusy 
 in his life of Enimenides, assures us, that in the time of 
 
ACTS. S61 
 
 that philosopher (about 600 years before Christ) there 
 was a terrible pestilence at Athens, in order to avert 
 which, when none of the deities to whom they sacrificed 
 appeared able or willing to help them, Epimenides 
 advised them to bring some sheep to the Areopagus, 
 and letting them loose from thence, to follow them till 
 they lay down, and then to sacrifice them to the god 
 near whose temple or altar they then were. Now it 
 seems probable that Athens, not being then so full of 
 these monuments of superstition as afterwards, these 
 sheep lav down in places where none of them were 
 near, and so occasioned the rearing of what the histori- 
 an calls anonymous altars j or altars, each of which had 
 the inscription ay^x^-xQiu^ to the unhwwn Gody mean- 
 ing thereby the deity who had sent the plague, whoever 
 he were ; one of which altars at least, however it might 
 have been repaired, remained till St. Paul's time, and 
 long after. 
 
 No. 49r. — xviii. 3. Because he was of the same crafty 
 he abode with them^ and wroiighty for by their occupation 
 they n'ere tent-ynakers.'] It was a received custom among 
 the Jews for every man, of what rank or quality soever, 
 to learn some trade or handy-craft ; one of their pro- 
 verbial expressions is, that whoever teaches not his son 
 a trade teaches him to be a thief. In those hot coun- 
 tries, where tents (which were commonU m.dc of skins, 
 or leather sewed together, to keep out the violence of 
 the weather) were used not only by soldiers, but by- 
 travellers, and others whpse busiticss required them to 
 be abroad, a tent-maker was no mean or unprofitable 
 eraploymtnt. This custom, so generally praclistd by 
 the J ws, was adopted also by och^r nations in ihe East. 
 Sir Paul I^i/caut observes that the grand seign or, to 
 whom he was ambassador, was taught to make wooden 
 spoons. The intention of this usi'ige was not merely 
 
 2Z 
 
362 ACTS. 
 
 amusement, but to furnish the persons so instru6led 
 with some method of obtaining their living, should they 
 ever be reduced to want and poverty. 
 
 No. 498. — xix. 9. Disputing daily in the school of one 
 TyranmisJ] Among the Jews there were two kinds of 
 schools, wherein the law was taught, private and public. 
 Their private schools were those, wherein a do6lor of 
 the law entertained his scholars, and were usually styled 
 houses of learning. Their public schools were those, 
 where their consistories sat to resolve all difficulties and 
 differences of the law. The method of teaching adopted 
 in the schools is observable in the scripture. When Jesus 
 Christ was twelve years of age, he was found in the 
 temple in the midst of the do6lors, hearing them, and 
 asking them questions. {Luke ii. 46.) St. Paul says, that 
 he had studied at the feet of Gamaliel. fASls xxii. 3.) 
 Philo says that among the essenes, the children sat at 
 the feet of their masters, who interpreted the law, and 
 explained the figurative and allegorical sense of it, after 
 the manner of the ancient philosophers. Among the 
 Hebrews, the rabbins sat on chairs that were raised ; 
 those scholars, who were the greatest proficients, were 
 placed on benches just below their masters, and the 
 vounger sort sat on the ground on hassocks. The mas- 
 ter taught either by himself or by an interpreter ; if he 
 used an interpreter he spoke Hebrew, and the interpre- 
 ter explained it in the vulgar tongue. If the scholars 
 desired to propose any question to the master, they 
 addressed themselves to the interpreter, who proposed 
 it to the rabbin, and reported his answer. 
 
 Calmet's Dlclionary of the Bible, art. School. 
 
 No. 499. — XX. 7. And upon the first day of the xveek, 
 xuhen the disciples came together to break bread."] Bishiop 
 Pearce, in his note on this passage, says, " In the Jewish 
 
ACTS. 363 
 
 way of speaking, to break bread is the same as to make 
 a meal : and the meal here meant seems to have been 
 one of those which was called ochmctt^ love-ftasta. Such 
 of the heathens as were converted to Christianity were 
 obliged to abstain from meats offered to idols, and these 
 were the main support of the poor in the heathen cities. 
 The christians therefore, who were rich, seem very early 
 to have begun the custom of those oifxTixi^ love-feasts, 
 which they made on every fiipst day of the week, chiefly • 
 for the benefit of the poorer christians, who, by being 
 such, had lost the benefit, which they used to have for 
 their support, of eating part of the heathen sacrifices. 
 It was towards the latter end of these feasts, or imme- 
 diately after them, that the christians used to take 
 bread and wine in remembrance of Jesus Christ, which, 
 from what attended it, was called the eucharist, or holy 
 communion. 
 
 No. 500.—- XX. 9. There nat in a -window a certain 
 young man named Eutychus.'] Char din informs us, th^t 
 the eastern windows are very large, and even with the 
 floor. ,It is no wonder Eutychus might fall out if the 
 lattice was not well fastened, or if it was decayed, 
 when, sunk into a deep sleep, he leaned with all his 
 weight against it- Harmer, vol. i. p. 1G4. 
 
 No. 501. — xxi. 24. Take them, and purify thyself 
 with them^ and be at charges with them.'] The better 
 to understand what is said in this passage, it may be 
 observed, that among the Jews it was accounted meri- 
 torious to contribute to the expences of the sacrifices 
 and offerings, which those who had taken upon them 
 a vow of nazaritism were to make when the time of 
 their vow came to be accomplished. Thus Josephus, 
 to magnify the zeal and devotion of Herod Agrippa, 
 
^64 ACTS. 
 
 tells us, that he caused several nazaiites to be shaved, 
 whereby he means, that he bore the expence of the 
 whole ceremony ; and Maimonides informs us, that he 
 who would partake of the merits of another man's naza- 
 ritism, went to the temple, and said to the priest, " such 
 an one will finish his vow, and I intend to defray the 
 charge of his tonsure, either in part or in the whole," 
 and whoever did so was reputed to partake in the 
 merits of him who had fulfilled his vow. 
 
 No. 502. — xxii. 9. They that were xvith me saw in- 
 deed the lights and xvere afraid^ but they heard not the 
 voice of him that spake to me.'\ Eisner has shewn, in a 
 curious note on this passage, that the heathens thought 
 that divine voices as well as visions might affecl one 
 person in a company without being perceived by the 
 rest. (Ohscr, vol. i. p. 466.) 
 
 No. 503. — xxii. 23. They cried out and cast off their 
 chtheSy and threxv dust into the a/r.] A great similarity 
 appears between the condu6l of the Jews, when the 
 chief captain of the Roman garrison at Jerusalem pre- 
 sented himself in the temple, and the behaviour of the 
 Persian peasants, when they go to court to complain of 
 the governors under whom they live, upon their oppres- 
 sions becoming intolerable. Sir ^ohn Chardin tells us 
 respecting them, that they carry their complaints against 
 their governors by companies, consisting of several hun- 
 dreds, and sometimes of a thousand ; they repair to that 
 gate of the palace near to which their prince is most 
 likely to be, where they set themselves to make the most 
 horrid cries, tearing their garments, and throwing dust 
 into the air, at the same time demanding justice. The 
 king, upon hearing these cries, sends to know the occa^ 
 sion of them, The people deliver their complaint in 
 
ACTS. 365 
 
 writing, upon which he lets them know that he will com- 
 mit the cognisance of the affair to such or such an one. 
 In consequence of this justice is usually done them. 
 
 Harmer, vol. iv. p. 203. 
 
 No. 504. — xxii. 24. The chief captain commanded 
 him to he brought into the castle^ and bade that he should be 
 examined by scourging.'] To put one to the questions 
 was a punishment among the Romans. They put cri- 
 minals to the question, or endeavoured to extort confes- 
 sion from them by scourging them. Some think that 
 the offender was stripped to his waist, and that his hands 
 were tied to a pillar, that his back might be stretched 
 out to receive the blows. Others are of opinion, that 
 his hands were fastened to a stake driven into the ground 
 of a foot and a half or two feet high, so that the cri- 
 minal stooping with his face towards the ground might 
 present his naked back to such as were appointed to 
 scourge him. 
 
 No. 505. — XXV. 11. / appeal to Caesar.'] This way 
 of appealing was frequent among the Romans, intro- 
 duced to defend and secure the lives and fortunes of 
 the populace from the unjust encroachments and over- 
 rigorous severities of the magistrates. In cases of op- 
 pression, it was lawful to appeal for redress and rescue. 
 This pra6lice was more than once san6lioned by the 
 Valerian laws. These appeals were generally made in 
 writing, by appellatory libels given into the court, and 
 containing an account of the appellant, the person 
 against whom, and from v/hose sentence he appealed ; 
 but where it was done in open court, it was enough for 
 the criminal verbally to declare that he did appeal. In 
 great and weighty cases, the appeal was made to the 
 prince himself, whereupon, not only at Rome, but in all 
 the provinces of the empire, every proconsul and gover- 
 
366 _ ACTS. 
 
 nor was stri6lly forbidden to execute, scourge, bind, or 
 put any badge of servility upon a citizen, or any that 
 had the privilege of a citizen, who had made his appeal, 
 or any ways to hinder hinv from going to Rome to ob- 
 tain justice at the hands of the emperor. In the case of 
 St. Paul, the privilege of appealing seems to have been 
 so fully established by the Roman laws, that Festus durst 
 not deny his demand. 
 
 Stackhouse's Hist. ofBiblcy vol. ii. p. 156r« 
 
 No. 506. — XXV i. 1. Then Paul stretched- forth the 
 handJ\ Elsner (Observ. vol. i. p. 47'8.) shews this to 
 have been esteemed at that time a very decent expres- 
 sion of an earnestness in one that spoke in public, 
 though some of the most illustrious Greek orators in 
 earlier ages, such as Pericles, Themistocles, and Aristi- 
 des, thought it a point of modesty to avoid it : but this 
 was the efle6l of a ' false taste ; and it is plain the elo-, 
 quent Demosthenes often used the same gesture with 
 St. Paul here. 
 
 No. 507. — xxvi. 5: After the straitest seSi of our re- 
 ligion J lived apharisee.] The pharisees were in general 
 exceedingly, rigid and particular in all the ceremonies 
 which they professed to observe ; and as a spirit of emu- 
 lation may well be supposed to have influenced those 
 who were so much under the government of pride, they 
 would certainly endeavour to obtain the highest de- 
 gree of supposed san6lity. It appears from the gospels 
 that many rigorous severities were used by them ; and 
 Witsius assur(^s us, that they used to sleep on narrow 
 plaviks, that falling down from them they might soon 
 be awakened to prayer ; and that others lay on gravel, 
 and placed thorns so near them, that they could not 
 turn without being pricked by them. (31eletem. cap. 
 1. \ 15.) 
 
ACTS. 55/ 
 
 No. 508. — xxvii. 34. There shall not an hair fall 
 from the head of any of you.'] Some think this alludes 
 to a custom among mariners, to make vows in times of 
 extremity, and to shave their heads in consequence of 
 them, and so interpret these words as if it were said, 
 you need not vow.your hair, you shall be safe without 
 that expedient ; but it appears to have been a prover- 
 bial and general expression of entire safety, (1 Kings 
 i. 52. Matt. X. 30. Luke xii. 7.) 
 
 Doddridge in he. 
 
 No. 509. — xxv'iii. 11. Castor and Pollux. "l It was the 
 custom of the ancients to have images on their ships, 
 both at the head and stern ; the first of which was cal- 
 led •jar«f«<77j^o», the sign., from which the ship was named; 
 and the other was that of the tutelar deity to whose 
 care the ship was committed. There is no doubt but 
 they had sometimes deities at the head, and then it is 
 most likely, if they had any figure at the stern, it was 
 the same, as it is hardly probable the ship should be 
 called by the name of one deity, and be committed to 
 the care of another. Doddridge in loc» 
 
[ 368 ] 
 
 No. 510— ROMANS vH. 24. 
 
 Who shall deliver me from the body of this death ? 
 
 *' Wretched man that I atn I do I often cry out, in 
 " such a circumstance, with no better supports and in- 
 " citements than the law can give. Who shall rescue 
 *' 7}ie, miserable captive as I am, from the body of this 
 " death ? from this continual burden which I carry 
 *' about with me; and which is cumbersome and odious 
 ** as a DEAD CARCASE tied to a living body, to be drug- 
 " ged along with it wherevtr it goes ?" Thus are the 
 words paraphrased by Dr. Doddridge, to which he sub- 
 joins this note. " It is well known that some ancient wri- 
 " ters mention this as a cruelty practised by some tyrants 
 ** on miserable captives who fell into their hands ; and 
 *' a more forcible and expressive image of the case re- 
 *' presented cannot surely enter into the mind of man." 
 1 hat such a cruelty was once pra6lised is certain from 
 Virgil: 
 
 Qiiid memorern infandas c?edes ? quid fa^a tyranni 
 Effera ? Di capiti ipsius generique reservent ! 
 Mortua quin etiam jungebat corpora vivis, 
 Componens manibusque manus, atque oribus era. 
 Torment! genus ; et sanie tabcque fluentes 
 Complexu in misero, longa sic morte necabat. 
 
 Atn. lib. viii. ver. 483. 
 
 The same practice is also mentioned in Valerius Maxi- 
 mus^ (lib. ix. cap. 2. y 10.) 
 
 No. 511 viii. 19. Earnest expeSlaf'ion.'] The word 
 
 »7r3y.apa;oo/./a!, which our translators well render earnest 
 exptdiatiojit signifies to lift up our head, and stretch our- 
 
ROMANS. 389 
 
 selves out as faras possible, to hearsomethiniy agreeable 
 and of gi-eat importance ; to gain the first appearance 
 and glimpse of a friend that has long been absent ; to 
 gain the sight of a vessel at sea that has some precious 
 freight that we have a concern in, or carries some pas- 
 senger very dear to us. 
 
 No. 512. — viii. 23. Waiting for the adoption.'] Among 
 the Romr:ns there was a two-fold adoption, the one pri- 
 vate, the other public. The former was only the a6l of 
 the person who was desirous of receiving a stranger 
 into his family, with ixspedl to the objecl of his choice, 
 and was a transadlion between the parties ; the latter 
 was an acknowledgment of it in the forum, when the 
 adopted person was solemnly declared and avov/ed to 
 be the son of the adopter. To this circumstance Mr* 
 Howe (Works, vol. i. p. 680.) supposes the apostle al- 
 ludes in these words. 
 
 No. 513. — xii. 13. Hospitality.'] Hospitality has al- 
 ways been highly esteemed by civilized nations. It has 
 been exercised from the earliest ages of the world. The 
 Old Testament affords numerous instances of its being 
 pradliced in the most free and liberal manner. In the 
 New Testament it is also recommended and enforced. 
 The primitive christians were so ready in the discharge 
 of this duty, that even the heathens admired them for it. 
 Hospitable as they were to all suangtrs, they were par- 
 ticularly so to those who were of their own faith and 
 communion. In Homer Tind 'Jut ancient Greek writers, 
 we see what rtspe6l they h.id for their guests. From 
 these instances we turn with satisfa6\ion to view the kind 
 and friendly dispositionof less polishiid people. Modern 
 travellers often mention the pleasing reception they 
 met with from those among whom th^:'y m.ade a tempo- 
 rary residence. Vulney fTrav. vol. ii. p. 76.) speak- 
 
 3 A 
 
$70 ROMANS. / 
 
 ing of the Druzes, says, " whoever presents himself at 
 their door in the quality of a suppliant or passenger, is 
 sure of being entertained with lodging and food in the 
 most generous and unafFe6led manner. I have often 
 seen the lowest peasants give the last morsel of bread 
 they had in their houses to the hungry traveller. When 
 they have once contradled with their guest the sacred 
 engagement of bread and salt, no subsequent event can 
 make them violate it." 
 
 *' An engagement with a stranger is sometiines ac- 
 cepted as an excuse for not obeying the summons of a 
 great man, when no other apology, hardly even that of 
 indisposition, would be admitted." (Russel's Hist* of 
 Aleppo, vol. i. p. 231.) 
 
 The Hindoos extend their hospitality sometimes to 
 enemies, saying, '* the tree does not withdraw its shade 
 even from the wood -cutter." 
 
 No. 514.— -xii. 15. Rejoice with them that do rejoice^ 
 and zueep with themthat weep.] This verseseemsto refer 
 to the two gates, of the temple, one called the gate of the 
 bridegroom, and the other the gate of the mourners, 
 into which two sorts all kinds of persons are divided. 
 The first contained all those who continued unblemished 
 members of the church, under no kind of censure ; the 
 other contained those who were under any degree of 
 excommunication, who, though they might come into 
 the temple, must come in at the mourner's door, with 
 some mark of discrimination from other men, that they 
 who saw them might pray for them, saying, " He that 
 dwells in this house comfort thee, and give thee an 
 heart to obey.'* Hammond in loc* 
 
 No. 515. — xii. 20. In so doing thou shah heap coals of 
 fire on his head.] Many interpreters conceive that here is 
 an allusion to artificers that melt metals by heaping 
 
ROMANS. an 
 
 coals of fire upon them, and so imagine that the import 
 of these words is, thou shalt melt him down by kindness 
 into affedlion for thee. Dr. Whitby^ however, offers a 
 different explanation ; he says, that the sense of the 
 passage appears to him to be, that if he persevere in his 
 enmity to thee, the event, though not sought for by 
 thee, will be, that thou by thy patience shalt engage the 
 wrath of God to fall upon him, and maintain thy cause 
 against him. This, he apprehends, best suits with the 
 foregoing verse ; and that the words being taken from 
 ProV' XXV. 22. which have that import, according to 
 Grotius, require that interpretation. The expression 
 where it occurs in the Old Testament refers to the wrath 
 and indignation of the Lord. (Psalm cxl. 9, 10. 
 Isaiah xlvii. 14. Ezekiel x. 2.) 
 
 No. 516. — xiii. 4. He beareth not the sword In vain.'\ 
 This is spoken agreeably to the notions and customs of 
 the Romans at the time when the apostle wrote. Thus 
 Suetonius says (in Vitell. cap. 15.) that Vitellius gave up 
 his dagger, which he had taken from his side, to the at- 
 tending consul, thus surrendering the authority of life 
 and death over the citizens. So the kings of Great 
 Britain are not only at their inauguration solemnly girt 
 with the sword of state, but this is afterwards carried 
 before them on public occasions, as a sword is likewise 
 before some inferior magistrates among us. 
 
[ 372 ] 
 
 No. 517 — 1 CORINTHIANS ill. 10. 
 
 A xvlse master builder. 
 
 The title of o-o^por, or xvise^ was given to such as were 
 skilful in manual ai'ts. Homer accounts such to be 
 taught by Minerva, the goddess of wisdom, (Iliad, xv. 
 lin. 411.) and to this some think the apostle alludes 
 when he compares himself to cFa:^os xp^'TSKTuv, a wise 
 master builder. 
 
 No. 518. — iv. 9. God hath set forth us the apostles 
 last.'\ In the word £(7%aTsy, which the apostle here uses, 
 there is a reference to the Roman custom of bringing 
 forth those persons on the theatre in the after part of the 
 day, to fight either with each other, or with wild beasiL. 
 who were appointed to certain death, and had not that 
 poor chance of escaping which those brought forth in the 
 morning had. Such kind of spe6lacles were so com- 
 mon in all the provinces, that it is no wonder we should 
 find such an allusion here. The words ocnihi^iu exhibited^ 
 and 0ia:T/)ov, a speSlacle on the theatre, have in this con- 
 nedlion a beautiful propriety. The whole passage is in- 
 deed full of high eloquence, and finely adapted to move 
 their compassion in favour of those who were so gene-, 
 rously expiring, and sacrificing themselves for the pub- 
 lic good. Doddridge in loc. 
 
 No. 519. — iv. 13. We are made as the pith of the 
 world, and are the off-scouring of all things unto this day,'} 
 Doddridge thus paraphrases, and in his note explains 
 these words : " We are made and treated like the very 
 filth of the world, like the wretches who, being taken 
 from the dregs of the people, are offered as expiatory 
 
1 CORINTHIANS. 573 
 
 sacrifices to the infernal deities among the Gentiles, and 
 loaded with curses, affronts, and injuries, in the way to 
 the altars at which they are to bleed, or like the refuse 
 of all things to this day, the very sweepings of the 
 streets and stalls, a nuisance to all around us, and fit 
 for nothing but to be trampled upon by the meanest 
 and vilest of mankind." The word xa9j:p^al» has a force 
 and meaning here, which no one word in our language 
 can express ; it refers to the custom of purifying a 
 city by the expiatory death of some person : for this 
 purpose they clothed a man in foul and filthy garments, 
 and then put him to death. When the city was visited 
 with any great calamity, they chose one of the lowest 
 persons in it, and brought him to a certain place, with 
 cheese', dry figs, and a cake in his hand. After beating 
 him with rods, they burnt him and the rods together 
 in a ditch, and cast the ashes into the sea, with these 
 words. Be thou a lustration for us. 
 
 The people of Marseilles, originally a Grecian colony, 
 had a similar custom, for we learn from Servhis on the 
 third book of the iEneid, that as often as they were 
 afflicted with the pestilence, they took a poor person,- 
 who offered himself willingly, and kept him a whole year 
 on the choicest food, at the public expence. This man 
 was afterwards dressed up with vervain, and in the 
 sacred vestments, and led through the city, where he 
 was loaded with execrations, that all the misfortunes of 
 the state might rest on him, and was then thrown into 
 the sea. 
 
 The Mexicans had a similar custom of keeping a 
 man a year, and even worshipping him during that 
 time, and then sacrificing him. 
 
 No. 520 — ix. 25. They do it to obta'm a corruptlbls 
 crown, but zve an incorruptible.'] It is well known, that 
 the crown in the Olympic games, sacred to Jupiter, was 
 
374 1 CORINTHIANS. 
 
 of wild-olive ; in the Pythian, sacred to Apollo, of 
 laurel ; in the Isthmian or Corinthian, solemnized in 
 honour of Palaemon, of pine-tree ; and in the Nemsean, 
 of smallage, or parsley. Now most of these were ever- 
 greens ; yet they would soon grow dry and break to 
 pieces. Elsner (Obaerv. vol. ii. p. 103.) produces 
 many passages in which the contenders in these exer- 
 cises are rallied by the Grecian wits for the extraordi- 
 nary pains they took for such trifling rewards. And 
 Plato has a celebrated passage, which greatly resembles 
 this of St, Paul, but by no means equals it in beauty 
 and force. (1 Fet. v. 4.) Doddridge in he. 
 
 No. 521. — ix. 26. Sojight /, not as one that beateth 
 the air.] In order to attain the greater agility and 
 dexterity, it was usual for those, who intended to box 
 in the games, to exercise their arms with the gauntlet 
 on, when they had no antagonist near them, and this 
 was called ay-toyL^y^ix, in which a man would of course 
 beat the air. But Bos has taken a great deal of pains in 
 his note here, to shew that it is a proverbial expression 
 for a man's missing his blow, and spending it not on 
 his enemy, but on empty air. Doddridge in loc. 
 
 No. 523.-— ix. 27. But I keep under my body^ and 
 bring it into subjeSlionj lest that by a7iy means^ when I 
 hove preached to other s^ I myself should be a cast away,'] 
 The latter part of this verse Doddridge renders, lest after 
 having served as an herald I should he disapproved^ and 
 says in a note, I thought it of importance to retain the 
 primitive sense of these gymnastic expressions. It is 
 well known to those, who are at all acquainted with 
 the original, that the word >ti?fy|ay expresses the dis- 
 charging the office of an herald, whose business it was 
 to proclaim the conditions of the games, and display 
 the prizes, to awaken the emulation and resolution of 
 
1 CORINTHIANS. S7S 
 
 those who were to contend in them. But the apostle 
 intimates, that there was this peculiar circumstance 
 attending the christian contest, that the person who 
 proclaimed its laws and rewards to others was also to 
 engage himself, and that there would be a. peculiar 
 infamy and misery in miscarrying. A^oMf/ios, which \Vq 
 render cast azvaify signifies one who is disapproved by 
 the judge of the games, as not having fairly deserved 
 the prize. 
 
 No. 523. — xi. 14, 15. Doth not even nature itself 
 teach you, that if a man have long hair, it is a shame unto 
 him; but if a woman have long hair, it is a glory to her; 
 for her hair is giveJi her for a covering.'^ The eastern 
 ladies arc remarkable for the length, and the great 
 number of the tresses of their hair. The men there, oa 
 the contrary, wear very little hair on their heads. Lady 
 M. W^ Montague thus speaks concerning the hair of 
 the women. " Their hair hangs at full length behind, 
 divided into tresses, braided with pearl or ribbon, which 
 is always in great quantity. I never saw in my life so 
 many fine heads of hair. In one lady's I have counted 
 one hundred and ten of the tresses, all natural ; but it 
 must be owned that every kind of beauty is more com- 
 mon here than with us." (Lett. vol. ii. p. 31.) 
 
 The men there, on the contrary, shave all the hair 
 off their heads, excepting one lock ; and those that wear 
 their hair are thought effeminate. Both these parti- 
 culars are mentioned by Chardin, who says, they are 
 agreeable to the custom of the East: the men are shaved, 
 the women nourish their hair with great fondness, 
 which they lengthen, by tresses and tufts of silk, down 
 to the heels. Tlie young men who wear their hair in 
 the East, are looked upon as effeminate and innimous. 
 
 HarmePv, vol. ii. p. 398. 
 
576 1 CORINTHIANS. 
 
 No. 524. — XV. 29. Baptized for the dead.] Many 
 interpretations have been given of this difficult passage, 
 of which a few only will here be adverted to. Chrysostom 
 sa} s, that among the Marcionites, when any one of their 
 catechumens die, they lay a living person under the 
 bed of' the deceased, and then advancing toward the 
 dead body, asX whether he be willing to receive bap- 
 tism. The person under the bed answers for him, that 
 he desires earnestly to be baptized, and accordingly 
 he is so instead of the dead person. JEpiphanius assertSj 
 that the Marcionites received baptism not only once, 
 but as often as they thought proper ; that they procured 
 themselves to be baptized in the name of such as died 
 without baptism, and that St. Paul had these heretics in 
 view. But this opinion Doddridge intirely discards, ob- 
 serving, that it is more likely to have arisen from a mis- 
 takeofthe passage, thanthatthe custom spoken of should 
 have been so early prevalent. He translates the passage, 
 7vho are baptized in the room cf the dead^ and adopts the 
 opiiiioh of Sir Richard Ellys (see Fortiiita Sacra, p. 
 ISr.) which is thus expressed in the paraphrase : Such 
 are our views and hopes as christians ; elsey if it were 
 not so, rvhat shoidd they do,, rvho are baptized in token of 
 their embracing the christian faith, in the room of the 
 dead, who are just fallen in the cause of Christ, but are 
 yet supported by a succession of new converts, who 
 immediatel}^ offer themselves to fill up their places, as 
 ranks of soldiers that advance to the combat in the 
 room of their companions, who have just been slain in 
 tht Ir sight : In this interjn-etation other commentators 
 Ci great eiaintnce have likewise concurred. 
 
 No. 525 xvi. 9. A great door andeff'eElnalis opened 
 
 v.nio raer\ It is thought that here is an allusion to the 
 door of the circus, from whence chariots were let out 
 when the races were to begin ; and that the vvord 
 
1 CORINTHIANS. 377 
 
 «»7/x*//AEva/, which is translated adversaries,, but which 
 Doddridge renders opposers, signifies the same with an- 
 tagonists, with whom the apostle was to contend as in 
 a course. CASls xix. 20.) This opposition rendered 
 his presence more necessary, to preserve those that 
 were already converted, and to increase the number, 
 if God should bless his ministry. Accordingly a cele- 
 brated church was planted at Ephesus ; and so far as 
 we can learn from the tenor of his epistle to it, there 
 was less to reprove and corredl among them, than in 
 most of the other churches to which he wrote. 
 
 No. 526. — xvi. 22. Jf any man love not the Lord 
 Jesus Christ,, let him be anathema^ maranatha.] When 
 the Jews lost the power of life and death, they used 
 nevertheless to pronounce an anatherna on persons 
 who, according to the Moasic law, should have been 
 executed ; and such a person became an anathema, or 
 chercm, or accursed, for the expressions are equivalent. 
 They had a full persuasion that the curse would not be 
 in vain ; and indeed it appears they expe6led some 
 judgment, correspondent to that which the law pro- 
 nounced, would befal the offender ; for instance, that a 
 man to be stoned would be killed by the falling of a 
 stone or other heavy body upon him ; a man to be 
 strangled would be choked ; or one whom the law 
 sentenced to the flames would be burnt in his house, 
 and the like. Now to express their faith, that God 
 would one way or another, and probably in some re- 
 markable manner, interpose, to add that efficacy to his 
 own sentence, which they could not give it, it is very 
 probable they might use the words maran-atha, that is, 
 in Syiiac, the Lord cometh, or he will surely and quickly 
 come to put this sentence in execution, and to shew 
 that the person on Whom it falls is m&Qtd. anathema^ 
 accursed. In beautiful allusion to this, when the apostle 
 
 3B 
 
378 CORINTHIANS. 
 
 was speaking of a secret alienation from Christ, main- 
 tained under the forms of Christianity, (which might 
 perhaps be the case among many of the Corinthians) as 
 this was not a crime capable of being convi6led and 
 censured in the christian church, he reminds them, that 
 the Lord Jesus Christ will come at length, and find it 
 out, and punish it in a proper manner. I'his weighty 
 sentence the apostle chose to write -with his own hand^ 
 and insert between his general salutation and benedic- 
 tion, that it might be the more attentively regarded. 
 
 Doddridge in he. 
 
C 379 ] 
 
 No. 527 2 CORINTHIANS 111. 1. 
 
 Epistles of commendation. 
 
 r 
 
 Commendatory epistles, certifying the piety and 
 good chara6ler of che person to whom they were given, 
 and recommending him to an hospitable reception in the 
 places to which he travelled, were an ancient custom 
 in the primitive church. Whether they took their rise 
 from the tesserae hospitalitatis of the heathens, or from 
 the Jews, among whom the same custom prevailed, is 
 an undecided point, Hammond in loc. 
 
 No. 528. — V. 20. We are ambassadors^] Ambassa- 
 dors were usually persons of great worth or eminent 
 station, that by their quality and deportment they might 
 command respe6l and attention from their very enemies ; 
 and what injuries or affronts soever had been committed, 
 their persons were held sacred by all sides. Gods and 
 men were thought to be concerned to prosecute with the 
 utmost vengeance all injuries done to them ; whence we 
 read that the Lacedsmonians having inhumanly mur- 
 dered Xerxes' ambassadors, the gods would accept none 
 of their oblations and sacrifices, which* were all found 
 polluted with direful omens, till two noblemen of Spar- 
 ta were sent as an expiatory sacrifice to Xerxes, to 
 atone for the death of his ambassadors by their own. 
 Whence this holiness was derived upon ambassadors has 
 been a matter of dispute. Fabulous authors deduce it 
 from the honour paid by the ancients to the yri^vxts or 
 heraldsy who were either themselves ambassadors, or, 
 when others were deputed to that service, accompanied . 
 them, being held sacred on account of their original, 
 
S80 2 CORINTHIANS. 
 
 because descended from Ceryx, the son of Mercury, who 
 was honoured with the same employment in heaven 
 which these obtained on earth. The Lacedaemonian 
 ambassadors carried in their hand a staff of laurel or 
 olive, called kti^vkiov, round which two serpents, without 
 their crests ere6led, were folded, as an emblem of peace 
 and concord. The Athenian heralds frequently made 
 use of the Eiptaiuvn, which was a token of peace and plen- 
 ty, being an olive branch covered with wool, and adorn- 
 ed with all sorts of fruits of the earth. 
 
 Potter's Arch^hgla Grceca, vol. ii. p. 66. 
 
 No. 529. — X. 14. We stretch not ourselves.'] It may 
 help very much to understand this and the following 
 verses, if with Hammond wt consider the terms used in 
 them as agonlsticaL In this view of them, the measure 
 of the rule, to i^rfov m ntxvovos, alludes to the path mark- 
 ed out, and bounded by a white line for racers in 
 the Isthmian games, observed among the Corinthians; 
 and so the apostle represents his work in preaching the 
 gospel as his spiritual race, and the province to which 
 he was appointed as the compass or stage of ground 
 which God had distributed or measured out, t(ji.ipia-sy 
 avruj for him to run in. Accordingly, to boast without bis 
 measurey (ver,, l^O t/j ra a/xETp«, and to stretch himself 
 beyond his jneasure, . virsp iitrsivsaOxi, refer to one that ran 
 beyond or out of his line. We are come as far as toyouy 
 (ver. 14.) oc-^jfi vixuv i(p9xa-atfc,£v, alludes to him that came 
 foremost to the goal; and, in another inan^sHne (ver. 16.) 
 »y aXKoTftu yucwvt, signifies in the province that was mark- 
 ed out for somebody else, in allusion to the line by 
 which the race was bounded, each of the racers having 
 the path which he ought to run chalked out to him, and 
 if one stepped over into the other's path he exten4ec! 
 Haimself oyer his line. 
 
2 CORINTHIANS. 381 
 
 No. 530.— -xi. 2. That I may present you as a chaste 
 virgin to Christ,'] This circumstance is much illustra- 
 ted by recolle6ling that there was an officer among the 
 Greeks, whose business it was to educate and form young 
 women, especially those of rank and figure, designed for 
 marriage, and then to present them to those who were 
 to be their husbands ; and if this officer permitted them, 
 through negligence, to be corrupted between the es- 
 pousals and the consummation of the marriage, great 
 blame would naturally fall upon him. 
 
 Doddridge in loc. 
 
 No. 531. — xi. 29. Who is offended, and I burn not P] 
 Who is offended, and I am not ji red "^ ^o mvfuyi.a.i pro- 
 perly signifies. It may perhaps in this connedlion al- 
 lude to the sudden hurry of spirits into which a man is 
 put by the dangerous fall of a person he tenderly loves, 
 especially when occasioned by the cai'elessness and folly 
 of another. Doddrigde in he. 
 
[ 582 ] 
 
 No. 532.— GALATIANS lii. 1. 
 
 Who hath bewitched you. 
 
 It is not to be Imnginecl that the apostle, by the use 
 of this expression, gave any countenance to the popular 
 error which prevailed, not only among the heathens, 
 but among some of the more ignorant and superstitious 
 christians — that of fascination, or bewitching with the 
 eye. The language of the apostle is only a strong ex- 
 pression of surprise at the departure of the Galatians 
 from the purity of the gospel. It however reminds us 
 of those pra6lices of the heathens, which are spoken of 
 by various writers. They believed that great mischief 
 might ensue from an evil-eye, or from being regarded 
 with envious and malicious looks. Pliny relates from 
 Jsigonusy that " among the Triballians and Illyrians 
 there were certain enchanters, who with their looks 
 could bewitch and kill those whom they beheld for a con- 
 siderable time, especially if they did so with angry 
 e\cs." (Nat. Hist. lib. vii. cap. 2.) 
 
 A shepherd in Virgil^ says 
 
 Nescio quis teneros oculus mihi fascinat agnos. 
 
 Some evil eyes beviitch my tender lambs. 
 
 Eclog. iii. lin. 103. 
 
 " No nation in the world is so much given to super- 
 stition as the Arabs, or even Mahometans in general. 
 They hang about their children's necks the figure of an 
 open hand, usually the right, which the Turks and 
 Moors paint likewise upon their ships and houses, as a 
 counter-charm to an evil-eve ; for five is with them an 
 
GALATIANS. S83 
 
 unlucky number, and five (meaning their fingers) in 
 your e3^es is their pi-overb of cursing and defiance. 
 Those of riper years carry with them some paragraph 
 of their Koran, which they place upon their breasts, or 
 sew under their caps, to prevent fascination and witch- 
 craft, and to secure themselves from sickness and mis- 
 fortunes. The virtue of these scrolls and charms is 
 supposed to be so far universal, that they suspend them 
 even upon the necks of their cattle, horses, and other 
 beasts of burthen." 
 
 Shaw's Trav. p. 243. (See No. 205.) 
 
 No. 533. — iv. 6. And because ye are sons, God hatb . 
 sent forth the spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying^ 
 Abba father .'\ The learned Mr. Selden (de Succ. in 
 bona Def. cap. 4.) hath brought a very pertinent quota- 
 tion from the Babyloiiian Gemara, to prove that it was 
 not allowed to slaves to use the title of Abba in address- 
 ing the master of the family to which they belonged, 
 or the correspondent title of Immoy or mother, when 
 speaking to the mistress of it. 
 
 No. 534. — iv. 10. Te observe days."] This pra6ilce 
 was become very general in the days of the apostle, and 
 greatly contributed to cherish superstition. The Greeks 
 in particular were addicted to it ; with them, certain 
 times were ominous, some days being accounted for- 
 tunate and successful, others unfortunate and disas- 
 trous. Thus Hesiod, in his days^ observes, 
 
 AKKorz (xriTfivri 7re\ei y)(ji.ipXf ccKkors (x-nrvp, 8cc» 
 
 Some days, like step-dames, adverse prove, 
 Thviart oitr intentions, cross lubate'er we love .- 
 Others more fortunate and lucky shine, 
 And, as a tender mother, bless lubat wc design. 
 
584 GALATIANS. 
 
 The observation of days was also very common at Rome, 
 Augustus Ciesar never went abroad upon the day follow- 
 ing the Nundinse, nor began any serious undertaking on ' 
 the Nonae, and this he did upon no other account, as he 
 affirmed in one of his letters to Tiberius, than to avoid 
 the unlucky omen that attended things begun on those 
 days. It was a general opinion among the Romans, that 
 the next days after the Nonse, Idus, or Kalendse, were 
 unfortunate ; the like observation of days was pra6lised 
 by many christians when they had lately been converted 
 from heathenism, and for this St. Paul reproves them. 
 Potter's Archceologia Grceca, vol. i. p. 345. 
 
 No'. 535. — V. 7. Who hath hmdered i/ou ?] It hath 
 been observed that «v8y.o\I/E is an olympic expression, 
 answerable to tifix,^%, and it properly signifies coming 
 across the course^ while a person is running in it, in such 
 a manner as to jostle and throw him out of the way. 
 
 Doddridge in loc. 
 
 No. 536 — v. 21. Hevellifigs.'l Kaz/xo/, or revellingSf 
 among the Greeks, were a disorderly spending of the 
 night in feasting, with a licentious indulging in wine, 
 music, dancing, &c. In this sense the word is explained 
 by Hesych'-iis and Suidas. We meet wilh it but twice 
 elsewhere, (Rom. xiii. 13. 1 Pet. iv. 3.) and in both 
 places it is joined, as here, with other riotous excesses. 
 
 No. ^Z7. — vi. 17- / hear in my body the marks of 
 the Lord Jesus.'] Archbishop Potter thinks (Archccol. 
 Gnecay vol. ii. p. 7.) that the apostle alladss here to the 
 (rriypt-x^ixi or brands, with which the Greeks used to mark 
 those that were appointed to serve in the wars, lest they 
 should attempt to make their escape. Doddridge says, 
 that perhaps the reference may be to those marks^ by 
 
 4 
 
EPHESIANS. 385 
 
 which the votaries of particular deities were distin- 
 guished. Mr. Blackwall (Sacred Classics^ vol. ii. p. 
 66.) considers it as an allusion to an Egyptian custom, 
 according to which any man's servant, who fled to the 
 temple of Hercules, and had the sacred brands or marks 
 of that deity impressed upon him, was supposed to be 
 under his immediate care and prote6lion, and by that to 
 be privileged from all violence and harsh treatments 
 
 No. 538.— EPHESIANS ii. 18. 
 
 For through him we both have access by one spirit unto 
 the Father. 
 
 The word itfoaxyuyi^i^ which we render access^ proper- 
 ly refers to the custom of introducing persons into the 
 presence of some prince, or of any other greatly their 
 superior, in which case it is necessary they should be 
 ushered in by one appointed for that purpose, to pre- 
 serve a becoming decorum. Doddridge in loc. 
 
 No. 539. — ii. 19. Te are no more strangers and 
 foreigners^ but fellow -citizens with the saints, and of the 
 household of God,] The proselytes who joined them- 
 selves to the God of Israel, were by the Jews and by the 
 scriptures styled strangers. He that only took upon him 
 to worship the true God, and observe the precepts of 
 Noah, was Ger Toahab^ a stranger permitted to dwell 
 among them, and to worship in the court of the Gentiles. 
 He that was circumcised, and became obedient to the law 
 of Mosei, was Ger Tzedek^ a proselyte of righteous- 
 ness : but both were called strangers according to the 
 maxim of the Jews : all the nations of the world are call- 
 
 3C 
 
38$ ^EPHESIANS. 
 
 ed strangers before the God of Israel ; but the Jews arc 
 said to be near to him. But now, according, to the lan- 
 guage of the apostle, there is no such difference, the 
 believing Gentile being equally admitted with believing 
 Jews, to the privileges of the New Jerusalem, and 
 equally related to God as part of his family. 
 
 Whitby in loc- 
 
 No. 540. — Iv. 8« And gave gifts unto men.'] Here 
 is an allusion to the custom of conquerors, who used to 
 give largesses to their soldiers after a triumph. Though 
 the Roman instances of this custom are perhaps most 
 familiar to our minds, yet all who are acquainted with 
 antiquity know that it was not peculiar to them. (Judg- 
 es v. 30.) Doddridge in loc. 
 
 No. 544. — iv. 26. Let not the sungo down upon your 
 tvrath.] Many persons have observed, that this w^as 
 agreeable to the Pythagorean pradlice, who used always, 
 • if the members of their particular society had any dif- 
 ference with each other, to give tokens of reconciliation 
 before the sun v/ent down. This exhortation is peculi- 
 arly important to prevent excessive and long-protr^6led 
 anger, which might in time increase to habitual malice; 
 a temper exceedingly unbecoming a christian. 
 
 No. 542. — iv. 28. Let him that stole, steal no more.] 
 This exhortation, though agreeing with the first and 
 most obvious principle of all moral duties, was neces- 
 sary in the present instance, because in manj- nations it 
 was not counted a sin to steal, nor were they ashamed 
 of it when it was charged on them. 
 
 Whitby /;z 'loc. 
 
 No. 543. — v. 18. Be not drunk tvith wine.] It is 
 '-lighly probable that here may be a particular reference 
 
EPHESIANS. i87 
 
 to those dissolute ceremonies called the Bacchanalia, 
 that were celebrated by the heathens in honour of him 
 whom they called the god of wine. While these rites 
 continued, men and women made it a point of their 
 •religion to intoxicate themselves, and run about the 
 streets, fields, and vineyards, singing and shouting 
 in a wild and tumultuous manner ; in opposition to 
 which extravagant vociferations, the use of devout psal- 
 mody is with great propriety recommended. Plato 
 somewhere tells us, that there was hardly a sober per- 
 son to be found in the whole Attican territories during 
 the continuance of these detestable solemnities. 
 
 DODDRIDGE itl loC, 
 
 No. 544. — vl. 16, Fienj darts.] This is evidently 
 an allusion to those javelins or arrows, which were 
 sometimes used by the ancients in sieges and battles. 
 Arrian Cde Exped. Alex, lib. 2.) mentions •srupppx. 
 ^s\v), Jire-bearing darts^ and Tkucydides (lib. ii. 75.) 
 zjvfipopoi oi'Toif Jire-bearing arrows. Livij (lib. xxi. cap. 8.) 
 calls a weapon of this kind afalarica^ which he describes 
 as a javelin surrounded at the lower part with combusti- 
 ble matter, which, when it was set on fire, the weapon, 
 was darted against tlie enemy. 
 
[ 388 3 
 
 No. 545 — PHILIPPIANS i. 23. 
 
 In a straight between two* 
 
 The original is very emphatical, and seems to be 
 an allusion to a ship stationed at a particular place, and 
 riding at anchor, and at the same time likely to be forced 
 to sea by the violence of the winds ; which presents us 
 with a lively representation of the apostle's attachment 
 to his situation in the christian church, and the vehe- 
 mence of his desire to be unbound, that is, to weigh 
 ianchor, and set sail for the heavenly country. 
 
 Doddridge /« loc. 
 
 No. 546. — ii. 15. Among -whom ye shhie as lights 
 in the world.'] This metaphor has an allusion to the 
 buildings which we call light-houses, the most illustrious 
 of which was raised in the Island of Pharosy when 
 Ptolemif Philadtlphus built that celebrated tower, on 
 which a bright flame was always kept burning in the 
 night, that mariners might perfedlly see their way, and 
 be in no danger of suffering shipwreck. Some of these 
 light-houses were constru6led in the form of human 
 figures. The colossus at Rhodes held in one hand a 
 flame which enlightened the whole port. These lights 
 were also sometimes moveable, and were used to diredl 
 the marches of the caravans in the night. Pitts thus 
 describes them : " They are somewhat like iron stoves, 
 into which they put short dry wood, which some of the 
 camels are loaded with. Every cotter hath one of these 
 poles belonging to it, some of which have ten, some 
 ^welye of these lights on their tops, and they are likcr 
 
PHILIPPIANS. 38» 
 
 wise of different figures, one perhaps oval, another tri- 
 angular, or like an N or M, &c, so that every one knows 
 by them his respe6live cotter. They are carried in the 
 front, and set up in the place where the caravan is to 
 pitch, before that comes up, at some distance from one 
 another." (Harmer^ vol. i. p. 472.) The meaning of 
 the passage from these representations is obvious. Te 
 shine as elevated lights in the dark world about yoUf that 
 ye may dire6l those that sail on this dangerous sea, and 
 secure them from suffering shipwreck, or guide those 
 who travel through this desert in their way to the city 
 of rest. (3Iatt. v. 14. Luke ii. 32. John. v. 35. 2 Pet, 
 i. 19.) 
 
 No. 547— —iii. 2. Beware ofdogs."] This may very 
 possibly be an allusion to Isaiah Ivi. 10, 11, 12. The 
 Jews used to call the Gentiles dogs, and perhaps St. 
 Paul may use this language, when speaking of their 
 proud bigots, by way of retaliation. (Rev. xxii. 15.) 
 V Enfant tells us of a custom at Rome, to chain their 
 dogs at the doors of their houses, and to put an inscrip- 
 tion over them, Bexvare of this dog^ to which he seems to 
 think these words may refer. Doddridge in loc. 
 
 No. 548. — iii. 8. But what things were gain to m*?, 
 those /counted loss for Christ."] In that tempest to which 
 St. Paul was a witness, and by which he was exposed to 
 such imminent danger, after long abstinence^ he stood 
 forth in the midst of them, and said, sirs, ye should have 
 hearkened unto me, and not have loosed from Crete, and 
 to have gained this harm or loss, ^ynt.txi, CA5ls. xxvii. 
 21.) It is the same word which the apostle uses in 
 this passage, from which we may accurately obtain his 
 meaning, if it is net allowed to have such an allusion. 
 WliQt things were gain to me^ these I counted lossy ^»)/*'«)r, 
 
590 PHILIPPIANS. 
 
 for Christ, i.e. I threw them away as manners do their 
 goods, on which they before set a value, lest they should 
 endanger their lives. 
 
 No. 549— iii. 12. Ifolloxv after ^ if that I may appre- 
 hend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ fe- 
 susj\ Doddridge thus renders and paraphrases this last 
 sentence — for xvhich also lam apprehendedby Christ ye- 
 ans, whose condescending hand graciously laid hold of 
 me in my mad career, in so extraordinary a manner as 
 you have often heard, and has introduced me into that 
 blessed race in which I am now engaged. To this he 
 adds in a note, that candidates in the Grecian games, 
 especially wl>en they first presented themselves, were 
 often introduced by some person of established reputa- 
 tion, who, at the same time that he spoke as honourably 
 as might be of his friend, urged him to acquit himself 
 with the utmost vigour and resolution ; and it is possi- 
 ble that this clause may allude to that circumstance. I 
 conclude that even on this interpretation, it further ex- 
 presses the sense the apostle had of his obligations to 
 the condescension and grace of Christ, in pursuing and 
 seizing him while he lied from him, and so engaging 
 him to aspire to this crown of life. 
 
 No. 550. — iii. 14. I press toward the mark for the 
 prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus-] Here 
 is all alonga beautiful allusion to the Olympic games, 
 and especially the foot-races, which made the most ce- 
 lebrated part of them. The prize was placed in a very 
 conspicuous situation, so that the competitors might be 
 animated by having it always in their sight. The word 
 ^fuxCiiov is considered by some as expressing the princi- 
 pal prize, whereas it is possible that some of the racers 
 might come to the goal, and receive lower rewards. 
 
PHILIPPIANS. S91 
 
 Doddridge says, that though such inferior prizes were 
 common in funeral games, secondary prizes were not 
 bestowed on the Olyoipic foot-race. (See West's 
 Dissert, en the Olympic Games^ p. 63.) 
 
 No. 551. — iii. 14. The prize of the high calling of 
 God in Christ jfesus.^ V Enfant thinks the apostle com- 
 pares our Lord to those who stood at the elevated place 
 at the end of the course, calling the racers by their 
 names, and encouraging them by holding out the crowii 
 to exert themselves with vigour. 
 
 No. 552. — iv. 3. The book of life. 1 This expression 
 refers to the custom of those cities which had registers 
 containing the names of all the citizens, from which the 
 names of infamous persons were erased. Agreeable to 
 this we read of names being blotted out of God's book. 
 fRev. iii. 5.) Those citizens who were orderly and 
 obedient were continued on the roll, from whence they 
 could easily obtain their title to all the immunities and 
 privileges common to all the members of the city ; and 
 to be excluded from these was both disgraceful and in- 
 jurious. 
 
[ 392 ] 
 
 No. 553.— COLOSSIANS il. Ui 
 
 Blotting out the hand writing. 
 
 The hand writing, y(tipoyfx(poy, signifies a bill or bond, 
 whereby a person binds himself to some payment or du- 
 ty, and which stands in force against him till the obli- 
 gation is discharged. In these words the apostle alludes 
 to the different methods by which bonds formerly were 
 cancelled : one was by blotting or crossing them out 
 with a pen, and another was by striking a nail through 
 them. In cither of these cases the bond was rendered 
 useless, and ceased to be valid. These circumstances 
 the apostle applies to the death of Christ. 
 
 No. 554.-2 THESSALONIANS iii. 1. 
 
 That the xvord of the Lord may have free course and 
 he glorified. 
 
 Some think that these words allude to the applauses 
 given to those who made a speedy progress in the races, 
 which constituted so important a part of the Grecian 
 games. 
 
I 393 ] 
 
 No. 555.-2 TIMOTHY ii. 15. 
 
 Rightly dividing the word of truth* 
 
 It Is possible that this is an allusion to what the Jew- 
 ish high-priest or Levite did in disse6ling the vi6lin\ 
 and separating the parts in a proper manner, as some 
 were to be laid on God's altar, and others to be given to 
 those who were to share in the sacrifice ; others think 
 it refers to guiding a plough aright, in order to divide 
 the clods in the most proper and efFe6lual manner, and 
 make strait furrows. But perhaps the metaphor may be 
 taken from the distribution made by a steward, in deli- 
 vering out to each person under his care, such things as 
 his office and their necessities required. 
 
 Doddridge in loc. 
 
 No. 556. — ii. 19. The foundation of God standeth sure^ 
 having this seaLI Many critics have justly observed^ 
 that the word a(pp<xy,s often signifies an inscription, or 
 the mark made by a seal, as well as the seal itself; and 
 the expression is here used with peculiar propriety, ia 
 allusion to the custom of engraving upon some stones, 
 laid in the foundation of buildings, the name of the 
 person by whom, and the purposes for which the struc- 
 ture is raised ; and nothing can have a greater ten- 
 dency to encourage the hope, and at the same time to 
 engage tl ^ obedience of christians, than this double in- 
 scription. 
 
 No. 557.— ii. 26. That they may recover themselves 
 out of the snare of the devily who are taken captive by him 
 at his w///.] In order to understand this beautiful 
 
 *2D 
 
394 TITUS. 
 
 image It Is proper to observe that the word avxYn^bxrit 
 signifies to awake from a deep sleep, or from a fit of in- 
 toxication, (Elsner hi loc.J and refers to an artifice of 
 fowlers, to scatter seeds impregnated with some drugs, 
 intended to lay birds asleep, that they may draw the 
 net over them with the greater security. Dr. Shavt 
 C Travels, p. 236.) mentions a method pra6lised by the 
 modern eastern fowlers of carrying before them a piece 
 of painted canvas of the size of a door, by means of 
 which they stupify or astonish their game, and thus 
 easily destroy them. 
 
 No. 558.— TITUS ii. 5. 
 
 Keepers at home- 
 
 Jealousy is so common and powerful among the 
 people of the East, that their wives are very much con- 
 fined to their houses. Russell informs us (Hist, of 
 Aleppo, p. 113.) that " the Turks of Aleppo being very 
 jealous, keep their women as much at home as they can, 
 go that it is but seldom that they are allowed to visit 
 each other. Necessity, however, obliges the husbands 
 to suffer them to go often to the bagnio, and Mondays 
 and Thursdays are a sort of licensed days for them to 
 visit the tombs of their deceased relations, which fur- 
 nishing them with an opportunity of walking abroad in 
 the gardens or fields, they have so contrived tjiat almost 
 every Thursday in the spring bears the name of some 
 particular sheik (or saint) whose tomb they must visit on 
 that day. (Their cemeteries and gardens are out of 
 their cities in common.) B)^ this means the greatest 
 part of the Turkish women of the city get abroad to 
 breathe the fresh air at such seasons, unless confined, 
 
TITUS. 395 
 
 (as is not uncommon) to their houses, by order of the 
 bashaw, and so deprived even of that little freedom 
 which custom had procured them from their husbands.'* 
 The prohibitions of the bashaws are designed, or pre- 
 tended to be designed at least, to prevent the breach of 
 chastity, for which these liberties of going abroad might 
 be supposed to afford an opportunity. For the same 
 reason it may be apprehended that St. Paul joins the 
 being chaste and keepers at home together. 
 
 Harmer, vol. ii. p. 403. 
 
 No. 559. — iii. 5. The washing of regeneration.'] As 
 washing is an a6l whereby purification is effc6led and de- 
 filement is removed, it is a very proper word to express 
 that divine change which is produced by regeneration, 
 and when connedled with the ancient and universal 
 pra6lice^of washing new-born infants, gives peculiar en- 
 ergy to the conversation of Christ with Nicodemus on 
 the subje6l of the new birth, as also to the phrase used 
 by the apostle in this passage — the washing of regene- 
 ratioji. 
 
 Much attention was bestowed on the washing of 
 infants. The Lacedaemonians, says Plutarch, in his 
 Life of LycurguSy washed the new-born infant in wine, 
 meaning thereby to strengthen the infant. Generally, 
 however, they washed the children in water, warmed 
 perhaps in Greece, cold in Egypt. Plautus, in his AtjI' 
 phytrioriy speaks of such a washing : 
 
 Postquam peperit pueros, lavare jussit, nos occepimus : 
 Sed puer ille quern ego lavi, ut raaguus est, et multum valet ! 
 
[ 396 5 
 
 No. 560.— PHILEMON 19. 
 
 / Paul., have written it with mine own hand. 
 
 These words are to be explained by the Roman laws, 
 by which it was ena6led, that if any man write that he 
 hath undertaken a debt, it is a solemn obligation upon 
 him. Whatsoever is written as if it were done, seems, 
 and is reputed to have been done. From hence it ap- 
 pears that a man is bound as much by his own hand, or 
 confession under it, as if any other testimonies or proofs 
 were against hiro of any fail or debt. 
 
 Hammond in he. 
 
 No. 561.— HEBREWS iv. IS. 
 
 All things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with 
 whom we have to dO' 
 
 It has been well observed that these words contain a 
 graceful allusion to the custom in sacrificing, of flaying 
 ofF.the skin from the vi6lim and cutting it open, where- 
 by all the vitals and inwards are exposed to full view: as 
 yt/<.»os signifies what had no cover ; and rirfx^yiXia-ixttK 
 what had no concealment within. 
 
 Doddridge in loc. 
 
 No. 562. — X. i. For the law having a shadow of good 
 things to come^ and not the very irnagc of the things."] 
 Here is an allusion to the different state of a painting, 
 
HEBREWS. 597 
 
 ^hen the first sketch only is drawn, and when the piece 
 is finished ; or to the first sketch of a painting when- 
 compared with what is yet more expressive than even 
 the completest painting, an exa6l image. 
 
 Doddridge in he. 
 
 No. 563. — X. 22. Our bodies washed -with pure water.'] 
 Washings and purifications were very constantly per- 
 formed by the Jews, and the people of the East in gene- 
 ral. The water used on these occasions was required 
 to be very pure, and was therefore fetched from foun- 
 tains and rivers. The water of lakes or standing ponds 
 was unfit for this purpose : so was also that of the purest 
 stream if it had been a considerable time separated from 
 its source. Hence recens aqua^ fresh water, is applied 
 to this use in Virgil: 
 
 Occupat iSneas aditum, corpusque recenti 
 Spargit aqua. — 
 
 JEn. vi. lin. 6J5- 
 
 The Jewish essenes made use of the purer sorts of water 
 for cleansing, as we are informed by Porphyry. To 
 this pra6lice the apostle seems to allude in these words: 
 and Ezekiel in like manner says, then I will sprinkle 
 clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean, CEzek. xxxvi. 
 25.) Sea-water, on account of its saltncss, waspreferred 
 to any other. Hence Aristeas reports concerning some 
 of the Jews who lived near the sea, that ever)' day be- 
 fore matins they used to wash their hands in the sea. 
 Potter's Archceologia Grceca, vol. i. p. 222. 
 
 No. 564. — xi. 35. Tortured.] It does not seem 
 be determined whether the torture here spoken of was a, 
 mode of punishment distin6lfrom others, or whether the 
 term is not to be taken in a general sense for all kinds 
 of capital punishment and violent death. Doddridge 
 says the original word signifies a peculiar sort of torture, 
 
398 HEBREWS. 
 
 which was called that of the tympanum or drum, when 
 they were extended in the most violent manner, and 
 then beaten with clubs, which must give exquisite pain, 
 when all the parts were on such a stretch. 
 
 No. 565. — xii. 1. Wherefore seeing we also are compas- 
 sed about with so great a cloud ofrvitnesses, let us lay aside 
 every weighty and the sin xvhich doth so easily beset usy 
 and let us run rvith patience the race that is set before us.'\ 
 Capellus thinks that the cloud of witnesses is an allnsion 
 to vast numbers of birds flying together like a cloud. 
 f Isaiah Ix. 8.) The word witness certainly refers to 
 the Olympic race, where persons were appointed to 
 stand at the mark, to observe who first came thither, and 
 give evidence in favour of the conqueror, upon whom 
 a crown was bestowed according to tiieir testimony. 
 
 No. 566. — xii. 2. Looking unto festis^ the author and 
 finisher of our faith-l Some eminent writers are of 
 opinion that Christ is called the author and finisher of 
 foith^ in allusion to the judges of the games, who set 
 laws before the contenders, whereby they were to go- 
 vern themselves, and then adjudged the crowns to the 
 conquerors. Thus, says Mr. Dunlop, (Sermons^ vol. i. 
 p. 309.) he eases us of our burdens, animates our faint- 
 ness, retards the progress of our enemies, and at length 
 will with his own hand set upon our heads that beau- 
 tiful diadem which he hath purchased with his ov/n 
 blood. 
 
 No. 567 — xii. 3. Consider him that endureth such 
 contradiclion of siimers against himself.~\ The original 
 word av:»>,o7/3-aS-i, Consider^ is very emphatical. Erasmus 
 Schmidius observes, that it is a met:.j"hor taken from 
 arithmetical and geometrical proportions, so that it sig- 
 nifies the great accuracy and exa«^ness with which they 
 
HEBREWS. 599 
 
 should consider the author and finisher of their faith, 
 and especially the analogy between his case and their 
 own. 
 
 No. 568. — xii. 4. Te have not yet resisted unto blood, 
 striving against sin.l It has been justly observed by 
 several commentators, that there are many agonistical 
 terms in this context. In the phrase before us there 
 seems to be an allusion to the piigiles, or boxes, who 
 fought eredl, with their hands stretched out, and were 
 often besmeared with blood. Saurin observes in his 
 illustration of this text, (Scnn. ix. p. 90.) that some- 
 times men were killed by the blows of the csestus. 
 
 No. 569. — xii. 11. The peaceable fruit of righteous' 
 ness.l This may possibly allude to the crown of olive 
 given to the vi^lor in the olympic games, which was al- 
 so an emblem oi peace. The learned Bos would trans- 
 late the word £/p»j>"xoy, pleasant^ joyful^ it being usual to 
 express pleasure and happiness by peace. Wolfius is of 
 opinion, that the expression refers to that peace with 
 God which we obtain by faith. (See Cur£ Fhilolog. 
 
 vol. iv. p. rss.j 
 
[ 400 3 
 
 No. 570 JAMES, i. 14. 
 
 But every man is tempted^ when he is drawn away of hit 
 own lust^ and enticed. 
 
 The original words have a singular beauty and elo- 
 quence, containing an allusion to the method of drawing' 
 fishes out of the water with a hook concealed under the 
 baitj which they greedily devour. 
 
 Doddridge in loc. 
 
 No. 571. — i. 27. Pure and undejiled religion.'] Arch- 
 bishop 1'illotson CJVorks, vol. ii. p. 581.) has justly 
 observed, that there seenas here to be an allusion to the 
 excellence of a precious stone, which consists much in 
 its being xxOxpx y.xt uynxilos, clear and without Jlaxv or 
 cloud : and surely no gem is so precious or ornamental 
 as the lovely temper here described. 
 
 No. 572. — ii. 2. If there come unto your assembly a 
 man with a gold ring.] By the assembly here mention- 
 ed we are not to understand a congregation convened 
 for public worship, as is commonly represented, but a 
 court of judicature, in which men are too apt to favour 
 the cause of the rich against the poor. The phrase, sit 
 thou under my footstool^ naturally refers to courts of 
 justice, where the judge is commonly exalted upon a 
 higher seat than the rest of the people. The apostle al- 
 so says, that such a respe6l of persons as he here speaks 
 of is contrary to the law, and that those who are guilty 
 of it, are co?ivinced of the law as transgressors. Now 
 there was no divine law against distin6lion of places ia 
 
JAMES. 401 
 
 worshipping assemblies, into those which were more or 
 less honourable ; this must therefore refer to the law of 
 partiality in judgment- Te shall do no unrighteousness in 
 judgment; thou shalt not respe£l the person ofthepoor^ nor 
 honour the person of the miglity. C Lev it. xlx. 15.) The 
 Talmudists say it was a rule, that when a poor man and a 
 rich man pleaded together in judgment, the rich should 
 not be bid to sit down, and the poor to stand ; but either 
 both shall sit, or both shall stand. To this rule or 
 custom the apostle seems to refer, when he insinuates a 
 charge against them of saying to the rich man, sit thou 
 here in a good place^ and to the poor stand thou there. 
 Jennings's yeioish Antiquities, vol. ii. p. 66. 
 
 No. 57 o. — V. 5. Te have nourished your hearts^ as in 
 a day of slaughter.'] Mr. Blackwall, (Sacred Classics^ 
 vol. ii. p. 183.) in speaking of this passage says, " The 
 ordinary reader cannot see the relation between a day 
 of slaughter and such high indulgence and merriment. 
 The ideas seem to be oddly put together ; the perti- 
 nence of the passage may at least be doubted, and the 
 grace of the metaphor is entirely lost. E> nt^.i^x a^xyr,: 
 might not improperly be rendered, in a day^ or time of 
 public feasting^ ox feasting upon sacrifce. It was the cus- 
 tom of all nations, in times of joy or happy success, first 
 to offer some peculiar parts of the sacrifice by way of 
 burnt-offering, in gratitude and acknowledgment to th'eir 
 gods, and then to entertain and feast themselves upon 
 all the rest, prepared and dressed for them, with great 
 freedom and gaiety of heart ; and upon these occasions 
 the people often fan into great disoiders and indecen- 
 cies, to which the apostle here alludes." 
 
 No. 574. — V. 14. Anointing him xvith oil in the name 
 of the Lord.'] " la Yemen, the anointing of the body 
 
 3 E 
 
402 JAMES. 
 
 is believed to strengthen and prote6l it from the heat of 
 the sun, by which the inhabitants of this province, as 
 they wear so little clothing, are very liable to suffer. 
 Oil^ by closing up the pores of the skin, is supposed to 
 prevent that too copious transpiration which enfeebles 
 the frame ; perhaps too, these Arabians think a glister- 
 ing skin a beauty. When the intense heat comes in, 
 they always anoint their bodies with oil. At Sa7ia^ all 
 the Jews, and many of the Mahometans, have their 
 bodies anointed whenever they find themselves indispo- 
 sed.'' (NiEBUHR, vol. ii. p. 274.) This in some de- 
 gree explains the dire6lion of the apostle James, the 
 meaning of which will be, to do that solemnly for the 
 purpose of healing, which was often done medicinally ; 
 and accordingly we find Solomon^ in many places of his 
 Proverbs, speaking of administering ointment, which 
 rejoices the heart, which may be a healing medicine to 
 the naval, Sec. 
 
[ 403 ] 
 
 No. 575.-1 PETER i. 5. 
 
 Kept by the power of God. 
 
 The original word, (pfaps/xevus, is very emphatical, and 
 properly signifies being kept as in an impregnable gar- 
 rison, secure from harm, under the observation of an 
 all-seeing eye, and prote6lion of an almighty hand. 
 
 No. 576. — ii. 4. A living st07ie.'\ By a metaphor 
 taken from plants, which stick fast to their roots, and are 
 nourished by juice ascending from them, stones which 
 remain still in the quarry are said to be living. By this 
 epithet here is meant the fimness of that thing which. is 
 signified by the name of a stone, for nothing is firmer 
 than stones growing in a quarry, or cleaving fast to a 
 rock by their roots. For this reason a steady and in- 
 flexible purpose of mind is compared by Ovid to such a 
 stone, v/here he speaks of Anaxaretes : 
 
 Durior et ferro, quod Noricus excoquit ignis, 
 Et saxo quod adhuc vivum radice tenetur. 
 
 Metam. 14. 
 
 No. 577. — V. 4. Chief shepherd.] In ancient times, 
 when flocks and herds of cattle were very numerous, the 
 care of them required the attention of many shepherds; 
 and that every thing might be condu6led with regula- 
 rity, it was necessary that one should preside over the 
 rest. This we find was customary ; and hence, in 1 Sam. 
 xxi. 7. we read that Doeg was the chief of the herdsmen 
 that belonged to Saul ; and in some curious remarks 
 on the sheep-walks of Spain, published in the Gentle* 
 
404 1 PETER. 
 
 man^s magazine for May., 1764^ we are informed, that 
 in this country (where it is not at all surprising to meet 
 with eastern customs still preserved from the Moors) 
 they have to this day, over each flock of sheep, a chief 
 shepherd. " Ten thousand compose a flock, which is 
 divided into ten tribes. One man has the condu(5\ of 
 all. He must be the owner of four or live hundred 
 sheep, strong, a6live, vigilant, intelligent in pasture, in 
 the weather, and in the diseases of sheep. He has ab- 
 solute dominion over fifty shepherds and fifty dogs, five 
 of each to a tribe. He chooses them, he chastises them, 
 or discharges them at will. He is xhQ propositus or the 
 chief shepherd of the whole flock." 
 
 No. 578. — V. 8. As a roaring lion.'] For the illus- 
 tration of this passage it may be observed, that the 
 roaring of the lion is in itself one of the most terrible 
 sounds in nature j but it becomes still more dreadful, 
 when it is known to be a sure prelude of destru6lion 
 to whatever living creature comes in his way. Hence 
 that question in Amos iii. 8. the lion hath roared, who 
 ivill not fear P The lion does not usually setup his hor- 
 ■ rid roar till he beholds his prey, and is just going to seize 
 i> (See Bochart, vol. ii. p. 729.) 
 
[ 405 ] 
 
 No. 579.— 2 PETER i. 5. 
 
 And besides this, giving all diligence, add to yonr faith 
 virtue. 
 
 Doddridge thus paraphrases and explains this pas- 
 sage; and for this purpose applying with all ^os^WAq dili- 
 gence^ as you have believed the gospel, be caret\d to 
 accompany that belief with all the lovely train of atten- 
 dant graces ; associate as it were to your faith ^ virtue, 
 true fortitude, and resolution of mind, which may enable 
 you to break through that variety of dangers with which 
 your faith may be attended. The word imyf^opyiymrxlsy 
 translated add, associate, properly signifies to lead up, as 
 in dance, one of these virtues after another, which he 
 mentions, in a beautiful and majestic order. 
 
 No. 580. — i. 20. No prophecy of the Scripture is of 
 any private interpretation.'] The word inriXvcns seems to 
 be agonistical, and signifies the starting, or watch-word, 
 or sign, upon which the racers set out, or began their 
 course. The place from whence they set out is called 
 «(p£T«/)/a, where, when then they set out, they are said to 
 be let loose, and this is literally jw'Xtfo-Sa; ; to this is the 
 sending of prophets here compared, who are said to run. 
 (Jer. xxiii. 21. Ezek. xiii, 6, 7.) They rem, and I sent 
 them not, i. e. I gave them no watch-word to run, as in 
 the Psalmist, God gave the xvord, great was the company 
 of preachers, Hammond in loc^ 
 
[ 406 ] 
 
 No. 581.— JUDE 4. 
 
 Tor there are certain men crept in unawares,, who were 
 before of old ordained to this condemnation. 
 
 Those who were summoned before the courts of ju- 
 dicature, were said to he. 'TrpoyiypxiA-tA.svoi sis npia-iVj because 
 ihey were cited by posting up their names in some pub- 
 lic place, and to these judgment was published or de- 
 clared in wriiiug. Eisner remarks, that the Greek wri- 
 ters apply the term Trfoyiypxi/.iAiwvs^ to those whom the 
 Romans called proscriptos^ or proscribed, /. e. whose 
 names were posted up in writing in some public place, 
 as persons doomed to die, with a reward offered to who- 
 ever would kill them. He says also, that those persons 
 who are spoken of by St. Jude, as before of old ordained 
 to this condemnation^ must not only give an account to 
 God for their crimes, and are liable to his judgment, 
 but are destined to the punishment they deserve, as vic- 
 tims of the divine anger. 
 
 /, fohn^ was in the isle that is called Patnios^for the word 
 of God, and for the testimony of fesiis Christ. 
 
 This punishment, in the Roman law, is called capitis 
 diminulio, because the person thus banished was dislran- 
 chised, and the city thereby lost an head. It succeeded 
 in the room of that ancient punishment, aqnd et igni 
 inferdiccrc,, n-hcreby it w;!S implied, that the man must, 
 fur his own defence, beiake himself into banishment, 
 
REVELATIONS. 407 
 
 when It became unlawful for any to accommodate him 
 with lodging, diet, or any other necessary of li^e. But 
 this banishing into islands was properly called dlsporta- 
 tiot being accounted the worst kind of exile, whereby the 
 criminal forfeited his estate, and being bound, and put 
 on board ship, was, by public officers, transported to 
 some certain island (which none but the emperor him- 
 self might assign) there to be confined to pei-petual 
 banishment. The place to which St. John was carried 
 was Patmos, a little island in the Archipelago, now 
 called Palmosa, mountainous, but moderately fruitful, 
 especially in wheat and pulse, though defe611ve in other 
 commodities. The whole circumference of the island 
 is about thirty miles, and on one of the mountains 
 stands a town of the same name, having on the top of it 
 a monastery of Greek monks ; and on the north side of 
 the town the inhabitants by tradition shew an house in 
 which the apocalypse was written, and, not far of, the 
 cave where it was revealed, both places of great esteem 
 and veneration with the Greeks and Latins. 
 
 Well's Geography of the Nexv Testament^ part ii. 
 p. 128. 
 
 No. 583. — i. 16, Out of his mouth zvent a sharp tivo- 
 edged sxuord.'\ The sword is sometimes used in a figura- 
 tive and metaphorical sense in the scriptures. Thus the 
 Psalmist says, speaking of his enemies, that sx-jords are 
 in their lips (Psalm lix. 7.) ; and it is said of our Lord 
 that out of his mouth -went a sharp two-edged sxuord. This 
 representation appears to corespond with the pra(5lice 
 of some people with respedl to this weapon. Thevenot 
 has mentioned an incident which throws considerable 
 light upon this point; he says, (part i. p. 229.) " The 
 galliot being out a cruising, met with a Turkish galliot, 
 and having laid her athwart hauze, met with a stout re- 
 sistance. The Turks who were ori board of her, having 
 
408 REVELATIONS. 
 
 o naked sword between their teeth, and a musket in their 
 hands, beat off theii adversaries.'' How this naked sword 
 was used in combat' does not appear, but if this ever 
 had been part of a military custom, the figure of a sv/ord 
 issuing from the mouth seems as if it might be justi- 
 fied by matter of fail ; and this expression may rank 
 umong those which occurrent circumstances may have 
 formed. 
 
 No. 5S4.. — il. 17. A wh'cte stoneJ] The stone here 
 referred to is such an one as was used ill popular judi- 
 cature, or in eltdlions, the custombeing tg give the votes 
 in either of these by such stones. These were either 
 white or black j the white was a token of absolution or 
 approbation, the black of condemnation or reje6lion. 
 1'here werejudges intheagonistical games, whoawardcd 
 the prizes to the conqueror by the use of these stones, 
 a white one, with the name of the person and the value 
 of the prize, being given to sudi as was vi6lorious. 
 
 Ovid expressly mentions, that black and white stones 
 wtre used to absolve or condemn persons at Argos. 
 
 Mos crat antiquus, niveis atrisquc lapillis, 
 His daiuiiare reos, illis absolvere culpa. 
 
 Metam. Hb. xv. lin. 42. 
 
 No. 585. — li. 17. A neiu name written, xvhich ?io fnan 
 knou'cih, saving he that receiveth it.] Doddridge on this 
 passage sa\s, I have sometimes thought oXa^x^Sai-i/v may 
 E^gniiy 07ie that hath received it, as it seems a name given 
 ti.> auN person must be known to others, or it would be 
 g'Vt-n in vain ; and then it intimates, thathonour should 
 be conferred upon such an one, which shall only be 
 J.nown lo the inhabitants of that v/orld to which he shall 
 bv admitted, and who have already received it; other- 
 vise it must refer to a custonv which has sometimes 
 prt\ ailed among princes, of giving particular names, 
 
REVELATIONS. 409 
 
 expressing familiarity and delight, to distinguished fa- 
 vourites, by which to call them in the greatest intimacy 
 of converse, whether by discourse, or by letter, and 
 which have not been communicated to others, or used 
 by them at other times. 
 
 No. 586. — iii. 13. J xvill rvrite upon him the name of 
 viy God.'] Great numbers of inscriptions are yet re- 
 maining, brought from the Grecian cities of Europe and 
 Asra, and some from islands in the neighbourhood of 
 Patmos, in which the vi6lories of eminent persons are 
 commemorated. Some of these were placed near the 
 temples of their deities, others were /'n the temples, to 
 signify that they were put under their particular protec- 
 tion ; upon these were inscribed the names of the deities, 
 of the conquerors, and of the cities to which they be- 
 longed, and the names of the generals by whose condu6l 
 the vidlory was gained. Inscriptions also were some- 
 times placed upon pillars, to record the privileges grant- 
 ed to cities, and also the names of their bencfadlors. 
 
 No. 587. — iv. 4. Found about the throne.'] The situ- 
 ation of the elders is agreeable to the ancient manner of 
 sitting in council or consistory among the Jews. There 
 is a representation of this in Daniel vii. 9. I beheld till 
 the seats or thrones were pitched, not thrown down, as 
 in our translation, a7id the ancien ' of days did sit in the 
 midst of the other thrones, as the father or head of the 
 consistory, and the judgment was set, (ver. 10.) that is, 
 the whole sanhedrim ; the rest of the elders were seated 
 on those thrones which were round about, and the books 
 were opened preparatory to the judicature. 
 
 Hammond in loC' 
 
 No. 588. — v. 8. When he had taken the book.] Some 
 interpreters understand the delivering of this book into 
 
 3 F 
 
410 REVELATIONS. 
 
 the hands of Christ, as an a6l of inauguration, or inves- 
 titure, into his regal power and authority, and that many 
 of the expressions here used are taken from the cere- 
 monies of solemn investitures, in which there are seve- 
 ral instances of its having been done by the delivery of 
 a book. 
 
 No. 589. — V. 8. Golden vials full of odour sJ] Vials 
 were of common use in the temple service, they were 
 not like those small bottles which we now call by that 
 name, but were like cups on a plate, in allusion to the 
 censers of gold, in which the priests offered incense in 
 the temple. These censers were a sort of cups, which, 
 because of the heat of the fire burning the incense, were 
 often put upon a plate or saucer. The common custom 
 of drinking tea and other hot liquor out of a cup and 
 saucer will shew the form of these censers. 
 
 LowMAN in loc. 
 
 No. 590. — vi.] St. John evidently supposes paint- 
 ings, or drawings, in that volume which he saw in the 
 visions of God ; the first figure being that of a man on a 
 white horse, with a bow in his hand, &c. The eastern 
 manuscripts are thus ornamented. Olearius (p. 638.) 
 describing the library belonging to the famous sepulchre 
 of Schich Sefi, says, that the manuscripts are all ex- 
 tremely well written, beautifully bound, and those of 
 history illustrated with many representations in minia- 
 ture. The more ancient books of the East are found to 
 be beautified in this manner ; for Pocoke speaks in his 
 travels of two manuscripts of the Pentateuch, one in the 
 monastery of Patmos, the other belonging to the bishop 
 of Smyrna, adorned with several paintings well exe- 
 cvited for the time, one of which is supposed to be 
 above 900 years old. Harmer, vol. ii. p. 181. 
 
REVELATIONS. 411 
 
 No. 591. — vi. 8. And I looked^ and behold a pale 
 horse^ and his name that sat on him xvas Death,'] It is not 
 unlikely that the figures representing death and the 
 grave might have their names expressed by some motto 
 or inscription, as it was a thing so well known in the 
 medals of these times to write the names Pietas, Feli- 
 citas, virtus, ^c, under the figures designed to represent 
 them. 
 
 No. 592. — ix. 19. For their potver is in their mouth 
 and their tails.] The power in the mouth and in the 
 tails, as serpents, is plainly an allusion to those serpents 
 which are supposed to have two heads, one at each end 
 of their body, as Pliny describes the amphishoena ; 
 geminum caput amphishcen^, hoc est ad caput, et ad cau- 
 dam tanquam parum esset uno ore fundi venenum. CHist. 
 Nat. lib. viii. cap. 23.) A proper representation of a 
 furious and terrible invasion. Lowman in loc. 
 
 No. 593. — ix. 20, They should not worship devils.'] 
 Mr. Ives, in his travels through Persia, gives the follow- 
 ing curious account of devil-worship. " These people 
 (the Sanjacks, a nation inhabiting the country about i>ib- 
 sul, the ancient Nineveh J once professed Christianity, . 
 thenMahometanism, and last of all devilism. They say, 
 it is true, that the devil has at present a quarrel with 
 God, but the time will come, when the pride of his heart 
 being subdued, he will make his submission to the Al- 
 mighty ; and, as the Deity cannot be implacable, the 
 devil will receive a full pardon for all his transgressions, 
 and both he, and all those who paid him attention 
 during his disgrace, will be admitted into the blessed 
 mansions. This is the foundation of their hope, and 
 this chance for heaven they esteem to be a better one, 
 than that of trusting to their own merits, or the merits 
 of the leader of any other religion whatsoever. The 
 
412 REVELATIONS. 
 
 person of the devil they look on as sacred, and when 
 they affirm any thing solemnly, they do it by his name. 
 All disrespe6lful expressions of him they would punish 
 with death, did not the Turkish power prevent them. 
 Whenever they speak of him, it is with the utmost re- 
 spe6l ; and they always put before his name a certain 
 title corresponding to that of highness, or lord." (p. 
 SI 8.) The Benjans, in the East Indies, (according to 
 the Abbe de Guyon, in his history of that country) fill 
 their temples or pagodas with his statues, designed in all 
 the horrid extravagance of the Indian taste. The king 
 of Galicut, in particular, has a pagoda wholly filled with 
 the most frightful figures of the devil, which receives no 
 other light than what proceeds from the gleam of a 
 multitude of lamps. In the midst of this kind of cavern 
 is a copper throne, whereon a devil formed of the same 
 metal is seated, with a tiara of several rows on his head, 
 three large horns, and four others that spring out of his 
 forehead. He has a large gaping mouth, out of which 
 come four teeth like the tusks of a boar. His chin is 
 furnished with a long and hideous beard. He has a 
 crooked nose, large squinting eyes, a face frightfully 
 inflamed, fingers crooked like talons, and paws rather 
 than feet. His breasts hang down upon his belly, where 
 his hands are laid in a negligent posture ; from his belly 
 arises another head, viglier if possible than the first, with 
 two horns, and a tongue hanging out prodigiously large, 
 and behind him a tail like a cow's. On his tongue and 
 in his hand there are two fingers almost round, which 
 the Indians say are souls that he is preparing to devour. 
 (Hist, of East hid. part. ii. c 2. s. 1.) 
 
 No. 594. — xi. 3. I ivill give poxver unto mif two wit- 
 ne&ses^ and t/iev shall prophesy a thoiiftand tivo hundred 
 and threescore daijSy clothed in sackcloth,'] Sackcloth ap- 
 pears to have been made of hair, and as to its colour ^o 
 
REVELATIONS. 413 
 
 have been black, the scripture declaring that the sun 
 htcvLVCit black as sdckcloth of hair. (Rev. \\. 12.) The 
 prophets wore it as a dress at particular times, and 
 agreeable to that custom the two witnesses are to be 
 clothed in sackcloth. It was used in these cases to ex- 
 press distress, and as a token of mourning ; it appears 
 also to have been employed to enwrap the dead, when 
 about to be buried, so that its being worn by survivors 
 was a kind of assimilation to the departed ; and its be- 
 ing worn by penitents was an implied confession that 
 iheir guilt exposed them to death. This may be gather- 
 ed from an expression of Chardin^ who says, Kel Anay- 
 et, the shah's buffoon, made a shop in the seraglio, which 
 he filled with pieces of that coarse kind of stuff, of which 
 winding-sheets for the dead are made. And again ; as 
 the sufferers die by hundreds, wrapping cloth is doubled 
 in price ; however, in later ages, some eastern nations 
 might bury in linen, j^et others still retained the use of 
 sackcloth for that purpose. (Fragments supplementarif 
 to Calmet's DiSl. No. 320.) 
 
 No. 595. — xii. 1. And there appeared a great wonder 
 in heaven, a women clothed xvith the sjcn, and the 77ibon 
 under her feet., andupon her head a crozvn of twelve stars."] 
 It was a well known custom, at the time of this prophe- 
 cy, to represent the several virtues and public societies, 
 by the figure of a wonienin some peculiar dress, many of 
 which are to be seen on the Roman coins ; in particular 
 Salusj the emblem of security and protedlion, is repre- 
 sented as a woman standing upon a globe, to represent 
 the safety and security of the world under the empe- 
 ror's care, as in a coin of Hadrian's ; globum pede cat- 
 cans, significans se imperante, orhi salutem piiblicam da- 
 tarn. The consecration of the Roman emperors is ex- 
 pressed in their coins by a moon and stars, as in two of 
 Faustina, to express a degree of glory superior to any 
 on earth, Lowman in he. 
 
414 REVELATIONS. 
 
 No. 596. — xiii. 17. And that no man might butj or 
 se//j save he that had the mark^ or the name of the beast j 
 or the 7mmber of his name.^ Many learned men have 
 thought these expressions relate to the manner in which 
 Ptolemy Philopater persecuted the Jews. " He forbad 
 any to enter into his palace, who did not sacrifice to the 
 gods he worshipped, whereby he excluded the Jews all 
 access to him, either to the suing to him for justice, or 
 the obtaining of his prote6lion, in what case soever 
 they should stand in need of it. He ordered by another 
 decree, that all of the Jewish nation that lived in Alex- 
 andria should be degraded from the first rank of citi- 
 zens, of which they had always hitherto been from the 
 first founding of the city, and be enrolled in the third 
 rank am.aig the common people of Egypt, and that all 
 of them should come thus to be enrolled, and at the time 
 of this enrollment have the mark of an ivy-leai, the 
 badge of the god Bacchus, bv an hot iron impressed 
 upon them ; and that all those who should refuse to be 
 thus enrolled, and to be stigmatized with this mark, 
 should be slaves ; and that if any of them should stand 
 out against this decree, they should be put to death." 
 Prideaux's ConneSllon^ part ii. lib. 2. aim. 
 ante C. 216. 
 
 No. 597. — xvii. 5. And upon her forehead was a name 
 written.. Mystery, Baby!o?i the great."] It has been ob- 
 served by interpreters, that lewd women were used to 
 have their names written over their doors, and some- 
 times on their foreheads ; and that criminals among the 
 Romans had an inscription of their crimes carried before 
 them. In the first sense, as Mr. Daubuz observes, this 
 inscription v/ill denote a public profession of what is sig- 
 nified by it, or a public patronage of idolatrous do6lrines 
 and worship. In the sttond sense, it will denote the 
 crimes for which she is condemned, and was punished 
 by the foregoing pl.-.gats. lAr. Waple thinks this in'< 
 
REVELATIONS. 415 
 
 scription is rather an allusion to the knowo inscription 
 on the forehead of the high-priest, Holiness to the Lord. 
 Whereby is intimated, that this idolatrous persecuting 
 government was an antichrlstian church, of a temper and 
 spirit quite contrary to the true worship of the one true 
 God. LowMJ^N in loc. 
 
 No. 598. — xix. 10. I fell at his feet to xvorship him.'\ 
 This appears to have been the acl of homage usually 
 paid to great men in the East, and which was now per- 
 formed under impressions more solemn than those which 
 were made by the presence of princes and kings. Mr. 
 B r tic e t\i\xs describes the ceremony now alluded to: 
 " The next remarkable ceremony in which these two 
 nations (of Persiaand Ab3ssinia) agreed, is that of ado- 
 ration, inviolably observed in Abyssinia to this day, as 
 often as you enter the sovereign's presence. This is not 
 only kneeling, but absolute prostration ; you first fall 
 upon your knees, then upon the palms of your hands, 
 •then incline your head and body till your forehead 
 touches the ground, and, in case you have an answer to 
 expe6l, you lie in that posture till the king, or some- 
 body from him, desires you to rise." (Travels, vol. iiu 
 p. 270.) 
 
 No. 599. — xxi. 2. Prepared as a brick t] In the East 
 brides frequently change their dress, and are presented 
 each time they do so to the bridegroom. Z)' Arvieux 
 gives this account of the Arabs, fVoij. dans la Pal. p. 
 225.) " When the evening is come, the women present 
 the bride to her future husband. The women who con- 
 du6l her make him a compliment, who answers not a 
 word, sitting perfe6lly still, with a grave and serious 
 air. This ceremony is three times repeated the same 
 evening; and whenever they change the bride's dress, 
 ihcy present her to the bridegroom, who receives her 
 
416 REVELATIONS. 
 
 always wUh the same gravity. It is a sort of magnlfia 
 cence in the East, frequently to dress and undress the 
 bride, and to cause her to wear in that same day all the 
 clothes made up for her nuptials. The bridegroom's 
 dress is also frequently changed for the same reason." 
 An attention to this circumstance throws an energy into 
 the words of St. John, when he speaks of the New Jeru- 
 salem coming down from God out of heaven, prepared 
 as a bride for her husband. 
 
 Harmer, vol. ii. p. 122. 
 
 No. 600. — xxi. 19. Foundations of the wall."] "Thisis 
 not only a description of what must be exceeding beau- 
 tiful in its appearance, but is moreover manifestly cor- 
 responding with the mode of building amongst the an- 
 cient Romans, who, it is well known, constru6led their 
 walls from the bottom to the top with alternate layers^ 
 or rows of biicks, and of white stone, and sometimes 
 of black flints. Each of these layers was always of a 
 considerable thickness, or breadth ; and whilst their dif- 
 ferent colours formed a beautiful appearance to the eye, 
 and werea most elegant kind of ornament, this mode of 
 placing materials of different dimensions and substance 
 in aliernate rows greatly strengthened the work." 
 King's Morsels ofcriticisfn^ vol. i. p. 67. 
 
 THE END. 
 
[ 4ir ] 
 FIRST INDEX. 
 
 PASSAGES OF SCRIPTURE 
 
 INCIDENTALLY ILLUSTRATED, OR ALLUDED TO, 
 IN THIS VOLUME* 
 
 Zi. B. Tht Fi'surcs refer to the Numbers oftht Articieu 
 
 Genesis ii- 10 . . 
 xiii. 10 . 
 XV. 9, 10 
 xxii. 2 . 
 xxiii. 6 . 
 xxiii. 15 . 
 xxvi. 20 . 
 xxvi. 28 . 
 , xxvi. 30 . 
 
 xxxi. 54 , 
 xxxii. 22 
 XXV. 14 . 
 xxxviii. 2 
 xxxviii. 16 
 xlii. 6 . 
 xlii. 23 
 xlix. 7 . 
 xlix. 12 
 xlix. 22 
 
 Exodus iv. 16 . 
 xi. 5 . . 
 xii. 11 . 
 xxii. 31 
 XXV. 20 
 XXX. 15 
 
 Leviticus xiii. 45 
 
 No 
 230 
 230 
 294 
 373 
 97 
 97 
 62 
 11 
 294 
 294 
 180 
 297 
 470 
 453 
 266 
 88 
 410 
 278 
 467 
 391 
 414 
 448 
 176 
 321 
 405 
 319 
 
 I No 
 
 I Leviticus xix. 15 572 . 
 
 : Numbers xxiii. 1 373 
 
 Deuteronomy iv. 48 189 
 
 xxii. 8 . . . 246, 42€ 
 
 xxiv. I . . . , 369 
 
 xxv. 4 258 
 
 XXV. 9 61 
 
 xxvii. 14 . . . 87 
 
 XXV iii. 58 . . . 390 
 
 xxix. 9 .... 390 
 
 xxxii. 13 . . . 371 
 
 xxxii, 36 ... 115 
 
 Joshua vi. 27 87 
 
 vii. 6 100 
 
 xix. 19 -189 
 
 Judges iii. 20 286 
 
 iv. 19 83 
 
 \.20 540 
 
 vi. 2 231 
 
 vi. 37 Ill 
 
 ix. 45 71 
 
 xi. 34 40 
 
 xiv. 8 369 
 
 XV. 1 351, 453 
 
 xvi. 21 438 
 
 xvi. 27 86 
 
 3G 
 
418 
 
 FIRST INDEX. 
 
 No 
 
 Ruth iii. 11 15 
 
 1 Samuel i. 5 445 
 
 ii, 8 303 
 
 iv. 13 161 
 
 ix. 7 89 
 
 ix.25 246 
 
 xiii. 6 231 
 
 xiv. 24 87 
 
 xiv. 33 4 
 
 xvi. 12 278 
 
 xvi 20 351 
 
 xvii 42 278 
 
 xvii. 43 ....... . 17G 
 
 xviii, 6 40 
 
 xxi. 7 577 
 
 XXV. 2 
 XXX. 21 
 
 259 
 180 
 
 2 Samuel i. 2 lUO 
 
 i. 21 245 
 
 287 
 
 40 
 
 iv. 2—7 ..... 
 
 vi. 14 
 
 vi. 19 445 
 
 xi. 8—10 147 
 
 xiii. 8 8 
 
 xiii. 19 444 
 
 1 Kings i. 1, 2 446 
 
 i. 52 508 
 
 ii. 25 199 
 
 X. 21 185 
 
 xi.36 288 
 
 xviii. 26 381 
 
 xviii. 45 126 
 
 XX. 31 100 
 
 xxi. 4 124 
 
 xxii. 10 Ill 
 
 xxii.38 123 
 
 2 Kings iii. 27 2 
 
 V. 10 88 
 
 V. 23 . 134 
 
 viii. 9 77 
 
 viii. 13 176 
 
 ix. 30 278 
 
 X. 15 195 
 
 xi. 12 133 
 
 xii. 10 152 
 
 xiii. 7 258 
 
 xiv. 26 115 
 
 XX. 2 124 
 
 xxiv. 17 461 
 
 XXV. 7 438 
 
 XXV. 19 410 
 
 1 Chronicles ii. 55 . . 
 xii. 1 . . 
 xii. 33 . . 
 xxiii. 29 . 
 
 2 Chronicles ix. 14 . . 
 xvi. 14 . 
 xviii. 9 . 
 xxvi. 23 . 
 xxxii. 33 
 xxxiv. 13 
 xxxvi. 4 
 
 Ezra ix. 8 
 
 Neheraiah ii. 8 . . . 
 
 . iv. 7 . . . 
 
 viii. 10 . . . 
 
 ix. 38 . . . 
 
 X. 29 . . . 
 
 Esther i. 7 
 
 ii. 19 
 
 iv. 1 
 
 V. 1 
 
 Job ii. 12 
 
 vi. 17, 18 .... . 
 
 xviii. 5 
 
 xxi. 17 
 
 xxii. 25 . . . . 
 xxiii. 10 . . . . 
 xxvii. 18 ... . 
 xxvii. 23 ... . 
 xxxiii. 23 . . . 
 xxxvii. 18 . . . 
 
 xiii. 6 
 
 Psalms i. 3 . . . . . 
 
 241, 
 
 1. o .... 
 
 ix. 18 . . . 
 xvi. 5 . . . 
 xviii. 5 . . . 
 xix. 5 . . . 
 xix. 10 . . 
 xx.xviii. 1 . . 
 xiv. 1 . . . . 
 xlvii. 1 . . . 
 Ivii. 4 . . . 
 lix. 7 . . . 
 lix. 6, 14, 15 
 Ixiii. 5 . . . 
 Ixiv. 3 . . . 
 Ixix. 28 . . 
 Ixxv. 5 . . 
 Ixxv. 8 . . . 
 Ixxviii. 20 . 
 
 No 
 410 
 115 
 449 
 8 
 370 
 293 
 111 
 137 
 247 
 410 
 461 
 249 
 304 
 188 
 147 
 251 
 261 
 341 
 15 
 444 
 86 
 100 
 187 
 288 
 288 
 240 
 240 
 228 
 133 
 88 
 48 
 444 
 230 
 113 
 113 
 445 
 110 
 466 
 240 
 113 
 410 
 133 
 279 
 583 
 176 
 351 
 
 2r9 
 
 284 
 
 113 
 
 402 
 
 41 
 
FIRST INDEX. 
 
 419 
 
 No 
 
 Psalms Ixxviii. 08 390 
 
 Ixxxi. 16 371 
 
 Ixxxiii. 13, 14 ... . o72 
 
 xcii 10 179 
 
 cxvi. 3 302 
 
 cxxvii. 5 68 
 
 cxl. 9, 10 515 
 
 Proverbs xii. 9 18 
 
 xix. 13 203 
 
 xxi. 1 230 
 
 xxiii. 29 2r8 
 
 xxiii. 30 229 
 
 xxiv. 12 113 
 
 XXV. 14 126 
 
 XXV. 18 279 
 
 xxvii. 15 203 
 
 xxxi. 6 289 
 
 Ecclesiastes ii. 5, 6 . . . 226, 230 
 
 iv. 11 446 
 
 Solomon's Song ii. 14 . . . . 299 
 
 iii. 8 .... 173 
 
 viii. 2 ... 229 
 
 Isaiah v. 1 — 7 457 
 
 v. 6 . . , 449 
 
 v. 22 229 
 
 V. 24 372 
 
 vi. 10 262 
 
 ix. 15 410 
 
 xxii. 6 245 
 
 xxii. 22 397 
 
 xxviii. 15 294 
 
 xxviii 27, 28 258 
 
 xxxiii 18 410 
 
 xxxviii. 10 15 
 
 xlvii. 14 515 
 
 Ii. 17 229 
 
 Ivi. 10, 11, 12 .... 547 
 
 Ix. 8 565 
 
 Jeremiah ix. 17, 18 428 
 
 XV. 3 123 
 
 xvii. 8 230 
 
 xxiii. 21 580 
 
 xli. 8 136 
 
 xli.9 231 
 
 xlviii. 7 264 
 
 xlviii. 37 282 
 
 Ii. 16 190 
 
 Lamentations ii. 15 133 
 
 V. 4 62 
 
 V. 14 15 
 
 Ezekieliv. 7 267 
 
 No 
 
 Ezekieliv. 13 330 
 
 v. 1, 5 104 
 
 x 2 515 
 
 xiii. 6,7 580 
 
 xiii. 9 284 
 
 xiii. 11 353 
 
 XV, 3 249 
 
 xxi. 12 290 
 
 xxiii. 40 278 
 
 xxiv. 17 283 
 
 xxvi. 2, 3 321 
 
 xx.xii 27 241 
 
 xxxvi. 25 56i 
 
 Daniel vii. 9 587 
 
 ix. 3 444 
 
 Hosea ii. 6 . 197 
 
 ix. 3 330 
 
 X. 8 231 
 
 xiii. 3 Ill, 258 
 
 Joel ii. 6 362 
 
 Amos i. 15 264 
 
 ii. 8 487 
 
 iii. 8 578 
 
 iii. 12 19 
 
 V. 16 427 
 
 V. 25, 26 63 
 
 vi. 4 311 
 
 vi. 12 236 
 
 Obadiah. 15 358 
 
 Jonah iii. 5, 6 382 
 
 Nahum i. 14 339 
 
 iii. 5,6 233 
 
 Habakkukii. 18 339 
 
 Zechariah x. 4 ........ 249 
 
 xii. 6 343 
 
 St. Matthew v 14 546 
 
 v. 25 64 
 
 vii. 13 15 
 
 ix. 6 487 
 
 X. 27 264 
 
 X.30 508 
 
 xiii. 29 413 
 
 xiv. 10 199 
 
 xvi 18 15 
 
 xvi. 19 248 
 
 xxi. 24 365 
 
 xxii 13 386 
 
 xxii. 35 410 
 
 xxv 11 385 
 
 xav. 30 38S 
 
420 
 
 FIRST INDEX. 
 
 
 No 
 
 
 
 N« 
 
 St. Matthew xxvi. 63 
 
 . . . 8r 
 
 Acts xxii. 3 
 
 
 498 
 
 St. Mark v. 3 
 
 ... 413 
 
 xxii. 23 
 
 
 108 
 
 xii. 28 . 
 
 . . .410 
 
 xxvii. 21 
 
 
 548 
 
 St. Luke ii. 7 
 
 . 436 
 
 1 Corinthians vi. 1 
 
 
 393 
 
 ii. 32 
 
 . 546 
 
 •X. 4 
 
 
 472 
 
 ii. 46 
 
 . 498 
 
 Galatians vi. 16 
 
 
 158 
 
 V. 19 
 
 . 426 
 
 2 Timothy ii. 19 . 
 
 
 158 
 
 V. 39 
 
 . 341 
 
 1 Peter i. 7 
 
 
 240 
 
 X.34 
 
 . 436 
 
 V. 4 
 
 
 520 
 
 xii. 7 
 
 . 508 
 
 2 Peter i. 19 
 
 
 546 
 
 xviii. 12 
 
 383 
 
 Jude 13 . . . 
 
 
 386 
 
 xxii. 42 
 
 . 402 
 
 Revelations iii. 5 
 
 
 552 
 
 St. John V. 25 
 
 . 546 
 
 iii. 7 . . 
 
 248 
 
 397 
 
 X. 1,2, r, 9 
 
 . 385 
 
 iii. 12 
 
 
 261 
 
 xiii. 23 
 
 . 454 
 
 ,vi. 12 
 
 
 594 
 
 xviii. 11 
 
 • 402 
 
 vi. 15, 16 
 
 
 231 
 
 Acts ii. 13 
 
 . 341 
 
 vii. 2, 3 
 
 ' 261 
 
 310 
 
 ' X.9 . . 
 
 . 246 
 
 xiii. 16, 17 
 
 
 261 
 
 xiii. 9 
 
 . 461 
 
 xiv. 10 . 
 
 
 229 
 
 XV. 20 
 
 . 330 
 
 XV 7 
 
 
 240 
 
 xix. 20 
 
 • 525 
 
 xix. 8 
 
 
 407 
 
 xix. 34 
 
 . 381 
 
 xxii. 15 
 
 
 547 
 
C 421 ] 
 SECOND INDEX. 
 
 SUBJECTS 
 ELUCIDATED IN THIS VOLUME. 
 
 V- B. Tits Figiirei refer to the Numbers of the Articles. 
 
 No 
 
 iAbBA, how used . . . 533 
 
 Ab bethdin 410 
 
 Abraham, why he detained the 
 
 angels . . 7 
 his bosom . . 454 
 Abuse of parents, when done . 94 
 Abyssinia, blood eaten there . 4 
 Accounts, how kept by the an- 
 cients 27 
 
 Adjuring, how done ... 87 
 
 Adoption . . 459, 473, 512 
 
 Adoration of the kings of Persia 266 
 Affliftions represented by an 
 
 iron furnace 66 
 
 Altar, to the unknown God , 496 
 
 Ambassadors 528 
 
 Ampullae 174 
 
 Anathema Maranatha . . . 526 
 
 Anathematizing .... 480 
 
 Angari 376 
 
 Anointing, its use .... 574 
 
 of idols .... 16 
 
 of shields . . 245 
 
 Appeals, how made . . . 505 
 
 Applauses at the Grecian 
 
 games 554 
 
 Arabs, how they watch for tra- 
 vellers 276 
 
 N* 
 
 Arbours 
 
 229 
 
 how used 
 
 359 
 
 Arithmetical proportions, a 
 
 
 metaphor taken from 
 
 567 
 
 Ark, how David danced be- 
 
 
 fore it 
 
 40 
 
 Arm, how bruised in mourning 
 
 305 
 
 how made bare . . 
 
 267 
 
 Arrows, poisoned, .... 
 
 148 
 
 how used . 
 
 279 
 
 divination by 
 
 314 
 
 Ashes, why scattered in the air 
 
 38 
 
 of the furnace . 38 
 
 368 
 
 sitting in ... . 
 
 444 
 
 Asphaltis, tlie lake of 
 
 10 
 
 Assemblies of judgment . . 
 
 572 
 
 Asses used for riding 
 
 130 
 
 Astrologers, when driven from 
 
 
 court 
 
 332 
 
 Aswamedha jug .... 
 
 53 
 
 Averting of omens 
 
 353 
 
 Bacchanalia 
 
 543 
 
 Baetyli, what .... 
 
 16 
 
 Baggage of a traveller 
 
 436 
 
 Bags, money put into . 134 
 
 152 
 
 Baking of bread, how done . 
 
 8 
 
 wh^n done . 
 
 218 
 
422 
 
 SECOND INDEX.- 
 
 
 No \ 
 
 
 No 
 
 Banishme^it, the punishment c 
 
 f 582 
 
 Bridegroom, friend of 
 
 466 
 
 Banners 
 
 170 
 
 Brides, hov/ prepared for their 
 
 
 Baptii^ing foi- the dead 
 
 524 
 
 husbands . . 317, 536 
 
 Barrel, what 
 
 116 
 
 how presented to them 
 
 599 
 
 Bases, -.vhat 
 
 27 
 
 Brimstone, its eftefts on the 
 
 
 Basket and store . 
 
 69 
 
 earth .... 
 
 10 
 
 Baskets used with camels 
 
 21 
 
 Brocks of butter and honey 
 
 154 
 
 Batich, what 
 
 601 
 
 Brother-in-law, marrying wi- 
 
 
 Beacons, how used 
 
 93 
 
 dow .... 
 
 408 
 
 Beard, sworn by , benediflions 
 
 
 Bruising the arm in mourning 
 
 30 5 
 
 on, shaved otf a mark 
 
 
 iJuilder, wise master 
 
 517 
 
 of infamy 
 
 104 
 
 Burrhensome stone 
 
 365 
 
 why kissed 
 
 109 
 
 Burying, how performed . . 
 
 36 
 
 how perfumed 
 
 210 
 
 Butter 
 
 83 
 
 Beast ovsrburthened, a m.eta- 
 
 
 how made 
 
 212 
 
 phor from 
 
 202 
 
 Buying water 
 
 62 
 
 Bed _ . . . 
 
 . 4ST 
 
 By-roads, how used 
 
 82 
 
 coming down from 
 
 124 
 
 
 
 chamber 
 
 132 
 
 Cakes, how made and baked 
 
 49 
 
 of spices 
 
 . 293 
 
 iitde ones given for 
 
 
 Eeils 
 
 46 
 
 baking . 
 
 312 
 
 golden used in India . 
 
 46 
 
 Camel, furniture for 
 
 21 
 
 worn on the feet 
 
 232 
 
 fond of vine leaves 
 
 43 
 
 Betrothir,g 
 
 . 369 
 
 killed by substitution 
 
 53 
 
 Birds, how taken 
 
 557 
 
 goes on its knees 
 
 
 Black stone idol 
 
 . 16 
 
 through door ways 
 
 400 
 
 Black stones how used 
 
 584 
 
 Cancelling bonds 
 
 553 
 
 Blackness, of face 
 
 362 
 
 Candidates, how introduced 
 
 
 Blankets worn 
 
 434 
 
 in the Grecian games 
 
 549 
 
 Blessing, why fare we! sand sa 
 
 
 Candle, why the rabbins are 
 
 
 kuations are so called 
 
 . 30 
 
 compared to 
 
 470 
 
 Blindfolding, when done 
 
 . 458 
 
 Capidgi 
 
 199. 
 
 Blood, eating it forbidden 
 
 4 
 
 Captives stripped naked 
 
 233 
 
 price of 
 
 . 420 
 
 Captivity of idols 
 
 264 
 
 Bodies, dead, fastened to wall 
 
 5 99 
 
 Caravans, how they defenc 
 
 
 Bonds, how cancelled 
 
 553 
 
 themselves 
 
 6 
 
 Bones, unburied 
 
 . 191 
 
 Caravanserais 
 
 430 
 
 • burnt 
 
 . 345 
 
 Carniiices, who 
 
 96 
 
 Book, investiture by 
 
 . 588 
 
 Casting of dust 
 
 108 
 
 Borrachae 
 
 . 74 
 
 out of the synagogue 
 
 480 
 
 Bosom, things carried in 
 
 . 439 
 
 Catching omens 
 
 90 
 
 Abraham's 
 
 . 45'1. 
 
 Cattle, Gentoo laws about 
 
 19 
 
 Bottles . . . 74,185 
 
 ■ fond of vine leaves 
 
 43 
 
 Boxers 
 
 . 568 
 
 Cavesi tlieirgates 
 
 15 
 
 Boxes, smelling 
 
 . 220 
 
 used as places of re 
 
 
 Branch put to the nose . 
 
 . 309 
 
 treat 
 
 231 
 
 3|razi3r5 . 
 
 . 295 
 
 the v,'orship of 
 
 307 
 
 Bi^-eadhasvily made 
 
 8 
 
 Chamber, Iitde 
 
 . 129 
 
 Breaking open a wine vessel 
 
 • 432 
 
 bed 
 
 132 
 
 of bread 
 
 . 499 
 
 Changers of money 
 
 . 405 
 
 Breathing of the dyy 
 
 . 223 
 
 Changing garments 
 
 . 183 
 
SECOIsTD INDEX. 
 
 423 
 
 Changing dress of brides 
 Chappar .... 
 Clierub, covering 
 Children, how carried 
 
 sold 
 Chiosk .... 
 Chreeshna, an Hindoo idol . 
 
 Iiis statue 
 Chuppah .... 
 Cippi .... 
 Circus, door of . . . 
 
 Cities . . . . , 
 
 said to be destroyed 
 with Sodom 
 how wsUed 
 their registers 
 City sown with salt 
 lustration of a 
 Clapping the hands 
 Clay used to seal with 
 Clefts in houses 
 Clinium .... 
 Clothes, rending 
 
 new, when worn 
 .Cloud, a little before rain 
 Cofnns .... 
 Coins used as weights 
 
 their impressions 
 Cold ... 
 
 Commendatory epistles 
 Consecrated gifts 
 Consistorie.';, manner of sitting i 
 Cooling wines 
 rooms 
 Copper plates used for baking 
 Corban 
 Corn, liow threshed 
 
 a measure given in tem- 
 porary rrlarriages 
 Corner 
 
 Coronation . , . 
 
 Coi-pse, hew sealed 
 Corpulency esteemed 
 Cosha, trial by 
 Cottages in vineyards 
 CovcHant of salt 
 
 cutting of 
 wi^h death 
 Covering cheiub 
 
 the face of malefac- 
 tors. 
 
 No 
 
 599 
 
 3? 6 
 
 321 
 
 271 
 
 344 
 
 222 
 
 1 
 
 16 
 
 466 
 
 4'.'4 
 
 52.5 
 
 13 
 
 10 
 G5 
 
 5J2 
 
 n 
 
 519 
 
 133 
 
 166 
 
 353 
 
 441 
 
 26 
 
 215 
 
 119 
 
 36 
 
 25 
 
 25 
 
 192 
 
 527 
 
 457 
 
 \S87 
 
 208 
 
 286 
 
 49 
 
 396 
 
 258 
 
 336 
 346 
 462 
 158 
 219 
 56 
 or;o 
 
 50 
 294 
 294 
 321 
 
 146 
 
 No 
 Court, privilege of eating there 112 
 Cow, part of, eaten while alive 4 
 Cv3cking of tlic ground . 280 
 
 Cream, v. hy trnd upon in slvins 160 
 Cries upon death . . 35 
 
 Cri'jpingpins . . . 234 
 
 Crocodile, how taken . 150,167 
 Crown of i.horns . . 422 
 
 of racers . ' . ' 520 
 
 cfcllve . . 569 
 
 CruciflAion . . 421 
 
 C up of divinatitm . . 33 
 
 drinking of, what it signi- 
 fies . . 402 
 Cushions /used as saddles . 12 
 as pillows . . 311 
 Cutting the liesh . . 117,282 
 a covenant . . 294 
 asunder . . 415 
 
 Dagon, temple of . .86 
 
 Dances . . . .40 
 
 extemporary . . 40 
 
 and music . . 452 
 
 Darkness, cuter . . . 386. 
 
 Darts, fiery . . . 544 
 David, how he danced before 
 
 the ark . . 40 
 
 hisconduft to Shimei . 113 
 
 Dp,u-w?.ins, what . . 86 
 
 Day, brea'hingof . . 223 
 
 Days and nights unequal in 
 
 ternperatute . 22 
 
 dbservaticn of . . 534 
 Dead persons placed near 
 
 doors . . . 308 
 
 V,' ashed . . 488 
 bodies tied to living 
 
 ones . • . 510 
 baptizing for the . 524 
 Deadly her}' wind . . 58 
 Death, moun^.ing for . . 35 
 srares of . . 110 
 trial after . . 137 
 messengers of . 199 
 covenant with . . 294 
 Deep, dwelling . . 300 
 Dervises, their posture in me- 
 ditation . . . 118 
 Deserts . . . .259 
 Devil worship . . 593 
 
424 
 
 SECOND INDEX. 
 
 Dew . . 14, 84, 340 
 
 Dherna, how performed . 128 
 
 Diaries . . . 144 
 
 Digging through houses . 156 
 
 about trees . . 449 
 
 Dividing of the waters . 39 
 
 sacririces . . 555 
 
 Divination by the cup . . 33 
 
 by arrows . . 314 
 
 by the staff . 337 
 
 Divorces . . .431 
 
 Do6lor, a wind so called . 367 
 
 Dogs . . . 176 
 
 their rapacity . . 123 
 
 chained to doors . 547 
 
 Doves .... 272 
 
 employed as posts . 273 
 
 Double evidences . . ■ 291 
 
 Doubt, figurative meaning of 
 
 the word . . 395 
 Draughts, intoxicating . 289 
 Dreams among the tombs . 275 
 Dress of brides often changed 599 
 Drawings in ancient manu- 
 scripts . . 590 
 Drowning, the punishment 
 
 of . . . .398 
 
 Dust, rain of . . . 70 
 
 laying of by sprinkling 108 
 
 cast into the air . 503 
 
 Dwelling deep . . . 300 
 
 Ear of goats, large . . 347 
 
 Earth nourished by dew . . 14 
 
 carried upon the head . 100 
 
 writing in . • 284 
 
 Eating blood prohibited . 4 
 
 upon stones . . 23 
 
 ancient manner of . 32 
 
 at court . . . 112 
 
 of salt, what it signifies 138 
 
 of milk . . .201 
 
 Eden, Hindoo account of . 242 
 
 Egyptian onions . . 59 
 
 melons . . 60 
 
 El woost, what . . . 426 
 
 Engraving on the hand . 265 
 
 Enoch's translation . . 3 
 
 Entertainments jjrepared by 
 
 princes themselves . . 9 
 Episdes of commendation . 527 
 
 Na 
 
 Espousing . . . 369 
 
 Evidences, double . . 291 
 Evil eye . . . 205, 532 
 
 Excommunication . . 480 
 
 Executioners of great men . 96 
 Expences of purification how 
 
 borne . . , . 501 
 
 Extemporary dances . . 40 
 
 Eye, evil . . . 205, 532 
 
 why women covered one 225 
 
 Eyes, why fastened up . 262 
 
 painted . . . 278 
 
 of prisoners put out . 438 
 
 Face, spitting in . . 61 
 of malefaftors covered 146 
 blackness of . . 362 
 Falling on the ground in dis- 
 tress .... 433 
 Farewels, why called bles- 
 sings . ... 30 
 Fascination . . . 532 
 Fastening up the eyes . 262 
 Fasting .... 382 
 Fatlier, how the title is used 238 
 Feast of fire ... 54 
 master of . . . 463 
 Feasts for the women . 142 
 funeral ' . . .283 
 poor called to . . 450 
 love . '. . 499 
 upon sacrifices, . 294, 573 
 Feet, bells worn on . . 232 
 Felling tirKber . . . 343 
 Fiery darts . . , 544 
 Figs, first ripe . . .338 
 Filtering, the water of the Nile 37 
 of wine . . 412 
 Fire, perpetual . . .51 
 passing through to Mo- 
 loch ... 54 
 feast of ... 54 
 of the Lord . . 58 
 unquenchable . . 372 
 Firingof dry herbage . . 44 
 Fish, how taken . . 570 
 Flag, white, how used . . 170 
 Flesh sparingly eaten . 206 
 cutting of . . 282 
 Flight, how the Arabs are 
 prepared for . . . 131 
 
SECOND INDEX. 
 
 425 
 
 Flint, knives of, buried with 
 
 Joshua . . . . rfi 
 
 Flocks, gently driven . . 24 
 destroyed by frequent 
 
 removals . . 24 
 
 Floods . . . . 440 
 
 Floor, threshing . . Ill 
 Flowers planted on graves 252, 413 
 
 strewed in the way . 4Uo 
 
 Foot, watering with . . 67 
 
 Forehead, marked . . 310 
 
 name written on . 59 
 
 Fort St. George, its gate . 15 
 
 Foundations, inscriptions on 556 
 
 Fountains, encampments by 180 
 
 Friend of briilegroom . 466 
 
 Fruit unripe, stolen . . S.i/ 
 
 much eaten . . 360 
 
 Fuel, how managed . . 52 
 
 cow dung used for . 216 
 
 how stored . 303 
 
 Funerals, feasts at . . 283 
 
 singing at . . 352 
 
 music at . . 388 
 
 different ways of . 430 
 
 Furnace, ashes of . . 38 
 
 Furniture of camels . . 21 
 
 Furred habits, why used . 22 
 
 Garden, how watered . 230 
 
 Garments, rent . . .26 
 
 of divers colours . 107 
 
 changed . . 183 
 
 •When put upon 
 
 people . 334 
 wedding, how pro- 
 vided . . 407 
 Garners .... 342 
 Gate, of palaces magnificent 15 
 for what used . 15, 68 
 sometimes signifies the 
 
 mansion itself . .15 
 
 of heaven . . 15 
 gi-eat, of palaces when 
 
 used . . . 323 
 
 opened at marriage feasts 385 
 
 Gathered to his fathers, what 137 
 
 Gentoo laws about cattle 19 
 
 slaves . 34 
 
 Geometrical proportions, how 
 
 used as a metaphor . 567 
 
 No 
 
 Gift, why left Iiefore the altar 37-5 
 
 consecrated . . 457 
 
 Girba, v/hat ... 74 
 
 Girding sword on the thigh . 173 
 
 loins . . > . 443 
 
 Girdles .... 389 
 
 Glass broken at marriages . 587 
 
 Glasses, looking . . 48 
 Glowing sand . . 254,281 
 
 Goads . , . 79 
 
 Goats fond of vine leaves . 43 
 how used emblemati- 
 cally . . .335 
 
 Gods, strange, prohibited . 495 
 
 Gold, how used as a metaphor 240 
 
 G<^lden letters . . . 16^ 
 
 Grapes, treading of . , 85 
 
 Grass, how, and why burnt 260 
 
 used to heat ovens . 383 
 
 Graven images . . . 339 
 
 Graves .... 413 
 herbs and flowers 
 
 planted on . . 252 
 
 visited . . . 477 
 
 Great lady of the dance . 40 
 gate of palaces when 
 
 used . . . 328 
 
 Greaves of brass . . 91 
 Grinding . . 218, 287, 414 
 
 Ground, mourners lie upon 105, 433 
 
 cracked . . 280 
 Guests, oil and water given 
 
 to . . . . 442 
 
 Guide in the desert important 57 
 
 Hacam, who . . .401 
 
 Hair, plucked off . . 141 
 
 how worn . . 523 
 Hand put under the thigh in 
 
 swearing . . 13 
 stretched out . 172, 506 
 
 ki-.ed . . . 163 
 
 marked . . , . 261 
 
 tenrple engraved on . ^65 
 Handmaid, one given with a 
 
 daugliter when married . 18 
 
 Handsjoined in sv/earing . 11 
 washed in taking an 
 
 oath ... 13 
 
 clapping of . . 133 
 
 joined . . . 195 
 3H 
 
426 
 
 SECOND INDEX. 
 
 Hands, water poured on 
 Harem, its privacy- 
 Head, lifting np 
 
 of the king sworn by 
 earth carried on 
 Heads of nails or pegs 
 Heaps of corn 
 Heaven, gate of 
 Hedges, how made 
 Herbage, dry, burnt on the 
 
 ground 
 Herbs planted on graves 
 Hermse viales 
 Hieroglyphics on coffins 
 Hindoo sculptures of the 
 bruised sei-pent 
 history of Noah 
 Hissing of bees 
 Home, women why kept at 
 Honey and honeycomb 
 
 wild 
 Hoofs of horses 
 Horn, how worn . 179, 182 
 
 Horsemen, how they spread 
 
 themselves 
 Horses,^ riding on, honourable 
 their beairty and va- 
 lue 
 hoofs 
 Hosannah 
 Hospitality 
 
 dispensed under 
 
 gates 
 salt given in token 
 of 
 House top . . 246, 
 
 Houses dug through 
 
 winter and summer 
 Human sacrifices 
 Humiliation, token of 
 Hunting of patridges . . 98 
 
 ancient manner of 110,250 
 wild beasts . . 302 
 Hybeer, what . . . 57 
 
 Idols anointed ... 16 
 of the pagoda of Jugger- 
 naut ... 16 
 in the temple of Serapis 244 
 taken captive . . 264 
 sheir niches . . 350 
 
 27 
 29 
 
 100 
 27 
 44 
 15 
 
 197 
 
 44 
 252 
 209 
 
 36 
 
 1 
 5 
 
 235 
 558 
 169 
 371 
 
 236 
 
 363 
 
 217 
 
 219 
 236 
 404 
 513 
 
 15 
 
 50 
 391 
 156 
 348 
 
 38 
 120 
 
 Illumination of tents 
 
 Images, graven and molten » 
 
 on ships 
 Imtna, hov/ used 
 Impression of coins 
 Imprisonment, its severity 
 Infants, new born, v/hy washed 
 Inheritance, principles of 
 Ink, Persian, how used . 
 Inns ..... 
 Inscriptions on foundations 
 
 on pillars 
 InBtruflions given to counsel, 
 
 a metaphor from 
 Intoxicating draughts 
 Investiture by a book 
 Invitations, how given 
 Inundations 
 
 Iron furnace, how put for 
 affiiftions 
 
 Ishmaelites, their plunder 
 Israelites, their regret for me- 
 loHS accounted for 
 
 Jacob, his conduifl with La- 
 ban's sheep 
 
 Jaggernaut, its pagoda 
 
 Jealousy, common 
 
 Jewels, nose 
 
 Jews, how persecuted by Pto- 
 lemy Philopater 
 
 Joining hands in swearing 11, 
 
 Joseph, his table, how fur- 
 nished .... 
 
 Joshua, knives of flint buried 
 with .... 
 
 Journals .... 
 
 Journey, music used at setting 
 out on a 
 
 Judges in the Olympic games 
 
 Judgment, partiality in, con- 
 demned 
 
 Jug, aswamedha 
 
 Justice, how demanded 
 
 No 
 159 
 339 
 509 
 553 
 
 25 
 399 
 559 
 451' 
 122 
 436 
 556 
 586 
 
 394 
 289 
 588 
 194 
 
 243 
 
 66 
 
 489 
 
 6 
 
 60 
 
 19 
 
 16 
 
 558 
 
 196 
 
 596 
 195 
 
 76 
 
 144 
 
 20 
 566 
 
 572 
 
 53 
 
 503 
 
 Kal-hatze, an officer so called 88 
 
 Kedgavays . . .21 
 
 Key .... 248 
 
 emblem of authority . 397 
 
 of knowledge . . 447 
 
SECOND INDEX. 
 
 42r 
 
 
 No 
 
 
 No 
 
 Kid, seething of forbidden 
 
 45 
 
 Love feasts 
 
 499 
 
 how vakied 
 
 453 
 
 Lustration of a city 
 
 519 
 
 Kissing the beard 
 
 109 
 
 
 
 the hand 
 
 163 
 
 Magistrates, why they wear 
 
 
 letters of great men 28 
 
 ,20? 
 
 swords 
 
 516 
 
 Kilin, what 
 
 460 
 
 Mahometan converts, how 
 
 
 King, his head and life sworn 
 
 
 treated 
 
 145 
 
 by . . . 
 
 29 
 
 Malefaftors face covered 
 
 146 
 
 weighed 
 
 333 
 
 Manuscripts, drawings in 
 
 590 
 
 Knives of flint buried with 
 
 
 Marking the hand 
 
 261 
 
 Joshua . . . . 
 
 76 
 
 forehead 
 
 310 
 
 Knowledge, key of 
 
 447 
 
 Marriage, perfumes burnt at 
 
 224 
 
 Kobab, -what 
 
 59 
 
 of the widow with 
 
 
 
 
 her brother-in-law 
 
 408 
 
 Ladder with seven gates 
 
 15 
 
 torches used at 
 
 417 
 
 Lady, great, of the dance 
 
 40 
 
 wine preserved for 
 
 
 Lake, Asphaltis 
 
 10 
 
 its feast 
 
 464 
 
 Lambs, hecatombs of firstling, 
 
 
 Massals .... 
 
 417 
 
 offered 
 
 . 2 
 
 ?.leasures 
 
 198 
 
 great delicacies 
 
 351 
 
 Measuring by line 
 
 103 
 
 Lamp of the Sabbath 
 
 270 
 
 Medicated wine, when given 
 
 423 
 
 Lanterns . . . . 
 
 481 
 
 Medicines, how applied 
 
 193 
 
 Largesses 
 
 540 
 
 Megelez .... 
 
 112 
 
 Laws hung up in public 
 
 409 
 
 Melons, Egyptian 
 
 60 
 
 Lawyers .... 
 
 410 
 
 Melted wax used in divination 
 
 33 
 
 Leaves eaten by cattle 
 
 43 
 
 Memorials of stone 
 
 209 
 
 Letters, form of 
 
 139 
 
 Men tried after death 
 
 137 
 
 how sealed 
 
 153 
 
 Meribah, its present slate 
 
 41 
 
 laid on the head 
 
 164 
 
 Mess, Benjamin's 
 
 31 
 
 of gold 
 
 168 
 
 Messages, secret 
 
 78 
 
 Libamina 
 
 330 
 
 Messengers, their speed 
 
 151 
 
 Libations 
 
 297 
 
 of death 
 
 199 
 
 Libertines 
 
 486 
 
 Messiah, traditions of 
 
 1 
 
 Libra .... 
 
 25 
 
 Millet .... 
 
 306 
 
 Life, no satisfa(£lion to be taken 
 
 
 Mina .... 
 
 25 
 
 for that of a murderer 
 
 64 
 
 Mines, condemnation to 
 
 416 
 
 Lifting up tlie head 
 
 27 
 
 Mirrors .... 
 
 48 
 
 Light houses 
 
 546 
 
 Mixed wine 
 
 229 
 
 Lightning before rain 
 
 190 
 
 Moloch, passing through the 
 
 
 Lights always burnt in houses 
 
 288 
 
 fire to ... . 
 
 54 
 
 I^imbs of criminals hung up . 
 
 101 
 
 Molten images 
 
 339 
 
 Line, measuring by 
 
 103 
 
 Monasteries, entrance into 
 
 
 Lion, roaring of 
 
 578 
 
 them .... 
 
 65 
 
 Lips, how covered in mourn- 
 
 
 Money, ancient 
 
 25 
 
 ing ... . 
 
 319 
 
 used as weights 
 
 25 
 
 Living stones 
 
 576 
 
 bound up 
 
 134 
 
 Locusts, eat 
 
 425 
 
 changers 
 
 405 
 
 Loins, girding 
 
 448 
 
 Moon, new 
 
 93 
 
 Looking glasses 
 
 48 
 
 Mortar, pounding in 
 
 211 
 
 Loosing the shoe . 73 
 
 408 
 
 Mother, how the word is used 
 
 313 
 
 Lots . . . 
 
 485 
 
 Mottoes on statues 
 
 591 
 
428 
 
 SECOND INDEX. 
 
 No: 
 
 Mountains how iised . 575 
 
 rooter-up of . 406 
 
 Mouth, sword carried in . 583 
 Mummies . . . .76 
 Murderer, no satisfa.£>iou to 
 
 be taken for l;is life . 64 
 Music, used at setting out on 
 
 a journey . . 20 
 
 itu eiiecis on serpen is 175 
 and dancing . .452 
 
 at funer.ds . . 388 
 
 Nail of a tent ... 81 
 
 Nails, how fixed in walls . 249 
 
 leaked, captives stripped . 233 
 
 Names marked on servants . 261 
 \viiy changed . 461, 47'6 
 of persons how posted 
 
 up . . . 581 
 given by princes to fa- 
 vourites . . 585 
 on the forehead . 597 
 Negotiation for fcnfe'iied life C4 
 New mbcn ... 93 
 clothes, V,- hen put on . 215 
 wine • . . . 227 
 birth, parallel with . 465 
 Niches of idols . . • 350 
 Nile water . . . 57 
 North, sides of . . 242 
 Nose jewels . . . 196 
 ripgs fastened in \.hc.r,c 
 
 o. caiueLi . . 255 
 
 branch placed to . 309 
 
 NumeilK . . . . 4';4 
 
 Oath, how ta!:en 
 Observation of days 
 Oil out cf the rock 
 
 how kept 
 
 eaten . 
 
 given to guests 
 
 anoitiiing with 
 Plees . 
 plivc crowns 
 Omens, catchivig 
 
 li^iw averied 
 Onions 
 
 Orange garden 
 prdcal, I'.'.d'an 
 Orders given by signs 
 
 13, 29 
 
 ^26 
 
 204 
 4-12 
 5.--4 
 12> 
 569 
 
 90 
 358 
 
 59 
 230 
 
 5C 
 W6 
 
 N» 
 
 77 
 
 135 
 
 49 
 
 55 
 
 Origin of sacrifices 
 Ostentation in making pre- 
 sents 
 prohibited 
 Oven, pitcher 
 
 every family had one 
 Oxen used to trample out 
 corn . •. . 
 
 PainUngthe eyes . . 278 
 Paper, why relied . • 237 
 Parents, how abused . . 94 
 Partiality to the rich in judg- 
 ment condemned . . 572 
 Patridges, hunting of . 98 
 Pasteboard used to make cof- 
 fins .... 36 
 Patmos .... 582 
 Perfumes burnt at marriages 224 
 Perfuming the beard . 210 
 Perpetual tire . ■ . 51 
 Pliarisees, their superstition 507 
 Pharaoh's condudl to his butler 
 and baker e.\plained . 27 
 Physicians, Vvhy driven from 
 
 court .... 332 
 Pidlure, its different states, 
 
 \ised as a metaphor . 562 
 
 Pigeons, V, here they build . 299 
 
 Pillars of black stole . . 16 
 
 inscriptions on . 586 
 
 Pillows ... 311 
 Plantations of vegetables how 
 
 wa'^chcd . . . 277 
 
 PuickingolThair . . 141 
 
 Poisoned arrows . . 148 
 
 Pools, Solomon's . . 226 
 
 Poor called to feasts . 450 
 
 Portions, wh.y .-^ent . 147 
 
 hcv. given . 445 
 
 Posca . . . 4ii.) 
 
 Posting up nuir.es . 581 
 Posts . • 151,273 
 
 Festuve, devout . . IIH 
 
 Potters wheel . . 285 
 
 Pounding in a mortar . 211 
 Pouring water . .472 
 
 on the hands 125 
 
 Prxf.cre .... 427 
 
 Tracer, repetitions in. . 381 
 
 Pravirg In streets . SbO 
 
SECOND INDEX. 
 
 429 
 
 
 No 
 
 
 No 
 
 Precious stones, when good . 
 
 571 
 
 Sackcloth .... 
 
 594 
 
 Picsents ostentatiously made 
 
 77 
 
 sitting in 
 
 444 
 
 universal 
 
 89 
 
 Sacks ..... 
 
 3g 
 
 tributary . . 178, 
 
 366 
 
 Sacniices, origin of 
 
 i2 
 
 Princes introduftion to 
 
 538 
 
 human 
 
 38 
 
 Princesses, how attei\ded 
 
 361 
 
 feasting at . 294, 573 
 
 Principles of inheritance . . 
 
 451 
 
 how divided . 
 
 555 
 
 Prisoners, how treated . 
 
 296 
 
 how cut and flayed 
 
 561 
 
 Prisons . . . 256, 
 
 399 
 
 Saddles .... 
 
 12 
 
 Prizes in the Grecian games 
 
 550 
 
 Salt, hard, used for money . . 
 
 50 
 
 Proscription 
 
 581 
 
 its eifedls on vegetation . 
 
 71 
 
 Proseuchse 
 
 492 
 
 eating of . . . 
 
 138 
 
 Prostration 
 
 598 
 
 losing its savour 
 
 374 
 
 Pugiles .... 
 
 568 
 
 Salutations . . 30, 377, 
 
 443 
 
 Pure water 
 
 563 
 
 Sand storm 
 
 162 
 
 Purification, expences of, how 
 
 
 glowing . . . 254 
 
 281 
 
 borne .... 
 
 501 
 
 Sav\'ing asunder 
 
 415 
 
 Purses . . . 152 
 
 ,389 
 
 Scattering of ashes in the air . 
 
 38 
 
 
 
 Sceptre m.etaphorical 
 
 63 
 
 Raiment, suits of, given . . 
 
 157 
 
 Schiras wine 
 
 432 
 
 Rain of dust . . . . 
 
 70 
 
 Schools, Jewish 
 
 49,8 
 
 preceded by wind 
 
 126 
 
 Scourging . . .390 
 
 504 
 
 after lightning 
 
 190 
 
 Scribes .... 
 
 410 
 
 Rebels beating 
 
 474 
 
 Sea side, why resorted to 
 
 484 
 
 Reckoning, method of 
 
 329 
 
 water used in ablutions . 
 
 563 
 
 Reconciliation, tokens of, given 
 
 541 
 
 Sealing .... 
 
 122 
 
 Redress, how sought 
 
 177 
 
 a corpse 
 
 158 
 
 Registers of cities 
 
 552 
 
 with clay 
 
 166 
 
 Rending clothes . . 26 
 
 ,493 
 
 Secret messages 
 
 78 
 
 Repetitions in prayer forbidden 
 
 381 
 
 Seed stolen while sowing 
 
 188 
 
 Rephidim . . . . 
 
 41 
 
 Seething a kid forbidden 
 
 45 
 
 Restitution 
 
 . 44 
 
 Sepulchres . . 241,247 
 
 ,413 
 
 Revellings 
 
 536 
 
 Serpent, crushing of his head, 
 
 
 Rhinoceros 
 
 182 
 
 mythologically re- 
 
 
 Rice, how planted 
 
 253 
 
 presented 
 
 1 
 
 Rivers overflowing lands . . 
 
 243 
 
 efieft-s of music on . 
 
 175 
 
 Roads, bye 
 
 82 
 
 how tamed 
 
 175 
 
 Roaring of a lion 
 
 578 
 
 in walls 
 
 349 
 
 Rocks used for shelter 
 
 155 
 
 two-headed 
 
 592 
 
 sepulchres in 
 
 247 
 
 Sheep, large, at Aleppo 
 
 47 
 
 Rooms, how cooled 
 
 286 
 
 Shekel used as a weight . 
 
 25 
 
 Rooter-up of mountains . . 
 
 406 
 
 Shepherds . . . 475 
 
 ,577 
 
 Rotoloe .... 
 
 47 
 
 Shield, anointing 
 
 245 
 
 Rugs used for saddles 
 
 • 12 
 
 Shimei, David's condu6l to. 
 
 
 
 
 explained 
 
 113 
 
 Sabbath , how observed by the 
 
 
 Shipwreck used as a metaphor 
 
 548 
 
 Greeks 
 
 259 
 
 Shocks of corn 
 
 44 
 
 lamp of the 
 
 270 
 
 Shower (".}" stones 
 
 75 
 
 how closed by the 
 
 
 Shade, its importance 
 
 221 
 
 Jews 
 
 424 
 
 Shaving off the beard dis- 
 
 
 Its superstitions . 
 
 468 
 
 graceful .... 
 
 104 
 
430 
 
 SECOND INDEX. 
 
 
 No 
 
 
 Xo 
 
 Ships, images on 
 
 509 
 
 Stones, precious, when good 
 
 571 
 
 at anchor, a metaphor 
 
 
 living 
 
 576 
 
 taken from 
 
 545 
 
 white and black, how 
 
 
 Shoe, looEiug of 
 
 73 
 
 used 
 
 584 
 
 not worn in mourning- 
 
 318 
 
 Stoning . . 42 
 
 ,456 
 
 Shut up and left 
 
 115 
 
 Storm of sand 
 
 162 
 
 Sides of the north 
 
 242 
 
 Strangers, who considered as 
 
 
 Sin.^ing at funerals 
 
 552 
 
 such 
 
 539 
 
 Sitting .... 
 
 102 
 
 Streets, rhaking in Damascus 
 
 121 
 
 upon stones 
 
 23 
 
 sitting in 
 
 161 
 
 in the streets 
 
 161 
 
 praying in 
 
 380 
 
 in the comer 
 
 346 
 
 Stretching out the hand 
 
 172 
 
 at table 
 
 441 
 
 Summer villages 
 
 256 
 
 in sackcloth and ashes 
 
 444 
 
 Superscriptions 
 
 435 
 
 Slaves, female, given with 
 
 
 Superstitions of the Sabbath . 
 
 4G8 
 
 daughters in mar- 
 
 
 of the Pharisees 
 
 507 
 
 riage 
 
 18 
 
 Swearing, hands joined in . 
 
 . 11 
 
 Gentoo laws respect- 
 
 
 by the life of the 
 
 
 ing .. . 
 
 34 
 
 king 
 
 29 
 
 Sleeping in the woods . . . 
 
 326 
 
 Sweet scented water 
 
 210 
 
 of a whole family in 
 
 
 wine 
 
 341 
 
 one room 
 
 446 
 
 Swimming, a metaphor taken 
 
 
 Smelling boxes 
 
 220 
 
 from .... 
 
 469 
 
 Smiting on the thigh 
 
 290 
 
 Sword girded on the thigh . . 
 
 173 
 
 Snares of death 
 
 110 
 
 laid under the head . . . 
 
 322 
 
 Snow used to cool v\ine . 
 
 203 
 
 worn by magistrates . . 
 
 516 
 
 Sodom, remains of 
 
 10 
 
 carried in the mouth . . 
 
 583 
 
 Sommona codom 
 
 16 
 
 Sycamore fruit, how gathered 
 
 354 
 
 Sowing a city with salt 
 
 71 
 
 Synagogue, castirg out of . . 
 
 480 
 
 Spiced wine' . . 227 
 
 ,229 
 
 of libertines 
 
 486 
 
 Spice?, bed of 
 
 293 
 
 
 
 Spitting in the face 
 
 61 
 
 Table . . . 411 
 
 ,441 
 
 Spreading of an army . . . 
 
 363 
 
 Tail of sheep, large 
 
 47 
 
 Stacks of cor.i 
 
 44 
 
 Ta-jen .... 
 
 8 
 
 Staff, divination by 
 
 33/ 
 
 Tambellit . . . 
 
 32 
 
 Star, how used metaphorically 
 
 63 
 
 Taming serpents 
 
 175 
 
 Stealing not accounted crimi- 
 
 
 Tears preserved 
 
 174 
 
 nal 
 
 542 
 
 Temple, g-ates of 
 
 13 
 
 Stigm-Hta . . • • 
 
 537 
 
 of dagon . . 
 
 86 
 
 Stocks 
 
 494 
 
 figure of, engraved 
 
 
 Stonehenge, v.liat supposed to 
 
 
 on the hand 
 
 265 
 
 be . . . 
 
 209 
 
 Tent, nail of 
 
 81 
 
 Stones held sacred 
 
 16 
 
 illumina'ed 
 
 159 
 
 used to cover wells . 
 
 17 
 
 Tcssarre hospitalitatis 
 
 527 
 
 used to tat upon . . . 
 
 23 
 
 Thigh, coming cut of 
 
 13 
 
 vessels .... 
 
 37 
 
 sword girded on 
 
 173 
 
 shower of 
 
 To 
 
 smitli-'gon 
 
 290 
 
 used for weights 
 
 198 
 
 Thorns used as a fence 
 
 197 
 
 used for memorials . 
 
 209 
 
 crown of 
 
 422 
 
 tied round the neck to 
 
 
 Threshing floor . . Ill, 
 
 258 
 
 drown people 
 
 393 
 
 Tiu-esholds 
 
 327 
 
SECOND INDEX. 
 
 431 
 
 
 No 
 
 
 Ku 
 
 Timber, how felled 
 
 343 
 
 Water of the Nile 
 
 57 
 
 Tokens of reconciliation . 
 
 541 
 
 of jealousy 
 
 56 
 
 Tombs .... 
 
 413 
 
 valuable 
 
 62 
 
 clr(?ams among . . . 
 
 175 
 
 poured on the hands . . 
 
 125 
 
 visited 
 
 477 
 
 sweet scented 
 
 210 
 
 Torches .... 
 
 417 
 
 important in gardens . 
 
 230 
 
 Torrents .... 
 
 187 
 
 sprinkled 
 
 268 
 
 Torture .... 
 
 564 
 
 provided for travellers . 
 
 429 
 
 Trades taught to all 
 
 497 
 
 given to guests 
 
 442 
 
 Travellers, how watched for 
 
 
 pouring of 
 
 472 
 
 by the Arabians 
 
 276 
 
 pure, for ablutions . 
 
 563 
 
 Treading grapes ■ 
 
 85 
 
 Watering with the foot 
 
 67 
 
 Treasures hid 
 
 263 
 
 Wax, melted, used in divina- 
 
 
 Trees sprinkled with milk . 
 
 45 
 
 tion .... 
 
 
 entertainments imder 95, 
 
 221 
 
 Wedding garments 
 
 407 
 
 destroyed by enemies . . 
 
 127 
 
 Weighing a king 
 
 333 
 
 Trial, process of . . . 
 
 482 
 
 Weights, coins used far 
 
 25 
 
 Triclinium . . . 411 
 
 ,441 
 
 of what made 
 
 198 
 
 Trumpet, when blown 
 
 379 
 
 Wells .... 17,467 
 
 Tympanum 
 
 564 
 
 Whirlwind 
 
 165 
 
 Tyre, present situation of . . 
 
 320 
 
 White stones, how used . . 
 
 534 
 
 
 
 Wilderness 
 
 259 
 
 Value of water 
 
 62 
 
 in which Christ 
 
 
 Vegetables, plantations of . . 
 
 277 
 
 was tempted . 
 
 437 
 
 Vessels of stone 
 
 37 
 
 Wind, deadly hery 
 
 53 
 
 wine changed into dif- 
 
 
 preceding rain 
 
 125 
 
 ferent 
 
 298 
 
 Windows 
 
 500 
 
 Vials .... 
 
 589 
 
 Wine cooled with snow 
 
 203 
 
 Villages, summer and winter 
 
 256 
 
 when drank at feasts . . 
 
 143 
 
 of what built 
 
 S64 
 
 new 
 
 227 
 
 Void place 
 
 111 
 
 spiced . . 227 
 
 ,229 
 
 Vows .... 
 
 508 
 
 mixed 
 
 229 
 
 
 
 how kept 
 
 251 
 
 Umbrella .... 
 
 184 
 
 why filtered . . 251 
 
 ,412 
 
 Uncovering the shield 
 
 245 
 
 emptied from vessel to 
 
 
 Unquenchable fire 
 
 372 
 
 vessel 
 
 298 
 
 Uppermost places at feasts 
 
 411 
 
 medicated 
 
 423 
 
 Urnas lachrymales 
 
 174 
 
 vessels pitched 
 preserved for marriage 
 
 432 
 
 Walls . . 65,301 
 
 ,600 
 
 feasts 
 
 464 
 
 dead bodies fasteued to 99 
 
 kept long 
 
 478 
 
 how used 
 
 323 
 
 Witnesses . . .393 
 
 ,565 
 
 serpents in 
 
 349 
 
 Vv'^omen, their feasts 
 
 142 
 
 Washing hands at taking an 
 
 mourning 
 
 427 
 
 oath 
 
 13 
 
 Woods, sleeping in 
 
 325 
 
 ceremonious 
 
 428 
 
 Word of the Lord 
 
 88 
 
 the head 
 
 488 
 
 Worship of devils 
 
 593 
 
 new-born infants . . 
 
 559 
 
 Writing .... 
 
 193 
 
 Watch word 
 
 580 
 
 in gold 
 
 163 
 
 Watches of the night 
 
 181 
 
 in the earth 
 
 284 
 
SCOTT'S 
 COMMENTART ON THE HOLT BIBLE. 
 
 W. W. WOODWARD, 
 
 No. 52, CORNER OF SECOND AND CHESNUT-STHEET3, 
 
 Has just Published, 
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