saying, Go forth unto the mount, and fetch olive branches, and pine branches, and myrtle branches, and palm branches, and branches of thick trees, to make booths, as it is written.

16 ¶ So the people went forth, and brought them, and made themselves booths, every one upon the roof of his house, and in their courts, and in the courts of the house of God, and in the street of the water gate, and in the street of the gate of Ephraim.

17 And all the congregation of them that were come again out of the captivity made booths, and sat under the booths: for since the days of Jeshua the son of Nun unto that day had not the children of Israel done so. And there was very great gladness.

18 Also day by day, from the first day unto the last day, he read in the book of the law of God. And they kept the feast seven days; and on the eighth day was "a solemn assembly, according unto the manner.

11 Heb. a restraint.

Verse 1. "To bring the book of the law."-This being the first day of the seventh ecclesiastical year, was the new year's day of the civil year, and therefore a great day. The first day of every month was a festival; and the commencement of this month was also particularly distinguished as the feast of Trumpets, which continued for two days. The people were probably apprized, on this great occasion, that Ezra had finished his edition of the books of the Law; and which they therefore desired to hear read to them. Ezra was no doubt rejoiced at the invitation.

4. "A pulpit of wood...made for the purpose.”—Something probably in the shape of a scaffold or raised platform, ascended by steps, and railed or otherwise fenced. It must have been large, as it contained thirteen persons besides Ezra.

7. "Caused the people to understand the law."—It is probable that, as Ezra read the law in pure Hebrew, the Levites explained or translated it, period by period, into the Chaldee dialect, which, from their long residence in Babylonia, had now become the vernacular tongue of the Jews. It is indeed important to note, that from the time of the Babylonish captivity the Hebrew ceased to be the language of the Jews, although perhaps it was not completely displaced by the Chaldee till the time of the Maccabees. The Hebrew and Chaldee were cognate dialects, both of which have long ceased to be living tongues; and the knowledge of the latter as a dead language has only been preserved through its having been once used by the Jews. Through that use we have certain portions of the Scripture (Ezra iv. 8, to vi. 18; vii. 12-26; Jer. x. 11; Dan. ii. 4, to the end of chap. vii.) in Chaldee; and also the Targums or paraphrases, which were written in that language, to make the sacred books intelligible to the people. For the law has always, even to this day, been read to the people in Hebrew; after which, while the Chaldee remained the vernacular tongue, an explanation was given in it, after the precedent supposed to be here established by Ezra. These explanations were at first oral, but were afterwards written down, and form the Targums or paraphrases, which are still preserved. The Chaldee, as in use among the Jews, doubtless acquired many words peculiarly Hebrew. It is quite certain that the Chaldee did become the vernacular tongue of the Jews from the time of the Captivity; but it is contended by some, that the Hebrew was at this time intelligible to the people; and therefore that the explanation given by the Levites did not consist in interpretation, but in an exposition of the meaning of difficult passages. We think, however, that if the language of the people was in such a condition on the return from the Captivity, that Chaldee ultimately became the vernacular tongue, that language must necessarily have been so much more familiar to them than the pure old Biblical Hebrew, as to have rendered some verbal explanation of the latter indispensable. Those who have attended to languages in a state of transition, will apprehend that a very considerable proportion of what was read was intelligible to the people, but that there were many words and phrases which they could not understand; and we conceive that the Levites, in repeating, from different sides of the pulpit, what Ezra had read, employed, in such instances at least, Chaldee words and phrases of equivalent meaning. Whether they also gave an expository explanation is not necessarily a separate or opposing question, since they may have done both, and probably did so, considering how imperfectly the mass of the people were then acquainted with the Law.

14. "That the children of Israel should dwell in booths."-This was the feast of Tabernacles, to be observed on the fifteenth of this month; and being therefore close at hand when the injunction concerning it was read to them, they began to prepare for it at once.

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18. Day by day...he read in the book of the law.”—It is generally understood that, from the example of this reading of the law by Ezra, one very important consequence followed, which was, that from thenceforward provision was made that the law should be read every sabbath-day to the people in their own cities. This was probably at first done in the open air, after the example of Ezra; but the inconvenience of this practice in cold or wet weather, appears soon to have led to the erection of appropriate buildings for the purpose. This appears to have been the origin of synagogues, of which there does not seem to have been any before the Babylonish captivity. To this salutary regulation may perhaps be attributed the fact that the Jews were never after, as a nation, chargeable with idolatry, to which they had been previously so prone, and which was the prime source of all the judgments and calamities that befel them.

CHAPTER IX.

ness, and their wickedness.

with fasting, and with sackclothes, and earth upon them.

A solemn fast, and repentance of the people. 4 The Levites make a religious confession of God's good-selves from all 'strangers, and stood and 2 And the seed of Israel separated themconfessed their sins, and the iniquities of their fathers.

Now in the twenty and fourth day of 'this month the children of Israel were assembled 1 Chap. 8. 2,

3 And they stood up in their place, and

Hob, strange children.

24 So the children went in and possessed Sinai, and spakest with them from heaven, the land, and thou subduedst before them

the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites, and gavest them into their hands, with their kings, and the people of the land, that they might do with them "as they would.

25 And they took strong cities, and a fat land, and possessed houses full of all goods, 30 wells digged, vineyards, and oliveyards, and fruit trees in abundance: so they did eat, and were filled, and became fat, and delighted themselves in thy great good

ness.

26 Nevertheless they were disobedient, and rebelled against thee, and cast thy law behind their backs, and slew thy prophets which testified against them to turn them to thee, and they wrought great provoca

tions.

27 Therefore thou deliveredst them into the hand of their enemies, who vexed them: and in the time of their trouble, when they cried unto thee, thou heardest them from heaven; and according to thy manifold mercies thou gavest them saviours, who saved them out of the hand of their enemies.

28 But after they had rest, they did evil again before thee: therefore leftest thou them in the hand of their enemies, so that they had the dominion over them: yet when they returned, and cried unto thee, thou heardest them from heaven; and many times didst thou deliver them according to thy mercies;

29 And testifiedst against them, that thou mightest bring them again unto thy law: yet they dealt proudly, and hearkened not unto thy commandments, but sinned against thy judgments, (which if a man do, he shall live in them;) and withdrew the shoulder, and hardened their neck, and would not hear.

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them, and testifiedst against them by thy spirit "in thy prophets: yet would they not give ear: therefore gavest thou them into the hand of the people of the lands.

31 Nevertheless for thy great mercies' sake thou didst not utterly consume them, nor forsake them; for thou art a gracious and merciful God.

38.

32 Now therefore, our God, the great, the mighty, and the terrible God, who keepest covenant and mercy, let not all the trouble seem little before thee, that hath come upon us, on our kings, on our princes, and on our priests, and on our prophets, and on our fathers, and on all thy people, since the time of the kings of Assyria unto this day.

33 Howbeit thou art just in all that is brought upon us; for thou hast done right, but we have done wickedly:

34 Neither have our kings, our princes, our priests, nor our fathers, kept thy law, nor hearkened unto thy commandments and thy testimonies, wherewith thou didst testify against them.

35 For they have not served thee in their kingdom, and in thy great goodness that thou gavest them, and in the large and fat land which thou gavest before them, neither turned they from their wicked works.

36 Behold, we are servants this day, and for the land that thou gavest unto our fathers to eat the fruit thereof and the good thereof, behold, we are servants in it:

37 And it yieldeth much increase unto the kings whom thou hast set over us because of our sins: also they have dominion over our bodies, and over our cattle, at their pleasure, and we are in great distress.

38 And because of all this we make a sure covenant, and write it; and our princes, Le

30 Yet many years didst thou "forbear vites, and priests, "seal unto it.

29 Heb. according to their will. 30 Or, cisterns. 81 Heb. tree of food. 321 Kings. 19 10. 33 Heb. they returned to do evil. 34 Heb. they gave a withdrawing shoulder. 35 Heb. protract over them. 36 2 Kings 17. 13. 2 Chron. 36. 15. 37 Heb. in the hand of thy prophets. 38 Exod. 34. 6, 7. 39 Heb, weariness. 40 Heb.that hath found us. 41 Heb. are at the sealing, or, sealed.

Verse 9. "The affliction of our fathers in Egypt."-As part of the affliction and hard bondage of the Hebrews in Egypt consisted in their being employed to make bricks, we take this opportunity of introducing a most interesting representation of a scene of ancient Egyptian brick-making, as copied by Rosellini from a painting on the walls of a sepulchre at Thebes. It is altogether so striking an illustration, that Rosellini himself is quite persuaded that the painting does really represent the oppressed Hebrews at their work. Most certainly they are not Egyptians: their whole appearance is different. The Egyptians have their colour represented by brick-red invariably, whereas these are shown of a light tan colour, being that which, in Egyptian paintings, is usually assigned to western Asiatics; they have also beards, which the Egyptians have not, and their cast of countenance and general appearance is altogether different. That they are foreigners, either slaves or treated as slaves, is unquestionable. Four Egyptians appear in the scene, with whom the reader can compare them. Two of these are taskmasters or overseers, with sticks in their hands; one of them sits on a brick in a lazy posture, overlooking the labourers; and the other is holding up his stick in a threatening or commanding manner towards the two other Egyptians, who are engaged in the same labour as the foreigners, having, perhaps, as Rosellini guesses, been condemned to this for some offence. The resemblance of the labourers in physiognomy and colour of skin to the group of Jews which has been given under 2 Chron. xxxv, is in favour of Rosellini's conclusion as to their identity: but a doubt on this point does not detract from the value of the illustration as an analogy, since it certainly does represent the labours in the brick-field of an oppressed or captive people under Egyptian task-masters. It does therefore show us the nature of the situation of the Hebrew fathers in Egypt-their hard and bitter bondage, their affliction, and their labour.

EGYPTIAN BRICK-MAKING.

The cuts speak too clearly for themselves to need much description. They are interesting if only as showing a most ancient method of preparing bricks, and displaying a manner in which burdens were carried. With reference to the latter point, it is probable that the "bearers of burdens," mentioned in this and other books of Scripture in the accounts of building, carried their burdens in the same manner, and which is, in principle, the same as that in which milk-pails are carried about our own streets. This was a common mode of conveyance in Egypt, and we see it also exhibited in the ancient sculptures of Persia. We have here the whole process of brick-making before us. Some men are tempering the clay, others carry portions of it away in pans to the men who form the bricks in moulds. The bricks, when formed, are laid out in rows to be dried, as at present; and when dried are removed to be piled up in a regular manner. The difference between the undried and dried bricks is, in the original, expressed (as indeed it could only be) by a difference of colour, the former being pale grey, and the latter very pale red. This appears a mere arbitrary circumstance to express change, and not to denote that the bricks were burned in a kiln; for there is not the least intimation of the presence of any process for the application of fire, or for any other treatment than that of drying them in the sun. See the note on Gen. xi. 3, and Exod. i. 14.

29. "Withdrew the shoulder, and hardened their neck."-These comparisons are drawn from the refusal of the yoke by refractory oxen.

36. "We are servants this day."-The whole of the complaint in this and the ensuing verse is very touching. However favoured they were in many respects by the Persian kings, they were still but servants ("slaves," as the original denotes), in their own land, to a foreign master. There is a force in this which must not pass unobserved. The Persian kings, while they almost required divine honours to be rendered to their own persons, allowed their subjects no better name than that of "slaves;" nor did the latter aspire to a name more honourable. The tribute to the king, partly in money and partly in kind, appears to have been heavy in proportion to their means, and was so much loss to them: tribute paid to a foreign prince, residing in another country, being much more grievous, even if of smaller amount, than the taxes required by a resident government, and spent in the country. Nor was this all; for this foreign king also had "dominion over their bodies;" meaning, doubtless, that he had an absolute claim upon their personal services, particularly in his wars; and this was at all times a great hardship to the Jews, on account of the peculiarities of their law, which almost precluded them from acting in a foreign army. On this account they esteemed it the greatest of favours to be exempted, and sometimes paid heavily to procure exemption, or suffered great persecution rather than serve. They were however sometimes induced to serve their foreign lords, or as auxiliaries in foreign armies, by being allowed such conditions as enabled them to observe what they understood their law to enjoin-such as that they should not be required to fight on the sabbath, and so on.